Disclaimer: I hate these things…FF7 not mine…nope

Chapter 10

Cloud groaned when he relied he was conscious. He opened his eyes to a blinding light, and had to place an arm in front of his face so as not to go blind.

"Where am I?" he muttered to himself, rubbing his neck.. He turned his head a little to the side and saw Shade on a cot to the side.

'That's weird…' he thought to himself. 'He's breathing…'

Cloud sat up on the cot and looked at his surroundings. It looked like Atlas's house, but it was scorched black. Most of the furniture had been burnt to ash, not counting the ones that has obviously been brought in after the fire.

The only things in sight that looked unharmed were two chairs, a table holding up a basin of water, three cots and the equipment of their occupants. 'Wait…wasn't I shot?'

Cloud stood on the dirt floor of the room to find his boots had not yet been pulled off. He looked to the third cot on the other side of Shade to see Vincent with a nice round of medical tape wrapped around his head, as if someone had beat him with a shovel.

Cloud moved for the door and stepped outside trying to gather his bearing. The whole town had been torched and there was no one in sight. He remembered Scarlet and the gun at his head. He also remembered the blinding white light. Wasn't that what happened when you were shot and killed? How would he know, he'd never died before…

He studied the ground and found a few footprints he recognized. He wasn't very good at tracking, but knew enough to figure out what he needed to know.

After enough study he stood and followed the more recent prints that belonged to Cid and Barret, guessing them to be not more than an hour old.

Cloud found most of the group sitting around a table. They all stood at the seeing him awake. He saw Harper and Atlas missing, and RedXIII had finally caught up with them. As he continued walked he looked to the left and saw the Highwind in the distance.

"Cloud…you awake." Said Tifa starting towards him. "We were so worried…" she said, embracing him in her arms. Cloud gratefully returned the hug and pulled away

"Tell me what happened…" he said, grabbing a chair and pulling it to the table.

"Not much to say…" Barret said. "From what we gathered Vincent heard them coming and took off behind the house to come in the back and help Harper and Atlas. He saw Scarlet but was hit in the head from behind with a nice, big, tasty piece of wood by one of the Shinra, so he couldn't help stop her."

"So how am I alive?" Cloud asked.

Cid shrugged. "Harper and Atlas says that Shade woke up at the last minute and threw his knife at Scarlet hitting her in the shoulder of her gun arm, throwing off her aim. It still hit you though, in your left shoulder. Atlas and Shade healed it, and then Shade just went asleep. Been asleep for over a day now."

Cloud brought a hand to his left shoulder; just realizing that it did feel quite sore and bruised.

"So where is Atlas?" Cloud asked, eager to see her alive and unharmed. "And Harper?" he said, making sure not to leave Harper out and make his intentions obvious.

"Atlas is with her now. She still distraught about us ruining her commitment to suicide but is doing much better knowing that Shade should live. I guess the stuff in his blood still works for him, even if he's only half…" Barret said.

"I suppose so then. So what happened to all the Shinra? They just left or what?"

"Yup after seeing their commander harmed. They grabbed her and took off, also leaving us to burn. We barely made it out without being torched. We came back and took some things out of the Highwind and set up camp here. No one is going to visit a burnt village left to ruin." Said Cid.

"What about all the villagers?"

"We don't know. Anyone left here was burnt alive. Everyone who made it is probably in the forest somewhere." Said Tifa

"How long are we supposed to stay here?"

"Not more than a few days. At least not until Harper is better and Shade and Vincent have healed. Vincent's cut on the back of his head is healed; he just has a hell of a headache. He'll be fine in a few days. Don't know about Shade though; Atlas says he'll be all right in a day or so though, possibly sooner." Said Barret.

"Are we going forward in the Highwind?" asked Cloud.

"Probably not. Harper said we can only get to the Temple on foot, and her and Shade prefer the outdoors." Said Cid. "I don't know what we're going to do with it yet though,. I'll probably just make the pilot bring it to the hanger and keep it there until I need it; or maybe bring it back to the house."

"Alright, outdoors is fine with me." Agreed Cloud. 'Gives me more time to get to know Atlas…' he thought to himself.

Vincent was up in a few hours, being the dead man walking self he usually is. And a day after that, Shade had finally revived. Harper gave them the thumbs up that he was okay after speaking with him alone for a few hours. She seemed to have her resolve for life back, making the rest of the team have a rise in their spirits and moods.

A few days after they left Cloud sent the Highwind to the hanger and they left the village in the direction of the Temple of the Ancients.

Cloud had been trying to talk to Atlas alone for a few days, but that seemed impossible having Tifa follow him like a lost puppy everywhere he went. He just couldn't get away from her. Then one night they set camp, a few days from the Temple, Atlas volunteered to take watch, Cloud immediately offered to split it with her, which would give him time alone to speak with her.

He decided he would sleep for a few hours first, so he didn't dose off during his watch. Atlas was sitting on a boulder outside.

Tifa had been watching Cloud carefully lately, she had long ago given up on Shade, seeing he was married and there was no hope for her to have him. But she still thought about him often, and what could happen between them if he hadn't been married.

Shade and Harper went furthest from the fire, obviously wanting to have a private conversation. They were nearly always together, not letting the other out of his sight for more than a few second. It was driving Tifa mad, and everyone knew it.

Atlas had been watching Harper to make sure she didn't attempt to do something stupid. When she wasn't watching Harper, it was hard to keep her eyes off of Cloud. He was just so attractive.

Atlas told herself it would never work out. Tifa liked him, and she wasn't any competition against Tifa. She began to give up hope.

A few hours later into her watch Atlas had been aroused from her thoughts when a blonde, spiky haired figure came up to her.

"Can we talk?" he asked her. Cloud felt his legs turn to marshmallows under him.

"Sure why not…" said Atlas, gesturing him to join him atop the boulder. "What seems to be the problem?" she asked once he finally settled.

"You."