Yuffie sat up straight with a gasp. She moved her hand to her chest, feeling it damp there. Looking down, she saw the beige top she was wearing was drenched with blood. With trembling fingers, she undid a few buttons, and tried to find out where the blood was coming from. She was surprised to find there was no cut or wound. Looking down, Yuffie saw her Conformer lying on the ground next to her. One of it's sharp tips was stained bright red with blood. Yuffie bit her lip as she remembered what had happened. Then she remembered what had made her sit up. The tingling sensation of magic being cast on her. That was probably what had closed her wound.

Getting up, Yuffie immediately looked around for her friends. "Cloud?" she called out, her voice uncertain. There was no reply, and as she looked around she realised she didn't know where she was. It was very dark, and it seemed as if she was in a big cave or crater. She walked briskly towards a light she saw in the distance, ignoring the feeling of terror rising inside her.

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Vincent opened his eyes, feeling intense cold. He realised he was lying in the snow, and stood up, shaking it from his cloak.

Calmly, he checked his gun was loaded and looked around. The landscape he was in was open, and all he could see for miles was snow. He guessed it was the Northern Plains, and groaned inwardly at the thought of being lost out here.

He couldn't see Cloud, Tifa or Yuffie anywhere. He hoped that they were all together, as he didn't know if either of the women were in a fit state to defend themselves. And Tifa had a baby with her. This was definitely not a good situation.

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Waking up, Cloud felt a sticky liquid covering his face and in his hair. He guessed it was blood, and getting to his feet looked around for his friends. He couldn't see either Vincent or Yuffie. Tifa....there was her cloak on the ground. He walked to it, picking up the brown rough-spun cloak.

"Tifa..." he murmured, looking around the bare and snow covered landscape. It was so quiet, and he felt a horrible sensation of dread as he wondered what had happened to his friends. Putting his wifes cloak around himself, he began walking up the steep incline towards the platform of the Northen Crater. He dreaded to think what he might find there.

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As soon as the frantic battle had started, Tifa had begun to run, knowing they would not notice her. Silently she thanked Sephiroth for sending the swarm and providing her with an escape route. Unfortunately she had lost her cloak, and she was bitterly cold, but that didn't stop her. Clutching her child closer to her, she ran up the steep hill to the Crater, where she knew he was waiting for her.

Eventually she got to the top, and swayed from exhaustion as she scanned the top for him. She saw him, standing with his back to her.

"Seph!" she called, out of breath. He turned around quickly and saw her, walked quickly up to her. He smiled at her, a gust of wind sending his long silver hair flowing around both of them.

"I'm glad you made it." he said in an even voice, staring intensely into her eyes. She held out Zack wearily, and he took the baby from her. Tifa shivered with cold, and he drew her closer to him, wrapping his thick black cloak around the three of them.

"Tifa...they will be here soon. I did my best to split them up by sending the swarm...but it wont hold them back forever." he said softly, stroking her long brown hair. Tifa shut her eyes and leant against him, trying to get warmer. She shivered again, and he held her tighter. In his other arm, he held his son, who was sleeping, wrapped in the warmest blanket Tifa had been able to find.

"I don't care," she whispered. Sephiroth smiled. If Tifa could have seen that smile, maybe it would have brought her to her senses. It was the same smile he had on his face when he swore to Cloud he was going to kill him, and very nearly did.

It was an evil smile.

"You know what will happen Tifa. They will die. All of them." he said in a gentle voice. Tifa made no reply, but stopped shivering. He took that to be a good sign.

"Cloud..." he murmured. Tifa looked up.

"I don't care." she said in a harsh voice. He nodded, and smiled again. Everything was going exactly the way he wanted it.

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Cloud was tired by the time he reached the top of the mountain. Even though he was in excellent physical shape, the freezing temperature and harsh winds which whipped around the steep mountain really took his energy away. When he got to the top, he couldn't believe his eyes. Facing him was Sephiroth, looking exactly the way he had before he died, holding Tifa, who had her back to him. Sephiroth saw him and smiled, narrowing his eyes. Cloud could see the hatred seething in his cold stare, and drew his sword silently. Sephiroth released Tifa, and placed the baby on the ground. Cloud was shocked the 'baby' was now the size of a five year old.

