STRONGER

Chapter 1

The familiar rumble of Fenir soothed Cloud as he sped through the familiar valleys and hills of Wutai. Yuffie had phoned him asking for him to come urgently. Yuffie had sounded deathly serious, no her usual self, no...there was a definite fear hidden amongst her words but she wouldn't elaborate at the time. She would only ask him to come as quickly as possible...when did Yuffie ever ask? The young Ninja would always tell you or demand you do something. Out of loyalty to his friend he more or less dropped everything and began making his way over to Wutai, truthfully he would have come just to find out what had Yuffie so spooked.

Thankful that he had brought along a few Materia with him on his latest trip to Coral while delivering some supplies for the reconstruction of the town. Barret had been using the money from the oil wells to rebuild his old town and from the looks of it it will be bigger and better than ever.

Cloud finally pulled into Wutai, stopping and dismounting his bike at the entrance of the town. Cloud had always admired the peaceful serenity of the town and didn't want to disturb it with the powerful roaring engine that was mounted in Fenir. Slipping First Tsurugi into its harness across his back Cloud grabbed the small pouch of Materia that he had brought along with him and attached it to his belt before beginning to look for Yuffie. Cloud didn't have to look for long.

"CLOUD!" Instantly Cloud located the source of the shout and saw Yuffie waving at him from the path leading to the mountains. Cloud walked round the connecting bridges with his usual calm demeanour and up to the frantic Ninja. "Cloud thank god you came!"

"What's the matter?"

"It's..." Yuffie paused as she struggled to find the right words. "I can't explain it. You need to come see it for yourself."

"All right then, Lead the way." Yuffie smiled and spun on her heel and began to sprint her way up the mountain, Cloud however walked calmly after her knowing that the young Ninja wouldn't leave him behind.

"COME ON CLOUD! HURRY YOUR ASS UP!" Yuffie huffed for the hundredth time that day. "HOW THE HELL DO YOU GET ANY BUSINESS BEING THIS SLOW?"

Cloud didn't answer he casually walked up to the cave Yuffie was standing next to. "Is this it?"

"Yeah. Cloud just be careful in here okay? We lost a good number of Ninja in here yesterday when I decided to call you."

"What is it? A monster?" Cloud asked calmly. If it was just a monster then Yuffie would be able to handle it, she had proven her fighting skills when travelling with them to defeat Sephiroth.

"No, no! Nothing like that! It's just weird...don't know how to explain it."

Cloud didn't press for further details, instead he placed his hand on the hilt of First Tsurugi and began making his way inside. His mako enhanced eyes quickly adjusted to the dim light of cave allowing him to see. There was nothing special about this cave until he turned round a corner and saw a rippling blue energy in the far corner of the cave. Cloud turned back to Yuffie who wore a concerned expression. Turning back to the rippling blue energy Cloud slowly approached it remembering Yuffie saying that they had lost some people to this thing although there were no bodies in the cave.

The Energy sprouted from the ground and formed a egg shape as it rose from the ground coming to about 4 feet in height, the edges glowed with energy, mako more than likely. The anomaly rippled like water would when it rained, constant ripples disturbing its surface although there was no rain here. Leaning closer to get a better look he was stopped as someone grabbed his arm, his other arm instinctively grabbed the hilt of First Tsurugi and he spun round seeing Yuffie with a fear filled expression.

"Don't get too close Cloud. It's not safe." Yuffie pleaded, Cloud released his grip on First Tsurugi and softened his expression and gave a nod which seemed to relax Yuffie some what. He was about to turn his attention back to the strange glowing anomaly when there was a surge of blue light from behind him and he turned round just in time to be consumed by the light, last thing he heard was Yuffie screaming.

Clouds eyes fluttered open and he sat up and gripped his head as a surge of pain shot through his head. It passed after a few moments and he slowly stood up and looked around his surroundings. Light filtered through the overcast sky making the waste land he was in even more morbid looking. Where was he? It took a couple of minutes until he realised he was in the wastes that surrounded Midgar. Why didn't he recognise it sooner? Or more to the point how the hell did he get here?

Memories of the cave came flooding back and Cloud panicked as he remembered Yuffie's scream. Instantly scouring the nearby area for any signs of the Ninja Cloud found nothing. Fear for his comrade gripped at his chest and he pulled out his PHS from his pocket and dialled her number.

'The Number you have dialled has not been recognised. Please try entering the number again.'

Frustrated and worried Cloud cursed silently. Cloud knew that Yuffie could look after herself but her scream as they were engulfed in that light worried him. Her scream...it wasn't one of pain it was one of fear. That made him feel a little better but not much. At least he knew she wasn't hurt by the light, he had made it through unscathed after all but who knows where she ended up or how long he'd been unconscious...if she ended up somewhere dangerous and unconscious then she could already be...NO! There wasn't even any proof that she got pulled in with him, she had been gripping his arm so if she had been pulled in surely she would have ended up in the same place as him?

