Authors Notes: First update in half a year! ¬¬ I had edited it but my PC froze on me. I'll sum this up quick. I wrote this half a year ago. Hit depression for the next several months. During the few days I wasn't depressed I worked on my original story (which I don't have the official version up on here, I think). So it's back. Hopefully, if things go well (you know they wont), we're looking at updates about every other week. With my best writing style yet (which is unfortunately not shown in this chapter - this chapter was written when I quit the story). Enjoy the phun.

Her smooth, pale skin created an eerie light of it's own magnitude, like that of an angel's would. However, no wings lay on her back, for she had chosen a life of torment over one of luxuries. Or rather, an afterlife - if such a thing did exist. Brown hair slapped her back, so shiny and beautiful it could make one ache. Her eyes, usually so alive and caring for the others around her, were now clenched tightly, her hands held in prayer. Her hands, clenched as tightly as they were, did not waver one bit as her pouty lips whispered words to the wind.

Cloud took a solemn step towards her. He hated this one most of all. This was the vision that made him wake in the night, crying, alone. It would be the very same vision that had once been a hauntingly real nightmare. It had all been his fault, if he felt the need to put the blame on an individual.

There was one small difference in the vision that differentiated it so clearly from the real life nightmare. Here the blonde-haired individual did not lose control, attacking the love of his life with that blank face that haunted his friends for years afterwards. Instead he approached her, his footsteps sedated, until he was next to her.

Falling to weakened knees, an echo fell throughout the room - a single, hollow note that was dead and alive at the same time. Closing his eyes tightly, mostly to hide the tears, he held his hands in prayer. He could feel his heart slowly quickening.

"Aeris... Oh how I have missed you. Every day I dream of you, wonder what would have happened if we were to live happily ever after." He paused. "That's... not entirely true. I have nightmares, not fantasies. Memories that I am unsure of, the delusions forever haunting me. If only I could set out my memories of joy from my delusions of him." There was no doubt who he was.

Cloud began to smile at this point, raising his head and opening his misty eyes. Staring at the infinite depths of blackness he felt as though he was about to laugh. "No matter... I shall be with you soon."

Normally at this point the dream would end, and Cloud would be sobbing in a makeshift bed. It was a lie - he was far too weak to take his own life. Others had been stronger than he had, and it felt as though a burning knife was plunged into his heart again and again once he realized his weakness.

"No…" Cloud's eyes widened. The voice was faint, and dead, though a bit emotion was still struggling to be held in it. Aeris had never before spoken to him in one of these dreams. "You will not leave. I care for you dearly, beloved. But you came to me only in loneliness. You have a long time to live. Go, now. You need your strength in the other world, for now."

Cloud tried to lunge for her, the tears now of joy and not of infinite emptiness that was to be expected. He had at last found he could be with the woman he had longed for, and he would give anything to keep it like that. But the woman waved a hand and Cloud was gone. Gone from her forever.

*

Clouds eyes hauntingly snapped open, a silent rage waging battle in his mind. His blue eyes were flashing an illumines, unnatural color repeatedly, as if the mako energy was growing in strength. The eyes did not settle down as Cloud's mind did, though. Hidden deep behind the rational thinking of mans brain secrets could dwell. Sometimes things could be seen by a man that made no sense to him at all, and he'd coolly disregard it while his mind continued to consider what it was.

When such things happen to SOLDIERs or those infected with the mako energy and Jenova cells, the fact these secrets exist are forced out by the mako energy, even if the person is not yet aware of it. It causes a reaction in which the brain tries to tell the person something important is happening; it's usualy signalled by the flashing in the eyes. The light can be created from thinking, anger, love, and a number of other things.

What Cloud was quite certain of was that a battle was going to be fought here, within the next few minutes. His sixth sense was not tingling; it was simply a fact that Aeris had been telling him, in his dream, that it was time. Cloud did not try to think rationally as most people did, considering his past. If someone walked up to him and told him he was an alien with magical powers that had in fact destroyed hundreds of planets, he would probably believe them.

So he of course believed everything figments of his imagination told him; after all, he didn't know for sure they only existed in his head.

Stretching his arms a bit he brought his gaze over to assure that Seko was safe. The chocobo was resting safely by a waterfall. They were now in another one of those visions that were created here, but it felt entirely real.

His right arm had been healing nicely, but Cloud was still sceptical whether or not it should be used in the battle. It was weak from the lack of movement it had been receiving. Considering it was tingling with a sort of new birth and energy though, it would do perfect with handling materia. Cloud would need to use every advantage, and turn his weaknesses into strengths.

