Flower Girl (Invites)

[Saephara]

The radio played subtle music as Tifa moved her cloth across the counter top of the bar, drying it and making it shine. She softly hummed to herself, moving towards the other tables and cleaned up as she danced. On and on she continued with her rhythm changing to the beat of whichever song was playing. Usually the children would be here in the bar dancing with her and preparing to open up for the evening and night, but they were over at Barett's home for the weekend. The ceiling fan softly whirred as it cooled the air around her. Outside, she could hear people talking amongst themselves. They would either talk about how the day went or gossip about the latest trends. It was always the same and Tifa enjoyed the monotony. However she was always prepared for the worst in case something crazy happened again and she was needed. For instance, the incident called the Reunion. Tifa stopped and thought about it for a moment then sighed. No point in reminiscing in the past. Just look forward to the future.

At last, she completed cleaning her restaurant/bar, 7th Heaven. It wasn't a large establishment but it did have enough room for several tables and a bar area and a second floor where she and the children slept. Cloud's room was still there as well but he had left some time ago so the room had been untouched by anyone. With a soft huff, she walked upstairs and into her simple room. In a box were her prized possessions, God Hand and Premium Heart. They were gloves that had never failed her in her past fights. She grabbed both for some reason, believing that she would need them tonight. Tucking them into the pocket of her black shorts, she came down the steps again and approached the door. As she approached, she felt something odd race across her skin but thought nothing of it. She grabbed the front door to open it and walked right outside. She closed the door behind her and stepped forward, nearly falling forward off of a balcony. "What in the..."

Looking behind her, she gasped. It was not the 7th Heaven that she currently owned. It was the 7th Heaven given to her many years before. Actually, it looked just like it did when she had brought Cloud back here for the first time. Slowly she walked back and down the wooden stairs onto the dirt roads at the foot of the piles of aluminum and trash. These were the Slums. She was back in Midgar. But how was this possible? She kept walking, her mind racing with thoughts of disbelief. She tied her hair back with a tie and unzipped her black leather arm-less jacket. Underneath was a white tank top that barely reached her navel, showing toned muscles. She pulled the pair of gloves called God's Hand out from her short's pockets and pulled them on. If it was the time that she thought it was, she would need them soon. Her black boots kept hitting the compacted ground and sent small plumes of dirt into the the soft breeze.

Before she knew it, she had reached the old playground. She moved forward to touch the rusted metal and smiled gently. It was then that she heard a noise behind her. She pulled her gloves on tighter and stretched lightly. She hadn't fought in quite a while, but Zagan had taught her well.

[Cloud]

Cloud held the sword up, deflecting the thrown bible without any difficulty. Cloud was sure that the bible would hurt if it hit him. Words do hurt by the way. Cloud smiled slightly at the thought and brought and hand to his side, charging a thunder spell in his palm. He doubted Reno could see him do this for his blade hid this part of his body from view. With the spell charged he moved the blade to his side and fired the thunder spell at the turk.

[Alex]

Aerith led Ayen into the pipe when they touched down on the ground. Once inside they saw a sick man sitting on his couch, a TV towards the end of the pipe and a work table over to the side wall. She smiled to the man who was aware of their presence but looked to be in his own little world as he didn't say much.

"They won't think to look in here. Not many come in here because of him. This man are sick."

Aerith said the last bit sadly, looking over to Ayen.

"Can you help him?"

[Kragen]

The bible was only a lead in to an attack as soon after it was thrown Reno charged towards Cloud and thrust his rod forward for his chest while he was charging the thunder spell. Reno didn't know the spell was being charged and he didn't have to. His thinking ahead had helped him avoid a shocking resolution as it was hard to charge something when you were being assaulted.

[Garrus Vakarian]

Rude continued jumping from rooftop to rooftop. Seeing Ayen fly off but unfortunately by the time he got to sector 5 he couldn't find the pair anywhere. His eyes going over to the bright light that could be seen at the top right of the city, remembering that was the direction Aerith house was in. Jumping down from the roofs Rude proceeded to Aerith's house.

[Ayen]

"They won't think to look in here. Not many come in here because of him. This man are sick."

“Are you sure this is such a good idea? There isn't really anywhere to hide. Wait did you say “this man 'are' sick?”

"Can you help him?"

“I'm not a doctor. Unless his heart stops I can't help you.”

