I will Never Be a Memory
I do not own the Final Fantsy VII Characters or the Game
It was a long and tiresome day for Cloud and Tifa. Cloud had defeated Sephiroth that day, and he, along with the other AVALANCHE members, had spent the entire remainder of the day playing in the pool at Aerith's church. The two of them were making their way back to the store. It was almost midnight and a beautiful night for a walk. They were both completely soaked to the skin from all the swimming.
Tifa quickly glanced at Cloud, who was staring longingly at the starlit sky,
"Cloud?" She asked.
He snapped out of his deep thoughts and looked back at her. She had removed her leather vest, and was now just wearing the white tank top beneath it, and it was pretty see through with all the water on it,
"Are you okay?"
He cleared his throat and looked the other way, not wanting her to catch him staring,
"I'm fine. Just…Tired…"
Tifa bent over and wrung the water out of her long dark hair. Then flipped it back behind her again as they walked up the stairs to the store.
The windows were all dark. Barret had taken Denzel and Marleyne for the night, so that Tifa and Cloud could have a chance to catch up. Tifa turned to Cloud,
"I'm gonna go take a bath now," She put her hands on his broad shoulders, "Your room is just the way you left it."
She paused a second to look into his glowing blue eyes, then kissed him quickly on the cheek and went inside. Cloud just stood there, eyes wide with his hand on his cheek.
- - - - - - -
Later that night they were both in bed. Tifa's room was on one side of the office, and Cloud's on the other.
Cloud lay on his back in bed. He had so much on his mind that he couldn't relax. The most pressing being Tifa's flirting with him, which made it hard for him to do anything around her for fear that she would notice that he liked it. That was also making it impossible for him to sleep. He rolled over, pulling his thick grey blanket over him, but that was too hot, so he threw it off and rolled over again.
He tossed and turned until he heard a small knock on the door. He slowly stood up and walked to it, pulling it open just a little. There stood Tifa in the dimly lit hallway. She wore a pink tank top and black pj pants with fuzzy slippers. A pink ribbon tied her hair together at the ends, and it was pulled over her shoulder,
"Tifa?"
"I heard you tossing around, are you okay? Do you want to talk?"
He stood for a second, a little surprised she was there at all. Then stepped back and opened the door enough so that she could come inside.
She silently entered the room and he closed the door behind her. She let out a small gasp when she saw that he was in nothing but his black boxer shorts. But she figured he was comfortable enough with her, and that made her happy.
He sat down at the edge of his bed, and invited her to sit as well. She sat and looked at him. The moonlight streaked across his face, making his eyes glow intensely, she could tell something was wrong,
"What is it?"
"Something doesn't feel right about this situation. Like…Sephiroth isn't…dead." He said, not wanting to mention that it was partially her fault he couldn't sleep,
"We all saw you kill him." She replied, her voice sweet and reassuring,
"I just feel like he'll be back again…And he'll bring that nightmare with him."
Tifa laid her head on his shoulder,
"We'll cross that bridge when we come to it." She nuzzled him a little, "Try not to think about it for now."
Cloud lay back, Tifa rested her head on his chest. She noticed all of the scars he had on his body from his countless battles. She ran her fingers over the one on his chest, the one he'd gotten when he came to save her from Sephiroth. He shuddered a little.
They just lay there in silence for awhile, Tifa examining all of Cloud's scars. She finally hit one on his leg that made him let out a small yelp,
"Tifa!" he said, his voice cracking a little,
"What?" She teased, "This?" She ran her fingers over it again.
He grabbed her hand, "Don't…"
She gave him a pouty face.
Cloud blushed a little, "You don't know what that does to me…" He whispered.
Her eyes widened a little, "Oooh."
A small yet evil grin crossed her face, "I can fix that for you, you know."
Cloud's eyes widened, "What?!"
"You heard me."
"T-tifa…"
"Don't act so surprised. We both need it, and I've always liked you…"
"Liked me…?"
"Okay fine. I've been in love with you since we were kids…"
"Really?" He paused, "M-me too…"
"Well, then what're we waiting for?"
"Nothing." He said, pulling her into a deep kiss.
Then without breaking it he rolled over on top of her. Then just for a moment he broke it,
"Are you sure about this?"
"Shut up." She said, pulling him back down by his hair.
He wrapped his arms around her. She, on the other hand, had her hands traveling downward. She kept going until she got to the waistband of his boxers.
He tensed up, "Tifa.."
"Didn't I say to shut up?"
"Mm.." He replied.
- - - - - - -
The next morning Tifa awoke in a bright, warm ray of sunlight. She sat up and stretched, covered by nothing but the white sheet on Cloud's bed. She looked down to see him all sprawled out next to her. His hand had been under her, and twitched as he dreamed. He had a very satisfied smile on his face.
She smiled as she watched him sleep. Then she remembered that everyone was coming over for breakfast. She slowly got up, trying not to disturb Cloud. He made a dissatisfied grunt and rolled over. She sighed, relieved to not have waken him. Then quickly dressed and tiptoed out into the hallway and to her room to get ready.
- - - - - - -
A short while later everyone had gathered at the bar. They all sat at a huge table that Tifa had set up for them. Tifa danced out of the kitchen, two huge bowls of food in her hands, humming a happy little tune. She was wearing a pale pink tank top and denim shorts. Her hair was pulled back with a hair clip, to keep it out of her face, though a few stray hairs fell in front of her eyes,
"Wow Tifa," Marleyne said smiling, "You're in such a cheery mood today."
"Yeah," Cid added, "What the hell is goin' on?"
She twirled back toward the bar, giving Cid a scowl, "What's that supposed to mean?"
"…Nothin'."
Just then Cloud clomped down the stairs, rubbing his weary eyes,
"Well good morning." Tifa said to him, a little seductively.
He walked down the rest of the stairs and grabbed her by the waist, pulling her close to him, "Morning."
"Oooh." Barret and Cid both said in unison.
Tifa glanced at them, "What?"
Cid walked up and patted them both on the shoulder, "Nice job, I was wondering when you two would hook up, you needed it,
"Cid…" Tifa said, embarrassed.
She broke away from Cloud,
"What? I'm just sayin' what everyone's thinkin'."
Cloud stood there, a very upset look on his face. Tifa picked up a bowl and walked back into the kitchen with her nose in the air,
"Cid…why'd you have to do that?" Cloud asked, still pouting.
"Sorry kid.."
- - - - - - -
Later that afternoon Tifa went out for some grocery shopping. The bright sunny day had quickly turned into a grey and dismal one, threatening heavy rain. She was on her way back to the store with her huge bags of food, when she was stopped by a strange boy. He wore a long leather trench coat with all black clothes underneath it. Huge black boots on his feet. His long silver hair was pulled back into a ponytail, long bangs whipped around his face. Dark sunglasses covered his eyes, which Tifa found unusual in the cloudy weather.
He smiled and waved her over. His tall thin body leaned against a beaten up motorcycle,
"You're Tifa Lockheart aren't you?"
"Yes." She replied cautiously. There was something terrifyingly familiar about him,
"Can I give you a ride? You shouldn't be doing so much in your condition."
"Condition?"
He looked slightly startled,
"What? Oh…I thought it looked like you may have had a touch of…um…Mako Poisoning…Perhaps I'm wrong. So, how about the ride?"
"I can walk thank you."
As she started to walk away, he spoke once more,
"What will Cloud think if you get sick running around in this weather."
Just as he finished it began to pour rain. She turned back to him, a bit frightened, but figured the ride wouldn't be such a bad idea. He helped her onto the bike and tied her bags to the back.
He got her quickly back to the store and carefully helped her down, handing her the bags,
"Good luck to you, I'm sure we'll meet again." He brushed his hand against her arm, very lightly. She watched him for a second, then went inside, closing the door behind her.
The guy took out a phone and quickly dialed a number, "Hey," He said, "It's me," He paused,
"She's the one, Hojo-Sama. I'm sure of it."
- - - - - - -
Cloud met Tifa just inside the door and took the bags from her,
"How was the trip?"
"It was…Fine.." She said hesitantly.
"Did something happen?"
"Oh no…no. It's just that it started raining on my way back, so I had to walk in it." She noticed at that point that it was completely sunny once again.
