Disclaimer: I don't own Final Fantasy VII.

A/N: I'd just like to say, thank you so much to everyone who has followed, favourited and reviewed this story, even after all this time. I really appreciate it, and more than that, it inspires me to keep writing. :) I hope you enjoy this one too.

Out Of Suffering, Emerge The Strongest Souls

Chapter Four: What Do You Mean, It's Not a Road Trip

After he parted ways from Aerith, it didn't take Cloud long to find a place selling banged-up old motorcycles in Wall Market. It did take slighter longer to convince the owner of the shop that the blond swordsman wasn't going to be paying the extortionate prices for his wares, and that he was perfectly capable of spotting a rip-off when he saw one. Admittedly, the huge sword on his back and the glow of mako eyes might have helped negotiations along a bit.

Twenty minutes later Cloud had exited the gates to the slums and was speeding away through the wastelands, pushing the rickety old bike as fast as he dared. He had still paid more than it was worth and it felt far too flimsy to his enhanced strength – nothing like the solid, reassuring weight of Fenrir – but he was not inclined to sit through further bartering. Urgency and no small amount of fear nipped at his heels, chanting, faster, faster, who know how long they've been out here.

It didn't help that 'the wastelands' were a pretty damn big place and really not helpful as a direction for finding the kids. Cloud started looking in a grid search pattern, sweeping the area ahead of him with Sense materia in the hope of picking up Marlene and Denzel's distinctive auras. For once, fortune must have been smiling on him; he had been looking for barely half an hour when the materia pinged and came back with two very familiar readings.

He rounded an outcropping of rock and two little figures came into view, huddled in the protective shadow of a big black motorcycle. Fenrir…? Cloud's surprise at seeing his bike was immediately eclipsed by the feeling of relief when he spied the children curled up against the chassis.

"CLOUD!" came a cry as one of figures struggled upright. Marlene. The blond swordsman braked and dropped the motorbike. Seconds later, he had swept the children up in a tight embrace, as tight as he dared with his strength. Alive, safe, alive, safe. His thoughts looped as he hugged them closer, the relief overwhelming. Their hearts thudded against his chest, steady and reassuring with every beat.

Marlene burrowed happily into his shoulder. "I'm so pleased to see you, Cloud," she sighed, sounding as if a great weight had been lifted from her.

"Me too," Denzel mumbled from where he was tucked in against Cloud's neck.

Cloud tried to speak, only to find his throat had closed up. "Me three," he finally managed to rasp out.

Marlene giggled, and leaned back to look at his face. "Cloud, you sound like you've been eating rocks."

The swordsman felt a smile tugging at the corner of his mouth and, looking at her expression, so radiant with joy, let it broaden into a full smile. Marlene let out a squeal of delight. "Now you're smiling! Is it a special occasion?"

Her words, however unintentionally, created a little flare of guilt within him. She shouldn't be so surprised to get a smile out of me. Pushing the thought aside for another time, he replied, "I'm just happy to see you."

The little girl peered at his face, scrutinising his expression. "You were worried you wouldn't see us ever again," she declared with confidence.

Cloud could only blink in response and then wondered why he was even still surprised. He and Tifa had been repeatedly astounded by Marlene's acuity and stunningly accurate insights ever since she had come to stay with them at Seventh Heaven. Her next statement, however, completely floored him.

"Is it because we've time-travelled?"

Cloud nearly gaped at her. "H-how…?"

Marlene beamed, clearly delighted to have broken his composure and simply pointed behind him. Cloud swung around and saw the big metropolis looming large in the near-distance. "Midgar's still standing!"

"So we must've gone back in time," Denzel mumbled. He still hadn't looked up from Cloud's neck. "It only makes sense. Plus there was that crazy lightshow in Aerith's church just before we blacked out. It looked a lot like – like when Meteor hit and the Lifestream burst out of the ground around Midgar. All white-green light."

Cloud squeezed him gently, hoping that it was enough to reassure the boy. He knew how traumatising Meteor had been for Denzel. Marlene, ever sensitive, reached around the swordsman's neck and patted her friend reassuringly on his feathery hair. "We kept Fenrir safe for you too, Cloud," she said earnestly, looking up at him. "Or rather, it kept us safe," she amended. "The engine stayed warm for ages and we weren't so cold when we sat next to it. And Denzel had a chocolate bar," she added encouragingly, looking at the boy.

"You've done well," Cloud said gently. "Both of you."

Denzel raised his head a little at that, seeking Cloud's expression. Whatever he found there must have reassured him, because Cloud felt him relax a little against his shoulder. "We tried to get into Fenrir's compartments too, because we knew you keep water in there, but we couldn't get them open," he said, looking sheepish.

"Don't worry about it." Cloud patted the back of his head. "I designed them to be difficult to open. It's amazing how often people chance their arm and try to steal from an unattended motorbike."

It took some creative juggling, to get around the children in his arms, but Cloud soon had one of the compartments on his bike open and proceeded to hand out two bottles of fresh water. "Careful now, drink it slowly," he cautioned and for the next few minutes, the only sound was that of thirsty glugging.

