Chapter 16 – Love's Goodbye

What happens now…Will stay with us forever…

Everyone watched, frozen, as Cloud Strife's body fell forward as if in slow motion before landing on the pool of blood that had already gathered at his feet. Tifa ran to him, her face already wet with tears. "Cloud!"

Tifa knelt beside Cloud and pulled him into her arms, her tears landing on his closed eyelids. "Don't you dare leave me, Cloud," Tifa whispered hoarsely, "You promised! You promised me you'd be careful…"

After a moment, Cloud stirred in her arms, and Tifa's quiet crying momentarily stopped. "Cloud! You're awake!"

Cloud opened his eyes, and Tifa's tear-stained face greeted him. "…Tifa…"

"Cloud…how are you feeling?"

"I feel like crap."

Tifa smiled despite herself. "You always do come up with the most amazing remarks."

He smiled back painfully, closing his eyes for a moment. "Tifa, I'm…sorry. I was careless, I -"

She reached over and placed a finger on his lips, silencing him. "That's not important. What's important is you…staying alive," she told him, her voice cracking as she said the words.

He took her hand away from his lips and held it against his heart, letting her feel the soft thud of his heartbeat, the harsh sound of his uneven breathing the only sound either of them could hear at that moment.

"I'm sleepy..." Cloud whispered softly.

Tifa closed her eyes and laid her forehead against Cloud's, her arms tightening around him. "Stay with me," she mumbled, his words striking fear into her heart.

With the others

"Straight through…" Reeve whispered, almost to himself as he finished bandaging Cloud for what felt like the hundredth time.

"How is he?" Barret asked, stepping forward anxiously.

"Sephiroth's sword…it went straight through…I tried my best…I don't know if he can make it…" Reeve answered, his face set in a frown.

Yuffie heard this, and her eyes darted back to Tifa, almost of their own volition. "No way…"

"You think she knows?" Cid asked.

"I think so." Reeve answered.

"Hang in there, you guys…" Yuffie whispered.

With Cloud and Tifa

Cloud's eyes were closed, his breathing was shallow and he was constantly shivering. Tifa stared down at her boyfriend's handsome face and felt tears brimming in her own eyes. "I won't lose you. I can't…I won't!" Tifa muttered, her voice shaky and her eyes taking on a decidedly desperate, almost wild look. "I won't…lose…you…" she repeated, shaking her head back and forth, saying the words over and over, the sound of Cloud's shallow breathing the only thing keeping her from retreating into herself entirely.

A rush of cold air swept the cavern then, and as Tifa looked up, she found herself face to face with the one who had pushed the man she loved to the brink of death – it was Sephiroth himself, and he was smiling. "Hello, Tifa."

She simply stared back at him with an angry look in her eyes, not saying a word.

"Aw, don't be like that. I came here to rescue you."

"Rescue me?" she asked, the look in her eyes beginning to change.

"Yes," Sephiroth replied, "Join me and we can create a new world together, a world where you can have anything your heart desires."

Slowly, Tifa laid Cloud's head down on the floor and as she got up, a strong gust of air began to swirl around her and her dark hair began to change. Fire ignited at her feet just as a protective barrier started to take shape around Cloud's still form, and when she finally looked up, her eyes glowed scarlet.

Sephiroth frowned. The Ancients' power…this had to be it. The power that radiated in waves from the young Tifa's body was the same kind he himself possessed; it was the same, but different. "Such raw power…" he whispered, a gleeful smile forming on his lips, "I shall have it!"

The silver-haired man pulled out his sword, and then he moved into his fighting stance with the smile still plastered on his face, egging her on. "Come, attack me if you dare!"

Tifa smiled coldly. "What makes you think I haven't already?"

Sephiroth's smile faded, and it was soon replaced by a puzzled look which changed into a look of surprise mixed with pain as a spiked whip came out of nowhere and wound itself tightly around his throat, lifting him up off the floor with ease, blood dripping from his neck as the spikes bit deeper into his flesh. "What…but how…?"