Sticking the end of his sword into the dirt he pulled himself up, taking a few practice swings. He recalled Zack's lessons to him, moving gracefully through the moves as daisies were ripped apart and blades of grass filled the air from the swords intensity.

"You are doing very nicely. Perhaps a thinner blade would suit you better though; your arms are thin and your reflexes show signs of a more graceful weapon. A broadsword is so clumsy and pathetic." It had not been the voice Cloud was expecting. It was soft and heart-felt, like a romantic child declaring his love.

"Yeah. Well. It's sort of an old friend." Turning to face his opponent he swung the sword across his back, glaring as the sword quietly fell into place. The apprentice was tall and built a lot like Cloud was. His features were soft and delicate, reminding Cloud of Sephiroth and his feminine face. His eyes kept shifting from white to black to gray and back to white. His hair, meanwhile, was an entirely different story. It was long, almost reaching his waist. It was not long in the manner that Sephiroth or Aeris had long hair, though. It was spikey and stuck out in odd places, the color red like fire. He was clothed in a long cloak that swallowed the darkness and gave the impression he was a hippie.

His lips curled into a slow, sadistic smile. "Cloud, you are indeed a fine warrior. I have been told... not to toy with you though." Cloud got the impression he wasn't talking about the fight. A very frightening impression. "You may call me Ace. Or brother. After all, we live the same life, breath the same air, why not consider ourselves one and the same?"

"Because I'm not a dickhead who serves an ugly-ass master guy." At this rate the fight wouldn't start forever.

"You know, they say insults are a sign of weakness, and also of fear of others rejecting you for your penis size." Cloud could not help but laugh at Ace's quite serious remark. "Now, let's fight, yes?"

Ace's cloak dissipitated into shadows and faded away, the shadows lurking for a few moments before disappearing into wispy tendrils of smoke. Underneath he had been wearing shorts, a long sleeved t-shirt, and metal-toe boots that looked dangerous. Holding out a hand a scythe materialized in the air, as deadly as it's owner. The blade itself reminded Cloud of the 'Ultima Sword' which he had discarded after the battle with Sephiroth.

"YES!" Cloud screamed in excitement and dropped low as he charged. Only a foot away from Ace he brought his sword free and brought it down with all the strength he had. Ace's wrist swiftly flicked over, forcing the scythe into the path of the sword. Sparks of lightning clashed as the two struggled to get the other down, the air around them filling with magic.

"HA!" Ace yelled triumphently, kicking Cloud aside with a great deal of strength. The blonde flew through the air until he collided with an oak tree, blood seeping from his skull.

At this point Seko had woken up, and was now charging Ace. "SEKO! NO!" Cloud yelled out, but it was too late. Ace kicked it and the bird flew away into the forest, its speed amazing. "God... dammit..." Pushing his weight against the tree he steadied himself, charging Ace again.

"GIVE IT UP CLOUD!" The two leapt towards one another, but instead of clashing in the air Cloud rolled into a ball and the scythe swung over his head.

Landing in a storm of dust he spun towards Ace, preparing to use magic. Materia was out of the question, he sadly recalled, but his personal energy tap would suffice. The reality became distorted before his finger tips, flickering for a moment, then a ball of invisible energy flew towards the red-headed maniac.

Ace's eyes flickered green and the energy ball was absorbed into his skin, which momentarily had to turn into nothing but raw energy. It had only been for a split second, but Cloud was sure he had seen it. This fighter had the ability to not only bend reality, but to manipulate his own body.

Ace smiled, and spead two fingers towards Cloud, who was instantly launched backwards. About a dozen feet back he stopped as though he were chained to a wall, and there was no longer the rush of wind sounding, only a silent whistling of the wind blowing through the leaves and his heavy breath. Ace had not been afected by the fight at all, but Cloud had almost used up all his strength in those few minutes.

Ace made a throwing movement and halfway to Cloud a dagger materialized, heading straight for Cloud's forehead. Cloud squeezed his eyes shut, then total darkness.

*

Ace smiled victoriously, knowing the battle had been won. The dagger had hit dead on target, and a mass of blood was now pouring down the young mans head. The battle had not at all been hard, and he was rather disappointed with the weakness of the Planet's strongest fighter.

Turning he walked away, about to collapse this visionary reality, but he heard a slight rustling noise behind him. It... can't be.

He slightly shifted his head, and his eyes were bulging at the sight that lay before him.

*

Cloud was in the oh-so-typical dark void that he was by now quite used to. His life was nothing more than a mere void. The darkened area seemed to be beating with life, like a heartbeat.

"Where am I?" The words were immediately sucked into the blackness before they travelled a few inches. The answer reached him though.

You are here.

