Hi I'm back
Also these parts of the story are getting really linear so I'm sorry if it doesn't seem like much is going on
Also we almost at the end yall 💀 also this was written late at night so please excuse any mistakes ty
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THEY HAD DRAGGED CLOUD TO AERITH'S OLD ROOM TO RECOVER and wait for him to wake up. It was weird to see him passed out for once, but Y/n welcomed the change. He could take the brain damage for once.
Y/n brushed his hair behind his ear, watching him closely in case anything happened. The others were talking quietly or dozing. They couldn't do much with Cloud out.
But, finally, Cloud awoke with a grunt, grabbing the hand Y/n was using to touch his hair. Y/n helped him sit up, making sure he didn't get up too fast and hurt his head.
Once he was situated, Aerith went on to explain that the room they were in was the room she and her mother lived in as a child. Seeing it in person broke Y/n's heart a bit. On the walls were drawings of people dressed in bright clothes in fields of flowers that seemed even brighter, clashing with the dull, steel walls of the tiny room. The little mural was obviously drawn by a child.
Y/n watched as Cloud, Tifa, Aerith, and Barrett talked. Slowly she started inching her way closer to the red Kitty-Dog on the floor. Red just got up and walked away. Y/n huffed and sat on the bed, turning her full attention to the group talk.
"Aerith," Cloud started, getting her to look at him. "Before we get out of here, you need to talk to us."
The group watched on as Aerith seemed to struggle to find the words. Finally, she took a deep breath and stated, "I'm... a descendant of the Ancients. That's pretty much it, really. But just so you know, that's not their actual name. They called themselves the Cetra."
"We who are born of the planet, with her we speak. Her flesh we shape," Barrett quoted. He look out of place sitting on the little couch with a giant machine gun strapped to him arm. "Unto her promised land shall we one day return. By her loving grace and providence may we take our place in paradise."
As touching as this moment was, Y/n couldn't help but feel like she understood what Nikolai Lanstov meant when talking about Tolya recite poems.
After much more talk about the "Promised Land" and weather or not Aerith could lead Shinra to it, it was time to move. Y/n sigh and stood up, lifting her arms above her head. Before anything could happen, though, the dementors appeared out of nowhere again and circled the group.
"Whispers," said Red. Every time he spoke Y/n couldn't help but shiver. It was strange to see an animal in real life speak. He explained them as "arbiters of fate." "Drawn to people who attempt to alter destiny's course and make sure they do not."
It was really strange to hear talk of destiny from a big talking cat, but Y/n had seen weirder things at this point, so she just took what he said as truth.
Out of nowhere, Aerith started speaking to the Whispers.
"Listen to me." They circled her, getting faster and faster. "Every time the Whispers touch me, I lose a part of myself. Like I'm trapped."
Before the Whispers could sweep Aerith away, Y/n pulled her out from their circle. Tifa took Aerith's hand and Y/n took the other. "Don't worry," Tifa smiled. "We'll find a way put together."
Aerith smiled back at the both of them, eyes gleaming. "Okay!"
After that magical little moment, the TVs in the the room turned on with static. The old man, Domino, appeared on the screen. Before he could say anything though, Wedge grabbed the camera. "Hey guys! Long time, no see!"
The group yelled out a greeting, mostly worried since Wedge shouldn't be out of bed.
"I'm feeling much better thanks to Elmyra's cooking!" Wedge replied, rubbing his belly. Y/n felt her stomach grumble. Elmyra's cooking would be appreciated right about now. "But that's not what I'm here to talk to you about. Listen, at any moment now-"
As soon as the word "now" left his mouth, the whole building shook. Now, being up 60+ floors, Y/n almost shit herself for real this time.
"Was that an explosion!?" Tifa yelped out. Y/n really held herself back from saying something snarky. She was a bit hangry.
"HQ is running the show this time," said Wedge. "They're raising hell to try and flush out the president."
Before Wedge could say any more, Mayor Domino took the camera and faced it towards himself. "This complicates matters," he said. "That explosion just now put the whole building on high alert."
Tifa gasped. "So now we're trapped in here?"
