Fire!
By: Illusion of the Mirror
"So you guys are all here because of this Darknation thing too?"
Cloud stood next to Barret and Cid with his arms crossed and his brows knit.
"Yeah," Cid responded as he lit up one of his Chesterfields. "But we really didn't expect to find you here. It was a- oh shit!" Cid quickly shook out the match that had just finished burning his fingers.
Cloud then began laughing heartily, which received a death glare from the miffed pilot. Barret rolled his eyes at his blonde friends and then looked up as one of the doors closest to them slid open. Tifa and Emily stepped through the threshold looking disheveled; with messy hair and wrinkled clothing.
"Hey, Tif, what's up?" he asked as Cid and Cloud ceased their bickering and looked towards the new arrivers.
"Not a whole lot," Tifa responded. "And yourself?"
"Well, Dean here," Cid gestured over his shoulder. "He was showing us around the hanger when we ran into Strife. We were plenty surprised to find him here, yup."
Cloud snickered and clapped the pilot on the back. "Yeah, I should say so! I mean, the way you were cussin' up a storm, and all!"
The whole group chuckled at this and Tifa rolled her eyes and then took a moment to study their get-away car driver, or rather bus driver, Dean Preston. Now that he wasn't sporting a helmet, Tifa could see that the man had dark, thinning hair and a goatee as well as a jagged scar running the length of his left profile. I'll bet that there's an interesting story to go with that, Tifa thought to herself as she rubbed her chin in contemplation. Heck, I'll bet that everyone here has an interesting story to tell.
Just then, Yuffie and Aiden approached the group from somewhere else in the hanger. "Hey guys," Yuffie chirped and then did a double take when she spotted Cloud standing between Barret and Cid. "What the-" She looked over her shoulder at Aiden who shrugged and then she gaped back at Cloud; blinking a few times before shrugging herself. "Meh, I don't know why anything surprises me anymore. This has definitely been one crazy night."
"Morning, you mean. It hasn't been night for hours," a deep baritone voice spoke just next to Tifa's left ear, sending shivers down her spine. Vincent, the owner of said voice, gave a short nod to Cloud that bordered on curt. Cloud blinked and then nodded in return.
Red, who had seated himself next to Yuffie, spoke up. "Aiden, Emily," he locked eyes with each of them as he said their names. "The leaders of the council sent us over to let you know they wish to speak with you." The two nodded and obediently left the group to join an assemblage of four or five individuals Tifa recognized from the council room who were situated near one of the many sliding metal doors.
The seven comrades who were left behind watched in silence as the members of the Resistance spoke in hushed tones. Aiden and Emily nodded in unison as they were briefed on the council's decision for a course of action. Tifa noted to herself that none of the party, not even the usually jovial Aiden, wore an expression other than a serious frown.
Yuffie was the first one to break the silence. "Am I the only one who's got this ominous feeling that something awful is gonna happen?"
"Nah," Cid answered. "Not really…I kinda feel the same way." Barret hummed to himself in agreement and Cloud shifted his weight uncomfortably.
"I don't know the whole story," the blonde ex-soldier replied. "But Em's seemed real worried these days."
Tifa hugged her arms to herself and shivered; not because she was cold, per-say, but because she felt the same way. It was a sense of foreboding. But, in all honesty, she had been feeling that way for quite a while now, only now, she knew what she was up against. Strange, she had thought that would make the feeling go away. It really isn't helping that Cloud's here, either.
Vincent, noticing Tifa's shivering, removed his black leather jacket and set it over her shaking shoulders. The gesture earned a quick grimace from Cloud, but no one seemed to notice because they were either completely oblivious or simply didn't care. Tifa met Vincent's eyes and whispered a thank you which he accepted with a slight emotionless nod. He then turned his attention to Aiden and Emily, who were making their way back to the circle of companions.
"The council has decided that we should accompany you back to the house to retrieve the Talisman." Aiden said as he sidled up next to Yuffie. "They figure now that Darknation has undoubtedly connected you to us, it is no longer safe in the secret room."
"Then what are we supposed to do?" Barret asked crossly. "Do we just sit and wait for Darknation to come and attack us again?"
"No kiddin'," Cid chimed in, pushing his goggles further back on his head. "If these guys are as dangerous as you say then it looks like we're shit outta luck."
Emily shook her head. "That's why the council has decided that you can stay here if you wish to. We can offer you room and board as well as whatever safety we still have."
"But what will that accomplish?" Yuffie questioned with arms akimbo. "I mean, what good will it do? How is hiding gonna help the situation?"
