"Since I was a man,
such sheets of fire, such bursts of torrid thunder
such groans of roaring wind and rain, I never
remember to have heard."
William Shakespeare
The clock in the kitchen now read two thirty. Marlene was now dozing lightly on Tifa's shoulder. Tifa and Elmyra were now staring into their empty mugs in silence. It had been the longest night in Tifa's memory. She closed her eyes and listened to the slow persistent ticking of the clock. I just want this night to be over... she thought exhaustedly. She heard Elmyra sigh and she opened her eyes.
"Why don't you two go to bed?" Elmyra suggested gently.
Marlene sleepily lifted her head off Tifa's shoulder.
"I'm not sleepy yet..." she murmured, squinting up at them through drowsy eyes.
Tifa smiled and pushed Marlene's brown hair out of her face.
"Ms. Elmyra's right..." she said softly. "We better try to go sleep."
Tifa hauled herself wearily to her feet, carefully supporting herself under her stomach. For the first time in her entire pregnancy, she felt weary beyond measure. Before she was pregnant, she could stay up all night without yawning once, like they did when they fought Sephiroth. She felt slightly frustrated that she could barely stand up now without her entire body screaming in protest.
"Tifa?" Elmyra asked, her worried tone causing Tifa's eyes to snap up. "Are you alright?"
Tifa managed a thin nod and a smile. Elmyra gave her a doubtful look and began cleaning up their dishes.
"Do you want help with that?" Tifa offered.
Elmyra shook her head firmly and grabbed a mug out of Tifa's hands. She placed a hand on Tifa's shoulder and patted it motherly.
"Go to bed now." she said softly. "Everything will be fine in the morning, you'll see."
Tifa nodded, too tired to smile, and took Marlene's hand. The little girl hung onto it sleepily as Tifa led her down the hallway. Tifa pushed open the door to Marlene's room, and smiled at the mess of covers on the bed. It looked as though Marlene had been tossing and turning as bad as herself.
Marlene obligingly got into her bed, snuggling under the tangle of blankets. Tifa sat on the bed beside her, gently smoothing out the covers. Marlene's eyes were already closed. Tifa slowly stood up to go to her own room.
"Tifa?" Marlene said sleepily. "You can sleep in my room tonight if you want."
Tifa opened her mouth to say she'd be fine by herself, but then she realized that she'd be lying if she said that. She nodded at Marlene.
"Okay," she said softly. "I'll just go grab my pillows, alright?"
With surprising quickness for someone who had appeared so sleepy seconds before, Marlene hopped out of bed.
"I'll get them Tifa!" she offered cheerfully.
"That's alright..." Tifa told Marlene, smiling. "I can get them my-"
But Marlene cut her off with an amusingly stern look she'd picked up from Elmyra.
"You can wait on the bed!" Marlene told Tifa, pointing her finger emphatically. "Papa and Cloud said it's my job to make sure you're comfortable, and I promised them I would, okay?"
Tifa turned her head quickly so Marlene wouldn't see the tears that had sprung up in her eyes. She waited until the door had swung shut behind the little girl to lay down on the bed, but even then, she didn't allow any tears to soak into the pillow. Cloud... she thought, throat aching with unshed tears. I promised I'd be strong... She choked back the tears.
Tifa stole a quick glance at the softly glowing digital numbers on the clock. They should be done now... she thought, heart quickening at the thought. It's probably all over now and Cloud and the others are on their way back home... soon this will all be a bad memory.
With this thought, Tifa determinately closed her eyes attempting to get some sleep. Moment later, Marlene padded in and curled up in the bed next to her. Tifa smiled and moved over as far as she could; she noted with amusement that Marlene could barely squeeze in with Tifa and the round curve of her stomach. But they managed it, and both their eyes closed slowly as they caught their first fleeting moments of sleep all night.
It would be almost an hour before they heard the first explosions.
The small group froze in horror as the words burst free of Reno's mouth. It seemed as though for a moment, no one breathed or blinked... it was as if their very hearts stopped beating. Cloud's hands hadn't moved from where they were when he reached out to rip the paper from Reno's grasp. Now the whole group focused their eyes on him, fear written across their faces.
