Love and Life

by UmiUmiSumi

Tifa loves Cloud, but does he requite? And then things only get messier from there. Honestly, not my best fic ever.

Love and Life; Chapter One: Life Goes On...

"I miss having Aeris around, Tifa, I really do. She was so sweet­ and she would have loved to see that the world was back in its natural order, and it's all thanks to her," said Cloud Strife as he sat down at an outdoor cafe in the town of Kalm, ready to dine with his companion, Tifa Lockheart. He had invited her to meet him there before they went to explore the forest that had grown out of the rubble heap which was once called Midgar.

"Yeah, Aeris would have loved the forest, and everything. That Aeris was one perky girl," Tifa agreed, as she stirred her latte with a straw, her tone laced with a complacent dismay. Tifa was in love with the man that sat opposite her; with his abnormally spiky hair, and blue eyes that glowed with Mako energy­ lifestream energy. The very same lifestream that left some of its presence in Cloud was the same force that their friend Aeris was now a part of. But besides those parts of Cloud that stood out, there was nothing extraordinary about the man. He was not an incredibly interesting guy when it came to personality, or looks, or build, (he was a rather skinny young man now that Tifa was thinking about it,) but, nonetheless, Tifa loved him. Unconditionally, she did. That was also her problem.

"She would have wanted to see the forest there, since she loved nature so much. Hey, maybe her flowers still grow in there somewhere!" he said with a great big smile coming over his face.

"Perhaps," stated Tifa, her mood of voice still unchanged, though she smiled back at Cloud. She loved his smile, and could not help from reflecting it herself, even though she knew that the joy he had inside was not for her, but to Aeris. Aeris, the beautiful, the kind, the gentle, the spunky, the departed Aeris. And because of all theses things, Cloud had come to love the girl, and the girl had loved him too. Tifa had seen herself to be no match for her before, and now, even after the girl's death, she was even less. It would have been easy for Tifa to hate Aeris for taking Cloud away from her, but Tifa didn't, no, not at all. She had liked Aeris as much as everyone else had, adding more to her problem.

But, Tifa had thought, with Aeris gone, and the knowledge that Cloud did have feelings for herself, shouldn't they be able to have the relationship that Tifa had wanted? No. Aeris had never rejected Cloud, she was never spiteful, and she had a certain spirit that was unmatched. Cloud seemed to hang on to the memory of Aeris as tightly as he could, leaving no room for Tifa to come into his heart. She sighed a long sigh, which Cloud did not even hear amidst his munching. How would she cope with this?

She finished her small breakfast, which was small because, strangely, she did not feel as hungry as she usually was, and waited for Cloud to finish scarfing his down.

Cloud roughly wiped his mouth with the napkin, threw down a few gil to pay for the meal, and stood up. "Shall we go?" he asked the young woman across from him.

"Why not?" she said as heavily as ever.

They trekked out by foot from Kalm, and by midday, they came upon the Midgar Forest. This was a strange forest, for the trees were like none that had ever been seen on that world, well, almost. There had been a few trees like that at the City of the Ancients, but they were all long-since dead. These trees grew in lush splendor, and reached for the blue sky with their wild branches with blue and green needles. These trees were dubbed, "Mako Pines", for they grew out of Mako energy, which was highly concentrated in the area. The Lifestream no longer came up at Mideel, but came closest to the surface here, at Midgar, which had advanced the growth of theses trees so much, as if it were there as a scab might be, to protect the wound and let it heal.
Tifa and Cloud, upon entering the woods, proceeded slowly, taking in every sight, smell and feel that they could perceive from the place. It felt much like the Sleeping Forest had, but with less mist and more peace to it. Many animals had taken to this place; the sweet sparrow and blackbird came to roost in the branches among hawks and owls, unafraid. This place did have a pacific presence, all thanks to the Lifestream. They continued at their slow pace until they came upon a grouping of trees that seemed impregnable, which caught their attention. With much thanks to Tifa's acrobatic abilities, she was first able to get up into the trees, and then help Cloud up. Once they were over, they were stunned at what they saw.

There was a small clearing, surrounded by the trees, with grass, and flowers in it. The canopy of trees all but blocked out the sun except for in one small circle, where it came in like a holy blessing, and shone down upon a spring of water. They examined the whole place; the flowers were Mako Blooms, the same sort that Aeris used to sell when she lived in Midgar, but these were not only white, but lavender, pink and powder blue. The pool was not only water, but water mixed with Lifestream energy in its natural form, and completely non-toxic to living beings, unlike the way that Mako energy would poison people. In Mako form, it was too concentrated, so it overwhelmed anything biological.

They decided to set for a while in this place, seeing it as the perfect place to have a picnic. Tifa had made sandwiches and brought a blanket, so she and Cloud had lunch there. Afterwards, they picked flowers, talked with each other, and even took a dip into the pool, which was rather warm and refreshing.

Later on, they were both lying down on the grass beside one another, watching the world go by from the hole in the canopy, and pointing out what passing clouds looked like.

"That cloud looks kind of like your head, Cloud. A Cloud cloud!" Tifa said, starting them both out into a series of laughter.

"This has been a great day, Tifa. I'm glad that I spent it with you," Cloud said to her as he turned to her.

"This has been one of the best days I have had in a very long time. I guess I owe it to you, don't I?" she turned to him as well. "Thanks a lot for getting me to come with you."

Cloud sat up, and began to look about, then he drew his hand through his yellow hair anxiously. "This is going to sound really macabre, or morbid, or whatever," he said, making sure he had Tifa's attention. Her doe-like eyes were fixed on him, so he continued. "Tifa, when I, er, pass on, whenever that is, would you make sure that my body gets buried here?" he paused, blushing. Tifa was smiling, as to say, 'it's ok,' so he went on again. "I know that we'll always have each other, so, what do you think? Would you do that for me?"

Tifa sat up, and took her eyes off of him. Could Cloud have meant that he wanted to be with her? She smiled. "Of course I would , Cloud, I'd do anything for you," she plucked a young shoot of grass and flicked it, then returned her gaze to him; "But what makes you so sure that I'm going to outlast you?"

"Well, women generally live longer than men..." he thought for a moment, "I'm a year older than you, and you didn't get all beat up and go through all of that Mako testing, and... uh," he scratched his head.

"Cloud Strife, you're pushing it," she said playfully. "But, alright. Just, you promise me the same thing. If I go before you do, you'll take me here, ok?"

"Ok, then, that's right. Seal it with a kiss," he said. Tifa remembered this; back when they were kids in Nibelheim, all of the good friends of the opposite sex would do this to seal a promise. She and Cloud had done that before they parted at the water tower the night he promised to be her hero forever. he had suggested it now, and was suggesting it again. She was wondering if it were nostalgia, or romance. She puckered up and closed her eyes, and they both gave a clean kiss. She opened her eyes, and noticed that Cloud had not moved his face away from hers, so she was looking right into his eyes. They both sat for a moment, staring, then burst out laughing again.

Tifa and Cloud continued talking for a little longer, when all of a sudden, it occurred to her that this was all a little too-perfect. She hoped not, but Cloud did have a way of messing things up sometimes...
"You know, I was just thinking about Aeris, and where she was laid to rest," Cloud began in a more serious tone. "I wish we wouldn't have had to lay her anywhere, but if there was a perfect place for Aeris, it was in the City of the Ancients. Beautiful, mysterious, just like her. Is something wrong, Tifa?" he asked, when he noticed that she had stood up.
"It's getting cold. I think we should go now," she said, as the wind purged her light clothing.
********************

Chapter Two: Cry, Baby, Cry

She packed up the picnic while Cloud rambled on about Aeris and the City of the Ancients, and more about how much he liked her. On the way out of the forest and on the trip back to Kalm, he recounted the details of their short date back at he Gold Saucer.

"We went to this play they were having there, and we ended up being picked to participate in the play! It was funny, because I started messing up my lines..." he said with tons of enthusiasm. Tifa nodded now and again to give the illusion that she was interested in what he was saying; what she was really concentrating on at the moment was,

"I want to tell Cloud that I have these strong feelings... But how can I when he's always talking about her? Hmm, what am I going to say?" For a moment, she looked over at Cloud ,who was still merrily jabbering. In a couple minutes, he finished, and finally taking some notice of the girl that he was with, asked,

"So, what do you think?" at first Tifa just nodded, not having noticed him yet, thinking that he was still in the story. "Tifa!" he said louder, making her jump.

"Oh, sorry. Ah, well..." she fumbled. Now was not the time to be inarticulate!

Cloud's countenance turned from a perky smile to that of dismay. "You weren't even listening to me, were you."

Tifa's jaw dropped, not knowing what to say, "I, uh, well, I was..." think damnit! "Er...! I was wondering, since you had such a good time on a date with Aeris..." here goes nothing... "Would you like to go on a date with me?" she finally asked, her hear pounding against her ribs, fluttering, unrelenting, hopeful. Cloud looked surprised for a moment, and Tifa couldn't quite tell what he felt.

"How can you ask me something like that, after, ah... after what I just narrated to you?" he said in low tones. "Trying to take her line? That's bad, Tifa. I wouldn't think that you would do that," he said in the same voice, almost indifferent to his own words.

Tifa felt something like steel rip through her chest, and she stood, breathless for a moment -- yet when she put her hand to the pain, it touched was no wound -- at least a visible one. Her face was screwed up into a look of shock and pain, but Cloud did not even look at her to see her pain.

"Have some tact, Tifa, don't you know how that makes me feel?" said he, who held his hand out in a fist. "I loved Aeris, I admit it, ok? So, just don't go there right now."

A single tear trickled down Tifa's milky-white cheek and was carried off by the wind. He said the dreaded words again... just to her. He loved Aeris... and he didn't want Tifa or anyone to encroach upon that territory of his heart.

