Ok, chapter four. Yay! I realize I stupidly jumbled the script, so they’ll have to stay in Junon for TWO nights instead of one. This is what I get for not doing things the way the strategy guide tells me to. I apologize. Also, after a little deliberation, I’ve decided to alter the script just a wee bit more. ^.~ I have a reason though. Hopefully, you’ll laugh, instead of flaming me. Also, I’ve been making Tifa way out of character. I think she’s more...herself in this chapter, so to speak. I’ll try my best not to make her out of character again. ------------------------------ What did I do? What was I thinking? WHAT’S WRONG WITH ME?! Tifa had sat there for hours, trying to figure out exactly what she had been thinking. She and Aeris sat in an awkward silence, both too rattled to go back to sleep. Oh my...what did I do? I mean, what...what...how stupid am I?! I...I kissed her. I kissed her. What the hell. AHH! It’s too quiet, must have noise! "Hey...um...Aeris?" The flower girl looked up at the sound of her name. "Yes?" "Err...yeah...I’m um...sorry, I guess. I ...yes. Sorry." "It’s alright. You were just trying to make me stop crying." "Yeah, but I could have shaken you or something..." "Which would have made me cry more." Aeris smiled a little. "Don’t worry about it. Go to sleep." "O...k. I’ll...try." "Good." When Tifa settled down, Aeris turned on her side, biting her lip until she could taste the metallic tang of blood against her tongue. ~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~ "He-y! Mr. Dolphin! My name is Pri-scil-la! Now you say it!" Tifa, Aeris, and Yuffie had walked over to the beach to wait for Cloud, and Tifa almost squealed when she saw a dolphin make its way to a little girl. "Geez, what’s your problem?" Yuffie asked, staring at the excited martial artist. "I love dolphins," Tifa whispered. "I used to read about them all the time back home, but I’ve never seen one up close." "They are really beautiful creatures," Aeris murmured. "A long time ago, the oceans and seas of the Planet were probably filled with them...now, I wouldn’t be surprised if that one was the only one left..." She sounded a bit sad, and Yuffie stared at her in concern. "Ahh, I bet...there are lots of dolphins out there somewhere!" Aeris nodded her head and forced a smile. "Maybe..." The little girl, who had been speaking animatedly to the dolphin, finally noticed the small group of girls and frowned. "Who are you guys? Are you members of Shinra, Inc.?" All three girls shook their heads. "Hey, watch your mouth! We hate the Shinra!" Yuffie said angrily. "No...stay calm..." Tifa said, trying to placate the girl. Cloud and the others had made their way to the scene by now, and Cloud blinked and nudged Tifa. "What’s going on here?" "This girl thinks we’re members of the Shinra." Red XIII spoke up. "We don’t get along with the Shinra." "No! You got it all wrong! We’re fighting against the Shinra!" Barret added. "...That’s how it is," Cloud said. "I don’t believe you! Get out of here!" the girl said. Tifa was oddly reminded of Yuffie. Cloud shrugged his shoulders. "Great..." He turned to leave, and Aeris suddenly gasped. "What’s that!?" Cloud and the others turned around, only to be greeted by a monstrous sky serpent floating above the water. The dolphin ducked underneath the water, and the girl ran toward him. The beast made a shrieking noise and swung at the child with its tail, knocking her unconscious. "Hey! Hold on, we’re coming!" Cloud called out, readying his sword. While the others ran out to engage the monster, Tifa jumped into the water to rescue the girl. The townspeople were right; the water was very polluted, and Tifa felt her eyes sting as she struggled to see the small girl in the murky water. I wonder how that dolphin survives in here...she thought. The muffled sounds of Cloud and the others fighting shook her out of her thoughts, and she saw the girl floating motionless below her. Tifa gripped the child’s arm and pulled her out of the water, coming up to gasp for air. "I hope...I hope you appreciate this Priscilla," Tifa said, climbing out of the water. ~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~ "This is bad...you don’t think she’s dead, do you?" Cloud asked Tifa. She shrugged her shoulders and shook her head sadly. "I’m not sure...I tried to be fast..." She felt someone’s hand on her shoulder, and turned to see Aeris smiling down at her. "It’ll be alright. I’m sure she’s fine." Tifa was about to respond, when she heard a voice. "Priscilla!!" A weathered old man ran toward them and checked the small girl. "Nope...she’s not breathing...young lady, do CPR!" Tifa looked around. "You mean Aeris, right?" "No, no, you!" "You did rescue her from the water Tifa..." Cloud said. "You know I can’t," Red XIII muttered. "Come on Tifa, do it!" Yuffie exclaimed. "C’mon Tifa," Barret said. "But..." Tifa sputtered. She suddenly remembered the kiss from the night before and blushed. "She’s just a girl." Everyone stared at her blankly, with the exception of Aeris, who gave her a pointed look. "You’re a girl too," Cloud said, scratching his head. "I sure don’t want to do it..." Tifa looked down and cringed. "You have a point..." "You don’t know how? Come over here, I’ll show