Chapter Seventy-Six: Abandoned
No one dared to move or speak. The only sounds that echoed against the night were Sephiroth's heavy, labored breaths. The wolf picked himself up and purposely strode between Avalanche and the couple, baring his fangs and growling deep and threateningly. Vincent didn't lower his gun, which was aimed at his own comrades.
"A-Aralyn," Tifa finally breathed. "What are you…?"
"Filthy little snitch!" Cid yelled accusingly, breaking the quiet with his violent outburst. "Figures that she would be working for him!"
The wolf barked loudly, stunning everyone who had become so used to the silence. The growls became louder and more dangerous, and he didn't hesitate to roar again if anyone so much as flinched.
"Cloud," Aralyn pleaded, not releasing Sephiroth's body but raising her head to meet his eyes. "Tifa…I—"
"You have nothing to apologize for," Cloud interrupted violently, his voice breaking with rage. "It was all an act, and that's all that matters."
"No! Cloud, believe me I—"
"How long have you been conspiring?" Yuffie shouted.
"I never—"
Cid made the mistake of advancing toward Aralyn, spear raised high. Another savage roar rang through the glade, louder this time, shaking everyone to their bones. Crimson wispy auras blinded the party, and when they could see again, they found a black winged demon pinning their comrade down.
"Do not touch her," Vincent, now Chaos, warned slowly, his eyes burning venomous yellow. "Do not touch either of them."
It was hard to deny this terrifying demon his request, but Barret chose to do so. Aralyn cried, but did not struggle, as the man pried her from her husband, gripping her by the neck and holding her above the ground, ignoring her choked sobs.
"Let her go!" Chaos roared, charging Barret, but in his haste exposing his back to Cid. With one quick stroke, Cid rammed the blunt end of his spear across the demon's back, causing Chaos to crumple to the ground.
The next one to advance was Cloud. Barret dropped Aralyn and let her crumple at Cloud's feet. Cloud stood beside her, not offering a hand to her.
"Why did you do this?" he asked, seemingly calm, but truly suppressing his anger.
Aralyn did not rise, but looked up to meet him. He stepped back upon seeing her all too pale face and sunken, ashy cheeks. Her lips were tinted with the lightest blue and her eyes were glassy and far away.
He was reminded that her life was slowly slipping away.
She was dying.
The wolf approached again, standing beside her like a guard. "Zack?" Cloud asked, disbelieving.
The wolf nodded its head.
"Then why are you siding with her?" Cloud screamed, suddenly losing his grip. "With him?" He gestured angrily to the fallen silver haired man who lay immobile beside Aralyn, who protectively wrapped her arms around him.
Zack tenderly brushed up against Aralyn, his meaning clear. Sephiroth, the man who had been a dear friend to him, was lost, his heart and soul long ago consumed by the being that had claimed to be his mother. Aralyn, however, his beloved wife and cherished angel, still lived.
Cloud lowered to his knees, resting his blade on the ground. Zack winced, even in dog form, as he saw the deep red blood that stained his old sword, the blood of Sephiroth, his dearest friend. "I can't say I am sorry for what we've done," he said quietly to Aralyn. "But we will leave. Do not…I don't ever want to see you again."
"I understand," Aralyn replied.
Cloud pivoted and ran away, none of the anger having disappeared.
He was not forgiving her on any level, and everyone knew it.
Cid and Barret turned, the latter turning Yuffie away while Tifa was left staring on. "We just leave him?" Yuffie protested.
"Does he look like he's getting up any time soon?" Barret asked, not bothering to hide his bitter remark from Aralyn. "Bet you one hundred gil he's dead within the hour."
Tifa stood mute, meeting Aralyn's sorrowful eyes. She opened her mouth to say something, but every time she tried, all that came was air.
"Go," Aralyn whispered. "Forget me. Live your lives in peace…I hold no grudge against you."
And as Tifa watched the pale, dying girl cradle the most cruel and merciless man in the world in her frail arms, stroking his hair and whispering gentle words even as her tears fell unabated, not for her own agony, but for his, she knew that Aralyn meant every word of it.
"Vincent," she managed, not addressing the demon Chaos, but the man within. "Take care of her."
The harsh glare softened and Chaos nodded. Before she left, she witnessed the demon slowly transform back into Vincent's normal form.
She blamed the shock of it all. If it hadn't come so suddenly, they wouldn't have acted the way they did, she told herself.
If things hadn't turned out the way they had…
Tifa wasn't aware of the venomous catlike eyes that followed her, grinning. Kadaj, in stark contrast, had no regrets. In fact, it had gone far better than he had planned.