When It Rains…

By: Illusion of the Mirror

Tifa was very quiet and it discomforted Denzel. He watched as she absently picked at the bandage on her forehead while staring into the space between her and the door to the hallway. Words, still half-formed, pleaded to erupt into the silence, if only to chase away the overbearing quiet. He didn't like seeing her this way, so lost. Desperate for some way to cheer her up, Denzel surveyed the room. The sad truth was he needed cheering up too.

Suddenly, the door to the brightly furnished lounge slid open, and three young children entered the room, dragging with them a din of scuffling shoes and obnoxious laughter. They immediately went silent when they spotted Denzel glaring severely at them. The tallest, a girl with wild green eyes and even wilder blonde curls stepped forward and appraised him almost condescendingly. Denzel was indignant.

"See something you like?" he questioned flatly.

The girl huffed and started to circle him, the two boys trailing her like baby ducks. "No, all I see is some dumb kid who thinks he's all that and a bag of jelly beans." She took a step toward the red velvet chair Denzel was sitting at and pointed a slender bandaged finger at his nose. "State your name, knave."

It was then that the shortest of the intruding children noticed Tifa sitting quietly in the corner bemusedly surveying their interaction. "Uh, Luna…" He lifted a chubby hand and tugged on the hem of the girl's shirt.

"What is it, Sir Benji?" Her eyes went wide when they met Tifa's and she immediately dropped her offending finger to her side. "Oh…hi."

Tifa cocked her head to the side and stifled a smile. "Hi."

Luna looked down at Benji and then the taller boy that stood next to her as if questioning them what to do. When both of them just stared back at her with wide eyes, she shrugged and stuck out her hand to Tifa. "My name's Luna. That's L-U-N-A, not L-O-O-N-A."

Tifa grasped the girl's hand and Luna gave it a firm shake. She shot a thumb over her shoulder. "These here are my pals Mason and Benji."

Tifa smiled brightly. "It's nice to meet you. My name's Tifa."

Luna's eyes went startlingly wide. "Tifa!? As in Cloud Strife's friend, Tifa!?"

Denzel had had quite enough of this introduction, specifically because it didn't include him. He slipped from his chair to tower above all three of the newcomers. "No, as in Tifa Lockheart, a member of AVALANCE that helped save the world…twice."

Luna turned and crossed her arms. "Uh-huh. I think we're talking about the same person, Mr. Serious."

Denzel grimaced, his face reddening. "I have a name, you know."

"Yeah, we all do. You think that makes you special, or something?"

Tifa suddenly felt the need to interject before this not so playful banter escalated. "I am Cloud's friend, Luna. Why? Do you know him?"

The taller boy with greasy brown hair and glasses half the size of his face stepped forward excitedly. "Yeah, yeah, Cloud stayed at Luna's house for a long time. He's not too bad at gin rummy, you know."

"Or hide and seek," Benji interjected meekly.

Tifa was confused. "R-really? When was this?"

Mason sniffed loudly and pushed his glasses up his short nose. "Well, he got into this huge accident, you see, and then Emily found him and he came back to Luna's house and he stayed there for a long time while he got better and he had these huge scratches all over his body that oozed all kinds of stuff and sometimes gravel would-"

"Emily?" Tifa met the young girl's eyes. "Emily Bordeaux?"

"Yeah, she's my sister. She's kinda cool, I guess." Luna shrugged. "But not near as cool as Cloud Strife. He's real strong, you know?"

Tifa was at a loss for words. Cloud was in an accident? Why hadn't he ever said anything? He could've called, or written, or something! She put a hand to her spinning head and felt the dull ache from her injury pulse beneath the bandages. This was…upsetting news.

There was a sudden bang as the wooden endtable that was next to Denzel's chair clattered to the concrete floor. Startled, Tifa looked up just in time to see her young companion rapidly limping from the room, his half-empty bottle of soda leaking its contents steadily onto the area rug below.

"Oh no!" Benji immediately bent down to pick up the plastic bottle as Mason quickly righted the table.

