A.N: This chapter is edited as of 10/9/2020.

- Rivai

Save File Two

Somewhere in the Slums of Sector Five, a tall and huge figure stopped in his tracks. His silver eyebrows were furrowed in confusion as he turned to look back at the trail he took. Nothing was there, but he felt as if a presence just alerted him.

"What's the matter, my son..?"

The figure started to walk again, his long sword at his side to kill off anything that stood in his path. There was a tremendous power force that appeared just a few hours ago, but he was a little unsure on what it was. Whatever it was, it made his mother agitated and also confused as well. That energy he just felt was very strong, but mother told him not to pay any heed at it.

"It's nothing, Mother. Let's continue our way."

At that, the figure briskly went into a corner and disappeared.

"This place's a dump." I said sarcastically at the train conductor, who bowed apologetically. "We're very sorry sir. This is the last train." I snorted as I sat back on my seat and gazed outside. The train's slowing down, so I figured I'm nearly there. Ignoring the conductor's apologies, I quickly walked out of the car when it finally stopped. The rain was thinning out, probably because of the plate above which was secluding the place into its smoke and darkness. I pulled my windbreaker closer to me now as I stuffed my hands into its warm pockets.

Just as I got out of the car then I realized something was wrong.

There was a dog barking loudly, and its snout was pointing at the direction I was looking at. Another train conductor was standing next to another man, checking to see if he's all right. And that man had spiky, blond hair and a blue glow from his eyes.

"Oh my god, that's Cloud!" I rushed over to them and knelt next to the blond. Damn, he looked filthy. He's soaking wet, had some weird gunk in his clothes, was that mud? And that smell…

No way…is this his first time back in Midgar since that incident in Nibelheim?

Does that mean...Zack is..?

I shook my head as I began to hoist him up on his feet. I can't think about that now. Too many things are happening at the same time and if I can't find common ground in this place I might go insane.

Cloud grunted oddly and I was wondering why he couldn't stand up straight. The huge sword latched on his back was weighing him down. I fought the urge to fanboy as I realized. It's the fucking Buster Sword. This huge ass butter knife is real, and it's heavy, and it's making it difficult for me to hold this guy up.

"Cloud, you're really, really heavy, my guy." It was my turn to grunt as I supported him. Hm, now that I notice, I'm actually taller than Cloud. I read on Wikipedia that his height will be somewhere at 5'7. So I'm a foot taller than him, huh, what a surprise. "W..what..?" Oh good, finally he spoke. I managed to at least smile a little when I made him sit at the steps. The conductor went away to fulfill his duties elsewhere and the dog also disappeared.

"Heh, you're lucky I saw you here, unless you want to be found by the Turks and then taken away to SOLDIER." My grin was short lived when I saw the glow coming from his eyes. I was then taken aback by its sheer awesomeness. Damn, never met someone with a deep set of blue such as this. "SOLDIER…" He muttered as he clutched onto his head. Oh, right. I almost forgot Cloud has his own issues of mania as well.

"I…was one of…them…"

"One of what now?"

"SOLDIER."

I stared at him, crossing my arms. If memory serves me right, this should be the part where Tifa finds him, but the question is, where's Tifa right now?

"Cloud..?"

Huh, speak of the devil…

I turned around and my gaze met hers. I have to say this here right now, that Tifa's pretty. And I mean real pretty. I thought I was amazed at her Remake version but lord this is a whole new level. Her raven hair was long enough to reach her waist while her amber eyes were wide with surprise. She has the biggest bust I ever seen, and her clothes are so...short? "Oh my goodness, Cloud!" She hurried over to his side while I tried to look worried as well.

"He's your friend, miss?" Tifa practically ignored me as she shook the ex-SOLDIER. "Cloud, Cloud! It's me, Tifa!" At the sound of her name, the blond slowly looked at Tifa with his eyes turning back to normal. "Tifa..?" Aw, childhood reunion. Sort of. I was almost glad to have him back to normal when I forgot that we haven't even formally met.

So much for the introductions, Noel… "Tifa! How have you been? It's me, Cloud!" And just like that, Cloud's mania puffed out into thin smoke and disappeared. His childhood friend, however, was overjoyed to see him alive. "Cloud! It's you!" Tifa hugged him close, while I stood in the background, awkwardly rubbing the back of my neck. What should I do now? Help Cloud get to Seventh Heaven and ask to join AVALANCHE? No way, that will be too damn suspicious…

"How long has it been? Five years, right?" Oh no. This is the part where Tifa's gonna be confused by Cloud's story. There's no way I can't stop this now. This was supposed to be one of the crucial parts of the story.

