Cloud arrived in town around midnight. He had a few gil, enough for an inn, but he wasn't sure if anyone in this place would take it. Wherever he was, Shinra seemed to be a foreign concept. This S.H.I.E.L.D. group, whoever they were, were the ones calling the shots. He glanced down at himself. He was mostly fine, minus a few puncture wounds on his arms that were most definitely from needle insertion. He was upset about them, but decided he wouldn't worry himself too much. There were things that needed to get done. Things like sleeping in a warm bed (not knocked out on a medical table) and finding a way home. He missed his friends, and Marlene, and Denzel. He was already feeling homesick.

The town wasn't sleepy, but it was small. The weird thing was, there seemed to be cars everywhere. Cars were a luxury few could afford on Gaia. Shira had a few, and Dio had one (that AVALANCHE had crashed), but he honestly hadn't seen to many in his life. For the first time, he truly considered where he was. For that, he had to trace where he had been.

He had defeated Sephiroth on the old Shinra HQ in Midgar (and was shot there to), woken up in the Midgar wastelands (or not?), and was now in a small town that definitely hadn't been in the wastelands last time he had passed through. Cloud often drove through the wastelands on Fenrir on his way to make deliveries, but he hadn't seen the beginnings of any settlements anywhere in the desert. The most likely explanation was that something had happened between him getting shot and him waking up in the (not Midgar) wastelands.

Cloud settled himself on a nearby bench, eyes fixed on the horizon. After he had gotten shot... was it possible... no...but... He shook his head, his hair limply falling around his face. This was all so strange and confusing. He didn't like it. He had only recently put himself back together from the pathetic mess he had been during Meteor, and though restlessness ate at his bones everyday, he was happy with where he was. He was healing, with the support of everyone around him. What could he have done to make the Planet angry? He had been forgiven. By Aerith (who was never mad), by Zack (who was never mad), by his friends (who had been mad, but stayed the whole way), and by himself (who had been the only one to hold a grudge). He looked down at his hand, clenched tightly into a fist. Cloud took a breath to steady himself. He couldn't keep doing this to himself. He would be better, living on for Zack and Aerith. No matter where he was, he would find happiness. Even if it was on a different planet, separated from everyone and everything familiar. Either he would find a way back or he would make a life for himself here. Cloud stood up, a small smile gracing his face. He could do this. Now, he just had to find a bed and get toasty.

He yawned, covering his mouth with a dirty glove. The town was sandy and dull, but he hoped they at least had an inn. To keep himself busy, he checked over his supplies. He had one tent, about twenty potions, ten ethers, one elixir, his fusion swords, and all of his mastered materia. He had a mastered Cure and Lightning slotted with two All. One summon slotted (and total). No change of clothes. He finally arrived at a small building with the word HOTEL written in fancy cursive scrawl on a neon sign. He entered the building and thumped his gil on the counter. "One night please."

The clerk glanced at him, her gaze roaming over him with contempt, and opened the pouch. She pulled out a piece of gil and eyed it suspiciously. She dropped it back into the pouch and pushed it towards him. She glanced at his dirty body and sword, and did a once over of his clothes. She loudly chewed the gum in her mouth and said, "I'm sorry sir, we don't take casino chips here."

Cloud raised an eyebrow but accepted his money back. He would just have to find a place to pitch his tent for the night, then look for work tomorrow. Figuring everything out would take a few days, at best.

He exited the building and was about to continue walk down the street when a voice called out behind him, "Wait!"

He almost didn't turn around, but this person, whoever they were, sounded desperate. He sighed. He jumped when his shoulder was grabbed by a small hand that he immediately shrugged off, but the hand reached back up, grabbing his sleeve. He wrenched himself away, stumbling a few steps, then looked up. It was a women. She was panting, red-faced, but refused to look away from him. She knitted her eyebrows and lifted herself back up, calling out, "Wait!"

He stayed where he was, but glanced at her. She wasn't a threat, just persistent. But she had a wild look in her eyes that made Cloud just a little wary of what she might do. The woman finally regained her breath and stood up to her full height, just barely shorter than Cloud. She looked him directly in the eyes as she said, "My name is Jane Foster. I need you to help me."

Cloud shook his head and crossed his arms. He was way too tired to deal with any of this nonsense. "Not interested." Why did all these people want something from him?

Jane seemed to tear up. Great, now I made her upset. He was so not a people person. Jane looked at him again, rattled out a breath and quietly said, "I saw you. At the base."

Cloud froze, only briefly. He glanced at her and narrowed his eyes. Was that a threat? "And?"

Jane drew herself up and stared at Cloud. "I know you'll believe me, because you were there. That man, who stormed in...his name is Thor. He's my friend. I need to get him out of there."

