Can't you hear it? Hear the screams of the Planet? Such horrible sounds, tearing into my soul and marring it forever. You can hear it, can't you? I hear it ever since I was a child. I had to live with it for all these years, following these threads of Destiny, watching as each dreams and nightmares unfold, yet never able to touch them.

They called it Destati, these endless wails of despair. The song of pain pulled together into a choir of screams, horror to the soul, yet beautiful to behold.

No, don't say anything. I'm an old woman now, pity will not help, nor is it needed. Don't worry, I'm fine. Soon, my journey shall end, and my role here will be passed on to another. Soon, I shall return to the Planet. And that, is all I can ever hope for.

Now watch, carefully. Remember to never touch the threads. No matter how things become, never touch the threads. You are a mere witness, not a judge. Just remember that. Now pay attention. Let the nightmare unfold once more...

~ * * ~

Aeris Gainsborough nearly had a heart attack when the body came hurling down from above, crashing a hole on the roof of her church, and crushing the flowers that she spent so much time tending. It wasn't that she was someone very easily scared. It was just that, having a body bursting down from nowhere, nearly crushing you while it was at it, it certainly was shocking enough to traumatize anyone. And as Aeris counted herself to be a very hard person to scare, she found herself rooted to the spot and blinking in shock. That, and trying to get the dirt out from her eyes.

At first she thought it was a corpse. It wasn't unusual to find dead bodies littering the alleys of the corrupted city; it was unusual for the cutthroats to dump their body from anywhere above Aeris' church, as there was no other buildings that tower over it except for the Top Plate. And no one in the Top Plate wasted their time dumping their bodies to those that dwell below when they could earn cash just by selling those bodies to Shinra's scientists for their experiments. The only reason those that lives under the Plates didn't work the same way was because the Shinra scientists never buys from the Slums, claiming that their dead were too disease ridden or ill-fed to be good for any studies.

Aeris gritted her teeth, hands clenching her staff tightly, trying to control her tempers. Bastards, all of them, she thought angrily. If she could, she would've moved with her mom out of the corrupted city years ago. But she couldn't, of course, as selling flowers for one gil each wasn't a very good source of income.

A soft groan brought the flower girl's attention back to the matter at hand. Aeris poked the body with the tip of her staff, and when it didn't move, she knelt down beside it to see who it might be. It was a young man, blond under the amount of dirt, she could tell. Beside the filth covering him, there seemed to be no blood or wounds visible anywhere. His face was handsome, certainly, but at the moment it was twisted together in an ugly expression that she wasn't sure was wholly of pain.

That was when the young man moved.

Aeris jumped backwards again, holding her staff tightly before her. Something wasn't right with him. It wasn't the fact that despite he fell from near to the Top Plate but didn't have any major injuries. It was something that she felt mentally, but she couldn't pinpoint it except to the mysterious young man. Aeris blinked. A mysterious young man who fell from the Top Plate, who not only did not sustain any injuries, but is in fact starting to get up.

"Uh, hi," she said, smiling, albeit a little hesitantly. The young man was standing straight now and she found that he wasn't that tall, maybe only three or four inches above her own 5'3" height. He shook his head; his gravity-defying hair becoming more of its natural color after all the dirt had been shaken out. Without the grime, his face was young and still fairly round with some of the boyish baby fat that children have. When he looked up, his Mako infused eyes were staring straight into hers.

"I'm sorry 'bout that," he said, voice low, hands sweeping to indicate the crushed flowers.

Aeris quickly waved away his apology. "No, no, It's fine. You're lucky, though. The roof and the flowers probably broke your fall." Although I doubt you should be getting out of this without any injuries either way, she added in her mind.

"I'm Cloud," the young man said. Aeris noticed that he deliberately forgot to tell her his last name, but she was tactful enough not to ask. She peered closer at his face, realizing that he seemed a bit familiar. Finally, it came to her. The man who bought a flower from her at the train station. Her eyes brightened a bit.

"Hey, do you remember me?" she asked, smiling more widely now. It was true that she feels a bit uncomfortable, but it could be just her. Even though she was a pretty good judge of character, and her feelings never steered her wrong before, Cloud didn't seem to be evil and had been quite polite to her in fact. Her smile fell slightly when he shook his head in negative, but she wasn't too disappointed. She was almost a bit glad that the young man didn't remember her. It did interest her when he told her that he was a mercenary, though.

