They made their way back through the slums without any greater problems, but as they approached the tunnel, gun-shots were heard. Rufus checked his shot-gun and glanced over at Tifa. "Ready?"
She nodded and swallowed nervously. Cait Sith jumped up and down anxiously, positive that Cloud and the others would die if they didn't hurry.
"Alright," Rufus declared and took off, quickly followed by Tifa and Cait Sith.
Rounding a corner, they saw Cloud, Barret, Red and Cid fighting against several guards wearing crimson uniforms.
"Go, I'll cover you!" Rufus declared as he fired at the guards, gaining a few seconds of confusion among the enemy as Tifa and Cait Sith ran towards the others.
"Cid!" Tifa exclaimed as she dived into safety beside the pilot. "Are you ok?"
Throwing an ether, Cid cast a quick glimpse over at her and grinned. "Of course! It takes more to wipe out this Highwind! Now I just have to make sure this so-called rescue party makes it outta here alive!"
He jumped up to attack one of the soldiers and Tifa glanced around. Shera was shivering against the wall and Yuffie were pummeling some unfortunate soldier, but someone was missing. She gazed over at Barret who was firing furiously with his gun-arm. "Where is Vincent? And that girl?"
Barret ducked down as a shower of bullets flew over his head. "I dunno! Lost sight of 'em after we'd gotten Cid out and got discovered. Don't worry bout Valentine! Hell be fine. Worry 'bout us gettin' outta here alive!"
And with that, he got up and fired a reply to the shower he'd received. Tifa corrected her glove when Rufus nearly fell to his knees beside her while re-loading his shot-gun.
"How the hell you managed to give me so much trouble when you're obviously nothing but a bunch of amateurs?!" He sneered as he shoved in new bullets and flicked away a lock of hair in his face.
Tifa's eyes narrowed, she'd just had more than enough with Mr Rufus ShinRas comments and behavior, "Shouldn't that say something about you?!" She darted out to attack the soldier closest to their cover.
Rufus blinked puzzled, then grinned and got up to make sure no soldier would ever challenge him and live to tell about it!
Slowly making their way back, the group finally managed to shake off the soldiers and ran for their lives through the tunnel.
"Glad to see you're ok," Cloud said to Tifa as they ran shoulder-by-shoulder, "I was worried."
A warm feeling filled Tifa as she smiled widely back to him. "I'm fine. Thanks."
How could she ever think about a future with someone besides him? Just as she was to settle with that nice feeling, Tifa caught the glimpse of Rufus ShinRa who was helping Shera over some debris. His face was far from clean after the fight and going through the tunnel, his hair ruffled and his eyes ice-cold blue, but when they met hers, she felt her cheeks flush and legs tremble. Tifa quickly stared straight ahead and forced herself to focus.
Rufus clenched his jaw and tried his best not to gaze over at Tifa again. She had some weird effect on him. He told himself to forget about her and keep his mind on what was important, but she didn't help! Rufus did not know what it was about her that gave him this warm feeling and yet freeze with fear. She was dangerous somehow. He shook his head slightly and forced himself to focus on where he was stepping.
The trip through the tunnel seemed to take more time than it did when they were walking into Midgar, and everyone drew a deep, relived breath when they finally were out in fresh air again. Cloud scratched his neck thoughtfully as he gazed back at the tunnel and shifted his weight uneasily. "Come on, Vincent..."
Barret shrugged as he walked over to the former SOLDIER. "He'll be fine. You know that spook is a survivor, while wed better concentrate on gitt'n outta here before more troops discovers us!"
Cid lit up a beloved cigarette and flung the match away. "He's right. Valentine will be fine, as long as he brought the parts to the Highwind, or I'll personally kill him!"
The pilot stared at Tifa, who in turn glanced over at Yuffie.
The young ninja sighed and rolled her eyes. "Of course Vincent got them! We left them back in Rocket Town."
Cid inhaled irritated from his cigarette. "And how the hell are we supposed to get the Highwind back without them parts?!"
Still staring at Midgar, Cloud kept hesitating, so Barret declared that someone had to go back to Rocket Town to get the parts while the others found the airship! A few seconds later, when Cloud still hadn't moved an inch, Tifa walked over to him,
"Cloud..." She said softly and stroke a hand down his arm, "we have to decide what to do."
