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Final Fantasy: A Bond of Love	By : Bubblesoflove Category: Final Fantasy VII > Het - Male/Female > Cloud/Tifa Views: 1937 -:- Recommendations : 0 -:- Currently Reading : 0
Disclaimer: I do not own Final Fantasy VII, nor any of the characters from it. I do not make any money from the writing of this story.

Chapter List
- 8
- 9
- 10
Chapter: A Face of a Friend�or an Enemy?

�� Cloud?�
Zack gasped out as he continued to stare at his once best friend, his student.
He couldn�t believe what he was seeing�was Rufus right? Did he see a dead clone
or is he seeing one right now?
�� Cloud tilted
his head to the side, his blue eyes filled with confusion for a moment before
they became emotionless once more and he straightened his head and his grip
tightened on his sword.
�� I don�t
know that name,� Cloud told him, robotically. �My name is� Sephiroth.�
�� What?� Zack
just stared at Cloud, horror struck. Sephiroth is dead�Cloud ran him through
with the sword�so why does he think he is Sephiroth. �You�re Cloud.�
�� My father
named me Sephiroth�he claims that it is my true name,� Cloud told him as he
raised his sword and rushed at Zack, causing him to duck.
�� Outside of
the building, the group were surrounding their transports as they waited for
Zack to make his appearance.
�� Something�s
wrong,� spoke Aerith. She had been pacing for the last five minutes after
everyone had come out and they had not heard anything from Zack.
�� He�s fine,�
Barrett grumbled. �Probably just taking his sweet time.� Tifa shook her head.
�� No, Zack
has been extra cautious lately. He wouldn�t want to hang around for a long
time,� Tifa stood up from where she had been sitting on the steps of the jeep.
�I�m gonna see what�s taking him so long.� Before anyone could stop her, she
hurried into the building, leaving everyone annoyed and frustrated with Aerith
worried.
�� Stop it
Cloud!� Zack commanded. �I�m not going to fight you!�
�� I�m not
Cloud!� Cloud jumped forward, swinging his sword down but Zack just rolled out
of the way, narrowing missing the blade. Cloud spun around to look at Zack.
Both of them were breathing heavily despite having been trained in fighting. A
part of Cloud was rebelling against fighting against the �enemy� and it was
taking up Cloud�s energy.
�� You are
Cloud Strife, you are 21 years old and you�re my best friend!� Zack shouted
only roll out of the way when Cloud�s sword was swung in his direction once
more, forcing him to dodge it.
�� Shut up!�
roared Cloud as he rushed at Zack. Desperate, Zack grabbed his buster and swung
it around, blocking the attack off. It was fight time now. There was no backing
out of it.
�� Zack pulled
the buster out of the block and swung it around, forcing Cloud into doing a
back-flip to avoid the attack before he landed on his hands and feet before
looking up at Zack once more and rushed toward the older man, swinging his
sword that had Zack jumping backward to avoid the cut but his top wasn�t as
lucky as the tip of the blade sliced the material.
�� Both of them
locked eyes as they raised their swords once more. Zack thought, frantically,
for a way out of the situation. He didn�t want to hurt Cloud but it was looking
like that he had to if he wanted to get Cloud out of here and away from
whatever that was happening to him.
�� Cloud rushed
forward and both of their swords clang together as Zack blocked all of Cloud�s
attack but Cloud was getting quicker with each other swing, forcing Zack to
duck and roll his way out of danger as he felt the mako and Jenova cells start
up once more inside of him, his blue eyes turning brighter. It had been a while
since Zack had a rush like this and knew that what Cloud was feeling right now.
�� Their
swinging became more blurred and furious as the metal met each other, sparks
were beginning to fly off due to the continuous clashing as they both danced
around the room, trying to avoid the blade from meeting their skin when Cloud
finally lost his control and swung his sword toward Zack�s feet, forcing the
older man to jump into the air only to Cloud to grab one of his foot out of
mid-air, causing Zack to fall back onto the ground with a sword pointed at his
throat.
�� Cloud
gritted his teeth as he breathed heavily. Zack was now on lying on the ground,
propped up on his elbows as he almost breathed heavily. Both mako blue eyes
were locked onto each other with Cloud�s blade pointed at Zack�s throat.
�� Tifa made
her way through the hallway, everything inside of her was screaming to go
faster and it was scaring her. The last time she felt this feeling was before
Zack had told her that Cloud was dead�she pushed on faster, she needed to get
to Zack.
