7. A Childhood Promise
1
As Cloud watched the others run off in various directions towards the hideout he witnessed the first light-hearted connection between people all night. A couple was standing under a dimly lit lamppost. Gazing into each other's eyes and locked hand-in-hand the couple stood quietly, oblivious to everything else. They were consumed by one another. Love in its truest form.
He walked closer to them, hoping they would be saying something sweet, something that would take his mind off of everything that was around him as well as everything that had happened earlier that evening.
But the couple said nothing. They simply looked into each other's gaze.
Cloud realized that even people who found love in a place like this could easily be saddened into the ever-draining feeling of hopelessness. The constant pressure of the warm air seemed enough to bring down your mood, let alone the grim and pitiable surroundings.
He did find his thoughts interrupted slightly by his peculiar encounter with the pretty flower girl. She had looked at him in a way he had never been looked at before.
2
The train that he and the team had arrived on was now departing, heading back to the main station located in the city above. Cloud watched it circle and climb out of sight.
With the station behind him he ran on ahead until he arrived at a fork in the road. He knew that to his left was the direction he would need to go to get back to the hideout. He glanced over in that direction, but decided to check out the right path anyways. He remembered Jessie saying something about one of the upper plate's support structures being that way.
Without even beginning to make his way down the path, he looked up. Low and behold the pillar was in plain sight, and he had just not been observant enough before to see it.
The tower was massive, and to hold up an eighth of a city, he supposed it would have to be. The dull gray color provided the huge rock with a massiveness that made it seem like it hadn't been constructed - that the structure had been naturally formed like this, which perhaps made it look bigger than it really was. A black metal staircase ran along the side of it. The stairs led you to a circular platform, no bigger than a street corner diner. Here you could barely make out the numerous controls and other devices blinking and flickering insistently. The platform was roughly seven hundred feet above the surface, three hundred feet below the plate.
It's an amazing achievement, he thought. I can't kid myself about that.
Enough to make him jump, Cloud heard a voice almost right beside him. "You come to see it, too?" A man, who by what he was wearing could have easily been identified as a homeless person, walked closer to Cloud and said, "There was a bombing up top." He turned from Cloud and looked up towards the top of the towering structure. "If that pillar were to ever come down . . . everyone in this sector of the slums would be squashed!"
Cloud considered this. "Yeah, that wouldn't be good, but I highly doubt that Shinra would let something like that happen. If that pillar went down so would a good chunk of the city above."
The raggedy man looked back at Cloud and smiled. "Right. No use worrying about that . . . that would never happen." The man looked over Cloud, perhaps trying to figure out why a man in the slums was wearing an old SOLDIER uniform. He asked, "Any idea what happened up there?"
Cloud shook his head. "Sorry . . . no."
The man shrugged and started to walk away. Without turning around to face Cloud he said, "This is a wonderful place, I come here and watch the pillar every night. You're welcome to join me."
Taking another quick glance at the pillar, Cloud said, "Thanks, I just might have to take you up on your offer."
As the man in the tattered clothes walked out of sight Cloud heard a recognizable voice yelling from a good distance away. "Yo, Cloud! Over here, NOW!"
Cloud laughed, knowing that the voice was coming from Barret, and that the gunarmed man was probably agitated at him for taking so long. He took one last look at the structure, and then ran back to the left path, towards the hideout.
3
As he got closer, Cloud could see some action ahead. Barret had run into the Seventh Heaven, the local bar as well as the headquarters of their hideout, and was making a great deal of commotion. After he had chased every customer out, he stood at the entrance and waved in Biggs, Wedge, and Jessie.
This was the main area of Sector 7. The bar - like most homes and small businesses in the area - was a shabby little wooden shack.
Cloud wasn't sure if the setting depressed him more than it repulsed him, or vice-versa.
He surmised that the garbage all about the landscape was either used for property lines or for a bizarre sense of architecture - bizarre for the even the most eccentric slum folk.
The people that Cloud could see from his position resembled every other slum person he had seen. Every last one appeared to be on the brink of starvation, or plagued with some mutinous disease.
Before Cloud realized that he was lingering again, Barret yelled from the bar's steps, "Yo, Cloud! Get your slow-movin' ass in here. Now!" Cloud moved toward the bar, still at a not-so-fast pace, and gave Barret a half smirk. "Aright tough guy, jes go inside," the large man said, returning the smirk to Cloud.
