Off Course: The Delivery Boy Saga
Disclaimer: I don't own FFVII! Argh, I hate repeating that. Also because I haven't played Crisis Core (Gotta get a fucking PSP first), Genesis and Angeal will not be appearing at all because I don't know their stories well enough to insert them. Thus this story is not FFVII: CC compliant. Let us all be sad because of my college induced poverty...
Chapter Two: Let the Games Begin
Zack threw up... again. Cloud shook his head at the fact that the boy insisted on pushing onward with their jog from the Chocobo Farm to Midgar. They were resting halfway in the Midgar Valley Road that led to the city. One would think that Zack would heed Cloud's advice to try not to keep even with him. The now fourteen-year-old did not have any artificial Mako enhancements yet; Cloud had more Mako than blood in his veins. Especially thanks to the thorough dunking he had through the Lifestream during the Planet Rewind. Still, Zack was keeping pace for long stretches and it was a far distance from the Farm to Midgar.
Just a kilometer or two further the duo would hit Kalm by nightfall. Granted if Zack was done puking up his lungs in a few moments. "We're going to do a cool down walk now, Zack," Cloud called out. "I don't want you dying just because you want to go barreling at top speed straight into Midgar. Remember we're going to Kalm first for you to fill-out papers like proper cadet candidates." The teen's dry heaves filled the air. Apparently he had finally run out of things to vomit. "Come here." The blond man waved his canteen. "Wash out your mouth and we'll get moving before your muscles seize up."
"Yes sir, Mr. Valentine," Zack gasped out. He staggered toward Cloud and grasped at the source of water. He then put water in his mouth, swished it around, and spat it out to the side. Then he took a drink and breathed slowly. "Ready." He and Cloud began to speed walk to Kalm.
000
"I don't want to soak in a bath!" Zack whined. "That's girly." He was pouting.
Cloud forcefully dragged him into the private bath. "The hot water will help your muscles," he retorted. "I don't care if it's girly or not. It ain't like there are pink bubbles that smell of strawberries in it." And indeed the bathwater was bubble-free and smelled like sandalwood.
Involuntarily Zack relaxed some just at the scent. He swayed a little in exhaustion and made no further complaints as Cloud undressed him with business-like concentration. "I'm tired," the teen announced.
"Of course you are," Cloud said. He maneuvered him into the bath. "Now wash up and soak. But don't sleep yet. I'll be back, just call for me."
"Okie-dokie, Mr. Valentine."
000
Cloud closed the bathroom's door behind him. He grimaced at his own smell but knew that Zack required the soak more than the blond needed a shower. He had pushed the boy hard actually. It was partially his fault that Zack had tried to keep even with Cloud. The immortal really needed to stop egging him on so much. The results for what he wanted to happen to save the world may have needed to be quick but not supersonic. Besides, too much of a rush could end up bad for both of him, Zack, Aeris, and even Sephiroth...
"Oh shit! Sephiroth and Jenova!" How could he have forgotten those two?! Especially Jenova of all things? She was the catalyst for the all of the shit in the old past to begin with! "Damn it!" Cloud cursed under his breath. "Damn, damn, damn!"
How was he going to stop Jenova? Prevent Sephiroth's insanity? Maybe he should have stayed in Nibelheim long enough to burn down the Shin-ra Mansion. Fuck, and he had forgotten about Vincent down in the basement! He wasn't a superhero for Shiva's sake! Nor was he a super smart genius with a photographic memory! And could he leave Zack in Midgar in order to retrace his steps back to Nibelheim? How could he have forgotten that his old home village was the place were everything started with Gast, Hojo, Lucrecia, and Vincent? Why didn't he think of these things then and stayed?!
Damn his horrible memory! This was all Hojo's and Jenova's fault for fucking with his head.
"The questions of 'how' and 'why' can wait," Cloud hissed to himself. "I have to fix this before it goes down the tube even further!"
