A defeated sigh left Cloud as he trudged up to the larger tent that had been serving as a mess hall for the WRO forces stationed in Corel. He peered over his shoulder briefly, his disappointed gaze falling upon the hulking corpse of the manifestation of Jenova that had attacked the town. His young charge had examined it, attempting to commune with the dead beast the same she had done so with its counterpart and Edge. And in the end?

"Nothing." Cloud shook his head as he entered the tent to find his nameless friend sitting at a table, her back turned to him as she munched on dinner. "Hey."

She turned, her smile evident beneath her hood. "Hey, yourself, Cloud. Dinner? Where're Genesis and Vincent?"

Cloud sat down on the bench across from her, his blade leaning laid neatly at his side. "They're not hungry. They said they'd turn in."

A quick nod. "Oh, well! More for me then! Y'know," paused the hungry girl as she swallowed down large spoonfuls of mashed potatoes. "This place has some really good food. Way better than that place where they stuck me."

"Really now?" Cloud cocked his head, genuinely curious. "First time anyone's ever said the WRO's got real food on a base. Mind if I try some?"

In response, the starving warrior found a spoon shoved in his face courtesy of his tablemate. "Take it! I haven't used it. Promise," she vowed with a laugh.

With a respectful nod, he scooped up a spoonful from her plate and scarfed it down. Immediately, the taste was familiar. "Did…" trailed Cloud. "Did Tifa make this?"

The girl in front of him shook her head, waving at someone over his shoulder. The girl behind him returned the gesture before finally speaking.

"Nope," said a chipper voice, just as cheerful as it had been ten years ago when its owner had waved goodbye to him on a cloudy morning after he had dropped her off at school. "I did!"

Cloud swallowed, steeling himself. Slowly, he turned, unsure if was ready to face her. But when he did there she was. Marlene. A bright smile on her face. Just a bit shy. Just a bit timid. As if she had anything to be nervous about, considering how gracefully she had grown into her nineteen years.

Her features had grown smoother since Cloud had last seen her, earning her a face that was sure to have stolen a few hearts.

Her hair had grown longer as well, remaining in the plait and ribbon she had sported as a child.

But what was most jarring was that she was wearing lightly colored jeans and a hoodie instead of the stereotypically girly dresses of her childhood.

Cloud grimaced, unable to meet her gaze as she sat across from him. "Hey, Cloud," said Marlene, her voice cheerful if a little bit quiet.

"Hey." Cloud shifted in his seat, anticipating some form of vitriol from Marlene. It never came. Instead, his former daughter conversed light heartedly with the hood wearer beside her.

"Enjoying the food?"

"Oh, you bet," said the younger woman. "Tifa's recipe?"

"Oh, uh, yeah." Marlene's gaze became nervous, darting from the girl to Cloud. Sensing it, he stood, making his way to leave. Marlene, however, rose at the same time he did and placed a hand on his chest, her smile still present. "Hey, stay. It's fine."

"But-"

And Marlene pouted, her features curling into the same look of frustration and disappointment she had given him as a child before he had gone off to face the Remnants terrorizing Edge. "Cloud. Stay."

"And if Barret sees you talking to me?"

The woman before him rolled her eyes. "Fine. Wait here. We'll go somewhere else." She glanced over her shoulder at the girl still seated at the table. "All three of us."

Marlene then quickly vanished into the kitchen, returning seconds later with a bag smelling of pastries. "Dad says not to take all this sweet stuff," said the brown haired girl, a mischievous smirk on her face. "I disagree! Now, come on."

Peering outside the tent, Marlene's head swivelled from side to side, obviously looking for signs of her father or anyone else that might spot them. Pulling her hood over her head, she waved them over and crept off into the darkness. With the First Sword in hand, Cloud and his companion followed, the blonde with some reluctance as they caught up to Marlene. "Where're we going?" he asked.

A low giggle escaped the young lady in the pink hoodie. "Somewhere. Just keep following me. The WRO doesn't know every way in and out of here. I had to find a few myself."

