A/N: This is the first batch! 5-9 should come out...eventually. But if you wanna wait a bit, it'll make for a better story. But if you don't, that's fine too. Again, thanks to my beta readers MarleNadia, Sailor_Star_Dust, and Irish-Brigid.

Cloud awoke, blinking as his sight cleared up after a moment. He dreamed of it now, dreamed of Bartz and so many others. They were comrades in a world that they were forced to fight in, a woman named Cosmos brought them there. They didn't know where they came from at first, with bits and pieces of their memories returning here and there.

Didn't he have dreams of this before, before the meteorite? Cloud rubbed his face with his hand, sniffling as he raked his brain. He didn't always remember his dreams, but some of them had been quite vivid in the past year. His hand left his face, and he stared at the ceiling. Were they there, in those older dreams?

He shifted his weight onto an elbow and looked at the empty space next to him. Tifa always was an early riser, and it seemed her exhaustion hadn't stopped her from keeping her schedule. He heard the scrape of a pan, and the faint scent of coffee and potatoes. Shrugging off the dream or whatever it was, he went to take a shower before joining the others for breakfast.

"You're out of luck," Cloud drawled out. His sword was at his opponent's neck. He was just a kid, with platinum blond hair and a loose-cropped open shirt fastened by a pendant over his chest. He had a red sash and boots that looked like they belonged to a knight's suit of armor. "What were you thinking?"

"W-well, ah..."

Cloud rolled his eyes before lifting his sword away. "I'm no pushover, kid. Now get out of here before I change my mind."

Cloud gasped and leaned against the tile of the shower. When did he get into the shower? What did he just see? Since when did he fight random kids? Cloud put his hand up to his head, his fingers curled into his soaking wet hair. He hissed a sigh as a name came to him: Vaan. The teen's name was Vaan.

Cloud shook his head, then slowly dropped his hand away from his face. This was not how he wanted to start his morning. With a frustrated growl he rinsed away whatever soap was left on his body before turning the water off. He dried himself off while trying to push away those intrusive thoughts he hadn't asked for.

When he had calmed down and put on some fresh clothing, he made his way downstairs and greeted everyone with a quiet "Mornin'" before making himself a cup of coffee. Refilling Tifa's cup, Cloud gave her a peck on the cheek before heading towards the table. He sat next to Denzel, who gave the blond a small smile. The boy was sipping his juice and talking to Marlene about their friends, how they hoped they would be alright. When he turned to look at Yuffie, he noticed her studying him with a half awake stare. He frowned as he drank from his mug.

She lifted a brow. "How're you feeling?"

"Fine," he said flatly as he put his drink down.

Yuffie looked unconvinced, and she took a long sip of her coffee. "We can leave after breakfast and get this crap over with. I hope Rufus isn't the type to sleep in."

Tifa came over with several plates. "I'm going to take a look around town and see where everything is while you two are gone." She left and came back with two final plates. "Maybe there's a school here..."

"We have to go to school? Even with an alien running around?" Denzel asked incredulously. Both he and Marlene preferred the homeschooling their guardians had provided before the schools were built.

Cloud and Tifa nodded. "If there's one up and running. If not I guess I'll have plenty of time to tutor you both, with the bar closed..." Tifa looked down before eating some eggs. Their lives had been upended so suddenly again, but at least they weren't in Edge. They would be fine...for now.

"Yuffie, slow down. Rufus isn't going anywhere," Cloud chided.

She scowled at him as she lowered her fork. "Like you have any room to talk about eatin' fast, you bottomless pit!"

"Only when he's been injured," Tifa quietly corrected.

Cloud scoffed, then took a slow sip of his coffee. "Take your time. I'm not eating any faster."

With a cheekful of fried potato and a fork pointed accusingly at her friend she said "you're going slower!"

"Dunno what you're talking about."

He took his time enjoying his meal. How many more of these would they have together? His farewells to Tifa and the children were equally savored, even if Yuffie was viciously tapping her foot as she stood by the front door.