"What's eating him?" Luna queried crossly, glaring out the door after Denzel's retreating form. Then her facial expression softened and she looked up at Tifa. "Was it something I said?"

Tifa pushed herself up from her seat slowly, careful to avoid succumbing to the dizziness that washed over her. She gazed down at the fiery child and patted her lightly on the shoulder. "Don't worry about it, honey. I'm going to go look for him."

"Do you want us to help?" Mason boldly questioned.

"Yeah, I didn't mean to hurt Mr. Serious' feelings or anything," Luna added with her eyebrows drawn abashedly.

"That's okay," Tifa sighed. "You guys can go ahead and go back to playing. It was nice meeting you." She had reached the doorway when she turned to see that while the two boys had stayed back to play cards, Luna had followed her.

"I want to help."

Tifa smiled languidly. "Okay, maybe you can show me how to get around this place."

--- O ---

It hadn't taken long for the two to split up. Luna had suggested that Tifa go check the mess hall and greater areas while she went to search the utility rooms. Though she didn't know if this young girl was the best person to find Denzel now, she had agreed. Luna was stubborn, it didn't take very long to figure that out. She'd help look even if Tifa had ordered her to stay behind.

And so it was, Luna had parted to go her own way and now Tifa was left on her own. She padded distractedly down the brilliantly white hallway toward the main room, scanning for Denzel's mop of brunette locks. She knew exactly why he had run. Heck, if she had been in his place, she would have run too.

Here were these complete strangers who were going on and on about memories they had with the man that should've been in his life. Tifa felt a pang of sorrow for the boy. He had been so grief-ridden when Cloud left…and now, to hear that he was with someone else…with another family…

Red hot anger boiled beneath Tifa's skin as her footsteps grew heavier on the tile floor. That bastard! She had long ago locked away the pain that Cloud's abandonment had brought her, but she could never forgive him for how he had hurt the children. And now, to find out this! To find out that he had been living with a different family sharing the love and warmth that he had denied the ones that needed him the most was infuriating!

Tifa halted in her steps and clenched her fists, her teeth slicing painfully through her bottom lip as she clenched her jaw. In an act of pure, unabated fury, she drew up a fist and slammed it into the wall, the painted surface giving way beneath the sheer force. And on top of it all, he was injured! In an accident and he didn't even think to…

"Uh, I realize that, uh, the layout of the bunker can be confusing, Ms. Lockheart, but you could always just ask for directions."

Tifa's eyes shot open and she whirled around just a bit too quickly. The hallway wavered out of focus for a moment before she realized that she was face to face with Professor Alexander Altmann. She immediately glanced at the gaping hole in the drywall and then tucked the throbbing fist into her opposite hand. "I…I'm sorry…" A blush slipped across the bridge of her nose and down onto her neck.

Altmann took a step closer and surveyed the fissure in the previously perfect wall. He opened his mouth as if to say something, and then shut it, taking a moment to rub his scruffy chin. He then sighed and shook his head. "It's not too big a deal…but, just in case, we should leave before someone sees us here."

Tifa met the man's honey colored eyes. "But I-"

Alexander Altman took her elbow. "Didn't see anything? Exactly, neither did I." He led her around the next corner and then looked both ways before guiding her into the next room.

Once the door was safely closed, Altmann released his grip on Tifa's limb. She paused to examine the room. It appeared to be some sort of library office. The space was lined with shelves that were over-stuffed with books, binders, and loose papers. The counters below were covered with scattered documents and articles that seemed to be in no order what-so-ever as their contents spilled onto chairs, tables, and in some places even onto the floor. In the midst of it all, stood a single black office chair which the professor crossed over to. He pushed it into its place under a desk that held a computer monitor which stuck up from the sea of disarray.

The walls that didn't have shelves, sported a corkboard stuck full of pins holding prints and notes, a placard of the periodic table of elements, and several other smaller framed pictures. But the item that most caught Tifa's attention was an image that was stuck to the front of a filing cabinet to her left. There was no mistaking it; it was an image of the Talisman.