[Saephara]

Turning her reddish-brown eyes behind her, Tifa saw a small rat. So that had been what made the noise. There was no sense it harming such an innocent creature. She let a small breath go and walked south of the playground, going between the stone pillars marking the entrance towards Sector 5 of the Slums. She remembered these areas and felt sadness sweep over her. It was a terrible thing to know what was to come of the entire area, yet none would believe her if she spoke aloud of such thoughts. She closed on the beginning of the uneven terrain. In the distance she saw the robotic arm that lay palm up, rusting with all other debris in the area. Even she pipe that she began to walk down was riddled with oxidation, turning a dirty brown color. This area used to be an actual roadway, she believed she had heard. On the ground were the white stripes signifying the split in the road for oncoming and outgoing traffic, broken up and on the differing levels that she climbed and hopped down from. She rounded a corner walked along the wall until she reached a beam that she walked up and continued along across the second gray beam connecting one high area to the next.

At last, she had reached the exit of this area and had reached the fork in the road leading to Sector 5. As she moved to go down the left path, she ran into one of the lower level soldiers of Shinra. Shinra was her enemy and they may know she was a part of AVALANCHE, the rebel group that was brought together to bring them down. Apologetically, Tifa quickly bowed and said, "Oh, I am so sorry. I didn't see you there. Are you o-"

"Hey, aren't you...? You're a part of AVALANCHE!" the man shouted and raised his weapon. 'Oh dear. So much for keeping up appearances,' she thought as a slightly troubled look came over her face. 'I have to end this quickly. I can't have any trouble for the others...' Tifa jumped back slightly and dodged the first round of bullets that were fired her way. This soldier had to be somewhat new; his aim was wavering. She decided she would go easy on him. Taking a deep breath she sprinted forward, her leather vest forgotten on the loose dirt of the ground. Another round came flying her way and she did her best to dodge, however one grazed her cheek. On she continued, not thinking of the burning she felt.

First her right fist landed on his jaw, turning his head to his left and her left immediately landed in his abdomen. He bent over to shield himself from further pain, the weapon forgotten at his side. She saw the opportunity to knock him out and took it. Without missing a beat, Tifa jumped up to use the man's knee as a foothold and flipped backwards into the air, sending her free foot under the man's chin and pushing her strength into it. She landed several feet away and looked over to see the man unconscious on the ground at the beginning's of the pile of rubble. With a concerned look on her face, she kicked the man's weapon from him and walked back over to grab her leather vest, trying to think about exactly what day it was. Aerith had to still be alive if the Slums were still here. Where to go from here... She simply shook her head and her free gloved hand stroked the pink ribbon on her left bicep as she decided to try the church. She had learned eventually where Cloud was concerned, you could usually find the answer you were looking for there.

As she moved down the pathway and came into view of the church, she saw two people escape from the roof of the church. One was Aerith, and the other....was flying? It made no sense to Tifa, but at the very least, Aerith was alive still. It seemed they were headed towards Sector 5. She moved to look away but soon noticed that another person had exited through the top of the broken building: Rude of the Turks. Her brows furrowed briefly as she moved forward. Immediately, she spotted two more of Shinra's soldiers outside of the church and inside, she could hear fighting. Curiosity arose just as concern did and quickly she moved forward to engage in the enemy. Just who was fighting in the church?

[Alex]

"I see..."

Aerith frowned at Ayen's answer but should have expected as much long before she even asked. Hearing his rather strange question about what she had said earlier, the Flower Girl blinked in confusion.

"I said is. Why would I say "he are sick?"

Aerith shook her head and moved back to the more pressing topic.

"I'm sure. You can keep a look out to see where they're headed then let me know when it's cleared."

[Cloud]

Cloud obviously didn't have time to charge his spell, for reno quickly retaliated by charging at him. He had to defend against his attack, even if he was in the middle of charging his spell. A thought came to mind, and with it a smirk. He merged the incomplete spell into his blade, causing sparks to run up and down it. Reno came closer and thrusted his baton toward his chest. Cloud was already in a defensive position, so blocking was incredibly easy. The baton would meet the flat side of his blade, which was sparking in electricity. Bolts would run up his baton, but he had a slim chance to avoid getting shocked. If he didn't the shock would not be as bad as a fully charged thunder spell, but it gets the job done.

[Kragen]

Reno let out a scream when the bolts shot down his rod to shoot across his body. Dropping the rod and then falling down to his hands and knees outside of the pews and down the straight path to the flower patch separated by the two rows of pews. Breathing heavily as he crawled across the floor only to look up and see Tifa standing at the entrance of the church.

