Final Fantasy - All Series Fan Fiction ❯ Destati ❯ Chapter 1

[ T - Teen: Not suitable for readers under 13 ]

The end to the tale... perhaps not the happily ever after that most fairy
tales boast, but it certainly isn't the worst ending now, is it? Aah, but
wait, what's this? I see a different thread, coming away from that line of
destiny. My, my, is it possible that my old eyes had weakened, or did it seem
that THIS thread is going on an entirely different direction?

Tell me, my young traveler, haven't you ever wondered what would happen
if things were just a TINY bit different? Like say, what if those two young
men never escaped from their prison under that gloomy mansion? Or if that
dark-haired one didn't die, but it was the blond one who did?

Oh-ho, so you're interested now, are you? Come, now, come, turn in a
circle three times for me.

No? Hmph. I suppose you don't want to know about this new thread, after
all, eh? ... Hehe, thank you young man for indulging an old woman in her
fancies. What? No, of course that request had nothing to do with this new
thread. It's just so nice to see someone young making a fool of himself in
front of an old hag like me.

Ahem, was I cackling? I'm sorry, but dear young man, you probably should
go and have your ears checked at. The nerve of the young these days, accusing
a humble old woman like me of cackling. Hmph.

... Come, come, don't become sour just because of jest from this humble
one. You can't begrudge an old woman of her fun, can you?

Now that I had my fill, I suppose it's time to get down to business.
Aah, I should probably think of retirement plans. Truly, having to keep track
of all these threads... My eyes were not as sharp as they once were, my boy.

Yes, yes, I am getting to the point. Young people these days...never any
patients.

Now, come closer, my boy, come closer...for the tale I shall reveal to you
now is of a different kind, so completely different from the original that
perhaps you'd be shocked by it's contrast. Yes, yes, I can see it now, see the
happenings in this thin thread, becoming thicker as it obtains more solidity.
That is, I meant that the thread started out as flimsy and easy to be broken,
but gained thickness as the reality within that thread becomes more and more
real... Hmph. You knew what I meant, did you? Fine, then let us go on.

Can you see it, my boy? Can you see that blond young man, barely out of
boyhood, can you see him standing before his commanding officer? I'm sure you
can, you have a keen eye there even if you are deaf enough to think that I was
cackling. No, don't interrupt me, let us just continue on.

Aah, yes, you must have remembered this moment, correct? In the original
thread, that young man was rejected from becoming what he most wanted... But in
this one, watch closely now, my boy... Did you see that? In this thread, he was
accepted... Such youthful joy. I feel profound pity for him, for what Destiny
have in store for him.

Let us now watch the tale again, but this time altered irreversibly in a
different direction. Let us watch how this version of the tale ends. Like a
fairy tale? Or like a nightmare?

Come now, be silent and watch. We mustn't disturb the thread in any way,
even if it shall come down to the nightmare that I fear shall manifest. Now
watch...watch as the dream and the nightmare become one...


~ * < > * ~


Cloud Strife vaulted off the top of the train with practiced ease, each
part of his muscles working perfectly in sync with each other to bring the
maximum result possible. He was used to that, of course. He was an ex-
SOLDIER, after all.

For a split second, his eyes narrowed, the glow of the Mako injection
flaring brightly, and a bitter smile came to his lips.

Yes, he was only an ex-SOLDIER now. But certainly no less useful.

Cloud rushed forward, knowing that time was both his enemy and his ally.
Things must be done quickly in order to finish the job safely. He let his eyes
rest on the downed guard near him, and with a sneer of distaste, he searched
the corpse and found two bottles of potion. While he normally wouldn't rob the
dead, in a situation like this, being safe is better than being dead. His
current employers are poor and didn't bother to give him much in terms of
supplies. But it doesn't matter, he need the job and the money desperately.
The blond young man shot another disgusted look at the dead, and moved on.
Besides, if he didn't do it, someone else would've come along and raided the
corpse; might as well be him.

The blond followed the way the rest of his team members went, cursing a
little as he was delayed by various guards that were around. He managed to
dispatch them rather easily, though, as they were no more than normal guards,
nothing that an ex-SOLDIER couldn't get rid of quickly.

