Title: The Nightmare
Fandom: Final Fantasy: Advent Children
Characters: Cloud, Tifa, Vincent, Yuffie, Aerith, Zack, Sephiroth
Prompt: 030 - Death
Word Count: 3198
Date finished: 07/04/2006
Rating: PG, maybe PG-13
Summary: Something's wrong with Cloud, and Tifa doesn't know what.
Author's Notes: I don't know. Usually I can remember where I get the idea for things, but I'm not sure. Really.
Disclaimer: Characters are owned by Square Enix and Sony Pictures as far as I know.

"How is he?"

Tifa jumped half out of her chair, startled, and turned to face Vincent, who stood in the doorway. She rubbed her eyes to give her time to figure out what to say, then dropped her hands in her lap. "There's no change," she said softly. "I don't know what…." She fell silent, and turned back.

Cloud lay on the bed before her, curled up in a fetal position, his face hidden in his arms, which curled up over his head. He trembled slightly, and sweat streaked his visible skin. He'd been like that for most of the day. Tifa reached forward and touched his arm; he flinched so hard she jumped backwards and nearly tipped the chair over.

"Tifa, can I get you anything?"

She hadn't seen Yuffie behind Vincent. The small ninja girl looked worried as she stood next to Tifa, her hands clasped behind her.

"No," Tifa said. "Thank you."

But Yuffie didn't move, except to sink down into a crouch on the floor, arms folded and resting on her knees. Tifa noticed her over-sized shuriken was on her back, and wondered why she was armed. "What's wrong?" she asked.

Tifa shook her head, refusing to give into the tears that wanted to fill her eyes. "I don't know," she said hopelessly. "Everything was going fine, and then he just… collapsed." She turned to Vincent. "Could it have something to do with Hojo and his… experiments?"

"I don't know," Vincent said, sounding distant. "We were… different experiments."

Yuffie snorted. "You were vengeance. He was just… unlucky."

"One way to put it, yes," Vincent said evenly, but the chill he put into his voice when he was upset was absent.

Tifa turned her attention back to Cloud. He was no longer trembling, but he sounded like he was in pain, mumbling something under his breath, barely audible sounds that she could not make out as words at all.

At least it was a change. He'd been curled up like that for hours, shivering, fighting… "He's fighting for his life," she murmured, but she didn't know what he might be fighting.

It was so unfair! He'd just fought off not only Geostigma, but also Sephiroth and Kadaj and his brothers. That had been barely a month ago, and now this… Why couldn't he just live out his life? Why couldn't he have peace, happiness, joy in the day-to-day of running a delivery service, of being a surrogate father for Denzel and Marlene? He'd told her, just the other day, that he was finally happy. She'd been so glad for him.

Cloud moved. He straightened and rolled off the bed onto his feet, and Tifa's relieved greeting was caught in her throat.

Cloud didn't move like that. That was….

And Vincent had her shoulder in a vice grip, pulling her away from the monster wearing Cloud's face. The chair clattered to the floor as she fell against Vincent, only then aware that he had Cerberus out, and his clawed gauntlet was digging lightly into her shoulder where he held her. Yuffie had jumped back, too, her shuriken in hand, stanced to fight. Tifa realized they'd come prepared for this, dimly, just before the not-Cloud spoke.

"You were waiting for me."

She wanted to cry, wanted to scream out her anger and hatred, as Cloud's voice spoke with the undertones of a deeper one, malice glittering in his Mako-blue eyes.

"Naturally," Vincent said, undisguised anger in his voice.

"Sephiroth," Tifa breathed. "Can't you just leave him alone?"

The cruel smile was… strange, on Cloud's face. "No," he said. "Let a symbol of my failure live? Never."

And then the smile crumpled into a look of fierce concentration. "Tifa. You have to end this."

That was all Cloud; his voice, his eyes looking at her, his body his own for a brief second. He grimaced in pain, and Sephiroth was back in control. He smiled again, that cruel, hateful smile that gave her shivers. "Yes, Tifa," he said silkily. "You have to end this."

Tifa looked up at Vincent, and he let her go with a nod. "Very well," she said flatly, and nearly smiled at the look of shock on Sephiroth's face.

A prisoner in his own mind, Cloud could barely pay attention as Tifa leaped at him, ungloved hands reaching for his throat. In that instant he was proud of her, of her unflinching response.