Patting Yuffie's shoulder he took his leave. Cloud walked over to Fenrir and fished out his sunglasses; as his friend settled herself behind him, he adjusted them over his eyes. As Yuffie put her hands onto his shoulders he turned his motorcycle on, pulled up the kickstand, and drove off with a dust trail fogging the morning air.

They passed by pedestrians going about their business and a lone chocobo that was tied up to a simple stall left for travelers. The gate came and went, and they were out in the wild grasslands, filled with the scent of evaporating dew, wildflowers, and the faint spice of uncultivated herbs.

"I can't believe this crap is happening," Yuffie yelled out as they traveled to the east.

Cloud nodded while still looking ahead. "Was there any word on anything before you left yesterday?"

"They're doin' an analysis on what's inside that big hunk of space rock. There was some glowing thing on the floor of the center...er, room, of the meteorite."

"...Glowing thing?" he shouted in reply, his trepidation lost in the wind.

"Yeah. No idea what it is yet."

Cloud sighed and pressed on towards Healin Lodge. After a while longer he spoke up. "How are the civilians taking it?"

"How d'you think, Spike? Rumors are goin' around and they're starting to freak out." He felt Yuffie squeeze his shoulders before continuing. "There's a curfew for the Midgar-Edge area and Kalm. Suspicious activity is encouraged to be reported on, yadda yadda yadda."

"Right."

Soon enough they turned up into the cliffside road that lead to Healin Lodge, and further up as they reached the main building they were greeted by Reno and Rude. Cloud stopped in front of them and they both hopped off Fenrir. He looked at Yuffie and nodded. "I'll wait here." He wasn't in the mood to for a conversation with Rufus.

Yuffie rolled her eyes but quickly leaped up the stairs before the two Turks could stop her. Cloud leaned on his bike with his arms crossed, watching the two as they turned to face him. He quirked a brow.

"Supposed to check for weapons, yo," Reno explained.

Cloud scoffed as he put his sunglasses on top of his head. "Of course she has weapons on her. It's Yuffie."

Rude stiffened. "With whatever happened yesterday, it would be prudent to confiscate, even if she's with the WRO."

Reno nodded. "Yep. We'll let it slide just this once, though." The Turk gave an appraising look towards the spiky headed warrior. "Heard you and your girl were at ground zero." Cloud gave him an angry glare, and Reno waved his hands. "I wasn't gonna ask about that, yo. Just wanted to know what it looked like."

Cloud nodded; it wasn't an unreasonable request. He looked down and thought back to that night. "He was wearing blue, I think. Looked almost like you'd think a prince in one of those children's stories would look like, just a little stranger." Cloud shrugged, then looked up. "He had short brown hair and light eyes, too."

"No name?" Rude asked.

"Bartz."

Reno rubbed his chin as his other hand sat on his hip. "Huh. Funny name for an alien that might kill us all. Kinda prefer Jenova to that, yo."

"What difference does it make if it's gonna kill us all?" Rude asked with a frown.

Reno shrugged. "Just sayin', yo. Bartz sounds kinda vanilla."

Cloud snorted. It was a plain name for an alien, just like his name was kind of...fluffy, when he thought about it. Being named after fluffy white wisps in the sky didn't make him any less a hot head than he already was, nor no less dangerous an opponent.

Cloud pushed away a long, deadly katana in mid-air before landing behind Bartz. Sephiroth was going to do another cheap attack from above, and Cloud wasn't going to have it. Not again. He brought the Fusion Sword up, towards Sephiroth as he gracefully landed twenty feet away.

"Cloud, what the blazes-Wait, that is your name, right? Cloud? Like, puffs in the sky?"

"So, you remember me. Then you know what's going on."

"We're back here...again?!"

"Helloooo, Planet to Cloud?" Reno waved his hand in front of Cloud's face, and he instinctively shook his head and brought a hand to his face. Another memory, so much clearer this time...

