Blood and Love

by Organization III

XigbarTifa. A combination of graphic torture and a really cute pairing.

"Do you really think you can beat me?"

Xigbar slumped against the wall, gasping for breath. Each gloved hand was wrapped tightly around the hilt of the two guns. He drew in a deep breath, feeling his lungs burn as he did. His gold eyes came up, glaring through the darkness at the red cloaked figure looking down from his vantage point one the platform above Xigbar.

"Doubt it," the Freeshooter gasped. He straightened painfully, feeling the stitch in his side wrenching at him. With a swift movement he cocked both guns and leapt. "But I'm going to try!"

"Fool!" DiZ summoned the right light as Xigbar flew upwards towards him, swirling the energy around him in a shimmering red shield. The first sizzling shot that exploded from the Nobody's gun hit the shield, dissolving with a hiss. Then Xigbar had landed next to DiZ on the platform, and swung savagely at the shield. The spiked gun sliced through the red energy, narrowly missing the red cloaked man. DiZ gave a snarl of rage, and hurled a wall of the energy at Xigbar. The wall smashed into the Nobody, sending his body flying down the length of the platform. He landed with a snap and a gasp of pain, one of his guns flying from his hand. Xigbar moaned, struggled to his knees. He could feel the stub of a bone sticking out through his skin, and the warmth of the blood running down his ribcage. With a groan of pain and anger, the Nobody got to his feet and charged down the platform, the gun kicking as he fired it repeatedly. DiZ was faster; he already had a wall back in front of him, and the shots melded onto it with no damage.

"I told you!" DiZ gloated. "You can't beat me!"

"We'll see about this!" Xigbar dove onto the floor, rolling onto the energy shield DiZ had held in front of him, and fired up. He heard a sharp gasp of pain, and blood splattered onto the floor as the red scientist stumbled back, blood spluttering down his sleeve from a hole in his shoulder. The scientist gasped in pain, grabbed at his arm in agony.

"You dog! I am done playing with you!" DiZ hurled the energy shield as Xigbar, putting all his strength behind it. The shield slammed into the Nobody as he tried to get up, and Xigbar's body went flying through the air. The Freeshooter felt the air rushing past him as his body was hurled through the air. Xigbar knew that if he hit a wall, his body would shatter into pieces. Desperately, he fumbled for a way, another way, to stop this headlong flight. He flipped helplessly through the air, being borne along by the brutal strength and speed of the energy wall. The chains stopped his headlong fling. Xigbar felt the heavy chains hit him, wrap around his body, then he stopped with a bone snapping jerk. The Freeshooter hung over a dark abyss, his left shoulder and arm tangled in the heavy chain. The sudden stop had wrenched the gun from his hand; he watched helplessly as it dropped into the darkness. The Nobody tried to struggle, but instantly cried out in pain and went limp. The arm caught in the chain was shattered beyond use, and the movement had caused his snapped ribs to rub against each other.

Xigbar hung there, gritting his teeth as his whole weight pulled the broken bones of his left arm apart. He gasped for air, staring down into the blackness below him, wondering how long it would take before his arm slowly slipped free and he fell, wondered how long it would take to reach the bottom of whatever it was below him. The pain was excruciating; Xigbar could feel his flesh slowly ripping as his weight tore his arm apart. The Nobody felt the agony spreading through him; desperately, he clutching up at the chain, trying to pull himself up to keep the weight off his broken arm. The movement ground the ribs against each other, and with a sob of agony, Xigbar let go, his weight hanging from his shattered arm. Grinding his teeth in pain, the Nobody waited. DiZ took his time, striding slowly and majestically to the porch over looking the huge drop, with the Nobody hanging from the chains over it.

"Well?!" Xigbar shouted up at him.

"Well what?" DiZ looked over the gap, his face impassive.

Xigbar was alive in agony. "Do it, whatever you're going to do, do it!"

"Here's a thought." DiZ's voice was icy cold. "I let you hang there until your flesh slowly rips, and your arm is pulled and twisted from your shrieking body, and I watch as you then fall to your doom in the darkness?"

Xigbar could already feel the muscles in his arm beginning to tear. "As if!" He snarled up at the scientist.

"Indeed." DiZ smiled coldly, watching as the Nobody winced, tried to pull himself up, and dropped back with a gasp. "This could be amusing, Xigbar, but luckily for you, I'm impatient. So I'm going to speed this up a little." The scientist reached for a control panel on the rail. He pressed a few buttons, and instantly, a horrible, grinding, metal-on-metal grating roared up from the darkness. Xigbar stared down in horror at the rumbling darkness below him. "Hear that? Wonder what that is?" DiZ smiled. "I'll show you." Instantly, light beamed down into the darkness, revealing row upon row of whirling chainsaws, their wicked, seratted blades spinning in the light. Xigbar gasped in a mix of pain and surprise, looking down at the lines of blades whirling below him. "Isn't it beautiful?" DiZ taunted. Xigbar groaned in pain as the tendons in his arm wrenched further. He hung helplessly over the chainsaw blades, limp in space. "Ready to fall?" DiZ reached for the panel again.

"As if!" Xigbar screamed up at him. "You….you.."

"You lose." DiZ pressed the panel, and with a rattle, the chains disconnected from the ceiling. Xigbar had time for one gasping cry before his body hit the chainsaws. For one nanosecond, Xigbar didn't feel anything. Then the whirling, serrated blades dug into his body, ripping out huge chunks of flesh. Xigbar shrieked in agony as the blades tore open his chest, tore through his arms and legs, hacked into his face. He felt a horrible, tearing pain as one of the blades lodged into his right eye, felt the excruciating rip as it was torn out of his face. Blood splattered as the Nobody helplessly writhed on the whirling blades as they hacked through his body. DiZ stood, looking down as, in seconds, his blades ripped the Nobody's body to shreds, crimson blood splattering. The Freeshooter gave one last agonizing scream, then what was left of his body slipped through the rows of chainsaws and fell out of sight. "That was amusing." The scientist turned off the blades and walked away down the hall. Laughing.

