Author's Note: After seeing little activity on Cloti fanfiction with the new FFVII Remake coming out, I wanted to write a story of how much Tifa played a vital role in Cloud's life. We see how without Tifa, Cloud would never have been able to remember who he truly was.

There's some slight Clerith and Zerith, but mostly Cloti. Let me know if you like what's here so far. This is based on the OG.

Ch. 1: The Broken SOLDIER

Cloud Strife's mako-infused eyes widened as the shock wore off. It wasn't Aerith Gainsborough who slumped over the altar. Instead, it was his childhood friend, Tifa Lockhart.

It took several painstaking seconds to realize what had just happened: Aerith was locked in prayer in the crystalline Forgotten City, and Cloud had lost control of himself again. He almost slashed the maiden with his Buster Sword, and at his hesitation, Sephiroth came flying down from above in an attempt to skewer the Ancient and kill the last remaining hope that the Planet would have in preventing his mission of becoming an all powerful deity.

Instead of his masamune sinking into the soft flesh of the Cetra, Sephiroth's sword struck a familiar target that he almost killed five years ago inside the Nibelheim reactor. The foolish girl in a cowgirl get-up, who laughably attempted to attack him after her father had been slain by his own hand.

Tifa had shoved Aerith out of the way and reacted a split second faster than Cloud, who was still frozen by what he had almost been manipulated to do.

This girl will become a part of the Planet, and I'll have nothing but Cloud to thank for that. Sephiroth thought as he held the blade while Tifa gasped from the impalement. I didn't plan for her to die today…but maybe she wanted to fast-track it. The Cetra lives for another day, but she'll also be out of my way soon enough.

Sephiroth's blade was withdrawn, leaving no evidence of a mark on Tifa's torso. The ruby-eyed beauty had maintained eye contact with Cloud as her life began to drain away. Her lips were slightly parted as she whispered 'I'm sorry" with every bit of strength she had left.

Perhaps…her death might be of some use for me after all. Sephiroth thought to himself as he watched Cloud frozen in place. It was almost unreadable to most, but closer inspection of Cloud's eyes would show a broken man who just lost something precious to him. Something, that would be irreplaceable.

His purpose to live and to fight.

The silver-haired SOLDIER smiled a menacing grin, and soon evaporated into thin air, leaving no trace of his presence, other than a dying woman who's struggling to breathe. Her long dolphin-tail hairstyle had come undone, and cold sweat was dripping down her forehead. A tiny trickle of blood was forming at the corner of her mouth.

The 20-year-old fell forward, convulsing at the mortal wound that was inflicted on her.

"TIFA!" Aerith screamed. The sole survivor of the Ancients rushed over to her comrade and friend and tried to have the brunette maintain consciousness. Instead, each faint heartbeat grew slower and Tifa's pulse was slowing down. Death's grasp almost held a vice-like grip on Tifa.

"Tifa…you're OK," Aerith tried to console her with as much warmth as possible. "C'mon. Stay with me! You're going to be OK. You've survived too much to die on me now!"

Aerith tried using some of her magic from the equipped Restore Materia in one of the slots of her Princess Guard. Yet, Tifa showed no signs of recovering. The Cetra knew her friend's wound was fatal. There would be nothing she would be able to do for her. The only thing that Aerith would be able to do is to hold her hand and comfort her as Tifa's soul disappears into the Lifestream once the time came.

Tifa weakly grasped Aerith's hand, and gasped. Her breathing was shallow, and her ruby eyes searched around her until they settled on her friend's face. She looked exhausted, as if her remaining strength was being lost just by simply staying awake.

"I'm sorry…," Tifa said hoarsely. "But…he needs you. He needs you more than he'll…ever…need me."

"Don't talk like that, Tifa," Aerith responded with a weak smile. "Cloud…he needs the both of us. I can't take care of the chocobo-head alone! He needs you, too. He needs you…please don't say things like that."

Tifa grimaced at her pain. She shook her head. It was too late for her. There wouldn't be anymore adventures for her to go on with her team. She wouldn't be there to see the warbling of newborn chocobos at the farm. She'd miss Cid's swearing and cleaning up his cigarette butts from the campsites.

