closed 🌠 the day midgar stood still

[starshower]

Who: Tifa Lockhart & close CR
Which: Closed interactive dream
Where: Atop the Sector Seven pillar
What: Tifa has a nightmare of the night of the Sector Seven plate drop.
Warnings: N/A for now.


[For whoever happens upon the dream, they'll immediately be greeted with the stench of fire and burning metal. Debris is falling, the grates beneath them are groaning, helicopters circle about, and the lights hanging from the underside of the colossal plate shine down on the city of Midgar below. The air is thick with smoke and flames, but even thicker with something else...

Dread. The fear for a thousand lives below... The fear of losing after fighting for so long...

If they look behind them, they'll see that world below—the winding, narrow streets of the Sector Seven, and the little lights within the run-down buildings that line them. Where they stand is on a portion of the pillar that helps to hold the city above the slums, the platform ablaze with flames and everything looking like it's almost ready to crumble apart. And all the way across the platform is a computer, its screen red and flashing with "WARNING", and a small, familiar figure darting towards it.

"Plate separation authorized. Awaiting confirmation."

To their right is a red-haired man crawling across the ground, his arm stretching to reach for the silver rod a few feet in front of him. On the left is another, taller man kneeling over himself, both of them looking worse for wear, injured, and clearly having just lost a hard-fought battle.

Tifa's hair flutters in the hot wind as she stands in front of the computer, out of breath as her fingers hover over the many buttons while the voice repeats itself over the speakers.

"Awaiting confirmation..."

She's at a complete loss. She can feel the panic gripping her chest and squeezing her heart. If she could just figure out how to stop it... how to turn it off... If she hits the wrong one, it could all end in disaster. But for some reason, besides her hands trembling, she's frozen. Haunted.

...

It's just like... that day... all of those days when she failed...

......

"Plate separation authorized. Awaiting confirmation."

The moment anyone dares to take a step in her direction, phantom-like creatures—Whispers—will create a barrier between her and this newcomer, swirling around and around to keep them in place. Fight against them, try to run... Weapons will phase right through them and they will beat you back, but anyone who tries to do anything but choose between the two men at either side will be stopped...

Even should they try to call out to Tifa, she's far too distracted by the computer to notice everything else going on around her.]

Comments

for eustace.

[starshower]

[It's after the first occurrence of the dream that Tifa makes the decision to talk to him the following morning, before he even has the chance to ask her. She'd woken up with a start, her body drenched in sweat that she immediately crawled out of bed to have a cool shower. If he'd stirred at all when she tried to get out of bed, she'll reassure him that she'll explain it all as soon as she's cleaned herself up, needing that time to compose herself and... piece together what happened.

She's tried hard to put all of those memories away for now. Her life in Reverein is different, so far removed from the one on Gaia that Tifa never thought it mattered much... until it finally did. She can't quite puzzle out why it's haunting her so suddenly. Perhaps it's a shift in the month, or maybe she's been thinking more about home and her friends more recently, what with the wedding and all. Or maybe that day up in the Cliffside is affected her still... more than she's willing to admit.

Maybe it's a combination of all of those things, or none of them at all.

Either way, she doesn't like the way that this memory has resurfaced... but if it's going to be a problem...

No, that shouldn't be why she tells him.

He had made sure to reassure her that no matter what she had done in her past, his feelings for her would never change. She knew that her fears of him leaving her after hearing about it were unprecedented, formed in her imagination... but even now, with their wedding quickly approaching, she can't help but feel that prickle of anxiety whenever she thinks about telling him anything more than what he already knows.

But maybe it's better that she does. Maybe it's better this way... that she tells him before he stumbles into the dream himself. Tonight, the next night, or in months from now.

So, after she's finished in the shower and dressed in a simple matching pair of shorts and a top, she crawls back into bed, her hair still damp, and wraps her arms around him tight... She doesn't say anything at first. She only holds onto him, like she's afraid he might get up and leave the moment that she lets go...]

