Hello and welcome to the 11th chapter of Inner Voice!

Disclaimer: I the Final Fantasy series is not mine, and I make no financial gains by use of its property.

He softly exhaled. A half-empty glass of iced jasmine tea lay gently tilted in his grip, while a favorite piano track lulled him into blessed relaxation. The table had been set to perfection, cast in royal blues and creams that he'd dug out of the bottom of a cabinet. An open window brought in a slow sunset breeze, brushing crimson bangs away from closed eyes. Summer wasn't his favorite season, but it had its moments.

Leaning back in his chair, Genesis considered the challenges that appeared in the past few months. There was the matter of Cloud's innocence and associations. What Seph proclaimed made sense, and his friend's suspicious nose was hardly ever off. It was certain that the blond was withholding secrets, but weren't they all? Despite having sound facts, Genesis couldn't find it in himself to point to Cloud as a dangerous person. No, he was just a very, very interesting individual.

Cloud was a game, and Genesis didn't quite care if he was playing. What really mattered was this challenge had brought his trio together once again, if only for a short while. After all, Sephiroth had never asked for them to have dinner before. He idly traced the top of his glass with a sender finger, contemplating the general's rationale. Genesis supposed his silver-haired friend was eager to discuss Cloud's copycat in person, but that simple theory didn't stop Angeal from booking it to the grocery store and him from laying out the table so nicely.

Even then, was this a temporary reprieve from their infighting? Should he take matters into his own hands, despite the threat of severing everyone's ties so completely? If he told them both the truth, would he be outcast and hated?

"There is no hate, only joy. For you are beloved by the goddess. Hero of the dawn, Healer of worlds."

Genesis smiled tiredly at his own attempt at reassurance. Where would he be without these prayers? Three consecutive knocks interrupted his music, jolting the commander out of his thoughts.

"Gen! Give me a hand," Angeal asked, baritone voice muffled from the door.

The redhead hoisted himself up with an exaggerated groan, "You have a key. Why do I have to get up?"

He opened the door to pots and dishes stacked rather precariously atop one another. Angeal's face was not visible as he said, "Don't bother grabbing anything. Just guide me to your counter, please."

"You don't think you overdid it?" Genesis chuckled as they disassembled the tower of food.

"Of course not," Angeal tutted, "I've been waiting for an opportunity to try these dishes out, you know."

"If we started doing this more often again, you could try out everything and anything."

Angeal pretended not to hear as he began to place appetizers on the table, "Wow, Gen. This looks great. I didn't know you had a blue-themed set. You never used it."

"Angeal."

His friend flinched at the tone. Genesis was a drama king, he knew. Though for once in his life, these moments were very real and very deep.

"I know you don't want to talk about this. I know Seph doesn't want to either, but if we resolved this then we could all be together again."

Angeal sighed, "Gen. It's not going to go back to the way it was."

"It doesn't have to," Genesis insisted, "I just want it to be as special. It doesn't have to be the same."

Angeal crossed his arms as Genesis poured himself more tea, silently assessing his best friend. It was tough to be in the middle of Sephiroth and Genesis, but he'd rather keep them on amicable terms than risk dislike. They'd grown too close, been through too much, to let something break them all apart. Even if, Angeal ruefully mused, it was something as important as love.

"He doesn't know what to do with himself anymore," Angeal confessed, "He's confused and you haven't been helping."

Genesis took his seat once more, "I know. I thought I was helping by nudging him in the right direction. I thought that showing my interest would provoke him into liking me. Didn't work."

"Gen," Angeal breathed, taking a seat next to him, "I don't think you need to worry about him liking you. You need to be yourself."

The answering derisive snort made him frown, "Genesis, if you really love him you'll treat him with respect and woo him in the most conventional way possible. Don't look at me like that; he's not your latest conquest. "

And neither am I, Angeal left unsaid.

Genesis' eyes glazed over as he cradled his chin on his palm, "Do you really think that would work?"

The posture reminded Angeal so much of the time when Gen had fallen for a girl back in middle school. She was all black hair and brown eyes, legs longer than they should be for a 14 year old. It brought back endless conversations regarding her likes and dislikes, what Genesis could do to be noticed and accepted into her circle of friends. Unfortunately, it also brought back the acute pain he had felt every time Genesis said her name, praised her personality, complimented her physique. It brought back a younger, less jaded version of his friend whose eyes had shone with passion and excitement, the promise of something new and eternal.

