Turn Back the Clock
A/N: I feel kinda disappointed for the feedback to last chapter. *Shrugs* I have one loyal reviewer, so this chapter is dedicated to the lovely fan of darker Tifa/Seph, Carrie88. Enjoy.
To Anonie: ChezPez, thanks.
Thanks to everyone who has reviewed, favorited, and alerted themselves to my story…. This chapter is horribly short compared to others, but after this there is a time-skip, to Nibelheim!
Tifa was humming a mindless tune as she cleaned up the dusty house a bit. She didn't want to travel at night, so whenever Angeal came around, they would have to stay here. She didn't mind, no, not at all. After all, she had been the one to take care of the people at Seventh Heaven ever since she woke up in Midgar. It was then Angeal's eyes finally cracked open.
Tifa made a sound of questioning, before placing her rag down and going over to the man with a glass of water. He grabbed it with a shaky hand, gulping the entire thing in moments before looking up to the ebony haired woman. Angeal watched her with incredulous eyes, not truly believing that she had the power and skill of a SOLDIER. She smiled at the one-winged man, before turning back around to clean up some more. She wasn't going to force him to ask her anything yet.
Five minutes later, his gruff voice broke the silence. "You are a SOLDIER?" She shook her head in a definite 'no', but he clearly didn't believe her.
"Then how did you defeat me so easily?"
"You really wouldn't believe me if I told you." He raised an eyebrow at her avoidance.
"Why did you stop me from killing myself?" Tifa sighed, avoiding the question. How could she say that he died once, and it all ended with the death of the Planet at his friend's hands? He would never believe her, but it was the truth.
"Once again, you really wouldn't believe me if I told you. The main thing is; you can't die." He sighed, realizing he wasn't in any position to argue with his captor.
"So you're going to make me rot away? I am a monster, but worse yet, my very body is failing me. I am going to die a slow death as my body eats itself away!" Even though the words were angry, Tifa was forcibly reminded of Cloud and his struggles with Geostigma. "Besides, there's no cure…" His tone had calmed down, to just sheer defeat. It echoed that conversation she had with Cloud, right after she had learned of his illness, and why he hadn't been home with her, Marlene, and Denzel.
"You have Geostigma…. Don't you?" She was filled with anguish that Cloud had not told her, or anyone. "You're gonna give up and die, is that it?" She sat up, and looked away from the swordsman, who did not answer her.
"So it is." She wanted to help him, so badly!
"There's no cure." Cloud's voice was blunt, just stating the obvious.
"Yeah, but that's not stopping Denzel is it?" She looked back at her friend, eager to save him, her legs going beneath her. "Don't run. Let's fight it together. We can help each other, I know we can." She looked at him with hope, but he didn't answer her, only looked down guiltily. Aeris still occupied his thoughts, his dreams, leaving no room for Tifa. She sighed. "I guess that only works for real families."
"Tifa, I'm not fit to help anyone. Not my family, not my friends- nobody." His voice sounded so broken, but there was little she could do until he opened up, and in order to do that, he needed to go work out his thoughts. In order for him to do that, he needed to get the kids back.
She sighed once more, this time aloud. "Dilly-dally, shilly-shally..." He looked at her with confusion. "Dilly-dally, shilly-shally!" This time, she said it with more conviction, but he still was confused, until Reno spoke up. Tifa hadn't realized he had even been there, and was slightly embarrassed to think he had overheard all of that.
"I think she wants you to move on, man." She jumped excitedly, forgetting embarrassment in case they found Marlene or Denzel.
"Did you find them?"
"No… Only a witness."
"You look like you're thinking pretty hard about something." Angeal's voice broke the memory, concern for the woman showing in his voice and face. "Mind telling me what it is?" From what she had learned from Cloud, Angeal was the most caring of the three who fell. That might just give her an advantage with this.
Sometimes…. Telling the truth helped.
She made a sound of approval, and smiled sadly at Angeal. "Well, this isn't really the first time I've dealt with something like this…" He looked surprised, but said nothing, waiting silently for her to get her thoughts out. Years from dealing with a person like Sephiroth could make you very patient. Even after he died, he never was that clear with what he was saying. Cloud told her once that though it was exacerbated by the madness, he was always like that on some level.
"It was called Geostigma…" She remembered thoughtfully. Vincent had told her this, but that had been years ago. "It was the result of your body overreacting to alien matter infesting the body." He looked curious, but sympathy bled into the expression. "I didn't have it, but a… close friend did."
"What happened to him?" She sighed, remembering what she and Cloud had always made Tifa sad.
