Hey there everyone I'm back with another new chapter :) Enjoy and feel free to review if you like.

NOTICE: I've been working on a story I've recenty published "Letters from War" so I've been neglecting this one quite a lot, especilly since Fullmetal Alchemst seemed to have captured my attention most of the time but I'll try to find motivation and time to write more on this :)

ANSWERS TO REVIEWS:

Anon: First of all, hi there, thanks for even taking the time to read my story. I'm usually less prone to responding to such poor jabs, however, I'll humor you. "Blackette" is in fact a term similar to ravenette, but less used, I've searched it out myself before I wrote it down and honestly, I've seen terms like "pinkette" and "blunette" come up and I never made a fuss about it, honestly, I find it funny and creative, so why not? I respect your opinion and I'm not angry, but I would have appreciated your review a lot more had you written it in a bit more of a...polite manner? Still, I'm sorry if it bothered you that much, but if you don't like my stories then please don't read them. :)

Shade the Hero: Hey there, ugh don't remind me, it's been a while since I wrote the first chap of this story and looking back now, I realize how awful I had written it, so I came back and changed a few things, though I'm still not finished with re-writing/ improving the whole story (I think I managed to come till chapter 6 or so :P). Still, thank you for the compliments and the encouragement :) And thank you for standing up for me, but I really don't want any of my readers getting into trouble for my incompetence :) I admit, it was a rookie's mistake, but at the time I was writing it I forgot the word "ravenette" (what I originally wanted to write) and a friend told me I could alternatively write "blackette" because we both couldn't remember ravenette so...well here we are. (embarrassed grin) Sorry for the trouble, but still thanks :)

Enjoy reading!

Geostigma

When word spread of a unknown disease spreading around, Cloud hadn't thought much of it. Sure, it was disheartening to see so many people get infected from a illness the media claimed as "incurable" and "yet to be researched".

At first, it didn't even have a name. It had been just called "disease", but after months passed and even more people had become infected, the situation started to change. Cases of death had become more frequent, children had started to become ill, until they were diagnosed with the wretched disease.

The more they watched the news, the more Cloud and Tifa worried for the safety of Marlene. They worried she would be infected with it too if she would play with the other children, so they strictly told her not to interact too much with the sick children and she reluctantly complied, scared of contracting the disease herself.

Soon, as word spread fast, outsiders began calling it "the Midgar disease" and Cloud couldn't help but feel apprehensive whenever he would deliver outside of Edge only to be asked if he had contracted the disease too or if their packages had "traces of it".

There was an incident where Cloud had gone out to buy groceries at the market and a sickly old man had accidentally bumped into him, when Cloud had tried to steady the man, he saw the black liquid iconic for the disease ooze down the length of his veiny arm and over Cloud's gloves, dripping thickly to the ground.

Cloud had backed off, shaking the liquid off his glove before looking at the man, who appeared to be in great pain, his bony hands had been shaking uncontrollably, his eyes looking this way and that, unfocused and glassy. Cloud had never seen someone look so pale and sickly.

The blond had thrown away his gloves and donned new ones, but that had been when he got home in the span of an hour, enough time for him to possibly be infected by the mysterious disease. However, for the past few weeks, after carefully monitoring his physical condition and well being, he found he had in fact not caught it.

He told Tifa about the incident and she had thrown a fit because he had kept quiet about it for so long, he had reasoned that it was not to worry her, since he felt well and hadn't shown any signs of having the illness. Tifa had still urged him to see a doctor and after many attempts of persuasion, Cloud relented and made a quick stop with Fenrir to the doctor. After a thorough examination and a blood test, Cloud has been told he was as healthy as a young man his age could be and that had chased away Tifa's fears instantly.

