The metal of the grate beneath her was cold and Tifa could feel her extremities growing numb and causing her to shiver but it didn't matter to her-- nothing mattered anymore. Everything was wrong. Her home was gone, her father had joined her mother and gone the way of the mountain. And Cloud...? On the worst day of her life, Cloud was far away. You promised, she half begged half accused.
"Tifa!" She recognized Zack's voice and forced her eyes open. He was bent beside her, his eyes showed sadness. "Sephiroth did this, didn't he?"
She turned away from him, hiding her face. Her emotions got the better of her and she felt her eyes fill with tears.
He stood and started up the stairs.
"Shinra, SOLDIER, I hate it all..." She heard him pause. "Even you!" She cried angrily.
She heard him sigh before continuing. She had hoped that getting the frustration out would help but she still felt a helpless rage and confusion. Why? Why was this happening to her? Why couldn't she do anything to stop it? Why did it feel like the world was about to end? What had she done to deserve this? And where was Cloud? She couldn't believe the whimpering that was coming from her lips but it was almost drowned out by a persistent clanging that started from the heart of the reactor. Tifa tried to focus on it but it faded and her thoughts became less distinct. She seemed to be drowning in her overwhelming grief.
"Tifa!" She heard her name but it wasn't the word that pierced through her foggy mind so much as the voice. She knew it and even if she had only willed him there with her thoughts she wanted nothing more than for him to be real.
She imagined him cradling her in his arms and could feel his warmth as she was pulled away from the metal. It felt so real she dared to open her eyes and there he was, just as she would've imagined him. Slightly older and taller but still her Cloud.
"Cloud, you came." She sighed.
"Yeah," He dipped his head.
"You kept your promise, huh." She blinked hard at the new emotion in her eyes. "You really came when I was in a pinch."
"Sorry. I came a little late." He apologized.
She gave the vaguest of head shakes. "No, it's fine." Tifa smiled in relief and then her strength faded and she peacefully closed her eyes.
YOU ARE READING
Before Nibelhiem
FanfictionNibelhiem was a small, quiet, peaceful town, but like all beautiful things on Gaia it couldn't last under the rule of Shinra. When a young Cloud and Tifa stumble onto a top secret Shinra operation their lives are forever altered, ultimately throwing...
