Chapter Text
Something was wrong.
Cloud knew that something was different as soon as he started to regain consciousness, the ground beneath him was definitely not the harsh desert sands surrounding Edge, instead there was soft soil underneath his body and the feel and smell of plants surrounding him.
Working to open his eyes, Cloud found the task extremely difficult as his eyes burned and the eyelids felt extremely heavy. Taking a mental assessment of his body he found that it was just as hard to move; his limbs felt awkward and out of shape, almost as though he hadn't moved in months.
Trying to think through the haze in his mind, Cloud attempted to remember how he had gotten here... He had been with Yuffie, Vincent, Cid, Nanaki and a small group of resistance members as they worked to fight through the masses of monsters to get to Edge and then further to the ruins of Midgar itself. They had been fighting for days on end to reach the city ruins where they were sure the Darkness had taken root. When the monsters had swarmed from the ruins what felt like lifetimes ago, they had been able to do little more than run. The Darkness had only spread from there; rendering the area uninhabitable and infecting the surrounding lands, monsters and people.
They were making their stand that day, there to either stop the Darkness or die trying.
The more Cloud thought, the more he realised he could not recall much of what had happened; he only vaguely remembered passing the crumbling remains at the edge of the city before something had gone wrong. Horribly wrong. He was sure that he had heard a cry of pain from Cid, and the echoing sound of Vincent firing Cerberus, and he was sure that he would have turned to help them… But the last thing he remembered was tendrils of darkness coming for him; coiling around him even as he tried to fight back and the thought that if they failed there then no one… nowhere was safe.
At the memory, adrenalin and fear flooded through him and Cloud tried again to open his eyes, finally succeeding. He looked blearily up into the dense foliage above him as his vision swam but what he saw made no sense. He had spent years in the areas in and around Edge and this kind of thick forest growth was… just not there. Had he been brought elsewhere? Where were the others?
To right the wrongs of the future... The past must first be altered...
The soft voice abruptly floated through Cloud's mind, confusing and without immediate explanation, leaving him to wonder if he had truly heard it at all.
"Wh-what do y-you mean?" Cloud questioned aloud, his own voice sounding odd and strained, as though he had not spoken in a long period of time. Cloud tried to turn his head in an attempt to look around, but quickly stopped as shooting pain lanced through his head and his eyes watered and burned.
You will understand soon enough, help is coming. You must change what you were once too weak to face.
Cloud realized that the whispered voice was indeed inside his mind, and it carried the muti-voiced quality of the Life Stream. There had been very few times the Life Stream had spoken directly to him instead of through Aerith and if his head would stop hurting long enough to think about it, he might have been concerned. As the realization passed the feeling of connection to the Life Stream faded leaving only a weary tiredness in its place. Cloud found that he could no longer continue the fight to keep his eyes open, and let them close once more.
As Cloud slowly slipped back into a blissful unawareness, many questions swirled through his mind, and at the front of them he wondered who the ‘Help’ was that was coming for him.
XxXxX
"You alright Buddy?"
The strangely familiar voice floated to Cloud through a distant haze. He wondered if he had fallen asleep at their encampment again and dreamt about the attack on Edge and then a forest. Rufus had probably sent someone to fetch him for a mission again… Damn Shinra always thinking he is in charge; it would be nice if they would just let him sleep for once.
"How long do you think he's been here?" He heard the same voice speak again, and wondered why someone would say something like that. On second thought, it must have been months since he last slept more than two hours at once, so maybe he had finally gotten a decent night sleep and they were worried about him?
"A day or so at least... He looks pale and dehydrated." A deeper and unfamiliar voice answered.
As Cloud finally found it within himself to push through the heavy layers of fatigue, the voices came into a sharper focus, once more striking him with a familiarity towards the first voice that was beyond just one of the resistance members, it was more like a distant friend, a lot like...
Zack?...
The thought came unbidden to his mind and the first reaction was for Cloud to instantly shove the errant thought down, but at the same time a part of him admitted that the voice was painfully like that of his past friend. The painful reminder was enough to chase the warmth of sleep away and despite the fatigue still dragging him down, Cloud forced himself to fully awaken.
"I think he's waking up..."