"…Cloud…" Hang in there, please Tifa. "Welcome home." Huh, that's it? Tifa was helping Cloud on his feet again when I lent a hand as well. "Let me help." I said simply just as the girl nodded at me. Due to the extra manpower, we were able to get the weak ex-SOLDIER off the platform and onto the direction of Tifa's bar, Seventh Heaven.

"By the way," Tifa looked over to me as we were practically carrying Cloud, "I don't think we've met. I'm Tifa. I would've shaken your hand but..." She then motioned to the already sleeping blond. I let out an amused huff as I adjusted my shoulder. "Noel. Nice to meet you, Tifa. And it's fine. He looked like he needed all the help in the world." I gave off my toothy grin while she looked apologetic.

"Did you know him?"

"Nah, soon as I left the train I saw him dozing off on the platform. Then you came in and…"

We continued to have some small talk as we traversed deeper into Sector Seven. Sector Seven is even gloomier than Sector Eight. It reminded me of the squatters back at the city. Houses were made from iron scraps and wooden studs while makeshift lights dimly lit the cluttered streets. Smoke and nervous tension filled the place as we half carried, half dragged Cloud up to Tifa's bar.

The bar outside looked as clumped up as it was like the houses outside, but when we got inside, I couldn't help but marvel the place. Everything's clean and shiny, the chairs were arranged orderly by the tables while a pinball machine stood in the right side of the place. The shelves were stocked with wine and alcohol, cocktails and rum. It's a drinking haven here. "Let's put him here." Tifa gestured to a chair near the pinball machine. I was kinda hoping for the room down below but I knew I wasn't a member of AVALANCHE, not yet at least. Me and the bar lady propped up Cloud onto the chair as we both wiped the sweat from our brows.

"Whew, that guy sure is heavy. Seems that he's got a lot more muscle than I thought." I stretched my arms and yawned. Wow, I didn't know I was this sleepy. But then again, it was midnight and way past my bedtime, even for a weekend. Tifa gave off a tired smile towards me, "Yes, he was in SOLDIER alright." The tone of her voice just blew it off but I went along with it as I beamed back at her.

"Want me to serve you a drink?" Now that seemed to be a great idea.

"Yeah, sure. A shot of brandy then." Tifa nodded as I sat on one of the bar stools. It's really comfortable here, I like the atmosphere. No wonder the Seventh Heaven bar was just as famous as what the game says. My fingers drummed over the polished countertop, trying to think of my next move. Just when I was about to succumb to total boredom, the door of the bar opened and a little girl in a pink dress entered the bar. When I studied her, I relaxed for a bit. No doubt that this is Marlene, Barret's daughter, well, kind of.

"Hey, Tifa!" The little girl bounced up excitedly, but then became nervous at the sight of me. She looked exactly the same as the Remake version, small, bright brown eyes, her hair cropped to shape her chubby face, she looked like every bubbly child I came across with. Seeing that Marlene was distracted by me, Tifa cleared her throat to get my attention and brought me my drink. "Enjoy." She said dryly as she waved Marlene over to her. Deciding not to bother the kid anymore, I went back to my drink and took a tentative sip. Mhm, tastes like home.

Preoccupied with my drink, Marlene pointed at Cloud, "What's wrong with him?" She asked curiously. Tifa let out a sigh as she shrugged, "New member." I quickly looked up from my drink and shot a stare at her.

"Member for what, AVALANCHE?" She then stared back at me, her eyes sharp. Oh shit, I think I pissed her off because of that stupid slip-up. I went back to my drink, sweating buckets as the bar abruptly became quiet.

Oh god, oh god, oh god! What should I do? Talk my way out of it? Nah, she'll beat the crap out of me. Fight her? …She'll totally beat the crap out of me. I placed my hands over my head to think some more when I felt a kick hit the back of my neck and sent me flying.

"SHIT!" I yelled as my body smashed against the bottled drinks at the shelves in front of me. I slid down to the floor with a loud thump. "Damn, that hurt!" My mouth was a little numb but I yelled it out anyway. I heard footsteps and a hand grabbed a fistful of my shirt, pulling me up high. Jesus, why is she so strong?!

"Who are you?! How did you know about AVALANCHE?! Are you from Shinra?!" Tifa shouted fiercely, shaking me shitless. Crap, this is way worse than I could've imagined.

I gulped my anxious feeling as I shook my head in an attempt to defuse the situation. "W-wait! T-this is just a m-m-misunderstanding!" Tifa was glaring at me so hard it was like gazing at the sun.