Oh. The crazy blond man, whose name was apparently Thor (as in the Nibel gods?), was this woman's friend. And she wanted to bring him back out of government custody, which he himself had only just escaped.

Cloud rubbed the bridge of his nose. He needed a hotel room. To get a hotel room, he needed money. To get money he needed work. And even though he didn't usually care what kind of work he got… was he really ready to become an enemy of the government so soon? Coulson had let him go, but Cloud had no idea how long the truce would last. If he went in now, he might be labeled a threat and attacked. Then again, he could be attacked anyway. He loathed the idea of being captured so soon (especially after his episode in the medical bay), but he was strong and smart (plus the mako had worked its magic against whatever tranquilizers they had stocked). If he had a disguise, he could probably bust Thor out with minimal effort. Against his better judgement, he asked, "How much will you pay me?"

Jane stared at him before smiling. "Oh, I'm sure we can scrounge up two hundred. Erik and Darcy will have to contribute, but you'll get your pay."

Two hundred? Well, work was work, and this job probably wouldn't take more than an hour or two. He stretched for a second and glanced at Jane. "When do we leave?"

Jane stared at him and attempted to get her mouth working. She was obviously surprised he had agreed. "W-well, I need to talk to Erik and Darcy. You can come with me, it'll probably be quick."

Cloud shrugged. He didn't particularly care when they would leave, as long as when they got back he could stay in an inn and sleep for a week, at least.

Erik and Darcy were nice enough. Darcy, strangely enough, reminded him of Yuffie and Aerith if they were one person. Erik and Jane had fought over Norse mythology (some of the names sounded strangely similar to Nibel mythology) and science, with Jane eventually concluding that Thor was who he claimed to be. Apparently he had said he was the God of Thunder Thor, and his crazy stunt at the S.H.I.E.L.D. building was just him attempting to retrieve his legendary hammer, Mjolnir. Now, Cloud wasn't sure about that whole piece of the story, but he was willing to go along with whatever was happening as long as he got his pay. Eventually Jane convinced Erik to go along with the scheme and they headed out to the car. Jane seemed to remember something at the last minute and held up a hand, signaling them to wait. She fished out an outfit from the depths of the back of her car (at least, Cloud assumed it was a car) and handed it to Cloud so he could change. He went into a 24-hour diner bathroom and took off his outfit, which besides being recognizable was filthy from his hectic day. He wet his hands and ran them through his hair a few times, rinsing his face while he was at it, and felt a bit more refreshed. He glanced at the clothes Jane had given him. Bootcut jeans, a trucker hat, sunglasses (he assumed to hide his eyes), and a long sleeve plaid shirt with a white T-shirt underneath. He sighed internally. He would look like a redneck...

But anything was better than the last time he had disguised himself. He shuddered at the memory of Don Corneo's leer as he pulled on his clothes. He looked at himself in the mirror. Truly a redneck...

He met Jane and Erik outside by the large car and they all climbed inside. Cloud situated himself on the lumpy backseat and stared at the ceiling as the radio played a jazzy midnight tune. The shirt itched uncomfortably. He had almost little to no chest (or body) hair, but something seemed to be tickling him beneath the shirt. He scratched absently, frowning when he felt something small roll underneath his fingertips and drop into his lap. He took off his sunglasses and let the mako in his eyes shine on... "Gross." He carefully picked up the roach, threw it out the rolled down the window, and unsympathetically watched it crunch under the tires. He rolled the window back up and tried to erase the feeling of roach legs on his chest. Very, very gross. He could almost hear Zack laughing and Aerith giggling. He smiled slightly.

After maybe half an hour of travel they arrived at the S.H.I.E.L.D. base. The sand kicked up from the van's wheels settled back onto the desert floor. Jane had explained earlier that she would stay in the van while Erik and Cloud freed Thor. If anything went wrong, she could drive them away at a moment's notice. Erik and Cloud quietly disembarked and started towards the base. Cloud slipped his sunglasses back on and dearly hoped the Mako shine wasn't quite as strong as everyone said it was.

Shit. Just my luck. Coulson was lounging out front of the establishment, watching the two of them carefully. Cloud walked a bit closer to Erik, making sure to guard him from possible threats. He had the two smallest pieces of First Tsurugi strapped to his legs, but hidden in his boots. Erik approached Coulson with a smile on his face, starting off the flimsy plan with, "I'm sorry to bother you sir, I believe you have my dear associate Donald Blake in your eh...camp. He really wasn't supposed to come here, but you see, he was extremely upset when you came and took all of our equipment. He just couldn't stand to see years of his life, well, stolen like that. I really am terribly sorry for his behavior, but I'll make sure it won't happen again."

