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Lover's War	By : Htress Category: Final Fantasy Games > Final Fantasy IX Views: 736 -:- Recommendations : 0 -:- Currently Reading : 0
Disclaimer: I do not own Final Fantasy IX, nor any of the characters from it. I do not make any money from the writing of this story.

Chapter List
- 10
- 11
- 12
The
Lifestream

Sephiroth folded his wings around the
blond, diving into the green pool of liquid below. He had failed. JENOVA had
once again sealed him, but this time, she succeeded in locking his mind in the
Lifestream. They traveled far down into the Planet, but Cloud�s body refused to
move. Sephiroth tightened his embrace, awakening the blond�s spirit.

-
Cloud� Cloud wake up�

-
Seph� Seph� Help� me� voices� too many
voices�

-
Cloud� Listen to me!

-
He won�t, he can�t, the Mako is too
strong for him.

Sephiroth looked around, that voice� It was
so familiar. And it made him very sad, to know that his closest friend was
here. Seeing him nowhere, he asked in a whisper where he was.

-
Right here, Seph. I�m here.

-
Why haven�t you left him? He�s loosing
his mind because of you!

-
I can�t leave him because he
doesn�t allow me to! He doesn�t remember who he is, you don�t know how Hojo�s
experiments f&%$ed him up. He had just me to keep him sane, he needed me�
But now, he have to let me go. He doesn�t need me anymore. He needs you.

But before Sephiroth could do anything
else, a set of tentacles gripped his throat. She was trying to command him even
in the Lifestream. He fought, and felt another presence helping him, but his
grasp loosened on Cloud, who drifted away in the green sea. Sephiroth�s
spiritual form was taken deeper into the Planet, screaming and struggling to
break free. He watched with despair Cloud disappear from his view. The
tentacles had disappeared, but the soothing presence had taken him in a locked
part of the Lifestream, leaving him alone, with only a view to the world above
to watch in agony the outcome of his madness.

********

-
You bitch!!!!, screamed Tifa

The brunette lunged forward, slapping
Scarlet square in the face, then turned on her heels to run on the canon.
Barret�s voice guided her as she jumped, grabbing the line falling from the
huge airship. The ordeal had been terrible, she had really feared for her life.
Then the Sapphire Weapon attacked, giving her a chance to escape. But only to fall
on Scarlet.

A hand grabbed hers and Tifa was hissed on
board. Barret welcomed her with a hug and guided her to the pilot� who was no
one else than Cid Highwind himself. Everyone else was there, too, well except
Yuffie who had shut herself in the bathroom. They welcomed her warmly. But one
person was missing in that group�

-
Cloud�

-
Don�t worry, I�m sure he�s somewhere,
started Nanaki, Grandpa should know something about this.

So they flew to Cosmo Canyon, where Bugen
told them to go look for an southern Island named Mideel. The Island was
surrounded by a dense forest, probably because of the Mako that was very near
the surface, here. Red and Cid were with Tifa at the front while the others
were following behind. The village was very rustic, the houses were made of
wood, giving it a very calm appearance. Avalanche separated themselves in small
groups to explore the area, searching around the numerous Mako pools for their
leader. Cid and Vincent were going north, and they passed by an old man talking
to another.

-
That poor boy� I wonder if he�ll go
through. It�s a shame, such a young age to die of Mako poisoning.

-
It�s been what, eight days now that we
found him?

Cid immediately picked up his PHS and
called everyone while Vincent was asking where that boy was now. In no time
they all rushed to the clinic.

-
Oh no!, gasped Tifa

She threw herself on the bed, cupping
Cloud�s face with her hands. Cloud did not moved, but his eyes opened and Tifa
backed away. They were glowing even brighter than before, but without
recognition. His face was terribly pale, his hands and ankles tied to the bed
by restrains. He had a tube inserted in his mouth that was constantly
draining his stomach�s content. A
glowing green liquid was getting out. All Avalanche gathered around the bed.

