PART II:
" I Couldn't Comprehend Your Actions By Words Of My Own. "
She observed that the resources they had were very little, especially in circumstances like this.
She had seen what this would lead to, but still she wouldn't let her precious die because of hunger.
But then...
"...Why are you following me?"
She turned around to face the owner of the little footsteps who was tailing along behind her. The boy she had saved from earlier was silently following her, like a puppy, eventhough she had warned that he should not.
He turned his eyes to the ground and didn't answer.
She sighed, running her fingers to her blonde locks.
"Why are you following me?" she repeated her question, more softly now. "It's dangerous around here, you should head home now. Where are your guardians, your parents? You shouldn't be out here alone in situations like this. It's-"
"I'm lost."
She deadpanned. Lost? This boy... was lost?
"My parents are gone. I live with someone else now."
Something heavier than a brick hit her hard on the head; she was speechlessly shocked, surprised. She didn't see this coming. She never did see it.
Was this my fault, too?
"B... but..." she heard herself stammer, trying to form words under a mash of mind; she was too surprised to even use proper words now. "Your... your guardians... where are they... I mean..."
He was looking straight to his feet now. She had a feeling that he was going to cry if she didn't say something - or at least, let him follow her.
She tried to figure some logic into her mind. The boy was a nuisance, yes, but he fact that monster still roamed around the area disturbed her, too. Already she had seen - and fought - numerous of the same beasts earlier before she came to his rescue; and if she let him stay on his own here, not knowing that he might be lost or something - which he was - he'd be in pieces by the time she return here half an hour later.
At this moment, that was the only option left for her to do. She didn't have another choice.
One more burden for her to take care of.
She pinched the bridge of her nose, trying to gather her courage to tell him.
"Come with me. I'll help you find your guardians."
She had never seen his face so bright and cheerful than now, but then it was the first time she'd ever saw him - and he was smiling from ear to ear now, grinning like an idiot.
"Thanks!"
He followed, sat himself behind her as she get onto the motorcycle, still grinning, the baby now transferred to his arms. Very soon they were speeding on the cleared path of the fallen city's remains, unaware of something trailing behind them as well.
xxx
They had never seen so much anxiety in one place. But now they did.
Tifa was making random calls to friends she'd known around the area. Yuffie and Cloud were stil looking. Barret and Vincent have gone out in search of some trails, and only Cid was left to stay with her.
Personally, he'd always been a hectic man himself, but seeing Tifa pacing the floor while biting her thumb in a way that a worried person would do, he began to wonder if it was bothering her too much to even do so.
Denzel's disappearance, however, was much more worrying that he could ever imagine.
"Hello? Cloud?" she picked the phone before it rang the second time. "Have you found him? Where is h- ...Oh. Really? Ahh, okay... Okay... I'll wait for the others to call, then..."
Cid put one arm on the arm and put his chin on the palm, staring at her way with a cocked eyebrow. "Worried much?"
She glared at his direction, offended by his words. "Denzel disappearing from your eyes doesn't worry you? Then what if you have a daughter, she'd disappear from your sight, too? Don't you have even the least bit of that feeling for him?"
He grimaced, wincing. "Of course I do. But, it's just... you're making a big deal out of it. Chill, a'ight? Sit down and have some booze."
She glared at him again, wondering if it was her bar or his bar that he was sitting on as she poured him another glass of beer, and put it in front of him in a not-so-graceful manner. Cid took it, smiling gratefully. She rolled her eyes.
"I found something!"
Yuffie suddenly blew through the door, landing with her butt on the floor as she yelled out in pain and jumped onto her feet, repeatedly chanting 'ow, ow, ow' while holding her bums. In her hands, however, she was holding something that looked like a photograph.
"Yuffie!"
Tifa's exclamation did make the young kunoichi jump, though, and she immediately turned around and put her arms in front of her. "Whoa, Tifa! You're scaring me! What's with that look anyway? Is Denzel home?"
Tifa's look explained everything to her, and her arms fell with a slump as well as her shoulders. "Well, Vincent or Barret or Cloud will find him, I suppose, but.."
She turned her gaze to the picture in her hands and showed it to the woman.
"I found this while looking around in the rubble."
Tifa took it. With shaking hands, she took it. She immediately spotted a group of children in a background of the church behind them, Denzel standing at the front row with an unusually big smile on his face. Light filtered from the rooftop shone on them, making them look angelic and clean. Her breath was caught in her throat, nearly choking her.
