A/N: Hey everyone! Thank you for being patient with me. I apologize for being late. School just ended for me and I had finals. Actually, I still have 3 more exams coming up, but anyway, I wasn't able to work on this fic for a while. But in order to make up for it, I made this a longer chapter… (that is, if you like long chapters). Anyways about the fic, I know that the Primary Genre for this fic is "Romance", but reading through this, it doesn't look like a romance fic. The romance between Aeris and Cloud is becoming like a sub-plot. I need your input if you want me to keep the romance as a subplot. So what do you think? I really really want some C/A action soon, so I'm gonna have a lot of that next chapter, so stay tuned… ^_^;

Random FFVII Quote: "He destroyed my hometown 5 years ago, killed Aeris, and is now trying to destroy the Planet. I'll never forgive… Sephiroth." ~ Cloud Strife.

When The Soldier Meets The Flower Girl
Chapter V: Tifa's Seventh Heaven

"Miss Elena, would you like us to scout this area as well?" one of the Shinra guards asked Elena.

Elena, now dressed as a civilian stood just outside of the Seventh Heaven bar. There was a hint of smile that crossed her features. She loved being a Turk so far. She was definitely enjoying the attention, and the fact that she was now able to order these pathetic Shinra guards. Well… not so pathetic. She just pitied them for their low-paying job.

"Miss Elena?" the guard tried to call her again when she didn't get his attention.

Elena then turned to the guard, slightly annoyed. "Just check out the Weapons shop!" She rolled her eyes and then added, "And don't get too close to me!"

The two guards finally went off their way. So now Elena was finally left alone. Sighing in relief, she slowly made her way inside the bar. She looked around. The place was packed. She slowly took a step. She was not too impressed at the bar's set-up. It was not a really nice bar. It was dark… It was ugly… But Elena entered and scanned the area. Even though the bar was not too big, it looked like a happy place. The citizens of Midgar just drank away their problems, their worries with their friends.

Elena walked to the counter and sat.

"Hello! What can I get for you Miss?"

Elena looked up and was surprised as a little girl, the bar tender, looked at her with a smile. Why would a little girl be in charge of a bar?

"Err… you serve some alcohol here, little girl?" Elena asked, still absorbing the fact that the little girl was the bartender.

"Yep! Aunt Tifa taught me how to mix all different kinds! But she said that alcohol's bad for kids so I don't drink them," the girl answered.

Elena shook her head in disbelief. "Uh, I'll just have some hot chocolate please…"

"Are you sure you don't want anything stronger than that?" she asked.

Elena laughed a little. "No. No thanks… just the chocolate please…"

"Comin' right up!" the girl exclaimed.

Elena sat there, waiting for her order. She wasn't sure what she should be doing next, but as she observed the bar, it didn't look like it would be the hideout for the AVALANCHE. She saw no sign of them. Maybe, their hideout is hidden somewhere here… she thought. Elena was just about to stand up as she saw a vending machine in the corner when she heard the little girl walking back to her direction.

"Here ya go!" the girl happily exclaimed as she placed a cup of hot chocolate in front of Elena.

"Thanks…" the Turk answered blankly, still staring at the vending machine.

"Is something wrong, Miss?" the girl asked the blonde.

She shook her head and took a sip from her chocolate. "No. Nothing's wrong. I'm gonna go sit over there. Thanks…" Elena handed the girl some gil and went over to sit on one of the empty tables nearby.

"You heard about that rebel group AVALANCHE?"

At the mention of the word AVALANCHE, Elena immediately looked up to find the source of the voice. Just a few meters away from her table was another table. That table occupied three men, conversing amongst themselves. As Elena looked up, she realized that the television was on. On the TV's screen was the Shinra News. But Elena paid no attention to the television as she listened closely to the conversation of the three men.

"Yeah, what 'bout 'em?" the second guy replied.

The first guy answered, "I hear that they just recruited a new member."

"A new member?" the third guy added. He shook his head and smirked. "Ha. Like that's gonna do them any good."

"And that's not all," the first guy continued. He gulped down an entire bottle of beer. When he was through, he slammed the bottle on the table, causing Elena to almost jump. "I hear that the new recruit used to work for the Shinra!"

