Chapter 26
Tifa didn't think she was putting on a front, but her fear caught up to her in her nightmares. Racing up the steps of the reactor on Mt. Nibel, she found herself instead in the halls of the Shinra building. She ran through a maze of corridors, sometimes alone, sometimes not, sometimes afraid he was chasing her, other times desperate to reach something before him.
The laboratory cell block stretched out ahead of her, and she raced to the end of it, only to find Aeris dead in her cell. He laughed from somewhere behind her, and she woke gasping.
"Tifa?"
By the faint light coming through the crack under the door, Aeris was little more than a dark shape leaning over her. Tifa found her face with her hands and pulled her closer to kiss her, fervently. Aeris made a soft noise of surprise, but soon relaxed into her, kissing her back.
Tifa kissed along her jawline to her neck and buried her face in Aeris's curls, holding her close.
"Nice to see you, too," Aeris murmured. "You okay?"
"Bad dream," Tifa said.
"You wanna talk about it?"
"Not even a little." She thought Aeris could guess well enough. What was there to say?
Looking into the dark, Tifa couldn't make out Jessie and Yuffie in the other beds. She hoped she hadn't woken them. Yuffie especially needed her rest, and Jessie didn't need to worry any more than she already would.
Tifa closed her eyes, but the image of Aeris's bloody corpse was waiting behind her eyelids, and she snapped them open again, holding Aeris tighter.
"How about something to take your mind off of it?" Aeris suggested instead.
"We'd wake the others," Tifa said.
"They're not here," said Aeris. "And just what are you imagining anyway?"
Aeris was trying to tease her, she knew, but Tifa loosened her grip, frowning in confusion over at the apparently empty beds. "They're not here?"
"Mm. Apparently Yuffie fell asleep in Nanaki's room, so Jessie decided she'd bunk with the boys and give us our space."
"In Nanaki's room?"
"Yeah. Seems like those two are becoming friends, doesn't it?"
"Not something I expected," Tifa remarked.
"Me neither," said Aeris. She shifted, nuzzling into Tifa's neck. "So, how would we have woken them if they were here?"
"By talking too much?"
"Oh, is that all?"
"You really wanna wear me out while I'm still healing?" Tifa asked, but she felt her face flush, and she didn't know how Aeris could say things like that without getting embarrassed.
Aeris giggled. "No, I guess not. But there's still plenty we could do that's quiet... and gentle..." Aeris kissed her way down Tifa's neck to her shoulder, and Tifa hummed softly. If she could dream about this instead...
"Can we turn the lights on?" she asked.
"Oh." Aeris pulled back. "And here I had you figured for a lights-out kind of person."
"No. I want to see you."
Aeris leaned over to switch on the bedside lamp, throwing light across the room. Tifa had fallen asleep in her clothes, but Aeris had changed into the nightgown that Elmyra had brought her in Kalm, a pale pink slip that was honestly getting a little threadbare.
"Better?" Aeris asked, and Tifa nodded. Aeris looked tired, but very much alive. Color in her cheeks and her lips, eyes that returned Tifa's gaze steadily. Tifa pushed some of those curls back over Aeris's bare shoulder, feeling the warmth of her skin.
"What about you?" she asked. "Did I wake you?"
Aeris shook her head. "I was having trouble sleeping," she admitted.
"Do you want to talk about it?"
At the question, Aeris frowned and broke her gaze. Tifa felt sympathy reach her belatedly as she drank in the expressiveness of Aeris's face, the way her brow furrowed and her lashes dropped over her eyes.
"I don't know," said Aeris. "It's... hard to put into words."
"Are you worried about the Temple?" Tifa wondered.
"That's a part of it." Aeris sat back as she thought about it, one hand coming to rest loosely across Tifa's stomach. "So much of this is new to me. Back in Midgar, I tried so hard to pretend I was like everybody else, even to Mom. I didn't want to be a Cetra. It's become so important now... But it's still a part of me that I don't really understand, and I'm all alone in that, so much of the time."
