Legacy of the Past
Chapter Nine: Whispers From A Distant Source
“Did you hear that? Sounded like the Mythirl Mines had another cave in” Cid Highwind turned his head and glanced in the direction of the mines. He narrowed his eyes and watched the area for a moment.
“Looks like it did. Most likely it was just a Zolom hitting the edge of the mines again. You know those moronic creatures seem to find that beyond amusing and I’ll be damned if I know why.” He turned back to his fellow workman. The young man stood near Cid, watching the mines as well, a pensive look on his young features. Straggly brown hair fell into his deep green eyes and a pair of square, black-rimmed glasses sat on his nose. His hands were in his pockets of his jeans that were stained with oil and a white t-shirt with black smears all over the front and back. He looked like a child who came from working on his father’s car. “How old can he be?” Cid thought to himself, “He can’t be any more than nineteen, twenty at the most. So much youth, what is he doing in a place like this? Why work for the resistance where you could be killed? Why risk it at such a young age? I swear…I will never understand the youth of this world.” He shook his head, pulling himself away from his thoughts. “We have an airship to fix, we need to stop talking and get back to working.” Cid managed to put an edge to his voice that drew his companion out of his own mind. The young man nodded.
“Yes, we need to get the Highwind fixed as soon as possible. That’s what the boss said.” He turned and went to the propeller on the left side. Cid watched him before heading over to look at his blue prints for the Highwind. Someone had shot at the ship three days before, the last time they were on patrol, and decimated the entire left wing and propeller. The repairs were going to take at least a week and that was if they worked straight for seven days with little or no rest. Cid had the ambition to do that and he knew that he could survive a few days without a lot of sleep, but finding someone else to work those long days was another story all together. He glanced over at the other worker, his name still unknown to Cid, and watched him try to put the propeller into a semi reasonable pile of pieces. They had been working for nearly two hours and he still had no idea who this man was.
“Hey rookie.” Cid called to the man. He looked up at Cid and was standing tall in a moment.
“Yes sir?” he replied, his voice was steady and strong.
“What’s your name?” Cid asked. The young man blinked once.
“Lionel…Lionel Phillips, sir.” He replied. Cid nodded at Lionel and gave him a half smile.
“Can the formalities Lionel.”
“I’m sorry sir, but I cannot show disrespect for the man who is second in command of this operation. If I do not show respect then I will disgrace us.” Lionel’s face was completely serious and there was little evidence of any other emotion. Cid felt his smile grow before he burst into laughter. Lionel looked like someone slapped him across the face. “Did I say something funny, sir?” Cid smiled broadly at the boy.
“We are a resistance group Lionel, not an army. We are equals, I assure you of that.” Cid replied, the humor still evident in the tone of his voice. “Now, shall we get back to work Lionel?”
Lionel seemed dumbstruck. The young man stared at Cid for a moment before nodding. Cid also nodded before turning and examining the plans some more. Lionel watched the older pilot for a moment before looking towards the Mythril Mines; silently hoping no one was caught in the mess.
*~*~*~*~*
Cloud…
“What…who are you…where am I?”
I am the one you subconsciously seek…
“What…are you talking about?”
You know what I mean, my child…
“’Your child’? I am no one’s ‘child’…now who are you? Tell me.
Persistent as ever I see…you are buried under rock now, my child, you are merely contacting me while you lie unconscious. Your comrades all lie near to you…all unconscious from the falling rock…
“…and of my friends health? Are any of them wounded?”
Heh heh, a mine collapses on you…and you think no one was hurt? Oh yes, a few of them are very wounded…
“I need to wake up…I need to help them.”
Worry not about them…my child…for now is the time when you need to help me.
“I won’t help you unless I know who you are.”
You know who I am…you need to dig deep…into the depths of your memory and of your mind. I am there…I am always there.
“I…don’t understand…”
I did not expect you to…I am the essence that breathes life into you child…I am the power that gives you your strength…I am the will that keeps you going every moment of every day…
“…And what does that make you then?”
I am your life…and I am your keeper. I am your Mother…and you are my child. You walk when I see fit…you speak when I permit it…and you will come to me when I call you…regardless of what may stand in your way…and who you might have to cut down in the process.
“You speak of me killing those I hold dear…”
No one will stand between my children and I…nothing will stop me from taking all of you back to me…if I say that you must kill them all…you will kill them all…
“No.”
Excuse me?
