Final Fantasy VII 1. One: Tifa

**I don't own anyone in this story. If I did, I would be a rich, rich woman. Also, none of the events are true – but I guess that doesn't really apply to a video game. Some Advent Children stuff – nothing too major (mostly because I change a bunch of it). Enjoy !**

Tifa had never been so scared in her entire life.

It had only been a year, but somehow, everything had changed. It didn't matter that Sephiroth was dead, it didn't matter that Meteor was gone, it didn't matter that the ShinRa were gone. Tifa was a strong woman – barely a woman – and she knew how to take care of herself.

_Cloud is dead. Dead and gone_. She thought to herself, staring through the dirty window pane. Outside, Marlene and Denzel were outside, eating their lunch in the tiny garden in the back of the bar. Every minute or so, Marlene would look towards the road – expecting someone to appear.

_No, Cloud isn't dead_, Tifa reassured herself, _Cloud wouldn't die. Too strong for that…_

But he would leave her.

It didn't matter that Cloud and Tifa had something – love, lust, whatever you want to call it – it was all about Cloud and how he wanted to clear his damn conscious. A year had passed since he left to find Aries. Though he knew well she was dead – if she had come to him in his dreams, then she needed to be _somewhere_, right? Cloud would find the Lifestream and try and pull her body out if he had to – as long as he knew she was alright.

But he had never felt that way about Tifa. Tifa knew he didn't. But, time and time again, she pushed that thought to the back of her mind. Of course, when he kissed her, he didn't think about Aries! Of course he never wished that Aries could replace Tifa – not for a second! Of course he never loved Aries…

But he was gone. He had been gone for 365 days, a year – a century it seemed like. And he left Tifa alone. It had been hard trying to get over Cloud; Tifa had closed down the bar for the first month. But when Denzel and Marlene complained that there was nothing to eat in the house, they weren't exaggerating. They needed the money, and they needed the money _bad_.

Tifa opened the bar back up. She hired a few employees since she couldn't manage it on her own, but nothing seemed to fill that empty feeling. Many times she'd find pictures around the apartment – of her, Cloud, Aries, Barret, Yuffie, Red XIII, Vincent… their journey had been hard. And horrifying. But it had been _their_ journey, and no one could take that away from them. She missed the late nights by the campfire, eating and laughing. Even Vincent would crack a smile or two. She missed training with the boys – and talking about them with Yuffie. Now, when she thought about it, she felt a knot in her stomach and tears in her eyes.

She had missed them. All of them.

Barret was gone – off on expeditions trying to make the planet a better place. Tifa now took care of Marlene and her friend, Denzel, who was an orphan that Barret was raising. Yuffie became a materia hunter – she was off to Wutai again to earn her keep. Red XIII was home helping his sick grandfather. And Vincent…well, who the hell knew where Vincent was.

And that left Cloud.

For a while, she thought she would be alright. The journey was over – the biggest part of her entire life so far – and she knew she would never forget it. Cloud lived with her in the apartment above the bar. They re-opened the bar together…kind of like their own little hobby. Tifa thought about Avalanche and Sephiroth and Meteor everyday when she woke up – but with Cloud by her side, she was fine. She was alright.

But Cloud had left her.

And she wasn't alright.

**yay for first chapter! I know you want to hit that "submit review" button.**


	2. Two: Vincent

**Again, I don't own anyone in this story, nothing ever happened, blah blah blah. Have fun with the read!**

If there was one thing in the entire Planet that Vincent hated, it was Midgar. Or, for politics' sake, "Neo-Midgar". It was just like the old city – poor, dirty, disgusting – and though the new government promised that it would be more beautiful – grander, even – Vincent knew it was all a lie.

He did have to admit, though, that the city was a bit better than Midgar. But still, it seemed the city would never see daylight, though there were no plates in the way. And, even though he had somehow turned into some sort of "hero" because of Meteor, people would still give him the same glance they always did. Scared and confused – they would blame his appearance for the excuse to call him some sort of monster.

Which he was, technically…

_No_, he thought, _I mustn't think about that. Life is too short to live to think like that_.

But it didn't matter to Vincent – he had eternity to live.

It was raining when he finally got back to his apartment. He had finally finished his grocery shopping for the week. Just a few items – canned soup, vegetables, apples and milk – for he didn't eat too often, anyway. He had far too many things on his hands to make time to eat.

Things like sleeping. And thinking.

