A mysterious voice

- I'll take care of you, don't worry. Just lay back for a while…

- Are you okay? I heard you collapsed at your post…

- Will you be strong enough? Can you help me?

- ……Cloud……

*******

- Cloud? Cloud, are you awake?

The blond moved a little in the bed before wincing in pain. His head hurt. Slowly, he opened his eyes to find himself facing Tifa and a black man. Tifa helped him to sit up but his body immediately complained and he flopped back on the soft mattress. He didn't know where he was, how he got there… Everything was so mixed up in his head and it hurt so much… He felt a padding behind his back, a vague sensation of cold and warmth at the same time, voices coming from everywhere. All those perceptions confused him. A hand was suddenly holding his head and the next thing he knew was that a bowl of soup was at his lips. After that, nothing. Only the blackness. The blackness and a sweet voice, soothingly whispering him to rest, what he gladly did.

While Cloud was fitfully resting, Tifa and the black man went down the stairs. Another brunette girl and two other men were waiting for them. A child suddenly squealed and jumped in Tifa's arms.

- He is not with Shinra anymore, and I will even say that Shinra wants him dead. He isn't listed in the army, not even if I search for his name seven years ago. It's like they erased him.

- Jessie… Cloud enlisted himself in the Shinra army seven years ago, I was there.

- I talked to the doctor, Teef, and he said he should be fine in a couple of days.

- Thanks, Biggs.

- He's faking. Foo's a spy, I tell ya!

- Barret! You can't fake a fever! Grounded Tifa. Marlene, go up and watch over Cloud, would you? I'll prepare the dinner now.

Barret, the black man, left the place grumbling and called Biggs, Jessie and Wedge for a 'reunion'. They all stepped on a pinball machine in the corner of the bar and pushed a button. The thing started to go down, leaving Tifa alone behind the counter. It took Cloud four days to recover from the fever, and by that time, Barret and him were already arguing and fighting over all, even more when Tifa proposed that Cloud could help them with their 'business'.

- No f*&%ing way! I'm not gonna let a Shinra scum mess with AVALANCHE!

- But, Barret, he's not with Shinra anymore! And we're cruelly lacking personnel… Nobody wants to join AVALANCHE… And he's not asking very much, only 800 gils for…

- WHAT!!! YOU ALREADY TOLD HIM!?!

********

Cloud and the other members of AVALANCHE then started to set up different missions. The first up was on the number 1 reactor, where they had to install a bomb that Jessie made. Everything went relatively well, even if they had to fight a giant scorpion-type robot. However, Cloud almost lost it just a moment before, when a searing pain crushed his head, and he thought a voice called him, warned him about the reactor… Or is it that one? Brushing away those questions, he had set the bomb and the reactor had exploded, as planned. After that, they managed to split and the ex-SOLDEIR wandered through the gloomy streets. He bumped into a flower girl.

- Hello there! Why is everyone running around so much? What happened here?, she asked curiously.

- Mmm… Better not speak about that, Cloud answered, looking oddly at the basket of flowers she was holding.

- Oh… Do you want to buy a flower? It's only one gil for one.

- Hey, why not? Here.

She thanked him and gave him a yellow flower he put in his breast pocket. As he was walking quietly to the train station however, a pack of troopers blocked the way. He had to deal with them, but they succeeded in cornering him. Cloud was lucky, though, the train was passing by and he jumped on it, riding back to the Seventh Heaven swiftly with the others. Back to HQ, he gave his flower to Marlene, the adopted daughter of Barret, thanking her because she took care of him (with Tifa's help) when he was sick. After a quick reunion, Cloud sagged in his cot, falling in a deep sleep. The next mission, he hoped, would be as easy.

********

- Cloud!

The blond was really in a precarious situation, suspended above the drop, Tifa and Barret trapped behind, unable to help. The black man almost had to drag the girl out before everything exploded. Cloud barely felt his body fall down, but the collision with the crumpling wood brought him into the darkness.

A soft sigh startled him.

- Are you alright? Eh… Back then you would come back only with grazed knees…

- What?

- Can you move your arm?

