14

Disclaimer: Final Fantasy VII and all associated characters and symbols are the exclusive property of Square Enix and its associates.

The Beginning and the End

One…

Cloud looked in the mirror and frowned. You would think that at least when it was wet his unruly hair would lie down! But as usual, it was being stubborn and he finally put the comb down in disgust. He'd tried cutting the damn stuff short when he was a Shinra trooper, but even then it had somehow managed to stick out in all directions. Only after sweating in a trooper's helmet for half a day had he actually ever seen it lie flat to his head… for all of five minutes.

Cloud swore the stuff had a mind of its own! Even now as it started to dry, it was beginning to poke out like a porcupine. He sighed. Maybe he should just shave it all off and be done with it! Of course, he grinned and his blue eyes sparkled, Tifa would probably have a fit. He didn't know why women were so fond of his hair, but he did know that she liked to touch his in private moments when she seemed to want to say something serious and couldn't find the words. Even Aeris had ruffled his hair playfully more than once.

Cloud ran a distracted hand through his hair, messing it up further. He heard Tifa rustling around in the bedroom that she shared with Marlene. He should tell her he was done with the shower, just in case she wanted to freshen up a bit before going down to open the bar, but the steam lingered in a blanket of warm, moist air and his tired muscles enjoyed the temporary relaxation it afforded them.

It was only a few short weeks since Holy and Meteor had ravaged the city of Midgar and he was still spending most of his time hunting down and dispatching monsters that roamed the broken and abandoned streets. As the new Mayor of Midgar, Reeve had asked him and a few SOLDIERS Second and Third Class who decided to offer their services to clean up the city while he concentrated on bringing some semblance of order to the chaos Sephiroth and Rufus Shinra had left in their wake. Rebuilding was dangerous as long as the monsters kept attacking the workmen. It was grueling, mind-numbing work. The monsters were ridiculously weak to Cloud, who had grown stronger during the course of his quest to find and kill Sephiroth, but there were so many that he still ended up coming back at the end of each day totally exhausted. However, it looked like the monsters were finally growing fewer and he hoped that he and the other SOLDIER volunteers would soon have a positive report to give Reeve.

Cloud pulled the SOLDIER shirt over his head and straightened it, ignoring the zipper, then his hands paused and he fingered the ribbed material thoughtfully, remembering the first time he ever saw a SOLDIER wearing it.

Zack.

The only SOLDIER First Class he had ever met. He'd looked up to Zack almost as much as he did General Sephiroth. He smiled as he recalled Zack taking the time to ask a miserably motion sick Trooper Third Class how he was doing. It was a shame he hadn't gotten to know Zack better before the incident at Nibelheim. His memories of the events during the five years he and Zack had spent in Hojo's care were spotty at best, even after he and Tifa spent that time in the Lifestream searching for the real Cloud. Oh, there were occasional disjointed flashes of memories; pain, needles, Hojo's gloating face… and fear. Cloud shook his head sharply, squeezing his eyes shut. No! Definitely not memories he wanted to dredge up and explore. That part of his life was over now and, for better or worse, he would have to live with the changes it had forced on a young inexperienced trooper, most notably the glowing Mako eyes and SOLDIER body.

"Cloud? Are you done yet?"

He jumped guiltily.

"Just a minute!" he called back, quickly tucking the shirt into his pants and strapping Zack's belt around his waist. Grabbing his shoulder armor, he started to put it on when something in the mirror caught his attention. He glanced up… and froze. Sephiroth stared back at him from the glass reflection. Cloud raised a hand to touch the mirror, not sure if he was seeing things. Sephiroth did the same.

"No…" Cloud whispered, eyes widening in horror. "I killed you!"

"Did you say something?" Tifa tapped lightly on the bathroom door.

Sephiroth's glowing green eyes turned toward the sound as Cloud glanced that way.

"No Tifa! Stay out!"

"Cloud? What's going on? Are you okay!"

Cloud suddenly grabbed his head as pain lanced through it. His eyes burned and he saw double, as if another pair of eyes were trying to see through his. Something was moving inside him, filling him, trying to push him out. He staggered against the sink, gritting his teeth, and closed his eyes against the fire that raged through his head.

No! He was definitely not okay! But he couldn't say that. She'd come in and see him like this. He didn't know what was happening to him, but he knew instinctively that she would be in danger if she approached him now.

"I'm fi…" he started to say. Then every cell in his body exploded. Cloud bit his tongue to keep from screaming, lost his grip on the sink and fell heavily to the floor, smashing a chair on the way down. He curled up, shuddering under a mental assault more powerful than any he'd gone through before, even when Sephiroth was using him as his puppet. He felt the muscles of his face twist and stretch, as if they were trying to reshape themselves. His eyes were on fire and his scalp prickled like a thousand needles were jabbing him all at once.

