Adult-FanFiction.org : Final Fantasy

Premonitions: Uncut	By : Hippo_and_Friends_with_Benefits Category: Final Fantasy VII > General Views: 3901 -:- Recommendations : 0 -:- Currently Reading : 0
Disclaimer: I do not own Final Fantasy VII, and I am not making any money of of this writing.

Chapter List
- 2
- 3
- 4
Chapter 3: The Infiltration
The Shera soared through the night sky as her occupants stood solemnly on the bridge. The sorrow from the loss of Denzel was fresh in their hearts, and would be for a long time to come. But they would have to wait to grieve. Right now, Bestla was pursuing them. She had not forgotten what they had done to her, and would not stop until all three of them were dead.
"I told Marlene about Denzel," said Barret, hoping to at least break the silence..
"What did she say?" asked Nara.
"She cried herself stupid," Barret replied. "They did grow up together, ever since we found 'em. She was annoyed he kept asking her out, but now that he's gone…"
"She regrets saying no?" suggested Nara.
"Who knows," Barret replied. "Fuck."
Nara raised her eyes.
"Sorry," Barret apologized. He had been making an effort to watch his language more. "It reminds me of hearing something similar nine years ago, when someone else died."
"Déjà vu?" asked Nara.
"No," Barret replied, "just bad memories. I never have déjà vu."
"Neither do I," added Cloud. "I wonder what it's like."
"You guys!" called Tifa from the front of the bridge. "We're here!"
The Shera came to a stop in the air, a mere inches above the abandoned Shinra building. The building was in ruin; nobody had even set foot inside in nearly a decade. There had been proposals to demolish the building, but none of them made it to the Edge City Council. Most people these days were simply waiting for the building to collapse on its own.
"You know," observed Barret as the three of them joined Tifa on the bridge, "I never knew you could pilot this thing."
"It's because I'm female, isn't it?" asked Tifa, in a rather annoyed tone of voice.
"No," Barret replied. "I just never saw you do it."
"Right," Tifa muttered to herself. She knew better.
"So where are they?" asked Nara.
"Where are who?" answered the baffled Tifa.
"The rest of the team," Nara clarified. "There were eight of you."
"Nine," Cloud corrected, realizing whom she was referring to. "One of us was killed before we defeated Sephiroth. The rest have split. They got jobs and got lives."
"And when we say that," added Tifa, "most of them moved and changed their numbers."
"So this is it, then?" asked Nara.
"I'm afraid so," Barret replied. "We don't have any kind of correspondence."
"That's kind of sad," Nara observed aloud. "You all seemed so close, at least up to the Geostigma outbreak."
"We were," Cloud said. "We all began to drift apart after the Omega Crisis, and nobody tried to do anything about it. Sometimes, things just run their course.
"Can we just drop the ladders?" insisted Tifa, changing the subject. "It's eight fifteen."
The four of them landed on the roof. Cloud had been half expecting the building to collapse when his feet touched the floor.
"Okay Cloud," began Tifa. "You used to work for these guys."
"True," Cloud replied. "But I never went here until…"
"You guys," Barret interrupted, "if the Chronus Wand is here, I have a feeling where it would be."
"Where?" asked Nara
"Floor sixty-seven," Tifa answered. "Home of the science department."
"You read my mind," Barret observed.
"Then it's off to floor sixty," Cloud announced.
"Let's just get this over with," said Tifa.
"No problem," Barret said. "Since someone has to be somewhere in a hurry."
"What is it?!" Tifa snapped.
Barret decided to be upfront.
"The old Tifa was never in a hurry," he said. "The job was done when it was done."
"That old Tifa wasn't a wife," she replied. "Everything changes when you get married, you know."
The four of them made their way inside. They entered on the seventieth floor, right into the president's office. The room was dark, with dust and spider webs left and right. All of the windows were cracked. Most of the chairs were turned over, and the president's desk was a spider colony.
"Hard to believe this was once the center of the world," Nara observed.
They made their way down to the sixty-nineth floor. Then the sixty-eighth. Both floors seemed as lively as a morgue. More dust, more spider webs. Tifa could hardly believe it was the Shinra headquarters.
And then, an air duct covering fell from the roof. Tifa jumped and found herself instinctively grabbing Cloud's arm.
