Disclaimer: Yep. I own this stuff, right along with the internet and your soul.

(For lawyers with no sense of humor, that was a joke.)

Special thanks to Love Tifs for beta-ing- and being my overall inspiration, and also the guys at the forum I frequent for inspiring me to write!

Swing Low
By Tsukiko Hoshino

Sometimes I'm up, and sometimes I'm down,
(Coming for to carry me home)
But still my soul feels heavenly bound.
(Coming for to carry me home)
- Swing Low, Sweet chariot.

She'd finally found him again, after all that searching, only for him to slip away in a flash of light.

"Gone again..." Tifa sighed, hands resting loosely by her sides. 'But at least you're finally on the right track now Cloud.' She thought, filled with hope that sometime soon he would finally be free of Sephiroth.

"What will you do now?" Sora wondered, his bright blue eyes searching hers.

"I guess I'll keep looking." Tifa mused, looking up towards the sky. It was the only thing that she could do, the thing that she'd always done. He might need her after all.

Sora rubbed his chin thoughtfully. "Got any leads?" He asked. Cloud was his friend…if there was anything he could do, he would do it without hesitation.

Tifa smiled. "Don't worry." She said, her eyes shining optimistically. "Light's easy to find." She said, reaching into her pocket. "Here! This is for helping out." She flashed a look of satisfaction after finally fishing the metal charm out, and placing it in the palm of his hand.

With that done, she brushed off her hands and said "Gotta go!" before turning swiftly, and making her exit.

Cloud had a head start, but she'd catch up eventually.

"W-wait !" Sora's befuddled voice called after her. "When…did we help out?" He wondered, his voice never reaching her. 'We didn't really do anything…' His brow furrowed. "Ah well…" He shrugged, turning back to his companions.

It worried her a little that Squall had seen her earlier in the secret room. 'It doesn't seem like he told anyone though.' She mused. If he had, Yuffie would be attached to her ankle screaming and hollering. It wasn't that she didn't want to see them though. Yuffie, Aerith, Cid, Squall…she wanted to see them all, but if she did, it would only make it that much more painful to go away again.

Coming home and leaving was never easy, and as much as she wanted to be with them, they weren't the only ones who needed her. They were here in Radiant Garden, safe, sound, and together.

Cloud was out there all alone. 'He's not the only one either.' She reminded herself.

How many people had been displaced from Radiant Garden after its fall? How many hadn't returned since it had been liberated, since things had returned to normal?

When the universe had been restored to order, she hadn't been brought back like the others for some reason. So there must have been other cases like hers. Or that's what she thought.

There had to be people out there, far from home, longing to return. They might not even know it was okay to come back or maybe they just didn't know the way. So she had to find them. It was her form ofpenance; Squall had changed his name not long ago as a way to repent for his own failures. Searching for survivors was her way of making amends.

For not being strong enough, for not being fast enough.

'It's not easy.' Tifa admitted, making her way towards the Town's hanger where her ship was waiting. 'But then it isn't supposed to be.'

Her shoes thumped against the pavement as she made her way towards the hanger.

"You were really going to leave just like that?" A male voice called out to her.

"Ah!" Tifa sighed, pausing in her stride, "I've been caught." She stated guiltily, turning to look at the speaker. "Squall…" She began, hands moving to her hips.

There was a snort, as the man held up his own hands. "Save the lecture." He smiled slightly. "And it's Leon." He stressed.

"I wasn't going to give a lecture…" Her nose wrinkled when Leon looked at her unconvinced. "Okay, maybe a little one." Tifa admitted with a mischievous smile, pinching her thumb and pointer together to signify the size.

Leon shook his head for a moment. "You haven't changed at all." He mused, feeling relieved as he held up a paper bag. "Here, these are for you." He said thrusting it towards her.

A startled look crossed Tifa's face when he held the bag filled with produce out to her. "What are these for?" A sable colored brow arched.

"You needed them." Came his short bland reply.

A split second passed before understanding dawned on her. "You broke into my ship!" She accused with a smile, snatching the bag from him. "You really do care, I'm almost shocked." Tifa joked.