-
It�s the worst case of Mako poisoning
I�ve ever seen. We�re draining the Mako from his system now, and we were forced
to tie him down. He�s incoherent and hallucinating constantly. He�s trapped
inside his own mind� Tammy, when he wakes up, make sure to give him water and
immediately raise the bed.

-
Yes, doctor.

As on cue, Cloud started to have violent
convulsions, causing everyone to rear back. It wasn�t pretty and Tammy had to
push them out to let the doctor work properly. Avalanche left the clinic and
went to the Inn, to pull themselves together. Tifa was stunned and couldn�t
believe it, and most of the team was in the same state.

-
I suggest we stay here for a while,
said Cait Sith, The Shinra high executives are at loss for the moment, trying
to find a way to top Meteor. It should hit the Planet in about four or five
months.

-
We can�t sit on our asses like that
forever!, bellowed Cid, We have to do somethin�!

-
We could stay a few days, then we�ll
leave.

-
I will stay with him, stated Tifa, I
can�t leave him like that.

*******

So a week later Avalanche left Tifa to
Cloud�s bedside. The young blond was now awake, but the only things he could do
were babble, sleep and� well, he was vomiting a lot. The poor boy was unable to
keep down anything. They had had info about a certain type of Materia, the Huge
materia. With Cid as their new leader, they had already pushed back the Shinra
at Fort Condor, and were heading for North Corel. Cid, Vincent and Nanaki had
succeeded in sneaking into the reactor, but they were at lost about what to do
now to join the Shinra train.

-
Let ol� Cid take care of the things!,
the pilot said

Both Vincent and Nanaki couldn�t guess what
he had on his mind� They did jumped on the Shinra train, and after getting rid
of the conductor, the breaks seemed to be unresponsive� In fact, the breaks
didn�t respond at all. And it was dangerously near the town, now�

-
Chief! How do we stop?!?, yelled
Vincent

-
I don�t know! I don�t f*&?ing
know! The damn *?%$#&*&?% breaks don�t work!!!

The surroundings were defiling at an
incredible speed. Even if he had been a Turk before, Vincent didn�t like speed,
he hated to admit it even to himself, but he was afraid, now. Red XIII was
curled into a ball, his paws over his eyes while Cid was pulling the brake
lever with all his forces. They were doomed. So if he was to die, at least�

-
Cid!!!

He jumped next to the pilot and firmly
seized his shirt, pulling himself on Cid. He was trembling as much as the
wagon, Cid embraced him with an arm, keeping the lever down with the other. In
a matter of minutes, they would hit the town� But suddenly, in a shriek, the
train stopped. Cid was kneeled down, holding Vincent close to him when Red
opened his eyes. The beast immediately came closer and asked what was going on
with him�

-
I think he�s hurt or somethin�,
retorted Cid, could y�go and see if the others have a potion for his arm?

Nanaki immediately sprinted out. Vincent
looked up into Cid�s blue eyes, a little confused.

-
I�m not hurt, Cid�

-
I know that, Vinny. But I can�t calm
you down with him around, can I?

With that he brought Vincent close to him,
kissing his forehead gently. He couldn�t let the others know about their
relationship, not now. So he reassured Vincent, talked to him softly until he
fell asleep, and then lay him on the floor. When Barret arrived, all he saw was
Cid smoking near an apparently unconscious Vincent on the floor of the wagon.
They took him in the Highwind after receiving the thanks of the villagers. It
was time to return to Mideel.

********

-
They�re coming!!!

The ground trembled, menacing to rip off
under their feet. Tifa looked at Cloud, stupefied. For once he had said
something with a certain sense. Doctor Stark helped the brunette to put Cloud
into a wheelchair and they left the clinic in a hurry. Outside, Cid, Vincent
and Nanaki had succeeded in making the Ruby Weapon leave the town, but the
Lifestream wanted a way out, and it wanted it /now/. As they passed through the
central place, the green river gushed out, trapping Tifa and Cloud, and they
fell into the green.