Tifa wanted so badly in that moment to tell her she was wrong, to be the person who could understand, but she was no Cetra. There would always be a part of Aeris's experience completely out of her grasp. Out of anyone's grasp. She'd always be struggling with it as the last of her kind.
"I'm sorry if we've put too much pressure on you," Tifa said. "I don't want to be anything like Sephiroth or the Shinra, using you for what you can do."
"No," Aeris said quickly. "No, you've all been so supportive. You haven't done anything wrong. It's just circumstances... Maybe it would be different, if I hadn't tried to run from it for so long."
Tifa studied her face, remembering how much lighter she'd seemed in Kalm, in the rain, when she had first said she could hear the Planet.
"I got the feeling, when we first left Midgar, that you were looking forward to exploring it, finally. But maybe, it's all too much too fast? I mean, you were only just learning to speak to the Planet, and now you have this huge responsibility put on you, to do things even your ancestors never did. Of course that's scary."
Aeris nodded cautiously. "Yeah. Maybe that's it."
"I know I'm only human," Tifa admitted, "but... if all I can do is support you, you know I will. A hundred percent."
A soft smile bloomed across Aeris's face, and she dropped her eyes bashfully. "Ahh... I thought I was supposed to be making you feel better," she said.
"You were distracting me," Tifa reminded her.
"Hmm. I wonder, what do you dream about, when you have good dreams?"
Good dreams? "I don't know. Mundane things, mostly. Cooking for friends. Playing with Marlene. ...kicking the crap out of Shinra soldiers."
Aeris laughed quietly. "I guess I'm not surprised."
"What about you?" Tifa asked. "What do you dream about?"
"...I've always dreamt about flying," Aeris said. "But lately, it's been a little different. A few times, I've dreamt something more like this."
"This?"
"Being with you," she said. In bed with her, Tifa realized she meant. "I imagine... you'll be my first."
Her first... Tifa couldn't quite imagine it, but this time the prospect wasn't so overwhelming. Maybe she was too tired for it to frighten her, or maybe it was because of how natural it had become to reach for Aeris's hand, to hold her in her arms, to share a kiss in their private moments...
"Sounds like a nice dream," she said.
Aeris smiled, and her hair tumbled forward again as she leaned down for a kiss.
Tifa slept soundly through the rest of the night. If she dreamt, she didn't remember it, but that was all right. Aeris was here, a better reality than any dream.
Her body felt heavy as she pulled herself out of bed. Like something foreign, it didn't respond the way she was used to, moving slowly and clumsily, but she no longer needed Aeris's help to get around. It was, she reminded herself, so much faster than her recovery after Nibelheim, but it frustrated her when she knew that Sephiroth was out there, already headed for the Temple.
They found a late breakfast together and went to track down the others to see where things stood. They found Barret at the bonfire, unexpectedly accompanied by Cloud. Or was Barret keeping an eye on him?
"Hey, you're up," Barret observed as they approached. "Good to see you on your feet, Teef."
Tifa nodded. "I'm feeling stronger," she said. Just not strong enough.
"I'm really sorry, Tifa," said Cloud, and he managed to meet her eyes when he said it.
"Don't worry about it," she said, but it occurred to her that maybe that wasn't what he needed to hear. His guilt weighed on him, but she wouldn't even see it, wouldn't acknowledge it. "...I forgive you," she added.
He nodded, holding her gaze a second longer before looking down, and she thought that was the right thing to say.
She looked to Barret. "How do we stand right now?"
"We're holdin' it together," he said. "Jessie an' the others went up a bit ago to make sure our prisoners got somethin' to eat. Don't think we can hang onto 'em much longer... locals don't like it, and I don't blame 'em."
"Yuffie and Vincent are doing all right?" Aeris asked.
Barret scratched his head. "Well, Yuffie seems fine. Vincent was still asleep last I saw. Guess turnin' into a monster takes a lot outta you."
"He was wounded, too, wasn't he?" Tifa recalled.
"Supposedly. Had plenty o' holes in his shirt, but Jessie said she didn't have to heal 'im or nothin.'"
Tifa exchanged glances with Aeris. "I guess being a monster has its perks," Aeris said. "But no wonder he's tired."
