It was a typical night at 7th Heaven. Tifa was bartending, Marlene and Denzel were at one of the dinner tables pretending to do homework every time Tifa looked their way, and Barret, Cid, Vincent, Yuffie, and Red XIII were gathered around another table drinking and talking. Cloud was out making a delivery, but probably should have been back by now. Tifa glanced at the clock and sighed.
He did this almost every night. He probably wouldn't come sneaking in until everyone was gone, in some futile attempt to avoid everyone that cared about him.
Typical Cloud.
The bell jingled which indicated the door opened. It was a relatively slow night, and Tifa sighed in frustration at the fact she might have to turn the deep fryers back on in order to cook something. When she looked up, she saw someone that she was not expecting to see, someone that she had only "met" once before, whom she was not very familiar with, along with 2 other men she was unfortunately too familiar with. The chatter at the tables stopped as well as they looked up at them, curious.
"Reeve, Reno, Rude, what are you guys doing here?" Tifa inquired, looking concernedly at the disheveled looking men. Reeve no longer worked for Shinra (since it no longer existed), but he still refused to go out in anything but a business suit. His job now was to take care of all the legal cases that people were currently holding against the former Shinra, and to organize everyones files. His hair was slicked back and his beard perfectly trimmed, but there was an air about him that made Tifa and the others uncomfortable. Reno and Rude leaned against the wall perfectly at ease, but still looking like something awkward was about to happen.
"Is Cloud here?" Reeve asked quickly, nervously straightening his tie and looking around for the signature blonde spikes that were usually somewhere amongst this crowd. Denzel and Marlene looked up from what they were doing at the mention of Cloud's name.
"No, he's out making a delivery. Why, do you need him for something?" Tifa asked skeptically. Why was he acting so strangely?
"Well, yes. I…uh…" he stated awkwardly, scratching the back of his head, fighting in his head about what to say.
"Come have a drink, guys! Long time no see!" a slightly inebriated Barret hollered to break the awkwardness, pulling over 3 barstools to their table. Reno immediately took a seat and ordered his drink, while Rude reluctantly followed. Reeve, on the other hand, still stood in the doorway looking awkward.
Tifa walked over him as the others began to catch up with Reno and Rude; it had only been 2 weeks since Sephiroth had fallen but it seemed like so much had happened in that time frame.
"What is it?" she asked him silently, the only other person listening was Vincent, not interested in what the Turks had to say.
"I have a case I need to take care of, and I need some information from Cloud. I was looking through his file today. I found some… information that I wanted to disclose with him. I'm really not sure how he's going to feel about it." He stated uncomfortably.
"Well, what does it have to do with?" Tifa asked, now morbidly curious. What kind of case would involve Cloud?
"Well… that's what I'm afraid he might not be very happy talking about it. Its about… Lieutenant Zachary Fair, SOLDIER first class." All the color left Tifa's face at the mention of Zach's name, tears filling her eyes. 'No, Cloud would not like that one bit.' She thought to herself. Vincent saw it was time to intervene.
"What kind of case would possibly have to do with Zach?" Vincent asked quietly and coldly, suddenly at Tifa's side. Reeve jumped in surprise at how quickly he had moved.
"His parents are demanding to know everything that happened. They want to know what happened at Nibelheim, what happened during the 5 years they disappeared, and what happened during their escape. And I think its their right to know, don't you?" He inquired, gaining courage.
"Cloud won't tell you a thing. I guarantee it." Tifa said flatly. "You won't get anything out of him, except for possibly a black eye for even mentioning Zach's name. I've been trying to get him to talk about it for the last 2 years and I still don't know anything about what happened during those 5 years."
"Well, that's the thing," Reeve continued. "I wanted to talk to Cloud about it because… I found video documentation of select events during those 5 years. Professor Thomas Hojo, the scientist caring for Zach and Cloud," Vincent huffed at the word 'caring', "was required to keep a log of the tests he performed. I have not viewed them, and won't until I have Cloud's discretion."
