Delivery Boy In Shangri La

by Diaphanous

Kanzeon Bosatsu held up the Scroll of Rebirth. What will you choose, Cloud Strife? Your past and present or the new future that you will bring with this scroll? From the day I was born until the day I die, the only side I'm on is my own.

Delivery Boy in Shangri-La

Disclaimer: I don't own Final Fantasy VII or Saiyuki. Please… don't remind me…

000

Kagome, Kagome, the bird in the cage,
when will you come out?
In the evening of the dawn,
the crane and turtle slipped.
Who stands right behind you now?

000

Dark feathers, black as midnight, littered the halls. They blazed a trail almost invisible in the flickering lights. Spidery cracks along the way added to the gloomy atmosphere as did the crumbling ceiling. There were no doors save for the one at the beginning of the hall and at the end. Light streamed out from the bottom of the end door. A hand reached out and pushed the door open. And the light, blinding and cold, burst out.

And the screams that were once silent now ehoed with all of the rage of the Planet.

000

Cloud Strife jacknifed up in his bed. Sweat dribbled down his temples and the sides of his face. His pupils were dilated into vertical slits. The blond shook his head and squeezed his eyes shut in a pained expression.

"Get out," he hissed. "Damn you, Gaia, get out of my head!' Cloud curled into himself. He clutched at his head with desperate fingers. "GET OUT!" he screamed. "I won't listen! Not anymore! Solve your own problems!"

And the echoes of the Planet's screams disappeared from his mind.

"Why?" he cried. "Hasn't my entire existence so far been enough for you? Six hundred years I have fought your battles! Damn you!" He clawed at his face and made himself bleed. But the mako concontion in his blood healed the wounds with minimal effort. It was like Hojo and the Planet both desired him alive and for different reasons. Hojo because he was a sick fuck without an ounce of humanity and the Planet because she was too much of a coward to let her protector go.

"Please…" Cloud reached out blindly. "Please…"

000

"A call for help?" Kanzeon Bosatsu looked up from her observation pond. "Where?" Her brow furrowed in consternation. It had been a long time since a genuine prayer for aid had actually reached her ears without her trying to listen. "Strange… WHAT?" She clutched at her head as a throb and a voice echoed in her head. "So loud," she moaned.

"My lady?" Jiroushin called in confusion. His hand hovered uncertainly over her shoulder. "My lady, what is wrong? How can I help?"

Kannon stumbled out of her throne and onto her feet. The scream for help still echoed in her mind. She kept one hand on her temple. "Jiroushin, I'll be right back." Before her servant could call out once more she vanished.

"Eh?"

000

Kanzeon Bosatsu grimaced at the blackened earth beneath her bare feet. It was an old battleground, of that she was certain. She used her power to reach out to this world. Quickly she pulled back from its manipulative grasp and garbled demands for her power to protect itself. She sneered. "Ah, that's why someone's managed to grab my attention," she muttered in distaste. "Greedy little bitch, aren't you?" She childishly stamped her foot and continued on her way. She reached out this time to the voice still echoing in her head. It was softer now but more urgent. "Yes, yes, I'm coming. Geez, so impatient."

"Have you come to take Cloud?" a soft voice asked.

The goddess looked to her right at the ghostly green girl walking next to her. "Is that his name then?" she asked, not expecting an answer.

"I'm glad. Gaia-sama… she's grown foolish with her demands on poor Cloud. He needs something else to do. He's protected the Planet for nigh over six hundred years since Jenova's last resurrection and Sephiroth's madness. Six hundred years since Meteor…" the ghost trailed off.

"Jenova, huh?" Kannon muttered. "Sounds familiar…" Finally they arrived upon grasslands and the goddess sighed in relief. "Ugh, this place blows…"

"Yes, Gaia is no longer a nice place to live in," the ghost said. "The people, over the course of the centuries, have been dying out because of those who wish to destroy Gaia."

"And now your world has become paranoid," Kanzeon Bosatsu concluded.

"No, there is another threat but one that Cloud cannot fight."

"Oh and what is that?"

"The Planet's extinction."

000

Cloud tiredly put together First Tsurugi. Even his spiky blond hair drooped in an expression of exhaustion. Heavy bags hung under his eyes. Once again no one answered his pleas for relief. After all, everyone was dead, even Vincent. The stress of Chaos and the other three beasts in his body had led him to madness. And so Cloud, in a violent act of mercy, killed the gunman. Even to this day Vincent's words of gratitude rang in his ears. Those words had been painfully sincere. Since then, he couldn't even hear Aeris' gentle murmurings or Zack's jovial words. The Planet had deadened him to everything but his own pain and her screams of fear. Now her screams were getting louder and louder and her fear so tangible that the forests were shivering and the mountains were buckling.

The apocalypse was coming, that much was certain. And with no Omega Weapon to lead the energy of the Lifestream away to a new world, the souls of the world would be sucked into the void of space. Cloud briefly thought of his friends' souls then shrugged his shoulders. It would've been most likely that they would have been reincarnated as trees considering how things were now with the Planet's paranoia. They had been powerful after all and foolishly Gaia feared them. But she clung desperately to Cloud because of his forced immortality.

