In the dark, dreary fortress of Rufus Shinra, laboured breaths echoed in the grim corridors. Anne staggered up the last step of the staircase and promptly collapsed at the top when she reached the next floor. She lay with her arms spread out, mouth open to get more oxygen as she stared at the ceiling dazed. She did not feel so good.
"Why…" she breathed as her armour clattered on the floor alongside her sword when she let it slip from her grasp "is there…so many stairs?!"
She wheezed before rolling onto her back, her chest heaving with her breaths. She wet her lips and let out another dry breath. She lay like that for a while, catching her breath, wishing for a drink and cursing Ryu for getting her into such a situation. Every bad situation is always linked to Ryu!
"Stupid Chocobo!"
In her head, she could imagine him cawing in annoyance, flapping his wings and pecking her on the head. As if it was her fault that he was so troublesome.
Anne also began cursing her other luck that she ended up clad in armour, equipped with a sword and shield with only the basics of combat fighting floating around in her head.
"Like damn, I'm a blacksmith! Not a warrior!"
She made weapons and armour! Not use them in actual combat! Heck, Tifa's a better fighter than her, even when blindfolded. Though, Tifa never used weapons and has been training since she was like eight years old. Anne sighed softly. She missed her big sister.
She sighed again as she took another moment to recover and let her aching legs and knees rest. She closed her eyes and yawned deeply. She only really opened her eyes when she picked up the sound of a Coeurl's growl. She grabbed her sword and rolled over a few metres to avoid getting struck by lightning. She scrambled up to her feet, looked up and tensed.
Two great Coeurls were standing between her and the next set of stairs, a golden one and a black one. The golden Coeurl's body was practically rippling with energy, static electricity sparking from its fur. The black Coeurl's eyes were emitting a ferocious red glow, its claws dark as night and scratching at the tiled floor.
Anne raised her shield and braced her sword, backing off slightly as they advanced towards her slowly. She looked between them, her head and heart racing. She had never seen or heard of a black Coeurl before and the golden Coeurl seemed much different compared to normal Coeurls. What should she do?
Anne jumped as the black Coeurl snarled suddenly and she raised her shield in time to block the Coeurl's pounce. She flinched as the claws sunk into the wood but not too deep to completely splinter it. Then from the corner of her eye she saw the gold Coeurl charge towards her. She thrust her sword at it but the weight of the black Coeurl made her stumble. The gold Coeurl grabbed her hand with its front paws and snatched her sword out of her grip.
The added weight floored Anne and she grunted as she felt the weight of the Coeurls' bodies against her. She heard her sword being dropped and she wriggled between them, trying to find a way out. But her arms were both paralysed by the Coeurls, she couldn't move effectively. Phoenix's crystal began vibrating against her bosom and Anne felt a surge of power.
"Wings of Rebirth!"
The Coeurls roared as Anne's arms were enveloped by a soft, warm, amber aura and she was propelled up and out of their grasp. They yowled as they sustained burns on their body and Anne fixed her position so she could land on her feet. She turned to the Coeurls after her landing as they recovered and roared at her. She felt powerful, she felt invigorated, as if she had just woken up from the best night's sleep a human could possibly have. Her eyes emitted a fierce amber glow as she spread her arms out, hands stretched out.
"O loving Phoenix!" she called "Protect me with your everlasting power and fill me with your divine will!"
Warmth flooded her senses as familiarity rushed to her. It was as if she had done this before. She extended her arm forward and beckoned for her sword. An amber aura encircled it, allowing it to levitate and fly into her outstretched hand. She gripped it tight as she brought her shield around and smacked the hilt of her sword into it. Her shield was then enveloped with the same burning amber aura and she brandished her sword at the Coeurls.
"Noble beasts, prepare for death!"
The black Coeurl roared and charged for her first, red eyes glowing and dark wisps forming around her paws. She disappeared from Anne's range of sight when she prepared to counter. Anne was caught off guard and gasped as paws smacked into her back, flooring her. She grunted as the sword skittered out of her grasp again and she tried to heave the black Coeurl off. But the creature was too heavy and the gold Coeurl was beginning to stalk towards them, as if enjoying this slow kill. Anne reached out for her sword and cried out when the black Coeurl slammed a paw on her wrist.
Anne watched as the sword jittered at her attempt for calling it back and saw the black claws sink into her skin. She hissed as she struggled underneath the heavy creature and turned to her shield.
"Give me strength," she whispered and flexed her right arm.
A caw echoed in the building as her shield vibrated with power, the aura growing and taking the form of a much larger shield. Anne grunted as she swung her right arm up and the shield collided into the black Coeurl's head. Anne's body was swung around with the amount of force she had put into the swing and upon impact, she heard a grim snap.
