Chapter Text
~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~
My name is Tifa. My name is Tifa.
She paced. Four steps left. Four steps left. Four steps left. Four steps left. An army of steps.
My name is Tifa. My name is Tifa.
The others circled, their feet in time with hers. None out of cadence. The sound pleased her mind, made music with the humming voice that spoke to her still.
They pivoted in unison. Four steps right. Four steps right. Four steps right. Four steps right. No fatigue slowed her steps. Their steps. An army of steps.
Our steps.
~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~
She stood in front of the bars, face to face with the nameless man. They didn’t stare into each other’s eyes, though stared at one another. Her at his chest, him at the top of her head.
My name is Tifa. My name is Tifa.
Her reminder.
Lips in the face moved, his face. She wasn’t sure sound came out. But she knew the words. ‘Follow me.’
Where?
She blinked, uncertain how long they’d stood in that fashion. Something, someone had compelled her to be here. The voice that had spoken to her within the hum. It had said something. Something that sounded like the exact thing she wanted to do. It felt good to give in.
His lips moved again. He was looking into her eyes finally.
“What?” she asked.
“How do you know your name?”
A touch at her mind told her she should, that she would never forget so it was alright to let it go.
“Because I remember.”
His shoulders shuddered. He covered his eyes with those large hands. “I wish I could remember.”
“Don’t cry.”
“Ssh. They’re coming.”
“Who’s coming?”
He scrambled to his mattress.
“Oh, them.” She remembered them too and held tighter onto the bars as the elevator rumbled. The door opened, footsteps, just like she knew would happen.
“Tifa?”
“My name is Tifa.”
“Unlock this door. Quickly, please.”
An iron cacophony rang over the hum, the voice in her mind. Slender hands gripped her arms, and she let them guide her away from the bars. Fingers tapped at her cheeks. Yes, I can hear you.
“Look at me.”
Where are you?
“Tifa? She’s not responsive. Dammit! I need the cart. Don’t touch anything! I have them in order!”
She blinked at the pinch in her arm. Lucrecia bent over her again, her hair flowing around them. Tifa met her eyes and mirrored the confusion looking down at her.
“Can you hear me?”
“Of course I can hear you!” Tifa sat up and pushed Lucrecia’s hands away, one holding an empty needle with the sticky end up.
As the woman let out a relieved breath with an audible whoosh, Tifa glanced around the room, her fingers rubbing her arm where she’d been pricked with the needle. Her eyebrows drew together in confusion. The others had returned to their mattresses, though she was so sure that only a minute ago they’d all been talking.
She shook her head. The voice had faded and she was glad for it, suddenly feeling more like herself, instead of like…them.
Lucidity washed over her for the first time in…hours? Days? Her heart raced because she didn’t know. How long had it been since she’d stood to grasp the bars?!
Her eyes widened and snapped to Lucrecia. “What was in that serum?!”
“Tifa, please. Calm down.” Lucrecia grabbed her cheeks.
When Tifa slapped her hands away, the SOLDIER lunged and snatched them behind her back. She couldn’t fight back. No strength she had now could free her from his grip, and her mind had become fogged. She’d forgotten why she was here and only knew that Lucrecia had said she’d help. Had given her medicine.
A weakness had soaked into her muscles like she’d never known, not even when sore and exhausted. She struggled against the hands restraining her, trying to stand only to be forced down to the mattress again with a shove to her shoulders.
“Stay down!” he growled.
She let out a shriek of frustration at her helplessness, a shriek that was joined by a chorus and bounced off the walls and made her heart pound harder.
A chill iced down her spine. The others had joined her, letting out their own shrieks to mirror hers. The sound was enough to quiet her as her eyes darted to their cages in fear.
The room itself seemed to still when the screams faded to an eerie silence. Lucrecia’s eyes rounded, looking into Tifa’s eyes like she was someone, something…else.
Keeping a hand firmly pressed to Tifa’s shoulder, the SOLDIER pivoted and scrutinized the other cages, even reaching for his sword before lowering his hand when no one stirred from their mattresses. He turned his attention back to her and pressed her down further into the mattress. “None of that! You hear?”
Shaking hands reached for Tifa’s shoulders. “Don…d-don’t hurt her! She’s just…j-just disoriented. Tifa! Tifa, look at me! That’s it. Right here.”
The light Lucrecia shined directly into her eyes felt like a lazer to her brain. She flinched and ducked away. “Stop! Please!”
“Ephren, p-please release her arms. She’s not a threat.” Lucrecia patted her own chest and took a few deep breaths as she gave another quick glance to the other cages before turning back to Tifa.
Air stuttered from her lips when he freed her. “What’s in the serum?” she repeated and tried to still her bottom lip from trembling, and when it wouldn’t, she brought her fingers up to her mouth. “You said to trust you.”
Lucrecia shook her head. “Tifa, you can! Look at your arm. It’s healing. See there? And there? The color is returning. No heat. It doesn’t ache anymore, does it?”
