The air craft was smooth in flight, but it did little to calm Cloud's nerves; he felt like the teenager he was meant be in this time period while under Angeal's even gaze and Zack's questioning eyes.

They had been quick to clean up Cloud's room before they left, not wanting to cause alarm if anyone went in there while they were absent. Cloud had spent the whole time trying to think how he was going to explain everything to his two companions, all the while keeping his face a careful mask to keep his thoughts solely to himself.

Cloud had noticed before they left that the tell-tale mako glow had dimmed to what could be mistaken as bright eyes, this revelation came with a gentle flush of feeling from the Planet and a whispered warning that in times of emotion, fear or panic they would resume the glow for a time.

"You have a lot to explain." Angeal said softly once they were safely in the air, his voice held no condemnation or anger as Cloud feared it might. The blond took a deep breath before focusing on the two men before him.

"What do you want to know first?" Cloud asked. He had deemed to let Angeal and Zack ask the questions as he had been unable to think of any plausible way to begin his explanations. He also hoped to avoid saying too much while still satisfying their curiosity this way.

"Why did your eyes glow?" Zack questioned, cutting off whatever Angeal had been about to say.

"Mako." Cloud answered simply.

"Woah... How? Why is the glow gone now? Why does it glow more blue that green?" Zack questioned rapidly, his natural curiosity coming out full force now that he knew they would get answers. Cloud was unsure as to just how much detail he wanted to go into to answer the questions as the memories attached to them were not the most pleasant. Cloud decided to answer the last question first.

"The glow is more blue due to a mixture of Life Stream and... other cells within my blood. As to why the glow is gone, it's most likely the doing of the Planet..." Cloud said, the last sentence coming out hesitantly.

"And how?" Zack prompted. Cloud sighed mentally.

"I... I spent around 4 years being experimented on..." The response brought a few of the more unpleasant memories to the forefront of Cloud's mind. "A large portion of that was spent in a mako tube..."

Shock ran through the faces of both Angeal and Zack at the blond's words, however Cloud's face remained an impassive mask and neither could tell what Cloud thought about the matter.

"When?" Angeal asked softly.

"A long time ago now..." Cloud hedged, not wanting to delve into the fact that he had already lived through this time period and was from a doomed future.

"How did you get the Life Stream in you?" Zack asked, hoping to move to less unpleasant topics and besides, it was something that had him curious.

"It was... A gift from the planet."

Silence filled the small cabin area as both mentor and student registered surprise; it was almost unheard of for anyone to receive anything from the Planet herself. It was then that something clicked in Angeal's mind as a look of uncertain understanding crossed his features.

"Gaia's Guardian... That is what the boy called you." The tall first muttered, earning a small nod from Cloud. Personally the blond didn't believe in the term; he had failed to save so many, even those closest to him, that he refused to accept it. He had been, and still was, too weak in his own opinion.

"Wow..." Zack breathed, for a moment looking like a star-struck puppy.

"There is hardly anything 'wow' about it..." Cloud said softly, self-condemnation clear in his voice. Once again an uncomfortable silence filled the air as Angeal and Zack thought about what they had learned.

"I don't understand though... Why are you at Shinra? Why pose as a lowly cadet?" Angeal asked, moving the conversation back on track. Cloud had to think for a while before answering.

"Shinra... Is the centre of a lot of... dangers. These dangers need to be prevented." Cloud looked away as he replied; these topics could lead to problematic questions.

"Dangers? Prevented?" Zack questioned, causing Cloud to curse mentally.

"There are things beginning to happen now that will cause... severe damage in the future." Cloud elaborated slowly, bringing his eyes to meet Zack's, "Many people will be killed, and many more hurt... It's these dangers that will lead to the Planet being harmed and weakened."

"How do you know this for certain?" Angeal asked, the tall First was unsure about the things he was hearing, but the knowing look in Cloud's eyes... It was almost surreal.

Cloud paused. Should he just lie and tell them the Planet had had told him? No. He didn't like, nor want to do that, but... how could he explain the truth to them so that they would understand?...

Cloud... The soft voice that floated through his mind was undoubtedly Aerith's. Just listen to your heart and speak your mind. Everything will be, alright...

