Promise
Final Fantasy VII

By: Bahamuts AngelVII

A/N: Italicized Thinking. So I decided to drastically change the storyline one random Thursday. So this is going to take longer than I thought, but hey, who's complaining?

This chapter is going to be really short, at least compared to the other ones. Sorry about that! And it took me a while to update, but I mean, there aren't any reviews… Well thank you to all my dedicated ones who review every chapter. I love you guys so much!

Chapter 14

"Help! Hello? Is anyone there!" Tifa cried out. Her hands became sweaty with her nervous anticipation at the events that would soon unfold. Either she would fall to her death, or someone, hopefully Cloud, would come and rescue her just like a knight in shining armor would do. "Cloud?" She meekly called. Her voice echoed through the night.

"Is anybody out there? Somebody! Anybody… … Help me…" Tifa hung her head. Small tears struggled as they formed under her eyelids and started to seep down her cheeks. It was the dead of night. Of course no one was there, because no one would be awake at that hour. Cloud? Where did you go? You were right behind me a few minutes ago… "Where are you, Cloud? Where could you be?"

I can't let it end like this… I have to try harder! Tifa mustered up all of her energy and pulled her body up using her strong arms. She tottered over the edge of the rock, and for a moment, she felt that she could maybe swing her legs over. She used all of her arm muscles to hold her up, because she knew she wouldn't be able to stay up for more than a few seconds. She threw her right leg up as hard as she could, hoping to hook her leg on the mountain.

But as her leg hit the mountain, she realized she had underestimated the height of the mountain to her right. Her foot bounced mercilessly off the side and the force of her leg swung back and brought the rest of her body with her. Tifa's fingers strained to keep hold on the rock. She felt the scratchy surface of the rock leave her hands. She let out a loud scream, as she fell from the rock that she had so desperately held onto. She felt the air rush past her and she felt the tears that left her eyes quickly, only to rush off her face. And then she felt nothing.

Meanwhile

"Yuffie? Yuffie! Yuffie wake up, right now!" Cloud hissed through the bedroom door. He knocked hard on the door, and when he heard Yuffie stumbling around the room, he backed away. A moment later, she threw the door open, looking grumpy.

"What do you want! Do you know what time it is?" She hissed back.

"I don't care. I need to get something from you. You have those… Those letters. Tifa's letters that she keeps… I know she gave them to you. The letters!"

"Letters? What?"

"The letters! The letters that I had written to her so many years ago, after I left Nibelheim. Where are they?" Cloud asked loudly. He walked past Yuffie and walked to the dresser that contained half of Tifa's old belongings.

"I don't know what you're talking about… Cloud… Where is Tifa?" Yuffie asked, still in dream land.

"Tifa… She's out somewhere in the mountains. I have to bring these to her…"

"Why?" Yuffie asked.

Cloud paused. He looked down at the various items in the drawer beneath him. A beautifully decorated music box sat quietly in the corner, with a few old pictures spread out near it. He didn't know what to say. Why did he really need them? I need to show her… I have to shower her that I still care about her. I still love her… Like I always have. He slowly slid the drawer shut and opened the second one down.

Quickly, Cloud rummaged through the old memories. Photos and old mementos of his childhood he had shared with Tifa were pushed aside. Finally, his hands closed around a few old envelopes. He pulled them out and opened them, quickly scanning the letters that he had written so long ago, when he was still in love with Tifa. When she meant more than a friend to him. It was so long ago, but yet at that moment it felt so close, as if the feelings had never faded.

"Cloud?" Yuffie asked.

Startled, he backed up and turned to face her. He put the letters in his pocket, wrinkling them a little. He stared into her eyes and drew his eyebrows together in deep concentration. He chose his words carefully.

"I… I have to… remind her… that it'll be okay." He quickly made for the door.

"Wait! Cloud? What happened!" Yuffie almost screeched. She tried not to wake up the others, but she wasn't so sure it would work. "Come back here!" She screamed, abandoning all care.

"Bye, Yuffie!" Cloud replied, before running down the stairs and bolting out the door.

Cloud set out through the night into the mountains. The stars twinkled down at him. Cloud sighed and looked out to the mountains. He slowly crinkled the letters in his pocket, and then kept walking, as fast as ever. He had someone to go to. Someone who was always waiting.

The Mansion

"Yuffie, what the hell did you think you were doing, screaming in the middle of the night!" Barrett chastised Yuffie. The six of the remaining friends were seated in the living room, wearing their nightclothes.

