Hey, all. This chapter is a bit longer than the last one, and it also sort of becomes more obvious why this is rated T. Cid's potty mouth, and some other activities...among them will soon be violence. I know this took me a while, but to those still reading this, I give you my thanks. I bow, I grovel. And I apologize for taking so long. I am not abandoning this story, I swear.

Aaaaaanyway, I don't own anything, I am just manipulating the characters to my whims...Final Fantasy 7 belongs to Square Enix.

PS: I was looking through previous chapters, and felt I might've played up Barret's personality a little too much. He doesn't shout all the time. :)

Anyway, enjoy, and please review.

Chapter Three

Broken

Over the next few days, they all tried everything they could think of to help Cloud- something to make him talk, to recognize one of them. Something.

"Maybe we could just hit him really, really hard over the head," Yuffie suggested.

"Fuck, girl, he doesn't have amnesia," Cid rolled his eyes, taking another puff from his cigarette.

"Perhaps Yuffie has the right idea- though not the right method," Nanaki mused. "If we could just...jog his memory...maybe we'll just have to keep pointing out the names of things...try to get him to speak, and teach him, as if we were teaching a child."

"But he doesn't pay any attention to us!" Cait Sith protested. Indeed, Cloud was always focused on Aerith. At that moment, he was curled by her on the floor, tracing the lines of her boot and lower calf in apparent fascination.

Aerith pursed her lips, trying to concentrate. "Is...is there anything that Cloud has, something that has a particular significance for him?"

"His sword."

Everyone turned to stare at Tifa, who stared back at all of them in something close to defiance- stared at all of them except for Aerith, deliberately avoiding her eyes. Tifa shrugged, mouth a thin, angry, line. "He always carries it around, and I think it means a lot to him, as far as objects go..."

Aerith nodded, trying not to feel hurt at Tifa's actions. "You're right..." she said slowly. She had noticed they way that Cloud held his sword- as something more than an object or a weapon of war- like it was an extension of himself, like it was an important memory. Another thought suddenly struck her and she turned toward Yuffie, snapping her fingers together. Cloud looked up at the sound. "Yuffie!' Aerith exclaimed. "Do you have those pictures from when we were at the gold saucer?"

Yuffie blinked, and then nodded. "Yeah, I think so..." Her eyes widened suddenly, and she grinned. "You're a genius, 'Rith!" She bounded off down a hall, disappearing around a corner.

"Photographs..." Nanaki murmured in approval. "Excellent. Tifa-" He turned to the woman standing a few feet apart from everyone else, her head down. She looked up at her name, determinedly not looking at Aerith. "Is Cloud's sword on the Highwind?"

"I'll get it," Cid offered, moving his cigarette to the other side of his mouth. "I don' want nobody but me goin' in there alone!" With that, he turned on his heel, marching up to where he would climb out of the canyon, and to the Highwind.

"Aerith...do you think it'll work?" Barret asked. As soon as he stepped closer to her, Cloud's head snapped up and he scowled heavily, stepping in front of her. Barret retreated with a fierce scowl of his own. "Shit, Spiky..." He mumbled. "I'm not gonna shoot her..."

Aerith shot Barret an apologetic look, at which he shrugged. She sighed before answering his earlier question. "I'm honestly not sure..." She said quietly. "But...with both his sword and some photographs...maybe we can trigger something in his memory...or...his soul, I suppose..." She trailed off, putting a hand over her eyes. Cloud's fingers pulled at her hand, a little, and she saw him peeking up at her, blue eyes wide and worried.

"Sorry, Cloud," She whispered. She brought her hand down, and made herself smile. They would figure this out. Everything would be okay.

"Aerith," Nanaki said, his tail flicking. "I was thinking- perhaps before we set out again we should go by the Forgotten City. Maybe we could figure something out...and more exploration of the ruins certainly wouldn't hurt."

Aerith nodded. "That might be a good idea. What do you all think?"

