#aerti week

One being Tifa. Sure she was happy; of course, she was! After all, what wouldn’t be more exciting and relieving than realizing that her life wouldn’t end here like everyone had thought? She’s relieved. She’s happy that she pulled through with her friends.

But something tugged at her heart. As she laid her hand on her chest, Tifa couldn’t help but feel sad. After all that everyone has been through, it was hard to believe not everyone made it through.

Tifa watched the broken lifeless Gaia from the window of the Highwind; the planet has suffered quite a lot from the drainage for Mako energy. So much life lost along the way, and she couldn’t help but see this and feel sadder. Both for Gaia and for… her love.

Memories began to form in her mind of a certain smile and hands folded together so tranquilly. Talks of the future with such hope in that sweet honey tone. Nights they had spent happily just laying together in the same bed and chuckling together as they continued with their journey. Their hand holding. Their kisses.

God, Tifa missed it so much. She can’t help but feel her eyes prick at the incoming tears. She shook her head defiantly and wiped her eyes.

“I’m so sorry, Aerith,” Tifa whispered into her arm, continuing to rub her eyes, “You should’ve been here, too.”

The possibility of Aerith being here. Standing with her right now, and even holding her hand makes Tifa sob more profusely, her hands covering her face to muffle her sobs so the others don’t hear it.

And she kept sobbing to herself into her hands, tears wetting her hands and her entire face. She felt like she should’ve known better to not cry about this. She trusted Aerith with her life that she was making the right choice and doing things on her own, but if she were just close enough to Aerith, if she had just reached out seconds beforehand, perhaps the woman she loved would be right beside her still.

“Aerith…” Tifa muffled again, “I really wish you were here, too.”

Then, she felt something grab hold of her hands, pulling them away from her face.

“Cloud? Sorry. I know I shouldn’t be crying right now. Silly me,” Tifa sniffled and tried to laugh jokingly at her pathetic demeanor to ease Cloud, but when she opened her eyes, her eyes widened at what she saw.

“A-Aerith…?” Tifa stuttered. It was her. It really was her, with her gentle smile and mischievous yet calming eyes, holding her hand. She kept telling herself it was a dream, but the weight against her hand was telling her otherwise.

Tifa looked down at Aerith holding her hand then back to Aerith, and her heart leapt in her chest seeing the other’s serene smile.

“Y-You’re here… How?” Tifa choked out, and Aerith just shook her head slowly.

“Not quite,” Aerith responded, “Just a quick visit. I’ll be going really soon. I just wanted to come visit you one last time.”

“One… last time,” Tifa repeated to herself, adjusting her hands so she can clasp onto Aerith’s. “So… you really do have to go, huh?”

Aerith nodded quietly, and the response just made Tifa feel cold inside.

“I’m sorry, Tifa,” Aerith then continued, “I… really wish I could stay.”

“Then stay,” Tifa pushed. “Why can’t you stay? I… We miss you a lot, Aerith…”

“Someone has to help heal the planet,” Aerith explained in a soft voice. God, it’s been so long since Tifa heard it that it left chills down her spine.

“But I…” Tifa felt something bitter — something selfish brew within her. “I just wish you were here…I wish you were always here.”

Aerith placed a hand on Tifa’s cheek, “I know, and I wish I were with you all, my love, but I have to go.”

Tifa just nodded to herself, her eyes drawing downward to her legs.

“Hey, whatever happened to that smile I loved?”

“Hm?” Tifa looked back up at Aerith, who was brushing Tifa’s hair to the side.

“Don’t you remember what I told you before I left?” Aerith pouted, “I wanted you to keep smiling.”

“Oh,” Tifa chuckled lightly, “Sorry. Guess it’s a little hard.”

“No, I get it,” Aerith shook her head, “You’re sad. I’m sad, too. It’s alright, but can I ask you for a favor?”

Tifa nodded at the other, bringing her hand to Aerith’s hand that rests on her cheek.

“Before I go, can I see your smile one last time?” Aerith asked sheepishly, and Tifa can’t help but be baffled at the request from the apparition.