�� Upon
reaching the doorway of the room, she stopped as she took in the sight. Zack
was laying on the ground with�Cloud�hovering over him with a long blade in his
hand, aiming it at Zack�s throat. Cloud�s dark eyes were now bright due to the
Mako he had received. Her heart jumped into her throat when she understood that
Rufus had been right�Cloud had been alive for the last nine years and most
definitely had lost his memories.
�� Cloud?!�
Tifa stopped in her tracks when she saw him. Cloud turned his head at the
unexpected noise and locked eyes with red ones�the same ones that haunted his
dreams.
�� Tifa; stay
back,� Zack held out a hand toward Tifa. �He thinks he�s Sephiroth!�
�� Tifa��
Cloud whispered before he started chanting her name as pain build up in his
head, causing him to drop the sword and clutch his temples with his fists.
�� Zack watched
as Cloud stumbled backward away from him as his eyes clenched shut before he
fell to his knees. Zack got up on to his feet as he watched the scene with
horror.
�� Cloud!�
Tifa made to run over to him but Zack wrapped his arms around her waist,
holding her back.
�� Memories
were rushing through Cloud�s mind at breakneck speed.
�� First time seeing Tifa, at the age 5, when
they met each other at school, she was dressed in a knee length blue trousers
and a red t-shirt
�� Cloud shook
his head, trying to get his bearing back under control
�� Seeing Tifa, at the age 13, doing a strip
tease dance at her window, watching him watching her
�� Cloud
gritted his teeth as his fingers clutched his hair
�� Him and Tifa sitting on the water tower,
Tifa asking him to make the promise of saving her when she needed him the most
�� Cloud�s head
snapped to the side
�� Jumping in front of Tifa, at the age 15, as
the monster tried to attack her
�� Argh!�
Cloud threw his head back, the cords of his neck visible
�� Looking at Tifa in bed next to him, a sweet
soft smile on her face as she gaze up at him with love clear in her red eyes.
She was dressed in the white sheet with her black hair over the pillow, giving
her an angelic look.
�� Tifa�Tifa�Tifa�Tifa��
Cloud chanted over and over again, unaware that he was chanting her name,
unable to say anything else.
�� Tifa lying at the steps of the Mako Reactor,
the clean scar on her chest thanks to a blade, holding her in his arms as he
stroked her cheek, wishing that she would wake up
�� No�No��
Cloud�s back hit the wall from where he fell backward under the pressure of the
memories.
�� Cradling Tifa in his arms�telling her that
he was sorry that he was late�telling Tifa he loved her�Tifa telling him she
loved him too
�� What�s
happening to him?� Tifa asked. Zack shook his head, unsure of what was
happening himself. Cloud managed to pull himself up to his feet only for pain
to pound harder and he fell to his knees.
�� Pain was
easing off, his memories of Tifa slowing down till he was breathing heavily,
his chest heaving and his heart pounding. Opening his eyes, he locked them with
teary red eyes and lifted up a hand, reaching out to her.
�� Tifa�� Cloud whispered as his blue
eyes rolled up into the back of his head and he fell forward with a hard thud.
�� CLOUD!�
Tifa screamed; fear clutching her heart once more�was she going to lose him now
that she just got him back? Zack let her go and they both ran over to Cloud,
skidding on their knees at the last inches.
�� Zack turned
Cloud onto his back before checking his neck for a pulse while Tifa stroked
Cloud�s hair. Zack let out a sigh of relief.
�� He has a
pulse,� Zack told her, causing her to cry with relief. �We gotta get him out of
here.� Tifa nodded as she helped Zack lift Cloud up. Both of them draped an arm
of Cloud over their shoulders and made their way out of the room with him.
�� Aerith had
started pacing even faster when Tifa had disappeared into the building. She
just didn�t understand why she was feeling the sense of D�j�-Vu. She had never
been in this situation before but the feeling was nagging away at her.
�� Barrett was
about to tell her to sit down when she gave a gasp and spun around, meeting
lavender eyes filled with mako. Zack and Tifa were making their way over to the
gang and she gave a sigh of relief.
�� Zack,�
Aerith caught sight of the spiky blonde hair and understanding dawned on her as
she looked at Zack with hope clear in her eyes. Zack couldn�t help but meet her
with the same emotion.
�� It�s him, Aerith,�
Zack whispered. Aerith rushed forward and checked Cloud out before motioning
toward the jeep.
�� We need to
get him to a medical centre straight away � I know a place we can know, Shin-Ra
doesn�t know about it,� Aerith told him and Zack nodded.
