Chapter 5
Cloud…
The mercenary looked around. He was standing in a pool of Mako. The green reflected on the walls and ceiling of the closed cavern he stood in.
Cloud…
"Who's there?"
I told you. I can't die.
"Why are you using Vincent?"
I love the irony.
"What? How is that ironic?"
Oh, but you should know. You've already figured it out…
A loud buzzing filled Cloud's ears, bringing him to his knees. "AH! I…thought…I…stopped…this…."
Cloud, you'll never get rid of me. I am you.
"You're…not…me…freak…"
Oh, but I am. I was always there.
"No…!" He was pulled beneath the Mako. The green liquid flowed into his mouth, filling his stinging lungs.
"NO!" He jumped out of bed screaming, cold sweat trickling down his forehead.
Tifa's hands grasped his as her sweet voice murmured, "Are you alright, Cloud?"
He looked to her and nodded. "Yeah, I'm fine. Don't worry about it." He climbed back into bed and kissed his wife goodnight before falling asleep.
The Highwind shut off as the passengers stepped off the plane. "Welcome to Nebelheim," Cid said. "The birthplace of all that's wrong with the world."
"HEY!" Tifa snapped. "Cloud and I were born here!"
"Exactly," Cid laughed. She put up her fists and he shut up.
"Anyway," Cloud stated in an annoyed tone, "let's just go in. I'm going to check out the Mansion, alright?" Before anyone could say anything, he took off into the town.
Memories of his journey flooded his mind as he ran down the stairs to the basement. A sudden chill ran down his spine as he passed by the room where Vincent's coffin lay. He stepped through the door and stood face to face with the vampire-like man. Vincent's eyes flashed green like the Mako Cloud was trapped in only the night before in his dream.
"Hello, Cloud."
"Vincent…"
"Let's be truthful here. I'm not Vincent. I don't wish to go by that name." He brushed the long black hair out of his eyes as a smile with no humor behind it stretched across his face.
"So, what do I call you?" Cloud sneered.
"You can call me Cloud if you like, since we are now the same."
"You're not me." He clenched his fists and grunted.
Vincent sighed and shook his head. "You'll never understand, will you? Haven't you put the clues together yet?"
"I think I know who you are, but now I'm not so sure anymore."
"Cloud, you know who I am. When my real self died, I simply inhibited your body. That's part of the reason you were so 'mixed up', as it were." The now green-eyed man laughed with a mournful tone. "Then, Hojo recreated me. Though I hate to admit it, he was a true genius. You see, not all of myself entered you. Some went to Lifestream, as natural. He managed to find my remaining consciousness and fuse it with an artificial ego to create the new me. Alas, you killed me again. But, thanks to the man you see standing before you, I live on. How ironic…"
"Damn it, man! How is it so ironic?" Cloud yelled, his anger getting the best of him.
"Why, this man you see before you was the one who loved my mother. He was supposed to be my father, I guess you could say."
