Lost in the Shadows
Chapter 8 - Dark Feelings
Disclaimer: I do not own FF7 and its characters, settings or the like. These words, however, are mine.
Wutai had become one of the busiest towns around Gaia, expanding greatly to accommodate refugees and tourists. The bars and various shops were usually bustling with business.
But not today.
The bar to the South of Wutai, was unusually quiet. The usual drunkards weren't sleeping on the tables and there were no random fights breaking out. The only inhabitants of the bar currently were three people. The best customers of any bar on Gaia.
The Turks.
Elena was fuming, you could practically see the stream streaming from her ears. Her eyes danced with flames as she stared at her two companions, Reno and Rude.
"What. On. GAIA. DO. YOU. THINK. YOU'RE. DOING!" Elena screamed, causing Reno to jump out of his seat and knock Elena over due to his lack of balance. They both fell over and Reno's confused look didn't last for long.
Giving Elena a smirk, he made a comment.
"Geez 'Laney. Didn't know you felt this wayyy.." Reno slurred slightly. Elena's face went beet red and she jumped up, pausing just long enough to kick him in the gut.
"You idiot!" Elena said.
"Elena. What is it that you want?" Rude asked her, his voice unusually calm and steady for someone who had been drinking so much moments before.
Elena blinked for a second before what he had said registered in her mind, not finding Rude's statement very rude at all.
"Oh!" She squealed.
She sat and Reno's stool, making sure to step on him. His yell of protest as she sat was ignored by both of his friend's and he decided on a different tactic..
"Well. Avalanche, Tifa to be specific, just phoned me through my PHS and said she needed our help and to get to Cosmo Canyon as soon as pos--"
Elena said no more as she felt something take hold of her foot and jerk her to the floor. She let out a small scream as she fell off right onto Reno.
Reno smiled.
Elena glared.
An all out war began and lasted for several minutes before Rude broke them up. He pointed out that they should probably be moving, as Avalanche would phone them last for any help whatsoever. It had to be important.
Elena agreed and stood up kicking Reno down when he tried to stand.
"Hey-y-y... Rude, you guna leh er do that?" Reno asked.
Rude gave him a glance before helping Reno to his feet. The moment he had Reno balanced he let go. Reno fell over.
He sighed. This was going to be a long journey...
Emerald green eyes snapped open in the middle of the night. Aerith's eyes searched around the room wildly, as if chasing something. She sighed after a moment, realizing that it had only been a dream. Slightly turning her head, she found Sephiroth sleeping on the other bed. Tiptoeing as quietly and quickly as she could, she walked over to the window after slipping out of her bed.
Thoughts returned to her as she gazed out the three paned window in the room she shared with Sephiroth. Thoughts that scared her more than anything else. That day the Planet had first told Sephiroth and herself that they were going to be sent back to Earth, she was overjoyed! The next thing she knew, she couldn't control her mind. She was lost in an abyss of darkness. The Planet had told her something that still gave her the shivers just thinking about it.
Looking over at Sephiroth again, she felt a pang of guilt. She knew she had to tell him eventually, but she was scared, scared that if she said it aloud, it would finally be true. It would finally be real.
Shaking her head, new thoughts entered her mind. What was she to do about Avalanche? What could she do?
Cloud had been so unbelievably mad. She'd known how much Cloud despised his former idol but she hadn't thought he'd go so far as to blame his own team members, his best friends, for deliberately not telling him, obviously for good reasons as she had seen the volcano that was Cloud Strife's temper explode.
Aerith couldn't help but be scared for Tifa, too. She had looked so...Scared. Was it really that bad, what had happened to her? Or was there something else that plagued her mind? It was after all the first time she'd gone into such a state even thoughshe had seen the man countless times before.She'd turned such a ghostly shade of white, Aerith was surprised that she hadn't fallen over.
Aerith shook her head and turned around. She definitely needed some sleep.