The immortal swordsman shrugged away the Planet's grasping fingers and walked out of his hut. He walked to Fenrir and smiled. He checked its solar power levels. "Quite a bit," he muttered. He hopped on and revved the engine. Before he could kick-start the vehicle forward he looked up to see two figures walking toward him. And one was an eerie green glowing color, the color of the Lifestream. He turned off the engine. "Aeris…"

000

Kannon looked at the young man before her. Well, he was young by her standards. His eyes, bluer than the ocean, glowed with an unnatural light. But the voice in her head had ceased the moment they made eye contact. But then he swung his gaze to the ghost girl next to her and the goddess pouted. Very few had the balls to ignore her. Heh, she liked him already, the little twerp.

"Aeris, is that you?" he whispered. Oh my, he had a nice voice, deep and smooth.

"Hello Cloud, it's been a long time," the ghost, Aeris, said.

"I'll say," he replied with bitterness. "Where have you been?"

Aeris sighed. "The Planet has been draining me just as much as she has been draining you," she said. "Please don't be angry."

"You're the one who called me," Kanzeon Bosatsu interrupted. The two looked at her in surprise. "That's right, a goddess in you midst. Hello."

"Called?" Cloud asked. He cocked his head to the side like a confused bird.

"Oh, you are too cute, boy. I am Kanzeon Bosatsu, Goddess of Mercy and all that rot. You screamed?" she joked.

"You heard me…"

"That's right, reached through the realms, into Heaven and gave me a headache to boot." She pointed an accusing finger. "You interrupted my show. Do you know how much I'm missing out on with my boys and their misadventures?" She snorted at him. "Of course not, always interrupting my soaps at the worst times, gods and goddesses and annoying brats like you." She grinned at his indignant face. "That's right, compared to me you're still a little brat with a lot to learn. Oh, you growled at me. Quaint, really. Anyway, I'm here now, so do you want to go or not? Your Planet is screeching at me about taking you away from her so I suggest you choose quickly before I blow this popsicle stand."

Cloud looked at Aeris with a startled expression on his effeminate face. She just smiled at him. "What?" he asked. He then looked back at the goddess in confusion. "You're taking me away?"

"Oh for the love of… Choose now. You leave this place or you stay until it blows up on itself. Hurry, hurry, I have morons to watch." Kannon tapped her barefoot.

"Just go, Cloud. I'll take care of our friends here," Aeris assured him. "Have fun, okay? You deserve more than the last moments of a dying World. Maybe we'll see each other again in another life."

"But without Omega…"

"Omega was just this Planet's Lifestream defense mechanism. Don't worry, another world will be more than happy to take us."

"Tick-tock, tick-tock!" the goddess sang.

Cloud nodded jerkily at Aeris. "Good-bye Aeris," he said. He walked over to Kanzeon Bosatsu. "Let's go." He felt nervous about the taller person's smile.

"Good choice," she said. She snapped her fingers, and she and Cloud disappeared.

The Planet screamed its rage at the loss of her warrior.

Aeris harrumphed at Gaia. "Serves you right, you spoiled brat," she reprimanded.

000

"Kannon-sama!" Jiroushin cried in relief. "There you… are? Who is this?" He looked pointedly at the blond stranger who had a large sword strapped to his back.

"Oi, we forgot Fenrir!" the stranger cried. "Take us back for my bike!" Kanzeon Bosatsu snapped her fingers and the motorcycle appeared. Then surprisingly it transformed into a wolf pup. Fenrir, in puppy form, woofed happily and bounded over to his Alpha. Cloud gaped at his motorcycle's wagging tail and slobbering tongue. "Fenrir?" He was barked at and he blinked. He looked at the goddess. He turned a bright red. "THE HELL DID YOU DO TO MY MOTORCYCLE!" he screeched. He picked up the pup and stared at it up close.

"Oh hush, he can still transform. It's just more efficient this way." And to prove the goddess right, the wolf pup wriggled out of Cloud's hands and hopped down and away. With a flash of light it transformed back into it's motorcycle form. "Ta-da!" she said. The bike barked then went back to pup form. The stranger abruptly landed on his ass onto the floor.

"Holy shit!" he whispered. He caught Fenrir's flying leap into his lap. "Holy shit…"

"Nah, maybe later." Kannon laughed at her own joke. "At least you're not being too boring." She turned toward the immensely confused Jiroushin. "Hey, get us some tea," she ordered. "Oh, that's right. This," she gestured toward the stranger, "is Strife Cloud. He's mine now, so no scolding him."

"Hey!" Cloud was duly ignored.

"Tea?" Jiroushin asked. Mechanically he turned around and walked away. "Yes, I'll make some tea…"

"So now what?" This time the swordsman wasn't ignored.

Kannon sighed. "You'll drink your tea and I'll think of something later."

"Okay." Cloud shrugged. For once he was willing to go with the flow. Hell, being away from the dying and highly insane Planet made him feel so laid back he might as well be on acid. He smiled goofily and hugged Fenrir close. "I've always wanted a puppy," he said in child-like wonder.

"That's the spirit," the goddess laughed.

