Disclaimer: I do not own Final Fantasy or any part of the series.

Author's Note: And here it is! One whole chapter about Cloud's past! :D

Of course, there will also be one for Squall's past, so stay posted. ^^"

Anyway, I would like to thank some of my dear readers who read and reviewed my story: MonMonCandie, Cerulean Crystal, floutistvivi, Sorceress Rinoa Heartilly, XxGoodGirlGoneTobixX, GreenOpalus, wais101, FaithFromTheMystick, Kinky-Nami-Lass, Takers Hidden Soul Mate, Kithain, and freestyler91. You guys inspire me. :3

Again, hope you like this chapter! ^^

"Are you an angel?"

Cloud could still remember every detail of those days he spent with her; how the nostalgic air felt, her memorable scent, the first time they met...

Those memories were all clear to him, and he had kept them that way, for they are most precious to him.

Cloud was sitting on a chair next to a window inside the sixth room of the suite, which was meant for guests. He carried Terra all the way from the third floor and placed her on top on the room's bed to rest. He decided to stay with her until she wakes up, so she would know there was nothing to be afraid of, that he was there with her in case she needed anything.

He watched as snowflakes slowly and gracefully hail from the sky, touching the icy ground. It reminded him of how his first encounter with Terra changed his life.

It was snowing in the small town of Nibelheim, but the harsh winter did not stop Ms. Strife from kicking her son out of the house for not getting up on the agreed time in the morning. Cloud was only eight years old then, and was not as strong with the cold weather as he was when he turned seventeen. He wouldn't be able to come back inside until late in the afternoon when his mother would be out somewhere, always leaving him to tend for himself. He walked, away from his forsaken house and headed to the place he had always hidden himself from the rest of the town, from the eyes of the people. He had always wanted to run away from the cruelty of the town, but he knew he wouldn't survive very far. The best he could do was the gloomy mansion at the edge of the town. Though it would seem that he was the only resident, it was the place closest to home for the little Cloud. He first saw it when he was seven years old, and it had almost been a year ever since he discovered it's existence in Nibelheim. The moment he stepped into the place, he felt a strange connection it had with him, like he belonged in it, like it was meant for him to live in. Ever since then, he became attached with the huge house, which was just as sombre as he was.

Inside the mansion, there were large windows, giving him a clear sight of the other side of the town. There was nothing much to see outside but a deserted place full of big rocks and boulders, covered in white snow, though strangely enough, the solitude gave Cloud tranquility. All day, he would stay at the gloomy place, roam around, inspect everything that was left by the previous owner who unexpectedly vanished... but he would often find himself sitting next to the tall, wide windows and watch the scenery that helped him forget whatever unkindness the day had given him.

"H-hello?"

Cloud jumped up at the sound of the voice of an intruder. It sounded like it belonged to a kid, a little girl. Luckily, he was hiding under the stairs, invisible to the second person who discovered the place. Cloud peeked slowly and silently, careful that she might see him.

She kept turning her head at all directions, as if searching for any sign of life, or anything for that matter. She seemed scared, obviously, and confused too. Cloud noticed one detail about her, a memory that would stick permanently in his mind, one trait that would make him remember her so easily; her emerald green hair that moved fluidly in the air. Her serene faeture somehow reminded him of the gentle snow. Cloud suddenly felt competely light.

"Hello?" She called again, only a bit more nervous this time. Her small, petite figure had made her look even more vulnerable from whatever element present around. Even worse, she wasn't wearing thick coats over her pink t-shirt and a pair of red shorts. Also, Cloud noticed that she was walking on her bare feet. Even he, who was often neglected by his mother, bothered to wear thick booths, and the sight of the girl made the little blonde shiver for her.

Cloud turned around, under the stairs, concealing himself completely from the girl. He began debating if he should show himself, or shoo her away, or completely ignore her and wait until she leaves the place herself. He didn't mind a new friend, it would bring a little change in his life. But it was more than enough for him to deal with his own problems, and having new people around would also mean watching over them. But a little company would be nice too.

Cloud turned his head again to where he last saw the wandering girl just to get another peek of her, but she was already beside him. He jumped at the nearness of her.

