A/N: Sorry to take so long to add this chapter. Sometimes the words take a bit more coaxing.

Oh. Like they are going to buy that. You know its because your writing stinks and you take forever to put down one sentence.

Anyone out there have a spell to rid me of my self doubt demon Wayne? Please let me know. The more painful to the a..hole the better.

Your threats arn't even good story material. It's a wonder anyone reads your crap at all.

Well unlike you, real people are kind and supportive, so just piss off.

We'll see. Bet you don't get any good reviews.

It's a bet. I win you stay away for the rest of the story.

What'll I get when I win?

I'll stop writing and and let you have your own Messenger Account.

Deal. What a sucker.

Disclaimer: By Wayne:Since he couldn't possibly have any original ideas it must be Square Softs'

Chapter 3: For Want of A Hero

Maybe it was the ease with which Sarah's mind had been entered by the spirit of Aeris or could it have been her subconscious desire to know what lay behind the strange powers she had. In either case her journey into the mists of time was clearing up many questions. All except the one question that made any other consideration unimportant: would she ever awaken from the prison in her mind.

Aeris' clear voice broke through the fog that threatened to overpower Sarah at times. "You're doing it again. I know it's difficult but just focus on the connection we have and it will keep you from drifting back into that abyss of your damaged mind."

Sarah was losing count of how many times Aeris' encouragement had pulled her back from returning to her unfeeling body, now reclining in Tifa's office at the Seventh Heaven Bar. She also knew the only chance at regaining her life was in the voyage she had undertaken along the timelines now appearing courtesy of Aeris and the living Planet.

As her concentration returned to the images before her, she became aware of more and more detail. The small house in which the young Strife family lived was not what she had pictured in her mind. The fact that the small and slightly run down farm wasn't even in Nibelheim proper was another apparent error on her part. The town was about a twenty minute walk to the west nearer the rock wall of low mountains that formed a half moon around the town. The dominating feature though wasn't the town itself but the giant complex half embedded in the rock formation itself. From pictures commonly found in most ShinRa Corp. brochures of that earlier time it could only be the infamous testing facilities of the degenerate genius Dr. Hojo.

Spread in concentric semi circles radiating out from the rock face was the town of Nibelheim. Many small shops populated both sides of the wide commercial avenue. They seemed to be all small local operations catering to the town's inhabitants to supply clothes, dry goods and hardware. The most glaring exception was the ShinRa Motors Dealership prominent in its' corner location at the junction of the two main streets. The houses that most residents lived in were unlike anything in Sarah's childhood in Sector 5 in Midgar. These were no slum housing blocks but neat and well constructed one and two story frame homes made mostly of brick and plaster. The pictures of Nibelheim before the fire and destruction inflicted on the innocent inhabitants and their dwellings didn't capture the picturesque and idyllic impression Sarah was getting.

A dirty and slightly run down car moved down the street leading out of town toward the Strifes' small house. It contained one occupant and was moving faster than the condition of the vehicle would indicate possible. It slid to a stop amid a cloud of the rust coloured earth its' passage stirred up. Before the dust had begun to swirl to a stop the driver leapt from the car and raced up the small path to the house.

Cloud was still cleaning up from his earlier run in with the Chocobos and the water bucket when he heard a shout from his father. "Cloud where's your mother? I have some great news." Cloud had never seen his father so animated before. The smallish and slightly stooped man had on a kind of one piece brown work coverall with a small ShinRa emblem over one pocket. His features still showed a little of the boyish good looks that had first attracted Cloud's mother fourteen years ago though.

"She's in the house getting dinner ready I think:" Came the puzzled reply from the young boy. "What's going on Dad?"

Before he could respond the door to the house swung open and his mother, with her hands still clutching a mixing bowl and spoon, asked. "What is all the commotion out here?" She was a little startled when she saw the excited and eager expression on her husbands' face. "What are you doing home now? Your shift doesn't end for another half hour dear?"

"I have news. Very good news: You know how I said we would one day live in town in a nice big house with two bathrooms and in a nice neighbourhood?" His smile was growing wider at each word he spoke.

