*Warning*- The characters of Final Fantasy VII in no way belong to me (damn), and therefore I take no credit for the characters, which are all copyright to Square Soft Inc and everyone else who owns Final Fantasy VII! Can you tell I'm not good at writing these things? This story may contain spoilers and some violence, but besides that I don't think there should be too many problems! Please email me if you have any queries or comments… thanks! *^_~*


Chapter Seven: Revelation

It seemed an eternity that Tifa lay in Rufus' arms, sobbing quietly. Rufus felt a little awkward having her so close to him, but otherwise was concerned about how she was. He briefly wondered how he would react having that Masamune blade poised on his throat, able to slice him through at any one time. It was a miracle that Sephiroth had decided to leave, but a feeling of anxiety in his stomach suggested that it wouldn't be long before they saw the feared warrior again. Rufus didn't even have the grinding of the rocks in the background to listen to, as they had disappeared somehow.

Sephiroth had mentioned their 'little friends' and Rufus was certain that he referred to Cloud, Red XIII and possibly even Rude. He swallowed a gulp, fearing that he may lose another of his trusted Turks and friends. He couldn't bear the thought of just sitting here doing nothing, so he gently nudged Tifa. She sniffled, and slowly stirred to sit up out of his arms. Her gaze flickered from him to his arms and she tinged a slight pink.

"I'm sorry," she mumbled huskily, wiping her eyes and edging away from him clumsily, an embarrassed look on her face. Her hand was around her neck protectively, and she seemed in deep shock. Rufus impulsively pulled her back towards him, and held her in front of him firmly but gently. Her blank gaze stared past him, as if she couldn't see him. Her face was streaked with dampness, but now her eyes were glistening with tears that she refused to let fall.

"Tifa, listen to me," Rufus said steadily. She didn't show any sign of listening bar her eyes flashing briefly to him. "Tifa… you've got to get out of this shock…" She shook her head sadly.

"I can't…" she whispered, barely audible. Rufus raised her eyebrows.

"Why not?"

"My fault… all of it," she said quietly, her eyes falling to the ground. Rufus shook his head in disbelief.

"What do you mean?" he asked incredulously. "None of it is your fault at all!" She gave him a miserable smile.

"Yes it is, Rufus," she said. "First my dad… and now Cloud and Red… everything." Rufus felt his face fall, when he realised what she meant. He gazed at her, wondering how she could possibly blame herself or believe that she had anything to do with what had happened. At least she was talking now, though. Rufus sighed, not knowing what to say. He had been brought up to be harsh and cold, but around Tifa he felt anything but. D*** that, he thought angrily.

"Tifa, trust me, it's not your fault," he began, feeling uncomfortable. "What happened to your father… none of that was your fault. In fact, I was told that you found your father lifeless in the Nibelheim reactor…"

"I should have been there," she whispered bitterly. "But no, I was too busy moping over Cloud. And my father's life was the price I paid for that." Rufus hesitated, as her lower lip trembled. She looked as if she were about to cry… She bit her lip, and slowly regained control over herself. "And now this. Rufus, do you know what the last thing I said to Cloud was? Before you came on the jetboat?" Rufus shook his head slowly. She laughed, but it was a cold laugh that chilled the air around them.

"I snapped that he shouldn't be so worried about his past, and that his future was going to slip away before he knew it. I was so angry and hurt that the whole time all he thought about was his past- and Sephiroth. I had so long looked forward to him coming back, and saving me like he did five years ago. So I basically told him that he should get over it or his future would be gone. Funny I said that, when you think about it now. He's probably dead already…" She paused, to look at Rufus with… shame? "I told myself on the Tiny Bronco that if I ever saw Sephiroth again, I'd kill him. And look at me! He shows his face, and I'm a wreck. I should have died back at the reactor, with my father. Then at least I could have some pride that I died fighting Sephiroth."

"Tifa…" She ignored him and got to her knees, wrapping her arm around his middle.

"Come on, we got to get out of here," she said flatly, and he gratefully accepted her arm, wrapping his own around her neck. She seemed a little uneasy, but hid it well by glancing away from Rufus and towards the entrance to the Temple. He tried to pull away, unsuccessfully.

