Hey everyone! Sorry about the delay once again! Had a lot of people over this past weekend and didn't get anything done. Blah excuses right? Well I'm getting on it! Hope you all enjoy this new chapter. Thanks to those who read and review! -Annubis
The Decision Between Life or Death:
A Second Chance
Chapter 11
"Holy! Get inside!" Reno grabbed the two kid's hands and quickly led them up the stairs to the apartment complex. Thunder growled overhead.
"Ah!" Marlene shivered as the pellets of rain collided with her head.
"Wow! Did you see that flash!?" Denzel stared wide eyed at the dark sky. A split second later another loud burst sounded from the heavens. Marlene whimpered.
"Inside." Reno held the door open. The two hurriedly dashed inside. "It came outta nowhere..." he muttered.
"Is it wet?" Denzel asked the man.
"Naw. It'll be fine." Reno shrugged. The pizza box in his hands was soaked.
"We should hurry. The ice cream might melt." Marlene pointed to the tub in Denzel's hand.
The three quickly made their way to the elevator of the complex. Reno smiled as he passed the number that had once been known as his apartment. The complex was completely obliterated in the meteor incident, but the owner was quick to build at a new location in Edge. Reno received a nice chunk of a raise after dealing with the three clone brothers and now he was able to move to the top floor of the complex.
"You don't think the power will go out?" Denzel asked as the man pressed on the button to go up.
"Ya never know. Power always goes out here." The man shrugged. "They really should get some better backup generators or somethin'."
"Oh no...the dark." Marlene tugged on the man's jacket.
"Don't worry about a thing. The dark isn't all that scary." Reno smirked.
"Maybe we shouldn't take the elevator anymore. We might get stuck." Denzel suggested.
"Stuck!?" the little girl hugged the adult's arm.
"Denzel." Reno rolled his eyes. "Do you enjoy pestering the girl?"
"She needs to not be such a baby." the boy rolled his eyes back at the man.
"I'm not a baby!"
"You are too!" the two exchanged glares and began a battle of sticking out their tongues.
"...And I always wondered why Tifa had such an attitude." the man sighed. The two children began poking each other and continued their bickering. "Yo...Stop it!"
"He started it." Marlene pointed.
"I know he did." Reno nodded.
"Why do you always choose sides!?" Denzel complained.
"Cause you're always a pain in the ass!" Reno shook his head. The elevator sounded, reaching the top floor. "Come on, lets eat."
"Yay! Pizza!" Marlene rushed out into the hall. The boy followed after her.
"Wait for me, yo!" Reno hollered as he reached into his jacket pocket for his keys. He was glad it didn't take much for the kids to forget what they were arguing about, as long as pizza was thrown in, everyone was content.
The three spent the next few hours watching scary movies and snacking away at the pizza and chocolate chunk filled ice cream. Meanwhile, the storm raged on outside.
"That one wasn't as scary as the first." Denzel set his bowl onto the coffee table before him. He groaned and rubbed his stomach.
"Eat too much again?" Reno raised an eyebrow.
"He always eats too much. He's gonna get fat!" Marlene poked the boy in the gut.
"Ugh! Marlene, don't." The boy groaned.
"You throw up, your cleaning it." Reno stood from the couch and gathered the dishes. He stared at the wide window by the kitchen. The sky lit up and blasted an angry noise. The man frowned. How he would love to go to Tifa's bar right now.
"Hey! You didn't get the mail today!" Marlene announced.
"Guess I forgot." Reno leaned against the kitchen counter as he dropped the dishes into the sink.
"I'll get it!" the girl snatched up the man's keys and headed for the door. Reno just did not understand the excitement the little girl had about getting the mail. It's not like she was going to receive anything. The man shrugged, it'd give her something to do. A loud hum sounded as the apartment's lights flickered.
'Shit...' Reno ran for the door.
"Marlene! Don't use the elevator!" Thunder sounded once again, the noise shook the entire building. Reno stuck his head out into the hallway just as the young girl reached the top of the stairs. The entire place went dark. "Marlene! Wait-!"
"Ah!" the girl screamed. The man stumbled to the railing of the stairs, listening to the hard tumbling of the child falling down the staircase.
"Marlene!" Reno darted down the stairs, the lightning being his only light.
"What happened!?" Denzel rushed into the hall.
"Stay up there! Don't come down! Try to find the flashlight or something!" Reno sputtered.
'Damn it, damn it, damn it! Tifa's gonna kill me!' the man crouched onto the floor.
"Marlene? You alright?" He ran his hands over the floor, trying to find her in the dark. His eyes were adjusting.
