Chapter 8
"Are you sure you want to go through with this?" Tifa blinked, looking up as she tied her long strands back into a ponytail, raising her wine colored eyes to meet those crimson ones she had come to accept.
"I guess so." Tifa said, looking at her appearance in the mirror and deeming herself worthy before turning her questioning gaze back to Vincent. "What about you? Does your wound still hurt?" Tifa asked, Vincent shifting from one foot to the other, as if he was nervous, and that thought brought a smile to her face. Vincent Valentine, nervous?
She supposed she could understand. He was still wounded, though he was willing to help his friends, which was more than Cloud had ever done for her. She sighed, shaking her head sadly.
When Cloud was wounded, she was supposed to fawn and coo over him, and mostly the injuries he sustained were less than what Vincent had received, certainly a lot less than the great Sephiroth dealt. She found it noble that Vincent was actually going out when he should be in bed, just to help his friend. That spoke volumes to her, and she guessed it was unfair to compare Vincent to Cloud, but their differences were blaring in her face, and she felt as if she had just taken a look at the real Cloud Shinra, the one who didn't really care about her safety at all.
She had decided that Cloud Shinra was no longer worth it. She had stuck out her neck for six long years, being everything he wished of her, waiting patiently for him to make a move, to ask her what she had always wanted. She had always wanted a family, a nice house, heck, she'd even settle for an apartment or something, just as long as she could raise a family. It seemed it was every girl's dream to raise a family someday, and surly she should be able to do that with the man she loved. Was that too much to ask?
She pursed her lips, shaking her head. No, not after all she had done for him. Taken care of him when he was sick, risking her life to help him in his 'noble' cause. She had lived her life out for him, and now . . . she was just tired of it. She wanted to stop having to look over her shoulder to watch her back, she was sick of worrying about Cloud who obviously didn't give a d*** about her, not even trying to come and save her himself. He wasn't her knight in shining armor, and he definitely didn't love her.
And that was all she needed to know. Sure, it hurt, to think that she had wasted some of the best years of her life on him, but right now, she didn't really care. She would help Cid because she knew how it felt to lose a loved one, to worry about them, and feeling the guilt crush down against you, suffocating until you thought you couldn't even scream. She shuddered, shaking those thoughts out of her mind.
She would stop Shinra, she would free the poor people entangled in its web like she had, and she would even try to help Aeris, who had been nothing but a friend to her. She tilted her head to the side, an almost thoughtful look on her face. She felt kinda sorry for the high executives of Shinra, since they had no clue what was going on.
"Hey, ya guys ready? Cid's waiting outside, and not in a peachy mood lemme warn ya." Reno's voice floated into her head, and she blinked, seeing the grinning red head leaning in the doorway next to Vincent, who had been watching her. She nodded, grinning.
"Yea, sorry. I guess I'm nervous." Tifa said somewhat truthfully, wringing her hands on her dress, sighing as she tried to clear her mind and focus on what was ahead. Cloud had already betrayed her, and she had to meet a jaded police officer to realize that. Fate was such a weird mistress.
Reno nodded, turning and strolling out, while Vincent caught her eye, giving a slight nod before following the red head, and Tifa sighed, looking at herself in the mirror one last time. They would help her, Vincent with his silent support, Reno from behind his leering mask, and Cid with his blunt honesty. And Cloud had been none of those to her, so she should break all the ties she had with him.
With a small smile lighting up her face, she walked out of the room.
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"This is it, huh? Anyone got any fancy words to say in case we die?" Reno said, a small smirk on his face as he eyed the intimidating grey building in front of him, looming ominously down at him, though he supposed he had faced this building before and had lived. That had been when they had a much bigger team, but Cid had cautioned that they only wanted to rescue Shera, not tear the place down.
"Oh, stop being so pessimistic Reno." Tifa said tiredly, shaking her head, her feet digging deep within the cement to keep herself from turning and running. This place was rooted deep within her, something that couldn't be replaced, but to be back here knowing this might be her resting place was depressing.
