Disclaimer: I do not own any of the Final Fantasy characters. Those that I do own will be posted as they appear.

Characters I and my friends own:

Chi (me)

Hotaru

Jaheira

Zero

Chapter 5

The train came to a stop and they all got off. Cloud went to talk to the porter. A girl and guy were huddled over by the lamppost.

Barret called out to the gang. "Yo! Get over here, all 'ya!" Cloud ignored him, still talking to the porter. "Yo, Cloud! You listen up!" Cloud walked over to Jaheira. The other three were off in a corner talking and a glint of fear came and went on Squall's face as an old pair of rusted handcuffs were brandished. "This mission was a success. But don't get lazy now. The hard part's still to come! Don't y'all be scared of that explosion! Cause the next one's gonna be bigger than that!" Barret began to leave. "Meet back at the hideout! Move out!"

Everyone but Cloud left. Chi, Hotaru, Jaheira, and Squall follow Cloud, heading past the lamppost couple.

"I'm not letting you go tonight." The man said. "Isn't there somewhere else we could go to be alone?"

"There only the train graveyard around here. And they say there's ghosts around too!" the girl shrieked.

"…damn."

"What?"

Cloud walked out into the main square.

"Too bad Master couldn't be here." Chi said.

"I am." Squall shuffled his feet.

"Not you Squally." Hotaru shook her head. "You might be Master…"

"… but you're not the REAL Master." Chi piped.

Squall looked hurt and Jaheira raised her eyebrow. "What she means is that she wishes that Zero were here."

"Zero?" Squall blanked his face. (…….)

"Yeah." Chi smiled.

Jaheira commenced in explaining who Zero was while slightly bragging on him. "Zero's nice and cool and…"

"Hey now! Oops!" Cloud had gone up to a man to talk. "What on earth are you doing? Just butt out… geeze! Huh? You came to see it, too? There was a bombing on top. If this pillar should come down, everyone in the slums is dust…" He shook his head at Cloud's shrug. "Well, there's no point in worryin' about that. Hey! Check it out! It's huge, ain't it?" Cloud looked up at the giant pillar. "Hey… this is a strange and wonderful place. This is my place, but you can come here when you want. See ya, bro!"

"Yo, Cloud! Over here, now!" Barret ran into a bar.

Gunshots are heard and four people ran out. They were being chased by Barret. Cloud entered the bar conversing with Squall, more like exchanging materia silently. Jaheira kept a close eye on Squall as Hotaru and Chi finally figured out how to open the door. A little girl jumped and ran over to the group.

"Papa!"

The girl noticed Cloud and ran back to the corner. The young woman standing behind the bar looked to see where the girl had gone then smiled. Saying her goodbyes to the man she had been conversing with, the woman walked over to Cloud. The man at the bar emptied his glass, rolling it around on the counter. His orange-red hair, held in a low ponytail, hung to the middle of his red kimono. A thorn whip was rolled up at his side and his wooden block shoes tapped noisily on the floor as he repeated checked the time.

"Marlene! Aren't you going to say anything to Cloud?" the woman came up to Cloud and Marlene hid behind her. "Welcome home, Cloud. Looks like everything went well. Did you fight with Barret?"

"Not this time." Cloud lied.

"Hmm." The woman smiled. "You've grown up. When you were little you used to get into fights at the drop of a hat." She noticed Cloud's flower. "Flowers? How nice… you almost never see them here in the slums. But… a flower for me? Oh Cloud, you shouldn't have…"

"… I didn't." Cloud said giving it to Marlene.

Marlene jumped and took it, returning to her safety behind the woman. "…" She kept silent as Cloud smiled at her.

The woman shook her head. "Sorry, Cloud. Marlene seems a little shy. Oh, and who's this?" She noticed Hotaru and Chi standing behind Squall and hissing and Jaheira killing a drunken Biggs in poker. "I'm Tifa."

"We know." Chi and Hotaru hissed.

"Squall, Hotaru, Chi, Jaheira." Squall said bluntly, pointing from one to the next.

"Finally." The man at the bar turned around. "Took you guys forever."

"…Zero?" Jaheira asked collecting her chips.

"In the flesh, or should I say RPG?" Zero laughed.

"Master!" Chi screamed pushing Squall aside and plowing over Tifa. "Master, it's really you!"