"I think it would," Angeal responded, "If it doesn't, it isn't meant to be."

Sharp eyes turned his way, "And where would that leave you, old friend?"

Not quite understanding Genesis' aim, the dark-haired commander laughed, "Where I always am. By your side."

"Maybe," Genesis prodded, leaning slowly toward Angeal, "But you've always served us best by being in the middle."

He was so close Genesis could smell the wheat fields Angeal so often ran through to get to his house. He could feel the grit of dirt in between their fingers as they held hands and watched the ever-expanding starry night. Deep within, they were both wild and brave. More free than they thought they were but still young, still ignorant of what freedom meant. To them, it had been SOLIDER, it had meant Midgar.

The irony killed him.

One deliberate knock broke both men from their memories, easily falling back into faked casual personas. As Angeal greeted Sephiroth, Genesis couldn't help but wonder what it would be like to have them both on the level he craved.

It was real freedom cloaked in impossibility.

"What do you know?"

Reno raised a brow, doing that stupid blank Turk expression Zack hated so much.

"What do I know about what, yo?"

They were downtown, tucked carefully between a bookstore and a bakery. Reno hadn't recognized him without his solider getup, but that gave Zack time to brush next to him and ask the question that had been bothering him for, well, forever.

"Cloud," Zack began, crossing his arms over his chest and crinkling his tank hoodie.

Reno's eyes followed the motion before mimicking the stance, "Strife. What about em'?"

The piercing glare he received was murderous. Reno smirked cockily, knowing full well Fair hated it. When it came to Cloud, the guy had a protective streak a mile wide. It didn't take a Turk to figure out that the cadet hadn't confessed his 'secret' to Zack Fair.

Man, it felt good knowing something the solider didn't know, even if it was just a suspicion.

"I know you know something. You have to."

"What? The kid up to no good?"

"Reno," he sardonically chuckled, "I know you and Cloud meet up on the rooftop every fucking Friday. What the hell do you two talk about?"

"Ah man," the redhead sighed, "we didn't wanna tell you until it was official. We fuckin' dude."

Considering that they were in public, Reno was surprised when he found himself pressed menacingly against the brick behind him, and a little more when Zack's mako-lit eyes closed in an inch away from his own.

"What do you know, Turk?"

The shorter man sighed and pried Zack's fingers from his shirt collar, smoothing the wrinkles while chatting casually, "He's doing something weird. Keeps saying he's hanging out with his 'friends', but whoever they are, they're keeping em' busy."

"Friends?" Zack echoed, bemused, "What friends?" A memory of his argument with Cloud fluttered to the forefront of his mind.

Believe it or not, Zack, I have friends other than you.

"Don't know, dude. We keep tabs on everyone, yo', and your boy comes in and out of headquarters at weird times. Sometimes he looks worried, other times he's stressed to all hell. Talks to himself too."

"How long has this been happening? A few weeks? Months?"

Reno barked a laugh, "Are you for real, Fair? This shit's been happening since last year. Where the hell have you been?"

"What?! That's not possible!" Zack yelled a little too loud. He awkwardly paused and waited for the turned heads of people around them to swivel back to their own business, and blankly ignored Reno's unimpressed quirked brow.

"You all good, Solider Boy?"

"Fuck you," Zack distractedly muttered. He searched his memory for the first time he met Cloud, the people his cadet had known then, the class schedule he had. It flew back to the time they met. Modeoheim, small backwater towns, blonde and blue and bright in the snow. The most timid, unsure, genuine smile Zack had seen in a long time, all aimed at him.

It was all wrong.

"I don't get it. What's he been doing this whole time without telling me?"

"Don't know yo'," Reno responded more seriously, "I've been trying to figure it out on my free time, but things don't ever add up."

Zack cautiously looked the turk up and down, searching for any indication of dishonestly, "What else are you willing to fill me in on?"

Green eyes met blue, "Whatever he's been doing, it's been going downhill. He's out more often than he used to be. Running around more frantically than he used to. In the last few days, I could swear I've been seeing double of him."

Zack exhaled and brought a hand to his forehead, "Alright. Thanks."

As he walked away, Zack tried hard not to consider the absolute worst.

"Fair!"

The soldier turned his head silently.

