Natalie woke up to the sound of metal clanging on metal. She had to move her chair to open her door and look to the sound.

Down the street, under the lamp of Marle's building. Natalie could see, and barely hear, Tifa calming down Cloud. Calling him by his name.

Cloud had already put down his sword. Zack's sword, Angeal's sword. The Buster sword.

Tifa was quietly explaining something to Cloud. As Tifa closed the door to their neighbor in Marle's building, Marco. Natalie went back inside and closed her door, not needing to eavesdrop on the poor soul that she knew used to be a SOLDIER. Natalie didn't remember meeting a SOLDIER named Marco. He was probably an older SOLDIER than her.

'Is that going to happen to me? Age decades in years?' Natalie looked at her face in the mirror. It was not the same face that he had before SOLDIER. She looked for wrinkles and laugh lines. But she wasn't rapidly aging like Marco. Or Genesis. She was slowly going mad, hearing the voices of dead loved ones, like Jamie. But she wasn't shambling around, mumbling.

'As far as I know, I haven't had a fugue episode in a long time. But the whole point of those is I don't remember what I forgot.'

Natalie had avoided Marco, the man in the black clothes. As a possible former SOLDIER, he was too aged for her to tell if she had seen his face at HQ years ago. 'Is that what's waiting for Jazz and Lina? Are those women even still alive?' Natalie thought of her old co-workers. The other second classmen that Natalie had left behind when she had left ShinRa.

She sat on her bed and used her years self-taught meditation and SOLDIER training to calm herself down.

She breathed more easily.

Natalie was done with running and hiding. She had to do something with her life. What life she could remember having. Running away to be isolated and alone would help no one, not ever herself.

She just had to stay sane. There was nothing else to do.

But whatever she was doing that made her imagine those wraiths. She had to figure it out and not do it again. Not when they could stop her from going forward.

One of LOVELESS' lines, in Genesis' tone came back to her. 'Sacrifice, at world's end.'

Was Genesis right? That the epic had been about him? Or was Natalie right, that it was a cycle?

Or was it Genesis' mistake to reenact the epic in the first place.

Except for that one line. 'A gift of the Goddess, fallen from the sky.' Roceler had called her that. LOVELESS had referred to the Lover character as that.

"I will come back to you." Sephiroth's words. But Natalie heard it in Jamie's voice.

Natalie shut her eyes and rolled over in the bed to face away from the door and the source of the voice, trying to ignore it.

Jamie continued at a whisper, "You're not strong enough to save anyone."

After a minute or so, Jamie's voice did not come again. Natalie turned on the tiny lamp by her bed and fished out her battered copy of LOVELESS.

In the stories, Prophecy tended to trap people. Either in trying to change it they made it happen, or it just messed with their free will one way or another. If only because of what Roceler had told Marin, did it sound that Genesis had been on the right track. To project his own life on LOVELESS. Genesis had been wrong, but he was more right than he knew.

Natalie spent a while reading the book, with her notes written in the margins. After a while Natalie closed her eyes and tried to get more sleep. Thinking about who would represent which figure this time. Who would be the hero, the prisoner, the one who would fly away, the lover. Even the goddess figure. Or the gift of the Goddess, fallen from the sky.

Her head spun around the idea as she tried to apply what she knew to her suppositions. Before she finally fell asleep, with the lamp on and LOVELESS on her chest.

"Tifa's out already." Marle called from the porch below.

Natalie lowered her fist, she had been about to knock on Tifa's front door. Tifa usually spent the morning exercising inside.

Natalie took the stairs back down, talking to Marle. "Oh yeah?"

"Here and her friend left to do work around the neighborhood." Marle waved Natalie closer.

"Hew new Blond friend from out of town?"

"So you've seen him" Marle tilted her head, waving Natalie to come closer, "Lee, let me know if you don't like him."

Natalie had a nose for trouble, for danger. Especially for the creeps that sometimes came around, asking nosy questions. "I'll keep and eye out," she promised Marle. "And let you know if I get a bad feeling." Natalie adjusted her goggles over her eyes. In the sunlight that shone under the upper plate, it was a new day.

After a large breakfast, Natalie ended up with Biggs and Wedge, in the storage room for the Watch. They sat above the weapons shop. The other two had their guns in their lap. They were all more on edge than usual since the Reactor job the night before. Natalie had a sidearm now. She also had her Materia strapped under her left sleeve. At a glance of her beige long coat and t-shirt, She looked the least threatening of the three. Them in webbing, with ammo clips and armor bits. Her sword dangled behind her, from Natalie's waist, out of sight unless she drew it.

