Chapter 13- Nothing to Lose, Nothing to Gain
His hair blew gently in the wind, almost as if it were dance to an unheard rhythm. His mouth was drawn tightly into a frown. His eyes were fixated towards the ground, frigid and lifeless. His posture of perfectly straight; except for his neck that angled his head downward. His breath could be seen looming in the air just in front of his face.
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A loud explosion ripped through Tifa's ear. Her body shook with the ground as the sector 7 over head plate came crashing down. Woman and children ran screaming through the streets. Tifa slowly walk forward to SOLDIER Headquarters. Though it was only at the end of the road, she felt every step taking an eternity. She pushed past the two front doors and entered the building. The receptionist at the desk gasped in surprise as they ran past Tifa outside. First, Tifa would take down Hollander; no doubt he was there by now. Then she'd take out Hojo, then Genesis. Anyone else who got in her way would also be taken out.
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His body trembled with excitement as he kicked his motorcycle to a start. The loud engine made him smirk at the thought of what was coming for those who opposed him. He heard two other motorcycles start and he sped off through the desert wasteland. Wind ripping through his hair and sand clashing against his face; he never slowed down. He was on a mission.
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Tifa climbed up four flights of stairs until she reached the research floor. She was prepared for anything, or so she thought. As Tifa kicked down the doors, a look of confused horror spread across her face. There, lying on the operating table was an unconscious Sephiroth.
"Ahaaa, so you're the one who's attacking Midgar. I should've known." Hojo pulled a white sheet over Sephiroth's body.
"What are you trying to pull? Are you recreating him?" Tifa pointed Cerberus directly at Hojo's head.
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As he grew closer the city boarder, the sounds of explosions going off and the echo of gun shots was just barely noticeable over the loud humming of his motorcycle. He wondered how long he had left before the entire Shinra Building was demolished. He lowered himself on his bike and increased the speed.
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"A great scientist never reveals his secrets," Hojo cackled, pushing his glasses farther up the bridge of his nose. Hojo walked over to a control panel and typed a few buttons. Right before Tifa's eyes, Sephiroth was brought to life with bolt of electricity. Her composure paled when she saw Sephiroth pull off the white sheet and stand up off the table. He took a few steps backwards, swaying slightly. He was staring at his hands, then at his arms, then his chest. Sephiroth franticly felt the skin on his face.
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By now he was inside the city walls. He paid no mind to the civilians running to and fro, desperately trying to get away from the conflict. He made a sharp left turn, then a right, then another left until he was practically at the door of the Shinra Building. He rode his motorcycle right through the glass door of the building. Shaking the glass out of his silver hair he hoped off and began his descent up the many stair cases.
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"Se…Ssse… Sephiroth?" Tifa stuttered, her mouth ajar as she lowered her gun.
Sephiroth dropped his hands to his sides and looked at the girl. He took a few steps closer to her. Tifa didn't look like herself; in fact she was still dressed as a man. Her stomach turned anxiously, awaiting his reaction. They were the same height now because of her new boots. Tifa met him at eye level, her eyes beginning to glaze over with suppressed tears. Now, Sephiroth was standing a foot in front of Tifa. Her lower half trembled, she didn't know how much more heart break she could handle if he didn't know who she was.
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He finally reached the floor he needed to be on. The other sets of footsteps just behind him reassured him and gave him the confidence to carry on. Though he wasn't sure what'd he find, he was determined to carry out his task, even if it would cost him his life.
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Sephiroth slammed Tifa back against the wall, dazing her just long enough for him to grasp her neck with his bony hands. Tifa gasped in surprise and horror. Though she technically couldn't make it to the afterlife, she could still go unconscious and feel every bit of pain that was inflicted upon her. She squirmed under his tight grasp, the oxygen slowly growing scare in her lungs. Life a fish out of water, she tried to gulp for air, though she couldn't seem to get any.
A gun went off from the doorway nailing Sephiroth in the side head. Releasing his grip on Tifa he fell to the floor in a pile of his own blood. Tifa screamed in horror at the site of her loved on lying dead on the floor. She knelt down and turned him so that he was facing her. His eyes were closed but there was something about his face that eased her pain. He looked almost peaceful in his eternal slumber.
"Let it go. It's just a clone." The person who had fired the gun stood in the doorway watching her. Tifa looked over at them with a perplexed expression.
"I've got mother, let's go!" A second man ran up to the first man.
It didn't take long for Tifa to find the features of these two men in front of her oddly familiar. Their cat-like eyes and fair silver hair reminded her of the imposter lying on the floor next to her. The men left the room and began running down the hallway. Tifa stood up and ran after them, whoever they were, it probably was more than a simple coincidence that they were in the Shinra Building the same time she was.
"Hey! Who are you people?!" Tifa called out after them.
There was no answer. She ran just behind them as the exited the main doors that were now a pile of glass shards. Three motorcycles were parked outside two were vacant and another silver haired man was sitting on the third. When he saw them leave the building, he pressed a red button on a hand held device. The base of the building they had just been in burst into flames. A loud blast erupted from the building causing Tifa to be sent flying forward into a summersault on the street. Rubble littered the street. By the time she regained her balance, the three men on the motorcycles disappeared. Tifa cussed to herself as she looked around trying to see where they had gone.
"Vincent! Time ta go!" A somewhat familiar hick accented male voice called out to her. Tifa nodded and followed the blonde man holding a spear over his shoulder. The two ran all through the streets of Midgar. Civilians continued to run and scream. Dozens of SOLDIER operatives flooded the city streets with riffles. Bullets hissed past their ears, causing them to run faster.