"Hnn." Leon replied, crossing his arms over his chest.

Companionable silence passed between them for a moment, each one studying the other. Tifa was the one to break it. "I suppose that since there isn't a mini militia here, you didn't mention to anyone else you'd seen me?" She wondered, looking off to the side.

"No." He admitted, leaning against the wall. "Not yet."

A smile quirked her lips, "Were you going to try bribing me with groceries first?"

Leon snorted, rolling his eyes. "No…I was just hoping you'd change you're mind on your own." He answered. In truth, the groceries had been an excuse to check up on her. He thought that maybe if he reminded her enough, he could get her to stay, if only for a while.

Tifa bit her lip. "You're just trying to make this harder." All the cheer drained from her in an instant. "You know I want to see them. You know that I want to stay." She missed Aerith's gentle smile, Yuffie's energetic disposition, Squall's quiet acceptance, and the way Cid always made her tea, thinking it'd cure all ails.

It all made her heart ache to the point of bursting. 'But I can't stay.' She reminded herself firmly.

"Cloud's not the only one who needs you." Leon pointed out to her, a frown painted in place. "Yuffie, and the others miss you." Once, they had all been alone together. They'd formed a family, but something had happened, and Cloud had disappeared, with Tifa following shortly after.

"We could use your help here too." Rebuilding their homes, their family, and their lives.

A sad, haunted look passed over her face. "It isn't just about Cloud you know. There are others out there too." She looked up towards the huge glass panes that showed the heavens. "It's my way of seeking forgiveness."

He knew that all too well. "Yea." Leon mused, closing his eyes for a moment before pushing off the wall. "You'd better get going, but don't think you're getting away Scot-free." He reminded, turning to look back at her over his shoulder. "As soon as you've cleared the hanger, I'll be telling them…and the next time, you'd better come visit."

"Right!" Tifa smiled a little sadly, throwing her free arm around him from behind. "Thanks Squall." Her voice was barely above a whisper, before she too turned and sprinted towards her Gummi ship. "I'll see you all soon!" She called after him loudly, voice filled with hope and promises.

"Yea, yea." He never turned around and he didn't admonish the use of his true name; instead a single arm was raised into the air as a farewell. "Have a safe voyage." Leon said to himself, only glancing back when he was out of sight, and the ship's engine's had roared to life.

'Telling the others is going to be a pain.' Leon sighed, a wry smile coming to life. But he knew that this was something Tifa had to do before she could rest easy. Even though Radiant Garden was alive again, the nightmares didn't just disappear. Sometimes it took a little more.

Maybe on her journey, she'd finally be set free from the things haunting her. Until then, they would all just have to wait.

In the mean time he just hoped there wouldn't be too much of a fuss.

That night the committee came together as usual, discussing what needed to be done, what concerns there were, the usual. Things went smoothly for the most part, until Cid and Merlin got into it over something or another. In other words, everything was the same as always.

"You old coot!" Were just some of the words being thrown around.

"Who are ya'calling old!" Cid's voice rebuked loudly.

"Old people fight!" Yuffie cheered, all semblance of control disappearing after that.

"Is that everything?" Leon asked over the commotion. He was in his typical place up against the wall. They were missing the usual Trio of Sora, Donald and Goofy- but that was nothing new. The kid was busy fighting the good fight and all that.

"I think so." Aerith mused tearing her eyes away; her bright green eyes had been studying him since he walked through the door. It was typical of her to always know when something was up. "Is there something else you wanted to say?" She asked a tiny smile spilling forth- almost as if she knew exactly what was going to be said.

Leon sighed and lowered his head slightly. "Tifa was here."

Despite the racket that had been occurring just moments prior, it was almost quiet enough to hear a pin drop.

"When?" Yuffie's face scrunched in confusion. "And like, where is she now?" She craned her neck to look around eagerly.

"Gone." Leon replied, unfazed. There was hardly any emotion on his face at all.

"Whadd'ya mean gone?" Cid thumbed his nose.

"As in, not here anymore." He clarified. 'So much for not causing a fuss' Leon mused, watching as a few mouth's dropped open.