“A-Ah, yeah,” Tifa nodded, but she still had a hard time pulling a smile on her face. Not when “one last time” kept echoing in her head.

“Oh, Tifa,” Aerith clicked her tongue, and the response puzzled Tifa, so Aerith continued, “Don’t you get it? There’s nothing to be sad about. I may not be with you all here in person, but I’ll always be with you from the Lifestream. I will always be there for you all. If you keep me in your thoughts.”

And finally, throughout their conversation, Tifa chuckled. Even now, Aerith would spew such cute words that it reminded Tifa why she loved Aerith so dearly.

“Not just in my thoughts,” Tifa said, “In my heart, too.”

And then, Tifa’s lips curled up.

At those words and that smile, Aerith gasped quietly before her lips returned to her warm smile, and suddenly, Tifa felt lighter than before.

For the last time, the two embraced one another tightly, feeling each other’s warmth against each other and taking in this moment before it goes away, trying to remember every bit of detail of it.

Tifa ran her fingers through Aerith’s long brown hair and whispered into the crook of Aerith’s neck, “I’ll always love you, Aerith. Always.”

“As I will love you always,” Aerith brought her arms around Tifa’s neck. The two part a bit, looking into each other’s eyes once more; Tifa can already see that Aerith’s disappearing into the light from the window, her figure glowing the bright green of the Lifestream.

The two smiled, and for the last time, the two kissed each other passionately before Aerith finally disappeared from Tifa’s grasp.

Then it was just Tifa alone at the window again. She stared back out the window and suddenly, from the cracks of the planet, the waves of the Lifestream seeped out and flooded the planet, as though it was coming to say goodbye. She pressed her hand against the window and smiled, watching as the Planet began to finally heal after all this time.

In that moment, she felt happy, just as everyone else did. Possibly… even more so, because Tifa knows full well, from seeing the Lifestream heal the world, that Aerith will always be beside her, no matter what.

It wasn’t until she actually stood in position in the courtyard with her friend, looking high up on the tower towards the speaker, the one she served loyally, the prince. After all the knights had saluted to the prince in the way that they do, the prince began to explain why he had asked them all to come to the court on this rather cold summer morning.

“I will be sending you all on a mission,” he proclaimed. Getting missions from the prince isn’t a rarity; the prince is quite feeble so he wasn’t fit to step out beyond the castle gates. She’s pretty sure that after she had finished training, she was sent out on countless missions already.

The feeble prince continued in a booming voice over everyone there, “There is rumor of a distant forbidden castle, where a princess resides. Your task, if any of you are brave enough, is to rescue this princess for me to wed.”

That certainly sounded like a fairytale. Tifa was rather surprised. Sure, the prince at some point did have to marry someone later to become a king, but she didn’t really expect it as a mission to go save a princess for the prince. She felt a little wary, too, knowing that the castle was distant and forbidden. There must be a reason for it.

The mission’s description stirred the crowd of knights, chattering ensuing between the armored figures both in confusion and shock at the request. Even Cloud asked Tifa to repeat what the prince had said. Tifa only shook her head in confusion as well, as she kept her eye on the prince.

The prince raised his hand and waved them down, “Do not fret, young knights. I understand that the mission may be troublesome, and should neither anyone take up this task then I do not mind. However, should any of you decide to, I will grant you great treasures beyond your belief.”

Treasures? He’s bribing the knights? Tifa didn’t really understand why he would do such a thing. A knight wouldn’t dare care for anything in exchange for a job; it was part of their code to do things with pride and without hesitation. No pay was needed back.

But it seemed that many of the knights had forgotten that code. No, she heard a couple of people behind her beginning to be jittery at the sound of rewarded treasure, some already proclaiming they shall do it.

“There is a time limit to this quest, however,” the prince raised a finger, forewarning the people below, “I shall give you all a week to complete this task! Should anyone not save the princess by the end of this week, then I shall take it that no one will!”

And again, a wave of murmuring washed over the crowd.

“A week is too short!”

“How am I gonna do that?”

“Well, I’m definitely not doing it now.”

“Why the time limit?!”

