So, still working on chapter 12 of Horizons, but I thought I'd post an alternate scene in the meantime. This one would have taken place some time in between the end of chapter 3 and the beginning of chapter 4. I did end up using some things from this later on, so I guess there's merit in my tendency to never delete what I write even if I don't end up using it.

Anyway, I don't really remember my reasoning for not going with this anymore, but knowing me, it was probably because it didn't fit with something or other...I dunno. It's been a while since I wrote those chapters.

I'll let you all read it for yourselves, though. If you like this scene more and feel like it can still fit within the contents of the main fic, feel free to accept it as such. It won't make too much of a difference overall.

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Chapter 3.5/4 Ultra Remix, Go!

When I stepped inside, Da was sitting at the table with his head in his hands, and I could hear Ma moving around in the kitchen. Other than that, though, everything was quiet.

It wasn't normal for it to be this quiet.

"Da?"

He looked up and tried to smile, but the most he managed looked kind of painful, to be honest. I think he noticed that too since he dropped it after a second and sighed. "Hey, kiddo."

"Where's Ma?"

"She's in the kitchen. You know how she is- when she's worried, she needs something to occupy herself with."

I swallowed painfully. "So...he doesn't remember any of us?"

"He remembers your mother," Da answered tiredly. "It's us that he can't remember."

"O-Oh..."

I wasn't sure what to think about that. It was nice that he remembered Ma, but...I wanted him to remember me too.

"Are you feeling better, Cassie?" Da asked. The look in his eyes gave me the feeling he knew what I was thinking.

"I-...I think so."

"Hmm, better than me, then. Aren't I supposed to be the tough one here?"

I smiled a bit at his attempt to lighten the mood. "Da, you freaked out when Lilo brought in a dead gopher."

"Rodents carry diseases, dear," Ma called from the kitchen. "Your father was just being careful."

"Which is why he screamed and jumped up on the couch."

"I remember you doing the same," he quipped.

I grimaced. "I don't like them. They're just...ugh."

"Then we're at an understanding. What I want to know is how she caught the darn thing,"

"...She's a good hunting dog?"

"Cassie, Nibel Wolves are good at hunting. Lilo, although wonderfully trained, is not. I think the various holes in the yard speak for themselves on that point."

"Yeah, well Cloud-" I faltered, cursing myself for the slip as Da's face fell. We had been doing such a good job keeping that out of our minds, too.

"Come here," Da sighed, opening his arms in invitation. He smiled a bit when I didn't hesitate to hug him. "Things will turn out okay in the end, you'll see."

"How do you know?"

"He'll have us there to help him."

I laughed. "That was kinda cliche, Da."

"Well, it's true, isn't it?"

"Hmm, maybe..."

"None of that, now," he scolded lightly while playfully shaking a finger at me. "You should have more faith in your brother."

"Only if you do, Da."

His face softened, then he smiled. "Okay. Why don't you head up to bed? You're up past your bedtime."

"When can I stay up later?" I grumbled. It was really annoying to have a bedtime, but I had respected my mother's rules in my old life, and it was a habit that had carried over.

"I'll think about changing it, but for now, off you go."

"Kay. Night, Da."

"Night, kiddo."

I kissed his cheek before bidding goodnight to Ma and heading upstairs...

...only to then nearly topple over when I ran into Cloud at the top.

He was standing a short distance away from the top of the stairs, giving me the feeling that he might have been trying to evesdrop on the conversation. It made me a little uncomfortable. Cloud was an honest kid, and evesdropping wasn't like him at all (when presents weren't involved, at least). What happened after that could be called a staredown, at best. At worst, it could be called "Cloud stabs me with his suddenly super intense eyes."

Needless to say, I quickly looked away.

"I-I..." I cleared my throat, but it didn't do much to make my voice any louder than a hesitant whisper. "I'm glad you're feeling better, Ch-...Cloud."

He wasn't my chicky anymore. I had lost him to this very different Cloud.

"...Thank you."

Awkward silence fell between us, and it made me want to cry. I hated this. I hated his blank expression. I hated his unfamiliar eyes. I hated his distant tone. I hated the fact that I couldn't think of anything to say. I hated the fact that it happened at all.

I hated myself for letting it happen.

I had to get away. I know I said I would be there for him, but I couldn't face him so soon- not right now.

"Goodnight."

"Wait."

I froze when he grabbed my wrist, my mind screaming that it was still wrong. This firm and unyielding, yet almost hesitant, grip did not belong to my little brother. My little brother would shyly grab my hand before gaining confidence and tightening it with a smile and a laugh. Doing my best to push that aside, I turned to look at him.

"What is it?"

He was staring at me with that gaze again- the one that was better off on the adult Cloud I now only vaguely remembered from Advent Children. Not this one.

"I...wanted to ask you something." Withough giving me a chance to respond, he pulled out a painfully familiar chocobo toy. "You gave me this...right?"

My breath hitched, although whether it was at the sight of the toy or the question, I didn't know. "...Yeah. It-...It was a present...for your birthday."

