Chapter one

It was dark, quiet. The wind whispered though the desolate area, making the hem of his long, black coat flutter slightly. The tall, willowy blond sighed, and pressed his hand to the bridge of his nose. It had been a long night.

Pushing his long, golden hair back from his forehead, he slumped to the ground, his head resting in his arms.

I really push myself to hard, he thought. Then again, maybe not hard enough. Maybe if I'd pushed harder… she would still be here.

"Cloud! Are you there? We found something… it's like nothing I've ever seen before!"

Tifa's voice rang clear through the rocks, laving no doubt in his mind how anxious she was. He knew she worried, but he couldn't bring himself to admit his true feelings for her. He felt too guilty.

I couldn't… not after what I let happen to Aeries…

"Cloud? Hurry up will ya?"

" Yea, coming!"

With one final look at the surrounding area, he pushed himself off the ground and went back to join those who he had left several hours earlier. He liked solitude at times.

Heading back, he noticed something strange. There seemed to be a buzzing noise appearing within his skull, getting louder and higher with every step he took. It was then he noticed everybody else lying on the floor, their blood mingling.

"NO!" he screamed, "This can't be happening… not again! I can't handle this again! TIFA!"

He rushed to her side, stumbling over rocks and debris from their excavations. With a feeling of dread, he gently pressed his fingers to her throat, sighing in relief when he felt her pulse. With a look around, he noticed that of the other three, none had survived. The wounds were too deep; too much blood had been lost. Tifa was the only one. Thankfully, she seemed to have escaped the worst of the attack when she shouted to him. He started rummaging through his pockets.

"She can't die. I won't LET her. It's not happening again." Muttering to himself he eventually found what he was looking for, his last potion. "This had better be enough"

He tipped it into her mouth, allowing it to trickle slowly down her throat. She coughed slightly, and then sighed. He took this to be a good sign, and sighed with sheer relief. It hadn't happened again. He lay her down and stood up, looking around, going in search of whoever (or indeed whatever) had done this.

It was then he noticed the large hole in the wall of the cave, seemingly leading to nowhere. It was also at that moment that he realised in his relief he had overstepped, and tumbled headfirst into it.

He had time for one last thought before blackness overtook his mind

Holy gods… what now?