The little boy stared at Cloud, and Cloud saw his eyes were identical to those of his fathers. Tifa turned, and didn't appear surprised to see Cloud. She put her hands protectively on the shoulders of Zack, and gazed at Cloud. He searched her eyes for some trace of warmth, but there was no emotion in her blank stare.

"Tifa!" he called, his azure eyes wide with disbelief. She just looked at him. Sephiroth smiled.

"She isn't yours anymore." he rasped. Cloud took a step forward angrily.

"Let her go." he threatened. Sephiroth laughed harshly.

"You don't understand, do you? Tifa made her choice a long time ago. She wants me, not you. She chose to come with me. I am not here to fight you, Cloud. I just want to destroy you." he said, his voice dropping to a growling whisper towards the end.

Cloud's blue eyes misted over in confusion as Tifa stepped closer to Sephiroth. He felt a swell of painful emotions inside him, as he saw the woman he used to love so much look at another the way she used to look at him. He couldn't help it, Tifa had always been his best friend. Even though they had fought, he still loved her fiercely, with a love which would always be blurred between real friendship and desire. Neither really worked, but it was only now he realised he would be lost without her.

"Let her go," he repeated. Sephiroth looked at him coolly. Cloud gripped his two- handed broadsword tighter, meeting Sephiroth's icy gaze.

"Take her." he whispered, his face twisted into an ugly smirk. Cloud was rooted to the spot as Sephiroth grabbed the Masamune out of the air, where it appeared in a flask of crackling blue light. Twisting it, he slashed towards Tifa. Cloud's mouth dropped open in shock as Sephiroth slid the highly polished blade through her effortlessly.

"No!" he screamed, running towards her as she dropped to her knees, her hands leaving her child. Her blood turned the snow around her a deep red, and spread far, leaving a wide circle of crimson around her. Cloud looked up at Sephiroth, hatred in his eyes. Sephiroth smirked at Cloud.

"You couldn't protect her. What kind of husband are you?" he taunted. Cloud rushed towards him in a rage, his sword prepared to pierce Sephiroth's heart. He cast Fire3, knocking Cloud backwards. Sephiroth laughed as Cloud lay in the snow, momentarily stunned, before leaping to his feet again.

"Why did you kill her?!" Cloud yelled at him. Sephiroth shrugged, wiping the silver blade of Masamune. "Because she was your life. Tifa was the only one who kept you sane when I was torturing your mind. Because she was the only one who ever truly loved you. Now you can live, but you will never be happy. You will always have a void left in your life. You can never be a complete person again." he said, laughing bitterly. Cloud dropped to his knees beside the body of his wife, looking into her glassy brown eyes.

"I thought you loved her." he murmured. Sephiroth laughed again, louder. Cloud wanted to kill him.

"Love her? No. What do you think I am? I stole her from you, I made her fall in love with me, I made her carry my child, but once her usefulness has expired..." he shrugged again. Cloud finally found the strength to fight. With barely suppressed rage, he ran at Sephiroth, slashing wildly at him in all directions as his limit break bar filled up repeatedly. Eventually, he began to slow down.

Sephiroth fell to his knees, blood flowing into the snow from numerous cuts and slashes made by Cloud's sword. His eyes grew wide in shock as the Masamune was knocked from his hands, and lay in the snow, broken in two. Sephiroth let out a low cry as he realised Cloud had strength he had never imagined before.

