Lost in the Shadows
Chapter 14 - Tension Prt. 1
Disclaimer: I do not own FF7 and it's characters, settings or the like. These words, however, are mine.
Aerith wasn't sure if things could get much worse. Things between Avalanche had slowly begun to fall apart as the days wore on. The Planet's usually soft and soothing hum was getting quieter by the day and Aerith knew it was only a matter of time before things got beyond controllable.
Sephiroth made a sound of annoyance from across the room. Aerith turned her head slightly to find him pacing.
Cloud had insisted that everyone stay together somehow; they had ended up pairing off. It came as no surprise to Aerith that she had ended up with Sephiroth. She was after all, the only person, save Tifa, who could handle being close to Sephiroth. Aerith couldn't help but push away the image of Cloud's eyes so full of disgust and resentment as he'd told everyone that he and Aerith were to stay together. His excuse had been that if Red were to come back, Sephiroth was the only person with the speed and strength that succeeded Red's; he would be Aerith's best protector.
Aerith shuddered at the passionate rage she had seen in Cloud's eyes when his and Sephiroth's eyes had locked.
"Sephy, where are the others?" Aerith asked, fumbling with her braid, trying to push the unwanted thoughts into the recesses of her mind.
Sephiroth looked over at her with reptilian eyes, piercing her own.
"I assume that they are all in their rooms... Discussing." He finished, crossing the room to sit on the bed by her feet.
"I can't believe how things have turned out so far..." Aerith whispered, closing her eyes. She desparately seeked guidance from the Planet and couldn't help but feel troubled at the fact that the Planet was somehow beginning to lose it's connection to her.
Or was it something else entirely?
Sephiroth looked at her closely, inspecting her features. She looked rather tired, he noticed. Sighing, he stood and made his way over to the door. He caught Aerith's questioning glance out of the corner of his eye.
"I'm going to the deck for a bit." Sephiroth stated.
'Oh, yes.' Aerith thought. He'd ways seemed to be at peace when he was staring out into the sky, his hair whipping wildly in the wind. Aerith smiled at the fact that maybe even the wind and the surroundings wanted a piece of him too. Like I do. Aerith blinked suddenly and felt the blood rise to her face. She hoped Sephiroth hadn't seen. How could she think of such a thing right now?
An uneasy feeling unexpectedly started to creep into the pit of her stomach. What if Red came back when Sephiroth was gone, wasn't here?
"You are welcome to join me if you wish." Giving her a knowing look, he added, "either way, you'll be safe."
He'd spoken with such confidence that Aerith couldn't help but relax. She smiled to herself before answering.
"Alright then! Let's go!"
Barret stared heavy lidded at the ceiling, thoughts running rampant in his mind. Between Aerith and Sephiroth's unexpected return and Kalm being attacked Barret had begun to think he was going to lose his mind. Now, to top it all off, Red had gone ballistic and had tried to hurt Aerith -- or worse. Barret frowned, what had that good for nothing fiend done to Red to make him act so rashly? Naturally, Barret had put up his defensive front when around the others so nobody could notice how worried he was.
Closing his eyes, Barret took a big, calming breath and exhaled, focusing on the two people he'd been happily living with previously; Marlene, his daughter, and Elmyra, Aerith's adoptive mother.
Marlene had grown so much and in such a little span of time. By the time Barret had returned after Meteor's demise, she was like a completely different person. Elmyra had taken such good care of her, done such wonders.
Barret gave the ceiling a lop-sided grin at the thought of Elmyra.
Unfortunately, Barret's thoughts weren't meant to dwell on the sweet lady he was slowly beginning to feel something for. The laughter eminating from the hallway just outside his door was enough to destroy his happy mood; Sephiroth and Aerith.
Barret frowned. Again. How close had those two become? How close were they going to become?
Grumbling, Barret forced the thoughts out of his mind. He tried, at least.
"Damn $&$ kids!" Cid yelled grumpily from his spot on the other bed. He had been asleep and now Barret would have to deal with his constant 'oh woe is me' act. Barret groaned. This was going to be one long night.
Vincent pulled the stunned Yuffie away from the Mako pool as the body of a fiend formed.
"Oh my gawd..." Yuffie whispered, backing up until she hit Vincent's chest.
Vincent simply stood there, ready to move if need be. Though Yuffie couldn't visibly see or feel it, she knew Vincent was just as, if not more, shocked and confused then herself.
The fiend continued to raise itself out of the glowing mess, bits of mako continually dripping off the fiend's body as it slowly began to walk away from the duo and the mako.