"Give him room Puppy."
This time when Cloud attempted to open his eyes, he managed to do so without too much effort, but when he managed to half focus bleary eyes on the greenery around him, he realised with a jolt of panic that what he had thought was a dream was real. He went to sit up, but any attempt at movement was quickly aborted as his body still felt like lead. At first all he could see was the faint outline of two figures dressed in dark clothing hovering above him.
Even as his mind was racing, Cloud had to take the time to blink and clear his vision, and when he finally managed to bring the two figures before him into focus, what he saw was too impossible for him to believe. One of them was a young man with spikey raven black hair, soft features, lightly tanned skin and bright mako eyes full of worry.
Cloud knew who the man was, he had no doubt, yet he couldn't bring himself to accept it.
"You okay man?"
The voice was the same. The hair shorter than he last saw it. No scar on his left cheek. And was he… younger than Cloud remembered?
Cloud felt a strange muted panic setting in as he looked up at the impossible; he wanted to wake up for real now. He wanted to hide from painful memories of failure. He wanted to… to… Gaia… I just want to sleep…
"Zack, give him some room." The second voice from before spoke, this voice was deep and held a calming quality that barely registered to Cloud.
Cloud flicked his eyes over to the tall man in assessment; he needed to know if he was a threat. He looked vaguely familiar, but Cloud couldn’t place him right away. If he was dreaming then it wouldn't be the first time Cloud had dreamt of Zack from their Shinra days, but why would he be dreaming of someone else as well?
"Angeal?" Zack asked, looking up at the man in confusion.
"He's panicked." Came the short reply.
It was at those words that Cloud realized how erratic his own breathing was; the muted quality of his panic was slipping and now there was a high-pitched, white noise ringing in his ears.
"We will give him a moment and then we should get him back to camp." The man- Angeal, said softly to the young Zack, even as his sharp eyes scanned their surroundings.
"Yeah, alright." Zack said nodding, his eyes never leaving Clouds, "I wonder... How do you think he got out here?"
Cloud stopped listening after that, his thoughts turning inwards to where his mind was now working in overdrive. What was happening? This had to be a dream, right? So why wasn't he waking up?!
You need to breath Cloud… I know everything is confusing, but answers will come in time. The Planet needs this of you... The voice that spoke to Cloud was that of Aerith and the effect it had on him was instantaneous; it calmed Cloud and consequently wiped away all doubt of whether he was dreaming or not. Cloud was still confused and wanted answers, but it was akin to when he was in the flower meadow; the link to the flower girl brought him a sense of peace. Even so, a good number of the questions racing through his mind surged towards the connection he could still feel with Aerith.
I can't answer all your questions now Cloud. I'm sorry… I know it will not be easy, but please hang in there. After that the voice and feeling of connection faded from Cloud's mind. He still felt… lost, in so many ways. But he now knew one thing with startling clarity: this was no dream.
How could this have happened? Cloud had watched Zack die on the cliffs outside Midgar, he had felt Zack's blood on his hands, soaking into the knees of his trousers... What had Aerith meant when she said that The Planet needed this of him?
Suddenly a bolt of white-hot pain ran through his body, snapping Cloud back to his surroundings as he felt himself being moved. He held back a groan of pain through sheer will, determination and habit.
"Be careful Zack..." Angeal’s voice barely registered as Cloud realized that Zack had picked him up and was carrying him cradled against his chest, muttering a litany of apologies.
For a moment the pain receded enough for Cloud to take in his situation and he had the hysterical thought that he was in the infantry again, looking up to and depending on his one true friend within SOLDIER... His one true friend in the whole of Shinra.
Even as the pain running through him became overwhelming, Cloud vaguely noticed that something was… off; he shouldn't have been able to fit so well in Zacks hold, cradled as he was.
“Hang in there...” Zack’s voice floated down to him, but Cloud had closed his eyes at some point and he welcomed the pain-free embrace of unconsciousness.
XxXxX
When Cloud awoke next the first thing he became aware of was the softness of the bedroll beneath him and the warmth of the blankets over him. It had been too long since he had had a good night sleep on gear that wasn’t battered and worn.