She didn't want to imagine what Barret would tell Marlene about her death. Tifa thought of Vincent and his cold-like exterior, but knew that his hate for Shinra and Professor Hojo would be unleashed unfold through the Chaos that's encased in his body.

Yuffie would be upset, having grown closer with the 16-year-old Wutai ninja after chasing her all over the village in attempts to get their Materia back. Cait Sith who had just betrayed them a few nights ago, had even started his own road to redemption by sacrificing his stuffed body at the Temple of the Ancients in order to secure the Black Materia.

Red XIII had overcome his own anger and resentment toward his father who he thought abandoned Cosmo Canyon to the Gi tribe, and instead, howled at the sight of Seto's petrified body standing in eternal guardianship of his people and his family. Tifa was there to see all of that.

Then, there was Cloud. The one person she had any link to her old life before Shinra destroyed it all. Before Sephiroth burned down Nibelheim and all the memories she had from it. Her mother and father were probably waiting for her in the Lifestream, and Tifa hoped that she wouldn't feel so alone anymore.

But, Cloud…she didn't know what he thought about their relationship. She struggled to confess her love for him multiple times during their journey. She failed to summon the strength and the courage to tell him. When she saw Cloud walk out with Aerith to go out for a late-night date at the Gold Saucer, Tifa's heart broke, yet, she didn't want to interfere with whatever was blossoming between her best friend and the beautiful flower girl from the slums.

Tifa, being the woman who she was, didn't want to stand in Cloud's way of being happy. Even if it meant, losing him to someone else, and letting herself fade away physically to do so. She felt…at peace with her decision to save Aerith. Perhaps, Cloud had a better chance of making it through life with Aerith by his side than her.

After all, he never really told her how he felt. But, Tifa knew deep down, he forgot about his promise to her and that was enough to show that maybe…her place in his heart wasn't permanent. How easy it must've been to forget about the promise if it meant nothing to him.

She had questioned why Cloud had changed so much within the seven years of last seeing him. He forgot things he should have remembered, like the promise he made under a starry sky at the well, and remembering things he shouldn't have known, like the detailed account of how Nibelheim burned to the ground. He wasn't even there.

Maybe…just maybe…Aerith can help him find his true self. Tifa thought. He doesn't need me. He needs the support of those he's going to spend the rest of his life with…and that means Aerith and the rest of AVALANCHE.

Frustrated and through angry tears, Aerith turned to the blonde-haired SOLDIER who had frozen at the altar. "His best friend is dying! Why isn't he helping her? CLOUD!

"Cloud! Why are you just standing there?!" Aerith shouted at her party leader. "HELP ME! PLEASE!"

Aerith's screams pierced Cloud's heart relentlessly. He just didn't know how to respond. He had failed the one person he never thought would be out of his life again…for good.

Tifa…why…Cloud thought with immense guilt. It wasn't supposed to be this way. We were supposed to see this through till the end. Your attitude…your spirit…your cheeriness…was what was getting me through this. I can't do this without you. Now…Tifa, you're…

The crushing blow left Cloud speechless. Instead of crying, screaming and all the other emotions that would have flooded into his system, he instead felt a hollowness that left him light-headed and unable to cope with what just transpired in a span of a few seconds.

Tifa was about to die, and he couldn't do anything to protect her. He couldn't be the famous SOLDIER who she had stronghold into a promise of rescuing her whenever she was in trouble. He couldn't be anyone's hero, let alone hers.
Instead, his inability to hang onto the

Echoing through the vast space of the Forgotten City, the sounds of the rest of the party's footsteps grew louder. Cloud couldn't hear anything. His focus was on the dying girl in Aerith's arms, who was struggling to stay awake.

Barret was the first one to approach the altar, and his howls were so painful, that no one could have imagined such emotions to come from a man with a gun grafted into his arm. He knelt to the ground, and cradled Tifa in his arms as Aerith watched with her emerald green eyes, watery from the tears she shed.

