"What is left when honor is lost?"

Publilius Syrus

Tifa and Cloud froze at this announcement. No...Tifa thought desperately. A shocked silence rippled through the crowd and it wasn't long until the low mutters escalated into angry shouts.

"AVALANCHE! AVALANCHE did this!"

"My children died in that fire! Wasn't it enough that they killed my wife when they dropped the plate in Sector Seven?"

"Bastards...just when we were trying to recover from meteor..."

Scarlet and Heidegger had looks of triumph on their faces. The crowd was theirs. They would do anything for them as long as they promised to kill AVALANCHE. Tifa and Cloud watched the crowd's angry shouts with numb disbelief. Tifa could feel herself shaking with hate, fear, and sadness; three of the darkest emotions a human can experience. She turned to Cloud, feeling unable to do anything but sit in shock at the sudden turn of events. He looked sick to his stomach.

"Come on Tifa..." he whispered. "It's not safe for us to be here...we have to get out somehow."

Easier said than done, she thought wryly. But nonetheless, she took his hand and allowed herself to be pulled into a crowd of people who would like to kill her more than anything. The hate pouring in on all sides was terrifying, but luckily, the hate was distracting enough to allow her and Cloud to manipulate through the crowd. FInally, they pushed their way through into an alleyway that would lead them out of the Midgar ruins. Sending one last glance towards the hateful mob, Tifa bursted into a sprint, trying to put as much distance between her and the people who wanted to kill her, as possible. Cloud was close at her heels.

Outside, they collapsed on the ground to catch their frenzied breathing. Their chests heaving, they rested their exhausted bodies for one brief glorious moment. But they knew that they truly couldn't spare much more than a moment, and so, they hauled themselves onto their weary feet. They stood in silence for a second before turning towards one another.

"What now?" Tifa asked with a tremor.

Cloud ran a distressed hand through his spiked hair. "Let's just get the hell out of here first."

"The chocobos we caught earlier are gone." Tifa said gravely.

"We'll have to go to the Chocobo Farm." Cloud said. "Hopefully our gold chocobos are all still there."

Tifa nodded quietly and they began to walk. Now that they were away from the bright flames that filled Midgar, the night was dark as velvet. Feeling exhausted, physically and emotionally, Tifa resisted the desire to lay down on the soft grass and fall asleep.

"We're about there," Cloud told her comfortingly.

Tifa nodded to show she had heard him. "Where will we go?"

"I don't know..." Cloud admitted. "But we're all in trouble...we have to warn the others."

"Barret and Marlene!" Tifa wailed in realization. "We have to tell them first...they're the closest to Midgar."

"We'll go to Kalm first." Cloud assured her.

In a miserable silence, they approached the Chocobo Farm. There were no lights on in the house, and silently they agreed to get their chocobos without waking anyone. Stealthily, they entered the barn. Only two stalls were occupied.

"The others must have already taken their chocobos..." Cloud muttered.

Tifa ran over to the farthest stall. With a sigh of relief she saw that her chocobo, Boko, was alive and well.

"Hey there," she said softly, burrying her head into his soft, comforting feathers.

"Wark!" warked Boko in greeting.

With good grace, she pulled herself onto his back. Cloud was already on top of Sunny, his chocobo. As silently as they came, they left the barn. Side-by-side their chocobos carried themtowards Kalm. At least I'm off my feet, Tifa thought sleepily. I hope Barret, Marlene, and the others are okay...

"Look Tifa," Cloud breathed softly. "There's Kalm."

Tifa yawned loudly. "You remember which house?"

"I think so." he repiled with an equally loud yawn.

As they reached the streets of Kalm, they dismounted and after tying their chocobos on a post, walked towards the house on wobbly legs. The streetlights gently illuminated the streets, and Tifa was happy to see that Kalm was overall, undamaged. Outside of the door, they hesitated.

"Should we knock?" Cloud asked.

Tifa nodded. "Might as well..."

Cloud hit his fist against the door three times. For several moments they stood in silence, but then they heard movement behind the door. The door swung open, and they were face to face with Barret.

"Now when I told you two you could visit, I didn't expect-" Barret began.

He stopped short when he saw their soot covered, tense, and weary faces.

"Wha' the hell happen'd to you two?" he bursted out.

"Shh!" Cloud told him before pushing him inside.

Tifa followed and closed the door behind her and locking it. Barret look bewildered.

"Wha's goin' on?" he asked warily.

Tifa and Cloud glanced at each other quickly before Cloud answered.

"You have to get out of here with Marlene."

Together they gave him a quick summary of what they had heard and seen in Midgar.

"Shit..." Barret cursed. "Damn Shinra..."

"Couldn't agree more..." Cloud muttered exhaustedly.

"I'll get Marlene while you ready your chocobo." Tifa offered.

"Awright..." Barret agreed. "But we have to wake Elmyra up too. This is her house ya know."

There was a moment of pained silence at the mention of their dead friend, Aeris' mother.

"Okay..." Tifa said softly. "I'll make sure she wakes up too."

Ignoring her weak legs, Tifa quickly took the stairs up to the second floor. Quietly she slipped into a bedroom on the right side of the hallway. There was a rather large bed against the wall with a rather small brown head poking out from under the blankets. Tifa smiled and gently shook Marlene's tiny shoulder.

"Marlene...it's me, Tifa." she said gently. "Wake up sweetie."

Marlene sleepily opened her eyes. "Tifa? Is that you?"

"Yes, it's me silly!" she replied with a gentle laugh.

