Before leaving the room, Tifa splashed cold water on her face in the small, connecting bathroom. She gave herself the barest glance in the mirror. It would take more than cold water to wash the evidence of grief from her face, but it helped hide the fact that she had been crying.
Tifa took a deep, stabilizing breath and opened the door to the hallway.
Barret and Yuffie were leaning against the wall directly across from the door with Nanaki at their feet. Tifa kept her eyes lowered, but she could feel their worried looks.
"You alright, Tifa?" Barret asked tentatively.
Tifa nodded. "Sorry to worry you."
"We, um, talked to the doctor for a bit," Barret said. "She said to take all the time we needed."
"Right," Tifa replied.
There was a long pause. On the Highwind, the others had done their best to reassure Tifa that they would find Cloud again. Now, they had found him. There were no words of comfort left to offer.
"Would you all come inside?" Tifa asked finally, stepping back into the room. "There's something I want to say to you."
Inside, Cloud was sitting quietly, his head still hanging. The setting sun cast long shadows. The first time Tifa had entered this room, it had felt wrong to her. The sight of Cloud in a wheelchair had been frightening and strange.
But now, Tifa felt a sense of calm as she stood by him. Acceptance. Peace, even. Cloud was here. This is where Tifa belonged too.
The others filed in. They were wary. Their eyes kept landing on Cloud and darting away. They looked at Tifa as if she might fall apart. For the first time in a long time, though, Tifa was certain that she would not. Cloud needed her.
"I've decided to stay here," Tifa said. "With Cloud."
None of them seemed surprised by her announcement.
"One of us could stay with you?" Nanaki ventured tentatively.
Tifa shook her head. "Cloud wouldn't want to hold you all back. He would want you out there, fighting. Trying to stop this."
"He wouldn't want to hold you back either, Tifa." Barret's voice was gruff. "He wouldn't want you to be sad. Or alone."
Tifa met Barret's eyes directly. "I'm not alone. Cloud's here. I want to be by his side."
They exchanged a long look. Eventually Barret nodded and looked away.
"Course you do, Tifa!"
Yuffie's tone was of forced cheer. The abruptness of her embrace knocked Tifa's breath out of her, but she returned it warmly. Despite Yuffie's chipper tone, Tifa heard her sniffle.
"Take good care of Cloud for us, okay?" she said, muffled against Tifa's shoulder.
"I will," Tifa promised.
Yuffie released Tifa. She darted over to Cloud and patted his arm once, cautiously, before fleeing from the room.
"Take care of yourself, too, okay Tifa?" Nanaki bumped her with his shoulder. "We'll come back to check on you and Cloud."
"Thanks. Tell the others for me?"
Nanaki nodded and followed Yuffie.
"You all go on ahead," Barret told him. "I'll catch up."
He waited until they could no longer hear steps in the hallway before turning to Tifa. Barret looked between her and Cloud, who had yet to lift his head. Cloud was now mumbling quietly to himself, though Tifa could not make out any words.
"Doesn't feel right, leaving you here."
Barret was shifting from foot to foot uncomfortably. Despite his professed reluctance to leave Tifa behind, she could tell that he wanted nothing more than to get out of the room.
"I'll be alright, Barret. Really," Tifa reassured him. "This is where I need to be, I'm sure of it."
Barret snorted, laughing humorously.
"What is it?" Tifa asked.
"Nothing, nothing. Just that usually I'm the one who's so sure about what we gotta do."
He glanced over at Cloud and then over at the window. Meteor was not visible from this angle, but Tifa could tell by the way he searched the sky that he was thinking of it. Barret shook his head and let out a tired sigh.
"And now, I'm not sure about any of it," he said. He gestured at Cloud with a jerk of his head. "Including him, but I think you know that."
Tifa bowed her head. After what Barret had witnessed, she could not blame him for having doubts.
"But if you're sure that staying here with him is the right thing to do, then you gotta do it."
He walked closer to wrap one large hand around Tifa's. His eyes were as serious as Tifa had ever seen them as he looked down at her.
"I meant what I said before," Barret told her. "Even if he is just Sephiroth's shadow, he didn't want to see you hurt. And he wouldn't want you to suffer now."
Tifa thought about Cloud's voice, pleading with Barret to pull Tifa to safety in the Northern Crater. Away from him. At the time, she thought nothing could hurt her as badly as the words he was saying. Now, she would give anything to hear him speak.