However, before she could say anything, my hand took her wrist and easily wrung her off of me. It was all a blur as said hand turned into a vice-like grip, and used that power to throw her across the room. I was just as shocked as the kid and her. "What..?" Both Tifa and I said out loud. She was surprised at my strength, and I am too. She sat dazedly on top of a broken table, dumbfounded at me. I tilted my head to look at my hand. It looked completely normal enough, so how does that explain that I threw off a martial arts brawler across the room?!

Tifa quickly got up from her spot with a fist ready. My body tensed up for the upcoming pain, but all I could feel was the wind blowing towards my face and my whole entire being instantly moving to the side to avoid her right cross. I felt a headache coming to me, but I ignored it and I continued to follow my body's movement. Ducking her punch, it gave me the advantage to throw a roundhouse kick at her. The young woman, obviously astonished by that trick, doubled up in pain, but stood up again. I don't know how I'm doing it, but at least I'm not beat up yet. And I don't want to hurt Tifa, but clearly she wanted to hurt me. I panted a bit as I clutched onto my chest with ragging breaths.

Seeing this moment of weakness, the raven haired girl side-stepped to avoid another one of my mysterious kickboxing techniques and performed an incredibly awesome somersault. "Her Limit Break?" I thought. One of her legs hit my chin as I felt myself soar to the ceiling. The other one followed up to hit me, well, really hit me at the crotch!

"OH MY FU-!" I screamed as my body collided on the rounded tables, my hands immediately down to cover the pain. I bawled there, clearly out of breath, as I clutched on painfully. A shadow loomed over me, and the last thing I saw was a fist heading straight towards me, and my vision blacked out.

Tifa was physically and mentally exhausted from this battle with the mysterious stranger. She stood up from her spot, panting exasperatedly. Marlene slowly and cautiously emerged from her hiding place and approached the fatigued bar lady. "Tifa, are you alright?" She asked her wearily. Tifa gazed at the child then turned back at the brown haired young man.

"I'm fine, Marlene." She gave her a small smile while affectionately patting her head. She moved back up to Cloud and was relieved to see him safe from their brawl. He was propped up on a chair, still fast asleep. She will have to talk to Barret about recruiting him to AVALANCHE, and they have to do something about him…

Tifa stared long and hard at the young man, who was still unconscious on a mess of broken tables and chairs. His mouth was slightly opened while the corner of it had a small trickle of blood flowing slowly down his chin. If not for the blood, and if she dare say it, he actually looked adorable, almost like a kid. He had mousse brown hair that was too thick and was styled commonly like Cloud's, although it was a thicker but shorter version of a certain chocobo head. And whenever she looked at him, his eyes reminded her of a colored gem, emerald. When they fought, however, those calm eyes were blazing with animosity.

Tifa shivered at the thought of him as a monster like Sephiroth, who destroyed her hometown many years ago. That's not something she should be thinking about right now; Cloud's here, and maybe there's a chance they can finally make change in this corrupt city. Something poked at her leg as she looked down to see. It was a broomstick handle, and Marlene was smiling at her while holding it. "Time to clean up, Tifa." Realizing that the bar looked like a total wreck, the bar lady let out a soft giggle as she ruffled Marlene's hair and picked up the broom, ready to clean up and wait for Barret and the others to come home.

"Oh, yeah…" She then turned back to the stranger who brought Cloud in with her. "Have to tie him up somewhere…"

"Damn… What happened..?" I groaned as I forced myself to wake up. The first thing that came to mind was that I feel so incredibly stiff. That was when I noticed the thick rope coiled around my body, effectively tying me to what seems to be a leather punching bag.

"Hey, you're awake!" There was an unfamiliar voice that sounded in front of me. Blearily, I raised my head to the source. My vision was just as blurry as fogged glass, but I can make out three figures in front of me. As the seconds passed, I could see a little more clearly now. I'm in some kind of room with the faint scent of sweat, sawdust, and wet metal. There are some scraps of iron jumbled together to make what seemed to be a metal table while there are some boxes around it serving as chairs. A TV was perched on a corner, showing Midgar Channel Seven News about a blown up mako reactor. Computers and other high tech stuff were lined up on one side of the wall, where the other side near me has a huge whiteboard with a detailed drawing of a map.

Now that I can see better, I let my gaze fall on the three people in the room. "Man, you slept like a log. You even beat Barret's record!" Said a guy about my age who wore a red band on his forehead. His black hair's gelled up in an odd fashion, and on his arms and torso were an assortment of gauntlets and armor. He was grinning at me with his fists on his hips. I blinked rapidly at the sight of him. Was that… Biggs..?

