All But One
In Strife
On a normal day, he'd arrive at around eight or nine—eleven at the latest. The sky would be an inky black and the temperature would be in the low forties by the time he got home. On a normal day, he'd casually walk in, get a hug from Marlene and maybe even a high five from Denzel. They'd ramble on and on about the huge spider that was in their room, and how Denzel bravely smashed it with Tifa's old combat boots. On a normal day, Tifa would join him at the table while he ate the dinner she'd saved for him, telling him about the stories she'd heard from the patrons and how he needed to remember that Denzel's birthday was coming up.
That's what would happen on a normal day.
Unfortunately, Cloud knew that something was wrong. He got home at around seven-thirty, which was not normal. Marlene and Denzel didn't greet him at the door—another abnormal feature. But worst of all, Tifa didn't even turn to acknowledge his return while she stood in the kitchen, her back turned towards him.
Cloud walked up, a little perplexed. Maybe she had a bad day. Maybe the kids were too scared to come out since they knew Tifa was angry. Yeah, that was probably it. Cloud figured he should at least attempt to cheer her up, maybe tell her how beautiful she looked today, or make up a few funny stories to try and get a laugh out of her. Too bad he sucked at telling jokes.
He walked up, placing his bag on the floor, and wiping off the bottom of his boots on the door mat. There was a strange, unfamiliar scent in the bar, which was strange because Tifa usually sprayed the place with air fresheners to take out the smell of alcohol. As he walked up to the still-silent, still-unmoving Tifa, Cloud saw a glimpse of red on the tiled kitchen floor. Was this blood? He felt a shiver go up his spine, and moved hesitantly, cautious not to upset Tifa. Did she get hurt? He reached out and placed his hand against her shoulder, and tugged gently to face her.
He felt as if he choked on his own heart.
Her face was distorted, gashes and cuts crisscrossing over her skin and blood trickling down in webs across the full length of her visage. Her mouth hung open, and more blood oozed out from her bottom lip. Her hair was tangled and uneven, her neck and chest soaked in liquid red.
"Y-you…" she began to rasp, her voice toneless and harsh. "You promised…"
Cloud stepped back, shaking his head violently, his hands and knees trembling in a confused mixture of fear and disbelief. This couldn't be happening. What the hell was going on?
"I told you," a voice said from behind.
Cloud jerked around, his eyes widening at the grinning face of the familiar man.
"I told you…I'd never become a memory…"
---
He was breathing heavily, his face cold with sweat and throat burning uncomfortably. He felt a warm hand press against his chest and cracked an eye open to see the beautiful face of Tifa Lockhart, her tired, wine-colored eyes concerned and worried.
"It's alright, Cloud. It was just a nightmare."
Cloud said nothing.
This was not the first time he had dreamt of him. He never told Tifa about these dreams, how they haunted him everywhere he went, how they engulfed his mind when he was alone. Ever since that last battle with the man of his nightmares, Cloud lived in a world of fear and paranoia, unable to let go of the last words that had been spoken to him.
Tifa spent the rest of the night next to him, wrapping her arms around his trembling form and whispering comfort into his ear.
But nothing she said would make his fear go away. Nothing she did could take away the last promise Sephiroth had made to him.
"I will never become a memory."
-xXx-
The bright fluorescent lights were a little irritating to his mako-infused eyes, so he flicked down the switch, causing the area to black out into a void of darkness. The sixty-fourth floor of the WRO Headquarters now reeked with the fresh stench of spilled blood. The cubicles and desks had been decimated in a matter of minutes, and the lifeless corpses of the security guards were piled up in a heap on the far corner of the room. As he wiped the blood from his single-edged katana, Cloud Strife was completely void of emotions. He felt no remorse for the murders of these security guards, only a slight discomfort at the smell that filled his nostrils.
"Cloud, they aren't here."
Cid Highwind returned from Commissioner Tuetsi's office, his hands trembling slightly from the lack of nicotine. He briefly glanced at the pile of bodies, but he could hardly make it out in the pitch black room.
"The files aren't here. We'll have to contact him."
Cloud nodded and sheathed his blade, walking over the shattered remnants of a computer and picking up the wired phone on one of the desks. After a few rings, he heard the voice of a woman.