She took a step toward him then stopped and put her hand on her head,
"Are you okay?"
"Yeah…Just a little dizzy." She took another step forward and fell. Fainted.
Cloud dropped the grocery bags and caught her, "Tifa!"
- - - - - - -
That night the two of them slept in Cloud's bed. Tifa was still out, and he didn't want to leave her alone. Soon after cloud had turned out the light, Tifa began to dream.
Huge wisps of hot fire flowed in front of her eyes. Sephiroth slowly emerged from the flames. His eyes full of hatred and bloodlust for every single one of them. A voice echoed around her, saying something about rebirth and her child,
"Child?" She questioned.
Sephiroth blinked, "The spawn of Cloud Strife, you bear his child. And your child will be the one to bring me back to get my revenge." Haunting laughter rattled through her head as she snapped awake and sat up.
She brought a shaky hand up to her face, it was covered in a cold sweat. The commotion hadn't phased Cloud at all, he still slept soundly,
"What the hell was that?" She whispered. She glanced over at the clock on the dresser across the room, it was nearly 8am.
She slowly got up and went downstairs, opening the curtains as she went. It was cloudy out, looking like rain as it did the afternoon before. The sky was so dark you could barely tell that it was morning. Thunder rattled somewhere in the distance.
She sighed and sat down in the dark living room, her hand on her stomach,
"Could that have been right?"
"What?" Cloud asked her, coming into the room.
He wore blue PJ pants and his hair was all matted down from sleeping. She was a bit startled by him,
"Cloud! You're up…"
"Sure.
What're you doing up so early though?"
"I…Just couldn't get back to sleep." She lied, not wanting to cause him any alarm.
He sat down next to her and wrapped his arms around her, "I can tell something is wrong. But that's okay, you just tell me whenever you're ready to."
She didn't reply, just nuzzled her head into his chest.
- - - - - - -
The next few weeks went by quickly for everyone but Tifa. The delivery service had gotten a huge boom in business, mostly delivering supplies to Shin-Ra, which was rebuilding Midgar. The bar had also gotten a lot more business lately, and therefore was keeping everyone busy.
Tifa had been feeling ill since she'd had her dream. She'd had an upset stomach and had been having dizzy and fainting spells. After a few weeks of this, Yuffie took over the bar so that Tifa could get some well needed rest.
Though after a week or so of rest went by and she still wasn't feeling any better, she feared that her dream may have been right. She decided right then and there that she was going to visit the doctor.
- - - - - - -
The next day Tifa went to the doctor. Cloud waited out on the front porch of the store for her. Cid and Barred waited there with him. Cloud sighed,
"What's wrong , Cloud?" Cid asked.
"Nothing, I just hope she's okay."
"She'll be fine." Barret said, "You should worry about her." He turned to go into the house, Cid turned to follow, "Just be prepared for some shocking news kid." They went inside. Leaving Cloud to wait and worry all alone.
- - - - - - -
It was nearly an hour before Tifa skipped up to the store. She immediately noticed cloud waiting for her there. The worry disappeared from his face the second he saw how happy she was,
"So you're okay then?"
"Well…I am." She said a little suspiciously.
"What?"
She took a deep breath, "I'm pregnant."
His jaw dropped and he sat down on the stairs as his knees buckled beneath him,
"Who-what…?" Was all that he could choke out.
Tifa put her hair over her shoulder, "Yeah."
Cloud sat there for a moment , then stood up and wrapped his arms around her, holding her tightly, "Wow…"
She wrapped her arms around him in return. They stood like that for a second until Tifa spoke, "We should tell the others."
"We heard it all." Cid said.
They looked up to see them all in the doorway.
They smiled, "Congrats."
Tifa giggled and everyone ran out smiling and laughing.
Once the commotion was over Tifa got everyone's attention. They all watched her, "Now that everyone knows, we should start the preparations."
They all nodded in agreement.
- - - - - - -
The next 9 months went by very slowly. Cloud had moved Tifa into his room and decided to turn her room into a nursery. She hadn't slept or eaten hardly at all in several months. She had a touch of Mako poisoning and was almost always sick. The baby was constantly restless. She was miserable almost all the time.
She was due any day and Cloud and
the others had just finished putting the finishing touches on the
nursery. They'd all decided that it was going to be a surprise for
Tifa, to help get her cheered up a little. So they blindfolded her
and led her to the door,
"What's going on?" She asked
wearily.
"Just take a couple of steps forward." Cloud said as Yuffie opened the door and slipped inside.
Tifa did as she was told and the blindfold was removed. She nearly fell down when she saw it.
They'd found out it was a girl a couple of months earlier, so the room was all painted and decorated in lavenders and whites. The walls were lavender with a white border around the top and bottom. A white crib was in the center of the room, a chocobo mobile hung above it. A moogle plush sat inside along with a quilt that Marleyne had made. A white rocking chair sat by one of the windows, with a soft blanket draped over it. The rest of the room was full of toys, books and photos of everyone. The closet was full of cute little clothes.
Tifa clasped her hand over her mouth, "It's beautiful…"
She walked around the room, examining things finally coming to the window. Rufus had rebuilt the entire city. As thanks for defeating Sephiroth the AVALANCHE members were all given homes on the upper plate. The lights were just starting to come on, as it was just beginning to get dark. It was a beautiful view. She turned back to look at them,
"It's perfect you guys. Thank you." She stood there looking around for a moment when a sharp pain her, "…Oh…"
"Tifa?" Cloud asked, "You okay?"
"I-I don't know…" She staggered backward a bit and Barret caught her. Cloud ran over to her and she looked up at him, "I think…It's time now…"
His eyes widened, "Oh…I…"
Vincent left the room when he heard this. He came back a moment later,
"Rufus is sending and ambulance."
Cloud left the room and got Tifa's bag, the ambulance was there a moment later and the two of them left for the hospital.
- - - - - - -
They arrived at Shin-Ra hospital a short time later and were taken to the 42nd floor and to a delivery room. They got her all situated and hooked up to several machines. Tifa's doctor, Dr.Reiko, came into the room shortly after they'd been situated,
"Hey hon."
"Hi…" Tifa said, weakly.
Reiko checked out the machines, "It looks like you're well on your way, but it'll still be a little while before you're ready. You just relax," She went to the door, "Someone will be in to give you some medication, and I'll be back in a little while." She walked out.
Cloud sat in a chair next to her bed, "How're you feeling?"
"I've been better." She said with a small laugh.
He took her hand, "It'll be okay."
She laid her head back on the pillow, "What should we name her?"
"I dunno." He paused to think for a moment, "Kyo?"
"You've been thinking about this haven't you?"
"Maybe."
She thought about it for a moment, "Regardless, I like Kyo." She said smiling, then let out a small whimper of pain and squeezed Cloud's hand.
- - - - - - -
It was an hour before Reiko came back and checked on her again,
"Looks like I was gone just long enough," She got ready, "Now, Cloud, you keep her breathing. Tifa you listen to Cloud, those are your jobs, you got it?"
The pain came to Tifa again, this time much, much worse. She squeezed Cloud's hand extremely tightly,
"Breathe Tifa… Breathe…" Cloud struggled to get out, his hand hurting.
- - - - - - -
A short time later it was all over. Tifa relaxed and fell back onto the pillow under her. She was drenched in sweat and breathing heavily.
Cloud smiled, "I told you everything would be okay."
"…Yeah…" She breathed.
"You did a great job Tifa,"
Reiko said, "We're going to go and clean her up and run a few
tests. We'll get you all comfortable in a room and bring her to you
when we're finished."
Cloud nodded, "Thank you."
She left the room with the baby and 3 nurses.
- - - - - - -
They went to a small room with a tub and scale and many testing supplies. She handed the bundle to the nurses and picked up the phone on the wall, dialing only the number 1. There was an answer on the other line, "Rufus-Sama," She said quietly, "We're ready for you now." Then she hung up and went back to the baby.
- - - - - - -
By the time Rufus got there they had finished all of their work. She lay on a small table wrapped in a warm pink blanket. Rufus walked over to her, holding a huge syringe with a long thin needle. It was full of a dark green, almost gel like liquid,
"Are you sure about this, Rufus-Sama?" Reiko asked.
