'The Beginning of the End'
Cloud's mind filled up with anger. This battle was taking too long, and he wanted to end it now. He could feel the
surge of energy that came with rage, he knew its purpose. Cloud Strife smiled. Not an evil smile, not a happy smile, but an
ending smile. He was ready to unleash his true power, and the dragon he was battling had no idea what was about to happen.
Suddenly he saw a flash streak towards the dragon. Brilliant sparks of light began to emerge from where the streak stopped.
He knew what had happened. He let his mind clear and sheathed his sword.
"Tifa, you know I was about to unleash my limit, why did you have to kill it?" Cloud growled as he checked the corpse
for items.
"Hehehe, I couldnt help it," laughed Tifa as she began to strech. "I saw your face flushing red and I didnt want you
to mess up your hair. One day your going to have to tell me how you get it to spike like that." Tifa Lockheart giggled. Her
love for Cloud was apparent to everybody but him. Why couldn't he see what everybody else saw? Even Barret knew that she
loved him. Was it really that hard to see? Then again, Cloud might know about her feelings, he just might not want to show it.
What could she do to open up his heart?
"You know my hair does this naturally," sighed Cloud. She was always asking silly questions like that. He knew she
cared for him, as he cared for her. Did she love him? He thought she did. After all RedXIII was always telling him she does,
but Cloud was not an emotional guy and didn't like to show his feelings. Of course he loved her. They had been friends since
they were children. He had loved her since the first time he laid eyes upon her, but now was not the time to be thinking
about feelings though. They had to get back to the Highwind. Tifa and him were knocked off the airship when they had tried to
enter the center of the Earth. They were trying to reach the center, trying to get to that one mad man. Sephiroth. The name
stinged his brain a million times. Sephiroth had to be stopped. His plans to destroy the Earth had to be stopped. Then Cloud
would have his revenge. So many loved ones, taken away from him by one man. He could hardly believe anybody could be so evil,
especially somebody he once considered a friend. "Ok Cloud," he thought to himself, "Now is not the time for one of your self
pity trips. It's time to find the highwind." The sudden voice of Tifa brought him back to reality.
"Come on leader," she said with a hint of humor. "Time for you to lead us back to the highwind."
"You're right. Cid and the others must be worried by now, and if their not, then we will make them worry soon enough,"
spoke Cloud with his voice of confidence. He was trained to be a soldier, he was trained to be a follower, but his comrades
had seen more in him. They had appointed him leader of their party. They felt he was the best choice and he wasn't going to
argue a losing battle. He had accepted leadership and had tried his best to fulfil the position. "Lets go," he said.
As they began walking, Cloud noticed some wierd things happening. It seemed as if the enviroment itself was moving.
Was it his eyes playing games on him, or was this really happening? Trees began to shift in and out of view, and then some
just dissapeared. The birds were teleporting, or at least thats what it looked like to him. They would be flying in
formation, then they would just warp forward several yards. What was going on?
"Cloud....," whispered Tifa.
"I know Tifa, I see it as well," replied Cloud.
"What do you think it is?"
"I dont know, this is something totally unknown to me."
"Well, what should we do?"
Cloud began to think about that. What should they do? Should they stop, and set up a camp for the night, or should
they keep moving? Camp seemed like a good option, but what if this area was infected with some kind of spell. To keep moving
was also a good choice, but what if they were just walking further into this mess. As he debated the answer in his mind, the
world seemed to stop right there. Everything around them paused, as if frozen in time.
"Tifa, are you alright?" he asked her.
"Im fine, but it seems like somebody hit the pause button on this place," she replied.
Cloud chuckled. Pause button, wouldnt life be great if there was such a thing. To be able to freeze time would be
quite a power, but one he would never have, or ever want. Suddenly everything around them started fading in and out and
leaving black spaces. The water kept shifting as if it was moving by some unknown force. Tifa moved closer to Cloud for
comfort. She was scared, he could sense that. In the distance he could see a white light coming towards them. He grabbed
Tifa and held her tight.
