Author's Notes: Another Final Fantasy Shoujo-ai fic. This one's a Final Fantasy VII Tifa/Aeris story. I will be more-or-less following the storyline of the game except for certain add-ins. Be forewarned that I will be time-jumping at certain set intervals as follows: After Aeris' death, After the group says 'goodbye' to Aeris, After an add-in conversation, And after the last battle with Sephiroth. Here is the story.
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Disclaimer: I do not own Final Fantasy VII or any other Final Fantasy. I also do not own the characters therein. They belong to Square Enix.

Pairing: Tifa/Aeris

Rating: PG13 - R

Genre: Angst/Action

Warnings: Well, This is a sad fic where Aeris dies(following the game's storyline) and Tifa, moreso than Cloud, wants revenge against Sephiroth. Just read to find out the full story.
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City of the Ancients/Forgotten Capital

Aeris is on her knees with her hands clasped infront of her, her head bowed and her eyes closed. Cloud is standing infront of her, Tifa and the others are waiting at the base of the 'steps'. After a few moments, Aeris raises her head and opens her green eyes, smiling.

Suddenly, Sephiroth appears dropping down toward Aeris from behind. Before anyone knows he's there, Sephiroth lands, thrusting the Masamune's blade through Aeris' torso.

"!?" Tifa gasps, covering her mouth with her hands. Her eyes widen and then she drops down, her legs out to either side of her.

Aeris drops forward and Sephiroth draws his sword from her, allowing her body to fall forward. As Aeris falls, her hairbow comes undone and the Materia orb of her mother's falls. When it hits the floor, Aeris' music starts playing and it bounces. The Materia bounces in slow-motion down the 'steps' and falls toward the water. Tifa reaches out her hand and the Materia lands in her palm. The brown-eyed girl closes her fingers slowly around the tiny orb and pulls her hand back to herself. She opens her hand to look at the Materia, then tightens her fist around it and narrows her eyes, 'Sephiroth's taken so much from me...' she says to herself 'And now... Aeris. I'll have my revenge against him, I swear!'

TIME-JUMP!

After Jenova's defeated, Aeris' body is leaned against a wall and the others are standing around. After everyone except Cloud and Tifa have said their 'goodbyes' to Aeris, Tifa walks over and sits down next to Aeris on her knees. The dark brownhaired girl uses her right fingers to brush a few strands of light brown hair from Aeris' face and then traces her fingers down the left side of the girl's face until they're under her chin. Tifa justs sits there for a few moments and looks at the girl's face, then she stands up and turns. She runs off, crying, down the 'steps' and Cloud picks up Aeris' body and carries it outside, where he lowers her into the water.

TIME-JUMP!

Onboard the Highwind, There's a pounding echoing throughout the ship and the view switches to one of the many rooms inside the vessel. The view reveals Tifa, punching against one of the walls in the room she's in. As the brownhaired girl continues punching, the metal starts giving-way to her blows, and a dent remains after her punches have stopped. Tifa lowers her fists to her sides and bows her head, before raising her head again and pulls her right fist back then thrusts it forward again, driving it through the metal wall. She pulls her fist free of the wall and unclenches both fists, then hears a male voice from behind her.

"That's quite impressive." the voice says, causing Tifa to spin around.

"Vincent!?" she says, surprised.

The caped man nods and walks past Tifa to the wall, he raises his right hand and inspects the hole, "It must take alot of strength to punch through solid steel..." he says, then turns to Tifa, "Or... is it an emotional response?"

"What do you mean?" questions Tifa, as Vincent walks past her in the other direction.

"Your want for vengeance against Sephiroth." Vincent responds, "I figure that same reason is why you have the Materia that Bugenhagen told us about."

"!?"

"The 'Holy' Materia that Aeris dropped when Sephiroth killed her." Vincent continues, "You remember what Cloud said, right? If we do not allow ourselves to let go of Aeris' memory, then Holy won't be released to combat Meteor."

"I know..." Tifa responds, reaching into her pocket to retrieve the Materia, "But, I just can't forget about her... and, this is the only part of her I have left."