"Go on without me, I'll meet up with you guys in a bit," Tifa halted to a stop and swiveled around to face her attackers. Cid continued to run past the tall, dark buildings being engulfed by flames.
Tifa deflected the bullets with her gauntlet with firing off a few rounds of her own. Her excellent eyesight and next to perfect aim made the SOLDIERS easy targets. One by one, she picked them off. Perfect shots to the chest to stop their hearts from beating forever. Shinra had taken from her, now, She was taking from Shinra. The SOLDIERS all fell to the cold cobble stone floor, blood beginning to pool around them quickly. With a flick of her cloak, Tifa turned away. She heard one of them cough and another gasp, Tifa closed her eyes to the pain. It wasn't fair, most of them probably had families, but they chose their fate the day they joined Shinra.
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"Cid! Get us outta here!" Barret shook his fist at the pilot.
"Shut up and hold onto yer britches! What they hell do ya think I'm doing? Baking a cake?" He fired back from behind the steering wheel, his patience growing thin.
"Where's Vincey?!" Yuffie waved her arms in the air franticly. "He should've been back by now!"
"He stopped to fight off dem SOLDIERS," Cid informed her.
A flash of caught the attention of the people in the bridge. Tifa was kneeling on the deck of the airship, just outside the windshield. She was looking forward not wanting to make eye contact with anyone at the moment. She was in such deep thought, that she was unaware of the young girl tapping on the glass window behind her.
"Well, what's going to happen now?" Sephiroth stood next to Tifa, his arms folded firmly against his chest.
"I was hoping you could tell me that," Tifa mumbled.
"Humph, if only it were that easy. You still need to figure things out on your own."
"What's there to figure out? I have to spend an eternity without you." Tifa frowned as she lowered her head, her long dark locks whipping wickedly around her head.
"It doesn't have to be like that."
"What else can it be like?"
"You could move on? Pick up and start over."
"I will never feel the same way about anyone else the way I fell about you."
"Say Tifa, I've got a question."
"What's that?"
"Why are you still dressed as a man?"
"…"
"Is it because you're afraid of who you are?"
"…"
"Why are you trying to hide yourself? Do you think that others would be frightened if they knew the truth about you?"
"Yes and no…"
"Well, which is it?"
"I don't want to draw attention to myself. When… when I look in the mirror as Tifa, it reminds me of everything that's happened to me, but when I look in the mirror as Vincent, Vincent is my way of starting over. I will start over, but I'll never move on."
"What happens when you are discovered?"
The airship landed on the ground with a thud which brought Tifa to. She stood up and took in her surroundings. They had landed in a dense forest; no doubt attempting to hide if more of Shinra came looking for them. Tifa leapt off the deck of the airship and landing in a crouch on the dirt floor of the forest. The bottom of the ship opened up, a ramp appearing and extending to the ground. Yuffie was the first to come running at Tifa. Tifa took a cautious step back, getting into a stronger stance so she wouldn't be knocked over by this tenacious girl.
"Vincent! I was so worried about you! I thought you had died." She ran up to Tifa and gave him a hug. Tifa slouched but her muscles stiffened at the contact. She hoped to god that Yuffie wouldn't notice the two abnormal lumps on her chest. Tifa bit down hard on her lower lip in apprehension. By now the others had come down the ramp and were watching what was happening. Tifa pried the girl off her waist and pushed her backwards. Tifa stormed off into the forest, hating the fact that she was that close to being revealed.
"All I did was give him a hug, why does he have to be so angry about it?" Yuffie pouted.
"Best just let him be, he doesn't seem like the social type anyways," Nanaki spoke. "We should start a fire before night fall."
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"Brothers! We have her at last! We can be whole again." Kadaj, one of the young silver haired boys cheered as he pointed to a tightly sealed black container in his hand.
"Together, we can be one." Loz, the boy with the shortest silver hair spoke.
"Heh heh, not yet…" Kadaj cackled.
"Why's that?" The third boy with the longest hair, Yazoo, questioned. "Don't cry, Loz."
"It seems that there is still something missing, or someone."
"Part of him lies within the heart of a girl. That is the only thing we're missing."
"Then let's find her! I can't stand waiting any longer." Loz lowered his head and began to cry.
"I don't know. However, I do know of someone who might." An evil grin spread across Kadaj's face. "Someone who would do anything for Jenova cells."
A/n: Gomennasai! Gomennasai! Gomennasai! I didn't mean for it to take this long to update. Aside from being busy packing up my house and preparing to move, I was having writers block for this chapter. I finally just decided to hunker down and write it out. It took 3 tries :( I know it's not as long as it could be but I wanted to create suspense! Please read and review. The more reviews I get the more motivated I get about updating. Also in the spare time I was having writers block for Angel of Darkness I started writing out different scenarios for SephirothXTifa. How do these sound?
Tifa is a highschool student with a lot on her plate, while juggling jobs to help pay for her intuition for university, she must put up with her abusive father. Nobody seems to notice anything out of the ordinary with her until one day a new teacher walks into her life and changes everything.
A/u: Sephiroth, working for the Shinra Empire, he must find and retrieve a Dr. Lockhart, someone who is said to be able to cure anything and a miracle working. The problem is, Dr. Lockhart is working for the Rebel Scum of society and has a dark, dark secret.
How do those sound? The second one is a bit more supernatural/sci-fi but just a little.
Thanks to everyone who reviewed!
Thanks for the review Lilith! Hurray! My writing is effective. I'm so glad to hear it.
Thanks for the review xSefirosux! Or is he…? This is Sephiroth we're talking about.