Disclaimer: I do not now or before and most likely not in the future, own Final Fantasy, Square Enix or any of the characters.

A/N: This is a sequel to Nexus so it would be a good idea to read Nexus first before this, otherwise, none of this will make much sense. I had a mixed reaction to Nexus, so I started this sequel. I don't really have a whole plot line for this just yet, only this chapter, so if you want more of this sequel, let me know. (I don't know what you want unless you tell me.)

This will NOT be a yaoi story. There will be sex, angst and dark themes throughout the entirety of this story. I will NOT post warnings in any other chapters after this one. Consider this your one and only warning. I will also try to limit any flashbacks to the minimum, but I love writing and reading flashbacks and sometimes I find a flashback is needed so if you don't like flashbacks, too bad. I will not have any warnings in the chapters telling of the flashback so if you don't like flashbacks, just skip the italicized parts if you want or whatever you like to do with flashbacks. I told someone before that I don't put flashbacks in just willy-nilly. If I put in a flashback, then there is a damn good reason for it.

I do not have a beta for this yet because I haven't asked my betas for my other stories if they would like to beta this one. So if you find any mistakes you can either ignore them or enjoy them. I do.

"I cannot give you the formula for success, but I can give you the formula for failure - which is: Try to please everybody." -Herbert Bayard Swope

Chapter 1

~Albatross~

The dirty blonde's cigarette hung from his lips in a dangerous game of 'to be burned or not be burned.' The dirt and rocks dug into his back and his sweat lined T-shirt picked up some of the particles, making a strange mud-like coating on the once white article of clothing. Looking up, he fixed the wrench on the bolt that held on the engine covering and twisted it to loosen the offending piece of metal. When it jerked down from gravity, he slipped to the side and barely missed the sharp edge as it fell to the ground with a clank. This was when he lost his temper, "Gaia-Dammit! Sorry-ass piece of shit!"

Getting his hands to the outer body of the plane, he leveraged his way out from under the wrecked aircraft. The bright sun shone down in a shower of heat. Covering his eyes, he startled at his just now seen, and unwelcomed company, "What the fuck do you want?!"

Sitting on the ground with his knees drawn up, his arms wrapped tightly around his legs and with a tilt of his head, he studied the dirty grease-covered man.

"I know you can talk, so just stop that silent shit right now," Getting to his feet, he quickly wiped at his hair and pulled his cigarette from his mouth. Blowing out a long puff of smoke, he narrowed his eyes in the mid-day sunlight, "Would you stop fucking staring at me like that? That really creeps me the fuck out." Reaching in to the cockpit, he pulled out his PHS.

"Shera! Come get me!" Pausing to listen to the woman on the other end of the line, Cid turned his back to the blond man sitting on the ground. At his turn to talk, he whispered, "What do you mean that the buggy isn't working? I fixed the fucking thing last week!" With another pause, his face paled at Shera's information, "Vincent broke it? What the fuck is he doin driving the fuckin buggy?!" Glancing over his shoulder he turned back and whispered, "Never mind that… Is there anyone who can come get me cause this piece of shit biplane crashed."

Stopping to listen again, Cid looked back over his shoulder and the man still hadn't moved. Walking around to the other side of the plane, he hoped to have some privacy.

After running his fingers through his hair nervously, he took the cigarette from between his lips again and exhaled a cloud of smoke, "Fine, fine. I'll just pull the camping gear out… -Wait. What do ya mean you took the camping shit out of the cargo hold?" Making his way to the hold, he kicked at the latch and the door creaked open with a small billow of dust, "Gaia dammit Shera! Now what am I supposed to do?!"

A tap on his shoulder frightened him. As he turned, his phone flipped in the air, he jerked backward and screamed, "Oh, Gaia in heaven! What the fuck is your problem?" Clutching at his chest, he accidentally stepped on his last pack of cigarettes that fell from his pants pocket, "Oh sweet Minerva's bubble bath!" Glaring at the man who scared him, he clenched his teeth, "That was my last pack!"

"…Hello! Cid, are you there?!"