"Wha!" the second guy exclaimed. "That rumor's false! The AVALANCHE despise the Shinra! They would not hire anyone who used to work for them! That's ridiculous!"

The first guy laughed and banged his hand on the table. He stared at the second guy and looked away again. "I also hear that the AVALANCHE are planting a bomb tonight. They are bombing one of the reactors in Midgar. And would you believe it? That new recruit's with them as well…"

Upon hearing this, Elena rose to her feet. She couldn't help but think about the AVALANCHE's new recruit. If what that guy had said was true, then who was that traitor? That new recruit? Who? Elena made her way towards the exit. She knew that her first objective had been to find the hideout of the AVALANCHE, but she knew that this piece of information might be helpful for the Shinra.

She couldn't believe it still… She got outside and looked up at the reactor just above. If the AVALANCHE were planning to bomb one of the reactors, they would not bomb the reactor in Sector 7. That would be because their hideout was in Sector 7. Elena checked her watch. It was still too early to leave, but she knew that she must inform Tseng immediately about what she had found out. She couldn't take the risk.

~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~

"Sir, I just got a message from the Boss," a Shinra guard came up to the redhead who had been lying on a couch reading a comic book.

"Yeah, what about it?" Reno answered, his eyes glued on the comic.

"He said to get back to your job, sir," he replied. "Umm… he said that you have to capture the Ancient or else."

Reno finally put the comic book down and sat up. He looked at the guard and sighed. "Back to work. Again. Man, why does Tseng always give me the most boring assignment? I'm so sick of coming after that girl."

He stood up and stretched out his arms. Suddenly the door to Tseng's office opened, and Tseng peeked out. When he saw Reno still in the waiting room, he didn't look too happy. "What are you still doing here, Reno? I thought I told you to get back to work."

"Yes, Sir, I was actually just about to go," Reno answered. He turned to walk away, but then stopped as he heard Tseng's PHS ringing.

"Hello? Oh yes, Elena, what have you got to report?" Tseng asked over the PHS. He stopped to listen for a while. "A rumor about the AVALANCHE? Sure, I'm interested in it. What did you hear?" He listened for a while, but when Tseng realized that Reno was still in sight of him, he waved his hand to shoo him away. "Reno. I'm telling you. Get back to work."

Reno didn't move for a while. He thought he heard Tseng mentioning Elena's name over the PHS. As he looked at the serious expression in Tseng's face, Reno nodded over to his assistant guards before they left Tseng's sight.

"The AVALANCHE are planning an attack? You sure about that, Elena?" Tseng said over the PHS. He listened closely for a while. After a moment, he hung up and his lips curved into a cruel smile.

~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~

As Elena got off the PHS with Tseng, she then made her way back to Tifa's Seventh Heaven. The bar was still filled with loud chatters among the customers. She looked at the vending machine and at the jukebox. Now it was time for her to do some investigation. She walked toward the jukebox. She was just about to press one of the buttons when she suddenly felt somebody tugging at her shirt.

She turned to look and found the little girl who was in charge of the bar.

"I'm sorry, Miss, but that jukebox is out of order," she told her.

Elena glanced over at the jukebox and then back at the little girl. "I see. Thank you…"

The little girl smiled at her. Elena couldn't help but smile back. She bent down and looked at the cute girl. "Hey, what's your name by the way?" she asked.

"I'm Marlene," the girl answered. "What's your name?"

"Elena," she answered. She then rose to her feet and narrowed her eyes. "Marlene, who is the owner of this bar? Why are they making you do all this work?"

Marlene just shrugged. "It's because Aunt Tifa and Papa are all really busy with a lot of stuff."

She frowned. "They're too busy with a lot of stuff… like what?"

Marlene lowered her gaze sadly. "Oh Miss Elena, please don't tell anyone this okay. It's supposed to be a secret…" she then looked up at Elena with pleading gaze. When Elena nodded her head, Marlene continued, "Papa said that he and Aunt Tifa are trying to save the Planet from Mako. I don't know how they are doing that… and I was taught in school that Mako is good… But Papa and Aunt Tifa don't think so. They think that Mako is bad for the Planet because it sucks out the Planet's energy. I really don't understand it, Miss Elena… but I trust Papa and them, so I'm helping them out by working at this bar…"

Elena blinked. She could not believe that she was hearing this. It definitely sounded like what the AVALANCHE believed in. She bent down again and placed a hand on Marlene's shoulder to reassure her. "So, your Papa is not here?"

