Chapter 24-

The Dance of Death

"Some say the world will end in fire,

Some say in ice.

From what I've tasted of desire

I hold with those who favor fire.

But if it had to perish twice,

I think I know enough of hate

To say that for destruction ice

Is also great

And would suffice."

~Fire and Ice, Robert Frost

Elena blinked back tears and clenched her fists. "How could you let this happen?" she demanded angrily.

Reno only gave a slight shrug. He was leaning against a small, scraggly tree that looked like it might fall over at any moment. There weren't many trees in the Nibel mountains; the landscape was much too bare and foreboding to support much life. Somehow, this tree had survived. Yet now it looked to be dying, like its fellows.

"How could-" Elena began again, but Rude took her arm.

"Stop, Elena," he said, so low only she could hear. "That doesn't matter right now."

She swallowed hard. "Okay. You're right." She backed away, glad for Rude's firm hand. She thought she might fall over.

The others all looked like she felt. It was barely dawn, and the little amount of light thrown from the rising sun made everyone's faces look grey and wan. Rude wasn't wearing his austere black shades; without them he looked as weary and lost as the rest of them. Barret looked angry, too, but he held Marlene with infinite tenderness. Cid stared at the ground, smoking a cigarette as though it was the last one he was ever going to have. Zack's jaw was set- he seemed more vindictive than angry. Cloud was expressionless, but Elena could tell he was thinking, What else can go wrong?

"Okay," Cloud said at length. "We have to decide what to do. Should we-"

"Decide?" Aeris looked up. She was sitting on a large boulder among sparse grass-which, besides the decrepit tree, was the only sign of plant life around. Maybe the flower girl automatically gravitated to wherever greenery resided. Or maybe she just gravitates to Reno, Elena thought wryly, noticing the how close the boulder was to the Turk.

"What's there to decide?" Aeris asked. "We have to get back to civilization as soon as possible, get medical help. Then go after Jenova itself." No longer, Elena observed, was Aeris referring to Jenova as a "she".

Zack opened his mouth, but Cloud beat him to it.

"That's not an option," Cloud replied. "We can't leave Tifa."

"So what are you saying?" Aeris shot back, looking madder than Elena had ever seen her. "We just let him…die?" The last word was barely a whisper, and suddenly Elena felt quite sorry for the other woman. As uncharacteristically angry as Aeris was, she was still the same gentle, somewhat fragile person she'd been before. Still susceptible to pain and grief.

"That's not what I'm saying." Cloud shook his head. "I'm saying we can't abandon Tifa. If we lose track of Sufur, we may never find him again."

"We've already lost track." Aeris spoke quietly, but her green eyes flashed.

"I say we split up," Zack voted, leaning on his sword.

"No," Cloud said firmly. "We stay together. Now, listen." He looked at Aeris carefully, visibly unsure of how to voice his next words. "If…do you think if we eliminate Jenova, Reno won't- the Sresla will disappear?"

Aeris looked at Reno, but he didn't meet her gaze. "Yes," she said. "I think so."

"You don't know?" Elena demanded before she could stop herself.

"I don't." Aeris looked composed once more, although every now and again her eyes would dart to Reno.

Cloud looked at each of them piercingly, as though he suddenly had an idea. "Hey. What if we kill two birds with one stone?"

"How do you mean?" Elena asked.

"What if Sufur leads us to Jenova?" There was a light in his blue eyes, a light that hadn't shone for days. "What if…we find Sufur, we find Jenova?"

"What makes you say that?" Elena was frustrated and let him know by her tone. "Where did that brain-dead-"

"Collaboration," Zack said before she could go any further. "Sufur's a double-crosser."

There was a moment of silence. Elena scowled darkly. "Assuming that's true, what the hell is he thinking?"

"Possibly a trap," Cloud said, starting to pace. "It makes sense. Sufur wanted to join us to keep an eye on us. Then he finds a reason for us to follow him. Why? So he can lead us right to Jenova."

"It's a long shot," Rude said from behind Elena. He sounded as doubtful as she felt.

"Yes," Cloud agreed. He said nothing more, and simply waited.

Elena thought hard. If Cloud was right, then following Sufur might be worth it after all. Did he really believe Sufur might lead them to Jenova? Or was he just trying to convince them going after Tifa was the best course of action? It wasn't like Cloud to lie, but he had been acting weird lately, and…

No, she suddenly realized. Right now, he's more like himself than he's been in days.