Yuffie, dressed in her light green bathrobe and matching slippers, angrily glared at him. Vincent and Reeve sat in their boxers, not even chilled by the slightly cold temperature of the house. Cid and Barrett, both in sweats and t-shirts, had matching red eyes and angry mutterings coming from their mouths.

"Where are Cloud and Tifa?" Vincent asked calmly. His friends turned to look at him, and when they saw Vincent staring at Yuffie, waiting for an answer, they all followed suit.

"Uhh… Honestly? I have no idea. Cloud came into my room earlier looking for some letters he had written to Tifa a long time ago, after he had left to become as famous as Sephiroth.. And now they're off in the mountains. But really, that's all I know."

"So what the hell happened?" Cid replied, shaking his fist as he puffed his joint.

"I don't know! I told you that already!" Yuffie exclaimed, fuming mad. The rest of the friends started to talk amongst themselves.

Vincent sat quietly in the corner, deep in thought.

Why would they be in the mountains? What would Cloud need his old letters for? Why are they out in the middle of the night? He concentrated hard. Perhaps she ran away to the mountains, because she got tired of Cloud's constant Aeris obsession. Or maybe they have realized they are still in love as ever? The old letters… From when he was going to… When he was in love with her… He still loves her. He must. There is no other explanation… But does he know it himself? Does Cloud Strife know that he still loves Tifa Lockheart?

Meanwhile

Where is she? Cloud looked around wildly. He had been walking for some time now, and there was no trace of Tifa. He called her name many times. His throat ached.

"Tifa? Tifa? Where are you?" He yelled as loud as he could.

The whistling wind brought him back nothing but a cold breeze. Cloud walked back to the entrance of the mountain's pass, staring at the ground. He scanned the mountains before him, squinting his bright mako eyes in concentration. He searched for any hint of Tifa. He was starting to get worried. Where could she have gone? Cloud shook his head. He thought of going back to the mansion. But what if she is out here all alone? What if something attacked her? What if she's not okay…? He would never forgive himself if he let her be alone out in the middle of the night.

Cloud stared at the ground as he walked forward. He could make out a few of Tifa's shoe imprints. Maybe if I follow them… Cloud's eyes followed her footprints until they made a mysterious stop. The gravelly road was kicked away in a direction, as if Tifa had fallen. Cloud stared in confusion, wondering where she had gone. And then things started to click.

"No!" He cried, staring over the edge of where Tifa had fallen. "She can't have… No… This can't be happening… Tifa couldn't have… What's the chance that she had fallen?"

Staring into the darkness below him, Cloud's stomach flipped. But what if she did fall? He decided that there would be no harm in looking. Besides, if she had fallen, then he would find her. And he could help her. Cloud quickly stood up and ran to the bridge that broke so many years ago, where Tifa had fallen and had fallen into a coma. Cloud shook his head free of the memories. He wouldn't let it happen again.

Cloud silently walked down the staircase that had been created right next to the bridge. The old concrete steps echoed loudly with each footstep. He walked on at a never changing pace. It reminded him a clock. Tick-tock, tick-tock. Every moment he wasted pounded him harder in the head. He was afraid. He had to find Tifa. He raced down the rest of the stairs and then towards the location where he estimated Tifa had fallen.

Snapping off a tree branch from a nearby maple tree, he quickly set it on fire with his materia. He had forgotten to bring a flashlight. The wind kept threatening to blow his makeshift torch out, but he was careful and kept it alight. Cloud kept walking, faster and faster, his heart beating erratically at the thought of what might happen next.

What if she's not here? Then where would she be? What if she is here… What if she's dead…? Lost in his thoughts, Cloud did not realize that suddenly before him, he had come upon Tifa lying motionless. When he realized that before him lied his childhood sweetheart, he immediately stopped thinking and threw himself to the ground.

"Tifa! Tifa!" He called out, holding her head in his lap. Tears started to form before he could stop them. "Tifa! Tifa are you alright?"

He shook Tifa lightly, trying to wake her up. Cloud shook uncontrollably. Teardrops dripped from his cheeks onto Tifa's motionless body.

"Tifa Lockheart! Please, wake up! Please… Tifa, I can't lose you… Tifa..." Cloud cried. He cried harder than he ever had in his life. "Tifa… … Please…"

When Tifa did not respond, Cloud lowered himself and rested his head on her shoulder. He let his tears soak up into her shirt and let all the emotions he had held inside him break free. He cried and cried, knowing inside that Tifa was all he ever wanted.

A/N: Alright, so this was pretty short. But I'm shortening my chapters so there are more, because I find it a lot easier to split it up like this. Sorry for the lack of updates, I really liked writing this chapter. Please review, it would mean so much to me!