That night whispers echoed in his dreams. He stood on top of Mt. Nibel, staring off into the distance. Then suddenly he could see all the way into Midgar from the mountain. Then above a fiery meteor closing in to destroy the city as the citizens ran in panic.

Above in the highest point of the city stood Sephiroth. But something was wrong with his face.

"You... You're not Sephiroth." Cloud didn't know how he broke through the mirage of the dream.

Suddenly the vision shattered like glass. He stood in a pool of mako up to his ankles. Before him stood a blue and purple woman, naked and deformed around her stomach area. Her long hair rivaled Sephiroth's. Eyes glowed pink as she stared him down. Suddenly she smirks.

Something about her was beautiful and terrifying.

"So, what do you think of the glorious vision?"

"And what happens after killing all those people?" Cloud furrowed his eyebrows. For the first time in days he had a moment of clarity. It was as if a veil of fog had been removed and he could think clearly.

She frowned at the inquiry.

"Are you not pleased? With their destruction, it would then be appropriate to destroy the rest of the planet. This is far too gone to become the perfect Paradise."

"Paradise?" Cloud was lost with her logic.

"Don't you see? They are taking the very life force of the planet. It would only be a matter of time before this planet is depleted and everything is gone. Why simply allow it to continue suffering? It would be kinder to put an end to it early."

She was so convinced of her decision that he had the inclination that nothing would stop her from accomplishing her goal. It only made him more afraid of her. As if se sensing this she tilts her head.

"You love my son, don't you?"

"Your son?"

"Sephiroth. The perfect son. He will be the living God who will cast punishment upon this dying planet. Then he will use this shell to traverse through the cosmos in search for the Promised Land."

"So he's becoming your weapon?"

"No. He will just continue where I left off."

"What does all of this have to do with me?"

"You don't approve?"

"No. There's still hope to fix the problem instead of wiping everyone out. That would just be a waste of effort to destroy everything." He was stern with his answer. "Plus, I don't see Sephiroth agreeing to this plan of yours willingly."

There was a tense moment of silence. Cloud felt the fear rise again as he watched her for any sign of movement. He couldn't read to what she was thinking to predict if he should run.

"Well... I had planned to allow you to remain yourself. But since you're not approving this plan," She stepped forward. In a blink of an eye her body changed to another woman. She had green eyes and long, brown hair. She wore a white long coat over her short dress.

Then in another step she suddenly changed again. This time she was Cloud. He gasped, taking a step back. No. He was real. She was only a mirror. This vision wasn't real. Still the idea of watching himself lean closer with a playful devilish smirk was terrifying.

That's not my face.

"While I'm not entirely used to the idea of a man's body, I wouldn't mind using yours as my new host." Her/His smirk turned into a darkened smile.

"NO!" Cloud screamed as he bolted.

That's not me!

Then his head hurt as he collided with the floor. In seconds Zack and Sephiroth were in his room, behind them the recruits peered in confused and irritated.

Cloud panicked as arms helped him sit up. For a split second he still thought he was dreaming. He pushed as he tried to get away. He had to get away from her. Run far away as possible.

"Cloud! Spike! Hey, hey calm down." Zack's voice snapped him out of it.

"Zack? Sephiroth?" Cloud trembled as relief flooded through him. He opened his eyes to see them hovering over him. At the realization that even now in the waking world he wouldn't be safe from her, Cloud began to cry.

You're safe, Cloud.

"It's okay. It's okay. We got ya buddy." Zack pulled him into a brotherly hug.

Not from her.

"You lot go back to bed." Sephiroth gave the order to the troopers.

"Yes, sir." They were more than happy to catch up on some sleep. They closed the door behind them.

Her? Sephiroth inquired curiously.

"Did something happen? What's going on?" The mayor knocked on the door a few minutes later.

"We're okay! Someone had a nightmare." Zack replied when no help came from the general.

"Oh. Is there anything I can help with?"

"Can I get some water?" Cloud whispered. By now he had calmed down enough to sniffles.

"Ah, yeah! Can you grab us a glass of water?"

The mayor left for the task. Zack let go of the hug when Cloud pulled away. He looked away in shame for crying in the first place. It had been so long since he last cried.

What a baby.

You're not a baby. What's gotten into you to think this way? Sephiroth heard his thoughts.

Oh, you're one to talk. Cloud almost snapped out loud. He blinked as Zack started talking again.

"Hey, you okay buddy? You're staring off into space, there."

"Huh? Yeah. I'm good. I'm sorry." He was apologizing to Sephiroth for his words.

You don't know the half of what goes on inside my head. Sephiroth countered. For a brief moment he shared the memories of his loss for Angeal, and the hurt betrayal of Genesis.

You're right. I'm sorry. I don't know what's become of me.

You're forgiven.

There was a knock on the door. Sephiroth went over to open it. It wasn't the mayor who brought the glass however. There was the slightest hint of a frown at his displeasure of the sight of Tifa.

"Here's the glass." She held it out to him. "So, who had the nightmare?"

"Good night." He closed the door as she tried to peer around him.

"Word travels fast, you know. I would at least like to see my friend." She spoke through the door. It seemed like she would wait there until they responded, but the sound of her boots receding down the stairs indicated otherwise. "You know where to find me, Cloud."

"Fan of yours?" Zack chuckled playfully.

"Nice try. But, no." Cloud accepted the glass and took down a few gulps.

"Okay, spill the beans. What's going on between you and her?" Zack crossed his arms.

"She was my first friend. Even though no one else liked me."

"What do you mean?"

"Well... Back when we were kids, her mother died. And there was this legend that on the other side of Mt. Nibel, is where you can see your loved ones. She thought if she went, she would see her mother." Cloud glanced down at the glass. It had been a while since he remembered those days.

"It didn't go well." Sephiroth guessed.

"No. We came to a bridge. Everyone was too scared to cross. She kept going. I heard a snap. I ran to grab her but the bridge gave way. I held on as long as I could to her and the rope of the bridge. But we were kids. So we fell."

"What happened?"

"I woke up miraculously fine. But she wouldn't wake up. She was in a coma for a while. Everyone thought she wouldn't wake up. I was blamed for it all. And that's the story of why I'm not too popular around here." Cloud glanced up at them.

"So you guys became friends anyways?"

"Yeah, even though everyone still hated me. I didn't understand. I still don't. Why she would like me when everyone else hated me. Mother almost had us move out of town. But then Tifa told everyone to buzz off. So we didn't have to move. But I was still number one enemy."

She admires you. Call it a hero complex. It can happen when someone thinks they love the one who saved them from certain death. It's almost a way of worship in behavior during some cases. Sephiroth explained.

Sounds like you've had your fair share of that experience.

Let's not go into that.

"No wonder you didn't want to come back." The lieutenant connected the dots. "So then why accept the mission?"

"Because...It's the first one they assigned me to be on the same mission as Sephiroth." The Third Class tentatively glanced up at the general.

There was a warmth in his eyes that made Cloud's heart dance.