A new day, she thought, smiling. She glanced over at the companions of her tent. She'd been sharing the tent with Yuffie and Tifa, since Tayeko opted to sleep outside under the stars. Strangely, she saw only Yuffie, who was laying on her stomach with both arms stretched out of her sleeping bag and one leg bent over the top.
Aeris sat up and smoothed her hair. Where was Tifa? She knew that she was somewhat of an early bird, but she didn't expect her to leave the tent already.
Aeris got changed and exited the tent, deciding to look around for Tifa. In back of the tent Tayeko slept, the cover of her sleeping bag gathered up nearly over her head.
Aeris walked around the campsite, no sign of Tifa anywhere. In fact, everyone was still asleep, save Sephiroth, who was practicing with the Masamune several feet away and paying her no mind.
Aeris sighed and dropped her hands at her sides. Tifa probably went for an early morning walk. It was silly for her to leave without telling anyone, but she doubted something happened to her. Tifa was perfectly capable of taking care of herself and surely someone would have been aware if something went on in the middle of the night.
Aeris grabbed some bowls and searched the inventory for something decent to cook. She decided she'd start breakfast for everyone while she waited for Tifa.
Cloud followed the scent of coffee towards the center of the campsite, where he found Aeris by the fire pouring boiling water into an instant coffee mix.
"Good morning, Cloud!" she said cheerfully without looking up at him. "Would you like some coffee?"
Cloud smiled at the way Aeris could sense his presence. "Sure," he said.
Aeris began pouring him a cup. "Have you seen Tifa this morning?" she asked.
Cloud thought for a minute. "Nope," he replied. In all honesty, he hadn't given Tifa much thought since Aeris arrived.
Aeris frowned. "That's strange," she said. "She wasn't in the tent this morning and I looked all over the campsite for her. Where would she go off to?"
Cloud shrugged as he sat down to his coffee. "I haven't the faintest," he said. "She probably went for a walk."
"Without telling anyone?"
Cloud shrugged again. "Tifa's been acting strange lately," he said. "She seems to get depressed easily these days, which is unlike her. She disappears for hours when something makes her upset."
Aeris blew on her coffee. "Why would she be upset?"
"I don't know."
"Well, I hope she gets back soon."
"Yeah," Cloud muttered. "I'd planned to go with her to Midgar to help Reeve out while everyone's on "vacation". We don't exactly have homes to go to, and I'm sure he could use the help."
Aeris nodded. "I'll go to Kalm to visit mom. Barret told me she was there with Marlene."
"Right," Cloud said. "If Tifa isn't back by noon, we're gonna have to search for her. For one, we don't have all day to mess around, and secondly, it just isn't like her to go too far without telling someone."
"I hear ya, James. It's a bitch to carry all this heavy shit off to shore all the time."
Zack opened his eyes and blinked. He glanced at his watch. It was almost eight a.m., time to dock. And already the crew was unloading cargo.
"Grab this bliming suit case for me, will ya Joe?"
"Yeah, yeah, I'm coming."
Zack sat upright and quietly tried to loosen his stiff back. Where was Tifa? How were they supposed to get out of the cargo hold without the crew seeing them?
"Jesus, Mary, and Joseph! There's a bloomin' girl sleeping back here, Joe!"
"Well whaddaya know, James? Where do ya think she came from?"
"How in bloody hell would I know?"
Zack panicked. They'd found Tifa, now what?
"Well what the hell are we supposed to do?"
"We've got to wake her up and report this! Who knows what she's doing down here?"
Zack stood up and cleared his throat. "Leave her alone. She's not a stowaway."
The two crew members blinked and looked at Zack. "Then what the bloody hell are you doing down here, mate?" James asked.
Zack smoothed his hair. "She passed out above deck and was sick," he said. "So I brought her down here to get her out of the open and away from people."
Tifa awoke and sat upright, staring into the faces of two strange men.
"What's going on?" she demanded, leaping to her feet.
"She doesn't look very sick to me," Joe commented.
Tifa rubbed the back of her head and looked at Zack.
"I said, what's going on?"
Zack pulled out his ticket stub and walked over to the crew members. "Show 'em your stub, Tifa," he said, "So that they don't think we're lying about not being stowaways."
Tifa sighed irritably and pulled the stub out from inside of her glove. She waved it mockingly in the two men's faces before tucking it back in her glove.
