Show me what it's like to dream in black and white,
So I can leave this world tonight.
-Unknown Soldier, Breaking Benjamin
"Cloud." Aerith took out her phone again and handed it to her blond companion. "Read this."
Frowning, Cloud took the phone from her and read through the message. When he looked up, his eyes were wide. "This is from AVALANCHE. Aerith, do you have any idea how they could have your number?"
"AVALANCHE? The terrorist group? I'm sorry, I don't know. How do you know that it's from them?"
"Uh -" Cloud looked down awkwardly at his knees. He didn't want to confess to withholding information from Aerith, but at that point there wasn't much choice. "- I'm, actually, I'm working for AVALANCHE. I'm sorry I didn't tell you. I didn't expect... this to happen. Though, I still don't understand how they could have your number... oh. Aerith, you said the Turks were following you?"
"Um, yeah."
"It's from Cissnei." Of course. That made sense. She'd written to Aerith about Zack - she and Tifa both knew who he was but Cloud would be surprised if anyone from AVALANCHE did and Tifa wouldn't send a message like that, or block her number, or have Aerith's number in the first place, whereas Cissnei would. "Aerith, go back home. I'll deal with this."
Aerith's green eyes blazed and Cloud cursed mentally. Now was the worst possible time for her to activate her stubborn side. This was an emergency; he couldn't afford to have to deal with an obstinate flower girl. "Why should I go home? The message was for me, not you."
"The most likely reason for that is that Cissnei doesn't have my number, and probably thinks I'm dead anyways. Aerith, this is -"
"Don't tell me it's too dangerous. How many times do I have to say this? I can handle dangerous situations."
Cloud sighed. Maybe Aerith could handle certain 'dangerous situations', but he very much doubted this was the kind of situation she was used to. "Look, I believe you, okay? But there's no need for you to do this. I know these people, and I can handle it myself. You may be used to dangerous situations but that is no reason to recklessly place yourselves in them. I appreciate your help so far but I'll go alone from here."
Aerith crossed her arms and Cloud knew instantly that none of his speech had gotten through to her. "No, Cloud. You don't understand. I do have a reason to want to come with you."
"What - oh. Zack."
Aerith nodded quietly. "I haven't seen him in over four years. I've moved on, but - it would be nice to have some closure." She gave a laugh that sounded only mildly forced. "At the very least, I need to make sure that I approve of whatever new girlfriend I'm sure he's picked up," she joked. "If she's not good enough for him, I'm going to kick her ass."
The image of sweet and innocent Aerith kicking another girl's ass was enough to elict a quickly smothered snort of amusement from Cloud. "Zack isn't with AVALANCHE, but I promise I'll find out whatever I can about him, and I'll come back to tell you. Now go home, okay?"
"So protective. What if I say I don't want you to go into danger alone?"
Cloud had to roll his eyes. "I was in SOLDIER."
"Oh, good! That means I can come, because I know I'll have you to protect me, right?"
Cloud shook his head. "We're wasting time. I won't take you in there when they're planning to bring down the plate, so just go and I promise I'll find you and tell you anything I can find out about you old boyfriend. If you come, you'll get in my way and I won't be able to save my -" he'd been about to say 'friends' but Tifa was the only one who he could really call a friend "- won't be able to save the rest of AVALANCHE."
"Fine," Aerith said with a scowl, "but you'd better remember your promise."
Cloud sighed. He hadn't meant to be so harsh on her, but he couldn't take her into danger. "Well... I'll see you again, I hope, Aerith."
Aerith watched him go. He was so sure and confident. Of course, it was ridiculous of him to think she needed to be sheltered, but there was something endearing about his protectiveness. He was a lot like Zack, really. Zack had always been sure he could take on the world all on his own. He'd made Aerith believe it too. Zack may have loved her, but he'd never needed her. Zack didn't need people. That must have been why he could just go away and not contact her for four years. As soon as she wasn't there, Zack must have found something new to chase after, a new object for his smiles.