"Cloud!" Tifa yanked on the door, but it was locked. She started pounding on it, her heart in her throat. Then she stepped back and kicked it as hard as she could.

BAM!

The bathroom door flew open, torn loose from its hinges by the force of the blow, and Tifa charged in with fists raised to do battle as her eyes searched for Cloud. She spotted him on the floor and started towards him, concerned, then he looked up at her and she froze, taking an involuntary step backwards. She raised her hand to her mouth to stifle a scream, eyes growing wide.

Cloud saw the horror in Tifa's eyes and slowly levered himself to his feet, staggering as his legs almost gave out under him again. What was wrong? Why was she looking at him like that? His hair got in the way and he started to shake it out of his eyes when he stopped. It was long and… silver? He suddenly realized that he was no longer wearing his SOLDIER uniform. Instead, he saw a long black coat and high black boots. There was a sword in his hand, at once familiar and unfamiliar. He raised it and saw his reflection in the shimmering blade of the Masamune; green glowing eyes beneath pale silver brows… framed by long silver hair.

He raised the sword above Tifa's head and smiled…

"No!" Cloud lunged up from the bed, throat constricted as he instinctively tried to muffle the scream. His hair stuck to his face, gluing his eyes shut, and he swiped at it with a shaking hand, then abruptly grabbed and yanked it to make sure it was short. His vision refused to clear and he rolled out of bed and stumbled to where his sword hung in its sheath over the back of a chair. He grabbed it out of the heavy leather sheath and held it up, peering into its mirror-like surface. His own face stared back at him, glowing blue eyes wide in shock.

There was a faint thump and he heard quiet footsteps cross the room next to his. There was a tap on the wall and Tifa's muffled voice reached his ears.

"Cloud? Are you alright?"

Cloud closed his eyes and took a deep, shuddering breath then let it out slowly. It was a dream; just a dream!

"I'm fine," he answered softly. "Just had a bad dream. Sorry if I woke you," he added sheepishly, though his heart was still racing and his head ached. He looked down at his sweat soaked night shirt and pants and grinned wryly, realizing he'd need a shower for real now. He listened as Tifa, apparently satisfied with his answer, walked back to her bed. It creaked slightly as she lay down and his enhanced hearing picked up the brush of cloth as she slipped between the covers and curled up, pulling them over her head.

Cloud re-sheathed the sword, shaking his head at the image of Tifa cuddled up with a blanket over her head like a little child hiding from the monsters. There were so many things he hadn't known about her until they went on their quest to stop Sephiroth and save the planet; like how she tilted her head when she caught him looking at her, or the way she flipped her long ponytail out of the way before attacking monsters and Shinra soldiers with a fierce volley of kicks and punches. For such a petite girl, she had never ceased to amaze him with her fighting skills and positive attitude. Even in the Lifestream, when his fractured memories made him doubt he was truly Cloud and not just some experiment created by Hojo, she had stood by his side, encouraging him, helping him to realize who he was and that there was still a reason to live.

Cloud grabbed his pants and shirt from where he'd dumped them over the chair, opened the door and tip-toed down the hall toward the bathroom. There were four rooms on the upstairs floor of the 7th Heaven Bar; his room; Tifa's, which she shared with Marlene while Barret was out searching for alternative energy sources with his fellow miners from Corel; the bathroom; and a spare bedroom that Tifa left open just in case they had visitors. Cloud grinned as he slipped into the bathroom without need of a light, shut the door, and turned on the water in the shower to high heat. He knew it was wishful thinking on her part that any of their original company would come back to Midgar any time soon, if ever. They had all gone their own way after the final battle.

Cloud shrugged, peeled off his sweat soaked clothes, and stepped shivering into the steaming shower, welcoming the hot jets of water as they pounded the tension from his shoulders and neck.

Cloud remembered their last day together on the deck of the greatly altered Highwind. Cid had stopped over at Midgar for repairs, as well as to drop off those who were staying at Midgar. The city had looked like a battle zone. The central spoke, Shinra Headquarters, was missing nearly a third of its upper floors and the surviving population had gone into hiding in the slums by Reeve's orders.

Vincent had vanished the night they landed, slipping over the deck like a dark shadow, the only proof that he'd even been there lying in the cell phone he left behind. Cloud had watched him go, his heart heavy, but said nothing to the man who had been such a comforting presence by his side during so many battles, knowing instinctively that the quiet ex-Turk wanted no fanfare, thanks, or long farewells.

