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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
- 75
- 76
- 77
Chapter 76: The Cave
Cloud, Aerith, Cait Sith, Yuffie, and Vincent stood at the mouth of a cave that was pressed into the side of Mount Corel. The search for the gills was becoming frustrating, and all five were hoping that they were at the end of it.
"You sure this is the right cave?" Vincent asked.
"According to my GPS, yes," Yuffie said. "It's the right latitude and longitude." She then turned towards Vincent. "You didn't think my dad would trick us, did you?"
"Apples don't fall far from trees," Vincent said, without making eye contact.
"Thanks, asshole," Yuffie groaned. She then turned her attention to the cave. She poked her head inside, and then came back out. "F. Y. I., it's pitch black in there. We're going to need to find a way to see in there."
Cloud, meanwhile, had his attention focused elsewhere. His eyes were glued to his cell phone, staring at a picture. It was a selfie he and Tifa had taken while they were together. They were embraced in each other's arms and looking directly at the camera. The smile on Tifa's face suggested that she had never been happier.
He sighed; the dream was still fresh on his mind. He was wondering how she was doing. Part of him wanted to give her a call. A much smaller, but seemingly growing, part of him wanted to give her a call, tell her he loved her, and that he was coming home.
"Cloud?" Aerith called.
He did not respond. Something inside him was beginning to tell him that he had made a mistake in going back to Aerith. His recurring dream certainly seemed to suggest that he had. He was beginning to wonder if he would continue to have it until he returned to Tifa.
But then, he began to wonder, if he did indeed return to Tifa, whether he would have a similar, sad dream about Aerith. After all, Aerith was just as innocent as Tifa. Aerith took care of him lovingly. It would be a difficult decision to make.
"Cloud!" Aerith called again, in a louder volume.
He immediately made eye contact with her, bringing himself back to the present.
"You're on your phone?" she exclaimed in an annoyed tone of voice. "At a time like this?"
"Yes," Cloud replied sheepishly.
"Get with the program!" Aerith snapped. "We have gills to find!"
Cloud duly put his phone in his pocket.
"Wait a minute," Yuffie said. "I think I have an idea." She then pulled her own cell phone out. "If we all use our flashlight apps, we'll be able to see in the cave!"
Everyone nodded in agreement. Aerith then pulled out her cell phone. Cait Sith and Vincent simply stood there.
"Don't tell me you two don't have phones?" Yuffie asked.
"I am a phone!" Cait Sith replied. "Seriously, cell phones interfere with my communication relay. Please keep 'em well away from me."
"I have no friends," Vincent said. "I don't need to own a phone."
"Not even on social media?" Yuffie asked.
"I haven't used the internet in years," he reminded her.
"Wow," Yuffie said. She then turned towards the cave. "Well, everyone? Shall we?"
"Let's," Cloud agreed.
One by one, the five of them proceeded into the cave.
SOMEWHERE ELSE...
Eddie Olveran was kneeling on a weak branch, clinging onto another one for dear life. The six-year-old boy had climbed the tree in his front yard, despite his mother's warnings not to do so, as well as a past episode that had resulted in a broken arm a year before. Today, he had climbed the tree higher than he ever had before, without considering how to get down. It was one of less than one hundred trees in Midgar, but it was all it would take to undo him.
"Help me," the boy sobbed as he trembled alone. He had said it to himself, but he was hoping someone actually would.
"Are you okay, son?" a voice called.
Eddie was so surprised that he almost let go. He saw a man approaching the tree.
"I can help you down," the man offered.
"You're a stranger," the boy dismissed. "And strangers are bad."
"I'm not a bad person," Sephiroth insisted.
"Edward!" shouted a frantic female voice.
Sephiroth turned to see a woman who was obviously his mother emerging from the front door to their house. She was wearing a blue tee shirt and jeans, and had red hair.
"Didn't you learn anything from breaking your arm?" she continued.
"Get me down, mommy!" he pleaded.
"I can't reach you!" his mother said. "For crying out loud, let that man help you!"
Sighing, Eddie allowed Sephiroth to climb up the tree, gently remove him from the branch, carry him down, and place him on the ground.
"You gave me a heart attack!" his mother snapped. She then turned to Sephiroth. "Thank you so much!" she said. "I don't think he's ever climbed that high."
"No worries," Sephiroth replied.
"My name's Aly," she greeted.
"Mine's Seth," Sephiroth feigned.
"It's nice to meet you," Aly said.
Sephiroth gazed at her. She looked very nubile for a mother, and she appeared to still be in her twenties.
"Why don't you come in for a while?" she offered. "I'll make you dinner. You certainly earned it."
Sephiroth smiled. He had his second victim.
UNDERGROUND...
Cloud led the way through the cave with his cell phone illuminated. He was followed by Cait Sith, who was in turn followed by Aerith, who also had her cell phone lit up. Behind her was Vincent, and bringing up the rear was Yuffie, the third person with a lit cell phone.