"Ow..." the girl's voice sounded.
"Ok! Don't panic...everything will be fine." The man's chest was pounding.
'What the hell do I do?' He took a deep breath.
"You hurt?"
"Yeah." The girl began to cry.
"Shit. Ok...Can you move at all?" he was terrified of touching her, afraid he'd make it worse. "Ow!" the waterworks began. The girl grabbed her arm and started screeching like an injured bird.
"Shh! Marlene. You're alright. Nothing we can't fix, alright?" Reno stuck his arms under the girl and lifted. "We're going back upstairs. I'm gonna call to get some help to make sure nothings broken."
"Daddy..." Marlene cried.
'Oh damn...daddy. And I was afraid of Tifa?' Reno wanted to cry himself. This was not good.
"Found one!" Denzel's voice shouted from the hall once again.
"Point it at the stairs!" Reno called out. A bright light flooded into the stairwell. The man made his way up slowly.
"What happened!?" Denzel hollered.
"She fell down the stairs." Reno rushed by the young boy, taking the girl to the couch in the living room.
"What are we gonna do!?" Denzel grabbed the sides of his head.
"I don't know..." Reno ran his fingers through his hair, messing it up at the base of his ponytail. "I gotta call..." the man thought long and hard.
He didn't know any doctors. Nor did he know where any of the new hospitals were. He never cared to look. He also didn't keep his phone books. The only people he ever called were those in his cell phone.
"I can call..." He rushed to his phone. "I know!"
Elena went through the drawers in her kitchen. She had to have at least matches and some birthday candles. It didn't help that the sun was setting earlier this time of year. The apartment was pitch black.
"Damn storms...This area always has thunderstorms." the woman cursed as her phone began vibrating across the table. She rose to her feet and approached the blinking red light that belonged to her phone.
"Hello..." Elena returned to the drawer in the kitchen. She used the glow from the phone to navigate her drawers. "What!? I...you're talking too fast! What happened!?"
The woman stood quickly.
"Why are you watching them?" she made her way to the front door, putting on her shoes. "You need me to come over now?"
The woman sighed as she stumbled through her apartment looking for her purse. All the while listening to the frantic chatter on her phone.
"What!? Reno! How the hell could you let that happen!?" She snatched her purse up from beside her couch. "Well, is she alright? I mean...she's still alive, right?" the woman rolled her eyes.
"Yeah I'll be there in a minute. Ok...yeah...I'll be careful on the stairs." the woman shut the cover of her phone.
'Reno, how the hell do you get into these messes?' The blonde grabbed her coat and headed out the door.
"Where is she!?" Reno bit his thumbnail.
"You alright? You look worse than Marlene." Denzel stared at the nervous man next to him.
"I'm fine. I just want to get her to the hospital or something."
"Am I gonna die?" Marlene sniffled. She held onto her arm.
"No!" Reno slapped his forehead. "You'll be fine."
"I thought that woman lived on the top floor as well." Denzel scratched his head.
"She does, but in a different building. This is a big complex." Reno imagined the pain he'd go through after this with Elena, making her go out in a storm like this.
"Reno?" a woman's voice sounded in the hall. The door to the complex was still open.
"Yo!" He called out. A drenched Elena shuffled into the room. She glared at the man, her mascara running. She wiped at her eyes.
"Where is she?" the woman took off her jacket and made her way to the couch. Denzel pointed his light at Marlene. "You okay?" Elena's tone changed to that of a loving mother. She eyed the pizza and ice cream on the table.
"My arm hurts." Marlene sniffed.
"Can I see?" Elena held out her hand. The girl moved her other hand out of the way and tried to move the injured appendage. Elena touched it softly.
"It hurts." Marlene said quickly. Elena sighed deeply and eyed the red headed man.
"Reno...why didn't you take her to the hospital?"
"I don't know where one is."
"How can you not know where the hospital is!?" Elena slapped the man on the arm.
"Ow! I just never thought of it!" Reno folded his arms.
"Well what would you do if you hurt yourself!? Call me!? Call Rude? You won't always be able to get a hold of one of us!" the angry woman hissed. "You should be prepared for things like this, especially when watching children. What if something more serious had happened...like that time when Hojo sent the soldiers to my place!"
Reno cringed at the thought. He was sure Elena wasn't going to make it. He had never been so edgy and nervous in his entire life. He had never seen so much blood in his entire life.
"Ok...Elena. I get it! Just help me out here! Show me where the hospital is and you can go back home."
