Man you guys leave amazing reviews. I hope you realize how helpful they are. This story has gotten substantially better thanks to reviews like the ones left for the previous chapter. Please, keep them coming and I promise the story will only get more awesome. Thank you so much for the helpful pm's too and I did go back and fix one or two hiccups in the last chapter. It's nothing really noticeable, but it was bugging me.
I did want to wait and upload this chapter on the 1 year anniversary, but I didn't want to wait a month and a half for it. Especially when I've already started on chapter 22. Besides, its nice to be early for once instead of updating late, am I right?
Enjoy guys, and I hope you had a good Valentine's day.
Guided by directions from the Cloud that no longer existed, Vincent Valentine ascended the side of the house belonging to Aerith and her mother. He had only a few memories to go by, but he wouldn't deny the joy it brought him to see her alive again. He knew the others would try to prevent her death this time, but he also pledged a vow of his own. It wasn't just his own personal feelings towards keeping a friend safe, but the fact that she was also the last ancient. The voice of Chaos was clear. She was to stay alive if the planet had a chance this time around. He was content to watch from afar, but when she noticed him he had to act. Quick as a silent shadow he was in her room and pressed his clawed hand gently over her mouth.
"Don't scream, I'm not here to hurt you."
When the fear left her eyes he nodded slowly and removed his hand and took a step back.
"Who are you," she asked.
"We have mutual friends," he replied.
"That's not a name," she teased.
She couldn't see his mouth from the red cloak he wore, but she could sense the smile behind it when he replied, "Vincent."
"See, that's much better. I take it you already know my name if you know where I live and who I know. So what brings you here?"
He had almost forgotten how smart she was. "Just making sure everything is as it should be for now."
"What does that mean?"
Vincent blinked at her. "You don't sense anything?"
She folded her arms, unknowingly mimicking Zack. "I do sense something. It feels like things are happening again, but differently."
The ex-Turk nodded before readying his claw. "That's an accurate reading; however it'd be better if you knew what was going on."
He reached his claw towards her, but she grasped it with gentle hands. "No."
He blinked as he looked at her, confused. "I don't know exactly what you have in mind, but I think it's best if I trust my own intuitions instead of relying on something from a different source, even if that source is a different version of me. I'm going to assume we're dealing with time travel?"
Vincent nodded.
"Then I don't want to base my actions on a future version of myself that might not exist. I trust that we're not the only ones who are aware of this and I'll leave reshaping the future to them."
"I just hope you'll be able to be a part of that future this time," he told her.
The sound of dishes clinking alerted Aerith and she turned her head, but she relaxed when she realized it was just her mother doing dishes downstairs. When she looked back towards Vincent he was nowhere to be seen and the window was slightly open. With a sigh she closed and locked it before looking back at the mirror. She avoided telling him that she did sense darkness in the future, but hoped that it wouldn't linger like it did the first time. At least, that's what she sensed. She had no idea what awaited in a future that had been rewritten, but she had faith that everything would work out in the end.
She clasped her hands together and prayed on the materia she had kept since she was a young child. "Please, keep Zack and his friends safe."
. . .
The next morning a very tired Cloud Strife took his seat at one of the mess hall tables with his plate of food in front of him.
"What's with him," he heard one cadet ask, but was too exhausted to pay attention to the looks he was getting. Zack had started off his training like a chocobo flying out of the gates. He wanted to make sure he was up to speed and at the top of his class and that unfortunately meant he was up at four in the morning doing squats, jumping jacks, push-ups, sit-ups and several other work outs before the indoor track opened up. Once it finally did Zack ordered him to run ten miles before breakfast.
How Cloud had managed that he had no idea. All he wanted to do was to pass out in a corner somewhere and sleep for a week. He knew what was at stake and he knew what he needed to do, but pushing him to the brink of exhaustion wasn't the answer.
Second Class Kunsel was making his usual rounds when he spotted the half-dead chocobo and called over to him. "Hey there, it looks like Zack's taking his role as a mentor seriously."
"A bit too seriously," Cloud replied, barely awake.
The SOLDIER's helmet hid his sympathetic smile as he patted the teen on the shoulder before heading off. "Don't worry Cloud; it'll get easier from here."
