Final Fantasy - All Series Fan Fiction ❯ Legend of the Final Materia ❯ Chapter 48

Chapter 48

Shukera heard enough. She spun around away from Seifer and charged Rinoa as she raised her sword and forcefully brought it down upon her. The sudden sound of clanging metal brought a hush over the room. Shukera glared at Squall at the end of his gunblade.

He stared back at her angrily as he spat. "I don't care what they did to Rinoa!! I fight…by her side regardless of which side she chooses!!!" He held Shukera's stare as he added, "Even if it means fighting my own friends."

Shukera raised her sword and nodded, "So be it."

Selphie glanced between Irvine and Squall. "What?? He can't be serious!!!" She pleaded with Squall, "You should try to stop her instead of joining her!!!"

Irvine shook his head and lowered his rifle. "I can't, because I know if it was you, I would do the same." He lowered his head for a moment then glanced at Squall. "You know…we will hold nothing back. Rinoa and these clowns have to be stopped."

Zell jumped down in time to see what was going on and shook his head. "Yo Squall…what ya doing man?? You gonna join those…losers???"

Squall said nothing as he took his place at Rinoa's side, confirming their suspicions. Without a word he nodded at them.

Shukera glanced between Selphie, Irvine, and Squall. None of them deserved this!! She moved closer to Selphie as Reno laughed.

"Now this is touching." His gaze rested upon Shukera as he smirked, "You should learn from his example you know. Stand by your lover, regardless of what they decide."

Shukera glared at Reno as she swung her sword to her shoulder. "I love no one; therefore I'm on no one's side!! But I know these people are far more decent then you could ever wish to be. I am not going to stand here and watch you force them to fight each other!!"

Reno took a few steps towards Shukera as he held his hands out to his side, "Ahhh Shukera, since when did you give a damned?? You who destroyed towns, killed people, and never gave a damn about anyone but yourself, have a heart??" He started laughing, "This is a joke right??"

Selphie stomped her foot and shouted, "Shukera does have a heart!!! I don't care what you say about her, she does care!!! You're a very mean man!!!! I hate you!!!" She charged towards Reno only to be stopped by Fujin when she grabbed Selphie by the throat.

Raijin lifted his staff and held it against Fujin's head. "I will let you live if you let Selphie go!!! This has gone far enough, ya know!!"

Reno positioned himself behind Raijin and cocked a pistol into firing position. He pointed the gun at Raijin's head and spat, "I will let him and the girl live if you give yourself up Shukera. You have no power here over anything. You might as well give yourself up so I can take you to a long over due meeting with Sephiroth."

Shukera stepped towards Raijin, knowing she had no other alternative. They were going to kill the others if she didn't back down. With Aerith and her daughter gone and the knowledge that Reno and Sephiroth betrayed her, she had nothing left. She pointed the sword at Fujin's head and spat, "You let them go first and I will back down!!"

Reno stepped back from Raijin as Fujin let Selphie go. Irvine grabbed Selphie's arm and pulled her to the exit. He pointed his shotgun at Reno and spat, "You're mine man!!! Next time we see you, you will be cleaning your brains off the wall!!!" He backed towards Cloud and whispered, "We get out of here now!!"

Shukera called over her shoulder as she held her position. "Cloud get Aerith and her daughter out of here now!!! Take the others and make sure they get away safely!!"

Raijin shook his head, "I'm not going!! I'm not leaving you here Shukera!!! There's no telling what they will do to you, ya know!!"

Shukera spat, "Just go!!! I will be fine!!! Just…go before they do something to you!!!"

Seifer chuckled, "How touching. I think I'm going to be sick!!"

Barett grabbed Aerith and her daughter, slung them both over his shoulders, and shoved Cloud and Raijin out of the area. Zell, Irvine, and Selphie followed behind, leaving Shukera and Squall with Reno and his gang.

Cloud, Raijin, and Barett met the others on the floor above and together they quickly fled the area before anyone could stop or follow them. Cid raced towards Wall Market and stopped in the area before it. He waited for the others to catch up.

Selphie made fists at her side and shouted, "I'm going to get them for what they did to Aerith and Shukera!!!! We should hit them hard and now!!!" Tears of rage ran down her cheeks as she screamed, "SHIN RA WILL PAY DEARLY!!!" She stopped when she met up with Cid.

Irvine caught up to her and pulled her into his arms. "I know they will Selphie, we will make sure of it!"

Yuffie nodded, "You're right!!!"

Zell made a fist and punched the air, "Damned straight!!!" He slumped over as he added, "But you all know…we will have to face Squall. I dunno if I can."

Raijin sighed; he had been where Squall is now and understood his decision. Both of his friends were now his enemy and for a moment he felt alone. "Seifer…Fujin…what are they thinking?? Fujin…she's in the same position as Squall…only standing next to Seifer because she cares about him, ya know."

Nanaki couldn't help but admire their loyalty. "I know they have turned against you, but their resolve is admirable. Perhaps we should try to reach the one's they care for. Once we reach them and make them realize what they are doing is wrong…then maybe they can get through to the others."

Barett waved his gun arm at Nanaki, "Yeah, but first, we storm the building and hit them with all we got!! We take back our friends and then see if we can get through to them!!!" He carried Aerith and her daughter and looked up at Vincent when he approached him.

None of them could believe that Aerith actually had a child. They remained in a shocked state and didn't speak about it. What could they say??

Tifa followed them as she slipped into deep thought. After believing she was dead for more than five years, she reappears with a child…from their enemy. The shock was almost too much for her to bear.

Barett handed the child to Vincent and held Aerith in his arms. Vincent gently took the child into his arms and stared down at the little girl's tiny face. She was a younger version of Sephiroth only with Aerith's gentleness and her expression. "I'm sorry Cloud, Tifa…everyone." He moved closer to Aerith as she layed in Barett's arms, something about her condition seemed familiar. "Let me have a look."

Cloud stepped over to them and watched as Vincent looked her over. When he was done Vincent looked up at Cloud sadly. "I think we should find a place for them to rest."

Tifa started crying for Aerith out of grief. Cloud faced Tifa with as much of a smile as he could muster. The torment of knowing about the child was evident upon his face. Inside he became a storm of conflicting emotions. A part of him was happy for her, another part of him wanted to rip Sephiroth to shreds for tainting her and taking away her innocence. He replied reassuringly, "Don't worry, we will find a way to help her…them." He paused and added, "I wonder if Sephiroth even knows what the hell he's doing. His own daughter…damn him!!" He stared down at Aerith's face and shook his head as he filled with disgust.

Cloud's reaction made Tifa look away. Was he really that bothered by Aerith's daughter?? "Cloud…" Her eyes filled with tears as she looked away from him and walked away from him.

Barett sighed and looked down at Aerith sadly. "Go talk to her man. This must be hard on her as well. Even I dunno what I feel about this… How could she do this??? What was she thinking??"

Cloud looked down at Aerith and glanced at the Tifa. He had a decision to make… Was he going to stand in the shadow of his past love or chase after his future? He suddenly turned away from them and went after Tifa. "Tifa wait!!"

Selphie glanced at Irvine and Zell knowing how hard it must be for Cloud and his friends to find out the truth. She could see the pain on their faces and it filled her with even more anger. The place she stood in held too much pain for her, it overwhelmed her completely. She gazed around the slum area and began to understand the world Shukera had come from. She was definitely the product of the darkness that hid in the shadows of this world. A chill ran through her just thinking about it and she moved closer to Irvine's protective arms. "Let's just get out of here."