I know this is the same chapter, nothing has been added to it, so don't read it again. Sorry. I had forgotten ato mention NaNoWriMo, so... yeah. You won't be seeing anymore of this for the next month or so. Again, sorry.

The good news is that it might cause me to get better writing habits. Oh, and I'm going to put some poems about NaNoWriMo on my profile that popped into my head while I was trying to sleep last night. Other than that it's pretty much bad news.

It was over.

It was all over.

Maybe the world was better off with him camping in the woods somewhere until the time came where Sephiroth would go crazy and Cloud would stop him again.

He couldn't even do that because he didn't have the Mako.

He couldn't even get the Mako and whatever else was injected into his body because he didn't know how anything was going to happen anymore. Sephiroth could not destroy Nibelheim and cause all survivors to go to the Science Department, because Nibelheim was already gone.

Cloud didn't know what he'd done to change the future so drastically, and that was one of the worst parts. Sure, he didn't want everyone to die, and he'd miss getting to know his mother, but it was kind of a detached sadness because he didn't really know anyone, anymore. But that he could accidentally destroy his hometown four years too early just by existing, that was the problem. He couldn't just stand there and watch the world fall apart around him because he wasn't doing things how they were supposed to be done! But then again, it's not like he could walk away. Because on the slight chance that he could change things for the better, despite the overwhelming evidence for the opposite, it would be worth it. If one more person was alive at the end of this, he would be satisfied. Not happy, because one person meant Zack or Aerith or both dying, and he didn't think he could stand that. Not again.

Cloud didn't know how long he laid there, numb to the world. He had cause the deaths of an entire town, even if indirectly. He didn't even notice when the alarm went off, causing everyone else to jerk awake. He didn't notice them getting ready for the day, nor when one called back, asking Reno why he wasn't coming.

The other cadet wasn't all that surprised when all the flamboyant teen did was point at a spiky headed blonde who was gazing blindly at the ceiling with glazed-over eyes.

So when something actually got Cloud's attention, it was a bit startling.

"Come on, snap out of it, yo!"

The blonde's eyes slowly focused on the freckled face alarmingly close to his own. He shrank back into his pillow as much as possible, but considering Shinra's stinginess that wasn't much. "Reno? Wha-what?"

Reno scowled. "What what? Don't 'what' me, yo. You've been spacing out for who knows how long, yo, and I've just been sittin' here havin' no clue what's goin' on! So talk."

Cloud just stared at him for a long, long time. It seemed Reno was just as stubborn as in the future, because the Turk-to-be just would not leave. Finally Cloud looked down and away, murmuring, "It doesn't matter."

A low rumbling noise emanated from Reno's throat, and he looked in alarm when he realized the cadet was growling. The explosion was just a few seconds later. "Yeah, it does too matter! You're just sittin' there all like 'oh, look at me, I'm being all angsty and crap' and 'stay away from me you incompetent fool' at the same time, yo, and I don't even know how that's possible! How can you be so uppity and depressed at the same time! It don't make sense! So listen here, yo, you're not better than anyone, and you're gonna tell me your problem right now because other people actually help stuff sometimes, and not just hang about thinking their miserable selves into a ditch."

Cloud still didn't say anything, just closed his eyes again. Surprisingly Reno just sighed, and didn't throw him off the bunk or something like that. Sometimes Cloud had to wonder if Reno was bipolar. It wouldn't shock him if he was, that's for sure.

"If I told you a secret about me, would you tell me what's botherin' ya?"

Cloud's eyes shot open. Reno, voluntarily giving away personal information? Impossible. Either he was hallucinating, or didn't remember the Turk as well as he had maybe something happened between now and when Cloud had known him that had changed him. Or it could be a trap. But if Reno went first how would he be tricked into giving up his information without getting anything in return? He couldn't think of anything, but he would never be anything like a Turk. Not only that, but Reno would find out eventually, so he supposed it couldn't hurt that much.

