Chapter 1

The Pain

Cloud entered the old chapel, walking past the benched and up to the flowerbed. The two children that Aries had asked to take care of the flowers were working busily, watering and trimming the flowers. They looked up as he approached and recognized him immediately. Running over to him, they noticed something different. "Where's the flower lady?" they asked. Cloud responded by drawing his Buster sword.

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Vincent watched as the others gathered on the bridge of the Highwind. Only a week earlier, there would have been three more with them. Aeris had been slain by Sephiroth, following that, they went on to the Crater, and Cloud was taken over and turned the black materia over to Sephiroth. They were imprisoned and Cloud went missing. They had escaped from Shinra and located Cloud, but he had changed. He was in a coma, and no one knew if he was going to wake up. Finally, he did wake up, but he was still changed. He struck the one who was watching, killing them instantly, poor Barret. He slay many people as he fled through the airship, finally reaching the deck and leaping from it as the crossed the waters of the North Sea. No one wanted to admit it, but Vincent knew what needed to be done. They must kill Cloud.

"I won't listen to this!" Tifa screamed at the group. They were all arguing with her, for she refused to except the fact that Cloud was a murderer. "He wouldn't do that, not Cloud!"

"Woman! You saw it with your own two eyes!" Cid argued with her "Those were my men! Useless maybe, but my men none the less!"

"I hate to admit it too Tifa" Red XIII added. "But Cid is right, he killed those people."

"He must have been under Sephiroth's control again!" Tifa said to herself, as much as the others.

"That being the case or not, how many times can we let this happen?" Cait Sith reasoned "We must find him and stop him before he does this again."

"We have to kill him." Vincent said, approaching them.

They all stopped and looked at Vincent, no one could believe what he had just said. Hunt him down and restrain him, yes, but to actually kill him. No one thought that they needed to go that far. Immediately they all broke into chatter.

"Ok, stop this!" Tifa finally screamed. "Ok, we all agree that we need to find him. Let's do this first and then decide where to go from there."

The rest of the group nodded in agreement, that did seem like something better to do than stand around arguing. Cid returned to the helm, Vincent went back to his dark corner, and Cait Sith and Red XIII went back to their area and were soon deep in conversation. Tifa however, went up to the deck.

Reaching the deck, she leaned against the rail, deep in her thoughts. She didn't know why he did it, but something had to have been forcing him to do it. Something happened to him five years ago, what she did not know.

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Cloud woke with a start, he felt he wax being watched. Stepping around the blood the children had left, he walked towards the door of the church. Pressing his ear to it, he heard breathing outside of it. Drawing the Buster Sword, he burst through the door and swung.

"Shame." Said a voice from behind him.

Cloud turned and saw someone he didn't expect.

"What do you want?" Cloud asked.

"Nothing"

"Then why are you here?"

"No reason."

"You lie!"

"True."

"Why are you here!" Cloud raised his sword.

"Why have you done this?"

"I let her die."

"She doesn't blame you."

"Doesn't change facts."

"If you are forgiven, why do you still seek forgiveness."

"If I am forgiven, why doesn't she come to tell me this?"

"Because you are upset thinking about her, she needs you to forget her."

"I can't do that, I loved her."

"Well, what about the one who loves you?"

"No one loves me."

"I loved you."

"Not that kind of love, I wanted romance, she gave that to me."

"No, she gave that to me, you just reminded her of me."
Rage filled cloud, he swung at his visitor. The visitor caught the blade.

"Strife, you are out of line!"