Chapter 84: Up North

February 10, 0006

Tifa, aged eighteen, stood naked on the deck of her boat. Her hands gripped a four-iron as she concentrated on the ball. Concentrating carefully, she raised the club. Then, she swung it quickly and powerfully. The club struck the ball, and it instantly went flying.

"Fore!" shouted Tifa, despite the fact they were on the open ocean, and there was nobody around.

The ball descended, and disappeared into the ocean with a splash.

"Nice putt," Cloud, who was sitting, also naked, in a chair a few feet behind her, complimented.

"That wasn't a putt," Tifa replied. "That was a drive."

She paused, and adjusted the grip on her club.

"Nothing fails my eye," Tifa continued, "and DAMMIT!"

There was a frustrated look on her face.

"What?" he asked.

"Except for Aerith's journal!" she lamented. "I know someone snuck on our boat and stole it. And I'm ninety-nine point nine percent sure it was Lynn!"

With a sigh, Tifa took a seat in the chair next to Cloud.

"I don't think she would do anything destructive," he assured her as he gently rubbed her bare back.

"I hope not," she sighed. "The last thing we need is her trying to steal Sephiroth's role in this."

"Didn't the journal say he'd kill anybody who does?" Cloud pointed out.

Tifa looked at him, and smiled in relief.

"He did, didn't he?" she said. "I suppose if she does try to interfere with him, she'll get more than she bargained for."

The two lovers sat next to each other silently for a moment. Then, Tifa started chuckling silently.

"What's so funny?" Cloud asked.

"So Aerith and Tobin really did have sex on prom night," she laughed. "I remember Cissnei's unpublished memoirs said that it never happened, but here is proof that it did."

For a few moments, Cloud and Tifa sat together in silence.

Then, Cloud had an idea.

"Maybe Lynn will want to join forces with us," he suggested, half-seriously.

"I don't think so," Tifa laughed as she stood up from her chair and stretched.

She then made her way to face Cloud, bent down, and kissed him.

"I'm going to set up another golf ball," she announced. "Don't stare at my butthole."

With that, she turned and walked toward the golf ball tee.

Cloud sighed and placed his hand on his forehead.

Both Cloud and Tifa would celebrate two more birthdays causally hidden from society.

But then, they had to be extra careful. They moved closer and closer to important events, and, soon, it was December 9, 0007, the day they blew up Reactor Number One.

They had decided to lay extremely low at this point, knowing they were news now. They decided to hide in the one place where their adventures barely took them: the Northern Continent. And they chose to hide in the town of Kournikova, where their adventures never took any of them.

Or so they thought.

December 20, 0007

One day, Cloud and Tifa were looking out their window. They had seen the markets and churches with the onion domes more times than they could count. Yet nothing seemed festive, despite the most obvious time of the year.

"There's no decorations anywhere," Cloud observed.

"They celebrate Christmas January 7 in this town," Tifa replied. "Decorations don't show up until the last week of December."

"Wow," he said.

It should be common knowledge that surprises almost never come on cue.

And then, out of nowhere, both of them saw a girl walk by.

She was wearing a pink dress and a red jacket; she would need no introduction.

"It's Aerith!" Tifa exclaimed. "What's she doing here?"

And then, she felt her stomach tighten; she knew the exact reason she was here.

"She's on her way to Bone Village," Tifa said aloud. "This is right before she faked her death at the Forgotten Capital."

It was still a painful memory, even after all those years. She would watch her friend die, only to learn later that she had faked her death, only to watch her die for real. Despite the fact they were in love with the same man, Tifa regarded Aerith as a true friend.

"I guess that means we're stuck inside," Cloud observed.

"Agreed," Tifa concurred. "If she sees us, the best case is she'll get confused. The worst case is that we'll screw up history."

So, they opted to stay inside as Aerith walked into the local pub.

"Looks like she's getting a drink," Cloud observed.

"Can you blame her?" Tifa replied. "She's about to fake her death and leave all her friends behind. God only knows what's going on through her mind."

Tifa had not forgotten that Aerith was Cloud's first love and that they had been engaged, with a wedding planned for Aerith's twenty-third birthday. She bore no jealously, as she had only wanted Cloud to be happy.

