AUTHOR'S NOTES: (SPOILERS!) Nearly one month ago, an online friend told 
me that the RPG game Final Fantasy VII would have been a lot better if
Tifa Lockheart had been killed instead of Aeris Gainsborough. I 
provided him with a possible scenario should that ever be the case--
and guess what? This is that scenario.

DEDICATION: This is dedicated to all those naysayers who say that Tifa
should have died in FFVII, as well as those who say the opposite. 
Whatever. In retrospect, I guess this is dedicated to every true-blue 
FFVII fan, who, like me, have spent countless nights trying to off 
those pesky Ruby and Emerald Weapons and find all the Enemy Skills 
and secrets.

DISTRIBUTION: Anywhere, I guess, just as long as nothing is changed 
and my name remains on it.

AND ON A COMPLETELY SHAMELESS, SELF-PROMOTIONAL VEIN: If you like this 
tale, Ranma 1/2, anime, or Ranma 1/2 fanfiction, drop by my webpage at 

http://move.to/dynasty/

Okay, good. I'm done ranting. Now go read... ^_^

                       ===========================
                           THE FINAL SACRIFICE: 
                                 PART ONE
                            A FFVII Fanfiction
                             by Sydney Kyle
                           <celenas77@aol.com>
                          <jantzen77@hotmail.com>
                       ===========================

   <He loves Aeris.>
   
   Rays from the setting sun seeped into her long mahogany hair, making 
it glow a vivid red-gold. High above her, the sky was a canvas of mauve 
and crimson, with fleeces of golden clouds strung across for added 
effect. 

   <He loves Aeris, not me.>

   Down below, Cosmo Canyon quieted down as the shadows began to
lengthen, chasing away the golden pools of retreating daylight as 
the sun descended over the faraway peaks of Mount Nibel.

   <Not me.>

   She started at the sound of soft warbling coming from Lance, the 
golden chocobo she'd tied to a nearby tree. 

   With tired legs, she scrambled up from the rocky precipice she'd
been perched on and brushed absently at the back of her short black
skirt. Trudging over to her faithful steed, she allowed herself
once more to mull over this latest--and most painful--revelation.

   She'd never seen it coming, really. It was just one of those 
out-of-nowhere discoveries--the kind that laid low for a while 
and then without warning smacked you in the face when you least
expected it.

   It had happened earlier that afternoon, after she'd locked up her
new Seventh Heaven in Midgar. Cid, Vincent, Yuffie, Reeve--in his 
Cait Sith body--and Red 13 had dropped by for a sort-of reunion. 
Together with Barret, the seven of them had made their way toward 
Cloud's summer villa in Costa Del Sol, like they'd planned to do 
after three months apart rebuilding their lives.

   Everything had gone smoothly, until they reached the outskirts
of Costa Del Sol. From the Highwind, Cid had pinpointed a blond dot
down on the terrain some miles away from the resort town. They'd 
landed the Highwind in a matter of minutes, determined to investigate.

   They found Cloud, all right--in a depressed state, mechanically 
hacking at rocks with his Ultima Weapon, seemingly oblivious to 
everything but his train of thought. 

   They'd been concerned for him, of course. Barret, who was already 
accustomed to Cloud's random bouts of melancholy the first month 
after their Planet-saving mission, had suggested to the group that 
it was best to leave him alone and come back when he was ready. 

   She, of course, had disagreed. While she had been with him as well
during those first few months, she'd assumed that this little display
wasn't serious--after all, it _had_ been three months already, and the 
whole gang was here to celebrate the fact that the Planet was alive 
and that they were all alive as well--right? Right?

   Wrong.

   She'd gone up to him, touched him on the shoulder, and told him 
exactly that, in the gentlest way she could.

   He didn't react the way she expected him to.

   He had recoiled from her, as if her touch were the vilest thing 
he'd known. To add insult to injury, he'd literally shouted at her--
shouted at her words that would forever sear themselves in her heart.

   "Alive? What's the point of being alive?! If you could stop 
bein' so damn optimistic and cheerful all the time, you'd notice the 
fact that one of us ISN'T alive, Tifa! Aeris is DEAD! And you know 
what? There isn't a damn thing I can do about it! She's dead--and 
there's nothing strong enough in this world that can bring her 
back!!"

   Aeris. So _that_ had been the thing weighing down on his mind, 
all those months ago. Restless nights and fevered days--his entire 
existence, eaten up with his thoughts of her and how she'd died. 

   Aeris Gainsborough, the woman who had saved the planet--and paid 
her life for it.

   How could Tifa Lockheart possibly top that?

   Sure, she'd fought as well. She'd hung in there the entire time,
without complaint, without protest. She'd lost her sense of innocence
along the way, learning how to kill, how to destroy, with nary a 
thought. She'd faced up against a past she would rather have remained
buried, confronted truths that she'd wished were lies, and stood by
what she believed in throughout it all.