Tifa sat in the darkness, floors below the whirling saws. She heard the horrible grinding from above, then a horrible shriek. He's killing someone else, she thought, hugging her knees close to her to keep out the cold. Blood splattered on the cold floor around her, falling from above. The girl huddled against the wall, listening to the horrible sounds of the butchering above her. There was one last horrible scream, then the blades stopped whirling. Tifa took a deep breath, trying to calm her stomach. It's over…it's over… Then there was a thud; a splattering, sickening, snapping thud. Tifa gave an involuntary gasp of shock, shrinking against the wall. She waited, listening. Nothing moved. The darkness was unbroken. Slowly, slowly, Tifa began to relax. Then she heard it; breathing. It wasn't normal breathing; it was a ragged, rasping groan. "Who's there?" Tifa demanded. No reply. "Who are you?" The barely audible sound of the groaning gasps for air continued, unbroken. "Where are you?" Tifa whispered. Tentatively, she got on her hands and knees and crawled through the darkness, heading for the sound of the ragged breathing. She crawled closer, inch by inch, feeling her way through her prison. Her hand brushed something ragged, torn, sticky. The breathing was only inches away.

She fumbled in her pocket for her flashlight. When DiZ had first thrown her down in here, the flashlight had been in her pocket. Terrified of using up the precious batteries, Tifa rarely used it. Now she pulled it out, fumbled for the switch, turned it on, and aimed the beam of light towards the sound. The girl gave a strangled scream, dropping the flashlight and scrambling backwards. The flashlight hit the cold floor, rolled, then lay still, shining the eerie yellow light on the gruesome body lying only a few yards away. Tifa shut her eyes, trying to get the horrific image out her mind. She realized that she was sobbing from fear and shock, gasping for air. She knelt there on the floor, trying to get her nerves under control. No. I can't go back there and look it again! She told herself. Her heart was still racing. I can't…I can't.. The breathing continued, rasping out of the darkness. He's still alive, Tifa. The girl shuddered. Impossible! He can't be-…oh yes. Yes he is. Slowly, the black haired girl pulled down her hand and reached for the flashlight. Her hand closed over the cold handle, and she stifled a scream of repulsion as she crawled over to the mutilated body lying on the floor.

It was the body of a man, or had been once. Tifa wasn't sure was it was now. His cloak was torn into tatters, his blood was pooling out over the floor. Both legs were almost stripped clean of flesh; the gruesome white bones, shattered hopelessly, jabbed out through the broken, torn skin. Tifa slowly ran her eyes over his body. The chest was gruesome; the ribs had either been torn out of his body by the blades, or were shoved upwards in horrible, contorted shapes. One lung swelled halfway, struggling to inflate in the sea of blood. The other, like a popped balloon, hung off one of the ribs. His intestines, shredded into bloody ribbons, were splayed out over the floor next to him, his stomach gaped from where the chainsaws had ripped out huge chunks of flesh. Huge, jagged lacerations had torn open his side and back, and a crimson flood was running out of the deep cuts. His left arm was bent at an impossible angle, the bones stabbing through the bloody skin. His right hand had almost been cut completely off; it hung on by a little flap of flesh, blood gushing from the severed veins. But the face was the worst. Tifa covered her mouth, trying to hold back a scream of horror as she looked at it. One cheek had been gashes open; the skin hung off his jawbones, revealing the blood swelling up through his gashed throat. One eye, his right one, had been torn out by the blades; blood gushed up from the empty socket, flooding over his face. A few little arteries hung out of the gouged eye socket, trailing in the blood streaming down his face. One chainsaw had ripped open his forehead; blood ran through his silver-black hair, pooling under him.

Tifa began crying; choking, gasping sobs that shook her body. His one remaining eyes swiveled to look at her, and she saw that the whites of his eyes were blood red. His left arm scraped the ground as it slowly moved towards her. Tifa gasped as his bloody fingers brushed her leg. The man's mouth opened, and bubbles of blood formed at the corners of his mouth, swelling as fresh red blood was pumped out. "Help…me…" His voice was a gasping, strangled ghost of a sound, that haunting, bloody eye was trained on her. His fingers touched her again, as if trying to grab onto a life line. "Help-"
Tifa screamed. She scrambled back from the body, striking the bloody hand away from her. The flashlight went rolling across the floor as she struggled to her feet, backing off. The flashlight hit the floor, and the light flickered off, plunging them into darkness. She heard the gasping breathing from somewhere in the dark, as the tortured man tried to breathe. Still sobbing in fear, she wrapped her arms around herself, trying to calm her hammering heart. Help…help me.. His haunted voice kept echoing in her head.

"Please.." It was hit strangled voice again; Tifa heard the blood in his throat bubbling as he tried to speak. "Ple…..ase…" He was gasping for air; she heard the hollow shriek as he desperately tried to breathe. The girl covered her ears, wincing.

"Stop it! Stop it.." She heard her sobbing as she tried to hold the fear that had captured her. She was on her knees now. "I can't help you!" She shouted into the darkness. "Just die! Please, just die-" She heard her voice saying.

"No!" Xigbar desperately tried to breathe.

Tifa sat in the darkness, hugging her knees and tyring not to cry. "Die. Please…please…" She was too scared to move. "Please leave me alone!" She begged the man in the darkness. There was a silence, in which only the soft, gasping breathing of the chainsaw victim and her shuddering sobs were heard.

"So…you're gonna let a man die…only a few yards….away from you?" His voice was eerily human. "You're…going to let me die?"

That caught Tifa by surprise. She'd never been blankly asked by a dying, tortured person whether she was going to choose to let them die. It's not my choice, is it? She rolled to her knees and crawled across the bloody floor. "No," She said quietly. Her hands found the flashlight, and there was blood on it. "If you're going to die-" her fingers turned it on. "-then that's your choice." The beam of light traveled over the bloody floor until she found the butchered remains of what had once been a human. Slowly, willing herself to keep moving, Tifa approached the man lying on the floor. She slowly knelt beside him, setting the flashlight beside him. Her fingers fumbled to undo the long half skirt hanging from the back of her belt. "I'm sorry if this hurts," she apologized, wrapping the long black cloth around the battered chest. The man screamed in pain as she put pressure on the gaping, shredding lacerations covering his chest. Tifa hastily clapped hand of his face, blood splattering under her hand. "You can't make any noise," she whispered. "DiZ will hear….." She felt the suction on the palm of her hand as he tried to breathe, and she hastily pulled back her hand. The palm was covered in dripping blood.