Yuffie's face was turning a particular shade of red as her cheeks puffed up. "She….she didn't even bother visiting. Why didn't you tell us earlier?" She snapped, her hands clenched into fists. 'That's just not fair! Why does Leon get to see her and not me?'

Leon decided not to point out that the fuss might have been part of the reason Tifa dreaded coming to see them.

Ever the peace maker, Aerith interjected, standing up to placate the girl. "I'm sure she had her reasons Yuffie…" She began, only to be cut short.

"Aw shove it!" Cid huffed, crossing his arms stubbornly. "You know you're pissed too."

Aerith huffed, and sat back down heavily. "Disappointed." She corrected him with a salty look. 'I figured she would have at least come to see me.' She was after all gentle, understanding, and supportive. Really, the list could go on and on.

'It feels like so long ago since I last saw her.' Aerith mused, her hand finding its way to her heart. Once, they had been inseparable. All of them had. The orphans of Hallow Bastion had come together in Traverse Town.

The two of them had been so much alike back then; Energetic and optimistic, filled with bright shining dreams. Together they had taken the others under their wings, working to create a family. It suddenly hit home just how much she really missed her.

'Tifa…please come back soon.' Aerith pleaded. She hoped the same for Cloud too, wanting the whole family to be together again soon. 'It's true that even though the'yre not here, they're still in our hearts…but it just isn't the same. This is where they belong.'

"She didn't come see me either, if it's any consolation." Leon said, breaking Aerith from her thoughts. "I had to go find her just before she left." His arms crossed over his chest. "I know it's hard to accept…but Tifa…and Cloud have things they have to settle."

Aerith frowned. "I guess that's true…" But she so wished they'd realize they didn't have to do it alone.

Yuffie on the other hand shot him a dirty look. "You still kept it a secret."

It hurt that Tifa hadn't come to see her too. Once not too long ago, even if sometimes it felt like forever, they had all been together just after the fall of Radiant Garden; they had been a family.

Aerith and Tifa sharing the roll of mother, cooking meals and washing clothes, making sure everyone was tucked into their own beds at night.

Yuffie had been much younger than the others, barely able to remember the events leading up to their arrival in Traverse Town…but what she did remember, was that Tifa was the one who'd she'd bonded with the most.

Tifa was the one she'd always ran to at night when she was scared. She was also the one who'd taught her the basics of fighting.

Something changed though, and she disappeared along with Cloud a while ago. Sometimes they would show up every now and then, but it never lasted for long.

To this day, no one knew what had happened…except maybe Aerith, but she never said anything about it.

The one thing she knew for sure though was that it always hurt saying goodbye to Tifa. 'Why can't you just stay?' Yuffie wondered, biting her lip. Who cared about Spiky? He was a jerk to Tifa.

Not to mention he never brought her any presents. At least Tifa did that much.

"Can't be helped I suppose." Cid mused, nodding his head more to himself, as he sipped the tea Merlin set in front of him.

"Aren't you mad?" Yuffie wondered, leaning her chin into the palm of her hand.

"Of course I am ya'brat." The pilot sniffed. "But what do you suppose we do, tie the girl to a chair next time we see her?"

That was exactly what Yuffie was thinking. "Uh…of course not. That'd be silly, right?" She mumbled more to herself.

Cid rolled his eyes. 'Crazy kid.' He missed the girl just as much as anybody else. They were all like his kids for heaven's sake. 'Every parent has to learn to let their kids fly though.' He mused. 'Sides, I gotta feeling the girl will be back soon.' The next time, she better bring her ass around to see him too, or there was going to be trouble.

He'd make her a cup of tea; he'd sit her down, and tell her to let that spiky haired punk down in his own vomit. Kid didn't know what he was missing. "She say when she's coming back 'round again?" Cid questioned, pale blue eyes studying Leon's face.

"Soon." Leon said, pushing away from the wall. "Who knows what that means though?" He shrugged, making his way towards the door. "But knowing her, it won't be too long from now."

"Yea," Yuffie shouted, standing abruptly enough to knock over her chair. "And when she does, let's have a big party!"

Aerith giggled, covering her mouth. "I think it's a great idea…what about you Leon?"

