It was early in the evening when Cloud got back to the church. The slanting angle of the sun cast shadows all around him as his motorcycle sputtered to a stop. He put an exhausted hand to his forehead and let the motorcycle fall to it's side. I'm ready for this day to be over...he thought as he approached the entranceway. Yawning, he walked through the doorless entrance but paused for a second once inside.

Something happened here...he thought narrow his eyes. Immediately, he forgot about his exhaustion as all his senses were put on high alert, trying to decipher what was different about the church. He quickly took note of the broken cement at his feet and the slanting footprints in the dust in the corner. Feeling a pang of foreboding, he lifted his eyes from the ground to look over the rest of the church. There was something in the flowers...He took a step forward.

He saw the raven hair, and knew instantly what it was.

"Tifa?" he said loudly, unbelievingly.

The figure didn't move. And he knew something was horribly wrong.

"Tifa!" he shouted, now runninng towards her. "Tifa!"

He stopped inches from her body. Panic rising in his chest, he slipped a hand behind her shoulders and another around her waist, trying to pull her to her feet. She sagged in arms like a doll.

"Tifa?" he asked quietly. "Come on..."

Cloud sank to the ground, still supporting her upper half in his arms. He whipped his head left and right, searching for an explanation. The damage in the church pointed to a fight. He worked hard to control the fear in his mind. Tifa laid immoble in his arms. Cloud stopped his examination of the church, and looked down at her, panic evident in his face.

"Tifa..." he breathed, incapable of making a louder sound.

Come on Tifa...his mind screamed. Please don't do this to me...make a movement, make a sound...show me you're still here...A moment away from losing control, Cloud pulled her closer to him, shaking her gently and willing her to wake up.

His heart leapt when her eyelashes fluttered slightly. He caught a glisp of her chocolate eyes before they shut again and Tifa let out a low moan that twisted his insides.

"Tifa?" he asked, heart pounding.

Her pretty face contorted. Fear stabbing at his heart again, Cloud looked her over for any sign of injury. He couldn't see anything that would be causing her such intense pain.

"Cloud?" she whispered weakly.

His eyes focused quickly back on her face.

"You're...late." Her head flopped to his chest as she lost consciousness once more.

Cloud stared at her face for several long moments, pain and guilt bubbling in his chest. Slowly and carefully, he lifted her broken body off the ground. The movement caused her to let out a whimper, and Cloud stopped cold. He waited until her face was peaceful again. Moving slowly as to not disturb her, he carried Tifa out of the church, desperately trying not to think about the last time he carried someone this way.

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Tifa was fighting against the darkness. It was prefferable to the pain...but there was something important she had to do. What was it? Marlene...she thought blearily. That man...he has her. Feeling as though she were lifting an enormous weight, she wrenched her eyes open. She shut them quickly. The light was painful. Tentatively, she opened her eyes again. She was surprised to find herself in her own bed.

Her entire body aching, she lifted herself into a sitting position. The blankets fell off her shoulders. It took her a minute to come to her senses, but finally she noticed Cloud sitting next to the bed, watching her.

"Cloud..." she said, her words heavy with emotion. "Marlene..."

Cloud's face expertly hid his fear, but Tifa saw it anyways.

"Marlene is gone..." Cloud said slowly. "Denzel is too."

"No..." Tifa whispered.

"Reno and Rude are looking for them. Apparently they weren't the only children taken."

Tifa swung her legs over the edge of the bed, absorbing this information with growing horror. But she looked up at Cloud, whose eyes were aimed at the floor, and in an instant remembered everything.

"You have Geostigma, don't you, Cloud..." she said quietly.

Cloud didn't meet her eyes. "There's no cure for it."

At these words, Tifa was rendered speechless for a moment by the grief, fear, and frusteration that gripped her.

"'It's okay to die'...Do you believe that?" Tifa asked, her voice small.

Cloud didn't answer.

Tifa leaned forward, her words heavy with emotion. "Denzel's fighting it! So why not you too? I'm here for you...everyone's here for you! So why...why..."

She broke off, unable to continue. Cloud ducked his head lower and Tifa noticed him gripping his arm tightly.

"I don't..." Cloud began, his voice filled with guilt. "I don't feel as though I can save anyone...not my family...not my friends...no one..."

Tifa started to reach out towards him but stopped as she heard a voice from the doorway.

"Stop dragging this out...geez." Reno said shaking his head.

Rude scratched his head, embarassed.

Cloud stood and began walking towards them.

"Did you find them?" Tifa's voice was tense and worried.

Reno nodded. "Yea we found them."

"Where are they?" Cloud asked stonily.

"At the Forgotten City." Rude answered him likewise.

Cloud made to walk out of the room but Tifa stopped him.

"Cloud...I understand." she said, her words coming out quickly. "Even if we find the children, we may not be able to do anything...we might not even be able to get them back. That's what you're afraid of, isn't it?"

He slowly turned around at these words. Tifa lifted her eyes to meet his.

"Were we defeated by our memories?" she asked softly.

Trying to not to think of Sephiroth, and these new men who resembled him, Cloud broke away from her gaze. Feeling empty of anything but pain and guilt, he followed Reno and Rude out of the room.