Cloud approached the group of ragtag people standing at the gate of the
Mako reactor. He concealed a grimace; they weren't much for a resistance
group. None of them had any materia, and he doubted they would know how to use
one should they have any. A pity, as Cloud himself was an expert with the
small crystals, and if he was provided with a Restore materia, then he wouldn't
have had to raid the body of a dead man. As it is, he only had his Lightning
and Ice materia. Useful in a fight, yes, but they could hardly save his life
should he need healing.

Cloud suddenly let out a small, but visible smirk as a thought came to
him. Maybe this AVALANCHE hoped that at the end, he was too far-gone to
collect his pay. Ha, as if. He wasn't an ex-SOLDIER for nothing. He would be
sure that he gets paid.

"So you're an ex-SOLDIER?" one of the resistant group members spoke up.
Cloud started then gave a curt nod.

"But I thought SOLDIERs are our enemy?" one of the others asked and Cloud
resisted the urge to sneer and make a sarcastic remark.

"That's why he's an EX-SOLDIER," the first said. "I'm Biggs, and that's
Wedge," he said, pointing first to himself, then at the fat one who made the
stupid remark. Then he pointed to the only female in the group, a young woman
with brown hair pulled into a bun and a red bandanna around her forehead. "And
that there is are strategist, Jesse." The young woman offered a shy smile to
Cloud. He wasn't impressed.

A huge man run up to them then, his feet making loud pounding noises on
the metal floor. He was dark, with bulging muscles and a gun for arm. He
looked dangerous, but to Cloud Strife, he only looked like a huge lumbering
idiot. "You're an ex-SOLDIER, eh? What's your name, kid?"

Cloud stamped down the annoyance at being called a 'kid'. It doesn't
matter, he reminded himself, I have to finish the mission; that's the only
thing that matters now. "Cloud. Cloud Strife."

"Cloud, huh? I don't trust ya," the huge man said, glowering a little
and glaring at him. "Barret's my name. I'll be comin' with ya from now on, so
don't try anythin' funny, get it?"

Cloud forced himself not to glare back or do anything that would
jeopardize his mission, and shrugged, hopefully, in a way that meant
'whatever'. He found out a while ago that a gesture like that enrages the
person it's aimed at, and he found it to be a great way to get revenges, as
they can never retaliate because he did nothing wrong, in technical terms.

There was a soft muttering and then the metal gate slid open with a
grinding noise. Jesse quickly related the plan once more to the team before
everyone rushed through the last barrier into the Shinra's Mako reactor.

Cloud allowed them to leave him behind, looking up at the giant poster of
Shinra's name on the top of the reactor. This is it, he thought. The
beginning to the end...this is where my mission starts and I refuse to allow it
to fail. For a split second, his face twisted together into a beastly feral
grin as his Mako eyes flared bright blue in the darkness. But it was only a
split second, and then he too was running into the enemy-infested Mako reactor.


~ * < > * ~


When Tifa heard the shouting outside her bar, the loudest being Barret,
of course, she knew that the mission was completed successfully. If anything
had gone wrong, the leader of AVALANCHE certainly wouldn't be wasting time
threatening all the other residents in the sector, anyway.

A few moments later found her watching with amusement as the huge man
burst through the door to Seventh Heaven, brandishing his gun arm at all the
patrons and threatening at them to leave. Within seconds the previously filled
bar was emptied, and soon the rest of the AVALANCHE team rushed in for some
well deserved drink and rest.

Tifa searched anxiously for a spiky blond head, and felt immense relieve
as that spiky head came into view just inside the door. "Cloud!" she yelled, a
smile on her face as she rushed forward to greet the young man. A quick check
with her eyes told her that he seemed to be perfectly fine, no injuries at
least outwardly. Of course he's not injured, she told herself sternly. He was
in SOLDIER, after all. "So, did you and Barret fight again?"

The blond young man shook his head shortly, offering her a small smile.
"No, not this time."

