Disclaimer: Neither FF7 nor FF8 belong to me, they belong to their nigh bankrupt creator Squaresoft. (Okay, so now Sony owns a chunk of em too…)
Final Fantasy
Lionheart
Chapter 1: “Sowing the SeeD of Fate”
By Gray
“So this is my fate…” Squall muttered to himself as he stood on a small hunk of rock that was gradually growing smaller. His dark brown hair was messy and his clothing, which was almost completely black save his undershirt and the fur on his jacket was caked in dirt and dust, as well as a few traces of blood from earlier wounds that had been healed up through some hasty cure spells. He was staring out at the nothingness with his usual clouded, stormy eyes. The gray void that stretched out endlessly before him seemed to mock him. It represented the hopelessness of the situation he had found himself in. Over the course of his long quest he had been through more tough situations and death-defying encounters then he cared to think about, but none ever seemed as utterly futile as this. With an exhausted groan of defeat, Squall slumped to the ground and sunk onto his back, absently watching the platform grow ever smaller with each passing moment. He was staring up now, as if searching for Heaven within the gray. Or more precisely… an angel…
“I’m so sorry Rinoa…Looks like I won’t be able to keep the promise we made…” He whispered, his eyes continuing to stare up at nothing.
“I’m so sorry…” Those were his last words before the darkness claimed him.
“Hey sleepyhead! Wake up!” Someone was shaking him.
“Just a few more minutes…” He mumbled. Cloud Strife was not a heavy sleeper by nature, but the previous day had been quite difficult for him, as he had been forced to deal with certain…things, and then hired for a job by his childhood friend whom he hadn’t seen in years.
“Honestly Cloud…Did Soldier put up with this?” The voice was female and quite familiar to him.
“Alright, alright Tifa. I’m up already!” He said as he sprung up and almost knocked his childhood friend on her rear.
“Er, sorry Tifa.” He said in an embarrassed tone while rubbing the back of his head. Tifa just took it in stride and nodded.
“That’s alright Cloud, no harm done…But hurry up, you’ve got to go to the reactor today remember?” She crossed her arms and smiled at him.
“Right, right…” He said as he quickly gathered his equipment. Placing his armor on, as well as lifting his massive signature Buster Sword up and sliding an Ice and Bolt materia into the two slots it possessed. Nodding to himself, he sheathed it on his back, and headed for the door that lead to the bar.
“Can’t believe I’m doing this job for such a small amount of gil…” He muttered.
“Did you say something Cloud?”
“Nope! Nothing!”
Squall gasped as he awoke with a start.
“Where?” He whispered as he looked at his surroundings. There were buildings, and it was dark, with flashing lights and lots of people running around. He was sitting in an alleyway. He quickly ascertained that he was in a city of some sort.
“I’ve never seen this place before, though it could be a part of Deling I suppose…” He thought. He flipped up to his feet and rubbed his head absently as he felt a headache forming. He quickly did a mental check and realized with a slight widening of his eyes that all his spells were gone.
“What the hell? All I have are my GF…and considering I only had a few equipped…” He grimaced. It would have to do. He looked around again absently.
“I should figure out exactly where I am before I do anything else…” He said out loud.
“You’re in Midgar.” A feminine voice said from behind him. Whirling around, Squall came face to face with a young woman perhaps a little older than himself. She had on a pink dress of sorts with a red jacket to accompany it, and she had a basket filled with flowers clutched to her arm. He noted that she was quite pretty with her green eyes and light brown hair, and what’s more…she seemed…out of place in the dark surroundings. Like a flower in a wasteland.
“Oh pardon me, I haven’t introduced myself yet…” Her words broke him from his analysis. She smiled warmly.
“My name is Aeris. Aeris Gainesborough.” She said. Squall nodded.
“A pleasure to meet you Ms. Gainesborough. I’m Squall Leonhart.” He returned rather mechanically. She smiled again.
“Nice to meet you. But tell me, are you new here?”
“You…could say that…” Squall said slowly, he was beginning to see that perhaps he wasn’t in Kansas anymore. He had never heard of any place called Midgar, particularly a city, and he had been all over the world. It seemed that perhaps he had been sent somewhere by the Time Compression attempt.
“But how to get back home…” He thought to himself with a frown. Aeris noticed and looked down.
“I’m sorry, did I say something to offend you?” She asked hesitantly. Squall blinked for a moment, but shook his head.
“No, I was just thinking.” She seemed to accept his response and gestured to the exit of the alley.
“Shall we go then?” She asked with a smile. He nodded and started to follow her, when something familiar caught his eye.
“Hmm? A draw point.” He said and crouched down next to a swirling mini vortex of green light. Aeris gaped at him as he held a hand over it.
“Hmm, that’s odd, I can’t seem to draw from it…” He muttered with a frown. He noticed Aeris staring at him oddly.
