Chapter Text
The explosion at a Mako reactor was unprecedented in recent times, especially one right at the edge of the city. A blackout spanning two sectors of the metropolis in the dead of night, a great blaze flaring at its epicenter, and the streets are full of debris, casualties, and panic. Those who could flee have done already, but many remain that can’t and plenty others have been trapped and others have gone missing.
Amid the chaos and the screams, a lone soldier is roaming the streets. He’s just been split up from his group, who are all currently on the run in the disastrous aftermath, and is slipping past the patrol. On the occasion, he’s run into a few squads here and there, but they’re nothing that he can’t deal with on his own. He’s in a hurry anyway; his group said to meet up at the Sector 8 train station and they’d all blend in with the escaping crowds. Unfortunately, the town is literally crumbling about him and he’s been forced to take a detour.
It’s not the first time he’s had to face a town on fire, that’s for sure, but the panic and fear strewn all around him has reminded him of some terrible memories. He hurries through alleyway after alleyway, trying to avoid detection, but that lingering sense of dread continues to follow him after every step. As if it were a phantom drifting by, that dread only seems to gain on his pace until…
“…!”
He suddenly feels the head-splitting screech of a headache hit him out of nowhere, and he nearly slips over his own feet. But it isn’t just the headache that has caught him off-guard. A certain ominous figure had just appeared before him out of nowhere, and though it was just a brief glimpse of the man’s back, the figure was immediately recognizable.
There’s no way. It can’t be. That’s impossible…
The ghostly figure then strolls off casually as if he were simply taking a nice walk around town. Cloud stares off into the distance, blinking a few times, and questions himself for a good while. He shakes his head, dismissing it as a mere hallucination probably from the gases in the air, and makes his way along another road.
Or rather, he would if he hadn’t walked right into the same ghostly figure, who now stands before him. Cloud freezes still, hesitantly looks up to see the man’s face, and jumps back in fear.
Sephiroth. The silver-haired ghost says nothing, but eerily smiles back. He then heads off in a different direction, as if beckoning Cloud to follow him. Completely lost and in disbelief, Cloud likewise feels an indescribable urge to follow him.
The ghostly man leads him down into a different backstreet, and Cloud can’t seem to make out where he’s wandered. But never mind that; how the hell is this happening? Whatever he’s seeing right now can’t be real. It has to be an illusion or some weird hallucination or something…
“…Reality is rarely welcoming to those who seek it.”
Cloud stops short and stares at the man in stunned silence. Finally, when he finds his voice again, he mutters, “…You’re not real.”
Sephiroth now turns around to face him. He replies rather playfully, “Really?”
“I… killed you with my own…” but he cuts himself off, as if stumbling over some mental roadblocks.
“Oh, you need not remind me.” Sephiroth chuckles to himself. “I could never forget all that which binds us together…”
“Shut up!” Cloud now draws his sword. “You aren’t supposed to be here!”
“I could say the same to you, Cloud.”
“What?”
“What do you think you’re doing, fooling around here? Do you think playing hero to your childhood friend gives you purpose?”
“…!”
“Or perhaps… aren’t you just running away from your problems again? That is, isn’t there something important that you’ve forgotten?”
“…” Cloud is at a total loss for words. He has no idea where this conversation is going; nor does he want to know. If only he can just get away from this nightmare…
Sephiroth shakes his head as if disappointed. “There you go again, always trying to escape. It’s about time you wake up and face the truth.”
“…”
“If you need a refresher, let me remind you…” There’s a sinister glint in his eyes as he calmly recites a certain line: “‘Sorry, Cloud… but I don’t like mayo.’”
“…!!”
For some reason, that statement really rubs Cloud the wrong way. Before even he knows what to make of it, he blows up into a rage. The next instant, he lunges at Sephiroth, screaming, and slams his huge sword right into that smug grin.
However, the ghostly figure then vanishes into thin air, and the illusory fires around them go out along with him. The only thing that lingers a little longer is that ever smug voice: “Very good, Cloud… Hold on to that hatred.”
Cloud pants heavily as he tries to recollect himself. He looks around, finding himself all alone in some dark, dank alleyway, and returns his weapon to his back. He then clutches his aching head, which whatever was causing the screeches has thankfully stopped. He stands there in total disbelief.
What the hell was that all about? Why did he get so blindly enraged when Sephiroth mentioned mayo? Mayonnaise? What’s wrong with mayonnaise? No, better question: what the hell is wrong with Sephiroth!?
Forget it. The mako fumes must really have done a number on him. Either that, or there was something wrong with that bread Barret gave him before… Whatever, it doesn’t matter. He’s wasted enough time.
He shakes off the rest of the remaining jitters and hurries out onto the open street. Just as he comes out, though, he almost runs into someone else who happens to be passing by.
“Oh!”
“Whoa!”
He catches himself in time, though the woman seems startled.
