~Whatever It Takes~

Chapter 22​

Somewhere in the Middle of Nowhere – the present

In the morning, Cloud came up with a brilliant idea. He was going to carry me on his back. I kept forgetting that he was a lot stronger than he looked.

“After that, Aeris thought I needed some makeup,” he recounted as he carried me on his back through the glade covered in tall grass. He was telling me about the time he had to dress up as a woman to fool Don Corneo and rescue me.

I laughed, remembering the way he looked in a purple dress, a blonde wig and makeup.

“It’s not funny,” he protested. “You have no idea what I had to go through to get all made up.”

“Well, I would love to hear it, Cloud.”

“In the Honey Bee Manor, there’s this room with a bunch of doors. So this girl told me to pick a door and I did and in there was like a community shower or something. Then eight guys came in and wanted to shower with me.”

I giggled.

“Stop laughing. This is serious stuff.”

“Poor Cloud. The things you’ve had to do for my sake.” I hugged him around the neck.

“That place is a real freak show.”

“Yeah, I know.”

Cloud slowed his steps and briefly glanced over his shoulder at me, an angry frown on his face. “Yeah? And how would you know? Have you been there?”

“Where do you think I got that blue outfit I was wearing when you found me at Don Corneo’s mansion?” I wondered if he thought something had gone on while I had been at the Honey Bee Manor. “Why’re you so upset about that? You know I didn’t do anything in there.”

“I know, but…just the thought of you in a place like that…turns my stomach.”

I hugged him again. “So what’re you going to do when we get back to civilization?”

“I’m gonna guzzle a cold beer. Make that two cold beers.”

“Sounds good to me. But maybe instead of a beer, I’ll get one of those fruity drinks with the little umbrella on top.”

Cloud abruptly came to a stop. “Do you hear that?”

I shook my head, hearing nothing but the breeze blowing against the tall grass.

“It’s an airship.” Cloud tightened his grip around my thighs and started to run through the field.

Then I saw it. It was the Shera, Cid’s airship. It was circling not too far away.

Cloud gently lowered me to the ground and ran full tilt by himself, waving his arms. “Hey! Down here! Hey!”

For a minute the airship looked as if it was going to keep going. But then I saw a head pop out of a hatch and look back. Whoever was up there had seen Cloud and was pointing down. The airship immediately whirled around.

Cloud turned and jogged back toward me. He picked me up in his arms and carried me toward the airship as it slowly touched down on the grassy field.

As we got closer to the airship, I saw a small figure jump out and run toward us. It was Yuffie.

“Oh my Gawd, I can’t believe we found you!” She hugged me first and then hugged Cloud, with a raised brow immediately noticing he was shirtless.

Cloud carried me into the airship and we were greeted by Cid.

“Had a fuckin’ hellova time looking for you two!”

After Cloud set me down in one of the seats, he quickly went for the First Aid kit in a compartment in back.

Yuffie sat down next to me and put an arm around my shoulder. She watched as Cloud cleaned out the cuts on my knee. “So what happened to your clothes, Spikey? Those are not your pants, I know that.”

Cloud gave me a brief glance before starting to wrap a bandage around my knee. “It’s a long story, Yuffie.”

BONE VILLAGE – the present

Cid flew us to the nearest town, which was Bone Village. We checked into a room at the Inn and a doctor was sent up to properly stitch my knee. Luckily nothing was broken.

Yuffie joined us an hour later with a shopping bag. She bought clothes for Cloud and I. Cid joined us, too and we ordered a huge spread of food and cold beer. While the four of us ate, Cloud and I recounted the events. He purposely left out the part about being turned into a leopard. I imagined he didn’t want anyone to know about it so I didn’t say anything.

“So we’re going after Hojo, right?” asked Cid.

Cloud frowned and looked down. “No. Let him rot in the jungle. I don’t give a shit.”

“He can’t get away for keeping you two caged up like a bunch of animals!”

“I know, Cid, but…I just can’t…I can’t go back there.”

I wanted to change the subject before Cloud got more upset. “How did you find us anyway?”

“Believe it or not, Mr President himself, Rufus Shinra, looked me up and told me to look for you south of Bone Village.”

So Shinra, Reno and Rude had made it out. I wasn’t sure whether I was glad or not. The sensible part of me was glad to hear they hadn’t been eaten by cannibals, while the untrusting side knew it wouldn’t be the last time Shinra got involved in our lives.

“It took awhile to get the authorization to fly in that airspace,” Cid continued on. “The wildlife is endangered and under protection, so the fuckin’ authorities gave me all kinds of grief, threatening to shoot me out of the sky and shit. I finally talked to some people, who talked to some people and the search began a few months ago.”

Cloud stopped chewing on a piece of bread and looked up at Cid. “What?”

Cid looked at him questioningly. “Whatta you mean, what?”

“Did you say a few months?” Cloud asked in surprise.

“How long were we missing?” I asked with equal surprise.

“A little over three months.”

Cloud frowned and turned to me. “That can’t be. We couldn’t have been lost that long.”

I remembered feeling disoriented for a long time, not sure of day or night and how much time passed. “I don’t know. It didn’t seem that long, but it’s possible.”

Cloud stared up at the ceiling. “Barret’s gonna kill me.” He looked at me with a shake of his head. “I told him I’d only be gone a couple days when I left to go find you in Junon.”

Yuffie cracked up, but I didn’t think it was funny. Three months? Even though I had lost track of time, had ninety-some days really passed that quickly?

Cid stood up and lit a cigarette. “So are we ready to leave now or what?”

A half hour later we were onboard Cid’s airship.

As it started to leave Bone Village, Cloud moved to the window.

I watched him for a few minutes and noticed sweat pouring down his face. He looked like he couldn’t breathe. I quickly unstrapped myself from my seat and walked over to him. “Cloud, are you all right?”

He couldn’t answer me as he kept looking out the window, at the green carpet of trees below us.

I touched his arm. “Cloud?”

He gasped for air, his hands and forehead pressed against the glass.

“Cloud…are you all right?”

He finally looked at me and shook his head. “No…” He turned back to the window.

“What’s wrong?”

“I don’t know.” He slid down to the floor and leaned back against the window.

“Everything all right over there, kid?” asked Cid.

I replied for Cloud. “He’s fine, Cid. Just get us home.” I wrapped my arms around Cloud and leaned my forehead against the side of his head. “It’s okay, Cloud. We’ll be home soon.”

EDGE – the present

When we finally got home, it felt empty without Marlene and Denzel.

“I called Barret before we left Bone Village,” said Yuffie. “He came and picked up the kids. I thought you guys might want a chance to get a good night’s sleep before having to explain yourselves to the rugrats.”

I wouldn’t have minded seeing Marlene and Denzel, but I was grateful for the privacy Cloud and I would have for one night. “Thanks, Yuffs.”

She left with Cid.

I turned to Cloud, who was pacing in the center of the tavern, his eyes bouncing around at everything as if he was seeing it all for the first time. “Cloud? Do you want to go upstairs?” When he didn’t respond, I walked over and stepped into his path. “Cloud?”

He looked at me, startled. “Tifa…”

I searched his eyes, seeing the wild look in them. No…I wasn’t going to let him think about that rainforest. I slid my arms around his neck and gave him a fierce kiss. My heart did a little hop when he immediately responded.

To my surprise, Cloud picked me up and carried me upstairs. He brought me into my bedroom and kicked the door closed.

Maybe he just needed to keep his mind preoccupied for awhile, until he stopped thinking about that rainforest. Well, I’d make sure he had enough of his mind so he couldn’t think about anything else.

In the middle of the night, I woke up to a sudden roaring wail. When I sat up I saw Cloud in leopard form. He was agitatedly pacing back and forth through the bedroom. His loud panting echoed against the walls as he stared at the window, looking as if he was about to leap through it.

I quickly jumped out of bed and moved toward him, ignoring the pain in my knee. “Cloud…”

He turned his large feline head in my direction.

I knelt on the floor in front of him and wrapped my arms around his neck, letting my hands drift through the thick fur on his back.

He licked my shoulder and roared again.

“It’s okay, Cloud. It’s okay. Come back.” As he slowly transformed back into human form, I wrapped myself around him and held him as he shivered.

“Goddammit!” he said through chattering teeth. “Help me, Tifa. Help me fight this.”

“Shhh, just relax…”

“I just wanna be normal again.”

“I know. We’ll get through this together.”

Cloud clung to me tightly for a few minutes as he continued to shiver. Then I slowly led him back to bed. He was asleep in a matter of seconds.

ABOARD THE HIGHWIND – the past

Later that morning, Cloud called a meeting in the Operations Room of the Highwind.

He looked nervous standing at the head of the table. “I’m sorry, everyone.”

“All you’ve been doing is apologizing, Cloud,” said Red. “You don’t have to say anything at all.”

Cloud briefly locked eyes with me briefly, drawing strength to finish saying what he had to say. “I do have something to say and I know that after you hear it, you may not trust me again. But I have to confess. I was never in SOLDIER. I made up the stories about what happened to me five years ago. I left my village looking for glory, but never made it in to SOLDIER. I was so ashamed and felt so weak that I created an illusion of myself, made up of what I had seen happen to someone else. And I continued to play the charade as if it were true.”

“Illusion, huh...?” Barret grumbled. “Pretty damn realistic for a illusion, I’d say.”

“I’m as physically capable as anyone in SOLDIER. Hojo’s plan to clone Sephiroth wasn’t that difficult. It was the same procedure they used when creating members of SOLDIER. SOLDIERs aren’t simply exposed to Mako energy. Their bodies are actually injected with Jenova cells. But only the strong can ever make it to the level of SOLDIER. Weak people...like me…they get lost in the whole thing. The combination of Jenova cells, Sephiroth’s strong will and my own weakness are what created me.” Cloud sighed and shook his head in sorrow, unable to look at us any longer. “I’m...Cloud…master of my own illusionary world.”

Cid plopped his foot up on the conference table. “You’re sure fucked up, kid.”

I gave him a dirty look. “Cut it out, Cid.”

“What’re you going to do now, Cloud?” asked Cait Sith. “You’re not giving up, are you?”

“It’s because of me that Meteor is falling toward the planet. It’s my responsibility. I have to fight this thing.”

Barret raised his gunarm. “Good! Then you’re gonna keep fightin’ to save the planet!?”

Cloud smiled at Barret. “It’s like you told me once before, Barret.”

“What? What’d I say?”

“About the train?”

“Oh, that!”

Red looked confused. “I don’t understand.”

Barret grinned. “There ain’t no gettin’ offa this train we on! The train don’t make no stops!”

When Cloud looked in my direction, I couldn’t contain my smile. I was so proud of him for telling everyone the truth, even though it hadn’t really been necessary. I was also glad that he had finally found his ‘real’ self and remembered everything that happened in our childhood.

JUNON – the past

Cid landed the Highwind at the Junon airport. We all scrambled out of the hatch and headed to the elevator, taking it down to the city.

As we walked around, Cloud looked around strangely. “I may be mistaken, but..Doesn’t it feel like there’s something missing around here?”

None of us could figure out what was different since the last time we had been here.

When we rounded the corner and headed for the elevator leading to the lower levels, two guards jumped out, holding weapons. Cloud actually looked bored as he knocked out both guards.

We got on the elevator and took it down to the reactor floor. There were guards swarming the level and we had to fight our way through. Luckily none of them had the good sense to sound an alarm.

In the next chamber was a submarine dock. A crew was busy loading crates onboard a red submarine.

Just then Reno appeared from a side door. “Ah shit, you guys again?”

Barret stepped forward, his gunarm aimed. “We’re gonna help transport the Huge Materia!”

Cid twirled his harpoon. “Just so you know, I don’t work for cheap!”

“Either give it to us or else,” warned Cloud. “Which is it gonna be, Reno?”

“Unfortunately, I don’t have time to deal with you,” Reno replied before he fled the area, pressing a button on a device he had in his other hand.

A robot standing near the red submarine came to life and took several steps toward us. It used its extremely long arms to knock us around every time we tried to attack it.

“I’ve had enough of this thing,” Cloud said as he summoned the Knights of the Round using the materia we had found on Round Island. The thirteen spirits dealt their blows and at the end the robot fell to pieces.

Just as we sighed in relief, we realized the red submarine had left the dock.

“Damn! The submarine’s gone!” yelled Cloud.

Cid pointed to the other submarine parked at the dock. “Let’s take that one!”

We had to deal with several guards before we were able to board.

ABOARD THE SUBMARINE – the past

The interior of the submarine was terribly cramped. Cloud and I moved toward the front and heard voices coming from the control room.

“NO, NO!! This is terrible!”

“We don’t have much time left! I don’t want to die! I never even got to do my special victory dance in battle!”

“All right! Then make this your first victory! Go on, show ‘em!”

“Yes, sir!”

“Remember your last training. Begin!”

“Yes, sir!”

Cloud glanced over his shoulder at me. “Not the stupid victory dance again. I had enough of it when I had to dress up as one of them.” He pushed the door open the rest of the way.

The uniformed man on his feet turned to us in surprise. “What’re you doing here?!”

While Cloud knocked out the commander, I knocked out the one at the controls. Cid and Barret dragged their unconscious bodies out of the control room before returning.

When I looked at Cloud, I noticed he was hyperventilating alittle as his eyes stared around the small space. “I…I can’t take it anymore. I can’t breathe in here...”

I remembered he was easily susceptible to motion sickness and was sometimes claustrophobic.

Barret smacked Cloud’s shoulder. “Stop your blubberin’ and get us out of here!”

Cloud stared at the controls, the sweat pouring down his face.

Cid pushed his way to the controls. “Hunka junk...ya just gotta do this!” He pushed several levers and the submarine moved. “See? Now you take over. I can’t drive this thing and smoke at the same time and I need a fuckin’ cigarette!”

Cloud sat at the controls and started maneuvering the sub. “Hey, you’re right...I do feel alittle better driving. No sweat.”

I squeezed myself next to him on the seat and looked out the front windshield of the sub as Cloud followed behind the red submarine.

“Shoot at ‘em, Cloud!” Barret hollered.

Cloud looked down at the controls and found the weapons panel. He pressed some buttons and a torpedo launched.

I grinned at him when the torpedo hit the red submarine. “You did it, Cloud! Look, it’s going down!”

When the red submarine settled on the bottom, Cloud steered the sub down. He glanced over his shoulder. “Hey, Cid, how’re we supposed to retrieve the Huge Materia?”

“Don’t ask me,” replied the pilot.

Cloud slumped back in the seat and gave me a sideways glance. “This isn’t going the way I had hoped.”

“All Shinra Subs. Do you read?” The voice was coming from the radio comm.

“Must be from Shinra,” I said.

“Report, No. 2...”

“Is it us?” asked Barret.

Cloud pushed a button beneath the radio comm.. “This is Shinra No. 2. Everything’s normal.”

“Roger. Return to Junon Dock. The Huge Materia is ready to be transported from the airport. We need all hands to report as soon as possible. Over and out.”

Cloud slammed a fist on the control panel. “The Huge Materia wasn’t even on the red sub. We followed the wrong lead.”

“Let’s surface,” I suggested. “We might have time.”

JUNON – the past

The submarine surfaced and we all climbed out along the shore.

As we proceeded toward Junon, Cid pointed at something that had just taken off. “It’s a Gelnika. It just left the airport!”

“They must have the Huge Materia on that plane,” Cloud concluded.

Barret waved his arm toward the Highwind resting not too far away. “Let’s go after it!”

“Where do you think they’re headed, Cloud?” I asked.

Cloud watched the plane disappear into the sky. “I have a bad feeling about something. We need to head to Rocket Town.”

Cid’s cigarette fell out of his mouth. “Rocket Town? You don’t think…? Shit! Let’s go!”

We quickly piled into the Highwind. With Cid behind the wheel, we were sure to reach our destination in record time.

 

Chapter 23​

EDGE – the present

CLOUD’S POV

I tightened the lug nut with the wrench and the piece of metal split in two. “Shit!” This was the third one I broke in the last five minutes. Either the lug nuts were poorly made or I suddenly didn’t know my own strength.

I sat up and leaned my back against Fenrir. It was no use. I’d have to get Cid to replace the spark plugs. He’d probably swear up a storm and call me a fucking pansy because I couldn’t do it myself. But I couldn’t tell him the truth. I couldn’t tell him I was having another identity crisis.

I could feel it coursing through my veins…in my blood. Like a living entity. Why was I feeling like I was about to jump out of my skin if I couldn’t run full throttle? And why was I suddenly feeling better than I had ever felt in my entire life?

I could hear better, like my ears had recently been flushed. My sense of smell was improved in such a way that I could distinguish several different scents and knew exactly where they were. And I felt more powerful…physically and mentally. I felt like taking on the world.

But I hated that I loved the way I felt. Hojo changed me. He made me drink something that gave me the ability to shapeshift into a leopard. Although I was sure he had been expecting some other kind of result. Maybe he had hoped for a Darknation or something more deadly. I wasn’t so sorry to disappoint him.

But why? Why didn’t Hojo just kill me? Why did he go to all the trouble of making my life miserable?

That’s a stupid question, Cloud. He did it because he knew you’d suffer. He enjoys torturing you. Hell, he’s been doing it to you almost all of your life. Nothing’s changed.

I just wanted to go back to the way it was before I got Geostigma. Everything was going great at home. Tifa and I were getting along. We hadn’t fought in months. I vowed to tell her how I felt, to tell her the truth about Aeris…and to tell her that she was the only woman I ever wanted. But then the virus hit me. I was afraid to tell her because I knew she’d be devastated. Both of us had a sort of symbiotic existence. I depended on her a lot, but I knew she wanted me around. So I stayed. If she had known I was dying, she wouldn’t have been able to handle it. And I wouldn’t have been able to handle seeing her fall apart.

Tifa was the strong one, not me. I was just a mess of restrained and subdued emotions that just came out at the wrong times. Always saying the wrong things, doing the wrong things…acting like a jackass most of the time because I couldn’t stop trying to impress her.

Well, it didn’t matter anymore. She found out I had Geostigma and then I was cured and then I wanted to pick up from where I left off. I wanted to tell her everything. But not at home. It had to be a place where we could be alone and wouldn’t be interrupted. I knew she loved me and I wanted to make it up to her for all the times I gave her grief. Was that too much to ask for?

Again, it didn’t matter anymore. She knew everything. We could move on and live our lives together like it was meant to be from the beginning. I knew it when we were still young that we would somehow end up together. At the time though I just didn’t know the hardships we’d have to endure to get there.

Yes, we could move on. Except now I had this strange instinct to run on all fours. I felt restless, kept having anxiety attacks all day and night long…most of the time when Tifa wasn’t in the room. I didn’t want her to see me this way.

There was a constant buzzing sound in my head. It started the minute we left the northern continent. And now I couldn’t shake it.

On top of it all, every time I got a whiff of Tifa…even when she was as far away from me in the apartment as possible, I couldn’t control myself. I needed her. It was like something else had taken over both my body and my mind. I knew Tifa wouldn’t complain whenever I suddenly got amorous with her, but I just didn’t want it to be like it was back when we were chasing Sephiroth two years ago. I hadn’t meant for it to seem meaningless, but back then all I had been looking for was the physical contact with her. I needed it. It gave me a sense of home.

Tifa was home…and home wasn’t a home without her. That was the reason I freaked out when I found out she had left. She never left. I was the one that was always leaving. She was always home when I got there. That night, when I went to her room and discovered her suitcase was missing, I didn’t know what to think. I panicked and didn’t want to believe anything except that I wanted her home. I needed her to be home with me.

I absently looked down at my hand and focus on something deep in my head…something that hadn’t been there before. My fingers started to change and thick hairs grew out of my skin. It was disgusting and yet alluring at the same time. In a unsettling way, I liked the feeling. It was extremely painful…the way my bones shifted and cracked…the way my entire body contorted into something inhuman. But the pain felt good. Changing back to human form always left me shivering, like something was missing on my skin…aside from clothes.

I wanted to feel the pain. I anticipated and craved it like a drug. It was addicting. And the more I did it, the better I got at it. But the more I wanted to remain on all fours. What was wrong with me? Why did I suddenly have this urge to be something I wasn’t meant to be? Whatever Hojo did, it was powerful. It not only changed me physically, but it was starting to wear in my head.

The other night, when I turned into a leopard in the middle of the night, I knew Tifa was worried. I could see it in her eyes. Hell, I had been worried, too. If she hadn’t woken up, I would have jumped through the window.

I dropped my hand to my lap and closed my eyes, feeling it slowly return back to normal.

If I had to be this way for the rest of my life, then I had to have Tifa by my side. She was my lifeline and I needed her. But I also needed to start behaving like a normal human being. Forget the leopard and remain the man.

I let out a heavy sigh. “Get your act together, Strife,” I mumbled to myself. Tifa depended on me as much as I depended on her. I needed to get back to my delivery business so we’d have that steady income again. But to make deliveries I needed Fenrir to be in top condition and right now, she needed a tune up.

Back to TIFA’S POV

Yuffie volunteered to help me decorate the bar for an upcoming holiday event a few days after Cloud and I returned home.

“So everything’s fine between you and Spike now?” she asked.

I hadn’t really had a chance to talk to her much about what happened, only that Cloud had finally confessed that he loved me. “Everything’s perfect. While we were stranded on that island,” I kept referring to it as an island because I didn’t know what else to call it. “…he really opened up and told me everything.”

“Really? Everything?”

“About what happened to him during those missing five years before AVALANCHE. He even told me what happened between him and Aeris.”

“He did?” She seemed mildly surprised for some reason.

“Yes,” I said, rolling my eyes. “It’s no big deal.”

Yuffie raised her eyebrows. “No big deal? If it were me and he told me he fooled around with Aeris on the Round ride at the Gold Saucer, I’d be really pissed.”

I dropped the wreath I was about to hang up and whirled around to face Yuffie. “What?!”

Her face suddenly grew pale and her jaw dropped a little. “Uh…he didn’t tell you that?”

I walked over and grabbed her arm roughly. “How would you know that happened?”

She shook her head. “No, forget I ever said anything.”

I shook her arm. “Tell me!”

“I…I…I was in the next car and I saw them.”

My chest constricted. “Were they…what were they doing?”

“They were kissing…I didn’t see anything else because I was getting totally grossed out.” She stared at me as if she was afraid I’d punch her in the face.

I released Yuffie’s arm and tried to control my sudden hyperventilating breath. He lied to me again. He said nothing happened on that date with Aeris. How could he tell me something and swear it was the truth and lie about it again?

Just then I heard someone walk in through the back door.

Cloud appeared from the kitchen, wiping his greasy hands on a dish towel. “Tifa, have you seen that can of brake fluid I bought yesterday?”

I was so furious at the moment, I couldn’t even open my mouth to respond to his question.

He noticed the angry look on my face and moved toward me. “I know, I know. I shouldn’t leave things lying around. But…”

I didn’t let him finish before I slapped him hard across the face. I heard Yuffie gasp behind me.

Cloud looked stunned and his eyes looked questioningly at me.

“I…I think I’ll be going now,” Yuffie stammered before rushing out the front door and closing it behind her.

He rubbed his face where I hit him. “What the hell, Tifa…?”

I was hyperventilating again. “I…I trusted you to tell me the truth. I believed everything you told me. And now I find out you still lied to me about you and Aeris.”

He sighed loudly in exasperation. “Not this shit again.”

“How dare you?!” I clenched my fists, wanting to knock him clear across the room. “How could you make love to me and then…and then…on the same night do what you did with her?”

His eyes shifted to the ceiling. “I told you before, nothing happened.”

“Stop…lying…to me!!” I screamed. “Why can’t you just tell me the truth?!”

He looked as surprised as I was that I could screech so loudly.

After I thought I had my voice back under control, I grabbed him by the chin and forced him to look directly at me. “Look me in the eye and tell me you didn’t do anything with her.”

For a brief second I thought maybe he was going to say something as he stared intently into my eyes. But then he pulled away, putting some distance between us.

A lump formed in my throat as I realized the truth.

“I couldn’t tell you, Tifa. I knew you’d react this way.”

“I’m reacting this way because you LIED TO ME!! You could have told me the truth two years ago and all his would have been behind us!”

He looked down, running a greasy hand through his hair, leaving black streaks in it. If we had been having a different kind of discussion, I would have laughed at him.

“What else have you lied about?” I asked in suppressed rage. I was shaking all over and I didn’t know why.

“Nothing…” he said in barely a whisper.

“You told me it made you feel good when we made love. So did it make you feel good when you did it with her, too?”

His eyes shot up. “No…it’s not what you think.”

“You’re a liar! Yuffie told me she saw you!”

“Yuffie?!”

“She was in the next car on the ride at the Gold Saucer.” I wasn’t going to let him get away with another lie. “I won’t believe anything you say ever again, Cloud!”

“I wasn’t myself back then! I didn’t know what I was doing! Nobody ever liked me when I was younger. And then all of a sudden I had two girls who wanted me. I couldn’t help it!”

“Get out!” When he didn’t move, I put my hands on his chest and shoved him backward as hard as I could. “I said, get out!!”

His brows drew together in sudden anger. “Fine! Fuck this! I don’t need you! I don’t need anybody!”

“I don’t ever want to see you again! Don’t come back here!” I screamed.