"I dunno...couldn't Sephiroth still be hangin' around there?" Barret asked. "I wanna fight him and all, but walkin' right into his hands doesn't seem like a good idea."

Vincent spoke, his arms crossed. "The dangers of walking into a trap are great. Would the information we could obtain be worth it? Aerith, you said yourself that we must continue to look for Sephiroth. Along the way we can search for ways to help Cloud. But Sephiroth must be our top priority, or we might just run out of time." His voice was gravelly, but not unkind.

Yuffie bounded into sight, photographs clutched in her hand.

"Here," She said, holding them out to Aerith. Cloud watched her suspiciously, still hiding a little bit behind Aerith.

The brunette smiled at Yuffie in thanks and apology, holding the photographs out in front of her. She could remember well when they had taken those...

The lights flashed all around them, and the sounds of laughter made it nearly hard to think. But the atmosphere was so happy; none of them could be in damp spirits (except, perhaps Vincent, who if anything looked like he was getting an intense migraine).

Cloud walked up front with Aerith and Tifa on either side of him, and Yuffie right behind them. They were going to go their separate ways soon, but then Tifa spotted something. "Hey, Cloud...is that what I think it is?" She pointed to what looked like an old-fashioned camera, the kind that took black and white pictures, next to a much new model that was shining in the bright lights. A photographer in a black hat stood beside both of them, next to a sign that said: 'Photographs: 5 gil for black and white, 7 for color.'

Cloud frowned at it. "It's a camera."

Tifa nodded. "I know! But that old one looks just like the one they used in Nibelheim for the newspaper!" She looked at him, searching for some sign of recognition.

Cloud blinked, and then shrugged, rubbing the back of his neck. "If you say so."

"Tifa!" Aerith grabbed her friend's arm, grinning broadly. "We should get some pictures taken! With all of us," She said pointedly, staring hard at the few men (namely Vincent and Barret) that had been trying to sneak away. They both stopped.

Tifa frowned a little. "It's a good idea, but how could we carry them around with us? They might get destroyed..."

Aerith waved her hand, dismissing the issue. "We'll figure something out. We could probably keep them somewhere on the Highwind if Cid doesn't mind..." She looked at the older blond man hopefully.

Cid rolled his eyes. "...Maybe. Damn it, stop with the eyes already!"

Aerith giggled. "Well, everyone, what do you say? Let's get some pictures taken together!"

Yuffie thought it over. "I agree with the condition that I can be as weird with my facial expressions as I want."

Aerith and Tifa looked at each other, and then shrugged.

"Sweet!"

"Well, Cloud?" Aerith grabbed his arm. "What do you think? Will you take pictures with us? Please?" She smiled at him. Cloud blinked and then looked at his feet, eyes occasionally flicking up to her. He cleared his throat.

"Uh, well, so long as we don't stop for too long..."

"Great! Thanks Cloud! This will be so much fun!" She dragged him toward the photographer, grabbing Tifa along the way and calling back to the others as Yuffie bounded ahead of them; "Don't make me drag you over here! Come on, a few photos won't kill you!"

The memory made her more than a little sad- not only because of how painfully it reminded her of how Cloud had been, but also because it made her even more aware of the rift that was currently between her and Tifa. She studied them, one black and white, the other two in color.

In the first colored one, they were all slightly blurred. Cid had a cigarette halfway to his mouth, smirking, while Barret was only half in the shot. Vincent was behind everyone, mostly covered by shadow. Only his arms showed clearly, crossed over his chest. Yuffie was posing dramatically, arms spread wide and high above her head, in the middle of jumping. Nanaki was peeking around her, grinning wolfishly. Tifa and Aerith were next to each other, arms linked, Aerith still holding Cloud by the arm. Cloud looked faintly embarrassed, one hand scratching behind his head, his eyes on Aerith. It was before Cait was with them, so he was not in there, of course.