"I'm sorry..." she just barely whispered. She had gotten so close for a while back in the woods; so close, and still so far. She stood there, having already dropped the basket, and brought her hands up to her face, covering it for a moment, with them she was hiding her shame, her embarrassment, her sorrow; all of these things she felt, but he didn't seem to care -- he cared only for Aeris.

Cloud finally decided to turn his head back to look at Tifa, which he did, but only in enough time to catch a glimpse of her taking off in another direction. He had, though, seen her face, and only then did he begin to realize exactly what he had said to her.

"Tifa-!" he shouted to her off in the distance, reaching his hand out as if he could pluck her fine figure off of the horizon, but she didn't turn around. Run after her, something inside him said, but he did not listen. Instead, he walked on to the town, and wallowed in his stupidity, but also his self-righteousness, over a drink.

"She shouldn't have said that, she knows damn well how I feel to that subject... But on the other hand, maybe I wouldn't give her the chance to say something..." he went over these things in his head as he kept on stirring his margarita with the little umbrella that was in it. "She had time to ask me back in the woods, but..." he kept on going back and forth on the subject in his mind until he had finished his drink, and the bar owner had told him that he should be on his way.

Cloud walked through the streets of Kalm, still thinking about what had happened earlier that day, until he ran into someone he knew -- Cid.

"Hey, Kid! Where in the hell have you been? We were all gathered for dinner, waiting for your spiky ass to get over there to the restaurant, and you never showed!" the man said loudly, and still, somehow, keeping the lit cigarette in his mouth.

"Wha-? Oh crap, I completely forgot about dinner!" Cloud said, bopping himself on the forehead with the heel of his hand. Cid puffed away at his cig, looking annoyed.

"Damn straight! First we had Barret drooling over the chitlins, then Vince was complaining that he had things to do, then Nanaki kept on cat-napping, while the lil' brat, Yuffie, was trying to find the materia you had in your room! People were getting hungry, and since you're usually the leader, were were getting f---ing hungry for some of that f---ing food! And then, things got all screwed up because Tifa was acting weird!" Cid paused for a moment. "You and she were out together, weren't you? Did something, ah, happen?" Cid looked straight into Cloud's guilty eyes.

"She wasn't crying, was she?" Cloud asked.

"F@!k no, but some s#!t was wrong! She wouldn't eat, wouldn't talk, she wouldn't even smile for that matter. Kid, you had better go straighten out whatever happened between you and her. I ain't seen her like this since you were in that coma thing. Do it, before I have to make this more of my business," Cid said in warning. Everyone in the group liked Tifa, since she was such a likable person anyway, thought Cloud, and Cid had a lot of concern for her too, more than he would usually have for most people, probably because she didn't back down from him like most people did. He had respect for strong women, and hated to see Tifa brought down to such a vulnerable level.

"Thanks for finding me, Cid. I'll go and see if I can talk to her," said Cloud, as he went past Cid with a parting pat to the guy's back, which almost dislodged his cig.

****************

Chapter Three: Blackbird

Cloud ran through the streets of the town, searching for the Inn amidst the darkness. He rounded a corner, and noticed the familiar sign, so he rushed through the open door, and stopped. Sitting in the lobby were the rest of his friends: Yuffie, Nanaki, Vincent, Barret and Marlene, but no Tifa. They didn't notice him at first, so they were still in the middle of whatever they were doing. Nanaki, being a cat/wolf/whatever, had curled himself up into a ball on one of the couches and gone to sleep. Yuffie was sitting next to him on the couch, going through her materia stash, and also sneezing every now and again; she was allergic to Nanaki's fur. Opposite them, Barret was sitting with Marlene asleep on his lap. The girl and he had just returned from a two-day stay at the Gold Saucer for Marlene's fifth birthday, and she was wasted from all of the fun and partying that there had been. Barret himself was flipping through the channels on the TV, with the remote control in his new prosthetic hand/gun/arm. He had found someone who designed things like his gun-arm, and figured that it would be more practical for him to have a hand instead of a gun although inside of the hand was a laser mechanism just in case the need be that he needed it. With the remote control, he was searching for some good reruns of "Sanford and Son". Vincent, however, was sitting, looking downright bored. He was drumming his clawed hand on the arm of the chair he sat in, and was was spinning his gun in his other.

Cloud sauntered in, without yet getting their attention.

"Aw, yeah, a classic! Damn, LaMont, you gots some more a' dat junk on your truck! Haw, haw!" yelled Barret, having finally found the show he was looking for, then quieted down when Marlene stirred a bit.

"How can you watch this drivel?" asked Vincent, still twirling his gun.

"Whatchoo talkin' 'bout, Cracker? Dis is one of da best shows eva'!" Barret replied, not even taking his eyes off of the tube.

"Don't complain, Vamp, at least it isn't the 'Dukes of Hazaard.' Cid would be yodeling like a hick..." said Yuffie, trailing off at the end due to her disgust.

"How many times do I have to tell you that I'm not a vampire!" Vincent emphasized to her. Yuffie rolled her eyes.

"You're unaging, you sleep in a casket, you wear that cape thing. If you're not a vampire, you must be, at least, some sort of psycho-gothic. Either way, you're still a... (hatchoo!) -sniff- Vamp." she concluded. Vincent groaned and went back to twirling his gun.

"Hey, guys, where's Tifa?" asked cloud, finally making his presence known. The three who were awake all looked at him, well, Yuffie hastily put away the materia she had been counting before she gave him a good, guilty look.

Barret frowned. "Where's yo' skinny-ass been all night? You made da' chitlins get cold!" he said, ignoring Yuffie's retching expression when he mentioned the chitlins.

"I was... thinking."

"And what happened with Tifa? She was so out of sorts that she let me, ah, 'borrow' her materia! Normally if I even get within ten feet of them, she's blasted my ass out of there faster than Cid could say 'Shit'!" Yuffie commented with her hands behind her back. She was about to say something else when a yellow materia rolled out from behind her and on to the floor, of which she hastily fell to her hands and knees to fish from under the coffee table.

"We had a, er, misunderstanding."

Vincent brushed a lock of his goth-ish black tresses and peered at Cloud. "Tifa went upstairs. She said that she was tired, and didn't feel well," he said to Cloud, finally answering the guy's question.

"Thanks, Vincent."
Cloud gulped a lump of uneasiness down his throat, and turned to the stairs. Would she be mad? Or just sorrowful? Cloud sighed; he was going to have to face her, for her sake and his own, for he wouldn't feel right if there was such a rift between him and such a good friend like Tifa. As he climbed the grade, he thought about her, and how she felt for him, but more importantly, how he felt for her. Cloud wasn't very sure if what he felt for Tifa was 'love' in the way that a man and a woman would love each other; the way that he had loved Aeris. If there was one thing that Cloud was sure of, it was that he had loved Aeris. He had hardly known her for a few months, but he had felt so drawn to her, and she had been so charming that he was caught by her in no time at all. He wondered, now, what would it have been like if they had been able to go farther in their relationship? He would never know.

At the top of the stairs, he went down the corridor to where they were lodged. Cloud and Tifa had been set up in the same room, mind you, different beds, but it had been awkward with them being together. He opened the door, and walked into the darkened room; the only illumination was the moonlight that peeked in with a silvery beam from the open window.

"Tifa?" he whispered, not wanting to startle her by bursting in on her. No answer. "Tifa, are you ok?" he said louder. He walked deeper into the room, and felt the chill wind blow in through the window, sending the curtains into a dance. He stood at the sill and gazed out over the town, and the wind blew in again. Suddenly, it occurred to him that it was awfully strange to have the window open at night, and on such a cold night as this was; why would Tifa have the window open, and be hiding... Oh no, she couldn't have! He flicked on the light to see all of her things gone, her bed made, and a letter on the nightstand.

With a trembling hand he picked it up and looked at it. On the front, in Tifa's neat, stylized handwriting was the name 'Cloud.' He opened it up, and read:

Dear Cloud,
I don't really know what to say to you, now. I had no idea that you would still be so sensitive about that, and still so rejective of me. I love you, Cloud, and I always will. I wish I didn't anymore, but I can't do anything about my feelings; they are not to my choosing most of the time. So, as you can tell, I've left. I don't know where I'm going, or what's I'll find, but maybe, somehow, I'll be able to forget you and find someone who loves me for who I am, then I can come back to see you -- as a friend. I hope that you can find happiness as well. You know, if I could bring Aeris back for you, I would, or I would be happy to take her place on the other side if it would please you. Cloud, I'd do anything for you. Sheesh, I'm just rambling now, aren't I? But it's the truth, and a sad one for me. So until I can straighten myself out, goodbye.
Love, Tifa Lockheart

****************

Chapter Four: Cast Your Fate to the Wind
Cloud slumped to his knees, his hands clenched, crumpling the paper. He read it again, just to make sure that his eyes were not playing tricks on him: it couldn't be true that Tifa had left him permanently? After reading it even a third time he found himself hardly believing it.

"What a fool I am! I should have gone after her back when we were still out there," he mumbled to himself as he put an arm up to the bed so that he might pull him self up to sit. He kept on looking over the letter, and found that the ink was smudged by water drops in places, no, they were teardrops, Tifa's teardrops.

"I didn't mean to hurt you so much, it's just that I'm not sure that I'm ready for a relationship yet. I don't know, maybe I don't want to be hurt again, but, oh, Tifa, I've hurt you so much worse than you would have ever done to me! You love me so much, you'd never hurt me like that... I've proved that my love for you isn't the same, you deserve my all." he said, as if she were there.

