Cloud walked along the Slums of Sector 7 for a while, following the AVALANCHE rebel group back over to their secret hideout, until they arrived at Tifa's Seventh Haven, which was the only bar in the Sector 7 Slums, but it was also well-known as by far the best bar in the Slums of Midgar. It was a highly popular and successful bar indeed.
Without warning, Barret charged straight into the bar at Sector 7, and he fired warning shots from his gun-arm in the bar to scare all the other people out of the bar, pretending that he was there to rob it. The customers all instantly ran out of the bar, all of them terrified and screaming in fear.
Biggs, Wedge and Jessie then all walked into the now empty bar as Barret burst out of the main doors of Tifa's Seventh Haven, to the outside of the bar, and he guarded the entrance, keeping a sharp and suspicious look out.
Cloud ran over to the bar, and he quickly walked up to Barret, who was still cautiously standing guard in front of it, and quickly noticed Cloud coming, as he frantically gestured for him to hurry over.
"Hey Cloud, get ya damn spiky ass over here! Come on in, and get inside already! We can't have too many people noticing us around here. Now go on ahead, move it!" ordered Barret, sharply, and he stepped aside, letting Cloud walk past to go to the bar, and then he stepped back in front of the bar and continued to guard the entrance.
Cloud swung open the front doors of the bar, and was immediately hit with the strong smell of alcohol. The bar smelt as though it had been full of smoke a moment ago, and there was an old radio playing soothing guitar songs.
There were three makeshift tables littered around the room, each with a set of four small crates to sit on. An old rusty pinball machine was pushed up against the right-hand wall, with an 'Out Of Order' sign attached to it. Its lights no longer flashed and the speakers no longer played the repetitive arcade music or irritating beeps and buzzes that they used to.
Biggs, Wedge and Jessie were all drinking and eating at the closest table to the left of the door. Biggs was drinking plenty of beer, Wedge was eating plenty of food, while Jessie seemed to have already finished, despite the fact it seemed like that she hadn't eaten or drunk much.
A little girl was at the counter. She was only four years old, wore a pink shirt and skirt with a yellow tie, and she had chestnut brown hair, and eyes that were just as brown. She quickly ran out of the counter in a panic when she saw Cloud, not knowing him and clearly having a fear for strangers, and she hid in a corner at the far right of the bar, trembling.
"Oh that's Marlene, Barret's daughter," said Biggs, glancing at Cloud, noticing Cloud's perplexed and bewildered look, which turned into a look of shock and disbelief after hearing Biggs' short explanation.
"(Barret's daughter!? Barret has a child!? Good god, that's something I never imagined from Barret…being a father. But by going up against Shinra, he's putting his own daughter's life at risk too, doesn't he at least realise that? There's something strange about this though…they really don't look one bit alike…)" thought Cloud, rather confused and surprised by the whole subject, but he soon snapped out of his thoughts, as he saw a very familiar and very welcome sight.
A slim and beautiful young woman, who was surprisingly both the bartender and landlord of the Seventh Haven bar, ran out of the counter after Barret's daughter, walked over to the little girl and said softly as if trying to sooth her, "Marlene, aren't you going to say anything to Cloud? It's okay, don't be worried, he's a good friend of mine. He won't hurt you, I promise."
This young woman was twenty years old, had long, shiny, beautiful black hair that always shone, the end of her hair wrapped up in a red hair band, and made the end of her hair look the same shape as a fishtail.
She had big, beautiful and extremely attractive brown eyes that made often caught Cloud's gaze whenever he looked at them on her flawless face, and she wore a white shirt with a black skirt and red trainers. She also wore black and red fighting gloves with hard metal knuckles on them.
Her name was Tifa Lockhart, and she was the owner of this pub. Tifa and Cloud had both known each other ever since they were little, since they were born and lived in the same town, and they were best friends back then and now.
Tifa was a year younger than Cloud, but she acted far more caring and considerate towards others (which especially included Cloud) and she often tried to cheer everyone up when they were feeling down as well.
And despite himself, Cloud really did care for Tifa, more than anything else, and he was a lot more considerate towards her than with anyone else, feeling a strong attraction to her that he didn't want to admit.
Tifa's Seventh Heaven was the best bar in lower Midgar, and the only one in the Sector 7 Slums. Tifa was very beautiful and attractive, therefore she had many admirers, especially among her customers, and it was a main reason why she had so many in the bar, although Tifa would never admit that she was beautiful, since she was far too shy about it, although even Cloud would have admitted that she definitely was.
Tifa was the one who had suggested and persuaded to Cloud that he should join AVALANCHE to help with the mission on Mako Reactor N01. Cloud would have flatly refused such a suggestion if it had come from anyone else, but he felt that he could hardly deny Tifa anything, he simply cared for her too much not to. Tifa walked up to Cloud, with a wide smile on her face, with Marlene hiding behind her.
"Welcome home, Cloud. Long time no see. It looks like everything went well. I'm really glad to see that you're safe. You could hear and see the Reactor explosion all the way from down here in the Slums. How did the mission go? Did you fight with Barret?" asked Tifa, curiously.
"Yeah…but we weren't at each other throats if that's what you mean, Tifa. Not exactly, anyway, but we did come close several times," replied Cloud, with a shrug. Tifa looked intensely relieved to hear that, and sighed.
"(I'm not surprised if Barret did seem rude or unfriendly to Cloud, he doesn't really trust any strangers, especially people who had experience with Shinra. At least Cloud didn't lose his temper with him, or anger Barret even more. Plenty of problems would happen…and then Cloud would be leaving…going far away…and I can't let that happen. Somehow, someway…I'm not going to let Cloud leave my sight, and I've got to try and get him and Barret to understand how important that is to me…without telling them why…)" thought Tifa, anxiously, but she quickly snapped out of her thoughts, in case Cloud suspected something, and she spoke up.
"Yes, I should have known there would be some problems between you both. He's always pushing people around, and yelling at them all the time, and you've been in fights at the drop of a hat ever since you were little, but now it seems like you've really grown up. But I was still worried something bad might happen to you guys. I'm just so glad that everyone's safe," said Tifa, smiling warmly.
Tifa then spotted the flower sticking out from Cloud's pocket that Aeris had given Cloud in the Sector 8 upper city earlier, and she gasped softly in surprise, her beautiful brown eyes widening slightly.
"Oh, a flower for me? How beautiful…Cloud, you shouldn't have. I love flowers, but you almost never see any flowers here at all in the Slums these days," said Tifa, smiling. Cloud was taken aback, but thought of this as a sudden plus.
"N-No big deal," stammered Cloud, embarrassed, and he handed the flower to Tifa, his heart beating strangely when he saw the big smile that lit up on her face, as she gazed at the flower, which was indeed surprisingly beautiful.
"Oh, thank you so much, Cloud. It looks and smells wonderful. Maybe I should fill the whole bar with flowers some day…oh, and I'm sorry about Marlene's scare, Cloud. She's just a little shy and she misses her father," said Tifa.
"It's no problem, Tifa. Barret's just outside the entrance here. Is there anywhere in here where I can stay the night?" asked Cloud, curiously, feeling suddenly drained and tired from the effort that the Reactor mission had required.