Tifa thought a moment and then sighed. "Yuffie's right. We could stay here with you, but for how long? What about our lives? I mean, I still have the tavern to run." She paused as she slipped her hands through the arms of Vincent's pre-warmed jacket. "Not to mention the fact that some of us have family to get back to."
Dean Preston, who had seemingly been listening in on the conversation, stepped up. "My men are currently making plans for an attack that will finally put an end to Darknation. It's just that the council won't support any of the strategies we present."
"Well what's up with that?" Cid burst out. "That's the only real solution to this problem! Just take the bastards out at their roots!"
Emily sighed heavily and rubbed the back of her neck. "If only it were that simple. You see, we still can't pinpoint the location of Darknation's base. We may know the identity of some of their lesser members," she added the next statement with a glare towards the council members behind her. "But since we haven't identified their leaders, the council doesn't want to risk it."
Cid opened his mouth to speak, but Emily cut him off, as if she knew what he was going to say. "And it wouldn't do any good to kill off the members we have identified. That would only let Darknation know that we're stronger and we'd lose our element of surprise."
Cid closed his mouth and crushed his cigarette underneath his boot. "Well then it looks like we're all screwed then, don't it?" Yuffie rolled her eyes at the pilot. "Don't be so optimistic, Cid."
"Well, whatever we decide to do," Red interrupted as Cid began to retort, "The fact remains that we have to retrieve the Talisman from Tifa's house. I suggest we do it as soon as possible, since it is undoubtedly already light outside."
Dean cleared his throat and once everyone looked his way, he gestured towards the deceptively average city bus they had arrived in. "Well, I'm ready when ya'll are."
-- O --
Tifa climbed the porch steps to her home while trying to fish her evasive house key from her pocket. The fact that she hadn't slept for nearly twenty-four hours was certainly not aiding her lack of manual dexterity. She silently cheered when she was finally able to wrap her trembling fingers around the cold metal of her quarry.
"Alright!" she said to no one in particular as she twisted the key in its lock. The heavy wooden front door creaked open and the morning sunlight cut through the cold blackness of her empty home. Emily entered first and began opening the curtains on all of the windows she could find.
"Emily," Aiden huffed, "we're here on serious business, there's no time to play homemaker."
Completely ignoring his statements, Emily finished her quest and then approached Tifa. "I've never been through the inner entrance to Marie's room before. It's in the attic, right?"
Tifa nodded and then turned to Aiden, who, from the sour expression on his face, didn't take kindly to being ignored. One more thing he has in common with Yuffie, she thought to herself. "So the rest of you are planning on waiting down here?"
"Yeah," Aiden replied with a sigh. "I guess we'll chill in the kitchen or something." He then looked over his shoulder and beckoned to the others before heading off through the kitchen door. Cid traipsed in through the doorway and immediately made a beeline for the corner bar while mumbling something about needing "somethin' with a helluva kick."
Vincent, however, didn't follow the rest of the group and stepped up next to Tifa. "I would prefer to join you."Emily shrugged and turned on her heel. "Suit yourself." All three of them proceeded to climb the staircase.
"So how long have you been the owner of this house?" Emily questioned as they reached the attic door.
"Not that long," Tifa answered with a grunt as she pulled down the ladder door. "I moved in only about seven or eight months ago. I had a construction company do the renovation work to turn the house on the property next door into a tavern." The ladder hit the floor with a solid thunk. "So are you ready?"
Emily nodded and Tifa led the way up into the dark, stuffy attic. She found it kind of amazing how hot it was up there despite the fact that it was rather mild outside. Vincent, who was the last one up the ladder, pulled the chain to the bare bulb on the ceiling and then scanned the area with his severe crimson eyes. The gesture only reminded Tifa of how much danger they were in, and she shivered before heading toward the old armoire at the end of the attic.
"Here it is," Tifa said as she pulled the back of the great wooden piece from the wall to create a gap large enough to fit through. She stepped back as Emily moved forward with an almost reverent look etched in her features.
"How did you discover this entrance, again?"
Tifa reached up and rubbed the back of her head. "Actually, it was Vincent who figured it out, not me." She turned to look at her darkly clad friend but his attention seemed to be somewhere else other than the conversation the two young women were having. His eyes vacantly scanned the shadows as he rubbed his chin in thought.
"Something on your mind, Vince?"
Vincent was immediately snapped from his contemplation and he met Tifa's eyes with a blank expression on his face. "Yes, actually I have quite a number of things on my mind."
