Last Exit for the Lost Chapter 20
Ties of Family
By Damodred
They headed out the next day. Aerith estimated they would leave the mountains
late the next day, and get to Nibelheim the day after that, at about the
same time. She pursed her lips, thinking of the river crossing they would
have to make and the forests that stood in their way. Those could slow them
down, but hopefully not too much. They would just have to wait and see. She
took up her customary position on top of the truck, sitting with her legs
crossed, her extended staff in her lap. A small smile played on her lips,
knowing that Sephiroth disapproved but couldn't rationalize it. She sighed
happily and leaned back, laying her head in his lap and staring up, into
the sky.
Yuffie was sulking, but only until she realized that noone was paying any
attention to her. Aerith made her give back the Materia she had stolen, and
gave her a look that spoke volumes. This was turning out to be a bummer;
first, the cute guy left, and then that silly Ancient wouldn't let her have
any fun. She exhaled, frustrated. Then she cheered up. They would be so lost
without her help, so she could magnanimously allow them their little foibles.
She twirled her new shuriken absently as she considered her next move. She
yelled at Reno, who was riding in the front, probably ogling Tifa. He clambered
to the back, eyeing her suspiciously. "What?" She motioned him closer,
whispering, "So what next, Turk boy?" He jerked back, "Shh! They'll hear!"
he whispered urgently, motioning above them. She retorted, "Yeah, if you
don't shut up, they will." Blanching visibly, he asked "What do you want?"
"Weren't you supposed to waste them?" He shifted uncomfortably, muttering,
"Yeah, well...orders changed since I relayed that last conversation. Now
we're only to accompany them until they get some more concrete data on this
North Crater thing." Yuffie asked, frowning, "How are we gonna explain staying
with them after Nibelheim?" "I don't know yet," Reno admitted, "but I'll
think of something." He flushed, receiving only derisive laughter in response
and clambered back to the front, cursing all things female.
They made good time to Nibelheim, despite the numerous interruptions by various
types of wandering monsters. Most of them fled as soon as one of their number
died, and most were not very strong. Apparently the presence which haunted
them could only work with the materials at hand, and this area was particularly
peaceful. The only real trouble they encountered was when it was time to
cross the river.
Sephiroth stood at the south bank, eyeing the rushing water and the distance
to the other side. He walked back to the others and said, "There was a ford
here once, but the melting snows from Nibel Mountains washed it away. We'll
have to make our own crossing." Tifa asked, "Can't we look for a shallower
part somewhere else?" He shook his head, "Negative. I remember this river,
and it's deep and strong throughout its length. If we cross, we cross here."
Tifa nodded, apprehensive. He walked to Aerith's side and conferred with
her briefly, then nodded and vanished. Reappearing on the other side, he
unsheathed his Masamune, and stabbed it into the earth, gripping the hilt
with both hands. Then he looked up, and Tifa could've sworn she heard him
say 'Ready', but there was no possible way she could hear him from that distance.
Aerith glanced at her, winked, and walked to the shore, directly opposite
Sephiroth. Bracing herself with her staff in front of her, she looked back
and said, "Get in the truck. When I give the word, drive fast." She looked
back, concentrating. The air around her grew thick, almost solid, and the
painful pressure assaulted her eardrums. She gathered more force into her,
drawing more and more power until she thought she'd burst, and then drawing
even more. Locking gazes with Sephiroth across the river, she released the
power, the energy feedback making the air around her glow and rush wildly
in a miniature tornado. Her robe whipped wildly around her and her hair unbraided
itself, creating a flickering halo around her head as the power surged out,
covering the river surface with ice, crackling loudly as it spread further
out in both directions. She concentrated on keeping it anchored to the shore,
while at the same time straining to reach as far as she could. She felt a
jolt as her ice met Sephiroth's, heading back towards her. The two parts
joined, forming a solid bond and making the ice one large floe. She maintained
the image in her head, shouting, "NOW!", her voice sounding tinny through
the aura around her. Tifa stepped on the accelerator, slowing cautiously
as she drove up on the ice. The truck had good tires, but it could still
slide on ice and it wouldn't do to slide off into the weaker parts, where
Aerith and Sephiroth couldn't hold it. The ice creaked dangerously and bent
under the weight of the truck, but seemed to hold. Tifa gritted her teeth;
she could sense the water under the ice rushing, threatening to break up
the ice floe and wash them away. The drive seemed to go on forever, the truck
skidding often on the slick surface. Fortunately, Tifa learned to drive early
at her father's insistence, and never forgot snow driving back home, in
Nibelheim. She knew exactly how to guide the huge machine on the creaking,
slick bridge and made it across fairly fast. She looked back, amazed that
they had made it and realized with horror that the ice was already breaking
up, large chunks of it floating downstream. So far, only the edges were going,
but the thought still made her extremely uneasy. She watched as a robed figure
walked across the ice wearily, supporting herself with her staff.