"Hello." She leant over Cloud and gave him a small smile. Her eyes glowed at the sight of the little blonde boy, with the realization that she wasn't alone, after all. Cloud could barely make out if her eyes were actually blue, purple, grey, or a mix of all those three (which until now was a mystery for both him and the owner).

Cloud stumbled on his back, surprised.

"Oh," she cried. "I didn't mean to scare you. I-I just... got lost... and..."

The shocked boy could swear she was about to cry. And he didn't like the sound of anyone crying, not even himself.

"Uh..." He muttered, trying to stop the girl from sobbing. She looked at him with sorry eyes. "it's alright." Cloud didn't know what else to say. Thankfully, the girl finally nodded.

Cloud turned around and walked back to his place where he was watching the snow before the girl showed up in the mansion. He sat on the floor, facing his (he had claimed this mansion and everything else in it to be his possession) window.

He felt the trespasser sat beside him. "I'm Terra." She said cheerfully. "What's your name?"

There was a long pause, but the girl waited patiently for the boy's answer. "Cloud."

Terra hummed under her breath. "It's nice to meet you, Cloud."

Then, she leaned forward and took a good look at her new friend. Cloud looked back at her, confused.

"May I ask you something?" Cloud didn't reply, but Terra didn't wait for his response anymore. "Are you an angel?"

It sounded ridiculous to Cloud, but it caught him off-guard nonetheless. He raised his eyebrows and looked at her with sky-blue eyes. And she simply stared back at him intently.

"No, of course I'm not. What made you think I'm an angel?"

"Well," Terra sat back up. "It's just that, you look like one."

"How do you know what angels look like?"

Terra casted her eyes down on her lap in embarrassment. "I-I guess it was just how I imagined them to be. Mommy used to tell me stories about them, and she said that they have light skin, blue eyes and yellow hair. And that they always glow."

Cloud glanced at his hands, curious if he does glow.

"And," Terra looked out the window. "Mommy said they appear everytime I feel sad."

But you don't seem sad, Cloud wanted to say. She looked happy enough to him, and he found it strange that she would say that.

"Mommy also said that they are nice, and they come out to make me happy." She turned her head again to Cloud. "You seem nice, and I don't feel so sad anymore now that you're here."

Cloud bent his head down and attempted to hide the blush that spread across his cheeks. "I don't think I'm nice. Besides, I don't have wings like angels do."

"Mommy said they don't have wings. She said she doesn't believe that angels have wings." Terra said in a tone so light, it gave Cloud comfort.

"I'm not an angel. Sorry." The little boy said. The girl giggled.

For another moment, they both stared out of the window. Cloud would glance at her once in a while, to find her smiling at the landscape before them. She looked weird to him, especially her hair color and light clothing. She didn't seem to feel so cold like he did, and to think she was a girl too.

Terra didn't seem to be much a bother to him, as she remained sitting there silently with him. Part of him wanted to stay alone in his 'home', while part of him wanted his new friend to stay with him like that forever. Everything was at peace, and all that mattered for both of them was the snow that slowly and gently fell out of the sky.

"Hey Cloud," the blonde boy heard Terra's mild voice called. "can you be my friend?"

Cloud looked at her curiously. It was the first time he would have a friend, a real one anyway, not the imaginary ones that he often played with whenever he got bored in the mansion.

He nodded in response. "Sure."

For the next days, weeks, and months, Terra would always go to the mansion and spend her time there with Cloud, who in turn, would wait for her arrival. Needless to say, they became very good friends, and they found solace in each other's presence. Often, they played treasure hunting inside the mansion and find more trashes and books, which were apparently hidden reports until they have collected all of them. They would also play Terra's favorite game which was 'hide and seek', though Cloud had hated that game since it was hard for him to look for Terra everytime. And it worried him when he didn't find her.

Also, the girl, who was apparently well-educated, began teaching Cloud how to write and read. And it wasn't a problem to him, he was a fast learner.

They also talked about their lives outside the mansion, and it was how Cloud knew that Terra belonged to the Branfords, a clan that just moved into Nibelheim. Her family, with the way she described them, seemed nice, far nicer than the family Cloud knew. Though her father was often away, and her mother would tell her that he was on a journey to protect everyone in the family and in the town. When Cloud asked why, Terra just shrugged and told him that she didn't quite understand either.

When it was Cloud's turn to tell more about his family, he simply replied that he only lived with his mother. Nothing more after that.