When Cloud stretched, a dull ache pulsed through his entire body and memories slowly returned to him of waking up finding himself face to face with a friend long dead. Freezing mid-stretch Cloud bolted upright, only to be greeted with a severe pounding in his head that sent the world spinning before his eyes.
With a groan Cloud brought a hand to his head, closing his eyes in an attempt to ease the spinning and stabbing pain behind his eyes. Cloud jumped when he sensed movement at his side just before a hand was placed on his shoulder. Cloud jerked away on reflex, having spent too long fighting to be comfortable in a foreign presence.
"Easy there. You still need rest." A deep voice sounded quietly from Cloud's left.
Forcing his vision to steady Cloud looked to the source of the voice and saw the man that had been with Zack before; Angeal. Despite the gentle pressure on his shoulder, urging him to lay back, Cloud remained sitting, shifting out from under the hand and sliding back to give himself some room. They were in a moderately large tent, with Cloud sitting on one of two bedrolls, Angeal on the other next to him and a pile of travelling gear by the front of the tent including, much to his relief, First Sword.
"Where am I? Who are you?" Cloud asked, voice raw and grating; whether Angeal had been with Zack or not, Cloud did not know this man. The large man was silent for a moment, his eyes scanning over Cloud in assessment before he dropped his hand. Cloud noted that Angeal was tense and positioned in such a way that he would be able spring into action at any moment if needed.
"You're in the forests on the boarder of Wutai." Came the simple, honest answer. "We found you while searching for a group of insurgents from the Wutai forces. My name is Angeal Hewley, first class SOLDIER. "
Cloud frowned faintly at that, confused that Wutai forces would be fighting with Shinra; the war with Wutai had ended so long ago that many had completely forgotten it had even occurred.
"What's your name cadet?" The question bounced around Cloud’s mind for a long moment as Cloud tried to process that final word. Cadet?... What the hell…
Despite Cloud’s silence, Angeal remained patient, letting the blond sort through his thoughts.
"I… My name is Cloud... Cloud Strife." Cloud eventually answered, even if only to give himself more time to think. Him… A Cadet? Wutai Insurgents… Just what in Gaia was going on?
Cloud looked down at himself then and his breath caught as he barely managed to keep his shock and confusion off his face when he saw himself. Cloud was dressed in a Shinra standard issue uniform, but that wasn’t the strangest thing… his body was… smaller? Cloud had never been a huge guy, but he had filled out and grown since his lanky teenage years. The body he looked down was more like a strangers’, it was like he had thinned out and lost a good deal of his muscle mass. It reminded him of when he was 18, walking through the Shinra compound for the first time… Like when he was a fresh faced… Cadet.
Cloud's head spun, but this time the world around him remained steady. A memory of the Life Stream's voice when he had first awakened slowly floated through his mind as though it had been waiting for this moment; telling him that to ‘right the wrongs of the future’ he had to change the past... Is this what The Planet had meant? Literally sending him back to the past?!
Cloud took a moment to really focus on himself and take stock, there was one huge difference from his past body: Cloud could still feel the combination of mako, Jenova cells and Life Stream running through his veins. He wasn’t at full strength though, it felt like his strength was… muted maybe? Cloud couldn’t think of a word for it, but if he was right then maybe it had to do with process of sending him back in time? Rewinding his time?
Aerith? He called internally. No reply came and he could not feel the connection he had felt before. What has the Planet done to me?
"Strife... I don't recall hearing that name, let alone being informed of a cadet being sent to Wutai... How did you end up here?"
It took Cloud a moment to register that Angeal had spoken to him, and when he did a fresh stab of panic ran through him; how could he ever hope to come up with an excuse? Some of his memories where broken or irreplaceably gone, but he was damn sure that he had never come to Wutai as a Cadet.
"I... Uh... I'm not too sure... Sir." Cloud said, deciding to be as honest as he could without the time to think of an appropriate story and adding 'sir' more as an after-thought. If he was a damn Cadet again, then he supposed he had better try and act like one in the presence of one of Shinras’ generals.
Looking up Cloud found Angeal studying him intensely, mako blue eyes searching for something, causing Cloud to quickly lower his eyes in hopes of avoiding more questions. If anything would prove that he wasn’t a cadet, then surely it would be the mako glow in his eyes?