[flamekthunder]

[There were more nights where he could actually sleep peacefully and restfully. And there were some...where he would think about the conversations he had with Kazuma and Phantom and consider seeking out that nightmare self that had formed and remained within him. On those nights they would just stare each other, the other smirking as if knowing his thoughts...no. Of course it would know—it's his own reflection, a darker one that others might insist is not a part of him, but he still thinks otherwise. He still isn't sure if it's a separate entity or just that part of himself that acts from a different area of subconscious.

But he keeps his distance still, knowing he's not ready. And strangely, the other self doesn't taunt or goad him, either. Perhaps because it also knows what Eustace is thinking these days...and there's no need to rush it. If both can mutually benefit... Then there's no need to fight. Not right now, anyway.

However that night is not one of those nights. It had been a mostly dreamless sleep, which is probably why he more quickly notices when Tifa suddenly jolts awake. His senses already on high alert, he sits up to ask her what's wrong, the telltale signs of a nightmare evident. But instead he's made to wait, and he can't help but feel a bit pensive as he stares after her as she disappears into the bathroom.

What was it? He knows they still have their down moments, but he thought they had been doing well... Was it another nightmare of before? Of the lindwurms? ...Something else?

Eria, who had been sleeping in her own bed near his side, lifts her hand and hops up to him, bumping her head against his back as if to try and comfort him. Clover also mewls and scratches at the bathroom door before sitting down to wait, tail slowly curling in and out. He can only give the wolf a small smile before rubbing her ears and feel the warmth of her fur. And the two remain there, staring at the door. He could get up, but he feels he should wait where he is, and eventually Eria gives him one last headbutt before hopping down to first grab Clover trot out, perhaps to get her own breakfast or to be considerate to leave them alone. It's times like these he's grateful Eria is able to understand everything.

And after a few more moments, his ears perk up at the sound of the water stopping and eventually her opening the door. Immediately his arms encircle her as she crawls to him, holding her just as tightly as she holds onto him. He wants to ask her what's wrong... But he decides to just be patient and let her have all the comfort and security he can offer, let her take her time to speak for herself.]

[starshower]

[Tifa does appreciate him being patient with her. She'd seen the way he looked at her as she slipped back into bed with him, seen the worry burning bright in his eyes as he watched her move, and she can feel it in how his arms tighten around her when she's finally tucked back in. It's still early—too early that the sun's barely started to come up over the horizon yet—so the room is dark besides the hints of orange reflecting from the sky, but he is the only light that she needs...

She'll have to remind herself to thank him later for giving her that time... brief as it was.

For now, she just breathes. She doesn't cry, doesn't make a sound, besides her steady breathing. She takes in his scent, uses it to reground herself in the moment, remembers that she's safe and sound, secure in their bed, in their home, in his arms. That all of it—even the parts where she'd forgotten that she was asleep—was just a dream.

She stays that way for a while, before he'll feel her heave in a great big sigh...]

A nightmare...

[And then let it out.

He's probably figured that out on his own, but that just feels like the easiest place to finally broach the subject.]

... of home.

[flamekthunder]

[He continues to wait, gently stroking her back as he just wants to give her whatever comfort and security she needs. It's times like these that he hates feeling helpless, wanting to just chase away whatever it is that's made her so upset.

While also fearing that whatever nightmare she had involved him...

And he does tense a little at first. Even if he knew it had to be a nightmare, there's still some trepidation as to what would come out next. But when she mentions "home," he glances down at her. There's no relief that it wasn't him—if anything in some twisted way maybe he would prefer it so that she's not thinking of even more painful memories.]

...When you were younger?

[A quiet, careful voice as he continues to brush his hand along her hair, listening to her words and her voice.]

[starshower]

[Honestly... she would have preferred something with him. At least then, she might have stood an easier chance of freeing herself from the nightmare. He would have known what to do, what to say to get her to wake up sooner... If it was another lindwurm dream, they at least know how to handle those better now. These ones... they're not so easy to for her to navigate or understand still.

His question has her shaking her head and pulling herself closer, and she feels about ready to melt right into him.]

No. Something more... recent.