"Whatever happens dont let go!" he yelled as the light blanketed over them. His mind became clear, and he felt like
they were flying. Time stood still. What was this place? Then, as abrubtly as the light came, it was gone. Cloud opened his
eyes to see a beach. Tifa was beside him, and the air was clear. Where they were, he had no idea. Cloud also became aware of
others around them. He moved his eyes from the water to the sand to see four strange people. One was a woman of extreme
beauty, almost the rival of Tifa's. Her most noticable feature, though, was her hair. She had a much darker shade of black
hair than Tifa. Her blue vest had a faint image of angel wings upon the back, and in her hands was a weapon much like Yuffie
wielded, a type of chakra. The woman was not alone. Beside her stood a very tall man. He also had black hair, about as dark
as her's, but it looked much shinier, as if some kind of gel was in it. He held what appeared to be a sword behind his back,
but the sword's handle was that of a gun. It also had a trigger and a barrel, as if it was designed to fire bullets as well
as slash. Cloud looked into the mans face, and looked into his eyes. They showed pride, power, and strength, but also love.
He loved the woman standing beside him. Moving on, he saw another woman. She was very young, looked like she was still a
teenager. She had short hair that seemed recently cropped and held a staff in front of her. She seemed too frail to be a
fighter, probably more of a magic user he thought. She was standing beside a very strange looking boy. Cloud had never seen
a human with a tail before, but thats what it appeared to be. The boy held a dagger in each hand, and his body appeared to
be slender, yet muscular, as if he was fast but also packed a punch. This was a very odd bunch of people, and he wondered
how Tifa and him had arrived at this place. None of them talked, they all remained quiet, as if they had just went thru the
same experience that Tifa and Cloud had just gone through. The silence was deafening, and all he could think of was what was
going to happen next....
End of Part 1
By Blackheart_VII
Stay Tuned for Part 2
Cloud's mind filled up with anger. This battle was taking too long, and he wanted to end it now. He could feel the
surge of energy that came with rage, he knew its purpose. Cloud Strife smiled. Not an evil smile, not a happy smile, but an
ending smile. He was ready to unleash his true power, and the dragon he was battling had no idea what was about to happen.
Suddenly he saw a flash streak towards the dragon. Brilliant sparks of light began to emerge from where the streak stopped.
He knew what had happened. He let his mind clear and sheathed his sword.
"Tifa, you know I was about to unleash my limit, why did you have to kill it?" Cloud growled as he checked the corpse
for items.
"Hehehe, I couldnt help it," laughed Tifa as she began to strech. "I saw your face flushing red and I didnt want you
to mess up your hair. One day your going to have to tell me how you get it to spike like that." Tifa Lockheart giggled. Her
love for Cloud was apparent to everybody but him. Why couldn't he see what everybody else saw? Even Barret knew that she
loved him. Was it really that hard to see? Then again, Cloud might know about her feelings, he just might not want to show it.
What could she do to open up his heart?
"You know my hair does this naturally," sighed Cloud. She was always asking silly questions like that. He knew she
cared for him, as he cared for her. Did she love him? He thought she did. After all RedXIII was always telling him she does,
but Cloud was not an emotional guy and didn't like to show his feelings. Of course he loved her. They had been friends since
they were children. He had loved her since the first time he laid eyes upon her, but now was not the time to be thinking
about feelings though. They had to get back to the Highwind. Tifa and him were knocked off the airship when they had tried to
enter the center of the Earth. They were trying to reach the center, trying to get to that one mad man. Sephiroth. The name
stinged his brain a million times. Sephiroth had to be stopped. His plans to destroy the Earth had to be stopped. Then Cloud
would have his revenge. So many loved ones, taken away from him by one man. He could hardly believe anybody could be so evil,
especially somebody he once considered a friend. "Ok Cloud," he thought to himself, "Now is not the time for one of your self
pity trips. It's time to find the highwind." The sudden voice of Tifa brought him back to reality.