Marlene shook her head. "No… he's not here. He left with that SOLDIER. They said that they won't be back until later."

"I-I see…"

Marlene reached something from her pocket to reveal a yellow tulip. "Here, look at this. Isn't it pretty?"

Elena gasped and smiled. "A tulip… I haven't seen one of those in a long time. It is lovely…"

Marlene looked up at the ceiling in a deep thought. "It was given to me by an angel, Miss Elena. I think it's a sign, isn't it? Look at this flower, Miss Elena… it reminds us that our Planet is a lovely place, right? That's why, I trust Papa and Aunt Tifa to save the Planet. So then we can have more tulips like this."

Elena smiled at the little girl's love for the Planet. "Yeah… you're right, Marlene… The Planet, especially Midgar, should have more flowers…" she whispered it more to herself.

Marlene looked at Elena and giggled. "And I wish that there would be more nice and pretty girls like you, Miss Elena… just like the flower lady who gave me this."

Elena quickly shook her head. "I'm not that nice, Marlene…" she then rose to her feet and wore a serious look in her face. She looked away from the little girl, as if suddenly remembering her main purpose for coming here. No… she must not let this girl ruin her first assignment. She must tell Tseng about what she had heard.

"Marlene…" she said softly.

"Oh, you're really nice, Miss Elena," Marlene said. "I'm glad that I got to talk to you."

Elena was just about to say something when the PHS rang again. "Excuse me…" she told the little girl. Marlene nodded and left Elena all to herself. "Yes. Elena here…"

"Elena, this is Tseng. I have to tell you, we've tracked one of the AVALANCHE members…"

"Already? B-But—"

"You did a great job, Elena. I'm now on my way to the other three to put a stop at them."

"But, Sir… I…"

"Elena, you have to get out of there. I was ordered by the President to bomb Sector 7 first thing tomorrow. It may be too late for you now to return to the Headquarters, but I just want to let you know that you and your team must leave Sector 7 first thing in the morning."

"You're gonna destroy Sector…" her voice trailed off. She could hardly believe Tseng's words. "Sir, is that really necessary?" When she realized that her voice was becoming higher, she then lowered it down. "I mean… sir, a lot of innocent people…"

"Hey, it's the President's order. We have no choice."

"Sir…"

"Elena, don't be weak. You're a Turk now. Deal with it."

"Sir, of course… yes, sir…" Elena managed to say weakly.

~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~

Cloud, Tifa, and Barret finally reached the reactor after hours of search. Tifa gazed at the familiar reactor, it looked exactly the same reactor as the one that was found on the peak of Mt. Nibel. She didn't move any closer to the reactor as Cloud and Barret made their way toward the reactor.

Cloud turned to Barret and he handed him a gray device that would destroy the reactor. As Cloud took the device from Barret, he felt it again. That presence… a cold presence swept over him, like a raging wind. He felt somebody poking through his head and he heard the voices again, that hunting menacing voice. It echoed in his mind. Cloud dropped the device and instead he grabbed hold of his head.

He saw images flashing in his head. He shut his eyes tightly and he saw a scene in his head. Cloud looked up and found himself back in the Mt. Nibel's reactor. In front of him lied Tifa's father. Tifa knelt beside the dead man as tears flooded her eyes.

"I-It's Sephiroth who did this to you, isn't it?!" Tifa managed to choke out in between sobs. She roughly wiped off the tears overcoming her face. "It's the Shinra! I hate them. I hate Sephiroth. I hate them ALL!"

Tifa then grabbed a long silver bladed sword that had been lying on the floor next to her dad. "I'll be right back, Dad!" Tifa exclaimed as she rose to her feet. With that, Tifa ran off to the back with a long sword in her hand.

"Cloud?"

"Cloud!"

Cloud blinked and tried to focus his eyes. He saw the look of concern in Tifa's face as she grabbed hold of his arm to help him up. As Cloud could finally see clearly, he found himself back again at the reactor with Barret and Tifa. What just happened? He thought to himself.