"He won't let you, Reeve. It's a touchy subject, I wouldn't go there." Tifa said, her voice rising."I would just destroy the tapes and move on." Secretly, Tifa was terrified of what the tapes would hold, and how they would affect Cloud. The conversation had caught the attention of everyone at the bar, including the children, who was staring at Reeve curiously.
"Its information we need to see. Its important, and if Cloud cares about Zach's true story being told then he will cooperate," Reeve stated stubbornly.
"Tifa, what is this guy talking about? What does he mean a scientist took care of Cloud for 5 years? And who's Zack?" Denzel asked, desperate to know as much about his idol as physically possible.
"Ok, time for the kids to go to bed," Barret said, pushing out his chair and walking over to the kids' table, scooping up Marlene and putting a hand on Denzels shoulder.
"No, I want to see the videos! What happened to Cloud? Why doesn't he want anyone to see it?" Marlene was pouting. Tifa gave Reeve a death glare. Now the kids would never sleep.
"Barret, please take them upstairs." She sighed, pressing her forefinger and thumb to the corners of her eyes. She was getting a headache. Barret lead the still complaining kids up the stairs.
"Look, I know Cloud is very sensitive about the subject, and that's why I was going to bring it up slowly. I don't want to hurt him, but I cannot just let this information slip past us when it can help figure out what really happened." Reeve argued.
Tifa looked at him, frustrated, but she had to admit he was right. While she was terrified to find out what happened during those five years, she was also extremely curious and had always wondered about it herself. It couldn't have been that bad, could it? I mean, Cloud was still alive, wasn't he?
"Ok, but you're bringing it up." She finally sighed. 'It'll be your funeral' she mumbled to herself as she walked away, back to the bar.
Barret came back down the stairs, not convinced that the kids would go to sleep, but at least they were in bed. He took his place back on the barstool at the table and leaned in closely. Everyone was looking at him expectedly.
"I guess Reeve found videos of what happened during the 5 years Hojo had Cloud and his friend Zack," Barret whispered to everyone else. Vincent was staring at the wall, knowing only too well what was probably contained in those videos, knowing Cloud would never want anyone else to see what had happened to him and Zach during those 5 years.
If Cloud had wanted people to know what happened, he would talk about it. But it was, in fact, one of the many secrets Cloud kept locked away for nobody to ever know. Cloud did not talk about his past, let alone talk much at all. He was a very closed person who did not share his feelings or anything else for that matter. He didn't want anyone else to share his problems, and Vincent understood that all too well.
Cid blew out the smoke from his cigarette, "Come on, it can't be that bad. I'm sure the Shinra had some kind of regulations on what scientists could do."
At this Vincet stood, knocking the barstool over that he had been sitting on. He was glaring down at Cid intensely, daring him to say more on the subject.
"Hojo is pure evil. I'm sure whatever those video's contain are things you couldn't even imagine in your deepest, darkest nightmares. He did create Sephiroth, if you don't remember clearly." He growled coldly and walked away.
"Sheesh, all I'm tryin to say is that Cloud thinks he's had it so tough. Well, he aint the only one!" Cid yelled after him, pounding his fist on the table and taking another swig of beer.
The kids had already snuck down the stairs and were listening through the door. Everyone was silent for a few minutes, pondering what would happen when Cloud returned. As if on cue, the roar of Fenrir broke the silence as Cloud pulled up outside and cut the engine. The sound of his boots against the rocks indicated that he was going to try to sneak in, since there was no sound coming from the bar.
Cloud walked through the door, looking extremely tired, and literally jumped when he saw everyone sitting there in silence.
He looked around for a moment at everyone staring at him. "Uh… hey." He said awkwardly, rubbing the back of his neck, looking guiltily at Tifa for being late.
"Cloud." Reeve said as a greeting, walking straight to Cloud and getting a little too close for comfort for him, which was probably a normal distance for anyone else.
"Hey, Reeve. Uh, what are you doing here?" Cloud asked curiously, wondering why everyone was listening in on their conversation. What was going on?
"I have something I want to ask you Cloud. Do you want to sit down?"
