Cast Me Gently Into Morning
by Portrait of a Scribe

Chapter 1: Nightfall.

"Cast me gently into morning, for the night has been unkind."
--Sarah McLachlan, "Answer"

The peace we'd found lasted only three months before it was shattered again. The whole Deepground incident had been put behind us, we had settled down, I had gotten my delivery schedule worked out so that I could spend time with Tifa and the kids. Teef and I had even started dating. Casually, of course, but that's beside the point.

My point is, only three months after the Deepground incident, things went to hell, again.

It all started on one of my ordinary delivery runs. The route was one that I took on a weekly basis, from Edge to Kalm to the Chocobo Ranch and back. The road was so wet that Fenrir's tires couldn't get a good grip on the asphalt; the water drove into my face harder by the second, streaming into my mouth, flying up my nose with the force of the howling wind, hitting me hard enough to hurt even me, with my Mako-enhanced body. I briefly wondered if I should stop for the night, wait out the storm. Then I decided against it. I really wanted to get home and see Tifa and sleep in my own bed for once.

It was between the ranch and Kalm that I was stopped.

There was a truck parked in the middle of the road, effectively blocking my way. I scowled, and tried to see if there was another way around it; but we were in the middle of a bridge over a small-but-swollen river, and there wasn't another crossing for miles. While I could probably swim it, or go around the truck on foot, I didn't want to leave Fenrir. He was too faithful a companion.

It was as I was wondering what to do that the man came out of the truck and approached me. I almost didn't see the cloth in his hand until it was too late, but I glared at him when I did notice it, and the smell that was coming off of it. I carefully backed Fenrir up, deciding that I would rather find another crossing point than get drugged.

"Cloud Strife, correct?" I narrowed my eyes at the sopping-wet man. Who was he? And why did he know my name? Why did he want to drug me? After all, that was chloroform I was smelling, if memory served me right.

"Who's asking?" I asked brusquely. I was in no mood to deal with people trying to fuck up my life even more than it already had been.

The man chuckled. It was... sinister, I decided. Yes, decidedly sinister.

"Doctor Hojo says hi," he said, tossing something at me. I caught it without flinching. Then he dove at me.

I was quick to kick him away, absently pocketing the object. I barely heard his body land hard on the pavement over the sound of the rain and my own pounding heart.

Hojo? Alive? How?

These questions and more ran sporadically through my head as I tried to fight down the sheer terror that gripped my heart at that simple, short sentence. Before I could drive away, I heard the man start speaking again.

"We'll find you, Strife," he said with another dark chuckle. "And if we don't find you, Doctor Hojo's sure that your little Mako-enhanced girlfriend will make a fine specimen for his experiments..."

I didn't hear any more, already driving away, more anxious than eager to get home.

I only stopped once, to look at the thing that the thug had thrown at me. My blood froze in my veins when I saw what it was.

Zack's ID tag, almost eight years old, back from the Nibelheim mission during which we had nearly been killed by Sephiroth. Old bloodstains still discolored the paper beneath the plastic.

Swallowing back bile, I pocketed it again and continued driving.

The man's words echoed in my head the whole drive home, which took a full hour longer than it should have. By the time I finally parked Fenrir in the garage of the Seventh Heaven, my stomach was churning, my face was hot, I had a chill, and my eyes were stinging from my wild flight home. My breath came short as I stealthily entered the bar.

Which brings me to the current moment.

Right now, I'm standing here with First Tsurugi in my left hand, my right hand on the knob of the door separating the garage from the bar. I'm pretty sure I've gotten sick from being exposed to the elements for so long, but I have other, more important things on my mind. Things like making sure that Tifa and Marlene and Denzel are here, and safe, and that Hojo's men haven't gotten to them.

I shiver as I close the door behind me, my eyes darting around the silent area. I still don't want to believe that what the man on the bridge said is true. After all, we- AVALANCHE- killed Hojo three years ago. I saw him die with my own two eyes, and even though the memories are kind of hazy at times, I distinctly remember that event, and the hint of relief that it brought to see my former tormentor die.

Still, I check the kitchen, behind the bar, and underneath all the tables before tiptoeing up the stairs.

The board of the landing creaks faintly when I set my foot down on it. I hold back a cringe, pressing my back against the wall, trying to ignore the way my heart is trying to leap out of my throat. I take a deep breath and peer around the corner.

This isn't right, I think as I scan the dark hallway. I shouldn't have to creep around my own home like some common thief.

But creep I do.

It disconcerts me that Hojo's name still frightens me so much. After all, it's not like he can really do anything to me.

