valentineninja (valentineninja) wrote in areyougame, @ 2009-10-19 01:05:00 |
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Current mood: | tired |
Entry tags: | *final fantasy vii, author: valentineninja |
Break Away, Final Fantasy VII (Cloud/Tifa) part 2/3 .......... There was a feeling of betrayal deep inside her, but for the life of her, she couldn’t figure out why. She didn’t know him enough for his opinion to matter so much to her. They weren’t friends. He didn’t even know her! He really didn’t have the right to judge her. Hitting the showers to wash off the sweat and maybe relax her muscles a little, Tifa took her time. Leaning into the spray of the shower, she felt the water wash over the many scars she wore. She had grown used to seeing them, but it was only a rare occasion when someone else was allowed to lay eyes on them. She wasn’t self-conscious about her looks, and she was aware of the fact that she was an attractive woman, but her scars were private. They were something that she wasn’t willing to just share with anyone. Leaving the shower in a large, fluffy towel, she dressed in a clean uniform and took to drying and brushing her long silky hair so that it wouldn’t tangle later on. She would take advantage of her free evening and visit the bar once more, just so that Cloud could see that he didn’t intimidate her and had not run her off. She wondered what Aerith and Yuffie were up to, since the both of them had been busy the entire day, but she knew it was best to do this alone. She took the train to Sector Seven under the plate and walked slowly the rest of the way. The slums were filled with people trying to make an honest living as well as with those who weren’t. There were those who hated what she was and what she represented, and in those moments she wished for something more. She didn’t want to spend the rest of her life following orders for a corporation who put the people of the city in danger just to see an experiment in action. SOLDIERs weren’t soulless killing machines. Well, at least she wasn’t. She hadn’t gotten word on how the monster had gotten under the plate, and it irritated her to be left in the dark. Just that little fact alerted Tifa of how top secret it was all supposed to be. Arriving at Seventh Heaven, Tifa walked in just in time to see Cloud getting crowded by a group of women, all vying for his attention. He really was an attractive man—Tifa had eyes, obviously—but his attitude left something to be desired. Various eyes settled on her as she entered in her full uniform and sword, only a jacket had been thrown on to hide away the new scars on her arms from her last battle with the monster. Not because she was ashamed of them, but because people tended to stare more than usual; and they asked unnecessary questions. Tifa took a seat at the bar counter, and waited patiently to be acknowledged. She watched Cloud covertly, studying his mannerisms, the way he spoke to his patrons and how he seemed to turn into someone else when serving drinks. The muscles in his arms flexed with every movement he made, serving a shot of whisky, twisting the cork of a wine bottle, or just plain wiping a table. Turning away from the very appealing eye candy before her, Tifa let out a long sigh and shook her head once to clear the inappropriate thoughts away. “What can I get you?” Cloud asked after making a last round on the tables. Tifa gave him a level look. “A double of the hardest liquor you have,” she said. Blue eyes held hers for a moment before he nodded and quickly handed over the glass of clear liquid. He leaned against the bar with both hands and then sighed. “I didn’t think I’d see you again.” “Would you have missed me?” Tifa asked after taking a measured drink. Cloud couldn’t tell if she was being sarcastic or not, but he shrugged one shoulder. “I wouldn’t have gotten the chance to apologize.” “For what?” Tifa asked pointedly. She knew why he was apologizing, but she really wanted to hear him say it. Cloud stared down at her hands and inspected her bruised knuckles as they cradled her drink. “I didn’t mean to say the things I did. I just… get really worked up because there is no one out there trying to stop the damage being caused to the planet and the lifestream,” he murmured. “I know you work for them and could have me killed, but the planet is suffering and if we don’t stop it soon, it’ll surely die.” Tifa watched him speak with such passion that it fueled that spark she’d never been quite able to extinguish, the spark