Chapter 10: This Can't Be Happening

Darkness. Silence. Weightlessness.

Lifestream.

The memory flashed by her, green tinted and pain laden as Cloud walked her through his past. It faded back into the thick darkness. Silence returned. And still, she floated. This was not the Lifestream…

… then, where…

Pain.

Fury.

Anger.

Fear.

Blood.

So much blood!

Tifa felt herself begin to panic at the dark emotions and images invading her mind. She gripped her head, dropping to her knees and fighting off the darkness. Stop it! Cloud, help!

-fa-

Stop stop stop stop.

-T-fa-

That voice…?

-ifa!

Make it stop!

-up-

Wha…

Look up!

The voice was so commanding, she couldn't help but comply. Instantly, the blood and darkness retreated, and the world spun into focus in the shape of a battle arena and a roaring crowd. Despite the noise, she felt caught in a bubble, all sound mutated, all actions slowed. Her eyes immediately caught the image of death about to fall upon Cloud, to be bestowed by the innocent Ancient.

Something about the picture terrified her enough to make a scream rise up in her throat but only chocking gasps left her. No, no, no, wrong! But she couldn't remember… why this mind numbing fear…?

Your soul remembers, the voice whispered in her ear, but their's do not.

…Zack?

You have to hurry, Tifa. You have to get up! Save them before Chaos wins!

I don't… what's going on?!

A gentle warmth filled her mind, the hurried whisper of her dead companion brushing over her with the faintest touch. Damnation, he answered. Chaos has rigged the battle. When someone dies, Cloud will live, but he already does, inside that mutant body, controlled by Chaos. He's forced to watch himself kill and can't stop it. And if he watches Aerith die again…

Tifa stared at Cloud and knew he wouldn't be able to survive that pain again. But, if he died, his life would be returned… Something about the thought made her shiver, her body, no, her soul, trembling in fear.

If Cloud dies at her hand, he will live again, but Aerith's soul will be damned, and lost to Chaos forever!

Tifa's heart froze in her chest and her soul stirred in distress. Of course. It wasn't mercy killing. It was murder, the willful decision to end another. Aerith was about to murder her friend, her love, under the pretense she was saving him. It was the perfect trap. Tell her, she begged him. Stop her!

I can't, he whispered, his voice fading in her mind. You must-

Zack? She felt the warmth drain away. Zack! What do I do?

-take a life- save them all- his voice broke in and out of her mind as her body roused itself back to full consciousness.

Zack!

You know… he faded from her, and the world came back in full swing.

Everything was a roar of sound, punctuated with flashes of light dancing over the blurry ground. Dirt swirled before her as her gaze focused, and she recognized her companions in various stages of distress. Red and Cid appeared to be pinned to the ground, frantically trying to stand. Vincent was strangling Barrett who struggled weakly against his captor. The possessed Turk was looking up into the sky, staring at the balcony where their enemy sat in darkness.

And in the center of the ring, Aerith stood over the crumbled form of Cloud, his body quaking with pain and fatigue, his head bowed into ground. The set of her shoulders and the pain on her face gave away her intentions, and Tifa's heart constricted as Zack's words echoed in her mind.

…A life must be taken… but all will be lost…

What do I do? What am I supposed to do?!

She shifted her feet under her, struggling to stand, when vertigo hit her hard enough to tilt the world nearly upside down. She dug her fingers into the ground, breathing through the nausea, shouting in her mind to focus, damn it, focus!

And when the world did, she looked up. She gasped. "Aerith, no!"

Into the heart, it whispered in her mind. Touch the heart, and the evil will be undone.

Aerith's eyes closed as the power of the staff hummed through her hands, and a voice whispered in her mind. What will happen? she whispered back.

The body will be destroyed. Death will be swift. Cloud will die.

Her chest tightened. Cloud is already dead.

Cloud will die.

She held the staff over head, arms tightening in preparation for the final blow. He will be returned.

Cloud will die.

"Aerith, no!"

Her eyes shot open, the panicked shout and repeated words making her hesitate in her swing. Tifa was holding her hand out, begging her not to strike the blow. Aerith felt a surge of doubt, reinforced by the steady assurance of her staff. Cloud would not look at her, accepting his fate without so much as a look of defiance. It was too easy…

Chaos was lying. It was a trap, it had to be. This was what he wanted… and Aerith wouldn't give him the satisfaction. He was using their fears against them, pitting them against each other in the hopes one would kill the other in a moment of fear or anger or the disillusioned sense of doing what's right.

So clever. Aerith raised her eyes to the darkness above. She could feel his stare, hot and powerful, but she did not shudder or cower. Instead, she lowered her staff and dropped it to the dirt by her foot. The crowd cheered and booed, but the sounds became nothing but white noise as she dropped her eyes to Cloud's.

"I trust you," she whispered when he looked up.

His face showed no reaction, not even when she smiled at him, her eyes shinning with the encouragement that they could get through this. The first movement she noticed was the twitch of his fingers. Then, one foot planting itself. He leaned forward, slowly raising himself to his feet.

But not before retrieving the sword at his side.

No, Aerith, don't! Cloud watched her drop her staff, watched the glow fade into the dirt, watched her smile at him with so much love and trust. Her encouragement to him, her belief in him, made his heart break as he fought desperately against the body that would not yield to him. No, no, stop! he screamed when he felt the weight of the sword in his hand. Not again, please, not again!

