Final Fantasy VII 1. A Fateful Stranger

Chapter I

                Cloud Strife, an average twenty year old, stood calmly with his eyes lowered to the audience that had gathered beneath him.  Lights of every color shone down on his pale skin, reflecting his every bony feature gallantly to the world.  He drew in a deep breath as the weight of his electric guitar pulled on his masculine arms once again.

                _Just breathe, _his mind advised as he shut his sight from the roaring crowd that was eagerly a waiting to hear the new singer's word.  Everything around him dimmed as he felt the onrush of memories lust into his brain.  The thoughts of all the incidents that had happened leading him here…lead singer of a punk rock band.  Flowing like an ocean beneath him, he opened his eyes to the audience once more with a superficial smile on his face.

                Of course, life had not always been so stressful, at least not in this manner.  Fame and fortune now led him down a path of riches and luxury, but at one time he had been trying to save this pathetic world.  All the people that stood before him, he saved.  And for what?   Well, he still could not come up with a half decent answer.  But, he had a feeling that it all started just a year earlier, after the triumph over his worst fiend.  

                "Cloud?" he could still remember her sweet serenade as if it were yesterday.  At least, as much as he could hear over the over powering thunder of the propellers above his head. 

                "Yeah?" was the only response that he had managed to mutter back then.  He regretted his lack of social skills now, but in a way he was thankful that he had not spoken much back then.  

                "You know, you're going to grow a hump on your back in you keep standing like than," Tifa gave a sly remark as she took position on the ever elusive metallic bar that seemed to keep Cloud in hunched position, which he seemed transfixed in.  He gave no reply as he felt her presence next to him, neither did he give her a smidge of his attention.  Rather he kept his attention in the distance, where his gaze and mind felt safe far away from the people of the world at which he survived in.

                Tifa noticed his farfetched look and joined him in his grimace over such little things.  She tilted her head from one side and then to the other as she looked at the rolling hills of earth sprouting hairs of grass for miles upon miles, as far as the eye could see.  Still not seeing the excitement of the scene, she began to tap her foot loudly on the concrete of the great airship that they were seeking refuge on for the next few days.

                Suddenly, Cloud did some of the most absurd movements by flinging his arms in the air, one after the other.  Soon he found himself standing away from the bar and standing up straight but still continuing the motion.  Tifa quickly found herself furrowing her eyebrows to Cloud's actions.

                "What are you doing?" she asked, almost worried about her friend's peculiar behavior. 

                "Trying to rid myself of a pesky fly that insists on annoying me," his words were emphasized directly towards her.

                "What is that supposed to mean?" Tifa asked a little hurt from his unexplained temperament.

                "Forget it," he mumbled and took his position back on the elusive safety rail before him.

                "What is the matter with you, Cloud?" her tone held her emotions in its grasp.  

                "Tifa…I just don't know right now.  Everything just ended so quickly, and I just don't know what to do.  My arch-nemesis is dead, and…and just everything that I spent my whole life to achieve is gone," he explained more with his hands than with his tongue.

                "You miss her, don't you?" Tifa's words were soft, and yet still held her optimism.

                "What?  Her?  Yes, but I never loved her like everybody is constantly thinking.  Hell, I don't even know what love is," his voice calmed down and looked over at her.  She raised one of her eyebrows and crossed her arms over her chest and stood up straight with a smug smile on her lips.  

                "Well, love only gets people in trouble anyway," Tifa explained and began to fill the air with her happy laughter.  Cloud smiled.  He didn't laugh, more or less he couldn't laugh.  It just seemed too awkward to let your body convulse in a manner where you let out a simple phrase usually consisting of a "ha ha" or a "heh heh."  Tifa though, could tell that the subject bothered him and that it was obvious that she needed to say some helping words.  

                "Don't worry Cloud.  You'll know when you're in love…" were the last words he ever remembered her saying.  She left him there standing on the rail and she walked off.  The gang found her missing the next morning along with the chocobo that they had taken along with them.

                With nothing left for him at Cid's Highwind, he decided to move on with his life also.  Figuring that there was nothing left at Nibelheim, he decided to travel in the opposite direction where he found himself in the partying city of Costa del Sol one rainy, dreary night.

                He stumbled into the only bar that was ever founded there that fateful night.  To his luck, the bar was not crowded, but there were a few residents lingering around, but most were too drunk to be claimed conscious considering their shot glasses were plastered to their stone cold grips.  His comfort level in the bar was already low, but when he looked to his right he saw a group of four people chatting silently and he felt that he shouldn't be there.

                The four that sat there consisted of three males and one female.  Although in all truth he couldn't tell consider it seemed as if they were all wearing facial make-up, and he thought of that hideous and grotesque.  He didn't pay them much attention besides the fact that one of the men had an overly large mo-hawk and the other two had deranged forms of spikey hair.  

                The girl on the other hand caught his attention, but that was only because she was closest to him and he could clearly make out her features.  She had to of been around the age of seventeen or eighteen, for her body was thinner than death, yet she still held a gorgeous figure.  She wore very large, torn denim pants that hung on her hips and were only held up by a bondage belt that had to have been on its tightest hole.  Her skin was pale, almost white in the lighting and her hair hung to her shoulders, feathered a mint green.  

                Cloud could feel her steel blue eyes following him up to the front table where the bartender held a glass in one and a cloth in the other.  He sat, ignoring the small hush that he left on the strange woman's table.  The leather stool sunk only a centimeter under his weight, and he relaxed his feet on the supporting bars on the legs of the stool.  He gave his order to the bartender, which was only replied with a nod.  

                "I'll be back," the woman spoke quietly among her comrades and stood up from her table, pushing her chair a few inches back.  She strolled up to the counter and took a seat directly next to Cloud.  Placing her elbows on the table, she complained to the bartender about the classical music that was being emitted by the jukebox in the far corner.

                "I bet you're losing a lot of customers because of it," she intrigued casually, and then glanced at Cloud.  She winked at him with an innocent smile on her face.  Her attention was then back towards the bartender at which she whispered some words that Cloud couldn't make out, but the bartender then walked off.

                "Wha…?" Cloud questioned with his lip curled in frustration.  

                "Cloud Strife is it?" she asked before putting her gaze back on him.

                "Who wants to know?"  Suddenly he felt like he was in an old western.  He shook off the thought and waited for the stranger to reply.

                "All right, I'll get to the point.  My gang needs your help…"

Author's Note:  Short, I know.  Hopefully having a lot of chapters will make up for it in the long run.  Anyway, this was just some deranged idea that I had one night and I'm finally putting it down on pencil and paper (and then keyboard.)  I don't have any clue as to who the coupling will be in here…and I have no idea how many chapters it will be.  Hopefully I'll receive some good reviews that will help me in this as so I might actually finish it.  Thank you for your time…and please review.

Oh, I don't own any characters of Squaresoft, but these new characters that obviously weren't a part of the legendary game of Final Fantasy VII are mine.  I doubt anybody is truly that desperate as to want my characters, but if you ever do use them…for anything, you will inform me first.  Please, not through e-mail, for I don't check my e-mail anymore.