"Tifa!" screamed Cloud as he brought the final blow down on Sephiroth's neck. He fell to the ground as Sephiroth's lifeless form was thrown back from the force of his sword ripping through flesh and bone. Sephiroth was finally dead. Cloud took several deep breaths. The silence of the clearing seemed oppressive, and he wished another of his friends was here. His eyes fell on Tifa's body. Her brown hair was tangled and lay in waves over her bare shoulders, wet from blood and snow. He knelt beside her, ignoring the snow which soaked through to his legs. Lifting her, he began to walk slowly towards the edge of the Crater, and laid her down on a flat rock which was clear of snow, as it was under a ledge.

Turning back, his gaze was met with a pair of glowing pale green eyes. Cloud drew in a sharp breath as he looked at the now orphaned child. He felt a sense of revulsion as he looked at him, instead of pity. The child had Sephiroth's eyes, and had the same mannerisms of him. Cloud could tell by the way the child stood, the way he coolly met Cloud's gaze.

"You killed my father." the child said. Cloud was surprised. After all, the child was barely a week old. Cloud gripped his sword tighter.

"I had to. He murdered your mother." Cloud replied. Zack's lips twitched upwards in a slight smile.

"My mother. Her only purpose was to bring me and my father into this world. Why should she live afterwards?" he said emotionless. Cloud narrowed his eyes.

"She loved you. She would have given her life for you." he said angrily. Zack smirked.

"She did." he replied with a hint of malice in his child-like voice. Cloud took a step towards the child. His features were soft and innocent, his pale green eyes were large, and almost pretty. He looked like Tifa, his features were the same. But his eyes and manner were those of Sephiroth's. Cloud's heart knew what he had to do, but his brain told him not to. No way could he murder Tifa's child.

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Yuffie finally made it to the plateau. She gasped as she saw the two large circles of blood stained snow, and saw Cloud facing a young child, his sword drawn. Without speaking, she crossed the clearing to his side. Cloud glanced at her, relieved that she was okay, and glad one of his friends was there.

"Yuffie, Sephiroth's dead. We don't need to worry about him anymore." Cloud said to her. She nodded, her eyes on the pools of blood. Cloud followed her gaze, and swallowed hard.

"Tifa was killed by Sephiroth." he said, pain evident in his voice. Yuffie glanced at him quickly. She was not jealous, as she had like Tifa also, even though they did fight over Cloud. In fact, Tifa had been a close friends when they had been on their quest.

"I'm sorry," she murmured, her voice sincere. He nodded, and focussed on the little boy standing infront of them. Yuffie was confused.

"Isn't that..."

"Zack. Tifa's child." he said. Yuffie still didn't understand. Cloud's voice trembled.

"We have to kill him." he said. Yuffie gasped.

"But he's only a little boy! He isn't Sephiroth!" she said in shock. Cloud gripped the sword, trying to stop shaking from the cold and from his own turmoil.

"I know! But Yuffie...he's evil.Worse than Sephiroth. But I can't bring myself to...he's a child...and can't defend himself..."

Cloud gasped. Yuffie was shocked and scared to see tears in his eyes. She didn't know what to say. Zack smirked.

"You can't hurt me. I'm the only child of your lost love. If you kill me, you murder the last remaining piece of her in this world. When you look at me, you see her. You can't kill me." he said, his soft voice full of confidence. He seemed to be mocking Cloud. Yuffie narrowed her onyx eyes at him. Cloud sighed in despair.

"Don't talk to me about her!" he cried. The boy laughed.

"Do you think she'd be in this dilemma? Do you honestly think that, at the end, she gave a damn about you? She fell in love with my father, he stole her away from you, he had her soul, something she never shared with you. Now she is dead, and with him. You'll never be with her again." he laughed infuriatingly.

Yuffie gasped. "How can you talk about her like that? Tifa loved you so much!" she cried. Zack eyed her coldly.

"Oh yes. Cloud's little concubine. The child. What do you know about love? Do you think you love Cloud? How can a moronic teenager like you know what you want? You are worth even less than the foolish woman who carried me, thinking she was carrying the child of someone who loved her." he said, laughing even more.

