Author's Note: The following story was written in 2001, long before the Compilation of Final Fantasy VII, so there's no continuity with Crisis CoreorBefore Crisis.This is a retelling of the flashbacks that occurred during Final Fantasy VII. I've woven the flashbacks together in a linear fashion (with some minor adjustments) in order to give a comprehensive history of Cloud Strife, our blond, spiky-haired protagonist. Some of you Final Fantasy fans might notice that the names of certain characters in this story are the same as those from previous Final Fantasy games. These are not the same characters. They just happen to have the same name, that's all. Our story opens in Cloud's hometown of Nibelheim, when he was six years old. Enjoy the story and thank you for reading.

PART 1

Chapter I

The morning sun shined softly through the window, landing gently on Cloud's sleeping eyes. He squirmed in his tossed bed, immensely irritated by the sunlight. Grabbing the pillow from underneath his head, Cloud placed it over his face and pressed it as hard as possible to filter out the sunlight that seeped through his eyelids. He didn't wish to get up. He had no motivation to do so.

There was a knock on the door, very soft, barely audible. Cloud buried his face deeper into the pillow, hoping against hope his mother would leave him alone. He knew it was his mother. Who else could it be? His father was dead and he had no brothers or sisters. It could only be his mother.

"Cloud, dear," the mother's sweet voice called out in a jaunty manner. She stepped into the cluttered room, and was irritated to see her son was still in bed. "Come on, Cloud, you big sleepyhead," she trumpeted, "get your keister outta bed! It's time to seize the day!"

Cloud remained motionless, pretending he was still asleep.

"I know you're up, so stop playing possum," she said, playfully nudging Cloud.

Her stubborn son didn't move.

"Oh, so now you're playing difficult, huh?" she said, tickling his neck.

Cloud resisted for all of two seconds before bursting into laughter. He rolled around in hysterics as his mother ran her fingers around his body. It was a warm-hearted scene that was abruptly cut short the instant Cloud yelled, "Leave me alone!"

Cloud's mother was startled by his fierce outcry, and took a hurried step back, as if she feared her son might bite her. Cloud didn't bite her, of course. He simply wrapped himself in his quilt blanket and exhaled an irritable grunt.

"What's the matter, Cloud?" his mother asked, extremely perturbed.

Cloud responded by turning his back to her.

"Well, I just came up to tell you that your breakfast is ready," his mother said, speaking in that mellow, compassionate tone she often used whenever Cloud was in one of his funks.

The mother made her way out the room. Before closing the door she whispered "I love" to her son.

Cloud, now wide awake and staring blankly at the ceiling, was weighed down by remorse. He didn't mean to snap at his mother, and knew full well he overreacted to her teasing. She always teased him, but in the sweetest way possible. That was her way. Any other day and Cloud would have relished a tickle fight with his mother. Today, however, he was in no laughing mood.

Now, the reason Cloud was in a terrible funk this morning was because of something that happened the previous day involving Tifa and her friends. Tifa was Cloud's next-door neighbor, the only daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Lockhart. Cloud and Tifa weren't friends, per say. They were more like acquaintances who greeted each other if they happened to cross paths. Tifa had no time for Cloud on account she was the most popular girl in Nibelheim, and he was a social outcast. Tifa ran with a tight-knit crew, a crew that didn't hold Cloud in high regard. Not that he held them in any higher regard. In fact, Cloud thought Tifa's friends were a bunch of immature idiots who played in dirt and laughed at the stupidest things. Tifa was way too smart for them, as far as Cloud was concerned.

Needless to say, Cloud harbored a great deal of animosity toward Tifa's friends, but in reality, this animosity was steeped very much in envy. Though Tifa didn't know it, Cloud secretly admired her. Not just for her beauty (though there was no denying she was the prettiest girl in the village), but for her kindness. Whereas her friends mocked and laughed at him, she did no such thing, and would always step in if the mocking got too intense, but in all honesty, Cloud put himself in a position to be mocked, because he was forever following Tifa, like the doting admirer that he was. Sometimes he'd spy on her from afar, while other times he'd stand in plain sight, hoping she'd acknowledge him. Cloud always had these fanciful daydreams, where Tifa would walk up to him and ask to play, just the two of them, and then they'd prance off hand-in-hand while her idiot friends looked on enviously. This never happened, of course. It was always Cloud looking on enviously. The most that did happen was, Tifa would spot Cloud every now and then, and maybe smile or wave in his general direction. Simple gestures, yes, by they were powerful enough to make Cloud happy for the rest of the week.