"Are you questioning me?"
"It's just …won't they go to Cloud to find it first?"
"This is the very last of the Jenova cells. They have to be hidden somewhere just in case. Don't question my methods."
"Yes sir…"
He gently moved the baby's tiny head to the side, to get a good shot at her neck. He carefully stuck the needle into her jugular vein and injected the liquid into her bloodstream. She squirmed a little bit, then calmed down again. He waited a moment and when nothing happened he seemed satisfied. He turned, "You can take her back now, but remember, no one is to know about this."
"Yes sir." Reiko said as she picked up the baby and left the room.
Rufus smirked, "Finally, a proper hiding place."
- - - - - - -
Cloud made his way out into the
waiting room where all of their friends had gathered. They all looked
up when he came out,
"Well?" Barret exclaimed.
"Well…We have a girl." They all jumped up and surrounded him, asking him excited questions,
"How's Tifa?" Yuffie asked over the crowd, "She's fine, they were getting her situated in a room when I came out. She should be settled by now. He turned to go down a long hallway and motioned for them to follow.
- - - - - - -
Tifa was laying in her room with the baby in her arms. The room was small but comfortable. It was even carpeted. It was kind of like a small hotel room. Cloud peeked in, "You up for some visitors?"
She smiled sleepily, "Sure…"
Cloud opened the door and everyone rushed in. Yuffie went right up to Tifa's side, "Awwww. She's so cute!"
Vincent shooshed her, "You have to be quiet."
"But I don't want to."
He sighed, "I guess you'll find out soon enough."
Everyone snapped their attention to them when Vincent said this,
"What'd you say?" Barret asked him.
Yuffie put her hands up, "Nothing! It's not important!" She elbowed him in the ribs, "Right?"
"Yes, right."
They all hesitated at this, then
went back to Cloud and Tifa. Barret cleared his throat,
"Can I
hold her?"
"Shouldn't we let Cloud hold her first?" Cid said, "We'll all get to see her when she comes home anyway."
Tifa handed her to cloud,
"Hi Kyo." He said, smiling proudly.
"Aw." Yuffie squealed.
Cloud gazed lovingly at his adorable daughter. He suddenly thought about Sephiroth's question about what was precious to him. He now had another answer to add. He decided then and there that he would protect her no matter what. Kyo slowly opened her eyes to look at him. They glowed intensely with Mako light. This worried him a bit, but he tried not to let it bother him too much. She grabbed at one of his blonde spikes. He lowered his head a bit so she could grab it. She pulled on it a little bit, then let go of it and let out a small yawn,
"We should go now." Cid said.
"But…" Yuffie started.
"They're tired, c'mon." Vincent said. They filed out of the room, silently closing the door behind them.
Cloud walked over to the window. The Midgar night was beautiful, "You get to see this city as if meteor never happened." He told Kyo.
"Cloud?" Tifa asked quietly.
He looked over, "Hm?"
She patted the space on the bed
beside her, "Come lay down."
He nodded, "Right."
He walked over to the bed and crawled in with her, holding Kyo between them. They were only able to relax a moment when they heard a knock on the door,
"Come in!" Cloud said, not taking his eyes from Kyo.
The door opened slowly, and 3 familiar figures entered the room. Rufus Shinra and two Turks, Reno and Rude,
"My, to what do we owe this visit?" Tifa asked, almost sarcastically,
"We came to make sure everything went alright, and to, of course, see the baby." Rufus replied.
Reno stepped forward and cleared his throat, "Can I, um, Hold her?"
Tifa nodded and Cloud held her up. Reno very carefully took her from them. The other two huddled up to him. She opened her eyes and looked up at them curiously, then her eyes stopped on something on the top of Reno's head.
He moved his eyes up, "Hm?"
He pulled his goggles down around his neck, her gaze followed,
"You want these?"
She grabbed at them, as if to say yes. He slipped them over his head and around her neck, "They're all yours." He said smiling. Everyone looked shocked, they never thought he'd part with them, "What? It's not like I don't have more. Plus…She's just so cute…"
Rufus stood up straight as if he just remembered something, "We should be going," He paused and turned, "We have work to attend to."
Reno looked a bit disappointed, but gave Kyo back to them without any argument. They said their farewells and filed out. Tifa and Cloud curled up, Kyo nuzzled safely between them, and slowly drifted to sleep.
- - - - - - -
Five years later Cloud had begun to teach Kyo how to fight with swords. She was quickly getting the hang of it. With all of the Mako in her body she was getting stronger every day.
It was a windy and cold evening. Cloud and Kyo stood in a secluded area just outside of Midgar. They held up their swords. He'd given her the Buster sword. It was all hers now and she was quickly getting used to the weight of it.
Cloud rushed at her, bringing his sword down from above her, she blocked it with her blade. Though doing this knocked her off balance and she fell, getting a small cut on her cheek from his blade. Cloud dropped it with a loud clang and ran over to her side, kneeling down,
"Are you okay?"
She looked up at him, trying not to cry, the cut was small but painful,
"Yes…"
He pulled her into a hug,
"I'm sorry Angel," He stood up, "D'you wanna keep trying?"
She nodded, wiping a little tear from her cheek and picking up the Buster sword. She held it up, ready to go again,
"C'mon."
Cloud spun his sword around in his hand,
"Okay."
Her expression changed to complete seriousness ahs he moved quickly and gracefully toward her. She moved to one side as they both slashed at eachother. Cloud jumped on top of her blade and pointed his sword at her throat,
"Nice try, but it looks like I win this one."
She spun around with the sword and he fell onto the ground as she dragged it out from under him, then put her blade to his throat,
"I win."
He smiled and stood up,
"Good job, Kyo."
He patted her on the head and she giggled,
"Should we get some dinner now?"
"Yeah!"
He picked her up and they walked back to Fenrir and set her on the back. Then he climbed on and they made their way back home.
- - - - - - -
By the time they got home, kyo had fallen asleep. Cloud woke her up and carried her inside. Tifa had the table all set for them. A piping hot pot of beef stew sat there, all ready to be eaten. They all sat down and Tifa served up the food,
"So, how'd it go?" She asked as they sat down,
"Great." Kyo said cheerfully,
"She finally beat me." Cloud said proudly,
"Wow Kyo." Tifa said, setting a bowl down in front of her.
She gobbled it down.
When they were done Cloud stood up,
"Bath time, Kyo."
"Do I hafta?"
"Yes dear." Tifa giggled.
Cloud picked her up and took her up the stairs to the bath.
He started the warm water and poured in some bubble bath, trying to make it as appealing to the stubborn girl as he could. When it was full he picked her up and plopped her down into the tub. She just sat in the bubbly water with her arms crossed, glaring,
"C'mon now, wash up."
"No."
"Don't make me call your mom."
She turned her head away from him, "Hmph..."
Cloud left the room and a moment later Tifa came back in,
"What's this I hear about you not wanting to wash up?"
"I don't want to take a bath!"
Tifa knelt down next to the tub and pulled her hair ties out of her tangled hair,
"Ow! Mom!"
"You didn't want to do it yourself."
She picked up a washcloth and bottle of shampoo. She dipped the wash cloth into the water,
"So I'm doing it for you."
She scrubbed Kyo's face and the rest of her clean, then dunked her into the water to wet her hair.
She came up coughing, "MOM!"
"Too late now."
She massaged the sweet smelling shampoo into her hair, then gave her another dunk to rinse it.
Then she pulled her up out of the tub and wrapped her in a fluffy white towel,
"Now sit."
Kyo sat down on the chair that sat in front of Tifa's vanity. She got out a comb and blowdrier and started to dry Kyo's hair. Her hair had grown nearly as long as Tifa's. She usually wore it in high pigtails. She had chin length bangs that hung down on either side of her face. It was perfectly straight and silky. It was blonde at the roots and fated to nearly black at the ends.
Tifa kept combing it until it was completely dry, then she turned off the drier and turned her around,
"Next time, you'll do this yourself, right?"
She nodded,
"Good," She pulled her into a hug, "Now go and get ready for bed."
"Okay," She ran out of the room,
"G'night."
