"Do not go gentle into that good night,
Old age should burn and rave at close of day;
Rage, rage against the dying of the light. "

Dylan Thomas

Tifa paced the small room for the thousandth time, causing her injured hand to scream out in protest as she wrung her hands anxiously. Every now and then, she'd stop and press an ear to the door, but she was met with silence and begin her pacing again. She could take exactly three steps before she had to turn around and go in the opposite direction. She found if she focused on counting her footsteps instead of on the growing number of minutes Cloud had been missing, time passed less painfully. Six-hundred-twenty, six-hundred twenty-one...she thought, watching her feet. The electricity came on at two-hundred forty-four...and Cloud will come back at six-hundred fifty, I just have to keep going till then...Little nonsensical rules like that kept her going.

Reno eyes followed her back and forth, growing concerned of her sanity.

"Umm Tifa?" he said, as if talking to someone unstable and dangerous. "Don't you want to sit for awhile?"

Six-hundred twenty-five, Six-hundred twenty-six...Tifa jumped at Reno's voice but ignored him and continued counting. Six-hundred twenty-four, Six-hundred twenty-five...wait...I'm repeating myself. Where was I? Six-hundred twenty...twenty...

"Tifa?" Reno said louder.

"Shut up Reno!" Tifa shouted. "Twenty-eight? No, no...I wasn't there yet, was I?"

Yea...she's lost it...Reno thought, staring at her, bewildered. Shaking his head as Tifa continued to mumble under her breath, he licked his split lip and tried to think of what to say to her. I've never dealt with the 'seriously disturbed' before...he thought scratching his sore skull.

"So Tifa..." he said trying to have a soothing, calm voice. "Whatcha counting?"

Reno's voice apparently snapped her out of it. At once her rambling stopped, but before Reno could express his relief, she burst into tears and sunk to the ground. Reno watched her cry for a moment, now even more unsure of what to do. The 'seriously disturbed' would have been easier to handle ...he thought. I was never good at the whole comforting thing...

Akwardly, he slid over towards Tifa and patted her shoulder.

"There, there..." he muttered feeling like a complete idiot.

But he hadn't counted on Tifa flinging her arms around his neck and crying into his shoulder. Frozen in place, he let Tifa use him as a living hanky and debating whether or not he should return the gesture. He looked over her head and tried to figure out whether or not there was a place he could put his hands on her without making Cloud want to rip his throat out. Luckily, he was spared the decision. Tifa pulled away, wiped the last of her tears from her eyes.

"You okay?" Reno asked uncertainly.

Tifa nodded and sniffled a bit. "Yea...sorry for acting so...so..."

"Crazy?" Reno supplied helpfully. "Unhinged?"

She looked like she wanted to punch him, but he knew she wouldn't, given the condition he was in. Tifa sighed, and leaned against the wall.

"I just..." she said, trying to explain herself. "Shouldn't Cloud be back by now? Do interrogations usually take this long?"

Tifa looked up at him, her dark eyes pleading with him to have an answer. He shook his head slightly at her.

"It depends." he said simply.

She sighed again.

"I just don't understand why we had to be seperated so soon...when we finally...finally..." Tifa blushed and broke off.

"Got it on?" Reno inquired with a smirk.

This time she really did punch him. Reno laughed though even Tifa's gentlest punches still hurt like hell.

She scowled at him. "That was not what I was going to say!"

"It's true though, isn't it?" Reno asked, laughing triumphantly when Tifa covered her coloring face.

Feeling a tiny twinge of sympathy for the blushing girl, Reno patted her arm.

"Don't worry," he assured her, still smirking. "I won't tell anyone."

Tifa pushed his arm away but she joined in his laughter.

"You're such a jerk!" she told him scathingly, but she failed to hide her smile, and Reno knew she wasn't really mad.

He sighed in relief, glad that she wasn't crying anymore. I may be a jerk...he thought wryly. But I could never stand to see a pretty girl cry.

"You're a good friend Reno," Tifa said honestly, no longer feigning anger.

Reno snapped his head towards her, a bit surprised.

"But I thought..." he stuttered. "I betrayed...I lied to you guys. I traded your lives in for money..."

Tifa considered this, tilting her head slightly. "But you weren't going to do it in the end were you?"

"No..." Reno said. "But-"

Tifa cut him off. "I forgive you then. That's what friends do."

She smiled at him, and unable to hold it back, Reno returned the smile.

"So..." he said, the smile quickly becoming a smirk again. "Now that we're friends, are you going to fill me in on what you and Cloud did when you two were in here all alone?"

