Beyond Seven
By: General Quistis (generalquistis@yahoo.com) and Xu (zhakeena@yahoo.com)
Disclaimer: Oh, ya know… it goes a little somethin' like this… we don't own anything but the story plot and our sanities… duh… whatever… -_-
Authors' Notes: This is part of our plan to sow the seeds of the Rufus/Tifa shipping um… whatever! So there! By the way, we don't hate Cloud nor Aerith.
Quistis's Note: please, feed me some cheese pizza… ;_; (just kidding…)
Chapter Sixteen
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Tifa and Yuffie were in Marlene's bedroom with Elena. "I am just a little surprised about Rufus adopting Marlene… I mean, it's all so sudden." Yuffie told Tifa and Elena while watching Marlene play with her new dolls.
Elena smiled. "Don't worry, even if President Rufus knows how to make hasty decisions just like this one, he never failed at them based on what I've observed as a Turk." She explained.
Tifa nodded, but suddenly, she had a bad feeling about something. It was a little gloomy outside and she wondered where Rufus was. She insisted that she should come with Rufus to Midgar, but he told her to just stay at Nibelheim and take care of Marlene.
"Where's Daddy?" Marlene asked Tifa.
Tifa didn't know what to answer at first, but soon, she snapped back to reality. "Oh… he went to Midgar to check out the reconstruction of the ShinRa H.Q. He'll come back this afternoon, don't worry." She said with a smile.
Marlene turned to the door and then back to Tifa. "But how come wherever we go in this mansion, the redhead and the bald man are always tagging along? Now they're outside the door!" she stated.
"Because it's dangerous. Besides, you are President Rufus's daughter." Elena explained as she stood up, but jerked when she heard the sound of roaring thunder. Marlene screamed and hugged Tifa. "Aargh! Mommy!"
Elena and Tifa exchanged stunned looks.
Tifa looked down at Marlene. "What did you just call me?" she asked inquiringly.
Marlene let go of Tifa and blushed as she smiled sheepishly. "Mommy?" she asked.
Elena giggled.
Tifa shot her a warning look which made her stop. "What's so funny, Elena?"
Elena covered her mouth, trying to stifle her laugh as she looked away. "Nothing, Miss Lockheart…" she replied with a shaky tone due to the obvious reason that she's trying to stop her laughter.
***
Rufus scanned the whole area where the construction site was located.
Scarlet smiled as she scanned the blueprints. "Everything's under control, President Rufus. Soon, you'll be reigning again." She said.
"I don't think that's the right verb, Scarlet," he stated flatly.
Scarlet was silent for a while before she returned the blueprints back to its place near the table of the architect in charge of the design. She felt somewhat bothered by the fact that Rufus had taken her with him to Midgar instead of Reno or any other remaining guard he has. As much as she hated to admit it, she felt so guilty about putting him down regarding Tifa. She kept looking back at the direction of the road leading back to Nibelheim, then back to the car which they used to go to Midgar. She kept staring at the trunk, sensing that something was wrong. "President Rufus, it's near lunch time. I think we should be going back to Nibelheim… besides, you need to spend time with your daughter and your fiancée," she said while looking at the trunk, scanning it carefully.
Rufus turned to her. "Fiancée?" he asked, recalling that he hasn't even proposed to Tifa about marriage yet.
She smiled sheepishly. "N…no sarcasm there, Sir! I meant Miss Lockheart." She replied, feeling embarrassed.
Rufus had this cold look on his face before he turned back to the construction site. "And suddenly you're calling her 'Miss Lockheart'…" he muttered.
She hesitated for a while. "I know… because… since… well, as one of your loyal staff members, I guess that I just have to accept Miss Lockheart for you… besides, I believe that there is more than meets the eye, correct?" she asked.
Rufus smiled quietly. "I'm glad you finally understood." He said softly.
Scarlet smiled, pleased with herself and the events. "By the way, Your Excellency, I would like to apologize for being a bitch to you and Miss Lockheart… she isn't really all that bad and I just realized that last night when she came up to the Mansion and I was the one who answered the door. She looked so miserable and so scared… I felt pity for the girl so I just had to let her in…" she said.
"You did the right thing, Scarlet." He told her before he turned around to face her. Suddenly, his eyes grew wide in surprise when he saw a spiky-haired blonde making an attempt to kill Scarlet with a big sword.
"SCARLET!" he said in alarm.
Scarlet turned around but it was too late.
Rufus ShinRa watched in horror as Cloud Strife swung his sword through Scarlet's neck.
Cloud observed with coldness in his eyes while Scarlet's head rolled down to the ground, stopping as it bumped against Rufus's left feet. Rufus took a step backward, looking at the head. "Shit…" he muttered as he pulled out his shotgun and aimed it at Cloud. "What the hell is wrong with you?" he asked with a stiff tone.
Cloud didn't say anything but he just stared at Rufus with cold eyes.
Rufus finally lost his temper and took a few steps forward. "I asked you a goddamn question, Strife!" he snapped.
Cloud's eyes narrowed at him. "Aerith," he muttered as he raised his sword to start attacking him, but before he could do so, he heard Cid and Vincent calling his name from behind.