"Sure thing, you're always welcome to stay, any time you want, Cloud. You can sleep on the floor below, where the secret hideout is. I'm sure the others won't mind about it. Well…Barret might disagree at least, but I'm sure I can convince him to let you rest there for the night," replied Tifa, confidently, and Cloud nodded in gratitude.
"Thanks, Tifa," said Cloud, and he walked over to Biggs, Wedge and Jessie. Biggs was still drinking pints of beer and getting drunk in the process, Wedge was now eating his fourth helping of food, and Jessie was just sitting down at the table, with her arms crossed, and seemed to be in deep thought. The silence was broken when Biggs started to hiccup, but he was still drinking more beer anyway.
"Ah, there's just nothing quite like a good drink after a tough job. Hey, why don't you have one too? Unless you're telling me you're too good to drink with me? You want a drink or not?" asked Biggs, slightly drunk, turning to Cloud.
"Alright then, sure. Why not?" replied Cloud, with a shrug, feeling suddenly thirsty for a drink after all the effort that the Mako Reactor N0.1 mission had required for the success of the first plan against Shinra. Biggs cheered drunkenly in response, which Cloud raised his eyebrows at.
"Oh yeah, now that's more like it! Even if you were with SOLDIER once, you're still a rookie around here, so you have to listen to whatever I tell ya! Try not to act so bigheaded just because you were with SOLDIER. Oh…and uh…don't tell Barret what I just said…" said Biggs, as he let out another loud hiccup, looking a little dazed.
Cloud quickly decided that maybe it was wiser not to have that drink after all. Wedge spoke up to him next, while still helping himself to more food.
"Hey Cloud, Tifa really knows how to cook, her food's always delicious. Anyways, let me tell you something for a moment," said Wedge.
"About what?" asked Cloud, shortly, looking indifferent, and wondering when he was going to finally receive his money, but Wedge answered him anyway.
"About this place. Tifa always lets me taste her cooking, and just look at me now. I'm roly-poly as a result of it. I don't know whether I should be happy or sad about that part, but it's all the good food and drinks here that make this bar famous," said Wedge, as he continued to help himself to yet another helping of food, while Cloud just stood in the middle of the pub, looking both bored and impatient. Tifa smiled proudly from the received praise, but remained deep in thought.
"(I'm so glad the bar's been so successful, I really tried hard to get my life back on track with it. Then Barret and the others showed up, and they quickly became regular customers of the pub. I soon became good friends with them, and when they revealed their plans to go up against Shinra, I agreed to it, joined them, and even helped them build a secret floor below the bar as their hideout. And then a few years later…after all the preparations…Cloud showed up, and I managed to convince him into going on the mission. But there's something strange about him now…after all these years since I last saw him…and I've got to convince him to stay somehow…so I can get to the bottom of it,)" thought Tifa, determinedly.
"Careless, you lot are all getting too excited after that one mission. And I wonder what for…? Just because that mission was successful doesn't mean the others will be, you know. Hey Wedge, stop making such a mess!" said Jessie, irritably, as Wedge's plates of food nearly covered the whole table.
Wedge muttered a quick apology, and sorted the mess out a bit, before he went back to eating, as Jessie still sat in deep thought at the table.
"(Were our actions at the Reactor really the right thing to do…? So many people died because of it…because of our own actions. And even then, Shinra would do the same thing to stop us as well…although there's no way we can bring down Shinra with so small a group like us…maybe the only thing we're really doing is making the lives of innocent citizens here even worse, not better…)" thought Jessie, grimly.
"Jessie, what have you done to your leg?" asked Tifa, noticing it was bandaged. Jessie snapped out of her train of thought, and just shrugged.
"Oh, it's nothing serious. I just sprained my leg when I fell on the bridge just as the Reactor was going to blow up. Luckily, Cloud ran back just in time to save me before the explosion," explained Jessie, glancing over at Cloud and smiling at him with clear gratitude.
"Why are you looking at me like that?" asked Cloud, uncomfortably, and a little irritably as well. His days in SOLDIER had awarded him with very little experience with women, and he generally found them quite difficult and at times annoying to understand. Jessie shrugged, but she didn't remove her gaze from Cloud, staring at him with interest.
"Just...watching you, that's all. Wondering why such a gentle, good-natured guy like you would become a SOLDIER and then be a hired mercenary," replied Jessie, with a half sarcastic, half curious tone in her voice, not taking her eyes off Cloud's face.
"I'm not entirely sure myself. But when I came to Midgar recently, I just…had the strange feeling or instinct that I already was a mercenary. In SOLDIER, I was just another one of Shinra's hired people, after all. So maybe by leaving them and becoming a mercenary, I'm just trying to broaden my customer base," said Cloud, shrugging.
Jessie nodded, looking thoughtful, as Cloud turned away and kept silent, lost in his own thoughts. Just then, Barret barged back into the bar, bursting through the front doors, satisfied that no one else was getting into the bar. Seeing him at once, Marlene squealed in excitement and glee, and she ran up to Barret, and hugged his legs tightly. Barret smiled warmly down at Marlene, as she looked up at him.
"Papa, welcome home!" greeted Marlene, a wide grin spread across her face. Barret smiled at her and crouched down, gently picking up Marlene, and he carefully sat her on his right shoulder, so that she wouldn't fall off, and tickled her a little. Marlene laughed gleefully.
"Hey there, little lady, what have you been doing while I was gone, eh? Not been giving Tifa any trouble, have ya?" asked Barret, smiling.
Cloud quickly noticed that whenever Barret was with Marlene, his daughter, his intense frustration and anger seemed to completely evaporate into nothing at once.
Marlene giggled and blushed, not answering, but she kicked and squealed with glee as Barret bounced her around playfully on his shoulders. Cloud held back the urge to snicker, and held back his surprise. This was definitely one side of Barret he had never of imagined him to be capable of.
Barret was Marlene's father despite the fact they didn't look one bit alike, as Marlene was every bit as white as Barret was black, but he and the others knew that Barret was still Marlene's father anyway. Anyone could tell that the two of them were simply inseparable as father and daughter.
"Hey, welcome back, it's nice to see that you're safe. Are you alright, Barret?" asked Tifa, curiously, with some concern, as she walked over to greet him. Noticing Tifa, Barret grinned broadly at her, in triumph.
"I feel great, we damn well conquered against Shinra tonight! Never felt better in years, Tifa! Did you see the news on the Reactor explosion yet? At last we made it safely back here, and with a destroyed Mako Reactor far behind us, and Shinra feeling humiliated and beaten for once! And as for the rest of ya, come on and get in here, ya fools! We're starting the meeting, alright!?" shouted Barret.
Barret walked over to the out of order pinball machine, with Marlene still perched safely on his shoulder, and he hit what Cloud assumed was a secret button cleverly hidden on the side of the pinball machine.
With a mechanical rattle, the machine lowered into the floor and revealed it was now a secret elevator. Barret and Marlene went down into the basement using the pinball machine as an elevator.
"Let's go," said Jessie, as she stood up to follow Barret down the floor below, and Biggs and Wedge both went to follow as well. Biggs, Wedge and Jessie followed Barret and Marlene down to the secret floor.
Cloud stood still however, watching Tifa intently, gazing at her as she walked around the room. Despite the fact that they had grown up together in the same hometown, Cloud still couldn't believe how independent and beautiful she had now become since then. Cloud walked over to Tifa, who had just walked back behind the counter, smiling warmly at him.
