Blind Soul
By BlueFox
~INTRO: *pokes muses to see if they're still breathing* This chapter is yet another bitch, and I am so very very nervous about posting it. Parts of it are just… BLAH! The ending is the part I'm most worried about, and some of the SCA scenes are really…they feel like they're rushed.
And now I think my muses are dead cause of it. *soccer kicks them, with no response* Not only that, but I've completely stopped going along the storyline in the script, unless necessary… And as for how the Nibelheim Mansion's laid out, it's simplistic, like in the original game. Okay?
Genesis fans, just thought I'd tell you all that Genny has a BIG HUGE HUMONGOUS PART in this fic. I'm sure you guys will like it. :D And to my new beta, Kaarina, you're gonna get the outline of this fic soon, but you won't beta every chapter. Only the ones after this that I feel like throttling the computer over. So put me in your DocX recipient thingie, and we'll go from there.
And FINALLY! I need EVERYONE to go to my profile, for there is a HUGE ANNOUNCEMENT THAT CONCERNS YOU ALL!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Because my ANs for this chapter are long enough, and I can't put it here. AND DON'T FLAME ME FOR IT! Or come beating down my door. Or anything violent like that. Kay? Kay.
~WARNING: This chapter's a biggie here people. Like, 17 pages on Word big. But come on, it's Nibelheim, you know things are gonna happen.
~ABOUT FLAMES: If you decide to flame this story because of the few OCs in it, or for some other reason, it will be commented on, and laughed at publicly. You've been warned.
~DISCLAIMER: (insert favorite one here)
Part I
Chapter Thirteen
"And I believe, I believed."
Amelia laughed a little. "Don't worry, dear. You just take good care of our Zack for us, okay? Make sure he comes back."
"Tifa! Come on, or we'll leave without ya!" called Barret, and Tifa turned, sprinting toward the buggy, but not before turning and waving to Zack's friends and family.
The buggy sputtered and Zack's grip on the steering wheel turned white-knuckled under his gloves, violet eyes widening considerably as the car continued forward toward the edge of the Canyon.
"Zack, stop the buggy!" cried Tifa, holding tightly to the inside handle of the door, the one that didn't open. She was starting to think this was another one of Zack's jokes, like when they had made their grand entrance in Gongaga.
"What do you think I'm trying to do?!" he yelled at her, swerving the steering wheel as hard as he could, which only succeeded in ripping the steering wheel straight out of the buggy. "…You are so shitting me."
That one sentence, as well as everyone seeing the steering wheel detached, was enough to throw everyone into a huge tumult, and doors went flying open as everyone dove out of the buggy in time to see it go over the edge of the cliff and explode colorfully down below.
"I thought dat they jes' fixed the damn thing!" Barret fumed down at the flames below them.
Nanaki just put a paw over his eye with a sigh. "They did," he assured them quietly.
"If it weren't for Zack's lousy driving…" Yuffie muttered, feeling a bit green around the edges, and looking the part, too.
Zack, still holding onto the steering wheel, turned a deep shade of red and ducked his head away, having the grace to look ashamed.
Tiffania blinked a few times, then turned her violet gaze to Zack. "Well, Zack, how're we going to get to Nibelheim now?" she asked him.
A heavy silence descended upon the group, and a soft breeze blew, carrying with it Tifa and Tiffania's long hair, and swaying the clothes of some of the other members. Tifa shivered and rubbed her arms, biting her bottom lip as she stared at her boots. She had no desire to return to the ruins of that town, ever. But she knew that it couldn't be helped, that she had no choice if she wanted to bring back Cloud and Aeris. Rubbing her arms again, she risked a glance at Zack, who had an air of solemnity about him as he stared toward the Nibel Mountains that could be seen dotting the horizon.
"I guess…we're walking it."
Aeris was the first to tense visibly as Sephiroth stopped in front of her at the gates to a small town at the bottom of the Nibel Mountains. It was quiet inside, eerily quiet, and it made her heart pick up just a little bit. Cloud, who was stopped beside her, felt the anxiety rolling off her in waves, and heard the absolute silence enshrouding the place that they had arrived in. His breathing hitched a little, as he turned his head in Aeris' direction. "Aeris…?" he asked, and she squeezed his hand to acknowledge that she had heard, but she wouldn't turn her face toward him. "Where…are we?"
