A/N: This is mah first fanfic! XD Read it OR DIE BY MASAMUNE! Lawl. I worked hard (And so did mah INCREDIBLE BETA READER, darkangel8694) to bring this story to you. We hope you enjoy! XD

In this fanfic, Zack and Aerith are alive.

Possible Cloti/Zerith in the future.

Disclaimer: I do not own FFVII. Only Eva's character. Cyndii belongs to darkangel8694.

Final Fantasy:

Blood Relatives

Chapter 1:

It was 10:00 at night; I waited downstairs on the living room couch to hear my dad's nocturnal signal: his snore. There - my dad finally went to bed, which was good; he wouldn't keep ushering me to get off the computer so he could waste half of his life on there instead.

I went straight to Youtube to respond to all my friends' comments. With a cursory one-over of my background of the pink-haired Yachiru, my favorite Bleach character, I decided I was bored with it. I proceeded to open a new tab and click on Google images. Hm, who should my background be of? I wondered idly. Rikku? Ichigo and Rukia? Sora and Kairi? Yeah, why not?

I typed in Sora and Kairi's name, clicking open five images. I saw a really cool picture of Cloud in one them. I ditched Sora and Kairi and typed Cloud Strife instead, remembering the last time I typed in Cloud and some clouds came up, I recalled with amusement.

After clicking through another eight pages, I saw one that I wanted, so I saved it and went to a website where I could get the link. I copied then closed that tab and re-opened Youtube. Clicking the "edit channel" button, I clicked on channel design and pasted the link. I resolved to go with an orange theme, because the clouds and the words on the picture were orange. Then I clicked update and opened my channel.

Finally, it's up! And Cloud is so hot! The corners of my mouth twitched with humor at the thought of my obsessive infatuation.

Seeing as no one was on, let alone awake, I turned off the computer and opted to call my best friend Cyndii, determining it the best way to wrap up the night.

It rang once before I heard a familiar voice on the phone. "Hello?" a feminine voice answered automatically.

"Hey Cyndii, it's Eva."

"Oh, hey! Didn't know it was you for a minute. So…what's up?" she asked readily.

I shrugged, forgetting she couldn't see. "Well I found a really cool BG of Cloud for my Youtube page," I offered.

"Oh, that's cool," she replied amiably. Her voice distinctly fell, becoming noticeably less eager. "Ergh - remember what I told you about Cloud and Sephiroth? I was thinking about it. Again." She sighed exasperatedly.

There was silence for a moment while I took the time to shudder. "How could I forget? Yeah, now I know what you mean. I came across a picture of them kissing but I didn't notice. I was like, wow, that person did a pretty good job drawing that- Oh my gosh, are they kissing?!" I paused slightly to laugh at my sluggish scrutiny. She laughed at me as I recollected a detailed rendition of my revulsion.

"…I was kinda slow there, but I clicked on it anyway…just out of morbid curiosity-" I assured her quickly, "- to see what kind of people would post that and if they support it or not. So there was a story, which I read 'cause I was totally curious, and then o-mi-god they-" I coughed suggestively twice into the phone, "You know, you know." Her startled, somewhat disgusted laugh, rang on the other end.

"Yeah, I'm sure you know what I mean; I don't have to explain that," I said somewhat unnecessarily. "That's so gross!" I continued, shaking my head. "Cloud and Sephiroth as a gay couple! People support that?"

"Oh my-? Oh my…oh my god. Th-that picture-?" She choked out between her snickering. I cut her off, due to her lack of compassion.

"You wouldn't have been laughing if you saw it. You should have seen my horrified expression," I replied sullenly. "I almost went blind looking at it, yet you sit there -"

"Sorry, sorry," She tried to assure me, though she sounded unrepentant. "It's just so funny, imagining your suffering," she snickered, laying on the sarcasm a little thickly as she pictured my dismay. "Though I may suffer later, due to nightmares. If I do, well…Thanks for the mental image…" She grumbled sourly. I smirked.

"Sorry," I answered, trying to sound regretful, "I understand. At least you didn't see it-"

Cyndii interrupted me.

"Trust me, the uncensored imagination is much, much worse."

"Let's talk about something else so we can forget that then," I suggested quickly.

