Ceaseless Oblivion

Holy crap! Three reviews already? I feel famous…Anyways, here is what you all were waiting for! Thank you dearly to KyubbiTheKid, Unknown Alien, and sunset in love for reviewing, it made my day to see those on my email. ^^ Creative liberties with this, from the Promised Land, to Zack, to Cloud's abilities. Everything will be revealed in due time. Also, everyone has their own version of the Promised Land, and this is my own. Like I mentioned, creative liberties here. And the memory part I made up entirely, I have no knowledge if there is such a store in Nibelheim. If there isn't…then, once again, it's me unleashing my imagination.

And might I say Holy **** for I put this on deviantart, and I saw all of these favorites…God bless you all! *blows kisses*

I own absolutely nothing. Sadly.


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A memory is what is left when something happens and does not completely unhappen. ~Edward de Bono

Everything about this situation was completely beyond belief. It had been maybe a week, and the visions of Cloud's old life, his normal life, now seemed completely obsolete. Any notion of him smiling to Marlene and Denzel was just that: a notion, an idea that might as well have been made up.

For all Cloud knew, he and Sephiroth had been wandering around this area for what seemed like forever. Eternity had become him, and there was no telling where the lines of reality, that silly word, and fantasy stopped. Everything blurred together in an unrecognizable haze, and there was no logic anymore. Since when did ordinary delivery boys develop glowing blue skin, and aside from that, turquoise wings? If Cloud didn't know any better, he would have sworn he stumbled upon a really bad fantasy novel, one that had a fine layer of dust on the cover in a fourth rate book store.

And yet, there was no denying that all of this was entirely real. The sensations of the earth beneath his black boots told him that the ground would not fall away again, like it had before. It was what landed him in this mess after all, instability. The motion of the wings on his back told him that they were real, inexplicably, irrevocably real, as crazy as it was to admit that to himself. But the real show stopper, the one that would have left any non-believer in a drooling mass in the corner, was his skin. It was the only source of light in this god-forsaken place, and there was no other option but to believe in it.

Besides, what was to do about it? Was he supposed to scream and run around in circles? Should he take a sharp rock and try and peel off his own skin so that he didn't believe poison was beneath his veins? And above all, could he tear off his wings from his back without causing himself bodily harm? He didn't think so. Cloud had not the privilege of being scared in this situation, for it was too dire. Only serious things mattered. And if he let himself do any of those things, it would mean that he had lost control of the situation at hand. Never would he let himself do such a thing. All that was left was acceptance. There was no time for the stages, so he simply let himself skip grief, denial, and anger. Though, it was not simple in the least.

The hue from the sapphire light that seemed to be beneath his bones, underneath his skeleton provided the way for both himself and Sephiroth to trek through the foliage, without tripping over their own feet. There was no light in this area, as if some wicked god had taken his demonic steed, and with a chariot of bone and sinew, snatched up the moon, sun and white hot stars and placed them in his care, never to see their home again. The sky was black, and there were no clouds above them, no rainbow lights where they had seen Minerva…no anything.

Which meant that the eye could not wander about the landscape, giving the two allies a distraction. Silence was their friend, one that was not awkward, but the forced quiet that enemies shared when sentenced together. It was either that, or blistering sentences, words filled with malice, streams of letters that left the both of them drained, panting for breath. Silence was best for now, for it conserved energy.

If they were ever going to escape, or rather, if Cloud was ever going to escape, then he was going to have to cover a lot of ground, very quick. He hated to be next to Sephiroth, for like he had said before, he didn't wish to be anything to the murderer, monster, and maleficent being that was him. Though, it was hard to think of him as such when he saw what…torment he went through. He had to admit, if he had been raised that way instead of in a humble home in Nibelheim, then he was certain he would have turned out the same way, if not infinitely worse. When he thought things like that, he scolded himself, for there was no need to try to relate to him. Why would he do something so stupid?

Because his mind had nothing better to do than to sift through the memories of what had been, and what occurred to lead him to a fate of walking through a dismal land, in which he was a human night light.