“What is it Ms. Gainesborough?” He asked, clearly puzzled by her behaviour.
“You…You can see it…?” She stuttered out. Squall blinked.
“Yes, I can see draw points…Anyone with a little training can…” He was a little curious as to why she was making such a big deal about such a simple thing. If she could see it, why wouldn’t he be able to? Though it was a little odd that he couldn’t draw anything from it, as it didn’t look used up.
“Anyway, I was wondering if perhaps you could direct me to the nearest inn.” Squall said as he stood up. Aeris still seemed a little dazed, but finally snapped out of it.
“Oh! Yes! Of course! Please! Follow me!” She said nervously. He nodded and did so.
“Heh heh, that wasn’t so hard…” Biggs laughed as the team waited for Jessie to finish setting the bomb that would give them an exit into the streets of Midgar.
“Don’t get cocky wiseass, we still got seven more ta’ go…” Barret said with a glare. Biggs held up his hands in a warding gesture. Wedge stared at nothing in particular, probably thinking about dinner when they got back to the Bar, and Cloud seemed lost in thought about something.
“Ok! It’s ready! Everyone stand back!” Jessie yelled. They did so, Barret pushing Wedge to make him move, and a moment later, yet another explosion was heard in Midgar, though it was obviously much smaller then the earlier one. The team stepped out of the new hole, and Barret gave out orders.
“Ok, everybody split up and meet up at the station, got it?” Receiving nods and a grunt of acknowledgement from Cloud, he nodded and sped off in a random direction with the others following suit. Cloud sighed and headed in his own direction.
“It’s just a little bit further Mr. Squall.” Aeris said as she led the younger man who seemed much older towards the nearest inn.
“Please, just call me Squall.” He asked. She smiled to herself.
“Then I insist you call me Aeris.” She returned. He nodded.
“Very well Aeris.” He blinked as he heard an explosion in the distance.
“Another explosion, what on earth is going on?” Aeris questioned aloud. Squall shook his head.
“I have no idea, though by the sound of it, I’d say bombs are involved.” His sharply trained senses were able to identify these sorts of things, as it was important in his profession to know the sound of a gunshot, or the difference between a bomb going off and a gas explosion of some kind.
“My, you certainly are knowledgeable aren’t you?” Aeris said. Squall shrugged slightly.
“It comes in handy.”
“I suppose so…Hey, who’s that?” She was looking at a young man walking towards them with his head down. Squall noted that the guy was blonde with spiky hair the likes of which he’d never seen, and more importantly, he sported a large steel sword on his back that looked like it could cut a tank in half. He subconsciously reached for his Gunblade that remained sheathed at his hip. The familiar feel of it’s handle comforting him somewhat.
“Excuse me mister. Could you possibly tell us what is going on around here?” Aeris asked the blonde man. He blinked at her for a moment, before shrugging.
“Heck if I know lady, but I was wondering, are those flowers for sale?” He had noticed her basket full of flowers.
“Why yes! They’re only one gil actually!” Aeris said brightly, happy that someone wanted to buy her flowers.
“Great, here you go.” He gave her a coin and she handed him a pretty pink flower in return.
“Thank you.” She said as she absently pocketed the coin.
“Well, I have to be going now, you should probably leave too, there are going to be soldiers here soon.” He then turned to leave. Squall watched him distrustfully.
“He was hiding something.” Squall said with a slight frown.
“Oh well, can’t worry about it too much right?” Aeris shrugged as she turned to her companion.
“Say, I just realized something. Do you have enough money for the inn here? It’s rather expensive.” She warned. Squall blinked before slapping his forehead in self-disgust.
“Of course! The currency here would be different from my own!” He thought. Sighing, he shook his head.
“I’m afraid not.” He groaned.
“I suppose I’ll try to find lodgings elsewhere, thank you for your help Aeris.” He turned to go.
“Hey wait! I can’t just let you wander off by yourself in a huge city you’ve never been to before! That would be totally heartless!” She then looked down slightly.
“You…You can stay at my place…That is, if you’d like.” She was a tad embarrassed he could see.
“I…suppose so, though I wouldn’t want to impose.” Squall said, a bit embarrassed himself.
“Oh no! It’s alright! I’m sure my Mother won’t mind at all!” Aeris hoped he would say yes. It wasn’t everyday she met such a handsome and mature guy. Squall nodded.
“Alright then, if it’s okay. Though I insist I repay you in some way.” He wasn’t about to be a freeloader.
“You can walk me home and protect me!” Aeris said with a laugh. Squall shrugged.
“Whatever, fair enough.” He then nodded to her.
“Lead the way.”
They had gone only a little way, when a group of obvious thugs impeded their path.
“Hey there Aeris. Been a while hasn’t it?” The lead one said. He was unshaven, and had rough black hair with a nose-ring to accompany the look, and his clothes consisted of torn jeans and a tank-top. All in all he was the stereo-typical street vagrant. His friends were of similair appearance.
