Happy Holidays my awesome readers! I wasn't going to upload this just yet, but I figure since I'm only going to get busier as Christmas nears I should get this out before I can't find the time. xD I'm also happy because I got out of a writer's block for one of my other titles so the next few chapters for it should be no problem. As for this chapter, I left some of the scenes opened for the next chapter since it looks like I won't get to sit down and write until after the 25th and I wanted to make sure I could easily pick it back up. That being said this is in no way an incomplete chapter. Think of it more as a 'Part One' and the next one being part two. Things are going to start getting really interesting from here. ;)
Enjoy!
Tifa Lockhart wasn't your average country girl. She could blend in almost anywhere, provided she had the right clothes. She was the type that could pull off almost any style and make it look natural. Today she had decided to use some of the gil she had saved up and go shopping for a new wardrobe, since it looked like she'd be staying in Midgar for a while. An thanks to checks that were being delivered to the front desk from the general's office she never had to spend anything for her room and board and what a great place it was. It wasn't a pent house, but it was a beautiful suite. Complete with Master bedroom a walk-in shower next to a large bathtub and marble tiles. The kitchen was nice and big with a small island and the living room had a nice big TV with a soft couch and a recliner with a glass coffee table. It was definitely a step up from little old Nibelheim. Even though her father had a nice house all it had going for it was its size.
She walked through the streets of Loveless avenue and was surprised when she saw a girl selling flowers. She was pushing along the cutest cart she had ever seen. The girl had long brown hair pulled into a braid and topped off with the pinkest ribbon Tifa had ever seen. She wore a white sun dress and sturdy brown boots.
Tifa was about to go about her business and enter a clothing store when she heard the startled gasp. "Oh no! Please stop that cart!"
Tifa turned and saw the cart's handle had broken off and it was rolling away towards a busy intersection. The girl was running after it, trying to stop it before it rolled into the street. She tried, but her dress had gotten snagged on something as she ran past it and it jerked her, causing her to lose her balance and fall. The dress ripped and she looked up in time to see the cart near the street, but Tifa was there to stop it before it could get hit.
She pushed it back up the street and turned it so it wouldn't roll away again. "Are you okay,' she asked as she extended her hand.
"Yeah, I'm alright," the girl replied as she took Tifa's hand and let her pull her to her feet. "Thanks for saving the cart. My boyfriend built it for me, but he's not a very good carpenter."
"I noticed," Tifa replied. "Your dress was ruined too."
The girl looked down at it and sighed. "Guess I'll have to sew it back up again. This thing's been torn so many times I could almost connect the dots to each patch up," she said with a small giggle. "I'm Aerith by the way."
"I'm Tifa. Come on, let's get you fixed up," and with that she took Aerith's hand and led her into the clothing store she was about to visit before.
Once inside Aerith was amazed by all of the wonderful dresses and smiled as she looked through some of the cheaper ones. "What do you think about this one?" She pulled out a blue dress with yellow flowers.
Tifa gave it a look before shaking her head. "It's pretty, but it's not really you, you know?" She looked around until something caught her eye. "Oh! What about this one?"
She pulled out a dress and handed it to Aerith, but the girl looked at the price first. "It's beautiful, but it's too much."
Tifa just waved a hand, "Pfft, don't worry about it, it's on me."
Aerith blinked in surprise, "oh, but I couldn't!"
"Just go try it on," Tifa interrupted.
Reluctantly Aerith went into the dressing room and when she emerged moments later she was smiling.
"That dress looks perfect on you," Tifa commented.
Aerith blushed as she picked up the ends and spun a bit, "You really think so?"
"You bet I do, and it matches your bow perfectly! Just wait until your boyfriend sees you in this. I bet he takes you out to a nice dinner," Tifa replied.
Aerith smiled at that and the two shopped for a bit more. Tifa had bought a white T-shirt and a pair of Black overall shorts before heading over to another shop and buying a good pair of combat boots and gloves. After that they headed for a nice place to eat.
"So how long have you lived in Midgar," asked Tifa as she bit into her burger.
"Most of my life," Aerith replied. "I think there was a time when I lived somewhere else, but I was too young to remember. Where have you lived? I get the feeling that you've traveled from far away."
Tifa nodded as she took a sip of her drink while Aerith started on her fries. "Yeah, I came from Nibelheim. It's a small town way deep in the Nibel Mountains."
"Doesn't it get cold out there," asked Aerith.
"Oh yeah, if you don't dress prepared then you won't make it up there, but the mountains made me pretty tough and I had a good teacher."
"Oh, so what subject did you study," asked Aerith.
Tifa laughed. "Sorry, I wasn't very clear. By teacher I mean instructor. He taught me martial arts. I got so good I can fight off a small pack of Nibel wolves with my fists and kicks alone."
"Wow, I bet you'd make a great bodyguard," Aerith replied.
Tifa smiled at the idea. "Maybe, but I promised I'd avoid trouble, especially when I don't want to make life any harder for a friend of mine."
