A World Lost: Part III

When Cloud finally gained consciousness, his body felt as if it was under tons of very heavy rocks and knocked around very roughly. Groaning and in pain, he tries to sit himself up only to fall back down on his back.

"Hey, easy there, big guy!"

Confused, Cloud turns to find a very muscular man wearing what appeared to be chest armor, sandals, and… a skirt? However, it didn't look out of place on the man and Cloud didn't want to question anything anymore. He felt that he's seen enough strange stuff for one day and decides to close his eyes, hoping to somehow awaken in his cozy room in the Seventh Heaven bar and seeing someone standing over him with a frustrated look on her face. "Wake up sleepyhead," he could hear her say and then the abrupt kick on his bed frame. Cloud could remember a time when this person wasn't such a tough fighter. Back then she was kind and sweet, never wanting to hurt or be hurt.

"Who…," he exclaims solemnly. He brings a hand up to his head. "What's going on with me?"

"Hey, are you going to be okay?" wonders the muscular man.

"Who are you?" asks Cloud.

"I'm Hercules," introduces the man. "By the way, that kid you lost to, he's in the arena fighting off Cerberus. Amazing, huh?"

"Cerberus?" echoes Cloud.

"The three-headed giant dog that stepped on you," answered Hercules. "I'm surprised you're still in one piece. Most mortals would be pancakes in your shoes."

"And that kid's fighting it?"

"Yep!"

Cloud manages to sit himself up and looks down at the ground. "There's so much that I don't understand."

Hercules looks him over, perplexed by the odd behavior and quiet persona.

"Are you going to be all right by yourself?" he asks worriedly. "I've gotta go check on the kid and see if he needs help."

"I'll be fine, don't worry about me," assures Cloud, unfazed at the fact that he was helped by the man he was supposed to eliminate. He had more important things on his mind to worry about than a breached contract with the god of the underworld.

Feeling a little uneasy, Hercules manages to pull himself away from the troubled young man and rushes back into the coliseum. Now that he was alone, Cloud had time to contemplate on what's happened to him.

I still don't know what's going on, he thought as he lays his chin on his interlocked hands. Where am I? What happened to my world? What happened to my friends?... Are they dead?... Or are they as alive as I am and scattered to other places? What did Sephiroth mean when he said that I haven't let go of my darkness? What is my darkness? My past? My mistakes? Aerith?

Cloud fought to suppress tears that threaten to drown his eyes. "No, I shouldn't…"

Aerith's death isn't your fault.

With sorrowful eyes, Cloud gazes down at the ground. "I…"

He closes his eyes and tries effortlessly to recall the sights and sounds of his friends and comrades in arms. The people who stood by him through all the hard times, even when things looked bleak and impossible, came up in his mind one by one: Yuffie with her cheerful and uplifting personality; Barret and his ability to say what's really on his mind; Cid and his strong pride as a pilot; Red XIII with his deep and thoughtful words; Vincent's silent demeanor; Aerith and her kindness; Zack's encouraging speeches; and…

A white flash.

Cloud opens his eyes and shakes his head, confused by a strange feeling in his mind.

"Someone's… missing…"

In his heart he could feel he had forgotten about someone; someone very important to him. He searches through his memories, hoping to be able to remember who it was he could not remember. He could see long, dark brown hair tied at the bottom and a white tank top with a black miniskirt. Red shoes, red gloves, along with the ability to fight were what he saw next. The face was all blurred out so Cloud couldn't make out facial features, things that could trigger his memory. But, no matter how hard he tried, he just could not remember who it was he had forgotten. The blonde-haired swordsman became upset and unsettled by the sudden change in his memories.

The darkness… he thought. MY darkness. It must be responsible for the holes in my memories. But… WHAT is the source of my darkness? I don't understand… I need light… What IS my light? What's happening to me? Seek out the darkness, and regain my light. THAT is what I must do. Maybe then, things will finally start making sense. Maybe…

Cloud's thoughts were interrupted by a familiar voice.

"Hey… Are you all right?"

The blonde-haired swordsman looks up to see the kid and his friends standing before him. Am I all right? I've lost my home, my friends, my memories, my match to you, and you think I'm all right?!

"Yeah," replies Cloud after a tentative pause.

"So…" began the teenage boy. "Why did you go along with Hades anyway?"

Cloud began thinking to himself to decide how to answer the boy's question. He wasn't sure that he should tell the kid, but somehow, something about the boy made him feel all right to explain himself. "I'm looking for someone. Hades promised to help. I tried to exploit the power of darkness, but it backfired." He stands up and looks up at the clear-blue sky, hoping that maybe his lost memories would come back. But it didn't. "I fell into darkness and I couldn't find the light."

"You'll find it," assures the boy confidently. "I'm searching, too."

"For your light?" wonders Cloud, fascinated by the similarities between him and the boy.

A firm nod from the kid answers Cloud's question. With a smile, he walks over to the boy and places a reassuring hand on the kid's shoulder. "Don't lose sight of it."

Like I have…

Somehow strengthened by the boy's words of encouragement Cloud walks off, more determined and hopeful than he had ever been before. He felt as if Vincent's dark powers grew within him as a result of his interaction with the strange boy. What was it about that kid that seemed to give him strength?

Cloud shook his head, not really caring why. All that mattered now was finding everything he had lost.

The End… Or is it?

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A/N: Might post up an epilogue later. We shall see. ;)