Hey! Sorry I've been away for so long...you would not believe how many distractions I've had lately! :( Anyway, I'm trying to continue to upload as best I can, so here goes.

Here's chapter 8, led from chapter 4, deciding between rescuing Yuna or Vaan, Tifa, and Kain when you and Laguna split up. This is choosing to find Vaan, Tifa, and Kain.


You sigh and turn to the gunner after punching away another manikin.

You: Stay here, find Yuna. I'm going after the rest of the group.

Laguna sends you a slightly worried glance.

Laguna: You sure?

You nod without another word, and run in the direction of the shouts. You punch, kick, and shove away any manikins that get in front of you - focusing on reaching Vaan and the others rather than fighting - taking care to avoid attacks from behind.

You continue running for less than another minute before you see Vaan, lying face-down in the dirt with a Tifa manikin stomping on his back.

You see Tifa, breathing heavily, struggling to stay on her feet as she continues to fight more and more manikins.

You don't see Kain at all.

With only a shout to show your arrival, you kick the manikin holding Vaan as hard as you physically can. You lean down to check on Vaan.

He's lost conciseness, but he's still alive. Thank god.

You turn to Tifa.

You: You okay?

She nods and takes another deep breath before knocking a few more manikins away.

Tifa: He just got knocked out just before you got here.

You nod, then take another glance around but don't see a certain dragoon anywhere.

You: Where's Kain...?

Tifa: No idea. He got away before all of this started. I hope he's okay...

You agree silently, despite a nasty feeling in your stomach that has nothing to do with the battle.

Dodge, punch, jump to the side, barrel roll to protect Vaan, kick, punch, shove. You feel yourself starting to move in a rhythm to the fighting.

After a couple of minutes, you realize there's no end to this. With a grunt, you shove and punch more manikins away, then lift Vaan onto your shoulder. You turn back to the female brawler.

You: We have to get back to Yuna and Laguna. Any luck finding Lightning?

She shakes her head. No luck. You curse under your breath before turning back toward the way you came. You and Tifa run back, trying to keep both your breath and your balance as you carry Vaan.

After two more minutes of fighting and running, you see the camp, with Laguna's explosions marking that yes, he's still alive. Again, thank god.

You point, and Tifa nods without a word passed between you two. She runs ahead and clears the path for you to take. As you enter the camp, Tifa, Laguna, and Yuna manage to fight off the manikins. More specifically, they manage to hold them off at a safe distance.

You: Guys! Huddle up! Me, Laguna and Tifa need to form a wall. Yuna, heal Vaan, will you?

Everyone nods or grunts their agreement. You set Vaan down, then you three surround Yuna and the unconscious boy and form a triangular wall facing outward.

Yuna: I just need a minute, and he should be back on his feet.

Tifa: Okay. Hurry.

You notice how faint Tifa's voice sounds, and you decide that whatever it takes, you have to protect Tifa and Vaan.

As you reach that decision, you notice a Kain manikin's spear makes a glancing blow, and lightly cuts Tifa's cheek. If she didn't dodge at the last second, she would have been impaled.

Just the thought of that sends you into a small rampage. You punch and kick with much more ferocity than earlier. Fortunately, Vaan is standing, and Yuna is being a combative summoner, summoning her small monsters - "aeons", you faintly hear her call them with an affectionate tone - and attacking with them.

Vaan is switching between his sword & shield, crossbow, and staff to attack and defend.

Laguna is firing with all of his firearms - and explosives when the manikins get too far away - depending on range. Shotgun, machine gun, even strange ricochet bullets.

Tifa continued to punch and kick with all her might, and send ice crystals out of her palm when her targets got a little bit of distance on her. You could see that she, more than the rest of the group, was about to drop from exhaustion.

Your rampage continues, as you break away from the group, picking up a dropped spear off of the ground and leading many of the manikins away as you do so. You shout toward your companions so they don't panic.

You: I'll lead them away!

You don't give them time for an answer. You can see holes in the manikin army, and you have to take advantage.

When you've lead them far enough away - yet close enough that you can still see if they need your help again - you turn to face the incoming army, and twirl your spear in your hands. Contrary to your anger when Tifa narrowly avoided death, you try and dig deep, to find your own "eye of the storm". A place somewhere inside of yourself, where you were both calm and angry at the same time. You would fight without remorse if need be, to protect what matters.