that came to life whenever she thought of doing something other than destroying. Cloud was right. She had seen that the land all around them had been slowly dying. They were stealing away the planet’s life-force and no one stood in the way. “I’m not completely heartless,” Tifa said quietly, echoing her earlier thoughts. Those cool blue eyes seemed to soften a little at her words. “I knew you couldn’t have grown up to be heartless,” he replied. Her gaze became sharp and penetrating. “Cloud… do we know each other? From before I woke up here at your bar?” Tifa asked. The blond frowned and started to shake his head but thought better of it. “Stay once the bar is closed. There are some things I think we need to talk about.” Tifa could only nod and watch him as he walked away to continue serving the customers. Sitting with her back against the wall, Tifa watched over the bar in silence, noting how Cloud took care of the trouble makers himself, and with little effort. By the time the bar closed, Cloud looked just about ready to crash, but he began to clean nevertheless. Tifa stood to help gather the empty beer bottles, and she removed her sword and jacket to help clean the tables while Cloud set about washing the glasses and picking up the trash before sweeping. “Having a bar isn’t all fun and games, is it?” Tifa asked once they were done. “Thanks for helping,” Cloud said, leading her towards the section of the bar that served as his home. He slept in what looked like a den that was half basement, but it was warm and cozy, and all male. There was a poster of a Daytona up against one wall, little trinkets that only men enjoyed sitting around, various magazines of cars and motorcycles, and a sofa bed that hadn’t been set back in and had messy sheets over it. Tifa smirked to herself when Cloud hastily folded the sheets and then converted his bed back into a couch. She knew he was tired, maybe it wasn’t a wise plan to keep him awake. Her curiosity got the better of her when she realized that one of his walls was filled with old alcohol bottles. “I collect vintage bottles of alcohol,” Cloud unnecessarily stated, motioning at the wall. “I’ve reinforced the shelves and added things in case of an earthquake.” Tifa perused each bottle carefully and nodded whenever she recognized either the year or the brand. There was some liquor that had been discontinued from ten to twenty years before. “I must say I’m impressed,” she said with a smile. “You’ve got a pretty interesting hobby.” “I actually wanted to collect motorcycles, but I don’t think that’ll happen anytime soon,” he said with a snort. Tifa let out a small laugh and nodded. She turned to look at him when he leaned back against the arm of his couch and they had a tense moment of staring at each other. His face seemed so familiar, but she couldn’t even force herself to remember. “Cloud…” she started, interrupting when something in their staring began to shift. “We grew up in Nibelheim,” Cloud cut in before he lost his nerve. “We were neighbors.” She looked at him in surprise because most of her memories of Nibelheim were intact, but strangely enough, he was missing. “I—don’t remember,” she said faintly. “Home or… me?” Cloud asked quietly. Tifa felt something ache in her chest. “You,” she whispered. “There are a lot of things past a certain point that I don’t remember. It’s not personal,” she assured him, forcing a smile. “How did it happen?” Cloud asked, walking over to his desk and fishing in the bottom drawer as she kept inspecting the bottles. Tifa shook her head and shrugged. “After a mission in Nibelheim. I was sent there on a routine mission, but when my partner and I went up the mountain, everything becomes a blur. I don’t know what happened to us, and I don’t know where those weeks of my life went. I woke up from some sort of coma nearly three months later.” Cloud’s eyebrows forked in a stormy frown. “What did ShinRa have to say about this?” he asked, walking over with a black box in his hands. “They promised to investigate what it was that had happened to me,” Tifa said, sounding unsure of her own words, eyeing the object in his hands. “Do you honestly think that ShinRa would bother? I’m surprised they didn’t decide to dispose of you while you were out,” Cloud said, noticing her flinch. He realized how callous his words had been and began to apologize, but she shook her head. “I guess you’re right about that. Cloud, I didn’t join SOLDIER just to kill people,” Tifa started, wanting to get that fact out in