songerein | closed 🌠 the day midgar stood still

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closed 🌠 the day midgar stood still

Who: Tifa Lockhart & close CR
Which: Closed interactive dream
Where: Atop the Sector Seven pillar
What: Tifa has a nightmare of the night of the Sector Seven plate drop.
Warnings: N/A for now.

[For whoever happens upon the dream, they'll immediately be greeted with the stench of fire and burning metal. Debris is falling, the grates beneath them are groaning, helicopters circle about, and the lights hanging from the underside of the colossal plate shine down on the city of Midgar below. The air is thick with smoke and flames, but even thicker with something else...

Dread. The fear for a thousand lives below... The fear of losing after fighting for so long...

If they look behind them, they'll see that world below—the winding, narrow streets of the Sector Seven, and the little lights within the run-down buildings that line them. Where they stand is on a portion of the pillar that helps to hold the city above the slums, the platform ablaze with flames and everything looking like it's almost ready to crumble apart. And all the way across the platform is a computer, its screen red and flashing with "WARNING", and a small, familiar figure darting towards it.

"Plate separation authorized. Awaiting confirmation."

To their right is a red-haired man crawling across the ground, his arm stretching to reach for the silver rod a few feet in front of him. On the left is another, taller man kneeling over himself, both of them looking worse for wear, injured, and clearly having just lost a hard-fought battle.

Tifa's hair flutters in the hot wind as she stands in front of the computer, out of breath as her fingers hover over the many buttons while the voice repeats itself over the speakers.

"Awaiting confirmation..."

She's at a complete loss. She can feel the panic gripping her chest and squeezing her heart. If she could just figure out how to stop it... how to turn it off... If she hits the wrong one, it could all end in disaster. But for some reason, besides her hands trembling, she's frozen. Haunted.

...

It's just like... that day... all of those days when she failed...

......

"Plate separation authorized. Awaiting confirmation."

The moment anyone dares to take a step in her direction, phantom-like creatures—Whispers—will create a barrier between her and this newcomer, swirling around and around to keep them in place. Fight against them, try to run... Weapons will phase right through them and they will beat you back, but anyone who tries to do anything but choose between the two men at either side will be stopped...

Even should they try to call out to Tifa, she's far too distracted by the computer to notice everything else going on around her.]

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[ The smell of smoke and the blinding flames combined with the underlying fear makes this feel very familiar to Susato. For a moment, she thinks it is Tifa yet again, trying to keep her out, trying to keep her safe. Perhaps on some level, that's true, but as soon as she spots her, nothing else matters. ]

Tifa!

[ She cries out, though it's barely heard over the chaos. It's not long before she is surrounded by the Whispers. She struggles against them. Her head is swiveling, looking for a way forward, when her attention is called to the men on either side of her. The red hair stands out, but what is he reaching for?

...What happened to them?

With one eye still on Tifa, she pushes past the Whispers with annoyance. She doesn't have time to be surprised when they let her.

What's going on? ]

[The wall of Whispers is so thick that Tifa's completely disappeared behind them, and as Susato tries to push her way through, it's not Reno on the ground that does anything. In fact, as soon as he finally manages to reach his rod, he takes hold of it and falls flat on his back, looking as if he's completely given up.

But it's because Rude is coming up behind her, and Susato will hear his footsteps heavy on the grates before a hand grips her by the arm so that he can pull her to him and hold her firmly in place. The Whispers have already started to thin in number, and she'll be able to see Tifa again still at the computer as it shouts the warnings at her.

"Reno. Get up."]

...!!

[ Susato had been so focused on Reno... Rude's grip on her is strong. She looks alarmed when she turns to meet his eyes with indignation. Who is this, and why is he keeping her from Tifa?

Tifa...

Her voice still hasn't reached her. Susato's voice shakes, though she tries to speak calmly. ]

Let go of me.

