Author's Note – Okay, I know I'm one day early with this posting, but I just couldn't wait. Heeheehee…

Warning – This chapter contains violence and material of a sexual nature.

Chapter 13 – The Look of Love

We reached the hidden path leading to the Forgotten Capital just as the sun was starting to go down. If it was any darker, I never would have been able to find it. As I drove Fenrir slowly along the familiar stone path, I glanced around to make sure nothing was going to jump out at us. It was as deathly quiet as the last time I was here.

Tifa leaned toward my ear. "This is amazing," she whispered. "It's so big. I wonder why it's not visible from the air."

"There's a forcefield above us that camouflages it from the air. Even though the Cetra are gone, this place somehow still maintains its magic." What would Tifa think if I told her Aeris was a Cetra, the last existing Ancient left in the world? Only a select few, including Rufus Shinra, knew of her true heritage.

At the fork up ahead, I took the right path. There was a building to the right but I went passed it to another path with another building at the end. I remembered this building having useable beds. I drove Fenrir right through the doorway and pulled to a stop.

Tifa got off and took a couple steps around. "At least it's not so cold here."

I dismounted and went in the storage compartment. After pulling out a flashlight, I walked up to her. "Take this and go up that ladder over there. Don't go anywhere. I'll be right back."

"Where're you going?" she asked worriedly.

"I gotta take a leak and I'm gonna look for something to eat."

She cringed. "Something?"

"Don't worry, I'm not gonna kill anything. Your brother took an expedition team up here once and they might have left things in some of the buildings. Which reminds me…" I pulled out my phone and tossed it to her. "Call him and tell him we're here."

Tifa turned on the flashlight. "Hurry back. It's creepy around here."

I grabbed Apocalypse and sheathed it in my harness as I walked out the doorway.

The sun was completely gone now and the deserted city was in darkness. I was still able to see, thanks to the Mako injections that enhanced my vision. I took the path back to the main one and went left. After searching two of the buildings, I only found an unopened bottle of water. A search of the final building on that path produced a box of crackers and a half-eaten jar of grape jelly.

I headed back to the main path and went straight this time. There were three buildings to search and all I found was a can of peas. That was it for the surface. If I had been by myself I would have gone down to the lower cavern. But I didn't want to leave Tifa alone any longer so I quickly made my way back.

After walking back in the building, I passed Fenrir and went up the ladder on the left. The room at the top was empty. She did it again. I told her to stay up here. "Tifa?" I spun around toward the sound of a creaking door.

Tifa crawled out of a cabinet. "I thought you were one of them."

I was relieved she wasn't wandering around out there somewhere. "Sorry, I'll make more noise next time."

She hopped up on one of the beds, sending a small cloud of dust into the air and placed the flashlight down so we could see. "What'd you find? A nice juicy steak, I hope."

"Not exactly." I sat down on the bed with my back against the wall and dropped my findings between us. "A bottle of water, stale crackers, peas and grape jelly. Not a good combination, but…"

Tifa grabbed the box of crackers and ripped it open.

I watched in surprise as she took a handful of crackers and shoved them into her mouth, followed by a look of pure ecstasy. When you're hungry, I guess it doesn't matter what you're eating. I unscrewed the cap off the bottle of water and took a long gulp from it.

When I handed it to her, she took an even longer gulp. She handed it back and went for the jar of grape jelly. "Where's a spoon when you need one?"

I pulled out my pocket knife and she watched me curiously as I found the right tool to use as a makeshift spoon. When she held a cracker out to me, I scooped some of the grape jelly on it. But instead of eating it, she held it up to my mouth.

I ate it, savoring the stale cracker and the tart grape jelly like it was a lobster tail. But mostly because she had fed it to me. So why was that such a turn on?

We each ate another cracker and for some reason we were staring at each other. Well, I knew why I was staring. Tifa's hair was a wild tangled mess, her face was dirty from the long drive and she couldn't look more beautiful. Even in the near darkness I could tell her cheeks were a little red. Was I staring too long?