“Oh, you again…” Aeris said with distaste.
“I see you brought more friends this time.” She said with a sigh. The last time she had met this man, he had been flanked by two others and had tried to force her to…well, needless to say, she wasn’t pleased, and had quite handily beaten the living you know what out of them with some handy materia spells and her trusty staff. Though this time she wasn’t sure she could win, there were at least seven of them., and one was enormous, with arms the size of tree trunks it seemed.
“Well, we figured…little girl like you, all alone at night, in a big scary city…might need some…y’know…”protection”…know what I mean?” He leered at her evilly. Aeris took a step back. The man made a grab for her, but his arm was stopped, by a grip of steel.
“She has protection already thank you very much.” The voice was cold, almost emotionless, and hard as steel. Aeris looked up to see Squall’s eyes narrowed and dangerous looking. The restrained thug almost trembled a bit from the look in those dark eyes, but steeled himself and yelled to his compatriots.
“Kill this loser!” They moved to do so, some drawing knives, and the big one cracking his knuckles in an obvious attempt at intimidation. Squall calmly released the lead thug, shoving him back, and dodged the first attacker’s punch, before smashing his fist into the man’s head, knocking him unconscious. Stepping in front of Aeris, Squall calmly drew forth his sword. Everyone’s eyes widened at the sight of the strange weapon, the way it gleamed was almost unearthly, and though it had a blade, the hilt was that of a large revolver, complete with a six-shooter chamber which was fully loaded and ready to go. Squall held the Gunblade in front of him defensively and motioned to Aeris.
“Stand back please…” Without waiting for her to do so, he charged forward and smashed the flat of the blade into one man’s face, knocking him backwards, and then spun to the side, simoutaneously dodging a knife thrust and slamming the handle into another man’s jaw, breaking it audibly. With three men down, and only four left, Squall paused and waited for their next move.
“Shit, guess it’s your turn Bruno.” The leader said. The big one stepped forward, his face showing a wide grin promising pain. Squall met it with his unreadable expression and waited. Bruno charged much like a bull, apparently trying to headbutt Squall. The SeeD side-stepped and smacked the giant’s legs with his sword, causing him to cry out in pain. Turning with a growl, Bruno swung a massive fist at Squall, but it was dodged, and Bruno was left wide-open and off-balance. Squall took advantage of this by delivering five rapid strikes with the hilt of his Gunblade to Bruno’s stomach, and then swung the flat into his face with enough force to make everyone wince as teeth flew out. Bruno stood unsteadily for a moment, before dropping like a sack. Squall turned to the remaining three.
“I believe it’s your turn now.” He said calmly. The leader cursed.
“Can’t believe this pansy-ass took out Bruno.” He then held up a knife, but this knife had a small slot in it with a green orb placed there.
“Guess I gotta use my back-up.” The thug said.
“This here is a fire materia pal, and you don’t stand a chance against it!” So saying, he raised the dagger to the air, and a blast of flame assaulted Squall.
“Squall!” Aeris cried fearfully. When it was over, everyone expected to see a crispy fried Squall, but instead he looked barely scratched.
“Was that it? Compared to what I’ve withstood in the past, that was pathetic.” Squall said, before rushing forward, and cutting the dagger in half with his sword. The leader stared at his broken weapon, as well as the single man who had just decimated over half of his gang and brushed off a fire spell like it was nothing. His other two cohorts had already turned and ran, and with a cry, he followed suit. Squall shook his head in disgust and sheathed his Gunblade.
“Truly Pathetic…” He muttered. He then turned to the still shocked Aeris.
“Shall we continue?” He asked. She nodded slowly.
“Yes, of course…”
“Whew, I am beat!” Cloud thought to himself as he sat down at the counter of Tifa’s bar.
“Tifa Lockheart owning a bar, who would have thought?” He said with a smile to himself. The others had all gone to bed already, but he was unable to sleep. He glanced over at the little flower in the empty beer bottle on the shelf. Tifa had been delighted when he gave it to her, though she had been a bit embarrassed by the fact that she didn’t have anything to put it in except an old bottle, but Cloud had found it rather amusing actually.
“Man, she sure has changed.” He thought as he stared into space. Tifa had always been outgoing and tomboyish when they were younger, but now she was more feminine with her cooking and the almost schoolgirl manner in which she had accepted the flower, and yet at the same time, she was tougher now, more jaded. She was an expert martial artist, and obviously had her fair share of fights, not to mention experiences with throwing drunks out of her bar.
“Man, a bar of all things. I wonder what her Dad would say if he saw her now.” Cloud thought with a grimace. He and the old man had never seen eye to eye on much. He thought the guy was a jerk who smothered Tifa, and the old man thought Cloud was a troublemaker and a bad influence on his daughter. Cloud sighed.