Cloud stormed into the kitchen and the next second I heard the door slam hard. The loud sound made me cringe. And then I heard Fenrir starting. Seconds later he peeled out loudly and was gone.

ROCKET TOWN – the past

Cid landed the Highwind in the field near the rocket and we all got out.

Cloud had a determined look on his face as we headed for the rocket. “Damn, I have a bad feeling about this!”

“What’re you thinking, Cloud?” I asked, trying to keep up with him as he broke into a jog.

“Shinra’s trying to play hero and save the day. I bet the Huge Materia’s in that rocket and he plans to launch it at Meteor.”

“What?” shouted Cid. “Goddammit! Not my rocket, he ain’t! I’m gonna kick those Shinra assholes right out of my rocket!”

Each of us took turns climbing the ladder up to the platform beside the rocket. Inside we ran into some Shinra guards that needed to be knocked out.

There was also a crewman sitting in one of the cockpit seats.

He did a double take when he saw Cid. “Captain! You came back!”

Cid stormed up to him. “What the hell’s goin’ on!?”

“We’re gonna launch this rocket! Our rocket’s gonna save the planet!”

Cloud tried to butt in. “Wait a minute.”

Cid pushed him away. “Shut up! Just shut the hell up!” He turned back to the crewman. “How’s the rocket?”

“It’s pretty much okay, but…we planned to run it into Meteor on Auto-Pilot, except the most important device is broken.”

“Broken? How’s the repair goin’?”

“Shera’s doin’ it.”

Cid threw his arms up in the air. “Oh great! You’re a fuckin’ wizard! She’s gonna take a hundred years! I’ll take over, so don’t worry about the Auto-Pilot!” He jerked the crewman out of the seat and flung him away. “Go ahead and tell everyone!”

The crewman quickly left the rocket.

Cloud moved toward Cid again as the pilot got into the cockpit seat. “Hey, Cid! What’re you doing!? That Materia has generations of knowledge and wisdom. We need it to save the planet from Sephiroth. We can’t lose the Huge Materia. You understand that, right?”

Cid was punching buttons and flipping switches and pulling levers. “Yeah, I understand. I also get what you’re thinking. But listen, I don’t give a rat’s ass whether it’s science or magic. If I had to choose, I’d rather put my money on the power of science. Humanity can finally fly into outer space. Science is a power created and developed by humans. And science just might be what saves this planet. I earned my living thanks to science. So to me, there’s nothing greater! Now quit your worrying about what Shinra’s gonna do! I don’t wanna regret not having done something later.”

“Dammit, Cid!”

“Shut the hell up! I don’t wanna hear it! Anyone who ain’t with me then can get the hell outta here!”

Suddenly the rocket’s engines started and everything started to rattle.

Cid checked the controls. “What the hell...? I didn’t even start anything! Where’s the countdown?!”

Cloud shoved both of us to the floor as a sudden heaviness hit me. The rocket was lifting off. With us in it! And there were no seats for anyone else.

After what seemed like an eternity of gravity painfully trying to squeeze me into the floor seams, the heaviness lessened and I felt myself float.

“I finally made it,” Cid rejoiced. “Outer space.” He looked down at the controls. “We’re headed for a collision with Meteor.”

Barret swung his arms as if he was swimming in water as he tried to move closer to where Cid was sitting. “Can’t you do somethin’ to change the course?” he growled.

“Somebody went outta their way to lock the Auto-Pilot device. I can’t change the course.”

“So this is the end?” Cloud asked quietly.

Cid spun around to look over his shoulder. “Huh? What the hell’re you sayin’? I’m not gonna crash into Meteor. There’s an Escape Pod on the rocket just for emergencies like this. We’ll bail right before we crash into Meteor.”

“What’s gonna happen to the Huge Materia?”

“Do whatever you want with it! Just climb that ladder over there and you’ll find your precious materia.”

I followed Cloud up the ladder into a small storage room. Resting inside of a container was the Huge Materia. For some reason I imagined it would have been as large as a Barret’s head, but it was actually the size of a grapefruit, which was about four times bigger than regular materia.

Cloud slipped the Huge Materia into his pocket and we headed back down to join the others.

Cid jumped out of his seat. “Okay, people. Time to go.”

We followed him down another ladder into a room with oxygen tanks lining two of the walls.

Cid took the lead. “The Escape Pod’s right over there.”

Just then one of the oxygen tanks blew up, scattering heavy debris all around. When the dust settled, we discovered Cid pinned under a huge piece of metal.

Cloud and Barret immediately rushed over to try and lift it. But the rocket was shaking violently and it was hard to get a firm grip on the sheet of metal. The rest of us joined in to help.

“Just get the hell outta here!” yelled Cid. “The rocket’s gonna crash into Meteor any second!”

Cloud strained to lift the metal. “We’re not leaving without you.”

“You’re stupid. You’re really fuckin’ stupid. Tank Number Eight blew up.” He grimaced in pain. “So it really was malfunctioning...Shera, you were right.”

The sheet of metal finally moved and Yuffie helped Cid slide out from under it. Then we all climbed into the Escape Pod which didn’t seem like it had been built to hold six humans, a red wolf creature, a mechanical cat and an oversized moogle. I sat on Cloud’s lap while Yuffie sat on Vincent’s, only Vincent didn’t look as pleased about that as Cloud did.

“Everybody ready?” hollered Cid. He pulled a handle.

The Escape Pod ejected from the side of the rocket and dropped sickeningly back toward the planet.

When I turned to Cloud, he looked pale and green at the same time. I hugged him. “Don’t think about it, Cloud and you won’t get sick.”

Just then a huge explosion rattled the Escape Pod. We all turned to look out one of the many portals. The rocket had crashed into Meteor. But it didn’t even leave a mark. It failed to stop the Meteor from its descent.

ABOARD THE HIGHWIND – the past

Cid maneuvered the Escape Pod and timed the entry point back into the atmosphere. After three large parachutes opened up, we floated through the air and finally landed softly near the launch site in Rocket Town.

As we all exited the Escape Pod, Shera was standing near the platform where the rocket used to sit. We started heading toward the Highwind, but Cid decided to jog over to Shera.

I paused and Cloud stopped with me. We watched as Cid suddenly grabbed Shera and hugged her tightly. She seemed surprised by his actions. Then he kissed her long and hard.

“Disgusting,” said Barret as he continued on.

Cid exchanged some words with Shera and it was the first time I had actually seen the pilot smile. Then he kissed her one last time before heading in our direction. He glared at Cloud and I. “What the hell’re you lookin’ at?”

As he passed us, Cloud and I exchanged a look and shrugged before heading for the Highwind.

Cid acted as if nothing had happened, except that maybe he had a different aura about him.

Cloud slumped in one of the seats. “Shinra’s plan was a failure.”

Red shook his scruffy head. “Nothing seems to work against Meteor. Makes you worry, doesn’t it?”

I frowned at him. “Stop worrying! We have to think!”

Cid lit a cigarette. “The girl’s right. You start worryin’ and there’s no stoppin’ it! Things just start fallin’ apart and get progressively worse.”

Barret scowled at Cid. “You’re pretty damned optimistic. You got somethin’ on your mind?”

“Yeah, I been thinkin’ about this and that. All the time we been up here lookin’ at the planet. I always thought it was so huge. But lookin’ at it from space, I realized it’s not that big at all. We’re just floating in the dark, completely powerless. On top of that, Sephiroth festering inside it like a sickness. This planet’s like a little kid, a sick kid trembling in the middle of the universe. Someone’s gotta protect it. Ya follow me? We gotta protect it!”

I couldn’t help but smile at the pilot. “Cid, that’s beautiful.”

“Yo, Cid!” grumbled Barret. “Ya even got to me!”

Cid shrugged and blew smoke in his direction.

“Let’s go see grandfather,” suggested Red. “Maybe he can tell us something that will be helpful.”

Cloud turned to me. “It’s worth a try, don’t you think?”

“Yes, I think we should go to Cosmo Canyon.”

“Cosmo Canyon it is,” announced Cid.

COSMO CANYON – the past

“If you ever are in need of my wisdom, you are always welcome here,” said Bugenhagen as he greeted all of us.

“That’s why we came,” replied Cloud.

“What to do? Have you lost your way? When that happens we each have to take a good long look at ourselves. There’s always something in the deepest recesses of our hearts. Something buried or something forgotten. Remember it...Whatever that is, it must certainly be what you are all looking for.”

“That’s easy enough to say. But, I can’t remember a thing.”

“It must be there. Look harder!” Bugenhagen gestured. “What is it that you are searching for?”

Cait Sith shrugged. “Can’t come up with a thing.”

“Me either,” said Yuffie. “I don’t really get any of this anyway.”

“I remember Aeris,” Cloud said slowly. “She was right there all along. Right by our side. She was so close, we couldn’t see her. She said she was the only one who could stop Sephiroth’s Meteor.”

I touched Cloud’s arm. “But Aeris is gone, Cloud.”.

Red turned to Bugenhagen. “Is it impossible for us to carry on what Aeris tried to accomplish?”

“We ain’t no Ancients, if that’s what ya mean,” said Barret.

Cloud moved to the center of the room where the others were scattered in various seated positions. “We have to try. We can’t give up. I say we go back to the Forgotten City and we try and figure out what Aeris had been trying to do before Sephiroth killed her.”

“Hmmm, perhaps I’ll have you take me there,” Bugenhagen pronounced.

Red turned to him. “You’re going, too?”

“What’s so surprising about that? Even I want to get out from time to time and see the outside world. I wonder what did it? I haven’t felt like this in ages.”

Barret stood. “Awright then, let’s get off our asses and move!”

Everyone filed out except for Cloud and I.

Bugenhagen gave us a curious look. “Is there something else you wish to share?”

Cloud pulled the Huge Materia out of his pocket. “Yeah, I need to keep this in a safe place. It’s pretty delicate stuff.” He handed it to Bugenhagen who placed it in a hidden compartment behind a picture.

The three of us walked out and followed the others to the Highwind.

Bugenhagen smiled as he studied the airship. “Ahh, the smell of machinery. I love it. Of course, I also love the smell of nature, too.”

I smiled and shook my head. He was the most curious person I had ever met in my life, always making such obscure statements. But I knew his mind held a vast library of knowledge. Hopefully he would be able to help us in our cause to save the wounded planet.

 

Chapter 24​

EDGE – the present

Later in the day, Barret picked up Marlene and Denzel after they came home from school. It was the start of their spring break so he was taking them to the Gold Saucer for a few days. I thought he was nuts, but then I realized he wasn’t going alone. Aeris’s mother, Elmyra, was joining them. I wondered if there was some romance blossoming between the two of them.

But my thoughts were quickly interrupted by the fact that it was 7:00pm and Cloud hadn’t come home since he stormed out earlier this morning. Granted, I had told him to get out and never come back. But I didn’t really mean it.

I had plenty of time to think about the situation over the last few hours…and it was really starting to sound stupid to me.

Yes, he had lied to me over and over and expected me to believe him this time, but I was almost positive this was the end of it. There wasn’t anything else he could hide from me. I even started to understand why he had lied. He loved me too much to hurt me with the truth. He was right, he wasn’t himself back then and probably loved the attention that both Aeris and I were giving him. He didn’t know what he was doing and just couldn’t foresee the consequences of his actions. I needed to cut him some slack.

Did it really matter anymore anyway? The past was over and done with. I had always argued with him about forgetting the past and moving on. Well, I needed to do the same. I needed to let it go and forgive him.

Whenever he decided to come home, I vowed to wholeheartedly apologize to him and tell him it didn’t matter what he did back then. The here and now was more important.

So I waited for him…

…and waited…

…and waited…

Cloud and I had fought plenty of times in the past, and whenever I told him to never come back, he never took me seriously and came home, usually an hour or two later after both of us had cooled off. Hopefully he’d know I didn’t mean it this time, just like all the other times.

I decided to call his new cellphone. When the beep followed his recorded voice, I cleared my throat. “Cloud, I’m…I’m so sorry.” I broke down and started to cry. “I don’t know what came over me. I promise I’ll never bring up the subject again. Please come home.” I was about to end the call and remembered to add something else. “I love you.” Then I hung up and wiped at my eyes..

My mind soon started conjuring up all sorts of things that could have prevented him from coming home. Fenrir skidded off the road and he was lying in a ditch somewhere…he got into an accident and was lying in a ditch somewhere…he got into a fight with some of the creatures that occasionally lurked in the city and was lying in a ditch somewhere…he got mugged by some hoodlums and was lying in a ditch somewhere…

…or he was just so furious with me that he decided to stay away for awhile…

An hour later I tried his cellphone again and got his voicemail. I hung up and bit my lower lip.

Something happened to him…I had a bad feeling.

It was time to go out and look for him. I slipped on my running shoes and headed out. I combed the neighborhood, running up and down the side streets. I went to all the places Cloud liked to hang out. The gas station where he sometimes did some mechanical work for extra gil; the video arcade where he and Denzel often spent hours playing games; the junkyard where Cloud and Cid picked up spare parts for various conveyance projects they had in the works; the gym where Cloud went to work out or swim in the Olympic pool.

There was no sign of him anywhere in Edge.

I took a cab to Midgar and searched Aeris’s church, hoping maybe he had gone there like he did the time he was trying to hide his Geostigma illness from me. Nothing. Not a single clue that he had been there, not even a gum wrapper.

As I sat just outside the church, I grabbed my own new cellphone and called everyone, hoping that maybe he had gone to their place or had seen Cloud. I tried to be casual about it so they wouldn’t suspect anything was wrong. No sense in worrying everyone just yet. Vincent, Cid, Red and Cait Sith...none of them had seen Cloud since the day after we came home. I didn’t call Yuffie because I knew Cloud wouldn’t seek her out if she were the last woman on the planet.

I even went so as far as to call Chocobo Bill, thinking that maybe Cloud had gone to the Chocobo Farm for awhile. Again, nothing.

At around 11:30, I headed back home, hoping he had returned while I had been out looking for him.

“Cloud!” I searched every room in the apartment.

He hadn’t returned.

I spent the next two days in a state of total depression. I couldn’t do anything and even kept the bar closed because I just didn’t have the energy or will to talk civilly to any of my customers. Cloud was gone and it was making me crazy.

I kept calling his cellphone and leaving him messages until I eventually got a recording that the number I was calling was out of service. That meant one of two things. Either the battery had died or Cloud shut the phone off.

On the third night, I was sitting on the floor in the den, thinking about calling Barret or Cid. Something happened to Cloud. Someone kidnapped him or hurt him and he couldn’t get to a phone to call for help. Maybe Shinra had him. After all, the man practically told me he thought Cloud could communicate with Aeris.

If it was Shinra then I couldn’t handle things on my own.

I picked up my cellphone and started to dial Barret, knowing that Marlene and Denzel would be upset that their little vacation was being cut short. But my fingers immediately stopped punching numbers when something on the television caught my attention.

“…apparently early this morning some joggers spotted a panther roaming the seaside park near Midgar. That panther is currently trapped in a tree and the Wildlife Protection Administration has been called in to capture it. Let’s go live to Seascape Park with Kathy Neville.”

I dropped my cellphone and crawled to within a foot of the television screen. The reporter was standing near a news van. In the background was a large tree.

“Reports of panther sightings came from several sources over the last couple days and the authorities finally decided to investigate. As you can see behind me, up in that tree…”

The camera zoomed in over the reporter’s shoulder. I shuddered at the sight of the large spotted feline trapped in the tree, its ears pinned back, teeth bared, spine-crawling roars filling the air.

“Cloud…” I touched the screen with my fingers.

“…They’ve already shot the animal with several tranquilizers, so it’ll only be a matter of time before they can capture it safely. So far no one’s been able to figure out where this animal came from.”

I quickly got up and bolted out of the house. Seascape Park wasn’t within running distance so I hailed a cab and promised the driver extra gil if he got me there in five minutes.

When the cab pulled up a few minutes later, the street was blocked with dozens of vehicles and hundreds of people.

“Wait for me here,” I instructed the driver as I jumped out of the cab. By the time I ran to where all the action was, four men in blue jumpsuits were carrying the tranquilized leopard to the back of a van.

I pushed my way forward through the crowd, but was blocked by several authorities standing on the other side of a barrier. I desperately wanted to call out to Cloud, to wake him up. The men threw him in a cage in the back of the van and closed the doors.

“I wonder where that panther came from,” said someone behind me.

I turned to head back the way I came and couldn’t stop my mouth from responding. “He’s not a panther, he’s a leopard.” I ran back to the cab and jumped in. As the van pulled out into the street, I pointed to it. “Follow that van and don’t lose it.”

The driver nodded.

We drove for almost a half hour and I had no idea where they planned to take Cloud. But wherever it was, I had no intention of losing sight of that van.

“Looks like they’re going to the Midgar Zoo,” said the driver a few minutes later.

The Midgar Zoo had been one of the land tracts that survived the Meteor storms a couple years ago and in the time after that, it had actually grown into one of the most popular places to spend the day with the family, outside of the Gold Saucer.

The van turned down a street reserved for Zoo staff only. I was pretty sure nobody would let me in through there and the Zoo was closed for the night. I had no choice but to tell the driver to turn around and go back to Edge.

On the drive back, all I could think about was Cloud waking up to find himself inside of a cage, in some zoo habitat. It made me sick to my stomach. He wasn’t going to be able to get out. I needed help. I wouldn’t be able to get him out alone.

FORGOTTEN CITY – the past

Bugenhagen suggested that on our way to the Forgotten City, we would need to search the sea floor around where the red submarine went down. I wanted to ask how he even knew we sank the red sub, but maybe Red had told him the story. And even if Bugenhagen knew, how did he know what we needed to search for?

By some miraculous circumstance, we discovered an underground cave. Cloud and Vincent donned wetsuits and searched the cave, returning soon afterward with an artifact resembling a staff with spikes all over it.

Bugenhagen inspected the artifact carefully. “We will take this to the Forgotten City. Perhaps it will be useful.”

Later on we abandoned the submarine to board the Highwind again and set a course for the Forgotten City.

Cloud and I walked with Bugenhagen, ahead of the others in the Ancient City. The Cosmo Canyon scholar looked around as if he was hearing things none of us could.

“Whatta you hear?” Cloud finally asked.

“The knowledge of the Ancients swirling around, telling me the planet’s in a crisis. A crisis beyond human power or endless time. They say when the time comes, we must search for Holy.”

“Holy?”

“The ultimate White Magic. Magic that might stand against Meteor. Perhaps our last hope to save the planet. If a soul seeking Holy reaches the planet, it will appear. Meteor, Weapon, everything will be destroyed. Perhaps even humanity.”

“That doesn’t sound very promising.”

Bugenhagen wagged a finger. “It is up to the planet to decide what is best for it. But all that is bad will disappear.”

Without waiting for the others to catch up, the three of us headed along the left path and around to a section with a courtyard surrounded by archways. At the center was a raised platform with a large white crystal.

“How do we search for Holy?” Cloud asked Bugenhagen.

“First we must retrieve the white materia and then we must speak to the planet. If our wish is granted, the white materia will begin to glow a pale green.” Bugenhagen studied the floor around the large crystal. “Look at this!”

Cloud an I looked at the strange markings etched around in a circle.

“It is the writing of the Ancients.”

“Can you read it?” asked Cloud.

“I’m not an Ancient, therefore I can’t read this writing! But look closely over here.”

I knelt on the floor near Bugenhagen and Cloud crowded behind me. “There’s a note written in chalk,” I said in surprise. “It says…key…and I think these two words over here are…music box…”

“It was probably written by someone who was breathing their last breath.”

Cloud turned as Vincent and Barret were making their way along the path. “Barret, bring the staff we found in the underground cave.”

Barret walked over and held the spiked staff out to Cloud.

“Bugenhagen, do you suppose this might be a key?”

“Ho, ho! Of course,” Bugenhagen said excitedly. He took the staff from Cloud. “And I know the exact location of the elusive music box.” He moved toward a stone altar that had a slot in the center. Bugenhagen carefully slid the staff into the slot.

At first nothing happened. Then a loud rumbling sound followed. The ground shook as a tall pillar slowly descended, collapsing onto itself. The sound of rushing water quickly followed and it soon poured down from a ledge, forming a perfect circle around the platform with the white crystal.

Cloud and I followed Bugenhagen through the curtain of water. In the center of the circle of water, the white crystal was glowing brightly.

“Look!” Bugenhagen pointed. “Look at the image projected on the water!”

A scene unfolded on the wall of water. It revealed Aeris praying on the platform in the underground chamber, just before Sephiroth killed her. Her head jerked back from the impact of his sword. Then something fell out of the ribbon in her hair. It was the white materia.

“It’s glowing pale green!” Cloud observed. “Aeris was praying for Holy before Sephiroth got her. She came here on her own because she knew what had to be done. She was the only one that could do it.”

“But if Aeris already summoned Holy, then why hasn’t it stopped Meteor?” I questioned.

“Something’s getting in its way,” Bugenhagen concluded.

Cloud clenched his fist. “It’s him. Sephiroth. It has to be.” His phone suddenly rang and he quickly answered it, listening to the person on the other end. “Yeah, I remember the Junon cannon.” He listened again. “Moved it? Where? Why?” He grimaced. “We’re on our way.” He put his phone away and stepped through the water curtain.

I jogged after him. “What’s going on?”

“Come on, everyone. We have to get back to the airship.” He turned to me. “That was Cait Sith. He said Shinra moved the cannon. It operates on Huge Materia and since Shinra used it in the rocket, the only other place that has a large source of Mako is…”

“Shinra headquarters…” I finished.

We made it back to the Highwind and were soon airborne.

Several minutes later Cait Sith began emitting a strange squelching sound, causing everyone to cover their ears.

“What the fuck is that noise?” shouted Cid.

The sound finally stopped and everyone stared at Cait Sith.

“Sorry about that, everyone. The controls went crazy and it’s not good news. Another weapon came out of the sea and is heading straight for Midgar.”

“Hey!” yelled Barret. “What’s gonna happen to Marlene!?”

“Marlene’s in a safe place. She’s with Elmyra.”

“But that’s still in Midgar. We have to do something!”

Cloud turned to Cid. “Let’s go! We’ll beat Weapon ourselves!”

OUTSIDE MIDGAR – the past

Cid landed the Highwind on the outskirts of Midgar.

Up ahead was one of the Weapons. This one was white with thick limbs and broad shoulders. As we approached it, the Weapon turned and tried to stomp on us with one of its enormous feet. Yuffie and I struck it with Fire while Cloud used his Ultima materia and hit it with his Meteorain specialty.

Nothing seemed to faze the behemoth creature as it turned and continued on toward Midgar.

We boarded the Highwind again and circled around the monster.

ABOARD THE HIGHWIND – the past

“Cid, ram the ship into Weapon!” shouted Barret.

Cloud was watching something out of the window. “No, wait! Look!”

We all rushed to the windows and stared in disbelief as the reactors around Midgar spewed Mako like volcanoes. Power surged into the pipes attached to the Shinra building. And then a blue ray shot out of the large cannon that had been brought from Junon.

At the same time, Weapon released a number of blasts.

“They’re headed for Midgar!” I pointed.

Barret slammed his fist into the glass. “Marlene!”

The blue ray from the cannon reached Weapon and blasted right through its torso. As Weapon fell to the ground, the blue ray continued on.

Cloud frowned. “Wait a minute! They’re after Sephiroth! The crater on the Northern boundary!”

“It’ll hit the barrier one of those other weapons put up!” said Cid.

I stared in dismay as Weapon’s blasts struck various structures in Midgar, including the top floor of the Shinra building. It blew up, raising a fireball fifty feet into the air.

Total silence fell over everyone. We all knew what this meant. If Rufus Shinra had been in the office on the top floor, then he never could have survived that blast.

I turned to see Cloud’s reaction.

But Cloud seemed unfazed as he hurried over to Cid at the wheel. “We have to get to the Northern Cave and see what happened there.”

Cid’s teeth tightened around his cigarette and he spun the wheel, sending the airship in a sickening turn toward the opposite direction.

Cait Sith’s moogle hopped to the center. “Hold it, everyone. Listen to this conversation.” The mechanical cat let loose another loud squeal. “Scarlet! Heidegger! What’s going on?”

Other voices came out of the moogle’s mouth.

“This is strange. I can’t reach the President!”

“I’m not talking about the President,” replied Cait Sith. “What happened to the Sister Ray?”

“Why’re you speaking so strangely, Reeve?” The woman’s voice belonged to Scarlet. My cheeks still stung from the time we had that slapping contest.

So that was the name of the Shinra employee controlling Cait Sith. His name was Reeve.

“The reactor’s output is increasing all by itself!” shouted Reeve.

“Wait a minute. That’s not wise! It must cool for three hours or it won’t work. Reeve, shut off the machine!”

“We can’t do that! It’s inoperable!”

We all stood stunned as we listened to the conversation coming out of Cait Sith’s moogle.

“Someone has switched the machine over to mainframe operation! We can’t operate it from here!” This voice belonged to someone else.

“What about the mainframe? Call the mainframe!”

“Huh? Why are you giving orders?” Heidegger asked angrily.

“Who gives a damn about that?!”

“Ha, ha, ha...Just you wait, Sephiroth. I’ll give you all the Mako you want.”

Cloud’s eyes widened as both of us recognized this new voice.

“Hojo, stop!” shouted Reeve. “You’re endangering Midgar!”