The ex-SOLDIER entered the bar before Barret, and was greeted by a four year old girl in a pink dress. A charming ruby ribbon was weaved into her dark brown hair which almost appeared to be black against her light skin. "Papa!" the girl screamed before realizing that it was Cloud instead. With a scared and embarrassed look on her face, she turned around quickly and ran to the corner.
The bar was a lot nicer once you got inside, which Cloud expected was the same with most of the residences in the area. People didn't mind letting the outside wither away because there wasn't much desire to be outside anyways.
A few round tables were scattered on a floor that consisted of thin wooden boards. A bar stood beyond the last table. To his right an old pinball machine stood angled against the featureless wall. In one corner a plastic plant provided a miniscule amount of green to the dusty yet homely features of the room.
But the nicest sight in the room was not one of these features.
Tifa, the girl that was standing behind the aforementioned bar, as well as the owner of the Seventh Heaven, ran to the little girl that had run away from Cloud. "Marlene, aren't you going to say anything to Cloud?" she asked before hugging the girl. She stood upright and turned around, facing Cloud.
She was a different kind of girl in Cloud's eyes - different, but still unimaginably beautiful. Her dark brown hair flowed down her back, well beyond her shoulder blades. Her large brown eyes sparkled with every movement they made. Cloud always thought he could see galaxies within those russet eyes, which only looked all the more beautiful when Tifa smiled that lovely smile of hers.
As she walked towards him he watched her slender little body move with the radiance and grace of a princess, yet there was something that also told you that she was wild – that she could pounce on you if she chose to.
What made her different from other girls Cloud felt he was generally attracted to was her toughness. She was clearly a powerful fighter – her toned arms and legs along with her flat stomach could tell you that - and sometimes a tough girl's personality could frighten men who weren't prepared for it. She was tough, this was certainly true, but on the complete opposite end to her toughness, she was one of the sweetest girls he had ever known, gentle in a way that was impossible to define.
Tifa Lockhart stood smiling in front of him. "Welcome home, Cloud! Looks like everything went well." He nodded and smiled back at her, currently speechless from the sight of her.
I've only been away from her for a few hours or so, he thought, realizing the reaction he was still getting, seeing his childhood friend all grown up now. She had been a beautiful girl then, but she was a beautiful woman now.
Tifa smiled at Cloud's silence, and then asked, "Did you fight with Barret after all? I heard the explosion but I knew how hard he was taking it . . . you know . . . knowing you were in SOLDIER and all."
A word finally got past the lump in his throat. "Yeah." He shrugged awkwardly. "Yeah, we fought."
"I should have known. He's always pushing people around, and you've always been in fights ever since you were little." She loosened her smile a little but still looked at him with care. "I was worried." Cloud, again speechless, stood motionless and waited for her to say something. He wanted to speak, but the pain in his head had lurched out from his subconscious again, and he was almost finding it difficult to listen.
"Aww . . . flowers. How nice," Tifa exclaimed.
Almost forgetting that he had any flowers on him, he looked down and saw blue and yellow petals sticking out of the pocket of his pants. He took them out as she said, "You almost never see flowers here in the slums. Um . . . are they for me?"
Glaring at her angelic smile he handed her the flowers - more aggressively then he had intended - and only managed to say, "No big deal."
"Thank you, Cloud. They smell wonderful. Maybe I should fill the whole store with flowers!" She spun around in a circle, causing her lengthy, dark hair to flow out around her pale face.
Pressing his hands against his forehead Cloud willed the headache to lessen up.
To his amazement it did, and he realized how stupid he must look.
Relax. You need to relax.
Before this week he hadn't seen her in five years. He needed to act casual around her. He needed to loosen up.
Awkwardly he made an attempt to hug her, but Tifa was already turning around and heading in the opposite direction.
Cloud took a quick glance at the other members of the team sitting at a nearby table, and from the look on their faces he knew they had witnessed his ill-at-ease performance from the start.
Tifa had walked over to Marlene to show her the flowers.
Cloud smiled.
Alright, it's time to start over. It's time to really just chill out.
He approached the table that the trio of rebels were sitting at, drinking and talking, and stood by Biggs. Biggs glanced up and smiled at him. "Oh, Cloud! Tifa really knows how to cook." He rubbed his belly. "She always lets me taste her cooking, and look at me now, all roly-poly!" Cloud laughed and Biggs continued, "I dunno if I should be happy or sad! But it's good food and drinks that make the Seventh Heaven famous in the slums."
Cloud overheard Jessie talking to herself. She looked very deep in thought and perhaps even concerned. "You're getting careless," she said to herself. "Just excited I suppose . . . I wonder what for." She looked up at Cloud and they both quickly avoided eye contact with each other.