He stopped and turned to them. Rufus didn't know whether he should get himself into trouble by fighting Cloud or just run away and go back to Nibelheim. He chose the latter decision and rushed to the car before Cloud could see him.
Rufus noticed the open compartment and frowned as he got inside the vehicle and quickly started the engine. "That jerk must've hidden inside the trunk…" he thought as he stepped on the accelerator and drove to the road leading to Nibelheim.
***
Rufus got down from the car and rushed inside the Mansion. On his way upstairs, he saw Reeve. "Where have you been?" Rufus demanded.
Reeve was in awe upon seeing Rufus back so early from his visit to Midgar. "I… I was in the inn this morning and I just talked to Cid Highwind and…" he began before Rufus pushed him aside and rushed up.
Rufus ran to Marlene's room and everyone stood up upon seeing him. "Where are the other ShinRa soldiers?!" he demanded from everyone.
"Wh…President Rufus? What's going on?" Reno asked.
"That spiky-headed jerk is going after me! I just escaped coz two of his friends interfered!" Rufus told him.
"You mean Cloud?" Tifa asked in disbelief.
Marlene rushed to Rufus. "Daddy," she said with fear in her voice as she embraced Rufus.
Rufus carried Marlene up in his arms.
"President Rufus, I think you should leave this place immediately before Cloud Strife arrives. Don't worry, we'll take care of everything here. We just contacted the former ShinRa soldiers and they're on their way here." Reno told him.
Rufus hesitated for a while as he looked at Tifa. "You're right, Reno… I have a place at Costa del Sol; I'll take Tifa and Marlene with me… you too, Yuffie and Elena." He told them.
Yuffie smiled at him. "No thanks, Ruffy. I'll just stay here and stop Cloud." She said before she ran outside.
Rufus twitched. "Ruffy?" he repeated.
Tifa giggled despite the tension. "Let's go, Ruffy, before Cloud gets here. He can move fast, you know," she said as she led the way to the door.
Elena took one last look at Reno before she followed Tifa, Rufus and Marlene.
Reno waved at Elena.
Rufus thought that they could finally get out of the ShinRa Mansion, but unfortunately, Cloud was already waiting for them outside.
Tifa, Marlene and Elena shrieked upon seeing Cloud. Rufus just stood there, stunned upon seeing Cloud.
Rude came rushing from inside and attacked Cloud.
Rufus took a step backward and rushed inside again. "Let's go," he said as he led the way to the backdoor.
"How come Cloud's not talking?" Marlene asked.
"I don't know… but I think he already lost it!" Rufus replied as he pulled out his shotgun just in case a surprise attack occurs.
"I wonder what happened to Cid and Vincent…" he thought as they finally reached the backdoor.
The moment they opened it, he screamed in surprised with Tifa, Marlene and Elena plus the two other guys facing them.
Vincent covered his mouth, feeling embarrassed.
Cid stopped. "What the fuck!? You startled me!" he snapped angrily.
"Get out of our way!" Rufus pushed them aside as he led the way outside, but he stopped when Cloud just jumped before him from nowhere.
Everyone saw his blood-drenched sword which made Tifa, Elena and Rufus think about what could have happened to Rude.
"Is he this fast now?" Rufus thought in disbelief as he stared at Cloud and handed Marlene to Cid.
"Go ahead, Strife," Rufus challenged as he pointed his shotgun at Cloud.
Cloud's eyes narrowed at him as he began to position himself to start an attack.
"Rufus, don't," Tifa said as she got hold of Rufus's shoulder. Rufus flinched at her touch but he moved away from her. "Sorry, Tifa." He said.
Marlene frowned and she was already crying. She squirmed away from Cid's grasp and when she finally got free, she ran to Cloud and clung to his right leg. Cloud remained in that position for moments and then slowly turned to Marlene.
"Marlene! Let go of him!" Rufus commanded with worry in his tone.
Tifa clasped her hands together in prayer as she tried her best to fight back the tears. "Cloud, what has happened to you?" she asked.
Cloud looked down coldly at the little girl.
Rufus was about to run to Cloud and Marlene but Elena stopped him. "No, he might hurt her!" she said.
"You're a bad man! Don't you hurt my new daddy!" Marlene hissed at Cloud.
Cloud continued to look down at her. To everyone's shock, he raised up his sword in move to kill her.
"NO!" Tifa ran to them and gave Cloud a hard punch on his stomach while her free hand grabbed Marlene. But it was a little too late for her before she could completely move away from Cloud and his big sword. He was still able to swing his sword to their general direction, and he caused two big wounds in one blow… both on Tifa and Marlene. Marlene got hers on her waist while Tifa got hers on her thigh. The wounds were deep enough to cause too much blood to flow.
Tifa landed against the hard cemented ground on her back and as she did so, she accidentally let go of Marlene.
Rufus had had it with everything so he shot Cloud when he was off-guard. Cloud had his eyes on Tifa and Marlene as when he felt the bullet pierce through his left shoulder.
