It's another Norco Fanction!! That is, a fiction by Norco.
I own nothing, except for my computer, the clothes on my person, and my sanity. 
Sometimes not even that...
norco@fantasysquare.com

No Rest for the LionHearted - Chapter Three

AUTHOR'S NOTE: Please, Please, Tell me what you think of my fanfic's!!

  Cloud Strife got up off his knees, looked at the garden, then at the young 
woman standing beside him, then smiled. He thought that he'd never become a 
gardener. But, after marrying Tifa Lockheart, anything was possible, as she so 
eloquently put it.  Their hands linked, and, together, they strolled slowly back 
to their home in Nibelheim. After so much tragedy, risk, and death, Cloud had 
finally asked Tifa to marry him. His days as a hero were over. 

  "Tifa," Cloud asked as he munched on his salad, "when was the last time that 
we went to Midgar to see Barret?" She was devouring the last remnants of a 
particularly large carrot. Since they'd started growing their own vegetable 
garden, the fresh vegetables were the only things that they ate. It was a 
wonderful life, for the both of them.
  'Not since the encounter with the Jenova Ship," she said, the carrot now gone. 
"Why do you ask?"
  "Oh, I was thinking-"
  "Wondered what the noise was," Tifa shot in. They both laughed. That 
particular joke was one that Barret had used on the eve of thier last adventure.
  "Funny. It's been a while, and I wanted to know what was going on with Barret 
and the others." They both thought this over in silence. 
  "You know, you're right" Tifa said to him. Standing up, and clearing away the 
remnants of their dinner, she sighed. "It's been too long.  We should go and see 
them. We'll head to Rocket Town, and get a flight from there." Cloud stood up, 
and helped his wife. 

  Barret Wallace stood in the doorway, trying his hardest to frown, like the 
responsible adult that he should be. Instead, he cracked a smirk, and shook his 
head. His daughter, Marlene, had just recieved a paint set for Christmas, and 
had seen her bedroom walls as a giant canvas. The painted figure of him smilied 
blandly at him. So did the painted figure of Tifa. Apparently, Marlene hadn't 
gotten used to the idea, either. He shook his head.
  "What do you think, Papa?" the little girl asked, desperatle seeking his 
approval.
  "It's um .. " He paused. "Nice. Come on, Cloud and Tifa will be here any 
minute." He sighed again, and taking a deep breath, headed for the kitchen of 
their flat. The occupant of the kitchen, normally weird when outside, was even 
weirder looking when dressed in a chef's hat. 
  "Lunch's almost ready!" Cait Sith bellowed from behing the stove, and at the 
same time, a plume of fire shot up from the stove, almost incinerating the 
creature's hat, and causing him to almost topple backwards, his arms gyrating in 
a comical manner. Marelene squealed with delight.
  "What on earth are you making??" growled Cid Highwind, from his rocking chair 
in the lounge room. He turned to face Cait Sith, a pipe in his mouth as usual. 
"We asked for a decent lunch for when the newlyweds get here, not charcoal 
leftovers!'
  "I'm working on it, give me a sec," Cait Sith exclaimed, then turned the stove 
off, removed the frying pan, then scooped the burnt and charcoaled  contents 
into a glass bowl lined with lettuce leaves. Cid shook his head in dismay. This 
could be a little tough. Removing the pipe from his mouth, he reached for the 
phone.

  "This is delicious, Cid!" Tifa exclaimed, almost glowing over the taste of the 
food. "I've never had such wonderful beef stew before." She sipped at the soup 
on her spoon. Cid smiled politely. 
  "Cait Sith said that he wanted to cook, but I said that I knew a recipie that 
would always charm a pretty lady." He smiled again, and took her hand in his, 
gently kissed it, and placed it on the table. He hadn't actually created 
anything, just rang the local restuarant. Cloud glowered at him. Cait Sith 
glowered at Cid. Barret snuck a quick look at the ceiling where the flame from 
the stove had brushed the ceiling. Silence sunk around the room like a heavy 
submarine in water.
  "So, why don't we go for a ride in the Highwind?" Cid asked, trying to break 
the silence.
  "Yes, let's" Cloud growled, glareing briefly, before he felt Tifa's comforting 
hand on his leg, telling him to drop it. He then began to concentrate on his 
stew. Was Cid trying something? Or was it just the green eyed monster in him?
  "Why don't we head over to the Forgotten City," Tifa said quietly, "It's been 
a while, and we should really take the time to pay our respects properly." 
Again, the group had fallen into silence. They'd all grown and changed quite a 
lot since their last adventure. Perhaps  it was time to let go of each other, 
and live their own lives ...

