- Lover's Chance -


Marlene watched Tifa pack, knowing it would be useless to try and stop the woman. When Tifa set her mind to something, she kept going until she hit a wall. And even then she wouldn't give up. Case in point being Cloud. He'd literally only been seen twice in Edge in the last ten years, yet Tifa was convinced he was alive and trapped. He was trying to contact them through dreams, or something. Marlene found it all rather hard to follow. Her own memories of Cloud were somewhat vague. She remembered him as a tall warm guy with a nice little smile and fluffy blonde hair. Someone safe. She had always felt protected when he was around.

But that was so long ago it might as well have been a dream. Marlene imagined that it would be hard to lose a lover the way Tifa had. To just literally wake up one day and your partner is gone, just like that. And when you see them again, they are someone else. Or something. Marlene had her fair share of broken hearts, but at least she knew the ones that she'd shared any intimacy with were dead. Barret never let her near any live action, nor did she have any desire to see the front lines, but both deaths close to her heart had been in the base, defending against those monsters or, arguably worse, scavengers. It only proved that death could happen anywhere, and Marlene quickly became a worn soul.

It seemed better to know someone was dead than to live with the constant gnawing questions that sprung from sleepless nights. The perpetual promise of a different future forever loomed in front of Tifa, and Marlene gained an almost morbid appreciation for the dead. The living were doing far more haunting, it seemed.

Tifa finished packing and looked around the room one last time. Looped around her neck was the silver ring Cloud had once given her. She'd never actually worn it until after Cloud's reappearance in Edge, Malene noted, as if holding onto any small piece of him could somehow invoke his presence or bond him to her. It was sad, really. Marlene frowned.

"Reeve won't be happy about this, but they will clearly need my help," Tifa announced, heading out the door with Marlene not far behind. "Zack Fair was someone I knew once, too, and if this thing is masquerading as Cloud's dead friend, then he'll need an alive friend to guide him home."

It all sounded very surreal. A dead friend. An alive friend. Marlene couldn't believe this is what constituted a normal conversation with her nowadays. Denzel would probably tell her it was a slight improvement, though not by much.

When they'd arrived at Fort Condor later that evening, Reeve was indeed not happy. They were doing everything they could, but a smart tactical maneuver took time to set in motion. Just rushing into Edge with guns and fists blazing meant nothing without research and observation. Tifa fumed. That thing has him, she stressed, and they both knew how much Zack meant to Cloud. How his identity had imprinted on the man after severe trauma. How she'd sifted through memories and reorganized the damn guy and now this thing was fucking with his head again. After all they'd been through, she was the one who could do it again. She could get him back.

"No," Reeve said.

She was too angry to do anything but stomp back to her quarters. She wanted to see Denzel but it would have to wait because right now she just wanted one drink to calm down. But Barret saw her drinking alone and decided to join her, and one drink turned into four then six. Tifa could hold her liquor, an artform that came from years of bartending but also years of forced solitude, but after Barret hugged her goodnight and drunkenly departed, she fell back into her bunk and curled up, asleep.

Morning woke her with a jolt. She'd nearly forgotten she was at the Fort and the unfamiliar scenery tricked her mind for a moment. Down in the cantina, she got a big mug of coffee and walked over to Denzel's room. He wasn't there. She asked Marlene if the girl had seen him, but nobody had. Don't be worried, Barret assured her, Denzel was probably on security up on the overlook. Reeve and the others seemed too busy to be bothered, and Elena was glued to Tseng's side. Tifa ascended to the roof and climbed up to the overlook.

The vista was a sweeping wasteland of dust and rock. Exposed. Unnatural. Not even a bird or bug flew in the air. The silence was unnerving. She imagined Denzel spending many long hours up here, alone, watching the ridge line for danger. Waiting in this abysmal place.

"Tifa."

She practically levitated into the air with fright at the sudden voice behind her. Turning fast, fists raised, she relaxed once she saw the familiar silhouette.

"Oh. Vincent." She let out a breath. "Hi."

It always amazed her how Vincent's appearance never changed. No matter how much time would pass, he remained isolated. The wind whipped around them.

"You are looking for Denzel," he noted. Under the mess of dark hair, he watched her.

"Yes, I...I just got in yesterday. I heard about Zack."

"He's not here," Vincent replied, "Denzel, I mean."

Tifa was taken aback. Not here?

"He's in Edge." The words fell from Vincent like rocks. Tifa stared, thunderstruck. Then it clicked. Denzel was surely going after Cloud, or maybe Jenova had called him there finally, to be consumed by the monsters lurking within. In either case, Tifa had to help him.

She pushed past Vincent. She had to go. There was no telling what would happen if Denzel was in that city alone.

"He's not alone," Vincent went on, and Tifa paused. "Yuffie is with him."

A flash of anger stabbed her chest. How could he know this and nobody else unless he'd seen them go, or maybe he helped them go. However it happened, it happened quietly and Vincent was obviously part of it. Why did they want to go alone, she wanted to know. Vincent relayed that Yuffie had tried to convince him to come along, but he'd refused, knowing he was the only one best equipped to defend the base.

"Or the only one best equipped for an offense," Tifa countered, "C'mon, let's go to Edge. Let's get our friends back and put down that monstrous pretender."

The vibrancy in her voice, the light in her eyes, moved him. Lost love was no stranger to his heart, and Tifa actually thought she could save her forlorn partner. It was sad, really. She carried on, begging him to help her. After all they'd been through in the past, surely he could leave the Fort and go into Edge with her. Yuffie had given him the altered serum, he admitted. It was likely they could pass unnoticed, at least for a little while.

"Please, Vincent. You know what it's like to lose someone very dear to something very horrible," she said, touching the gold claw on his arm, "Please help me bring him back. He's not gone yet. I know it. And Denzel and Yuffie are walking into something they can't possibly comprehend. I knew Zack. I knew Cloud's broken version of Zack. I can actually do something now. For the first time, I don't feel helpless, and I can't let it go."

He pulled away from her.

"I'm not going to stand by and do nothing," she went on, "And if you won't do it for Denzel or Yuffie or Cloud or even me, then I don't know what will convince you because that's all we have left. Each other. In this desolate place." Her eyes moved outward to the barren plain below. "I don't know what comes after that."

She stepped down from the overlook and descended, leaving Vincent behind. There was nothing more she could do or say. With or without anyone's help, she'd already made her mind to leave. If she told Barret or Reeve, they would likely try to stop her. Cid was out over Junon somewhere, but she sent him a message anyways, in case he wanted in on her little rebellion.

Within an hour, she was heading out, beyond the safety of the base. Just as she was walking through the perimeter line, bandana up around her nose and mouth to keep out the whirling dust, a red cape appeared along the other side of the ridge. He stood perfectly still as she neared him, then he broke into the faintest smile and followed her. She smiled, too, nodding in sincere appreciation, and set her sights on the distant forsaken city.