[It's Aerith's voice that breaks Tifa's wide gaze away from Cloud and she has to choke back the urge to scream, to push her away, as her hand comes to rest on Tifa's shoulder. Her words slowly filter through to Tifa despite the pounding of her heart seeking to deafen all other noises. The sureness in her voice stings. 'He wouldn't hurt you.' She had thought that too. Before. Maybe even a part of her still believes it. Cloud would never hurt her. Hurt them. But how can she know this is still Cloud? Even without Sephiroth, there's the Gnosia. She can tell he's been infected. She can feel it. Any other time she would be able to do something about it. She could heal him. But not now. Not for another 24 hours.

Her hand trembles as she reaches for Aerith's wrist, seeking to pull the other woman behind her.]

Aerith, he's not...himself. He's one of them.

[And then he's speaking again, and none of it makes sense at first. Until it does. Suddenly, Tifa feels like she's being thrown back in time, standing across from Cloud on a balcony in Kalm, where he'd all but openly accused her of being an imposter. His suspicions had struck her like a blow, but even worse had been the way he had stared while she revealed her scar. The blankness of his face. The fact that she had quickly realized it hadn't been enough to prove herself. And now he's again asking for proof.

There's a burning in her eyes that she tries to suppress. Now isn't the time to let her emotions over take her. She needs to protect Aerith. They need to get away, find somewhere else to rest now that their safehouse has been discovered. She can help Cloud later, after she's recovered her ability. They just need to find an opening to escape.]

We don't need to prove anything, Cloud. Not that I think you would believe us even if we did.