"Sorry...You were saying?" Cloud tried to hide his anxiety. He had completely lost himself again. Was this one because he was so close to the no-go area? But he had had an episode in the shower, too...

Reno raised a brow and adjusted the goggles on his forehead. "You just zoned out for a good minute there, buddy."

Cloud looked about, one eye covered by his gloved hand. He put it down and took a deep breath. "I...was thinkin' about my family," he lied. Internally he cringed at the weak cover up.

"Sure," Reno replied. "I guess Reeve booted you outta Edge for good reason," he casually remarked.

Cloud scowled. "I'm fine," he snapped back.

"Whatever you say, yo."

Before Cloud could retort, Yuffie came bounding down the stairs, leaping the last five down. "Alright, your boss knows what we know and has the maps and clearances if we need ya." She sat down on Fenrir after Cloud mounted the bike and turned the engine over. "Got my WRO number on there too in case anything weird is comin' our way."

The two Turks nodded. "Take care of yourselves out there, yo."

Cloud and Yuffie nodded a farewell before leaving the quiet resort, their return trip marked by silence; neither of them had anything to say to the other, but Cloud didn't mind. It gave him time to think in peace. Yes, that was Bartz that he had saved in his vision. But why was Sephiroth there? It made absolutely no sense.

He sneered into the wind. Did the alien think he could play with his memory so easily?

When they were almost to Walz they passed a chocobo rider in old traditional clothing, the person on the bird looking away as if to check the back end of his mount for something. The two couldn't help but stare, wondering if he was a woodsman from beyond the Mythril Mines. Maybe, Cloud thought, he was trying to find a way into the area west of them because he was worried about loved ones.

Then again, he looked very similar to the one he had passed the other day. A local to the Grasslands Area or Kalm, perhaps. Who ever he was, Cloud silently hoped the man could get his family. It was unbelievable, how one stupid alien could upend an entire planet.

When they reached the town, Cloud parked Fenrir by the house. The two decided to walk over to the bulletin board before doing anything else. Cloud glanced at a job offering a nice sum of gil to anyone willing to slay a stray Behemoth near the partially constructed port, and with a smirk he turned about and walked back home for his ride. He looked at Yuffie as she followed by his side. "Comin' or slayin'?"

She groaned at his horrible sense of humor. "Real funny, Spike." Yuffie looked at Fenrir as they turned the corner, and then looked back at Cloud with a hand near her mouth. "I think I've done enough ridin' for today. You have fun, now."

He nodded before sitting on his bike and heading out towards the north, hoping that a fight would help clear his mind. Still his thoughts would turn to those 'memories'. The alien had to be messing with his head somehow, even so far away and without a physical link. That was, if the tests were to be believed. Hopefully the alien trying to weasel itself into his mind would be found and exterminated soon.

Bartz finished several jobs delivering packages out to the farms that littered the area as well as taking out a large and troublesome Replicon, the strange bird monster reminding him of a partially bald chocobo with large clawed paws. Not sure what to take as proof he decided one of the claws would do well enough.

He looked the dead bird over several times, wondering if it would be any good to eat. Bartz decided against butchering the strange creature just in case, and would ask the butcher about it when he came back into town. Hopping onto the still skittish chocobo, he made his way back to Walz. He had only crossed paths with Cloud once today, and hopefully that would be all.

Bartz's mind wandered back to the warrior that saved his life on that strange world. He wondered if Cloud would come to his senses soon, or if the manhunt was still on. If it was, he was going to need to hurry up and get the rest of the gil for that gold chocobo so he could go off to some other place that was a bit safer.

He entered town and collected his reward from the bounty hunter, then given another creature to go after if he was up to it. He decided it would be best to do so tomorrow; it was getting late. As he left the small building, Bartz noticed two children looking over his chocobo, a young girl and a slightly older boy.

"I've never seen a chocobo up close before," the boy said.