"No, I gotta get- to Rude…" She paused, remembering what Sephiroth had said. Rufus did deserve to know whether Rude was alive or dead, even if the latter seemed inevitable for all three- Cloud, Red and Rude.

"Okay," she said finally. "But first we're going outside. The boat will be here with the crutches and afterwards, Aeris can heal you as best she can." He grudgingly agreed, and together they made their way outside.

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"Why, god d*** it Aeris!" Aeris shrank back at Barret's outburst. He shook his gun-arm dangerously, causing Vincent to back away from behind him cautiously. Barret's anger then faded suddenly, and he closely resembled a lost puppy. "Tifa…" His gaze hardened again, as he clenched his good fist at the Temple. "She had better be okay, or Sephiroth is gonna feel some cold lead in his messed up skull." Aeris just nodded silently. The boat that would take them back to Mideel had arrived a few minutes ago, driven by Reno and Elena who had sobered up somewhat. Now, the two Turks waited impatiently for any sign of their fellow Turks or Rufus.

"D*** this, Elena," Reno muttered. Elena cast a wary eye in his direction.

"They'll be fine, don't worry," she said calmly. Yuffie snorted, and returned to her card game with Cait Sith. Barret and Vincent watched the Temple anxiously, while Aeris had closed her eyes in a strange sort of prayer-like way. The smoke had disappeared mostly, but some traces still hung in the air. It smelt thickly of burnt rubber, or something equally distasteful. Barret paced, grinding his teeth together.

"That's it, five more minutes and I'm going in," he growled, glancing at the Temple.

"Rufus and Tifa are okay," piped Aeris suddenly. "They're coming right now." Barret's eyes lit up, and he grabbed at the crutches leaning against the tree. He tossed them to Reno who caught them swiftly with an annoyed glare at Barret. Barret ignored him, and hurried up the stairs to the Temple. Sure enough, Tifa and Rufus were hobbling out of the thick black mist that still hovered inside the Temple. He grimaced when he spotted a thin line of dry blood across Tifa's throat, and wondered what on earth had happened in there. Tifa looked up and caught Barret's gaze with a tired smile.

"Barret," she said weakly. He just nodded, as she helped Rufus over to Reno who handed him the crutches. Tifa gave Aeris a look, and Aeris went to Rufus' side to heal his leg. He grimaced, but the pain lessened dramatically.

"S***, Shinra, what have you done to yourself?" Reno said in bewilderment. Rufus just fixed him with a withering stare, and started limping back to the Temple on the crutches.

"Rufus, where are you going?" Elena called curiously.

"Don't worry," Rufus muttered. Tifa followed him, and they went back inside. Reno cursed, and both he and Elena hurried after the two. Barret started to go after them, but Aeris' hand on his arm stopped him. She shook her head, and Barret sighed in defeat.

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Tifa didn't really notice where she was going, as she walked beside Rufus silently. The two remaining Turks were following them at a small distance behind, cautiously holding their weapons in battle stance. Rufus didn't complain of the pain he felt in his leg as he normally would have done; instead just concentrated on getting to the Labyrinth. They reached the end of the path and faced the door leading to the Labyrinth. Tifa glanced at Rufus, and he nodded.

With a slight effort, she pushed the door open. Harsh light flooded in and all four instinctly drew back. The door revealed something of another world. It was almost scary in contrast to the previous cavern they had been in, and there were mystical creatures prowling the area. Reno shot a few out of their way with his nightstick, while Elena huddled next to him.

"You idiot," Reno snapped at her. "You're a Turk! Get yourself ready in case of battle." Her eyes widened but she nodded, pushing her short blonde hair behind her ear. Rufus didn't say anything, as Tifa looked around nervously.

"Which way should we go?" she asked, peering over the edge. Rufus gestured to the vines hanging down the wall, and then pointed to another door on the other side of the area. There were numerous stairs leading to it, and a few centaur creatures gathered around it. Tifa gave him a questioning look, but he just struggled to get down the vines without hurting himself too much. Aeris had definitely helped his leg, but there were some things that needed time to heal them. Reno and Elena just jumped from the top of the ledge, landing softly on the stone ground. Tifa swung herself down a vine, and the three of them waited as Rufus made his way down.