   And what she believed in was Cloud Strife.

   Apparently, it wasn't enough. 

   She could give her all, give up everything she had, offer her 
entire world and all there was in it, and it wouldn't be enough. 
Nothing would ever be enough. 

   Because Cloud would never love her. 

   Aeris had won. It was terrible to contemplate it that way, but 
she'd won, and Tifa had lost. 

   She brushed away the tears on her cheek, an impatient gesture, 
and mounted her gold chocobo. 

   Where would she go now? She certainly couldn't go back to Costa 
del Sol and face Cloud again--she was sure she would break down if 
she did. And she couldn't go to Midgar either--no doubt Barret and 
the others would go there looking for her--and she was in no hurry 
to confront them either. Not when they'd heard the words Cloud had 
flung at her loud and clear.

   Where could she go?

   She urged her steed into a light gallop and rested her face on its 
soft feathery neck, not caring where they were going.

   Just as long as it was far, far away...

* * * * * *

   "Did you find her?" Cloud Strife asked anxiously.
  
   Barret Wallace and Vincent Valentine exchanged glances, while Cid 
Highwind morosely stubbed out his cigarette on a nearby ashcan. 
Beside him, Cait Sith delicately cleared his throat before speaking.

   "Naw," he said. "We checked everywhere 'round Costa Del Sol an'
Corel. No sign of her."

   "We even hauled our asses all the way back t'Midgar," Cid added,
his gaze fixed on the bar counter. "Nearly turned the damn town over
lookin' for her."

   Cloud's countenance paled visibly, and he slid off the barstool
as he leveled with his comrades. "Are you sure you looked everywhere?
Anywhere she might be? What 'bout Mideel? Or Junon? Gongaga, even?" 
Try as he might, he could no longer conceal the growing worry in his
tone.

   "Whoa, whoa. Take it easy, Cloud," Cait Sith admonished, raising
his hands in a placating gesture. "We'll find her. Hell, maybe she's
headed home right this minute. I'm sure she's all right."

   A flash of guilt wafted by Cloud's Mako-blue eyes. A brief, awkward 
silence descended on the party as they sat in the near-emptiness of the 
Costa del Sol bar.

   "Ya know, Cloud," Cid spoke up quietly, shattering the stillness, 
"that _was_ a pretty damn stupid thing you did to her this afternoon."

   Cloud didn't even bother defending his actions. He _had_ been
rather harsh with his childhood friend, but then again...

   "I know," he replied, running a hand through his spiky blond hair.
"And I'm not saying that it was the right thing to do, but...I--I'm
still having a hard time 'bout this. Yeah, I know it's been three
months and all, but...sometimes, it still...it just gets to me, you
know...?" He trailed off, realizing that he was probably babbling.

   "Y'been thinkin' 'bout Aeris, haven'cha?" Cait Sith prompted him
bluntly. 

   Barret waggled his thick eyebrows up and down at this, but other-
wise he refrained from saying anything. Vincent looked up a little,
and there was something odd in his dark eyes. 

   "Aeris?" Cloud repeated, his voice faraway. 

   "Aeris," echoed the little cat, rolling his eyes. "Ya know, Aeris
Gainsborough? The one whose star matched yours perfectly? The one who
died savin' the Planet?"

   Cloud deigned to make a reply.

   Barret couldn't withhold himself any longer, and he let out a 
derisive snort. "And whatta 'bout Tifa, Cloud? Huh? You jes' gonna 
leave her now? Whassup wit'chu, huh?"

   "_Leave_ her?" Cloud stared at Barret, his face genuinely confused.
"Of course not! I'm not gonna leave Tifa--I just don't understand
how she could've overreacted like that! She oughta know that I didn't 
mean it that way. Aeris meant a lot to me, and I thought she knew
that, too. I guess I can understand why she got upset, but still,
she should know that already..." 

   The rest of the contingent shook their heads in exasperation. For
all Cloud's sharp reasoning and strategic thinking, he could not seem 
to fathom the fact that Tifa Lockheart was head-over-heels in love 
with him. But as much as they were all tempted to just hit him on the
head with that revelation, they all knew that it wasn't their call.

   Barret was about to deliver a follow-up to his opening when 
suddenly Yuffie and Red 13--or more accurately, Nanaki--burst through 
the doors of the Costa del Sol bar. They were disheveled in appearance 
and out of breath, as if they'd been running.

   "Yuffie! Nanaki! Did you guys find her?" Cloud queried hopefully.

   The red-furred beast known alternately as Nanaki turned his 
unscarred eye onto the ninja Materia thief known as Yuffie Kusaragi. 

   "Sorry, Cloud," Yuffie offered apologetically. "But no luck. Me
and Red looked all over, but we couldn't find her either."

