CHAPTER 02 - CONFRONTATIONS
Brian Lockhart felt better after the long talk with his daughter. Hearing about all the places she had been to and the people she had met. It was good for her to expand and get out to see the world, perhaps during her travels she had met someone better qualified to be her husband.
Because Brain didn't believe for one second that Cloud would change from that dirty, low class rebel punk he had always been. And he was certain the man was even worse now that he had mako in him. His eyes practically screamed with an evil glow. As he stepped out into the hall to head into the kitchen, he bumped into another person, a woman with long silver hair.
"Sorry miss," he apologized.
Angel stared at the man for a moment, clearly a little unsure of what to do.
"I'm sorry... but who are you, sir?" she asked, trying to be as polite as possible.
The man regarded her; at least someone in this house other than his daughter had manners. "Brain Lockhart, former mayor of Nibelheim, proud father of Tifa. And you are?"
"My name is Angel," she introduced, "Nice to meet'cha."
It was slightly unnerving, the way she looked at him. Aside from the eyes that looked like they belonged to a cat, the girl looked at him as if she knew who he was.
"You're Tifa's father?"
He nodded, "Indeed I am."
He stared at her then, "Forgive me, but you appear to be too old to be an orphan in my daughter's care. Are you a supposed member of the team that killed Sephiroth and saved the world?"
He had been trying to comprehend the story his daughter had told him, but he had blocked out some of it, especially the parts where she went on and on and ON about Strife and how good a man he was, when Mr. Lockhart just couldn't see it.
Angel shook her head. "No. Cloud and Tifa saved my life and took me into their home. They..."
She looked down slightly and then met his eyes again. "They take care of me... they are my family."
He nodded in approval to her response. "My daughter was always very kind. Though, I don't know if that... boy is going along with her to be nice so he could win her over, or if he had other intentions..."
Angel tilted her head, seemingly confused, "What boy? Do you mean Cloud? Cloud loves Tifa. He would die for her... does everything he can to make her happy, even if it doesn't make him happy. And she loves him."
She paused for a moment. "What do you mean... other intentions? I don't understand."
He shook his head; this poor girl seemed too naive. "I have a hard time believing that. He was always a troublemaker. When my daughter was just a child, he took her to the mountains and almost got her killed when the bridge collapsed. She was left in a coma for over a week. I forbade him from seeing her, but I caught him spying on her through the window. He didn't have a father growing up. His mother moved in, pregnant and alone. I took her in until I found out the father had simply left, and not died. My pity ended when she tried cozying up to the rest of the townspeople for sympathy. I set them straight and put them in their proper place."
He then looked over at her. "It seems old habits die hard, only this time he's managed to win her heart. I wonder how long it'll last before he ends up like his father and leaves?"
The girl shook her head.
"That... is not what happened," she told him, "Tifa told me that story. She went up the mountain because she thought her mother would be waiting for her... and Cloud followed her to keep her safe. But the bridge collapsed... Cloud tried to save her, but they couldn't get off the bridge before it broke."
The man could only shake his head. "I can't believe he's still telling that lie. My dear, Tifa doesn't remember that day clearly. She had a serious head injury, and it put her in a coma. He remembers, but he chooses to continue to lie about it. Several of the other children ran to tell me and the other adults in town what had happened. He dared her to go onto that bridge, telling her, if she was brave enough then she could see her mother again. The other children tried to stop her, but she wouldn't listen. She was so upset over losing her mother, she was willing to believe anything, even a horrible child like him."
He seemed to come to a decision then. "I have to stop this, she said they were engaged. I must make her see reason before she makes the biggest mistake of her life."
Those strange green eyes flashed and illuminated the hallway.
"No! It's not a lie!" she spoke more forcefully, "Tifa told me... He didn't lie! The other children lied! They always made fun of him. They were mean to him! They abandoned her on the mountain, but he stayed with her."
She narrowed her eyes at him. "You want to try to make her not love him!"
The air in the room started to get thick and heavy, and it felt like some kind of static charge was building. Tendrils of her silver hair flew out from the braid as if there were a breeze, but no windows were open.
"He is the most honorable, kind-hearted, and generous person who goes out of his way to help others... even if they may have been awful to him in the past."
Her voice deepened a little and seemed to echo in the hallway. Her eyes glowed a brilliant cyan color, which reflected off of Mr. Lockhart's face. Angel could feel the fury building within her.