Saving Cloud from any awkwardness, Wedge slapped him on the back and said, "Ahh! Nothin' like the first drink after a job." He hiccupped and continued, "You should have one too!"
"No thanks, I'm all set."
With a half angry tone, Wedge slammed his bottle down and questioned, "Why not? You tellin' me you too good to have a drink wit' me?"
Cloud felt the aggressive tickle in his head and knew the headache was coming on again.
Wedge continued, "Listen, jes because you were in SOLDIER doesn't mean you're better than me."
Cloud clenched his fist, but decided it was best to take a step back and let it pass. Wedge was obviously not himself.
Biggs and Jessie seemed to understand this as well, rolling their eyes and laughing amongst themselves at Wedge's expense.
After another chug of the drink, Wedge said, "You're still a rookie here, so ya better listen to whatever I tell ya!"
Realizing how ridiculous Wedge was acting Cloud looked at Biggs and laughed along with him.
They all heard Barret coming in, his usual abundance of noise giving him away.
Wedge, slopping alcohol down the front of his shirt, said with a more decent, apologetic voice, "Um . . . yeah sorry. Please don't tell Barret anything I just said."
Cloud shook his head and smiled. "Don't worry about it. I would never go against the word of someone so obviously better than me." They both laughed, and then Wedge stood up and pushed his drink aside . . . for now.
4
Barret crashed into the room with his big, bad self, only to show Cloud his soft side. Marlene ran to him with open arms, this time finding the person she had been looking for. The large man lifted her up onto his shoulder and admired the feeling of his love for her.
Marlene shouted, "Welcome home, Papa!"
Tifa would later explain that a few years ago Barret's friend Dyne Ridgeback, who was also Marlene's real father, had died roughly four years ago. Marlene's mother had also died not long before Dyne. Barret had taken care of the little girl ever since and had grown to love Marlene as if she were his own daughter.
Barret looked at her, and in a childish voice that surprised Cloud even more said, "Thank you my darling."
Tifa grinned at the sight and asked, "You alright, Barret?"
"I'm great! Couldn't be better if I tried right now." He hugged Marlene before placing her back on his shoulder again. He looked at his team. "Aright guys! We're startin' the meeting!" He walked to the opposite side of the room where the out-of-order pinball machine was located. He pushed the button that would normally control the 'left' paddle, and revealed that the whole contraption was a hidden elevator. As he descended, Marlene cheered. When they heard the elevator hit the bottom, Biggs, Wedge, and Jessie all ran over and jumped down to join their leader.
Cloud had started to make his way over when out of the corner of his eye he spotted Tifa behind the bar.
"Going down already?" Tifa asked, a barely noticeable wink in her eye. Cloud shrugged and slowly made his way over to the bar when she offered, "Why don't ya have a seat?" He sat down and took in a deep breath - a relaxing breath. "How 'bout something to drink?" she asked.
Cloud crunched his face and looked up at her. "Nah . . . I don't feel like it." He took his chance to recover from earlier. "My head's been bothering me a lot lately . . . probably why I've been acting so strange."
Putting the glass she had taken down back on the shelf, Tifa asked, "Oh . . . is that what's been going on?" When he nodded she feigned for the glass again. "You sure? I can make a drink as good as anyone else. Everyone says my drinks are the best!"
Not trying to hurt her feelings he said, "It's not that. I've just had a long night, haven't had action like that in a while."
"I see. Well you know . . . I am relieved you made it back safely. And you do seem better now. I won't lie and say I didn't think you were acting strange this past week. But that explains all of the head-holding."
"So you noticed, huh?" he questioned, feeling embarrassed and even somewhat angry at himself . . . maybe even at her.
"Well, yeah," Tifa said. "I mean, I find you all beat up and holding your head like it was full of wasps or something . . . and you don't even mention what it was that happened to you."
Cloud tried to recover. "I hadn't seen you in five years . . . other things were on my mind." And there it was - the throb was back in full-force. He made a move to grab for his head but reluctantly kept his hands on his lap.
"Five years, huh?" Tifa asked, her eyes wide.
"Yeah," Cloud stammered. "A long time . . ."
Tifa stared at him in such a way that he quickly became uncomfortable.
Maybe things have changed more than I thought.
Tifa blushed, shook her head, and smiled. "Don't worry about it . . . and I'm sorry I pushed. Regardless of any of that, I'm glad you're back safe."