000

Cloud ran his hands over his newly made outfit. Of course it was still a copy of his outfit that he had on since Sephiroth's second defeat and the death of his last three clones, excluding himself. But this material was top-notch, something he had never had. This was old world, high quality material like Rufus Shinra used to wear. The extra fine wool grade of the sweater and pants nearly made Cloud giddy. He grabbed the folded clothes and hurried to the private baths in Kannon's palace. At his heels Fenrir bounced and rolled. He reflected his Alpha's excitement.

The swordsman rushed past the forever-flustered Jiroushin and hopped into the changing room that led to the baths. He shed his dirty clothes and wrapped a towel around his waist. The dirty clothes found themselves in the hamper to be later washed and repaired, or rather, replaced by newer copies like the one Cloud had now. He hadn't had a decent bath in years; cold rivers didn't just cut it. He opened the sliding door and was bombarded by steam. Fenrir hopped in ahead of him and splashed into the water. Cloud grinned boyishly. He ran in himself. He jumped into the water and sighed. His motorcycle was doing the cutest doggy paddle in the bath too.

"This is great. No voices in my head, no screaming in my ear… peace and a good bath," he murmured. Little did he know that he would soon get involved in a new kind of adventure. The going-west kind of adventure was going to drop in his lap courtesy of one bored goddess. Better enjoy that bath while he still could.

000

Three weeks in Tenkai passed and Cloud was bored. Even Fenrir was drooping. The swordsman sighed and flipped the page in his book. "I've read this one already," he muttered in frustration. "Damn." His motorcycle whined at him. "Yeah, this is boring." The wolf pup motorcycle barked.

Cloud nodded "Maybe we should ask what Kanzeon Bosatsu wants to do with us," he said. He stood up and pulled on his boots. He strapped his specialty made holster on and swung First Tsurugi into it at the small of his back. "Let's go ask for an adventure, right Fenrir?" The pup wriggled and shot out of the room, nearly making a lower servant lose her balance. Cloud grinned in apology and jogged after his wolf. The servant muttered to herself angrily and continued with her duties.

000

"Bored already?" Kanzeon Bosatsu asked without looking up from her pond screen to the Lower World of Earth.

Cloud plopped himself down on the floor by her throne. Fenrir hopped into his arms and snuggled closer. "Yeah, and I don't feel like watching TV," he said with a gesture toward the pond. "Have you decided what to do with us?" This time the goddess looked at him with raised eyebrows. Cloud shifted uncomfortably under her gaze. "Well?" he asked.

"How would you like to be part of the TV show for awhile instead?" she inquired. She grinned at the eager look on that eternally young face. "Want to kick some youkai ass without being demanded to do so, then?" The goddess really did like the swordsman; he was so amusing.

"Better than rereading the books I do understand," Cloud retorted.

Kannon laughed. "There's a horde of youkai who are going to attack a village a couple of miles ahead of the Sanzo-ikkou," she said. "Why don't you hop down and kill them instead? And while you're at it, I need you to find something for me. Go to the Chan-fu Temple two days ride from that village and get the Scroll of Rebirth." She smirked at Cloud. Cloud smirked back. He closed his eyes. The goddess teleported him and Fenrir to Earth right in the middle of the horde. "Oh, this is going to be fun," she laughed.

000

Genyjo Sanzo raised his golden eyebrows in surprise. He absently nibbled on the end of his cigarette. He and the others of his group watched the last of the youkai massacre. It was the only way to describe the fight. The last of the horde gurgled its death knoll; then all was quiet. The stranger then looked up and over at the Sanzo-ikkou. His massive sword dripped blood ominously. His wolf companion, black with blue eyes exactly like his master's, had a bloodied muzzle from the fight. And strangely enough, his own blue eyes literally glowed.

"Holy shit," Sha Goyjo breathed in awe. He took his used cigarette and threw it over the Hakuryu's side. "Who's this guy?"

"I don't know," Cho Hakkai said. His tone was wary. "But he's good." He narrowed his green eyes and gazed at the stranger with suspicion.

"Ah, you're the Sanzo-ikkou," the blond stranger said. He turned his body fully toward the four that were still in Hakuryu's jeep form. Immediately the four hopped out and the jeep turned into a dragon. The stranger looked at Hakuryu with an amused expression. "Oh, your vehicle does that too." His voice was filled with almost childish delight. He gestured toward his full-grown wolf companion that had been fighting by his side. "Fenrir does that too, except he's a motorcycle."

"Honto?" Son Goku exclaimed. "Sugoi—ITAI!" He clutched at the spot on his head where his guardian had smacked him. "What was that for?"

"Who are you?" Sanzo demanded. He scowled darkly when he was ignored. The stranger had taken out a cloth and was using it to wipe down his blade. "OI! I asked you a question!" the monk snarled.

"Oh? Sorry, usually people introduce themselves before asking the name of another."

"Maa, maa, but you already know that we're the Sanzo-ikkou," Hakkai pointed out. "So it's rather rude that you know us but we do not know you, yes?"

The stranger cocked his head to the side, like that of a curious bird. "Is it rude? I'm sorry." He shrugged his surprisingly strong shoulders. "I am called Cloud."

"Cloud?" Goyjo said incredulously. "Are you serious?" He blinked at the hard glare thrown his way by the short blond. "Eh, sorry."

