Chapter 3

She had stayed up all night, the words of his haunting tale echoing in her head through the long stretch of darkness. As morning descended on the mountain valley town, it found her sitting up in the exact same position, a hand moving slightly through Cloud's blond hair as he snored softly. The baby, thankfully, had not awoken for the remainder of the night, but now Tifa was concerned about what to tell Gabriel and Michael about this situation. Cloud obviously had a problem, whether it be mental or physical, and she was determined to see him through this as she had done before in Mideel and the Lifestream.

They gain their power directly from the Lifestream, she repeated to herself, trying to let a solution to the problem magically come to her. She hated having no clue of what was really going on; it frustrated her. A light shuffle moved her from her thoughts and her eyes lifted to the doorway. Michael stood there silently once more in the early dawn light, his complexion looking paler than usual. She tried to give him an encouraging smile and motioned him into the room with her free hand. He passed wordlessly through the doorway and came up to her bedside, standing off to one side as he looked down at the sleeping man in his caretaker's lap with a blank face. Tifa knew he never let anything mar his impassive mask, that it was his self-made protection from the hurt of losing the only family he had, and as much as she wanted to break him out of it--no child should be that way--she had the feeling that Michael would continue to keep to himself despite her best efforts until the time he chose. She had finally figured it was best to let him have his solitude, being just right there in case he finally decided to turn to her for help. He was a strange boy.

"It was doomed from the begining, wasn't it?"

"What was that, Michael?" Tifa blinked, not exactly sure if she had heard him correctly.

"He should be named Caleb."

"Michael, what are you--?"

"They're coming for him."

The last sentence made goosebumps rise on her arms and a chill rip down her spine. She stared at him incredulously, wondering if he had heard their conversation last night and was mocking her now. Somehow, though, she didn't think that was the answer. Light footfalls alerted them of another presence and both pairs of eyes returned to the doorway where Gabriel now stood, rubbing one sleep-filled eye with a small fist.

"I heard noise last night, Tifa," he yawned. "I wanted to come out but Michael said he would check on it but when he came back he didn't say anything and then I thought of checking but I figured if he wasn't worried then there was nothing wrong and it was okay to sleep and..."

"Yes, Gabriel, everything's fine," she assured him with a fake smile. She briefly felt Michael's eyes, almost like a silken touch on her skin. But she favored Gabriel's wide-eyed expression at their new resident, however feeling a twinge of guilt.

"Who's that? Is he Kali's father? Or maybe her brother? Or--" he turned to the slightly older boy, "--is he your daddy? Your older brother? Do you know him?" Michael shook his head. Tifa felt the eyes leave her and couldn't help but feel a little relieved.

"He's an old, dear friend of mine," she smiled, a little more sincerely this time, looking down at the man's sleeping face in her lap.

"Is he the one you told us about? That you were in love with him but he liked someone else?" Gabriel asked. Tifa's smile turned into a rather sick grimmace. The mention of 'someone else' (Aeris) made her stomach suddenly turn unpleasantly, as it never had before. She opened her mouth to answer when, surprisingly, Michael cut her off.

"Let's go get dressed, Gabe," he said curtly to the other boy and walked silently out of the room. His questions all but forgotten, Gabriel whirled and hurried out after his friend with a breathless "wait up!" that was not answered in words. She was left with Cloud and Kali again in the quiet room, staring after the two boys with a mixture of confusion and helplessness that suddenly reached up and overtook her. She felt small, helpless with all these obstacles suddenly laid out in front of her. By now she was absolutely convinced something very werid was going on here. She just couldn't, for the life of her, figure out what it was... besides the news that Aeris Gainsborough had somehow turned into a deranged madwoman that controlled an army of mako soldiers. And as if that were a sign saying 'things couldn't get much worse' there was a knock at the door.

Knock knock! "Miss Lockheart?" Knock knock knock! "Hello?" Knock! "Is anyone home...?"

Tifa managed to slide herself out from beneath Cloud but as soon as she stood she found that both of her legs were dead asleep, all the way up to her hips. Rolling her eyes and huffing in agravation, she stumbled and dragged herself into the landing and to the edge of the stairs, turning her head once to call over her shoulder for Michael to keep an eye on the baby while she was downstairs. Then, planting one hand on each banister, she hoisted herself down the steps as the knocking continued.

