They'd broken into Shin-Ra HQ. Been captured... and apparently freed by Sephiroth. And now they were trying to get through Hojo's lab, or what was left of it. Sephiroth had made a mess and a half here. He'd blocked most exits, trashing and sealing the doors behind him, as well as slaughtering everything in his way.
"Cloud,I think there's a working door here, give me a hand?" Tifa shouted, getting the blond SOLDIER to come over.
A strange pillar tipped with a tesla coil seemed to seal off the door, which seemed to still be able to open as long as the heavy machine was moved. However, as she shifted the device with his help, she flipped something - and in a flash of light and cries of surprise, she found herself pulling the other half of it, now smoking and fizzing. She found herself watching as she yanked it away, the sputtering device exploding in a shower of sparks as the door sprang open...
...And saw her own wide-eyed self staring back.
"...Tifa?" Her own voice said.
She looked down, to see a male body, dressed in a SOLDIER uniform.
"Oh &@$^," she heard Cloud's voice say.
"You... swapped bodies?" Barret blinked.
"It looks that way!" Cloud said, pacing back and forth, hands trying to stay away from Tifa's body.
"We... should get moving. We can try fix this later?" Tifa said, still stunned her words came out in Cloud's voice.
"Agreed, this mishap can wait," the talking lion thing said.
They followed, and found nothing but the dead body of the President. They learned from Palmer that Sephiroth indeed did it.
And met the new President. Rufus.
"...You all need to get outta here with Aeris, this is the real crisis for the planet," Cloud ordered in Tifa's voice.
"Uh, Cloud? Aren't you forgetting something? You're..." Aeris began, only for Cloud to rush the startled President and punch him unconscious, as Tifa swung the Buster sword to dispatch the Dark Nation beast that was trailing Rufus
"Guess we have muscle memory," Cloud grinned, and Tifa felt an odd flutter at what was her own smile.
Aeris whistled in surprise.
"...Well, Cloud's payment was one date, I'm not sure if I'll date his mind or his body," She winked, making both blush.
"Can the human flirting thing wait until we're not inside this place please?" Red XIII said.
"Yeah, I'm with Red!" Barret agreed.
The 'muscle memory' came in very handy, as Tifa was able to drive the motorcycle in Cloud's body, guarding Cloud and the others in the truck. And then they escaped Midgar.
"I think we should stick together for now," Tifa argued when the idea of splitting up to meet in Kalm was raised by Barret.
"Yeah, things are awkward enough right now," Cloud shifted nervously.
"...What's up?" Barret wondered.
"It's really damn cold out here," Cloud shivered, Tifa's skirt and top not really very good protection against the cold, dark, and windy open wastes outside Midgar.
"We'll be warmer moving," Red XIII said.
And with that, the party began the short trek to Kalm.
"Maybe it's like a status effect, some of them wear off overnight?" Aeris said after a few minutes.
"Maybe. But let's reach somewhere safe to sleep first," Tifa said.