Two days later, Cid had announced he was headed home and offered a ride to anyone who wanted one. Red XIII, Yuffie, Barret, and surprisingly Cait Sith had taken him up on the offer, all having originally come from the Western Continent except for Yuffie, who lived on the huge island of Wutai.

Cloud closed his eyes and stuck his head under the water. He remembered the day of the final battle as clearly as if it was yesterday. The planet's Lifestream had taken over when Holy failed, absorbing both Holy and Meteor in a final answer to Aeris' prayers and their own.

Yes!" Yuffie whooped, hopping up and down as the others cheered and thumped each other's backs.

"Guess the planet decided to let us stick around awhile," Cid commented, lighting a cigarette and taking a long puff of smoke. He kicked at the deck of the Highwind with a frown. "I'm gonna need to put this bucket of bolts back together though." He didn't sound thrilled by the idea.

"I think I can help you with that!" Cait Sight popped up. "I'm sure I can get some mechanics to meet you at the gate to Midgar. It's the least we can do," he added, eyes shining with new hope.

Cid's face lit up briefly then he scowled. "Don't need any ham-fisted, brainless techs putting their grubby hands on the Highwind!" he growled.

"Of course, you can oversee the repairs," the little robot cat reassured him.

"Damn straight I will!"

"Oh, and we'll need to search for new sources of energy," Cait Sith turned to look expectantly at Barret. "I think we all agree that we can't continue to rely on Mako energy any longer. Right Barret? Barret?"

"What?"

Cait Sith nearly fell off his mog.

"I said… we'll need to search for an alternate source of power now," he repeated, "and I was hoping you and your friends at Corel could help me out."

A big grin slowly spread across the ex-Avalanche leader's face.

"You bet!" he waved his arms excitedly. "Me and the boys can start up the mines again, maybe scout for oil too…" his voice trailed off, "… course, we'll need supplies and money."

"Money's not a problem. If you recall, we're practically rolling in it, though it probably isn't worth what it was. And I can get you any supplies you need since I'm sort of the new Mayor here…"

"Mayor!"

Everyone was startled.

The little cat actually managed to look embarrassed.

"Yeah, well… umm… some ex-Shinra soldiers came by and asked me if I'd be Mayor, so I…"

Barret suddenly stomped up to the little robot cat, trying to stare him in the eye, which was a bit difficult seeing as how the stuffed mog was bigger and taller than he was.

"Reeve, you ain't gonna try running things like that jackass Shinra, are ya? Cause if you are, I'm coming in there and school your ass!" He waved his gun arm under the cat's nose for emphasis.

Cait Sith's eyes widened and he backed up a step. The mog grabbed him and lifted him up high before the little cat fell off.

"Absolutely not!" he squeaked. "I have no intention of turning into a tyrant like President Shinra or Rufus. My goal is to provide a stable economy for the people of Midgar." He turned to look at each of his companions and added, "… and any other town that needs our help. This world has been torn apart by war and with Shinra's downfall I'm afraid it's going to be more difficult than ever, what with all the monsters roaming around and no military to protect travelers."

"I agree," Red XIII spoke up suddenly. "Without Shinra guarding the roads and cities, we will need to create our own patrols to stabilize each region and control the monster population." The others nodded, each realizing that their troubles had only started, rather than ended, with the destruction of Meteor.

"Cloud, can I count on you to clear out the monsters in Midgar? I've got a few SOLDIER Second and Thirds who said they wouldn't mind starting a clean-up detail. But I could really use your help."

Cloud nodded.

"Sure!" he said, hopping down from the rail where he'd perched, listening quietly to the conversation.

Tifa beamed at him.

"Great! You can stay at the bar. I have a few spare rooms upstairs," she offered, delighted at the idea of keeping him near her. She was, she had to admit to herself, falling in love with the soft spoken blonde. It seemed strange to her now that she had never really noticed him in all the time they were growing up in Nibelheim. She felt guilty about that, especially after learning how much he had wanted to be part of her little group when they were in the Lifestream. But she would definitely make it up to him.

"What about you, Red?" Cait Sith swiveled on the mog's head to look down at the red beast. Red XIII lashed his flaming tail gently from side to side and lowered his head.

"I will return to Cosmo Canyon," he replied. "Grandfather left his legacy behind and there are still students who wish to learn about the planet. As the last of my kind, it is my duty to guard them."

Cait Sith and the mog both lowered their heads at the same time. "I suppose so." He looked around at the others. "What about the rest of you? I could use the help?"

"..."

Vincent stared at him with those disconcerting red eyes of his and Cait Sith quickly turned to Cid.