"Come on." Elena turned away from the man and faced the children. "It's still raining out there. You should get your jackets, it's very cold. My car is parked out front and ready to go. I'll go down the stairs first. Bring that light with you."
Denzel grabbed his coat and slid it on quickly. He pointed the light at the stairs.
"Here." Reno lifted a small, red jacket and placed it on Marlene's shoulders. "Slide in your good arm and hold your coat close so you don't get cold."
"Is it broken?" Marlene asked.
"Are they going to amputate it!?" Denzel asked.
"No!" Reno and Elena yelled at the same time.
"Ok, sweetie. You hold my hand while we go down the stairs." Elena held onto the girl's small hand.
They made their way to the car outside. Marlene sat in the front next to Elena while Denzel and Reno occupied the back.
"Nice car!" Denzel beamed.
"It's better than Reno's." Marlene added.
Elena looked through the rear view mirror glancing at the pouting Reno in the back. She suppressed a giggle.
The car drove slowly through the pouring rain. The windshield wipers could barely clear the view on its highest setting. It would take a while, but Marlene would be in a hospital soon and her arm would be taken care of.
"Reno..." Denzel murmured.
"What?" Reno eyed the boy suspiciously.
"I don't feel good."
"Anything you want to tell me?" Red XIII approached the woman by the window.
"Like what?" Aeris asked as she braided her hair.
"You know what I'm talking about." the animal sat next to her. She sat on the sill next to the window. Her leg dangled, swinging back and forth.
"...It's nothing to worry about, Red." she sighed.
"I think it is, Aeris." the animal snorted.
"I've been having a hard time lately." she began.
"With what?" he looked at her with his good eye.
"Pretty much everything." her body slumped against the glass.
"...Hm..." the beast thought. "Personal things?"
"Some." she stared at the stars overhead. The plane drifted through the darkening sky.
"Something you want to talk about or no?"
"I'm not sure."
"Anything to do with what I want to talk with you about?" the animal's tail twitched as he felt a poke on the back of his neck. He watched as Aeris giggled and ran her toes through the fur on his back.
"Yeah." Aeris removed her foot.
"I smelt him, Aeris." The animal lifted his paws onto the sill. He looked out into the darkness as well. "What happened?"
"Nothing, really. I'm actually really confused by it." She halfway lied.
"Aeris, you need to tell us. You can't keep this a secret, it's very serious."
"I know, Red. I just...I'm afraid to." she twirled her bangs. "Things wouldn't work right if I did. Besides, he told me not to tell anyone anyways."
"Aeris, you know there's nothing left of that man that could possibly be any good." the beast breathed against the window pane.
"..." she didn't reply.
"What is he planning?"
"He wants me to keep everything a secret. He wants me to do something for him and I cannot tell anyone or else he will back out of our deal."
"Deal!?" the animal gave her a shocking glance.
"I know I shouldn't believe him...but I just cannot take the chance."
"Who's he going to hurt?"
"..." Aeris was alarmed. Red XIII knew exactly what was going on. "He said he'd hurt all of you, of course. I can't be the cause of that. That's why I'm not mentioning anything to anybody and you can't either, Red!"
"Aeris I know you don't want to hurt anyone, but you will most certainly get yourself hurt if you play his game. And you know in the end, he will not hesitate to kill us all anyways." he explained.
"I know!" Aeris covered her face. "What should I do, Red? He's..."
"What, Aeris. You need to tell me! I promise I won't mention anything to the others, but you just cannot keep all this in. You have to tell someone something!" the animal placed a paw on the woman's leg.
"He's going to do terrible things to Zack. And to make sure, he'll get Cloud too." She stuttered.
"What kinds of terrible things?" Red raised an eyebrow.
"I...I can't say. It was too horrible. I can't even think, imagine what he can do. And he said he'd make sure I witnessed every bit of it, along with everyone else and one by one they'd be taken down." she shivered. "And...well, you can guess what he'd do to Tifa and Yuffie before he finally killed them."
"He's sick..." Red growled. His claws dug into the windowsill.
"And he'd keep me alive. So I would see everything, and live through the rest of my life alone, without anyone. He'd make sure he'd haunt me forever and," she paused a moment. "he said he'd stop by to see me every know and then. Whenever he felt like it, to make sure that I always felt pain."
"You don't have to say anymore about that." Red stopped her. He didn't want to hear it. "What do you have to do for him?"
"I...he said I have to do a few certain tasks for him. If I don't do exactly as he says, he'll do something drastic. I don't want anymore people to get hurt, Red." she dropped to the floor and sat next to the animal, hugging him. "If I can have the chance to keep you all safe, the world safe...then I'll do anything. You know that."
