Track this topic | Email this topic | Print this topic

Okay, this is not a finished work, it is more or less a single chapter. My first atempt at a fanfic, I believe left something to be desired. Any and all comments are of course more than welcome. Also toward the end of piece I started to become lost and am still not sure where to take it. So, any suggestions will be greatly appreciated.


Stalemate

Cid was still kicking the side of the control panel on the Highwind’s escape pod.

“Piece of shit, what have those damned Shinra done to it?!” Cid said as he was trying

to maneuver out of the path of Holy’s and Meteor’s collision. Tifa was standing near

the bow of the pod with one hand pressed on the glass of what served as a shield

against the elements. It was then that I had noticed that she was pale…and shaking.

Barrett and Cid sometimes seemed to be in something of a cursing competition,

and this was one of those times. I didn’t feel very much like watching the spectacular

display of light, sound, and terror. I remember thinking to myself at the time, of all

the effort Tifa had put in trying and bring the real Cloud back. I feel like I have let her

down; she is always so cheerful, and always trying to be uplifting to the rest of us. I

am the real Cloud, I am sure of that now. Tifa made sure of that. I am not however,

the same Cloud that she grew up with.

My memories of that last ride on the Highwind seem blurred to me now, maybe

because I wasn’t wholly on that ship with Tifa and the others. For a while after we

landed and the life stream had settled once again, I thought that maybe she knew

something about me, wasn’t right. She did know, she could not figure out what was

“off” about me, but she could feel someone else’s presence with my own. I thought

that, maybe that was the real reason she was shaking. Red XIII could feel it too; he

never said anything to me but only gave me a look that implied plenty.

My mother never saw me when I visited my hometown for the mission in

Nebleham. I watched her from afar. I longed to have her fuss over me about

everything from eating right to finding a girlfriend. That was my last chance to see or

talk to her, my last chance to have her pointlessly try to smooth down my hair. I didn’t

approach her, and that is something that I will have to live with the rest of my life. I

was held back by my own apprehension and indignity. I told myself that I wouldn’t

make the same mistake with Tifa, but after Sephiroth burned the town, I had become

misplaced by the emotion of losing my only family. By then, it was almost too late to

even save Tifa. Zack had likewise almost lost his life. Still to this day, I thank him in

silent prayers for his strength.

Once we were on the ground, all of us walked to the edge of the cliff to observe

the desolate mass destruction that was once a city. “Midgar is gone.” Tifa said at

almost a whisper. Cid and Barrett had fallen quiet over her reaction of the atrocity.

Red XIII was never very talkative but this time he did something that none of us had

ever heard him do. He began to sing. As he sang, Tifa started to weep. No one said a

word during the song. Thinking back on it now, there was nothing that could be said.

He told us later that it was a song that was meant to bring peace to the restless souls.

I stood at the very same cliff that all of us watched the last piles of rubble burn

that day. It has already been two years since then. I could see the people walking

around down in the city that still hasn’t been given a new name. They had cleared

most of the rubble away and some of them were already putting down new

foundation for buildings. Most of the group had broken up and went their own ways

but managed to stay in contact. Barrett started the only organization that took

charge of reconstructing the city and finding a new power source. It was Cid that

suggested solar power. Cid fast became a hero of sorts. When he returned to Rocket

Town, he took everyone that had their house destroyed by Shira 26’s launch and

everyone from Mideel and moved them to Cosmo Canyon. Red XIII had already

returned to his rightful place as the tribe’s leader. When Cid spoke to him about

needing a place to stay for a while, Red told him that he was more than welcome to

stay as long as he needed. What Cid didn’t mention was that he was bringing about

thirty people with him.

Yuffie, after pilfering some of our materia, left for Wutai to try and restore it to

the

empire that it once was. I wasn’t sure that everyone in Wutai would be too willing to

go through that much work only to achieve something that would be in name only. I

was right. She returned to Fort Condor where most of the volunteers for the

Salvation Project came from. When Barrett heard of her raising hell with the lower

management he promptly took her under his direct command only. There she was able

to do pretty much what ever she wanted as long as she could prove that it was in the

best interest of the project. She surprised all of us when she showed how hard she

willing to work.

I hadn’t really heard what Vincent was up to these days. Tifa told me that he

went

back to Nebleham. Only this time he was not going to just hide out in the basement of

the Shinra Mansion, but in fact he was disbanding the Shinra employees that were

occupying the town.

I didn’t know what to do with my self now that everything seemed to calm down.

Tifa

offered to take me in at the Villa at Costa Del Sol. After a few more nights at the inn, I

decided that my gil was depleting much too fast. I slowly walked up the stairs and

paused before I was close enough to the door to knock. I knew that Tifa was only

waiting in there for the day that I would finally accept the peace and start trying to

live a more normal life. Tifa was standing on the other side propped up against the

door with her ear pressed to it. I always hated the feeling that I was about to let

some one down. I felt like I was letting Tifa and myself down. I couldn’t shake the

feeling that if I didn’t take Tifa’s offer and stay with her in the villa then I would be

disappointing the whole crew. I do love Tifa. And that is why I can’t get too involved

with her; if I took the risk and got her hurt over what is still happening inside of me

then not even death would be a suitable punishment. Tifa could hear me outside of

the door but she could not see me. I reluctantly reached for the mid section of the

wood and hit it twice. She was not expecting me to knock so soon so she still had her

ear pressing on the door and when my knuckles meet the grain. She jumped from the

door so fast that she tripped over the table that she had placed in the center of the

floor. I heard the resounding crash come from within and became so alarmed from the

sound that my mind raced and I kicked in the door for fear that she was being

attacked. I ran inside of the building before even most of the wood pieces hit the floor

but I didn’t see the table that really was placed much too close to the door and

tripped over it to land next to a body that still had the legs draped over the top. I

jumped up fast enough to make a flea’s jump look like a space shuttle’s launch and

then looked down to see a very red Tifa. She also looked up at me almost neon and

said, “Hey Cloud.”