"It's been a really long time since I did. Aren't they pretty?"

They looked up as Bartz approached, unsure of the strangely garbed young man. "You guys like chocobos, too, huh?" They nodded in silence. "I'm borrowing this one until she's easier to ride. Say, wanna give her some greens?"

Bartz took a few Gysahl Greens out of a small pack on the side of the chocobo and handed them to the children. After a moment of hesitation they took them, then one by one they fed the chocobo. It cocked its head and warked before gently plucking the greens from their hands, and they laughed as it finished eating with a tap of its beak.

"Can we pet her?" the girl asked. Bartz nodded; the chocobo had been skittish but not violent. The children tentatively touched the bird, then it leaned into their hands as they found a sweet spot on its neck.

The boy's grin grew as he rubbed the chocobo's chest, making it coo. "I wish they had these in Edge."

Bartz's eyes lit up. "You're from Edge?" That was where he fell, near there...

The boy nodded. "Yeah. We're stuck here until they find that alien runnin' around. We had to leave yesterday before the roadblocks went up."

"...They're blocking the roads?" he asked in surprise. All because of him?

The little girl spoke up. "They don't want it escaping. Mama said it could be like Sephiroth, so they gotta find it before it kills everyone," she said, doleful.

"S-Sephiroth? Like Sephiroth?" He looked around. He knew Sephiroth was dangerous, but how dangerous could he have been that they would block all access to an area?

The boy scratched his head, his messy, wavy brown hair grazing his blue eyes. He was about to speak up when a short young woman came up the street from a store, bags in her hands.

"Okay, guys! We got Tifa's stuff. Time to go home!" Bartz's face went numb. Tifa? No, it couldn't be the Tifa he knew. For all he knew, it was a common name. Besides, Cloud and Tifa looked too young to have children that were this old...right? Cloud was probably just here to search for him.

"Can we stay a little longer, please? We don't get to see chocobos back home!" the girl pouted as she kept a hand on the bird.

"Marlene, we gotta get home. I'm sure the chocobo will be here tomorrow." The young woman glanced at Bartz and looked him up and down with a frown.

"I'm a hunter," he said awkwardly, hands on his hips.

"Yeah, I see that." She looked back at the children. "Maybe Cloud can take ya to the Chocobo Farm tomorrow."

Bartz swallowed heavily and tried to keep himself composed. This was Cloud and Tifa's family. They were staying here, running from their homes in Edge, because of him. This is heavy.

The kids collectively moaned, then looked up at Bartz. The little girl put on a smile. "Thanks for letting us pet your chocobo, mister..."

He hoped he wasn't sweating too much. But it was warm as it was, he didn't look too suspicious, did he? No. But he had to get out of here. "Uh, Klauser."

They said their goodbyes and Bartz quickly headed off, nearly leaping onto his chocobo before escaping the town to make camp. He felt he needed to distance himself more from the town and took for higher ground in the rougher edges to the northeast, overlooking the town and road to the port. There were more trees here for firewood, but he would have to travel down the cliffs and plateaus for water.

Bartz set up his camp all the while fretting over the unintended consequences of his arrival. People were suffering as the WRO looked for him, because they thought he was something like Sephiroth. Now he knew why Cloud and Tifa were so hostile. Not only did they not remember him, but they thought he was extremely dangerous.

He took the chocobo down to the creek to drink, and he freshened himself up in the deeper parts of the warm water, hidden by a gangly bush. Bartz still kept an eye out for anyone or anything that could disturb him as he cleaned himself up.

Afterwards he made his way back to camp, watching with dread as that familiar black thing carrying Cloud zoomed towards town with what looked like a horn latched to the back. Bartz was far away, but noticed Cloud's head turn towards the cliffs as he sped by, watching him. He walked off as quickly as he could, hoping against hope that his friend's curiosity would not get the better of him. Not until he came up with a plan.

