Chapter One
From his vantage point, his eyes could see all that remained of what was once the greatest city the world has ever known. It once, not too long ago, had bright neon lights that ran far up above the upper plate. It was the city of opportunity for which people moved so they could seek their riches. Most, however, ended up in the numbered slums below the plate. However above where the wind blew free, businessmen and women would walk the clean streets, breathe the open air and gaze up into the stars when the sun sat on another day in the city. The upper class of the society would look at the heavens, and then their gaze would fall on a single solitary building that stretched seventy floors up and loomed ominously over everything below it.
There wasn't much left of that particular building. Emerald Weapon had cleaved off the top twenty floors by itself. By the time Meteor eventually hit in those dark days, the structure was practically in shambles. Looters and disillusioned, violent citizens who saw their imminent death caused by the power conglomerate, had wrecked most of the bottom floors.
And Meteor itself wasn't very forgiving.
He could see fractions of the frame and steel beams sticking crudely upwards, cursing the sky. His eyes could also see a group of people at the base of the now dilapidated building.
Cloud knelt down on one knee, getting dust on his black pants and cloak in the process. He squinted his luminescent blue eyes and focused on his quarry. His enhanced senses, a by-product of his days with the former owners of that large building, allowed him to specify eleven warm bodies gathered around. Most of them were men, from what his eyes could discern. He wasn't sure, but the way some of his prey was standing about, he got the feeling that at least half of them were armed in some fashion.
The black-clad warrior slowly raised his body, popping his back and neck in the process. He shifted his large and boisterous Ultima Weapon on his back, with his gloved hand resting on the hilt. He turned and walked away from the cliff, back down upon the trail leading to desolate and barren city. Most people in his place would feel a sense of nostalgia, or even longing for what was once his home. Cloud felt nothing, except a stricken sense of duty. His thoughts did not dwell on his time in this once proud city. Not once did he think about his time in SOLDIER, training to be the best, and eventually his failure. Nor did he think about his ride here with his war buddy Zack, in the back of a pick-up truck. He didn't even think about Avalanche, or the fact that his quest to get revenge and save the world started only a few minutes walk from here. He didn't even think of Tifa.
For once today.
His mind was focused. His body was relaxed and ready for the battle to come. His thoughts were based on the eleven individuals that he was now tracking under the hot midday sun. They were now his prey. This is the part that Cloud particularly craved, and rather needed. Not that he is a twisted, sick, individual who likes to stalk and track his enemies, but the solace and the peace of mind he receives is greater than his payout in gil. Normally, his mind is a cluttered mess of thoughts, images, and feelings brought on by the scars of his "experimentation." A blemish runs across his mental processes, causing his mind to be one large chaotic mess. He assumed it would have gotten better after the defeat of Sephiroth and the saving of the world.
However, in what seems to be the running trend of his life, Cloud Strife was wrong.
He brushed his spiked blonde hair out of his face as he continued silently between the rubble. His body was arched, listening for signs of his quarry and feeling the surrounding air.
It turned out that when he did strike down Sephiroth, his mental anguish began again. He was without focus, and without purpose. It was then that the dreams began. Then the nightmares. Then the racing thoughts and rampant images in his mind.
It was now, when his entire body and mind was determined and driven, was he at even a percentage of peace.
A sudden change in the air caused him to freeze dead in his tracks. He stood perfectly still, using his senses to feel his surroundings. When he was confident that all was clear, he continued walking. He made no sound as he was moving; it was almost as if his feet never touched the dusty ground as he walked. Suddenly a slight sound caused him to stop again. He changed directions when he heard the sound again. It was the sound of people talking.
Cloud quickly pressed himself up against the remainder of a wall. Ever so gently he leaned forward and peered through a hole in the rubble. He couldn't see anything but he could somehow feel their presence. He heard the whisperings again. Cloud closed his eyes and focused his energies, relying only upon his instincts. After a few second's pause and debate on the next course of action, he opened his eyes and resumed his pursuit.