Painstakingly, Tifa gently bandaged the bleeding body as best she could, trying not to hurt the butchered man too much. Several times she saw him wince and though he was going to scream in pain. But he never did. The man just groaned and shut his eye, trying to will the pain away. By the time Tifa had wrapped the skirt around his chest, his hands were dyed red from his blood. She was getting sick by the smell and sight of blood; she was almost thankful that she didn't have anything else to bandage his legs with. The site of the gruesome bones stabbing up through the torn flesh made her sick. Slowly, Tifa pulled her gloves off of her belt and began ripping the leather into strips. "Guess we have to do something about your face," she said slowly. He gave a moan of pain. "There shouldn't be that much free blood," Tifa murmured. "There's too much of it." If there was a cut in the man's skull, then blood could begin seeping into his cranium, and that could potentially kill him. By the flickering light of the flashlight, Tifa started gingerly wiping away the blood from the man's face, trying to assess his injuries. Whenever she got close to his eye, the horrifically tortured body arched in pain and he started to scream. Tifa cupped her hand lightly over his mouth and whispered to him, trying to calm him down. "It's ok. I'm not going to hurt you….it's going to be all right." You're an idiot, Tifa, she thought. Look at him! He's dying! What chance does he have? I guess…..I guess he has the same chances as I do, she thought with a jolt of surprise. It was true, wasn't it? How much longer could she survive locked in the darkness, starving slowly in this nightmare pit? Probably as long as a man horribly butchered by the saws. Tifa folded the leather in a loose square, then brushed some of the black-grey hair out of the man's face. "I'm sorry," she said. "This is going to hurt, I know, but we have to stop the blood." He shuddered as she touched his face, gently turning it towards her. The gruesome, bloody eye socket glared at her, the torn, gouged flesh horrific in the ghastly light. Tifa almost wretched right there; she bit her lip and tried to hold in the urge to vomit. "Don't scream," she reminded him. "Please…please don't scream."

As gently as she could, the girl pressed the folded leather into the eye socket. Xigbar gave a cry of agony as his brain overloaded. His whole face seemed alive with throbbing, agonizing pain. He felt the girl's hand over his hand, felt his lungs straining for air. The agonizing, lancing pain tore through his skull, it wouldn't stop. Xigbar writhed, trying to escape from the pain, trying to wrench free of the girl's hand. And that's when Tifa did it. She needed to shut up this man before DiZ came down and killed him for good, so she did the first thing she could think of. Tifa turned his head towards her and pressed her mouth over his as hard as she could. She tasted his blood as it spilled into her mouth, felt the warmth of his lips as she kissed him. And it worked. The scream stopped abruptly as their mouths met in a hard kiss. She felt his blood trickling down into her throat, felt it flooding her mouth. And she also felt the strangest feeling…..Did she like this? Tifa pulled away from him, breaking the bloody kiss with a small snap. "Now will you be quiet?" She asked, wiping away blood from her mouth. She swallowed, and tasted blood all the way down. Xigbar moaned, gasping for air. His one golden eyes was shut. But he wasn't screaming. Tifa gently turned his head towards her again, and finished gently tying on the makeshift bandage. She wiped away the blood from his face, brushing it off on her legs.

"That's all I can do for you now," she told him. "I'm sorry." Tifa flicked off the flashlight. "I'm so sorry." He moaned something as she started to feel her way away. "What?" She asked, looking back."

"…thanks." His voice was still that ghostly rasp, but somehow, it seemed for human now.

"Don't talk," Tifa said gently. "Go to sleep."

Tifa was asleep, or was she? She couldn't really tell. She felt the blood in her mouth against, tasting the salty warmth, and wanted to scream. She kept on seeing that man's face, kept on hearing his screaming, hearing the eerie, shrieking spin of the saws. She wanted to cry out, to curl up, to cover her face and cry from all the fear. She couldn't; something strong was slowly wrapping around her. Tifa tried to kick, but her legs wouldn't move. She struggled vainly for a moment, felt something pressed against the top of her head. She heard the small break sound as someone broke a kiss. "Tifa, it's alright." She knew that voice from anywhere. Cloud. The hard thing against her back must be one arm, that must be why she couldn't kick. He was carrying her. "It's alright, we're taking you home."

"DiZ?" She mumbled, still not awake, or too weak to speak normally.

"We can't find him," he said gently. "Must have fled. The whole gang's here, we're taking you back to Hollow Bastian. It's going to be already now."
"The guy.." Tifa whispered. Her head rolled against Cloud's shoulder.

"What guy?" Cloud's arms tightened around her, hugging her close to his warm chest.

"Over there." Tifa's head rolled weakly to the other side. She couldn't move her arms. "He's hurt real bad, Cloud."

"Some one else is in here?" She felt her body lowering, then Cloud gently set her on the floor, crouching behind her and supporting her with one arm. She heard him fumbling in his clothes, then heard the click of a flashlight. Tifa blinked from the sudden brilliance of it, then rolled to eyes to follow the beam. Cloud slowly swept the floor. The beam of light skimmed over the puddles of blood on the floor, then Tifa winced as Xigbar's gruesomely butchered body was illuminated. Cloud swore.

"What did they do to him?" He asked breathlessly. His grip on Tifa tightened.

"Help him?" Tifa asked. She felt too tired for this.

"Tifa," Cloud said gently. "He's dead, I'm afraid."

"No!" Tifa's cry came out as a strangled choke. She rolled onto her hands and knees and began crawling across the blood splattered floor towards Xigbar.

"Tifa!" Cloud protested, reaching for her. Tifa didn't get far; her arms, weakened by being in the dark for so long, were already wobbling. She tried to crawl a pace further, but her wrists bend under her weight, and she went sprawling across the floor. She struggled to open her eyes; she was lying in a pool of the drying blood, the crimson liquid seeping over her hand and through her hair. Tifa found herself staring at Xigbar's side, looking at the gore caked over the cracks in her makeshift bandage. There were footsteps behind her, then Cloud dropped on one knee next her, setting the flashlight on the floor, and started to pick her up. Tifa groaned in protest, her lips refusing to open. "Come on, the others are waiting." Cloud gently lifted her shoulders out of the blood. "I'm sorry, but-"

"Feel," Tifa managed, finally getting out the word.

"What?" Cloud looked down at her. Her face had splatters of blood on it; she looked so tired, so weak in his arms.

"Feel," she repeated. "Pulse."