"Cloud isn't the kind of person to do somethin' terrible. Whatever you're thinking, that's not it. He'd never hurt anyone or himself on purpose, yo'"

Zack did not respond, but walked with purpose back home. The flame of petulant indignation grew hotter and hotter in his chest, because how the hell could a random turk know Cloud better than he? The answer, he couldn't. Zack believed in Cloud too. He knew there was no way the cadet could be involved in something illegal or dangerous.

He knew, but the trained solider in him kept thinking.

"AAAARRGG!" He yelled, startling a great many people around him, "Not gonna think about it!" Zack willed away his suspicion and his fears. Yeah, Cloud was hiding something. Yeah, it wasn't looking too good. But maybe, he thought, maybe he could gather his own intel and figure it out. Like Reno was doing except actually effective because Zack was much better at everything.

"Alright, Spike. Look out. Here comes First Class Zack Fair!"

"Your puppy's screaming some nonsense downtown."

Angeal sighed, "He does that."

"You need to retrain him, or at least ask him to come over."

"Gen, you aren't going to trick me into calling him here."

"He's scaring everyone."

"You scare everyone."

Sephiroth hid an indulgent smile and sipped at the white wine he'd brought to their dinner. The two had seemed on edge when he'd arrived, but now they were casually waiting to come to a consensus. Though Sephiroth and Genesis had voted for questioning Zack about Cadet Cloud Strife, Angeal was not convinced.

"I'm not saying we're gonna ask about Cloud," Genesis implored as he texted back a friend currently downtown, "I'm just saying that he's causing a commotion and you should probably make sure he's okay."

"When have you ever cared about Zack?" Angeal scoffed, "Last I heard, you've taken to taunting him at every turn."

Genesis' lips twisted as he realized his childhood friend knew more than he let on. Perhaps honesty was the best policy. He felt his stomach flip flop as he carefully chose his words.

"I'm over it now. Hated him cause' he took up all your time and I used to take up all your time. "

The silence after that was almost deafening. Angeal met Sephiroth's confused gaze with his own worried one before responding, "Oh… I didn't know you felt that way, Gen."

It was the truth. Angeal had genuinely assumed his best friend loathed Zack for all the same characteristics he himself valued. The loud, boisterous, happy personality of his protégé (ex protégé, he reminded himself) was in many ways like Genesis. Their inability to get along threw him for a loop. The fiery commander's twitching fingers, a subtle sign of nervousness, had Angeal smiling.

The crimson haired commander pouted dramatically, "I did. For a very long time. Instead of bothering Zack about it, I've recently decided to bother you instead. More fair that way. Ha, get it? Zack Fair? Fair? No? Oh forget both of you this isn't worth it."

Genesis pressed his phone to his ear and vaguely heard Angeal attempting to recover from the failure of a conversation.

"Hello?"

"Zachary. It's Genesis. Your mentor wanted to invite you to a dinner party. It's right now. Come or Sephiroth will be mad."

He hung up.

Sephiroth took another sip of wine and Angeal looked on bemused, obviously torn between reassuring his best friend and yelling at him. His mind shifted strongly to the latter with Genesis' next comment.

"If he doesn't come in 10 minutes I'm going to set the apartment on fire."

"I thought we discussed not setting things on fire."

"Shut up Seph I'm hungry."

Gaia, the three of them were so dysfunctional. Angeal watched as Sephiroth poured two more glasses of wine and pushed it their way, "Why thank you, General."

Sephiroth mock glared, "Call me that in private again and I'll start calling you Angel."

"You wouldn't. People will think we're dating."

Sephiroth shrugged, "It'll liven things up, though we might have an issue with Strife. Speaking of which, report on your Cloud sighting Genesis."

"Demand things of me again and I will kick you out, "Genesis playfully jibed, "And what do you mean you'll have an issue with Strife?"

"Don't worry about that. What matters, Angeal, is that we both saw Cloud Strife today at the same time and in different places."

Genesis quickly pulled the picture up on his phone as Sephiroth did the same. Angeal analyzed the faces of both, finding it hard to detect foul play. The time stamp of the messages sent had him reeling.

"How?"

Sephiroth took back his PHS and looked thoughtfully at Cloud's surprised features, "I don't know."

"This is why we want to talk to Zack," Genesis cut in, "It's getting ridiculous, Geal'."

The door burst open before Angeal had the chance to respond.

"I'm…here…" Zack panted at the entryway, hands on his knees, "Don't be mad Sephiroth. I mean- General Sephiroth."