Aeris turned questioning emerald eyes to Sephiroth, who was giving the small town an eerie look, as if he hated the sight of it. Behind his eyes, she thought she saw a flicker of annoyance, as well as and flash of fire, but when she blinked, it was gone. She repressed a shiver as she spoke to him.
"Sephiroth? What is this place?"
Sephiroth turned to Aeris and Cloud, his glowing eyes brighter than usual. "This, Aeris, is Nibelheim."
Cloud gave out a shocked gasp and wrenched his hand away from Aeris, stumbling back. Aeris turned to him and extended her hand, but Sephiroth grabbed her free arm and gave Cloud a cool look. "Yes, Cloud," he told the blond, who had by now backed up into the rusted old truck parked by the entrance. Shocked, he was running his hands along it, unable to form ay sense of what he was feeling, what he had heard. "Nibelheim. Your home."
Aeris didn't know what Sephiroth was doing, but just by speaking to Cloud about Nibelheim was enough to cause the chocobo-headed man into a frenzy. "You think I don't know that?!" he snapped angrily at Sephiroth, straight in his direction. Aeris was a bit surprised that he estimated where Sephiroth's head was easily, but was even more surprised by what he did next. Cloud actually lunged at Sephiroth, catching them all off guard, and punched Sephiroth dead in the face. Sephiroth took one step back in surprise, and immediately shoved Aeris behind him to protect her from Cloud's rage.
Aeris had no idea what was going on.
"You destroyed this place!" Cloud screamed, snapping forth another lightning-fast punch that Sephiroth managed to block. "What's it look like? Ruins, isn't it? I'm surprised you spared the truck!"
The air suddenly grew heavy in the little area surrounding them, and the small amount of townspeople who were out and about stopped their daily chores to look over at the little group of newcomers. Cloud held his fists at his side. "Surgite, inventite…" Cloud mumbled, and Aeris widened her eyes in surprise. Fury Brand again? she thought in surprise. Doesn't he know that it's not an offensive Limit Break? "…diebus fatalibus!" Cloud finished the chant as the orange-red glow of the Fury Brand Limit surrounded him. He held out a hand, and, shockingly to Aeris, a huge lightning bolt, not unlike those featured in the attack when she used it, shot out of his hand and headed straight for Sephiroth, who only stared at it in shock, before reaching for Masamune.
"Draw Slash!" Sephiroth spoke, and when he unsheathed Masamune, a white arc of energy flew from his weapon and collided with the Fury Brand attack, causing a magnificent explosion, to which Aeris was tossed into the air and onto her back on the ground. Shaking her head, she sat up and coughed a little, waving her hand. A gust of wind blew around her, and she looked up to see Sephiroth standing above her, staring impassively after Cloud's retreating back.
Instantly, Aeris stumbled to her feet, brushing herself off and made to go after Cloud, but Sephiroth grabbed her hand. She turned and glared back at him, pointedly pulling her arm, but it only ended in Sephiroth tightening his grip on her. There was some sort of burning behind his eyes, a burning that so closely resembled the flames of Ifrit's Hell that Aeris could only shiver in fright.
"Sephiroth, we have to follow him, what if he's hurt?" she said, pulling at her arm again, to no avail.
"I made sure not to hurt him," he told Aeris. "He is a loose spark in this place, I won't tolerate him staying around you when he can do so much harm."
Aeris stomped her foot in what she knew was probably a childish way. "Sephiroth! This is his home! And the way you were talking to him earlier, the way you told him it was his home, it must have angered him. Why don't y-"
The flower girl cut herself off, eyes going slightly wider as she recounted the conversation in her head.
"You destroyed this place! What's it look like? Ruins, isn't it? I'm surprised you spared the truck!"
Aeris blinked a few times. "What did he mean by, 'You destroyed this place'?" she asked him.
The fire in Sephiroth's eyes dimmed a little, and it was replaced with a darkness Aeris couldn't begin to comprehend the depths of. "It's because he was right."
The world shrank to a pinpoint, then exploded so loudly it sent Aeris reeling. "Wh-What?" she whispered, rubbing at her arm as Sephiroth let go. "You destroyed this place?"
She received a nod.
Glancing around, Aeris suddenly broke out into a smile, laughing a little, almost sounding a bit hysterical. "No, no, I don't think you did," she told him, but it sounded more like she was trying to assure herself. Sephiroth raised an eyebrow at her. She smiled even more brighter, so bright Sephiroth wondered if the sun would make him blind first, or her smile. She spread her arms out. "Well, it's still here, so obviously you didn't destroy it!"