"I hope you're right," he replied with a barely suppressed yawn.
Over the next few classes he fought to stay awake with a herculean effort. He barely managed it through tactics and finally gave into sleep during history. It was there that he began to dream.
He was back at the reactor in Nibelheim. The tanks that lined the base of the stairs were filled with grotesque creatures that looked far too human-like for Cloud's liking. They were all connected to large tubes that led up towards the top of the stairs where they continued through the wall. Cloud ascended the stairs and read the letters that spelled out Jenova, which he knew was the name of the monster that Hojo had claimed to be Sephiroth's mother, but was really an alien that was several millennia old. She had seen the ancient race when they were thriving and was the very cause of their extinction.
He entered through the door which was unlocked and braced himself for the sight he knew would be there. A metal casting of a woman with angel wings decorated the front of the tank and all of the tubes connected to the glass which contained the monster. The eyes behind the mask began to glow a light red as she awakened for her guest. Cloud strode forward and raised his sword.
He could sense the creature smile even though he couldn't see her and it took everything he had to stand his ground, no matter how much she unnerved him. To his left appeared Tseng who held a gun aimed at him in one hand and a folded blue uniform outward in the other hand. And on his right Cloud was surprised to see the scientist named Hojo with a syringe in his hand that was glowing green. His glasses shined with an eerie light and his expression was colder than the fiercest bite of a Nibelheim winter.
This was too much for him to handle alone. He took a step back and turned to flee when a sword impaled him through his middle. Cloud gasped in pain as he looked up and saw the menacing form of general Sephiroth glaring down at him with disgusted contempt. Somewhere above he could just make out the flapping material from Vincent's cloak as he called to him. "Why do you think he ordered some Turks to stay behind?"
"The Reactor," Cloud shouted as he jumped up from his seat. The cadets sitting closest to him jumped in surprise by his outburst and the instructor glared at him.
"The reactors won't be covered for a while, but if there's something you absolutely have to get out, than feel free to share with the class."
Cloud sat back down and tried to hide his embarrassment. "Sorry, I didn't mean to doze off."
The instructor was somewhat understanding. "I know you've been selected to be mentored by Lieutenant Fair and he can get carried away, but learn to adjust quickly or you won't pass the standard test let alone any test the Lieutenant will give you."
The other students suppressed snickers as the teacher continued on with his lecture and left Cloud to sulk for the rest of the class. When classes finally ended for the afternoon Cloud was ready to call it a day, but when he saw Zack at the end of the hall he knew he wasn't done by a long shot.
Zack led him over to one of the SOLDIER training gyms and pointed to a punching bag. "Let's work on getting your arm muscles in shape. If you're going to wield a sword you need to make sure you can swing it for hours without getting tired, plus it'll help you work through any anger or stress," he added with a smirk.
Cloud however focused on the dream as he started punching. If he was seeing events from a future that may or may not happen then what did it mean? Was it a reminder of the past, a warning for the future, or just his fears playing off each other?
"Come on Cloud, you can hit harder than that!"
Anger quickly surfaced as Cloud slugged the bag, but his fist hit it at a bad angle and the SOLDIER winced when he heard something crack. "Go ahead and take five," he told his friend when Cloud hissed and held his hand in pain.
Zack offered an ice pack to him as an apology and Cloud accepted it. "You were zoning out on me back there, everything okay?"
"Not really," Cloud replied.
"What's on your mind," Zack asked. "Still thinking about last night?"
"No," the blonde told him about the dream, hoping maybe he could shed some light on it.
"Well, what do you think?"
Zack shrugged as he drank from his squirt bottle. "That one's a real head-scratcher. It could be a combination of things. Stuff from the future, fears from the past and that crap with Tseng didn't help matters any."
"So you think it's nothing to worry about," Cloud surmised.
"I didn't say that," Zack replied. "It sounds like something we'll have to look into, but do it carefully. Hojo and Tseng weren't there just for fear tactics. We'll have to tread real carefully. You saw how curious Hojo was back in Nibelheim when we talked about the mansion and he was really pissed off about the reactor. If we go snooping around it might raise suspicion, plus we'll have to wait until we can get a good reason to go back there."
