Title: Mako Blue Horizon
Chapter: 9
Chapter Title: Enter Cloud
Author: Kage Kashu
Archive: Ask. Give credit where it's due. Then... ?
Genre: General. Humor/Drama/Angst/Romance/Action/Adventure
Story Summary: What would happen if Cloud never went to Midgar? Who would take his place? And who would take Sephiroth's place as Jenova's right hand? Because of a Mako induced illness, Cloud never went to Midgar. Because of his absence, things that were supposed to happen never did, and things that were never supposed to happen did. Sephiroth-centric with Cloudy moments.
Chapter Summary: We follow as Cloud heads off to Fort Condor... And then everyone gets to meet Cloud.
Disclaimer: Dun own them, wish I did.
Author's notes: You need to have played the game to get this part. Things get stranger. And I figure... Normal thinking is between 'these things'. Zack's thinking is between /these/, Jenova, when I get that far is going to be between -these, 'cause I didn't feel like being more creative for her-. And (Unknown) is going to be between ~these~. And Sephiroth's younger self is going to be between \these\. (Yeah, that works!) I suppose I also need something for talking through electronics. So, that will be in between =these=.
Warnings: Very AU. A bit of het... (Don't worry, though... it won't last...) General weirdness concerning Cloud. But it's still very AU.
~*~*~*~*~*~
Junon Harbor
Cloud had never really found himself all that interested in women. According to his mother, most males found breasts interesting. But, having grown up around Tifa... he found that he had a distinct dislike of them, really.
He didn't understand how a woman could stand having them... They looked so ungainly.
But that's getting off track. He hadn't ever found himself interested in a woman. Which is why he was so surprised at the pull he felt towards this girl he had met earlier that day.
There was a strange feel to the air around her that made her seem ethereal. Although, what had caught him most were her eyes. Soul-deep emeralds, and full of an unidentifiable _something_ that made his heart ache.
He had been drawn to her, hook-line-and-sinker. Too bad he didn't have much time to talk to her.
He hadn't even caught her name, but apparently he reminded her of someone that she had once known.
Unfortunately, even while she was staying in Junon, for a couple of weeks, she said, he had to head off to Fort Condor. (He was to guide some troops to take out some Shinra soldiers. Yay!)
She gave him her best wishes, and stood in silent awe as Nibie came off of the ship to follow him. He grinned, waving a cheerful farewell. He got that response a lot, over his pets, usually. Of course, they were usually more shocked when he did as he did now.
He caught the fur at the base of Nibie's neck and swung himself up onto the huge wolf's back. This was so much better than riding chocobos.
~*~
Just Outside Of The Mythril Caves
Tifa ranted, Barret listened. Red XIII gave no indication of what he thought of the proceedings.
"I can't believe they would think we were that stupid!!"
Barret grumbled softly at her, "Seph seemed to think that they spilled the info on purpose."
"Of course they did!!!" Her chest heaved. "They seem to think we'd be stupid enough not to know that!"
He scratched the base of his neck, and as usual, Red XIII proved to be no help. "So... Do we believe them, or not?"
"Seph says it's worth checking into. Unless Aerith is going to Fort Condor -and she isn't, 'cause that would be a dead end-, she must be heading for Junon." She sighed loudly.
Barret swore loudly when he noticed a large -very large- monster heading toward them.
"Eep!!" Tifa squeaked. "What is that?"
Red XIII's tail quivered. "Something that may have once been an owl."
With their lack of ability, it was too much to handle alone. 'Where are you two?' Barret wondered of Seph and Jessie. They had gone to see if anyone at the Fort could confirm what the Blonde Turk had said.
Red XIII began to chuckle. As they were almost beaten, Barret could not see anything funny about the situation. "What's so funny, Cat-boy?"
"There is always something bigger," the redhead managed to choke out as a gigantic wolf landed upon the thing that they had been fighting. It leapt back and there was a loud, high-pitched howl... One that couldn't have come from the wolf.
Then the remainder of the Zemzelett was cleaved in two by a rather wicked looking sword. "Yeeeeeeeeaaaaaaaahhh!!! Nibie!!!" That voice... sounded human. And suddenly it became clear. Someone was helping them.