[A still sore wound that had the time to heal yet, nor did she really get the chance to find any closure, and this was just reopening that wound from all those months ago. It should feel like forever ago, but right now, it's as if it had all happened only yesterday.]

It was a few nights before I woke up in Camelot. I don't get why...?

[Why it happened so suddenly? Why she's dreaming about it now, after all these months? But her voice falls quiet.]

[flamekthunder]

[He's silent for a moment before he lightly nuzzles the top of her head, hugging her closer.]

...Perhaps it's somehow related to what you've been dealing with in the other dreams. The subconscious works in strange ways...even moreso in this place.

[And then a small pause before he continues.]

Tell me about it.

[starshower]

[She wonders about that now that he's said it. It could be that, in some deep, dark part of her mind, those memories have begun to resurface after what happened in the cave and now that most of that has been dealt with as best as they could, it's given room for these other ones to creep in...

There's not a lot of use in trying to make sense of it, though, is there? It's not going to change the fact that it happened, or that she dreamt about it.

She hesitates. This wasn't something she was sure she'd ever tell anyone here... It isn't something about herself that she's too keen on people knowing, but... Tifa feels the weight of the ring on her finger as her thumb grazes over it, remembers the necklace that's coiled up neatly and glowing on her bedside table. She remembers the things she's said to him already, and how he reassured her that nothing would ever change how he felt about her...]

It was...

[Tifa begins with a sigh, but she stops suddenly...

And lifts her head to look at him with a look that's about as small and terrified as her voice, and he may feel her fidgeting with the ring as her hand rests on his back.]

What if... I showed you...

[flamekthunder]

[He can feel her fidgeting with the ring...and he's not sure how to interpret the action. Seeking comfort? Nervousness? Guilt? ...Regret? No, not that. Not with that look on her face, a look that causes his brows to furrow as his heart pangs at the sight. For her to look so...terrified. What is she thinking...?]

All right.

[There's no hesitation. If anything, he understands. It can be easier to show something than to talk about it...but then he lowers his head slightly as he looks at her.]

...But will you be okay with it? You'll be basically going through whatever it is.

[And that can make the method also more difficult.]

[starshower]

[The ring is a comfort. A reassurance. A promise from him to her that whatever she's about to tell and show him won't change a thing... and her moon charm shimmers on the table with that thought.]

Eustace...

[Her voice is trembling with fear but there's a firmness beneath all of that, too. Conviction? Determination?

Devotion...]

Yeah. I think... [She pauses a moment, reconsidering.] Maybe with the wedding coming so soon, it's trying to tell me that you should know about this.

[Whether that's true or not or if it's something else completely, she doesn't think it should be kept a secret anymore. Not now that it's all coming back.]

[flamekthunder]

[He continues to study her carefully before he lightly kisses the top of her head.]

All right. I'll be with you the entire time...so don't push yourself too hard.

[starshower]

[She closes her eyes and unravels herself from him, only enough that she can reach for his hands instead and thread her fingers securely through them.]

Just promise me that... whatever you end up seeing or hearing in there...

[Pulling back, Tifa looks him in the eyes with a searching look in hers.]

You'll still love me?

[flamekthunder]

[...This again.

With a firm grip, he brings up their hands between them, her ring visible in the soft light in the room.]

If you could still love me after what I did to you... Then I will love you no matter what you show me.

[He lightly kisses her ring.]

But I know whatever it is, no matter how terrible you think it is, I'll be able to understand.

[starshower]

[This again.

She just needed to hear him say it again. In her heart she knows that it's silly to even question it, but her mind wavers in the moment when she tries to remember how the nightmare had just played out. It had been Trahearne in the dream, but looking back, some things had happened differently from the way she remembered it.

Meaning that it could very well happen again. And probably will.]

I know.

[She smiles softly at him and lets her fingers curl around his, and she feels so small in comparison to him right now. But it's a safe sort of feeling as she watches his hand wrap around hers in return. Tifa pauses to take several breaths before she very gently whispers...]

... Are you ready?

[At least they've managed to get good at this after dreamwalking more often that this part feels less scary.]

[flamekthunder]

[A small nod...before he pauses.]