Altmann followed her gaze and then nodded before pulling the tie from his long hair, allowing it to spill down to graze his shoulders. "Ah, I see you've found something that interests you."

Tifa reached up and placed a finger on the picture before turning to the professor. "Not interest, sir, more like it curses me." She made a sweeping gaze over the cluttered room. "Where are we, anyway?"

"This," the professor answered as he retied his hair into a ponytail. "This is my office." Tifa's eyes widened and Altmann chuckled. "Humble as it is." He stepped forward and pulled the picture down from the filing cabinet with a flick of the wrist. "Ms. Lockheart, do you, by any chance, know what the Talisman is made out of?"

Tifa thought a moment. What kind of question was this? "Um, I heard that it was made of gold and the stone in the center is from the King's crown."

The professor smiled wryly, his eyes twinkling in the dim light of the room. "A good guess, you know your history." He paused and held the picture out for Tifa to inspect. "Now can you tell me why it's made of gold?"

Tifa was growing weary of this game. "I don't know, Professor Altmann, because gold is pure?"

"Nope. It's actually because it looks pretty." Tifa's eyebrows drew together and the professor smiled. "It doesn't matter what the talisman is made from, just as long as it has the stone in the center and the incantation around the outside to keep the dark spirit in place." He set the paper down on a pile of open books and then crossed to a shelf on the opposite side of the room. "Which is good, because gold is hard to come by these days."

Tifa watched curiously as Alexander pulled a white box from the top shelf. He blew a thin layer of gray dust off the top, coughed gently, and then removed the lid. He then held it down for Tifa to see the contents. She nearly gasped with surprise. "It's the Talisman!" But that's not right…there's three of them in here…

"Actually, they're just painstakingly made copies." Altmann pulled one of the items from the box to reveal that it was exactly similar to the Talisman except that it had no stone in the center. "You see, I figured that this way, if the real Talisman was ever…injured, we would have back-ups."

Tifa smiled at the boyish grin that the professor wore as he showed off the fruits of his labor. "They're very nice," she offered.

"Nice?" Alexander snorted. "They most certainly are not! They're perfect!"

Giggling at the blatant jest in the professor's voice, Tifa reached up to scratch the itchy bandage on her noggin. It was then that she suddenly remembered her previous destination. "Oh, I forgot about Denzel!"

--- O ---

Well, what did you expect? It's not like you should be surprised. Cloud can live his own life, it's none of your business. Denzel sat underneath a work bench in the unoccupied section of the hanger that he had first arrived in when he came to this place. His knees were folded up beneath his chin and he fought to convince himself that he wasn't upset as traitorous tears slid down his cheeks. But why wasn't I good enough?

Catching a movement out of the corner of his eye, Denzel looked up to see that Luna girl standing there looking down at him, awkwardly shifting her weight between her two feet. He buried his cheeks behind his knees and turned his head from her. But she didn't budge. She just stood there as if waiting for him to get up and dance for her.

"You want something?" He asked tersely.

Taking this as some sort of go-ahead, the girl moved forward and sat down next to him. Couldn't she tell that he wanted her to go away?

"Look, Mr. Serious, I'm sorry if I said something to make you angry earlier. I was just fooling around." Denzel ignored her apology. What did she know anyway? Much to his chagrin, Luna scooted closer. "Are you crying?"

Damn it, couldn't this girl take a hint!? "No." Denzel angled himself away from her and occupied his gaze with the concrete below him. "I want to be alone now…so go away." As an afterthought he added, "Please."

Luna overlooked his request. "I know who you are, you know. Denzel, right?" She sighed when she received no answer, but continued undaunted. "He used to talk about you, a lot."

Denzel stiffened next to her, listening begrudgingly, but listening all the same.

"Actually," she added quietly. "I used to get kinda jealous, the way he'd always be talking about you and Marly."

"Her name's Marlene," Denzel corrected succinctly.