"Mr. Valentine?" Zack called through the door. "I'm getting wrinkly! Can I get out now and go to sleep?"
"Yeah, go ahead!"
"I need my boxers and pajamas!"
Shit! Cloud had even forgotten his own protégé's nightclothes! And he was supposed to save the world?
000
"WHAT?" Zack squawked in rage. Several other boys his age turned to stare at the two arguing people. He and Cloud were at the cadet registry in Midgar. The teen was about to hop in line when his mentor had dropped a figurative bomb on his spiky, black head. "You're gonna leave! But-"
"I can't stay here, Zack," Cloud interrupted. "I have things to do."
"But I need you here, Mr. Valentine!"
"No, you don't!" the blond snapped at him. The teen gaped. His mentor had never yelled at him before. "You're a big boy and you don't need me to hold your hand." Cloud handed Zack his file. "Just hand them your file and go in." His voice had softened. "Seriously, I can't come with you into the barracks. Cadets only. Time to let go, Zack."
Zack swallowed hard around the lump that had developed in his throat. "You'll come visit me, right? Right Mr. Valentine?" he whispered just loud enough for Cloud to hear him. "And you'll write to me, right?"
Cloud wanted to hug him and swear to never leave him. But the blond had no choice. "I promise to write and I'll visit when you make it into SOLDIER," he said. "You might not be able to write me back but I know that you'll do well. No slacking off and don't forget to keep writing your parents too." Cloud clapped a friendly hand on his protégé's shoulder. "We're friends, aren't we?"
"Always," Zack said. He blinked away his tears and straightened up. "I'm gonna make it into SOLDIER, just you wait! I promise to do my best in everything! I'm going to be a hero." Cloud just smiled sadly and melted away into the crowd. Zack watched him go then stiffly turned to get in line. He glared at the spectators who turned away in embarrassment at being caught staring. He was a strong young man with ambition and determination. And his mentor had made him a better person with a purpose. He would be strong. He would be brave. He was going to be somebody, a hero.
Zackary Fair was going to be a SOLDIER.
000
Cloud wandered the streets of Junon a few weeks later after having taken the long way to the seaside city. He had an actual ticket to board a ship headed for Costa del Sol instead of sneaking on like the year before with Zack. But the ship wasn't going to leave until tomorrow. He had no wish to visit Lower Junon to look out at the pollution and poverty of the people there. Of course Upper Junon felt just as rancid to him anyway. But he had counted on that feeling, achingly familiar even from his past. What he hadn't counted on was the depressing effect of not having Zack around to pester him for a new sword lesson or a second helping of food.
To be completely honest Cloud Strife felt heartsick and lonely. The depressing atmosphere at Junon was not helping one bit. But he didn't want to see the nauseating cheerfulness of Costa del Sol either.
He just couldn't win.
One would think Cloud would have been used to the loneliness after the six centuries of isolation. But one year of being with just Zack had made him more used to having at least one companion, especially a perpetually cheerful one. Something told him that Vincent was going to make depressing company. He had always liked Vincent; yet Cloud had no desire to hear gloom and doom and to play witness to brooding that made his own brooding look like pouting.
Fuck...
000
Zack smiled at his new friends. But the sad memory of Valentine leaving him still stuck in his mind. He knew that his mentor meant well yet he still missed him. And he had to force himself to pretend that each class was just an extended review for a test. His mentor had been a little too thorough in his training with Zack. So he was bored with everything already. He had promised to do his best and to not slack off. Oh, he was tempted, don't get him wrong. He had the feeling, however, that Valentine would somehow hear about it and come for his hide like an avenging angel of doom and despair.
"Hey dude, you okay?" a voice asked.
Zack looked over at the closest of his new friends, Reno Sinclare. "Just a little homesick, is all," he replied.
"Aw, I kinda miss Kalm too. But my hometown's a day's walk from the city. Yours is on a whole different continent!" Reno snickered and winked. "Stick with me, yo, and maybe I'll let you come home with me on our first week-end off to eat my mom's cookies. Shit, I miss her cookies."