"Reno, Elena, can you go clean out those Doorbulls and any other creatures lurking around the area?" Rufus said, as he reached the ground and pulled his crutches so they sat under his arms. Tifa went to follow them, but Rufus coughed and she turned back.

"Are you okay?" she asked, concerned. He gazed back at her, not saying anything. She shifted uncomfortably, and his gaze dropped to the floor.

"Yep, just great," he replied, hopping over to her. Her forehead creased, and she shrugged.

"Whatever you say," she said. Rufus gave her a thin smile, and frowned when Elena's cry rang through the area.

"Um, sir, you might want to get up here," Reno called, his voice wavering. He sounded really upset, Tifa realised. Oh no…

Rufus quickly made his way up the stairs, and let out a dry gasp of anger when he saw the body lying in Elena's arms. Reno ran his hand through his hair, trembling.

"Rude…" Elena whispered, her hand drifting down his cheek. The Turk coughed, his whole body shaking. Elena pulled his sunglasses off, as his eyes flickered open.

"El…ena?" he mumbled. There was a thin wound in his side that was slowly dripping blood onto the ground. Tifa came to a standstill at Rufus' side, shocked. How easily it could have been one of Avalanche laying on the ground dying at Sephiroth's hands… Reno broke the silence by slamming his fist into the nearest pillar angrily. Chunks of cement fell to the ground, and signs of blood appeared on his white knuckles. Rude mumbled something, and Elena strained to hear him.

"Seph… ir… oth…"

"Oh my gosh... doesn't anyone have a Restore Materia?" Elena cried desperately. Rude gripped her hand tightly, shaking his head.

"It's too… late," he said softly. His eyes rested on Tifa, and he chuckled dryly, his chuckle followed by a series of coughs. His expression toughened again. "Your friends… he has them, and… went to… City of- Ancients…" Tears welled up in Elena's coffee eyes as Rude's eyes slowly closed.

"Don't you do this, d*** you," she said furiously. "Did you hear me, Rude? Wake up! Don't leave us like this…" She buried his head on his chest as his breathing slowed, sobbing. Reno sank against the pillar he'd attacked, a blank expression on his pale face. Rude heaved a deep breath.

"Elena… you have to… help them, both of you…" He coughed again, his breathing becoming more laboured as his system slowly gave way to a grey fogginess, his own voice sounding sluggish and far away. "For… me… for yourself… promise me…" Elena sniffled, but mumbled a quiet promise. Rude closed his eyes again, for the last time, with a slight hint of a smile on his tanned face. Elena let him lay down on the ground, drawing her knees to her chest and weeping for her lost friend. Tifa blinked, unable to speak. A whispered word escaped her lips, as she stared at the still body of Rude.

"Sorry..."

A sudden shaking interrupted their silence, and Reno cursed as slabs of concrete smashed into the ground around them.

"Come on, d*** you!" Reno yelled. "We have to get the f*** out of here!" Elena got to her feet, pulling a thin silver bracelet off her wrist and clasping it in Rude's hand.

"To the death…" she murmured quietly, then her expression changed. "Alright, let's get out of here." The four of them rushed back to the door which led to the tunnel out of the Temple, and Tifa gasped when they discovered it to be locked. Reno tried his best to knock it down, but it didn't budge.

"What do we do now?" Elena screeched over the sound of toppling cement. Reno shrugged uncaringly.

"We die," he replied evenly. Elena shook her head stubbornly.

"We get the f*** out of here," she declared in Reno's tone, leading the way down another flight of stairs. They discovered another door, and hurried in to find something that resembled a clock face in front of them.

"Now what?" Tifa asked, her voice echoing over the noise of the collapsing Temple around them. Elena wrinkled her nose, straining to make out some faint words etched on the wall.

"We have to… say the time we wish to arrive at?" she said in confusion. Reno glanced in the cavern, at the numerous arches numbered I- XII.

"It's easy, you moron," he said loudly, gesturing at the arched doorways. We pick a number from one to twelve." He turned to Tifa. "What's your favourite number, love?" She glared at him.