“I’m sorry! I didn’t notice you there, sir.”
“Ah… no, it’s my bad…”
Now that he has a good look of her, there’s something about this woman that has caught his attention. Sure, she’s a fairly pretty face, what with those bright green eyes, long braided hair, and charming smile; but it’s not her looks… it’s her smell?
“…”
“Sir? Are you okay? You look like you’re in a daze.”
“…Huh? Uh, no. Sorry. I just…” He struggles to come up with the right words, but then frowns and shakes his head. “It’s nothing. I just thought I smelled something weirdly fragrant around here.”
“Oh!” She smiles sweetly. “Do you mean these flowers? I’ve grown them myself, you know. If you’re interested, they’re only a gil!”
“No, that’s not it…”
“Not the flowers?”
“…” Cloud crosses his arms, trying to think it over. “It smelled more like… fresh bread.”
“Oh. Hahaha!” The woman suddenly breaks into a cheery laughter.
“Huh?”
“Ah… so that’s it.” She’s even started to blush. “I have been really busy baking lately, haven’t I? So the smell’s still on me, huh? That’s embarrassing.”
“Uh, no, I didn’t mean… Like, it’s a nice smell, but it’s really faint. I wouldn’t have picked it up from a few feet away.”
“Ah, so you’ve got a really good sense of smell?”
“Um… yeah, I guess. Now that I think about it, all our senses are enhanced through the treatment, huh…”
“Our?”
He hurriedly shakes his head and waves a dismissive hand. “Never mind. Sorry to bother you. I’m in a hurry.”
“Oh, wait!”
“Hm?” He turns back.
The woman hands him a flower from her basket. “Here, take this. It’s on the house.”
“Huh? You’re just giving it to me?”
She leans in with a playful wink. “The bit about baking is actually kind of a secret, so let’s keep it that way between us, okay?”
“…You’re bribing me into silence with a flower? Weird business practice you got there, lady.”
“Haha!” She then puts a finger to her mouth. “It’s nothing so shady. Just think of it as a gift of our meeting today.”
“Okay, then.”
“Thank you for your patronage!”
Cloud accepts the flower from the local florist and she waves him goodbye as she heads off her own way. He slips the flower stem beneath a strap over his chest since he has nowhere else to put it, and hurries off. Enough delays. He’s already too late to catch up with the last train to Sector 7. Guess he’ll just have to take a shortcut.
~
In the storage car of a moving passenger train, a few familiar faces have gathered, but the atmosphere is anything but relaxed.
As if to speak for everyone, Biggs pipes up, “…Cloud never came.”
“You think he might’ve been…” Wedge gulps, “killed?”
“Hell no! If that merc was worth any of the pay he asked for, he wouldn’t die that easy!” Barret shoots back.
“But what could have happened to him? It doesn’t seem like him at all to be late…” Jessie ponders.
“Tch… Whatever shit he’s caught up in is his problem. All that matters is that he makes it back to Sector 7 in one piece.”
“Yeah, of course. But if he’s been caught by the coppers, then wouldn’t it put us at risk too?” Biggs asks. “I don’t think he’d be the type, but if he just happens to let something slip…”
“Ha! You think a tight-wound ass like him would spill anything to ’em? I’d bet his whole damn pay that he’d sooner gut himself on the spot than let himself be caught by some lowly grunts!”
“…”
Barret’s attempt at lighthearted banter only makes the atmosphere even more awkward.
“…Uh. I’m just sayin’, he’s fine. Gotta be. Guy like him can take care o’ himself any day.”
“…”
The awkward silence is broken by the occasional rapping noises from above them.
Finally, Biggs breaks the ice again with another question, “…So, how long do you think he’ll stay?”
“Huh?”
“Cloud, I mean. How long do you think he’ll stay working for Avalanche?”
“Like hell I’d know,” Barret speaks rather frankly, “Don’t give a damn where he wanna go after this job, that’s his choice. But knowing Tifa…” He lets out a sigh. “She’d probably come up with some kinda excuse just to keep him around.”
“Ah, yeah. Tifa said he was an old friend, didn’t she? They seem to be close,” Wedge recalls.
“‘Old friend’, huh…” Jessie says, looking aside deep in thought.
“Heh… Maybe you weren’t on the same page as him after all,” Biggs then quips, and he nearly gets hit by a stray miniature flashlight. “Hey! Relax!”
Jessie goes over to fetch it. “Sorry. My hand slipped.”
“Yeah, sure…” he mutters quietly as he watches her head back to her spot.
“Anyway, as I said, he’s way too valuable to let go. Cloud is strong, freakishly, even.” She gets rather excited all of a sudden. “You guys should’ve been there! He and Barret trashed this giant scorpion bot at the reactor, and they even bonded a bit!”
“Jessie!” Barret snaps back.