And right now, what matters is saving them.

You: Now, let's get this over with.

After what feels like an hour - but was likely only a few minutes - you finally stop seeing more manikins. You struggle to catch your breath, yet you force yourself to walk back to the group, who seems to have also fought off all of the enemies.

When you re-enter camp, you see that everyone is alive and well. Yuna healed the minor injuries you saw them suffer earlier. A fresh wave of exhaustion washes over you as you fall back, a content smile on your face as you breathe heavily.

Yuna and Tifa are at your side immediately, checking to make sure you're alright, while Vaan and Laguna stand guard, making sure there are no more enemies. Through your blurred eyesight, you can tell who is who, and you reach up and lightly touch Tifa's face. You whisper to all four of your friends present.

You: Thank you, all of you. Please, let me...rest for awhile, then we'll continue.

Vaan: I should be thanking you. If you didn't show up back there, who knows what would've happened?

The gunner chuckles and nods to you.

Laguna: Take as much rest as you need. We've all earned it, I think.

Yuna nods her agreement as she heals your wounds from earlier, and you fall asleep.

...

After what feels like seconds, you wake to the rising sun. You squint as you recall the previous night's events, and groan as you struggle to sit up. You place a hand over your head.

You: Woah...How long was I out?

Tifa: The night and most of the morning. We're taking it in turns to watch over each other. It's like you said before, we have to stick together.

You smile and start to stand. It looks like everyone else is sleeping.

Wow. You and Tifa, sharing a sunrise. Even while you slept, you can't help but think about what you felt towards the other brawler. Fear and hate at the thought of her being hurt. That pretty face. You close your eyes and decide to "explore the boundaries", without trying to let her know what you feel.

You: That was a tough battle, huh?

Tifa nods, her eyes locked on the sun, as are yours.

Tifa: The toughest I ever remember having. I'm glad I had you guys with me, otherwise...

You don't want to think about what might've happened "otherwise". One thing is bothering you, though.

You: Kain...Lightning... where could they be?

She sighs and shrugs after a moment.

Tifa: I hope they made it back to Cosmos by now.

You nod your agreement and stretch your arms to wake up, accidentally on purpose letting your hand fall onto hers.

If she noticed, the only sign you could see was the slight red on her cheeks, which could be from the sun for all you know. You feel yourself blushing lightly as well.

After a moment, she flips her hand so your palm is meeting hers. She closes her hand, as do you. You smile and start to wonder.

You: Tifa, I know this is moving rather fast, but... I think I'm starting to like you. M-more than friends, I mean...

Ugh, why were you struggling not to stutter so much?

She blushes again and her gaze leaves the sunrise. Her eyes meet yours, and she smiles.

Tifa: O-oh...w-well...before we go anywhere w-with that, let's...finish this, shall we?

You: What, the war? Chaos and Cosmos?

She nods. You sigh with disappointment that she's right. You can't afford to get distracted by an attraction, even to an ally. That's when it hits you, but you aren't sure if you should tell her.

You open your mouth to speak, but no words come out. You try again, and fail again. Tifa noticed. Crap.

Tifa: You okay? You look like you're trying to say something.

She moves her hand from your hand to your shoulder. She's looking you in the eye, with that gaze. That serious but friendly gaze.

Tifa: Don't force it, but I'm here to talk, okay?

You sigh once again, and make your decision.

If you tell Tifa your idea, jump to chapter 12.

If you decide not to tell her, jump to chapter 13.


Again, so sorry for my absences! I hope my chapters will make up for it.

Oh, I'd like to explain one small thing (I'll post this in a couple other chapters too, just in case they aren't all read). More often than not, I can't help but write adding pairings of some sort or another. Maybe that's why Teyso couldn't stop thinking of Tifa since they reunited and saved Vaan? No idea, honestly. Anyway, the review responses:

Wannabewriter: Thanks :D If you're a fan of Dissidia (and/or of this fic) I definitely recommend Duodecim if you get a chance. It's amazing (except that tutorial battle, it's hell! :O )

Andre' Johnson125, RagingDemonslayer, and Keyblader41996: Thanks for the praise :) and once again, I'm sorry for the absence; I've been extremely busy, but I hope chapters like this can make up for it :3

Well, 'til next time, viewers! Peace out!