"... I understand." Vincent says, walking back toward the door, "The person whom one loves is more important than the planet itself... even if only in a memory."

"Only a... memory?" Tifa questions herself.

After the door is closed, Tifa then turns around and unsnaps her suspenders. She then grips the hem of her shirt, then pulls it up and off over her head. She looks down and checks the center of her chest to find a long feint scar down the length of her chest. She traces a finger along it, 'It's not just a memory!' she states to herself 'The scar on my heart is like this one on my chest...'

TIME-JUMP!

After the initial battle with Sephiroth, a large hole opens up in the center of the ground and Cloud starts toward it, almost as if he's being called to it.

"Cloud! Where are you going?" Tifa asks, causing Cloud to stop.

"He's calling me." Cloud replies, "Sephiroth is."

"I see... down there, huh?" Tifa says, placing her left hand on Cloud's right shoulder, "But, Before you go, there's something I want to give you..." she spins him around and thrusts her right fist into the spikey-haired man's abdomen, knocking the wind out of him. Cloud hunches forward and Tifa draws her right arm above him, "Sorry Cloud." she adds as she thrusts her elbow against the back of Cloud's head and knocks him to the ground, unconscious. She then jumps into the void.

Scene-switch

Sephiroth is standing alone in the center of an area with his arms out to either side, holding the Masamune in his right hand, and he's looking upward into the darkness surrounding the area, "So Cloud, You've finally come to me?"

"Too bad for you, Sephiroth." Tifa says, as she walks out of the darkness behind him, "Cloud's not coming." we get an upclose of her left fist as she tightens it, "So, It looks like you'll hafta settle for me." she pulls her fists up infront of her in her fighting stance.

"?" Sephiroth lowers his arms and his head, he then turns to the girl, "Ah, Tifa. So, What is it you want from me?" he questions.

"Sephiroth... You took everything from me." Tifa responds, "Nibelheim, my friend Cloud, my papa... everything! Even Aeris..." she narrows her eyes, "And, What I want is..." she continues, "Revenge!!" and, with that, she dashes at the silverhaired man... ... ... (Sorry everyone, I don't really feel like writing the entire fight in right now)... ... ...

Tifa is on her hands and knees, several cuts on her in many places, her right hand is still clenched in a fist. The girl is breathing heavily, but she shakes her head and forcibly draws her right leg forward, placing her foot against the ground. She places her right fist against her right knee and pushes herself up, bringing her left leg forward and stands up, leaned forward with her hands on her knees, then pushes herself up straight... much to the surprise of Sephiroth.

"How are you getting up!?" Sephiroth demands, shocked.

"You...huff... can't win, Sephiroth..." Tifa says, her head still down.

"!?" Sephiroth's eyes widen slightly, "What!?"

"The people of this planet and the planet itself won't let you...huff" she continues, "All people, whether good or evil, have hopes and... huff dreams." "You want to destroy those hopes and dreams... all for your own ambitions... but, I'm not here for myself..." she says, "The people of this planet want you to be stopped... by anyone. They won't let me lose..." she stops to breathe several breaths, then slowly raises her head, "So... You can't beat me!" she finishes.

Tifa raises her right fist toward Sephiroth and it begins glowing. She then draws her fist back, "Now! Prepare to recieve this fist filled with the power of people's hope!" she thrusts her fist toward Sephiroth.

Sephiroth brings the Masamune up horizontally infront of him, in an effort to block the attack. His eyes widen and, in a flash, Tifa is standing behind him, "How...?" Sephiroth says, "This... cannot be..." the Masamune breaks in-two and he drops both halves to the ground, he then clasps his head in his hands and yells into the darkness, as his body disappears.

Tifa pulls her right fist back toward herself and turns the palm to her, then slowly uncurls her fingers to reveal Aeris' Materia glowing a pale green in her palm. Then, She watches the Materia as it suddenly flies up out of her hand, "Aeris..." she says, then the ground begins crumbling out from under her and she grabs a ledge.