Turning, she came face to face with an identical pair of green eyes. Startled, she nearly feel into the window behind her, but she was steadied by the person in front of her.
"Sephy! Don't do that!" Aerith whisper-screamed.
He rolled his eyes before staring at her.
"What?" Aerith asked, becoming uncomfortable underhis scrutiny. She knew he wasn't able to hurt her, but still, the memories of his blade made the clean wound in her stomach were always there.
"What are you doing up so late?" Sephiroth asked.
"Um... Just thinking…" Aerith said, slipping past him. She didn't want him knowing anything the Planet had told her yet. Not yet.
Sephiroth watched her clamber into her bed and lay down. He had woken up after hearing something only to be described as a choked sob. Was she unaware of it? It certainly looked like she was.
He raised and eyebrow at her when she looked his way.
"What?" She said.
Sephiroth shook his head and waved away her question. There was no use trying to get it out of her. He had the suspicion she was keeping something from him though. Why, he couldn't figure out.
Aerith slowly turned over onto her side and let out a sigh. Closing her eyes, she let the darkness and the disturbing dreams take her.
Sephiroth couldn't help but wonder what she was thinking about. It had been enough to draw some sort of feeling from her. He was so confused right now.
Strife didn't help the matter.
The way Strife had gone on before, Sephiroth was surprised he had kept himself in check. He kept telling himself to do it for the Planet, his mother, Aerith and the Gastsbutby the time Tifa had finally stepped in, he was sure he was ready to explode.
Sephiroth felt a pang of guilt at the thought of Tifa. Had he really caused so much damage that she couldn't stand to be near him? He knew he'd done wrong, but the color of her face was enough to put anyone into silence.
Sephiroth wondered what things were going to be like. He wasn't sure he'd be able to go days without starting a fight with Strife, without hacking him to pieces.
He shook the thoughts from his head, welcoming as they may be, and focused on the rest of Avalanche.
That annoying girl and the ex-Turk didn't seem to mind him much. Why, he wasn't so sure, but he was positive he'd seen Vincent clench his fists and his jaw. Everytime Vincent had seen him, actually.
Sephiroth decided to let the thoughts wither and die and moved back to his bed. His gaze fell onto the sleeping flower girl's face. Again, thoughts crossed through his head and he ended up turning over and away from herto try and rid himself of them.
Letting sleep take him, he was confused as to why Aerith's face was the last thing he saw when the darkness finally overcame him.
Cloud Strife simply couldn't find solace in anything right now. How in the world had Sephiroth been brought back to life?
'Planet... That rock must've hit you somehow...' Cloud thought.
Tifa had fallen asleep the moment she had gotten back to her's and Cloud's room at the inn. She hadn't said a thing to him on the way back, even when he asked her something. He couldn't help but feel worried.
Soon, the anger he felt towards Sephiroth took over the worry and Cloud passed it off as Tifa being tired. It had been a long couple of days for everyone.
He couldn't understand how Aerith could possibly stand being in the same room as the man who murdered her. He shook with rage at the way the seemed to get along. There was no way she had forgiven him!
Although, he couldn't exactly put it past her. She was too trusting for her own good. It could get her killed again or worse! Wasn't she at all scared of what could become of her in his presence?
A sound from across the room broke through his thoughts. It seemed to have stopped the second he noticed it but he listened quietly anyway.
He heard a sob coming from Tifa's direction.
He walked over to her bed and sat down beside her, trying to calm her. She was tossing and turning, caught in the throes of her nightmare. She kept mumbling something unintelligible.
"Tifa… Tifa. Calm down, Tif. I'm here..." Cloud whispered, his thumb tracing the side of her face.
Suddenly, her burgundy eyes snapped open and she shot up nearing knocking Cloud in the head. She looked around for a minute before bursting into tears.
"Tifa?" Cloud asked. He was so puzzled as to why she was crying, not to mention uncomfortable.