"I thought, at the time, he was going to give up and die. I felt so, so helpless." She looked at him, his face caring, and told him bluntly what Geostigma did to a person. "It was like he fought so hard to live, only to find that his body was turning against him.
"You don't degrade, you literally began to decay, pus forming on the surface of the skin, black bruises that bled a sickening thing, your dead skin. Your body is so weak… It's all you can do to stand up, and the tremors that wracked your aching body…. It was hellish to watch. And, after dealing with some of the worst pain imaginable, you died." She closed her eyes, thinking of all the children, Denzel especially.
"I don't want to see people give up like that. Denzel…. It never stopped him. He lived for almost a year with it, but he survived until we found the cure." Angeal, who was looking pensive, suddenly let his head shoot up, looking at Tifa with an incredulous gaze.
"There was a cure?" Tifa nodded in affirmation.
"Not just for the 'stigma. For degradation as well. Don't give up. Let's fight this, together." She smiled brightly, and grabbed his hand, having migrated closer to the ex-SOLDIER over the time of the conversation.
Angeal looked shocked, relieved, and scared all at once. "A cure…" His words were soft, muted with awe. Tifa was reminded of Denzel when they found the cure. He was so happy, the black stain, the crippling weakness, the sudden tremors…. They were just…. Gone. As in they never once existed. He could return to being a kid again.
She let go of the man's hand, and went over to her bag, and grabbed the black bottle of Lifestream. She spoke softly to herself, "It'll work the same way great gospel did… right?" She walked back over to Angeal, who had a curious gaze on the bottle, before taking the cork out and tilting it over, to pour over the man's head. When, suddenly, his hand stopped her, engulfing her tiny hand completely.
"Genesis needs this first…. I can't deny him that…" Tifa only shook her head sadly at Angeal's words.
"I don't know where he is. He disappeared, and while your body is not degrading as fast, your mind obviously is." She put her other hand over his, and smiled comfortingly. "Besides, I have another back at home. Whenever I see him next, I will cure him as well." She squeezed gently, and caught his gaze with her own.
He looked sad, guilty, before removing his grip. He had to look away, as she did her work, and poured the Lifestream's gift over him. A sudden gasp escaped him, and he collapsed entirely, boneless once more, and it was all Tifa could do to catch him.
He was out like a light, but Tifa could see how the color was returning to his hair, his skin. His muscles redefined themselves. She smiled like a mother over her child, and just let the man sleep.
When Angeal woke up, Tifa noticed immediately because he groaned loudly. "I feel like I got trampled by a Zolem…" He opened his eyes, and even though they were unfocused, Tifa could see they had a saner light, losing that bit that made him appear unhinged.
She made a sound of agreement, and handed him a glass of water. He looked surprised to see her, almost… weary of her…..
"Angeal? You remember me, right?" She wasn't sure, but she guessed that it could happen.
"….Tifa, right?" She let out a sigh of relief, and nodded.
"Yeah, I'm Tifa." He nodded, before looking at his body with shocked eyes.
"I'm…. healed!" He laughed, almost hysterically, before looking at her with wide eyes. "I'm so sorry for what I tried to do. I…. lost myself. My honor, my dreams…. I just…."
"Lost sight of them?" She watched him with amused red eyes as he grinned sheepishly.
"I can't believe what I was going to do. It would have hurt the pup and Seph forever, and Genesis…." Angeal sighed at that. "Genesis probably would refuse to believe it, and would have driven himself further into madness. I can't believe I was going to let myself die. Die!"
"I know. I know how it feels." She hugged him tightly at that. "You felt as if you had nothing left."
He hugged her back, his form completely consuming her own. "Thank you, thank you."
She grinned a bit, before speaking slightly sarcastically. "I gave you another chance. Now, don't go screwing it up." He snorted, before realizing the gravity of his situation.
"I can't go back to Shinra… not after all of this." She nodded gravely.
"Head to Cosmo Canyon. They should be pretty willing to shelter you. If they ask…. Tell them Ebony WEAPON sent you." He choked a bit at those words, and Tifa left him to grab her bag.
"W-WEAPON?" She smiled deviously at him, before nodding.
"Like I said, you wouldn't believe me if I told you."
She walked out of the building, and took off at a run before he could even truly comprehend that, knowing once he did… She would have a companion running along with her. Angeal did not need to know why she was a WEAPON.
He had enough on his plate already without having to hear about Nibelheim.
When she returned home, she was happy to see that her father had been worried about her, but upset that she was grounded for multiple reasons. Nothing she could do or say to defend her case. Something told her that if she just blurted out she needed to save a man a continent away before he committed suicide, wouldn't help her all that much.
So she smiled, and took the punishment.
She would be free again before Nibelheim, at least.
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