"Zell, we'd better go wait outside now," Tifa suggested considering
they had already been sitting around the house for a half-hour, searching
for anything that may be of importance. She had managed to wrangle up 500
gil, while Zell only stayed attached to his baby blanket and stuffed teddy.
Tifa kneeled down to Zell's level, and she could see the sleep in his eyes. He was barely able to keep his tiny blue orbs open for another minute. She smiled, and gently wrapped her arms around his petite body and picked him up as she started to head out the door.
She managed to reach the door and was about to turn the handle when it suddenly flew open on its own. A shadowy figure stood before her and her first fear was that it was Johnny returning home after his late night at the bar. But she was proved to be deathly wrong as the figure took a step into the light.
His golden hair was still spiked in a sloppy way that she was always able to recognize him for, and his clothing hadn't changed much either, with the exception that it was a little more civil now. Her mouth gaped open, and she found it difficult to say his name aloud.
"Cloud." she whispered, definitely not expecting to see him at her doorway.
"Come on. Let's get you out of here," he said in his usual calm and collective voice. He stepped out into the darkness, and she followed with no hesitation. She never even bothered to lock the door behind her, and rather she followed close behind him like a lost puppy.
They both remained silent as they reached the outskirts of the city, and Tifa was becoming more and more uncomfortable with the situation.
'What if I was wrong to call? They must think of me as a burden now. Damn it, I'll never do a thing like that again. I'd better just stay out of their lives,' Tifa thought, her once optimistic attitude changed to the worst.
"Why didn't you call earlier?" Cloud asked, still walking ahead and not even turning to face her while he spoke. She stayed silent, afraid to answer. Her eyes lowered to the ground as they walked, and she still could not find an answer.
"Tifa!" he exclaimed, and stopped dead in his tracks. He turned to her, concern deep in his eyes, and his face had softened immensely from the first time she had seen him that night. Tifa also stopped, frightened from his sudden pause and afraid that he was just there to yell and beat her too. And that was the breaking point. Years of accumulating pain and fear finally took their toll on her as her eyes seemed to explode with pain and all she could do was let the tears of rage and anger flow down her cheeks.
Cloud took one look at her and it was a miracle that he didn't begin to cry with her. His observations of her now would horrify any being that had even just laid a glance on her. Her face was pale as ever, and her face swollen from the obvious hands of somebody abusing her. And in her arms she held a young boy, who seemed to fair well for he was physically unscathed.
"Come on. We'll talk about this later," Cloud then stepped back to her and gently placed his hand on her shoulder as he led her towards the Highwind.
***
There was no talking that night, and rather Tifa and Zell found a place to rest in the bridge of the ship, along with Cid and Cloud who were the only other two men that she knew, with the exception of the crew. The morning sun was peaking above the Nibelheim Mountains, and shedding its light across the land.
The cascading light entered the Highwind, and Cloud watched helplessly as he was touched with the rays. The whole night passed, and he didn't manage to get a single wink of sleep, leaving him to sit and watch the world around him. It was either fate or coincidence that he was staying the night at Cid's when Barret gave him the call, but he would have preferred to call it destiny.
He was a rogue now with no place to go or stay, so it left him as a loner against the world. He never stayed in the same place too long, and he had just happened to be in Rocket Town, thus making him decide to catch up on things with Cid Highwind.
It wasn't quite midnight when he received the call, but it was close enough. He heard Cid grumbling on the phone line, and then it became serious real quick. Cid wasn't able to explain things real clear, but he was able to say that it involved Tifa, and that was enough to convince Cloud.
In the past four years Cloud was able to realize his mistake. He had grown older, and he had grown to learn that the feelings he had towards Aeris was not love, but rather a silly infatuation that he just needed to get over. Tifa was his true love, and he knew that now, but he feared that it was too late for either of them.