[He doesn't. Her command only makes him grab hold of her that much tighter, an arm wrapping around her securely and tightening as if he were trying to pin back a First Class SOLDIER rather than a small girl, but Reno is already getting up.

"You're really makin' me do all the work around here."

In a large rain of sparks, Reno disappears from where he stood and reappears on the other side of the Whispers that have slowly begun to disperse, only enough that Susato can see it all happening on the other side of the curtain. Tifa had been so focused on the panels in front of her that she hadn't noticed Reno there until it was too late and by then, he's already shot his lightning at her that stuns Tifa and sends her crumpling to the ground in pain.

Rude knocks Susato in the back of her knee with his with the intention of putting her on the floor before he's rushing off to join his partner.

The shades finally fade away and the path to Tifa is clear...

Except Reno is already pressing the button. There's a loud buzz, and then even louder sirens begin to blare, and Tifa can feel them shaking every bone in her body as the dread sinks in again and all of the air has left her lungs. Or maybe it's the despair that's lingering that she can't quite sense that's making it difficult for her to breathe...

But the warnings that echo from the speakers over the sirens from all across the pillar and the plate will warn Susato of what's to come next...

"Plate separation initiated. Plate separation initiated. Commencing separation sequence."

And Tifa's voice shouts from beneath it all.]

... Cloud!!!

[ It's like Rude barely hears her. She doesn't stop struggling, though she is, in fact, just a small girl and not a First Class SOLDIER with any hope of overpowering him. She is so focused on trying to get free that she doesn't look forward until Reno's lightning has already hit, and when she sees it, Tifa has already hit the ground. She looks properly horrified, and the louder sirens drilling straight into her head only make it worse.

Susato cries out. Tifa's name, perhaps, or probably just a "No!" in protest, but it doesn't matter, because her voice is drowned out completely. In the next moment, her feet are literally knocked out from under her and she collapses to the ground. She can feel the bright flashing lights, even through her closed eyes, and when she opens them again, she can see the men, and the way to Tifa...

Though "Cloud" is not her name, she help but feel like she is calling out to her specifically. She clings to that energy at least, trying to get up, but it just ends up in an awkward crawl as she tries to close the distance between them. ]

Stop...! [ Susato bounds to her feet at last into a painful, jagged sprint, but it's too late. ]

No.... no, no, no...

[Tifa struggles to get to her feet, and there are flames that begin to creep upwards around her, much to her confusion. She's far from awake, stuck in reliving this nightmare as if it were all real, and she was back on top of the pillar of Midgar.

"Evacuate the area immediately."

Reno looks at Susato as she bounds off towards them, and he shakes his head with a click of his tongue. "Five minutes to go."

But if Susato looks Tifa's way, she'll see her staring right back, looking desperate and... confused.]

Who are you? Where's Cloud? And Barret!?

[ Susato is panting, hunched over, but as soon as she sees Tifa struggling, she closes the difference between them. The heat from the flames is getting worse, and the sirens and warnings are deafening. What does he mean, five minutes?

No time. ]

I'm Susato, your friend. We... We work at the Harvest together and...

[ The Harvest. Something inside Susato stirs. The Harvest, Reverein. Songerein. ]

We, We have to leave this place!

[Susato...? The Harvest?

The name rings a very distant but familiar little bell in the far, far back of Tifa's mind, like a word on the tip of her tongue or a memory she can't quite place, but there's no time for that recognition to sink in just yet. Rude makes a break for it, and Tifa tries to leap to her feet to go after him, but she collapses onto Susato when the pain threads through her leg. She'll have to let him go for now...

Her attention is pulled in the direction of the screen over the console, and a long, dark-haired man laughs as he regards Susato.

"And where exactly do you expect to go?"]

[ Susato isn't prepared. She can see though that Tifa was leaping after Rude, and she's prepared to go after Tifa in turn, but she stumbles hard when Tifa collapses into her, and she awkwardly holds a hand out for the nearest surface--the keyboard of some computer or other. She can feel miscellaneous buttons being pressed, but there's no time to know whether she just made things worse or not.