Chi hugged him as Hotaru and Jaheira walked over. Squall's mouth hung open temporarily, until Jaheira made a remark about him being jealous causing him to stomp over to the bar and order a drink. Tifa tended to him.

"Got an ID?" she asked grabbing a glass.

"Must be in my other pants." Squall retorted curtly.

"Sorry Squall, but I can't serve you unless I know you're twenty-one." Squall gave her a glare that could kill and walked over to where Zero sat. "So THIS is Master?"

"Sure is!" Chi said squeezing harder.

"…Too…tight…"

"Sorry Master." Chi let go.

"It's 'kay." Zero stood up patting her head. He was a head taller than Jaheira. "Oh, Rika, Jaheira, I have something for you. Chi, would you please go up to my room and get them?"

"Yes Sir!" Chi brought her hand up to her forehead and poked herself in the eye.

They turned to watch her run up the stairs breaking a vase one she was up. Tifa ran up screaming that she'd have to pay for that.

"Hey Hotaru," Cloud ignored Tifa who was crying because her only possession from Cloud was broken. "Who's Rika?"

"Hotaru?" Zero raised an eyebrow.

"It was before the whole Rika thin." Jaheira stated.

"Master," Chi had returned, "these them?"

Chi held a deadly looking set of numb-chucks and a giant crossbow. On the bottom of the crossbow, barely even noticeable, was a slot where tiny knives could be placed and shot at an oncoming target.

"Sure is." Zero took them, handing the numb-chucks to Hotaru and Jaheira the crossbow.

"Nice." Jaheira said examining the arrows' sharpness.

"Yay! Numb-chucks!" Hotaru spun them around her head nearly missing the ceiling light.

"So Master, how'd you get here?" Chi asked returning to Zero's side instantly.

Jaheira kept a close eye on Squall. His fists were clenched to tightly that his whole hand had turned white. His face showed no sign of emotion.

"I hacked my way in." He stated. Zero noticed Squall standing by Jaheira. "Squall, THE Squall Leonheart?" Zero shook his hand. "Kingdom Hearts, Kingdom Hearts Chain of Memories, Kingdom Hearts II, and Final Fantasy VIII, and not to mention DJ Sephiroth's A Requiem For A Final Fantasy. Name's Zero. You were the only character in FFVIII that I liked."

Squall shook his hand shocked. "… Uh, hi…"

"I wanna thank you for helping Hotaru, Chi, and Jaheira in Kingdom Hearts and COM. If it weren't for you, I might not have…" Zero wiped away a 'tear', "… meet them, in real life that is."

He gave Hotaru, Jaheira, and Chi a giant hug. Two girls standing in the doorway sighed.

"Why can't more men be like him?" one asked staring at Zero who flashed them a smile.

They giggled, stumbling over to a seat. Zero followed them, pulling out a deck of cards.

"Doesn't Zero have awesome hacking skills?" Jaheira asked bragging again.

Hotaru cracked a smile and Chi just cracked up. Jaheira looked at Squall evilly. Squall's anger had vanished, replaced by an air of smugness.

"Don't let your ego get too inflated." Jaheira retorted dryly. "You're still not the REAL Master."

Squall mumbled walking over to Cloud. Zero walked up to Jaheira, a Black Magician Girl in his hand.

"You just love to use blackmail against everyone, don't you?" he asked, and her smile got wider.

Cloud and Squall try to leave, but Barret crashes into the bar.

"Papa, welcome home!" Marlene screamed as he lifted her up onto his shoulder.

"Yeah." He said. "Huh? Where'd you get that flower?"

"Cloud gave it to me." Marlene answered.

"Oh... Did you thank him?"

"... Thank you, Cloud. We'll take care of you." Marlene smiled.

"You all right, Barret?" Tifa asked.

"Great!" He turned to Jessie, Wedge, and Biggs. "Get in here, fools! We're

startin' the meetin'!"

Barret descended into a hidden elevator in a pinball machine. Everyone followed him but Cloud, Zero and the rest, and Tifa. Cloud walked over to the bar.

"Sit down." Tifa said motioning to the stool. Cloud sat. "How about...something to drink?"

"Give me something hard." Cloud replied rubbing his head.

"Just a minute. I'll make one for you." Tifa said as she mixed Cloud a drink. "You know, I'm relieved you made it back safely." She handed Cloud his drink.

"What's with you all of a sudden? That wasn't even a tough job." Cloud smirked.