“I said “no”, I will not cut down my friends for any reason. I don’t care who you are. I will not take their lives and you will not make me.”
Fool! You think you have the power? Foolish boy! Still so young not knowing what powers he meddles with! You will come to me whether you like it or not…I will not be defied by the likes of a mortal!
*~*~*~*~*
Reno’s eyes felt like they were clamped shut. His entire body was numb with a dull tingling occasionally. “I have to move…I’ll move eventually…” he thought. “But what if I’m paralyzed? What if this cave in crushed my spine and I’ll never move again? God, then I’ll pull the bloody trigger myself.” He felt air brush up against his face and his eyes slowly open. Everything seemed hazed over for a moment before his eyes focused on Aerith. She looked very worried.
“Are you all right?” she asked, her voice was light and timid. Reno could see that she had various cuts and bruises, her hair was lined with dust and her hair ribbon was gone. There were small droplets of blood on her pink dress and dirt smudged her face. Reno struggled to smile.
“Yeah, sure, I’m all right babe.” His voice was hoarse and Reno hardly recognized his own voice. Aerith visibly winced when she heard him speak.
She bit on her bottom lip and studied him for a moment. His hair was matted in all directions and there was a deep gash on his forehead, a small trail a blood ran down his right temple. His right arm was badly broken, it was so bent and disfigured that there was no other conclusion. He did not look “all right”, but she did not see anything that was life threatening. She nodded slightly to and glanced around the cave. She knew she was the only one who had not been hit by the fallen rocks. She had no idea how she had managed to avoid the collapsing ceiling, but when she awoke she had a thick layer of dust over her, but no injuries minus cuts and bruises. Reno was, unfortunately, the only one she had been able to find.
“You stay here then…I’ll try and find the others.” Her voice was unsteady, yet determined. Reno started to protest before the girl stood and started to move some rocks to his right away. Reno watched her with lazy eyes, wanting to help, but knowing that he would only hurt himself further.
Aerith struggled to move the masses of rock away, hoping praying for any sign of a body. As she rolled a bolder away, she saw an arm amongst the rocks. She gasped when she saw blood all over the rocks around that arm. She quickly started to push the rock away with frantic desperation. As the rocks fell away, Aerith uncovered the mangled body of Tseng.
“Oh my god…” she whispered as she looked down at the man. ‘Mangled’ was not the right word to describe the former Turk’s condition. There was an extremely deep cut along his forehead that still bled, leaving blood to fall off the side of his face. He lay on his stomach and Aerith could see a small pool of blood forming around the man. His clothes were torn and blood soaked and as more ruble fell away from him Aerith could see that both of his legs were broken in horrible ways. There was a flower of crimson blood at the center of his back so dark that it looked like a wilted rose. As more of him became visible, the more Aerith felt her heart start to race. She rolled away the last bolder and kneeled next to him. Her hand trembled as she reached for a pulse. “Please…god…let him be alive.”
A light pulse thumped beneath Aerith’s fingers and she felt her entire body relax. He had a pulse, it was a light one, but he had a pulse. She gently started to pull him out into the open, struggling to be as gentle as she could. He made no noise of protest, he was very much unconscious. Silently, Aerith prayed that he was not in a coma. She laid him on the ground not far from Reno.
Reno glanced up and saw Aerith place Tseng near him. He felt his eyes open wide when he saw the condition of his friend. Reno tried to move so he could get closer when an unbearable pain shot up his right arm. He bit his tongue so hard that he tasted blood. He blinked away the stars that had formed in front of his eyes and looked at his right arm. It was twisted in such a way that he was not sure if it was ever going to heal properly. He found that he was panting slightly, his right arm was his dominant arm, and he could not fight with his other arm. He looked back at Aerith who was trying to put something over Tseng’s worst wounds to stop the bleeding. Reno took a deep breath and spoke.
“Aerith…you can use some of my jacket. I have a shirt underneath, I don’t need it.” His voice sounded a little more sturdy than before, but a lot quieter. Aerith glanced up at him; her green eyes were full of despair and her express was full of a sense of helplessness. She nodded slightly and walked over to him. Reno watched her as she ripped a strip of cloth off of his jacket and walked back to Tseng, wrapping the cloth around his head. She wiped a bit of perspiration from her forehead and stood. She glanced at the tall piles of rock and hoped that someone in there would be strong enough to help her find the others.