A week had passed, or something to that effect, and Sephiroth and Cloud had passed through a significant amount of distance, fighting branches and sinkholes in the forest the entire way. Some of it was easy, flat ground without gnarling roots twisting up towards them, but most of it was difficult. Cloud had stumbled many times, Sephiroth had many scratches on his face and arms from where he had fallen in a thorn patch, and both were tired from trekking so far. Their days in SOLDIER training had prepared them, but neither were used to such extremities for days on end. Sephiroth had been at one point, but that was many years ago, a time when he was the most revered General of SOLDIER Gaia had ever seen.

Cloud sighed and rolled over in his position on the ground. He needed sleep, but there was no fighting the memories. Sephiroth was taking silent vigil by the haphazard camp fire they made, the remnants of the bones of some hideous animal they had eaten, and cooked over it at his side. How fitting, a beast by the bones. He was so tired, he had no idea what he was saying in his mind. They agreed that since they had no clue what predator may have waited for them in the shadows, that each would take turns sleeping. As long as Cloud got his five hours, he would be alright for the following day.

'Shut your eyes. Shut-up, and breathe.' Easiest trick for sleep. Zack Fair had told him that once.

Despite the glow of his skin, and the monster at his back, Cloud fell into sleep, one that was not quite sleep, but rather, a trip down memory lane, if he felt like speaking in cliché. At least cliché's were constant.


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Every young boy needed an idol, especially when their father was lost to war. For Cloud Strife, this was his reality. There were no true role models in his life, aside from his mother. She was his world, a woman who was his everything . She cooked extremely well, and she gave him warm hugs even when he told her that he didn't need them. She was a woman who loved and dotted on him often. What a mother he had once had.

And yet…he longed for something else. Tifa's father seemed to help, but since he distanced himself from her, he didn't know much about him. Cloud needed a male idol, one who he could look to in his hour of need. Thus began his seeming fruitless search for someone he could look up to. For a ten year old boy, this was the most important thing, having someone who was the ideal man, someone who they could shape themselves after, mold their body to match this seeming perfection.

Shortly after he wished for such a thing, he had heard about the youngest General in SOLDIER, one who was fearless in battle, one who mastered a masamune blade with both hands, and who seemed to be ideal in every aspect of his life. His name was Sephiroth, and from the moment when he heard of said man' s existence, Cloud became obsessed with him.

The radio or television might have turned on for example, and mentioned something about SOLDIER and Cloud stopped whatever he was doing, for nothing was more important than knowing what he was doing at that moment. Whatever he had done was trivial and paled in comparison to this great mans. His mother thought it was excellent that he had such a good role model, and she supported her son's decision, thinking there was no one better for young men to look up to than those in SOLDIER, people who protected their borders and in theory, the world. What a bitter thing irony was.

The blonde haired pre-teen began asking himself the question of "What would He do?" in certain situations. When his olther asked him to clean up his room and he truly didn't want to, he wondered what Sephiroth would have done. In his young mind, Cloud saw Sephiroth cleaning everything with a meticulation that would scare dust particles themselves away, none of those pesky fragments hitting the areas which he cleaned.

So Cloud cleaned his room for the first time extremely well, so much in fact that his mother praised him severly for it. She gave him some Gin and told him he could go into the village with it, and spend it on whatever he wished. How trinkets were one boys world. Cloud could buy anything he wanted, or desired! Should he treat himself to a sweet, candies and his favorite sugar filled snacks? Upon that thought, Cloud remembered stopping in his tracks outside of his small house, looking to the Gin, and thinking "What would Sephiroth do?" Fascinating how a seeming legend could be one young boy's deity.

He then began walking towards a store that quoted themselves as the top propaganda for SOLDIER. They had everything there for aspiring young men and women who longed to protect ShinRa. ShinRa wished to advertise to the young, getting the youth to protect their company, and ultimately, the world. The young Cloud ran into the store and the clerk was startled from his reverie. The store was barren aside from Cloud as a customer. How odd, for one would have thought that SOLDIER would have been more popular. Though, this was the middle of the afternoon, and most people were working in the village at this time, shopping early in the morning to get it out of the way. Their loss would be Cloud's gain.

He cleared his throat, knowing a man should speak wisely to their elders, and with a loud voice, one that could command others. "Sir, I would like a poster." The man behind the counter raised a silver haired eyebrow, as if he had never heard a twelve year old boy treat him with such respect. He shrugged and got off of the bar stool he was sitting at behind the wooden counter.