Kyo ran into her room. She had a huge bed for as small as she was. She had a huge black and blue striped comforter. Three pillows that matched it were on her bed. A stuffed moogle and chocobo sat next to her pillows. She had a huge collection of cute knick knacks, they sat on shelves all over the room. She had lots of pictures of family and friends, and idol posters all over the place.
She dug around in her dresser for her PJ's and put them on. It was a short sleeved shirt and pants with a cute sakura blossom pattern on them. She sat down on the edge of her bed and waited to get ready for bed. Cloud walked in,
"Ready for bed?"
"…No…"
"Why're you being so stubborn?"
"You guys made me take a bath."
"You needed it…even I need one."
"I guess." She said, crawling under her blanket.
Cloud tucked her in and kissed her on the forehead,
"Goodnight."
"G'night daddy."
He stood up and turned the lights off, then left the room, closing the door with a soft click.
She rolled over to face the window. The light from the full moon made her eyes glow in the darkness. Suddenly she noticed something floating down in front of the window. She silently got out of the bed and over to the window for a closer look. Large black feathers seemed to be snowing from the sky,
"Feathers."
She slowly opened the window and peeked out, looking toward the roof. A dark silhouette sat there, blue green eyes glowing in the darkness. She gasped and backed up into the room,
"Ka-Sa…"
She started to call for Tifa, but she was grabbed from behind, and her mouth covered by a gloved hand.
She tried to get out of the grasp, but was held there so tightly she could barely move. Suddenly she noticed something very shiny in his hand. It was a huge needle. Her eyes widened as she tried to free herself again. She screamed through the glove as it got closer. Then another hand grabbed her head and turned it to the right, making it easier to get to the artery in her neck. She felt the cold metal pierce her skin and a burning sensation flowed through her body. She was completely silent for a moment, eyes wide with shock. Then her body fell limp as she passed out.
A bump in the hallway outside startled the two assailants, and they quickly made their escape out the window, knocking down a lamp as they went. They made their way along the dark street below, followed by a dark shadow.
- - - - - - -
Cloud and Tifa were sitting in bed when they heard the lamp crash to the floor. They both jumped up, running to Kyo's room, slamming the door open. The lamp lay on the floor of the empty room in pieces. Cloud ran to the window and looked down, "Damn…Who would do this?"
"Sephiroth…" Tifa said.
Cloud's head turned toward her at the sound of his name to see her holding a huge black feather,
"What?"
"It was…Sephiroth"
Cloud stumbled backward,
"No…How..?"
"You were right, he wasn't dead," She looked up at him, "He must be really weak though, or surely he'd have tried to kill you."
Cloud knew she was right. He walked to where Kyo kept the Buster sword and took it down,
"I have to get her back."
"Cloud…"
"I have to." He climbed up onto the windowsill,
"Be careful…" Tifa said helplessly.
Cloud nodded and jumped down into the darkness below.
- - - - - - -
Kyo's eyes slowly fluttered open. She was in a very small room, laying on a hard table with a small pillow under her head. She soon realized that something had been done to her muscles, she was unable to move at all. There was a large light over her head, but it was quickly turned off,
"She's awake." She heard a woman say, somewhere off to her left,
"Good…" She heard a gruff voice reply.
A tall man looked down at her. He had long black hair that was thinning a bit at the front, pulled into a ponytail at the back. Small glasses sat on his nose. His bony face made him look older than he was,
"How are we feeling?"
She tried to speak, but not a sound came out.
He smiled, "Wonderful," He left her sight, "Sephiroth!" He called, "It's time now."
Another man walked into the room.
He dragged himself along, looking exhausted and as though he was in
pain. His eyes were dull, yet horrifying,
"Where's the
masamune?" He managed to force out.
"I'll go and get it for you." The older man said.
Sephiroth smirked down at her, "We're lucky to have found you. You have Ka-San's cells in you."
"Ka-San?" She mouthed.
"No time to explain." The older man said, returning with the 8 foot blade, he could barely lift it.
Sephiroth yanked the blade from him and held it up over Kyo,
"Come back to me…Ka-San…"
Kyo squeezed her eyes shut as he brought the sword down. She felt it cut her arm a bit, then opened her eyes again. Vincent stood there with a gun pointed at each of them.
Sephiroth growled and disappeared,
leaving the older man alone,
"Hojo…"
"Now Vincent, don't do anything stupid…"
"Me? What about you? Didn't you think that if you kidnapped Cloud Strife's daughter we'd find you? And you brought her to Shin-Ra mansion to boot!"
"We didn't think you still stuck around here."
"You were wrong."
He took a shot, but only managed to hit him in the shoulder before he made his escape,
"Shit." He said, wanting to follow, but not willing to leave Kyo there alone.
He turned to her and helped her sit. She still couldn't hold herself up. He examined the cut on her arm,
"It's not too bad."
He
ripped off a strip of cloth from his cape and wrapped it around her
arm, then picked her up,
"Lets get you home."
When he got outside he took out his phone and dialed Cloud's number. Kyo had fallen asleep. The phone rang a couple of times, then Cloud picked up,
"Vincent!"
He held the phone away from his ear, "Yeah, I found her."
"Is she okay?"
"Yes, I'll meet you back at the store."
"Right."
-Click-
Vincent hung up, made sure Kyo was as comfortable as possible, then made his way back to Midgar.
- - - - - - -
Tifa and Cloud were waiting when he arrived. Tifa took Kyo and went upstairs with her. She was obviously worried,
"Thanks Vincent." Cloud said, relief in his voice,
"It was no problem." He paused for a moment, "Hojo was there too."
Cloud's eyes widened, "What?"
"For some reason Sephiroth is
allowing him to help him out…"
Cloud sat down, "Anything
else?"
"She has Jenova cells implanted in her body."
Cloud just put his head in his hands, "You…Can go now. Thanks again."
"You gonna be alright?"
"I'll be fine." He said, looking up to find that he was already gone. Cloud stood up. He had someone to pay a visit to. He resheathed the Buster sword and left, slamming the door behind him.
- - - - - - -
Tifa came back downstairs a few
minutes later to find Cloud and Vincent gone,
"Ah! Quit leaving
me behind!"
- - - - - - -
Cloud rode the elevator of the new Shin-Ra building. He was going to floor 70, Rufus' office. When he finally got there he marched up to his door and slammed it open,
"Rufus!"
Rufus looked up from some paperwork, "Ah, Cloud. To what do I owe this visit?"
"Don't give me that shit! When did you put the Jenova cells into Kyo?!"
Rufus stood up, "When she was born of course. We needed a place to hide them."
"They found her! Sephiroth and Hojo are both alive!"
Rufus almost fell down, "Sephiroth…" He quickly regained his composure, "Is she okay?"
"Luckily! What the hell are you gonna do about this?!"
"Bring her here. We'll keep her safe until we come up with a plan." He sighed, "Will that do?"
"For now…" Cloud said turning, "But don't think I'll ever help you again!"
He left, leaving Rufus to think about Sephiroth and Meteor and keeping Midgar safe.
- - - - - - -
It had been 10 years since that day. Kyo spent six of those years in Shin-Ra tower, being trained to fight. Even Reno helped train her, and became pretty good friend with her. She was now 15, but the Jenova cells had caused her to stop aging at about 14, so she looked a bit younger than she was. In her
training for all of those years she had surpassed Cloud in both strength and skill, but he would never admit it.
It was a bright sunny morning, and everyone had gathered at Tifa's bar for breakfast. This had become an almost daily thing over the years. Not one of them had aged a day. Cid just figured that being around Kyo kept them all youthful,
"So where's Kyo this morning?"
Barret asked, his mouth stuffed full of bacon,
"She should be down soon," Tifa replied, "Cloud just went to wake her up."
Just as she finished speaking, Kyo clomped down the stairs.
She wore a lavender tank top with small angel wings on the back. She wore huge black pants that flared out really huge at the bottom. They had silver stitching and silver detailing on the pockets. A belt was attached to the right leg with a huge silver buckle on it. A silver chain hung from the belt loops on her left side. A black wrap hung from her hips, the huge knot that tied it fell on her right hip. She wore huge black boots with silver stitching and laces. Her hair was pulled into a low ponytail that fell midway down her back. Her chin length bangs still fell on either side of her face, but now the hair on the left covered that entire side of her face. Her right eye had a dark circle under it, as if she hadn't been sleeping.