The former SOLDIER nodded slowly and sighed; "Yeah... I know..." He gave her a tired smile and took her hand. "Come on."
Tifa gave his hand a soft squeeze and smiled back. "Right with you, Cloud. Like I always am."
Only she started as she caught glimpse of Rufus with a look on his face which could only be described as furious. Tifa blinked confused as he glared scornfully away, but numbly reacted when Cloud guided her over to the others.
A short discussion ended in deciding that Cid, Shera, Barret, Yuffie, and Red were to go back to Rocket Town and get the parts. While Cloud, Tifa, Cait Sith and Rufus went to find the Highwind, possibly Vincent, and they would stay in touch over the PHS.
When the other party had left, Rufus shook his head slightly. "You cant be serious?! We're not going back through that tunnel?!"
"Unless you have a better idea?" Cloud gazed over at him with a shrug. Rufus clenched his jaw and stared down at the ground, receiving a dry smile from the former SOLDIER. "Didn't think so. Alright, lets get going!"
As they made their way back into Midgar, they met a whole lot more resistance as most of the soldiers were alerted of AVALANCE's presence, but eventually they found themselves running around in the slums again, much to Rufus dismay.
Cloud halted and gazed around as he rubbed his neck thoughtfully. "Where the hell do we start looking for the Highwind...? Where could they hide something so big?"
"Knowing you, you'd probably look in the wrong place..." Rufus sighed impatiently as he put his shotgun back in its holster.
Cloud straightened with a jerk and stared offended at him; "Oh yeah? How so?"
Flicking back a lock of his hair, Rufus felt Tifa eye him cautiously. "You'd look up, when you should be going down."
Cloud frowned confused and shrugged. "What do you mean?"
Tifa clenched her hands, not sure if Rufus wasn't just acting like a jerk.
The ex-president crossed his arms and snorted. "What I said; you have to look down! You probably don't know that Midgar has an underground air-base?"
Cloud shook his head with a puzzled look. "No, I didn't. You think they've brought the Highwind there?"
"Where else would they put the damn thing?! If they didn't take it to Junon, as anyone with a little good sense would've done, then the only place they could land something that big would be at the air-base!" Rufus grumbled annoyed.
Cloud bit his teeth together, forcing himself to remain quiet until he was sure he wouldn't throw some remark that would cause a fight. He appreciated any help he got, but Rufus ShinRa had his own way of doing it so that he felt incredibly stupid and about two inches tall. "Alright," Cloud said through gritted teeth, "how do we get there?"
Rufus turned to gaze at the ShinRa-building and sighed. "Through there..."
Cloud was third to climb down the ladder and jumped startled when Cait Sith landed beside him. "Why didn't you tell us about this underground base?" The former SOLDIER demanded to know and the toy cat waved his hands in defence; "I didn't know about it either!"
Rufus glanced back over his shoulder at the two with a despising look. "Of course not! This is top-secret. Only me, Scarlet and Heidegger knows about it."
Tifa unknowingly shuddered with anger at the mentioning of that woman's name, praying she would end up in another slapping-contest with that dreadful creature and this time Tifa would use more powerful means!
They silently made their way towards the air-base and soon they were able to have an overlook down at the few helicopters standing down there, and among them; the Highwind. Rufus frowned slightly at the heavy amount of guards and mumbled; "I guess Scarlet didn't care much to keep it that big of a secret anymore..."
Cloud pulled forward his sword and drew a deep breath. "Still no major obstacles."
Tifa swallowed hard and gazed down at her hands, knowing she'd been a fool to hope for this to go without anyone getting killed. She slowly gazed over at Cloud. "What about Vincent?"
The former SOLDIER shook his head sadly. "You know I'm just as worried as you are, Tifa. But we have to get the Highwind out of here, and we don't have any time to go around looking for him. Besides," he added softly, "the others are right; Vincent knows how to take care of himself."
Tifa nodded, but closed her eyes as Rufus got up and loaded his shotgun. "Alright, Strife, lead the way!"
Cait Sith tugged at Clouds arm and tilted his head. Maybe we should try to start out silently, at least? Get as close as possible before all hell breaks loose?"
Tifa nodded eagerly. "We should try." She rather felt than heard Rufus' scorning snort, but sighed relived when Cloud agreed.