A shadow was outlined by the light of the doorway. "You should tell her that, tell her everything; before it's too late," said a dark, brooding voice that could only belong to one man: Vincent Valentine.

"What do you mean, 'Too late?'" Cloud asked, bypassing his curiosity of how long the caped man had been listening to him.

Vincent walked closer to him. "You just never know when your time with someone will run out. You should know that, I know that," said he. Vincent's eyes flashed for a moment, signifying that he felt a pang of sorrow in proclaiming that, for he regretted every moment he had lost with Lucretia. "Do you love her?"

Cloud looked at Vincent, then looked at the letter. "I don't know. I've always liked her as a very close friend, and I remember knowing that I loved her when I was younger. But, my head's been so screwed up over the last few years, that I don't remember what that feeling felt like. I'm sure it's like what I felt for Aeris, uh, at least I think," Cloud scratched his head.

"You don't sound so sure now. So, what will you do, Cloud?"

"I... er..." something deep inside him told him to go after her, in the same way that he had felt back when he had hurt her. Then, his mind took over. "Well, I'll wait around. Maybe she'll come back, after have considering things, and then I can also sort out for myself what I feel."

Vincent turned around to leave. "Very well, be it so."

*****************
Chapter Five: Help

The cold air of the North county was crisp and clean, and the sun, reflecting off of every white hill, lit up the land like a frosty jewel. The only thing that stuck out from the deep, powdery whiteness were a few gray rocks, and a curious golden figure running across the horizon. A gold chocobo, named Boco, ran at furious speeds over the mountains of ice and rock, carrying his single passenger: a young woman with long, dark-brown hair which glinted with coppery highlights from the sun, and skin that challenged the snow around her in whiteness.

For Tifa Lockheart, this beautiful scenery would have captivated her, had she been here under other circumstances, but now that she was on the run from her problems and sorrows, nothing looked right to her. But it was not only that now. She was so tired that she could barely keep awake to guide her chocobo, and she was almost certain that she had a fever. She was searching for the town of Icicle Inn, from where she could proceed to find some medical help. As she shivered in the morning cold, she had a fleeting thought to just find a nice place to lie down in the snow, and fall into a frozen sleep, where she could forget about her problems, her losses, her pains, and Cloud.

"No, I must face my problems, and live to see what tomorrow brings me... -cough, cough!-" she said aloud to herself. She spurred Boco forward, and the gentle bird continued on, effortlessly through the snow.

Some distance later, despite her will to keep herself awake, she passed out and fell off of the chocobo, into the snow. The bird stopped, and, being one of the more intelligent of his kind, went back to check on her.

"Wark, wark?" the bird squawked, nudging Tifa with his massive bill. "Waaark? Wark wark wark??" He circled around her a few times, and managed to get her to stir.

In a half-conscious daze, Tifa managed to get up to a crawl, and the bird squatted so that she might get back on his back. She flopped up onto him, and the bird continued on, without her guidance, and made it to the town. He walked in, with the girl on his back in a feverish sleep, and began to make as much of a racket as he could.

"WARK! Que-Wark! Wark Wark Wark WAAAAARRK!" exclaimed Boco, while at the same time kicking a galvanized garbage can with his clawed foot.
A man emerged from the closest house.

"What the hell is that noise--? Oh, s#!t, a gold chocobo! Come here, ya little, er, big birdie! (Man, what a find!)" he said, slowly approaching the chocobo. The bird walked up to him, unafraid, surprising the man. "What? I've never seen a choco do that... What's this?" he finally took notice of the woman that Boco bore on his back, which was his reason for approaching the man. "Oh, so this is why you came to me, you rascal, heh. So, who are you?" he pulled up the hood from over her head. "Oh my god! It's Tifa! Aw, damn, you're burning up! Come on!" he said, gesturing the choco to follow him into the house.

She felt a cool cloth on her forehead, and a warm bed beneath her. Safe... she sensed the presence of someone in the room, and heard her chocobo's low cooing, as he did when he was dozing.

"Cloud... Cloud!?" she shouted, and ripped the cloth off of her forehead. She blinked her eyes open, noticing a blurry figure over her. "Who are you?" she hoarsely asked, rubbing her eyes.

"You're awake! Great, the antibiotics are working," he said to her. Tifa could now make out red hair, and the only man she knew with red hair was, "Reno, Tifa, it's Reno. I found you passed out on your chocobo, and you've been sick with fever for a week. I found a traveling doctor a few days ago, and he gave you a shot o' some medicine. How are you feeling?" he said, pulling up a chair backwards and sat astride it, his chin propped up on the back.

"I don't know... a little numb," she said a little louder now. "Why did you, of all people, help me?"

Reno kind of shrugged, and ran his hand over his wild hair. "I don't have any hard feelings against you, if that's what you mean. You guys did destroy my income, but it was just a job; I had no special feelings for the ShinRa corp. I've started a ski range here, and within just a few months I'm already making more money than I had in five years in the Turks. Isn't that is a laugh?"

"It's good, Reno. I'm glad one of us is happy..." she said sadly.

"Oh, yeah... No need to tell me... you were kinda mumbling about it while you were out. I never got what you saw in that guy anyway, I'd say that you were better off without him."

"Well, I think that I would be, but I still love him, no matter what. That's why I had to leave him. If he doesn't love me, I can't be near him at all -- it's just too much to bear," she closed her eyes to blink back tears.

Reno held her hand. "Rude was right about you, you are a great girl," he said, "I hate to see you like this. When you were out, you were saying things like, "I wish I had died instead of Aeris." That's terrible," Reno was angered.

"I know... Enough about me; what happened to the rest of the Turks?" she inquired, changing the subject hastily. She stiffly moved herself to a semi-upright position, and looked at Reno intently.

"Ah, the Turks," he smiled, "or rather Elena and Rude, since there were only three of us left," he paused there, remembering the fate of Tseng. "The kid, Elena, had been in love with Tseng, and after everything was over with the Meteor, with ShinRa gone, things really hit her about the loss. I mean, it was so bad, that she even got me into some mushy reminiscing about the old stick-up-the-ass."

"Did you call him that regularly?" giggled Tifa.

"Oh, certainly not to his face, but always when Rude and I were together. Actually, now that I think about him, one time, Rude and I got so stone drunk that instead of going home the way that we usually did, we thought that we were going to work. So we went up to floor 68, found Tseng, and I said to him, 'Hey, Tseng, you old 'stick-up-the-ass,'...' and proceeded to babble on about his personal life until he smacked me so hard that the next thing I knew I was on the floor of my apartment with a reprimand slip, a headache and the biggest black eye ever!" with that he had the both of them into stitches.

"That was completely rude of you... speaking of whom, did you tell me what happened to him?"

Reno blinked. "Ah, Rude? Well, as I was getting to saying before, Rude came to Elena's side and helped her through her grief. Over the weeks they grew very close, and then they got married a few weeks ago, actually. Wow... So, uh, yeah, they went and found a nice place to live in Costa Del Sol, where Rude waxes surfboards and Elena makes snow cones. It's a pretty good life. So now, I'm here, all alone. Just me, myself and I..." he did his best to make himself look as if he were fine with his solitude, but Tifa could see in his aqua blue eyes that he missed them.

"Ah...two lonely souls, you and I, out here in the middle of nowhere, with nothing but our pasts," Tifa was stuck in her thoughts. What more did she want to talk about? "Uh, Reno?"

"Yeah?"

"Who was it that you liked?" she asked slowly.

"Er, uh? Well, I've liked a lot of women in my time... there was that girl who used to sell flowers..."

"Aeris." Tifa couldn't help but be a bit dismayed at the sound of that name. Everyone liked her.

"Aeris.. yeah. She was too much of a goody-two-boots for me. Damn, how many of those pink dresses did she have? Sheesh. The only thing that I ever saw in her was her eyes. Hmph, then she dumped me for that SOLDIER guy," he scowled.

"How many ShinRa operatives had Aeris been out with?" asked Tifa.

Reno scratched his head. "Beats me with a big stick. Lessee, first there was Tseng, but he was too old, so she left him, then Rude, she later on said that she couldn't stand his drinking, (By the way, she made Rude cry for weeks...) Then she flirted with Rufus, only to be chased away by Scarlet... then there was me, she then left me for Zack,"

"Wow," Tifa was amazed. "She has quite a repitoire. I never thought that the girl had it in her."

"Oh, and those are the only ones that I know about. She had a way with people -- a charm. It allowed her to hand-pick which men she wanted. It seems that she wanted Cloud a lot, since she bothered to stay with him more than a week..." he grinned, but then remembered Tifa's problem. "Oh, sorry about that."

"Yes, enough about Aeris... more about you," she made her best effort to look happy and entertained. She really felt terrible, and the effort that she had exerted to sit up had left her even more tired.

"Ah, yes, my girlfriends. I went out with Scarlet... Once. Never again. She is literally the wicked witch of Midgar. She had tried to stick her tongue in my ear -- then I realized how much of a skank she was. I had a few when I was younger; Lillian, Jen, Dee... but there was one girl I never told anyone that I liked, not even Rude," he closed his eyes in remembrance.

"Who?"

"You."

**********

Chapter 6: Reflections

Cloud sat. He hadn't been doing much for these last few days but sitting. Sitting and thinking. And worrying. Worrying about Tifa.

The day that she left, he was fine. He told himself that she would be back soon; all's she needed was a little time to herself to blow off some steam, and she'd return to him -- she always came back to him. even when she had gotten hurt back at Nibelheim in the bridge incident, she came back to him. So Cloud had continued on in his daily routine of doing what he did now, which was really nothing. He had more Gil than almost any other man living had, so he could buy nearly anything that his heart desired. After everything with the Meteor ended, he had helped people in Mideel, Corel and Gongaga rebuild their towns, and sponsored the project in Junion to restore the old fishing trade. He had no more charity work to do, so now he was living at his Villa in Costa Del Sol.