In the next one, they had managed to arrange themselves to be a little more organized. Yuffie knelt in the front, making a face and sticking her tongue out. Behind her was Aerith, Cloud, and Tifa, the girls on either side of the blond man, arms linked with him. Cloud's lips were turned up into a slight, unwilling smile, eyebrows raised. Both Aerith and Tifa were grinning broadly, eyes glittering. Nanaki was on Tifa's other side, sitting, his tail slightly blurred, as it was in the middle of flicking around by his face. Barret had moved closer, only a bit of his gun arm cut out of the shot- though his mouth was open, right in the middle of saying something. Cid's cigarette was actually in his mouth in this one, and his hands were in his pockets while he leaned against a building that was beside them. Vincent was once again behind everyone, though his face could be seen- looking as if he was struggling to keep his eye from twitching.

In the last, which was black and white, Cloud had been pushed into a kneeling position in the front, with Tifa, Aerith, and Yuffie behind him. Tifa and Aerith had their arms around each other, and around Yuffie, who, in the picture, was in the middle of a sneeze. Cloud's head was partway turned around, a slightly confused smile on his face as he looked back at them. Tifa and Aerith had both burst out laughing, their smiles face-splitting, eyes bright, even without color. Nanaki's eyes were closed, and his mouth was open as he laughed; behind him, Barret was looking at Yuffie with a raised eyebrow, and Vincent looked somewhat surprised, his eyes a bit wider than normal. Cid was smirking, in the process of shaking his head.

The pictures were perfectly imperfect, as far as Aerith was concerned. Seeing how close she and Tifa had been was almost physically painful. And Cloud's true, small smile made her feel as though a huge hand had just clamped it's fist around her gut. For a moment, she remembered growing up in the slums of Midgar. There had not been many her age around, and even less that were kind. She had not had the wonderful friends that she had now, while in Midgar. And of course, before she was in Midgar, she was...she quickly took her mind away from that period of time. She didn't want to think about her time with the Shinra.

"Cloud," She said, and he peeked out from around her shoulder, instantly attentive as he was whenever she spoke. Aerith held up the photos, flipping to the first one. Cloud didn't want to pay attention; instead he was looking at her hands from all angles, poking her fingernails, and tracing them. "Hey," She said a little louder, catching his hand with her own. She guided his fingers to the photo, and for a moment Cloud stared in delighted wonder at her clasping his palm, and then his big blue eyes found the photos.

He blinked once, and then peered a little closer. He brightened suddenly, and patted her shoulder, and pointed excitedly to the Aerith in the photo.

"Yes Cloud, that's me." She guided his finger to himself. "And that's you, see?"

He looked a little confused, and then smiled and moved his finger back to her in the photo, tracing the outline of her face.

Aerith patiently grabbed his finger again, aware of the others staring at her. She even felt Tifa's eyes on her for the first time. She dragged Cloud's hand to Tifa. "That's Tifa, Cloud. Tifa." She pointed his hand toward the dark-haired woman, who blinked and stared back at Cloud with guarded eyes.

He blinked again, and this time a little crease formed between his eyebrows. Then he smiled brightly again, peeking under the first photo, and giving an excited sound, pointing to the Aerith in the picture again.

Aerith bit her lip. Tifa's eyes once more went downcast red-brown orbs disappearing under her eyelids as she closed her eyes very tightly.

"Yuffie," Aerith tried, though she felt her heart plummet. He had known Tifa since childhood...if he didn't recognize her..."Yuffie," She said again, pointing to the grinning Yuffie in the picture, and then at the uncharacteristically somber one that was staring at them, suddenly looking very much sixteen. Her gray eyes swirled as she looked at Cloud and gave a large, fake, smile, "Come on, Spike! How can't you know who I am, after all we've had together? The passion! The nighttime strolls-" She cut off as Cloud looked at her blankly for about two seconds before starting to trace the Aerith in the picture again.