000
Cloud vomited over the side of the ship. He ignored the sailors' laughter and clung for dear life to the railing. The sea breeze helped a little but not enough to make him stop. Just another day at sea and he would be in Costa del Sol, thank Bahamut.
000
The blond swordsman stumbled off of the commercial ship and hurried off of the dock. Quickly his nausea went away. Cloud headed for the bar. He ignored the bikini-clad prostitutes and giggly surfer girls who might as well be whores. He was hot, sweaty, and grumpy. The immortal was born a mountain boy and, no matter how old he was, he would always prefer the cooler mountains to the obscenely hot beaches and deserts.
"Hi there, a cool drink, sir?" a cheerful waitress asked. A wide, insincere smile spread across her dark face. "Or something else instead?"
"Mango juice with ice, no alcohol," Cloud replied coldly. The waitress blinked quickly in surprise but nodded. She hurried off. The blond man followed and seated himself at the bar. She placed his drink in front of him and left the swordsman to his own devices. It was obvious he would not be buying any services to go along with his non-alcoholic beverage. Cloud simply ignored everyone around him. After he was done he paid the bartender and exited the establishment. Damn, he hated this place. Remembered that he had only bought the old Shin-ra Villa because Yuffie had teased him about how he could afford the whole world just from his monster killing, so why not the villa.
Cloud frowned and marched toward the travel supply stand. He didn't like the high prices but he needed at least the basics to put in his small pack. He wished that Fenrir had survived the apocalypse and made it through with him in the rewind. The motorcycle would have made things a hell of a lot easier.
000
Summer in the mountains meant that he could actually cross said mountains without the threat of being sent into a painful coma from falling into a ravine. And being the human shaped mountain goat that he was, Cloud climbed easily. Once a mountain boy, always a mountain boy. For once his sadness lifted and he cheered in the sheer joy of climbing the mountains. This was his territory and his alone.
Old memories of his childhood spent in the Nibel Mountains dodging monsters and dragons made Cloud grin. Those had been the days when he had been king of the mountain range and he had known every nook and cranny of his beloved hills. Not even the bullies could follow him up the slopes. He hadn't needed bridges and paths, both which proved to be more dangerous than just climbing.
The crunch of rock and gravel beneath Cloud's boots thrilled him to pieces. The summer calm that enveloped the Nibel Range made him giddy. Sorrow and despair had no place in the wilds here. The doubts and fears flew away. He laughed out loud just because he could. Even Gaia herself seemed to love it, whispering thoughts of bliss and revelry. Her beloved warrior loved the wildest parts of her being, her craggy mountains and sloping hills. Cloud didn't care how dusty he was or how pebbles tried to make him slip. With natural ease bettered by his Mako enhancements, he climbed.
Cloud would be in Nibelheim by nightfall, just as he planned.
000
All was quiet and it made Cloud twitchy. Nibelheim had finally turned off all the lights. The village was asleep at last. The swordsman snuck in from the mountain path that led into the village. He eyed the wall that surrounded the Shin-ra Mansion, calculating how much power he would have to put in his jump just to reach the ledge. He then looked out at the village once more. Not even the stray dogs were awake. Cloud stepped back a few long strides back and took a running leap. He landed feet first on top of the wall without impaling himself on the spikes. He gingerly maneuvered his body around and jumped down on the other side in a silent crouch. So far, so good. Cloud licked his lips nervously. He stuck to the shadows, creeping quickly to the front door.
Cloud wanted to laugh at himself. He had never felt so nervous in over six hundred years back when he was a boy just entering Midgar. The blond shook his head and entered the mansion. He made sure to keep himself silent with each movement he made. From his eyes radiated enough light for him to see where he was going, like a hunting cat in the dark. He knew every niche and crevice of this decrepit place. Every squeaky floorboard was imprinted in his most recent and untouched memories. He had spent a lot of time in this place with Vincent until his madness and following death. The monsters that inhabited the mansion seemed to sense that he was in no mood to play and steered clear of him. That was fine with Cloud. Any loud fights would wake the entire village.
