Author Note: Long time no...type... Anywhoo, Cloud Leonheart has nothing to do with FF7 or Square Enix... except that I'm a fan.

Chapter 2: Adjustment

Seven hours later, Aeris came to in her bed, back in Rocket Town.

"Nnnh...?" She looked around. All alone... Where's Cloud? She looked around, nothing had changed at all. The photo of her and Cloud from his 24th birthday was still on her bedside table, the Holy materia that had saved the world was still there, in fact, the only thing that had changed was her. It was only yesterday that Cloud had been the same as ever, but now... Now, the Cloud she knew and loved was gone. Replaced by someone with the same name and personality, but he was now a she. Why...?

Downstairs, Cloud was struggling to deal with the change too. "If I knew Cid was going to fucking do this to me... I would've fucking beaten him over the fucking head as soon as I fucking met him." She looked around the room. Everything was the same as it had been when she left it. The computer was still there, with the cover still on, the shelves were slightly uneven, and the photo that was next to the computer was still there, in the same frame that it had been put in. Picking it up, tears began to flow from Cloud's eyes. The photo was the one that had been taken of him and Aeris on her 24th birthday, when they decided to celebrate it by dressing up as each other, back in the days when things were normal.

Eventually, both of them decided that this was really happening, and decided to figure out what to do. When they decided to discuss it, they looked like nothing had changed whilst talking. Cloud took a deep breath and got herself together before starting to speak.

"Aeris... Look, I know things are different to how they used to be... But that doesn't mean that I don't love you anymore." Aeris nodded in agreement, and Cloud continued. "Thing is though, we'll have to change a few things to get life as close as back to normal as we can." Aeris decided that now was as good a time to speak as any, so she went ahead and spoke,

"Yeah... first thing that needs changing is your wardrobe!" They both burst into laughter at this, "Well I'm right!" Cloud nodded and wiped a tear from her eye.

"It's like Wall Market all over again."

Meanwhile, VII was busy attempting to deal with Cid's newest captive. A hooded figure, probably in his late twenties, or early thirties, was struggling in the ex-SOLDIER's vicious grip. When they entered torture chamber 6, the captive's jaw dropped. Cid was sitting down on the stool designed for allowing him to reach smaller captives, smoking a cigar. The captive was first to speak, his voice as chilled as ice.

"It's been a long time Cid."

"Too fucking long. Please, have a fucking seat." The captive refused to sit down. "Suit your-fucking-self, Sephiroth."

VII left Cid and Sephiroth to go outside and think about what she's done recently. Maybe... Maybe if I went with Shera to Rocket Town, I wouldn't have to go and check on Cloud now... She buried her head in her hands, crying.

"Why... Why did I have to fucking choose Cid... out of all the fucking people in the world, CID-FUCKING-HIGHWIND." She threw a VERY strong right hook at the wall next to her, putting a hole in it. "I'LL FUCKING KILL HIM!"

Cloud and Aeris returned home three hours later, armed with eight shopping bags each. Cloud had been sensible and passed herself off as her old self, although a bit more hairgel was needed than previously thought. Either way, Cloud looked grumpier than usual whilst shopping, but had chosen a few good clothes. Getting changed, Cloud found herself in different outfits, from the insanely casual (shirt, jeans and the same old boots) to the absolutely downright party-going (black dress and insanely high heeled-shoes, which took some getting used to). In the end, she chose the insanely casual clothes for everyday, but took less obvious footwear (in the form of some trainers/sneakers/whatever). When the time came for Cloud to do the weekly shopping, she grinned at Aeris, and spoke defiantly:

"No matter what's changed, I'm still going to do the weekly shopping." With that, she walked off to do as she said.

Back with Cid and Sephiroth, Cid was clearly having pleasure in causing pain to Sephiroth.

"Take that, fucking son-of-a-hermophrodite-bitch!" Sephiroth bit his scream of pain back, resorting to the good old

"FUCK YOURSELF!" Cid took this really badly, bringing out a surgeon's set.

"I'll fuck myself once I've fucked you."

VII heard a scream of pain, and instantly recognised what was going on.

"I've got to save him!" She went through the door, through the seemingly endless corridor, burst through into the torture chamber, and although she was too late, knocked Cid down to the ground with her trademark right hook. "Cold-hearted bastard."

"You're not too different, Third-Class Sudanski." VII phased out to part of her first day as a SOLDIER.

"Get a grip, and stop fucking griping, Gripen!" Three new recruits were in the back of a jeep, going over very rough terrain. The youngest, Vincent Gripen, suffered from travel sickness a lot, so the group was leaving a trail behind them. The oldest, Minak Sudanski, was hard-as-nails, but was suprisingly the lowest-ranked of the three. Third Class, whilst Gripen and the only female amongst them, Lucrecia Leonheart, were Second Class. The jeep kept launching off large hills, causing Vincent to complain more, but when they swerved around to get past a Dragon, the jeep overturned, and only one is thought to have survived.

When VII got her bearings back, she smacked Cid right where it hurts with her mighty right hook.

"THAT ONE'S FOR CLOUD." She smacked him there again with her right hook, "THAT ONE'S FOR SEPHIROTH." She wound up her Dragon Fist limit break attack and smashed it right into Cid's nether-regions, "AND THAT ONE'S FOR ME!" Sephiroth just looked on in complete surprise, before being knocked out and dragged away towards Rocket Town.

Cloud came back from the shopping run early, her eyes somewhat warmer-looking than usual.

"Look who I found wandering around." She put the shopping down in front of a bewildered Aeris, then dragged in a person in a black jacket, with the hood up. Aeris just raised a curious eyebrow,

"Drop the hood." The person made a light squeaking noise, then dropped her hood... long, knee-length silver hair sprawled out from underneath, and a face so familiar even Aeris struggled to believe that it'd happened to him.

"S...SEPHIROTH?"

Mwahaha, none of the FFVII men are safe.