�� Who the
hell is this?� Barrett asked as he moved closer, watching Zack and Tifa place
the still body into the back of the Jeep before anger flushed his face when he
saw the Shin-Ra 1^st class outfit. �He�s a SOLDIER!� Tifa ignored him
as she climbed into the jeep with Cloud, placing his head on her lap as she
stroked his blonde spikes once more.
�� Zack closed
the door and was about to jump into the driver�s seat when Barrett clamped a
heavy hand on Zack�s shoulder. �We�re here to destroy Shin-Ra once more, not to
save them,� Barrett growled out. Zack knocked Barrett�s hand off his shoulder.
�� He is
someone we know � we�re not letting him die,� Zack informed him before he
climbed into the driver�s seat of the jeep. Aerith sent the gang a beseeching
look before she climbed into the passenger seat.
�� The second
the door closed, Zack peeled out of the driveway with the gang staring after
them before Cid swore under his breath, climbed into the other car with the
rest following him before Cid drove after Zack, all of them curious to what was
going on.
�� They pulled
up outside a clinic. Aerith ran into the building while Zack climbed out of the
driver�s seat and over to the back door where he opened the door and helped
Tifa to bring out Cloud and they moved over to the sliding doors of the clinic
where the doctors and nurses had arrived with a gurney.
�� Place him
on this,� one of the female doctors ordered. Zack and Tifa laid Cloud on the
gurney only to watch as the team rushed the gurney away, leaving them behind.
Tifa chased after them till she reached the operating room and was forced to
stay beyond the doorway.
�� Everyone
caught up with Tifa with Barret grousing that they had saved a first class
SOLDIER and why no one was answering his questions. Zack and Tifa just continued
to stare through the window as the team worked on Cloud.
�� Aerith moved
the gang away from Zack and Tifa, leaving them alone to deal with their
emotions without heaving to deal with Barrett�s temper, Yuffie�s curiosity and
Cid�s annoyance. Shera had already been at the hospital caused Cid had called
her to direct her to the clinic rather than the meeting point that everyone had
agreed on in the first place.
�� Does anyone
want to tell us what the deal with Spiky here?� Barrett demanded. Aerith turned
to face him but she was interrupted.
�� His name is
Cloud Strife,� Vincent spoke up, startling everyone. �Hojo used to talk highly
of him. He killed Sephiroth without an aid of Mako and survived the attack
which is impossible as Sephiroth was a 1^st class SOLDIER.�
�� And?�
Barrett asked, as usual in his gruff cold manner. Vincent pinned him with a
hard look, one that had the man flinching under.
�� Hojo
captured Zack and Cloud after the battle with Sephiroth. Zack was told that
Cloud had died, broke out of the tube and found Cloud�s dead body before
leaving, vowing revenge. Tifa and Cloud had a relationship when Cloud was
captured and she spent the last nine years, along with Zack, believing that
Cloud was dead,� Vincent finished off.
�� Tifa was
pregnant with Cloud�s baby,� Aerith spoke up, causing everyone to look at her,
shocked. �She miscarried the day Zack told her that Cloud was dead � Cloud is
the reason why Tifa never dated; he is the love of her life and will always
be.�
�� Are you
saying that we just brought an experiment here?� Yuffie demanded.
�� He is still
Zack�s best friend and Tifa�s lover � what do you expect us to do?! Leave him
behind to rot?!� Aerith demanded, fury making her green eyes flash and
startling everyone as they had never seen Aerith lose her temper.
�� He�s a
fucking experiment � he was created to kill us!� Cid demanded.
�� No, he is a
human being who was subjected to god knows how long experiments and Mako � he
wasn�t created!� Aerith breathed out as she moved closer, �that man in there is
Zack�s best friend, Tifa�s boyfriend and I will be damned if I allow you to go
in there just to kill him because you are scared of the unknown!�
�� He is
Hojo�s pawn � he�ll kill us given the first chance,� Barrett growled before he
frowned. �And what do ya mean Tifa was pregnant � she was fifteen when Spiky
was presumed dead.� Aerith just glared at him, unwilling to say anything but
everyone got the message loud and clear. �Damn.�
�� Well, never
thought Tifa was the type,� Cid uttered only to flinch when he received a slap
to the back of his head as he turned to face his wife. �What the hell? Shera!�
�� Don�t
insult Tifa,� Shera hissed as she glared at her husband. �She obviously loves
Cloud and I�m not having you debase it.� Cid just rubbed his head as he turned
back to face Aerith.
