Disclaimer: All the characters herein are property of Square Enix, except for any OCs, which may or may not appear.
**With Tifa**
Her mind was swimming in a haze of darkness. She knew she was asleep; she had to be. She couldn't move or see anything, but she wasn't afraid. It was like she was waiting. She didn't know for what, but she floated aimlessly through the haze, knowing she needed to be patient. She drifted for what seemed like an eternity and a second at the same time, before a soft white light began to cut through the haze.
Tifa?
Tifa's head snapped up, and she looked toward the light. Her eyes narrowed slightly and she looked up. Her eyes widened slightly, but she was not surprised by the emerald eyes that came into focus.
What are you doing, Tifa?
Tifa frowned. She couldn't find her voice, even though there were thousands of words she wanted to ask her friend. What was she doing? She shook her head in reply. She truly didn't know.
They're waiting for you, Tifa, Aerith's voice was soft and echoed lightly in the darkness, filling it with warmth and happiness. Whenever you're ready, Vincent's worried about you.
Tifa's hazel eyes widened at the sound of his name, and she felt the lethargy leave her body. Vincent? She sat up slowly, watching as Aerith smiled at her.
Don't keep him waiting too long. Tifa watched as the flower girl giggled softly, before waving at her. See you around, Tifa.
Tifa felt her eyes fill with tears. She wanted to call to Aerith for her to come back. There were so many things she wanted to ask her, and Cloud….. She wanted to tell her about Cloud and how much he missed her. But the pink flower girl was fading too quickly, and Tifa couldn't move or make her voice work. She felt panicked for a second, and her heart was aching as she watched her, but she could feel something different fighting for her attention. At first, she couldn't tell what it was, but soon it sounded like the soft hum of a voice. She felt it forcing her mind into a different kind of darkness, and she closed her eyes. For a while everything was dark, before a different kind of wakefulness came over her.
"Vincent." She groaned softly, his name all she could think of. "Vincent." She didn't realize she was saying it until she felt it roll off her lips, and it made her hazel eyes flutter slightly. When they finally opened and focused, she blinked and groaned again. The light that flooded her senses was too bright, even though she could tell it was dim, and she closed her eyes quickly. It made her head pound, and she whimpered, wondering what was going on. The last thing she remembered was the look on Vincent's face, and it made her heart twist painfully. She needed to speak to him. She needed to tell him she was alright.
But she couldn't remember why that was so important. She couldn't remember what had happened that she needed to reassure him, and that scared her. She felt a tear streak down her cheek. She didn't know what had happened to her. She felt fear engulf her, and for a moment she wanted to scream. She knew she was on the edge of losing it, when something cool pressed against her face.
"Shh, it's alright."
Tifa felt the fear subside a little, and she forced her eyes open, despite the blinding light. She felt a small smile slide across her lips. "Vincent."
"I'm here," he whispered, leaning close to her, his lips brushing against her forehead. "It's okay. You're safe now."
Tifa sat up quickly, throwing her arms around him, surprising him. His arms slowly came around to circle her, and Tifa heard him breathe a ragged sigh.
**With Vincent**
Vincent didn't think he'd ever been so relieved in his entire life. He held Tifa tightly against his chest as he listened to her whimper softly, and all he could do was whisper soft reassurances to her. He felt his heart twist painfully at the sound of her crying. After a moment, he held her at arms' length, pressing his lips lightly against hers. "I'm so sorry, Tifa," he said quickly, feeling the words leave him in a rush of breath. "If it hadn't been for me, none of this would have happened." He leaned back for a moment and looked into her eyes, instantly noting the confusion he saw there.
"What are you talking about?" she whispered, a disgruntled look on her face.
Vincent frowned, searching her gaze, feeling as if icy fingers were trailing down his spine. "Tifa, tell me, can you recall any of the past two days?" he asked quietly, feeling his chest clench and his breath catch.
Tifa looked away, a look of thoughtfulness crossing her eyes. "I remember going to the reactor," she whispered, her brow furrowing in concentration. "And I remember…..Reeve was in danger…and we were going to help him get out…..but we had a fight…." She trailed off, staring at the floor. She was becoming worried herself. She couldn't even remember if they had resolved the fight, since the last thing she recalled was getting on the hover boards. She swallowed thickly, afraid to look at Vincent.