"Happy?"
Joe slapped his hands at his sides and James shook his head.
"I guess your free to go," James said. "But next time, tell somebody if you come down here."
Tifa folded her arms and stomped up the stairs toward the upper deck. Zack shook the two crewmen's hands.
"Thanks," he said.
Aeris smiled at him as he trudged back to his tent.
Aeris reached into her bag and pulled out two large boxes. I'd better give these to Tayeko now, she thought.
Aeris picked up the boxes and walked to the back of her tent where Tayeko was still sleeping. She knelt down next to the black haired Cetra and tapped her shoulder.
"Tayeko! Tayeko, wake up!"
"Hmm...?" Tayeko moaned, rolling over. She used her hand to block her eyes from the sun.
"C'mon, get up!" Aeris encouraged. "I have something for ya!"
Tayeko sleepily sat up on her elbows in her sleeping back and looked dully at Aeris. "What is it now?"
"Well, aren't you tired of wearing that ripped dress all the time?"
Tayeko nodded. "I guess it is getting pretty old."
"Weeelll..." Aeris began, "Last night I went out to find you a lil' something. Cloud took me to Costa Del Sol to shop."
"Really?" Tayeko asked with excitement.
"Of course!" Aeris said. She pushed the boxes towards Tayeko. "Here ya go."
Tayeko sat all the way up and open the first box, a pair of high back boots.
"Wow!" she nearly shouted. "These are great! I love them, Aeris!"
Aeris nodded. "I'm glad you do. Open the second box."
Tayeko smiled widely as she began the open the package. Inside the wrapping, there was a short lavender dress with a belt, a thigh gun holster, long black gloves and and a black leather overcoat.
"Great Planet!" Tayeko exclaimed. "It's beautiful! It must have cost you a fortune!"
Aeris blushed. "No, no... Cloud helped me out with the cost. He's got a ton of gil from his last mission."
Tayeko giggled. "Thank you so much, Aeris!" she gave her a quick hug. "I'm gonna go try this on," she said, standing up.
Tayeko went into the tent to change. Aeris gathered her loose hair into its usual braid while she waited.
"Boo!"
Aeris jumped, startled, and turned around to face blue mako eyes.
"Did I scare you?"
Aeris laughed and poked her index finger into his chest. "All dressed and ready to go, Mr. Strife?"
Cloud straightened up and playfully brushed off his shoulder. "Yes, madam."
Aeris giggled again, just as Tayeko stepped out in her new outfit.
"How do you like it?" she asked, striking poses.
"You look beautiful!" Aeris exclaimed. "It's great for battle."
"Is that what we bought yesterday?" Cloud asked. "It looks cool."
"Thanks," Tayeko replied, flopping back down on her sleeping bag.
"Tayeko, did you see Tifa at all since last night?" Aeris asked.
Tayeko shook her head and folded her legs indian style. "Nope. I've been asleep."
Cloud looked around, stretching his legs out and crossing them at the ankles. "She better hurry back," he said. "I don't know what she's up to, but she's acting strange lately."
Tayeko shrugged. "Tifa seems pretty closed, actually. Kinda reminds me of Sephiroth."
Cloud frowned. "Tifa's nothing like Sephiroth," he said dully. "Tifa's usually cheerful and carefree... but lately, she's been acting different. Besides, you haven't even known her a whole day. I've known her practically my whole my life."
Aeris twirled the end of her braid in her fingertips. "Poor Tifa," she sighed. "I wonder why she's become so depressive."
Tayeko shrugged and stretched out on her sleeping bag. "I'm going back to sleep," she said. "We've got a few hours left..."
Aeris sighed and stood up. "Want to help me make breakfast, Cloud?"
Cloud smiled. "Sure."
Zack shrugged. "I'm thinking about going to Midgar. I know its on this continent, I just can't remember how to get there."
"We have to cut through the Mythril Mines," Tifa said, adjusting the straps on her gloves. "If you were in Midgar before, how did you end up on the western continent?"
Zack shrugged. "Dr. Richardson from Mideel brought me out there because Midgar was hectic."
Tifa gave him a strange look. "If Midgar is so hectic, why are we going back there?"
Zack threw his hands up. "Fine, fine! Do you have a better idea?"
Tifa tapped her finger on her chin. "I dunno... Let's stay in Junon."