Yuffie tensed as the fiend turned it's eyes in their direction but it was as if the fiend couldn't see them. Once it was out of sight, Yuffie released the breath she hadn't known she'd been holding.
Turning to Vincent, she looked up into his face. He wore his usual expressionless mask that Yuffie could not seem to pry off of him, even in the company of only herself. She frowned.
"Now can we go back to Avalanch-y?" Yuffie asked.
Vincent looked down at her with the blood-red eyes that she had grown accustomed to. He nodded.
"Yes, Yuffie. We can go now."
Jumping around wildly, Yuffie let out all the energy she could. It was going to be a long walk, after all, and Yuffie didn't really want to talk Vincent's ear off. Right?
"You did what?" Cloud seethed, looking incredulously at the woman standing before him. How could she... Didn't she...?
Tifa shook her head. When would he ever get it through his thick skull. Would he ever? Tifa wondered.
"I forgave him."
Cloud narrowed his eyes at her. "Why would you do that?"
Tifa turned and walked to the window.
"Why not, Cloud? He knows what he did was wrong. Like we told you, he was being --"
"I don't CARE if he was being controlled!" Cloud shouted.
Tifa jumped, startled, at the tone of his voice.
"Don't you even care, Tifa? About all the people we lost to him? Our parents? Our, no, excuse me, your friends? Don't you care that he burnt our hometown to the ground?" Cloud ground out.
Tifa looked at him with a hurt expression. Of course she cared.
"Cloud we forgave you! Why not Sephiroth?" Tifa questioned.
"We are two completely different people! I never killed mercilessly!"
"YOU FELL INTO THE LIFESTREAM. Had you not, you may have still been under their control, you may have ended up killing mercilessly or ended up helping Sephiroth in his plan to destroy the Planet!" Tifa yelled, her voice reaching a dangerous level.
Cloud looked at her, egging her on.
"You did give him the black materia, you know. You did allow him to summon meteor. You DID almost once, no, TWICE try to kill Aerith yourself! What more do you want?" Tifa challenged. "You also were controlled, Cloud. WHY would you blame Sephiroth when you know from first-hand experience how strong Jenova and Sephiroth's, at that time, mind control was?"
Cloud knew what Tifa was saying and he knew that it was true, but it was simply too much for him to take. She'd once tried to destroy this man with all her being! How could she, and many others, simply forgive him in a heartbeat?
"How many of the others have forgiven him? How many of the others have gone behind my back?" Cloud said, trying to keep his voice down so he didn't cause any disruption between the others.
Tifa gave him a hard look before looking to the door. Someone was coming. Someone ending up being all of Avalanche and the Turks.
Aerith reached Tifa and Cloud's room before anyone else had. She opened the door quickly to see the two childhood friends glaring at eachother with something she'd never seen them show eachother before.
"What's going on?" She asked, the Turks coming in behind Sephiroth and Cid.
Cloud turned to her, eyes blazing. When he caught sight of Sephiroth, Cloud strode over to him. Aerith quickly stepped in front of him to prevent Cloud from doing anything stupid. He wouldn't hurt her and she knew it.
"You bastard, what have you done to her?" Cloud said, glaring at Sephiroth with such contempt that Avalanche and the Turks were taken aback. They'd always known Cloud had disliked Sephiroth, but did his feelings really run so deep?
"What the && you doing now, Strife?" Reno asked, not at all unconfortable with what was happening in front of him.
Cloud sent him a glare.
"Yo, I'm not here to fight. I can see you're fighting with the pretty lady over there, though." Reno flashed Tifa one of his overly charming and sexy grins. Tifa gave him 'the look' and Reno shut up, looking rather disappointed.
"You've brainwashed her. You've brainwashed them all, haven't you?"
Sephiroth rose an eyebrow in question. What was he getting at?
"Tifa forgave you?"
Sephiroth smirked.
"She came to me of her own will. I did nothing to force her into such an act." Sephiroth said.
"Cloud, I think this needs to stop." Tifa said.
Cloud heard the confidence in her voice and tried to ignore the logic that she always managed to put out on the table. He knew she was about to say something completely logical, completely true. Sometimes, he hated having such a smart and perceptive best friend.
Aerith sighed. "Cloud, why don't you just tell us all now. Why do you feel the things you do towards Sephiroth?"
Cloud glared at Sephiroth. "Youdestroyed my hometown, my only family, you almost killed Tifa and you did kill Aerith. Tell me why I owe you anything?"