the open. “I know, and I’m sorry if I implied that, but you have to know the kind of company you’re working for. They don’t care for the people or the planet. All they care about is their personal gain, and it doesn’t matter who they tear down to get it. I know that you don’t have the heart to help this process,” Cloud said seriously. Tifa nodded. He was right in more ways than he thought. “People just don’t walk away from ShinRa,” she said. Cloud hesitated before handing the box over to Tifa. She took it slowly and looked at him for a moment before opening the lid and looking inside. “How much do you remember?” he asked. Tifa shook her head. “Just the town and my parents. I can’t recall the other people I knew there, some faces I can see but I can’t match up names with them. When I woke up from the coma, I had all these scars. I don‘t know how I got them…” She trailed off when she picked out a picture from inside the box. It was old and worn, but the two children standing by the well were familiar. It was her, standing in a blue dress, and Cloud, his hair slightly longer. She was smiling; he looked shy. Sitting right under the picture, in the box, was a blue ribbon, which she realized a few seconds later that she was wearing in the picture. Under the ribbon was a letter, with a ShinRa stamp on the envelope. “That’s your letter of acceptance into the SOLDIER cadet program. I didn’t believe you when you told me you were joining,” Cloud said quietly. Tifa read the letter and felt a small smile curl at her lips. Getting accepted to SOLDIER right after the program had begun to accept females had been a big deal, she knew that much, even if she couldn‘t remember her own reaction. “I gave it to you?” she asked him quietly. “Yeah. You found it funny that I was going to stay home while you went and joined an army of sorts,” Cloud said, a faint smile on his face. Tifa’s amusement slowly wilted away, and she placed the things of such emotional value to Cloud back into the box. “I’m sorry.” He gave her a bewildered look. “Why?” “For not remembering you.” “It’s not something you can control,” Cloud said, serious. “I just regret the fact that I gave you new memories of me that aren’t the best.” Tifa smiled and fingered the ribbon one last time before shutting the box and placing it onto Cloud’s desk. “If I was given the opportunity, I would leave SOLDIER.” “You always enjoyed taking care of others,” he said with a half-smile. “It’s easily your best and worst trait.” She did laugh then, and for the first time in a long time felt her cheeks color in a blush. How dignified was it for a warrior of her caliber to act like a school girl? Not very, her brain piped in. “Cloud?” “Yes?” “Where we ever…?” she trailed off awkwardly. Cloud moved closer to her and turned her chin so that her glowing eyes could meet his blue ones. She’d always had pretty eyes, but the glow in them brought out the crimson more, and he found that he couldn’t look away. Tifa’s lips parted in anticipation, though she knew that she and Cloud were still very much complete strangers, was he implying with his actions that they had once been more than friends? He knew her better than she knew him, and even when she didn’t remember him, there was something about Cloud that just called to Tifa. She watched as his own lips began to inch towards her, and just as they were about to touch… “Cloud!” Both Tifa and Cloud nearly jumped away from each other at the sound of a little girl’s voice. “Your kid?” Tifa asked him uneasily. Cloud shook his head. “I just watch her for a friend. She must’ve had a bad dream or something.” “Well, go to her,” Tifa said. “I have to get going anyway.” “Thanks for helping with the bar,” Cloud said, walking her towards the door. “No problem,” said Tifa with a shrug. “I think we still have a lot to talk to, but it would be best for us to see each other during daylight hours.” “Fine. Just come by whenever you can. I’m usually here, getting the bar ready to open at night,” Cloud said. Tifa just nodded and stepped out the door after gathering her jacket and sword. Their eyes met for a few seconds and Tifa bit back a shy smile, attempting to keep the dreaded blush from her cheeks once more. She waited to hear the clicks of the locks on the door before she made her way back to HQ. The more time she spent in Cloud’s company, the more Tifa was convinced that he would be the key to unlocking her memories. Already she could remember the little blond boy that had always trailed behind her in their