The cave seemed very basic, even for a cave. There was one channel that seemed to go straight forward. There were no stalagmites, nor stalactites. In addition, the temperature seemed to rise as they trekked deeper into the cave. Soon, they realized that it was not a typical cave. Cloud began to wonder if it was even a cave at all.
Cait Sith, who carefully kept his distance, noticed that Cloud's phone was at forty-nine percent.
"What happens if our cell phones run out of juice?" he asked.
"Then were all fucked," Cloud replied. "But we'll turn back long before that happens."
"What are you worried about, anyway?" asked Aerith. "Aren't you at home with your husband and daughter."
"I'm worried about you guys, mainly," the cat replied.
Cloud, meanwhile, noticed a reddish light up ahead. He could see the channel coming to an end, and a larger chamber lay beyond the mouth.
As the group reached the mouth of the channel, they saw the origin of the heat and light: a lava bed lay at the bottom of a chasm. Above the bed was a stone bridge that appeared to be natural. It was narrow, but not too narrow for an adult to walk across.
"I knew it wouldn't be that easy," Cloud muttered. "Nobody ever told me Mount Corel was a volcano. I think we just walked through a secondary vent!"
"What do you mean it won't be easy?" questioned Yuffie. "Just watch your ass and you'll be fine!"
Almost as if in response, a hideous noise sounded the chamber.
"That doesn't sound good," Cloud sighed.
A moment later, a winged, dragon-like creature burst out of the lava and landed a yard in front of Cloud, bearing down on him. It moved its head back, as if it was preparing to release a flame from its mouth.
"Cloud, quick!" shouted Aerith. "Summon Knights!"
As he was doing so, Yuffie suddenly sprang ahead, with a giant red, orange, and yellow shrunken-like object in her hand. She waited but a moment before slicing it at the dragon's neck. The head came off clean, landing a few feet away from Cloud. A tiny flame escaped its mouth.
Everyone looked at Yuffie as if she had twenty heads.
"That Conformer's one hell of a blade," Vincent said.
"What?" asked Yuffie. "I risked my life for it. You didn't think I wasn't going to use it, did you?"
Cloud shrugged.
"It saved your ass," Yuffie continued. "That thing would've fried you before you finished the summon."
"He didn't put up that much of a fight," Cait Sith pointed out.
Suspecting something, Vincent examined the body.
"No wonder," he said. "He was injured."
"Injured?" asked Yuffie.
"Shot," Vincent continued. "Multiple times on the side."
"By who?" Aerith asked.
Cloud looked at the opposite end of the chamber.
"I think we all know how to find out by this point."
One by one, they crossed the bridge. Through the opening beyond, there was a larger chamber. It was filled with all kinds of unique items that none of them had ever set eyes on before. But the items did not immediately grab their attention; two occupants did.
"Barret!" Aerith squealed. She then turned her eyes to his companion, and they widened in shock. "And...Jessie?!"
"Hey, Aerith!" Jessie greeted with a wave.
"I thought you died!" Aerith exclaimed.
"I thought you died!" Jessie replied, in a more casual tone of voice. "Though Barret did tell me that you might still be alive."
"But I saw the plate come down on you!" Aerith said.
"Something inside told me the plate would come down," Jessie explained. "So I rolled to where it wouldn't hit me. Afterward, I slowly made my way to the surface."
"You had a premonition," Vincent said.
"Who are these people?" Jessie asked.
"This is Vincent," Cloud replied. "That cat's name is Cait Sith, and the girl with the big shrunken's name is Yuffie."
"It's called the Conformer," Yuffie corrected.
Jessie then turned to Cloud.
"You don't seem too surprised to see me," she noticed aloud.
"Biggs and Wedge appeared to me in the Lifestream," Cloud replied. "They told me you survived."
"In the what?" Jessie asked.
"We've got a lot of explaining to do," Aerith said.
"So what are you guys doing here, anyway?" Cloud asked.
"We came for the Missing Score," Barret replied.
"The what?" Aerith asked.
"I'm wearin' it!" Barret answered as he displayed his gun-arm. "But guys, what're you doin' here?"
"Oh yeah!" Cloud reminded himself. "We came for the gills."
"The gills?" Barret asked.
"These!" Yuffie interjected. She was holding not one, but two sets of gills. "They allow you to breathe underwater."
Barret gave Cloud a stern look.
"You better watch yo' ass," he warned.
ON THE SURFACE...
Cloud, Aerith, Vincent, Cait Sith, Yuffie, Barret, and Jessie boarded the Highwind, where the gills were immediately placed in a safe and sealed.
"You still don't trust me, do you?" Yuffie complained.
"I don't trust nobody," Barret replied.
He then turned to briefly glance at Aerith. He then turned to glance at Cloud for a significantly longer amount of time.
"I need to talk to you in private," Barret announced.
"I've got nothing to hide," Cloud insisted. "What is it?"