And Marlene showed them one: a clearing behind a veritable wall of bushes on the end of Corel near the main entrance. Thankfully, few houses had occupied the area, meaning that it warranted little patrol. It presented an opportunity that the shadowy trio took, dashing past the thicket into the small forest surrounding the mining town. With a hop in her step, Marlene led them up an incline, one that looped back towards Corel. Cloud followed along wordlessly while his unnamed friend skipped ahead, easily catching up to the older teenager.

"Where're we going?" she asked, eagerly pushing forward with her staff in hand.

"Somewhere cool, I swear!" vowed Marlene. Seconds later, they found themselves on a grassy cliff, its edge offering a view of the lights of Corel township below them.

"This is where I spend my alone time!" announced the girl who had brought them there. Marlene settled on the grass, legs crossed as she rummaged around the small bag containing the food she had brought.

She managed to fish out three sandwiches, taking one for herself before handing the remaining two over to her companions. "For you guys!"

The other lady in their group took it eagerly as she sat herself to Marlene's left. "Thanks!"

Marlene's other compatriot, however, was less enthused. Cloud just nodded, taking the sandwich before attempting to walk away. He found himself unable to when she tugged at his arm and patted the grass to her right, her signature pout once again on display. "Hey, sit!"

Cloud complied, chomping down on his meal in silence as the two young women talked.

"So that's all they gave you? Rations?!" exclaimed Marlene. "No wonder you almost cleaned out the kitchen!"

The WRO's newest secret replied with a groan. "Oh, you bet! Only time things got better was when my friend over there," she paused, pointing at Cloud. "Decided to finally pay me a visit."

The man in question shrugged. "Not my fault. They were keeping you a secret."

"And I wonder why that is!" said the cloaked teenager as she stood up and made her way over to Cloud's side. Suddenly, she sat down and leaned against him, the full weight of her pressing on his right shoulder. "Right, Marlene?"

Cloud decided to change the subject. "How'd you two even meet?"

His current human sized burden spoke. "Breakfast. This morning. Vincent and I woke up real early. I got hungry so he brought me to the one place in Corel with all the food. And that's where I met Marlene!"

Marlene nodded. "And that's where I met you! I don't know what to call you. You don't even have a name."

"It's cool!" Slim shoulders rose and fell beneath a multicolored cloak. "I don't even really think I need one either. I'm just me. Whatever I am."

"Well, I'm pretty sure you've heard this before but you remind me of someone…" said Marlene, a hint of nostalgia to her voice.

"Aerith?" The anonymous young woman let out an exasperated breath. "I've heard. Kinda tired of hearing it though. I wanna be me! But enough of that gloomy stuff. Cloud, why was I being kept under wraps from you again?"

"Here I was hoping you'd forget." Cloud sighed, feeling Marlene's stare. "They didn't trust me. I, uh, did something before I met you."

Immediately, Marlene spoke up. "He drove by us. Me. Tifa. Denzel."

The blonde nodded, guilt rendering him incapable of facing the girl he had helped raise so long ago. "I-I'm sorry. I know I shouldn't have but…"

That girl hugged him then, arms wrapping around his neck. "I missed you, Cloud."

And beneath the shadowy tint of his goggles, his eyes widened. "You're not angry?"

Marlene shook her head. "Not now. But I was. For a long time. I stopped."

"Why?"

"Now that deserves an answer," chimed in the girl to his right as she relaxed against his taller form.

"It does," agreed Marlene.

"But I-"

"Cloud, I haven't known you that long," interrupted the dress clad maiden. "But maybe you should listen once in a while. I swear, you've got the hardest head ever."

A tricky grin made its way onto Marlene's face. "That's why Tifa still loves him."

Cloud's eyes widened again. "What?"

Both women broke into laughter, delighted by his confusion and surprise. "Tifa's-?"

"Oh, just listen!" Marlene pouted again. "I stopped being mad because of something that happened five years ago. I followed you to Miss Aerith's church. I don't know why. Or how. But I was buying something at some store near Midgar. Well, what was Midgar. I was counting my Gil on the sidewalk and when I looked up, you drove by. When I saw you, I was mad, Cloud."

