Chapter 38: Second Chances

Tifa's eyes went huge in surprise. The dark haired man had turned when Cloud had come in so she couldn't see his face but from the way his body jerked he was just as surprised as Tifa by the greeting. He had his sword out in a move that happened so fast Tifa hardly saw it and it was a good thing too, because Cloud's sword came down just as fast and the dark man's sword barely blocked it in time.

"Cloud!" Even as it ripped out of her, Tifa was dodging backward, arms in front of her to block. A closet was too small a place for any kind of fighting, much less the kind that involved giant swords. In response, or perhaps because he'd already realized it himself, Cloud backed out of the closet, waiting for the dark haired man to follow him.

Apparently he wasn't worried about the SOLDIER hurting Tifa but he was still intent on killing the man. Considering Tifa had seen him fight before – she realized now as the SOLDIER followed Cloud out into the hallway beyond – she'd never seen him actually intent on killing someone. She'd seen him determined to remove someone that was in the way – the Turks. She'd even seen him seem to enjoy fighting – the monsters between the Sectors. She had never however seen him with his eyes like this and concentrated on killing someone just for the sake of killing them.

It was terrifying. Mostly because she couldn't see anyone surviving Cloud when he was like that.

"I'm not here for this," the dark haired SOLDIER snarled but past his first curse, Cloud apparently wasn't interested in talking.

"Cloud!" Tifa called the blond man's name. "He's a friend!"

For a second the slashing blade hesitated and the dark haired man used the physical stutter to kick Cloud in the chest and knock him back. Tifa threw herself forward and wrapped her arms around the nearest man – who happened to be the dark haired one.

"Stop it – stop it! We're supposed to be escaping!"

The black haired man tried to shift his body to both block Tifa and make it possible for him to still defend himself but he was being careful not to hurt her and Tifa, frankly, didn't have that compunction. She dug her fingers into the fabric and skin of him, arms over his shoulders and glared at Cloud over the wide shoulder. The SOLDIER was taller than Cloud and Tifa was practically off her feet hanging on to him the way she was. Not exactly comfortable but she was desperate.

"Stop it," she grit it out between her teeth. "He helped me, Cloud. He's a friend. He's coming with us."

"Like hell," Cloud's voice was close to a feral growl and he was still crouched, sword at the ready. Eyes narrowed into electric aqua blue fire, lips drawn back to reveal his teeth - Tifa winced as she realized just how attractive she thought he looked at the moment.

"My friend," she repeated. "Cloud… please…"

His head moved, face twisting away from her and he squinted his eyes against the tone in her voice. His own voice came out strained.

"Tifa… don't…"

Under her arms, even though she could still feel the tension in his muscles, the dark haired man was being smart enough to stay quiet and still. Tifa could still sense his intense curiosity at what was happening in front of him. She let pleading and just how tired and weak she really did feel slip into her voice.

"Cloud…"

The blond warrior stayed the way he was for a very long moment more and Tifa could sense how tightly strung he was. Finally he closed his eyes and turned his face away from her, skin tight over the bones of it. Without a word, he straightened and slid the sword back into its place over his shoulder. Tifa felt her heart crack just a little and turned her attention to the man she was still holding.

"Be good," and it came out as much a question as a command. He turned his head to look at her over his shoulder and grinned. But she could see the shaken emotion in the back of his eyes.

"Sure," he agreed. "I've got to get you out of here for our deal, right?'

Tifa gave him a look and let go of him, sliding back to her feet, feeling even more shaky now that the crisis was over and the adrenaline was leaking back out of her system.

"Please," she asked. "Can we just get out of here?"

"Fastest way is this way," the dark haired man took the lead, moving past Cloud with a confidence Tifa couldn't imagine he really felt. She followed and Cloud fell into step behind her. She could feel the way he'd shut himself down and the sudden huge distance between them even though he was only a step behind her. It hurt, like she'd just lost a part of her chest but – she was tired and weak and felt a little bit feverish. Getting out of here alive was the priority. She knew the man in front of her could be leading them into a trap – but again – what was the point? It wasn't as if Shinra hadn't already had them or needed an excuse to kill them.

They didn't get out without a fight. Tifa did her part as best as she could in the condition she was in but both of the men seemed intent on defending her. And they were both easily capable of dealing with the soldiers and robots they ran into too. Cloud was back to his usual silence and their other companion was back to his chipper comments before he went into battle, though he too went silent when he was actually fighting. Watching though… Tifa couldn't help but notice they fought a great deal like each other. Not exactly but there were certain moves that were the same and she wondered if that was SOLDIER training.

They also didn't fight comfortably as a team. Tifa noticed it – and noticed that it didn't keep them from being effective.

She also noticed – because she'd been watching so closely – when Cloud's arm started to reopen and bleed, silent and steady. Just like him. So the next time there was a pause she looked at the dark haired man and asked:

"Are we almost there?"

It drew a wry smile out of him and he nodded.

"Motor pool. One more story down."

They had to fight their way through more guards in power armor to get there and by that time Tifa's bad arm was throbbing in a steady, slow pain that matched her heart beat. The parking garage was full of vehicles and empty of people at first glance and so Tifa took up guard at the door while the guys broke off to find something to hotwire.

The door only opened once while she was on guard and the poor unsuspecting employee sneaking out of work early got a kick to the head that knocked him out cold before Tifa had time to stop her automatic reaction. She was just in the process of realizing that the guy knew who he worked for and deserved it and she shouldn't be apologizing to his unconscious form when the sound of an engine rumbled out like rolling thunder and Cloud pulled up to her.

On a motorcycle.

Tifa wasn't a huge vehicle buff but even she recognized an amazing looking bike when she saw it. For just a minute, her eyes flicked to the blue of his and despite herself something soft and helpless moved through her.

