Deep in the woods, just outside the Forgotten City, there was a rather peculiar gathering. Three silver haired men stood in the middle of a circle. Upon closer observation, it could be noted that the circle consisted of somewhat ragged children, all of them blank-eyed, their attention focused on one of the silver-haired men. The man they were focusing on was Kadaj, the man that Rufus Shinra had warned Cloud about not so long ago. His silver hair was shoulder-length and his face was illuminate with passion and insanity. The man to his right was Yazoo. His hair was longer but his face lacked the passion of Kadaj's; Yazoo's face was aloof and disinterested. The other man Loz, was smiling rouguishly, and a bit stupidly. He had a tight grip on a child, the only child that showed any traces of fear. The little girl he was restraining struggled against his hands, but the man ignored her.
Hidden expertly in the trees, an univited man paid close attention to the strange scene taking place below him. A strand of dark hair blocked his path of vision for a moment, but he unceremoniously tucked it in his headband and narrowed his blood-red eyes. The man who the children were staring at raptly began talking, and he leaned closer, eavesdropping on his speech.
"Mother has given me special powers..." Kadaj told the children, his voice teetering on the edge of insanity. "The planet is trying to stop us, however. But as long as we have mother on our side, we have enough power to stop the planet."
Mother? Vincent thought, a crease appearing in his brow.
Kadaj's arm swung around, his finger pointing at his audience of children.
"The planet created Geostigma, the planet is hurting your bodies and breaking your minds." Kadaj's voice dropped slightly in volume. "But I will cure you."
Kadaj paused for a moment, and when he began talking again, his voice was loud and filled with insane passion.
"That's why I need you to fight with us and mother, all together as a family, and bring this planet down to its goddamn knees!"
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Cloud's hands shook slightly from where he was tightly gripping his handlebars as the scenery around him grew eerily dark and familiar. The trees were beginning to posess a silver-like glow and he knew he was gettin closer by the second. Two years...he thought numbly. I've avoided this place for two years. Guilt clenched his insides. For a brief moment, he closed his eyes as the sight of the surrounding trees brought back unbearable memories.
"I'll come back when it's all over."
The voice resonated in his mind over and over, reminding him of one of his many failures. But as he opened his eyes, he stumbled in confusion when he found himself standing in a room of white, his motorcycle Fenrir nowhere in sight. But as he straightened and looked around, painful guilt filled his face and replaced the confusion. As soon as he saw the flowers under his feet, he knew what this was about. And true to his suspicion, he felt a familiar presence behind him.
"So you came." the familiar voice said, sounding just as cheerful as the day they met. "Even though you're about to break."
And he felt a gentle touch on his arm, the one that was infected with Geostigma. But he found himself unable to turn around.
"So...why did you come?" Aeris asked, gently prompting him.
Cloud considered her question for a minute.
"Forgiveness...I think." he said, his voice quiet.
He paused for a minute.
"That's right..." he said, this time his voice was strong. "I want to be forgiven."
Aeris giggled, a sound that never quite left his memory.
"By who?" she asked, clearly amused.
At this question, Cloud turned around, but again was surprised. It took him a moment to realize that he was again seated on Fenrir, gripping the handlebars tightly and speeding through the woods. A bullet whizzed by his ear and shook him out of his stupor. About a hundred yard in front of him were three silver-haired men, two of which he recognized from theattack on motorcycles. The one in the middle must be Kadaj...he thought, pulling out his sword and preparing to attack.
But Kadaj grinned at him, and let out a shrill whistle. Children appeared from all sides, creating a barrier between Cloud and the three men. What are they doing? Cloud thought bewilderedly. But then, as Cloud came closer, and closer, he recognized two of the children. Denzel stood in front of all the other children, his head bowed. Next to him, Marlene was tugging desperately at his arm, tears leaving wet trails down her cheeks. But no matter how hard Marlene tugged, Denzel remained unresponsive.
Suddenly, horror shot through Cloud, as he realized the children were not moving, and he was seconds away from hitting them. He turned his bike quickly, trying to skid to a stop. But he didn't have enough room to stop, and instead he flew off. With a loud thump, Cloud hit the ground. He rolled several feet uncontrollably, before coming to a stop. His sword embedded itself in a tree several feet away.
Pain racking every part of him, Cloud tried to lift himself up but to no avail. Using his arms, he hoisted his upper half up enough to see his surroundings. The children were now in a semi-circle around him and the three men stood directly in front of him. Cloud searched for Marlene and Denzel, but they were with the other children.