Snatching the phone from the more than helpful man who'd caught it in mid-air, he spoke into the mouth piece, "Yeah, I'm here. Listen, I'll rough it for tonight. See if you can get a hold of Seph or Zack to come get me… Well I would, but my phone battery is almost dead… hello, Shera!… Are you there? Shera! Hello…?!" Gripping the phone tightly, he started to throw it against a large rock but didn't. Instead, he kicked up a thick cloud of dust as he flapped his arms in a hilarious dance that could only be described as a temper tantrum, "Mother-fuckin piece of monkey shit-stained behemoth-lovin kitty FUCKERS!" Turning back to the other man, Cid's forehead resembled a road map. Every vein that he attributed to his colleagues being able to measure his stress level was protruding and throbbing.

Finally the visitor spoke, "I could take you."

Narrowing his eyes at the man, he spoke slowly, "Oh no! How do I know that you won't kill me or something?"

Tilting his head, the other man asked, "If I were going to kill you, don't you think that I would have done that weeks ago when Sephiroth and Zackary Fair first brought me to you?"

"You got a point there," Walking away from the other man, Cid stalled, "Listen I appreciate you tryin to help me and all, but I gotta find someplace to camp until one of those asshole wanna-bes gets here."

"I'll keep you company then, this is a dangerous area to be alone in," Tilting his head, the bright glowing green of his eyes twinkled in the setting sun.

Cid was essentially being chased as he continued to try and put some distance between himself and the silver-winged man, "Okay, I get that, but I can take care of my damn self!"

Following the furious pilot, the blond recounted sadly, "If something were to happen to you while I were here, they would all think it was my fault and would find further reason to despise me."

Pulling some gil from his pocket, he pushed it into the hands of the green-eyed Cloud, "If you wanna help me, then git your winged ass to the nearest store and bring me back some damned cigarettes."

Eyeing the money in his hand, he flicked it in his fingers before making eye contact, "Smoking cigarettes is bad for your health. I cannot contribute to your self-harm. So again it goes back to the others hating me for hurting you by my action as much as my inaction."

Dropping his eyes to the ground momentarily, Cid thought quickly, "Hmmm," With a pause, he crossed his arms with as much control as he could muster, he spoke, "Hey, you know what? You remember when I told you to stop that silent shit?" With a nod, the blond confirmed the statement before Cid stepped closer to him and yelled, "Forget it! Keep your yap shut!" Turning to reach the trees before nightfall, Cid finished as he walked briskly, "It ain't like I got enough problems without you adding your inaction to it!"

Hearing nothing behind him, he glanced to see no one there. With a mumble of, "Thank Gaia you got the hint to leave me the fuck alone," He rubbed his hair and grimaced as he realized the grease still on his hands.

Reaching a clearing still within sight of the crashed plane, Cid began gathering loose leaves and small branches to make himself a fire to fight the quickly cooling air. After making himself a fire-pit, he began the search for his lighter. Patting himself down hastily, he discovered his lighter wasn't on him; he must've left it back at the plane. Slouching in defeat, a click of a lighter being lit startled him from his self-pity.

"Holy shit!" Once again grabbing at his chest, Cid eyed the blond, "Stop fucking sneaking up on me!"

After lighting the fire, green-eyed Cloud began fanning the flames with his hand as he tilted his head, "You told me not to talk."

With a huff, the pilot spat, "Shut up."

"You are confusing me. Do you want me to talk or not talk?"

Thinking back to everything that happened in the last couple of months, he rubbed his hands on his pants to attempt to get some of the grease off. Lately, if it wasn't Sephiroth talking about his former glory as a warrior and Aerith not letting him out of her sight, or Tifa talking about the baby and even Shera wanting a baby of her own, then it was Zack complaining about married life. For some reason, the group seemed to think that he cared to hear all their problems.

Staring over the new fire to the green eyes that focused on him, he regretted what the group had gone through, after all, Cloud seemed like a likeable guy until he turned evil and tried to kill them all. His new protector stayed perfectly still, waiting for an answer to his question.

With a sigh, Cid relented, "You can talk. Just don't go tellin me all your problems."

Standing up, the blond asked, "Are you hungry?"

Finding a comfortable spot, Cid lay over on his side, watching the flames, "Don't tell me that ya got a sandwich in your pants pocket?"

Pure seriousness covered the blonde's face as he responded, "I do not."