"You don't."
Cloud was momentarily stunned by this honest answer, but managed to hide it.
"There is nothing I can do to bring all the people I killed back. You'll simply have to deal with my apology, which is sincere. I don't wish for you to befriend me, in fact, I am repulsed by such an idea. Hopefully, we will be able to at least work together." Sephiroth said, eyeing Cloud.
Cloud knew that what Sephiroth was saying, he was saying with some amountof sincerity. But there was no way he would say anything to him. He didn't owe him anything, nothing at all. He'd taken away everything precious in his life. Everything and everyone.
"I don't have time for this." Cloud said, pushing past Sephiroth. He left without a single word to any of them, not even an apology to Tifa.
"Ugh, this is going too far. He is blowing this way out of proportion!" Tifa mumbled, moving over to her bed.
"I'm so sorry, Tifa..." Aerith apologized, for what, Tifa was unsure.
"You did nothing wrong. I'll try to talk to him later. Everything is just so out of order. It's taking it's toll. I think he blames himself for Yuffie and Vincent's disappearance, too."
"That's no reason so take it out on you." Elena chided.
Rude cleared his throat.
Everyone looked over at him.
"Sephiroth, maybe you should be the one to put up a friendly front and talk to him privately." He suggested before turning and leaving. Sephiroth took this in and decided he would consider it. They needed as little tension around here and within the group as they could get. Everyone needed to be here, to be able to fight and win against whatever was happening.
Elena walked across the room to and sat in a chair beside Tifa's bed.
"I'm going to stay here for a bit." Elena said nonchalantly, turning to Tifa with a question in her eyes. Tifa nodded and everyone took their cue to leave. Aerith and Sephiroth were the last ones, Aerithapologizing profusely. Tifa waved them off and Sephiroth closed the door. A certain red-headed Turk was still standing there.
"Tifa sure is one hell of a chick, eh?" Reno said, swinging his mag rod around in his fingers, being careful not to shock himself in the process. Aerith managed to roll her eyes for once in her life and said something nobody thought they would ever hear from Aerith. Especially not when addressed to another person, her friend no less.
"Reno. Shut up." Aerith said, quickly walking away.
Reno shot her a glare and Sephiroth a questioning glance, but Sephiroth shook his head. He had no idea.
Reno strolled into the overly large kitchen in the Sierra. He walked over to fridge, passing both Barret and Rude. He grabbed a beer and, without shutting the refridgerator door, sat down oppotsite Barret, beside Rude.
Barret growled. "Close the door, damn Turk."
"You gotta problem with me?" Reno challenged.
"Yea, I do you motha &#&#&." Barret retorted.
Reno slouched over in his chair and gave a lazy grin.
"Mad that you ain't able to relax in such conditions?" Reno asked unknowingly. Barret wasn't in the mood for playful banter.
Barret scowled and stood up, shutting the refridgerator door. He was about to walk out of the kitchen when a comment Reno made reached his ears.
'Damn, someone sure misses that slut of a woman back home.'
Barret turned to him, eyes dancing with fire. He saw Rude give him a warning glance but Barret was too far gone. He needed to let off some steam anyway.
"&$&$ Turk!" Barret shouted, throwing a knife from the counter at his head.
Reno looked up and dodged just in time to miss the sharp knife.
"Dammit, &&#!" Reno yelled.
Aerith walked into the kitchen the moment the knife had flown at Reno's head. She called out to Barret at he started walking over to Reno but it was too late. One swift punch from Barret and the Turk was face down on the ground. Reno managed to get himself up after a moment of being stunned and just missed another punch from the large black man.
"Wow, what in the &$$ &$ are you doing?" Reno asked.
"Teach you tah talk bout other people like that you foo'!"
Reno's face managed to contort into that of a person who suddenly discovered something.
"I didn't mean it man! Things are --" He was abruptly cut off by Barret cursing. He missed another punch but wasn't so lucky the next moment, as Barret'sgun armconnected with his ribs. Reno managed to glimpse Rude walking towards them but Barret was already too into his next move, Rude wouldn't be able to make it and Reno was out of breath.
"Stop it!"
Reno shut his eyes, waiting for the pain but nothing came. He looked up to see black gloved hands grasping both of Barret's arms, just stopping them from hitting their target.
"$&$ bastard, get offa me!"
Sephiroth pushed Barret back and away from both Reno and himself. Barret looked to the side and saw Aerith in tears. He felt a wave of guilt but a rush of panic managed to overtake it as Aerith suddenly fell to the floor. Sephiroth, with his amazingly enhanced reflexes, was able to make it over to her just in time to stop her from hitting the floor.