She quickly recovers, pushing Tifa (and herself) back upright as the dark-haired figure appears on the screen. ]

...Wh, Who are you?!

[Tseng, the man on the screen, shakes his head at Susato without an answer before his eyes flit to Tifa as she forces herself up to stand next to her.]

You can't do this!

[He opens his mouth to speak but a much more familiar figure appears from the side. Aerith, looking beat up and her face and dress dirtied, she looks at Susato with the same amount of confusion that Tifa had, like she shouldn't be there. Her gaze lingers for a beat before—

"Tifa, I found Marlene! She's at—"

Tseng raises a hand, and Aerith is dragged away by men in helmets before she can finish.]

Aerith!

["Your activities unwittingly brought you into contact with the—" Static briefly interrupts his voice. "—who is now back in our custody where she belongs. For this, you have my sincerest gratitude. Alas, the sector in which you stand has been condemned."

Unconsciously, Tifa's hand reaches for Susato's wrist, and she grips it with trembling fingers.

Aerith's voice calls again from the side. "Run! you have to go now!"

And with that, the transmission is cut, and Tifa's head is filled with the sound of sirens again as pieces of the pillar and the plate above start to crumble around them—heavy clumps of metal and beams and fire.

"Total plate separation imminent. Evacuate the area immediately."

From her wrist, Tifa slides her fingers down to grab hold of Susato's hand, but when she tries to move, to take her to safety, she finds she's frozen on the spot... like her legs refuse to move her.]

No, no, no...

Edited 2022-10-24 14:10 (UTC)

Aerith!

[ Susato shouts with recognition at the exact same time as Tifa. She no longer cares who Tseng is. She had known, of course, that Aerith and Tifa were close, but she had no idea she was here. Susato feels a shiver run down her spine as the warnings continue, and another name dances aimlessly about in her mind along with a million questions, none of which they have time for.

Marlene.

Before she say anything, Susato feels Tifa's hand in her own. They have to move, but where? Evacuate where? More importantly... ]

Tifa... Tifa, where was that? Do you know where they have her? [ A brief pause as she swallows, tasting smoke and heat. ] Can you lead us out of here?

[She only bites down on the inside of her lip.

They'll need to worry about where Aerith is later, although she has a hunch that they'll be keeping her at the Shinra headquarters... somewhere. Cloud might know but... where is he? And Barret? The train of thought is immediately ground to a halt when more debris falls only a foot away from where Susato is standing and it, along with Susato's question, kicks Tifa's fight or flight into high gear.

She isn't sure why she feels the urgent, overwhelming need to protect this girl when everything else in her mind tells her to run, but she wraps an arm around Susato's shoulders and guides her away from the console just in time as a large piece of burning steel falls and crushes it.

Tifa pauses to squint through the heat.

...

There's a wire at the other end of the platform that looks like it will lead down and away from the plate, and so she grips Susato's hand tight in hers.]

Trust me, okay?

[Even if Tifa still isn't sure if she can trust Susato, there's something that flickers underneath the flames that are reflecting bright in the reds of her eyes... Something that Susato might recognize from the night in the cave.]

...!!

[ Susato looks alarmed as she feels Tifa's sudden weight around her shoulders. She doesn't have a chance to fight it. It's hardly a warm embrace, but it might feel like it for a moment, even as the console is crushed in a deafening blow by the steel. Heat pulsates through the air as Susato also opens her eyes, nearly blinded by her own sweat, and she shakes, hearing Tifa's simple request.

Trust her. She always has.

She stares with wide eyes, meeting Tifa's determined gaze with her own. Then she squeezes her hand back, and suddenly she's not shaking so much. ]

...Alright. [ Her heart races. She's ready to follow her lead. ]

Edited (...icon) 2022-10-26 03:46 (UTC)

[She leads her across the platform, shielding the two of them from whatever falls in their way and weaving in and out of the flames. It feels like the run stretches on forever, and that they might not make it to the other side, and Tifa can feel pain searing in her leg again, but she keeps going. She keeps pushing herself through, running in her head all the possible answers for where the others are and why Cloud would suddenly just disappear like that...