The two friends spent two birthdays in their secret place and they were happy enough that way. Both never got tired of each other's company, and both never really thought of letting anyone else in. As they grew up, Cloud had gotten taller and more protective of his only friend, while Terra had grown prettier and strangely confused about everything. Sometimes, after an afteroon nap, she would suddenly wake up, not remembering anything that happened before she slept. Also, there were times when she suddenly found herself lost inside the mansion, when she had been visiting there for a considerable lenght of time. It made Cloud worried about her.

Also, strange things began to happen everytime Terra was around.

Anything that Terra touched would be set ablaze at random times.

Water would suddenly pour out of her hands when she was worried.

The wind would blow strongly out of nowhere when she was sad.

And it was worst when she got mad once. Thunder suddenly stroke right beside her, without damaging anything inside the house.

Whenever Cloud would ask Terra about the incidents, she would simply tell him that even she didn't know, and the blonde knew that she truly had no idea.

"You worry too much, Cloud." Terra would say. "I think, everything's good, as long as I'm doing fine."

But it wasn't an enough reason for Cloud.

And so, he decided to find out about it himself and began his research by reading the books scattered inside the mansion, but he couldn't find anything that helped him explain the mysterious things that happened to his friend.

But he did find out something else.

One research day, Cloud decided to stay inside a bedroom with a big bookshelf. He didn't know why he chose to stay there, but he knew, through his instincts, that there was just something there he needed to see.

Terra stayed with him inside the room and examined the bookshelf while Cloud was reading on the bed. Suddenly, the shelf rolled sideways and it opened a dark passage of stairs.

The two children decided to explore it. They looked for a flashlight or any possible source of light and settled with a pair of candles. They went down the long staircase that lead them to a huge, dark room with rocky floor and walls. As Cloud waved his candle around, he noticed torches portruted from tall, wide pillars. He lit one, and it lightened up a big part of the place. Terra did the same with the other torches and not long after, the whole place was completely lit. It revealed it's true form; an underground base that looked like a cave with several doors. But only one caught Cloud's attention, and that was the green door at the far end of the place.

"Cloud, I don't think this is a good idea." Terra said nervously.

"Don't worry. It won't take long. Just stay close to me." Cloud assured her as he grabbed her hand securely.

The room behind the suspicious door was filled with bookshelves. Anywhere they turned, there would always be books. It was simply decorated with a single light hovering over an empty, wooden desk.

"Well, I guess these should be pretty helpful."

With that, they began to grab all the books they can get their hands on and started reading. But there was nothing Cloud found too useful.

"Hey Cloud," Terra approached Cloud with an opened book in her hand. "look at this." She said amusingly.

Cloud obeyed and glanced at the book. The page was filled with drawings and scribbled notes on the sides, though he couldn't understand what they meant. He flipped the page and saw his surname written on it, though it was put right after the words "a girl named". There was a girl named Strife recorded on the book. He searched for the year and found it beside the note. It was written eleven years ago.

He flipped another page again, and this time, he read "Project Cloud". Seeing 'Strife' and 'Cloud' in one book wasn't a mere coincidence.

Overwrought, he turned the page again and read "Jenova cells", "experiment"...

and "baby Cloud".

Cloud was breathing heavily, his heart beating fast. Why would his name be in a book, written just beside the words 'experiment', 'project' and 'Jenova cells'?

"Cloud?" Terra called worriedly.

Cloud turned back to her and forced a smile, so not to worry her. "I think it's getting late."

"Mm-hm" Terra nodded.

"Let's go home. And I'll bring this with me."

But it was a bad idea after all.

"Where did you get this?!" Cloud's mother yelled after she caught him reading the book he brought home inside his room the next morning. But he didn't respond.

"WHERE DID YOU GET THIS!!!" She yelled again and hit Cloud with the book with extreme force on his face. His nose began to bleed, and still he didn't reply. He didn't want to tell her where he found it, he could never let her know his and Terra's secret place.

"You little bastard, if you don't tell me now where you got this..." Ms. Strife hissed between her teeth, her eyes blazing with fury, her face reddening in anger.

"AGAIN! WHERE DID YOU GET THIS!?"

Cloud only shook his head.

She raised her hand and slapped him hard on his cheek.

"AGAIN!"

