Time and Tides Archives

As the scenery changed around her, Beatrix blinked, shook her head, and blinked again, to no avail. For whatever reason, she was now standing in completely unfamiliar territory with no explanation of how she arrived there. Along with her were two other women, one she knew by name--Lady Ashe, being one of several important people from unfamiliar lands--and another she thought she had seen before, but could not quite place. She wasn't sure whether it was a comfort or a frustration that they seemed just as confused as she.

"Where are we?" she asked after a moment, though she expected neither of her companions would be able to give her a satisfactory answer.

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Nothing could possibl have prepared Ashe for the sudden revelation that she had once again been cast away, no longer in familiar surroundings, no longer holding her baby - Gods, where was her son? Bordering on panic, her wide, gray eyes seemed to absorb this new environment as the princess spun fully around, desperate to see Rasler or their baby there - if anything had happened to either of them - Disappointment, fear, both set in, gripping her fiercely and yet she maintained her composure, fighting anguish to accomplish what needed to be done. Finding a way out of this... place.

It hadn't escaped Ashe that she wasn't alone, General Beatrix, for one, and someone else, vaguely familiar. Without options, the best thing to do was join them, work to finding a solution together.

"... I don't know," she replied, voice a little strained. "A light, and then..."

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"This is my world," said Tifa, feeling light-headed. "That airship... It's the Highwind, and that city... It's Midgar. But this is the wrong time, Midgar was destroyed..."

She felt cheated. She'd wanted to go home for so long, and now she was here, it had all gone wrong. With a sinking feeling, she looked up at the sky. Yes, there it was, huge and ominous.

"Meteor..."

At that moment, Tifa knew instantly which night it was. She remembered it, so clearly-

She and Cloud were the only ones left, the airship silent behind them. Their future had never looked bleaker.

"Hmm," said Cloud. "I wonder? Everyone has an irreplaceable something they're holding onto. But this time, our opponent..."

Tifa stood gazing out at the landscape. She knew what they faced, how unlikely it was that they'd make it, but somehow tonight she felt helpful. She nodded. "Hmm... But that's all right, even if no-one comes back. As long as I'm with you... As long as you're by my side... I won't give up even if I'm scared."

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Ashe halted her scrutinisation of her new surroundings to look to Tifa as she spoke. If this was her world, then... then they were no longer on Gaia. Her chest tightened at the knowledge, almost unbearably so and, had she even wanted to, the princess was rendered incapable of speaking any further.

As if mortally wounded, Ashe's hands clasped together against her body which remained completely still. What finally induced her to move, drew her attention, was the sudden declaration from Tifa. Surely, she was responding to someone, when neither she nor Beatrix had spoken but... they were alone.

Who, then, was she addressing? What was happening, and why were Beatrix and herself here, in this place?

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Beatrix nodded soberly at the girl -- whose name she had not yet gotten, unfortunately -- as she said it was her world. At the very least, this land was familiar to one of them, as little good as that did them. But then Tifa spoke as if she were replying to someone. Someone, apparently, that wasn't there and hadn't said a thing. It certainly hadn't been herself or Lady Ashe, and besides Tifa was looking at neither of them as she spoke.

"Who are you speaking to?" she asked, yet again unsure of what was going on here.

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"Tifa..."

She closed her eyes, thinking of all they had been through together. "No matter how close we were, we were far apart before this. But when we were in the Lifestream surrounded by all those screams of anguish, I thought I heard your voice." Her voice was becoming shaky with emotion; it wasn't easy for Tifa to admit this. She sniffed, holding back tears. "You probably won't remember this... But deep in my heart I heard you calling my name... Or at least I thought I did."

"Yeah."

Cloud had heard her. Tifa couldn't quite describe how that made her feel.

"...Hey, Tifa... I... There are a lot of things I wanted to talk to you about. But now that we're together like this, I don't know what I really wanted to say... I guess nothing's changed at all... Kind of makes you want to laugh..."

She smiled. "Cloud... Words aren't the only thing that tell people what you're thinking..."

He didn't reply, but she didn't expect him to. Tifa moved to sit down next to him, the pair of them curled up on a rocky hill together as the sun set. She rested her hand on his arm, looking at him with eyes as open as they'd ever been. Cloud gazed back at her with big blue eyes, and if she hadn't loved him already she would have fallen in love with him at that moment.

They kissed while Meteor shone down on them, bringing certain death in its wake. This was the last chance they might ever get to be together...

Then the memory faded and Tifa blinked, snapping out of it. She was alone, sitting on the hill - no, wait, she wasn't alone; Beatrix and Ashe were both staring at her. Oh, God.

Tifa swallowed with difficulty. "Did you guys... see that?"

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There was no answer to the question; in fact it seemed to fall upon deaf ears. The woman was thoroughly caught up in whatever illusion she was seeing. Something rather emotional, from the appearance of it. After a moment, she leaned over to kiss the empty air (how odd-looking) and Beatrix thought to look away for the sake of propriety if nothing else. Unfortunately, the illusion faded just a moment before she would have done so, and Beatrix's gaze was met with an embarrassed look. So the only thing she could do was salvage the situation as best she could.

"I saw nothing of importance," she replied with an air of authority, then turned her gaze to their other companion. "Would you agree, Lady Ashe?"

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Either people were present whom Ashe couldn't see, not unlike the way only she and Vaan had been able to look upon the Occuria's vision of Rasler, or their companion was experiencing something private; unintended for others. Looking to Beatrix, Ashe gave a nod, Tifa's embarrassment not lost on her.

"Nor I," she agreed, as certain in her words as the Alexandrian general. "We should make haste... there is an uneasiness to this place."

