Disclaimer - I don't own Final Fantasy VII or its characters. I hope you will all enjoy this new chapter!


To Where All Had Started!

Cloud couldn't help, but smiled as he felt the wind caressing his face and hair. He had been riding on the black motorcycle, "Hardy-Daytona", which Cissnei had given to him for an hour or two and he had already speed pass the grand red canyons and heading toward the green field beyond the red stones and dust. Zack had always told him that the motorcycles were the best transportation invented and he had to admit that, even though the spiky hair SOLDIER had sometimes doubtful ideas or opinions on certain matters, what he said about the motorcycles were right. It is the best invention in the history!

I'm going to make it. Cloud thought as he looked the fuel and speed indicator. He still had a half quarter fuel and he is at 120km/h, if he keeps up with this speed, he will arrive at the outskirt of his home in no time.

Cloud... A soft voice whispered in his mind.

'Moon?!' Cloud shouted the name in surprise and the bike swerved in momentary loss of control. The blond quickly regained control and pulled it to a stop, and then he looked around him and the wide starry sky, searching for his winged friend. 'Where are you?!'

Cloud... Don't... Nibelheim... Danger...

'I'm going to get you back no matter what!' Cloud yelled up to the sky.

You... Important... Future... Don't... Come...

The SOLDIER shouted his friend's name one more time before there is nothing more than silence. His grips on the handles tighten as he stared ahead where his enhanced eyes could easily see the tiny lights of the small sleepy town. I'm coming to get you and Kadaj back, no matter what stands in my way...

Suddenly, the same buzzing sound that he had heard at Gongaga echoed inside his head. Clutching his head in pain, Cloud tried to fight back the visions that are taking over his consciousness.

***

He had finally made it back home. It's easy to outrun couples of adults when you are just a small kid and especially when you knew different shortcuts.

He looked at the door and was about to push it open, but then he realized something, the whole place was quiet, deadly quiet. Usually, Father would be sitting on the sofa with TV opened and put the highest volume. The whole place suddenly seemed more dangerous...

When he caught the scent of alcohol in the air, he knew his assumption was right. He had to GET OUT of HERE!

He turned to run, but someone caught the back of his collar and pulled him back, the orbs he had stolen were dropped to the ground, but he doesn't care about those things anymore, he had to get out of here!

'You little slut! Finally home! Took ya enough time!' He heard Father yelled at him before kicked him by the stomach. He fell winded on the floor, clutching his stomach in pain. Then he yanked his hair hard and dragged him across the room before throwing him at the wall.

'I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm sorry... Please stop, Father!' He begged as the larger man began to beat him.

He stopped after a moment, but only to grab him by the throat and squeezed the life out of him.

'Let... Go...' He choked out and tried to push the enormous hand over his throat with his small skinny hands as breathing became more and more difficult. Black spots started to creep into his vision. He took one more desperate breath before he was completely consumed by the overwhelming darkness.

Someone... Help... Mother... Help...

***

The visions and the voices left the blond slightly disoriented. Cloud slowly took deep breaths to calm his pounding heart and tried to push away those horrifying images of being beaten and strangled to death to the back of his mind. What's the meaning of this? Why am I having these images?

Then he remembered something Moon had told him when he had finally mastered his control over the ice element. He told him that everything is connected to the Lifestreams, his powers were drawn from the very power that float around the planet. Also one of the instructors had once mentioned that the Lifestreams were filled with people's thoughts and memories, so when someone died, his will would return to the source and lingered around it. It could be reasonable if by using his power, he had absorbed part of someone else's memories within him, but the question is why the same person's thoughts appeared in his mind?

He shook his head to clear out these unwanted thoughts and focused once more on his goal, Nibelheim. Wasting no more time on his own musings about the visions, he headed towards the silent town and his home.

He arrived at the entrance of the town in two hours, expecting the calm welcoming silence, but he was instead greeted by people who were running out of the town screaming. Pushing passed the frighten townspeople, Cloud made it into the center of the town where five SOLDIERs were fighting back a pack of the black scaled creatures, among them was Kunsel.