It was only when there were two content children leaning against him, that Cloud realised that he had no idea what to do next. …I'm really not good at this planning thing. He glanced at the kids, who were virtually asleep now that they were safe and no longer thirsty. Okay, first thing's first; somewhere safe to rest.

"Come on you two."

Amidst sleepy protests, Cloud managed to get the two of them loaded onto Fenrir and was just about to start the engine when Marlene suddenly spoke up. "What about that other bike, Cloud?"

The blond man glanced at the sad specimen of a motorcycle he had ridden out into the wastelands. "It's a piece of cr – rubbish. And we can't ride two bikes to Kalm."

"I could ride the other one," Denzel spoke up eagerly, suddenly wide-awake.

"Wh- no, Denzel, you can't –" Cloud began sternly.

"We can't leave it here, Cloud. That's littering." Marlene said, with all the authority of someone quoting her mother figure.

Cloud groaned under his breath. "Okay, okay." He got off the bike.

Skree, skree, skree!

Two wide-eyed children watched as the swordsman carefully folded the bike over three times, hands bending the steel like it was cardboard. The result was roughly a cubic metre of squashed motorbike, which he then proceeded to fasten to the back of Fenrir with a nylon rope fished out from one of the bike's compartments.

"Does that meet with your satisfaction?" Cloud asked, half-exasperated, half-amused.

Marlene's eyes were bright with laughter but she only drew herself up with great regality and nodded demurely. "It does, thank you."

"That was so cool!" Denzel burst out, exhaustion all but forgotten. Cloud climbed back on the motorbike, with two suddenly very excitable kids.

…That might have been a mistake.

xxx

"Why are we going to Kalm, Cloud?"

"There's an inn to stay in."

"Why do we need an inn?"

"You're tired and need to sleep."

"I'm not tired!"

"I'm not tired either."

"Well, I'm tired." Cloud yawned deliberately in an attempt to induce yawning in his charges. It didn't work.

"Where are we going after Kalm?"

"To Nibelheim, via Junon."

"Why?"

Cloud sighed. "Because Aerith said so. She doesn't know why but she thinks it's important we go there."

He was immediately the focus of two intent gazes. "She spoke to you too?"

The swordsman blinked in surprise. "Ah, yes. The Aerith from our time spoke to me; then I found the Aerith from this time and spoke to her too. She was the one that told me to go to Nibelheim."

Marlene hugged Denzel tighter around the waist in delight and the boy squawked in protest at her grip. "Oh, I didn't think of that! We'll get to see Aerith again!"

Cloud smiled a little painfully and adjusted his own grip on the two children to keep them falling off the motorbike as they moved around. "Yes, you'll see her again. She's in Midgar at the moment but as soon as we set up a base she'll come join us."

"Cool," Marlene wriggled happily in place. "It was the Aerith from our original time that spoke to me when we arrived here and told me not to worry, that you were coming for us."

Cloud's arm tightened briefly around the children. Thank you for that Aerith, he thought, hoping that somewhere, somehow, she could hear him.

"I'm looking forward to meeting her," Denzel said quietly. "Everyone seems to like her so much."

Marlene hugged him again. "I'm sure you will too, Denzel. Aerith's lovely."

Silence fell briefly and Cloud allowed himself a moment to enjoy the quiet.

"Are we there yet?" Marlene inquired brightly.

Cloud groaned and the kids both burst out laughing.

It was with great relief that Cloud finally drove into Kalm an hour later, not long after sunrise. He found a recycling centre for the crushed motorbike, at Marlene's insistence, and then booked them a room at one of the local inns. Despite both Marlene and Denzel's protests that they weren't tired, the kids were fast asleep as soon as their heads hit the pillows, and Cloud finally had a moment to breathe.

He unbuckled his harness, placing both it and the massive sword it contained on the spare twin bed, along with his shoulder cape, pauldron, gloves and gauntlet full of materia. He sat on the floor between the bed with the two sleeping children and the bed with his arms and armour, and leaned against the wall so he wouldn't fall asleep.

Then he started to plan. There's a good chance that Shinra knows what happened by now…actually, scratch that, they definitely know what happened, I wasn't exactly subtle. It's probably best to assume the worst, that they've seen my face and they're looking for me. After all, there's practically a camera in every corridor in Shinra HQ and they're not likely to just ignore Hojo's death.

So…avoid the main roads. We'll go through the mountains instead of taking the motorway from Midgar to Junon. Catch a couple of chocobos. Much like that other time when we were fleeing from Shinra, Cloud thought with a sense of déjà vu. And I should probably disguise myself. He frowned, disgruntled. Still, at least it won't be a dress.

The fact that Fenrir had arrived along with Marlene and Denzel had been an unexpected gift. The motorcycle contained a great many useful things, including about six thousand gil in cash. Cloud had spent most of what he had had in his wallet on the rickety old bike he had ridden out of Midgar.

