Hello, to those who are still reading this. I've not written in quite awhile so please excuse this chapter, I sincerely am sorry for not continuing it sooner. I am trying, but I have this weird mental block. Sorry I couldn't make it longer, but you'll be happy to know I sorta have an idea of where this is going, you'll just have to be patient. Thankyou for taking the time to read this, and Merry Christmas.
PS- Sorry about the annoying 'o' scene separators, but for some reason it wouldn't let me put the usual line.
Tifa woke, opening red rimmed eyes to a new day. It was bright outside. Dry and desert-like, about what you'd expect from a summer drought in Midgar. She looked around, disoriented
for a moment from her new surroundings. She'd slept in Cloud's room that night, buried beneath his cool sheets and nuzzled up against his fluffy pillow, letting tears flow freely that
she'd striven so hard to keep hidden. She yawned, wondering how the sun still shone without Cloud, how life seemed to be just as it had before, the wind still blew, the birds still sang
and still, life in Edge continued just as it always had.
She turned to the digital clock on the nightstand.
7:30 blinked in green. She'd gotten only an hour of sleep. She sighed and kicked back the sheets, slipping out of bed and onto the cool hardwood. She tiptoed out of the room, only to
find Marlene peeking through a crack in the bedroom door where the little boy slept on.
"Marlene." She whispered, causing her to jump.
The little girl turned and let out a breath. "Good morning Tifa, I was just- um... I wanted to make sure he was okay." Marlene scuffed her feet, blushing a little and hugging her stuffed
moogle a little tighter.
"I'm sure he'll be fine Marlene, but we'd better let him rest a little longer. It's still early; you should go back to bed sweetie." Marlene shook her head, "I can't sleep."
"Well if you want, I can cook a little breakfast. Are you hungry?" Marlene smiled and nodded, and taking Tifa's hand, they walked downstairs to the kitchen.
'So, Sephiroth's gone, them Weapons are dead, what the heller we supposed tuh do now?' Cid asked, looking at the Highwind's navigation system.
The group turned to Cloud, who had his gaze focused on the sky rushing past the Highwind's window. He turned towards his friends, a small frown forming on his lips.
'I suppose- we go home. We live our lives. We did what we set out to do, and our adventure is over now.' Everyone was silent, and a slight sadness blanketed the room.
Tifa nodded slowly. 'It will...be strange, to live a quiet life. Not getting up every morning to save the planet...'
Cid smirked, ' Hijack an airship.'
'Or stow away on a military freighter.' Nanaki put in.
'Or fight through a swarm of monsters' Cait Sith said.
'Infiltrate the Shinra Headquarters' Barret added with a reminiscent half-smile.
'Or' Yuffie let out a giggle, 'Or have Cloud dress up as a woman and sneak into Don Corneo's mansion.' The friends burst into laughter at this, and even Vincent let out an amused chuckle.
'Well then, I s'pose I should bring y'all home then.' Cid said once the laughter had died down.
Cloud nodded with a genuine smile. 'I- want to thank you all... for fighting by my side. We all have our reasons for fighting, and I finally know what mine is now.' He glanced quickly towards Tifa,
and then away.'I'm happy to have you all as my friends.'
Yuffie broke into a tremendous grin, 'You can count on us, Cloud!'
Cid grunted with a nod and a smile. Cait Sith bounced up and down from his perch on Nanaki's shoulders and Nanaki let out a howl.
'Should there come a time when the planet needs us once more, we will fight side by side again.' Vincent agreed.
'Until then, I suppose...' Tifa trailed off with a gentle smile.
'Right then, first stop, Cosmo Canyon... but come tuh think of it, before we go there, we never had time tuh properly celebrate savin' the universe. I think we should at least have a little bit of uh
party, doncha think so? '
Cloud smiled. 'I think we do deserve a couple drinks for saving the planet.'