There was a frighteningly blank look on his face as his arms fell to his sides, staring ahead unblinkingly. Yuffie's eyes darted from face to face in the group, waiting for someone to speak up and take charge, but everyone was still frozen. Her eyes nervously flicked to Barret. Like Cloud, there was a blaze of furious emotions behind the blank look on his face. Yuffie thought she might explode from the tension.
"Guys?" she blurted out, unable to stay quiet any longer.
Their eyes snapped to her immediately. The looks on their faces scared her. She could bear the Turk's looks of helplessness, even Barret's mounting fear and desperation, but it was the look on Cloud's face that made her throat dry up. It was a look similar to the one he had on his face when Aeris died...But it was much worse than that... his eyes were almost teetering on the edge of insanity, as they had been when he mind was lost to Mako poisoning. ...
"What's the plan?" Rude asked.
His voice was steady and deep as always. Yuffie let out a silent sigh of relief as everyone turned their focus away from her. She quickly looked to Barret and they exchanged a knowing look full of dread. Despite Barret's fear for his daughter, he too could see what Yuffie saw; Cloud was close to breaking.
"Cloud." Barret said hoarsely. "Snap outta it."
Cloud's eyes seemed to slide into focus a minute.
"We have to go." Barret said firmly, trying to block out the panic that was rising in his chest.
There was a moments pause, but to everyone's relief, Cloud finally nodded.
"You're right." Cloud said, shaking his head, as though to clear it. "There's still hope that..."
His voice died and everyone averted their eyes painfully as Cloud pressed his hands to his face.
"We'll stay here." Reno offered, his voice soft in a way that was awkward for Reno. "Me, Elena, and Rude will try to get a hold of Cid or someone... anyone."
The Turks rushed off to find a phone. Yuffie watched them go, her stomach beginning to feel sick with fear. She glanced at the two men on either side of her, frightened to see two of the strongest people she knew looking so helpless. She tugged on their arms.
"Come on..." she whispered weakly. "We have to go."
The two men nodded, and took off down the hall. As Yuffie struggled to keep up with their breakneck speed, she was fighting to control the panic. She followed Cloud and Barret's backs out into the dark night, and she realized that she was as frightened for them as she was for Tifa and Marlene.
When Tifa opened her eyes sleepily, she couldn't figure out what had woken her up. She slid her hands carefully over her stomach, but the baby was still. As she sat up in bed, she noticed that Marlene was awake too. The little girl rubbed her eyes sleepily and looked up at Tifa.
"Is it morning yet?" Marlene asked blearily.
Tifa pushed back Marlene's mussed hair and shook her head.
"Not yet..." she said softly. "Something must have woken us both up."
Marlene yawned and rolled out of bed, crossing the room to peer out the window. Tifa swung her legs over the side of the bed. She was strangely awake and alert. The window was open a crack, but all was eerily silent. Tifa found goosebumps covering her skin.
"Marlene, why don't you try to go back to sleep." Tifa suggested, motioning her over.
But Marlene wasn't listening; her upper body was leaning out the window.
"Marlene!" Tifa said, standing up as quickly as her burdened body would allow her to.
She walked up to Marlene, to pull her body back in, but Marlene's head whipped around, and she placed a finger to her lips.
"Tifa, do you hear that?" she whispered. "Listen!"
Marlene moved out of the way and allowed Tifa to stick her head out the window. She clung to Tifa's legs from behind. Tifa strained her ears against the silence, and finally she heard the noise. Every hair on her body stood up as she recognized it.
"It's the sound Mako reactors made..." Tifa whispered, more to herself than Marlene. "It sounds like energy being harvested... But what's making the noise?"
She frowned and closed the window tightly. Marlene shifted to her side, and looked out the window with her. Tifa gently rested one hand on the curve of her stomach and the other on Marlene's soft brown hair. She closed her eyes as shivers crawled up and down her spine.
"Tifa..." Marlene gasped, her little hands pressing against the glass.
The glass in the window was rattling wildly against its frame. Tifa felt her heart jump into her throat and quickly jerked Marlene away from the window.
"Tifa what-" Marlene asked, eyes wide with fear.
But her question was cut off as Tifa let out a strangled gasp and forced Marlene to the ground, pinning them both forcefully against the carpet. Then, the whole house was shaking.
Marlene clung tightly to Tifa on the floor, burying her face into the soft material of Tifa's nightgown, trying to muffle the sounds that were loud enough to make her clench her teeth. The little girl was almost wild with fear; the sound was all around them, as though their entire world was exploding.