Zack shook his head. "If you insist, Princess Tifa."
Tifa rolled her eyes and pulled out ten gil. "Come on. We have to get to the upper plate. There's nothing useful down here... except Priscilla!"
"Who?"
"Priscilla! Come on, meet my little friend Priscilla! We met her on one of our previous visits to Junon." Zack shrugged as he followed Tifa off the shore towards a house, climbing up stairs that led to a deck.
Tifa knocked on the door. "Priscilla! You home?"
A few moments later a little girl about eleven or twelve opened the door.
"Tifa!" she exclaimed.
"Hi, Priscilla!" Tifa said, hugging the girl. "How are you?"
The girl smiled brightly. "I'm fine!" she looked around. "Where's Cloud?"
Tifa looked to the side. "Oh... he's not here."
Priscilla waved her finger in Tifa's face. "Cloud's my boyfriend!! Don't try to steal him from me, Tifa!"
Tifa laughed. "Don't worry," she said.
Priscilla giggled. "Who's that?" she asked, pointing.
"This is Zack," Tifa said, turning to him. "An old friend of Cloud and I."
"Nice to meet you, Zack!" Priscilla said cheerfully. She waved her hand at Tifa. "Would you guys like to come in?"
"I don't think that's a good idea, Priscilla," Tifa said. "Zack and I have some things to take care of."
Priscilla nodded sadly. "Oh, okay. Well, thanks for stopping by."
"No problem," Tifa said, reaching down to give her a hug. "We missed you."
Zack waved goodbye to Priscilla as she closed the door and Tifa trudged back down the steps.
"Now what?" she asked.
"Let's find a room on the upper plate," Zack said. "Then we can talk."
Tifa sighed and walked towards the elevator where a Shin-Ra guard was standing.
Tifa frowned. "What's going on? Shin-Ra's done for!"
"What?" Zack asked. "What do you mean, 'Shin-Ra's done for'?"
Tifa shook her head. "Something else I'll have to tell you." She walked up to the guard. "Excuse me, but did you know there's no more Shin-Ra?"
The guard looked at her nervously. "Ten gil to ride the ele..."
Tifa grabbed his collar and pulled him closer. "There is no more Shin-Ra!"
The guy sweatdropped. "You...you're the chick from AVALANCHE...."
"Right," Tifa said. "Now, if you want me to spare your sorry ass-kissing butt then you better head out. Shin-Ra is no more! Why are you even still here?"
The guard's rifle trembled in his shaking hands. "Shin-Ra is back..."
"What?" Tifa demanded.
"Rufus is..." The guard looked suddenly to his right behind Tifa. Tifa averted her attention, but as soon as she looked away, the guard broke out of her hold and zipped away.
"Damn!" she yelled, running after him. "Come back here!"
"He's gone," Zack commented as the guard ran full speed for his life. "Might as well get back here, Tifa. He tricked you."
Tifa stomped over to Zack. "I know that!" she shouted. "Damn, what was he talking about? Shin-Ra *IS* over!"
Zack shrugged. "I dunno what the hell's going on, but the elevator's free now." He walked towards it and pushed the button to open the door. "Come on. Let's go." Tifa frowned in the direction that the guard had run. "Just doesn't make sense," she muttered.
The once pitch black basement lab of the Shin-Ra mansion now had a tiny glimmer from a single dormant computer in the room. The screen flashed a loud array of of colors, and suddenly an seemingly unnoticed cylindrical tank came to life, glowing a bright green hue. A unidentifiable human figure was floating inside.
Another set of lights came on. Only this time, they were the main florencent lights on the ceiling, bringing everything in the room into view.
A small end table was centered between the tank and the computer. On it, lay a thick, terry towel, a neatly folded blue suit and tie, a white labcoat, a pair of small rimmed glasses and a simple black hair tie. On the floor under the table were men's dress boots with dark blue socks rolled neatly and stuffed inside.
The computer flashed again. DRAINING LIFESUPPLY...20%... a mechanical voice announced as a status bar appeared on the screen.
40%...
The green liquid was slipping from the tank into a drain in it's base. The being within it twitched slightly.
60%...
As more liquid drained, the figure slid down into the tank. More of it became visible as the liguid vanished beneathe ground.
80%...
The liquid was nearly completely gone, the being in a good but foggy view. It was a tall, lanky figure.