He nodded silently and Reno grinned like the maniac he probably had hidden not so far beneath the surface. Soon though, his exuberance faded, and if Cloud had believed it at all possible he would have sworn the red head looked, well, nervous. And if Reno was anyone else it would have been obvious that they were, in fact, nervous. But Reno was Reno, and the most hesitant he ever got was slightly unconfident. After a few moments of Cloud staring expectantly at the anxious cadet there was finally an end to the uncomfortable silence. "Well, ya see, yo, no, that's not right, I see. Colors."

Sure, Cloud was glad their weird staring match was over, but that could've made more sense. A lot more, actually. "Colors? You… see them? Doesn't everybody?" he asked tentatively. This was getting a bit too weird for his tastes, which was saying something because he had spent the last few centuries living with an ex-Turk who could turn into a demon.

Reno shook his head quickly and started talking faster, as if eager to get it over with. "I see colors. In the air. Like, when someone slams a door a thick brown line cuts across whatever I'm lookin' at. But it's transparent, yo, so I can still see the other stuff, it's just, ya know, there." After finishing his dialogue his mouth snapped shut and he sheepishly looked away from Cloud, down at the ground.

So when Reno heard a sound, he saw a color? That was definitely something else entirely. "Do you see colors at any other time," Cloud asked curiously, "like when you smell things?"

Reno looked up, apparently startled for some reason. "Nah, just with most noises, yo. Not all of them, like some voices. It's really weird."

"And this has been happening since before you remember?" he questioned, intrigued. Reno nodded silently in return before snapping a cold gaze back to Cloud.

"Your turn."

My turn? Cloud thought in confusion. What? Oh, right. The whole 'give one to get one' thing. "My hometown was attacked by a dragon and everyone died except for the mayor's daughter." Nice job, Cloud. Could it get any blunter? At least act traumatized even if you can't remember anyone, will you? Oh, yes! The amnesia! "I mean, I don't really remember everyone that well, so it's not as bad as it sounds, really. I kind of have some memories about my mom, but that's about it. And falling off a bridge. But still, now I don't really have any hope of getting my memory back."

They fell silent again, but this time the quiet was of a more comfortable sort. Cloud was relieved that Reno was pushing false sympathy onto him, and doubtless the other cadet was glad that giving up his secret hadn't pushed Cloud away. Instead, if anything, it drew him closer. Reno's condition was intriguing, and he hadn't heard of anything like it before. It didn't seem like a disease, if the red haired boy had had it his entire life, and it didn't look like it had any ill effects either. If anything, it could help in the situations that Turks were so often in: sneaking around in places they probably shouldn't be. Sure, it would only appear as a color if he could hear it, but people tended to pay more attention to sight than sound, and he would probably be better able to tell if the noise/color/shape was out of the ordinary with his eyes rather than his ears.

Eventually Reno slipped off the bunk, landing on the floor with a sticky sounding 'thunk' caused by his bare feet hitting the floor. Curious, Cloud peered over the edge and saw that Reno was kneeling next to a locker that definitely wasn't his own. After around half a minute of the slight sound of metal clinking, the door swung open. Cloud's angle wasn't right, but hopefully Reno would see a clear bag of black powder in one of the far corners of a locker. A small gasp from the aforementioned cadet proved that it was, in fact, still there, to Cloud's relief, and that it probably was what the Turk-to-be was looking for. Who knows what Reno would've tried to do to him if he thought the blonde had been lying.

Quicker than Cloud had anticipated, Reno had snatched the bag and tossed a quick "I'll be back" over his shoulder on his way to go do… something.

Except he didn't come back. Cloud sat there, soaking in his thoughts, depressing and otherwise, for an hour or two. More like three, actually. Eventually other cadets started trickling in, so he assumed it was just after lunch. Everyone was ignoring him as usual, and they seemed to have forgotten Reno too. Or they knew where he was. Cloud certainly didn't.