Still feeling the pain as well as the rush of anger running through him, Cloud snapped, "Huh? What do you mean? That wasn't even a tough job, Tifa."
"I guess not," she said putting the drink mixes away. She seemed to realize that she had made him angry. "I mean, you were in SOLDIER."
Cloud only sat blankly staring at her, his hands now clutching his head. She was beginning to think that things had changed too, but she also knew that there was something else involved with this that she was missing. She was again about to ask about his headaches, but thought better of it. Instead she turned away and said, "Make sure you get your pay from Barret."
"Oh don't you worry," he said sharply. "Once I get that gil, I'm outta here." He stood up from the bar and again made his way to the pinball machine/elevator.
Feeling a significant proportion of nostalgic hurt coursing through her, Tifa ran to him, stopped him, and asked, "Are you feeling alright . . . like, really alright?"
Cloud had barely heard her. He had yet again been focusing on ridding his tired brain of the aching twinge. "I'm sorry, Tifa . . . what?"
"Are you okay?" she questioned. "All this business with your head . . . it's really scaring me. You don't seem yourself."
Cloud sighed a breath of relief. He'd done it - the pain in his head was gone. With a steady smile he took Tifa's hand, feeling tremendously better, and smiled. He could tell his new expression was contagious, because Tifa had slowly started to smile as well.
"I'm sorry, Tifa," he said, now feeling perfectly fine. "Come on . . . don't I look okay? The same as the Cloud from your past?"
Tifa nodded. "Yeah," she whispered. Pulling her hand from his she said, "You just look a little tired I guess." She turned away and walked back to the bar and sat on one of the seven barstools. "You'd better go down below."
Cloud nodded his head and walked over to the pinball machine. He flicked the switch and started his trip down. Looking back he saw that Tifa was still looking at him. He could see pain in her eyes, an infinitesimal amount, but pain nonetheless.
He couldn't figure out why she'd have such a look on her face. He was fine, wasn't he?
5
Soon Tifa was out of sight and he was entering the hideout area. It looked more or less like every other hideout area he had ever seen before, the only difference being that this one was crammed into a small room under a bar.
There was a TV on one side of the room, chalk board on the other, a square table in the center with four red chairs, and a computer diagonal from a punching bag that Barret was currently punching.
Besides this there was a grungy sink inside of a grungier bathroom, and five cots with camouflaged sheets on them. One guess would tell you which of the cots belonged to the hulking leader and which ones were for the others.
They all seemed to be doing their own thing at the moment. Perhaps they had been waiting for him to get down there.
He walked over to Biggs who seemed to be hard at work, thinking about something or the other. He was sitting around the center table, and when he saw Cloud he looked up and asked, "Do you think I'm a little too uptight?"
Cloud smiled. "I haven't really known you very long. But no, I haven't gotten that impression from you."
Unconvinced, Biggs said, "Well that's okay if you do. I don't look like it, but I'm a coward at heart." He took a sip of some of the water sitting in a tall glass in front of him. "For the next mission we're gonna blow up the Sector 5 reactor. And even though we were successful with the last bombing, I'm still really nervous!" Cloud could see that this was true; Biggs' hands were visibly shaking. The rotund man took another sip of water and continued, "You're great though . . . you don't ever get nervous do you?" He laughed. "You're like, impervious to feelings or something, right?"
Cloud didn't have a response to that. "Whatever you say, Biggs."
Behind them Jessie had turned the TV on and was yelling with delight about the news that was being covered on every channel. She was also working on the sole computer in the room, looking at the designs from the bomb she had built for the reactor.
"Hey, look at the news . . . what a blast!" she screamed excitedly. "Think it was all because of my bomb? All I really did was follow the instructions that the computer gave me. I must've made a miscalculation somewhere though . . . one that proved to be beneficial."
Cloud thought this last comment was somewhat awkward, seeing as each of them had been emotionally impacted by all of the extra deaths that had occurred earlier in the night.
Still appearing unfazed, Jessie again looked at the TV. "Oh, oh, everyone listen up! Public Enemy Number One is about to bless us with his infinite wisdom and courage."
President Felix Shinra, wearing his patented and terrible- looking crimson suit, sat stiffly in the middle of the screen, his blonde hair and thick moustache framing his reddening face. His chubby fingers could be seen holding a pre-planned speech that he was about to read.
"'Today the No. 1 reactor was bombed. The terrorist group AVALANCHE has claimed responsibility for the bombing. It is expected that AVALANCHE will continue its reign of terror.'"
The team all shouted with joy.
