Chapter 2

He had been searching forever. Cloud Strife knew he was still out here on borrowed time, emphasized by the fact that he was unwrapping his last ration. Outside his shelter, Aurelia--his golden chocobo--warked uneasily. The food wasn't even to his mouth, for pity's sake. He got up and looked through the small window cut out of the slab of white stone but all he could see was the night sky. Rolling his eyes, Cloud ducked out of the abandoned defense post and stepped out onto the ledge. The city of the Cetra lay out before him, its paved, winding streets looping out and into the scatter of low-level buildings that sat dark and dormant. As always, a wave of sorrow fell over him for the unfortunate end of these people, the Ancients, guardians of the planet once a long time ago. And his friend, Aeris.

Aurelia trotted up to him and made another distressed warking sound in her throat, clamping her beak on his cloak and tugging slightly. He turned to her, one hand coming up to her broad face and stroking the silken yellow feathers.

"What's got you so nervous?" he glanced around. The area was dark and quiet, nothing out of the ordinary. Far beyond the city, protruding just above the horizon, the lip of the Northern Crater stood out in the darkness like a sharp reminder, and Cloud mentally winced. Too many things had happened in the past year. Too many hurtful things: death, abandonment, betrayal; all at the hands of one man Cloud had trusted. His eyes narrowed as he recalled the face of that man, and all he could remember was that twisted expression of anger and not a little hint of insanity.

He didn't know that he had been clenching his fists until Aurelia nudged him hard with the bridge of her beak, snapping him out of it. He shook his head and lifted a shaking hand to his hair, combing his fingers through it roughly. Closing his eyes, he took a deep breath and slowly allowed his mind to clear up. All right, Cloud, think. Aurelia's spooked, so there must be something out there. You're on your last ration, he looked down at the wrapped parcel in his fist, now squashed to ruin. No rations, he corrected himself, so that must be my incentive to move out. But where else can I go? I've looked for the Promised Land everywhere, and I still haven't found it, or her... He licked his lips. I can't give up my search. I swore I'd see her again. I've been everywhere: Corel, Cosmo Canyon, Bone Village and the Sleeping Forest, city ruins, even the crater where the Temple of the Ancients was! His blue mako eyes slowly opened and he gazed up to the horizon again. And again, the silhouette of the Northern Crater held his eyes and he suddenly let out a harsh shiver. There was one place he hadn't looked yet...

Tifa nearly jumped out of her skin as Kali screamed from the second floor. She glanced over apologetically at Cloud, who was looking up at the cieling.

"I take care of oprhans now," she confessed timidly and rose. Cloud stood too and followed her up the stairs as she entered her bedroom and crossed over to the crib near its center. Reaching inside, she lifted out the small baby girl and cradled her close to her chest, looking up bashfully at the man beside her. He looked down into the toddler's face and gently traced a shaking finger along her wrinkled brow. Almost instantly, the girl's wails quieted. Tifa looked at him in shock.

"Is she the only one you're looking after?" he asked softly.

She shook her head: "Two boys as well. They're in the other room." They sat down together on the foot of her bed. "Now, back to your story. You went to the Northern Crater?"

"Yeah," he answered bitterly. "But I shouldn't have."