"Um, how 'bout-" The flow of words soundly cut off. I heard a faint buzzing on the other end of the phone.

"Cyndii?" I called.

The sound of her voice was abrupt. "Damn, my dad said it's too late to be on the phone." There was a little lament to her voice. She sighed. "Well… I guess I have to go, talk to you later."

"Bye!" Shit, I was stuck with that disgusting mental image. It was my fault, but still...god damn. Like I wanted to think about that for the rest of the night. I sighed, resigned.

Might as well go to bed. I turned off all the lights and moped upstairs to my room. I plopped down on my bed, trying to shove those gruesome images away. I stared up at my ceiling with starry eyes, trying to imagine something marginally more pleasant….

What would be a nice image to conjure up?

Immediately, relaxing waterfalls appeared behind my eyelids…They were stunning in their natural majesty. Thinking of that, I fell into a deep sleep. It seemed like I was there, in my tank top and shorts, waving my legs in the little pond the waterfall created. As I leaned onto a rock and relaxed, it felt like someone was behind me. I shook off the feeling and unwound a little more. As I closed my eyes and slackened, I suddenly felt a cold hand rest on my shoulder. I shuddered and turned around quickly, and to my surprise, a familiar face was leaning over me, a confused stare in his gorgeously crystalline eyes.

"Okay," I started as I rolled my eyes. "Now I know I'm dreaming. You don't even exist in the human world, unfortunately."

His eyebrows rose, but he otherwise ignored that. No wonder, it probably sounded delusional to him. "Um, you look…weird," He said rather tactlessly.

"…."

Huh? How did you respond to something like that?

"Uh, you look unreal." It was the best I could come up with. It was true. His eyebrows pulled together above those sparkling blue pools of mako. He continued to just stare and stare at me…like I was an idiot…until at last….

"What do you mean?" he answered finally. "How can you say I don't exist when I'm right here? You don't even know me," he stated blatantly, his face hardening with concern and bewilderment.

"Okay, look around. Everything is -"

"What? Normal?" As I looked around myself, everything seemed to bring on new life; it seemed more animated. I turned back to him, cocking my head, mystified.

"No, this isn't right. This can't be. I swear, just a minute ago, everything was—well, I don't know, just—just what I-" I was on the verge of shouting and I sounded desperate. "What's going on? I don't understand. This has to be a dream! You don't exist, you just— what?"

His expression bordered shock and uncertainty. "You look normal now," he said as he arched his brows and crossed his arms.

I pulled my head out of the stars. I chewed the inside of my lip, feeling anxious. "I - I still don't -"

"Come with me." Without bothering to check to see if I was following him, he turned around and walked away. It was only now that I noticed he had his sword, Apocalypse, and was wearing all black, just the way he had looked in Advent Children. It made me blush to think… to think about how gorgeous he was. With no objection here, I scrambled after him in a daze as I watched his perfect blonde hair blow in the wind. Then I started to think about what he said. You look normal now. I looked down at my hands. Something was definitely different.

As we left the mysterious forest that the beautiful waterfall had embraced, lots of streets and clumped up buildings made of a black glass-like texture started to pop up. I wondered where exactly we were. The urban landscape shined with beauty as the surrounding establishments reflected the fading sunlight. Many people were walking outside, about to enjoy the nice evening breeze. And in the foremost of it all, or at least were my eyes were immediately drawn to, was one of the coolest things ever: his motorcycle, the infamous Fenrir - all black, shiny, and gleaming – was parked stoically for passerby to admire as they strolled past. Cloud was proud of his motorcycle, and knowing this, it made me wonder if he had parked it here because it was a strategic show-off spot.

"Put this on and get on. We don't have all day." He threw his helmet at me, looking annoyed. Probably because my eyes, like my brain, were wandering off. I put the helmet on and swung a leg over to climb on top of his huge bike.

"Hold on tight. You look too small to have ever ridden on one of these before." I locked my arms around his chest and sighed contentedly as I leaned my head on his sword. It was probably a bad idea. Oh well, I thought, shrugging.

By far, this was the best dream I had had in a long time. But a few things bothered me. Even though this was a dream, and a good one at that, where was Cloud taking me and why? Shouldn't it have bothered me that I was complying with this chocobo-headed stranger's will? It should have, but it didn't. Maybe he was wondering why it didn't bother me to hitch a ride with a total stranger. Perhaps he had figured I was going to be difficult. But for Cloud Strife…what wouldn't I do?

