Greener on the other side
by NihilisticAmbition313
Disclaimer: I do not own Final Fantasy 7. I do this only for entertainment purposes. I do not make a dime from this.
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Chapter #38-"Most cherished possession"
What have I done? What have I done, what have I done, what have I done...My God, what have I done? What's happening to me? Why...Oh my God. Cloud must think I've gone batshit insane...I can't blame him. I am going batshit insane...
Somewhere on a deserted beach, a young bride ensnared by an awesome power sits and weeps, grief stricken over the havoc she has wrought in just the past few hours...
Cloud...Oh, God. Not to mention Reno and Krysten...And Cid is going to kill me for stealing the Bronco, that's if I'm not arrested and thrown under the jail for what I've done tonight...
Any passer by would have mistaken her for the victim of an assault. Her tear-streaked face, bare feet, mussed hair, and tattered, blood-soaked clothing were a dead giveaway.
There would be no passer by, however, for she was miles from civilization. Miles away from anyone she knew, or anyone who knew her. It was she and her frantic thoughts only...or so she thought.
"Who's there?" The woman called out, thinking she heard someone call her by name.
There was no response, but the woman was now on her feet and preparing herself for a confrontation.
"Who's there? Yuffie? Shera, is that you?"
The voice she heard was distinctively female...
"...Anybody there?"
The woman began to accept that she was only hearing things, and sat down in the lotus position once again.
She was confused and frightened, but above that she was ashamed. In her opinion, what she had done was unforgivable. To make matters worse, she actually did not feel badly while she was doing those things. She in fact felt justified, and only recently came to understand the scope of her actions.
Part of her wanted to just go home and beg everyone's forgiveness, but how would she do that?
"You don't need their forgiveness..."
"Huh?"
This time, the young woman was certain that someone was speaking to her.
"You do not need their forgiveness."
"Who's there!? Where are you!?"
The woman shot up to her feet and took her fighting stance, whipping her head around in search of the body that housed the voice speaking to her.
"I am right here, Tifa."
"Where!? I don't see anybody!"
"Tifa, I am here. Simply focus."
"Focus? On what?"
"Just close your eyes, my dear."
"But...Okay, I'll try..."
Tifa slowly closed her eyes and allowed her mind to relax. Soon, she felt a warm presence around her, and a sense of peace washed over...
"I...I think I feel you..."
"Yes, Tifa. Allow me to touch you."
"Yes..."
Deeper into the lull of serenity Tifa fell. Her defenses were soon all but melted away, replaced by an unconditional trust of this presence that had wrapped her up in it's embrace.
"Now, as I was saying. You don't need anyone's forgiveness, Tifa. You're not at fault for what's been happening."
"I'm not?"
"No."
"You sound so sure...Look, I know what I did. You don't have to baby me. I'm a big girl and I have to face the music."
"You are noble if anything...Tifa, I should get to the point now. I must ask you to trust me. Can you?"
"Yes." Tifa answered with no hesitation.
"You say that so easily...I must ask a great favor of you, my dear."
"Yes, anything..."
"I require your physical body, Tifa, and I would very much like your blessing."
"...Wha?"
"I need your body."
"For what? Y-You can't just have my body."
"Do not be selfish, Tifa. I am already in control as it is. I merely wish for your blessing."
Tifa's feelings of peace and tranquility were instantly shattered and replaced by panic.
"N-No! You can't have my body!" Tifa shrieked in protest.
"Did I mention that I am in control even as we speak? I have made you act on my will numerous times already. Cloud, Krysten & Reno. Even Yuffie."
"...You made me do those things!? So that's why I don't need anybody's forgiveness, because it was you pulling the strings! You...You made me attack my own husband!?" Tifa screamed.
"I'm not as much the puppet master as you think, you know. Your will is more in sync with my own than you'd like to believe."
"...Don't you dare imply I wanted to do those things myself!"
"Only partially, Tifa. Your will and mine are very much so in tune. You were not my idea of a host at first, but I've grown to rather like you. That is why I would appreciate your blessing, never mind that I do not need your permission to have control."
"You don't have my blessing or my permission! Leave me alone! Get out of my head!" Tifa shouted.
"Tifa, do not be selfish."
"Me!? You're the one who wants to possess me! How selfish is that!?"
"It's for a good reason, I assure you."
"I don't care! Get out of my head!"
"No. You will comply, whether you like it or not...Surrender to my will."
Suddenly, Tifa felt herself losing control. Her own thoughts were being overwhelmed by unfamiliar ones, and her ability to think new thoughts was being nullified rapidly. She could only cry as she felt her mind being suppressed, dominated by a will far stronger than that of a human.
"No...Please...Cloud, help me..." Tifa sobbed a heartfelt plea as the last shred of her own conscious was effortlessly kicked aside and replaced.
The young woman collapsed on the sand and lay there for only a few short moments. When she sat up, the woman held out her hands and allowed a smug grin across her face...
"...Tifa, I'm sorry for using such force to dominate you, but you were being particularly selfish...Now that I think about it, the name Tifa just won't do. It's too...ghetto, if you will. Not befitting a goddess at all. No, from now on my name shall be..."
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"Foo'!"
Barret crashed into Cloud's room with a vengeance, making poor Yuffie leap out of her seat and spill the last remnant of the bad coffee she was drinking.
"What the hell!? Barret, what the monkey piss are you doing!?" She shrieked, looking at her newly coffee stained shorts in horror.
"This damn imbecile managed to mess everything up in just one goddamn week! How could you let--"
"No, Barret! I will not let you do this to Cloud!"
Any other day, Yuffie would never in her wildest dreams stand up to Barret Wallace, a living mammoth amongst men. But on this night, Yuffie was simply not having it...despite the fact she was still afraid of Barret.
"You leave him alone! How dare you!? Don't you have any sympathy!?"
"I ain't got no pity fo' fools! Cloud, I told you not to let anything happen to Tifa, and you blew it!"
Cloud was more than aware of Barret's presence, but said nothing to defend himself...
"...I know, I blew it." He uttered in pitiful agreement.
"You useless ass screwup! You lucky you in that bed or I'd-""
"You wouldn't do anything, you big ape!" Yuffie shouted, spreading her arms in a protective stance.
"Who asked you anyway, you little no good thief? What the hell are you doin' here anyway? Gonna make sure Cloud stays put so you can loot his house? Yeah, I'll bet. You probably even hope the foo' dies so you can take whatever you want."
Barret's words hit Yuffie like a freight train and cut her like a katana at the same time. With just forty-four words, Barret proved what Yuffie had suspected in the back of her mind, the evil suspicion that she forced down and never acknowledged: She was still just as much an outsider as the day she'd met the gang, and an untrustworthy one at that.
"That's not true...I don't hope...I'd never do that..."
"Barret, stop!" Cloud barked with the very last of his energy reserve. "Look, you can put me down and cuss me out all you want, but don't you touch Yuffie! She's done nothing but good tonight..."
"Cloud, stop! You're straining yourself!"
"Leave her alone..."
Again, Cloud lost his struggle to remain conscious. Only this time, he did not look as if he'd merely fallen asleep...
"...Cloud?"
"...Yo, Cloud?"
"Oh my God...Barret, you killed him!"