"Okay, Marlene, then. But my point is that he obviously loved you guys a lot."

Denzel couldn't take it anymore, he spun around and faced Luna head-on, his face red with anger and hurt. "Then why'd he leave, can you tell me that?! Why did he spend time with you and your stupid friends playing stupid games if he loved us so much?! Why wasn't he there?!" The tears were flowing relentlessly now despite his best efforts to quell them.

The young blonde was taken aback. She looked down at the floor and bit her lip. Denzel sniffed loudly and hid his face behind his knees once more, trying to stifle his sobs.

It was only a few minutes before Luna spoke, but it felt like hours. "I guess it was because he didn't think he could." Luna sighed and pulled her knees up under her chin just like Denzel. "Cloud Strife was always talking about you, that's true, but when he wasn't, he was talking about how much he didn't deserve stuff. He'd be like 'I don't deserve this soup' or 'I don't deserve these blankets' and stuff like that." She deepened her voice to imitate Cloud and Denzel almost smiled. Almost.

"So I think the reason he left is because he felt like he had failed you somehow."

Denzel shifted his weight and then looked at the girl. Luna glanced up at him and their eyes met. "I know it's not a good reason. But, it's all I got, okay?" She reached up a hand and tucked a wild curl behind her ear. "He missed you a lot, though. I could always tell that he really wanted to go back."

The hot, salty tear that forged its way down Denzel's cheek soaked into the knee of his jeans and he sniffed to keep his snot from leaking out of his nose. "But he didn't."

Luna sighed and placed a steady hand on his shoulder shamelessly. "We all do things we shouldn't, Mr. Serious. And sometimes, we don't do things that we should. That doesn't make it right; it just makes it the truth."

Denzel sniffed again. What a strange girl this was. She could be so tough one moment, then so sympathetic the next. And she didn't even know him. He was about to reply when there was an unexpected movement out in the hanger.

Both Luna and Denzel craned their necks to peer out into the open space but then Denzel caught sight of the perpetrators of the noise and shot back under the work bench, pulling the girl with him. "What are you-" Denzel slapped a hand over her mouth, but it was too late, they had heard. A tall figure clad in a black cape looked directly at them and produced a large assault rifle from underneath the folds of his garment. Luna screamed.

--- O ---

Both Tifa and Professor Alexander Altmann were searching the immaculate white hallways for Denzel when they heard a shrill cry echo down the corridor followed by gunshots. Doors flung open on both sides of the passageway as inhabitants of the bunker shot out to see what was going on. A short, blonde woman came up from behind Tifa and gasped. "That sounded like my Luna!"

There was a sudden stampede as dozens of sets of feet raced down the hall toward the hanger. Just as Tifa was about to open the door to the bus bay, it swung inward and a cloaked figure burst in, brandishing an automatic weapon. Gunshots rang out. There were screams. Tifa managed to throw herself to the floor just in time to avoid the spray of bullets, bruising her knees in the act. She clamped her hands over her ears as the reverberation in her head bombarded her brain.

Gaining control of her senses, Tifa took a split second to assess the situation and then shot out a hand to slam the metal door on the intruder with a loud clang. She heard him cuss as he toppled to the ground outside. Clamoring to her feet, Tifa flung herself against the bottom of the door, attempting to barricade the attacker from entering again but wary that the intruder may open fire on the door itself. She felt a presence at her side and turned to see Professor Altmann propped against the door alongside her.

A commotion erupted beyond the barred entryway as screams of agony, gunshots, and desperate pleads for mercy muddled together. "It's Darknation," a woman behind them moaned as she helped an injured man off the floor. Tifa turned to see that the intruder had managed to gun down over half of the people in the hallway.

"Damn it!" A young man shouted as he lifted himself from the floor while clutching a bleeding shoulder. "How did they find us here?"

"It won't be long until they discover the alternative route around to where we are," Altmann interjected loudly. Both his and Tifa's forms shook as the attacker pounded on the other side of the door, bellowing demands to be let in.