"Tifa!" Marlene shouted and propelled herself into her arms. "Tifa! Tifa!"

"Shh!" she hushed her tenderly. "Go wake up Miss Elmyra and bring downstairs okay?"

Marlene's brown eyes sparkled in the dark. "Okay Tifa! I sure missed you!"

"I missed you too." she told her and gave her another quick hug before sending her into Elmyra's room.

Smiling at Marlene's happiness, Tifa descended the stairs slowly. She sat on the sofa and pulled her legs up under her, savoring the softness of the cushions. I'll just rest my head for a minute, until everyone comes back, she told herself as she placed her head on the pillow. But the exhaustion of the day began wearing down on her, and she felt her eyelids drooping until she was in a deep sleep.

Barret and Cloud re-entered the livingroom after getting together Barret's chocobo.

"Aaah look at that," Barret said amusedly. "Sleepin' like a baby."

Cloud smiled at Tifa's form, curled up on the sofa like a cat. That smiled faded when he remembered that he would have to wake her up soon so that they could go on another exhausting chocobo ride. He was jarred from these thoughts, however, by footsteps coming down the steps. Marlene was leading a confused-looking Elmyra down the stairs by the hand. He felt his heart lurch guiltily.

"Cloud." Elmyra said quietly. "I'm glad to see you're well."

Cloud hung his head. "You've heard about..."

"Yes," she said sadly placing a comforting hand on his shoulder. "But she loved you all very much. She wouldn't want you to wallow in sadness for her."

"She wouldn't want you to either." Barret told her gently.

Elmyra wiped her eyes and gave them all a shaky smile. "Don't you all worry about me."

Marlene attatched herself to her father's legs and stared up at him adoringly. He picked her up, looking a bit apologetic. From her perch on his shoulder, Marlene focused on Cloud.

"Hullo Cloud!" she said smiling innocently.

He returned her smile. "Hello Marlene."

Marlene swung her legs happily against her father's shoulder and asked, "Why are Cloud and Tifa here? Are we having a party?"

"No Marlene...we ain't havin' a party..." he said slowly. "We haveta go away."

Elmyra shot him a sharp look. "But you just came back to her!"

"Marlene's gotta come with me this time." he told her.

"Shinra has everyone after us." Cloud informed Elmyra quietly. "It's not safe for Marlene to be here anymore."

Elmyra nodded sadly. "I understand."

Barret sighed ruefully. "We best be off."

Cloud nodded and reluctantly proceeded to wake Tifa up.

"Tifa..." he whispered. "Come on Tifa...you have to get up. We gotta go."

Tifa groaned sleepily. Not yet... she thought drowsily. Cloud gently shook her shoulder.

"It's time to go Tifa..."

Unwillingly, she opened her eyes and sat up on the sofa. She yawned so widely her jaw cracked.

"Sorry guys," she apologized, embarassed. "I didn't mean to fall asleep."

"It's okay Tifa," Barret told her. "You two looked like you were gunna collapse on the spot anyways."

Tifa smiled and nodded, somehow feeling more tired than she was before she fell asleep. Stiffly, she stood up and stretched her tired muscles.

"Are we leaving now?" she asked softly.

Cloud nodded. "The sooner, the better."

They all bid farewell to Elmyra, who hugged them all.

"Be careful," Elmyra whispered wiping away a tear.

They promised her they would and quietly left the house. The streets of Kalm were still empty and faintly lit. Their chocobos were waiting patiently at the entrance to Kalm.

"Papa?" Marlene asked frightenedly. "Where we going?"

"I dunno sweetheart..." he told her with a glance at Cloud.

Cloud ran a hand through his hair. "We have to find somewhere we can stay. Me and Tifa aren't going to make it much farther without sleep."

"Fort Condor..." Tifa said weakly. "They owe us one."

Barret and Cloud silently agreed. They sat up on their chocobos. Marlene settled in on Barret's lap and excitedly tugged a few chocobo feathers. Quietly but quickly they ordered their chocobos out into the dark night. Sleep was now becoming a desperate need. Cloud and Tifa's heads drooped down to their chests several times before they'd jerk back up, only for their eyes to begin closing again. By the time they saw the towering figure of Fort Condor, dawn was falling.

Dismounting, they led their chocobos up to the entrance, Barret carrying a sleeping Marlene in his arms. They tied their chocobos outside and entered the fort. A snoozing guard jerked awake at their entrance.

"Hey...you guys are..." he said surprised. "You're the ones that helped us out that one time..."

"That's right," Barret said. "We need a favor."

"We need a safe place to stay for tonight at least." Cloud told them wearily.

Tifa yawned. "Shinra has people after us. They blamed us for the fire in Midgar."

"Fire?" the guard asked blankly. "There was a fire in Midgar?"

"Yes there was..." Cloud said shortly.

The guard looked curious but noting their exhaustion, told them, "There's an empty room with enough beds downstairs. You all rest up. We'll make sure Shinra doesn't find you."

They thanked him and descended into the room below. The three beds against the wall were the most welcoming sight they had ever seen.

"You think we're really safe here?" Tifa asked sluggishly.

Cloud yawned and moved towards a bed. "I hope so...because if not...I'll sleep through whatever happens."

Tifa and Barret laughed softly. Barret slipped Marlene into a bed and laid down beside her. Tifa looked longingly at a bed before laying under the covers. Seconds away from sleep, she heard Cloud whisper from the bed next to hers.

"Night Tifa..."

She smiled against her pillow. "Night Cloud."