His child nuzzled into his shoulder as she continued. "I wanted to get mad at you. To yell and all that. So I followed you. And somehow, I knew where you were going. It couldn't have been anywhere else. I ran all the way to Miss Aerith's church. I saw you at her flower patch. And for some reason, I just felt like I had to wait and watch. So I did. I waited. I watched. And I saw what you looked like. You were covered in dirt. It looked like you were trying to plant flowers there."

Her parent nodded. "So that was you. I felt like I was being watched. I thought it was them. That maybe they could hear me."

"Yeah, you were talking about that. You had blood all over you too."

"It was right after a bad mission," stated Cloud. "Hojo's experiments evolved. They swam to Kalm and attacked it."

Marlene was shocked. "Like what happened in Junon? Right before you, y'know?"

A grim nod was all she got in return. "I couldn't protect Junon. I couldn't protect Kalm. Elmyra almost died. And Zack and Aerith were gone. But I needed them so I..."

"So you went looking for them," said their unnamed friend after he trailed into silence, a sad smile upon her lips. "In the one place you'd always found them."

"Yeah. Yeah, I did."

"You did," confirmed Marlene. "I left after I saw all the blood on you. I had to sneak out. I was scared. But also sad. I kinda got why you left then. You were fighting for us, right?"

Cloud then watched as Marlene stood and walked, her steps taking her to the edge of the cliff. "For this. Something like this."

He and the figure in purple and violet joined her, their eyes taking in the township of Corel. Lit up by lights and electricity, it was a cozy and quiet settlement tucked into the hills of the Western Continent. It was peaceful. It was serene. It meant to Cloud what Marlene said it did: a dream of tranquility and normalcy that he'd never had.

"Yeah." The operator nodded. "Yeah, it is."

Now came the next part. One that had caught his attention for obvious reasons.

"But about Tifa…" His ears grew red, guilty but excited. "You said she…"

"Oh, I was hoping you'd forgotten about that," sing-songed the ever perceptive girl he'd known for so long, using his words against him. "But fine. But make me a promise first. I'll tell you what it is after I dish on Tifa. Sound good?"

"Definitely," agreed Cloud without hesitation.

"Okay, then! So she and I noticed something!" chirped Marlene as Cloud's charge stood beside her, both looking like stereotypical teenage girls who'd just found out some absolutely diabolical secret.

"You don't pay enough attention, Cloud!" accused his hooded friend.

"Okay, stop, stop, let me tell him!" Marlene smirked, her brown eyes twinkling with devious glee. "Cloud, have you noticed anything different about Tifa?"

"Uh, no. She's still…" Cloud's right hand shot up to rub the back of his neck in embarrassment.

Two girlish faces neared him, their inquisitive stares oppressive. "Hm?"

"Still the prettiest girl on Gaia. And I don't think I should be with her. After everything I've done."

Marlene rolled her eyes. "So he says when Tifa's putting your ring on her left finger when she thinks no one's looking."

"W-what?"

"That's all you can say?!" exclaimed the other girl in their trio, her eyes hard beneath her multicolored blindfold. "I swear!"

"Oh, I don't blame him. She doesn't wear it all the time, Cloud. You haven't noticed the chain around her neck?"

"No," admitted Cloud. "She has one?"

Marlene nodded. "Yup, yup. Now guess what's on it?"

"My wolf ring," he mumbled.

"Correct!" said both ladies.

"Knew it!" cooed a youthful face concealed beneath a cloak.

"You did." Marlene poked Cloud in the shoulder, her face sympathetic. "I know you've got a lot of making up to do, Cloud. I do. But it's worth it. I know it is. I know you do too."

She paused for a singed, fingers dancing along the hem of her hoodie. "Tifa's hurt. Badly. I know she is. But I know you didn't mean that. And I know leaving hurt you too. But you've gotta talk to her. At some point, y'know? I'm not saying today. Or tomorrow. But before all this is over, okay?"

Cloud hesitated. "Marlene, I-"

His gaze traveled upwards, locking his Mako green eyes with her brown ones. Unlike his, they were clear and focused, seeing truths he had become blind to long ago. Seeing them then, Cloud knew exactly what he needed to do.

"I will," vowed Cloud. "I'll talk to her. Her and Denzel."

Both women nodded while his daughter spoke first. "Good. Denzel's got the most baggage though."

"I can tell." Cloud nodded. "But thanks. Both of you. I needed this."