"Come on," he said and made his way down towards the Highwind. Surprisingly enough, they made it all the way to the airship without getting into any fights, but as they stood on the deck, Cloud realised their problems were far from over. "How do we fly it out? Besides the fact that it is shot up real bad, there is a frigging roof in the way!"
Tifa glanced nervously around. "M-maybe Cid knows?"
"Yeah... cant hurt to ask." Cloud sighed and pulled forward the PHS.
After a short conversation, he turned to the others with a troubled look; "Cid figures she can make it out of here if we ask her real nice and do our best to help her. But there's still the minor matter with the roof..."
"What are we going to do?" Tifa walked over and took a gentle hold of Clouds arm.
Rufus pulled forwards his shotgun and automatically checked that it was loaded before putting it back in its holster. "You three start up the ship and I'll head for the main-controls. It's the only way this roof will open. I don't trust either of you not to get me killed, so I'll go solo. And it'll probably take three to steer this thing anyway. I'll meet you on top of the control tower."
Cloud blinked surprised, but saw the determination in Rufus cold eyes and nodded.
Tifa stared numbly from one to the other, then flinched startled as Rufus turned to climb down the ladder again. Not sure what to say, she walked over and took his hand as he flung one foot over the railing, unable to speak while her eyes pleaded for him to be careful.
Rufus face snapped back towards her and he stared harshly at her. Three seconds passed, then he jerked her close, locked one hand behind her neck and let his lips met hers with firm determination.
As Rufus had prepared for her to pull away, he was pleasantly surprised to find her lean willingly against him and made no attempts to fight against him while her hands grasped at his shirt collar. He softened his lips as he deepened the kiss and completely forgot to hide his warm feelings for the woman in his arms.
Rufus had caught Tifa totally by surprise and her eyes widened in shock, but the feelings were too strong and overwhelming for her to resist him. She shivered in disappointment when he withdrew his lips from hers and blinked drowsily to regain her senses, failing to see the gloating look Rufus sent the horrified Cloud.
Knowing he could be walking into his death, Rufus had decided that consequences be damned and repeated what had haunted his dreams. He gave a final crooked smile to Tifa, then turned and began climbing down.
Tifa numbly lifted shivering fingers to her lips and drew a deep, deep breath.
"Uhm... Tif, what the hell was that about?" Clouds voice broke through the haze and jerked her back to reality.
"Don't ask..." She said silently, "just don't."
Clouds mouth dropped open and his eyes widened. "Don't ask? ShinRa junior does that to you, you seem to rather enjoy it, and you tell me; don't ask?!" He waved his arms in frustration and stomped off in to the Highwind control-room.
Tifa closed her eyes and sighed, desperate to figure out what to do.
"Like... Wow," Cait Sith's voice said, and she glanced wearily down at the toy cat. "Don't... "
"...ask. I know. But still, wow." Cait Sith interrupted, grinned and wobbled after Cloud.
Tifa walked over to the railing, clutching it with the hopes of seeing Rufus a final time, but her eyes quickly lost their sparkle with disappointment. "Rufus... you'd better come back alive so I can ask you what the hell that meant, or I swear by the Planet that I'll kill you myself!"
Rufus clutched the shotgun a little tighter with a wry smile as he had slithered pass a couple of guards. It was probably better if he got killed in this silly mission rather than face the fury of Strife after the little performance with Miss Lockhart in front of him.
He straightened and leaned against the wall as two more soldiers walked pass him, yet his mind were blissfully occupied with recalling how Tifa had responded so softly. Cursing mentally, Rufus darted over to the door to the control-room.
- Focus, you idiot! Or you'll get yourself killed! Once again, a wry smile played over his lips while slowly walking up the stair as he kept throwing quick glances back to check his possible retreat route. - Didn't you just think that it would be better to be killed?
He halted by the door, his hand on the door-handle and shook his head slightly with a grin. Nah, he had to return, now that he knew she still had a weak spot for him, he suddenly had a real reason for staying alive. Why that mattered so much to him, he'd have to find out later. This was not the time!
The waiting was agonizing, but when suddenly gun-shots broke out; Tifa desperately wished she was back at waiting again.
"That's our cue!" Cloud exclaimed and started up the Highwind, who protested grumpily against another trip. "Come on," he pleaded intensely and tried frantically to remember everything Cid had told him.
