Spente le Stelle

Tifa Lockheart didn’t curse…unless the situation absolutely called for it. Like right now as they tromped through the endless dust and numerous cobwebs littering the halls and the rooms of ShinRa mansion. She felt a pang in her heart when she saw the broken piano in the ballroom, such a powerful instrument, broken on the floor. When this was over, she was going to come back and fix that elegant piece of art. Keys made of real ivory and ebony twinkled in the dim light, begging her to lightly tap her fingers on them, to play them and make them forget the neglect they suffered. Perhaps it was only her own heart feeling neglect at Cloud’s actions.

“Hey Tifa! We found the last one!”

Wonderful, now they could find the Turk that Hojo had altered and get the hell out of here. What had Cloud been thinking putting her on Barret’s team? He and Cid smoked more than trains and cursed enough to make any sailor blush. She’d ditched them as soon as possible, wondering about on her own as Yuffie ransacked the place for anything valuable. Tifa doubted Yuffie’d find anything; the place had already been pillaged years before the original Neibelhelm burned to the ground.

Barret actually had to pull her from her musings and down the stairs into the basement. Cobwebs were impossible to avoid and she was near thankful Cloud just walked through, getting rid of them for her via his spiky head. But the eight-legged vermin were now crawling out of his blonde locks. They reminded her of sunshine, spiky and bright and at the same time, soft. At least, she always thought they’d be soft. She wondered if she’d ever be able to run her fingers through his hair now that Aeris had come into their group. Hadn’t he paired himself with the woman in pink and a lion who didn’t understand human behavior?

Did he really feel for Aeris what Tifa felt for him?

Tifa wasn’t surprised when they had to fight a monster; things just went that way for them. Aeris was on the frontline first, but she had gone down quickly despite her healing abilities. Tifa had continued to zap the thing with Bolt spells between pummeling it. Barret fired of rounds into the beast and Cloud and cid jabbed and slashed at it.

Nanaki was healing Aeris up when they finally turned back to the woman in pink. She’d suffered a long, but shallow, gash across the stomach and Tifa felt a pang of guilt for wanting Aeris gone. Of course, she helped bandage the woman up, something the men refused to do and Nanaki couldn’t do. As for Yuffie, the ninja was still missing and this made Tifa worry for the teen girl. Last night, Yuffie had revealed to Tifa that she and her father were at constant odds with each other. Fighting coming to blows and full out war.

Tifa knew they’d end up going to Wutai eventually, she just wasn’t sure when.

After everyone was bandaged and healed, they decided to venture into the hidden room beyond the wall. It was strangely not as dirty as the rest of the mansion, instead, dust seemed to be fearful of it’s position in the room, the air was electrified and still in an uneasy way.

And the people inside were just as uneasy upon view of the coffin in the room. The dust resting upon the coffin was thick and imposing, covering any possible decoration that may have been on the dark wood.

“Let’s open it up.”

Tifa’s eyes widened tremendously at the suggestion. “Cloud are you insane?”

“What if he knows something?” Cloud asked.

“Okay, first off, what if it’s a she and what if there’s a corpse in there?” Tifa argued. “We’d be disrespecting the dead.”


Voices…arguing…yelling…gunfire

A woman’s voice…he didn’t recognize this woman, or the man she argued with. The words were just barely muffled; he could still recognize the words.

The woman was indignant at disturbing him, the male curious and annoyed. Their argument was growing in volume as she continued to argue about propriety and leaving the dead in peace. How he wished he were dead. The man was arguing back now, a second woman siding with him. They argued about finding information on Hojo, finding out what happened and if he’d been experimented on.

“Why do you need to know Cloud?” The woman was screaming now in irritation. “If he was, that’s all the more reason to let him be on his own.”

“Tifa, you’re being unreasonable!”

“Cloud maybe she has-“

“I found treasure!” Vincent didn’t need to see to know there was a teenager in his sanctuary.

“Aw hell! Why doncha all %(^&%* shut the hell up!”