"Barret," Aerith said, pointing at the man in the picture, and then at the one that looked at them with worried eyes. "Barret." Cloud looked up at him and scowled. Barret sighed, shaking his head, while Cloud's attention was caught by the last photograph- the black and white one. He pulled at it a little, and Aerith flipped to it, the first two photographs falling from her hands. Cloud looked alarmed at the sight of the picture, perhaps wondering why there were no colors.

"It's alright, Cloud," Aerith said soothingly, and he relaxed. She pointed to the fire-cat in the picture. "That's Nanaki, see Cloud?" She traced the outline of the cat's fiery tail. "Nanaki," She insisted, pointing toward the actual Nanaki, whose eyebrows were heavily furrowed, his tail flicking. But Cloud only looked at him for a moment, before once again staring intently at the Aerith in the picture.

"Cloud," Aerith said, pointing at him in the picture. She put her hand on his shoulder. "Cloud." He blinked at her, eyes owlishly large, and childishly innocent, so unlike the eyes she had come to love, and yet somehow the same. "Cloud." She insisted, putting her palm against his chest this time, blinking back her tears. "Cloud Strife. That's you." Her fingers bunched in the cloth at his chest, and she bent her head, closing her eyes, tears following the rims of her lashes, and then falling gently.

Something warm pressed against her, and she opened her eyes to find herself staring over Cloud's shoulder, his arms around her. He leaned back, eyebrows furrowed, eyes blue and deep and he lifted his gloved hand and wiped at the tears in her eyes. Suddenly, so suddenly, though she wasn't sure why, he looked like the old Cloud- the Cloud that she had come to know, with all of his selves intact but confused and frightened of things about himself that he did not yet know or understand. Her mouth fell open the slightest amount, as she saw a glimpse of the real Cloud- the one that had blushed at her flirtation, and occaisionally blessed her with his rare, beautiful smiles.

His fingers moved down from her eyes, her lashes now sparkling with the dew of her tears, and stopped at her lips. One finger went on each side and he very slightly, turned her lips up at the corners. She could almost hear Cloud's voice saying: Smile, Aerith.

But he didn't, he couldn't. And the horror of the situation seemed to fill her, and she leaned forward, burying her face in his neck. "We're going to fix this," She whispered. "I promise, Cloud, we're going to fix this." She leaned back from him and gave a small smile, her eyes still sad. "We will," She insisted. "We'll fix this." Her voice became stronger, and her eyes more determined. At the sight of this, Cloud smiled with his teeth, looking once again like a happy child.

Aerith's hand slid down his arm and into his gloved hand automatically. It was more that just the fact that she knew it made things easier for him. It also felt easy, natural, to hold his hand, as it always had, whenever she had been able to do it before. She turned to the others, but before she could say anything, she caught sight of Tifa. Her face was mostly blank, only the slightest crease between her eyes- but her eyes themselves gave Aerith pause.

They were somewhat bitter, but equally sad, moisture gathering at the rims.

Aerith opened her mouth, taking a half-sep forward. "Tifa-"

Before she could finish, Cid came around the corner, panting slightly. "Fucking sword," He hissed, hoisting himself up to his full height and dragging it toward them. "And fucking cliffs that surround this fucking place. This thing is a hellava lot heavier than Spiky makes it look."

Aerith paused, and looked at the sword, hesitating. For a moment, she almost felt like laughing. Was she supposed to grab it? If Cid couldn't hold it, Aerith knew she couldn't.

But she heard a slight intake of breath, and turned her head toward Cloud. His eyes were riveted on the sword, wide at first, then confused, and then frustrated. He walked forward, pulling at Aerith's hand a little so that she came with him. He stopped just in front of the sword, teeth gritted and eyebrows furrowed, staring at it. "Auh!" He said in apparent irritation. They were all staring at him now, holding their breath.