:You knew this would happen!: Sephiroth railed at him, keeping Tifa off him with some difficulty.

:Yes,: Cloud said. Although he hadn't been really sure; but he knew something about Tifa that Sephiroth did not. If he'd wanted to really hurt Cloud, he'd have taken over Tifa.

Cloud worked carefully, intertwining his consciousness with Sephiroth's, binding the general tighter and tighter to him. In this he would not fail, he would not leave them to fight Sephiroth without him.

:You still don't understand,: he whispered, his words barely audible, and Sephiroth paused to try to catch his words.

It gave Tifa the opening she needed. Cloud watched her grab Yuffie's weapon, whirl, and stab him through the chest with it.

The scream that burst from his mouth was Sephiroth's. The general was so angry, so… furious at being thwarted yet again. Cloud felt Tifa's arms around his shoulders. "Hold tight," she whispered. "Just… hold tight. I love you."

It was petty, but Cloud had never expected anything less from Sephiroth. He wouldn't let Cloud say anything, and kept control of his body until Tifa faded from his vision.

And he was back in the familiar darkness of the Lifestream, Sephiroth's fury beating at him as the general tried to free himself from the grip Cloud had on him.

Unfortunately, he was also winning. Cloud held on, not wanting to let him go, willing to keep hold of him until the end of time, but Sephiroth was stronger. And Cloud had been fighting him for hours now.

:Here. Let me hold him for a while.:

And there was Zack, strong arms around Sephiroth, gripping his former friend and superior to hold him. Thankfully, Cloud let go, sagging wearily.

Aerith touched his shoulder. :Rest, and let go,: she said gently. :You've earned it.:

:Tifa?: he asked, and gave the equivalent of a deep sigh, letting his worries and cares drift.

:She knows,: Aerith said. :She'll join you. Eventually.:

:How!: Sephiroth demanded, somehow diminished in Zack's grip. :How did you know she would do that!:

Cloud smiled faintly. :Because she's stronger than I am,: he said. :You picked the weakest of us - and it shows.:

:Rest,: Aerith said gently. :Everything will be all right.:

He trusted her; he always had. Obediently, he closed his eyes.

Tifa set Cloud's body down, turning away as Yuffie pulled her weapon from his chest. The Wutai ninja threw it on the bed and turned to Tifa, tears in her eyes. "I'm sorry," she said, and Tifa only shook her head.

"It's…" But she couldn't say okay, she just couldn't, and Yuffie nodded her understanding.

"I think he was proud of you," Vincent said gently.

Tifa hugged herself, feeling suddenly very alone, and glanced at Cloud. Except for the blood on his chest, he looked… at peace. Not sleeping, no - but at peace. At least he'd been granted that. "I'd… better go tell Marlene," she said stiffly. "And Denzel." But she didn't know what to tell them. Marlene would understand better than Denzel, certainly; she knew better than most of their battles with Sephiroth - the first one, and the latest.

She found she couldn't leave, stuck in the room with Cloud, unable to move. Vincent righted her chair and helped her sit back down in it; Yuffie said something and slipped out of the room.

"He left me alone," she said after a moment.

"This time, I believe the accusation is unwarranted," Vincent said gently. "He did not want to go."

"That doesn't make it any easier," she responded dully, and looked back at Cloud. Was that how he'd felt when Kadaj had disintegrated after their fight?

No. It couldn't be. There hadn't been this much between them - even with Sephiroth involved.

Tifa sighed and buried her face in her hands. It was just too much, she decided, and wondered when she was going to actually grieve for him. She heard the door close as Vincent left.

A hand touched her shoulder, and she looked up, surprised to find that she wasn't in the room anymore, although Cloud lay before her still. He looked different, though, and it took her a minute to realize that the blood was missing. "He's worried about you."

Only then did she look to the person with her hand on her shoulder. "Aerith?" she breathed.

Aerith smiled. "Hi, Tifa," she said softly. "Cloud's tired, so he's resting now."

"I- I don't understand," Tifa stuttered, tears filling her eyes as she looked back at Cloud.

"He'll be glad to see you." Her hand left Tifa's shoulder suddenly, then she chuckled. "That will do," she said.