"Did you call Rufus?" I asked.

"Yes. Reno and the chopper were hanging at the Bone Village so he should be here around eight."

"Cool. That gives us about an hour to rest."

"He also asked me if it was true about what he read…that me and you are romantically involved."

I raised an eyebrow, hoping she didn't do the opposite of what I would have done and that was to lie through my teeth. "What'd you tell him?"

"I told him not to believe everything he reads in the papers."

"Yeah, that's good."

The staring contest was on again. Suddenly we dropped our crackers and lunged at each other at the same time. Our mouths came together and we exchanged a few hungry kisses. When Tifa dragged herself closer and straddled my lap, I think my brain actually stopped functioning for a few seconds. I was numb until I felt her pressing against my package.

Her fingers were in my hair and her tongue was in my mouth. If it wasn't for the hungry moan she let out, I would have just let her kiss me until she had her fill. But her reaction made it obvious she wanted to fool around. Although I was known to be wrong before on many occasions.

I sucked on her tongue and she retaliated by sucking on my lower lip until it hurt. She moved her hips and I felt myself respond to the pressure. When she did it again…and again…I gritted my teeth. Damn, what was she trying to do, make me blow a load in my pants? I needed to make her stop.

Wait…who said that?

As we tongue-wrestled, I put my hands on her thighs and caressed them slowly. My good intentions went right down the drain. Instead of stilling her movement, my hands wandered elsewhere. My left one went around to her butt and my right one went up under her sweatshirt and tank top.

Tifa pulled away from my mouth and let out another moan when I squeezed her breast. "Cloud…"

Did I dare hope she wanted me to continue? I looked up at her. Her eyes were closed, her lips were parted…she was waiting…But I needed a sign, just to make sure she wanted to head in the direction I thought she did. I tugged on the cup of her bra, pulling it away and slowly slid my thumb over her nipple. She jerked and moaned in response. Hell, that was good enough for me. I wasn't selfish. Who was I to deny what she wanted?

I withdrew my hand and she suddenly looked down at me like I had done something wrong. But when I pushed up the sweatshirt, she raised her arms up for me to take it off. Her hands went to my face and she raised it up to kiss me again before yanking off her tank top. I wanted to remove her bra, but I didn't know if she'd let me.

Get your shit together, Cloud. Since when are you afraid to give a girl what she wants? Who's in control of the situation here? You are. Stop being a pussy. You're a man, so do it right.

I reached around and fumbled with the back of her bra. But wouldn't you know it, the damned thing was not coming apart. "Mother fucker…"

Tifa started laughing.

I raised my arms up in defeat. "I give up."

She reached behind her back and the bra easily came apart. She slid it down her arms.

I stared like a teenager seeing his first topless woman. I couldn't help it, even though I had seen most of her the other day when we went swimming in the hot spring. Her bra and panties became transparent when they got wet. It was just nice to have them right there in my face.

Tifa leaned down to grab my earlobe in her teeth. "Cloud…touch me again."

I didn't need to be told twice. My hands went up to her breasts and I squeezed and massaged them. She moaned in my ear and started wiggling on my lap again. I touched her nipples and leaned forward to put my mouth over one. It felt so good on my tongue. When I sucked on it, Tifa let out a gasp and a moan and she started grinding harder against me. Oh Gods, I was losing the little control I had left. My game plan had been to do a little touching and that was it. I wanted more. I wanted it all.

I started dry humping her and she wrapped her arms around my neck and was crying out like she was about to climax. She was almost there. Hell, so was I in about five seconds.

…a familiar sound reached my ears over the sounds of Tifa's moaning…

I pulled away. "Shhh, shhh."

"Cloud, what…"

I grabbed her hips to stop her from moving. "Shhh!"

"But I was about to…"

I physically tossed her on the bed and came down on top of her, covering her mouth to keep her quiet. Her eyes widened. It looked bad, I knew it. But I listened for the sound again. There it was…an approaching truck, or rather trucks. "Shit!" I scrambled off Tifa and off the bed.