A cough from behind her caught her attention. Without turning, she knew exactly who it is. They've been after her for as long as she could remember, ever since she was a child. They tried persuading her mother to let her go, and when that failed, they tried to kidnap her. She managed to escape time after time, but she knew her luck was bound to run out sooner or later. But she'd rather be dead than to go and work for Shinra. And she knew, somehow, that the "work" they were telling her about weren't as nice as they made them out to be.

Without turning, she offered Cloud a slightly strained smile. "So, you're a mercenary, right? You take any job, correct?" Footsteps were now approaching her and she had to restrain herself from starting to talk really fast. "How would you like becoming my bodyguard?" Cloud raised an eyebrow at her, eyes darting quickly past her to see the Turk, and then coming back to her just as quickly. If Aeris hadn't kept her eyes on him, she would've thought that he'd been looking at only her the whole entire time. "And for your pay, how about a date with me?" she continued, starting to get a bit more desperate as the steps came closer and closer. She only has a couple of minutes left. If Cloud doesn't agree, then she'll have to make a run for it. And that might end disastrous, as she wasn't nearly as athletic as the Turks and they'd probably catch her easily.

It was a great relieve to her when Cloud finally nodded his head. He strode past her and placed himself right in the path of the Turk and the three troopers. If they wished to get to Aeris, they'll have to get past him. His eyes were cold as they regarded the red-haired man with the scars on his face. For a second, Aeris thought she saw a calculated look apparent in the blonde's eyes, but that was quickly composed back to the ice-cold visage. Cloud and the Turk stared at each other over the short distance and the flower girl could almost see the purple sparks crackling along their line of vision. And then, suddenly, Cloud turned around toward the back of the church where possible escape lie; one arm stretched out sweeping Aeris along with him. His voice held unmistakable amusement when he said, "I'm her bodyguard. You can't have her." And Aeris found herself staring at the blond in shock, blinking as she followed the young man to that hopeful freedom.

Reno of the Turks watched with hooded eyes as the spikey-haired blond man walked from his sight, his target following obediently although still open-mouthed in shock. He felt like dropping his jaws in shock himself. The man was unmistakably HIM.

Reno met the Commander Strife once in his life, when he first became a part of Turks. He wasn't a gawking teenager, as he did his share of bloodshed to climb the social ladder, but the man awed him as he awed the whole world. It wasn't just that Commander Strife saved the Great Sephiroth's life. It was more than that. Nearing the end of the war, the camp of the Shinra army near the Wutaian area was under unexpected attack one night while General Sephiroth was gone, called back to base by the President. There was total chaos; the army's training was completely broken under the savage assault. Shinra soldiers were falling left and right of the enemy weapons. In the end, it was the newly made Commander Strife who rallied the troops and moved from defensive to offensive; it was he who single-handedly destroyed half of the attacking forces that night. It was true he had first gained his fame from saving the General's life, but it wasn't until that night did Cloud Strife become Midgar's second hero.

And the blond man who just now proclaimed himself to be Aeris' personal bodyguard could not be anyone but the Cloud Strife Midgar lost five long years ago.

But now that the man was out of sight, the redheaded Turk wasn't so sure any more. Cloud Strife was dead for five years, died during a mission at some remote town along with the Great Sephiroth. No one will ever forget the day the news was released by Shinra. So who was that short, yet undoubtedly powerful man, who looked so much like Midgar's dead commander?

Reno scowled, letting the welcoming anger control his actions. He had enough of thinking. It didn't matter who it was, be it the Great Sephiroth or the near Legendary Cloud Strife. That man took his target, the girl that he'd been send to retrieve for nearly a year. Now that he finally had her cornered, the last thing he wanted to do is to let her get away.

Reno walked across the round patch of sunny flowers, tracing the steps of the two he sought, pausing only after he had trampled all over them. The flower girl make him angry, slipping through his fingers every single damned time that he went after her. Tseng was always giving him a hard time about it, asking him why he could never catch her, yet reminding him each and every time to not hurt her or to resort to any drastic measures. He knew it was because of that bastard, Hojo's orders, but that didn't mean he have to like the message or the messenger. Reno looked at the crushed flowers under his feet and let out a silent snarl. "Mind your steps," he called over his shoulder, a hard look settling in his eyes as he focused on the doorway. There was a sneer in his voice when he said, "Don't step on the flowers, or the Boss'll get angry." Reno of the Turks continued on, completely ignoring the protests from the troopers about how he just now crushed them already.