"What do we do? We have to get these people out of here!" Tifa gasped. Whoever was trying to get in, was now throwing himself against the barricade with full force. Her body shuddered with each bang as she struggled to keep the door from giving in.

The short woman from before crawled over and joined them at the entryway. "The only ways out are through the hanger! But, my daughter's out there!" Tears burst from her red, puffy eyes.

"We'll have to fight our way out," the injured man added.

"That's impossible! We'll be killed!" someone else shouted from behind him.

"We'll be killed either way," Tifa exclaimed. "Better to make a break for it!" She winced at the pounding in her head and the throbbing of her newly scuffed and bruised shoulders. "Do we have any weapons?!"

Altmann reached into his vest and produced a set of throwing daggers. "This is all I have here."

The injured man stood up straight. "Well, that's not gonna save us all, Doc! Anyone who's willing or able, come with me! We can get some weapons!"

"Crispin, it's too dangerous," Luna's mother replied.

"We have to try!" With that, Crispin and four others turned and flew back down the hallway and around the corner.

Then, the pounding on the door subsided. Tifa looked to Altmann. He gripped his daggers tightly. "I'll go first, I've had a good life."

Before Tifa could respond, Altmann pushed her back and pulled the door open a crack, then, seeing no one directly in front of them, he snuck out.

Tifa looked down at the bleeding bodies on the floor, their faces still contorted in shock and fear. Three still remained with her and Luna's mother. There were gunshots down the next corridor from them. It was now, or never.

In an instant, Tifa pitched the door open and burst out into the bunker to see Professor Altmann pulling one of his daggers from the forehead of a fallen member of Darknation. He picked up the fallen enemy's handgun and handed it to Tifa. "You'll need this."

"What about you?" Tifa shouted as they ducked behind one of the buses parked near the corridor they had just come from.

Altmann held up a dagger and waved it briefly with a smirk. "I'll be fine, just get out of here!"

A figure in a dark cloak stepped around the corner of the bus nearest to Tifa and leveled his weapon just in time to receive a fist right in the center of his face. The man's body crumpled to the ground and Tifa picked up his gun, passing it to one of the other survivors hiding behind the immense vehicle. "You cover their retreat, Professor! I have to find Denzel!"

"No, wait!"

But Tifa didn't even pause. She dashed across the gap between the bus and the one beside it then sidled along until she could see around the corner. Screams, shots, and sounds of battle echoed everywhere. Tifa surveyed the area carefully, watching for the young boy, hopeful that he was safe, but fearing the worst.

--- O ---

The cloaked figure came straight over to Denzel and Luna, pointing his weapon directly at them. He let loose a cruel laugh. "Which one first? The girl or the boy?"

Denzel winced as Luna's nails dug in to his shoulder and he felt the ground behind him for something, anything he could use as a weapon. His fingers closed around the handle of a fallen hammer, and in a moment, he charged out from under the work bench and slammed the head of the mallet as hard as he could into the side of the man's knee.

It worked! The man plummeted to the ground, his weapon firing into the air and shattering a light fixture high above. Shards of glass and metal rained down on them as the man pointed his rifle at Denzel with burning hatred in his eyes. "You're dead, you little punk!"

Denzel waited for the searing pain of a bullet ripping through his vital organs, but it didn't come. Instead, he heard a loud bang and opened his eyes to see Luna standing over the now unconscious man, a heavy drawer from the toolbox on the bench clutched in her hands. She stared at him with wide, misty eyes.

"Thanks," Denzel nodded. He took the girl's trembling hand. "Come on! We have to get out of here!"

Together, the two children dashed to the nearest utility truck and slid beneath. It was a tight squeeze, but if Denzel calculated right, they couldn't be seen by the intruders. He could see them, however. They were swarming the place like wasps. "Who are these people?" Luna whispered shakily.

"Darknation," Denzel replied seriously. They had to warn someone. The bunker was under attack!