Wait.

[He then leans forward, pulling her to him a little in the process before his lips takes hers. He draws out the kiss, that usual stimulating warmth passing through from him to her, as if to give her a little more reassurance before he finally pulls away.]

Now we can go.

[starshower]

[She makes a small, confused noise when he kisses her but as always, Tifa doesn't wait to accept it or return it, and she hadn't realized how much she actually needed that extra nudge of reassurance until he offered it to her. Her grip on his hand tightens, her heart swells in her chest, and she almost doesn't want to let this moment go until he pulls away from her, and she exhales with a soft sigh in response.

Slowly, Tifa nods, her smile grateful.

She'll need to make this up to him when they wake up again. Ten times over... She doesn't know how yet, but she'll find a way.]

Okay.

[It's easy, but it doesn't make dreamwalking any less daunting. Even if Tifa had a sure way of controlling everything within—and she can sometimes—there are still so many things that remain unpredictable. How Eustace reacts to the environment will, as she's learned, impact some of the outcomes, but even when Trahearne had made his choices that steered some of the events in other directions, the ending was the same, and she doesn't think this will be much different.

Tifa's eyes close for only a second before she snaps them open again like she's forgotten something. She has.]

... I love you.

[She just needed to be sure he knew that. He'll feel her fingers tighten a little more on his, and she closes her eyes once more and leans her head against him, seeking every bit of contact that she can manage before she falls back under. It's still early and she's still tired so it helps to speed up the process, but whether or not it will be quick for Eustace...? She supposes she'll have to wait and see when she gets in there.

Except this time, once she feels that pull into the dream, she's fully aware of everything happening around her as it is—a dream. Rather than being stuck asleep and going through the motions, she can control herself...

But she knows that it won't change a thing.

She's halfway up the final stairwell leading up to the platform, and she covers her ears to the sound of guns and pieces of the pillar already collapsing around her. Helicopters whirr around her, and people are shouting from below... but all she can think of right now is figuring out where Eustace will be.

And once he stumbles into the dreamscape, he'll be two short landings above her with the stairs quaking beneath his feet, and a rain of bullets shooting at the wall of scrap metal he's conveniently hidden behind. Tifa spots him from below, and immediately rushes up the stairs for him, but she knows... She knows what's about to happen, and reaches out a hand for him to catch the second she rounds the corner, dodging the stream of bullets on the way.]

Eustace!

[flamekthunder]

[He's prepared to watch her enter the dream first, to make sure that she falls asleep so that he can follow right behind, when her eyes open again and...

...]

And I love you.

[A soft whisper in return as he kisses her eyelids right as they close, his hands remaining tight over hers.]

Always.

[He knows...that something has plagued her for a long time, something she had hidden from him since the day they first met. Since the very first night back in Camelot when he had to stay over after impulsively going to her with Clover. He never cared, even after she started telling him bits and pieces over time and during that sunrise—he could tell from her heart that whatever she's done, whatever she had to go through, there were reasons, circumstances. His own hands aren't so clean, either, his heart not as pure as hers. That's why he knows—knows whatever it is that she still needs to show him, he'll accept it all no matter what.

And he'll help her navigate through the guilt that she continues to carry.

So the moment he feels her breaths starting to even out, he closes his eyes and focuses his energy on her. He chases her warmth, and soon he drifts to sleep and dreamwalks into her dream...


.......Only to met with confusion and immediately needing to duck behind the wall as he hears the rain of bullets aiming for him. He knew she was doing something, but what the hell...

His thoughts are immediately broken when he recognizes her footsteps and turns his head to see her coming up...and feel the stairwell beneath him ominously shaking, the sound of metal snapping easily catching his ears. There's no hesitation as he steps out to reach out his hand, grabbing hers in a tight grip as he pulls her up to him and into the safety behind the wall.

With his arm still around her, he stares down at her.]

Are you okay? What's going on?

[Is it also strange that he doesn't feel anxious or nervous about this? He's alert, but calm, steady. Even if he knows it's a dream, this kind of tense situation...he's had to go through them himself several times—it's part of his job. But Tifa? Was this part of that operation she had mentioned before...?]