~ * * ~

The private jet bearing the Shinra logo climbed above the clouds and then steadied toward its destination. Inside, the blonde Vice-President stared out of the window, pale blue eyes unblinking at the blinding whiteness. His hands, covered in a layer of soft leather gloves, where placed over the armrests. Other than the falling of his chest marking his breathing, there was no movement.

"Your wine, sir."

Rufus lifted his eyes from the window to focus on a single fluted crystal glass filled nearly to the brim with a crimson red liquid. He let his eyes follow the long-fingered hand holding that glass up to the man standing beside where he was seated, feet steady on the jet as if on sure ground, the wine in the glass sloshed against the side only imperceptibly. The blonde Vice-President gave a single nod of acknowledgement and thanks before taking the offered glass. His personal bodyguard, now relieved of his task, settled in the seat across and to the left of Rufus with an almost feline grace befitting that of the head of Shinra's infamous Turks. His arms crossed themselves at his chest and he tilted his head downward in an almost deferential way, eyes seemingly closed behind the fall of long black hair.

Rufus let his eyes drift back to the blinding clouds again, seeing wisps of insubstantial white being dispersed by the jet. Four years ago, the young heir to the Shinra fortune was sent away from Midgar to some remote underwater research lab situated northeast of Bone Village. The reason given at the time was that Rufus needed to study all the scientific researches Shinra had managed to do outside of their main city. His lips twisted into a barely noticeable sardonic smirk, almost a grimace. He knew only too well why he was sent away from the place that he was born in. Only too, too well indeed.

Rufus took a slow sip from his glass, letting the taste of the wine flow across his tongue, eyes still staring at the clouds, yet unfocused. After he had been sent away, he had no more contact with either his bodyguard nor his father, not that he cared in the latter case. However, the isolation served their purposes; Rufus now know only what every normal person in Midgar knows of the President's plans, and the information released in the Midgar News are edited only too well toward Shinra's favor. "Tseng," he finally said, voice soft, cool, and painstakingly polite. The longhaired Wutaian looked up at Rufus' face expectantly. Neither spoke. When no orders were forthcoming from the blonde, only then did the head of the Turks open his mouth.

"Sir, the jet will not arrive at Junon for quite a few hours yet. Perhaps it would be best if you should rest a while."

Rufus merely took another sip of his wine. He made no move to allocate himself to the rare area of the jet where it was designated his resting area. Tseng showed no emotions at his discarded suggestion. "Your hotel suite is already reserved at Junon and you will be staying the night there. I will be departing shortly after the jet arrives to take care of unfinished businesses that needs my personal attention. A helicopter will arrive tomorrow morning to take you to Midgar. Sir."

Rufus finally looked up; cold blue eyes now focused on his taller and larger bodyguard. "Is that so." He took another sip from his glass. "You are escorting me only partially?" Tseng gave a short but polite nod. Only now did the blonde Vice-President of Shinra let a hint of interest creep into his voice as he asked, "What is so important that you are to go ahead of me?" There was silence. Rufus sighed, a sound that was lost under the noise of the jet engine. "It's true that the Research Lab get all the news from Midgar, but even Shinra takes time to deliver something from across the world. Tell me what's happening." His next swallow finished up half of the glass's content. He looked back at the clouds outside the window, knowing that it was always easier to tell things, good or bad, when you're not looking at the person you're talking to. His lips twisted again. "And I do so wish to know why my most esteemed father wish for my return so suddenly."

"Sir, a certain resistant group named AVALANCHE had been bombing the Mako Reactors," said Tseng. "Investigations proved that the group originated from Sector 7. President Shinra planned to topple the pillar."

"Hmm. I see," the blonde Vice-President murmured. So ruthless, old man, he thought, peering through the translucent red wine at the pure white clouds outside. They were tainted an ugly crimson. On the surface, you support the people, but underneath, you're just a bastard looking for chances to line your own pockets with Gil. Rufus' eyes narrowed.

"Sir, there is also something else," Tseng said, words carefully weighted and voiced. There was a short pause, then, "One of the members of AVALANCHE claimed to be Cloud Strife."

Rufus' head snapped around, his composure for a single second overridden by shock. But it was back just as quickly; the only thing that showed any difference was the intensity of his eyes, no longer ice blue, but a deep blue-green that seemed to swallow light. "I trust that you are not just feeding me tales." His voice held barely voiced warning, but Tseng caught it nonetheless.

"No sir. About a dozen troopers were present at the time and they clearly heard the man call himself Cloud Strife. They are now being held by Shinra." It was clear why that was so.