"Do you recall what happened when we entered the reactor?" Vincent asked quietly. There was an odd edge to his voice that Tifa didn't like at all. She glanced at him slowly, feeling fright on her face when she saw the disconcerted look on his.
"No," she breathed, feeling her breath catch and stick in her throat. She felt tears clouding her eyes, and a desperate fear seized her. She looked up into Vincent's eyes, searching them quickly. She couldn't make her voice work as she watched his eyes soften with an odd emotion she couldn't understand. She knew something terrible had happened, and she felt a choked sob leave her.
Vincent felt terrible, and even holding her in his arms made him feel guilty and dirty and unworthy. He didn't know what he was supposed to do. Unconsciously, he held her closer, letting her head rest over his heart.
"Why can't I remember?" she breathed quietly.
Vincent shook his head, unable to answer. "Don't worry," he whispered, placing his hands on her cheeks so he could look into her watery hazel eyes. He pressed his lips gently against her forehead. "You'll remember in time." He hoped that he sounded calm and convinced, because he certainly didn't feel it.
**In the Cockpit**
Reeve sighed heavily as he entered the cockpit. He glanced around, not surprised by the myriad of worried faces that assaulted him. He was surprised that no questions accompanied them. He paused, before glancing up at the helm where Cid stood, gazing down at him.
"Well?" the pilot asked, flicking ash from the end of his cigarette.
Reeve shook his head. "Vincent went to see her," he said softly. He flinched inwardly when Barrett scoffed loudly and Cloud turned away, the look on his face enough to make Reeve shudder. They hadn't taken Tifa's injuries well, especially not after they had heard the whole story. Especially Cloud. He'd been stony and silent all day, and he'd avoided Vincent to the point that it was obvious he was avoiding the gunman. In fact, it seemed like all of AVALANCHE had been avoiding their stoic friend.
"You have to forgive the man eventually," Reeve said quietly, walking closer to the group. He noticed Yuffie and Shelke standing near the window, silently observing. It was odd, since Yuffie didn't seem to have an "off" button most of the time, and just like Barrett, Cloud and Cid's behavior, it was nerve-wracking.
Cid scoffed before throwing his cigarette butt on the floor and squashing it out with the toe of his boot. "We don't have to forgive the man nothin'," he said gruffly. "We all know that he'll be beatin' his damn self up about it for the next thirty years." He shook his head, turning his sky blue gaze on his comrades. "Just like he did with that Lucrecia chick."
Reeve grimaced, looking at Barrett and Cloud. Both of them seemed to wince slightly, the truth in his words undeniable. "Just…..why didn't he fucking tell us?" Barrett demanded. A small chorus of agreement came from the others.
"He couldn't."
They all froze, turning to peer silently at Shelke, whose mako-infused gaze was glowing softly in the darkness of the night.
"What do you mean, he couldn't?" Cloud asked quietly. All eyes shifted to him, surprised by his first words in hours.
Shelke folded her arms behind her back, her mechanical eyes blank as she let them drift to stare at the floor. "It's simple really," she said monotonously. "How was he to know that he would lose control like that?" She shook her head. "It is as I have explained to Reeve. The levels of mako radiation he was exposed to where much higher than even I need to survive. There wasn't any way to be sure that Chaos would react so violently."
"But there was a chance," Cloud said. His mako-blue eyes were narrowed dangerously, his voice on the end of an angry out-burst, trembling despite its softness. He watched as Shelke looked away, and he took her silence as conformation. He gritted his teeth, clenching his hands tightly to restrain himself from drawing his sword and lopping Vincent's head off.
"Don't be stupid, Cloud," Yuffie snapped suddenly. She straightened from where she was leaning against the railing, pinning Cloud with a glare. "We all know that he and Tifa were the best suited for this job. No one else could have fought off the guards and Cid and I had to stay here in case of emergencies." She shook her head, the fire gone from her face. "We didn't have a choice. And besides," she shrugged, trying to lighten the mood, "Shelke gave them materia. So it wasn't like they went in unprepared."
Reeve glanced at Cloud, before looking up at where Cid stood silently at the helm. He could feel the tension among his friends, but he understood what they were all thinking. For once, Yuffie was right.