"Tifa… I…" his voice trailed off. He looked away from Tifa's gaze, still trying to understand what had happened.

"What?" she asked, but even her gentle voice seemed so far away.

That voice… those images… When did all that happen? Somehow his memories were not clear. He tried to search for answers in his head, but his mind seemed to be clouded. He couldn't understand it. Whose voice was that? It was definitely not his.

"Hey are ya jest gonna sit there and drift off in space?"

Cloud's head suddenly snapped up when he heard Barret's voice. As if finally realizing his main purpose here, he picked up the device that he had dropped and rose to his feet. He nodded his head, saying not a word as he made his way toward the reactor.

Behind him, Tifa could only watch Cloud, a worried expression across her face. She had no idea what had just happened with him, what went on in his head. What was he going to tell her earlier, she couldn't help but wonder. What was he going to say anyway? Tifa thought that perhaps it would be rude to ask him what was going on in his head. But she couldn't help but feel scared.

No, no, I can't think like this. I have to be strong. Cloud is still Cloud… he's the same Cloud…

But deep in her heart, something else there did not completely agree. In her soul, in her mind, she knew that something was not right. What else could she do about it? How else was she going to help Cloud? These questions—no matter how many times she asks them, she knew that she would not get any answers just by standing there and pretending to believe that that person over that was the real Cloud Strife of Nibelheim.

As Cloud finally finished setting the bomb, he nodded his head over to Barret and Tifa. He now led the way down the long corridor. They only had thirty minutes before it detonates. Now the three made haste, following Cloud, who seemed to be acting as the leader now.

Barret clenched his teeth as he tried his best to keep up with the young soldier. Cloud was such a fast runner, he could probably admit that. But he could not admit the fact that Cloud would make a better leader than him. Just thinking about Cloud taking over of AVALANCHE pissed him off. How dare he! He was not the one running the show here. He was the one who initiated AVALANCHE. He had the right to choose on who will take over his place.

He hated Cloud and the way he expertly wields his sword… and he would not admit that he had just recently learned how to use materia. He actually just learned how last week. And Cloud… oh boy, whenever he'd look at him, he felt like kicking his ass.

He almost bumped into Cloud and Tifa when the two had suddenly halted to a stop.

Annoyed, Barret glared at Cloud. "What on earth! Warn me first if you're gonna stop!"

"Ssh, I hear something," Cloud replied without turning to look at his angry face.

That cool exterior. Barret just hated it whenever Cloud would do that. He hated how Cloud was able to keep his cool in any situation. He just hated that straight face, that serious face, SOLDIER's face.

"Sounds like it's coming from above," Tifa looked up at the sky.

"The hell was that! Up there!" Barret exclaimed, pointing his gunarm above. He could see it now.

A helicopter descended and a man revealed himself from the chopper. He wore a red suit. Two Shinra guards stood on either side of him.

"Let's make a run for it…" Cloud whispered more to Tifa.

She nodded. She was just about to run to the other side, but suddenly stopped in her tracks as two more guards appeared. "Oh no," she whispered, walking backwards. It was as she had feared.

On the other side, two more guards occupied the area. Cloud was just about to speak when he stopped as he saw the man that he had seen earlier that afternoon at Wall Market. He wasn't dressed as a civilian this time. Tseng wore a blue uniform, the Turks uniform.

"Tseng…" Cloud whispered to himself.

"Nice of you guys to drop by," the man from the helicopter spoke. He smiled a wicked smile at them. "But unfortunately, I have to cut your little party short for tonight."

Cloud did not hesitate to unsheathe his buster sword, holding it up in front of him. The young Turk, Tseng, shook his head in disapproval as he took a step forward. "That wouldn't be wise," Tseng said. "You wouldn't want to raise your swords against President Shinra, now, would you?"

At the mention of the name, Cloud and the others lowered their weapons. "President?" His blue eyes averted to President Shinra. This was the man who had started it all. The one who had started this big corporation.

Barret raised his gunarm, now furious. So this was the man who invented Mako reactors, the man who had destroyed his hometown, the man who owned this evil corporation. He clenched his teeth in anger. He hated his guts even more now that he looked at that smirk on his face. How he so wanted to wipe away that grin off his annoying face. But the president was not interested in him.