Tifa smiled brightly. "Well, that's nothing unusual, I suppose."
It was then that Emily emerged from the secret room with a familiar dark blue candle in her hands. She held the candle out to Tifa, but Tifa hesitated to take it. She remembered what had happened the last time she touched it. "Why are you giving this to me?" she asked quietly.
"Nobody really knows the full powers of the Talisman, so I think it's just safer if you're the one to hold onto it."
Tifa cautiously received the candle from Emily and when it didn't bite her or send her into another terrifying hallucination, she looked up at her newly found cousin. "It might be easier to hide if it weren't in this candle."
Emily stuck out her lip in a pout. "That was quite possibly my best work…but you're going to have to break it." She then heaved a sigh and took the candle back from Tifa. She snapped the candle in half to reveal the Talisman that had been harbored so safely inside. Tifa noted that it looked exactly like the picture Yuffie had shown them.
"Wow," Tifa gasped as Emily set the two halves of blue wax down and turned the golden artifact over in her hands.
"Here," Emily said as she reached up and removed the golden chain she had around her neck. She threaded the chain through one of the holes carved into the edge of the relic and pocketed the golden angel pendant that had been on the chain to begin with. Satisfied with the outcome, she smiled and passed the piece to Tifa.
"Thanks," Tifa replied as she held the Talisman up towards the light and watched as the bloodstone gleamed and sparkled.
"Miss Bordeaux, you never did explain the visions that Tifa has been experiencing." Emily turned to Vincent as Tifa continued to muse over the item in her possession.
"Well, like I said before, we don't really know why the Talisman does the things it does, but it seems to have something almost like memories. It's complicated, but the one with the Gift, comes from a long line of especially sensitive women. Only women with this heightened sensitivity can hear, see, or even experience, these 'memories'."
Just then, Tifa felt a pang of fear and expectancy shoot through her body. "Something-"But she was cut off by an explosion that rocked the building and sent her careening into one of the stacks of boxes along the wall.
"Wh-what was that!?" Emily exclaimed as she brought a hand to her ringing ear.
Tifa listened intently and started to hear distant screams. "I don't know, but let's find out!"
Vincent led the way as the three dashed through the secret room and down the back stairs. Once outside, Tifa looked all around. "The house seems to be just fine…so what-" Her eyes widened as the once distant screams sounded much closer now. "The restaurant!"
Sprinting around the side of the house with Vincent and Emily on her heels, she tucked the Talisman down into her pocket. As the bar came into view Tifa could see angry red flames and thick black smoke rising out of the bar. She skidded to a stop as she nearly collided with a frantic woman fleeing the burning building.
"Ma'am, what happened!?" Tifa shouted and then spotted the others rounding the other side of the house.
"I-I don't know, but we have to get help," the woman replied while gasping for breath. "There're still people inside!"
Tifa gasped in horror as the woman pushed past her and fled towards the road. By this time, all the others had reached them. "What do we do!?" Yuffie shouted. "Some guy back there told us that there are a ton of people trapped inside still!"
Tifa's mind reeled as she recognized Charlotte among those who had escaped. She was shouting into her cell phone and Tifa jogged up to her. "Charlotte! Where're Fergy and Keaton?"
Charlotte, who appeared to be on the phone with the fire department, placed a hand over the receiver. "They're still inside, Tifa, but I don't know where." Suddenly, Tifa saw a flash of red out of the corner of her eye and turned to see Nanaki charging into the burning building with Cloud and Barret hot on his heels.
"Yuffie!" Tifa yelled over shoulder. "Look for any injured who have escaped, I'm going in!"
Yuffie nodded and dashed off toward the small group of customers who had congregated in the dirt parking lot. With that, Tifa darted towards the rapidly blazing structure with Emily striding beside her.
Seeing that the wooden porch entrance had fallen in, blocking the door, Tifa pulled up a heavy paving stone from the walkway and shattered one of the large front windows. "Come on!" She climbed through, carefully avoiding the sharp edges of glass and leapt into the tavern's dining room. Flames gnawed angrily at the curtains hanging along the side of the window and were quickly climbing up to lick at the ceiling.
Tifa saw Emily charge away from her over towards the bar. She must have spotted someone. That's when she heard it. Someone was screaming for help. Tifa frantically looked around her and felt someone brush past her on her left. She nodded to Cid before exiting through the window and coming outside. She could hear the shouts more clearly now…but where were they coming from?