They all watched a map appear on the screen of their way out. Most of the doors around were locked, but it was just like those maze games you'd play on a kids menu at a restaurant. Pretty straightforward.
"No need to panic, little lady," Domino said. "You can still move freely within Hojo's laboratory."
"Find a way to the roof. An Avalanche chopper will come to extract you," Wedge cut in, his voice louder.
Barret didn't believe it for one moment. "HQ is bailing us out? I doubt it. Not after all the shit we've pulled."
Wedge just said that he asked them "super-duper nicely" and Y/n just went with it. Sometimes a little begging goes a long way. She was happy for the way out, she didn't want to Kaz Brekker their way out of this place.
Once the call ended, it was finally time to head out. "I didn't ask him to do any of that," Barrett put a hand on his hip.
"Yeah, well, I'm glad he did," Cloud sighed.
Barrett scoffed. "I'm still gonna chew him out for it later."
————
Running through hallways and getting lost had become a thing Y/n expected to happen. What kind of adventure would it be if they didn't get lost and run into trouble every five seconds?
Speaking of trouble, as the group of six we're about to make their way to the next area, a big creature started galloping towards them, springing into the air and crying out.
Then, as if the universe couldn't punish them enough, three more appeared. Cloud and Barrett made their little snide comments, and the fight begun against the Entities.
Y/n just decided to help Tifa take one out since she didn't want to get slashed by Cloud's sword as he fought three.
The dynamic between the two were a bit off as they never really fought together like this. Tifa used her fists while Y/n used blades. Only thing in common was their close combat, but nothing complimented each other in battle like Y/n and Cloud.
It was weird not helping him out with the same enemy, but as she and Tifa dealt the final blow in the Entity, she cared a bit less. Branching out her fighting style would always be a good thing.
Once the fight was over, Barrett finally got the walkway clear. He tried to give Red a handshake, but the Rat-Dog clearly didn't have opposable thumbs.
Y/n laughed. "Don't look like he got the facilities for that one, big man."
Barrett genuinely seemed confused, but cried out in pain and the white hot end of Red's tail smacked his hand. "Shit- what the hell, Red?"
Y/n just snickered, Cloud nudging her arm as a signal to move on.
Everyone stepped into the elevator they arrived at, and waited as it made it ascent to the 68th floor. Y/n noticed Cloud seemed a bit startled by something outside the elevator, but she couldn't quite focus due to her oncoming headache and the bright lights of the elevator.
Sighing, she leased her head back onto the cold wall and closed her eyes. Focusing on something other than her aching head, she listened as the elevator hummed. She felt a poke at her arm and opened an eye to see Tifa.
"So, about you being from another dimension..." Y/n noticed the others took interest in the conversation. "Do you miss it at all?"
Did she? What was there to miss? In this world, despite the trouble, she made friends. A found family trope, if you will. She loved it. She barely even remembered her home at this point. She never had anything to miss. "Honestly? No. That world brought me nothing but pain. At least here there's people around me. Thanks for putting up with me, by the way."
Tifa smiled softly at her friend, squeezing her arm. "It is a bit hard sometimes. I'm sure Cloud knows all about that."
The ex soldier just huffed, crossing his arms and staring at the doors of the elevator. "It's worth it," came a curt reply a few seconds later.
Tifa giggled, and Y/n couldn't help but have a blush spread across her face. By the tips of Cloud's ears, she could tell he was blushing as well.
Finally, the elevator came to a halt and the doors opened to reveal a different part of the laboratory. Red said it was Shinra's "dark secret," but as they continued to move across a catwalk suspending high in the air, Y/n felt her stomach drop.
The catwalk led to what looked like a burnt woman, bound by wires, a giant tube at her belly. If her memory serves her right, and it wasn't serving her well about the games anymore, this wasn't good for Cloud. Suddenly feeling the need to be near him, she snaked her way to the front.
Her fears were finally announced when Aerith said, "Jenova."
Cloud suddenly gripped his head in his hands. He was having another headache. Y/n didn't know what to do anymore. There was nothing they could do for his headaches, and certainly not with Jenova right there. So, she did the best she could and grabbed his hand.