The swordsman relaxed back against the wall, mentally taking stock of the other resources at his disposal. Four bottles of water. Six nourishing (dry and tasteless) cereal bars. One bag of beef jerky. Two nylon ropes. Two pairs of identical sunglasses (he had taken a leaf out of Rude's book). One compass. One box of matches. One pocket knife. Two spare pairs of socks and boxers (he had been the road for days at a time before). One thermal blanket. Ten Hi-Potions. Nine Ethers. Three Andidotes (loot he'd taken from a monster nest; he would need to stock up on curatives now that the children were travelling with him, they didn't have Ribbons). A full complement of materia: Ice, Lightning, Poison, Restore, Heal, Revive, Exit, Time, Ultima, Bahamut, All (times two), Enemy Skill, Sense and Chocobo Lure, all of which were mastered (although not quite a full complement, he had forgotten he'd given Barrier to Aerith). One hi-tech, solar-powered PHS. One motorbike, tailor-made, heavy-duty and built to withstand almost any monster attacks. One Ribbon, a powerful talisman that provided protection from many dangerous attacks. One fusion sword, forged from the bodies of defeated WEAPONs. One mako-enhanced swordsman (damaged, moderately used, no visible nicks or tears, in the process of being repaired).

Cloud snorted and rolled his shoulders. A decent array. Better than he'd thought before Fenrir had shown up anyway. He was pretty sure that he had a new Restore rolling about in the bike's compartments somewhere too, the one he had equipped was only recently mastered and had spawned a new orb, as was the norm. That was convenient, although he would still have to buy a new bracelet each for Denzel and Marlene, along with two Barriers, two Exits and another Restore. Ever since Sephiroth's attempt at a 'family Reunion' nearly a year ago, he and Tifa had been training the children in the use of defensive materia in the event that, Gaia forbid, they were ever attacked when the adults weren't around, they would be able to defend themselves and escape. Their little patchwork family couldn't rely on luck protecting them from such a thing; Reunion, if it had done nothing else, had proved that.

The kids would be disappointed though – they hadn't been wearing their materia bracelets when they had time-travelled and accordingly, the bracelets hadn't come with them. Which meant they'd have to start training materia again from scratch. Although Planet knows, Denzel will probably capitalise on the opportunity to demand a Fire materia or something, Cloud thought, a smile tugging at the corner of his mouth. And Marlene will request a Phoenix summon in her usual calm, cheerful manner, as if the idea is totally reasonable.

The blond man looked over at his two charges. The kids were curled up together like puppies in a pile, breathing slowly and deeply, clearly exhausted. Even as he watched, Marlene snuffled sleepily and rolled over; Denzel followed a moment later, even in his sleep, curling up against her back, burrowing against her heat. A second later, Marlene shifted, one arm tucking Denzel into her side instead and then both children settled deep into slumber once more.

Cloud could only smile. Then a bolt of panic struck him at the sight of them, so fragile and vulnerable-looking in their sleep. How was he supposed to protect them from all the world could throw at them, and protect the world from Jenova at the same time? He wouldn't be able to cope if – if –

No. Stop it. Aerith knows what's she's doing; she wouldn't have trusted you with the children's safety if she didn't think you could cope. Stop it. Calm. Breathe.

Cloud's panic gradually faded, listening to the steady reassuring beat of Marlene and Denzel's hearts to centre himself as he calmed himself down.

The swordsman took a deep breath as his own heart rate returned to normal and he slumped a little against the wall. He scrubbed a hand over his tired eyes. He couldn't sleep yet; they were still too close to Midgar. There would probably be descriptions of him passed to most authorities by the end of the day and Kalm was just big enough to warrant contacting. Plus it was pretty near Midgar and a good stopping point. Gaia, I'm an idiot. I can only hope that's so obvious they don't think I'll do it. A unintentional double bluff… Planet, I need to get my act together.

Cloud reached for his materia, intending to check both them and the bracer over for any flaws. I'll give the kids another hour, then we need to hit the road again. We can't risk being sighted in Kalm.

xxx

True to his word, Cloud had two sleepy children loaded onto Fenrir, along with a few cheese sandwiches, and was accelerating out of the small town by half past one in the afternoon. It wasn't until they were speeding along a dusty one-track path across the grasslands that the kids properly woke up and the ride promptly became a very lively one. Cloud had to pull out his stern tone in order to get them to sit still; they were bouncing and wriggling about in the seat far too much for it to be safe. But even having to sit relatively still couldn't curb their excitement: the whoops as Fenrir startled a massive group of rabbits and a tidal wave of glossy brown fur and bobbing white tails disappeared rapidly into their burrows; the exclamations as they drove along the coast, the sunlight glinting and flashing off the blue, blue ocean far below and the sight of half a dozen sleek grey backs breaking the surface of the water as a pod of whales came up for air; the shrieks of excitement as Fenrir roared across a shallow ford, sending up sheets of water on either side, with the sun casting rainbow prisms through the arcing droplets.

It was six o'clock in the evening when Cloud pulled into the small chocobo farm near the swamps with a sense of relief. As much as the children's joy warmed him, looking after them for long stretches of time was exhausting. He and Tifa normally traded off…

Tifa…

Don't think about it. Not now. You can grieve when it's safe, when the kids aren't going to suffer for your inattention.