"My mother named me that," Cloud spat. "I do not appreciate the implied insult."

The hanyou waved his hands in front of him in a placating manner. He had no wish to make this man angry. The glow of his eyes seemed to intensify with the emotion. That was totally creepy. "Yare, yare, no offense, dude."

"What business do you have with us?" the monk asked. He glared hotly at the swordsman's oversized blade.

"Nothing in particular," Cloud replied with nonchalance. "Fenrir, let's go." The wolf let out a happy bark and transformed in a flash of light to reveal his sleek black metal body.

"Whoa…" Goku gasped in delight. Goyjo just whistled his appreciation.

The swordsman flashed them a grin and holstered his blade at the small of his back. The oddly shaped holster looked to be designed to hold more than one blade. The small, unusual blond hopped onto his motorcycle and revved Fenrir. "Saa, the next town is another couple of kilometers. We'll meet again there. I have a message from Kannon." Cloud shot off in a plume of dust.

"Sugoi," the monkey breathed. "Oh shit, that is so awesome!" He held up a clenched fist in sheer joy. "Ah man, I want to be cool like that someday."

Sanzo slapped a hand over his face. "Troublesome…" he muttered.

"He seems very interesting," Hakkai said. His smile was quite genuine for once.

"Geez, that is one sweet ride." Goyjo pouted with his hands shoved in his pockets.

"Let's go," the monk barked out. Hakuryu cooed and transformed into his own metal form. "Oi, bakazaru, hurry your ass up!"

000

Cloud kept the puppy Fenrir in his arms. He warily eyed the group of small children that were circled around him and the pup. The motorcycle whimpered at the sight of tiny, grasping hands. He curled tighter against his Alpha. The children chattered excitedly about the cute 'puppy-wuppy'. Fenrir did not appreciate being called such a degrading name. He was a wolf, puppy form or not. Wolves were not called 'puppy-wuppy' by a bunch of snot-nosed human brats. He trusted his Alpha to not hand him to the little mongrels. He bared his tiny teeth and growled cutely, which did not help his cause. The mini-people just squealed in delight. Cloud had no choice. He waded through the chattering monkeys that were masquerading as children and ran for the inn. He acted like the hounds of hell were on his heels. It was close enough to the truth to be uncomfortable.

000

The Sanzo-ikkou walked into the lobby of the inn to witness an extremely horrible sight. Their newest 'whatever-he-was' happened to be at the mercy of a group of about twenty children. In his arms was a puppy-sized version of his wolf companion, Fenrir, from before. The two were cornered by the babbling mass of tiny bodies and grabby hands. Cloud looked hunted. He spotted the four and silently begged for help. Goyjo snorted and gestured that the swordsman was on his own. A pathetic expression crossed that pretty face of his. Then he was saved by a single voice.

"LEAVE MY CUSTOMER ALONE YOU DAMNED BRATS!" the innkeeper roared. Immediately the children scattered out the door. Cloud sank to his knees, still clutching Fenrir. The pup whimpered.

"Thanks," Cloud said. He sighed in relief. "They chased me in here."

The matronly innkeeper harrumphed. "I noticed. Honestly, to see a grown man helpless against children." Then she smiled. "It was kind of cute. You definitely didn't know what to do with yourself."

"I've only taken care of two or three children at a time. Not en masse like that!" Then he glared at the Sanzo-ikkou. "You guys suck, leaving me to their mercy!"

"Ain't no way in hell I was going to deal with that many brats," Goyjo replied.

"It seems they only wanted one thing," Hakkai pointed out with a gesture toward Fenrir. "He is quite cute." He laughed at the apparently indignant expression on the wolf pup's face. "Maa, maa, it's the truth."

"Small children often aren't as gentle as they should be with small animals," Cloud said as he stood up. He loosened his hold a little on Fenrir to let the pup get more comfortable. "Especially in a group like that, they might have hurt him."

"Can I pet him?" Goku asked. He had inched his way over and was now standing before the swordsman. Cloud had a three-inch advantage in the end over the child-like monkey-king. Goku's forehead was to Cloud's chin.

"Eh? Sure." Cloud let the monkey king touch the soft fur on the top of Fenrir's head.

"Wow, he's really soft," the smaller of the two breathed. His golden eyes shone in wonder. He began to scratch behind the pup's ears. Fenrir yawned sleepily. "Kawaii," Goku whispered.

"Oi, Fenrir, you shouldn't fall asleep yet," Cloud admonished. He gently set the pup gently on the floor with Goku squatting down to keep petting him. He turned toward the innkeeper. He smiled at her softened gaze. "Do you have five rooms?" he asked.

The innkeeper shook herself from her reverie. "Oh, yes, right next to each other, in fact," she said. "Are all five of you on the same bill or separate?"

"Same bill," Sanzo said.

Cloud looked at him in surprise. "You sure? I can pay for my own."

The monk held up the gold credit card the Three Aspects gave him. "I can cover it," he replied coolly. He slapped the card on the counter. "Five rooms."

"All right."

"Don't think this is me being nice," Sanzo said to Cloud with a scowl. "I want answers and the message from Kannon. After that, if we end up in the same inn, you pay for your own."