	2. Truth

**Chapter II**

            "With what?  Fitting into society?" Cloud asked sarcastically.

            "I should knock you out for a remark like that, but since your help is needed so greatly, I won't," her tone went harsh.

            "Well, tell me what it is and I'll think about it."

            "I don't think you understand, this isn't a little matter.  I can't speak of it here.  The walls have ears…"

            "I think you're paranoid."

            "Look, to explain it simply, you need to finish something that you've started," she said bluntly and turned her whole body in his direction.

            "Hey kid, if you haven't noticed, the world is saved.  Sephiroth is dead and Meteor ain't hitting the world.  Whatever you and your little friends are doing, I'm pretty sure you can handle by yourself," Cloud's voice was once again irritated.

            "I figured you would say that," she said solemnly and stood from her stool.  "Just to tell you, we used to really look up to Avalanche.  But now, there's nothing left but mindless zombies who think the world is all of a sudden a better place."  With her mind spoken, she walked off in the opposite direction, back towards the table where her buddies were sitting.  She shook her head and the three stood and they left out into the pouring rain.

            Cloud wished that he had never followed them.  That had probably been his biggest mistake ever since giving Sephiroth the black materia.  At least, that was the only thing he could think of comparing it to.  After thirty minutes of endless walking, he finally managed to find a small alley where he just managed a glimpse of the woman jumping the fence.  

            Without hesitation, he followed her over the fence to find himself in a dumpster, filled to the brim with the filthiest garbage he had seen in ages.  Gooey remnants of miscellaneous food covered his clothes and he found half eaten hamburgers stuck to his shirt.  Spaghetti was coiled up in his golden locks and the smell was putrid.  

            "Oh God," was the only thing he managed to mumble as he felt somebody lift him out of the dumpster.

            "So, you decided to come?" a familiar voice asked once he was sprawled out in the mud with fresh rain soaking him.

            "No, I enjoy following people for hours…especially through dumpsters," he answered sarcastically as he sat on his behind with his arms out to the side, still dripping with mysterious substances from his dive in the garbage.  

            "Just making sure."  She held out her hand, which he graciously took, but he felt an evil idea spark in his head.  Instead of trying to stand up, he pulled her down into the mud next to him.  She yelped in surprise as her body met the large puddle of water and mud.  Suddenly, Cloud felt his body convulse in a strange manner, which was called laughter.  It was rather evil sounding, but he couldn't help it as he saw his unsuspecting victim sharing the torments of the rain.  

            "Anyway, my name is Chrissie," she growled with rage already filling her tiny body.  For some reason, hearing her in this type of pain made Cloud laugh even harder, even when she hit him with her fist right across the shoulder, which left a mighty bruise the next day.  

            "So, Chrissie, is there a last name with that?" Cloud asked while he stretched his legs out in the mud.

            "No," she spoke bluntly while regaining her balance on her feet.  She turned her back to him and pulled off the small black tank top she wore and rung out the water.  Cloud quickly noticed that she had no fear of her body, although she really couldn't, considering there was no body to see.  He was amazed at how the girl lived for he could clearly see almost every bone that made up her spine, and her skin really was almost as pale as the moon.  

            After having the water rung out of her shirt, she put it back on with ease and turned her attention back to the man that was enjoying a mud bath.  She cocked her eyebrow and folded her arms across her chest as she waited for him to stand.

            "Where are your friends?" Cloud asked while he tried to stand himself.

            "HQ," she said simply as she slowly began to move down the alley.  She moved her feet very slowly, in a sarcastic type of walk with her feet almost dragging on the ground as she still waited for Cloud to decide that he could stand.

            "HQ?  What are you guys?  Secret agents?" Cloud mocked.

            "No.  Call it whatever you want.  Home, I've heard it called.  HQ is just fun to say," she smiled at her last sentence and turned her eyes towards Cloud that was now successfully standing on his two feet.  "We're going to have to get you some new clothes.  The stench on those isn't what I would call pleasant."

            "Speak for yourself," was the only come back Cloud could think of.  He picked up his feet and began to walk behind her until they were both set at a steady pace.  Finding himself lost in the back streets of Costa del Sol, he finally threw his hands up in the air.

            "Where are we going?" he asked bitterly.

            "I told you, HQ.  It's not much farther, so don't worry," she reassured him.  He let out an annoyed sigh as he continued to follow her along the blackened streets.  His ears perked as he begun to hear the faint sounds of a guitar strumming away some cords.  A drummer joined him in an upbeat rhythm that was missing words.  

            "The boys are playing," Chrissie commented as they reached a large warehouse.  She walked to the front of the building just to follow it around to the side where a severely damaged wooden door barely stood on its hinges.  She flung the door open, almost hitting Cloud directly in the face, but his reflexes were faster and he caught the flimsy piece of wood before it could. 

            "Hey," a male's voice greeted and the music stopped abruptly.  "You finally came back."

            "Yeah, well I was followed home," she said as Cloud followed her inside of the large open space of the warehouse.  Boxes lined the far side of the room, the stacks almost touching the ceiling.  A small stage made of truck ramps was next to the wall where the mangled door stood, and that was where stood three men.  Cloud finally managed to get a better look at them, and truthfully they were some of the most hideous creatures he had ever seen.

            The one strumming cords on the guitar was just as skinny as Chrissie, and his face was covered with piercings.  His shirt was ragged and slits were made all through it, obvious of some battle he had managed to live through.  He wore jeans that were slightly tight, but still were baggy down around the ankles.  His hair was an aqua blue and spiked in all directions.  

            The other two men were similar to him, except one actually had a little meat on his bones.  At least they were muscles, not just skin hanging from a skeleton.  Clouds tried not to vomit in disgust as he looked at the living dead, so he took his attention off of them and back towards Chrissie who was walking towards a large pile of scrap metal in the center of the room.

            "So you guys live here?" Cloud asked perplexed as he eyed the hard living environment.

            "I suppose you could say that," Chrissie answered as the boys on the stage went back to playing their music.  She hustled through the rubble as if searching for something of great importance. 

            "Hey Chrissie, we need a vocalist!" the lead guitarist complained while still playing.

            "I'm busy!" she replied with a harsh tone.  She rolled her eyes as she continued to look.  "Can't you guys do anything constructive around here?"

            "We are," the main guitarist replied as he strummed a hard cord, which made his whole body move in the rhythm.

            "I'm sure."  She threw a large pipe across the room towards Cloud's head, which barely missed, for if it did it would lead to one mighty concussion.  His eyes grew wide as he continued to watch the mad woman rummage through the scraps like her life depended on it.

            "Ah ha!" she exclaimed reluctantly as she pulled out a piece of paper that resembled, or once resembled a newspaper.  "Look at this," she demanded as she walked back over to Cloud.

            Somehow, even though the damage to the paper was extensive, he still managed to read the headline  "Avalanche Strikes Again!"  Questions began to pop up in his mind as he read the article about how he had blown up the reactors in Midgar.  A concerned look crossed his face as he neared the end.