By the third day of Tifa's absence, Cloud was extremely bored. That evening, he took a walk out on the beach, trying to put together what was wrong. All of his friends were getting back to the lives that they had left before they joined with him against Sephiroth.

Yuffie returned to Wutai, back to her father and people. From what Cloud understood, she was still hunting for more materia all of the time, and apparently at her father's bidding. She now held more power at Wutai, so when she wasn't out materia-hunting, she was at the pagoda with all of the other masters of Wutai, fighting and responding to the ever-increasing people who challenged the pagoda. Wutai was back in business, with tons of tourists, thanks's to Yuffie's fame.

Barret had Marlene and Corel to attend to. Barret, instead of being considered one of the people who destroyed Corel, was now revered as it's savior and star. He had helped rebuild the village with Cloud, and the people built him and Marlene their own house. Barret was now busy finding a good school for Marlene, who was to start in the fall. All of his previous worries about financial needs had disappeared in the same way Cloud's had.

Cid was back as the Mayor of Rocket Town. He had brought the Highwind with him, and had it parked behind his house in the way that he had always parked the Tiny Bronco, which was quite a site. Shera still lived with him, and Cid, though he wouldn't admit it to anyone, loved her with his whole heart.

Nanaki, of course, went back to Cosmo Canyon to guard it as his family had for generations before. Cait Sith was retired, and now Reeve, who evacuated Midgar with the Turks, lived as himself to the rest of them. He had settled down in Mideel and was very quiet now.

Now Vincent... where did Vincent spend his off time? Did he leave to sulk and ponder about the things that went wrong with his life? Or was he making a new life for himself in secret? Vincent was the only one whom Cloud wasn't sure about; he never had been. Vincent, like Cloud himself, had lost everything he had to ShinRa, and now that even ShinRa was gone, he had nothing.

Cloud came to the conclusion that there was little left for him anymore. Everything and everyone that he loved was gone... the only thing that he had left from his past was the empty town of Nibelheim, his memories... and Tifa! The reason that Cloud had been able to live happily for the last few months before was the support of Tifa. She would often come to visit him, and they would go out and do something, anything. He missed her dearly now, he missed her smile and her voice, and the way that she had a tendency to fidget when they talked.

So now she was gone, all because of him. He couldn't seem to get himself to let go of any of his reservations, his confusion. If only he could just make himself love her in the way that she deserved he'd do it in a heartbeat. Or would he? As Cloud sat in his contemplation he asked himself if he really was capable of loving Tifa, and it was just his own mind holding on to the memory of Aeris that was keeping them apart. Oh! He was just so confused... he had feelings for Tifa, but he wasn't sure if it was love. He wanted to be with her, but he wasn't sure if it was genuine or just a false feeling of obligation.

Nonetheless, he was completely worried about her, and could not get her out of his thoughts. Had he actually had something to do with himself, he might have put up a better fight against his feelings, but that was not the case. it was just him and his thoughts, hour after hour, day by day, his worry growing deeper and deeper. Finally, he snapped.

'I've gotta go out and find her, but how?' thought he, as he leapt up out of his easy-chair. He picked up his mighty Ultima Blade and strapped it to his back. He thrust his hands into his gloves, then walked to the door.

'She's out there somewhere... Maybe she's found someone else already... damn it, I've gotta know... about her, about me... about us,' he went outside and stood there, not knowing which path to take.

'How to find her...! She was riding Boco! There are only 2 gold Chocos in the world -- one is her Boco, the other is my Wraith. I'll just ask if anyone has seen a girl on a Gold Choco! I'll find her in no time!'

Cloud proceeded to the chocobo stables and saddled Wraith up with some extra greens in the saddle bag. He mounted up and took the big bird out to the road.
"I'm going to find you, Tifa!" he said aloud as he spurred his mount on.

*******
Chapter Seven: She's Not There

Tifa was asleep again; her fever had returned and the antibiotics that the doctor had given her seemed to have no effect. Reno sat and looked at her. If they hadn't been on opposite sides during the war he could have saved her from Cloud, the man who mistreated her. He had such disdain for the man -- not only could he not take care of Tifa, but he still harbored strong feelings for a girl who had died over a year ago. What a loser. But that loser still had more points scored for himself than Reno did. He had Tifa's love and he had been on the winning side.

He looked down at Tifa again. When he had confessed his love to her, she had smiled, but it was out of flattery and regard for his feelings. She told him how nice he was, and as soon as she got better, she'd go on a date with him. That, at least, gave him some of a chance, however small. But, now he wasn't sure if she was going to get better at all.

He stared at her a little bit longer. She stirred, and looked up, her eyes weak.

"Reno..." she said, smiling slightly, "I thought that you were an angel come to take me home..." Reno choked back the tears, and managed to smile back. He stroked her silky hair gently.

"I'm hardly an angel, and don't you go thinking those morbid thoughts now, Tifa. You'll pull through."

"You're too optimistic..." she whispered.

"I know..." he thought.

Cloud had traced the gold chocobo and it's rider all the way up to the polar regions. Wraith tore through the deep snow like it were simply a light mist over the ground.

"I need to find her... I know that I need her -- as a friend for sure, and... I think that I have loved her from the beginning. I have to tell her before she's completely lost."

He sped on into Icicle Inn and was just about to ask about the rare chocobo when he saw it; tethered to one of the houses, eating greens out of a trough. Cloud hurried over to the bird, which began to squawk with glee when it saw its partner, Wraith, and Cloud.
"Boco! That must mean that Tifa's in here!" he jumped down into the snow with a crunch, and tied Wraith up next to Boco. Without even thinking, he opened the door and marched in.

"Tifa!" he shouted.

"CLOUD!" Looking back at him was the furious face of Reno.

"Reno? Why do you have Tifa's chocobo? Where the hell is she, you Shin-Ra slime!" Cloud took hold of his sword.

"Get out of here you dumb fucking asshole! What kind of person are you? First you tell this wonderful girl who loves you more than the whole goddamned universe to pretty much take all of her love and shove it down the shitter! And what now? You come back to tell her that it was all a big mistake, and that you want her back eh? No, you can't have her," Reno stood firm before the doorway that led to Tifa's room.

Cloud felt that. His face reddened, and he let go of his sword.

"I may not deserve her, but I'm not leaving until I get to talk to her," he told Reno.

"Cloud...?" a wispy voice came from the other room. "Cloud... is it you...?"

"Tifa?" Cloud suddenly was overwhelmed with concern, and blew past Reno with such ease that it enraged Reno.

"Get back here you ingrate--" he stopped. There he saw Cloud, the "savior" of the planet, knelt down at Tifa's side, crying his eyes out like a kindergartner.

"Tifa! Oh my god... Tifa, what's wrong with you?" he exclaimed, gasping and stroking her head in the way that Reno wished to do.

"Cloud... I'm sick... what does it look like?" she tried to joke with him in her ever- lowering whisper. Cloud grinned with tears streaming down his face.

"I missed you so much... only to find you here. I should have never said any of that stuff to you before: please forgive me Tifa, please," he pleaded so melodramatically that Reno felt like puking.

"I forgive you," she told him. "I'm so happy... but I'm tired..."

"Then sleep, Tifa, get some strength back, and I'll find the best doctor on the planet for you," he told her.

"Okay..." she closed her eyes and tried to sleep.

Cloud got up and went back into the other room with Reno. Reno stood there, his face angry and hurt at the same time: poor Tifa was so enamored of this doofus that she forgave him without even a thought. And Cloud looked concerned, mainly, and turned to Reno.

"What's wrong with her?"

"The local doctor can't tell. He thought that it was the flu, but it's not... This is all your fault, you know. If you had never broken her heart in the first place, she never would have ended up out in the cold and sick! What is your coming back going to do to her? Are you just going to leave her again? Maybe you should just put her out of her misery and send that sword of yours flying through her stomach?" Reno yelled at him again. That struck a nerve in Cloud, and he stepped up to Reno, drawing his sword out deftly and holding it to Reno's chin.

"Don't you dare say that! I know that you're not only mocking me but Aeris' death, too!" Cloud seethed. Reno grinned maliciously.

"There you go again! Letting the memory of that dead Ancient get in the way of a real, living person. At this rate, you'll have a track record of two dead girlfriends!"

Cloud backed down again. He shouldn't be sitting here fighting, and yes, he was letting Aeris' memory block out his current relationship.

"Tifa's not doing good, you say?" he turned to the wall.

"No, she's not," Reno said back in dismay. "The best doctor I know of lives in Kalm town near where Midgar used to be."

"Then I'll have to take her to him," said Cloud, heading back into Tifa's room.

"What? You're thinking of moving her right now? You could kill her by simply taking her outside!" he followed Cloud and tried to stop him again. Cloud looked him square in the eye.

"Is this Tifa's only chance?" he asked, "Tell me."

"Probably," Reno conjectured.

"Then if you care about her at all, let my by. I have the gold chocobos -- they're faster than anything besides a jet plane, which we don't have right now." Reno thought for a moment, still not moving. "This is her only chance to live," Cloud pleaded.

Reno moved. Cloud scooped Tifa up into the blanket and carried her outside.

"Reno," Cloud looked at him as he was leaving, "Thank you."

Reno stood there, watching that wonderful woman being hauled away once again by the man she couldn't seem to detach herself from. He listened in silence as the footsteps of the chocobos became more distant. Finally, they were gone.

"FUUUUUUUUCK!!!!! TIFA!!!!" he cried, falling to his knees. He knew that in whatever way this situation turned out, Tifa was gone to him.