"Just…"
Barret sighed.
"Just listen to Red, okay? Take care of yourself too."
Tifa placed her other hand on top of his.
"Thanks, Barret," she said.
She gave his hand a squeeze and released it. Barret walked out the door, pausing just before exiting to call over his shoulder.
"We'll be back to see you both soon, okay?"
Barret left.
The first night was the hardest.
The doctor tried to convince Tifa to get a room at the inn and return in the morning. Tifa refused, and eventually the doctor relented. By the time Tifa finished talking to the doctor, the nurses had settled Cloud into the hospital bed and set up a cot for Tifa against the wall.
The doctor left, giving Tifa firm instructions to use the call button for the nurses if she needed anything.
Tifa did not need anything. But neither did Cloud. If he were in pain, she might have requested medicine. She might have held his hand and comforted him.
Cloud just stared at the ceiling. Occasionally, he moved or made a noise. As far as Tifa could tell, he did not sleep.
During that first night, neither did Tifa. She tried laying down in the cot. But she could not see Cloud very well from it. She could not sleep.
Every time Cloud vocalized or groaned or cried out, Tifa leapt out of bed to rush to his side. His face was always blank, pointed at the ceiling. He did not look toward her or react when she touched him or asked him what was wrong.
It was just as bad if Cloud was quiet for too long. Tifa would listen for Cloud's breathing, holding her breath to better hear his. But she could not convince herself that she could. Again, Tifa would get out of bed. Just to check.
Eventually, Tifa gave up on the cot.
There was a chair close to the window. Tifa pushed it over to Cloud's bedside. She had left the blinds open on the windows and there was a full, silvery moon. Its light reflected off Cloud's mako-enhanced eyes, wide open and glassy.
"You should probably get some sleep," Tifa said.
Was she saying it to him or herself? Tifa was so tired, she did not know.
Cloud's hand was resting on his chest. Tifa watched as it rose and fell with his inhales and exhales. Her eyes felt heavy watching it. Tifa's head nodded, her eyes drifting close.
"Ah."
Tifa's head jolted upright.
"Cloud?" she asked. "Did you say something?"
Nothing.
Tifa watched him again for a while. The rise and fall of his chest. The occasional twitch of his face or limbs. She drowsed on and off, her head falling to her chest before jerking up again at the smallest sound or movement.
She was not sure how long she sat there, half awake. But at some point, she realized the moon had shifted and its light no longer illuminated the room. Cloud's eyes glowed dimly in the dark.
Tifa moved the chair closer to the bed. Cautiously, she rested her hand on top of Cloud's. His skin was warm. Alive, she reminded herself. If Tifa closed her eyes, she could feel the gentle movement of his chest beneath their hands.
"This alright?" she whispered.
No answer.
Tifa rested her head on the edge of the bed, near Cloud's shoulder. Their hands rose and fell. She shut her eyes.
When Tifa opened them, she blinked blearily at the stiff, white cotton sheets. Light was streaming into the room from its windows and the hall. Someone stood in the doorway. It was one of the nurses who had been at the reception desk the day before.
"I know those cots aren't anything to write home about," he said dryly. "But I've sat on rocks more comfortable than those chairs."
Tifa sat up slowly, trying not wince. Having slept outside many times over the last few weeks, Tifa tended to agree. Self-conscious of the nurse's eyes on her, Tifa slid her hand from Cloud's.
"I couldn't sleep," she explained. "He was up all –"
As Tifa looked at Cloud's, she realized his eyes were shut, his face slack.
"He's asleep!" she said, surprised.
Immediately, his eyes popped open. Tifa slapped a hand over her mouth. She looked over to the nurse, upset. He smiled kindly at her.
"He does that. Very common with mako poisoning. Don't worry, you didn't wake him up. He doesn't sleep, not really. But sometimes he'll rest his eyes for a bit."
At Tifa's perplexed look, he raised an eyebrow.
"Did the doctor explain any of this to you yesterday?"
Tifa shrugged, looking away.
The doctor had explained a lot to Tifa. She had stopped hearing much, though, after the words poor prognosis. But Tifa got the gist of it. The doctor did not expect Cloud to recover.
"Well anyway," he said. "If you have any questions, just let me know. I'm Gabriel, in case you don't remember. I imagine yesterday might have been a lot."
He came into the room, rolling a cart of supplies with him.