Three minutes later, everything changed. Cloud and Tifa spotted someone else in the streets; someone whom they had not wanted to see.

It was Lynn, green hair and all, whom they had not seen since their encounter north of Eros Nova.

"Shit," Cloud muttered. "Lynn."

"What's she doing up here?" Tifa asked aloud.

Then, that answer struck her as well.

"She's after Aerith," she concluded.

"What makes you say that?" Cloud asked; that seemed to be random.

"She stole Aerith's journal," she replied. "She knows how to obtain the power Sephiroth wants. If she kills Aerith, then there will be no summoning of Holy."

Cloud was silent. This was very unlike Tifa to jump to a conclusion like that so suddenly.

"Are you sure she'd do that?" he asked. "Did her journal even mention anything about Meteor?"

"We can't take the chance," Tifa replied solemnly.

And, as they watched, Lynn went into the same bar Aerith had gone into.

"We really can't take that chance," Tifa added.

"Aerith might see us," Cloud said.

"We'll have to take that chance," Tifa replied. "She needs our help."

She then paused.

"You know," she continued, "I think she'd be less likely to notice us if just one of us went. Like you."

"Why me?" Cloud asked skeptically.

"Because you're the quieter one," Tifa replied. "I'd stick out like a sore thumb."

Realizing there was no time to argue, Cloud stood up. Every second counted, and Aerith needed to be saved; he was still her bodyguard at this time, after all.

"Listen," Tifa began, "if Aerith sees you, she needs to think you're the same Cloud she last saw at the Temple of the Ancients. And that means Cloud, her boyfriend. She can't know the truth."

Cloud gave Tifa a concerned look.

"What if she wants to hold hands?" he asked.

"You have my blessing," Tifa said.

"What if she wants to kiss?"

"You have my blessing," Tifa repeated.

Cloud gave her a skeptical look.

"But you'll owe me a favor later," she added with a wink.

"What favor?" he asked.

"Tell you later," she said. "Right now, Aerith needs you."

So Cloud left their hotel room and darted down the stairs.

He stepped outside of the hotel, and crossed the street to the bar.

He went inside.

It was very crowded, and it was hard to spot Lynn. Aerith was sitting at the bar. She was having a sex on the beach or some similar girly drink. Her back was turned to Cloud, and he hoped and prayed that it would stay that way.

As he continued to look, he saw no sign of Lynn. She was not at the bar, she was not at the tables, and she was not standing anywhere.

Cloud realized was only one other place she could be: the ladies' room.

He thus began to make his way toward the ladies' room. Of course, he felt awkward about doing this, but he had no other choice. All the way there, he kept an eye on Aerith, making sure her back was still turned toward him.

Eventually, he made it to the other end of the bar. He entered a small hallway, with two bathroom doors. Both of them were labeled in Cyrillic, which he could not read.

At least I have an excuse, he thought.

And then, Cloud opened the first door.

Lynn was standing there, with her back turned to him, dressed in her black tank top and jeans. There was a nine millimeter in her right hand; there was a picture of Aerith in her left.

She is after her! he realized.

Cloud quickly swiped his hand, knocking the gun out of Lynn's, causing it to fall to the floor and discharge.

Lynn glared at Cloud.

"You shouldn't have done that!" she taunted as she turned to retrieve her gun.

It was that moment that Cloud realized he did not have a plan for anything else.

Then, the bathroom door swung open.

Two bouncers immediately charged Lynn and tackled her. They then took a rope and tied her wrists together.

Those guys are fast, Cloud observed.

He then spotted a urinal.

So it is the men's room, he thought to himself, somewhat relieved.

Just then, the manager of the bar approached Cloud.

"I call police," the manager announced. "You a hero to us. Free drinks here for life."

"Thanks," Cloud said.

"The police may ask questions," the manager informed him. "I need you to stay until they arrive."

Cloud nodded.

All the better, he thought. That will give Aerith more time to leave.

So Cloud waited until two police officers arrived. They questioned him, and the bar manager helped translate.

Cloud then spotted the open window at the other end of the bathroom; it would be the perfect escape route.

