Author's notes: I do hope I got this correctly. This is my very first Final Fantasy 7 fanfiction. I'm worried that I was unable to portray each characters' personalities properly, particularly Cloud's.

Disclaimer: I do not own FF7 or any of its characters. I am not making a profit out of this. Any canon characters here belong to Square Enix only. The OCs however, belong to me.

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Prologue

It was an ordinary Monday night in Tifa's Seventh Heaven when Reno and Rude barged in unannounced. They caught Tifa with a glass in her hand and a wash cloth in the other. Her dark brown hair was unusually tied up in to a high tail she regarded the two with confusion that quickly turned to apprehension when she saw how haggard they looked. Reno for one had a black eye and a bloody lip and who knew what else? Rude had a cut on his shoulder and upon further inspection; his thigh was soaked with blood. Quickly, she placed the glass down and grabbed her cure material and a first aid kit before she led the two further inside and on her couch.

"What happened?" she asked in that no nonsense voice as she worked on Rude's shoulder while tearing one of the leg of his pants to see what kind of injury he had on his thigh. Her voice was quivering a little. For the Turks to be so wounded and needing her help…this was never a good sign. She almost wished that the two were here for a simple drink (and aggravate Cloud in the process) and nothing more. "Reno-"

"Shh! Lemme catch my breath yo! Not like we took the chopper here," the red head interrupted as he took big gulps of air. He looked at what Tifa was doing and grinned as he winked at Rude who shook his head at him. The red head stood up and checked the windows discreetly. "Somethin's gone down at HQ. Dunno what happened doll. Damn guards suddenly started shootin' at us yo!"

Tifa frowned and stared at Reno's back. As far as she knew Rufus would never allow something to happen to his precious Turks now more than ever. She bit the inside of her cheek as she finished healing Rude's shoulder and opened her first aid kit. Rude had a bullet in his thigh and she needed to get that hunk of metal out before she healed the wound closed. Swiftly, she grabbed a whisky from the bar before making Rude drink it, letting it relax him before she dumped a couple of the alcohol on his leg. He hissed before Tifa threw the bottle at Reno. The red head caught it deftly and drank whatever was left of it before he sighed and sat down on the bar stool, his back to them. He didn't want to see Tifa operating on his partner. There were just some things that you weren't supposed to see.

A few tense and quiet moments later, Tifa examined the scar that formed on Rude's thigh. Satisfied with the healing, she stood up and wiped her hands on a clean cloth before pocketing her materia. She bit her bottom lip, an unconscious show of nervousness as she stood up and grabbed her gloves from her pocket. With her teeth gritted, Tifa put the black gloves on one at a time. First the left and then the right. It was therapeutic. With her gloves on, she knew that she would have the courage to take on anything that stood in her path.

"Dunno what happened with Tseng and Elena. Can't get in contact with'em yo," Reno said as he drank a beer he'd stolen from Tifa's fridge while she was busy and distracted with Rude.

"What about Reeve?" she asked Rude this time. The bald Turk shook his head and massaged his temples, saying that they have no knowledge of where Cait Sith's master is currently without saying anything at all.

"Where the hell is Strife yo? He gots ta know what's goin' down!"

"It's Aerith's death anniversary. He's in Midgard visiting her church," was Tifa's automatic reply as she took out her PHS and dialed Cloud's number. Her heart was pounding in her ears as she waited for her call to register.

"…The number you dialed is either unattended to or is out of our service provider area. Please hang up and try your call later.."

'Tsking', she dialed Cloud's number again just in case she made a mistake but when the same automated voice answered her so she dialed a different number just to test out her theory. She tried Barret's PHS and there was a pause with which she could hear her own heart trying to beat its way out of her chest…and then ringing. She didn't know if she should let go of the breath she was holding or not. Barret's PHS was alright but what about Cloud's?

"Yo Tifa! Whatcha…? Marlene…kay?" came Barret's booming voice but the static was making it difficult for Tifa to understand what he was saying.

"Barret, have you heard from Cloud? Something's happened at WRO. Rude and Reno are here and I can't get through to Cloud's PHS."

"Whassa't? …Okay?"

"Hello? Barret?"

"…Ti…?"

"Barret!" Tifa nearly shouted and she glared at her PHS when the line went dead. She tried to contact him again but when the same automated voice answered her as with Cloud's number, she gave up. Communication was down or was going down…which meant that she didn't have much time. Quickly, she dialed Cid's number and tapped her foot on the floor as she waved a hand at Reno to be quiet when he looked like he was about to say something.