"Tifa, he's dead," Cloud said, wincing as his eyes swept Xigbar's body. "I'm pretty sure-"

"Pulse," Tifa insisted feebly. "Please." Cloud sighed, wrapped one arm around her, then bent over the body. His hand hovered over Xigbar's neck, as it trying to find where the pulse would be amid all the shredded flesh. He finally pressed down with two fingers, and waited. Tifa stared at him, praying that the man would still be alive. Finally, Cloud pulled back his hand.

"There's a pulse," he whispered. He paused for a minute, then clenched his teeth and began lifting Tifa.

"Cloud-" She protested. "What about-"

"I don't think we can help him," Cloud said firmly. "We don't have enough knowledge to keep him alive. He'll die soon, anyway."

"But he's alive now," Tifa forced out the words, fighting to stay conscious. Cloud hesitated. "Are.. you going to let him die there..? Right in front of you?" Cloud was wavering, and Tifa couldn't hold on much longer. She was too tired; the darkness was clouding the edges of her eyes. "Cloud?" She begged.

"Alright. I'll come back for him." Cloud picked up the flashlight in one hand, looped his arm behind Tifa's knees, and lifted her. The light swung as he turned around, lighting his way as he carried her out. That was the last thing Tifa remembered for a very long time.

She sat up screaming, the sheets tightly clenched in her fists, every sense in her body alert with fear. Two gently hands firmly took her shoulders, and gently pushed her back down against the mattress. Her scream trailed off into a whimper of panic as she wriggled away from the hand, instinctively curling up into the fetal position under the sheet.

"Tifa?" A soft hand brushed the black hair away from her face. "It's alright. It's me, Aerith. You don't need to be scared anymore." Aerith gently tucked Tifa's hair behind her ear. "You can open your eyes now." Slowly, fearfully, Tifa pried her eyes open. She was looking at a wood-paneled wall, pale gold sunlight streaming over her from the small window. She was lying on her bed, back in her room at Hollow Bastion. Tifa's fingers gripped the corner of her pillow, and two tears trickled down over her face, rolling onto the white sheet. "Tifa?" Aerith sounded worried.

"I'm so glad to be home," Tifa said, her voice choked with tears. With a sob, she rolled over, throwing her arms around Aerith in a tight hug. Aerith wrapped her arms tightly around the younger girl as Tifa sobbed on her shoulder.

"It's alright," Aerith said quietly. "You're home now. It's all going to be ok."

"What about him?" Tifa asked suddenly. "Where is he?"

"You mean that other guy that Cloud brought out?" Aerith paused for a moment, hesitating. "He-"

"Is he still alive?" Tifa demanded. She didn't wait for an answer; she flung back the sheets and scrambled out of her bed. Barefoot, she tore down the hall, feet pounding.

"Tifa?" Aerith called after her. But the girl's footsteps were fading down the hall. With a sigh, Aerith pulled the sheet straight, got out of her chair, and headed for the door.

The rest of the gang sharing Merlin's house were around the kitchen in the small table, trying to wake themselves up. Cloud was sitting on the table, staring into space as Squall made them both some coffee. Yuffie sat the counter, fingering her shuriken.

"So Tifa's going to be ok?" She asked.

"Looks that way," Squall said, watching as the two mugs filled up with the steaming brown coffee.

"She's been asleep for four days now," Yuffie worried. "She must have been really tired, wasn't she?"

"That, and really dehydrated," Cloud said. "She wouldn't have lasted long down there without water, and it didn't look like DiZ was giving her any."

"That's just mean!" Yuffie protested. "Why would he do that?"

"Why would he do that to the other guy down there?" Squall removed both mugs and turned around. "Maybe we'll never know." Yuffie grimaced.

"That other guy was pretty gross," she said, making a face. "He looked nasty."

"Butchered," Squall corrected. He set down the mugs of coffee on the table and pulled out one of the wooden chairs. He sat down, and offered a mug to Cloud. Cloud accepted it numbly.

"We're very lucky to have Tifa back here and safe," he said softly. As if on cue, the heavy wooden door at the other end of the kitchen flew open, slamming against the stone wall with a bang. Tifa stood in the doorway, wearing very short shorts and a tank top, her black hair everywhere, barefoot. They all jumped, Yuffie dropped a shuriken in surprise.

"Tifa!" She cried out, sliding off the counter and swiping up the shuriken.

"Where is he?" Tifa asked, ignoring Yuffie. She was panting, as if she'd run hard to get down here.

"Where's who?" Cloud asked, eyeing her. Tifa didn't look like she was in a very good mood; her face was wet, as if she'd been crying.

"The other guy," Tifa gasped. "That you brought back." A sudden thought crossed her mind. "You did bring him back, didn't you, Cloud?" She demanded. "You didn't lie to me?!"

"Of course I didn't," Cloud reassured her. "He's in the old guest room. But-" Tifa didn't wait. She whirled around, hair flying, and dashed out the door. They heard her bare feet pounding the wooden stairs as she headed upwards, the sound getting softer every second. Tifa dashed up the stairwell, gasping for air, her hand skidding up the banister. She burst onto the hall, momentarily staggering. She still wasn't strong yet; Tifa reeled back a step and fumbled for the wall. She leaned against the cold stone for a moment, then pushed herself off and stumbled down the hall, one hand ready to grab if she need help. Her head throbbed, she was seeing things. She shouldn't run so fast. The guest room was at the end of the hall, up three short steps to where the wooden door sat in its old frame. Merlin never used that room anymore; that Keyblade kid had been the last one to be in it. Tifa staggered up the stairs, surprised at her sudden weakness. She gripped the handle of the door and swung it inward, shoving hard as it stuck in the frame. The room was like most; small with wooden walls and floors, a braided white rug on the floor. Bright sunlight streamed over the wadded, gory clothes dumped on the window sill. And the man was in the bed, the sheets pink with blood. A chair sat next to the bed, with some bandages and towels folded on it. Tifa slowly approached the bed, staggering a little from fear and exhaustion.

He looked almost peaceful, but she couldn't tell. A bloody bandage was wrapped diagonally over his face, hiding his torn eyes. His whole throat and what she could see of his shoulder were swathed in bloody, patched bandages, wrapped tightly to hold in the blood. Tifa stood over him, looking down. His one eye was shut, faint blood traces still showed around his mouth. Her fingers felt the edge of the sheet, then she slowly turned it back. His entire body was wrapped in the once-white bandages. Now, they were red, caked with blood. Tifa felt herself getting sick; her legs buckled under her, and she dropped to her knees by the bed. Her vision was swimming, swirling. Tifa's hand clenched the sheet tightly, and with an effort, she looked up at the man on the bed.