"Thank goodness," Tifa replied, smiling too. "You two always fight about
everything. I was afraid that you were fighting each other instead of the
Shinra soldiers."

Something dark flashed through the faintly glowing eyes, but it was gone
so fast that Tifa wasn't sure she saw it at all. It's probably just the bad
lighting, she told herself, pushing away her worry and the sudden chill that
enveloped her.

"We did fine, this time, the plan went without a hitch," he told her, a
confident smirk on his face. Contradicting his facial confidence, one of his
hands came up to scratch the back of his head in almost embarrassment. That
was when she noticed the pretty white flower in his hand.

"Oh, a flower! Is it for me?" Tifa asked. She didn't really meant to
say that, actually, but it just came out without her noticing as she was in
fact too shocked that he bothered to GET a flower in the first place.

Now a blush came to Cloud's face, and he looked embarrassed, too. "Um,
actually it's for Marlene..."

"Oh," the young woman said, slightly disappointed. "So it's for
Marlene..." Tifa blinked, suddenly realizing that the ever-present little girl
wasn't next to her, as she thought she was. "Marlene!" She spun around
looking desperately for the little girl she knew is there. Tifa was so
relieved at seeing Cloud in fine condition that she didn't even notice the
little girl hadn't come out to greet her Papa, like she usually did. Finally,
after a few moments of searching with her eyes, she found the little girl in
the pretty purple dress hiding behind the counter, with only her eyes peeking
out.

"Marlene, come here, Marlene, look what Cloud bought for you?" Tifa
called out, bending down and slowly coaxing the little girl from her hiding
place. She was slightly confused, but not too worried. Marlene was usually
such an open girl, although she was shy around other adults, but she never
failed to greet her Papa, Barret, when he comes back from his AVALANCHE
business before.

Marlene inched out from her hiding place behind the bar counter, then
rushed forward and hid behind Tifa's legs, large brown eyes peering up at the
face of the spiky-haired blond young man. If Tifa didn't know better, she'd
say that Marlene looked SCARED of Cloud. But that can't be, of course.
There's no reason for Marlene to fear Cloud, so maybe she's just too shy around
a young man that she wasn't familiar with.

Cloud knelt down on one knee and offered the white flower to the little
girl. "Pretty flower for the pretty little lady," he said, smiling slightly.
Marlene backed away half a step, then moved forward and quickly grabbed the
flower from Cloud's hand, then rushed back behind the counter again without
looking back. For a second, Tifa almost thought she saw Cloud's mouth twist
from the smile to an ugly snarl. But it was only for a second, and then her
attention was diverted to the loud crash coming from the doorway that can only
be the huge leader of AVALANCHE. Probably just back from his terrorizing
session to keep the rest of the residents away from the bar while they conduct
their business.

"Papa!" The joyful cry came from behind Tifa, and she recognized the
blur that shot past her to be that of Marlene. The young woman watched as
Barret Wallace threw his daughter up into the air, catching her, and then
twirled her around in a few circles. A strangely disoriented feeling arose in
her mind as she watched those actions. Something was...wrong? No, not exactly
wrong, just weird. Frustratingly strange. Something that she wasn't used to
feeling. It's like having an itch underneath your skin. You can pinpoint the
area easily, but no matter how hard you scratch, you will never relieve it
because it's buried within your muscles, not on the surface. It's...irritating.
Irritating and confusing.

Tifa shook her head briskly, catching the sight of all of the members of
AVALANCHE going under to the secret hideout, the only one left being Cloud. No
doubt the young man stayed wasn't just for the sole purpose of keeping Tifa
company. The huge leader of AVALANCHE and the young ex-SOLDIER had never
gotten along, no matter the amount of peacekeeping Tifa and the rest of the
crew tried to do. And for some odd reason, the spiky-haired blond seemed keen
on keeping things that way.

"So...care for something to drink?" Tifa asked, going behind the counter of
her bar, absently picking up the towel that she abandoned when she saw the
AVALANCHE members coming in and started to wipe down the wood surface again.