Hojo continued to laugh. “It’s a small price to pay.”

“Hojo! No!”

Barret shook the moogle beneath Cait Sith. “Do somethin’, ya stupid cat!”

Cait Sith shook his head. “We’re sunk. Hojo’s doing this on his own.”

“Can’t you stop the Mako reactors?” Cloud recommended in a rush.

“No. We can’t stop them.”

Barret shook the moogle again. “You’re from Shinra, ain’t ya? So why’s it impossible!?”

“We came a long way to get here,” Cid said as he flung his spent cigarette to the floor. “You better not double cross us now!”

“I can’t make you trust me...”

“You damn fool! Don’t you understand anything I’m saying? I don’t give a damn about Shinra. If you’re a man...no, if you’re a human being, you’ll save the planet! Don’t you even care?”

Cait Sith backed himself into a corner. “If we shut down the reactors, all hell will break loose!”

“Why? Can’t you just shut off the valves?”

“Yeah, it’s easy to shut off the reactor’s pipe valves...But the reactor made a path for the energy to escape from below. Once you open that, it’ll be impossible to close it until everything blasts out...and we can’t stop the energy from gushing out once those pipes are open.”

“There’ll be an explosion!” Barret growled.

“The blast will be much stronger than the first reactor explosion!” said Reeve through Cait Sith. “You have to come to Midgar! That’s the first thing!”

Cloud shook his head angrily. “No, we have to stop Hojo...first.”

“Midgar is under martial law! No one’s allowed in or out!”

Cloud rushed over to a compartment on the wall and flung it open. He started pulling packs out and tossing them to everyone. “Fine…we’ll just parachute down.”

I had never used a parachute before and my fingers shook as I tried to latch the hooks in all the right places. When I looked up, Cloud was watching me.

He walked over and helped me connect the parachute straps. Then he spun me around to face him. “We’re gonna do this, right?”

I nodded nervously.

“Just stay close to me.”

We all filed out to the outer section of the ship.

Cid, Barret and Vincent jumped first. Cait Sith, Red and Yuffie were remaining onboard the airship.

Cloud took my hand and together we jumped over the side.

The air whipped roughly against my face as I stared down at the lighted city below. Midgar looked so beautiful from up here. But my main concern now was whether or not I’d survive the landing.

 

Chapter 25​

MIDGAR – the present

In the morning, I called Yuffie at the temporary apartment she rented whenever she came to Edge. “I need you to go somewhere with me.”

“Where are we going?” she asked groggily.

“To the zoo.”

“The zoo? What for?”

“I need to see the animals.”

She groaned. “Tifa, you’re acting so weird lately. How can you think about looking at animals after what happened between you and Cloud the other day.”

I cleared my throat. “Oh, don’t worry about that. Everything’s fine now,” I fibbed.

An hour later, after I rented a car from a local place and picked up Yuffie, we were on our way to the Midgar Zoo.

Yuffie complained during the entire ride, saying that she could have thought of thirty-five other things she’d rather be doing than seeing a bunch of animals at the zoo. “Where the hell is Cloud anyway?”

“He’s…uhm…he’s on some deliveries.” I couldn’t exactly tell her that he was at the zoo at this moment and that was who we were going to see.

We arrived at the zoo, parked the car and paid to get in. I had no interest in seeing any other animals, even though Yuffie kept stopping to admire them.

“I thought you didn’t feel like seeing any animals, Yuffie,” I said as I tried to drag her along by the arm.

“Well, I thought that’s the reason we came here? What’s the rush all of a sudden?”

“There’s only one animal I’m interested in seeing.”

“What animal?”

“They captured it at the Seascape Park last night.”

“You mean that panther? I saw it on the news this morning.”

I sighed. Why was everyone calling Cloud a panther. “No, not a panther. He’s a leopard.”

“Oh, well, excuse me. The leopard. Shesh, what’s with you lately?”

When we reached the Predator section, I rushed Yuffie through the exhibits before she decided to stop anywhere.

“There it is,” said Yuffie, pointing to a jaguar.

“No, that’s not him.” I took her by the arm and dragged her further down along the exhibits. Lions, tigers, clouded leopards, snow leopards, cougars. Then I stopped in my tracks. Leopards...

Several people were standing in front of the leopard exhibit. Young kids pointed to the animals on the other side of the iron bars. I saw three animals. Two were lying underneath an overhanging rock. Another was pacing agitatedly back and forth in front of the bars. It was Cloud. I recognized him, having memorized every spot on his coat.

The big feline turned his head to sniff the air and then whirled around with a loud roar, making several people jump back several feet away from the bars. He suddenly saw me and bolted in my direction.

I released Yuffie and blindly hopped over the steel barrier separating the spectators from the iron bars of the animal habitats.

“Tifa, what the hell!” Yuffie yelled in surprise.

I ignored her warnings and the gasps from the people around as I moved to the bars. As I crouched, Cloud reached his paws between the bars and placed them on my shoulders. His weight forced me to sit on the ground. I leaned closer and he began licking my face. “Oh God, Cloud…” I reached between the bars to hug him and to run my fingers through his thick fur. “I’m so sorry…”

“Tifa!” Yuffie screeched. “Get away from there!”

“Please forgive me,” I whispered to Cloud.

Cloud rumbled deep in his throat and affectionately rubbed his face against mine. He seemed accepting of my apology and seemed apologetic himself.

A glance over my shoulder at the people watching in shock behind me eluded that I didn’t have much time before someone decided to call security. I reluctantly pulled away from Cloud, my eyes quickly filling with tears. As I backed away from the bars, Cloud reached his paw through, trying to touch me again. He roared in disappointment.

When I hopped back over the barrier, Yuffie yanked me away. “Are you crazy? That thing could have ripped your face off!”

I stared back toward the bars, seeing Cloud pacing desperately, roaring loudly. “I have to get him out of there.”

Yuffie sat me down at a nearby bench. “Did that rainforest fry your brain or what?”

Tears poured out of my eyes as I watched Cloud pacing along the bars, roaring in frustration, calling out to me. “Oh God, what am I gonna do? How am I gonna get him out of there?”

“Teef, what’re you talking about, getting him out? You’re thinking of turning that thing loose?”

I turned to Yuffie, the tears burning my eyes. “I promised Cloud I wouldn’t tell anyone. But I have to tell you, Yuffie. I really need your help.”

She gave me a worried look. “What’s the matter? Are you pregnant?”

I wiped at my eyes, briefly glancing in the direction of the roaring leopard. “No, it’s nothing like that.”

“What is it then?”

“Before I tell you, you have to promise not to breathe a word of this to anyone. Promise me.”

“Okay, I promise. I won’t breathe a word to anyone.”

“And you have to keep an open mind.”

“My mind is wide open.”

I took a deep breath before looking her in the eyes. “Something happened to Cloud while we were held captive in that native village. Hojo did something…horrible…to him.”

Yuffie frowned. “Like what?”

I wondered how she would react when I told her the truth. “He made Cloud drink some kind of potion that had some weird chemicals in it. It changed him. It turned him into an animal.”

“Whatta you mean it turned him into an animal? Like he went nuts like an animal?”

“No. He literally…changed…into an animal...into a leopard.”

Yuffie stared at me as my words registered in her youthful mind. “Are you trying to tell me that animal over there is Spike?”

“Yes.”

“No way!”

“Yuffie, look at me. Why in the hell would I make up such a story?”

She stared into my tear-filled eyes. “To drive me completely insane, that’s why.”

I stared back at her.

“Okay, so how many times have you seen him change into…a leopard?” she asked, miserably failing in her attempt at indifference.

“A lot.”

“So obviously he can change back?”

“Yes.”

“Well, why doesn’t he change back now?”

Now I knew I lost her again. She didn’t believe me. “If he changes back, don’t you think the staff here at the zoo would find it odd that the leopard they captured yesterday is gone, replaced by a naked, blonde human being?”

She shrugged. “I suppose that would be odd.”

“If anyone found out…they’d lock him up in some asylum and throw away the key. Or worse, they’d run all kinds of experiments on him. You know just as well as I do how much Cloud hates doctors and scientists and…”

“Okay, I get the picture.”

“So you believe me, don’t you?”

She raised her hands. “Let’s just suppose this is true. What do we do?”

I pointed to the leopard exhibit. “You have to help me get him out of there.”

“And how the hell do you think we’re going to do that?”

“I don’t know.”

“We can’t do this alone. We need more help.”

“No, I can’t bring anybody else into this. Cloud was adamant. He doesn’t want anyone to know. It’s bad enough I had to tell you. I can’t tell anybody else.”

“Okay, well, we don’t have to tell anybody who he is. For all they know, we’re busting a pet leopard out of the zoo.”

“Who can we get?” I asked her.

“I dunno. We’ll have to think about that one.”

I got up and Yuffie followed closely behind me. As I approached the barrier again, Cloud stopped pacing and moved to where I stood. He reached first one paw through the bars and then the other. His claws dug into the dirt, dragging at it. Luckily the people that had been standing there earlier were now gone.

“Cloud…”

He immediately stopped clawing at the dirt and looked up at me with an anguish roar.

“Shhh, listen to me. I’m gonna get you out of here. I promise. Just try and keep it quiet. It’s important that you don’t draw any attention to yourself. Okay?”

Cloud reached his paw out again and I leaned over the barrier to touch it. When I turned to Yuffie, she was looking into the leopard’s eyes.

“I don’t believe it,” she said with a stunned expression on her face. “That’s really him, isn’t it?”

I turned back to Cloud. “We’ll be back later, Cloud. Don’t forget. Keep it down, okay?”

Cloud gave a short roar of acknowledgement and I dragged the mesmerized Yuffie away.

Yuffie and I ate lunch at a diner in town as we plotted out the rescue.

“What about Vincent?” asked Yuffie.

“No. He’s too smart. He’ll figure it out before we even open our mouths to deny it.”

“Yeah, you’re probably right about that.”

“Besides, we need somebody who can pick locks.”

“What about Cid?”

I rolled my eyes. “Oh God, not Cid.”

“Why not Cid? He has a ship. We can parachute down just like old times.”

“Cid would be the last person Cloud would want me to involve in this.”

“We don’t have very many choices, Tifa.”

“You’re right. But like I said, he can’t know the truth.”

“So what do we tell him?”

“We’ll just have to make something up.” I pushed my plate aside in frustration. “Yuffie, we have to do this fast. After what happened to Cloud on that island, being in a cage again…I’m afraid he might really lose it this time.”

She nodded and pulled her cellphone out of a pocket. After punching a number she put the phone to her ear. “Hello, Cid, guess who…” She quickly moved the phone away from her ear before replacing it. “No need to shout!”

I closed my eyes and sank my fingers in my hair. This was going to be a lot harder than I could ever imagine.

After returning home, an hour later Cid arrived, marching into the bar like he owned the place. “Tifa! Where the heck are ya?!”

I quickly bolted out of the kitchen, with Yuffie at my heels. We sat Cid down and told him the story we had fabricated.

When we were done, Cid frowned and scratched the back of his head. “For as long as I’ve known that kid, I always thought he was a strange one. But this? I don’t ever recall hearing he had any kind of fascination for big cats.”

I tried to act as if I knew what I was talking about. “Oh, believe me. He loves them, especially leopards.”

Cid got up and started pacing in front of the table. He stopped and gave me a funny look. “Where the fuck does he keep it? Not here obviously.”

I turned to Yuffie and we both looked at each other with our mouths open, unsure of how to respond.

Yuffie spoke first. “At the Chocobo Farm!” she shouted a little too loudly and enthusiastically.

Cid looked skeptical. “The Chocobo Farm? I’m no genius, but I’m smart enough to know that leopards and chocobos aren’t very chummy with each other.” He rubbed his chin thoughtfully. “So how did the thing end up in the Midgar zoo?”

This time I jumped in. “I got a call from Chocobo Bill and…and he said some big game hunters caught it and put it in the zoo.” I was proud of myself for coming up with that one so quickly.

Yuffie agreed. “Yeah, famous big game hunters,” she needlessly added.

Cid continued to look skeptical. “And why the fuck isn’t Cloud handling this shit himself?”

“Uhm…” I thought quickly again. “He’s…he’s making some urgent deliveries in…uh…in Mideel. After all that’s happened to him, I…I didn’t want to upset him with the news that his favorite pet was captured and put in a zoo. So, he doesn’t know.” I mustered up the most sympathetic, damsel in distress look. “Please…Cid, I really need your help.”

He put his hands on his hips and shook his head as he started pacing again. “If we get caught freeing a wild animal, we could get thrown in jail, you know.”

“I know. But we have to do this. It’s extremely, extremely important. Please…” I begged again, willing to get on my hands and knees if I had to.

“What’s the big deal if the leopard’s in a zoo? Cloud could go and visit it any time he wants. It’ll probably be taken care of a lot better than that idiot Chocobo farmer can manage.”

“No. He can’t stay there. You have to trust me on this one, Cid.”

Cid stopped pacing again and looked up at the ceiling as he released a long sigh. “That damned kid is gonna owe me big time for this one.” He walked to the bar and grabbed a pad of white paper and a pen.

Yuffie and I got up and stood on either side of him as he started writing things down.

“Okay, this is what we’re gonna need.”

I raised my eyebrows at something on the list. “A nondescript van with no plates?”

“Yes. If we have to make a fast getaway, we don’t want anything that’ll be easily described and identified.”

“But what about your ship, Cid? Won’t it be a lot easier and faster?”

Cid shrugged rather sheepishly. “I kinda blew the engine the other day. It needs an overhaul and I really need Spike to help me.”

I nodded. “Well, I’m sure Cloud will be glad to help you once we get him…I mean, the leopard out of the zoo.”

“Okay.” He handed a list of things to Yuffie and another list to me. “We meet back here at 8:00 tonight.”

I took care of getting the van. One of my customers owned a bakery and he had a plain white van with no markings on it that was used for deliveries. Luckily he didn’t ask me why I needed it. Back at the bar, I unscrewed the license plates off the front and back.

Yuffie returned at 7:30. She found the items she had been in charge of: three black jumpsuits and three black ski masks.

Cid arrived a little while later. He threw a tool box into the back of the van. He also had a large case about five feet long.

“What’s in there?” I curiously asked.

He opened the case and pulled out a shotgun from inside.

“No, Cid, no way.”

“Look, Tifa, I don’t know that animal. If it tries to attack one of us, I’m fuckin’ shooting it.”

“It won’t attack. It’s as gentle as a kitten, I swear.”

“Yeah, right.”

“You won’t need it, Cid. I know that animal just as much as I know Cloud.” It was the truth.

“All right, but I’m leaving it in the van.”

“Fine.”

We put on the black jumpsuits and ski masks. The three of us looked like we were about to infiltrate some secret base.

Cid got behind the wheel of the van and we were soon off to break a leopard out of the Midgar Zoo.

As I sat in the front passenger seat, I stared out the window, thinking about the cold pen poor Cloud was being forced to live in. Sharing it with two other leopards, complete strangers to him. Recalling how he desperately called out after seeing me this morning sent shivers up and down my spine and tears quickly filled my eyes. He was suffering in that enclosed habitat and wanted to get out so badly.

“Hey…what’s up with you?” asked Cid beside me.

I turned to him. “Huh?”

“What’s with the tears all of a sudden?”

I wiped at my eyes and shrugged. “I just miss Cloud.” I didn’t really know what else to say.

MIDGAR – the past

As soon as my feet touched the ground, I rolled and jumped up, quickly unstrapping the latches belonging to the parachute. Cloud landed beside me and also removed his parachute. He had timed our landing perfectly. We were near the back entrance of the Shinra building. Cid, Barret and Vincent soon joined us.

Remembering what Cait Sith said about Heidegger expecting us, we decided going underground through the railway tunnels was the safest route.

Until we ran into the Turks…

“You people are like old, tarnished gil you just can’t get rid of,” said Reno with sarcasm.

Elena held up her fists. “Our orders are to seek you out and kill.”

Reno casually leaned against the wall and folded his arms. “You wanna go by, no problem. Go ahead.”

Elena dropped her fists and glared at him. “What’re you doing?! We’re Turks! We can’t let them go!”

Rude shrugged. “Shinra’s finished. We don’t have to follow orders anymore.”

As we slowly made our way passed them, Cloud kept his buster sword held up and Barret was still ready with his gun arm. But surprisingly the Turks made no move to stop us. However, that didn’t mean they wouldn’t alert Heidegger or anyone else for that matter.

We quickly made our way through a number of tunnels before reaching the end of the railroad tracks. It was a dead end so we had no choice but to climb up to the outside again. A small courtyard spread out before us. And standing several yards away was a giant red robot with four arms. Somehow they had known we’d end up here. It was no surprise…the Turks practically led us in this direction.

Barret pointed needlessly. “What in the bloody hell is that!?”

The robot took several steps closer and a panel opened up on its face. Sitting side by side in plush seats were Heidegger and Scarlet.

Heidegger laughed. “And here we are together again. Let’s see how you do against anti-Weapon artillery!”

“You guys are worthless,” Scarlet shouted. “My creation is a sure thing! I’ll show you the destructive power of the Proud Clod!”

We readied ourselves for battle. Proud Clod had a nasty blast of flame he shot out of his knees and Yuffie was constantly casting a healing spell to keep us alive. We hit it with everything we had.

In the end it was Cloud’s summoning of the Knights of the Round that did in the giant robot. Proud Clod exploded, taking Heidegger and Scarlet with it. That was the end of them at last.

Cloud didn’t waste any time celebrating their demise. He headed into the building. We all followed him.

We entered an enormous engine room and ran across several catwalks until we ended up on a platform with a large control panel. Sitting in front of it was none other than Professor Hojo.

“Hojo! Stop right there!” yelled Cloud.

“Oh…it’s the failure,” he said, not even turning around to acknowledge us.

“The least you could do is remember my name! It’s Cloud!”

“Every time I see you, I...It just pains me that I had so little scientific sense...I evaluated you as a failed project. But you…ha, ha, ha…You are the only one that succeeded as a Sephiroth-clone.” He shook his head. “I’m even beginning to hate myself for creating you.”

“None of that matters...just stop this nonsense!”

Hojo finally spun around in his seat and faced us. “Nonsense?” He laughed. “Sephiroth is counting on a lot of energy. So I’m going to give it to him.”

“Why’re you doing this!? Why’re you helping him!?”

“Quit asking me why, you moron.” He turned his back to us again and continued pushing buttons on the control panel. “Energy level is at 83. It’s taking too damned long. My son is in need of power and help.” He raised a finger upward. “That’s the only reason I’m doing it.”

Cloud’s jaw dropped alittle. “Your son?”

Hojo laughed maniacally. “He doesn’t know yet. I can’t imagine what he’ll think when he finds out I’m his father?” He continued to laugh. “Always looking down on me like that. Trying to get me fired from Shinra!”

“Sephiroth is your son?”

“I offered the woman with my child to Professor Gast’s Jenova Project. While Sephiroth was still in the womb, we took the cells of Jenova and…” He started laughing again, unable to finish what he was going to say.

“I can’t believe you’re the one behind all of this. The illusionary crime against Sephiroth...”

Hojo stopped laughing and faced Cloud. “No! You’re wrong! It’s my desire as a scientist! I... I’ve been defeated in the past…but no more. I’ve injected Jenova’s cells into my own body! Here are my results!” He tossed two balls on either side of him, conjuring up two creatures I had never seen before.

It was time for another fight.

While I handled one of the creatures with Lightning and Fire, Vincent caste Comet and four of them came down on the second creature. Cloud wanted Hojo to himself and we let him handle the demented scientist. Unfortunately Hojo had an invisible barrier that Cloud couldn’t seem to penetrate with either sword or materia.

Strangely enough, as soon as the two lab experiments were killed, Hojo suddenly morphed into a seven foot giant thing. It was so hideous I couldn’t even describe it.

Cloud slashed at it first before the rest of us hit it with weapons and materia spells. This deformed Hojo was no match for all of us. He had underestimated our abilities and was about to lose another battle.

In the end, the creature disappeared, replaced by Hojo’s battered and bloodied body.

Cloud rushed over to the control panel and started slamming his sword down on it, sending pieces and sparks flying into the air.

As if someone had turned off a switch, the entire engine room slowly powered down until there was complete silence.

Barret heaved a sigh of relief. “Well, that’s the end of the cannon. It won’t overheat and destroy Midgar.”

I walked over to Cloud as he stared at the demolished control panel. When I touched his shoulder he jumped and then relaxed. “Let’s go, Cloud. We have to find Sephiroth.”

He nodded and we all left the way we came.

In hindsight, one of us should have checked to make sure Hojo was dead. And we’d later regret that minor detail.

 

Chapter 26​

MIDGAR – the present

Cid parked the van along the side of a deserted road at the back of the park. We got out and Cid grabbed some things from his toolbox in the back.

Up a steep hill was a tall chain link fence. We struggled up the hill and crouched near the fence.

“I guess this is as good a place as any,” Cid said as he pulled wire cutters out of his pocket.

Yuffie and I waited patiently as he cut the chain link fence until there was a large enough hole for each of us to crawl through.

The property at the back of the zoo was covered with trees so close together that we had to squeeze our way through most of the time. It was dark and even with Cid’s flashlight, the single beam was hardly enough to light the way.

When we finally came across a dirt path between the elephant and giraffe exhibits, we ran down along the path until we reached asphalt. This was one of the main paths used by visitors. After waiting a few minutes to make sure the coast was clear, we ran along the path, sticking to the shadows.

The sound of someone whistling a tune made the three of us quickly hop over some bushes and hit the dirt behind them. Beneath the bushes I could make out a pair of feet casually walking by. It was one of the security guards. He was whistling an ancient tune.

Yuffie made a disgusted snort.

Cid reached out and slapped a hand over her mouth to keep her quiet.

When the security guard disappeared around a corner, the three of us came out from behind the bushes and continued on.

“Which way to the predators?” asked Cid in a whisper.

Yuffie shrugged and so he turned to me.

“I don’t know. Last time we were here, we came in through the front gate. I’m all twisted around”

Cid sighed in frustration and looked around. “Where’s the goddamned park map?”

Just then I heard a distinctive roar. “Shhh, shhh. Listen.”

The roar came again and Cid looked at me strangely. “What’re we listening for?”

The roaring continued. It was Cloud. Somehow he already knew I was here. “That’s him!”

“Are you sure?” Yuffie asked, not sounding convinced at all.

“I’m positive. Let’s go.” I headed in the direction of the roars, Cid and Yuffie following close behind me.

“I can’t believe I’m fuckin’ doin’ this shit,” Cid complained.

When I saw the sign leading to the Predators, I ran faster and finally reached the Leopard exhibit.

Cloud came bounding over to the bars and as I hopped over the barrier, he grunted and happily licked my face.

“I know…I know. We’re gonna get you out of here. Just sit tight.” When I turned around, Cid was staring at me strangely again. “What? I told you I know him.” I motioned him to come closer. “Come on, Cid. Do your stuff. Get him out.”

Cid let out a deep sigh and glanced around, studying the iron bars. “I can’t cut through these bars without a torch. Isn’t there a gate or something somewhere?”

Yuffie hopped over the barrier, carrying the flashlight. “Let’s go, people. We don’t have time to form a committee.”

I glanced at Cloud, who was trying to get my attention with his paw. He paced a couple of times and then turned toward the back of the habitat. “Hey, it must be on the other side.”

The three of us hopped back over the barrier and passed several other Predator exhibits before rounding a corner. There was a building attached to the back of the habitats. The door was locked, of course.

Cid pulled out another tool from his pocket and while I held the flashlight, he worked on picking the lock. Yuffie kept her eyes peeled for the security guard. When the door unlocked, the three of us silently snuck in and closed the door behind us.

Inside the building were iron barred cages, as wide across as the exhibits were on the outside, except these cages were just plain concrete and had no environmental features.

“I don’t think this is gonna work from in here,” Cid said as he looked around. “Which one’s the fuckin’ leopard cage?"

Just then Cloud came into one of the cages through a dark tunnel on the back wall.

I grabbed Cid’s arm. “Over there!”

Cid rushed over to the gate and grabbed his tools. I stood beside him with the flashlight while Yuffie stood at the door ready to warn us if anybody approached. As Cid worked on the lock, Cloud came over and reached a paw through the bars.

Cid jumped back and dropped his tools.

“Cid, he’s not gonna hurt you,” I tried to assure.

“Yeah, bullshit! That thing just tried to take my arm off!”

I reached through the bars and ruffled the fur on Cloud’s head. “See? He’s just a big kitten. Honest.”

Cloud responded with an angry hiss, obviously not liking that I was referring to him as a kitten.

I turned to address Cloud and whispered through the side of my mouth.. “Keep your paws in the cage. You’re freaking him out.”

Cloud backed away and kept his distance, pacing along the back wall.

After a moment, Cid picked up his tools and went back to work on the lock, every once in awhile looking up to make sure the big cat wasn’t coming after him again.

“Come on, Cid, come on,” I urged.

“Shut up! I’m going as fast as I can! This fucker’s a little tricky.” Just then we heard a clicking sound. “Got it!”

I yanked the door open and Cloud immediately jumped out, scaring Cid again. Yuffie nearly let out a scream when the leopard came bounding toward her. But Cloud immediately stopped, probably realizing he was scaring her.

I ran up ahead and pushed the door open. “Come on, let’s go!”