"I was afraid of that." Luna shifted closer to him. "What do we do?"

Denzel's thoughts shot to Tifa. He wondered if she were okay. Of course she was. She could protect herself…besides, he had to worry about himself right now. "How can we get out of here?"

Luna thought a moment. "The only way out is through one of those tunnels." She pointed to the three large doors through which the buses and trucks came and went. "But how do we get to one of them?"

By now, there were gunshots and screams echoing from everywhere. Denzel couldn't hear himself think, much less form a plan. He watch helplessly as Darknation ripped apart machinery and rushed through the doors to the living quarters. People were dying. He knew it, and there was nothing he could do. It was just like before. He looked over at Luna as she sobbed silently into her palms.

No. This time would be different. This time he would do something. This time he would save her.

--- O ---

Tifa stepped over the Darknation soldier she had just clobbered with a tire iron and dragged him behind the nearest counter.

She had an idea now.

Pulling the black cloak from the man's limp body with more than a little effort, she gave the man's head a hard kick, just to be on the safe side. Tifa swung the cloak over her shoulders and fastened it around her neck, pulling the hood and mask over her head to conceal her identity. Now she could look for Denzel without getting shot…she hoped.

She picked up the man's rifle and held it out in front of her just as he had been doing. Think, Tifa. Think! You and the professor searched all of the back rooms, so Denzel must have been in here. Carefully advancing forward, Tifa scanned the area and spotted the doorway where Altmann was leading the survivors out. The man could really hold his own in a fight. She would hate to be on the opposite end of his blade.

"Hey!" Tifa froze as another man in a cloak approached her. "What are you doing?"

Tifa forced herself to respond, lowering her voice in what she knew was a lame attempt to sound like a man. "Looking for survivors."

The man scoffed. "Well, here, help me set these." With that comment, he tugged the gun from Tifa's hands and shoved an armful of something towards her. Tifa recognized them immediately from her days battling Shinra: explosives.

The man set the weapon aside and chuckled. "We get these set and off, and there won't be any survivors." He pointed across the hanger to one of the huge metal doors used to get in and out of the depot. "Start there."

Tifa nodded and followed the man's direction, stunned that she had actually managed to fool him. She traversed the vicinity quickly, all the while searching for any sign of Denzel.

--- O ---

The closest exit was at least a hundred feet away. Denzel knew it would be risky, but he also knew they couldn't stay under this truck forever. He had to get Luna to safety. And then he would find Tifa. Figuring their best bet would be to go from hiding place to hiding place, Denzel searched for a spot that could harbor them and would be closer to the door. There, about fifteen feet away there was an overturned table.

"Luna," he uttered quietly to the cowering girl that clutched his arm in a vice-like grip. "We're going to make a break for that table, okay?"

He could tell that she wanted to protest, but he didn't give her the chance. Sliding as close as he could to the open without protruding out, Denzel prepared himself silently. Three…two…one….now!

Slipping easily from under the vehicle, Denzel shot toward the safety of the overturned table, Luna in tow close behind. In all seriousness, he didn't expect to make it unnoticed, so it came as a pleasant surprise when he and the girl collapsed behind the barrier unscathed. He was shaking from the adrenaline that pumped through his veins, but he knew that this was only their first victory. They still had a long way to go before they were safe.

Turning over onto his stomach, Denzel peered out past the edge of the tabletop. He could see a cloaked figure heading across the hanger to the door they were working their way to. Now what?

Luna tugged on Denzel's shirt sleeve and he turned instinctively to look at her. "Okay, Mr. Serious," she whispered hoarsely. "Our next target should be that shelf over there. It's not all the way against the wall."

Denzel nodded as he spied the shelf she spoke of. It was a good twenty feet away but they just might make it if they waited for the opportune moment in all the confusion. By now, there was obvious signs of the Resistance fighting back, and crossfire had erupted on the far side of the bunker. That was their ticket out of here.

"Alright, we'll go on three, okay?" Denzel sat up on his heels, muscles coiled for the sprint to the shelf.