"I know. You have already done that for us in the past." Red sighed. "You cannot tell me of these tasks?"
"No. I know that no matter what I say, if I tell you, you won't let me."
"These tasks won't put you in danger?"
"I have to do them. I must. Don't worry about me." She felt herself more composed. "I have a plan."
"A plan?" Red tilted his head.
"Red...I think I just figured out how to get rid of him." she smiled.
"And you're not going to tell me anything?"
"Sorry, it's against the rules! Don't worry, you know a lot more than I was originally going to tell you." the woman stood and made her way to the room she was staying in.
'But I still know nothing about what's going on...' the fiery animal laid onto the ground. He watched the stars pass by over head.
"Grandpa...what is she going to do? What is Sephiroth going to make her do?"
"She is one lucky little girl." the doctor chuckled.
"Yeah like falling down the stairs is lucky..." Reno scoffed. He was elbowed by Elena.
"So it's not serious then?" Elena asked.
"She'll be fine. Just give her some of these painkillers and within the next week she should be just about back to normal. She'll have to take it easy though." the doctor looked down at the little girl. "No rough housing and don't use that arm for the next couple of weeks just to be sure it heals correctly."
"But...how do I write?" Marlene stared at the braces around her wrist, elbow and shoulder.
"You'll have to be left handed for a while, but it won't be permanent. No broken bones, but a couple of sprains and a slight fracture. Just take it easy. You may want to ice it every once and a while to help keep down the swelling."
"Thank you so much for your help, doctor." Elena shook the man's hand.
"No problem." the doctor looked at the little boy sitting on the table next to Marlene's. "As for him...No more pizza and ice cream. I gave him something to settle his stomach." the doctor eyed Reno.
"..." Reno shuffled uncomfortably.
"I suggest you watch them carefully the next few days." the doctor smirked.
"I'll check up on them everyday." Elena reassured the man.
"Ok. Well, they're free to go." the two children hopped off the tables and made their way to the door.
"Thanks again!" Elena smiled and the group rushed out the door.
"I bet you think I'm a horrible babysitter." Reno scoffed at himself.
"No. What happened with Marlene was an accident. It could have happened to anyone." Her brown eyes met his blue. "As for Denzel, you need to feed those kids some real food."
"I figured that one was coming." Reno scratched an eyebrow.
"How about I come over and make dinner for them? I can teach you how to cook so you don't get sick from all the pizza and beer as well." Elena poked the man's stomach.
"Hey, no poking!" Reno slapped her hand away.
"Was that...?" Elena smirked. "You feel a little soft, Reno."
"Soft!?" Reno grabbed at his stomach.
"You really should cut down on the fast food. Looks like its catching up with you." she giggled as she opened the car doors for the kids.
"Is it really?" Reno whined.
"..." Elena looked at the man out of the corner of her eye, an evil smirk crossed her face. She did not reply.
"Elena!? Am I getting fat!?"
There was no response. The silence was killing him and Elena knew it. The car ride back to the apartments remained in silence, besides Reno's grumbles and mumbles. The rain had let up quite a bit, but sleet had followed, and all power had seemed to return to the buildings in their neighborhood. She glanced at the clock by the car radio. It was getting late. Her eyes fell to the children. They both were sound asleep. She pulled up next to Reno's building and stopped the car.
"What are you doing?" Reno asked.
"Helping you with the kids." She whispered. She opened her door and made her way to Marlene's. She opened the door and gently lifted the small girl. Reno followed her actions and grabbed the boy. He would have easily woken up the brat and made him walk, but he wasn't about to take any chances of him catching his second wind for the night.
Reno and Elena made their way to the elevator. They rode in silence, the only sounds being the soft breaths from the children. Elena smiled and ran her fingers through Marlene's long, dark hair. She eyed Reno. He was staring at her. She felt her cheeks turn a shade of red. Reno cleared his throat, suddenly feeling very awkward. The bell's 'ding' was a sound of salvation as the doors slid open. The adults made their way to Reno's apartment.
"Bedroom?" Elena asked.
"Back here." Reno led the way to the guest room in the back of the apartment down the hall.
They tucked the two kids in snuggly. Reno walked to the thermostat and raised the heat a notch. He turned to look behind him. Elena was crouching by the bed. She gave both children a kiss on the forehead. A big smile crossed her face.
'What is she thinking?' Reno walked out of the room. He made his way to the kitchen. He listened as the lamp in the kid's bedroom 'clicked' off and Elena made her way into the other room.
"They're cute." Elena spoke up.