Natalie only half listened to their small talk, while she sat around waiting for something to happen. She had been on edge since she had returned to Midgar from Banora. Her sleep hadn't gotten back to normal since she had left for that island town. She needed only a few hours of sleep to get fully rested, but was having trouble even getting that much since she had left Midgar or returned.

Natalie sat there with her sword out of sight of the door. A while ago she had added armor reinforcements to the underside of her coat. Her sitting next to Biggs and Wedge, them with a pistol or assault rifle. Natalie might be mistaken for the weakest of the three there. But she was the biggest threat in the room.

It had taken a long time for her to get into that position. It didn't make her feel good. For what she had to have gone through to get to that point. For what she had left behind, or sacrificed.

"Hey Lee?"

Biggs' interruption of Natalie's thoughts were welcome. "Yeah?" She asked him.

"You're the resident monster hunter around here."

"Tifa's been doing that for longer than me." Natalie admitted.

"Yeah, but you've been around."

Natalie didn't want to get into where. "What's the question?"

"Ever heard of any monsters or friends that can turn invisible?"

Natalie frowned. "Oh I really hope this wasn't something that happened at the Reactor."

Wedge added, "This wasn't something any of us saw."

"It was the new guy," Biggs mentioned. "The one Barret hired while you've been…" Biggs didn't finish the statement. They all knew that Natalie hadn't been doing well lately. After losing more of her 'family'. "Well, anyway" He got back to his point. "Cloud said that he'd spotted something when we were evac'ing from Sector Eight's plate."

Natalie gave Biggs and Wedge a look. "I thought you said that these things were invisible?"

"Only at first." Wedge told her. "We didn't see it. But Cloud was asking us about it on our way back from last night's job."

"Jessie was wondering if ShinRa was cooking up something new." Wedge suggested.

Natalie kicked the crate she was sitting on. "Just what we need, for ShinRa to come up with a cloaking device for their shit. You said Cloud saw what they looked like?"

"It was weird." Biggs scratched his chin, trying to recall it. "Something about robes, and moving like the wind. Ever seen anything like that out there?" He meant before she had come to Midgar.

There was only one thing Natalie knew of that sounded anything like it. "Sounds like that ex-SOLDIER's been seeing things." For that matter so had she, unless…

"Yeah," Wedge started, "That's what Barret said. That they're some sort of hallucination."

"Hmm." Natalie grunted in agreement. 'Of course, if they're wraiths. The only other person that has seen them is a SOLDIER. Or whatever Cloud really is.'

Natalie remembered Banora. A sick Zack and a Mako-poisoned Cloud. And now Cloud was miraculously cured. She was wondering if she could get her madness cured same as Cloud had fixed his Mako-poisoning. When he looked at the doorway to the storage room. She could hear the sound of boots approaching the door. She had to know, where was Zack, fearing the worst.

Before she could say anything about this 'invisible enemy' she had seen herself, she moved at the sound of approach to the storage room.

When the other two saw Natalie hear something. Biggs and Wedge had their guns out at whoever it was coming around the door frame.

Cloud entered the room. In the daylight, his SOLDIER uniform looked brand-new. Natalie noted the battered pauldron. He had been wearing a pair of standard-issue leather ones the last time she had seen him. After his behavior earlier, she thought better than to point that out. She found herself staring at the handle of the buster sword sticking out from behind his back.

'What have you been up to this last month?' Natalie thought.

"Oh hey, didn't know you guys were holding down the fort." Tifa called from behind the one in the black, First class, SOLDIER uniform.

Natalie took her hand off of her sword handle. Biggs and Wedge put their guns down.

Natalie looked at Cloud's face and found that he was looking at her. He stood there, ready for an attack, unruffled by the guns that had been pointed at him a moment ago. He didn't recognize her, except as a threat.

Seeing his details in the daylight, when she was sober and somewhat rested. Natalie could pick out the differences better. He was so different from that teenage infantryman she had seen from afar. He had changed, taller, more defined. It reminded Natalie how she had looked so different in the mirror after she had become a SOLDIER. "No problem." She told them.

"Cloud, you know Natalie." Tifa came up behind Cloud. "She'll be working with us on the next job."

"Just 'Lee' is fine," Natalie said. He reminded her so much of Zack.

Natalie stood up and held her hand out. She wasn't one for shaking hands, just feeling out Cloud's attitude.

Cloud didn't take it.

"Cloud." Tifa said.

