Chapter 3: Day of destruction

"Tifa, guess what!" Marlene yelled excitedly, rushing down the stairs.

Tifa put her hand on Marlene's shoulder to stop her, "Slow down, Marlene, I wouldn't want you to fall. Now, what is it that you want to tell me?" she asked and smiled.

"Cloud's coming to visit!" Marlene shouted with joy, jumping up and down.

"No, he said he'd try, Marlene," Denzel added as he slowly descended the stairs.

"Same thing!" Marlene stated, placing the backs of her hands on her hips.

"No it's not!" Denzel argued as he reached the bottom of the staircase.

"What? Did you use the phone, Marlene? You know you're not supposed to," Tifa said, rubbing Marlene's head.

"But Tifa! Cloud said-" Marlene bursted out before Tifa cut her off.

"Like Denzel said, when Cloud says he'll try, that usually means no," she said and went over to the counter, gazing out the window. "Besides, it's getting dark, you two. You need to go upstairs before the night crowd rolls in," she said and shooed the two up the stairs. Since she ran a bar it was dangerous to let Denzel and Marlene downstairs at night.

"B-but Tifa!!" Marlene whined as she was slowly forced upstairs.

"No buts! I can't have you hanging around drunkies!" Tifa yelled and pushed them the rest of the way up. "Hang out in your rooms until bedtime, k?" she asked, smiling her sweet smile.

"ok. Come on Marlene!" Denzel answered and grabbed Marlene's hand, pulling her the rest of the way to her room. When they made it, Denzel shut the door and let Marlene's hand go.

"Denzel! Tifa doesn't believe he'll come, but I-"

"Enough Marlene!" Denzel shouted, having quite the fierce look, "Cloud's not coming, and it's high time for you to stop depending on him!"

Marlene, who was on the verge of tears, glared at Denzel. "You were wrong about him answering his phone, weren't you!? I know he'll come, I just know it!" she yelled, stomping a foot on the floor as her hands balled into fists again.

"Just keep telling yourself that, Marlene! But I'm moving on and taking care of myself!" Denzel stated, opening her door and walking out, "Marlene, make a choice! Fantasy or real life, our life," he said sternly, shutting the door back.

Marlene, now alone, collapsed onto her bed, tears streaming down her face. "He'll come, I know it..," she kept whispering to herself, hugging her pillow as she began to hiccup.

As she cried, she began to feel a slight shaking, Her eyes snapped open and she sat up, her expression alert. "What the..?" she questioned and sat up off her bed, standing up. The shaking got worse every minute, and as the rumbling got louder, Marlene knew what this was.

She went to the window and gazed out. It seemed as if the whole city was falling apart, and it probably was, little by little. "Tifa, it's-" she yelled until a booming sound cut her off, the whole house shaking terribly. After the boom, she heard some of the house's structure beams brake. That terrifying sound of wood braking in two may have been the scariest noise she had ever heard.

Another boom sounded, the trembling of the house had knocked her off her feet this time. She screamed as she fell, hitting her head on the wall with a solid crack. "Aaaahh!" she yelped, holding the back of her head in anguish.

"Marlene!" shouted a terrified, yet worried, voice.

--Denzel--

Outside Marlene's door, stood Denzel. A wooden plank and a bit of other debris blocked the way to her door.

He struggled to remove the plank, but it only budged slightly. "Marlene!!" he screamed, feeling a rush of adrenaline. "Come on..," he growled and gritted his teeth as he tried to pull with greater force.

The ground rumbled, tossing the structures of the house sideways. Along with the house, Denzel was tossed toward the wall, but he didn't let go of the plank. With a great force, the plank broke in half, sending splinters into Denzel's hands and one of the halves cutting his arm. He didn't notice either of these inconveniences, for now he could get to Marlene's door.

He sprang to his feet and grabbed the knob, pulling on it with all of his strength. To his relief, the door began to open and eventually made a big enough crack for him to squeeze through. "Marlene? Marlene!" he yelled, making his way through the rubble. Seeing a head at the opposite end of the room, he sped up. "Marlene!" he screamed when he got to her, getting down on his knees.