*****
Chapter Eight: Dust In the Wind

"I've gotta get her to Kalm," thought Cloud frantically as he spurred Wraith on even more. The poor, exhausted chocobo complained weakly as it tried to push itself farther and faster. Boco was doing a bit better, since it had had more time to rest back at Icicle Inn, but nonetheless, was still struggling. They were two-thirds of the way there; the Midgar forest was coming up on the horizon. They had just one more small sea to cross and they would be near.

"Tifa, how are you doing?" he asked her. She was now sitting up, and clutching the bird's long neck, though still bundled in her blanket. Tifa looked up at cloud and attempted to smile, though it only let Cloud see how pale she was, and the dark circles under her eyes. At least she was still conscious.

"Don't you worry -- we'll be in Kalm in no time," he tired to assure her. She nodded, and rested her head on the chocobo again. Why was he assuring her? She was already in a state of that incomprehensible near-death calm that came over people. He was the one who needed assurance, and the best thing that he could come up with right now were his own hollow words. Damn, damn, damn...

"Almost there..." he told himself now: Kalm was right past the Midgar forest which they were coming upon and needed to cross through. He looked at Tifa again -- she seemed limp, and was barely conscious now.

"C'mon, baby-doll, stay strong! We just have to hurry thought the forest," he told her, though not sure if she could hear him. She stirred slightly and fluttered an eyelid open, acknowledging him, but she quickly slipped back into sleep. Keep fighting, Tifa!

The forest path was windy, and the chocobos were utterly pooped. The day was nearly over now, and the stars were just beginning to dot the sky, but also, the chill wind whipped through, making it hard to keep any warmth.

"Cloud... we need to stop..." a voice told Cloud. He looked around, wondering if the chocobos had learned to speak, then saw Tifa, straining to lift her head up to look at him.

"We only have the forest to go through, Tifa, just hold on for another thirty minutes, please?" he told her with urgency on his voice.

"Cloud... don't do this to me... I won't make it... I... I want to see our special place again..." she hoarsely whispered to him. Cloud slowed the chocobos to a stop, much to their relief. He knew what she meant by this -- he had just hoped that he wouldn't have to do it now, but time was never by one's own choosing. He looked at her with his eye full of tears of sorrow, and she looked back. Her expression betrayed her state -- she looked happy, almost lively now; she wanted this.

He turned his gaze down, and forced a smile out of his tears. "Then that's where we'll go. You can rest up, and the chocobos can take a breather, then we can get going on to Kalm," he told her, lying to himself.

"Thank you..." she told him, her face still happy. He spurred the chocobos on in a different direction, and then, when they came to the wall of trees, he had the gold chocobos use their special flying/climbing ability to get to the other side. The place looked even more beautiful in the dusky light than it had when he and Tifa had originally come here before. The dull light that shone in was like a curtain of ethereal presence, waiting for him, waiting for Tifa.

He hopped off of Wraith, who proceeded to take a drink from the spring and begin on some grass, and then he gently carried Tifa down from Boco's back. She had managed to stay awake, and was gazing about the place, trying to take as much of it in as she could. He set her down amidst the mako blooms that scattered the field, and then lay down next to her. Tifa looked up into the sky and watched the stars become brighter as the moments passed, and the moon, a waning gibbous this evening, shedding its small light over the planet. Never had she felt so at peace, so one with everything than she did at this moment, never had she felt more alive than now, at this moment of her own passing. She felt Cloud's hand and clutched it with all of the might that she had left. She felt his grasp. Everything was perfect now -- she was safe, and there was nothing left to be worried about, not even the unfinished business that she now had to deal with.

"Cloud," she said, "I'm sorry for brushing you off all those years ago back at home. I didn't realize what a great guy you were until I thought that you were gone," she finished the whole sentence without a stammer. Cloud sat up and looked down at her, his eyes full of concern.
"Shh, Tifa, don't worry about it--"

"I need to, or this will never be said," she stopped him by saying. "And then, when Aeris came, I was jealous of what she had with you... and she never really did anything consciously to provoke me. I didn't deserve you friendship at all, and now, it makes me so happy to know that you care... but tell me one thing, Cloud... do you love me? Now, don't lie because I'm dying, I can take it," she told him, looking up into his blue eyes in earnest. This time, he didn't have to think at all: he knew.

"Of course I love you, Tifa, I have since the day we met... It may have been convoluted and disrupted over time, but I never lost it," he said, stroking her hair again.

Tifa's eyes welled up with tears. "Thank you, thank you so much... but I'll still... never understand... why you do..." she was becoming too weak to continue on. "I want to sleep now... could you just lie next to me... to keep me warm?" Without any hesitation, he cuddled up next to her, in the way that he knew she liked. It was too late now for remedies, for doctors. But he was just glad to be able to spend these finally bittersweet moments with her. He closed his eyes, and held her, one last time.

"Cloud..." she whispered slowly, "don't cry."

*****

The morning sun peeped down into the alcove, where Cloud still lay, sleeping, with Tifa next to him. The light slowly moved down to hit him in the face, and he woke up.

"Tifa... It's morning," he said, looking at the woman who had fallen asleep next to him. Then it shook him, it shook him hard. "Oh Tifa," he stroked her hair again, hoping to God that she might wake up, but merely felt the coldness to her. "No, Tifa, why'd you have to leave me too?" he said in sorrow as he scooped her body into his arms and hugged her form tightly. The chocobos sat at the other side of the field, knowing innately, the way animals do, that something was amiss. They were completely silent. Cloud sat for a while, just hugging the body of the second girl that he had lost.

Suddenly, the Lifestream pool that was in the center of the alcove began to glow and emit bubbles of green energy. Cloud watched in amazement as the energy flowed out and wrapped around Tifa's body. He let go, and backed off as the energy carried her back to the pool. Once there, the light came up much like those pools that were in the Temple of the Ancients, and Tifa's body floated there, preserved in the energy of the Lifestream.

"What's going on?"

*****

Chapter Nine: Black Magic Woman

"Where am I?" Tifa asked, blinking her eyes at the brightness of the place that she awoke to. Her eyes came into focus and standing before her was... Aeris?

"Tifa? You're here too? But how? You're not an Ancient..." she said, helping Tifa up off of the ground. Tifa looked around: before her was a magnificent place, full of beauty and life. There were hills in the distance, there was water too, but it all seemed... perfect.

"And where is this? I was just with Cloud in the Midgar forest, and I was really really tired -- no, I was dying... I'm dead? Then if you're here, this must be..." she trailed off and looked about again.

"...The Promised Land. Yes, this is it, and this is where I am, but normal humans like you are supposed to return to the Lifestream itself-- is there something that you weren't telling people all that time?" Aeris asked.

"Not that I'm aware of," Tifa told her. "Say, er, how are you?" Tifa asked, trying to get a conversation going with Aeris now that she was here again. Aeris giggled in the way that she tended to do.

"I'm fine. All of us here, thanks to Holy, were able to send our power back to the planet and we were able to save things, as you saw," Tifa nodded, "And... I found out that my death there was, er, fated. They needed one more person here to send their power back, and hey, one madman and a sword ended that problem," Aeris joked a rather morbid joke.

"The Promised Land..." Tifa remembered Cloud. "With me gone now, Cloud must be pretty lonely..." she said, looking down. Aeris remembered him too.

"Oh yeah..." she thought, looking around, "How was he doing, after I left?"

"He took it hard -- I know that he loved you, Aeris, back then. I think that he deserved to have a chance with you. You had shown interest in him from the start, and I, well, put him aside for so many years," Tifa told Aeris. She had wished to tell this to her for such a long time now, but had never had the chance. Aeris blushed and looked down, demurely.

"Well, thanks Tifa, you flatter me, but I don't see you as any less deserving than I am. You know him much better than I ever got a chance to -- maybe you had your reasons for putting him aside so long ago. No hard feelings here," she said, grinning.

"And none left here. Gosh... I still can't believe that I ended up in the Promised Land. How is this possible? Me, Tifa Lockheart, a normal human going to the land of the Cetra."

"Yeah... I wonder if someone could explain it," Aeris said. And, like a wish being granted, it happened. Behind her popped up a little man. He was very old, and had a white mustache, a bowler hat and a cane.

"Hey, you, girls," he said. Tifa and Aeris turned around, startled.

"Who are you? I haven't seen you around here before?" Aeris said, giving him a good looking over.

"That is because I'm not from here, but you summoned me up. With your askance, Aeris, and your power, Tifa, I have come to explain your situation to you," he told them, tipping his hat to them. Aeris and Tifa looked at each other.

"Erm, okay," Tifa began, "Can you tell me how I ended up here?" she said, not really expecting much.

"You, Tifa Lockheart, are not what you seem. Five years ago, you should have died when Sephiroth slashed you at the reactor," he began, catching both Tifa and Aeris' attention. "But you didn't die. Have you ever wondered why that is?" Tifa looked around, thinking.

"Ah... no, actually, I just thought that I recovered naturally. I woke up a week after that in the Shin Ra mansion in a bed, with Zangan beside me. He took care of me until I was fully healed and able to leave. I don't see how you can say that I was supposed to die if I did in fact live, but now that you mention it, it was quite a bad wound... actually, I thought that it was nearly as bad as what killed Aeris," Tifa conjectured, now feeling a bit confused. She looked to Aeris, who had no solution for her either.

