Author's Note: Disclaimer found below.

Further Note: It sticks in my mind, so I figure I should mention: Yes, Tifa got slashed across the chest by Sephiroth back in Nibelheim and nearly died. However, while I've seen others reference her having a scar from it, I always supposed that a.) Masamune is terribly sharp, thereby leaving a very clean cut, and b.) Cure spells usually don't leave scars (I'm making this up XD). So, I always figured that she didn't have a scar (not physically, anyway), hence no mention of it.

Another Note: This chapter wins for the most dialogue. Whether that's good or bad, I don't know, but it sorta needs to be there. I think. (Yeah, this note is kinda pointless... maybe it's an apology...)

(Eleven)

Tifa slowly surfaced from dreamless sleep, gradually becoming aware of her surroundings. The first thing she noticed was the slightly scratchy feel of saltwater dried on her skin, but that wasn't important. It was more important that she was warm; the numbing cold seemed to have left her entirely. She felt completely rested and relaxed, and the only thing that immediately mattered was staying that way.

She was lying on her side, head turned so that she faced upward, and she was held close by muscular arms. Still not quite awake, she smiled, shifting and snuggling closer. Cloud could be so sweet. She reached out, running her hand down his side to his waist...

Waitaminute.

The feel of a hand already at his waist brought everything crashing down again. The fingers flexed, quickly interlaced with her own, holding her hand there. It didn't help that she realized that there was another presence at her back as well.

Her eyes snapped open, her body going rigid for a moment. There was light - dim grey light that signaled, perhaps, the earliest phase of dawn through an overcast sky. Loz had her pulled close against him, likewise lying on his side. Over his shoulder, gleaming sea-green cat eyes regarded her. Yazoo was at his brother's back, and had raised his head and taken her hand when she'd brushed his.

As she watched, Yazoo's eyes narrowed - was he smiling? - and he nuzzled at the back of his brother's neck. He released her hand and stroked Loz's side, moving up against his body a few times.

Loz smiled, eyes opening slightly as he turned his head. "Yazoo..."

Tifa blushed, simultaneously realizing that none of them seemed to have any clothing - not surprising, given how soaked they'd all been - as well as exactly how interested Loz was in what his brother was doing.

Though his back was to hers, Kadaj somehow seemed to know what was happening as well. "Now you're just being mean, Yazoo," the boy said in an amused tone, before pulling away and rising, the air cold in his wake. "Come on."

Yazoo sat up, looking at Kadaj with what might've been a slight pout. The small noise he made certainly sounded disappointed.

"Yeah," Loz said as he twisted, his arm sliding down Tifa's side a little more, and leaned back to look up at his brother. He smirked. "Meanie."

Yazoo tilted his head, looking at Loz, then did something completely unexpected - he broke into a wide, genuine smile. Tifa blinked; there was a beautiful ease and warmth to him just then that she hadn't thought him capable of.

His eyes flicked up, catching Tifa's, and the smile changed, becoming... almost malicious, she thought, reluctant to leave it at mischievous. And then he was up, following Kadaj, and Loz had only her to become the subject his attention again.

He turned back to her and tightened his arms around her again, pulling her even closer, her head nestling under his chin. For a moment, she thought that he'd be satisfied to simply hold her - but then he pushed himself against her, making a low, pleased sound.

Tifa stiffened again, swallowing the sudden lump in her throat. Part of her wanted to cry out and try to use her hands, now trapped between them, to push him away or hurt him or...

It didn't matter. It was pointless. She belonged. She willed her body to relax, allowing him to do as he would with her.

He stilled, pulling away enough to turn her onto her back. For a moment, his half-lidded eyes found hers, and his smile faded slightly, as though...

As though he knew that she didn't want this.

But that shadow left him quickly, and it didn't stop him. He brought himself over her and kissed her, but seemed disappointed when he found no resistance at all. She turned her face away, staring at the rest of the room - empty now that the others had left. He moved down to kiss her jaw, her neck, her shoulder, and then lower... Lower still...