“Of course, he isn’t here anymore.” His fists clenched as he thought about his former comrade who had gone insane that fateful day back in Nibelheim. Groaning, Cloud realized how late it was.
“Damn, and we have another mission tomorrow, guess I’d better hit the sack.” He got up and trudged over to the pinball machine which doubled as a secret elevator.
“Can’t believe I accepted another reactor bombing mission…What was I thinking?”
“Here we are!” Aeris said brightly. Squall was rather impressed. The house was much nicer then anything he had seen of the city thus far. It was two stories, and he could see a large garden full of flowers and a waterfall of all things behind it. It seemed that Aeris’s home, much like her, was very out of place in a setting like Midgar.
“Will your Mother mind us being so late?” Squall asked curiously. The city had no night or day as Aeris had explained to him, because of the large plates above it, but he could still tell it was late at night. Squall had to admit, the technology to build something like Midgar was quite impressive, almost as much as a Garden.
“Don’t worry about it. She’s used to me getting back late from working, and if she asks, we can just say the bombing tied us up. I wouldn’t want to worry her too much so don’t mention the jerks earlier okay?” He nodded in agreement at her logic and together they entered the humble abode.
“Mom, I’m home!” Aeris called brightly. A middle-aged woman came downstairs and greeted Aeris warmly.
“Oh welcome back dear! I was a bit worried because I heard about the terrorist attack, but I’m glad you’re safe and sound.” She hugged Aeris.
“Oh don’t worry Mom, I had Squall with me.” The older woman seemed to suddenly notice the other person, and she blinked for a moment.
“My goodness, you certainly are an intimidating person aren’t you dear?” She said to the dark young man. Squall shrugged.
“So I’ve been told Ma’am.” He replied simply. Aeris smiled.
“He’s very strong Mother, he protected me from some thugs on the way.” She grinned at Squall in rememberance, changing her mind and deciding that impressing her Mother was a good idea. Her Mother smiled warmly.
“Thank you Squall, I can’t tell you how much I appreciate that.” She wondered briefly if this young man and her daughter were “involved” but put it at the back of her mind for later. Squall nodded.
“It was nothing.” He said. Aeris turned to the stairs.
“Well, we should probably get to bed, I’ll go make sure the guest room is ready.” So saying, she headed upstairs. Squall blinked as Aeris’ Mother turned to him after making sure he daughter was upstairs.
“I really do appreciate you protecting her.” She said.
“But please…I have this feeling, like you’re going to be in a lot of dangerous situations, and I beg of you…Don’t place Aeris in any danger…She’s a strong girl, but I don’t think I could handle it if I lost her…” She looked away sadly, remembering the other loved one she lost what seemed like yesterday. Squall’s icy eyes softened ever so slightly.
“I promise that I won’t let anything happen to her…” Squall said honestly. This seemed to be enough for the woman, and she shooed him up the stairs with a smile, leaving a bewildered Squall standing at the top of the Gainesborough home’s stairs. Aeris walked out of one of the rooms and smiled as she saw him.
“Oh! I was just about to go get you.” She took his hand, puzzling him to no end, and led him into the room she had just exited.
“Ta-dah!” She exclaimed brightly, laughing as she saw him blink at the little guest room.
“She reminds me of…Rinoa…” Squall thought to himself. Aeris waved a hand in front of his face.
“Yoo-hoo! You still with me Squall?” She asked playfully. He almost blushed.
“Er, yes.” He replied, before turning to her.
“um, guess I should be getting to bed now…” Aeris said, feeling a bit uncomfortable under his intense gaze. Squall nodded slowly.
“Goodnight Squall…” She said, before leaving, shutting the door on her way out. Squall blew out a breath and unhooked his Gunblade, letting the large weapon fall into his hand. He placed it, with the custom sheath he had made for it, against the wall, and sank onto the bed with a groan. For some reason, he was really tired all of a sudden. His thoughts were a chaotic mix of uncertainty, fear, anger, and depression.
“Will I ever see home again? Will I ever see…her again?” He whispered. The darkness of the room gave no answers to the troubled young man, and he struggled to slip into slumber, hoping his dreams would be more pleasant then the cold reality he had found himself in.
The following morning, though technically Midgar had no morning since one couldn’t see the sun, Aeris awoke to a curious sight outside her window. There in front of the waterfall outside her house, dancing a deadly dance of death, his sword like a ribbon of power spinning and slashing across the air with a graceful, and yet powerful feel, was Squall. He was obviously practicing, and Aeris noted with some quickened breathing that his jacket was off, and only his white shirt was on, and it was starting to become a second skin with his sweat adhering it to his surprisingly well-built chest. Aeris was mesmerized and found herself unable to look away. Whether she was admiring his skill with the blade or he himself was uncertain.