�� Aerith had
turned away during this moment only to find that Tifa was standing in front of
the window by herself. Frowning, she looked around for her boyfriend only to
find that he had gone completely and set off to find him.
�� Zack had
gone for a walk when he saw the doctors and nurses work on Cloud. He needed to
deal with his emotions; he needed to deal with his thoughts and the betrayal
that was running through him right now.
�� He couldn�t
believe that he had been tricked. He couldn�t believe that he had left Cloud in
Hojo�s hands for nine years and the guilt was eating away at him. He needed to
know that Cloud was going to be okay, that he would slowly return to the boy
who he used to be but Zack wasn�t na�ve to think that everything would go back
to normal. Even being under the care of the doctors and nurses, Cloud had gone
through traumatic events and it would take a long time for him to overcome it.
�� Zack came to
a stop in front of the hallway filled with windows and turned to look out into
the garden. It was raining miserably and Zack couldn�t help but think that it
was perfectly suiting everyone�s mood. They had just found out that Cloud was
still alive but he could still be lost to them as he now thinks he�s Sephiroth.
�� Damn it!�
Zack slammed his fist into the window causing it shatter under the pressure.
Closing his eyes, he took deep breaths before resting his forehead on the other
window and gritted his teeth.
�� Soft warm
hands curled around his bicep and soft lips caressed his black t-shirt covered
shoulder.
�� You got him
back,� Aerith whispered.
�� He was
alive the whole time,� Zack whispered, clenching his fists causing his muscles
to bunch. �They lied to me, they made me think he was dead and I left him there
for nine years.�
�� Shin-Ra
have a lot to explain, especially Rufus � he knew that Cloud was still alive
yet he didn�t let us know,� Aerith spun Zack around and cupped his cheeks. Zack
opened his eyes to look into determined green eyes. �They were the ones who
lied to us; they lied to Tifa, for nine years. They knew that we were mourning
for him, that we were grieving for him but they didn�t care � they allowed the
experiments to continue when they could have let us know that Cloud was still
alive and in their hands.�
�� He thinks
he�s Sephiroth,� Zack whispered and Aerith�s jaw ticked for a moment before she
shook her head.
�� Then we
just have to make him remember who he is and banish Sephiroth from out
lives�for good. I�m not letting that bastard Hojo win by stealing Cloud from us
any longer,� Aerith told Zack in a firm tone before she slid her arms around
his neck and pulled him into a hug. Zack wrapped his arms around her waist,
holding on as he buried his face into her neck, breathing the soft flowery
scent of hers. �Cloud will remember who he is and we will get him back. You�ll
see; everything will be okay in the end.� Zack just gave a short nod as she
continued to comfort him.
�� The doctors
and nurses had finally got Cloud stabled and had allowed Tifa to enter the room,
warning her that Cloud was under heavy sedation and might not be able to hear
her. Tifa barely heard any of this as she made her way over to the still body
that was lying on the bed under the white sheets.
�� It was so
weird to see Cloud like this. Ever since they were children, Cloud was always
seen as a strong one, the one who rarely succumbed to illness when all the
other kids did. To see him lying on the on the bed�after being told for so long
that he was dead was just numbing her completely to everything.
�� Tifa sat
down on the bed next to Cloud. She just stared at him for a long moment before
she slowly reached a hand out and touched his warm smooth skin. Closing her
eyes as tears escaped her she slid her hand down to his and linked them
together before she opened them to look at Cloud�s face.
�� I missed
you so much,� Tifa sobbed, wiping the tears with the back of her free hand.
�When Zack told me that you had died, I didn�t believe him. I fought him but it
was so hard to keep the faith.� She looked off to the side. �I kept having
dreams of you but I always pushed them to the back of my mind, believing that
my mind was playing tricks on me. I didn�t want to hold out hope that you were
alive only to have them dashed.�
�� The beeping
of the heart monitor picked up slightly. Tifa looked toward the machine before
looking at Cloud once more. �Cloud,� Tifa shook her head. �I love you so
much�please don�t leave me, not again.� She turned her face to the side just as
a soft pressure encased her hand. Turning her head, she found herself looking
into soft blue eyes that were now bright due to the mako injections that he had
received.
�� I love you
too,� Cloud whispered.

TBC

Okay, I have a feeling that I have people out of characters
but I�m writing them how I saw them, Barrett had always been suspicious of
Cloud since he first met him so I transferred that onto Zack and I always saw
Barrett as a �shoot now, ask questions later� type of guy.
- 8
- 9
- 10
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Final Fantasy: A Bond of Love