Disclaimer:

We all know I don't own anything from FF7 or square-enix/soft. No characters. No locations. No vehicles. No Chocobo. All I own is myself, and I'm not even sure about that one.

Oh well, at least this story's mine. See, I can see the silver lining to every Cloud... :-p

Sorry, couldn't help that :-p

Don't upset the Lifestream... I want to share the fun too! Wait for meeeeeeeeeee!

Part 1: Sunlight and rain.

He had saved them all.

A single ray of light burst free from the stormy sky, bright and pure, dissolving the threads of evil that had been summoned from the heavens over Midgar. She watched the legendary general's form evaporate in a flurry of jet-black feathers, leaving in its stead the slighter figure of the man Vincent had identified as being Kadaj, the leader of Sephiroth's remnant trinity. Cheers erupted all around her and a smile of pure joy and relief appeared on her lips.

"I told you he could do it!"

Sephiroth was gone… may it be forever. Who knew, now that Kadaj had gone back to the Lifestream? And Cloud… he was back among them; she felt it deep in her heart. The darkness in his heart had dissolved, much like that dark mist conjured by the silver-haired SOLDIER into the bright light of the glorious day. A warm feeling spread over her, and for the first time in many months, she felt at peace, her heart sang… he was all right now, everything was going to be all right. Cloud was back. Tifa smiled.

A light drizzle started to fall, and Cloud raised his face to the purifying water, welcoming the taste of life mixed with the warm rays of the sun. He now had an answer to the questions he had been asking himself… a new clarity of thought to guide his future. His heart, his mind, was no longer in turmoil. He was cured. Here, atop the ruins of Midgar, he felt a new life spreading in front of him. He gave in to the light of the present.

So he had made it. Thus started his path to redemption. Vincent silently wished the young man good luck on this new journey… he deserved it, him and the ones close to him. He watched the smiling brunette move to watch out of the view port again, only to look up at a beam, where a single drop of rain glistened like a diamond. He had stationed himself in a corner of the bridge, yet even with all the noise that the others were making, he could make out clearly what she said:

"You never left us, isn't it?" She smiled in bittersweet gratitude. "Thank you."

Then, she turned and continued to gaze out... She could feel her best friend so near to them right now; it was as if she had never died. She could almost hear the tinkle of her laughter and see the sparkle in her forest-green eyes. A goddess too beautiful and pure for this world, gone too soon to the Lifestream. Everyone had loved her… no one would ever forget her. Tifa sighed and breathed out a smile, relaxing in the warm embrace of sunlight and her beloved friend's presence, until she felt the weight of a silent gaze upon her.

She turned back to face the darkest corner of the bridge, from which he had not moved at all during the flight. Their gazes met and locked, her smiling one illuminated by hues of gold from the view port behind her, his steady and deep, crimson piercing through the shadows in which he stood.

Maybe she felt the presence of the dead as much as he did. Speaking to the departed… maybe they had not really gone. She seemed to believe so. Why else would she have spoken to the green-eyed girl who was now at rest in the Forest? Up to now, none of the others had said her name, as if this would have hurt them too much, as if the mere mention of her name would bring back all the pain and the sadness of her loss. But Tifa had; she had spoken to her, and told her in those few words how much they missed her and how happy they were that she was still here, watching over them, fighting alongside them.

Something had happened since the last time he had seen her at the bar. Something that had changed her outlook on events and people alike. What could it be? He had no idea, and would surely never know except if he asked her outright. And that was not likely something about to happen; it was not in his habits to delve into the private matters of others. Yet, the change in her intrigued him.

Such a strange woman, Tifa; he had thought that ever since they had met. Gentle and fierce, fragile and strong, open and shy, sad and happy. Sunlight and rain… he had watched the strange, sad and tragic love triangle play out between those three two years ago; so like and unlike his own story. Neither stories seemed to be quite over, though. Such strong feelings could never be quite erased or completely forgotten. Yes, Strife still loved the last of the Ancients, the flower girl of the slums who had been Professor Gast's daughter… and Tifa still loved her childhood friend, her hero despite and in spite of everything. He could see the proof of that love, and her love for her dead friend and rival too, in her open gaze.

Fate was a twisted, sadistic creature. Why make of those two women fast friends when they had been competing for the love of the same man? And now that one of them was gone, what was the other to do? Could she claim that man's heart as hers, or would she leave him, in respect for her lost friend?

It would seem to Vincent that she had chosen that last option. A long time had elapsed since the death of the Cetra girl, yet Tifa's relationship with Cloud was still at the status quo. They were still friends even if they had this 'family' thing going on with the orphans.

Her attitude during that chaotic, war-filled time that was the JENOVA war was not unlike the one he had chosen, when Lucrecia had married Hojo… if this was to bring that person happiness, then, they were ready to make the sacrifice. Love was caring for someone else more than you cared about yourself. Tifa loved the mercenary and the flower girl both, cared about them both, and she had faded in the background as their love had unfolded. And when tragedy had struck, she had let Cloud mourn, mourned too in that time.

Yet now, if she still missed the flower girl, she was seemingly no longer bound by her feelings, feelings of grief and guilt, love and pain. And most of all, fear. Fear to be rejected, fear to get hurt again, as she had hurt when she had stepped aside. Vincent appreciated the strength, the sheer will that had gone into that. To give unto the wishes of the other, even if his wishes were contrary to her own secret hopes… let him follow his heart, to the risk of breaking hers.

Yes, something had changed. She seemed surer of herself, stronger. An unseen weight seemed to have lifted from her shoulders or maybe she simply knew what to do now. Tifa no longer looked… mired in Cloud's uncertainty and confusion, caught up in their past. An odd little smile appeared on his lips, behind the high cowl of his cape; Strife was not the only one whose life was no longer on hold.

To see one of his rare, strange smiles, as unexpected as his participation to the fight in Edge, Tifa's heart stilled for a moment and lifted. Cloud and Vincent: whatever they claimed, whatever they acted like… they cared, and that was all that mattered.

But something was wrong; all evidence of a smile disappeared from the dark gunman's face. Tifa turned around and saw what was happening at the top of the building, even as an explosion rocked the airship.

"Cloud!" She rushed to the view port, all the blood drawn from her face, scanning anxiously for him in the fiery hell on top of the building where he had been, seconds ago. Her racing heart missed a beat and seemed to still in her chest, a dead weight, numb. A hushed silence descended on the party.

"Please, oh please… don't take him away from me now!"

But she could feel it in her heart; Cloud was gone…

Author's notes:

First of all, I have just released another story, already complete: 'In the Darkness of Creation'; it is the lost chapter of this fanfic. It has only two chapters, rather short-ish. You can read it or skip altogether.

So, back to this chapter; quite some time has passed since 'Lost Generation' ended. I skipped over all the incredible fight scenes because I don't feel I could do them any justice.

As you might have noticed, there are differences between what they say in this fanfic and what they say in the english version of the movie; that is because I am translating from the japanese and the french versions.

Why not the english one? lol, because i'm waiting for Advent Children Complete to come out to buy it in that language...

Take care,

Celeste