"Sure kid. What kind? We've got specific types. There are ones from General's of the past, or ones where they only have one main man on them. Their meant for inspiration, or so my boss said." The man chuckled, lost in a secret joke that Cloud didn't understand. "Take your pick!" Cloud wanted the latter, inspiration itself.

He looked to the Gin in his hand, and knew he had enough for one poster, and maybe somthing sweet afterwards. But the Sephiroth in his mind told him to save the money, for it was never good to spend things so frivoulously. How his phantom toyed with his outcomes.

"I want a poster…of Sephiroth." The clerk nodded, smiling. His teeth were slightly yellow, and in the flourescent lighting of the shop, it revealed stubble on his face, gray and black hairs that a razor had neglected to get. His hair was balding where it had once been a dark black, and the image of a potbelly came over the mans work uniform, a simple tan color with an apron.

"Of course. He's the most popular here, aside from Genesis and Angeal. Some people joke about them, and call them the Holy Trinity, for together, they all are unstoppable." Unstoppable…Cloud wanted to be just like them! Or rather, the leader of the group, Sephiroth himself. "He is a hero, someone young lads should look up to." He gestured with his hand for Cloud to follow him. Like an obidient cadet, Cloud followed the man to the right of the store, where posters where placed in plastic swinging cases, for the customer to look at. "Here is our selection. Sephiroth is in there, as is the others I mentioned. Let me know which one you want, and then take it out of the slot. Come to the front when you are ready." The man began to walk away, and then he stopped.

"Also…don't even think about stealing from me. You seem like a nice kid, but looks are decieving. I trained in martial arts a long time ago, and an old dog never forgets his tricks. I might not be able to stand my own in front of a gang, but I can certainly handle you." He walked away then, leaving the threat hanging in the air. How strange, that someone would take the time to threaten.

Cloud paid it no mind, for he would never steal. Sephiroth never would, and he would follow the mans example. He looked through the posters, impressed with the level of photography. In this town, there were color photos for a price, but black and white were much simpler for rolls of film. But all of these were colored, glossy, and perfect.

He scanned through Genesis's photo, in which he flashed a mischeiveous, almost cocky grin to the camera. He was great, but Cloud was not interested. Then came Angeal Hewley, the man that appeared as if he never smiled, one who looked deathly serious every single moment of the day. Cloud doubted if his face relaxed in his sleep. He turned the cases, and was met face to face with Sephiroth. A gasp slipped out of his lips, and he felt as if he were in the presence of something holy. Should he drop to his knees and worship this image, as if it were an altar of reverence?

Cloud fumbled with the case and slipped the poster out, feeling sweat slick his palms. He rubbed them hastily on his pants, and walked to the cash register with a giddiness in his step, one that did not go unnoticed to the clerk. He accepted Cloud's Gin and asked if he wanted a frame that went with it, for it would cost a little extra. Cloud nodded, for there was no way he was going to walk around with this exposed. Something this fine deserved only the finest accessories.

"There ya go. Run along now. Thanks for the business." Cloud nodded hastily, and practically ran home, clutching the wooden frame with the poster to his chest. He didn't want anyone to see him with it, for he feared of someone taking it away from him. He didn't want anyone taking away what Sephiroth had become to him.

Within ten minutes, he was home, panting, at his front door. He didn't even stop to talk to his mother, for he was determined to get the frame on the wall in his room. Cloud took a hammer and nail, and then placed it on the wall facing his bed, so that when he woke up in the morning, he would see it. There was no escaping Sephiroth's influence on him.

His mother thought that was a great idea, placing his idol on his wall. So that when the recruitment day came around in two years, he would be ready for them.

The following morning, he woke up at dawn, and began running around the trails in his backyard, knowing that there was no time like the present to get in shape. The sun was not at its peak, so that would give him some comfort, the shade and cool of the morning. After ten minutes, he was panting and nearly gave up, thinking this goal he had of joining SOLDIER, of being good enough for SOLDIER and Sephiroth himself was absurd. How could someone as ordinary as him be important to such a significant cause? That being said, no one had known who Sephiroth was at one point, and he amazed them all.