hometown; the boy in the picture. She wanted a better life for herself, but she didn’t know how to go about changing something that she had gotten used to. SOLDIERs were the elite in ShinRa, and she doubted that the company would allow her to go, especially after all time and gil that had gone into her training and the enhancing mako treatments. As much as she wanted to leave, fighting and wielding a sword was all she had known for years. It would probably take another war for her to have the opportunity to have enough leverage to leave SOLDIER. That thought, more than anything, made Tifa’s hope sink. ……… “Lockhart.” “Sir?” Tifa asked, attempting to hide the fact that General Sephiroth had caught her off guard and had made her jump like a startled chocobo. Sephiroth merely raised one eyebrow, but ignored what he had seen. A distracted SOLDIER was a dead SOLDIER. It took a lot to kill someone as enhanced as they were, but it had been known to happen. Maybe Lockhart wasn‘t the best choice at the moment for the mission he had in mind. “You’re distracted,” he commented. Tifa straightened her shoulders and shook her head once. “It won’t happen again, sir.” Green eyes gave her a sharp look. “Is SOLDIER taking its toll on you now, Commander Lockhart?” “Of course not, sir,” Tifa muttered. Sephiroth smirked. “ShinRa tries a lot of people’s patience and endurance. You’re not the only one,” he said seriously. Tifa managed a small smile and wondered if the General was talking about himself. He was the public image of the company and was being constantly surrounded by the media, fans, and overall just harassed. If someone should’ve been able to leave ShinRa if they wished, it would’ve been Sephiroth. “I understand, General,” Tifa found herself saying “That is why I recommend for my Firsts to have nights off. They need to… unwind,” Sephiroth said. “Do you follow your own advice, sir?” Tifa asked him carefully. Sephiroth merely raised one eyebrow and ignored her question. “I want you to report to the Sector Five reactor.” “May I ask why, sir?” Tifa asked, gathering some materia from the slots provided for SOLDIERs. She fitted a cure, flare, and a barrier to her sword and gauntlet, and waited for Sephiroth to answer her question. “We have gotten word of an imminent attack. I need you to be sharp and aware of your surroundings. I would really hate to lose a good SOLDIER,” Sephiroth said. Tifa nodded and bit back a grin at his words. It wasn’t everyday that one heard a compliment come from the great Sephiroth. “Right away, sir.” “I will be heading out to Nibelheim on some business. You will remain in charge of the cadets while I am gone,” he said. She nodded in understanding. “Will you be returning soon?” “It depends on what I find at the ShinRa mansion, and after we inspect the reactor there. Your home town, is it not?” “Yes, sir. I haven’t been back there in years. I hope you find what you’re looking for,” said Tifa. Sephiroth nodded in satisfaction and turned to go on his way. Tifa watched him go for a few seconds and then made sure she had anything she would need in case the rumors the General was talking about were true. She took the train once more to Sector Five and vaguely nodded towards the lower ranking soldiers she encountered along the way, who stopped to salute. Everything looked normal and calm, though her instincts were telling her that something was out of place. For the next hour, she took her time inspecting the reactor’s weak points, making sure that there was no one unauthorized inside of the structure, and that everything was working in order. It was when she had begun to relax that some alarms went off and a mechanical voice began to tell everyone to evacuate because there was danger to the reactor. Tifa felt her breath leave her in a rush when she saw scientists racing past her, and she realized that if the reactor blew, it would kill hundreds of people that lived close by. Hearing the distant sounds of fighting, she took off at a quick run towards the stairs that led downwards, to where there appeared to be more labs present. Just as she hit the bottom of the stairs after taking two at a time, she rolled right under a massive sword that had been sailing towards her neck. Within seconds her own sword was out and she was on her feet and swinging without looking at her attacker. The blade that sparked against hers was easily twice as big, and the hand holding it was covered in a black leather glove, connected to a familiar arm, shoulder, eyes, and