However, that day at the market had also been the day Cloud realized the disease wasn't contagious. If it were, he would have already displayed the symptoms and the black marks on his body, but he didn't. That got him thinking, there had to be a reason why so many people were infected despite the disease not being contagious. Cloud had no explanation for this, neither did Tifa but both decided to drop the subject in order to not worry Marlene too much. So far, none of them showed signs of becoming ill, Cloud took that as a good sign.

The next day, a new wave of reports hit them, death rates have picked up alarmingly, more symptoms have been revealed; seizures, coughing out blood, a weak feeling in legs and arms, possible dizziness, hallucinations and in extreme cases, insanity. Cloud didn't understand this, so he opted to take a look around town and see it for himself.

Armed with Buster, Cloud had strolled through the streets, it didn't matter where he looked, at least in every second alleyway there were three to four people writhing on the ground in pain, gripping their limbs as they were shaken with violent seizures and thick globules of the wretched disease ran down their limbs and soaked into their clothing.

If Cloud hadn't seen his fair share of blood and gore in the past, his stomach probably wouldn't have handled the sight. The more he saw, the more he was determined to put a stop to this but he didn't know how. After all, how does one simply stop a disease? People were partly screaming, shaking uncontrollably or clawing at the walls and the ground until their nails broke and their fingers started to bleed.

When Cloud returned to the bar, Tifa had already suspected what he saw, because she had seen it too. No matter how many things they have been through, sights such as these were never easy to bear or look at, not even for seasoned warriors such as them.

"It's getting worse," Tifa commented worriedly, her voice a soft whisper beside the noise of the fan working over their heads.

Cloud took a seat at the counter and sighed, "The disease isn't contagious, so how is it spreading so fast?" he frowned, glaring at the wood of the counter.

Tifa frowned as well, looking out at the window, into the empty streets, "I don't know, but I hope they find a cure soon," her eyes held a sadness and worry Cloud had last seen when Meteor hit, "This is getting out of hand, who knows when..." she didn't want to finish that sentence and the quiet working of the fan was the only noise that filled the silence in the bar.

Cloud knew what she had wanted to say, "Who knows when it will hit any of us," he frowned and grit his teeth in frustration.

Geostigma. That's what the public had taken to calling it, it meant something along the lines of "Planet Scar Syndrome". Unknown sources had leaked information that the disease, mirroring the plague, was in some way connected to the Lifestream.

Numerous theories were soon developed and the public didn't know what to believe anymore, the people of Edge were afraid, afraid if this Geostigma would continue to kill off one friend and loved one after another and if there was a way they could even stop it.

Cloud had been making weekly visits to the library after months have passed since his first incident at the market. Since then, many things have changed.

They had a new addition to the family, a orphaned boy called Denzel, whom Cloud found starved, confused and infested with the disease right outside of Aerith's church, at his bike, his phone in his hand and Tifa on the line.

Cloud hadn't wasted any time to take the boy home with him, he still was unsure why he had done it though. He hadn't thought much over it, he just knew he had to act before the boy died in his arms and so Tifa and him took care of him until he had gathered enough strength to walk and eat healthy portions of food again.

When Cloud had asked him where he had gotten the Stigma, Denzel had only shook his head and offered no real useful information, just that before he had noticed he had been infected, he had come into contact with a weird muddy liquid and after researching and the new arrival of the Remnants, Cloud had figured out what the liquid had been.

Tainted Lifestream or more commonly known as "Jenova cells" as Vincent had told him. After his reunion with the mysterious gunslinger, Cloud had found out how Sephiroth's consciousness has tainted the Lifestream, resulting in a catastrophe breaking out, the Stigma.

Since then, Cloud had been frantically searching for a cure, borrowing medical books half the size of his sword, researching terms and names he had never heard before and following any leads he got to what the cure for the Stigma might be.

His main motivation was to cure Denzel of it, since the boy had grown on him after those few months of living with them and of course, try to end the people's suffering.

But even before Cloud had found Denzel, there had been another reason why Cloud was searching for a cure.

Because he had Geostigma too.

