Chapter 9

Cloud stood in front of his window, his arms crossed tightly over his chest. He should have been enjoying the simple pleasure of sleep, yet he stood tense. He should have been smiling, yet his lips formed a hard, tight line. He should have been happy, yet his was angry and afraid. His wife was going to have his child, yet he didn't rejoice. No, this only helped fan his fear to life. Tifa could've handled herself before. He wasn't worried about her being injured that much before hand. Now, however, that courage had been killed. She was pregnant. She couldn't aide him in battle anymore. It would be to dangerous for the baby. Vincent had only narrowly missed killing it hours before.

This thought brought along a new chain of wonderings. Vincent. Vincent protected Tifa. He had finally gotten rid of Sephiroth somehow, yet he sacrificed his mind and body again to save her. Even when he separated himself from Sephiroth, that mad man only entered me. So, no matter how hard we try, we can't send him back to Life Stream. The only chance is to kill the person being possessed.

"Cloud? Come to bed," Tifa pleaded. "Please, you need your rest to regain your strength."

He turned and faced his exhausted wife. She gazed wearily into his eyes as she pulled back the covers. A slight smile took over the corners of his mouth, making Tifa smile as well. "Alright. It's pretty late." He climbed in the bed and Tifa threw the covers she had pulled back over him.

"Good night, Cloud," she yawned, rolling over to get comfortable. He reached out and held her in his arms. Doing this helped make him feel more secure, like he was protecting her and the baby from any outside force. Soon, he fell victim to slumber.

An awful smell filled Cloud's nostrils the next morning, waking him up. He rubbed his eyes and looked to his left to wake Tifa, but she was not there. Suddenly, he became aware that the smell was that of fresh blood. Slowly, he turned to his right, and what he saw nearly made him faint. "TIFA! What the hell happened?" She stood over Vincent's body, blood covering the walls, the body, and Tifa.

"Cloud, you've finally awakened."

"Tifa? What's going on? Who are you?" he shouted, jumping out of his bed. His eyes darted around the room, searching for his Ultimate Weapon.

"Don't bother looking for your sword. I've taken care of it."

"You didn't answer me! And what did you do with my sword?"

"Cloud, Vincent entered the room, intending to kill you and your lovely wife. However, she protected you. She attacked first, fending him off for a good while. I knew he was getting weaker and he couldn't fight back for long, not against her. So, I merely…transferred hosts."

"SEPHIROTH! YOU GET THE HELL OUT OF TIFA RIGHT NOW!!"

She turned to him, a wicked smile playing on her lips. Her eyes flashed green with a slight flicker of gold. Cloud closed his eyes, turned away, and darted out of the room. In the lobby, he found Barret, Cid, and Yuffie lounging on a couch and chair. They looked at him with surprise as he bolted into the room, breathing heavily in his boxers.

"Cloud? What the *&#@ do you think you're doing? Just because you finally got --"

"Cid! Shut up! This is way more serious! Tifa killed Vincent and now Sephiroth's taken her over!"

The group looked at him with shock before jumping up and jolting up the stairs. "Cloud! If anything happens to her, I'll kill your spiky-headed ass! You hear me?"

"Loud and clear, Barret…" Cloud answered, still searching for his sword. When he reentered his room, though, he no longer had to search. Tifa held it in her hands, pointed directly at Cid. "Tifa! Fight him!"

She gazed at Cloud and laughed. "'Fight him'? Oh, Cloud, surely you have learned by now that you can't fight me. In the end, I shall win! And I shall save the world!" She glared at Cid mockingly, daring him to attack.

Cid, being very prideful, pulled the Venus Gospel from his back and spun it around. "You're going down, you #$*%&^!!!"

Tifa laughed again, twirling the sword around and eventually discarding it to the side. "Come on. Don't keep me waiting."

Cid growled, thrusting his spear forward. Tifa easily dodged it and kicked him in the gut. Barret aimed his gun arm at the woman and fired, injuring her leg. As she screamed, Yuffie threw her Conformer at her, slashing her arm.

"STOP!" Cloud yelled. "Don't touch her!"

"Why not?" Yuffie demanded. "She's possessed! We can't just let her go crazy on us!"

He balled his fists and said in a dangerously low tone, "She's pregnant. If you hurt her any further, you might cause injury to the child."

Tifa stood up and gritted her teeth. "Get…out…!" Unfortunately, she couldn't quite force him out. "Cloud…Cloud…"

"What?" he asked desperately.

"Kill…me…!"

"What!"

"Send him…back…to…Life Stream… Kill me…!"

"No! I can't…!"

"KILL ME!" Her eyes wavered between brown and green as she fell to her knees. "There's…no…other…way! I…don't…want…to…hurt any…one!"

"But… The baby! Our child…"

"He won't…live if I…am poss…essed!" She started to tremble all over. Her strength was fading, and she feared she wouldn't be able to make Cloud understand. If Sephiroth continued to control her, she'd only be forced to kill her friends, possibly the world. "Do you…really…think…he'll…allow me…to have…the child…? Please…for…the…safety of the…world! Kill me!"

He picked up his sword and held it high. "I…can't!"

"Do it! Hurry!" she pleaded.

Finally, Yuffie did something unexpected. She charged forward and knocked Tifa back. "Die, you idiot! I never want to see you again! Do you hear me, Sephiroth? Do you hear me?" She swung her Conformer down swiftly. However, it was for naught, as a black mist flooded from Tifa's mouth. Yuffie couldn't stop her weapon. It cut Tifa down, killing her. The black mist swirled in the air before disappearing.