"Tifa, dear, you were taken, along with Cloud and Zack, into Hojo's lab of horrors. But instead of the normal "Sephiroth Clone" infusion, you underwent a different, more detailed experiment. Hojo wanted an eternal bride for himself when Sephiroth brought forth the new world that Hojo though that he would be part of. So he saw you; a pretty young girl with nothing to lose, and at his mercy. First off, he had been saving up some special Jenova cells that he had recently discovered that were shared with Sephiroth. Though he had no idea what these would do, he put them in anyway. Secondly, he put in Cetra cells, which had been extracted from Aeris' mother, Ifalina, after ShinRa salvaged and dissected her corpse. And lastly, he added a bit of naturally condensed mako, which is nearly materia, but has no elemental charge to it yet," he waited a moment, seeing the look of disgust on Tifa's face.

"That old pervert... did that to me?" she shivered, "ugh... I should have been more psycho than Cloud was -- and bride to that old balding mad scientist; I'm glad that I never knew anything about this," she said, feeling tainted. Aeris patted her on the shoulder in consolation.

"Well, look at the bright side: you and I are almost sisters!" Aeris smiled, trying to be positive. Tifa grinned back, though a weak one.

The old man looked as if he wanted to go on. Tifa and Aeris gave him their attention back. "Yes, but Hojo's plan never saw light. He nearly accomplished all that he wanted, but the ShinRa were forced to withdraw in haste the week after Nibelheim was burned, so he had to leave you there, for all of his equipment was there. By this time, Cloud and Zack had already escaped, and only a few stragglers remained. He never was able to implement the final part of his plan, which was to erase your memories and reprogram you as his wife, lucky for you.

Inside one of those experiment tubes you were left, and neither Hojo, nor you, nor anyone else knew of the powers that his meddling had left deep inside you. The Cetra cells and the Jenova cells alone would never have done anything if it were not for the pre-materia mako. The mysterious, potent energy of it brought out the full potential of the cells. The Cetra cells allowed you to come to this place, and if you really would have tried to listen, you too could have communicated with the planet the way that Aeris did. But the real interesting part is the Jenova cells. You noticed the way that Sephiroth was able to almost fully resurrect himself after Cloud threw him into the depths of the reactor? You have that power now, but not only to virtually resurrect yourself, but fully," Tifa and Aeris looked at the old man incredulously. He nodded, "Yes, and also, since you have the power of that pre-materia, your spiritual powers are beyond belief, thus how you were able to summon me. Being in the Promised Land, you are also allowed access to other realities, and you will be able to return fully to any reality which you do not already live in. Now, that sums it up pretty well. You have an awesome power, my dear, and some great choices at hand."

"Wow..." Tifa marveled, looking down at her own hands. Such power and ability that she never knew she had... though all thanks to that old goat, Hojo.

Aeris looked amazed, and a little doused by the revelation: Tifa, the girl who had never had much special about her before was now ten times as exotic as she, Aeris, had ever been. "Now I know how the other half feels..." she said to herself. "You can go back to Cloud now, Tifa! He won't be lonely," Aeris added aloud, painfully. Tifa looked back at her friend empathetically.

"I guess that would be right, since I'm not longer in my own reality, I could go back, right?" she looked at the old man, who nodded. She looked at Aeris again, who now had her old smile back on her face, though Tifa knew that Aeris was forcing it. "What about bringing other people back? Is that possible at all?" she asked the visitor, who thought about it for a while. Tifa glanced back at Aeris, who, this time, had a genuine grin upon her cute countenance.

"I'm not really sure, my dear," the old visitor answered after his moment in thought, "I don't believe that it's been tried too often, to be able to bring another back into the world with you. I would guess that it would have to be filling the void of not having you, Tifa, in it, but that would mean that only one of you could go back to a single reality at a time."
Tifa and Aeris exchanged glances again, both hopeful, but realizing the potential problem. "And," he added again, "I do believe that I've left something out. You, like Sephiroth, will be able to survey the world that you enter into without becoming part of it; entering in a semi-ethereal form, whereas your essence is still a part of the Promised Land. This may help you in your choosing of realities."

"We have GOT to do this, Tifa, it'll be a kick!" Aeris nearly screamed in so much excitement. Tifa wasn't as gripped as Aeris; she wondered if there were some sort of consequence to all of this. "Hey Old Guy, how do we get to doing this?" she asked in the cutest manner she could muster.

"Aeris, please, let me handle this -- It is my power, right?" she said uptightly, flourishing her hands out in front of her to get Aeris to back down. The girl did, and tried her best to wait patiently. "Now, just a few more questions -- who are you, where did you come from, and how do you know all of this? I just find this all a little to convenient for common sense to trust. It all seems too simple," she said, looking at the old man suspiciously.

He took of his hat for a moment and brushed off the dust and looked up at Tifa, who blinked back down at him. "I am the keeper of the nexus between time and space, and the reason that I know all of this is that I have access to all the events of the past, present and future. Your power is not nearly as simple as I have described it to you. Had I explained to you in full what you had within you, neither you or your bubbly friend would have a clue as to what I was talking about. In short, your powers opened up a rift within time and space, allowing you into my realm, where you will have to go through in order to go to where you wish to go, which is why I, specifically, am here. Now, do you wish to use your powers or not?"

Tifa turned a little red, having just been told off, but regained her composure, smiled, and nodded to him. "Yes. They say there's no time like the present," she noticed Aeris, again, who was watching her with those plaintive green eyes. "Oh, and I'd like to take Aeris with me." Aeris smiled even wider, and walked up next to Tifa.

"Now," the old visitor began, "simply will yourself there. In the ethereal realm a thought it more powerful than anything else."

Tifa did thus, wishing all three of them to be in the place that the old man had described to them, and in an instance, they were there. Tifa looked around: nothing but the swirling blackness of the universe, and a platform, with a lamp post, and doors that looked like they led into utter nothingness. Aeris was looking around in much the same way, and the old man simply sauntered to his customary place under the lamp post.

"So we're here. What do I do?" asked Tifa, more bravely than she actually felt. The old man gestured to the large door on one side.

"That door represents full immersion into a reality. Don't use that one until you're sure which reality you want to return to," he pointed to another, smaller door. "That one represents the entrance into the semi-etheral way, where you will be able to return. The final door," he pointed to the door behind them, "will lead you back to the Promised Land. If you want to return from either the Promised Land or the semi-ethereal state, you simply will yourself. When choosing realities to go to, they will come at what sort of reality you bid, or by random, if you wish. Just wish right before you step through... (yawn), that's all you need to know... the power's in your hands, my dear," he said in a rush, seeming eager to get into the snooze which he settled himself down into as soon as he had finished speaking.

Tifa looked at the doors, and then at Aeris. "What do you want to do now, Aeris? I was thinking..." Tifa started slowly, "you deserved more time with Cloud... and Cloud -- he deserved the chance to choose for himself which woman he loved more," she looked at Aeris nervously, but the girl showed nothing but support on her face, and placed her hand on Tifa's shoulder.

"You don't have to, Tifa, really..."

"But I want to. You were robbed of your life, and I wouldn't want to go back to Cloud if he really should have been with you in the first place," Tifa explained.

"In other words," Aeris said, "You want to be first pick, or not picked at all."

Tifa looked down. "Yes... actually. I just wouldn't want to be always overshadowed by you, and the fact that I could have given you back to him at this point."

Aeris looked around, trying to seem distracted. "I see. I understand too, but, I was kinda interested in exploring some other realities -- if you didn't mind sending me, that is," she added on hastily.

Tifa looked up jubilantly, and nodded. "Of course, if you want to, I'd be happy to let you look. Do you want to go now?"

Aeris nodded. "But how do I get out?" Tifa thought for a moment, and just decided that if she had as much power as the old man made out, she would be able to implement her own rules to those people who she was to help.

"You should just be able to come back whenever you feel like it, with a week's max at any one place. I'm planning to go and look around too, but we shouldn't get too wrapped up. When you think it's time to move on, just wish for me to come back, and I'll hear you. Okay?" she looked at Aeris, who nodded again. The two of them stood before the small door. Aeris thought for a moment, then looked at Tifa, who willed the reality shift, and opened the door. Aeris waved, and walked in. The door shut behind her, waiting for Tifa's choice. She thought for a moment, and remembered how it might be good to take care of some business for now. She opened the door and was gone.

*****

Chapter 10: Earth Angel

Cloud watched the glow that had enveloped Tifa's body subside only but an hour before, and was still amazed. Shocked, too, but nonetheless amazed. He sat down amidst the flowers, and plucked up two that were nearest to him. Pink. Aeris loved the color pink -- it suited her as well, her sweetness and gentle nature reflected back through the bubblegum pink dress that she often wore. Purple. Tifa had loved purple, and though she rarely wore it, unlike the way Aeris did her pink, she did only on special occasions. The hue, somewhere between red and blue, passion and sadness, described Tifa in a way that words never could. Plucked flowers. Both were gone now... their sweet lives ended far too early, too tragically, one taken by a madman, the other... by Cloud himself.

Letting the pink flower go, he crushed the purple one in frustration.

It was his fault.

Had he never blown up at her, had he never held on so tightly to the love that he had never truly had to begin with, had he never ignored the love that was right in front of him, it would still be there. She wouldn't have run off into the cold, only to be stricken with illness and waste away.

The chocobos were ready to leave and were restless, warking at Cloud to get a move on. He stood, and with another glance back, took to the birds and was about to leave. The pool began to shimmer again behind his back, and the Chocobos began to run out of control in fright. Cloud looked back and saw a figure appear, rising from the water.

It was Tifa.

Cloud looked on, dumbfounded, and as the light subsided again, Tifa stepped down from the spot on which she had been hovering, and looked at Cloud.

"Cloud! You're still here!" she shouted joyfully and ran to greet him. Cloud was grinning from ear to ear, but still not uttering a word, looked her over to see if she was real, touched her hand, her face.

"I'm real, Cloud, well... sorta," she said. She held her hand up to the light that came in from above, and faintly, just faintly there was an oddness to it -- her hand was slightly see-through. Cloud looked at her again, still not speaking, this time with confusion etched on his face.