"Hey Cloud, sit down for a minute, I'd like to talk to you for a moment. How about something to drink?" asked Tifa, politely. Cloud sat down, facing Tifa, and shrugged.
"Sure, why not then? Give me something hard, though, I think I'll need it," replied Cloud. Tifa giggled in amusement at the comment, which Cloud raised his eyebrows at.
"Just a minute, I'll make one for you," said Tifa. Chuckling, Tifa spun around and fixed one of her specials for him, placing it down onto the table.
Cloud snatched the drink off the napkin and swallowed half of it down in one gulp. He realised he was even more worn than he had thought.
Tifa sat back down straight in front of him behind the counter, staring at Cloud with a big smile that made Cloud froze. He took another gulp of the drink, swallowing it all down quickly, as Tifa watched him with interest.
"Wow…now this is a real drink," said Cloud, rather impressed, admitting to himself that Wedge was certainly right about the drinks and food in the bar after all.
"You like it?" asked Tifa, smiling, delighted.
"Yeah, this is great. Not had a drink like this since years ago," said Cloud, with a shrug. Tifa blushed and smiled at the compliment, and quickly spoke back up.
"Thanks, Cloud. You know…I really am relieved that you made it back safely. I'm so glad that you're alright," said Tifa, smiling happily. Cloud peered at her through the bottom of his glass and raised an eyebrow.
"Huh…? Just what's up with you all of a sudden, Tifa? That wasn't even all that much of a tough job," said Cloud, surprised and a little taken aback. Tifa sighed wearily.
"No…I guess I can understand how it really wasn't a difficult mission for someone as experienced and skilled at combat as you, Cloud. You were in SOLDIER, after all. But just make sure you get your pay from Barret, you deserve your payment all the same," said Tifa.
"Don't worry about it, I'll get the full payment that's owed to me. And once I do get my money, I'm out of here," said Cloud, confidently.
Tifa frowned in clear disappointment at this, looking rather downcast at his words, but said nothing, and she was then staring at Cloud in concern.
"Cloud, are you feeling alright?" asked Tifa, clearly worried about something for a strange reason that Cloud couldn't see at all, and it baffled him. But Tifa felt that she had to know for sure whether or not he was truly alright.
"Huh…? Yeah, why? What do you mean?" asked Cloud, rather bewildered, as Tifa seemed more and more worried and concerned about him than he thought was even necessary. Tifa hesitated for a moment, looking clearly uncomfortable, before she finally replied.
"I'm not sure…lately, since we met each other again, it just seems like…you don't seem like yourself anymore…like how you were back then. It seems as if you're more…distant, far away…no, never mind, just about forget it, Cloud. I'm probably worried for no reason anyway…maybe it's just because you look a little tired, I guess. Besides, you'd better go down below to the others, before Barret gets mad. His patience has never been one of his strongest virtues," said Tifa, with forced calm, choosing to change the subject.
"Yeah, I guess so," replied Cloud, shrugging, still sensing that something was wrong, but he decided to let the subject drop for now. It wouldn't matter later anyway, after he left the dark city of Midgar far behind. Tifa spoke up again.
"You know…I do really feel sorry for Barret at times, he's always having to go off and leave Marlene here, while he's away on his missions, and that really does dwell on his mind a lot too," said Tifa, solemnly.
Cloud shrugged coldly, feeling no sympathy or concern whatsoever for the big black man with the gun-arm, who had distrusted and irritated him greatly during the mission at the Mako Reactor N0.1.
"Well, Tifa, he's the one who chose the type of life he wanted to lead, so it's no one's fault but his own, if he's missing his daughter because of it," said Cloud, looking cold and indifferent. Tifa stared thoughtfully for a moment, seeing his point on the subject.
"Yeah, I guess you're right. But anyway, I think you'd better go down below now, Cloud. I'll try and speak to you again later, but right now I think Barret would want to discuss some things with you first," said Tifa. Cloud nodded and turned away, then he noticed that Tifa was now suddenly staring at him in surprise.
"What's up now, Tifa?" asked Cloud, bewildered.
"Oh, sorry Cloud, I…I thought I just noticed something strange for a moment there…" said Tifa, with a start.
"What are you looking at?" asked Cloud, confused.
"Your…your eyes are, well…a little…different from how I remember them back in Nibelheim," said Tifa, blushing slightly, and Cloud understood what she meant at once.
"Oh, you mean the added colour and the strange glow to them? That's a common side effect from being infused with Mako energy, which is a basic but important part of SOLDIER training. You have to be Mako infused in order to be in SOLDIER," explained Cloud.
"They inject you with Mako?" asked Tifa, rather startled.
"It's really no big deal, Tifa. The process of it is simple and painless as long as it's done carefully," said Cloud, with an indifferent shrug. But Tifa wanted to know more.
"So, just how WAS life in SOLDIER?" asked Tifa.
"A lot of hard work. Anyway, like you said, I'd better get going. Thanks for the drink," said Cloud, turning away. Tifa nodded, as Cloud walked over to the pinball machine, and he pushed the secret button hidden on the side of it, as he had seen Barret do earlier, to go down to the secret floor.
The pinball machine started to move down to the secret floor, and Cloud suddenly noticed that Tifa was staring after him intently behind the counter until Cloud was out of sight, and then as he arrived at the secret floor, he looked around.
Barret was using a punching bag in the far left corner of the room, punching it hard several times as fast as he could with his only fist, resulting in a loud bang in each blow.
Marlene was sitting on a crate nearby him, admiring her father's brute strength with clear awe, while Wedge and Biggs were sitting at the only table in the whole room (Biggs was still hiccupping), and Jessie was working hard on her computer, next to a big television set, typing in notes very quickly and not making one mistake.
Suddenly, the news came on the TV and a fairly fat man in a rather posh and tidy red suit with a cigar in his mouth suddenly appeared on the screen.
"(The President of Shinra Incorporated himself. I met him before once…and if he's on the news, then it's definitely about what happened to the Reactor. He must already know exactly what's been going on…)" thought Cloud, darkly.
"Hey guys, President Shinra is on!" informed Biggs, and at once everyone looked towards the television. The group all crowded around the TV to watch, listening intently as President Shinra began his speech.
"Citizens of Midgar, tonight the Mako Reactor N01, in between Sectors 8 and 1, was bombed and destroyed as part of terrorist activity, and much of the upper city of Sector 8 was also destroyed as a result. I can confirm to you all that the AVALANCHE terrorist group have indeed come forward and claimed full responsibility for the bombing of the Reactor. The total number of casualties is high, and current counts stand in the hundreds, and are likely to rise even higher as our search for survivors goes on. But citizens of Midgar, I assure you all that there is no need to fear from these scumbags. I promise you all that there will be immediate action from us; we have already dispatched SOLDIER into all the upper cities on patrol to find these terrorists, so that they can suffer the full power of the law and of justice. Please co-operate with us by showing your ID when asked for it, anyone who refuses to show ID will be arrested as suspected terrorists. Let us all unite and hopefully restore the Sector 8 upper city from the rubble of the fallen Reactor," said President Shinra.
With that the pictured died out amidst camera clicks and sound whistles. The group turned away from the TV, all of them knowing full well that with that sort of speech, President Shinra was guaranteed to have the public on his side and against AVALANCHE.