Squall grunted as he swung his Gunblade in a particularly powerful overhand chop only to stop the sword centimeters from striking the ground, his muscles protesting the sudden stopping of momentum. Finished with his morning training, he rested the blade on his shoulder as he caught his breath. While he was in superb shape, even for a SeeD, the fact remained that he had been practicing since roughly 7 a.m, and it was now 9:00 or so. Finally his breathing regulated and he wiped his forehead lightly to clear some sweat that had caused his bangs to plaster themselves to it. He decided that he was hungry and wondered if it would be too presumptuous to think that Aeris’ Mother would feed him Breakfast. He may have made progress in relating to other people and knowing what one was supposed to say and what not to say, but he still had trouble with this sort of thing. He went back into the house, pausing to wipe his feet at the door, and headed up to his room for his jacket and perhaps a shower if it was alright with Aeris. He was a bit curious as to why Aeris’ cheeks were red as he walked by her to his room, but paid it no heed.
Breakfast was simple. Eggs and toast was the meal, and though Squall did his best to stay out of the conversation, he found himself dragged into it anyway.
“So, Squall, where are you from dear?” Elmyra, Aeris’ Mother asked warmly. Squall sweated slightly. He wasn’t sure what to say, so he decided to be ambiguous instead.
“Oh, I’m from very far away Ma’am.” It wasn’t lying really. He was from far in the future, or far in the past, depending on which way the time flux had sent him. This seemed to appease the two women thankfully.
“That’s nice, Aeris’ old boyfriend was from far away too. Gongaga I believe it was…” Elmyra smiled at her daughter, who blushed in embarrassment.
“Mom, please, Zack and I were just friends…and stop making it sound like Squall is my boyfriend or something.” She gave Squall an apologetic look, which he blinked at. Her Mother just smiled.
“Alright dear, whatever you say.” The rest of the meal went relatively smoothly, as Squall managed to stay out of the rest of the talking.
Cloud sighed as he ate the breakfast Tifa had prepared. It wasn’t that the food was bad, on the contrary, her cooking was simply amazing. Nor was it that the various people around him were irritating at the moment. Well, besides Wedge stuffing his face disgustingly with bacon. He just had a feeling, like his whole life was about to change. He wasn’t sure if this was a good or bad thing, and that was precisely what was bothering him at the moment. Tifa noticed his frown and tried to cheer him up.
“Cloud, is everything alright?” She asked. He nodded without looking at her.
“Um, yeah, everything is fine Tifa…” He buried himself in his breakfast to avoid further questioning, missing the worried look Tifa was giving him.
“I’m off to work Mom, c’ya!” Aeris waved to her Mother and stepped out the door. Squall was waiting for her outside, he was in her garden, staring at the various flowers.
“Do you like flowers?” She asked him curiously. He didn’t really seem the flower type, but looks could be deceiving.
“I don’t know…Up until very recently, it didn’t really matter to me what I “liked” or “disliked”. I only cared about training and being a better soldier…but then she came…” He trailed off uncomfortably. Aeris blinked.
“She? She who?” She asked curiously. Squall looked away.
“N-no one…”
“A girlfriend?” Aeris was really interested now.
“Er, I don’t really know…” Squall was uncomfortable and it radiated from him. Aeris decided to let it drop for now.
“Well, alright then…none of my business I guess. Shall we go? I’ll do my rounds and then we can head for the church to tend to the garden…” She turned to go, leaving Squall to collect himself and hurry after her.
Deep within the highly guarded Shinra Building, a man worked fervently. Professor Hojo was not insane, at least not entirely. He was just extremely ambitious. So much so that he would step on anyone and anything to achieve what he desired. He cared little about whether or not his “employer” Shinra succeeded in finding the Promised Land. The only reason he even worked for them was because it allowed him to have excellent facilites and specimens with which to do research.
“Soon I’ll have that Cetra, and then…” He trailed off into mutterings. He was staring at a chamber, heavily sealed, and protected with enough steel to stop a bomb. Sitting within the chamber, was someone, or something, called Jenova.
“Yes, soon…” Hojo whispered, an almost euphoric quality to his voice. No, Hojo was not insane, he was just extremely ambitious. But then again, was there any difference? With Hojo, one could not be sure.
“Let’s do this!” Barret’s loud voice carried over the sound of the train running over the tracks quite well Cloud noticed. They had just narrowly avoided the sensor on the train, thanks to some quick thinking and quicker footwork. Though it bothered him that it was as easy as that. Nevertheless, he wasn’t going to worry about it, as he had more pressing concerns at the moment, like the fact that his childhood friend was about to leap off a moving train.
