A/N: Sorry this took so long, I got caught up in how I wanted to organize it, and ended up splitting this chapter into two parts.

Chapter two

The comatose Bride

Boo, I bet you didn't expect to hear from me, huh? Tough luck, sweetcakes, it's going to take a whole lot more to get rid of me this time. Shit, there's not much I can do like this - one foot in the life stream and the other just itching to get shoved a little too far up a few people's asses - lying in this hospital bed, but I promise and you know I keep my promises, once my feet touch the ground... I'm coming for all of you.

For now, I might as well get some sleep.

Four years and four months later in the city of North Corel.

Under a layer of lemon scented medical antiseptics, the entire hospital smelt of dirt and cheap bug bombs and the amount of flypaper stapled to the walls could make anyone used to the lowest level of sanitation standards shiver. The building resembled more of a run down apartment complex, than a medical center, but this is where Tifa's body had lain for the duration of her coma.

Most days, things were quiet and other days, things were dead quiet.

Today was a 'most days'.

Even as a human vegetable, Tifa's breathing was silent and other than the mechanic beeping of the heart monitor next to her bed, the only sound in the room was the hum of a mosquito's wings. Said mosquito had somehow managed to maneuver past all of the brightly lit contraptions the janitor put up to capture it's kind and now traveled random patterns of loop de loops and figure eights in the air above her.

Adult females lay their eggs in standing water, which can be a salt-marsh, a lake, a puddle, a natural reservoir on a plant, or an artificial water container such as a plastic bucket or a discarded bottle or tire.

She only knew that because Zack had forced her to watch a documentary on the insect with him once and she'd been absolutely bored to death until he explained his simple minded reason for being so fascinated.

"C'mon Teef, they're like little people. They're born, ditch their siblings, get some blood, maybe have some kids of their own and then die."

"Is that normal? 'Cause it sounds more like us, and we're definitely no where near normal."

"Ha, you're smart, Babe! My bad, those bloodsuckers are cool, because they're like us. So, whaddya say about working on the kids part?"

This particular mosquito was probably the offspring of the fat one that had bitten her on the shoulder a week ago. The mother had most likely laid some eggs in the excess water in the soil of the sunflower plant by the window.

Speaking of that plant...

If she were awake, Tifa might have - for a split second - marveled at how the red bow wrapped around the plastic potter matched her eyes, even down to the thin gold thread embroidering the sides, but it was no real surprise. Unlike her, he had always been good at giving gifts, meticulous even. But, she always did prefer blue.

"I love your eyes, I wish I could look into them everyday."

The buzzing stopped...

With ease, the pest flew down the runway of Tifa's exposed forearm, landed on the fleshy pad of her upturned palm and dug deep, using it's stinger like a catheter to draw blood. However, between what was left painted on the floor of that Corel church and the whole lot she lost in surgery, unconscious or not, Tifa had long since passed being willing to share her blood.

For the first time in years, her hand flexed and seconds later only a red hand print on the smacked skin was evidence of the now squashed bug's existence.

Growling, she sat upright in bed, almost mechanically and opened her eyes just a bit to peek around - cracking the crusty sleep seam that had formed over them with disuse. The brunette scratched her stomach, lazily, trying to make out the shapes in the room. After a brief second to realize she had no idea of where she was, her eyes flew wide-open.

With a horrified sob, her body shook with a tremor and Tifa clutched her head in a vain attempt to keep the pain at bay. Upon contact, her hand felt the metal plate embedded in the side of her skull where Zack's bullet had blown a hole, and she knocked against it with her knuckle inquisitively, but winced at the tink-tinking sound it answered her with.

Taking slow but unsteady breaths, Tifa tried to remember all that had just happened to her and with a squeeze, her eyes were shut.

The last thing thing she knew, she was at the wedding chapel, with a gun pointed down at her face. She'd been shot, she'd been killed, been dead. She was free, she and her baby had finally got away. Shit, she still felt the fear, and the 'bang' still echoed in her ears, but here she was.

But... "why am I still alive?"

For a split second, her mind entertained the idea that not even the planet itself wanted a vermin like her, and had spit her back out, but after a deep breath, the distinct taste of hatred coated her pallet.

She'd been sent back to complete a mission.