"Are you okay?" asked Cloud.
"Yeah," Tifa replied, and laughed. "That just made me jump."
"I guess we all have to get used to surprises again," Cloud suggested.
"I figured that," said Tifa.
"Are you sure you're okay?" asked Cloud.
"Yeah," replied Tifa. "Why?"
"I'm going to need that arm back."
Tifa realized she was indeed still holding onto Cloud's arm. She quickly let go, and began to blush. What they both realized in unison was that she was between Cloud and Barret, but she chose Cloud to grab onto.
It evoked a memory for Cloud.
Flashback...
Cloud had fallen asleep sitting up under the Highwind. It had been a long day, as he had raced through Midgar with his companions to shut off the Sister Ray. He was not alone this time, as Tifa was neslted up next to him. He had resisted her affections, or anyone else's, for that matter, for the longest time. Now, he felt somewhat confused. The feeling of Tifa resting on his shoulder made him feel relaxed in a way he could not describe. It was almost as if he felt safe.
And yet, it had to end, as the sun was starting to peek over the horizon.
"It's almost dawn," Cloud gently announced.
"Huh?" Tifa groaned as she slowly rose her head.
"Sorry," he apologized. "Did I wake you? It's almost dawn, Tifa."
"G-good morning, Cloud," she mumbled. "Give me a little longer. Just a little bit longer."
"Okay," Cloud agreed.
"This day will never come again," Tifa said as she again rested her head on his shoulder, "so let me have this moment."
"Yeah, okay," he said. "This is probably the last time we'll have together."
….End Flashback
In a way, it was their last time together. It was not like they would never see each other again, of course, but it was certainly the last time Tifa had her head on his shoulder.
What Cloud would never admit to was that it was, in fact, his favorite memory. But that was nine years ago. It was a distant memory.
Does she still have feelings for me? Cloud thought to himself. He quickly shook it off, reminding himself that she was married now. They say never say never, don't they? It would seem unlikely.
Finally, the four of them reached the sixty-seventh floor.
"Okay," began Cloud, trying to get everyone focused. "Let's find that Chronus Wand."
The four began their search, making their way along the route three of them took nine years earlier. Cloud checked the chamber that elevated to the sixty-eighth floor. He then stepped back. Too many painful memories were associated with that chamber.
Tifa, meanwhile, noticed the wooden boxes. Wasting no time, she began to punch and kick each box, one by one, until they were all reduced to pieces.
"You've still got it," Cloud complimented.
"These boxes were halfway rotted anyway," Tifa replied.
Meanwhile, Barret's attention was turned to the other chamber. The broken one.
"I'll be damned," he said. "Even after all these years, I'm still expecting to see that headless freak in there."
"You guys!" shouted Nara from the side opposite of Barret. "Look at this! I think I can move this wall!"
As the other three gave her a baffled look, Nara pushed the wall behind her, revealing a passageway.
"A secret passage?" suggested Cloud.
"For us," Barret declared.
Nara continued to push the stone until it revealed a wide open space. "You guys!" she declared. "You've got to see this!"
Beyond the stone was a catwalk, suspended roughly thirty feet above the ground. At the end of the catwalk, there was what seemed like an island. And there was an alter there. And the four of them suspected what was there. Or at least what was supposed to be.
"Hell," declared Barret. "A secret room."
"All bets are that the Chronus Wand is here," suggested Tifa.
The four slowly made their way across the catwalk. As they approached the island, the alter began to seem plain and unsophisticated. Still, they made their way. They had to be sure.
When they reached the island, the alter was indeed bare. Cloud examined it, hoping it was actually some sort of encasing. But it was not. Slowly, the realization came to them all.
"She beat us," muttered Barret. "Fuck it all!"
"What do we do now?" asked Nara.
"We need to find Bestla," Cloud replied. "She was here. We need to see if she's left a trail."
Just then, the four of them heard a sound behind them. Tifa turned around to see a woman in red had joined them on the island.
It was Bestla.
"Correction," said Cloud. "She is here."
- 2
- 3
- 4
You need to be logged in to leave a review for this story.You need to be logged in to leave a review for this story.
Report Story

Premonitions: Uncut