Vincent had soon realized that, after he had killed Sephiroth, he was never going to see Avalanche again. And for some reason he felt at ease – at least killing Sephiroth and saving the Planet would lift some of the sins that he was carrying.

But, no matter how hard he tried, Lucrecia would never come back. She would never love him, and nothing would ever be alright. Damn Hojo, damn Sephiroth, and frankly, damn the Planet. Damn to all who needed it.

The apartment was dimly lit. Vincent set down the bags on the counter in the kitchen and took off his cape, hanging it on the coat rack in the main hall. His apartment had neither T.V. nor radio, and the only things he really needed were things like a phone and microwave. He was told many times by people on the streets that he had been on the news, associated with Avalanche. But rather then being flattered, he had nodded and walked away.

He sat on a chair next to the small table in the kitchen. There had been so many things to think about since the beginning of the journey. There were still so many questions left unsaid. Though he had been part of the group, he never felt part of the family. Some of it was partially his fault, he knew, but he could never shake the feeling that, somehow, they never wanted him around in the first place.

Vincent didn't bother to check his messages on his telephone. He knew he had none. Usually, he enjoyed being alone – it gave him time to think and breathe without any disruption. But now, he would come home and feel just as empty as his apartment.

_I wonder how Tifa and Cloud are doing…_ He thought, scratching his head. He stopped and slightly sat back into his chair.

What made him think that?

He shook off the uneasy feeling and stood up. He didn't care about Tifa or Cloud or anyone in Avalanche. All he needed to do right now was take a shower.

**Yeah, okay, weird ending, I know. So, review please? I like reading 'em .**


	3. Three: Tifa

**I own no one and this never happened. Read on!**

It had been sometime in July when Tifa got the phone call. It was a Sunday evening – a little past 5:00 pm – and she was cleaning up the bar a little for tomorrow. The only phone calls that she had been getting were ones from annoying telemarketers trying to sell her something. Aggravated, she answered the phone.

"Listen, I don't know who you think you are, but trying to sell me something on a Sunday evening –"

"Tiff? Tifa, it's me." Barret's voice interrupted.

"Barret? Oh, Barret! Is it really you? I've missed you so much, and so have Marlene and Denzel! Let me get them so you can talk to them and –"

"Tifa, listen. I needa talk to ya 'bout something. I'm callin' to let ya know that I'm coming to the bar tonight 'round nine. I'm bringin' some people along with me. I…I can't talk about it now…oh, God damn, I'll talk to ya later." The phone line went dead. Tifa put the phone back on the receiver, slightly disturbed. Barret had sounded so scared; he hadn't talked that since…

Well, since Sephiroth.

Tifa quickly put Marlene and Denzel to bed – much to their dismay – and made tea to calm her nerves. Barret had said that he was bringing people – who was he bringing? And why was he scared? Millions of situations came to her head – what if something had happened to Cloud? Tifa shook the thought of and started to ring her hands to try and ease the knot in her stomach.

At half past nine, the apartment's doorbell rang. Tifa bolted from the seat and brushed herself off. She suddenly regretted that she didn't fix herself up. She was clad in a pair of jeans and a white tank top, her hair thrown in a bun on the top of her head. She ran to the door, barefooted.

She inhaled deeply and put her hand on the doorknob. She opened the door, her hands shaking slightly, and gasped, bringing her hand to her mouth.

Standing before her were Barret, Cid, and Nanaki.

"Oh my…"

"Sit down. We needa talk." Barret guided her to one of the bar tables and pulled off a few chairs, then finally sat. The others did the same, gliding down into their seats. They all seemed somewhat distraught, and none of them looked Tifa in the eye.

"Um…well, how are you guys?" Tifa asked awkwardly, shifting in her seats. A few emotionless answers were exchanged. No one spoke for a moment. Suddenly, Barret cleared his throat and looked at Tifa.

"Tifa, we need to talk," He repeated, cracking his knuckles, "We...um…need yer help. Listen, somethin's happened…" He trailed off, shifting his eyes.

"What? What's happened?" Tifa asked. _Is Cloud alright?_

Barret sighed and stood up. He paced before he spoke. "Cloud's gone missing –"

"Oh no –"

"Shuddup," Barret commanded, "Listen. Cloud has gone missing, but not just some fuckin' around got-lost-in-the-middle-of-no-where missin'. No. This is Cloud's-been-captured-by-the-Neo-Midgar-Turks missin' and they ain't lettin' 'im go!"