"That shouldn't be too hard, it is my hometown. I could just get some leave maybe," the blonde offered.
Zack smiled at this. "That's perfect! And no one would get suspicious because you're my student and I want to make sure you eat, sleep and breathe your training. I'll have to go with you to make sure you're not slacking off."
They sat in silence for a minute before the SOLDIER shook his head. "Too bad Sephiroth can't go with us this time. They'd really get suspicious then."
"Maybe we can get Vincent to tag along, if we ever find him," Cloud suggested.
Zack smiled as he messed with his friend's hair. "You're such a smart chocobo."
"Would you knock it off," Cloud complained as he tried getting his friend to stop.
"Ah come on, where's the fun in being a mentor if I can't pick on my student?"
Later that evening Zack and Cloud were returning from a late night training session in the slums when they ran into Reno in the halls. Zack protectively put himself between the blonde and red head while seeming completely laid back and casual, but Reno wasn't fooled.
"Yo Zack, I've been trying to get in touch with you. It took me hacking into the cam systems just to find ya."
Zack folded his arms, trying to make himself look bigger. "I've been busy training my new student. I want to make sure he's in tip top shape when he becomes a SOLDIER."
Reno shrugged, looking perfectly at ease. "Whatever. You SOLDIER types work way too hard for the crappy paycheck."
"The reward isn't just about the gil," Zack countered. "But that's not why you tracked me down, what's on your mind?" Despite knowing that Reno was probably sent to sniff out information Zack couldn't and wouldn't ignore the fact that he and Reno were good friends and he wanted to keep it that way.
The red head leaned back against the wall and smirked. "I wanted to go drinking tonight, but you already refused that offer, even though I was willing to pay. Why don't we do something stupid instead? There's this great area I know about where we could take on some nasty monsters and give the rookie a real taste of SOLDIER life."
Zack shook his head. "No way, we just got back from a training session."
"Then it's off to the bars then," Reno shouted cheerfully, raising his arms up. "You might as well accept my offer Zack. I'm not leaving until you say yes."
Zack looked over at Cloud who shrugged his shoulders in return before heaving a defeated sigh. "Alright, fine. But if you try anything funny then you'll answer to me later for it."
"Pfft, it's just a few drinks," Reno defended as he led the way back towards the entrance. "What could happen?"
. . .
A headache greeted Cloud as he woke up the next morning. The sun was shining through a crack in the blinds at the perfect angle and hit him right in the eyes. He winced and turned his head the other way which set off another ailment; nausea. With a heavy moan he tried to curl into the blanket tighter when something stirred above him and a solid object landed on his back.
Cloud jerked up into a sitting position only to sigh in relief when it turned out to be Zack's hand. The blonde stopped and blinked in confusion when that thought didn't seem right. Everything felt wrong. He had no idea where he was when he looked around and didn't recognize anything. He was on the floor, but the carpet wasn't the soft pearl color of Zack's apartment, but more of a dusty brown that smelled weird. Zack was sleeping on a tattered couch instead of the dark blue leather sofa. Cloud tried to recall how they got there when the nausea returned and he found himself scrambling for the bathroom.
When he came out he saw a mop of red hair by the sink. Reno turned and smirked at him. "Mornin' sunshine."
Cloud glided onto the stool at the island counter before resting his head in his arms and moaned.
Reno only chuckled. "Yeah, you didn't fare much better last night either. I thought you northern guys could handle your liquor?"
"Northern brew is different, more natural," Cloud replied while not lifting his head.
Reno could only give him a sympathetic look before nudging his arm. "Here."
Cloud slowly lifted his head and saw the mug of hot coffee with a couple tablets of medicine next to it. The blonde gave him a look and put his head back down.
Reno rolled his eyes and sighed. "After all the bonding we did last night, you still don't trust me?"
The horrified look Cloud gave him made him roar with laughter. "You really did get wasted!"
There was a moan from the living room as Zack rolled off the couch and slowly dragged his feet towards them. He reached for the medicine cupboard with closed eyes and pulled out two pills from a packet and popped them into his mouth before raising his hand out for the coffee which Reno handed to him. Cloud realized that this must be a routine thing between them.