And then, it stopped. Ears ringing, Marlene jumped her feet and looked to Tifa with fear and expectation. It took Tifa a considerably longer amount of time to get to her feet.
"Tifa?" Marlene whimpered, tugging on her nightgown. "What's going on?"
Tifa's grabbed Marlene's hand tightly between her own.
"We have to get out of here." she said, voice straining to be calm. "Now."
Marlene opened her mouth to protest, but Tifa was pulling her towards the bedroom door. Marlene stumbled, trying to keep up with Tifa's fast pace.
"Tifa, where are we going?" she squeaked, frightened.
Tifa didn't answer. They came into the living room and Tifa stopped abruptly, peering down the hall where Ms. Elmyra slept.
"Ms. Elmyra!" Tifa shouted. "Ms. Elmyra! We have to leave!"
Marlene clung tightly to Tifa arm, her lip beginning to quiver as she heard the note of fear in Tifa's voice. Tifa wrapped her other arm around Marlene, holding her close. The house was silent.
"Tifa?" Marlene whispered. "Where's Ms. Elmyra?"
Pressed up against Tifa side, Marlene could hear Tifa's heart pounding loudly. Under her little hands, she could feel the tiny fluttering kicks coming from Tifa's stomach. Marlene wondered if the baby was as scared as she and Tifa were. Tifa grimaced, and removed her hand from Marlene's shoulders to rub her stomach.
"Tifa, I'll go get Ms. Elmyra okay?" Marlene offered, moving away from her side.
But the house began to shake again, and Tifa's hands were pulling her to the ground again.
"Stay down, Marlene!" Tifa was shouting.
Despite Tifa's closeness, Marlene could barely hear her voice over the series of explosions that were causing the house to shake. She screamed as plaster began falling from the ceiling, hitting and bruising her and Tifa's backs. Tifa quickly pulled Marlene under her, protecting her from the falling debris.
And then, as soon as it had started, it stopped. Tifa sat up slowly and leaned her back against the destroyed sofa. Marlene stood up, hovering anxiously over her shoulder. Marlene's back hurt, and she was so scared she was shaking, but she forced herself not to cry. Tifa's scared too... she thought, sniffling. And she's not crying.
Tifa seemed to notice Marlene's distressed state, and laboriously got to her feet. She placed a soft hand against her cheek.
"We have to be brave now, okay?" Tifa told Marlene. "I'm not going to let anything bad happen to you."
Marlene nodded, trying not to notice how Tifa's voice was quivering. Tifa squeezed her hand gently and looked around her. The entire living room was dusted with white plaster and debris. Tifa swallowed hard, and pulled Marlene behind her and they gingerly stepped across the room.
Tifa stopped in her tracks when she saw the doorknob move. She forced Marlene behind her. Her hands clenched into fists, but deep inside, she knew she was in no condition to fight.
The door swung open, and Reeve's face poked in, looking pale and disheveled. Tifa let out the breath she'd been holding in a sigh of relief.
"Reeve!" she said, walking towards him. "What's going on?"
Reeve kicked some rubble out of the way so he could force the door open. He ignored her question.
"Are you both okay?" he asked them.
Tifa nodded impatiently.
"We're fine." she assured him. "Please Reeve, what's going on? Why are we being attacked?"
Reeve could hear the pleading, frightened tone in Tifa's voice. He patted her gently on the shoulder.
"You have to worry about yourself now Tifa." he told her firmly. "We have no reason to believe anything went wrong with Cloud and the others."
Tifa's face was twisted with concern and fear, but she nodded silently.
"We have to get out Cosmo Canyon." Reeve said urgently. "Follow me."
Holding hands tightly, Marlene and Tifa followed Reeve to the door. But before they left, Tifa gasped and came to a stop.
"Reeve!" she said, grabbing onto his sleeve to stop him. "Ms. Elmyra's still in the house!"
Reeve pulled them both forward.
"Let me get you two outside first!" he said to Tifa when she resisted. "I'll go back in to find her."
Tifa allowed herself to be ushered out the door. Marlene gasped and clung to her side when they stumbled outside. Though the houses around them were more or less in tact, the rest of Cosmo Canyon was in disarray. Tifa's breath caught in her throat as she saw the flames. Not again... she thought desperately. She found herself unable to move, even as the explosions started again.
