Disclaimer: I do not own Final Fantasy VII, or anything associated. All original ideas belong to me. :)
A/N: Finally, I have begun to reshape this fic so that it flows better. I hope you all like it. It may start out similar, but it will rapidly take a whole new direction.
Chapter One
Midgar, 1 day post-meteor
Men and women trudged through the giant pile of rubble that was once the city of Midgar searching for any survivors. They were those who lived through the near apocalypse. Some of them had loved ones that were in Midgar at the time of the assaults by WEAPON and meteor. The rest did not know what else to do with themselves.
None of the would-be rescuers had found anyone alive so far, only bodies. Most of them were in pretty bad shape too, smashed beyond recognition. They identified those that could be, then all were hauled off to a large pit that served as a mass grave.
Two men in Shin-Ra uniforms sifted through the broken chunks of concrete, rock, and twisted metal. They had been digging for most of the afternoon with their heads hung low. The sun was bright and warm, making the labor a bit uncomfortable. A nasty stench was beginning to rise up as the heat accelerated the decomposition of dead flesh. Deciding to take a break, the men sat down on a large piece of debris.
"This is pointless," one man stated, wiping the sweat from his brow.
"It seems so. Do you actually think we are going to find anyone alive in this mess?" the other asked.
"I doubt it. Midgar has been thoroughly destroyed. I can't even fathom someone surviving this kind of disaster."
"Yeah, but
I'm not ready to give up all hope just yet."
He paused. "I heard they found
the body of Rufus Shin-Ra earlier this morning."
"Really? Wow, I guess this truly is the end of Shin-Ra
Corp."
The second man kicked at bits of rubble beneath his feet. As he watched them skitter away, he noticed something poking out from the rocks. He hopped down from his perch to take a closer look.
It was a single finger with a long red finger nail.
He turned back and looked at his partner. "Hey Makom, I found one!"
By the time the other man came down to join him, he had already uncovered the rest of the hand the finger belonged to and part of the arm. "Another dead body. I don't know how much more of this I can take."
Working together, they removed the rubble covering the body to reveal that of a woman. She had deep gashes that laced around her body, the blood having saturated the shredded red dress she wore. Her face was swollen and bruised, but it did not take the two men long to recognize who the woman was.
"Oh my gods, it's Scarlet!" the second man cried.
He bent down quickly to check for a pulse. Not that he expected to find one, but he decided to take a shot in the dark anyway. He practically fell backwards when he felt the sign of life. "She's got a pulse!"
"Are you sure, Fyn?" Makom asked skeptically.
"Yes I'm sure!" he yelled back. "It's very weak, but it's there. Feel for yourself."
Makom reached down and touched Scarlet's neck in the same manner. He too felt a weak pulse. His eyes grew wide at the prospect of having found someone alive in the ruins. "Holy shit, you're right!"
Reaching into his pocket, Fyn pulled out a piece of green materia. He placed it in a slot on his armband. "I'm going to cast a cure spell," he stated.
"Cure 3!"
Both men waited for the restore materia to respond, but when it failed to react after a few moments they became puzzled. Staring down at the crystalline sphere, Fyn attempted to call forth its power a second time. There still was no response.
"What's wrong with this thing?" he admonished, looking to Makom for answers.
But the other man did not have them. He merely continued to study the unresponsive materia. However he did notice something strange about its appearance. "It's dull. That certain 'glow' is gone. Maybe it's been used up?"
"But that doesn't make sense," Fyn replied. "I've never heard of anything like that ever happening to materia before."
"Do you have other pieces?"
"Yeah…"
"Take them out."
Fyn produced a few other various types of materia from his pocket and placed them on the ground in front of him. They too had lost their sheen and were dull. "This is so strange."
"I agree, but we have more pressing matters at hand," Makom stated, looking back over at Scarlet. "Let me see if I have any potions."
Rummaging through his belt pouch, Makom located a glass vial. "One left." He gently lifted Scarlet's head and poured the liquid into her mouth. Moments later she stirred slightly, giving a weak moan. "We need to get her some better medical attention quickly."
Without hesitation, Fyn picked her up, cradling her in his arms. The two men began to make their way over to a tent in the distance that served as a crude infirmary. Along the way, Scarlet regained consciousness. She opened her eyes slowly to see the face of the man who held her. "Where am I?"
Fyn looked down at her, concerned. "You shouldn't try to speak with your severe injuries. It's a miracle we found you alive at all in the ruins of Midgar."
"Ruins? Midgar? Huh?" was all Scarlet managed to say in response. Her entire body was in pain and so many thoughts were swirling around her head as she tried to piece together what had happened.
"Midgar was completely destroyed by the double onslaught of WEAPON and meteor. So far you are the only one who has been found alive, although just barely.
"Any news of Rufus?"
"Yes. They found his body early this morning. It wasn't in very good shape…"
"Oh," she replied, then stayed silent. When Fyn turned his face away, a small smile appeared on her battered face. Excellent.