            "Why do you have this?" he asked almost in disgust.

            "We looked up to you…a lot," Chrissie spoke sincerely.

            "Why?  We killed people," Cloud argued as he remembered the hundreds of lives lost because of their actions.

            "People die everyday, but for the wrong cause.  You're a hero."

            "Yeah, but not because of that."

            "To me it is.  You stood up to that damn Shinra, and you meant business.  That's why it was a chance meeting with you tonight," she explained, her voice still low.

            "No, I'm done with that stuff.  Meteor and Sephiroth are gone, and that's all I care about," Cloud stated bluntly and he turned in the opposite direction, ready to walk out on the woman.

            "Rufus is still alive…"

Author's Note:  Wow, yet another chapter to this demented story.  Oh, the suspense is now building.  Ooh, ah, look in wonder and amazement.  Anyway, I would really like reviews and mostly suggestions on how I can make my writing better.  I like suggestions because it helps me learn to write better.  How?  It helps because instead of people saying that it is just too awesome, their actually telling me the drawbacks of my story and how I need to improve it.  Well, I like comments too…who doesn't?  Forget it, nobody reads this shit anyway.

No, I do not own any of the characters from Final Fantasy VII, for if I did I would not have to sit around making up some deranged stories about it.  A few of the characters are mine though…you know, the half dead ones?  Yeah, thanks a bunch.  Chaos for now.


	3. Decision

Chapter III 

            "I care…why?" Cloud stopped for a moment, not really taking in the information.

            "Do you remember Rufus?  The one that almost destroyed everything?  You really don't think he's going to ally with the Turks again and wreak his havoc?  You're dumber than I thought," her voice became serious and sour.

            "What could they possibly do?  All of the reactors are destroyed, so they can't exactly produce mako energy anymore."

            "You are so naïve!  You really think that was all that Shinra caused?"

            "Hey, I know what Shinra did!" his voice was stern as he turned back to her and spoke his mind.

            "No you don't.  Thousands of people die on the streets these days because of that damn president.  We rejoiced when we heard that Midgar had blown up along with the weapon, but of course a president could never die that easily.  He was saved from the destruction, almost dead none the less."

            Cloud remained silent and he crossed his arms tightly across his chest as he maintained his attention on the young woman's words.  Now was a time when he could finally see her true features, under the bright lighting of the warehouse.  She was so pale, and so skinny, it seemed as if she could never exist.  Obviously she was a fragile little creature, but she also held a lot of muscle, for he could still feel his shoulder pounding from where she had playfully hit him.

            "Shinra…made me what I am today.  Same with them," she pointed to the three men that were playing on the stage,  "and with hundreds of other people with our misfortune.  We're literally the living dead.  There's no way our bodies could be living in the shape we're in.  We shouldn't be alive…we should be six feet under.  

            "Shinra did this to all the street kids of Midgar.  They promised us happy lives, with parents and homes, as long as we did one thing for them.  They wanted us to get a simple injection of some sort, and then they said that we would be living like kings.  Of course, many kids were starving, as was I, and we were all foolish enough to believe Shinra's promises.  So, we all went with the injection, little to our knowledge the effects that it would have on our bodies.  

            "Many did die.  And the ones that didn't die were so close that Shinra just threw them back out on the streets to die.  Only about five percent of the children that they experimented on came out successful, and they did indeed live triumphing lives.  I've heard rumors that the injection was supposed to make our bodies live for hundreds of years, and basically be a cure to death.  I believe that now, looking at myself.  But so many died just being injected with its potent toxic…"

            "How does this concern me?" Cloud asked after listening heartily to her story.

            "What makes you think that he isn't going to try it again?  He, for some reason, is looking for a way to create a super human.  Luck was on our side when Sephiroth came around, but that didn't last too long when he turned on his creators."

            "But Professor Hojo created Sephiroth," Cloud interrupted trying to get facts straight.

            "Yeah, but Hojo worked for Shinra.  The Sephiroth you defeated was a clone of the one that was killed so many years back.  Tell me, what makes you think Rufus won't try and create another to find the Promised Land?" Chrissie's argument was not making much sense to the Ex-Soldier, but in a way it did.

            "Why are they all set on finding the Promised Land so much?  Sure, it would have all the mako energy that they could possibly need but…"

            "Exactly.  Rufus is a power hungry bastard and with more mako, more power.  He doesn't think the sky is the limit…he doesn't believe in a limit.  Sadly, he has great ideas, but his motives of doing it is wrong," she commented while still looking up at Cloud.

            "So how do you plan on destroying him?"  Cloud soon realized that his question was a mistake.  An evil sinister grin crossed her lips and her eyebrows furrowed and she could feel the excitement of battle shaking her body.  

            "First…" Hours of explaining went by as small maps of strategies began popping up everywhere in the warehouse.  To make a long explanation short, she simply spoke of how they must find the president and quickly assassinate him.  Years of work must go in the project, for Cloud must take on an appearance of one of them, and not of the hero that saved the world.  Chrissie also requested that in a year he must gather the old Avalanche together for one more show down with Shinra, and to finally destroy the conspiracy.  

            The lead guitarist was skilled in making bombs, and that would become useful to them in their plans.  His small, yet powerful creations would easily destroy any building still remaining of Shinra, and his computer skills were also profoundly superior to many normal beings.  The two other men had no real skills, but they still agreed to help in any manner that was possible.  

            So life went of for Cloud Strife.  Suddenly he was once again wrapped up in saving the world against some conspiracy of Shinra, yet this time it would not destroy the world, but it would affect the lower people of society that rejoiced in seeing the sun the next morning. 

            He never realized the changes that his appearance was taking on around him.  His clothes drastically changed, his favorite outfit now being a torn jacket with no sleeves and no zipper with plaid shorts that hung just below his knees.  He wore a belt similar to Chrissie's and his shoes were a pair or worn black sneakers.  His hair was dyed to match the group, yellow with fiery red tips, and he also found himself cutting it into a mo-hawk.  

            Piercing himself actually frightened him at first, but then almost became an obsession after he realized that the pain would cease after time.  He bore two rings on one eyebrow, and one on the opposite side.  He pierced the stranger parts of his body too, such as his tongue and his nipples (after much convincing.)  

            He found himself as a lead singer next to Chrissie, and also a lead guitarist.  He somehow was caught up in the music, and he found it a release from the life he had once lived.  It was fascinating to him that he could speak so freely while singing, so many emotions filled his soul, and the only way to release him was through his song.

            It was a week until their first real concert, and Cloud found himself contemplating the strangest thoughts in his head as he waited in a long line for the pay phone.  Chrissie stood next to him with her arms crossed over her chest and a hood over her head to protect her delicate skin from the sun.  

            A year had passed since he last even had the thought of his old friends rise in his mind.  Of course, he then clearly remembered the last moment with Tifa, which brought up a floundering thought that he just had to speak of.

            "Chrissie," he broke the silence between the two, "have you ever been in love?"

            "What?" she was caught off guard by the ridiculous question and yet, she felt as if a thousand knives pummeled her.  "That's the stupidest question I've ever heard from your tongue."