Cloud shrugged and pulled up a stool, knowing it could be nothing good if he had come here in person to 'ask him something'. Reeve sat across from him and looked intensely into his glowing eyes. Cloud stared back skeptically, feeling the tension in the room grow about what Reeve was about to ask him, and put his guard up.
"As you probably know, Shinra did some pretty terrible things when they were up and running," Cloud rolled his eyes and sighed, frustrated. Yeah, he knew. Better than anyone. "It is my job now to try to settle some of the legal cases involved with the injustice that was served during President Shinra's time in office." Reeve continued.
"There is one case in particular that I think will interest you… or at least, you could help me with." He seemed like he was having trouble choosing his words. Cloud didn't like where this was going. He narrowed his eyes at Reeve. He suddenly realized he wanted information from him. Some part of the vast amount of secret information locked within his mind, information in which he probably wasn't willing to share with anyone. Not even Tifa. Cloud looked at him, raising an eyebrow, as if saying, 'Okay, go on.'
Reeve sighed before continuing. "The particular case I'm working on now was filed 2 years ago, but I am just now getting to it. It involves the parents of Lieutenant Zachary Fair, SOLDI…"
"Forget it." Cloud said loudly and upbruptly, standing up knocking over his stool and making his way out of the room. Marlene and Denzel scrambled away from their spot behind the door and hit in the coat closet as they heard Cloud's footsteps coming closer.
But Tifa grabbed him by the arm and looked him sternly in the eyes. He tried to pull away but she tightened her grip.
"You want his parents to know everything he did, don't you?" she pleaded Reeve's case for him. "He was so brave, he should be given the honor he deserves" she said quietly, keeping an intense stare with Cloud. He considered this for a moment, but tugged his arm away and made his way for the door again.
"Come on, man. Think about it. We're all your friends here, we won't go tellin' no one." Reno argued, putting his boots up on the table with his arms folded behind his head.
"Yeah, Cloud. Besides, we're all dyin' to know what happened during those 5 years." Barret said, his judgement slightly altered by the amount of alcohol in his body, letting the insensitive words slip out.
Cloud spun on his feet and faced everyone. He pointed a finger at Barret. "Its nobody's business what happened. Its done, its over." He addressed Reeve, his face a mask of hatred. It scared everyone in the room, because it was very un-like Cloud to act this way. "Trust me, man, his parents DO NOT want to know what happened, okay? Give them the nice little cover story Shinra made up about the whole situation. The Nibelheim reactor had some kind of gas leak and exploded, and after the mission failed, Me and Zach "volunteered" to test out some new "very safe" experiments a highly qualified, sane scientist was conducting with Mako, and we were doing our duty as SOLDIERS, aiding in the further expansion of the many wonderous uses of Mako and dedicating our lives to making Shinra become all that it can be!" he practically exploded, something Cloud never did. "Or whatever bullshit ya'll came up with." He added, kicking the stool he had knocked over, shoving his hands in his pockets and pacing back and forth, fuming.
Marlene and Denzel looked at each other in surprise outside of the door. They had absolutely no idea what Cloud was talking about. Experiments? Scientist? Mako?
Marlene let a tear leak from her eye, scared at how Cloud was acting. Denzel was in complete shock. Those were the most words he had ever heard Cloud say. He had never even heard Cloud say more than 5 words in a sentence, and certainly had never seen him so angry, or show so much emotion. It surprised him. He continued to peek through the door, needing to understand what Cloud was so upset about.
Reeve looked ashamed, looking up at Cloud with sad eyes.
"Well, actually, you were pretty spot on there. Except when you guys escaped, they said you both went awol, abruptly quit SOLDIER, and abandoned Shinra and threatened to share the secrets of Mako with the world. The search was sent out for you two, everyone under the impression that you were armed and highly dangerous."
Cloud stopped pacing, and looked down at Reeve. There could have been fire in his eyes. He let his hands rest on the table in front of him, lowering his face to the level of Reeves.
"Armed and highly dangerous?" he asked quietly. Everyone knew that Reeve probably should not have said that, but he was standing his ground. Perhaps his was his method of getting Cloud to talk, Tifa thought. She was just glad it wasn't her in that seat.