Tifa drew a shivering breath, turned and ran out to scout for Rufus. She clutched the railing with all her might and stared at the direction where the gunshots were coming from. "Dear Planet, no... Come on, ShinRa, you can make it back here." Her whispered words were cut off by the explosion of a grenade and she felt the Highwind shudder to life.
A loud sound caught her attention and she gazed up in wonder as the roof began to open.
"He did it!" Cait Sith cried out and jumped with excitement.
Cloud bit his teeth together as he forced the airship to lift off the ground. "We're not out yet."
He pulled at a lever Cid had instructed and the Highwind seemed to consider whether to fly up or collapse on the ground. "Just a little more, Highwind, then you're back in Cid's arms. Isn't that worth this little trip?" Cloud could not believe he was actually talking to the damn ship, but the most frightening part was how it looked like it was helping!
Slowly, like a wounded eagle, the Highwind fought her way up in the air, shuddering and wavering as she rose.
Tifa gazed intently at the tower, seeing flashes of gun shots through the windows.
- At least that means he's alive, she thought with a nauseous feeling, still clutching the railing.
As they reached the top, the door to the highest balcony was flung open and Rufus came running out. Tifa exhaled in relief and turned to get the ladder, it was probably instinct that made her gaze back in time to see the door open again and a soldier in a crimson uniform fire at the ex-president.
Rufus spun around and managed to fire back before the bullets tore into him and slammed him against the railing. Tifa screamed, and Rufus vaguely noticed the sound as he slowly sank down to the floor. - Damn... This wasn't supposed to... He thought numbly and slightly irritated, before the pain made him pass out.
"No!" Tifa screamed again and before she knew she'd jumped, she landed beside Rufus. Two more soldiers had appeared in the door and took a step towards her, only to freeze as she slowly gazed over at them, eyes burning with rage.
She'd barely had time to check for Rufus pulse and when she found it, weak, but still there, she was free to wreak havoc upon those who were to blame! Unaware of doing so, her fingers locked around the shotgun Rufus had dropped and Tifa straightened.
Cloud had heard Tifa scream, and cursed intensely, only guessing what she'd done now. "Cait! Take over!" He took a hold of his sword as the toy cat stared wide eyed at him.
"W-what? M-me?! S-steer this... thing?!"
Cloud equipped an Restore materia and cast a quick glimpse over at him. "Her name is the Highwind, and if ask her nicely; she'll help you!" He ran towards the door, wryly smiling over using the very words Cid had said to him.
Outside, he gazed down to find Tifa in battle and Rufus ShinRa down.
What the hell was going on between those two anyway?! Cloud frowned, but decided to ask questions later, no matter how Tifa tried to avoid them. He guessed it was only fair to try and save ShinRa junior now that he'd risked his life for their escape. That was... if he wasn't dead already.
Cloud sighed and jumped as well, landing nicely beside Tifa. "Hey there, Tifa. Need a hand?"
She cast a glance over at him, then muttered; "get Rufus onboard the Highwind. I'll take care of these germs!"
Slightly surprised at the anger in her voice, Cloud objected weakly; "I cant leave you here!"
Tifa darted forward to attack a soldier; ordering over her shoulder for him to do as she said.
Numbly, Cloud slowly backed up to kneel beside the bleeding Rufus ShinRa. He flinched at the sight of the wounds. "Well," Cloud mumbled as he threw Cure3, "if you survived WEAPON, I guess you'll survive this as well, huh?" Though his tone lacked the conviction in his words. Seeing the wounds close, Cloud placed Rufus' arm around his neck and dragged him to his feet."Come on, junior, time to go."
He gazed back at Tifa, who had a limit-break unlike anyone he'd ever seen. "Tifa! Let's go!"
His words seemed to break through and she gazed back at him. "Is he alive?"
Cloud hoisted at the limp Rufus and grimaced. "Yes. But not for long if we don't get out of here!"
That seemed to make her regain her senses and Tifa ran over to them. "How do we get him on board the Highwind?"
Tifa's eyes softened with worry as she placed Rufus' other arm around her neck.
Cloud gazed over the railing, hoping to see some miracle, and in a way; he did. After a serious fight with her, Cait Sith found Highwind sinking resolutely to the ground and once the toy cat turned to begging and pleading, the ship had turned slightly and began rising again, right next the balcony.
"Come on, Tifa! This is our one chance!" Cloud exclaimed and the risky task of getting all three onboard began...