"Eh, Tifa!!" the voice exclaimed.
Tifa sat up from where she had fallen when the wolf had all but fallen from the sky. It was still there, he noted. But it didn't seem inclined to attack, so he'd leave it be.
"Cloud?" Tifa asked, hopefully.
A slim blonde man appeared from the other side of the wolf, a large cheerful grin across his face. "Ne, Tifa, I think Midgar's been too easy on you."
Barret would give the guy one thing, he sure looked different than anybody he had ever seen. The man's hair was vaguely reminiscent of a chocobo's feathers (same color, too), with a semi-long, spiky pony-tail in back. He wore a moss green turtleneck shirt with leather covering his right arm, wrapped, from his shoulder down.
A lone, awkward looking piece of armor guarded his right shoulder, and a heavy bangle decorated his right wrist, just above what looked to be a brass knuckle. His right knee, and lower leg, was adorned with a rather old style and terribly banged up knee guard and shin guard. There was no armor on his left side, at all. Very strange.
A leather belt, equipped with suspenders, for some reason... (or perhaps it was how he kept that sword hooked where it was supposed to be...) and a dusty pair of ancient looking blue jeans, and his outfit was completed with a pair of somewhat worn leather hiking boots.
Something told Barret that the wolf was part of the ensemble.
"Cloud!!" Tifa screeched, darting over to hug the man who was apparently the mysterious 'Cloud' he had always heard about.
He hugged her back, gingerly. "Eh, Tifa... You haven't been keeping up with your training, have you? The Tifa from back home would have been able to handle that thing with both arms tied behind her back!!"
She smacked him in the head. "Midgar isn't exactly the best training grounds, you know!"
Mako blue eyes stared upward for a moment as the blonde rubbed the back of his head with his left hand.
"Cloud?"
"Yes?"
"Why haven't you put your sword up yet?" Now that Tifa pointed it out, Barret noticed that the grizzly sword was still in the blonde's hand.
Cloud glanced down. "Oops... Heheh..." He attached the sword to a holder on his back, carefully letting go of it and putting his hand back down. "I've been having a bit of trouble with that hand lately..."
Tifa glared at him, "Hard time? What happened to it?"
He shook his head. "You see... I had this baby Zuu... It really didn't like being handled much. I let it go a couple of weeks ago. Tried using a Cure3... It must have severed some nerves... maybe a tendon..."
"Cloud!!"
The man jumped, then scratched the back of his head with his left hand.
"I thought your mother didn't want you bringing home any more of those things!"
He grinned sheepishly at her. "She has a hard time arguing about it when I've got it right there with me... It was cute, I couldn't leave it on it's own like that..."
"So."
"Hmm?"
"What exactly did it do to your arm?"
"Nearly tore it off, actually." He flexed his right arm slightly. "It caught a hold of me right here..." He tapped his arm, right below the elbow, "and bit me here..." right under the shoulder, "and pulled." He shook his head. "Hurt like Ifreet himself was clawing his way up my arm. Ouchies."
Tifa was silent for a moment, so Barret decided that it was as good a time as any to get in any words edgewise. "You're Cloud?"
The man jumped slightly then looked him over. It was one of those stares that makes you feel like the person knows every wrong you've done and it shakes you to the core. Then Cloud grinned. "Barret, right?" He extended his left hand.
Barret shook his hand, noticing a very large difference in the sizes of their hands. Cloud's hand wasn't any bigger than Tifa's, while Barret's was probably at least as big as the guy's skull. "Yeah... I heard about you," he commented.
Cloud blinked. "You know, I get that a lot... But I've heard about you too. For a guy who lived in Midgar, I must say, I'm impressed." He then looked at Red XIII who was eyeing the wolf. "And you are?"
Red jumped. "Hm? Oh, they call me Red XIII."
"That can't be your real name." The blonde was unimpressed. "But if that's what you prefer being called..."
"Nanaki. I am named Nanaki."
Cloud bowed his head slightly, "Thank you, Nanaki." The big grin returned quickly to his face. "And that's Nibie."