"We had just escaped from being prisoners for 5 years, where did you think we were going to get a weapon to arm ourselves?" Cloud inquired calmly. Reeve simply looked at him, stubborn. "You could have stolen them from the guards."
"I WAS IN A FUCKING COMA!" Cloud exploded, slamming his fists on the table. Everyone jumped in surprise; everyone surprised at the information that Cloud had been in a coma, except Reno and Rude, who in fact were involved in the search and knew the true facts about that part of Cloud's story. In the hallway, Marlene covered her ears after hearing Cloud use a 'dirty word'. Denzel continued to watch in awe, soaking in everything. Why had his idol been in a coma?
Cloud walked away, running his hands through his hair, mumbling to himself. 'No, I'm not going to tell him anymore. None of his fuckin business. Zach didn't want anyone to know. Nobody needs to know anything.'
"Cloud," Reeve stood up and walked over to him. "I'm sorry, I just wanted to tell you what our, quote "cover story" was." He said as-a-matter-of-factly. "Is that really what you want me to tell Zach's parents?" he asked quietly. Cloud looked at him fiercely, shook his head slowly and took a deep breath. "No."
He walked over to the bar and quietly told Tifa to give him something strong, regaining his composure, seemingly embarrassed for loosing his temper so quickly.
He sat down on a stool and quickly downed whatever Tifa had given him. He squinted his eyes and coughed when he was done swallowing. Everyone assumed it must have been strong. "Another." He said, and Tifa complied.
Reeve walked over to him and sat next to him and ordered the same thing. He looked towards Cloud.
"Are you ready for this, Cloud? Are you ready to face your past?" Reeve asked seriously. After traveling with them for such a long time in the past, he knew that Cloud had a very difficult time letting go of things, and he would bet his life savings that Cloud still thought about what happened in the laboratory every day of his life. He was very obviously still in love with Aerith, no matter how much Tifa tried to let him in.
"What do you need to know, Reeve." Cloud asked solemnly, staring down at the drink in his hands. He was swirling the liquid around in the glass nervously, avoiding eye contact with everyone. You could have heard a pin drop. Vincent could swear he even heard Cloud's racing heart from across the room. He had everyones undivided attention, including the two children in the hallway that shouldn't have been there.
"Well, I need more your agreement to something." Cloud looked up quickly into Reeve's eyes. He wasn't going to make him tell his story? There was nothing Cloud hated more than talking in front of people. He inwardly gave a sigh of relief, but judged too quickly on that relief.
"I have some video documentation of what happened in the laboratory. Hojo, and some of his guards and assistants, were required to keep a tiny video camera clipped to their jackets, in order to monitor what was going on," Reeve continued. Cloud's face had gone bone white. He did not see this one coming. They actually had FOOTAGE of what happened there? Why hadn't anyone done something by now, then?
"This particular footage has never been viewed by anyone that works for Shinra, because it was Hojo's highly classified files," he stated, coldly. "Things he did not want the president to see."
Cloud could hardly believe Hojo had any files at all that were good enough for the president to see, and couldn't imagine what was captured on the CD in Reeve's hand. He looked up at him and swallowed hard, choking back memories that came slamming back into the wall he kept them behind in his mind, shattering it. Right there was the source of his insanity and pain, in a tiny, silver CD, for the world to see.
Reeve looked at him hard. "May we watch the video's, Cloud, and find out what truly happened inside the Shinra Mansion 7 years ago?" he asked, keeping steady contact with Cloud's eyes, which seemed to have started to glow brighter for some reason. Everyone waited with bated breath.
Cloud sighed, the last thing on earth he wanted to do was see these videos. But he thought of Zach. He looked around at everyone who was watching him with anticipation. He looked up at Reeve and nodded solemnly. Reeve nodded, and proceeded over to the TV that hung above the bar.
Cloud looked down at his drink again, and quickly brought it to his mouth and swallowed.
"I'm gonna need another one of these, Tifa." He said.