"It was a joke."

"A joke?"

"Yeah, a joke. Ya know… something funny."

"I know what a joke is, but that was not a joke… nor was it funny."

With a sigh, he said, "Yeah it was! It's just that you- … Never mind." Cid sat in strangely comfortable silence with the blond as the flames licked the cool mountain air. Finally breaking the silence, he asked, "You were saying something about food?"

Looking up from the fire, and his now seated position, he stated, "I have hunting skills that could be of service."

With a wave of his hand, Cid shooed him, "Then get to it. I'm hungry and we don't want the others to hate you more for allowing me to starve to death."

With the virtually silent sound of his wings beating at the air, the blond was gone. Cid couldn't help but roll his eyes, but he wasn't sure if he was rolling his eyes at himself for his complete disregard for the other's feelings or if it was aimed at the blond for his willingness to please those he so easily tried to kill.

Fatigue, stress and hunger played a part in his inability to keep his eyes open and in no time at all he was lost in the dark relief of slumber.

"I believe this is done enough for you to eat."

With a jerk, his eyes burst open as he panted in yet another startle from the blond, "Fuck!"

Handing over the cooked meat, the blond asked matter-of-factly, "You knew that I was returning with food, did you not?"

Taking the stick holding the dead animal, Cid cleared his throat before saying anything, "It's not that, but you fucking scared me again." Watching as the blond sat down on the other side of the fire, he took a bite of the well cooked meat. He wanted to compliment the man/monster for his good job on not only catching but cooking the animal, but the words got caught in his throat, like any compliment to anyone.

Instead of a compliment, however, he offered a bite of food to the man across from him. Tentatively taking the stick, the blond bit into the tender morsel and he offered it right back to the pilot with a simple, "Thank you."

"Yeah, yeah." Just like with compliments, the art of turning generosity back to himself, making him look like the nice one was always a defensive maneuver on his part. It was something that Shera saw past and the rest of the group seemed to see past as well. "Just don't think it'll happen all the time."

Watching the green eyes sparkle from the light of the fire as the man watched the flames dance, Cid's curiosity got the better of him. "So is this what you're going to do with your life? Just following me around? Saving me from myself?"

Slowly blinking, the green eyes met his, "I do not know what to do with the gift that was given to me by this body's original owner. He did not leave me with any instructions like he did for Zackary Fair and Tifa Lockheart-Fair."

Laying back down, Cid picked at the pieces of meat that were stuck in his teeth. Contemplation was not his strong suit, but he tried his best, "How about finding a nice woman and settlin' down?"

Drawing his knees to his chest, the blond spoke sadly, "This body is drawn to one female and she is taken by another because of the wishes of Cloud Strife. So any other possibility seems impossible."

With a laughing huff, the words left his mouth before he could stop them, "Yeah, well ya saw to that well enough didn't ya?" Seeing hurt cross the young features of the blond, Cid wanted to kick himself for what he'd said, but he didn't try to reel the words back, instead he offered, "What about finding a job or something to do besides following me, Zack and Seph around?"

Tightening his grip around his drawn up knees, the blond laid his ear to his shoulder and remarked, "That seems impossible as well."

Rolling over, getting comfortable with the fire warming his back, Cid offered one last bit of advice before slumber took him again, "It don't sound like it's just the body, but the occupant that's not willing to find any other way. Get your shit together and get moving with life cause it's shorter than ya think." With a glance over his shoulder, Cid finished, "Don't take life for granted and don't let Cloud's sacrifice be for nothin."

The next morning, the smoke from the dying fire choked him as he lifted one eyelid to unwillingly survey his surroundings. The early morning sun crested on the horizon as the chilled air began to warm. Not seeing the blond, Cid slowly unfurled from the tight ball he'd rolled into to fight the cold, with a well-earned moan of his muscle fibers protesting.

Tidying up after the heated embers, he kicked dirt over it a few times confirming the full death of the campfire. Stretching out a few more sore muscles, he consciously made himself aware of his surroundings. He didn't want another jump-scare from the winged man again. Trudging back to the plane wreck, he searched for any sign that he wasn't alone. It wasn't that he didn't want to be alone, but the silence was weird after spending the evening with the green-eyed Cloud over a campfire.

