Wednesday, May 5, 2004

Here it is...finally...episode five...
Tifa…

“Who are you?” she asked the disembodied voice in her head.

Have you really forgotten me so soon?

“…Aeris…?”

You’ve left a few of them behind…in the ruins…

“Leave me alone.”

You must find them…but it’s already too late…

Tifa forced her eyelids open and found herself staring up at the wooden ceiling of the Chocobo stable. Aeris’ last utterances were echoing incessantly in her head, and her heart was now beating a furious rhythm on her chest. Calming her nerves, she sat up on her straw bed and glanced about the room. The rest of the stable was still, and undisturbed silence filled the air. Cloud and the others were resting peacefully in their respective positions around the stable.

She eased onto her feet and tiptoed out of the stable, careful not to wake the others. Once outside, she strolled about on the lawn, taking in the surroundings. A small bird had just darted onto the stable rooftop, chirping feverishly. Others accompanied, and together their melodious song heralded the golden sun’s ascent into the clear morning skies. She was almost reluctant to leave, although she knew that once they paid Choco Billy their share of gil, they would be on their way again.

“Wait a minute…gil?” she asked herself.

Tifa hastened back into the stable, where Cloud was sprawled on the hay, fully awake and alert. Ryudo was awake too, and was perched atop a large haystack, observing the surroundings. Tidus had just gotten up, and Wing was still fast asleep on a bed of straw in the far corner.

“Cloud, we have a problem…” she explained, kneeling beside him.

He sat up beside her on the hay and ran his hand through his unruly hair. “Good morning to you too, Tifa.”

“Sorry about that…but this is important. How are we supposed to pay for accommodation without any gil?”

“Gil? Oh yeah, I forgot about that…”

“In that case, we have no choice but to leave here,” Ryudo interjected.

“Okay then…” Cloud said thoughtfully. “Tif, you get the Darksoul and the others. Ryudo, wake up Wing, and let him know we’re busting outta this joint. Tidus and I will get the Chocobos ready to leave."

Tifa nodded affirmatively and hastened out of the stable and rapped on the wooden door of the house several times, but no one came to the door to let her in.

“What’re you doing up so early, baby?” a harsh voice enquired of her.

She spun around, prepared for a fight, only to encounter Choco Billy, or rather a grotesque outer shell of Choco Billy. His bleached face wore a glazed, strangely sinister expression.

“Oh, it’s just you,” she said. “You almost scared me.”

“Ya weren’t thinkin’ of runnin’ away from little old me, were ya?” he enquired, advancing toward her threateningly.

“No, of course not!” she exclaimed, shaking her head.

“If there’s one thing I hate more than freeloaders, its liars,” he stated, aiming his shotgun at her. “But if you submit yourself to me now, I jus’ might be persuaded to let ya live. So what d’ya say to that, sugar?”

“…You’ve got the wrong idea…” she said shakily, as she began backing away from him slowly.

“Very well then,” he said. “You’ve chosen your own fate.”

Before she could turn to run, he fired at her, and the bullet whizzed past her, missing her by a couple of inches. Without hesitation, she broke out into a run and took cover behind the house, where she began pounding on the back door. At last, Dark Sephiroth emerged in the doorway, and Tifa bolted inside and shut the door.

“What’s goin’ on?” Dark Sephiroth asked. “I thought I heard a-”

“-It’s Choco Billy,” Tifa explained hastily. “Something’s wrong. I’ll explain later. Go wake up the others!”

Without question, Dark Sephiroth hurried off into the guest room to wake up the others. Another gunshot was sounded, and the glass on the adjacent window shattered unexpectedly. Tifa closed her eyes and covered her face as a shower of shards rained down on her, cutting deeply into the exposed skin on her upper arm. She took cover behind the wall, wincing in pain.

“Oh my god! Tifa, are you okay?” Darksoul screamed frantically.

Tifa did not reply, as she was struggling to remove a bloody glass shard from where it had cut deeply into the flesh of her upper arm.

“We need a diversion!” Dark Sephiroth exclaimed.

“Leave that up to me!” Sakura stated boldly, whipping out her necklace. “Uh, let’s see…Key of Clow! Power of Magic! Surrender the Wand! The Force Ignite! Release!”

The key-like pendant remained suspended in midair for a few seconds before transforming into the familiar pink wand. Sakura grasped it determinedly, as tossed one of the Clow Cards and twirled her staff around, in perfect Card Captor Sakura style, and chanted…

“The Fiery! Release and Dispel!”

With that she struck the card with the tip of her wand. The card remained there, hovering in midair and glowing slightly, then flickered out and landed at her feet.

“Why the hell isn’t it working?” Sakura yelled in frustration.

“Maybe because it isn’t The Fiery,” Darksoul stated, observing the card carefully. The words ‘The Fly’ were inscribed clearly at the bottom.

“…It isn’t?” Sakura asked, flushed with embarrassment. “Sorry, my bad…”

Another gunshot was fired, and instantly the girls ducked for cover again. Something landed on the roof of the house with a dull thud, and suddenly everything was uncomfortably still and silent, other than the anxious, short breaths of air that escaped the wary girls.

“Look, we don’t have much time!” Tifa stated, rising to her feet slowly. “I’ll create the diversion-”

“-We’ll create the diversion!” Dark Sephiroth interrupted. “You two get to the stable.”

All of a sudden, a loud crash was heard above them, as a grotesque figure crashed through the roof and landed neatly onto its feet on the floor, accompanied by a large cloud of dust. One of the rafters collapsed, pinning Tifa between it and the wall. When she struggled to free herself, the roof of the house groaned uneasily, so she opted not to move any further.

“Tifa! Dark Sephiroth!” Sakura called from beyond the cloud of dust.

“…Just get to the barn!” Tifa instructed. “Hurry!”

Sakura and Darksoul remained there for a moment, as though spellbound by the suddenness of the situation, but eventually turned and sprinted off to the barn. Tifa and Dark Sephiroth were now left alone with the figure. The dust that had previously enshrouded the figure had cleared, revealing the twisted version of Choco Billy. His mouth curved into a sadistic smile, and his eyes still wore their glazed expression.

“Calm down ladies, it’s only me,” Choco Billy stated in his signature country drawl, laughing maniacally.

Devoid of reply, Dark Sephiroth unsheathed her masamune and approached him cautiously.

“Oh, so now little Miss Leather Suit here wants ta kill me?” Choco Billy taunted. “Well, bring it on already…or are ya plannin’ on staring me to death?”

Dark Sephiroth clenched her fist irately. “Why you little-“

“-Hey, calm down. Don’t let him get to you,” Tifa advised.

But Dark Sephiroth’s rage blinded her judgment at the time. Taking no heed of Tifa’s words, and charged at the maniacal Choco Billy. With almost inhuman speed and agility, he dodged her attack and kicked her full in the face, sending her flying onto a wooden dinner table. She rolled and got back onto her feet and pulled her masamune out of the wooden floorboard and swung it at the unsuspecting Choco Billy. A deep gash was left in his cheek, and unusually dark blood oozed out. Infuriated by this unexpected wound, he charged at Dark Sephiroth and knocked her over the head with the butt of his shotgun, flooring her instantly.

“Playtime’s over kiddo!” Choco Billy stated, aiming the shotgun at the semi-conscious Dark Sephiroth.

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