Rebirth

Chapter 26 - The Change

Outside, Red and the two men sat by the entrance speaking quietly.

"There is only one way that she could have grown so heavy in such a short time,"
Vincent said, referring to Tifa's swollen stomach. "They had to have given her Jenova."

"What does that mean for the child?" Barret asked, looking intently at his friend. How
did he know so much?

Vincent was a bit of an enigma. His dark visage hid a terrible past that he refused to
speak of. A past that included torture at the hands of ShinRa scientists. Experiments too
inhuman to countenance. He knew only too well what they were capable of.

"It could mean anything. It really depends on what Jenova wants from her. If I were
forced to guess, I would say that she wants Tifa's baby," said Vincent quietly. "She
needs another Sephiroth."

Barret shuddered at his words. It took all their resources to kill the last one and they
almost lost. Lost the planet. Lost everything.

As they sat quietly discussing the events of the past 48 hours, Red picked up a sound off
in the distance.

"I think we have company," he said with a low growl. He bounded off into the growing
dawn with Baret following close on his heels. "Stay here Vincent," he said over his
shoulder.

Barret and Red raced off back up the path, coming up short when they saw Cid walking
back down towards them.

"Hey guys!" he said in his usual good-natured manner. "Man I had a hard time tracking
you fellas down. Where's the Cloud-man?"

"Cid! God you gave us a scare. How the hell did you find us?" said Barret, glad to see
his friend. "How's Marlene? Is Yuffie with her?"

"Whoa, buddy!" said Cid. "I'm glad to see you too man. I left Yuffie with Marlene and I
think she said something about going shopping," he said with a smile. "She found your
credit cards."

Barret started to swear but stopped when he saw the laughter in Cid's eyes.

"Where did you leave your ship, Cid?" asked Red.

"Oh don't worry about that. I sent it back to the hanger after I got here. Autopilot you
know."

They walked back down to the den and told Cid the story of finding Tifa in the cave.

"So you say she looks like she's about six months along?" he asked. "But how is that
possible? I saw her last week and she certainly didn't look pregnant then."

"She wasn't," replied Red.

Barret glanced over at the animal and sighed. "Vincent thinks they did something to
her."

"They did, I'm sure of it," said Red. "Remember when I said I could tell that her scent
had changed? She smells the same as Cloud. She has the Jenova genes and it's changed
her . . . and the baby she carries. That's how they were able to advance her pregnancy.
Obviously Jenova is impatient and didn't want to wait the usual nine months."

Tifa finally woke fully to see Cloud's worried face close to hers. She felt his breath on
her face and reached up to touch his cheek. He took her hand and pressed her palm to his
lips. He looked down at her.

"Hi," she said softly.

"Hi," he smiled at her, his eyes welling with new tears. He sniffed and wiped them away
with the back of his hand. "How are you feeling?"

She had never seen Cloud cry before. She watched him in wonder. She smiled up at him
and said "I'm ok."

She lifted her head from Cloud's shoulder and tried to sit. She winced as she pressed her
hands down on the bed to support her torso. Cloud sat behind her so she could lean
against him. She was still wearing only her thin singlet, which was soiled and torn now,
and her panties. She looked down at her swollen belly and ran her hands over it. As she
did, she felt a flutter inside her and gasped.

"The baby just moved," she said with awe in her voice.

"What?" asked Cloud.

"Give me your hand." She took his hand and moved it over her belly just as the baby
moved again. The warmth of his hand felt good. It relaxed her tight muscles at little. He
could feel her belly ripple as the baby turned inside her. He was amazed! This was not
just a thought any more. This was life they had created together and he could feel it
move, feel its warmth and its heart beat. The glow had grown a little stronger now and
had spread across her whole stomach.

She looked up at him and smiled. "She'll be ok, Cloud. I wouldn't let them wake her.
She still sleeps."

"Her? How could she know the sex of the baby?" he thought to himself. She could read
his thoughts and said "there's a lot I have to tell you."

She told him about being held down and injected with a drug. She told him about Jenova
and the Others and how she had fought to protect their baby. She told him about the
changes the drug had made to them both.

"They speak to me even now," she whispered. "The Others"

"What are they telling you?" he asked with concern in his voice.

"Jenova said they are here to inform me. I'm not sure what I am supposed to learn yet. I
really don't think I want to know," she answered quietly.

At that moment, she heard the now familiar chuckle in her mind, and her body went rigid.

"Tifa, what is it?" he said with alarm. He could feel her tense and saw the look of terror
cross her face.

"Its Her!" she whispered in terror. "Oh, God, no . . . ."

She sank into a trance, turning her mind inward again. She saw her daughter suspended
in her womb. She was sucking her thumb. She slowly turned to face Tifa and opened her
eyes; eyes with black thin slits where her round pupils should have been.

"NOOOOOO!" Tifa screamed.

The scream reverberated around the canyon, interrupting the conversation outside the
den. Red and the men dashed into the den to see Cloud holding Tifa, her back arched and
her body rigid with convulsions.