Beautiful Lie
Confronting the Past

So beautiful, beautiful lie makes me—it's time to forget about the past;
To wash away what happened last (happened last)
Hide behind an empty face; don't ask to much just say;
'Cause this is just a game, it's a beautiful lie;

Beautiful Lie by 30 Seconds to Mars

Cloud inspected First Tsurugi trying to ignore the yelling downstairs from Zack.

"Tifa he can't stay here! That bastard's a murderer!"

"It's his job Zack! Besides, he was hired to protect me!"

"So?! What's stopping him from breaking it off for a higher offer, huh?!"

"Smart thinking, Zack…" Cloud mumbled as he ran a hand through his spiked hair. He glared up at it; sometimes it got annoying at how spiky his hair could get.

"Damn it Zack! Why are you so against him staying now?!"

Cloud chuckled slightly as the yelling stopped.

"Why indeed…"

"…fine; he stays. But I don't like it, Tif!"

Cloud sighed and tugged at his hair, a small frown pulling at his lips. He was skirting his job by staying up here, working on Tsurugi (the blade was clean and shining he'd been working so hard) and it wasn't like him.

"'Suppose it would've been easier if Zack wasn't 'round," he finally muttered and scowled.

'You're a mercenary and assassin,' Cloud reminded himself, 'the past doesn't matter. It can't get in the way of the job—damn it I thought I was over this!' He cursed softly and then winced. 'Stupid,' Cloud thought bitterly as he stood and began to rummage through one drawer. 'Stupid, stupid, stupid…' Finally he grasped something and pulled it out. After quick flick of his thumb the blonde pocketed the thing.

He turned his gaze towards the door; it had fallen silent and had stayed silent to which Cloud was thankful. The noise had been interrupting his thought process too much. With Zack being a part of AVALANCHE he had to mentally reassess the situation to count for his and Zack's rather bitter past alongside his and Tifa's past as well. He had a skeleton of a plan already etched in his mind; attempting to flesh the plan out was too taxing with the yelling.

Finally Cloud grimaced and grabbed First Tsurugi. In a swift motion he had the blade holstered and was already heading towards the door.

'Just get this over with; the past doesn't matter, not anymore, so there's no reason for you to be acting like this Strife,' he told himself sharply. He hesitated at the door but with a fierce mental shaking he pulled it open and headed down the stairs and into the bar.

He was over what happened in Nibelheim. He was over Zack's abrupt ending of their friendship. None of it mattered anymore; he had a job and he'd damn well do it.

He wasn't Cloud Strife the weak little child. He wasn't Cloud Strife the emotionally challenged teen.

He was Cloud Strife the mercenary; best of the best. He was Cloud Strife the hired assassin; Rufus Shinra's personal killer.

He grew up and left his past behind; that was the truth and nothing would change it.

Not Zack Fair, his ex-best friend, and most certainly not Tifa Lockhart, the girl he once had a crush on.

Nothing would change who he was now; nothing could.

Zack and Tifa had fallen into silence; neither willing to speak to the other. Instead they both went about their normal routine; Zack sitting in a shadowed corner looking over a map of Midgar with the most prominent Shinra controlled places highlighted and Tifa tending to the bar.

The normal routine was broken by Tifa's bodyguard Cloud coming down the stairs. Zack glared at him from his corner as Tifa asked, "Need anything, Cloud?"

Cloud almost hesitated before he said, "No, Tifa." Tifa frowned in response to that but Cloud ignored her and headed to another dark corner; he sat down and watched the bar with sharp eyes.

'Something's bothering him,' Tifa thought before shaking her head. 'It's none of my business.'

In the corner Cloud was trying to figure out how to exactly tell Tifa and Zack that he was Cloud Strife (well, besides the name obviously) and that he had changed and grown up. It was a step in getting their trust, one he needed to take. If the past was revealed at a later date things would only go downhill; he needed to tell them so that he could finish his job. The only thing was, was that the risks in doing so might just ruin his cover.

There was always the chance that if Cloud told them they would immediately become more wary. Then again there was the chance that if he told them they would react favorably and he'd be on the road to gaining their trust.

A frown tugged at his lips and one hand came up to tug his blonde locks; he hadn't thought of Zack or Tifa being here, hadn't prepared for it. Sure Cloud knew the woman the men were so protective of was named Tifa but he didn't know she was Tifa Lockhart. He thought Tifa Lockhart had died when Nibelheim was burned to the ground, so he had one obstacle to get by with her. He could do it with a bit of careful maneuvering but now Zack had shown up into the picture and the whole situation changed.

His and Zack's rather rocky past and the abruptly ended friendship was an obstacle, one he had figured wouldn't be so hard but when he mentioned Sephiroth the ex-SOLDIER had reacted much like he did when he ended their friendship. Cloud knew that if the dark haired man knew he was his former friend things would most likely get worse; he did after all kill Sephiroth and it was apparent that Zack was still attached to the dead General.