"Why don't you sit down, I have a bit of explaining to do, about all of this," she told him with a wry smile.

*****

"Amazing," Cloud said, "all this time, you've had their genes of the Ancients, Sephiroth and Materia spliced into you. So you saw Aeris?" Tifa nodded, and Cloud smiled even more.

"I... I have a gift for you, Cloud," Tifa said, hesitantly. It was her plan and her idea, but it was still hard for her to do. Cloud looked on intently. "As you know, I'm not permanently here, and when I go back, I'm sending Aeris here for a week. I know that you wanted to see her again, and since I have the power to do it, I'm doing it. I think that it will be good for you."

"You really mean it?" he asked, not as wildly ecstatic as Tifa had feared he might be, but not as disinterested as she hoped either.

"Yes. I'll go back and get her as soon as you want me to. During that time I'll... go and see what life is like in other dimensions. I'll be alright, don't worry," she told him with much strength.

"Thanks Tifa, really. And, stay here for the night, please? I don't want you to go running off right after you came back to me so miraculously. Come back to my place at Costa Del Sol. I want to spend a little time with just you," he told her. She smiled.

"Okay."

*****

"Aeris! Time to come back!" Tifa shouted, banging on the door to the dimensions. That girl must have been really into wherever it was that she had sent herself. Tifa had spent the rest of that day and night with Cloud. They had talked and laughed, and mended. Tifa felt that she really had a chance in this now, that Cloud really did love her. But what about Aeris now? If the poor girl got rejected by him, Tifa would feel for her, knowing what she would be going through. It was too late now for second guesses, and she banged on the door again. "Aeeeeeriiiiisss!" she bellowed. The door swung open and the pink wonder stepped out, bright smile plastered onto her doll-face.

"You rang?" she said jokingly.

"Time for you to go. He's ready for you," Tifa said seriously.

"So that's what your unfinished business was, eh?" Aeris asked, winking. "Sounds great. Whenever you're ready?" Tifa concentrated into the dimension where their Cloud awaited the flower girl, and the door swung open again.

"Good luck," Tifa said earnestly. Aeris looked back with hesitant eyes.

"You too," she said, then stepped in. The door closed. It had been done.

*****

Cloud was asleep at Costa Del Sol. Tifa had not needed sleep in her ethereal form, so Cloud had stayed up with her the whole night, and saw her off when she left. In a bright wash of light, Aeris' form appeared in his room. She looked around the place and recognized it immediately.

"I'm really back!" she said, and then saw Cloud sleeping. She tiptoed to his side, and looked at him. "I thought that I'd never see you again," she stroked his cheek with her hand and sat down beside him on the bed. Not wanting to wake him, and because the bed was big enough, she lay down next to him and stared up at the ceiling, just happy to be back. So many people she knew here had died, though, and her home, Midgar, was gone too. Even though it was a dump, she felt a pang of regret now that it was gone.

"I guess most of my old boyfriends are gone too... Zack's been gone for a long time, Tseng too. The others probably died in the destruction of Midgar. Sigh..." she thought to herself, still staring up at the blank ceiling.

Cloud felt something stirring on his bed, and was awaken from his sleep. He could feel that there was someone on the bed next to him, and not a very large person at that.

"Tifa?" he asked, turning around to look, and when he did, caught a glimpse of a bright pink dress and an odd hairdo. "AERIS!" he cried, immediately jumping up out of bed, and gesturing his hands towards her. "Tifa told me that you were coming, but I- I never even imagined, well, I mean, seeing you, and in my bed, and in the... well..." he stammered on as Aeris simply smiled back at him the way that she had a tendency of doing.

"I'd say you're shocked. But I'm so glad to see you too, Cloud. I really want to catch up, see how the world is doing now. I don't hear the planet crying anymore... it tells me that it's healing... it's thanking all of us who helped..." she looked around, smiling, with teary eyes. "All of my life, I never heard the planet do anything but cry, but now.... thanks to all of you it can heal," she looked back at cloud with gratitude.

"It's all thanks to you, Aeris, not me. You knew how to save the planet with your white materia -- you went to your death to save us!" Cloud said, grasping her dear hand. Aeris blushed, and turned her head to the side.

"I did what had to be done. If I hadn't have done it, the planet would have found someone else. Just because I have Cetra blood I was very easy for the planet to talk to. It could have asked anyone, you, Cid, Tifa, it's just that my ears were already open," she looked down at the floor.

"But... well, you knew that Sephiroth was going to kill you, didn't you? I mean, it seemed that way to me," he asked, more hesitantly now. Aeris turned her gaze to him suddenly.

"I did not! I felt that all I had to do was sit in on the altar at the Capital of the Cetra pray until Holy had done it's job and it was all over. That's what I meant, I'd be back when it was all over..." she told him, feeling a little upset now. How could they all think that she knew that she was going to die? She had been looking forward to another date with Cloud, and maybe some girl-talk with Yuffie and Tifa.

"Don't be angry... how could I know what you were thinking? Anyway, we have a lot to do. Cid's bringing the Highwind by, and he's letting me take it for the week that I have with you, though he doesn't know that you're here -- no one does, I'm making sure that this is our time," he said to her, looking into her eyes. She smiled, but she didn't feel quite right yet. The world was a different one than the one that she left.

"Okay, Cloud, anytime you're ready."

*****

Chapter 11: One Sweet Day

Tifa had gone on a journey through her alternate dimensions, and had found some interesting places.

The first one she went to was a place that was completely populated by Cetra. The whole ordeal with Sephiroth, Jenova and Shin Ra never happened, for the race had never lost touch with the planet, and Jenova, the space germ, had burned up in the atmosphere.

The second one had been disturbing. She had been attacked when seen by a rather butch-looking version of Aeris, and it wasn't assault, but a barrage of kisses and sexual advances. Upon further investigation it turned out that this dimension consisted of androgenous women, who were able to procreat because they all had male and felame organs. This was just too much for Tifa, and she left.

The third place wasn't a far cry from the second, except this time, all of the men from her world were women, and vice versa. Cloud turned out to be a rather cute girl, and somehow Tifa had been able to enter this dimension while there was a male version of her, who was female-Cloud's husband. The male Tifa's name was Tifo, Cloud was still Cloud, Aeris, who was dead in this dimension as well, for the history was the same except for the male-female switch, had been named Aerin, Cid was Syd, Vincent was Vinca, Barret was Barrette, Nanaki was Namali and Yuffie was Bart. This dimension's evil villain had been Sephira, whose father was Jenovo, and Shin Ra had been headed up by Rufa, and the Turks were Rudy, Tseng (female), Rena, and Leno. Tifa had gotten a kick out of this world, and then went on her way.

The fourth world had the most effect on her.

It was very similar to her own, and at face value could not find too much difference. She had arrived very close to Kalm town, and had gone in to ask questions about the history. All of the people in town told her that the best resource on the recent events would be the man who lived up the street in the cottage with his daughter. She made her way up, noting so many similarities, and then knocked on the door.

"Hold on, I'm coming," said the voice from beyond the door. It opened swiftly, revealing a tall man with long platinum hair and green eyes...

"Sephiroth!" Tifa exclaimed, automatically jumping back and into attack position.

"Tifa!!?" he shouted with equal or more surprise on his face. But when he looked at her, his face reflected emotions of joy, rather than Tifa's loathe. "Can it be you? Oh, God, can it really be you??" he came out from the house and ran out to her, but Tifa, still wary, leapt back with ease.

"Get away from me, you freak! I don't know what you're doing, but if I have to kill you again, I will!" she swung at him, expecting him to dodge it anyway, but instead hit him square in the chest, and he flew back to the ground, coughing.

"T.. Tifa.. Keff... cough..." he breathed out from the ground, gripping his chest. Tifa thought for a moment -- he wasn't trying to hurt her at all. He was actually very happy to see her. What a weird dimension.

"Are... are you going to hurt me?" she asked him, lowering her fists slowly. He looked up at her, the wind still knocked out of him.

"Why... would I hurt... You?" he said in earnest, his face reflecting pain. Tifa lowered her stance completely and walked over to him.

"Er, I'm sorry, I guess. Would you like me to help you up?" she offered him her hand, and he accepted.

"You don't seem to know me anymore, do you?" he asked, after she pulled him up. "After he took you from me I had always hoped for a miracle, and now here you are," he gestured to her. "Was the baby saved too?"

"Baby? I don't know what you're talking about," she looked at him oddly.

"You were pregnant with our second child... Tifa, you're my wife!"

"WHAT?"

After a long discussion of pasts, dimensions and the sort, she came to understand that in this dimension, Sephiroth had not been the evil maniac, but it was Cloud who had been. And the Tifa of that dimension had been murdered -- while pregnant -- by Cloud.

"I can hardly believe it... Cloud killing me, and pregnant too! Well, I can hardly imagine being married to you," Tifa said, shivering at the notion.

"Well you were. I we have a daughter, Angel, who, luckily, is away at a friend's house right now. It revolts me as much that I would have killed Aeris and that you're in love with that... Psycho pervert," Sephiroth told her, pouring her another glass of iced tea. "Aeris is still very alive and lives with her parents at Icicle Inn, and Cloud, well, we killed Cloud at the crater."

"The Cloud I know is more.... is more like, I guess, you, though he is a lot smaller than you," she looked into Sephiroth's eyes... she had never seen them filled with kindness before, they had always been rather sterile and cold. Now that she was getting to know this version on him, she was actually getting to like him.

"I guess I should get moving on to the next dimension soon. I still have a few days until Aeris' time is up and Cloud will make his decision. I don't want to freeload, anyway," she said, getting up from the sofa that she had been sharing with him.

