I DO NOT OWN FINAL FANTASY VII.


Twisted Fate

Chapter II: Childhood Friends

As she placed the medal on his neck, her plump merlot lips bent into a sideways smile that didn't quite meat her eyes. Her pale, porcelain skin was flawless without a wrinkle or crease. She was unreal. Her eyes were cool green and yet they were smoldering, burning hotter than the sun. When his eyes met hers, he was at a loss for everything. His heart ceased to beat, his skin grew cold yet the entire room was hotter than a furnace.

"Congratulations, Lieutenant." She whispered, even her voice was a far cry from what he knew. It was light and airy, and yet she purred in the most seductive way.

He didn't know who this woman was, but she was not Sephiroth, not even her green eyes or her silver hair could convince him she was.

Then she was gone. She moved on to the next Soldier without even looking back at Cloud.


"Wow, this is awesome." Lockheart gazed longingly at the golden medal as he and Cloud headed back home.

"What exactly are these for again?" Cloud never received such an award before, and never knew that SOLDIER even distributed such a thing.

"For the Battle of Fort Tamblin, silly!" Lockheart opened the door and headed straight for a wall mounted showcase behind the sofa.

"The Battle of…wait a minute." Cloud never fought in the Battle of Fort Tamblin; he was never even involved in the Wutai War.

"Give it over." Lockheart grabbed reached out for Cloud's medal, placing it beside his own in the showcase.

Cloud's eyes widened and his mouth dropped open at the sight of the commendations in the case.

"Are all those yours?"

Lockheart raised an eyebrow at him, glancing back and forth between the case and Cloud's moronic expression, "No. They're all yours." He gulped heavily, taking a step back though he was already five feet away from him. "Are you sure you're alright? You've been acting kinda weird."

"Uh…" Cloud wiped his forehead and breathed in deeply, "I've been feeling kind of weird."

"What's wrong?" Lockheart's bright face dimmed.

"I don't know. I guess I'm just tired and hungry."

"Why don't you take a shower and relax, I'll cook dinner."

"Sounds good."

Once under the hot water and blanketed by a soothing curtain of steam, Cloud began to mull over all the information in his head.

Okay…he was 8 years in the past, but this was not the past he remembered. Zack was obviously not his friend, he had a gay roommate with Tifa's last name, and he was in SOLDIER – that part was cool – and the icing on the cake? Sephiroth was a woman!

"What the hell is going on? Have I gone crazy?" Cloud leaned into the wall, letting the hot water spray over his back.

As he closed his eyes, he began to think about home. Should he have just stayed put and accepted things the way they were? Was Tifa worried? Probably not, he'd lied and said he was going to make deliveries. Now he was wishing he'd gotten that goodbye kiss.

"If I'm dreaming, I hope I wake up soon." He reached over and shut off the water. "What am I gonna do about Sephiroth?"

Cloud suddenly doubted killing her. One reason was the fact that she was a woman; he didn't know if he could bring himself to kill a woman. Another was that if Zack's personality was different in this alternate past, then was Sephiroth's? What if she was a good person? What if she doesn't go crazy at Nibelheim? What if she never goes to Nibelheim at all?

Grabbing a towel from the rack, he buried his face in the softness. As he thought about her, he couldn't help but be reminded of her beauty. She was too beautiful to kill. He never considered what Sephiroth would be like as a female, but he was not disappointed. Just thinking about that face caused him to grow stiff. Reaching down, he took himself in his hand, contemplating having a moment alone with her in his head. But throwing down the towel, he wacked himself hard, nearly causing his knees to buckle.

"Argh! Damn it!" He groaned, "That's it, that's what you get for thinking about another woman."

Regaining his composure, Cloud wrapped the towel around his waist and headed back to the bedroom. A pair of stretch pants and t-shirt was laid out on the bed for him and he assumed Lockheart had put them there. At least he his roommate was a nice and considerate guy, that much he was grateful for.

When he returned to the living room, he found Lockheart setting out the forks on the small dining table near the kitchen door.

"Oh good, at least those fit you okay." Lockheart sighed as he took off his apron. "Dinner's ready."

"Great, what are we having?" Cloud dropped into the chair.

"Only your favorite, grilled chicken breast with red potatoes and asparagus!" He sang sweetly as he presented Cloud with his plate.

"Oh," Cloud raised an eyebrow at his serving. It really was his favorite; he absolutely loved it, but… "Why is it shaped like a heart?"

"Because I'm so proud of you." Lockheart leaned forward, kissing the top of his head. "Eat up before it gets cold."

Cloud pursed his lips together, unsure of how to feel about being kissed by another man. Shaking it off, he concluded it was just one of Lockheart's quirks. It's not like he kissed him on the mouth or anything.