"HE'S A GOOD PERSON!" she yelled, her voice resonating.
"Angel!" Seemingly out of nowhere, Cloud was just there, taking Angel by her shoulders and pulling her close. He was slightly out of breath, his bare chest covered in a sheen of sweat, which glistened in the girl's aura. He looked over at Mr. Lockhart, who appeared mortally horrified.
"What manner of freak is that?!"
"Watch it," Cloud warned him. Something in the blond's voice gave Mr. Lockhart pause.
"What did you do to her?" the hero demanded.
"I was trying to undo the delusion you've been brainwashing people with to gain sympathy and pity," he replied defiantly. Cloud's glare intensified, and as he pulled the silver-haired girl into an embrace, it seemed to calm her. She looked at up him.
"I-I'm sorry, Cloud..." she apologized, leaning into his embrace. "He wants to make Tifa not love you anymore!"
"Well, that will never happen, Angel," came Tifa's voice from behind them. Cloud's dress shirt hung down like a nightgown on Tifa as she walked towards her father.
"I thought you were going to give him a chance," she said quietly, "but it sounds like you have your mind made up. You're too caught up in your blind hatred of him to realize that you never really gave him a fair break. Not you... not anyone in that horrible town we used to call home."
"I'm so sorry, Cloud," whispered Angel, "I just got so... angry..."
"Papa, you tell me right now... did you ever intend to give Cloud a chance?" Tifa asked sadly.
Mr. Lockhart's eyes widened when he saw his daughter's appearance and knew there would be no changing her mind, especially as it appeared he was already too late. "I was willing to, and then I discovered he won't let go of that lie."
He pleaded with his daughter. "Sweetheart, when I found you that day, broken and bleeding as the base of that ravine, I was so afraid. I had just lost your mother, and then I almost lost you. There were several children who told me what happened, and they do not lie."
He looked over to Cloud then who was solely focused on calming Angel.
"It's alright," the blond told her. "I stopped letting him ruffle my feathers long ago."
"Why do you insist on keeping that lie alive? Why can't you just admit you led my daughter into danger?"
*FFTT-FT*
Cloud leveled a glare at Mr. Lockhart, but it was a stern 'I'm really getting tired of telling you the truth old man' look. "I was the town outcast. Why would anyone follow me? You want to know why I was there? I was worried about her. She was so heartbroken over losing her mother."
He glanced apologetically at Tifa before turning his battle gaze back on her father. "She was convinced that she could see her mother again if she headed into the mountains. The other kids went with her, but they got scared at the bridge. Tifa kept going. They turned back and left her to fend for herself. I had followed and cowered in the bushes, trying not to be seen. When the bridge started to give out, I rushed to the edge, calling her back. She slipped, and I grabbed her. The ropes snapped and we both plummeted, but I never let go. The ground came up fast and I... don't remember what I did, except pulled her close. When I woke up my knees were scraped up, and she was surrounded by the villagers and you. I remember you looked down at me and walked away. Two of the other villagers helped me back home and left me at the front door of my house, for my mother to find me and fall into a flustered panic."
He sneered at the man then. "And you wondered why she challenged you so much after that."
He let go of Angel and stood before Brian Lockhart then, glaring defiance and standing proud.
"Now, how could the other kids know what happened if they ran back to get you? Why would she and I both have injuries if I had tried to hurt her? What reason would I have to follow if I wasn't worried about her? Those punks were the cowards who left her behind. And now, here we are years later, and I'm still there for Tifa; whatever she needs I will give it to her. My love, my heart, even my own life. I care for her that much. Don't you want your daughter to be happy and make her own choices?"
"Papa, that was the way it happened," Tifa confirmed, "and I told you that... but you just wouldn't believe me. I think there is more to it than just this incident."
"He doesn't like Mrs. Strife either," Angel added, "I don't understand why he was so upset with her. He said she moved in with him when she was pregnant... but he stopped helping her because he found out your father left her... I guess Mr. Lockhart thought he died, but I don't understand why he would be upset at Mrs. Strife for something that someone else did."
Cloud's fist clenched, and the new angered look he gave Mr. Lockhart made the man nervous. "You think my dad left? He was killed during a trip to Wutai! All through the years, that was the story my mother gave me, and she also said you were nice to her until you kicked her out. She never told me the reason."