If she could remember how to scream, something other than dust would have toppled out of her mouth.

"My baby, I'm so sorry." Tifa put all the rationality she could muster to use, and ran her hand over her belly, and lifted her hospital gown to see a jagged scar running down the length of her abdomen. With feather light stroke, her fingertips traced it, and more memories of a nursery and baby names pulled another wince from her.

"What about naming him Leon?"

"Leon Leonheart, doesn't flow, Squall."

With her attention shifted, her molasses orbs scanned over her right palm and counted. Shocked, by the new age lines, she stopped but soon began the count again. "Four years," there was no denying it and Tifa's eyes had begun to spill tears as she realized her baby - and her new life - had been long gone.

I had only meant to shut my eyes for a second, I was tired and...

The Church..

Squall... My wedding...

My Baby...

Zack...

I've got to get out of here. I've got to find that bastard and- Wait, who the fuck's this?

Before she could even make and attempt to get up from the bed, the door swung open and she was forced to lay back down and play possum. Slightly frightened, Tifa did her best to mimic Sleeping Beauty, but kept her eyes open just enough to watch what was happening through the thick of her lashes. Freezing, her breathing steadied out as two men entered, smiling.

Everything was they were expecting, there she was a brunette beaut' stiff as a board and non-objecting.

"Now, did I make due on my promise or what?" One of them, who was dressed in scrubs, spoke up as soon as they were at the foot of her bed and thankful for her now long bangs that were covering most of her face, under her lids Tifa's line of sight shifted to him.

His name tag read: 'Johnny', but with what she's got planned, he might as well change that to 'dumb dead bastard' in the next few minutes, or so.

"I seen better."

Looking over to the porker he had with him, she almost snorted. It was obvious that he was trying to put up a front, but from the sweat that seeped out of his pores and ran down his face in rivers, anyone could easily tell that the last time he had sex, Cleopatra had supreme rule over Egypt.

From their stances, and expressions, Tifa knew exactly what they had come for. A look of chagrin dusted her must-be expressionless face, and the thought: "I've seen a fuck load better than you, fatass!" had her seeing Zack's face, with a wince that was played off as a spasm, she watched both males as they moved up to push down the safety railings on the bed.

"Yeah, in a movie - maybe. But I know damn well this is the best you had touching rights to, Corneo. She's a fantasy girl, look at her, but better yet look at 'em melons." HIs voice held an odd sense of marvel, as if she was more to him than a money maker, but that only served to piss Tifa off all the more. Johnny rubbed his hand down her chest as if testing for ripeness and Tifa held her breath to keep from breaking his fingers. Withdrawing, from her the male nurse turned to Corneo with a smile and held out his hand. "But yeah, the price is seventy five dollars, you ridin' this cowgirl or what?"

With a nod, Corneo coughed up his cash and nervously watched Johnny as he make sure it was all there. Counting the whole seventy five, Tifa's pimp walked around the bed to leave, but stopped.

"Oh, Here's the rules; Rule number one; no punching her. If that bitch, Doctor Shera comes in tomorrow an finds evidence, the jig's up. Oh! And Babe's a spitter - it's a motor reflex thing but spit or no, no punching."

Once he received a nod of understanding, he continued.

"Rule number two; just don't leave marks, but after that, it's allll goooood. Her pipes don't work any more, so feel free to let go in 'er all ya want. Keep the noise down - don't make a mess, and I'll be back in twenty."

He was almost the the door when the Corneo's voice stopped him. With his pants already unbuckled, the fat man gulped. "Hey wait, she just opened her eyes."

Johnny sighed, Corneo gulped and Tifa lay completely still. To avoid seeing anything disturbing, the nurse kept his back to the customer, but raised a skeptical eyebrow and sighed. "She's a veggie, weren't you payin' attention?"

He had been, but the fact that Tifa was now staring openly at Corneo, and he could have sworn her eyes were smiling at him was making him start to doubt things.

"Is this a trap?" Tifa could practically hear the fat man thinking that. "I know what you said, I'm tellin ya she just did."

With a shrug, Johnny grabbed the door knob and squeezed it lightly. "It's probably a spasm or something, stop being scared. I'll be back." Annoyed, he practically ripped the door of it's hinges and the speed he exhibited while he rushed out would have surely won him a gold medal in a race.