hair of none other than Cloud. “What are you doing here?” Tifa yelled. Cloud shoved her out of the way just as a roar sounded around the corner and a monster that looked like an eerie dog came racing towards them. He raised his sword to attack, but Tifa was already there, slicing the thing’s head right off with one swipe. She turned the brunt of her anger to him and asked her question again. “We need to go. The reactor is going to blow,” he said, grabbing at her hand and pulling. Tifa wouldn’t budge, and even with Cloud’s impressive strength, he couldn’t move her. “Did you have something to do with this? Cloud, do you have any idea how many people are going to die if this thing explodes?” “We’re going to die if we don’t get going,” Cloud argued. When she still didn’t move, he let out an exasperated sigh. “I’ll tell you what’s going on once we’re safely away from here.” “How long do we have?” Tifa asked. He looked at his watch. “About two minutes.” Tifa couldn’t believe what she was hearing, but she motioned for Cloud to follow her as she took the stairs two at a time. There was no stopping what was coming, but Tifa knew that if they weren’t safely out of the way, they would more than likely get swallowed up by the mako that the reactor was pumping. Cloud grit his teeth as he tried to keep up with Tifa’s speed. She had slowed down because of him, and at the pace they were going, they weren’t going to make it. Fighting the monsters that had been in the reactor hadn‘t figured into their escape plans, and it had caused him to get out behind the schedule. “Go ahead, I’ll catch up,” he called to Tifa. She turned to look at him with a frown and shook her head. “We’re dead in a few seconds anyway. Don’t worry,” Tifa said, suddenly grinning. “I’ll protect you.” Just as she said the words, a loud rumble went off and the reactor exploded. Tifa used the momentum of their run and wrapped her arms around Cloud, turning her back to the explosion and activating the barrier materia she carried with her. There was no guarantee that it would protect from the fire or the mako, but it was worth a shot. Tifa felt the lick of flames on her back and arms and took Cloud with her when she fell. They rolled down a slope towards a waterway, and they both hit with a rough splash into shallow water. Tifa sputtered for a moment and quickly realized that she had landed on Cloud in a very compromising position. Had this been any other situation, she would’ve found it in her to blush. She sat up slowly and bit back a groan when her arms seared with the minor burns. “You saved my life,” Cloud said wryly. He sat up from where he had been laying in the water, trying to ignore the small fact that Tifa had landed on him, and shook the excess moisture from his spikes. He noticed her arms then and winced inwardly. “We should get going so that we can heal your wounds and before they send other someone to inspect what caused the explosion.” Tifa shook her head and stood. “I need to stay. I have to make a report of what I saw and what happened before the reactor exploded.” “Tifa, this is your chance to leave ShinRa!” Cloud said in exasperation. “I’ll go to the bar tonight, but I have to stay. Besides, they have better equipment to heal me. But you have to go before they find you with me. Cloud,” Tifa started seriously. “You have to be completely honest with me.” He watched her carefully and then nodded. “Just get yourself fixed up and come tonight.” Tifa watched him take off down the waterway until she could no longer see him in the dark. Then she began to walk up the slope and inspected her injuries silently, trying not to wince or curse loudly. They would heal far faster than a normal person getting burned, but she didn’t know if they would truly scar. The fire department was already attempting to put off the fire while they steered clear of the runaway mako that had leaked from the half burned and damaged sides of what was left of the reactor. The explosion had spread a great distance and it made Tifa sick to see houses and businesses burned to nothing but rubble. The innocent people that had been inside their homes… “Lockhart!” She stood immediately at attention and turned to look at General Sephiroth’s second in command. “Captain Hewley!” she said immediately. “You were inside of the reactor?” asked the dark haired man, sharp eyes surveying the damage. “Yes sir. I arrived to patrol and about an hour in, the alarms went off, telling everyone to evacuate,” said Tifa. “Do you know what caused