She gave a startled intake of breath when he reached his destination, but quickly calmed herself. Just when she'd thought that she'd known all to expect of him...

Not that it mattered. None of it mattered. This was deserved torture at worst, or means to an end, at best. And that was all.

She caught herself running her hand through his hair. It was like wolf fur, thick and warm and somehow comforting, and the feel of it between her fingers was right.

She closed her eyes, lost, unable to stop the small sounds that escaped her.

When he was finished with her, and with himself, he lay down next to her again, stroking her hair as his breathing eased. She tried to keep from looking at him, and didn't expect it when he spoke. Nor did she expect the slight catch to his voice.

"You weren't breathing when Yazoo got us out of the water last night," he said quietly. "It... it took forever to get you to breathe again. I thought you were gone." He slipped one arm under her, pulling her as close as he could again. "Why did you try to die?"

Tifa turned her head and found herself looking into his eyes - the slitted pupils were dilated, the glow to the cool green irises still visible in the low light. He seemed to be genuinely troubled.

She stared. How could he act like he didn't understand...

Her confusion must have been visible. "I mean," he went on, "We had fun, yesterday. The fighting was good and it was great when you -"

"Why do you care?" She snapped, cutting him off, beginning to raise her voice in spite of herself. That lump that wasn't supposed to be in her throat any more was back again. "How can you act like you care? You did this! You kidnapped me and raped me and infected me with this disease -"

"But -"

"And I can't even kill myself to get away from you because then I have Sephiroth waiting for me -" She bowed her head, closing her eyes against the memory without pausing in her tirade.

He blinked, trying to keep up. "...Sephiroth?"

"And I'm turning into something else, something that shouldn't be, and I don't want to, and - oh god, I just want to go home-"

He moved his hands to either side of her head. "Tifa -"

"Don't! Don't even start!" She shoved at him, realizing that she was sobbing. She hadn't noticed when she'd begun to cry. "You didn't even know my name!"

"Stop."

She silenced at the tone of his voice. She hadn't heard him sound so... dark... before. He seemed frustrated, angry... hurt...

It frightened her. The idea of what he might do to her in this state frightened her. It made her think that he was capable of things she hadn't yet guessed.

Slowly she raised her eyes to his, as his hands relaxed and moved away from her face. He was crying, too, though he seemed to be trying to keep quiet.

She bowed her head again, bewildered. For a few minutes, he only held her, both of them silent.

She murmured, "Why are you holding me?"

He took a shaky breath, tilting his head to rest against hers. "Isn't that all anyone wants, when they cry?"

She couldn't argue with that. They were silent for a little longer.

"Why have you done this to me?" Tifa finally asked, her voice barely a whisper. "You... you said before that when you find... when the Reunion comes... you'll end..."

"When we find Mother," he told her in far too even a tone, "We'll be one again, instead of just pieces. The rest is up to her. The world will end, if she so wishes. My brothers and I... are means to whatever end she wants. But we'll be remembered. I didn't want you to be forgotten... We might even exist again, when she reaches the Promised Land..."

It was now or never, she realized. She pushed back a little so as to look him in the face again. "Loz, you don't - you don't have to," she began. It was so hard to look him in the eye and say it. "You could put a stop to this. You said that you liked... being. The Reunion won't happen without you, will it? You could... walk away..." She swallowed. "You could... be with me."

"I'm that good, huh?" He smiled, but his eyes were still sad. "Sorry to disappoint you. This is all the time we get."

Tifa frowned at the finality of his tone, much less the inherent mockery. "But -"

Loz leaned in and kissed her forehead. "It doesn't work that way," he sighed as he rolled onto his back. "Mother needs us. We exist for her." He smoothed his hair back, closing his eyes. "Even if it does hurt."