The words, so similar to what she had said to him after the fight with Sephiroth and Geostigma gave him a new strength and courage to speak the words.

"I've seen it..." He spoke softly, his eyes meeting Angeal's, "...I've lived it."

"Lived it?" Zack echoed confused. Cloud could see the doubt within his two friend's eyes, he could see them trying to make sense of that he had said; trying to understand what he was saying and make it more possible.

"I can't really explain how... But I was sent from the... the future to change the mistakes of the past and stop things from happening as they did." It felt odd to say it aloud, and almost instantly he saw the doubt in Angeal and Zack's eyes turn to disbelief. He couldn't expect them to believe him that easily though could he?

"You asked why I 'pose' as a cadet?" Cloud continued, the question aimed at Angeal, but requiring no answer as the blond continued, "I was always a cadet; only the first time I was weak, both mentally and physically. Although I attempted the SOLDIER exam, I failed and became a simple infantryman."

Cloud could only hope that his words would ring true and convince them of what he claimed. He knew now that he would have to speak of things that related to them as well.

"Hojo..." He said, finally getting a reaction from the two, even if only recognition of the name, "It was him who... conducted the experiments on myself and-" Cloud cut himself off then as he had almost said 'and Zack...', he quickly corrected himself before continuing, "And a friend." The words were bitter and filled with regret.

As Zack watched Cloud, he felt a sense of truth over come him; it was almost as though he should have known this all along, though he could not think of any reason as to why. Angeal was both surprised and not surprised at Cloud's words; he wouldn't have thought that Shinra's finest scientist would be connected with the blond cadet in anyway, yet he would never put it past Hojo to conduct such horrible experiments; the man was brilliant but twisted as well. However it was only after Cloud's next words that Angeal could no longer doubt what he said.

"Jenova..." The blond said softly, causing Angeal to tense, "That... Thing... Cannot be allowed to remain alive."

"How?... How do you know about that?" Angeal asked, watching the blond closely. There were very few who knew of the Jenova project, the tall First being one of them due to Hollander and the experiments done to him before birth. Cloud's gaze met him like a tone of bricks as Cloud's earlier words rang through his mind; 'a mixture of Life Stream and... other cells within my blood...'

'Other cells...' He couldn't mean... Could he really?

"Jenova cells run through my veins in a more than usual proportion for SOLDIER." Cloud stated softly.

The small aircraft was suddenly silent as the weight of Cloud's words sunk in. Zack didn't know who Jenova was, but he rarely saw Angeal react as he did and therefore knew that the meaning had serious consequences.

"Why come back though? Couldn't these dangers be stopped then?" Angeal asked, stating indirectly that he now more or less believed the blond.

"They were stopped..." Cloud began slowly, "But the damage was done... Eventually the Planet grew to weak to fight off the biggest threat."

"This 'Darkness' that attacked you?" Zack queried, getting a nod from Cloud. But something was bothering the raven-haired man, "Ok... but if the Darkness didn't come until after all those things happened, why is it here now?"

Cloud seemed thoughtful for a moment before answering.

"I'm not sure, but I think that the future couldn't be fully erased from the past and that creatures or.. entities, like the Darkness, remained aware of what was, or is, meant to happen. Even if now it is much weaker."

"Weaker? That thing seemed pretty strong to me." Zack said in disbelief.

"It's only had a fraction of the power it will have if it is not stopped." Cloud elaborated seriously as he remembered the ruins of Edge and the mess of Costa...

"Ya know, it's hard to wrap your head around all this stuff." Zack muttered pulling a comical face as he shook his head.

Cloud was relieved that he had been able to convince his two companions with minimal explanation. He was still concerned that the knowledge may place them in more danger, but he also knew that they would be in even more trouble if they were left ignorant to what Cloud had to face.

"Well, it all explains why the Darkness is after you." Angeal admitted, "So, how do you plan on fighting it?"

"I don't really." Cloud replied, getting an odd look from Angeal. "We have been fighting it for a while before I came back here... Nothing we did had much of an effect on it and the weaker the Planet got, the stronger it got." Cloud elaborated.

"Who is 'we'?" Angeal asked.

"A... Revised group of AVELANCHE."

"AVELANCHE?! As in the terrorist group?" Zack burst out. Cloud only shook his head.