As for the incident that occurred the previous day, first, it's important to note the old water tower situated in the town square. Children were prohibited from climbing it, but Cloud, the social outcast that he was, flagrantly disregarded this prohibition. The water tower was his special place. He found comfort up there, alone, thinking his deep thoughts. It was the majestic landscape that brought him the most comfort. In a word, it was awe-inspiring. On a clear day he could see miles beyond the village, to the Nibel Grasslands, where flocks of wild chocobos could be seen roaming the countryside, and further still to Cosmo Canyon. Its crimson mountains provided a natural barrier from the outside world.

This was the scenery Cloud had his eyes fixed on that fateful day, when suddenly he heard the rustling of someone ascending the water tower. He was much too absorbed by the natural beauty of the world to care who it was. He figured it was either his mother or some other adult, coming up here to reprimand him for climbing the water tower, like usual.

"Wow, you can see Cosmo Canyon from here," a familiar voice said.

It was Tifa. Cloud was agog, and for a moment he thought he was having another one of his fanciful daydreams. But no, he wasn't daydreaming. Tifa really was there, sitting right next him—with her leg touching his! Cloud seriously thought he would faint. He summoned all his willpower just to control the trembling in his knees. Tifa had that effect on him.

The sun was obscured by pockets of fluffy white cumulous clouds. Radiant white light pierced through the clouds, and fell to earth like a torrential downpour, almost as if it was raining sunlight.

"The sky's so pretty today," Tifa said in a longing voice. There was a slight inflection in her tone that implied something was wrong. It was subtle but Cloud picked up on it immediately.

As ecstatic as he was to be sitting next to Tifa, their little legs dangling together fifty feet above the ground, Cloud was too nervous to speak. He was afraid he'd say something to drive her away. Still, he felt obligated to respond to her observation.

"Yeah," he said simply.

Cloud's one word phrase was punctuated by uncomfortable silence.

After a minute of sitting completely idle, Cloud took a glance at Tifa and saw that she had a sullen look on her face. This was an uncharacteristic look. Tifa was usually so optimistic, always smiling, always giggling. Not now, though. Her bright smile was gone, replaced with a dim grimace, and her eyes, two large pools of amber, had since dulled and were now two puddles of icky brown mud.

"Cloud," Tifa squeaked, breaking the silence, "where do you think people go when they die?"

Cloud turned to Tifa, and said, "My mom told me dead people go to a place that's just beyond Nibel Mountain. It's this beautiful city in the sky, and when you die, all the people you loved, the ones who died before you, welcome you with a humungous party that lasts for days!"

"Really?" Tifa said, her dull eyes suddenly lighting up. "There is such a place?"

"That's where my dad is," Cloud replied somberly. "Well, at least, according to my mom."

"Do you think people who aren't dead can somehow get there?" Tifa asked in all seriousness.

Cloud shrugged. "If the city in the sky is just beyond Nibel Mountain, I don't see why not."

"You ever think of visiting your dad, you know, in the city in the sky?"

"I wanted to once, but my mom told me the journey's way too dangerous for the living, so it's best to never even think about going there. You might die yourself."

"But it's not impossible, is it? I mean, if you're brave enough, and strong enough, you could probably get there and back, right?"

"I don't know. I guess so. Why do you ask?"

Tifa confessed to Cloud that her mother was deathly ill. "I overheard the doctor tell my dad she might die." Tifa sniffled a few time, then coughed up tears. "I don't want Mommy to die! I love her so much!"

Tifa pressed a cheek on Cloud's shoulder and wept ever so gently. A surge of emotion compelled Cloud to put an arm around her. Tifa's body trembled just as uncontrollably as his knees, but the trembling in both his knees and her body subsided the longer he held her.

"Hey, what's this?" a voice hollered from down below. "Look, Tifa's got a boyfriend!"

The rowdy comedian was Tifa's friend, Locke. He was accompanied by three other kids. They all pointed up and laughed at the sad couple sitting on the edge of the water tower.

"Tifa's got a boyfriend! Tifa's got a boyfriend!" her friends sang in a most obnoxious way.

"He's not my boyfriend!" Tifa shrieked at the top of her lungs.