"Yes of course and I have always told you that Cloud and I are happy no matter where we live so long as we are together as a family." This was true as she never asked or expected fancy gifts or big houses to live in. Her priorities had been the care of the people she loved and knew anything else was secondary.

"That may be okay for a common labourer but now that you are married to the newest Engineer Second Class for the ShinRa Corporation we need a proper place in town to live." His chest had swelled noticeably and he seemed to grow several inches at the mention of his new position."

Cloud's mother smiled and said she was proud that he had finally passed the courses he had so long been working on after work. She quickly hugged her husband and turned back to the house saying over her shoulder. "But dinner isn't going to cook itself even if an Engineer Second Class is going to eat it."

"Well son, are you going to tell me you'd rather stay on this scrub of land or move into town?" His tone was more of a warning that the answer should be anything but that.

Luckily for Cloud he was never really happy just on the fringe of town. He was constantly the butt of jokes from his school mates about smelling like Chocobo crap. "I most certainly don't want to stay here Dad. When can we move? Did you buy a house already? Is it as big as the red one on Rufus Ave?" Most of the streets and public buildings in Nibelheim carried some indication of the real controlling power. The city elders could not argue with the 'suggestions' coming from ShinRa Corporate Tower as the majority of employment for their fellow citizens was at the ShinRa Research Facility.

"I never thought of that house Cloud." It was a mandatory detour whenever Cloud was with his father driving through town that they had to go by that big red house. Cloud was younger then and maybe to avoid disappointment or to prevent his father from feeling inadequate he had stopped the requests about a year ago. It was that self sacrifice that spurred his father to complete the training courses in order to obtain the promotion. As in all things desired and then attained the reality is never as rewarding as the dream itself. "I think I'll check into doing just that. Good idea son." He rested his arm on Cloud's shoulder and the two walked into the house together, closer than they had ever been before.

Whether it was the simple luck of timing or the subtle intervention of the Planet, the red house was indeed for sale. The price was more than the new Engineer second Class could easily afford but the dream of his young son far outweighed any sacrifices he would have to make. Moving day was the most exciting of young Cloud's life and he hardly slept at all the night before. He had been packed for days and only his mother's insistence had stopped him from leaving himself with just the clothes on his back to wear until they relocated. Even his mother seemed to be getting a little more animated about this change in their lives. It could have been a case of her sons' elation infecting her as well but she was getting into the spirit of the adventure. As chance would have it the happy day was just one week into the school mid term break so Cloud had another week after to explore the house and neighbourhood. This was better than most of his breaks from school as Cloud never developed close friendships with other kids in his classes. It wasn't Cloud's decision to remain on the outside it was where the others placed him. He was the quiet one who didn't live in town and was the object of so many pranks and jokes he began to hate all things about school. The only joy he managed to squeeze out of his early life at school was in the fencing portion of Physical Education classes. He was not a natural at the discipline but the determination to excel drove him to stay long after school finished to practice.

Cloud had just turned thirteen and was well into a growth spurt when Tifa Lockheart first noticed the quiet young swordsman relentlessly doing fencing drills. The piercing blue eyes were clearly visible even at a distance and she stared for a moment too long and Cloud caught her looking. It was hard to say who looked away quicker. Tifa couldn't shake the nagging vision that suddenly blossomed in her mind of the tussled blond head resting in her lap, the sapphire eyes looking up at her with silent tears slipping down his smooth cheeks. With a sharp shake of her head she returned to the here and now just in time to see the original reason for her appearance in the Gym. She was waiting for Solan, Wasco and Kendai.

These three were the uncrowned kings of the Nibelheim Middle School. All three excelled at field sports and were larger by a head than anyone else in the school. The seniors were always together which seemed to bolster their egos even more with the resultant bullying of others their chief source of amusement. The other less popular kids called them the Three D's which Solan, Wasco and Kendai took to mean the three Demons and began to refer to themselves as such. The truth, which wisely remained an inside joke with the vast majority of the student body, wasn't quite so intimidating. Their real names, which most preferred to use, were Dickhead One, Dickhead Two and Dickhead Three.

