In the Alternate Universe of the Final Fantasy world, a struggling actor who had fallen onto hard times met an unassuming singer of a local bar. Eager to erase his past, he offered help to jumpstart her singing career. Little do they know that the road to stardom is paved with debauchery and deceit.

PROLOGUE

In the dark corner of the bar, he watched her quietly, as he seeped on the glass of martini. She was dressed in her favorite color, black. The amber light shone from above her, casting shimmers of silver and gold across her long raven hair. She took the microphone in one hand, leaning her weight onto her left foot, and sang. She had such a lovely voice. He could see people actually stopped talking in the bar, and turned around to look at her.

He had visited this bar on every Thursday, knowing she would be on shift. And it would be the exact same routine. She would appear on the stage exactly at ten-thirty and would sing at least five songs before she took a break for thirty minutes. After which, she would returned back to the stage, and performed a final song for the night. She had always worn black during her performance, and never spoke to anyone else in the club other than her band mates. He did not remember ever seeing her smile. She always looked so grim, and her voice so haunting.

Sometimes, he wondered if she noticed him. There were days she would cast her amber-rose eyes upon that dark corner of the bar where he sat. He thought their eyes met, and he would smile faintly at her. But she never did smile back.

CHAPTER ONE: STAR STRUCK

Six months ago, Cloud Strife had a promising future. He was a rising star in GlitterHills, nominated for various awards and even won a best supporting role starring opposite A-lister, Sephiroth. His agent, Barret Wallace, would tell everybody that Cloud was on the way to the A-list. Nobody doubted Barret then. He was so smug about it, even Cloud felt embarrassed.

Now, sitting in a pile of old newspapers and magazines, Barret looked anything but smug.

"You heard anything yet?" Cloud asked as he handed the pudgy forty year-old man a can of beer.

"Vincent called. Said the whole case would have to go on trial again."

Cloud sighed, sinking into his bean bag as he sprawled out his legs dejectedly. He eyed Barret from the corner of his eyes and couldn't help but felt gratitude for the man. Barret had discovered Cloud at age fifteen when he was playing in the school band. Cloud did not have money from where he came from. So his mother was thrilled when Barret introduced himself as Cloud's agent and the "window to GlitterHills", as he put it. Life had never been the same for young Cloud. He had gotten a few TV commercials and some roles as an extra. His big break came when he auditioned for the role of the young Mozart, given his musical talents, and got the part. After that, Cloud was steadily climbing up the Hollywood ladder to fame and glory.

Thinking back now, Cloud wondered where it all went wrong.

Barret pulled him out of his thoughts when the older man suddenly jumped up. "Oh god, look at the time, I gotta go."

"Where are you going?"

His agent scratched his dark curly hair. He looked more unkempt than usual, like he had just woken up on the wrong side of bed. Cloud noticed he had not shaved for days. He looked like a fucking fugitive.

"Yuffie promised she will get back to me on the script. And then, we'll try to get you an audition."

"Oh man."

"Oh man?" Barret glared at him. "That's all you have to say?"

Cloud stood up, sighing softly. "I don't think I'll get an audition. Not with the trial still running."

His agent ignored him as he began to stuff some papers and magazines into his backpack, and headed towards the door. As he turned the knob, he paused for a second, and said, "You should never have fucked that chick."

All eyes were on him when he entered the room. There were applause, and many kind and congratulating words. He smiled at all the compliments, threw in a few witty comments here and there. Then his eyes settled upon the beautiful brunette seated by the bar. They exchanged a knowing smile as he walked up towards her.

"So how is the best supporting actor doing?"

Cloud looked around the room. They were in the hotel's club house, where the after-party for the movie awards was held. "Very good, and how are you, doll?"

The brunette smiled. She had such striking dark eyes, and she is wearing a white corset top that showed off her cleavage very well. "I'll be good after you agree to do that exclusive."

He took a drink and seeped on it. "Look, Rinoa, Barret…well you know Barret. I can't do an exclusive without your boss talking to him and getting all sorts of approvals. I don't know what the hell all that is about…"

"Then ignore him." Rinoa made a face. "Barret is so…"

"Charming?" Barret finished the sentence as he wrapped his arms around Cloud's neck and pulled him back.

"Ouch, what the fuck?"

"Sorry Rinoa. You have to excuse Cloud. He has to go meet the princess now."

Before Rinoa could protest, Barret had pulled the actor away from the bar and back towards the crowd of journalists and celebrities.

"You better have a good explanation for pulling me out of there." Cloud warned, "She was ready to come home with me."

"Chill, buddy. There are tons of journalists here. It's your best chance for a make out session with the princess and gets headlines all over the place."

Cloud glanced at the direction Barret was pointing, and saw her. The Princess of GlitterHills. The beautiful and untouchable Aeris Gainsborough.

Turning back to his agent, he literally rolled his eyes, "You can't be serious. The Aeris Gainsborough would never talk to me. I've never worked with her before. She doesn't even know my name. I mean, she's fucking A-list material..." He mumbled as his sea-blue eyes followed the Princess's every move. How the crowd seemed to move towards her, how the room seemed to quiet down whenever she opened her lips to say something.

"Don't be a fuckin' wimp." Barret smacked the young actor's head playfully. "You've got game, trust me. Besides, you just won Best Supporting. That makes your name known, or at least, she will pretend to know when you walk over and introduce yourself."

"I can't believe this..." Cloud sighed as his agent practically dragged him across the room and towards the starlet herself.

Aeris was saying something to a group of raving journalists when Cloud was nudged into the group, very violently so. The journalists turned around, scowling at him with annoyance, as if he had just interrupted a very important football match.

"I'm sorry." Cloud muttered, his boyish features immediately melting into a charming smile and an apologetic wink. "Some drunk dude just pushed me..." He paused as his gaze settled onto the illustrous actress and his smile widened. "Ah, Miss Gainsborough, what an honor to meet you here."

The journalists were soon won over and began snapping pictures of him. "Oh, Mr Strife, how pleasant to see you. How do you feel about winning Best Supporting Actor opposite Sephiroth?" One of them quipped.

At the mention of Sephiroth, the Princess gave Cloud the once-over and apparently determined him to be worthy enough to speak to, for she smile her dazzling smile at him, "Mr Strife, I hear congratulations are in order." she whispered. Her voice sounded like crystal. Sharp and clear.

Suddenly, Cloud was feeling very confident. Over the din of journalists and celebrities, Cloud and Aeris stood close together for a long time, chatting like they were old friends. The next day, pictures of them were all over the newspaper tabloids.