"Not close enough to the heart…" Rufus thought angrily to himself as he raised his shotgun again to target Cloud for another shot. But, before he could pull the trigger again, Cloud spoke up with a raspy tone, "Aerith…"
Tifa tried her best to stand up despite the pain, but she fell back to the ground again, so she just crawled to Marlene and cradled the injured child in her arms. "It hurts…" Marlene cried softly against Tifa's ear. Tifa was already crying as she looked at Cloud and Rufus.
Cloud got a hold of himself as he gripped his sword tightly. He looked up, and so did everyone else when they heard a familiar voice saying, "Enough, Cloud… let's go…"
Tifa's eyes grew wide in awe. "A…Ae…Aer…Aerith…" she whispered.
With that, Cloud smiled gently up into the heavens and positioned the blade of his big sword facing himself.
In a quick motion, he stabbed himself with it.
Tifa turned Marlene's head away from the gruesome incident.
Elena watched in horror as Cloud fell on his knees and finally, to the ground on his back.
Rufus, Vincent and Cid observed quietly as a pool of blood formed from underneath Cloud's dead body.
The rain continued to pour down and thunder began to roar again.
Rufus swallowed hard as he approached Tifa and Marlene. He knelt down beside them and hugged them tightly.
"Daddy," Marlene said in between her sobs.
Tifa smiled sadly at Rufus before she hugged him back.
Marlene embraced the two.
Rufus kept his eyes on Cloud.
"Daddy… daddy, it hurts…" Marlene said with a weak tone.
Rufus moved away from them and Tifa saw Marlene's blood on his white suit. A puddle of blood was already forming from below Tifa. Tifa flinched when she remembered that she had this wound on her thigh. She began to get pale. "R… Rufus," she said softly before she released Marlene and fell back.
Rufus caught Marlene on time before she could also fall to the ground. "Tifa!" he exclaimed.
Elena and Vincent rushed to them while Cid approached Cloud's dead body.
"I'll call an ambulance," Elena said before rushing inside.
Reno, Reeve and Heidegger came to the scene. "What happened in here?" Reno asked as he rushed to Rufus and Tifa.
Rufus handed Marlene to Vincent before he got Tifa and stood up, carrying her in his arms. "Cloud Strife… I know how much you hate me but please don't take Tifa away from me… she's my only happiness now…" Rufus prayed silently as he tried his best to fight back tears while he rushed inside the house. He got inside the living room and placed her on the sofa. Elena was currently on the phone talking to the operator of the Emergency Hotline.
Reno and the others (except for Cid) also came to the living room. They were about to put Marlene on the other vacant couch but they stopped when they saw what Rufus was doing…
He was crying…
"Oh my God…" Reeve muttered in a low tone.
"Am I seeing things?" Reno thought in disbelief.
Vincent just stared down at Rufus with Marlene in his arms. Marlene observed Rufus but she didn't say anything.
Rufus didn't even care if they saw him crying. Only one thing mattered at that moment: Tifa… and as he stared at her pale face and listened to her unsteady breathing, flashes from the past came back to him…
Blood. Gunshot. Bullet wound… Bleeding… his mother… the little girl… the explosion… the pain…
Rufus closed his eyes and tilted his head slightly upward, as if toward the heavens. "Mom… dad…" he prayed silently.
He opened his eyes again as more tears fell from his eyes. He examined Tifa's wound and it made him tremble as he reached for his pocket and pulled out the pink handkerchief with the initials T.L. embroidered in one corner. He began to wipe her rain-drenched face with it, but a teardrop from his eyes fell on her cheek.
She flinched a little as she carefully opened her eyes, looking up at Rufus. She saw the pink handkerchief and smiled weakly. "So that's where it's always been…" she whispered hoarsely.
Rufus turned to her and he smiled gently. "Tifa," he said in relief.
They heard the ambulance siren from outside.
"What's going on?" Tifa asked weakly.
"You're losing a lot of blood. We'll take you to the hospital." He explained as a small team composed of paramedics, doctors and nurses entered.
"It's about time you guys got in here!" Reno scolded with an impatient look on his face.
Tifa smiled gently at Rufus. "You mean the place where we first met?" she asked.
Rufus chuckled lightly as he raked his fingers through his hair. "Yeah. The place where we first met and the place where you gave me this," he said, handing her the pink handkerchief before 2 nurses transferred her to a stretcher…
***
Cloud opened his eyes and sat up, looking around the place. "Wh…where am I?" he thought silently as he decided to stand up, but he was forced to remain seated when a pair of hands covered his eyes from behind him. "Guess who?"
A girl.
Cloud could recognize the feeling of her hands against his skin. He smiled as he touched her hand. "Aerith Gainsborough?" he asked.
Aerith released him and smiled happily as Cloud faced her. She giggled. "WRONG!" She joked.
He smiled at her, hardly believing that he's seeing her again after so many months.
"Aerith," Cloud took her in his arms and embraced her tightly.
Aerith's smile softened as she returned Cloud's embrace. "Stay here with me forever, Cloud…" she whispered.
He nodded as he let her rest her head on his shoulder. "Of course…" he replied…