Final Fantasy - All Series Fan Fiction ❯ Moment's in life ❯ Part two:Chapter twenty-four ( Chapter 24 )

A/N: doctors are really depressing. But that's ok because I got lots of reviews today on both my story and my art and they made me feel a lot better. Like another person once said reviews may take you 7 seconds but they provide for 7 hours of happiness. Hahahaha that was one smart person because it's really true.

Part two

Chapter twenty-four

return

Cloud walked towards the eerie floating city. He walked into the dirt area under the city. Doors were labeled with number cloud decided to just pick a door. Since he was closest to the number seven door he pried it open with his sword. Inside people sat around talking on porches. Children played in the streets and everyone seemed to be giving him hateful looks. Actually everyone stopped and stared at him. Apparently they didn't get to many SOLDIERS around here. Cloud stumbled into an abandoned train yard. It wasn't really abandoned there was a conductor and a few other shady people there. Cloud sat on the stairs to the raised platform. Getting the crap beat out of you, having your best friend die, having to bury said friend, and being drowned in mako for five years really takes a lot out of you. All cloud wanted to do was take a long nap and this train yard looked tempting enough since the folk around there didn't seem to friendly.

"Hey soldier boy you look a little lost." Said one of the leather clad greasy punks that hung around the train yard.

"Yeah maybe we can help you." Said another member of his gang who cracked his knuckles menacingly.

"Nah I'm fine." Cloud said coldly as he tightened his grip on his sword.

"Heh you know people like you aren't welcomed in the slums." He said smirking slyly as his gang closed in. cloud was so caught up in this he didn't notice the annoyingly loud train that came into the station. People started to pile out of the train as cloud started to beat up the punks that came near him. One of the men caught him by surprise and managed to get him in a headlock. The leader started to punch him in the gut with as much force as he could muster.

"Hey you punks what you doin'" Barret said stepping off the train and giving them his `look'.

"Oh Barret we was just teaching this…" he started but was cut off.

"One of these days your going to beat up someone that can kick your ass." Barret said to the greasy punks who dropped cloud and walked away mumbling. Cloud stumbled to his feet and thanked him.

"Oh you're a shinra, shoulda let them beat you down." Barret said circling him.

"I'm not with shinra." Cloud said monotonously.

"Really because that uniform and that standard issue SOLDIER sword says different." Barret said smirking as Biggs, wedge and Jessie lingered behind him.

"I'm a mercenary now…" cloud said sternly.

"A mercenary, huh?" he said glancing at Biggs, wedge, and Jessie.

"That's right."

"Hey I might have a job that can interest you. Follow me to my house." Barret said beckoning cloud to follow him. Cloud cautiously followed him through the slums to a junk two-story building with a sigh that read `Seventh Heaven'. Barret and the others walked inside as Tifa was doing the dishes.

"It's about time you guys got back." She said picking up another dirty glass.

"Yeah well we found our self a mercenary at the train yard. Wait a minute I never did catch your name kid." Barret said to the man standing outside.

"Cloud." He said simply from outside the door witch Barret was blocking. From inside he heard a rather loud gasp and the sound of something break. A couple of seconds later Barret was being forcibly removed from the doorway.

"Cloud!" she said nudging Barret out of her way. Cloud stared blankly for a moment this girl seemed very familiar.

"Tifa?" he said picking the name of the person that he hoped she would be. She looked absolutely delighted. She caught him by surprise when she started to hug him a hug that left him dangerously low on air.

"Tifa, your killing him!" Jessie said from inside. Tifa tensed a little bit and let him go.

"I'm really glad you're still alive. So where have you been for that last 10 years?" she asked pulling him inside.

"Five of those years I was…in SOLDIER, and the other five…well that's not important." He said looking around.

"Tifa! Stop reminiscing. If we're going to carry out our plans then we'll need a SOLDIER boy like him." Barret said pounding his good hand on the table.

"Don't call me that…" cloud said coldly.

"Listen here if you're a friend of tifa's then your probably from Nibelhiem." Barret said poking him in the chest.

"That's right." Cloud said calmly.

"Well then I take it you hate shinra." He eyed him expectantly.

"Sure why not." Clouds said again making barret look slightly more angry.

"Well we are AVALANCHE. We're fighting against shinra!" he said proudly.

"This concerns me…why now." Cloud said cockily.

"Well we're going to blow up the reactor but we need some help. So we are hiring you to help up." Barret said throwing a sack of gil on the table. Cloud eyed it and picked it off the table.

"We have a deal then." Barret said. Cloud nodded his head. After that was done Tifa dragged him downstairs into the operations room. She forcibly pushed him up against a wall.

"Uhhh" he started nervously. Tifa took a deep breath and said.

"Where were you for the past five years? How come you go to nibelhiem? And what happened to your eyes."

"What you don't like my eyes? Are they creepy?" cloud said giving her an odd look. His mako filled eyes flashing misceviously sent a shiver down Tifa's spine. Cloud noticed this and ran his finger down the back of her neck. Cloud started to laugh.

"Really what did you think I was going to do?" cloud said smiling stupidly.

"Hey wait a minute answer my other question where were you for the past five years?" she asked him angrily.

"Well preserved in a tank of pure mako…" he said making Tifa punch him.

"Be serious."

"I was you just didn't take it that way." Cloud said rubbing his arm.

"You should go to bed your mission starts tomorrow." Tifa said taking the elevator back upstairs.

And so starts the story of final fantasy 7