“Cloud you foo! You best leave Tifa ‘lone fore I-“ a few gunshots rang through the air.

“I’m being unreasonable?”

“What’s wrong with my hair?”

“Don’t shoot at me!”

What in Holy’s name had he done to deserve this? Surely this wasn’t punishment for failing Lucrecia? The lid of his coffin began to move away from the edge before a slap was heard and it was put back in place. More yelling was heard along with some chastising of the woman named Tifa. The lid was again moved away from him, revealing those who had disturbed his rest.

The first thing he saw was a blonde young man in a purple jumpsuit. His eyes were affected by Mako and he bore a huge sword. Beside him was a woman in pink, familiar in face, but unrecognizable in his mind.

“Who are you? Vincent questioned, drawing gasps from those he could not yet see. He sat up and looked around. “…Never seen you before. You must leave.”

“But, you were having a nightmare,” the woman in pink spoke. It was not Tifa. This was the one who had agreed on opening his coffin.

“I woke ya up,” the hulking black man said. “Ya otta be thankin me!”

They had awoken him from a nightmare? Ha! “I have nothing to say to strangers. Leave this mansion, for it is the beginning of your nightmare.”

~!~!~!~

Tifa could not agree more, but the moment Cloud mentioned Sephiroth, the man in black and red became intrigued and wanted to know more. Tifa glared at the old Pilot maintaining the stop spell on her. She hated that spell, and she made sure to put all her energy into fighting it. The old man had been forced to cast it on her three times in the last five minutes now. He was sorry he had to do it, you could see it in his eyes. He actually agreed with her when it came to disturbing the dead, or anyone sleeping in a coffin it seemed.

Her attention was drawn back over to the Man from the coffin when he ceased conversing and closed himself back into his coffin.

“Cloud,” Tifa began, having broken through the spell without Cid’s knowledge. “Maybe we should leave.”

“No,” Cloud said, pushing the coffin back open.

“You’re still here?” Vincent asked. Vincent was sure he’d been adamant about them leaving. The smoking blonde man was looking back and forth from Tifa to a piece of material, scratching his head in confusion.

“Can you at least tell us who you are?” Cloud asked.

“I was with…the Shinra Manufacturing Department in Administrative Research, otherwise known as-- the Turks...My name is Vincent.”

“He’s a #@$$ Turk!” Barret shouted.

“The Turks?!”

Apparently, the Turks were just as bad now as they were in his time, if not worse.

“Formerly of the Turks,” Vincent reminded them, easing their mistrust but a little. “I have no affiliation with Shinra now…and you?”

!@!@!@!@!@!

The brunette I had first heard was leaving the room now, looking tired and upset. I pondered on if I should tell her of the figure I’d seen pass through the hallway. But she was gone now and it was my turn to speak again in this odd conversation.

!@!@!@!@!@!

“You…”

“Little tour guide,” the silver haired man whispered, leaning towards the woman he’d once cut down.

“Get away from me Sephiroth,” Tifa grit out.

“Such harsh words,” Sephiroth smirked as he ran long fingers through her hair. “You just as harsh all those night ago. ‘I hate you’, ‘stop it’, and ‘get off me’.”

“I meant every word,” Tifa hissed at him.

“I was gifting you with my body,” Sephiroth growled. “I see now that such an act of charity was wasted!”

“A gift? You raped me!”

Tifa found herself pinned against a bookshelf, a gloved hand wrapped around her throat and cutting off her air supply. She tried prying his hands away from her, memories rushing back at her and causing her to panic further.

“Sephiroth!”

Cloud had come and saved her, but it seemed as though he didn’t even recognize she was there. Barret’s eyes were shooting back and forth between her form on the floor and Sephiroth interacting with Cloud. She knew she had bruising around her neck, because he was looking there instead of in her eyes. Everyone else must have been either outside the mansion or with Vincent, the latter being quite doubtful.