Sephiroth only blinked at her, before smiling a little himself and shaking his head. Aeris slid her hand into his, feeling just a little awkward at the size difference between them, and pulled him into the town. "Come on, let's go look for Cloud."
Almost immediately after hearing her say that, Sephiroth turned and started to pull her toward the Inn. She gave him a strange look. "No, Aeris, I have a better idea…" he told her, his voice so soft that couldn't help but send Aeris' heart into a strange flutter. Once inside, and once they had gotten three rooms, Aeris made to go to her room, however a tug on her arm from Sephiroth doused those chances and she let him take her into his room.
"Aeris," murmured Sephiroth, turning to her and pressing her against the door, gently. Aeris' heart went further into a full-fledged pounding, and she felt her palms get a little sweaty. "Aeris, please look at me."
Blinking in surprise at how Sephiroth was talking to her, she lifted her eyes up to him. "Um, what is it, Sephiroth?" she whispered, lips barely moving.
"I need you to…" Now he faltered and stood straighter, stepping away from the flower girl and turning his back. Aeris straightened and pushed away from the door, her curiosity winning over her wariness toward his actions.
"Need me to what?" she asked, reaching up to put a hand on his shoulder.
"……………….." Sephiroth turned his head a little, enough so that his soft silver hair spilled over her hand. Smiling a little, she began to idly play with it, but kept her eyes on him. "Promise me something."
"Um, okay."
Sephiroth turned to her and took ahold of the hand she was too slow to let fall beside her. He took a step closer to her and put his free hand on her shoulder. "Promise me, that no matter what, you will continue to journey with me. That no one will take you away from me. Can you promise me?"
Aeris needed to move, she wanted to fidget, but the intensity of Sephiroth's stare into her own kept her glued to her spot, to this position. She considered his words, and wondered briefly on what could have possibly brought this all on. Was it because of Cloud? Was he afraid that Cloud was going to convince her that he was a bad guy, that he really had decimated this town? She briefly recalled hearing Kunsel whispering to Tseng when they thought she was too busy tending to her flowers, talking about 'Nibelheim' and 'Sephiroth' and 'destroyed.' She hadn't thought anything about it, other than thinking it would delay Zack's return to Midgar.
A delay of five years…
"Aeris…?"
"Hmmn?"
"Can you promise me?"
Lost in her own musings, Aeris absently nodded. Looking up, she saw a genuine smile splayed on Sephiroth's face and was a bit surprised. But what surprised her more was also what caught her off guard. It was a soft brush of his lips on hers at first, before they followed with a trail of his lips down her cheek, and a little brush of his nose.
The experience was similar to an out-of-body one…
Night had fallen by the time AVALANCHE had made it to the ruins of Nibelheim. Or at least, that's what they expected.
Tifa's hands flew to her mouth as she saw the lights flicker on one by one in the houses of the small town.
Zack gave an uneasy shift of his feet, already knowing that they would come across a completely rebuilt town.
"Zack, this can't be real, can it?" Tifa whispered, looking at him. "Can it?"
Nanaki trotted forward and sniffed at the town. "It certainly smells real," he told her. "No scent of a hologram or anything of the sort."
"Shinra can't make holograms…can they?" Yuffie asked Tiffania, who gave a shrug, an uneasy feeling bubbling in her stomach.
Sephiroth, Aeris, and Cloud were here.
Plastering on a smile, she stepped forward into the town, feeling the others' eyes on her. She turned to them. "I'm just gonna go see if the mansion's still here," she told them, then without asking anyone if they wanted to come, turned and sprinted toward the path that led to the mansion. There's someone there I need to talk to…
Zack watched her run off, feeling his own unease bubbling in his chest. "No one can help Aeris… She's the only Cetra left… The…only…one."
Zack remembered the way Tiffania stared at the Cosmo Candle as she spoke to him, intense, sad, and there was a flicker of another emotion. Determination. Determination for what? Zack had wanted to ask, but he didn't feel like prying into his 'sister's' intentions. Just as long as she didn't double-cross them, he'd be all right.
Tiffania pressed her hand into the wall, and felt part of it press in. The wall then sunk in and flew open with a loud BANG! A blast of cold, humid air rose up to meet her, and she stepped into it, unafraid. Once she was a few steps down, the wall closed behind her, and she pulled out the Ifrit materia she had gotten from the Shinra boat, letting the warm red glow fill the long spiral staircase in front of her, showing her where each of the fallen stairs were and other such things.
