"I care…why?" Cloud stopped for a moment, not really taking in the information.
"Do you remember Rufus? The one that almost destroyed everything? You really don't think he's going to ally with the Turks again and wreak his havoc? You're dumber than I thought," her voice became serious and sour.
"What could they possibly do? All of the reactors are destroyed, so they can't exactly produce mako energy anymore."
"You are so naïve! You really think that was all that Shinra caused?"
"Hey, I know what Shinra did!" his voice was stern as he turned back to her and spoke his mind.
"No you don't. Thousands of people die on the streets these days because of that damn president. We rejoiced when we heard that Midgar had blown up along with the weapon, but of course a president could never die that easily. He was saved from the destruction, almost dead none the less."
Cloud remained silent and he crossed his arms tightly across his chest as he maintained his attention on the young woman's words. Now was a time when he could finally see her true features, under the bright lighting of the warehouse. She was so pale, and so skinny, it seemed as if she could never exist. Obviously she was a fragile little creature, but she also held a lot of muscle, for he could still feel his shoulder pounding from where she had playfully hit him.
"Shinra…made me what I am today. Same with them," she pointed to the three men that were playing on the stage, "and with hundreds of other people with our misfortune. We're literally the living dead. There's no way our bodies could be living in the shape we're in. We shouldn't be alive…we should be six feet under.
"Shinra did this to all the street kids of Midgar. They promised us happy lives, with parents and homes, as long as we did one thing for them. They wanted us to get a simple injection of some sort, and then they said that we would be living like kings. Of course, many kids were starving, as was I, and we were all foolish enough to believe Shinra's promises. So, we all went with the injection, little to our knowledge the effects that it would have on our bodies.
"Many did die. And the ones that didn't die were so close that Shinra just threw them back out on the streets to die. Only about five percent of the children that they experimented on came out successful, and they did indeed live triumphing lives. I've heard rumors that the injection was supposed to make our bodies live for hundreds of years, and basically be a cure to death. I believe that now, looking at myself. But so many died just being injected with its potent toxic…"
"How does this concern me?" Cloud asked after listening heartily to her story.
"What makes you think that he isn't going to try it again? He, for some reason, is looking for a way to create a super human. Luck was on our side when Sephiroth came around, but that didn't last too long when he turned on his creators."
"But Professor Hojo created Sephiroth," Cloud interrupted trying to get facts straight.
"Yeah, but Hojo worked for Shinra. The Sephiroth you defeated was a clone of the one that was killed so many years back. Tell me, what makes you think Rufus won't try and create another to find the Promised Land?" Chrissie's argument was not making much sense to the Ex-Soldier, but in a way it did.
"Why are they all set on finding the Promised Land so much? Sure, it would have all the mako energy that they could possibly need but…"
"Exactly. Rufus is a power hungry bastard and with more mako, more power. He doesn't think the sky is the limit…he doesn't believe in a limit. Sadly, he has great ideas, but his motives of doing it is wrong," she commented while still looking up at Cloud.
"So how do you plan on destroying him?" Cloud soon realized that his question was a mistake. An evil sinister grin crossed her lips and her eyebrows furrowed and she could feel the excitement of battle shaking her body.
"First…" Hours of explaining went by as small maps of strategies began popping up everywhere in the warehouse. To make a long explanation short, she simply spoke of how they must find the president and quickly assassinate him. Years of work must go in the project, for Cloud must take on an appearance of one of them, and not of the hero that saved the world. Chrissie also requested that in a year he must gather the old Avalanche together for one more show down with Shinra, and to finally destroy the conspiracy.
The lead guitarist was skilled in making bombs, and that would become useful to them in their plans. His small, yet powerful creations would easily destroy any building still remaining of Shinra, and his computer skills were also profoundly superior to many normal beings. The two other men had no real skills, but they still agreed to help in any manner that was possible.