The exact attraction that drew Tifa to seek out their company was the source of constant speculation among her fellow classmates. Some of her wiser friends actually asked her to stay away from them as all they were doing was using Tifa's likeability as a way to further their own notoriety. For Tifa herself she was somehow drawn to the power and physical strength of the three and chose to ignore the obvious misuse the three's natural gifts were put to. As for the three boys it seemed that to have a groupie was another ego boost. It also didn't hurt that despite being two months shy of her thirteenth birthday Tifa was blossoming rapidly. Her long, straight ebony hair and fine boned facial structure gave the impression of a much older girl. The initially embarrassing need to wear a woman's bra at age twelve was replaced with the realization that she was receiving a great deal of attention from older boys in the school.

"Hey! Lockheart! You waitin for us? Can't stand being away from this too long eh? " As he approached Wasco flexed to display sizable forearms for someone only fourteen. Wasco was the loudest and crudest of the three, but not by much.

Solan added. "Isn't she always waiting for us stupid?" He was the undisputed leader of the three and took great pains to emphasise this at every opportunity. "Well you wasted your time today: we're going out to play chicken on Death's Head Cliff." The three boys all owned new ShinRa Motorcycles that they had badgered their parents incessantly to buy them and constantly thought of reasons to ride them.

"Yah we don't need some chick to get freaked out and start screaming when we start." Kendai was probably illiterate but due to his father's position as Plant Manager at ShinRa he always seemed to move ahead. "Ya know it's pretty dangerous and a little girl might faint.' This seemed to amuse all three and they began to laugh.

Tifa remained quiet and slowly approached Solan until she was slightly grazing him with her chest. "I can ride on the back of your bike Solan, but if you don't want me too see who wins than I guess I will stay home." This was not a stupid girl and she knew exactly how to appeal to the bravado of Solan.

"Might be a laugh after all. Okay you can come."

"Wait a sec. What if I don't want the bitch there." Every now and then Wasco tried to challenge Solan's leadership but always with the same result.

"Since when do I ever give a shit about what you want Wasco. If you don't like it then you can go home and help your Mommy cook yer supper. "Solan was inches from Wasco by then and staring unflinchingly into his face.

"Fine then. What do I care. Let her come." Every time he was forced to back down Wasco vowed to get even one day. A hollow threat from one bully to an even bigger one.

Kendai moved toward the parking lot which seemed to be the unspoken signal that any further discussion was futile and they were leaving.

Cloud was a silent, and to the others, an invisible witness to these exchanges. He knew all about the three and even knew exactly where they were going but considered it not his problem. He then took another look at the young girl. He recognised her from school but then realized she was the same dark haired girl who lived a few doors down from him. He had seen her a few times walking but mostly he remembered her playing on a piano in her front room near the large picture window. Something about that image had stirred him to linger near her house just to hear her play. It wasn't that she was technically proficient but the seeing her practise touched him deep into his core. He often took slow walks in the evening just on the chance she would be playing. He frequently said to himself it was stupid but inevitably he was out there again a few nights later.

He decided at that moment to follow the group. He didn't quite know just what he was going to do but the compulsion to go was overpowering. He had just received his own bike from his father on his birthday. It was a total shock and even though it was small and slightly used it became his pride and joy. His dad had said he had always wanted one at Cloud's age but they were too poor to afford it. Whatever the reason, it was now carrying Cloud to a junction in his life that was going to change him forever.

Once the trio of riders and one passenger reached their destination the sun was beginning its long descent into the purple haze of the distant horizon. The lone motorcycle that had followed them from school went unnoticed as the road up to Death's Head Cliff was twisted and treacherous. This hadn't stopped Solan from hot dogging all the way trying to frighten Tifa into holding on to him tighter. She was too stubborn to allow him the satisfaction and instead grimly hung on to the side bars of the seat until they came to a dusty stop on the barren outcropping. The name Death's Head was older than anyone alive then but it was obvious where the idea for the strange title came from. In profile, looking from the east and at just the right time of day, the large overhang had the distinct features of a gnarled but slightly distorted face. It indeed looked as if it was in the agonizing grip of death.

