Chapter 20: Ally

When Nanaki told Tifa to run, she obeyed diligently. She ran through the woods and didn't stop, running even when it felt like her legs would give out from underneath her. She couldn't let the Mako or the other drug affect her; she had been given a chance at freedom, and it wasn't about to go to waste.

Even as she ran, though, she couldn't help but be concerned about Nanaki. She had left him by the river, wounded. She hoped he would be alright, and that Rude wouldn't be concerned about her friend. If Rude hurt him, Tifa didn't know what she would do.

There was another thing Tifa thought of, and it was this: it was getting dark out. The trees were already blocking out whatever sunlight was left in the sky, and the shadows the trees created made things even darker than they were already. Honestly, she wasn't sure if that was a good thing or not; if Rude didn't get lost in the woods, she most certainly would.

She slowed down, performing a small hop over a tree root. She couldn't keep running, for multiple reasons. One was that she was just too tired. The other was that it was getting too dark to see.

Tifa scanned the area, seeing a tree that looked climbable. She lifted her arms and gripped onto a low branch, pulling herself up onto it. The action created a little bit of noise, and she looked around again, feeling paranoid. But at this point, she would have rather have been safe than sorry. There was no way she was going to allow herself to be captured again because she made some stupid mistake that could have been easily corrected.

She climbed up further into the tree, glad that the leaves helped cover her. Unfortunately, though, she could still see the ground from her stopping point. The only reason that this was a bad thing was because if she could see the ground, than anybody down there could see her as well. Not good.

Should I risk going higher up? Tifa thought, considering the option. Even if she did that, though, there wouldn't have been any guarantees. Not only would the risk of falling be greater, but moving now could attract attention, if there was anybody even in the woods. But…how many places could Rude be at once? This was a large area; he couldn't search the whole place. Maybe she should have made a break for it to some town nearby.

Snap.

Tifa's eyes widened, hearing the snap of a twig down below. She held her breath and watched as somebody appeared in her vision, stopping right by the trunk of her tree. But this person wasn't Rude; she could tell by the outline of hair. Even in the dark, it seemed to light the area on fire. Reno.

Rude must have called him in to search, she thought, eyes wide as she stared at him. He just stood there, not looking up at the tree or looking around the surrounding area. What in the world was he doing? Did he know that she was right there? She was afraid to answer either of those questions, so she didn't bother, deciding to just wait instead.

Reno pulled a cell phone out of his pocket and lifted it to his ear, making a phone call to the person whose name Tifa never wanted to hear again. "Rude, my area's clear," he said into the speaker. Tifa exhaled a silent breath of relief, her body becoming less tense as well at the realization that Reno didn't recognize her presence here. "I'm going to check the area to the north, so don't worry about that." After a few more moments, he snapped it shut and put it back in his pocket.

But he didn't leave the area.

"Tifa," he said in a hushed tone of voice, turning around and looking directly up the tree at her. She didn't respond, shock and anxiety appearing in her brown eyes as she stared down at him. "C'mon, Teef, I'm not the enemy here. I'm here to help."

"Yeah, that's why you're helping Rude search for me," she hissed defensively, though she wasn't completely sure herself what was going on. Why didn't he squeal on her to Rude?

"Appearances, baby, appearances," he said, waving it off. "At least come down and talk to me instead of staying up in the tree where you can throw bird eggs at me."

Tifa rolled her eyes, but she complied, figuring that if Reno threatened her, she could take him down with one swift kick to the face. She landed softly on the ground, her brown eyes staring at him through the darkness of the woods that surrounded them. "What?" she finally asked, hands in fists by her sides.

"Look, Rude's lost his mind if he thinks keeping you hostage is gonna accomplish anything!" Reno exclaimed, though his voice wasn't at his normal volume in case his partner was able to hear them. "I know I'm his partner an' all, but this is ridiculous!"

"Then why are you helping him search for me?" Tifa asked, arching an eyebrow in suspicion.

"Um, because I'm really helping you," he said, ignoring Tifa's suspicions. "By telling him I would search the North, I gave you a path to get out of here without being seen by him."

It sounded convincing enough, but…"What's to the North? Where are you sending me?"

"I got a chocobo waiting," Reno responded, almost as if he had been expecting her to ask such a thing. It made sense, though; Tifa wasn't stupid and she sure wasn't gullible at this point. Right now, she was so desperate for freedom, and it was obvious that she wouldn't stop fighting until she received it. "Any other questions?"

"…What's in it for you?"

"What, can't I help out an old friend?" Reno asked, his eyebrows lifting as if he were feeling offended by the words Tifa said. The young woman wasn't fooled, though, so she glared at him until he spoke again. "Well, who's gonna get me beer at Seventh Heaven if you're not there?"

"It all comes down to alcohol?" Tifa said in disgust, frowning at Reno's shallowness. Of course, what else had she been expecting though?

"And hey, I don't wanna get on the bad side of your AVALANCHE friends, either," he said, waving his hands for effect. "They could seriously rough me up."

