Cloud Strife felt his consciousness stirring in the darkness of his mind. As his sense of touch returned, he felt the softness of linen sheets caressing his skin and the comfort of a mattress contorting around his body. It was almost counter-productive, working to drive him back to the darkness rather than letting him breach the surface. All that kept him from falling back in was that he could heat a voice just past the darkness.
"…I wonder... today?" he heard the voice say as his sense of hearing gradually came back, asking a question that didn't completely reach his ears. He could make out that the voice sounded soft and feminine, and it was close by.
Cloud used it as an anchor point and pulled his fleeting mind out of the dark depths of unconsciousness, opening his eyes to seek it out. He was met with the white-hot glare of the sun coming in through the window. The rays were like knives that stabbed at his eyes and elicited a pained grunt as he shut his eyelids reflexively and turned his head.
The sole benefit was that the pain brought a greater sense of awareness to his mind. It let him take in his surroundings as he opened his eyes once again. He was on a bed in what looked to be an unfamiliar and small house, a fire burning in its hearth nearby.
"You're awake now?" said the voice that tethered him to the waking world.
His eyes fell on the source, a woman with wavy, red-hair. She was sitting on a bed opposite his, dressed in shorts and a short-sleeved shirt with sandals on her feet. He didn't recognize her…but then again, his mind was still cloudy and his head thrummed with every beat of his heart.
"Where am I?" he asked her.
"We're in Gongaga." She rose to her feet and approached him slowly. "You've been here before. Do you remember that?"
"I—" Pain flared.
Cloud, this is my home town! This is Gongaga!
"I think—" Pain flared again.
Wait here a minute. I'm just worried about my parents.
"…I can't remember," he said in the end, bringing a hand up to his forehead as something came to his mind and then slipped out again, like water through his fingers. "It's too unclear."
"That's fine for now," she said, now by his side and crouched down. Her brown eyes met his mako-colored pair. "Can you at least remember your name?"
"Cloud," he said. That much he was sure of. "Cloud Strife, SOLDIER, First-Class."
"That… that doesn't sound right," he heard her murmur, her face scrunched up in thought. She turned her head towards his Buster Sword and then asked, "Can you tell me what the last thing you remember was?"
"I was… going to Midgar for…for—" The pain returned.
You'll be my living legacy…
"I—" It became unbearable.
My honor, my dreams, they're yours now.
Cloud screamed as, the more he thought about it, the greater the blinding pain assaulted him. It ripped away at his mind like a stake being driven it at multiple angles. He clutched his head in agony until the merciful chains of unconsciousness dragged him back within its depths and he blacked out.
[-oOo-]
Cissnei—or rather Crimson, now that she was no longer an agent and forced to work under an alias—watched as Cloud's chest rose and fell while he drifted from unconsciousness into slumber.
Her shoulders dropped and she covered her eyes in thought. She had hoped Cloud would be well upon waking, but it seemed that the poisoning had damaged his memories. It was entirely possible that dragging the memories up before it was cured would damage his mind further in its fragile state, but she couldn't be sure.
It would be best if she could somehow cure him of the effects, but she didn't have any idea where to start. Shinra would be a good place to start, but she didn't have her previous level of clearance. And she couldn't contact the other Turks for a favor since she wasn't even supposed to be alive and they were probably still under investigation.
She pulled out her phone and searched through the contacts for anyone who wouldn't be connected to the Turks, but could look through things at Shinra for her. She came to a stop when she crossed Kunsel's name. He was a friend of Zack's who was a Second-Class SOLIDER and she had been in contact with him until recently, since both of them still believed that Zack was alive.
She hadn't told him otherwise and he was making plans to leave to pursue Zack last she checked. But, given the army's losses, the company would be hesitant to lose manpower right now. They would delay the request for leave for a long time. If she told him the truth about everything, Kunsel might be willing to help by staying behind a little while longer and looking into it.
Crimson stepped outside of the building, one of the abandoned houses of Gongaga. She had made her way there after getting off the Cargo Ship in order to tell Zack's parents that they had finally found his body. The pain on their faces when she broke the news nearly brought her to tears as well, and she couldn't help but wish that they had been just a little faster in finding Zack.
A breeze rolled through the derelict array of buildings, whistling a haunting melody as it billowed her hair. The village was quiet and isolated, littered with dozens of small homes that were boarded up and abandoned due to the Mako Reactor's destruction. A lot of people were killed, but a few of the survivors chose to stay behind despite the painful memories.
Leaning against the abandoned home she called her own for the time being, she made the call. "Kunsel?"
"Cissnei?" His surprise could be heard over the line. "Word going around is that you were dead."
"It's complicated, and my name is Crimson now," she told him. Part of her wondered exactly how he came across that information, but the fact that he was knowledgeable meant that he was just the right person to ask. "Listen, I have something to tell you about Zack. It'll be hard to hear, but you're the only one I can trust within Shinra…."