She still hesitated. "Do you really think it's the smartest thing to do?"

Cloud nodded. "Look at it this way: We only have two choices. We can assume Sufur's expecting us to follow him right into Jenova's clutches. Or we can assume he has nothing to do with her and is merely kidnapping Tifa for reasons of his own."

Zack's jaw was set in a tight line. "We've got to follow Sufur. It's the only lead we have." He squared his eyes defiantly against a couple of dubious stares- his reasons for siding with Cloud were rather obvious. "Better we go after Jenova herself. Just getting Reno some pills won't do him much good." Zack bit his lip, already regretful he'd said that in front of Reno. He had let panic get to him, just because Tifa was missing, and his gut knotted every time he thought about her.

"Would everyone please stop talking about me like I'm not here!" Reno suddenly exploded, speaking for the first time. "Listen: I'm not helpless. I'm not an invalid. And I am definitely not-" this with a glance at Zack and Cloud- "already dead!"

During the strained silence that followed, Reno's eyes grudgingly accepted Zack's mute apology, and burned with such infernal fire that it was almost anti-climatic when Cloud finally replied, "Of course. You're still one of us."

Reno gave his trademark cocky half-smile. "Til the end."

Those last two words seemed to hang in the air, a reminder of what was to come.

Elena clenched her jaw angrily. "What are we waiting for?" she said, looking around at the others. "Waiting around won't do us any good."

Cloud glanced at Reno. "You're sure you're well enough to come along?"

He shrugged. "Yeah. Actually, I feel perfectly fine."

Cloud looked to Aeris. "Why?"

"The Sresla may have different effects, depending on the vulnerability of the person's spirit," she said softly. She paused a moment, as though unwilling to say the rest, then finished. "The illusions and fever might not set in right away, but the barrier- no matter how strong it is- always breaks eventually."

Elena read between the lines of Aeris' words. Reno was used to pain and inner turmoil. For as long was she'd known him, Reno had been good at shutting out pain, physical or otherwise. At least, that was what she thought. She'd found out later he hadn't been able to shut it out at all; in fact, it had utterly consumed him. It was hiding what he felt that had fooled her, fooled everyone.

All of a sudden she was scared to death.

"Well," Cloud said slowly, "we'd better get going."

* * * * * * Zack paused for a moment to rest. He's been climbing for more than an hour, and although he had wanted to keep going, his exhausted body just ground to a stop. As he wiped his brow and leaned on his crutch, he thought about his decision to take off after Tifa alone.

He didn't know why he wanted to search for Tifa alone –it was foolhardy, and probably even a little selfish. Somehow, though, he didn't want to accept Cloud's help, even though the blond leader had seemed unusually obliging and patient today.

Maybe it was because Cloud wanted to let Sufur live, and Zack had vowed to kill the bastard. Or maybe, he just didn't want Cloud to be there the moment he saw Tifa again. It had been hard not seeing her, not knowing if she was all right, not knowing if things would ever be the same between them. He didn't even know for sure how she felt about him. If only he hadn't lost control that night -she'd be safe with Cloud and the others right now.

He swallowed hard, swallowed down the nagging questions and hobbled to a relatively smooth-looking section of rock. He began to pull himself up, holding the crutch under one arm. He didn't stop again, despite the mounting fatigue and frustration, because his fear for Tifa, his need to see her grew more desperate with ever passing moment. He would keep searching for her. No matter what it took, he would find her.

* * * * * *

Yuffie, who had been paired with Nanaki, was mulling over the whole business. Everything was going wrong again, just when it seemed they might find a way after all. Just when she was starting to believe it might be okay to laugh again.

She was suddenly very angry. What right did Jenova have, to make them all feel so helpless and scared? What right had she to throw them into despair? None at all. The damned chicken wouldn't even come out and fight in the open; instead weakening its victims by depriving them first of health, then of hope, then of life.

"We can't let her do this to us!" Yuffie suddenly exploded, picking up a rock and throwing it through the air. It sailed a good ways into the distance before plummeting to the ground with a sharp clatter. Yuffie stood glaring at it, hands balled into fists, chest heaving with ire. Nanaki turned to look at her with his good eye.