The public didn't know the effect the Reactors had on the Planet, and as a result of that, President Shinra could effectively claim that AVALANCHE was merely aiming to cause death and destruction, and the general public, ignorant and vulnerable to manipulation, would believe AVALANCHE were simply nothing more than vile, evil terrorists, when in truth it was really Shinra who were the evil ones, and the ones who posed the real threat to the lives of all those who lived on the whole Planet.
"(Damn those Shinra bastards and their President! They don't really care about the citizens, they just want us dead before we can destroy all the Reactors and stop them making a damn fortune for those assholes! They'll pay for turning the public against us, the truth will come out, and then we'll see if Shinra get the same sort of support from anyone!)" thought Barret, angry and furious.
He turned back to face the punching bag, pounding it hard and repeatedly with his remaining fist, letting all his frustration with Shinra out on it, while Marlene watched him in awe, she clearly looked up to her father a lot. Wedge sat at the table in silence and deep thought, thinking about the speech that President Shinra had just said.
"(Things will certainly be getting a lot harder from now on, now that Shinra know what we're capable of. At least they don't know where the hideout is, but when we go on other missions against them, they'll be waiting for us. And now SOLDIER have been dispatched…definitely not good. I don't even want to think about what would happen if we ran into any of those guys…)" thought Wedge, with a shudder, knowing how powerful and feared any member of SOLDIER was. He knew Cloud was once one of them, so he had to know more about them.
"Hey Cloud, after that news broadcast just now, do you think that being I'm a little too uptight about it, if I was to say its really got me nervous, and scared shitless? I mean, should I really be that worried if SOLDIER come and attack us? After all, you should know a lot about them, right?" asked Wedge, curiously. Cloud just shrugged, wondering why Wedge always seemed to want his opinion on everything.
"Yeah, you should be more than a bit worried about them, I guess. SOLDIER are always a severe threat to the lives of anyone who crosses them or goes against them in any sort of way. So it's best to be alert and prepared for them before they can kill you off for good," replied Cloud. Wedge nodded in understanding, and choose to focus on the mission, not wanting to dwell on the threat of SOLDIER any further.
"We've already discussed and agreed that the next mission will be to blow up the Mako Reactor N0.5, in between Sectors 4 and 5. Cloud, it would really be great if you could join us for this mission, we could really use your help, with your skill and bravely in combat. Don't you ever get nervous in those sorts of situations at all? Or are you like, impervious to feelings…? Nah, that couldn't be it, I'm just being silly. Well, I guess it's okay if you don't come on the mission, you've got your own things to do, I guess, and you don't really owe us any loyalty anyway, so I'd understand if you didn't come. Anyway, don't worry about me if I seem too nervous. I may not look like it, but I'm a coward at heart," said Wedge, laughing slightly.
Jessie was still busy working and typing on her computer very quickly, but she was making no mistakes or errors at all despite that. Jessie was also watching the news on the TV next to her computer at the same time as she was working, doing both things at once.
"(Wow, what an explosion the bomb caused. Biggs must really have worked hard on it to ensure it really did destroy the whole Reactor. I'm glad I got all its settings right too, that really helped out,)" thought Jessie, as she spoke up to Cloud.
"Hey, just look at the news. What a blast we caused tonight, huh? Think that was all because of our bomb? But all I really did with it was just program the settings on it like the computer told me. Before we went to the Reactor, I thought I might have made a miscalculation somewhere, thought I might make a mistake that would cost us the mission, but it looks like I really did do it right after all, I'm really glad to know that I am cut out to be AVALANCHE'S technical expert after all. And hey, that was our very first bomb's debut. Makes me kind of proud to know I got the settings of it right the first time…" said Jessie, smiling proudly.
Barret suddenly stopped punching his punching bag, and he then turned to face Cloud, looking sweaty faced and slightly breathless, as a sudden thought struck him.
"Hey, Cloud! There's something important I want to ask ya for a moment. Was there anyone from SOLDIER fighting us earlier today, at the Mako Reactor, at any point of the mission?" asked Barret, curiously. Cloud thought on it for a while, before firmly shaking his head.
"There were none of them at any point of the Reactor, none during the whole mission. I'm completely positive that there weren't any," replied Cloud, flatly.
"Well, you sure do sound pretty damn sure about it," said Barret, with clear suspicion in his tone of voice, pounding his punching bag hard with a single punch with his only fist. Cloud frowned at him.
"I didn't mean it like I was previously informed by a certain outside source, if that's what you're thinking, Barret. I'm just know that there was no one from SOLDIER, because if there HAD been anyone from SOLDIER in the Reactor, neither you or any of us would be standing here right now. They're from the Shinra Public Safety Maintenance Corps, lead by Heidegger, top army commander of Shinra. They're Shinra's most elite fighting force," explained Cloud. Barret snorted scornfully.
"Hey, don't you dare go on just thinking that you're all so stronger and better than the rest of us, just because you were in SOLDIER at one damn point, or just because ya were working for Shinra," said Barret, sharply.
Barret suddenly stepped forward and tried to punch Cloud in clear frustration, but Biggs then got up from the table and tried to restrain Barret. Cloud made no reaction or response to this, completely unconcerned.
Barret irritably punched Biggs out the way, and Biggs landed hard on the floor, groaning dizzily, and now everyone else in the room were looking on what seemed to be just the tip of an argument that was about to come up. Barret just stood still, and he looked hard at Cloud.
"Yeah, you are damn well strong, I'll give ya that. Probably all them guys in SOLDIER are too, but don't you dare forget for one bloody moment that ya skinny damn ass is working for AVALANCHE now! So don't you get any ideas about hanging on to Shinra!" snapped Barret, sharply. At this last comment, Cloud looked sharply at Barret, and snarled angrily.
"Staying with Shinra!? Look, how long is it going to take for you to realise through that thick skull of yours that I'm not a part of Shinra anymore. Those bastards betrayed me, and I'm certainly not going to crawl back to them after all this time. You just asked me a question about them, and I just answered it, that's all. Anyway, I'm going back upstairs, I want to talk about my money," said Cloud, getting angrier.
"Money shouldn't matter! It's the Planet that's important!" shouted Barret.
"Yeah, whatever, nice excuse, Barret. Now where's my money?" asked Cloud, sharply.
"Talking like that won't get ya nowhere. I'll give ya damn money to ya upstairs in just a minute. Now just go up there, and after ya get the damn money, get lost! We're discussing about the next mission to blow up the Mako Reactor N0.5!" shouted Barret.
"Alright then, fine. I'm not here to discuss anything with you lot, I just want what's owed to me, that's all. And I wanted to leave this stupid rebel group as soon as possible anyway," replied Cloud, coldly, as he spat bitterly on the floor.
"What was that?" growled Barret, angrily; a sharp edge to his tone of voice, but for once, his own rage was completely overshadowed by Cloud's intense anger.
"I'm here to get my money, so give it to me right NOW, or I'll just take it myself," said Cloud, his voice icy, glaring hard and menacingly at Barret, one of his hands grabbing the hilt of his sword in its metal locks behind his back.
"Cloud, I thought that you were going to continue to work with us…" said Jessie, looking somewhat disappointed, but Biggs and Wedge didn't look surprised at all, they had expected it would happen, but all of them looked nervously at Cloud and Barret, each of them fearing that the argument between the two was about to turn very ugly indeed.