"I'm rebuilding the Highwind!" the pilot chomped on his cigarette. "Then maybe I'll go on a long cruise. That is if I can get my lazy #& crew into shape. I can't believe they dove my ship into a bleedin' crater," he grumbled then turned and headed back inside.

"Well I'm going back to Wutai and straighten out those lazy jerks!" Yuffie piped up before she grabbed her stomach and moaned. "And don't forget," she pointed a finger at Cloud, "you promised to give me all your Materia!" She dove into the hold, roughly pushing Cid against the wall as she passed.

Cid watched her go with a smirk. Then it dawned on him what she'd said and he turned back to look questioningly at Cloud.

"Promise?" he asked.

Cloud looked blank for a moment.

"Yeah, Spikey. What's she talkin about?" Barret growled.

"Did you really promise?" Tifa looked surprised.

Cloud suddenly snapped his fingers as he remembered. Then he shook his head, embarrassed.

"She did try to get me to sign a contract to hand over all our Materia when the mission was over. I refused of course but…," he shrugged and scratched his head, at a loss for words.

The others laughed at his obvious discomfiture.

"But you know," Red XIII spoke up when the laughter died down to a few chuckles. "Perhaps she's right."

Everyone turned to look at him like he'd lost his marbles. Red cocked his head.

"Do we really need all the Materia we acquired during our travels?" he asked them seriously. "I for one don't need any. We have a small store in Cosmo Canyon, but since Sephiroth and Jenova are gone along with the WEAPONS, we'll only have monsters to deal with and I think a few simple attack and defense spells should be enough to handle that, along with healing spells."

"That's a rather long-winded speech for you, fur face," Cid chuckled. "But you're making sense. I'm for it." He looked around at the rest of them.

Cloud thought about it for all of five seconds before he began pulling Materia orbs out of his Mystile bracelet and placing them in the bag where the rest of his extra Materia was. That done, he drew the Ultima Sword and started to pluck small colored orbs from its slots. Gradually the others began to follow his example, Red XIII getting help from Tifa to remove his. When they were done, the bag was stretched dangerously thin and quite heavy. Cloud was impressed at just how much they had actually collected during the course of their travels. He looked up to see who would take the treasure trove in Materia to Yuffie.

Cid grinned broadly while the others just looked at him with various expressions of amusement on their faces. He shrugged, re-sheathed his sword and headed for the stairs. Vincent stepped in front of him and he stopped. Without a word, the ex-Turk relinquished his own Materia orbs. He raised one dark eyebrow when Cloud sent him a questioning look, but said nothing. Cloud nodded and continued down the stairs to where Yuffie huddled in her accustomed place against the supply crates looking utterly miserable.

"Remember what I said about motion sickness?" he asked.

Yuffie groaned.

"Go away! I'm not nervous anymore and I haven't been reading either! Damn. Why am I the only one? This is lame. I come from a long line of proud warrior ninjas!"

"Well, if it makes you feel any better… I brought you everyone's Materia."

Cloud held out the heavy bag. Yuffie looked up over her knees and a slow grin peeked out. She jumped up and snatched the bag from him, eagerly glancing inside then frowned.

"Hey! This isn't ALL of it! I should know! I've been counting… Oops!"

Cloud couldn't help laughing at her expression. Yuffie scowled at him and he covered his mouth with one hand, shoulders still shaking with barely contained mirth.

"It was Red's idea to keep a few necessary spells for defense and healing," he said when he finally caught his breath.

Yuffie's face turned an interesting shade of red and she stammered, "W… well, I guess I can't take it all then. Not if you really NEED it." She shook the bag, hefting it. There was a satisfying clinking noise from inside and her eyes started to glitter as she thought of all the things she was going to do when she got back home.

"I guess that helped you forget your motion sickness," Cloud commented, seeing her face change from misery to triumph. Yuffie looked at him grinning. Then her face suddenly fell.

"Aww, man! You had to remind me! Now it's even worse!" She flopped against the crates, hugging the sack of Materia possessively.

"Sorry," Cloud couldn't help grinning. "But I'm sure you'll forget it again soon," he assured her and turned away. The others were filing back inside and he led them to the bridge, wondering how much they had heard.

Everyone took up their accustomed positions and Cid instructed the crew to head for Midgar. It was the last time he saw them all together.

Cloud finished his shower. He didn't even try to comb his hair down. He was starting to think he didn't want to ever again after that nightmare of turning into Sephiroth. He also avoided looking in the mirror as he quickly slipped on his clothes, armor, and sheath, then descended the stairway and crossed the empty bar. Opening the door, Cloud stepped outside and breathed deeply of the pre-dawn air. Settling the sword more comfortably on his back, he headed toward Sector 6 and the last pocket of monsters in the city. He hoped.

