Random #4, Ballroom's Secrets

"Tifa, you want me to do what?" Cloud whined, as Tifa explained to Cloud about the invitations. Well, more like boldfaced lied about the invitations.

"Once again, my cousin from the distant country of Cray has invited us to a glorious party, of which I am to be present. I was told to bring a..." she paused, knowing this would cause a positive reaction, but would be more of a lie than she liked. Sephiroth specifically avoided using the word date. "I was told to bring a date." she finished simply, drawing a blush from Cloud.

"Yeah, okay." he said while covering his face. Cloud looked up at the clock. It was 22:15, meaning late. "I should turn in. The thing is tomorrow, right?" Tifa looked at him.

"Yeah. See you tomorrow, Cloud." She headed off to her room without a look back.

As she wrapped herself in the comforting layers of blanket and sheets, she slowly drifted into the world of slumber. But no dreams for her tonight. She commanded her dream self to the spirit room, where she locked the door behind her. She then fluttered over to the spirit dairy, where she flipped over to a new page.

Dear Dairy,

Gods, I don't know what to do. Sephiroth, my most hated and feared enemy, is suddenly in love with me(shudder), and I am doing nothing to stop it. Ever since he showed me that horrible dream, I have thought about him ceaselessly. I don't love him, but I can't help but wonder. It seems that I am welcoming his love, yearning for his touch... No! That's not possible! I hate him! But, if that is so, dear diary, then why did I spend so much time today convincing Cloud to come with me to a ball he invited me to? I lied to Cloud, told him something about a cousin. How will I explain the dress? How will I explain the fact that Sephiroth will be there, waiting for me? And I know these facts, yet I yearn to go anyway. Why is that, dear dairy? Tell me please. Tell me that I don't want him near me. Tell me that I hate him. Tell me, please. I need someone to.

-T.i.f.a.

"Okay. You don't love him, you hate him. You don't want him near you. Good enough?" A voice from behind intoned. It sounded sad, almost hurt. Tifa whiled around, and there stood Sephiroth.

"You! I locked the door so you couldn't get in!" she half-shouted. He flinched.

"Yes, me. I have control over your dreams, remember? I can do whatever I want in your dreams." he voiced, with that same, sweet, sad voice. For some reason, it made Tifa sad. Sephiroth turned away. He started for the door, when he felt someone reaching for him. He turned, and saw Tifa stop in mid-reach. His eyes widened slightly in surprise. She started to pull back, when he reached forward and pulled her to him. She fell into his comforting embrace. She briefly thought about pulling away, but she didn't. She instead, embraced him back. They sank to the floor, lost in the embrace. "What happened to hating me, not wanting me near you?" he asked in that low, sweet, sorrowful voice that she hated so much to hear. She hugged him tighter.

"It's just a dream, it's not real. I can claim it never happened. I still hate you. You killed my father, my near-sister, and you killed my hope for the future. I wish you were dead!" she finished venomously. She could fell his heart breaking as he pulled away from her. He stood up.

"Sorry, I shouldn't have intruded. I'll leave now. I don't expect to see you tomorrow, so.. I guess... bye..." he drifted out. She stared after him, and for some reason, her heart filled with sorrow.

"I'm sorry..." she whispered with her face turned down.

Tifa dragged herself out of bed, and into the shower. It was cold, but she didn't notice, her mind too filled with thoughts of the day ahead. She got out and wrapped her hair up. She got the nice clothes out of the closet and locked herself in the bathroom. As she slipped the dress on, she was amazed how well it fit. It supported her chest perfectly, hung off her hips in a perfect wave. It was warm, like someone hugging her... she briefly saw a picture in her head, of Sephiroth standing behind her, hugging her... she shook it off. She unwrapped her hair, and let it fall. It fell to about the knees. She pulled out a pearl comb and brush that she bought from Costa De Sol, and brushed out her long mass of hair. She pulled it up, and put it in the large pony-tail Sephiroth had so lovingly given her. She felt a brief pain, thinking of her harsh words to him in the dream realm. None of them were untrue, but maybe... she shook that thought off as well. She smiled at her pretty reflection, felling more than a little conceited. Suddenly, there was a knock at the bathroom door. Tifa pulled it open a crack, surprised to see the cleaning lady there.

