Cloud found his foster mother Reira sitting in an armchair on the balcony. She was playing a tune upon her lute slowly, the fingers of her right hand not as deft as they used to be. It was the tune she used to sing to him when he woke up crying from a nightmare he couldn't remember. The valleys could be seen down below them, wherein trees of autumn were bright yellow and red.

The doctors said she only had three months left at most, and she wanted to spend her final days at home. He'd been asking about people who traveled to this town to search out doctors for the past month, but they all said the same thing.

Reira hummed softly to the music and looked peaceful. She didn't suffer as much in the daytime as she did at nights when she needed painkillers before going to bed. Cloud helped her get up from the chair and they walked into the dining room. With Lennard busy at the clinic recently, it fell to Cloud to make lunch and clean the house.

"Your cooking has certainly improved. I still remember those blue carrots you made and the porridge that you boiled into a pancake," said Reira as she sat down and looked at the meal.

"Someone's written a very detailed recipe," replied Cloud as he looked at his mother meaningfully, "and I just found that cooking is quite similar to doing biological experiments. I just need to combine the right ingredient and process."

Reira chuckled at the comparison as she ate, but she noticed Cloud didn't look happy.

"Mother, I've been thinking, maybe I can find someone outside of the Canyon who can help you. There has to be a way."

"Cloud, I appreciate your concern, but I've been ill for years. It's already spread all over. There's no way to remove all of them."

"What if we find some effective drugs? Maybe you could live a little longer if I went to Midgar and found a new medicine they just invented."

"That will only postpone the inevitable, it won't make much of a difference, not to mention that Midgar is on another continent. Besides, some treatments I've been through are insufferable. I'd much prefer living my final days without bad side effects."

"I don't know. It's just happening so fast. There are so many things we can do together if you could use a few more months. If only I had discovered it earlier..." Cloud had realized the colors of her aura were muddy in some places but didn't know what that had meant. He'd thought that was just her being sad for her lost child. Now that he knew what to look for, he could trace the dark patterns underneath the bright colors of her aura.

"I've made my peace with it. I don't regret anything I've done. It's a fulfilled life and you are the final piece of the puzzle."

"I just hope you can live longer, even if it's just one more day."

"I know. I want more time with you, too."

Two months later, Reira passed away in her sleep. Cloud still thought of her every night after that.

On his twelfth birthday, Cloud received a present from his father. He opened the box and found a hunting knife within it. He took out the knife, it looked well preserved, had a handle made of bone, with one materia slot carved within it. There was also a reddish-brown sheath that could be attached to a belt.

"Thank you, father, it looks well made."

"I bought it from a weapon seller when I was young, haven't used it for a long while. I thought it might be useful on your journey."

"What journey?"

"Cloud, I know you've been saving for that purpose for years. You have maps of towns and settlements on your wall. You even had tourist guidebooks on your desk. I'm surprised you haven't left already."

"But... I thought it was too early to start the tour. What about the house and the clinic, all the animals in that shed? I don't want to leave you alone here."

"I can always take less work. I have a feeling you have a larger part to play on this planet instead of being stuck here, so go and explore the world, son. I'll be fine on my own."

Cloud nodded gratefully. "I'll come back once I finish a tour around the Planet."

"Watch out for Shinra. Now that they're gaining ground in the war, they have more supporters across the world. Just try to stay away from them and keep a low profile."

"I will, father." Cloud used to look through newspapers to find news about his biological father who fought for Shinra in the Wutai war as a Soldier. But after he got closer to the Donovans, he got out of that habit. It felt like a betrayal to his foster parents for him to pay so much attention to a father that might not even know of his existence.

A week later, Cloud and Nanaki said goodbye to their friends and families near the town's entrance. The other kids had found him weird and didn't like him at first, but they had gradually warmed up to him with Nanaki's help.

Nanaki's parents used to travel across the world when they were young. "We still do it every century," said Nanaki's mother to her child. "I suppose it's your turn now. Just observe and learn. It's your duty to watch over the planet for the long years to come, so try not to act rashly and get yourself killed."

"Please look after our son," said Seto to Cloud.

Nanaki found it strange that all the human children grew up so much faster than him. He had met Cloud years ago and thought him way younger than himself, but now they were of the same age in human reckoning. It seemed that both his mind and body were maturing slowly compared to human kids.

Cloud wore a stuffed knapsack and a pair of brown boots. He had saved plenty of gil from assisting Lennard in the clinic and running errands for Bugenhagen, and he supposed he could find some odd jobs if he ever needed more. He bought a lightning materia and a combat knife at the local shop. Nanaki got his newly made headdresses and a haircut like a Mohawk. He also had a fire materia in one of his bangles.