The deep rumble of the motorcycle's engine had clearly been heard from the farmhouse and as Cloud helped Marlene and Denzel down from the big bike, another child came running into the courtyard in front of the stables. He was a short boy of about six and he skidded to a halt at the sight of them. "Grandpa!" he hollered. "Customers!"

"What have I told you about shouting?" A voice grumbled and then an old man came around the corner. Despite his age, he still looked rather spry and didn't have the slight limp that Cloud remembered from his original timeline. He had spent a lot of time with the elderly man when he was learning to breed chocobos and knew quite a lot about him but had never inquired as to the source of his limp. Maybe 'Choco' Bill had been kicked by a bad-tempered bird in the years between now and Meteor.

Bill halted at the sight of Cloud, taking in the man dressed in black SOLDIER gear, the enormous sword protruding over his shoulder and the massive, sleek black motorcycle behind him (and the two children at his side, rather incongruously). Despite the sunglasses hiding his eyes, Cloud had absolutely no doubt as to what assumptions he was making and sighed internally, wondering which way the reaction would go. Depending on the place, people were usually either frightened of SOLDIERs and Shinra in general, or awed by their mere presence. Feared or revered, and all that without being an official SOLDIER, Cloud thought wryly. Of course, while that once caused him distress, that he wasn't a true member of the elite fighting force, it now irked him that people assumed he was associated with Shinra in any way. Had no one ever heard of mako poisoning?

Not that simple though is it? Or any old idiot would just throw themselves in a mako spring and jump out with super strength. Plus, there was Hojo's tinkering. No one would willingly sign themselves up for – nope, not thinking about that –

"Choco Bill, I assume?" Cloud asked, partially to distract himself, partially because he remembered what people around here called Bill and how much it annoyed him. Maybe enough to distract him from any dislike he had for SOLDIERs.

True to form, Bill's eyes narrowed and he snorted with disapproval. "Don't you be listening to gossip, laddie! I've told folks to stop calling me that, but do they listen, no –"

Cloud found himself being ushered into a farmhouse kitchen where Bill's wife was stirring a pot of lentil soup, Denzel and Marlene trailing after him and tentatively striking up a conversation with Bill's grandson. Didn't he have more than one grandkid…? Ah, right, probably not born yet.

Then Bill's wife, Sarah, Cloud remembered her name being, immediately started fussing over the state of Denzel and Marlene's clothes, which were admittedly very dusty and grimy from both the Midgar plains and the ride from Kalm to the farm. "Ah, we've been on a bit of a long trip," Cloud said a little sheepishly. "That's actually why we're here, I was hoping to buy a couple of chocobos for the next stage of the trip…"

Cloud found himself being ushered back out of the farmhouse and towards the stables by Bill, with Sarah's assurances of " I'll get them cleaned up and ready for dinner, don't you worry, our Suzy's clothes should fit your little girl nicely, and your boy can borrow a T-shirt and jeans from Jason –" filling his ears.

Cloud managed a reassuring smile for a startled-looking Marlene and Denzel before they were swept away for a bath, the door closing on farmers' grandson, apparently Jason, moaning, "Graaaaaaann, don't go giving out my stuff –"

Bill puffed on a pipe he had produced from seemingly nowhere as he led Cloud towards the stables. "Don't worry about the missus," he said over his shoulder. "She means well, but when she starts organising she can be a bit bossy. Barks worse than her bite though."

Cloud nodded, aware. He wouldn't have left any of these people alone with his kids if he hadn't been completely sure of their character.

"So what're you looking for?"

And Cloud was immediately launched into a whirlwind of conversation: beak strength, claw sharpness, feather sleekness, the importance of strong legs versus not burdening a chocobo with too much muscle, strength, speed, stamina, intelligence –

It wasn't long before Bill realised Cloud knew what he was talking about and was soon speaking as one chocobo breeder to another, leading him from the front of house stables into the big barn out back, and all the while talking non-stop about the finer points of chocobo husbandry.

The swordsman nodded and injected comments occasionally as he moved amongst the yellow birds, assessing them with professional eye. Bright, curious black eyes looked back, heads tilted and a 'wark!' rang out here or there, as he inspected a young female's feet before moving on to check an older male's wingspan.

" – of course, I told John that it wasn't possible to race one so young but he went ahead and did it anyway, ruined that poor bird –"

"Wark!" Cloud felt a tug at his scalp, as a medium-sized chocobo nibbled at a strand of his hair while he was examining her talons.

Bill broke off mid-sentence to let out a loud guffaw. "Reckon she likes your hair, lad! Has anyone ever told you it makes you look a bit like –"

"A chocobo?" Cloud sighed, a little despairingly. It seemed the comparison was destined to plague him, no matter the timeline. "Yeah, I might have heard that before."