"Milady, someone left this for you yesterday, on the bed, but I took it accidentally. I'm so sorry!" she handed it to Tifa before she could say anything. Tifa looked at the note.

My Sky Princess,

This little thing sparkles, but dims, when placed in a contest with your dazzling smile.

Tifa noticed it was a little tube of lipstick. She smiled. It was almost comical, Sephiroth buying her lipstick. She popped open the top, and gasped at the dazzling beauty that the light threw off of it. It was so dazzling, she put it on immediately. It was shiny, but also a beautiful dark red. It shown on her large lips, giving her a almost shojo quality. She made a kissing face, posing as she put on the matching bracelet to her headband. All that she needed were the shoes. She steeped out of her bathroom, and floated to her bed, giving a little spin as she flopped down on her back on her bed. As her hair settled around her, she stared at the ceiling, trying to remember where she had put the shoes. Then she sat up. "I could have sworn I put them here..." she looked around, but they were nowhere to be found. She sighed and decided to go check on Cloud.

Meanwhile, in the other room... Cloud was deciding that today he would tell her, he would tell her that he loved her. He was sure that she loved him back. But what if she didn't... nope, he wasn't going to think about that. As he fixed his bow tie on, he heard a slight noise from the door, like the clearing of a throat. He turned to the entrance, and lost his breath. There stood Tifa, wearing a beautiful gown, her hair down up, he lips more luscious than usual. She smiled.

"How are you doing?" she asked sweetly. He blushed. She looked so beautiful, he was fighting to regain his breath. She waltzed in and stood painstakingly close.

"F...fine." he mumbled, blushing again. She saw his reaction and smiled. She backed away, when his hands shot out and grabbed her, forcing her close. "Listen Tifa..." he began, his face closing the distance between him and her. " Tifa, you are a beautiful women, and I have finally realized that I... I have feelings for you." He pulled her even closer, so they're noses where touching. "I'm trying to tell you that I... love you, Tifa." he whispered. Without waiting for an answer, he leaned slightly down, and their lips meet. She smiled, happy for the first time in a while. She pulled herself next to him, loving the way that he makes her feel. But her eyes opened for a brief second, and glanced at his face. He was blushing, but only slightly, and he was smiling... her eyes opened wide. That smile... She flashed back to her dream kiss with Sephiroth. She suddenly felt so dirty. Cloud thinks that this is her first kiss... She smacks him away, and he falls to the ground, with a hurt expression. Tifa put on a scowling face.

"Hey! Just because I invited you as my "date" per se, doesn't give you the right to do that to me. I am going to finish getting ready. Good day!" she stormed off, ignoring his heartbreaking gaze.

She located her shoes, shoved under her bed, and put them on. She felt guilty for how she acted, but when she thought of Sephiroth, how he violated her... she shivered, for more reasons than one. She was going to talked to him today, make him explain his actions better than he had before. She was going to make him face her anger. He ruined her for Cloud, and she was NOT going to take it lightly Tifa looked up at the clock, grimacing at the time it read. It was time to go. She got up, straightened out her dress, and brushed out the door.

She had nearly left the airship by herself when Cloud rushed to catch up with her. After a few seconds to catch his breath, he started fumbling over words.

"Look, Tifa. I am... SO sorry that I didn't ask your permission, but I've these feelings for you for a long time and..." she raised her hand, indicating for him to stop.

"I don't want to talk about it." she said shortly, without looking at him. She didn't want to see his hurt face, she couldn't. Not until this was resolved. She just shook her head, and they went the rest of the way in silence.

For the next hour or so after arriving, Tifa was wondering around as if looking for someone, but Cloud looked right through her. Well, that's it then. I know how she feels. Man, I thought that she liked me, but it seems like that will never happen. Hey... Where did she go?

It was true. Tifa seemed to have disappeared. He just sighed and leaned back, giving up.

