A/N: Hey, hey guys. Ain't I a fast updater. Okay, boring fic comin up. But that's my opinion. Okay, read on.

Summary – After the attack by the Mako-Mutants, Cloud and Squall were knocked out cold. While unconscious, they both have strange dreams. What do they mean?

Chapter 18 – Finding Some Answers

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Tifa sat next to Cloud in the Sentinel. He was unusually quiet. She didn't know what was wrong, but he had been quiet ever since he had woken up. He seemed jumpy as well, but he never showed it. Tifa could always tell how he was feeling just by looking at him. And right now, she could tell that he was pretty shaken up.

"Cloud? What's wrong?" she asked him softly.

He didn't answer straight away. Instead, he just continued to stare at the floor. He shut his eyes and sighed.

"I'm fine Tifa. Just stop worrying."

"Sorry Cloud." she said back, slightly hurt from his answer. "You're just a little quiet. And you seem shaken up."

Cloud quickly stood up and snapped at her, "I'm fine alright! Just stop bothering me!"

Tifa watched him and he walked away, and felt tears come to her eyes. She felt someone sit next to her and put an arm around her shoulder. She looked up to see Zell.

"Just give him a while. He'll be better after he's done some thinking." he advised her.

"How do you know that?" she asked. She thought he would have taken that as a rude question, but he smiled.

"Trust me. If you knew Squall, back when he was a loner, you'd know how to handle someone who's in a bad mood." he said quickly, with a grin.

Tifa laughed slightly and smiled back. He was right. Cloud used to have mood swings like this while they were chasing Sephiroth. But Tifa was still confused as to what could have put him in such a bad mood. Maybe it was her. Whatever it was, she hoped that he would cheer up soon.

* * * * *

The Sentinel had soon landed in Cosmo Canyon and everyone was circled around the Cosmo Candle. They all sat quietly and stared at the fire. Vincent was the first one to break the silence.

"So, where do we go from here?"

No one answered; instead most of them looked at Cloud.

Cloud didn't answer. He just continued to stare into the fire, with a distant look on his face. Tifa, who sat next to him, put a hand on his shoulder. He blinked quickly as he looked at her. He then realized everyone was looking at him.

"What?" he asked in a confused voice.

"Were you even listening?" Yuffie asked irritably.

"No, not really." he answered and looked back into the fire.

"Vincent was asking where we should go next." Quistis told him, also in a slightly annoyed voice.

Cloud continued to stare into the fire and answered simply. "Nibelhiem."

"Why's that Cloud?" Tifa asked.

"I recognize those Mako-Mutants." he said slowly. "They came from the Nibelhiem Reactor."

"It would be the most logical place to start." Red pointed out.

"So wha's goin'?" Cid asked.

Cloud stood up immediately. "I'm going."

Tifa also stood up. "I'm going too." she said, looking at Cloud.

He didn't want Tifa to go. He was concerned for her safety, but he couldn't stop her. Tifa was a kind of girl who, once she had made up her mind, wouldn't change their decision.

Squall and Rinoa stood up.

"We're coming too. I'm going to get back at those mutants for what they did to me. And Rinoa's strong magic may come in handy."

Cloud nodded and the four walked away.

Squall and Cloud both climbed onto their Bahamuts and the girls climbed up behind them. They took of together and flew towards Nibelhiem.

* * * * *

Insert – 'Anxious Heart' music

Nibelhiem was deserted. After the fall of Shinra, the actors that had come here left. The four of them walked down the silent street.

As Cloud walked past where his old house used to be, memories came flooding back. His childhood, his mother, the night before he left to join SOLDIER and the night that the town had been burnt down. Most of them were memories he'd rather forget.

Tifa was the same. She remembered her family, how her mother had died, her friends, the burning fires, and seeing her father being slaughtered by Sephiroth. It took all her strength to fight back the tears that were threatening to spill out.

They silently walked up to the edge of the mountains and stopped. They could all see the reactor at the other end of the bridge. Cloud led them across it. It swerved from side to side, but everyone managed to keep their balance. When the final person, Squall, had come off the bridge they headed down several ladders and into the reactor.

* * * * *

Insert – 'Mako Reactor' music

Squall stepped into the reactor and looked at his surroundings. There were several ladders and pipes that lead into a small door, where they were heading. Squall looked down at the bottom of the reactor, and gasped. There was a strange green liquid fifty feet down. It glowed brightly, just like Cloud's eyes. Squall shook Rinoa, to get her attention. She turned to him, and looked to where he was pointing. She also gasped. They stared at the liquid and got a shock when Cloud explained to them what it was.

"That stuff is called Mako. These reactors used to suck the Lifestream out of the Planet and condense it into Mako, which was used for electricity. That was until we shut them down. But the Mako down there will stay there."

