Hey guys. Wow, I'm posting this chapter within a week of the last one! What's the occasion, you ask? I'll tell you. I've been in a good mood lately and have been writing more of this fic. So I have up to chapter 12 written, and as soon as I post this, I'm gonna work on 13. Great, right??? I thought so.

Anywho, you'll be pleased to know it's a pretty long chapter. :) And it's got some more Cloti and I've written a bit on Yuffentine.

Enjoy this awesomess, none of which I own. Nor will I ever own.

Chapter 8: It's Complicated

Tifa walked out of the building only to see that police were surrounding the area. All the office people were close by, talking amongst themselves about what the trouble was. However, the very first thing Tifa noticed was Derek standing right along the front line. And he didn't look pleased--not one bit.

"Yo! I thought there was gonna be an explosion?" he shouted to her. He would have crossed the police line, but then he knew that he'd be in big legal trouble. Maybe he was furious inside, but he couldn't let it show. This place wasn't only surrounded by his reporters; there were ones from other stations looking for a good story. And if he flipped out, they would get their story. "Where is it?"

Tifa gritted her teeth, not responding to his hounding. She approached him and stopped right in front of him, holding his hard gaze with a glare of her own.

"Well?" he asked, grabbing a hold of her arm roughly. "Where's this bomb?"

She tore her arm away, glass cuts throbbing. Her stern facial expression, however, didn't betray any hint of pain. "Tenth floor. It's already been disarmed." She nodded to the police. "Tell them it's safe to go in and get rid of it." Tifa walked past him, "accidentally" hitting his shoulder with hers.

"Hey...there wasn't an attack!" he called after her. "Does this mean we get our date?" She didn't even miss a step. "Hey!" He cried out in anger. "Don't you dare ignore me!! Nobody ignores me!" Suddenly he was pushed backwards, into the side of a large blue police van. His eyes widened when he looked down and saw a fist grabbing his shirt. Then he saw who the fist belong to: Cloud Strife.

"You shouldn't have touched her," he growled protectively. Derek started to sweat, eyes darting around the scene. There was nobody there to help him; the police just went inside the building!

"L-look, I'm sorry!"

"I don't think you are," he said evenly. Derek gulped hard, eyes starting to fill with panic. Cloud stared at him for a moment before releasing him, but not without giving him one last push into the van. "Next time you touch her, you deal with me."

Leaving Derek there whimpering and panting for mercy, Cloud walked away. Tifa was only a few steps ahead; she had heard everything that had happened. She slowed down to allow Cloud to catch up with her.

"Why did you do that?" she whispered in his ear. Her tone was completely unreadable to Cloud, so he just shrugged.

"He shouldn't have been talking to you like that," he replied softly. "I couldn't just stand by and let it happen anymore." He paused. "Are you mad?"

Tifa exhaled a light breath, shaking her head. "No," she said quietly. "I--"

"You guys did it!" Yuffie squealed, running towards them. Tifa nearly collapsed when Yuffie attempted to tackle her in an embrace.

"Yuffie," Vincent's cold voice said, bringing a calming effect to the young ninja. Yuffie slowly pulled away slowly, her expression appearing hurt. Tifa gave her a light pat on the shoulder and a faint smile; she understood where she was coming from. Yuffie always had treated Vincent like a good friend, but he hardly ever showed any of that companionship to her. It was understandable that she was hurt by his angry-sounding tone.

The girl weakly smiled back at Tifa and moved to the side, eyes pointed downward. Tifa glanced over at Vincent, and if she wasn't mistaken, it looked as if he regretted the action he took. But Tifa wasn't one to judge the situation; this was between him and Yuffie.

"Police confirm that the bomb was real and that it has been diffused," Reeve informed them, joining the group of AVALANCHE. By now, everyone had formed a circle to talk and discuss....well, discuss whatever needed to be discussed.

"They're not trying to blame us for it, are they?" Cid inquired. Everyone turned to give him a strange look. "Well," he mumbled, "it's happened before..."

Reeve shook his head. "No, they know that this was an attack from an outside source."

They all sighed in relief; okay, so that was one less thing to worry about. But that didn't change the facts: Kadaj had somehow gotten a bomb into a busy building without being noticed. His threats were all too real to all of them, especially Tifa and Barret, who were extremely close to Marlene.

