A/N: WOW...I have no idea where all this came from! But tis good tis good...now all I have to do is figure out who the kidnappers are...O.o...I know, I'm pathetic. Oh yeah, here at the beginning is a little snippit (is that a word?) from a poem I wrote way back long ago...well, only about a year, but still! I think it fits nicely, so everyone enjoy, and as always, thanks so much for everything!
Nightmare
We're all waiting for something, wasting time,
Living in the past, lost in our minds.
We're bleeding dry, empty eyes,
Losing our sanity, saying good-bye.
We're all scared, fearing death,
And when we die, we won't be able to rest.
"Cloud! Cloud!"
Cloud squints his eyes, reaching out to Tifa. She bloody, she's so bloody, laying on that stair landing. The sword wound in her stomach is flooding with blood.
"Tifa!"
He's at her side in an instant, his hand reaching out to touch her arm.
But it passes right through, and he gasps.
He can do nothing, he can only sit there and watch as she bleeds. Bleeds...bleeds to death, these words etched in his mind.
"Tifa." He says softly, trying to stroke her hair, but again, his hand passes through.
"Cloud where are you? Why haven't you come?" Her voice is pleading, breaking his heart.
"Tifa! Please, I'm right here, please, please, just take my hand..." His voice cracks slightly.
He makes a move to touch her hand , but he passes through her just as before. She's crying now, her breathing labored.
"No...no..."
His hands go up to hide the tears that fall, his breathing harsh. He's trying to block out her screams, trying to make it so he won't have to hear her in pain anymore. He sits there, rocking back and forth, sobbing, as Tifa is sobbing, lying on the floor.
"The baby, Cloud!"
A new pain hits his heart, his eyes flown open in terror. He stands, rushing upstairs, into the baby's room. He can't even step past the threshold though.
There's blood everywhere.
He stumbles back, slamming into the wall behind him, his body trembling with the realization of what's happened. It's only then he realizes Tifa's yells and sobs have stopped. It's quiet, and he's afraid to look. He knows what he'll see if he looks, and his thoughts are confirmed as he turns his head slowly.
Her eyes are glazed over, unseeing and forever seeing at the same time, and she's still, she's so still, not a single breath. Her mouth is cracked open slightly, a trail of blood running from the corner of her mouth, more blood pooled beneath her.
He feels his breath stop, and he's choking on air, choking on living. His knees slam the ground, and he topples forward. He's dying, he's dying and he feels guilty for it. He feels guilty because she died first, the one he had sworn to protect.
o
O
o
A gasp, and he bolts straight up. He's breathing heavily, trying to gain what breath back that he'd lost in the dream. He reaches out, afraid to look, and he feels her leg. His eyes slowly follow, dreading what he'll see. For a moment he sees her as he did in her dreams, a wail caught in his throat.
But then she's Tifa again, curled on her side. Beautiful, beautiful Tifa, with her hair spanning out behind her, her face half hidden by her pillow, the sheets draping over her body elegantly.
"A nightmare...let it all be a nightmare."
But he knows it's not. Most of them are gone, but there is the faintest remnant of a bruise about her eye. He leans forward, pulling her into her chest, waking her from her slumber. Her eyes fling open in shock, feeling herself pulled up against his chest.
She doesn't panic, she knows Cloud's arms, and she wraps her arms about him, only guessing what had happened. She can feel Cloud shaking, he's trembling and shivering, afraid. She closes her eyes, she doesn't need to say anything, she knows it's enough to just hold him.
It's been a while since she's done that.
In the recent events, he'd been the one to hold her, now he can barely keep his arms around her, his misery weakening him, as it had done to her. His arms slide off her shoulders, and rest lightly on the bed as Tifa holds him against her. It's hard, Cloud is a heavy man, and she is still tired, but she holds him. She cradles him gently against her chest, his face buried in her shoulder, her arm slipped behind his back, her other hand resting softly on the back of his head.