"Fair enough," Cloud agreed. He gave sharp whistle. Fenrir wriggled out of Goku's petting and trotted over to his Alpha. He obediently sat at the heel position. The innkeeper handed out keys and bowed. She asked if there was anything else. "Dinner for us in my room, please." This time he whipped out a silver credit card. "Bill it to me this time." He handed her the card. "Everything on the menu and twice over, I'm kind of hungry." He grinned charmingly at her. The matron blushed like a schoolgirl. She handed back the card with the receipt.

"Awesome, you're feeding us!" Goku hopped over and wrapped his arms around Cloud. "I love you, man."

"Err, okay.."

000

"You are to travel with us for a few days then?" Hakkai asked. He smiled uncomfortably at the glowing gaze directed toward him. "Ah, sorry."

"How did you get glowing eyes?" Goku wondered aloud. He didn't notice how Cloud stiffened.

"That's off topic," Goyjo said. He smacked his smaller companion upside the head. "Sorry, he doesn't know when to shut his mouth."

"It's alright," Cloud murmured. "Maybe you should know more about me if I'm to travel with you on Fenrir." He shifted uncomfortably on his bed. He opened and closed his mouth for a few moments. Then he took a deep breath. "It started one thousand and six hundred years ago. The Calamity, Jenova, fell from the skies in a meteor. And for a thousand years she lay dormant in the crater at the top of the world. She plotted and she hated. Then a madman by the name of Hojo…" Cloud shuddered but continued. "Hojo was a scientist's assistant at the time. Anyway, he and another doctor, Gast, found Jenova. They believed that she had been a part of an ancient race of people native to our land, the Cetra. But it wasn't so. She was the Calamity, the bringer of darkness." He fidgeted for a moment. He smiled shakily but continued on.

"So they began experiments on her flesh, her blood and the lifeblood of the Planet, soul-energy called the Lifestream. But at that time and for nearly all of my lifetime afterward its concentrated form had been called Mako. And Hojo's madness grew as he began obsessed with Jenova and the power locked beneath her skin. And she whispered promises of power if he gave her what she wanted: the destruction of the Planet. Then it happened, Hojo impregnated one of his fellow scientists, a woman named Lucrecia. He used his own child, while still in its womb, and injected Jenova's cells into the fetus."

"That's sick," Goku muttered.

Cloud nodded. "Yes and it only got worse." He breathed out and in. He went on with his story. "Over time the fetus became a man. His name… was Sephiroth." The swordsman spoke the name with fear and traces of awe. "He was forced to join a company by the name of Shinra Inc and he became their general at the age of fifteen. He grew up surrounded by unethical doctors and scientists, one being his father, Hojo. Ten years later, I joined the same military program Sephiroth headed, SOLDIER. By then he was a decorated hero of a war and the deadliest man on all of Gaia. And he was cold as snow, colder than metal in winter. He had been my idol and, in the end, he became my nightmare." He looked down at his clenched fists.

"When did that happen?" Hakkai asked gently.

"I was still a sixteen-year-old cadet who had failed his first SOLDIER exam. It had been because of my terrible reaction to the Jenova and Mako." Cloud laughed hollowly. "I had been forced to go to my hometown of Nibelheim on a mission with Sephiroth and his lieutenant Zack Fair. Zack had been my tentative friend. After all, in the Shinra army I was still a mere grunt. What we didn't know was that Sephiroth had been created in my hometown in the old Shinra Mansion. This mission had been to check out the overly numerous monster sightings. Sometimes I wished that I had refused Zack to go on that mission. And what was worse was that Jenova, the Calamity from the Sky, was in the Mako Reactor that powered Nibelheim. Hojo had sent us there on purpose to active the saturated Jenova cells in Sephiroth's body. And it happened just the way Hojo wanted. Sephiroth read every single piece of planted research material in the Mansion. He gave in to Jenova's poisoned words. He…" Cloud's breathed hitched but he forced himself to go on. "He killed everyone in my village. He burned it all to the ground. He killed… my mother."

Goyjo's face tightened at the sound of Cloud's agony. 'His mother…' he thought grimly. He understood all too well.

"Zack told me to stay and help any survivors. Tifa, one of the village girls and the mayor's daughter, had run to the reactor after Sephiroth. After awhile I couldn't wait and a martial arts master visiting there to teach told me to go and try to stop this madness. But in reality the madness had already began and wouldn't end for another five years only to come back after that after two more." Cloud weaved the fingers of his right hand in his blond spikes and tugged a little. "Anyway, I arrived at the reactor to see Zack slammed against one of the Mako pods that had held man-made monsters. And to the side was Tifa with a stab wound through her stomach."

Hakkai fingered the spot over his own belly scar.

"Grief made me bold. My village was gone, my mother dead, my SOLDIER friend dying, and my childhood crush bleeding on the reactor floor. In a fit of rage I grabbed Zack's huge Buster Sword and ran into the chamber that held Jenova. Without remorse I shoved the Buster Sword straight through Sephiroth's back and cracked the glass of Jenova's holding tube. I remember the General tossing me out into the main area. He walked out of Jenova's chamber with her head in one hand and his long sword in the other. He ran Masamune straight through my own stomach and held me above the radioactive Mako waste. I… grabbed the blade and pulled myself along it. Nothing mattered anymore but killing Sephiroth. I used his own sword against him while it was still stabbed all the way through me and tossed him into the waste pit of Mako. I fell to my knees with the blade in me. I fell unconscious. Hell followed soon after."