"Hmm...if you say so." Reno grabbed two glasses from his counter.
"You think they're a handful?" Elena asked.
"Not so much now as I did at first." the man grabbed a bottle from one of the cabinets. It was filled with a copper colored liquid. Elena smirked. "Tell ya the truth, I was scared to hell when she fell down those stairs." he breathed a laugh.
"I can imagine. I probably would have freaked out too." She giggled. Reno handed her a glass.
"You get used to them and then they do something like that. You always gotta be on your guard." Reno chuckled.
"Kids always do keep you on your toes." She sipped from her glass. The liquid was warm down her throat. She smiled. "You think you'd ever have any kids?"
"After that shit, hell no." Reno shook his head. "I'd be a horrible father!"
"You're not horrible." Elena laughed. "You've never watched kids before, have you?"
"Nope."
"You just need practice. I bet when Tifa gets back, you won't want to see them leave."
"Yeah, who wouldn't want to go back to eating pizza, drinking beer, and watching TV in your own privacy without having to worry about running to the hospital late at night cause of some freak accident?"
"You're horrible!" Elena laughed.
"See, I told ya." A comfortable silence fell between the two. Elena walked to the window. She shivered and took a big gulp of her drink.
"Keeps ya warm." Reno held up the glass.
"It does." She smiled. Her mind drifted somewhere else. She thought of other things that would be better than a drink to stay warm. "Well...I better be going, Reno. I'm sure you have a long day with the kids!"
"Said they wanted to go to the zoo, but it's been so cold lately, I don't think it'd be a good idea." Reno leaned against the counter. Elena was staring at him. "What?"
"You like to act like you don't care." She smirked and filled up her glass with more of the liquid. Reno raised an eyebrow. Elena was a total light weight when it came to alcohol and she was already going for her second glass. Usually the first got her into what Reno would call 'thinking' mode. It would sometimes put her in weird moods or begin odd conversations.
"I don't." he played along.
"You care about them. If you didn't you wouldn't even think about taking them to the zoo, spoiling them with ice cream and pizza, and worry so much when they got hurt."
"I was worried about what Tifa would say." Reno retorted.
"Sure." Elena giggled. "You're just a big ol' softy!" She poked his belly and laughed at the double meaning.
"Yo! I'm not soft...emotionally or physically." he grumbled.
"You're very soft, aren't you?" Elena leaned in very close.
"Um..." Reno cleared his throat as Elena poked his belly again.
She loved teasing him. She knew it drove Reno crazy, picking on him about his physical looks. For a man that dressed messy, he cared deeply about the way his body looked. Her finger poked his stomach again, she felt the muscle underneath his shirt. She laughed at the way his face contorted.
"Don't get me started..." Reno poked the side of Elena's thigh.
"Oh!" She grabbed the sides of her legs. "What!?"
"You know." Reno chuckled.
"Are...oh my god! I am getting fat!" Elena stared at her thighs. Her fore-shortened view made the sight ever worse.
"I was jes' kiddin' Elena." Reno watched as she stared at her reflection in the window. She poked her sides, hips, stomach, thighs, and then finally backside.
"My goodness..." She gawked as she stuck out her butt.
"Elena...stop." Reno rolled his eyes.
"Oh...look. I'm huge." She took another drink and set the glass on the table.
'What in the world is she doing now?' the red head stared in wonder as the woman tugged her dress shirt from her pants and lifted it to show her bare belly. She poked herself and sniffled.
"Oh boy. Elena. You look fine!" He grabbed her hands and pulled her shirt down. She needed to stop that immediately.
"You said I was fat!" Elena whimpered and downed the rest of her drink.
"I was just kidding and, besides, I didn't say you were fat. I just poked you."
"I guess we both are getting old, aren't we? Getting old and fat."
'Here we go. She found her mood and conversation.' Reno smirked at how goofy she could be after a few drinks.
"Oh! Where has the time gone? Not married yet, no children, and now my metabolism has died." She held a hand to her forehead. "And I think I found a gray hair the other day!"
"Elena. You're being ridiculous! You're still in your twenties!"
"We're pushing thirty!"
"You worry too much, we're not that old...holy crap! I'm almost thirty!" the two groaned at the thought of in a few to a couple of years they would be 'old'. "You're younger than me! What do you have to worry about?"
"I'm not that much younger! Only...a year or two. How old are you anyway!?" Elena giggled.
"...I don't know." Reno gasped. "What year is it!?"
"Stop, you...dork." Elena rolled her eyes.
"Weren't you in high school when you joined?" Reno asked.