100%. INITITATING UNLOCK SEQUENCE.
There was the sound of an airtight seal being broken, and a small doorway on the tank opened. A man slowly crawled out, spitting the glowing liquid that had once been his habitat. The man slowly stood, tall, skinny, and pale, with long, black hair stuck all over his face and body. After becoming oriented, he grabbed the towel and began to dry himself.
AWAITING ACTIVATION AND COMPLETION... the computer bleeped.
The man threw the towel down and reached over the keyboard. With a sinister grin on his face, he tapped the enter key.
....WELCOME BACK TO THE LIVING, PROFESSOR HOJO...
Zack shrugged. "Let's find a room. Then you can help me get my memory back."
Tifa sighed. "Alright."
When the elevator reached the surface, Tifa and Zack snuck past a Shin-Ra guard and made it to the nearby streets.
Zack scratched his head and looked around at the tall buildings. "I remember this place... kinda.."
"That's because it's a military base," Tifa answered. "You probably trained here during your time in SOLDIER."
Zack shrugged. "Look, there's an inn over there. Let's check it out."
Tifa followed Zack into the building. A young woman, about twenty, with a bright red pony tail and a nose ring sat a the desk.
"Can I help you?" she asked. Zack walked up to the receptionist. "A double, please."
"Right. Why don't you want a single for you and your wife?"
Tifa gave her a dirty look. "We're not married! We're not even together!"
"Yeah..." Zack said, blushing.
The receptionist covered her mouth. "Oops! I'm sorry. Here's your key."
Tifa snatched the key and took off towards the elevators, Zack smiling at the receptionist and following Tifa.
"She was cute," Zack said, once the elevator began it's ascent to the third floor.
Tifa rolled her eyes. "And nosey," she added.
Zack shrugged. "What can I say?"
Tifa shook her head as the bell on the elevator rang and the doors slid open.
"The room's just down the hall," Tifa said, gesturing. "Let's go."
Zack followed the fiesty brunette down the hall to the room. She opened the door with the key she'd been given, and threw her bag down on the bed near the door.
Zack came in the room and looked around. "Not bad, for 75 gil," he said. "Though it does smell like cigarettes."
Tifa laughed. "Cid probably stayed in this room at one point."
Zack scratched his head. "What?"
"Nothing. Listen, do you want to do this here, or go somewhere else?"
"Might as well be here," Zack answered, taking a seat on his bed across from Tifa. "It's quiet, at least."
Tifa sighed and layed back on the bed, crossing her legs at her ankles. "Let's see... where do I start?"
"Try the beginning," Zack joked.
Tifa waved him off. "Whatever. Well, about seven years ago, Cloud left Nibelheim to join SOLDIER. I never heard from him, and I assumed he made it. Two years later, you, Sephiroth, and two escort guards came to Nibelhiem to check out the reactor and fix the problem that was brewing monsters. One of the guards was Cloud, although I didn't know that until recently. It turns out you two became close friends during your training for SOLDIER but only you made it. Anyway, I was your tour guide into the mountains."
"Yeah," Yuffie agreed., throwing a stick into the fire. "I'm kinda getting worried now."
"This isn't like Tifa," Cloud said. "It's a quarter past eleven, and Tifa was well aware that we wanted to pull out this morning."
"I think maybe we should have gone looking for her," Aeris said.
"I wouldn't be surprised is this shit had anything to do with that fucker Sephiroth," Cid said. "Speaking of which, where the hell is he?
Cloud stood up. "I don't know, but God help him if he had anything to do with Tifa's disappearence."
"He wouldn't, Cloud!" Aeris said.
Tayeko nodded. "She's right, Cloud. Sephiroth isn't that way anymore."
Cloud waved them off. "I'm going to find him."
"I'm right here, Cloud," Sephiroth's voice came from behind him.
Cloud turned around and saw Sephiroth leaning against a nearby tree with his arms folded, an challenging smirk on his face.
"You rang?"
Cloud balled his fists up. "Damn you, Sephiroth. Where the hell is Tifa?"
"I do not know," Sephiroth lied. "I haven't seen her since early last night when we left the Highwind."
Cloud glared at him skeptically. "I'm sure. Mark my words, Sephiroth, if you had *anything* to do with this, I will run you through and hang you by your neck."