"Cloud's other nurse is Bernice. You can call her Necie, though. Everyone does. You met her yesterday, down at the reception desk. You can ask her anything too, but don't let her catch you sleeping in that chair."
Gabriel wagged his finger at her warningly.
"She'll boot you right over to the inn."
Tifa nodded. "I understand."
She moved the chair out of the way as the nurse pushed the cart over to the bed. Tifa stood awkwardly, gripping the back of the chair as he took Cloud's vitals. Unable to stand still, she walked nervously over to the window, then back again.
No matter where she was in the room, she felt in the way. Useless.
Tifa twisted her hands in front of her as she paced. After a moment, she realized Gabriel had finished and had been watching her. His face was thoughtful.
She watched as he rolled the wheelchair over to the bed.
"Even though he doesn't sleep, we usually put him in bed a few hours after dinner every evening and get him up into the chair around now," he told Tifa. "It's important that he doesn't stay in one position too long, you know?"
Tifa did not know, but she nodded anyways.
"He'll move around, even walk a bit, with a bit of support. That's a good thing. It'll keep his body from weakening too much. Less chance of sores from staying too long in one position too."
Some of this was beginning to sound familiar from what the doctor had told Tifa the night before. The doctor had been kind enough, but she used too many words. Frightening words. Muscular atrophy. Pressure ulcers.
Poor prognosis.
It was easier to hear from Gabriel. He was a large man, almost a burly as Barret and nearly as tall. Despite his size, he was softspoken. He handled Cloud gently as he eased him into a seated position on the side of the bed.
Tifa averted her eyes when he looked over to her, trying to pretend she was not watching.
"Do you want to help?" he asked.
Tifa looked up in surprise. "Can I?"
The longing in Tifa's voice embarrassed her. She did want to help. Badly. But she had no idea how. Gabriel's smile was understanding as he motioned her over.
"Just take his other arm," he instructed. "You look strong enough, but he doesn't need to be lifted up. We can just guide him to the chair, he'll move on his own."
Tentatively, Tifa placed hands beneath Cloud's elbow and wrist. With a bit of upward pressure from Tifa on one side and the nurse on the other, he stood.
Tifa was momentarily overwhelmed at the feeling of Cloud standing next to her. The gravity of him pulled her in closer. He smelled of antiseptic, but underneath it, he still smelled like himself. If Tifa closed her eyes and just sensed him, he felt the same as always.
Once he was seated, Tifa swallowed back tears. In a wheelchair, his eyes aimlessly sweeping over the floor, he was undeniably not the same as always. Something was missing. The something that made him Cloud.
"Very good," Gabriel said softly. "You'll get the hang of it in no time."
To Tifa's surprise, she did.
In many ways, the days were the same. Cloud was the same, neither better nor worse. His routine stayed the same. They moved him to the bed at night, the wheelchair in the morning. Every afternoon, he took brief, carefully supported walks up and down the hall.
She got used to moving Cloud from spot to spot, learning exactly how much support he needed. Not enough, and he might just collapse back down. Too much, and he might resist.
Tifa got used to the nurses as well, and the nurses to Tifa. Tifa learned when to stay out of their way, complying when they shooed her away to tend to Cloud's more basic needs. But they learned as well that Tifa was there to stay, and that when it came to Cloud, she could be stubborn.
As Gabriel had forewarned, on the second morning, Tifa received a scolding from Necie when she found Tifa drowsing in the chair next to Cloud's bed.
"What's this now?"
The sharp question had woken Tifa up. She forced herself not to rub her neck as she met the nurse's disapproving stare. Necie tutted.
"Look at you," she sighed. "Not even two days here and you're exhausted! You'll make yourself sick."
She motioned Tifa out of the chair as she approached the bed to take Cloud's morning vitals. Necie muttered to herself as she pulled things from her cart.
"Plenty of room over at the inn. Don't need another patient when she collapses," she was saying to herself. "Bad enough that one of them doesn't sleep."
Whereas Gabriel had reminded Tifa of Barret in size, Necie reminded her of him in spirit. The way he grumbled and sniped but meant well deep down. Barret responded well to spine. Tifa could do that.
"I'm not saying at the inn," Tifa said clearly. "Cloud needs me here."
Necie harrumphed but did not argue.
Though Necie had a sharper tongue than Gabriel, her rough edges hid just as soft a heart, if not softer.