He squeezed back, hard.
But, all of a sudden, Y/n felt the temperate drop and room go silent. Looking up, she wanted to vomit (and secretly swoon). Making his dramatic descent from the sky was Sephiroth himself, hand held tightly the masume. She saw what Cloud saw. A vision of Tifa, of Sephiroth speaking to Jenova.
Tifa walked towards the two of them, asking if the my were alright. She stopped short, nothing the tall, silver haired man in the room.
Sephiroth turned, and Cloud let go of Y/n and began staggering towards the man. Y/n couldn't move. She really, really wanted to.
"Tell me," said Cloud. "Is it really you?"
Sephiroth smiled as Cloud began to suffer from his headache once again. Gripping his arm, he moved forward again.
Smooth as silk, Sephiroth spoke. "Don't deny me. Embrace me."
Y/n cursed under her breath as she clenched her fists. Why couldn't she move!? But, as if a spell was released, she felt her legs again and made them move.
Before she could get to far, Cloud drew his sword and ran straight for Sephiroth, screaming. Y/n didn't know he had it in him to be that loud.
But, Sephiroth used his sword to cut the catwalk. Cloud didn't care, though, he only used the falling Plattform to propel himself into the air to attack. Their swords met, but Sephiroth was stronger. Cloud fell many stories down.
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Y/n couldn't breathe. Falling from a great height made her freak the fuck out. She was fine physically, so that was good. But now she was alone and she really didn't feel like moving.
So, she sat back into the pile of rubble she fell on and just closed her eyes. She would use the list child tactic. Stay where she was and hoped they would find her.
She needed a break anyway. If enemies came along she'd hope they'd think she was dead. He body ached and she felt the fatigue weigh her down.
To make herself comfortable, she draped her jacket over her like a blanket and tried to doze. She heard nothing around her, so why not?
Her ears perked up at the sound of a voice, but it was Hojo over some loud speakers. He was talking about experiments and such. That must meant that the others had grouped up as her referred to them as 5 people.
She decided that it was time to get up and yell. As she sat up, though, her body felt heavier than ever. Her eyelids were drooping, but she felt someone behind her. The feeling we cold.
"You don't belong here."
She was wide awake now. Whipping around, she found she was alone. She wanted to change that and quick.
Looking up, she noticed movement from above on some platforms. How has she not heard them taking yet? Now she could clearly hear Barrett and Cloud. What changed?
Waving her hands, she shouted. "HEY, IM DOWN HERE!"
Quickly, Cloud and Barrett peaked over the railing to see her. From was she could tell they looked mostly unharmed.
Cloud yelled down at her, voice heavy with relief. "There should be a ladder near you. Make your way up here. We'll meet you at the middle!"
And so she did, once she got to the ladder Cloud was waiting for her. Y/n ran over to him, checking him all over for injuries and muttering to herself. "Are you okay? You're not hurt right?"
"Y/n-"
"A fall from that height is not good for the body-"
"Y/-"
She poked the bruise on Cloud's temple. "Does this hurt?"
Before she could do anymore, though, Cloud grabbed grabbed her shoulders and shook her softly to get her attention. "Y/n, I'm okay."
She stared into his mako eyes with worry. Taking one last look around his face, she nodded breathlessly. "I'm sorry... the world would be at a great loss if their best murk had brain damage."
He put on a sneaky smile, the one he used whenever he tried to match witts with her. "Don't worry, all the brain damage is with you."
Scoffing, she crossed her arms and turned her head. "This brain damage has been a great comedic relief."
He smiled. Genuinely as he brushed hair over Y/n's ear. Did he know where he got the courage from? No. But he wasn't questioning it.
"Y/n... Listen-"
"Hey!" Barrett's voice rang out above them. "I need some help here!"
Cloud furrowed his brows and backed away. He was in merc mode once again. Before he climbed back up, he turned to Y/n. "Later?"
Y/n grinned. "Of course."
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Cloud is such a pretty bby
He's getting a bit bolder, huh 😉