Aerith was drained by the ordeal and decided to walk across after the truck.
The ice would stay up a while longer; they had made the center part thick
enough, and it was not that warm this close to the mountains anyway. Not
to mention, she needed to conserve what little energy she had left in case
something else happened. She thought about the ice bridge, hoping they wouldn't
come across another washed-away ford. That was certainly the biggest Ice
she had ever cast. She made it to the other side and began to head for the
truck when her knees buckled, and she couldn't catch herself with her staff.
Strong arms caught her, lifting her up, and carried her to the truck. She
looked up into green eyes and smiled. He looked back at her, calmly. "You
are the strongest woman I have ever known, and by far the most exasperating,"
he said, quietly. She retorted, "If I didn't, you would have." He smiled,
softly, "True. But next time you decide to support the entire bridge, at
least warn me." Her frame shook with silent laughter as she answered, "Maybe
I will."
They drove throughout the day, Yuffie driving and Reno sitting beside her.
Tifa watched over Aerith's sleep in the back, while Sephiroth watched the
area from his usual spot. After several hours, Tifa heard her name and turned
away from the contemplation of the road behind them and looked at Aerith,
meeting a clear, emerald gaze. Aerith smiled, and Tifa could hear her faint
voice inside her head, asking 'Tifa, can you hear me?' Tifa only stared with
amazement, but finally nodded and thought 'YES.' Aerith winced a little,
and laughed out loud. "Don't shout," she admonished. "Try to direct your
thought to me, and whisper. The merest sound carries far, and your shout
just now was probably heard in Cosmo Canyon." Tifa blushed hotly, stammering
an apology, which Aerith waved away. "Everyone makes mistakes, especially
about something this...unusual." "When did you know I could do this?" Tifa
asked curiously. "Ever since your, ah...experiment in Gongaga I assumed you
were capable. But when I noticed that you heard our preparations at the river,
I confirmed my suspicions and decided to teach you more as soon as possible."
She smiled ruefully, "Up to now, we've been broadcasting openly, being confident
no-one could overhear. Now we'll have to focus our conversations." Tifa flushed
again, "I didn't mean to eavesdrop," she said dryly. Aerith laughed, "Well,
it'll be a while until you can focus tightly enough to communicate
person-to-person, much less eavesdrop." With those words, she looked outside,
and Tifa could hear her voice saying, 'Since we have nothing better to do,
let's practice. For now, just try to answer. It's easy directing a reply;
initiating contact is tougher.' Tifa nodded, already absorbed in the
implications.
'Tifa, Aerith, you better come up here.' Sephiroth's mental presence intruded
into their communication briefly. Tifa looked up, surprised but getting up
already. Aerith rose as well and looked at her, "Looks like we're here."
Tifa's heart leapt, only now noticing that it was getting dark. The lesson
took longer than she thought, and they were approaching Nibelheim as planned.
She was made uneasy by the added strains of being in her ruined hometown
after so long, the long lesson, and Sephiroth's cryptic message. She grasped
the metal support at the top of the truck, flipping up to the top of the
truck in a nonchalant repetition of Sephiroth's move, so long ago. She walked
forward to get a better look at what Sephiroth was looking at. Aerith's head
popped out behind them, peering over the top of the truck. She grunted softly
as she clambered up to join them. They looked out into the growing darkness.
Aerith took out a pair of spyglasses and passed them to Tifa. At Tifa's raised
eyebrows, she said mischievously, "Stole them from Reno's cache of supplies."
Tifa chortled, raising the glasses to her eyes and looking at the structures
in the distance. They had crested a hill, and had a perfect view of what
used to be Nibelheim. Tifa inhaled sharply, her mirth forgotten, disbelieving
her eyes. She passed the glasses to Sephiroth, who took in the view at a
glance. His mouth tightened, passing them in turn to Aerith. She looked briefly
and put the glasses away, frowning. "This is not good at all."
