A.N: It's one in the morning and I'm so tired, but I was compelled to finish this. You should feel compelled to review, to return the favor! :)
I hope you enjoy it.

: Set Free :
Chapter III
By Syzeria

Tifa's breath was shaky and unsteady as she walked around the corner and into the waiting room. Her auburn eyes scanned the space for a single familiarity ... but she couldn't find him. Tifa's eyes were worried and a flicker of fear coursed through her. Where is he? Did he leave?

"Tifa?"

She whirled around with wide eyes, praying it was not one of the doctors who had finally caught up with her during her race through the hospital. When her eyes rested on the person that had called her, Tifa's breath stopped abruptly at the sight of the large man with a gun arm.

"Is that really you?" Barret gasped hoarsely.

Tears welled in Tifa's eyes and she couldn't help but break into a smile, even though she had hoped for someone else to have been there. "Barret ..."

The large man approached the woman in a rush and his arms swept her up into a fierce hug. "I thought you were dead, Teef!" He nearly shouted angrily. "What the hell d'you think you're doin', scarin' everyone like that?"

"I was dead, Barret, but I came back," Tifa said with a relieved laugh. It sounded crazy, and she almost didn't have the patience to explain. "The Lifestream brought me back."

Barret set Tifa down and raised a thick brow. "OK, you're soundin' a whole lot like Cloud. I ain't gonna ask what happened. Speak o' the devil, where's the Spike?"

Tifa's smile faded and she shook her head. "I have no idea. I was looking for him."

"I came all this way 'cause Marlene called me 'bout you, but I guess the world revolves 'round Spiky again, don't it?"

Tifa laughed gently as she walked up to reception, but Barret held onto her shoulder and shook his head with a crooked grin. "Forget about 'em. We gotta find Spiky." Feigning invisibility, the pair of heroes sneaked out of the hospital, Tifa slightly worried about Cloud and how "invisible" she really was next to Barret.

XxXxXxXxX

Her truck grumbled sluggishly and Tifa winced at the groan of the vehicle's interior when Barret ducked into the truck. She had been surprised when she saw her truck in the hospital parking lot. She must have come in an ambulance. Barret must have kept the spare keys to the truck the entire time.

"Where d'you think he is right now?"

Tifa shrugged, fighting back drowsiness. "Let's try the bar, and then ... the church?"

Barret nodded sternly and wheeled onto the main road, slowing the truck down so the masses of people could walk around them. He rolled his eyes at the slow pacing of the––

"Lazy asses don't see a million cars waitin' for 'em."

Slowly, they reached the bar and Tifa opened the door. She wished Cloud was there to meet her but she wasn't disappointed to see Marlene and Denzel swerving on two bar stools.

"Marlene! Denzel!" Tifa called to them in relief. When they had spun halfway to see her, Tifa saw their expressions change from sullen to shocked.

"TIFA!" They shouted at once. The two children ran up to Tifa, and Denzel hugged her waist while Marlene took to clutching both of Tifa's legs. "You're alive!"

Marlene's tear-stricken face was smiling brightly and Tifa could see traces of water around Denzel's blue eyes. Tifa bent and kissed both their heads, and each child hugged her tighter. They remained that way for a long and drawn out moment, each of them glowing with many emotions.

"What happened, Tifa?" Denzel asked quietly as Marlene let go of Tifa to be swept up by Barret at the door. Marlene turned around to listen, and Barret was attentive as well.

"I - uh - had a deep ... conversation ... with the Lifestream, and it decided to bring me back."

"So it took you away and then brought you back?" Marlene wailed incredulously atop Barret's shoulder. Tifa nodded lightly, and then shook her head at the thought of the Lifestream's scheme.

"That was the plan," Tifa sighed, before she frowned. "Where's Cloud?"

Both Marlene and Denzel swallowed, and Marlene's eyes turned soft and glossy. "Cloud left a while ago. He told us to stay in the house until he came back ..."

Tifa looked to Barret, who returned her worried gaze. Tifa swallowed hard and patted Denzel on the shoulder. "Would you two like to help us find him?"

The two children nodded earnestly and they closed the bar door behind them. They all gathered in the truck and set out for the most obvious place in Midgar to find Cloud.

XxXxXxXxX

When they arrived at the church, everyone sprinted toward the large oak doors. Barret swung the door violently open and the children winced at the sound of the impact the door made with the church wall. Barret's face was as hard as stone, and Tifa's was simply anxious.

The smell of rainwater and flowers filled the senses, but Tifa's eyes were let down. Cloud was not amidst the lingering rubble of the church.

Barret punched the wall with his fist and growled. "What the f––" he stopped himself and looked down at the children. "Who does this guy think he is?"

Tifa shook her head, shoulders sagging with wavering hope. "I'm not sure where he is now ..."

"Hey, Tifa!" Denzel called from outside the church. They walked out and followed the direction the boy pointed to. "Fenrir left tracks! He went that way!"

"Smart!" Barret boomed. Surely enough, tires had swept dust off the ground and had scraped the dirt floor. "We gon' catch his spiky ass!"