'Any action I take will lead to either path,' Cloud thought. 'They will either take the news favorably—or they won't and everything will fall apart.'

Eyes narrowed slightly Cloud finally decided on letting them know but not outright saying it to their faces.

'No…when a member of AVALANCHE or someone they're familiar with, a frequent bar attendee or something…that'll do.'

Plan solidified in his mind Cloud sat back and watched the patrons enter and exit, his gaze flickering from Zack, Tifa, and anyone who entered.

It was nearing dark by the time someone entered the bar that Cloud could immediately categorized as AVALANCHE members; their familiarity to Tifa and apparent closeness to Zack was a dead giveaway.

The first person who entered was someone Tifa addressed as Wedge; Cloud figured it was the same Wedge Zack had run off to see. The blonde shifted slightly but kept hidden in the shadows, watching and waiting.

The second to enter the bar Zack greeted with a grin; the person was addressed as Jessie. Again Cloud shifted slightly but kept himself hidden from the others' view.

The third person to come in, about fifteen minutes after Jessie, had been called Biggs. Another ten minutes later Barret entered and immediately looked around the bar. Cloud figured he was searching for a sign of his person; he was doing a poor job of hiding it and it was apparent Tifa knew what he was looking for.

"Barret!" the irate woman called shortly after the man entered. Cloud watched as Barret greeted Tifa warmly only to be punched. "You jerk!"

"Tifa what's—" Barret started but Tifa interrupted.

"You hired me a bodyguard! You asshole! I don't need a bodyguard; I can take care of myself you know!"

"How d'ya know 'bout that?" Barret demanded. "He told?"

"No, he didn't," Tifa snapped and Barret seemed to relax slightly. "I'm letting him stay but I swear if you do something like this again—!"

"I was only lookin' out for ya!" Barret snapped and Zack stepped up to intervene.

"Right, we get that you're upset Tif," Zack said almost pleadingly, "but we need Barret right now. So please stop it? Both of you?" Tifa huffed but complied.

"So where is he?" Barret demanded and Cloud shifted again, this time letting everyone see him.

"I'm right here," the blonde mercenary stated. "I'm guessin' everyone here is AVALANCHE," Cloud continued and as the three new people (to Cloud) started letting out shouts of protest he added, "It's rather obvious; I'm amazed Shinra hasn't been sendin' people out after you."

"Just who are you?" Jessie demanded.

"Name's Cloud Strife," Cloud stated clearly and watched Zack and Tifa's reactions.

Zack had stiffened, his eyes flickering slightly from internal conflict; Cloud knew that the ex-SOLDIER had his suspicions on Cloud being his ex-best friend Cloud or just someone else with the same name.

Tifa, Cloud noted, had completely stilled and her eyes had gone wide. Obviously she hadn't thought he was the little kid she once knew even though Cloud had seen her confused expression earlier.

Finally Zack seemed to reach a solution as his mako eyes began to become more prominent.

"You sonovabitch!" he snarled and within seconds had Cloud pinned to the wall. "You fucking piece of shit!"

"Get control of yourself, Zack," Cloud replied calmly.

"You're working for Shinra, aren't you, you asshole?!" Zack growled and shoved Cloud into the wall harder.

"Fuck," Cloud hissed as First Tsurugi was shoved into his lower back. Louder he grunted, "No, I'm not; I told you they haven't hired me in years; probably still pissed about me killin' one of their SOLDIER's."

That fact seemed to register in Zack's brain within seconds and Cloud found himself on the ground suddenly, out of breath.

"You killed him out of revenge, didn't you?!" Zack screamed.

"Fuck no!" Cloud shouted back, pulling himself up. He winced slightly; it felt as if Zack had broken or bruised a rib. "It was a job, you asshole! Sure I might've enjoyed it a bit more than I should've but what do you expect?! He killed my mother! IN FRONT OF ME!"

"He was ill!"

"Shinra declared him insane, Zack!" Cloud growled. "They declared him mentally unstable yet they let him go back to active duty anyway! They said he was insane! It just so happened that the guy who hired me didn't like the fact that Shinra let him work even though they announced him mentally unstable!" Cloud had to duck a second later as Zack's leg swept across the area where his head was.

Cloud forced himself to retreat behind the bar as Zack continued to try and hit him. Once he was safely away from his angry ex-best friend he said, almost coldly, "It's in the past now, Zack, and I've grown up enough to know that. I've grown up enough to accept the fact that he murdered my mother and my home; I've grown up enough to accept that you cared more for a clinically insane man than for your own hurting, grieving, friends. I've grown up and accepted it and have moved on." Cloud paused to gather his breath and calm his warring emotions and thoughts before saying, "I'm not the Cloud Strife you knew; I've changed and that's the truth."

Zack had stopped moving; instead he glared at Cloud as he tried to steady his breathing.