So life went of for Cloud Strife. Suddenly he was once again wrapped up in saving the world against some conspiracy of Shinra, yet this time it would not destroy the world, but it would affect the lower people of society that rejoiced in seeing the sun the next morning.
He never realized the changes that his appearance was taking on around him. His clothes drastically changed, his favorite outfit now being a torn jacket with no sleeves and no zipper with plaid shorts that hung just below his knees. He wore a belt similar to Chrissie's and his shoes were a pair or worn black sneakers. His hair was dyed to match the group, yellow with fiery red tips, and he also found himself cutting it into a mo-hawk.
Piercing himself actually frightened him at first, but then almost became an obsession after he realized that the pain would cease after time. He bore two rings on one eyebrow, and one on the opposite side. He pierced the stranger parts of his body too, such as his tongue and his nipples (after much convincing.)
He found himself as a lead singer next to Chrissie, and also a lead guitarist. He somehow was caught up in the music, and he found it a release from the life he had once lived. It was fascinating to him that he could speak so freely while singing, so many emotions filled his soul, and the only way to release him was through his song.
It was a week until their first real concert, and Cloud found himself contemplating the strangest thoughts in his head as he waited in a long line for the pay phone. Chrissie stood next to him with her arms crossed over her chest and a hood over her head to protect her delicate skin from the sun.
A year had passed since he last even had the thought of his old friends rise in his mind. Of course, he then clearly remembered the last moment with Tifa, which brought up a floundering thought that he just had to speak of.
"Chrissie," he broke the silence between the two, "have you ever been in love?"
"What?" she was caught off guard by the ridiculous question and yet, she felt as if a thousand knives pummeled her. "That's the stupidest question I've ever heard from your tongue."
"I'll take that as a yes," his sly tone brought a smile to his own lips.
"It's stupid, and should never be brought up," she tried to get off the topic quickly. Obviously the topic was a "hush hush" type, for Cloud could easily tell that she was uncomfortable with the conversation.
"It can't be that stupid."
"Trust me, it's stupid. Anybody stupid enough to fall in love should be dead," she advised as she took a step when the line moved forward.
"So you're saying I should die?" he asked while following her motion. She rolled her eyes under her hood as the subject continued to press on. Truthfully, she feared love, for its outcome for her had brought her emotional pain that was native to her and she couldn't handle the feeling of losing the one she had loved.
"No, I'm saying you're stupid for even thinking about getting yourself wrapped up in a subject like that," she replied and moved up another step.
"Well, aren't you curious about whom I'm in love with?" Cloud had become a little arrogant in his time, but it was only because of the people he lived with. He also had become abusive, cruel, and he didn't believe in weakness.
"Not really," she answered as the line moved up yet another step. Now there was only one person standing between them and the phone call that would hopefully change their lives, giving if that person was even home.
"Well good, because I'm not in love. I used to think I was, but then a friend of mine told me something that really stuck with me, and that's how I know that I have never been in love," he explained while twirling the little quarter of a gil in between his fingers.
"I don't really care. The subject is stupid," she continued on with her part of the argument.
"Do you know what she said to me?"
"No! Truthfully, I don't care!" Chrissie raised her voice in aggravation.
"She told me that I would know when I was in love," he continued on, whether she liked it or not. Chrissie had an annoyed look on her face and she just stared at Cloud and his sometimes stupidity.
"Are you sure you're not mentally retarded?" she asked with a curled lip. Cloud soon broke out into hysterical laughter as he reached the phone. His body hunched over on the pay phone and he had to place his arm over his stomach to hold himself upright from the convulsions of laughter. Chrissie rolled her eyes as she crossed her arms across her chest tightly and turned her back to him.
"Whew," Cloud let out a sigh as he picked up the receiver and put a coin in the deposit. He dialed an unfamiliar number, but according to their research, it should have belonged to her. The phone rang four times when he decided that there was going to be no answer. With his hope gone, he was about to hang up the phone when he heard a small voice pick up the other line.
"Hello?" a child's voice asked on the other line.