Suddenly, a shot rang out from across the clearing. Zack's eyes opened wide, his mouth closed slowly mid-laugh. He fell first to his knees, then collapsed face down in the snow. Cloud's grip on his sword relaxed, and the glowing weapon fell from his hands into the snow as he covered his face with blood stained hands. Yuffie put her arms round him, trying to share his grief. He fell to his knees, sobs racking his body. Yuffie leant over him, one hand rubbing his back comfortingly, the other stroking his matted hair. She pressed his face against her chest as she hugged him, tucking his head under her chin protectively. She held him tightly as he shook, exhausted and grief-stricken.

Looking up, Yuffie saw Vincent standing there over Zack's body. He picked up the child effortlessly, and carried him over to where Tifa's body was. Yuffie pressed Cloud closer to her as she looked at Vincent.

Vincent glanced away, as usual hiding his own feelings. He had known this would end in tragedy, but not like this. The death of both Tifa and her child was nothing he could have foreseen.

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Yuffie watched Cloud as he slept in the warm, soft bed they shared. For the first time in hours, he looked peaceful, and she was relieved. She had never seen him cry before, and had never realised how deep his feelings for Tifa were. Softly, the stroked a lock of golden hair which fell across his face, brushing the silken strands away from his eyes. He didn't stir, and she sighed.

She didn't need him to tell her how much he was going to miss Tifa. She had always known they had a special connection, one which even her death could not break, but she had to admit to being a little jealous. She knew she would never have that kind of love from him. Tifa and Cloud would never have worked as a couple, because theirs was a different kind of love. They were close friends, but confused. They made the mistake of thinking that the only true love was the kind between lovers. That wasn't true, Yuffie saw that now. Cloud and Tifa did have true love, but they were too confused to see it. Yuffie understood what true love was. Often people made the mistake of thinking that the silly, often selfish facade she put on was really her. It wasn't. So far, only Cloud knew what she was really like.

She hoped that one day, he would love her a fraction of how much he had loved Tifa. Until then, she would be content with giving him her heart, and in return getting all the love he was capable of giving her. Yuffie was not as impatient as she acted, and over the last six months she had grown up a lot. Her fathers death and defeating Sephiroth had good effects on her.

Smiling to herself, she trailed her fingers down Cloud's cheek as he slept, absently brushing away the blonde strands which fell over his face. She hadn't slept yet, she found she was unable to until she knew that Cloud was fine, and that he was able to sleep. Sighing, she laid back down, one arm slung protectively across Cloud's bandaged chest. She shut her black eyes, and slowly fell asleep.

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Vincent stood for a while, staring at the three bodies he had promised he would take care of. One was Tifa's, and her's he had laid on a smooth clean rock in respect. The other two, Tifa's son and Sephiroth, were lying in the snow.

He wondered how this horrible tragedy had happened. Fate worked in strange ways, but he had no idea it could be so cruel. Cloud and Tifa...they were never meant to be together. Vincent knew that. They were meant to remain friends. Cloud was meant to have married Aeris, not Tifa. But Sephiroth...he was the one who crossed the stars. Fate hadn't taken Sephiroth into account. Murdering Aeris, sliding the Masamune through her willing heart, he had stolen her from Cloud.

Aeris wasn't meant to die. She, an ancient, was meant to live on, to show them the way to live a better life. But Sephiroth ordained her death the moment he called on the Black Materia. Aeris had known that she and Cloud were destined for each other, but she had kept quiet. Maybe that was her mistake...had she told him, maybe he would have been able to fight Sephiroth.

Tifa had been the replacement for Aeris. But it wasn't her place. Tifa's role in Cloud's heart was as his friend and advisor. She was never meant to be his lover, never meant to be his wife. But they thought they were doing the right thing. Tifa...poor Tifa. She never understood why she and Cloud didn't work as a couple. She never would.

Sephiroth, in his personal quest to destroy Cloud, the one who had destroyed his dream of becoming a god, decided to take Tifa from Cloud. Now Aeris was gone, Tifa was the only one left who truly loved Cloud. She was the only pillar holding him up. Sephiroth knew that if Tifa was gone, Cloud would fall. He seduced Tifa, offering her company at a time when she felt isolated, offering her love when she thought she had none. This was not her fault, she was confused in her relationship with Cloud.