Cloud slashed the last Whole Eater and stepped back as it fell. He checked to make sure it was the last then swung his sword in a sharp downward motion to clean it of blood before re-sheathing it with his usual flair.

"Not bad!" SOLDIER Second Class Sora called out from where he was watching in a nearby alley.

Cloud looked up, embarrassed. He scratched his head and shrugged.

"Thanks," he grinned sheepishly.

"No, I should be the one thanking you!" Sora stepped out and crossed to Cloud's side, surveying the damage path of monsters Cloud had left in his wake. He gave a low appreciative whistle. "Haven't had the honor of watching a SOLDIER First Class in action before. You sure do cut a big path!" he grinned.

Cloud's face clouded up for a moment. He was not a SOLDIER First Class. Never had been. Though for a long time he had managed to convince himself that he was. But even though he had tried to explain that to the other SOLDIERS he was working with, they still insisted on addressing him as SOLDIER FIRST. Sometimes he wondered if it would just be better to throw away Zack's uniform and wear civilian clothes. But each time he considered it, his heart was troubled by the thought of so cavalierly casting away the last gift Zack had given him. Maybe if he disguised it in some way with a cloak or bit of cloth to change the easily recognizable uniform? Cloud set that in the back of his mind for serious consideration later, but he said nothing.

Sora continued unaware of Cloud's silence.

"Well, everything's cleared out as far as I can tell. The others just finished out Sector 8 so I think we can safely report to Mayor Reeve that the mission is successfully completed!"

Cloud looked around as the clean up crews began to move in to dispose of the monster corpses. He nodded.

"Now we can start to rebuild," he said thoughtfully.

Sora grinned.

"Bout bloody time! So what're you gonna do now? We could use a good SOLDIER FIRST in our new military Reeve's forming. Plenty of monsters to keep tamed between here and our military outpost in Kalm Town."

Cloud frowned.

"Well, actually I was thinking of starting up a delivery service."

Sora gave him a questioning look and he explained.

"Sort of like a mail service, but on a smaller scale." It was kind of hard to explain since Cloud really hadn't given it much thought until now. "I figured people might like to send packages and stuff to different towns and what with all the monsters…"

"I get it!" Sora interjected. "Like a courier, right?"

Cloud nodded, relieved, and Sora cupped his chin in one hand thoughtfully.

"That's actually a really good idea," he said. "We can't guard every road and there are tons of monsters out there, so a courier service run by an ex-SOLDIER would be a great way to keep in contact." He looked up. "So what're you going to deliver? Mail only?"

"Anything that people need ferried from one place to the other."

Cloud started to walk away as the trucks pulled in and the clean up crews started piling corpses inside. They would probably just toss them outside the city. The wild monsters and elements would take care of the rest. Sora followed him like a puppy dog.

"Anything?" he sounded amazed. "Wow! You're really mercenary aren't you? But you know, you're gonna need more than just a broad back to carry 'anything'!"

"Yeah," Cloud admitted reluctantly. He glanced at Sora, thinking how friendly the ex-Shinra SOLDIER Second Class was. Only a few short weeks ago they would've been mortal enemies and now they were working together to clean up Midgar under Reeve's command. He shook his head. Things certainly changed. But maybe for the better. He kind of liked Sora's casual manner. It reminded him in some ways of Zack.

"I was thinking of getting a motorcycle. I've got a few chocobos, but they don't like them inside the city…" he shrugged.

Sora rounded on him suddenly, forcing him to stop before he ran him over.

"That's a great idea!" Sora waved one gloved hand. "I know this guy in Sector 4 who builds custom bikes. The best in the business! He could build you something with speed that'll carry anything you can and then some. I can talk to him if you like. Hell, we're headed that direction anyway. We can skip our report to Reeve for now and I'll take you there myself. Introduce you to him. How's that?"

Cloud looked at him, feeling a bit overwhelmed, but he managed to nod.

"Great! Then after that, I know this really great bar where they have a hot waitress in Sector 1." Sora put a finger in his mouth and chewed on it contemplatively, then suddenly pulled it out and spit. "Ergh! Gotta change gloves. These are all bloody!"

Cloud chuckled, blue eyes glittering with barely contained mirth. Sora looked at him then started to laugh as well. He slapped his thigh, tears starting from his eyes as he gave in to the humor of the situation. When he could speak again, he gasped, "You know, for a quiet, straight-laced SOLDIER FIRST, you got a mean streak in you! Come on! I'll introduce you to the guy."