Death of a friend

Bang! BANG! BANG-BANG!

The barren lands leading up to the city of Midgar- from a ledge which looked down on what was once a sloping down, beautiful valley- came, rain, darkness- silence. Cloud's eyes shifted- the colour red was the last thing he remembered- he was lying down collapsed after his epic battle with Sephiroth when he feinted- and now he was awake again.

At first his eyes refused the light around him- what had been 4 years at that peaceful, shielded moment was a brief reprieve in which Shinra had not yet arrived. In his mind, he had not been betrayed by those he aspired to be great for- he had not been sold out by Shinra- for a moment in time he thought of the rewards of defeating his rival- the man who had lost his sanity.

But then came reality- the soft rain washed this away and the colour seeped into his eyes once more- he expected to wince from the pain- but found his wounds had healed- and that the blood around him was not his own. His eyes widened and he sat up on his hands awkwardly- he was looking at the sky- he was not in a reactor- and he looked out to the breathtaking view of the half drained vast below and the looming clouds he could almost reach up and touch.

"Cloud…" a struggle.

And Cloud looked down to the side- his eyes glowing in horror- he not only saw this man he had grown close to during their service together- but he saw the soldiers approach with their firearms as they were surrounded and trapped with a cliff hanging below- he saw them fire at him and Zack lunge in the way- missing his own bullets- shielding Cloud from his- even though this had already happened and now he saw the aftermath. Zack was dying- and he would live. Despite now being mostly aware of how Zack had taken care of him until now- he would die and Cloud would live. Cloud sat over the ever grinning warrior- staring death in the face and giving it the middle finger- and his hands tightened as his eyes watered.

"Shinra will pay"- he began to tell his friend.

"Nah… there's no point Cloud. People like us- who get in Shinra's way, we die every day- nothing can be done about it. And it's not just Shinra- it happens all over the place- people you though were great are actually real jerks- you and I know that." And he let out a groan as blood seeped from his mouth.

"So basically…life's a bitch?" Cloud's tears fell from his face as Zack's grin widened and he managed a nod. "Zack,"

"Hey- there's…no reason for you…to give up… remember what I said- you can still…do it. Hey, you beat Sephi…roth…you can do anything you want- just think about it," he told Cloud.

"It's like I can remember everything- with you- what you said- and it makes me so… you could still…be a mercenary…" he swallowed.

"Nope- got nothing… left…if you…remember then…I don't have to explain- just be Cloud…" Zack asked.

"Be Cloud? I… don't understand…alright Zack- I will… I won't let you down- I'll do just what you wanted to- because you saved my life- because like you said- it does rake in the cash…" he breathed with a weak smile.

"Hah…ha… thanks… see you- Cloud…" Zack's eyes rose and he faded out of his body- and Cloud's smile faded with him.

He sat back and away from the body with a blank expression. Zack should have lived. Zack was the one who was a match to Sephiroth- but who had defeated the man? Who was the man laying there anyway? And he reached down and took his buster sword in his hand whilst still staring. He had decided to become a mercenary after Shinra betrayed him- they just did- this man was- who was he? Yes- he had faced Sephiroth- but when?

Not at the reactor… he was alone there- he would have died if it weren't for- Shinra- Zack- experiments- shootings- his victory and the mass of mako. Everyone on his way to Midgar noticed it- a soldier with glowing eyes- what was wrong with him? No- nothing- then who was that? This body was a stranger on a journey to Midgar much like himself… his death was due to some kind of anger of Shinra. And yet he was fine- and everything he thought he knew about this man- everything that he'd been told to him- he took on his own.

"I should be dead but you are- you were the only one of us who was strong- and you died protecting a weakling like me- so I'll live your life as my own- I won't feel less guilt or pain- but I just won't think about it until it fades away. I'll put you to rest. I'll become strong to be able to say that I am you but also myself- in the most part- this double personality will allow me to heal and live and be strong."

Seventh Heaven

"There he is…" the train attendant spoke to the young girl who had made a life for herself in the sector 7 slums in Midgar.

Tifa looked over in shock and ran over to the man who sat 'licking his wounds' by the platform- seemingly disorientated until he saw her and stood in surprise. Tifa stared hard at Cloud- she hadn't seen him for 5 years- ever since the reactor incident- in which she had received no explanation. And at her gentle prying, Cloud looked her over, seemingly pleased to meet her again but without so much as a flicker from his mouth to suggest a smile of any kind.

"Oh, I've been doing alright. After what happened, I decided to leave soldier," he told her- and she stood back…so, he had come from soldier like the other two, but she was actually still confused- but at least he wasn't a soldier anymore- yet she could not take her eyes off his huge sword- a huge sword at least the length of herself- not many men could wield such a thing so not many were made- and in their rarity Cloud owned one that looked very familiar to her.

"I'm a mercenary at the moment," he explained, "only I've been finding it hard to get work around here- there's not much work here that offers good pay - I might just move on."

That was it- she just had to ask. "Cloud…you've not been in contact with me for 4 years… didn't Zaagan or Zack tell you where I'd gone?" she began, when Cloud folded his arms and his eyes narrowed- she withdrew- was he in pain or…something else? He turned- but she couldn't let him go- something wasn't right.

"Well," he winced, as the blood started to soak through his clothes from recent rough travelling, "I'll be seeing you,"

"Wait a minute!" Tifa called, and he turned back- even if something was wrong, he was still chocobo haired Cloud, wasn't he? And he looked at her inquiringly. "Well, it's just that I think I might know someone who's in dire need to hire a good sword- and even if you think the job's too unscrupulous- you look like you might need a place to stay for a night- to heal those wounds…"

His eyes narrowed harmlessly, looking down to the wound that was previously hidden by cloth, then his arms, from Tifa and himself, before nodding in agreement, and Tifa let out a triumphant smile.

"Thanks Tifa, you've always been a good friend," Cloud decided, staring at Tifa's hesitation until she just smiled again and nodded, walking first and letting him follow beside her, holding his stomach.

"So, where did you get that wound?" Tifa asked in concern, but Cloud seemed bothered by her prying and spoke quietly.

"Enemies ambushed me and got in a cheap shot, that's all, why?" Cloud replied.

"Oh, nothing!" she sang. "So, this job"-

"As long as it pays well, I'll do it," Cloud interrupted, and as they walked quietly, Tifa stared aside fondly- he had always been quiet- perhaps he wasn't so different after all- and after the events of 5 years ago, she wasn't surprised that he might have become harder and perhaps a little more mature.

1'500gil was offered to blow up a reactor? That sounded easy enough- and the man with a gun arm who stared at him with suspicious eyes had little time to speak to Cloud as his daughter Marlene came into view. She gaped in awe at the warrior with his huge sword who simply looked the other way. In fact, the other members of this AVALANCHE seemed impressed by him too, if at all a little wary of whom he used to work for- those that knew, of course. But Tifa insisted that he could be trusted, after all he was a childhood friend- to which Barret nodded silently and drew them together to form the final plan for their strategy.

And as Cloud sat and listened intensely, Tifa watched him carefully, the glow in his eyes, the hard yet somewhat vacant expression during pauses- he had not been like that 5 years ago- even if she did only meet him briefly- his eyes glimmered like anyone else's and not even soldiers received that much recognition from their eyes. What had happened- could she even get him to open up to her? If not, then the most important thing was to stay close by.