She kept her hand on the wall to her right since there was no railing to hold onto. The blackness and silence pressed on her from all sides, but she couldn't care less, she'd been down here before, she'd seen Zack and Cloud during their experiments, in fact she'd been right next door through the last year of it…
Her foot hit solid stone and she saw the purple cave stretch on before her. She returned the Ifrit materia to its slot and reached into her pocket for the key she kept n the hidden fold of cloth within. Running her hand along the left wall, her fingers finally pressed against a wooden door almost completely hidden beneath the purple wall. Slipping the key into the door, she turned it until she heard a faint click, but before she could push open the door, she heard footsteps to her right.
Relying on instinct, she immediately unsheathed Arcana and moved to decapitate the person approaching her, but managed to stop herself when she recognized the shock of chocobo hair.
"Cloud?!"
Tifa sat in the windowsill of the girls' room, just staring out of the window at the stars above, listening to Yuffie's quiet sleep-breath, and heard a soft knock on the door. Glancing at the door, then at the still-sleeping Yuffie, she quietly jumped down and padded to the door, before opening it.
"Zack?" she whispered in surprise, and he peeked in.
"Mind if I talk to you in here?" he whispered back, noticing Yuffie.
"If you're quiet." For some reason, Zack sneaking over to the girls' room in the middle of the night-while 100 percent Zack Fair it was-made Tifa's heart jump into her mouth. It didn't help that he was coming to see her.
"So," she tried to keep her voice light and casual, "what do you need?"
Zack rubbed the back of his neck and sat down on her bed, then jumped right back up when it creaked loudly and Yuffie mumbled something in her sleep as she rolled over. "I need your help with a plan I have," he said to Tifa, whose interest was instantly piqued.
"What plan?"
"A plan to get Aeris and Cloud back with AVALANCHE."
Tifa blinked, then beckoned Zack over to the windowsill, where she hopped up and then Zack followed suit. "Okay, tell me."
"It's not very good, but…" He took a breath and started. "Well, when Tiffania gets back, I want to search the mansion for Sephiroth. I think that's where he'll be, after all, that's where he found out about his birth and all of that stuff." Tifa nodded. "Tiffania should be the one who will try to delay him from Aeris and Cloud. They won't be with him because he probably doesn't want them to find out about what's going on, what his real plan is. So while she's doing that, you and I will find Aeris and Cloud, who will probably be around this town somewhere, and we'll have to convince them to come back to AVALANCHE. I'm sure Cloud'll come back easily, but it might take more to get Aeris, because she always sees the best in people. But with you, me, and Cloud telling her about how Sephiroth destroyed this place, she might see just what Sephiroth is entirely, and come back with us. When that happens, we flee into Mount Nibel, and send a signal to Tiffania."
Tifa cocked her head. "What would that signal be?"
"We summon this." Zack showed her his Mystile, and she saw the Knights of the Round. Tifa whistled softly.
"She'll definitely see that," she told Zack, who smiled and nodded at her, then reached out with his other hand and brushed away a lock of her hair from her face.
"You're stressed out, aren't you?" he asked her.
Tifa dropped her eyes and shrugged. "Why wouldn't I be? You still feel like you're…fading from us."
Zack shook his head. "I still don't know what you mean by that. I'm me, that's all I know."
Tifa rubbed her eyes with the heels of her hand and sighed. "I know, but there just seems to be…a dark aura surrounding you lately," she told him, and his brows shot into his hair.
"Since when?"
The fightress looked up. "Since you first saw Cloud when he was blind. There was just…something off about you from there, but I'd doubt you'd lie to me," she told him, and for once, Zack actually wondered if he had anything he didn't want to tell her… But when he thought about it, he couldn't think of anything.
"I'm not lying, Tifa," he told her sincerely, and she reached over and took his hand.
"I know," she whispered, leaning forward a bit, as if to smell something.
Zack didn't realize he had been leaning forward either, until gently, their lips met. Tifa found her eyes closing, found fireworks lighting up behind her eyelids as they turned their heads to deepen the kiss. They parted briefly to get breath, and Zack's hand snaked up behind her neck, the other behind her waist as he pulled her toward him, and she rested her own hands on his shoulders.