They drove into town square, parking by what was supposed to be Tifa's house.
She could see Cloud's house, the inn, and houses where her friends used to
live. No lights were on, but the place looked well kept; all the windows
and houses were clean and the little garden plots looked weeded and trimmed.
Everything seemed to be in order, except for one thing: the whole town burned
five years ago, with Tifa and Cloud being the only survivors. They moved
to Midgar, leaving the memories behind, fully expecting the Planet to reclaim
Nibelheim. And now Tifa had returned, with the other witness of the tragedy,
Sephiroth, only to discover that someone had painstakingly recreated the
town in every detail, down to the polished brass door-knocker on Tifa's house.
She warned the others to be careful in their explorations, and headed for
her own house. She fully intended to barge in and demand an explanation,
but after opening the door and stepping inside, she was assaulted by waves
of memory and couldn't move for a moment. The interior of the house was identical
to her house, but this couldn't be it! She clearly remembered the heat of
the flames, and the anguish she felt upon finding everyone she loved dead,
the same anguish that assailed her now. And she could never forget the sight
of the charred timbers and fallen-in walls, all that remained of the town.
The smell of death was thick that day, and she thought she'd never wash it
off. Even after a year in Midgar, the smell of burnt wood and flesh haunted
her nights, the screams echoing in her ears. She woke up then, clinging to
Cloud, tears rolling down her cheeks. But this! This was a mockery of that
tragedy, as if it never occurred. She walked slowly up the stairs, and into
her room. It seemed untouched by time, the piano and her desk looking as
it always has. She collapsed on her bed and buried her hands in her hair,
looking at nothing.
She was brought out of her reverie by someone shouting her name downstairs.
"Up here," she said tonelessly, not looking up. Footsteps moved up the stairs
rapidly, then paused and moved to other rooms. Finally, Aerith appeared in
the doorway, grimacing. "Bad news," she announced. "What could be worse than
this?" asked Tifa, with a hint of despair in her voice. Aerith frowned and
crossed the room to stand by her side. She sank down to her haunches, bringing
her face level with Tifa's, and said, gently, "We think it might be Cloud."
Tifa looked up, her tear-streaked face glistening in the weak light. Wordlessly,
she got up and followed Aerith to what was supposed to be her parents room,
taking in the bodies laying there with a despairing calm. Aerith showed her
the sword wounds on the bodies; Tifa was just grateful that the people were
completely unfamiliar to her. As they descended down the stairs, Aerith told
her that the other houses were similar. However, there was a survivor in
the inn, describing a young, powerfully-built man with disarrayed hair and
a large sword, running amok in the town. The terrified innkeep wouldn't say
anything else, obviously in shock, and reacted with blank looks when asked
about the accident five years ago. The others were heading to the ShinRa
mansion, the only building that survived the fire in its original form; perhaps
some answers could be found there.
"They fixed the roof," commented Tifa, unsure of who 'they' were. Sephiroth
grunted a noncommittal reply and walked forward, opening the gate. Yuffie
followed, interested now that she heard more of the story from Aerith. Tifa
stood gazing at the town behind her for a while, then followed them into
the looming mansion. Reno stayed behind, saying that the whole place creeped
him out and that he needed to look around for transportation anyway. Tifa
wished him luck, but doubted he could find anything. Then she reconsidered;
the whole town wasn't supposed to be here, but it was. She wouldn't be surprised
if he found a newly built road all the way to the reactor.
They walked into the gloomy mansion carefully, looking everywhere at once
for threats. The interior was dark (someone must have blown the fuses), but
clean as well, showing signs of frequent use or visitation. The first floor
seemed devoid of life, but there were some papers lying on the desk in the
small room on the left, which Aerith took and put into one of the many folds
of her robe, for study later when they could get some light. Yuffie skipped
in from the room on the right, showing them a shiny green orb and yelling
"Finders keepers!". She quieted down when the empty halls threw her words
back at her, with an eerie echo that seemed to linger entirely too long.
They exchanged glances and moved upstairs. They took a cursory glance at
the other rooms, noting the large, locked safe at the sight of which Yuffie's
eyes lit up. Aerith sighed, knowing that the ninja thief couldn't be dragged
away from here, but unwilling to leave her alone, and turned towards the
other side of the building, and the secret passage way leading to the library,
in which so much has happened. Her musings were interrupted by a triumphant,
"I got it!" Yuffie turned around, holding a shiny red orb and grinning foolishly.