"'But citizens of Midgar . . . there is no need to fear. I have immediately mobilized SOLDIER to protect our citizenry against this senseless violence. Thank you, and goodnight.'"
The team all booed. Jessie shut it off as the normal anchorman returned to the center of the screen.
The rattling in the room, caused by Barret's repetitive hitting of the punching bag, came to an abrupt stop. He looked over at Cloud. "Yo, Cloud! There's somethin' I wanna ask ya." Cloud looked over at him, showing that he was paying attention. "Was there anyone from SOLDIER fighting us tonight?"
Without hesitation, Cloud answered, "None, I'm positive."
Barret coughed and raised his dark eyebrows. "You sound pretty damn sure."
Cloud remarked, "If there was anyone from SOLDIER fighting us today you wouldn't be standing here now."
Barret clenched his fist and slammed it into the swinging bag before hollering, "Don't go thinkin' you so bad jes cuz you was in SOLDIER!" He appeared to aim his gunarm at the punching bag, but instead slammed the bag hard with his fist again. "Yeah, you're strong, prolly all them guys in SOLDIER are. But don't forget, your skinny ass is working for AVALANCHE now! Don't get no ideas 'bout hanging on to Shinra."
Having a nerve hit and once again feeling the throb creep back into his head, Cloud yelled back, "Staying with the Shinra!? You asked me a question and I answered it, asshole. That's all!" He turned his back to him and made his way back to the elevator, now feeling worse than he had all night. He faced Barret again and yelled, "I'm going upstairs. I wanna talk about my gil."
Barret punched the bag again and said, "Shit! Gil, gil, gil." He shook his head in disgust. "Is that all that's important to you, Cloud? Gil?" Before Cloud had a chance to retort, Barret added, "Besides the Shinra, of course. We all got that already . . ."
Blazing, Cloud turned towards the elevator again but was interrupted as Tifa jumped down from above. She put both hands on his arm. "Wait, Cloud."
Seeing the pain in Tifa's eyes actually almost made him change his mind. Seeing that look made him feel like doing anything that would somehow hurt her was the most terrible thing he could possibly do.
That was until Barret started speaking again.
Barret looked past Cloud and directly at Tifa. Grimly, he said, "Tifa . . . let him go. Looks like this punk still misses the Shinra . . ."
Cloud, even more aggravated, his head pulsing like an amplified and racing heart, forgot all about the tender look in Tifa's eyes and screamed, "Shut up! I don't care about either Shinra or SOLDIER!" He swung his arm wildly through the air. "But don't get me wrong, I don't care about AVALANCHE or the Planet for that matter either." In a fit of rage he screamed and then climbed up the pole that was connected to the elevator device, not even waiting for the elevator itself to take him up.
6
As soon as he reached the top he heard the elevator begin to rise, and he immediately knew who was coming after him. He knew that she would have been the only person that wouldn't give up on him. Later on he would realize how true this really was. He would realize that she would never give up on him.
Tifa, with sadness in her eyes that he did not want to see, ran to him and put her hands on his arm again. The room felt warm, and everything around them was eerily silent. She looked him in his blue-green eyes with desperation. "Please, Cloud. I'm asking you. Please join us."
Shrugging his shoulders he shook his head and looked back at her. "Sorry, Tifa."
"The Planet is dying. Slowly but surely it's dying." Her tone changed from desperation to determination. "Someone has to do something about it."
"So let Barret and his buddies do something about it. It's got nothin' to do with me, Tifa." He turned again and headed for the door.
"So . . . you're really leaving!?" She stomped her foot on the floor, a trait she had most likely picked up having seen Barret do it thirty times a day. "You're just going to walk right out, ignoring your childhood friend!?"
He slowed down, his pulsating head slumping down to his chest. "Listen, Tifa. I'm sorry."
Just as he reached the door, Tifa whispered, "You forgot the promise, too."
He slowly turned around, a puzzled look on his tired face. "Promise?"
"So you did forget . . ."
There was a moment where both of them stood still, staring hard into each other's eyes. Somehow everything seemed to be darkening around them.
Still staring, Tifa continued, "Remember, Cloud, it was seven years ago . . ." He listened to what she said as she described the courtyard of their old hometown, Nibelheim, and started remembering. They both closed their eyes, picturing the old well that had sat in the center of the courtyard. It was a starry night.
"Look, the well. Do you remember?" Tifa asked softly.
He did remember. He remembered the well, the sky, and the frigid air making its way through his body. "Yeah . . . back then," he whispered back to her. "I thought you would never come, I was getting a little cold."