"That-" Angeal started before being interrupted by the flap of the tent bursting open and an energetic Zack bounding in.
"Angeal! I found some food." The young man said excitedly before he even noticed the situation he had walked in on. "Oh. Your awake!" His eyes focused on Cloud with a large grin plastered on his face.
Cloud couldn't quite hold in the sharp intake of breath at the sight of Zack not just alive but smiling… For a moment Cloud felt his chest tighten as images of Zack covered in dirt and blood threatened to overwhelm him.
"You must be hungry," Zack continued, completely oblivious to the inner turmoil his presence had stirred. "I managed to catch some of the local wildlife and I bet it will taste great cooked over the fire."
Cloud found that any reply was beyond him as he watched the young raven-haired man talk animatedly about his hunt for food, swinging the pheasant-like birds in his hand around as described hunting through the undergrowth.
Angeal on the other hand, was used to Zack’s antics and ignored it in favour of watching the blond man and his reaction to Zack. He watched carefully as barely restrained emotions passed through Strife’s bright blue eyes. It could have been confusion at Zack’s exuberance; Gaia knows that most people tended to look at his student in confusion when they first met him… but Angeal had the thought that it was something deeper that the blond was concealing.
Angeal knew that something was off about the strange cadet, yet he had not given him a reason to view him as a threat. Yet.
"Well, I'll go start the fire and get ready to cook these, but… uh… you might want to do the actual cooking Angeal." Zack said happily, smiling at his mentor and getting a small, distracted nod in answer as he turned to leave the tent.
"I'm sorry..." The voice was so faint that even with their advanced hearing Zack and Angeal nearly missed it. Two pairs of confused eyes turned to the blond who was now looking down at the blanket clutched in a white-knuckled fists in his lap.
"I... I'm so… sorry..." Cloud vaguely wondered if it was a good idea to actually speak the words aloud, but a part of him just had to... He couldn't miss his chance to apologize for the pain he had been too weak to prevent.
"Sorry for what?" Zack asked, moving down to squat next to the young cadet, his expression serious for the moment. It had only been a glimpse, but he had seen a look of intense pain in the blond man eyes; it was a look that seemed far too intense for the young man. Just what had he been through.
"I..." Cloud couldn't bring himself to speak anymore, his chest hurt with a pain he had long thought to have locked away and it stole his very breath from him.
Zack carefully laid a hand on the boy’s shoulder deciding that he wanted to see a smile on that face.
"Hey, whatever it's for, don't stress alright? Angeal and I will watch out for you, so you don't have worry about anything."
Cloud slowly looked up at Zack's words. While Zack was just being comforting to a stranger, his words still settled something in his chest. It wasn’t forgiveness, but it felt like a step in the right direction.
"But hey, the name's Zack. Zack fair, and I’m a second class SOLIDER."
Cloud looked down at the hand held out to him, tentatively taking it and definitely ignoring the way his heart skipped a beat when he felt warm, calloused skin under his hand. Inexplicably Cloud felt the urge to… smile. He stopped it at a quirk of the lips.
"Cloud Strife." He replied watching as Zack's face lit up with one of his trademark grins.
"Well Cloud, you just rest up while we get the food ready then we can talk some more." With that Zack stood up and left the tent, swinging his catch over his shoulder on the way.
The tent was silent as Cloud sat there looking down at his own hands, once again lost in thought. Maybe… just maybe, if he was right and he had somehow been sent back in time, he would be able to make up for some of the mistakes he had made...
"You are quite the mystery, Cloud Strife." Cloud looked up to see Angeal studying him.
Cloud decided it would be better not to say anything, after all if he were in Angeal’s place, he knew that he would be far more suspicious.
"You are dressed as a Shinra cadet, appeared out of nowhere close to an active warzone, apparently with no idea how you got here, you seem to recognise my student, and you have a sword that I would expect a fellow SOLDIER to be carrying." As he spoke, he motioned to where First Sword was lain with their gear, "I have questions Strife."
Cloud tensed at the words but he could find no condemnation in the large mans voice.