He gave a deep sentimental sigh, and then glanced over at Tifa that was sleeping humbly against the wall of the airship with her son wrapped tightly in her arms. That picture alone made him wonder, for that little boy looked nothing like Johnny, and he had seen Johnny too much in the past so he remembered all the features of that boy well. And now he looked at this little precious child, and he couldn't see a hint of Johnny in him, but rather a boy that reminded him of himself when he was that age.
'That would be impossible,' he thought, took one last look at Zell and then turned his head away. He was tired of living in dream worlds, and it was time to face facts about what was to happen to him. The problem was, he didn't know what was to become of him or Tifa.
"Cloud?" that once familiar voice seemed so distant, but it also was calling him. He looked up, a little surprised to hear her beautiful voice so early in the morning.
"Tifa, you should go back to sleep," were the only words he could think of at the moment. He felt rather awkward being around her once again, only because it had been so long, and he didn't know how to act anymore.
"It's hard to go back to sleep," she whispered quietly. Silence then consumed them both for several moments, until she decided to break the uncomfortable atmosphere. "Where have you been living now, Cloud?"
Cloud shifted his weight from one foot to the other. "I haven't really been living anywhere. I've been just wandering around aimlessly, sleeping when I'm tired, and eating when I'm hungry."
"What were you doing at Cid's then?"
"I just happened to be in Rocket Town at the time, so I decided to stop by and see what they have been up to. They offered me to stay the night, and coincidentally, Barret called saying that he had finally found you," Cloud explained, finally looking over in her direction.
Tifa lowered her eyes towards the deck of the Highwind. "You guys were looking for me?"
"We were. None of us had heard from you in at least four years. We didn't know if you were even still alive."
Tifa gave a halfhearted smile and focused her eyes to Cloud. It was the first time she had met up with his eyes for four years, and she at one time had forgotten the effect those eyes had on her. Her heart almost seemed to almost lift, but she then struck that feeling down, knowing that she would never get herself mixed up with that stuff again.
"So, where exactly are we heading?" she asked, a little perplexed knowing that she now had no place to stay.
"I don't want to intrude on Cid, because I know he'll offer his home. Not to mention I don't think his words are very good for," he paused and nodded his head towards the small boy that was resting in Tifa's arms.
"Zell," she said his name to Cloud.
"Well, Cid's language would not be good for Zell the least bit. If you've forgotten, I did buy that little house in Costa del Sol, and I'm sure that would be a great place for you to stay."
Tifa looked over at Cloud with concerned eyes. "Where are you going to go Cloud?"
"I'm probably going to continue what I'm doing. It's hard for me to stay in one place too long anymore."
"I see. Well, I suppose it's for the best anyway," Tifa thought out loud and stroked Zell's golden hair gently.
"Yeah, but I need to stay at the beach house for a little while though."
Tifa's attention turned directly towards him as she heard his strange words. Her head tilted, and she was waiting for a reason on his remark.
"I have to make sure you'll be fine. It's hard to get through something like that," Cloud explained, trying not to make it sound like he was getting any emotional feelings mixed up with the matter. "It'll only be until I know that you're back on your feet."
Tifa couldn't argue, more or less she didn't want to. She didn't know what would happen any more if she did, and she feared now that she would be ridiculed and beaten for her input. Her spirit had been broken, and to revive her once optimistic and cheerful attitude would only take a miracle.
Their thoughts were interrupted when they heard a pair of footsteps echo on the hollow tiles of metal that made up the ship. They both turned towards the newcomer, and neither was surprised to see Cid making an entrance.
"What the fuck are you two doing up so early?" he asked, his usual foul language littering his speech.
"Just talking," Tifa said quietly, her voice calm and gentle. Cid could tell just by her voice the pain that she had endured, and he tried not to soften his heart for his pride's sake, but seeing his friend in such a condition made it almost impossible.
"So, what's the plan?" Cid calmed down from the melodramatic atmosphere, and he scratched the back on his neck with his hand, ashamed of his rudeness.