"Hey, I'm a realist, not a pessimist." Reno said somewhat seriously, though Cid wasn't paying attention, stubbing out his cigarette with a slight curse, his blue eyes hard and angry, determined with a slight flash of fire in them. He wanted to save Shera, and he was going to be a d*** optimist about it!
"Let's get this over with." Vincent suggested from the shadows, and Cid gave a slight growl from the back of his throat, storming off to the building itself, though Tifa grabbed his sleeve, pointing away from the front entrance to the side, which was blanketed in darkness.
"There is a passageway inside. Only top executives use it." Tifa said instead, giving a slight smile at Cid's curt nod, striding forward without another word.
"Are you all right?" Tifa blinked, looking up to see Vincent's enigmatic stare on her, his eyebrow somewhat arched, and she had the right mind to tell him off for a stupid question like that, but held her tongue. She knew he was only concerned, which was a change from his usual emotionless façade, and she knew better than to snap at him now.
Her nerves were just on edge, the very sight of this wretched building uprooting the deep seeded fear that she had. Her pain and her memories, and the thought of Cloud being in there. And Sephiroth. All of the blood that had been spilt was embodied in this cold grey building that stared at her ruthlessly, and it wouldn't be fair to Vincent if she just snapped at him just for being concerned. She couldn't remember the last time someone had asked her how she felt.
"I'm fine." Tifa said, pasting a smile on her face. It wouldn't do to get him worried. Vincent just gave her another mysterious look before nodding, deciding not to press it as he followed the red head in front of him into the shadows to where his employer had disappeared.
How fitting, if this was truly the end. However it seemed that it had always ended here, at the Shinra building. Things had gotten complicated, his sins had become larger burdens for him to bare, and the shadows reached for him, with their wretched claws and gaping mouths, they bemoaned him, the haunted him.
Lucercia . . . it seemed her name had once flowed in his mind forever, always part of him, and yet, her name had started to fade, had been swept away into the depths of his past, and that had frightened him. He had always been able to find some bittersweet comfort in her memory, so she had always been on top of the raging waters that churned from the demons inside him, her innocence preserved, even if only in his mind.
And it was because of him she had become tainted, because of him her blood had dripped with painfully clarity to the ground, while most of it seeped deep within him, staining his soul blood red, his eyes tinged the same color. He was a demon, and didn't deserve forgiveness, and the thought of forgetting Lucercia, the only bringer of light into his darkness, made him feel a bit uneasy.
When had this change begun? When had he started drifting away from the comfort and pain of Lucercia's memory back into the present? It was suddenly brought to his attention that the bottle of vodka in his refrigerator was still sitting there, a silent reminder of what life had been like before. before what?
"The dungeon is just up ahead. Be careful okay? And let me do all the talking." Tifa whispered, and Vincent snapped out of his reverie, his eyes narrowing slightly. When had they made it into Shinra? Had he really been that deep into his past to notice? As if sensing his sudden jolt back to reality, Tifa looked at him with a somewhat mischievous smile on her face, her wine eyes twinkling like stars as she winked, before turning her gaze forward, her lips set in a determined line.
Suddenly it struck him, like a rabid run away chocobo that had been waiting to collide with his thick skull for quite some time, knocking the wind out of him, but bringing a starling revelation.
Tifa Lockheart . . . was she the cause of this? Was she the reason that he had felt Lucercia slip away into the background and he had not noticed it?
The last thought was like a slap to the face, as if he had been splashed with cold water.
What if . . . Tifa could replace Lucercia?
~*Author's Notes*~ Hehe, pure evil throughout this chapter. Yes, I know I did too much thinking in here and not enough action, but I promise the next chapter will make up for that. Promise. Well, hopefully anyway. I just want to improve my battle scenes! Well, anyway, please read and review.