you," the man said, taking Tifa’s hand and leading her to Priscilla. "Just take a deep breath, hold it in. Then breathe into her. Hurry up and do it!" Tifa kneeled over and did as instructed. After a while, Priscilla started to cough. "Ugh...ugh..." The man looked relieved and lifted the small girl up, too worried to even say ‘thank you’ to the small group. Yuffie looked offended and crossed her arms. "Gawd! He could have at least said something!" Tifa smiled weakly. "It’s alright." Cloud helped her to her feet, and Aeris spoke up. "We should go check on her." The others nodded, and made their way back to town. Cloud left with them, and Aeris fell behind to walk with Tifa. "That was very brave, what you did." Tifa looked surprised for a moment, and then smiled a little. "Thanks." ~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~ "Sorry Cloud," the man said at the door to Priscilla’s house, "Priscilla needs her rest." A woman opened the door and whispered something to the man, and then turned to smile at the group. "You must all be tired. If you want to get some rest, stay here. Make yourselves at home." The group shuffled into the house, and Tifa yawned loudly, before covering her mouth quickly in embarrassment. Yuffie blinked. "Geez, did you sleep last night?" Tifa suddenly became interested in her feet, and Yuffie stared at her in confusion before shrugging her shoulders. "Wanna rest?" she asked Cloud. He shrugged as well. "Yeah...let’s rest." ~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~ The sound of fanfare jolted Tifa out of her restless sleep, and she rolled to her side, covering her head with a pillow. "Hey! Wake up Tifa! Something’s happening outside!" Yuffie exclaimed. Tifa forced herself to get up, and stared at Yuffie before rubbing her eyes. Yuffie made a face. "Eww...you look like crap in the morning." Tifa gave her a particularly dark look and made her way downstairs, only to see that the rest of the group was awake, with the exception of Cloud. She walked over to Aeris. "Do you know what’s happening?" Aeris shook her head and Tifa frowned. The noise was beginning to bother her, and lack of sleep was making it worse. Cloud walked out of his room, and made a beeline to Tifa, pulling her to the side. Aeris gave them both an odd look as they left. "Tifa..." Cloud began awkwardly, "When Sephiroth and I went to Nibelheim, where were you?" Tifa shuffled, trying not to meet his gaze. "...We saw each other, right?" "The other time." Cloud said. He stared at her oddly, and Tifa turned around quickly. "No...it was five years ago. I don’t remember. But something seems strange outside. Cloud, come quick," she said, exiting the inn. She could feel Cloud staring at her back as she left. ~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~ The team had found out that Shinra was up to something again. After finding out where the President was, and learning their plan from Priscilla(at which point she had apologized to them and shyly gave Tifa the Shiva summon), they had agreed that Cloud be the one to get to the upper part of the city first, by "dolphin," much to Cloud’s distress. "Good luck Cloud! If you make it, we’ll follow you! Whoa, I’ll hold the PHS for you. It’ll break if it gets wet." Cloud gave him a dirty look and handed him the cell-phone-like device, walking to the water. ~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~ "Ugh! These uniforms stink!" Yuffie said loudly, staring at the sailor’s cap in her hand in disgust. "Lower your voice," Aeris said, trying to walk in the uniform. "Put on the hat," Tifa said, her voice slightly muffled. "If I have to put on the helmet, you have to put on the hat." Yuffie stared at the hat and finally put it on. "Ugh, this is so, so totally gross!" "I agree," Aeris said. "So do I," said Tifa. "I can’t wait until we get to Costa del Sol and get out of these..." She was cut off by Yuffie. "Costa del Sol! That rocks!" Aeris and Tifa shook their heads. "I just want to get rid of this helmet," Tifa said. "And if I were you, I’d wash my hair when we get on land. You’re probably going to get lice from that hat." "GROSSNESS!" Aeris stifled a laugh, and the ship started to move. Yuffie immediately slumped to the ground, holding her stomach. "Ugh...I don’t feel good...I hate ships..." she suddenly looked very green, and Tifa made her way to the top deck, while Aeris ran to another corner of the room. "You two suck..." Yuffie muttered, groaning. On her way to the top, Tifa passed Cloud, but he didn’t recognize her. She decided to wait for a moment near the edge of the steps. Cloud walked over to Aeris, and she listened in. "Um...it’s me, Aeris. Hey Cloud. Did you see the Airship at Junon?" Cloud nodded his head. "I heard it was big, but I didn’t expect it to be THAT big." "That was REALLY something. Hey, do you think I could get on it?" Tifa heard the excitement in her voice. Cloud shook his head. "I dunno...it’s a Shinra weapon. We probably should’ve destroyed it." Aeris slumped a little, and nodded. "...Hmm. But just once, I’d like to ride it." Cloud scratched his head and made his way upstairs, and Tifa quickly ran up ahead of him. She stopped at a lookout post, and walked around, pretending to patrol. Cloud walked