[-oOo-]
Heidegger sat behind the steel desk in his office with a frown on his face as he read the reports of the Turks regarding the disposal of the corpse of the SOLDIER member who had wiped out a significant portion of his military force. The losses wouldn't be easy to replace, even if they were mere infantrymen. It would take time, and that time wasted meant the new incarnation of AVALANCE could continue being a thorn in his side.
He turned over to another folder, listing his own investigation into how Zack Fair managed to even get so close to Midgar in the first place. It was because of a former Turk, who was supposedly terminated by the department itself after her role in his escape. He immediately pegged it as a lie. Not because of proof, but because the Turks had proven untrustworthy in the past.
No more half-measures, Heidegger thought as he sent word for a unit. Three infantrymen headed by a Second-Class SOLDIER member to investigate everywhere feasible that the woman had been, including Zack Fair's parents. He had found that she had frequent visits there using the choppers over the past four years, so if she left anything behind that would be the place to start.
If they found anything, they'd report it and he'd have the location razed.
[-oOo-]
Cloud woke again in the evening, finding himself alone in the small home this time. The headache from before was gone, and so was the red-haired woman that had been there with him. He rose from the bed and walked over to the Buster Sword.
He slid his fingers along the heavy blade and recalled the weapon as his own. He grabbed the hilt and brought it around in a few sweeps before attaching it to the magnetic holster on his back. Then he made his way out of the house, towards the amber sunlight coming down from the long path leading out of the small and near-abandoned village and into the jungle.
"Hey!"
He turned towards the voice coming from behind him and noticed the red-haired woman there. The memories came unbidden the longer he looked, with the two of them standing on a beach after someone's death… his master, Angeal. "Cissnei…"
She took a step back, confusion and somewhat shocked. "You know my name?"
"Of course," he said. "The beach in Costa Del Sol, we were there. You're a Turk."
"We've never…." She brought a hand to her mouth and her brows furrowed in thought. He managed to hear her whisper, "Zack?"
For a moment he thought to ask who that was. But the moment passed when what felt like an ice-pick stabbed his brain. He shook it off and kept walking onwards.
"Hey, wait!" She ran out in front of him and stood in his way. "You need to get back in the house. You're not well yet. The mako poisoning is still affecting you."
"I'm fine," he said. "I need to get to Midgar."
"Why would you go back there?"
He came to a stop. "You asked me what was the last thing I remembered. It was heading back to Midgar to get work as a mercenary and to see—" More pain unraveled.
Four years? What do you mean, final!?
He shook his head and started walking again. "To see someone I haven't seen in four years…. I'll find them when I get there."
She stuck her hand out to block his path. This time he noticed she had a bangle on, Mythril from the looks of it. "First off, my name is Crimson, not Cissnei. I'm not a Turk anymore. Second, I saw you nearly blacked out again just now. You're in no condition to even be trying to make that trip, let alone find someone or be a mercenary."
"I'll be fine on my own," he said, nudging past her hand.
"I said I would look after you until you were better," she said defiantly. "If you want to leave, you'll have to go through me."
He didn't even turn back to look at her. "I've got no reason to fight you."
The jingle of keys caught his ears and drew his head toward her. She had pulled out a set of keys and was twirling them around on her forefinger. "You won't even make it to Costa Del Sol anytime soon if you try to leave on foot." She clasped the keys in her closed fist. "You don't even have a map to get there safely from here. I have both."
Cloud turned around and stuck his hand out, palm raised. "Give them here."
She put the keys into the pocket of her shorts and then pulled out her shuriken, Rekka, with the other hand. "If you want them then you'll have to take them."
"I'm an ex-member of SOLDIER," he said. "Do you really think that you'll be able to stand against me?"
She got into a combat stance and held her weapon at the ready. "Even if you believe that, if you can't beat me then there's no meaning to that title."
Cloud sighed as he grasped the hilt of his sword. Then he moved with speed belaying his appearance, dashing in and drawing the blade. He swung it so the backside would slam into her abdomen and floor her, proving that she had no chance against him.
It missed. Crimson dodged with a flip and came around with Rekka in hand, using it like a blade as the point tried to gouge out his eyes. When he avoided that by moving his head to the side, she swept his legs from under him and took three steps back while he crouched on the ground while using his blade for support.
"Don't get in my way," Cloud said, rising to his feet. He gripped the blade with both hands and pointed it at her. "You don't have a chance."
"Not from where I'm standing," she said, flinging the shuriken towards him.
Cloud knocked it away with his sword and then rushed in again, putting more strength and speed into his swings to overwhelm her fast and hard.
Crimson dodged them all, maneuvering around him and staggering him as he put too much momentum into a swing by pushing him with her foot. She raised her hand and caught her shuriken as it came back around. Perching it on her shoulder, she couldn't help but shake her head.
"That's twice I've brought you to your knees," she said pointedly. "Your movements are too sloppy and predictable."