Bill continued to chuckle, amusement unbated, but all of the swordsman's attention had suddenly been drawn to a stall further down the barn. A pair of heads peeked over the their stall; twins, if Cloud was any judge. They looked young, only just reached their maturity and clearly bursting with good health, from their sleek, shiny feathers to their well-trimmed talons. But it was none of these things that had so immediately captured his attention. It was the fact they were completely, unmistakably, green.

"Ah, the latest chicks from my best breeding pair," Bill's voice drew closer as he made his way down the barn's centre aisle to stand next to the swordsman, trailing a small cloud of smoke behind him. He puffed on the pipe as he observed the green-feathered twins in their stall. "They'll be shipping to the racetrack next month now they're full grown; start 'em off nice and easy, get them used to the races. Shame about their parents though. These two are very likely the last chicks we'll get from them – the strain nearly killed the old girl last time and her partner isn't much better. Definitely time for their well-deserved retirement…"

"How much?"

Bill blinked as his musings were interrupted by Cloud's question. "How much?"

"For the twins," the blond gestured to the green chocobos, one of which was now leaning over the stable door in an attempt to preen his hair. "How much would you be willing to part with them for?"

Bill's eyes sharpened, even as he smoked thoughtfully. "That's a difficult question, lad, seeing as I was intending to send them to the races, not sell them. Why do you want them in particular?"

"They're mountain chocobos and I'm intending to travel a lot of rough ground," Cloud explained, even as his thoughts raced for a way to get Bill to part with these birds. "I don't have the time to spare for rearing chocobos right now or I would breed for such specialised qualities myself." Then he hit upon an idea. "What if I could provide you with a new pair of high-quality young yellow chocobos for breeding? Would you be amenable to a trade?"

Bill blinked in surprise, and then scepticism. "How would you do that?"

Cloud shrugged. "I have a lot of experience. And –" he turned his bracer over to display the solitary purple materia glowing amongst the greens, blues, yellows and red, "This doesn't hurt either."

Bill leaned over, scratching his chin in bemusement, then his eyes popped wide in amazement. "Is that a mastered Chocobo Lure?"

"Yeah." Cloud knew Bill had a few Lures kicking about, like all chocobo breeders, but they didn't see regular use as most bred from already established stock. But if he could offer two new high-quality birds, to introduce fresh blood to the genetic pool…

"Hmm…" Bill chewed the end of his pipe thoughtfully. "I'll accept that trade…if you clear out that nest of Midgar zoloms growing up in the swamp to the north as well."

Cloud blinked, surprised. Bill caught his look and waved a hand in First Tsurugi's direction. "Pretty sure that great hunk of metal isn't just for show, lad, I can tell you're more than capable of taking down a few zoloms."

The swordsman thought about it for a moment. "I'll accept that offer, but only as long as you're also willing to keep my bike for me until I return for it. Doesn't require any special treatment," he added, catching the doubtful look starting to form on the chocobo farmer's face. "Just a warm, dry corner of the barn with a tarp thrown over it." It had occurred to him somewhere between Kalm and Bill's farm that going through the swamps and the mountains meant that he would need to leave Fenrir behind. As reluctant as he was to part from his beloved machine, it was unfortunately the choice that made the most sense.

"Deal." Bill stuck out a leathery, sun-beaten hand and Cloud grasped it firmly, pleased by the familiar, if unenhanced, strength of the farmer's grip. "C'mon," he gestured back in the direction of the farmhouse. "No doubt Sarah will have your kids scrubbed up and ready for dinner by now."

Cloud nodded. "Tell her thank you from me," he added awkwardly.

Bill scratched his head. "You're not coming?"

The swordsman rolled his shoulders. "No time like present. It'll only take me a couple of hours to catch the chocobos and kill the zoloms."

Bill chuckled. "Confident one, aren't ya? But then I suppose a SOLDIER would be."

And there it is, Cloud thought resignedly. "I'm not with SOLDIER," he said shortly, for what felt like the hundredth time. "Or Shinra. I had a bad case of mako poisoning. I was lucky to survive, let alone get enhanced strength out if it."

"Well, that explains things then." Bill swapped his pipe from one side of his mouth to the other. "Never met anyone so polite that came from Shinra," he added, seeing the slight frown of confusion on Cloud's face. "Or that didn't just demand things their own way."

"I…see." Cloud was a bit surprised at that description. 'Cold' or 'quiet' was more often used in conjunction will him rather than 'polite'. But then he knew Bill and Sarah very well, even if they didn't know him, and was comfortable enough to relax some of his walls in their presence. Very few people outside of his little group of family and friends could claim that.

"Anyhow, I'll tell the missus to put you aside some soup and bread for when you get back. You and your kids are welcome to stay the night too. Lord knows we have enough room, what with the hordes of grandchildren that usually come to stay. Only Jason at the moment but just wait until the holidays and the house will be hopping," Bill said, puffing away on his pipe.

Cloud's eyes widened a little, startled at the generous offer. "That's…good of you to offer but we couldn't – "

"Nonsense," Bill said gruffly as they rounded the corner of the farmhouse. "You seem like a good sort and you look like you could do with a night's rest in a proper bed. I imagine you'll be sleeping out in the open or in a cave if you're riding those chocobos over the mountains. Might as well sleep soundly while you can."

