Author's Note: First, I'd like to thank you for taking your time to wonder what this story is going to be about. Secondly, I wanted to take this opportunity to inform you that although I wish I could post a new chapter once a day, I work two full-time jobs so finding time to actually work on the story (and proofread it) will take more time than I'd like. I'm very excited to see my story unfold and though it will be a long ride with slow progress, I sincerely hope you will be patient with me so we can take this journey together! And last but not least…

Disclaimer: I may work two full-time jobs but I'm a poor grad so you'll get nothing anyway. And, even if I did have the funds, I still wouldn't be able to own the rights either. =(

[ I ]

"STOP!"

Cloud jerked awake, startling Marlene. The small, silver tray in her hands clanked onto the wooden floor. The white, porcelain cup once filled with hot tea splattered at the foot of Cloud's bed and shattered. Her eyes were wide, showcasing the unexpected shock and a hint of fear riddled with shame. She quickly bent down and began to gather the broken cup.

"Wait! Don't touch anything, Marlene."

He threw the dusty-blue comforter covers off him and crouched across from Marlene, carefully picking the pieces and setting them onto the overturned silver tray which he up-righted. "You might cut yourself."

Marlene nodded, stood and took a small step back to allow Cloud access to the damages. "I'll go get a washcloth."

Cloud nodded. "Thank you."

As her childish feet padded quickly down the stairs, he plucked the last piece of the white cup from behind the foot-post and set it down with a deep sigh.

It had already been over two years since the end of The Planet's wrath, the Geo-Stigma, however, the dreams about that time only succeeded in becoming more frequent. He gradually made his appearance in Aeris and Zack's place by the doorway each time Cloud dreamt to the conclusion and with each dream, he became more vivid. In the beginning, he was an uncomfortable feeling. Then he became Aeris' shadow. The last few times he was alongside an unsuspecting Aeris as she walked away. That morning, there was no Aeris or Zack, just him.

Soft footsteps ascended the stairs and rounded the corner. Cloud snapped out of his thoughts to look up. Instead of Marlene, a gentle Tifa kneeled across from Cloud with a dry, grey towel in her hands. The light grey turned dark as it stained. She continued to wipe the now warm, aromatic tea that had spewed over the floor and had filled his room with the soft and bitter scent.

Cloud sat back on his heels with the tray in his lap. "Sorry."

Tifa smiled faintly with a slight shake of her head; her silver earring jingled. "Marlene told me not to scold you."

Cloud nodded. "Thank you."

"She said you looked like you were having a bad dream so I asked her to give you some tea so that when you wake up, you'll be more relaxed."

"I should apologize for scaring her." His gaze traveled out the curtain-less window and back at the now dampened towel.

She smiled again, her eyes focused on the matter at hand. "Don't worry about that. There are better things for you to worry about. Barret's outside getting fired up because Reno and Rude have refused to relay a message to you through him."

"The Turks? If they're here, Rufus must be desperate." Besides, if Cloud had to take a guess, it was probably no more than half past seven in the morning. It was a little odd.

"That man only has the good of Shinra on his mind," Tifa agreed. She stood quickly and darted into the bathroom next door to wring out the sopped towel. "Leave that to me and go see what the boys are fussing over before Barret raises his right arm," Tifa giggled lightheartedly.

She's right, he thought. I'd better go see what the problem is. He thanked her again as he side-stepped out of her way when she re-entered to finish drying the floor.

Marlene was sitting on one of the bar's stools with Denzel and the two were whispering solemnly to one another. Both stopped to watch Cloud when he entered the room. With a faint "Good morning" nod, he crossed the straight path to the door and pulled it open while still clad in an all black, cotton pajama bottom that hung low on his slender hips and a black, cotton wife-beater that accentuated his broad shoulders which hugged his well-built torso. The hard cement doorstep was cold under his bare feet and he found himself involuntarily lifting his toes.