Cloud ran out first and the rest of us followed. He started to run in the direction of the front gate.

“No!” I yelled out to him. “This way!”

Cloud skidded to a stop and turned to follow. Cid and Yuffie ran ahead and I ran with Cloud, keeping my hand on his neck. We made our way along the asphalt, searching for the path we came in from.

“Hey you! Stop!”

We all froze and turned to the source of the voice. A security guard was running toward us, waving his flashlight.

“Go!” yelled Cid. “Go, go, go!”

We all turned and ran.

“Stop!” yelled the guard.

We kept going. I could hear him talking on his radio, calling for reinforcements.

“This is it!” yelled Yuffie as she located the dirt path between the elephant and giraffe exhibits.

Cloud didn’t wait. He ran down the path and I ran after him.

“We’re never gonna find the opening in the fence,” Yuffie whined.

We heard the guard coming up fast behind us just as we went into the trees. Cid turned on the flashlight. Unfortunately it was like a beacon for the guard, but we couldn’t see ahead of us without it. We made it down to the fence and started running along it, searching for the hole we cut out earlier. Cloud was running well ahead of us. And then I spotted the white van on the street below. Cloud found the hole and after crawling through, he scrambled down the hill.

Just then we heard a shot. A jeep was approaching, one guard driving and the other aiming a shotgun.

“No!” I screamed.

Cloud didn’t wait for us. He bolted down the street. If the sides weren’t so steep, he could have ran into the forest on the either side, but the jeep was catching up to him. Cid, Yuffie and I quickly headed down the hill and jumped into the van.

“Where’re the keys?! Where’re the keys?!” yelled Cid. Then he remembered and pulled them out of his pocket.

I prayed outloud. “Oh God, please, don’t let them shoot him…please.”

Cid turned to me. “Take the wheel!”

I jumped into the driver’s seat and floored the accelerator. The van shot forward. I turned to see Cid moving to the back of the van. “What’re you doing?”

“Just get ahead of that jeep!” he shouted back to me.

That would be easy. I wasn’t about to let those idiot guards shoot Cloud. The jeep was up ahead and further ahead of it was Cloud, running full out. I passed the jeep, causing it to swerve and that’s when Cid popped open the back door.

“Keep it steady!” he shouted.

I glanced into the rearview mirror and saw him aim the shotgun he had brought along. Seconds passed and then he fired. A quick glance in the side mirror and I saw the jeep swerve from side to side and then it ran off the road. Cid had shot the front tire.

“Good shot, Cid,” Yuffie praised.

Cid came back up front and we quickly switched. As he took the wheel I rushed in back just as the van passed Cloud.

“Cloud…come on!” I yelled.

Cid slowed down long enough for the leopard to jump into the back of the van. Yuffie quickly closed the door and went to sit in front with Cid as he accelerated on.

Cloud was panting heavily and he plopped down wearily beside me.

I wrapped my arms around his neck and kissed his furry face. “You can change back, Cloud. It’s safe now.”

He rolled over on his back, exposing his belly to me.

I scratched him there briefly just to make him happy. “Okay, now quit goofing around. I brought clothes for you back here.”

Cloud reached his paw up and playfully placed it on my face, his claws retracted. He gave a short roar.

“What’s the matter?” I asked.

He got up and paced inside the back of the van.

Yuffie came back to sit with me. “What’s going on?”

“I don’t know. He’s not changing back.”

She suddenly snorted in skepticism. “Figures.”

“You still don’t believe that’s Cloud, do you?”

“Well, it is a little hard to believe.”

“Cloud, come over here.”

The leopard slowly strolled over.

“Ask him something,” I challenged Yuffie.

“Okay.” Yuffie looked at the leopard. “How many letters are there in the name of my hometown?”

Cloud scratched his paw on the rug five times. Five letters in Wutai. Then he looked up into Yuffie’s eyes with a soft roar.

Yuffie’s mouth was wide open and she shook her head. “All right, I’m convinced.”

I rubbed Cloud’s neck. “Cloud, what’s wrong? Why aren’t you changing back?”

He roared at length, which was extremely loud in the small confines of the van.

“Oh my God, something’s wrong. He can’t change back.” I looked at him. “What should we do? Tell me.” I knew he wasn’t going to suddenly start talking.

He roared agitatedly.

“What’s going on back there?” Cid hollered from the front. “Make that damned thing shut up!”

Then it hit me. Jamal’s words, something about the possibility of Cloud not being able to change back if he didn’t heed the calling of the rainforest. “We need to go back,” I mumbled.

Yuffie turned to me. “Huh?”

“We have to go back!”

“Back where? Back to the zoo? No way, I’m not going back.”

“No. Back to the rainforest.”

“What rainforest?”

“Where Cloud and I were stranded.”

Her jaw dropped. “Are you nuts? Why would you wanna go back there after what happened to him?”

“We have to find Hojo.”

Cloud roared, almost as if to acknowledge what I was saying.

“He turned Cloud into this. He can turn him back.” I turned to Cloud. “Whatta you think, Cloud? Should we go back?” When Cloud came up and licked my face, I knew it was the right decision.

Yuffie cringed. “Oh man, Cid is gonna fuckin’ freak.”

JUNON – the present

Two days later, Cid and I walked up to a man standing at the bottom of a gangplank, looking at something on a clipboard. The freighter behind him was named The Crimson Belle.

“Mr Draven?” asked Cid.

“That’s me,” replied the tall man with the salt and pepper hair, a small smile on his face.

Cid was wearing dark sunglasses to disguise himself. From what, I didn’t know. “We talked on the phone. You mentioned a hundred thousand gil. No questions asked.”

“That’s right. Twenty-five thousand now and the rest when we reach the coast of the Icicle Area.”

Cid went into his pocket and pulled out a manila envelope. He handed it to Draven.

Draven opened the envelope and ran his thumb over the stack of bills inside. “Okay. Get on board. We shove off in fifteen minutes.”

I walked toward the gangplank and let out a whistle. Cloud bounded out from behind some crates, followed by Yuffie. I watched the expression on Draven’s face as the big cat ran passed him and headed up the gangplank.

Cid smiled at him. “No questions asked.” Before walking away, he turned back to Draven. “By the way, I hope you have fresh meat on board. I’m sure you wouldn’t want to suddenly discover a missing crew member or two.” He laughed as he followed Yuffie and I up the gangplank.

We went below to the main hold and picked the furthest corner, surrounded by crates and away from prying eyes. Unfortunately the trip on the freighter from Junon to the northern continent would take three days because of the stops the freighter was making along the way. We had no other alternatives with Cid’s airship being out of commission and the air space over the rainforest being restricted.

During the trip, we kept Cloud well-fed on raw meat supplied by the ship’s cook. Cid paid hefty amounts of money for the food, but it was necessary. I also kept Cloud busy in the hold, making him run around, jumping up and down the crates, keeping his mind off the long boring hours that passed. The last thing I needed was for him to be so bored that he’d decide to take a stroll topside and scare the living daylights out of the crew.

On the last day of the trip, Cloud and I just finished chasing each other through the maze of crates and I plopped myself down on the sleeping bag I’d been using as a bed. Cloud plopped down in front of me, panting heavily. I ran my fingers through his fur, rubbing along his entire back. When I looked up, Cid was watching me from where he was leaning against the wall.

He lit a cigarette and glared at me. "You convinced me to break that leopard out of the zoo and convinced me that we have to bring him to the rainforest, which just so happens to be the same rainforest you and Cloud go lost in. Somehing's not right, Tifa. There's something you're not telling me."

"Like what?"

"I don't know, like why you keep calling that animal Cloud."

Uh oh. "Am I?" I thought I was being as careful as possible. I couldn't come up with reasonable explanation without making Cloud sound so conceited that he'd name his pet after himself.

"Stop answering my questions with questions, Teef. I wanna know what the fuck's going on. I wanna know why this leopard means so much to you. I wanna know why we're taking it to the rainforest. And on top of all that, I wanna know what the fuck happened to you and Cloud besides running into our old friend Hojo."

Cloud turned his head in Cid’s direction and roared agitatedly.

Cid pointed a finger at him. “You keep out of this.”

I took a deep breath and proceeded to tell Cid everything and Cid listened quietly, not saying a word, but I was sure he wasn’t buying any of it.

At the end, he raised his eyebrows and sighed heavily. “Okay, well, that explains a lot.”

Cloud gave a disgruntled roar and crawled behind me on the sleeping bag.

I reclined next to him, using his stomach for a pillow. “I know it’s hard to believe, Cid, but I wouldn’t be fabricating such an elaborate paranormal story if it wasn’t true. I can’t explain how it happened. I just know that it did and Hojo has to undo it.” I reached back to scratch Cloud’s chin and he licked my hand and arm affectionately.

A few minutes later Yuffie returned from her fact finding mission. “Okay. I talked to a couple of the guys in the crew. They gave me the name of a guy who owns a boat that makes routine trips along the river between the northern continent and the rainforest. They didn’t know how far in the guy goes, but they know for a fact that he’d make an extra trip for some decent gil.”

“Perfect. Things are starting to look up for ya, right, kid?” He reached over to pet Cloud.

Cloud roared and snapped in his direction, causing Cid to quickly pull his hand back.

“Sure, that’s gratitude for ya. I spring you out of that hellhole of a zoo and you try to take a couple of my fingers?” He angrily folded his arms over his chest and looked away with a frown.

I turned to Cloud. “That wasn’t very nice, Cloud.”

Yuffie smacked my arm and jabbed her eyes toward Cid. “Tifa, stop calling him Cloud.”

“It’s okay, Cid knows. I told him.”

After a moment of silence, Cloud moved away from me and crawled over to Cid. Before Cid could cower away, Cloud tried to nuzzle his face and gave him an accidental head-butt. Then he licked his face.

Cid pushed Cloud’s head away. “Yeah, yeah. Alright, I love ya, too, man.” He shook his head as Cloud moved back to lie beside me again. “This is some fuckin’ weird freak show. But hey, we’ve seen worse, right?”

I smiled at him. “Let’s get some sleep. We’ve got a long day tomorrow.” I rolled over on my side to face Cloud’s head and buried my fingers into his fur. His steady breathing and steady heartbeat lulled me to sleep.

ABOARD THE HIGHWIND – the past

The bridge of the Highwind was unusually quiet with everyone lost in their own thoughts about what to do next.

Cloud was staring out of the window, at the progressively growing ball hurtling toward the planet at what appeared to be slow motion. He stepped away and started walking toward me. “How long do we have, Red?”

“Seven more days. That’s what Grandfather said.”

He turned to Red. “You wanna see everyone in Cosmo Canyon again?”

“Yes.”

Cloud turned to Barret. “You want to see Marlene, right?”

Barret gave a disgruntled snort. “Don’t ask me that.”

“I don’t mean to be the voice of doom here. But even if we beat Sephiroth, if we don’t release the power of Holy in seven days, then there won’t be a planet left to protect. If we can’t beat Sephiroth, we’re as good as dead anyway. We’ll just be going a few days sooner than the rest of the world who’ll die from Meteor.”

Barret whirled on him. “You’re already thinkin’ we’re gonna lose before we even fight!”

“No! It’s not what I meant…” Cloud scratched the back of his head in frustration. “What I’m trying to say is, what are we all fighting for? I want us all to dig deep. Yeah, we wanna save the planet for the future of the planet. But is that it? For me, this is a personal feud. I want to beat Sephiroth and settle my past. I have nothing else to fight for. But all of you have someone...something. Whatever it is that’s important to you. That’s what we’re fighting for. That’s why we keep up this battle for the planet.”

Barret shrugged. “You’re right...It sounds cool sayin’ it’s to save the planet. But I was the one who blew up that Mako Reactor...Lookin’ back on it now, I can see that wasn’t the right way to do things. A lot of my friends and innocent bystanders suffered. At first, it was revenge against Shinra. For attackin’ my town. But now...Yeah, I’m fightin’ for Marlene. For Marlene’s future. I guess I want to save the planet for Marlene’s sake.”

Cloud walked over to him. “Then I think you should go and see her.” He turned to face the others. “That goes for the rest of you. Get off the ship and find out your own reasons. Then when you come back, we’ll finish what we started with Sephiroth.”

Cid shook his head. “Maybe none of us’ll be coming back. Meteor’s gonna kill us anyway.”

“I won’t hold it against you if you don’t come back.”

Everyone filed out of the cockpit, leaving Cloud and I alone with Cid at the controls.

Cloud turned to me “What are you going to do, Tifa?”

“I don’t have anywhere to go. I’m alone, I guess.” I started to walk away and nearly jumped when Cloud came up and took my hand.

“You’re not alone. I’m here.”

Later on, Cid dropped Cloud and I at the northern crater before he left in the Highwind with the others.

Cloud and I sat together on a sleeping bag on top of a hill overlooking the crater.

“They’re all going home,” I said quietly.

“Yeah, we don’t have anywhere or anyone to go home to.”

I scooted closer to him and he wrapped an arm around my shoulder as I leaned against him. “They’ll come back, don’t you think?”

“Everyone has something that’s irreplaceable. They’re holding on to it.”

I wrapped my arms around his torso and snuggled closer. “It’s all right if no one comes back. As long as I’m with you...As long as you’re by my side...I won’t give up even if I’m scared.”

“Tifa...”

“No matter how close we are...it still seems as though we’re far apart. When we were in the Lifestream surrounded by all those screams of anguish, I thought I heard your voice.” Tears burned my eyes and I wasn’t sure why I wanted to cry. Maybe because this could be the end. “I heard you calling my name…or at least I thought I did.”

Cloud reached down and tilted my face up. “I heard you, Tifa. You were trying to call me back from Lifestream. After all, I did make a promise. I promised I’d come to your rescue if anything ever happened to you.”

I smiled at him as he wiped the tears from my cheeks.

“But I think it’s been the other way around. You’ve been saving me.” His glowing eyes remained locked on me. “There’s so many things I wanted to talk to you about. But now that we’re alone like this, I don’t know what I really wanted to say.” He frowned in frustration. “I guess nothing’s changed.”

“Words aren’t the only thing that tell people what you’re thinking...” I said.

Cloud dragged me down on the sleeping bag. “I couldn’t have said it better myself.” He kissed me slowly.

Even though the night air near the crater was chilled, we kept each other warm inside the sleeping bag.

Sometime later, Cloud stirred beside me. “It’s almost dawn...”

“Hmm?” I mumbled against the side of his neck.

“Sorry for waking you. But it’s almost dawn.”

“Not yet, Cloud. Just a little while longer. We may never have another moment...”

Cloud kissed me. “Yeah, could be the last time we’re together.”

I didn’t want to think about it. I hugged him tightly and fell back asleep.

When morning came, I didn’t want to move. Lying in the sleeping bag with Cloud was so warm and comfortable.

“We better get up,” Cloud said in a groggy voice.

“Do we have to?”

“Time to save the world.”

Before I could sit up, Cloud rolled over on top of me inside of the sleeping bag. “How about one more time?” He didn’t give me a chance to protest. Not that I would have anyway.

Right in the middle of reaching completion, I rolled my head back and cried out in pleasure. And that’s when I realized the Highwind was floating directly above us. I let out a yelp. “Cloud!”

Cloud ignored me and kept right on going until he finished with a groan of satisfaction.

I pushed him off and tried to fix my clothes while I was still inside the sleeping bag.

A minute later Cloud noticed the Highwind. “Cid’s back.”

“I noticed, thank you very much.”

After we gathered our things, we proceeded to climb the ladder and boarded the Highwind.

“Cid!” Cloud called out.

We headed up to the bridge, expecting to just find Cid. But Barret, Red XIII, Vincent and Cait Sith were all gathered.

“You’re all here!” I exclaimed.

Cid grinned, a cigarette clenched in his teeth. “Yup, been here for awhile now.”

My cheeks instantly reddened as I recalled what Cloud and I had been doing only a few minutes ago. For awhile? How long? “Were you watching?”

Cid casually leaned on the ship wheel. “Us? Nope…didn’t know what was goin’ on down there.”

Barret wasn’t looking at me, which revealed a lot. When he was embarrassed he couldn’t look me in the eye. “So, looks like everyone’s here.”

“Yuffie’s missing,” Red pointed out.

“She ain’t gonna show up. At least this time she ain’t stealin’ our materia. Guess we gotta be thankful for that.

“How could you say that!?” The young ninja suddenly hopped down from a beam on the ceiling. “I came all the way here after being seasick as a dog! I didn’t go through all that just to have you guys take the best parts all to yourselves!”

“Welcome back, Yuffie,” Cloud said.

Yuffie gave him a strange look. “Gee, Cloud...that’s so nice of you to say that. You sick or something?”

Cloud shrugged. “Thanks for coming back, everyone.”

“We didn’t come back for your spiky headed ass!” Barret protested. “We came back for our own reasons.”

Cid took a drag from his cigarette. “Anyone here wanna bail? Now’s your chance.”

No one responded.

Cloud looked at everyone before his eyes landed on me. “Okay. Let’s go!”

 

Chapter 27​

ABOARD THE CRIMSON BELLE – the present

In the middle of the night, I woke with a start, finding myself alone on the sleeping bag. I sat up and looked around for Cloud. He was nowhere in sight. Cid was snoring loudly near the wall and Yuffie was asleep a few feet away.

It wasn’t unusual for Cloud to wander away to take care of certain bodily functions, afterall he couldn’t be rude in front of us and go wherever he felt like it.

I laid down again and tried to fall back asleep. But as the time stretched on, I realized Cloud wasn’t returning. I slowly got up and wrapped the sleeping bag around myself. I prayed that Cloud hadn’t decided to wander out of the ship’s hold. After picking up Cid’s flashlight, I walked around through the maze of crates.

The sound of heavy breathing made me freeze in my tracks. Then another sound reached my ears, the sound of crackling bones. Both sounds were familiar to me. I rushed in the direction of the sounds and came around several crates. The beam from the flashlight fell upon Cloud, right in the process of transforming back into a human.

“Cloud…” I rushed over and dropped to my knees as his eyes turned in my direction. I threw my arms around his shivering body, hugging him tightly and wrapping the sleeping bag around both of us.

He hugged me back. “I don’t…I don’t know what happened…to me. I couldn’t change back.” His voice was really hoarse and he coughed to clear his throat.

“I know. It’s okay.” I wrapped the sleeping bag tighter around us and kissed every inch of his face. “I’m so sorry for starting that stupid fight the other day.”

“I’m sorry, too.”

“I’ll never bring up the subject again. Will you ever forgive me?”

“Tifa, you were right. If I had just been honest from the beginning, it would have been behind us by now. I’ll never lie to you again.” He drew away and looked down. “I don’t blame you if you don’t believe me. I messed up and I’ll need to work hard to gain your trust again.” He looked up and gazed into my eyes with determination. “But I’ll do it. I swear.”

I shook my head. “It doesn’t matter anymore. I don’t care. I love you. Nothing else matters.”

We hugged again.

Cloud held my head against his shoulder briefly before tilting my face upward to capture my lips in a fierce kiss. “I’m so glad you got me out of that zoo.”

“I knew you didn’t like there.”

“I overheard the zookeepers. They wanted me to breed with the two females in there with me.”

I pulled back and stared at him. “And?”

“And what? I wouldn’t let them get within ten feet of me. They kept their distance.”

I felt guilty for nearly jumping to the conclusion that Cloud would have done…Oh, what in the world was I even thinking such a bizarre thing? I was just glad her turned back, which reminded me. “How come you were able to change back now?”

He shook his head. “The only thing I can think of is that we must be getting closer to the rainforest.”

That particular fact only confirmed what Jamal had said. If Cloud stayed away from the rainforest too long then he would slowly begin to lose his ability to change back to human.

Leaving the sleeping bag wrapped around him, I stood up. “Come on. I’ve got some clothes for you to wear.”

“Not yet.” Cloud took my hand and pulled me down, maneuvering me to straddle his lap. He kissed me again and fumbled between us, trying to undo my shorts. “I want you, Tifa…right now.”

I didn’t protest. Cloud always got his way when it came to that.

A little while later, with the sleeping bag wrapped below his waist, he followed me around the crates, heading in the direction of our small camp in the hold.

The smell of tobacco made me sigh. It meant Cid was awake. When Cloud and I rounded the corner, sure enough, the pilot was sitting up against the crates, eying the two of us almost suspiciously.

Yuffie was still sound asleep, curled up against the wall.

I grabbed the black trousers I had stuffed in my backpack and handed them to Cloud.

Feeling no bashfulness in front of Cid, Cloud dropped the sleeping bag and slid his legs into the trousers. After zipping up, he took the white teeshirt I handed him next and slipped that on over his head. Then he sat down with his back against the wall and his arms resting on his bent knees. He was looking at Cid, waiting for him to say something.

Cid took a long drag from his cigarette. “Why the hell’dya try to rip off my arm back at the zoo?”

“I wasn’t trying to hurt you,” Cloud replied defensively. “I was just trying to help you with the lock.”

“What about a few hours ago? I was gonna touch you and you snapped at me.”

Cloud shrugged innocently. “You know I don’t like to be touched, Cid. Makes me squeamish.”

“Yeah? How come she can touch you?” he said, motioning his head in my direction.

As I stuffed some things back into my backpack, I looked from each of their faces as they bantered back and forth.

“She’s different. I don’t sleep with you.”

“Well…let’s just keep it that way.”

I sat down beside Cloud, scooting as close to him as I could.

“So now what?” asked Cid, snuffing out his cigarette on the metal floor.

“I don’t wanna live like this, Cid. I want this shit out of me.”

“Mind if I ask why you didn’t see it fit to tell the rest of us what really happened?”

“I didn’t think it was necessary. Now you and Yuffie know and that’s bad enough.”

Cid rolled his eyes in frustration. “What makes you think we’d judge you in some negative way because of what happened?”

“I should never have let it happen.”

“What the fuck makes you so goddamned scared to let any of us see what you think makes you weak? Wake up, Spike. None of us are invincible, not even you. We’re involved in each other’s personal affairs because we all care about one another.” He angrily grabbed for his pack of smokes. “That’s the way it needs to be.”

“I don’t want anyone else to know,” Cloud insisted, raising his voice.

Cid held up his hands. “Fine. My lips are sealed.” He lit another cigarette. “We’ll do what we gotta do and get you fixed up.”

Yuffie stirred and stretched. When she opened her eyes, they quickly widened. “Cloud!” She launched herself out of her sleeping bag and accidentally tackled him in her rush to give him a hug. “I’m sorry, Cloud. I didn’t mean to start a fight between you and Tifa. I…I thought…”

“Yuffie, it’s okay. It’s over with. Just shut up about it.”

She nodded and scooted away, sitting beside Cid against the crate. “We’re still going after Hojo, aren’t we?”

No one said anything. None of us had a plan. We would be making it up as we went.

THE RIVER BEWEEN THE NORTHERN CONTINENT AND THE RAINFOREST – the present

Captain Paul Kohler was deeply tanned, with a face full of deep pits. But he had a genuinely friendly smile, with a half dozen gold teeth. While Cid negotiated the terms with Kohler, I watched Cloud visually inspect the boat at the dock. The plan was to get the man to agree to go deep into the river and the guys had rehearsed some lines before we left the freighter.

Cloud shook his head. “This boat is a piece of junk, Cid. Let’s go find somebody else.”

Kohler frowned. “Now hold on a minute there, son. This boat has made more trips along the river than there are days between leap years.”

“Oh yeah?” Cloud challenged. “I bet she can’t take us in deep.”

“How deep are you looking to go?”

Cloud stepped up beside Cid. “Deep enough to find us some endangered wildlife.”

“That’s about 500 hundred miles in.” Kohler cocked an eye at Cloud. “Maybe you don’t know it, but the wildlife on the south side of the river is protected. You lookin’ to do some hunting?”

“No hunting, just looking.” Cloud turned to the boat again. “I don’t think that bucket of bolts can take us 500 hundred miles in.”

“Depends on how much it’s worth to you folks. The outside of my boat could use some refurbishing.”

Cid grinned, a cigarette clenched between his teeth. “How much would it take to refurbish this shit hauler?”

Kohler rubbed his stubbly chin. “Sixty thousand gil.”

“How long will it take to go 500 hundred miles in?” asked Cloud.

“About seven or eight hours.”

Cloud exchanged a glance with Cid before turning back to the captain. “Fine. You got yourself a refurbish, pal.”

“Then hop on board.”

Yuffie and I joined Cloud and Cid and we walked across the ramp in single file to board the boat.

Earlier we had gone shopping for some necessities at a couple of the local shops across the street.

Cloud took one of the bags from me and as we sat at the back of the boat, he started pulling things out. When he came across a pair of pink shorts, he tossed them at Cid. “Those are probably for you.”

“Fuck you, man.” Cid threw the shorts back at him.

Yuffie grabbed them from Cloud. “These are mine, dipshits.”

Kohler pulled the ramp on board and a young kid on the dock untied the boat and threw the ropes in.

“Hey, Cap, got any beer?” Cid asked Kohler as the man came by.

“I don’t want you youngsters thinking this is some kind of party boat.” He walked away.

Cid turned back to us with a shake of his head. “Shit, I asked him for a beer. Not like I asked him for a fucking shot of heroine. And who the hell’s he calling a youngster anyway?!”

Cloud sighed and got up. “I can tell this is gonna be a real fun trip.”