That afternoon, Tifa took Cloud to the nearest hot spring. There was a boardwalk that was easy enough to push the wheelchair over. He did not seem to notice the change in scenery, but Tifa supposed the fresh air could not have hurt.
When she returned, both nurses were in the room. The furniture had been rearranged such that Tifa's cot was up against Cloud's bed. Gabriel winked at Tifa as Necie snapped on a pair of gloves.
"Bring him over here," she said. "Doctor wants him on a drip this afternoon. Morning vitals suggest dehydration."
Tifa pushed Cloud over to her, stepping back respectfully. Gabriel left them to it, hiding a smile as he exited the room.
While Necie set out her supplies, Tifa kept her distance. She leaned against the wall, pretending to look out the window. Despite herself, her eyes kept drifting back to Cloud. His color was better, she thought, after spending time outside.
Necie caught her staring, and Tifa looked back to the window quickly.
"Come over here, would you, hon?"
The request, and the endearment, caught Tifa off guard. She approached cautiously and the nurse nodded at her to sit. She had Cloud's arm stretched out along the arm of the wheelchair.
"Hold his other hand," she directed. "I've had this one for over a week, and he can be a handful. He seems calmer when you're close."
It was a lie, Tifa was sure, but it was a kind one. Cloud seemed entirely unaware that Tifa was there. But still, Tifa was glad to take his hand in hers for a bit.
Necie hummed a little, filling the silence as she tapped along the crook of Cloud's arm to find a vein.
"You could talk to him, you know," Necie suggested.
Tifa kept her eyes on Cloud's hand, limp in her own.
"The doctor said he wasn't responding to auditory stimulation," Tifa replied.
"Mhmm," Necie said neutrally. "Well. Perhaps."
There was a pause.
"If the tests were wrong, though, don't you think he'd like to hear your voice?"
Her tone was light and casual. Tifa glanced over at her, but she was looking down at Cloud's arm, swiping a cotton pad along it to sterilize. Tifa looked away as she produced a needle.
Tifa ventured a glance up at Cloud's face. It was angled down, toward the arm that Necie was working on. Tifa reached up with the hand that was not holding his to turn his face away from the needle, back toward her.
His cheeks had a pink tinge. Tifa ran her fingertips over them before dropping her hand.
"The sun did you some good, I think."
Though Cloud made no sign that he heard her, Tifa kept her eyes fixed on his face. Cloud was never a huge talker, but he was a good listener.
"The hot spring reminded me of when we would play in the river when we were little," Tifa said softly. "Do you remember?"
Tifa paused, as if he might answer.
"The water was much colder, of course, but the bottom was just as rocky. You always liked to collect the rocks. I was more of a splasher."
The memories made Tifa smile. The river in Nibelheim had a shallow, calm bank, not far from the village. The mothers liked to let small children play there while they chatted away along the shore. It was an easy way to keep little ones entertained on a summer afternoon.
"When was the last time we played there, do you think?"
Tifa tried to remember. It seemed that Cloud and Tifa had spent every afternoon of their lives there, until suddenly they had not. She supposed they must have stopped sometime around when Tifa's mother got sick.
"We'll go back tomorrow too, if you want. Maybe we could stick our feet in this time. The springs are supposed to have healing properties. It's worth a try, you know?"
The words were hopeful, and Tifa tried to make it sound like she believed them. But her voice was sad. If Cloud could hear her, she hoped he did not notice.
"All done."
Tifa started, realizing that the needle was already inserted, secured to Cloud's arm with medical tape. A bag of fluids hung from a pole next to him. Necie was standing, arranging items on her cart.
"One of us will be back with dinner," she said.
Her voice was quiet. She wiped at her eyes as she left the room.
The days went by with sameness.
Tifa did her best to sleep at night, in the cot by Cloud's bed. One of the nurses woke them in the morning, took Cloud's vitals. They moved him to the wheelchair, tried to see if he would eat. An afternoon walk up and down the hall. Tifa liked to take Cloud outside in the afternoon, as long as everything else had gone well that day.
And Tifa talked to Cloud, as much as she could.
She tried to speak of light things, casual things she might say if they were just chatting. The weather. Things Tifa saw outside the window. Sometimes, Tifa reminisced about happier times. Shared memories of their childhood. Funny snippets from their journeys. Times Yuffie had aggravated Barret, or Aerith had made them laugh.
But other times, late at night, when Tifa could not sleep, she could not help but confess some of her fears, the worst ones.