He reached out his other hand, slowly, hesitantly. His eyes flicked up to Cid with a hard look, and Cid let go, the sword falling directly into Cloud's palm. His hand jerked a little, but that was all he did that showed the weight of the sword. He lifted it just a little off the ground, and then set it down in front of him. He turned toward Aerith with an expression that seemed to say look what I found! But as he turned back to the sword, his smile wavered, and dropped. A look of panic came about his eyes, and his hand began to shake.

"Cloud?" Aerith whispered, eyebrows coming together.

He looked at her with undisguised anguish. His hand suddenly clamped tight on the handle, and he bent his head into her hair, shaking uncontrollably. Aerith gasped, feeling hot tears hit her shoulder. Her arms immediately went around him. "Shhh, shhhh...Cloud, it's alright, it's alright..." She pressed her face into the side of his head, whispering comforting words. His arms gripped her tighter. "Auh...." He moaned. "Auh...ith..."

Her eyes snapped wide open, and she looked up at the others, Cloud still holding her as tight as he could. "Auh...ith..." He cried softly. "Auh...ith..."

The others stared back at her with equally wide eyes.

"Auh...ith..." Cloud whispered, burying his face in her collarbone. "...Ack...Ack..."

Aerith frowned, and then bit her lip. The last one seemed like just another noise, like the other ones he had made before, and yet...but she didn't know what 'Ack' was. It didn't sound like a name, not really...but she had a feeling it meant something.

At that moment, though, Cloud was the only one that knew what that meaning was.

~(~)~(~)~(~)~(~)~(~)~

Cloud calmed down after a little while, and they all went to their rooms. Nothing had really been decided, but enough had happened where they all felt that they could use a lie-down. Aerith curled up in her bed, and Cloud snuggled in beside her. It still made her jump a little, and she wasn't quite sure what to think about the fact that, in literal terms, they were sleeping together. But the thought was gone quickly. Nothing happened between them besides sleep, and it was oddly comforting, in a way, having another person beside her that held her while she slept. She wrapped her arms around him as well, and he gave another smile that was both like and unlike the Cloud she knew. Right now, he needed her. And she wouldn't hurt him because of slight discomfort. They slept, but the next morning brought complications of a nature she had not foreseen.

Aerith rubbed her temples in frustration and nervousness, a blush coating her cheeks.

"What's up with you?" Yuffie's voice came from behind her. The older woman turned, and saw the sixteen-year-old standing in the doorway with a raised eyebrow.

Aerith felt as though she was slowly stretching in every direction- she was tired and dirty and smelly. Cloud's hands clutched at her arm, and her heart felt both pity for his condition, and slight irritation that he was preventing her from completing her basic needs. Aerith put one hand over her eyes. "Yuffie..." she said slowly, hesitantly. "It has been a week since I was able to do more than wash my hands as far as bathing goes."

"Ah..." Yuffie wrinkled her nose. "That would explain the sweat and dirt smell. And here I thought it was me..."

The brunette sighed. "I know, I'm sorry. But I don't know what I can do! I never thought about this...we hadn't had opportunity to wash back at the Forgotten City, and now that we do have the option, I can't do it...I think I'll get to the point eventually where even Cloud minds the stink."

Yuffie laughed. Said blond man had slid to the ground, and was now swinging her legs with his hands. He looked up at her every few seconds, smiling. In spite of herself, Aerith smiled a little. And then she blinked, and looked at him. The way he was moving her legs...was something she often did on her own. It was a habit of hers, swinging her legs like that when she was thinking. Everyone had probably noticed it, just as she twirled her hair in her fingers when she was standing and remembering something. She didn't know if it was significant- after all, Cloud liked touching her, moving her so that he could look at her from every angle, so it didn't mean that he remembered anything...But maybe...Since he almost called her by name now...

Yuffie didn't notice Aerith's pondering. "I dunno...maybe you could get us to hold him down or something."