[starshower]

[As Tifa takes his hand, the floor collapses to the platform below, and she hides herself against him as the bullets continue to strike the wall. His steady presence is calming, reassuring... Even if she knows everything that's about to happen, or could, and even as the bullets from the helicopter beat them back, having him here puts her at more ease than she anticipated.

"Come out, come out wherever you are!" Reno's frustrated voice echoes from the helicopter as the shooting pauses, and Tifa uses this as an opportunity to explain.]

I'm fine.

[As her fingers clutch at his clothes, she realizes then that he's in a first-class SOLDIER's uniform with Flamek holstered at his hip. She makes a small, discontent noise, but moves on, pointing up to the massive plate that's above them and with a heavy voice, she goes on.]

They're about to drop that... [Then, she motions to the city that's below.] On that.

I don't think we'll be able to stop it either way, but we need to get up there before they do.

[flamekthunder]

[It's only when Tifa clutches to him that he realizes he's dressed...differently. Again a slight puzzled expression, but if he already has Flamek on him, then it just means things really are going to get tense. And then when she points to the plate and then to the city beneath it... His eyes widen. At first he wants to ask why, but he knows there's not enough time to explain, not if they're to go through this simulated memory properly. So with a hardened expression, he nods.]

Lead the way.

[starshower]

[She'll take his hand in hers, within a firm grip that silently begs him to not let go, and she waits a beat, then two, to make sure that the bullets have stopped. Tifa doesn't dare peek around to see, but she can hear the chopper behind them still, and she knows that the moment they step out of there, they risk being shot at again...

But... she needs to remember that this is a nightmare, and that just like every other nightmare she's been a part of or had herself, it will always happen the way it should. She still lost her mother, she still got injured in that mako reactor, and the plate still dropped...

It's with a quiet nod that she signals to Eustace to run, and she rushes up the stairs with his hand in hers, and just as she thought, the bullets come raining down on them, collapsing the last set of stairs as they leap up onto the platform together.

From here, she can take a look around. There's... no Cloud and no Barret again. Just them and the Turks, and Reno is bound to come down at any moment.

Her breaths are quickening as the panic starts to rise, and her dread begins to manifest thick in the air through the smoke and the heat and fire around them, and she forgets in the moment, as she stands here again, to breathe and steady herself. To remember that this is all in the past, no matter how many times she relives it. Still, being here again is difficult, and she squeezes Eustace's hand again for comfort.

But when Tifa tries to take a step forward, she feels something slam into her body, and Eustace will feel the same. It's the Whispers again, except this time, rather than try to keep him back, they try to create a wall between the two, pushing them both away from one another until they're forced to let go.]

No—! Eustace...!

[Her fingers slip free from his, but by then, the Whispers have grown so thick in number that she can hardly make him out on the other side.]

[flamekthunder]

[His grip on her is firm—more than ever before. He knows she needs to hold onto him not only to stay together, but for that support, that stability. And he will give her every ounce she needs, to try and help remind her that he's with her. So he keeps up with her, not bothering to look back or around them as his eyes focus on the path ahead and on her. It's only until they reach the plate that he finally chances a glance around, keeping near Tifa as his other hand rests on Flamek.

But when he's suddenly slammed back, Eustace staggers, instinctively trying to keep a hold on Tifa's hand as he catches his balance and grits his teeth, wondering what the hell these weird ghostly shadows are. However the force is too strong and they're forced apart.]

Tifa—!

[Immediately he rushes forward, but the Whispers thicken around him. Is this part of the dream? ...This isn't nightmare energy is it? He has no idea, but he doesn't want to take any chances, either. In one fluid motion he pulls out Flamek, electricity flickering around his fingertips before he fires several rounds of concentrated lightning. Yet when only a few disappear and are replaced with more, he swears and redoubles his efforts, raising his rifle high.]

Out of my way!

[Lightning pours out as he fires another powerful blast. He will not allow himself to be kept away from her, not when he knows she needs him.]