It seemed like she hadn't hear him or if she did, it only made her cry that much harder. Cloud took her into his arms and she hugged him so hard, he wasn't sure he'd be awake by the end of this.
He stayed there for the remainder of the night, consoling his best friend.
Albeit wishing for more.
The morning sun was out and shining brightly. The birds were singing peacefully and the clouds danced gracefully in the sky.
Only one creature could be found awake. His red fur and the flame of his tail reflecting the light from the scorching sun. His footsteps echoed in the small corridor he was walking through.
'How had they been brought back? Could it have been that they were... No... It couldn't be...' Nanaki thought.
The resurrection of both Aerith and Sephiroth troubled him to no end. Besides that, if Sephiroth had been brought back, Nanaki could only imagine the kind of danger they must be in. What of Aerith? Why was she back? Was she here simply to keep Sephiroth in line or did she serve a bigger purpose, bigger than that of Sephiroth's?
Nanaki growled at the fact that no suitable or logical idea was coming to him. The fiends that Yuffie and Vincent had seen couldn't have been that bad, could they have? Or was there more behind it than meets the eye?
Nanaki was, for once in his life, at a loss for words. Not only were these questions running through his head, but Aerith seemed to be comfortable around the madman that Avalanche had once defeated.
How close were they? And how close would they become?
He could only imagine Cloud and Sephiroth glaring daggers at each other every five minutes. No, he couldn't only imagine it, he could basically foresee it.The tension could end up tearing the group apart.
Nanaki knew Aerith wouldn't have it though, and wasn't so much concerned about that as he was everything else.
This was no use. Hanging his head and sighing, he decided to wait for everyone else to get up so this discussion could be had and everything could be dealt with accordingly. Slowly, he trudged back to the observatory and waited for everyone to rise.
A scream from the inn resounded. Although, the scream was too familiar for him to be bothered to go and check. Besides, it was sure tohave woken everyone else up.
"VINNIE! GET BACK HERE!" Yuffie screamed. She practically felt Cosmo Canyon shaking due to her outburst.
She heard Vincent chuckling and she turned beet red. He had woken her up so rudely! He'd pulled the pillows out from under her head and had pulled the blanket off her already cold body. She got up rather grumpily and headed for the bathroom when she heard Vincent snickering slightly.
She ran to the bathroom and looked in the mirror. From there, she had run after him screaming.
'Oh my gawd! How could he?' Yuffie go several stares and angry looks from the inhabitants of Cosmo Canyon due to the fact that she now had felt all over her face and the fact that she had screamed so loud.
Ahead of her, Vincent stopped in his place.
'Heheh... Sucker...' Yuffie thought.
When she was close enough, she pounced, aiming for his back. Unfortunatly, he stepped aside and she tumbled to the ground.
"Damn you Vinnie, shoulda known better..." Yuffie said, cursing at the dirt.
She started to pull herself from the ground when she felt Vincent's claw grab her arm and pull her up to her feet. At that moment, she jumped at him, knocking them both to the ground.
"VINNIE? How could you! You jerk, taking advantage of poor little Yuffie?" Yuffie shrieked. Vincent just started laughing.
Yuffie gave him a confused look and he shook it away.
He pushed her off him and stood up, holding his hand out for her. She took it and was halfway in the air when he let go. She fell back down with a thump.
"OH MY GAWD!" Yuffie yelled, jumping up. The chase began once again.
A few hours after Yuffie's outburst, Avalanche along with Aerith and Sephiroth were sitting in the observatory. The tension that filled the air was inadmissible and nobody seemed confident enough to start the conversation.
Cloud and Sephiroth were currently glaring at each other, as they had been doing for the past few minutes. Neither blinked and neither looked away.
Aerith sighed and took charge.
"Sephiroth, stop that now. You too Cloud." Aerith snapped.
Sephiroth backed off but Cloud wasn't so willing. Tifa tapped him on the shoulder before he looked away.
