Turn Back the Clock

A/N: It's been done a million times, but who would ever send Tifa Lockhart back to stop the end?

"This time Cloud… I'll protect you."

Alright, this is a Tifa X Sephiroth three (ish)-shot, and bits of Cloud X Tifa and Vincent X Tifa are mentioned, as well as Cloud X Aerith and Zack X Aerith. Perhaps Zack X Aeris X Cloud? I dunno. This may be subject to change, depending on feedback.

Steps, sure and steady, thumped purposefully in their gait up the stairs of a familiar bar in the city known as Edge.

"Denzel, Marlene? I have chores for you to do," a kind voice rang out through the bar of Seventh Heaven. A collective groan could be heard from the children in question.

Tifa Lockhart stepped through the door of the young girl's room. "Come on, Marlene, we got to go check on Aeris' garden. Marlene only nodded, smiling slightly, her ribbon bobbing with the movement.

It had been a year since the whole deal with Deepground, and one month since Cloud had last been here.

She had hoped that now, once everything was said and done, they would be able to get together. Cloud only looked with mournful eyes that always saw someone else, and while they had been together for a while, had eventually left again.

Aeris, it isn't fair! Cloud wanted Aeris. Aeris had Zack.

And on top of that, the chestnut haired Cetran was long since dead. So was the black haired SOLDIER.

But who did Tifa want?

She said to everyone that the one she loved was Cloud. Everyone believed her farce-including the man in question- except for one.

Vincent had always known that some part of her ached over the loss of the silver ex-General. Even if the rest of her abhorred even thinking about the man, she always had loved him for his cyan eyes and exotic silver hair that drifted in the wind.

Only to see those eyes glare in hatred and sick satisfaction at the devastation of her village, seeing that silver hair drift among flames that was the Hellfire of Nibelheim.

She always regretted not going into that manor, to literally force the man off village property.

He always regretted not getting out of the coffin before his son had lost his mind.

It gave them something to drink their miseries away over.

As for the heritage of her beloved enemy?

Tifa and Vincent got curious, a little while after the Deepground incident and even before Yuffie and Vincent got together, over whom Sephiroth's father actually was. Tifa had an awfully hard time believing that the mad scientist called Hojo was actually the Demon's parent.

She had seen Lucrecia, and while she noticed the striking similarities in appearance, she also saw Vincent's face underneath that mat of hair. Shelke had pushed it out of the way, and Tifa was shocked to see the ex-General's dark haired twin. Change the red eyes for mako green ones, and you had the silver General.

The blood test was probably a bit superfluous, but hey, who could blame the man for wanting confirmation. In the end, Tifa reflected that it probably made his depression worse.

She never got a chance at love. It hurt so much to see her friends slowly settle down and create families. Shera and Cid's baby boy was about to turn one. Reeve was going to settle down with one of his soldier's. Vincent had Yuffie now, and with that, had less time to visit her. Barret still had his job trying to find alternate energy sources.

And Tifa was still pining over the death of the Sephiroth she had loved in the Shinra mansion.

She wasn't any better than Cloud, really.

The ebony haired woman sighed, and set about to her days chores, before she would be able to open her bar to the city.

Kind green eyes watched an old friend from their place in the lifestream. The one thing she had always regretted was not pointing out to Cloud that Tifa loved him. Once Aeris had died, Cloud had set on her and her alone.

She often wondered if Tifa had been in her predicament, death at the hands of a madman, would Cloud pine for the woman with eyes the color of dark chocolate mixed with red wine. Now even the kind woman's feelings for her charge had faded, there was nothing Aeris could do except for what Mother Gaia and Minerva were planning to do.

She could not make any of the people in the Lifestream do this; they would be haunted with their own deaths.

Aeris was in the wrong place at the wrong time, and so she was out.

Gaia and Minerva had both wished that Cloud, their Golden WEAPON should be the one. They could only do this once.

Aeris, had quite frankly, disagreed. Cloud would get a chance to be happy again, without that permanent cloud (No pun intended) of gloom over his head.