Aerith was like that too. There was too much beauty in the world to get hung up on one lost relationship. She had her flowers, of course, but she could find something else new, too.
Like a blond ex-SOLDIER who put himself in danger but couldn't bear to let her do the same. Who smiled too rarely, but so beautifully. Who was currently walking away to protect his friends, and, in a way, her.
By trying to keep her away, Cloud had made up her mind. She was still scared - more like terrified if she was to be completely honest with herself - but she forced that fear down. She had to go. Not just for Zack. Cloud was going into danger and even if he was an ex-SOLDIER she couldn't let him go alone.
Taking a few deep breaths, she checked her bag for materia. She'd need it.
Reno turned another corner and Cissnei followed. They were almost at the Pillar. She was running out of time. She needed to get Reno before he could get backup. I could finish this in a couple of seconds. Bullet from behind, he'll never even see it coming. Thousands of lives saved.
Her hand reached for her gun, slowly, uncertainly. It's what I should do. It was kind of ironic, actually. When she had no better reason to kill than that the President of ShinRa had ordered he to, she did so without hesitation. Now, however...
Come on, Cissnei. You were a Turk. You can do this.
She pulled her gun out just a little too loudly, because Reno heard the noise and ducked just as the shot was fired.
"Hey, babe. Imagine meetin' you here, yo."
Cissnei didn't dignify Reno with a response. She wasn't there to chat, she was there to stop him. Whatever that would take. Don't attack him now, he's prepared for you. Wait for him to let his guard down. But Reno would know better than to let his guard down around Cissnei, and she didn't have time to wait. Reno took out his lightening rod and brandished it, ready for a fight - ready to fight her. Well, she was ready to fight, too. Cissnei tensed and dropped down into a crouch. As Reno dashed forwards she leapt back, out of his way, prepared to face his next attack. From their training together, Cissnei knew that she could drag this fight out almost infinitely. They were evenly matched. But she didn't want that - she wanted to end it quickly. As soon as Rude came...
Reno swung again and Cissnei ducked, diving forwards, elbow up and connecting with his ribs. At the same time Reno's rod cracked across her other elbow, sending pain shooting up her left arm. Cissnei grimaced, but didn't let herself stop. A hand under his chin, forcing it upwards. She could hear him breathing heavily as she forced him off her. Get him on the ground and knock him out, and it'll be over.
A hand grabbed her shoulder and Reno's fingers dug into her skin, pushing, a moved designed to distract her so she'd be in too much pain to fight him off. He actually thinks that will work on me? He should know better. She forced her other palm open - it was starting to go numb, damn Reno's rod - and struck down hard with it on the arm that held her. Expecting to be released, she stepped back, but Reno was still holding her and she pulled him with her. Her eyes were starting to sting from the pain. They were both off-balance, she had to get him on the floor or he'd pin her down then drop the plate and she'd be responsible for letting even more people die. Possibly responsible for sending Aerith to her death. So, let's see: I let Zack die, antagonized the President into killing his best friend and may end up causing his girlfriend to get crushed by the Upper Plate when it falls. What better friend could Zack have asked for?
She moved her right foot, intending to sweep Reno's feet out from under him with it, but Reno took advantage of the moment to use the hand he'd had gripping her shoulder to shove her backwards. Cissnei stumbled, disoriented, ready to collapse. Never in their training sessions had Reno beaten her this easily. Well, she supposed months spent wallowing in alcohol and self-pity hadn't honed her fighting skills much. Still, she'd hoped to go down with more of a fight.
So, this was your heroic last stand. Congratulations, Cissnei.
Reno twisted her right arm up behind her back, keeping Cissnei upright but completely at his mercy. Well, at least she probably wouldn't live to experience the fallout of this particular failure. Cissnei would bet the Turks had orders to bring her back in a body bag if they caught her. What outcome had she expected, really? She wasn't going to change things. She wasn't going to save anyone. People who thought like that ended up dead on the side of the road. She knew. She'd seen it happen so many times, she barely stopped to think about it anymore, except when...