On a particularly bad night, when Tifa had been tossing and turning, and Cloud seemed to cry out every other minute, Tifa sat up on the cot, tucking her knees beneath her. She leaned her elbows on the bed, lifting up one of Cloud's hands. Tifa held it to her face.
"What if you never get better, Cloud?" she whispered.
Of course, there was no answer.
Tifa was not sure how many days had passed, when their routine was shaken up, rather literally.
It was late morning. Gabriel had just managed to get Cloud to eat some breakfast, a rarity. He was cleaning up the tray and Tifa was moving Cloud over to the window, when suddenly the floors and walls were moving.
Gabriel, who always moved slowly and carefully, was suddenly behind Cloud, grabbing the chair's handles from Tifa.
"Away from the window," he said, jerking his head toward the door.
They moved toward the doorway, riding out the tremors between the door and the interior wall of the building. After, Gabriel explained.
"The region is known to have earthquakes from time to time," he told her. "But they've gotten more frequent recently."
"Why?" Tifa asked.
He shrugged. "It's the Lifestream moving just beneath the ground. Apparently, a long time ago, it was known to break through to the surface. Why it's been more active lately, nobody really knows."
Gabriel frowned at Tifa suddenly. She was standing next to Cloud, one hand on the handle of the wheelchair, another on his shoulder.
"That was just a small one," he warned her. "Next time, it might be worse. Inside or outside, you should stay where you are until it passes. If the building seems damaged, we'll evacuate it after."
He gave the wheelchair a meaningful look.
"In case of evacuation, we can't use the elevators. The staff will take care of Cloud, alright? You should worry about getting yourself to safety."
Tifa only blinked at him.
Gabriel sighed. "That's clinic evacuation procedure, anyways."
More days passed.
At night, Tifa tried, with minimal success, to sleep. In the morning, she helped whichever nurse was there to move Cloud to his chair. Vitals, breakfast. The weight of Cloud's forearm, supported on her own, his back beneath her other palm as Tifa helped guide him down the hall and back. Attempts at lunch. Afternoons by the hot spring. Dinner. Bed.
Tifa tried to keep talking to Cloud. Some days, the best she could manage was to hold his hand. She was no singer, but sometimes she would hum. Lullabies from their childhood, or half remembered tunes she once practiced on the piano.
Despite the careful care Cloud received at the clinic, he began to look thinner. His face had always been angular, but now his cheekbones seemed to jut, and his jawline was sharper. There were dark circles smudged beneath his eyes.
Tifa saw the same circles beneath her own eyes when she caught glimpses of herself in the mirror. Nights of restless sleep had become the norm for Tifa. She had little appetite.
Gabriel cajoled, and Necie fussed at her. Tifa would smile weakly and make half-hearted attempts to eat or rest. She could often hear the nurses muttering together in the hall outside the room, could feel their troubled glances.
But all that mattered was Cloud. Time felt urgent. It was slipping through Tifa's fingers just as elusively as the fine sand that Tifa sifted restlessly through on the shores of the hot springs.
Tifa could feel the weight of Meteor looming in the sky when she sat outside with Cloud. It was larger, closer every day. She spent so much time watching Cloud, checking on him, that the subtle changes to his face were clear to her, another indicator of time running out.
"You've always moved at your own pace," Tifa said to him one afternoon.
His pants were rolled up to his knees. Gabriel had helped Tifa lower him to the edge of the spring to put his feet in. The warm water was good for circulation. Cloud sat up well enough on his own, but Tifa kept a hold on him just in case.
Tifa brushed a wayward strand of blond off his forehead. It was always getting in his face lately.
"If you're going to come back, maybe you could do it soon?" Tifa whispered.
The words felt selfish, but no one was around to hear. Only Cloud. He was staring at the water, but his eyes were moving as though he were seeing something else.
"Didn't mean to rush you," she added. "It's just that I miss you."
It was a beautiful day. The sky was clear, and the sun was not too hot. Tifa stuck her feet in the water too. She tried to be grateful for this time, that despite everything, they were together.
One afternoon, Tifa heard lowered voices conversing in the hall. They had the telltale hushedness of people intent on not being overheard. The voices were familiar.
Moments later, Cid, Barret, and Nanaki appeared in the doorway. Tifa could see the nurses behind them. Gabriel looked guilty, but Necie had a look of grim satisfaction on her face.
"Visitors for Mr. Strife," she said.