Before any fight could break out, however, the pinball machine suddenly came back down and Tifa arrived, leaped off the pinball machine, and she ran over to Cloud and Barret, looking stricken.
She had heard the whole thing from above them in the bar, and she stood in front of Cloud and between him and Barret, with a pleading look in her beautiful brown eyes and a worried look on her face. Cloud slowly released the hold on his sword hilt, but his rage was far from gone.
"Wait Cloud, please just listen! I know Barret shouldn't have said all of that, but don't let it get the better of you! Please don't leave, not yet, please," protested Tifa, her eyes clearly pleading with him.
"(Damn it! Why does she have to be so damn stubborn about this!? Can't she just let me go, already!? Can't she see that neither me nor anybody else wants me around here in the first place!? There's no bloody way I'm risking my life going up against Shinra for these guys!)" thought Cloud, annoyed.
"Don't even bother to try and stop him, Tifa! Just let him go, he ain't wanted around here, and he don't want nothing to do with us neither! Looks like he obviously still misses doing the dirty work for Shinra!" shouted Barret, with a snort, and a short, nasty laugh.
A look of intense rage flashed across Cloud's face, as he clenched his fists tightly, and looked around again at Barret. All of AVALANCHE was staring in amazement at Cloud and Barret, who both seemed to be on the verge of killing each other at a moment's notice. It was Cloud who was by far the angriest though, as his fury finally snapped, startling even Barret.
"YOU SHUT UP THE HELL UP!! What the heck would you know, you stupid thick headed bastard!? For the last time, I don't give a DAMN at all about Shinra OR SOLDIER!! But don't any of you get me wrong, don't think that means I'm concerned with you people!! Because I couldn't give any less of a damn about AVALANCHE OR the Planet either!!" roared Cloud, angrily, taking everyone aback, even Barret. Barret turned away and started punching his punching bag again, pretending to take no more notice of Cloud now.
"Papa, you're so great," said Marlene, sleepily, sitting nearby him, who seemed to have been asleep through the whole thing, and had only just woken up.
Barret seemed to calm down slightly at that and grinned at Marlene, while still punching his punching bag with his only fist, still ignoring Cloud. Tifa looked desperately back at Cloud, who still looked completely furious.
"Please Cloud, I'm begging you, straighten things up with everyone, for me," said Tifa, pleadingly, turning to face Cloud, with a desperate expression on her face. Before Cloud could answer her however, to flatly refuse her request, Wedge spoke up to him first.
"Cloud, you say you don't care about us or anyone else, but you still came to talk to me earlier, didn't you? Cloud, you just want friends, isn't that right?" asked Wedge.
"Just blow off," muttered Cloud, fuming, still feeling furious and angry from the argument with Barret. Wedge took no offence from Cloud's comment, knowing full well that he said that just because he was angry.
"Yeah well, try to deny it if it makes you feel any better, but you do still look kind of lonely to me, Cloud. If you've got anything that you want to talk about at all, then you can always talk to me. There's no need to act so cold-blooded and distant all the time," said Wedge.
Cloud didn't answer him, while Tifa quickly gave Wedge a grateful look, while she then thought desperately of a way she could get Cloud to stay in AVALANCHE, a way of persuading him to join willingly.
Jessie, meanwhile, was talking to herself while she was working out things on the computer, apparently choosing to ignore both Cloud and Barret, acting as though the argument hadn't even happened.
"Money required for the next mission…? Oh my, it must have to be a lot of it…well sure, what the heck, it's a verbal agreement! Now let me just figure these payments out…" said Jessie, as she worked out calculations on her computer, not noticing Cloud storm off from Tifa and the others, as he used the pinball machine to go back upstairs to the bar.
Alarmed as she saw Cloud go on the pinball machine elevator up to the bar, Tifa quickly rushed over to him, but she was too late as the elevator had already gone up, and she would have to wait until it was back down. She would have to hurry to make it up to the bar before Cloud could leave after sorting out his stuff.
Having no choice but to wait for the elevator to come back down, Tifa spun around to look at Barret, who was still hitting the punching bag with his only fist as hard as possible, not even making the slightest attempt to stop Cloud or even apologize to for his appalling behaviour towards him.
Suddenly, for the very first time as she looked at Barret, Tifa felt a great surge of sudden rage and fury towards him, which quickly overcame her.
After all the help she had given Barret and the others in their plight, was this how he repaid her? To deny the only thing she had ever asked for in return?
Filled with sudden anger, Tifa walked slowly over to Barret, looking extremely menacing indeed, her fists tightly clenched, and she stopped right behind him.
Barret didn't notice her until she tapped him on the shoulder. Stopping what he was doing, Barret turned to face her, with an irritable look on his face as he began to speak, but the words died in his throat.
His eyes widened as he saw the dangerous, completely enraged expression on her face that neither he nor the others had even remotely seen before, and he felt suddenly very nervous, despite himself. What happened next was even more unexpected, far more unexpected, as Tifa drew back her hand and swung it at him. SMACK!!!!!
Tifa had slapped Barret hard across the face with all the strength she could muster, which despite her appearance, was a great deal indeed. Barret staggered, looking shell-shocked as he fell to the floor from the sudden impact, his face feeling as though it was on fire, and it was busied from where he had been slapped.
Biggs, Wedge and Jessie all stared at her in complete shock, and even Marlene looked absolutely stunned, her mouth hanging open. Barret looked up at her from the floor, not angry, but utterly shocked and confused.
"Tifa, what…?" gasped Barret, simply speechless. He had never seen Tifa in this mood before, the two of them had always got on really well with each other. Barret had never got angry with her, and she hadn't been annoyed with him at all, but this was very different indeed, something completely unforeseen by him or the others.
"Don't act like you don't know what I'm angry about, Barret! You've been on Cloud's case ever since you've met him, and only because he was ONCE in SOLDIER. It's not as if his entire life revolves around them, you know! The Cloud I knew would never mindlessly follow anyone like that! And hear you're acting as if he's a puppet who can't think independently from them, well he CAN! And if he really was with Shinra, why would they have him blow up one of their own Reactors!? And why would they have tried to kill him all those times there too!? Now I'm going to try to persuade Cloud to stay, and if he leaves because of you, if you don't apologize for your unjust actions, then you're not getting any more help from me, and I know you can't do it without ME and MY bar!" snapped Tifa.
"You…you can't, Tifa…you can't quit on us now, we ain't got anywhere else to go around here. This place is the only hideout there is for us. Without it, we're as good as dead against Shinra…" said Barret, nervously, knowing full well that he'd really crossed the line this time, and he truly felt guilty and sorry for his earlier actions now.
"Oh, can't I!? For the past few years, I've let you all have a comfortable place to live in, a place with all the food and drink you could want for a living in Midgar, and I even set up a secret hideout for you and the others to organise your plans against Shinra too, and I even took good care of Marlene for you when you guys were out too! I gave you all these things, and I've never asked for anything in return, until recently when Cloud showed up, and I thought I was at least owed this one single favour, to let Cloud, my childhood friend, join AVALANCHE. But apparently, you don't seem to think I deserve any favours, so I don't see why I'm continuing to help you out. Now I'm going back after Cloud, and if I can persuade him to stay, then do NOT be so nasty to him from now on, or unfairly accuse him of anything, or you can say goodbye to this hideout and my help," said Tifa, coldly, as she stormed off to the pinball machine, which had just lowered down to the floor.