over to her and she saluted him. "Yes sir! Everything quiet sir! ...But you know what? I really hate this uniform. Uniforms, soldiers, war, I hate 'em all. They take away all the things and people you love... I wish they'd all disappear. Right, Cloud?" Cloud shrugged. "I dunno." Tifa frowned, remembering how he had talked to Aeris earlier. "...Cloud. Wearing those clothes seems to have changed you a little. Does it remind you of being in SOLDIER? I hope not..." Cloud shrugged and left, and Tifa sat down on the deck, staring out into the ocean. "I wonder why he’s acting so odd...maybe it’s my fault?" "I don’t think so." Tifa looked up quickly and blinked when she saw Aeris in front of her. "How do you pop up like that?" Aeris giggled. "It’s a secret." Tifa quirked an eyebrow, and shrugged, staring back out into the water. "Then what do you think is wrong with him?" Aeris sat down next to Tifa. "I don’t know. But I know it isn’t you. He might be worried." "About what?" "I don’t know...our journey, questions we might have to answer later...maybe he’s afraid." "Cloud, afraid?" Tifa had never really thought of that. Aeris nodded her head. "Yep, afraid. You saw...in the Shinra building..." Tifa frowned and shook her head quickly, as if to clear the thought. "Yeah, I saw...I can understand why he would be afraid of...of Sephiroth...he’s a horrible man Aeris. He’s done so many...so many awful things...he took away so much...I’ll never forgive him." Aeris had nothing to say to that, but she put her hand on Tifa’s shoulder, briefly wishing that the uniform wasn’t so restricting. It’d be nice if I could hug her...but what would that look like, two soldiers hugging each other? she thought, shaking her head. Tifa turned to her and smiled, although it was hard to see past the visor. "Thanks Aeris." "For what?" "Well...for being around...I just, well...thank you." Aeris was suddenly happy she had the helmet on, as Tifa could not see her blush. She’s never complimented me...I...this is nice, now that we’re getting along. She was about to open her mouth to say something else, when alarms went off. " Emergency alert! Reports of a stowaway found! Those not on detail, search the ship. Report when found! I repeat... Stowaway sighted on board! Those not on detail, search the ship. Report when found!" They both hopped up immediately. "Do you think they discovered us?" Tifa asked, pulling the helmet off. "I...don’t think so..." Aeris said hesitantly. Tifa hopped down from the lookout post, and Aeris followed after her. Soon after, the other members of the team had regrouped on the deck. "You all right?!" Barret asked everyone. They all nodded, and Tifa counted quietly to herself. "Everyone’s here...right?" Tifa asked, staring around in confusion. Barret scratched his head, and his eyes widened in realization. "Hey, wait. You don’t think that suspicious stowaway is...Sephiroth!?" Tifa covered her mouth. "Really?!" She gasped. Her mouth suddenly felt dry, and she shook her head to clear it. "How the hell am I supposed to know?" Barret said in annoyance, shrugging his massive shoulders. Cloud finally spoke up. "...Let’s find out. Barret, Red, let’s go." Tifa blanched and hurriedly shrugged off the uniform, running toward Cloud. "Wait! I want to go! Take me with you!" Cloud shook his head sadly. "No...it’s too dangerous...don’t worry Tifa. We’ll handle it." Cloud, Barret and Red ran down to the lower deck, and when they were out of sight, Tifa slumped, kicking at the floor despondently. "I...could have helped...I wanted to...this is our fight too, Sephiroth...he isn’t the only one who lost someone to Sephiroth..." Yuffie had removed the hat, and she scratched her head, frowning a little. She swallowed hard to dispel the quell of upcoming nausea, and started to speak. "Hey, don’t worry about it. Sephiroth is scary; you don’t want to fight him! Wait ‘til we get stronger," she started to punch and kick at the air energetically, "and then we’ll totally kick his creepy ass!" Tifa smiled weakly at the odd words of encouragement. "You’re right." "Of course I am!" Aeris laughed. "You know girls...we really are a team...I mean, we’re Cloud’s team...but we’re...a different sort of team together, just us. It’s...nice being around you, both of you. I know it’s odd that I think of this now..." they could all hear the sounds of battle beneath their feet, "..but I felt I had to say it." "Yeah, I know I’m great Aeris! You’re great too! Tifa’s okay, I guess, when she isn’t being grumpy. But bonding time is over! We gotta go help kick that guy’s ass!" Yuffie said, running toward the lower deck. "But I thought you said you didn’t want to fight Sephiroth!" Aeris said, running behind her regardless. "Well, I changed my mind! You can’t let the guys have all the fun, right?" Despite the situation, Tifa had to laugh. ~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~ End of chapter four This chapter sucked, but hey. You do what you have to do. What’s next? The meeting with Sephiroth, Costa del Sol, and Tifa and Aeris in bikinis. And life doesn’t get much better than that. Yay! Go, go gadget fanservice! I’ve been playing too much FFX-2. See you next chapter everyone!
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