            "I'll take that as a yes," his sly tone brought a smile to his own lips.

            "It's stupid, and should never be brought up," she tried to get off the topic quickly.  Obviously the topic was a "hush hush" type, for Cloud could easily tell that she was uncomfortable with the conversation.  

            "It can't be that stupid."

            "Trust me, it's stupid.  Anybody stupid enough to fall in love should be dead," she advised as she took a step when the line moved forward.

            "So you're saying I should die?" he asked while following her motion.  She rolled her eyes under her hood as the subject continued to press on.  Truthfully, she feared love, for its outcome for her had brought her emotional pain that was native to her and she couldn't handle the feeling of losing the one she had loved.  

            "No, I'm saying you're stupid for even thinking about getting yourself wrapped up in a subject like that," she replied and moved up another step.  

            "Well, aren't you curious about whom I'm in love with?" Cloud had become a little arrogant in his time, but it was only because of the people he lived with.  He also had become abusive, cruel, and he didn't believe in weakness.

            "Not really," she answered as the line moved up yet another step.  Now there was only one person standing between them and the phone call that would hopefully change their lives, giving if that person was even home.  

            "Well good, because I'm not in love.  I used to think I was, but then a friend of mine told me something that really stuck with me, and that's how I know that I have never been in love," he explained while twirling the little quarter of a gil in between his fingers.

            "I don't really care.  The subject is stupid," she continued on with her part of the argument.

            "Do you know what she said to me?"

            "No!  Truthfully, I don't care!" Chrissie raised her voice in aggravation.

            "She told me that I would know when I was in love," he continued on, whether she liked it or not.  Chrissie had an annoyed look on her face and she just stared at Cloud and his sometimes stupidity.  

            "Are you sure you're not mentally retarded?" she asked with a curled lip.  Cloud soon broke out into hysterical laughter as he reached the phone.  His body hunched over on the pay phone and he had to place his arm over his stomach to hold himself upright from the convulsions of laughter.  Chrissie rolled her eyes as she crossed her arms across her chest tightly and turned her back to him.  

            "Whew," Cloud let out a sigh as he picked up the receiver and put a coin in the deposit.  He dialed an unfamiliar number, but according to their research, it should have belonged to her.  The phone rang four times when he decided that there was going to be no answer.  With his hope gone, he was about to hang up the phone when he heard a small voice pick up the other line.

            "Hello?" a child's voice asked on the other line.


	4. Beginnings

**Chapter IV**

                "Hi, is Tifa Lockheart there?" Cloud asked a little surprised to hear such small voice pick up the line.

                "Hang on one second," the little girl said and he could hear her put down the phone.  Questions of who the little girl on the other line could be ate at his mind, and he prayed that it wasn't her child.  _It couldn't be her child…could it?  No, if it were hers it would be barely two months old.  But wait…what if she adopted?  _

                "Aunty Tifa!" the words quickly cleared up his confusion.  _Marlene_, he thought with a sigh of relief.  He didn't love Tifa, not in the way either had once thought, but he still feared that she might of settled down, for it would completely ruin his new plans.  He waited patiently on the phone tapping his foot eagerly on the sidewalk that was hot enough that you could easily fry an egg under the scalding sun.

                "What's taking so long?" Chrissie asked impatiently as she felt a sweat drop roll down her forehead.  She had never been in this smothering heat, at least not this long.  A name that she was once called was a night crawler, but she thought that was related to vampires or something along those lines.  True, she did only show her face at night, but that was only because she was extremely sensitive to the sun's ultraviolet rays and she would easily burn in the heat.  

                "I don't have ESP with the girl," Cloud answered as he continued to wait for a response on the other line.  Finally, he could hear the muffled sounds of two women talking until finally he heard a faint hello on the opposite line.

                "Tifa!" he said a little too excitedly into the bottom of the phone, which shot to Tifa in a blast of noise.  She screamed at his exclamation and abruptly took the phone away from her ear.  

                "W-Who is this?" she stuttered once she finally managed to rally up enough courage to speak to the stranger. 

                "It's your beloved Cloud," he said rather sarcastically, but he really did want her to take him seriously. 

                "Wha…I…no…it…uh…" the words stumbled from her mouth to his end of the phone.  She was left speechless as her bewildered mind tried to filter the information.

                "It's okay Tiffers, it's a business matter anyway," he concluded and began to ramble on with his history lesson.  He explained how he had hooked up with a band and was now a singer and how he would greatly enjoy seeing her in the audience.  He also explained on how he would greatly appreciate seeing Barret, or Cid, and if possible the entire group showing up to his gig. 

                After his explanation, he soon found that Tifa had regained her speech, and was showing it well.  He had to hold the phone away to save his ear from her squawking, which to him made absolutely no sense.  Every once and a while he could understand an obscenity, but that was about as much his mind could make out.  

                "Yeah…Okay…see you there!" he said out of his turn through her rampart and he quickly hung up the phone.  "Wasn't expecting that," he commented to his friend that had a dumbfounded look on her face.

                "Is she the one that said 'you'll know when you're in love?" she asked while watching Cloud try to regain sensation in his right ear.

                "Heh," was the only answer he could say as they made their way back to their sanctuary.  

                The next few days were stressful, especially when they had to transport all of their instruments from Costa del Sol to the Gold Saucer.  The airliner was clumsy and obviously had no respect for their life work for he casually threw everything into the cargo load, and then expected the five gang members to find comfortable seats among their piles of luggage.  

                The flight was long and agonizing for there was not a single drop of light, with the exception of where screws had fallen from the frame of the airplane.  Bags of miscellaneous items were constantly flying from side to side from the rough ride, and the five were being bruised from heavy objects hitting them in the heads and other bodily parts.  The most painful was when Cloud was pushed into Chrissie along with the lead guitarist and the other two members.  

                "Get off of me!" she yelled as she felt a rib crack under the immense weight.  "God, I hate men."

                Finally, after four hours of perilous and agonizing pain, they finally reached their destination in Corel where they would then drag their belongings up to the Haunted Inn in the Gold Saucer.  Even there, havoc seemed to follow them as Cloud recognized a stuffed cat with his giant mog dancing around at the station.  He had thought that Reeve would have disposed of the thing by now, but for some reason it still lived to pester him.  

                Cloud rubbed his temple as he walked through the entrance of the Gold Saucer with his new gang at his heels.  Chrissie slung her bag across her shoulder as she looked at the mechanical cat that was attempting to read a child's fortune.

                "Bad luck and misfortune will infest your pathetic soul for all eternity," the cat read the little tab of paper that was emitted by the mog.  The child was hesitant with the remark, but quickly broke down in tears, even though he didn't truly understand the meaning of his fortune.  In a second, he was picked up by his mother but not after a rude word to the outspoken cat.  

                Cloud crept across the floor behind the cat and into the portal that would take him to the Haunted Inn.  With the pain that his body was enduring at the moment, he was definitely not in the mood to deal with a talking cat.  Chrissie lingered behind him as her body began to weaken beneath her.  