"What's so funny," Zack asked after swallowing.
"Our good friend here doesn't remember a thing from last night," Reno replied.
"Well that sucks," the ravenette replied before taking another swig. "Remind me to get you some more of those hangover pills. I think I grabbed the last two."
Reno shrugged. "Don't worry about it, I'll still have two more since someone thinks they're poison."
Cloud glared at Reno before taking them and downing it with his coffee. "The Turks did try to kill me before."
Reno shrugged. "Yeah, well me'n Tseng are different people. A blue suit doesn't make the Turk and not all Turks share the same interests. Rude and I are a good example of that. He's always serious an' uptight and I try to be laid back."
Something irritated Cloud's ear and as he went to scratch it he felt something stuck to it. He grabbed the metal toaster and looked at his reflection to see what it was when he saw something sparkle. "What the hell?"
"Yeah, I wouldn't mess with that too much until it heals properly. That's a real diamond." Reno took another sip of his coffee.
Well, Cloud did eventually want to get a stud in his ear as many SOLDIERs did, but a diamond was a little too much out of his price range. "How did…"
Zack huffed and petted the blonde's head. "You're welcome."
Reno smirked evilly. "I still can't believe he did that. Are you sure you don't have a crush on your student Zack? I haven't seen you give anything that shiny to your girlfriend yet, is there something we should know?"
"What I give Aerith is none of your business, and for your information I have something very special planned for her. I just need to find the right time to do it."
Reno nodded slowly as he took one last sip of his coffee. "Sure you do. So when are you going to tell her you plan to marry Cloud?"
Cloud glared at Reno and kicked him under the table. "Knock it off. I just don't remember what happened. Stop making such a big deal about it."
Zack smirked as Reno scowled. "Not smart to piss off a chocobo."
His PHS went off which made them all wince. The hangover pills could only do so much after all. Zack answered it and walked into the other room, leaving Cloud and Reno alone.
"You really respect Sephiroth, don't you," asked Reno.
"What makes you say that," countered the blonde.
"Nothing, you just mumble in your sleep and his name popped up."
"He is a hero to many," Cloud replied. "And he did save me from what your boss tried to do the other night."
"Yeah, well Tseng jumped the gun on that one," Reno replied. "I think you'd be great for the Turks, but I wouldn't risk your life to prove it."
"How'd you become a Turk," asked Cloud.
The red head shrugged. "I was real drunk one night and broke into his office and sprayed graffiti on his wall, but I didn't get caught until the next day. Tseng was surprised when he saw the security footage and saw me usin' Parkour and other skills to sneak in and out without anyone hearing me since there were some Turks there that night in the next room. I had to sneak passed them too and they never even knew I was there."
"You're lucky he didn't kill you," the blonde replied.
"Heh, he told me if I refused then he'd make my life a living hell. I still think he intends to do that either way," Reno joked. "Look Cloud. I know you've got good reason not to trust me, but there is one thing that makes me unqualified to be a Turk."
"And that is…"
"I'm still loyal to my friends first," Reno admitted. "No one knows that except for Zack and I told you that last night, but you don't remember. I saw the skill you had when we went to mess around in the graveyard and I want you to keep that hidden from the other Turks. Parkour is not common and also not easy to master and you already had some solid moves before I showed you a few tricks of my own. Those moves would be killer in SOLDIER especially once you got a good sword. Tseng wants me to hang out with you guys more and get you to trust me. It's another way to try and get you to lower your guard, but I refuse to play his game. I want to be your friend, but not under orders."
Cloud looked at Reno with uncertainty. "Why are you telling me this?"
"Me an' Zack already talked about it after you passed out on the floor. Nice face-plant by the way," he added with a smirk. "The three of us had a great time last night, but on record we didn't. I said something to piss you off and you slugged me in the face before I turned around and broke your nose. We don't have marks because Zack healed us with materia. After that you passed out in my apartment and the two of you will leave after Zack gets done with his phone call."
"How'd you work that out," asked Cloud, impressed.
"Zack's buddy Kunsel has good connections," Reno replied.
Right on cue Zack came back in and shook his head. "Better pack a bag Cloud. We're shipping out on a mission."