"Not quite, the AVELANCHE of this time is different, the future members are still quite young and unaffected by the world." Cloud amended, deciding not to worry about explaining Vincent's situation.

Silence once again filled the small aircraft, the sound of the engine being the only background noise as Angeal and Zack thought about what they had been told. Cloud was grateful for the chance to not speak; it had been a long time since he had held such a long conversation, especially of such a delicate topic, and it was now something that the blond decided he didn't like very much. It was times like this that he missed Vincent's company, a reassuring but silent presence, or even Red XIII who would have been able to explain things much better than him. Cloud was brought out of his musings by another question.

"So who do you need to stop in Shinra?" Angeal asked.

Cloud thought for a moment and wondered if it would be a good idea to mention Sephiroth, even if he was still the sane, good General right now, he could also be counted as Angeal's friend and Cloud didn't like the idea of having to tell what horrors the man would cause if not stopped.

"Hojo." Cloud answered, deciding that it would be best to get rid of the twisted scientist considering so much of the damage that he needed to prevent originated for his experiments.

"Definitely Hojo."

XxXxX

After their conversation the majority of the trip was spent in companionable silence. Cloud took the opportunity to thoroughly clean First Sword, taking apart each blade and going over each one with great care.

Zack mostly spent his time watching Cloud, and decided that one day he would have a sword like the blond's and also deciding to get Cloud to show him how he fought with the separate blades.

Angeal spent the time going over everything he had heard since entering the plane, the tall First could still scarcely believe what he had been told, but Cloud's knowledge and the intensity of his eyes told him that it was indeed the truth. Angeal had a feeling that they hadn't been told everything yet, but he was sure that the blond was unaccustomed to speaking of such things at the best of times, so he was prepared to wait now that he at least understood what was happening around them.

It was hard for either Angeal or Zack to imagine that anyone would have to go through so many things only to be taken back to the start and Angeal had to wonder if he would have stayed as calm as Cloud had when he had woken up back in the forests of Wutai, but what Cloud had told them definitely explained a few things from then as well.

'I'm sorry...' The near silent words whispered through Angeal's mind as he pondered on the actions Cloud had taken those first few days. He recalled the pained look Cloud had given Zack to accompany those soft words and he suddenly wondered something that made his blood run cold.

"Cloud?" He asked, getting a a quick look of acknowledgement from the blond as he cleaned. "You mentioned that there had been a friend that was experimented on with you."

At Angeal's words Cloud faltered slightly in his cleaning but he refused to look up this time as he waited for the tall First to continue.

"What was his name?" Angeal asked finally.

This time Cloud's movements stopped completely. Cloud could feel Zack's curious gaze on him and he suddenly felt like he was under a large spot light while trying to hide in the dark. Where had these questions come from? Cloud cast a quick glance over to Zack but otherwise kept his eyes on the blade in his hands.

"It doesn't matter..." Cloud muttered, his voice distant but not necessarily unfriendly. Just wary. Angeal felt his hunch grow stronger, but still he silently wished for himself to be wrong.

"Did he escape with you?" Angeal asked, "Or were both of you released?" The tall First doubted the latter but asked anyway.

Cloud made a small humourless sound in his throat at the idea of being released by Hojo... Oh how many times had he hoped to be either set free or killed when he was strapped to the cold hard table after being pulled from the mako tube?... It had been almost a blessing to fade into the blissful oblivion of mako addiction.

"It was because of him that we ever escaped." Cloud answered warily.

"What happened after you escaped?" Angeal asked, slightly relieved by the prospect that they had both escaped but still concerned slightly. Hopefully his hunch was wrong.

"It doesn't matter." Cloud hedged once more. Those were memories he would not recall now, even if Zack sat across from him alive and well.

Angeal looked as though he was about to ask something further when the pilot's voice came over the intercom to announce that they were landing in Costa Del Sol. Cloud wasted no time in assembling First Sword and grabbing his small bag as the plane landed. Angeal and Zack also gathered their stuff before they all stepped off the plane.

Cloud looked around as he came out of the air craft and paused, it had been so long since Costa had looked like this for him. The pristine beach and crystal clear blue waters had never looked better.

"What's the hold up Spiky?" Zack asked stepping up behind Cloud and looking over his shoulder.