Meanwhile, Corneo was had begun preparing himself with a pep talk, when Tifa's hands moved unnoticed. Ripping the Plastic from her arm, she used one hand to grab the pant-less man by the front of his shirt and the other copied the earlier actions of the mosquito and plunged the needle into flesh of his left temple - clean and easy.

With a grin, she released him and watched as he fell back to land ungracefully on the floor, pulling the monitor down with him. Grunting like a wild animal, she freed herself from the tangle of the blanket and swung her legs over the side of the bed. The adrenaline pumping through her system felt good and a small smile split her lips.

Even half asleep and the still in bed where she had lay for the last four years, she was just as dangerous as she'd even been and the body at her feet proved that.

After a few deep breaths, she strained the muscles in her arms to push herself from the sitting position, only to find herself laying flat on the floor, much in the same fashion as Corneo.

Great, this is the perfect time to be stuck on the floor with only a functioning top half.

Slamming her fists against the tiles, her eyes caught the glint of a knife in a holster attached to Corneo's belt and Tifa made haste to claim it as her own. Seething through her teeth, the ex-Valkyrie army crawled to the wall with the door and pushed herself flush against it. Formulating a plan, it was brushed under the carpet in her mind as the need for revenge grew stronger. With a tight two handed grip on the handle of the knife, she waited for Johnny to come back. Minutes ticked by, when he finally pushed pushed open the door and stopped in shock.

This time, before his eyes was not what he expected to see. Instead of a pig dismounting his ride, in Tifa's wake was an empty bloodstained bed, a dead pervert on the floor, and no Bride.

Freaking out, the "Oh shit!" that rang from his when it was combined with a 'whoosh'. Tifa's new knife had sliced through the thin material of his hospital issue orderly shoes and cracked his left foot in two. Ripping the the blade out, her hand shot out and tugged on his pants. Tifa used all her might to pull him deeper into the room and after closing the door, reached out to slice both of his Achilles tendons.

Cut them down first, ask questions later. Four years in that coma and she had damn near turned into Cloud.

After he hit the floor, Johnny began making sounds Tifa had never heard a man make before and she has to fight the urge to just kill him to get him to shut up already. With a slow crawl over, Tifa winced as her long - perhaps too long - hair was trapped under uder torse and stopped for a moment to push it all back over her shoulders.

Once that was done, she continued on and managed to place herself close enough to him to grab one of his legs and pulled him back - not caring about sounds that his the tearing flesh or crying mouth made - until she could swivel him around and line his head up between the door and the door frame.

She looked down the hall both ways and was satisfied to see that they were alone.

Unapologetically, to let him know she meant business, Tifa slammed the door on Johnny's head and repeated this until he was straddling the 'one leg in the life stream' stasis she had been in earlier, and than finally started in with the questions.

"Where's Zack?" Upon hearing her voice she wished - Ha, already with the wishing? - that it had come out more steady, but then decides that she doesn't really give a damn.

"Who?" Johnny confusedly asked, but that's not the answer she wanted and it earns him another slam.

"Zack! Where is he?" Upon their own accord, her once wine red orbs shine brightly with excitement of the prospect of more bloodshed.

"I don't know Zack." SLAM! "Please, please stop, don't hit me again!" SLAM! He started up again, about not knowing who her number one target was, and after a while, she began to believe him. Unfortunately, that doesn't mean she forgives him and with one last smash the his face is the likeness of a smushed grape.

Like the cold blooded killer she had trained to become, Tifa pulled Johnny back into the privacy of the room, and a quick search of the dumb dead bastard's pockets, gave her a handful of gil and a set keys. She placed all of her new possessions into a pile, and turned into a robot as she began mechanically stripping Johnny of his uniform and changed into it.

Tifa collected the things in her mouth, and as quickly as possible pulled herself out of the room in search of a wheelchair, but smiled at her good luck. Right outside her door there was one practically waiting for her, she hefted herself into it, and was surprised that it only took a few minutes to navigate out to the parking lot.

Corel hospitals were shit.

