Author's Note/: Ah, I'm gonna take a short break from my two fanfics, Lady of the Lilies and Red Revolution. I feel the impulsive need to write something a bit more lighthearted. So, therefore, I've decided to restart Cyber Black.

Happy reading!

Prologue

All Zack Fair could do was watch as the machine lowered the coffin into the ground. He wanted to close his eyes. The priest's memorized speech fell on deaf ears.

As the coffin touched the bottom of the grave, Zack began to feel raw all over again. Every time the tossed dirt struck it, he called upon more and more of his strength to keep him stable.

There was no one to help him. Most of the attendees were aunts, uncles, cousins, and distant relatives; his parents had died a short while ago.

He looked at the tombstone, a glossy thing with fancy letters, and gritted his teeth in disgust. The letters read:

Here lies

Cloud Strife

A joyful spirit dwells in heaven

Joyful, he sneered. How can you be happy dying when you've barely begun to live?

Even if Cloud was happy where he was now, Zack was definitely not. As selfish as it may have seemed, he could barely endure that his old friend was no longer with him. Worse still, most of the gloomy faces surrounding him were all for show. It was safe to assume that more than half of them hardly knew who Cloud was. A lump built up in his throat, and he turned and walked away from the funeral.

In the distance, he heard a woman say:

"But why would anyone want to kill little Cloud?"

Zack remembered that Cloud abhorred funerals. And he himself could care less about the burial. His friend was already dead and long gone, and there was only a mere body left to be buried inside of a sad, little casket.

"Just another excuse for a family reunion, hypocrisy, and free food," Cloud had said snidely. "At least, when my turn comes around, I won't have to go!"

And yet… it seemed as if the last remnant of him was disappearing forever, and Zack was powerless to save him. As powerless as when Cloud was still alive.

It was such a pointless and frustrating affair.

He stood a good distance from the burial. With his hands in his coat pockets, he looked up at the glowing dome that covered the entire city of Quiterie. Nothing but a glaring, white sky. Tonight, like every night, it would become pitch black. Zack had grown up with this constant firmament and thought nothing of it, but for the past few days, now, and from then on, it made him cold.

Zack dropped his head and uttered a curse at the ground.

00000

Zack entered Cloud's apartment unannounced and shut the door quietly. All of the lights were off, and the apartment was quiet. He ventured further in and nearly tripped over something that was sitting near the door. He reached down to touch the object, and it felt like it had a leather surface.

The computerized system of the apartment recognized his presence, and the light turned on in the hallway. Zack saw that the object was a large, good-quality suitcase. His breath hitched, and his eyes narrowed dangerously.

He stormed through the hallway in a swelling mixture of worry, confusion, exasperation, and a large douse of righteous fury. A part of him hoped that Cloud wasn't here to face it. To his further bewilderment, Zack realized that the doormat was missing. Not only that, all of the paintings and figurines had been taken off the walls. The hall table was gone too.

Zack took a turn and went into the living room. To his lack of surprise, the room had also been stripped bare. Though he hadn't expected the curtains to be missing.

But smack dab in the middle of the living room, there was a small, black table. A bottle of liquor and a pair of shot glasses were sitting on top of it.

"I knew you'd come," a voice declared.

Cloud was right behind him. Zack stiffened and didn't turn to meet his face.

"Have a drink with me?" Cloud asked.

"I don't care for any," he answered coldly.

Zack heard a long sigh, and Cloud sauntered past him. His strides were relaxed, and his head swayed from side to side. He sat down at the table, carefully picked up the bottle, and poured a glass for himself.

"So," Cloud chirped, setting the pot down, "are you here to try and talk me out of leaving again?"

"Why bother?" Zack snapped. "It's clear to me that there's no use telling you anything!"

Cloud tilted his head back and took a small sip; the liquor was strong. He stared at Zack head on with a pair of charmingly blue eyes. His expression was strangely indifferent.

"What took you so long to figure that out?" he replied dryly. "Are you sure you don't want any?"

"Going outside of the domes is insanity!" Zack warned. "They haven't stopped using the screens. The 'leftovers' are still out there!"