Nanaki started. "Well. We know that fiends that shouldn't be on the Planet are here. The Planet is rather vague about it all and nobody but Yuffie, Vincent, Aerith and Sephiroth have seen them. We don't know where they came from or where they currently reside." Nanaki stopped.
"Cloud, Tifa, did you not find any trace of them at all where Sephiroth and Aerith had seen them?"
Tifa and Cloud looked uncertain for a moment, but Tifa spoke up.
"We did find footprints... But we aren't sure if they were human or... Well, whatever those things were." Tifa said.
"Cid, Barret?" Nanaki queried.
Cid turned red for a second before looking to Barret. Barret looked to him.
Cid sighed, knowing Barret wasn't about to say anything.
"We searched only for a while. There was no &&($ way we were gonna search the whole &( forest. We... Uh, played cards after a while, til' you came to get us." Cid finished lamely.
Everyone groaned and shook their heads.
"Shuddup you foo's! Nobody else did any better, what was the chance of us findin' anythin'?" Barret clipped, falling silent once again.
A few minutes passed and nobody said anything. Cloud and Sephiroth eventually went back to glaring at each other, Yuffie was poking Vincent in the side and Tifa closed her eyes, laying back against the wall. Aerith noticed she looked unusually tired, her hair wasmessed up, she was wearing no make up and her eyes were red.
Nanaki and Cait walked out of the room, sensing the impending doom and chaos about to break out.
Aerith also sensed it coming after she touched Sephiroth's arm, asking him to back off Cloud. The anger in Cloud's face grew and he jumped up.
Sephiroth smirked and whispered something in Aerith's ear.
Aerith went beet red and hit him in the arm.
"THAT'S IT. Get away from him, Aerith!" Cloud yelled, startling Tifa who had almost fallen asleep. He didn't notice though, as he continued his yelling.
Sephiroth stood and whipped out his Masamune. Cloud did the same with his Ultima Weapon. Everyone stared in silence. Cloud moved, bringing down his sword and Aerith shot up, stepping between them.
The Ultima Weapon hovered just over her shoulder. Cloud's eyes grew to an unbelievable size as he realized he could have just injured Aerith or worse.
Barret and Cid couldn't take it anymore. They jumped up and Barret started swinging curses at Sephiroth while Cid yelled at Cloud, asking him what his problem was. Cloud was yelling at Aerith, asking her why she was defending her murderer, but she held her ground until she noticed Tifa.
Yuffie and Vincent sat quietly on the side, desperately hoping for some kind of an agreement to rise between the 5 of them. Yuffie looked to Tifa only to find that she was crying. Aerith yelled at everyone tobe quietand moved over towards the three sitting against the wall.
Yuffie crawled over to Tifa, Vincent behind her and they consoled her.
Aerith looked angrily to the three men in front of her after making sure that Yuffie and Vincent would take care of her.
"How could you be so senseless! This is not the time to be arguing!" She started. "I don't care if you dislike Sephiroth, you need to either put aside your differences and learn to work with him or try to befriend him."
Yuffie decided to speak up.
"Aerith, we're gonna leave you here with these guys. Vinnie and I will take Tif outta here." Yuffie said, glaring pointedly at Cloud and Barret, taking Tifa's arm.
"Yuffie and I do not wish to cause any disruption between the group, but we doforgive you, Sephiroth." Vincent added, knowing it had to be said sooner or later. He took Tifa's other arm and led her out of the room with Yuffie.
Aerith sent them a grateful look before turning back to Cloud.
"Right now. Settle your differences. If I hear anything, and believe me I will, you'll be sorry." Aerith said with the most finality they had ever heard. She walked out of the room, motioning for Cid to follow her, closing the door behind her.
Sephiroth was at a loss for words. How could she just leave him here, alone with these... These people!
'No time for such questions...' Sephiroth said, keeping his temper down.