"Come on leader," she said with a hint of humor. "Time for you to lead us back to the highwind."
"You're right. Cid and the others must be worried by now, and if their not, then we will make them worry soon enough,"
spoke Cloud with his voice of confidence. He was trained to be a soldier, he was trained to be a follower, but his comrades
had seen more in him. They had appointed him leader of their party. They felt he was the best choice and he wasn't going to
argue a losing battle. He had accepted leadership and had tried his best to fulfil the position. "Lets go," he said.
As they began walking, Cloud noticed some wierd things happening. It seemed as if the enviroment itself was moving.
Was it his eyes playing games on him, or was this really happening? Trees began to shift in and out of view, and then some
just dissapeared. The birds were teleporting, or at least thats what it looked like to him. They would be flying in
formation, then they would just warp forward several yards. What was going on?
"Cloud....," whispered Tifa.
"I know Tifa, I see it as well," replied Cloud.
"What do you think it is?"
"I dont know, this is something totally unknown to me."
"Well, what should we do?"
Cloud began to think about that. What should they do? Should they stop, and set up a camp for the night, or should
they keep moving? Camp seemed like a good option, but what if this area was infected with some kind of spell. To keep moving
was also a good choice, but what if they were just walking further into this mess. As he debated the answer in his mind, the
world seemed to stop right there. Everything around them paused, as if frozen in time.
"Tifa, are you alright?" he asked her.
"Im fine, but it seems like somebody hit the pause button on this place," she replied.
Cloud chuckled. Pause button, wouldnt life be great if there was such a thing. To be able to freeze time would be
quite a power, but one he would never have, or ever want. Suddenly everything around them started fading in and out and
leaving black spaces. The water kept shifting as if it was moving by some unknown force. Tifa moved closer to Cloud for
comfort. She was scared, he could sense that. In the distance he could see a white light coming towards them. He grabbed
Tifa and held her tight.
"Whatever happens dont let go!" he yelled as the light blanketed over them. His mind became clear, and he felt like
they were flying. Time stood still. What was this place? Then, as abrubtly as the light came, it was gone. Cloud opened his
eyes to see a beach. Tifa was beside him, and the air was clear. Where they were, he had no idea. Cloud also became aware of
others around them. He moved his eyes from the water to the sand to see four strange people. One was a woman of extreme
beauty, almost the rival of Tifa's. Her most noticable feature, though, was her hair. She had a much darker shade of black
hair than Tifa. Her blue vest had a faint image of angel wings upon the back, and in her hands was a weapon much like Yuffie
wielded, a type of chakra. The woman was not alone. Beside her stood a very tall man. He also had black hair, about as dark
as her's, but it looked much shinier, as if some kind of gel was in it. He held what appeared to be a sword behind his back,
but the sword's handle was that of a gun. It also had a trigger and a barrel, as if it was designed to fire bullets as well
as slash. Cloud looked into the mans face, and looked into his eyes. They showed pride, power, and strength, but also love.
He loved the woman standing beside him. Moving on, he saw another woman. She was very young, looked like she was still a
teenager. She had short hair that seemed recently cropped and held a staff in front of her. She seemed too frail to be a
fighter, probably more of a magic user he thought. She was standing beside a very strange looking boy. Cloud had never seen
a human with a tail before, but thats what it appeared to be. The boy held a dagger in each hand, and his body appeared to
be slender, yet muscular, as if he was fast but also packed a punch. This was a very odd bunch of people, and he wondered
how Tifa and him had arrived at this place. None of them talked, they all remained quiet, as if they had just went thru the
same experience that Tifa and Cloud had just gone through. The silence was deafening, and all he could think of was what was
going to happen next....
End of Part 1
By Blackheart_VII
Stay Tuned for Part 2