Moments like these…
"EWWWWWW! GUYS, GET A DIFFERENT ROOM! GAWD, I'M NOT OLD ENOUGH FOR ANY X-RATEDNEEEEEEESSSSSSSS!!!"
…Sucked.
Zack separated and turned to Yuffie. "Who asked you to watch, Yuffie?" he chided her, and she giggled behind her hands, and Zack got up to go. He headed to the door and waved to them both as he yawned and left.
Tifa tentatively touched her hand to her lips.
"He…" Yuffie's ears perked and she looked over at Tifa. "He tasted like…apples and bananas."
There was a brief silence before Yuffie started to howl with laughter.
Cloud hadn't even known how the Lifestream-vision had clicked on, only that it had when he heard Sephiroth's voice, taunting him about Nibelheim being his home. Cloud had seen it being burned. He had seen it, it was one of the earliest memories he had before that five-year blank he drew up when he tried to remember how everything led up to Zack going off to die.
The vision had stayed on as he ran for the mansion, and he had seen the townspeople in the vision, saw them turning toward him, probably wondering why he had caused such a ruckus in the first place.
Somehow, he had found himself down in the place where he knew he and Zack had been kept. It felt familiar to him, in an odd, sick sense, and the mako he 'saw' burned his eyelids. He had found a door leading to a room full of books. He knew because he had tripped on one, and he felt them through his gloves as he stood. Just running his hands along the many spines of the books had an odd calming effect on the blond, and time just seemed to fly by.
And then, as he was exiting, a new form of the Lifestream came into sight.
The form was the same green as the Lifesteam…and mixed with that was a deep purple Lifestream.
Cloud found himself blinking. Two colors meant a Cetra, right? That's what Flame had told him, right?
Suddenly, the figure tensed, before unsheathing a sword and coming straight at him blindingly fast. Cloud took a step back and held up his blue/green hands, and then the figure stopped.
"Cloud?!"
That voice was so familiar, yet Cloud felt himself cringing away. The sword went back into the scabbard and the green/purple person-a girl, he could tell from the voice-leaned against a wall beside her. "What are you doing here?" She sounded strained, her voice a pitch too high.
"Who are you? How do you know me?" Cloud asked, feeling a shudder tear through his body.
"Right, of course you wouldn't remember me," the girl laughed, then shook her head. "I'm from AVALANCHE, Tiffania Adams. I was sent out to find Zack after the mission at-hey, is something wrong?"
Cloud felt his eyes grow impossibly wide. He remembered her, from those few times he had heard her in the Seventh Heaven. And he remembered her, from Flame.
(Fingers combed through his hair; like Aeris', only slightly larger, stronger. Tiffania cries? He couldn't imagine a person with such a cheerful voice crying.
'Sometimes. When she's lost someone. And you've both lost so many….' The sense of him faded; strengthened for just an instant, as he shoved the blond firmly back. 'The City, Cloud! You and I have a Tiffania-kitten to tickle, so you'd better get her here!'
Sea was gone. The voice was gone. And the blackness was back.
…A Tiffania-kitten to tickle….)
"Tiffania?" Cloud tried out her name, and saw her head cock a little.
"Yeah?"
"Flame… I think he misses you."
He 'saw' her straighten. "How do you know about him?" she asked, voice taut.
Cloud shrugged, shifting a bit on his feet. "He talks to me from time to time."
"Can you call him?"
"I haven't heard from him since the Gold Saucer."
"Mm." Tiffania turned back to him. "I'm smiling, Cloud," she whispered, and he saw her reach out, and felt her fingers cup his cheek. She took a step forward and then she leaned her forehead against his, softly. "Tell him, I miss him, too."
Cloud reached up to her hand and took it off his face, and Tiffania took a step away from him, but made no move to pull her hand back. He got the impression she was giving him a small, questioning look. "I'm sure he knows," he told her, smiling. "He wants to see you… He said in the City in the North."
Instantly, Tiffania's hand went slack in his and she turned her head away. "I…see," she whispered, before shaking her head. "Thank you, Cloud, for telling me." She withdrew her hand, and placed it on the wall.
No, it was a door, for she pushed it open, then turned to him. "Do you want…" She hesitated slightly, looking into the room. "Do you want to meet a friend of mine?"
She made sure Sephiroth was sleeping soundly before she slipped out of their room. Suddenly, on a whim, Sephiroth had decided to relocate to the Shinra Mansion, and when she had asked him why, he had simply told her, "AVALANCHE."