"We'll have to check in on him," Tifa decided. "If he's up for it, it doesn't seem like a bad idea to have an ex-Turk along when questioning Turks."
"You feelin' up for it, Tifa?" Barret asked. "I figured you'd want in, but you know you can delegate, if you want."
"I'm up for it," Tifa said. She wanted to see these Turks for herself. But she glanced at Cloud and said, "You think you could give us a minute, first?"
Barret nodded. "Sure. I'll go ahead an' check on Vincent for ya."
He got up to leave the bonfire, and after catching Tifa's gaze inquisitively, Aeris went with him. Tifa sat down beside Cloud, who leaned forward, arms around his knees.
"How are you feeling?" she asked him. "Clear-headed?"
"Yeah. I have been since... he cut you."
"Can you tell me what happened?" she asked. "You said you heard Sephiroth in your head?"
Cloud shook his head. "Not... talking. It was worse than that. It was like... he was trying to be there instead of me. I think for a second he must've been. But that's no excuse. I shouldn't have let him..."
"You didn't let him. I know you were fighting him."
"I should've been fighting with you guys, but I helped him." His expression contorted into a grimace, and his grip tightened around his arms. "I helped the man who burned down my home and murdered my mother."
Tifa bit her lip. She knew it must have been awful for him, but she hadn't been thinking about it like that. Cloud's feelings towards Sephiroth, his desire for vengeance, they could be no different from her own, but his body had betrayed him. Because of that, he'd nearly helped Sephiroth kill her, nearly helped him finish what he'd done at that reactor.
"It wasn't your fault," she said again, knowing it wasn't much consolation, against that. "But you know what it tells us? He needed your help. I think Sephiroth lured us there thinking it would be easy if we were only at half strength. But he underestimated us. And that means all of us together have a real shot at defeating him."
"All of you," he corrected. "You can't risk having me there."
"...maybe," Tifa had to admit. "But there might be something you can do for us, if you're willing to try it."
Cloud looked to her hopefully, and she wished it were anything else she was about to ask him. "What is it?"
"If Sephiroth can see through you... Do you think there's any chance you could turn it around on him?"
"What...?"
Tifa looked away, frowning. "Jessie thought, you might be able to sense him. Where he is, or what he's thinking... I don't know. It does seem like you're tuned into something the rest of us aren't."
Cloud didn't answer right away, but at last he shook his head. "I don't know, Tifa. I want to help, but... that seems like giving in to what I'm supposed to be fighting."
"All right," she said. "I don't want to push you into doing something risky. I want you to stay you."
"If anything comes to me though," he added quickly, "I'll let you know."
Tifa smiled at him. "Thanks."
"You don't have to thank me for that."
"It's not about having to. You need to stop being so hard on yourself, all right?"
Cloud hesitated. "I'll try," he said. "I just wish... you could count on me. Like your other friends."
"I know," Tifa said, and she sat for a moment struggling to find the right words. "It won't be like that forever. We all have times when... we can't be there for someone like we wish we could. But we get stronger, and that changes."
"I guess I still need to figure out what that means for me. Getting stronger."
"That's all right. It's a hard thing to figure out."
"You seem like you've got it."
"I don't know," Tifa said with a shake of her head. "Anyway I've had a lot of help. I forget sometimes myself, but it's okay to lean on people."
Cloud nodded, but he looked past her towards the inn. "I know you've got a lot to do, though. I can be on my own for a little while."
Tifa followed his gaze to where Barret and Aeris were reemerging with Vincent in tow, still pulling his cape on over his shoulders as they walked. Tifa hadn't realized until yesterday just how thin he was beneath it, not nearly so imposing a figure without it. Better that he wear it when facing those Turks.
"You're sure?" she asked Cloud.
"Yeah. We... can talk again later, right?"
Tifa smiled at him. "Of course."
She pushed herself to her feet and went to join the others.
"What did he say?" Aeris asked her.
Tifa shook her head. "I don't think he can do what Jessie was suggesting. But he seems like he's doing a bit better than yesterday, at least."
"That's good. He must feel awful about it."