"It doesn't matter for now though; you can’t fake the kind of pain you were in when we found you, and you have not given me any reason to distrust you yet. For now, you should rest. We will speak more on this later." Angeal said softly as he stood, moving to their bags and retrieving a large drink canteen and bringing it over to Cloud before leaving the tent.
Cloud nodded his thanks, his sore body reminding him that he was not at the top of his game right now. Without really thinking about it, Cloud uncapped the water and brought it to his mouth; it wasn’t until he took the first sip of lukewarm water that he realised just how thirsty he was and he downed most of the bottle.
Once he was finished, Cloud gingerly lowered himself back down onto the bedroll. He did not intend on sleeping; he just wanted to relax, but once his head had touched the pillow and he felt the softness of a comfortable bedroll, he allowed the wariness to drag him into sleep once again.
XxXxX
The landscape around him was a familiar grass land, scattered with brilliant flowers that seemed to shine with an inner light. The landscape went on until a ghostly whiteness took over in the distance . Cloud walked through the blooming flowers slowly, taking comfort in the lack of pain and knowledge that all was well and safe here.
"Hello Cloud." A soft voice spoke from behind him.
"Hello Aerith." Cloud greeted back, turning his head to catch a glimpse of the flower girl.
"I know you're confused, and we don’t have long to talk right now. You must understand that the way things were going with the Darkness… well things were not looking good for The Planet... Despite your efforts the Darkness was winning and The Planet couldn't risk losing you to that Darkness, nor did it have the strength left to rise against the Darkness itself. So, The Planet sent you back to before it all began Cloud. You must change things..."
Cloud thought for a moment about what had been said.
"But... Aer…How am I meant to do this?" Cloud asked, "I… I always mess up when it really counts. I don’t know if I can pull this off…"
"It will not be easy Cloud. You will have to adjust. The Planet made it so that you have retained your strength, but you will have to re-train your body to use it. It will be… so hard Cloud, but we all have faith in you. We all know that you can do this..."
Even as she finished speaking the last sentence, the world around them began to fade and Cloud felt the comforting feeling of Aerith’s hand settling on his shoulder.
"Wait, where do I go from here? What do I do first?" Cloud asked, wanting more answers.
"You will have to achieve the success you once failed to obtain..." Was the cryptic reply.
Those were the last words Cloud heard before the scene before him dissolved completely, and he fell into a dreamless sleep.
XxXxX
"Hey Cloud! Foods ready!"
Cloud woke to see Zack standing just inside the tent with a wide grin and the smells of cooked meat floating through the open tent flap.
"Can you sit up? I’ll bring some food in." Zack said. Cloud was looking far better than when they had quite literally stumbled upon him in the forest, but still seemed quite pale to Zack.
"It's okay. I'd like to get up and walk around." Cloud replied, sitting up carefully; wary of the effects of fast movements from earlier.
Zack looked on in approval as Cloud sat up with care; if anyone could appreciate not wanting to be cooped up it was Zack Fair. With another wide grin Zack held out a hand to Cloud, who only hesitated for a second before reaching for it.
With Zack's help Cloud was soon standing, albeit a bit shakily. Cloud walked out of the tent and took the time to look around; they were in a small forest clearing that was just large enough for the tent, a fire and enough moving room for it not to feel cramped. It was that time of the night where dusk was giving way to nighttime proper, but the fire provided plenty of light to see by.
Ignoring the ache in his muscles Cloud took the time to stretch out and get a feel for his own body again before he made his way over to where Angeal was carving up the meat.
Looking up from his task at the sound of an approach Angeal was surprised to see Cloud heading over, walking on his own with a grinning Zack behind him ready to help if needed. With the way they had found him, Angeal expected Cloud to be bed bound for a couple of days at best. He could still see the signs of discomfort in the way Cloud moved, but the young man showed no other signs of pain. Angeal had been around enough stubborn fighters in his time to recognise stubbornness though.
"You should still be resting." Angeal said reprovingly to Cloud before fixing his gaze on his student, "And you should not be helping."
Zack just shrugged in response and sat down next to Cloud, who looked almost surprised for a second when Angeal reprimanded him, but the tall First Class was unable to figure the reason why.