Vincent? Who would believe him, as his time of usefulness had been thirty years before the issues with the Calamity had even begun.

And then there was Crimson WEAPON, the man slowly bringing Weiss the Immaculate back to health, still with so much regret over what had happened to Angeal, Sephiroth, and finally, Zack. It would be too cruel to send him back to deal with his degradation again.

Some sadistic Cetra wished that they send Sephiroth, half mad- the poor man- with a leash back. Sephiroth could no longer escape the Lifestream, and even Jenova had abandoned him to a fate worse than his deaths. He was a shade of both his former selves.

Aeris could never be that cruel to such a misguided man. He was beginning to loose himself, and being ripped apart was so horrible a fate. Zack and his mentor, Angeal, had begged her to do otherwise.

This left only one person even half-capable of changing anything. Her name?

Tifa Lockhart.

Aeris felt guilty for even thinking of sending her friend back, but she needed this chance, a chance to learn that once, Sephiroth himself had shared her feelings. Zack and Aeris had been 'visiting' the man, unmoving from his green prison, to find him watching Tifa with Vincent.

Drunkenly, they had been kissing, and Sephiroth growled at the sight, his hands curling into fists. "Mine."

Zack and Aeris had been rather surprised at both the pair, but more so at Sephiroth's violent reaction. In the Lifestream, strength was determined by will, and how well one could keep oneself together, not allowing memories to slip away. Though Sephiroth had once had a great will, he had been broken.

Zack had conked him out using the energy in the Lifestream as magic. Aeris had carried him out of the cage Gaia had made for him for a little talk about why he could not leave.

No other choices were there, and Aeris now had an old friend to call to their side of the stream.

When Tifa had gone to bed the night before, she had only planned on getting two hours of sleep, and getting back up to the routine at four, but never could she have imagined this.

She was surrounded by a calming white sky, and the lilies that could always be found in the old majestic church.

"Tifa, I've wanted to speak with you again for a long time." That voice. It couldn't be!

"Y-you can't be…"

The feminine voice chuckled lightly. "Tifa, you never were good at denial.

"Aeris…?" She turned around to see the very same girl whose name she had spoken. Chocolaty eyes teared up, and she ran to hug her long dead friend. "It is you!"

Aeris returned the woman's strong embrace, although hers was not quite as enthusiastic, before looking to the woman with kind, yet a bit sad, eyes.

"Tifa, we have to talk." Tifa was even more confused with her friend's sudden visit.

Aeris stood by her friend, trying to gauge her reaction to this opportunity. Tifa looked rather confused, but Aeris hoped that her best friend would take this chance. No, she needed her to take it.

"So… What you're saying… the planet's still dying, even after all we've done?" Aeris nodded sadly. It was true. Sephiroth was the last straw.

"But, we could change it all." Aeris' voice tried to sound hopeful, and Tifa's eyes looked up to her, confused, but curious.

"What do you mean?" The ebony haired woman sounded shaky. Aeris yearned for another way to solve this, but they were backed against a wall.

"Gaia needs the past itself to be changed. Sephiroth truly was the last straw for Gaia's life. Omega is no longer able, and the squire is unwilling to try again. We needed someone who was in the right place at the right time to fix the mistakes we've made."

"But why are you telling me this? Shouldn't you get Cloud or Zack to do this?" Her words came out bitter, something that Aeris easily understood.

"No, Tifa, we can't do that to them again." She took hold of her friend's hand, silently pleading for her agreement. "You are the only one suitable. You deserve this chance at the life you have lost. The planet's dying, Tifa. And we need your help." Aeris felt slightly guilty over using her friend's kind nature against her, but it was necessary. She felt Tifa shift her weight around, a sign that she was thinking it over. Wine colored eyes couldn't bring themselves to look at the Cetran.

"I'll…. I'll do it." Tifa's face rose, eyes determined to make a difference, and Aeris knew that everything was going to turn out fine. The pink-clad woman smiled, and suddenly one more figure entered the field. It was a familiar sight, but who could ever truly become used to the presence of a goddess?

