It had been a week since Tifa kicked me out of her bar. That night I went home and just laid in my bed replaying the events of our date over and over again. Tifa was my new best friend. She had been a childhood friend and she was the one who introduced me to Barret, which started the events that led to where we were now. I knew I was wrong for acting like I did but I couldn't control it. My guilt for what happened to Zack and Aerith had been eating me alive and my inner barrier had built its way to the point where nothing really mattered. The words that people spoke to me were empty and barren, having no meaning and I found that trying to show emotion was just as difficult. Why did I treat Tifa like that?

That same night I had the dream about Zack again. It replayed in picture perfect fashion the same way it had been. From our escape at Nibelheim to the ship ride to Junon, to his meaningless death at the hands of those soldiers outside of Midgar. I saw myself crying hysterically as he died and I buried him at that hill. If he could ever forgive me…let me know I wasn't responsible for his death, maybe things would change. But that was a filthy damn lie and I knew it. Zack died because of me. We were so close to Midgar and if I hadn't of been so weak we would have made it in time to avoid the soldiers sent after us. I was wholly responsible for Zack's murder.

A new occurrence had taken place in the last night though; a new one replaced my dream about Zack. I found myself dreaming about Aerith. Similar to the style of the nightmare about Zack this one played out my time spent with Aerith Gainsborough. I saw it all. It started off with me slowly coming to and finding a beautiful young woman kneeling next to me, caressing my forehead and asking me if I was okay. As my vision settled I recognized her as the flower girl I met after escaping the No. 1 Mako Reactor. She helped me sit up and I rubbed at the back of my head, which was throbbing.

"You took a pretty big fall. Crashed through the roof and landed in the flowerbed. At least you had a soft landing."

Her voice was so angelic. It sounded so pristine and beautiful that it made me forget about the throbbing pain in the back of my head or that Tifa and Barret were probably worried sick about me. She helped me stand and walk to a pew to sit down. The rest plays in quickly in a collage of scenes.

She takes me to her home where I meet her mother. With a laugh of true entertainment she watches me put on that damn dress and wig and christens me "Ms. Cloud." I bust open the containment tank in Hojo's lab and help her out. We're riding on the boat to Costa Del Sol and she helps Yuffie keep her mind off her motion sickness. She always was helpful like that. To the Golden Saucer where the two of us are riding some of the rides and just having a great time. She wraps her arms around one of mine and leans in resting her head on my shoulder. From being her bodyguard to possibly something else, our relationship has grown over the time we've spent together since first meeting in that church.

"Aerith…I think I'm in lo…."

Before the dream Cloud can finish his sentence darkness fills the area around her and I see her eyes widen. Her hands are gripping at something and to my horror I see a long blade protruding from her stomach. Her hands lightly grasp the blade and blood begins to trickle from the corners of her precious mouth. Behind her stands him, my arch nemesis. Sephiroth stands there, a look with no emotions on his face. He slowly pulls the blade from her and she falls forward, splashing into the water.

"YOU SON OF A BITCH!"

I draw my Buster Sword and charge towards him. The only thing I can think is that Aerith is dead and I have to kill Sephiroth. I leap into the air and come down towards him, sword raised and ready to strike. As I swing my Buster Sword it clangs against a sort of force field that causes the sword to vibrate violently in my hands and I drop it, letting it sink into the water. It doesn't matter, weapon or no weapon I plan to kill him. Letting out a battle cry I run towards him and throw a punch, but find it hits the same force field. I throw several more punches and a kick but they all land on the invisible barrier that is protecting him.

As Aerith's body sinks lower into the water Sephiroth smirks at me, taunting me. He laughs and just sneers at me knowing that I can't hurt him. I snatch my blade from the water where it floats and rear back before slinging it forward with all the strength I can muster. It clangs loudly against his Masamune and a struggle of power begins between the two of us. Try as I might Sephiroth is amazingly strong and he seems to be pushing me back with incredible ease. As our blades continue to draw closer he sneers again and I jump back to put some space between us. I raise the sword and charge at him, sword raised and ready to strike.

Then I wake up. I'm in my single bed in my room in the cottage and all is pitch black. I sit up and run a hand through my spiked locks and rub at my burning eyes. I look to the clock on the nightstand by my bed and the glowing red numbers indicate it's still early morning. I have a few more hours left until the alarm will go off. I flop back heavily onto the mattress and kick the sheets off my body. I turn onto my side and pull my pillow close to my head, snuggling it next to me. I let out a heavy sigh and begin to think about Aerith again. She was the girl that Zack spoke of on our ride back to Midgar and I had no idea. How could I have known? Aerith is the other part of my nightmare. Her summoning of Holy did more than anybody else in our party and yet I still couldn't save her.