"H-hey, shouldn't we k-keep information f-from him..?" Said a smaller, rather round young man. He looked a bit worried and out of place. Although his hair was covered with a red bandana, I could make out that it was black because of the two, thick strands of hair poking out of it. He had quite a build, and wow, he has grenades on his belt. I was confused at his look, because I expected Wedge to be a bit more like his Remake counterpart.

There was a small sigh coming from the third person, which I already presumed as Jessie. Now that I think about it, Jessie looks so young here. It's a little weird because I know from the wiki she should be around 23 or 24 years old. She has Aerith's style of hair where there are two, long side-bangs at either side of her face. Armor, shoulder pads, and gauntlets covered her body while a thin, red band was tied up to her forehead. "Well, Tifa's still doting over Cloud and Barret's out to get Marlene from school, so I think it's fine to get acquainted with our guest here." She spat out venomously. I furrowed my eyebrows at her. Why does everyone hate me again?

Oh, right. Tifa, AVALANCHE, the whole shebang.

"You sure know how to treat your guests right…" I snarled while trying to wiggle out of my tied up form.

"Says the one who nearly beat up our friend." Biggs' grin faltered as he frowned at me. Wow, did I really cause that much damage on Tifa last night?

And my strength, where did that come from..?

Wedge walked towards the table and sat on one of the cardboard boxes. He opened up a bag of chips, and as he was snacking on them he turned to me and asked, "How about you tell us your story and we tell you ours?" The other two members looked at the round one in shock.

"Wedge, what the hell are you doing?!"

"We're not allowed to do that..!"

"…What do you guys want from me..?" I quietly spoke, my brows still furrowed. Wedge just shrugged as he waved his powdered-cheese crusted hand. "Well, from what Tifa told us, you really packed a punch, even if you're a stupid one."

Whoa, what? I was confused at this but he continued on, "We just wanna know if you're from Shinra or not. You tell us the truth about you, and we'll probably let you go." I eyed him suspiciously for a bit before I heaved a sigh. I guess I have no choice, huh?

I closed my eyes as I tried to think about home. My family, my job, my boring, normal life. "…My name's Noel. I used to live in Gonggaga, and I came to Midgar to look for a job." Okay, so far so good. That checks in with what I told Aerith a while ago. Wedge urged me to go on as I stiffly nodded.

"I used to live with my family, with my mother, my two older sisters, and a younger brother. My father's dead so I'm left to make a living for my family." Good, good. I kinda like my own made-up version of a terrible life.

Even if it's somewhat true. "One day, the major reactor planted near the town exploded, killing my family and my friends. I was one of the few survivors of the place, so when Shinra found me, they took me to Junon to get patched up. I left the place and set my sights at Midgar, and here I am, getting my ass handed and tied to a punching bag." I shot at them while I tried to, once again, wiggle my way out, which unfortunately came unsuccessful. The three were silent as they looked at each other then huddled in a corner, probably to talk about me. I can only catch glimpses of their conversations; they were debating whether they should believe my story or not. I decided to look around the room once again and caught sight of my headphones lying on the table. My wallet's there as well as my phone. I hope they didn't try to hack it open; the password's just a simple set of lucky 7s.

I hung my head and stared at the ground with unfocused eyes. Why am I here? Am I ever going to get back home? Will I make it out alive? I'm nowhere near special, I can't hold on my own for a fight, and I might not say this out loud, but I'm a coward at heart. Those aren't the qualities needed in a world like this.

But...there may be a silver lining in this. Ever since I came here, I haven't heard any voices in my head. It may be the first time since it's been this quiet, and I like that. I hope that, for the duration of my stay here, my mania won't be a problem.

Rumble, rumble, rumble…

"Wha…?" I groaned audibly as I forced myself to wake up. I didn't know how long I slept there, I can't tell what time it is. Tiredly, my head looked up to see the pinball machine coming up as the three stopped talking and faced the place where the machine used to be. Seconds later, it came back down, this time with a burly man, a girl, and a guy. It didn't take me too long to recognize Barret, Tifa, and Cloud, but they don't look the least bit excited to be here.

In fact, they kinda looked scary... "Look who decided to wake up!" Eurgh, so this is what Barret sounds like. I tried to make a face at him, but I choked up on my spit when his gun arm punched me in the gut. "Gugh!" Damn, what was that?! I furiously glared at Barret, who did so back.

Barret's build was pretty huge and was bulging with muscles. He had on a sleeveless shirt under a tan vest, cargo pants and a pair of burly boots. His gun arm's really impressive though. "Huh? You givin me the silent treatment, now, Shinra spy?!"

