Cloud walked through the gates of Nibelheim, and was instantly hit with a strong sense of familiarity. Not a bit of the town had changed since he was young.
The gates were still rusted, the old pick-up truck wasn't running, and the old man at the inn was watching by the window, peering curiously at the unusually large gathering of people outside.
Cloud even saw the same old brown dog that sat outside by the water tower all day, looking old, worn out and possibly forgotten. Nobody knew who he belonged to, he had just wandered in one day. The town had sort of adopted him, but kept had him nameless for some reason.
Sephiroth's voice snapped Cloud out of his thoughts.
"How does it feel? It's your first time back to your hometown in a long time, right? So, how does it feel?" asked Sephiroth, curiously.
"It sure feels weird. It's been so…long," replied Cloud.
"It must feel nice to be back home. I wouldn't know because I don't have a hometown," said Sephiroth, quietly.
"What about your parents?" asked Cloud, curiously.
Sephiroth hesitated for a moment, then sighed wearily.
"My mother was named Jenova. She died right after she gave birth to me. My father…" began Sephiroth, but then he stopped talking.
Sephiroth hesitated, clearly uncomfortable about the whole subject, but then he laughed suddenly and shook his head.
"What does it matter, eh? Just what have I been saying all this for? Alright then, let's get going. The smell of Mako is pretty bad here…" said Sephiroth.
Nibelheim was a town nearby the Nibel Mountains of Mount Nibel and it had a mansion (known as the Shinra Mansion) in the town. This was the place where Cloud and Tifa grew up.
Cloud's mind flashed back to the present time as Barret interrupted him again.
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"Wait a damn minute! Ain't that the name of Sephiroth's mother…Jenova…? I remember Jenova! That's that damn headless spook living in the Shinra headquarters, and that broke out of the labs," said Barret.
"Yes, that's right. Thanks for pointing out the obvious, Barret. Now keep your fat mouth shut," snarled Cloud, angrily, annoyed with the interruption.
"Barret, would you please just listen to what Cloud has to say? You can ask him questions later. Just let him finish first. Okay then, Cloud. Continue," said Tifa.
Cloud smiled gratefully at her, and she smiled back.
"But Tifa, I was only…" protested Barret, but Aeris quickly interrupted him before an argument could break out.
"It's a reunion of childhood pals!" exclaimed Aeris.
Both Cloud and Tifa nodded in response.
"I guess you could say that. And I was really surprised by Tifa when I met her again. The town was very quiet…way too quiet. Unnervingly so. Everyone must have been staying in their houses, afraid to come out because of the monsters. No…maybe they were afraid of us…or maybe they were just afraid of Sephiroth…" said Cloud, thoughtfully.
His mind flashed back to that scene.
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"We leave for the Mako Reactor at dawn. Make sure that you all sleep early. All we need is one lookout, so all of you better get some rest. We do not know what to expect in those mountains. And yes, you may visit your family and friends," said Sephiroth, turning to face Cloud.
Cloud nodded gratefully at him, and he ran off across the town of Nibelheim.
Looking around his hometown as he so greatly remembered it, he spotted what he was looking for in the place he was expecting it to be, and with a growing sense of excitement, he rushed over to the house he'd been looking for and walked into it after opening the door, looking around the hallway with fond recognition…
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"Wait a moment, that was when I visited…my house. It's got nothing to do with what happened back then, so let's just forget about it, it's not important," said Cloud.
He wondered why he had even bothered to begin to tell them that part of the story in the first place, and he began to continue at another point, but Barret quickly cut across him before he could do so.
"Hey, wait a second, I wanna hear about that moment you just got up to, Cloud. Come on, man, tell us about it," said Barret, seeming to be quite curious indeed towards his story, like everyone else was.
Cloud glared at him, and began to tell him that he was in no way going to explain that part to them, when Aeris now quickly cut across Cloud before he could say anything, also looking eager to hear it.
"Yeah, I'd like to hear about it too, Cloud. After all, it had been quite a long while since you'd even seen your family again, right? Please, Cloud, tell us about it. We'd like to know, as your friends," said Aeris, smiling gently at Cloud, and the others nodded in agreement.
Cloud could see that there was no talking any of them out of it, so he sighed wearily and agreed to continue where he had stopped himself. The others listened intently as Cloud spoke up again, continuing.
"Well, I don't really know if you could call what I had, a 'family'. My father died when I was very young…for some reason that my mother never explained to me…she never spoke about him much and she was hesitant on the subject, so I never asked. My mom and I lived alone at our house in Nibelheim, and after I left to joined SOLDIER, she still lived in the house at Nibelheim, but now she was living alone," said Cloud, pausing for a moment as a feeling of sadness clouded inside him.
After a moment of sad, glum silence that had occupied him, that the others couldn't fail but notice, Cloud sighed heavily, and finally continued explaining.
"Yeah, I saw my mom again on that day…as I walked into the house. My mom…she was always a strong, proud woman, and beautiful too. And when I saw her again, I could see that she hadn't changed a bit, for which I was glad for…but then…a few days later…she…she died…but when I saw her that day, she looked absolutely fine, and in remarkable health," said Cloud, his mind flashing back to that scene as he then began to explain it to the others.