Tifa looked up to see Zack - he looked very much like he had the last time she'd seen him, in Nibelheim - carefully forming something in his hands. He smiled at her and opened his hands to reveal a small green gem on a silver chain. Tifa shuddered at the chill that came off it. "Here." He gave it to Aerith as he joined her.

"Tifa," Aerith said gently. "Cloud is going to need your help."

She just stared at them both, so utterly confused she didn't even know where to start. "But…" she said.

"He needs to keep this with him." She gave the necklace to Tifa, who took it, but the skin of her hand crawled with the feel of it.

"Okay. But why?" Never mind that he was dead, she thought.

"It will keep Sephiroth from doing this again," Zack told her.

"How?"

"He's imprisoned there," Aerith said. "As long as Cloud has it, he cannot escape."

Tifa looked at them, tears in her eyes. "But…"

Aerith shook her head. "Don't worry," she said, and then suddenly, Tifa was back on her chair in the room above the bar, the cold gem in her hand, mind reeling. If they'd snatched Cloud off Fenrir on his way to the Forgotten City, no wonder he'd been a little disoriented when Yazoo started shooting at him!

A low groan interrupted her, and she started, looking around wildly to find the source. When she did, she nearly screamed.

Cloud was moving, struggling to sit up, one hand over his chest where she'd stabbed him. He coughed, once, then Tifa threw herself off her chair to kneel next to him, helping him sit up, not really believing what was before her eyes.

"Are you okay?" she asked, gently touching his face. The gem brushed her arm and she flinched.

"I… I think so." His brow furrowed. "I'm sorry you had to do that," he said softly. "But I'm glad you did."

She sighed softly. "Aerith and Zack gave me something for you," she said.

His eyes widened in surprise. "They what?"

She held out the necklace. "Aerith said that as long as you have it, Sephiroth cannot escape. I guess… that's him."

He took it, weighing it in his hand. "I see," he said softly. His eyes met hers briefly, then he fumbled with the clasp. Taking it from him, she laid it about his throat and clasped it behind him. And just as she finished, he wrapped his arms around her and held her tightly. "I thought I'd lost you," he said into her shoulder.

"Yeah," she whispered, and now, finally, when she no longer had to grieve, tears spilled from her eyes and dripped onto the back of his shirt.

"Sh-h," he whispered, rocking her a little, and eventually her sobs faded into hiccups.

"Vincent and Yuffie are going to be surprised," she said after a moment.

He drew back from her. "Vincent and Yuffie?" he asked.

"Yeah, they showed up together just before Sephiroth took over, although why, and why together - and why armed to the teeth - I don't know."

"They were expecting him," Cloud said. "He found them… amusing. You, on the other hand, he did not."

She blushed. "He didn't?"

He shook his head. "No. But I'll tell you about it later."

Tifa gasped. "Yuffie went to tell Denzel and Marlene what happened!" she said, and jumped to her feet.

Cloud tried to follow. He staggered against the wall, and finally made it to his feet when Tifa slipped under his arm and took some of his weight. "Whoa," he mumbled.

"You probably shouldn't do a lot for a while," she said, but when she wanted him to sit on the bed, he refused.

"I can walk out there and show them I'm okay," he said evenly, and he seemed to be fine, as long as she helped him.

They met everyone else in the hallway. Marlene had her face buried in Vincent's side, and Denzel was trying very hard not to cry. He saw them first. "Cloud!" he yelled, and tackled the blond, nearly knocking him over.

After that, it was just chaos. Marlene turned to reprimand Denzel, and shrieked in delight when she caught sight of Cloud; Yuffie insisted on an explanation, and even Vincent added his voice to the din, trying to get Denzel and Marlene to let Cloud go, who looked like he was going to fall over any minute.

Tifa took one look at his pale face and took charge of the situation. "Denzel, you need to let him go. You, too, Marlene. Vincent, can you get him to lay back down? He needs to sleep. Yuffie, if you'll get the children started on a project, I'll get us all something to eat."

And in spite of protests - including Cloud's - that was how it went. When Tifa returned upstairs, she found Yuffie and the kids huddled outside Cloud's room, paper and crayons strewn across the floor as they worked tirelessly. Tifa smiled and stepped over them and into the room.

Cloud was out cold on the bed; Vincent had taken up the vigil on her chair. She slipped over and touched his shoulder. "There's lunch downstairs. Will you join us?"

