Written for the prompt 'fireworks'
Tifa woke with a gasp, searching frantically for the stranger in black, for where his next blow would come from. He was nowhere in sight and- And she was no longer in the church. Cloud turned from the window as she pushed herself into a sitting position; they were in Marlene and Denzel's room for some reason. "The Turks brought us back," he said in something close to a monotone. "They're out looking for the kids." He fumbled with something, pacing back and forth until he pushed a phone into her hands; he had highlighted Barret's name on the screen. "Please. I can't."
She started to protest she relented and made the call. Barret swore as she explained the situation and tried to assure him as best she could. It did not seem to help; he insisted he would be in Edge by morning. Tifa promised to keep him updated and with a twinge of regret disconnected the call. Now what? She bit her lip; Cloud had gone back to pacing. Did she want her suspicion confirmed? Avoiding it was futile; she had to ask him. "You... you have Geostigma don't you?" Cloud came to a stop and stared out the window. "Don't you?" she repeated. He turned to stare at her, neither confirming nor denying her assertion. She patted the bed. "Please. Just... sit." A longer pause and he sat on the bed beside her. "So is it true?" Cloud stared at the floor.
"Tifa, I-" He swallowed. "There's no cure for it."
As much of an admission as she would get. The bandages at the church had indeed been his; the plague had struck close to home once more. "That doesn't mean you get to give up. Denzel's still here." A stab of guilt. "Was here-" And she and Marlene left him here despite his Geostigma, despite his pain, all so they could visit Aeris's church on a whim. What kind of guardian was she? Not the time; she would atone for her actions later. "Cloud? Please don't run away anymore. We can help each other." She reached for his hand.
Cloud pulled away and clenched his fists in his lap. "I'm not fit to help anyone."
"Yes, you are." Tifa touched his arm. "But... If you really don't feel you can, then you can stay here. I am going to get Denzel and Marlene back no matter what." She pulled her own PHS from her pocket and dialed Reno's number. A piercing ringtone sounded from the hallway.
"I'm right here!" Reno sounded annoyed through the door. He pushed inside the bedroom, Rude and Elena a step behind him. "No patience these two," he remarked to his companions as he tucked his phone away.
"Did you find them?" Tifa demanded.
Reno smiled that same cock-sure smile he wore so often. "Not quite. But we found a witness. Said witness saw a guy with long, silver hair taking a truck full of kids to the North." The grin faded a little. "Guy was convinced Sephiroth was back out of hiding and into kidnapping for some reason. But we know that this guy he saw, well, he ain't Sephiroth, but the comparison is not unwarranted."
Elena held up her hands as Tifa started to protest. "We do at least know where they went. I got a call from another eye-witness; he saw another guy with silver hair entering the City of the Ancients. Unfortunately we lost contact with him a little while later. We can't be sure if they're still there."
Reno's gaze flicked between Tifa and Cloud. "Now, why oh why, would our Sephiroth fanboy gang be taking your kids back to the place?"
"It doesn't matter. We need to get going," Tifa said as Reno murmured something about once a Turk, always as Turk to Elena. "They're hours ahead of us. What can we- Cid!" She fumbled for her phone and called the pilot's number. "You prepared to help us?" she asked Reno.
He glanced at Rude and Elena. "Should check in with the boss, but-" Another grin. "No need to see him in person." He shrugged. "Guess we can tag along if you want our help."
"Thank you." Tifa turned away as Elena protested and Cid answered the phone. "Caught me at a good time!" he shouted over the roar of airship engines as she related what happened. "I'm in Junon with Reeve. I'll get Shera to pick up the brat and Nanaki and meet us up North. Not sure on Vinnie-"
"He's there already," Tifa interrupted; Elena had all but spelled out that he made the call to them and now might now be in trouble too. "Try and pick up Barret too; he's near the mythril mines then let us know when you get here."
"Got it."
Tifa snapped her phone closed. "Cloud?" He had been staring at the floor ever since the three Turks arrived. "I need to get going. Our friends are coming to help us. You might not think you're fit to help anyone, but I still believe in you." She crouched beside him. "If you come, we'll- I'll be there if anything like last time happens. We're all still here aren't we?"
"But things went wrong before," he murmured.
She took his hand. "I know. We might not be able to do anything or something will happen that can never be undone." Tifa placed her other hand over his. "That scares me too. But we need to accept what's going on right now and I want to try and help Marlene and Denzel. I think you want do too."