* * * * * *
Wutai, 6 months post-meteor
Tifa looked around the room she had called home since the destruction of Meteor and Sephiroth. It was empty now, except for bare furniture and her suitcases. After everything was over she had nowhere to go. So she, Cloud, and Vincent took Yuffie up on her offer to stay at her place in Wutai for awhile. There was no way she could go back to Nibelheim. Barret went to North Corel and settled there with Marlene, Reeve had gone to Junon to help rebuild the city, while Red and Cid returned to their respective homes.
She did not really want to leave Wutai and her friends behind, but she could not stay. There were too many memories and too much pain every time she looked at her friends-especially Cloud. It had only been three nights prior that she walked past his room in the middle of the night to hear him cry out for Aeris in his sleep. When straightening his room the next morning, she found her pink ribbon tucked neatly under his pillow. It was then she made her decision.
It had been the only reason she had stuck around at all, a chance that she and Cloud could finally be together. But he would never love her in that way. A few tears welled up in her eyes as she thought about the misery she put herself through for him, being reminded of the horrors they all endured each and every day. She let a single tear drip down, then wiped her eyes. I will not cry.
Picking up her belongings, Tifa made her way quietly to the front door. She took a deep breath and walked out into the night, heading for the sand buggy. As she approached a lithe, shadowy figure detached itself from a nearby building. For a split second Tifa hoped it was Cloud waiting to tell her not to go, but she shook her head. Her mind was made up. Fortunately, the figure turned out to be Yuffie.
"Are you sure about this, Tifa?"
"Yes. It's something I have to do."
"Are you absolutely, one hundred percent, totally positive?"
Tifa sighed light-heartedly. Even after everything that had transpired, she was still the same old Yuffie. "I will miss you, Yuffie. I will miss Cloud and Vincent, too. But as I said, I need some time alone to sort out my thoughts and feelings. I'll come back and visit after I've worked out a few things."
"Promise?"
"I promise."
"Yay!" The little ninja jumped up and down excitedly then threw her arms around Tifa, almost knocking them both over. After regaining her balance, Yuffie stepped back and grabbed a tanned leather pouch decorated with a Wutaian design from the ground. "Here. I want you this." She tossed it to Tifa. "It's some gil to help you settle in and stuff. I would have given you some materia, but the stupid things don't work anymore."
"Thank you, Yuffie. I really appreciate it."
"Well, I don't want you to live in some rat hole," the ninja replied meekly. Feeling a little embarrassed by her show of affection, she put her hands on her hips in an attempt to look like an authority figure. "I expect you to pay it all back, though."
"Of course, Yuffie," Tifa chuckled. "Goodbye."
"Bye!"
Tifa tossed her bags into the back of the sand buggy. When she turned back around, she found Vincent standing behind Yuffie. His stoic form was like a statue silhouetted in the moonlight. Tifa smiled warmly.
"Vincent…"
He made no reply and instead he slowly approached her, his cloak billowing out behind him. Then he did the unexpected. Reaching his arms out, he pulled Tifa close in a tight embrace. Shocked, she just stood limply in his arms for a moment before returning the gesture.
"Goodbye, Tifa," he said simply, his rich voice a melody in the air. He then leaned his head in close, his lips just inches from her ear, and whispered two words that made his actions make sense: "I understand."
His words gave her strength, but his actions had made all the difference. Vincent always shunned physical contact, preferring a blanket of self-pity and distance. Not that she blamed him. But he never let others drown in that same pool. So if he could understand her decision to leave and open himself up enough to show his compassion, Tifa felt she made the right choice. But why is this still so hard?
The two parted, and Vincent walked back over next to Yuffie, who looked like she was going to burst into tears any moment. Tifa jumped into the driver's seat and started up the buggy. She took one last look at her friends and waved, then threw the buggy into drive and headed off towards the exit of Wutai. In the rearview mirror, she could see Yuffie waving wildly as she and Vincent disappeared into the distance.
As she passed out of Wutai, Tifa's thoughts drifted. After everything she had been through recently, all the fighting, death, and destruction, leaving was by far the hardest. In her mind she knew it was for the best, but her heart still screamed out for Cloud to appear and tell her that he loves her and only her. She knew it was selfish but she did not care. Shaking her head, she concentrated on the road ahead to keep her mind off her emotions. She figured she would have plenty of time to wallow in her sorrows when she was on the ferry over to the next continent.
* * * * * *
Cloud sat alone high up on the Da Chao, his knees pulled up against his chest. He watched as the tiny figure of the buggy left Wutai and drove off far below him. His eyes dropped away as he thought about why she had left.
He knew it had been Tifa that had made his bed for him a few days ago. Aeris's ribbon was folded neatly on top of his pillow. That was why he could not be there when she left. He could not face her, to see the pain in her eyes. So instead he decided to watch from afar. He looked back up at the eastern horizon with anguish in his eyes.
"I'm sorry, Tifa."
A/N: It's back! New and hopefully improved. I sent an e-mail to anyone who had reviewed this story to let ya'll know it was back. I may not update all too often cuz I am going to work on this and my AeriSeph at the same time, and I am also working on another songfics for my Dragonball Z series. Anyway, please read and review! Thanx!