  The Highwind rose slowly into the air, turned, and slowly began to move 
towards the monutains surrounding the Forgotton City. Cloud sat in one of the 
chairs in the ships Stateroom. Placing his legs on the table, he crossed his 
arms, and thought about what he had seen at the flat. He'd kissed her. Kissed 
her. And she'd enjoyed it. So had he. Cid also seemed to take pleasure in the 
displeasure that he'd shown. Perhaps he was imagining things, or something was 
going on. Or about to start ...
  At that moment, Cid walked into the room, threw the papers he'd been carrying 
onto the table, and walked over to the small fridge. He opened it, removed a 
black can, and drank it, leaving the fridge open as per usual. As the can left 
his lips, he saw that Cloud was glaring at him. he swallowed, even though his 
mouth was empty.
  "What's your malfunction?" Cid asked guardedly as he sat down. Cloud's face 
was covered in shadows, like a twisted shroud, giving him the appearance of a 
lion about to pounce from the shadows. 
  "You're my problem," he snarled softly, "How dare you try to steal my wife 
from underneath me, and in public!!" He stood up, and leaned over the table. He 
was just about to yell at Cid again, when the pilot's face turned from a 
perplexed expression, to a fury that was scrawled over his face like crayons on 
a kindergarten child's drawing. 
  "What the HELL are you talking about?" Cid roared, his drink now forgotten, 
sitting forlornly on the corner of the table, like some sort of punished animal. 
"Tifa may be a nice young woman, but I would NEVER do that to you, or anyone 
else!" he spat. Cloud seemed to shrink. 
  "You're not .. trying to steal my wife?" he asked stupidly. Cid's expression 
relaxed slightly.
  "No, of course not," Cid said scornfully. He smiled. "Anyway, the doctors 
reckon that a little competition in a relationship is healthy" Cloud smiled back 
at him. "Cid, I'm sorry," he stammered. "I shouldn't have over reacted like 
that." Cid's eyes crinkled at him. That's okay kid, I don't mind." They shook 
hands, and as there hands parted, the intercom on the wall buzzed.
  "Cloud, Cid, get up here now!" Barret sounded a little agitated. But over the 
microphone, it was a little hard to tell. "We've got a problem"
  "Don't we always?" Cid growled back. "We're on our way."

  As soons as the two stepped onto the bridge, Cloud saw Barret's "problem". The 
Highwind was at a dead stop, although all of it's engines were running at full 
power. A dark ball seemed to be all around the ship, like an ornament in a black 
ball. He stepped to his usual position at the railing to get a closer look. It 
didn't seem to be doing harm to the ship, just holding it in place. Behind him, 
someone gasped, Tifa, presumeably. He spun around to look at his wife. And 
directly in front of him, a glowing form was slumped on the floor. A column of 
fuzzy, green light encircled the figure, as it stood up. He cautiously stepped  
around the figure to get a closer look. All the air in his chest left him, like 
someone had punched him hard. The figure now standing in an eerie column of 
light was Aeris.
  "Aeris?" he asked, dumbfounded, and going shaky at the knees. "Is that really 
you?" Aeris seemed confused for a moment, and then she looked directly at Cloud.
  "There is no rest for the Lion Hearted," she said softly, her steely gaze not 
leaving Cloud for an instant.
  "Who is the Lion Hearted?" Cloud asked, his feelings a weird mix of 
curiousity, and sadness. Curiousity at what Aeris was going on about, sadness 
that he could not hold her once, because he was committed to Tifa, whom he loved 
just as much as Aeris. But this didn't seem like Aeris. The Aeris he'd known was 
a lively, funny young woman; with this Aeris speaking nothing like the original. 
  "You are the Lion Hearted," Aeris told him, her voice firm. Cloud looked at 
her.
  "Aeris?" He asked again. "How are you able to come to me?"
  "I am of the Lifestream." A hint of her old smile returned. "I have come to 
you. The Lionhearted are powerful, and need to be awakened. You have awakened. 
You are Lionhearted. There is another. You must find him. Help him. Awake the 
Lionhearted. Undo all that will be wrong." Her gaze suddenly became harsh again. 
"The stakes are high. This is but a shade of the true test of your courage and 
strenghs. There is more at stake than just you. Friends, enemies, guilty and 
innocent, are all at risk. You must help them all."
  "Can you stay, and help us?" Cloud asked anxiously.
  "Unfortunately, I cannot. That would be interference." Aeris said quietly. 
Cloud mulled it over. Whatever this threat was, Aeris was taking it seriously. 
And there was something more about this whole "this is just a test" thing. For 
the first time in what seemed like ages, the true stirrings of fear began to 
shift in Cloud's stomach. 
  "At least tell me one thing," Cloud urged, "Will we survive this? Will we 
win?"
  "That I cannot tell you. That which causes the trouble is dark, and clouds my 
knowledge."
And with that, she disappeared.
  "No!" Cloud yelled, racing to the spot where she'd been, skidding onto the 
floor and sobbing softly. "Aeris - no!" Tifa felt the pain of having lost the 
first woman he'd ever cared about for the second time rolling off of her husband 
in waves. She quietly stepped over to her husband, hugged him, and helped him 
stand up. As she did so, she looked out the window to see blackness. She gasped. 
Cloud looked up. His jaw dropped to the floor. Everyone on the bridge looked at 
Cloud. He was silent for a few moments.
  "I guess that settles the matter of when we leave," Cloud said quietly.

The ball that had surrounded the ship, began to move. Although they could not 
see it, they could feel the ship move. Much faster than it could normally go.

END OF CHAPTER 3