"Oh great!"

This was quickly turning into a bad day.

[Garrus Vakarian]

Rude knocked on Aerith's house and demanded to be allowed inside. Aerith's mother obliged and Rude began to search the premises. Upon finding no signs of Aerith, Rude left the house and left. Going back into the city and moving from house to house in sector 5 to track the girl down.

[Ayen]

"I see..."

Ayen couldn't stand to see Aerith sad. It was upsetting and made him wish he had study medicine. But he didn't even know what was wrong with this man or if it was even treatable. His thoughts were scrambled and Ayen couldn't make out a single one. This place was so dreary and torn Ayen couldn't fathom how anyone could live here. It obviously wasn't by choice. The weary and worn expressions of the people here were evident of that. Aerith was the only smile he had seen since coming here and it was currently out.

"I said is. Why would I say "he are sick?"

“It sounded like you said... Never mind.”

"I'm sure. You can keep a look out to see where they're headed then let me know when it's cleared."

“All right.”

Ayen walked towards the exit of the pipe and peered around it seeing Rude come out of the light at the other side of town and enter a trailer.

“The coast is clear now's our chance.”

[Saephara]

A scream rang out from inside the church as Tifa delivered the last blow to the remaining soldier. She rushed over to the doors and tore them open, panting heavily. She had to prop herself up on the old wooden doorway, her dark hair falling over her right shoulder with strands sticking to her sweaty skin. The rest of her body was dirtied and clothes were soiled. She had forgotten her jacket outside yet again, however she did not care. Through the fight just now, she had sustained a kick to her abdomen that had sent her into the heaping pile of metal, a baton to her upper arm, a punch to the left cheek and a slight brush of yet another bullet to her right calf.

The church looked the same as always. The old pews were disheveled from the fighting that was occurring and dust filtered throughout the air. The stone pillars were chipped at and looked as if they could barely hold up the rafters above, if only to protect that garden at the far end of the church tended by Aerith. It was a wonder that she could grow such beautiful things in Midgar. It was barren on the outskirts of the large city due to the stolen energy of Gaia because of Shinra harvesting it for every day use.

Looking straight down the aisle, she saw the red-headed Reno staring up directly at her with a shocked expression. He exclaimed, "Oh great!" Tifa's eyes widened as she asked, "Reno...?" More movement from the corner of her eye made her look further in to see Cloud shifting slowly in a defensive position. Is this where he had gone to? Had he been taken into the past as well? "Cloud..." she muttered softly as she pushed herself off the doorway and made her way down the aisle way. She hadn't seen him for the longest time. The phone calls had kept ringing at 7th Heaven and every time she called his cell phone to let him know of a delivery request, all she ever got was his voice-mail. She had worried about him and now, here he was in front of her.

She pulled God's Hands off and placed them in the her back pocket to pull out her other set. Premium Heart. They pulled on easily, her knuckles covered with rounded blue metal, a heart design inlaid upon the coloring. As she walked, she flexed her wrists and stretched her shoulders out a little more. She stopped a few feet from Reno and placed her left hand on her hip. The pink ribbon end fell alongside her arm, the only indicator that she was from another time. "Can one of you please explain to me what is going on here?"she uttered softly, her voice echoing gently throughout the room. Her eyes shifted from Reno to Cloud, then back again as she waited for a response.

[Cloud]

"They are after Aerith, Tifa. We have to get to them before they do." Cloud said as he approached Tifa . Surely Aerith must have gotten away by now for if they didnt Reno wouldnt stick around. He hadnt seen Tifa in a long time. Of course he left her to fight his darkness a long time ago, but he had forgotten that this reality was not his reality. That means there must be another Cloud roaming around. He didnt care at this point.

"Come on... when we find them then I can explain what is happening." Cloud said as he rushed out the door of the church with his sword put away on his back. Once outside he looked around. He couldn't remember which way was Sector 7! He turned around and with a calm voice, "We need to get to Sector 7, that's where Aerith lives so she would be hiding somewhere there. Lead the way?"

[Kragen]

((Aerith's house is in sector 5. That's the sector we're in.))

"Yeah, that's right. You better run!"

Reno said through a damaged pride as Cloud and Tifa left the church to meet up with the Flower Girl who Reno had hoped Rude already had captured. That would at least make his beating on this day somewhat worth while. To confirm, Reno pulled out his cellphone and called his partner.

"Hey, Rude. Did you get the girl?"