"Where is the salute."

Zack saluted, "Sir!"

"Seph, come on. Give him a break," Angeal chuckled while waving his student (ex-student, he mentally screamed at himself) over to the table. Exasperation welled inside him as he took in Zack's heaving chest and panting breaths, "Gen. Look what you did. He actually ran all the way here."

Surprisingly, Genesis had retreated to the kitchen during Zack's arrival and emerged from it with a wet towel and a large glass of water. Angeal and Sephiroth looked at him as if he'd grown a second head.

"Here," He gently dropped both hydrating items on the table, "if you run out of water the toilet bowl is open."

The younger solider downed the water, "yeah, yeah I'm a dog whatever."

Sephiroth frowned at the dismissal, "Zack, you do know Genesis was joking? I wouldn't have been upset if you'd gotten here past the 10 minute interval." Angeal set down the refilled glass of water in front of his student, lips downturned in the same fashion as Sephiroth.

Zack sent a grateful, happy smile Angeal's way and reached again for the cup, "I know. Don't worry, Genesis wasn't the reason I was running. I was actually going to take my sweet time coming over."

The red-haired commander heard the younger man's heartbeat finally slow, "Well, then. Why were you running?"

"I saw a friend around town and instead of saying hi, he freakin' ran away from me," he took a thoughtful sip of water, "I don't know why he was avoiding me so bad. Don't worry about it though! What are we eating tonight?!"

When Zack looked up he saw the three locked gazes of his superiors. Sephiroth broke it and turned a piercing stare his way, "Was this Cloud Strife, by chance?"

It was so much like that confrontation in the hallway, Zack noticed. There was something in his general's stare and tone of voice that put him on immediate defense. He straightened his neck, "What's it to you?"

A noise of discomfort escaped Angeal, who had still not agreed to explore this subject with Zack. He'd heard about Cloud many, many times before he'd actually met him, courtesy of his student (ex-student!). He hadn't connected the dots until Zack had laughed in his face and told him that no, Spikey was actually not someone's real name, but a nickname for none other than Cloud Strife. Go figure.

The situation remained difficult. If they made Zack suspicious of them by tailing Cloud, Zack would pull away, or even worse, alert Cloud to their knowledge. If they didn't ask for any information at all, they'd be stuck where they were for gods knew how long. He glanced at Sephiroth and Genesis' faces, wondering if they realized how much this could spiral out of control and cost them their tentative relationships with Zackary Fair.

"I'm simply curious."

Zack presented his silver-haired friend with an uncharacteristic glare, "Did he accept your…offer?"

"What offer?" Genesis inquired irately "There was an offer?!"

"Oh, you haven't heard? Our general here decided to ask Cloud out on a date."

Angeal winced at the flippant and angry picture Zack made. It had been clear to him, through listening to Zack talk about this mysterious cadet for so long, that the newly-made first had some kind of hidden feelings for the blond. He pointedly ignored the jealously roaring in the back of head at the idea of the young man holding Zack's heart. That meant nothing. Ignore. Ignore. Ignore.

"YOU WHAT?!" Genesis screeched, pulling Angeal out of his internal conflict.

"I'll explain later."

"Fuck that, you'll explain now!"

The general sighed irately, "I wished to spend more time with him, Genesis." He could see the exact moment that Genesis understood the implication, and admired the telltale, mischievous smirk that basically said, 'Huh. Didn't think you had it in you.'

"He turned me down but offered me friendship," The silver-haired man sighed, "Friendblocking, I know."

"It's friendzoning," Zack chuckled, and then returned his face right back into anger because he wasn't going to fall for the general's charm, oh no. Not today. "Anyway," he continued, "why do you want to know where Cloud is so badly?"

"We wished to invite him to dinner," Genesis cut-in, "We all know him in one way another. Wouldn't it be nice to all be in one place and enjoy the delicious meal Angel made?"

"Don't call me that," Angeal grumbled.

"I…guess?" Zack offered, anger crumbling into heady guilt. Why was he being so difficult with them? There was no way Sephiroth, Genesis, and especially Angeal could mean any harm to his friend.

"It's okay if you'd rather not have us together," his mentor spoke, "we just wanted to get to know him a little better, as a group. Maybe you could tell us about his early days here?"