"Nothing." Cloud replied, finally shifting his eyes from the sights. He began walking with Zack, following Angeal to their hotel.

"Does it still look this good in the future?" Zack asked, still finding the prospect of Cloud really being from the future quite weird. Cloud shook his head sadly.

"No where near... Costa fell to the Darkness soon after Edge." Cloud said.

"Edge?" Zack echoed in confusion.

"Sorry; Midgar." Cloud corrected, not really wanting to explain the difference.

"Hmmm ok then... You know, I still don't get what this 'Darkness' actually is."

"None of us really know." Cloud replied, "A friend once said that it could be the opposite, or mirror, to the Life Stream though."

"Huh?" Cloud almost smiled at the comical expression on Zack's face that accompanied his very articulate question.

"A friend thought that the two are meant to exist in balance, but then the Life Stream was weakened after everything that happened, the Darkness fed upon that weakness and grew stronger. Throwing off the balance." Cloud explained as best he could as he recalled Vincent's quiet words during one of their many meetings regarding the growing threat.

"Hmm, it makes sense I guess. But... Why is it after you exactly?"

"I don't know."

"Was it after you before you came back here?" Zack asked curiously. Cloud shook his head.

"Not that I ever realised, it just seemed to be trying to kill all of us." Cloud answered.

"Ok then... Anyway..." Zack dragged the last word out to last several seconds as a mischievous grin spread over his face. "Race ya!" The raven-haired man yelled as he suddenly leapt into a sprint, soon racing past Angeal who had been listening to the conversation quietly. Cloud smiled slightly, shaking his head before following after his friend, leaving Angeal to walk by himself with an amused smile.

When the tall First arrived at the beach front hotel he found a puffing Zack and smirking Cloud standing just outside the door. The blond seemed surprisingly unaffected by the long run.

"How... How the heck did you do that?" Zack asked between breaths.

"Do what?" Angeal asked as he walked over.

"He beat me!" Zack exclaimed indignantly, "And he's not even puffed!"

Cloud chuckled slightly at his friends antics, his previous worries melting away for the moment. Angeal raised an eyebrow at the blond, who simply shrugged.

"It wasn't much really." Cloud said, earning a challenging glare from Zack.

"You just wait Spiky, I'll beat you next time!"

With a short laugh Angeal moved inside and up to the front desk where he promptly got the keys to their rooms.

Zack and Cloud followed Angeal upstairs to the top floor where they quickly moved to the rooms Angeal had gotten them.

"You two have the room on the left." Angeal said, tossing Zack the key to the room before unlocking his own room and heading in.

Zack unlocked the door to their room and the two friends went in. The room was huge and well furnished with a large TV inbuilt into the wall, several couches that looked like they were covered in some very expensive material that was a shimmering black colour, a large kitchen area with a black marble bench and bleach wood cabinets. The carpet beneath their feet was a brilliant red and so soft that it felt like they were walking on clouds and the curtains on either side of a large sliding door that led to a balcony over looking the ocean were a deep burgundy red at the bottom that slowly melded to the same shimmering black as the couches at he top. There were two doors on the left side of the room and one on the right.

Zack whistled lowly as he looked around.

"'Geal must have paid like a tone for these rooms." The raven-haired man said as he walked in.

Cloud made his way over to the further of the two doors on the left side of the room and looked in, the room was the same black and red colour scheme but it held a large four-coaster bed with blood red silk sheets and a black duvet. There was another large window on the wall to the right that also looked out over the ocean.

"Damn." Zack said from behind him, "This place is sweet. The other room is the same but without the window."

Cloud walked in, placing First Sword on the wall near the door and dropping his bag at the bottom of the bed.

"It will be a comfortable stay at ve-" Cloud was cut off as he had been turning around to talk to Zack who had snuck up behind him and tackled him the moment he had turned around, knocking him onto the bed.

Cloud looked up at Zack who was currently straddling his waist with a confused and slightly amused expression. Zack was grinning down at him like a wolf who had just caught his prey.

"Who said you get the room with the window." Zack growled playfully.

"I was in here first." Cloud replied simply with a shrug.

"What if I want it?" Zack challenged.

Cloud smirked and with a quick movement he reversed their positions so that Zack was the one pinned.