                They reached the other end of the portal, and that was when Cloud noticed the sickly look on his friend's face.  He motioned the rest to go on but he walked behind with Chrissie at her pathetically slow pace.  Observing her hunched over walk he figured that she must have been damaged of some sort, or perhaps a little upset in the stomach.

                "You all right?" he questioned while putting a helpful arm around her.  He realized that was a mistake when she coupled down over herself on the ground.  She wasn't about to scream in pain, so she gritted her teeth tightly together to muffle any sound that would try to escape.  

                "Oh my God!" Cloud exclaimed and quickly knelt down to her side.  He put his hands on her shoulders to show a little comfort, but it seemed to not help the least bit. 

                "I'm fine," she spoke through her teeth.  "Just, let me be."

                "You're not fine.  Obviously you're hurt.  Now, we can do this my way, or we can do this my way," he left no options for her.  He stood back up and he gave her a helping hand, which she took greedily.  They pulled together that eventually led her back to her feet.  Her right arm automatically took place around her chest where her wound was kept.  

                "It's probably just a bruised rib anyway.  Nothing to fear," she spoke confidently.  Cloud didn't believe a bruised rib would be able to put a girl to the ground, but he let her believe what she wanted to.  He took her small duffle around his shoulder while continuing to carry his own.  With everything set, they started their walk again up to the Haunted Inn that rest before them.

"There's only two rooms left," Tobias, the lead guitarist, explained as he watched Cloud and Chrissie walk through the front doors of the Haunted Inn. 

                "Only two?" Cloud rephrased and looked back down at Chrissie who was trying to suck up any pain and refrain her normal posture.  He wanted to smack her for acting so foolishly, but obviously it wouldn't help the situation at the moment.  

                "Me and the guys are gonna go play around at the 'Wonder Square' for a bit," he grinned at the chance to go enjoy some time for himself.  "You guys wanna come?"

                "No, I'm probably going to go to bed here shortly," Chrissie explained as she gave them a weak smile.  Cloud nodded in agreement and he also strongly urged against going.  He stayed behind and he found it rather funny how they all could almost fit in with the ghostly figures around them.  If visitors were to show, they probably would have thought as them as attractions rather than customers.

                "Let's get you to a bed," Cloud advised as he swung his and her luggage over his shoulders.  She gave him an awkward look as she noticed him trying to act manly in front of him.  _Showing off?_ She questioned herself but simply rubbed the matter away as she felt a jolt of pain rise from her chest to her brain.

                It had taken an hour for them to finally comfort themselves in the room.  They had decided to take a room to their selves, mostly for the other three boys would be too much excitement for her at the moment.  She lay in bed with bandaging around her upper torso and an ice pack applied to the area of pain.  Cloud, on the other hand, sat in a large chair in the corner of the room that overlooked the small place that consisted of one king sized black canopy bed with a bed stand at each side.  The covers of the bed were also a silky black and the walls were painted a light gray, which made a strange contrast in the room.  The floor was wood for there was no carpet except a small throw rug with intricate designs of a moon and the black silhouettes of trees.

                "Cloud," Chrissie was finally the one to break the silence between the two.  

                "What?" he asked, being knocked out of a daydream.

                "Why were you asking me about love," the thoughts from her head finally managed to escape her mouth.  She had meant to ask him about the conversation later the day that it was held, but she never was able to obtain him alone, and away from the other boys. 

                "You're interested all of a sudden?  Funny, then you sounded quite ticked at the conversation," Cloud mused and crossed his arms across his chest.  

                "Have you ever been in love?" the question was quick for she ignored his last remark.

                "I thought I was…at once.  But, she told me that I would know if I was, so that answered my question."

                "So you've just ignored it ever since?" she continued to ask questions, deepening their conversation.

                "Haven't you?  From the way you were acting the other day, I knew you must have had a heart ache or two in your life," he said in a concerned tone.

                "I don't really want to tell the story, but to put it bluntly, my love died with him, as did my beliefs," her voice almost broke down to a whisper, but Cloud could still hear her words.

                "Sounds depressing," he made an attempt to sound concerned.  Truth was, he was feeling the cold press of loneliness at the moment.  His twenty-second birthday was nearing, and he was losing all hope of actually being able to experience the joyful emotions of love.

                "I told you love was stupid," she slightly joked, for there was a hint of laughter at the end of her sentence.  "Anyway, where are you planning to sleep?  There's only one bed."

                Cloud was too busy before to realize that there was no other bed for him to rest in.  There was the chair, but that would lead to a stiff neck in the morning.  He stayed quiet as his mind contemplated the situation.

                "I'll just sleep on the floor," he said just as any other polite man would have.  In reality, he really disliked sleeping on hard wooden floors, but he obviously didn't hold much of a choice.  

                "Why do all men say that?  Is it wrong for two friends to sleep in the same bed?" she asked, a little offended by his solution.

                "When they are of opposite sex, it is."  He chuckled and stood up from the chair that had kept him confined for some time.  His arms reached out above his head to let the muscles realize that they still worked.  "I wonder when the guys are going to be back."

                "Who-," she found her sentence to be cut off by the slamming of the door with two exhausted men running in. The two huffed and wheezed at the entrance, Tobias being one of them.  He tried to talk, but he was too desperate for the sweet taste of oxygen at the moment.

                "What's wrong?" Cloud asked and rushed over to their side.

                "They…killed him," Tobias finally managed to mumble through his attempts of breathing.

Author's Note:  Uh…I forgot to put an author's note on my other one.  Not saying that it mattered considering that there is no real point to these.  Yeah, this story is started to take weird and twisted turns…but that's always the best part.  Oh, and the talk of love is in the air.

Oh, if you want to see this story in an interesting way with pictures, just go to my website.  You can find the URL on my Author's page or it's http://www.geocities.com/ff7tifa_lockheart.  Which ever you want to use.  

Disclaimers: I don't own any characters of Final Fantasy VII, even though I do enjoy altering them severely.  (Heh heh…) But, the deranged characters to belong to me so you must ask permission to use them.


	5. Confession

Chapter V 

"What!  Who?" Cloud asked astonished at the sudden urgency.

"We…we couldn't tell.  It was too quick," Tobias continued to explain, still huffing and hunched over.  By now, Chrissie had managed to pull herself out of bed and over to where the action was being held at the doorway.  She dismissed any pain that she felt to help her friend.

"Where did it happen?" Chrissie asked sternly.

"In the back streets.  We were heading back when we heard a gun shot and that's when we found him lying on the ground with a bullet hole through his head."  By him, Tobias was describing their more chubby member of the group, although he was not truly chubby just more muscular than the rest.  

"Where's the body?" Chrissie continued to give him the third degree.

"The murderer probably took it.  We fled too fast to try and recover the body.  There were more gun shots so we figured there was more than one," Tobias had finally been able to explain the story for he controlled his troubled breathing.  

"Shit.  Who would do this?"  Chrissie began to pace around the room, worried of their new situation.  Obviously this was not going to be a safe haven for them, but their concert was in less than three days.  "Cloud, come with me."

