Believe it or not, I wrote this in the dark ages before Crisis Core came out. Although I liked the Crisis Core ending, in a 'tear your heart out through your throat' sort of a way, I find I have some issues with Cloud being lucid enough to have a conversation with Zack, then promptly leaving him and stealing his identity. I prefer to think that there was more confusion; that was the initial idea for this as well.
The terrible grammar is intentional, please don't hate me.
…he looked at the sky. it was grey. "Leave this one; he'll be dead in the hour anyway," said the voice. the voice left. his head Hurt. later he went over to look at the Man. There was Red stuff on his chest. it was… "Bluh…" he tried out the word. he had some trouble with the d, and that didn't Seem normal. it didn't bother Him. the Man was hurt. no. the Man was dead. this was also not Normal. it bothered him. he picked up the Sword. he looked at it in his hand, and it was also Not normal. He looked at the Sky, but it was still grey.
Just kidding. I wouldn't leave you hanging like that.
he decided to walk. he looked down. he was wearing purple. "Purle" he said. He always wore purple. And He always carried the "Buhsteerrr" sword. he walked toward the city, and he thought about the people. they would ask him his name, and he would say "Cloud" and that time the d came out alright, even if it did seem like it ought to be a k. and they would ask him his profession and he would say He used to be a soldier, and now he was going to be a mercenary. "Let's do it" he practiced saying, in response to a proposal he couldn't quite remember hearing.
Mercenaries. That's what you an' me are gonna be.
"..do you remember our promise?" she asked. He did remember. He was going to join soldier and come back to rescue his family from the ghost town of Gongaga. no, he wasn't.
"…what?" he said.
"If I'm ever in trouble, my hero will come and rescue me. I just want to experience that once," she said. "You promised, remember? So don't go disappearing on us."
He remembered the promise. he'd only built his whole life on it for 6 years. How could he have forgotten? still confused, he only nodded, and went outside. He looked up from the porch of Seventh Heaven, but the gray underbelly of the plate held no answers.
What're you gonna do when we get to Midgar?
Cloud stepped out onto the porch of the Shinra mansion. The sunlight cut into his eyes and made his head spin, but he preferred it to endless grey skies – it was at least easier to see in. He stretched his arms above his head, for once not feeling strange that they ought have been just that little bit longer. He kept one arm up after the stretch, watching the white clouds skid through the blue sky between the gaps of his fingers, which suddenly didn't seem just a little too narrow and long.
"Always and forever," he said quietly, in response to a question he could finally, finally remember being asked.
We're friends, right?