"Hey!" Zack protested. Earning another small smirk from Cloud.

"I win." The blond said simply.

"Fine. Fine." Zack muttered, still grinning.

With a nod Cloud went to climb off but only made it halfway before arms circled his waist and he was pulled back down and rolled over so he was pinned on his stomach. Zack laughed as he lay atop the blond, this time holding Cloud's hands on either side of him to prevent the blond from escaping.

"Gotcha!" He said, his voice and breath whispering over Cloud's ear. "Even if you get the room I still get pay back for you beating me to the hotel."

Cloud felt a pleasant shiver run down his spine, but he ignored it, deciding to continue teasing the raven-haired man.

"And how do you plan on doing that?" Cloud asked raising an eyebrow.

Zack smirked, moving quickly as he once again rolled the blond over to lay on his back, straddling his waist and keeping his hands contained by holding them above Cloud's head.

"Like this." He purred before quickly bringing his lips down to press against Cloud's in a soft kiss. To Zack it had felt like a life time ago that he had cornered the blond at his place, and after seeing that freaky cadet that had been sharing a room with Cloud for months, hold a blade to the blond's throat because of him... Zack had never been so mad, yet at the same time he had never felt as strongly for his friend. After hearing all that Cloud had been through on the plane, Zack had been determined to show the blond just how much he meant to him.

Finally breaking the kiss due to a lack of air, Zack looked down at Cloud. The beautiful pale skin was slightly reddened with a blush and Cloud's eyes were shinning like stars with emotion that was usually kept hidden, both of them were breathing heavily and Zack knew it had more to do with the what they had done than any lack of air. Zack grinned before going in for a second kiss.

Cloud felt like he was on fire. He had never been so aware of the way a person was touching him before, but each point where Zack made contact with him sent small fires through his nerves and he was sure he was blushing because of the heat on his face.

When Zack came down for another kiss, Cloud met him halfway. He might not be very experienced in intimacy but Zack managed to break all of his mental walls down without even knowing it and although he had barely even allowed himself to think about it, he realised then just how much he had craved this since the last time. When Cloud felt a tentative tongue run along his lower lip he acted more on instinct by parting his lips and allowing the raven-haired man entrance. Cloud almost moaned against Zack's mouth as the other explored his mouth but managed to keep it in. Cloud tried to pull his hands free, wanting to run his hands through the hair that hung around him but Zack only held tighter and deepened the kiss further making Cloud's back arch slightly as he desperately tried to hold in another moan.

All to soon Zack pulled back, looking down at a flustered Cloud in triumph. He released one of Cloud's hands and brought his own to run up Cloud's jaw line with a feather light touch.

"Do you have any idea how hard it is to keep control when you act like that?" Zack asked softly between breaths. Cloud could only look at him and shake his head, causing Zack to grin.

"It is very difficult." Zack replied before moving off Cloud slowly. Zack didn't want to take things too far now, it was just too soon in his opinion but as he had just told Cloud, it was very difficult to continue thinking straight when the person beneath you was nearly writhing at your touch... It would have been only too easy to go further.

Deciding to go take a cold shower and fix up a few problems Zack left the room with only a small teasing smile at Cloud who was still lying on the bed breathless.

As soon as Zack was gone Cloud groaned, he was aroused now and couldn't think straight.

"Dammit." Cloud cursed silently, "Do you have any idea what you actually do to me?" He asked the question to no one in particular and expected no response. He had never met anyone who could make his react like that the first time around. He had once thought that Tifa was the one for him but by the time he remembered who he actually was after getting the second round of mako addiction it had become clear that he would only ever love her as a sister. Now, within only a few months, Zack was driving him wild! How did the raven-haired man manage to bring down all the walls he had built around his mind for years? Yet Cloud also knew that he wanted this; he had always admired Zack and may have had a crush of types on him before Hojo, but all those had been torn away from him on the cliffs near Midgar and now things were happening so differently... Was this the consequences of him simply being there and meeting Zack before all the trouble had started? Cloud was left there to ponder this for quite a while...

I apologise that it took so long to get this out when I had expected to have it out weeks ago. Life just decided to get increasingly busy for me though and I haven't been very well. I hope it was ok.