Tifa sat a plate of food down in front of her,
"Eat."
Kyo pushed it away, "I'm not hungry."
"But…"
"No…"
Cloud came down the stairs to see them arguing about eating,
"You're not eating again?"
"No…"
Then he noticed her hair, it hadn't been that way in the front the day before,
"What's with your hair?"
"Nothing," She said standing up, looking a bit pained, "I'm going to my room."
She started making her way up the stairs but collapsed about halfway up. The others all jumped up and ran to where she lay on the stairs. Tifa lifted her up,
"Kyo…"
She shook her lightly, which caused her hair to fall out of her face, revealing a huge black bruise that went the whole length of her face. Cloud put his hand on it and she winced,
"Geostigma."
"But I thought that was cured…" Yuffie remarked,
"She's got the Jenova cells in her body though," He said picking her up, "C'mon." He said, walking up the stairs to her room.
- - - - - - -
Kyo woke up a few hours later laying on top of her blankets in bed. They all looked down at her,
"You awake?" Barret asked.
"Nnn…" Was all she said before covering her eyes with her arm. She laid like that for a moment, then tried to sit up. Cid pushed her back down,
"No you don't…"
She blinked slowly, the dark circles under her eyes had gotten worse. Cloud sat on the edge of her bed and touched her face. She jerked away,
"Why didn't you say something about the Geostigma?"
"I don't want to be fussed over."
"You're lucky it wasn't worse," He stood up, "You get some rest."
"Mmm…" She said, closing her eyes.
They all left the room and went into the hall,
"D'you think she'll be okay?" Barret asked,
"She's been so out of it." Yuffie added.
"I don't know. She hasn't been eating or sleeping, something bad is happening."
"The Jenova cells?" Red asked.
"It could be…" Cloud replied, "But why now?"
- - - - - - -
That evening Kyo decided to go for a walk. She walked around Midgar for what seemed like hours until she finally came across the train station. It was empty except for a few stragglers. One of which was a tall thin guy with silver hair, leaning on a beaten up motorcycle.
She walked slowly by him and he looked up, having not even sensed her until she walked by him, "Waiting for a train?"
She stopped, "No."
"Then what's such a pretty girl doing out here all alone?"
"I'm just out for some air," She leaned on the railing separating them, "Why?"
"Just thought it's kinda dangerous for a girl to be out here all alone at night."
"I'm fine, I don't have to worry about that."
"You sure?" He said slyly.
Just then she was surrounded by a group of people. All of them wore black clothing and had silver hair and blue green catslit eyes,
"What the hell is this?!"
"Lord Sephiroth needs you. He needs Ka-San's cells to create a successful reunion."
She backed up into the railing, "No way…"
The guy on the bike grabbed her into a choke hold and started to pull her over the railing. She elbowed him in the ribs, hearing them snap, then made a run for it when he loosened his grip,
"G-get her…" He coughed out as the group sped after her.
- - - - - - -
She ran as fast as she could until she hit something and fell to the ground, hard. She slowly stood up and looked up to seen another clone standing there. This one was female. She wore a black vinyl Cat suit. 2 belts sat on her hips. She wore knee high lace up boots. Her long hair was pulled into a long braid. Her bangs whipped around her face. She had a 6 foot long katana in her hand,
"Well, well, what do we have here?" She gave an evil grin, "Just who we were looking for."
"L-leave me alone…" Kyo stammered.
"Oh, we can't do that." She said, taking a couple of steps toward her.
She backed up until she hit the others, who had finally caught up. They grabbed her and all held her rightly. She tried as hard as she could to get away, but they held her very tightly.
The girl walked toward her and bent down to look her in the face, "Are you ready to give Ka-San to Nii-San?"
"Never."
She hit her in the head with the hilt of her sword, leaving a huge welt, and disorienting her a bit,
"You sure?"
"Yes…I'm sure…"
"Then I guess it's time for you to sleep." She said, casting a sleep spell on her.
She continued to struggle until she finally passed out.
- - - - - - -
When she awoke again she was in an unfamiliar place. It seemed to be a cave. Blue light seemed to radiate from the rock. Her head was pounding. She rolled over to her stomach and slowly pushed herself up. She lifted her head a bit to see a foot right in front of her face,
"Going somewhere?" A female voice said.
Before she could answer she felt a sharp kick and snapping in her ribs. She collapsed onto her side again. Then she felt herself being lifted off of the floor as she was picked up by her collar,
"Now, are we going to do this the hard way, or the easy way?"
"You'll never give me to give those Cells to you…they're part of my body now…"
"Fine…" She said angrily, slamming her back onto the floor, "Don't blame me if I kill you."
She turned and unsheathed her sword, letting it shine for a moment in the dim blue light, then walked back to her,
"I hope you're ready…" She said, licking the blade.
- - - - - - -
Tifa was doing the dishes at home while Cloud sat at the bar with his head resting on his arm. Tifa set a glass down on the counter,
"Kyo's been gone for a long time now. I'm starting to get worried."
"Give 'er another hour…then we'll worry…"
"I'm gonna call her."
"Tifa…she can take care of herself."
She ignored what he said and took out his phone and dialed.
- - - - - - -
Kyo's phone rang loudly, startling the female clone. She'd already beaten Kyo quite badly. Cut up her face, broken her right shoulder, and put some nasty gashes on her body, back and front. She was holding her up at arms length, ready to slice at her again when the phone rang. She quickly dug through Kyo's pockets until she found the phone and looked at the caller ID,
"You're mom's calling you…Too bad she probably won't ever hear from you again."
She threw the phone at a jagged rock wall across from her, it shattered into a hundred pieces. Kyo reached feebly for it as the clone laughed,
"Too bad."
- - - - - - -
Tifa hung up the phone and held it to her chest,
"She didn't answer."
"Oh?"
She looked at him, "She always answers…No matter what…"
"You don't suppose they got their hands on her again."
"I don't know…but I'm worried…"
"Alright, I'll tell the others, we'll go look for her."
- - - - - - -
Two hours later the clone had grown bored with Kyo. She'd stopped acting like she was in any kind of pain. She dropped her on the floor. A shattered knee and many stab wounds had been added since the phone call,
"I've had enough of you. I'm gonna let Sephiroth-Sama do what he wants with you…"
She left the room. The first time she'd actually left Kyo alone. She tried to push herself up, but her body was too damaged to even move. She'd also lost more blood than she could handle and was starting to get lightheaded. She was giving serious thought to just letting the darkness overtake her when she heard heavy footsteps heading toward her.
They got closer and closer until they came to a halt,
"You really are still alive," She heard a deep smooth voice say, "You're just like your father."
"Leave him out of this…" She whispered.
"Still feisty too, that won't last long."
He grabbed her by the hair and pulled her to her feet. She couldn't stand on her own, so he held her there,
"Are you really prepared to die?"
"That's none of your business."
"Fine." He pulled the glove off of his right hand, "Then give me Ka-San…"
He wrapped his hand tightly around her throat. She could feel Jenova being pulled from her body. She wrapped her hands around his wrist digging her nails in, it didn't effect him any.
Soon, she didn't have the strength to keep holding on, and her arms fell limply at her sides. He kept pulling until he got every last cell out, then dropped her into a heap on the ground. He looked at his hands,
"The power…it's returned to me…" He laughed menacingly, then looked back at Kyo,
"I'll be leaving you now…Enjoy your death." He turned and left.
- - - - - - -
Cloud had gotten everyone gathered up to search. Even Rufus offered up the Turks for help. They each spread out to a different place. Reno and Rude were sent to the Northern Crater,
"Why'd we have to get the freakiest place?" Reno asked.
"Who knows." Rude replied, bringing the helicopter down onto a ledge near the entrance to the cave.
- - - - - - -
"Sephiroth-Sama," One of the male clones said, a bit panicked sounding, "They've come for the girl."
"Let them come," He replied, "We have no more use for her."
"But…"
"Are you questioning me?"
"…No…"
- - - - - - -
Reno and rude had made it pretty far into the cave, not leaving any place unchecked,
"This sucks!" Reno shouted.
Rude put his hand up to silence him,
"What now?"