Cloud glanced to his left where Reno and Rude stood defensively and to the right with Barret flailing both arms in frustration, a scowl on his face.

The men stopped when they saw Cloud. Reno's eyes bugged-out slightly. "I'd never figure you to be a late riser."

"What does your master want?" And it wasn't late. They were just early - early enough that his voice was still coarse from sleep.

Reno turned to Rude as if confirming something unspoken before looking back at Cloud. There was a playful curve to his lips that screamed, "mischief" as they always did. "The Boss wants to speak to you in person, yo."

Cloud tsk'd and tilted his head aside. "It would've made things easier if he had come with you and it'd all be over with by now."

"That it? An' you said you ain't tellin' me nothin'? What a buncha time wasters, ya Turds!" Barret interjected from the side.

Reno and Rude grunted in reply but swiftly returned their attention back onto Cloud, who had raised his hand to Barret as a sign for him to stay in line. "Just following orders, yo."

"What's the full message?"

Rude checked the time on a watch on his left wrist that Cloud never knew he wore. "In two hours. "

"Where?"

"We'll find you," Reno finished.

"The hell's that supposed ta mean?" Barret displayed an irritated face, which was fine by Cloud. He would have had the same reaction except his hadn't made its way to the surface. Rude had already started backing away and Reno, after checking his watch as usual, followed suit. Cloud didn't know whether to feel something for the poor Turks or not, as they were constantly on some kind of schedule.

Barret stepped forward, shaking his gun-armed fist. "What's with the smartass - "

"Barret."

He looked to his left and instantly shut his potty mouth. Marlene and Denzel were peeking through the door behind Cloud and apparently, had been eavesdropping on the conversation. He cleared his throat and cooled his risen temper to mutter instead, "Those damned Turks. Always tryin' ta be mysterious one way or 'nother."

"Hi daddy!" Having been caught listening to grown-up's conversations, Marlene decided it was time to come out from hiding. She pushed the door open, smacking Cloud's behind. He stumbled forward and caught himself. Denzel remained at the threshold.

"Marlene! C'mere, you silly, little girl!"

She hopped onto Barret's muscular outstretched arms before he even finished asking her to. The lovey-dovey father-daughter duo giggled on as Cloud placed an arm around Denzel and retreated inside the bar.

"Ah! You're getting too big for Daddy to carry! Did you have a good night?"

The door clicked shut softly behind them Cloud and Denzel.

"What do you want for breakfast?" Cloud queried.

Denzel's eyes lit up, softening the frown Cloud hadn't realized he was holding until then. "Can I have anything?"

"Whatever you want!" Cloud swept his arms apart to specify that anything meant anything.

"Hm..." The boy seemed to have made a quick decision but then his eyes flickered from Cloud's and back to staring into the distance.

Cloud nudged him playfully, knowing that the boy wouldn't show greed, and lifted the boy onto one of the bar stools. He rounded to the serving side of the counter, leaned in and smiled mischievously. It was a face he hadn't made since... forever, he thought. The muscles required for the expression felt stiff. Pure excitement brightened up Denzel's usual calm visage. Cloud's smile grew a smidgeon wider and he leaned closer to Denzel to whisper. "How about... ice cream?"

"Yeah!"

"Shh!"

The elated youngster covered his mouth with both hands in surprise and giggled. Cloud chuckled faintly with him. "But you have to promise not to let Barret catch us, alright?"

Denzel nodded vigorously. "What about Marlene?"

"She'll love ice cream for breakfast too... as soon as we get Barret to leave." He winked and Denzel nodded knowingly.

"How do we do that?"

Just so, the front door opened and the father-daughter duo stepped in with Marlene atop Barret's shoulder. She had definitely gotten bigger in the last few years but in comparison to her father's largely muscled shoulders, she was still as comfortable as when they first met.

"What're you two plotting?" He slid Marlene off his shoulder with ease.

Marlene's eyes widened and her natural curiosity was peaked. "I wanna know too! Denzel, share!"