Natalie moved to the doorway, to keep an eye out for anyone close enough to try listening to the people inside. "Are you going join the Neighborhood Watch, Cloud?"

"That depends, on what does the Neighborhood watch do?" Cloud asked.

Biggs picked up from there, "Um, lots of stuff really. But our top priority is taking care of beasts that wander into town."

"Lee gets a lot of those." Wedge said.

Natalie watched the street below them. "The more people take them down, faster, the safer Sector Seven will be."

"We also teach the locals how to defend themselves." Biggs continued.

Wedge got up, "Like they say, the only one that will look our for you, is you."

Tifa and Biggs and Wedge got on the encouragement train to get Cloud to help with the Watch and get his name out as a mercenary. Natalie remained on watch, while the others talked.

Cloud stepped further in to face them all.

"We can't pay you in Gil." Biggs went on. "But we can work something out. For example." He took in Cloud's sword. "How 'bout your sword?"

Natalie tensed the muscles in her left elbow. Biggs offered to show Cloud to upgrade the sword. To maintain it and keep up on new Materia slots. Biggs had already shown Natalie how to mod her own sword to link more Materia in it. Biggs was not just a pretty face with a gun.

She looked out the doorway as a guard. Not letting them see how she felt about someone putting hands on Angeal's old sword. The one Zack had inherited from Angeal. And now Cloud carried it. 'Zack's really gone then.' Natalie looked up and down the street, instead of show her face to the others. 'I had been that young once. How old is Cloud now? Twenty? I was younger than that when I was shoved in SOLDIER.'

She also saw the way Cloud walked with it. It was his sword now. She didn't see things be any other way and it made her sad. You would have to pry the Buster Sword from it's owner's cold dead hands, maybe that was what had happened, again.

After Biggs had convinced Cloud to let Biggs show him the ropes on maintaining the sword. Natalie took that chance to watch the blade. They all did as Cloud held it out.

The thing was practically a panel of steel, with an edge wider than Natalie's knives. That much metal might be heavier than a person.

'He holds it so easily. It is his sword now.'

Natalie remembered Angeal's words. 'Use brings about wear, tear and rust.' Natalie had never seen that SOLDIER use the Buster Sword. And now it was scuffed and scratched to hell. It had been through hell, and could tell tales if it could speak.

"Thanks." Cloud had real gratitude for what Biggs had shown him.

They all took turns promising Cloud that they would get the word out about the new merc in town.

"Showing is better than telling." Natalie said from the door.

"Where are these monsters?" Cloud asked.

"Scrap Boulevard." Biggs told him.

Tifa offered to show him the way.

"I'll join." Natalie said.

"I don't need the help." He told her.

"I can see that." Natalie said. "But if we're going to work together on the Watch, or on the next job. It would be good to get the practice in, fighting next to each other."

"Hrmph." He was not interested.

"I'm terrible at making up a sales pitch" Natalie told him, which was actually true. She was a terrible explainer. "Besides, if you're going to work for Barret. We're going to work together. I'd rather get the practice in now."

"Fine."

"Cloud." Tifa pleaded.

"Don't worry about it." Natalie played off Cloud's rudeness like it didn't matter.

Tifa took the lead, to show Cloud the way to where the monsters congregated in the Sector. Natalie let Cloud get ahead. He looked impatient and Natalie seemed to always end up guarding the rear anyway.

The way he pretended not to watch Natalie back, he was doing the same thing.

They passed a squeaky clean kid acting all helpful as they made their way to the boulevard.

The kid was a recent visitor to the Sector, new to Natalie. He was looking for research "Candidates" from the ShinRa R&D department for rewards. It was an off-shoot of the Science department, which meant Hojo.

Natalie wanted nothing to do with the kid. The last thing she needed was the chance of being recognized by some intern. As unlikely as it sounded to Natalie, better safe than sorry.

"Hrmph." Cloud said when they took down the first group of monster rats on Scrap Boulevard.

He fought well, like Zack or any SOLDIER. Natalie only nodded to Cloud. And the three of them had the nests cleared out in no time at all.

"They're just rats." He said.

Natalie shrugged, "Pass the time before we get to the bigger ones."

"They get bigger?" He asked, looking around.

"I mean the ones on top of the plate."

"Oh." He looked at the sword at her waist, belted under her split coat. "Why don't you do this for Gil, if it's so easy?"

"What I can get is enough for me, that's all." Natalie gave a non-answer.

After a while the three of them returned to Biggs and Wedge. After taking care of several more pests in the area. The guys had been spreading the word about Cloud. Cloud found a problem with everything some how. And Tifa diffused the situation each time.