The food was great, tasting so much like Tifa's cooking. It was reassuring albeit uncanny.

"What's wrong? Still hungry?"

Cloud hadn't realized until Lockheart spoke that he'd been staring at his plate. "No, I've had enough. Thanks."

"So what now? Wanna watch TV or something?"

"Actually, I want to go to bed."

"Maybe that's best. Hey, Sephiroth gave us all the next week off, wasn't that nice of her?"

"Uh, yeah…" Cloud moseyed on into the bedroom, leaving Lockheart by himself.

"Cloud…"


Cloud fought for sleep, unable to truly relax due to the alien world he'd found himself in, and the loneliness without Tifa in bed with him. His heart was breaking; nothing was right, nothing was happening the way it was supposed to. The plan was to find Zack and convince him to help keep Sephiroth from going to Nibelheim or, if that plain failed, to kill him before he discovered Jenova.

Zack's not my friend. Not in this world I've ended up in. But at least he's alive. Maybe, if he's not my friend, he won't give his life to protect me. He'll live.

Cloud rolled onto his back, a tear rolling down his cheek. At length, he fell asleep.

His dreams at least, brought him home safely, if only for a night. In his dream, Tifa was lying beside him, her arms wrapped around his waist and her head on his chest.

"Tifa…I love you." Cloud rolled over, pushing her onto her back and pressing his lips against hers.

He ran his fingers through her long dark hair, sliding between her legs. His hand creeping up her thigh, he slid it upward until he reached one of her big plush breasts. But unfortunately, when he touched her chest, he found nothing but a semi-flat expanse.

Cloud's eyes shot open. Rearing up on his hands, he found not Tifa beneath him, but his male roommate, Lieutenant Lockheart. His breath caught as he gasped and exhaled at the same time, jumping backward and falling from the foot of the bed.

"Oh crap! Are you okay?" Lockheart scrambled to the foot of the bed, finding Cloud in a heap. "What happened?"

"What the hell…are you doing in my bed?" Cloud tried to control his breathing, but anger was bubbling in his gut.

A genuine expression of hurt and confusion crossed Lockheart's face. "We always sleep together. There's only one bed."

"Damn it…" Cloud got up, "And why do we share a bed?"

"Because you're my boyfriend."

"B-boyfriend? You've made a mistake! I am not your boyfriend, dude! I'm attracted to women only!"

Lockheart's face twisted into a horrible expression, like he was about to start bawling. Shutting his eyes tight, his nose turned red, tears began to flow soundlessly down his face. In that moment, Cloud could have sworn he was looking at Tifa.

"So….why'd you kiss me then…" His lips trembled as he spoke.

"I was dreaming about my girlfriend."

"You have a…" Lockheart's hands flew up to his mouth briefly before he cried out, "Since when? How long have you been cheating on me!"

"Huh? I'm not cheating on you! We're not dating!"

"So what? You're just going to ignore our relationship? We've been together since we were kids!"

"Bullshit! I don't even know you!"

"Cloud, what's wrong? Why are you acting like this?" Lockheart slid cautiously from the bed, keeping his distance from Cloud. "You're scaring me."

"I'm not trying to scare you." Cloud took a deep breath and reseated himself on the bed. "I'm just confused. Nothing is the way I remember it. The whole world is so foreign to me now. Everyone, even my friends, are strangers."

Lockheart bravely approached him, sitting beside him. Cautiously he wrapped his arm around Cloud's shoulders. Cloud saw no reason to resist. He needed comfort right then, not caring who gave it to him. Regardless of everything, this guy seemed to really care about him.

"I was afraid of this. The doctor said could be scrambled after what happened. I just hoped he was wrong."

"What are you saying?"

"You don't remember? Well, the doctor said you might have some memory loss too." Lockheart squeezed Cloud's fingers with his free hand. "At Fort Tamblin, you suffered a terrible blow to the head. You were actually in a coma for almost two months. In fact, you were hurt so bad, they almost pulled the plug on you."

"What? You mean they…"

"They almost killed you, Cloud." He buried his face in Cloud's arm, "I sat beside you the entire time. It was General Sephiroth who told them not to let you die… Oh god, she's not the other woman is she?"

"No, she's not." Cloud looked down at Lockheart's pleading eyes. "My girlfriend's name is Tifa Lockheart. She's my childhood friend."

"No way." Lockheart closed his eyes thoughtfully. Shaking his head, he smiled with relief. "You are scrambled then. I'm your childhood friend, Cloud. There is not nor ever was a girl named Tifa Lockheart. Just me, Tiffan Lockheart."