The plotters eyed each other. How to get Barret out of the plan, thought Cloud. Like a god-send, the bar phone rang. They heard Tifa quickly descend the steps and stopped short when she saw Marlene run around the bar counter to pick up the receiver. Barret and Tifa exchanged greetings while Cloud wondered vaguely why she didn't grab the call upstairs.

The caller was none other than Cid and he explained that he had tried Barret's cellular phone line. When Barret hadn't picked up, he figured to try the bar. Where else would the man be? That yanked at Barret's wrong cord and their conversation escalated into a verbal fight over the phone. By the time the phone call ended, the man was back to normal. Barret announced that he was headed to the Midgard ruins with Cid to salvage scrap metal for a project Cid had been blue-printing.

"What's he planning to build?" Denzel spoke the thought in Cloud's mind.

"Beats me. I'm just extra muscle." He shrugged. "Tifa... I hate to ask but - "

"That's fine, Barret. Marlene has Denzel, Cloud and myself."

Barret hung his head and shook it slowly side to side. "Thanks."

"Don't mention it. Besides, we have more fun when you're not around."

"What? No, tell me that's not true, Marlene!"

Marlene giggled. The corners of Cloud's lips tugged upward again. "Who wants ice cream?"
Barret's jaw dropped and after several fruitless attempts to rain on their happy morning, he was shoved out the door, an uninvited guest to their party.

Fenrir came to a sliding stop before the cliff's drop, sending a variable of rocks bouncing over the edge. The rusty, weather-beaten Buster sword remained faithful, overlooking the black, scrap ruins of Midgard with Edge springing from it's southeast. Cloud shut off the bike and stepped off, unearthed the lopsided sword by the hilt and stabbed it back into the dry land.

A small plume of dirt drifted across the open air. Cloud often made specific trips every once in a short while to straighten out the Buster sword that was at the constant mercy of nature; and also because Cloud would not bear the thought of his friend's dignity being any less.

Sure, the Turks took care of Zack's physical body when Cloud had sauntered off half-dead in the pouring rain, but the sword marked much more than, "the spot First Class SOLDIER Zack Fair, a deserter," was gunned down. It was the place where his friend had gifted him a new beginning. It was the place he promised to live on. His life wasn't just his own. There was the place where he returned to when he was lost. Zack would always be the solution to his queries. The place served as a reminder of everything that had come to pass, everything that is and everything that is to come.

"What's so important that you came to see me in person?" Cloud side-stepped and Reno tumbled forward, missing Cloud with his electro-magnetic rod. He felt the prickling of not-friend, not-foe and glanced over his right shoulder to the approaching Turks and their boss, Rufus.

Reno grappled onto the Buster sword for support and succeeded in re-tilting it on its axis; the hard dirt and pebbles crackled under the movement. He peered over the cliff and let out a loud whistle. "That wouldn't have been very funny, yo."

Cloud turned to face his approachers with his right hand rested on Fenrir's side. Rude stood behind and to Rufus' left with his hands clasped before him. Tseng took his place to the right of Rufus and Elena "the true Blond" to Tseng's right. Cloud wasn't particularly fond of the blond Shinra boss nor did he trust the man's words. Rufus was afterall, a man who had once given a wonderful speech about controlling the common citizen with fear and power instead of money the way his old man had. That fact hadn't changed since their first meeting at Shinra Headquarters years ago albeit less directly as of late.

"Glad to see you're doing well too, Cloud," Rufus announced with a smile that didn't quite reach his blue eyes.

Reno straightened himself and dusted down his black suit. He returned nonchalantly to Rufus' side, eyeing Cloud as if Cloud were detrimental to his usual downfall. Cloud took none of it to heart but there was something about Rufus that he never really did quite know how to approach. He didn't welcome the way Rufus was appraising him in the silence either. Was this a battle of wills? When the crowd remained silent for long enough, Cloud debated about hopping back onto Fenrir.