Cloud didn't look at her and simply shook his head.

"You're not answering, eh?"

She walked outside the room and took something. Cloud knew that when she comes back, i would hurt even more.

And he was right.

She walked back into the room with a long, wooden stick in her hand. Without any warning, she slammed it to the boy's folded legs. Cloud let out a whimper

She raised it again and hit him the second time. The boy let out a cry.

For the third time around, Cloud shouted in pain.

"Ms. Strife!"

A tall, bulky man held Cloud's mother's arm to stop her from battering the poor Cloud any more. Ms. Strife shrieked from the intervention of the man as she struggled to let herself go from his grasp. The boy took advantage of it and ran out of the room.

"Come back! Come back here you ratbag!!!"

Cloud made it out of his house. Finally. But his legs had gone too weak from the beating. He fell on his knees and supported his body with his arms. Drops of blood fell from his face, staining the ground.

"Oh Hyne," He heard a young girl's voice said, but he was sure it wasn't Terra. He then felt her kneel beside him. "Are you okay?"

Cloud didn't answer. He didn't want to feel helpless, nor weak. He hated that woman he had called mother, and he never wanted her to be the cause of his failure.

Not just to himself, but to Terra as well.

He had to meet her at the mansion. She was waiting for him.

And those woman's hits will never stop him.

He pushed himself up and stood, like a brave one last standing soldier in a defeated battle. With limping legs, he walked to the mansion's direction.

"Hey! Wait!" The girl, who tried to help him before, shouted at Cloud. She ran beside him and place an arm around him in support. "Where do you think you're going?"

Before she could tell him to go to her house instead, Cloud muttered. "To the mansion."

"Wha-what mansion?" The girl began limping with Cloud as she supported him.

"There's... a mansion... right over there... I need to go there."

"Okay, okay. Let me at least come with you."

And Cloud allowed her. He needed her help anyway. What used to be a mere fifteen minute travel to the mansion became a long, long walk to Cloud. All thanks to his limping feet.

When they arrived, Terra was waiting by the large windows. She turned around and gasped at the beaten sight of Cloud, who smiled at her meekly. Seeing Terra made him forget about what happened in his room that morning.

"Cloud!" She ran to him.

The girl who helped Cloud, got tired from the tedious travel she did. Gently, she put Cloud down on the floor as she too sat beside him.

Terra knelt in front of Cloud and examined his bruised cheeks, legs and bleeding nose. He looked back at her and gave her another reassuring smile, as if telling her that he was doing alright. Then, Terra bursted into tears.

That day, Cloud insisted on staying inside the mansion, where Terra and the other girl helped him recover by using anything they could find. That girl, who walked with Cloud to the large, gloomy house, introduced herself as Tifa Lockhart. She lived with her father, the same man who stopped Cloud's mother from hitting her son, and they were residing right beside the Strife's house. That was how they heard Ms. Strife's screams.

"I heard it first." Tifa told Terra while they were gathering bottled potions from one of the storage rooms inside the mansion. "When I heard her shout, I called Papa and told him about it. Good thing Ms. Strife forgot to lock her house, so Papa was able to let himself in and save Cloud."

Suddenly, Terra hugged Tifa. She embraced her tightly.

"Thank you." She said in her gentle voice.

Cloud became more careful for the next times he went home. He'd made sure that his mother was out so he could come in to eat and sleep there. Though he was invited by the Lockharts to stay with them instead, he insisted on staying at his own house. By early morning, before his mother arrived, he would wake up and head to the mansion, where he waited for Terra and Tifa.

Also, ever since that incident, Tifa became a part of the group, much to Terra's delight. Like the green haired Branford, she would go to the mansion everyday and meet up with her new friends. Both Terra and Cloud gave her a tour of the place, and everyday they would play, like usual. But it only lasted for a few weeks.

Cloud's eyes winced slightly at the pain of the next memory he had about what he considered the saddest part of his life, the day Terra was kidnapped.

She suddenly didn't appear at the mansion one day, which made the ten year old Cloud search the whole town hysterically with Tifa. Until they found Terra's house.

It was her mother who greeted them first at their rather huge house. She was surrounded by men in military clothes, whom Cloud recognized as the infirmary men from some huge company, which he would later found out was called 'Shinra'. He often saw them talking to his mother back at their house.

