Chapter 5

Cloud kept his blue mako eyes locked on the doors to the Shin-Ra Mansion. Tifa had gone in there, and he thought he had heard her scream, but there had been thunder so he wasn't sure. He was sure that she had been gone for nearly two hours now. He was getting uneasy; even moreso since the boy had mentioned the Xero Faction at dinner. Cloud knew they were out there, watching and waiting for an opportunity to catch him off guard. For some reason, they wanted him above all else, and he knew they wouldn't hesitate to do anything it took to draw him out of hiding. It was a bad idea to come here. Tifa could be in danger now, because of me. In fact, he wasn't sure why he had returned to Nibelheim, to Tifa. There were hundreds of other places to hide, a lot of them farther than this mountain town. But he had come here, and sought shelter with his childhood friend, not that she was pleased to see him. His brow furrowed. He thought he had left her on good terms. Of course, he hadn't kept in touch with her for about half a year now, but was that his fault? He was busy, looking for Aeris Gainsborough and the Promised Land. He gave a shudder--Aeris. What had that been, back there in the Northern Crater? Some sort of illusion? Was it actually possible that her spirit had transformed into a malicious ghost in the LIfestream? How, how in god's name, was she giving commands to this faction? How exactly were they taking their power from the Lifestream? It didn't add up.

And now, Tifa was missing...

"She'll die if you don't go."

Cloud turned to the voice. It belonged to the thirteen year old, MIchael. He had a strange feeling about this quiet blond. Almost everything he said was blunt and cryptic, and sometimes vague. It was hard to tell if he was crazy, or somehow he could know things others couldn't possibly know. And now, with what he had just said...

"If you don't face him, she'll die."

"Michael--"

KNOCK KNOCK KNOCK!

They both looked at the door. Cloud angled his head and stared out from his position at the window. A man stood hunched over, almost as if he were cowering from the light of the porch lamp. Cloud reached for the doorknob but Michael withdrew as soon as he moved. Lifting an eyebrow, Cloud remembered Tifa's words: "Don't let anyone inside. Not even me." She had obviously figured something out. Something that Michael already knew. He hesitated.

KNOCK KNOCK!

Cloud turned and knelt in front of the young boy: "Michael, what's going on? Tell me." The boy looked from the door to the blond and back again, his face calm but his eyes glassy with fear. Cloud knew that look. "If you're in trouble, or more importantly, if Tifa's in trouble, I need to know." His eyes flickered at the mention of his caretaker's name. "Please. It's okay to be scared, but don't worry, I can protect you."

"No one can protect me," he whispered. "I protect everyone. But no one listens, and they all die."

Cloud blinked and reached out, taking the boy's skinny wrists in his hands gently. "I'm listening."

KNOCK KNOCK KNOCK! Michael looked again from Cloud, to the door, to Cloud again, and back. Then he visibly gulped and shook his head.

"I don't want to go with that man," he said.

"Okay," Cloud nodded and stood. He turned to the door and reached up quickly, sliding the security chain into place. Then, he unlocked the bottom two locks and pulled open the door the crack that it was allowed. "Yes? How may I help you this time of night?"

"I'm here for my son," the man-figure said in a deep, slow voice. One sharp blue-green eye gleamed in the lightning that accompanied his words. "They said he would be here."

"Who said that, sir?" Cloud asked without missing a beat.

The figure pasued. Finally: "The villager I asked."

Cloud glanced back at Michael, and for some reason, he just suddenly thought what he was going to say instead of whispering it, like he had intended to do: Make sure all the lights in the house are on. The boy simply nodded, turned, and ran up the stairs.

"Was that my son?" the man shifted uncomfortably and Cloud noticed in the slight glint of light on the man's skin, that he was as white as a sheet. Or a corpse.

"No, he's going to fetch him," he lied bluntly.

"...may I come in?" the man pressed.

"No, you may not," Cloud stated.

"I want to come in and get my son."

"No, I don't think so."

"Let me in."

"No."

The single blue-green eye flashed blood red and a white hand shot through the crack and lashed out at Cloud's neck. He jumped back, turning and rushing up the staircase. Behind him, he heard the man grunting as he pushed against the chain lock. He ducked briefly into the right-hand room at the top of the stairs and grabbed his sword from its position by the wardrobe. The Ultima Blade gleamed harshly as a bolt of lightning broke through the atmosphere. As the thunder followed, Cloud heard the snap of the lock breaking off the door and he fled into the other room where Michael was waiting with Kali nestled securely in his arms. Cloud's eyes darted around quickly and he spotted Tifa's ceramic lamp on her bedside table. She can hate me later. He grabbed it and flung it at the window as heavy footsteps thudded clumbsily up the stairs. They were temporarily drowned out by the loud shattering of the picture window. Cloud wrapped one arm around Michael's thin wasit and ran for the opening he had made.