'KUNSEL!' Cloud called out as he cut down one of the beast and joined the small group. 'What's going on here?!'

'Like I know what's going?!' Kunsel replied before he chopped off the head of one of the monsters. 'When we got here, we were attack by these things and I ordered half of my team to evacuate the town while we hold them back!'

'You guys were only ten?!' The blond shouted surprisingly as he froze one of the monsters and shattered it into pieces.

'I don't think they ever thought that handling one Second Class SOLDIER would need an army.' The helmeted SOLDIER replied sarcastically, but quickly regretted for saying that, because that reminded both of them their positions after this battle is over.

'Do what you need to do, I don't care, but if you want to force back to Shinra. Then you can forget it, I won't go back till I find Kadaj.' And Moon. Cloud added mentally as more monsters came out of no where, rushing towards them.

'I know.' Kunsel replied almost sadly. 'But our first priority is the safety of these people. Damn, where do they all come from?!'

Cloud looked around them and saw that the most of the shadow creatures came from the road to the Shinra Mansion. Before he dashed towards the road, he shouted at Kunsel: 'I think I know where they all come from, I'll go check it out!'

'OK!' The SOLDIER shouted back. 'BE CAREFUL!'

Cloud nodded and then he ran towards the pack of beasts blocking the path to the old mansion, cutting them down one by one. He stopped his assault when he heard someone behind him yelled his name, he looked over his shoulder to spot his mother who looked the same as the day he had last saw her and Tifa, who no longer wore the usual blue robe, but a cowboy attire. Kunsel was holding them back from running towards him, which is a good thing that he did, the SOLDIER gave a thumb-up.

The blond returned it with his own, knowing that Kunsel will take care of his mother and his childhood friend, he took one last glance at them before he charged at the monsters. Thrust and slashed every single monster that came into his way until he finally reached the iron gate of the haunted Shinra Mansion.

The shadow beasts immediately vanished when he kicked down the old gate. Sapphire blue eyes widen in surprise when he saw what stood in front of the oak doors, an armored centaur-like creature. It was twice his size and it had the lower body of a griffon with armors attached to a human upper-body covered in a black armor, a small devil wing was stretched out of his left shoulder and the other side had a black angel wing. His left hand held a long pointed spear filled with different runes, while his right arm was connected to a shield and hammer-like equipment. It wore a black helmet with the face of a human mask on it.

When it pointed its spear at him, Cloud held up his sword and fell into his fighting stance, concentrating his power on his weapon. Then the chimera charged at him with full speed, the blond did the same thing, but when they are almost face-to-face with each other, he rolled to the right and slashed the armored legs, only making a scratch with some frosts on them.

Sword won't work huh? Alright. Cloud switched his tactics and sent three large ice sharps towards his target, but when they were about to hit the legs, they shook and then flew back at him with breakneck speed. The SOLDIER jumped to the side to dodge his own ice attacks and looked back at the centaur-like creature, confused at what had just happened.

'It's useless.' A disembodied voice came out of the helmet. 'This armor was created to reflect every ice magic you used. Even if you used your sword and combined it with the power of the ice, you won't be able to break it. So just stay still and DIE!'

Cloud parried and deflected the powerful blows that are throwing at him relentlessly, but after each blow, he could feel his arms were screaming in pain and he is starting to feel tire from all the fights he had fought tonight, from Gongaga to here. Then his grip over the hilt of his sword loosened and another strike knocked the sword from his grasp.

Now with Cloud unarmed, the centaur-like creature grabbed him by the shoulder and threw him through the double door of the mansion. Once they were inside, it thrust its spear and impaled in the SOLDIER's right shoulder, the blond let out a painful groan as he was lifted off the ground and were to eye level with the monster.