"Cloud," Goku whispered. He got up from his chair. He stood in front of the swordsman then threw himself at him. He wrapped his thin but strong arms around the blond's waist. He curled up like a child in his parent's lap. "Stop it, you're crying." Cloud touched his face in shock with his free hand. The other was trapped between his body and Goku's own. "It's okay. You don't have to tell us anymore. Just don't cry, Cloud." Through the blond's sweater he could feel the monkey's king's compassionate tears.

"You shouldn't cry either, Goku," Cloud said brokenly. "I should have been over this six hundred years ago. But it's been so long since I talked about the beginning of my story." He choked on his laugh. "Hell, it's been a good century or two since I've talked to actual people. Goddesses don't count."

Goku forced out a laugh through his tears. "Why is your story so sad, Cloud?" he asked. "It's not fair that your story is so sad. It's not fair." He tightened his hug. "It's not fair!"

"We all have pasts we're not proud of nor pasts that are happy," Sanzo said. He blew out a ring of cigarette smoke. "But you're still alive. And you're still fighting." He sighed. "To hold nothing." Cloud looked up in teary curiosity. The monk continued in the tense silence. "If you meet the Buddha, kill the Buddha. If you meet your father, kill your father. Free of everything, you are bound by nothing. Live the life that was given to you." He looked at Cloud and Goku, who was peeking at the monk from over his shoulder. "You're alive, so live."

Goku pried his arms from around Cloud. He looked up at him from his position in the short blond's lap. He messily wiped his tears on his sleeve. "From the day I was born…" he started.

"Until the day I die…" Goyjo continued.

"The only side I'm on…" Hakkai maintained.

"Is my own," Sanzo finished.

000

Kagome, Kagome, the bird in the cage,
when will you come out?
In the evening of the dawn,
the crane and turtle slipped.
Who stands right behind you now?

000

Dark feathers, black as midnight, littered the halls. They blazed a trail almost invisible in the flickering lights. Spidery cracks along the way added to the gloomy atmosphere as did the crumbling ceiling. There were no doors save for the one at the beginning of the hall and at the end. Light streamed out from the bottom of the end door. A hand reached out and pushed the door open. And the light, blinding and cold, burst out.

Silence echoed.

000

Cloud Strife stared up at the ceiling after he woke up. He knew from instinct and old experience that it was two or three o'clock in the morning. He flung his forearm over his glowing eyes. He sighed. That same dream, that same hallway. But the ending was different than usual. He had never heard an echoing silence. It didn't make sense...

"I'm never going to get back to sleep," he muttered. He slowly sat up. He swung his legs over the side of the bed. He eyed his house slippers. The white color of them turned blue under his gaze. Cloud grunted in annoyance. He slipped his feet into them to avoid the cold, hardwood floor. The former SOLDIER-wannabe shuffled out of his door, taking his key with him. He trudged down the stairs and into the communal kitchen/dining room.

Sanzo sat there at the table, smoking, with a cup of tea held in his hands. The monk gestured toward the seat next to him. "Nightmares?" he asked in nonchalance.

"Only the usual cryptic shit I get at night," Cloud said as if he believed Sanzo cared. Even spending so little time with the corrupt monk, the swordsman knew he worried little, actually, of his companions. He guarded himself behind strong, mythril-like walls. The shorter blond sat down. "You?" he asked, just to be polite.

"Hn," Sanzo grunted. He moved his cigarette to the corner of his mouth without the use of his hands and sipped his tea with the other side. Talented bastard, wasn't he?

"When do we move out?" Cloud asked instead of his thought of, smart-assed remark.

"After breakfast," the monk replied.

"Sounds good."

000

Cloud adjusted his leather gloves coolly. He kept his other senses open to their surroundings. Thankfully Fenrir had the foresight to transform immediately after breakfast into his metal form. The last thing the now larger Sanzo-ikkou needed was to be ambushed by evil munchkins in the morning.

"Ne, ne, can two people ride on Fenrir?" Goku asked.

"Got an extra pair of goggles?" Cloud asked back while answering Goku's question at the same time. The monkey king grinned and rushed to his guardian to beg him to by some goggles. Sanzo grumbled and took off back into the village to look for goggles of all things. Goku trailed after him in excitement. The swordsman chuckled and patted Fenrir's side. "Open up so I can take apart First Tsurugi to put it away in you. We're going to have a passenger today." The FT's storage slots that Fenrir had been built with popped open. With a flick of his wrist, Cloud took apart his sword into seven smaller swords. He amusedly ignored Goyjo's gapping face. "All done," he said. Fenrir closed his sides. The blond slipped his large goggles over his head to hang around his neck.

The three men waited in silence until the kappa hanyou spoke. "Just how many things can your bike do anyway?" Goyjo asked.