Cloud came over and sat down on one of the stools, but shook his head in
refusal to her offer. "No." She gave a small smile and shrugged, continuing
her work. There was a small pause, then "But thanks for the offer, Tifa."
Tifa gave a bigger smile this time, knowing that the offer of a drink wasn't
the only thing that Cloud was thanking her for. He was also thanking her for
the offer of the mercenary job in AVALANCHE as well for her tolerance at his
constant head butting against Barret.

"No problem, Cloud," she replied, just as loud cursing flowed up from
beneath their feet. Barret had finally realized that one of the members,
mercenary or not, was not present. Tifa let a small smile of private amusement
appear on her lips. "You better get going or Barret might decide to destroy
another few of the hideout's sparse enough furnitures. I may own the place
that he conduct his meetings, but I hardly have enough money to replace the
chairs he smash each time."

Cloud shot her a croaked smile, noting her amusement filled voice that
showed she was not serious about what she was saying. "Geez, so much as for
SECRET hideout," he replied, getting up and heading over to the old machine on
the side. "I wonder just how he managed to keep the place from becoming
general knowledge. One yell from him and everyone would know there's another
place under here."

"And that's why he chased out all my customers, after all," Tifa replied,
grinning slightly. "Now you better go or else Barret would literally blow up."

Cloud let out an undignified snort and triggered the mechanism that
allowed his descend. Less than a minute later, loud shouting began, most of it
from the not exactly clean mouth of Barret Wallace. Slowly, now without an
audience, Tifa let the grin fall away.

She grabbed another wet towel from under the counter and marched toward
the tables, scrubbing at the liquor stains on the rough wood almost harshly.
She was trying to forget, but one's memories are not something that could be
pushed away easily.

It had been five years now since she left her hometown of Nibelheim and
came to the city of Midgar. She was only 15 then, only a child. One morning
she had caught the sight of her childhood friend, Cloud Strife on the Midgar
News, and she was absolutely ecstatic. Cloud not only became SOLDIER First
Class as he promised he would, but he was also second in command to the Great
Sephiroth himself. The picture on the Midgar News was of Sephiroth taking his
speech in one of many of Midgar's famous celebrations marches, and standing
beside the man was Cloud, perhaps not tall but certainly proud with his huge
buster sword strapped behind him.

From then on Tifa ambushed all outside visitors for news in Midgar, and
soon the whole town was talking of Cloud Strife. One of the technicians
passing through Nibelheim to check on the Mako reactor on Mount Nibel told her
that Cloud was nearly as well known as Sephiroth. He saved the Great
Sephiroth's life, the technician told her as she listened on intently, hungry
for the news as if she needed it to live. And perhaps in a way, she did.

When her martial arts teacher, Zangan came along, she practically begged
him to take her to Midgar. And it was with great excitement as she packed her
bags, waiting with anticipation at the moment when she would meet again with
Cloud, her childhood friend who made her a promise that she still remembered to
this day.

But the moment never came. Zangan was a nice man and made sure she was
well provided for when she first arrived. He arranged for her a place to stay
and a place to work, all the while teaching her what he knew of martial arts.
For a while, she was content to stay put and not do anything except what was
expected her. She worked hard in both her job and her martial art lessons.
She didn't thought of Cloud at first. After all, she just came to a big city.
No, not just any big city, but Midgar. MIDGAR, the greatest city on the
continent, home to the world's richest and most powerful company, Shinra. So
what if the air was so polluted and she couldn't see the sky, no matter the
time of the day? It didn't matter to her. She was in Midgar.

But the elation wore off as the time went by. It was nearly two months
later before she worked up the nerve to search for Cloud. But by then, it was
too late.

When she first asked, the Shinra manager told her that Commander Strife
and General Sephiroth went on a mission. She wasn't worried, then, although a
little disappointed. A week later when she went back, the same Shinra manager
looked at her with almost suspicion before chasing her away, leaving her no
information as to where Cloud might have been. She hadn't given it that much
thought at the time, really. Cloud went on an important mission for Shinra and
hasn't come back yet; it was simple enough, although she was a little peeved at
the Shinra manager's attitude. She was confident since the beginning that she
would see Cloud again.