Aerith jumped, and looked up at the other girl. "No, I don't think that's a good idea...it would just scare him, maybe even hurt him..." She bit her lip. "And Cloud is pretty strong. Especially with no wish to hold back. He could...hurt you all, or himself, trying to get to me..." An idea struck her, and she straightened a little. It would be a bit difficult, but maybe....she walked to where she kept her clothes, grabbing something that was clean- a light green one that had reminded her of a dress her mother back in Midgar had.

She stood, smiling slightly. Cloud immediately stood as well, looking at her curiously, still smiling serenely. "I think I have an idea. If I need help, I'll let you know."

Yuffie shrugged. "'kay. If that happens, just give a holler." She brightened. "Now if you'll excuse me, I'm going to try to get a look at Vince's materia while he's not in his room..." With that, she was off.

Aerith giggled just a little, walking out of the room and down the hall in the opposite direction, stopping at the wooden door that was the linen closet. She opened it and rummaged inside, pulling out one long white towel, and three smaller hand towels. "Come on, Cloud, she said, moving the towels to her other arm so that she could hold his hand properly.

The bathroom was fairly large, and beautifully tiled. Swirls of blues, greens, and purples decorated the interior, showerhead and the faucet expertly shined. The inside of the bathtub was only a little wet, from one of the others, and Aerith peered into it with a slight smile. This might be a little messy, but I hope it works...She took a deep breath, and turned to face Cloud.

They had worked out a slight routine. Much as he disliked it, Aerith had pushed him back gently enough, and often enough, that he knew he wasn't supposed to hold her while they were in the bathroom, so that she could take care of some other private needs somewhat more...privately. Her dress kept him from seeing anything. Of course, this would be a bit different. Somehow, Aerith doubted Cloud would like not being able to see her behind the shower curtain.

She grabbed the large towel off the floor, slipping off her jacket. Cloud, who had been staring at her feet, which were not covered with her shoes, as he always did while they were in the bathroom, looked up. Aerith slid the towel up around her calves, and up her thighs, to her waist. The pink cloth bunched, and Aerith turned her body slightly the other direction, biting her lip. She folded the towel over so that it would stay, and she loosened her dress, bringing the straps up so that it would slip more easily over her head, while still being on her shoulders. She brought the towel up as high as she could, before the buttons in the front of her dress stopped her, and she secured it again, slipping her shoulders out of the thin straps of the dress. Making sure the towel was indeed secure, she took a deep breath and flung the dress off, up over her head, right at Cloud's face. Before he could do more than reach toward it, as it hung in front of his eyes, she slipped the towel up the rest of the way.

Cloud quickly pulled the dress away from his eyes, looking confused and slightly worried, before he stopped, eyes wide and mouth slightly agape. Aerith looked at him curiously, wondering what was the matter. But as he took a step toward her, she realized. He reached a hand out slowly, and his gloves touched the skin of her shoulder. His eyes went up her shoulder and collarbones, to her eyes again, and Aerith felt her breath catch. His hand slid down her arm, to her waist, and down to the bit of her calf that the towel didn't cover, bending down slightly to do so. He didn't flip up the towel, or reach up into it, merely traced slowly, gently, down her leg, around her knee, and the back of her thigh.

Aerith was frozen, heart thudding in her ears. There wasn't anything inherently forward about his actions, and yet...her stomach turned very warm, and into knots of an oddly pleasurable kind. She forced herself to take a deep breath and step back.

"No, Cloud," She said as firmly as she could, her voice only shaking the slightest amount. She took another step back, already missing the feel of his hands moving over her skin, even if they were covered by gloves...