[starshower]

[The flash is so bright that even with them all, it blinds her, and she shields her eyes against the blast. What should have been an effective attack against them only provokes them further, and as some of them die away, more of them only appear. From the other side, Tifa punches what she can away, but realizes then... they aren't going to be able to do anything.]

Eustace—!

[Tifa's voice is muffled beneath the loud whirring noise they make, but it's clear that although her shouts are frantic, she's given up on fighting her way through.]

These things... I don't know what they are, but they're going to try and stop us from hitting that computer...! [If he looks to his right, he'll see the screen flashing up against the pillar.] They won't let us through, and I think... I think we have to let it play out.

[With that, Eustace will hear a pair of feet land on the metal grates behind him, and Reno will be there, his rod tapping against his shoulder as he stares.]

[flamekthunder]

[He's ready to fire off another round when he hears Tifa's shouts. It's a little hard to hear because of the wind and the annoying noise from the Whispers, but he falters as he listens.

Hitting a computer...play it out?

It's then that he hears someone land behind him, and he instantly turns around, gun poised and aimed with near perfect precision based on just that sound alone.]

...Do I have to fight this red haired punk?

[starshower]

["Punk?" Reno arches a brow at him and laughs. "I ain't the one walkin' round in a First Class uniform."]

Eustace, try to—!

[Tifa cuts herself off with a shout as the helicopter comes around over her head and fires at her again, and she has to take cover from it as Rude circles it back around again. If he could just shoot it down, she might be able to find a way through and back to Eustace, and the Whispers might even disperse in that case, but... can he even hear her? She can't even see or hear what's happening anymore on the other side.



Electricity crackles around Reno's rod, and with a swift flick of his arm, it extends.

"You owe me a rematch."

There's a single arc of lightning that spreads as Reno moves in the blink of an eye so that he's now behind Eustace, and swings the rod back around to hit him in the back.]

[flamekthunder]

["First Class"? Ah, right, he's in different attire... Well he's ready to show this simulated asshole what a first class elite Society agent can do— Not that it matters.

But just as he's about to focus on the new opponent, he hears the helicopter above and Tifa's voice cutting out as the bullets fire down at her direction. Immediately he tenses as his attention shifts, but the sound of the rod and the electricity forces him to bring it back.

Dammit.

Even if it's just a dream, he doesn't want her to get hurt, and if he didn't have to deal with this guy he really could shoot down that thing. Which means he can only hope that she'll be able to deal with it until he takes out this punk.

So although Reno moves fast, Eustace's hearing and reflexes are faster, his gun immediately slamming back over his shoulder to block the rod with electricity of his own, not minding the sharp tingling feeling. How could he? He's already used to it. The two forces clash, surge of electricity buzzing around them and without looking he fires his gun, two large spheres of electricity released from Flamek's barrel aimed right at Reno's feet and will explode on impact.

From there he'll pivot on his heel and remain engaged with Reno, most of his attention on the fight but also keeping an ear out for Tifa.]

[starshower]

[Reno groans when he's blasted back by the explosion at his feet, but the Whispers catch him before he can tumble all the way back to the ground and for a moment, he looks confused before he's sent barreling forward towards Eustace again. He uses that momentum to zip around him—once, twice, three times to form a triangle of lightning that tries to zap him from all sides to trap him.

As for Tifa...

The helicopter swerves back around again behind Eustace and Reno, and from inside, Rude fires a few warning shots at Eustace before flying over their heads to engage with Tifa again. She hears those bullets land on the other side of the Whispers, and... although Eustace's gun would be quicker, he seems far too preoccupied with the other Turk that she doesn't want to hide any longer.

She steps out just as the helicopter flies into her view and her fists flare up with fire, and she takes aim...

They'll see a wave of flames assault it, and it knocks the propellers clean off and in an explosion of fire, the chopper comes down in a cloud of black smoke. Rude lands near Tifa, and the two of them exchange a look....

...

... Before they're both racing across the platform to the console. It's only then that the Whispers begin to thin out enough that Eustace can see her figure dashing away with Rude right on her tail.]