"Do you hear that?"
Reno listened. Sure enough he heard a soft whimpering coming from a little further inside the cave. Rude started toward it, Reno tagging casually along.
Finally they came to a place where a tunnel opened up in a the cave wall,
"This way." Rude instructed.
Reno grabbed his arm, "What if it's some kind of monster?"
"Then we'll kill it."
He wriggled his arm free and moved into the cavern. It took a moment for their eyes to adjust. The Mako in the cavern was very dim and didn't make for the greatest lighting. After a moment they could make out a dark figure laying still on the cold stone floor. It only took a moment to realize it was Kyo. Reno ran over and knelt down next to her as Rude looked around the small cavern. There was an amazing amount of blood on the walls and floor, most of it still sticky. He was truly amazed that she was alive at all.
Reno rolled her over onto her back and a look of shock overtook his face. Her face was bruised, cut up, and bleeding, She'd been stabbed about 20 times with the thin katana, her clothes blood soaked and full of holes. She also had several large gashes from the blade. Her right shoulder was broken and her left knee shattered. She was barely breathing and when she did take in a breath it sound like she was drowning.
Reno was afraid to touch her, it seemed that even the slightest motion could cause her to slip into death,
"Oi, Rude…"
"Hm?"
"How do we get her out of here?"
Rude walked over to them, a small, hardly audible gasp escaping his lips as he saw the girl,
"We'll have to carry her out of here."
"But…"
"We have no choice. You do it."
"Me?"
"See those?" He pointed to the goggles around her neck, "She trusts you."
Reno let out a long sigh, "Why me…"
He carefully picked her up, she didn't utter a sound.
Rude nodded, "Lets go."
- - - - - - -
It took them almost an hour to climb out of the cave. They were exhausted by the time they reached the chopper. They laid Kyo down behind the seats and Reno put his jacket under her head, then climbed into their seats and took off. Reno flipped out his phone and dialed Rufus, who immediately picked up,
"Reno?"
"We found her."
"And?"
"She's been brutally tortured."
There was a moment of silence before Rufus spoke again,
"Get her to the hospital, straight away."
"Right."
-Click-
- - - - - - -
When they got to the hospital, a group of doctors were waiting for them. They immediately removed Kyo from the helicopter and rushed her into the hospital. Rufus, who was there as well, told the two Turks to go down and talk to cloud and Tifa about what had happened. He would see to it that Kyo was well taken care of.
- - - - - - -
Cloud and Tifa sat in a small waiting room on the tenth floor of the Shin-Ra hospital. They were trying to keep eachother calm in the situation. Cloud held Tifa close to him.
Reno and Rude stood in the hall watching them. They were trying to wait for the right moment, but when one didn't come up they just walked in.
Cloud and Tifa looked up when they walked in. Their eyes glued on Reno's bloody shirt, his jacket thrown over his shoulder. He cleared his throat to break the awkward silence,
"It's…not good." He said quietly.
Cloud slowly stood, "What happened to her?"
Rude stepped forward, "It looks like they tortured her to voluntarily give up the Jenova cells. The more she resisted, the worse it got, until finally she had no more strength to resist. They couldn't kill her, they would've risked losing the cells all together if they did that. It's really bad…"
Before Cloud could respond a small, meek looking doctor came into the room,
"Excuse me…"
They all looked at him,
"You may come and see the girl now…"
Tifa and Cloud looked at eachother, then jumped up and followed him out of the room. Leaving Reno and Rude to return to their work.
- - - - - - -
The doctor led them to a small room, all of the walls were made of glass. It sat above a rather large room, in which several doctors and nurses were gathered around an operating table,
"She's in very critical condition." Rufus said from behind them.
They didn't turn around to look at him. Tifa stood with her hands pressed against the cold glass. Cloud looked down from over her shoulder.
Kyo was hooked up to numerous machines. A small tube was in her mouth to help her breathe. Several IV's were in her hands and arms, blood, medicines, and fluids. The doctors were working feverishly to stop her bleeding and stabilize her condition.
Cloud turned and began to leave,
"Where're you going?" Tifa asked, her voice very subdued and quiet.
Cloud stopped and looked back,
"To find that bastard." He replied.
Then left without another word. Tifa sighed and looked back down at her daughter.
- - - - - - -
It was several hours before Kyo was stable enough to put her in her own room and leave her to rest. She was on major pain killers and sedatives. Tifa sat in a chair next to her bed. Her hand on top of Kyo's bandaged one. She was mostly covered in a blanket, but her arms and face were bandaged up. Tifa watched her child sleep. It was almost like she was in a trance that was only broken when she heard the click of the door and saw Cloud walk inside. She slowly looked up,
"Any luck?"
He shook his head, "No. There's no clues as to where he went."
He sat at the edge of her bed, "The others are helping look…Except Yuffie and Vincent…apparently something's going on with Rena…"
"Rena? Their daughter? What's wrong with her?"
"I don't know," He sighed, "It doesn't really matter right now…"
Tifa nodded, knowing he was right, and went back to looking at Kyo. Cloud looked at her too, seeing her in that condition flooded back memories of the time that Sephiroth had first gone crazy,
"I really can't protect anyone…not even my own child…"
Tifa's eyes drifted up to look at his face,
"You know that's not true. This happened without the knowledge of either of us, there was nothing that could've been done about it."
This made him feel even worse, he was the one she'd told she was going out. Tifa gave him a reassuring smile. He could tell it was forced, but the fact that she was trying made him feel a little better.
They sat looking at eachother for a moment when the twitch of Kyo's hand beneath Tifa's snapped her back. She looked down at Kyo, Cloud following her gaze to find Kyo stirring. He leaned over her as she opened her eyes, shock over taking their faces when they saw that her eyes were a dull and dead grey color. The Mako was gone from her eyes.
"To-San…Ka-San…" She mouthed, the tube in her throat keeping her from speaking.
Tifa squeezed Kyo's hand a little, tears welling up in her eyes. Kyo wanted to comfort her, tell her it would be okay, but Cloud moved first so she wouldn't have to. He put his hand on her shoulder, then looked down at Kyo,
"How're you feeling?"
"Dizzy…" She mouthed.
"No pain though?"
She shook her head and he let out a relieved sigh .Kyo lifted her arms a little and looked at her bandaged hands, a displeased look on her face.
Cloud smiled, "You're alright."
Just then a nurse came into the room,
"Medicine time."
Cloud moved down a bit on the bed to be out of her way. She stuck a needle into one of the IV's,
"Sorry to say this, but this is going to make you really sleepy."
She dropped her hands down onto the bed. Cloud and Tifa leaned in to comfort her pain, but it didn't seem to hurt her. She was very frustrated, not wanting to sleep, not after she just woke up. The nurse injected the medicine and she felt a slight burning in her arm. The nurse then bowed and left the room.
Cloud looked down, "Well?"
She slowly shook her head, obviously getting sleepy,
"Don't force yourself to stay awake." He said sternly.
She looked up at him, eyelids getting droopy,
"Sleep." Tifa said.
Kyo resisted for a moment more, then was overtaken by sleep. Tifa sighed, relieved that she was still alive. A look of concern remained on Cloud's face,
"Without that Mako…she can't possibly survive…"
Tifa didn't respond, just watched Kyo silently.
- - - - - - -
A few hours later Cloud was talking to Rufus in the hall outside of Kyo's room. Tifa had gone to get something to eat, so Kyo was alone in her room,
"I've gotten some information regarding Sephiroth's whereabouts."
"So…Spit it out."
"Neiblhiem. He's gone there. Though I'm not sure why."
Cloud turned to go,
"What are you going to do alone?"
"Kill him."
"He's much stronger now, even more than the last time you fought."
"And?"
- - - - - - -
Kyo lay staring at the ceiling, her dull eyes shining a bit in the moonlight,
"Neiblheim…" She mouthed. She knew it was her parents home town, and that many horrible things had gone on there. She slowly sat herself up. She knew it would be awhile before he left, he had to find Tifa and let her know what was going on first.