Then I remember what else the man said.

"If we don't find you, Doctor Hojo's sure that your little Mako-enhanced girlfriend will make a fine specimen for his experiments..."

I shudder again, and then make my way up to the upper hallway after making sure the coast is clear.

The first place I head to is the bathroom. I finish clearing that in less than a minute, since there's nothing in there save for a sink, toilet, and bathtub/shower. I also waste no time in checking through my room, taking less than five minutes due to the fact that it's so spartan and clean- Tifa's doing, no doubt. I latch my window before leaving.

I check on Denzel and Marlene next. They're asleep in their beds, Marlene curled around a teddy bear and Denzel sprawled across his pillow, one hand flopped carelessly across his mouth. I silently enter and make a quick circuit of the room. Thank God that their closet door doesn't make any sound as I check inside it. I briefly glance under the beds, finding only dust bunnies, before I make sure that their window is securely locked. I check behind the door one last time. Then I leave the room, close it behind me, and tiptoe up to Tifa's room.

I'm expecting her to be asleep, too, considering the hour- it's well past three and moving on towards four- but she's still up when I gently widen the crack between the door and its frame to peer inside. She looks blearily up at me from her book where she's sitting in her bed, reading. Relief spreads across her weary features. The next thing I know, she's hugging me tightly around the middle.

"Cloud!" she whispers into my ear. "Welcome home!"

I close my eyes, dropping my guard for an instant to brush a kiss on her cheek. Then reality hits me and I stiffen up again, gently pushing her away and scanning the room urgently.

"Cloud? Cloud, what's wrong?" The confusion in her voice nearly stops me, but I only spare her a glance before double-checking that the window is bolted. Not that any normal human could climb into her window on a regular day, let alone a night when nature finally decided to take a massive-ass dump on this section of the world. But Hojo isn't a normal human, and neither are most of the people he works with...

"Cloud!"

I'm finally satisfied when I find nothing under her bed or in her closet, and turn to her, sheathing First Tsurugi in the harness on my back. I can see the confusion in her wine-red eyes, and my Mako-enhanced hearing can hear her heart fluttering in her chest. It's a wonder that I'm able to hear anything over the sound of my throbbing heartbeat and the harsh breathing that is rattling out of my lungs past the lump of panic in my throat. My knees almost give out as I realize that there's nothing in the house; nothing except me, Tifa, and the kids.

"Cloud, what's going on?" Tifa's voice startles me into motion, and I realize that I've been standing there, staring around her room, for the better part of three minutes.

I shake my head wearily, still trembling faintly. Distractedly, I head toward the hallway. I'm determined to give the downstairs one last look-over before I take a hot shower and start packing.

Her hand on my arm stops me. I turn to meet her gaze in the dim lamplight, and she stares back at me for a long moment before reaching up with one hand to brush a drop of water off of my forehead. It's only then that I realize that I've tracked water through the whole building, and that if Hojo doesn't get me, then Tifa will. She hates it when people mess up her territory.

"Cloud, you're warm," she states. I blink. Warm? Oh. Must be feverish.

I grunt, closing my eyes and leaning into the gentle touch. Then I sigh, knowing that I have to tell her where I'm going.

"Tifa," I murmur. She hums, running her fingers through my hair. Ooh, God, that feels so good. Harder, please... No... A little more to the right... Ah, there's the spot.

When she giggles, I wonder absently if I've started purring. Seriously, I'm beginning to feel like a cat. Or maybe a dog that's getting scratched behind the ears.

She's going to hate me for this.

I reach up and gently take her hand in my own, pull it down to hold it against my chest, just above my more recent Masamune scar. You know, the one through my right shoulder. Yeah. That one.

"Teef," I begin again, planting my hands on her shoulders. This time, she listens raptly, and I see her eyes flicker down towards my mouth. "Teef, listen to me. Stop staring at my mouth and listen."

Her gaze snaps up to meet mine again, embarrassed and curious.

"Teef, I have to go away for a while," I tell her quietly. Her eyes widen, and then narrow. She opens her mouth to scold me, but I silence her by slanting my lips over hers.

Tifa tastes sweet. Like mint and vanilla and chocolate all rolled into one. I always liked that combination.

When I pull away again, we're both breathless.

"I can't explain right now, Teef," I whisper quickly. Oh, God, Hojo's men could be coming here right now, and I know that we can fight them, but not while they have drugs and the kids are in danger. The situation makes my heart jump into my throat all over again.

"I just have to go," I conclude. "I swear I'll be back as soon as I can, and I'll try to call you as much as possible. But right now, I want you to promise me something, okay?"