"Huh?" asked Barret.
"The wolf, her name's Nibie."
Suddenly Seph's voice cut in. "Ah, a familiar voice... and a familiar face," he added, pausing before the huge wolf.
Cloud looked startled. "Eh? You know Nibie?"
Seph glanced over at him, "You don't remember me?" The look on his face changed a bit, looking vaguely hurt.
"Ehh..." Cloud was suddenly in front of Seph, peering into his face. "Oh! Heya, sir!" Cloud then grabbed Seph's hand, shaking it rather enthusiastically. Then paused. "Who's this?" speaking of Jessie. "Wait a minute! You're the techie-chick! Jessie, right?"
Jessie backed off quickly. "Uhm, and who are you?"
"Eh?" Cloud paused, startled that someone here didn't know who he was. And then, "I'm Cloud Strife."
She nodded vaguely.
"And this is Nibie," he pointed at the wolf, who was now licking Seph. Now that, Barret grinned, was a sight.
~*~
After a lot of talking, they all parted ways. Cloud, off to see to some battle at the Fort, and the rest of them to follow Aerith. Speaking of which, Sephiroth himself now remembered that he had forgotten to ask the young man about that.
Too late now. And off they all headed for Junon.
~*~*~*~*~*~
So... Read, Review. Tell me what you think. (I like it.) Is it any good? (Please tell me what you think.) My opinion is subjective... (I need objective opinions...)
Angefantasy, Yuppers. Am continuing... Really glad you like this...
Danyella Skyler Silverfire, You really think so?? Hope you like this one as well, then, ne??
Miniature Rant of the Day---
On the Turks: I have such a hard time finding good Turks fanfiction. I love the Turks! Especially Reno. And Tseng. Tseng's awesome. And purty. They're both purty. Rude's funny, and Elena's cool too, even if she is slightly psycho... You don't find much good Reeve fanfiction either, and I like them all!! Why don't people write more about them?? *cries* *huggles Reeve and Reno dollies*
If you actually read my rants, thank you.
Thank you, for reading.
Chapter: 9
Chapter Title: Enter Cloud
Author: Kage Kashu
Archive: Ask. Give credit where it's due. Then... ?
Genre: General. Humor/Drama/Angst/Romance/Action/Adventure
Story Summary: What would happen if Cloud never went to Midgar? Who would take his place? And who would take Sephiroth's place as Jenova's right hand? Because of a Mako induced illness, Cloud never went to Midgar. Because of his absence, things that were supposed to happen never did, and things that were never supposed to happen did. Sephiroth-centric with Cloudy moments.
Chapter Summary: We follow as Cloud heads off to Fort Condor... And then everyone gets to meet Cloud.
Disclaimer: Dun own them, wish I did.
Author's notes: You need to have played the game to get this part. Things get stranger. And I figure... Normal thinking is between 'these things'. Zack's thinking is between /these/, Jenova, when I get that far is going to be between -these, 'cause I didn't feel like being more creative for her-. And (Unknown) is going to be between ~these~. And Sephiroth's younger self is going to be between \these\. (Yeah, that works!) I suppose I also need something for talking through electronics. So, that will be in between =these=.
Warnings: Very AU. A bit of het... (Don't worry, though... it won't last...) General weirdness concerning Cloud. But it's still very AU.
~*~*~*~*~*~
Junon Harbor
Cloud had never really found himself all that interested in women. According to his mother, most males found breasts interesting. But, having grown up around Tifa... he found that he had a distinct dislike of them, really.
He didn't understand how a woman could stand having them... They looked so ungainly.
But that's getting off track. He hadn't ever found himself interested in a woman. Which is why he was so surprised at the pull he felt towards this girl he had met earlier that day.
There was a strange feel to the air around her that made her seem ethereal. Although, what had caught him most were her eyes. Soul-deep emeralds, and full of an unidentifiable _something_ that made his heart ache.
He had been drawn to her, hook-line-and-sinker. Too bad he didn't have much time to talk to her.
He hadn't even caught her name, but apparently he reminded her of someone that she had once known.