It was only two days after when she found her world of illusion
shattered. Shinra released the announcement of Sephiroth's death on the Midgar
News. None of his party was reported alive; among those was the well-known
Commander, Cloud Strife.

The news was the talk of the whole city, both above and below the Plates.
The citizens of Midgar mourned for the end of their heroes, and Shinra no doubt
were not pleased at the loss of their two most powerful SOLDIERs. But none of
them, none of them had their dream torn away like she has.

She packed her bags immediately, although she was almost in shock at the
news. She ate and slept mechanically, and whenever she wasn't doing those
things, she was either packing up her clothes, or sitting in the chair in front
of her window and staring out emptily. She didn't go to work, nor did she
attend her lessons with Zangan. For a week, she was dead to the world. At the
end of that week, she was well on her way back to her hometown.

Everything was as it should be when she got back. But no matter how she
begged, no one would tell her what happened. Finally, the reality caught up to
her and she found herself unable to stay at the place where Cloud Strife had
died. Zangan came to look for her then, and she followed him back to Midgar
once more. It was the second time she left her home. And as she made that
same trip again, she swore her hatred to the ones who ended her dreams. If
Shinra hadn't sent them on that mission, then Cloud wouldn't have died. If
Midgar News were never released in the first place, then she never would've
known about Cloud, and in the same way, she would've been in Nibelheim when he
arrived on his mission. It was a twisted logic, but she was beyond caring by
then. She swore she would get her revenge someday. It was a vow that she
planned to keep.

After coming back, she immediately set to work on her job again with a
renewed vigor. With her quickly improving skills in martial arts, she was able
to take many odd jobs and it was only two years later when she managed to get
enough money to start up her own bar. And that was when she moved from Sector
3 to Sector 7 and set up her Seventh Heaven. It wasn't too long after that
when she met Barret Wallace, a rude and brawny man with a surprisingly gentle
heart, recruiting members to join AVALANCHE.

And the rest was history. Things went well for AVALANCHE mostly,
although they did nothing more than making plans and occasionally destroying a
few of Shinra's less important warehouses when they had the chance. It was a
delicate job of strategy and strength, and although they had some resources, it
wasn't easy going against someone like Shinra, especially when you're living in
the same city that Shinra created. But even then, things were good.

Just as AVALANCHE was preparing for their first major resistance attack,
Tifa almost found her world crashing down around her ears again. One morning,
while running some errands for her bar and for AVALANCHE, she came across a
blond young man unconscious on the ground of the train station, unnoticed in
the early hours. She never thought she would see him again, but it was
unmistakably HIM. Him. Cloud Strife. Him.

She brought him back to her bar and it wasn't long before he regained
consciousness. She never asked him why he was passed out cold in the deserted
train station and he never offered an explanation. She did know that he was in
need of money, though, and since she knew AVALANCHE needed extra help for their
first bombing, it was easy enough to hire Cloud as their extra help. He was
ex-SOLDIER. There's nothing he couldn't do.

And now, there was almost a feeling of helplessness surrounding her. The
mission was over. Cloud will get his money soon. And then, he'll leave.
Again, away from her life.

"No!" she said out loud, clenching the rag in her hand until her knuckles
were white. No, I'll find a way to keep him from leaving me again, she told
herself, taking deep breaths to calm her nerves. "I'll find a way. Even if I
have to give up Seventh Heaven and follow him, I will find a way. I have to."
Because she realized that that if she let him walk away, her life will shatter,
and she will not be able to take it any more.

~ * < > * ~

Barret Wallace gave one last plan overview to the rest of AVALANCHE
before running on board to the old train, the rust colored metal sliding close
behind him, almost snatching the back of his shirt. They were ready. At
least, he hoped they were. AVALANCHE's performance the previous day during the
bombing of Mako Reactor #1 was perfect, although they were discovered at the
last minute and was forced to battle the Scorpion Guard. But they managed to
blow up the Mako reactor and get out alive, and that was all he hoped for.