"So, you decided to join us!" Kadaj said, his voice filled with insanity and glee.
Cloud cut him off. "I'm here to get the kids."
Kadaj gave an insane laugh.
"This man," he said to the children. "Is our big brother!"
He pulled out his sword. Cloud was able to see that it had two blades, one normal, the other strangely shadow-like.
"It's too bad he's a traitor." Kadaj pressed the sword against Cloud's throat.
Before Cloud could do anything in retaliation, a bullet came from the trees and hit the blade that was pressed against his neck. Without hurting Cloud, the sword was deflected away. Scowling, Kadaj searched the treelines, his glee replaced with fury.
"Yazoo!" Kadaj said, motioning to the aloof man with the long hair.
The man who Cloud assumed must be Yazoo, sprung into action, and pointed his gun at the treeline. A red cloak appeared, and Yazoo fired at it, but his bullets hit nothing. Kadaj was screaming angrily, and the other bulkier man was looking around desperately trying to locate the red cloak. But before they could do anything, Cloud saw the red cloak descend on him, and felt one hand and one claw close on his arm. By the time the three men turned around, both Cloud and Vincent were gone.
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Cloud and Vincent sat in silence, surrouned the glowing trees. Vincent stood with his arms crossed, watching Cloud on the ground. Cloud sat, head hanging, gripping his arm, obviously still recovering from his tumble off the motorcycle.
"You saved my ass back there." Cloud mumbled. "I guess I was right, I am no good to anyone."
Vincent didn't say anything. Cloud looked up at him.
"What exactly is going on here?" he asked him.
Vincent's eyes locked on the arm that Cloud was grasping.
"Geostigma is what happens when your body overworks itself trying to purge wicked substances from within." Vincent told Cloud.
Cloud's eyes narrowed in understanding.
"Wicked substances..." he repeated lowly.
"There's something like the lifestream that flows through our bodies," Vincent continued. "And that's what's fighting the wicked substances. The Calamity from the Skies...Jenova. As long as it remains, another Sephiroth can be created."
Cloud took a second to absorb those words. Another Sephiroth...he thought, trying to appreciate the full meaning of these words. Cloud recalled his hateful face staring at him through the flames of his hometown. But before he could continue down this line of thought, a rustling noise in the woods caused him to snap his head up.
Vincent pulled out his gun, and Cloud painfully got to his feet, reaching for the sword that Vincent had retreived for him. But as the noise got closer, Cloud recognized the little face that appeared through the gap in the trees.
"Marlene!" Cloud shouted, throwing his sword down in relief.
Marlene sprung on him, wrapping her arms around his midriff and burrying her face in his shirt.
"Cloud!" she sobbed. "Denzel's...Tifa's..."
Cloud placed one hand on her little shoulder and turned to Vincent.
"Take Marlene home." he said to Vincent. "I'll go see what I can squeeze out of Shinra."
Vincent backed away, shaking his head.
"I'm afraid I cannot do that." he said, fixing Cloud with a narrowed gaze.
Marlene pushed away from Cloud angrily. She balled her hands into little fists and stomped her foot, reminding Cloud of Tifa when he wouldn't let her into the reactor so many years ago.
"That's enough Cloud!" she shouted. "Don't you even care about us? What about us, our problems?"
Not waiting to see his reaction, Marlene ran to Vincent and hid herself under his cloak.
"Marlene..." Cloud said softly, the truth in her words hurting him. "A huge fight is about to start. You know what that means right? This is serious...we can't take it lightly."
Marlene refused to turn and look at him. "No I don't know what that means!"
Vincent looked down at the little girl and then to Cloud.
"Cloud..." Vincent said quietly. "Are you sure all this is about the fighting?"
Cloud turned away from Vincent and Marlene. Tifa's voice resonated through his mind...telling him to stop running. He turned back around.
"Vincent?" Cloud asked. "Can a person be forgiven for their sins?"
Vincent tilted his head. "I've never tried."
'I've never tried'...Cloud thought, a new bubble of hope forming in his chest.
"I think I'm going to try." Cloud said, his voice lacking the guilt that had plagued it just seconds earlier. "I'll inform you of the results."
Cloud extended his hand toward Marlene who had emerged from under Vincent's cloak.
"Come on Marlene." Cloud said. "Let's go home."
Smiling and wiping away the last of her tears, Marlene ran forward and grabbed his hand. When the two left the forest together, the glowing trees suddenly seemed less eerie to Cloud as he let go of all the painful memories he associated with this place.