"Do whatever you guys like." He responded, apathetic as usual. "Just don't let it cost me an arm and a leg." Leon said on an afterthought.

Yuffie's grin was starting to creep him out, so he left.

"I feel like…we're all going to be together again soon." Aerith murmured, closing her eyes.

"Yea…me too." Yuffie nodded her head.

"Aww, shut your traps and drink your damn tea." Cid rolled his eyes, turning back to his computer. "Girls and their feelings." He mumbled to himself, typing away loudly.

Time passed differently when you were in space. There was no sun or moon to tell you what time it was. There was just your body and mind's intuition to go by. Time on other worlds was different too. When she'd first started out on her journey, a few years ago it had been really hard.

After the first week, she'd bought a pocket watch, and set it to Traverse Town's time. This week she'd changed it to Radiant Garden's time.

It was a reminder. Wherever she was, whatever she was doing, they were still with her.

Being alone on a gummi ship for hours on end left her with a lot of time to reminisce; about the good things and the bad things too.

In the end, after staring out at the vastness around her, she decided to think about the first time she ever saw such a sight.

The night Radiant Garden had fallen.

Those things with yellow eyes had come, and her parents had disappeared. But for the moment it seemed as though they were avoiding her. It was like they were scared to come too close. The last one that tried had been ripped to shreds by a streak of light and a fist to its face. 'No matter what…you have to go on.' The memory of her mother's words pushed her forward.

Tifa wouldn't forgive them for taking her parents away, no matter what. She wasn't sure where she was going, but she was going to get there.

"Mama?" A small frightened voice called out. It was the girl from next door. Yuffie.

"Yuffie!" Tifa called out to her, rushing forward to grab the girl's hand. "Where is your mother?" She asked, looking around.

The small girl only sniffled as big, fat tears began rolling down her face. "G-gone…."

'The same thing happened to her too.' Tifa bit her lip and looked towards the direction her parents had told her to go if something happened earlier. "Come on." She said, smiling weakly at the younger girl. Somehow, everything was going to be okay. They just had to find a way out of here.

Those strange creatures her parents had called the Heartless where everywhere though, and soon they'd been surrounded. "Just…stay behind me!" Tifa clenched her hands into fists. 'Do it just like master Zangan taught you." She reminded herself.

Yuffie's bawling wasn't making it easy to concentrate, but somehow she managed to take down most of the things with just scrapes and bruises. One got the better of her though; it was much bigger and easily knocked her to the side and into a stack of crates.

"Tifa!" A pair of familiar voices called out as someone pulled her from the debris.

"You okay?" A gruff man with blond hair wondered, as he set her back on her feet.

Tifa swayed slightly but nodded her head. "I'm okay." She said, looking around quickly, wincing when a stab of pain sent her to her knees."Ah…" A gentle hand rested on her back, and Tifa looked up to meet blue eyes. "Cloud…" She said, a smile coming to her face.

Cloud was the boy who lived a little ways down the street from her house with his mother. He was quiet, but always very polite. Sometimes they played together.

Wait…something wasn't right. Where was Yuffie?

"Is Yuffie okay?" She asked, realizing the little girl wasn't crying anymore.

"That brat? She's fine." Cid wrinkled his nose, and jerked his head to the left. "Princess over there's got her." He said, pointing to the little girl in the pale pink dress.

Cloud frowned, and motioned towards his face. "You're bleeding." He said, glancing away and pointing to his forehead. "Right there."

"Heh…I see you two know one another." The older man said, thumbing his nose. "Right along with Snarky over there I suppose." He said jabbing a thumb in Squall's direction. "Guess that'd explain why they got so upset when they saw ya' get tossed."

"Squall, you're here too?" Tifa looked towards the older boy; he was the son of one of the soldiers for the castle.

Squall simply crossed his arms, the same way he always did."Yea." He said simply, eyes darting around as if expecting to be attacked at any moment.

Sensing her confusion, Cloud opened his mouth. "That guy is Cid…we ran into him." He explained motioning towards the man who'd picked her out of the broken crates.