"Hold on to her!" he commanded and he felt the boy tense against him. They vaulted into the night and a howl errupted from the second story bedroom as the thing that had been right on their heels watched them escape. Cloud hit the ground and rolled, tucking the children's bodies into his own. He stood quickly as lights from the neighboring houses flickered on and the door of his old house opened up. He ran over to it. The woman on the steps nearly shreiked as he caught her arm with his free hand and turned her to face him. "Miss!"

"Get off me!" she raised a fist to fend him off but he let go of her arm and took Kali from Michael's grip. She stopped in mid-swing and stared down at the wide-eyed baby.

"Her name is Kali," he spoke in a rush, glancing over his shoulder as Michael whimpered and huddled closer to him. "I don't have time to explain, but please, take her and get back inside your house. Lock up everything, keep your lights on, and don't come out until morning." He forced the baby into her arms and Kali wailed after them as Cloud and Michael ran across the town square toward the Shin-Ra Mansion. Footsteps sounded behind them, and now Cloud didn't know how many of them were chasing him. Michael stumbled and the things that had been persuing them surrounded the two. Cloud pulled out his sword and nudged the small boy behind him, planting the blade in the dirt at his feet. The first attempt came from the right, but before it could close the distance between them, a tendril of fierce red flames shot from the Ultima Weapon and incinerated the attacker. Cloud closed his eyes and kept both hands on the handle of his sword, focusing hard on his spell and expanding its range so the circle of enemies had to retreat or end up like the first. The green materia orb pulsed in its slot as the spell worked. Slowly, Cloud lifted the blade and started forward, making the invisible ring of magic follow them up the rest of the way to the Shin-Ra building. Michael walked confidently beside the blond, one hand clutching the dark blue material of his shirt. Cloud kept moving, his eyes still closed, until they reached the looming double doors and he had to stop the spell. The attackers stayed a distance from the man and child as they both pulled open the mansion doors and came face to face with twelve more black figures. Cloud briefly gaped as Michael moved his blank stare over the number in front of them. The doors closed with finality behind them.

"Twelve," said the boy.

"Can you use materia?" Cloud asked hopefully. There was a negative shake of the head. "Right. Get behind me, then."

He planted the sword between them and the twelve figures in the main room. The same green materia from before gave off an eerie glow, washing the floor of the room in pale, sickly green light. They lunged at him. Michael suddenly fell to his knees. Cloud glanced back to check on him. One set of claws found him and Cloud winced before releasing a huge flare attack that sent the attacker flying back into the room. The others piled on him. Michael let out a slight, choking sob.

"Gabe..."

Bolt 3, Freeze, Quake 3, Typhoon, Flare, Ultima. They kept coming. Cloud used the Master Materia to cast a huge shield over the two of them. The invisible wall deflected their claws, but it was quick to wear, and to cast such a huge spell again in such a short time would surely waste him; Cloud was already getting light-headed. He had to stop soon, his magic power was depleating quickly--this was exactly as it had been in the Northern Crater. Somehow, he had gotten lucky and escaped. Not again, though.

Michael wailed. The sound reverberated against the dark, rotten walls and shook dust from the very foundations of the old building. A white light erupted from his kneeling figure and Cloud suddenly felt himself immersed in a gentle warmth, unlike anything he had ever experienced. The white light pulsated outward and struck the remaining enemies, knocking them back and rattling them to mere dust. And Cloud finally saw what Michael had seen: Gabriel's lifeless body sprawled at the base of the central staircase, covered in blood, his wide, blank eyes unseeing. The light slowly began to fade, and a backlash wave of such sorrow and pain struck him that his eyes actually prickled with tears. When all was silent and dark again, Cloud knelt before Michael once more and reached out with one hand, turning the boy's face up to his. Their blue eyes met in the darkness.

"Who are you?" Cloud asked.

Michael's shoulders sagged and he lowered his head, a single tear that glimmered like a star trickled down his face. "I couldn't save my parents either."

Cloud embraced him. "We'll save Tifa. You have my word."