Chapter 10

"You…you sacrificed yourself for me? You unleashed a terrible evil on the world and let it consume you so that I would be safe?" her mouth hung open in surprise.

"Yeah…" I trailed off, suddenly getting dizzy.

"Oh…how…could…" she turned away, and I lowered my head, staring at the rock ground. Did she hate me more because of this?

"Sorry to interrupt this moment of truth between you two, but, Tifa, please step aside. I'm not going to hurt you, but…" Sephiroth smiled, happy to see me in such a weakened state.

"Cloud…I…I never knew you would …give up everything…" Tifa just stood staring at the ground, away from me, motionless. She slowly let my arm drop from her shoulder.

I felt so dizzy and anxious that my hands were shaking and my heart pounded furiously with irregular beats popping in my chest. I was fighting to stay awake, remembering what Zack had said. I was a corpse, plain and simple, a walking barely breathing corpse.

"How could you!?" She screamed, throwing her arms up in anger. "We worked so hard to defeat Sephiroth…"

"But, Tifa…I'm free of Jenova…please you must understand! Please!" I begged desperately.

"Why would you…I just can't believe….I'm at a complete loss of words…I…" she sighed and trailed off, shaking her head. "I don't even know what to believe, what to think…"

I didn't know if she was angry or sad. But I felt nothing- no emotion, just hollow… I was so exhausted, drained of my life, and too busy fighting off sleep that I never even saw Sephiroth move.

He tackled me to the ground, my body easily crumbling beneath his force, his fists pummeling my face. I couldn't fight back- my arms were paralyzed and my body went numb. The sleepiness began to settle in again and my weary eyes began to shut.

"No! You can't! He's dying!" I barely heard Tifa yell these words through all the static that hissed in my ears, more emotion in her voice than I thought possible.

I lazily glanced to the side to watch Tifa grab Sephiroth's long silvery hair back and knee him right in the jaw, bringing her leg up to kick him in his cheek.

He flew backwards, his weight off of me.

"Cloud gave up his mind, his world, his everything for me!!" she cried, hugging me.

I suddenly found myself looking up at Tifa as she lay over me, protecting me, her face stained with tears and her eyes locked on Sephiroth. He had fallen several feet away, but was quickly back on his feet.

"Get up!" he told Tifa.

I could feel her heart beating fast, but I was too dizzy to focus on her expression. She sounded afraid.

"No! Don't hurt him! He gave up everything he had so you could be reborn! Can't you leave us alone?!" she screamed.

"Tifa, get up! This ends now between Strife and I. Don't get in the way!" he shouted, but he didn't move closer.

"I'm not leaving him until you leave us!" her voice shook.

"Why won't Mother allow me to hurt you!!" he growled, grinding his teeth.

"What?" I seemed to awaken a bit as I heard these words.

Mother wouldn't let Sephiroth hurt Tifa…she wouldn't even let him hurt Tifa so he could get to kill me! Mother kept her promise to me!

"She won't let me break your promise!" Sephiroth snarled at me, his frustration practically wavering through the air.

"Tifa…stay with … me… He won't hurt me…" I trailed off, but she understood.

Maybe that meant that Mother really did love me if she keeps her promise even when she doesn't have to, even when she can easily accomplish her goals sooner by having me dead through letting Sephiroth kill Tifa… Maybe Jenova truly loved me as she loved Sephiroth.

And that's all I have asked for. Love. Whether it is love from Tifa, or love from Jenova, I just wanted to be loved.

"She loves me…?" I mumbled, thinking of Jenova, struggling to organize my thoughts.

Tifa turned her eyes to meet mine.

"Yes, I love you, Cloud," She suddenly announced, but my eyes began to dim as I was once more dipping into unconsciousness. I wanted to reply, to tell her how much I loved her again, but my lips were numb.

When had Tifa made the decision to help me, to protect me from Sephiroth, I don't know. When had she made up her mind that I was telling the truth and when did she believe that I had given up everything for her? When was the exact moment she decided to save my life from Sephiroth by shielding me with her own? I wish I knew.

I kept slipping in and out of consciousness, hearing bits of Sephiroth and Tifa arguing, neither moving from their spots. Jenova was refusing to allow Sephiroth to harm Tifa, keeping her promise to me, which I viewed as a subtle way for Jenova to admit that she loves me…still.

The vile substance would probably never actually say that she loves me, the lesser of her two 'sons'. But this act, this promise that she kept, this sacrifice I had made…this is what convinced me that she did love me.

And I couldn't wake up. I felt myself sink low into my body and fade away, the world closing in black and soundless.

I don't remember actually falling asleep, and I don't remember dreaming anything at all. It just felt like I was closing my eyes for an instant. Zack and Sephiroth had both vanished from my memory. Jenova's virus no longer coursed through my veins, her voice out of my thoughts completely.

It was so quiet in my head without Zack or somebody constantly talking, like how I was used to….it was kinda lonely. …All by myself in my head for once. I didn't realize that there was so much always going on in my mind- lots of talking and stuff like that- until it was gone.

But my mind itself was finally at rest. I no longer needed Zack or Sephiroth there to comfort me or advise me or help me to assess situations. I felt my insecurity vanish because I knew I had love now.

The only love I really needed to put my thoughts at ease was the love from a mother and the love from Tifa. And now, I was reassured that I had both. I felt rested, entirely. I didn't feel the need to struggle with consciousness anymore. I wanted to sleep forever, feeling happy, feeling satisfied finally.

Jenova loved me. Tifa loved me. That was all I needed. I could have slept forever.

But something woke me up. It was coldness. I was shivering and I opened my eyes lazily, feeling them sting. My body no longer ached, but a seeping coldness chilled my bones.

I realized I was in a bed, with a heavy quilt pulled on top of me up to my chin. I shivered uncontrollably. I couldn't remember for the life of me what had happened and where I had ended up.