"Why do you not just take it out?" Rinoa asked.

"Because it's poisonous. And I've learnt that first hand." he added before he and Tifa continued through the reactor. Rinoa and Squall looked at each other and shrugged. They then quickly followed.

The next area was filled with pods. And they were all empty. Tifa and Cloud stood at the foot of the stairs.

"I might have guessed." Cloud said aloud and he walked up to examiner the pods. "These have been opened manually. There's no sign of them being forced open."

"But who would dot his?" Tifa asked from behind him.

'I am a pretty good idea who.' Cloud thought to himself.

Suddenly, each one of them heard a metal clank outside the room. Cloud could feel a strange presence coming nearer.

"Quick! Hide!" he whispered to them. There were three doors that lead out of the pod room. One of them was not an option, so they split up and went through separate doors. Squall with Rinoa, and Cloud with Tifa.

Squall left the door open just enough to see what was happening on the other side. Rinoa was clinging onto him tightly, shaking. Squall shut his eyes and prayed that no one would look in their door.

Cloud and Tifa leaned against the wall, looking through the crack in the door, which they had left slightly open. Cloud watched the door where they had heard the sound from and frowned when he saw what it was.

It was another Mako-Mutant.

Cloud held his breathe while he could hear Tifa breathing hard. He pulled her to him and held her close. She breathed onto his shoulder and whispered in his ear.

"Cloud. I'm really scared." She was. After she had seen what the mutants could do to Cloud, she was terrified. And she was sure that this Mutant hadn't come alone.

Cloud held her tightly and whispered back, "Don't worry. We'll be okay. I promise." He continued to watch the Mutant as it looked around the room.

Its head snapped round in his direction. And it slowly walked towards his door. Its red eyes were gleaming, and its mouth was open, exposing its sharp fangs and drooling mouth.

As it got closer, Cloud felt the presence grow stronger. It was as if he could sense it. But that would mean that. It could sense him as well!

Cloud backed away from the door, Tifa still in his arms. He looked around and noticed a shaft on the floor. He let Tifa go and flipped the lid of the shaft off. He stood up again and grabbed Tifa's shoulders.

"Tif. I need you to go down this shaft and get out of here. The mutants know I'm here, I'm positive."

"I don't want to leave you!" she protested.

"And I don't want to see you get hurt. Please just go. I'll be fine."

Tifa nodded and, hesitating slightly, slid down the shaft. Cloud closed the lid and drew his sword. He turned back towards the door. He had turned round just in time. A second later, the mutant crashed through and tried to ram into him. He jumped up and flipped over its head. He ran through the door and shut it. The mutant rammed the door hard, almost crashing through it. Cloud heard the slashing of a sword and looked the exit to see Squall fighting with another mutant.

The mutant charged into him and he fell back. Rinoa cast a Thundaga spell on it and it fell to the ground. She helped Squall up and turned to Cloud as he ran up to them.

"C'mon let's get out of here!"

The dashed out of the reactor and looked up to the sky. There were dozens of aerial mutants attacking their Bahamuts. The Bahamuts screeched and blasted away but they were outnumbered. Cloud readied his magic and focused. A green and blue materia started glowing. Cloud focused hard until his magic was ready.

A blinding green fog erupted around him and blasted at the mutants. Squall recognised it as the Ultima spell that Cloud had cast on him.

The wave of magic washed over the mutants, injuring them. Their screeches could be heard and the turned their attention to Cloud, who was surrounded by fog again. Another three Ultima spells were fired and the mutants fell into the river of Mako at the bottom of the mountain.

Cloud's materia stopped glowing. The materia took the energy it needed from Cloud, causing him to collapse onto his knees. The continuous casting of Ultima had drained most of his energy. He sighed in relief when he realised that their Bahamuts were fine.

"Cloud!" he heard Tifa shout. She rushed up to him and hugged him. Cloud was relieved that she was okay.

Suddenly, the air was filled with the sound of the Sentinel's engines. Rinoa waved them down and they waited to board.

* * * * *

Cloud sat on a hill near Kalm, thinking about the days happenings.

So the Mako-Mutants could sense him and vice-versa. That meant that, no matter where he went, they would follow. That meant that, if he was around his friends, he'd be putting them in danger.

It left him with only one choice.

He had to leave.

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A/N: Wow, over 5 pages long. Gosh, this took me a while to write. Anyway, may have a bit of CloTi next chapter, so I'm excited about writing that. R & R please. Later.

Shout-outs –

Mako-Magic – Thanks again for agreeing with me. And thanks for liking my first fic. Good Luck with yours, can't wait fir your update.

Brutal2003 – Purpose of the dreams will be revealed soon. A couple of chapters away, maybe more. Just keep waiting.

Lady Logan – Hope you find time to read this. I'm a quick updater and thanks for reviewing.