I Feel a Storm Coming... (a Final Fantasy fan fiction)

Chapter 5

*Tifa POV*
     I wipes my hands on the apron I was wearing.  My eyes fixed themselves on the alarm clock to my right.  It has been over two hours since Cloud left.  Thoughts run back and forth in my mind, and I eventually give.  "Denzel!  Marlene!" I call up the stairs.  But there was no reply.
     "Helloooo?" I shout up the stairs once more, but there was still no reply.  When I opened Denzel's and Marlene's door, neither of them were there.  I began to panic, then decided to head to the church.  They must be there, right?  Cloud had left his bike earlier, and it would take a while to walk up there.
     Without thinking about reason, I grabbed the keys and started it up.  As I drove through the streets, people shrieked in fear.  I looked around and saw children lying on the ground.  Their skin had been covered in black spots, and they all looked sick.  Geostigma was around once more, and I had to go check the church.
~
     When I arrived at the church, the doors were opened.  I twisted the key to 'off', and the purr of it slowly died down.  With all my might, I ran up the steps and through the door.  Denzel and Marlene sat there, hovering over something.  Or someone.  I quickly rushed,over to see Cloud, blacked out on the floor.
     "What happened to Cloud?" Marlene worridly asked.  A small smile came across my face, and I kneld down beside him.  "He was attacked, but he'll be okay," I managed out.  By the looks of it, this attack was from Sephiroth.  But that would mean he's back, and that's why geostigma is back as well.
     I pulled Cloud up and shook him by his shoulders.  When he came back to his senses, he told me about Sephiroth and Lightning.  This news brought a complete feeling of shock to me.  "Why...?" I mumbled.  Cloud gripped my shoulders and stared into my eyes.  "He tricked her," he said confidently.
     It seemed obvious that Sephiroth had tricked her, but I wasn't paying attention to common sense at the time.  My eyes stung from staring into Cloud's eyes to long.  Damn those beautiful mako energy eyes of him.  But Cloud had fallen for the impressive Lightning.  Tifa shook it off, and thought, "You'll be fine without him, Tifa.  You'll be fine."

*Cloud POV*
     Even though I had just woken up, I made up my mind to save Lightning.  Tifa completely understood, but I had to go somewhere first.  A place where something important to me stood still.  Somewhere where I can still hear his voice.  Zack, do you hear me?  I'll be the hero this time.  And when I save her, I'll smile.

*Hope POV* (At his house in Valhalla)
     I woke up to the sound of my alarm clock beeping.  My eyes burned from sleeping in.  And somebody was knocking on my door like a maniac.  "I'll be there in a second!" I yelled through the door, and the knocking stopped.  Tiredly, I walked over to my closet and pulled out a black t-shirt.  Then I walked over my dresser and pulled out some jeans.  When I started to pull them up, the knocking started again.
     "WHAT THE HELL DID I JUST SAY?!" I screamed, zipping up the zipper.  With anger dripping down my face, I swung open my door.  It was Vanille and Fang, and they were holding some shopping bags.  "We found these in Lightning's closet," Fang grinned, holding them up in front of my face.  I blushed and pushed them out of my face.
     "Why are you searching through her closet?!" I blushed, then invited them in.  Now why did I do that?  While I put some tea on the stove, Fang rummaged through the bags.  Surprisingly, Fang pulled out a pair of male pants in my size.  She threw it at me, then found a card at the bottom of one of the bags.
     "To Hope, the boy who gave me hope.  Love, Lightning," Fang read.  My face burned with embarrassment, and Vanille giggled.  Then, when the tea pot made a high-pitched noise, Vanille said, "I'll get it!" and disappeared into the kitchen.  Fang and I were alone in the room, and I saw her grinning face.  "What is sooo amusing to you?" I asked.  She chuckled, then replied, "Lightning obviously bought these when she had spare time yesterday before the firework show, luv."
     "What's it matter?  She bought me some clothes," I shrugged.  Fang groaned, face palmed, then said, "If she wrote, 'Love, Lightning' on the note, it means that she has feelings for you, luv."  I thought for a few seconds.  That was completely impossible.  If Lightning loved me, she wouldn't treat me like such a kid.  But after thinking a little more, I realized that almost every time she sees me, a grin spreads across her face.
     I opened my mouth, but before the words came, my head filled with pain.  Grabbing my head, I fell to the floor.  Fang yelled for Vanille, but that was all I remembered.

*Fang POV*
     When Hope had fell to the floor, it was obvious.  Chaos had traveled to Valhalla, and it was wrapping itself around Hope.  I yelled for Vanille, and she rushed in with a first aid kit.  Not only that, she was also wearing a worried face.  Vanille looked at Hope, and then up to me.  She had also realized the chaos was there.
     Fear had filled Vanille's eyes, and I knew she couldn't do anything.  I trembled in fear as well, not knowing what would happen next.  Then Hope sat up, and I let out a sigh of relief.  "Hope, you-" I started, then Hope wrapped his hands around my neck.  This must mean he was taken over by the chaos. 
     "Vanille..." I manage to slip out.  "Get Snow... and Noel... and the others..."  Vanille nodded and ran out.  Noel hadn't showed up for fireworks, but he would probably show up for this.  I looked down at Hope, and he was wearing a tight grin.
     "Hope, have you lost all sanity?!" I yelled at him.  He laughed, then dropped me.  My back slid against the wall, and I coughed up blood.  The blood kept coming out in rapid amounts.  Hope walked up to me, still smiling like a psycho.  Then he raised his fist, and when it came down, the unbearable pain knocked me out.

*Lightning POV* (At Midgar)
     I woke up with a shocking jolt.  Serah said she would help me regain my memories.  But for her to do that, I have to take care of Sephiroth.
'FLASHBACK'
     "We're sisters, silly!"  Her bright smile was most encouraging.  "But that man, Sephiroth," she continued, "Is corrupting my ability to do that."  I nodded, and she continued.  "Sephiroth gave you geostigma.  He told you it boosts your physical and magical strength.
     "But by the looks of it, you're just hypnotized.  If you manage to break out of that spell of his, I might be able to get those memories back.  But that'll take complete concentration and no hesitation.  Think you can do it?"  I slightly nodded, and Serah nodded back.
     "Good.  Now go get your memories back!" She exclaimed, jumping into the air. 
'END OF FLASHBACK'
     I looked side to side.  Sephiroth was lying down in the grass.  It would be reckless to attack right then and there.  My wisest decision would be to wait and to along with the charade.  Then I heard it.
     A purring noise, like a motorcycle.  "Cloud, you fool!" I thought.  But when I saw him on the motorcycle, he had a different sword.  It was covered in bandages, and it was rusted with chucks of metal torn off the sides.  My mind began to wonder, but Sephiroth had already gotten up.
     It boiled my anger, and I had to stop Sephiroth.  This attempt would be quite reckless, but I grabbed the hilt of my and slashed it at him.  I should have saw it coming, but Sephiroth had blocked it.  Not too long later, he stabbed the sword through my chest.  Blood flew out of my mouth, and I screamed in pain.  The last thing I heard was Cloud yelling my name.