"If we discuss this out in the open," Barret warned, "shit's gonna really go down."
They retired to one of the empty cabins that would likely become Barret's. Barret was carrying a concerned and suspicious vibe the entire time. This was something Cloud wanted to get over with as soon as possible.
"You were right," Cloud began as he closed the door behind him and sat down, "Aerith turned out to be alive."
"And you were right," Barret pointed out as he sat down himself. "You went back to her."
"It's like I said before," Cloud defended. "I had committed to her first. She wasn't really dead, so our relationship had always been still on."
Barret grunted.
"Does she know...what you know?"
"About what?" Cloud asked, playing dumb.
"That you were never in SOLDIER," Barret replied.
"No," Cloud replied as he shook his head. He began to feel uneasy; in all the excitement of his reunion with her, he had barely considered that.
"So she still sees you as a hot-shot ex-SOLDIER who's been all he could've been," Barret pointed out. "That's still why she likes you?"
"I guess," Cloud answered. He immediately tried to block it out of his mind, but the reality it was too powerful.
Barret sighed. "That ain't good," he said. "Does she love you, or does she love Zack Fair?"
"Barret, please," Cloud pleaded. "I can't deal with this now."
"You may have turned out to be real," Barret continued, ignoring his pleas. "But the Cloud she fell in love with sure as hell ain't."
Cloud was silent. Sephiroth had indeed turned out to be right, in a sense: the Cloud that had been in SOLDIER, the Cloud that Aerith had fallen in love with, was a sheer work of fiction.
"I'm just tellin' you what you should already know," Barret responded sternly.
"I guess I better tell her," Cloud sighed, mainly to shut Barret up.
"She might leave yo' ass," Barret warned. "Hell, if she fell in love with someone you ain't, she will leave yo' ass!"
"Can we not talk about it?" Cloud requested, visibly frustrated. "I have enough on my plate already."
"Fair enough," Barret agreed. "We'll change the subject. So, how did Tifa take it? You two seemed like an item, last I saw."
"She was fine," Cloud insisted, realizing that Barret was not going to talk about anything pleasant. "She just wants me to be happy."
"That ain't what I heard," Barret dismissed. "Didn't you see what she posted on social media?"
Cloud shook his head.
"She hasn't posted anything on social media since we parted ways," he said. "Except for the obvious change in her relationship status."
"A-ha!" Barret exclaimed. "She hid it from you."
"Hid what?" Cloud demanded.
In response, Barret pulled out his cell phone, briefly fiddled with it, and handed it to Cloud.
"Read it," he commanded.
Cloud did as he was told.
The post read: "I'm going to warn you, this is going to be a depressing post. I try to be as upbeat and as optimistic as possible, but now I've never been this depressed in my life. Not when either of my parents died. Not when my cat died. Not even when my home town was burned to the ground."
"Dumping someone must be hard. I wouldn't know, because I've never dumped anyone in my life. What I do know is that being the dumpee is even harder. I've been in my bed, in the fetal position, for the past two days. I've only been leaving it to eat, shower, and use the bathroom. There's a hurt in my heart that I've never felt before, and one I don't know exactly how to deal with."
"No, I'm not seeking a pity party. I just need to vent to someone. It helps a little. Hell, I'll probably delete this once I'm feeling better. I'm a strong woman, but I just don't want to risk going crazy. Again, this is something that's never happened to me before."
"As for my ex, I have nothing against him. I love him so much, and I just want him to be happy. He has done nothing wrong. He simply did what he thought was right. It was also what I thought was right. It was a complicated, and, to the best of my knowledge, an unprecedented situation. Yes, I want us to be together with all my heart. But I want us to be together for us, not for me. That's why I have to let him go."
"Sorry for the rant, everyone. Pleasant posts will come again. I promise."
Cloud handed the phone back to Barret.
"I told you she wants me to be happy," Cloud gloated.
"And I told you, she's not okay," Barret retorted.
"But what am I supposed to do?" asked Cloud. "Dump Aerith?"
Barret was silent.
"So it's alright for Aerith to be alone and depressed?"
"Cloud," Barret began, "I ain't in no position to tell you what to do. But there's two women who love you. One of them loves you for who you are. The other loves you for who you aren't."
Cloud sighed. He had no comeback for what Barret had just said.
An hour later, after Barret had left, Cloud continued to sit alone in the empty quarters, contemplating what Barret had mentioned.
What Barret had told him had hit him hard, but Cloud had slowly realized that he had been right. Aerith did not really love him; she was in love with the false Cloud. He could not spend the rest of his life living a lie.
He pulled out his phone again, and looked at the selfie he had taken with Tifa. This person was in love with the real Cloud.
Whether or not he belonged with Tifa was not something to consider at the moment. Before he could, there was one thing he had to do.
As of this night, Aerith Lee Gainsborough would no longer be his girlfriend.
- 75
- 76
- 77
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Premonitions: Uncut