   "We did discover something, though," Nanaki volunteered. "When we
conducted a search within the Highwind, the cargo man informed us
that Tifa's chocobo disappeared shortly after she did, when he and
the rest of the crew were out checking the Highwind's engine."

   Cloud felt his chest constrict. When he and Tifa had raised 
chocobos over at Choco Billy's ranch, he'd jokingly promised her that
if they ever managed to breed a golden one, he'd give it to her. So
when the black one and the dashing one had given birth to a beautiful 
golden hatchling, he'd presented it to a delighted Tifa, who'd 
promptly named him Lance.

   "Then that means that she could be anywhere," Cloud realized, the
gears whirring frantically in his head. "She's got a whole planet to
hide in..."

   Cid straightened up suddenly, flinging his pilot's scarf over his
shoulder. "Then what the hell're we waiting for?" he demanded. "Get 
off your sorry asses and keep on searchin'! Ya wanna wait 'till it's 
dark? Let's go, let's go, LET'S GO!"

   The group got to their feet, momentarily revitalized by Cid's 
gruff announcement, and one by one they filed out the bar doors. 
Yuffie was muttering something about being always in a hurry, while 
Barret continued to berate Cloud for his behavior toward Tifa even 
as he exited. 

   Cloud was still deep in rumination when Cid caught him by the arm.
"Cloud. Ya got an idea where the hell she might be?" 

   The younger man closed his eyes briefly, and then opened them. 
"Let's try Mideel," he answered, his jaw set. "That was where she 
helped me...find myself..."

   Cid pinned him with a gaze that was sympathetic and patronizing at
the same time. "You better hope so, boy," he said, and his tone was
dark. "There's somethin' between you two, and if you keep up this 
kind of shit, then you're never gonna find out what the hell it is 
until it's too late." 

   The pilot was gone before Cloud could ask him what that was 
supposed to mean. So instead, he marched after him, his heart heavy,
his brain whirling.

   <Mideel,> he thought through the haze of fog that had penetrated 
his mind. <She's got to be in Mideel...after all, where else would she
be...?>

* * * * * *
 
   <The Forgotten City...>

   The girl slowly dismounted her feathery steed, her dark ruby eyes 
wide with awe as she took in her surroundings. 

   She really hadn't been paying attention to where she was going. 
Why should she, when she was past caring about anything anymore? If 
she fell off the face of the earth, who cared? _Cloud_ certainly 
didn't.

   A wave of shame washed over her as she reviewed that last 
statement. It was unfair of her to conclude that he didn't care about
her just because she realized that Aeris was the one he loved. Cloud
did care about her--just not the same way she cared about _him_.

   The same way he cared for Aeris.

   Damn. Aeris.

   Tifa had never hated Aeris. They didn't always agree on certain
things, and of course, there was always that matter of winning 
Cloud's affections, but they were never enemies. And if Tifa was
going to lose Cloud, then it might as well be to someone she knew 
and trusted--like Aeris--rather than a stranger.

   Still, acknowledging that didn't make it any easier knowing that
she'd lost Cloud to a dead woman.

   Tifa heaved a weary sigh, squeezing her eyes shut. She was tired.
Tired of running away, tired of being despondent, tired of everything
in general. Tired of feeling...

   She stood silently for some minutes just outside the Forgotten 
Capitol, investigating the rocky structures looming around her. 
Inwardly, she was grateful for the change in scenery. The tranquility 
of the Forgotten City was refreshing--a stark contrast to the turmoil 
that raged within her.

   <Any special reason you decided to take me here, Lance?> she 
mentally asked the chocobo, who simply warked. Suddenly sentimental, 
she pressed her face into the animal's velvety side, and she felt 
Lance's head burrow into the crown of her hair.

   Tifa pulled away, her eyes shining with unshed tears. This was 
the chocobo she and Cloud had raised together, and over time it had 
become very dear to her.

   "Always there for me, Lance, huh?" she mused aloud, stroking the
chocobo's golden beak.

   The animal cheeped in reply.

   With a tiny smile, Tifa let go of his reins and made her way up 
the shell path toward the large edifice to the left of the Capitol--
the building where they'd seen a last image of Aeris on the face of 
a waterfall.

   Lance watched her go, warbling softly.

* * * * * *
   
   {"Alive? What's the point of being alive??"}

   Tifa gasped and stumbled to her knees. The sound of rushing water 
roared in her ears as it streamed down around her in a liquid curtain.
 
   {"If you could stop bein' so damn optimistic and cheerful all the 
time, you'd notice the fact that one of us ISN'T alive, Tifa!"}

   Her breath came out in ragged gusts, and she put a hand on her
chest, curling up in a fetal position on the cold, hard floor of the
projection platform.