"…thank you." Cloud was at a loss as what else to say and cursed his lack of eloquence.

But Bill just nodded and smiled as if that simple thanks were more than enough. "Besides," he added with a mischievous grin, "Sarah's already taken a shine to young Denzel and Marlene, and I'd get a right scolding if I turfed you all out with night approaching. Wives, eh?" He wore a fond look as the kitchen came into view and with it, Sarah standing in one of the long windows, clearly visible outlined in the golden light spilling out into gathering dusk.

A stab of grief so acute it felt like physical pain went through Cloud's chest. "Yeah," he murmured. "Nothing like them."

"Oh? Married yourself?" Bill chewed in his pipe, lifting a hand to wave to Sarah. She waved back and stepped away from the window. "Pretty young for it, aren't you?" He glanced down at Cloud's left hand but his ring was hidden by his leather glove.

Cloud laughed. It was a horrible mirthless sound. "I'm twenty-four and I feel twice that. Besides, life's too short to not appreciate the good things while you can. It took me a long time to grasp that but now that I have I'm taking every second I can with the people I…" He fell silent, throat closing up with unshed tears as he fought back the tide of grief that had been unwittingly released, and the added embarrassment over his loss of control.

Bill's eyes had widened at the sudden display of emotion and he took his pipe out of his mouth. "Sorry, lad. I didn't mean to bring up bad memories. Did you…did you lose her?"

Lose her…yes, I've lost her. Along with six good friends. Cloud could only manage a nod, ruthlessly wrestling his emotions back under control.

"Ah…that's a terrible thing to hear." Bill's weathered face creased with sympathy. "Losing family and loved ones never gets any easier. But least you have your children to remember her by." He nodded at the kitchen window again.

Through it Denzel and Marlene were clearly visible, climbing up onto big wooden farmhouse chairs and settling down for dinner. As per usual in unknown situations, Marlene had taken the lead, chattering away to Jason. Denzel was quieter, listening intently and occasionally interjecting with comments. The sight of them made Cloud's chest contract, the emotion so deep it hurt. "Yes," he murmured. They may not be our blood but they are our children.

"It's good you have them," Bill said firmly. He clapped Cloud on the shoulder in a gesture of support. "I'm going to head in. If you still want to go out now, I guess we'll see you in a couple of hours."

"Of course." The blond man gave himself a mental shake.. "I'll be back soon." Nodding at Bill, he turned and strode away, pausing only at the entrance to the courtyard to swing a leg over Fenrir, start the engine and accelerate away, almost all in one fluid motion.

Hopefully some monster-killing will give me time to pull myself together.

xxx

It was around 10pm by the time Cloud arrived back at the farm, a pair of strong, healthy, young yellow chocobos trotting obediently behind the motorbike, which was purring along at a relatively slow pace. He was pretty sure they would have been able to keep up with his bike at high speeds, if only for short bursts, but there was no rush and no point in exhausting the birds unnecessarily.

The zoloms had, as predicted, only provided a moderately strenuous workout. The difficult part had been in keeping his clothes free of gore – regardless of his skill as a handler and the strength of his Chocobo Lure, the birds would have been extremely skittish around him if he had been soaked in blood, especially zolom blood.

Bill was sitting on the bench outside the kitchen door, smoking his pipe idly when Cloud pulled up and the swordsman could tell by the way his eyebrows rose slightly that he was impressed by the chocobos the swordsman had in tow.

Then the next few minutes were a flurry of movement as the birds were hustled off to the stables and, thanks to Sarah, Cloud was hustled off to dinner. After he'd finished eating, he was shown upstairs to a guest room with an extremely comfortable bed. The sheets smelled freshly laundered and the faint hint of crushed pine needles lingered in the room. Cloud almost sighed aloud. After the hard wooden floor of Aerith's church, it felt like an absolute luxury to be given a bed so comfy.

It didn't take him long to strip out of his armour, check in on Denzel and Marlene in the adjoining room (fast asleep, curled up together in the middle of their mattress) and prop First Tsurugi against the bedside table. He dozed off with one hand wrapped around the leather-bound hilt of his sword

It was an about an hour later when Cloud's finely attuned senses brought him out of a light sleep. His fingers twitched on First Tsurugi's hilt as his ears caught the sound of the door creaking open, and then relaxed again at the sight of two very familiar heads peeking around the doorframe.

"Cloud?" Marlene whispered into the dark room. "Are you awake?"

He hummed in acknowledgement. "What's wrong, Marlene?"

"We…" Denzel hesitated. Cloud's sharp gaze picked out the sight of the boy's hands worrying at the bottom of his pyjama top; darkness was no obstacle to the swordsman's enhanced vision. "We couldn't sleep…"

"Can we sleep here?" Marlene piped up. It was less easy to tell with the cheerful little girl, but Cloud thought she looked tired and a little uneasy too.