Tired of the thoughts he pinched the bridge of his nose in an attempt to prevent the approaching headache he got from over thinking things and pushed the thoughts to the back of his mind and focused on his current situation. Climbing up a nearby hill Midgar came into view only it wasn't as Cloud remembered it, this Midgar wasn't in ruins, it looked...brand new. Even from this distance you could see that the tower that served as Shin-Ra's headquarters was a hive of activity with all the lights that were on.

"What the hell is going on!" Cloud cursed out loud. Deciding standing there would not answer any of his questions Cloud began walking towards the city hoping that this was just some sort of dream and he hadn't woken up yet.

Getting into the city hadn't been that difficult and now Cloud found himself in the slums. The smell of decaying earth and mako filled his nose making him scrunch up his face in disgust. The smell still existed when this place was a ruin but it hadn't been this strong since the reactors had been shut down. But now the reactors were up and running and people once again inhabited the city. Had he gone back in time? Midgar was in ruins but now it was like it had been at its height before Meteor, it made sense...at least a little bit.

Cloud wandered aimlessly until his feet managed to take him to the church. Thoughts were flying through his mind. If he really was back in time did that mean Aries was still alive? Pausing for several long minutes at the door Cloud fought with his thoughts. He wanted to see Aeris again but if he had truly gone back in time then he would run the risk of changing the time line...changing the time line...could he really do it and change it for the better?

The thought sent a surge of courage through Cloud and he pushed open the door and walked in. The scent of flowers in the air was evident and a gentle light flowed in the windows. Casting his eyes about he saw that the flowers had once again taken their rightful place in the centre of the church instead of the pool of water that had been there in his time line but the church was in fact empty, Aries was no where to be seen. Walking up to the flowers he knelt next to them and touched them, letting his fingers trail across them to confirm that they were in fact real and not an illusion.

A foot step caught Clouds attention, barely heard if it wasn't for his enhanced hearing and on reflex Cloud spun round and instinctively grasped at First Tsurugi. Upon laying eyes upon his would be assailant Cloud froze. Aries stood there with a worried expression on her face but seeing him hesitate Aeris smiled.

"Hello." She said grinning at him. "Sorry I didn't mean to scare you."

"No...don't worry about it. It was my fault." Cloud replied and released his grasp of his sword. His words barely a whisper as he laid eyes on his long lost friend.

"I was worried you might hurt the flowers. You don't see many flowers in Midgar any more but they grow here with no problems." Aeris said as she calmly walked past Cloud and began to tend to the flowers. Cloud just stood there silent, unable to take his eyes off of the woman before him.

"What's your name?"

"Huh? What?"

"Your name? Don't you have a name?" She asked, her tone laced with a mild sense of humour at his reaction.

"It's Cloud."

"Well nice to meet you Cloud. My name is Aeris." She smiled at him again before turning back to the flowers. Cloud moved over to a nearby bench and watched her. After a while she saw him staring at her.

"What? Do I have something on my face?"

"No..sorry...you just remind me a lot of some one...some one I knew."

"This some one, where they precious to you?"

"Yes, but I couldn't protect them...and in the end they ended up saving...me." There was an awkward silence but Aeris broke it by humming while tending the flowers. Cloud let the sound of Aries voice sooth him and he felt himself relax, he hadn't realised how tense he was, he hadn't felt this relaxed in years.

Cloud opened his eyes and found himself still in the church. So it wasn't a dream. He had fallen asleep to the sound of Aries humming. He had felt a lot better than he had in a long time. Looking around he couldn't see Aries and had assumed that she had gone home, it was late.

What was he going to do now? He couldn't hang around here forever, not if he was going to change things. If he hung around Midgar too long he might eventually bump into himself...or what about Zack? The thought made Clouds heart race but it was quickly squashed. Aries didn't look far off the age that he first met her and Zack and himself had been trapped in the Shin-Ra Mansion for years, it was entirely possible that Zack had already escaped and they were on their way here right now.

Standing bolt upright and sprinting out of the church, Cloud ran as fast as he could towards the spot where Zack had been killed and where he himself had been spared by some cruel twist of fate, it was Zack who should have survived. Zack who should be here instead of him. Zack who should have saved the world from Sephiroth.

Cloud soon saw the gate and reached into the pouch that held his Materia and expertly slipped it into his bracer on his wrist and charged a Lightning spell. Launching the spell straight at the metallic gate he blew a hole in it large enough for someone to slip threw, the blast took out the guards at the same time. Not breaking his stride Cloud leapt through the hole which glowed red hot around the edges.

Cloud sprinted across the wastes towards the spot he knew all too well, it was the place Cloud had buried his friend, the place that his friend had died. It was dark but that didn't slow Cloud down, after Meteor Cloud had more or less taken up home in the church and visited the grave daily when he wasn't away doing a delivery on another continent so he knew the route like the back of his hand and knew what direction to go even if he had been blind folded.

Cloud had been running know for 15 minutes solid, and he had finally managed to pass through his panicked state of mind to think clearly. There was no way to know that today was the day that Zack was killed. Hell, that could still be a year from now maybe even two or perhaps it had already happened, he slowed slightly but his pace remained at a level where any one but a fully fledged SOLDIER would struggle to keep up for too long.