"Here, drink this up, and you'll be good as new." Cid said, reaching into his pocket to pull out a vial and hand it to her. "Don't taste too good, but it does the trick." He paused only a second. "Where are your parents?" He questioned, but by the look in his eyes, it was as if he already knew.

Tifa lowered her eyes and quietly accepted the bottle. "Gone." She said simply.

A hiss escaped Cid's clenched teeth. "Damn these little fu-never mind." He cut short, mumbling to himself. "Well it can't be helped." He said after a moment. "Let's get moving you little punks." He called, motioning for them to follow.

"Where are we going?" Squall questioned, as the oldest in the group.

"Outta this place, before it really goes to hell in a hand basket." Cid responded, pulling out a cigarette and lighting it.

"Those things can kill you." The girl in the pink dress mentioned, as they all fell into step behind him.

Another snort escaped Cid. "Yea, yea, so I've heard." He waved his hand dismissively. In his other hand he held a spear, which every now and then was used to thwart the heartless.

The girl simply tsked, before turning her attention else where. "My name is Aerith by the way." She smiled at Tifa. Yuffie reached out with her free hand and grabbed onto Tifa. "She was really worried about you, you know." Aerith said, nodding towards the youngest of their little group.

"It's nice to meet you." Tifa gave a tiny, weak smile back in return. She was tired, and scared. 'How can she be so calm?' She wondered. Even Squall and Cloud were more tense then usual. "I'm Tifa." She added after a moment.

"I know silly." Aerith smiled. "Cloud told me so." She explained glancing towards the blond who was busy looking else where."I asked if you were his girlfriend."

Tifa's eyes went wide. "W-what?"

"Aerith!" Cloud's face was the same shade of red as her mother lipstick used to be.

"Hehe…don't get so worked up Cloud!" Aerith laughed. "I was just joking." Even though she was scared too, dwelling on it wasn't going to make things any better. So she did her best to lighten the mood. "You knew that right Tifa?" She smiled towards the other girl.

Tifa nodded her head, a slight pink still tinting her face. "Y-yea.."

"Would the lot of ya shudup?" Cid snapped glancing towards them. "It's awfully hard being sneaky when you're yapping."

"Sorry!" The combined voices of Tifa, Aerith and Cloud called out.

Tifa found herself wondering if it would ever end. Would the sun ever rise again? She didn't want to think about something like that, but she couldn't stop herself.

Soon they were standing in front of a huge airship, with Cid ushering them aboard.

"What about everyone else?" Tifa asked as he shut the hatch.

"Be happy I managed to save your sorry hides!" Cid huffed, making his way towards the cockpit. "Now…I outta let you guys know, this is a new type of ship, so there ain't no guarantee it's going to work." His lips curled into a grin. "But it's gonna be a'helluva ride!"

There were a series of clicks and beeps as Cid fiddled around with the controls.

Even though they were children, they knew that if they stayed, they'd end up like the others they'd lost. There was no choice but to hope the ship worked.

"Get in your seats and buckle the hell up!" Their resident Pilot glanced back at them. He'd already buckled himself in securely. "There ain't no time to be fooling around, we gotta go now!"

Looking around at one another dubiously, they all picked one of the overly large chairs to sit in. Tifa hoisted Yuffie into her seat, and buckled the lethargic girl in. "I guess it has been a long night, huh?" she spoke softly to the little girl, patting her on the head.

"Hurry and get in your damn seat girl!" Cid snapped as the ship began shaking, its engines roaring to life.

Tifa nodded and clambered into her own seat, buckling it without ceremony.

Taking off felt like having all the air sucked out of your lungs, like every organ in your body was trying to migrate north. There were surprised shrieks and sickly groans for the next few moments, and Tifa was pretty sure Cid was hollering like a kid in a candy store.

Tifa on the other hand, simply kept her eyes tightly screwed shut. Her heart felt as though it were thumping away in her throat.

It wasn't until she heard the others begin speaking again that she opened her eyes.

"I think I'm going to be sick." Cloud moaned, leaning over towards his right.

"Don't do it on me!" Squall hissed, shoving his head towards the left.

