At first Cloud thought he had woken up, but he was in Nibelhiem and the town was on fire. He had no control over what he was doing. He had been lying on the ground and a man had rushed up. "Hey Cloud, are you ok?" the man asked, "It's me Zack, com'n buddy don't die on me!" Cloud stirred and 'Zack' seemed relieved. "Stay here buddy!" Zack told him. Cloud climbed to his feet and watched Zack run off. "Hey you!" a voice called to him. Through the flames Cloud could see Zangan, Tifa's martial arts instructor. "Your still sane right?" Zangan asked. "Yeah!" Cloud responded. "Help me look for survivors!" Zangan ordered before walking into a burning building. Cloud turned and walked into his home; through the intense flames he could see no evidence that his mother was even home.
Cloud closed his eyes, he then realized that the flames weren't even hot. In fact, he was shivering cold. This time he truly awoke. "You're awake? You were out for awhile, did you have a vision?" Aeris replied. "Yes, do you know someone named Zack?" Cloud asked. Aeris turned her eyes away. "Zack was my ex-boyfriend…" she explained, "Did you know him?" "I think I did, but I still don't remember…" Cloud replied, "Do you want to continue? This is going to be rough for you…" "This isn't about me, this is about you…" she told him sternly, "You need to remember your past! Just don't worry about me I'll be fine, as long as you're alright…" "Do you think Jenova can mess with my memories?" Cloud asked. "That was one thing Jenova was never able to do. Why?" "There's a possibility my mother is still alive…" Cloud explained closing his eyes. "It's your first vision, it's probably just blurred from being buried for so long…" Aeris explained. "Thanks Aeris, I don't think I want to go immediately back. I'm going to go check on the guys at the Inn, alright…" Cloud replied.
Cloud walked into the inn to see Cid, Barret, and Vincent playing poker. "Hey guys, who's winnin'?" Cloud asked. "I'm kickin' 'dese foo's a&&es," Barret told him. "I believe the expression is 'in your dreams', Barret…" Vincent replied. "I'm the one who's winnin', morons…" Cid yelled. Cloud laughed and rolled his eyes as he walked away. He walked up to RedXIII who laid by the fire. "Hey Red, what's goin' on?" he asked. "I think I hear something, you might want to check on Yuffie to make sure she hasn't gotten in trouble…" Red growled. "B&&&&, you cheatin'!" Barret yelled loud enough for the whole inn to hear him. "Not a bad idea, Red. Care to join me?" Cloud asked. "The fire is warm, I'm on a floor very small chance I'll get hit by flying objects. I'll be ok…" Red replied.
Cloud walked upstairs thinking about how dysfunctional his team was, he knocked on Yuffie's door, no response. Cloud didn't take the time to knock again he busted in holding his sword in a ready position. A teenage boy was with Yuffie in her room. "Cloud!" Yuffie yelled, "Privacy!" "Yuffie! You are in big trouble!" Cloud yelled, "And as for you, get outta' here while you still have your head!" "Who're you?" the boy asked. "You wanna' keep your head! Less talking more leg moving, get outta' here!" Cloud shouted. The boy ran off, leaving the p&&&ed off Cloud Strife and the embarrassed Yuffie Kisargi. Cloud snorted and left the room, by this action he recovered his role as the leader of the group. "Where's Cait?" he asked Red. "In the closet…" Red replied. Cloud opened the closet door to find that Cait Sith was merely recharging his batteries.
Cloud returned to Aeris's parents' house. Aeris was trying to light a fire using magic when Cloud caught her. He laughed in spite of his mood before saying, "Y'know they have these things called matches…" "Cloud you and your sarcastic moronic self!" she yelled playfully. "No need to insult me, I'm just trying to help…." he jested. "Great, now I'm having mood swings…" Cloud thought. Cloud grabbed a matchbox off the mantle and knelt down. He lit a match and threw it into the fireplace. "Better?" he asked. "Much thank you…" she responded. "I'm going back out to train for a while…" Cloud announced. "Please stay!" Aeris begged. Cloud turned to see Aeris sitting there with her emerald eyes beckoning for him to stay. Cloud sighed, "All right, I'll stay…" Aeris had wrapped herself in a blanket and had a white nightgown on.
By the time Cloud sat down beside her he had on black pajamas. "It's so cold here…" she commented, "Especially without someone else around…" "Why didn't you just say you're lonely?" Cloud asked with a slight laugh. "Because you wouldn't have taken me seriously…" Aeris replied. "Are you still lonely? Maybe we should go get the others?" Cloud asked. "No, this is nice… To just be by ourselves without anyone keeping tabs on us…" she told him, "Do you remember when I said I wanted to meet you?" "How could I forget?" he asked. "I really enjoyed myself that night, but I was expecting it to be my last night…" she answered. "You mean you expected to die?" Cloud asked. "Expecting? I knew I was going to, but now things are different… I don't want to die, Cloud, I want to live the way I am right now…" she replied. "What do you mean?" he asked. "Cloud, I want to be with you, not just now either, I want to be with you forever…" she told him leaning towards him. It didn't take much for him to accept her embrace. "I love you, Cloud Strife…" she said cuddling closer to him. "I love you too…" Cloud smiled. It had finally occurred to him that she was the reason he was able to be so emotional now. Smiling at that fact he held her tightly. "I wish this moment could last forever," she told him. "It will, in our memories…" he spoke softly to her, "Speaking of which I need to remember more…"