Quickly, she ran to the large, busted window on the other side of the porch. She peered inside and realized that it might be Keaton. After all, she hadn't seen him among those who had escaped. With new determination, she slipped through the window and ducked below the acrid smoke that billowed out through the window pane.
Getting down on her hands and knees to avoid the smoke, she worked her way forward; all the while calling out Keaton's name.
-- O --
Red XIII, Barret, and Cloud made their way around to the back of the building, which sported a large hole from the explosion that had occurred. That's when they spotted a flash of pink through one of the second story windows and heard the shrill sound of a woman wailing. "Someone's up there!" Red shouted. He immediately leapt onto the dumpster, then onto the roof of the first story before disappearing through the hole into the loft above.
Cloud and Barret wasted no time in breaking through the back door that lead into the kitchen. "Tifa said something about the cook still being in here," Barret told Cloud quickly as the ceiling above them cracked ominously. Cloud scanned the piles of rubble in the room before catching a movement in the corner. "There!"
Both he and Barret pushed their way through the piles of wood and brick and reached a man who was trapped under the fallen vent that was once above the kitchen's stove.
"Would you mind giving me a hand here?" the burly man shouted as he struggled to breathe under the weight of the stainless steel mess.
Barret and Cloud instantly began attempting to haul the weighty fixture off of the man. With a struggle, they managed to push it off of him before the charred ceiling began to collapse. Together, they drug and pulled the broken and burned man towards the door.
"The wood shake shingles are acting as kindling!" the man shouted. "The roof won't hold much longer!"
Cloud looked up at Barret and then backed up as the muscular black man lifted who they assumed was the cook, Fergus, up over his shoulder. Cloud began to forge a path through the ruble back towards the door. The heat from the stifling air was starting to make it hard to breathe, but the three men soon made it outside in time to watch the kitchen roof fall in and kick up a spray of hot ash and splintered wood.
"Thanks," Fergus said with a grunt as Barret carried him a safe distance from the burning tavern. "I know it wasn't smart to stay there, but I was just trying to get to the pilot light on the gas stove to turn it off." He paused as a Barret set him on the ground and gazed back at the rapidly falling pub. "But I suppose it really doesn't matter now anyway…there'll be no saving this place."
-- O --
Aiden coughed as the smoke that was surrounding him filled his lungs. "Hello! Hello! Is anyone here!?" Getting down on his hands and knees, he searched beneath the tables and amongst the piles of drywall that had been blow from the wall. He spied a young woman lying underneath a table that was frighteningly close to an approaching flame.
With a newfound speed, Aiden crawled over the ruble as shards of glass and splinters of wood bit into his hands. "Hey, are you alright!?" There was no answer, and he pushed aside a chair in order to reach the woman.
Rolling her over, he found that she had a nasty gash on her head that was oozing blood, but she was still breathing. Hoisting her into his arms, he began his painstakingly slow journey back to the exit all the while aware that the building was weakening quickly and could collapse very soon.
-- O --
A wall of flame now burned between Red and the young blonde who was shrieking in the corner. With a deep breath that burned his lungs, he lunged through the fire and skidded to a stop on the other side. He turned to the frightened girl who cowered away from him. "I am here to save you, but we do not have much time!"
The girl stood and despite the many bruises and scratches that adorned her pale skin, she followed Red as he searched for a way out. He knew that the chances of the structure holding up much longer were slim; they needed to get out of there as soon as possible. He halted when he spotted a busted window that was above the front entrance.
The girl quickly came up behind him. "Mister Tiger, sir! The fire is too close! There's no way we can get to the stairs!"
This is indeed a problem, Red thought as he glanced at the forthcoming flames that raced their way across the carpeted floor. "Come," he said after a fast decision. "We have to jump."
"Jump! N-no I can't do that! I have weak ankles! I'll-"
Red roared angrily. "You don't have a choice!" He then nudged the shaking girl to the window. "Now, jump!"
The blonde whimpered, and then climbed up on the window sill. She looked reluctantly down at the ground below, before shutting her eyes tight and dropping from sight. Red didn't waste a moment in following her out.
-- O --
Emily looked over towards the bar and spotted a man that was trying to pull himself towards them despite the fact that one of his legs was obviously broken. She rushed forward and pushed aside the upturned furniture that stood in her path. "Sir, I'm coming to help you! Please stay still!"