After that moment, he never doubted himself. He did one hundred sit ups in the morning, after lunch, and at night, and did twenty push ups in that same sequence. Cloud ran every single morning, for twenty minutes straight, and he pushed himself harder, until after two months, he could run for an hour without stopping. His mother always had water out for him, and she made sure that there was water in the pipes for him to shower that often. She praised him, and told him that he was making his dream a reality. Her brown eyes sparkled when he told her that he longed to be just like Sephiroth, and be a hero like him.

Hero. What a word.

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Cloud awoke to the feel of someone shaking his shoulder, and he sat bold upright immediately, for he knew who was touching him: the man he had once idolized, the one who he was forced into the company of: Sephiroth.

His mako eyes glinted like liquid emeralds blades, jade knives bent for the destruction of mankind. Who knew what lay in that mind of his? Cloud recalled the week that they had awoken in this strange place, and he had rolled on the ground, laughing, calling himself a freak. It left him with a bitter gall in his mouth, the taste of knowing that your once hero was not what they once had been, if they ever were that being. But it was not simply that. It was knowing that he had to be with someone he loathed, was forced into the company of. Never had he liked people toying with who he could be with. Cloud chose his friends, and enemies.

"It's time for your watch." With that, Sephiroth flipped himself on his back, and closed his eyes, folding his hands onto his stomach. It looked as if he were mummified then, awaiting for someone to place him in a tomb. Cloud had never thought about Sephiroth as being the embodiment of death. It didn't matter what he looked like, for Cloud simply didn't care. He was someone who would help him escape, and nothing more. There was no way that either of them could be anything to the other.

"If that's the case, Spike, why did Minerva give you power?" Cloud felt his head snap up, for he had been staring into the dying embers of the fire, seeing ochre shapes in there that made him feel ill. They all looked like gaping mouths, opening and closing, spewing things out of them. Destruction and plague. Terror and slaughter. And then…a voice?

He whirled his head around, and found that to his absolute amazement, his body was still beside the fire, gazing into the sticks as if they could answer all of his thousands of questions. And…just where was he? Cloud looked to his hands, and saw that he was still glowing with that strange turquoise light, and the feathers on the top of his wings shuffled, as if they wished to remind him that they were there. Then he looked up, and about passed out.

There was Zack Fair, in all of his glory. He was in a dark blue outfit, almost like the one he had died in, but not quite. There were no shoulder pads, or armor. It was simplistic, as if he lived a commoners life. Cloud felt his eyes open wide, like they had when he saw Aeris's hand reach down and launch him through that barrier to kill that Bahamut. But this time, it was because he was witnessing the ghost of his best friend before him.

Cloud felt his knees go slack, and he fell to the ground, if where he was had a ground, he had no knowledge of. He wondered exactly where the line between reality and the spiritual realm was drawn, for in this world, there was no knowledge of anything. It was a separation of the mind from its logic, for all they knew was black. Though, they were allowed to see from the light from his skin, and that was all it was good for. Lighting the way, so that neither Sephiroth nor Cloud fell to their deaths. It was necessary, as was Sephiroth's company. Minerva wanted for both of them to escape, and the only way they would be able to is if they were together. It was the cruelest punishment Cloud could think of.

He looked up at Zack when he placed a hand on his shoulder, the way he had done when they were in that yellow truck, trying to get back to Midgar. Ever the concerned soul that Zack Fair.

"Pal, you're not dreaming. This is real." He gestured to the world around them, still that blank infinity of darkness, one that was lit with the hue from his flesh. Cloud took a few deep breaths, swallowed once, then tried to talk.

"Y-you're dead." Zack looked at him, nodded once, and then shrugged.

"So? I'm allowed to check up on you. That was what the Goddess said." Cloud felt like beating his head against a brick wall. Why was it that he could not remember the finer details, the important words the Goddess herself had told him, and yet get pulled under by an old memory, one that was better off forgotten? Memory itself must have had a sense of humor. Cloud nodded his head slowly, afraid that if he moved too soon, he would throw up.