"Cid! Gather everyone and head for Edge! Don't have time to explain! Just do it!"

"The fuck Tif? …in sa matter…you woman?! I'm…fu…right now!"

"Just do it Cid! It's an emergency!"

"Was…that anyway! Fucki…women!"

"Somethin's blockin' our PHS yo. Got maybe two words to Tseng before we got cut off," Reno said as he sat back down on the sofa, "Yo man. How's that hole in your thigh?"

"Tifa's first aid techniques are excellent."

"Tch! You would think so too yo!"

Tifa ignored their bantering and tried to contact anyone else. Unfortunately, her service provider had already shut down. Any further attempts would be a waste of time. She placed the handy (though now useless) device back in her back pocket before she turned to her two guests. She was going to ask them how they were able to come here without the chopper when she heard a commotion outside She looked out the window and frowned as she saw a some of her neighbors behaving oddly. A couple were looking around and another by the side of the street was clutching at her head. The more she searched for the signs, the more she people she counted was affected.

"Shit," she whispered before she headed up to the second floor with a warning to the Turks to not mess around the bar because she'd be billing them double if she found a drink missing. She closed the door on Reno's whining before she called to Denzel and Marlene. The poked their heads out of their respective rooms.

"Guys, I need you two to quickly pack a couple of your stuff. We're going away for a while."

The two shared a look before nodding and doing as they were told. No questions asked.

"Shit! What the hell is wrong everyone yo?!" Reno asked as he looked out the window. There were people screaming now and a couple were already curled on the floor, mumbling incoherent sentences. There were others who were trying to assist those that were obviously affected with whatever the hell it was they were affected with. Rude was already up and about, barricading whatever he could of the windows and the door.

"Reno, get the kids upstairs," Tifa ordered as she grabbed the materias she hid underneath her floorboards. Reno gave her an exasperated look before he bounded up the stairs. She could hear the screams already and she knew that it would only be a matter of time before they had to defend themselves. She wasn't a stranger to mass panic after all. She had caused a lot of those during her time as an eco-terrorist. Tifa stopped stuffing the backpack she grabbed in haste as she heard a glass breaking outside. She listened and soon enough there were a couple more glasses breaking. The intensity of the screams worsened and she cringed as she placed some potions and ethers in her bag. Once ready, she slung it on her back and walked to the door just in time to see Reno and the kids running down the stairs. She would have snapped at them to be careful if she was in the right mind to do so.

She knelt underneath the only window they hadn't barricaded (there was no more material to block it with). Brown eyes carefully peeked outside. It was a complete and utter mayhem. And she had sent Cid to go and gather everyone here! She clenched her fists before she forced herself to relax them. She took a couple of deep breaths and rationalized. Her friends were capable and could very well handle themselves. She needed to worry about this place first and foremost.

"Think this has something to do with the incident at WRO Reno?"

"Wouldn't know yo! Like I said," the red haired man shook his head and shrugged, "We barely made it in sight before they started blastin' at us! Barely made it here yo!"

"Tifa?" Marlene called out to her softly, her small bag clutched in her hand. Her face was set in a worried expression as she held Denzel's hand with her free one. Tifa rearranged her frown in to a small smile and turned to the two with an open expression.

"Hmn?"

"What's going on?" It was Denzel who spoke the question this time and Tifa let out a breath before she stood up.

"I don't know either. Everyone outside is acting strangely. I just wanted us all to be ready for any eventuality. Cid will be coming here to pick us up soon and hopefully we'll get more information from him," she answered as she turned the TV on to the news. She sighed softly as the screen was static. Even the TV networks were out. It made perfect sense though so she turned it off again and waited in silence. This calm before the storm lasted for a good two hours before Denzel broke it with a question.

"What is it Tifa?" Denzel asked as he looked at her, his head tilted to the side in query. The AVALANCHE member turned to her adopted son and furrowed her brows in confusion. Reno put down the beer he was gulping and stared at the kid. He didn't hear Tifa call the brat. He shot a look at Rude and his partner nodded at him in confirmation. Unbidden, Reno subtly readied his baton. If Denzel was going to go crazy like everyone else outside, Reno was going to make the first move and shock the kid in to unconsciousness before he could cause any trouble.

"I didn't say anything," she answered before she walked towards him and knelt in front of him, unaware of what Reno was plotting. She placed both hands on either of his cheeks and looked in to his eyes that were quickly being overtaken by some type of blankness. "What's the matter?"