She looked down at herself. Her torso was completely bandaged, as well as her arms. She grabbed onto the IV cords and pulled them all out at once. Then she grabbed the tube in her throat and pulled it out, bringing blood and loud coughing with it, then threw it to the floor. She forced herself to the edge of her bed and slid to the floor, her legs wobbling from the sedatives. She picked up her clothes from a chair by the window and pulled her pants on, figuring that her shirt didn't matter so much with the bandages, and it was full of holes.
She strapped the Buster sword onto her back and opened the window. It was a long drop, but this was her only way out. She climbed onto the window ledge and jumped out. She hit the ground hard, landing on her hands and feet. She struggled to her feet beneath the heavy blade. When she finally got up she found that she was in the hospital parking lot. And there across from her, Fenrir was parked.
She walked over to it and sat down. She opened a small compartment near her feet to find the spare key cloud hid there,
"Lucky."
She put the Buster sword in its compartment and started the bike. She took one last look at the hospital in the early dawn light and took off.
- - - - - - -
Cloud walked out to the parking lot only a moment later with Tifa. He quickly noticed something was amiss,
"Fenrir…"
"What?"
"Fenrir is gone!"
He turned and ran back inside.
They got to Kyo's room a short ride up the elevator later, to find that she was gone,
"Fuck!" Cloud yelled, "I knew it was a mistake to teach her how to ride it!!"
- - - - - - -
It was about an hours ride through destroyed and burnt down towns to get to Neiblhiem. By the time she got there her pain medication was starting to wear off. She slid off of the bike and onto the ground and walked into the quiet town. It was completely silent, he'd apparently not seen any point in destroying it again. After a quick search of the town she found that he was nowhere there, so she headed toward the mountain, to the reactor.
- - - - - - -
By the time she got there she was in a lot of pain. She had to use the sword to balance herself as she stood in front of the dark and looming building. It was still up and running, but the upkeep on the outside wasn't so good. She walked up the stairs and inside. The usual alarm sounded in the distance. She made her way through the reactor until she came to the core. The door had been ripped off of the hinges.
She walked into the large room, it was extremely bright. She looked around for a moment until she spotted Sephiroth. He sat against the tank that Jenova was previously kept in. He looked up, a bit shocked,
"You're alive…" He rose to his feet, "…Just barely."
He appeared in front of her, startling her,
"You're bleeding you know."
She glanced down to see her torso was bleeding. The blood soaking through her bandages,
"So what?"
"So…Without the Mako in your body it will eventually just give up, especially with all that blood loss."
She glared, "Shut up…"
She lifted up the Buster sword and ran at him. He easily dodged out of the way of her attack. He unsheathed the Masamune and looked at the clean blade,
"Perhaps I should put you out of your misery."
She turned back around to face him,
"You wish."
They rushed at eachother.
- - - - - - -
Cloud and Tifa arrived in the airship a short time later. They got out at the reactor and ran inside, leaving Cid huffing and puffing and trying to keep up. They ran as fast as they could all the way to the core. When they got there they found it empty. Cloud ran to the edge of the large platform and looked down to find Kyo and Sephiroth still fighting. Though they'd both damaged eachother pretty badly. Kyo ran toward Sephiroth, ready to attack. Sephiroth moved out of the way just slightly and shoved the Masamune into her chest. It went through completely. She stopped, blood seeping out of her mouth, the Buster sword dropped out of her hand.
Sephiroth picked her up with it,
"This was fun, but I've had enough now."
He threw her across the floor, leaving a bloody trail behind her. She curled up into a little ball as he walked toward her,
"Death will be sweet, hm?"
He lifted the Masamune, but it never came back down. Kyo opened her eyes to see a pissed off Cloud shielding her from the blade,
"Oho, so Daddy came to save you…"
He said as he was kicked in the face by Tifa and sent flying backward into the wall. He quickly got up and ran to Tifa, grabbed her by the hair, and threw her into the wall on the other side. She fell and didn't get back up.
Cloud got up and went after Sephiroth furiously. Hitting him over and over again with his sword. Kyo just lay there, watching them. Sephiroth backed closer and closer to Kyo as Cloud hit him. Finally he drew close enough that if Cloud wasn't careful he'd hit her too. He stood over her. Kyo reached for the Buster sword, hoping that he wouldn't spot her subtle movement, but she was wrong. As she moved to hit him, he moved to hit her too. She slammed her blade through his chest and he sliced her across the torso. Sephiroth fell to one knee,
"You dare…" He looked over his shoulder, "Lucky shot…" He gave Cloud one last look, a devious look,
"Enjoy your gift Cloud, since I didn't get to give you one the last time we met…I'll take your daughter with me now."
He fell onto his side, and quickly dispersed into the lifestream.
Cloud dropped his blade and dropped to his knees next to Kyo. Tifa was now consious and slowly made her way over to her as well. She knelt down as well, and lifted Kyo's head to rest in her lap. Cloud grabbed her hand, tears welling up in his eyes, but he tried to hold them back. Tifa's tears dropped onto Kyo's face. She moved a little bit as they fell on her face,
"Ka-San…" She muttered, "Don't cry…"
Tifa put her hands on Kyo's face, but didn't say anything.
The only thing running through Cloud's mind was Zach's death. She looked very similar to him when he died. He squeezed her hand a bit,
"Don't die…Please…"
She looked at him, "I'll…be alright..."
She said this not believing it herself.
"Hey!" Cid yelled from above them.
They looked up,
"Help's commin'! They'll be here soon!"
"Thanks Cid!" Cloud yelled.
Then he winced and grabbed his left side. He'd been injured fighting Sephiroth,
"To-san!" Kyo exclaimed, trying to get up but he pushed her back down,
"I'm fine…"
He looked at Tifa who looked even more distraught now. Kyo squeezed Cloud's hand as hard as she could as another wave of pain came through her and she started feeling extremely tired. Her eyes started to droop. Cloud leaned over her,
"Kyo! Stay awake!" He yelled.
But it really was no use, she just couldn't keep herself awake, she slowly closed her eyes and passed out,
"Kyo!"
- - - - - - -
Kyo floated in a silent and bright white place. She floated until she suddenly hit hard ground and saw that she was surrounded by beautiful flowers. She looked around to see two figures were there with her, a girl in a pink dress and a guy with black spiky hair,
"My, we have a visitor." The girl said.
"Whe…"
"The life stream." The guy said simply.
"Who are you…?"
"We're friends of your parents, hon. I'm sure they've spoken of us."
The guy just crossed his arms, "Cloud…hm…he gets a chance to have kids…"
The girl put her hand on his shoulder then looked back at Kyo,
"You should go back now. You don't belong here just yet dear." She put her hand on Kyo's forehead, her gold bangles jingling,
"We'll see you again someday."
"Later Kid."
- - - - - - -
When she awoke again she was being rushed down a hallway in the hospital. She felt dizzy and disoriented, as if she were just floating. Not really inside her body. Somewhere to her side she heard someone say that she was awake, and another say that it would save them the trouble of having to wake her for what they were doing.
They took her into a small room that had a rather large machine in it and quickly got her hooked up to it. The doctor leaned down over her,
"We're going to replenish the Mako you lost. We're gonna hook your dad up to this machine as well, and it will separate the Mako from his blood and put it into you."
"Won't that…hurt him…?"
"No, don't worry, he'll be alright, promise."
A moment later Cloud and Tifa came in. They got him all hooked up and started the procedure. She immediately felt warmer. It was a strange feeling that left her gasping for air. The doctors kept a close watch on their eyes. That was the best way for them to tell how much they were gaining and losing. They waited until their eyes were about the same color and then stopped the process. A nurse unhooked them from eachother and the doctors rushed her from the room. Leaving Cloud, Tifa and the Nurse in the other room alone.
- - - - - - -
Tifa and Cloud sat in the waiting room along with Cid and Barret. Red was in Cosmo Canyon on business, and Yuffie and Vincent hadn't showed up yet. Cloud held Tifa closely, neither Barret or Cid knew what to say to them, they were afraid of saying the wrong thing. Just then Vincent and Yuffie ran in, Vincent with his cape drawn around him. Yuffie went straight to Tifa's side,
"Have you heard anything yet?"
"No…" She looked up, "Where've you guys been?"