He never shows it, but Barret was damned proud of his ragtag team. They
may be a small group but he'd be damned if they hadn't put a slight damper on
Shinra's plans in sucking the Planet dry of Mako. And they deserved every
fuckin' ounce of pain that AVALANCHE is going to dish out. The planning and
bombing wasn't just for the sake of the Planet. It was also his revenge. And
he wasn't going to stop until Shinra was dead and buried, until he was sure
that the dark empire will never rise again. It was the least he could do for
all the people that died. It was the least he could do to punish those that
killed without remorse.

Barret looked up from his dark contemplation to the blond-haired young
man standing behind Tifa, apparently looking at the train route map. At first
it was a blessing when Tifa first introduced Cloud to Barret. Ex-Soldier
though he may be, he was certainly a major help during their first bombing.
Barret have to admit that without Cloud, it was a very high possibility that
AVALANCHE might not have made it through.

But still, that didn't take away the feeling of unease whenever the young
man was near him. The arguments between them weren't just because Barret had
nothing to do; they were all prompted by the dark feeling he always get around
the short blond. Despite that, Barret really was relieved when Tifa managed to
recruit Cloud again for their next mission. He didn't know how she did it, but
he was definitely glad for it. Shinra's security would no doubt be much
tighter now, and it was even possible that they would be waiting for AVALANCHE
to show up. Barret wasn't going to disappoint them, though. Even if they were
waiting, he would be ready. And if anything were to go wrong, he would take a
part of Shinra down with him.

The sudden blaring of alarm and the flashing red lights jolted him out of
his thoughts and he rushed to his feet immediately, looking for the source of
the trouble.

"INTRUDER ALERT! INTRUDER ALERT!" the alarm was screaming. It was
obvious that their fake IDs were detected. Damn.

Barret run toward where Cloud and Tifa were and arrived just in time to
hear Jessie babbling something about it being her fault, that she made their
ID's special and that was why they were detected. The large gunman let out a
string of curses, but he wasn't all that mad. It's true that they are now
forced to actually jump the train while it's running, but that really wouldn't
put much of a damper on AVALANCHE's plans. In fact, it would be better this
way because then they wouldn't have to deal with train station guards that
would no doubt greet them when they start their mission. With this, they just
have to move quickly to avoid the scanner, and that was all.

Barret followed the rest of the team through the doors and rushed past
the other occupants of each car. Beside a single incident where Cloud was
forced to chase back a thieve, they were mostly unhindered from their escape.
Finally, they arrived at the last car, where the door was open. The other
three AVALANCHE members, Jessie, Biggs, and Wedge, were all in disguises. By
the open door, Tifa and Cloud were already standing in readiness to jump. All
they needed was the signal.

"Just go!" Barret shouted, trying to be heard over the noise of the wind.
"And you, Cloud, don't get your spikey-ass hurt, alright?!" It was true that
the young man make him feel uncomfortable, but he did help AVALANCHE and they
would probably need more of his help in what is to come. The last thing they
need would be for a man short.

The blond nodded his head and gave an arrogant wave of his hand before
following Tifa's example and jumped off the train, tugging himself into as
compact of a ball as possible to reduce any unnecessary injuries.

Barret turned around and looked at the rest of the team. "You three's
gonna be alright?" he shouted. All three nodded and signaled for him to go.
Once Barret jumped free of the train and they close the door, they're capable
of mixing in along with the other occupants of the train, as they were in
disguises. It's actually quite easy to trick the train guards with tales of
how they lost their ID cards and the such.

Barret sent them a sign of good luck, and then turned toward the door.
The dark gloomy scene of nothingness and steal blurred past him, and for a
moment, he felt almost a hopeless feeling passing through him. The usual
darkness was almost like an omen to a dim future. Barret shook off the
feeling, annoyed at himself. He wasn't the type to be overcome by
superstitions. With one last look at the blurred images before him, he closed
his eyes, readied himself for a rough ride, and jumped.

~ * < > *~

Tifa shivered slightly as the cold air engulfed her. She looked around
at her surrounding, but it wasn't very cheery, and it only served to bring her
nervousness to a new height. It was quiet. Too quiet. You'd think that
Shinra would be upping the security after AVALANCHE's first bombing, but there
were barely any guards at this Mako reactor. The few that they did encounter
were the usual ones that patrol the place, and they were dispatched quickly
enough.