Tifa stood up. Neo-Midgar-Turks? Hadn't the Turks gone down with Shin-Ra?

"What are the Neo-Midgar Turks?" She asked, looking at Barret. This whole thing was strange – she didn't want to believe it. She suddenly remembered that Cid and Nanaki were sitting beside her. "And why the hell are you guys here?"

"Well, thank ya very much, Ms. Sunshine – it's nice to see you too!" Cid said, crossing his boots over the table. Tifa pushed them off.

"I just washed them."

"Sorry."

"The Neo-Midgar Turks are just like they were before – the new government wants to pretend that it's more successful than Shin-Ra, but really, they're just the same." Nanaki spoke, "They're still capturing, killing, and hiding like they were before. Nothing's changed…" He paused for a second, "Even though it seems like it…"

"We're just here 'cause Barret didn't want no sorry-ass trying to save one of his friends. So instead, he gathered us again to go help and find Cloud." Cid lit a cigarette and popped it in his mouth, "So are you in, or out?"

"Wait, Cid! I don't understand what's going on!"

"Okay." Nanaki spoke, "Cloud got captured by the Turks while outside Neo-Midgar. They won't let him go, and there is obviously something very mysterious going on that no one knows about. We need to get Cloud before something…um…horrible happens to him, and then find out what's going on."

"And I'm reuniting Avalanche 'gain 'cause I ain't picking no little fuckers to get the job done." Barret smiled proudly and sat back down, "Yuffie's at the hotel organizing the materia."

_Yuffie! Oh, I miss Yuffie so much!_ Tifa thought. "Um…wait. Is that such a good idea to let her organize the materia?"

"Yuffie's changed." Nanaki said. Cid laugh and blew smoke from his mouth. He muttered something along the lines of "Milk's done _her_ body good."

Tifa thought for a moment. This was her chance. She would find Cloud again, be reunited with everyone from Avalanche, and finally feel happy. She would be with Yuffie and Barret and Cid and Nanaki and…

"Wait, where's Vincent? And Cait Sith?"

Barret sighed. "Well, we all tried to get a hold of Vincent _somehow_…but we couldn't. No one has his number."

"And the damn cat was put down with the rest of Shin-Ra." Cid finished, putting his cigarette butt out on his boot, "Got destroyed when he was no longer needed."

Tifa thought for a moment. _So Cait Sith was gone…but…no one has Vincent's number? He had gone and left us without so much of a "goodbye" or anything. He probably wouldn't give us his number, anyway. _An idea struck her. "Wait! Cloud had Vincent's number!"

Tifa ran to upstairs and into her room. Cloud had a stack of phone numbers so he contact the members of Avalanche if he ever needed something. She quickly sorted through the papers and finally the scrawl of "Vincent Valentine". His number was below and tore the page out of the phone book, then ran down the stairs.

"Hear." She said, placing the paper down. No one did anything except look at her. "What?" She asked.

"Well, you didn't expect _us _to do it, did you?" Nanaki asked. Tifa rolled her eyes and plopped into a barstool. She hadn't talked to Vincent since forever – how awkward would it be if she just called him up?

"Okay, fine." She said, reaching for the phone. She dialed the number slowly so she would get the right phone number. She pressed the PHS to her ear and heard ringing. It rang seven times before someone picked up.

"Hello?" The voice was low and quiet. Certainly belonged to Vincent. Just speaking to him made him seem mysterious.

"Uh…yeah, hi, Vincent. It's…um, Tifa. Remember me?"

There was a pause on the phone. "Certainly."

"Oh, well, that's good. How are you doing?"

"Fine, and yourself?"

"Oh, uh – you know, just fine!" She laughed nervously, but stopped when she heard that he wasn't responding. "Uh, yeah. Anyway, listen, we need your help…"

She explained the situation. All the while, Vincent was completely silent, listening intently. Tifa finally finished and took a breath in, "Well…are you in? We're staying in the hotel in Neo-Midgar, you know – the one right down the street from my bar. Is it possible for you to get there?"

Vincent was quiet for a moment. Finally, Tifa heard a sigh from the other side of the phone.

"I'll be there tomorrow morning."

**Fin. I figured that no one really wants Cait Sith to be in this. (I never liked him much, anyway )Review, please. **


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Final Fantasy VII, Adventure, Romance