Internal Strife;
A story of Cloud

~*~ A work of Christopher Nyghte ~*~
~*~ The Nyghte Surrounds Us All Forever ~*~

Notes: I don't own FF VII, it's characters, it's settings, ect. This is not for a profit, so please don't sue me, good people at Square! I don't have any $$$ anyway...
Ever wondered what happened in Cloud's head whenever he blacked out, and the screen went blurry? You know... that thing where Sephiroth controlled his mind... Well, this is my interpretation.

~*~

Cloud looked at the Mako Reactor for a long time. It was really on a few seconds, but it seemed like an eternity. He saw the blinking lights, the switches, the buttons, the warnings. He saw it all, but he saw nothing. He was trapped in a body-- a prison. He fell to his knees and grasped his head, and fell. The blackness of night engulfed him.

It was Cloud's first mission for AVALANCHE. He knew little of what was going on; a few eco-terrorists, a big black guy with one arm and a lot of cusses, and a whole lot of cash. He knew of the mako; he was an ex-SOLDIER. He knew of the reactors, of the mako infusions, and knew of the legends of Sephiroth. He had even had a mission with Sephiroth not too long ago. But that was his past. This was pain.

"Ahhh!" Cloud screamed in silence. No one could hear him, however. He was alone, as he had always been. Alone, and floating around in an endless sea of space with no stars to guide him like a mid-evil explorer. He was lost, alone, and cold, in a sea of despair.

"Don't do it," a voice let out.

"Do it, you must," came a second voice.

Both voices were incredibly distorted. He was able to hear the echo for minutes afterwards. However, he could see no walls to bounce these sounds of damnation. However, he could see nothing whatsoever-- the wall could be five feet in front of him for all he knew. He just didn't know

"Cloud," a third voice chimed in. "Listen to him. You must do it."

"You mustn't," a fourth voice continued. "You must not do it."

The voices were much the same. He could barely distinguish any of the four from each other. It was possible they were the same voice, simply confusing him more. He couldn't tell.

"What? Where are you? Do what? What can, or can't, I do?"

The voices stopped. He was in silence; a perfect compliment to the omnipresent darkness. He still had no idea of where he was, where everyone else was, and of who's voices were speaking to him. All he knew was that he was slowly drifting in complete nothingness. However, the pain restarted.

Cloud could see small ripples in the nothingness. They seemed to originate from everywhere, slowly spreading from everywhere, covering everywhere. He could see thick bands of colors, as if looking at a contour map of some mountain range. Everytime a band crossed his body, he felt the immense pain, as if someone was using him for an electrical socket.

"Ahhh! Oh my god! No! No more," he screamed out in agony as wave after wave of pain ran into his now fragile body.

"Do you like it," a new voice uttered. "Do as I say, and it will stop. You will return to your normal life, and there will be no pain, no loneliness."

"Please! I'll do anything. I'll do anything. Just stop the pain," Cloud screamed back to the blackness, hoping the voice could hear him. Suddenly, his surrounding changed.

All around him, he was surrounded by things. Pictures, drawing, sketches, photographs, diagrams, clips of the future. There were photos of the eco-terrorists, diagrams and blueprints of Mako reactors, pictures of people he had not yet met, several minute clips of conversation involving himself, and the like. He stared at each of them one by one, memorizing each and every one. Suddenly he understood. If he followed the intricate plans infront of him, the pain would end, and all would be right.

"I understand! I'll do as you say! Now, stop my pain," Cloud screamed to the voice. It would seem that it heard him.

"Yo, Cloud! You with us? Yo man, say sumthin', dammit," the one armed brute screamed infront of him.

"Cloud. Please answer me, " Tifa whispered to him, as she kneeled over him.

Cloud stood up and saw that he was still in the reactor. He mustn't have been out of it for too long. That was the next question on his mind.

"At least 3 fuckin' minutes, you cracker! Three fuckin' minutes that we didn't have to be in here! Now set the timer," Barret screamed.

Cloud stood up, and begin to set the timer on the detonator. His mission would soon be complete.

~*~The End~*~