The Mako Man

"Hey, Reeve!" Cloud called when he and Tifa got back to where their mission a couple hours ago took place. Had that really been so recent? "Guess what?"

The Cait Sith doll turned and looked at Cloud and Tifa, "What?"

Cloud proudly held Tifa's hand, "We're engaged!"

Tifa blushed and giggled. Who knew Cloud could be giddy? It didn't really fit anything Cloud had done before, but it was adorable.

The doll looked at them for a moment, and then Reeve's voice came through, replacing Cait's, "You're what?"

Tifa smiled, "Engaged," she said shyly. It was such a strange thought.

"…Have you asked Barret's permission? He's like a father to you, Tifa."

Tifa shook her head, "I don't think I'll marry if I can't marry Cloud."

Cloud blushed and smiled.

The Cait paused, then shook its head, "This is gonna cost you big time, Cloud. I hope you're prepared to fight with Barret."

Cloud shrugged, "I fight with him anyway."

The Cait shrugged, "It's your head on the platter, not mine. I have the mako-infused man in custody if you'd like to talk to him. Says his name is Luxiere."

Cloud perked up at the name. He put his free hand on his hip and thought about something. Tifa looked at him. "You know someone by that name?"

"I don't know…maybe."

Cloud and Tifa walked into the police station and followed a waiting officer into a room where Luxiere was being held. Luxiere stopped his inspection of the room and looked over at the newcomers and scowled. "What do you want?"

"Where did you get your mako treatments?" Cloud asked immediately.

"You tell first."

"I asked first."

Luxiere scowled, then sat down at the chair and put his feet up on the table in the interrogation room, "SOLDIER 2nd class, Luxiere at your service."

"SOLDIER?" Cloud realized how he knew Luxiere's name, "You knew Zack."

Luxiere nearly fell out of the chair, "What?! You knew Zack?"

Cloud nodded, "He was my best friend."

"…Who are you? I don't recognize you from SOLDIER."

"From what you know, I wasn't in SOLDER."

"Then where'd you get those eyes? What do you mean from 'What I know'?" Luxiere paused and thought about something. Hadn't there been a second fugitive on the run with Zack all those years ago? Luxiere had never gotten a physical description of the second fugitive, but how else do you explain those eyes if he wasn't in SOLDIER?

"Long story. A better question is why SOLDIER, Ex or not, got tied up in a gang run by Don Corneo. Or a gang at all."

Luxiere sighed, "Times are hard for those affiliated with ShinRa. And pretty much anyone other than you with mako eyes is labeled a terror. Especially after Deepground when they all had mako enhancements. I would have died…"

Tifa frowned. "Even if life has been bad to you, you could have dealt with it better than getting involved with criminals."

Luxiere shot Tifa a particularly nasty look, "I don't want to hear it, AVALANCHE."

Tifa blinked and lowered her gaze. ShinRa must have had her image somewhere. Tifa wondered: was she just as guilty as the criminal across the table from her? AVALANCHE had done some pretty bad things, but…but there was a good reason behind what they did, right? She shook her head. She'd already accepted her crimes once and resolved to live the rest of her life to make up for it.

Cloud glowered at Luxiere, "You won't talk to her like that again."

"What's stopping me?"

Cloud stood and placed his hands flat on the table. He stared Luxiere down. "Her fiancée. You won't talk to her like that again."

There was a flicker of anger in the tanned man's glowing blue eyes. "…Fine."

Cloud sat back down. Tifa nudged his hand in a silent "Thank you."

Luxiere sighed and leaned back on his chair, "So what did you come and see me for, heroes?"

Cloud shrugged, "At first, I just wanted to know where your mako-enhancements came from. Now I'm curious about you."

Luxiere smirked, "Don't flatter me."

"I'm not."

"Hmph."

Tifa raised her head, "So how did you come into contact with Corneo in the first place?"

"He saw me begging for coins. I was pretending to be blind at the time. It made people pity me a bit more and it hid my eyes behind a thick cloth. Naturally Corneo wanted to see my eyes. He probably checked anyone who hid them. After I was adamant about keeping the cloth over my eyes, he asked if I was in SOLDIER, and I messed up. I waited too long to answer 'no' and he said he would take me in or kill me on the spot. I had no choice. I was only 2nd class and Corneo had a whole freaking battalion with him."

Cloud's face darkened, "Coward."

"What?! I'm a coward?! What in Ifrit's Hellfire gives you the right to say that?!"

Tifa looked over at Cloud. His face was angry and haunted, "Zack died under worse odds. He never gave in to what he knew was wrong. I saw that battlefield. There were hundreds of soldiers fighting against Zack on that day he was murdered. I woke up to helicopters, missiles, and an entire damned army killing the man who had kept me alive for months. Zack never gave up. What happened to protecting your honor as SOLDIER? Zack was never ashamed."

Luxiere looked stunned and guilty, "They did that to Zack?"

Cloud couldn't say anything. He just glared at the man who gave up under such easy odds.

Luxiere sat silent for a moment, "They did that to Zack? …Were there any 2nd or 3rd class SOLDIER members there? They didn't turn on Zack, did they? I was on a different mission that day."

"I don't know," Cloud said coldly, "It wouldn't surprise me."

Luxiere sat the chair back all four legs and got his feet off the table. He hung his head, "I tried to help him…"

"Bull. I saw your message."

Luxiere shifted.

Tifa nudged Cloud in the arm before he could say anything else. She looked at Luxiere. "So you only worked for Corneo for safety?"

Luxiere flinched. He nodded sullenly.

"Would you like a second chance?"