Eek! I thought to myself, This can't be happening! This dream…I hope it never ends.

He revved up the engines and with a roar, it speedily flew through the streets of our location with ease. Cloud tilted the bike expertly, suggesting many previous hours of endless riding on this. It was amazing, the wind blowing in my face, hugging Cloud's sculpted chest, riding his motorcycle in the FFVII world. I wanted to know if anybody had ever had it better. I really doubted it.

Cloud's irritated shout broke me out of my reverie. "Geez, what's the problem with you girls?! Always got to obsess over guys, God, I don't even know you! How do you know my name?!" Cloud yelled, his head turned sideways towards me. His expression was frustrated and slightly alarmed.

"Huh? What? I didn't say anything." Confused, I sat up, trying to reflect; had I said that aloud? I didn't think so.

"Yes you did." Cloud's tone implied that he thought I was bizarre. "You said somethin' like, THE WIND BLOWING IN MY FACE, HUGGING CLOUD'S CHEST, BLAH BLAH BLAH. Stupid teenage girls. How do you know me?!" He yelled even louder at me, angry.

I gritted my teeth. "First of all, quit yelling at me! I don't know how I got here, and I don't know how to get back to where I came from, so don't yell at me! You don't know me from Eve." I glared at the stupid chocobo-head. "And second, you weren't supposed to here that…I thought I was thinking it…."

"Yeah," Cloud agreed under his breath, "Outloud."

I decided to overlook that. "I don't know it Jenova's cells gave you the power to mind-read…" I pondered on the possibilities of what this thing could be. "We must have some mental-connection because you found me….which means we can read each others' minds." The words slipped out of my mouth before I could stop them. Cloud looked back at me like I was crazy. But the moment I spoke the words, I knew they were true. I didn't know how, but that hadn't even felt like that was me speaking. "You're… supposed to…protect me?" I continued, stunned. "You have to…while I'm here? No, how can that be it?" I tested the words out. Again, they were true. Which stunned me. And made me worried. What the hell was wrong with me?

I felt Cloud stiffen at my words, his breathing quickening in pace. He shook his head, like he was trying to shake some sort of revelation. Based on what I said? I was just rambling….

But it didn't matter. There was something more important to know….

"How did you find me?" I pondered, half-talking to myself. Cloud remained mute. So he was ignoring me or hadn't heard… I was pretty sure it was the latter, the wind around us was too loud.

"As for the last question…" I spoke louder so he could hear me. "I know you from a video game. Final Fantasy, or FF for short. In the…in my world, we play them, and you're in it. So are a lot of other people, like Tifa, Sephiroth, Zack, Barret, Cait Sith, Vincent, Reno, Yuffie, Hojo, a tiger-looking animal -"

"Nanaki," Cloud automatically corrected.

"Yes, him…and Cid…uh, Shelke, Aerith, and lots of others I forgot."

"That's crazy," his eyes shifted to no place in particular, "I know them all.…" he trailed off mumbling.

"Cloud! THE ROAD!" I shouted as his bike wavered. My body froze in fear, my arms fell limp to my side. Cloud snapped out of his trance as I fell off his bike. I screamed, my eyes bulging, my face twisted, into an expression of crazed fear. A few tears collected in my eyes from the sharp wind….

Then in that moment, my life changed. Time froze, giving me time for the near-death experience to sink in, it seemed, even though I knew I was still moving. I felt like I was seeing into Cloud's mind, his unexplained need to save me made bare. A fire started in him, spawned from an unknown devotion he had for me. In that moment it was as if his life was mine. When we looked into each others' mind, we saw ourselves, feeling like one entity. If Cloud died, right then, I would have felt it. I would have felt dead inside. Not a part, but all of me inside, dead. Some would call it love, but this was far beyond anything the human mind could conjure. Besides, how can I love someone I didn't know? A twelve year old and a…twenty one year old? What was this, anyway?