The hill came into view, even though Zack's Sword was not standing proudly at the top didn't mean Cloud wouldn't recognise it. A burst of gun fire shot a surge of fear through Cloud. It couldn't be happening! He wouldn't let it happen! Picking up speed again Cloud ran full pelt towards the gun fire. In the distance Cloud could make out a figure slicing through a squad of soldiers with a larger sword, a sword he would never forget, a sword he was very familiar with, the same sword he had used to stop Sephiroth.

He could see Zack running to the top of the hill where he crouched as if to check something on the ground, or someone. The realisation struck a cold feeling of dread through him, it was him! Cloud hadn't slowed down and he saw another group of soldiers appear and running towards Zack. Zack saw them and began to stand to face them but they were already about to fire!

"NO! ZACK!" Cloud screamed pulling out First Tsurugi from behind him.

Zack heard someone cry his name but was unable to react to it as he saw the muzzles of the soldiers rifles flare. There was no time to dodge! Zack clenched his eyes shut and awaited the pain if the bullets tearing into his flesh, but that never came, instead Zack heard the bullets strike something metal and he opened his eyes and saw a figure standing in front of him with a massive sword similar to his own, but the most surprising part of all this was the spiky head of blond hair that he'd recognise anywhere.

"Cloud?" Zack asked shocked, the name no more than a whisper.

More bullets struck the sword that was held out in front of the blond and Zack was about to react when he spotted the familiar glow of a charging spell coming from the bracer on the blonds wrist. A moments pause in the firing of the rifles as their assailants needed to reload was all that was needed and without a moments hesitation Cloud fired the spell at the squad of Shin-Ra soldiers, a huge burst of lightning fired from the blonds hand and obliterated the squad with devastating ease leaving a smouldering crater in its wake.

It took a moment for Cloud's ears to stop ringing from the spell, the dying screams of the men had been drowned out by the roar from the sheer power of the spell, Cloud had been so panicked that he had thrown out the most powerful spell possible with his mastered Materia when a level 2 spell would have done it but Cloud didn't want to take any chances.

"Cloud? That you buddy?" Cloud froze. Zack's voice sending shivers down his spine. Hesitantly Cloud looked over his shoulder his eyes locking with those of Zack's. "Cloud...it really is you..." Zack stuttered incredulously before a huge grin burst from his face. "Cloud! Man I thought I was a goner! Thank god you recovered! And where in the hell did you get that sword?"

Cloud remained silent, he couldn't bring himself to speak. He had done it, saved his best friend. But Zack didn't realise that he wasn't who he thought he was. Yes he was Cloud but not the Cloud that Zack knew.

"Zack..." Cloud stuttered and continued to stare at the black haired SOLDIER.

"What? Why you staring at me like that...Cloud?" Zack's face was a awash with emotions and Cloud could easily follow them because of how expressive Zack truly was, it was one of the things about the man that Cloud appreciated, because he wasn't like that himself, keeping his emotions hidden for the most part at least. Zack went from happy to confused and after a while of the two staring at each other a glimmer of fear showed in Zack's eyes which magnified when Zack turned round to see the still unconscious form of Cloud lying on the ground behind him before turning to face the Cloud standing before him. Zack readied his sword to fight but didn't move to attack, he was trying desperately to work out what the hell was going on.

"WHO ARE YOU!" Zack shouted. Cloud remained still, First Tsurugi still in his hand but it was lowered to the ground held in a non threatening way. "WHO THE HELL ARE YOU!"

"Zack...it's me, Cloud."

"You're not Cloud! HE'S CLOUD!" Zack yelled motioning to the still form behind him.

"Zack..." Cloud took a step forward but was met by Zack's sword coming at him but Cloud easily blocked it. Zack shoved Cloud away and instantly was back on the attack, swinging his massive sword around like it weighed nothing. Cloud blocked each one of his attacks, Zack was strong, no doubt about that but compared to Sephiroth's power this was nothing. After a several attacks their blades locked again, Zack trying to over power Cloud but Cloud wasn't budging.

"Zack please I just want to talk!" Cloud pleaded.

"THEN TELL ME WHO THE HELL YOU ARE!"

"It's me Cloud! Please Zack you have to believe me!"

"YOU CAN'T BE CLOUD! CLOUD IS OVER THERE UNCONSCIOUS! YOU MUST BE ONE OF HOJO'S EXPERIMENTS!"

Several memories of the time spent while Hojo experimented on him flashed through Cloud's mind and Cloud felt the undeniable hatred for that man grow in the pit of his stomach and he lashed out at his friend shoving him back wards with all his might. Zack back flipped threw the air and landed on his feet and skidded backwards driving the Buster Sword into the ground to slow himself to a spot. Zack looked at Cloud in shock but beyond the shove Cloud had not moved at all, there was a glint of anger in Cloud's eyes.

"I am not one of Hojo's experiments! I am Cloud Strife! I killed that man years ago and if I ever get the chance I will do it again!" Cloud growled.

"Kill him again? What the hell are you talking about?"

"Zack...I'm from the future."