Coulson did not seem to be fooled. "His name is Donald Blake?"

Cloud cursed under his breath, but refused to look at Coulson. He took a step forward but still didn't look Coulson in the eyes. He would have to speak loudly. He tried to recall his Nibel accent, and hoped it sounded vaguely 'trucker' enough to go with his persona. "Well, ya see 'ere, ol' Blakey really don't mean no harm. It's jus' today wasn' a great day for ma friend in there. His wife, she, eh hehe, cheated on him, and he only found out this mornin'. Please forgive the fella' he really don' mean no harm."

That had to have been worst performance of Cloud's life, even counting the damn Gold Saucer play. Coulson looked a little more convinced, but he still asked, "And just how was he able to stroll past all of my security?"

Erik thankfully took over for Cloud. "Steroids. Bit of a fitness nut, you see."

Coulson sighed, rubbing his head with his hands. He relented. "Well, he didn't do any real harm. Go ahead."

Erik continued through with Coulson to Thor's holding cell while Cloud stayed outside. He had no fake ID, so he elected to remain outside.

Cloud nearly let out an audible sigh of relief once they were back outside again. He didn't realize he had been holding his breath. Coulson saw them off, glancing at Cloud. Just as they were leaving, he called out, "You! Trucker hat."

Cloud turned around and strained to plaster a relaxed grin on his face. Planet, he was awkward. He had no idea how Zack did it. "Um...Ya man?"

Coulson narrowed his eyes. "Why do you have sunglasses on? It's midnight."

Crap. He could do this. Erik and Thor were waiting only a few feet away. "Uh...Eye condition...? Can't look at light."

Coulson squinted at him a bit more before grunting out, "Dismissed."

This time Cloud actually sighed as he met up with Thor and Erik. The security man who held Erik's belongings yelled out behind them, "Don't take him to any bars!"

Erik's face drew more tightly together. Thor asked him tiredly, "Where are we going?"

Erik walked more quickly. "To get a drink."

They all piled back in the van, with Cloud and Thor in the back. Thor glanced at Cloud. "Who are you?" He asked, most likely trying to be quiet, which his booming voice made the smallest bit impossible.

Cloud took off his sunglasses and tossed them to the side. He remained quiet for a moment, staring at Thor from the peripheral of his vision. This was the crazy guy from earlier, but… if what Jane said was true, then he was only a guy searching for his weapon. Cloud could understand that. He didn't want to doubt Jane on Thor's origins, and given the rain storm that appeared as soon as Thor appeared, and all the crazy things that had happened to Cloud today alone... he wasn't going to put up to much of a fight against whatever came his way. Plus, he was too exhausted to bother hiding information. "My name is Cloud. Cloud Strife."

Thor stared at him a moment longer before recognition lit up his face. "Ah! That's right, you're the-"

Cloud cut him off. "I am a male."

Thor's eyes went wide. He studied Cloud up and down before a look of consideration flashed across his face. "Are you perhaps like my brother Loki? He is usually a male, but he can change forms at will-"

Cloud glared at him. He was regretting speaking. "No. Male, all the time." He had been confused for a women enough times that he wanted to get it out of the way when he talked to strangers. 'Fair maiden'. He blushed hotly at the thought.

"Ah, I see." Thor said, turning his face towards the driver's seat. He remained quiet for a while, turning back to study Cloud (which Cloud pretended not to notice) before he quiestioned, "You do not seem to be a mere mortal. Are you one of them?" He gestured toward Erik and Jane's seats.

Cloud considered his words. "No," he answered truthfully. He turned his face towards the window, studying the stars above. The smog above Midgar had been clearing for about two years, but it was still almost impossible to see the stars from Edge. He closed his eyes, crossed his arms, and turned away, indicating he was done talking. He just wanted to sleep.

Once they arrived back at the town, Erik announced he was heading to a bar. Thor quickly decided to follow, but not before giving Jane a quick kiss. Cloud stared at them blankly. Tifa had tried many time to kiss him, but Cloud had almost always managed to pull away. He had no desire to couple with anyone, but it still hurt him to think of Tifa, always trying, always rejected. She deserved somebody who could love her as much as she loved them, and in the way she wanted them to love her. Cloud was not that person. He would, however, always do his best to protect her from heartache from anybody else. She was probably his closest friend.

Jane managed to shake him from his thoughts of home, twisting around in her seat to ask, "Do you want me to take you to the hotel? I got your pay earlier."

Cloud nodded. He really did tend to dilly-dally shilly-shally, didn't he? He smiled softly at the thought of Aerith's teasing. Yes, a good night's (week's) sleep was just what he needed.