The moment ended and Cloud flipped backwards on his bike onto another lane and caught me before I touched the ground. His piercing eyes looked intensely down into mine, as I lay gasping and crying in the one arm he caught me in. Getting back on the motorcycle, Cloud held me while he steered with the other. He looked at me with a tense but sincere and apologetic face, like trying to force down a cry. I felt so petite and fragile, my heart pounding in my chest. So was his, of course. I could feel the awkwardness and embarrassment in his head, and I knew he could feel mine. I guess… we share emotions, too?

I tried to say something to break the tension. "You always have to show off. Trying to look cool," I fronted, trying to think as bluntly as possible so he wouldn't see through my charade. He probably did anyway. I felt him call the bluff.

"Heh, I don't need to try. Just comes naturally. Unlike you." He kept his voice light, smirking down at me, before returning his eyes to the road.

Then I became pissed. "You know what?" I asked through gritted teeth.

"What?" He challenged, flashing a grin at me. It was really…sexy. I ground my teeth together, as that brought a smirk on his face.

"I –" But I paused. As I stared at his growing, perfect smile, I realized I had nothing on him. "…Whatever." I moodily turned my face away from him, glowering.

"You can't say anything bad about me?" His grin got even wider. I sulked even more.

"What's your name anyway?" he went on.

"Why don't you look into my head and find out?"

He shrugged indifferently. "Fine, then." I tried to make some kind if mental barrier to make it hard for him, but it just deteriorated. It was scary, when he peered into my head like it was some open window with air coming through. There was silence while he concentrated, and then –

"Eva?! What kind of name is that?" He chuckled, clearly amused. Except that I wasn't.

"What kind of name is Cloud?" I answered mockingly.

He shrugged. "One that's better than yours." I could've sworn at that, my nostrils flared. Maybe my eye was twitching slightly, too. But I was too busy imagining ringing his neck to notice.

He parked his bike on the curb and shrugged. "Whatever. We're here."

Forgetting my anger, I looked around and didn't know where we were. "Here?'" I asked, puzzled.

"If you really played Final Fantasy' or whatever, you should know." He still looked skeptical. I could tell he was trying not to think to hard of whatever freak thing had just occurred.

"Funny, you remember the name though you've never heard of it."

"Funny you would say that."

"Let's just go." He did a double-flip in the air while he jumped off his bike. Show off. I was still trying to reach my foot to the ground, I thought with a twinge of jealousy.

I know, he thought like a smart aleck. I wanted to rip his arm off and beat him to death with it at this point. Damn, you're a violent one. Feisty too, ain'tcha?

Shut up, Cloud. Do even grown men have to act like jerks?

His silence was all the confirmation I needed. He didn't even have to say 'Yeah, pretty much' for me to know that's exactly what he meant.

Will you get off the bike already? He thought with exasperation. God, he sounded almost as whiney as my best friend's three-year-old brother. 'Cyndii, my sticker broke!' he pathetically said one time. But that thought incensed Cloud, which pleased me.

I'm trying, I can't, I'm afraid to fall! I thought in a panic.

Oh my – you're barely off the ground! Do I have to pick you up like a baby? He thought and rolled his eyes.

NO! I thought vehemently just as I fell off the bike. "Ow!"

"Get up already, you're so slow." Glaring at him, I got up, brushed myself off, and walked to the door.

"Fine then, be that way."

"I will, to a pissy teenager like you. Are you even a teen? You don't look like it."

"Well…" I started to get defensive. "No. But I'm gonna be thirteen in six days so I count it." I added quickly as we walked in.

"Just because you count it doesn't mean it is. Heh, you're just a preteen. And that's just a word to make kids feel older and better about themselves when they're just pathetic little–"

I swung around and putting some power behind my right leg, aimed a solid kick in his nuts. The blood rushed to his head as he fell to the ground. Ha, victory was mine, I thought, feeling triumphant.

He looked up and smirked at me. What the –

"Just kiddin'. Doesn't hurt a bit." DAMN! As he stood up I pushed him as hard as I could, launching myself backwards as he stood there, impermeable.

"Well, that was utterly pathetic," I muttered as I kept my distance from him.

"Yeah, you got that right," He replied inconsiderately. Cloud swung open the entrance to the building we were going inside.

"Hey guys, got a new 'friend'. Says she knows us all from a game or something." He said, changing the subject with no attempt at subtlety whatsoever. I could have sworn I heard someone say, "Holy Shiva, they're making games about us now? Good lord."

