Disclaimer: I do not own Final Fantasy VII or any of its characters. All rights belong to Square-Enix.

A/N: I'm baaaaaack! You guys miss me? Unfortunately, I don't have chapters just waiting to be uploaded cause I could never get any work done on this trip ;;. But, I will work twice as fast to give you all as many chapters as I can before I have to leave again. This time I'm moving to KY rather than just visiting. I'm pretty psyched about it. Well anyway, thanks for all your reviews. They have helped me a lot and make me a better writer. Hope you enjoy the latest installment!

Final Fantasy VII: Sin's Past

Chapter 8: Remembering Old Days

Cloud was sitting alone at the lunch table. It seemed that his social awkwardness had followed him from Nibelheim. As he sat alone while eating his lunch, Cloud began to think of everyone he knew. He missed his mother; but most of all, he missed Tifa. He had joined SOLDIER to earn her friendship. More importantly, he joined SOLDIER to win her affection, and to be a man Tifa could respect and love. The training was hard. Sometimes too hard. In his heart, Cloud wanted to just forget SOLDIER and go home. But the fear of facing Tifa as a failure scared him even more than his drill instructors. He would continue down his current path, no matter how hard it was. While Cloud was lost in his thoughts, Zetrion sat down in front of him. "Hey Cloud!" he said cheerfully. Cloud didn't hear him the first time. Zetrion waved his hand in front of Cloud's face to bring him back to reality. "Hellooo? Earth to Cloud." Cloud abruptly left his zombie-like state. At the first glance of Zetrion, Cloud jumped from being startled. He felt as if Zetrion had just appeared out of thin air. While Cloud was trying to catch his breathe, Zetrion chuckled.

"You ok man?"

"Yeah. Yeah, I'm fine. Heh, sorry. I guess I zoned out."

"What were you thinking about?"

"Oh. Well… not much really. Just my hometown. My mom. This… this girl I knew."

The mere mention of this girl caught Zetrion's attention immediately. "Ahh. Was this girl… your girlfriend?" He took a sip of his drink while keeping his eyes on Cloud.

Cloud's face grew red. "N… no! No, it wasn't like that. She's just a frie… well… I guess we weren't really friends. I mean, I barely spoke to her." He started laughing to himself. "You know, I actually joined SOLDIER just so she would notice me. Never thought it would be this hard." Cloud drank some of his water.

Zetrion decided to change the subject. "So, uh, how did your exercises go?"

Cloud didn't want to think about that either. "Ugh. Horrible. My instructor wouldn't stop yelling at me. But, I think I'm getting better. How 'bout you?"

"Oh, it went well. I finished all my exercises with good timing. Some other guy blew us all away though."

"Who was he?"

"This guy with black hair like mine, 'cept it was longer. Really tall too. Well, taller than both of us at least. He'll no doubt make the cut."

"I'm just hoping this training doesn't kill me." Cloud sounded very depressed. He didn't believe that his skills were enough for the likes of SOLDIER.

Zetrion, the compassionate person he was, felt the pain that Cloud harbored in his heart. He tried to comfort Cloud as best he could. "Hey, cheer up man. It's only been a few weeks. I'm sure you'll show 'em what you're made of soon enough. You got potential, man, you just gotta unleash it, that's all. Give it time."

For some reason, Cloud found faith in Zetrion's words. Even though his hope was still faint, it seemed to be growing larger each day with Zetrion's help. Cloud let a faint smile escape his lips, a truly rare sight indeed. "Thanks, Zetrion. That means a lot to me."

Cloud blocked another strike from Zetrion, though the impact of the defensive move brought pain to his arms. Zetrion's strength seemed like it had suddenly doubled. Not just his strength, but his speed and reflexes as well. It seemed clear that since the beginning of this fight, Zetrion had been holding back. But then again… so had Cloud.

The former SOLDIER pushed Zetrion back, making him lose his balance for just the split second Cloud needed to jump on his enemy's chest, and, forcing all power to his legs, pushed off of Zetrion's torso with enough force to make the crazed villain fly backwards, just far enough for Cloud to make a quick trip to his fallen Fenrir. Cloud wasted no time backtracking to his motorcycle and opening the secret cargo holders. With as much haste as possible, Cloud reached for his other swords to combine them with his bas sword. In under ten seconds, he had completed the transformation and now held his completed First Tsurugi.

However, before Cloud had time to get back to his fight with Zetrion, he was slammed by a force unlike any other from behind. He fell face down, which much pain coursing through his body. When he was able to move again, he felt something move off of his back. As he turned his head, he quickly recognized what had hit him.