"What?" Cloud felt suddenly that he was put into a situation that he would rather try to avoid.  He scratched his head in confusion as he watched Chrissie put on a shirt and belt herself up with armed weapons.  "No…we don't even know who did it."

"I don't care.  If they're going to threaten my big debut, then they obviously have a death wish," her voice was strange, for it held quite the evil edge to it.  Cloud for once was frightened of a girl, but then she wasn't exactly your average to goodness female that he was working with.  

"You're acting irrational," Cloud protested against her thoughts.  He found his words cut off quickly as he felt the rush of air of a zipping bullet past his head.  

"Damn, I missed," she concluded as she looked over her gun.  Cloud's knees were shaking, and he could feel the hot sweat dripping down his brow.  "Here," she said as she threw the gun towards him.  He caught it, almost fumbling it out of his hand. 

"Thanks," he gave his little appreciation.  He knew there was no way out of this situation, so he reluctantly went along with Chrissie's crazy idea.

Cloud soon found himself slinking along the dirty streets of the Gold Saucer.  Even for a weekday, the amusement park was crowded and trash was littered across the sidewalks and roads.  Darkness claimed dominance over the sun, and now only shadows loomed from where the street lamps could not shed their light.  Thunder rolled in the storming clouds overhead, and the lightning acted as an alternative to the sun, flashing for a second a light that would blind any man.  

Cloud's sneakers tapped quietly on the gravel path as he was walking with long, unnatural strides.  Chrissie was a few feet ahead of him, slightly hunched and her head constantly turning to any noise that was emitted in the night.  

"Chrissie.  Chrissie!" Cloud whispered her name in the night, attempting to attain her attention.  She stopped in her tracks and turned back to look at him.  He stayed quiet and simply threw his arm forward, pointing down the blackened street.  "Guess what, there's nothing there."

Chrissie was agitated that he held no faith in her.  She shook her head and had started to continue her walk when she was knocked completely off her feet.  She flew to the hard ground; head first, her face sliding on the loose rocks.  A body nearly twice her size held her down to the ground, and she tried to regain her bearings.  

Cloud saw the sudden onslaught and stood in disbelief.  The man that held Chrissie to the ground was large and muscular, but no face could be seen with the little light available.  For some reason, Cloud couldn't move.  His body forbade him to help this woman who was surely to die just under the pressure of the monster that held her.  

He watched as the man took out the switchblade, and he also watched as he mercilessly flung it into the girl's body.  She screamed for help as she felt the blade enter and exit her right arm that she had luckily held up to protect her pathetic body from the masked murderer.   Her cries of agony filled the silent night, echoing off to the stars.  

After regaining his self-control, Cloud pulled the handgun from its holster and took aim on the man before him.  His finger squeezed the trigger, but the shot that came out was not from his gun, but from another that blew through his hand.  He dropped the gun suddenly and clenched his hand in his other fist, close to his chest.  His eyes went wide as he looked up to see another man standing in the shadow of a building with a gun aimed for his head.  

"Fuck," Cloud cursed and he found himself dropping to the ground to dodge the bullets that were now shooting at him.  He rolled in the dirt to safety, but not before he grabbed his gun with his good hand.  Drawing the gun up for aim again, he pulled the trigger and with a single shot defeated his foe that had almost blown off his hand.

Chrissie on the other hand was still struggling with the man and the switchblade.  Her blood covered her arm and was being flung into the air with every hit of the blade.  Pain was not eminent any more, rather rage filled her tiny body and with a single movement, she placed her fit on the man's stomach and catapulted him through the air.  

He landed five feet from her sprawled on his back.  She quickly scrambled to her feet and began to assault him with her hands and feet.  Kicking and punching wildly, he finally curled up in a tiny ball and admitted defeat to her.  Of course, she had no room in her heart for forgiveness, thus she continued her beating until she finally made a deathblow to his head.  

She breathed heavily trying to catch her breath and to stop the adrenaline rush.  Although she had wished that her adrenaline hadn't of stopped for she could now feel the consequences of her arm being lashed.

"Holy mother of God!" she screamed in the night and keeled over in a balled position, still on her feet however.  Skin was hanging and she could clearly make out bones that had been cut in two in her forearm.  She should have been passed out on the side of the street, or even dead from the pain and loss of blood but this wasn't the first time that she had taken such a beating.  It was now easy for her to ignore the pain in her side from her broken rib as she solely focused on her lacerated arm.

"We're alive," Cloud stated observantly considering asking if everything was all right would be quite redundant at the moment.  He looked down at his hand and noticed the large bullet hole that was through the lower palm, close to the thumb.  

"Shut up," Chrissie's anger and pain was evident in her voice.  She stood, continuing to hold her arm close to her body and trying to cradle it.  

"Come on, let's get back to the Inn," Cloud suggested as he noticed the injury she sustained.

"No, there could be more.  We have to get them before they try to kill us!" she argued, her voice cracking, torn from hysterics and crying. 

"Who are they?" Cloud asked, perplexed and very worried about his friend's behavior.

"Fucking Shinra agents!  God damn it, they're trying to eliminate their screw-ups," her voice started to calm down a little.  "We'll be lucky if those bastards haven't killed the other two yet."

"I know Shinra.  Remember?  Ex-Soldier standing in front of you, so I'm sure that's all they had.  I'm amazed to that they had two, for anything that top secret would only be pressured on one agent, not two.  Anyway, it's obviously not that serious yet for they haven't sent in the Turks," Cloud tried to reassure her, sensing her fear. 

Silence then loomed in the air, making her turn her back and with her good hand put it up to her temple.  She didn't want to cry, she tried everything to stop the tears from welling up in her eyes, and the action was involuntary.  The silence didn't help either, but reluctantly the storm clouds began to shed their own tears upon the earth, sending an uproar along the streets.  

Her blood on her arm washed away, only to reveal new blood to the flow from the wounds.  Her eyes dripped a salty liquid as she sobbed endlessly.  She felt her body weaken and finally her legs could no longer support her and she collapsed to the ground.  The years of mistreatment and torture on herself finally took a toll on her weakened state.  

Cloud stood astonished at her display.  He wanted to help, but the only thing he could think of doing was standing and watching her body become drenched in the falling rain as she sat on her behind on the cold street.  Lowering his head, he decided to walk over to her whimpering body to hopefully assist her in some way or another.  

"Chrissie," he said her name calmly and he hoped it sounded somewhat sympathetic in a way.  He wanted her to understand that she was not alone in this world, for he would be there for her.  After all of their time in the warehouse, he figured that he had to have some type of feelings for her, intimate or no they were still there.  "Chrissie, come on.  Let's get out of here."

"Cloud, have you ever made a wish on a star?" her question truly was out of nowhere.  Her voice was desperate, yet calm and sweet, something he had never heard from her before.  

"Can't say I have," he answered truthfully.