"I don't know you," she whispered. "But I'm so glad you're alive." She was too tired; she head fell forward on the mattress, the top of her skull pressed against his side, hair everywhere. She was out before she knew it. Thirty minutes later, Cloud looked in the room, looking for Tifa. There she was, kneeling on the floor next to the bed, her head laying on the mattress, one of her hands lying on the man's stomach, still clenching the sheet.

"Poor Tifa," Cloud murmured, crossing over the floor to her. He gently disentangled her fingers from the sheet, and pulled it back over the bloody bandages. He stooped and picked her up in his arms, turned, and started carrying her out of the room. Squall was coming up the stairs; he gave Cloud a questioning look. "She fell asleep in his room," Cloud said. "Either that or passed out. She's still not very strong; all the running must have worn her out."

"Poor kid," Squall said, brushing her hair back from her face. "Both of them, I guess." He looked down the hall at the door, then looked back at Cloud. "Tell me honestly," he said. "How much chance does he stand of surviving?"

"Depends." Cloud shifted Tifa's body in his arms. "If Merlin and Cid get back soon, Merlin could heal him. But if they don't get back fast, that guys gonna die." He paused. "Many of his organs are damaged. He's slowly bleeding to death."

"Internal?" Squall asked. Cloud looked away, and that was all Squall needed to know. He sighed and shook his head. "Let's hope Merlin get back soon."

"Yea." Cloud shifted Tifa again. "I got to get her back in bed; she needs to rest up some more." Squall nodded, and stepped back, allowing Cloud to pass. As Cloud adjusted Tifa on the bed and pulled the sheets back over her, he mentally replayed all that he'd seen of the man down the hall. Every gory wound, that torn out eyes, the chunks of flesh torn out of him. How could he survive? He didn't stand a chance if Merlin was late even a day. Hurry back, Merlin! he thought. Tifa will die if that other kid does.

"Hey Tifa!" It was Yuffie, shaking her awake. Tifa groaned, blinked several times, then sat up, yawning. She was back in her own bed; funny, someone must have carried her here. She brushed the hair out of her face, trying to wake up. The light coming through the window was slightly grey now, not gold. "Got you some supper," Yuffie said, sliding a tray onto her lap. "Aerith made it. Doesn't it look good?" Aerith had made soup, apparently, and Tifa was hungry enough to eat anything. Yuffie passed her a spoon, and Tifa started in, hungrily swallowing it, disregarding the heat. Yuffie watched in amusement as her friend wolfed it. "You do know that it's really hot, don't you?" Yuffie asked. Tifa shook her head, and kept on shoveling. "You're as bad as Cid!" Yuffie laughed. "You must have mouths of iron."

"I'm just really hungry," Tifa said, filling up her spoon again.

"Well, I'm glad to see that!" Yuffie said. "You slept for four days, and we're not really good at feeding sleeping people."

"Four days?" Tifa's spoon stopped halfway up. "I was really out for four days?"

"Yup!" Yuffie nodded, still grinning. "We had to feed you and keep you on an IV. You were really dehydrated, I've never seen Squall so worried before."

"How'd you feed me?" Tifa wondered, spooning in more soup. Yuffie made a face.

"It's called 'really soupy stuff' and 'lots of mistakes'" She smirked. "We still aren't very good at aiming right." Tifa grinned, not slowly her pace. "Holy cow," Yuffie said in amazement as she eyed the level of soup. "You're halfway through it already! How can you go that fast?" Tifa dropped the spoon on the tray, picked up the bowl, and to Yuffie's amusement, promptly drank the rest of the contents. She set the bowl back on the tray and grinned at her ninja friend.

"Seconds?" Yuffie wagged a finger at her.

"Now now, you need to leave some for the guys," she said sternly. "Squall and Cloud want some too. And what about me? I haven't had supper yet. You're going to eat us out of house and home!"

"What about the other guy?" Tifa asked. Her eyes looked worried, the laughter was gone. "Is someone feeding him?" Yuffie sighed.

"It's not that easy," she said after a pause. "I mean, with you, it was hard enough. You were out and all, you couldn't swallow or anything. We just kinda had to play around with you until we got the stuff in your stomach and all…"

"..Yuffie..?" Tifa asked, her voice very serious. "Is he ok?"

"Well, his throat's all ripped up and all," Yuffie continued, pretending not to notice Tifa. "So it's not exactly all that easy. Besides, with his stomach in the condition it's in, that complica-"

"Yuffie!" Tifa's hand slapped the tray hard. "What are you trying to say?" The ninja girl sighed.

"The thing is, Tifa, in the state he's in, we can't feed him," Yuffie admitted. "And unless it's through an IV, we can't even give him water. He can't swallow or anything; if we poured water in his mouth, he'd drown. Besides, his stomach's totally shredded. He'd just throw up the food even if we gave him any."

"You're starving him?" Tifa asked in horrified disbelief.

"Well, it's not like that!" Yuffie protested. Then her shoulders slumped a little. "Tifa, it's not like we don't want to feed him. We can't. Understand?"

"He'll die!" Tifa gasped, her face a mask of pain.

"A normal person can survive 22 days without food," Yuffie said, brightening.

"He's not a normal person!" Tifa almost yelled. She slid the try off her lap and started to scrambled out of the bed, but Yuffie blocked her movement.

"Hey now," she said, shaking a finger. "You can't leave! You're still really weak and all-"

"He's gonna die!" Tifa shouted at the ninja, her eyes filling up with tears. "Do you have any idea of how hurt he is? Do you? You don't know-" She tried to shove past Yuffie, but the smaller girl only shoved her non-too-gently back against the pillows.

"You don't need to shout," she told her friend. "Listen, you're really dehydrated and sick and all. I think you should go to sleep again." She whisked the tray off of the bed, and started to stand up. Tifa slumped back against the pillow and began to cry, the tears trickling out from her brown eyes. Yuffie immediately dropped back onto the chair, all concern.

"Hey, are you alright?" She asked, one hand on Tifa's shoulder. Tifa shook her head, and Yuffie slid onto the bed next to her, wrapping one arm around her shoulders. "It's gonna be ok, really!" She said earnestly. "That other guy won't die. You'll see. We'll take care of him like we're taking care of you."