Cloud had of course chased after Sephiroth, Tifa lying among the pile of books and paper’s and still trying to catch her breath. Why did he have to find her alone?

“You okay Tifa?” Barret asked as he helped her up.

“Yeah, just a bit shaken up.” Her lies came so easily, she felt bad about feeding them to the large black man. “I’m glad you came when you did Barret.”

“Yeah well, Cloud was bein a foo and Vampy wasn’t bein to helpful…”

Tifa smiled, trying to hold back a giggle. She remembered the first time they’d met; she’d just gotten out of ShinRa’s lab when she ran into him. He was cursing and upset as he exited the building, obviously trying to look his best. She’d been confused about her location, kept asking where she was and what was going on.

She was lucky he’d taken her in, and happy that she’d met someone willing to help her. When she shared her story about the fire and Sephiroth, they agreed to do more than help her home; they agreed to help her gain vengeance.

But how could she reach her goals when the mere sight of Sephiroth had her frozen. Would she break down every time she saw him or every time he touched her? She remembered a time when she had been in love with the silver haired man. She had already seen him as a god in her mind, she would have been willing to follow him anywhere if he had but asked. Her father was even prepared to set up an engagement between the two of them.

Instead, he’d…he’d gone and betrayed the trust she’d given him. He’d destroyed everything after that stupid trip into ShinRa Mansion.

She looked up from her spot to see she’d stopped walking and was standing at the foot of the stairs. And she wasn’t surprised. While she’d been with Barret and Cloud, she’d tried to hold in her panic attack, and had done so quite successfully. But now, as she stood alone, in the dark and in the place she’d been raped, it was coming at her full force.

Vincent could not get the people who’d disturbed him out of his mind. Their voices and way of speaking, their faces and body language. They made him think of something other than Lucrecia and his sins. But, they also made him think harder about not stopping Hojo and his beloved. Their son had caused so much damage and pain. He could remember how the dark haired woman tensed up, how her heartbeat rose as she was held by the stop spell.

Perhaps…if he went with them, he could distract his mind further. Perhaps he could travel with them and find Hojo, end this nightmare that had happened because of he had failed. He got out of his coffin and began to make the trek towards the outside world. As he went through the darkness, he could hear quickened breathing and faint whispers. And then, at the foot of the stairs, kneeling in a shaft of light, he saw the hunched form of the woman he knew as Tifa.

“Are you alright?” he asked. She did not reply, only crawled in on herself further and tried to become quieter as she cried. This was not good; he was not able to deal with emotional females adequately. He did know how to calm rookies after their first kill though.

“Miss, you must calm down. Breath.”

She was complying, but it was slow and terribly straining on her. It seemed he would have to try other methods. Less pleasant methods or something to shock her out of her mindset. He looked over her bangle and was releved to find water material. He cast a low level spell and nearly slapped himself for not remembering she was wearing white.

Tifa sputtered and coughed, wondering why she was now soaking wet. She blinked a few times, taking deep breaths and sitting up a bit straighter. She looked over to the one with their hand on her back.

“Thank you, Vincent.”

She noticed that he was trying hard not to look at her. Was he shy? Or perhaps…wait a minute.

“Oh!” Tifa crossed her arms over her chest. “I’m…well…”

“Your friends are waiting. I assume you have clothing with them?”

“Yes, I do.” Tifa began to climb the stairs, “Does this mean you’ll be coming with us?”

“I must atone. I have done a great wrong.”

“I see. Well, I’m glad you decided to join us.” She stopped on the step above him and faced him. “But, do you think we could keep this between us? The others don’t know about them and I can’t take medication it scares me and I just-“

“You are babbling.”

Tifa blushed and continued to climb.

“I will not speak of this,” he assured her. “However, if it becaomes a problem I will tell the others.”

Vincent was cursing himself now for splashing water on the young woman. Her top was thin and he could see straight through it. He was quite surprised it held in as much as it did.

‘Just imagine the feeling and weight of those globes in your hands.’