They exchanged greetings, but then there was a long silence. Tifa fiddled with the back of Cloud's chair. It felt strange to speak to anyone other than Cloud or the nurses after so many days.
Necie cleared her throat. "No more than two guests at a time. Clinic policy."
"Um, right." Barret stepped forward. "Tifa, Red and I were thinking we'd sit with Cloud for a bit. Give you a break."
"I –" Tifa had not considered this. "That's not –"
"We'll grab a late lunch," Cid said. "Doesn't look like you're exactly flourishing on whatever it is they feed you here."
He glanced apologetically at the nurses.
"No offense meant."
Tifa gripped the handles of the wheelchair. They had not taken Cloud to walk the halls yet. It was almost time. They would walk the length of the halls at least three times as they always did an hour or so after they tried to feed him lunch. No part of the routine involved Tifa leaving.
Nanaki looked up at her imploringly. "Come on, Tifa. Just for bit. We want to spend some time with him too."
Tifa glanced at Cloud reluctantly.
"How nice to have visitors!" Necie said briskly. "Go on then, hon."
They all looked at her expectantly. Gabriel could not quite look her in the face. He, at least, seemed to feel somewhat badly that they were all ganging up on her.
"It'll be alright. We have everything taken care of here," he told her.
Tifa took a hesitant step toward the door.
"Just for a bit then," she agreed.
Cid clapped his hands together. "Alright then! Off we go."
They did not stray far from the clinic. There was a street vendor nearby, selling bowls of rice with meat. Cid bought two of them, handing the more heaping one over to Tifa. They sat on a bench just across from the clinic entrance.
Cid kept up a steady stream of one-sided conversation. Tifa did her best to nod at the appropriate times. She was distracted, but she caught bits and pieces. Something about Yuffie, Vincent, Cait, and Shinra. Something else about Huge Materia.
Tifa wondered if the nurses would wait for her before getting Cloud up to walk. If they got back soon, Tifa might still have time to bring him outside to the hot spring for a bit before dinner.
She realized Cid had stopped talking. Tifa took a hasty bite of her food, trying to pretend she had been listening all along.
Cid sighed and pulled out a cigarette.
"Really?" Tifa asked, unimpressed.
He shrugged. "I won't light it. Just like to hold it when I'm stressed. Old habit."
"Are you stressed?"
"A bit," he admitted. "Hard enough captaining a whole damn airship. Much less being in charge of this mess of a team."
Tifa raised her eyebrows.
"Oh yes. Barret wanted to step back a bit. Wasn't interested in being the leader, even temporarily. So, I got stuck with the job."
Given their conversation before Barret left Mideel, Tifa supposed she was not completely surprised at the news. Barret had been unsure of everything. The antithesis of the Barret she had known as the leader of their branch of AVALANCHE.
"Barret acts like a real hard ass, but he's all mushy inside isn't he?" Cid mused.
Tifa hummed neutrally. Of course she knew that, but she did not think Barret would like it if she admitted it to Cid.
"Seems like you have that effect. Got 'em all wrapped around your finger, don't you?"
"Huh?"
"Don't try to bullshit a bullshitter."
"I don't –"
Cid groaned, letting his unlit cigarette dangle from his lips.
"You don't even realize it. Makes it that much worse. Barret, Cloud, those nurses. Bunch of softies for you. Even that tough looking one. Not the big guy, the lady."
Tifa frowned at him. "I don't know what you're talking about."
"Well, it won't work on me." Cid pulled the cigarette from his mouth and used it to point at Tifa emphatically. "Unlike them, I actually am a hard ass."
She was not sure she fully believed that. As if to prove it, Cid gave her a hard look.
"Whether you want to or not, you're sleeping at the inn tonight."
Tifa's mouth dropped open. "You can't just tell me –"
"One of us will stay with Cloud," Cid cut her off. "He'll be fine for one night without you."
Tifa glared at him, but he seemed unbothered. She pulled herself up. Perhaps Cid thought himself a hard ass, but he had not yet known her long enough to see how much hard ass Tifa could kick.
But something stopped her. There was a sudden strangeness in the air. An absence of sound. The birds that had been chirping only moments before had gone silent. Cid tilted his head. He noticed it too.
"What –"
Before he could finish the question, the ground shook beneath them with an intensity that knocked the bowl from Tifa's hands.