“What? It’s true, isn’t it? The two of you were worked amazingly well together.”
“Tch… The damn hunka junk wasn’t much of a threat anyway! All the merc did during battle was piss me off even more. If that’s bondin’, then I don’t wanna see us as enemies…”
Barret turns away with a scowl, but Jessie keeps a doubtful smirk to herself.
The rapping noises from earlier have been getting louder as they chatted away, and by now, whatever has been making it seems to have reached atop their car. There’s even knocking on the door, and they all go into high alert. Biggs prepares to open the door, while the rest ready their weapons, and then he swings it open as he aims his gun too.
Suddenly, someone swings inside from above with a dexterous flip and shakes it off like it was nothing.
“Cloud!” “Cloud!?”
Cloud pats himself down and looks around at them with an unfazed look. “Yo.”
Barret hurriedly slams the door shut and gets right in his face with a great scowl. “And where the hell you been!? I said to meet up at the Sector 8 station!”
Cloud replies without even a flinch, “Giving security the runaround, obviously. You can thank me for how easy it was for you.”
“You smug sonnuva… You all had us worried, dumbass! Think about what other people feel for once, ya selfish prick!”
“…” Cloud raises an eyebrow. “You were worried about me?”
“Goddamn!” Now Barret is seething and he stomps away. “And he don’t even care. Fine, be that way! But know that’s comin’ outta your pay, hot shot!”
Cloud just frowns back, but says nothing.
Barret turns to the rest and barks out orders, “Alright, team! We mighta hit some snags, but we’re at the home stretch! Just a few more stops and we’ll be right back home in Sector 7. Jessie, get Cloud his card. We still got a few more run-ins with the ID scan. But after that, we’re in the clear!”
Jessie passes him his fake ID with a wink. “Keep it safe!”
“Don’t get cold feet now! Once we back at base, we’re celebratin’, but after that, it’s onto the next mission! Ya’ll know the code by now. Avalanche never sleeps!”
“Yeah!” the rest but Cloud yell out.
“Alright. Split up and blend in. We’re headin’ out.”
And with that, Barret takes the lead and hops over the cargo to the car door leading to the next car ahead. Biggs and Wedge pass Cloud thumbs-up and cheeky grins as they congratulate him on his suave moves and follow after Barret. Finally, Jessie stops Cloud before he leaves.
“Oh, wait! One more thing.”
“Huh?”
“Hold still.” She takes out a cloth and wipes his recently sullied face clean. “There we go! Like new!”
He frowns, but says, “…Thanks.”
“And thank you for helping me back at the reactor. I was in a real pinch for a while.”
“It’s no problem… Probably shouldn’t have been standing around watching us fight, though.”
“Hehe… yeah. But I gotta admit, you two were pretty cool.”
He shrugs, as if playing it off.
“Anyway…” She makes a sly smile. “After we get back to base, mind sticking around for a bit? We got something to talk about.”
“What? If it’s about the next mission, I haven’t agreed to that yet.”
“Oh, it’s not that. Just wait and see. I’ll come find you.”
“…”
“Later!” She passes him a wink before she heads off too.
Cloud watches her go and once he’s alone, his thoughts begin to wander once more. What a day… It’s not like he never imagined he’d end up in a situation like this. He chose to be a mercenary, after all. But he hadn’t expected to work with a group of vigilantes who are so in over their heads. He couldn’t care less about his former employer, but he can’t help but worry that things could get even uglier really fast.
He shakes his head and gives a sigh. Why is he worried about them? It’s just a job… well, a job that Tifa twisted his arm into signing up for.
Tifa… Just what has she been through since they last saw each other? What led her to join an ecoterrorist group of all things? Sure, she as much as anyone from their hometown would hate Shinra, but she always came off as a really nice girl who wouldn’t resort to violence. Or at least, that’s the impression he’s had of her since they were young.
Ugh… speaking of their hometown. The sight of all the panic and confusion after the huge explosion reminded him too much of things he’d rather keep buried in his heart. And then he even saw and heard that man speak to him… What was that even about? What did he forget about that’s important? And why in the world was he so upset when the man mentioned mayo…?
Speaking of food, ever since he first took a bite out of that “Cosmo Bread” that Barret loves so much, Cloud has felt a bit weird, like something happened to his body. He’s become super attuned to the smell of food, especially of bread. At first he thought his extra acute senses were just a side effect of the Mako treatment he’d undergone before, but now he isn’t so sure anymore. It wasn’t always like this, after all. That florist didn’t smell particularly strong of anything… aside from the flowers. Yet, he was able to pick up on something and reveal a secret she was hiding. Not much of a secret, but she said it was, at least.
He frowns to himself. Great. Now he’s gone on a tangent about food. Thanks a lot, Barret. What the hell is that bread and where does he keep getting it?
Cloud swerves for the door. He really needs to stop getting lost in his thoughts.