Chapter 53: Caught!
Zack rode on down the road, in the direction of Midgar. He knew he needed to go home now. He had done what he had set out to do, which was minimize the virus in him.
As he continued on his way, he realized another problem. His gas gauge revealed that he was almost on empty. There was not a gas station anywhere on the way back to Midgar, and he realized how much trouble he was in.
He rode on, hoping he'd either find a gas station along the way (though he knew there wasn't one), or perhaps he'd, by some miracle, have enough gas to make it back to Midgar.
Neither happened; his motorcycle let him down out in the middle of nowhere.
Far from any known gas station.
Far from any hotels.
Far from Midgar.
Far from Yuffie.
All he could do was walk his motorcycle down the road. He had no idea where he was, or how far away Midgar would be.
It would be foolish to think anyone would be dumb enough to pick him up and give him a ride in the midst of a pandemic.
Time fell off the clock as Zack continued to hike.
And then, in a distance off the road, he spotted something.
It was a set of stairs that seemed to descend into the ground.
Zack smiled, and hurried his motorcycle towards it.
Soon, he was there.
He passed the guards, who gave him a nod, knowing fully well who he was. It was one of the few places that, as a diplomat, he would be able to use unrestricted.
He walked his motorcycle down the stairs, and into the room below. Inside, there were three blue glows, one with an "N" over it, one with an "S" over it, and one with a "W" over it.
He recognized this place; it had warped him from the Southern Continent to the Western Continent when he had chased Sephiroth two years earlier.
He knew the "S" portal led to a seemingly endless canyon on the Southern Continent, and had no idea where on the Northern Continent the "N" portal led to.
He thus took the one to the Western Continent.
He walked his motorcycle up the metal stairs.
"Ambassador Fair?" inquired one of the guards as he emerged.
"Just home for a visit," Zack replied.
He then continued to walk his dead bike along the first road he saw. He knew he was between Costa del Sol and North Corel, but was unsure exactly where.
After another hour, he finally spotted a gas pump.
"It's about fucking time," he said to himself.
It was off the road by several yards, but, after all he had been through, it was worth it.
He led his bike through the tall grass until he got to the pump.
There was no place to pay. There was no counter on the pump, either.
He realized a legitimate concern.
"This thing better work," he muttered.
He unscrewed the gas cap, inserted the nozzle, and squeezed.
The pump began filling the tank.
Zack sighed in relief.
In a few moments, he would be able to ride back to the teleporter and return to the Eastern Continent.
He would then be able to ride back to Midgar, and back to Yuffie.
And he would propose to her.
"You might want to apologize first," he said to himself, realizing she would most definitely be pissed.
It was then that he heard a rustling in the bushes.
It was then that he saw the figures.
Zack quickly placed the pump back, but it was too late.
It was then that he realized he was on private property.
Moments later, several men emerged from the foliage.
All of them were carrying rifles.
None of them were wearing masks.
And Zack recognized them as the Downings.
"You're on my property, stranger," Dirk informed him.
MEANWHILE…
I was still seated on the couch with the spirits of Ifalna and Aerith still present.
I was, at this point, sorely begging inside to know what Ifalna knew about my mother. All I had known, up to that point, was that somebody delivered me through a caesarian with a shuriken, and, unfortunately, Major Reynolds died in the process. I just never found out who it was.
If Ifalna knew, I began to wonder if it was her.
Spoiler alert: It indeed was.
I kind of figured that. I mean, how else would she know?
It was the other circumstances that I found more surprising.
But that's for another time.
At this point, we had covered Aerith's relationship with Cloud from when they met, all the way up to when they were reunited after she faked her death, down on Choco Bill's farm.
"So it was Cloud who got most of your memory back," I continued. "What happened then?"
"We stayed in a cottage on the farm for a couple of days," Aerith replied. "We bred chocobos until we were able to fly to Round Island. That place was a whole other world. It was like seven hundred years behind us, with all this medieval stuff. We went there for Knights of the Round, of course. When we got back, I found out Cloud had bought us a house in Costa del Sol!"
"Present Shinra's old summer home," I said.
"We bought that house and moved in," Aerith continued. "Then, one day, Cloud left to deal with Ultima Weapon. He never found out about what happened with me while he was out."