Tifa sat up angrily. "Are you crazy or something?"

I grabbed her bra and the rest of her clothes and pushed them into her hands. "Get dressed." I rushed over to the window and looked out. Sure enough, there were three trucks coming down the main path. They split up at the fork, each taking one of the paths. In a few seconds they'd be too close for us to get away. I moved away from the window.

Tifa was quickly hooking her bra. "Is somebody coming?"

"Yeah, the bad guys. We gotta go right now. Hurry up."

She slid the sweatshirt on and jumped off the bed, grabbing the flashlight along the way. We scrambled down the ladder and hopped on my motorcycle.

I started Fenrir and made sure the headlamp was off before pulling out of the building. Unfortunately the truck spotted us right away. I left the path and cut through the dirt center, which I imagined used to be a thick, green lawn back when the Cetra were alive. The truck turned and followed.

Just then the other two trucks turned and came straight for us. I changed course to the left, heading south. So much for sticking around the city and waiting for Reno to show up. I looked at my mirror. Now there were three trucks following behind us.

I jumped Fenrir back on the main path and headed out of the Forgotten Capital. Three things were going through my mind. One, how the hell did they find us? Two, how the hell did they find the Forgotten Capital? And three, what the hell did they have under the hood of those trucks, rocket engines? I was going as fast as Fenrir could go, well beyond what the speedometer said…and that was fast. But the trucks were keeping up.

When we left the stone path, we were in the canyon just outside the city. The passage was pretty narrow, which meant the trucks could only move in a single row. But it also meant there was nowhere else for me to go unless I sprouted wings and flew us up the canyon wall.

I unsheathed Apocalypse as we approached a branch protruding from the wall. As we passed it, I sliced it off and sent it flying behind us.

The first truck swerved out of the way. But the second truck wasn't fast enough. The heavy tree branch smashed into the windshield, shattering it completely. Unfortunately it didn't slow them down.

I faced forward again just as we entered the Sleeping Forest.

Almost immediately, one of the trucks came forward and pulled up along side. There were two men inside. The one on the passenger side pulled out a shotgun and aimed it at me.

Tifa screamed. "Cloud!"

As he fired, I raised Apocalypse to deflect the shots, making sure to cover Tifa in case any stray bullets came at her. He kept shooting, one after another.

When I heard the click of an empty chamber, I knew he was out of ammo and needed to reload. I raised my sword and slashed it across the front tire.

The truck careened out of control and plowed into a tree, exploding from the impact.

I looked into the mirror and saw the second truck moving closer. The goon in the passenger seat crawled halfway out the broken windshield and aimed a shotgun. His aim was low. He was going for the rear tire. I swerved just as he fired and the blast hit the dirt, only inches away.

He took aim again and I changed course, heading to the right. The trees were too thick for the trucks, so they kept on the main path, parallel to us. If the white tree cover wasn't so thick further in and ground not so full of slopes, I would have kept going that way to lose them.

A thick fog suddenly rolled in, making it hard to see more than a few feet in front of me. I slowed down, not wanting to smash into any trees.

What worried me even more was that the Sleeping Forest would be ending soon and we'd be back on open ground. An easy target for the bad guys to pick off.

If I could just get to the Bone Village. There were a few places I knew where we could hide out. I'd call Reno and have him pick us up there.

We passed the last tree. There was nothing left to keep the trucks from slamming into the side of us. The fog was thicker now…I could barely see two feet in front of me. Which way was the village? It couldn't be much farther. They wouldn't follow us in. There would be too many people around. Or maybe they wouldn't care and still come after us.

The two remaining trucks pursuing us suddenly began to slow down. Could they be giving up already? Why did I find that hard to believe? Regardless, I sped up for the chance to put as much distance as I could between us.