“No now Chaos!”

‘And those wide hips…perfect for riding ne?’

“Shut up!”

‘She would be a perfect breeder.’ Chaos had a languid way of speaking, with dark undertones and seductive overtones. Every time he spoke to Vincent in the coffin, he felt as though he might actually lose to the being and give in to his desire. ‘You know I’m right, Vincent. She is appealing is she not? Far more than those ridiculous memories of that woman.’

“Silence! I have had enough of this.”

‘Alright. But I will continue to watch her, and you will as well. Because I know you far to well.’

“Vincent?” Tifa asked from her spot in the buggy. She was sitting next to him, Yuffie having been tied to the roof. He was rather surprised they took his suggestion seriously, but Barret seemed like the kind of guy who would do that just for fun. Aeris had taken her spot while Red sat in the back with the luggage. Vincent glanced back a moment ago to see the fire lion sleeping.

He looked over at the woman who had summoned his attention.

“There’s a town up ahead,” Tifa smiled. “Anything you’ve been craving?”

‘Aside from a quick lay?’

“Shut up!”

“I have no need for food,” Vincent replied.

“Need?” Aeris laughed. “We didn’t ask about need, we asked about cravings!”

“Like chocolate?” Tifa suggested. “Or even vanilla bars.”

“Or fudgewhipplemallow!” Aeris smiled.

“Ooh! I haven’t had one of those since I left Midgar. I remember the first time I had one. Marlene brought some to me when I was on my period.” Tifa laughed as Vincent became uncomfortable with the new subject. The men up front seemed unhappy as well, squirming in their seats as the both of them discussed their cravings.

“Although I have to admit, after three days of being bedridden from cramps…the chocolate was very much appreciated.”

“We’re here!” Cloud shouted a bit too loud. “Oh look I see an Inn!”

The women giggled before getting out of the car and making a beeline for the nearest shop. Barret swore about carrying luggage and reluctantly untied the ninja as Cloud grabbed a few bags and asked himself to rent them a few rooms.

The girls returned some time later, carrying groceries and various things. One bag they had specifically ordered them not to bother with, claiming it to be girl stuff. That had been quite enough for the boys. Dinner came to them eventually, and Vincent found himself reminiscing about his days with the Turks. Before he’d met Lucrecia, when he was still in training and laughing with the guys. Everyone around him was laughing about something or telling a story.

But there was a tense air about them that had nothing to do with Sephiroth. No, there was something more intense and personal about this. Between Aeris, Tifa, and Cloud. Cloud was sitting beside Aeris laughing with her about something he’d done in his SOLDIER days. Tifa was trying hard to ignore them and focus on her food. Her grip on her fork was bending the metal, and her hand was imperceptibly shaking.

“You foo! You can’t jump from-“

“You can too!”

Tifa set her fork down and got up from the table, excusing herself from Yuffie. Someone who likely didn’t hear her anyway. Nanaki wished her pleasant dreams, as did Barret. She noticed no one else did. She climbed the stairs, thankful that she’d been paired to share a room with Nanaki, she wasn’t sure if she could have handled the older woman another moment.

There is such a thing as being too understanding,’ Tifa groaned. She couldn’t remember her childhood with Cloud very well, but she was pretty sure it had been alright. Although, being a mayors daughter generally connotated some pleasant factors and fun times.

Tifa dug through her bag for her nightclothes after locking the door. The room was cozy enough, two beds, a fireplace, table to work at and a lamp which gave off minimal light. There was also a radio, and after a night of talk, she thought music might be in order.

It was a techno version of some opera, and interesting to say the least.

“So Vincent,” Aeris began, “Where do you come from?”

He didn’t answer her. Vincent wasn’t trying to be rude, nor was he trying to get back at her for Tifa. He just didn’t want to answer her. Behind and beside him, the black man Barret and the red lion Nanaki were talking in hushed tones, trying to keep it from the other people at the table. Luckily or unluckily, he could hear them.