"Now!" Luna whispered loudly and then she sped off.

Denzel's mouth fell open. "Wait, I…oh crap." He dashed off after the girl just as the light fixture over the table they had just been hiding behind came crashing down, metal and glass flying everywhere.

--- O ---

The explosives that Tifa held in her hands were small, but horribly effective, if she recalled correctly. She hoped that Professor Altmann could get the survivors out before the place blew to hell. She had just about reached the large, metal door when light fixture from the vaulted ceiling crashed to the floor not far from where she was standing.

Stray bullets from the gunfights going on were ricocheting everywhere. She needed desperately to find Denzel, but she knew the odds were slim. There was so much mayhem, what with the Resistance giving up a fight. She glanced all around her but couldn't spot him anywhere. Now at the door, she looked for a way to open it. She would have to know how to get out of here when the time came.

--- O ---

From the shelf, to a truck, to a pile of tires: Denzel and Luna were nearly at the door. Now all that stood between them and freedom was that cloaked figure that seemed to be surveying the metal doorframe for something.

"Oh no…" Luna muttered beside him. "They're planting explosives." She pointed the bundle of items the figure held in his arms.

"Then it's time to go." Denzel looked around for something he could use to fight the sole enemy. Finding a prybar, he rose to his haunches and prepared himself. "Do you know how to get the door open, Luna?"

Luna nodded. "Dad taught me." She cast a worried glance down at her feet. "I really hope he and Mom are okay."

"Alright, well, get ready. I'm going to take this guy out, and you open the door."

Luna nodded again, this time with absolute resolve. "Right."

--- O ---

Precious time was passing and Tifa knew it. She still hadn't found Denzel and she still had no idea how to get this freaking door open. Exasperated, she turned and placed her back against the hard metal surface just in time to see a prybar swinging toward her face.

Tifa dodged in the nick of time but her assailer came at her again, violently swinging the metal instrument. A quick glance revealed exactly who it was attacking her. Denzel!

Instinctively, Tifa reached out to grab hold of the boy, forgetting entirely that she looked like one of the enemy in her cloak and mask. Denzel dodged her hands and took another swing, this time managing to make contact with her left arm just above the elbow. Sharp pain seared Tifa's nerves and a cry escaped her lips.

Denzel paused…that had sounded an awful lot like…

Tifa reached up and tugged the mask from her face with the hand from her uninjured arm. "Stop! It's me!"

Denzel's eyes went wide and his face paled. "Tifa!" He dropped the prybar and it clattered to the floor. "Oh, Tifa I'm sorry!"

At that moment, the metal door to the hanger ground upward and Luna began tugging at Denzel's arm. "Time to go, Mr. Serious!"

Tifa followed the two children and they ducked under the slowly rising door. All three of them scurried as fast as their legs could carry them down the dark tunnel, praying that they could make it to safety before Darknation discovered the escaping survivors, or even worse, the explosives went off and the whole place came down.

--- O ---

This is a LOOOOONG chapter. So, my apologies if you are afraid of long installments in your fanfiction. n_n This was a long time coming, and *whew* am I ever glad it's over. However, I'm still not completely satisfied with the way it turned out. Meh, I just couldn't stand to fiddle with it any longer and decided to post.

So here's the deal. You all are my trusted advisors, so advise me! What would you like to see? Did this chapter have enough action? Was it realistic enough? Does Tifa need to kick some more $$? Just click that happy little button below and shoot me a review. I'd love some feedback.

Okay, okay, my author's note is getting long. I promise it'll be over soon. A shout-out to TifaValentine99, Valentinesbullet, minaghostwolf, Regin, Eva, CassiaFistula, and lillyandandrew for reviewing! Props to you! A special thanks, again, goes to Kimmit the Ferg for beta-ing and advice.

I hope that you guys enjoyed this chapter…I don't know when I'll be back. : / I don't have the internet at home right now. So until next time!

Fight the power!

~ Illusion of the Mirror ~

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