Aeris was a curious girl, and so she found herself completely shocked when she found a secret chamber leading down to the basement. It slammed closed behind her when she was about three steps down, and she had no way to know how to open it, or even see in this place, so she did the only thing that came to mind: she walked down the steps.
Of course, the flower girl kept a hand on the wall to her right as she made her way down, her breath catching when she came across a lost step and wasn't able to see it at all, and how she thought she was going to fall and such, and was infinitely happier when she came to solid ground below.
Far ahead of her, she saw a metal door of some sort, probably leading to a building or something. She didn't even notice the wooden door on her left as she passed it, too intent to find out what the metal door held behind it. She had just reached it and was about to put her hand on it to open it when it slid open automatically for her. The bright light that flooded in momentarily blinded her, but she managed to squeeze open an eye and when it adjusted, she opened her other eye and then walked in.
Little did she know what she was going to find in there…
"Erm… Tiffania? Where are we?" Cloud asked, noticing that she was the only thing in the entire place he could see…and his Lifestream-vision was starting to fade.
"Hmm? Oh, this is where one of my friends lives," was her reply. He watched her form raise a hand, then knock sharply on something, before she pulled it off. Cloud was sent reeling as a very, very, very dark red form sat up from whatever she had opened.
"Who is it?" came a deep yet soft voice from the red form, and then Tiffania's form wrapped her arms around it.
"Vinnie! It's been quite a while!" she said happily, as the red form raised it hands and pushed her off him.
"Tiffania. I must admit it is nice to see you again, however, I would appreciate it if you did not hug me."
"Taciturn as ever, Vinnie."
"And don't call me Vinnie."
"Whatever you say, Vince."
The red form sighed. "I won't have this discussion with you…" it muttered, before it seemed to finally notice Cloud standing there. "………Who is this?"
Tiffania's now-fuzzy form came over and slung an arm around Cloud's shoulder. "This is Cloud. I ran into him on my way down, and decided to introduce you. Cloud, this is Vincent. Vincent, Cloud."
"Pleased to meet you, Cloud," Vincent greeted.
"N-nice to meet you, too."
There was a bit of silence, before Tiffania cleared her throat. "Sorry Vince, but Cloud's, erm, blind."
"I…see."
Cloud turned his head toward Tiffania, to the biggest mass of fuzzy green/purple. "Um, Tiffania? Just curious, but how did you…er, meet, Vincent?"
"Who is it?!" came a voice from inside, and Tiffania let out a surprised yelp as a man in black and red pushed aside the top of the coffin and peered at her through stunning blood red eyes. "…What are you doing here, little girl? You should leave." Tiffania placed her hands on her hips. "I'm not a little girl. I'm seventeen, thank you!" The man raised an eyebrow. "Seems little to me." He made to lay back down, but Tiffania lunged forward and grabbed the coffin top. "What is it?" "You were having a nightmare," she told him, concern shining in her eyes. The man gave her a leveled stare. "Nightmare… Hmph, my long sleep has given me time to atone." She returned his leveled stare with a blank one. "Huh?" "I won't say anymore. Get out, before this mansion becomes the beginning of your nightmare." He wrenched the coffin top from her hands and laid back down. She stared at it petulantly for a few moments, before she rapped on it with her knuckles, then pulled the top off enough to peek in. Her purple eye met his red one. "You're still here." "Can you at least tell me your name before you go?" she asked. "……I am Vincent Valentine." "My name's Tiffania Adams!" she chirped. "Now go." A Long Time Later… There was a sharp rap on the top of the coffin, before it moved open again. Vincent sighed and opened his eyes, almost knowing it was going to be that Tiffania girl. Didn't he already tell her to leave? "Vinnie? You still in there?" She sounded a little afraid, and for some reason, that concerned him. That and…why did her voice sound different? "Tiffania. Did I not tell you to leave moments ago?" he asked her, pushing the coffin top fully away and sitting up. For a moment, he wasn't sure if he was looking at the same person. She definitely was Tiffania, but older, and disheveled, and…were those tears? "At least you're still here!" she cried, lunging forward and hugging him. "I thought…I thought maybe since Zack and Cloud were here…you'd've been moved." Vincent, unused to the human contact, pushed the girl away. "I don't understand." "Vincent, I haven't been here for…four years," she told him. "Obviously, that doesn't seem like a long time to you, you were sleeping again." She shook her head and wiped her tears. "Anyway, I just wanted to ask you…can I stay in this room for a little while? I promise I won't bother you."