A growl bubbled up in Cloud's throat as he rushed back in with a battle-cry born of damaged pride as a SOLDIER. He jumped into the air, the Buster Sword chambered behind his back as he fell for a massive attack that combined the momentum of the fall and gravity along with the weight of his blade.
Crimson outstretched her hand, revealing that the bangle had a materia in it. Lightning crackled from glowing sphere, instantly filling the air with the scent of ozone. Then it lashed out like a serpentine spear.
Cloud brought the blade down early to use as a shield before it caught him full-on in the chest. The blast still knocked the blade out of his hands, sending it twirling in the air until the tip bit into the ground and stood upright. Cloud himself was sent sprawling on the ground, left on his back as tongues of remaining electricity paralyzed him.
"You—" His voice cut off as Crimson mounted his chest and wedge the points of her shuriken into the ground, leaving his neck pinned between them and the sharpened round blade.
"What right do you have to be arrogant?" she demanded softly, subtle fury in her voice. "Is it just because you have that sword and strength? Did you it would be enough?"
He said nothing, merely curling his fingers into balled fists as the paralysis began to wear off.
She continued, pressing down on her weapon and driving it ever closer to his neck. "Even if you were a SOLDIER, you've been out of commission for over 4 years now. The fact that you can move at all is probably due to whatever was done to you in the first place, but you don't have the means to even beat me—let alone if Shinra comes after you."
Crimson stood up and removed her Rekka. "You can try to leave as much as you want, but I'll knock you down and bring you back as many times as I have to. I'm a very light sleeper as well, so you can't sneak out then either. Just accept I'm looking over you until you're well again, whether or not you want me to."
"Why?" he asked quietly as he sat up. It didn't make sense to him. "Why look after me?"
"That was the promise I made to him," she said softly. "I don't know you well enough to know if this is the real you or because of the poisoning, but I can't imagine Zack would have sacrificed himself for someone who behaves like this."
Boy oh boy. The price of freedom is steep.
Pain erupted from that name again. It made his head hurt, a stabbing pain like a nail being driven into his skull. "That's how… a SOLDIER is."
"You're wrong," she said, her voice soft now that all of the fight drained out of her. She crouched down and pressed her lips into a faint frown. "Zack was never like that."
Embrace your dreams. And, whatever happens, protect your honor… as SOLDIER!
The pain followed her words were merciless in assaulting his mind. He brought his palm to his forehead. That name was the source of his pain. "Who is Zack? Who was he to me?"
She shook her head. "There's no point in telling you right now. From the looks of it, it hurts just hearing his name. I'm sure once you've been detoxed completely of the mako poisoning it will come back to you."
Cloud looked up to the sky as the headache faded. Whether he wanted to admit it or not, the headaches were hurting him and his body wasn't moving like he wanted it to. He remembered what happened in Nibelheim, where his partner Sephiroth betrayed him and destroyed his village, but if four years had passed then… what had he been doing since then?
Who was this person she spoke of so highly? Why did hearing his name bring Cloud so much pain?
He needed to know. "How long will this take?"
"I have someone inside Shinra working to find a lead to a procedure that could help," she said, extending a hand for him to take. "Once they get back to me, we'll see about fixing you up. I promise."
Cloud rose to his feet unaided and walked over to where his sword was. With an exaggerated flourish and twirl, he put it on his back. Then he walked towards the house they had been in prior. "I'll wait until then I guess… for now anyway…."
He heard Crimson let out a soft sigh as she followed him back inside.
[-oOo-]
Kunsel, a second-class SOLDIER, looked out the window of the Shinra building. His gaze was cast out to the wastelands surrounding the city, towards where Crimson had told him Zack had died days ago. While Kunsel had known the army had suffered heavy causalities that day, he only now knew that it was Zack who was responsible, and he had went out fighting.
He turned his attention to the door behind him as it slid open and revealed that Luxiere was there, dressed for deployment with a standard sword on his back. "You going out?"
"Yeah," he said, "for an assignment from Heidegger to investigate some things. Probably be gone two weeks or so."
Kunsel's grip on his phone tightened. Though she had told him to keep it a secret, both he and Luxiere had been Zack's friends. He deserved to know the truth. "Listen, about Zack…"
"It doesn't matter anymore," Luxiere said as he grabbed a bag containing supplies. "He's been gone for years now."
"That's not true," Kunsel said. "I keep telling you, that was a cover-up."
"Saying things like that is the reason you haven't been promoted yet." Luxiere sighed. They'd had similar discussions before. "I get it. You're still in denial while I've moved on. There's been a void since the loss of him, Genesis, Angeal, and Sephiroth. I am aim to fill it. "
Kunsel knew that words wouldn't get through to him. Luxiere had been working to climb through the ranks and was probably closer now to getting to first-class. There was no telling what he would do with the information if he knew.
Instead, he wished him luck. "Good luck on your mission."
"See you when I get back," Luxiere said back, heading out the door.