"Thanks Yuffie." Tifa leaned her head on Yuffie's shoulder, wiping away the tears with her fingers. "I'm gonna be ok, really.. I'm just.."

"Want some more soup?" Yuffie asked brightly, easing Tifa onto the pillows and snatching up the tray. "That'll make you feel better, right?" Tifa grinned, scrubbed her face with a forearm, and nodded. "Alright, I'll be right back," Yuffie told her, dashing out of the room. Tifa listened as her footsteps died away down the stairs, then slumped down in the bed and pulled the covers over her head. What was wrong with her? And why did she care about that random guy?

A knock sounded on the door. Squall turned away from his computer, and, seeing that no one else was around to open the door, reluctantly got out of his seat and headed for it. The knock rapped again. "I'm coming," Squall growled, unlocking the numerous latches on the door. He instinctively reached for his gun blade with one hand as he pulled open the door with the other. As the door swung open, he whipped the sword up in front of him, ready for any attack.

"I saw, Squall, is that any way to greet a friend? Much less the man who's lending you his house?" An old voice asked.

"Merlin!" Squall dropped the sword point, grinning. "Sorry about that, but you know what times are like." He stepped aside, bowing a little as the wizard stepped in.

"What grave times these are indeed," Merlin muttered to himself, whipping off his blue hat and hanging on the peg on the door. He waved a hand at Squall. "You can shut the door. Cid won't be around for a while. He's checking security." Squall shut the door, setting his gun blade by the door again. Merlin turned around to look at his young friend. "Did you find Tifa?" He asked anxiously.

"Yea. She's upstairs," Squall said, not wasting words.

"Really?" Merlin dashed for the stairs, surprisingly nimble for an "old" man. He started up the stairs, but hadn't gotten very far before Yuffie came around the corner of the stairwell, and dishes flew. The tray fell on Yuffie's head, the bowl sailed out over spoon, and the spoon dropped down Merlin's cloak back.

"Owww.." Yuffie groaned, rubbed at her head. The tray cart wheeled down the last few stairs, clattering onto the floor.

"You're as hard-boned as always," Merlin muttered, massaging his temple. "I say, what is that down my back?"

"Sorry," Yuffie apologized, wincing a little. "Guess I wasn't looking."

"You never do," Squall pointed out. He had caught the bowl with one hand; he now spun it between his fingers, watching it with his disinterested gaze.

"I do to!" Yuffie protested. "Sometimes." She got to her feet, still rubbing at her head. Her eyes saw Merlin, and it registered for the first time. "Merlin!" She squealed, hugging the wizard enthusiastically. "You're home! We missed you so much!"

"Now now, my girl." Merlin smiled fondly. as he hugged the ninja back. "I missed you to. I trust that you kept the men in order while I was gone?" Yuffie nodded and grinned. Squall looked the other way.

"Now that you're back, you can heal the guy, right?" Yuffie asked, clenching her fists in excitement.

"And what guy would this be?" Merlin asked, shaking the spoon out of his cloak.

"The guy that was rescued with Tifa," Yuffie blurted. "He's gonna die if you don't do something, Merlin, you gotta help him!"

"Dear me." Merlin's eyes had lost their twinkle. "This does sound serious. Where might I find this person?"

"In the guest room," Squall said, setting the bowl firmly in Yuffie's hands and leading the way. Merlin winked at Yuffie and followed the brunette up the stairs, leaving the ninja to clean up the mess. "We've done everything we can to save him," Squall said as they headed up the stairs. "But he's ripped up pretty bad, and we're not doctors."

"What kinds of wounds?" Merlin asked as the two of them stepped onto the hall.

"DiZ had a hack rack of chainsaws," Squall said shortly. "Looks like the guy got dropped on them." Merlin's eyebrows rose, but he didn't say anything as the two of them headed down the dark hall. They stepped up the last three stairs, and Squall opened the door. The wizard brushed in, looking around. The room was dark, except for the patch of brilliant moonlight coming through the window. But that was enough to illuminate the body lying in the bed. Merlin crossed quickly over the floor to the bed, and stood looking down. His eyes swept the bloody face, crudely bandaged to the best of the other's abilities. Slowly, he turned back the covers, staring at the bandages wrapped around the butchered torso. Deliberately, he began untying them, his fingers working swiftly. Squall stood behind him, waiting.

"And he's still alive?!" Merlin exclaimed in shock.

"So you took off the bandages?" Squall asked, looking over the wizard's shoulder. The moonlight illuminated the ghastly lacerations carved into the limp body, shone over the fresh blood still seeping out.

"He should be dead," Merlin said. "He shouldn't have survived this at all." The wizard took a deep breath, then pressed his palm down hard on the butchered chest. If the Nobody had been conscious, he would have been shrieking in pain. Squall winced as he saw the blood welling up under the wizard's palm. Slowly, the wizard began squeezing out white light from the bottom of his fingers, forcing it out over the chest. The white light played over the huge gashes, slowly mending skin and shattered bone together. Squall heard the horrible scraping as the splayed ribs twisted back into position, broken ends grating. The light spread over the whole body, seeping down below the covers where Squall couldn't see, shining out through the bloody sheet. Merlin's eyes were shut as he concentrated his magic on slowly mending the ripped body. He was breathing deeply, as if something was squeezing his chest. He must be using up a ton of energy! Squall thought. He looked down at the body, waiting, watching as it twisted back into shape. The light was glowing fiercely, the magic mending the cracked bones and the gashed flesh. Painstakingly, the tender organs healed, the internal bleeding was stopping. The huge chunks of flesh that had been torn out were reforming.

Finally, Merlin gave a deep gasp, and the light vanished. He opened his eyes, blinking. He looked so tired. "It's over," he said.

"What about his face?" Squall asked slowly.

"Face?" Merlin seemed to notice for the first time the blood soaked face. "What's wrong with it?" He began unwrapping the bandages.

"His eyes was gouged out," Squall explained. Merlin undid the last of the wrappings, and the moonlight exposed the deep hole in the Nobody's face, crusted with gore. Merlin grimaced as he saw it, then he took a deep breath.