With their eyes shut tight they both recalled that night in Nibelheim at the well.
7
Cloud, fourteen now and almost grown up in his own eyes, started getting cold as he sat on the well cover. While he waited he swung his legs back and forth in hopes of warming himself up a bit. After a while he started to doubt that she would even come at all.
The sky was beautiful, but the chill in the air was bitter this time of the year. He should have known she wasn't going to show up.
But just before he gave up and walked home, he heard a voice say, "Sorry I'm late." Tifa, sporting a teal dress and matching shoes, didn't have quite as much hair as she would have later, but still had a fair amount. Nor was she as physically fit as she would be either, but she certainly was still very tough looking, most likely from all the running around her and her friends had always done since they were little.
Cloud gazed up at her. She was beautiful.
Tifa sat down next to him and said, "You said you wanted to talk to me about something?"
He sighed. "Come this spring, I'm leaving this town for Midgar."
Tifa didn't seem fazed. "Yeah . . . all the boys are leaving town."
He spoke louder, firmer. "But I'm different from all of them. I'm not just going to find a job." He stood up. "I want to join SOLDIER. I'm going to be the best there is . . . just like Sephiroth!" Cloud could feel the excitement pulsing inside of himself just by talking about it.
Tifa widened her eyes. "Sephiroth . . . the Great Sephiroth." Cloud climbed up to the top of the well and started looking at the stars. She looked up at him. "Isn't it hard to join SOLDIER?"
"I probably won't be able to come back to this town for a while." Tifa's face soured. She turned away from him and lowered her shoulders. Confused, Cloud asked, "Huh? What's wrong?"
Without turning to face him she questioned, "Will you be in the newspapers if you do well?"
"I'll try," he said proudly.
She stood up and faced him, a small smile on her face. "Hey, why don't we make a promise?" Seeing the puzzled look on his face she continued, "Umm . . . if you get really famous, and I'm ever in a bind, you'll come and save me. Alright?"
Still perplexed, he asked, "What?"
"Whenever I'm in trouble, my hero will come and rescue me. I want to experience that at least once in my life." She laughed.
". . . What?"
"Oh, Cloud! Come on, just promise me!"
"Alright, alright . . . I promise." He looked up at the starry night sky again, and whether it was his mind playing tricks on him or not, he thought he saw a shooting star. He looked down at Tifa. He didn't really want to leave her. He didn't want to let her down. He decided to try as hard as he could to do well, so that he could come and see her when he was famous – when he had made First Class in SOLDIER.
8
They both opened their eyes. The room didn't feel so warm anymore. Thinking about the old times seemed to calm the mood that had been suffocating them before.
Tifa was the first to speak. "You remember now? Seven years ago . . . our promise."
Cloud whined, "I'm not a hero and I'm not famous. I can't keep the promise." He found himself fidgeting, slightly uncomfortable. But more importantly his head had cleared while they had been talking about their memory together.
Tifa grabbed for his hand. "But you got your childhood dream, didn't you? You joined SOLDIER!" Cloud looked down at his feet but she continued, "So come on! You've got to keep your promise."
Before Cloud could say anything he saw Barret to his right, climbing up the elevator pole. He looked at Cloud and yelled, "Wait a sec, big-time SOLDIER! A promise is a promise!" He winked at Tifa and threw Cloud a bag containing his pay - fifteen hundred gil.
Tifa smiled at Barret, then said to Cloud, "So if you're going to keep your promise you've gotta stay around here, just in case I get myself into a bind some time or another."
Cloud looked at Barret, and then back at Tifa. He held up the gil and joked, "This is my pay? Don't make me laugh."
Tifa held her arms out in hopeful expectation. "Wait! Then you'll . . ." She hugged him.
He grinned. "You got the next mission lined up? I'll do it for three thousand."
Tifa jumped for joy but Barret's eyes widened as he screamed, "What!? Three thousand!? You gotta be shittin' me!"
Tifa hastily ran to him and whispered, "It's okay. It's okay. We're really hurting for help, right?"
"Uhh . . ." Barret said aloud before whispering back to her, "That gil's for Marlene's schoolin'." He turned to Cloud and stomped his massive foot. "Two thousand, hot shot!"
Cloud accepted with a nod of his head. Tifa quickly ran back to him, her arms spread wide. While she was hugging him, she whispered, "Thanks, Cloud."
And like the shooting star back when they were kids, along with the explosion of the Mako reactor just hours before, her smile lit up the night sky.