And that's all he needs right now.
o
O
o
It's not long before his shaking stops, a tremble every now and then, like a breeze disturbing leaves on a tree, but he's breathing steadily. She still holds him in her arms though.
There's a soft knock at the door.
"Tifa? Cloud?" Yuffie's voice at the door.
Cloud doesn't acknowledge the fact that his name has been said. He wants to ignore the outside world, and just stay in her arms forever.
But Tifa can't do that.
"Yes?"
"You better get down here, we've found something."
"Okay."
Cloud acknowledges this though, sitting up slowly, his wife's arms reluctantly letting him go. He stands, his eyes on the floor, but stops before he reaches the door.
"Do you..."
"No, I'm okay now."
"So am I."
Tifa stands slowly, a little shaky, but holds her ground. She laces her fingers with Cloud's and opens the door.
They're sitting around one table, and Tifa narrows her eyes. There's something sitting in the center of the table.
But something else has caught her eyes.
Nanaki looks up, and she smiles for a moment as he rushes over, allowing her to hug him tightly.
"Glad you're here." She whispers.
"Glad to be here." He replies, and she smiles, a sigh escaping her lips.
She's back up again though, not wanting to waste any more time.
"What did you find?" She asks slowly.
Vincent holds it out, a black cell phone.
"It's not either or yours, is it?" He asks simply.
Tifa nods her head no, taking it softly into her hands. She opens it, and scans through the phone, but there's no information in it. She clamps it shut in frustration, a heavy sigh, so she's startled when she hears a soft ring.
She looks down at the phone, wide eyed. She knows she can't answer it, and Cloud knows it too, so he takes the phone, flipping it open in one fluid movement.
"Should I even ask?" His voice is low, restrained and cold.
It's every sign that Cloud is fighting to keep from exploding.
There's a low chuckle on the other end, and Tifa watches as Cloud's hand tightens on the phone. She reaches out, taking his other hand, calming him.
"Be a good boy and put it on speaker phone." The voice says, a male's.
Cloud does as he says, while embedding the voice in his mind forever.
"Now, before you all badger me with questions, remember what I hold."
"Let us speak to them." Cloud says evenly.
"This is what you do," The voice states, ignoring Cloud's statement.
"I think a lovely spot for a reunion-
Cloud winces at the word.
"-would be somewhere in Costa Del Sol...just head there, that's all you need to know right now."
Cloud's hand grips the phone tighter, his eyes blazing.
"Temper temper, Mr. Strife. It'll all be over soon."
These words send chills up Tifa's spine.
"Ah, and Mrs. Strife, so sorry about the bullet wound. You could've just acted your part as a damsel in distress. I mean, isn't that when Cloud's suppose to come?"
Barret's fist slams the table, anger rising at how this man was mocking them.
"Ah Barret, do calm yourself." The voice says.
That's when it clicked in Vincent's mind. They were being watched.
"Don't you forget who you're dealing with here." His voice cuts the air.
"Trust me, I know exactly who I'm dealing with here."
There's a click, and the room is left silent. Cloud calmly releases Tifa's hand, shutting the phone and handing it to her. She looks up at him, questions in her eyes, but he leans forward on the table, trying to calm himself.
But it's not working.
In the next moment the table is flung up and sent clattering to the ground, a chair flung at the wall, shattering into pieces. The group flinches at the noise, but waits for Cloud's breath to calm. They knew it was enough that he hadn't shattered the precious phone that would reconnect them with Marlene and Denzel.
Tifa drops the phone, where it clatters to the floor. She walks up behind him, wrapping her arms securely about his waist, resting her head on his back. She feels his breathing calm, but she knows he's still burning within. It takes all her strength to keep from grinding the phone to dust beneath her feet.
A/N: Did you get the reference to Aerith's death? I think Cloud just doesn't want to fail Tifa, and he's imagining something worse happening...with my good fortune, that line "living in the past" really worked for the chapter...as did the rest of it! Most of it was for the nightmare, anyways...Try to update soon! but I make no promises.