He began to make his way towards it.

"Ty ne mozhesh' idti etim putem. Teper' eto mesto prestupleniya," the police officer informed him.

"I don't understand you," Cloud said honestly.

"You can't go that way," the cop repeated in very poor English. "You disturb crime scene."

"Just go through the bar," the manager commanded.

Resigned, Cloud turned back, and slowly made his way through the bar.

Aerith was still seated where she had been.

Stay that way, Cloud silently pleaded.

He was halfway across the bar.

Then, he was two thirds of the way there.

And then, Aerith's head began to turn.

No, Aerith, he thought. Don't notice me.

But it was too late.

They had made eye-contact.

A big smile appeared on her face.

The next few seconds wrote themselves. Aerith sprang up off her barstool and charged her way through the crowd.

As soon as she reached Cloud, she threw her arms around him and held him close.

"Cloud!" she naturally exclaimed. "It's you!"

Cloud was speechless; he was not sure of what to say. He had to be careful not to reveal that he was and he was not the Cloud she had just bade farewell to at the Temple of the Ancients.

"How did you get all the way up here?" she then asked.

He knew he had to say something right away.

"Um….it's a long story," he replied.

Aerith then smiled.

"We'll have time for that later," she said. "Things have changed a bit, and I'll explain that later, too. But for now, I'm just happy to see you!"

And, before Cloud could say anything, Aerith quickly kissed him on the mouth.

Cloud knew he had Tifa's blessing, and he knew Aerith was completely oblivious to the circumstances, but the whole situation did not sit well for him, and he immediately began to think of ways to excuse himself to return to the hotel.

But then, something occurred to him.

It's been a year since that ill-fated Eros Nova trip, he realized. She may have learned where the bunker containing the nanite defuser and the radiation detector are.

He just had to think of a way to lead up to it.

"Can we go for a walk outside?" Aerith suddenly requested. "It's kind of loud in here."

"Sure," Cloud agreed. "No problem."

He led her outside. He immediately looked to the hotel; Tifa was no longer in the window.

"Well?" Aerith suddenly asked. "Aren't you going to hold your girlfriend's hand?"

Cloud forced a smile and took her hand.

And then, he could not resist it; the sparks that only Aerith could ignite began to set off inside. He had not felt them in so long, yet he remembered as if it had been yesterday.

Aerith took the lead. She led him through the streets, with her eyes closed, and a smile on her face.

"I thought I wouldn't get to be with you again for a while," she said in a shaky voice. "I'm so happy!"

Eventually, they arrived at a garden at the north end of town. The streets became red gravel, and the buildings became trees and bushes.

I would ask, Cloud thought to himself. This isn't going to last forever, you know.

"You'll never believe what I found," he announced.

"What?" Aerith asked, still smiling.

"Pages of a journal that you seemed to have handwritten," he clarified. "About a trip you took to Eros Nova about a year ago."

Aerith stopped in her tracks, and looked directly at Cloud. She began to blush.

Cloud quickly deduced the reason for her embarrassment; her night with Sephiroth.

"Only the last few pages were there," he added.

He made every effort to conceal his knowledge of her encounter with Sephiroth; he did not want to embarrass her any further.

"So you know," she said. "About Sephiroth's plan to blow up Eros Nova. I guess that's now his Plan B."

"Did you find out where the nanite defuser is?" he asked.

"I was clueless when I wrote that," she admitted. "But you can learn a lot in a year."

This was too good to be true.

"Really?" he asked.

"When I was captured by the Shinra," Aerith continued, "Palmer told me all about it. There's a storage facility on the northern coast of the Western Continent."

"He just told you?" Cloud asked skeptically.

"It's where they were going to put me once they were done with me," Aerith replied. "You know, so I wouldn't tell anybody."

So that's it, thought Cloud. That really narrows the search down. Thanks, Aerith.

"Of course," she continued, "if this mission to stop Sephiroth is successful, it wouldn't matter anyway."

"Someone else could pick up where he left off," Cloud suggested. "Once we take care of Sephiroth, we'll find that bunker. We'll get rid of those bombs just in case."

"My boyfriend's a genius!" Aerith exclaimed with a smile.

