A touch from the past
Disclaimer: I do not own Final Fantasy VII or Crisis Core: Final Fantasy VII
A/N: This is my first fanfic so all feedback's welcome :) Enjoy!
Chapter 1 – The beginning
Cloud had faced many things during his lifetime. Monsters, Shinra, human experiments, but he had never been through something as horrifying as this. He didn't even dare to breathe. His already spikey hair stood straight out and tiny drops of sweat poured down his neck. There was nowhere to run, and even if he did, he knew he wouldn't get away. Carefully, he took a small step back in attempt to put as much distance as possible between himself and this…thing in front of him. How did this cursed object end up in his house anyway? He had been sure he had gotten rid of it for good, but here it was, resting in the hands of Marlene whose eyes glistered with excitement.
"Can we watch it now? Can we? Please, please, please!" she cried, jumping up and down with the tape in a tight grip. He attempted to smile, but his mouth was stuck in a tight line. This was nothing to smile about. That tape should never have been created. His expression didn't escape Marlene, who crossed her arms in a very Tifa-like matter.
"You promised! And don't even think about going back on your words!" She stared defiantly at him. As much as he hated to admit it, Cloud knew he couldn't say no. He would have to watch the tape…again. It was Marlene's favorite movie, Loving in the sun. An old chick flick about a boy and a girl, that meet and fall and love at sunny beaches of Costa del sol. That it was a chick flick wasn't the issue though. He had watched plenty of those before with both Marlene and Tifa (even though he didn't exactly like them). The thing was that he hadn't watched this movie just once, or even twice. No, it was more times than that…a lot more. Barret had once asked him to babysit Marlene for a few days while he worked in the field, and they'd ended up watching it over and over for three days straight. He was a wreck when it was over. For a while people really thought he'd gone insane. It took weeks to get the cheesy, sugar sweet lines out of his head. After that incident, he made sure no one would ever have to see that again. They explained to Marlene that someone had probably just misplaced it somewhere and that it would surely show up again sooner or later. Yeah someone had misplaced it alright…misplaced it under Fenrir's wheels about 50 times over.
And now against all odds it was back. And Cloud had promised to watch it. When had he promise something like that? More importantly, why in gaia's name had he promised her that? Then it came back to him. Last night he had worked late and fallen asleep on the couch, when he was suddenly shaken awake by Marlene. Half asleep, he had caught the words "I found it" and "Promise?", and then dismissively waved her off with a sleepy "yes, yes…". If he only had known this is what she had meant…
"Dad gave it to me! He said he bought it from a friend at work!" she mused and hugged the tape like it was a teddy bear "Please can we watch it now?". He let out a deep sigh, and gave her a light nod in pure defeat. She smiled widely and gave him a big hug followed by a lot of thank yous. She must've really missed that tape. After seeing her running upstairs, he went and sank down at one of the bar tables. How was he ever gonna survive this one? Tifa gave him a sympathetic smile. She knew very well what was awaiting him. Cloud genuinely smiled back at her, and that's when he noticed something.
"You're wearing them…" he nodded towards a spark of silver peaking out from under her dark hair. She blushed, and unconsciously put her hair behind her ear, revealing a little silver earring.
"Yeah…I just saw them laying there so I put them on" she said averting her eyes from him. It was a birthday present Cloud had given her for her last birthday. This was the first time he had seen her wearing them. She usually didn't wear earrings since they easily fell off during fights. They hadn't been in a real fight for a long time now, which must have been why she decided to put them on.
"They...um...they look really good on you" he managed while feeling his cheeks flaring up. She looked up at him, and flashed him that heartwarming smile that only she could. It made him lose himself…getting lost in those dark brown eyes that were so fierce, and so gentle. They continued to stare at each other, until finally Cloud broke it off and the moment was gone. Looking at the clock Tifa quickly changed the topic.
"Did you pick up the delivery for Mrs. Harris yet?" she asked. This certainly got Cloud on other thoughts. He had completely forgotten about that. The delivery plans had been changed so that some of the later deliveries had been moved to an earlier date. Mrs. Harris delivery was supposed to be delivered at 15:00, sharp. He turned to the clock on the wall. 14:30, which meant he still could make it in time if he hurried.
"I'll go now. Tell Marlene sorry for me" he said, already on his way to the door.
"You know you won't get away like this right? She'll still make you watch it" she smiled teasingly at him.
"I know…" he grimaced and stepped outside.