Then her eyes rolled up into her head and she collapsed, as a tall, black
robed figure rose up behind her and stepped forward. Tifa's eyes flashed
at the ninja's collapse and she ran towards the figure unthinkingly. Her
foot rotated, lightning fast, to connect with the figure's midriff, making
it stagger. She backhanded the figure with her Claw, sending it flying into
the wall. The snap its neck made as it connected was very loud in the small
room. The figure collapsed, crumpled to the floor. Tifa frowned a bit; that
hit wasn't meant to kill. She was a bit surprised at her strength, but dismissed
it for now and walked to the attacker, pulling back the hood of the robe.
She could hear Sephiroth's sharp intake of breath as the attacker was revealed.
When she turned to him, his expression was stony again, but the slight widening
of his eyes signaled his distress. She turned back to study the black-robed
man. She was sure she had never seen him before.
The man's features were slackened by death, but he must have been darkly
good looking when alive. Sharp, aristocratic features, long black hair, falling
in straight lines onto his face and... She leaned in closer. Yes, those were
red eyes. Sephiroth reached past her and brushed the hair away from the man's
ears, nodding in satisfaction when they were revealed. Tifa's eyes widened
at the sight of perfectly formed, lobeless, pointed ears. Looking closer,
she could not discern any surgery marks, which would mean that he was born
like that. She narrowed her eyes; born...or created? She glanced questioningly
at Sephiroth. He sighed heavily and ran a hand through his hair. "Bring her,"
he said, pointing to the prone form of the ninja. "I'll explain downstairs."
He whirled around and strode off, his Masamune whispering out of its scabbard.
Tifa picked up the girl, finding her remarkably easy to carry, and followed,
first pocketing the red Materia that fell to the floor along with Yuffie.
On the way downstairs, they passed several more robed bodies, all identical
to the first one. Aerith glanced at Tifa, who'd been taking in the destruction,
wide-eyed, and shrugged, "It's his way," she said simply. They caught up
to Sephiroth at the entrance to the library, where he motioned for silence,
whispering "There's something in there." They stopped, Tifa still carrying
the unconscious Yuffie. Aerith pressed closer to the door, listening.
"...will become supreme, Master of All Creation!" a deep, loud and rumbling
voice rasped. It grated directly on Aerith's nerves, but she forced herself
to listen, painful as it was. "Yes, Master," a wooden voice replied. She
frowned. This was probably Cloud, sounding defeated and beat. The first voice
continued, "And then I will bring her to me, to stay by my side forever.
My time of atonement will end!" There was a note of exultation in the last
statement. There was some shuffling of papers, and eventually the raspy voice
hissed, "Success! I found it. We must leave immediately." Sephiroth pushed
Aerith aside gently and opened the door, saying, "You're not going anywhere,
Father."
The Master was being threatened, thought Cloud and leapt into action, drawing
his sword while flying through the air. Then suddenly he was stunned and
thrown to the other side of the room, as a taloned wing moved from out of
the darkness and batted him to the side. "Not him, fool!" the creature grated.
He dazedly got up, his head ringing, and focused on the others behind the
tall man, obediently. He'd kill the short one first, as soon as his head
stopped spinning.
The creature emerged from the shadows, chuckling in a low, raspy voice. It
was easily over seven feet tall, its height accented by its athletic build
and enormous, batlike black wings. Its feet were bare and taloned, gripping
the concrete floor firmly. It wore only a loincloth, its smooth, reddish
skin looking tougher than any armor. Tips of pointed ears poked through its
jet black hair, and red eyes lit its aristocratic face with a lurid glow.
When it spoke, the dim light glinted off its pointed fangs. Tifa found her
gaze drawn to them hypnotically, listening to its words. "Are you ready to
join me, my Son?" it demanded of Sephiroth, ignoring his previous statement.
Sephiroth laughed, softly, looking into its glowing eyes, "I don't think
so. Once, perhaps." The creature appraised him slowly, glancing at Aerith's
slight form in the doorway. Its face darkened, and it sneered, "I have tolerated
your existence. No more!" With these words, it lunged forward, taloned hand
reaching for Sephiroth's throat. Sephiroth threw himself to the side as the
giant form flew by him, to land by Cloud, still sitting dazed in the corner.
It hissed, "We'll meet again!" laying a clawed hand on Cloud's shoulder.
With a flicker, the two vanished.
.