It
didn't depend on the views of good and evil, but how you used the
strength from within.
And as soon as she grasped this thought,
another voice came to her; it seemed to speak to her heart instead of
her mind. Then it was no longer talking, but singing:
"I was all
alone...no one there to guide me through the darkness...of my
heart..."
"My song?" she whimpered softly. The pool of
blood beside her began glowing, and she looked down at it once more.
Cloud was playing her piano in her room and singing:
"I once
reached for you, and your fingers left mine..."
"Cloud,"
she whispered and touched the surface of the blood lake. The image
rippled, but did not fade.
"I was all alone..."
"No,"
she shook her head. "I won't let you be alone."
"Tear
my heart open; sift through my memories: Who Am I? Lift all the masks
away; come face to face with me: Who Am I?"
Tifa's voice
suddenly rose above his:
"Please, come back to me...I sit as a
scared child in the black...of my soul..."
And to finish it
all, the Phoenix's enchanting whistle echoed their voices in
sync:
"Steal through the night and discover, beside me
forever...Who...Am...I?"
She had been watching Cloud's
profile–the pain on his face, the tears in his eyes; she had never
seen him cry. But as the song ended, his image withdrew back into the
depths of the blood lake.
"NO!" she shrieked and dove into
the dark liquid. As she went under, panic clutched at her chest. What
was she doing in here! Cloud wasn't at the bottom–he was in the
Outer Realm with the others! She envisioned them all one by one:
Barret, Yuffie, Nanaki, Cait Sith, Vincent, Cid–all crying, all
missing her. And Cloud...something other than determination burned
within him. Something beside the evil dwelt inside him and was
ripping at his heart...
"Tifa... I love you."
Tifa's
eyes shot open and she looked through the murky substance to the
bottom where something was glowing. She focused on it; latched onto
the fire that had suddenly exploded within her soul–Cloud loved
her!
She dove closer to the light. 'No matter who you are,
Cloud, I always want to stay with you! And not even death can
separate us anymore!'
"I'm going back!" she screamed
aloud into the darkness. The light suddenly shot up and enveloped her
in a spiral of glowing energy. Her profile shone red as something
within her shrieked and rose from the depths of her subconscious The
lake of blood disappeared and she lunged toward the gateway between
the two worlds as if on wings. She passed through the archway and
tumbled down from the ceiling of her room, slamming onto her
bed.
Tifa Lockheart's body twitched and she opened her eyes.
Sitting up slowly, she looked around her room. Down at her feet were
a pair of mako and crystal gloves. There were four holes in the wall
beside her bed and a familiar reddish-gold materia in her hand. The
others had been here, but why was she alone now?
A bright flare of
gold light exploded from the orb. She felt a sudden flame torch in
her chest. Then it was gone as quickly as it had come; she remembered
what had happened–now they were probably searching for Damien. She
stood and grabbed the new gloves–the Prism Gauntlets–and put them
on. Power and magic flooded through her arms and spread down the rest
of her person. Her head cleared and her vision sharpened. It was time
to go. With a last look at the piano, where Cloud had been singing,
she ran out of the room.
Cloud Strife got down from the golden
animal's back and placed a hand on its beak. Kinto warked and
nudged him forward. Cloud looked back at him, then to the dark cave
entrance. The bird had taken him to a remote island way on the upper
right-hand corner of the world map; Cloud had only been here once
before–to get the Knights of the Round summon materia. Now he
stared at the cave entrance and wondered why Kinto had brought him
here. He took a few steps forward and the chocobo warked very loudly.
Cloud jumped and stumbled into the cave. He glared back at the gold
bird and it called to him happily, then turned and left. Muttering
curses, he continued through the darkness and into the dimly-lit
cavern.
It was just as Cloud remembered: empty, glowing surreally
from a spot of energy buried in the ground. He walked around the
glowing point in the dirt, inspecting it carefully. Something else
had taken form beneath the earth...and it wasn't a materia.
Curious, he knelt beside the light and touched the ground. A sense of
power quickly surged through him and Cloud instantly knew he had to
have whatever was under there. He cracked his knuckles and dug his
fingers into the dirt, feeling burning hot metal at his fingertips.
He labored over the spot for a few minutes, finally uncovering the
top half of what looked like full-body armor. Curling his fingers
around the shoulder pads, Cloud gave a heave and the entire thing
pulled up from the ground, making him fall backward.
Rubbing his
back, he sat up and held the armor out in front of him. He had been
right; it was full-body armor–bright yellow-gold chest plate,
shoulder guards, gauntlets, and a new plate belt. He brushed the dirt
off the glittering surface and turned it over. There was something
inscribed on the back plate:
"Good and Evil may die–Power will
always remain."
"We didn't find anything!" Yuffie
Kisaragi wailed, plopping down on the bed in the room. Cait Sith
shook his head and leaned against the wall beside her. Vincent
Valentine stood by the window, looking distant. Barret Wallace was
stomping around impatiently.
"I don't think there was anything
to find," Vincent shook his head.
"I can't believe this!"
Barret swung his fists through the air. Cait Sith sighed and held up
his PHS device.
"Anyone wanna call the others?"
Suddenly,
the mechanism in his paw crackled and rang shrilly. Everyone jumped
and turned to stare at it.
"Guys!" it was Cid Highwind's
voice. "Is anyone #in' listening! We need help! Damien's
here, and he–"
Vincent grabbed the PHS: "Where are
you!"
"Right outside Midgar; near the Chocobo Farm! Look, you
have to hurry–the &# found us! We can't hide for much
longer!"
Red XIII's voice abruptly shot above Cid's: "He's
here!"
The device clicked off. Vincent switched it on again,
but heard only static.
"Cid! Cid!" he shouted.
"We
hafta go ta Midgar!" Barret cried. Yuffie and Cait Sith leapt to
their feet.
"That's insane!" Yuffie gasped.
"We need
Cloud!" the mog-cat cried.
The PHS crackled again: "Vincent!
Was that Cid I just heard!"
It was Cloud.
"Yes, it was,"
Vincent replied. "Where are you!"
"I'm headed in that
direction right now! Get there as soon as you can!"
"Right!"
The
transmission clicked. Cait Sith lowered his ears and laughed
nervously.
"Well, what do you know?"
"Let's go!"
Vincent swirled his cape and ran from the room.
"He says it like
it's so easy to run to instant and painful death!" Yuffie
wailed.
"You keep forgettin'–he's already dead," Barret
growled and ran out after him.
"Oh, that explains it!" she
rolled her eyes and darted outside.
"Man...what's my
fortune-telling have to say about all of this!" Cait Sith sighed
and chased after her.