"I'll be upstairs; you continue whatever it is you're getting at," Cloud said and then addressed Barret. "If you don't want me here after tonight I'll leave." Mako eyes swept the room quickly before he nodded his head and went up the stairs with a slight wince.

Zack definitely broke or bruised a rib or two.

Wincing and muttering curses under his breath Cloud shoved clothes and other miscellaneous items aside in search of a cure materia. As much as he'd like to force his ribs to heal naturally he couldn't afford to. In a sense he was in hostile territory—well Zack was hostile territory at any rate—and forgoing getting his ribs patched up quickly would only be detrimental.

Although he really wanted to force himself through the pain; Cloud felt it would be the perfect reminder not to let his emotions rule his responses.

No matter how natural the response would seem in an undercover mission; it wasn't professional and could lead to getting himself killed.

"Got it," Cloud mumbled as his right gloved hand encircled the small orb. He grimaced as he shifted but concentrated on the materia and the spell. The sooner he healed the sooner he could figure out where to go now.

The bar had fallen into a dead silence after Cloud had departed up the stairs. Zack had continued to glare at the stairs for a few minutes before turning his head away; a sad expression crossing his face briefly.

Barret, Jessie, Wedge and Biggs were all in stunned silence but after a few minutes and quick glances between each other they decided it was best to probably start working and leave Zack and Tifa to their thoughts; the four made their way over to a corner and began to review the map Zack had been looking over earlier.

Tifa, who had lowered her head after Cloud left and grasped her left arm in a self-conscious gesture, raised her head to look straight at Zack questioningly.

"Why didn't you tell me?" she asked and Zack flinched almost unnoticeably.

"Tif…" Zack looked at her and then turned his head away again. "We didn't part on the best terms."

"But you let me think he died," Tifa stated, confused. "Why?"

Zack was silent and Tifa again asked why.

"…because I felt guilty," he finally said softly. "It took me a month to realize how stupid I was acting; by that time Cloud was long gone. I guess it just…I just didn't want to think about what I said and did and to be truthful…I didn't think he would've survived on his own."

Tifa frowned slightly as she asked, "You felt guilty?" Zack nodded slowly and Tifa's face hardened. "Then why did you attack him?" Zack didn't respond; he couldn't really say why himself. Was it because Cloud was the mercenary that killed Sephiroth? No, he decided. That wasn't it; that was just an excuse, something to hide behind, but he didn't know why otherwise. He just knew it wasn't because of Sephiroth.

"I see," Tifa said after two minutes of waiting for Zack to respond. She turned and started up the stairs; Zack watched her walk away and suddenly he knew why he attacked the blonde mercenary.

He had attacked because he'd gotten used to thinking Cloud was dead; now this mercenary showed up and claimed to be Cloud Strife but it wasn't Cloud, or at least it wasn't the Cloud Zack remembered. It was merely a stranger wearing his ex-best friend's face and using his name.

'He changed,' Zack thought, a rather bitter smile coming to his face. 'He's colder, different; he's not the Cloud I knew. He never will be and that hurts more than I like because I know I am one of the reasons why he's changed.'

Yes, Zack reasoned, that was why he attacked. He didn't want to see what his actions had helped create; he never wanted to see.

He still had anyway.

End chapter.

Wow. This actually was giving me one hell of a hard time. I ended up rewriting most of the original chapter; I did the same with the first and second chapters too, however I couldn't figure out how to end it while still keeping the characters in the way I have made them.

Cloud in this chapter might've gotten a bit out of character but in my opinion it's rather justified. No matter how much Cloud wishes to believe that his past doesn't matter to him anymore it's still there and since he got a rather nice double douse of reality with both Tifa and Zack being present I feel that Cloud should get a little leeway emotion wise. I'm pretty sure that if anyone had a bad past with someone, or a bad parting, and hadn't seen the other in years that there definitely will be some emotion lying around. It may not be as strong, or it may be even stronger, but it's still there.

Besides, Cloud's just as human as the rest of us; albeit he's a fictional character but…you understand, yes?

Thank you though for the wonderful reviews they made my day—okay, days; thank you, especially FinalFantasyFan for your constructive criticism. I suppose the reason why I keep saying "the blonde" or "the man" over and over again is because I feel like I have to define the character and using the name constantly tends to not sound okay to me. I thank you for pointing out my over use of "the blonde" and "the man" though as, honestly, it's just as bad as just saying the name over and over. I'll keep trying on not using descriptions such as those overly much; I think I might've used 'ex-best friend' a bit too excessively but I'm still learning and honestly I have a lot I can improve upon.

Thank you for pointing those incidents out for me, and thank you for showing me a way I could've written it so that it sounded better/flowed better. I'll keep trying to catch myself when I do use repeats like that. So once again thank you.

Well, I think that's all I have to address/say for now so I guess I'll be posting this.

Review please! They really do make me happy.

TK
Twin Kats