As I entered, I cautiously looked around the bar and saw three people. Tifa, Barret, and Marlene, the little girl. Everyone turned around to nod towards me, which stunned me. I mean, I appreciated them taking it into good stride and everything, but I was confused at the immediate acceptance. Like they all trusted me already…without a second thought. Why would they? This just got stranger and stranger.

"Well, that's good," Tifa said genially, but her tone suggested some sort of undercurrent. She was putting wine glasses up on their respective shelves. "…So we can get her settled in too."

I was completely unaware of what she said, but my brain registered something dimly. Something about what she had just said, but I couldn't put my finger on it. Absently, my mind drifted, until Barret's voice intervened.

"Hey man, you black!" Barret was looking at me with shock.

I blinked. "Um, yes. I am. It is a surprise." Barret just laughed.

"Man, you don't find many like you s'possed to down here," He explained, with a shrug.

I nodded sympathetically. "Oh, yeah. I know what you mean."

"Yeah, cause you know everything," Cloud mocked me under his breath. But I heard.

"LOOK CLOUD!" I shouted, my hands clenched into fists. "INSTEAD OF BEING A JERK, WHY DON'T YOU HELP ME FIND OUT HOW TO GET OUT OF HERE?!" I felt angry tears start to pool in my eyes.

"There's the door," he said sarcastically, nodding pointedly towards the door. He crossed his arms and leaned against the wall. I ran out the door. "That's how you get out of here."

I tried my best to ignore that comment while I threw on his helmet and climbed on his bike. I hope he wouldn't miss his bike much. I didn't intend to let him see it again. I felt, rather than heard, Cloud's skepticism, but the fact that he didn't take me seriously angered me. He just didn't care about my fate, it seemed.

Okay, I pep-talked myself, I have no idea how to steer this thing. Just don't crash and I'll be fine. I took in one deep breath as I started up the bike, then I sat still, hyperventilating, waiting to move. Seconds later, I felt the pull. I leaned forward a little and focused on the road. It was actually pretty easy, but it was a little hard because the bike was too big for me. I had no idea where I planned to go, just anywhere away from Cloud.

Cloud's POV

"That's how you get out of here." Eva was already out the door when Tifa reprimanded me.

"CLOUD!" Tifa yelled, "How can you be like that? Go get her!" Her arms folded across her chest angrily and her expression was fierce.

"W –"

"NOW!"

I didn't want to get an earful of it, so I didn't. I marched right out the door. Why do I listen to her? How was I supposed to get Eva back when I didn't have Fenrir? I'd have to walk. I have no idea where I'm going, just anywhere away from Cloud.

I can still hear you, I reminded her.

What do you want?! I'm busy! She snapped angrily.

I don't want ANYTHING. Tifa made me come get you, so come back here now, I answered.

No! And I don't think that counts as fetching me if I do it.

He ignored me. Where are you gonna stay? What are you gonna eat? If a monster comes after you how are you gonna protect yourself?

…I don't know.

Then come on. Just pullover on a curb or something. I'm coming, I thought. I knew she had complied when her voice entered my thoughts again.

Walk faster!

You're one to talk.

Cloud, c'mon, hurry up. I'm serious!

He chuckled. Uh, I'm twenty-four. Why should I take orders from a little girl?

As he expected, I took offence. Well…I'm twelve whatcha gonna do about that? Huh huh?

Shut up, I'm halfway there. Hmph, girls. He thought with irritation, but the thought was a little amused.

I can still hear you Cloud.

So…?

It took a while, and it soon became dark, but Fenrir finally came into focus. It didn't surprise me though that Fenrir had gone quite a distance in a short space of time. And granted, it had been close to sunset when we had arrived.

Eva lifted up the helmet. "Finally, took you forever." I scowled at her.

"Not my fault you ran off. Move over, I'm driving. I always drive from now on. S'my bike. Got it?" She rolled her eyes at me and wasn't really listening. Stupid little girl.

"Whatever, Cloud. Some boys just never learn." I ignored her side comments and drove back to the bar.

