What They Wanted
Disclaimer: I do not own any part of Final Fantasy nor do I have any affiliation with it's
creators.

Chapter 1: The Dream

Tifa stood outside of Cloud's villa on a cold and foggy night. After the meteor, everyone
had a home to go to except her. Cloud offered her to stay with him since going back to Nibelheim
was out of the question. This was not the first time she'd have to stand outside. Cloud had
another horrible nightmare about Aeris and was pacing around the house, muttering incoherent
things to himself. Ever since Aeris's death, he's been haunted by visions of her. Of course you'd ask why visions of her would be bad, but then again, you don't know what these dreams and visions
contain. At first, they would be pleasant and Aeris would tell him that she was fine in the life-
stream. Then, her murder would be played back over and over again, it was monotanous. "You could
have saved and protected me" she would say,"But you let me die, how could you!?" Having these
dreams every single night is bound to drive someone to sheer madness. Aeris would never have said
anything like that, no matter how unfair her death was. She was always that kind of cheery person
that blames no one, but that didn't matter to Cloud. In his eyes, in his warped little mind, her
death was all his fault and the weight on his shoulders would never be lifted. Confusion of
Sephiroth was no more, now it was desperate and utter confusion with Aeris.
Tifa couldn't take it anymore, his anguish was having a big effect on her. No matter what
she did to try to help him, it was no use. It wouldn't change anything. She loved Cloud, and she
loved him enough to put his life before her own. She wanted to end his suffering, even if it
meant the start of hers. Besides, she couldn't compete with a dead woman.
Tifa was out there for about another half-hour before deciding to come back in. She
checked Cloud's room, he was sound asleep. She sighed and went in her room. It won't be long
before he'll be reunited with her, she thought and went to sleep.
The next morning, Tifa was awoken by an anxious roomate.
"Tifa, Tifa! Get up!" Cloud exclaimed.
"Oh God Cloud, what is it?" she asked a tad annoyed.
"I found it! I found a way!"
"A way? A way to what?" she inquired.
"A way to bring Aeris back!" he exclaimed.
"Huh?" Tifa questioned," How?"
"It came to me, in a dream last night," he said.
"Oh," was all she could say.
"Anyway Aeris said that there was a way to bring her back. She mentioned something about
the "orb of savior". She said if we used that, she would be brought back!!" he said all in one
breath.
"Cloud, stop and think for a moment," Tifa started, Cloud only nodded,"We know nothing
about this "orb" let alone its whereabouts. If we want to save her, then we must find out more
about everything instead of searching around aimlessly." Cloud nodded in agreement. Tifa was
right and beforehand, he hadn't even thought of a plan. He frowned at the outrageousness of his
idea. Tifa noticed this.
"Now don't look so glum, I have an idea anyway," she said. Cloud's facial expression
changed to one of curiousity.
"Look, we can go to Cosmo Canyon and see Nanaki. They recently discovered new, ancient
books in that cavern. We might be able to find something there, okay?" Tifa said.
"Hmmm...good idea, let's start packing up to leave," he suggested and left the room. As
soon as he left, Tifa broke into a sob. This was the beginning of her end. She got out of bed
and looked under it. There was a shiny metal box. It contained her best weapon, Premium Heart,
a Dragon Armlet, a ribbon, and all of her materia. After all, they might face turbulance along
the way. Tifa dressed in her usual attire and as she did, she thought of what would become of
her when Aeris came back. Of course her and Cloud would be the "perfect couple" and she didn't
want to get in the way.
"I'll leave when she comes back," she thought,"besides, they don't need me around to
meddle with their lives. They probably want to be alone." Another tear escaped her eye when
she knew that she had nowhere else to go, no one else to turn to.
"I guess I'll be on my own again, there's nothing wrong with that," she said to herself.
Tifa didn't acknowledge the tears falling when Cloud came into the room.
"Hey Tifa, I already rounded up the chocobos so lets get go- hey is there anything wrong?"
he asked. She wiped her tears away and answered.
"No, nothing's wrong, I-I j-just have something in my eye. Yeah, that's it, I have
something in my eyes. Now let's get going." He nodded and she followed him out of the villa.