Tifa found Aeris's hand and gave it a squeeze, knowing she had her own regrets about what had happened in Gongaga.
"You ready to meet our guests?" Barret asked her.
"Yeah," said Tifa. "How about you, Vincent?"
He nodded. "I'll follow your lead."
Barret led the way inside and up to a store room behind the weapons shop. He knocked, and Jessie opened the door to let them in.
Yuffie sat on a crate just inside, with Nanaki close by. The two Turks sat on the floor, their feet bound but their hands free at the moment as they ate under supervision. As Barret had said, Tifa didn't recognize either one of them: a broad-shouldered bald man with a lot of ear piercings, and a young blonde woman. Jessie must have healed their injuries, but one of the man's sleeves was torn to ribbons, and both of their suits were singed from fire.
"Oh, great," said the woman--Elena, Tifa recalled. "Here come the rest of them."
Tifa nodded to Yuffie and Nanaki, and pulled a smaller crate over to sit down in front of their prisoners. She wasn't sure how long she could stand without showing her fatigue, and she didn't want the Turks to see it.
Elena set down her plate and met Tifa's gaze, but the man ignored her in favor of finishing the last few bites.
"If you've been following us," Tifa said, "then I guess you know who we are. So I don't need to introduce myself."
"You're Tifa Lockhart," Elena confirmed, "member of AVALANCHE."
Tifa exchanged glances with Barret, and debated for a moment whether she wanted to correct her or not. On the one hand, she'd be giving Shinra information, but on the other hand, it might shift the target off of Barret's back.
"Leader, actually," she said.
"What? Wasn't Wallace the leader?" Elena glanced at her comrade, but he gave her no confirmation.
"Guess you were misinformed," said Barret.
"So I know you're Elena," Tifa said, and she nodded to the man. "What about you?"
Elena glanced at him again, but he didn't answer. Definitely her superior, Tifa decided.
"It's not some kind of company secret, is it? Your name?"
"...Rude," he said.
"Oh, come on," said Yuffie, "you're gonna go on about manners now?"
"No, that is his name," said Elena. "His name is Rude."
"The hell kinda name is that?" said Barret.
"What kind of name is Barret?" Elena retorted.
"Never mind that," Aeris cut in. "It's not what we're here for."
"Right," said Tifa. "Now, I don't really care how you found us; we haven't exactly been hiding, so it wouldn't be that hard to track us down if you put the resources to it. I'm more interested in what you know about Sephiroth."
Elena folded her arms. "You haven't broken out any torture devices, so give me one reason why we should tell you anything."
Tifa thought for a moment. It was true; when they'd interrogated people in the past, they'd mostly relied on intimidation, backed up by a demonstration or two of brute strength. Turks weren't likely to be so easily persuaded, even if Elena was chattier than she would have expected.
Vincent caught her eye, and she nodded. Maybe he'd know how to convince them.
He took a step forward, and Elena looked at him immediately. Even Rude was visibly paying more attention. They were both wary of him.
"You misunderstand Tifa," said Vincent. "It isn't that we need information from you, so much as it would justify keeping you alive. Torture isn't necessary."
"You're not really gonna kill us," said Elena. Her voice was confident, but her eyes betrayed unease.
"Might be Shinra's credited us with a little more 'n our due," said Barret, "but you oughtta know AVALANCHE ain't got a clean record either. You really think we wouldn't kill a pair o' Shinra goons?"
Elena didn't answer.
"All evidence indicates that we know more than you do," Vincent went on. "After all, you were following us to learn of Sephiroth's whereabouts. And the fact that you're chasing him at all... tells me that you don't understand what it is he's really after."
"What does that matter?" said Elena. "He killed the President."
Vincent shook his head. "You aren't tracking him down for vengeance. That isn't how Shinra operates."
"And what would you know about that?"
"Perhaps you don't realize who I am. My name is Vincent Valentine."
Rude blinked in recognition, but Elena snorted.
"Is that supposed to mean something to me?" she asked.
"Elena," Rude said quietly. "He was one of us."
"What? You know him?"