"Throwing stones will not help our cause," he said in his infuriating logical tone.

"It helps me!" she yelled, bending over and picking up another rock. Her teeth clenched, she whipped her arm back and threw it, harder this time. It struck the surface of a large boulder, then ricocheted away.

She suddenly had the idea that if Jenova had been that boulder, she'd have struck the thing square between the eyes. She wasn't sure if Jenova had eyes in its natural form, but she liked imagining it did.

"That was for Dad!" she yelled, hurling another rock. It had the same boulder again. "For Adine!" More rocks, thrown harder and faster. One for Tifa, Reno, hell she'd throw one for herself, too. Zack? Sure, he could have one. Maybe she'd throw one for each of them. She hoped there were enough rocks.

"And that's for Cloud!" she screamed, chucking one last rock. "For messing up his life so he could come along and mess up mine!"

The sheer force of this fling threw her off-balance, and she fell on her side, landing hard in the gravel. She sat there a moment, not trying to get back up. Her bangs were in her eyes, but she didn't bother brushing them away, either.

All was still for just a moment, then Nanaki trotted over. He sat back on his haunches and appraised her carefully. He was not a human, and did not possess the same human way of dealing with emotions Yuffie did. Still, they were roughly the same age when it came down to lifespan equivalence, and it seemed to him that she needed to talk.

"It has been hard," he said quietly. "On all of us."

She nodded, still not looking up at him.

"My tribe," he began, "was never a violent one. We lived in harmony with nature and the Planet. Then, the Gi attacked. We had to defend ourselves or die. There was no choice. We had to kill to protect ourselves and the peaceful values we upheld." He glanced at her, but she said nothing. "Peace never comes without a price. And without the fighting you will never come to appreciate the peace you have. Am I correct?"

Yuffie nodded, still not speaking, but her bright eyes showed interest in what he was saying.

"My mother and father were killed in that war." Nanaki hung his head. "They sacrificed themselves to protect the ones they loved and for what they believed in. And if they hadn't made that sacrifice, taught me the true meaning of victory, I would not be here this day, traveling with you."

Yuffie stared at him curiously. He had said "victory". His parents had both died, but he spoke as if they had won all the same. And maybe they did. Maybe their deaths had accomplished more than they ever could have in life.

"It is much like what we do today," Nanaki said, giving her a long look.

There was a message in there somewhere, but Yuffie didn't feel like trying to puzzle it out. Instead, she hugged Nanaki tight around his furry neck.

"Thank you," she whispered, voice muffled by his mane. "You lecture, but you're sweet at the same time, so it's okay."

Nanaki smile his version of a smile, showing every one of his sharp fangs. "Feel better now?"

"I do." She drew back from him and suddenly jumped up. "Come on! Let's find Tifa!"

He followed her down a sloping mound of boulders, Yuffie chattering all the way.

"By the way, Red, how's Cloud taking all this? It's weird, but today he seemed happier than he's been for a long time…"

* * * * * *

Tifa wiped sweat off her face and took a deep breath. Even though the mountain air was freezing, she was burning with exertion. She had objected to climbing straight up this huge slab of rock, but Sufur had insisted, saying they needed to keep moving, and this was the quickest way to the reactor.

Below her, Sufur noticed she'd stopped. "Hurry up!" he yelled.

Tifa considered just letting go and falling on him. She'd die, but maybe he would, too. But she let the impulse pass –there had to be another way. A small handhold of rock jutted just above and to the left of her head. She reached up and gripped it, pulling herself up another few inches.

By chance she glanced down. There, at the bottom of the cliff, a shock of spiky black hair. She could barely catch the gleam of his sword.

Zack? He'd survived Sufur's shots! He was fine, and was climbing up this very rock. She very nearly sighed aloud in relief.

Zack saw her, too. He stared up at her for a moment, then limped to the rock wall and began to climb. Were his movements a little…awkward? She wasn't sure, because she couldn't watch him, couldn't risk Sufur spotting him. But she prayed fervently that the others weren't far behind, especially if he was injured. Because if he got hurt trying to help him this time....

Please…please don't let him get hurt.

"Tifa!" Sufur shouted, warningly. She'd stopped again.

She swallowed tremulously, terrified she'd given Zack away with her clumsy effort to stall Sufur. Don't look down, she prayed silently. Please, don't let him look down.