It was just too quiet. Creepy.

Tifa followed the other two that consist of the first AVALANCHE team, and
decided to stick close to Cloud. It wasn't that she didn't trust Barret to
cover her, but from experience she know that the large man works better alone
or with other long-range fighters. It's a bit hard to shoot when there's a
high possibility of shooting your allies than your enemies.

The three continued on cautiously, quickly dispatching any robot guards
that got in their way. After acquiring some materias back in Sector 7, Tifa
became the unofficial healer of the group, and she found that she didn't mind.
She wasn't as comfortable as Cloud in dealing with magic; she was much better
at just getting close and personal with her enemies, but she found that using
healing magic felt different than using attack magic. It wasn't long before
she became quite used to calling up the power of restoring to heal Cloud and
Barret whenever needed.

They were arriving at familiar territory now. Tifa wasn't there for the
first bombing mission but that doesn't mean she had never been inside a Mako
reactor before. In fact, she'd say that she knew more about the layout of the
place than either of her companions. A year ago, when AVALANCHE were first
starting their serious plans on destroying the Mako reactors, it was Tifa,
Jessie, and Biggs who went on the mission to draw out an accurate floor plan of
each reactors. The layout of the place was a must need, as it certainly won't
do if they got lost while trying to get out.

Dammit. It was way too quiet for her liking.

Tifa knew that they were drawing close to the place where they would be
setting up their bomb. She expected to be attacked by now. That is, attacked
by someone or something more higher than the normal patrol guards. What
happened earlier on the train heightened her adrenaline, and she was afraid
that there might be some type of ambush waiting for them.

Even Barret was silent when they arrived at their destination.

Cloud approached the central point to the reactor with the bomb in his
hand. Tifa was a few steps behind him, watching and listening intently to the
sounds around her. It was at that moment when Cloud suddenly fell to his knees
with a soft gasp. And then, he was clutching as his head, shaking like a
leave, the bomb dropped beside him like a discarded toy.

Barret was rushing up to Cloud, demanding to know what was wrong with
him. But Tifa didn't move. She watched Cloud, the feeling of wrong-ness
increasing until her body was starting to hurt. And then her sight was
blurring, and she was forced to close her eyes. Voices were in her head,
clamoring for her attention. Something was wrong. Wrong, wrong, WRONG.

'My, such a pretty little child. It's too bad that you came back to this
ruin at such an inopportune time.'

Tifa shook her head sharply, feeling even more dizzy as she did so, but
wanting to chase that nasty voice away.

'I've never tried it on girls before. The results should be
interesting.'

Interesting...
Interesting...
Interes ting...

SHUT UP!! Tifa screwed her eyes shut and slapped her hands over her ears
in an effort to shut that disgusting voice out. And then, just as abruptly as
it came, the clamoring in her mind died away. The dizziness was gone and her
eyes were no longer blurred. Tifa let out a short gasp of breath, wiping a
thin layer of sweat from her forehead. Cloud was still kneeling at where he
was before, only now looking around with dazed eyes. Barret was behind him,
looking a bit concerned, still demanding to know what was wrong. No one
noticed her own little episode.

"Come on," Barret finally said after a moment of silence to let Cloud
recover. "We better get this over with soon."

Cloud nodded and stood back up, grabbing the bomb while he was doing
that. The bomb was set immediately and it didn't take much trouble to do.

"Come on, let's go," Tifa said. She let the two men to go first before
following them, shivering as she did so. They're almost done with the mission,
and it would be good to be out of the damned place. The young martial artist
dispatched some of the patrol robots that they attracted, adding more vicious
punches to her assault, almost like how she viciously pushed away the thoughts
of what just happened.

It wasn't much of a surprise to Tifa when the three of them were ambushed
on the catwalk. She was almost a bit relieved that it happened, because she
was expecting it so much. Quickly, she went into her fighting stance, checking
to make sure that her Restore materia is still attached to the slots on her
gloves, and keeping an eye on the Shinra troopers. Barret, next to her, was
cursing a long blue string.