Unfortunately, even while she was staying in Junon, for a couple of weeks, she said, he had to head off to Fort Condor. (He was to guide some troops to take out some Shinra soldiers. Yay!)
She gave him her best wishes, and stood in silent awe as Nibie came off of the ship to follow him. He grinned, waving a cheerful farewell. He got that response a lot, over his pets, usually. Of course, they were usually more shocked when he did as he did now.
He caught the fur at the base of Nibie's neck and swung himself up onto the huge wolf's back. This was so much better than riding chocobos.
~*~
Just Outside Of The Mythril Caves
Tifa ranted, Barret listened. Red XIII gave no indication of what he thought of the proceedings.
"I can't believe they would think we were that stupid!!"
Barret grumbled softly at her, "Seph seemed to think that they spilled the info on purpose."
"Of course they did!!!" Her chest heaved. "They seem to think we'd be stupid enough not to know that!"
He scratched the base of his neck, and as usual, Red XIII proved to be no help. "So... Do we believe them, or not?"
"Seph says it's worth checking into. Unless Aerith is going to Fort Condor -and she isn't, 'cause that would be a dead end-, she must be heading for Junon." She sighed loudly.
Barret swore loudly when he noticed a large -very large- monster heading toward them.
"Eep!!" Tifa squeaked. "What is that?"
Red XIII's tail quivered. "Something that may have once been an owl."
With their lack of ability, it was too much to handle alone. 'Where are you two?' Barret wondered of Seph and Jessie. They had gone to see if anyone at the Fort could confirm what the Blonde Turk had said.
Red XIII began to chuckle. As they were almost beaten, Barret could not see anything funny about the situation. "What's so funny, Cat-boy?"
"There is always something bigger," the redhead managed to choke out as a gigantic wolf landed upon the thing that they had been fighting. It leapt back and there was a loud, high-pitched howl... One that couldn't have come from the wolf.
Then the remainder of the Zemzelett was cleaved in two by a rather wicked looking sword. "Yeeeeeeeeaaaaaaaahhh!!! Nibie!!!" That voice... sounded human. And suddenly it became clear. Someone was helping them.
"Eh, Tifa!!" the voice exclaimed.
Tifa sat up from where she had fallen when the wolf had all but fallen from the sky. It was still there, he noted. But it didn't seem inclined to attack, so he'd leave it be.
"Cloud?" Tifa asked, hopefully.
A slim blonde man appeared from the other side of the wolf, a large cheerful grin across his face. "Ne, Tifa, I think Midgar's been too easy on you."
Barret would give the guy one thing, he sure looked different than anybody he had ever seen. The man's hair was vaguely reminiscent of a chocobo's feathers (same color, too), with a semi-long, spiky pony-tail in back. He wore a moss green turtleneck shirt with leather covering his right arm, wrapped, from his shoulder down.
A lone, awkward looking piece of armor guarded his right shoulder, and a heavy bangle decorated his right wrist, just above what looked to be a brass knuckle. His right knee, and lower leg, was adorned with a rather old style and terribly banged up knee guard and shin guard. There was no armor on his left side, at all. Very strange.
A leather belt, equipped with suspenders, for some reason... (or perhaps it was how he kept that sword hooked where it was supposed to be...) and a dusty pair of ancient looking blue jeans, and his outfit was completed with a pair of somewhat worn leather hiking boots.
Something told Barret that the wolf was part of the ensemble.
"Cloud!!" Tifa screeched, darting over to hug the man who was apparently the mysterious 'Cloud' he had always heard about.
He hugged her back, gingerly. "Eh, Tifa... You haven't been keeping up with your training, have you? The Tifa from back home would have been able to handle that thing with both arms tied behind her back!!"
She smacked him in the head. "Midgar isn't exactly the best training grounds, you know!"
Mako blue eyes stared upward for a moment as the blonde rubbed the back of his head with his left hand.
"Cloud?"
"Yes?"
"Why haven't you put your sword up yet?" Now that Tifa pointed it out, Barret noticed that the grizzly sword was still in the blonde's hand.