/It's still hurting, I can't take the blows…/

- Who are you?

- Hello?

- It doesn't matter for now, take it easy… You should care about yourself, now…

- Hello? Oh, it moved!

Cloud flailed his arm weakly. God his head hurt. Every fibre of his body was aching. He felt a gentle hand on his forehead and leaned into the touch, it seemed so familiar… But he could not remember why for the life of him. Still, he tried to sit up, but again that hand pressed on his forehead so he wouldn't move. Then there was that warmth surrounding him, taking his pain away. His eyes slowly opened and he realised he was sprawled across a patch of flowers. The comforting presence then helped him to his feet. It was the same flower girl he had bumped into when leaving the sector 1 after the explosion. Her name was Aerith. She talked to him a bit, mostly about a present her mother had given her; a white materia. She seemed very interested about her flowers, until some men entered the crumpled church. Aerith asked him in a hurry if he wanted to be her bodyguard, managing a date afterward. Cloud accepted, leading Aerith to the roof at the same time observing the man in a dark blue suit, a Turk. He had bright red hair… Somehow it reminded him of someone. He heard the troopers call him Reno, and Cloud nodded. It was his name…

- Cloud!!!

- Aerith, run!

Pulled out off his reverie, the ex-SOLDIER pushed the barrels to block the way to the troopers and both of them made their escape through the roof. Later that night, after meeting Aerith's mother, Cloud decided to go to sector 7 alone. He quietly got out of his room, thanked miss Gainsborough and slipped into the starless night.

********

They were installed on the top of an old moogle slide. Cloud sighed. God it so looks familiar… Have I ever been there before with… her? A blinding flash cut through his trail of thoughts and he winced in pain. He did not want Aerith to be in danger, but she involved herself, knowing that she could get hurt in the process. Cloud finally let her follow him. They were talking about the army, but the blonde could not remember much.

- In which class you were?

- Mmm? /Hey, you're talking to the best First Class ever…/ First. I was a first class SOLDIER. One of the best.

- Just like him…

- Like who?

- My boyfriend. He was a First Class too.

As they were talking, the wall giving access to the sector 7 opened and a cart passed by. To Cloud's surprise, he saw a young woman in a blue dress at the back. She had long brown hair and bright hazel eyes… He immediately jumped down the slide to follow it.

- Tifa!

- Cloud, wait! What is it?

- That girl on the cart, it was Tifa!

- Your friend? Oh! Then we have no time to loose!

And with that she ran after the cart toward Wall Market.

- Aerith! Wait!

*********

They finally found trace of Tifa in a huge mansion, Don Corneo's brothel. Cloud, manly as he was, tried to get in, but the guard, if he could be called a guard, stopped him. Only girls in, he said. Aerith then spoke to him and took Cloud apart. While he was thinking about a way to get inside, the flower girl, on the other hand, started to giggle. A little annoyed, he asked her what was the matter… Poor Cloud wished afterward he hadn't asked… When she stepped into the dress shop, and running errands after errands to get one that she wanted…

- Oh! Look at it! It's really beautiful!

- Mph… we are supposed to go and help Tifa, remember? How is it going to help us to get inside Don's mansion?

- It can't be!, gasped Aerith, When I told the guard I had a friend who wanted to come, I talked about you! That dress is for you, of course…

- WHAT?!?

- Come on, don't make that face and go try it!

Without even having the time to protest, he was shoved into the changing boot with the purple dress. After glaring at it five minutes, he decided to go for it. He had to admit, the cloth was smooth to the touch, soft… I… I feel like I did this before… Cloud undressed and tried the garment, which was surprisingly fitting. He shyly got out, and Aerith gasped. By the time she'd said he needed a wig, he was already crimson red, feeling miserable… when he heard her asking him to change back, he gladly did… But only to go on a quest of feminine items, in which Cloud really had to lower himself enough to go to the Honey Bee Inn, the most infamous brothel of all Wall Market. After getting some perfume, a wig and a tiara, Aerith insisted on the fact that he should have at least a feminine underwear and some make up, what he would surely find in there. Walking in the hall, he was welcomed by a brunette girl who asked him to choose a room. Not wanting to stay here for too long, Cloud entered one, not bothering to look and walked to the side of the tub. He heard the door click shut and the sound of a zipper being pulled down… That's when it happened. He lost his breath as his head started spinning and again he heard that voice inside of him snarl at his behaviour. The world around him turned black, his body suddenly losing its balance, collapsing on the carpeted floor.