The words rang true but there was something else. The voice in the music. In the cadence. The army in her mind. She looked around her, at the men sleeping—or feigning sleep—atop their mattresses. She pointed a shaky finger at her neighbor even as Lucrecia rubbed her arms.
“Am…am I turning into…them? ” Her entire body shook at this point. “Am I?”
Lucrecia looked aghast, though not sincerely so. “What? No! No! Tifa! What makes you think that? The corruption is contained in your arm. Berry saw to that.” Lucrecia gripped her face tighter as a warm smile spread across her face. “And I’m curing your arm. You will be done with this soon enough. I promise. I know how to counter Brukho’s toxins. I assure you.”
“But I heard it.”
“Heard what, dear?”
“The humming…like…like bees! It makes me want…want to—” Her voice rose with each word she spoke as her eyes darted to the men asleep in their cages. They now laid so motionless it scared her. “Wants…us…to—”
Lucrecia pulled another syringe from the cart and filled it with some as yet new serum, one glowing blue. “Listen to me. This is something I created a long time ago to set my nerves. Just hold still. Ephren? Could you assist?”
“No, I don’t need…ow! Ow! Ow!”
“Shh! Shh. Tifa, it’s alright. This will help you relax. That’s it.”
Soon enough her eyelids began to droop. “I don’t…wanna sleep.”
“It’s for the best, dear.”
What is?
Lucrecia set the needle aside and began examining her mouth and ears. Her hands ran down Tifa’s arms, eyes inspecting her as she squeezed her flesh. She did the same to Tifa’s palms and knuckles and fingertips with eyebrows drawn together. Her look of concern seemed to go beyond that of mere doctor and patient. She continued to speak as Tifa slumped against the wall and drool leaked down her chin.
“Something’s not adding up.” Lucrecia stared at the chart, then stood. Was she pacing now too? “Should I…?”
“Should you what?” Tifa thought she’d spoken out loud, but Lucrecia didn’t hear her. She kept the circular path Tifa had been marching only minutes ago. Or was it hours?
Lucrecia rummaged through her equipment atop the cart and knelt next to Tifa again. There was no fuss, no pain or feeling when she took more of Tifa’s blood, filling vial after vial before she removed the needle and bandaged her arm. Lucrecia stood and began studying her chart again.
“I think…” Lucrecia said something else to Ephren. “…the tank for a day. But…no more cage. When we take her…a room…nice bed. Away from…same corruptions.”
Tifa tried to wave a hand at her. She wasn’t done asking questions, but it seemed the two were leaving.
Neither acknowledged her as they began adjusting the cart. Lucrecia motioned at her guard. “I’d like a gurney.”
Ephren pulled the cart out as Lucrecia turned back to Tifa. “I’m so sorry, Tifa. But this really will be for the best.”
For the best.
~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~
The voice told her to behold life after death, so she opened her eyes. The Lifestream was more beautiful than she remembered. Souls who had not yet merged flitted past like shooting stars, their glow warming her skin even as they faded into the distance. A giggle touched her heart like a brush of affection.
I’ve missed you.
She braced her hands against unseen glass and rotated. I can’t see you.
I’m right here, silly!
Aerith?
The shooting stars burned brighter as the Lifestream dissipated to mere dust. Everything blackened around the brilliant lights until the river of life appeared as nothing. Is this supposed to happen?
The stars joined together in clusters. They formed nebulae and erupted in spectacular supernova. Galaxies hurtled past. A universe thrummed, pulsing with the hum in her ears. She began to sing a lullaby with it, and as she did, the galaxies danced to her rhythm. Her arms weaved with a staccato cadence. The stars flashed brighter to her beat and the galaxies filled with the light. This is mine.
But a drumming—a hammering—shattered her song, the sound just outside of her personal cosmos. The galaxies expanded until they ceased to be and the stars faded into the blackness of space. The hammering pounded against her control until the little cosmos blinked out of existence, until she saw nothing but the Lifestream again. Mako.
She pivoted against the glass, opened her eyes and saw the lab on the other side of her tank. No!
The power she’d felt while commanding her macrocosm faded like the stars. She could feel her muscles even more weakened. Her vision seemed blurry too though she couldn't tell if the Mako had caused it. She floated much like she had before. Able to live though not breathe. No struggle would free her until her captors decided to let her out.
But only minutes ago, she’d felt so content.
She pummeled her fists against the glass. The SOLDIER hammered a mallet on one of the consoles. He either ignored her or couldn’t hear her, so continued his pounding. Lucrecia stood close to him. She spoke but Tifa couldn’t hear her words. Her head lifted, arms crossed as she finally noticed Tifa’s attention.
Lucrecia tossed a few words over her shoulder to the SOLDIER that Tifa couldn’t comprehend. He straightened, tapping that hammer against his shoulder and left the room with that arrogance they all seemed to have built into their personalities.
A finger tapped on Tifa’s tank. Lucrecia gave her a smile that seemed cautious, sympathetic even. “I’m sorry about this. But I think it’s the only way to save you.” She waved a hand around the room. “All of you, I think.”