Denzel placed a hand on the side of his head. "I'm hearing voices. It's so loud. It's...oooww…" he groaned and clutched at his head. Suddenly feeling dizzy, Denzel closed his eyes and face planted right in to Tifa's arms.

"Denzel?!"

"Tifa! Outside!"

As soon as the words left Marlene's lips, one of the bar's windows was smashed broken by a club. Marlene screamed and she ran towards her guardian whilst Reno and Rude took up positions to defend the small family. Tifa grabbed a hold of Marlene and placed her in a mother's embrace with Denzel.

"Alright! Let's get this party started yo!"

Rude didn't answer. He simply adjusted his sunglasses before placing both of his fists in front of him in a defensive stance.

"TIFA!"

The brunette gasped as she looked up, recognizing the voice on (probably) Cait Sith's megaphone. She grinned, her worry being momentarily eased at the idea of being rescued. She even rolled her eyes as she heard Cid's customary cursing lines before delivering his announcement.

"GODDAMN IT WOMAN! IF YOU'RE STILL FUCKIN' ALIVE IN THERE THEN GET YOUR BIG ASS OUT HERE RIGHT NOW! THE VAMP'LL GIVE YOU SOME FUCKIN' COVER!"

"That was fast yo!" Reno said as he readied himself before he nodded at Rude, signaling the other man to open the front door.

And she let out a sigh of relief as she heard a couple more cursing from the captain. For the first time in her life, she actually liked the sound of Cid calling her 'titties'.

---

Tifa gasped for breath. Now that her adrenalin rush was over and she and the rest were safely on board Cid's ship, she was starting to feel her fatigue. The female martial artist took a deep breath, regaining her wits, before she went inside of the Highwind with Marlene right beside her and looking worriedly at Denzel's trembling form. Tifa wanted to get Denzel to rest on one of those empty beds that the team used during missions. And while those sheets might not exactly be squeaky clean, at least it was a bed. They didn't exactly have anytime to do much of their laundry during their quest to save the world…and knowing Cid…

She inwardly winced and shrugged. This was no time to be picky.

On the 'L' shaped walkways that separated the bridge and that said room with the dirty beds, they met Nanaki. He gave her a respectful nod which was swiftly returned before Tifa took her kids to her destination. She placed a hand on Marlene and told her to watch over her 'brother' before she put her bag down and sent a warning glance at Rude. The Turk nodded at her before keeping watch over both the children while Tifa left for the bridge with Reno at her side.

Out in the hallway, she only saw Nanaki's glowing tail before it disappeared around the corner. Tifa closed her eyes for a couple of seconds and took several deep breaths, calming down her nerves, before she determinedly marched to the bridge where she knew everyone else was waiting for her. Reno looked back at the medical bay, wondering if he should stay back in case the brat went wild, before jogging after Tifa. He needed information first and Rude could handle one kid.

Once at the bridge, Tifa took a quick look around and took stock of where everyone was. Cid was at the helm, his shoulders tense while Vincent looked out at the window on the far left side. Nanaki was lounging around a couple of boxes, his tail twitching once in a while. No one else seemed to be around. The silence was deafening and she was about to open her mouth to inquire as to what happened when Reno beat her to it.

"Anyone know what's happenin' yo?"

It was Vincent who answered.

"No…but whatever is happening in Edge is also happening everywhere else."

"Damn motherfuckers!" Cid interrupted, "They got Shera...stupid fucking woman."

Tifa shook her head before she leaned on the metal wall, hiding a wince at how lumpy the screws were. She bit her bottom lip and looked away from Cid. He and Shera were married already and the last she heard of them was that Shera was three months pregnant.

"Cid-" she started but was quickly interrupted by the captain slamming his fist down on the controls.

"Shu'up! Just shut up! We're heading for Midgard."

A couple of minutes later, Nanaki broke the uncomfortable silence.

"Cosmo Canyon is lost. An earthquake occurred and made the soil crack in two. The Lifestream poured out of it but there was something else that came with it. There were also black tendrils knitting together with the Lifestream…and those black ones sucked the life out of anything it touched. Amidst the mass panic and the sudden appearance of those black waves, my home did not stand a chance."

The rest of the ride was made in silence after that inauspicious report. Reno turned away from the gloomy crew and headed back to the medical bay to keep Rude company. Tifa hugged herself in the background. She didn't have the courage to ask what happened to everyone else so instead, she focused on the one person that she looked to whenever things got tough.