He laughed loudly as Tifa's cheeks colored again. She was about to retort, when the door swung open. Stumbling a bit, they clambered to their feet. Scarlet stood in the doorway, surrounded by her SOLDIERS. Heidegger hovered behind her, looking nastily excited. Tifa and Reno's eyes flickered towards one another for a moment before looking back at Scarlet's manic smile.

"Looks like time has run out for both of you!" Scarlet said with a cackle.

The SOLDIERS rushed into the room, and their hands were forced into cuffs. Scarlet's laughter echoed throughout the small room. She stopped when they were both properly restrained, each of them flanked with two SOLDIERS. Slowly and delibrately, she walked up to Tifa and hit her across the face.

"Stuck up bitch." she spat, but then continued laughing. "God that felt good!"

Tifa stared at her a moment before exchanging another quick glance with Reno. She's delusional...Tifa thought, watching her laugh. Scarlet's eyes snapped towards her, and her laughter ended in a furious glare.

"Her first." Scarlet said decisively.

She turned on her heel and began heading down the hall. The two SOLDIERS on Tifa's sides grabbed roughly at her arms and pulled her after her. Tifa spun her head around, trying to look behind her to see if Reno was following, but one of the SOLDIERS hit her head sharply. Eyes straight ahead, and heart pounding, Tifa walked steadily after Scarlet.

After several flights of stairs and confusing turns, they came to stop at a pair of large doors.

"Take her out." Scarlet ordered the SOLDIERS. "There are some people that wish to say goodbye to her."

Tifa jerked slightly, her face showing her bewilderment. With cold laughter that could mean nothing good, Tifa was led forcefully through the doors.

As Tifa stepped through the doors, the bright sun blinded her a moment. When her vision returned to her, she noted that she was on some sort of balcony. One of the SOLDIERS gave her a rough shove, and she stumbled to the edge of it. She looked down from the balcony, and saw an enormous crowd of people below. When they saw Tifa, silence descended upon them, but it didn't last long. One person started yelling, and soon, the whole crowd was a mass of hateful faces, screaming like animals. Tifa's eyes were wide, and she could feel her heart racing out of control.

"Execute her!" they were shouting. "Execute her!"

The hateful screams slashed at heart one by one...but eventually all the voices blurred together, and Tifa began to understand. In the back of her mind, she had a mental of image of her own face, crying and screaming over her dead father, swearing revenge. She saw herself helping AVALANCHE blow up reactors, killing blindly, doing whatever it took to satisfy their vengence. Tifa smiled sadly at the people below her. I used to be like you. she told them silently. I know how you feel...

Tifa was jerked from her silent epiphany when her arms were grasped firmly. The short moment of serenity and acceptance fled from her immediately, and she looked away from the hateful crowd and tilted her face towards the sky. Is this the last time I'll feel the sun on my face? she wondered. She tried to swallow the lump of fear in her throat. TIfa had never felt more frightened or alone in her life. Where are you Cloud? she wondered as the door shut behind her, blocking the sunlight. I need to see you one more time...Please...just once more and I'll be brave. Just let me touch you once more, and I'll be strong enough to die.

Tifa was glad that Scarlet's back was turned as a single tear trailed down her cheek.

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Cloud didn't bother to struggle as he was led from the room. The two SOLDIERS at his sides led him around several turns and up a few staircases before Cloud saw anyone. Finally, at the end of a corrider, he recognized Heidegger's lump of a body andReno's unmissable red hair. He, too, was flanked by SOLDIERS. Reno's head snapped towards Cloud's as Cloud was pushed beside him. Cloud felt a knot of apprehensionn at the stricken look on Reno's face.

"Where's Tifa?" Cloud asked under his breath. "Why isn't she here too?"

"They took her." Reno said lowly.

Cloud felt his body go cold.

"Took her?" he asked numbly. "What do you mean took-"

"Scarlet said 'Execute her first'." Reno said, gulping painfully. "And they took her away.

"No..." Cloud said, his voice increasing in volume and emotion. "They haven't...she's not...Tifa's not..."

A SOLDIER hit the back of his head roughly.

"Quiet!" Heidegger commanded.

But Cloud was beyond commanding. Mako eyes smoldering in anger, Cloud turned towards Heidegger menacingly. Immediately, the SOLDIERS moved to subdue him but the sound of approaching footsteps running their way caused them to pause. Taking their moment's hesistance to his advantage, Cloud used his shoulder to knock a SOLDIER down and yelled out to Reno.

"Run!"