"Oh, THAT'S a lot of help. I guess I finally died, eh?" He was facing the facts with a certain amount of humor.

Dear lord no!

"...Oh." Seeing no need to talk to the voices anymore he began to turn his mind back to his fight. Flashes of Aeris dying came to his mind though, and in this strange place he may have been there for years, crying out in pain. Perhaps he had never existed, and he was simply a fragment of energy who had wished he was something and made up a life. It seemed logical enough.

Have... to draw my strength. I CAN STILL WIN! Cloud focused on the dark energy that existed in the universe, superior to the weaker forces. It was all... It was there... It was him.

"AHAHAHAHAHHAAAA!" He didn't know why he was laughing; did it matter? Was it even really Cloud that was laughing?

*

Before Ace's face was Cloud. Well, in most ways it resembled Coud. Same hair style, same face, same dagger protruding from forehead...

Now though his hair was black, with violet strips on the tips to make it all the more sinister looking. His eyes were black too, and all in all he looked a whole lot... darker.

"What the hell ARE you, Cloud?" Ace asked with a smile, his muscles finally relaxing. "Anyone with the ability to do THAT is indeed a worthy opponent."

Expecting Cloud to reply he waited for a few quiet moments, quite impatiently. Turning to Cloud he could see his expression was blank; not victorious, nor was it happy, angered, or any emotion Ace could think of. "Well, let's continue this much, eh?" Bringing his scythe backwards he charged, swinging the weapon in a wide arc.

Cloud didn't make a move to dodge it; when the scythe's blade struck him in the side of the face it erupted into thousands of shards. "WHAT?!" Ace screamed in an outrage, but he was instantly brought into blackness. He hadn't even seen the fist move.

*

Marlene stared straight ahead, her mouth gaping and her misty eyes twitching. The television was showing the scene of a bloody battle that had occurred sometime last night, at Fort Condor.

But her dream... Was she seeing the future? Or maybe the present... "Larry?" she questioned the man sitting across from him.

"Hm?"

"I-Is Daddy coming back?" Larry slowly turned to her, seeing genuine fright in her face. Marlene had always been a tough girl, and was rarely seen afraid. "And Tifa?"

"Marlene..." he spoke, choosing his words carefully. "Tifa and your father are both extremely strong people. Two of the strongest on the Planet, you know that! Don't be so silly, there's nothing that could hurt them." But on the inside Larry knew his own words were lies, and the two residents were as vulnerable to an army of monsters as anyone.

The aftermaths were even worse than the battle. Gnawed bones with pieces of meat littered the area, with skin thrown around as if it had come from a twister. Four dragons, dozens of feet in length, were sprawled across the hills still bleeding, looking as though their own had tried to eat them.

The hills, once green and beatiful, were red and permantly stained. It made a tear travel down her cheek.

*

Danny sat at the edge of the mountain overlooking the town, a warm, caring look in his eyes. Up here there were no problems, no life to be hated and despised.

If others knew about his life, they would be astounded what he could cope with. The only family member he had now was a drunk father, who was very abusive. Yet Danny still felt for him, knowing at one point he had been a good man. His father knew this, and used it to his advantage. He would threaten Danny he would kill himself because his son was so disobedient.

Danny himself had considered killing himself more than once. But every time he was about to do it, flashes of a small, pretty girl came into his mind.

He wasn't too sure why he loved her; she was beatiful, nor was she particularly smart (though in his humble opinion she was much more intelligent than she let on). Maybe it was because when he was with her, problems faded away. He worked at 7th Heaven at minimum wage for unpaid afterhours too, just to be with her. Because when he was without her, he'd have to go home...

Sometimes he wasn't at home or with Marlene, but when he wasn't he was thinking of her. She had kept his life in balance, and without her he wouldn't last an hour in the world.

He turned his eyes from the town to the partially rebuilt Midgar. At one of the mountainsides it looked as though a huge miscoloured mountain was moving around. It took him a few seconds to realize what it was.

"Oh shit..."

*

Yuffie muttered under her breath while Reno rambled on. He held both her arms up against the wall, one of his legs crossing over both of hers to block any kicks.

"I'm not really a bad guy you know. ...Well, I am, but that doesn't really matter, now does it? Besides, I won't hurt you! ... Another lie, you embarassed the hell out of me earlier and you are going to pay for ever doing it."

Yuffie mentally rolled her eyes, getting ready for what was to come next. "Oooh, Reno!" she said in a sort of turned-on shcoolgirl voice (or at least she hoped it sounded that way).

"U-Uh, yeah?" Due to work Reno never paid much attention to girls, so this was a rather awkward situation. Yuffie noted with glee he had shifted his posture to attempt to look stronger.