it?” Angeal asked, finally taking note of the injuries the female SOLDIER had suffered. Tifa shook her head. “No, sir. But what I did see was a series of monsters that looked like they had been experimented on. They were running loose,” she said, voice dark. Angeal merely nodded and motioned towards the medical vehicles arriving. “Get your injuries taken care of, and then report to headquarters. I want you to write a report on what happened tonight.” “Yes, sir,” Tifa said, wondering if she and Cloud had been caught in the security system of the reactor and the surrounding areas. She would have to sneak away tonight, because she doubted that ShinRa would be letting its army out with the explosion of the reactor. Sighing to herself, Tifa prepared for what was to come. ……… Cloud silently paced the length of the bar that cleared from the door to the bar counter. It was almost midnight and Tifa had yet to show up. He was honestly starting to worry about what she would do. She had seen him inside of the reactor, and though she knew nothing of his friends—who had been there with him—his known associates would be investigated and would go down with him if Tifa turned him over. He wanted to believe that she wouldn’t, but the Tifa from Nibelheim that he had known was gone. The Tifa she was now was an army trained fighter, a tactician, and a person who would only protect those close to her. Even though it pained a part of him to realize it, Cloud was not close to her anymore; he didn’t even think she considered them friends. “I’m takin’ Marlene outta here,” rumbled Barret, one of his friends who had been at the reactor with him. Cloud grunted. “Just wait a bit more. I know she’ll come.” “If ya can swear to me that your girlfriend won’t turn us over, I’ll wait!” Barret snapped. “I can’t swear,” Cloud said impatiently. “But she’ll want to know what’s going on first. We have to tell her why we did it.” “That’s crazy talk,” Zack said, taking the steps up from the basement quickly. “We can’t tell her we’re AVALANCHE. She’s really easy on the eyes, but that doesn’t mean that she isn’t loyal to ShinRa. You’re asking for trouble.” “Look, I know what I’m doing, okay?” Cloud asked, anger finally getting to him. He hated it when his reasoning was questioned. He nearly let out a sigh of relief when there was a knock at the door, and he checked to see that it wasn’t the Midgar PD or SOLDIERs coming to get them. He spotted Tifa through the blinds of a window and quickly walked over to open the door and let her in. Tifa stepped in slowly and immediately took notice of Zack and the other man sitting in the bar. Had they been in on what Cloud had done? The healed skin of her burns was itching, and Tifa just rubbed her arms lightly over the sleeves of her jacket to ease the discomfort. “This is Barret, Marlene’s dad,” Cloud started, trying to break the tension and the staring. Maybe if he showed her that they weren’t bad people, Tifa would understand. “They were with you tonight,” Tifa said, calm. “Just cut to the chase,” Barret interrupted. “You turnin’ us in, girl?” Tifa crossed her arms over her chest and shifted her stance to something less feminine and more threatening. She knew that her uniform, despite being standard issue for both men and women, molded perfectly to her curves. It allowed for a certain type of cover; one where her opponent didn’t realize just what she was capable of just by her looks alone. “I should,” she started. “This is bullshit, spike. I’m not in the mood for mind games!” Barret exploded. “Wow. You kiss your daughter with that mouth?” Tifa asked coolly. “Tifa, please,” Cloud started. “I’ve been trying to convince the both of them that you’re a good person because they don’t know you. You’re making it hard for me to be right.” Tifa relented and her intimidating look slowly melted away. “I need to know what you were doing in the reactor. In HQ they’re calling you AVALANCHE. Care to tell me that I’m wrong in assuming that you’re all part of some ecoterrorist group?” Cloud looked towards Zack and Barret, but Barret was scowling and Zack had averted his gaze. “It’s time someone did something,” he said lightly, turning back to Tifa. She stared at him incredulously and shook her head. “Have you any idea how many people were killed in that explosion?” her glowing gaze was accusatory as it looked at each man. “You all judge me for what I’ve done. Won’t you look at what you are doing now?” “This is different,” Cloud said, motioning towards the door and towards