11/30—Find me in the Dark

Tifa was fully enveloped by the cloak of darkness.

As proof of her stature as guest, she was given comfortable sleeping quarters and an access card to the Tsviets compound as well as the freedom to wander. She found no locked doors with her access card. After memorizing the layout of their compound, she found the nearest exit point and left. She needed the outdoors, she reasoned to herself, there's nothing like the endless span of horizon and vastness of space to clear your mind and put things in perspective.

No one questioned her when she declared her intent to leave and be left alone; so she started walking in a random direction and hasn't stopped. Until now. She must have walked for hours. But time didn't mean anything here and the thoughts that plagued her pushed her on until she can no longer tell where her body was and where the darkness started. She was deep in blackness so complete, it seemed to have a life of its own. The only thing that told her that it wasn't a dream was the persistent hum of wind as it blew through the crevices of the canyons around her.

She was waiting to fall into a pit, truth be told. She wanted to walk right into a ravine so deep she would fall to her death. Only then would the voices in her mind be silent. She didn't want to die, not after having escaped death so many times, but she feared that it was the only rational solution to the dilemma before her.

And that was: what was she supposed to do now?

Tears pooled in her eyes as she realized that she was hopelessly lost and there was no way to find her way back to the surface, or even where she began. She sank down to her feet and felt the protest of her muscles that had been aching all along. She survived the destruction of her hometown, the destruction of the surface world, and lived through the death of everyone she cared for.

But she did not survive it whole.

The past few weeks she's been living with raw nerves, acting quite unlike herself and postponed thinking about certain things. But she could no longer ignore that her world had drastically changed. This dark world that she found herself in may be the last enclave of humanity left. And with the state of everyone around her, she may be the last genetically unaltered being. It may just be a matter of time before they all wink out of existence.

And then there was Genesis. And his 'children', the Tsviets.

He had not fathered them biologically, they were careful to explain this, but they carried his cells and reacted to him as the clones reacted to Sephiroth. He was the lynchpin that held this whole place together. Deepground was built to continue the research that used his cells. Everything started with him. He was the prototype for SOLDIER, and Sephiroth was the successful version of what that protophye was initially made to be. Neither was able to lead normal lives and both had the capacity to cause destruction to the world.

He could destroy everything, what little else is left.

...or he could rebuild and make the world whole again.

Tifa blinked back her tears at the stray thought that entered her mind. She slowly became aware of the unnatural silence around her. Something had changed. The wind was gone and even as she righted herself up into a sitting position, she heard nothing from the friction of her boots with the hard earth.

She stood up slowly and blinked at the unyielding darkness. Something was about to happen. Goosebumps appeared on her skin.

"Tifa."

She turned around at the sound of her name and saw a small blond haired boy she knew too well. She blinked away her tears and stared hard at the apparition. The last time she had seen him was when he called her out into the well in the middle of the town to say goodbye.

No, that wasn't true. The last time she saw him was in the lifestream. When the adult Cloud lost himself and she followed. Here he was again, just exactly as she remembered and more.

On instinct, she looked up at the sky and saw the endless sea of stars of the Nibel sky. "Of course." She whispered. She looked down at the child again. "I've died then. Am I in the lifestream?" The boy, bright against the darkness surrounding them smiled and shook his head. "You're not dead, Tifa."

She gave a strangled snort, almost like a choked sob as she raised her hand on her hair and shook it. "Well, what are you doing here then?"

The young Cloud walked toward her and stared up at her with baby blue eyes as clear as the sky, without the taint of mako. "The lifestream has a will, Tifa. It has, and always will, strive towards life."

Tifa looked deep into his eyes and felt tears run down her cheeks. He was telling her to move on, essentially. She shook her head. "I'm tired."

He smiled. "I know you are. But you must strive towards life Tifa. Towards the light." He lifted one bony finger and pointed somewhere in the darkness.

Tifa followed with her eyes and gasped as the darkness slowly shifted like a black curtain parting to show the night sky. There was a slightly red tinged horizon in the distance. It was faint and could almost be mistaken as a trick of the light but it was there. Then she caught a whiff of smoke. Her eyes widened at the realization of what it could mean.

"Deepground is burning." She righted herself and took a tentative step in the direction but she hesitated. Flashes of the Nibelheim fire came back to her and she turned back to Cloud with conflicted eyes.

But instead of Cloud, Aerith stood there with a bright smile on her face.

Tifa faltered in her movements. "A-Aerith... I..."

Aerith came to her and hugged her in a touch that felt as light as a feather. "Be strong, Tifa." Tifa held on to her tighter and sobbed. "I can't do this Aerith. I can't do it anymore."

"I'm sorry Tifa, but you're not done yet. You're needed."

"W-Will I ever be able to go back to the surface?"

"The planet is healing. One day, soon, you will be able to. But don't worry about anything anymore. Just face what's in front of you fully. Everything else will resolve itself." Aerith pulled back and pressed something onto her hand. It was something hard, round and smooth. Tifa looked down to see a red materia.

"She was looking for you. You got parted somewhere along the way and she's been restless since. She will help you reach him safely."

Tifa smiled as she felt the familiar chill of the summon materia. "Thank you," she whispered as she closed her eyes and concentrated, calling forth the magic within.

Tiny specks of white light began to fall from the ground, illuminating the path forward. She opened her eyes to witness the descent of a beautiful woman with blue skin, silver hair and ice blue gaze. A warm smile spread across Tifa's features as she gazed upon the figure she knew too well.

And for the first time since the last few thousand of times Tifa had used her, Shiva met her eyes and smiled.

A / N : Thank you so much for your reviews! I'm glad that people are still following this story despite the (ir)regular updates. Special thanks goes out to shynsei, Carrie88, nu shi Yue, Ais, Numinous-Alqua and all of you others who have added my story to your alert list.

Don't worry, Genesis is coming soon. :D