"On Gaia, Fenrir hadn't been a transforming motorcycle. He had just been a motorcycle." Cloud rubbed his bike's sleek sides to Fenrir's pleasure. "I built him from scratch with a lot of elbow grease and good metal. He's perfect in every way. It took me a whole year to fashion his parts and to put him together. Cid, our mechanical genius, helped quite a bit in designing and building him." He shook his head. "Fenrir's been my partner for two years short of six hundred."

"That's a long time, man," the redhead declared. "Talk about together forever."

"It's amazing how well you kept him," Hakkai remarked. He stroked Hakuryu's hood. "You must love him dearly, even before he became a sentient, transforming motorcycle wolf." The monocle-wearer smiled with affection for his dragon.

"Yes," Cloud said. "He's my baby." He laughed at Fenrir's huff. "Hush you, you're still a baby compared to me."

"I got goggles!" Goku squealed as he ran up to Cloud. "Let's go, let's go!"

Cloud laughed. "Let me look at the map for the next town. So just in case we get separated from the others, we can meet up in that town," he said. He and Hakkai muttered to each other about the route they would take west. "Come on, Goku." Cloud patted the youngest on the back. The blond man swung himself onto Fenrir. Goku scrambled up behind him. "Hold on around my waist and don't let go, okay?" Both of them put on their goggles. Goku laughed when Cloud revved the engine. Quickly they took the lead with Hakuryu and his passengers a little ways behind them.

000

"It's quiet without the monkey back here," Goyjo remarked. He looked up ahead at the pair on the wolf motorcycle. "But it looks like he's enjoying himself." They could hear Goku's cheers and shouts as Cloud did wheelies and spinning donuts. "He's actually pretty good with brats."

"Cloud-san is very interesting," Hakkai said. "He's very much like a child himself." He sighed sadly. "From his story, I think he never got the chance to grow up. Stuck as a sixteen-year-old in his mind for probably a long time."

"Do you think he'll tell us the rest of his story?" Goyjo asked.

"Who knows," Sanzo replied. He let out a puff of smoke. "It's his story to tell."

"KUSO!" Hakkai skidded Hakuryu to a halt at the same time as Fenrir was brought to a stop. The two vehicles with the five Sanzo-ikkou members were side by side. Various curses came from Sanzo and Goyjo's mouth. "Daijoubu desu ka?" Hakkai asked in a frantic voice. "I'm so sorry, everyone!" Cloud had shoved his goggles to hang around his neck and Goku did the same. Both were staring intently in front of them.

"What the hell, Hakkai?" the hanyou shouted. He stopped his would-have-been tirade to stare at the horde of youkai shifting in front to them. "Ho shit…"

Cloud swung his leg over Fenrir to get off, making Goku follow his lead. He made the motorcycle pop open to reveal the seven swords of First Tsurugi. He put together six of them into the main body and held the last and smallest sword in his other hand. Goku summoned his Nyoi-bo and grinned. Fenrir transformed and readied himself. Hakuryu took to the skies.

"Ne, whoever gets the most kills wins a blow-job," Cloud quipped. While the other four gaped at him, the swordsman jumped into the charging youkai. Goku sputtered and charged after him to take down the ones who filled in for the dead.

"A blow-job from a man? No thanks, I'll lose for once. Though I'll still kill youkai." Goyjo shook his head and flicked his wrist. Several youkai fell to the road in pieces.

"A blow-job? I haven't had one in a while," Hakkai said, for once indulging in crudity. Something about Cloud made him feel a bit freer with his proprieties.

"I don't like sex," Sanzo growled.

"Eh? That's because you never tried it, you stupid monk! Don't knock it 'til you try it!" the hanyou shouted over the death cries of the youkai.

000

Goku gloried in the thrill of battle. He took down youkai like they were card castles.

The monkey king and the immortal swordsman danced together in a morbid parody of a waltz with the enemy. The flash of silver from Cloud's sword was the melody to the swipe of Goku's staff. The crunch of bone was the rhythm. And the cries of the enemy made the music sweet. All was beautiful, life and death mingling for one last dance.

This was what warriors like him and Cloud were made for, this moment of fighting, this song and dance. The brilliance of battle made everything else pale and washed out. Goku would dance on the precipice of life and death and laugh all the while. He knew that Cloud would do the same. The past didn't matter here. The future didn't matter here. All that mattered was his weapon, and his enemy's death. Live what was given to him and glory in it for all his years. That was all the joy Goku needed. Battle and Sanzo, that was all he needed to make his world complete.

Goku grinned and in his smile was the maniacal splendor of the Seiten Taisei.

000

Cloud and Goku stood in a large circle of youkai corpses. The blond swordsman watched as the last of the youkai were disposed of. He then looked at the rest of the massacre. "Maa, we're tied, Goku, so no blow-jobs for anyone." He laughed when Goku whirled around and punched him in the shoulder.

"Baka!" Goku cried. "I didn't know you were a pervert!"

"A throw back from my days with Zack," Cloud said.

Goku faltered for a moment then pressed on. "So Zack-san was a perv?" he asked.

"The biggest pervert on my side of the universe." The blond ruffled the young boy's hair. He grinned widely. "Man, I'm hungry," he said. Then a grumble from Goku's stomach agreed with him. Cloud laughed.