With most of the items now in her lap, she wheeled herself down the row of cars, and clicked the remote to Johnny's automobile with her teeth. Finally finding flashing lights, she stared at the rust bucket in front of her with a sigh and wheeled herself up unlock the backseat. She pulled herself in and pushed the wheelchair away, and instead of lolly gagging to watch it travel lifelessly down slight incline this side of the lot is on, Tifa's no nonsense as he slams the door shut.

Knowing she can't go any where till her legs work again, Tifa thoughts drift to scavenging the hospital for a cure materia, but that it wouldn't do any good. Leaning back against the door, she focused all of her concentration...

"Wiggle your big toe." The digit didn't budge, but she was never one to give up easily, and thus the chant began. "Wiggle your big toe."

Four years and four months earlier in the city of North Corel.

Everything about the night resembled a scene from an old western movie - the noticeable lean of the old wooden buildings, the emptiness of main street outside of the Corel hospital, and even the air smelt as if a gunfight was getting ready to happen. Mixed with the heavy raindrops that were ungraciously pulled down by gravity to clump and transform the dirt road into mud, the world seemed as if it was devoid of any color.

Well, besides brown and shit brown.

The few ill-fated souls who had been caught up in the storm couldn't help but spot the precarious sight of a brunette dressed in a pink raincoat, who's face was hidden underneath a similar colored umbrella. While they all wanted to get inside to safety, she looked completely at home - or lost in her thoughts - as she stood in the middle of the street, staring up one of the windows of the hospital.

But, appearances could always be deceiving. This lovely woman is in fact Aerith Gainsborough - twenty nine years of age, codename Göndul, aka wand wielder - a member of The Valkyries, and Zack's new first lady.

The rain had always calmed her nerves, and for all her pinks and greens, she absolutely loved to get knee deep in mud. She much rather stay out here, or just leave all together, but she was on a mission and if she left now, her partner would surely mess things up. Sighing, the emerald eyes beauty started toward the hospital and giggled as her galoshes splashed carelessly through puddles. Taking the main elevator, she got to the sixth floor, raised an eyebrow when it stopped. Clutching the strings of gift bag she carried in her right hand a little tighter, she smiled as an orderly walked in to stand next to her, followed by a familiar small ninja.

"Goin' up, baby?" 'Johnny', she read his name tag quickly, said and Aerith thought of a few ways to 'go up' with her wand on the disgusting man that was talking to her, but instead nodded wordlessly. "You don't talk, or are you just shy?"

Groaning, her partner turned around and punched him out, so quickly that it probably wasn't captured on camera and with smiles adorning their faces, the two women stepped out onto the seventh floor. "Nice to see you're still a hot head,"Aerith said with hint of mirth in her voice, and grinned when she received a childish wink from the ninja, as they walked down the hall to enter the ladies room.

Although a bit more physically grown, this ninja was the same Yuffie Kisaragi - twenty three, codename Gunnr, aka war - a member of The Valkyries, and head of the newly formed Junon Yakuza.

With haste, the woman change into their stolen nurse uniforms and from her waist pack, Yuffie pulled out a syringe and quickly jabbed it into a vial in her other hand. As the liquid was drawn up into the tube, she noticed Aerith's questioning gaze and explained.

"That giant hedgehog sent me to visit Spike - who was sent to see creepy freaky Hojo a few weeks ago, and gave me this concoction stuff to inject into Boobs." She flicked the needle and smiled, "Hojo calls it, 'Goodbye forever', Cloud calls it 'Broken Promises', but I'm just glad we won't get dirty."

Yuffie smiled as Aerith nodded her understanding, and placed the syringe onto a tray. Now dressed in their disguises, they both walked out the door and down the corridor toward the sleeping Bride's room. Surely anyone who bothered to really look at the pair could have guessed that they weren't real nurses, but no one here really seemed to care.

If he was to discover how poorly Tifa was being treated, Zack would have blown the place up.

Once they entered Tifa's room, but stopped to gawk at the obscurity of the sight before them. There she was, the former first lady, once a symbol of ultimate power and extreme beauty - alone in her bed, alone in her coma, alone in her mind.

Snapping out of it, Yuffie crossed the length of it and sat the tray down on a rolling table, while Aerith barricaded the door with a chair.