“I’m gonna do it! Watch me!” Tifa yelled, tensing her legs, which were every nice Cloud couldn’t help but notice, and jumping off. Sighing, Cloud moved up and with a backwards glance at Barret, leapt off himself. At the last moment, he tucked and rolled, using the momentum to lessen the impact of his jump, and therefore avoid a lot of pain. He came out of the roll, and saw Tifa smiling at him. He stood, dusted himself off, and checked to make sure his sword was still attached to his back. Like most Soldier members, he had a piece of metal on his back that the sword stuck to through magnetism. It was handy and allowed him to avoid the use of a sheath, which would be extremely cumbersome with a sword as huge as the Buster was. Barret ran up a moment later, his face set in a scowl as usual.
“C’mon spike ass! Move it!” He ran past them. Tifa shrugged at Cloud and followed. Cloud sighed and did the same.
“Would you like a flower? Only a paltry gil.” Aeris said brightly to yet another hopeful customer, smiling in what Squall assumed was a “friendly” manner. He could tell she didn’t exactly love having to be polite and friendly to some of these low-lifes. Especially the ones who talked to her chest. Thankfully he was there, and seeing someone as intimidating as Squall made a lot of the more unsavory types keep their dirty little thoughts to themselves. The man she had been talking to shook his head and walked away. Aeris sighed for a moment, before brightening and turning to Squall.
“Well, there’s always another time.” She said, more to convince herself then him. Squall nodded and glanced around for a moment. They were in the slums of a sector, he couldn’t recall Aeris saying which one, and a question popped into his mind.
“I’ve been meaning to ask you…” He started. She smiled widely.
“Yes?” Was that a hopeful sound to her voice?
“Er…Don’t take this the wrong way…But…Why exactly do you do this? I mean…Not only do you make virtually no money with such a low price, but it’s not like anyone buys them…” He hoped she wouldn’t take it the wrong way. It was a bit blunt. Social skills and tact were things Squall had yet to master, though he was getting better. He was a bit surprised when Aeris laughed.
“Oh Squall! You’re so funny!” She composed herself, though she was still smiling.
“I don’t sell flowers for profit, or anything like that. I sell them for my dream.”
“Your dream…?” He asked curiously.
“Yes…my dream.” She said, a reflective look coming to her green eyes.
“My dream is that one day…All of Midgar will be filled with bright flowers…And maybe then, people won’t hate living here so much.” She looked a bit embarrassed.
“Heh, sort of silly I know, but it would be so wonderful…Even though it’s polluted, and dirty, and dark…it’s still home to a lot of people…including me…and I want to take care of my home…make it nicer.” She sighed.
“It will take a while…I’m not going to delude myself…but I won’t give up.”
She grew determined.
“I’m going to keep selling flowers. Even if I only sell one a day…” Her eyes brightened.
“That reminds me…That nice blonde man bought one yesterday. So at least some people like flowers.”
“That’s true…” Squall had never really understood people like Aeris. People with dreams. Because to him, dreams were just that… dreams. They weren’t real. They weren’t something you could reach out and touch. They were just silly little fantasies.
“Of course…Some people take dreams to a dangerous level…” He thought darkly as he pictured a blonde man in a white trenchcoat laughing.
“Is something wrong? Aeris asked, concerned for him. Squall realized he was clenching his fists, and quickly calmed himself.
“No…nothing…” He lied. Aeris didn’t know this and nodded at his answer.
“Okay then…Let’s do one more round and then head for the church okay?”
“Okay.” Squall answered with a nod of his own.
Cloud cursed to himself as he dodged another attack from this peculiar robot they were all fighting. Barret and Tifa were both excellent fighters, made even more so now that he had taught them how to use materia, but the fact remained that he was going to be the deciding factor in this battle. With this in mind, he concentrated, even as he heard Tifa’s cries of alarm as Barret was smashed to the ground. Even as he heard Barret’s curses as the pain registered. He still focused. He heard Tifa cry out in pain, and finally unleashed his attack.
“Blade Beam!” The surge of pure force and air pressure slashed along the ground towards its target. The massive air machine didn’t even know what hit it. The blast of razor-sharp energy tore through its thick armor, rending a massive gash in its body. It sputtered and died. But just as Cloud finished sheathing his sword, he realized that it was leaking fluid, and cursed again, something that was becoming a habit, as it exploded.
“Is this the place?” Squall asked as he and Aeris entered the church.
“Yes!” Aeris smiled brightly, delighted to be in her favorite place once more. Squall nodded and looked around absently. Religion had never been a big thing to him. As a Seed, he was trained to fight the sorceress’s. Descendants of the creator Hyne supposedly, so it wasn’t exactly a stretch to call him a blasphemer, though he only fought the evil ones. Hell, he was in love with a sorceress wasn’t he? At the thought of Rinoa, his thoughts turned dark and he ignored them through sheer willpower. He noticed that Aeris had begun tending to a garden of sorts that had sprouted up from the floor of the church. The wood was torn away, and the light shining in through the windows seemed to focus directly on the collection of flowers exclusively. All in all, he had to admit, it was very pretty in here. With the exception of Aeris’ home, he hadn’t seen any beauty in this city other than this place. But it was more then just aesthetical. The church had a feeling, an almost tangible aura of…peace, that seemed to reach out like a Mother and wrap you in its arms. Squall had never known his Mother. Well, he did meet her, but not through his own eyes. Yes, he had realized, thanks in part to all the hints dropped by Ellone and Laguna’s friends, that Raine was indeed his Mother. To say he was a bit shocked by this would be an understatement.