"Tifa!" Barret said gruffly. "What am I supposed to tell Marlene? We were supposed to go to Cosmo Canyon again once this was all over! For Wedge, Jessie…Biggs. We were supposed to help Marlene get ready for school. Get her outta the slums. Remember? Why did you go actin' like a hero? This can't be…"

Tifa's face grew paler, and the stab wound where Sephiroth had impaled her through had suddenly started to ooze garnet-shade blood. Her white tank top was starting to get saturated with her blood, and Tifa's body was trembling. Looking up at Barret, she smiled.

"I know, Barret," she whispered. "I'm sorry…Marlene…have Aerith take her to the church and pick some more flowers…I know how much Marlene adores Aerith. She'll still have someone…to look up to…"

Aerith choked at the sight. This was not what was supposed to happen. She was supposed to sacrifice herself for the sake of the Planet. Her mission as the last remaining survivor of the Ancients, was to become one with the Planet, unlock it and save the world.

Barret scowled and turned his attention to the spikey-headed SOLDIER who still hadn't moved from his position at the altar. But, his scowl lessened when he saw that Cloud's expression had changed from something he never saw before…Cloud…looked broken.

"Spikey! Why are you standing there? Aren't you going to say somethin' to Tifa!" Barret shouted. "ANSWER ME!"

Cloud's silence angered Barret more, but Aerith shook her head. She instead, wanted the man to focus on making Tifa's last moments to be as comfortable as possible. As happy as possible, surrounded by the people who loved her and depended on her.

The other party members slowly gathered around Tifa and paid their respects. Yuffie choked back her tears, before wailing and running out of the vicinity. She couldn't bear to watch her friend get put to rest. That meant forever, and forever didn't sit well with the warrior.

Cait Sith attempted a silly dance to cheer up the team, but realized, maybe…he was doing that more to comfort himself. He knew that Tifa was angry at him for his betrayal, but even now, she still said she forgave him for his indiscretion.

Vincent had left without much of a word, other than giving a slight nod of his head before vanishing without a trace beneath his red, ragged cloak. A man of very few words, yet, it seemed like he had a new purpose of finding Hojo and Sephiroth and ending this madness. Whether for avenging Tifa, or for the loss of his love, Lucrecia, the woman who gave birth to the murderer, and had willingly offered up her son as an experiment for the Jenova Project.

Red XIII howled into the air before slowly turning his flame-like tail away from the altar. He bounded down the steps following Cid who had cussed and lit a cigarette. Not so much out of habit, but to try and take in the idea that Tifa wouldn't be there to see him go to space. His undying dream to reach the skies through a variety of means.

Aerith brushed Tifa's hair from her angelic face. She didn't really have much left to say to Tifa, a rival for Cloud's affections, but at the forefront, one of the closest friends she had made during her journey to discover her purpose and mission as the last Cetra.

Yet, Tifa foiled her plans to sacrifice herself for the common good.

"Tifa…I don't know what to do," Aerith whispered. "I don't…Cloud…I'm sure he wants to say something to you."

Aerith turned to Cloud, who had since had his back against the two women. He instead, walked down the steps and walked away from Tifa and Aerith. To which, Aerith felt anger coursing through her veins. How…could he just walk away?

Tifa's eyes were fluttering. The effort to stay awake was growing difficult. Soon, she knew that she wouldn't be waking up again to see another sunrise…to walk through the grassy meadows…to fight through the dense forests…to explore the depths of the oceans with the sea salt air running through her hair.

But what Tifa would miss the most would be the starry-lit skies at night, where she was promised by Cloud that he would be the hero she needed. Despite what others might say about him, she felt deep down that her best friend was still at the core of who he was.

She knew him better than anyone. But, maybe, it was for the best that she watched over Cloud from a heavenly realm instead. Let Aerith and AVALANCHE take care of him and let him become the man he was meant to be without her being there to support him. He had plenty of loved ones. He wouldn't need her. He wouldn't even remember her within the next couple months.

She'll just be another memory.

"I'm…sorry, Tifa," Aerith croaked. Fresh tears were leaking through her eyes. "I wish, I knew what Cloud was thinking. He would never be this cruel, especially to you. Especially now when you're like this. Please…tell me what to do. Tell me how to help Cloud. You would know how. Please!"

Tifa never answered her.