"Tifa get down!" Reeve shouted, pulling her to the concrete.
Tifa curled up on the ground, Marlene clinging to her again. She felt Reeve's weight on top of both of them, shielding them from the explosions. Tifa squeezed her eyes shut, waiting for them to stop as they had the two previous times, but they didn't seem to be ending.
"Tifa, Marlene, Reeve!" Tifa heard a voice shouting from far away.
Reeve's head lifted up, wincing at the explosions that were all too close around them.
"Red!" he shouted, still holding Marlene and Tifa to the ground. "We're over here!"
Seconds later, Red's wet nose was nudging her face gently.
"Are you okay Tifa?" Red asked.
Tifa nodded and sat up slowly. Marlene sat up with her, clutching her hands to her ears against the loud explosions. Reeve reached a hand down to help them to their feet. Tifa let out a strangled cry as she saw Ms. Elmyra's house in flames. Marlene tried to spin around to see what caused her to cry out, but Tifa held pressed her face against her so she wouldn't be able to see.
"Let's go!" Reeve shouted over the explosions.
He grabbed Tifa's other hand and dragged her and Marlene behind him. Tifa eyes looked wildly around as she struggled to keep up with the fast pace. Amongst the flames of the surrounding houses, she could see the flame of Red's tail in front of them. She focused on it as they ran, blocking out the screams and explosions on every side.
Marlene screamed as the path they were just about to take exploded into flames. They skidded to a stop and Red ran around them, looking for a better path to take. Reeve let Tifa and Marlene go for a minute. With her spare hand, Tifa clutched her shirt over her mouth. Marlene did the same, her tiny body racked with coughs. The smoke was thick around them.
"Which way Red?" Reeve shouted, his own voice hoarse from the smoke.
"Over here!" Red shouted, motioning with his head.
The others ran after him quickly. Tifa came to a halt as she saw Red carefully jumping from rock to rock down one of the steep hills that were scattered across Cosmo Canyon. Reeve watched Red climb down the steep decline that led to yet another road far below them, and then glanced uneasily at Tifa's rounded stomach and then to the little girl clinging to her hand.
"It's the only way!" Red shouted urgently.
Red bounded up to them. Tifa took a stabilizing breath as she looked down the steep rocky hill.
"We'll manage." she told them, as another explosion shook Cosmo Canyon.
The steep hill was blocked off by a fence, and Reeve climbed carefully over it, turning around to help Tifa get over. Marlene nimbly climbed under. Red looked at Marlene, sizing her up.
"Marlene, come here." he commanded. "Climb on my back and hold on tight okay? I'm going to help you get down first."
Marlene looked up to Tifa, and Tifa managed a tight-lipped smile of encouragement. Tifa watched at the little girl climbed atop Red and clung tightly to his fur. Marlene let out a little scream as Red bounded down the first drop. Tifa looked down anxiously, but Marlene was still safely on his back.
Tifa turned to Reeve, and he offered her his hand. She took it, and supporting herself carefully under the stomach, they began the slow and difficult process of scaling down the steep decline.
At the bottom, Red jumped off the last boulder, and Marlene slid off his back, trembling. Her hands were still tightly gripping his fur as they looked up at Reeve and Tifa. Marlene let out a distressed cry as Tifa's foot slipped on a loose rock, and hid her face in Red's coat.
"She's okay, Marlene." Red's voice rumbled softly. "Reeve won't let Tifa fall."
Marlene looked up again, clinging to Red and whimpering quietly. Her eyes followed Reeve and Tifa, but she could hear the explosions around them. Red nudged her gently with his nose.
"Don't be scared." he comforted her. "Look, Reeve and Tifa are almost done. We'll be out of here soon."
Marlene ran over to Tifa as she reached the bottom and sunk to her knees, one hand on her forehead, the other on her stomach. Her face was pale and damp with sweat, her breath loud and labored. But when Marlene looked anxiously at her, Tifa pulled herself to her feet, reaching for her hand.
Red and Reeve were looking at Tifa, concerned, but she shook her head.
"I'm fine." she said weakly, still breathing heavily. "Let's go."