Looking guilty and stricken, Barret quickly got himself off the floor, and ran towards the pinball machine but it had already just gone, with Tifa on it, up to the bar.
Barret cursed himself, and slammed his only fist hard on the wall, a look of sorrow and guilt on his face, but all he could do now was to wait for the pinball machine elevator to come back down, while the others only stared in shock at what had just happened.
Once the pinball machine elevator had went back up to the bar, Tifa saw that Cloud had gotten all this stuff sorted out ready to leave, and he was just about to storm out the front door in a bad mood.
Wasting no time, Tifa quickly jumped off the pinball machine elevator, and walked over to him. Cloud didn't have to turn around to know that it was Tifa standing behind him, but he spun around to face her anyway.
"(Why the heck doesn't she just let me go already? We both know that I'm not staying around here for good, so why can't she just move on and accept it?)" thought Cloud, feeling irritated by it. Tifa stopped just in front of Cloud, and held onto his arm desperately. Cloud looked at her, surprised.
"Listen, Cloud. Please go back down there and make it up to everyone. I'm asking you, no, I'm begging you. Please join us, join us to fight against Shinra for the Planet's life. Don't go, not yet," said Tifa, pleadingly. Cloud firmly shook his head in response, refusing to give in.
"I'm sorry, Tifa, but I just can't stay here. I'm leaving this whole place at once, far away from here. I have unfinished business outside of Midgar. Besides, none of you can possibly afford to pay my rates if I stay on," replied Cloud. Tifa still looked both stubborn and desperate, though not angry.
"We WILL manage it, Cloud, we can pay your money for each mission. I'll offer extra gil towards your pay. Besides, the Planet itself is DYING, Cloud. Slowly but surely…it's dying…and someone HAS to do something to help it," said Tifa.
"So then, why don't you just let Barret and his buddies do something about it? As far as I'm concerned, the Planet's survival has got nothing to do with me whatsoever. Anyway, I'll give you a straight forward address where you can send my full payment to me later by post, if Barret's still unwilling to pay up at the moment," said Cloud, with a snort. Tifa ignored this though, and still held onto his arm tightly, but now she seemed to be getting angry.
"So you're really just leaving here without another word then!? You're just going to walk right out of here like this, ignoring your childhood friend, turning your back on me like I'm just nothing to you!?" screamed Tifa, hysterically.
Cloud was very taken aback indeed, his eyes wide and his cool composure actually broken for once, but he knew that he could never find it within himself to get angry with Tifa, and he just stared back at her, stunned, as she tried hard to calm down, but she still looked urgently at Cloud, who finally spoke up after a long, speechless silence.
"What…? Just how can you say that? I'm sorry, Tifa, but you can't use that as an argument here. I've got my own things to attend to, and my own life to get on with. I don't ever intend to walk out on you at all, but I don't want to stay here against my will where I'm just ordered around mindlessly and treated unfairly, like how it was back with Shinra," said Cloud.
Tifa's expression softened considerably, and she clearly understood his point, but she still had to try and persuade him to stay, not just for her own good, but for his as well, and for the sake of the Planet itself.
"I'm sorry I snapped at you like that, Cloud…but you've got to understand that everyone and everything in this Planet is going to just wither away eventually unless we do something to stop it, and AVALANCHE is too small to take on Shinra alone, we really need your help. If not for the Planet, then for me, Cloud, please…unless of course you forgot about the promise we made together…" said Tifa, softly, her head bowed sadly.
"Promise…? What promise…?" asked Cloud, confused and bewildered, her last statement not ringing any bells in his head at all. Tifa looked stunned and rather hurt indeed to hear that, as if she had just been stabbed in the heart.
Cloud felt suddenly guilty for causing such a reaction from her, as Tifa finally spoke up again, her voice trembling as she clearly struggled to fight back against tears that fought to come out from her beautiful brown eyes.
"So then…you really DID forget about our promise after all…but after all this time…after the years since I'd last seen you before recently, I…I had still hoped you would still remember what happened that night. Don't you remember anything about it at all, Cloud? It was seven years ago, just a few weeks before you left for Midgar. We were alone together at the well at Nibelheim…don't you remember…?" asked Tifa, with a sad tone in her voice.
Cloud paused in deep silent thought, thinking intently back to the many days of his childhood that he had spent with Tifa in their hometown, Nibelheim, trying urgently to remember the memory that seemed so very important to Tifa, and apparently to himself as well.
At last, he finally nodded as the memory fully came back to him, along with a warm, peaceful emotion that came from remembering it, a feeling he hadn't really felt much since after that time. He remembered it all only too well, and could not believe he could ever have forgotten it.
"Yeah, I remember it all now, the promise we made…what had happened that night…back then, before you arrived, I…I thought that you would never come, and I was getting a little cold waiting for you there on the well," said Cloud, thinking back intently to that moment.
Now fully calmed down and feeling more positive and a little less desperate, Tifa stood with a radiant smile of hope and joy on her face, but did not speak or make a sound, letting Cloud think back to that moment.
It was seven years ago, Cloud Strife was sitting at the top of the well waiting for Tifa Lockhart to come, and it was night at a town far away from Midgar. Cloud's mind flashed back to that scene as he remembered it…
Stars twinkled brightly in the moonlit night sky, as they shone down on the well in the centre of the town of Nibelheim, bathing it in moonlight. Two children met secretly that night, alone together. A boy and a girl. Tifa quietly sneaked out of her house, successfully managing not to wake up her father, and she spotted a boy sitting on the well.
"Cloud…?" asked Tifa, staring up at him.
"I'm up here, Tifa. On the water tower," replied Cloud, looking back down at her. Tifa looked up at the young blonde spiky haired boy sitting up on the town's ancient water tower, which had been in the town for as long as anyone in the town could remember.
The well didn't even really work anymore, it was simply just kept around as a part of the town's history. She climbed up the well, and sat right next to Cloud on it, who tried his hardest not to gape at her, as her long black hair shone brightly in the moonlight, along with her beautiful brown eyes, and the shining turquoise coloured dress she was wearing.
"I'm sorry I'm late, Cloud. I got a little held up trying to sneak out of the house without waking my father. Luckily, he didn't even notice me leave the house," said Tifa, with a sly, mischievous grin. Cloud looked at her and smiled.
"Don't worry about it. At least you came," said Cloud.
"What are you doing out here like this, anyway?" asked Tifa, in concern. She looked at him closely. He was wearing just a black t-shirt and green shorts, and he was clearly shivering from the cold night wind.
"I was just waiting here for you, so I could get the chance talk to you alone, about something that's important to me," replied Cloud. Tifa looked at him curiously.
"You wanted to talk to me here about something important? Well then, what is it, Cloud?" asked Tifa, curiously, moving closer to him until the side of their legs touched.
Trying his best to ignore the excitable feeling he felt as they touched, Cloud nodded in response to Tifa, a determined and resolved expression on his face, as he began to speak up, and Tifa listened intently.