It didn't take long to drive to the assigned address a few blocks away. First he picked up the boxes he was supposed to bring. He had no idea what was in them, but from the gruesome smell they were emitting, he wasn't so sure he wanted to find out. Then he drove off to the edge of town to drop it of at the customer. Mrs. Harris, or Alberta as she insisted that he called her, seemed extraordinarily happy to get the four little nasty smelling boxes. He suddenly jumped back as something small and soft stroke the edge of his leg. A little hairy ball with two eyes, a little snub nose and a tail glared up at him. A low meow indicated that it probably was a cat. He then saw three other identical little hairballs inside the house, and that's when it was clear to him what was in the boxes. It was fish, or rotten fish by the smell of it. He shook his head as he realized that he really was delivering anything.
He wasn't quite in such a hurry home as he'd been on the way out. A little Loving in the sun time wasn't exactly an appealing thought. At minimum pace he drove through the crowded Edge. The city had been through a lot in the last few years, but ever since the geostigma disappeared it had slowly started to build up itself again. The voices of his friends still echoed in his mind. Zack….Aerith…it was thanks to them that he was still alive. Even now he wished he could have saved them…that they could still be here with him.
A bloodcurdling scream interrupted his thoughts, and every cell in his body was on high alert. His eyes scanned the area, looking for any hidden enemy. He put Fenrir to a stop, and reached for his sword. Where was it? Where was it coming from? The sudden attack he was ready for never came, and then the scream was heard once more. An old building a bit ahead let out a loud rumble and swayed dangerously much to the left side. He had heard it was supposed to have been demolished years ago, put that it had been put on hold due to economic issues. Obviously it now turned out to be a bad decision. With his sword in a tight grip, Cloud ran towards the building. He knew that every second he wasted could lead to the whole place collapsing before he got there. A broken window became his way in, and he quickly began to search the building. He wouldn't leave someone trapped in here.
"Hello? Is anyone here?" he yelled while carefully moving rubble to make his way in. A soft cry was heard in answer further inside. He hurried to the location, and found an empty room.
"Hello?" he called again. Behind a broken table, a small girl looked up. Her eyes were red and teary, and she was breathing heavily. She must've been absolutely terrified. He kneeled beside her and gave her a swift all over glance, looking for any visible injury. For the most part she seemed fine except for that her ankle was severely sprained. The rumble started to grow, and Cloud knew that if they didn't get out soon it would end badly. He took the girl in his arms and ran for the exit. When he saw the light from the broken window he knew he would make it. He carefully put the girl outside first, making sure she got out as fast as possible, and was just about to follow as well when she suddenly cried: "What about the little man?" she sobbed. He looked confused at her.
"Is there someone else in there?"
"I-..I saw this funny little man in there. He said it was his secret place" she said and pointed in the direction they had just been running from "He went to the room on the left". Following the direction she pointed, Cloud spotted the room. Luckily it was very near, only a few meters from the windows. If he was fast enough he would make it.
"Don't worry, I'll get him" he assured her, and sprinted to the door. It was one thing for a kid to be in here. Kids played in old ruins and buildings like this all the time. But what would a grown man do in a place like this? He was almost at the door now, just a little more. A little more and he could get the guy and hurry out before-
"!" the sudden scream surprised him, and what surprised him even more what that he was the one screaming. Dark liquid started to build up at the back of his head, and his sight was getting blurry. The pain was unbearable. It hurt to breath, it hurt move, it hurt to be. He needed to sit down to compose himself, but then he realized he already was on the floor. The building was collapsing around him, and he knew that if he didn't get out he would be buried. Despite the intense pain he tried to move but something was in the way. A heavy object, perhaps a beam of some sort, was laying right on top of him. Normally, it wouldn't be such a challenge to move, but it felt as though all of his strength was slowly drained from him. Damn, his sight was disappearing too. Tifa would be mad at him for getting in trouble again…
…Tifa…
…Marlene…
…Denzel…
…Everyone…
He could hardly think anymore. The world was fading bit by bit, leaving him in darkness.
Is this…the end…?
In whatever was remaining of his sight, he barely made out a pair of shoes. Maybe he was imagining things…Maybe he was dying…Maybe he was already dead…
...Tifa…
Then his world went completely black…
A/N: Dun dun duuuuuuuuuuh! Well I hope I did well :3 Since it's my first and all. I'll update as soon as I can! Reviews would give me some determination ^^