"I'm so sorry, Tifa... But... They're like..." Elena sighed, looking pleadingly at Tifa. Tifa shook her head, gesturing that it was alright with her.
"You better come back. Everyone is under alot of stress. I'm sure Barret didn't mean it..." Tifa trailed off knowing any further discussion would prove to be futile. She really had no idea what had come over Barret. The stress alone couldn't have been enough, everyone was feeling it. Barret could keep himself in check, she knew that.
Whatever it was, whatever it is, we're going to be alright. Everything's fine.
Tifa knew she didn't really believe it though. If it wasn't enough, apparently there was something going on with Aerith that nobody but Sephiroth had known about.
Though it does make sense... She and Sephiroth share something special...
Shaking the unessecary thoughts away, Tifa waved one last time to the departing Turks. Reno had decided they were to leave after the fight that had broken out between he and Barret.
Tifa looked down at the PHS sitting in her hand that Elena had reluctantly handed over. Despite Tifa's worries and persistence when it came to the Turks keeping the PHS for safe keeping,Reno had declined.Tears sprung to her eyes but she willed them away. No. She had to be strong. If not her, who else? With a fierce determination, Tifa made her way down to Barret's room -- Where both Cid and Sephiroth were probably yelling at him. She was going to teach someone a lesson.
"$$ $&$! What the #&$& were you thinkin'?" Cid yelled. How, no,what had come over him?
Barret glared at the man standing over him. He made sure to avoid the burning eyes of Sephiroth. He knew he was mad about Aerith's swooning act -- Who wouldn't be?
"That was foolish of you. Picking a fight with the Turks only to cause them to leave. We need them. We need all the help we can get. You may have just cost someone on this team their life." Sephiroth's cold voice put Barret's thoughts on hold, Cid's mouth in place.
Cid looked at Sephiroth out of the corner of his eye after seeing Barret's face darken. Barret felt guilty -- he knew that. Barret needed to learn a lesson -- he knew that. But, was this a productive use of their time? What if something were to happen to the Turks? What if there was a spotting of their friend's and they missed it?
"I'm going to go and watch the &$ radar. You keep your #$& mouth shut you mother $&$ Barret." Cid glared, stomping out of the room, nearly running into Tifa.
Sephiroth turned and watched as Tifa came into the room. She smiled to him and he smiled back. Barret shook his head.
"How's Aerith?" Tifa asked.
Sephiroth avoided her gaze.
"What's wrong with her?" Tifa pressed, instantly concerned.
Sephiroth sighed. "She's showing no sign of life. She's breathing -- but there are certain things one should respond to."
Tifa eyedhim warily. "And...?"
Sephiroth looked at her, seeing the concern etched onto her pretty face.
"She's not waking. She probably won't for a few days." He glanced over at her. Tifa had the suspicion that there was more to it, but she dropped the subject knowing Sephiroth was worried enough as it was.
Barret inwardly cringed when he heard Sephiroth say that Aerith wouldn't wake. How long? Even he wasn't sure. Only when Tifa suggested Sephiroth check on Aerith, she would see him later, did he dare look up. Unfortunatly, he looked straight into the burning eyes of Tifa Lockheart.
"What were you thinking?" Tifa whispered.
Barret looked down again.
"He... That foo'! He said somethin' bout Elmyra!"
Tifa started, surprised. Elmyra? What did she have to do with this?
"What did he say?"
Barret mumbled something and Tifa couldn't quite catch it.
"I'm sorry, what?"
"It doesn't matter anymore! Jes leave me alone fer a bit, would ya?" Barret said, falling back on the bed, rolling over.
Sephiroth stepped calmly into Aerith's overly pink room. He'd never particularly liked pink, but now he was sure he never wanted to see the color again.
Unless it's on her.
Sephiroth took a step back in surprise. Putting a hand to his head, he closed his eyes. What is this?
The next time he opened his eyes he was staring at a moving Aerith. Surprise showed on his face as he moved over to the bed. Slowly, he moved to sit in front of her, looking into her eyes.
"Aerith?" Sephiroth gasped. No, this couldn't be Aerith. Her eyes weren't that beautiful green that he constantly found himself getting lost in anymore -- they were dark blue.
Dark blue, like before in the Lifestream.
"Planet...?" Sephiroth tempted.
Aerith's gaze locked with his immediately.
"This is strange... Seeing my children through clear eyes..."