President Shinra looked at Cloud as if studying him, and trying to remember where he had seen his face before.

The President just laughed. "Oh Tseng, if they want to provide us some entertainment, then let them be."

"But, sir…"

President Shinra turned once again to Cloud. "You have SOLDIER eyes."

Cloud then raised his sword higher. "I quit SOLDIER, so I'm your enemy now."

President Shinra laughed. "I see, traitor." He thought for a moment, trying to remember where he had seen his face before. "Yes. I've seen your face before. You are Zack?"

"It's Cloud—Cloud Strife!" Cloud answered quickly.

He laughed. "Never heard that name before…" Then his face grew serious as he looked at Cloud's glowing blue eyes. "But what does it matter anyway? You work for the AVALANCHE now." The president looked at the troops and nodded his head. "Get Air Buster out of here. I don't want to be late for dinner."

"Dinner! Don't gimme dat excuse!" Barret hollered. He furiously started firing his gunarm, but the president was already in the chopper.

Tifa, looking a little annoyed, covered her ears from Barret's loud gunshots. She knew that she had to constantly remind Barret to control his temper. She glanced over at Cloud who had managed to keep his cool despite Barret's obvious anger.

Tseng smiled at the AVALANCHE. "So we meet again…" he looked at Cloud, remembering him clearly now from Wall Market.

"Tseng!" Cloud exclaimed.

"Unfortunately you're all gonna die here," Tseng said.

Snapping his fingers, a huge monstrous fighting machine rolled behind Tseng, coming up toward the AVALANCHE.

"Meet Air Buster," Tseng introduced at the loud machinery. "He's a member of our elite force, SOLDIER. He's been assigned to annihilate the AVALANCHE. Have fun."

With that, Tseng disappeared with the Shinra troops, leaving Cloud and the others to deal with an evil fighting machine.

= end of chapter 5 =

A/N: Stay tuned for the next chapter—Chapter 6: The Church in Sector 5!

~ Kristine

Oh btw, some thank-you notes:

AnimeBunny – You are right that Edgar is such a perve… I'm glad you think so, b/c he's really supposed to be a nasty one. But of course, our hero, Cloud Strife saved the day! I love it when he's so protective over Aerith! Thanks for reading.

CrashBandicoot – Glad you think so… hee hee… thanks for the review! =)

zhakeena – Yeah, Cloud/Aeris rules! Thanks for your review. Glad to know that you support C/A.

Pearl – I'm really glad that you like how I changed things around from the game. Thank you for reading and I'm glad that you like my fic.

Heero Strife – Thanks for writing that C/A FFT fanfic. Goodluck with that and never give up writing. Thank you for reading this fic and for reviewing as well. C/A all the way!

Tabitha – Thanks a bunch for the comment!

Pan Hiroshima Gainsborough – Thank you so much for taking your time to read my C/A fanfics. I'm glad to see that ppl who read my Mimato fanfics are also reading my FF7 fics… though when it comes to FF7 fics, I'm not that great… especially when it comes to romance… ^_^;; Thanks for reviewing "One Summer Night's Dream", "A Wish", and "Eyes on Cloud" and of course THIS fanfic.

AerisFan – Glad to know that you're gonna write a Cloud/Aeris fic. When it comes out, let me know. =)

peppercat – I'll finish this. It's my goal to finish all my fics no matter how long it takes me… ^_^;;

Naela – I definitely agree with you. Nothing beats falling through a church roof and landing on Aerith's flowerbed. For sure, I'm going to keep their 2nd encounter that way… with a little twist, maybe. Thanks for coming back to read this again. That means a lot. =) I haven't decided who Tifa's going to end up with, but I have to admit that I'm a Vincent/Tifa fan. Hmm… =)

peachmelba-the-kickass-wonder-mog – I'm glad that you like this fanfic… and it's great to see a Tifa fan that's reading my fic. ^_^; Anyways, glad to know that there's a Tifa fan who likes C/A. You hardly find ppl like you. =) So it's a pleasure meeting you… =) hee hee…

FinalFantasyFan – thanks for the review. And I'm glad you liked the bar scene between Reno and Tifa in Chapter 1. I actually like that scene too. Reno's such a sweetie… for a drunk! Hehehe… =)

~ Kristine