I immediately got up and followed him. He stopped to stand at the side of the boat as it was slowly leaving the dock.

Once the boat was far enough away, Kohler opened up the engine and we shot forward with surprising speed. In a matter of seconds we had reached the mouth of the river that separated the northern continent from the rainforest.

Cloud’s eyes followed the thick line of trees on the south side as we started heading west along the river. He took a deep breath and slowly released it.

“You’re feeling better, aren’t you?” I asked.

“Yeah, I am. And that’s pretty unsettling.”

“The last time we were here, we were knocked out when the cannibals captured us. And when we escaped, we wandered the rainforest for weeks. How’re we ever going to find that damned village?”

“I can find it,” he replied with confidence. “I can smell the bastards a hundred miles away.”

Like clockwork, the sky suddenly opened up and poured rain down on us. Luckily the boat had a top. But that wasn’t much protection when the wind was blowing so hard and the rain was coming down sideways.

While Kohler remained at the wheel near the front of the boat, the rest of us huddled in the center near some crates full of boat supplies to get out of the rain.

The sound of the rain was lulling and soon Yuffie was sound asleep near Cid.

Cloud put an arm around me with a sigh.

I couldn’t help myself. I reached up to turn his face toward me and kissed him. As he reciprocated, I scooted to sit sideways on his lap and slipped my arms around his neck. Just a simple kiss turned into something hungrier and more passionate. We were oblivious to anyone else.

“Oah, for Shiva’s sake, will you two get a fuckin’ room?” Cid whined.

Cloud pulled away from me and turned to Cid. “Don’t you have anything better to do, like jerk off at the front of the boat or something?”

I covered my mouth to stop myself from laughing at Cloud’s rude comment.

Cid shook his head, pretending to be insulted. “Nice, real nice. See how he talks to me?”

The time on the boat passed slowly. There was nothing to see along the river, just trees, trees and more trees. Some wildlife appeared every once in awhile. I had seen enough of it during my last visit.

We kept ourselves entertained with jokes and poker games with Captain Kohler. He told some very outlandish sailor stories. I had a mind to tell him our AVALANCHE adventures, but I knew Cloud didn’t want that kind of recognition, so I kept quiet.

About five hours into the trip, Cloud got up in the middle of a card game and went to stand at the side of the boat, facing the south bank of the river.

“Hey,” griped Cid. “Where the hell’re you goin’?”

“Maybe he needs to take a leak,” Yuffie presumed.

I got up and went to stand beside Cloud. “What’s wrong?”

He stared out into the trees. “Jamal is out there. He’s watching us.”

“How do you know?”

Cloud pointed to his nose in response.

Of course. His sense of smell had been heightened ever since his transformation. “Do you think he knows it’s us?”

“Fairly certain of it.”

We were quickly losing daylight and as I peered out at the rainforest, all I could see was black. A chill shot up my spine at the memory of the pitch blackness Cloud and I had been forced to sleep in during the nights in the rainforest…always fearful that something or someone was lurking in the darkness and waiting for us to make a wrong move.

Just then it started pouring again.

“What the fuck is with this rain?” Cid suddenly barked. “Every fuckin’ hour, it rains!”

NORTH CRATER – the past

We all slid down into the crater and followed a path that led deeper down into the bowels of the chasm. The path hugged the round gorge and at times there were gaps we had to jump across to keep going. It was a lengthy process because we spent hours and hours defeating creatures that seemed to know our destination. Was Sephiroth summoning them to stop us from reaching him?

The crater was like an endless labyrinth of caves….and the days ticked on as we found chambers with treacherous passes. At one point we nearly lost Cait Sith’s moogle when he stepped wrong and fell. Luckily there had been another ledge below to stop him from plummeting into the dark abyss.

The further we went, the deeper into the core of the planet we found ourselves.

Time was running out. Meteor would crash into the planet in three more days. It was taking too long.

On the four day of our infiltration of the Northern Cave, we came across a chamber that branched off in four other directions. So we decided to split up into four groups: Cloud and I; Cid and Red XIII; Barret and Cait Sith; Vincent and Yuffie.

Cloud looked at his watch as we all synchronized our own. “We’ll meet back here in exactly one hour. Hopefully one of these tunnels leads somewhere. Don’t any of you die on me!”

Our group split up and went in different directions.

Cloud and I took the last tunnel and came to a chamber occupied by the largest tree I had ever seen. Its branches were wide enough for us to walk carefully across. Along the way we found some materia neither of us had ever used before. When Cloud tried it, it turned out to be a shield of some kind.

He handed it to me. “Here, you take it. I don’t have anymore slots in my wrist guards or weapon. I can’t equip anything else.”

I took the Shield materia and followed Cloud as he continued on. Through an archway we entered a circular chamber with a small pool of Lifestream in the center. Thick shrubs grew along the walls all the way around. Cloud and I walked around and found more materia.

He tried it, but nothing happened. “Maybe it has to be used with something else.” Since we weren’t sure what the materia’s purpose was, Cloud put it in his pocket.

In another chamber we had to climb a number of high ledges to get to the opening at the top. Cloud had become quite a jumper throughout our journey. He leapt from one ledge to another and then stretched to help me up, if I needed assistance.

Our search took us to a vast cavern where we had to carefully negotiate down a narrow path around a stone pillar. At the bottom we discovered several treasures, including some healing elixirs. I stored all of them in my pack.

Cloud looked at his watch and sighed as he looked at the path ahead leading to yet another chamber.

“Should we start heading back?” I asked.

“Let’s just go through there real quick.”

I followed Cloud into the next chamber. This one contained what looked like the skeletal remains of some giant creature. Cloud and I followed the spine down to a lower area. It was another circular chamber where the Lifestream bubbled in a pool in the middle. Besides the doorway we had come through, there were two others.

Cloud looked down into the pool. “This must be the center of the planet.”

I touched his arm. “We should go back before the others think something happened to us.”

He nodded and just as he turned, we could hear voices approaching. Seconds later, the rest of the gang entered the chamber through one of the other doorways.

“Looks like every path leads here,” Cid concluded.

“There’s only one doorway left for us to go through,” I pointed out.

Cloud adjusted his wrist guards. “All right, everyone, let’s mosey.”

Cid guffawed. “Dammit, kid! Stop sayin’ wimpy shit like that! Can’t you say ‘Move out!’ or somethin’?”

Cloud bashfully scratched the back of his head and took a breath. “Okay, move out!”

Just then the floor above us started to shake and small pieces of stone rained down on us.

“What’s that?” shouted Barret over the loud sound.

Cid tossed away his cigarette and twirled his harpoon. “Looks like we’re about to have company! Motherfuckers are comin’ out in full force!”

“Cloud!” Barret pointed to the opening we hadn’t gone through yet. “You go on ahead!”

“No, I’m staying to fight here, too.”

“Shuddup! It won’t do us no good wit’ everyone back here!”

Cid nodded in agreement. “Barret’s right. Take two of us with you and go first. The rest of us’ll catch up with ya later.”

Cloud pointed to me and Yuffie and then looked at the others. “All of you! Later!”

Yuffie and I followed Cloud through the doorway. Minutes later we could hear the fighting we had left behind. Blasts from Barret’s gun arm and Vincent’s pistols echoed loudly around us. The strong smell of sulfur filled the air and I knew it was from both Fire and Lightning materia. Regardless of what he heard behind us, we continued forward.

The passageway ahead opened up in a vast cavern surrounded by the Lifestream. It was like we were in the center of an enormous waterfall of florescent green, surrounding a scattering of rocks that seemed to be floating all around.

The three of us took turns leaping from one rock to the other.

Along the way, huge creatures would materialize out of nowhere and we were forced to battle them in order to keep going. None of them were much of a challenge. We had gained so much fighting experience that the efforts of the enemy were hardly enough to do us any damage. Plus, Cloud discovered the purpose of the mystery materia. It allowed the user to cast two spells at the same time. That definitely came in handy.

When we finally reached an island in the center covered with different shaped tiles, we looked around for another passageway somewhere.

“Where are we...?” Cloud asked. “There’s gotta be something else. This can’t be it.”

Yuffie gasped and pointed, her eyes wide. “Look there! Something’s coming!”

A giant flesh-colored ball came at us. Then I realized what it was before Cloud even spoke.

“It’s…it’s some…some form of Jenova!” he stammered.

A torso stuck out of the ball and had two large appendages that lashed out, trying to knock us off our feet.

The three of us ran to surround the creature and took turns hitting it. Yuffie and I used Comet and Flare. In the meantime, Cloud using his athletic abilities to jump and slash at it with his sword, causing enough damage to distract it.

The creature didn’t seem to be putting up much of a fight. It seemed rather odd to me. Could we be lucky enough to hope anything else we encountered would end up being just as weak?

We finished it off when I delivered two simultaneous Flares.

Before we could celebrate our victory, the tiles below our feet gave. The small island collapsed and we fell into the blazing green of the Lifestream.

My vision blurred for awhile and the next thing I knew I was lying on a red rock. I bolted upright and looked around. Everyone else was there, too. Each of us were on individual rocks surrounding a larger rock formation with a glowing light inside of it.

“Is everyone all right?” Cloud shouted. “Tifa!”

I stood up. “Yeah, I’m fine.” I glanced around at the others who seemed to be fine. “I guess we all ended up together anyway.”

There just wasn’t a moment to rest. The rock formation at the center began to rumble and glow brighter. Just then all of us involuntarily floated into the air, hold immobile by an invisible grip.

I wasn’t at all surprised when Sephiroth suddenly appeared in the center of the glowing rock.

“Sephiroth!” Cloud shouted.

Sephiroth waved a hand and sent us floating backward, just to prove that he had full control over our movements.

“My body...I can’t control my body!” yelled Cid.

The madman waved his hand again. All of us lunged forward in a near collision with each other before plummeting backward again.

I felt as if my skin was about to peel away from my face and arms. The pain was excruciating. “Cloud!” I called out and tried desperately to turn toward him.

He was grimacing from the same pain we were all feeling. “It’s there...Holy...is there...It’s shining!”

Sephiroth let out a maniacal laugh as he continued to bounce us around at his will.

“Aeris’s memories...” Cloud growled out in pain. “Our memories...The planet will…show us the answer! And Sephiroth…I’ll be settling everything with you, too!”

A white light flashed. When it faded, I felt solid ground beneath my feet again. But I knew it wasn’t over as I caught a glimpse of the creature taking form in front of us. It was another version of Jenova. This creature had a protruding stomach and two oversized arms ending in wingtips. The familiar torso of Jenova was at the highest point and its tentacled appendages waved around in agitation.

I glanced around and noticed Cloud, Yuffie and I were the only ones in the immediate vicinity. Cid, Barret and the others were trapped on a far off rock, unable to reach us to help fight the Jenova spawn.

Yuffie and I started the battle by attacking it with a skill we learned from an enemy we defeated in our travels. Pandora’s Box was fatal to some creatures, but it only dealt half the damage to this hideous monster.

Jenova’s stomach seemed to have some sort of healing abilities and each time one of its body parts died, it would miraculously regenerate.

We continued to pummel it with Pandora’s Box spells and tossed in a few second level spells of Comet. In the meantime, Cloud hit it multiple times with Ultima. Each time he saw an opening, he jumped forward and repeatedly slashed the creature’s stomach with his buster sword.

Fifteen minutes into the battle, the Jenova creature began to tilt to the right. It was starting to lose energy. The three of us hit it again with the Comet spell, which seemed to weaken it even more. Cloud dealt the final blow, leaping into the air and slamming his sword down on its head.

The Jenova spawn shivered and sputtered.

Cloud landed on his feet and somersaulted out of the way just as the creature blew up into a million pieces. We all ducked to avoid the disgusting spray of tattered flesh.

“Is it over?” whispered Yuffie, breathing heavily beside me.

Unfortunately not, I thought, as everything faded to black. A pinpoint of white appeared and grew progressively larger in a swirl of clouds. With it came an almost cheerful brightness. But there was nothing pleasant about the next spawn of Jenova that appeared in the center of the churning clouds. It had Sephiroth’s upper body, with a large black wing instead of a right arm. But the rest of him belonged to something else. Where his legs should have been, there were six white wings, slowly flapping and keeping him afloat.

Cloud heaved a heavy sigh and raised his sword as we watched the creature caste a wall around itself for protection. Then it sent a shadow flare at us.

Even though I was knocked off my feet, I quickly learned the spell and sent it right back at him, shattering his wall, followed by a bombardment of comets. Cloud slashed at the wings and the Sephiroth mutation suddenly rose higher in the air, just out of his reach. Yuffie and I simultaneously sent more comets at him.

Just as we thought we were close to defeating him, the creature caste an unbelievable spell. Everything around us dissolved into the blackness of space, with millions of stars. We witnessed the birth of a comet soaring at great speed toward a galaxy. Along the way, it destroyed whatever planets laid in its path.

“Supernova,” Cloud mumbled under his breath.

I turned to him. “What?” When he didn’t reply, I turned back to the scene unfolding before us. The comet struck the sun with surprising force. At first it didn’t look like anything was going to happen. But the sun suddenly began to grow. It grew and grew, familiar planets and moons disintegrating when it reached them.

A deafening sound filled the vast cavern as the sun continued to grow, nearly filling every inch of space. The intensity of its growth was threatening to knock us off our feet. Over the excruciating sound, I could hear poor Yuffie screaming in agony. The ball of fire fragmented and the force finally managed to throw us several feet away.

I felt completely drained and lacked the strength to move. Beside me laid Yuffie. She was out cold. From the corner of my eye, I saw a movement.

It was Cloud. He struggled to his feet. Barely able to raise his sword, he summoned enough strength to use one of his special skills…Bladebeam.

I turned my head and watched him slam his sword into the ground with incredible force, splitting the rock floor into five cracks that shot forward, spitting out static energy. The static beams struck the Sephiroth mutation, rending it momentarily immobile. Cloud slashed at the wings, over and over until he collapsed on the ground, no strength left in him.

But the damage had been done. The Sephiroth creature floated higher and higher until it reached the swirling clouds from where it came from. Little by little, it began to dissolve into millions of white feathers, blown away into nothing.

Everything went black and as it faded, all of us found ourselves back in the cavern before we had split up.

I checked on Yuffie who was lying sprawled out on the ground. After gently shaking her shoulder, she wearily sat up.

Cloud looked exhausted as he shook his head sadly. “This is it. We’ve done all we can.”

“What about Holy?” asked Barret with determination. “What’s gonna happen to the Planet?”

“I…I don’t know. Isn’t it up to the Planet now?”

I turned to Cloud. “You’re right. There’s nothing more for us to do here.”

Cloud walked up to me and reached for my hand. Even though he was looking into my eyes, he addressed the others. “Let’s all go home proud.”

I glanced around as everyone picked themselves up and filed out of the cavern, leaving Cloud and I alone. When I turned back to Cloud, his eyes were closed and his brows were furrowed together. “What about us, Cloud? Where is home for us?”

A white light flashed and Cloud slowly backed away from me.

My stomach sank. Now what? “Cloud?”

Another white flash.

“I feel it...” he whispered.

“Feel what?

Another white flash.

“He’s still...here. Still...” He dropped to his knees and bent forward, covering his head. “He’s laughing at me!”

Just then a ghostly image of Cloud jumped out of his body and fell into the Lifestream, while he collapsed on the stone floor.

“Cloud!” I dropped down beside him and lifted his upper body onto my lap, shaking him by the shoulders. “Wake up, Cloud!”

I spent the next few minutes in a complete panic. He started shivering violently, his body going into convulsions. I literally had to throw my weight on top of him to keep him from bouncing off the side of the ledge into the Lifestream.

“Sephir…Sephiroth…” he croaked out in agony through chattering teeth.

I had no idea what was happening to him.

His arms flailed wildly around me, as if he was striking an invisible foe with his sword, which was lying on the ground ten feet away.

I fell backward trying to avoid his arms. “Cloud! Please…tell me what’s happening to you?”

And then just as suddenly as it started, his convulsions ceased. The grimace on his face slowly faded to be replaced with a look of complete calm.

I panicked again…thinking he had died. of a heart attack I scrambled toward him again and frantically felt the side of his throat for a pulse. Tears sprang from my eyes when I felt its steady beat. He was still alive. I threw my arms around him and silently cried, willing him to wake up.

Just then the ground started to shake. Everything happened so quickly. The floor broke apart.

I lost my grip on Cloud and found myself on a ledge while the rest of the ground began sinking. “Cloud!” I shouted. “Cloud, wake up!”

As if a strange force was commanding him, Cloud slowly stood up on his feet, his eyes still closed. His right hand lifted and reached up.

I lowered myself to my knees and bent over the ledge, stretching to reach his hand. “Cloud! Reach for my hand!” Why wasn’t he listening to me? Why wasn’t he opening his eyes?

And at that second, Cloud’s eyes drifted open. It took him a few seconds to realize what was happening all around him. He looked up at me and reached for my hand. The floor beneath him cracked between his feet. He hopped to his right and precariously balanced on what was left of the floor.

“Cloud!” Things quickly got worse when the ledge I was lying across suddenly shattered beneath me. I pitched forward and screamed as I fell. A second later, a pair of strong arms grabbed me around the waist.

When I opened my eyes, I was staring into Cloud’s. He was holding me around the waist with his left arm and holding onto whatever remained of the ledge with his right hand. I hugged him tightly, selfishly thinking that if I was going to die, then there was no one else I would rather be with.

“Don’t give up just yet, Tifa…” Cloud said, reading the morbid thoughts in my mind. He summoned all of his strength and pulled us upward.

As soon as I was able to, I reached up to the ledge and pulled myself over the side.

Cloud climbed up and collapsed beside me. “I defeated him, Tifa. Sephiroth…I did it.”

I hugged him. “I’m glad, Cloud.” I was glad because even if we were going to die now, at least he would die knowing he had done what he had originally set out to do. I couldn’t have been more proud of him.

“Wonder what happened to the others,” Cloud said

“Hey!”

We both turned toward the voice, seeing Barret waving to us from another ledge further up. With him were Cid, Vincent, Yuffie, Red XIII and Cait Sith. Everyone was alive.

“Whatta ya s’pose we do now, Spikey?”

Cloud didn’t have an answer. There was no way to climb back up the crater. The path we had used to come down days ago had fallen apart.

“Holy should be moving soon and that means this place will...” Red said before being cut off by an earth-shattering roar.

The ceiling was starting to collapse, huge chunks of rock falling down into the Lifestream pool below.

I gasped when I realized the Highwind was falling into the crater.

Cloud grabbed me and covered me with his body as close to the crater wall as possible.

When the dust settled, the airship was resting on its side, its descent blocked by the ledges all around the lower crater wall. It was broken and battered, one of the propeller blades bent beyond repair.

Below it, the Lifestream was bubbling agitatedly. It was beginning to rise rapidly.

“Whatever we’re gonna do, we better do it fast!” shouted Yuffie.

Cid waved his arms. “Everyone inside the ship!”

I didn’t think it was a very wise decision, but if we didn’t do something, we’d drown in the Lifestream when it reached us. Cloud and I hopped from ledge to ledge until we reached the airship at the same time as the others. Along the way Cloud picked up his buster sword which had miraculously survived all the falling debris.

Cid managed to open a hatch at the bottom of the Highwind and we all crawled through the opening. He slammed it shut just as the green luminescent Lifestream splashed over the ship.

ABOARD THE HIGHWIND – the past

Everything inside the Highwind was on its side because of the way the ship was resting. After some great difficulty, Cid managed to lead us to the bridge.

But I didn’t know what we could possibly do from there. The airship was no longer able to fly.

The ship suddenly began shaking violently and rolled completely over on its other side, sending all of us flying and slamming into the walls.

Another sudden lurch pushed the airship upward and we all fell again before we could regain our footing. Everyone tried to grab onto anything that didn’t move.

From my safe spot against some seats, I stared out of the window, feeling as if I had left my stomach at the bottom of the chasm. We had shot out of the crater like a cannon blast and were now freefalling helplessly toward the ground. From the corner of my eye, I saw Cid desperately reaching for something beneath a flashing Emergency sign. He made a final grab and pulled a handle.

The ship suddenly flipped back upright.

Cid jumped to his feet and rushed to the wheel. He was in control again. Before anyone could ask, he said, “Secondary engines…in case of emergency. Brilliant, ain’t it?!”

I scrambled to my feet, as did the others, and we ran to the windows. We watched a flash of green energy soaring through the sky and the ship was flying right beside it. “What is that?” I asked.

“It’s Holy,” replied Vincent. “And it’s headed for Midgar.”

It was hours before we were within sight of the eastern continent.

I stared ahead through the window, unable to believe what my eyes were seeing. Hovering in some sort of strange limbo was Meteor. Something was holding it up, preventing it from crashing into Midgar, which seemed to have been Meteor’s target.

The closer we got, the quicker I realized what was happening. Holy had halted Meteor’s descent. But Meteor wasn’t destroyed.

Cid kept the airship at a safe distance, circling around the perimeter of Midgar.

Even though Meteor’s descent had been stopped, its close proximity caused the formation of dozens of destructive twisters, demolishing everything in their path. Lightning struck the tall Shinra headquarters building. Pieces of it broke and fell onto the plates, forcing some of the plates to crash down on the slums below.

Barret pounded his fist on the window. “Midgar! It’ll be destroyed!”

Cait Sith shook his head. “I had everyone take refuge in the slums,” Reeve spoke through the mechanical cat. “But the way things are now...”

I clung to Cloud’s arm, more frightened than I’d ever been in my entire life. If Holy lost power, then Meteor would fall and cause an irreparable crack in the planet. No one would survive.

Just then from the corner of my eye, I saw a luminescent green flash. “What’s that?!”

More green flashes came out of the ground everywhere. I knew what it was, but couldn’t seem to comprehend why it was happening.

Cloud’s eyes went wide. “...Lifestream.”

We all stared in surprised wonder as thousands and thousands of glowing green strands erupted from the ground and began rising toward Meteor, completely engulfing it in a matter of minutes. The giant ball of green energy pulsed and rolled and then suddenly disintegrated into harmless fragments of light.

Meteor had vanished and so had the Lifestream.

“It’s gone!” shouted Yuffie. “The planet’s saved!”

My eyes watered as I stared at the space that only moments ago had contained Meteor. It really was gone.

Cloud collapsed beside me, falling to his knees. He looked down in exhaustion. “It’s finally over.”

I lowered myself beside him and wrapped my arms around his neck, holding him tightly. He was shaking and quietly sobbing. All of my emotions spilled from me at the same time. I didn’t know how to feel. All I knew was that the young man crying in my arms had suddenly become my entire life.

Without him, I didn’t exist…

Behind us, the others were cheering and shouting and laughing. I wanted to be celebrating with them, but I refused to leave Cloud’s side. It had been an extremely long road for him and I could sense he was not only physically drained, but mentally scarred. He discovered his true origin, remembered the cruel hardships in his life and even in a battered and broken state, he managed to defeat Sephiroth. The battle was finally over.

But his internal battle wouldn’t end here. I knew he would continue to struggle. I intended to be the one to keep him focused on the road ahead and not on the one behind…even if it killed me. I would make everything all right for him and see to it that he didn’t fall off the wrong side of the sharp edge he walked. I’d be there no matter what.

Funny how my silent vows would nearly go unheard in the not so distant future.

 

Chapter 28​

Somewhere in the Middle of Nowhere – the present

Cloud and I crouched side by side in the bushes, staring at what used to be the cannibal village.

Cid crawled over to us. “What the fuck’s this? I thought we were hunting cannibals?”

Within the perimeter of an eight-foot, chain-linked fence with barbed wire at the top, was a wood compound. Dozens of men in tan uniforms patrolled, each one armed with a heavy-duty, long-range weapon. I didn’t recognize the insignia on the side of the small building. But it definitely wasn’t Shinra.

A quick visual scan revealed no sign of the cannibal village, or the people that lived there.

Cloud gritted his teeth. “Looks like Hojo’s expecting company.”

Yuffie joined us a minute later. “Since when do cannibals carry rifles?”

Cid looked like he was going to flip out if he didn’t have a smoke. “Are you sure this is the right place?”

“This is the place, Cid.” Cloud’s brows narrowed. “Something’s not smelling right.”

Cid sniffed the air. “I don’t smell anything.”

“What do you smell?” I asked Cloud.

“Death.” He turned back to the fenced area. “The cannibals were all killed here. I can smell the decay. It wasn’t that long ago either. Maybe a few days.”

I couldn’t say I was sorry to hear the cannibals were extinct. But why had they been killed? And what were these men guarding inside the fence?

“Let’s go back to the boat,” Cloud finally said.

We set out on the two hour trek back through the rainforest to where we had told Captain Kohler to wait for us.

Back on the boat, the four of us sat together in back.

“What’re we gonna do now, Cloud?” I asked.

Cloud sighed heavily. “I don’t know.”

Cid pulled out his cellphone. “I know exactly what we’re gonna do.” He punched in a number and waited with the phone on his ear. “Yo, Vinnie, it’s Cid…Are ya up for a little adventure?”

The river was bathed in darkness when the sound of a helicopter reached us. Cid was at the front of the boat, blinking his trusty flashlight on and off.

I looked up as the helicopter hovered above us. Seconds later a rope dropped down to the back of the boat. A large shape slid down, an all too familiar automatic weapon hooked to his arm.