- Do you really think that escaping your problems will solve them?

- What? Who… Who are you? I… don't understand…

- Wake up!

- Get up and get moving! I need help!

- Wake up! Wake up! C'mon, man! M'lady, bring some cold water, I think he's comin' back… Hey, dude, c'mon…

Cloud bolted upright and started to hyperventilate, so much he almost blacked out. But hopefully, the lady and the man with him splashed his face with cold water. After few minutes, his breath came back to normal and Muki, the man who took care of him, brought him in the back room so he could recuperate. When he recovered, Cloud roamed around the girl's stuff, snatching a make-up kit and a pair of panties. He quickly got out to meet Aerith, ready for his final transformation.

*********

Cloud thanked whoever was up there when Tifa and Aerith barged in. He was in a rather embarrassing situation, for the Don had chosen him to be his special guest for the night. Corneo was on the verge of undressing him, a hand on his tight, whispering dirty words to his ears… The fat man moved to the end of the bed in shock when Cloud revealed his true gender. However, with all the time they lost trying to figure out what was going on… well, they were trapped. Corneo let them to the mercy of his 'pet', and then they had to find a way to sector seven through the sewers and the train cemetery. Tifa was grating on Cloud's nerves by then, and Aerith's babbling was starting to give him a serious migraine. No time to rest though, because there was already a fight going on near the pillar of sector seven. They ran all the way to get there, shouting to the people to evacuate as quickly as possible. Reaching the structure, Tifa and Cloud recognized the body of the fattest member of AVALANCHE, Wedge, swaying dangerously on the edge of a platform. Seconds later he was falling. His last words were to inform Tifa and Cloud that Barret was alone up there, trying to fight off all the Shinra soldiers. The brunette fighter asked Aerith to go and take Marlene away from sector seven before following Cloud up to the pillar. They stumbled across both Jessie and Biggs's bodies on their way, but managed to get to Barret in time to meet with a Turk, messing up with the controls of the pillar. He was pushing some buttons and then backed away in fright of something. Tifa then ran behind him, but the Turk stopped her.

- If you try to disable this, it'll blow up in ya're face!

- Reno!

- Cloud! The plate will crash down on sector seven! Everybody will be killed!

- You foo's going to pay for this!!!, yelled Barret.

The fight did not lasted very long. Reno seemed rather distant from it, only relying on his nightstick to trap the AVALANCHERS. When a chopper approached with Aerith on board, the fight stopped, Reno threw himself off the pillar and the three fighters grabbed a metallic rope and escaped through the air as the pillar gave out and collapsed, bringing the top plate down on the slums, taking with it it's share of innocent people.

********

- Aerith's house is this way!, shouted Cloud for the last time.

The old house was suddenly in view and Cloud knocked before entering. He was welcome by Elmyra Gainsborough and a little brown haired girl…

- Marlene!

The black man hugged his daughter tightly. He was driving Cloud mad with his anxiety since the 'incident' of sector seven. Tifa was glad too to see the little girl alive and well. She started to talk with Elmyra, and the blond took the opportunity to go up and lay back for a while. He was feeling tired, and somehow he wanted to hear again that voice… But it was Aerith that was in his dreams that night and that troubled him. He had to go and find her, somehow he was feeling bond to her, something in him was commanding to go to her… So the next morning he stepped out of the quiet and still sleeping house. He had to go and save Aerith. She saved him, she saved Marlene and he owe her a date, after all…

End

Author's notes

Oh Goooooooood…. That chapter sounds crappy to me… But that part in the game is somehow boring, after all. Don't worry, the next chapter should be better. The gang will leave Midgar in: The return of the Black Caped Man.