"I guess not..." Tifa sighed. "You were in SOLDIER." Cloud put his drink back down on the counter. "Make sure you get your pay from Barret." She said changing the subject.

"Don't worry. Once I get that money, I'm outta here." Cloud stood up from the bar, not even wobbly from the drink he'd just had.

"Cloud, are you feeling all right?" Tifa asked worriedly.

"...yeah... Why?"

"No reason. You just look a little tired I guess." Tifa shook her head. "You'd better go down below."

Cloud walked to the elevator in the pinball machine and went down. Jaheira and the rest followed. Everyone was busy downstairs. Barret was punching a bag.

"You think I'm a little too uptight?" Wedge asked Cloud as he passed by.

"Yeah..." Cloud replied.

"The next mission will be to blow up the Sector 5 Reactor. Cloud, you're great! Don't you ever get nervous?" He stared awe inspired at Cloud's puzzled look, as if to say what's nervousness? "Or are you like, impervious to feelings? Naw, that couldn't be it." Hotaru and Chi sniggered, they knew.

"Yo. Cloud! There's somethin' I wanna ask ya." Barret called him over. "Was there anyone from SOLDIER fighting us today?"

"None. I'm positive." Hotaru and the rest nodded, it would have been obvious if there had been.

"You sound pretty sure." Barret questioned his answer.

"If there was anyone from SOLDIER you wouldn't be standing here now." Cloud replied flatly.

"Don't go thinkin' you so bad jes cuz you was in SOLDIER."

"You don't get it man." Zero came up to Barret, Hotaru and the rest stayed close behind. "SOLDIERs are the special elite, they wouldn't be dispatched to stop a bunch of weak rebels."

"..." Even Squall agreed with that. Cloud nodded.

Barret just ignored Zero. "Yeah, you're strong. Probably all them guys in SOLDIER are." Chi and the rest gave a collective 'DUH!' "But don't forget your skinny ass's working for AVALANCHE now! Don't get no ideas 'bout hangin' on to Shinra."

"Stayin' with Shinra?" Cloud got a glazed hurt look in his eye. It vanished quick enough. "You asked me a question and I answered it... that's all. I'm going upstairs. I want to talk about my money."

"Now look what you did!" Hotaru snapped.

"Yeah, making Cloud remember stupid Shinra!" Chi growled.

"We miss…" the name was muffled through tears.

Zero and Jaheira patted them on the back. "There, there girls."

Cloud moved to leave and Tifa ran in. "Wait, Cloud!"

"Tifa! Let him go!" Barret yelled. "Looks like he still misses the Shinra!"

"Shut up!" Cloud screamed losing his cool. Squall and the rest came to stand behind Cloud, supporting him in their silence. Chi and Hotaru patted his arm, he couldn't figure out why, but a wave of sadness engulfed him. "I don't care about either Shinra or SOLDIER! But don't get me wrong! I don't care about AVALANCHE or the Planet for that matter!"

"...Cloud." Wedge said when Cloud stalked past him with the silent crew, Squall, Zero, Jaheira, Hotaru, and Chi, in tow. "You say you don't care, but you came to talk to me. Cloud... you just want friends. Isn't that right?"

"Blow off." Cloud said as the sadness returned.

"Yeah, well. You look kind of lonely to me. If you ever got anything you want to get off your chest, you can always talk to me." Wedge left it as that.

Cloud and crew went back up the elevator and tried to leave. Tifa stops him yet again.

"Listen, Cloud. I'm asking you. Please join us."

"Sorry Tifa..." Cloud shook his head and Hotaru and Chi stuck out their tongues.

"The Planet is dying. Slowly but surely it's dying." Tifa cried. "Someone has to do something."

"So let Barret and his buddies do something about it." Cloud retorted back in his usual mood. "It's got nothin' to do with me."

Cloud moved to leave. "So! You're really leaving?" Tifa cried. "You're just going to walk right out ignoring your childhood friend?"

"Yup." Jaheira stated, already annoyed by Tifa's constant pleading.

"What...? ...Sorry."

"You forgot the promise, too." Tifa sighed."

"Promise?"

"So you DID forget."

"Haha!" Chi laughed.

"Remember... Cloud. It was seven years ago..."

Cloud looked up at her. Everything faded to black.

End ofChapter 5

Chi: Woot that was the last chapter I have typed so far. I'm working on the 6th one so give me some time 'kay? I'll try my best to hurry and finish it!