"I think this is Denzel's... maybe he's out looking for it at-"
Yuffie suddenly let out a dramatic gasp, and Tifa looked up to her, surprised; did she realize something?
"He's out there... out there... There!"
Both their hearts sank, their expressions fell; Cid was left wondering what on earth was going on in this two females' minds.
xxx
The whole plains were, as always, bare and empty as how he'd often imagine it.
But there was no sighting of anyone, any living soul, anything. Just a scorpion darting out of the dry ground and retreating back into a small hole it made for itself underground.
He sighed, fixed back his goggles. He had waited too long, searched far and wide, hoped for some satisfying results.
He found nothing.
And his disappointments were just as great as his worriness.
Just then, his phone beeped. He took the call. "Tifa?"
' Cloud! The ruins! Hurry... hurry up! He's there, he's gone there! Hurry! '
He had never heard Tifa's voice so demanding, so worried, so loud. Worse yet, she seemed as if she was horrified about something. Something terrible.
His stomach churned.
"What... where... who's gone there? Tifa, what's going on?"
He heard some sobbings on the background, some voices consoling someone. Tifa was heard trying to comfort someone - possibly Marlene. He recognized that sobbing voice; a little girl's.
' Denzel! Cloud, it's Denzel! He's there! Edge... Edge's ruins! Look for him, please! Find him! '
He nearly dropped the phone in shock; he hadn't expected that.
Denzel... in the middle of Edge's ruins? But, that place was...
"...I ...I'm on my way."
He put the phone down without hearing her next words ; he sped along the plains and headed straight to where his old home had been, two years before.
xxx
"What's your name?"
He hadn't expected that question. Definitely not. He had assumed that this woman in front of him - she wasn't a friend of Cloud; he mentioned his name and she replied she didn't know him - was a cold, mean person. But then suddenly, she asked his name.
"Denzel."
"Your parents gave you that name?"
He nodded, though he didn't know if she could sense him nodding. But she did, and took his silence as a 'yes'.
"What's yours?"
She tried to hide the shock in her voice. "You can call me Eve."
"Where are you from, Eve?"
"...I'm-"
She nearly replied Midgar, but suddenly she felt it unnecessary to tell him. She sealed her lips quietly, not even finishing her sentence.
Personally, and honestly, she didn't even know if she came from there.
"I don't remember."
That was probably the worst lie she'd ever told a child, but she had no choice.
She felt some reaction behind her, a silent nodding, and she immediately ceasing asking.
That was when she felt something rumble under the wheels.
TV is on, and I'm talking on the phone.
PC's left on too, all at the same time.
Suddenly, something humongous - gigantic, monstrous - shot out of the ground, breaking the path they were on, creating huge dents here and there. Its tentacles waved about wildly in a savage manner.
Eve immediately halted her motorcycle and stopped to stare; Denzel cowered behind her, closed his eyes and covered them, holding the baby still.
She couldn't believe her eyes when she saw it.
"What..."
No space on the floor, I could open a store.
It's almost 4, questions are on my mind.
"Denzel, Denzel! Get off here now! Find somewhere to hide! I'll handle this!"
Denzel finally uncovered his eyes, hopped off the vehicle without a second glance, and raced to a hidden spot where he knew he wouldn't be discovered by anything.
But when he turned around, Eve was already being pummeled to a wall by one of the monster's tentacles. She fell to the ground, coughed a few blotches of blood. Her gunblade had dropped close to where she was kneeling now.
"Eve!"
He wanted to scream, to shout her name, tell her to run away. But he found his voice stuck in his throat. He couldn't say anything.
He silently sobbed to himself, holding the still sleeping baby close to his chest.
If I lose 'em all, what would happen to me?
Ain't no sleepless night,it ain't goin' to kill me.
This was bad. She knew this was bad.
She couldn't handle this on her own. She needed a second resolve.
Run, hide, stay away.
No.
It wouldn't be her. It wasn't her way. She's not the type to run away and hide at a time like this.
If it could relief some of her regrets by standing up and keep fighting for one soul even, she'd be satisfied.
She stood up, feeling a little whoozy, grabbing the gunblade as she staggered to get on her feet.
At that moment, one of the tentacles was making its way down to her spot; only this time, she was more than ready.
If I lose 'em all, what would happen to me?
What's the big deal? I am all I need.
He heard it again. Another beating, another crack. Another bang.
He felt something thick and wet splattered on his cheek. He wiped it off with his hand. He looked at it.
He saw that it was blood.