The blond man went up the right set of stairs from the dusty foyer. He entered the halls that would ultimately lead to the secret staircase and thus the basement. Rats and roaches scurried out from the light of his Mako eyes. Not even Cloud's boots made a sound on the old wood floors. He couldn't help but think that silence was necessary. He felt a sick reverence for the place that had indirectly led to Sephiroth's birth, Vincent's first death, Sephiroth's madness twenty-five years afterward, and the awful experiments performed on himself and Zack. He hated this place but he couldn't bring himself to stomp around in fits of anger at it. The mansion was just a building with a bad history of residents.
"Yeah, and Shin-ra's main complex was just a giant apartment building that did other business on the side," Cloud muttered to himself. He winced when the secret door to the basement rattled open so loudly he felt like people all the way to Costa del Sol could have heard it. It was a ridiculous notion that he shook off. He sighed at the sight of the rickety, spiral stairs that led downward. "Like the toilet bowl to hell." He snickered at his own analogy and descended slowly. When he finally hit bottom he sighed in relief. Every creak those stairs made had Cloud tensing in preparation for falling. Every time, it was every time no matter what timeline those damn stairs always gave him the feeling that they would collapse.
Cloud froze in front of the door that led to Vincent's living tomb. Damn, he had forgotten to get the key! But the monster guarding it was noisy and it's blood and guts would make a nasty mess. He really, really didn't have the inclination to fight that stupid monster. He stared at the lock with narrowed eyes. Cloud then held up his hand and flexed it open and closed. He grinned. Why in the hell should he be polite enough to use a key? He didn't need the fucking key. He raised up one foot and kicked in the door with a loud boom. Bats from the ceiling scattered in fear and clouds of dust flew up.
"Oops," Cloud laughed to himself. He watched as Vincent's coffin opened to up to reveal the obviously awakened ex-Turk. "Good evening Mr. Valentine." The vampire-like man raised his eyebrows in question. "Have I got a story to tell you..."
000
"Why should I believe you?" Vincent rasped.
"Why did Hojo put three demons in your head?" Cloud sniped back.
The two men were in the mansion's dusty conservatory, sitting across from one another at the only table. Glowing electric blue eyes clashed with glowing crimson. Their conversation had been going around in circles for at least an hour or two. But Cloud needed this man to believe him. He needed a confidante and in the past Vincent Valentine had always been that person. But this was a different Vincent who had only spent twenty-one years in the coffin. Damn wait, that made his other self twelve-years-old, right? Anyway, this was different; Vincent was different... Cloud was different.
Vincent was silent for a few moments then spoke. "Are you doing this for your own justification? For the sake of your own memories, using myself and Zack and everyone else you've told me about? Or is this really to save the Planet?" he asked. "I wonder, are you being selfless or selfish?" Cloud blinked in surprise. The other man let him have silence as he thought about it.
Why was Cloud actually doing this? An act of selflessness to save the world? To prevent the apocalypse he had witnessed in the previous past before the Rewind? Or did he just want to prevent his own sorrow, his own pain? His own justification, as Vincent suggested? Was he using the people he had loved in his old past to assuage his own sense of guilt? Had he become nothing more than a manipulative bastard serving his own purposes? Like Hojo? Like old man Shin-ra and his son Rufus?
Was Cloud now the puppet master?
"I..." Cloud muttered. "I'm just human," he concluded. He stared straight into Vincent's eyes. "Maybe I am using you and Zack. Maybe I am doing this for myself. But you know what? I saw the world end. I saw the Planet kill her own people to try to save herself. I saw Sephiroth destroy Nibelheim, kill my mother, kill my best friend. I saw a previously good man and an incredible General go insane because of Hojo's machinations and Jenova's manipulations. I lost everything."