She nods mutely, stunned by the kiss and by what I'm saying. I must sound more scared than I thought I did.

"I need you to keep the kids close to you until I get back," I tell her urgently. "Call in Yuffie and Barret and Vincent. Maybe Cid, too, and Nanaki if he can spare the time. Have one of them with you in the bar at all times. They can sleep in my room if they want, but I want you to have one of them stay with you, okay?"

She nods again, looking shocked by the request.

"Cloud-!"

"Promise me, Tifa!" She gasps when my grip on her shoulders tightens briefly.

"I promise. Cloud-!"

I cut her off again, shaking my head sharply.

"I already told you, I'll explain later," I say. I keep my voice pitched low so that I don't wake up Marlene and Denzel. "Right now, I have to go. All I can say is that if I stay, you're in danger, all of you."

I take a deep breath, kiss her briefly one last time, and then I leave the room, heading back down to my own bedroom. I begin throwing clothes into a bag, a couple of my old uniforms from my AVALANCHE days as well as some casual clothes that will allow me to blend in with crowds more easily. I pull out the dark rain slicker that Tifa got for me for my birthday. I slip it on; it fits perfectly over my shoulder armor and my sword harness, allowing for easy concealment. When it's all settled, it reaches down to my ankles.

That done, I head to the bathroom for some basic necessities: soap, razor, towel. All of them get thrown into my bag. Then I'm ready.

When I make it down to the bar again, Tifa is waiting for me. She's standing over by the entrance to the garage, and she's biting her lip, looking worried. I pause in front of her.

"Tifa," I murmur, my panic being pushed to the back of my mind for a long moment while I stare into her eyes. Those eyes... I say this at risk of sounding like a lovesick puppy, but... I could drown in them...

She doesn't say anything, just reaches up and kisses me. It's sweet like before, but I can taste salt, as well, and I know that she's been crying. My bag slips through suddenly nerveless fingers to land with a thump on the floor as I wrap my arms around her, holding her tightly to me. I jerk slightly in surprise when she wraps her arms around my neck, her tongue smoothing along my lower lip.

I open my mouth, deepening the kiss.

I know that I should be leaving, but my hands don't want to release her body. I know, in the back of my mind, that what we're doing is probably wrong, or should at least be saved for the time after marriage. But my mind is going fuzzy, drunk off of the scent, the taste, the feel of Tifa, and I can't bring myself to leave just yet.

In no time, we're leaning against the bar, Tifa sitting lightly on the edge with me pressed up against her between her legs. I can't think straight, just fumble with her pajamas even as she tries to disrobe me, though my drenched state makes things difficult.

I'm wearing a plain t-shirt today under my jacket and harness, and a pair of blue jeans. They come off quickly, and I make short work of her flannel pants and tank top.

It seems like hours pass between the time that we begin making love to the few minutes after when we lay on the floor of the bar, simply catching our breath, exchanging small, loving kisses every so often. In reality, it's been about thirty minutes, forty-five since I got home.

When I at last crash down from my high, exhausted and still shaking, reality crashes down with me, and I bury my face in Tifa's sweat-slick neck, softly kissing her skin, tasting the salt that coats it.

"I love you, Tifa," I whisper. She sighs beneath me, and I realize that she's fallen asleep. I briefly close my eyes, enjoying the warmth that she radiates. Then I lever myself up off of her and quickly don my wet clothes again.

I still have to leave, after all.

But I won't leave Tifa lying there on the floor. It would be undignified, insensitive, degrading, and callous to do so. I love Tifa. So I pick her up, retrieve her clothes, and carry her upstairs to her bedroom before gently tucking her in beneath her scarlet chocobo-down comforter. I feather one last, tender kiss across her brow, gaze upon her for a long moment- how familiar is this scene?- and then I head over to her desk, write a short letter on a sheet of her stationery. Finally, I fold up the paper and place it on her pillow. I know that she'll find it when she wakes up in the morning.

As an afterthought, I also leave her my earring, which is in the shape of a legendary beast, the Griever. I slip her own matching ring off of her finger and tuck it into my pocket, my hand brushing against a different object in passing. It's Zack's ID tag that the thug threw at me earlier, but my mind is elsewhere, and I let the thought go for the moment.

It's only reluctantly that I leave her, gazing at her as long as possible as I slip out the door. My heart feels like it's tearing in two, and my stomach is churning as I head down the stairs. Three steps from the bottom, my vision suddenly swims, and I stumble, tripping, to land painfully on the floor.

My head hurts, now, too.