He halted when he heard the shuffling of feet heading his way. He had moved slowly and deathly silent for the past few minutes, blending in with the shadows. The voices had grown increasingly louder as he approached, and he was quite sure they were right around the corner of a busted up wall.
Cloud could make out two sets of footsteps shuffling in the dust and dirt. They were without a doubt heading his way. Without any sense of panic, he shifted his body and knelt behind the mangled frame of what was once a car. Cloud stood frozen, his bright blue eyes peering through a crevice as two men turned the corner.
The men passed by him, completely oblivious to the man and his very large sword. Cloud's cloak wrapped around him so that his outline was nothing more than a trace in the shadows. Cloud resisted the urge to jump at the men, and send his sword in three quick motions and kill these men before they knew they were attacked. But he didn't. He was patient.
He noticed that they were armed with semi-automatic weapons. He also noticed that they had some form of armor on. Probably a bronze bangle, he mused to himself. It should be no match for his Ultima Weapon. He absently touched the hilt of his massive sword. And if worse came to worse, Cloud thought, his gaze falling from the men as they rounded another corner away from him. His eyes drifted to the materia slots in his sword. A small grin crossed his face.
Cloud slowly rose up, and continued away from the passing men towards the main group of people.
He stopped when he was at the edge of a shattered wall. He knew that the main body of his quarry was directly behind him. Ten meters, he mused to himself. Cloud closed his eyes.
Nine targets, he abruptly thought. He will deal with the other two that wandered off later. Hopefully he could finish these poor souls off without a sound echoed. Hopefully.
Cloud stood motionless, blocking out everything. For the first time since his last mission, he was totally void. His mind was clear, and his body focused. This is the reason for his relentless searches and dangerous quests. These few seconds of clarity before his strike was what drove him. It was worth more than any amount of gil he ever received for a job well done. It was the only time he was empty.
He found it hard to let go. This focused place was his solace and his peace of mind that he so craved. And like an addict who stumbled upon a hidden stash while he was feigning, it was almost too much to handle. His clarity and focus would almost swallow him, if it wasn't for his strong will. Finally his eyes shot open and he lunged forth as if he was wound on a spring, with his sword flashing so quick it only seemed like shards of light in the midday sun.
With one quick motion he plunged the Ultima Weapon between the shoulder blades of an unsuspecting middle-aged man. He twisted his large sword and spun around, pulling the blade from the corpse and thrusting it inside the skull of a woman nearby in one swift movement.
Cloud knew he still had the element of surprise, even this far into his attack, so he pushed out all conscious thoughts and relied on his warrior instincts. He quickly shot his sword behind him without looking. He knew that another man was there, bending over, checking the chamber on his gun. Cloud felt the resistance in his sword and he knew his strike had hit home. The poor bastard he killed was halfway to the lifestream before he even knew he had been offed.
The rest of Cloud's attack would seem like a blur of black clothing, blonde hair, and luminescent blue eyes. One moment he was here, another moment he was leaping through the air bearing down on someone. His sword was flashing so fast that it seemed as if it wasn't really there. It was as if you could squint your eyes, and you wouldn't even see it, similar to the blades in a fan.
He had attacked so swiftly and so stealthily that nearly everyone fell before they knew they were being attacked. Only the ninth, with his eyes wide and his glasses falling off of his face, caught a glimpse of his predator. He made a futile attempt to defend himself.
His hand made it six inches toward his sword before Cloud cleaved him in half.
After the final blow, Cloud stood still, unwavering. It may have appeared as if he was taking a certain amount of pride in the bloody wake around him. However his eyes were searching. He was looking for something. It was the object that his client was really after.
The air around him shifted and Cloud realized his fatal mistake.
He swiftly turned around, his eyes scanning the street, Ultima Weapon raised and ready. However, he then realized his folly when he spotted the two familiar armed gunmen with their weapons drawn.
"F-freeze," the first guy bellowed out, his voice trembling from the carnage in front of him. "Don't move," he managed to say in a dry, raspy voice.