*~*~*~*~*
“I don’t know why you keep bothering me, I’ve made up my mind, and I will not hurt my friends or anyone else to help the likes of you.”
You cannot ignore me forever Cloud, eventually, I will convince you to do my bidding. I have made the strongest male bow down…what makes you think that you are any different?
“I assure you, I am different. There is no way in hell I will break.”
Perhaps it is time I began to show you just how much power I have over not only you, but others around you.
“And just what do you mean by that?”
No reply.
“…hello?”
Still no reply.
“Where did you go?”
Silence.
“Answer me!”
*~*~*~*~*
Aerith cried out in pain. She knew that she must have pulled some muscles while trying to move these rocks. She still had no found anyone else and she knew that it was entirely possible that Tseng or Reno or both had internal bleeding. “I need to get them to a hospital soon.” She pushed another bolder to the side and found locks on long, brown hair. Tifa. She frantically pushed rocks away and found Tifa. She was unconscious, but it looked like she did not get the full force of the cave in. She had the remains of a bloody nose and a split lip on her face. Aerith pulled her out of the ruble, struggling not to knock her around too much. Tifa groaned in pain slightly and Aerith let out a sigh of relief. She set Tifa down by Tseng just as the woman’s brown eyes opened.
She blinked lazily as her gazed fixed on Aerith. Tifa sat up and her and the cave spun. She fell back down, breathing hard, her hand resting on her forehead. “God damn it…what the hell happened?” She asked.
“There was a cave in and we were all almost crushed.” Reno replied, his voice was now louder and he sounded a little more like himself. Tifa glanced over and saw the ex-Turk sprawled out amongst the rocks. He looked conscious enough with no serious injuries besides a very broken arm. Tifa looked away from him and sat up again, slower this time. Thankfully, the room did not spin this time.
“How are you feeling?” Aerith asked, she was sitting at the base of Tifa’s feet, watching the woman with worried green eyes. Tifa rubbed her temples and sighed.
“A bump on the head, but I’ll be fine.” She replied. She looked around. The only people that were sitting with them were the two Turks and Aerith. “Where are the others?”
“That’s why I was wondering how you were feeling. We need to find them and get the wounded some treatment. I don’t have enough energy to heal everyone with serious wounds. Will you help me look for them?” Aerith asked, her eyes were pleading. Tifa made a face.
“We should find Cloud and Naden, but let’s leave the bitch and that other guy behind. Let them find each other.” She replied and her voice was cold. “Besides, they’re the one’s who got us into this mess.” Aerith blinked and exchanged a surprise expression with Reno. She looked back at Tifa and could not hold the disbelief in her eyes.
“You really would leave them here to die…wouldn’t you?” She asked, her voice small. Tifa stared back at the girl and sighed.
“No…I guess it would be a real pain if they somehow survived and came back to kill me out of revenge. Fine, we find everyone.” She replied pushing herself to her feet. She felt her knees wobble and her legs were about to give out when Aerith snatched Tifa’s arm and held her steady. Tifa looked at Aerith and the two woman held each other’s gaze for a moment. After a moment of silence, Tifa spoke. “Let’s find the others and get the hell out of here.” Aerith nodded and released Tifa’s arm. She had not expected a word of thanks, but people who were ungrateful for kindness were always the people that Aerith seemed to dislike the most. She turned and Tifa followed and the two women started to push the rocks away. Deep down, Tifa hoped that no one was dead.
*~*~*~*~*
I see that with me gone you began to gain something of a temper. Does not having answers truly disturb you that much?
“What did you mean before…when you said you were going to prove your power?”
Oh…you shall see, my child, you shall see.
“I suppose I shall.”
I sense no fear in you.
“That makes a lot of sense: I’m not afraid of you.”
Why?
“Because why should I fear the little voice in the back of my brain?”
Fool, you still think you are just hearing voices.
“I don’t think, I know.”
Indeed, we shall see how much you know pet, we shall see.
*~*~*~*~*
“I think I found someone Tifa.” Aerith announced. Tifa turned and walked over to wear Aerith was kneeling. They started to pull the rocks away and soon the body of Naden appeared. He seemed to be conscious surprisingly enough. He blinked a few times when he saw the two girls. Aerith sighed in relief. He seemed a bit confused with everything that was happening, but unhurt to the naked eye.
“Good, at least someone isn’t dying on us.” Tifa announced.