Lifting a sunflower plant out of the gift bag she'd been carrying, Aerith searched the room for a good location to sit it, and settled on the ledge of the window. The sill was just big enough, and the brunette clasped his hands in delight, when Yuffie cleared her throat. "Are you going to poke her, or should i get my gardening gloves?" Rolling her eyes, the female assassin took sure steps to join Yuffie over the form of her sleeping target.

Brushing a strand of Tifa's bangs back, Aerith closed her eyes and said a fast prayer. "Dying in our sleep is a luxury our kind is rarely afforded. My gift to you."

Opening them, her eyes shifted to the poison and as she lifted the syringe off the tray...

Her cell phone began ringing...

Letting out a tense breath she hadn't known she was holding, Aerith heard Yuffie curse behind her. "Couldn't you pick a more, I don't know daintier tone, 'Rith? Gaia, that shrill shit almost gave me a heart attack."

Even with out a look at the screen, they both know who's calling, and bit their tongues at his timing. Glancing at one another, the silent decision to ignore it and go on ahead is made. However, much to Yuffie's dismay, Aerith chickens out and after the fifth ring, the brunette had placed the needle back onto the tray and pulled out her PHS to answer it.

"Zack." Aerith answers coldly, turning away from Yuffie and Tifa.

"What's her condition?"

"Comatose."

"Where is she?" She could practically feel his voice trembling.

"Yuffie's standing over her right now."

"Ah, you've done well, but you're gonna have to abort the mission." They knew that was coming, but it didn't serve to lessen the blow one bit. If they didn't dispose of Tifa now, while she was incapable of defending herself, it was almost as if they we're trading their lives in for hers.

Before Aerith could ask Zack to reconsider, Yuffie was screaming into her face - her ears were always too good at eavesdropping. "WHAT?"

"We owe her better than that." He tried to explain, as Aerith moved away from Yuffie.

"NO YOU DON'T! YOU DON'T OWE HER SHIT!"

"Tell that little larva to keep her voice down."

"I agree with her though Zack, she ran away from us, we don't owe her anything. And a great teacher, who looked a whole lot like you, taught me that you never leave a job half done. "

"I know, 'Rith, but may I say one thing?" His voice was tight.

"Speak."

"We've done a lot of things to Teef and if she ever wakes up, we'll do some more. But one thing we won't do is sneak into her room in the night and kill her in her sleep, because... that would destroy our... honor. Don't you agree?"

"I guess." She sighed.

"Do you really have to guess?"

Now, she could feel his smile. "No. I don't really have to guess. I know."

"Come home." Is all he said before she heard the dial tone, giving her no room to argue.

"Affirmative." Once she put her PHS back into her pocket, Aerith rolled her eyes at Tifa's lifeless form. Even though her eyes are closed and her face is expressionless, the spams of her lips twitching made it appear as if she was smiling.

"We're fucked." Yuffie confessed and leaned closer to Tifa's face, poking one of her breasts. "Thought that was pretty funny didn't ya? Word of advice knockers, don't you ever wake up. And, Ya know now I get a better look at you, you're not so damn pretty."

Sensing danger, one of Tifa's motor reflex functions, causing her to spit on Yuffie's unsuspecting face. Springing up, she looked over at a laughing Aerith and wiped off her cheek, then turned her attention back toward Tifa. The ninja grabbed the Bride by the front of her hospital gown and gave her face a few good whacks.

Moments later the women walked out of the room and down the hallway, Aerith in the lead and Yuffie following angrily. On their way to the elevator, the two pass by a room with a Doctor who was struggling with a patient who was bleeding to death on a gurney.

Catching sight of them, The blood soaked Doctor runs and stops the elevator door from closing. "Nurse come here quick, we're losing this man!" Yuffie pushes her out of the way, and Aerith looks at the panic stricken woman's name tag.

With a sweet smile, the brunette waves goodbye as the doors close. "Sorry Shera, we just clocked out."

Once again, please read and review! Any advice would really help, but yeah, I hope I did well on this chapter. I tried to put some obvious metaphors into this, like Zack's sunflowers and the name Cloud chose being: "broken promises." And Tifa's husband-to-be was Squall, because I didn't have enough FFVII characters to kill off so soon.

Also, sorry I had to reupload this because I missed a separation line.

Next time on FG: "Barret, this cocksucker ain't dead!" & "I beseech you on behalf of my daughter."