Eva's POV

As we re-entered the bar, Tifa spun around, the crease between her eyebrows smoothing out. She sighed, though there was still anxiety coloring her voice. "Thank goodness you found her, Cloud!" Tifa exclaimed. "It's good you didn't go very far," She murmured softly. "That'd be really bad….So…Cloud's obviously said you know us already…I guess we don't need to waste time with introductions, then. Except for you…" She laughed nervously, her hands running through her dark hair. "By the way, what is your name?"

"Eva."

"Alright, then. We'll get you settled in. Um, where are all your things?" She craned her neck, as if expecting to see luggage hidden behind my petite frame.

"Uh, I have none with me. I didn't mean to come here at all. I was at home –"

"Where you should be," Cloud said with a smug look.

I just rolled my eyes and continued. "I was trying to sleep but I kept thinking of –" I pushed the disturbing thought out of my head, hoped Cloud didn't hear it, and lied, "Of FFVII."

"FFVII'?" Tifa and Barret asked at the same time. Both of them had looks of mystification painted on their faces. Marlene looked from Barret to Tifa, then to Cloud, perplexity in her eyes. Her gaze finally shifted to me, and she smiled timidly. I smiled politely back at her.

"The video game I was talking about earlier," I explained hastily, my eyes trailing back towards Tifa, "So anyway…I was thinking of a waterfall…just some peaceful imagery to lull myself to sleep. When I did, I ended up here, and then Cloud found me and we came here and…lots of stuff happened."

"Like what?" Marlene asked.

"Well, we were on our way back here but then I fell off his bike and…it was like…he had to save me…it was crazy…" I trailed off as I read the blank expressions on their faces. "Uh, and then we found out we could read each others' minds and everything…oops I'm going out of order… But anyway yeah. So I'm testing out the fact that…well I think it wasn't just luck that Cloud found me, but it might have been… fate. That he has to look after me. Protect me. But Cloud is just being a jerk and doesn't wanna help me cause I'm a girl."

Cloud fumed in his little corner. He looked away from everyone. "That's not-" he began to protest, but shut his mouth. "Whatever."

Oddly, Barret looked rather pensive."Uh huh," Barret assessed. "Well, there ain't always a sure way of knowin', but I think that Cloud, you gotta take care of her while she here, which is why y'all can read minds and stuff and that's how you found her. Huh?"

"…." Cloud opened his mouth to say something but found himself speechless.

Barret just went on. "So when she gets used to here, that's when she'll be able to get home but –"

"But without her knowing her place in this world, she can't because she's the only one who can get herself home. Obviously, she's meant to be here, she has to do something." A guy who looked a lot like Cloud, but with black hair walked in and finished Barret's theory. Who was that again…Zack Fair! Wasn't he dead? Wait...

"Um, who's that standing behind you?" I asked. He stepped to the side. "Cyndii-? Cyndii!" I started in astonishment, realizing it was really her. I blinked, wondering if I was imagining her. In a daze, I wandered over to where she stood, frozen. "You're-you're here...t-too!" It didn't occur to me that I should have been worried about her getting home, not excited that she's stuck here with me. But she was just as pleased to see me, or least is seemed that way, as her eyes lit up. In a daze, she stepped closer, shaking her head.

"I knew this dream couldn't be complete unless you were in it," She said cheerfully. Zack rolled his eyes behind her.

"That's what she'd like to believe anyway," He muttered under his breath. She laughed once, but otherwise chose to ignore him.

She took a step back, cocking her head to the side. I realized she was looking at me with surprise flitted across her features.

"You look different," She assessed, laughing again. She pointed to the others behind us and chuckled."Now we look like them, eh?"

Wait…what was that? Her eyes…her smile was friendly, animated, but…her eyes were…sad. Worried. I realized she had been trying to hide it from me.

"I know, I just can't believe that - well everything! Hey, how'd you get here?" I realized, becoming perplexed. "I came here… through a dream I suppose."

"Well, my story is kinda like that. It's a long one. Well..." She sighed heavily then; it was resigned, the way one asked to spend eternal damnation with Cait Sith would sound. A hand ran absent-mindedly through her long hair as she breathed deeply, trying to find the right words….

A/N: So it's the end of mah chappy! D: Sooo, you regular fanfiction goers, (and newbies) you know what to do! REVIEW, and you get Cloud plushies! yAyZ! haha.

Please give me your feedback. Hm, where any of the characters OOC? Anyways, thank you.

And even for just reading, thanks. :D