“I’m not dying” Reno shouted across the room, with a stupid grin on his face. The two woman glanced over their shoulders and heaved sighs. Aerith touched Naden’s shoulder and he turned to her. His blue eyes seemed so lost, so confused by everything around him.
“Do you know who I am Naden?” she asked, a hint of fear in her voice. The last thing they needed was another wave of amnesia on top of the one he already had. He nodded,
“Yes...I know who you are.” he answered. Aerith breathed a sigh of relief. She pulled him to his feet gingerly with the unwilling help of Tifa. They helped him over to the cleared area and set him down on the ground. Something in his eyes made Tifa look at him again. She knelt down and stared into his eyes. He looked back and blinked in confusion. She pulled out a piece of lightning materia and made the orb glow brightly. She put it close to Naden’s eyes and watched his pupils. They did not dilate. Tifa cursed under her breath.
“Naden, you can’t fall asleep. Do you hear me? You cannot fall asleep.” Tifa said, making her voice hard. His eyes widened slightly and his face faded to a pale white.
“W...why?” he asked, his voice trembling slightly. Aerith glanced over her shoulder at them, a troubled expression crossing her features. Tifa looked mildly amused by the frightened reaction she received from Naden.
“It’s nothing really serious so stop being all mellow-dramatic. It’s only a concussion, but it would be better if you stayed awake. We really don’t need you slipping into a coma.” Tifa replied pushing herself to her feet. She glanced over at Aerith. “Who are we missing?”
“Karta, Cloud, and Buck.” Aerith replied. Tifa heaved a sigh and looked at the pile of rock. They could be anywhere in that pile and for all she knew they could only find corpses.
“Let’s just hurry up and find them.” Tifa grumbled.
*~*~*~*~*
Cloud...
“You again? Don’t you ever leave me alone? Why can’t you just go away so I can wake up.”
Why do you waste your time with these weaklings. You have more important matters to take care of. Let us not worry about that for now. Shall we invite a friend of yours into your head to join our conversation?
“What?”
Oh, do you not want someone else in your head?
“I don’t even want you in my head.”
So I gathered. No matter though, what you want matters not. Only what I want matters and you will soon learn that. You will soon learn that you cannot defy me.
*~*~*~*~*
“...Wonderful my dear...positively wonderful...”
“...I can’t believe that you made me do that...”
“...You did it all of your free will...I never said you had to take the test...I just said it was a test...”
“...You did this to break me...”
“...You are of no use to us broken...you know that...”
“...Let me wash my hands...please...let me wash the blood away...”
“...No...that blood will never wash away...never...you struck down your family...and their blood will never wash away...”
“I think I found someone!”
“...This is only the beginning...”
“Tifa, it’s Karta.”
“...The blood will come...”
“Of course, the stupid bitch had to get herself completely buried. Can’t we just leave her for someone else to dig out?”
“...It will flow like a river...”
“Tifa...please...just help me move these rocks...”
“...The world will bleed...”
“Thank god, she doesn’t seem to be hurt at all. That means she can help us find the other two. She’ll be of some use.”
“...The world will suffer...”
“Come on, wake up. We need you to help us find Cloud and Buck.”
“...All by your hand...”
“Wake up, dammit.”
“...And all for...”
“I think she’s coming around.”
“...Her...”
*~*~*~*~*
Karta’s eyes open very slowly. The world seemed to be covered in a haze that was slowly being pulled away. She blinked and her deep blue eyes focused on the faces of Tifa and Aerith. They were hovering over her. Aerith looked relieved when her eyes focused on them while Tifa’s face held a look that screamed, “well it’s about time you woke up”. Karta licked her lips and slowly sat up.
“Are you all right?” A voice asked. Karta glanced in the direction of the voice and it took a moment for her to realize that it was Aerith talking to her. She made eye contact with the young girls tired green eyes.
“Yes Aerith...I’m fine...just a little dizzy...” Karta replied though her voice held a little uncertainty. Tifa eyed the red haired girl for a moment, searching her face to see if she could catch a glimpse of what was going through the girls head. Much to her disappointment it seemed that Karta had once again managed to cover up all of her emotions. Karta glanced over at Tifa and for a moment the two women stared at each other locked in a common feeling that neither could quite place. Tifa was the first to look away as she pushed herself to her feet.
“We still have two people to find and you’re going to help us.” Tifa stated making it more of an order than a request for help. Karta blinked once and nodded slightly.