"Oh, you're no burden, believe me," he said, smiling up at her. How disarming.

"I really must..." she looked down at him again. Such magnetism, and handsome at the same time -- no wonder her other self had married him. "Alright. I'll stay for a little longer, maybe get the details on everything that went on in this world, but then I really must go, okay?" she looked at him with a serious face. He nodded to her, and then she sat down again. "So, what's this daughter of mine like...?"

*****

Chapter 12: If You Want Me To Stay

Aeris was a little disappointed. They had gone to the Gold Saucer, the Midgar Forest, all of the little towns that they had been to, and even some caves, but not thing was the same anymore; wasn't fun. The Highwind was all that she had expected, though, and thoroughly enjoyed herself for that point. But now that Tifa wasn't around, the little triangle that she had so loved perpetuating wasn't there. Her feelings toward Cloud didn't seem so pressured... maybe they weren't as big as she thought that they were. Cloud didn't seem so sure anymore either.

Cloud was a little disappointed. After the initial shock was over, and the novelty had work off a little; it wasn't such a big thing. He was more sure of himself these days, compared to the old ones where he had been in a haze, per se, and had his split personality, and Aeris seemed different because of it. Now the only thing split was his feelings. He knew that he loved them both -- Tifa and Aeris, but who would end up staying with him? It seemed like Tifa intended to come back, but maybe she was going to give him Aeris? it was so confusing.

Tifa had ended up staying three days with Sephiroth. She knew that if she stayed with him any longer that she would end up just like her counterpart -- not dead, but married to him. He was all that she could ever want in a man, but there was still Cloud... she had those feelings for him, and she didn't want to risk it any longer.

"Sephy... I have to go. If I don't resolve this nothing will be right, ever. If... I get rejected, you'll find me back here," she told him with a bit of sadeness.

"And if you aren't rejected?" he asked, almost more painfully than she could handle. She smiled at him.

"If you could have your Tifa back, wouldn't you take her? I love Cloud... despite everything," she told him, nearly crying. He nodded.

"I understand. Then you must go, please do, go and show that Cloud of yours what a great girl you are," and with that, he gave her a kiss on the cheek, "until we meet again..." he said in farewell.

"Until then..." she said, and faded out.

Aeris sensed that Tifa had returned to the End of Time, and knew it was her cue to ask Cloud the question. They were at the alcove in the Midgar Forest. The day was clear, and the sun was shining in. The flowers -- all descendants of Aeris' old stock, were as bright as ever. The Mako Pool glistened. She turned to Cloud.

"Cloud," she began softly, "If you could really have your choice, would you have me or Tifa?"

*****

ENDING 1: The Mega Happy Ending
Chapter 13: What a Wonderful World

Cloud looked at Aeris. He loved her, but...
"I'm... I'm sorry, Aeris. I've really come to like you as a friend, but Tifa, well, we go back so far, and she's always been there... and I just love her. Plain and simple," he told her. Aeris looked back, feeling a little rejected, but knowing that it would work out for the best.
"Alright, that's all you need to say. I'm glad that I had this time with you. I'll cherish it," she bowed her head to him, turned around, and disappeared.
"Aeris? What the heck?"

Aeris came through the door, her eyes were watering a little.
"Tifa, he's all yours," she said, then burst into tears. Tifa gave Aeris a big, long hug.
"Thank you, Aeris. You're a good friend. I'd like to offer to you, is there any dimension that you particularly liked, and maybe wish to live in?" Aeris looked at Tifa, and smiled.
"There is one..."

Cloud was trying to figure out what was going on, when who should appear behind him, but Tifa.
"Tifa! You're back! What happened to Aeris? I thought that you were planning on leaving her here?" he asked, concerned. Tifa shook her head.
"I only planned on leaving her if you chose her, but you chose me, Cloud. But don't worry about her, I let her go to another dimension," Tifa said with a smile, "It has you in it, but I was never there, and she was, but was killed. Isn't that interesting?"
Cloud grinned and wrapped his arms around Tifa. "So you're here for good?" he asked.
"Yup. I'm full-bodied, and no longer translucent, and I'm all yours. Now, kiss me, Cloud Strife!"
Cloud and Tifa embraced into a long, passionate kiss. Love had triumphed, and Life was to be lived now. The couple traversed out of the forest and into the open world.
THE END

ENDING 2: Aeris Ending
Chapter 13: It Must Have Been Love

"Aeris," he said, looking into her green eyes, "I love you. I always have, and I always will. Having you back has jut been he greatest, and I don't think that I could live without you," he told her, holding her hands.
"Oh Cloud..." she embraced him, and they kiss. The trigger of Love set off the trick that Tifa had set up with Aeris. A light flashed around her, and now, Aeris was fully human again, tied back into her original world.
"But, what about Tifa?" asked Cloud. Aeris shook her head.
"She's gone to this world, but I think that she has many other options that she'll be completely happy with," Aeris said, and took Cloud's hand. They walked off, never to return to that fateful spot again, leaving behind past lives, and finding love in a new future.

Someone knocked at his door, he opened it, she was there.
"Is there any room in here for a lost girl?" Tifa asked. Sephiroth smiled, and kissed her.

THE END

ENDING 3: Suck it to Cloud Ending
Chapter 13: I'm a Loser

Cloud looked at Aeris. He loved her, but...
"I'm... I'm sorry, Aeris. I've really come to like you as a friend, but Tifa, well, we go back so far, and she's always been there... and I just love her. Plain and simple," he told her. Aeris looked back, feeling a little rejected, but knowing that it would work out for the best.
"Alright, that's all you need to say. I'm glad that I had this time with you. I'll cherish it," she bowed her head to him, turned around, and disappeared.
"Aeris? What the heck?"

Aeris came through the door, her eyes were watering a little.
"Tifa, he's all yours," she said, then burst into tears. Tifa gave Aeris a big, long hug.
"Thank you, Aeris. You're a good friend... but, you can go back if you want," Tifa said, having made up her mind. Aeris looked at her incredulously.
"What do you mean?" Aeris asked. Tifa grinned uncomfortably.
"I've found someone else... I can't get him out of my head, so I'm not going back to Cloud," she told Aeris.
"But I never intended on going back to Cloud!" Aeris shouted, and it was Tifa's turn to be exasperated. "I found another dimension where Zack was the hero and he isn't a player! He loves me, and I love him!" The two looked at each other, and smiled.
"Oh well..." Tifa said.
"Gee... that kinda sucks for Cloud. Double oh well," Aeris said.

Tifa appreared behind Cloud.
"Tifa!" he was about to hug her when she put out her hand.
"Ah ah, Aeris and I, well, we've found better men. Guess it sucks for you. Taa taa," she said and dissappeared.
"Goddamn it... This is all HER doing, isn't it?" he said, looking up to the heavens. The authoress smiled.

Aeris lived happily ever after with Zack, where they had a successful florists business.
Tifa lived happily ever after with Sephiroth and bore him three more kids.
Cloud was dateless and despreate until Yuffie was past stachutory age and he was able to get an arranged marriage through her father. She spent one night with him, stole his Materia, and hasn't been seen since.

THE END

ENDING 4: Cloud's Gay Ending
Chapter 13: Macho Man

"Aeris... I'm sorry, but... I'm gay. I still haven't gotten over the death of Rufus ShinRa, and I've been having an affair with my little Bubby from the Honeybee inn. Sorry," he said, smiling.
"Eeew, and I kissed you!" Aeris swiftly disappeared.

Cloud ened up marrying Reno, who eneded up being bi, who eneded up dying of AIDS for not having protected sex with one of his old girlfriends. So all of Cloud's girlfriends were dead, and he wrote his sad autobiography, which ended up on Oprah's best seller list. He now has a nice house in the Castro in SF, which he shares with his latest boy toy, Brian Boitano. They're very happy.
THE END

ENDING 5: The Mormon Ending
Chapter 13: People are Strange

"Aeris, I love you AND Tifa equally, and I think that we could work out a nice little trist..."

So Tifa found a loophole in her powers that allowed both she and Aeris to come back. Cloud gets lots of action these days, and converted to 19th century mormonism. He now has 15 children, and picked up another couple of wives 2 years later.

THE END

Love and Life
Written By Sumi J. Seto (AKA Medina)
ca. April 1998 - March 10, 1999

Well, of all of the stories I never expected to finish... Really, I intended on trashing this thing around chapter six, but around 2 months ago I decided that I should try and finish it quickly. (If you notice, I tend to sum things up at a certain point more than my style usually permits) I wrote the last ten pages or so in one night -- tonight -- and I gave up considerable HW time. I am pleased with it, it turned out pretty much how I wanted it. But, I'm NEVER writing another straight FF7 fic again. Never. Thank you.
March 10, 1999

If you haven't noticed, all of my chapter names are song names. (Which is why a few of them don't make a lot of sense.)
Also... what music did I listen to while writing this? Well, I had my trusty MPEGs of RPG music, and I always have my Riverdance CD, my Dvorak, Holst, Mozart, and occasionally some Red Hot Chili Peppers, The Soundtrack to "Austin Powers", Reel Big Fish, Steve Miller and Chicago. I really try not to listen to Pop or Vocal while writing, because I tend to sing along and get distracted, although the 2nd and 4th movements of the New World Symphony really catch me and "Mars" from The Planets. My favorite MPEGs for this are Ramza's theme from FFT, Terra's Theme from FF: Pray, One Winged Angel from FF7, (I sing along with the latin,) Jenova's song, Aeris' second theme, and the Sad Figaro song from FF6. If anyone can find me an MP3 or an MP2 of the song that's played in the City of the Ancients, I would be so happy.
March 11, 1999