“And Laguna is my Father…” He thought with a silent groan. How that moron could be his flesh and blood was something he could not understand.
“Don’t think about it…just focus on the present for now…worry about Laguna, Raine, “Sis”, and everything else later.” Squall realized with a start that Aeris was saying something and quickly snapped out of his daze.
“…sure you’re alright?” She finished. He hadn’t caught the beginning but it was obvious what she was asking.
“I’m fine…really…” He assured her. He was still a little unused to people showing concern for him. It was still something that caused him some bafflement. After all…wasn’t he all alone? He had little time left to ponder this, as a loud scream was heard from above. Blinking, he and Aeris watched as an object of some sort smashed through the roof, and struck the bed of flowers with a audible noise. Squall slowly walked over to the flowers, as Aeris was still gaping at her ruined flowers. He took a step back as he realized that the unidentified falling object was in fact a person!
“What in the world…” He muttered. Taking a closer look, he realized that this was in fact the guy that he and Aeris had bumped into the other day. That hair was pretty hard to forget.
“Looks like something Zell would wear…” He thought. The man stirred, and Squall stepped back for a moment.
“Oh! It moved!” Aeris cried.
“Ugh…where…where am I?” The blonde muttered to the air.
“You’re in a church.” Squall stated simply.
“I tend to the flowers here.” Aeris said as well, finally collecting her wits. The man rubbed the back of his head, obviously in a bit of pain from the fall, and slowly looked around.
“These…are your flowers?” He asked. Aeris nodded.
“Yes…” She said. The man quickly jumped to his feet, startling her, and making Squall take a step back and tense a bit. The man turned and looked down in embarrassment.
“Um…sorry…I didn’t mean to wreck your garden…” He was obviously quite ashamed, though Squall doubted he meant to fall through the ceiling.
“Oh, that’s alright…the flowers here are quite resilient, because this is a holy place…” Aeris said brightly. The man sighed.
“Whew, I’m glad…um…” He raised his head and tried a smile.
“My name is Cloud Strife.” He held out a hand, which Squall ignored but Aeris shook and smiled pleasantly.
“I’m Aeris, it’s nice to meet you again.” She said honestly. They looked over at Squall, who was looking away and crossing his arms.
“Squall Leonhart.” He said simply. He walked away and leaned against one of the benches near the entrance.
“Not very friendly is he?” Cloud asked. Aeris frowned thoughtfully.
“Well, he isn’t very nice all the time, but he’s really a very good person, and I can tell he has a god reason for being that way…” She bit her lip.
“Though I do wish he would open up a little more…” She said. Cloud nodded.
“Yeah well…” He then sighed.
“I need to get going. I have to go to Sector 7…” He took a step forward.
“Wait…” Aeris said. He looked at her curiously.
“Ah…nothing…” She said at last.
“Who are you?” They turned to see Squall facing off against several Shinra soldiers, and a man in an expensive looking suit. The man had red hair and had asked Squall who he was.
“My name isn’t important…why you’re here is.” Squall answered, moving a hand towards his sword.
“Heh, to the point huh? Alright then. I’m Reno, of the Turks. And I’m here to take her…” He pointed to Aeris, who had a slightly fearful look on her face.
“…back to my employer.” He smirked arrogantly.
“What are you gonna do about it pretty boy?” He blinked as Squall’s face remained stone-like and impassive, though his eyes radiated anger. In one fluid motion Squall drew his gunblade and held it protectively in front of him.
“I’ll stop you.” He finally answered. Seeing this, Aeris turned to Cloud.
“Please! You’ve got to help him! I’ll pay you back! I promise!” She seemed desperate, and while Cloud didn’t need any payment, he figured he might as well accept.
“Sure. I’ll be right back.” He turned to go help, but Aeris tugged at his arm.
“Wait, don’t fight here. You’ll ruin the flowers!” She turned and ran for a staircase.
“This way!” She called. Cloud nodded and followed. Squall, still facing Reno, cursed to himself, and sheathed his sword. He then ran towards the staircase as well. Reno smiled and nodded to his men.
“Come on. Don’t let them get away!” He turned and walked all over the flowers.
“Oh, and don’t step on the flowers…”
“Where exactly are we going?” Squall asked after the three had made it up the stairs.