She saw the look Aerith gave her and explained with a smile, "Years ago when my friend and I were just kids he saved my life. A bridge collapsed with me on it and I went to fall. The other kids had run off because they didn't want to get in trouble, but he came out of his hiding spot and tried to help. He was the only one who tried, even though he was scared too."
"What happened then," asked Aerith.
"The bridge snapped and I fell, but he held on to me and we fell together. I got hurt and was out cold for several days. When I woke up my father forbade me from ever seeing that boy again. The other kids had told the rest of the town it had been his idea and that he dared me to go out onto the bridge."
"That terrible," Aerith exclaimed.
Tifa nodded. "I tried to tell my father what really happened, but he wouldn't listen. A few nights later I snuck out and went to his house and we met on the water tower. He said he wanted to join SOLDIER and be someone people could look up to and respect, like Sephiroth. I made him promise me then that if ever I was in trouble that he would come and save me."
"He sounds like a sweetheart," Aerith replied.
Tifa smiled as she looked up at the sky, "yeah…"
Zack stepped out of the church and shook his head. "I just don't get it Spike. That's twice she hasn't been there. I'm starting to get worried."
"You said you made her a cart, right? Maybe she's using it to sell flowers," suggested Cloud as the two made their way from the building and back towards the train station.
"I hope so, but why wouldn't she wait for me to sell them with her? She's so nice I'm worried she'll end up giving the flowers away instead. You can't run a business like that," the First Class argued.
Cloud nodded his head in agreement. "True, but I still don't see why you had to pull me out of my cadet classes for this."
Zack smirked as he turned and headed towards another sector. Cloud just shook his head and followed. Great. Zack was planning something sneaky. He should have seen it coming.
Zack had led him into a secluded place away from prying eyes. "You my friend are my plan B. I told myself this morning that if I couldn't see Aerith then I'd train you."
"But Zack, I'm not your student yet. The paperwork hasn't gone through," Cloud argued.
The ravenette only folded his arms and shook his head. "Sorry Spike, if things had been different then I would wait but there are two very important reasons not to. Firstly, the Turks want you on their team and it's not just you that hates the idea. Even Seph thinks it's a bad sign and I agree." He then held out two fingers, "and secondly there's that serious matter the general disclosed with us. We can't afford to let you slack off. I'm gonna make sure you're at your peek and that when you make SOLDIER you'll be ready for whatever the future throws at you."
Cloud sighed. "Why'd my future have to be a living hell?"
"Hey at least you get to live," Zack replied and they both realized that was out of line. "Sorry Cloud. I guess that part bothers me more than I realized."
"I'd question your sanity if it didn't," the blonde replied in understanding, "but at least we get a chance to rewrite history."
Zack smirked at him as he drew his sword. "That's true, now draw that sword I lent to you and let's get started!"
"Yes sir," Cloud replied as the two began their first training lesson.
Tseng was the leader of the Turks. It had a more official-sounding name but everyone knew it was just a title to throw off the populace. Much like those that worked under the branch it was a very secretive organization and only the highest ranking members of the company knew their true purpose. Professor Hojo was one of them and even further, was one of the few who could present requests to them Only the president and vice president shared that honor and on the rare occasion Scarlett could also request their aid.
Tseng had just returned from a mission. It was one he could have refused, but the circumstances were suspicious and he knew some deep, dark secrets about the location. Secrets that could make people disappear if they weren't authorized to know it. His team had recovered all it could find, which wasn't much.
Making his way to Hojo's office he made sure he was aware of his surroundings as he knocked.
"Enter," came the curt reply.
Tseng opened the door and closed it behind him, making no noise as he made his way across the carpet. He stopped in front of the man's desk and waited for the professor to finish writing something down in a journal. When he finished he set it aside and looked up at Tseng with bored, uninterested eyes.
"What did you find?"
Tseng pulled out a few photos from his coat pocket. "One item of interest was recovered as well as two pieces of information that may prove valuable to you."
Hojo looked at the first photo which showed a charred coffin. "Does that ring any bells?"
Hojo nodded, "Yes, but that was a failed project, one I had no intention of starting. It was my assistant who began that project. What of it?"
Tseng pointed to the lid. "We did not move that, which tells us either he awoke on his own or someone else unsealed him."
Hojo's eyes narrowed as he looked at the next picture which was of the reactor. "What am I looking at now?"
Tseng pointed to the image that was really two images next to each other. "The only edit my team did was to place them side by side. If you'll notice the types of blasts are different. No mako mixed with that room and when my team investigated the site of the reactor controls we found evidence of sabotage."
"So someone destroyed the reactor on purpose? Perhaps it was the escaped specimen," Hojo deduced.
"And that's where we believe it wasn't," Tseng replied as he pointed for Hojo to look at the next photo. "There wasn't much left, but we were able to salvage that."
A smile slowly started to grow on Hojo; the kind that would make a cat's hair stand on end. The light caught his glasses in an eerie way making them gleam in the shadows.
"Excellent."
Every other word was lost to the professor and he no longer cared about the runaway experiment. He ushered Tseng out of his office, informing him to keep him posted and once he was alone he walked back to his desk and stared at the image. The room echoed with his ominous chuckles.