"Tifa!" she hears Cloud's voice call and she looks up to see Cloud with his right hand outstretched down toward her, "Take my hand and I'll pull you up!"

Tifa starts to reach up to take Cloud's hand but, she stops and closes her eyes as she lowers her head slightly.

"Tifa! What are you doing!?" Cloud calls, "Take my hand! Hurry!"

"Cloud..." Tifa says, then opens her eyes and looks up at him, "I'm sorry... but, there's nothing for me to go back for..." she pulls her hand back down to her and places her palm against the ledge, "You and the others go on. Get out of here while you can!" she says. The brownhaired girl then pushes herself backward, "Goodbye..." she finishes, as she allows herself to fall down the seemingly bottomless void, her arms outstretched to either side of herself and her eyes closed.

"TIFAAAA!!!!" Cloud calls after her, stretching his right hand down toward her as her form disappears into the blackness below.

Cid and Barret grab Cloud's arms and attempt to pull him away from the hole, "C'mon Cloud! We gotta go!" Cid says.

"Cid's right!" Barret adds, "She's gone! We gotta git our asses in gear, and git the hell outta 'ere before dis whole place goes up like a fing roman candle!!" finally, the two are able to pull him away and the Highwind blasts off, leaving the crater just as the place goes up.

TIME-JUMP!

Aboard the Highwind, Cloud's on his hands and knees on the floor, "It's my fault!" he says, punching the floor, "First Aeris! And now, Tifa too!" "If only I hadn't let myself give Sephiroth the Black Materia in the Temple of the Ancients then, none of this would be happening... even Meteor!"

"Enough o' dat!" Barret states, "Even if this whole mess is yo fault, it don't matter! Blamin yerself ain't gonna change a damn thing!"

"Barret's right, Cloud." Yuffie adds, "None of us could've changed what happened and, even if we could've, we can't go back and change anything now."

"... Cloud." Vincent says from where he's leaned against a wall with his arms folded, "You can't blame yourself for their choices..." "Both, Aeris and Tifa, knew the results of what their choices would lead to. They knew death would be the outcome of their choices." he continues, "Just like my nightmares were the result of my own choices." ... "One other thing." he adds, looking back toward Meteor, "Tifa said that she couldn't release her memory of Aeris. That is most likely why she chose to end her life."

"Hey guys!" Cid calls, "I don't mean to interrupt your little pep-talk conversation but, that fing giant rock is about to crash into the gdamn planet!!"

Then, As the group watches Meteor fall toward the earth from the Highwind, a bright glowing light appears inside it... and then, the Meteor begins crumbling and finally shatters into millions of harmless pieces.

"Aeris!?" Cloud says.

"S'up, Cloud?" asks Barret.

"Yeah, You see Aeris or something?" adds Yuffie.

"No... I hear her..." Cloud responds, closing his eyes, "She says, 'Don't worry about me or Tifa. We're both happy.' and, she adds, 'Both of us are right where we want to be... with each other.'..."

Scene-switch

Inside the Lifestream, Tifa and Aeris are standing facing one another, "Aeris..." Tifa says, "There's something I've wanted to tell you for awhile. Aeris, I love you."

Aeris smiles, "You know, No one's ever said that to me." she says, "And, I feel the same way. I met you while I was looking for something... but, now I know. It was in you, I found what I was looking for... you, Tifa."

"What do you mean?"

Aeris giggles slightly, "I don't really understand what I'm saying, myself." she says, "But, We've got forever to figure it out." she leans in and purses her lips slightly. Tifa meets the girl halfway and the two's lips connect in a gentle kiss.
-----!!The End!!-----

Ramblings: Well, What d'you all think about this one? I really like this pairing, personally, and I think it's pretty darned feasible also. A-anyway, Just drop me a review if you like the story or for constructive criticism. Just no flames about the fact that this is a shoujo-ai story. I told everyone that's what it was and if anyone was unable to read that, then I will pay no head to your flames anyway. Well, Ja for now.