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Looking around the house, he suddenly noticed her, standing in the kitchen, cooking something, her back to him, but even at a glance at her back, he recognized her instantly, recognized her blond hair, and she was white apron over orange clothes that Cloud also recognized, and slowly and nervously spoke up.
"Um…uh, e-excuse me…" said Cloud, weakly, his nerves suddenly increasing; his mother hadn't been expecting him, after all, and they hadn't seen each other for a while.
Mrs Strife spun around to look at who had just spoken, about to demand why he was there or about to accuse him of breaking in…when she suddenly looked at him clearly, and her expression drastically changed. Her blue eyes were wide and her mouth was open in surprise. Finally, she spoke, her tone of voice sound nervously excited and stuttering.
"Y-Yes…? C-C…Cloud!? Is that really you, Cloud!?" asked Mrs Strife, with sudden excitement, her blue eyes sparkling with sheer delight.
The identical colour of their hair and eyes made the resemblance between them obvious, even to strangers, let alone to each other. Cloud slowly nodded, and smiled at her.
"Yeah…it's me, mom…" replied Cloud, quietly.
"Oh, Cloud, welcome home!" said Mrs Strife, excitedly, as she rushed forwards towards him, and hugged him tightly. Cloud gladly returned the embrace, equally happy to see her again.
"It's really good to see you again, mom," said Cloud, realizing then that he really had missed her…
Moments later, Cloud stood in the middle of the room, while his mother stood in front of him, beaming happily at him, as she looked at him.
"Come, come, Cloud. Let me have a look at you. You seem to have grown up a lot these past two years," said Mrs Strife, staring at Cloud intently.
Cloud stood patiently and didn't move as his mother looked closely at him, clearly astonished and marvelling how much he had grown up without her.
"My, my, you really do look quite handsome now, Cloud…a real ladies man, just like your father was. You've gotten so tall now too, and your clothes…my, these are strange clothing. So is supposed to be a SOLDIER uniform? I'm so proud of you, Cloud, for being able to accomplish your dream by yourself," said Mrs Strife, beaming. Cloud looked suddenly awkward.
"Mom, I…I have a confession to make…I…"
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Suddenly, a bright white flash of light filled Cloud's mind, and a screeching sound appeared in his head. Cloud abruptly stopped his story, and dropped to the floor of the inn at Kalm, clutching his aching head with both hands, shaking wildly.
"Cloud!" shouted Tifa, alarmed and frantic, as she rushed over to him and was by his side in an instant, while Aeris, Barret and Red XIII had also rushed over and stared in concern at Cloud, shocked.
"Cloud, what the heck's the matter!?" asked Barret.
Suddenly, the white flash of light vanished from Cloud's mind, and the screeching sound stopped as well, and Cloud's headache no longer ached as he slowly got up, looking around at them all in confusion.
"W-What just…happened…?" gasped Cloud, putting a hand to his head, and looking very pale.
"We…we don't know, Cloud. You just seemed to collapse all of a sudden, we didn't know what had happened to you," said Aeris, looking very anxious and concerned.
"Perhaps we should take a break here, to give you some time to recover from this problem, whatever it may be," suggested Red XIII, calmly. Cloud shook his head.
"No…I'm not gonna waste any more time than necessary, so let's just continue," said Cloud.
"But, Cloud…" began Tifa, anxiously, but Cloud laid a hand on her shoulder in reassurance.
"I'm fine, Tifa. Don't worry about me," said Cloud.
Tifa smiled and nodded slowly, still not quite convinced, but listened along with the others as Cloud continued his story, but found he couldn't remember the last bit of the conversation between he and his mother at all, so he continued on what he remembered had happened next…
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"My, I still can't believe how much you've grown since the last time I saw you. I'll bet the girls never leave you alone," said Mrs Strife, with a teasing grin.
"No, not really," replied Cloud, shortly. His mother suddenly seemed rather anxious, and the grin faded from her face.
"I'm worried about you, Cloud. There are a lot of temptations in this town. I'd feel a lot better if you just settled down and had a nice girlfriend," said Mrs Strife.
"I'm alright, mom," replied Cloud, calmly, but his mother took no notice and did not drop the subject.
"You should have an older girlfriend. One that will take care of you. The kind of girl who is a bit more mature than you...the type that will keep tugging at your sleeve, pull you along the way. I think that would be the perfect type for you," said Mrs Strife, thoughtfully. Cloud shook his head.
"I'm just…not interested, mom," replied Cloud.
Moments later, Cloud and his mother were standing in the kitchen, Cloud waiting patiently as his mother cooked dinner for the two of them, and this raised another concern from her.
"Have you been eating right these past two years, Cloud?" asked Mrs Strife, curiously, concerned. Cloud shrugged.
"Don't worry, I'm alright, mom. The Shinra company takes good care of its employees," said Cloud.
Mrs Strife smiled at that, but she also raised an eyebrow.