She bit her lip, reaching across his chest as though trying to hold him down. "She's not your mother," she tried, raising her head a little so as to see his face. "You had a human mother and father. All three of you did. You were just injected with Jenova cells, and -"

Loz suddenly laughed outright; she yanked her hand back in surprise. "You think we're clones?" He covered his face with his arm, still laughing. "We're not clones, Tifa." He held both arms out in front of him so that she could see. "See? No numbers." He stretched his arms above his head, staring at the ceiling. "Kadaj calls us Remnants. We're all that's left of Sephiroth. Parts of his Will made real. All that survived when you killed... when he died... what?"

Tifa huddled against his side, trying not to listen, her hands over her ears. She was shaking. It didn't matter how well it fit, how well everything fell into place; it couldn't be true. If Sephiroth were that powerful, there'd be no defeating him, ever, so it couldn't be true. It wasn't true. They were clones. They were just confused, that was all. Someone had lied to them. That had to be how it was.

Because Sephiroth had never been this warm, had he? So it couldn't be true...

Why was she so sure that Sephiroth was laughing at her now?

"Please... just stop," she managed to choke out. "I don't want to know."

He didn't leave her side again until they reached land an hour later. They simply abandoned the ferry on the beach, quickly reaching the road and heading south, toward Midgar.

Tifa did nothing, ate nothing, said nothing; even seeing Denzel in the truck again barely caused a reaction. For a while, she rode behind Loz on his motorcycle again, holding him tightly as the road beneath them gradually became more familiar. Rocky coast gave way to wind-scoured bluffs as they turned a little inland, soon passing a branching road that led to Kalm.

It was in the third hour of the drive that he felt her slipping away.

Loz braked hard, leaning and stomping into the asphalt to spin the bike so that he could catch her before she hit the ground. "Tifa!"

He pulled her up and around to cradle her in front of him; she was completely limp. He thought at first that her hair was still damp from the shower they'd taken on the ship, but that didn't make sense - that had been hours ago. It was damp with sweat. Her eyes were open slightly, but unfocused.

He pulled one glove off with his teeth, laying his hand against her forehead. Fever. High fever. He reached down to her midsection, frowning.

The truck pulled to a halt up ahead. Kadaj, on the other motorcycle, whirled and sped back toward him, quickly pulling alongside and stopping.

Loz wordlessly held his hand out to his brother, eyes pleading. Liquid dark dripped from his fingers where he'd touched her.

Kadaj's face hardened. "I told you she wouldn't last," he said quietly, his voice flat. "There's nothing to be done, now..."

Loz glanced at Tifa, then quickly looked away, swallowing hard. Kadaj rolled his eyes. "Look, don't start that again," he snapped, folding his arms. "We don't have the time."

"M'sorry," Loz mumbled, though who exactly he was addressing was unclear, given that he was still looking away.

Kadaj glanced down with an exasperated sigh, focusing momentarily on Tifa's boots dangling over his brother's leg. If Loz would've just let her drink in the first place, this wouldn't be an issue. But he wouldn't have had as much fun with her then...

"Put her in the truck," Kadaj instructed with a resigned air. "I'll drive and have her boy take care of her. It's time we switched drivers anyway."

Loz turned back to his brother quickly, with a small, thankful smile. Yes, he'd been crying again, Kadaj confirmed. He looked like he'd expected to be told to dump Tifa on the side of the road and leave her there.

Not that bad an idea, but too late now. It didn't much matter. She wasn't going to be a distraction for Loz for too much longer, by the looks of it. "Well? Get a move on," the boy prompted, pushing at his older brother's shoulder. "Mother needs us."

Disclaimer: Final Fantasy VII, its story, and characters are the property, copyright and trademark of Square Electronic Arts L.L.C., and no ownership or claim on said property, copyright or trademark is made or implied by their use in the work(s) of fan fiction presented here. This fan fiction constitutes a personal comment on the aforesaid properties pursuant to doctrines of fair use and fair comment. This fan fiction is non-commercial, not for sale or profit, and may not be sold or reproduced for commercial purposes.