Just then the fog lifted like a curtain. My eyes widened at what I saw up ahead. "Shiiiiit!!!!" We ran out of ground as a huge chasm spread out in front of us. There wasn't enough time to stop or even turn. I dragged Tifa off with me at the last second as Fenrir continued to fly forward. As we fell, I only had enough time to stab my sword into the cliff face and hold on for dear life with one hand while holding Tifa by the wrist with the other hand.

Tifa screamed.

All I could do was watch in utter dismay as my precious Fenrir fell below, smashing from one protruding ledge to another. When it hit the bottom of the chasm, it exploded in a ball of flames.

In a fit of rage, I let out a cry. "Mother fucking hell!"

"Cloud, I'm slipping!"

Tifa's voice snapped me out of it.

I pulled her up to grab the handle of my sword. "Don't let go," I told her. I pulled myself up on the ledge and dragged my legs over. Then I reached down to pull Tifa up. When she was standing behind me, I reached back down to dislodge Apocalypse from the cliff wall.

As I got up on my feet, two sets of headlights approached and stopped in front of us. I grabbed Tifa and pulled her behind me.

Four doors opened at the same time and four men jumped out. They walked forward to stand together in a line in front of the headlights. Each of them was armed with either a pistol or a shotgun.

"Send the girl over here, Strife and we'll let you walk away," said one of them.

Tifa started to move forward.

I dragged her back behind me. "Where're you going?"

"Cloud, let me go. I don't want them hurting you."

"If I let you go, they'll kill me anyway."

"Come on, Strife! We don't have all night!"

"I'm thinking about it!" I yelled back. "Keep your panties on!"

Tifa grabbed my arm. "Cloud, you can't fight all four of them," she whispered. "They have guns."

"I'm not letting them take you, Tifa."

She gave me a worried look.

"Whatever you do, stay down and don't move. Got it?"

She nodded and lowered herself to the ground, lying flat on her stomach.

I turned back to the four goons. "Okay, I thought about it and it ain't gonna happen."

"You'll be sorry!"

"No, I think you'll be sorry you didn't bring more men!" I held Apocalypse up and sprinted forward.

All four open fired on me and as I moved my sword to block the incoming shots, the men scattered, running for their trucks.

I reached the first one and when he turned to shoot at me, I sliced off his arm and then Cross-Slashed his chest. He went down in my path and I jumped over him.

When I reached the second man, he turned and fired at my head. I raised my sword at the last second. The shot deflected off the metal and bounced back, hitting him in the throat. He made a gurgling sound on the way down.

The third guy almost made it into the truck. I swung and detached his legs so he couldn't move anymore. He fell back on the ground with a blood-curdling scream. Have fun bleeding to death, fucker!

I ran around to the other truck, where the fourth guy was in the driver's seat and getting ready to back away. I jumped up on the bumper and then up on the hood. He fired his shotgun, shattering the windshield. His gun went off again, but not before I sent his head rolling into the back seat.

I hopped off the hood of the truck and started walking back toward Tifa.

Hm, something didn't feel right. Why was I feeling so numb all of a sudden? I turned around to face the headlights and looked down at myself. I touched my chest and looked at my hand. Blood. There was blood all over me…But was it mine or the men I just killed? I turned back to Tifa and laughed a little. "Check it out…I'm bleeding."

She was slowly getting up on her feet. "Cloud?"

My legs went completely numb and I fell to my knees.

"Cloud!"

Tifa caught me as I fell forward.

"Oh no!" she yelled.

I felt myself being lowered to the ground. Something was jiggling in my pocket, but then I couldn't feel anything anymore.

"Rufus, it's Tifa. Where's Reno?"

Tifa must have taken my phone. She was talking to Rufus.

I looked up at the stars. They seemed so close.

"Please tell him to hurry up. Cloud's shot up pretty bad. He's bleeding all over."

Huh? Did she just say I was shot?

Everything was getting blurry and I found it hard to breathe. I felt something warm against my face. It was Tifa. Why was she crying? Her face started to fade.

"Please stay with me…Cloud…"

Then even the stars faded away.

Don't bomb my house cuz I'm heading for the hills…runs away real fast!

Please review. Thanks.