"Hm. Yeah that was a long time ago." Elena smiled. "My sister had joined and I was so aggravated."
"Why is that?" Reno sat on a chair by the woman.
"Just...her and everyone in her group. They would always pick on me about not being strong enough. They always acted like they were better than me." Elena lowered their head.
"Yeah but you showed them, right? You got in there and now look at ya. You're working with the president basically every day."
"...I suppose. But, maybe they were right." she sipped from her glass. "Maybe I shouldn't be a Turk. Maybe I really am not strong enough."
"What do you mean?" Reno rested an elbow on the table.
"I was only allowed in when you got hurt after battling AVALANCHE. After that, I couldn't save Tseng, was shot up by Hojo's soldiers, was captured by Kadaj, and...well who knows what I'll screw up next."
"Elena..." Reno tilted his head. "You are strong. You've lasted this long without getting killed. Thats a plus. Many people can't last this long. The thing with Tseng was unavoidable. You know that. It was all Sephiroth's fault."
"Maybe I just feel like I'm not as successful as I thought I'd be."
"What? You're very successful. You have a great apartment, car, well paying job..." Reno thought a moment. He hesitated. "And you have Ts-."
"But...after seeing those kids today, made me think. I'm not married and I don't have children. Who knows if I ever really will have any of those. Being a Turk kinda keeps you from all that, doesn't it?" Elena thought a moment. "What a horrible job to have when you have children."
"...It's not that bad anymore. Shinra is a lot better now. It's not so... evil." Reno took a big drink.
"I know." Elena stood. The man followed her actions. They met each other's stare. "I always get wound up after drinking that stuff, Reno. You know that." She smiled.
"It's alright." he shrugged. They stared a moment before Elena turned her gaze away. "Oh...it's snowing."
"Huh?" He turned his head to the window. "It is."
The tiny white flakes danced in the air over the city.
"Looks like no zoo tomorrow, huh?" Elena giggled. "Well, I better be off. I have work in the morning. I'll be off by five. I'll come over afterwards to cook dinner."
"You don't have to do that Elena."
"No?" Elena walked to the door. She slid her jacket over her arms. "I think it'd be best for everyone if I did. Who knows what you'd feed them for dinner."
"I'm not that irresponsible."
"I'll teach you to cook. It'll be fun." Elena poked the man in the gut before opening the door and venturing out into the hall. "See you tomorrow, Reno."
"Later." He shut the door behind the woman.
'She's a handful sometimes.' Reno let out a breath.
Aeris wandered around the plane. Her thoughts were interrupting her chances of sleep. There was nothing she could do to keep her mind blank. She was nearing Kadaj's room. She noticed the light was on. She held her ear against the metal door, listening. There was no sound. She brought her hand to the doorknob and turned it slowly, cracking the door open. She smiled at the sight before her.
'That's cute.'
Kadaj lay on his back, sprawled across the bed. He was breathing heavily in his deep sleep, his mouth gaped open. His chest heaved up and down with each breath, the cat laying upon him purred quietly.
'I wonder if it's a good idea to keep him locked up in this plane all day and night?' Aeris shut off the light in the room. She stared a moment longer at the snoozing two.
'Maybe I'll tell Cait to take him outside tomorrow, get him some fresh air.'
The woman shut the door quietly and made her way back towards her room. She felt her heart drop as she passed the next room. It was Zack's room. She had refused to be in the same room with him and had acted rather cold about it. She frowned. Maybe that's why she couldn't sleep.
'I have to. I need to keep everyone safe.' Aeris pushed away her sadness. 'Speaking of that. Maybe I...'
"I can't...It would be so hard..." Aeris lowered her head and turned away from the man's closed door. She heard a soft click behind her. She quickly spun back around to find the door of Zack's bedroom open and the man's face staring at her.
"Thought I heard something..." He mumbled sleepily. His glowing blue eyes blinked slowly. "You alright?"
'Why does he always have to be so damned nice to me!?' Aeris bit her lip.
"I'm fine." She said quickly and turned to walk away. Her long braid swirled with the twist of her hips.
"Wait." he grabbed her wrist. "What did I do?" he looked at her with his sleepy blue eyes. His dark hair was messy.
"...Nothing." Aeris said in an icy tone and tugged her hand out of his.
"Aeris." He squint his eyes. "Why don't you talk to me for a bit? You've been very distant lately, especially today. Is this about Cloud and me fighting? You know I couldn't help that-."
"No. It has nothing to do with that." Aeris thought a moment. She took a deep breath, wringing her hands.
"Than what is it? You can tell me anything." Zack gave her a reassuring smile.