"Anything is possible with power. Isn't that what you told me as a child in the memories you implanted, Sephiroth?" With that, Tifa waved her hands and the whip coiled itself tighter around Sephiroth's neck, drawing even more blood before it threw him into the wall where he hit it hard enough to crack it then landing with a loud thud on the cavern floor.

Sephiroth clutched his neck in a futile attempt to stem the flow of blood from his wounds, grimacing as he tried to get up off the floor, only to be thrown back against the wall once again. He looked up, and Tifa was right in front of him, the unnatural color of her eyes only emphasizing the fury in them. "I'm going to kill you," she hissed as she grabbed him by the neck and squeezed, making Sephiroth wince.

And then, just as Sephiroth had finally lost consciousness, something inside Tifa made her stop and she let him go, her eyes wide as she stared at her blood-soaked hands, her fingers practically electric with power. She looked at Cloud's still unconscious form, and, forgetting about Sephiroth for a moment, she began to walk over to where Cloud lay when something else stopped her. It was a voice.

"Kill him," it said.

"No," she mentally answered, her body literally shaking with the sheer force of her newfound power. "What is this…this…power? Where is it coming from?"

"It's mine," the voice answered, "and you won't be using it for much longer."

Tifa winced even as she muttered a decisive "yes, I will."

A sudden rush of pain engulfed her as invisible fingers dug into the still-tender wound in her side, making her grimace. "What was that?"

"You should know," the voice answered mockingly, "you did that yourself."

"What…?" she whispered, her dark eyes widening considerably when she saw her that what the voice said was true – her fingers were laced with her own blood which was, even then, still escaping from the deep gash she'd just reopened.

"How the hell…"

"I told you, didn't I? You won't be in control of this body for much longer." It was that voice again.

"Who are you?"

The answer made Tifa stiffen. The voice replied, "Jenova."

"No…it can't be…"

"Foolish girl," the voice said, "Where do you think this power is coming from?"

"No…"

That was when she remembered. Sephiroth has injected her with Jenova's cells, just as he had done with Lucrecia – and that meant that, sooner or later, Jenova would take over her completely. She couldn't let that happen – and, as she once again looked at her boyfriend's sleeping profile, she knew what she had to do.

Pulling herself up to her full height, Tifa focused on Cloud even as tears started to well up in her eyes. Walking over to where he was, Tifa gave his face a gentle caress before she looked up at Barret and said softly, "Take care of him for me, Barret."

Barret frowned. "Why? Where are you going to be?"

She smiled; a bitter smile. "I'll be watching over him."

Her friend's eyes widened. "You don't mean…"

"You were always such a good friend to me, Barret. Thanks for that – good bye." And with that, Tifa stepped away from the edge of the ravine, all the while maintaining a barrier between her and her friends before landing with a loud splash into the lifestream below.

Everyone stood frozen for a moment, and then frenzied ramblings and pained glances were exchanged before a low moan made everyone stop. Cloud was starting to wake up.

Opening his eyes, Cloud scanned the faces surrounding him and frowned when he didn't find the one he was looking for. "Where's Tifa?"

His friends fidgeted listlessly where they stood, but no one answered his query. His confused expression turned into one of fear then. "Guys…where is she?"

"S-She's…gone, Cloud," Reeve answered quietly.

"What are you saying!?"

"She…she jumped…into the lifestream over there…" his friend replied, gesturing towards the thirty foot drop into the ravine that loomed just behind Cloud.

Without a moment's hesitation, Cloud stood up on shaky legs, ignoring the sharp stab of pain that came with every move, and jumped, landing with yet another splash below.

A/n: I know, I'm late again. I'm really, really sorry; but it really can't be helped…I have a ton of thesis-related work staring me in the face right now, and well, for those of you that haven't gone through that, well…let's just say its not good for the health. Anyway, please read and review, it would be much appreciated. Arigato gozaimasu! Happy Holidays everyone!