"Y-yes." He looked to where Zack took a seat beside him, and he felt like crying, pulling his friend into a tight embrace, or yelling, screaming to the world for taking him away from him. But the time for anger was not now. It was a time for answers. Zack looked at him, cocking his head the way a German Shephard would do when they saw something they wished to investigate.

"You seem confused. What's up?" Cloud blinked twice at his friend, and sighed.

"Don't you know?" Zack nodded, but urged for his friend to continue. He wanted for Cloud to be the one talking, not the one listening as usual. Role reversal. Cloud sighed once, and ran his hands through his hair.

"I'm going crazy…here you are, sitting beside me. You're dead Zack. The dead can't sit by their old friends." Zack listened attentively the entire time, and then grinned at the end of the sentence.

"Glad to see were still friends. May I clear the air?" Cloud slumped his shoulders, suddenly very tired. He glared with envy towards where Sephiroth was sleeping, and he wished he could be doing that right now. Though, he had to deal with this.

"Alright, it's like this: I am dead. But haven't you ever heard of the Promised Land?" Yes, yes he had. ShinRa was obsessed with it, for they thought that it was a place with pure mako in it, one that they would use for their own selfish benefit, no matter how many times they preached it was for "the world." Cloud nodded, not following his friend. "It's the afterlife, not what ShinRa thought at all. All those that can go in have to be tested at some point in their lives. Myself, with my dedication to SOLDIER and my sacrifice to get back to Midgar to see Aeris, and to get you safe."

Cloud felt a pinprick of phantom pain in his chest, as if a needle had entered through his ribs. That had been the darkest day, watching his friend fade away. What a promise he had made, to live out both of their lives. Blood had trickled down his face, and the rain beat down on them mercilessly, not even giving Zack a moment of sunshine, one last thing he could see before he died. As far as Cloud was concerned, Heaven was a lie.

Zack saw Cloud drowning in the memory, and he touched his hand gingerly to his friends shoulder. "Hey, snap out of it Spike. It was not your fault for what happened. You are not weak, stupid, or inferior. Don't blame yourself. Isn't it time you were…forgiven?" Zack had directly quoted Aeris when Cloud had confessed to her, in that phantasmal world of white and yellow lilies, that he wanted to be forgiven. He looked to Zack, and he nodded.

"You're forgiven. It is that simple, forgiveness." His light blue eyes rested on Sephiroth's sleeping form, for in reality, they were literally three feet away from the makeshift camp site. "Try it sometime. Anyways, I was tested along with every single human on Gaia. If they pass the test, they are allowed entrance. But if they failed…then their soul went…elsewhere. Hell, limbo, wherever. There are a lot of people in the Promised Land that I knew, and a lot of people you know who are there, myself included."

As odd as it sounded, Zack's words inspired hope in Cloud. That was what he wanted, peace, the eternal rest that came with death. For in reality, he was dead and would never go back to Gaia. It was up to him to find this exit, and to join the Promised Land. Cloud felt a smile ghost his lips, and Zack smiled so brilliantly, Cloud wondered if he were a star, lighting up through this endless night. Of course he was, for he was always a beacon of hope.

"My mother?" Zack nodded. "Aeris?" Again, he nodded.

"And so many more. Almost all of Nibelheim. Genesis and Angeal as well." Cloud felt his brow furrow, for that made him think. If two men who had been the best of friends, and from Sephiroth's memory, lovers despite their circumstance of degredation, then surely…there was a place for him there?

"Will I…be able to go?" Zack's face went grave, and he shook his head. Cloud felt his eyes open up a centimeter, when Zack gave a loud chortle.

"Of course! I was just playing around, it's been so long." He smiled then, and all was forgiven. Then he resumed his speech. "Now, remember how I said everyone is tested. That is important. This right here, this world, is your test." Cloud felt as if he were teetering off the edge of some grand precipice, falling endlessly somewhere. There was no stability, anywhere. Zack gripped his shoulder, and his face grew concerned.

"You alright?" No, he was not! Here he was, expected to simply…forgive his worst enemy? And once more, understand such a beast? Monsters were not meant to be understood. Also, who was to say he was human still? There were wings on his back, and his skin glowed! What was going on? Cloud felt himself breathe in sharply until he hyperventalated, and Zack slapped his face twice.