Cloud dropped his gaze and slouched his shoulders, surrendering defeat. His mistake had cost him deeply. Cloud then took his sword, and ever so slowly plunged in down into the earth, with his hand still loosely on the hilt.
"Je-Jesus, Frank," the other man said, taking a tentative step towards the black-clad warrior with the large sword. "Look at them. They all dead," he said, fear drenching his voice. "Who the hell is he, Frank?"
"He's Cloud Strife," the middle-aged man said, stepping towards the now surrendering man.
The cigarette dropped out of the man's mouth at the mere mention of the name. "Cloud Strife," he repeated softly. "But, but, wasn't he a good guy? Wasn't he one of the ones who saved us?"
"Yeah, but he ain't no good guy," the older man replied. "He was just along for the ride. He was in it for revenge, not saving the planet." He paused before continuing. "He's just a messed up fuck," he said finally. "I heard he went nuts once and gave Sephiroth the weapon that he used to call Meteor."
"Really?" the other man asked, still staring and the unmoving and defeated soldier in front of him.
"Yeah," he replied. "I heard he was always messed up. But now, Jesus, he's a sick-o. Look at what he did to our crew! Look at em! All dead! And now, I'm gonna kill him!"
Cloud abruptly looked up, his bright blue eyes burning with determination. He was staring directly into the older man's eyes.
Cloud was smiling, as the materia in his sword started to glow a faint green.
Suddenly a bolt of lightning shot down from the heavens and struck the older man in the head. He fell to a hard clump on the road, with severe burns covering his shoulders, neck, and head. The putrid smell of burning flesh was already steaming out into the desolate and dusty streets.
The other man stood frozen, with his jaw ajar. He dumbfoundedly tightened his grip on his gun, fumbling for the elusive trigger. Cloud, as quick and as light as a cat, jumped to the side and pulled the Ultima Weapon from the ground. He flung it with great force as he fell to the hard road beneath him. His sword flew end over end in the air.
The man who had the gun pointed on him suddenly fired to life, his motor skill going into overdrive. He found the trigger and started pouring bullets into the air, not even aiming at Cloud. He fired about twelve bullets, all which passed easily over Cloud's head, before the Ultima Weapon plunged in to his sternum with so much force it knocked him into the air and crashed him into the remnants of a wall behind him, killing him instantly.
Cloud got up slowly, brushing the dirt and dust off of his clothes. He stepped forward slowly, still sensing the air around him. He cursed himself silently for his lack of foresight with these two would-be heroes. Cloud retrieved his sword, pulling it crudely out of the man's chest.
He then turned around and resumed his search.
It took him no less than three minutes of plundering to find what he was after. He reached into a silver bag and pulled out a small box, about the size of a coconut. He opened the box to find a red orb, perfectly round and without any dents or imperfections. It glowed slightly, as the power within it was begging to come out.
"Knights of the Round," Cloud said in his cool, collective voice. "I was wondering what had happened to you. I never thought Yuffie would ever let you out of her sight."
"Oh well," he said, snapping the box closed and slipping it in to his pants pocket. "You will serve a new master now."
Cloud started to walk down the dilapidated roadway, dodging potholes and scrap metal. The materia was worth a lot of gil, he thought to himself. But his own reward has already been claimed.
As he walked towards the edge of what was once this great and powerful city, his mind started to clutter more and more, and his thoughts became more erratic. By the time he had boarded his small one-man water vessel he had left on the beachhead north of Midgar, images and emotions started to toil at his mental processes, edging Cloud to the area between nightmares and reality.
As it had everyday, and every night for the past two years.
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A/n
1. Squaresoft owns all names, references, places, etc.
2. This is not based off of what is known (or speculated) about Advent Children. This is just something I've been meaning to do for a while now and the time seems right.
3. You've read this far, so do me a favor and press that review button and tell me what you think. (example: This is good; this is horrible; keep it up; keep it to yourself)