The truly worst part was that I fell in love with her and she died. I couldn't stop Sephiroth from killing her. Am I being punished for her death too? Is that why the nightmare tonight was about her instead of Zack? Why did I love her? Was it truly me that loved her or was it one of Zack's memories that I stole playing with my emotions? I just didn't know. The worst part of this whole thing was that I hadn't an idea of what was Cloud and what was Zack. I did my best to force those thoughts from my head and just pulled my pillow around my head, holding it tightly. When I closed my eyes I could see Aerith standing in the church in the slums smiling at me and holding out a marigold in her hands, extending it to me in some type of offering. I open my eyes and stare into the darkness that fills the room, trying to keep my mind blank.

"BRRRRRRR! BRRRRR! BRRRRR! BRRRRR!"

The alarm blasts loudly and I roll over in my bed with a heavy groan. I feel around blindly for it and finally grab it, fumbling for the button on top to make the infernal and incessant blaring stop. Finally I press the right button and the clock starts screaming in my ear. I sit up in the bed and stretch, listening to some of my joints snap and pop. I step from the bed and stagger towards the bathroom to get ready for my day. I have an hour and a half to get to Tifa's to pick up the first of the day's packages.

--

My motorcycle pulls to a stop outside Tifa's bar and I step from it. As I walk up the steps to the bar the door opens to meet me. Instead of Tifa, Marlene Wallace walks out holding a package wrapped in brown paper with a yellow label atop. She smiles at me and hands it to me. As I take it she looks up to me and her expression becomes more serious.

"I'm sorry, Cloud. Tifa said she doesn't want to see you right now. She told me to bring the package to you and to tell you to be careful. If it makes you feel better, I'm still your friend."

She stepped forward and hugged me and it did something inside of me. Marlene's grip was warm and the hug of the child helped to chip away some of my cold emotional barrier. I hugged her back and she smiled a big smile at me before turning to sprint back into the bar. The door closed and I turned to head back to bike. I opened the trunk and before looking to the label atop the brown paper. What was written there surprised me.

Cid Highwind

Rocket Town

Express Delivery

"Cid, huh? I haven't seen that crazy asshole since the Northern Crater. This should an interesting delivery."

I slipped the package into the mini-trunk on my bike and climbed on. After a kick-start the bike roared loudly to life and peeled out, smoke actually coming from the tires as they sped off the ground. I rode away in a hurry from Tifa's and out onto the open road again. As the bike sped along I let out a deep breath and leaned back, getting comfortable for the long ride to Rocket Town.

--

It took a few hours and a quick stop in some small town whose name I can't remember for a fill-up, but I finally made it to Rocket Town. I pulled in to the town and slowed down the speed of the motorcycle to a comfortable speed so I could drive through the main part of the city without being bitched at by some "concerned citizen." I pulled to a stop in front of Cid's house and stood from the bike.

My knock fell gently on the door several times and it opened a moment later. Shera still looked how I remembered. Her long brown hair was pulled back in with a simple ponytail though most of it was still wild and free. Her thin glasses framed her face and they did look good on her. She stared at me a moment before smiling and stepping back, her hands in the pockets of her white coat.

"Hi, Cloud. How have you been?"

"Things have been okay. My new business keeps me busy. I haven't had to pick up my sword since starting there."

"That's good. So, you're in the delivery business now, right?"

"Yeah. I have a package here for Cid."

"Oh! The parts for his new airship engine have arrived then. He's been expecting these. Come in, sit, I'll go get Cid for you."

I stepped into their house and followed Shera as she headed towards the back door. I looked out a window at the back of the house and saw what looked like a huge hunk of metal that sort of resembled an airship but still needed a lot of work. Before Shera reached the back door we could hear the angry yelling of the great Cid Highwind followed by the sound of several kicks being delivered. Even through closed doors and windows his voice still carried.

"GOD DAMNIT! FUCKING RUSTED OVER CONTRAPTION FROM THE SPAWNS OF HELL!"

Shera grimaced and turned back to me. We were all used to Cid's language but it still bothered Shera. As she opened the door and led me out we caught sight of Cid charging towards the partially constructed airship with his harpoon raised over his head to attack. I found the sight amusing and had to stifle a laugh. Shera's eyes went wide and she yelled out, her yell overpowering Cid's.

"YAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH!"

"CID! STOP!"