Or so Tifa thought. In reality, Cloud was also affected by this. He had a bond with Marlene, even if nobody else saw it. One special moment where she connected with him and his desire to cure Denzel's geostigma brought forth that unique bond. And now, no matter what, he was going to get her back.

As if cued by the silence, Tifa's phone rang. Everyone around her appeared confused, but she and Cloud knew who it must have been. She answered the phone.

"Well done, Tifa. You all accomplished your mission in the knick of time. How does that feel?" Yazoo asked.

Tifa remained silent.

"Anyway, perhaps that first riddle was too easy for you all. Shall we take things up a notch?"

"What do you want?" she hissed into the phone. That must have been the tenth time she asked that question that day.

"Oh good, you can talk," he replied, clearly amused. Tifa felt her face redden in fury. "I'll tell you what, because you've been a good player this whole time, we'll change the way the game works. But only for this round, got it, beautiful?"

Tifa gritted her teeth, the group staring at her in awe; they hadn't seen her this mad in a long time. "Fine. What do we do?"

"You have three hours to get to the Sleeping Forest. Be well prepared."

"Wait, what--"

But Yazoo had already hung up the phone. Tifa took her cell phone away from her ear and stared at it, steaming on the inside.

"Tifa?" Cid pressured. Cloud wanted to smack him for his harsh tone of voice.

She shut her eyes tightly and exhaled a breath before answering. "Three hours to get to the Sleeping Forest." The young woman looked up at her friends. "We need to be well equipped."

Nanaki stepped forward. "By my estimations, it should only take us two and a half hours to get there by airship." Barret mumbled his agreement. "Still, we should leave right away. We don't know what will be awaiting us there."

Cloud turned to Cid. "Can I get Fenrir on that thing?"

"Of course," the pilot answered gruffly. "It has a ramp and a storing room for vehicles."

"Okay," Cloud nodded. "Let's get going."

Fifteen minutes later, they were on their way to the Sleeping Forest. Tifa was filled with a sense of Déjà vu as they flew as quickly as they could toward their destination. It was exactly as it had been years ago when they were chasing Sephiroth. Everyone in the group even stood in the same places as they did back then!

Tifa, however, had left the group to be on her own. And after she had accidently broken the tension of the group, they moved to different locations to get the rest they needed. Now she sat in a bedroom in the back of the airship, numbly looking out a rear window and seeing the mountains they flew over.

Is that battle ever going to be over? she wondered, exactly as she had years ago. I thought I had abandoned this style of life a long time ago. But I suppose that forgetting my old life isn't easy. For so long...I tried to forget anything that caused me pain. That was wrong, I know. Those things made me who I am today. And even though I may be broken, I'm still me. And nothing's gonna change that.

She sighed and slid down to the floor, wrapping her arms around her knees. This whole process was exhausting. There was only one thing in the world that she wanted at that moment, and that was to have Marlene back in her arms.

Alright, so maybe there was something else she wanted. In a strange way, she wanted to trust Cloud again. He had betrayed her trust when he disappeared, but now that he was back, she felt the attraction she had felt towards him for so many years. And no matter how hard she tried, she couldn't get the feeling to disappear.

But maybe that was a good thing. After all, it was good to have somebody to lean on when you weren't strong enough to stand alone. Could Cloud be that support for her? Or would he go back to his old habits and betray them all again?

"Teef?" a male voice asked. Tifa immediately knew who it was.

"Hi Barret," she said softly, turning her head toward the burly man in the doorway.

"You doin' awight?"

She nodded faintly. "As good as can be expected, I suppose."

He nodded a set a hand on her shoulder. "I'm gonna go get some rest; you should get some too." She nodded once more, her eyes betraying the tiredness she felt physically and emotionally. Barret offered her a weak smile before exiting the room, leaving her alone again.

Yuffie sat in a bedroom of her own, not resting at all. Actually, she was just trying to keep her lunch down. Airsickness was something that she had never grown out of, and unfortunately for her, she doubted that she ever would lose that weakness.

Sighing, she curled up in her bed, knees brought up to her chest. Her stomach wasn't the only thing that was bothering her. There were so many things on her mind at that time...Tifa and Cloud...Marlene...and Vincent.

Vincent Valentine...what an interesting character he was. He didn't show it much, but deep down inside, Yuffie knew he had a good heart. His genuine concern for others was touching. Not only had he shown that when she injured her ankle, but he had also shown it when they were working together just a few months ago. Man, what changed? Yuffie wondered. I thought we were on the same page for a while, and now he pretty much just snaps at me. I may have immature moments, but seriously, I don't deserve the harsh treatment he's been giving me...right?