The other two members of the golden trio met Angeal's subtle nod with ones of their own. It seemed they were all on-board with the plan now. "Seph, why don't you help me lay out the food."

As the two walked into the kitchen they heard Genesis comment, "I hear he's from Nibelheim. That's quite a far distance to visit home."

"Well," Zack began uncertainly, "He doesn't really visit. Only has his mom there, and the rest of the village is a bag of dicks, I think. They weren't really nice to him as a kid. BUT," Zack interrupted himself, "he writes letters to his mom a lot. I think they're close."

Carrying fresh hot bread in one hand and steamed fish in the other, Sephiroth was greeted back to the table by the younger soldier's uncomfortable expression. It seemed that Zack was unsure how much was appropriate to reveal about his comrade.

"Rest assured, Zack, we will not judge. We want to be his friend, that's all."

Zack was not assured, but as they ate and ate and ate while talking about Cloud he couldn't help but open up under their interest. Zack hoped that he was painting Cloud in the right light, or at least the way the blond wanted to be seen by the elite soldiers. Admittedly, he was still getting used to the idea of his cadet both knowing and hanging out with the others. How the hell did that happen again?

"Hey Gen," he paused to swallow a too-large piece of bread, "How did you meet Spike? He hasn't really told me."

Genesis tried not to be taken aback by his nickname being uttered from the younger soldier's lips. Wiping his hands with a cloth napkin, the red-haired commander hummed in thought, "Well, he started coming around to my library. I left him alone for a while and eventually asked for a name."

Zack's brows flew to his forehead, "That's it? That's all I get?"

"What do you mean 'that's all I get'?"

"I mean, you're like the writer guy. You complain all the time when we don't spill every last detail, but I don't get anything back? C'mon."

Genesis squinted at him, "You…you want me to talk more?"

"Uh..Yeah," Zack replied while throwing Angeal a worried look, "Do you not want to?"

Angeal lowered his head to smile at his plate, giddiness flowing in from the sight of his two disparate friends finally making a connection. Genesis, meanwhile, couldn't climb of out of confusion. After all the taunting and insulting they'd done to each other, why would the puppy care to try?

"I don't want to bore you with my droning."

Zack laughed openly, "I won't be bored, promise. Besides, I'd like to know what my little spike is like around others. He's never been so…social before. It's been throwing me off a little."

"uh," Genesis uncharacteristically stuttered, earning Zack's encouraging smile in response. Goodness, was this the charisma that Geal' had been bragging about for so long?

"The little brat tried to convince me that he was a board member, or a terrorist or something."

Zack's fork collided with his plate before he exclaimed, "How the heck did he do that? WHY would he do that?!"

"I don't think he knew who I was, and wanted to be left alone. I may have been bothering him a little."

"Probably a lot," Sephiroth quietly added, earning a swift kick under the table.

"Doesn't matter! He wouldn't tell me who he was because it was apparently a secret. Told me Cloud was his name and then LIED by telling me it was FAKE."

Genesis' irritation escalated as Zack's barely contained laughter came out in sputters, "He, he what?!"

"Stop laughing! The kid has a poker face like a Turk. Are we sure he isn't an undercover one? Maybe in contact with them?"

The mention of the Turks killed Zack's humor fast. Lips downturned at the thought of Reno and what the idiot could possibly know.

Sephiroth zeroed in on the expression, "Zack. You'd tell us if someone were trying to harm the company, right?"

Just like that, the congenial atmosphere that Angeal had waited so, so long to accomplish between his three friends vanished. It was always business, always work. Always responsibility and honor stepping into his home and cutting him off from what he truly wanted. A hand stealthy clutched his under the table.

Genesis watched on in interest as he offered his childhood friend comfort.

"What is it about Cloud that intrigues you, Sephiroth? You seem very adamant about getting him in trouble," Zack responded. He vaguely felt the need to give in and just tell them about his friend. The lies, the late nights and random people Cloud seemed to gather under the guise of being busy were driving him crazy. Zack knew Cloud was keeping a secret, and he'd been resolved to figure it out on his own.

What if the three men in front of him had the same suspicions?

"Not trouble," Sephiroth smoothed, "he just has a few unusual tendencies and connections that have me a little concerned. "

"Rest assured, General," Zack responded while wiping his hands and coming to stand, "if he was doing anything, I certainly wouldn't tell you."

Shock was not a common expression others saw on the general, and as Zack ignored his mentor's pleas while closing the door behind him, a small amount of pride filled his chest.