"Always so impatient with me, Cloud. I feel like I have to book an appointment with you… although that being said, I did do so and that's why we're here now. But still ever so impatient."

"I'm here for important matters, or so it seemed at the time," Cloud responded.

Rufus waved a hand nonchalantly before clasping them behind his back. It was a hereditary trait, Cloud assumed. "Yes, I'll go straight to the point."

Cloud waited.

"You may want to have a seat first."

Cloud shook his head. "To the point."

"I was… taking a leisurely tour of North Coral several days ago. It has come some time ago to my understanding that a friend of yours calls that place 'home'. What was his name again?"

"Go on," Cloud urged, his patience running thin as the seconds ticked forward.

"Ah, yes. You do recall your experience at the Gold Saucer some four years ago, do you not? There was an… accident, if you will, involving a man with a gunned arm. Turned out it was not the doing of that friend of yours but his friend." Rufus paced back and forth before the four Turks, his eyes locked on Cloud's as he spoke. "But I'm sure that's old news to you." A strip of blond bangs fell forward and Rufus swept it back with his hand.

Cloud almost wanted to smile in irony at that simple habitual gesture which he thought Rufus had dropped. Almost. Instead, he reached for the Buster sword, unearthed it and staked it down stably again. "Get to the point."

Rufus stopped his pacing, glanced behind his shoulder and Rude produced a roll of paper. Cloud took it from Rude's gloved hands and skimmed through the columns.

"It's your idol, Sephiroth, we're searching for." As hastedly as she opened her mouth, Elena quickly clamped it shut. Some habits die hard. Rude cocked his head to the side to glare at Elena through his dark shades and the female's cheeks flushed a neon pink.

Rufus shrugged and shook his head disapprovingly. "Elena, I shouldn't have to remind you."

At the Boss' words, Elena lowered her gaze to her shiny, black stilettos.

Cloud rolled up the paper and thrust it toward the Turk again, speaking indirectly to Rufus. "So you're implying that the new mass murder at the Gold Saucer from this paper was his doing?" It was more a statement than a question.

"Since Elena had so gracefully cut to the chase, there's no reason to prance around the obvious." Rufus did not refute her claim.

"What makes you so sure?"

Reno stepped forward. "Didn't you read the paper?"

"It doesn't confirm anything."

"You're in denial - "

"It's not him," Cloud cut Rufus short.

Reno snorted in disbelief. "You're always in denial when it comes to Sephiroth, yo. He's as real as you and I, though by some freak of Lifestream nature, he keeps returning."

"He won't stop until he gets what he's always been aiming for," Rufus continued, slipping back into the conversation. "You know it, and you know it best."

I know that he is equally as insane as his mother was, once upon a time. I also know that he desires me as his captive audience. The sadist in him would love nothing more than to see me suffer.

Cloud glanced over his shoulders briefly toward Edge and back again. "Just because I've successfully forced him to retreat twice doesn't mean anything."

"It means," Rufus held up his index finger, "that you are indeed a First Class SOLDIER."

Cloud scoffed. "That holds no meaning to me."

Behind Rufus, Tseng bowed, turned and slowly descended the dry path they'd previously come from. Elena followed suit, both of them kicking up dust lightly as their feet crushed the fine grains under their soles.

Rufus waved a hand nonchalantly, habitually, yet again. "Time waits for no one, Cloud. Sooner or later you'll have to face him again. Sooner than later, I would hope." He turned and then stopped halfway. "What will happen in fifty, sixty years when you're gone? I look forward to seeing you again, Ex-SOLDIER."