They headed back to the truck and followed the trail. It didn't lead very far, but well out of the city.

When they reached the outskirts, the tire tracks became more faint from the bellowing of the wind. The trail ended at the base of an ascending cliff with only one narrow passage upward. The children groaned once they realized the climb they would have to make, because the truck could not climb the cliff the way a motorcycle could.

Tifa felt her thighs tightening when they had reached the top, where more rocky mounds adorned the larger mound of rock. There was no trail left to follow, but Tifa felt a presence around the edges of the cliff. The sound of a blade digging into the earth tore through the wind of the outskirts and it drew Tifa towards it. She broke into a sprint and the others followed after her. Tifa whipped past Fenrir and she knew he was here. She rounded a tall boulder when her feet skidded to a sudden stop at the sight of Cloud standing at the edge of the cliff. Tifa was slightly surprised that Cloud had not heard them approaching, even though his back was turned. His broadsword had impaled the earth and was leaning at an angle.

"Cloud," she called and that, at least, was loud enough for Cloud to hear. He turned to face her in a flash, and his heavy eyes suddenly narrowed intensely. Tifa, ignorant of his shock, smiled and stepped forward.

"I found you," she said in relief, but Tifa faltered in her step when Cloud withdrew.

"No ... Don't," he ordered, his husky voice hoarse. She saw the fear in his eyes and she couldn't understand what was wrong with him.

"Cloud, it's me," Tifa insisted cautiously. "What's wrong?" Her eyes pinched with hurt but Cloud ripped his sword from the ground, a ringing reaching their ears as the blade scraped against the coarse dirt.

"Stay back," he gasped with his sword directed at her, the edge of the blade ten feet away. Hollowness was drawn thickly in the contours of red-rimmed his eyes and Tifa felt herself breaking.

"Cloud! It's me, it's Tifa. Please ..." Her voice died as she looked down at Marlene and Denzel, who were walking towards Cloud. Marlene held her hands up with slight caution and Denzel went for Cloud's raised arm. The boy tried to loosen the man's grip on the sword, but it would not slacken.

"It's really Tifa, Cloud," Marlene insisted with a slightly shrill tone. The would-be ex-SOLDIER looked down at the child and could not understand. Muscles still tense, he lowered his sword.

"You ... can see her too?" Marlene and Denzel both nodded and Cloud's cerulean eyes gaped. He turned to Tifa and she held back tears. She searched his face and frowned at the disbelief and melancholy in his expression. He looked more vulnerable than ever and she only wanted it to go away.

"I'm real," she breathed with a hesitant step forward. Cloud remained rooted at the edge of the cliff, looking no closer to relax or say something. Tifa, suddenly feeling cold and alone, ran up to Cloud and collided with his chest. She wrapped her arms around his neck and Cloud slowly returned her embrace. He suddenly held onto her tightly, as if afraid she would vanish again. They held onto each other and the only noise around them was the brisk wind and both of their ragged breaths. Tifa wanted to never let go, but she could feel confusion rising in him and waiting to come out. When they parted, Cloud's gloved hands held onto her shoulder and her hands rested on his chest. The nipping wind seemed to have calmed, and Cloud's breath was faintly warm against her face.

"... How?" His voice was coarse and he swallowed, afraid of what he might hear.

Tifa tried to smile but it came out lazy. "I was gone, but the Lifestream brought me back." Cloud didn't say anything and Tifa decided to fill the void. "The Lifestream was the one who took me ... but it did it for a reason."

Cloud tilted his head and his curiosity brought a deeper smile to Tifa's face. The childish fear in his eyes had not fully disappeared but curiosity was filling the pools of blue. His deep eyes bore into hers and Tifa felt a tinge of anxiety in what might happen next.

You have to try ... Just take it slow.

"When you came for me ... when you touched my hand ... I saw so many of your memories."

"But that was years ago ..." His voice was husky and Tifa shook her head.

"No, I mean today. You ... you came, right?"

Cloud nodded his head slowly and frowned. "I thought I was too late ..."

Tifa leaned closer and her right hand cupped his cheek. "No, you were right on time," she insisted earnestly. "If you hadn't come, the Lifestream would have taken me away forever. Your memories that I saw today gave me a reason to come back."

Cloud looked away and back, unsure of what Tifa meant. She wasn't entirely sure either, but she knew where she wanted to go with this.

"... How come you never told me?" Tifa asked nervously. Did she really want to repeat all his memories for him to simply drown in again? She blinked a few times, thinking, and remembered one memory that stood out to her.

"When you were blown off the Shinra building––then you came back to us in the church ... I didn't know Aerith and Zack were there with us. Why didn't you say anything?"

Cloud held his breath as he thought, his eyes never leaving Tifa's, and he released the oxygen with an air of certainty. "They gave me the feeling that they didn't want to be seen. They just wanted to make sure that everything was going to be all right after that. Why do you ask?"

Tifa shrugged and looked away, slightly embarrassed. "I was just wondering." What a stupid thing to bring up at a time like this, she chided herself. She felt as though it would be better to leave the memories for another time.