The famed pilot stumbled forward a few clumsy steps and dropped his harpoon. He turned to look at Shera and made a face like a kid who just got caught with a hand in the cookie jar. Shera pointed towards me and the look on Cid's face changed. He smiled and began to walk over to us. Shera patted me on the shoulder and then turned to head back into the house. As Cid drew closer he pulled a cigarette pack from his pants pocket and pulled one out. He placed the nicotine filled stick in his mouth and lit it up with a silver flip-top lighter. He blew out a mouthful of smoke and then gave me a stiff punch to the arm.

"Cloud Fucking Strife! About goddamn time you got your spikey ass out my way!"

Same old Cid. We shook hands and then I held the package to him. His face lit up and he took it from me and began ripping it open. He was a full-grown man acting like a kid on Christmas morning as he ripped into the package. He removed something that looked like a carburetor or some type of gear shift and smiled at it proudly. He began to toss it up into the air and caught it each time it came back down.

"Hot damn, it finally came! Maybe now I can get that old shit bucket to start up."

He motioned to the airship he was about to destroy a moment ago as he placed the carburetor back into the box and closed it. He held it in his free hand while he kept the lit cigarette clenched between his teeth. He took a drag from it and blew it out using the precision and skill only a full on chain smoker could possess. I looked back at him after examining his new ship and nodded, giving my approval. It was an impressive ship, even if it was far away from flying in its current state.

"Nice work, Cid. New model?"

"The latest. I'm going to name her Shera in honor of my lady. A great ship deserves an even greater name."

"Your lady?"

Now my interest was piqued. Still grinning with a cigarette clenched between his lips Cid held up his free hand and I saw a silver band wrapped around his ring finger. He nodded his approval.

"I asked her to marry me and she said yes. We haven't set a date or anything though. Right now we're just engaged. So, how are things between you and Tifa? You decided to pop the question to her yet?"

My blue eyes widened as my chest stiffened. Tifa wasn't even speaking to me at the moment so we were far away from being in love. I did my best to play it cool and just casually shook my head. Cid chuckled and then began to cough as some of the smoke form his cigarette wafted into his throat. He spit the smoke onto the ground and stomped it out as he hunched over and began to cough loudly. He slammed a fist into his chest a few times and then stood up, wiping away some tears from his eyes.

"Fuck, Cloud! I figured you would have asked that little lady to hitch up with you by now. Reeve and me have us a bet going to see how long it would take! You better not make me lose to that rich fucker!"

I took a deep breath to remain calm. I blew up at Tifa and she nearly broke my nose and kicked me out of the bar. Plus, she still wasn't speaking to me. Knowing Cid's temper if I blew up at him he'd probably beat the living shit out of me and curse up nine demons while doing it. After a moment of having my eyes closed to control myself I opened them and laughed. Surprisingly the laugh felt good as if it humor really was the best therapy. I had to change the subject and quick.

"So…. you stay in touch with anybody else?"

Cid had already replaced his stomped out cigarette with a fresh one and was busy taking a long draw of the toxin filled smoke into his lungs. As he blew it out he had a look on his face like he was thinking. He looked back to me and nodded.

"Vincent is over at Nibelheim. He came by here a few days ago and I did some work on his Shin-Ra arm and cleaned up his weapons for him. Like usual the little Goth bastard barely said more than five words to me. Yesterday a message came from Wutai. Yuffie and her old man want to use Little Bronco for some diplomatic trip. That's all I've heard from. You? How're Tifa and Barret? That little girl of his?"

"Tifa's fine. She helps me run Strife Delivery Service. Marlene is staying with her while Barret's out in Corel doing some work. The two of them keep the bar and my business running well enough."

Before the conversation could be pursued further the door opened and Shera stuck her head out. She said something to Cid about a phone call from the mayor and that he needed Cid's help. Cid looked back to me and actually removed the cancer stick from his mouth when he spoke. He gripped me firmly on my right shoulder.

"I need to go handle this. Thanks for bringing the part to me, Cloud. You take care of your crazy ass, huh? When I get Shera up and running we'll have us a big fucking reunion…you, me, Tifa, Vincent, Barret, Yuffie, Red, Cait…. We'll all go on a big ass air ride and get reacquainted. Sound good?"

I nodded and smiled some. I was interested in seeing everyone again and taking an airship ride sounded fun. Tifa may have thought I was some asshole but I was still Cloud inside. I just needed to break the frozen shell inside me and let him out more often. As I headed back through the house to where my motorcycle was Shera stopped me and paid me for delivering the package. I thanked her and headed out the front door.