Knock knock knock! "Miss Lockheart?" Knock knock knock!

"Yes, I'm coming!" she panted as she reached the first floor. Knock knock knock! "Coming!" she repeated, a little louder. By the time she wobbled over to the door (looking quite ridiculous indeed) the knocking had ceased. Rolling her eyes again, she wrenched the door open and leaned heavily against the brass knob, looking out past the porch to see who had called on her. She spotted them at the edge of her walkway: "Miss? How may I help you?" They stopped and turned back to face her, looking pale and almost uncertian. She managed a fairly polite smile and gestured her to come back and join her inside. She did, getting paler as she drew closer until she looked positively as white as a sheet when she stepped into the foyer. Tifa limped back and the mystery woman looked blankly at her actions. Not afraid to stare, are we? she thought to herself but again mustered a smile and gestured her into the sitting room to the right of the stairs. "Must have slept funny last night, can't feel anything but pins and needles in my legs. Now," she waited for her impatiently to sit down and when she did Tifa plopped unceremoniously into the chair across from her. She hadn't been kidding, the pins and needles were killing her right now. "What can I help you with?"

"I'm here to collect my brother," she said and Tifa blinked, the pins and needles all but forgotten.

"Your brother?" she repeated.

"Some of the local townspeople told me you work with lost or abandoned children."

"Y-yes..." she stuttered. Michael's words suddenly came back to her: They're coming for him. Did he mean...?

"His name is Gabriel, he's eight," the woman pressed, looking tired. "I'm his sister, Ariel."

"Oh!" Tifa remembered the name from many late night prayer sessions with the boy. "Well, then, if you'll excuse me for just a moment, I'll ge fetch him." She stood and walked around to the stairs, limping slightly but showing no other signs that her legs were still half asleep. Leaving the woman behind, Tifa felt the slightest of shivers crawl slowly up her spine but she shook it off quickly, dismissing it as nerves. She should be happy Gabriel's family had come to get him, not uneasy, or sad that he was leaving. She always had difficulty letting the children go, no matter how long they had been in her care: Gabriel had been the last to join the house; Michael was already here and she had just recently found Kali, and a little girl that had been found wandering outside the city limits had just been adopted by the new General Store owner. Mendi. As Tifa reached the second floor, Gabriel and Michael were crossing to her and Kali's room. They stopped to look at her flushed face and distracted gaze.

"Tifa...?" Gabriel called tentatively. She shook herself out of it and knelt in front of him, placing her hands on his shoulders.

"I have some good news for you, Gabriel."

"You made pancakes for breakfast!" he blurted out and she suddenly felt the strong urge to cry. Gripping his shoulders a little tighter, she looked into his wide dark green eyes and licked her lips quickly.

"No, honey," she gave him a quavering smile. "Your sister's here."

"Sis..." his eyes widened. "ARIEL!" And without another second he darted past her and down the stairs. She could hear his footsteps thudding, skidding to a halt, his surpressed half-shriek, half-sob, and then "SIS!"

Tifa lowered herself onto the topmost step, pressing the heels of her hands briefly against her stinging eyes. Michael stood quietly behind her, his eyes leaving their touch on her back. She looked back at him and presented him with the same shaking grin.

"You were right," she told him. "They did come for him. But, how did you know?"

"Are his parents down there?"

"No, just his sister."

Michael stayed quiet. Finally, after what seemed like hours but was really only seconds, he left her side to go check on Kali as she had asked. Taking a deep breath, Tifa stood (the pins and needles completely gone now) and descended the stiars at a steady pace, trying to get her emotions in check before she faced the pair of them. Turning into the living room, she saw the two of them standing, Gabriel staring in open-mouthed shock at his sister who gripped his hand tightly, looking blank, despite the sibling's reunion.

"Thank you," the woman said.

"You're quite welcome. He was no trouble at all," Tifa answered her through a lump in her throat. The two of them headed for the door and Tifa moved ahead of them, pulling it open. "You and your sister can come back and visit me anytime, alright Gabriel?"

The boy did not even glance at her as she spoke, his eyes still transfixed upon his sister's face. She supposed from the shock of seeing her alive after all this time. Watching them go until they reached the old well in the center of town, Tifa shut the door behind her and slumped against it, sighing dejectedly. One arm came over her eyes as she closed them, her head leaning back against the oak door.

"He didn't even say goodbye..." she whispered.