"Do you think they would ever come true?" she asked, finally looking up at him, her eyes red and tears still streaking down her white cheeks.  Her eye make up was beginning to leave black lines in the corner of her eyes and they were trying to make their own streams of color down her face.  She was so tired and weary, and looked like a helpless child in the busy streets of Midgar.  She was soaked from head to toe with sweat, blood, and the rain, yet for some reason she looked like the most beautiful creature in the world at that single moment.

"I don't know," he couldn't think of any other answer.  "But all I know is that for people like us, we don't need wishes or miracles, we need each other."  

With the little strength she managed to wrangle inside her tiny body, she lifted herself and dove for Cloud, her arms open waiting to clasp around his body.  She ignored the aching in her arm as she felt two powerful arms graciously accept her.  Her legs once again went limp beneath her, but she felt herself be held up.  And so she wept uncontrollably in the already drenched shirt of her friend as she indulged in the embrace.

They stood in each other's arms for a time that neither of them dared to count.  The comfort they felt with each other was both frightening, yet too strong for either of them to stop.  Her sobbing finally ceased, as did the rain above their heads.  The black cloud's separated, only to leave the blue night to light up the shadows with its beautiful array of stars.  The moon also hung in a small crescent, still enough to illuminate the open fields and streets.  

Cloud was the first to gaze up into the painting that hung in the sky.  A smile gleamed on his face as he watched a brilliant light stream across the night only to ignite and then diminish to nothing but a small light that soon disappeared all together.  He glanced down at the woman in his arms only to see the stars looking back at him through the reflection of Chrissie's eyes.  

_Love?_ His mind pondered as he searched in her eyes.  He knew the truth, but to show it now would ruin his life.  The biggest deed in his life was to be done in the next few days, and to fall in love now was a stupid and selfish act that would surely cause all of their deaths.

Chrissie on the other hand felt her heart racing, but that was only once she realized what was happening.  She wanted to run and hide…fast.  She didn't want another moment with him, but something kept her there.  Some strange tension she suddenly felt told her to stay, for it would be all right.  Her heart and mind were at argument again, so she simply decided to shut both of them out and let her soul lead her.  

"We'd better get you back to that hotel-place," Cloud spoke, suddenly forgetting the name of the inn that they were staying at.  He smiled his comforting smile, as to not frighten her considering she was in such a vulnerable position.  She said nothing as she put into consideration the shape of her arm, and that it was now to the point where she felt no pain, nor any feeling, and the fact that she was having difficultly staying conscious; it sounded like a rather fair time for them to head back to safety.

"Yeah, that would be nice," she agreed and tried to maintain her own balance.  Cloud still held her, but only with his hands on her hips to keep her steady on her feet.  She kept both her hands on both his shoulders, but her plan failed as she stumbled backwards from exhaustion.  Cloud was quick to react, for he kept her from once again falling in the dirt.  

They both stayed silent, and Cloud simply lifted her tiny body up in his arms; one supporting her back, and the other arm supporting her flimsy legs.  He then simply began to walk in the direction of the inn, not even looking back on the lifeless bodies on the street, and truthfully keeping most of his attention on the unconscious form lying in her arms.

"Shit," he cursed as he noticed that her body finally could not handle the pain, stress, and loss of blood.  She became dead weight in his arms and it was obvious that she would not awaken for a long while.

Author's Note:  Okay, I decided to make it a little romantic.  Yeah, I don't believe in love and all that jazz, and yet ironically I enjoy writing about it.  I think my story is going under Drama/Romance, considering this will definitely not be the end of "love" in the story.  I don't know, perhaps other people like it.  Sorry if Cloud is becoming very "un-Cloud" like, but that happens when you're introduced to another aspect of society.  Think about it, he used to really have no morals and such except destroying Sephiroth and saving the planet.  Oh, and hating Shinra…so, me with my over active imagination decided to expand on his characteristic.  It's really quite enjoyable and should be tried by every Final Fantasy VII fan.  Loving the characters becomes even more fun…


	6. Your Minority

1.1.1.1 Chapter VI  
  
Two days passed when Chrissie finally managed to flutter her eyes open to greet the dawning of a shining new day.  
  
"Ahhh!" she screamed and pulled the covers tightly over her head as the sun pierced her eyes, sending immense pain to her eyeballs. She didn't realize there was anybody in the room, nor did she really give any concern to it at the moment as she hid her eyes under the black sheets that she was wrapped in. She moaned as her cracked rib and shattered arm finally cared to acknowledge their existence to her brain.  
  
A man's laughter was heard from the armchair in the corner of the room, and she felt her lip curl in annoyance. She decided against arguing with whoever the intruder was and simply let him enjoy his fun. He definitely wouldn't be laughing once she fully recuperated from her drama.  
  
"I don't think you'll be performing tomorrow night," the male's voice continued to draw her in a bad mood. She grunted as a reply. She grasped harder on the covers, trying to block any light to her eyes that were still trying to focus but somehow the opposite was occurring. A quick swift movement flung the cover off her head where she was once again left to greet the afternoon sun.  
  
"They said that I'll have to take over the lead singer," Cloud explained still holding the cover in his grasp.  
  
"You're a bastard," she mumbled and quickly grabbed back for her blanket with her one good hand. Cloud had decided to not agitate the already pissed hornet and give in to her plea. "You will pay for your actions."  
  
"What actions?" he asked, feeling a little silly talking through a blanket.  
  
"You dared to hug me," she brought up the last memory of the night before. Her voice was stern, yet it definitely held a playful tone to it.  
  
"Oh really," Cloud asked, playing along with her little game. "Well, correct me if I'm wrong, but you were the one to leap into my arms." Silence lingered for a moment as the blanket covering her face slowly slid away revealing her face that had now adjusted well to the lighting. Cloud gave her a handsome look with one eyebrow slightly higher than the other, and a half smile.  
  
"Damn you," she cursed, already admitting defeat. Seeing the conversation had died with her last phrase, she attempted to sit up and learn about more important matters of the world. The cover slipped off as she leaned her back against the head of the bed, and she once again noticed that she was wearing only a bandage wrapped around her upper torso. Her wounded arm on the other hand was also bandaged, but also with a splint, which informed her that her bones were damaged in the feud.  
  
In the strangest way she was thankful for the night they both had overcome. Feelings inside of her that she had once were buried in a grave had now flourished, even if she would only deny it openly. Suddenly, as she sat there with him being the only presence in the room, she felt a smile creep on to her lips. Of course, she had smiled before, but not a smile like she was experiencing at that moment. It was giddy, and somewhat comforting in a way.  
  
Cloud could feel his knees beginning to weaken under his weight. He continued to look down at her, and he found his gaze caught in her steel orbs that seemed to reflect the light in such a way that it made her look ghostly. Never had he felt such a strong feeling over power him, even when he was leading Aeris with his promise of being her bodyguard.  
  
'No, I can't do this. Not yet,' his mind was frustrated with the newfound emotion and the lust to have her in his arms at that exact moment. He shut his eyes and stepped away from the bed. Chrissie noticed his strange behavior and was snapped out of her own daydream. She took her eyes off of him, but not soon enough to not notice the bandaging he held on his right hand.  
  