FLASHBACK….
Cloud sat on the bed, fully dressed. He was alone, having been awake for hours. In a few moments, he would be heading out to confront Ultima Weapon for the final time. The creature had been a plague for a while, and it was time for it to stop. It would be decisive; at the end of the day, either he or Ultima Weapon would be dead.
Before he left, he went into the bathroom. The shower was running, and Aerith was inside. Cloud could make out her nude figure running her hands through her hair. He found it a beautiful sight, despite the fact the shower door obscured her breasts, butt, and private parts. Of course, he needed to put his mind on other things; namely, taking care of Ultima Weapon.
"I'm heading out," he announced.
"Don't be gone too long!" she called from the shower as she continued to wring her hair. "I'll miss you!"
"And if I'm not gone too long?" he asked.
"I'll miss you anyway," she replied.
Cloud scanned the bathroom. On the counter, he could see a bra and and pink shirt that read something on it; he could not tell what, as it was folded.
"What are you going to be doing while I'm gone?" he asked.
"Not a lot," she replied as she turned to face him through the glass. "Maybe cleaning, maybe watching a couple of chick flicks."
Cloud was silent.
"I'm a girl, Cloud!" she shouted over the running shower water as she folded her arms.
A moment later, the shower door opened slightly, and Aerith poked her drenched head out.
"Aren't you going to kiss me goodbye?" she asked.
They kissed before Cloud left the room.
Aerith then closed the door and resumed her shower.
"I love you!" he called as he reached the front door.
"I love you more!" she shouted from the bathroom.
TEN MINUTES LATER….
Now dried off, Aerith stood in front of the mirror, wearing a green spaghetti-strap short summer dress and a pair of black ankle boots, putting her makeup on.
As much as she loved Cloud, she wanted this time to herself. She wanted to explore the boardwalk, her new home, on her own.
She stepped outside their home, and a gentle, warm breeze immediately greeted her.
It reminded her of how wonderful it was to be alive.
Despite the presence of Meteor in the sky, everyone seemed to be going about as usual. She saw teenage boys and girls together, both in groups and as couples, and remembered how it did not seem long ago that she was one of them.
It made her wish she and Cloud could have been teenagers together.
Gradually, the bustle of the boardwalk died down, and Aerith found herself at the other end of the boardwalk.
She turned around to go back, and, suddenly, she heard a familiar voice.
"Hey, look!" taunted Sumner. "It's crybaby!"
Aerith turned back around.
Sure enough, Jack and Sumner Balen were behind her.
"You seem quite alive for a dead woman," Jack pointed out.
Before Aerith could say anything, Sumner grabbed her arm.
"Cheap parlor tricks with Phase Materia?" he inferred.
Aerith immediately regretted leaving the Phase Materia at home.
"I'll admit, you had us fooled," Sumner said.
"Look," Aerith began, "I'll leave you alone. I'm sorry I got you banned from Gold Saucer. Right now, I have more important things to take care of, including saving you two from Meteor."
"Bullshit," Jack sighed. "I think it's time we took you for a ride."
MINUTES LATER….
The helpless Aerith sat in the back seat with her wrists and ankles tied together. She was not gagged, but the car was soundproof, rendering any scream ineffective.
"Are you going to kill me?" she asked.
"That depends on whether your boyfriend's willing to pay," Jack answered.
They were outside Costa del Sol now, and were heading northwest.
"You're holding me for ransom?" Aerith asked, surprised.
"You bet your cute ass," Jack replied. "We could rape and kill you, but we wouldn't get any cash for that, now would we?"
"Where are we going?" Aerith asked, realizing they were basically out in the middle of nowhere.
"The warehouse," Sumner replied. "Where we keep all our victims."
"You've done this before?" she inquired.
"You bet," Sumner answered. "It's making us money."
"You're probably kidnapping lots of kids," Aerith muttered.
There was no response.
But, after three minutes of silence, that was another story.
"Who the fuck's that?!" Sumner exclaimed as he looked in the rear-view mirror.
A motorcycle was pursuing them.
Is that Cloud? Aerith thought. He certainly doesn't have a motorcycle.
On a closer look, while Aerith couldn't see the rider's face because of the helmet, she could see red sneakers, a black skirt, a white crop top, and raven hair coming from the helmet.