"The screens are used exclusively by Wilhelmina. And taking down the screens would make the problem worse."

"That's not good enough!"

Cloud didn't reply. Instead, he was looking out the naked window. He lifted the glass up to his mouth and let it linger against his lips.

"What a disgusting view," he muttered.

Zack's temper flared higher at the thought of being ignored. He marched towards his brother and knelt down in front him, effectively blocking "the view". Cloud looked up over his shot glass and raised a quizzical eyebrow.

"You already have a great life here," Zack claimed. "You have a job that pays well. You've never been sick a day in your life. Everyone respects you. And most people could only hope to get an apartment half this size. There's no reason to give that all up to go out and live in the wilds!"

"There isn't?" Cloud questioned.

"What could possibly be out there that's better than what's here?"

Cloud put the cup down and folded his hands against his leg. He closed his eyes and took a deep breath through his nostrils.

"Freedom, Zack," Cloud answered firmly. "It has freedom."

Zack became at a loss for words and sat down. Cloud turned his head and cocked it to the side, apparently in deep thought. A short pause ensued. The liquor began to look inviting, so Zack finally relented and poured some into the second cup.

"You don't think we have freedom?" he asked in disbelief.

"You do?" Cloud replied.

"Well, of course!"

"Freedom in what way?"

"The freedom... to live in peace. The freedom to live without fear."

"And what price have we paid for that?"

Zack opened his mouth to answer immediately, but words failed him again. What could he say to get through to him?

"I'm not in peace," Cloud said. He clamped his forehead. "I'm not in peace. I'm not in peace. I've never been in peace. How can I be in peace when they're always in control?"

"We entrust the Foundation with our safety. They protect us!"

Cloud laughed derisively. "You're all so afraid of being afraid, that you've given away your very lives. And you don't even realize it. And the Foundation? I spit on their 'protection'. I will never let them use me again. Not like they did to Grandfather."

"What are you talking about? What's this got to do with Enoch?"

A glass was slammed against the table, and Zack winced. Cloud pursed his lips together and beat his fist against his knee. Zack saw a strange, unfamiliar band that was around Cloud's ring finger.

"It's already done," Cloud said. "I've already requested permission to leave the domes, and the city bureau has accepted it. The lease on this apartment is terminated. I handed in my two-weeks notice… two weeks ago… to that newspaper agency I worked at. I've given away the majority of my belongings to my colleagues and my neighbors, and some of that, I've sent to you in the mail."

Zack became as pale as death warmed over, and his jaw dropped. "I can't believe what I'm hearing…"

"And on top of that," Cloud continued, "I'm set to get on a boat that's leaving Quiterie at midnight… with about thirty other people. Did you know that almost two hundred people, on average, leave the domes annually? No one notices because the population grows by millions every year..."

"Tonight?"

"No… at midnight. Which is a few hours away. A car should be coming to pick me up in about…"

Cloud raised his arm and glanced at his watch. "Ninety-two minutes. So, as you can see… no matter what you say… whether I regret it or not (which I don't)… I can't stop now! And even if I could, it's not in my best interest to stay in the domes. That's the only choice I can't make for myself anymore. It's just…"

Zack put the glass to his lips, with his hand shaking, and drank. The resulting jolt wasn't gratifying in the least.

"You have anything stronger?" he asked.

"I also sent all of my spirits to you in the mail," Cloud informed him. "Sorry."

"And where are you going from here? With no money? No home? No plan? No…"

"I'm going to Sandeep. And I have a contact there. I even shipped some of my belongings to him."

Zack stopped trembling and almost dropped his cup in surprise. Contact? He was in contact with someone outside of the domes?

"Come on!" Cloud said indignantly. "Have you ever seen me go about anything half-cocked?"

"That's… that's impossible!" Zack stammered. "There's no way to communicate with anyone from the outside."

"And yet, I managed it. Actually… he was the one who got in contact with me, but that doesn't matter."

Cloud ran his fingers through his blonde, spiky hair and sighed again. He got up from the floor and meandered towards the window, rubbing his head anxiously. His eyes were downcast. Zack knew that habit very well. Something wasn't right.