She heard his shotgun scrape against rock as he pulled himself up to her. Her legs quivered with the effort of staying perfectly still, but she didn't dare move.

"What are you doing, Tifa?" Sufur said quietly. "You're not going to try anything, are you? I already explained your choices. You can cooperate, or you can die."

She forced herself to keep her voice calm, to look anywhere but down. "I'm tired," she begged. "Just let me rest a moment.'

How much closer had Zack come while she and Sufur played this game? She couldn't tell. She doubted Zack was at full strength –she still remembered that night vividly. Yet she couldn't help hoping he would overcome Sufur, somehow. She was grasping at straws again, that desperate hope that somehow everything would be all right again, that she only had to believe and the dream would become reality. As Reno had realized, it was difficult to give up on hope, even false hope, when it was all that was left. Foolish as it was, it could sustain through the darkest times, support when otherwise the hurt and pain and grief might obliterate all else. But everything has an opposite, a negative effect. Hope's was disappointment. Tifa had already been through one round of bitterness and despair, when Adine's life had been snatched away. And if Zack got killed trying to free her from Sufur… She suddenly wished that Zack hadn't come for her; come this far, only to face Sufur's shot gun.

Sufur reached out and grabbed her by the throat. His powerful fingers squeezed even as she let out a choking gasp. The cold double barrel of the shotgun pressed against her stomach.

"You must think I'm stupid," he sneered. "Well, I didn't get this far by being stupid, I can assure you. I don't like to take chances. So, you see, I would be smarter if I took you out right now."

"Sufur, stop!" Zack shouted. "Just let her go!" He was close, a mere fifty or so feet below them.

For the first time, Sufur made a mistake. Arrogantly believing he had Tifa helpless, he let his attention slip for a moment to look down upon the last person he expected to see.

How had Zack overtaken the rest of AVALANCHE and caught up?

Taking advantage of his distraction, Tifa clouted him in the face with her bare hand. A little stunned, Sufur jerked back, the back of his head striking rock. The arm holding his shotgun hung limply at his side.

"Zack!" Tifa called, slipping down a bit. Tears of joy stung her eyes. He just beamed at her, warm blue eyes barely able to contain his joy. Seconds before his face abruptly darkened.

"Look out!"

Her attention diverted, Tifa had lost track of Sufur. And now it was too late. Sufur swung in from an upper piece of rock. Both of his legs struck her firmly in the middle, knocking the wind out of her. Tifa lost her hold and crashed down the slab of rock. About twenty-five feet above Zack she managed to grab a wedge of rock with one hand. The rest of her dangled into dizzying space. It was at least a two hundred feet fall down the mountainside.

"Tifa! Hang on!" Zack scrambled desperately to reach her, but it was obvious he wasn't going to get to her in time. She scrabbled frantically for a better hold, but found only slippery rock and gravel. There was no hold, and her grasp was slipping…

No…not yet! She begged.

Sufur leaped down to a position just above her. Balancing precariously on a section of rock, he extended one hand. "You can make it."

Despite her desperate wish to live, Tifa hesitated. His other arm still gripped the shotgun, and his icy voice sent chills down her spine.

"Tifa. Take my hand. Unless you'd prefer to die."

Twenty-five feet below, Zack's heart wrenched, because he'd finally admitted he couldn't get to her in time. Sufur could, but would he? Sufur wouldn't give a damn whether she lived or died!

It hit him. Whether Sufur cared or not, she would die unless she let Sufur help her. "Do it, Tifa!" he yelled, unable to let her risk her life.

Tifa's breath caught as she absorbed the meaning of Zack's words, the anguish in his voice. Swallowing tensely, she reached up for Sufur's hand.

He pulled her up slowly, but didn't drop her.

As she scrabbled for a hold on the rock, she sensed Sufur's other arm come up. And though she grabbed desperately at his shoulder, the shotgun had already gone off.

The blast exploded along the very ridge of rock Zack was clinging to. Bits of rock and scree flew into his face, stinging him painfully. The blast made him lose his hold, and he fell.

"Zack!" Tifa screamed. In her panic she would have dropped down after him, but Sufur kept hold of her.

"Calm down," he said tersely. "If you fall from this height you won't survive."

She answered by slamming one elbow into his face. "You son of a bitch! Let me go!"