Then the door slammed open, and Kunsel of all people came storming in, calm, quirky Kunsel. Or at least it seemed like Kunsel; the helmet made it kind of hard to tell. A moment later Cloud started to doubt that it was, because whoever this SOLDIER was, he was angry. Not angry as in annoyed, angry as in fuming, furious, livid, incensed, and yet somehow disappointed on top of that. The near-visible vibes coming off the guy just about made Cloud nauseous.

"Everyone out. Now," the SOLDIER Third snarled, and the cadets scuttled out at an alarming speed. Cloud hurried to follow them, dropping off the top bunk to the floor, still in his night clothes, and going after them. In the hall it was a mess, recruits in other rooms crowding around, trying to see what was happening. There were some MPs there, dragging the people from his squad away to who-knows-where. One grabbed Cloud by the shoulder and he trailed after the man obediently, not wanting to get in trouble.

The MP led him through the building, and Cloud wouldn't have been able to tell where they were if there hadn't been signs posted around the place. All they had was the floor level and section of the building, but it was something, at least.

He was brought into a room with a small, dented table with a sturdy looking chair sitting right behind it. Very sturdy, considering it had handcuffs attached to it. Under the MP's orders he sat in said chair and was swiftly and efficiently bound to it. The MP left, and he was alone.

The room appeared to be completely made of concrete, except for the door, obviously, and there was probably one some version of a two-way mirror along one of the walls, or at least a video camera, but if there was one it was so well hidden he couldn't find it. It was obviously an interrogation room of some sort. The table in front of him was very old metal, dull and almost delicate-looking, but Cloud was sure it was there for some psychological reason. Maybe to make him feel unstable? The chair was also metal, though this appearing more well-built. It was small enough to be constraining, even if there hadn't been bands of metal holding his arms and legs down. It was very cold and uncomfortable, again, probably for some psychological reason, and was bolted to the floor.

He sat there for awhile, probably as other the other kids in his room were questioned, or it could just be to make him more uneasy. It certainly worked well. Sure, Cloud knew he didn't have anything to do with any illegal substances, but he knew next to nothing about people affected by amnesia, and they would doubtless be able to tell he was faking if they looked close enough. He might be able to act less confident, but that just wasn't him. There was a reason he had never gone into the performing arts, but after all this practice he was getting he possibly be able to make act convincingly, but that would be sometime in the distant future. Very distant.

He was pulled out of his thoughts by a slight whoosh as the door slid open into the wall, and a very imposing SOLDIER Third walked in.

It seemed the investigation of one Cloud Strife was about to begin.

Dreams of the Morrow, Chapter 13: Unaware. 2,128 words. Updated October 29, 2011

First things first: Reno's condition is actually real, and it's called synesthesia. It's not a disease and doesn't have any negative effects, and there are many other types besides the sound - color type that Reno has. Some people see letters and numbers as different colors, feel things when they eat, or see colors when they hear things. It's cool, you should look it up. It also reminds me of Pocahontus.

Secondly, in this story, MP stands for Military Police. Don't worry, Shinra doesn't have a whole company of people with multiple-personality disorder.

Now on to less important things you can skip if you want too, though if you do want to, you probably wouldn't have read the suff above either. Yes this came a lot faster, but I feel that it's my worst chapter yet. It wasn't harder to write exactly, (obviously or it wouldn't be up yet) it just seemed a little... awkward. Oh, on a side note, I have 166 people on story alert! That's like, a really really really small town! Like, a fifth of the size of Talkeetna small town! (No offense Talkeetna. I like you just the way you are. Especially your ice cream!) I am amazed!

Oh, wait, don't leave yet! There's a poll for pairings, and if you don't want any, there are options for that too! It's been there for around the last for updates, I just kept forgetting about it.

Thank you for reading my story so far, (and this really long authors note) I hope you enjoyed it. Have a nice day! (and week, and month, and year, and decade, and life!)