Sephiroth backed up slightly until he heard someone at the door.Sephiroth looked to Aerith, the Planet, for confirmation. Open or close?
"This is a... private... conversation."
Sephiroth moved over to the door quickly. "Tifa, I'm afraid I need a moment alone with her before you can see her." He glanced over at his pink-clad healer. His?
"Alright then. I'll be on deck with Cid." Tifa said with nonchalance. Sephiroth knew though, that she was going to find Cloud.
He walked over to the bed and sat down, trying to ignore Aerith's gaze. He was hesitant, to believe, that this was the Planet.
"Do not... Be afraid to believe, child. I can hear your thoughts you know. That White Materia came in handy... I knew it would. One day." The Planet said, speaking more clearly now.
Sephiroth looked up warily.
"Why do you take her body in such a way? Can't you just tell her? And why do you hurt her? She never does anything but listen to you. And what is going on! Where is Yuffie, Vincent, Re--"
"Please." A soft voice cut in."I can not tell you... Things of such. Few questions I can answer. Her head... It is not me. It is something... someone else. Her body will come in handy. I will need to speak... Frequently. Being a Cetra... She will be of great use."
Sephiroth felt a burst of something he hadn't felt for a while. Anger.
"So you're simply using her? Like before?" Sephiroth spit.
Aerith shook her head.
"I... You don't understand, child. There is much to speak of but her..." She sighed before her head shot up again.
"I must go. There is trouble brewing."
"Wait!" Sephiroth cried out in... desperation? He was so tired of this. He was so tired of everything and he was beginning to wish he'd never promised Aerith anything.
The Planet didn't give him much time, though, as Aerith's eyes reverted back to their normal color and she fell forward. Sephiroth caught her and a whiff of her hair scent was caught by him. He looked down at her, sleeping so peacefully. She truly looked angelic. Instead of laying her down, he sat there for many minutes, maybe hours, he wasn't sure, just holding her. He wanted her to wake up. He needed her here. What was he supposed to do? Who was supposed to amuse him with her silly antics? He was tired of her fainting spells.
Berating himself for these thoughts never came to him. He sat there, not caring if someone were to walk in, because his soul was at peace in those few moments.
"Cloud...?" Tifa asked timidly, opening the door to his room just slightly.
She saw Cloud jump, startled, and turn to face her.
Tifa felt a little guilty at what she'd said earlier. She knew that, as always, she would be apologizing. Although why, she would never know. Cloud needed to know some things though. He still didn't know about what had happened with Barret and Reno. As their leader, she supposed she should tell him. Since nobody else would.
"I, um... I'm sorry."
Cloud shook his head. "You have nothing to be sorry for. Nothing at all. I am sorry. This was my fault. I shouldn't have said what I did. I was wrong. I'm sorry."
Tifa was a bit taken aback. She hadn't seen that coming.
"There's something you should know."
Cloud looked up, cocking his head.
"The Turks are gone."
Cloud started violently. "Gone? What do you mean, gone? Kidnap gone or...?"
Tifa shook her head and walked into the room completely, shutting the door.
"They left. Barret and Reno got into a fight. Aerith is unconscious now. She witnessed everything and fainted. Cloud, we're falling apart! We need the Turks, we need Yuffie and Vincent. We need Red, we need to DO something!" Tifa noted the hysteria in her voice.
Cloud shook his head and rubbed his face.
"This is unreal..."
"Cloud, please, have a meeting. We need to figure something out, we need to do something! I think Aerith knows something too. Something she has only told Sephiroth. We need to get them to tell us."
"How is Aerith?" Cloud asked. Tifa felt her heart fall to her stomach.
"She's alright, I guess. Sephiroth said that... She won't awaken for a few days though."
"A few days?" Cloud looked up, surprised. "Why a few days? We need her! She's the only one who knows what's going on!"
Tifa shook her head. "What of Sephiroth?"
Cloud looked guilty for a second, but he pushed it away. "I know, I know."
"Look Cloud. I'm sorry about what I said earlier. He took your mother from you. The only one who ever cared when you were a child. I get that." She paused. "He is back from the dead, true. He did alot of things he would not normally be commended for, true. But the Planet gave him a second chance, Aerith did. We need to take advantage of that. Not only is he a great asset to our team in the fighting sense but... He can be a loyal friend, as much as you may dislike it."
Cloud looked up at her. Her eyes swam with emotion. "I know." He walked over to her and put his arms around her, pulling her into a crushing embrace. He needed this. He needed her.