"Are you sure you want to go through with this?" Tifa blinked, looking up as she tied her long strands back into a ponytail, raising her wine colored eyes to meet those crimson ones she had come to accept.
"I guess so." Tifa said, looking at her appearance in the mirror and deeming herself worthy before turning her questioning gaze back to Vincent. "What about you? Does your wound still hurt?" Tifa asked, Vincent shifting from one foot to the other, as if he was nervous, and that thought brought a smile to her face. Vincent Valentine, nervous?
She supposed she could understand. He was still wounded, though he was willing to help his friends, which was more than Cloud had ever done for her. She sighed, shaking her head sadly.
When Cloud was wounded, she was supposed to fawn and coo over him, and mostly the injuries he sustained were less than what Vincent had received, certainly a lot less than the great Sephiroth dealt. She found it noble that Vincent was actually going out when he should be in bed, just to help his friend. That spoke volumes to her, and she guessed it was unfair to compare Vincent to Cloud, but their differences were blaring in her face, and she felt as if she had just taken a look at the real Cloud Shinra, the one who didn't really care about her safety at all.
She had decided that Cloud Shinra was no longer worth it. She had stuck out her neck for six long years, being everything he wished of her, waiting patiently for him to make a move, to ask her what she had always wanted. She had always wanted a family, a nice house, heck, she'd even settle for an apartment or something, just as long as she could raise a family. It seemed it was every girl's dream to raise a family someday, and surly she should be able to do that with the man she loved. Was that too much to ask?
She pursed her lips, shaking her head. No, not after all she had done for him. Taken care of him when he was sick, risking her life to help him in his 'noble' cause. She had lived her life out for him, and now . . . she was just tired of it. She wanted to stop having to look over her shoulder to watch her back, she was sick of worrying about Cloud who obviously didn't give a d*** about her, not even trying to come and save her himself. He wasn't her knight in shining armor, and he definitely didn't love her.
And that was all she needed to know. Sure, it hurt, to think that she had wasted some of the best years of her life on him, but right now, she didn't really care. She would help Cid because she knew how it felt to lose a loved one, to worry about them, and feeling the guilt crush down against you, suffocating until you thought you couldn't even scream. She shuddered, shaking those thoughts out of her mind.
She would stop Shinra, she would free the poor people entangled in its web like she had, and she would even try to help Aeris, who had been nothing but a friend to her. She tilted her head to the side, an almost thoughtful look on her face. She felt kinda sorry for the high executives of Shinra, since they had no clue what was going on.
"Hey, ya guys ready? Cid's waiting outside, and not in a peachy mood lemme warn ya." Reno's voice floated into her head, and she blinked, seeing the grinning red head leaning in the doorway next to Vincent, who had been watching her. She nodded, grinning.
"Yea, sorry. I guess I'm nervous." Tifa said somewhat truthfully, wringing her hands on her dress, sighing as she tried to clear her mind and focus on what was ahead. Cloud had already betrayed her, and she had to meet a jaded police officer to realize that. Fate was such a weird mistress.
Reno nodded, turning and strolling out, while Vincent caught her eye, giving a slight nod before following the red head, and Tifa sighed, looking at herself in the mirror one last time. They would help her, Vincent with his silent support, Reno from behind his leering mask, and Cid with his blunt honesty. And Cloud had been none of those to her, so she should break all the ties she had with him.
With a small smile lighting up her face, she walked out of the room.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
"This is it, huh? Anyone got any fancy words to say in case we die?" Reno said, a small smirk on his face as he eyed the intimidating grey building in front of him, looming ominously down at him, though he supposed he had faced this building before and had lived. That had been when they had a much bigger team, but Cid had cautioned that they only wanted to rescue Shera, not tear the place down.
"Oh, stop being so pessimistic Reno." Tifa said tiredly, shaking her head, her feet digging deep within the cement to keep herself from turning and running. This place was rooted deep within her, something that couldn't be replaced, but to be back here knowing this might be her resting place was depressing.