"Denzel!" Marlene cried, still holding her head with one hand as the other grabbed Denzel's arm.

"Come on, Marlene! We need to get out of here!" Denzel yelled over the rumbling and screaming of the panicked people outside.

"What about Tifa?" Marlene yelped.

"I dunno, but we have to go downstairs anyway, so-"

"She's not hurt, right?" Marlene whined, grabbing onto Denzel's sleeve.

He looked to her, then the scattered pieces of wood from the ceiling and holes from where wood broke and fell to the base floor below. "I hope not," he whispered, helping Marlene up.

With Marlene by his side, Denzel moved forward and squeezed through the door again, running down the hall. Their bare feet were penetrated by shattered wood and glass, but they didn't stop until they reached the stairs.

The staircase was broken, some of the stairs halved, some completely demolished, and some that looked unstable. Debzel gulped and took a step further, flinching at each cracking sound. He could feel Marlene's hand trembling, though he had no way of comforting her, for he was shaking as well.

As they slowly moved their bleeding feet, they heard another boom.

The tremor knocked them sideways, slamming them into the railing. The maple wood snapped under their weight, causing them to tumble forward, falling onto the dirtied floor below.

Marlene shook her head and trembled as she stood. "T-Tifa?" she screeched, her voice scratchy and quiet.

Denzel sat up on his knees, holding his stomach as her coughed, dust from their fall choking him a bit.

Besides Denzel coughing and the screams of civilians, Marlene could hear some sort of harsh breathing. "Tifa?!" she yelled in to the room, creeping toward the noise. She stumbled over a few pieces of many varieties of material, until she noticed a big hole in the ceiling that led to Denzel's bedroom. Now she was immensely worried, pushing herself farther.

Whebn she looked where the floor above fell, she became horrified. "TIFA!!" she screamed, rushing forward.

Tifa was in sight, and it wasn't a pretty one. A plank had Tifa's arm pinned down, a support beam had impaled her in the stomach near her waist, and iother debris held down her waist and below. "Marlene..," she groaned.

"Tifa!!!" Marlene yelled, running over to Tifa's outstretched arm.

Denzel, who just caught up with Marlene, gasped, grabbing Marlene's shoulders as she fell to her knees. "Tifa!" he yelled.

"Get out... you two... You have.. to get out of... Midgar," Tifa choked out, talking in between gasps of air.

"Come on Marlene! We gotta get out!" Denzel shouted, pulling Marlene's shoulders backward, tears he was trying to hold back formed on the rims of his eyes.

Tears streamed down Marlene's face, her hiccups resurfacing. "TIFA!!!!!!!" she cried as she was pulled out of the house. Cloud! Help Tifa! Please... I'm begging you! she thought as Denzel shut the door.

The two ran past screaming people and demolished houses. Midgar was trashed, and no building was left standing. As they ran, they both thought they spotted a spiky, blond head out of the crowd. Denzel glared and picked up speed, while Marlene gazed in hope and happiness, but was forced forward.

--Tifa--

Tifa smiled as the two left, she hoped they would be safe. She lifted her free hand and grabbed the thick would protruding from her side. She couldn't see it, but she didn't exactly want to either.

What if Cloud did come? What if he was too late? She hoped he would keep his promise if so...

--year before--

It was the day Cloud was leaving, and Tifa knew she couldn't stop him, but...

"Cloud!" Tifa yelled, grabbing his hand. "Wait, I need to tell you something," she said and smiled as he turned around. "I wanna make a promise."

"Promise?" Cloud asked, turning fully around.

"I want you to promise.... if I die, don't blame yourself! 'K?" Tifa asked, grinning widely.

Cloud slowly nodded, then sighed. "I hope I don't have to keep it," he said and smiled as Tifa giggled.

"Remember it!" Tifa said sternly, letting off a gentle tone, "Right! Happy traveling, then!" she said as her last words to him and let go of his hand...