Shallow Reno, Tifa thought to herself, though she wasn't surprised by the man's behavior. Alright, whatever. If he was offering her a way out of this, then she would take it. She had told Rude earlier that she would do absolutely anything for freedom, and she meant what she said. "Fine," she said, thoroughly convinced that Riku wasn't fooling her. "What do I have to do?"

"Head due North," he replied, nodding his head in the right direction. "There's a chocobo waiting."

"What's in the North? Where are we?"

"Does it really matter?"

"Nope," Tifa responded evenly. "I'd still like to know what to expect, though."

"Just keep riding North, even if you encounter more woods," Reno said, his voice showing that he was actually being serious for once. "Your friends will pick you up there, hopefully."

"'Hopefully'?"

"I needed to speak to them about this whole thing." Tifa was about to protest here, but Reno interrupted her. "Look, you're wasting time. If you don't hurry, then you could lose your chance. Go!"

Tifa nodded, taking two steps forward in the right direction before she stopped and looked over her shoulder, seeing a new-found ally looking at her. "Thanks," she said with a nod. If it wasn't for him, she wouldn't be at this point; she would still be up in the tree and afraid of Rude finding her. She did owe Reno for this, whether she liked to admit it or not.

"No prob," he said with a smirk. "How 'bout a kiss before you go? After all, I am saving your life by doing this."

Tifa turned around, pulling back her fist before she launched it at Reno's jaw. The man didn't even have a chance to react, falling to the ground like a sack of potatoes. A soft smile appeared on Tifa's lips as she knelt down, giving him a kiss on the cheek. "Thanks Reno," she said quietly, giving him that kiss he wanted even though he didn't realize what she was doing. "Have a nice nap."

She turned her head in the right direction and started running towards the north, her eyes staying in that direction even when she had to avoid trees that showed up in her path. She had a real chance here, with nobody on her trail. She would be free!

Not even the tree limbs could stop her or slow her down, the young woman not staying down for long whenever she tripped on the roots of a larger tree. She couldn't see well since it was nighttime, but that wouldn't stop her from reaching that chocobo Reno promised her. But of course, Reno promised her much more than a chocobo.

He promised her freedom.

Before this whole thing, Tifa Lockhart had never thought twice about freedom. It was something that she had naturally—a birth-given right. Along with that liberty, she had the freedom to live however she wanted and to feel whatever her heart desired. She could live in the past and feel pain, or she could move forward and feel the joy that was supposed to come with each day. That was her right.

How had she lost sight of it? She hadn't always had such a right; in the days of Sephiroth, she had only been given the choice between fear and bravery. But, she supposed that she had the same choices today. She could have cowered in fear of Kadaj and his threats, or she could have stood up to him, like she did. The same went for Rude.

Life was full of options, and somebody had to make those decisions. Tifa was done letting others make those choices for her.

Today, she made her choice. And she chose freedom. And bravery. And love, for herself and for those she held dear to her.

Tifa broke through the last trees of the forest, seeing a chocobo waiting for her, saddled up and ready for her. A cry of joy left her lips as she ran towards it, the girl putting a foot in the stirrup before she climbed on top of it completely. She set a hand on the animal's neck while her other hand went to the reigns. She was ready to go.

"C'mon, girl," she said to the chocobo, giving her a light kick to get her started. The animal did as she requested, starting forward at a light "jog" pace. This would have been faster than a sprint for a human, though, so Tifa was alright with the pace. She didn't know where she was going, anyway. But like Reno said, it didn't really matter as long as she was free.

For a long time, she rode in silence, the sun starting to rise to her side. She couldn't believe it. She must have ridden for hours if the next day was beginning. Where was she supposed to be? Where were her friends?

As if to answer her questions, she turned her head in the opposite direction of the sun, seeing a large van appearing to her left. She almost smiled and called out to them, figuring that it was her friends. But then she saw who was driving the automobile.

Rude.

She groaned in disbelief. Again? She never could catch a break, could she? She turned back to her chocobo, tightening her grip on the reigns when she encouraged the animal to go faster. The chocobo went into a print, Tifa leaning over the creature to decrease the wind resistance. They had to break away from Rude! They were in an open area for this part of the journey, and Rude was taking advantage of it by pulling his van closer and closer to her side. No matter how fast the chocobo was, it couldn't outrun a vehicle.

She rode the chocobo harder, knowing that she couldn't fear overworking it right now. If she didn't get away now, she didn't know when she would be able to do it. Her eyes widened when she saw a forest path coming up in front of her, and the opening had a tree branch low enough that her chocobo couldn't get under it. The animal skidded to a halt, and several yards away, Rude's van stopped as well, the driver's door opening.

"C'mon, chocobo, c'mon," Tifa mumbled, trying to lead her into the forest. All she had to do was duck! Why couldn't the animal understand that?

She suddenly felt a hand tug her off the chocobo and she fell onto the ground, landing on one knee because of the force of the tug. Her eyes wandered up to Rude just in time to see him pull back a fist and then throw it at her, knocking her in the jaw and causing her world to turn to black.