Rude shook his head. "Before my time. He went missing almost thirty years ago, while assigned to Professor Gast."
"Professor Gast... The Jenova Project?" Elena's eyes widened, and she shut her mouth.
"So you see," said Vincent, "we are well-informed, and more than capable of disposing of you, if necessary."
"It doesn't have to come to that," Tifa offered. "Maybe you know something small that we don't. Maybe something about the Temple of the Ancients, or the key?"
"Keystone," Elena corrected, and then clapped a hand over her mouth.
"So you know about it. Do you know if Sephiroth's found it?"
Neither of them said anything.
"Look," Tifa went on, "I know we're enemies. But if Sephiroth gets inside that Temple, it's bad news for all of us. You're in no position to stop that right now, but we are."
Elena kept her mouth very deliberately shut, but after a long pause, Rude spoke up.
"He doesn't have it," he said.
"Then you know where it is?" asked Nanaki.
Rude shook his head. "I'm not telling you that."
Tifa frowned, glancing back at Aeris. "If the Shinra know, then it's still only a matter of time... If they get into the Temple, Sephiroth can just follow them, right?"
Aeris nodded, and she chewed on her lip before looking to Barret. "Did either of them have a phone on them?" she asked.
"Yeah, I think we lifted those off of 'em. Why?"
"Can I see one?"
Jessie reached into her bag and handed a cell phone to Aeris. "What are you thinking, Aeris?"
Aeris scrolled through the phone's contacts, nodded to herself, and glanced up at the others. "Outside," she said.
Nanaki circled close to the Turks, baring his teeth as Yuffie bound their hands again, and Jessie took their plates over Elena's protests that she hadn't finished yet. They all filed out of the store room, and Jessie locked it again behind them.
"I'm going to call their boss," said Aeris.
"What?" said Tifa.
"I know it's strange... but Tseng and I have known each other a long time."
"Isn't he the one who kidnapped you?" Jessie asked skeptically.
"Well, yes," Aeris admitted. "I'm not saying he's a good person. But I know him. He might just listen to me."
"Listen to you, and do what?" said Yuffie. "You think he'll give us the keystone?"
"No... but maybe he can convince Rufus that going to the Temple isn't in their best interest."
"Might he make a trade?" Nanaki proposed. "His people for the keystone?"
Aeris shook her head. "He'd never agree to that. They're not worth that much to him."
"Pretty cold," Barret remarked.
"Nanaki's right, though," said Tifa. "There has to be something he'd give us for them."
"Information," said Jessie, glancing at Barret. "We should ask for information."
"I don't think Tseng's going to give us anything the other two wouldn't," Tifa said.
"I'm not talking about intel on Sephiroth," Jessie elaborated. "I'm talking about potential allies. Zack. Lucrecia. ...people who went missing, after Corel. What better organization to ask than the Turks?"
Tifa looked from Jessie to Barret. He'd told her about Dyne, she realized. Well, good for him, if he was opening up to her, too. "That's not a bad idea," Tifa decided. "Aeris?"
Aeris nodded. "I'll let him know our terms." She took a breath, and hit the call button, quickly setting the phone on speaker as it dialed.
Tseng answered promptly. "Rude," he said. "You're late checking in."
"It's Aeris, actually."
"Aeris...?"
"I'm borrowing Rude's phone. He and Elena are all right, but I'm afraid AVALANCHE is looking after them for now."
There was a pause. "So AVALANCHE is taking hostages now, is it? You could have chosen better ones."
Aeris rolled her eyes. "You can tell me Turks are disposable to the company, but can you really afford to train new ones at a time like this? You let a pretty green one out in the field already."
"What do you want?" Tseng asked.
"Well," said Aeris, and she glanced at Tifa, the faintest uncertainty in her eye that never made it to her voice. "I know you won't give us the keystone. But what I'm asking for instead should be easy for you. I want access to some of your files."
"That's easy?"
"Sure. All you have to do is find a printer. And they shouldn't be anything all that important to Shinra."
Another pause before he asked, "What sort of files?"