"It's fine; I'm feeling a lot better now." Cloud answered. It felt strange to have someone telling him to rest when he was accustomed to people depending on him to be up and around to organise resistance efforts, assist with evacuations of Darkness infected areas or just be sent off to fight at the drop of a hat.
Angeal shook his head and wondered at the amazing healing rate of the odd cadet, adding that to the growing list of mysteries about the boy as he finished carving the meat and gave some to his two companions. Angeal watched as Zack and Cloud both took a bite of their food; Zack honest to Gaia moaning in appreciation before grinning at Cloud; earning a small quirk of his lips in return.
Somehow Angeal had a feeling that he would be seeing a lot of the blond man from now on, as Zack had taken an instant liking to him.
Cloud ate the meat slowly, enjoying the flavour and taste of a well-cooked meal over the usual dry rations that had made up the majority of his meals over the past few months. It was hard to find actual meat when the Darkness became a physical plight infecting the lands, animals, monsters and people alike.
"So, Cloud, where you from?" Zack asked after a while, having finished his meat and swooped in for seconds.
"Nibelheim." Cloud answered. "You?" He only asked the question out of politeness even though he already knew the answer; he figured it would seem strange not to ask.
"I’m from Gongaga! Where's Nibelheim? It sounds like a backwater place to me." Zack said, pride for his home and curiosity at Cloud's showing in both his voice and facial expressions as he spoke.
"Well, it’s a fairly remote town in the mountains." Cloud answered softly, remembering the small town he had wanted to get away from during most of his young life. He missed it dearly now. "It's not much, but it's home... What about Gongaga? That sounds just as backwater as Nibelheim."
"It's the opposite of yours then; its hot, sandy and in the middle of the forest." Zack replied proudly. "Wait, Nibelheim... Don’t they have a reactor there?"
Cloud smiled slightly, already knowing where this was leading.
"Yeah, it does."
"Same, and we all know that a reactor outside Midgar usually means-" Zack began.
"-Nothing else out there!" They both finished, causing Zack to laugh and even earning a quiet chuckle from Cloud at the small joke.
It felt like it had been centuries since Cloud had last laughed with Zack; since he had been carefree enough to make a joke.
"Whelp, guess what Angeal? Cloud and me are both backwater experts!" Zack said, turning to his mentor and pulling Cloud close with an arm around the smaller man’s shoulders.
Angeal shook his head at the display, his earlier predictions seeming to become more certain by the minute, and a small smile found its way to his lips. It was nice to see Zack so happy.
Zack and Cloud spent a good while talking about whatever came to mind after that; even though that meant Zack was doing a very good portion of the speaking, but as the night wore on Cloud found himself wishing that he could stay like this forever. Wishing that he could forget ever watching Zack die. Wishing that he didn't need to come back in time for there to be a chance at saving Zack’s life.
When Cloud could no longer hold back a yawn after a couple of hours listening to Zack he got a stern look from Angeal.
"Okay you two; time to turn in." He said, acting every bit the mentor and general he was. He focused his gaze on Zack, "I'll take first watch tonight, get some sleep and I'll wake you later."
Zack nodded his thanks and helped a tired Cloud to his feet.
"Come on Spikey, off we go!"
Cloud stumbled slightly before looking to Zack in shock, it had truly been so long since he had heard that nickname from Zack that it caught him off guard, causing a warmth to spread through his chest even as Zack interpreted the stumble as fatigue and helped him to the tent.
For some reason Cloud felt that tonight he may just sleep well for the first time in years...
XxXxX
Waking to the dim light of morning sun lighting the tent in shades of grey, Cloud was pleased to notice that most of the aches and stiffness from his body was gone. He still felt like he was foundering in this impossible situation, but at least he didn’t feel as vulnerable.
Movement in the tent caught his eye and Cloud looked to Angeal who was sitting on the other bed roll carefully cleaning his large Buster sword- a sword that Cloud instantly recognised.
"Sleep well?" The larger man asked without so much as a glance in Cloud's direction.
"Yeah." Came the soft reply.