"Nothing for it," he said, and pressed his two forefingers into the bloody eye socket, the gore squishing under his fingers. Squall winced, turning white in the moonlight. The light flowed from Merlin's fingers, targeting the eye, sinking down into the flesh. After a moment of concentration, Merlin pulled back his fingers, wiping off blood. "I sealed the hole," he said. "But he's going to have only one eye forever." They looked down at the bed together; the body, traced with the ghastly white scars, lay on a bloody mattress, surrounding by the crimson bandages. It hadn't moved the whole time it had been healed. "His muscles will still be weak for a while," the wizard explained. "But he'll wake up from the coma soon enough."
"Glad to hear that," Squall said, pulling the sheet over the bare body. Merlin turned and started out the door. After a moment, Squall followed.

"Anything wrong with Tifa?" Merlin asked as they passed by her door.

"No, other than dehydration. She'll be alright." Squall looked in Tifa's room, then softly shut the door.

"Do you know what her connection with that guy down the hall is?" Merlin asked. "Anything deep?"

"There's a definite connection," Squall admitted. "I guess I still don't know. Maybe I never will."

"Hmm.." Merlin started down the stairs. "Well, I could use some of that soup. How about you, Squall?" The wizard hurried down the stairs, mind whirling. There wasn't any heartbeat, he thought. The man up there is a Heartless. He's a Nobody!

It was four days later. Tifa had resumed her capacity of walking around the house, and slowly, her life was fitting back into normal. But whenever she could, she'd slip away from the others, disappearing upstairs. Her friends knew where she went; you couldn't keep secrets in a house like this.

"Hey, has anyone seen Tifa?" Yuffie asked, coming into the kitchen. Squall and Cloud were sitting at the table, while Aerith busied herself with cleaning out the coffeemaker.

"No, she slipped out after breakfast," Aerith told her, wiping the rag around the inside of the glass. "You know where she'll probably be." Yuffie groaned, rolled her eyes, and turned around, starting out of the kitchen.

"Hey, don't bother her," Squall told her. "Best leave Tifa alone."

"Are you sure this is really…well, healthy?" Aerith asked. "She always goes and sits there, not moving, just waiting for him to wake up. I'm worried."

"Stop worrying," Squall said shortly. "Tifa needs time. Just leave the two of them alone."

"Maybe he'll wake up today," Yuffie interjected brightly. Despite Merlin's magic, the shock to the body system had still been severe, and much to their dismay, the coma had still remained. Merlin couldn't do anything about it, so they'd left the body lying there, hoping that he'd wake up eventually.

"Maybe," Aerith sighed. The ninja turned around and started out of the kitchen.

"Where are you going?" Cloud asked. Yuffie turned, hand on the handle, and stuck out her tongue at him.

"Not to his room, Mr. Bossy. I'm going out."

"Don't forget your shuriken. Hallow Bastion is very dangerous," Aerith reminded her.

"Yes Mother!" With a toss of black hair, Yuffie was gone out the door. It shut behind her.

"Do you think she'll be ok?" Aerith worried, typical of her.

"Yes, Mother," Squall and Cloud chimed at the same time. Aerith gave them a strange look.

"Why is everyone calling me Mother lately?" She wondered. Squall and Cloud looked at each other, shrugged, and grinned.

Tifa was sitting on the floor next to the bed, her head tipped back against the wall. One her hands was wrapped around the limp, strangely cold hand of the Nobody lying motionless on the bed. He hadn't moved in four days, would he ever move again? Tifa was beginning to get scared. What if Merlin's magic didn't work? What if the guy never woke up? What if he died after all?

So…you're gonna let a man die…only a few yards….away from you? You're…going to let me die? His words haunted her, ringing again and again through her head. Had she really almost let someone die, just in front of her? What kind of a person was she? Every life is worth saving. Or, if it isn't, then maybe mine isn't either. Tifa closed her eyes, feeling the sunlight warming up her bare legs. It felt so warm, so peaceful….pressure. The eerily cold fingers under her hand moved, twisted, tightened around hers. Tifa's eyes flew open. His hand was clenching hers. She scrambled onto her knees, her heart pounding. Daring to hope, she stared into the bed. His hand was tightly gripping hers, his one remaining eye stared straight up. He was breathing slowly, deliberately. He was awake. Feeling like she was going to cry, Tifa gently traced the side of his face with a finger.

"You're awake," was all she could say before the tears started coming. His eye turned towards her, then his whole head twisted painfully to look at her.

"Do I know you?" He asked. Tifa just shook her head and kept on sobbing, part from happiness, part from relief, still gripping as hand hard. "Wait…yea, I do." He was remembering, bits and pieces. "You're that…." His voice trailed off; he was having a hard time breathing, maybe that's why.

"Yea.." Tifa was still crying, grinning through her tears, and squeezing his hand so hard that it hurt her. "I'm Tifa…and I'm so glad.." She couldn't talk. She was sobbing too hard.

"Hey.." He sounded tired, weak. "Are you ok?" His other hand, the one that wasn't being crushed in her grip, was slowly brushing the hair out of her face.

"Yea, I'm fine." Tifa smiled as she tried to wipe off the flood of glistening tears. "Are you? You're the one who got hurt, after all.."

"I'm…really tired. And everything hurts," he said dully. "Feels like…" His voice trailed off. "Feels like someone tore me up," he said after a painful pause. "Am I really alive?"

"Yes," Tifa sobbed, laughing through the tears. "Yes, you're alive! I wouldn't be laughing if you weren't!"

"True, but you might have been crying if I was dead," he retorted with a weary half-grin. He winced as the motion stretched the painful scar on his face. "Well…..if I'm alive…then where am I?"

"Hallow Bastion," Tifa managed, scrubbing off the last tears. "Merlin's house." The man's eye widened, and she looked at him curiously. "What's wrong?" She asked.

"Hallow Bastion," he repeated, and started coughing painfully. Tifa watched him in concern as he hacked, his whole body shaking.

"Are you alright?" She asked worriedly, feeling at his pulse. "What's wrong?" He shook his head, but couldn't stop coughing. "Are you alright?" Tifa asked again, watching him as coughed.

"Fine," he managed between the racking coughs.