Tifa tracked her hand to the other tanks. Elena and Shalua both still hovered. All the others that had been empty before now housed the men that had been locked in the cages next to Tifa’s. Her neighbor slept just beyond Elena’s tank. He floated as motionless as his friends, eyes and mouth closed, hands and feet just as limp.
“They scare me, you know,” Lucrecia said. “I…didn’t realize fully what they’re up to. I thought we had similar visions for the future.”
Tifa realized she meant the SOLDIERs. She wondered how the woman could confuse the intentions of those who made experiments of the unwilling. Tifa had no choice floating in the tank any more than Elena or Shalua. She didn’t doubt that the men, whose minds seemed lost to some hive spirit, never agreed to their fate either.
“But you should know.” Lucrecia placed her hands against Tifa’s glass. “I don’t regret joining them.”
She seemed to wait, her lips pressed together as she watched Tifa float. “You know why? ” Lucrecia continued. “Because it means I get to save you.”
Anger swelled in Tifa’s chest.
Save me?
An image of herself marching with the other prisoners flitted into her mind and amplified that hum she couldn’t silence.
Save me?!
She glanced around at the others, not just the men but Elena and Shalua. What about them? Does their fate matter?
She brought her fists up to the glass and pounded so hard Lucrecia stepped away at the thundering echo that reverberated around the labs. She cast a fearful glance to the other tanks before turning her gaze back to Tifa.
Tifa wasn’t trying to frighten her only to get the woman to see them. She waved her hands toward Elena on one side, Shalua the other, then pointed at each man. She faced Lucrecia again and banged, contorting her expression into a plea. Please. Please!
Lucrecia folded her hands in front of her chest. So much like Aerith it angered Tifa all the more and she struck the glass harder.
“Stop that. Please, Tifa! ” Lucrecia retreated further. “I know what you want from me, but I tell you I can’t free you. Any of you. Not now. You won’t survive if I don’t…help you. I won’t have that on my conscience. I won’t have…more on my conscience.”
Tifa pummeled all the faster and began kicking. If she could scream aloud, she would add her voice. But Lucrecia only shook her head, face falling into sadness.
“I won’t sentence you to death. There’s still something…off. But I will figure it out.” Lucrecia brought her hands into a prayer. “I’m sorry, Tifa. For all of you.”
She returned to the console then and began typing onto the keyboard. Tifa couldn’t guess what she was doing. What her research told her. What their fates would create.
Lucrecia pivoted from the console and moved to a far wall where some kind of chemistry workstation stood. She measured and mixed and heated and stirred various fluids and serums and powders together. Tubes dripped liquefied gases into black canisters. She crouched and lifted one, unable to hold it securely with the cane in her other hand. She carefully carried it to Tifa’s tank.
Tifa’s hands splayed on the glass, watching, petrified and helpless, as Lucrecia hooked the container up to some unseen hose at the base of her tank. She heard a faint whoosh echo but could see nothing traveling through the coils leading to the inside. What was that?
Lucrecia straightened and slowly walked to the front of Tifa’s tank. “I’m sorry, Tifa. I really am.” She straightened her smock and turned to walk away. Just as she reached the door, she looked back. “I wish you would trust me.”
Tifa’s arms and legs ceased their banging as soon as she’d renewed the effort. Whatever Lucrecia had released into the tank sapped her meager energy until all she could do was hang limp like from some unseen puppet master.
My name is Tifa. My name is Tifa.
My name is Tifa.
~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~
Power surged within her. She opened her eyes and looked down at her hands in wonder. Unbridled strength seemed to pulsate in every muscle and joint throughout her body. An urge to break, to shatter overcame her and she began to motion through her usual morning exercises, just the forms. She made each pose as best she could, her fists and feet occasionally meeting with glass. The cadence of her motions reverberated through her, charging her heart and mind. It became a dance, one that she used to lift her spirits and forget where she was and what might happen. She imagined the other prisoners mirroring her movements. They punched, sliced and kicked in unison, all synchronized to her beat. Her movements. Her thoughts.
Footsteps outside the lab, one set plus a tap. Tifa had memorized those taps by now and stilled when Lucrecia strolled into the room with her odd, cane-assisted gait.
The woman didn’t look up as she focused on the charts she carried in a journal. Frustration contorted her beautiful features. She rushed to the console, brows drawn together as she typed furiously. She looked again at her journal and penned out equations, occasionally rubbing her forehead. Something had made her so frustrated, she bit into her pencil and broke the wood in two. She began to pace, chewing on her lips, her knuckles, scratching at her hair before finally returning to the console and typing in a series of commands. She watched data scroll on the screen as her eyes ever widened with each new piece of information.
Finally, her mouth opened in horror. She placed her broken pencil atop the charts and backed away from her work. Her chest heaved as her hands fell to her sides.
A moment passed before her delicate hands rose to her face and covered her mouth, until finally her gaze slowly shifted to Tifa’s. She lowered her hands as her eyes took on an angry, almost hurt expression. She inhaled and her mouth trembled. “It can’t be.”