Cloud awoke to a pounding headache and a freezing atmosphere. He remained perfectly motionless at first, awaiting any sounds to expose anything. He heard a door creak open and footsteps. "Where did you find him?" a deep voice enquired calmly. It was perceptibly a man's voice. He heard something click open followed my hurried typing.
"Does that really matter?" a more cheerful voice asked in return. It was another male who had spoken. There was no response for a long moment. "That's him." The jovial voice cheered in accomplishment. The other man grunted.
"Strife, Cloud," he read aloud. Cloud didn't make any movement of acknowledgement, instead attempted to remain still and silent to fake unconsciousness. "That's him?" the man sounded stoic, but there was a tone of disbelief in his voice. "He's the one who took out half of our men?"
"Sure is!" the happier voice replied. "Puny little guy, isn't he?" he laughed. Cloud suppressed a growl and settled for glaring at the wall. He loathed being referred to as small. That's why most people he fought were defeat – they underestimated him.
"Strife, sit up," the brooding voice muttered clearly. "I know you're awake." He added in a dark tone. The blond hesitated briefly, but realized he had no choice and sat up slowly. His vibrant cerulean eyes met bottle-green ones immediately and he scowled darkly. He was right; there were two men. One had long, silver hair and stunning green eyes, whilst the other had gravity-defying raven hair and blue eyes, a few shades darker than his. The dark-haired man grinned at him.
A steady silence progressed between them, two not wanting to be the ones to break it, and the other not knowing what to say. "So, you're name's Cloud, huh?" the happy man asked. The blond didn't bother to answer the obvious question. The other man wasn't disheartened and continued, "I'm Zack. It's nice to meet you." He said brightly. "This grumpy guy over here is Sephiroth. You don't wanna get on his bad side!" Zack laughed loudly. Cloud didn't respond. "You don't talk much, do you?" the dark-haired man asked.
"Zack, shut up." Sephiroth commanded. The dark-haired man pouted and folded his arms.
"Someone woke up on the wrong side of the bed." He mumbled childishly. The silver-haired man ignored him in favour of scrutinizing Cloud.
"I'll divulge that I expected something more threatening," he admitted. The blond glared hatefully at him. "You're just a child." He added.
"I'm nineteen." Cloud snapped in annoyance. Sephiroth's expression remained impassive.
"Indeed." He answered. "You must be wondering what we're going to do with you," he said. The blue-eyed adolescent didn't respond. "You're going to die here, Strife. You killed many of our comrades, and you will pay."
"You didn't care about their lives," Cloud spat. "You didn't give a damn if they died or not. That's a part of an assassin's life, isn't it?" he hissed stoically. Sephiroth's glare intensified.
"We're going to conduct a little experiment," the man went on as if Cloud hadn't even spoke. There was a dramatic pause, during which the atmosphere became tenser and heavier. "We're going to see how much the human body can take before it shuts down." He said steadily, glowering at the blond behind bars.
"In other words; you're going to torture me until I die." Cloud deadpanned. "You're so original." He heard a muffled snort coming from Zack, but he disregarded it. Sephiroth came closer to the bars so that his threatening and ectoplasm-green eyes met Cloud's cerulean ones.
"You are going to die here, Strife. By the end of the torture, you will be begging for death."
—Clack—Clack—Clack—
Gosangoku: Final Fantasy VII belongs to Square Enix. If it belonged to me, Zack wouldn't have died. –Insert sobbing here—
Cloud: …
Gosangoku: Well, you know he's angsting on the inside.
Cloud: …
Gosangoku: He's just shy. Zack can fix that! R&R, please!
Zack: That's right, Cloud! I'll help you get over your shyness!
Cloud: Oh, joy.