"You don't look like it," Tifa said dubiously, placing a hand on his chest. "What's going on?" He shook his head again. "Can you still breathe?" Tifa asked, trying to sort out her thoughts. "You're not choking, are you?" The head twisted from side to side again. "Are you going to be ok?" She asked. He tried to nod, but seemed to be having problems moving his head forward. "Alright.." Tifa pulled the sheet up over him, stroking the hair, still crusted with dried blood, until he eventually stopped hacking. He looked so weak, defeated. He'd just come out of a shallow coma, after all. "You need to get some rest," Tifa said automatically, sounding a lot like Aerith all of a sudden. His head rolled over onto the pillow, and painfully nodded. "I'll see you later, I guess," Tifa said, starting to turn away. His hand stopped her; two of his fingers had tightened around her hand, and as she turned, he gripped her hand tighter. Tifa looked back down at him, then slowly sat down next to the bed, wrapping her hand around his. She could feel the muscles in his hand relaxing slowly. "….I'm sorry," she said slowly. "But…I told you my name.. so…?"

"Xigbar," he whispered, and then was out of it. His hand was limp in Tifa's. She sat there for a long time, still holding his hand. It felt a little warmer, just a little. Xigbar.

"Xigbar?" Tifa pushed open the door, stepping into the room. "It's me." It was getting dark, the square of the light was getting grey. Xigbar was sitting on the windowsill, his knees drawn up, elbows resting on them, the light pouring over the tattered Organization cloak. He was looking out the window over Hallow Bastion, looking strangely sad. He didn't look at her as she came in. "Xigbar?" Tifa asked, crossing over the grey-lit floor to where he sat.

"It's rather beautiful," Xigbar said after a moment. Tifa looked out of the rippled glass window, looking out over Hallow Bastion. The molten gold sun was slowly sinking behind the blue silhouettes of the town, leaving behind a brilliant wake of red and purple spread out over of the sky. Beams of light streamed through the spaces between buildings, casting elaborate shadows of the stone roads.

"Mmhmm," Tifa said, smiling to herself as she gazed out of the window. "Hallow Bastion…once we get rid of the Heartless…it's going to be so beautiful.. just like the old days." She didn't notice as Xigbar winced painfully at her words. "We called it Radiant Garden long ago, before the Nobodies and Heartless came here," Tifa explained with a trace of bitterness. "But we'll get rid of them, just wait. We won't let them rule this town for much longer." She looked down at Xigbar, and instantly noticed the look of pain in his golden eye. "Is something wrong?" Tifa asked, putting a hand on his shoulder. "You're alright, aren't you?"

"No." Xigbar's voice sounded strangely choked. "No, I'm not alright." Tifa sank onto the other end of the window sill, facing him.

"What's wrong?" She asked, her eyes worried. Xigbar looked out of the window for a long ten seconds, then looked at her.

"They…didn't tell you…did they?" Xigbar asked. Tifa slowly shook her head. "That Merlin guy should have detected it when he healed me," Xigbar continued, staring at his hands. "I'm surprised he didn't tell all of you."

"Tell us what." Tifa asked in curiosity. Xigbar hesitated, then shut his eyes and forced out the words.

"I'm a Nobody," he said slowly, deliberately. Painfully. "I'm one of Organization XIII." Tifa just sat there, numbly trying to believe it.

"Or…Organization XIII?" She repeated in disbelief. "Aren't you….." Xigbar could hear the anger in her voice, steadily rising. "Aren't you guys the ones who did this to Hallow Bastion? Don't you-"

"-rule the Heartless? Yes." Xigbar hugged his knees, staring out the window with an unreadable expression. "Yes. We did this to Hallow Bastion."

"Why?" Tifa almost shouted. "Why did you… why did you do this to us?" Xigbar closed his eyes. "Tell me!" Tifa demanded. "I thought…I thought-" Her voice broke up abruptly, cut off in the flow of tears beginning to well up in her eyes. Tears of pain and fury.

"You thought that I was one of the Good Guys, didn't you?" Xigbar finished her sentence. His fingers tightened, gripping the leather under his hand hard. He looked over at her, and Tifa was surprised to see that his eye was glistening. "I'm so sorry," he said quietly. "I'm so sorry, but I'm not." Tifa didn't know what to say. She just sat there, feeling the tears running down her face. She was too broken to cry, too much in disbelief. "I….I didn't know..," Xigbar said after a moment. He was looking out the window again, a single, wet line curving down the scarred cheek. "I didn't know that this was Hallow Bastion. I…I think I forgot that other people can feel too. That is hurts when this happens."

"Did you just figure that out?" Tifa asked furiously. "Did you just understand that people feel pain?" Xigbar's gaze swung towards her, and Tifa saw a quick flash of something hard and accusing in it.

"You don't understand," he said. "You have a heart. You have friends. You can laugh and cry with them, and they love you the same. You can love. Nobodies can't." He paused. "We want to. That's why we do what we do. But maybe….maybe it's not worth hurting people like you. Maybe it's not worth destroying Hallow Bastion." Tifa stared at him in surprise. Xigbar couldn't look at her; he kept purposefully staring out the window. "I'm jealous," he said. "I'm jealous of you, and what you have. I think I had them once too, but I don't remember anymore. I wish I could be like you, like everyone else here. Maybe I'm just dreaming."

"Then…why don't you just leave the Organization?" Tifa asked, placing one of her hands over his. "You can leave them, it's not too late."

"If I leave now, I'll lose any chance I had of getting a heart," Xigbar said quietly. "Any chance to love you."
"Love me?" Tifa asked in surprise.

"I used to love, I'm sure I did." Xigbar looked straight at her, his one gold eye unblinking. "I think I'd like to again." Tifa hesitated, then leaned against Xigbar's up drawn legs and rested her head against his knees.

"I think I'd be willing to wait," she said. "If you were going to try to get back your feelings. But what about Hallow Bastion?"

"That's why I'll have to go back to Xemnas," Xigbar said slowly, running his fingers through her hair. "I need to talk to him. Maybe I can stop this."

"For someone without a heart, you can act pretty considerate," Tifa murmured, grinning to herself.

"Maybe I'm faking this. Or maybe I really can feel more than I thought," Xigbar said. On an impulse, he leaned forward and kissed the top of Tifa's head. She looked up in surprise. "I don't think I was faking that," Xigbar said, running his fingers along the side of her face. "That's how people tell others that they love them, isn't it?"

"Exactly." Tifa leaned forward, Xigbar slid his legs off of the window seat, and then they were kissing, both of Tifa's arms wound up around his neck, fingers tangled in his hair. Xigbar's arms were around her waist, pulling her close as they kissed, the light shining on both of them, casting shadows on the floor. And Merlin, looking in from the barely open door, smiled, turned, and walked away, leaving the two of them enjoying that one moment of being whole.