Angeal nodded and a comfortable silence filled the tent as Cloud sat up and pulled his boots on before heading outside into the warm morning sunshine. Cloud took a look around the clearing; it was peaceful in the idyllic way the sun light made its way through the branches him. He could hear the soft sounds of insects and the movement of small animals through the trees around the clearing. He wasn’t sure where Zack was, but figured he wouldn’t be far away. With a soft sigh Cloud headed over towards one of the larger trees at the edge of the clearing; he wanted some answers and maybe now he could take the time to sort through his own thoughts.
Sitting down comfortably between the large roots Cloud turned his attention inwards towards the mess of questions and confusion that had been bothering him since he woke up in this forest.
From what Aerith had said, and the information he had gotten from Angeal and Zack, he was now pretty confident that The Planet had literally sent him back in time. Between the cadet uniform he was dressed in and what he knew of the timeline of the Wutai war, he figured that it he had been brought back to a time when he had freshly joined Shinra. He would have to get a lot more information about exactly when he was, so that he could figure out what he was going to do moving forward.
The only fact that matter to him in this moment was that Zack was alive.
He would have to try and figure out what he needed to change though… There were so many events that ultimately led to the Planet being weakened; and each one of those events was affected by hundreds of decisions and actions… How the hell was one person supposed to change the very course of history? What was so important about this particular time period that it could act as a pivot point for the future?
Did he need to just destroy Jenova before her influence sent Sephiroth spiralling into irreversible madness? If he managed to stop that, then maybe that would be enough?
While Sephiroth had caused irreparable damage to the Plant through his use of Meteor, he wasn’t the only cause of damage though, was he? What of Shinra Power Corp itself? They had also been damaging The Planet for years through draining the Planet of mako as a power source, and the person who had ultimately stopped this was Sephiroth in his madness. So, would he also need to somehow stop the powerful corporation?
Sephiroth had only done so through a bloody tirade against Shinra and had been paid for with the lives of hundreds. Cloud new better than most that a one-man war against Shinra without loss of life would be impossible, and he also knew that he would not, could not, follow in Sephiroth’s footsteps.
Cloud blew out a long breath and ran a frustrated hand through his hair. His mind spun with the enormity of the task before him.
With a soft curse Cloud leant back on the bark of the tree behind him and gazed upwards to the blue sky through the trees. He wondered what Tifa or Vincent would do in his place, or if he would even meet them again in this timeline. Or any of his make-shift family. The thought was hollowing, and the only thing that took the edge off was knowing that at least all of them were now alive once more… He hoped.
Cloud wondered where everyone would be now. He knew Tifa and Vincent would be in Nibelheim- or under Nibelheim in Vincent’s case. Poor Nanaki was probably a guest of Hojo, and the very thought of that sent a shiver down Cloud’s spine. He would definitely need to find a way to get his friend out of there.
He had always been a solitary person, but it had been a very long time since he felt truly alone, and right now Cloud couldn’t picture a situation where he could more alone than this… Stranded in a timeline, in a place, that he was no longer familiar with, without friends or support that he could ask for help and with the task of changing... everything…
Cloud was so deep in thought, eyes still on the gentle sway of the branches above him that he didn’t even notice when someone approached and he jumped when that person flicked his nose. Cloud turned surprised eyes on a grinning Zack.
"You looked kind of distracted." Zack commented, amusement lacing his words.
"Yeah, well..." Cloud said, running out of things to say the moment he started speaking. How was one even supposed to answer that? Zack laughed at his obvious loss of words.
"Well, I kinda got bored of watching you stare upwards, figured you needed some entertainment." Zack said.
Cloud looked behind him then and realized that while he had been sitting there thinking, Zack had not only come back, but Angeal had exited the tent and was starting the process of pulling it down. All of the gear, including First Sword, was sitting by where their fire had been last night.
How long had he been lost in thought? How could he be so unaware of what was happening around him? Cloud shook his head in wonder, he had not allowed himself to fall into such an unaware state for as long as he could remember. One good thing about going back in time- no constant threat of Darkness monsters.
"What's going on?" Cloud asked.
"I got fresh orders this morning; we're heading back to Shinra today. Looks like most of the Wutai forces in the area have either withdrawn or have been dealt with." Zack answered happily.