The blond man made no verbal reply, simply shifted over on the mattress. The two children lit up with delight and scampered forwards. Within seconds, Cloud had two kids burrowed into his side, and less than five minutes later, they were fast asleep again. He could only blink, bemused, and then gently brushed a hand over each of their heads.

Goodnight.

xxx

It didn't actually take long to reach Junon in the end.

Of course, this was greatly helped along by the fact that possession of a pair of green chocobos made it safe to travel over the mountains, instead of taking the long way around and going through the Mythril mines.

Supernaturally sure-footed on the steep ground and gifted with immense stamina, the inherent magic of the green chocobos made them very useful. This didn't prevent more than a few hair-raising moments for Cloud though; guiding and teaching a pair of inexperienced chocobo riders how to handle their bird, in less than ideal terrain, was a daunting enough prospect without even factoring in that both riders were under the age of ten and his adopted children to boot.

Despite this, it was only a day later when they arrived in Junon – albeit with a few more metaphorical grey hairs on Cloud's part. A quick enquiry soon turned up the information that there was a big passenger ferry departing from Junon Harbour at 9am that morning for Costa del Sol.

But first, there were a few items of business to take care of.

"No, Marlene, you can't dye my hair pink."

"But Clllllloud, brown is so boring…"

"That's the entire point."

It was not a blond, spiky-haired SOLDIER lookalike with an enormous sword and glowing blue eyes that stepped on to the deck of the passenger ferry at 8:45am that fine Tuesday morning. Instead, it was an ordinary man (albeit a lean and muscular one) with dark brown hair slicked back out of his face. He wore a long-sleeved white shirt and blue jeans, and his eyes were hidden by sunglasses.

A small brown-haired girl was perched on one hip, leaning against his chest with not altogether faked sleepiness as he handed over their tickets to the official waiting to collect them. "Aww, who's this lovely little lady?" the woman cooed. Marlene yawned and burrowed her face into Cloud's neck. "And this young man?"

Denzel, who was holding Cloud's other hand, eyed her warily. "Denzel." Behind Cloud's back, and out of view of the woman, Marlene poked her friend pointedly with the tip of her shoe. He flinched minutely and Cloud was pleased to see that he restrained the urge to glare at Marlene. "Good morning," the boy added politely, and managed to smile instead of scowl at her.

The official beamed back at the boy. "What a well-mannered young man! Are you going to Costa del Sol on holiday?"

"Yes, a long weekend," Cloud took over the conversation. "It's time we had a relaxing break." Having exhausted his small store of polite small-talk with strangers, he was relieved when Marlene stopped dozing and started chattering excitedly about sand-castles and swimming in the sea.

It was a relief when the woman waved them on with an indulgent smile and they moved onto the top deck. It was even more of a relief when the ferry cast off and began moving towards the mouth of the harbour. Cloud felt half-naked without First Tsurugi, which was currently wrapped in shapeless blankets, stored next to the pair of green chocobos down in the ship's hold with the rest of the transport (be it vehicles or other chocobos). He fought the urge to pace restlessly and instead focused on the feel of the materia bracer against his skin, disguised under his long sleeves. It hummed with the brilliance of eight mastered materia; the other seven that normally resided in First Tsurugi were in his pockets. He was most definitely not unarmed.

And neither were Marlene and Denzel. He lowered the little girl to the deck and watched as she and Denzel immediately ran to the railing at the front of the boat, facing into the wind eagerly. He had managed buy two carbon bangles with three materia slots apiece, along with two Restores and a Barrier, in addition to the newly spawned Barrier materia he already had. The bangles, threaded onto long chains and two of their three slots now loaded with defensive materia, were now hidden under the children's shirts, concealed from casual view.

Cloud leaned against the central wall of the ship, an unconscious smile hovering near his lips as he watched the kids run up and down in a fit of excitement as the ship moved out into open ocean. He had forgotten that they'd never been on a vessel this big before, let alone been out to sea. He paused at that thought, mentally giving thanks to the Planet that neither of the kids seemed to be afflicted with seasickness at all.

At least the mako fixed that much for me, Cloud thought wryly. Although to be honest, ever since he had arrived in the past he had been feeling unwell. The blinding headache and intense nausea that had greeted him on arrival had faded into a kind of low-key but constant background pain that he had been doing his best to ignore. Neither Marlene nor Denzel seemed to be suffering any ill effects though; they had seemed quite bemused when he asked them about it. I hope I'm not stuck with this for the rest of my life.

Cloud sighed and rubbed his eyes under his sunglasses. He could have upped the ante on his disguise even further by putting in coloured contact lenses but he hadn't been able to bring himself to. Mako-enhanced eyesight did not take kindly to foreign objects obstructing it in any way and he felt too uneasy without his sword to partially obscure his vision too.

"Cloud! Cloud, look, look, there are dolphins!"

A smile tugged up the corner of the swordsman's mouth and he moved to join the children at the railings. Time enough for speculation later. For now, there were dolphins.

xxx

"When will we reach Nibelheim?"