"No," Cloud said. "It's best I tell you the truth. I won't be making it to the boat at midnight. No, I already know that."

"What's that supposed to mean?" Zack asked.

"Just a feeling. The truth is... the seat I bought on the boat is just a diversion. It's a trick."

Cloud crossed his arms and looked several stories down at the city streets. He nodded to himself, as if he were making a decision. "If I had my way, I'd want you to follow me to Sandeep."

Zack shook his head. "You know I can't do that. My job prohibits me from ever leaving the domes. If I did that, I'd have to…"

"Defect?" Cloud finished.

"Yes."

Cloud turned and stared at him behind his shoulder. He began to speak hesitantly. "I'm sorry, Zack. Really, I am. I don't like it when I make you worry, but it can't be helped. I have to go. I'm leaving... because there's something important I need to do. Zack, I…"

Cloud hid his face again and his shoulders slumped.

"What's wrong?" Zack asked in concern.

Cloud banged his head against the window, and Zack became quiet.

"If I told you something that I knew," Cloud said, "and it was big enough… would you defect and go after me? No questions asked?"

"W-what?" Zack replied, his voice choking. He slowly got to his feet.

"So, would you?" Cloud wheeled around and waited for his answer.

"I don't know," he replied, his curiosity peaked. "But if you think it's that important… then tell me."

Cloud smiled weakly and there seemed to be a glimmer of hope in his eyes. He took a few steps forward, away from the window, and Zack started to relax a little.

"It's the Shinra Tower," Cloud said. "You know about it right?"

"I work for the Foundation, don't I?" Zack asked. "Do you think something's wrong with it."

"There is something wrong with it. Something terrible is about to happen. It's… the people behind the project… there's a program that they're trying to develop alongside of it. They… they want..."

Suddenly, a loud, terrible noise cracked through the air. In a whirlwind, glass shattered everywhere, Cloud plummeted to the floor, and the glass fell out Zack's hands.

Zack rushed to his friend's side. The window now had a large whole in the glass. There was a bullet wound in Cloud's back, and a pool of blood was forming under him.

He checked Cloud's pulse on his neck, and it was growing rapidly feeble.

Cloud groaned and stirred slightly. "Zack?"

"Don't talk," Zack instructed. "Don't worry. I'll get help."

But Cloud shook his head.

"I'm… not frightened," he said, struggling to get out the words. "He said… that everything… that everything would… be alright. But still… It doesn't feel good."

Cloud mustered up the last of his strength and rolled onto his side. His eyes seemed to be staring at something invisible. He reached out his hand.

"I knew I wasn't going to make that boat," he said. "I've always been right, haven't I?"

Zack grabbed his hand as it began to fall. "I said don't talk!"

"Grandfather," Conan whispered. "I understand. Her never wanted to create it. Not for people like them..."

A strange shudder went through him. His eyelids closed, and every fiber of his body went limp.

"Ah no…" Zack said breathlessly. "Oh God, help me. Oh God … please help me!"

Cloud was dead.

00000

Zack looked back again and saw that the crowd was beginning to disperse. Apparently, it was time for the after-gathering. If Cloud wouldn't go, then neither would he. He started walking again, heading towards the parking lot. His car was on the far end.

You really did find something, Zack thought. I guess that's more than enough reason to defect.

Zack approached his car and opened it with his keys. The door popped open, and he was immediately confronted by his cell-phone.

"You have one text message," it flashed on the screen. "You have one text message."

He frowned, watching it blink for a moment, and climbed into the front seat. Who on earth would call him on such a day was beyond him. And he had already been granted mourner's leave. Then again, his superiors weren't always very sensitive or understanding.

Nor did they consistently keep their word.

Zack pressed the screen with his finger, and the message loaded. In less than a few seconds, the text appeared on the screen.

And Zack froze.

The text had been sent only a few minutes ago. The sender was unknown. To his astonishment, the message included a random picture of Cloud, standing on the street of a city he had never seen before. Cloud was dressed more casually than usual and playfully flashed a victory sign to the camera. Under the picture, there was a short note:

I was right. The view is better here. So, hurry up so you can see it too, dummy!

Feel free to review, please!