Mr. Lockhart huffed at that. "You grew up in Nibelheim; you should remember our ways. A child is raised by two parents. The mother and father remain loyal and never leave. The farthest anyone ever went was to Rocketown for work, and even that was a stretch. So of course, when I found out you were a bastard son, I shunned you both. I'm the mayor! If I don't uphold the rules, then the town would suffer."
"You were the mayor. Our Nibelheim is gone... and I say good riddance."
Mr. Lockhart's eyes widened at that. "So you would turn your back on your hometown..."
"They turned their back on me. I still tried to protect them that night. I'm the reason Tifa didn't bleed to death, and I'm the reason Sephiroth was stopped. I spent half a decade in pure hell after that, so I don't need to justify myself to anyone, especially not to you."
He held an arm out in Tifa's direction. "I'm giving you one last chance. Now that everything is out in the open. I am willing to throw it all away and start fresh, but only if you can do the same. And for the record, I despise you, but I can be man enough to put it behind me, for Tifa and for everyone involved. Can you do the same, yes or no?"
Tifa looked at her father, her eyes filled with such disappointment. "Papa, I would really love to have you in my life... but you must accept every part of my life. That includes Cloud. You need to understand that."
Angel looked up at Cloud, confusion reflected in her expression. She opened her mouth to speak but then stopped. It was pretty clear, however, that something was weighing on her mind.
Mr. Lockhart stared at Cloud, a pensive expression etched on his face. After a couple moments, he finally spoke: "I... yes, I can."
He regarded them both. "I just got you back, I can't let my pride get in the way, but... you must understand Tifa... it won't change overnight. It will take me time."
She stepped forward, encircling him with her arms and pulling him into her embrace. "Thank you, Papa..."
Cloud watched them embrace and sighed, annoyed before he focused back on Angel, who looked like she was still troubled. He needed to get away from that annoying prick anyway, so he guided Angel down the hall, grabbing a T-shirt that was hanging on the bathroom doorknob which he had forgotten earlier and threw it on. "Let's go to the kitchen for a minute."
"Okay," she replied, walking down the hall and into the kitchen. Once there, she took out two cups and made them both some tea before sitting down at the table, waiting for him to join her.
"I'm really sorry about Tifa's father. He made me so angry." she told him.
Cloud blew on his steaming mug before taking a sip to calm some frazzled nerves. This entire evening had been nothing but stressful. Minus the time he spent with Tifa in the garage, but that relief hadn't lasted long when he felt the raw emotion from Angel.
He looked up at her, trying to get a feel for her emotions, and he sensed confusion and irritation. "What was that?"
She sighed. "I was... worried that he might convince Tifa to stop loving you. I know how much that would hurt you... and it makes me so angry when someone wants to hurt you."
Angel bit her lip, looking down in shame.
"It's happened before," she admitted, unable to meet his eyes, "Reno called you a moron, and... I felt so angry at him for it. It's like... something inside me wakes up... and it's so hard to stop it."
A scene flashed briefly in his mind of Reno in a blind panic, backing away from a very angry Angel.
He blinked at her, a bit surprised as she mentioned something waking up and was reminded that she was a clone Jenova with a little Ancient mixed in. He had sworn though, sometime during their last adventure that he'd never be afraid of her, no matter what. And he was sticking to his guns.
"Your power is... something else, Angel. I don't fully grasp it, and I wonder if you even know what you're capable of. The things you've done so far... they're amazing, and most have been good."
He looked her in the eye then. "But you realize that if you have great power to do good, you can also do great evil. You had the power to bring back the dead, but I'm sure if you wanted to, you could cause a lot of people to suffer a painful death."
He offered her a solid expression, one that was gentle, and honest. "I will never fear you. Know that, but you need to be careful with your power. You might hurt someone by accident."
Her concern shone through her expression. "Oh! I don't want to hurt anyone! I've never taken a life before... and I don't want to..."
She looked up at him, new determination replacing the concern. "I'll work hard on my temper. I promise."
She glanced over his shoulder. "Although, it was very difficult with Mr. Lockhart."
"Don't let him get to you. He's a small-minded hypocrite from a close-minded town." Cloud replied, a little on the bitter side.
"I get very angry when people speak badly about you," she added, "and why is he so upset with you? You did nothing wrong. It wasn't your fault that only your mother raised you."