As always, whenever she felt unsettled, Ashe's instinct was to look to her wedding ring for motivation, only... it was missing. The discovery elicited a gasp from the princess, as did something all too familiar. Music. The traditional wedding march strived to be heard above thousands of Dalmascan and Nabradian voices calling out in joy, the names of their prince and princess lost within the sheer volume of the celebration. Ashe's heart instantly leapt at the sight of her people surrounding the elaborate parade, waving to her, smiling, some even weeping at the sight they beheld as the carriage drew closer to Rabanastre's grand cathedral.

Her wedding day. Turning to the left, Ashe smiled at the sight of him, the gallant figure of her fiance with whom she stood side by side, about to be wed. Reassuring was the smile Rasler offered; they were young still, on show. Her fingers, interwoven with his, tightened out of public view. However, her happiness was clear for all to behold as the procession continued.

"Once we are wed, Dalmasca and Nabradia will be united in the eyes of all Ivalice."

Through her veil, Ashe studied his face, taking a moment. "... As will we." they spoke softly to one another, despite the noise. "Rasler... I could not be happier." Her face brightened, feeling her hand squeezed in return.

"Nor I."

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They were being nice, Tifa could tell. She was too embarrassed to speak. She simply nodded at Ashe's words and started walking away from the airship...

...Only to find that the scenery around her had changed. They were in a street in front of a cathedral, a place completely empty yet it looked as though it was decked out for a carnival. Tifa froze, confused, and stared as Ashe began speaking to thin air. Was that how she had looked?

"Ashe?" she said uncertainly.

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The again sudden shift in the surroundings was nothing short of unsettling, and almost a little dizzying. And once again it was not a place with which she was familiar. Though when Ashe began speaking to the air, the idea that this was somewhere from her world was not a difficult conclusion at which to arrive.

"If she is in a state like you were a moment ago, she won't be able to hear you," she informed Tifa, though she kept part of her attention to Ashe in case she was wrong and received a response.

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With the flower-adorned carriage drawing to a halt, Ashe reached out to accept the hand Rasler offered, stepping down to face the stairs which would lead them to the altar, to their future as husband and wife. Just a few stairs and she turned, mindful of her train, met with the tumultous cheers of her people. Their people.

Without warning, all of Dalmasca's citizens, the carriage and her gown vanished before her eyes, replaced by bewildered stares, just as with Tifa. surely enough, the wedding ring had returned to her finger. Disliking embarrassment in any shape or form, Ashe looked downward, maintaining her composure. The warmth of that happy memory lingered, even if the vision didn't.

"... I saw a memory," she explained, feeling a little more elaboration was needed now this had happened more than once.

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It was clear now: wherever they were, this place wasn't real. Tifa thought of how she had revisited Cloud's memories while they were in the Lifestream. Could something like that have happened here?

"You live in Gaia," said Tifa, looking at Beatrix. "Have you heard of this kind of thing happening before? Do you know what it means?"

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Beatrix thought about the question a moment, then replied.

"I have heard of something similar occurring once, several years ago. But I would have thought that to be an isolated incident. I have no idea why this is happening now, or to us."

If she had planned on elaborating any further, she was interrupted as the scenery changed to a stone-paved walkway alongside water, and she took a step away from the other two women, now completely unaware of their presence. She was walking alone, wringing her hands in an uncharacteristically nervous gesture. She had long since lost track of the piece of paper whose words she followed at this moment, but she had the words themselves memorized and even softly murmured them aloud as she walked toward the dock.

"When the night sky wears the moon as its pendant, I shall await you at the dock."

Steiner. One of few people ever to best her in a fight. How she had resented him for that for years, but yet, she had respected him as well, and particularly so given recent events. But perhaps not until she had seen that letter and the even slight possibility that he had intended for her to find it did she realize that perhaps that hidden feeling went beyond respect.

All evidence pointed to him as the source of the letter, but she could not be sure. She had been fighting off some feeling of trepidation about it since she had read those words (like a silly school girl, Beatrix. You know better than to let something like this affect you) and even now she was anxious. What if it really hadn't been Steiner, or what if it hadn't been intended for her?

And yet there he was at the dock, like the letter had promised. (She almost absently caught notice of her hands and their tell-tale nervous motions and brought them safely down to her sides.)

“It was him,” she whispered to herself, a small smile growing on her lips. “I knew it.” Her steps growing the slightest bit more purposeful, she closed the distance between herself and him.

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No longer surprised by the sudden changes in scenery, Ashe felt disappointment more than anything, that Beatrix had been unable to continue her explanation and possibly move them on, closer to leaving this experience altogether.

The princess recognised Alexandria as their latest setting, the small country holding so much significance not only for Beatrix, now for herself as well.

"Should this have happened before," she directed to Tifa, knowing Beatrix could not hear them, "There must be a way to leave, else those who experienced it would not have been able to recall their tale to others."

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Tifa recognised Alexandria too, and Ashe's words reassured her. She nodded. "That makes sense. Maybe Beatrix knows the way out..."

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As she approached, Steiner asked if it was her, a question which made absolutely no sense if he had written the letter for her, but for the moment she couldn't quite bring herself to care about making sense of the odd words. He seemed perfectly pleased to see her, and the two stepped closer to one another, leaning in to kiss... and there the memory faded, and she became aware that she was in the presence not of Steiner but of two other women. She slowly shifted back to a more normal stance, cleaning her throat. The look on her face was a clear indication that the others were to say nothing about what they had just seen.

Funny, that was exactly the same place it had gotten interrupted the first time around.

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Respectfully saying nothing about Beatrix's vision, Ashe chose instead to break the awkward air by posing Tifa's question.

"You say this has happened before - have you any indication of a way to leave?"

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"Or where we even are?" Tifa added.

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