Finally! My second fic! There is a God! I thought it would be cool to do something about what happened before the actual game started. It's about Cloud's past and how he ends up in the library basement of the Shin-Ra Mansion with Zack. Well, I've talked enough, ENJOY!

Disclaimer: I do not own the Final Fantasy characters, Final Fantasy VII, or any thing about the Final Fantasy series. I wish I did though…

Any Way…

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In The Beginning

Cloud looked up into the eyes of his war buddy, Zack, as he asked, "How are you doing?" "Not too good…" he replied to the question. "I wouldn't know, I've never had motion sickness." Zack said, for no reason at all, and gave Cloud the weirdest suggestion he ever heard, to take off his helmet and mask. Cloud didn't have any thoughts and pulled off his mask with doubt in his mind and bewilder on his face. "Better?" questioned Zack, "A little…" Cloud replied. And after that Zack continued to question the members of the SOLDIER squadron.

After a few moments of questions and answers from all the members of the team, including the great Sephiroth, a briefing began. Sephiroth mumbled this wasn't a normal mission. Cloud so badly wanted to jump up and say "Good, I came to SOLDIER 'cause I want to be just like you." but he just held it back and it started to drift away with his motion sickness. The briefing finished, without the help of Zack's constant interruptions, when a giant beast rammed in to the transport vehicle. Sephiroth and Zack suddenly jumped to their feet and jumped out the back of the jeep into the pouring rain.

Sephiroth got into battle stance, ready for the monster's attack. The monster retaliated with a powerful spew of fire from his mouth. Sephiroth didn't even flinch. It looked like it didn't even affect him! He slashed at the being with his monstrous sword. Surprisingly, the monster did not die. It continued to attack fiercely at Zack knocking him to the ground unconscious. Sephiroth continued to attack apparently not knowing of the lose of his comrade. He slashed the beast, knocking it to the ground dead. Sephiroth's power was inhuman!

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They reached the small village of Nibelheim just as the sun was setting in the west. Tifa was sitting at the gate waiting for the troops to come. Cloud saw her sitting there and ran back to the jeep to get his mask. He put it on and hurried back to the group. Tifa looked up at the troops. With a glancing look for Cloud, she ran back home not noticing him. Cloud felt ashamed of his past and didn't want Tifa to see he as a Shin-Ra trooper. Zack ran ahead of the group and into the town with the rest of us following. Like little puppies wanting a treat from their master.

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The next morning, Cloud woke up considerably early to take a good look at his hometown, for it may be a long time before he came back. He walked around town and saw Tifa ran out of her house and into the dirt road. He continued to walk as though he was on lookout until the others woke up. With a prayer to God, Cloud walked past her with a slight bow of his head as she ran past him. Cloud breathed out the air he held that whole time and walked in to Tifa's house to see if anything had changed. He looked around the house noticing that no one was around and decided to have a little fun on her piano. He walked up to it and began to play a tune he remembered from his childhood, "Do-Re-Mi-Ti-La

Do-Re-Mi-So-Fa-Do-Re-Do"

'The Chocobo's Dream' he remembered it well. He walked out of the house and started to walk again. He was to ashamed to go see his mother, so he hurried over to the well where he and Tifa made that promise. Tifa came back from her ran as light as air. She paused in front of her house and started to punch and kick the air. He was mesmerized by the power of her blows, he could see the air rushing by her fists as they gouged through the air. Cloud leaned back around the corner and continued back to the hotel room where he found Sephiroth going out the door to practice his fighting on Mt. Nibel.

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Hours past just sitting in the room waiting for something to happen. Zack had gotten up not fifteen minutes before and is in the process of taking a shower. A half hour later, a villager came up and told them that Sephiroth was ready to scale the mountain range. Cloud hurried downstairs with Zack at his heels. He got outside and ran up the hill to MT. Nibel with Zack in tow.

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They reached the top of the mountain after about two hours with sores and bruises covering their bodies. Sephiroth was ready to go in the reactor when Tifa spoke up," I want to go, too…" "I'm sorry, but only authorized personal are allowed in. This reactor contains some of Shin-Ra important industrial secrets. Take care of the young lady will you?" Sephiroth replied to her request and with that last order to Cloud he and Zack went inside. Tifa just started to complain and complain about how she couldn't go in. Cloud just want to slap her and tell her to shut-up, but refrained from doing so. Sephiroth and Zack came out not twenty minutes later even more bruised and beaten. We started the long hike back to Nibelheim.

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When they returned back to the village, Sephiroth confined himself in the hotel room. Cloud had no Idea what had happened at the reactor, but it seemed to have taken a toll on Sephiroth's attitude. With no hope of ever getting him out of the room, they left him alone and started to pack up to leave the quiet town. They had finished packing up, but Sephiroth was no where to be found. Cloud and Zack asked the villagers when one spoke up and said, "I saw walking up to the Shin-Ra mansion." Once Zack heard this he ran up the huge building and went in. Cloud didn't know what was going on, but the night went on with no sign of either Sephiroth or Zack coming out of the mansion, but the light in the basement never went out…

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Cloud was resting after the long wait for any evidence of what happened to Zack or Sephiroth when Sephiroth came bursting out the door and into the town square. Cloud stood up and saluted Sephiroth when he slashed him across he body with his monstrous sword. Cloud looked up into his face as he set fire too all the buildings and ran up the hill. Zack came bursting out the door and jumped over the burning flames to Cloud's side. Zahan called to Zack something Cloud couldn't quite make out. Zack left my side and ran into my old house. He came out a moment later shaking his head. He returned to the square and looked up toward the hill where he witnessed Sephiroth killing two more villagers. He looked over toward Zack, grinned, and turned to go back up the mountain to the Mako Reactor. Cloud was mourning of the lose of his mother. A new power filled him. He jumped to his feet and ran through the flames to the old reactor.

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Cloud reached the reactor with adrenaline flowing through his body. He went inside to see Tifa mourning over the death of her father. She picked up Sephiroth's sword and ran into the next room. Cloud ran after and saw Sephiroth slash Tifa just like he slashed Cloud. Zack was to the right of the door. After that, Zack couldn't take it anymore. He ran up the stairs into Jenova's chamber. Not a moment later, Zack came flying out and lay mortally injured on top of a Mako tank. Cloud ran to his friend's side, grabbed his sword and ran into the Jenova chamber. He went up the pipe, yelling at Sephiroth, asking him why. He got up to him and stabbed Sephiroth. He went back down the pipe and toke off his mask. He exited the chamber, placed the bloody sword next to Zack, and traveled down the stairs to Tifa. She thanked him for going through with the promise they made two years ago. He picked her up and placed her over to the side just as Sephiroth came limping down the stairs. He threw Cloud's mask to the ground and continued to walk out of the reactor with Jenova's head in his hands. Cloud ran out after him. In the next room, Cloud ran up behind him where Sephiroth stabbed him with his sword and lifted him in the air. "Don't push your luck, kid." he mumbled. A surprised look crawled on to his face as Cloud lift up the sword and lifting Sephiroth as well. He threw Sephiroth off the edge of the platform into a giant pool of Mako. Cloud passed out from exhaustion and pain from being stabbed.

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Hojo came up to the reactor a few hours later with a few Shin-Ra medics. The medics cured Tifa's wounds and loaded Cloud and Zack on to stretchers to take them down to the Shin-Ra mansion for more medical help and examination.

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Hope you liked it. If you want to give a flame or a really good review, you can e-mail me at wildcard19872001@hotmail.com. I'm thinking about doing one of these for Final Fantasy VIII, but I'm not sure. What do you think?