Cloud.

Saying she was worried about her childhood friend was an understatement. If she could fly the Highwind, she would have took over no matter how many times Cid cursed at her existence and went full speed to Midgar. She didn't know whether she should throw up or faint. Luckily, she didn't do either in front ofher friends. No matter how many years had passed, she was still an AVALANCHE member. She'd blown up mako reactors and killed people that needed to be killed as well as innocent people who didn't deserve the violent demise she had given them. She had been by Cloud's side during the end of all days and she had lived through it. She wasn't about to disgrace herself in front of the people who had been beside her during those hopeless times.

She closed her eyes and bowed her head.

What was happening to their world?

---

Away from the chaos that the humans were causing each other, Cloud was frowning at his PHS. He had felt a chill run down his spine a couple of minutes ago and being the seasoned warrior that he was, he knew when not to ignore his intuition. The fact that he couldn't contact anyone was a good way to say that something was definitely wrong. He took a deep breath, letting the aroma of Aerith's flowers fill his lungs and calm his nerves. It took maybe two minutes for him to be able to calm his heart down before nodded his head in respect at the spring where his heart's sister's flower garden used to be. He placed his PHS in his pocket and picked up his bag. He had to cut this visit short. He needed to go back home and check on Tifa and the kids. As much as Aerith's memory was important to him, Tifa and the kids were alive and that meant that he could still protect them if something were indeed happening.

With a frown, he picked up his sword from one of the church's stools and turned around. He was able to take two steps away from the spring before a couple of WRO soldiers burst through the double doors of the church and took aim for him. He froze, his expression set to a cool and grim look. Subtly he moved his feet, bracing them apart and getting ready to defend himself. His hand was itching to wield his sword and he would have done so if he hadn't seen from the shadows on the ground that there were a couple of soldiers on the hole on the roof as well. This one was going to take a little bit of work, he thought as he lowered his head and tensed legs.

Before he could move however, he felt a pain shot up from his right arm. He gritted his teeth and let out a hissed breath as he glanced down at his arm. He couldn't move the damn thing and the pain only intensified and spread throughout his body. Slowly and without his will, his fingers stopped functioning and his sword dropped to the ground. The metal clashed against the wood as several rifles were pointed towards him. He couldn't fight with his body like this. As much as it pained his pride, he had to retreat from these Shinra soldiers who did not even have mako inside of them.

I'm not a child.

Stop it! Just stop it!

Come on. You can't keep things inside of you all the time.

Stop fibbing.

Cloud blinked as hundreds of thoughts bombarded his mind all at once, their separate voices merging in to one grating screech inside his head. In response, he gasped and clutched at his hair with his usable hand and closed his eyes. It was deafening and maddening. He groaned as he knelt on the dusty floorboards, uncaring now that his enemies were slowly inching their way closer to him.

Who the hell are you?!

I'm sorry. I shouldn't have said that.

Why?! Why did you do it?!

He trembled under the volume of the combined voices in his head. Was this what Aerith always experienced when she had still been alive? Was this what she could hear? How did she understand it? How could she even stand it? Cloud closed his eyes and took a deep breath, trying to take things in to perspective. He tried to block out the sounds but found them to be too powerful to do so. The paralyzing pain his body was in weren't helping him any either. He gritted his teeth and groaned in agony as even the light footsteps of the guards combined with the rustling of their clothes grated on his ears like a claw sliding against metal over and over and over again.

"S-Stop…" he gasped out the word, entirely uncertain if it had been loud enough to be heard or if he'd even spoken it in the first place. He wasn't even positive if it was directed at the soldiers or at the voices in his head.

A crash made him wince and cover his ears with both of his hands. He jerked as the jolt of pain the sudden movement caused traveled throughout his body. Gaia what was wrong with him? He panted as he kept his eyes closed, fearing the overloading of his brain from his enhanced senses more than anything. He didn't want to go crazy. He didn't want to go on a mass murdering spree like Sephiroth had when he was driven over the edge by the combination of Jenova's incessant badgering and Hojo's deceptive notes.

"Cloud!"

"What?!" he snapped as he slowly opened his eyes and regarded…Nanaki? When did he get here? He blinked and he slowly looked around, finally seeing what he had been blocking out earlier. The Shinra soldiers were engaged in full combat with Vincent, Tifa, and Reno. Vaguely, he could hear the sound of an airship above and Cloud once again crumpled under the intensity of the way his senses were being tortured. He mumbled something, he wasn't certain what though. He could have been cursing his own predicament or someone else's for all he cared.