Cloud took a deep breath and continued under Vincent's stoic gaze. "Maybe that means I'm allowed to be selfish because of that. I don't want everything to be perfect, just better. I want to save the world. I want to save my mother. I want to save my best friend. I want to... I want to save Sephiroth, even from himself. I want to save you from your inner demons. I want to save Tifa from the sorrow of losing her father and becoming an orphan. I want to save Marlene from losing her biological parents to Shin-ra's greed. I want to save Denzel from losing his home and parents because of Meteor. The fact that I want to save everyone and everything and to make it all right, so what? Selfish or selfless, it doesn't matter. I'm going to do it whether you want me to or not. Aeris rewound the world and time itself to save Gaia. I'll comply with her wishes and hopes even if it also serves to assuage my own guilt and suffering. Once upon a time..." Cloud trailed off for a moment.
"What?" Vincent asked, obviously intrigued by the sudden change in Cloud's tone. It was soft, wistful.
"Once upon a time, in a forest as timeless as you and I, I had asked you if sins can ever be forgiven."
"And what did my previous self say to that?"
"That you didn't know. Want to know what I said to that?"
"Surprisingly I do." Vincent's voice was soft as well, as if he didn't want to break the spell cast by Cloud's spoken memories.
"I said that I was going to try anyway and that I would get back to you about it with a call." Cloud smiled. "Even after I complied with your plea to kill you, I had never been able to find an answer."
"And now?" Vincent said gently.
"Sins can be forgiven. But I have to forgive myself first as a first step. Aeris and Tifa were right from the very beginning. So I have to do this to save the world and to forgive myself. I can save everyone now, even Sephiroth... even you."
"What if I don't want to be saved?"
"Too bad, you're stuck with me," Cloud announced with child-like stubbornness.
Vincent smiled as much as a man like him could. "So it seems," he said. He paused then continued. "So, we are to save Lucrecia's son?"
"Yes, I believe he is the key to everything," Cloud answered. "And his name is Sephiroth. He's a person worth saving too; I've come to realize that."
A small but now comfortable silence occurred then the gunslinger spoke once more. "Will we get to kill Hojo too?" he wondered.
"Hell yeah."
"Good."
000
"So wait, you borrowed my name?" Vincent asked in amusement. He and Cloud were slowly turning every single piece of paper in the basement library into ash. After reading them out of curiosity and disgust.
"Yeah, the first thing I could think of at the time. I thought it was a good laugh," Cloud said. He shrugged. "I stole Shin-ra Junior's first name too if it makes you feel better."
Vincent flipped through another notebook filled with Hojo's research, all about Specimen S who was obviously Sephiroth. "That would make you my brother then?" he wondered.
Cloud froze. He stared at the open book in his hands, not really reading the words. "In my past and even now, I do think of you as family. Do you mind?" he asked softly.
"No." Vincent looked over at the blond. "Are you my younger brother or older brother?"
"Younger I think." Cloud regained his motor skills and used his only Fire Materia to burn the book. "I've always looked to you for advice."
"I see."
"Vincent?"
"Yes, Cloud?"
"Thanks... brother," Cloud said softly. Vincent smiled behind his cloak's mantle.
000
The sky was brightening as the duo exited Shin-ra Mansion. But the sun had not risen completely over the peaks that surrounded Nibelheim. Soon the villagers would be rising and Cloud had no intention of being seen in the village ever again. He knew that in two years time he could be seeing his younger self at Midgar. Or would he? That incident with Tifa falling had been a big factor in his old decision to join SOLDIER. Or had had his appearance pushed Kid to that decision anyway? Cloud would see in two years time, regardless.
"We need to leave now," Cloud said. He looked over at Vincent. "Unless you want to torch the entire mansion first and then strut out straight through the village?" Vincent just shrugged. "Alright then, let's mosey." Cloud laughed at his own joke while the gunslinger rolled his eyes.. They quickly flung themselves over the wall and booked it for the mountains. They had other things to worry about anyway.
000
TO BE CONTINUED