Yuffie wasn't looking so hot either, even though just moments before she'd been half asleep. "It's okay." Tifa rubbed her back.

"There are sick bags on the side of your seats. Don't be throwing up on the damn floor." Cid called back to them. "And you can unbuckle now, but don't be getting into stuff…" He mumbled to himself. 'Now lets see what this baby can do!' He thought to himself, tinkering with the controls.

There was a lot of fumbling made by Squall to get Cloud a paper bag. If it had been any other kind of night, then the one she'd experience, maybe it actually would have been funny to watch.

Instead she just sighed and leaned her head back against the seat.

"Tifa, come take a look at this." Aerith called, waving her over. She'd already unbuckled and made her way towards the cockpit, looking out from behind Cid's chair.

Tifa followed suit, unbuckling and making her own way towards the wide windows. "Wow…" Once more, her breath caught. Outside the window were millions of stars fixed against the inky black of space.

"Amazing, ain't it?" Cid wondered, crossing his arms in satisfaction. "I bet you kids didn't know this, but out there, there are millions of other worlds."

"Do you think anyone else made it out?" Aerith wondered.

"I'd like to think so." Cid admitted, turning his attention from them, to back out the window. "There were a few other prototype ships like this. So, let's hope they made good use of um…now get back to your seats, you're bugging me." He thumbed his nose.

Aerith smiled and grabbed Tifa's hand. "Let's leave this grouch alone." She joked, guiding her back to the other seats.

Cloud's motion sickness seemed to have abated for the moment, his own eyes looking up towards the cockpit apprehensively.

"How…can you be so happy," Squall began, glancing over at pink clothed Aerith. "After everything that happened?" he asked.

Aerith looked towards the ceiling. "Because...moping won't do anyone any good." She stated simply. "If we spend all our time thinking about what we couldn't change…we'll never be able to make any change."

"I guess that's true." Tifa admitted. Even though she was scared now that her parents were gone, she didn't feel alone. Biting her lip, she wondered if that was wrong of her. "Besides…as long as we're not alone…everything will be okay." She assured herself.

"Right!" Aerith smiled. "We've all got one another now."

"Yea.." Cloud agreed quietly.

Squall crossed his arms. "I guess."

Tifa looked towards the dozing Yuffie and smiled.

Maybe this…was the start of a new family. She couldn't bring back her mother or her father, but she could make them proud wherever they were.

After taking her own seat once again they all slipped into a comfortable silence, each one lost in their own thoughts.

What would happen to them now? Where would they go? What had those creatures been, and where would they come from? Would they ever see their parents again?

There were so many questions racing through their minds, none of them with an easy one.

It didn't take them long to fall asleep, they were only children after all. Their dreams were restless and uneasy, filled with shadows and the memories that would haunt them for many years to come.

When they'd woken up they'd already arrived in Traverse Town, a place where people who'd lost their worlds always found their way too. Somehow, Cid just knew where to go. He couldn't explain it any better then the rest of them.

As if waking from a dream, her Claret colored eyes opened slowly, drinking in the sight before her.

Looking back on it now, Tifa wondered if there really was such a thing as coincidence. It didn't seem like it. The way all of them had been brought together that night, and what happened in the years to follow all seemed too perfect to be such a thing.

Fate, destiny, providence, whatever you wanted to call it had brought them all together for a purpose. "And I'm counting on it to bring us all back together again." Tifa said, looking out over the new world that appeared before her.

Alright! Finally managed the first chapter, Cloud doesn't show up at all, unless we count his mentions and flashback self. If you guys are really paying attention you'll see lots of references to other things. Like Aerith asking if Tifa was Cloud's girlfriend.
If I had to pick what I was most proud of this chapter, it'd be Cid. I think he's about spot on and hilarious. Leon- er ,Squall was a little hard for me, but I think I managed. Aerith wasn't so easy either…KH Aerith is a lot different from FF7 Aerith in my opinion.
What I'm least proud of, is that this chapter seems a bit boring to me. I hope it's not boring for everyone else though.

Cloud will be in the next chapter, along with the world Tifa is visiting, and some more past reveals.

Hope you guys enjoyed, don't forget to review though!