'Why does he have to be so damn cute?' Aeris felt her eyes burning.
"Fine." she began. How was she going to pull this off? "Zack..."
There was a long silence. It was beginning to make Zack nervous. Maybe it really did have nothing to do with the fight, maybe it had nothing to do with any of the events from today. What if it actually had to do with the two of them? Zack glanced at her wrists. She wasn't wearing her golden bracelets; he swallowed hard.
"Zack, I think we should take a break." she said quickly.
"...What?" He asked quietly. Aeris turned her head away. The look on his face was awful. "Wait...what do you mean by 'break'?" he stumbled out of his room and grabbed her shoulders.
"Zack, I just don't love you anymore!" she shoved him away. "Just leave me alone!" the woman turned quickly, tears streaming down her face.
"A, Aeris...?" Zack stuttered. His voice didn't work anymore. He heard the door of her room slam shut.
'What...what just happened?' the man leaned against the wall for support.
"She...she doesn't love me?" Zack took in a ragged breath. His hand clutched at his chest.
"I hate you! I hate you! I hate you!" a muffled sound came from Aeris' room, another stab at Zack's heart.
"I hate you! I hate you! I hate you!" Aeris plopped onto her bed.
'I hate you so much, Sephiroth! How can this help you any? You're just toying with us!' Aeris screamed into her pillow.
"I hate you, Sephiroth! I hope you die the worst death imaginable." Aeris sobbed into her pillow.
"Hey." Cloud muttered as he sipped his cup of steaming coffee.
"...Hey..." Zack said almost inaudibly.
"What's wrong?" the blond tilted his head. His spikes swayed to the side.
"Nothing." Zack cleared his throat. "You see Aeris today?"
"Nope, why?" the blond set his cup onto the table.
"...Just wanted to talk to her about something."
"You don't look so good. You sick or something?"
"Yeah, I guess." Zack laid his head on the table. "Didn't sleep well last night." he said in a low tone.
"Hm. Looks like it." Cloud raised a suspicious eyebrow.
"Where are we?" Zack sat up in the chair.
"City of the Ancients. Cid told me that Aeris had told him to come here last night. I figure it may have something to do with her getting back her materia. Strange that she didn't mention it to anybody before making the decision." he stirred the thin red straw in his paper cup.
"Yeah, she's been making a lot of strange decisions lately." Zack muttered irritably.
"You and her get into a fight or something?" Cloud asked. The question seemed awkward between the two of them.
"Naw, doesn't matter." Zack stood. "When are we leaving?"
"Right now, actually." Cloud glanced at the large clock on the wall. "Ready to head out?"
"Yeah. Let me get my sword." the dark haired man shoved away from the table and headed for the weaponry room.
'In the entire time I've known Zack, I've never seen him this...weird.' Cloud followed his friend.
"You sure every thing's fine Zack? I mean, usually you're so much more...uh, bubbly."
"Bubbly?" Zack looked over his shoulder.
"Bad word to use?" Cloud smirked. "Even when you're not feeling well you're more of the 'look on the bright side' kinda guy."
"Yeah well today, there is no bright side." Zack frowned. "Let's go get this over with."
"Sounds good to me." Cloud followed the man. "You've gotta stop this."
"Just drop it." Zack mumbled.
"No...we can't have two people acting like this! You're cramping my style." Cloud chuckled.
"Maybe we'll switch roles for today. I'll be the depressed asshole and you can be the cheery guy who always makes others feel better." Zack smirked at the glare he received.
"...Ok." the blond nodded.
The two men headed for the main cabin. Zack paused by the window. Aeris was outside, along with Kadaj and Cait Sith. They were running around like children playing tag. He watched the woman run in circles, giggling and twirling to get away from the silver haired man. His heart was beating fast. Kadaj wrapped his arms around her. The two stumbled and fell to the ground. Cait Sith pounced on top of the pile. Zack growled as he clenched his fists and glared outside.
"Woah...someone's cranky today." Yuffie backed away from the man she was about to start a conversation with.
"Shut it." Zack poked the girl's forehead.
"Jerk." Yuffie rubbed her forehead.
Cloud stared out the window as he talked to Cid. He had seen the same events as Zack. There had to have been something going on between Zack and Aeris.
"Get yer stuff. We're headin' out!" Cid shouted. He grabbed the intercom and yelled the same orders to those who were outside.
Zack stared outside again as Aeris picked up her staff and re-wrapped the scarf around her neck. The ground was covered in snow. The City was glowing with a starry night brilliance. The woman skipped up to Kadaj. She held a delicate hand up to her lips as she giggled and conversed with the clone. Kadaj stared at the plane with sadness and looked back at Aeris; he pointed at her. Aeris placed a hand on the man's shoulder.
