Dissidia Final Fantasy: Unus Mundus

Chapter Nineteen ~ Misery Loves Company (Terra)

Terra was the first one awake, if you could say she even slept at all that night. Her dreams were fraught with visions of violence, blood, pained screams, and worst of all, the sound of laughter, a voice she was familiar with. It was enough to keep her awake all night. Before dawn, she left their campground and surveyed the area, hoping to see the few people she could call family—Celes, Locke, Relm... or even seeing Edgar would make her feel just a little bit better, but there was no one else in sight. It was like the world was empty, and the thought that she might be among the world's few survivors if that was the case upset her more than anything. 

"You alright?"

The terror going on in Terra's head was interrupted by the calm voice behind her. It was Cloud, sitting beside the fire they kept going throughout the night, but he looked at her with sorrowful eyes as if he knew what she was thinking. Terra looked away and tried to feign a smile. "Bad memories, I guess..." she said quietly, but Cloud's response surprised her a little. Cloud laughed, but not exactly loudly or extensively.

"I know a thing or two about bad memories," he said, sitting closer to Terra. "You probably had trouble sleeping last night, is that right?" Terra nodded reluctantly, and Cloud nodded back. "You're letting your past hold you back. It's self harm in a subconscious way. Reminding yourself of what happened back then is hurting you."

"But I can't control it," Terra said firmly in a rather defensive tone of voice. "How do you deal with it if the memories never go away? What do I do if they're haunting my dreams? I just... I know it's hurting me, but I don't know how to take care of it. I try so hard to be in the present moment, but the dreams... I just—I can't do it."

Cloud nodded in silence and looked down before he stood up and looked at Terra, holding his hand out for hers. Terra looked up at Cloud with a bit of confusion, but he smiled. "C'mon," he said. "We've got something important to talk about."

Terra couldn't help but smile back. She could see on Cloud's face that he had to endure ordeals likely as difficult as the ones she faced, and yet his smile was genuine. Even his sorrowful eyes lit up with that smile. With that in mind, Terra grabbed his hand and stood up to her feet with his help, holding onto it as they walked a bit of a distance away from the campground and away from the ruins of Midgar. When they finally stopped, Terra was reluctant to let go of Cloud's hand, but she finally did after a moment. "What are we doing here?" she asked. Cloud walked forward and grabbed the large sword from his back, approaching one of the nearby trees.

"Misery loves company," he said. "The natural remedy for being haunted by your past is by interacting with people who care about you, so let's start with a bit of morning training before the other two wake up."He grasped the hilt of his sword with both hands and stood facing toward Terra, but he was behind the tree, preparing to chop at it. "Let's test your reflexes. As soon as the tree begins falling, use any spell other than Fire to deal with it before it lands on the ground. You ready?"

"Where did this come from?" Terra asked, but before she could react, Cloud swiftly chopped the tree in one swipe. It began falling to the ground, and as it did, Terra scrambled for a spell in her mind. Anything but Fire, she thought to herself. Anything but Fire... anything but— Immediately, Terra lifted her hands to the skies. Clouds gathered just above the trees, and a thick, powerful bolt of lightning struck right through the tree, breaking it to multiple burnt pieces.

"Impressive," Cloud said with a bit of a laugh. "Now try again without using an elemental spell." He swiftly chopped another tree down, but this time, he made sure it flew higher into the air so Terra had some time to think. She didn't need too much time. 

Osmose, she thought, and when she held her hands up, the very essence of the tree began flowing into Terra's arms in the form of a bright purple light until the tree disappeared entirely. The two of them were silent as they exchanged glances before they both laughed. 

"What the hell did you cast?" Cloud asked, laughing more than he had in quite some time.

"A spell that breaks apart the cells of the target and converts them to Mana," Terra replied. "It's called Osmose."

"You have very impressive power," said Cloud. "We're all in good hands with someone like you with us."

Terra immediately blushed and turned away, trying to hide the joy in her face. "Oh, s-stop it!" The two of them stood side-by-side as the sun began to rise above the horizon. Though it was silent, they enjoyed each other's company. It was peaceful.

"The other guys should be waking up soon," said Cloud. "We should head back."

"Yeah..." Terra spoke hesitantly, watching Cloud walk back towards the campground with an odd feeling she never truly experienced. "We probably should..."