The Turks disappeared in the distance and soon the familiar sound of a helicopter rose into the sky with the even more familiar red diamond painting on its side. Cloud straddled Fenrir and allowed it to roar to life after eyeing the rusted Buster sword once more. Everything seemed to begin with him and probably will have to end with him. If it weren't for the adoration Cloud had for Sephiroth, he would have never joined SOLDIER and aspire to Sephiroth's greatness. If it weren't for Sephiroth, Nibelheim would have never gone up in flames and been rebuilt with strangers pretending to be the people he grew up around. If Sephiroth never existed, Hojo would never have experimented on Zack or himself, and they would never have had to literally run for their lives. If Sephiroth never existed…

Zack would have been alive. Aeris would have been alive. They might have been happily married with a child or two and the line of Cetras would have continued. I would have never been a disillusioned puppet.

"Would have…" Cloud whispered softly and pulled away from the cliff with Fenrir's wheels as fast as the erratic beating of his heart.

It was early evening when Cloud found himself standing before 7th Heaven. He needed some time to collect his thoughts and wound up taking a tour of the decrepit Midgard remains. He took a long, purposefully winding route home. He was glad to not have run into Cid and Barret. The cellular phone that Vincent had replaced for him had rung several times with the number from this place but he hadn't felt ready to answer the call. Tifa had on more than one occasion, given him a speech about the importance of answering a call just to assure the caller that he was safe. Cloud understood the concern but there were just moments in life that he couldn't face the facts just yet.

"Cloud?"

Tifa pulled the door open softly and let it slide all the way.

"Sorry," he replied, shaking off the memories.

Tifa moved aside, closing the door behind him. He was apologizing a great deal in one day - more than necessary, she thought. It was nothing new, however it also meant Cloud was troubled by something and that calls for action. If she couldn't get the blond to spill it, he'd be voluntarily brooding on his own.

"What did Rufus want?"

He stopped mid-step with his back to her and found himself unsure what face to show her. He swiftly opted for the simplest way around it. "Shinra business. I'll explain things tomorrow."

Tifa turned a quarter and pried into the back of his head with her eyes. Should she dig any deeper? "Explain? It's something big enough that requires an explanation?"

"Let's discuss this tomorrow."

He didn't wait for her response as he ascended the narrow, wooden stairs that groaned under his boots. Tifa looked away, sighed lightly and nodded to his retreated back. No, that's as far as she would push into his thoughts. In all those years that she had known Cloud, she knew that it was best to allow him a little time to himself before he would be able to approach any subject that weighed on his mind. At times, she trusted that he would handle himself well, but other times, she worried that his inability to open up meant he was still afraid of himself. If there was a way to change that about him, she would have done so. Cloud was Cloud and he'll always be Cloud.

His footsteps crossed heavily overhead and she knew it was time to check on Denzel. To an extent, Tifa couldn't help grouping the young boy and Cloud into one bubble. Both were lonesome wanderers who carried loads upon their shoulders, too afraid to allow the goodwill of others to help lighten the burdens.
She ascended the staircase and glanced to the right. The light in Denzel's room was still on and the door was ajar. She peered through the crack and her eyes fell upon him staring out his curtain-less window with a curiously deep thought on his face. She rapped the door gently.

Denzel snapped around as Tifa nudged the door open.

"Tifa."

"Hey. What's going on?"

He pulled away from the window and climbed onto the bed, crawling under the soft, cotton covers. "I was just wondering how Marlene and Barret are doing."

Tifa chuckled. Barret had found a place several blocks away from 7th Heaven and taken his daughter with him. The two children were fond of each other. They were sad about the sudden separation but promised to take turns visiting one another's home. They'd been together for what seemed an eternity and Barret had just cleared house last weekend. Yuffie thought the idea was great because she'd have more homes to climb into unnoticed, or so she claimed, and Barret had warned her about any sticky fingers she may be planning on acquiring. Yuffie quickly rebutted those accusations by assuring Barret that whatever he owned was probably worth nothing – unless of course, he had rare materia that she wasn't privy to and the thought alone was unfathomable. Needless to say, that stirred up Barret's pot and Cid had to silence the debate with his newly sharpened lance.

"I'm sure Barret and Marlene are fine. And I'm sure they're wondering about you, too." Tifa settled onto the side of the bed and stroked his soft, brown hair. "Cloud just returned a moment ago."