Cloud glanced down. "Oops... Heheh..." He attached the sword to a holder on his back, carefully letting go of it and putting his hand back down. "I've been having a bit of trouble with that hand lately..."
Tifa glared at him, "Hard time? What happened to it?"
He shook his head. "You see... I had this baby Zuu... It really didn't like being handled much. I let it go a couple of weeks ago. Tried using a Cure3... It must have severed some nerves... maybe a tendon..."
"Cloud!!"
The man jumped, then scratched the back of his head with his left hand.
"I thought your mother didn't want you bringing home any more of those things!"
He grinned sheepishly at her. "She has a hard time arguing about it when I've got it right there with me... It was cute, I couldn't leave it on it's own like that..."
"So."
"Hmm?"
"What exactly did it do to your arm?"
"Nearly tore it off, actually." He flexed his right arm slightly. "It caught a hold of me right here..." He tapped his arm, right below the elbow, "and bit me here..." right under the shoulder, "and pulled." He shook his head. "Hurt like Ifreet himself was clawing his way up my arm. Ouchies."
Tifa was silent for a moment, so Barret decided that it was as good a time as any to get in any words edgewise. "You're Cloud?"
The man jumped slightly then looked him over. It was one of those stares that makes you feel like the person knows every wrong you've done and it shakes you to the core. Then Cloud grinned. "Barret, right?" He extended his left hand.
Barret shook his hand, noticing a very large difference in the sizes of their hands. Cloud's hand wasn't any bigger than Tifa's, while Barret's was probably at least as big as the guy's skull. "Yeah... I heard about you," he commented.
Cloud blinked. "You know, I get that a lot... But I've heard about you too. For a guy who lived in Midgar, I must say, I'm impressed." He then looked at Red XIII who was eyeing the wolf. "And you are?"
Red jumped. "Hm? Oh, they call me Red XIII."
"That can't be your real name." The blonde was unimpressed. "But if that's what you prefer being called..."
"Nanaki. I am named Nanaki."
Cloud bowed his head slightly, "Thank you, Nanaki." The big grin returned quickly to his face. "And that's Nibie."
"Huh?" asked Barret.
"The wolf, her name's Nibie."
Suddenly Seph's voice cut in. "Ah, a familiar voice... and a familiar face," he added, pausing before the huge wolf.
Cloud looked startled. "Eh? You know Nibie?"
Seph glanced over at him, "You don't remember me?" The look on his face changed a bit, looking vaguely hurt.
"Ehh..." Cloud was suddenly in front of Seph, peering into his face. "Oh! Heya, sir!" Cloud then grabbed Seph's hand, shaking it rather enthusiastically. Then paused. "Who's this?" speaking of Jessie. "Wait a minute! You're the techie-chick! Jessie, right?"
Jessie backed off quickly. "Uhm, and who are you?"
"Eh?" Cloud paused, startled that someone here didn't know who he was. And then, "I'm Cloud Strife."
She nodded vaguely.
"And this is Nibie," he pointed at the wolf, who was now licking Seph. Now that, Barret grinned, was a sight.
~*~
After a lot of talking, they all parted ways. Cloud, off to see to some battle at the Fort, and the rest of them to follow Aerith. Speaking of which, Sephiroth himself now remembered that he had forgotten to ask the young man about that.
Too late now. And off they all headed for Junon.
~*~*~*~*~*~
So... Read, Review. Tell me what you think. (I like it.) Is it any good? (Please tell me what you think.) My opinion is subjective... (I need objective opinions...)
Angefantasy, Yuppers. Am continuing... Really glad you like this...
Danyella Skyler Silverfire, You really think so?? Hope you like this one as well, then, ne??
Miniature Rant of the Day---
On the Turks: I have such a hard time finding good Turks fanfiction. I love the Turks! Especially Reno. And Tseng. Tseng's awesome. And purty. They're both purty. Rude's funny, and Elena's cool too, even if she is slightly psycho... You don't find much good Reeve fanfiction either, and I like them all!! Why don't people write more about them?? *cries* *huggles Reeve and Reno dollies*
If you actually read my rants, thank you.
Thank you, for reading.