She shook herself. Now was really, really, not the time for such things. Cloud looked at her, and again something in his gaze made her feel warm all over. She took another step back and turned around, turning on the showerhead and bending over, so that her head was under it. She quickly unbraided her hair, pausing as she undid the ribbon, really noticing for the first time that her mother's materia was gone. The others had told her that it had bounced into the water...she bit her lip, and then leaned more into the warm water, scrubbing furiously with her fingers to get all the dirt out of her hair. It took a while, and she kept glancing back at Cloud, who was still staring at her, but would smile brightly whenever she looked back, like a little kid again. When she was done with her hair, her shoulders slightly wet, she grabbed one of the hand towels, running it under the water and covering it with soap, washing the rest of herself, going only as far up her legs as she could without fear of Cloud seeing anything she didn't want him to see. Not yet, at least. Not while he was like this. She used the other two hand towels to dry the parts of her body the large towel couldn't reach, and most of her hair.

She turned off the shower, and faced Cloud again. His mouth went open just the slightest amount, and before she could say anything, he was right in front of her again, his hands moving over the damp masses of her hair, down her back and hips. Aerith took a step back and tripped, falling backward, her foot slipping on the damp floor-

Cloud caught her, spinning her around and slipping backward himself, Aerith landing slightly sprawled right on top of him. She could hardly breathe for a moment, their eyes inches apart, breath in each other's faces, his body very strong and powerful under her. Her wet hair hung down one side of her face, by his head, and he stared up at her, eyes practically paralyzing her. "Auhith..." He said softly, reaching up a hand to push back her bangs, the other hand resting easily on her hip.

Aerith became very aware of the face that one of her legs was between his, and sat up quickly, her face a bit red. It was odd- before, she had been the one always making Cloud blush, and now...she stood up, making sure the towel stayed where it was supposed to, and slipped on her clean dress, undoing the towel as she did so, making sure everything was covered. Cloud was still on the ground, watching as the towel fell, and the dress (which went to her knees) swished. He stood, and went close to her again, stopping just in front of her. "Auhith..." He said again, for one moment looking like the Cloud she knew, before smiling boyishly and taking her hand.

Aerith tightened her fingers in his, taking a few breaths to try and calm her heartbeat.
"Come on, Cloud. Let's go see the others."

She picked up her towels and her dirty clothes, holding them in one hand, Cloud with the other, walking with him down the hall, to where the friends that only she remembered, were waiting.

~(~(~(~(~(~(~(~(~(~fin.

Okay...the shower thing...I just had to do. 'Cause you have to wonder how she would be able to do things like that with Cloud the way he is. Also, was Cloud trying to say what you think he was trying to say? Depends. You'll find out. :D Oh, and for Cloud's sword being really heavy...the way I see it, his Mako-enhanced senses have got to help with that.

Reviews:

kikiofreako: Thanks! I'm glad you like, and I hope you're eye is still on it!

Binxie: Yup, best couple in the world. Glad your interested, and thanks for the review. :)

*shifty eyes*: Well...*coughcough* updates are not as soon as I would always like. As I honestly have not finished the game, I have to do a fair amount of studying to make sure I'm getting everything right. I've read the script through a few times, so I grasp most of it, though. I'm glad you like it, and updates will come when I am not busy with my more popular stories. I love this one, don't get me wrong, but I want to finish some others first...

A. Dracula: Wow, glad you like it so much! While I did not update 'soon', this is an update, so, yay? XD

JustSomeoneRandom: Yeah, I would imagine that that would really suck. Glad you like, and thanks for the review. And yes, poor, poor Cloud.

Bill the Cat Loves ShikaHina: Yay! I'm glad you like it. Sorry this wasn't particularly 'soon' for an update. Thanks!

That's all! Here's a preview for the next chapter:

Pieces: With Cloud in his current state, he's not fit to lead their group anymore. So who will? Cloud can sort of say Aerith's name, but that's it. Otherwise, there's no change...except that he carrys his sword around. Aerith tries to find some way to confront Tifa and talk to her, but with Cloud clinging to her as he does, it's difficult. Finally, they set out to continue tracking Sephiroth.

Reviews are much appreciated! Hope you all liked, and I'll try to be faster with updates.