Tiffania smiled lopsidedly at Cloud, and told him so. "Anyway, it's…a long story. I just got curious one day, found the combo to the safe, kicked the crap out of the guardian beast, took the key, and went exploring. I found…a new friend by doing so."
Cloud tried to stifle a yawn behind his hand and failed. Tiffania laughed and then stood. "We'd better find someplace for you to get some shut eye," she told him, ruffling his spikes. She made to go to the door, before, turning to Vincent. "Vinnie?"
He raised his red eyes up to her. "Yes, Tiffania?" he asked patiently, knowing what she was going to ask. She had asked him the last time he had seen her.
"Will you come with me?"
Last time, Vincent hadn't wanted to come with her, hadn't felt he had atoned enough. But if his estimation was correct, then he would've been sleeping for thirty years by now. "If I go with you, will I meet Hojo?"
Cloud visibly tensed at the name and Tiffania gave his shoulder a squeeze as her eyes turned hard. "More than likely."
Vincent gave her a leveled look. "You were from Shinra four years ago, weren't you?" he asked her, and she nodded. But taking in her clothes, he saw she wasn't in the uniform of any type of Shinra warrior or employee or anything. "What happened?"
Vincent stood up, a small smile tugging at the corner of his lips. "Then yes, I will come with you."
"Oh my God! Cloud!"
The next morning, Tifa had come out of her room to a surprise in the boys' room. The blond, chocobo-haired man was sleeping peacefully in the corner, and a man in black and red with a-was that a claw?-gun aimed at her standing beside him.
Footsteps sounded down the hall and Tiffania was suddenly beside her, pushing her back and pushing away the gunman's weapon. "Whoa you guys, whoa!" she said, then winced and put a hand to her chest. Tifa stepped in and went to her friend's side as she started to cough, and the man in black and red raised an eyebrow in concern. Tiffania waved her off. "Tifa, I'm fine, I'm fine!"
"O-Okay," Tifa said, then pointed to Vincent. "Who is he?"
"That is Vincent Valentine," Tiffania introduced, quickly wiping a trickle of blood from the corner of her mouth before anyone saw it. Or so she thought. Vincent had already caught sight of it.
"Whassamater?" came a sleepy voice from the corner, and they all turned to see Cloud sitting up in bed. There were more footsteps, rapid, before Yuffie came into the room.
"Tifa, Tiff! Zack needs to see you!" she said, panting for breath as Tifa and Tiffania both stood.
"What is it?" demanded Tiffania.
"Aeris is here."
AVALANCHE was all waiting outside of the Inn, a story down from where Aeris and Cloud's rooms were. Apparently, Aeris had left behind a note to Sephiroth saying she had found Cloud and had taken him to the Inn for some rest. The note was a lie.
Aeris had come to the Inn knowing AVALANCHE was there, with Cloud. She was going to flee Nibelheim with them. She wouldn't be in Sephiroth's presence any longer. From the records she had read, he had indeed destroyed Nibelheim, horribly wounded Tifa, impaled Cloud, killed all of the townspeople, and had broken Zack's trust in him. It was a wonder how he had survived the drop into the Mako vat courtesy of one Cloud Strife.
Zack was happy he hadn't needed to put his plan into action, but now found themselves all racing against time. He looked up. "Come on, Cloud, just jump, I'll catch ya!" he called up to his friend, who had reluctantly agreed to this so-insane-it-just-might-work plan. Behind Cloud, Aeris gave him a light push and murmured a few reassuring words to him. Cloud jumped, and Zack caught him, just as promised. He handed Cloud off to Tiffania, just as Nanaki rounded the corner.
"Sephiroth has just entered the building!" he warned the group.
Zack started waving his hands above his head. "Come on, Aeris! JUMP!"
Aeris stepped out onto the windowsill, but it was already too late.
It happened in slow motion. He gazed through his silver tinted lashes, unblinking. Simply watching. He heard the words from below...and then he heard his own... His weak...pitiful pleas... It was like he had been hit by a stunning spell. He was immobile, a puppet with no will, and could only watch as Aeris stepped up onto the windowsill and prepared to jump…to run away from him
His eyes flashed dangerously. Anger clouded his vision. Aeris and Cloud are leaving? His two allies…were leaving him, rejecting him, for AVALANCHE? He couldn't let them get away with this! She couldn't leave him so easily!