Cloud came home after dropping off the Behemoth horn at the port authority office and taking his reward. The long search for the Behemoth and short fight afterwards had taken his mind off the pressing matter of the alien for a time, and he appreciated the reprieve.

As he looked his dark shirt over for any trace of gore or too much sweat, he overheard the children at the kitchen table, talking about chocobos. Cloud supposed he looked fine enough to chat a bit before he cleaned up. "Hey, guys."

They looked over and waved at him, and he sat across from them. He stole a few pieces of carrot off their snack plate and began to eat the discs while Denzel looked at him with a big grin on his face. "We got to see a chocobo today!"

"Yeah! Cloud, could you take us to the Chocobo Farm tomorrow?" Marlene asked. "Please?"

"Maybe. I'll talk it over with Tifa." He looked over his shoulder and into the kitchen a moment; Yuffie and Tifa were talking about the town. He turned back. "What kinda chocobo was it?"

"It was yellow, and Mr. Klauser let us feed it and pet it," Marlene said.

He swallowed the last of the carrot he had eaten. "...Mr. Klauser?"

Denzel nodded. "He was dressed kinda funny, but he was really nice."

Cloud looked down at the table. "Klauser..." The name was familiar, scratching the surface of his memories. Still studying the scratches on the wood he asked, "what did he look like?"

"He was dressed in this light green outfit, with a brown vest and a cap on his head," Denzel replied.

Marlene nodded. "I've never seen someone with eyes like that, either."

Cloud looked up and stared at her. "Eyes like what?"

She thought a moment. "Kinda...clear, but not really?"

"Silver?" Denzel offered.

"Gray! And he had brown hair," Marlene said smugly. "Maybe we'll see him tomorrow!"

Cloud gawked at them both, then promptly shut his slack jaw and looked towards the window. Could Bartz have escaped here? No...This wouldn't be an ideal place for an alien. But those visions were becoming stronger. Before they could ask him anything, he excused himself to use the shower.

The blond courier stripped off his clothing and turned the shower on. There was no way Bartz was nearby, it had to have found itself back in Edge, or in Kalm. Some place the WRO could eventually find it, where there were lots of people to get lost in. It was just a coincidence.

He thought back to this afternoon as he watched that peculiar man up on the cliffs near the road. He had a chocobo with him. Klauser...Cloud had heard that name before. He stood under the shower head, deep in thought as water pelted his scalp.

"I'm Bartz Klauser. Don't know much more than that, though."

"I'm Cloud Strife. Guess we're both on the same boat."

"Haha, I guess so. Hey, good luck finding your crystal!"

"You too."

What a strange place. Why did Bartz even start talking to him, anyway? Cloud shook his head and widened his eyes. Bartz Klauser. That was his name, and he was right outside the town! He shut off the water and stared at his feet. Taking deep breaths to calm himself while running his hands through his hair, he wondered if he should tell Tifa and Yuffie about it. Cloud chewed on his bottom lip. He began to dry himself off quickly, tensely, then paced about the small bathroom for a good five minutes. Cloud finally leaned on the wall and rubbed his face with his hands.

No. Not yet, he decided.

Plopping down on the toilet seat he put his hands on his towel-wrapped legs, still taking deep, controlled breaths. The blond knew he should say something. Maybe Tifa would remember the name, too, and then what? One of his hands gripped his hair as it slowly stood back up on his scalp.

If either of them said anything, there was a chance Reeve might have to take them into protective custody. The thought sent a shiver down his spine. Cloud knew his friend would only do something like that if he absolutely had to, but the blond was unsure if Reeve would consider this situation such a time. A harsh sigh left his lips. What if he just went up there, and killed the alien?

But those 'memories' were so real...He needed to talk with Bartz. Yes, just talk, not kill. Not yet...

Cloud looked towards the door and heard the children talking to themselves as they went into their shared bedroom. They would have to go in for testing now, too. He stood up and began to get dressed with a grimace on his face. What's happening to me?