"Get a grip Spike! Stop!" Cloud felt himself blink a few times, and he focused in on Zack's face. It was still so pale, one etched in a permanent grin no matter the circumstance. Determination was still in his eyes, as if he had made it his life's mission to help him out of this. To help him through his own confusion.

Cloud took a shaky breath, and felt better. "Thanks. Sorry. I…don't feel right anymore. In the head. I mean…I grew wings. And my skin is…glowing. How the Hell could that happen?" Zack looked at him and gave a small sigh.

"That I can explain, but I would rather keep it a secret. But…since I hate those, I will tell you. You Cloud, are meant to be Sephiroth's light." Cloud looked at his friend, felt his mouth open a few inches, and a sardonic chuckle left his lips. If that was not the stupidest thing he had heard, he was hearing all of the wrong things. Zack waited until he got a hold of himself again, and then continued.

"I'm being serious. He was my friend Cloud. I saw how desperately he needed something, something more than what SOLDIER, his father, and ShinRa made him to be. He needed a beacon of hope, something that would never fail him. A stronghold of sorts, to keep him sane and in reality. I had that with Aeris and with you, for I felt that neither of you would desert or fail me. Sephiroth…felt like that someone was himself for awhile, and then Jenova. Neither worked. This is your test, whether or not you, despite everything that happened in your past with him, will let yourself be his light." Cloud felt as if his head were a spinning gear, whirring and whizzing too fast for thoughts to pass through his mind, rendering him incapable of speech. He opened his mouth twice, and had to try three more times to get words out.

"And…if I refuse." Zack's eyes opened wide, and he shook his head.

"Then…you wont go to the Promised Land." Cloud felt as if he were ensnared in a sadistic game of blackmail, being Fate's, the Goddess's plaything. What was he? A puppet for someones amusement? Never would he be that again, for he had enough with people jerking him around, as if his limbs had strings.

Cloud felt his face fall forward, and he let himself think. A question came to mind, one that was simply forged to get his mind off of the serious matter. "Why do I have wings?" Zack laughed, and smiled, tilting his head to one side again, looking like a playful newborn puppy.

"When the time comes, you will see. But here is what I think: you have wings because Sephiroth doesn't. His powers reversed, making you more powerful than him. He can still fight and defend himself fine, but as of right now, he does not have his one black wing. I guess…you can say, you are his light, and his guardian angel." Cloud made a face that said that he would have rather been Sephiroth's doormat than be his guardian angel. Zack placed his hands up and outside of his body, as if they would shield him from Cloud's wrath.

"Alright, so it's a bad exaggeration! Still…it's not far off." Zack tilted his head to one side, as if he were listening to somehting that Cloud could never hear. He stood up, and there was an air of farewell in the air, as if he had to leave right then. Cloud felt a lump form in his throat, for they had had maybe five minutes together. That was not enough time. There never was enough.

"I have time for one more question. Anything else Spike?" Cloud thought long and hard, and knew that he didn't wish to dwell on Sephiroth. He wanted to think about what he was putting up with all of this for, for the aftermath of the situation.

"What..is it like? The Promised Land?" Zack smiled, and he had a look on his face that men who had encounters from some divine sublimation, and returned to their homes to tell the world of it. The look of one who had all of their deep and profound questions answered, tenfold. The face of fulfillment.

"There are children everywhere, running through these fields of sunflowers. It's always sunny, the sky is blue, and…it is perfect. We don't hunger or thirst, and no one craves anything. Whatever it is they longed for while they were on Gaia is now theirs. In my case, it is Aeris. We are together there Cloud, and we have our own children." Cloud felt his jaw drop to the ground. Zack cackled, and smiled to him. "Didn't think we could have kids there, did you?" Cloud felt his shoulders slump, for he didn't know what to think anymore. "Well, we can. The children have to be tested one day as well, and they leave the Promised Land to Gaia, and they try and tell as many people as they can about it." Prophets? Cloud shook his head from side to side, not understanding one bit of this nonsense.