"I'm going to take her to Costa del Sol with me," Cloud explained in a short sentence. Cid only nodded and he quickly took his position in the pilot's chair. Of course he couldn't fly the large ship on his own, but he did need to awaken his crew as so they could get on their jobs. They were efficient workers, and once called, they would be in their positions in a matter of minutes.
With the decisions made, Cid placed his hand on a small yellow button on his control panel, and through the cargo hold and the sleeping quarters a low beeping could be heard. Cloud just looked up as he saw a little yellow light begin to blink, and he crossed his arms over his chest as he waited for the crew to make it on deck.
"It shouldn't be too long now," Cid broke the silence and he rested himself against the panel. Taking out a cigarette, he lighted it and then began to take some drags off of it. "Well, let's get this show on the road."
Author's Note: Quite the boring chapter, I would agree. But, it did explain a few things...so I'm sorry to disappoint any of you who were expecting this to be a story based on Vincent, because it isn't. He doesn't play a very large role in this story (if any), but I do have some other "lost chapter" type stories that I had written for my original story of this, and I'll probably end up re-writing those ones to go more along with this story. Anyway, let's get to answering some of those questions on the reviews!
Drakonlily- No, Johnny is not Reno. If you remember through the game, when you're in the Lifestream at Mideel, you hear a story from the past and Johnny is one of the children that really disliked Cloud. They used to get in many fights over little things.
Ah-choo- I don't want to spoil anything...but it's not a Vincent/Tifa pairing. Cloud happens to be my all time favorite character, so I chose him. ^_^
Well, those were all the questions that I got, so keep them coming and I'll answer them with the next chapter!
Oh, and another thing (sorry readers for making this AN so long), I'm looking for people to help illustrate my story. So, if anybody decides they want to draw a picture to go along with any of the chapters, please e- mail them to me. I'm working on a website especially for my story, so any illustrations are greatly appreciated for they will be shown with that particular chapter. ^_^
Disclaimers: I told you once, I'll tell you again, I don't own those damn characters. I'm not that privileged.
Tifa kneeled down to Zell's level, and she could see the sleep in his eyes. He was barely able to keep his tiny blue orbs open for another minute. She smiled, and gently wrapped her arms around his petite body and picked him up as she started to head out the door.
She managed to reach the door and was about to turn the handle when it suddenly flew open on its own. A shadowy figure stood before her and her first fear was that it was Johnny returning home after his late night at the bar. But she was proved to be deathly wrong as the figure took a step into the light.
His golden hair was still spiked in a sloppy way that she was always able to recognize him for, and his clothing hadn't changed much either, with the exception that it was a little more civil now. Her mouth gaped open, and she found it difficult to say his name aloud.
"Cloud." she whispered, definitely not expecting to see him at her doorway.
"Come on. Let's get you out of here," he said in his usual calm and collective voice. He stepped out into the darkness, and she followed with no hesitation. She never even bothered to lock the door behind her, and rather she followed close behind him like a lost puppy.
They both remained silent as they reached the outskirts of the city, and Tifa was becoming more and more uncomfortable with the situation.
'What if I was wrong to call? They must think of me as a burden now. Damn it, I'll never do a thing like that again. I'd better just stay out of their lives,' Tifa thought, her once optimistic attitude changed to the worst.
"Why didn't you call earlier?" Cloud asked, still walking ahead and not even turning to face her while he spoke. She stayed silent, afraid to answer. Her eyes lowered to the ground as they walked, and she still could not find an answer.
"Tifa!" he exclaimed, and stopped dead in his tracks. He turned to her, concern deep in his eyes, and his face had softened immensely from the first time she had seen him that night. Tifa also stopped, frightened from his sudden pause and afraid that he was just there to yell and beat her too. And that was the breaking point. Years of accumulating pain and fear finally took their toll on her as her eyes seemed to explode with pain and all she could do was let the tears of rage and anger flow down her cheeks.