"Cloud, you're hurt," she stated rather bluntly.  
  
"Yeah, I was shot in the hand," he explained, knowing that there was no point to try and lie. He held the limp hand open and tried to curl in his fingers but the pain was too great so he left them in a relaxed position.  
  
The day passed away quickly and night once again came upon them. They all slept easily, with the exception of Cloud who had insisted that he slept on the wooden floor. The next day snuck on the band and the day was full of stress of trying to set everything up before their big gig. Chrissie though, stayed relaxed as she slept the day away in the king-sized bed that was much too comfy for a girl of her stator.  
  
  
  
  
  
Soon night seized the day once again and a crowd had formed in the Event Square of the Gold Saucer. Now Cloud stood in the front of the audience, his mind trying not to relish too much in the past memories that had clearly written his fate in blood. His bandaged hand had a strong hold on the neck of the guitar, as the other was ready to strum the strings that were stretched across the body of his life music.  
  
"You guys ready to rock!" he exclaimed as he heard the roars from the excited crowd exclaim and throw their arms up in the air. Naturally, he only said what he had often heard many other famous bands say before they began to play, even if he did find it to be rather ridiculous. He decided to stop talking then, and he began to the cords of his song that lead into a song with harmonious words.  
  
I wait for the day to come when I'll wake up and be a star.  I dream of a different world... somewhere where we will go far.  
  
I bitch about my life. I bitch about the scene.  I hate this fucking town and wish that it was all a dream. Bitch, bitch, bitch! That's all you ever do.  Bitch, bitch, bitch! Your ego will destroy you.  Bitch, bitch, bitch! That's all I have to say.  Bitch, bitch, bitch! Now I'll just fade away.  Just as long as I act cool then people will suck up to me.  They won't realize that I'm a fake and that's what I'm always going to be.  A dreamer and a kid who changes every day.  Someone that has to talk when he's got nothing to say.  Hey kid, it's a great big world out there that you think you need to see.  Hey kid, go on and live that life... But live it without me!  Bitch, bitch, bitch! That's all you ever do.  Bitch, bitch, bitch! No one's more punk than you.  Bitch bitch, bitch! Your life is just a trend.  Bitch, bitch, bitch! We'll see who's happy in the end.  
  
The song ended and he found an applause that could literally knock him off his feet. The heat from the lights still had not affected him to the point of passing out, but for once in his life he felt recognized for the work he had done and it gave him a nauseated feeling. Never had he felt love like this, it was already addicting, and yet it frightened him to death. Now he would be stalked wherever he walked, and it would be hard to keep secretive.  
  
He dismissed his thoughts quickly as he realized he only had a minute to rest before he would have to perform the next song. With the little amount of time he received, he scanned the audience for a familiar face. He came to no avail as the people waved their arms around violently, screaming for more.  
  
Meanwhile, back at the Haunted Inn, Chrissie was in a sitting up position with her eyes transfixed on the television set before her. Undoubtedly she had the concert on, and she watched it intently. She longed to be on stage with the rest of the crew, and she felt almost jealous.  
  
'Forget about it. We have more important things to do,' her mind convinced her, but she still couldn't help keep her eyes off the television. Her stomach tightened as she watched the lead singer stand silent on stage with the most handsome expression on his face. There was no smile, but rather a look of contentment and focus.  
  
She smiled as a tingly warmth flowed through her body, starting at her feet and moving throughout every vein. Her mind began to drift, and she found herself leaning back on the bed panel making herself in a more comfortable position. She still held a smile on her face as she closed her eyes to let her thoughts take her away on wings of love.  
  
Little to her knowledge, she was not alone that night. Two teens sat a waiting on the balcony that was built onto her humble little room. Dressed in black to hide their features, the two continued to sit in the darkness.  
  
"She's almost asleep," the first whispered, stating what he had observed. The other stayed silent and simply nodded his head as a signal to start. They stood in unison, and with a single blow used their bodies to crash in through the window door.  
  
Chrissie came to reality as she saw the two men sprawled on the floor, and she only managed to release one scream before she felt herself become confined in the stronghold of one of the men. Desperately she struggled against him, thrashing her legs around for her arms were held in the man's over powering grasp.  
  
"Hurry up!" the one exclaimed while trying to contain her. The other finally managed to regain himself after breaking through the glass. He pulled a large bat from behind and Chrissie was sure that she was to die at that moment. She closed her eyes, waiting for the fatal blow, but the only thing she managed to feel was the immense blow from the large end of the baseball bat being pounded once in her head. Immediately unconscious, the men nodded at a job well done. The one that still held her swiftly swung her over his shoulder as they made a speedy getaway.  
  
  
  
Back at the concert hall, Cloud played the last notes of his song when he felt a sudden pang shoot through his head. He looked straight, not to the audience, but past them with the pupils of his eyes shrinking to smallest that was humanly possible. The onrush passed, and he found himself breathing heavily, and he automatically sensed that there was danger lurking in the darkness.  
  
He turned towards the other two sitting behind him, one playing a bass and the other banging on the drums. Cloud looked at the two, worry in his eye as he set down his guitar next to the microphone. Taking easy steps, he walked to the closest and whispered a plan into his ear. Tobias gave a nod and Cloud walked off stage right, leaving a dream behind in the spotlight.  
  
"Cloud!" a female's voice eagerly greeted him as he walked down a couple of steps that led to the exit of the Event Square. He stopped startled, and then turned to see whom the person that was trying to express him was.  
  
"Tifa?" he questioned as he saw a woman stand in front of him with her hands cupped one in the other. Her hair was still raven black and long, touching the back of her exposed thighs. She wore the same little leather skirt that he recognized from her battle attire, but now she had a leather top to match. Besides a small change in clothing, she looked the same as she did a year earlier.  
  
"What's going on?" she asked, curious of his quick exit on stage.  
  
"I-I don't know. But I think something's wrong with Chrissie," he tried to explain the gut feeling that he had. Trying to be a good friend, he walked back up to her and gave her a smile. "Where's everybody else?"  
  
"Vincent was the only other that I could manage to rally," she spoke while pointing to the shadowed figure behind her. "Everybody else is too busy living a life to come a deal with…whatever you want us to deal with."  
  
Her words stabbed his heart. Obviously she was either living a lousy life, or he had taken her from the happiest that was possible. He didn't have time to ask, but he made that after everything was settled that he would have to have a long, hearty conversation with her.  
  
"We'd best hurry," Vincent interrupted, showing his face. Cloud wasn't surprised to see him in his usual red cape, but then that was only a Vincent thing. He nodded in agreement and continued his decent on the stairs with the other two following close behind.  
  
Author's Note: Well, you people are lucky I'm continuing this, considering I lost the original story and had to retype everything from where I last left off. I enjoy writing my story ahead of time, so that way I can get the main stuff down and change it before I have everything upload on fanfiction.net. Anyway, for the few people that are actually reading along with this and enjoying it, thank you, and I hope to see you all reading it some more. (Especially ShadowJake, considering he's one of the real ones that is keeping my inspiration up.) 


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