"Would you like to know why I did that?" he continued, rubbing his nose.

Tifa grabbed hold of the rock wall for support and sent a high kick at his head. As her red steel-toed boot connected with his temple, Sufur lost his balance and fell. A hundred feet from the ground he had the presence of mind to grab a patch of weeds growing from a split in the rock. He dangled, helpless, for the time being, but Tifa paid no attention to him. Instead she climbed down the cliff as fast as she could.

"Zack!" He couldn't be…no. He'd made it through so much, so much…just to see her again? But he'd been through much worse than a fall. He had to be all right.

She didn't know how she got the rest of the way down, but as soon as she got to him, she collapsed on his chest and began to weep. She wept, heedless of Sufur or Jenova, or her precarious plight on the cliff where Sufur had nearly ended her life.

"Tifa…" she heard him mutter, and felt a hand atop her head, weaving weakly through her hair. And fortified beyond reason by the mere touch of his hand, she finally drew off his chest and took in the sight of him. He was lying immobile on his back, Buster Sword at his side, blood matting unruly black spikes. She swallowed hard and gently caressed his lacerated temple.

"Zack…you came for me?"

Her voice was but a tremulous whisper, but it was as though the sun had come out to warm him. He smiled at her, eyes shining with startling intensity. "I came to get you, Tifa," he breathed. "We're going back to the others now."

"Thank you…" she murmured into his forehead and tenderly kissed his bloodstained face, then drew her lips flutteringly across his own, savoring the softness of his lips. After all, there might not be a next time.

He brought shaky palms up to cradle her face, and kissed her back with every ounce of strength left in his depleted body. He closed his eyes and leaned desperately into her touch, then tore away with a harsh moan.

"Tifa, we gotta go," he gasped urgently. Sufur was probably close behind –he couldn't allow her to linger here. Even though he wanted nothing more than to stay with her like this, to soak up her soothing, soft warmth, so much joy blotting out his pain.

"Yeah…let's…go back together," she smiled brokenly, a touch of an apology glimmering in her eyes. An apology for deceiving him, for pretending she couldn't see he was fading fast, and his hands had grown clammy against her skin. Although she probably couldn't fool him, with rivulets of tears marking her cheeks.

"Tifa," he tried to sit up, but fell back, and had to settle for urgently squeezing her hand. "We buried Adine at the foot of the well. I promised I'd take you to see her. We have to go back."

She swallowed another viscous lump, and nodded. "You…always keep your promises."

"I try to…keep my promises…to the…people I love…" He held her gaze meaningfully, and his trembling hand grazed the soft curve of her cheek, wringing yet more tears from her eyes.

"Zack…I…I…" Her throat closed up yet again, and she wanted to yank her heart out of her chest. So that she could show him how she felt, in those moments that might be their last.

But he touched his finger to her lips, and the burden fell from her shoulders. "It's okay…I love you, Tifa," he whispered, and his eyes were so warm and joyous that her heart couldn't help soaring for a moment.

Then his arms went limp around her shoulders, and waves of panic swept over her. She would've shaken him frantically, but the ghostly shade of his skin told her that it was no use. So she wiped at tears, and listened for the beat of his heart. Felt for the thread of his pulse.

At least he still had a chance, and a chance was all that she dared hope for. Already she could hear the heavy crunch of boot on gravel, announcing the arrival of Sufur.

Sufur cleared his throat impatiently, but she didn't look up, as she was busily tearing Zack's shirt into bandages.

"If you come any closer I'll kill you," she stated matter-of-factly, tending to Zack's wounds. She wasn't afraid of Sufur anymore. He had saved her life and nearly ended Zack's. She wanted no more to do with the man, no matter what he might claim about "common interests" and "parts to play". And she wasn't bluffing, either- she would kill him, if he got in her way.

She tied the tourniquet around Zack's shoulder tightly. As she did so, the metallic muzzle of the shotgun entered her field of vision, pressed against Zack's skull.

"And what will you do to me if I kill him?" His soft, almost indiscernible voice had a hint of underlying threat and malice. Tifa clenched her fists. Suddenly she realized how much she hated this man- more than she had ever hated anyone in her life. She hated him more than she had ever hated Sephiroth, President Shinra, Scarlet. Never in her life had she ever felt such raw, vicious emotion that suddenly made her want to reach out and kill.