The tremors were stronger than what Tifa had experienced before. They did not subside. Cid cursed and pulled Tifa from the bench. Debris was falling from the building behind them.
"We need to get out in the open!" he was shouting.
But Tifa did not hear him. She was looking across to the clinic. The entire building was swaying, bits of tile falling from its roof. Tifa was already moving toward it.
"Goddammit Tifa, don't you even think –"
He reached out to pull her back, but Tifa evaded him. She ran, stumbling as the ground shifted beneath her. Cid yelled after her, but she ignored him.
The door to the clinic was askew on its hinges. Tifa ran in, moving through the hall, littered with plaster, and toward the stairwell.
Nanaki appeared at the bottom of the stairs.
"Tifa! What are you doing –"
Barret was behind him, Cloud slung over his shoulder. Cracks were appearing in the walls of the stairwell. Someone was yelling at them from above. Clearly, they had botched clinic evacuation procedure entirely.
"I've got him! Go, go!" Barret shouted.
Tifa dug in her heels, bracing herself on the shifting ground, until Barret reached the bottom. He let out a frustrated growl, but there was no time to argue. He moved ahead of Tifa, carrying Cloud outside, and she followed behind.
As they exited the clinic and moved away from the town center, the ground stilled. There were clusters of people outside, cowering on the ground.
Cid approached them. He had bitten his cigarette in half.
"That had to be the stupidest shit I have ever seen in my goddamn life," he gritted out.
Tifa ignored him, her hand on Cloud's back as Barret lowered him to the ground. She brushed the plaster from his hair and shoulders, then held his chin in her hand to check his face. He seemed unharmed.
"Do you think that was it?" Nanaki asked nervously.
The earth answered him. This time, the tremors started as a low vibration, before heightening in intensity. There seemed to be a rumbling, a rushing sound, coming from beneath them.
Tifa was so focused on Cloud and what was happening beneath her that she did not think to look up. But Barret and Cid's cursing prompted her to do so. Just as she did, the sun disappeared. A huge form was blocking it.
It was a Weapon. This one was winged, and it was approaching the village. Fast.
Cid and Barret both had their weapons at the ready, and Nanaki was crouched in a fighting stance. Tifa stared at them in disbelief. They had taken on some impressive, seemingly undefeatable foes in the past, but in this, they seemed woefully outmatched.
"Go," Cid told her.
"But – "
"Take Cloud and get out of here!" Barret urged, lifting Cloud to his feet and transferring his weight over to Tifa.
Tifa draped his arm across her shoulders and looped her arm behind his back. Cloud was swaying on his feet, his head moving back and forth, less cooperative than he usually was.
"We're not about to die that easily!" Cid yelled.
Nanaki ran off, calling to Tifa over his shoulder. "Tifa, go!"
Cid and Barret chased after him.
The ground stilled, but Tifa had no illusions it would last. She held onto Cloud's hand so that his arm would not slip off of her and took a few steps away from the impending battle. Cloud's feet were tangling beneath them. They were not going to make it anywhere fast.
"Cloud, please."
Tifa's voice broke as she attempted to urge him on. As always, he did not seem to hear her voice. She was beginning to feel the full extent of her fears. In a fight, Cloud would be defenseless. They were out in the open. There was no safe cover.
Again, the ground began to quake. It felt different this time. Tifa stopped trying to move forward and focused instead on just keeping them both upright. She wrapped both arms around Cloud's middle. His upper torso sagged into her.
"It's coming."
Cloud forming a full sentence startled Tifa nearly as much as the appearance of the Weapon or the earth shaking beneath her. She lifted his shoulders away from her to try and look at his face.
"Cloud, what? Did you say something?"
For once, he looked directly at her. Still, there was a blankness behind his eyes. Tifa had the sense that although he was looking at her, he did not quite see her.
"It's coming," he repeated.
Before Tifa could respond, there was a terrible sound. A breaking, a grinding together of rock and earth. Tifa had never heard anything like it. A violent quake accompanied it and Tifa stumbled in Cloud, knocking them both to the ground.
On her hands and knees, Tifa watched in horror as the ground crumbled beneath them. There was a surge of light coming up from the ground, green and swirling. Tifa had seen it before. The Lifestream.
There was nowhere to go. She could not outrun it, and she could not leave Cloud. Tifa reached for him. All she could do as they fell beneath the surface of the earth, and into the Lifestream itself, was hold onto Cloud as tightly as she could.