Mrs. Branford looked stressed, dragged and extremely distressed as she talked to the men.

"We will inform you as soon as we can about your daughter, Mrs. Branford. We will not stop until we find her."

The woman held a huge tissue to her face as she nervously wiped her swelling eyes from tears that never stopped flowing out. She had Terra's curly hair, though hers were colored golden yellow.

The men passed by the children and stepped out of the house. Cloud and Tifa watched them and failed to notice that Terra's mother saw them.

"You must be Terra's friends." Her melodic voice said.

Cloud and Tifa turned to her.

"I'm Terra's mom."

She let them in, and gave each of them a toasted bread as they sat on the couch. Then, she began to tell them that Terra, was in fact, kidnapped by a madman named Kefka, who had long been having a great interest with her daughter.

"Her father, he... he had done everything to keep our Terra safe." She sobbed. "We've been transferring towns to hide from that lunatic, but he never stopped. Terra's dad even formed a resistance group against Kefka just to protect Terra. And now..." The last two words choked Mrs. Brandford as she finally gave in a cried. It was agonizing for her to know that she had failed to protect her precious daughter from any harm, like both she and her husband had promised.

Cloud was dumbfounded. Never in his life did he imagine anything bad would happen to Terra, he simply couldn't bear the thought. He swore, the first time he met her, that he would look after her. But he failed that part, he had let someone kidnap her.

It was hard for Cloud. Even at a young age, he was restless. It was worse than the beatings he received from his much hated mother. He'd rather get hundreds of those, than let something happen to Terra.

Tifa, who was also worried, tried her best to cheer Cloud up, but even she couldn't get to him.

A couple of days later, Terra was finally found. But as soon as she was, her family left Nibelheim, and neither Cloud nor Tifa ever saw her again.

From then on, Cloud became painfully silent. He would go to the mansion, like he always had everyday, but he would sit by the large window the whole time, as if waiting for someone. Tifa, on the other hand, had tried visiting him for a few days, but Cloud never talked to her, except when he was asked with important questions.

After a while, Tifa eventually grew tired of her useless efforts, and Cloud was once again alone in the mansion.

Two years later, on Cloud's 12th birtday, his mother Ms. Strife suddenly disappeared. Everyone in the town thought she was dead, and Cloud would like to believe that she was. Until a man in white suit accompanied by more men in black suits came into his house before Cloud could even walk his way to the mansion. The boy was especially particular about the man in white, who had light blonde hair, pale skin and the same sky-blue eyes Cloud had. He introduced himself as Rufus Shinra, the owner of a large company that held most scientific laboratories around the world and controls a powerful army of well trained fighters, who called themselves SOLDIERs.

"What do you want?" Cloud had enough of his lofty introductions.

"I came here to take you with me."

"Not interested."

"If I leave you here, nobody will tend to you." The man soothed to the boy. "Your mother is never coming back as part of our... deal... when I paid her to agree in taking care of you and leave as soon as you turn twelve."

"What did you mean by 'deal'? And I never said I was waiting for her to come back." Cloud replied in a surprisingly matured manner.

Rufus chuckled. "Everything isn't what it seems like to you, Cloud." He cleared his throat. "Thirteen years ago, an experiment was made right here, in this town of Nibelheim. The objective of the test was to create a perfect human being capable of carrying Jenova's cells. Do you know what that means?"

Cloud did not answer. Rufus continued.

"It means that he will possess superhuman features, capable of using the energy from this planet, and maybe even beyond it. We still don't know, it was merely a test, though the expected result was a human being who excels greatly in combat, so that I could make him part of my army. Your mother, Ms. Strife, participated in this test out of her desperate need for mortgage. I, on the other hand, took part in it as well out of my need for an heir to take over my company once I'm gone.

"As you may already know," He paused, and considered the age of the boy he was talking to. "or not know, to create this human being, two different cells were needed to combine. One from a male and one from a female. The 'male cell' came from me, while the other one came from an unearthly being that was believed to be a female, Jenova. After they were put together, they were planted inside Ms. Strife's womb, who carried the baby for the whole nine months and gave birth to a baby boy." He looked at Cloud intently. "I guess you already know who that baby was."