"Hey, I'm a realist, not a pessimist." Reno said somewhat seriously, though Cid wasn't paying attention, stubbing out his cigarette with a slight curse, his blue eyes hard and angry, determined with a slight flash of fire in them. He wanted to save Shera, and he was going to be a d*** optimist about it!
"Let's get this over with." Vincent suggested from the shadows, and Cid gave a slight growl from the back of his throat, storming off to the building itself, though Tifa grabbed his sleeve, pointing away from the front entrance to the side, which was blanketed in darkness.
"There is a passageway inside. Only top executives use it." Tifa said instead, giving a slight smile at Cid's curt nod, striding forward without another word.
"Are you all right?" Tifa blinked, looking up to see Vincent's enigmatic stare on her, his eyebrow somewhat arched, and she had the right mind to tell him off for a stupid question like that, but held her tongue. She knew he was only concerned, which was a change from his usual emotionless façade, and she knew better than to snap at him now.
Her nerves were just on edge, the very sight of this wretched building uprooting the deep seeded fear that she had. Her pain and her memories, and the thought of Cloud being in there. And Sephiroth. All of the blood that had been spilt was embodied in this cold grey building that stared at her ruthlessly, and it wouldn't be fair to Vincent if she just snapped at him just for being concerned. She couldn't remember the last time someone had asked her how she felt.
"I'm fine." Tifa said, pasting a smile on her face. It wouldn't do to get him worried. Vincent just gave her another mysterious look before nodding, deciding not to press it as he followed the red head in front of him into the shadows to where his employer had disappeared.
How fitting, if this was truly the end. However it seemed that it had always ended here, at the Shinra building. Things had gotten complicated, his sins had become larger burdens for him to bare, and the shadows reached for him, with their wretched claws and gaping mouths, they bemoaned him, the haunted him.
Lucercia . . . it seemed her name had once flowed in his mind forever, always part of him, and yet, her name had started to fade, had been swept away into the depths of his past, and that had frightened him. He had always been able to find some bittersweet comfort in her memory, so she had always been on top of the raging waters that churned from the demons inside him, her innocence preserved, even if only in his mind.
And it was because of him she had become tainted, because of him her blood had dripped with painfully clarity to the ground, while most of it seeped deep within him, staining his soul blood red, his eyes tinged the same color. He was a demon, and didn't deserve forgiveness, and the thought of forgetting Lucercia, the only bringer of light into his darkness, made him feel a bit uneasy.
When had this change begun? When had he started drifting away from the comfort and pain of Lucercia's memory back into the present? It was suddenly brought to his attention that the bottle of vodka in his refrigerator was still sitting there, a silent reminder of what life had been like before. before what?
"The dungeon is just up ahead. Be careful okay? And let me do all the talking." Tifa whispered, and Vincent snapped out of his reverie, his eyes narrowing slightly. When had they made it into Shinra? Had he really been that deep into his past to notice? As if sensing his sudden jolt back to reality, Tifa looked at him with a somewhat mischievous smile on her face, her wine eyes twinkling like stars as she winked, before turning her gaze forward, her lips set in a determined line.
Suddenly it struck him, like a rabid run away chocobo that had been waiting to collide with his thick skull for quite some time, knocking the wind out of him, but bringing a starling revelation.
Tifa Lockheart . . . was she the cause of this? Was she the reason that he had felt Lucercia slip away into the background and he had not noticed it?
The last thought was like a slap to the face, as if he had been splashed with cold water.
What if . . . Tifa could replace Lucercia?
~*Author's Notes*~ Hehe, pure evil throughout this chapter. Yes, I know I did too much thinking in here and not enough action, but I promise the next chapter will make up for that. Promise. Well, hopefully anyway. I just want to improve my battle scenes! Well, anyway, please read and review.