"I'm hungry too!" Goku whined. Immediately he was smacked by Harisen-sama. "ITAI!"

000

Goku had opted to ride in Hakuryu for the time being. At the moment he was talking excitedly at Goyjo. "You should have seen it, Goyjo! Aw man, he sliced and diced those bastards faster than you could! His back swing is incredible and with his front swing in play, oh, it was… it was… magical!" He gestured with his hands a stereotypical movement like that of a stage magician. "Blood, like, danced in arches all around us. We were on fire! We were the dynamic duo of swords and staffs! We were so awesome that… that… Homura would have had an orgasm!"

Goyjo choked on his beer.

Sanzo nearly swallowed his cigarette.

Hakkai's smile became extremely strained.

Cloud was oblivious up ahead on Fenrir.

Elsewhere, Toushin Taishi Homura sneezed. Both Shien and Zenon blessed him.

"BAKAZARU!" Sanzo screamed. He smacked Goku with his fan.

"ITAI!"

000

"So you're going to recall Cloud back to the heavens?" Jiroushin asked.

Kanzeon Bosatsu sighed. "It's been fun but soon Homura will make his move son and I have no wish to see Homura die by Cloud's blade. That would bring the Jade Emperor's attention to my pet and I can't have that, now can I?" She smiled sardonically. "No, Cloud's been through enough, he doesn't need to become the next Toushin Taishi. I'll give them two more days until Cloud finds what I want."

"If you don't mind my asking, why do you need the Scroll of Rebirth?"

"Because, it can revitalize Gaia and take away her madness."

"I don't' understand."

"Cloud's world is so tainted by the alien energies that have entered her. The Scroll of Rebirth can clear the taint. But at a cost."

"What is the cost?"

"Cloud's friends and time as he knew it. They will never remember him when they come back as what they once were before Sephiroth's madness. The Planet will go back in time before Sephiroth returned to Nibelheim with young Cloud and Zack. And Cloud, in the memories of his people, never existed. He is beyond the timeline of Gaia. It all began with Jenova's discovery. He has one chance to prevent it." Kannon sighed. "The question is, will he go for it or not?"

000

"This is where we part ways," Cloud said. The five men were standing at the steps of Chan-fu Temple. He smiled sadly. "This is good-bye, ne?" He tried not to choke on his words. Fenrir whined at his Alpha.

Goku bowed his head. "Cloud," he whispered. He jerked his head up with tears running down his cheeks. "You're so strong, Cloud. I want to be strong like you, like Sanzo, like everyone." He swiped at his tears with his fist. "And I will be, just you wait!" He threw his arms around Cloud in a tight hug. "You'll always be my friend, Cloud." He was hugged back. They let go and Cloud turned toward the others.

"Good-bye, Goyjo." Cloud held out his hand.

Goyjo took the offered hand and pulled the blond into a hug. "We'll see you later, Spikes, you'll see. You still owe me a ride on Fenrir and I expect you to pay up," he laughed. He slapped Cloud on the back and let him go.

Hakkai smiled and hugged Cloud. "You are strong, like Goku said. May your tragedy never drag you down again." He too let Cloud go.

Sanzo and Cloud stared at each other. The monk jerked his head to the side and scoffed. "Don't expect touchy-feely shit from me, sword-boy," he growled. Then he squawked when the shorter blond grabbed him into a tight hug. "OI!"

"Ja ne, you clowns!" Cloud ducked under Sanzo's harisen and jogged up the temple steps. Fenrir was on his heels in full-grown wolf form. The Sanzo-ikkou watched as he disappeared into the temple.

"Che, enough delays," Sanzo snapped. "Let's go!"

000

Kagome, Kagome, the bird in the cage,
when will you come out?
In the evening of the dawn,
the crane and turtle slipped.
Who stands right behind you now?

000

Dark feathers, black as midnight, littered the halls.

They blazed a trail almost invisible in the flickering lights.

Spidery cracks along the way added to the gloomy atmosphere as did the crumbling ceiling.

There were no doors save for the one at the beginning of the hall and at the end.

Light streamed out from the bottom of the end door.

A hand reached out and pushed the door open.

And the light burst out.

Then the cold faded and a different future began.

000

Kanzeon Bosatsu held up the Scroll of Rebirth. She and Cloud stood at the Northern Crater where it all began over sixteen hundred years ago. "What will you choose, Cloud Strife? Your past and present or the new future that you will bring with this scroll?"

"I will always choose the future."

000

Who stands right behind me?

No one.

From the day I was born until the day I die, the only side I'm on is my own.

000 End 000

No, please, don't throw rocks. And yes, Cloud is pretty OOC but it's been SIX HUNDRED YEARS SINCE THE GAME AND MOVIE!!! And Cloud is a mix of adult and child. Remember he never got a chance to really grow up. Why the Saiyuki world? Because I love Kannon; she's crazy! Nah, seriously, I can see Cloud getting along with the Sanzo-ikkou. His story is tragic like theirs but he still fights on. He's not running away anymore. XD Yay!

Anyway, this is a oneshot, I swear. I might make another one-shot that continues on from the last scene but it'll be very different, no crossovers. So yeah, I hope you enjoyed the long read. Now back to my normally Naruto dominated world. Ja ne!