Cloud took one look at her and it was a miracle that he didn't begin to cry with her. His observations of her now would horrify any being that had even just laid a glance on her. Her face was pale as ever, and her face swollen from the obvious hands of somebody abusing her. And in her arms she held a young boy, who seemed to fair well for he was physically unscathed.
"Come on. We'll talk about this later," Cloud then stepped back to her and gently placed his hand on her shoulder as he led her towards the Highwind.
***
There was no talking that night, and rather Tifa and Zell found a place to rest in the bridge of the ship, along with Cid and Cloud who were the only other two men that she knew, with the exception of the crew. The morning sun was peaking above the Nibelheim Mountains, and shedding its light across the land.
The cascading light entered the Highwind, and Cloud watched helplessly as he was touched with the rays. The whole night passed, and he didn't manage to get a single wink of sleep, leaving him to sit and watch the world around him. It was either fate or coincidence that he was staying the night at Cid's when Barret gave him the call, but he would have preferred to call it destiny.
He was a rogue now with no place to go or stay, so it left him as a loner against the world. He never stayed in the same place too long, and he had just happened to be in Rocket Town, thus making him decide to catch up on things with Cid Highwind.
It wasn't quite midnight when he received the call, but it was close enough. He heard Cid grumbling on the phone line, and then it became serious real quick. Cid wasn't able to explain things real clear, but he was able to say that it involved Tifa, and that was enough to convince Cloud.
In the past four years Cloud was able to realize his mistake. He had grown older, and he had grown to learn that the feelings he had towards Aeris was not love, but rather a silly infatuation that he just needed to get over. Tifa was his true love, and he knew that now, but he feared that it was too late for either of them.
He gave a deep sentimental sigh, and then glanced over at Tifa that was sleeping humbly against the wall of the airship with her son wrapped tightly in her arms. That picture alone made him wonder, for that little boy looked nothing like Johnny, and he had seen Johnny too much in the past so he remembered all the features of that boy well. And now he looked at this little precious child, and he couldn't see a hint of Johnny in him, but rather a boy that reminded him of himself when he was that age.
'That would be impossible,' he thought, took one last look at Zell and then turned his head away. He was tired of living in dream worlds, and it was time to face facts about what was to happen to him. The problem was, he didn't know what was to become of him or Tifa.
"Cloud?" that once familiar voice seemed so distant, but it also was calling him. He looked up, a little surprised to hear her beautiful voice so early in the morning.
"Tifa, you should go back to sleep," were the only words he could think of at the moment. He felt rather awkward being around her once again, only because it had been so long, and he didn't know how to act anymore.
"It's hard to go back to sleep," she whispered quietly. Silence then consumed them both for several moments, until she decided to break the uncomfortable atmosphere. "Where have you been living now, Cloud?"
Cloud shifted his weight from one foot to the other. "I haven't really been living anywhere. I've been just wandering around aimlessly, sleeping when I'm tired, and eating when I'm hungry."
"What were you doing at Cid's then?"
"I just happened to be in Rocket Town at the time, so I decided to stop by and see what they have been up to. They offered me to stay the night, and coincidentally, Barret called saying that he had finally found you," Cloud explained, finally looking over in her direction.
Tifa lowered her eyes towards the deck of the Highwind. "You guys were looking for me?"
"We were. None of us had heard from you in at least four years. We didn't know if you were even still alive."
Tifa gave a halfhearted smile and focused her eyes to Cloud. It was the first time she had met up with his eyes for four years, and she at one time had forgotten the effect those eyes had on her. Her heart almost seemed to almost lift, but she then struck that feeling down, knowing that she would never get herself mixed up with that stuff again.
"So, where exactly are we heading?" she asked, a little perplexed knowing that she now had no place to stay.