"Hiya Cid!"

"Motherfucker!"

Flinching from the exclamation, Zack said, "Well that wasn't necessary."

Dropping his eyes, he started for the plane again, "It's not you. That damned blond kept scaring the fuck out of me yesterday. I'm just a little on edge."

Rubbing the back of his head, Zack followed behind the pilot, "Oh, well that makes sense. Sorry then." As silence was not his strongest asset, the brunet cleared his throat, "Shera called yesterday and I would've been here sooner, but Tifa had me on diaper duty while she ran the front register of our new weapon and item shop in town."

"Whatever." Luckily Zack couldn't see Cid's eyes roll as he anticipated the oncoming onslaught of complaints.

"I have a question going back to what we were talking about a couple of days ago. What do you do to let Shera know that you need attention?"

With a sigh, Cid huffed, "I fucking tell her to listen to me."

"No, that's not what I mean. I mean attention."

Stopping in his tracks, Cid turned on him, "I don't care that your wife is too caught up about that little blond bundle of drool. I don't care that Tifa prefers spending time with the cutey-patootie poop machine. I don't care that she only thinks of Cloud when you try to feel her up. I. Don't. Care!"

"But-"

"No buts! Just let me get my shit and you can take me back to civilization."

"Geez, tell me how you really feel…"

Cid narrowed his eyes at the taller man, "I'm not apologizing for what I said to him or to you!"

"Okay Mister Grumpy. Let's go." Waiting until he was ready, Zack wrapped his arms around Cid's chest as he willed his impressive red and black wings into existence again and fully spread them out, taking to the sky.

Bidding Zack goodbye before entering his house, Cid threw his gear in the corner and screamed, "Shera!"

Not getting an answer, he assumed that she was out back working on the broken buggy so he took the opportunity to get himself cleaned up. After his shower, he scratched at the scruff on his face. Needing a shave, but not having the desire to do it, he exited the bathroom and headed for the kitchen for a bite to eat, only to be accosted by a pair of green eyes. The blond stood at the kitchen sink, holding a glass of water. Not really startled this time, he was only irritated, "Didn't you get enough of my company last night?"

Handing a cup of steaming coffee to the pilot, Cloud stated, "I've been thinking about something."

Sipping at the delicious cup of java, Cid sat at the kitchen table and pulled the bowl of freshly cooked eggs to him, taking a large spoonful to his mouth, he spoke around the food, "Yeah?"

Watching as the hungry man greedily dipped his rolled up piece of toast into the jelly he'd set out, the blond reasoned, "Yes. What if they could have Cloud Strife back?"

All his movements stopped, food forgotten after the wondering question. Wasn't this the whole reason that Cloud had willed Zack and Tifa together? As far he knew, it was because Cloud wasn't able to be here with the living any longer. But now this winged, green-eyed version of him had posed a question that he'd not brought up before now.

A drop of jelly fell to the table cloth as Cid tried to process the question, "Say that again?"

"I have observed Zackary Fair and Tifa Lockheart-Fair and they do not appear to be living as was instructed by Cloud Strife." Pulling out a chair and sitting in front of the stunned man, the blond continued, "I was flying around and considered what you said. You know, last night before you fell asleep and began to drip liquid from your mouth."

"Yeah, yeah. I drool in my sleep! Get to the point already."

"I have remembered something that I gleaned from Jade before her death. For that reason, I must speak with the Cetra about this. There might possibly be a way to either communicate with, or resurrect the one who is considered dead."

Dumbfounded, Cid muttered, "...Well strip me down and spank me stupid."

Rising from the table Cloud took Cid's arm and pulled him to standing, "Very well, but I do not know how that is of any help."

Yanking his arm from his grasp, Cid burst out, "Git your hands off me! I wasn't telling you to do that. It's an expression that people say when they're surprised."

"Oh. I understand." Sitting back down, the blond asked, "Could you help me get into contact with the Cetra?"

Running his hands through his hair, Cid stuttered, "Um, y-yeah. I've got Aerith's number around here somewhere."

Reviews, critiques and flames are welcome. I absolutely love all reviews about the story as it gives me motivation, I use good constructive criticism to help my writing improve and I feed the flames to the fires of my imagination.