“To…the…roof.” Aeris said, out of breath from the running. Squall shrugged.
“It isn’t really necessary…I can handle them easily enough.” He said, not as a boast, but as a fact.
“But…but they have guns!” Aeris said as if he were crazy. Cloud knew that guns weren’t always a problem, but only with the right protection. Squall shrugged again.
“Trust me, it isn’t a problem.” They were silent for a moment, but then they heard Reno and crew charging up the stairs.
“This way!” Cloud said, leaping across a broken floor. Squall followed suit. Aeris looked unsure.
“Come on Aeris!” Cloud yelled. She turned away.
“I…I can’t.” She said. Squall cursed and slapped a hand to his forehead. Cloud also muttered an obscenity. The soldiers were directly under them, and with a laugh, they fired up towards Aeris.
“Ahhh!” She screamed and fell off
to the lower level.
”Aeris!” Cloud yelled.
“You idiots! Don’t kill her!” Reno yelled angrily. The soldiers moved to grab Aeris, who tensed in fear. Cloud swore and looked upwards. He saw some barrels sitting on the catwalk oddly enough.
“Hey! I got an idea! Come on Squall!” He turned to go. He was going to drop them onto the soldiers. Squall shook his head.
“No need…” He said, before leaping down to land in a crouch beside Aeris. She blinked wordlessly at him as he stood to his full height stared the soldiers down. One lunged at him with a knife, but he calmly slammed his elbow down onto the man’s arm, forcing him to drop the weapon, and before he could grab for his rifle, Squall smashed his fist into the soldier’s head. The trooper collapsed with a groan. Not stopping for a moment, Squall drew his sword, and slashed a man across the chest, not enough to spill his guts, but he would always bear a scar afterwards from the wound. Following through with the same motion, Squall brought his sword which he held aloft, and cut downwards, dropping another guard and cutting through his gun at the same time. Besides Reno, only one soldier was left, and without missing a beat, Squall charged him at high speeds, and slammed the hilt of his gunblade into the man’s head, cracking the helmet and knocking him unconscious. With only Reno remaining, Squall slid back into his regular sword stance, with the blade held parallel to the hip, and waited. The soldiers had been dealt with in roughly a minute. Reno gaped for a moment, before composing himself and chuckling.
“Heh heh, I ‘m not sure who you are, but I must say, you’re pretty good…” His eyes showed an arrogance that angered Squall greatly, though he didn’t show it.
“Why don’t you give it a try then.” Squall said coldly. Reno nodded and drew a stick from his coat, flicking a switch as he did so. A jolt of electricity sped through the rod and Squall recognized it as a tazer of sorts, though it was more like a cattle prod.
“Let’s do it.” Reno said, holding the weapon in front of his face. Squall almost smiled, but this was Squall after all.
“Too easy…” He thought. Reno charged forward, and tried to jam the tazer into Squall’s ribs, but he casually dodged to the side, and twisted, pivoting to swing his sword around and into Reno’s back. The Turk tried to dodge, but the attack came too swiftly, and he was forced to roll with the blow. Thankfully, it resulted in only a small wound, but it would slow him down nonetheless. Roaring in anger, Reno concentrated and made a hand gesture. Squall felt the build-up of energy and had time to realize what it meant before a large bolt of lightning crashed down from above and made his teeth rattle with the intensity of it.
“Heh, Thundara…Don’t leave home without a bolt materia.” Reno said with a smirk. The smirk soon faded as as Squall was revealed to be only lightly singed.
“Not bad, but not good either.” The SeeD said in response, while mentally thanking his own tremendous endurance and the power of the GF for protecting him.
“My turn…” He said. Dashing forward at unbelievable speeds, Squall slashed diagonally, drawing a tremendous amount of blood and forcing Reno to his knees.
“Urgg…” He coughed up blood and groaned.
“Shit…I can’t believe a kid like you beat me…” He muttered with a curse. Squall said nothing, watching him coolly while a wide-eyed Aeris stood behind him.
“Don’t…don’t think this is over…” Reno said. He stood wearily, and limped towards the stairs, shuffling down them while leaning on the railing and clutching his chest where the sword had struck. Squall calmly flicked the blood off of his gunblade, and sheathed it in one well-practiced motion. He turned to Aeris and nodded to the stairs leading up.
“We should get moving. I’m sure he’ll have reinforcements after us any minute, so we should head towards your house, via the rooftops.” He said, assuming his Commander voice that he used while serving as the leader of SeeD. Aeris nodded slowly, still slightly in shock at how easily Squall had dealt with the Turk. Cloud was waiting for them at the top, rubbing the back of his head in embarrassment.
“And here I had this great way of saving her and everything…” He muttered. Aeris giggled.
“Thank you Cloud.” She said. Cloud smiled faintly.
“Ah, no problem.” He said.
“C’mon, we have to go now.” Squall said seriously.