"But you promised..." he whispered to himself. "You promised me that you would not let anyone take you from me."
The invisible bonds holding him prisoner to his emotions snapped.
The swordsman sprinted across the room, and lunged at the girl, seconds before she even tensed to jump. He possessively wrapped his left arm around her torso, and hauled the brunette backwards, making the girl cry out as her back crashed painfully against the swordsman's chest. Aeris thrashed and screeched, as she tried to rip herself out of his iron grip. But it was no use. Sephiroth easily overpowered the defenseless flower girl. Calls of her name escalated up to the open window to where the pair was.
Upon hearing it, Aeris seemed to go berserk.
"Let me go! Let me go!" she shouted, as she struggled violently. Kicking and hitting. Slapping and punching. Anything to be free.
But the swordsman was having none of it.
"You promised!" Sephiroth screamed savagely, as he tightened his grip around her. "You promised me, damn you!" he thundered, getting angrier as the girl's wails increased in volume.
The brunette continued to fight on, even thought she was on the verge of hyperventilating. "Let me go Sephiroth! Let me go!"
"Never!" The swordsman snorted loudly against her ear, and tightened his grip even more, eliciting a sharp scream from the brunette's throat.
"You will not leave me Aeris!" Sephiroth did not even attempt to hide the desperation in his voice. "I won't let you go!"
The brunette's eyes widened in horror.
Sephiroth had completely snapped. He was a villain. Aeris was the victim. This was not the Sephiroth she knew. This Sephiroth had totally lost his mind. Like five years ago.
"No! NO! Stop it Sephiroth! Let me go! You're hurting me!" Aeris cried out, barely able to breathe. She smelled smoke. She saw the bed burst into flames. Her nails scratched against the arm that was tightly compressing her chest.
But Sephiroth was not listening. He was oblivious to her cries. He blocked out her words...
She tried to leave me. She tried to abandon me...She deserves this. All of this.
The mako in his gaze flared even brighter, and the fire lit the bedside table. Tears were blurring the girl's eyes.
"I can't breathe Sephiroth," she rasped. "Let me go. Please let me go."
But the swordsman did not relent his grip. "Do you think I wanted to do this to you? Do you think I want you to be with those who only sully you?"
Aeris had stopped listening... Black spots were dancing in her vision.
"Please... I c-can't bre-a-th-e..."
The swordsman paused his anger, realizing for the first time that the girl was having difficult problems with breathing, and that half of the room was on fire.
The swordsman withdrew his arm instantly.
Aeris dropped to the floor, coughing and wheezing. But she had little time to compose herself because Sephiroth was upon her again, grasping the girl's shoulders and forcing her to look up at him.
"Aeris-" The swordsman began, as he thought of the next words to say.
"You may call me selfish..."
Sephiroth watched as the girl's facial expression paled just a little from the look he was giving her. He heard two sets of footsteps thundering up the stairs to their room.
"-but…I…"
Arcana and Basara touched the opposite sides of his neck.
~END: *falls to the ground* OMFG that took for-EVAH to write…especially that last part. I kinda realized that the aeriroth was kind of lacking, and Nibelheim was supposed to be the turning point for the whole SCA storyline, and that's why Aeris made that promise to Sephiroth, and why he went loo-loo crazy in the Inn, etc etc.
NO there will be NO CLOUD/TIFFANIA! She likes Flame, even if he's dead, and he likes Aeris, even if his chances with her seem bleak…for now. And…you know, after reading the story 'Those Lacking Spines' by Gexegee of Organization XI over on Kingdom Hearts… I keep rethinking about having Tiff as a character in this fic. So guys… give me your honest opinion: do you think Tiffania is a Mary Sue? The test said she wasn't, but…
The 'x-ratednnneesss' thing is a running joke between me and an old friend, from a story I wrote a long time ago (it crossed over Tokyo Mew Mew and FF7. I know. Don't give me that look) that contained what we thought was X-Ratedness, and we would always exclaim that. Believe me, compared to what I've read (and written) NOW… *laughs hysterically* C'mon guys, I was in Jr. High back then, still a child.
I'm thinking… About five chapters left till the end of Part I. Yeah. Next chapter: Tiffania, Sephiroth, and Zack fight, and AVALANCHE's arrival in Rocket Town.
So review you worm babies you! :D