'Painful? But this doesn't compare to the ice prison that you created for the other traitor.' It said to him with a voice filled with malice. Cloud glared through the two small holes to the bright red eyes behind the mask and threw an ice spell on its face, but it got deflected and hit the left side of his face, almost knocking him off cold.

The blond struggled to keep himself awake, knowing that if he let the darkness consumed him, he will never get out, or to see his mother again, his friends, Kadaj and Moon. He opened his eyes, which he had closed when he got hit by his own attack. His vision was unclear, because his left eye got some frosts and blood in it, he could also taste the copper taste of his own blood in his mouth.

'What do you cherish the most in the world? Tell me Cloud.' The centaur-like creature asked as the mask melted away and the helmet turned into some kind of crown, but what shocked Cloud the most was that the face was Sephiroth with several purple veins around snaking around its neck. This monster might also have the face of the General, but its eyes told another story and they weren't like Kadaj's either. Somehow, Cloud felt relieved that this monster isn't the silver hair teen's transformation. 'Tell me what you love Cloud and I'll make your death less painful.'

The SOLDIER looked at the monster defiantly and spat at his face. The creature looked at him for a moment before it said: 'As you wish.'

Bolts of lighting were released from the hand holding the spear and the electric attack was transferred to the wound where the weapon was impaled to. Cloud screamed in pain as the electrical discharge ran through his entire body, making him shaking violently as the energy crackled around him. The boy only stopped his screaming when the spell was over.

I got to move... Cloud thought as he tried to move his left arm, but he couldn't find the strength. He felt very tired and he just wanted to close his eyes. I'm really tire... He tried to move again, only getting his fingers twitched a little bit. I can't continue my journey anymore... Slowly, his eyes went closed.

***

It's so dark here... And cold...

I want Mother...

Cloud opened his eyes to see a small boy in front of him curled up like a ball, shivering. He was about to go comfort the boy, but green lights appeared and were slowly moving towards him. The Lifestreams, Cloud thought.

Is it you, Mother?

The light became brighter and green threads of the Lifestreams carefully latched onto the boy, pulling him towards the bright light.

NO! YOU'RE NOT MOTHER! LET GO!

The boy screamed and struggled to break free from the grip just like an animal trapped in a cage. Seeing this, the blond couldn't stand watching this without doing anything, but when he tried to take one step, he couldn't, his feet were like stick to the ominous darkness.

LEAVE ME ALONE!

A shockwave exploded around him, cutting the threads and pushing back the light. Cloud's eyes widen in surprised and horror when he saw what was standing behind the little boy, even though he never really see that thing before, he was sure what that was, JENOVA.

The alien life form put its deformed hands over the shoulder of the boy and whispered comforting words to his ears, but the SOLDIER could see through the kind mask it is wearing, it's a disgusting creature's bloodlust, for the Planet's blood. The little boy couldn't see that and held on the hands tightly.

What's your name child? Jenova asked.

I... I don't remember...

Don't worry, from now on, your name shall be Kadaj...

Kadaj...

After the little boy repeated the name, a black mist swirled around him, changing his appearance into one that is familiar to Cloud. Everything looked like the silver hair teen he came to know, but only the eyes were foreign for him, they held certain madness in them. The child took the hand of the monster and walked away.

WAIT KADAJ! Cloud shouted and tried to run after them, but his feet refused to move from their spot. COME BACK KADAJ! SHE IS LYING TO YOU! KADAJ!

***

Sapphire unfocused eyes opened themselves, drawing the attention of the centaur-like monster, it said: 'Still alive I see.'

Kadaj... I got to save him... The blond thought as he tilted his head up a little bit, enough to see the monstrous eyes. Suddenly everything seemed to slow down in time and a luminous light surrounded him, the monster in front of him disappeared and was replaced by a large ice mirror. He could see his own reflection on the surface of the ice, but for a moment, he thought he saw a beautiful pale blue skin woman with her eyes closed appeared in his reflection.

Then everything vanished, leaving him in the same position he is before, but he found his strength again and he extended his hand, concentrated once more on summoning his power.