********

I�m not supposed to be scared of anything

But I don�t know where I am
I wish that I could move, but I�m
exhausted
And nobody understand how I feel

Little Cloud held his father tighter,
listening to what he had to say. The fatherly figure squeezed his son one last
time and disappeared, and the young boy was left alone in the square of
Nibelheim.

I�m tryin� hard to breath, now

But there�s no air in my lungs
There�s no one here to talk to
And the pain inside is making me numb

Cloud�s spirit was split into parts. He was
hurting. Where was he? Who? Why�? So much questions, so much voices, and no one
to help him! Cloud curled into a ball. His father, �let me go�, �be strong�,
�I�ll always be proud of you�� Young Tifa� �I wanna go se mommy�, �get away,
you freak!�, �will you be in the news?�� And Sephiroth� �My mother is JENOVA�,
� I was created� by Hojo�� Too many voices weighed on him, so he screamed.
Doubt was seizing him.

Try to hold this under control
They can�t help me, �cause no one knows
Now I�m going through some changes,
changes
God, I�m so frustrated lately
When I get suffocated, save me
Now I�m going through changes, changes

He hadn�t been in Nibelheim as a first
class SOLDIER, Tifa showed him that. It was a dark haired man, friendly,
smiling and social� He knew him, he was so familiar� His reunited self felt
then a warm feeling as a green shadow separated itself from him. The shadow
reunited with his spiritual form, and then Cloud finally recognized him.

-
Zack!

Zackary Hoecken smiled and sat down on the
square�s water tower. Tifa started to disappear, too� He missed the company, he
was alone, now. A ghostly figure then began to stand out far away� Sephiroth
looked at him sadly as Cloud asked him why. Why him, why he couldn�t resist to
his call.

-
The answer you seek had always been
with you, protecting you, the silver haired man stated sadly.

With that he sat down near Zack on the
water tower. Cloud looked down at his armoured arm and threw himself on Sephiroth.

Feelin� weak and weary

Walking through this world alone
Everything they say, every word of it
Cuts me to the bone, and I bleed

But the Nibelheim square disappeared,
replaced by a deserted beach. The stars reflected the light of the man that
stood there, melancholically listening to the sounds of the waves.

-
You felt it, too, that night�
Something would go wrong�

-
Yes� But I did not want to believe it�

Sephiroth faded away in the night, his head
downcast. Cloud found himself in the city of Midgar, on a moogle slide.

-
Zack� Why?

-
I tried to make it easier for you, I
wanted to save you� But it turned a little sour, don�t you think?

The blond tried to answer, but the dark
haired man and the city fell into nothingness.

I�ve got something to say

But now I�ve got nowhere to turn
It feels like I�ve been buried
Underneath all the weight of the world

-
Cloud!!! Cloud!!! Wake up!!! You can�t
die yet! You found your answer� Wake up!

Barret took Tifa out of the crumpled
clinic, letting Tammy and doctor Stark work. The blond, probably soon-to-be
late leader of Avalanche, was trying to survive. With almost no equipment, both
of them were on him, making sure he was breathing and his heart beating. All of
sudden, Cloud jerked up and started to tremble violently.

-
No! We�re loosing him!

I�m blind and shakin�

Bound and breakin�
I hope I�ll make it
Through all this changes�

-
�� Sephiroth�

End

Author�s
notes

Hard for Cloud, no? How did you find that
chapter? I tried a rather different style, I hope you liked this. The song is
�Changes� from Three Doors Down. The lyrics just make me think of Cloud every
time I listen to it. And Lauren� I�m dying to see the first chapter of our
common fic!!! See ya in: Painful reminders.
- 10
- 11
- 12
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Lover's War

I�m not supposed to be scared of anything

And nobody understand how I feel

I�m tryin� hard to breath, now

And the pain inside is making me numb

Now I�m going through changes, changes

Feelin� weak and weary

Cuts me to the bone, and I bleed

I�ve got something to say

Underneath all the weight of the world

I�m blind and shakin�

Through all this changes