Cloud glanced at her and swallowed, but remained silent. If he took any longer then she would need to leave him behind. "I'll come," he said in a quiet voice. "If you're okay with me being there, I'll come." Tifa smiled.
Hard to sit still while the airship was in flight; Tifa was soon pacing alongside Cloud. Cid had arrived on the outskirts of Edge barely an hour after the call with a furious Barret in tow. The Turks gave him a wide berth and wandered to the other end of the airship; Tifa and Cloud stayed but left him alone as he glared out of the front. Fenrir was in the hold, but was far from a good choice to rescue Marlene and Denzel with let alone the other children reported missing. They would need the Shera.
As they approached Bone Village Cid suggested Cloud scout on ahead and send a flare up when they found their quarry's location. Cloud seemed on the verge of refusing until Tifa took his hand and volunteered to go with him. Her words seemed to ease him somewhat; that was how she wound up with a flare-gun tucked into her waistband and heading out on Fenrir with Cloud. She tightened her arms around him as the bike roared through the Sleeping Forest.
Whatever enchantment once allowed them passage through the cursed woodland was still in effect and they sped through without issue. The trees blurred in the gloom; Cloud tensed as they reached the edge of the city and he jerked his head to one side, murmured something and fell silent. "Didn't catch that?" Tifa shouted above the roar of the engine.
"They're dead ahead," Cloud replied in a louder voice and twisted the accelerator. How did he know that? Another question for later. They shot straight through the city and into the great crystalline forest at its heart. The sight of the glowing trunks made it difficult to ignore what transpired the last time they came here- Cloud swore and the next thing Tifa knew, she was tumbling from Fenrir alongside Cloud. The bike toppled over, momentum keeping it moving forward and towards a group of children headed by Denzel and Marlene; they stood right in the bike's path. Tifa reached for them, opening her mouth to call out- At the last moment, the leader of the group - Kadaj - vaulted the spinning bike as if it were nothing and kicked the vehicle away from the kids.
"Glad you could make it!" Kadaj called out in an overly cheerful, if somewhat threatening tone. He sounded manic, barely in control of himself. Kadaj frowned down at Tifa. "I don't recall inviting you." Behind him, the man from the church rested one foot on Fenrir and glared down at the vehicle. "Only those Mother calls are to participate in Reunion."
"Guess I'm crashing the party," Tifa muttered as Kadaj stepped closer. She felt behind her back; where was the flare-gun?"
"We're here for the kids," Cloud said and drew Kadaj's attention away from her. Tifa patted along her waist more frantically; the flare-gun was gone. She must have dropped it when the bike went over. Now what? Kadaj stalked around them, ranting something about Cloud being his brother. Think! The scrape of metal on metal chilled her blood. Kadaj had drawn his sword; a strange double-bladed katana. Too much like his sword- Tifa glanced around in a panic. There had to be something. Anything. Vincent, the Turks, Cid- There. Behind the other two silver-haired men was the chest of materia from the church. Now to hope they had not taken too much.
Cloud lashed out at Kadaj and Tifa took that as a cue to get moving. She sprinted for the materia crate and the man from the church smirked as she approached. His companion did not think her a threat it seemed; he leaped to an impossible height over her head, his gun firing with echoing cracks. Not at her. Cloud. Should she try and distract the third man? No. They needed reinforcements more than anything.
She was not about to give the man from the church the satisfaction of fighting her again; she sprinted right past him to his surprise. Tifa skirted the lake shoreline and headed for the beach in front of the gigantic shell-like building. She flung herself at the chest and wrenched it open; she could not have more than seconds to choose from the selection inside. Cure? Not now. Lightning? Not quite right. There. Fire. Perfect.
Tifa flung herself into a backflip in the same moment the man plunged down towards her, his electrical attack missing her by a hair and vaporising the chest in an instant. Materia shot out from the resulting explosion, a few barely missing her head as she curved through the air. As Tifa landed on her feet again, the man leapt up to strike down at her once again. She gripped the materia and shot a fireball up into the night sky. It exploded above the treetops like a firework, smaller fireballs bursting from the larger explosion and raining down towards the forest as Tifa flung herself back again.
The man landed a second after her and began to laugh. "Wasted opportunity," he chortled with a shake of his head.
"Who said I was aiming for you?" Tifa shot back as she assumed a fighting stance. The sound of the Shera's propellers was already audible. Avalanche were coming.