'She's more physical with him than she's been with me in weeks.'
Zack looked to the side a moment. He gaped at the new scene before him. Aeris hugged the man with silver hair and slowly led him to the plane.
"That's is..." Zack growled.
"Bye!" Kadaj waved. Everyone had left the plane but Zack and now it was just the two of them. The young man turned and found himself face to face with Zack. He stumbled backwards.
"Stay away from her!" Zack glared. "I know you're up to something." he pushed his way past the clone.
"I..." Kadaj stammered.
"Leave her alone. You're only going to cause her trouble." Zack slammed the door behind himself.
'Looks like someone's jealous, mother.' Kadaj smiled.
"'Kay. Now this here do-hickey will dive into that there water an' I can control 'er with this." Cid held up a remote. "Jes' like a toy. Ya push this switch here and the screen turns on. An' then you push this one an' it'll navigate it's way to whatever it is yer searchin' for. Finally, push this lil' butt'n here an' the arm comes out. This can be used to pick up things, like yer materia." Cid demonstrated the functions of the remote controlled submarine.
"Nice lil' contraption you got 'ere." Yuffie drawled.
"It's perfect Cid, thank you." Aeris smiled.
"Ya wan' me to control it?" Cid smirked.
"Sure, Cid. It's your machine." Aeris grinned.
"Awright! Getting' started!" Cid dropped the machine into the water and began working the controls. "Heh, jes' like the real thang!"
Zack and Cloud leaned against one of the many pillars surrounding the platform in the center of the city, where Aeris had been murdered. They both sighed and rested their heads back.
"What's with them?" Tifa nudged the ninja girl next to her.
"Beats me. I mean, Cloud's always like that, but Zack...who knows."
"Those boys sure have been brats lately." Tifa folded her arms.
"Hey! That wasn't so bad!" Cid cheered.
"You got it!?" Aeris hopped up and down.
"Sure did!" Cid reached into the water and pulled out the toy sub's arm. He snatched the green orb from it's mechanical fingers and dropped it into Aeris' palm.
"Thank you, Cid!" Aeris cheered and wrapped her arms around the man's neck.
"Aw, jeez. Wasn't nuthin'." Cid blushed slightly. "Hey! What's that!?" the man dropped to his hands and knees, staring at the screen on the remote.
"What do you see?" Red padded towards the man.
"Looks like some type of tunnels 'er sumthin'." Cid squint his eyes.
"Tunnels?" Aeris asked hopefully.
"You know something about this?" Vincent asked the woman. He shared a thoughtful glance with Shelke. The young girl had decided to join the others on their journey in hopes of finding more data.
"Um, no! I...I'm just curious, is all. Is there a way to get to them, Cid?" Aeris stared at the water. Red XIII gave her a curious look.
"Beats me, I'll go take a look." He snatched the controller up and began navigating the sub into the tunnels. "Seems like that far wall over there is where those tunnels are sprouting from. Perhaps if we can make a hole there we can drop into 'em and check 'em out."
"Why would we want to check them out?" Yuffie shivered. "They've gotta be filled with spiders! Grossness!"
"I think we should." Aeris said quickly. "I mean, there may be more information in there, like what Bugenhagen found." she turned to Red.
"Grandpa..." Red thought a moment. Aeris was giving him a hopeful look. "I agree. I think we should take a look." he had received the hint. Cloud and Zack exchanged a strange look.
"I have read something in Hojo's files about there being a missing text of some kind hidden within the bowels of the city. Perhaps this is what he meant." Shelke thought aloud.
"Le's do it." Barret shrugged. "Maybe there's some treasure or sumthin'."
"Doubt that one, Barret, but it would be cool." Yuffie patted the man on the back.
"Let's jes' put a piece of dynamite 'ere an' we'll blast us a lil hole." Cid lit the fuse of the stick in his hand.
"Holy! Cid! Warn us a little sooner!" the group darted to safety as Cid chucked the explosive against the wall. A loud blast sounded. It echoed for an eternity, vibrating eardrums and the structure of the building.
"Hope you didn't ruin anything we haven't explored yet." Yuffie grumped.
"Eh, it'll be fine." Cid shrugged. "Lets go!"
'Tunnels...around the center of the city.' Aeris bit her lower lip. 'Just like he said...'
Ok, thats the end of this chapter. I hope you all enjoyed it! Anything you want to see more of just let me know! Thanks for reading and reviewing! -Annubis