"You just had to find the coolest thing here, didn't you?" she asked and despite himself, the very edge of Cloud's mouth twitched upward. With a huge sense of relief, she threw her leg over the bike to slid on behind him and wrap her arms around his waist, tucking in against his back. She was glad his sword was in his hand instead of over the back of his shoulders like usual, or this would have been impossible. So close to the end of what little strength she had left that she wondered if she'd already passed it and was only still standing because she was too stubborn to fall over. She pressed her cheek down into that wonderful place between his shoulder blades against his back and shut her eyes. Trusting him completely.

The engine roared – she had time to suspect that Cloud wasn't waiting for the dark haired SOLDIER – and the bike plunged forward at an increasing speed that probably wasn't recommended for enclosed parking areas. Tifa had seen Cloud's reflexes though and she wasn't worried. There was a rough downward bit and Tifa squinted an eye open to see stairs going by under them – someone was going to be pissed about the tire tracks on the carpet… then Cloud made a sound. A non-verbal warning. Tifa wasn't sure what he was preparing her for but she hunched down against his back and tightened her grip on his waist. There was a lot of surprised yelling around them. And then there was the most terrible sound of breaking glass...

The bike plunged downward in a way that indicated there was nothing under it anymore and Tifa felt things sprinkling down around her. Her stomach took a dive for her throat, trying to get out before it got killed with the rest of her body -

And then they were impacting with something hard with a lurch that sent her forward against Cloud's back hard enough to snap her already shut jaw. A screech, the smell of burning rubber – and acceleration as the bike peeled out and shot forward again. Tifa blinked an eye open to see darkness around them and a road under them. She turned her head just a little to see the Shinra main building with a huge opening where the lobby window used to be and – behind them – another bike with a dark haired rider following close. She didn't dare free a hand from Cloud's waist going at the speed they were but she flashed him a faint smile she was sure he couldn't see and then turned back to tuck deeper into Cloud.

"Show off," she muttered into his shirt and felt his silent single chuckle.

She didn't know how long they rode. She was surrounded by Cloud's scent, masculine and comforting and while the rest of her body went numb from the cold and the rushing wind, where she was pressed against him, his heat filled her. The feel of the bike and the sound of the whipping air going past was strangely comforting and she though – hoped – that maybe she'd died and this was what eternity was. Nothing but forever road and Cloud in front of her to hold on to. If she closed her eyes very tight she could even pretend they were going somewhere to meet up with –

Marlene…

Denzel…

Aerith…

It made her throat tighten down and she clung to that fantasy. That they were going to meet them somewhere outside Midgar. Somewhere with lots of sunshine and green growing things, somewhere with flowers for Aerith to coo over and great wide fields for the kids to run through while the adults dozed in the sun and green grass…

The bike finally slowed and came to a softly rumbling stop under her and for a long moment, she just stayed the way she was. Reluctant to let go of Cloud. Reluctant to let go of her dream of sunshine and friendly laughter. Another rumble pulled up next to them and she heard her dark haired rescuer cheerfully state:

"Well, that was original. Someone's going to be pissed about the carpet though." It sounded more like a congratulations than a complaint however. "So – where are going now?"

"Zack – " it slipped out before he'd realized it apparently because she felt the way Cloud jerked as the word slipped out of him. Zack? Cloud did know him! Except… the way he'd said the name sounded… sounded so tired and lonely and young…

"Yep," the SOLDIER, Zack apparently, answered. Smile in his voice and no other recognition. "That's me. So, you got a place to crash or are we just going to make one?"

She felt Cloud's muscles twitch under her hands where they rested against him and without raising her head, exhausted and drained to the core, she murmured:

"Sector Five. Two blocks north of Aerith's church. Her mother – the house with all the flowers around it."

Maybe not the safest place, but it was the only place she could think of at the moment. She couldn't – she didn't think she could go to Aerith's church just yet. Not without falling apart completely. She felt Cloud's nod and heard his sound of acknowledgment.

The bikes started again and took a slower, more sane speed to get where they were going. Tifa dozed until they slowed and then stopped again. Groggy, she let Cloud help her off the bike and looked around. They were in a more run down part of the city but it was still on the Plates and so it was still better than the slums below.

"Here," Cloud moved over to where there was apparently construction going on and shut down for the night. "We climb down here."

Tifa cradled her again numb and now useless arm against her chest and moved over to look down as well. Her mind supplied a curse word other than 'crap'. She nodded. The sooner they got down, the sooner she could pass out in peace. It would have been nice to just take the bikes but the only way between the Plates above and the slums below was the train. Even if it was still running, which she doubted, there was no way they'd make it past the security in the state they were in. One battered, bloody girl and two guys with spiky hair and giant swords. The thought made her smile and she sat down on the edge and wrapped her good arm around the first thick cable, clenching her boots around it further down. She felt Cloud's worried eyes on her but unless he figured out a way to carry her around literally inside of himself, she was going to have to do this part on her own. She gave him a smile.

"I'll meet you at the bottom, Chocobo Head."

She had just enough time to hear Zack give a startled snort of laughter – and debate if she'd just done something terrible to Cloud's reputation – and then she pushed off and felt the heat of the friction though the palm of her glove as she began to slid downward into the darkness and chaos of below.

000

so its been suggested to me that since my story has taken such a turn compared to the way it started and since I know I'm coming up on a natural break in the storyline anyway that I should perhaps cut this tale into several parts, this one (Tales Within Tales) finishing with chapter 40 and the new one(Whatever Stupid Title I Come Up With) starting with chapter 41. Anyone have any thoughts of opinons on this? All I can think of is that it would make it easier to write a summary for on the introduction page.