Title: Interludes
Fandom: Final Fantasy: Advent Children
Characters: Cloud, Tifa, Kadaj, AVALANCHE, children, misc. townspeople
Prompt: 071 - Broken
Word Count: 1092
Date finished: 05/29/2006
Rating: PG
Summary: Three visits to the church Cloud stayed in.
Author's Notes: Not one of my best - or my favorite, but there it is.
Disclaimer: Characters are owned by Square Enix and Sony Pictures as far as I know.

The church was a mess. Pews had been smashed, and one of the pillars was broken and laying in pieces along one wall. Cloud walked in, slowly, taking in the invasion and destruction of his home, wondering what had happened.

Then he saw her. Tifa lay in the middle of the flower patch, the flowers Aerith had tended and sold on the streets, curled on her side. It brought him to a stop, then he lunged forward, running through the flowers and dropping to her side. He lifted her up. "Tifa!"

It was a moment before she stirred. "You're late," she mumbled.

"Who did this?" he asked.

"He didn't say," she murmured, and he figured it was one of the two that had attacked him on his way into Edge earlier that day. Then she started upright. "Marlene!"

But it was too much for her. Her hand reached up for her head, and she slumped back onto Cloud's arm. He looked around, catching sight of his trunk, bed… but not the case of materia. "No…" he muttered, then gasped as fire ran up his left arm.

It was worse than usual; his arm, supporting Tifa, began to shake, and black… something dripped from his gloved hand into the flowers. He had enough presence of mind to lay Tifa down, then he collapsed next to her, and the church faded around him.

Cloud slid Fenrir to a halt as Kadaj took advantage of his distraction and roared off down the street. His arm hurt, not just from the stigma, but one of Kadaj's blades had stabbed into the stigma. His sleeve was ripped. Cloud grasped it, pulled it off, and left it lying in the street as he went after Kadaj.

There was only one place he could be going.

Cloud paused just outside the church, looked at the closed doors, and prepared himself for more destruction. Then, he revved Fenrir, popped a wheelie, and used the front tire of his motorcycle to throw the doors open.

Another pillar had been knocked down, and even as he rode into the church, Kadaj rode his motorcycle onto it, trying to break it, and bring it down on him. He slid underneath, barely making it before the pillar shattered on the floor.

He almost found Kadaj too late, barely getting out of the way as the remnant threw a blast of blue fire at him. Fenrir flipped and landed on its side in the middle of the flower bed that never seemed to show signs of wear. The ache in his arm increased as Kadaj prepared another blast, then there was a splash, and water erupted to the ceiling, hovered there for an instant, then fell in a spray he hadn't felt since… since before Hojo's lab, probably. It felt nice.

Kadaj fled, soft grunts of pain escaping him as he left the church.

And the pain in his arm faded, glowing a faint green as the Geostigma… was gone. He stood there, unable to even comprehend - and then he heard a splash, and a soft voice said, "Let's go, Cloud."

He righted the bike, and went after Kadaj.

It was something like culture shock, to open his eyes after the explosion to find himself floating in a pool in the middle of the broken floor of the church. Six children surrounded him; for an instant, he could feel their hands on him, steadying him, then he stood up.

The first people Cloud saw were his friends, gathered near the door. And for the first time since… well, since he'd been 13 in Nibelheim, he was actually at peace.

He finally pulled himself out, sitting on the broken edge of the pool as the children continued to jump in, celebrating as each one was cleansed. "What now?" Tifa asked.

Cloud turned and smiled at her, a small smile that made her smile in return. "I don't know. Did my things survive the water?"

She chuckled. "Yes." She turned and pointed to a corner by the door where he'd last seen Aerith and Zack; in the shadows, he could just make out his chest. "Yuffie is watching over your Materia."

He glanced up at the teenager, who gave him a sly grin, and he shook his head. "That's fine. But I don't know. I seem to have lost my… place to stay." He couldn't say home. He'd felt like an encroacher, but there had been no better option.

"There's a spare room in the apartment above the bar," Tifa said with a smile. "It's even furnished."

"Take it," Vincent advised, looking out over the pool. "It's a good offer."

Cloud flushed slightly. "Thanks, Tifa. That sounds great."

"Good," she said, and stood. "I'll go get it ready. You come when you feel like it."

He watched her go, then looked back over the pool. There was a lot to do, still; he had to find Fenrir, and the sword, but for now, he was content to just watch the children. As he did, he realized his broken heart was well on its way to being repaired.

Advent Children Table | Challenge Main

Home | Stories | Links | Contact me