And with that, she violently pulled away from Cloud, practically knocking him off the water tower. She descended the ladder in a complete hissy fit, stomping her feet every step of the way.

Locke and the three other kids waited for Tifa at the foot of the ladder, but just as soon as she touched ground, she stormed right passed them without a word.

"Wait, Tifa," Locke cried, grabbing her elbow, "don't be mad! We were just messing with ya! We know Cloud ain't your boyfriend! I mean, c'mon, look at him!"

Everyone's attention turned to the lone figure sitting atop the water tower.

"Who in their right mind would date a scrub like that?" Locke continued. "Seriously, look at him, up there, by himself, all scrawny and underfed. What does he do up there, anyway? Is he building a nest or what?"

Locke guffawed uproariously, as did the three other kids. Tifa inadvertently let slip a laugh, but immediately caught herself. She was trying to maintain a stern composure.

"C'mon, forgive me!" Locke pleaded. He bent down on both knees. "Lookit me, I'm begging ya! I'm begging ya! Please, your majesty, forgive this lowly pheasant!"

And, yes, Locke meant to say "pheasant," because he was silly like that. He then proceeded to kiss Tifa's hands, or more accurately, slobbered all over them like a dog.

"Okay, okay, I forgive you," Tifa giggled, thoroughly amused by his silliness. "Just stop drooling all over me. It's gross."

Tifa's friends emitted a raucous cheer, and then went on their merry way. Just as they were trotting off, Cloud overheard one of the kid's say, "Now that you mention it, Cloud is always by himself. Doesn't he have any friends?"

To which another kid replied, "Of course not. Nobody wants to play with him. He's so weak that he can't even wrestle without getting hurt."

Another kid added, "He's also kind of a weirdo."

They all cackled in agreement. Tifa didn't bother to defend him.

Cloud was too embarrassed to come down after that. He stayed atop the water tower until the streets were clear of Tifa and all her friends, which was some time around dusk. He then scampered home and cried himself to sleep.

And that just about brings us up to date.

Cloud, having stared blankly at the ceiling long enough, kicked off the covers and rolled out of bed. Having had time to reflect on yesterday's unpleasantness, he concluded it was best not to dwell on it. No sense in letting what happened yesterday dictate what happened today. Like his mother so often told him: Seize the day! And seize it he would.

Cloud went downstairs to eat his breakfast. He was famished. Last night's crying fit took a lot of him. While making his way to the kitchen, he noticed his mother was nowhere to be found. Her whereabouts were the least of his concerns, because the savory aroma of hot syrup, crispy bacon and mouth-watering eggs had his undivided attention. Cloud spared no time digging into the plate of food his mother had left for him on the kitchen table. Halfway through chowing down on his stack of pancakes, Cloud heard the front door open and close. His mother stepped into the kitchen shortly thereafter, wearing a coat and carrying a bag of groceries.

"Where'd you go, Ma?" Cloud asked, chewing on a huge chunk of pancake.

"Just went to get a few things from the Item Shop," she replied.

The mother set the groceries down on the cutting board, and then sat across from her son at the kitchen table. She couldn't help but smile as Cloud hungrily ate his breakfast, his baby teeth clenching hard with every bite. It reminded her of a puppy chewing on hard kibble.

"So, what's on the agenda today?" she asked her son.

Cloud shrugged. "I don't know. I was thinking maybe I'd go over to Tifa's to see what she's up to."

His mother's face turned grim. "Um, Cloud, maybe it would be best if you didn't visit Tifa today."

"What? Why not?"

The mother was reluctant to say, but after a bit of wheedling from her son, she came out and told him the dreadful news: Tifa's mother was dead.

"Mrs. Lockhart died last night," she said solemnly. "It was pneumonia, I think. That's what the girls in the Item Shop were saying."

"But what about Tifa?" Cloud asked, more concerned about Tifa's wellbeing than anyone else's.

Cloud's mother didn't appreciate his callous attitude. "I imagine Tifa's heartbroken," she replied sternly, "which is why I don't want you going over there today. Maybe tomorrow you can see Tifa. Right now she needs time to grieve. Give the poor girl her space, okay?"

Cloud promised to heed his mother's words, but already he was devising a plan to sneak out. It was a very simple plan: He'd leave the house when his mother wasn't looking and then creep next-door to spy on Tifa.

And that's exactly what he did.