Tifa? Aerith thought.
And then, the motorcycle suddenly swerved in front of the vehicle, causing it to swerve into a ditch.
"Fuck!" shouted Jack.
Before either kidnapper could react, a foot kicked through the glass of the passenger side's window, knocking
"Leave Aerith alone," Tifa demanded as she practically yanked Sumner from his seat.
A loud blow filled Jack's ears.
"The hell was that?" he exclaimed.
Moments later, he was yanked out himself.
MOMENTS LATER….
Jack and Sumner Balen lay outside of their wrecked car, tied up and unconscious.
As soon as Tifa untied Aerith's ropes, the flower girl threw her arms around her savior and hugged her tightly.
"Thanks for saving my butt!" she said in gratitude.
"Don't mention it," Tifa replied. "These two really need to go away anyhow. They've done enough already."
For a few moments, the two girls smiled at each other.
"Cloud said you all split to find yourselves," Aerith then said.
"That's right," Tifa replied. "I've been doing a lot of soul searching myself."
"Well, Cloud and I have moved in together!" Aerith happily announced. "You should come see us! Cloud will be so happy to see you."
Tifa's smile faded.
"Yeah," she said uneasily, "that's the thing. I can't return just yet."
Aerith's smile faded, too.
"What's wrong?" she asked.
"Aerith," Tifa began with a lowered head, "I still need to find myself. A lot has happened when you were gone. I learned some things, and there's some questions I need answered."
"I understand," Aerith said sadly. "I'll miss you."
"Same here," Tifa replied. "But in the meantime, I need to take you home."
Aerith looked at the motorcycle.
"Mind riding bitch?" Tifa asked.
"Not at all," Aerith giggled.
The two girls mounted the motorcycle.
"What about them?" Aerith asked, pointing to the fallen Balen brothers.
"The authorities are on their way as we speak," Tifa replied as she started her motorcycle. "They won't be back for a long time."
"Good," Aerith giggled.
Tifa rode through the terrain. The ride back was not nearly as long, and they soon found themselves in front of Cloud and Aerith's house.
"Don't tell Cloud or anyone else you saw me," Tifa commanded.
"I promise I won't," Aerith assured her as she dismounted the motorcycle and hugged her friend one more time. "Trust me, I'm really good at pretending like nothing happened."
"I'll come back when it's time," Tifa said. "But I will be back."
Tifa then took off.
Aerith waved good-bye before stepping into her house.
Her life was a dangerous one.
But the people in her life made it much safer.
As she closed her front door, she felt her phone buzz.
It was a text from Cloud.
"On my way home," it read, with a heart emoji.
"I should probably get ready for him," she said with a smile.
She then checked herself out in the foyer mirror.
Her dress was beautiful and sexy, but….
"He shouldn't come home to this," Aerith said to herself.
She kicked off her ankle boots, and walked into the bathroom. Once there, she reached under her dress and slipped off her panties. She put them, along with her dress, in the hamper, and put on her bra, a baby tee, and heels, but, since Cloud was due home shortly, decided to stay bottomless.
….END FLASHBACK
"Okay," I sighed. "That's TMI."
"What?" Aerith giggled. "I couldn't block my boyfriend's entrance!"
I quickly decided to change the subject.
"You were really good friends," I said. "You and Tifa.
"We were," Aerith said sadly. "Even though we were madly in love with the same man."
"That was the same warehouse Cloud, Barret, and Shera infiltrated two years ago," I pointed out.
"They only scratched the tip of the iceberg," Aerith said.
"Really?" I asked in surprise.
Based on what Cloud had mentioned about the warehouse, it didn't seem that big.
"If only most people knew the rest of the story," Aerith continued. "People have died at that warehouse. The wrong way, too."
Then, something crossed my mind.
"One more thing," I said. "If Jack and Sumner Balen were arrested for kidnapping, what were they doing out and running for president just weeks later?"
"Continental Governor Bismarck's provisional government let them go," Aerith replied. "She wanted to free up the prisons for her political opponents before she killed herself."
"That was a mistake," I sighed. "They're still out there."
"They are indeed," sighed Aerith. "Waiting for their next victim."