Cloud himself had played some part in it. He didn't attempt to resolve the differences between him and Tifa. He was in a hopeless situation. He and Tifa would never have been able to live together for long, but they didn't know that. Cloud had found release in Yuffie. Tifa had found hers in her dreams.

Vincent wished he could have warned her. But maybe this was the only outcome. No- one knows for certain what would happen if someone said something different, if someone stayed when before they would have gone. There was no way to tell what else Fate would have had in store for them.

Vincent removed his red cloak, and wrapped it around Tifa's cold body. He didn't feel the cold as much as most, and didn't miss the protection of the cloak. He glanced at the funeral pyre prepared for the two male bodies, and grimly began to drag the bodies towards the smouldering wood. Nearby was the snow covered beach, and to the otherside a green hill. The sun was just beginning to set, making the snow look pink. He burned the two males, unable to look as Tifa's son was consumed by the flames.

He turned back to Tifa's body. He would take her back to Nibelheim, even though it was an empty town now. The actors were all gone. But it was where Cloud and Tifa grew up, and were born, and it was where she had always wished to be buried. He could at least carry out that wish. She would have a proper funeral, with all her friends present. She deserved it.

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As the dark oaken coffin was carried up the aisle of the church, Yuffie felt tears springing to her eyes. She bit her trembling lower lip as the coffin passed her, born by Reeve, Barret, Cid and Vincent. Cloud stood beside Yuffie, his face emotionless, only a slightly troubled look in his eyes gave any hint as to the turmoil his feelings were in. The coffin was laid sideways in front of the altar. Yuffie cried openly as she saw Tifa's face. In death, she only looked paler, but she seemed as if she was only asleep.

Between her folded hands was a white lily. Tifa was wearing her wedding dress, and it brought back memories of the day she walked down the same aisle, only five weeks previously. She had been so happy then, they all had. And now, Tifa was dead, and Cloud was a shadow of his former self. Yuffie wiped at her eyes as Reeve stood to deliver his eulogy.

"Tifa Lockheart...she was one of us. She was there right from the beginning, with AVALANCHE, and she was one of those who began the fight to save the world. And she was right there at the end when we finally did save it." he said, staring down at the open coffin beneath him. Tifa's hair lay in soft waves over the satin pillow, and over her shoulders. She looked beautiful, and made Reeve feel even sadder.

"She was the only one of us who was always optimistic...she always tried her hardest to succeed, and to let us know that she thought we could do it. Tifa..." his voice broke and he shook his head angrily.

"Damn...Tifa...why," he whispered. Yuffie burst into tears, unable to hold back anymore.

Cloud just stood there, silently.

Syia comforted Yuffie as the younger girl cried. Reeve looked helplessly at her.

"We'll all miss Tifa. I know we'll never forget her." Reeve finished, unable to say anymore. He stepped down, sitting in a row away from the front, away from the others. Barret stepped up to the coffin, and looked down at Tifa. For once, the big man found himself at a loss for words. He touched Tifa's folded hands once, and then turned away. Yuffie could swear she saw tears in his brown eyes. Marlene, who had been standing behind her father, knelt beside Tifa's coffin, staring into her pale face. Marlene's cheeks were streaked with tears, and the little girl looked pale and tired. She had loved Tifa as a replacement mother, and to have lost her was a huge blow to her.

Vincent stepped up to the coffin. He looked down at her, and sighed. He was glad his hair obscured his eyes, so that the others could not see the tears misting them. Turning away from the coffin, he walked quickly out of the church, followed by Reeve, Barret and Marlene. Next, Syia went to the coffin. She knelt beside it, and stroked Tifa's hair, crying as she looked at her dead friend. Murmuring a farewell, Syia stood and followed the others out of the church. Cloud and Yuffie were left alone. Yuffie stepped past Cloud, and to where Tifa lay.