There was a knock on the metal door.

"Come in," she managed, sitting up slowly in an attempt not to lose any of the food she had kept down thus far. The door opened slowly, almost as if the person on the other side was shy. Just by that, she knew who was there.

Vincent Valentine entered the room.

"Oh, hi Vinnie," Yuffie greeted, grabbing her stomach more tightly. "What brings you to this part of the ship?

Dead silence.

"Vinnie?"

"......"

"If you have something to say, you can just say it," she pushed, sensing that this conversation would go nowhere unless she did whatever was necessary to get him to talk.

"I...wanted to apologize...."

Yuffie sat up more on her bed, the man successfully gaining her full attention. She wanted to ask exactly what he was sorry for, but at the same time, she wanted him to do this on his own. Revenge? No, that wasn't really it. It was something else that compelled her to remain silent...something she couldn't explain.

"...You often seem offended by my tone of voice when speaking to you, and I apologize for it," he was saying, his voice showing nothing but formality. "I mean nothing by it."

Again, the room fell silent. Yuffie decided to take that as an opportunity to speak. "Okay."

"Alright?"

"Okay."

"You forgive me?"

"Okay."

"......"

"........."

"....I guess I'll see you later," he said, excusing himself in a hurry. Yuffie could have sworn she saw his cheeks turn slightly pink. The door shut with a thud, immediately reminding Yuffie of her airsickness. She groaned dramatically and lay back down in bed, staring up at the ceiling. Why did life have to be so complicated?

The airship ride was just dragging on and on. Most people with common sense were lying in beds getting rest while they had the chance. Tifa, however, couldn't sleep despite the fact that she was now sitting on a bed. Nor did she really want to fall asleep. If she had a say in the matter, she wasn't going to sleep until they found Marlene. It sounded foolish, but that was the way her mind was set.

Only another hour and then they'd be landing near the Sleeping Forest. She was ready for it already; in her boredom, she had properly equipped all of her materia in the proper slots. Was she going to need them? She had no clue. But Yazoo said to be prepared, and so she was.

A knock on the door interrupted her thoughts, making her jump a little bit. She hesitated, then it clicked that when somebody knocked, you were supposed to answer.

"Come in," she said, just loud enough for the person outside to hear her. Cloud Strife entered the room. Tifa eyed him carefully, confused as to why he was coming in to her room.

"I'm surprised you're still up," he confessed awkwardly, shutting the door behind him.

Tifa shrugged. "I couldn't sleep."

"Oh."

Awkward silence hung in the air between them. It was at this moment that Tifa really started to question why he was with her. Sure, she didn't hate him anymore, but she was still hurt. However, she wouldn't admit to this; her concern for Marlene and the severity of the situation they were in kept that from happening. Perhaps someday they would speak of their troubles. But not today.

"How are you doing?" Cloud asked softly, breaking through her train of thought. The sincerity in his voice threw Tifa off guard. Unable to find words, she just shrugged again. "Would you like to talk about it?" She shrugged again. Deep down inside, she started to feel bad for not giving him real answers.

The blonde haired man sat down next to her on the bed, close enough that Tifa could reach out and touch him but far away enough to give her space. He played this situation very well.

"I'm worried about her," Tifa suddenly whispered, tears she had thought gone reappearing in her eyes. "What if she's hurt? What if we never get her back? What if we do and things are never going to be the same?"

Cloud gently shushed her, setting a hand on her shoulder. "We can't worry about that," he started quietly. "First, we'll bring her home and give her all the love we can. Things will be alright," he promised. "Trust me, they will be."

"How do you know?" she asked, whispering again. She felt like such a child at that moment, but she didn't care.

"Because I'll make things alright," he said after a small moment of hesitation. "I'm not leaving until we get her back. Or after we get her back. I want to be with her...and Denzel...and you."

Tifa looked up, thoroughly confused. "Me?"

He nodded. "Tifa, I--"

"Everyone hurry to the front deck; we're about to land," Cid called over the loudspeakers. "And be quick about it."

The young barmaid bit her lip and turned away from Cloud. Apparently talking wasn't going to be easy, since each time they got interrupted. Why did things have to be so complicated?

"We'll talk later?" she half-asked, half-requested as she rose to her feet.

Cloud nodded. "Yeah, later."