And they were off running again. Tifa forced her legs to move and keep up with Reeve and Red. There was another explosion, and the houses around her were ablaze. Everything was a blur of red flames and smoke around them as they raced down the streets. Between explosions, they could hear the screams of the people as they ran out of their burning homes.
Tifa tried to control her breathing as they continued running, but her breaths came in panicked and desperate gulps. Even Marlene was going faster than her, her small hand yanking Tifa's forward. There was another explosion close behind them, and Tifa strained to keep up.
Then, the street right behind them exploded into rubble and flames. Reeve, Red, Tifa, and Marlene all fell to the ground. Asphalt rained down on them, battering their bodies. Tifa cried out and wrapped her arms around herself as she felt a sharp blow of rock to her side.
Several feet away, Reeve had flung himself over Marlene. As the explosion ended, he squinted through the smoke and debris. He could see Tifa curled tightly in a ball. His throat dried in panic when she seemed unmoving, but she slowly came into a sitting position. Reeve stood up quickly and pulled Marlene to her feet. The little girl was bruised and bleeding from her lip, but she stuck chin out defyingly, and not a single tear trailed down her face.
They ran over to Tifa and knelt at her side.
"Are you okay?" Reeve asked loudly, lifting Tifa to her feet.
Tifa nodded silently. Reeve felt dread sweep through him as he saw the blood glistening on her hair, and the way her arms wrapped firmly around her bulging stomach. Tifa's face was drawn with pain. She leaned on him and Marlene heavily as they walked through the street rubble, looking for Red.
They noticed the red fur after a few moments, and Marlene broke away from Tifa and Reeve to run forward. The little girl let out a cry as she saw that Red was pinned under several tons of fallen asphalt. She put her hand gently on Red's muzzle, damp with blood, bottom lip quivering.
"Don't cry Marlene."
She jumped as Red spoke. Marlene smiled joyfully and threw her arms around his neck.
"I thought you were-" she cried.
Red cut her off.
"Not quite." he assured her gently.
Reeve and Tifa knelt behind Marlene. Tifa pressed a hand to her mouth, eyes glistening with tears as she saw Red.
"Oh Red..." she whispered, voice quivering.
Her hands weakly pushed at the asphalt crushing his bottom half. Reeve went to help her, but Red shook his head grimly.
"Don't." he told them firmly. "There's no point."
Tifa put a shaky hand on his bloody fur.
"We can't leave you Red..." she said tearfully.
Red looked up at her, and noticed how she swayed slightly as she knelt at his side. She won't last much longer... he thought painfully. He thought of Cloud's proud smile when Red had seen him sitting on the bench next to his beautiful, pregnant wife several days ago, and he turned to Reeve.
"Get Tifa and Marlene out of here." he commanded. "You're wasting time."
Reeve patted Red's fur once and nodded, turning away, face distraught. He pulled Tifa to her feet gently, and she obliged, too weak to resist. Marlene was still clinging to Red, but Red snapped his jaw at her, and she sprung to her feet, wrapping her arms around Tifa's middle and helping Reeve support her.
They moved away as quick as they could, and each step was torture. The pain in Tifa's heart overtook the pain in her body and she wrestled back a dry sob. I promised Cloud I'd be strong... she reminded herself for the second time that night. She gritted her teeth and continued forward.
The explosions were all around them, closer than ever, but to Tifa, they seemed as though they were coming from far away. The flames and smoke burnt her lungs, but even they felt distant, as they felt when she had nightmares about Nibelheim. Another explosion shook the ground beneath them and Marlene and Reeve shouted out as the flames scorched their skin,but Tifa was silent, her eyes glazed as she stared ahead.
There's the wall... Tifa thought, her mind foggy. She could just see it through the smoke and flames. A smile tugged at her weary lips, and for a minute she was transported back in time, to the night she and Cloud had snuck out to the cliff, when the wall was barely knee high. The explosions now seemed to be miles away.
Then they were at the wall. Reeve let go of her to move the stones aside to make an opening, and she fell to the ground. Marlene's voice was crying out next to her ear, but Tifa couldn't decipher what she was saying. Then Reeve's hands were under her arms, lifting her up. She felt herself being dragged through the hole in the wall. The pain in her body seemed dull, as though it was an old ache from long ago.
Tifa sunk to the ground again, oblivious to Marlene and Reeve crying out her name. The last thing she was aware of before she lost consciousness, was her baby kicking deep in her womb.