Number VII
Tifa Lockheart was washing the dishes and humming happily. It was another sunny afternoon in the rebuilt Midgar: the city had been almost thoroughly rebuilt, expect for the old sector 5. Sector 5 was now an important, almost a sacred place for the citizens of Midgar. They had decided to keep it the way it had been for 5 years now as a memorial, since Kadaj's Bahamut had destroyed the original memorial. Tifa put the washed plate back to its right place, dried her hands and smiled. The children were somewhere out, and Cloud was...
Tifa felt how the happiness slipped down her face, and a sad, worried look replaced the smile. Cloud. Her husband was somewhere out there as well, hunting for the last link to his own past with their old enemies. She sighed and shook her head, making her long brown - almost black - hair to float around her face. She leaned her arms on the bar table and let her gaze look around the 7th Heaven. The place was empty for now, but she knew a lot of people would come around 6 pm, when the beer service started. She smiled shortly, but the sad face soon returned as she remembered Cloud.
Suddenly the door opened and some sunshine streamed through the doorway. Tifa raised her face and blinked. A short character wearing a light brown cape stood there in silence, and Tifa tilted her head. Finally the character moved, and Tifa gasped shortly as she saw the short sword and the bigger and longer one on their back. The person moved the hood, revealing tanned, thin face and white hair. The eyes opened, and Tifa recognized the Mako glow in them immediately. The person smiled and stepped forward, closing the door behind her. "Good afternoon", she spoke with a soft, somewhat husky voice.
"General Celes", Tifa said.
The Mako eyes flashed. "Ah, yes. So Cloud has finally admitted his past and revealed it to you?"
"He's actually still trying to understand some parts of his past. Actually", Tifa said, looking at the table, "we are all still trying to understand." She looked back up, her face doubtful, even unkind. "What do you want?" she asked sharply.
Celes laughed heartily. Tifa noticed how beautiful the ex-SOLDIER was as she laughed like that, and for a while she wondered if Celes had ever fallen in love. Finally Celes managed to stop laughing, and she sat on one of the bar seats. "Well, it's been long since someone has spoken to me like that", she said, shaking her head. "So, you are his wife, correct?" Her green eyes looked at Tifa, laughter shining in them. "Tifa Lockheart-Strife." Her white eyebrow rose and the corner o her lips were turned up.
"Correct."
"Nice to meet you, Miss Lockheart-Strife. I am Celes, as you have pronounced already. But please do not call me a General anymore." She smiled, her eyes narrowed. "I am no longer an officer of Shinra; thus that title doesn't belong to me - hasn't belonged for 10 years by now."
"And you can call me Tifa."
Celes nodded. "Very good." She smiled again. "Could I have something to drink, please? Water, if anything else is not on offer."
Tifa brought her a glass of water, and Celes drank greedily. "Ahh... Great. I haven't had good water for days." She smiled again. Tifa snorted, her lips turned into a smile as well.
"So, are you going to answer my question?"
Celes laughed. "Yes, I haven't forgotten about that." She drew an invisible line on the table with her fingertip. "Why have I returned to Midgar?" she spoke softly. She sighed, her eyes half-closed. Tifa waited, somewhat anxiously, for the answer. "To leave a message", Celes finally said.
"A message?"
Celes nodded, her eyes still on the table. "Yes. As you might have heard, I am going to finish something that was started years and years ago." Her voice got colder, but her expression was hidden behind her hair. Tifa stepped backwards.
"So you really are going to try the same as Sephiroth did", Tifa suggested, and coldness crept to her voice.
Celes opened her eyes, and they were dim with the Mako energy. She smiled, but said nothing. "So that's it, then", Tifa said with disgust.
Celes stood up and placed the hood back. "I am heading for the north. The true answer lies there. The showdown will begin there... either for the benefit or the destruction of us all." She turned around. "Oh, and thanks for the water."
"Wait-!" Tifa moved quickly, but Celes was faster. Tifa saw a green flash and heard the other woman whisper something. Familiar aura of a Materia-magic user was upon the ex-SOLDIER.
[Escape
There was a short flash, and Celes was gone. Tifa stood still for a short while, her breath a bit heavier, and then she moved again. She hurried to upstairs, to their bedroom and finally to the phone. She chose the number quickly and waited nervously. "Come on, pick up the phone", she muttered while tapping the floor with her foot, looking around the bedroom fearing that Celes might reappear and try to stop her.
Finally Tifa heard the click, and a familiar male voice answered. "Reeeno on the phone."
"Give the phone to Rufus, now!" Tifa demanded.