It had come unexpectedly, when one night out on deliveries, he was suddenly wracked with pain that nearly caused him to lose control of Fenrir and crash. Thankfully, Cloud was accustomed to pain and managed to avoid an accident. When he had gotten off his bike and tore off the sleeve of his shirt, his blood nearly ran cold at the sight that marred his skin.

A thick, black liquid covered a small portion of his upper arm, which seemed to pulse, like a beating heart and his body was wracked with pain again, another seizure. Cloud had ripped off a piece of cloth and tied it around his arm to prevent the liquid from soaking into his clothing. At times like these, he was glad he wore black, since it wouldn't be noticeable.

But that had brought him to a dead end, how could he try to save Denzel and everyone else if he himself was now affected by the deadly disease? He didn't have the answer to that and it also wasn't written in any of the medical books he had read.

Cloud had heard what would happen if the body's immune system fought against the disease for too long, the boy would overcompensate, resulting in severe exhaustion and once those defenses shut down, nothing was stopping the disease from completely spreading over the body, attacking organs and lastly, resulting in death.

He knew he didn't have much time, he didn't know how much he had, but he learned that people infected with it didn't die within the span of a few months, after all Denzel had it close to a year now. Sometimes his symptoms would get worse but on other days he would be feeling so well that he would play with Marlene and smile more often, despite knowing his fate.

Cloud knew it too, but he didn't want to accept it so easily. Denzel was only a child, he had suffered so much already, losing his parents, living on the streets and fighting to survive until Cloud had picked him up, the blond didn't want the poor boy to suffer anymore.

Because he would find that cure, no matter what. Chances were slim, he was aware, but he couldn't sit idly while he was watching the poor boy struggling with the effects of the Stigma. So he left, without leaving a letter and opted to find sanctuary within the still standing, but old church where Aerith used to live in. There was still a small field of flowers there, which surprised him, since he thought the pollution of Edge and the Stigma would have long since destroyed them.

Cloud had no idea how long he had lived there, days, weeks, months...perhaps a year, time seemed meaningless and yet it was of essence. He had been counting the days for when he would find the cure, but every day he came up empty handed, but he wouldn't give up. No, he wouldn't.

When Cloud had been broken, Zack had been there for him to pick up the pieces and put him back together. But Denzel...Denzel had had no one until now and Cloud wasn't about to watch a young boy die because he didn't do his very best to save him. So he searched and searched and searched, every library, every laboratory, everything. But he found nothing.

Nothing.

His symptoms grew worse and he didn't know how much longer he still had. He could only imagine how Denzel must be feeling. Cloud shook his head, wiping the liquid away with a dirty cloth and shakily standing up, picking up his sword and preparing for another trip to the library.

Tifa has been sending him voice mails, informing him of his deliveries, asking him how he was faring, updating him on how the kids were doing...but she never mentioned what she felt like and Cloud hated himself for leaving her with all the burden on her shoulders again, just like in the past.

She was the one that had to see Denzel struggling with the disease every day, who cleaned him and tended to him when his seizures would shower his small body in uncontrollable pain, and Cloud envied her for it.

He knew, he wasn't as strong, he would have immediately went out to find a cure, like he was doing now, but Tifa...she stayed and endured, endured seeing Denzel suffering and Marlene, endured working late at the bar to earn enough money despite Cloud sending them his payments from his deliveries, she endured Cloud's sudden absence, raising the children on her own and trying to keep the mismatched family together.

And Cloud felt like a coward for leaving it all to her like that and he promised, when this would all be over, he would try and make it up to her, to them all. He would try to be there and not run away from it because he was afraid.

Because the truth was...Cloud Strife had been afraid.

Not of the Stigma, not of his own dwindling health, no.

But of watching his family fall apart.

Something short and serious I wrote of what Cloud may have thought about as the Stigma become known and continued to grow.I'm sorry if Cloud may come off as too OOC, I haven't written him in a while (sweat drop)