Did the Whispers take him?

Tifa is forced to shake off the thought as she leaps over the gate of what appears to be a maintenance elevator, and she reaches her hands out to help Susato over.]

Just don't look down and hold onto me as tight as you can.

[ The platform feels like it never ends. She is reminded of the way she managed to walk to the flames to get to her that night, only this time, they aren't separated. Susato certainly won't allow herself to just be protected either, and she won't just hide behind Tifa. She tries in equal part to protect Tifa as they go, even slowing when down she can sense the pain getting to her.

Unfortunately, as well-meaning as that warning is, looking down is the first thing she does. Not for long, though. Her eyes flicker back up as she reaches her hands out to hers, and her nerves dancing as they connect.

She leaps into a clumsy hug, clinging as tightly as Tifa would expect while she steadies herself. ]

[Tifa clutches onto her in return with one arm while the other reaches up for the hook that's resting at the top of the wire. She pulls on it to test it—it's likely meant for pillar maintenance workers to secure themselves to while they're on the lift in case anything happens, but right now, it's their only way down.

The floor of the platform begins to fall in pieces, the debris from the pillar too heavy for it to withstand it anymore, and with a deep breath, Tifa kicks them both off the elevator. With her arm tighter around Susato, the two of them sail over the slums, and she can see how the buildings collapse under pieces of the plate, and above, she can see the upper floor of Midgar folding in on itself as it's blasted apart.

And as much as Tifa wants to close her eyes, she doesn't. She can't. Not with this girl wrapped around her shoulders and both of them holding on for dear life, and so she's forced to watch as everything she knew for the last few years is destroyed. And somewhere in all of the destruction is her apartment, her bar, her friends...

The flames are chasing after them now, and the groaning of the plate is so loud that she can't hear her heart thundering in her head anymore. It's so hot and smoky and Tifa can hardly breathe, and the flames almost kiss her skin and the soles of her shoes as they plummet closer to the ground. There's a gate up ahead, and if they can make it through to the other side, the rubble will at least block the worst of the flames—]

Hold on...!

[Tifa tries to force them to move quicker, and they only make it through by the skin of their teeth, and she swears that the ends of her hair have been singed in the process. She lets go of the hook and they fall several feet, but she grabs Susato in both arms to break the landing for both of them...]

[ Tifa is so much stronger and better than she is. Susato, by contrast, does close her eyes. She has no connection to this place, no sense of loss that Tifa feels, but she still can't bear to watch as homes and families are destroyed. She's shaking the entire time, but eventually a nagging guilt causes her look. She can't allow Tifa to shoulder this burden... Her eyes sting with tears, her vision a blur, but she can see the gate.

Doesn't know what it is. Doesn't know how it will help, but it's a goal, and one that he latches onto. She's too slow to fight Tifa for the landing. By now, her hair is equally a mess, if not undone completely. There's no time, yet Susato still struggles atop Tifa, crawling off her after the worst of it. Soot trails her face. They're both battered and completely bruised. ]

Tifa-- Tifa, I'm sorry.

[ Her voice cracks, and her throat is completely dry with smoke. ]

You don't... You don't have to do this anymore. You have to wake up.

...You have to remember.

[Susato's voice is like a loud bell in Tifa's head, ringing loud in the middle of the silence. It's almost eerie how still everything is now, with only the flames that continue to eat away at the remains of the city and the distant cries for help being the only thing around them that moves or makes any sound. She doesn't say anything at first, only looking over the girl to make sure that she's okay, before she tries to get to her feet and cough whatever air she can back into her lungs. She stumbles and leans against the wall that barely towers over them now and tries to get a good look around.