"Who is this?"
Cloud lowered his brows. "Put Venge on."
"He's a little busy at the moment. This is Rosianna. Did you find it?"
"No. It's not here."
He heard a deep sigh.
"Reeve must've hidden them, then. It doesn't matter. I just wanted to make sure, since all I got was a brief glimpse over those files, but I think we can manage without them."
"Did you get one of them?" Cloud asked.
"No. The girl was awake. Venge is dealing with them right now, but it won't be easy taking one of them as hostage, as he originally planned."
"Who else is there?"
"A Turk. I recognize him as the field leader from when I was with ShinRa. I think his name's Tseng."
Cloud closed his eyes. "The plan won't work if you don't get one of them. Don't bother with the Turks; it'll have to be an AVALANCHE member. You'll have to sneak up on the woman and take her hostage." Cloud felt a little strange calling Tifa "the woman." Still, he continued. "What's happening right now?"
"The Turk's forehead is glowing. I don't know what the hell's up with that, but Venge seems to be pretty excited about it."
"What about the woman? What's she doing?"
"She's just watching from the side."
Cloud rubbed his chin, formulating a strategy in his mind. "Okay, listen. Don't worry about that glowing forehead thing."
"But Venge says it's some kind of techni—"
"Get Venge to distract him, while you capture the woman. With her as your hostage, the others will hold back."
"Alright. Um…Rufus is taking the airship to your location now. Get on board, and return here, just in case we need some help."
Cloud was about to hang up, but stopped when he heard her voice again.
"Oh, and Strife."
"What?"
"The commissioner. Is he dead?"
Cloud paused, a portrait of Reeve Tuetsi's face flashing in his mind.
"Yes," he said, "He should be dead."
-xXx-
Tifa watched in bewilderment as the small dot on Tseng's forehead began to radiate in a strange golden glow. She always questioned if it was a mere religious symbol, since his affiliation with ShinRa forced him to do some rather unreligious deeds. Vincent suggested it had something to do with enlightenment, whereas Nanaki had once told her about certain techniques used to communicate through telepathy. Regardless to these assumptions, Tifa knew that right now, it was lighting up freakishly as if he had a flashlight impaled into his head. On top of all this, the crazy bastard who was fighting with Tseng had claimed to be a student of Zangan. She knew Tseng was a formidable fighter, considering his rank with the Turks, but was he a match for Zangan's apprentice?
This was all so confusing. The whole "he's my brother" ordeal, the fact that Que'd, or whatever his name was, knew her name, and now this completely weird thing Tseng was doing with his forehead.
Tifa sighed. Maybe the lack of sleep had finally gotten to her. Maybe all she needed was to get some rest, and she'd wake up in the morning completely sane again. Maybe all this was just some kind of freak dream.
"What the hell are you waiting for, Tseng?! Come at me!"
What was this guy's problem? He had just gotten his ass kicked by Tifa a few minutes ago, and now he was provoking the field leader of the Turks into a fight.
She had to admit, it was a little awkward just standing there, watching as these two brothers stared at each other, one of them shouting out random curses and taunts, while the other one's forehead was glowing. She shook her head. It was official. She needed to get some damn sleep.
Tifa stepped forward, unwilling to sit around any more and watch like some spectator in a Chocobo Race.
Then, she felt the cold edge of a knife press against her throat.
Damn. The surprises were just stacking up today.
"Hold still, or you lose your head."
It sounded like that woman from before, the one who had pretty much fried Tifa.
"What do you want?" Tifa asked, her voice sounding more annoyed than frightened.
Rosianna pressed the blade tighter, ignoring the strangled protests of her hostage and shouting out at the two men afar. "Venge! I've got her! Let's go!"
Que'd turned. "Hold on! I'm not through here!"
"We have to go! They're coming!"
"Let me kill this bastard first!"
Tseng stepped forward, finally opening his eyes and the glow from his Third Eye diminished. "Is this all for revenge?" he asked. "All the abductions, all the killing and conspiring. Were all these just for the sake of your own little revenge?"
"Shut up! Let's end this here!"
Tseng shook his head. "You seem to have been mistaken, younger brother. The practice of using the Third Eye as a weapon in combat was ceased long ago."
