A long, proper story, chapter. A cross-over with 'Light' from Buried in Snow, the same scene, but from Tifa's POV.

And the reason I started this collection!

Disclaimer: SquareEnix own the recognisable bits.

Tifa.

Illuminated: to supply or brighten with light; light up; to make resplendent or illustrious.

All it had taken was for her to focus on Cloud, and then there he was, right in front of her. It seemed he'd finally stopped running long enough for her to catch up with him.

His eyes opened wide. "Tifa…" She noticed the whisky bottle clutched in one hand, a glass in the other. "I thought you were… that you had… died."

She shook her head, bothered that he was drinking. "This isn't like the Cloud I know."

He was frowning. "Tifa… You are dead aren't you?"

Although she smiled at that, she felt sad at seeing him this way. She didn't have much time and death wasn't what she'd come here to talk about.

"Cloud… don't lose yourself in darkness." He shook his head slowly, seeming to find it hard to answer.

""I… can't find a way out. I… I lost my light, when I lost you." It both pleased and saddened her to know he thought of her that way. If he believed she was his light, then that's what she was.

She just had to make him see that he wasn't alone. "Your light is always with you… I'm always with you."

She noticed him flinch slightly, as though blinded by a bright light. "You… you really are dead."

She shook her head, feeling a little desperate. Time was running out and she had to make him see…

"It's not that simple Cloud. But… if you continue to get lost in darkness, I… I won't be able to find you."

He sat up abruptly and she had the feeling that he was finally listening. "You mean, you might come back?"

"If I can find you…" It was too late, time had run out. She was fading.

She made one last attempt to make him see "… I won't ever stop looking Cloud…"

"Tifa…" His voice was like a whisper as she slipped back into nothingness. "How can I find a way out of the darkness …?"

"Just believe, Cloud, believe in me." Closing her eyes she sighed.

"Believe in us."