'They're paying him in exposure, people die of exposure all the time.' Natalie thought, but kept to herself.

"The sword's a good fit for you." Biggs told Cloud.

"Yeah," Cloud held out the modified buster sword. "We've been through a lot."

Natalie leaned against the wall. Debating what to drink with her lunch.

Cloud flinched and doubled over, the tip of his sword dropped on the ground.

Natalie leaned against the storage gate while Tifa went in to ask Cloud if he was OK. Already leaning was all that held Natalie up as knives stabbed in her own temples. 'Damn headaches.' She thought. This was another sign that it had been too long since her last drink.

"I'm fine." Cloud put his sword away. Hanging it from the sheath strapped to his back.

Tifa looked upset. "I've been meaning to ask, after you left the village…"

"It's a long story." Cloud turned away as if to leave.

Natalie couldn't see his face. It looked like what she did when she was avoiding talking about something.

Natalie sat on a crate, rubbing her temples.

"I've got time!" Tifa insisted. "Why don't you tell me about it while we try to rustle up some more work for you?"

Biggs had to talk Wedge into not joining Tifa and Cloud. Natalie also elected to stay, leaving Tifa and Cloud alone. Natalie wanted to jut sit down and relax.

"So, what do ya think?" Biggs asked.

"About what?" Natalie had been too distracted by her fading headache to know what Biggs was asking.

"About Cloud the merc." Biggs said.

"He's so young." Natalie stated.

"You're not that much older yourself, Lee." Wedge said.

"Hmm."

"I guess age isn't everything." Wedge suggested.

"So, if Cloud is twenty-one..." Biggs started.

Natalie rolled her eyes, "Why do people always have to make a big deal out of someone's age?"

"I'm not the one that just called Cloud young."

"Alright then." Natalie asked, "how old are you Biggs?"

"I asked first." Biggs said

"No you didn't." Natalie told him. She was a tangle, trying to think of an answer. The first birthday she remembered was missing her nineteenth birthday. When she had woken up a SOLDIER. And nearly a year leading up to that day. She had passed her Twenty-Seventh on her way back from Banora. Nearly everything before her nineteenth year was gone. Like those memories never existed.

Around this Sector, people didn't ask around the past she didn't remember anyway. But Bigg's questions were poking at it.

She figured she looked her age, mid to late-twenties. But she had also caught Biggs on her asking him his age before he had asked her. "You first Biggs."

"She's got you there Biggs." Wedge was smiling.

"Then let's go at it backwards. How old is 'young' to you Lee?"

"About twenty-five." Years ago, someone had told her that anyone younger than that was basically a child.

"Well," Wedge patted his leg, "At least I still have my youth."

"So how much older does that make you?" Biggs asked her.

"Old enough."

"Old enough to what?"

Before getting used to these guys, Natalie would have felt tested and prodded. But knowing Biggs and Wedge for the last two years. She knew that it was just in fun. They would kid and joke and try to wheedle more out of Natalie over time and she could ask of them in turn. If they hit something that caused Natalie to put up a wall, they moved on.

"Old enough to know when you care more about how old I am than I do." Natalie told the man.

"Hah." Wedge said.

"Huh. As far as we know, SOLDIERs don't age. Maybe Cloud is older than you Lee."

"Hmm." Was all Natalie said.

"What was that?" Biggs asked.

"I just think you're over estimating how long SOLDIER training is." Natalie told him.

"What, is there some SOLDIER lore in that big brain of yours?"

"I've heard some things." She said. She had a good many things she could still pull out the memories she did have.

"Oh, like what?" Biggs asked.

"Like how it's easy to rope in people into the military, when they're not old enough to know better. Not that I'm saying anything about any particular mercs." Natalie softened her tone, not shit-talking Cloud behind his back, "How hard a sell is regular meals when you also get a gun or a whole load of Mako juice?"

"But what about SOLDIER, specifically?" Biggs kept asking. It was so much easier to ask what someone knew, than where they came from.

Even if those two things were woven together. "Stuff and things," Natalie said.

"What's that? Did I finally stump Lee?" Biggs said with a grin.

She shrugged. There was too much she knew, tangled with things she didn't like talking about. "So does that mean you win the bet?" she asked him.

"What?" Biggs started getting shifty, "What bet?"

"The one you have with Jessie. You've both been trying to stump me all week." Natalie grinned.

"Well you caught me, I guess I'll have to go collect my winnings."