"We know!" replied Marlene as she and her younger friend hugged him. "You were always the type to keep things to yourself."

Then they separated from him. Marlene settled beside Cloud on the grass once more while a certain anonymous mage looked down on Corel once more. "Uh, Cloud, Marlene, what's that?"

The summoned duo immediately rose up and gazed down upon the town as she did. What they found was cause for alarm as WRO troopers hurriedly ushered citizens back into their homes. Alarms sounded and gunfire rang out. Screams were heard and suddenly inhuman roars shattered the air of quiet around the settlement.

"Trouble," growled Cloud as he pulled his weapon up from where he had planted it in the ground. "We've gotta get Marlene somewhere safe."

"Definitely," agreed the magic user among them, the Materia slotted into her bangle suddenly glowing while they made their way back. "We'd better move."

But no sooner had those words left her mouth than they were set upon by foes. "Cloud!" yelled Marlene, spying dark and primal forms shifting among the trees.

Cloud's enhanced senses recognized them: old toys of the Remnants now returned. Grey forms, sharp fangs and beady eyes sized them up from the shadows. Cloud drew his First Sword, ready to face them. Then it happened. A sharp pain at the base of his skull, one he hadn't experienced in fifteen years.

The forest blurred for a second as his head began to tear itself apart from the inside. Driven to his knees, Cloud fought to regain himself. One leg found a foothold beneath him. Then the other. Then he pushed up, finding himself facing the growing darkness of Jenova's pets. Yet despite the pain, the lone warrior knew that he would win.

Until he saw a flash of long silver locks. Then he froze, fear gripping him as Marlene's cries and bursts of energy from the nameless girl's Materia faded into the background. Cloud turned despite himself, color draining from his face as slitted Mako eyes mirroring his own were staring into his very soul.

"Good to see you, Cloud."

He hadn't changed a bit.

The same long black cape, draping him in darkness and foreboding.

The same pauldrons, once shining symbols of his status as a hero now little more than a murderer's armor.

The same inhuman gaze, not just for the hue of his eyes but for the coldness in them.

"Sephiroth." Cloud's hands trembled. His knees shook. "You're dead."

A knowing smirk. "For now. Currently, you should get back to those girls. I'll be seeing you soon."

Then the pain disappeared. And Cloud found his heart hammering his chest, fright pushing him into an adrenaline rush as reality reformed around him. Two voices called out to him as night predators rushed at them. And he met them.

It all blurred together, the years of experience and the rush of his enhancements pushing him onwards and onwards through the tide of monstrosities. Fang and claw held no meaning for him even as they tore at his skin. Cloud's concerns were simple: slash, stab, parry, dodge.

An offhand cut reduced an offhand creeper to dust while he ducked under another's lunge.

One bit at his blade, it's fangs blocked by the metal while it's ally cut Cloud's shoulder.

Blood spurted, pulling a scream from Marlene even as she nimbly dodged a swipe while her mysterious ally fired spell after spell into the oncoming horde. They followed in Cloud's wake, a path of fading corpses as they made their way back to Corel.

But when they reached the town, their fight was far from over. Another form, similar to the one that had attacked Edge, loomed overhead. In his haze, Cloud noticed nothing else but it's grotesque shape. He leaped atop a building before soaring into the air, bringing his blade down into its flesh. Gravity landed him on solid ground once more, where he ignored all else in favor of readying another strike as he studied its movements. After he second, the bladesman moved once more, his trance familiar as he felt a horrible laugh bubble up from his throat.

His cut found home once again, digging into putrid meat only for him to be tossed away by a rogue tentacle. Cloud crashed hard, leaving a stony trail behind him. Still, he forced himself up, feeling another guffaw bubbling up from his throat.

Then one voice reached him.

"Cloud!" called Denzel as he pushed a family towards their house, the darkness a massive appendage looming overhead. The boy's face was pleading and vacant, fear coloring the blue in his eyes.

Cloud saw it all. And he moved. First his legs. Then his arms. The next thing he knew, Denzel was fifteen feet in front of him, safe and sound.

Then everything went dark.

Ooh, this is late. Still, I hope you all leave a review! Thanks for reading! =)