I know now, beyond a doubt, that I'm sick, exhausted, and currently dehydrated. It's a struggle to pull myself to my feet, but I manage, and I grab a few bottles of water from the refrigerator, stuffing all but one into my bag. I chug it before tossing the bottle into the sink. I strap my armor and harness back on, slip into my rain slicker. Quickly, as another afterthought, I clean up the small mess Tifa and I left on the floor from our lovemaking. Lastly, I grab a bottle of some generic ibuprofen, pocket it, and pick up my pack. Then I head out through the garage, locking the door behind me.

Fenrir's quiet engine seems unusually loud in the enclosed space, and I briefly wonder if I shouldn't just stay here, recover a bit before leaving. Then I shake my pounding head, knowing that I have to get going. I've wasted enough time as it is, though I spent it so well that I can't ever regret it. Hojo's flunkies could be after me right now.

As I maneuver slowly out of the garage and close the door behind me, I muse faintly on why it is that I have absolutely no doubt that Hojo is back and after me. After all, he's the only one who could possibly know about what was done to Tifa. And she only told me her account of it recently.

Not to mention the ID tag.

I walk Fenrir a few blocks away before I climb on and peel away, the tires squealing as they try to get a good grip without hydroplaning. Then I'm gone.

The rain almost feels good as it lashes against my hot face- the sharp pain it causes wakes me up slightly, clears a little of the fog from my mind. The wind whips my hair back into a sopping mess that drips down the too-warm skin of my neck. It makes me shiver. I'm too busy putting as much distance as possible between myself and the Seventh Heaven to stop, though, so I ignore it. I have to make sure that Hojo's flunkies can't get Tifa and Denzel and Marlene. Then I'll stop.

The sky is getting a little bit lighter when I finally pull Fenrir to a halt after a good fifteen minutes and about thirty miles. I'm parked near a rocky overhang outside of Midgar. It's that overhang that I slip under while I fumble with numb fingers to fish my cell phone out of its waterproof case at my hip.

The number I want is one that I have to look up off of my contacts list, since I haven't memorized it just yet. It's fairly recent. But its owner is a notorious insomniac, so I don't think he'll have any problem with me calling him at- I quickly check the time- five-twenty-six in the morning.

The phone rings once. Twice.

"Hello?"

The voice is unpracticed, but I know it very well, especially since the Deepground incident.

"Vincent?" My voice wavers slightly, and I briefly hold it away from me as a cough wracks my body. I'm slightly hoarse when I next speak. "Vincent, where are you?"

He's silent for a second. I wait impatiently.

"I'm closing in on Edge," he replies. "Thought I'd drop in and see how Tifa and the kids are doing. Yuffie's coming, too."

It's the most I've heard him speak at one time since we met at the Forgotten Capitol during the Advent Crisis.

I close my eyes wearily for a short second as I give a mental sigh of relief.

"Thank God," I murmur, unable to hold it in. I'm shivering again, but I don't know why, since my body's almost numb. I clear my throat. "Vincent, I need you guys to stay with them. Don't let any of them out of your sight. Understand? They can't be left alone."

There's another silence on the other end. I can hear soft breathing, and a feminine mumble reaches my ear after a second.

"Vincent?"

"I'm here," he says. "We'll stay with them."

Thank God.

"Thanks, Vince," I sigh. "Listen, I gotta go. Time's running short right now, but I'll call the bar later, when I can. If I don't call in six hours, you can trace the cell phone's locator chip to hopefully find out where I am."

There's another second of silence.

"Don't keep her waiting, Cloud," he deadpans cryptically. I blink, and then hold the phone away from my ear as the line goes dead. I shiver, and slip it into my boot with a shaky sigh. My body's starting to feel heavy, too heavy. I have to get going. If I don't, then I'll probably get hypothermia on top of being sick.

On a second thought, I reach down and pull my phone out again. I pry open the back- I've studied these things before, briefly- and remove the primary locator chip from the phone. It's self-powered, in case the phone battery runs out, and about as small as a pinhead. A backup locator chip is still inside, isolated in case of system failure. Ah, the wonders of ShinRa technology.

Yeah, right.

The phone gets reassembled and put back into its waterproof pouch.

Pulling out a small knife from my pocket, I grit my teeth and make a small incision on my forearm. I push the locator chip inside, making sure to avoid any major blood vessels. The pain is alarmingly sharp, but it wakes me up, some. I heal the wound with a Cure spell a second later. The knife goes back into my left pocket. Allowing the rain to wash the blood from my skin, I briefly ponder the fact that my blood consists more of glowing white-green than it does crimson.