Anyways, it would be over soon. She wasn't going to be a hero. No-one would remember her. Any friends she had who weren't Turks would be dead too, and as for the Turks, they'd throw her file away and she'd be a small footnote in their history saying, this is what happens when you start caring. So don't. What had she done with her life? She'd been picked up off the street and trained to kill and follow orders. From there, she'd become ShinRa's puppet: no identity, no objections. She'd killed and turned a blind eye to others killing. Then she'd decided to stop, and then this had happened. Oh, and in between she'd fallen in love. Probably the most important event to her, but not something anyone else would know or care about. Nobody else still alive, at any rate.
Reno shoved his rod into her chest and pain shot through her. A small scream escaped her. So, you've given up? Decided you're beaten? You could still fight, y'know. C'mon, Cissnei. Her inner voice sounded an awful lot like Zack. That was exactly what he would say. Because he had always believed in her. It was part of who he was, but at the same time it meant he had never really known her; he'd been too busy trying to find and believe in the good in her. That thought made her feel unbearably lonely. The one person she'd loved, and he'd never really seen her. Which was good, because he would have stayed far away from her if he had.
Zack wouldn't give up. Zack never gave up. That was what had allowed him to save Cloud. Who she had then failed to save. She was a quitter. Zack would keep fighting. She couldn't.
Yes, you can.
Her left hand still gripped her gun. In this kind of combat trying to shoot Reno would not work.
She lashed out at Reno with all her force, bringing her gun up against his jaw. Metal met skin with a sickening crack and Reno yelped in pain. The pressure against her other arm was gone. She stepped back to collect herself, even out her breathing, allow her heart to stop trying to pound its way out of her chest. Her gaze travelled up to Reno's jaw and she saw the trickle of blood running down the side of his face. Something in her stomach tried to force its way up.
It's just blood. You've seen blood before.
Yeah, she had. There had been so much of it. The smell had been sickening and she'd fought hard not to retch. It was raining and the blood mixed with the water so everything she saw was red.
She'd searched for a body methodically, with a Turk's eye, but praying the whole time she wouldn't find it. Wasn't that ridiculous? Cissnei didn't pray. She didn't believe.
She'd found it. So much blood...
Pull yourself together. This is Reno, not Zack. You're in Midgar, not outside of it. And if anyone is going to die here it will probably be you, not him. Cissnei watch the trickle of scarlet flow down his face. I guess I'm just very skilled in hurting those I love. Maybe because she'd never been taught to do anything but hurt people.
Cissnei tried to take a deep breath but found she couldn't. A strong arm had wrapped itself around her throat and she was suffocating. Someone had approached her silently from behind while she'd been too busy freaking out at the sight of blood like some amateur.
There was no way she could fight Rude and Reno off at the same time.
To qwq qweqq: I know you haven't reviewed in a while, but if you're still reading this I would appreciate any comments you might have about the Cissnei vs Reno fight. I'm not entirely satisfied with how it turned out, but it certainly went better than many fight scenes I've written previously. On the other hand, the fighting was kind of drowned out by Cissnei's thoughts, so... any advice would be appreciated.
Note: The above request was addressed to qwq qweqq because they've given me advice on my fight scenes before. However, any advice from anyone would be amazing, so please let me know what I did right, what I can improve etc.
Irish-Brigid: Ok, I'm glad the pacing wasn't a problem :). I was pretty worried that it might seem illogical or confusing. Thank you for your reviews, I'm really glad that you keep posting them.
BurtMyChocolate: I'm really, really glad you liked the Aerith bit because to be honest, Aerith is kind of a struggle for me to write. I love her character, but I find it very difficult to get inside her head. I identify much better with characters like Cloud or Cissnei because I have more in common with them in real life (I'm shy, reserved and find it difficult to open up). While I know people like Aerith or Zack and I often base my writing of them around how I think those people would act, it's much harder to imagine actually being them. So if you, or anyone else reading this, are either an outgoing, open, warm and friendly kind of person or are good at writing characters with that kind of personality... advice would be much appreciated ;).