As the morning sun invaded the horizon, Cloud found himself staring once more at the old wooden well, a prominent feature in the centre of the town. It was here that he had made the promise to Tifa. The promise he couldn't keep. He lowered his face to the floor, his blonde hair falling and brushing against his face as he gritted his teeth. He hated feeling so useless, hated what he had become. This was never the plan…

* * *

"Listen to me, Sephiroth. In case something happens…"

The middle aged man looked to be suffering conflicting emotions as he confronted the mighty general. He looked vaguely familiar, yet Cloud could not put a name to his face. Then again, years had passed since he was last here.

"…Trust me." Sephiroth raised a gloved hand and brushed his long silver hair out of his face impatiently, his mako green eyes calm and serene before the storm that was to come.

'Always in control…' mused Cloud tiredly, stifling a yawn. What chance did they stand with a guide who couldn't even show up on time?

"I'll be alright, Dad!" The familiarity of the voice instantly caught Cloud's attention, but he already knew who it was before he laid eyes on them. "I have two men from SOLDIER with me." Tifa smiled warmly and turned to face Sephiroth, who towered over her with an expression of slight amusement.

'Tifa!? You're the guide?'

* * *

The trip to the Nibelheim was as hard going as Cloud has imagined. It seemed that while some things could change in the blink of an eye, others remained constant. The worst point had been the bridge collapsing… Cloud knew deep down he should be worried about Valeny, and yet he couldn't find it in himself. He didn't know the guy. It made no difference to him… Maybe he deserved to be in SOLDIER after all.

Finally, the Nibelheim reactor came into view, the ugly metal feature destroying the natural beauty around it. Shinra was right; it did make life easier… but at a cost. The group slowed as they reached the bottom of the steps, Tifa breathing a sigh of relief.

"We finally made it. We sure took the long way though," she huffed tiredly. Zack nodded towards Sephiroth then turned back towards Tifa, who gazed up with curious eyes at the reactor.

"You wait here."

"I'm going inside too! I wanna see!" demanded Tifa, her face flushed with anger. Sephiroth sighed and started up the steps towards the reactor.

"Take care of the lady," he instructed as Zack followed him into the metal beast. Tifa stamped impatiently and folded her arms. She kept her back to Cloud, who wriggled awkwardly inside his uniform.

"Better take real good care of me then!"

"Of course…" Cloud turned away, trying to avoid eye contact with Tifa who was watching him suspiciously. Maybe she was planning a chance to sneak past, or maybe…

"You seem familiar…" she mused thoughtfully, stepping closer to the guard to take a closer look. Cloud froze. "Have we met before?"

"Yesterday," replied the blonde cautiously, trying to throw her off track. Unfortunately, Tifa was as stubborn as he remembered her being.

"No, before that…" Cloud turned away, facing up towards the reactor. She was coming closer to the truth than he felt comfortable with as he heard her pace around behind him, no doubt keeping her attention focused on his back. She grinned suddenly and leaned towards the guard. "I think you're hiding something…" She took another step closer. "Let's see who's under this mask." Cloud stepped backwards quickly, but too late as Tifa took a firm hold of the mask and removed it to reveal a wave of blonde spiky hair and cerulean eyes that stared back at her in panic. There was a moment of silence as both teenagers stared at each other in shock, but it was Tifa who was first to speak, her voice barely audible.

"…Cloud?"