“Barret!” I ran over to hug him. “Who’s watching the kids?”

“They’re still at the Gold Saucer with Elmyra.”

The next person to slide down the rope was Vincent, clad in his traditional red cape. I wondered if he’d eventually remove the garment when he discovered how hot and humid it was around here.

A large crate was lowered onto the deck and Barret untied the rope. It disappeared back up into the helicopter. The craft turned and headed back the way it came.

Cid walked up to Vincent. “How’d you manage to get a ride?”

“Called in a favor. We had to come in below radar range. There’s a ban on crafts flying in the airspace around this rainforest.”

“Yep, know all about it.”

“So, what’s goin’ on?” asked Barret as he came to join us.

Later that night, we all stood around a table.

Cloud drew the village plans on a large piece of map paper. He wrote HOJO in large block letters inside the square representing the compound in the center. “We’re gonna come in from the west. Single file. I’ll take the lead because if there’s anyone on the path ahead, I can smell them…”

Vincent looked up from the map. “What do you mean you can smell them?”

Some glances were exchanged between those of us that knew about Cloud’s condition. Vincent and Barret didn’t know.

Cid spoke up. “You gotta tell them, Spike. It’s the right thing to do.”

Cloud straightened up and looked at Cid briefly before turning to Barret. “All right.” He took a deep breath first. “Hojo was in prime form when Tifa and I were held captive in the cannibal village.” Then he turned his gaze to Vincent. “You know what he’s capable of. What he did to you, he pretty much did to me. I can transform into something else.”

“What do you become?” asked Vincent.

Cloud placed his left hand on top of the map with a slap. Everyone stared down at it as soft yellow-orange hairs began to rapidly grow and spread up his arm. His fingers shrank and his nails lengthened into claws.

Barret jumped back in surprise. “What the fuck…!”

Cloud removed his hand from the table and it slowly returned back to normal. “I become a leopard. Problem is, the longer I’m away from this rainforest, the more I lose control over my ability to change back to human.”

Barret regained his composure. “Awright, so we’re goin’ in to wipe out Hojo and his flunkies, right?”

“I say we skewer the bastard first,” said Cid. “Then we pull out his eyelashes, one by one. And then we’ll peel thin layers of his skin with a really sharp blade and…”

“I think you’re all forgetting something here,” I jumped in, before the testosterone became intolerable. “If we kill Hojo, then Cloud’s stuck here. We have to first get Hojo to reverse what he did.”

Vincent looked dismally at me. “Nothing he creates or mutates is reversible, Tifa.”

“I don’t believe that!”

“I bet if you had that damned idol he prays to in that temple, you might convince him otherwise.”

We all turned toward the voice. Captain Kohler shrugged from where he stood near the boat controls. I had almost completely forgotten about him.

“What idol?” Cloud asked curiously.

Somewhere in the Middle of Nowhere – the present

I was sweating profusely in the black combat jumpsuit Barret had brought along in that crate. Jumpsuits and weapons. It looked like we were going to start a small war with Hojo and whoever was standing in our way to get to him.

Captain Kohler wanted to be part of our mission and since he seemed to be the only one that knew how to get to this temple where the idol was supposed to be, we had no choice but to take him along while the boat remained anchored along the riverbank.

Yuffie and I walked in the center of our twenty meter circle. Cloud was in the lead with Kohler directly behind him. Cid was off to our left and Vincent was to our right, while Barret brought up the rear.

“You think this idol is gonna do us any good?” Yuffie asked me.

“I wish I knew?”

“I mean, if that old professor worships it, like Kohler says he does, won’t he be mad if we take it out of the temple?”

“I think that’s the whole point. We have to let him see that we’re not afraid. He has to play by our rules or the idol gets it.”

“But what happens if he really can’t make Cloud normal again?”

I shrugged, really not wanting to think about the consequence. “If Cloud has to live here, then I guess I’ll stay with him.”

“I had a feeling you’d say that.”

“I love him like crazy, Yuffie and I can’t live without him. What else am I supposed to do?”

“You do what you have to do, Teef. No matter what it is, I’ll support you.” Suddenly she gasped. “Did you see that?” Her eyes were wide and searching the air.

“See what?” I looked around.

“That huge beetle. Is it in my hair?”

I searched the top of her head.

Something moved and Yuffie jumped up. “Oh my Gawd! It’s in my hair!” She jumped around and moved her hands through her hair. “Get it out! Get it out!” She was making enough noise to wake the dead.

Cid rushed over and tackled her to stop her from screaming. Then he pulled a huge beetle out of her tangled hair.

After getting back on their feet, Yuffie hugged him. “You saved my life!”

I covered my mouth to keep from laughing.

Cloud didn’t look in the least bit amused. He walked up to Yuffie and pointed a finger at her nose. “One more outburst like that and you’re going back to the boat.” He walked away.

“Well, excuse me…I can’t help it if I hate bugs in my hair, especially if they’re the size of your big fat head.” Yuffie wasn’t happy either.

Just before the sun went down, Cloud climbed up a tree to take a look around with a pair of high-powered binoculars. He came back down ten minutes later. “I saw something that looks like the top of a stone structure.”

Cid took his binoculars back. “How far away is it?”

“It’s about three miles southeast of here.” He looked at the rest of us. “Let’s keep moving before it gets dark.”

An hour later, as dusk fell in the rainforest, we literally collided into the stone temple. There was no clearing. Trees and vines just grew around it. It was too dark to see what the whole thing looked like, so we walked along the base and it seemed huge.

Finally, when we weren’t having any luck finding an opening in the temple, Cloud made the decision to camp for the night. We’d resume our search in the morning.

FORGOTTEN CITY – the past

I convinced Cid to take us back to the Forgotten City. I felt as if I had left some unfinished business and didn’t even know what it was.

Cloud stood at his usual place near the window. But there was something different about his expression.

I walked up and stared at his profile in fascination.

He turned to me. “What’s wrong?”

“You’re smiling.”

“I am?”

“Yeah.” I couldn’t help but smile back at him.

“It all starts now, Tifa. A new…” he paused, searching for the right words. “…a new life. I’m going to live. I think that’s the only way I can be forgiven for the things…all the things that went wrong. I just never thought about how I was going to start a new life.”

“And you couldn’t smile?”

“I think it’ll be all right this time.” He fell silent and turned back to look out the window. “Because…you’ve always been with me.”

“And I always will be.”

“That’s tomorrow’s story,” he replied, smiling again.

On impulse I reached for his hand and he squeezed it, acknowledging me effort.

After leaving the airship when we arrived at the Forgotten City, we all walked to the spring where Cloud had released Aeris’s body and stood along the bank. Although we couldn’t see it any longer, I imagined her body was resting somewhere at the bottom. Or maybe it had been consume by the Lifestream.

A feeling of remorse consumed me in an instant. Aeris sacrificed her own life to save the planet and now it was saved. I wished she could know that. And maybe she did. But it still didn’t make me feel any better. Tears filled my eyes.

Are you all right?

I sniffed and looked out over the water before glancing at the others. No one seemed to be reacting to the voice I had just heard, asking if I was all right. Not even Cloud reacted. He was standing beside me, his eyes closed, his expression serene.

When I turned back to the water, I willed the voice to speak to me again. But there was only silence. The tears came again. “I’m sorry,” I whispered. “I’m really sorry.” My knees gave out and I found myself down on the bank, my hands covering my face as I sobbed.

Cloud knelt down beside me and pulled me into his arms.

NIBELHEIM – the past

Cid flew us to Nibelheim next. Cloud and I thought that maybe we could find a place to stay and perhaps move on with our lives there.

But nothing seemed right. None of the people were who we remembered and just being in the town would constantly remind us of who we lost in the incident that had taken place over five years ago.

“We shouldn’t have come back,” said Cloud.

I nodded. “We don’t belong here anymore.”

Our friends seemed sympathetic to our plight and didn’t even spend a day in town before we all returned to the ship..

KALM – the past

Elmyra was waiting for us. She had been taking care of Marlene who was overjoyed to see her foster father.

I watched with a smile as Marlene and Barret hugged tightly. From the corner of my eye, I noticed Cloud had led Elmyra further away by the arm. He spoke to her in soft tones. I knew he was telling her about Aeris.

“I’m sorry I wasn’t able to save her,” I heard Cloud say.

Elmyra placed a hand on Cloud’s cheek. “You did what you could. There’s no need for you to apologize.”

But did we really do all we could? I knew that question would continue to haunt me for the rest of my life. If it plagued me, I was certain Cloud felt even more guilty.

Hundreds of people from Midgar came to take refuge in the small town. The people of Kalm opened their doors and opened their arms to help those in need.

For alittle while, we kept busy helping others, making daily deliveries of food and other supplies in Cid’s airship. But we knew that Kalm wasn’t where we would eventually settle. It just didn’t feel right for some reason.

“Let’s go home,” Cloud said to Barret and I.

Barret gave him a confused look. “Where to?”

“Our suspended reality.”

“The hell you mean by that?”

“Our normal lives.”

“And where do we have something like that?”

“We’ll find one.” Cloud turned to me. “Right?”

I nodded, but wondered where we’d ever find a normal life.

MIDGAR – the past

Seeing Midgar from the air, in the light of day, was depressing. I couldn’t help but feel to blame for the destruction. AVALANCHE had been a part of it. I often wondered if we had just left things the way they were, with Shinra’s reactors continuing to suck the life out of the planet, Midgar would still be standing. By the time the planet died, I wouldn’t have been around to see it anyway.

But I wasn’t like that. I wanted to make a difference and that had certainly been the case.

I just didn’t realized how many people still lived in the rubble of the demolished city. But after only two weeks since Meteor’s destruction, the city had recovered from all of the shock and chaos. People were on the move again, looking to rebuild, moving on with their lives.

Cloud, Barret, Marlene and I were sitting in a diner, where the tables had been set up outside. The cook was using an outdoor grill because the kitchen had been demolished.

I got the guilty feeling all over again as I watched the activity around me. “I was part of this,” I said mainly to myself. “I’m a part of the reason these people’s lives had been disrupted.”

“Whatcha talkin’ ‘bout, Tifa?”

I turned to Barret. “I can’t help but feel guilty. All of this…the raids on the reactors, the arrival of Meteor…I feel as though I gambled with the lives of everyone here in Midgar and so many, many people suffered or died for the cause. I wanted revenge against Shinra, for sending Sephiroth to my hometown, for killing my father and everyone else I knew. Look at what’s happened as a result.”

“Don’t ya think I feel it, too?” replied Barret. “Even if we never went after the Shinra, Sephiroth would have still done what he did. We just happened to be there to stop him before the rest of the planet was destroyed.”

“I know, but it still hurts.”

“Well, then we’re gonna have to live on until we pay back for our sins. It’s the only way.”

Cloud remained silent, sitting beside me. It seemed as though his mind was somewhere completely different.

“This is where we need to be, Barret. This is where it started.”

Barret gave a nod. “Then this’s where we’ll settle.”

Later on, the four of us found a place to spend the night. It was just one room, but at least it was comfortable. Barret took one of the two beds while Marlene laid in the other, where I would be sharing. Cloud opted for the sofa.

In the middle of the night, I woke up and silently walked to the window. Gazing out at the sky, which had once been covered by an upper plate, I felt a sense of nostalgia and was glad that we would settle here in Midgar. We had yet to find a purpose, but at least we could call it home.

I heard Cloud stir and he got up from the sofa and came to join me at the window.

“What you said earlier today, about feeling guilty?” he said. “It’s not like you to be troubled like that.”

“It’s…just what I was feeling at the moment.”

He turned to face me. “You’re much more cheerful and strong. If you’ve forgotten the way you were before all this started, I’ll be glad to remind you.”

“You’ll really do that?”

“Probably.”

I noticed his cheeks were flushed. Was he blushing? “Thanks, Cloud. I guess we’ll always be here for each other, no matter what.”

He slipped an arm around my shoulder and kissed the side of my forehead. “No matter what.”

I felt my insides stirring, wishing we were alone. But I had a feeling the furthest thing on Cloud’s mind was sex. He hadn’t initiated it since the night we spent before entering the crater. That was almost three weeks ago. I wouldn’t force him into making a commitment…not when our fragile emotions were running pretty high enough as it was.

 

Chapter 29​

Somewhere in the Middle of Nowhere – the present

CLOUD’S POV

In the morning we gathered our things and prepared to search around the temple for some kind of opening.

“Hey, where’s the boatman?” asked Barret.

We all glanced around and discovered Kohler wasn’t among us.

“Maybe he went back to the boat,” Tifa speculated.

I slung the strap of a rifle over my shoulder. “Forget him. Let’s just move out.”

We started making our way around the wall of the temple.

Tifa was walking behind me. Whenever I looked at her over my shoulder, I found her eyes on me.

“Something you wanna say to me?” I finally asked her.

She shrugged. “Nothing. I’m just not used to seeing you with a rifle. Your weapon has always been a sword.”

“Yeah, last time I used one was back at the SOLDIER academy.” It reminded me of the fact that my Apocalypse sword had been missing in action since the cannibals had taken us. Maybe Professor Hojo had it. “I’m not used to seeing you with a rifle either,” I commented with a smile.

The sound of footsteps and the scent of uniforms hit me at the same time. I turned toward the temple wall we were walking near and looked up. More than a dozen men in tan uniforms stood near the entrance on the next level. They spotted us immediately and aimed their weapons.

Just then Captain Kohler calmly stepped out from the temple entrance. “Sorry, folks," he yelled down to us. "But I had no choice.”

I frowned up at him. “What’s going on, Kohler?”

“I’ll tell you what’s going on. You’re all going to make nice and put your weapons down.”

“That’s not going to happen.”

“We’re on higher ground,” he yelled down, raising his rifle. “We’ve got the advantage. You don’t stand a chance.”

Fucking son-of a bitch probably led us here on purpose to ambush us.

“You’ve been playing us right from the start,” Tifa stated before I could. “There was no idol. You made it all up.”

“Oh, don’t look so sad, sweetheart,” he addressed Tifa. “You think you’re the only ones I’ve lured here for the good professor?”

The good professor? “So you’re working for Hojo?” I asked.

“That’s right. And he’s informed me that he no longer has any use for you. So this is the end of the road.” Kohler raised his rifle and started shooting.

We all hit the dirt and crawled for cover behind some large boulders while Barret aimed his gunarm and returned fire. Kohler and the guards ducked inside the temple.

I raised my rifle and fired, covering Barret while he ducked behind the boulders. Shots hit the boulders and pieces rained down on us. As I snuck a peek around the boulder I was behind, I spotted Kohler jumping down from the temple and making a run for it. No way was I losing him. “Toss me a grenade and cover me!”

Cid tossed me a grenade before he joined Vincent and Barret, blasting the temple. I scrambled out from behind the boulder and made my way closer to the temple. When I figured I was close enough to make an accurate throw, I whipped the grenade into the temple opening and dashed back behind the boulder.

Three seconds later there was an explosion and pieces of stone rained down on us. When all was quiet, I peeked out again and the temple opening was gone, completed covered by fallen debris. The men inside were either trapped or dead. “That takes care of some of our troubles. Let’s move out. Our friendly neighborhood traitor hightailed it.”

I ran ahead of the others as we headed back into the jungle.

I followed the path Kohler had taken. Either this guy was a complete moron or he didn’t believe I could track him. He was about fifty feet ahead of me, making enough noise to wake up the dead. As I ran ahead of the others, I could clearly hear them not far behind me, making just as much noise as the idiot in front of me.

Then another sound reached my ears. Quiet footsteps running parallel to me on my left and right. I couldn’t see them, but I could smell them. Apparently some of the cannibals were still alive.

Two of them suddenly appeared, one on each side of me. My hands automatically dropped to the pistols strapped to my thighs. I retrieved them and extended my arms out to either side, shooting both of the natives at the same time. The gunshots echoed loudly through the rainforest, scattering birds and monkeys in every directions.

Without missing a single beat, I continued my pursuit. Seconds later, there was a break in the trees. Up ahead, Kohler had stopped running and three natives stood in front of him. They raised their pea shooters, bent on protecting the bastard. I raised my pistols and picked each of the natives off one at a time, not stopping my forward momentum.

Kohler raised his rifle. But before he could fire, a black blur leapt on top of the man.

I skidded to a stop and watched a black leopard rip Kohler’s throat out. It was Jamal.

The others came up beside me as Kohler fought to free himself from the jaws of the animal on top of him.

“Holy shit!” yelled Cid and raised his rifle.

I quickly pushed the barrel away before he could shoot. “No!”

Kohler’s screams and struggles died down. The black leopard released the dead man’s bloody throat and stood up.

“Is that Jamal?” Tifa asked beside me.

I didn’t respond as the black leopard looked meaningfully in our direction before disappearing back into the jungle. I wondered why he wasn’t sticking around.

“Friend of yours?” Cid asked as he stared at the spot where the animal had gone.

“Sort of.”

Vincent crouched beside Kohler and reached down to check his pulse. “He’s dead.”

I felt a moment of remorse for Kohler before I remembered he had led us into a trap that could have ended with one or all of us dead. “Let’s go nail Hojo.”

“About fuckin’ time,” Barret muttered as we continued on.

Almost an hour later we were crouching near the perimeter fence surrounding Hojo’s base. There wasn’t a cannibal hut in sight, making me think that maybe the remaining cannibals had been left homeless.

“Are you serious?” Barret grumbled beside me. “This is it? One measly little building?”

“I doubt it.” I knew Hojo. There was probably some elaborate underground laboratory right beneath us. I turned to Vincent behind me. “Think you can pick off some of those guards from a tree?”

“Easily.” He crawled away. Luckily he had opted to remove his red cloak before we left the boat earlier, or it would have stood out in the greenery around us.

Minutes ticked by as we sat and watched the fenced compound. There were a number of guards strolling around and two standing near the door.

My ears picked up the sound of several muffled gunshots. The two guards standing near the door immediately went down. More quiet gunshots followed and more guards went down. Vincent was doing exactly what I had asked him to do. Soon all of the guards were down and there was no other movement.

“Let’s go,” I said as I quickly stood up. Since the fence was still electrified, we had to go over without touching it. I found a branch and jumped up to grab it. After moving hand over hand along the branch, I raised my legs over the barbed wire coils and pushed myself over the side.

The others soon followed the same path. The only who had the hardest time was Barret. His backside touched the electrified coils and he received a shock just as he jumped over the side.

“Motherfucker!” he spat out through clenched teeth, while rubbing his butt.

Just as we started moving toward the door after Vincent joined us, I caught another movement on the branch we had used to enter the perimeter.

When I turned, Jamal leapt off the branch. He was still in his black leopard form. I took a step toward him and he roared, conveying his message to me without uttering a word. After giving him a nod, I turned back to the others. “He’s staying out here to patrol the area in case anybody else shows up.”

We headed for the door. It was locked, of course. Barret kicked it in, making a lot more noise than I would have liked, but I was sure whoever was inside already knew we were coming. Our weapons were up and ready.

On the other side of the doorway were two stairways. One headed up and the other down.

I pointed to Cid, Vincent and Yuffie. “You guys take care of the upstairs. We’ll take the downstairs.”

After we split up into two groups, I led Tifa and Barret down four flights of stairs. There was only one door and it was at the very bottom.

I leaned forward and listened. But the door was soundproof, so I couldn’t tell who or what was on the other side. A number pad on the handle hinted that the door was locked. I turned to Barret and motioned with my head as I dragged Tifa back a few steps.

Barret aimed his gunarm and blasted the door handle. Then he blasted around the hinges. Three seconds later the door slowly fell in and landed on the floor with a loud crash. And two seconds after that, the doorway was blasted with rapid gunfire.

The three of us ducked back against the wall.

I didn’t get a chance to see the number we’d be facing. But I had a feeling Hojo wasn’t taking any chances.

EDGE – the past

CLOUD’S POV

The grand opening of The Seventh Heaven seemed to be going well. The place was packed almost wall to wall. I didn’t think Barret’s plan to brew and sell homemade Corel alcohol would draw this much attention. I was wrong as usual.

Tifa was scrambling back and forth behind the bar, busy pouring drinks and handling food orders. I asked her four times if she wanted help, and she turned me down all four times, telling me to hang out with our friends and have fun. Well, what about her? Why was she doing all the work? Wasn’t she entitled to have fun with our friends?

A few days before the opening, when Tifa reminded me that my job was to pick up the ingredients to make the food and the alcohol, I confessed to her that I didn’t know what the ingredients she needed even looked like. She seemed surprised and almost started to laugh. But she stopped herself, probably remembering that I missed out on a lot of little things people took for granted…like learning the names of fruits and vegetables. I couldn’t tell a carrot from a banana.

Later on when things started to die down alittle, I went behind the bar to join Tifa.

“Want something to drink, Cloud?” she asked.

“No, I’m fine.” I took her by the arm and pulled her away from the two men sitting on the other side of the bar. “Tifa, I need a favor.”

“What kind of favor?”

“Would it be a big deal if someone had the privilege of eating and drinking here for free for the rest of that person’s life?”

She stared blankly at me. “I don’t understand. Why would you ask me such a thing?”

“It’s in exchange for something…something important to me.”

She knew not to ask me what that something was. If I had wanted her to know, I would have just said it. She’d eventually find out. But I couldn’t tell her just yet because I knew she’d try to talk me out of it.

“I suppose…it’d be fine, Cloud.”

I gave her a smile and kissed her on the cheek. “Thanks.” I could feel her eyes boring into the back of my head though as I stepped from behind the bar and went back to the guy I had been talking to near the door. “It’s all set,” I told Stan Higgins. “You’ll get free meals and free drinks for as long as you live.”

Higgins grinned and pointed a finger at me. “You’re not plannin’ to knock me off when the job’s done, are ya, Strife?”

I gave him a crooked smile. “Depends on how good of a job you do.”

“Right.”

“So when do you think she’ll be ready?”

“Give me a couple weeks.”

“Great. I’ll check in every couple of days to get a progress report.”

“Pleasure doin’ business with you and I’m looking forward to some great meals from that lovely woman behind the bar.”

I placed a firm hand on his shoulder. “Don’t get any ideas, Higgins. Tifa’s off limits.” I was joking, but serious at the same time.

Higgins backed away toward the door, his hands raised in surrender. “Yeah, yeah. I get it. Talk to ya soon.”

After he left, I felt a twinge in the pit of my stomach. Guilt. Maybe I should have told Tifa what I was doing. She had her heart set on beginning a new life together. I didn’t want to start it by sneaking around behind her back and not telling her what I was up to.

I made the decision to just tell her and if she got angry with me, then I’d try to convince her that my plan would only save us money in the long run. I turned toward the bar, but Tifa wasn’t behind it any longer. She wasn’t sitting with Yuffie and Marlene, or with Cid and Vincent. Barret was hustling the last customers away from the bar, so my guess was that it was closing time.

Maybe Tifa had gone into the kitchen.

I started making my way through the maze of tables and chairs, reminding myself that I’d straighten them out later. As I approached the kitchen, I heard voices coming through the open doorway.

“Cid asked me to marry him.” I recognized Shera’s voice.

“Oh, Shera, that’s wonderful.” Tifa sounded genuinely excited to hear the news.

I glanced over my shoulder to where Cid was sitting with Vincent. There was a thick halo of smoke around the pilot’s head which didn’t seem to bother Vincent.

“What about you?” I heard Shera ask.

I turned back to the doorway.

“What about me?” Tifa asked.

“I’m sure Cloud will be proposing to you soon.”

Shera’s statement made me freeze just outside the doorway.

“Cloud? Oh no. I doubt it.”

“Why? I thought the two of you were close?”

“It’s not like that between me and Cloud. We’re just really good friends.”

“Well, you could have fooled me.”

Tifa laughed. “Besides, I could never marry someone like him. He’s too messed up and too reckless. I want someone more stable.”

I felt my heart constrict in my chest. She thought I was too messed up and too reckless? Since when? I backed away from the door, not wanting to hear anymore. How could Tifa say that about me to someone else? The room suddenly seemed too small and I needed air.

“Yo, Spiky, how ’bout a drink, you and me,” said Barret.

“Don’t feel like drinking,” I replied as I headed for the front entrance.

“Hey, where you goin’?”

I didn’t answer as I barged out of the door and gulped in a breath of cool night air. What else was Tifa going to tell Shera? That I was a screw up? That on occasion I’d have a meltdown whenever I thought about all the shit I had done in my life and everything I had never been able to do? That I sometimes had nightmares and woke up screaming in the middle of the night? That stuff was personal. I didn’t tell any of it to anyone except Tifa.

After everything we had been through and what we meant to each other…all the intimate moments we spent throughout the quest to save the planet. It obviously meant nothing to her. I was just a friend. Is this how she wanted our relationship to go? Platonic friends?

I sat down on the edge of the sidewalk and stared at the vacant street, trying to come up with a reason why Tifa would suddenly not want to be with me any longer. Was it because I hadn’t touched her or kissed her in the last month or so? Well, I had a reason. The kid was always around, always staring at me, like I was going to sprout horns or something. Marlene was a nice kid and all, but I just didn’t know what to say to her or how to deal with her. And if she caught me making out with Tifa, the kid would probably freak and tell Barret.

I was going to make it up to Tifa by taking her out one night. I planned on it after the grand opening, only because she had been so busy preparing for it and a night out with me would have distracted her.