Shouts from the knights mixed aloud, all demanding for a response from the prince, but the prince silently returned to his room, his guards shutting the doors to the balcony behind him.

Then the knights all dispersed, some running back, others stunned in place, still trying to make sense of the prince’s request and trying to figure out what to do.

Tifa lowered her head to look straight ahead at the base of the tower, trying to comprehend it all before turning back to Cloud, who stood with his head low, staring at his feet quietly.

She placed a hand on Cloud’s shoulder worrying, “Cloud? What are you going to do?”

“You heard everyone else...” Cloud muttered, “Everyone else is giving up. There’s no way they want to do this... but..”

“But..?” Tifa raised a brow.

“We have to save the princess, right?” Cloud turned his head to Tifa, his eyes wide and worried looking. “She’s stuck there, and...”

“Look, Cloud, you gotta first take a step back. I know you want to be a hero as much as the next guy in here,” Tifa stopped him, “But risking your life is not worth it.”

“Isn’t that what it means to be a knight?” Cloud argued, brows narrowed but his eyes softened and he turned away. “I just... this might be the first time I can actually prove that I belong here, and that princess needs to be saved. We have to... We have to do something about it.”

“Cloud...” Tifa tilted her head in sorrow.

“You’re already perfect in the knighthood, but me? I barely made it. Just,” Cloud huffs, ”I’m going to do it. There’s no... There’s no stopping me, Tifa.”

And his blue eyes trembled looking back at Tifa. She can tell his words are full of strength but being his childhood friend, she knew full well that he’s not actually sure of himself. And she wanted to argue him out of this decision, but... Cloud is Cloud.

With a defeated sigh, she patted Cloud’s back before smiling at him, “Alright, Cloud. If that’s what you decided, then I’ll go, too.”

She regrets she didn’t argue against it back then. She knows that they were warned of the dangers of the castle after figuring out where it was, but the two didn’t back down because she’s been trying to come up with a plan as soon as she saw Cloud and his giant sword go flying to the wall at the whack of the behemoth’s tail.

Tifa is panicking, and every fiber of her being is screaming to just make a run. She’s on her own with this fight. Her body’s been fueling on adrenaline as soon as they made it here and saw the behemoth.

The behemoth roars aggressively at her, the air from its roar forcing the helmet off her head and letting her hair flow behind her. She grips the sword in her hand more tightly then before, trying to taunt it, but it keeps stepping forward, refusing to back down in its fight for survival.

She has to end this now before she’s knocked out. Otherwise, no one’s getting out of here safely.

She lets out a scream, raising her sword and rushing forward towards the behemoth, but the behemoth raises its arm and slams it against Tifa’s arm. She winces and instinctively releases the sword from her grasp, watching as the sword clatters and spins away from her. Tifa turns back to the behemoth, but her vision goes blurry as the behemoth smacks her to the side

Tifa coughs at the impact of the wall against her back and falling to the ground. Her vision is a little blurry, but she forces herself to get up, trying to look for the monster.

Her eyes immediately lock onto the monster when it roars into the air. It stomps menacingly towards the opposite side of the room, and her eyes widen at where it’s heading off to.

Cloud.

Hurriedly, Tifa runs after the monster and yells, making the behemoth turn its head slowly towards her, “Get away from him!”

And it’s like suddenly everything goes blank.

Her body feels like it was flying — free, but she also feels strong in that moment. The burning sensation in her chest matches the burning sensation she feels in her fists, and the adrenaline is making the pounding of her heart ring loudly and clearly in her ears.

But when she finally calms down, she sees that the behemoth lying right behind her, out cold.

Her training with her family really did come in handy.

Tifa looks at the unconscious behemoth, taking heavy breaths as sweat beads down her face. She takes a gulp and tries to focus herself again.

She spins around to look at the unconscious Cloud, still laying on the ground. Dirt from the ground dirtied his face, but for the most part, Cloud seems uninjured. She’ll have to check more carefully later. For now, Tifa has to get Cloud and the princess out of here.

Tifa walks over to Cloud, squatting down and shaking his shoulder, “Cloud, we need to get out of here.”

