Fractured Soul

Recovering and Reminiscing

   Cloud blinked a few times as he gazed into her eyes. Tifa swallowed the lump in her throat before Cloud spoke. "Can you repeat that, please? I think I had some Mahhhogany in my ears." Tifa sweatdropped at his words. "Sigh. As I said, Cloud. We're gonna blow up a Mako reactor. That should stem the tide of their absorption of the Lifestream." Cloud groaned as he took a drink of the soda. "So let me get this straight. Instead of raiding a Shinra facility, your team has decided, 'Nah, Bro, we need to blow shit up!' Am I right?"

    Tifa flinched at his assumption. Not cause it was wrong. It was actually just as he said. She was the sole member to disagree with the plan, but she wasn't able to convince the others. Nodding slowly, she looked to him with rear filled eyes. "Basically, yes. But if we had a SOLDIER 1st class with the team, it would cause fewer casualties. We know just how powerful a 1st class can be. You guys are like legitimate one man armies all by yourselves. Which I'm not gonna lie we could really use. I... I don't want to cause innocent lives to be taken, and if my team runs in, they would be overwhelmed and may prematurely detonate the bomb, killing thousands. I don't want what happened five years ago to repeat itself." Tifa said quietly as tears fell.

     Cloud sighed as he understood her pain. He definitely didn't want another senseless slaughter. But to risk blowing up a reactor.... innocent lives will be lost even if everything is done correctly given the amount of power a Mako reactor harbors. "I see. But Tifa, you do realize that what happened in Nibelheim was vastly different, right? Sephiroth slaughtered the townsfolk with blade and magic as opposed to blowing up the reactor. Even if everything goes correctly, many lives will be lost either from the explosion or the panic after. I don't see how if I were to accompany them. I could limit the number of lives lost." Cloud said as he looked to his sword. Unaware of Tifa's reaction to him, even knowing of the slaughter of Nibelheim. Her eyes went wide as she paled at his words. Shinra had hid what had actually happened. Other than the survivors, no one knew the truth.

    "M-Maybe so, but my team isn't made up of great fighters. Aside from me, the only talented fighter we have is the team leader." Nodding as he turned to face her once more, Cloud took a deep breath. "Okay. But I need to speak with your team leader. However, I won't be doing it for free." Smiling softly at his words, Tifa nodded. "Absolutely. I understand. When you get back to full health, we can meet with the rest of the team." Cloud smiled at that. While doing his best not to stare at the vision of beauty before him. It's been years since he had seen Tifa, yet she had grown from a pretty girl to a gorgeous beauty.

   As they talked, he had been traveling through his memory. He was concerned as it was spotty in places. But even so, he didn't miss it when Tifa grew serious. "Cloud. For the past five years, I had to carry it all on my back. The senseless slaughter of Nibelheim, my father's death, my failure to defeat Sephiroth. But Claudia's words for you as well. She wanted you to stay but knew you were dead set on joining SOLDIER. She may not have agreed with your decision, but she wanted you to fulfill your dreams. To stand tall, relying on your own strength. She was regretful on a lot of things in her life. But when she was bleeding out, she told me she left you a gift in sector seven. When you're feeling better I can take you  to it."

    Cloud blinked a few times at the information. He didn't remember his mother ever speaking about Midgar, let alone having left anything here for him. As she told him, his mind was launched back to finding her bloodied corpse in their home. He trembled as he remembered the incident. "I see. Thanks for telling me, Tifa. When I heal up, we'll do that then. Is that what led you to come here?" He asked as he pushed the thoughts out of his mind. Tifa groaned. "Not really. I had come here to heal years ago. But once here, I figured the best chance I had to meet you again was staying. While it did work out, I figured it'd be Topside and not down here. Though I couldn't afford to stay up there and I was looking to get far away from Shinra as I could, so I came down here. Which led me to find Avalanche. Plus, I got to work at the bar to help make money." Tifa answered while she smiled fondly as she finished her meal.