"Twelve," she retorted. He shrugged again.

"Twelve it is," he said, calling out the number. The hands of the clock swung around so that they provided a bridge to the doorway marked XII above it. The four slowly made their way across it, dodging falling debris.

"Don't look down," Reno warned. Tifa couldn't help glancing down, and swallowed when she saw the apparently bottomless pit. She stumbled, and Reno grabbed her arm in the blink of an eye. He gave her a irritated look. "I said don't look down." She shrugged his hand away, and followed Elena through the doorway. Rufus hobbled at the rear. They reached the room, and saw a door seperating them from the outside world.

"Well, let's go," Elena remarked, tugging on the door handle. It didn't move an inch. "Not another one," she groaned. Reno suddenly paled, as a low rumbling shook the area. Elena turned around and screamed as the wall began to shake heavily, and a pair of glowing red eyes opened.

"S***********t!" Reno yelled as the wall prepared to battle them. Tifa, Elena and Reno faced it, well aware of the fact that it was several times larger than themselves. Tifa made the first attack, delivering a harsh blow to the centre of the Demon Gate. It barely made any damage, and she quickly realised it was going to be a difficult battle. Reno used a electric attack on it and it let out a roar of anger as the electricity crackled around it.

"Now, Elena!" Reno snapped. Elena closed her eyes, summoning Neo Bahamut. The dragon appeared with a burst of flames, and threw the ground containing the Demon Gate up into the air, facing it in triumphant fury. A bright light appeared from its mouth, shooting a laser ray at the Demon Gate which fell to the ground. It was weakened, but still strong enough to launch an attack at the trio who dared to face it. Rufus leaned against the wall, wishing he could be part of the battle instead of leaning there watching. He winced as the wall threw itself at Tifa, Elena and Reno, knocking them all to the ground. Reno was the first to sit up, rubbing his head.

"That's it, you stupid son of a b****!" he shouted. "Electro-mag Rod!" A sharp concentrated bolt of electricity shot towards the Demon Gate, stunning it and paralysing it. Reno yelled at Tifa to use an attack, and she unleashed the force of her strongest Limit Break at the wall. It did a hefty amount of damage, and the Demon Gate was almost destroyed.

Elena finished up with a strong Ice attack, and the Demon Gate was shattered into hundreds of pieces. She cast a grin at Reno and Tifa, getting to her feet and using a hi-potion to heal herself. Tifa followed suit, and Rufus limped over to them. They were shocked back to reality as a falling pillar barely missed them, and Reno yelled for everyone to hurry the h*** up and get out of there. They rushed out of the Temple as it shuddered violently, threatening to collapse any minute now.

They rushed to where the rest of Avalanche stood, and Barret's frown deepened.

"Where's Cloud and Red?" he called anxiously.

"Never mind that now," Elena shrieked. "Just get everyone out of here!" Barret, Yuffie, Vincent, Cait Sith and Aeris quickly realised what she meant, and all of them hurried through the bushes and shrubs, Tifa lingering behind waiting for Rufus. He wobbled a bit and she caught him, helping him hobble out of the area. She paused to glance back at the Temple of Ancients sadly.


Don't worry, Cloud, Red. We'll find you.


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Authors Note:- *sigh* Finally finished the chapter. Had a bit of a mind blank before, also I was preoccupied with other thoughts. So, we found out the first character to die. It wasn't Aeris after all… hehehe. A lot is going to change in this version of Final Fantasy VII, thanks to my twisted mind. Poor Rude _ Sephiroth is so darn mean, don't you agree? Anyway, next chapter will be about the aftermath of the Temple falling- can Avalanche and the Turks work together? Who knows… Lemme know what you thought of this chapter by reviewing! Thanks!

Authors Warning:- For your own good, brush your teeth and don't eat heaps of junk food! Heh, seems a bit out of place, but I'm speaking from experience here! Yesterday I was in hospital getting a tooth pulled out and some fillings done, so take my advice and brush your teeth heaps so you don't get cavities like evil ol' me. It hurts!! Trust me. Okay, the author is done rambling about teeth now ^_^.