They dived into the Ancient Forest right after leaving the Canyon, running along thick tree branches and using the hanging tongues of flowers to jump across trees. It turned out that the flesh-eating flowers couldn't digest larger victims as the rumors had said. Cloud had been kicked by a giant bird and fell into a flower on their first day, only to be spat out seconds later with only a few scratches.

They made a good pair, with Nanaki dealing hard blows at close range, and Cloud firing bolt spells or throwing out knives at their enemy from a distance.

"Cloud, I thought you could push the monster away with your mind. Why are you even using a knife when no one else is around?" asked Nanaki as he burnt the leaf monster with fire and collected the gil it left behind. The density of monsters is particularly high in the forest.

"Living things are surrounded by their spirit energy, it'll take a lot of concentration to throw them away. It's much easier cutting through them with a solid object," replied Cloud as his knife flew back into his open hand. "Speaking of which, how do your new headdresses help with fighting? I don't see-"

Cloud stopped mid-sentence to throw a bolt spell just as a giant purple monster with wings fell from the sky to land behind them. It dodged the lightning bolt but was caught in Nanaki's fire spell. Brushing away the fire completely unharmed, it lunged at Nanaki who jumped sideways. The monster failed to avoid the second bolt spell thrown by Cloud, and the red pup took the chance to pounce on it, knocking it to the ground. Cloud jumped up and stabbed its stomach before pulling out his hunting knife, making sure the monster couldn't attack again.

Cloud searched its back. "That's a lot of gil," he said while putting the money in his knapsack. "How did these monsters even get them anyway? It's not like they have people to loot here in this forest."

Nanaki shook his head. "No idea, I'm just glad I obtained more gil in these two days than the past two years." He even found a red summon materia on top of a tree, which neither of them had experience using.

"Summons are rare and difficult to cast. I've only ever used magic materia before I left the laboratory," said Cloud.

They arrived at Gongaga soon after leaving the forest. It was a small town with a reactor and a hot and damp climate. Whenever they reached a village or a town, Cloud would start looking for an Ancient. He couldn't exactly ask around in reactor towns as that might draw the attention of Shinra, so he could only open his mind to sense the people there, trying to comb through the crowd for any anomaly subtly. He didn't know what to expect but surely an Ancient would give off a different aura or something that would distinguish them from humans, right?

After leaving Gongaga, they headed for Nibelheim at Cloud's insistence. Neither of them felt like visiting the town, but Cloud wanted to be thorough in his search. Nibelheim was a backwater town with a gloomy atmosphere and only one inn for them to stay in.

"Cloud, if one of those scientists recognized you and put us on their capture list, I will run away without you," The 39-year-old pup warned Cloud, apparently still very wary of the scientists in Shinra Manor by whom he had been held prisoner once.

"I'll look out for Shinra personnel, I promise. Just a couple of days and we can leave. We won't even go near the Manor," said Cloud as he pulled off the bandana that hid his distinctive hair.

Despite what he had said, Nanaki left the inn with Cloud the next morning to look around the town. Nanaki still refused to talk to anyone in town, not wanting to draw attention to himself. They saw a preteen with long black hair practicing martial arts at the foot of the mountain. She was graceful in her movement and very agile. The girl noticed the duo and started running towards them.

"Hiya, when did you arrive? We don't see many outsiders here."

"We are just passing through. We will be gone in a couple of days. Is the Shinra Manor still in use?" Cloud asked the girl, wanting to know if the scientists were still doing experiments there. Nanaki flicked his tail beside him disapprovingly.

"It is. But the staff barely come out of there. Some said they heard monsters howling inside it at nights and no one else dared to go in." She looked at Nanaki curiously. "Are you planning to go there? I'm Tifa, you are-?"

"Name's Cloud. No, we are not going to the Manor. I just heard of it from a traveler before. He said the Manor had been built along with the first-ever mako reactor in the Nibel mountains," answered Cloud.

"If I were you, I'd stay as far away as possible from both sites, unless you have other companions who can protect you," Tifa said. "Where are you going? Midgar?"

"You can say that. We'll probably stay there for a longer time."

"Are you going to meet Sephiroth then? The boys here won't stop talking about him." Shinra had been overwhelming the Wutai forces recently with the unsurpassed strength of their silver-haired General. Cloud wondered if he would be living a life like Sephiroth if he hadn't managed to escape the labs. Maybe he'd have to fight wars for Shinra as a child. He once dreamed of becoming a Soldier when he was still in the labs, but that dream had been lost a long time ago.

"Probably not. I don't think I can ever look for a job within Shinra," admitted Cloud.

Tifa looked a little disappointed. She glanced at the combat knife in his belt. "Will you spar with me before you go then?"

"Umm... I haven't sparred with anyone before. I'm not good at martial arts." He had only fought monsters with his knives in the past. He didn't know how to throw a punch properly, let alone fight someone with his bare hands.

A couple of local kids ran to them. "Tifa, who's this?"