"Weell... I was just hoping you could..." She spoke in her most aroused, seductive voice she could, moving closer to his ear to make him fidget all the more. "Get real." Reno's eyes widened and Yuffie, with one free knee, hit him in the balls.

"AH! B-Bitch... Oh well." He grinned, revealing her materia in one hand. He must have taken it as he fell...

"HEY! Give it back and I'll give you a kiss!"

"With tongue?" Yuffie nodded and Reno began considering this. Was she lying? Was he desperate? Of course he was! "Tell you what, I'll give it back to you once you give me head."

Yuffie smiled widely. "Deal!" She moved to him, tracing her fingers down his body. I-Is she going to go through with this?! He gulped as she unbuckled his pants, sliding them down.

"WHAT ARE YOU DOING?!" Not the most romantic line, but I think she was impressed! I still got it! Hey, where's my wallet?

*

Reeve threw away the run-down cigarette, pacing back and forth in the dark interior. He was so struck by nervousness at the news of rampaging monsters he had gone into hiding, knowing it had all been his faut.

"I just couldn't handle it! Not like you Cloud... No, never like you! You always knew what do, dammit! ALWAYS! He chose to blame Coud for his own problems because he was unwilling to admit his one fautls, and he was quite aware of it.

Behind him he could hear some shuffling. He let out a nervous whimper, hearing the threatening voice.

"Goodbye, President." A gunshot rang, destroying the silence.

*

Nanaki ran into an alley, letting the people chase him down keep on going in the wrong direction. He was growing weary of this.

For a day he had been kept at the dock, people telling him he was not allowed to enter the city because he may have been with the 'enemy'. Then, despite the official ShinRa pass hanging around his neck, people continued to chase him donw in the streets, yelling thigns like 'YOU KILLED MY HUSBAND!'

It was really annoying, but at least he was close to ShinRa headquarters. It was just across the street, but he could die before he made it there.

Gathering his courage he dashed over the pavement, several people turning their heads to see a red blur, and he threw himself through the doors to the humongous building. Inside it was very quiet, and comfortable looking.

The receptionist was the only person in the room, and she looked as though she was about to faint. Slowly walking over to her he jumped up, his two front paws landing on the desk.

"I'm here to see Captain Highwind. Is he in?"

Cid had taken over ShinRa until the current president was found or, if the current president was dead, until the vice president could be found. He was said to be somewhere near Mideel now, running some scientific experiments that rather worried Nanaki.

"H-H-He's b-busy. In a-a meeting."

Nanaki turned his eye to her, letting it creep into a squint to look threatening. "Oh contrare, I don't believe that is very true."

Gulping, the receptionist passed him a card that said 'VIP Pass' in fanciful gold writing. "F-Floor 75."

Taking the card in his mouth he dashed to what looked like a rather elegant elevator and pressed his nose to force it open. Walking in he placed the card into a slot and once again used his nose to tap the button. Like in all elevators, the music was a friendly little chime that drove the person insane in a matter of moments.

When he did at last arrive at Floor 75 he felt like he was going to go mad from the so called music. Looking around he found himself to be in what looked like an apartment room; lightly colored with big fluffy couches everywhere, illuminous lights that looked friendly. The carpet was soft and felt good to the touch, as if it itself was stuffed with thousands of feathers.

Laying on a couch was the pale-blonde headed man himself. "Cid." Nanaki said as a greeting, if a rather bland one.

"Hey, man! Or... Thing? I'm not sure WHAT you are." Nanaki was instantly looking down. Cid was definitely not his choice of company, but he was still a friend none-the-less. "I'm guessin' you're here for the same reason as Barret?"

"Barret's here?!"

"Of course. Apparently Reeve freaked out a bit too much, and wanted to get in touch with everyone. Unfortunately, Tifa recently ran away, Vincent's out vampin' or whatever vampires do, Yuffie is just gone, and Cloud's..." He let the sentence hang there. They all knew about Cloud; one day he had simply said that he would be going out, and he never came back. They knew he was alive; it was the man's sanity they were worried about.

"You wouldn't happen to know why Reeve wanted us here, would you?" he asked sceptically.

"Nah, but I got some news for you and Barret! Just a few minutes; go in the back, I'll have dinner up in a few minutes."

Authors Notes: So yeah, it's all depressions fault. Fuck depression. Look up 'Seth' or 'The Dark Land of Oz' (can't remember which I used) who wrote a few songs on here - that's most of the stuff I did. I even wrote about a dozen songs the other day, I just can't be bothered to type them up and put them there yet. I may take down my Seth name and switch it to here.

If you read this, I don't care if you don't R+R seeing as how it's my old writing style. Just hope you had phun.