Slightly fitting, perhaps.

The pain, and the adrenaline rush it brought, fades quickly, and I turn to go.

But as I stumble back towards Fenrir, my ears pick up the sound of rocks shifting. I am too exhausted and slow to react. An instant later, I'm on the ground, my face pressed into the mud, barely struggling as a needle is pushed into my neck.

The world grows dark.

"So, are you awake, now?"

The voice aggravates the headache that I'm already suffering from. I try to move my hands and feet, only to find that I'm restrained. I groan, my heart falling down to sit, leaden, in the pit of my stomach.

I crack my eyes open, then quickly close them again when I'm confronted with a bright light.

My head's swimming.

My gut churns violently, and I barely manage to turn my head to the side before I retch painfully. I can almost make out the sound of disgust from the person standing next to the table, but I'm preoccupied with vomiting. The person snorts again with revulsion.

Go to hell, you prick.

Finally, I settle to lay there, gasping, my cheek resting in a puddle of puke and my eyes and nose streaming from the abuse. Something cold, wet, and impersonal lifts my head and wipes my face off. I can smell some strong cleaning agents in the surrounding area, but there is nothing on the cloth save for normal water.

My mouth tastes like puke, now. Gross.

"Are you quite finished?"

The voice sends a shiver down my spine, but I keep my mouth shut.

I hope I puke again, just to spite you. If I'm lucky, maybe it'll get all over you, you dirty rat-bastard. Unfortunately, I have to opt not to voice this out loud. My throat hurts too much.

"All the better." I finally manage to open my eyes. My head swims again, but it's not as bad as before, and I can see the shifting form of the twisted man who tortured me for five years.

Hojo.

I spit his name like a curse, glaring for all I'm worth, which isn't much at the moment. I'd be surprised if he flinched at all given my current state.

I'm right, it seems. He throws his head back and cackles. When he looks back down at me, I can see a touch of madness in his cold gaze, and he grins at me maniacally. He nods to somebody I can't see. Somebody strips my t-shirt off of me a second later, a stinging pain down my chest alerting me to the fact that a razor-sharp scalpel has been used for the job. I swallow. There's no doubt in my mind as to what they have planned for me. This is only confirmed when I see Hojo hold up a ruby-red Materia.

The glow of the overhead lights glints off of the marble-sized orb in an almost-menacing manner. I can't prevent myself from thinking that it looks like crystalized blood. A shiver runs down my spine again. I'm reminded that I'm sick and tired and too fucking weak to do anything about this.

This... is not good. Not good at all.

Hojo is speaking. I can't tune out his words, much though I want to.

"Specimen 1-C is showing signs of illness and stress," he is observing. "Possible hypothermia. Aide, inject Specimen 1-C with 10 CCs of blood-thinning agent. We don't want him clotting up on us."

My innards flip as I realize what's going to happen.

"No," I groan weakly. I hate the frail quality to my voice and my protests even as I toss my head from side to side. Somebody is holding down my shoulder, injecting something into my body. I start shaking a few seconds later.

Then something blots out the light overhead. I see a flash of metal, the glint of blood-red Summon Materia. I feel sick again as a cold point is laid upon the skin of my chest, right above my breastbone.

Once he starts cutting, it only takes a few seconds of screaming before I pass out.

Disclaimer: I don't own Final Fantasy VII, Advent Children, Dirge of Cerberus, or Crisis Core, or anything affiliated with them.

This is a rewrite of two old stories of mine that I posted way back in 2005 under the penname GundamWingFanatic90. If you want to read those, they're called Angel (Cloud's story) and Toki No Hourousha (Tifa's tale). Needless to say, this one's more than a bit more mature than the originals.

I'm combining the two stories into this one and adding some more events. Cloud's torture will be explained more in-depth, and the whole story is written from his point of view. Also, this is not a songfic, if you couldn't tell. Except for reminiscences (flashbacks, too), the story is written in present-tense. It takes place post-DOC. It will also have elements of Final Fantasy VIII in it, if you look for them.

If anybody's wondering why Cloud and Tifa had sex when he was sick... Well, I guess it's because they love each other, Tifa could tell that Cloud was scared about something, and she wanted him, and he wanted her. When two people want each other that much, it's really hard for them to walk away after they start kissing, especially if there's a potentially life-threatening situation on hand, whether implied or real. Erm... I hope that makes sense. That scene was hard for me to write, I confess.

Ahem.

Hope you like it. Please leave me some feedback so I can improve my writing style.

Next chapter will be posted 11-20-09.

-Portrait of a Scribe