The man coughed and grimaced as the action shook his chest. "My daughter…" he managed to say. "She's back here, but I can't carry her. Please…"
"Look out!" Emily heard someone shout and then felt something push into her side which knocked her into a broken table. She felt pain shoot up her arm as she glanced down to see that her hand had fallen on a broken bottle and now was leaking her life's fluid onto the debris littered on the ground. She glanced back to see Cid Highwind picking himself up off the floor and pushing away a newly fallen ceiling fan aside.
"Sorry, hun, but you were about to be flattened. Now c'mon! We gotta get these two outta here!"
Emily nodded and picked herself up and carefully made her way to the man's toddler who was hiding beneath a chair. "I won't hurt you; you can trust me, okay!" The young girl nodded and then allowed herself to be scooped into Emily's arms. Cid hefted the injured man over his shoulder. Together, he and Emily rushed towards the window they had come in, but Tifa was nowhere in sight.
-- O --
The sounds and smells that turbulently milled about in the air accosted Vincent's heightened senses as he surged toward the burning building. He saw Tifa and Emily go in through one of the huge front windows and determined to follow them in to ensure Tifa's safety, what with her new-found adversaries undoubtedly being the cause of this mayhem.
But a flash of red in the green forest to his left caught his eye. Digging in his heel, Vincent came to a complete stop and stared intensely into the growth. There, a flash of red. No normal human eye would've caught it, but then, normal was not a word one would ever use to describe Vincent Valentine.
His hand lingering over the holster of the pistol he had strapped to his side, Vincent studied the minute movements of the individual hidden by the leaves of the thick undergrowth. He heard the hammer of a hidden firearm cock and in an instinctive move, side-stepped the bullet that followed, whizzing past his watching eyes.
A gasp sounded from the concealed assailant and that's all it took for Vincent to pinpoint his position. In seconds, he had cleared the gap between them and had the barrel of his gun pressed against the back of the intruder's head. "Don't move."
"Are you going to shoot me, Valentine?" The black-cloaked figure said with morbid amusement tainting his voice, the scarlet lining of his cape flashing sunlight.
"It would be a mistake believing I won't."
The masked man chuckled. "So be it." He reached both of his hands up into the air above his head. Then, in one swift action, he spun around discharged several throwing daggers in Vincent's direction. Vincent easily evaded the blades and fired one round in the direction of his fleeing attacker. The man fell instantly and then remained motionless in the forest brush as Vincent brushed the dirt from his pant leg.
Pity. He would've liked to get some answers before having to kill the miserable excuse for an assassin.
-- O --
Tifa crawled in the direction she heard the shout come from. "Who's there!? Keaton, is that you!? I'm coming to help!" The smoke was thick and black as it plumed above her head against the ceiling. Then she heard it again. Someone was shouting…it was coming from upstairs! She switched directions and when she reached the back stairway, she began the treacherous climb up on her hands and knees.
The heat from the fire caused beads of sweat to roll down her face as she cautiously tested each step before placing her weight on it. Finally, after reaching the top, she looked around the room. There was a huge hole blown in the wall opposite her, but she was separated from it by a menacing wall of flames.
The building creaked and groaned threateningly and Tifa realized that she didn't have much time. She knew that Keaton must be up here. Continuing her crawling, she began to shout. "Keaton! Keaton, are you here!? It's Tifa!"
There was a sudden movement to her left that she caught out of the corner of her eye. Turning quickly, she spotted a flash of what looked like clothing. "Hello!?" she shouted once more.
The floor beneath her groaned and though she tried to back away, the boards under her hands gave way and fell into the room below. Tifa let out a scream and leapt back ward away from the widening hole. She had to find Keaton soon, or they were both goners.
She stood slightly and began a stooped walk towards where she had seen the movement. Suddenly, a loud crack was heard from the protesting ceiling above her as the roof began to cave in on top of her. In a swift and instinctive move, she threw herself against the wall to avoid being crushed, but lost her balance and ripped her jeans open on a sharp splinter of wood.
She clenched her teeth to avoid screeching out in pain as blood began to seep from her scratch. Looking down, she noticed that her pocket had been torn off as well. Tifa frantically searched the floor and found the talisman balancing on a board just beyond her right foot, shimmering and winking in the firelight. She rose and snatched the talisman from its resting place. She clutched it tightly to herself as she pressed her free hand against her leg wound in an attempt to slow the bleeding.
That was it, she didn't have a choice; she had to get out of here. She was nearly to the stairs again when she heard a shuffle behind her. She abruptly stopped and turned just in time to see a broken wooden spindle from the staircase speeding towards her face. There was a moment of mind-numbing pain, and then a muffled ringing, and then her body crumpled limply to the floor.
-- O --
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