ShinRa and SOLDIER be dammed, they weren't touching Cloud.

"Where did you get that."

Cloud's mirror image smiled innocently, "The room with all the weapons."

"…the room with all the weapons that's patrolled 24/7?"

"Yes."

"That has at least three cameras outside and like, six on the inside?"

"Yes."

They were huddled together on the roof, taking full advantage of the lack of security and the cloak of night. Glinting slowly in the palm of Maya's hand was an esuna she'd acquired without telling him.

"I'm gonna get thrown in jail, aren't I?"

Okay, so maybe he had straight up told Maya that this was a hurdle he could not surpass, because how was he supposed to one, get an esuna, two learn to use materia, and three do it in secret? It seemed she'd taken things in her own hands, consequences be damned.

"Don't worry," she patted his shoulder, "I didn't use your body for this one. Someone else will probably be going to jail!"

"Don't smile when you say things like that!" The blond cadet groaned and planted his face in his hands, "This doesn't solve anything, Maya. Why do you need me to do this?"

Her demeanor altered, morphing into an expression he'd seen on himself many times before. Nostalgia and regret. A slow summer breeze pushed at Maya's blonde spikes, identical to his own.

"Even spirits change, you know. I liked to pretend to be other people and get their friends attention. It was funny to me, that everyone would get so confused and weird about it. One day I'd be a baker, the next I'd be a girl in the woods, I could look like anyone I wanted to, so I rarely looked like myself."

Maya gazed up at where the stars should have been, past the layer of smog and light, "I got bored eventually. Decided it would be more fun to take on the image of other spirits like me, and it was so fun. I'd watch people pray and appear before them, as their patron god or goddess. It was magical, to make others so happy."

Cloud smiled at the thought, "That does sound pretty cool."

"Yeah," Maya's expression fell, "but some gods don't like it when you pretend to be them. It was fine for a while. I got some lectures and threats from some of them, but that only made me want to do it more. I mean, they weren't giving their followers hope, why was it so wrong for me to?"

"Well," Cloud sighed, "if I've learned anything about your kind, it's that you all work in very different ways. Some give signs, others guide though destined events, and some won't interfere at all."

"I know that now, but I didn't know it then. I saw it as indifference and cruelty. Honestly," Maya's voice wavered, "I think I might have been jealous. People rarely pray to their gods anymore."

The blond carefully worded his question before asking, "Are your followers not trying?"

"Cloud. I have no followers anymore. I have nothing."

What was he supposed to say to that? He bit his lip in frustration, "You have me?"

Maya chuckled sardonically, "I crossed a line one day. Impersonated a God that I'd crossed before. He told me that if I refused to be who I was, he'd make it so that I didn't have a choice. He trapped me in my own illusions. I haven't been myself in decades."

Cloud jolted, "Wait, you can't look like…like you?"

"No. Cloud it's been so long. I forgot how….I know I had longer hair, tan skin, but I can't remember the details. I don't want to be an illusion anymore. I want to be me!"

"Oh, the little brat thinks she can get away from her punishment?"

Eyes shining with sudden tears and shock, Maya screeched, "CLOUD RUN!"

Dread curled in the pit of his stomach, climbing higher and higher until it clutched at his heart and blocked his throat. The city lights seemed duller, the ground darker, Maya father away.

"There is no need to run, my child."

Cloud shivered as he felt the voice speak into his ear, and heard an echo in his mind.

"We are destined for one another, you and I."

His vision was blurring, but he couldn't tell if it was the darkness swirling around them or his own eyes failing. A cold hand touched the skin above his heart-

"What the fuck is happening up here yo!"

And suddenly, the darkness dissipated. The woman's voice hissed into his ear before retracting her touch. One more burst of wind brought Cloud to his hands, and he wondered distantly when he'd kneeled on the floor.

Cloud struggled to gain his bearings, and when he looked up he was greeted with a sight he'd been avoiding for over a year: Reno, shocked and confused. Glancing back and forth between him and his lookalike. Taser revved and ready to attack.

"What the hell is goin' on, Cloud!"

Author's Note: I'm so happy to say that this story has reached over 100 reviews! I never thought so many people would both read my work and be willing to talk to me about it! If you find the time, please drop a review and let me know if there are any errors that need addressing or if you like the content.

Thanks so much for your support!