Hey. I've had this story for a while, but I finally have the nerve to post it back up after an accident of miscommunication and my stupidity. Oh well, this basically tells how Cloud lost his memory when he wound up in Midgar.

A Story for Zack

The blonde haired man looked over at the dead body of his friend. Emotions were surging through him, being released as anger. He had just sat there and watched him die; the soldiers had killed him. The blonde man's eyes produced a single tear for the other. He went over and picked up the sword of his friend.

"Zack, why?! Why..." Another tear fell from his eye. "Goddamn you!" He threw the sword to the ground and fell to his knees. Zack had always been there for him, from the times with Sephiroth to the tests at Nibelheim. But that didn't matter anymore, he was dead, killed by the blonde's innermost desire. Ever since he was a little kid he wanted to be in SOLDIER, to be a perfect warrior like Sephiroth. He wished he had never heard the name. Now he was left with a dead friend and a souvenir sword. He lifted the sword once again and strapped it to his back and stood up. He walked up to the edge of the cliff, stumbling along the way there. His senses were still trying to cooperate with the major side effects of the testing done on him. Beyond the cliff was a major city on this continent known as Midgar. The headquarters of Shinra stood tall, hovering over the top plate.

He shook his head to release any memories in his head. Dragging himself, he started toward the massive city. He thought of one thing - revenge. Revenge on Hojo, the soldiers that killed Zack, SOLDIER, and the experiments, Shinra in general; everything he hated.

When he arrived, the guard man inserted his keycard for opening the gate to the city. The blonde had motioned him to do so by showing his eyes. All SOLDIER have an unmistakable tint to their eyes from mako exposure. The guard, thinking the blond was with Shinra, looked a bit disturbed from the 5-foot sword on his back, but the blonde didn't care about him. He was headed for bigger, better deals.

The blonde stepped into Sector 2 slums. The place was such a dump, little kids playing in the muddy streets while grown men were fist-fighting to their sides. "Hey, Cloud!" Cloud looked up. "Hi," he muttered as if he didn't care. "What 'er you doin' 'round here?" Cloud didn't answer. He had never really liked that man. On a few occasions, he had bunked with him on some Shinra boats. "You gonna answer me?" Cloud honestly wanted to beat him up, then he calmed himself that it was to soon to cause any commotion.

As Cloud waited for the train headed to Sector 7, he tried to cope with his severe headache and throbbing pain in his throat. He stepped on the train when it arrived, sitting in the first seat he saw. He wondered what Hojo's experiments had done to him. He had already lost his memory a few times since then, hoping it wouldn't happen again. The intercom blared in his ears; it made him feel somewhat dizzy. The train soon stopped. He started to step off, but tripped on the way out. Some kids laughed and started making fun of him. Feeling foolish, he got up. He then felt a sharp blow hit the back of his head, knocking him unconscious.

The blonde opened his eyes and looked around. It took him a bit to realize that there was a woman hovering over him. "Oh thank God you're not dead! You had me pretty worried." The woman smiled. "Ughh, where am I?" he asked. "Sector 7 slums train station. Cloud, are you going to be ok?" He looked into her eyes. Was his name Cloud? He couldn't remember anything. Maybe he was suffering from some sort of amnesia. A flash came through his head. He remembered. "Yeah, I'll be fine." She hugged him, and he wasn't expecting it. It was like hugging a complete stranger. Her smile quickly faded when they detached. "You do remember me, don't you?" Another flash came through his mind. "Oh Tifa, how could you say that. Her smile came back. "Wow, how long has it been?" Cloud smiled back "Five years." Tifa thought to herself. Five years? Five years! It's been seven years! Cloud looked at her face. "I see your cut has healed." Her cut healed!? How did he even know she had a cut on her face? Maybe he knew Zack and Zack had told him. They were both in SOLDIER, right? "Do you know Zack or something?" Cloud gave her a blank look. "Who's Zack?"

So, how did you like it? Thanks for reading. TheNeo3@hotmail.com.

By the way, my fav. stories got deleted and I was wondering if anyone knew the name of the author or story. Its about what if cloud died at the alter instead of Tifa. It goes on to where a few things happen. (Aeris's mom and Cid, Tifa blames Aeris for Cloud's death, etc.) If you know, please review and tell me!!

Oh, and as a earlier review suggested, I might continue and make a chapter about Cloud's life with Zack through a dream of Cloud's. I just need some positive reviews before I decide.