Things went quiet for a moment. Barret was tapping his foot impatiently, resorting to looking out into to the distance while he waited for something interesting to happen. Denzel was quietly inspecting the sword while Marlene was staring at the silent two in front of her, waiting for Cloud to say something. Doesn't he have something to say to her? Tifa came back to life!

Marlene's ears perked when she finally heard Cloud clear his throat.

"Tifa ... When I thought you were dead ... I was scared. Then I tried to find you ... and when I saw you in the Lifestream, I finally understood that you were the last person I ever wanted to see there. You were completely lost and something in me woke up when you told me you were dead."

Tifa tilted her head, frail tears forming at the bottom of her eyes. She felt Cloud pull her closer and she was too focused to consider their unfamiliar proximity.

"I'm not sure what happened after. I woke up and you had flatlined ... and I thought it was the end. I took Marlene and Denzel home but I couldn't stay with them. I couldn't go anywhere you had been before ... I couldn't handle it." Cloud put a hand to her cheek and rubbed his thumb against the tender skin. Tifa's eyes were scanning his every feature intensely and she was picking up on subtle differences in his eyes. His voice was barely above a whisper, and he was so close to her.

"And now you're here, and you're alive. I didn't believe it was you––" Tifa shook her head with a sad smile, "but now I'm ... I'm glad you're all right."

Tifa's smile widened and her lips were pressed into a thin line to prevent its trembling. Cloud looked down at her lips and stared at them for a hard moment, as if he was weighing an idea.

Tifa's eyes widened with shock as Cloud gently brushed his lips against hers. It lasted less than a second, but electricity shot down her spine and something deep within her had finally awoken from a long slumber.

Her eyes remained stricken and she could see withdrawal coming over his face. Suddenly aware of how shocked she must be looking right now, she tried to relax her eyes ... but she couldn't. She opted to smile instead, but she hardly felt anything change in her features and Cloud certainly could not tell the difference.

Desperate to keep him with her, she rose to her toes and pressed her lips to his with vigor so shocking that Cloud teetered backward. He wrapped his hands around her waist to steady himself and, when he was able to process the moment, he leaned in deeper. Both of them did nothing but live the moment until Cloud withdrew. Tifa's head was buzzing with utter bliss and her smile grew naturally this time. Cloud's cheeks were tinged with red, as were Tifa's. Her eyes wavered away from his gaze for a moment and she grinned.

Something behind Cloud was moving around exuberantly. She tilted her head to see past him and stared at Marlene and Denzel silently cheering, wiggling and dancing around Cloud's abandoned sword in excitement. Tifa looked up at him to see his reaction, but his eyes glowered intently at something behind her.

Bewildered, Tifa tried to turn around, but Cloud pulled her closer so that her face was half-buried in his chest. Tifa laughed breathlessly and she struggled playfully out of his tight embrace and managed to turn her head.

Cloud was glaring at Barret in the middle of the cliff, who was mouthing profanities, laughing, and gesturing tactlessly with his entire body. She felt herself blush but she tried to glare him down. Barret was at least smart enough to stop at that. "C'mon," Barret bellowed to the still-dancing children amidst his laughter, "let's give these two some room."

Denzel and Marlene obeyed the large man, and they each hugged Cloud and Tifa before walking down the cliff. When their heads had disappeared behind a boulder, Tifa faced Cloud again. She was unsure of what to say, but she remembered that she didn't have to say as much when she was around him.

Cloud, however, felt some need to speak. He opened his mouth carefully, closed it, and repeated the cycle. Unable to hold it in, she ducked her head and laughed breathlessly. "I'm sorry ... for dying," Tifa muttered sheepishly, raising her head to his.

"Just promise me you won't again. Not while I'm around." Cloud's tone was flat and serious, and it was his own strange way of showing he cared.

She nodded her head and smiled cheekily. "I'll do my best."

Cloud then took her hand and stared hard at it, noticing it was cold to the touch. He lead her towards his motorcycle and, hands intertwined, they climbed onto Fenrir and drove down the uneven slope. She gripped his waist tightly, but not because she was afraid. If anything, she never felt so free.

She leaned against him, feeling surreal, and waved to Barret and the children, with butterflies in her stomach and a genuine smile on her face. Barret clambered into the truck in a rush and called to the children to get in. They raced after the motorcycle, dusty clouds flying after them, but Cloud and Tifa were far ahead, speeding away towards the city.

Tifa gazed at the sky and all around her as her hair blew with the wind. She imagined the Lifestream, its glowing fibers floating around, knowing its plan had worked. She imagined Aerith and all her friends, when a sudden thought occurred to her: How would they tell the others without too much of a reaction? Tifa winced at the thought of what could happen.

Everyone had known the truth about Cloud and Tifa for a long time coming, except them: the Dense One and the Friendaholic. Yuffie and Cid had mentioned it many times, and she was convinced that Vincent secretly believed the same. She just never got around to believing it. She smiled ridiculously and relished the feeling of the wind in her hair and the strange but welcomed emotions swelling inside her. Tifa was unsure of what would happen next and how things would change, but she knew what she truly meant to her world and Cloud.