"I don't want to intrude on Cid, because I know he'll offer his home. Not to mention I don't think his words are very good for," he paused and nodded his head towards the small boy that was resting in Tifa's arms.
"Zell," she said his name to Cloud.
"Well, Cid's language would not be good for Zell the least bit. If you've forgotten, I did buy that little house in Costa del Sol, and I'm sure that would be a great place for you to stay."
Tifa looked over at Cloud with concerned eyes. "Where are you going to go Cloud?"
"I'm probably going to continue what I'm doing. It's hard for me to stay in one place too long anymore."
"I see. Well, I suppose it's for the best anyway," Tifa thought out loud and stroked Zell's golden hair gently.
"Yeah, but I need to stay at the beach house for a little while though."
Tifa's attention turned directly towards him as she heard his strange words. Her head tilted, and she was waiting for a reason on his remark.
"I have to make sure you'll be fine. It's hard to get through something like that," Cloud explained, trying not to make it sound like he was getting any emotional feelings mixed up with the matter. "It'll only be until I know that you're back on your feet."
Tifa couldn't argue, more or less she didn't want to. She didn't know what would happen any more if she did, and she feared now that she would be ridiculed and beaten for her input. Her spirit had been broken, and to revive her once optimistic and cheerful attitude would only take a miracle.
Their thoughts were interrupted when they heard a pair of footsteps echo on the hollow tiles of metal that made up the ship. They both turned towards the newcomer, and neither was surprised to see Cid making an entrance.
"What the fuck are you two doing up so early?" he asked, his usual foul language littering his speech.
"Just talking," Tifa said quietly, her voice calm and gentle. Cid could tell just by her voice the pain that she had endured, and he tried not to soften his heart for his pride's sake, but seeing his friend in such a condition made it almost impossible.
"So, what's the plan?" Cid calmed down from the melodramatic atmosphere, and he scratched the back on his neck with his hand, ashamed of his rudeness.
"I'm going to take her to Costa del Sol with me," Cloud explained in a short sentence. Cid only nodded and he quickly took his position in the pilot's chair. Of course he couldn't fly the large ship on his own, but he did need to awaken his crew as so they could get on their jobs. They were efficient workers, and once called, they would be in their positions in a matter of minutes.
With the decisions made, Cid placed his hand on a small yellow button on his control panel, and through the cargo hold and the sleeping quarters a low beeping could be heard. Cloud just looked up as he saw a little yellow light begin to blink, and he crossed his arms over his chest as he waited for the crew to make it on deck.
"It shouldn't be too long now," Cid broke the silence and he rested himself against the panel. Taking out a cigarette, he lighted it and then began to take some drags off of it. "Well, let's get this show on the road."
Author's Note: Quite the boring chapter, I would agree. But, it did explain a few things...so I'm sorry to disappoint any of you who were expecting this to be a story based on Vincent, because it isn't. He doesn't play a very large role in this story (if any), but I do have some other "lost chapter" type stories that I had written for my original story of this, and I'll probably end up re-writing those ones to go more along with this story. Anyway, let's get to answering some of those questions on the reviews!
Drakonlily- No, Johnny is not Reno. If you remember through the game, when you're in the Lifestream at Mideel, you hear a story from the past and Johnny is one of the children that really disliked Cloud. They used to get in many fights over little things.
Ah-choo- I don't want to spoil anything...but it's not a Vincent/Tifa pairing. Cloud happens to be my all time favorite character, so I chose him. ^_^
Well, those were all the questions that I got, so keep them coming and I'll answer them with the next chapter!
Oh, and another thing (sorry readers for making this AN so long), I'm looking for people to help illustrate my story. So, if anybody decides they want to draw a picture to go along with any of the chapters, please e- mail them to me. I'm working on a website especially for my story, so any illustrations are greatly appreciated for they will be shown with that particular chapter. ^_^
Disclaimers: I told you once, I'll tell you again, I don't own those damn characters. I'm not that privileged.