"Soon in a few weeks, come this spring, I'm moving away and leaving this town by myself, and I'm heading over to the great city of Midgar," said Cloud, with fierce determination. Tifa sighed sadly, her head bowed, and a disappointed frown came to her face.
"All the boys are leaving our town these days, since Shinra Incorporated expanded into more and more different markets and businesses. My father says that there's a lot more available jobs out there at Midgar now than there is over here," said Tifa, looking rather solemn. Cloud firmly shook his head.
"But I'm not like that, I'm going to be different from all of the others who left for Midgar, Tifa. I'm not just going over to Midgar to find any old job. I'm going to work for Shinra Incorporated, but unlike the others…I want to join SOLDIER, to become a great member of their ranks someday! I'm going to be the best there is, just like the great hero and legend of SOLDIER, Sephiroth!" declared Cloud.
Sephiroth, the legendary hero and conqueror of the war between Shinra Incorporated and the nation of Wutai, was a man very well known everywhere, and that included even small towns like Nibelheim, and in big cities, like Midgar or Junon.
Among the elite fighters in SOLDIER, Sephiroth was known to be the very best of the best of the best. He had no equal anywhere in the world, with no one even coming the slightest bit close to rivalling his awesome powers.
Several stories and rumours claimed that Sephiroth had never bled in his whole life, in a life full of intense battles, and yet he never shed any tears for the many people that he had killed during the war.
Every young ambitious boy in the world with a dream wanted to be just like him, but only very few people had ever seen him anywhere, and even fewer people, if anyone, knew about his personal life.
Legends say that many years ago, a master craftsman from Wutai forged Sephiroth's great curved and famous sword, the Masumane, the most powerful and greatest hand-held weapon on the entire Planet itself, being able to slice through anything at all with little effort. The craftsmen was believed to have folded the metal exactly one thousand times with a magic hammer using special silver from the mines.
Other stories claimed the sword was, in fact, an actual extension of the great Sephiroth himself. The Masumane was well known everywhere as the most powerful hand-held weapon and sword on the whole Planet, and it was a very fearsome site for any enemy to come across, even to the very bravest and most loyal of men. Even the monsters, savage and bloodthirsty, feared Sephiroth intensely, avoiding him like the plague.
No one had ever survived when up against Sephiroth and his Masumane sword. Only Sephiroth himself could use and master the sword, since he was the only one on the whole Planet itself with enough power and strength to handle the Masumane. Anyone else who tried could not even lift it off the ground, where as Sephiroth handled it with deadly ease, speed and force, and with little effort required.
Some people claimed that Sephiroth was an one-winged angel in disguise, while others instead claimed that he was the devil himself in hiding. But whatever Sephiroth was, he was unbelievably powerful, and there was absolutely no doubt about that among anyone. VERY, VERY powerful indeed. Tifa snapped out of her astounded thoughts as she finally spoke up.
"…Sephiroth…the great Sephiroth. But, Cloud…isn't it supposed to be really hard to join SOLDIER? I hear that it's the most powerful army in the entire world, after all, so joining their ranks is really going be a tough thing to do, you know," said Tifa, uncertainly. Cloud nodded in agreement, looking deadly serious and very determined.
"Yeah, I know it's not gonna be easy, but I'll train real hard to get into the ranks of SOLDIER someday. But to do so, I probably won't be able to come back to this town for a fair while," admitted Cloud.
Cloud truly felt a little regretful at that last part, but his resolve was still firmly set and decided. But at his words, Tifa was suddenly upset and depressed, and she suddenly buried her face in her hands, and Cloud thought he could hear her sobbing slightly.
"Huh…? Tifa, what is it?" asked Cloud, surprised and astonished, as he put his arm around her shoulder in an attempt to comfort her.
"Will you be in the newspapers if you do well?" asked Tifa, looking back up at him, but still looking depressed. Cloud hadn't really given that sort of thing much thought, but he answered her anyway.
"I don't know, but I might. I'll just have to try," replied Cloud, with a shrug. Tifa then smiled and cheered up suddenly as if a sudden idea had just came to her that comforted and pleased her.
"Hey Cloud, I think I've got a good idea about this. Why don't the two of us make a promise to each other from this moment on? If you get famous…and if I'm ever in trouble…then you'll come and save me, right?" said Tifa, hopefully, smiling at Cloud, who looked astonished.
"Huh…? Just what do you mean by that, Tifa…?" asked Cloud, speechless, even more surprised than before. Tifa sighed softly, and explained it to him patiently.
"Whenever I'm in any kind of trouble or danger, whenever my life is under threat, I'd like my hero, my knight in shining armour, to come and rescue me. I want to at least experience that moment once, Cloud. And there's no other person I want to be my hero, other than you," explained Tifa, softly, staring intently into Cloud's astounded blue eyes.
"What…?" gasped Cloud, trying to keep his heart from leaping into his throat, as it was beating very hard indeed. He could hardly believe this was happening as he gazed back at Tifa, who looked hopefully at him.
"Come on, Cloud! Promise me! Cloud, promise me that you'll be my hero, that you'll come to save my life at least once, if I'm ever in trouble," said Tifa, smiling so happily at Cloud that he froze for a moment, and his heart was beating so hard against his chest it was painful.
There was only one answer he was ever going to give her, because he wanted her to be happy, and because deep down, he really did like the idea of being HER hero…
"Okay then, Tifa, I'll do it…I promise," said Cloud, nodding back at her, and he knew that from this moment on, he would never break his promise to her. He knew he would keep it until the very end.
Tifa smiled brightly, her eyes sparkling happily, as she took his hand, and laid her head down on his shoulder, with Cloud's arm still around her, as the two of them embraced. They held each other's hands, and continued to look up at the stars together as a shooting star flew past the night sky. After about five or ten minutes, Tifa finally spoke up again.
"As beautiful a night this is Cloud, and however much I really want to stay out here with you for the rest of it, I think I'd better get going back to my house now, just to be safe. In case my father notices I'm out here, he wouldn't be too pleased," said Tifa, with a sigh of soft regret, as she looked up at the night sky, and Cloud nodded to show he understood, as they released each other from their embrace.
"Sure, it's no problem, Tifa. I'm glad you could come in the first place, anyway. I think I'd better be going back too, before my mother gets worried sick about me. She's really concerned about my decision to leave Nibelheim for Midgar, but she's accepted it as my decision for a future," explained Cloud.
"Well, you're lucky then. My dad certainly wouldn't be as understanding as that…just letting me go off somewhere alone to start a new life at my age. I really do hope you fulfil your dream and get into SOLDIER, Cloud," said Tifa, sincerely.
"I'll certainly try. Anyway, good night, Tifa," said Cloud, as Tifa smiled at him and the two of them gazed at each other, still sitting together on the well.
"Good night, Cloud," said Tifa, softly, as their heads drew closer to each other, and their eyes closed as their lips touched for the first time, which then resulted in ten seconds of them kissing, before Tifa broke away and smiled happily at Cloud, as she jumped off the well, walking off to her house.
"Hey, Tifa! About that promise…" said Cloud, calling after her from the well, and Tifa stopped and spun around to look at him curiously, grinning from ear to ear, her beautiful brown eyes sparkling.
"Yes, what about it, Cloud…?" asked Tifa, curiously.
"I AM going to keep it, and I WILL fulfil the promise some day, no matter what happens," said Cloud, determinedly. Tifa smiled happily at him, and nodded.