His anguish increased at the low laughter in his mind, soft and cruel. Yes, again. Encore, please.

Chaos, stop this! Stop it now! The laughter only magnified, chilling Cloud's mind. Chaos, please! Don't hurt her!

That's right, Cloud, beg me. Beg and suffer.

The demon body stepped back, the hands coming together and bringing the blade level at the waist, the legs ready to lunge forward. Aerith, run, please, baby, run! She remained still, her face brave, her eyes strong, her love and trust shinning like a beacon, pleading with Cloud to fight, to win, to save them all.

No, no, no, no, no! Aerith, run, run! Gods, please! Cloud felt the body tense and screamed.

It's the only way. The words echoed in Aerith's mind, though she couldn't bring herself to say them, even if she knew Cloud could hear her. She watched Cloud prepare to strike her down, and yet she felt no fear. Somehow, she knew this was what had to happen. Cloud's life would be restored, and then they could defeat Chaos once again. And she… she would return to the Lifestream, where she was always meant to be.

She only hoped Cloud would forgive her.

She took a breath and squared her shoulders. Locking her eyes onto Cloud's, she smiled and said, "I will always trust you… and I will always love you."

His body tensed and she opened her arms.

Everything blurred, and time stopped, every minute detail reaching her clearly: the tension in the air around her, the atmosphere frozen with a million collected breaths; Nanki's roar, mingled with the terrified screams of Cid, Barrett, Yuffie and Tifa, all helpless to the scene played out before them; the bone chilling laughter of the demon inside Vincent, gleefully watching his victory come to fruition; the icy whisper deep in her mind, where Chaos reached out and touched her, his dark voice a gentle whisper, thank you, my lady; and there, just there, in the corner of her eye, the beautiful face of her deceased friend, her Zack, staring at her with a sadness that made her heart cry…

…and the world came back, exploding with movement and pain.

There was little resistance, the sword slicing cleanly through cloth, skin, and bone, until the momentum was lost in the thrust. The hilt stopped, a nearly perfect vertical line in the center of her abdomen. The cut was so precise, very little blood soaked into her clothes. But it soaked into the bandages of his sword, deep red and metallic scented. The sight of it, the smell of it, the weight of it… oh, Gods, the weight of her body hefted on his sword, holding her up, holding her to him… and around him, every sound was lost in the pounding of his heart.

N… no… no!

Her eyes were wide in shock, her mouth moving slightly as if she tried to speak to him, but had forgotten how. The skin of her face was so pale, so terribly pale, the blood draining away with each gasping breath. Her breathing was becoming erratic, and her hands shook as they came up to his face. A word finally escaped her, one word that had always carried so much meaning to him whenever she spoke it.

"Cloud…"

No no no…

He felt her fingers trailing on his cheek, felt the tremble through the soft tips while the last of her energy was put into comforting him. Why did she always make it about him? Guilt? Regret? Above all, love. He knew, deep in his broken heart, it was always about love.

No no no no no…

Her beautiful face blurred before him. Hot tears streaked down his cheeks to be brushed away by her weakening fingers. His hand fell away from the sword to caress her hair, brushing it down as he supported her head. Her legs gave out and he caught her with his other arm, his own knees crashing into the bloodied earth as he rocked her gently.

His body was his once more, but it didn't matter. Pain laced through him as the demonic appendages died and turned to dust, but it didn't matter. He was emotional and broken before those who wanted to destroy him, but it didn't matter.

No no no… why…

"Don't cry."

He stilled, her soft voice breaking his heart. His hand tightened in her soft hair.

"Please don't cry, Cloud."

A sob choked his throat at his name. That one word, always so much said in that one word… and he only had one word in reply. "Why?" he whispered.

"Next time-will be our time," she gasped out. "Chaos… can't stop that."

His eyes squeezed shut, his throat constricting on the cry of despair that built up from his chest. He gasped and was able to speak once more, whispering softly into her hair, "It will, won't it?" He understood, but it didn't ease the hurt. "And it will be wonderful."

She laughed, so lightly, so carefully, so painfully around the blood pooling in her lungs, and her smile was so hurtful to look at, filled with anguish and joy. "It-it better be." She winced, her teeth clenching at the wave of pain, and her tears fell to mingle in the blood dripping from her lips. "You-you take care of h-her now… got it?"

Cloud tried to smile at her, tried to hide the pain and sadness and the regret this moment brought, but instead nodded and pressed his forehead to hers. "I promise," he answered, his voice strained.

"I lo-love you, Cloud."

A soft keening left his throat before he wrapped his hands around her face and he pulled back far enough to look at her. He closed his eyes and pressed his lips to hers, gentle and sweet. He felt her smile. He felt her exhale. He felt her still. He felt himself break.

He pressed his tear stained face into her neck and gave one hitching gasp before he whispered, "Good night, Tifa." Carefully, he laid her on her side, gently cradling her head and brushing her hair back once more before he looked at Aerith, crying silently from where she'd been shoved aside. She nodded once, swallowing her pain and sorrow just as he did. They said no words, but a promise was made.

This ends now.

A/N: Hey all. One more chapter to go, gonna try to get it finished up this week. Maybe sooner than that. Thanks to everyone who has been leaving comments and clicking the favorite/ follow button. I really appreciate the support!