It was odd, that now Tifa found herself in a closet with Sephiroth. But this was different. He showed none of his former kindness, and there was a cold glint in his eye. She was suddenly afraid. He grabbed her arm and pulled her to him, seizing her mouth roughly. Coaxing her tongue out, she hesitantly complied. He suddenly clamped his mouth down, drawing blood. She recoiled and stared at him hatefully.

"I knew that it was just an act. I knew it!" she turned her head and spit blood. He grinned wolfishly.

"Yes, you will admit that I am a brilliant actor. And now your locked in a closet with me, and poor Cloud is alone and defenseless." Tifa chocked.

Cloud heaved another sigh, and was going to get up when suddenly he felt hands to his back. He was shoved from the chair and into a back room before he knew what was happening. And then everything went dark.

Tifa was sobbing. Why hadn't she told him everything? And Sephiroth knew that this is what would happen. She felt like such a fool.

"Are you going to kill me?" she asked fearfully, cringing at his insane grin.

"Nah. I'll just knock you around for a bit, and then I'll leave you here. Then, when you come to, you'll be stuck knowing that you're infatuation with the enemy cost Cloud his life. And he really did love you, you ungrateful bitch. But you wanted what you couldn't have. Well, I hope you're pleased with yourself. And there's more to my plan, but you won't hear it."

"Then why tell me that there's more?"

"To keep you on your toes." With that, he grabbed a steel bar that was on the side, and cracked it against her head. She saw stars, but dropped instantly. He turned and broke the doorknob off, and pushed it open. He walked to the back room, rapped on the door twice and left. He knew that they would know where to take the unconscious Cloud. He smirked and boarded the private airship that would take him to the Iceclad Mountains, his safe haven. He would welcome Cloud with a little surprise of his own.

"They should have been back by now. Where are they?" a worried Vincent muttered to himself. Cid took notice instantly his worry. He could always sense what the black haired vampire was feeling or thinking, considering how that was all that he ever thought about. He really had feelings for poor Vin. But he knew that was NEVER going to happen (me: Foreshadow? Nooo, well maybe. -) He reached out and placed a tentative hand on his shoulder.

"Don't worry. He said that he was going to tell her that he loved her today, right. Their probably holed up in a hotel somewhere. If their not back by tomorrow night, we'll go look for them. But, you know..." he gulped. Now was his time. "... we have to pass the time until they get back." Vincent looked at him, confused.

"How?" Cid took a deep breath. This is going to be hard.

Tifa woke several hours later. She sniffed and pulled herself to the wall. Sephiroth was gone, probably off killing Cloud right now. She had played straight into his hands. She chocked back a sob. She wouldn't go back to the airship. If they found out what she did, they would never look at her the same again. She couldn't face them. She let her head fall back to the wall, tears rushing in torrents down her face. She lamely thought I'm sorry Cloud.

Cloud woke up in a warehouse, and realized that he was tied. He looked around, but his eyes widened. Sephiroth was standing there, smiling rather evilly.

"I have to admit. That girl does deliver." Sephiroth shook his head and walked in front of him.

"What girl?" Sephiroth put on a face of pure shock.

"You mean, you didn't know? Why, it was Tifa. She sent you straight into my hands by dragging you along to the party that I invited her too." Cloud's eyes widened, and Sephiroth smirked. He had been waiting for this for awhile now. "Ah, but I was manipulating her the whole time, so don't worry. Kiss a girl a few times, and she's like putty in your hands." Sephiroth chuckled as Cloud struggled against his chains. Sephiroth lifted a hand and ran it along Cloud's neck, drawing a nearly inaudible gasp from the blonde, causing a sneer to appear on Sephiroth's face.

"But all I ever wanted was you. I was just using her to get to you. But I guess that you'll find out about that." He grinned in that wolfish way again. He lifted Cloud's chin, and seized his face, sliding his tongue into his unprotected mouth. Cloud wanted to gag, but his body was reacting against his mind. He raised his tongue and let it dance with Seph's. And Sephiroth knew that he had Cloud right where he wanted him.

Next Chapter: Redefined Life

In the next chapter, everything is finished in the final part of the trilogy.