Tifa was making some tea while I cleaned up the mess I made of the door. Tifa

walked

back into the living room and carefully placed the tray on a different table. “Cloud,

why don’t we take a break?” she said as she kneeled down at the short table. I quietly

nodded my head and sat down across from her. Both of them were silent for some

time. Tifa anxiously sipped at her green tea still slightly blushing over the insane

accident that happened only few moments ago. The thoughts rushing through my

mind kept me from enjoying the warm liquid. I could sense her embarrassment and

knew that I should say something. “Maybe you should start practicing your balance

again.” I said before running the sentence through my head first. She gave me a

puzzled look and at the same time I realized what I had just said. “I’m sorry!” “I didn’t

mean it like that!” I said almost shouting. Well, that didn’t help matters any. Now she

was in full blush again only not the same charming color as before. “I’m sorry.” I said

more quietly that time. She seemed to understand, like always. I knew that something

needed to be said. However, it needed to be something with a little more tact. I then

remembered my reason for visiting her tonight. But before I could spit out the first

word she started her own desperate attempt to break the awkward quiet. “I’m really

glad you came tonight.” Her words didn’t work as well as she had hoped. “Yeah, I had

something to tell you so I hoped that wouldn’t mind me coming over so late.” That

seemed to lift her spirit a little, “Of course I don’t mind you coming over, that’s silly.”

She said. I took that as my chance to throw in the rest of what I was saying. “I was

wondering that if you still didn’t mind, maybe I…..” I began to trail off. She jumped up

almost knocking over the rest of her tea and came over to sit next to me. I only

watched quietly as she placed her arm pressing up against mine and spoke softly into

my ear, “What is it Cloud?” I felt her warm breath on my skin and almost shuddered.

To take my mind off of her now very close presence, I tried again, “…maybe you

won’t mind if I stayed here with you…just for a little while.” She moved away, but only

an inch or two. It was her turn to be silent, but only for a moment. “I would love to

have you here. It’s so depressing to be all alone. You should know that by now

Cloud.” I nodded my head and took a sip of the now luke-warm tea. I got up to leave

and she stood up with me. She walked me to the open space that used to be the door

and we stopped at the exit. Then she turned to me and wrapped her arms around me

and laid her head on my shoulder. “Thank you.” She said with much care in her voice.

It always feels great to be held by someone that means so much to you. I took her

hand and slightly squeezed it, not saying anything else; I stepped onto the steps and

started to make for my room at the Inn. I took a few steps away before she called

back to me. “No wild parties, Okay?” I gave her a smile and stalked off into the dark.

Hearing the crashes of waves and the songs of the wind passing between buildings, I

felt my spirits lifting against my will now that I have finally made a move. The image of

her smiling up at me was suddenly replaced by the very same smile that was on Areis’s

face right before her eyes closed, Sephiroth looming over us in his demonic way. I

snapped back to reality with a shudder to help cast the horrible memory of the small

stream of blood that trickled from the corner of her mouth. I made way back to the

room and grabbed the few things that I still own and attached my rusting Buster to my

back. I was back at the steps that led up to Tifa’s would-be front door when she

looked out, saw me, and waved for me to enter. I placed two of the items mine on the

floor and was glancing around for a spot to set or hang the sword when she said that

there

is a place in the basement for larger, heavier items. Nodding, I removed the sword

from my back and held it vertically with the point toward the ground as I made my way

for the basement.

When I made it back to the living room I noticed Tifa sitting on the couch holding

one of my few belongings. “I didn’t know you had this.” she said holding it up.

Watching the light from the candles glint off of the sphere onto the walls, I walked

over and sat next to her. “I found it while I was traveling.” I said remembering the trip

I made back to the City of the Ancients. Areis’s white materia look just as new as the

day it had fallen from her ribbin.

This post has been edited by Aguaguard on 1st January 2006 11:15

--------------------

"We wait with hope for promising years, after the fall of a thousand tears. Yesterday's sorrow constanly nears." Kuja

Everything seems pretty much okay so far bar the occasional spelling error (Nebelham?) and the format. It's a bit too spread out, which makes it a little difficult to read. But nevertheless, as a starting point for a larger story, it's fine, albeit a little redundant if we take AC into consideration, but it can go burn becuase it's too clichéd.

This post has been edited by Del S on 2nd January 2006 21:27

--------------------

"Only the dead have seen the end of their quotes being misattributed to Plato."
-George Santayana

"The world will little note, nor long remember what we say here..."
-Abraham Lincoln, prior to the discovery of Irony.

I actually liked the spacing. To me, it made it a bit easier to read.

No "grampa" jokes, please.

Well written overall, Agua.

--------------------

Join the Army, see the world, meet interesting people - and kill them.

~Pacifist Badge, 1978