the city around them. “We were aware of the casualties that would result from blowing up the reactor, and we regret it. I think a part of me will never forgive myself for doing it. But the planet is deteriorating Tifa. Look at the barren wastelands. Midgar has no trees, or flowers, with the exception of Zack’s garden.” Zack puffed up a little at the mention of his wards, but otherwise remained silent. Barret decided to speak instead. “I want a future for my baby girl,” he stated, curt. “And if ShinRa keeps sucking the life from the planet and the lifestream, there won’t be a future for anyone,” said Cloud. Tifa found their argument convincing, and as she contemplated what they had said, Cloud brought out a file from his living area and placed it on the table closest to her, possibly to plead his case further. “What’s this?” she asked. “We have other friends who helped with what happened tonight. She hacked into the highest level of confidential files and found this. It was encrypted and hidden as if someone wanted to keep it secret,” Cloud said evenly. His eyes were sad, Tifa realized. She opened the top of the file and found printouts of what had been found. She felt the blood drain from her face when her brain finally caught on to what she was looking at. They were all in great detail, reports to the main head of ShinRa… all experiments done to her and her partner. The missing weeks of her life had been spent being subjected to elevated levels of mako, body enhancers, and anything that could boost her body to something above normal or average for a SOLDIER. Not everything had gone as planned. She had suffered of mako poisoning and as a result… she had lost countless of memories and any recollections of the experiments done on her. Cloud lifted a hand to touch her shoulder and Tifa flinched back, giving him a blank look. “Tifa…” “What did you think showing me this would accomplish, Cloud?” she asked him, voice neutral. “You wanted answers for those missing months of your life, didn’t you? I thought you‘d want to know what ShinRa is really capable of,” Cloud murmured, finally realizing that maybe he had done the wrong thing by showing her their findings. Tifa just shook her head and edged towards the door. “You can rest assured that I won’t turn you in,” she said to Barret. “I have to go.” Cloud watched her nearly unhinge the door before she walked out. He looked at Zack and his friend motioned for Cloud to follow her. The blond did so quickly and caught Tifa nearly at the corner of the street. “Tifa, wait!” “I have to get back,” Tifa said, snatching her arm from his grip. “I already told you that I won’t say a thing, but I have to stay in ShinRa to find out as much as I can on what information they have of you.” “I’m sorry about what happened to you,” said Cloud, tentative. “Right,” Tifa said, turning to go. “If I get wind of any danger to you or your friends, I’ll call you.” Cloud didn’t stop her this time and watched Tifa go in regret. He had never been the most tactful of people, but he truly hadn’t meant to be so callous about the information they had uncovered. He hadn’t even read through more than the first page of the file in order to show some respect for Tifa. The details had just been… too much. Sighing to himself, Cloud turned back towards the bar and hoped that he got to see Tifa again soon and that she hadn’t decided to walk out of his life for the second time. ……… The next few weeks passed by in a blur. Another reactor had been taken out just a few days before, but Tifa had steered clear of anything involving the reactors or AVALANCHE. She trained with Aerith, and kept the cadets in line. They were getting antsy because of the attacks, but she was good at reassuring them that everything would be figured out soon. She had tried to keep the documents of the experiments out of her mind, but at night, when she was at her most vulnerable, she thought she could hear her own screams and the feel of the needles and scalpels penetrating her skin. She’d spent too many sleepless nights to count, and it felt as if they would keep coming. Sometimes it felt like the scars on her back were burning, but when she looked at them in the mirror, they were old and healed. She was driving herself crazy and she had lost her purpose. She didn’t want to work for a company that would subject its employees to experimentations without their consent. As she rounded the corner leading to the corridor where her room was, she was forcefully pulled into a closet. Her eyes