"Likely," Sephiroth said sarcastically. "Too bad I didn't have anything to do with your little missing girlfriend, because such a challenge is certainly inviting."
Cloud gritted his teeth. "Tifa isn't my girlfriend..." he whispered. He turned away from the silver haired man beet red and sat back down by the fire.
"Damn..." Barret muttered.
"That was fuckin' cold, man," Cid said, shaking his head and lighting a fresh cigarette.
"What?" Cloud asked, nearly shreiking.
"You straight played Tifa out," Barret said.
"What are you talking about?" Cloud asked. "She isn't my girlfriend," he said.
"Ugh," Yuffie uttered.
"What's the problem?" he asked frantically. "She isn't my girlfriend, its a fact! Actually, me and - "
"No, Cloud," Aeris said. "Not now."
Cloud threw his hands up. "Whatever." He stood back up. "I'm gonna go scout the area for her. Anybody gonna come with me?"
Tayeko stood up and pulled Aeris' hand. "We'll come."
"Yeah," Aeris said, standing. "I'ma come too," Barret said. "Tifa been my friend longer than any of you foos, 'cept for Cloud."
"Okay, that's enough people," Cloud said. "Let's go."
Zack slid his finger in his collar. "What happened?"
"On our way through the mountains, the bridge broke and we all fell. One guard was missing, not Cloud, however. Sephiroth did not want to waste time to retrieve him.
"We made it to the reactor and things got out of hand at that point. I was forced to wait outside with Cloud, although I didn't know at the time it was Cloud, while you and Sephiroth entered the reactor. From what I learned later, Sephiroth became angry because he learned something about himself and his 'mother', Jenova, that he hadn't known."
"Jenova..." Zack whispered. "That alien..."
"Right," Tifa answered. "Sephiroth left the reactor cold and even more detatched. When we got back to Nibelhiem, he locked himself in the Mansion's basement.
"Sephiroth was in there for days, reading books and journals left by former Shin-R staff before he finally came out. He'd learned every bit about how he was created, and burned down Nibelhiem in retaliation."
Zack snapped his fingers. "I remember! That was horrible!"
"Yeah..." Tifa said softly. "Sephiroth went to the reactor to get Jenova out. You followed him and tried to kill him, but he was too quick. He'd knocked you down just after I arrived at the reactor to find my own father slain. "I decided to go after Sephiroth myself, which was foolish. I'd grabbed his masamune, which was left in my father's heart, and charged after him. He quickly overpowered me and slashed me across the chest." Tifa sat up and lifted her shirt up. "Here's the scar."
Zack shook his head. "Damn..." he muttered. "Now I remember. I came in and saw you on the floor, so I ran up to him. But he'd knocked me out too."
Tifa nodded. "Right," she said. "Then Cloud came in... and challenged Sephiroth."
"I told him to..." Zack said quietly.
"Cloud followed Sephiroth into Jenova's chamber. He stabbed him, But Sephiroth wasn't down. After Cloud moved me to safety, he challenged Sephiroth on the catwalk. Sephiroth stabbed Cloud, but somehow Cloud managed to overpower Sephiroth and throw him off the catwalk into the mako stream below."
"Damn!" Zack nearly cheered. "Cloud did all that? I really didn't know."
"That's because you passed out right after you told Cloud to kill Sephiroth," Tifa said. "Then what happened?" Zack asked. "How did I end up in Midgar, all sick and beat up? I know the injury Sephiroth inflicted didn't cause all this." He lifted his shirt and showed Tifa a massive amount of circular scars across his chest and stomach.
Tifa sighed. "That's the next part of the story..."
"Shit!" Barret exclaimed. "There's a Nibel wolf! I hate when them things wander all the way down here!"
Cloud turned and shook his head. "Like we've ever been scared of a Nibel wolf before? Watch this."
"No, Cloud!' Aeris cried. "Be careful! There's something... wrong with that wolf."
Cloud lowered his sword. "Duh, Aeris! What's *not* wrong with a Nibel wolf?"
Tayeko waved her hand. "That wolf has something foreign in it."
"Foreign?" Cloud repeated. "Like what?"
"I don't know," Aeris said. "But it is certainly more dangerous than an average Nibel wolf."
The wolf growled and charged.
Tayeko cursed. She shot the wolf twice in the skull.
"Damn!" Barret muttered. "That outta take care of it!"