"Oh..." He looked down at it, and I thought I saw him smile a bit, but it was gone so quickly I wasn't sure. "It's nice..."

"Mm..."

"...What kind of plane did I want?"

My eyes widened. "W-What?"

His brows furrowed. "I did want a plane, didn't I?"

My heart just about leapt out of my chest. Was it possible...?

"Yeah...You remember that?" When he nodded, I couldn't stop the smile of pure relief that spread on my face.

He sighed softly, fidgeting a bit before turning his head away. "I'm...sorry for making you worry."

"It's not your fault."

And it wasn't, I realized. All this time, I'd been thinking about how this affected me. How sad I was, how angry I was, how disappointed I was...Poor Cloud must have been feeling so much more. Shame rushed through me as I continued to watch him fidget nervously. He might not have felt the same sense of loss, but knowing that you'd forgotten most of your life must have been terrifying, and here I was feeling sorry for myself; telling myself that I would talk to him tomorrow when I wasn't sure I would.

Well, not anymore. It still hurt, but I wasn't going to put this off.

When I hugged him, I ignored the slight stiffening of his shoulders and just concentrated on the fact that I was still able to hug him. His accident could have ended much more tragically. "Don't ever think it's your fault. You didn't ask for this." I pulled away and smiled again. "And don't you worry, Ma, Da, and I will be here with you no matter how long it takes for you to remember."

I sobered a bit at the sadness that flashed in his eyes, and felt a bit more guilt and shame shoot through me. This must have really been bothering him.

"I won't promise that you'll remember everything," I began, "but you're still here, and that's all that matters to me."

"...You seriously mean that?"

"Of course I do! We're family."

I'd already lost one family. I didn't want to lose another.

"Now, you should probably go to bed. I bet Ma will be up any minute to check up on us and you should have been asleep an hour ago."

He blinked. "I have a bedtime?"

I couldn't keep myself from laughing. "What did you expect?"

"Not that," he muttered while crossing his arms.

"You must have hit your head harder than we thought if you think you can stay up as late as you want," I teased before ruffling his hair. "Even I have a bedtime, and I'm older than you."

He snorted. I playfully tugged one of his spikes and smiled. If I didn't think about it too much, it was almost as if things were still normal between us.

"Fine, stay up and face Ma's wrath. I'm going to be a good kid and go to sleep. Night, chicky." I turned to go, and had opened my bedroom door when Cloud called me back. "Something wrong?"

"I was just wondering...what model plane was it?"

"What model...? I'm pretty sure it was one of the Highwind models..." Okay, that time I know I saw him smile...or was it a smirk? No, no, better for me to think of it as a smile. "Why do you ask?"

"Just curious, is all. Goodnight."

I stared in confusion as he stepped into his room. So much for normal. What had that been about?

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The next morning, Cloud lay on his bed, staring at the ceiling as he heard everyone move about. It was such a strange thing...He had gotten used to the idea of having a family, somewhat, through the time spent with Tifa and the kids, but past experiences and the fact that he had been on the road so much made him unsure how it was to be a family.

"Of course I do! We're family."

He could see plain as day how uncomfortable and upset his new sister had been with his apparent memory loss. So, he hadn't expected much when he asked her about the toy, but she had surprised him. By the end of their conversation, she seemed to have lost whatever made her uneasy and treated him like...like he meant something to her. It should be obvious, considering that, to her, he was her little brother, but it still sent a strange feeling through him. Was love really all it took to be a family? Could he come to love these strange people that were now a part of his life?

A knock jarred him out of these thoughts, and he managed to sit up in his bed before the door opened. When his mother saw he was awake, she smiled and kissed his forehead.

"Good morning, Cloud. Are you feeling better?"

He nodded, not trusting himself to speak after such a loving gesture. He still half expected her to vanish if he got too close.

"Do you feel up to joining Matt and I for breakfast, or would you like me to bring it up?"

"I'll go," he told her quietly, before blinking in confusion. "What about Castalia?"

His mother looked torn between happiness and sadness. The best he could make of it was that she was happy he was asking for her but sad over something he should probably already know. She proved him right when she answered.

"She already did. She works for Cole in his general store, and he likes opening up shop early."

"Cole?"

Wasn't he the handyman that wanted to open up a store? He actually managed it this time?

"I suppose you forgot him too," she sighed. "He'll be so sad to hear that."

Okay, now he was really confused. From what he remembered, Cole did not like him. At all. Had Minerva changed the village's opinion of him or something?

OoOoOoOoOoOoOo ~Alternate Scene End

And it was here, more or less, that I went back and began moving things/rewriting segments, until I reached the chapters that I actually posted.

Anyway, that's about the only alternate scene I had at this point of the fic. There's a few more that would have taken place during future chapters, so I'll see when I can get those cleaned up a bit and post them so you can see what could have been. For now, I hope to see you all in a week or so, which is my current goal for getting chapter 12 posted. Stay tuned and take care.