“You saw what?”

“Tifa was danglin’ from his fist,” Barret whispered. “Coulln’ tell if she was scared or pissed!”

“Have you asked her about it?”

“No,” Barret shook his head. “She looked real broke up after, I couldn’t just go and ask her.”

“Perhaps I should ask her. As a third party it would be easier for her to talk about the event.” Nanaki got off of his seat and began padding up the stairs to the room he shared with the woman.

Nanaki was confused when the door to their room was locked. He scratched a few times, calling Tifa’s name out, releaved when she opened the door a moment later. She did look tired, now that he thought about it. Her eyes were baggy and she had weight on her shoulders she didn’t have before.

“Tifa, Barret is worried about you.” Nanaki leapt on his bed, turning in a circle before plopping down. “Would you like to talk about what happened in the basement?”

Tifa was standing by the radio again, fiddling with the knobs as Nanaki spoke. She gave a near bitter laugh, something that didn’t need coming from her kind face.

“Which time?” Tifa asked as she sat on her own bed. “This time…nothing too bad happened. Just meeting your lifelong enemy in a secluded area while he’s harassing you.”

“And the other time?” Nanaki asked concerned. He grew even more worried when she didn’t answer him. “Tifa?”

“I…I met him when I was fifteen,” she finally admitted. “On a trip to ShinRa military academy. My dad wanted me to get a good education, so we were scouting schools. While I was there I ran into Sephiroth, literally. He was different then, kinder I suppose. He helped me up and showed me to where I needed to go. My dad invited him to dinner and we learned that he’d be coming to Neibelhelm later that week. So we stayed a bit longer and my dad started talking with Sephiroth about getting married.

“The plan eventually turned into returning to Neibelhelm together and setting up plans for a wedding. My wedding. I wasn’t upset about it then, I was practically in love with him and couldn’t wait until I came of age. Of course, he turned dark after spending a night in ShinRa mansion.

“I went looking for him, to tell him that dinner was ready because he was invited to family meals now. When I found him going into the mansion I followed him. I’ve never told anyone about this before, so you’ll have to excuse me.”

Nanaki nodded as Tifa took a shuddering breath and rubbed her arms. He didn’t need to hear what happened next because he could tell. The pain in her eyes and the smell of fear and shame.

“He violated you.” Tifa could only nod as tears began down her eyes.

“He wasn’t the man I’d fallen in love with,” she cried. “He was different! He was so different…”

Nanaki did of course get off of his own bed to lie next to Tifa on hers. Of course, fate threw a curveball and sent in one large man with a gun for a hand. Barret Wallace stood in the room cursing and fussing and waving his gun arm around like he was going to kill Sephiroth then and there. The lion was sure that the meeting between the two at this moment in time would not end with both people unharmed.

“Damn bastard! I’ll !@%! kill him for ya! Doin' that to his fiancée of all the scummy things…”

“Barret!” Nanaki snapped. “Calm down, Tifa doesn’t need that right now.”

Barret rubbed the back of his head sheepishly before glancing at Tifa. She looked terrified now, like she was afraid he’d…

“I don’t think no less of ya!” Barret said quickly. “If anything I hate him all the more. You’re too good a person and…”

“Barret, please, don’t talk about this. Don’t tell Cloud, or Aeris or Yuffie or Vincent. Nothing leaves this room and nothing comes to light again.” Tifa said softly. “I don’t think I’d ever be forgiven for this.”

“Yea well…Spike’s a damn foo…” Barret shifted uncomfortably as Tifa fought the smile coming to her face. “Well, I’m gonna go…bedtime.”

Tifa nodded as he walked out, wondering who might pop into her room next. She was pretty sure she’d kill the flower girl if she opened the door. At the very least she’d throw a punch…or a vase. But that would tell everyone she was having problems emotionally and then they’d be trying to pick her apart to figure out what was wrong.


Well, I've had this written for a few days on request, but I've had a crapload of school work to do so Nya!