Cloud paused in the act of tucking the blanket in around Denzel. Outside the mouth of the cave, protected by a low-level Barrier spell (the only kind available at the moment), there was a howling, blizzard. Inside there was a warm nest of thermal blankets and sleeping bags, encircled by two slumbering green chocobos. Two ruffled heads poked up from the covers, watching him with sleepy eyes. "When we reach the place where the blizzard is thickest," Cloud answered Marlene dryly.

Marlene heaved an exaggerated sigh at his vagueness. "But when will we reach the place where the blizzard is thickest?"

"Tomorrow." Cloud hid his smile and slid into the warm cocoon of blankets. Marlene and Denzel immediately wriggled over and curled up against him.

"Aww," Marlene sighed and he could have sworn she sounded wistful.

"I would have thought you'd want to sleep in a proper, warm, cosy bed when the weather's so terrible," he commented, a little surprised by her reaction.

"This is a warm and cosy bed," Marlene pointed out reasonably, yawning widely. "It's just –" she waved an arm and Cloud moved his head a little to avoid her flailing elbow, "– this has been the coolest road trip ever and I don't want it to end."

Cloud blinked, bemused. "A road trip?"

"People used to do that for fun, right?" Marlene wrinkled her nose. "I saw DVDs from before Meteorfall – people went travelling on the road and all sorts of adventures and fun stuff happened!" She beamed at him.

"Uh-huh," Denzel mumbled sleepily in agreement. Only his feathery hair was visible, peeking out from the top of the blankets.

"I…suppose it qualifies as a road trip." The thought hadn't occurred to the swordsman before now. "I'm glad you're enjoying yourself though." It lightened his heart to hear the confirmation; that they were enjoying this journey, rather than just enduring it.

"Of course," Marlene burrowed down into the covers, yawning again. Within a few minutes her breathing evened out into slow, deep breaths as she joined Denzel in slumber.

Cloud listened to the reassuring sound, clearly audible in the quiet dark of the cave. Even the roar of the storm outside sounded distant thanks to the Barrier spell. Then he settled down himself and began going over his plans again, extensively mapping possibilities and resources and goals.

As he started to drift off to sleep, his mind also drifted and as it so often did, his mind drifted to Tifa. The now familiar feeling of mingled joy and sorrow crept in.

"Cloud…loving someone isn't weakness. The opposite. Their mere presence…the fact they exist and you love them…can grant you strength you might not have otherwise been able to muster."

The swordsman closed his eyes. He hadn't understood what she had meant for so long. For that year after Meteorfall, he had existed in some terrible limbo state, too afraid to love his family and friends in case he lost them too. It had been a paralysing, hopeless, helpless kind of terror. Only the aid of his comrades and the terrible events of Reunion had finally broken him out of it.

Now though…he listened to the steady drum of two heartbeats next him, slow and reassuring. If he had been transported to the past by himself, he couldn't say for certain whether or not he would have fallen into that paralysing despair once more over the enormity of the task ahead of him. But he hadn't arrived alone. Marlene and Denzel were here, and relying on him for their future. Their mere presence by his side had spurred him on…

"The fact they exist and you love them…can grant you strength you might not have otherwise been able to muster."

Cloud smiled, eyes still closed. I understand now, Tifa. A choked, soundless laugh caught in his throat. You've always been the wise one.

He rubbed the gold ring on his left hand with his thumb, smoothing the pad of his finger over the unmarked surface, as that tangle of grief and joy flared within him again. Then he rolled over and let the faint sound of the storm and the gentle breathing of his children eventually carry him off to sleep.

xxx

Three days previously…

It was an unnamed snowy peak somewhere north-north east of the little village of Nibelheim; usually unimportant in the grand scheme of things.

Something decidedly important had chosen today to occur here however.

There was no warning. One moment there was nothing but snow, a star-filled night sky and a mountain goat grazing leisurely nearby.

Then a blaze of green-white light exploded into being, an enormous shining sphere, rippling with temporal energy. Tendrils of light undulated through the air, tinted by their exposure to the Lifestream.

Then it was over. The great sphere of light dissipated, tendrils of white-green breaking apart into nothingness. A half-blind mountain goat staggered away, stunned by the unexpected lightshow.

For a long moment, nothing else moved. The only thing to mark that anything had even occurred were the seven strange lumps that had appeared in what had been previously smooth snow.

Then a leather-clad fist punched up through one of the shells of hard-packed ice crystals and Tifa Lockhart burst out of the snow, coughing and spluttering.

A/N: So yeah. :D That happened. I wonder if anyone remembered that there were three flares of light signalling the arrival of time travellers at the end of chapter one.

Anyway, thank you so much for reading and I hope you review too. Genuinely, hearing people's thoughts and comments and speculation makes me so happy and spurs me to keep writing. I apologise for not really having time to respond to comments – I'm so busy with uni work and I'm sure you'd rather I direct my effort into writing more chapters. :) But thank you for each and every one of your reviews; just because I can't often reply doesn't mean that they aren't all read and deeply appreciated. :)

(Also, did your teeth fall out? :D Lot of sweetness in this chapter. xD)