The moment quickly passed, but Tifa was left breathless by its horror. She had never felt anything like that before, and she never wanted to again. She would rather die before feeling anything like it again.

She passed a hand over Zack's face, feeling his warmth, his tenderness. Even though all of her movements were calm and controlled, she was inwardly trembling with fright. She wanted so badly for him to wake up and hold her. Comfort her, and tell her how everything would be all right. And, maybe, remind her that she once had enough compassion to reach out to another human being. That she still had a heart, no matter how much one cold, calculating bastard might curdle her blood.

But Zack couldn't help her now. And even if he suddenly recovered, there was Sufur with his gun, still cocked and ready. No, she would have to help them both.

Tifa slowly got to her feet. An abrupt coldness had come over her, so different from the hatred it was almost worse. She didn't want to feel that hate, that anger anymore. It was Sufur's fault…everything was his fault. If she got rid of him now, maybe everything would be all right.

She brought her hand back and threw a punch at his face. Almost before she'd moved, he reacted, calmly putting up a hand to block her punch. Undeterred, she whipped her leg up in a high kick. Without taking his eyes off hers, he evaded that, too.

It was almost like a dance, beginning slow, then going faster and faster. Tifa used every trick she knew- roundhouse kicks, flips, rolls and counterblows- but he always seemed to anticipate her move and somehow block it. The whole time, their gazes were locked. Both knew the steps of this deadly dance, and both knew the price of a single mistake.

Tifa flipped forward, aiming with both legs at his upper body. He simply stepped aside, and as she landed he said, "This is foolish, you realize."

She dealt him a blow to the stomach. He was a little slow to block it, but stopped her fist all the same. "You can't win, Tifa," he continued. "At least not on your own. You must learn how to use others, when you need to. You are not in as terrible a position as you might think."

All the while he was talking, she remained still, but as he finished she clouted him in the side of his head. Sufur fell back a bit, perhaps a bit dazed. It was the only blow she'd gotten in, but it was all she needed. Tifa moved in to finish him off.

As she stepped toward him, however, something changed. Tifa hesitated, confused. Something was wrong. He should not be this good a fighter. One lucky punch was all she'd gotten in, and she had trained herself in martial arts nearly all her life. And why was he smiling like that?

Then, half-hidden in the gravel in front of him, she caught sight of the gun, cocked and ready, just as before. And she knew that if she hadn't frozen just now, he would have pulled the trigger.

They froze like that for an instant, staring at each other. Then Sufur threw back his head and laughed.

"This is all so amusing," he chuckled, wiping tears from the corners of his eyes. "I really don't want to kill you, Tifa, it would truly break my heart. There's never a dull moment with you, is there?"

Dazed and disoriented, Tifa waited. What was he leading up to? What did he want?

Sufur stopped laughing abruptly. "Hurry," he said, jerking a thumb at Zack. "Say farewell to him, if you wish. I doubt he'll wake up before nightfall, and we'll be long gone before then."

Slowly and jerkily, as though an unseen puppeteer was guiding her like a marionette, Tifa knelt by Zack's side, and her heart ached as she watched him. His eyes were softly closed now, not clenched shut against pain as when she had first found him. His mouth wasn't pulled into the usual lopsided grin, or smiling wryly at her, but at least he wasn't grimacing. It would've looked like he was just sleeping, except for the ghastly sheen of his skin, and the blood matting a couple of unruly spikes to his brow.

She let her fingers lightly stroke back his hair, and smiled a little when the spikes sprang right back into place.

"Someday…I'm gonna have to cut your hair…so you can fit through doorways…"

Another crop of tears fell with her attempt at humor, and she buried her face against his chest.

"Zack…I'm sorry…" She drew a breath. "I have to go now…but, I promise I'll come back to you. So…promise me you're gonna pull through…please? You have to, because…we still have to visit Adine together and, talk about…a lot of things…"

A single sob wracked her frame, but she clenched her fists and raised herself off his chest. When she had regained a little bit of composure, she leaned down and tenderly kissed his forehead. "I'll be right back."

She could feel Sufur's eyes on her, but didn't look at him. Instead, she stared unseeingly at the dark landscape all around her. There, beyond the mountain. The reactor, and the secrets it held, were so close…

"I'm ready."