"After this shift is over." Natalie told him.

"Hah, yeah."

Natalie got up.

"Where are you going?" Biggs asked her.

"Well, I could just sit back down."

"Or?" Biggs asked her.

"Or I could get us all something to drink" she glanced at both men. "And something to eat."

On her way to getting a drink, Natalie noticed Cloud, alone except for chasing a white cat somewhere Cloud couldn't follow. One of Betty's pet cats.

"Damn cat." Cloud checked the pipe, eh wasn't going to fit after the cat.

"It might work better if you don't run after them." Natalie suggested.

"Who asked you?"

Natalie shrugged off Cloud's tone, "Whatever Cloud. Just trying to help."

Cloud sighed, "It's just these cats. I've been hunting them down for one of the local kids all morning."

"Betty."

"Who?"

"Her name is Betty. I recognized the color. And they're pretty good at finding their way back home once stirred. I'd check on Betty periodically in case you scared all the cats home."

Now it was Cloud's turn to shrug. "Works for me."

"Also Cloud," Natalie glanced down the road, to her goal and Seventh Heaven, but had to ask Cloud something first. Before he went off hunting more cats.

"What now?"

"What happened to Zack?" As Zack's name left her mouth she doubled over in the worst headache. Eyes squeezed shut, her temples lancing with pain. Prying her eyes open, Cloud wasn't doing much better.

Inexplicably he was holding his own head with one hand, completely checked out.

"Cloud?" she rubbed her own temple, the pain wasn't easing. "Remember Za-?" Before she even finished the word she opened her eyes, she was on one knee in the dirt. Her head was in more pain than ever."

Cloud was whimpering in pain, barely audible except to Natalie's enhanced hearing.

She looked up at him, she needed to be sure. "Z-"

This time when she opened her eyes, her cheek was pressed into the dirt.

"Hey Lee, are you OK?" One of her neighbors asked, offering a hand to help her up." Ann.

"Get off me!" Cloud yelled from his own lowered position.

"Okay okay, pick yerself up then!" the man stalked off, insulted that Cloud had turned down his help.

"What's his problem?" Ann asked Natalie, brushing off some of the dirt from Natalie's cheek for her.

Natalie shrugged. "Dunno, but thanks."

"Anytime Lee. You gonna be all right?"

Natalie nodded. The pain was less intense now, but she really needed that drink. As well as to get something for Biggs and Wedge.

"See ya round Lee, new guy." Ann left them both to do whatever he business was that day.

Cloud didn't react, only shook of his head.

'What the fuck was that?' Natalie thought. Every time she had mentioned Zack it had gotten a reaction out of both of them. Come to think of it Cloud mentioning him and his sword having a history had gotten a similar reaction out of Cloud. Everything except falling to the ground.

Cloud was still coming out of whatever it was as Natalie brushed the dirt off her clothes. Clearly Zack and Cloud's 'history' was a no-go territory if this was going to happen every time.

Natalie looked at Cloud, he seemed to finally have a sense of his surroundings again. "How are you Cloud?"

"I'm fine."

"Yeah sure." Natalie waited for Cloud to ask after her.

Instead he stalked off. "I'm going to look for more monsters."

"I'm fine too!" she called to his back. No reaction. Cloud disappeared into the Slums.

As one final check Natalie said one word to herself under her breath. "Zack." Nothing happened. Her head still pounded. "Zack. Zackzackzackzackzack." Nothing.

Shaking her head, she made her way to Seventh Heaven and hoped Tifa would let her have a bottle of something strong.

Halfway into another conversation. Barret rolled in.

"What's up boss?" Wedge asked him. His face falling when he saw the look on Barret's face. Barret was all business.

"Time to talk about the next job. Get to the bar."

"When we doing it?" Natalie asked him.

"Tomorrow night. Get to it." He left for them to lock up and follow right after.

All three of them got into the room under Seventh Heaven. Barret went straight to Natalie. "It only gets harder from here." He said with compassion, he had she his mask of gruffness for Natalie. "Tifa told me you don't have much family left."

"I don't plan on taking off again anytime soon. I'm in this Barret."

He nodded. Leading everyone to the hideout downstairs.

And they dug into the next stage of the plan.

"Now that you're feelin' better, maybe we don't need SOLDIER-boy for tomorrow night." Barret told Natalie.

She shook her head. "They're going to increase security at every turn. Some of this intel could go bad before we get to the third reactor. The fourth. Like you said, it's only going to get harder from here. We're going to need all the help we can get." Natalie did not want Cloud on the job, but he was a puzzle she would only figure out if she spent time around the man. So she wanted Cloud in on the next job.