"It would be disaster if words get out that Cloud Strife is back and against Shinra," Rufus stated, frowning just slightly as he stared into the translucent red liquid of his wine. "And that would be the reason father want to topple the Plate just to destroy this one in a hundred resistance group," he murmured softly to himself. "It would indeed be disaster if the words get out...Cloud Strife, it's impossible..." He finally looked up, eyes now back to their normal ice cold blue. "Is there anything else to report?"

Tseng gave another short nod. "Yes sir. Hojo had stepped up the security in the labs after his return to the Shinra Headquarters. That was a year after you were sent away." Rufus' glove-clad hand wrapped around the glass contracted sharply when the name was mentioned and his features twisted for a fraction of a second before becoming smooth and expressionless again. "He brought a frozen corpse specimen he termed JENOVA with him."

JENOVA... Something inside of Rufus twisted and he had a violent urge to throw up the content of his stomach. Something deep within him recognized that name, although he didn't know what it was mentally. "JENOVA," he whispered again under his breath, the word rolling off his tongue smoothly, yet with a disgusting feel to that smoothness.

"He also gave the order to capture a Sector 5 resident named Aeris Gainsborough after he came back," Tseng continued. Rufus gave a short nod, remembering the name from before he left Midgar. The order of her recruitment had always been there although there had been no progress with getting her to join the company. It was a matter that he, as the Vice- President of Shinra, knew of, but had never really looked into. He on the surface was the second most powerful man in Shinra Inc. under his father but that was on the surface only. He'd rather not deal with anything that was in some way related to the twisted Shinra scientist. The reason was a rather personal one that he used all his skills to avoid thinking of.

"The order had always been there," Rufus stated, voice cold and neutral, seeking an answer but not letting out the actual question.

"Yes sir, but before it wasn't very urgent. It was only recruit her if possible. After Hojo's return, the order was an all out capture, although he wished for the girl to not be harmed." Tseng's lips twisted slightly in contempt, the only expression that the head Turk had shown the whole entire time, but it was so brief that Rufus almost didn't catch it. "In his own words, he suggested that kidnapping would be the best way to do it."

"I see. And was it successful?"

"No sir. She had managed to escape every time, although part of it was due to Hojo's order to not harm her. Reno is the one on the job now."

"Hmm. And the reason he wanted her capture?"

"It was not clear, but apparently it was for the search of something called the 'Promised Land'. President Shinra had been most eager in this project, as it seemed that this 'Promised Land' is rich in Mako and would put our Mako Reactors to good use."

Aa, yes, more Gil to line your pockets, isn't that right, father? Rufus took another sip of his wine, taking the moment to let the information settle down in his mind. Briefly, almost unseen, a small smirk graced his lips, knowing that the information were not intended to be passed to him. But Tseng had been his bodyguard for years. Rufus knew, somehow, that after all these years of interaction, Tseng is now most loyal to him, and only him, and would serve him above all, even his father, Tseng's employer and the President of Shinra Inc. Rufus didn't know how it happened, but it did and he was grateful to the Wutaian man, although he would never voice it or show it.

"Was there anything else?" Rufus finally asked.

"No sir."

Rufus inclined his head slightly in thanks and then straightened. "Then I believe I shall take your advice of resting for the rest of my trip." He stood, leaving his glass on the seat next to him, not noticing as the glass toppled over and the remaining crimson wine soaked through the seat as he retreated to the rare of the jet. Behind him, Tseng sat stoically, in the same position as he had when he first sat down; eyes on the spilled glass, watching as the wine stained the material, red almost like blood. He did not look at Rufus' retreating figure. Under his skin, different array of emotions churned and coiled together, but on the surface, he was cold and expressionless, like a statue of ice cold marble.

~ * * ~

Aeris sat at the edge of her bed, staring aimlessly down at the wood beneath her feet. Outside her door, soft footsteps walked past and down the stairs. The flower girl let out a soft smile. She knew perfectly well that it was Cloud leaving and that her mother had asked him to leave without her. And for a little while, she almost wanted to let that happen.

But of course she wouldn't. The feeling of wrong-ness from Cloud was almost tangible during their little escape from the church and she wasn't going to let that go. Something told her he was important. Beneath her feet, the Planet cried and she knew that she MUST follow him, even if it should put herself in the path of danger.

Aeris stood slowly and then calmly took out all the things she would need. Her staff and the few materia that she had found and saved up. Quickly she put those materia into the slots in her weapon and bangle before straightening her clothes and tightening her braid. For a single second as her fingertips brushed the white orb attached to the tie, the wails of the Planet ebbed, but it came back just as quickly.