Something nagged at the back of my head. Maybe it was something else. Maybe now that the peril was over, Tifa had time to reflect back on things and thought I had used her and taken advantage of her mental weakness while we pursued Sephiroth. But hadn’t I in fact done just that? Although I wouldn’t have pursued her if she hadn’t initiated that first kiss at the old Seventh Heaven in Sector Seven. I wanted her so bad after that, I couldn’t stop myself. If she had rejected me, I didn’t know what I would have done. But I coaxed and practically demanded her surrender. Right before I left for the SOLDIER academy, we promised one another we’d remain true to each other. Both of us kept our promise, but I was pretty sure she didn’t believe I did. Then all the times after that, she seemed willing to satisfy whatever urges were running rampant inside me at any given time. I needed the release…and she was the only familiar, real thing around me. She never refused me, even when she thought I had gotten down and dirty with Aeris on the Round at the Gold Saucer.

I was so messed up when all that happened. I didn’t care whether it was right or wrong.

Well, if Tifa convinced herself that I had taken advantage of her, then I wouldn’t do it any longer. If she stopped needing me that way, I wasn’t going to demand or beg…

I ran a hand through my hair, feeling my heart tighten again. Didn’t she know I loved her? But hadn’t that always been the case? I loved her more than she loved me. Did she tell Shera that, too?

This was it. I vowed I’d never again tell Tifa what I felt. I’d never tell anyone anything again.

EDGE – the past

CLOUD’S POV

Three weeks later I pulled up in my brand new motorcycle. The engine was loud, so I knew it would bring Tifa and Marlene running outside.

Sure enough, a minute later, Tifa cautiously opened the door before allowing Marlene to rush out.

“Cloud! Cloud! What is that?!” cried the kid.

“It’s a motorcycle.” I dismounted and picked her up to place her on the seat.

“Careful, Marlene,” warned Tifa. “Don’t touch anything.” She came down the steps and stopped beside me, scanning her eyes over the machine in front of us.

I watched for some kind of reaction from her. Anger…happiness…What was she thinking?

She turned to me. “Why are you looking at me like that?”

“Well...I’m sorry I kept quiet about it.”

“About what?”

“Doing what I wanted.”

Tifa burst out laughing. Not exactly the reaction I had thought. “Is this what you traded someone for a lifetime of food and drink?”

“Yeah, sort of. But I made extra deliveries during the week and spent all the extra pay on some modifications.” I waited for another reaction.

“You’re feeling guilty about using the extra pay?”

I shrugged. “Yeah, I guess I am.”

She took my hand and turned me around to face her. “Cloud, you work hard and you deserve to get something you want. Besides, running deliveries in Barret’s truck isn’t very practical.” She motioned toward the bike. “This will definitely allow you to go further and faster.”

“That’s what I was thinking, too.”

The look in her eyes told me she wanted me to kiss her. No…I wouldn’t initiate it, no matter how much I wanted to taste her again. I looked away, drawing her attention away from my face. “So, you like it?”

“What do you call it?”

“Fenrir.”

She smiled at me. “Fenrir. That’s a very noble name.”

EDGE – the past

CLOUD’S POV

Two months passed without incident. With the bike I was able to delivery to places much further, which meant I was on the road a lot more and at home less and less.

One night I came home after midnight and immediately went to bed in the small cot I used in the office. I rolled over on my side, facing the wall and closed my eyes.

A sound outside the door woke me. Then I heard the door open and the sound of quiet footsteps approach my bed. I knew it was Tifa. I recognized the scent of her soap.

When she leaned over to check on me, I quickly closed my eyes. “We’ll be all right, won’t we?” she whispered so softly, I barely heard her. “Do you still love me?”

My eyes popped open and I turned to look up at her. “What did you just ask me?”

She seemed surprised that I was awake all of a sudden. “Do you…do you love Marlene?”

That wasn’t what she had asked. But I decided not to go down that path. Instead I focused on Marlene. “Yeah. But sometimes I don’t know how to approach her.”

“We’ve all been together for some time, why is it so difficult for you?”

“Maybe being together just isn’t enough.”

“Maybe we aren’t enough for you…”

I didn’t know how to answer that. It was so obvious that we were drifting apart, yet we both ignored it.

“Sorry for asking,” she finally said.

“Don’t apologize. It’s my problem.” I turned back toward the wall and closed my eyes.

“Goodnight.”

I heard her footsteps move back toward the door before she quietly closed it behind her. I grimaced at how uncomfortable it suddenly felt to be around her. The feeling was horrible. I couldn’t stand it. For as long as I had known Tifa, which was practically all my life, I couldn’t remember ever feeling so awkward and self-conscious around her. I wanted things to be normal again. But how could they when I knew she didn’t love me. What if she found someone soon? How would I ever survive seeing her with someone else?

EDGE – the past

CLOUD’S POV

Nearly two years had passed since we moved to Edge. The Seventh Heaven was booming for Tifa and my own business, which we decided to call Strife Delivery Service, wasn’t doing too bad. It kept me out a lot though and I knew it bothered Tifa and Marlene…Tifa mostly. But she never said anything so I didn’t bring it up.

Tifa and I were walking eggshells around each other and I didn’t know how to make it stop. There was so much tension between us that even Marlene yelled at us one time for making absurd small talk, saying we kept talking about the same things over and over.

One day, I walked in through the back door, carrying an unconscious boy. “Tifa!”

She rushed into the kitchen and gasped when she saw my burden. Then she followed me upstairs where I laid the boy on the spare twin bed in Marlene’s room. She disappeared for a few minutes and returned with a bowl of water and some white rags. “Who is he?” Tifa asked as she began to tend to the black splotch on the kid’s forehead.

“I think it’s Denzel. He didn’t really say much.”

“He has Geostigma.”

“I know. But I don’t think he’s had it for very long.”

Tifa continued wiping the kid’s forehead. “There are so many children out there infected with this illness.” She turned to me. “And a lot of facilities set up for those who have no parents. Why did you bring him here, Cloud?”

I frowned and looked down. “He came to my place.” Just as I said it, I realized my mistake and looked back up at her.

She apparently caught the blunder. “What do you mean your place?”

“I mean...” I didn’t know what to say. I didn’t want her to know that I had been spending a lot of days and nights at the church where Aeris grew her flowers. The flowers were still there and I took care of them. If I told Tifa, she’d get upset. I changed the subject. “Do you think we can take care of him?”

She gave me a perturbed look, probably because I didn’t answer her question. “You know I wouldn’t turn anyone down. I think Marlene won’t mind having someone closer to her age to keep her company.”

I walked toward the door. “I have to finish my deliveries.” I heard her frustrated sigh before I even got to the stairs.

When I got home later that night, purposely very late, I took off my shoes and tiptoed upstairs, hoping not to run into Tifa. Instead of going straight to my room, I thought about the boy I had brought over earlier. Was he still here or did Tifa put him out on the street to spite me? I reprimanded myself for thinking such a thing. Tifa was a saint. She’d never put anyone out on the street, especially not a sick boy.

As I stopped in front of the doorway to Marlene’s room, I felt a slight sting on my left arm. But I ignored it as I scanned over the beds. Marlene was in her usual bed, closer to the window. The boy, Denzel, was in the other. He seemed to be sleeping restfully.

There was a creak behind me. I closed my eyes because I knew it was Tifa.

“I didn’t think you’d come home tonight,” she said softly as she came to stand beside me at the door.

“I wanted to check on the boy.”

“He woke up after you left and was asking about you.”

“Was he?”

“His name’s Denzel and his parents were killed in the Sector Seven bombing.”

I blinked several times and looked down, somehow feeling responsible, since it was AVALANCHE that had provoked President Shinra to blow the pillars, sending the top plate crashing down on everyone below.

“So the problem was resolved?” she asked.

“Which problem?”

“Your problem.”

“Oh...”

“It’s okay if you don’t want to tell me.”

“I can’t really explain it well...” I warned before turning to face her. Just looking at her hurt more than anything. It hurt because I knew she’d never belong to me. “The problem isn’t resolved. Or rather…I never really tried to resolve it. You can’t restore lost lives.”

She nodded silently.

“But maybe…if I could just save one life…”

“You mean Denzel?”

“Yeah.”

She nodded again before looking my way. “Do you remember what you said when you brought Denzel here this afternoon?”

“What did I say?”

“You said Denzel came to your place.”

“Well...” I had hoped the subject wouldn’t come up, but I had to say something now. I couldn’t ignore her questions forever.

“Tell me. I’ll decide whether I’m angry or not after I listen.”

I nodded and took a deep breath. “Denzel collapsed in front of the church, which was Aeris’s church, so I thought maybe she led him to my place.” After saying all that in one breath, I looked away.

“So now it’s your place?”

Pain jolted up my arm and I rubbed it with my other hand. “I wasn’t planning to hide there.”

“You were hiding?”

The guilt was consuming me once again. Why did I always feel so guilty when it came to Tifa? “I’m sorry.”

“Cloud, I didn’t say you couldn’t go. But next time, let’s go together.”

I turned to her and the look in her eyes gave me a small measure of hope that maybe she might be rethinking her feelings for me. Maybe I still had a chance.

“Aeris didn’t bring Denzel to you,” she said with a smile. “She brought that child to us.”

“You’re right.” As I gazed into her warm brown eyes, I couldn’t help but smile before moving away from the door. “Goodnight, Tifa.”

“Goodnight, Cloud.”

I rubbed my left arm as I went into my room and closed the door behind me. The pain was becoming unbearable. What the hell…? I sat down on the side of my cot and pulled off my sweatshirt. At first I didn’t see anything, but then I noticed a small black blotch on my bicep.

Oh no…

EDGE – the past

Back to TIFA’S POV

After Cloud brought Denzel, I thought maybe he had settled whatever demons lurked within him. Being so withdrawn and reclusive, I feared he had gone into mental hibernation. He hardly talked to me, much less smiled at any of us.

The smile I saw on his face the other night made me wonder if it had all been an illusion because he was suddenly gone, without a word, without a warning…

He wouldn’t even answer his cellphone anymore.

Something had happened. But for the life of me I couldn’t figure it out and quite honestly, I was just plain tired of trying to figure him out altogether.

 

Chapter 30​

Somewhere in the Middle of Nowhere – the present

Cloud held an arm across me, keeping me back against the wall as the shots continued. He glanced at Barret who was pressed against the wall on the other side of the doorway. “Got enough ammo?”

Barret scowled. “Don’t get your panties in a bunch, I got plenty.” Just then he somersaulted across the open doorway and was on his feet in front of us. He stuck his gunarm around the doorframe and fired it.

Cid, Vincent and Yuffie picked that moment to come charging down the stairs, obviously after hearing the shooting.

“Starting the party without us?” Cid grunted, like he was truly annoyed we hadn’t invited him to fight.

Vincent moved to the other side of the door and stuck both of his guns in the doorway, blasting them over and over.

Cid ran a hand under his nose. “I hate to rain on your parade…but what if you dipshits hit Hojo?”

“He won’t be out in the open,” Vincent assured and continued shooting.

The shots being returned began decreasing, which meant Barret and Vincent were hitting their targets.

Yuffie crowded behind Barret. “Maybe this will help,” she said as she flung a Vagyrisk Claw over his shoulder and through the open door.

A few seconds later, a bright flash of light burst out. The shooting immediately stopped. When the light disappeared, Barret and Vincent were the first ones through the doorway.

“It’s clear!” yelled Barret.

The rest of us followed.

The petrifying item Yuffie had thrown in seemed to have done the trick. Several guards were locked in whatever poses they had been in before the Vagyrisk Claw took effect. The bodies of the unfortunate ones lay strewn all around, shot by armor-piercing bullets, thanks to Barret and Vincent. Cid and I checked them to make sure Hojo wasn’t among the dead.

Barret walked around the perimeter of the laboratory, checking for hidden doors. “Anybody in the upper levels?”

“No one,” replied Vincent.

I studied Cloud’s expression. He was staring wide-eyed at various things in the lab. An examination table. Three large tanks that once contained a clear green fluid, which was all over the floor, thanks to the bullet holes in the glass. There was another table along the wall containing a number of instruments, some with needles or sharp edges. It was clear to me that this room reminded him of the lab in the Shinra mansion in Nibelheim.

“Hey, Cloud,” yelled Yuffie from the other side where she had opened several lockers. “Look what I found.” She stepped aside to reveal his Apocalypse sword in one of them.

Cloud put his pistols back in the holsters strapped to his thighs and immediately walked over to retrieve his sword. His face actually lit up as he picked it up and inspected the blade for damage.

“He ain’t here,” said Cid. “Whatta we do now?”

“Hang on,” Barret said as he struggled to pull something out of an indentation on a blank wall. Finally he stepped back in frustration and fired his gunarm in a high, wide arch. The rounds tore into the wall, ripping off chunks of it. When he was finished, the wall remained standing. Barret moved closer and gave the wall a hard kick. It slowly tilted away and crashed down on the floor with a loud, echoing bang. On the other side of the large hole was a tunnel.

I stepped up beside Barret. “How did you know there was a passage on the other side of this wall?”

“This was the only wall not made of plaster and there’s a code thingy over there.” He pointed to the indentation a few inches away from where he had shot out the wall. Neatly tucked away was a small keypad. “Couldn’t figure out the code and couldn’t pull the damned thing out to cut the wires.” He glanced over his shoulder. “Anyone have a problem with me blastin’ the wall?”

Cloud came up on the other side of Barret. “I’ve always been a big fan of your unconventional methods, Barret.” He slapped Barret on the back before walking into the tunnel.

I glanced at the dozen or so frozen guards before my gaze paused at Vincent. “How long do the effects of the Vagyrisk Claw last?”

“About an hour,” he replied.

As the rest of us stepped into the tunnel, I jogged up to walk beside Cloud. “You know, I was thinking about something.”

He turned his face toward me as we continued walking down the barren tunnel. “That you’re gonna kick Yuffie’s ass for not bringing along any materia?”

I smiled. “Well, I might do that, now that you mentioned it. But no, I was thinking about Shinra. We never did find out what he really wanted.”

“Don’t worry about it. As soon as all this is over, I’m gonna personally pay the bastard a visit.”

“Good. I’m going with you.”

“Why? You think I can’t handle myself alone?”

“Cloud, we both know Rufus can’t be trusted. He proved that when he kidnapped me. I wouldn’t put it passed him to already have a plan in place in case you happen to show up.”

“I’ll be ready for him next time.”

“I’m still going with you.”

He snorted out a laugh. “Can’t talk you out of it?”

“Nope.”

“Then I’ll just go and not tell you. I’m pretty good at that.”

“Don’t make me surgically implant a tracking device on you.”

He laughed again and looked down. “I wouldn’t doubt you’d do such a thing.”

I put my hand on his arm and pulled him to a stop. “Cloud, I’ve told you that I love you, right?” I was suddenly unsure whether or not I had actually said the words to him.

“Yeah…” He looked confused.

“Okay, good.” I slipped an arm around his neck as I stood up on my toes and leaned in to kiss him. When was the last time we had shared a moment together? On the freighter…that seemed like weeks ago instead of a couple of days. I was surprised when Cloud continued the kiss with some passion. He had never kissed me like this in front of the others.

“Anyone have a barf bag?” exclaimed Cid as he walked passed and glowered over his shoulder at us.

“Get a room,” Barret muttered as he also walked by.

I glanced the other way, where Vincent and Yuffie were approaching.

Yuffie gave Vincent a suggestive look. “Giving you any ideas, Vinnie?”

“There’s a time and a place,” said the usually quiet gunman. “And this isn’t it.” He and Yuffie passed us.

Cloud reluctantly released me and we continued on down the tunnel.

The tunnel itself had no special features, other than an occasional light mounted on the steel wall. The floor was also made of steel and was covered in a very thin layer of dust. There were cobwebs all over and along with the dust, I imagined this tunnel hadn’t been built recently and was rarely used. But I did notice the dust on the floor had been disturbed by several footprints. Perhaps Hojo making his getaway.

After walking for another twenty minutes through the endless tunnel, finally up ahead was a wall with a metal door. There was a small keypad above the handle.

Cid lit his fourth cigarette in the last half hour and motioned to the keypad. “Anyone wanna take a stab at it?”

Cloud turned to Barret with an impatient sigh. “Just blast it.”

Everyone stepped back as Barret let loose on the door. The keypad and the door handle were ripped to shreds in seconds. When Barret stopped, the door slowly drifted open on its own. He nudged it further open with the toe of his boot and peeked around the doorframe, his gunarm raised. “Stairway goin’ up on the right.”

We all passed through the doorway. The steps on the right were made of stone. So were the walls in the immediate area. It was too dark to see anything beyond ten feet. The only light source was coming from the tunnel.

Cloud looked up and around. “We’re inside a temple.” With his Mako-enhanced eyesight, he was able to penetrate the darkness.

Vincent was also able to see what we couldn’t. “Judging by the distance we traveled inside the tunnel, it must be the same temple Kohler led us to.”

Cloud sniffed the air. “I smell oil.” He surprised Cid by snatching the cigarette out of his mouth and skipping up the stone steps, passing underneath an arch. The rest of us quickly followed him. Cloud flicked the cigarette a couple feet away. When the cigarette landed, it ignited a flame that traveled quickly along a four inch wide moat on the floor, illuminating the vast interior of the ancient temple.

I looked around at the multi-tiered platforms running along the perimeter of the temple walls in a half circle. Small walkways led from one platform to another and between every three platforms were steps leading up to each of the other four levels. It almost looked like an auditorium. “What is this place? Another Cetra temple?” If it was a Cetra temple, I wondered why Aeris never mentioned it…unless she hadn’t known it existed.

The oil burning in the moat cast an eerie glow on the upper levels. Upon further inspection, I noticed the walls were covered in either moss or overgrown vines. Small critters scampered around, looking for shadows to hide in. Near one of the platforms was a large pile of stones that looked as if they had caved in. My guess was it was the opening Kohler had been standing in when we were on the outside of this temple. Cloud had tossed a grenade at the entrance, causing the cave.

“What’re we doing here?” asked Yuffie, spinning around in a circle. “That stupid professor could be miles away by now.”

Cloud’s eyes were closed and he was sniffing the air. “No, he’s in here,” he said as he opened his eyes again. “I can smell him.”

Just then some shots came at us from one of the platforms. “Don’t move!”

We all turned toward the source of the voice. Three men stood on a platform, the one in the middle was Hojo, in his typical white lab coat. The two guards on either side of him held rifles aimed in our direction.

“If you move,” Hojo cried out, “…my men will shoot.”

Cloud took a step forward and before I could even blink, he fired his pistol twice. Both guards went down, leaving Hojo unprotected and surprised. “So let them shoot,” Cloud said matter-of-factly. He gave Vincent a side glance. “Bring him down here.”

In a flash of red, Vincent swirled into the air. I had never seen Vincent in this form. The red stain rose higher and headed for Hojo.

“Stay away from me!” yelled Hojo as he tried to back away from Vincent. He moved too close to the edge of the platform and lost his footing, falling the fifteen feet to the hard floor below. Hojo struggled to get up, clutching his right arm.

Cloud walked over with determination and before Hojo could finish standing, he punched the professor hard in the face.

I rushed forward and watched Cloud crouch over the fallen professor, pressing his knee into the man’s throat, cutting off his air supply. He stuck the barrels of both his pistols right into Hojo’s face. I could literally feel the rage and tension pouring out of Cloud. I knew he wanted to kill Hojo right on the spot. But we needed him alive. “Cloud, no!” I yelled.

Cid walked up to Cloud and put a hand on his shoulder. “Easy there, kid. I know how bad you wanna blow away this prick…”

Cloud reluctantly removed the pistols from Hojo’s face and stood up. It was clear he was desperately trying to control himself.

Cid grabbed Hojo by the left arm and dragged him up on his feet.

For the first time since I first laid eyes on the professor, he really looked shaken. His eyes were locked on Cloud from behind his round lenses as if he was afraid he’d do something.

Cloud turned back to face him, but maintained a safe distance. “If we hadn’t blown the entrance of this temple, we wouldn’t be having this reunion. Right?”

I glanced up and saw Vincent, still in his flying cloak form, as he checked the upper levels to make sure no one else would be surprising us.

“That’s it then?” Barret moved toward Hojo and leaned in. “Got anythin’ else up your sleeves, asshole?”

Hojo remained silent as he glared back at Barret before his attention returned to Cloud. “Why don’t you go ahead and kill me?”

Cloud walked up and paced in front of Hojo. “First I want you to reverse what you did to me…then I’ll kill you.”

The professor snickered and finally regained his composure. “You take me for a fool.”

Cloud stopped pacing and stood nearly nose to nose with him. “No, it’s you who thinks I’m the fool. You think I don’t know what you did…how you did it?”

“Please, do enlighten me.”

“You gave me more Jenova cells. That’s what was in that shit you made me drink. And you mixed some other DNA in there to create an antigen. But you were expecting something more than just a leopard.”

“Of course, I was! I’m a renowned scientist! You think I do this to amuse others?”

I couldn’t help myself. I had to say something. “Do we look amused?”

Hojo didn’t even spare me a glance. His eyes never left Cloud. “I had such high hopes for you. But with every attempt I made, you proved to be a failure over and over again.”

“Makes me wonder if maybe you’re the one who’s failed,” replied Cloud.

“No, my SOLDIER friend.” He snapped his fingers. “Oh, that’s right. You never made it, did you? Couldn’t tolerate the Mako injections because you were too weak.”

Cloud punched Hojo again, sending him sprawling to the floor for the second time. This time the professor had four slashes across his cheek and jaw. When I glanced at Cloud’s hand, it was slowly transforming back from a leopard paw. As Hojo tried to get up again, Cloud pushed him back down with his boot. “Stay down there!”

“Cloud, he’s just trying to rile you up,” I said.

Hojo glared up at Cloud as he covered the slashes with a hand. “Did you seriously think that all of this was about you? All of this is much bigger than you. Believe me, you’re not that important.”

Cloud crouched next to Hojo and when he grabbed the front of the professor’s lab coat and raised him up, Hojo cringed. “I’m not? I beg to differ. I defeated Sephiroth three times and you’re looking for ways to control me. And since you can’t control me, you’re trying to prove to yourself that I was a failure. It’s eating you up inside, isn’t it.”

Hojo jerked in spasms and I realized the man was laughing without making a sound. “You think I’m the one trying to control you? Haven’t you learned anything yet?”

Cloud stared intently Hojo awhile before roughly releasing him. He stood up and suddenly swung his sword at Hojo.

For a second I wasn’t sure anything had happened. But I was wrong as I watched Hojo’s head slowly pull away from the rest of his body. Cloud had sheered the professor’s head clean off.

No one said a word. Everyone remained still, watching Cloud wipe the blade of his sword on Hojo’s lab coat, leaving a large red smear. He showed no remorse whatsoever.

I exchanged a glance with the others before walking up to Cloud. “Are you okay?” I quietly asked him.

“I’m fine.”

“Why did you kill him?”

“I don’t need him anymore.”

My mouth hung open in confusion. “Would you mind explaining?”

“You heard what he said. He’s not the one trying to control me.”

“Yeah, but…”

“I know who it is now.”

“Who?”

“Shinra.”

I rolled my eyes. “You think Rufus Shinra’s behind what happened here? The helicopter crash? The cannibals? Your transformation? All of this? Cloud, he couldn’t have cooked up something this elaborate in a hundred years.”

“I’m not saying he had something to do with all of this. Just some of it.”

“Like what?”

Cloud’s eyes suddenly widened and he suddenly started laughing.

“Cloud…what? Why’re you laughing?”

Cid snorted. “I think the kid’s finally lost his marbles.”

“Shuddup, Cid,” Barret growled. “This ain’t no time for jokes.”

We all stared at Cloud until his laughter finally died down.

“I can’t believe I didn’t figure this out sooner,” Cloud said. “Shinra knew Hojo was here. He told the professor to mess with me. Except Hojo, in his infinite wisdom, had to add one more element to prove he had the upper hand.”

I shook my head. “I don’t understand.”

“Think about it, Tifa. How do you suppose we escaped so easily? Hojo wanted us to escape. He wanted to prove that his reunion theory really worked. Just like the numbered clones being drawn to the North Cave to reunite with Sephiroth. He used it on me. That’s why I felt the urge to come back.”

“But what does Shinra have to do with any of this?”

“He knows what will cure me. He’s getting exactly what he wanted…my cooperation.”

Barret looked annoyed. “You’re talkin’ in circles, Spiky.”

Cloud shook his head. “We need to go back.”

When he took my hand, I pulled it away from him. “What do you mean go back? Back where?”

“Home.”

I frowned at him. “But what about…? I thought you couldn’t leave here or you’d end up as a leopard permanently…”

Cloud turned to the decapitated body of Hojo. “I don’t think that’s gonna be a problem anymore.” He glanced at Cid and motioned with his head.

Cid walked over to Hojo and nudged the body with a toe. “Yeah, the creep’s dead for sure this time.”

“But…What was so funny? Why’d you laugh?”

“Because I should have known. My hatred for Hojo blinded me from seeing the real person behind this. It’s so simple.” He walked away without another word.

I exchanged a glance with the others before we all started following him back through the tunnel.

Something nagged at the back of my mind. Why was Cloud so quick to think Shinra was behind all of this? He was acting a little crazy. Maybe Cid was right. Maybe Cloud was finally losing it.