...

Before she's looking back at Susato.]

What are you talking about...?

[Her voice is low and hoarse, and she sounds like she's about to cry. And even still, she offers her a hand to help her up.]

This isn't a dream...

[Although, she wishes that it was.]

[ ...Susato stares at Tifa's hand for a moment, just catching her breath. In the end, she takes it, gripping it tightly, and she doesn't let go even once they're both on their feet. Even now, it's hard to tell whether her vision is starting to fog due to all the smoke, or whether consciousness is slowly creeping in. Everything looks coated in a layer of white or gray. ]

I know... I know it doesn't feel like it is. But it is your turn to trust me now.

You know me. [ Think. ]

[...

Tifa tries to place her, but... even as she tips her head and stares at the girl with a frown, she can't picture her in any of her memories. In Seventh Heaven, or Sector Seven. Not even anywhere else in Midgar. Or Nibelheim.

.....]

I'm... sorry. Were you a customer? [Her heart sinks, and she pulls away.] You really shouldn't have been caught up in all that...

[ Susato takes a deep breath. Somewhere in the distance, there is the sound of a structure giving way from all the flames engulfing it, but she shakes her head. In that moment, everything else in the chaos seems muted. ]

You manage a different bar now, remember?

You pulled me aside not long ago to ask me something. Something important... There was a starflower, right there next to us. [ She squeezes Tifa's hand again, and with the one that is free, she gestures to the side, roughly where the starflower would have been, right there atop the counter. ]

...You mixed me a drink.

[Visions of... something swirl in her head. A bar... Seventh Heaven? No, somewhere else...

Her tears are burning in her eyes from all the ash and smoke, and she's still reeling from everything, and yet, this girl's presence seems oddly calming with how she explains this series of events. She still can't quite place the memory, what it was she had asked this girl that was so important, but the moment she gestures aside, something interesting happens.

A single little flower blooms in the dirt, its petals glowing a bright blue among all the red of the flames that engulf the city. It shudders in the hot wind as it opens and spreads wide.

Tifa cants her head with both surprise and curiosity, and when she speaks, her voice is as distant as her stare as she looks down at it.]

Flowers don't grow in Midgar.

[Except for one place.]

[ Susato follows Tifa's gaze. Seeing that one lone starflower as a symbol of hope for a moment, a sign that she's getting through, she nearly cries. A tear threatens to roll down her cheek as she bends down, cupping her hands around the flower as if to protect it, before she gently tugs it free by its root.

She offers the flower to Tifa, holding it in a shaky hand.

What place does she mean? Susato doesn't know.

Because... ]

We didn't meet on Midgar.

[Tifa peers down at the flower, curious, before she takes it just as gingerly into her own hands. It shimmers, its pale blue glow a stark contrast to the fire all around them. It's truly something to behold, and... there's a strange familiarity to it, and how the petals bristle in the hot wind that keeps brushing through.]

We didn't...

[The words come almost instinctively, and it's those exact words that shatters the entire illusion that's been clouding her mind all this time. It's like a jolt one feels when falling within a dream and snapping awake, except this time, she remains locked inside the nightmare, fully aware now of what's going on.

Tears begin to fall, dropping over the silky petals of the starflower before she's looking up at Susato...

And without a word of warning, she throws her arms around the girl's shoulders in a much-needed embrace, and it's there that she lets herself cry more freely.]

It happened again...

[ Susato can still taste smoke as she gasps. Tifa's weight leans on her, but Susato quickly adjusts and pushes back slightly before she returns the embrace in full. She can feel the wetness of Tifa's tears; her entire body shaking. Out of the corner of her eye, Susato can still see the glow of the flower.

Herlock Sholmes' words feel so far away now. What did he say...? She's burdened by the passions of youth. By emotion.

Susato starts to cry, too. ]

Again...?

closed 🌠 the day midgar stood still

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sorry for the delay ;;

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🎀