The black Coeurl fell off her and the golden Coeurl roared. Anne scrambled back, snatching her sword up as the gold Coeurl crouched by the black one, nuzzling it questioningly. When the lifeless Coeurl gave no response, the golden Coeurl raised its hackles and roared louder in anguish, turning its cold blue stare towards Anne.
Anne jumped slightly when a large bolt of lightning struck the Coeurl where it stood and she shielded her eyes to avoid getting blinded by the flash. Her ears picked up the footfalls and she blindly brought her shield in front of her and staggered when a strong force collided into her. She dared to open her eyes, thankfully the blinding light had subsided, and she widened them in alarm when she saw a much larger gold Coeurl than before. Its sky-blue eyes glared down at her as its teeth gleamed brightly. The static energy in its fur sparked before it roared again.
Anne couldn't help her scream as the bolt landed on its mark and pain shot through her body and the Coeurl pushed her over. She landed heavily, her body jolting involuntarily as she heard the footsteps walk away from her. She lifted her head to see the gold Coeurl, its fur spikier than before and watched as it curled around the black Coeurl, mournfully mewing and nuzzling it. She dropped her head and let out a gasp. Her body felt numb but she needed to keep going. She couldn't back out now.
Shakily and a little twitchy, she raised her hand and reached out to the ceiling.
"Ph-Phoe-nix…" she rasped "Ai-Aid me now s-s-so that th-this h-humble ser-vant of y-y-yours may con-continue her qu-quest…"
She gasped as a caw echoed in the building and she saw the outline of a great bird flit over the ceiling. Amber dust rained down on her frazzled body and Anne gripped a handful once it reached her palm. She let out a gasp of breath, as if coming out of a deep lake and she jumped back to her feet. The gold Coeurl snapped its head up and roared angrily at her. Anne drew her right arm back.
"O protector, your biding time is over!"
She swung her arm forward and her shield spun off and began flying towards the gold Coeurl. It was quick to jump to its feet and grab the shield in its teeth but Anne took the moment to charge forward and pounce. They locked eyes briefly as Anne held her sword above her head.
"Cursed creature, be gone!"
The Coeurl dropped the shield and roared once the blade pierced its flesh. Anne let out a surprised scream when electricity sparked out and hit her, accompanied with a few more bolts from above. Though these shocks weren't as powerful as the last one, they still hurt. Anne rolled off the Coeurl's body, sword still sheathed as the shield was dropped onto the floor. She twitched as she lay between the Coeurls.
"Sh-Should have seen th-that coming…" she stuttered as spasms racked her body "This ki-kind of treatment sh-should d-do wonders f-for my ha-ir…"
After a while of resting, Anne rolled onto her front and reached out to cup the Coeurls' heads. She was shocked again once she touched the golden Coeurl's head.
"O-Ow…"
She shook her head, the spasms returning.
"Brave, n-noble souls," she murmured "Ar-Arise fr-from the ashes and c-claim your lives ane-ane-anew."
She let her hands drop and the spasms continued for a few minutes. She heard the bodies go up in flames and she choked a little as something burned in her chest but only briefly. She sighed in relief, her ankle letting out one last spasm before lifting her head. Ashes were scattered before her and two bodies moved beside her. She looked towards where the gold Coeurl once lay.
"Cloud?!"
She propped herself up by her arms as she stared at the comatose blond and turned to the other Coeurl.
"Tifa!"
Tifa moaned as Anne got to her knees and helped her into a recovery position, brushing the ash off her.
"Tifa, can you hear me?!"
Tifa moaned as she clenched her fists. Anne turned to Cloud next but refrained from touching him in case she got shocked.
"Um…Cloud? Cloud, can you hear me?!"
Cloud stirred but didn't open his eyes. His hand did stretch out before Anne…and took hold of one of Tifa's fists. Tifa relaxed and sighed when this happened. Anne just knelt there, staring at their joint hands.
"Yeah, nothing new here," she sighed as she pushed herself back up onto her feet "Being the third wheel as usual. Let me just see if Marlene is around."
She circled Cloud and picked up the sword (it had fallen out of Cloud after the Coeurl body had turned to ashes) and shield, fixing it back onto her arm. She glanced down at the engaged couple and smiled.
"We'll go back home and just get back to normal life," she promised before turning towards the staircase "…I hate stairs."
She shook her head and headed off, beginning her ascent. Amongst her muttered complaints, Cloud and Tifa moved closer to each other in their forced slumber.