The Light Within (Cloud Strife x Clarice Ng)

Chapter 1: Fall of a Hero

Everyone made it to Kalms.

They pay for the motel to sleep in since everyone is tired and all, they all wanted to hear a story from Cloud and Tifa's story.

A story that took place all because of Sephiroth.

As Cloud started to explain his back story, it was very different from what Clarice had remembered.

She was not in the picture in his memory. It was like the Mako erased some parts of her and her closes friend.

Clarice remembers that Cloud was never in Soldier and Tifa ... she remembers that she was stabbed. Her home, their home was in flames because of Sephiroth.

It was a different story, but she decided not to blurt out the truth. She knew that it wasn't her place to correct Cloud's error or whatever. She'll tell him when it was the right place and the right time.

"And that's the last thing I remember." Cloud ends his story. "The rest is a blank

"The hell it is!" Barret exclaims. "What happened!?"

"Yeah! What did happen?!" Niro joins in the argument.

"They were all over the news...." Clarice fill in the blanks. "Some say Sephiroth went missing during a training exercise."

"I remember watching it with my mom." Aerith claims

 "But then... the story changed. A couple days later, they started reporting that he was killed in action." Clarice lean in her chin under her palm.

"Yeah, that was it." Aerith nodded.

"The new outlets are nothin' but Shinra mouthpieces spewin' propaganda." Barret commented.  "Only dumbasses believe that shit."

"Question!" Aerith raise her hand. "Does that make me a dumbass?"

Barret was thrown off by that question and Clarice holds her chuckle covering up a clear throat. " Uh I-I didn't say that.  What I meant was...screw Shinra for manipulation' honest folks." He corrected.

"It doesn't matter what they said back then. Sephiroth was in Midgar. We fought him." Cloud stated. "Whatever happened....he's alive."

"Dunno about 'alive' so much as ....'around'?" Aerith questions.

"But....why come back now?" Tifa voiced out making Cloud turn his body to her seeing her getting all the question fighting in her head. "After five years....doing who-knows-what?"

Cloud is starting to have headaches a bit before he replied. "Because....he wants to finish what he started.  He wants to 'reclaim his birthright' and rule over the planet with Jenova at his side."

"After five years?" Tifa eye's widen. "Not to sound like a broken record, but...it's really bothering me."

"Well, what's botherin' me is all this Jenova stuff." Barret agrees.

Everyone fall in to silence until Aerith stretches her arms. "'Scuse me. Guess the travel - or something - really did a number on my back. Feels as stiff as a board."

"Is that so?" Clarice scoots over and pop Aerith's back making her yelp. "Damn, you really do have a lot of knots, girl."

"You weren't kidding, were you? Let's get you back to the room." Tifa declares.

Everyone agrees as Barret stood up. "Yeah, let's just call it a night. No amount of guesswork'll get us any closer to the truth, so how about we give our heads a rest?"