Before she headed down the stairs she took a quick peek into the room that Cloud was in and sure enough, the bed was made and the room was empty. Aeris let an almost grim smile pass her lips as she stepped down the stairs. Her mother did not speak to her, merely looked at her with a sad yet fond smile on her face and nodded. There was nothing to be said, because Elmira knew that nothing she wanted to say would be able to stop her adopted daughter. Aeris smiled back, knowing somehow that this would be the last moment of her old and normal life. With her hands gripped tightly to her staff, she stepped out into the still dark morning. She knew the area much better than Cloud and the shortcuts should take her to the gate of Sector 6 long before Cloud ever make it there.

Aeris looked up into the gloom that was the underside of the Top Plate, searching for the sunlight she knew would never penetrate through. She closed her eyes and breathed deeply before walking quickly down a side alley. She would get her answers, she was sure of it. She would understand why the Planet screamed in the wake of Cloud's footsteps.

~ * * ~

"Do you know me?" the child asked. His voice was soft, sad, and perhaps even a little condemning. He sat before a backdrop of darkness, legs pulled up to his chest with his skinny arms wrapped around them, the familiar head of blonde spikes resting on top of the bony knees, almost as if he was trying to hide.

Of course Tifa knew who he was.

The child stared at her with unblinking blue eyes. They were so piercing, so pure yet so very cold. Tifa wondered why she never noticed them before.

"Do you know me?" the child asked again. "Or do you merely think you know me?"

Tifa wanted to shout at the child. Why was he asking her if she knew him? How could she not know him? How could she not recognize Cloud, even if he was reduced to how he was years ago?

"You don't know me at all," the child said. He stood up, suspending within the endless space, but his eyes never left hers. "Think, Tifa, think. Think about what you're doing." Suddenly, the child began to grow. "Think about what you're believing." And standing before her was the Cloud she was more familiar with, looking exactly how he was now, full grown and strong. The large buster sword was held in his hand, almost as if he was ready to strike. "Stop this obsession before it become too late." The blonde young man turned, the sword swirling in his hand, parting the air as he returned it to its place on the strap behind him. And then he was walking away, each step echoing strangely in the dark that was purely nothingness. "Who am I, Tifa?" he asked, voice drifting back to her even as he began to fade away. "Do you really know me? No, I don't think so. You don't know me at all. Not at all..."

Tifa woke slowly from her dream; her eyes were open yet unfocused, still blurred by sleep. She shifted her head toward the side, noting that outside her small window, it was still dark. The Top Plate blocked all sunlight, of course, but the Mako-powered streetlights were programmed to brighten and dim according to time, a mockery to those who live in the Slums. Tifa squinted at the tiny glowing digits on her equally tiny Mako- battery powered alarm clock. It reads 5:45 AM.

It was cold in the little room that she lived in behind her bar. Slowly, she sat up, the thick quilt pooling at her waist, and she shivered as the cool air hit her bare arms. Already, the dream was slipping away from her; all she could remember was a child, a blond child that continued to accuse her with something...but what she could not recall. Nor could she remember who that child was, although he seemed familiar to her.

Tifa sighed and blinked slowly, chasing away the last vestige of sleep from her eyes. It didn't matter what she dreamed; after all, it was only a dream. What did a dream matter compare to reality? Tifa's expression suddenly sharpened, eyes clear once again with an almost calculated look in them. But no matter how clear they were, there was that same tiredness lurking behind it.

Morning was quickly approaching and there was nothing she could do to hold it back. Time was an enemy that she could not fight against, no matter how hard she tried.

But.

But this time she has Cloud with her again. Everything would be fine as long as he is by her side.

Cloud.

~

I...have a problem. It's quite a big problem, actually, and I'm sure those few who actually liked this story so far would try very hard to murder me as soon as I tell you.

The problem is quite simple. It's been so long since I last even though of this story that I frankly forgot the details of the plot. ^^;;;; Plus the last time I touched FF7 was at least last year, and I don't trust my memory that much on a game that got a plot convoluted enough to make my head spin so...

Basically I'm saying I'll have to stop writing this one for a while. Because of school and personal problems, I won't be able to replay FF7 until months from now, so until I refresh my memory and drag back up my original plot for this piece, I'll have to stop. Sorry everyone, but know that I WILL come back to this darned thing one day. ^-^ Until then, please enjoy the short one page one-shots I seem to suddenly like writing lately...