He patted the chocobo's neck and slid from the saddle, his boots crunching on the small rocks and debris in the dirt. Aurelia warked softly and watched Cloud descend into the gaping mouth of the Northern Crater. He pivoted his ankles and allowed himself to slide down into the darkness of the crater, one hand skimming the ground behind him for balance. Leaning down so he moved faster, Cloud hit an overhang and leapt out; spreading his arms and legs wide, he let himself drop into the abyss. His mako-enhanced eyesight picked out the rocks far below and he focused on them, tilting his body ever-so slightly in the free-fall, adjusting his position in the air, calculating the landing in his head. The weightless feeling gripped his stomach as he tumbled head-over-heels in the air and abruptly landed on his feet. His knees absorbed the shock and he ended up in a crouch, both sets of fingers splayed on the ground between his legs to help him keep his balance. He looked around quickly. The layout of the crater had changed dramatically after the erruption of Holy from its depths. The twisting, looping tunnels that had served as hours of frustration for him and his friends had been smoothed into solid, jagged rock ground. The one formation that did seem out of place, however, was a huge, low-humped boulder that protruded from the dirt. Its smooth surface was marred by a single crack running nearly halfway up its side. Knowing that all things suspicious should be investigated (no matter the cost later), he carefully stuck his fingers into the crack and slid them down. The fingers passed through to the second knuckles, and his fingertips were greeted with a wisp of cold air. Much colder than the air around him now. His brow knitted together as he tried to force his entire hand into the opening and it caught halfway. Pausing only for a moment, he unclipped the dark metal Buster Sword from the mount on his back and turned the weapon down, sliding the thin blade into the jagged mark. It slid in easily and he allowed it to run all the way down to the hilt in order to check for resistance. There was none. Pulling it back up until a little less than half was visible, he planted one foot on the boulder and the other on the ground and yanked. Surprisingly, the rock gave away quite easily and with three more tugs, he had created an opening large enough for him to squeeze through. Re-sheathing his sword, Cloud placed both hands on either side of the hole and hoisted himself in. Slowly lowering himself, he felt his body being cucooned with the same cold air his fingers were. He shifted the position of his hands and now he was hanging from the rift--from the cieling of an underground chamber. The cold blue walls glimmered with a deep mako sheen, and a pulsating waterfall of the planet lifeforce spilled down far below his hanging feet. A platform lay below him, a passageway leading backward, but most likely blocked from the incidents half a year before: this was the dark chamber he and his friends had traversed through before the platform that hung over the mako spring. The last area where the team had gathered, and split up again, and three of them had continued on to confront Sephiroth while the others stayed behind to halt the enemies closing in on them from behind. The point of no return: that is what lay ahead in the next room. He could already see the opening he had to slip through in order to enter the circular area. He briefly closed his eyes, waiting for his breathing to come under control before he could continue. But first, he had to get down. Licking his lips, Cloud dropped silently into the blue-green chamber, landing again on his feet. He straightened and glanced around once before bounding from one platform to the next, crossing the ocean of mako. A sliver of orange-yellow light poured out from the next room over and Cloud hurried over to it, finding the dismal emptiness of this area slightly disturbing. He leaned against the wall and tilted his head, his blond bangs crossing over his field of vision as he peered cautiously into the opening.

"It was them..." he whispered, and Tifa saw his hands were tightly laced together to prevent them from shaking visibly. Kali lay asleep in her arms again, but she was afraid to move. Afraid she would wake the baby up, and afraid to leave Cloud in this condition. Whatever he had seen had scared him. Badly.

"What was it, Cloud?" she asked him in a soft voice. "Tell me, if you can."

He licked his lips and glanced over to her, his eyes wide and shining eerily in the darkness of her bedroom. "The Xero Faction."

"I don't understand," she shook her head apologetically. "Who are the Xero Faction?"

"I heard someone talking," he said, his blue eyes turning to the empty room, "but I couldn't see who it was. I did recognize the voice, though it took me longer than it should have. They're soldiers. Soldiers under some type of hypnosis or magic; they derive their power directly from the Lifestream. Only the same power condensed in a different form can hurt them."

"Materia?" Tifa clarified. He nodded. "Then who was commanding them, Cloud? Who's voice did you hear?"

His eyes slitted halfway closed and she saw tears glittering against his lashes. With her free hand she wiped them cautiously away. He leaned his face into her touch and suddenly his arms were around her waist, holding her tight.

He sobbed loudly against her side: "It was Aeris! Aeris was telling them to hunt each and every last human to the death! As revenge!"

"Revenge...?" Tifa sat still, her eyes wide. "Aeris...?" She looked down at Cloud, who was crying freely into her side. She gasped softly as his words sunk in. Xero Faction... Aeris...but why! I don't understand! She stared down at her friend, silently begging that none of this was true, but knowing that Cloud would never, ever fabricate something this deranged in his right mind. And even if he had somehow become insane in his absence, he wouldn't have a reaction like this. Not this severe.

"It was Aeris..." he whimpered, clinging to her like a scared child. "What... what did I do wrong? Is it because I couldn't find her in time...? Tifa..."

"Shh," she stroked a trembling hand through his hair. As much as this scared and confused her, she couldn't let him know that now. She had to be his rock. "It's alright, Cloud. We'll figure it out. There has to be an explanation for it--a logical one--I'm sure of it. We just have to find out together, okay? Shh, calm down. Calm down." Her burning eyes rose to the doorway when she heard a soft flutter. Michael stood there, watching them solemnly. Quietly, she motioned him over and he complied, crossing the room in his bare feet, looking as surreal as a ghost. He knew what she had wanted, and took the sleeping Kali from her arm, returning her to the crib and exiting the room. Before he left, however, he turned and gave Tifa a long look. She smiled weakly at him. Seeming almost unconvinced, he left her presence and her eyes fell again to Cloud. His sobs had quieted and now he unconsciously curled up against her, his arms keeping her tight to him. She shifted as little as she could manage without disturbing him and gently ran her fingers through his blond locks again. "We'll find out what's going on," she promised softly. "Together."