"He's a passing traveler. I'm trying to get a spar out of him since none of you will spar with me nowadays."

"Poor kid." The other kids looked Cloud over and sneered at his skinny frame. "I bet he would cry over his broken ribs if he fights you."

"That won't happen. I've always been careful. Bob broke his ribs when he fell down the stairs, not because of me," retorted Tifa.

"Hey Tifa, if you don't mind, I can try it out using my combat knife," said Cloud realizing that the girl must have been starving for a challenge from children of her age.

"Of course I don't," said Tifa with confidence. "Just a friendly spar, nothing more than a few bruises, okay?"

"All right," replied Cloud. Nanaki seemed to perk up a little at the turn of events. The other children also stood at a distance to watch the fight with interest.

Cloud unsheathed his combat knife as Tifa put on her leather gloves. Carefully tempering his speed, Cloud attacked first with the knife in his right hand. Tifa took a step forward and pushed his hand aside with her right wrist. She took another step and turned towards his back, catching his left wrist and stretching it behind his back. Cloud jumped on instinct and turned round in mid-air to be released of his wrist, hitting her left shoulder with the flat of his knife before landing, not putting much strength behind it. Tifa jumped back in time to lessen the impact.

Tifa rubbed her shoulder and gritted her teeth. Suddenly she rushed forward and in a fast motion, slid on the ground to kick her leg out, trying to trip him up. Cloud jumped almost five feet to dodge the kick. They exchanged a couple of fists and blocks. Just as Cloud shot out his knife aiming toward her abdomen, Tifa lifted her left leg for a kick, making him duck sideways. But the kick never came. Instead, his right hand was caught and with a quick twist of her hand, his combat knife dropped to the ground.

A punch came at his chest which he clumsily blocked with the back of his left hand. He tried to kick her with his knee which she sidestepped. The punch he threw was intercepted when Tifa seized his wrist and stepped closer, throwing out a fist he shouldn't be able to dodge if he wasn't mako enhanced. He didn't move out of the way before being punched in his chest. The impact left him stumbling backward and falling flat on his back.

Tifa bent down to pull him up. "Not bad, Cloud. You are fast but you could use some experience in fighting. If you stay here for a little longer, Master Zangan will probably agree to teach you if we ask him nicely. You have the physical potential to be a martial artist."

"Thanks for that, but we still have places to go so we really can't stay long. Maybe next time," replied Cloud.

"Fine, who knows. Maybe we'll meet again someday in Midgar," said Tifa before he bid her goodbye to continue their search around the town.

They left Nibelheim two days later, unable to find anyone related to the Cetra race, much to Nanaki's relief. They spent a couple of weeks in a Rocket town still under construction before moving on to Corel, a coal-mining town. The town was standing in the middle of a quicksand desert and was suffering from economic decline due to the rise of mako usage. Costa del Sol was their last stop on the Central Continent. The warm and sunny weather in the world-renowned resort was a feast for the duo after weeks of crossing mountains and valleys in cold weather.

Cloud was casually playing football with Nanaki and a couple of kids on the beach when a man with long greasy hair among many other beachgoers caught his eyes. The middle-aged scientist was lying on a deckchair surrounded by several girls in bikinis but had a pair of sunglasses on his nose instead of his usual round glasses. Cloud stood frozen in shock, old fear trained into him creeping up his spine. Nanaki noticed his anxiety and bit into the back of his shirt to drag him to a place near the vendors.

"What's the matter, Cloud? You look as if you've just seen a ghost."

"Gaia, Hojo's there! He never takes vacations. Something must be happening." Cloud's hands were clammy as he checked for the bandana that he thankfully kept on despite the hot weather.

"Who's Hojo?"

"He's one of the top scientists working for Shinra. We can't let him see us. He knows me and you will certainly attract his interest. We have to board the next ship that leaves this continent."

Nanaki signed. "Fine. We can take the ship to the Northern continent then."

"Professor Hojo, we've found the wounded soldiers in Wutai. One First Class, three Second Class, and six Third Class Soldiers are alive, but the other Soldiers and troopers are all dead. Where would you like to send them?" asked Veld at the other end of the phone.

"Transport those who are still alive to the underground facility for treatment. The President has already approved of it. Send a notification that all those soldiers, whether dead or not, are now on the list of killed in action." Shinra's army had made significant progress in the Wutai war. They could win the war in a year or so. The company didn't need that many Soldiers anymore, and they could always make more if necessary.

Hojo put his PHS back on the table in his villa feeling satisfied. With the Soldiers being secretly sent into Deepground, he now had plenty of ready-made enhanced specimens to test out the microchips and the metamorphosis theory he had been formulating. If the experiments were to succeed, it would make it possible for him to download his brilliant mind into one of the strongest warriors on the planet when his own body fails him.

AN: Thanks for reading! Feel free to comment or leave criticism!