'Yeah!' Yuffie shouted. Vincent put an armoured hand on her shoulder. 'Don't forget Yuffie, you are still a minor...' 'Hey! No fair Vinnie, you're not my dad, and plus, I'm not that young...'
ooooooooooooooo
Cloud jolted out of sleep, looking around wildly as the dream left him. He was slumped against Fenrir. In front of him, the last embers smouldered in the circle of stones. He looked at
the sky, a dark, but softening hue of blue. He stood, rubbing his eyes and kicking some dirt over the makeshift fire-pit. He had a nibble of food from one of the rations in his pack, but
put it away, hunger deserting him as he remembered the words that had ripped through him like a knife twisting in his gut. "I love you Tifa, but this battle I have to fight alone." Was it
selfish to have wished Tifa had come with him? That she had followed him out and sat, glued to his bike, immovable, forcing him to bring her along? Though what would have happened
had the Stigma gotten worse and he was unable to carry on? Again, it seems the only other outcome is her having to suffer while she watches me die, unable to do anything about it. Cloud
sighed and gathered his things, stuffing them into his saddlebags and mounting Fenrir. He revved the engine and twisted the handgrip, soaring across the plains, wondering where in
Gaia he was headed...
oooooooooooooo
Denzel opened his eyes, darkness creeping away from his vision, the room around him growing clearer. He lacked the usual migraine that came after a stigma blackout, and instead of
lying on the hard ground, he was in a comfortable bed with a soft pillow. He looked around the room. Light blue walls scattered with crayon drawn pictures of chocobos and moogles of
all colours. There were white sheer curtains billowing in a gentle summer breeze, and sunlight lit the room, warming it pleasantly.
The man that had been sleeping in the chair was gone, replaced with a tall slender woman with beautiful mahogany hair and rich brown eyes, wine swirling in each iris.
She smiled when she saw him awake, "Hey there, how are you feeling?"
No mistaking her voice, it was the woman he'd spoken to on the phone.
"I- um... thank you ma'am."
The woman looked a little surprised, and let out a gentle laugh. "No need to call me that, my name's Tifa, and it's really Cloud you should be thanking- though, he's not here right now."
Denzel caught a flicker of sadness in her eyes, quickly replaced with happiness. "I was really worried, when you collapsed on the phone, I'm just glad you're okay and Cloud was able to
bring you here."
"I feel much better. Thank you for helping me. There aren't a lot of people who would- you know."
Tifa smiled kindly. "It's really no problem. Now I bet you're hungry, how about some breakfast?"
"I- really?" Denzel's stomach let out a pitiful growl at the mention of breakfast. He couldn't remember the last time he'd eaten a decent bit of food.
"Does bacon and eggs sound okay to you?"
Denzel nodded fervently, "Thank you so much ma'am- er- Tifa."
"Right then, I'll go fix some up for you- by the way sweetie, what's your name?"
He half-smiled, ruffling the back of his hair shyly, reminding her of a certain someone, "It's Denzel."
oooooooooooooooo
Judging by the compass on his bike, he was going northeast from Midgar, towards Kalm. He had decided he would start by looking for Flint. If anyone could help Cloud recover his
missing memories, it would be him.
With absolutely no notion of where he would start, he had remembered a piece of the letter Flint had written:
As for me, I'll go into hiding, Take Fenrir someplace nice. He's seen enough of war and chaos.
Though it was vague, the letter crossed a few places off of his list to search. It would have to be a quiet town, with few SOLDIERs, or people that would have recognized them. He
decided to start with Kalm, as it was the closest, and work his way on towards the port on the eastern side of the continent, where he could take a ship to Mideel and continue his
search. He glanced at the sun that was slowly climbing into the summer sky. What happens if I can't find him? What do I do then? He thought for a moment, wondering whether he should
visit everyone one last time before the stigma took him. He thought about Tifa, kneeling on the floor of the bar, staring at him with those tear-filled eyes, pleading with him to stay. He
thought about his friends, who he'd seen little of since their last farewell those two years ago. There had been the occasional visits, such as Barret coming to see Marlene, or the Turks
stopping by for drinks, not to mention the brief visits he was granted while he was out on deliveries; but if he owed them one thing, it was a proper farewell.
Cloud stared ahead at the dusty blue skies, wondering just how much time he had left.
ooooooooooo
Tifa returned shortly after, carrying a plate full of eggs, bacon and toast. She set it on his lap and smiled at the expression of bliss on his face as he tucked in.
She laughed, "Don't eat so fast Denzel, the food isn't going anywhere."
He smiled sheepishly, a tint of pink on his cheeks. "Thank you so much Miss Tifa." He said after he'd finished, "I don't know how long it's been since I've had so much to eat."
Tifa smiled, taking his plate.
"Why don't you sleep awhile longer? I'll bring you lunch later and introduce you to Marlene."
Denzel nodded, thanking her once more and slipping into the warm sheets.
"Sweet dreams Denzel."