Bit of a twist at the end of this one. It's kinda…stupid. Sorry. ^^;;

Chapter 8

Cloud closed his eyes and turned away, gritting his teeth. He couldn't believe it. Sephiroth was dead. He himself had killed the crazed man over a year ago. Then, suddenly, over night, he had come back, attacked his wife, threatened the mercenary, and possessed him yet again. It was almost too much to comprehend. "Why did he have to come back? Why?"

"Cloud, don't you understand?" He jumped slightly at the closeness of the voice. Glancing up, he saw Vincent standing over him, reaching down to his face. The possessed man gently lifted Cloud's chin and drew in so close to him that when he spoke, Cloud could feel the warmth of Vincent's breath on his lips. "My dear puppet, I am going to save the world. Don't you see? Didn't you hear its screams so long ago? Those cries are getting louder. I will find the questions. They shall be asked. And the world will seek the answers, thus giving it life."

"You're insane… Life is more than just seeking answers to stupid questions!" Cloud growled.

"You're still blind. Loneliness. Ah, simple loneliness. If only you had experienced the pain of true loss. The pain of losing everything. Then, you would see what life was about. You don't know the meaning of life until you die!" Vincent started to draw in closer to Cloud, and he smiled maniacally. "But don't worry. I can show you what it all means. I can open your eyes to the truth."

Cloud tried to pull away, but his muscles were frozen. As he stared into Vincent's eyes, he noticed some flickering gold. "No…You won't…control…me…!" Cloud closed his eyes and tried to find something, anything, deep within himself to help fight Sephiroth. No! I have to fight him somehow! I have to use something…like inner strength! But the only time I was able to overcome everything was when…Tifa helped me. That's right! Tifa! Cloud opened his eyes and glared into the unnatural green in front of him. "Tifa! Tifa Strife! Wake up!"

She felt so dizzy. She slowly opened her eyes and saw gray blurs. After a few moments, she could see straight. However, she almost wished she couldn't. The first thing her eyes observed was Vincent holding Cloud so close to him by the chin it looked like he was going to kiss her husband. Almost as if by reflex, she jumped up and started to sprint up the flight of stairs. Drawing back her fist, she prepared to plant her gloved hand in the middle of Vincent's back. However, he had other plans. Her fist came flying down, but she was too slow. The possessed mad man spun around and retaliated with his claw. Tifa froze as the sharp metal fingers entered her stomach, tearing her insides. "Cl…oud…" she gasped before falling back. "Run…Cloud…!"

Cloud's eyes popped open as rage boiled inside him. "SEPHIROTH!!" He jumped up, raising the Ultimate Weapon over his head. "DIE, YOU BASTARD!"

Vincent just smiled at him and said, "Would you kill your ally and friend just to seek revenge?" Now, Cloud hesitated to drop the blade. "I didn't think so, my little puppet. If I were you, I'd be more concerned with your wife. You might still be able to save her." He laughed and jumped down the stairs and disappeared in the shadows.

The mercenary fell to his knees as he picked up his wife. "Tifa, I'm sorry." He pulled out his Cure materia and started casting away, slowly healing her. "There, you should be fine, now."

She started shaking and cried into his chest. "Oh, Cloud!"

"What's wrong? Do you need to be healed again?"

"No, it's not that. It's…I should've told you, but then Vincent came that night. I was going to tell you the next morning, but we were so busy. I'm sorry."

"What is it?" he questioned nervously. "What's wrong?"

"I can't…I… I can't fight anymore, to put it simply. It would be too dangerous."

"What do you mean? You're not making any sense!"

"Cloud, I'm…I'm pregnant. I'm sorry. I'm…I'm so scared, Cloud."

He sat in shock for a moment before whispering, "The baby wasn't hurt during that attack, was it?"

She shook her head and responded, "No, he hit me right under the ribs. The baby should be fine."

He held his wife close and stared off in confusion. "You're…going to have a baby? My baby? And then this happens? And Sephiroth only narrowly missed killing you and our child." He Cloud began to tremble with rage again. "Damn you, Sephiroth!" he whispered under his breath.