"Here's where you get off Lockheart." Solan's tone was forced indifference and Tifa sensed the tension underlying his words. "I'll go first."

The object of this rather juvenile practice was to back off about 200 metres, accelerate to 60 kilometres and drive directly at the cliff edge above the stone head, turning at the last possible instant your nerve would allow. The skidding turn was marked and the closest to the edge declared the winner.

Sarah as a novice to this kind of stupidity was bewildered.Within the confines of Aeris' mind she asked if this is truly what they did.

"The bravado of youth is often the cause of seemingly insane acts. I'm afraid this is all too real." Aeris sighed.

Solan spun his bike in a complete circle launching a small storm of dirt and stones to spray outward in a fan shaped arc just missing the group.

"Asshole" Kendai muttered under his breath.

Moving off the approximate distance that was required to get up to speed Solan slowed and turned to face the imposing precipice. Gunning the motor for a few moments, possibly to screw up enough courage or stupidity to make his attempt, he stared toward the three forms near his target. Bending low over the handle bars he released the clutch and lurched forward leaving a shallow trench dug by his rear tire. He was up to speed quickly and was gauging the distance to the rapidly approaching cliff edge. Approximately twenty metres from the drop he made his turn hitting the rear brakes at the same time. Not being the expert driver his ego made him to believe, he hit the front brakes instead, causing the bike to begin to nose dive into the dirt. His first panicked response was to release the bike and lean over to the side which only caused the bike to follow him and start to dig into the gravel and rough dirt. Luckily for him it was the only thing that saved him from going over. Unluckily the front tire of his bike glanced off Tifa's left calf forcing her to begin an unbalanced back pedal to try and remain on her feet. The blow was heavier than she could easily recover from and in an instant was at the edge of a hundred metre drop to the jagged rocks at the base of the cliff face. As her right foot vainly tried to find a purchase at the edge the loose soil shifted under her and she dropped. She managed to extend both arms toward the stone wall speeding by and miraculously her finger tips lodged into a small crevice about an arms length from the edge.

"Help me. Solan I'm stuck here please help me." She was amazed her voice was not the hysterical scream she expected it to be given the circumstances.

The three boys stared at one another for a split second and then in a cowardly display that dumbfounded the now fast approaching Cloud Strife they picked up Solan's bike and then mounted their own, started the motors and accelerated away without even a brief backward glance.

Upon seeing Tifa disappear over the edge Cloud arose from his hidden observation point behind some low scrub growth and was running with all the speed his muscular legs could manage. He knew he was racing only to be witness to the broken and battered body of the lovely pianist at the bottom of the cliff but her cries for help brought on a surge of relief. How he managed to accelerate even more after that was pure adrenalin rush. The now rapidly departing motorcycles were quickly dismissed as irrelevant as they were not going to be a factor in his coming trials.

Tifa was shocked but not completely surprised when she heard the unmistakable sound of the motorcycles starting and then leaving. Her first though was her friends were right all along. Her second thought was of the pain from her now bleeding fingers. The exertion to hold onto such a narrow crack was causing her fingers to cramp up, bringing her mind to the realization that hanging on was only going to prolong her agony. With a last deep breath she was set to let go when she heard a sound of gravel sliding under feet and then a mass of yellow hair followed by the brightest blue eyes, appeared over the edge. It was the boy from the gym and yes, now she realised from where else. He was the boy who constantly loitered around the street in front of her house.

"Are you all right?" Cloud tried to sound calming but his gasping for breath after his dash to get here made everything sound slightly high pitched.

Tifa thought to herself "Is he kidding?" But only managed: "My grip is slipping."

Cloud extended his body as far out over the lip as possible and reached down with both hands and just managed to make contact with Tifa's right hand which he slowly gathered into his fingers. She began to loose her grip with her left hand just as Cloud fully grasped the other and he was soon carrying her entire weight as the other hand slipped from its perch. The woof of air from his lungs as the weight of the young girl pulled him into the ground caused a small puff of dust to waft into the air in front of his face. He was now leaning ever further over the craggy lip so as to get his other hand around Tifa's right wrist. All the while, the frightened but under control young girl quietly looked up into his face.