"I don't think so," Aeris said, stepping foward as the wolf tried to lift it's head. She wacked him on the head with her rod several times.
"I'll finish this freak off!" Cloud announced, unleashing a full scale attack with his sword, slicing the wolf in half.
Aeris walked up to the wolf and inspected its wounds. "Look at that thick, purple blood!" she said.
"That's weird," Tayeko said. "Nibel wolves don't have that kind of blood!"
Cloud kicked the wolf with his foot. "What the hell is going on?"
"Oh, God!" Aeris exclaimed. "Look at that!"
A tiny tenticle like organism crawled out of the wolf's open abdomen. It slithered on the ground, covered in a thick lavender liquid.
"That thing reminds me of Jenova!" Barret roared.
Cloud gritted his teeth. "Jenova is dead!" he slashed the tentacle, but the broken peices continued to flap and try to move.
"The hell?" Barret questioned. He began blasting away at them with his gun arm until there was nothing left but bloody shards of skin.
"That sure was weird," Tayeko said. "What's going on?"
Cloud shrugged. "I dunno what the hell this means. But Jenova *can't* be alive! We killed her in the crator!"
Aeris shook her head. "That was a parasite in that wolf of a Jenova like being. I'm not sure how it happened..."
Cloud sighed. "It's always something. Well, Tifa's not around here. I'm worried now. Where the hell would she be?"
"Maybe she went back," Barret suggested.
"Let's go," Cloud ordered. "If she's not there, we're pulling out and we're taking the Highwind to search for her."
"What about that, Cloud?" Aeris asked, pointing at the Nibel wolf and it's destroyed parasite.
Cloud shrugged. "What can we do? We have no idea where it came from. We could investigate Nibelhiem, but there's just not enough evidence. Tifa's more important to me right now."
Aeris shrugged, following behind Cloud as he began to walk back. "Okay, fearless leader," she teased.
"You two were Hojo's main priority. Cloud wasn't taking the Jenova injections well, and was delirous and close to death. Hojo labeled him a failure.
"You, however, remained strong and after about five years was able to escape with Cloud."
"Five years?" Zack asked. "We were prisoners of Hojo's for FIVE YEARS?"
Tifa nodded. "You helped Cloud escape. You gave Cloud an extra SOLDIER uniform and you hitchhiked to Midgar.
"You stopped on a hill near the city and tried to drag Cloud to safety. Shin-Ra guards came.... and they shot you, to what we thought was death."
Zack shook his head. "What happened to Cloud?"
"They left Cloud alone because they thought he was a goner anyway. But he managed to get himself together... thinking he was you."
"What?"
"Cloud had completely lost memory of himself. He took your sword and went into Midgar thinking that he was *you*, only with the name Cloud Strife."
"The hell?" Zack asked. "That's insane!"
"Cloud told everyone that *he* was the SOLDIER in Nibelhiem. Of course I knew better, but I didn't have the heart to tell him. He believed it so completely that I knew something was wrong with him. He was different...
"Cloud and I didn't learn the truth until recently when we fell into the Lifestream."
"Damn," was all Zack could say.
"Cloud beats himself up a lot for your 'death'," Tifa said. "He thinks he's responisble, because he was too confused to realize you were laying there next to him dying, and he took your sword and left."
"Does Cloud know I'm alive?" Zack asked.
"Of course not," Tifa said. "I didn't know! We thought you were dead."
"Pretty amazing how I survived," Zack said, rubbing his stomach. "Some guy found me there, almost dead and bleeding everywhere. He brought me to Midgar and gave me a makeshife home in a pipe. I was there, going nutty until a few weeks ago I tried to leave myself..."
"Why?"
"Something bout a reunion," Zack said. "I dunno, something was calling me to follow. That was the first time I was able to think for myself. Everything else before that was pretty much told to me.
"In my condition, I didn't make it very far before I collasped. At least, that's what Dr. Richardson told me. He's from Mideel. Apparently, the town collasped, and he came-"
"I was there!" Tifa exclaimed. "That's were Cloud and I fell into the Lifestream. I remember Dr. Richardson. He helped Cloud when he was in the hospital."
"Why was Cloud in the hospital?" Zack asked.
"We were at that "reunion" in the crator. Sephiroth had manipulated Cloud and he fell into the Lifestream. He washed up near Mideel, and was treated for Mako poisoning."