The Sea – the present

We took Kohler’s boat back along the river and headed for Junon. It was dark by the time we hit the open sea.

“I feel strange just taking Kohler’s boat,” I said.

“Why?” replied Cid. “He won’t be needin’ it.”

“Can’t you show a little compassion?” I argued.

“What for? The guy tried to kill us.”

“So did the Turks. Yet we still let them come and drink with us at the Seventh Heaven.”

“Hey, that’s your doin’, not mine.” Cid lit a cigarette. “If it were my choice, I’d toss them to the Midgar Zolom as an afternoon snack.”

I gave up arguing with Cid. He always had to have the last word. Instead I walked over to where Cloud was steering the boat. “Are you holding up okay, Cloud?”

“Perfectly.”

“No urges to return to the jungle?”

“Nope.”

I was relieved. My thoughts strayed to Jamal. When we had come out of the compound earlier, we found him in human form, wearing the trousers of one of the dead guards.

“Is he dead?” Jamal immediately asked.

“Yeah,” Cloud replied. “You don’t have to stay here anymore. It’s over.”

Jamal’s brows narrowed in confusion. “It’s over? I can go home now?”

I walked up to him and touched his arm. “Yes, you can go home.”

Tears formed in his eyes, but they didn’t reflect happiness. He slowly backed away. “I can never go back.”

“But this jungle can’t keep you trapped here any longer.”

Jamal shook his head. “That ain’t it. My wife…my kids…they don’t want me like this. They’ll never take me back.”

He wouldn’t willingly go with us so we had no choice but to leave him there.

“We’ll come back for him,” Cloud suddenly said. “If I can be cured, then so can he.”

I smiled at him. “How did you know what I was thinking?”

His eyes searched mine briefly. “I don’t know, Teef. I just figured…” He shrugged and leaned forward, kissing me on the lips.

If anything, this experience brought Cloud and I closer together and through all of it, maybe we became more empathic toward one another, knowing each other’s feelings and sometimes even our thoughts.

Barret smashed something with his fist, making everyone jump. “Dammit! Can’t this tub o’ junk go any faster?”

HEALIN – the present

Cloud’s POV

After checking with a number of sources, I was informed that Rufus Shinra was still stationed at Healin, even though he was cured of Geostigma. With all of his wealth, I couldn’t believe he hadn’t already built new headquarters somewhere, like the one that used to be at the center of Midgar.

No matter how hard I tried, I couldn’t convince Tifa to stay home. She kept insisting she was just as much a part of this as I was. I knew she thought it was all her fault, that if she hadn’t run away to Junon, then none of this would have happened. I argued that it would have happened regardless of her initiating it. Shinra was very persistent and for whatever reason he was involved in this, I was determined to find out.

We took Fenrir to Healin and after I pulled to a stop, Tifa hopped off from behind me. She sighed heavily and put her hands on her hips while looking up toward the structure. I followed her gaze and found Reno and Rude standing on the upper deck near the entrance.

Rude lifted a two-way radio to his mouth. “He’s here,” I heard him say.

“Hey, Rude,” Reno said loud enough for us to hear. “Didn’t we leave them stranded on a deserted island somewhere?”

“That was like a few weeks ago, wasn’t it?”

“Seemed like yesterday. Time sure flies when you’re having fun.”

“Cut the bullshit, Reno,” I yelled up. “Where’s Shinra?”

“So you decided to come crawling here for help?”

I frowned. “I’m not crawling!”

“Yeah, sure. Whatever you say.”

“Where is he?”

“Don’t get all snippy with me. I might decide not to tell you.”

Before I could toss back my retort, Tifa touched my arm. “Cloud, you know you’re not going to get anywhere with him like that,” she whispered. “You have to kill him with kindness.”

“I don’t have the patience to deal with him.”

“Then let me try.” Tifa looked up. “Hi, Rude.”

“Hi, Tifa. Hope you didn’t have a hard time while you were stranded.”

“Oh, it wasn’t that bad. Sort of like a mini vacation. It was so hot though, I couldn’t keep my clothes on.”

With a sick feeling in my gut, I watched Tifa smile and openly flirt with Rude. What was she trying to do?

“Won’t you let us up and talk to Rufus?” she finally asked.

“You don’t have to ask, Tifa. He’s been expecting both of you.”

I didn’t wait for the conversation to continue. I grabbed Tifa’s wrist and pulled her along hat with me. Before we reached the top of the long stairway, I dragged her to a stop. “Stop flirting with him in front of me,” I whispered through clenched teeth.

She gave me an innocent look. “Just trying to help.”

“The goon has a thing for you. You’re leading him on.”

“Yes, so we can get inside. Besides, I’m with you.”

“He doesn’t know that.”

To my surprise, Tifa slid her arms around my neck and gave me a lengthy open-mouthed kiss. When she pulled away, she gave me a smile and a wink. “He does now.”

Too bad the Turks were around. I would have made that kiss last a lot longer.

When Tifa continued up the stairway, I followed behind her. Rude looked a bit perturbed. Maybe he thought he might have had a chance with Tifa. Over my dead body. As I passed Rude, I couldn’t help myself. I gave him a smug smile, silently conveying the fact that Tifa belonged to me. If I had been in a better frame of mind, I might have even rubbed it in his face.

I walked through the door first and glanced around.

The room was empty. Tifa came up behind me, followed by the Turks.

“So where is he?” I asked.

Rude walked to the other door and opened it. “This way.”

Just to be on the safe side, I unsheathed Apocalypse from my harness before stepping through the door.

Rufus Shinra was in this next room, sitting in a black leather chair behind a large, elaborate desk. As usual he was dressed in a white, three piece suit with a black shirt. He was leaning back in his chair, his fingers steepled together.

I glanced behind me as Reno and Rude followed Tifa in again. They closed the door. I faced forward, glaring at Shinra, waiting for him to say something.

“Either you’re here for a job or Hojo is dead.”

“I’m not here for a job.”

Shinra tapped his fingers together for several seconds before he stood up from his chair and walked to the window behind the desk. “You did the world a favor, Cloud. It’s better off without a scientist of his caliber.”

“The fact that you mentioned Hojo leads me to believe I was right in thinking you’re behind what happened to me.”

He turned toward me, that self-righteous smile planted on his face. “Perhaps you should ask Tifa why I went to the lengths I did.”

I frowned and looked in Tifa’s direction.

Tifa opened her mouth and shook her head. “I don’t know what he’s talking about, Cloud.”

“Certainly you do,” Rufus said. “I was trying to recruit Cloud’s help and you prevented that from happening. Or has your memory failed?”

“You weren’t trying to recruit his help,” Tifa replied angrily. “You kidnapped me!”

“Yes…to ensure Cloud’s cooperation.”

I was already tired of the conversation. “You better just start from the beginning, Shinra. I’m not playing you fucking mind games.”

Shinra sighed as he sat on the corner of the desk. “Hojo, in his infinite wisdom, was trying to cure my Geostigma. Well, needless to say, he failed. What he did accomplish was something completely different. Then the rain came. It cured the stigma, but not my…other problem.” He folded his arms across his chest. “I need you to take me to the Cetra.”

My head started swimming. What? “Aeris is dead.”

“Yes, yes…so I’ve been told. I need you to take me to her.”

I shook my head. “Are you hearing me? I said she’s dead.”

“If that’s true, then how do you explain the healing rain?”

“I can’t explain it.”

“You’ve seen her, haven’t you?”

“You’re crazy.”

“Am I?”

Tifa stepped forward, looking at me with a surprised look on her face. “Cloud? Is she alive?”

“No, she’s not alive. She’s part of the Lifestream. I…I only saw her once…or…twice, I think.”

“I don’t understand.”

I swallowed a lump in my throat, hoping Tifa wouldn’t be mad again. “She appeared once when I went after Kadaj to rescue Marlene and Denzel. Then she appeared again in the church where I woke up.”

“Why didn’t you tell me?”

“I thought you’d think I was losing it.”

Rufus cleared his throat. “I hate to break up the lovers’ squabble…”

I threw Rufus an angry glare. “Whatta you want with Aeris?”

“I want her to cure me.”

“I can’t help you. I don’t know where she is and I don’t know when or if she’ll ever appear again.”

He sighed heavily. “Then I suppose both of us are out of luck.”

“What’re you talking about?”

“Believe it or not, it was purely coincidental that our helicopter crashed near that rainforest. It just so happened to be where Hojo kept his secret laboratory. When my associates and I found it, I informed Hojo that you were in the vicinity. He seemed overjoyed. I instructed him to do with you as he pleased.”

I clenched my teeth, but remained where I was, even though every bone in my body was telling me to take off his head, just like I did with Hojo. “Why?”

“To truly ensure your cooperation, Cloud. You see, what Hojo did to you, he had done to me earlier in his attempt to cure the stigma.”

“I can’t believe you staged all of this for your own needs, you selfish prick,” said Tifa. She took the words right out of my mouth.

“There’s no need for name calling,” Reno muttered behind us.

I glanced over my shoulder. “Shut up!” I faced Rufus again. “Why didn’t you come to me after it happened? Why’d you let me go on some wild goose chase, looking for answers?”

“Because I knew you’d eventually go after Hojo. And just as I predicted, you killed him. Like I said, the world is better off without him.”

“So what’d he do to you?” I asked out of curiosity.

“He thought he could cure my stigma by injecting me with Darknation cells. You do remember my beloved pet? The one you killed a little over two years ago?”

“My heart bleeds for you, Shinra.”

“So how about it? We can both use a cure.”

I ran my fingers through my hair and briefly glanced at Tifa. She was watching me, probably wondering what I was going to do. I honestly didn’t know. I came here thinking Rufus had a cure and instead I learned he needed one, too. I closed my eyes and shook my head. “I don’t know if I can.”

“Alright, Cloud. I see you need some time to think about it.”

He wasn’t getting it. I gave up trying to convince him I couldn’t just call Aeris on the phone and ask her to meet me. I turned back to Tifa. “Let’s get out of here.”

“Fine by me,” she said as she followed me to the door.

EDGE – the present

Cloud couldn’t sleep, so I stayed awake with him in the TV room. We were curled up together on the recliner, talking about what had happened up to this point.

“Maybe you don’t need to be cured, Cloud. I mean, you’re not feeling the need to become a leopard anymore, right?”

“I know, but I still want the thing out of me.”

I curled my arms tighter around his neck and leaned my forehead against his. “I’m not mad at you for not telling me you saw Aeris.”

“It was actually three times. I saw her when I was fighting the Bahamut. She’s helping us, Tifa.”

I pulled away a couple of inches to look at him. “Then I know she’ll help you now.”

“But I don’t even know how to find her.”

Are you all right?

Then it suddenly dawned on me. The Forgotten City…where Cloud had laid her body in the water. I had a feeling we might find her there. Or rather, Cloud would see her there, if in fact she only appeared to him.

I wouldn’t say anything just yet. He needed to stop thinking about it or he’d never get any rest. Instead I kissed him with a purpose and he responded without hesitating. After several minutes, I pulled away and nipped at his chin. “Can we please go to bed now?”

When Cloud slipped his hand underneath my teeshirt, I knew I had accomplished my goal of distracting him. “Let’s go,” he said breathlessly.

Maybe it would be better if I waited until morning to tell him my idea about the Forgotten City.

FORGOTTEN CITY – the present

The giant seashell structure behind the lagoon still looked the same to me. After two years I would have thought the vegetation might have altered the landscape, but this place seemed eternally unchanged.

I glanced toward Cloud as he walked to the edge of the water and buried his sword into the dirt. He crouched down beside it and looked out at the water.

Two days ago, I suggested to Cloud that we go to the Forgotten City. When he asked why, I told him I heard Aeris speak to me the last time we were there. He decided it was as good a place as any to start.

At first we weren’t going to tell Shinra our plans. But it was pointless because we both knew we were being watched. So instead of wasting time trying to avoid his lackeys, Cloud and I contacted Rufus. He agreed to supply the transportation. Despite the fact that I had previously vowed never to step foot in a Shinra helicopter again because of what happened the last time, Cloud would be with me, so I felt a lot safer.

Rufus Shinra, flanked on either side by Reno and Rude, strolled forward and visually inspected the area. “This place is truly amazing,” he said, trying his best to sound impressed. But I knew he was only doing it for Cloud’s benefit.

“So now what?” asked Reno. “Should we all sit in a circle and hold hands, maybe light some candles?”

Cloud glared at him. “You could have stayed in the chopper, Reno.”

“What fun would that be?”

“We’re not here for your amusement, Reno,” Shinra said. “Just keep quiet.”

I walked over by Cloud and sat down beside him on the ground. “She may not appear while they’re around.”

“She may not appear at all.”

I heard a giggle echo over the water and quickly turned to Cloud. But he didn’t seem surprised. “Did you hear that?”

“Hear what?”

“I was wondering how long it would take Cloud to decide to come here,” said the voice that sounded like Aeris.

Cloud still didn’t appear fazed. Didn’t he hear the voice?

“You’re wondering why only you can hear me. Right, Tifa?”

I stood up and looked over the water as a light pink glow suddenly appeared and materialized into Aeris. My jaw dropped. “Why only me?”

“Huh?” Cloud looked at me curiously.

“Because it’s my choice for now. Besides, I think there’s something you want to ask me. Something personal?” Aeris asked in her sweet voice.

I stared wide-eyed at her. She looked just as I remembered her. “Yes.”

“Then ask me.”

Cloud stood up and moved in front of me. “Tifa…what’re you doing?”

I nudged Cloud out of the way and noticed him look out at the water, trying to see what I was seeing. “Just one question…At the Gold Saucer, when you and Cloud went on your date…”

“Are you talking to her?” asked Cloud.

I shushed him and he frowned at me.

Aeris giggled. “He was so shy with me and very nervous. So we didn’t get very far. I think he was worried about how you’d react if you found out.”

I glared at Cloud. “I wouldn’t have been as angry as I was about him lying to me about it.”

“His heart belongs to you. It always has. Besides that, my heart belonged to someone else, too.”

“Zack?”

“Yes, Zack.” She looked to her right and stretched her arm out. A hand appeared and took hers.

Suddenly Zack Fair appeared standing beside her over the water. He gave me his trademark smile. “Hi, Tifa. Long time no see.”

“Zack…”

From the corner of my eye, Cloud was scratching the back of his head. When Shinra came to stand on the other side of me, I decided it was best if I didn’t speak any longer.

“Is she out there?” asked Rufus. “Can you see her?”

“Tell him we won’t appear for him or his associates,” said Aeris.

I turned to Rufus. “She said she won’t appear for you.”

Shinra looked disappointed.

“Hello, Cloud,” she said after turning her gaze to him.

“Hey, buddy,” Zack said immediately after.

I noticed Cloud’s eyes were wide with wonder, so I knew he was seeing them.

“What’s the matter, Cloud? Cat got your tongue?” Zack teased.

“Sorry,” Cloud slowly replied. “I don’t know what to say.”

“Why don’t you start with, hey, I need your help?”

“I…I need your help.”

Zack chuckled. “You’re really running up quite a medical bill here in the Lifestream.”

“I know.”

Aeris gave Zack a reproachful frown. “Zack, stop it.” She turned back to Cloud and reached out her hand. “Come in the water, Cloud.”

Cloud turned to me, as if he wanted my permission.

I decided I’d go in with him. So as I removed my shoes and socks, he quickly did the same. Then he took my hand and we stepped into the water together.

Aeris tossed something toward the bank and when I glanced over my shoulder, I saw a sparkling barrier blocking Rufus from entering the water. “Just sit tight, Mr Shinra,” she said.

Given Shinra’s reaction, I imagined she let him hear her voice that time.

Cloud and I stopped several feet away from Aeris and Zack.

“You know,” Zack started to say. “I forgive you for trying to make out with my girl at the Gold Saucer.”

Cloud’s face reddened. “I wasn’t…myself.”

Zack grinned. “I know. I’m just messin’ with ya.”

“Zack, I’m trying to concentrate,” Aeris lightly scolded.

When sparkling ribbons of fluorescent green appeared and began swirling around Cloud, I released his hand and took a step back, not wanting to interrupt her spell.

Cloud closed his eyes and jerked in spasms, his body slowly rising completely out of the water, held up by the swirls of green.

My eyes shifted to Aeris. Her eyes were also closed and her brows were furrowed in concentration.

“Is he in pain?” I asked Zack when Cloud started shaking almost uncontrollably in midair.

Aeris smiled, her eyes still closed and her hands still raised in Cloud’s direction. “Of course not.”

“How long will it take?”

“As long as it takes for me to find the source that causes his transformation.”

I was curious to know how she could know what was wrong with him when he didn’t even tell her what the problem was. “How do you know what to look for?”

“I’ve restored Cloud to health not too long ago.” She was referring to the time he had been blown up after his fight with Sephiroth, which seemed like a lifetime ago. “Plus I’m familiar with Professor Hojo’s work. Not many survive his experiments.”

“Why is he here?” Zack said as he motioned toward Shinra.

I took several minutes to bring them up to speed on what I knew and how we finally came to be here. And how Rufus Shinra was involved.

Zack snorted derisively. “He wants Aeris to cure him? After all the trouble he caused?”

“I’ll only do it if Cloud asks me to,” Aeris replied without losing her concentration.

I glanced at Cloud. He had stopped shaking and his face looked peaceful. “Is it going okay? Will he be alright?”

Just as the questions left my mouth, Cloud began to float back down into the water. The swirls of green sparkles vanished. He slowly opened his eyes and swallowed hard as he raised his arms and looked at his hands.

I needed to know if he was fine. “Cloud?”

“It’s gone…I can’t feel it any longer.”

My eyes swelled with tears. “Really?” When he looked up at me and I knew from his expression that he was going to be all right. I rushed over and threw my arms around his neck.

Cloud wrapped his arms around me in return and held me tightly. He surprised me when he kissed me right in front of everyone.

“Should we disappear and give you two some alone time?” Zack teased.

I pulled away, noticing Cloud’s sheepish smile.

We both turned to Aeris and Zack. They had their arms around each other.

I smiled at Aeris. “You saved us once again. Thank you.” When Cloud didn’t say anything, I jabbed him with my elbow.

“Thank you,” he quickly blurted out.

Aeris raised a finger and wagged it in his direction. “I don’t want to see you here again.”

“No, never.” He scratched the back of his head. “I mean…not that I don’t want to see you and Zack again…I sort of have…or rather I…”

Zack waved a hand at him. “Ah, just forget it.”

Cloud grinned and nodded. “So…what about Rufus?”

Aeris turned to the man in question. “Tell him that he’ll be cured, but if I hear he’s not using his power and wealth for the good of the planet, I won’t tell you what I’ll turn him into.”

Cloud turned to me. “Go on and tell him.”

“Me? Why should I tell him?”

“’Cuz I’m tired of talking to him.”

“You tell him.”

“No, you tell him.”

“Are you referring to something you need to tell me?” asked Rufus from the bank of the lagoon.

Cloud shrugged and took my hand. “Fine. We’ll both tell him.”

Five minutes later, while Rufus was in the process of receiving his cure from Aeris, Cloud and I stood on the bank watching with Reno and Rude. It took Aeris slightly longer to cure Rufus and for a second I thought he was going to burst into tears when it was all over.

He slowly came out of the water with a grin. It actually looked genuine. “Thank you, Cloud. I appreciate your help.”

“Why’re you thanking me?” Cloud retorted. “Thank them.” He motioned toward the water.

Rufus turned, but I knew he didn’t see them. “Thank them for me.” He walked passed us.

Reno and Rude followed behind him as they left the area.

As we watched Shinra and the Turks disappear, I leaned toward Cloud. “Do you really think he’ll keep his promise?”

“And be a good guy for a change?” Cloud smiled. “I doubt it.” Then he turned back toward the water. “Aeris, I have one more favor to ask.”

“What is it, Cloud?” she asked sweetly.

“It’s not for me. We met someone else who survived Hojo’s experiments.”

At first I didn’t know who he was talking about. And then it slowly dawned on me. Jamal. Once he was cured, he could return to his family.

Aeris smiled. “Of course I’ll help him. Afterall, didn’t he help when you really needed it?”

“You know about him?” Cloud asked curiously.

“The planet tells me everything.”

He smiled. “Oh yeah. I keep forgetting.”

My cellphone rang. I quickly picked it up from where I left it beside my shoes and socks. I glanced at the display and turned to Cloud. “It’s Barret. Do you want to take it?”

Cloud took the phone from me and answered it. “Yeah, Barret…” He listened for a minute. “Okay, we’re on our way.” He closed the phone and handed it back to me. “Shadowcreepers are terrorizing Kalm. Cid’s on his way to get us in the airship.”

I sat on the ground to put on my socks and shoes. “It’s about time he fixes that damned ship.” I glanced over the water to say goodbye to Aeris and Zack, but they were gone. Deep down in my heart though, I knew it probably wouldn’t be the last time I’d see them.

Once Cloud had put on his boots, we headed back the way we came in.

There would always be something happening somewhere and there would always be a need for AVALANCHE to come to the rescue. At least now I knew that when we were done kicking monster ass, Cloud and I would be going home together.

 

Chapter 31 – Epilogue​

SUBURB OF EDGE – Ten Years Later

Dinner was cooking in the crockpot, so while I had the chance, I reclined on the sofa with my feet up and watched my favorite program on TV.

About halfway through the show, I heard the back door open and close. Cloud was home. “Tifa?”

“I’m in here.”

Cloud walked into the den and approached the sofa. After I lowered the foot rest, he dropped down to his knees in front of me, lifted my top to uncover my pregnant belly and planted a gentle kiss there. “Hey, baby,” he murmured against my skin. Then he lifted himself up to kiss me.

This was what he did every single day since I started to show. He had done the same thing when I was pregnant with Raine, our first child, four years ago.

“Feeling better today?” he asked before kissing me again.

“Much better.”

“So having Marlene here is a good thing, right?”

I bit my lower lip. “Well…”

“What’s wrong?”

“I have to tell you something, but I don’t want you to get upset.”

“I’ll decide if I should be mad or not.”

“I kinda caught her and Denzel kissing outside this morning.”

“What?!” He jumped to his feet and started pacing. “I can’t believe this. They haven’t seen each other for months and just one day and they’re all over each other?”

“They weren’t all over each other. It was just a kiss.”

“Yeah, you try telling that to Barret when he finds out. He’ll rip Denzel’s arm out and beat him with it. If I don’t do it first.”

I struggled to my feet and stopped him from pacing. “Honey, she’s sixteen. She’s old enough to experience a kiss.”

“Yeah, but Denzel’s eighteen and he should know better. Where is he now?”

“He’s at work. He should be home in another half hour.”

Cloud frowned. “I’ll have a talk with him. You’re in charge of talking to Marlene.”

“I already had a chat with her.”

“What’d she say?”

“She said Denzel asked her out.”

Cloud grimaced. “Can’t he wait two more years until she’s eighteen? He can mess around with other girls until then.”

I gave Cloud a reprimanding look before kissing him. “Go wash up before dinner.”

“Daddy!”

We both turned to see our four year old daughter rush up.

Cloud caught her in his arms and lifted her up. “How’s my little munchkin?” He wrapped his arms around her as she tightened her arms around his neck.

“Can we get a puppy?” Raine asked out of the blue.

Cloud’s eyes shifted to me and he rolled them. “Not yet. We don’t want to give mommy more work to do.”

Raine pulled away to look him in the face. “But I’ll take care of him. I promise.”

“No, what I want you to do is promise me you’ll never kiss a boy until you’re thirty.”

She gave him a funny look.

“Never mind. We’ll talk later about the puppy.” He put her down.

“Yay!!” She ran off.

When we were alone again, I wrapped my arms around Cloud. “Thirty? Did you forget I was only fifteen when you kissed me for the first time?”

“Yeah, and I also remember my raging hormones at that age. I’m never letting Raine out of my sight.” He kissed me and then leaned toward my belly. “Hey, you in there. You better be a boy. I can’t handle anymore girls.”

I giggled and watched Cloud walk out of the den. I went out through the patio door to join Marlene who was sitting on the swing set in the backyard, watching Raine play with two of the kids from next door.

Her eyes came up when I approached. “Did…did you tell Cloud?”

I sat down in the swing beside her. “Yes.”

“Was he mad?”

“Alittle bit.”

“Please tell him not to get mad at Denzel.”

“He won’t. Besides, your father’s the one you have to worry about.”

“Cloud will tell him, right?”

“No, Cloud won’t tell him. If you want Barret to know then I think the best way to handle it is to have Denzel ask his permission.”

“He’ll say no.”

I gave her a reassuring smile. “Barret loves Denzel like a son. I think he’ll be upset at first, but then he’ll remember that Denzel is a good boy and would never hurt you.”

“I love him, Tifa. We’ve known each other since we were little, just like you and Cloud.”

I nodded.

“Tell me how it all started,” she asked, sounding genuinely interested.

My smile widened as I thought about that first day. “I was only six when Cloud and his mother moved into the neighborhood from across town. At first I thought he was strange looking, with his wild, spiky blonde hair sticking out in every direction…”

I was happy to retell my story to Marlene. Afterall, throughout all the trials Cloud and I had faced in our lives, there wasn’t a single moment, good or bad, that I regretted any of our time together.

The End