Aeris heard Tifa gasp beside her, and she chuckled a bit. Minerva was a rather amazing sight, after all.

:Tifa Lockhart, you have been chosen by the planet to change the fate of the people of Gaia. Are you willing to accept that things will not turn out exactly as they are now?:

Tifa's eyes flashed, fierce with determination, unwilling to have to live through Meteorfall, the Remnants, Deepground, Nibelheim, and everything else that had piled up over the ten years since her world turned upside down. She nodded.

Minerva smiled her approval. Aeris knew that she would approve of her new champion.

Tifa quickly decided that meeting a goddess was a surreal experience. As the goddess of the Lifestream smiled at her, the woman was filled with inexplicable warmth.

:There are things you must learn in order to prevent Nibelheim. Sephiroth was not the only angel to fall from grace, rather he was the last of the trio, kicked from his pedestal by one he had once considered a friend. What was left of his trust was taken by Jenova, and he wanted revenge so very badly. He listened to her every command, desperate to have someone care about him, yearning for the love he never had. In the end, he was abandoned, and while he does not regret his quest, he regrets the actions he took to go about it.:

She couldn't say she was shocked that Minerva knew of Sephiroth's thoughts. What did surprise her, was the explanation. Sephiroth was pushed into his madness? But who…?

:Go to Modeoheim, and find the man with the white wing, he is known as Angeal. He plays a key part. You must tell him there is a cure for the degradation, and there is still hope. He committed suicide by forcing his young student, Zack Fair, to kill him. His death marked the end for Sephiroth.:

:The Nibelheim mission comes next. Demand access to the reactor, and keep an eye on Sephiroth.:

:I cannot tell you more, but I can give you gifts.: Minerva handed her a green crystal ball, a Materia, and when Tifa held it, she could feel that it was a sleep. A powerful one, at that. She looked up to the Goddess with a questioning look on her face. The woman chuckled, and it sounded like the tinkling of bells. :That is for SOLDIER's who aren't going to listen.:

Tifa nodded her head understandingly, her eyes thoughtful. Cloud, though technically not a SOLDIER, had been damn hard to knock out with sleep spells. Minerva smiled, and waved her arm, tendrils of lifestream circling around Tifa. Suddenly, she was filled with peace and knowledge, and a sudden strength.

:You fight hand to hand, I think you should be able to fight a SOLDIER gone mad with your strength. And,: Minerva formed a pair of gloves for her. They were a wine color, similar to her eyes. She looked up to the Goddess with a grateful look on her face.

:They are called, Rokkuhāto, the representation of Gaia's blessing for you.: She took the gloves into her hand, and they disappeared. Minerva smiled, and then she formed two, beautiful glass bottles. One was a shining red color, and the other, a sparkling black. The bottles filled with the energy of the Lifestream, and then two corks were placed in order to keep the spiritual energy encased.

:For the two whose bodies are destroying themselves. You will know when to use them: Tifa nodded, eyes sparkling with the determination she was known for. :Go forth, Ebony WEAPON, and bring change to your beloved Planet.:

Minerva disappeared into the Lifestream, leaving Aeris and Tifa alone once more. Tifa grabbed her friend into a fierce hug, and Aeris looked at the woman with sad eyes. "I am going to see you again, but you're not going to remember me. I want you to know that you are the best person for Cloud. He crushed on me, but you are the one for him. I'll miss you." Tifa's voice broke slightly and tears welled up in her eyes. "Goodbye." Aeris smiled and waved at her friend for the last time, and suddenly Tifa was falling, down for what seemed like forever, before landing back down onto a bed.

Tifa's wine colored eyes opened only to see the roof and walls of her childhood.

Oh Gaia, this is real.

Back in the Lifestream, Aeris and Zack kissed one last time before the end.

Their last thoughts were a prayer that Tifa would be able to save them all, and the world turned to white.

A/N: Reviews give my current plot bunnies carrots. Feed them, and receive updates. :D