Cloud nodded in way of response and stood up, heading over to where First Sword was laying on the grass and separating the sheath from the sword; putting it on with practiced motions but pausing when he had to adjust the straps slightly to fit correctly. He then picked First Sword up and took a moment to swing it through a few basic manoeuvres. It put some strain on his body, but the weight was still manageable. Once his trusted sword was on his back, he found the weight comfortable and familiar.
"You know, I'm surprised you can lift that thing, let along swing it like that." Zack commented having followed Cloud over.
"It's not that heavy." Cloud stated- his usual response, "And I guess I'm just used to it."
Zack laughed good naturedly, "Yeah, like-"
Whatever Zack had been going to say was abruptly cut off when a large throwing star burst through the foliage behind Cloud, who reacted instinctually to the threat and dived to the side with Zack following right behind him.
Angeal was standing in an instant, fists up and ready for any danger. Zack moved quickly to grab his sword while Cloud drew his and stood ready.
"Wutai forces." Angeal said quietly as he moved over to stand by Zack and Cloud, his eyes scanning the tree line.
As if in answer, around a dozen Wutai warriors stepped out from the trees, all dressed in traditional Wutaian uniforms with a range of weapons glinting sharply. Cloud could guess that these were all of the remaining forces from the area; banded together for a last desperate stand again the General of their enemy.
"You have slaughtered our people!" One of the warriors yelled, stepping out to the front of the group, the rest of which was slowly fanning out. The Wutaian man was had insignias that identified him as the highest ranked of the group. "For this you will die!"
With a vicious snarl the leader launched himself forward; his eyes locked on Cloud who no doubt seemed to be the weakest of the three.
Cloud reacted easily, stepping forward and bringing First Sword up to easily block the attack. This was something that he could do; fighting required no thought, it held no lies, it only needed action. Cloud was aware of the fact that he was not as physically strong as he was used to, but it made little difference as he adjusted to the change quickly, warding off the quick swipes and jabs from his attacker and biding his time until he saw his opening, deflecting the Wutaian man’s blade to the side and quicky bringing his sword down across the mans torso, cutting through the thin armour and skin beneath easily.
The whole clearing around him was a blur of activity, the remaining forces having jumped into the fight soon after their leader to engage Zack and Angeal. It was their mistake as the two SOLDIERs were cutting them down with ease. Once the leader was dead Cloud moved on to the next threat, dispatching this one even quicker than before and moving on again.
The ring of tempered steel and cries of exertion and pain soon faded until only the Angeal, Zack and Cloud remained standing. Cloud was breathing a bit harder than he would have liked for such a short battle and knew that he had a long road of retraining his body ahead.
All three men stayed on high alert, waiting to see if there were any further threats.
"Well, that was unexpected..." Zack said cheerfully, shattering the silence.
"It also answers the question as to where the remaining forces were." Angeal commented.
Zack walked over to where Cloud was now sheathing his sword and patted his back in comradeship.
"And here I was thinking we would have to watch out for you!" He said grinning, impressed by Cloud's abilities. "But you were beating them down faster than they could blink! You gotta tell me: where did you learn to fight like that and how are you not already in SOLDIER?"
"Uh..." Cloud stalled, not quite sure how he was going to answer the question, he also felt, more than saw the intense look Angeal was giving him and wondered if maybe he should have held back a bit more. "I was taught by someone who used to live in Nibelheim..." Cloud answered softly, keeping his eyes on the blade in his hands.
"Used to?" Zack asked.
"Yeah... He left after... After an accident." Cloud replied, realizing that he was more referring to his old self. Having a mentor, even in a place like Nibelheim, would not be entirely unheard of; after all Tifa had trained with her master in Nibelheim for most of her life and had become once of the most formidable fighters on the continent.
"Huh. Well, he must have been awesome teacher!"
Cloud looked up at Zack, glad that he had been believed the story so easily but also feeling guilty for the lie. A quick glance in Angeal's direction told him that not everyone had believed him though, as Angeal's stare seemed to see right through him.
This... will definitely not be easy... Cloud thought, avoiding Angeal's eyes as he moved to help an animatedly talking Zack finish clearing the camp.