Barret didn't look impressed. "How'd yah know? You don't even know the guy."

"I've seen him fight. He knows what he's about." Cloud was inexplicably good. But Natalie was being honest. Their little group was going to need everyone they could get. That was willing and capable, and Cloud was very capable. Except for one thing, but she wanted Cloud around to figure out the latest puzzle between him and Natalie.

Barret still didn't look convinced. "I will keep that under advisement."

The others piled on with opinions about Cloud, trying to convince Barret. He went back to the plan and eventually went upstairs to get the others.

The rest of them took turns talking about what Cloud had done that day. Or piled on the compliments on how he had handled himself for the Reactor one job.

Natalie kept her talk about Cloud to her earlier comment. Even with his inconsistencies, they were going to need everyone they could get. When it was just a few of them against ShinRa.

The conversation took a turn when Natalie's trip came out. The one to Banora, Natalie had been avoiding details about it for weeks. She had only told them that she had buried the rest of her family while she was gone. She was also keeping from them her growing liability as a not-sane-anymore person. In that way Cloud would make a good replacement for Natalie. After their little episode together, more like a 'good enough' replacement.

Jessie got Natalie aside, "Lee, again I'm sorry about your brothers."

"I don't want to talk about it." Her older brothers. That's what Natalie had been calling them. The found family she had when she had been first taken to Midgar.

Genesis and Angeal, Brothers from another mother. In a twisted fashion, all related to Jenova. 'Brothers' and 'found family' was the least complicated explanation Natalie could give. She was the little sister in the fucked up family of monsters that ShinRa had created. "But thanks, Jessie."

She tried not to think about the last 'brother'. Sephiroth. She had loved that one, until he had tried to kill her.

Biggs read the room and changed the conversation to something else. Jessie had a scheme for more supplies for the next job. Natalie didn't listen as she wondered what the next few days would bring. Now that Barret's plan was in motion.

She was surrounded by ghosts. All conjured from her own mind.

"Did you feel that?" Natalie asked them as something disturbed her scarf. Turning, she saw a wraith disappear into the floor. 'Now I think that they're touching me. It's getting worse.'

"A breeze." Biggs said in disbelief. "Down here?" Jessie said.

"What, you think Barret finally fixed the fan down here?" Biggs tapped the broken ventilation fan.

"Never mind." Natalie didn't like those gray-hooded things her mind had created. And no one here had reacted to their presence. Just continual manifestations of her guilt for being such a coward.

Natalie wasn't sure why one was here, right now. It must have been triggered by thinking about her 'brothers'.

"What was that?" She asked Biggs, he had said something about ShinRa.

"There's a rumor of a hidden secret lab under the Sector. Do you know anything about it?" Biggs asked Natalie.

"Never heard of it." A secret lab under their feet. "This city is full of secrets."

The wooden floor of Seventh Heaven creaked above them, someone else had arrived.

Tifa had the look that Natalie had felt when Natalie herself had joined this black-sheep cell of AVALANCHE. Natalie didn't blame the other woman, not at all.

When Jessie arrived, they had it out with Barret. The plan, the price the city would pay. Keeping Cloud on the team or not. Barret put his foot down. And one by one they headed upstairs.

Natalie took the secret elevator to the bar of Seventh Heaven.

Barret was paying Cloud his last pay check and told him to leave. Something stirred in the air again. Another one of those wraiths. Natalie was on the verge of saying something. She wanted to make one last pitch to Barret. But another wraith disappearing through the wall stilled her tongue. Even knowing that they manifested when she was acting a coward. Every time she saw them, she was always concerned that the next thing she did would trigger her madness to make more appear.

Natalie joined Biggs and Wedge for a drink.

Jessie went over to Cloud to explain what had happened. Natalie dug into her beer and food with her back to Cloud. They toasted AVALANCHE and talked about the last couple years that had brought them together.

Natalie heard Cloud pass behind her and leave the bar.

Biggs was watching Natalie from the other side of the table. "You OK? Why does he bother you so much?"

"It's not him, it's me. Just pass me some food." Natalie had only told Barret and Tifa that she was a former SOLDIER herself. Even Biggs and Wedge might guess, but had never been told the why or the how of Natalie's SOLDIER trivia. Cloud's old uniform, reminded her of too many bad times. Of what she could remember.

Jessie jumped up halfway through their dinner. "I have an idea. I'll be right back."

Natalie asked for another beer.