"Sephiroth, I don't care that you're back to protect Aerith. Stay away from her. You have no right to be here and especially not with her." Cloud snarled.
Amusement flashed in Sephiroth's eyes.
"And you believe that you have that authority over us? Over me?" Sephiroth asked. "It is Aerith's decision, not mine. Even then, I really don't have much of a choice, so I suggest you get used to it."
Cloud's eyes filled with rage.
"Look, I don't like you and you don't like me. I have no intention of getting along with you at all but I'll keep my distance for Aerith and Tifa's sake, though, be warned. Try anything at all, and I'll have your head." Cloud said with such malice, that Barret had to step away from him.
"I'd like to see you try." Sephiroth retaliated, baiting him.
"I've done it before, twice in fact!" Cloud snapped, readying his sword.
"Ha. Had you actually faced me, you wouldn't be here." Sephiroth said.
"Spike, I think ya said all ya wanted tah say." Barret said, his voice edgy.
"I mean it, Sephiroth. You leave Aerith alone." Cloud threatened before walking away, Barret following closely.
Aerith was so sure that she would have hadto go in there and stop some sort of fight from breaking out but to her surprise and relief, Barret came out uttering not a word with Cloud following shortly after. Aerith hadn't heard any sound pointing toward a fight.
She walked into the room to find Sephiroth standing there looking at the wall.
"I take it the wall is very interesting?" Aerith asked, giggling slightly.
Sephiroth turned to her and gave her a sly smile.
"It seems Cloud is rather... Protective of you, ne?" He said. "Is he your mystery boyfriend?" Aerith turned red and took him by his arm, leading him out.
Avalanche was situated around the Cosmo flame, not including Aerith and Sephiroth. Cloud wished to hold a meeting to decide on Sephiroth's place in their group.
Cloud cleared his throat before starting, glancing at Tifa. She had sat with Yuffie and Vincent on the other side of the flame. Away from Cloud. She'd been so emotional lately and nobody, not even he, could get her to confess as to why. He felt guilty, but it couldn't be helped right now. He'd talk to her later.
"We need to decide on whether Sephiroth is going to stay or not." Cloud started. "I want to know how you all feel about him being here."
Cait bounced around joyfully.
"Nanaki and I say he stays! We don't really have a problem with him." He said.
Cloud looked angry for a second before being interrupted by Yuffie.
"Spike man, you gotta get over this. He was being controlled! You had been like that too at one point but we let ya back in. Hell, you're our leader. You already know what Vinnie and I think."
"I'm with those four morons." Cid said, motioning his head to Yuffie, Vincent, Cait and Red.
"I don't want him anywhere near us! That foo' has caused too much damn trouble!" Barret yelled, cursing silently.
"I'm with Barret." Cloud said. He set his gaze on Tifa.
"Tif?" Cloud asked.
She looked up slowly from the position of hanging over her chest before leaning her head on Yuffie's shoulder.
"I don't know. I think we should give him a chance, Cloud. Everyone deserves a second chance, right? And Yuffie is right. He was being controlled." She finished, closing her eyes.
Cloud sighed and nodded.
"Alright. We'll do it. He can st--" Cloud started, but was cut off by the sound of mixed laughter coming from the Cosmo entrance.
The three Turks walked through the entrance and Reno fell over from exhaustion. Rude looked down at him before laughing like a maniac. Everyone's eyes widened.
Elena was apparently the only sane person at that moment.
"Rude, Reno this isn't funny!" She screeched.
Yuffie and Cait got up and bounced over to the distressed Elena to help with the two Turks.
"I don't know what's wrong with them..." Elena trailed off, kicking Reno in the gut.
"Don't worry 'bout it. The 'Great Ninja Yuffie' and her two sidekicks will get them outta here. Vinnie, get over here you lazy butt!" Yuffie yelled.
Avalanche dispersed for the night and they all went their separate ways, doubts and thoughts circling through them.