He shook his head then. "It wasn't my fault that I never knew my father; it wasn't my mother's fault he died. Mr. Lockhart lost his wife, and no one in town shunned him; yet he claims he needed to uphold the traditions. Where's the sense in that?"
He then blinked and looked down at her, "Sorry, I didn't mean to rant."
She seemed very confused. "...but... your father... isn't dead, Cloud. I can... I can tell."
Cloud's eyes widened at that. "H-how? When did... w-what?..."
He couldn't even form proper thoughts, let alone complete sentences. A hundred questions spun in his head like a blender, and he couldn't even begin to choose which one to ask first. With his eyes still wide with shock, he braced his forehead against his hands, leaning his elbows heavily on the table, trying to take deep breaths and calm his nerves, but it wasn't helping.
Angel reached out, placing a hand on one of his arms.
"I don't know the answers to any of those questions," she replied. "All I know is that he's not dead... and I..."
She stopped, seeming to reconsider the vocalization of that particular thought.
Cloud looked over at her then, his eyes reflecting not with the soul of a warrior with years of experience, but of that of his inner child, longing to have an innocent question revealed: 'Where's my dad?'
He closed his eyes tightly before he refocused and opened them again, regaining some composure. "You... didn't revive him too, did you, back when you could?"
Angel shook her head. "No, I didn't. He was never in the Lifestream. He would have come back if he had. He is a big part of your pain."
Cloud clenched a fist then. "So... he's been alive... all this time... and he never... did he even know where to look? I have to..."
He got up, starting to head away with a purpose, but then stopped and turned back towards Angel. "Can you sense where he is? even if it's a general direction or a hint would help."
"I don't know where he is; I just know he's not in the Lifestream." she said, but there was something she was holding back. That much was easy to see.
Cloud's hawk-level attention picked up on her anxiety and homed in on it.
"Angel, I wasn't trying to scare you, I just... I thought he was dead... all this time..."
His hand clenched so tightly his arm shuddered.
Angel took a deep breath. "I think your mother knows he's alive. Mr. Lockhart said he found out that your father wasn't dead... and that he left your mother. And that's when he made her leave his house."
She looked down. "I just... I just didn't want you to be angry with your mother... I'm sorry."
Cloud sighed as he tried to calm himself, but it wasn't easy. That information could go either way, too. "I trust that man about as much as I'd trust a Nibel wolf to guard chocobo eggs. But if there is any truth to what he said, then... she probably would have said what she did to protect me from getting more upset than I was, growing up. I had enough to deal with."
She stood up, placing a gentle hand on his face.
"I'll help as much as I can," she offered, "We're family... right?"
He took her back in his arms and embraced her. "Thank you. It seems like... just when I didn't think you could surprise me anymore, you always manage to prove me wrong."
She happily leaned into the hug, smiling. After a moment, she pulled back to look at him, quizzically. "That's a good thing... right?"
He pulled her back, the smile clear on his features.
"I said 'thank you', didn't I?" he added with a wink.
He leaned in and kissed her forehead. "It's pretty late, and we've all had an eventful night. I think we could both use some shut eye."
She smiled at him. "Have pretty dreams, Cloud."
He tried not to laugh at that and gave a small cough instead. "Sweet dreams, Angel."
He finished his tea and set the mug in the sink before rinsing it out a little. "Tomorrow will be a better day, you'll see."
*FFTT-FT*
The next four days had been a bit tense in the Strife household. Having bumped into Tifa's father a couple more times, Angel decided to actively try to avoid him. The expression of fear mixed with a little contempt on his face each time they crossed paths was more than the silver-haired girl could take. It reminded her of the days in the laboratory.
In an effort to keep out of the way, Angel had focused more on doing odd jobs around Edge, trying to earn a little extra gil. Her chat with Zack a few months ago had really made an impact on the girl, and since then, she had been almost obsessed with "paying her own way." She loved living with Cloud, Tifa, Denzel and Marlene, so she wanted to impose on them as little as possible. She had just finished helping a kind man clean out his garage; she hadn't expected it to take so long.
Angel hurried along the streets of Edge, glancing around nervously. This part of the city was different than the rest, with bars on some of the residential windows and few streetlamps that were still working. It was really quiet aside from the occasional bark of a dog or the sound of a vehicle horn, but even so, Angel hated walking at nighttime... especially alone.