"I'm sorry," she said softly, touching Tifa's hands. She hoped Tifa would forgive her. Yuffie let the tears fall freely down her cheeks as she gazed into the face of her friend, the one she had looked up to as an older sister, the one she felt she had betrayed.

"Please forgive me." she whispered, her voice cracked with grief. Standing up unsteadily, Yuffie looked to Cloud. Their gazes met for a second before Yuffie looked away, unable to bear the intensity of his stare. What she saw in those eyes touched her, she saw pain. Raw pain, one she knew would never leave Cloud. She walked slowly out of the church, leaving him standing there alone with his wife. She glanced back once when she reached the doors of the church, and saw him standing next to the coffin, staring down, not moving. Sighing, she turned and shut the door behind her.

"Tifa..." he whispered, looking down at her. He knelt, remembering when he had proposed to her in this same position. He remembered her delighted smile, the way her warm brown eyes had lit up, and the kiss they shared when she accepted the ring he offered.

Cloud's blue eyes softened as he touched her hair tentatively, trying to focus his feelings into something understandable. At the moment, he felt immense grief, so much that he thought it would consume him if he let it out. At the same time he felt a sense of relief. He had loved Tifa, and it had been confusing when their relationship had broken down so quickly after their marriage. He still didn't understand why all this had happened, but he didn't have the ability now to handle it. He just wanted to be able to get on with his life.

"But I can't." he whispered to her. He swallowed hard, fighting the tears which he knew would come. He felt a ache in the back of his throat, and wanted to hear her voice again. He shut his eyes, attempting not to feel, trying not to let his feelings get the better of him. Eventually, he won his battle, and managed to look down at her without the fear of losing control.

"Tifa, I love you. Those words are so insignificant, they can't even begin to describe the way I feel. But they are true. It is the only thing I know is true right now. Tifa...please forgive me." he whispered to her. He closed his eyes briefly, breathing deeply. Then he kissed her smooth forehead.

"Goodbye, Tifa." he said softly, standing and turning away from her. He went to join his friends. Yuffie momentarily flashed into his mind, and he wondered what was going on with her. She had showed extraordinary understanding and maturity over this, and he wondered if there was more to her than he had previously guessed. Sighing, he pushed open the door of the church he and Tifa had got married in, and stepped into the sunlight.

He glanced backwards, looking at the coffin as it lay in the light from a stained glass window shining full on it.

One day they would be together again. And now that he understood what they really had, he would be able to treat her better. Love her better. Until then, he would do the best he could to love Yuffie. He smiled as he thought of the younger girl, how eager she was, how deceptively exuberant and resilient.

He saw her waiting for him over a hill. She was standing a little way apart from the others. He noticed Syia watching her, concerned. But he knew Yuffie would be alright. Much as she missed her friend, Cloud knew most of her grief was for him. Yuffie was terrified Cloud was irrevocably damaged from this. He would have to reassure her that this was not the case. He called her name, and smiled as she turned to him. She stood on top of the hill, the sunlight reflecting off the highlights in her hair. He walked towards her, putting his arm around her shoulders.

"Yuffie...we're going to be alright." he said to her quietly. She nodded, looking up at him.

"I was worried about you. I'm fine, but you..."

"I understand now. Tifa's death isn't the end of everything. I only now can see what she really meant to me, and when we are together again, I can finally tell her." he explained. Yuffie didn't understand, but nodded anyway. He smiled down at her.

"Let's go." he said to her. She sighed, and they began walking together.

Everything would be alright, thought Cloud. He could handle this, he would be able to survive. He looked down at Yuffie.

She gave him a reason to live. He loved her. Not in the same way he loved Tifa.

"Yuffie?" he said to her. She looked up at him.

"What?" she asked. He gazed into her innocent face, and all words went out of his mind as a sense of peace fell over him.

Suddenly, he felt as if he had Tifa's blessing.

"Nothing," he said with a smile.

------the end--------