'It's useless. No matter how many times you use your ice magic, it will be reflected back to you.' The creature repeated.

Cloud couldn't hear him, because while he concentrated on gathering the energy around him, his ears had picked up a faint and distant heartbeat sound. It was like something was calling for him.

'Diamond...' He said unconsciously and softly, barely a small whisper, causing a silver brow rose. 'Diamond Dust!'

A bluish silver blast was released from the palm of the blond and hit squarely the face of the monster, covering its body entirely in ice and made it looked like a statue made out of ice. Then a small crack sounded in the abandoned mansion before it was accompanied by another and another. Soon, the whole ice statue crumbled to the ground, followed by the injured blond.

Among the rubbles of ice laid a short silver hair man, who Cloud recognized as the stranger in the Shinra building. The man whispered weakly: 'I'm sorry Kadaj. I didn't kill him for you...'

As soon as those words left the lips of the stranger, his body turned into a black mist and vanished without a trace. Silence reigned once again in the always silent mansion, only the small inhaled and exhaled breath of the wounded SOLDIER echoed around the walls of the old worn out building.

After a moment, Cloud slowly got to his feet and stumbled towards the stairs that leads to the second stage. He could still hear the faint beating of a heart, but it isn't the only thing that caught his attention. The walls, the woods, the creaking sounds under his feet, all were so familiar to him. I had been here before... A long time ago... No... I haven't... Yet I did...

Everything was blurry for Cloud. His feet were moving on their own as if like he was sleepwalking and he made his way to a small chamber. He approached the wall and pushed it, causing the wall shook and slid away, revealing a round staircase leading to the darkness below. Usually, the blond would think twice before stepping into the unknown, but for some reason, he felt like he knew this place for a long time and let his feet continued to guide him from his descend, his shoulder pressed against the wall for support.

When he reached the cold and humid ground, he walked down a long cavern corridor towards a single where light came out. The closer he got to the door, the louder the heartbeat rang in his mind.

He lifted his less injured arm up and pushed the door, which swung open loosely. The light blinded him for a second, before his enhanced eyes adjust to the sudden brightness. A smile graced his lips when he saw who's in the middle of the room. Moon, with his eyes closed and his arms spread to his sides, looked like he was there to welcome him back even when he was encased in ice.

Cloud took a small step towards his sleeping friend, his arm stretched out to reach him. His eyes started to sting, but the blond didn't pay any attention to it, or the dampness he felt on his cheeks. He said the sleeping being's name softly. Saying the name triggered the ice prison that held Moon to break and turned into little snowflakes.

As bright blue eyes opened themselves, the SOLDIER's tired eyes closed and the worn out body fell forward. Even though Moon was just freed from his ice prison, he caught the blond in his arms in the blink of an eye before he hit the ground.

Cloud fought to keep his eyes open as he whispered the auburn hair man's name. Moon sat both of them down on the ground as he pulled Cloud against his chest and wrapped his arms around the smaller body. He leaned forward to whisper to the boy's ear: 'It's alright now Cloud. I'm here. Sleep.'

Sapphire eyes struggled to stay open for another second before they finally gave in. The black wing spread wide and wrapped both of them in its warmth to shield them from the frosty cold of the basement. Moon buried his face in the unruly hair of the blond and inhaled the unique scent of the boy as his hands smoothed the broken body in his arms, healing the invisible wounds and scars.

After several minutes, the auburn hair man drifted to sleep too. Both Gaia's chosen knights fell into a dreamless sleep, where no nightmares, no past's ghosts came to haunt them. They are just content to be in each other arms once again.


Author's note: A special thanks to StoryTagger, whose review in Chapter 12 had given the idea of Cloud's most powerful ice magic attack. THANK YOU VERY MUCH STORYTAGGER!

And I hope that people who read my story would help pick one of the two story I had in mind and that I had put their summary in my profile! (Because I kept getting a draw in my poll).

Thank you everyone! *BOW*