"-hear me?" Nanaki said in his most soothing tone but no matter the volume, all Cloud heard was the screeching of the voices in his head, the racket the fight was causing, the gunfire, the footsteps, grunts and exclamations of pain…what did Nanaki say again? Something about…what was it?

Goddamnit Cloud! Concentrate!

"Arg!" he growled low in his throat as he felt the prickling sensation of a needle poking in to his skin. He glared at Tifa who had somehow gotten to his side and away from the fight and was about to snatch the offending object away – no needle was going to touch his body ever again – when Nanaki held his other arm at bay, using his massive jaw to keep Cloud from moving. His teeth didn't pierce Cloud's skin but it did the job of keeping the man still. Once it was over, Tifa threw away the syringe and started pulling Cloud up. She nodded at Nanaki and the beast let go of Cloud's arm before he joined in the fighting.

"Tifa…" Cloud leveled his stony gaze at the said woman, "What…what's going on?"

"Later. We need to get you out of here first," answered the brunette as she started backing away from the worst of the church turned battlefield as she supported Cloud.

As much as not knowing irked the blonde, he conceded and tried to maintain his focus on putting one foot in front of the other. The screams had dulled to faint whispers and murmurs. It wasn't maddening anymore and he thanked the Planet for what Tifa had done to give him this relief. He grunted as he stumbled, barely being held upright by his friend. Cloud was a small man but he knew that he was heavy and so, he barely gave it any thought when he stumbled again and his friend failed to catch him in time. He grunted as he hit the ground, knocking his head on the side of a bench in the process.

"Shit! Sorry!" Tifa babbled as she tried to get Cloud back up on his feet before she was battered away by a much stronger Reno. Once the blonde was back up on his feet, the three of them started inching towards the back door, Tifa holding out a gun she had picked up from one of the fallen soldiers and providing the two some cover.

Cloud groaned as his headache intensified with that blow to the head. Reno didn't say anything. He simply continued leading him away from the fight that he knew they were quickly losing. There were dozens of WRO soldiers. All of them were experienced infantry men and while AVALANCHE did save the world, their stamina had their limits and they were severely outnumbered. They also did not have the advantage of space so they couldn't use much of their materia aside from the restorative ones. He questioned his sanity for joining in this rescue mission while glaring at the backdoor, wishing that it would be closer so they could at least get some sort of cover.

He heard Tifa cursing, probably because she'd run out of bullets. He ignored that in favor of increasing their pace even though he relaxed slightly when they were covered by a stone pillar to the side. He was about to smile and crack a joke – the door was only a few steps away – when their escape route was blocked by a couple of soldiers that went through the back entrance. He felt her heart stop as they quickly readied their rifles, aiming for the allies. There was no place they could go or hide behind. This was it.

"Oh fuck…" he whispered weakly but it was enough to get the blonde's attention. He looked up groggily and his mako enhanced blue eyes widened in horror as he saw their fingers moving. He didn't have the time to think. Moving on adrenaline, he clumsily and roughly shoved Reno to the side, out of their range, and covered whatever he could of Tifa.

And as the sound of gunfire reverberated throughout the church, Cloud Strife took several bullets to the chest. Everything was agonizingly slow to him. He could feel each bullet piercing his skin and embedding themselves deep in to his flesh. He could hear Tifa's choked yell as she fell, a bullet having gotten through Cloud's body and straight to her own. He saw Reno falling to the side, his shin bleeding and his face twisted in agony and shock. He backed away a couple of steps, in shock and in pain, and tripped over Tifa's foot. He briefly wondered if he'd been able to save her – Reno he knew would be okay - but that thought was quickly forgotten as he fell backwards in to the spring where Aerith used to grow her flowers.

The sound of his body hitting the crystal clear water caught Nanaki's attention and he withdrew from the front line in order to take on the new batch of soldiers coming up from behind. With his eye blazing in anger at how his friends were being treated, the red beast snarled and pounced. His jaw snapped and his claws swiped, ripping apart flesh and cutting lives short.

And as Aerith's spring turned an ominous red, Cloud closed his eyes, knowing that it would be the last time he would be able to see the blue sky through the hole in the roof.

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Author's notes again: I sent this to my betas already but I am still kind of self-conscious about any mistakes I may have made that they missed to spot. If there are any, then I deeply apologize for it and I will try my best to spot them all next time.