The shaking only does so much. Cloud wavers in and out of consciousness, only groaning a bit, but it doesn’t wake him up.

Nervously, Tifa glances back to check on the behemoth. Still unconscious.

“Alright, I guess I have to do this then,” Tifa puts her hands under Cloud’s arms and pulls him up over her shoulders. She nearly tips over upon Cloud’s weight, but she manages just fine eventually. She glances around for their swords and trudges to grab them, putting them in her sheath and struggling to get Cloud’s back into his own.

Then, Tifa starts trudging off towards the tower to find the princess. She was pretty certain that Cloud said that these were the stairs to the princess’s room, but she wasn’t sure.

That is until —

“Hellooo?” A chirpy voice sings from the top of the stairs, and it makes Tifa’s heart jump a bit.

That has to be her, the princess.

Tifa lets out another sigh of relief before wheezing out, “H-Hey! Are you…”

Then, there is quick steps trotting down the steps of the stairs, and soon, Tifa’s eyes fall onto the girl: long, flowing brown hair matched with a big white dress covered in laces, from the hems of the skirt to the sleeves; even the collar is covered in white laces. Even with the poor lights of the torches against the wall, Tifa can see how sharp the other’s features are, but what caught her was the girl’s light pink lips that were curled into a smile.

“The princess? Yes,” The princess nods in confirmation. She continues down the steps to meet Tifa, and the closer the princess gets, the more nervous Tifa gets around her. What is this?

“And you must be my knight, aren’t you?” The princess folds her arms behind her curiously. “Lucky me.”

“A-Ah, yes,” Tifa nods, shifting Cloud on her back, “A-Actually, it’s me and him here, but the behemoth was a rough battle.”

“A strong knight you are for handling it,” The princess notes and nods to herself, “How amazing! But to both of you, thank you.”

“Y-Yes, but,” Tifa admits nervously, “I don’t think I completely killed the behemoth, so we do have to hurry out of here, princess, before it wakes up.”

The princess simply nods, “Of course. Let’s hurry quickly.”

“Alright, shall we?” Tifa nods back before turning around and stepping forward.

“But wait a moment,” The princess speaks out, and Tifa turns around. The princess rests her hand on her chest, “May I know the names of the knights who have come to save me?”

“Oh, um,” Tifa adjusts herself to face forward to the princess, “I’m Tifa, and this is Cloud.”

“Miss Tifa,” The princess repeats Tifa’s name, and the formality almost catches Tifa in surprise. “I am honored such a brave knight would come save me.”

“O-Of course,” Tifa stutters a response back.

“Perhaps, as my shining knight, we will wed?” The princess ponders teasingly, and Tifa purses her lips in embarrassment. She’s already swooned by this girl’s looks; the teasing is only making it worse.

“Ahah,” Tifa laughs wryly, “I-I’ll have to tell you about that later, but first, let’s get out of here.”

“Hmm?” The princess raises an eyebrow at Tifa before walking next to Tifa and giving her a curious look. Tifa didn’t realize how green the princess’s eyes are. It’s like that of the lake back home. It’s comforting to even gaze at.

“So we’re not to wed, then,” The princess thinks aloud, “That’s a shame. I would have been happy if that were the case.”

“A-Ah,” Tifa blushes furiously, and she just can’t say anything else beside that. What can she say?! A princess is flirting with her. Flirting with her! It definitely wasn’t something she was expecting on this mission.

“But alright,” The princess carries onward. She takes a couple of steps before turning back around to Tifa, “So, shall we go, Miss Tifa?”

“Yes, princess. Let’s go,” Tifa nods but the princess holds up a hand to stop Tifa from taking a step. The princess brings her hand back to her and puts up her index finger, waving it.

“No need to call me ‘princess,’” The princess insists, “Please call me Aerith.”

“Aerith,” Tifa repeats. A beautiful name for a beautiful princess.

…Wait—

“A-Alright, shall we go then, Aer-Aerith?” Tifa stumbles on saying the girl’s name, and she hopes the princess didn’t notice, but the twinkling in those eyes and the curl of her pink lips say otherwise.