Que'd gaped, baring his teeth. "Then what the hell were you just doing?!"
Tseng grinned. "How do you think I obtained my rank as field leader of the Turks in such a short time? My ability to read people's minds was apparently a much-needed tool for ShinRa." He paused, glancing back at Tifa who was still struggling with the other woman. "Just forget it, Que'd. Your plan isn't going to work."
"Shut up!"
"Do you really think she'd want all this? Lillia. Do you think she's happy with what you're doing?"
"I said shut up, you bastard! Don't you dare speak her name!"
Tifa tried to wriggle free, and even considered elbowing her captor, but decided against it as the blade pushed harder against her skin.
"Killing us isn't going to make a difference, Que'd. Taking Tifa and watching her get killed by Cloud is not going to change how you feel. Taking the lives of the people who caused your pain won't change anything. There's nothing to gain out of this nonsense. You won't feel any more satisfied. Just stop this."
Que'd grinned, his lips curving up in amusement. "Brother. Perhaps you should check up on that mind-reading trick of yours. I think it needs a little fine-tuning."
Tseng shut his eyes. "I know what you're trying to do, Que'd. I know you're going to take Tifa to Cloud so you can watch him kill her."
Que'd's smirk widened.
"I know you're going to kill the rest of us, just for your own satisfaction and revenge. But do you really think it'll make you feel any different?"
"Your ignorance amuses me, brother. Any fool could have figured all that out. Do you really think I'm doing all this just for the sake of revenge?" He let out a harsh laugh. "Yes, it's true. I did want to see her die at the hands of her lover. But trust me, brother, there's a lot more to this than that bullshit."
Rosianna stepped forward, still holding Tifa in her grasp. "Venge! We have to get out of here! The others are probably awake from that last explosion!"
"Que'd, please. I'm begging you as your brother. Put an end to all this. It doesn't have to go any further."
"Give Barret my regards, brother. It's a shame his part in the plan failed."
Que'd backed down, still grinning. "Maybe I'll have you kill that damned president when all this is over."
Tseng stepped forward, fists clenched.
"Take another step and the girl loses her head!" Rosianna shrieked, pulling back as the distant hum of the Shera approached from the horizon.
Tseng cursed. There was no way for him stop Que'd without getting Tifa hurt. And where'd they get that damn airship? "Que'd! What the hell is all this for?! Why are you doing this?!"
"Why don't you read my mind and find out?" Que'd taunted as he joined the two women at the base of the hill.
Tseng watched helplessly as Tifa and her captors were pulled up to the airship.
He had no idea where they were going.
-xXx-
Tifa wiped her fingers across her throat, wincing at the slight sting from the cut it bore. The inside of the Shera was no different than it had been two years ago, save for its crew. Unfamiliar men dressed in WRO Uniforms were occupied at the control panels, tapping away at the switches and gears, while one of them was steering at the back. She noticed one particular man, dressed in white, standing near the glass shield with his back towards her. There was only one person in the world who always wore a white suit.
"Rufus? What are—"
"Shut up," Que'd snapped from behind, knocking her to the side and joining the president at the cockpit.
Tifa gritted her teeth, enraged. This bastard was going to pay for all this. She clenched her fist and swung hard at the man's back, sending him crashing down to the floor, and quickly leapt onto him, thrusting her fists furiously at his face, cracking his nose and smashing his jaw in relentless rage. By the time she was wrestled off by the other men, Tifa had left Que'd with a bloodied face.
"I'll kill you, you bastard! Where's Cloud?! Where is he?!"
Tifa managed to wriggle out from the men's holds, and shoved them off. "Where's my fiancée?! I'll kill all of you if you don't answer me!"
Que'd groaned loudly as he clutched at his face, and Rosianna quickly took him to the back of the cockpit. Tifa was still circled by his men, but she was willing to kill them all. She ducked low to miss the first punch, and thrust an uppercut towards the man's chin, and immediately spun around with a hard kick to his companion.
"Where the hell is Cloud?!"
From the back of the airship, a blonde-haired man stepped out from the darkness, his hand clutching the wooden scabbard of a katana. He took a deep breath.
"I'm here."