I really wanted to kick him on the face for being so loud. "Shut up! I'm not a Shinra spy and I don't want to do anything with them, so let me go!" I shouted at him, whose patience was wearing thin. Barret was about to hit me again with his gun arm when a hand stopped his way.

Cloud looked at the leader of AVALANCHE with an impassive face. "We already know his story; we're here to ask how he knew about this place, remember?" Christ, right. My stupid mistake. I was never supposed to know about them; I'm just a nobody who shouldn't be poking their nose into their business unless I'm looking for a fight.

But I'm not looking for a fight. I'm looking to go with them in this world.

"How did you know about the group? Talk, if not," Cloud took his buster sword and held it close enough to my face. I could clearly see the cuts and gashes etched onto the blade. "You already know what'll happen." Shit!

"I, uh…" My voice trailed off as the sword made its way to my chin. Cloud's eyes were glowing a dangerous blue glow, while Tifa and the others stood behind, watching us.

"I said, talk!"

"A-alright, alright!" I...don't have a choice here. I have to lie once again. "I-I don't know anything, really! It's just that…" I tried to look as worried and confused as a person cornered. "I overheard some Shinra MPs over at Sector Eight. They said the terrorists bombing the Reactors are most likely stationed in Sector Seven!" My chest was heaving as sweat matted my skin. This was probably the only time I worried about lying so hard, and wanting to be believed on that.

There was silence in the room, until Tifa spoke up, "Do you know who those MPs are?" She looked bewildered for a second. I nodded lamely as I looked back on the ground.

"N-no, they're wearing their helmets, I couldn't see their faces." That's true, MPs have helmets just like those Shinra infantrymen.

Just like Cloud, all those years ago. "What? Bullshit, why didn't you tell us sooner?" Biggs angrily yelled as I flinched at his tone of voice.

"How the hell should I know that? You guys were treating me like crap and I wasn't given a chance to defend myself!" Again, silence loomed over the room. The three plus Tifa looked confused while Barret was fuming and looked ready to hit me again. Cloud, however, couldn't keep his eyes away. Those eyes were just staring deep into my soul…

After a while, the blonde seemed to lower his guard there, with the way his shoulders slackened. "Are you sure you're telling the truth?"

"Yeah…" I panted, trying to keep my voice calm. Cloud slowly pulled away and placed his sword back at its normal place, his gaze cool. "He's not lying." My face lit up at his words. Yes, thanks Cloud!

The others seemed to relax yet Barret snorted as he put down his gun-arm. "I'm not buying it, but I guess I don't have a choice…" He shook his head as he motioned for the others to gather round again.

"Yo, listen up! Tomorrow, we're still on the mission. So I say you rest your asses and get ready for tomorrow!" Everyone nodded and then moved away to do their own thing. Tifa urged Wedge and Biggs to get some dinner before bed, while Jessie turned to a computer and started pulling up some schematics and bomb analysis and such. Only Cloud and Barret remained in front of me, the both of them trying to look for the right words to say.

"What's your name?" Barret gruffly asked me.

"It's Noel. You?" I know their names already, but it's nice to get a proper introduction.

"Cloud."

"I'm Barret Wallace and don't you forget it, smart-ass!" I smiled a private smile at that. Typical Barret; he's loud, thinks he's the shit, but he's got a big heart. "Nice to meet you, Cloud, Barret."

"You're from Gonggaga, right?"

"Yeah, I used to."

"Hm." Cloud stared at me again with those deep blue eyes of his. I guess the mention of the name wasn't enough to make him remember Zack or his past. "You looking for a job? You don't look like you have one." The fuck? I mean, I know I look like shit but how do you guess someone doesn't have a job just from their looks?

"Er...yeah, I don't have one."

"We should recruit him then." Cloud pondered for a while before nodding. "How old are you again?"

"I'm twenty, that's enough for you all?" Barret let out another hearty chuckle as he nodded triumphantly.

"Good at fighting?"

"I was able to show some moves to Tifa for a while." I then felt a grin come up to my face. I don't know why, but this conversation is making me feel giddy. I guess you could say I looked pretty goofy right now. "Well, we have a mission tomorrow and we're taking you with us. You do good and you're in." Barret, you don't need to tell me again twice.

"Deal." I said with newfound confidence. Cloud wordlessly took his sword again, and slash! The ropes holding me in place feel like strips of paper as I stood back on my own two feet. I felt more relieved than ever as I then kneeled to the floor to massage my aching legs. I saw a large hand near my face as I looked up and watched Barret smirk at me.

"Welcome to AVALANCHE."