"It's a beautiful place, utopia. No one ever gets tired of being there. There is no boredom, no disease, nothing bad. It's the one place in the universe where bad things don't touch you. It's worth fighting for." Zack met Cloud's eyes, and Cloud had the feeling that out of the twenty thousand words he had said, that sentence was the most important. His mission was to be something to Sephiroth, as much as he loathed to do such a thing. His purpose was to be his beacon in this ceaseless oblivion, so that they both could find the exit. It made perfect sense, and yet none at all.

"But…how am I supposed to forgive him? He killed Aeris, my mother…he has done too much." Zack nodded gravely, and looked up to the sky, as if he were looking at something Cloud was blind to. He chewed his bottom lip, and then answered.

"Like I said, forgiveness can be easy. I once heard someone say forgiveness was where you understand that someone made mistakes, and they never speak of them again. Think about it. If you keep bringing up how Sephiroth killed Aeris and your mother-both of which are safe-then there can be no peace." Forgive and forget. What a lie. It was easier said than done Cloud knew, for there was no way that would be possible. Or…was there?

Zack began to turn on his heel, and Cloud called out to him. He turned back, his black spikey hair waving with his movements. "Cloud, I'll be back, I promise. Aeris just wants me back home to help with the little ones. You'll see them soon, I swear." He came to Cloud, helped him to his feet, and enclosed his body in a bear hug, one that was mindful of his wings, but still managed to give Cloud extreme comfort. He held onto his friend, and felt tears prick his eyes, much to his shame. He hadn't realized how much he had missed him until right then. Zack clapped his back once, and saw Cloud's eyes. Cloud lowered his face, and Zack smiled to him.

"One last thing: if I have learned one thing, it's to cry, no matter who you are around. Don't be ashamed to show it." He tilted his head to the empty air, and Cloud wondered what his friend was hearing. "I'll be back Spike, I promise." And with that, he walked and disappeared into the blackness, a parallel to how once before, in front of Aeris's church he had faded into white nothingness. Everything was flipped here.

Cloud felt his head roll forward, for he was once again back at the fire, and he wondered how long he had been…out of it. A few minutes, or hours? It was hard to tell time here, ridiculously so. He took a deep breath, and decided that he would wake up Sephiroth when he decided it would be a decent wake up time.

As if some cosmic force had heard of Cloud's plea for time, there was an answer. In a flash of absolute brilliant light, a gold shimmer highlighted the black skies, lighting up the entire land in a gilded flurry. Cloud felt himself gasp aloud and he watched as the light became aureate wings, spreading over the entire sky, both on opposite ends of the firmament, as if the wings themselves meant to engulf the world, destroy and create it within the bat of an eyelid. Yes, there were more powerful things in the world than his own makings and musings.

It ended as soon as it came, and Cloud assumed that that was the dawn hour, meaning Sephiroth had slept longer than he had. Time had to have worked differently here, for though it felt like he was speaking with Zack for a few minutes, it must have been many hours that had passed. Time flew and it halted at once. He was trapped in a paradox it seemed.

Cloud walked over to where Sephiroth was sleeping, and nudged him with his boot, not wishing to touch him. Zack's words echoed in his ears, that the Promised Land was worth fighting for, and once more, enduring for. If getting to the ultimate sublimation and peace could be received by touching Sephiroth's shoulder, then he would do it. He had nothing left to lose.

He knelt by Sephiroth and shook the man awake gently, telling him it was dawn. Sephiroth looked around and blinked a few times, as if expecting a sun.

"This is the blackest dawn I have ever seen." Cloud sensed the ominous tone in his voice, but he had no idea what to make of it. Regardless, he rose, stretched and began walking towards the stream they traveled by, for it was their source of pure water. Sephiroth splashed his face a few times, and Cloud did the same. He did not stay as far away as possible from the man this time, like he had been doing for the past week. Instead, he was within four arm lengths instead of an entire league of space between them. Granted, a few steps was not much progress, but it was progress nonetheless. Nothing could happen overnight, no matter if your best friend came to you and told you to bridge the gap, to trust and forgive.

"Ready to go?" Sephiroth nodded and Cloud led the way, tromping through who knew what. The man felt as if the memories that had once haunted and plagued him were lessening, now that Zack was in his life again, as a spirit guide. Still, the entire situaton was bothersome, but it was worth fighting for. Even the memories that were not so innocent.


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