The setting sun was painting the cliff facade with an umber brush and for the briefest of moments Tifa marvelled at the beauty of it until the sensation of movement made her regard the slowly expanding view of Cloud's torso. He was slipping further over the edge. She knew what was happening and looked up into the face above her, now contorted with the effort to hold onto her hand. She knew in that instant he would not let go even if it meant his own death on the rock floor below. She regretted only one thing at this precise moment: not getting to know this brave young man better. "Thank you!" Was all she said and then to Cloud's utter amazement she began slowly to relax her hand and it slowly slipped out of his grip. He couldn't speak but stared awestruck into the serene face as she started her rapid descent to death. He couldn't watch and closed his eyes only to hear a dull thud far too soon and too loud to be the girls body striking the bottom. And yes: there she was laying on the narrowest of ledges that made up the upper lip of the Death Head five meters below.

"Can you hear me? Are you hurt?" He was still in a state of disbelief that this miracle had happened. No answer and no movement. She was too far away for him to notice if she was still breathing and far to low to attempt to reach without special gear so Cloud knew what had to be done. Quickly shaking the numbness out of his arms and shoulders from the exertion of holding all the girls weight, he ran back to his bike and drove as fast as possible back to town and to the front door of Tifas' house to get help.

The initial shock of his story quickly gave way to an organized rescue with ten personnel from the local Soldier contingent quickly scaling the rock face and bringing the still unconscious Tifa back up to the plateau. From there, a blurringly fast ride to the hospital followed. Cloud was only allowed to accompany the rescuers to show the exact location where Tifa was and then unceremoniously ignored until a few days later when the questions began. "How did you two end up there? How did Tifa fall over the edge?" Then the more pointed accusations started after Solan, Wasco and Kendai denied any involvement. They also were able to conveniently provide alibis for that day. Cloud became the obvious choice by default to accuse.

Tifa remained in hospital for two weeks and was bed ridden another three when she returned home. She suffered a broken leg, various scrapes and strains but the most serious injury was a concussion. Her recollection of events was somewhat spotty and even though she adamantly declared that Cloud was not responsible it was of no use. Her parents had no doubt that Cloud was the culprit and nothing short of the Great Leviathan professing his innocence was going to change their minds. Their belief alone was not enough to have Cloud charged with any crime and the lack of a clear recollection from Tifa seemed to close the matter for most.

Cloud's parents believed their young son but because of the social and political connections of the Lockheart family any further protestations of his innocence would only serve to hurt the whole family so they too let the matter fade.

The years moved ahead and by the time all those responsible for Tifa's accident were in secondary school the matter was never mentioned again. Tifa however always believed Cloud was the only person that she would ever trust and they began a lasting friendship from that time forward. She still wanted to thump him whenever he went into one of silent and morose periods but their bond was fixed. At first they only met behind her parents backs but soon the head strong girl openly defied them. It wasn't the only defiant act she committed. Against the express wishes of her parents Tifa began to train in Martial Arts. Her quest to never again be at the mercy of others was the impetus for this obsession to learn hand to hand combat techniques. Her Sensei was later to say her skill and natural abilities far outweighed any student before or since. He also confessed that even in his prime he would have been no match for the beautiful warrior.

Cloud in turn felt closer to Tifa than any one person, including his parents, but the incident on Death's Head Cliff changed the young man profoundly. He vowed to make it impossible for there to be any doubt about his character. He would become the greatest member of the elite ShinRa Soldier Corps that the world would ever see. This was his obsession and he started to work even harder at his swordsmanship skills knowing they could never refuse his application.

Aeris and Sarah, still linked to each other, knew then that these events had somehow been manipulated by the unfathomable intelligence that was Planet. To see the random events so neatly fall into place to make it inevitable that all these unwitting souls would converge at the exact point in time when only they could successfully save the world from Meteor and Sephiroth was humbling. It only reinforced Aeris' resolve to bring about some measure of release to Cloud and now Sarah. Whether it was indeed possible was yet to be determined.

End of Chapter 3