"Having some trouble?" Cloud asked.

"Shut up." Tifa sharply replied. "This guy's tougher than he looks."

Tifa spoke of the behemoth of a man she was still fighting. He slowly walked towards Tifa, wanting to resume the brawl they had just started. He cracked the knuckles in his hands before letting out a scream whilst running towards Tifa. The dark-haired beauty sprung into the air as the giant came closer. With authority, she spin kicked her opponent across the face. The pain sent coursing through his face made his feet unsteady, giving Tifa more time to perform a flying kick on his torso and cause him to fall flat on his back. Tifa landed gracefully on the ground, turning her head to Cloud. "As soon as we take care of these guys, you owe me an explanation as to why the hell they're trying to kill us!"

"I would if I knew!"

Their little squable couldn't be resumed however as Zetrion unexpectedly appeared and tackled Cloud through the door of an empty house. Tifa had to focus on her own raging battle as well as the Golith-like individual nearly took her head clean off with a powerful clothesline. Tifa managed to duck in time and avoid this attack, and quickly countered with a powerful kick into the back of her enemy. However, her opponent swiftly faced her and grabbed her leg before she could connect the blow. His powerful grip became even tighter when he lifted her off of the ground and forcefully slammed her smaller frame onto the hard surface. He did this again and again until he finally threw her body out of his grip and onto the ground, watching her frame bounce up and down before finally coming to a halt. Tifa didn't want to move, her body was in so much pain. Her stubbornness won however as she slowly started to get back on her feet.

Can I last long enough to beat him?

Before they resumed, they heard the harsh sounds of metal clashing against metal, flesh against flesh, as the war inside that house was growing more fierce between Cloud and Zetrion. With one resounding fist crashing against a face, Zetrion's body broke through the glass of a window and plummeted into his partner's chest. The next body that came out was Cloud's, though he was in better condition than his opponent. When he looked up, he found Tifa, though she looked to be in much pain. He noticed that behind her, the gang members she had previously taken care of were about to wake up. They stirred, some of them even had theirs eyes open. Cloud knew that this was a battle they couldn't win for they were both greatly outnumbered again. Cloud ran to Tifa and grabbed her by the hand, forcing her to get up quickly and start running.

"Come on, Tif! We have to go!"

"Go where! We have no place to hide!"

Cloud searched the area for a convenient escape. The front entrance would only lead them back to the wilderness, and traversing those areas without transportation was not a very wise choice. Even if they could make it far, it wouldn't be long until Zetrion's gang caught up with them. There was only one way out.

"We'll head to the mansion! We can hide there for a while!" With there new destination set, Cloud and Tifa ran past their fallen enemies and towards the mansion. Zetrion and his lackey, Ox, got to their feet in time to see the pair running for the ShinRA mansion.

"Follow them!" the maniac screamed. Ox and the other gang members were hot on their trail as soon as the order was given.

Cloud kicked the front door down, not having the time to stop for a breather. He remembered exactly where they needed to go. Swiftly, they both raced up the stairs and to the bookcase which held the secret stairway. Cloud pulled the right book and the door opened for them. "Come on!" Cloud ushered as he picked her up in his arms, not giving her time to question him. Without hesitation, Cloud jumped off the ledge and fell straight down. Burying her head in Cloud's chest, Tifa screamed from the moment Cloud jumped, and kept screaming the further they went down. In a matter of seconds, Cloud landed on his feet on the steady ground beneath him. Tifa however did not cease her screaming until she realized that the wind was no longer rushing against her face. She looked up from Cloud's chest and saw the familiar dark tunnel in front of them. Cloud set her down and took her hand again before pressing onward. They came to the secret laboratory of Dr. Hojo and locked the door behind them. Cloud scoured the room to search for something. Tifa just stood still, watching Cloud as he searched every area of the wall.

"What are you looking for?" she exclaimed. "There's no way out and they're almost here!"

Cloud paid no attention to her as he kept searching the wall. He searched for something he thought was out of place. He then came upon empty crates against the wall. Smiling as if he had just struck gold, Cloud moved the crates out of the way to reveal what he had come for: another escape route. "This tunnel leads straight into the mountains. From there we can make our way out and get back home."

"How did you know about this?"

"Zack and I used this when we broke out. As far as I know, no one else knows about it. Come on, we have to go now."

Cloud took Tifa's hand again and led her inside the tunnel. They walked for several minutes, both feeling rather claustrophobic from the lack of space. But they had no time to think about that now. The only thing on their minds was getting as far away from Zetrion and his gang as possible. Escape was the only option.