He quickly looked, saw a figure writhing on the ground in front of him, trying to get up. He saw that blonde hair, some of them matted with wet blood. She knelt with her hands on the ground, and he saw drips of dark red liquid dripping from her lips.
But when she spotted him staring at her with a horrified look, she gave him a soft, comforting smile. She immediately got up again.
He heaved and muttered something her ears couldn't catch.
"Wait there. Don't let anything see you."
She turned around, flashed him another smile, then went straight to the battlefield, the tentacle monster still there, ready to whoop her at any time.
This time, he saw something tattooed on her right elbow - something that looked like the shape of a bird with a single wing, glowing bright blue against her pale skin.
Tigers following me, spiders watching me
As if they're my friends, waiting for me to sleep
He covered his face with his hands, unaware of the baby now fully awakened.
His soft sobs earned a giggle or two from the plump lips of the young child, who was waving her fat fists around, trying to grab his nose.
He was shocked.
"You... you're awake... why..."
He didn't get to finish his words; another bang distracted him, and he peeked his head out just an inch to see what was going on.
A silver humanoid twice the size of an adult, with gray runes painted all over its body, was standing in front of an injured Eve, who was panting on the ground and struggling to stand up yet again. The humanoid looked like an oversized human wearing silver armor all over, covering both his body and his head overall, a dark plume waving in the wind from the top of its armored head.
Denzel was gaping with his mouth opened so wide that he didn't realize how long he was staring.
Words they throw at me, are bringing me down
But I'm reaching out toward a higher ground
Eve knew she couldn't last long.
She was alone in this, and she needed help. Denzel was too young to fight; the only thing he was able to help was to secure Alicia, the baby, and himself, out of danger's way.
That was why she summoned Minerva.
"Hold it off," she had ordered, between clenched teeth and hisses of pain. "Hold it off, I need to do something."
The ruby atop of its head had glowed, and transformed itself, from the form of a vehicle - the motorcycle - to the form of a tall, humanoid fighter - its Warrior mode.
It was the only thing she could do so she could prepare herself for the next round.
If I lose 'em all, what would happen to me?
Ain't no sleepless night,it ain't goin' to kill me.
He was staring so attentively, with so much awe, he didn't realize a presence coming from behind him.
That was, until a hand clamped itself over his mouth, and pulled him back into his hiding place.
"W... what... what-"
"Shh! You're going to wake her up."
True enough, the baby had gone back to sleep after she received no attention from the boy. She was sucking her thumb now, a serene look gracing her features as she dreamt on.
Denzel turned around to prepare for his supposed-to-be assault, but when he did saw the person who had pulled back into his hiding spot, he nearly screamed.
The other boy's hand clamped around his mouth again.
"Yes, it's me, Hope!
Denzel was relieved at the sight of his friend; his silver hair, blue-green eyes, and a bandana tied around his neck. His orange clothing, black undershirt, cargo pants and boots. He remembered every detailed description of Hope Estheim, his new partner.
Hope gave him a soft smile. "Good to see you again, buddy."
If I lose 'em all, what would happen to me?
What's the big deal? I am all I need.
Eve was thrown off her feet, again.
Minerva was trying to hold off as best as it could, but Eve's energy was too limited, that it soon succumbed into its Summoner's lack of strength.
It fell alongside her; but not after it had severed the beast into halves, that it disappeared into sparks of light, and into the branded blue tattoo on her elbow.
The monster fell in chunks at her foot, no longer moving, no longer slashing around with its tentacles. Green liquid spilled all over, though none hit Eve on any parts of her body.
She thought that it was all over. That she could catch her breath now, and rest her limbs for a while; fighting the beasts from before had drained one third of her energy, and she was completely exhausted.
But not when she heard a few faint growls, that she turned her head to look.
More than a dozen of the same humanoid monsters from before - the same ones with bat wings on their backs - was crouching and perching around her, ready to pounce on her at any time.
By this time, she was too tired to respond to any incoming attacks. Added with a tremendous pain she had felt on her hip for the past few months, and her exerted exhaustion, she slowly collasped into a space of semi-conciousness.
...But, what was that noise she was hearing?
It seemed like a mix of explosions, slashes, and a few gunshots. Plus a blur of green and black passing before her wary eyes. But she couldn't comprehend anything out of her tired mind.
She soon fell into mutual darkness, the only comfort to her tired state.
# Song lyrics used above is from Abingdon Boys School's Fre k $HoW. I do not own the lyrics or the song.