"I know you will, Cloud. I'll see you tomorrow," said Tifa, as she walked off and went into her house, glancing back at him once and smiling, before going in.
Cloud leaped off the well, and headed back to his own house, feeling now far happier and more confident than he'd felt for quite a while, as the stars and moon still shone brightly in the night sky…
Fully remembering the exact moment of their promise now, Cloud focused his mind back to the present, in the middle of the Sector 7 bar, as he stared back at Tifa, who was holding onto his arm and staring up at him.
Cloud knew where this conversation was going, and he felt uneasy about it. He knew he was about to be cornered into joining AVALANCHE, and he wouldn't have the heart to refuse Tifa's request, it would mean breaking their promise, which meant so much to her, even now. Cloud wondered whether he could think of a way to get around this, a way to get himself out of this mess. He'd really done it to himself this time.
"You remember it all now, don't you, Cloud? Our promise?" said Tifa, her beautiful brown eyes sparkling, a big smile on her flawless face, as she looked happily at Cloud, with some clear expectance and a sense of triumph.
Cloud gaped and stared back at her for a moment without a sound, then he barely managed, with all his willpower, just to get himself to look away from her penetrating, beautiful gaze, and he sighed wearily.
"I'm not a hero to anyone, in any sense of the word, and I never have been. And I'm not famous like Sephiroth was either, not by a long shot, and I never came anywhere near close to his skills and power. And you're not in any immediate or serious trouble at the moment either. I just…I can't keep the promise, Tifa…" said Cloud. Tifa stubbornly shook her head.
"But even if you're not all those things, you still fulfilled your childhood dream, didn't you, Cloud? You joined SOLDIER, just like you wanted, and you promised to come save me if I needed you help when you became a member of their ranks. So come on, Cloud, you've still got to keep your promise, please," pleaded Tifa, desperately.
"No, Tifa, I can't. I'm still not a hero, or powerful, or famous, and besides, I'm not even in SOLDIER anymore, so that part doesn't really matter anymore either. So, I can't keep the promise. I'm sorry…" said Cloud, solemnly.
"That's not the point, Cloud, and you know it! AVALANCHE needs you! I need you! The Planet needs you! We're going to bomb another Reactor tomorrow, and after what happened earlier today, security will be much tighter than before, it'll take a miracle to pull of this time. We won't be able to do it without you, it would be impossible for us to accomplish without your help. Cloud, the Planet is DYING! And we're the only ones who both know and care enough about the Planet's situation to do something about it!" protested Tifa.
Tifa suddenly looked depressed and upset, and she was on the verge of tears. Cloud could see tears building up in her eyes, and he felt suddenly guilty and ashamed of himself, and knew he was unfairly backing out on the promise. Tifa was in serious trouble, and he knew it, yet he was still trying to back out on her. How could he ever bring himself to do that…?
Just then, the pinball machine elevator suddenly came back up to the bar, and Barret quickly leaped off it with a loud thud on the floor, and walked over to Cloud and Tifa.
Barret looked apologetically at Tifa for a reason that Cloud didn't know or understand, but Tifa smiled reassuringly back at Barret in return, though she was still on the verge of tears, and then Barret turned to face Cloud.
Judging by the look on his black skinned face, Barret had overheard everything Cloud and Tifa had said from downstairs, as had Biggs, Wedge, Jessie and Marlene as well. Barret looked angry and furious with Cloud, though this time, his anger had nothing to do with Shinra.
"Now you wait here just a damn second, mister big time Ex-SOLDIER! You sure got a lot of nerve, backing down on your own promise like that! No matter what happens, a promise is a promise, and you always gotta keep it, whether you like it or not! And I, for one, am a man of my word. So here's your full payment, as I promised you before the mission," said Barret, as he tossed Cloud a tightly closed pouch with exactly one and a half thousand gil inside it, as they had agreed.
Cloud caught the pouch with one hand, looked through its contents, and then, satisfied, he turned to leave the bar. Cloud started to go out the door, when he looked back, and he saw that Tifa stood there looking utterly defeated and on the verge of breaking down completely, tears running down her cheeks, as her body began to shake in grief. Cloud felt guilty and overwhelmingly concerned for Tifa, and he just couldn't bear to leave her in this miserable state.
Maybe he couldn't keep the promise, but he could never make Tifa upset either without doing anything to make her feel better, he could never bring himself to just walk out the door and leave her like this.
He thought more about Barret's words, 'A promise is a promise', and then realized with a sense of truth and defeat that Barret was right, and he had to keep the promise no matter what he had to do for it, whether he liked it or not.
This meant that he would have to stay with AVALANCHE for Tifa's sake…but then again, if he really did have to stay until the end, he thought he might as use make good financial use of it while he was here. So he walked back to Tifa and Barret, and suddenly grinned, holding up his pouch of money.
"So this is it, then? This is my full payment, Barret? Don't make me laugh; this amount of money won't be worth crap to me. If I really have to do this Reactor bombing thing again to get extra payments, then so be it," said Cloud. Tifa's tear filled eyes widened and a big smile lit up on her face, as her beautiful brown eyes sparkled with delight.
"What!? Then you're going to…after all…!" squeaked Tifa, unable to bring any other words out, as she was clearly excited, hardly daring to believe it, as she hastily wiped away the tears from her eyes.
"And what if I might want ya to work for me again too, huh? What if I might require your services again?" asked Barret, trying to sound indifferent about it, but he had to admit that he could really use the Ex-SOLDIER's help on a permanent basis.
"Alright then, you and the others already got the next mission lined up and planned out, Barret? I'll do it, but only if the fee for the mission rises and doubles to three thousand Gil from now on," said Cloud, firmly. Barret's eyes widened and he tightened his one remaining fist in anger.
"WHAT!!!?" roared Barret, angrily, so loudly that it seemed he could probably be heard from above the Plate of Midgar itself, as he punched and smashed one of the bar chairs into wooden pieces with his one fist in anger and frustration. Tifa walked over to him, placing a hand on his shoulder.
"Hey, try to calm down. It's okay, it's okay, Barret. We're really hurting for help against Shinra, right? We really do need Cloud's full help to face up to them. He's one of the very best mercenaries around, and you know it. And his vast information on Shinra, as a former member of them, will be vital to our struggle against them too," whispered Tifa.
"That money's not just for the bombs, ID cards, or other stuff we need for the missions, Tifa. It's also gonna be for Marlene's schooling too," whispered Barret, angrily. Barret then turned back to face Cloud, thinking to himself for a moment, and he finally answered, looking very annoyed.
"Alright then, I'll raise your payment to two thousand Gil from now on, for each mission that you help out on! But that's only for the sake of this Planet! You got that!?" shouted Barret, sharply, then turned away after Cloud nodded his agreement in response, as Barret muttered angrily to himself. Tifa walked up to Cloud, smiling.
"Thanks, Cloud," said Tifa, smiling gratefully, looking very happy and delighted, and then she kissed Cloud on the cheek in gratitude and joy, and hugged him tightly.
Cloud felt rather awkward but pleased all the same, as he returned the embrace, and then after a while, Tifa broke the embrace and smiled at him, as Cloud turned away and walked onto the pinball machine, going back down to the secret hideout floor, a strange feeling inside his chest.