Cloud took his time to comprehend Rufus' explanation. He was an experiment, the "baby Cloud" in the book he found once at the mansion. The man's explanation matched all the strange words written in that book. He was the result, the baby with no real mother, only a father who left him under the cruelty of a stranger who cared about nothing but money.

"Why?" Cloud muttered under his breath.

"What was that?"

"Why did you leave me with her?"

Rufus gently massaged his nosebridge. "Speculations began to spark among the people, and I can't afford to stain my name."

"Don't give me that crap." Cloud bravely said. He figured that the man, after all, was his father. He should be able to say anything.

"Pardon?"

Cloud look away to his side, avoiding to answer him.

"In the absence of your mother, I am taking you with me, whether you like it or not. You will be trained, of course, to be a fighter, to be a SOLDIER, to work for my company. Our company. I will also shape you as Shinra's next Preside-"

"Just like that?" Cloud cut him. "You left me and then showed up to take me back when you need me, just like that?"

"Why, tell me Cloud. Do you have anything better in your mind for yourself?" Rufus replied with such calmness in his voice.

"I'll stay in Nibelheim. I can survive by myself in here." Cloud stubbornly replied.

"Where will you get money to fend for yourself, now that your mother is gone? You're only twelve, what can you do? Sell barbeque?" He sighed. "It is only a smart choice that you come with me, where a beautiful future awaits you. After all, you were made to have a good future from the start. It was the very reason you were made."

He's right, Cloud thought. Part of him was scared of what may indeed happen to him now that he was all by himself. Also, the training to become a SOLDIER part got him to agree. That way, when he becomes stronger, he will be able to find Terra and take her away from harm's path.

In the end, he came with the man who claimed to be his father. He didn't have a choice anyway.

True enough, Cloud lived in riches under the care of his biological father, though he chose not to use 'Shinra' as his name. Both Rufus and Cloud agreed that he will use 'Strife' for legal purposes and for the protection of Shinra's reputation. Also, he was trained and became a second class SOLDIER under the supervision of his guardian, one of the first class SOLDIERs, General Sephiroth, who also acted as his mentor. He came alongside Cloud whenever he was assigned to missions, as part of his training, and he has a long way to go before he can call himself first class.

Rufus also provided Cloud with good education by schooling him with his company's top scientists. Then, he placed Cloud to Deling High, which he believed was the best school for his son and let him stay at a company's office in Deling City, along with other first class SOLDIERs, Angeal Hewley and Genesis Rhapsodos, and Angeal's apprentice named Zack Fair who instantly became Cloud's best friend.

The blonde SOLDIER was presently watching Terra, who was breathing peacefully in her sleep. She was changed into Cloud's clothes, since the ones she was wearing when Sephiroth brought her were slightly ripped and dirty, probably caused by whatever ruckus Sephiroth made when he attacked Kefka's base. Cloud had Cissnei's help to clean Terra up before she was placed on the bed to sleep safely. He still had to thank Sephiroth for saving her in the end, and for making it easier for him. And now, he was given the duty to protect her at all costs, and he swore to himself and to his childhood friend that he will protect her with his life.

"What are you doing Sunshine?"

General Caraway greeted his daughter that evening in their kitchen while he grabbed a glass of water from the fridge. Rinoa was sitting on their dining table, writing on a long parcel of paper. She looked up to her father.

"Oh, hey Dad. I'm writing my Christmas presents list."

"Ah yes... Am I on it?"

Rinoa giggled.

"Well, don't stay up too late Love."

"I won't, Dad."

"Goodnight."

"Goodnight."

Rinoa looked over her list again. Yuna (of course), Rikku, Pain, Tifa, Yuffie, Zack, Selphie, Quistis, Seifer (just for the heck of it), Tidus, Irvine...

Cloud, Squall

They were part of her list, no doubt about that. But she was still mad at them about what happened that afternoon at the cafeteria. She wanted to buy them some presents, but part of Rinoa told her that she wanted those two to know that she was still angry about what they did. They haven't even apologized for it anyway.

But why would they apologize when they were so high and mighty, and so full of themselves?

Rinoa sighed. She hated being upset over them, they were both good friends to her. But she couldn't forgive them so quickly either.

"Well, tomorrow's a new day, I guess." She grumbled. "Maybe, by some miracle, something good will happen tomorrow."

A/N: What will happen tomorrow, hmm? :3