She passed a person who was sleeping on a bench, only stopping for a moment to leave a couple gil by his hands. She had a soft spot for people who couldn't earn enough to even afford a place to call home, mostly because she was so thankful that she had one of her own. And to be stuck sleeping in this part of town only increased her sympathy.
She was almost out of this section when she noticed a small group of people gathered down an alley way as she walked by. A bright, neon green glow caught her attention, and she paused to see what gave off such a glow. It reminded her of the mako shots the keepers at the lab used to give her, only when she looked a little closer, the glow emanated from several glass vials in a briefcase.
"Leej... we got an audience," one of them said.
All of them... about 12 total... turned towards Angel. She may not have been experienced with recognizing danger, but she didn't need it to see their intentions. Twelve men in a back alley with briefcases of glowing liquid? It was not difficult to determine the threat level.
As they started to walk towards her, she took off, running as fast as her legs would carry her. She could hear them behind her, giving chase and calling out taunts. The adrenaline pumped through her, and she could hear her heartbeat thumping madly in her ears. The footsteps behind her grew louder with each moment, even though she was running at her top speed.
She suddenly felt a hand grasp her shirt in an effort to catch her, and she was yanked backwards. She hit the ground, hard, gasping as she did. Looking up, she saw nine men gathering around her.
"Where ya goin, lady?" one of them sneered at her.
"Yeah, it's rude to just walk by without saying 'hello.'" another one smirked.
A third one crouched beside her.
"You're a pretty little thing, aren't you?" he grinned, reaching out to touch her face.
She pulled away from his hand, scooting backwards from him but only managed to come up against someone's legs.
"Look at all that hair," another commented.
In her mind, she suddenly remembered the self-defense lessons Tifa had been giving her,
Step one: Memorize their faces so you can give a description to the authorities.
The one she backed into reached down, grabbing her under the arms, and stood her up. She cried out, mostly startled, and pulled out of his grasp, turning around slowly to memorize their faces. Thankfully, even though it was dark, the mako in her body allowed her to see them perfectly. Too bad it hadn't given her strength, as it had to Cloud and Zack.
Step two: Make your intentions known so they can't claim they didn't know.
"Don't touch me!" she said in a clear, loud voice, though it was very shaky. "Leave me alone!"
They all groaned in mock fear.
"Better be careful!" one of them ridiculed.
"Hey, we just wanna get to know ya, honey," yet another chimed in from behind her, and she felt a hand touch her hair.
Step three: Reiterate your intentions... just in case they didn't hear you the first time.
"I said 'Don't touch me!'" she repeated, turning around and slapping the hand away.
As she spun around, someone grabbed her arms from behind.
Step four: Wait for them to attack, otherwise, it wouldn't be defending yourself.
Was grabbing her an attack? She wasn't sure... then again, she told them not to touch her. She employed Tifa's escape technique, twisting out of the man's grasp.
Keep repeating your intentions.
"Leave me alone!" she shouted.
"Playtime's over," one of them said, stepping towards her very aggressively. She wasn't certain what his intentions were, but at that point, she didn't care. She lunged forward, bringing up her fists and made contact right under his nose. She heard and felt a snap, and the man fell backwards, unconscious. Everyone, including her, just stared at him for a moment.
"You little bitch!" another one growled from behind her. She whirled around just in time to receive a punch in the jaw from him. Heat and pain exploded at the impact, and her head started ringing. She felt him lock onto her arms, so she remembered what Tifa taught her about vulnerable spots and brought her knee up between his legs as hard as she could. He dropped to the ground, and as he did, she swung her fist around, connecting with his temple.
A sudden burst of pain and a sickening crunch swelled from her side as a fist slammed into her ribs. It was so intense that she could think of nothing else, and with every little movement, agony shot through her.
"Wow... nine guys against one girl. Seriously?"
Angel didn't recognize the voice, but she was so grateful to hear it.
"Keep walking, bitch," one of them warned, "This ain't none of your business."
"Sure, I'll keep walking... but I'm taking the girl with me." the woman challenged.
An arm snaked around Angel's neck, pulling her back just enough to offset her balance, and she squeaked in both fear and pain, her side flaring from her injury.
"Get her!" she heard one of the guys shout.
Angel couldn't see anything going on... only the person who was approaching her from the front, the steel of the knife he held glinting in the light of the nearby street lamp.
It was then that she heard the sound of a motorcycle approaching.