quickly focused in the dark and she glared at Yuffie… and Vincent. “What the hell are you two doing?” she hissed. Yuffie looked a little frantic, while Vincent looked like he didn’t want to be there. “We could get into ten thousand types of trouble for doing this, but I know you’re friends with that guy at the bar,” said Yuffie. “What’s going on?” Tifa asked, her patience wearing thin. “The president just ordered us to drop the Sector Seven plate. They got word that AVALANCHE lives in that area, and they’re going to do it,” Yuffie said. “What?!” Tifa exclaimed. “Reno and Rude are in charge of that, but if you want to get your friend out, you have to do it now,” Yuffie said quickly. “How long do I have?” Tifa asked, checking the time. “Twenty minutes,” Vincent said. Tifa’s eyes widened. “Twenty… that’s not enough time!” “Do what you can Tifa, but don’t go under the plate. Call him, or send him any sort of message to get him out. Just don’t go personally,” Yuffie said quickly. “Go after him!” Tifa said suddenly. “I’m going to try to stop Reno from doing this. The company can’t allow so many people to die on a rumor.” “Tifa, you know we can’t,” said Vincent, always so calm voiced. “You would rather sit around and live with so many deaths on your head?” Tifa snapped. “We’re Turks, Tifa,” Vincent replied. Tifa started to shake her head and turned to look at Yuffie. “You told me that your father disowned you for choosing to work for a corporation that forcefully stole away your country. Don’t you wish you’d done something else with your life?” “You know that it isn’t that easy to leave ShinRa,” Yuffie said with a forlorn sigh. “We’re wasting time. I’m asking you to help me,” Tifa said gravely. “This no longer a company that I trust or would want to give up everything for. I’ve learned a lot of terrible things.” She swallowed hard. “Things that involve me and those months I lost.” Yuffie looked torn, but Vincent was the one who stepped up. “I’ve wanted to leave this life for years.” Yuffie suddenly grinned and nodded. “We’ll all go down together!” Tifa glared at her in the darkness. “We’ll succeed together,” she said. “You know, Vince and I can fake our deaths so that they don’t come looking for us,” Yuffie started. Vincent sighed and motioned towards the door. “Time is escaping us. If we don’t get going, your friend will be dead.” Tifa hugged Yuffie, all semblance of the lost SOLDIER she had been feeling like the past few weeks gone. She was not going to allow ShinRa to take something more from her. She still felt like something abnormal because of the experiments, but her personal feelings didn’t matter when more innocent lives were at stake. She opened the door and rushed out, leaving both Yuffie and Vincent alone. “Zip up your pants, Vince, we’ve got people to save,” Yuffie said with a mischievous wink. The only reply she received was a disgusted grunt from her partner. “Are you ready to die?” The shorter woman straightened her tie and nodded. “I’ll be the most beautiful corpse walking around the planet. I’m ready to do something good with my life, Vince. We’ve been Turks for too long. I know we’re both better than this.” Vincent would never admit that her words made something in him warm. They didn’t even know if their plan would work. Still, he was willing to risk himself for a shot at a new life. And maybe… maybe he’d think about making Yuffie a part of it permanently.
Title: Break Away, part 2/3
Author/Artist: valentineninja
Rating: T
Warnings: Mild Violence, some language, possible OOCness,and be aware that some characters have been inverted in their roles.
Word count: 6000+
Prompt: Tifa: AU – Tifa is the Soldier First Class and Cloud owns the Seventh Heaven
Summary: She had been searching for her true purpose in life for a long time, and she found it after meeting a man who lived in Seventh Heaven.
A/N: This second chapter is a little longer than the first. Also, I never played FFVII, but I tried to keep it as close to the game as I could(by reading about it), if anything is out of place, please let me know and I’ll gladly change it, and other things will be similar, but not exactly the same as in-game.
In the training room, Tifa picked off target after target from the sniper rifle she had been training with for the last fifteen minutes. Her knuckles had begun to ache after thoroughly pounding in her sparring targets, and she had moved onto the simulator to give her fists a rest. She didn’t know why she was so angry with Cloud for what he had said.