“Yeah...sure...” she said in a tired voice. She stood and looked at the pile of rocks and then her eyes drifted to group of human mass across the cave room. “Yes...we need to move faster. They need medical attention.” She turned towards the pile and started to pull rocks away. Aerith and Tifa went their separate ways and the girls continued to search for the last of their missing companions.
Karta easily moved a rather large rock and blinked back a surprise expression. There sat Cloud, his back to a large rock. Above him a flat piece of rock spread across and formed a protective shielding from the tons of sand and stone above him. On each side there was a large rock that acted as a wall between him and the rest of the debris. He did not have a scratch on his body, not a drop of blood and it looked like not a strand of his blond hair was out of place. Karta knelt down and reached out to Cloud. Something’s here...with him...and it feels familiar. Though I can’t put my finger on what it could be. What saved you Cloud? What prevented you from getting hurt? She thought to herself. She touched one of his hands and his Mako blue eyes fluttered open. He blinked a few times and his eyes focused on Karta. There was something in them, a certain look of complete fear. He smiled slightly and the bled away slowly.
“Hey Karta.” His voice seemed steady enough though Karta knew better than to push anything that might be going on in Cloud Strife’s head.
“Come on...we need your help finding Buck and getting the wounded some help.” she stated, standing and moving out of the way for Cloud to crawl out of the mess of ruble. He stood up and as he did so Aerith called out to them.
“I found someone.” Tifa looked up from where she was looking and joined Aerith in pulling the bloody body of Buck out of debris. As they gently carried him over to the other they looked up and saw Cloud. Both women looked relieved to see that everyone had been dug out of the mess. They gently sat Buck down and looked down at him. Much like Tseng, Buck was also a bloody mess though it seemed that he had one deep gash in his stomach that was still bleeding steadily. Aerith quickly covered the wound with some more strips from Reno’s jacket and looked up at her companions. “We need to hurry.”They all exchanged looks and nodded. Karta walked over to Naden and offered him her hand.
“Can you walk?” she asked, struggling to keep her voice from sounding hard. He clasped her hand and she pulled him to his feet. He blinked at her and nodded. Reno grit his teeth and used his good arm to stand. His knees began to shake, but he held his ground. Cloud watched him and then glanced at Naden.
“Naden, Reno, it seemed that both of you can walk, but not steadily. Lean on each other and help each other walk.” He turned to Tifa, Aerith and Karta. “Aerith, you walk with those two and make sure that they make it without falling. Tifa, you and me will carry Tseng because we need to keep his legs as straight as possible. We will use my sword as well as Karta’s as a splint to keep them straight and make it easier for us to carry him. Karta, can you manage to carry Buck on your own?” Karta nodded in response as she handed him her sword. “Perfect, okay, let’s get out of here.” Everyone went to work. Aerith got in between Reno and Naden, letting them lean on her shoulders. Cloud and Tifa quickly placed the swords on Tseng’s legs making splints. Tifa picked Tseng up by his arms while Cloud picked up legs being as gentle as possible. Karta glanced down at Buck and sighed. She picked him up and wrapped his arms around her back and used his legs to hold him to her back. She nods at the rest of the group and as carefully as possible, they began pick their way through the mine.
*~*~*~*~*
“Did you hear that, Mr. Highwind?” Lionel asked as he looked up from his work. Cid heaved a sigh and glanced over at the young mechanic.
“For the last time Lionel, call me Cid and I did hear that. Someone is knocking on the fort door.” Cid replied, wiping the oil from his hands with a rag. “It’s most likely some Shinra soldiers coming to threaten us again. Come on and bring a gun with you.” Cid took his Venus Gospel in one hand and the two men started down the fort. The dirt hallways were cool and dim lights hung from the ceiling. A few people in the rooms off to the side nodded or waved at the pair. Cid walked at a quick pace leaving Lionel to jog to keep up with the older man. When they got to the door, Cid turned to Lionel. “Don’t let them see your gun, but have it hidden to a point so you can act quickly.”
“What if they attack us first, Cid?” Lionel asked. Cid just smiled.
“Then they attack us first.” Cid replied with a smirk. Lionel felt his hands start to tremble as Cid opened the door.
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
05/10/03
Oh my good god I finished this...and it only took me a year! Go me! This chapter was kind of fun to write, but I didn’t get everything I wanted to get done in it. So, the next chapter is called “Flight Of The Great Bird”. Yeah, I finished. >_< -Safaia.