"I'm looking for information on a few people, including their last known whereabouts. Zack Fair. Lucrecia Crescent. And--"
"Dyne Brody," Barret interjected quietly, and Aeris looked at him in surprise. Tifa did, too. That was putting it out there in front of all of them. Only Vincent wouldn't know the significance of that name.
"...Dyne Brody," Aeris repeated into the phone.
"That should be... manageable," said Tseng.
"And Tseng-- I know why Shinra's been following Sephiroth. I know Rufus thinks he'll lead you to the Promised Land, but trust me when I say that he won't. He can't. He isn't an Ancient. What Sephiroth is after is a way to destroy this Planet. So please, if you're going after the keystone, if you already have it-- don't use it."
"Why should I believe that, coming from you? You've never wanted Shinra to have the Promised Land."
"You know me. You really think I'd be asking you if it wasn't important?" When he didn't reply, she went on, "Look into Hojo's files then. He should've figured it out years ago, when he brought in my mother and me."
"Say Sephiroth isn't an Ancient. It won't change my orders."
"So stall!" Aeris said in frustration. "You've done it before."
"Rufus isn't as patient as his father."
"What's he going to do, replace you?"
Tseng didn't reply.
"Just... think about it. Okay?"
"Fine," he said. "Are you still at Cosmo Canyon?"
Nanaki stepped forward, caught Aeris's eye, and shook his head.
"Let's not meet there," said Aeris. "You know the river crossing just south of the canyon?"
"Yes. I can be there tonight. Before sundown."
"And it goes without saying--"
"I won't be coming alone to meet you and all your friends, Aeris. But I won't bring an army either."
"...all right. I'll see you there."
Tseng hung up without replying, and Aeris lowered the phone, letting out a breath.
"That was pretty good, Aeris," said Jessie. "You sounded like a pro."
"Thanks. I hope that's all right, as a meeting place. I didn't want to bring him here, but I didn't want to go too far either."
"Oughtta be all right," Barret assured her.
Yuffie was nodding thoughtfully. "There's plenty of cover around there. We get there first and it'll be a good set-up. Oh! And if we really wanna slow 'em down, we should totally steal whatever Tseng shows up in and strand 'em there."
Tifa blinked; she hadn't even thought of that. "I'm not sure the opportunity will come up, but if it does..." She glanced from Yuffie to Vincent. "You think you two can handle that? We'll all go this time, so I can manage the truck."
Vincent nodded. "If it isn't something I can operate, we can at least disable it."
"Perfect," Tifa said. With Shinra's resources, she doubted it would stall the Turks for long, but it could buy them a little time--and maybe some new resources of their own.
"We got some time between now and then," said Barret, catching her eye. "How 'bout you take it easy for a while?"
Tifa nodded. "I think that goes for all of us. Let's rest up while we can."
They took the time to sort out shifts for keeping an eye on the Turks, and then the rest of them dispersed.
Aeris took Tifa by the arm, and they walked slowly out onto the landing. "So," she said, "you don't think Yuffie's right that there's nothing to do around here, do you?"
Tifa shrugged. "It's the company that matters, isn't it?"
"That's true," Aeris said. "Anyway, I miss the normal, boring things. I wonder if my flowers are doing okay..."
"Plenty of people in Sector 7 came from places where they could've had a garden. There must be a few green thumbs."
Aeris nodded thoughtfully. "Say, the people here must grow some of their own food, right? Do you think they have a vegetable garden or something?"
"I'm sure we can find out," Tifa decided. "And it is your turn to teach me something this time. Between me and Papa, we weren't very good at keeping plants alive."
Aeris clicked her tongue. "Well, that won't do. I'd hate to have to ban you from my hypothetical future flower shop."
"I could always promise not to touch anything."
"That's a promise I definitely don't want you making."
Tifa smiled wryly. "What's with you and innuendos today?" she wondered.
Aeris gave her a playful look and answered, "Oh... Good dreams."
Tifa blushed, and she let Aeris tug her along towards the nearest shop to ask after any gardens. She was looking forward to seeing Aeris in her element, to spending a few hours at something mundane, even if it had never been part of Tifa's own routine. Maybe it would help her imagine that hypothetical future life.