Cloud and Aerith continued to walk, hand-in-hand, through the garden. Cloud began to savor the moment. He could not resist. After what had seen like an eternity without her, he missed the feeling.

Of course, he also knew where he belonged at this point, and he knew there was a call for discretion.

In the distance, they began to see a brick wall with one opening for the path to lead through. Beyond that was open fields.

This was the town's northern boundary. Beyond that, there was only Bone Village.

He could feel that Aerith's palm was sweaty; he knew this was something she was not looking forward to. He knew it would be a lot worse if she never found the Phase Materia, which allowed her to fake he death, since she knew that, in the original timeline, she was genuinely killed at that altar.

Soon, Cloud and Aerith reached the opening. When they did, Aerith stopped, and turned to face her love.

Her eyes were wet.

"You can't follow me any further," she informed him solemnly.

Cloud was silent. Of course, he knew the reason, but he had to appear as if he did not.

"What I'm about to do….it's going to hurt you," Aerith continued. "And whether you forgive me for it or not….I hope you understand. But I need to do this alone."

Although Cloud knew how the next few weeks would play out, he still found it heartbreaking.

Still, he had to go along with it.

"Will I ever see you again?" he asked.

"Yes," Aerith replied. "You will. I promise."

She pulled him in and hugged him tightly. She planted kisses all over his face.

"Stay strong for me," Aerith requested. "I love you."

And then, the inevitable happened. She leaned forward, and pressed her lips against his.

A minute later, Aerith was gone, having continued on her way to her destiny.

Cloud stood alone in the garden.

LATER…..

When Cloud returned to the hotel room, he found Tifa sitting on the sofa. While figuring out how to tell her about…..everything that had taken place, he decided to disclose the important findings first.

"I found out where the nanite defuser and the radiation detector are," he began solemnly.

"Really?" Tifa replied as she sprang up to her feet. "That's great! Where?"

"In a storage bunker on the northern coast of the Western Continent," he answered in a monotone.

"Did she say where?" she asked.

Cloud shook his head.

Tifa did not seem disappointed.

"At least we narrowed it down," she said optimistically. "I thought we'd spend years probing the world."

Cloud tried to smile, but it was impossible. Although Tifa had explicitly told him she was okay with whatever happened with Aerith, he still felt guilty about the encounter.

"Tifa," he began, "listen…."

But Tifa immediately shook her head.

"Don't worry about it," she assured him. "I know what you're going to say. I told you you have my blessing."

Cloud was, as usual, speechless.

"There is a reason I sent you alone," Tifa said. "And it wasn't really to avoid attention."

"What was it?"

"Aerith is your first love," she continued. "I wanted you to have a final moment with her."

"Why?" he asked.

"Because I love you," Tifa replied honestly.

And it was then that Cloud was reminded how lucky he was to have Tifa. There was not an ounce of jealously in her. She simply continued to look at him lovingly, as she had been the best friend and lover he had known for years he lost count of.

"Give me a hug," she commanded.

And he did. He felt her squeeze him tightly against her body.

"But don't forget, you owe me," she whispered.

"What do I owe you?" he asked.

"You'll find out in a few days," she laughed.

MANY DAYS LATER….

Cloud arrived at the coordinates Tifa had texted him to meet her at.

He looked up, and he saw the Highwind above him. He knew what day this was; it was when Hojo was defeated, and everyone left to find themselves. He did not worry about being seen; he knew the Highwind was deserted.

He felt a tap on his shoulder.

Cloud turned to see Tifa standing there, dressed in her white crop tank and short black skirt.

"It's me," she insisted. "The Tifa you went back in time and grew up again with."

She then turned to look at the Highwind.

"Funny," she laughed. "Everyone used to tell that same old lie that we had sex under the Highwind this night."

"I remember," Cloud said.

Tifa then turned to her love.

"That's not going to be a lie anymore," she announced with a seductive smile.

With that, she reached under her skirt, pulled down her panties, and stepped out of them.

"That's all that's coming off of me," she announced. "This is going to be CFNM!"

She then stripped him naked in seconds flat.

"This is what you owe me!" she informed him before kissing him passionately.