"What was Sephiroth doing alive?"
"Well, we had been following his 'clone' for awhile, but we hadn't realized they were clones till the Reunion. Then we saw the real Sephiroth in a Mako crystal up north. He must of washed up there after Cloud pushed him off the catwalk."<[> "So that's what that Reunion was all about. For some reason, I knew it had something to do with Sephiroth."
"I stayed with Cloud until we fell into the Lifestream," Tifa said. "When we came out, he was better."
"Shouldn't he still have the Mako poisoning?" Zack asked.
Tifa stared at the ceiling for a moment. "Gee," she said. "I never thought about that."
"Better check it," Zack suggested. "Anyway, Dr. Richardson found me and helped me out. He got me on my feet and some how got me well again. I dunno how he did it, but I could talk and think clearly... although my memory was nearly clearly wiped out.
"Meteor was gonna destroy Midgar, so Dr. Richardson got me the hell out of there. Of course, It ended up not crashing into the earth. I was on a ferry to Costa Del Sol when Holy and the Lifestream won.
"I went to the Gold Saucer and spent the night. I wasn't sure what I was after, so I decided to turn around and go North. That's when I met you on the ferry, and my mind started clicking as soon as I saw you." Tifa sighed. "This is an awful lot for one day. How bout we stop talking and head down to the dining hall to get some lunch."
"Sure," Zack said. "Then, you can tell me what happened between you and Cloud."
Tifa rolled her eyes. "I think I'd better tell you what happened to Shin-Ra after Meteor," she said. "And about Aeris."
"Tell me all," Zack laughed. "Let's go.
"Then what the fuck should we do?" Cid asked.
"Let's get on the Highwind," Cloud instructed. "Then we're gonna fly around for a few hours and try to spot her. If we don't find her by tonight, I'm gonna put out an official search. I swear on Holy, every tree on the Planet will have a missing poster of Tifa on it."
"Alright, kids," Cid shouted. "You heard the man. Get on the fucking ship!"
AVALANCHE, Tayeko, and Sephiroth boarded the Highwind and took off, flying low to look for Tifa.
"Can't we fly any closer to the ground?" Cloud asked. "How are we supposed to see anything?"
Cid waved his hands in the air threateningly. "Damnit! We're already flying below fucking radar!! Can't get much goddamned lower!"
Cloud sighed and walked to his room, where Aeris was waiting in front of the door.
"Hi," she said, trying to be cheerful.
"Hey, Aeris," Cloud muttered. "Listen, I'm under a lot of stress right now. I think I'm gonna chill out in my room for a while."
"I understand," Aeris said, twirling her thumbs. "Let me know if you need anything."
"Alright," Cloud said, going into his room and closing the door behind him.
Aeris sighed and walked to the deck where Tayeko was standing on watch for Tifa with Yuffie and Red XIII, her hair blowing in the wind.
"Hey," Aeris said, approaching her. "Why don't you go talk to Sephiroth? I'm sure he's lonely."
"That's how Sephiroth likes it best," Tayeko muttered bitterly. "He doesn't want to talk to me."
"Why?"
"I don't know, honestly. Everytime I approach him he snaps at me and pushes me away."
Aeris threw an arm around Tayeko. "Don't worry, Tay. He'll come around. It'll be alright, just give it time."
Tayeko gave Aeris a weak smile. "I hope so."
The man stared into his reflection, into his cold, blue eyes. Icy blue eyes.
He ran a hand down his face. Facial hair. This was something he'd never dealt with before, as any stubble would be quickly removed by his personal barber. But since he'd been back, he hadn't had the chance to bother with something as trivial as shaving.
He chuckled. How easy had it been? He'd thought he was a goner when that office blew, but even at those last moments he'd been defiant and strong.
Bring it on, WEAPON, he remembered thinking.
The man laughed harder and stroked the head of his pet, Dark Nation. The old dog had been there in all his times of need, but never had he proven his worth when he dragged his master to safety.
He was nearly laughing himself to tears when he thought of the fools that thought his empire was done for. But a few phone calls and things were up and running again. It hadn't taken him long to find the Turks. And even though his building was crashed, he was running quite well for the time being in his base in Junon. It would have to do until he was able to take control of Midgar.
He stopped laughing and looked at his reflection, straight faced.
"It's good to be back, Rufus Shin-Ra," he said aloud.