He nodded and got to his feet, she led the way out to invite the other three. They followed, somewhat unwillingly, but it was quiet of complaints as they ate.

When she'd finished, Tifa went back upstairs, quietly shut the door, and sat down on the chair she'd already spent most of the day in. But not for long. He woke up, and rolled to his feet with the grace of a SOLDIER - but not that one - and smiled at her. "Feeling better?" she asked.

"Yes," he told her. "You?"

She smiled as she stood, and he folded her into his arms. "Yes, thanks. Much," she said, and lay her head on his shoulder.

The necklace changed their lives, little by little. One change was that Cloud no longer took deliveries that meant he had to stay overnight away from Tifa. "I can't fight him alone," he said to her when he'd returned one morning, haggard from lack of sleep. "I had nightmares for an hour - he knew what to show me - and I gave up and came home."

Soon, Strife Delivery Service was local, so he could make it home every night. Tifa didn't mind, but she worried that he did. He seemed happy - but she'd been deceived before.

Marlene and Denzel didn't like the necklace; they both complained that it was cold. "I know it is," Cloud said, over and over, but he never took it off, and wore it covered by his shirts when he could.

Years passed, gently, and Tifa only noticed by mile stones: their first child, the second, the third, Denzel going on his own, Marlene going back to Barret and his new wife, the children growing… It just swooped by for both of them, neither really noticing the passage.

Until one night, Tifa realized something. "Cloud," she said softly, and he stirred.

"What is it?" he asked. There was gray in his hair now, barely visible, but there. Hers would probably stay black until she died. Her grandmother's had.

"It's not as bright."

He reached over, took her hand, and placed it over the necklace. She flinched, and then realized something else. "It's not as cold."

"No," he said. "It's been less and less, the last few years."

"What's happened?" she asked.

He smiled and gently stroked her cheek. "I think he's been with us so long, he's finally gotten a taste of what love really is."

She opened her mouth to answer, then nodded, slowly. "He'd never had it."

"Not likely. Not what I know of him. And our children have as much as we can give. He can't hate through that."

"What happens when we die?" she asked.

He let his breath in a sigh. "I don't know. I guess we'll find out. But it might not be so bad."

She clasped her hand with his. "I hope it's good," she said softly, and he kissed her.

"Does he still talk to you?" she asked after a long time.

"Rarely, now," he told her. "But sometimes, yes. I think he's lonely."

She lay quietly for a moment, then touched the gem. "I wish you happiness," she said, and Cloud grinned.

"I love you," he said.

His own death did not come as much of a surprise; he'd been ill for days. What did surprise him was Sephiroth's presence with him, diminished even more than he had been the last time Cloud had seen him.

"Are you okay?" Cloud asked, well aware of the inanity of the question.

Sephiroth just looked at him, cat-slit green eyes weary. "You took everything from me."

Cloud said nothing. It was true; never mind that almost everything he'd done had been self-defense.

"And now you ask me if I'm okay?"

Cloud shrugged. "I'd actually hoped you felt... better," he admitted. "That maybe you'd stopped hating."

Sephiroth smiled, but it was a smile from Cloud's distant memories, before the Shin-Ra Mansion in Nibelheim, before he went insane. "Perhaps," he said softly.

"You stopped sending me nightmares."

"It was useless. The last effective nightmares were your last over-night delivery." He shook his head slowly. "Then I found I did not care to give you nightmares any more."

"Why?" Cloud asked, surprised.

"Your children," Sephiroth said simply.

Cloud smiled a little. "I will miss them," he said. "But they'll take good care of Tifa."

Sephiroth laughed joyfully. "She will not survive you long,"

They fell silent. "She wished you joy," Cloud said after a while.

"Yes," Sephiroth said faintly. "She did. I... was glad to know she'd forgiven me."

"Long ago," Cloud said. He began carefully unbinding his former nemesis from his own consciousness. He hoped he was not making a mistake as he released the last hold.

"Ah," Sephiroth said. And then, like Kadaj had, he dissolved into green sparkles that faded into the dark of the lifestream.

"Well done," Aerith said, and smiled at him. Behind her Zack leaned against nothing, nodding when Cloud glanced at him.

"Thank you," Cloud said, confused.

Aerith chuckled. "Rest," she said, "while you wait. She'll be here soon."

Cloud smiled and, trusting her, closed his eyes to wait for Tifa.

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