Denzel nodded. "I heard him go into his room. Is Cloud okay?"

"Yes, he's fine. Now you get some sleep too. You don't want to be still sleeping when Marlene comes over do you? That wouldn't be very manly, now."

Tifa caught a slight flushing of his cheeks and his eyes flickered bashfully. "Yes. Goodnight, Tifa."

"Goodnight."

Cloud drifted in and out of a string of thoughts as he heard Tifa exit Denzel's room and turned down the hall to hers. The impossible yet possible name the Turks had spoken of had been whirling around his mind and all he wanted to do now was sleep.

Sephiroth…

Why are you so adamant? Wouldn't things be so much better for you if you'd accepted death? You bring death and despair onto others as if you are the one to judge but aren't you the least bit ashamed of your hypocrisy?

Cloud sighed, closed his eyes and turned onto his right side. His dusty-blue covers weren't trapping his body heat and he shivered, drawing it up to his ears.

I suppose such things bear no meaning to someone such as you.

Rain began to lightly patter against his window. The sound of water had always held a form of soothing comfort to the turbulence in his mind. Many a sleepless night he'd gone to the slum church for that reason, not that there weren't access to water elsewheres. It was simply a preference and comfort zone.

The pattering gradually increased until Cloud found himself floating on his back in the pool of the slum church. He abruptly righted himself, feeling the water-softened dirt beneath his feet. The children he was used to seeing weren't surrounding him. He spun around. His friends and fellow Edge neighbors were not standing to the sides. It was quiet. He knew he had been in this situation before but couldn't quite recall the details. The church laid devoid of other life and all his ears picked up were the trickling of water and the silence that stillness brought.

He whirled around to find the church entrance but it was bare. The ambience of the crystal clear water sloshed loudly in the deadness of the church as he stepped toward the edge of the broken wooden planks. He was prepared to hoist himself up when, suddenly, something caught hold of his right ankle. His heart lept at the realization that he was going to be dragged under. Several quick kicks of his leg did little to deter the vice-like grip and with inhuman strength, it pulled and he disappeared below the surface. The sheer force stole the air from his lungs. His first instinct was to kick again and resurface for air. Bubbles fizzled around him, obscuring his view.

The hold on his ankle did not relent. Cloud flailed his arms, trying to break the surface but the pool was deeper than he recalled. The waters finally calmed enough for him to catch a glimpse of what had a hold of him. He let out a bubble-filled gasp having seen a pale, bare hand encircled his ankle. With more determination, he desperately tried to shake the perpetrating hand off but it remained strong. A second hand appeared, grabbing hold of his calf, dragging him deeper. Cloud thrashed some more, glancing toward the shimmering surface that was mere inches from the tips of his fingers. The hands that held him pulled harder and he panicked, glancing back down. The pale hands were no longer bare but covered in black, leather gloves that extended beyond his field of view. He struggled against the steel grip, his energy depleting with the lack of oxygen in each effort. His lungs threatened to burst out of his chest if he didn't resurface.

I'm going to die!

In the midst of his battle, Cloud felt the hands crawl up to his thigh, then around his torso and suddenly, mako-infused emerald eyes stared coldly into his crystal blue ones. Long, silver hair swirled around him like a swarm of ribbons.

Sephiroth?

Without warning, the lips of the silver-haired man curled upward and devoured his own. Air gushed into his lungs and with renewed vigor, Cloud pushed away. Instinctively, he swiped at his attacker with a right hook. Instead of landing a solid punch, Sephiroth dissipated like a string of smoke. Cloud reeled around in the depths of the pool with his blue orbs searching every direction yet, found himself alone.

"It's been a while, Cloud… Did you miss me?" The voice was clear as the water he was in and came from all directions. Cloud rotated again but before he could see anything, a painful clash to his left ribs sent him spiraling into a darkness that enveloped him.