Vincent moved his cape to show the small black haired girl that slept in his arms. Their 5 year old daughter, Rena,
"Kyo wasn't the only one that this effected. Hojo got hold of Rena. He went into hiding, we just now got her back." He sat down, "Luckily unharmed…I can only imagine what he would've done to her…"
Cloud looked down at the little girl. Her face was twitching as she dreamed. He was glad she was okay, but his mind quickly drifted back to Kyo.
It was a short time of silence before Rufus came into the room and stood there before them. Tifa jumped up, "Any news?"
"The Mako that was transplanted to her is already taking effect. Starting to help with her healing a bit. Not as much as we'd like though. She's still in very critical condition though. The doctors managed to stop the bleeding, just barely." He stopped to clear his throat, "The Jenova cells are completely gone now, and thus the Geostigma is clearing up by itself. They're going to finish up and get her settled. She's going to be on constant watch by the doctors for at least the next 24 hours. I'm sure they'll be out here themselves soon. They still aren't sure if she'll live…but they're hoping."
Reno stepped into the doorway, "Rufus-sama?"
"Hm?"
"There's a…problem. You're needed right away."
"Right." He turned to Tifa and Cloud, "I'm sure everything is fine." He walked to where Reno was and through the door.
- - - - - - -
He followed Reno to the operating room where they were working on Kyo and stood outside the door, "I was hoping it wouldn't have anything to do with this…"
"Sorry, sir."
Rufus went inside the room.
Reno sighed, reaching inside his jacket. He pulled out the Goggles he'd given to Kyo, they'd been cut straight in half by Sephiroth. It seemed like a bad omen to him. He turned and left, knowing that if Rufus found him still standing around out there when he returned, he'd be in trouble.
- - - - - - -
Rufus walked into the room, and stood behind a glass window, "What's going on?"
"The bleeding has started again, we can't seem to keep it stopped. If things continue this way, she won't make it."
"Shit…"
"We'll keep working as long as we can."
"Is there anything I can do?"
"Arrange for someone to take over for each of us soon…We're all getting tired after 5 hours of work. We'd rather not lose her due to a stupid mistake."
"I'll see what I can do." He turned and left, leaving them to their work.
- - - - - - -
Kyo was once again surrounded by
the sweet smelling flowers,
"Zack! She's back again!" The
girl in the pink dress yelled to him.
"Already…this is bad…"
They
both rushed to her and sat next to her, "What happened to you?"
"Sephiroth. He attacked me…"
Zack's eyes opened wide, "Sephiroth…Just like…"
"Both of us…"
"Aerith...she…"
"Listen to me Kyo, you have to hold on."
"But…I don't know if I can."
Zack put his hand on her shoulder, "You have to, it would kill your parents to lose someone else to him. Especially this way. Your father wanted to protect you above all else, and if he finds that he failed, even after coming to rescue you, I don't know what he'll do."
"But…It just hurts so much…"
"I know." Aerith said calmly, "But you must carry on. Okay? We'll come to see you someday. Just please, Go on."
"I'll try…"
"Good girl." Zack said, "Now go back. You've probably been missed enough now."
- - - - - - -
Kyo was now in a room of her own. She'd actually died on the operating table and they'd brought her back just in the knick of time. Cloud and Tifa sat as close to her as they possibly could. Vincent and Yuffie sat next to the bed, Rena, now awake, sitting in Yuffie's lap. Barret and Cid had gone home, needing to be with Shera and Denzel and Marleyne.
They watched her intensely for any flicker of life in her. They were worried that they would once again slip away from them. Cloud was starting to lose hope when he felt her hand twitch a little under his. A look of concern crossed his face as he looked down at her. Tifa did the same. Her eyes slowly fluttered open as she awoke. Although she was on massive pain killers, she was still in quite obvious pain.
"To…San…Ka…San…" She whispered, her eyes looking tired, like she was going to leave them at any second.
Tifa pushed the hair out of Kyo's
face. Her eyes welling up with tears. She leaned down and hugged her,
and was quickly joined by Cloud,
"Ah…" She squealed in
pain.
They quickly let go, "Sorry Kyo." Cloud said, sadly.
Kyo tried to sit up a little, but didn't have the strength to move, "I met someone…while I was away…"
Cloud blinked, "What?"
"Friends of yours…Zack…and Aerith I think…"
Cloud let out a long sigh, "They were friends of ours…"
"I died…Didn't I…"
"How-?"
"They told me they'd both….Died from Sephiroth…" She coughed, "They told me to come back…"
A bit of blood trailed down from her mouth, "Kyo…You're bleeding…"
She put a bandaged hand up to her mouth and looked down to see the blood on the bandage,
"Ah…" She winced, pain swelling in her chest. Cloud jumped up and ran into the hall. Tifa grabbed her hand, "Everything'll be okay."
Kyo gasped for breath as a doctor came into the room from the hall, followed by cloud,
"Looks like she's not ready to be left alone yet." He took a needle out of his pocket and pulled off the top. He quickly injected something into her IV. A moment later she was out again, "We'll do our best to fix whatever has happened."
Cloud nodded. Tifa was in tears again, squeezing Kyo's hand.
- - - - - - -
6 weeks later everyone had been coming and going to see her, and to see how she was doing. One of her parents was always there with her. Her wounds had managed to almost completely heal themselves. She'd died about 7 times between that night and now.
Cloud sat in her room on a sunny afternoon. The weather outside was perfect. He had the window open. The curtains blew in the slight breeze. He was standing at the window, looking out over Midgar, when he heard a small sound from behind him. He whirled around to see Kyo stirring. He sat down on the edge of her bed as she opened her eyes and blinked them a few times. The brilliant blue shining in the light of the sun,
"To-san…"
He nearly cried to see her awake, but managed not to, "Welcome back." He said softly.
"How long…"
"6 weeks…"
"Ugh…"
"They said that if you woke up you'd be able to go home. You're wounds are almost completely healed."
"Almost?"
"It took them so long to fix you up that some of your more severe wounds have yet to heal completely."
"…Oh."
He took her hand in his, he'd never been happier in his entire life.
- - - - - - -
That night everyone came to see her. She was leaving the hospital in the morning, they just wanted to keep her there for one more night to make sure she was okay. They were all so happy to see
she was alright. She talked with everyone, apparently nothing much had happened over the past few weeks. It sounded like it'd been boring without her.
Pretty soon it was time for everyone to go. They all hugged her and told her they were happy she was alright. Rena crawled up onto her bed,
"You're gonna be okay now right, Kyo-neesan?"
"Yes Rena, I'll be fine now."
"She hugged her as hard as she could, leaving Kyo wincing in pain from her unhealed wounds."
Yuffie pryed her off, "C'mon now, she's not ready to be hugged like that just yet."
"But Mom!"
"Enough, lets go home." Vincent said, walking out, Yuffie and Rena waved as they left. Cloud and Tifa stayed with her,
"You should probably rest now, Kyo. Tomorrow's a big day." Tifa said.
"Right. Goodnight Ka-San…To –san." She rolled over onto her side, ignoring the pain from Rena's hug. She was happy she was still alive, but was afraid that the adventure would be over forever.
- - - - - - -
The next morning Kyo was fed a big breakfast and was released from the hospital. She'd gotten all new clothes. She wore a pair of long baggy jeans that she had to roll up at the bottom, black boots, and a white tank top with a black hoodie that had small wings on the back. She and her parents were escorted out by Rufus and Reno. They got to the front door and were about to leave when Reno called to Kyo. She turned to look at him. He knelt down,
"I've got something for you."
She walked up to him, wondering what it could be, "What?"
He pulled out a new pair of goggles and put them over her neck. She looked down at them, they even had her name engraved into them,
"After what happened to the ones I gave you before, I thought you'd like a new pair."
She smiled and hugged him, "Thank you, Reno."
"It was nothing."
She let him go and walked back to her parents waving at them as she went.
Reno stood up, "I'll miss that kid."
"You'll be able to see her whenever you want." Rufus said, then turned, "Lets go."
- - - - - - -
Kyo, Tifa and Cloud walked out into the sunlight of the outside. The rest of their friends were there waiting for them. She smiled when she saw them, realizing that with them as her friends, the adventure would never be over. They all gathered around her as they made their way home.
THE END
This story took me forever to write, and I'm pretty proud of the end result.
Here's what Kyo looks like http://kyokokitten.