   {"Aeris is DEAD! And you know what? There isn't a damn thing I can 
do about it!"} 

   Tifa clamped her hands over her ears. This was Cloud's voice--only 
it this time it wasn't Cloud was flinging them at her.

   {"Aeris is dead--and there's nothing strong enough in this world 
that can bring her back!!"}

   "Shut up," she whispered. An eerie feeling of deja vu threatened
to overwhelm her. All of a sudden, she was submerged again in the 
Lifestream, searching frantically for Cloud, lost in a plethora of 
disembodied voices calling out to her...

   Voices...

   There were voices.

   Calling out to her...

   {"Nothing strong enough in this world..."}

   {"...that can bring her back..."}

   {"Aeris is dead and there isn't a damn thing I can do about 
it..."}

   {"...but I would do anything...everything..."} 

   {"Why did _you_ have to live...while she had to die...?"}
   
   Tifa reeled back as if she'd been slapped. The voice was Cloud's,
but the words that spilled forth from everywhere around her weren't
his. They were taking shards of his sentences and twisting them into
something else--something hurtful and perverse.

   "SHUT UP!! I DON'T BELIEVE YOU! THAT'S NOT WHAT HE THINKS OF ME!!"

   Her voice echoed back at her from the unyielding stone walls, 
taunting her, reminding her that all she had for weapons were empty
words and helpless rage.

   {He doesn't seem to return your feelings, does he, child?}

   {...you were always second best to her...}

   {Just a little fool to believe...}

   Tifa squeezed her eyes shut. "L-leave me alone. Just...leave me
alone..." Her voice was barely audible over the gush of water. "Who 
are you? Why are you doing this to me...?"

   The din finally died down, and finally a single, soothing voice 
wafted into her ears. 

   {Tifa.} 

   The young girl stiffened visibly, drawing up her long legs closer 
to her torso. God, she hated feeling this way. Helpless and afraid. 
Exhausted and beaten. 

   When she opened her mouth to speak, her voice was clear and steady. 
"You know my name. Who are you?"

   {The same ones who spoke to you when you were in Mideel. The ones 
who screamed when we were hurting. The ones who congregated at Midgar 
before Meteor was about to strike. The ones you and your party were 
trying to save. In essence, we are the spirit voices of the Planet 
itself--the Lifestream.}

   She was still for a moment, digesting this new bit of information. 
"The Lifestream? You are...the Lifestream?" 

   {Yes.}

   Tifa rubbed her hands up and down her arms. "Then...what do you 
want from me?"

   {We were with you when you found that boy--Cloud Strife, I believe--
and healed his mind. You cared very much for him, didn't you?}

   The girl stared at the structure, studying the spectrum of color 
that was refracted from the water pouring down all around her. She 
thought she was beginning to grow numb from the pain.

   {We can help you, Tifa. If you want us to.}

   "H-help me?" She looked up incredulously. "H-how?"

   {Do you love him, child?}

   She closed her eyes. She'd risked her life for Cloud Strife. She'd
stood by him even as he descended into madness, and she'd stood by him 
to help him out of it. She would come with him to hell and back and 
move heaven and earth for him. Did _that_ count as love?

   "Yes," she admitted at last, her voice soft and throaty and heart-
rendingly honest. "Yes, I do love him. I love him so much I..." She 
let it go. There were no words to describe how she felt. There would 
never be any words. 

   {Good. Now we must know. Are you willing to give up everything you 
have to make him happy?}

   Tifa clenched her gloved hands tightly into fists. What was it 
with the third degree? What was it they wanted to hear? The truth, 
she decided. Nothing but the truth. "Yes. I want him to be happy. 
I don't care what happens to me, just as long...as long as Cloud's 
happy, then...I--I don't mind."

   {Very good, child. And what is the one thing that you think can
make him happy?}

   There was only one thing that sprang to her mind. "Aeris," she
replied, and a white-hot pain tore through her heart--what was left
of it, anyway. "Aeris Gainsborough."

   {Then you will help him have her.}

   Tifa was only vaguely surprised to feel the sting of tears behind
her eyes. She'd been certain that she had no more tears left to cry.
"But Aeris...Aeris is dead..."

   {Not for long.}

   For a tense, fleeting second, Tifa felt a tug of doubt. And then,
all at once, realization dawned on her. Her muscles sagged in relief.
Her body relaxed. The tight coil in her belly dissipated into nothing.

   How could she have not seen it before? It was all so clear now--so
perfect. 

   {Very well, then. You know what you have to do.}

   Tifa nodded as she languidly got to her feet, her usually animated 
face now devoid of expression. There was no longer any fire in her 
burgundy eyes. 

   What fire she'd once before possessed, she'd given to Cloud.

   Just like everything else. 
  
                     =To Be Continued in Part Two=