There was a silence, then from the bridge came a fat old man with blond
hair and a mustache. It was very obvious who this is. Shinra. President
Shinra. Barret recognized him immediately and was already growling, ready at
any moment to bring up his gunarm and shoot at the fat man. Tifa kept him
back, though. It would be unwise to do anything drastic, since those guns held
by the troopers are still aimed at them.

"So, this is AVALANCHE," President Shinra said, his blue eyes hard, yet
made ridiculous by the layers of fat that made them barely visible except as
pale blue slits. "How pathetic. If I had known that you are no more than
vermins, I would never have wasted my time here to meet you."

Barret lost it at those words and rushed forward. He had enough sense
not to go too far, though. "YOU GODDAMNED FUCKER!! Who the fuck are you
calling vermins?! You Shinra are the vermins, you fucking bastard, vermins
that are sucking the Planet of its life! ARRRGH!!" Barret was seriously pissed
off, and Tifa had to use all her considerable strength to keep him from really
running up to the President, and getting himself killed at the same time.

Cloud stepped forward, and all eyes were now trained on him. It was a
good thing that he did, too, as the troopers were seriously considering
shooting Barret. It was quite obvious to Tifa that the blond had done it
deliberately to take the heat off of the large gunman.

The President's sharp gaze immediately caught the faint glow of Mako in
the young man's eyes. "Oh, who is this? I can tell you were a SOLDIER."

Cloud offered an odd little half smirk and gave an almost mocking bow at
the President. His buster sword was strapped behind him, but he made no
attempt to unleash it. "Cloud. Cloud Strife. I'm sure you recognize me,
don't you?"

The name worked almost like a bomb. A sudden hush was pulled over the
troopers and all of them were now staring at Cloud in almost fear-filled awe.
The President looked shocked, but he regained his composure immediately.
"Cloud Strife, I see. What a joke, the man died five years ago." He glared at
Cloud, Tifa, and Barret, his calm no longer so perfect. "It doesn't matter,
you won't get the chance to go and spread that lie any more. I had arranged a
little toy for your enjoyment." With a snap of finger, a huge robot rushed
past and forced Tifa and Barret away from Cloud. It was so huge that the two
of them had to back away, or risk becoming crushed under its wheels.

A helicopter swooped down from the sky, the wind from the swirling blade
whipping Tifa's hair wildly behind her. Cloud made no move to stop the
President from leaving, only standing there with that odd little half smirk
still on his face, eyes narrowed in what appeared to be contempt. The troopers
had already fled the scene. They were no longer needed, and they were not
going to stay and get the reward of possible death for their trouble.

Cloud turned around to face the Air Buster, but still made no move to get
his sword. The first thing he did was to cast Bolt. And then he cast Bolt
again, and again, and again. Tifa caught on immediately and began to attack
with Bolt, too. She was glad that she decided to keep at least one attack
materia with her. It felt odd pulling the attack magic, but it wasn't a bad
odd, so she just ignored it. Barret was beside her, shooting with his gun at
the machine, sparks raining down at them from where the bullets met the metal.
It didn't work a well as the Bolt magic, but it still helped.

The crackling of electricity and the sound of metal grinding against
metal were the only warning Tifa had before the whole entire thing exploded.
Suddenly, everything was painted in colors of orange fire, as the Mako reactor
also burst into flames. The bridge under their feet trembled, and with a loud
crack it broke. The movement made Cloud slip and he fell, one hand just barely
keeping him still attached to the jagged edge.

"CLOUD!! Hold on, please, just hold on!!" Tifa was screaming, and she
knew it, but she couldn't seem to help herself. Suddenly, her world was
narrowing down. Cloud was going to fall. He's leaving her again. She barely
noticed that the Mako reactor was burning. She didn't hear Barret shouting, or
Cloud's reply. All she could acknowledge was that Cloud is leaving her. No,
no, NO!

And then, the blond fell.

~ * < > * ~
To be continued...
~ * < > * ~