"Is that so? I wasn't aware the Shinra cared that much for its workers, but I guess you'd know better about it, Cloud. I'm glad to hear you're doing alright, and that they've looked after you. I mean, you still can't cook, right? I was worried sick about how you were doing out there in…" began Mrs Strife, but suddenly yet another flash of white light filled Cloud's mind...
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The bright white flash of light filled Cloud's mind once again, and the screeching sound re-appeared in his head.
Cloud stopped his story at once, and dropped to the floor of the inn at Kalm, clutching his aching head with both hands, and shaking, not even remotely understand what was happening.
"Ah damn it, not this shit again!" cursed Barret, as he and the others quickly rushed towards Cloud.
"Cloud, what's wrong? What's happening?" asked Tifa, frantically.
Cloud didn't answer, he was still shaking wildly and clutching his head in pain, his mind still full of the flash of white light, and he tried desperately to remember the next parts of the conversation with his mother, but only random words from her came to mind.
"You know, Cloud…"
"Isn't that right, Cloud…?"
"I will always be your mother…"
At these words, the screeching sound in his head suddenly stopped and the flash of white light vanished from his mind as well, as Cloud slowly stood back up, confused, and found that he couldn't remember anything more about the conversation with his mother at all. Tifa and the others watched him anxiously.
"Let's…let's just stop…talking about this part. Let's just…move ahead in the story…" said Cloud, shakily, as he stood in front of them all. The others nodded in agreement, all silent, and listened as Cloud continued to explain again…
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Cloud spent a few hours with his mother and then he went looking for Tifa. But he couldn't find her anywhere so he walked back to the inn where Sephiroth was waiting.
On the way to the room, he ran into an old (about fifty-five years old), grey-haired, but fit man in a red cape, whose name was Zangan.
Zangan was Tifa's martial arts trainer (although Cloud didn't know this at the moment). Zangan turned to face Cloud, with a curious, serious expression on his face.
"Is Shinra here to get rid of the monsters?" asked Zangan, curiously, in a somewhat suspicious tone.
"And just who the heck are you?' asked Cloud, sharply, ignoring the question.
"Ah, I'm glad to see some of you Shinra people are taking their position seriously. Before you start going crazy and demanding to know why I am here, I shall tell you. I am Zangan. I travel all around the world teaching children martial arts. I have 128 students all over the world! My best student was previously a man named Rude, who is now a Turk and works for Shinra himself. In this town, a fifteen year-old girl named Tifa is my student, and she is also one of my very brightest, and most promising students. She could well become my greatest student of all," explained Zangan.
Cloud's eyes widened in surprise and shock.
"Did you just say Tifa?" asked Cloud, stunned.
"I must say that I am surprised you know her, and yes, she has great, astonishing control of her abilities. Tifa has good sense and remarkable talent too. She'll become a powerful fighter some day," replied Zangan.
Cloud didn't say anymore, and he walked past him and went upstairs into the room where Sephiroth was waiting.
Sephiroth was looking out of a window, a distant and thoughtful expression on his face, taking in every single detail of the town.
"Just what exactly are you looking at out there, Sephiroth?" asked Cloud, curiously.
Sephiroth did not turn around, continuing to stare out of the window in deep thought, but he quietly answered Cloud's question without glancing at him.
"This scenery…Somehow, I feel…like I know this place. You have a family here?" asked Sephiroth, curiously.
"Just my mother," replied Cloud.
Sephiroth sighed heavily.
"Sometimes I wonder what I would've become if I had my mother. Would I still be the powerful, legendary warrior that I am today, or would she have driven me towards a different path? Maybe you should pay another visit to your mother. She'll be happy to see you, I'm sure. I've hired a guide to take us to the Reactor. I heard that she's young. I hope we can rely on her, but I don't know if she can be of any help," said Sephiroth.
Cloud stared curiously at Sephiroth.
"What's wrong, Sephiroth?" asked Cloud.
"It's strange, but I feel like I know this place somehow. Like I've been here before," replied Sephiroth.
Cloud stared at him, confused and bewildered. He had certainly never seen Sephiroth in Nibelheim before, and he had never heard about Sephiroth coming here before either, it would have been big news if he had come here, after all. Nevertheless, he decided to ask.
"Ever been here before, then? Nibelheim is quite a small town," said Cloud. Sephiroth slowly shook his head.
"I…I don't remember. But I have been all over the world. So it is possible that I might have done so," replied Sephiroth.
"That must be quite an interesting life, travelling the world," said Cloud. Sephiroth snorted.
"Interesting? I had no family at all, and no parents, and no friends either. And I got teased about my hair until I started to beat people up for it," said Sephiroth.
"Oh well, that doesn't sound like much fun. Anyway, who's going on guard duty?" asked Cloud.
"I'm not sleeping," replied Sephiroth, shortly.
"Oh, okay. We're a bed short anyway," said Cloud.
Sephiroth nodded and continued to stare out of the window all night until the morning came, and even then he was still staring with a faraway, distant expression in his eyes, and had still stood in exactly the same spot, facing exactly the same direction.