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Return of the Past, 2

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CHAPTER TWO.

It was plainly obvious that he couldn't kill it the same way he had the last time, seeing as that apparently hadn't worked out. Then that raised the question of how he was supposed to go about this. He didn't have the same power he'd had last time AND he'd also had help. There was no one to help now. But he wasn't about to let that stop him from winning. It was do or die with a summon as monstrous as this and as far as Cloud was concerned, dying wasn't an option. He held his sword at the ready as the giant summon lifted its massive metal paw to strike. Gripping the sword with both hands, he brought it up with a swift move to block. The force of the blow against his defense was enough to jar his elbows and he had to grit together, tightening his grip in order to maintain the pressure his sword put between him and the enemy. With a flourished stroke, he twisted to the side and slashed his sword through the air, connecting with and managing to cut off three of its claws. It began to scream and howl. With a shrieking cry, it began thrashing about wildly, its tail lashing around in the dirt. And next thing Cloud knew, its tail had connected with his side and launched him right off the edge.

For what seemed like the longest few seconds ever endured, Cloud felt himself in a straight freefall towards the rocks below. Thinking fast, he curved his back and extended his arm, attempting to grip something on the side of the sheer edge. After a few tries, he quickly realized that it wasn't going to work. He brought his sword around and thrust it into the rock in hopes of slowing his descent. It worked for a bit, but something inside the rock must have been pretty damn solid because his sword suddenly jammed. It jerked up roughly and he lost his grip, falling the rest of the way. About the halfway point of the rest of the way down, he pulled his legs underneath him and landed easily on one of the rocks below. Had he not slowed himself down, the landing wouldn't have been as easy. Sure, he'd fallen from much higher heights before, but he'd been expecting it then. This time, not so much. Looking back up to where he'd fallen from, he quickly realized that it had quieted down by quite a bit. Where was the Bahamut? Had it not followed him? Pushing off the rock, he shot himself up to the edge, grabbing his weapon on the way up.

But when he got back to the top, it became obvious that the giant summon was nowhere to be found. Not on the ground, and not in the sky. It didn't matter which way he looked; he couldn't find it. Not that he wanted to find it in the first place. He wasn't even sure how it had found him. For another couple of minutes he stood confused. Why had it attacked him and then fled? How was it still alive? Or better yet, who had summoned it in the first place? All good questions that didn't have answers to match them. Unsure, he mounted Fenrir and the bike roared to life. He drove off without a single glance over his shoulder, the sky beginning to darken through its blanket of grey. Had night finally come? It was hard to say anymore. Time passed so slowly nowadays.

After maybe an hour or so of driving without an end in mind, he eventually decided to head back to Aerith's church. He left Fenrir a couple of feet from the door, his footsteps gently echoing through the empty building. His dark blue eyes glanced to the small pond at the back of the church, watching the still surface. Originally he'd brought Zack's sword back here, but decided to leave it where his friend had fallen as a sort of memorial. It seemed…more respectful in a way.

Alone with his thoughts now, Cloud went back to the fight with the Bahamut SIN. There was something had been bothering him since it showed up, besides the obvious. Something that didn't quite fit into place. The way it fought him…it was like it had been purposely trying NOT to kill him. Maybe that was why it had fled. Whoever had summoned it—

He cut himself off there. He was reading into it way too much. For all he knew, the Bahamut hadn't even been looking for him. Or at least, he hoped that was right.

"Cloud!"
Cloud took a step to the side in order to turn and face the direction of the small voice that had called out his name. Marlene ran up to him, beaming, and grabbed his hand with bother of hers. She smiled at him warmly, and then looked over her shoulder at the doors.

"Tifa, look! Cloud's here!"

He looked up from Marlene's face as Tifa walked in after her, her face a mixture between shock and happiness. Like she was happy to see him, yet shocked that he was actually standing in front of her. She also seemed to believe that her presence required some sort of an explanation.

"I promised Marlene we'd come here today."

"This late?"

She nodded slowly just as he felt Marlene tug on his hand.

"You should come back with us! Denzel will be happy to see you," she suggested, still grinning from ear to ear.

Cloud thought about him silently for a moment, neither looking at Tifa nor Marlene. It wasn't that he didn't want to see Denzel, or come back, that wasn't it at all. But Cloud knew that if he went back now, there was the possibility that he wouldn't be able to leave again. That was something he couldn't afford, what with the kind of things that had happened already today. What if the summon came after him again? They'd be right in the middle of it. He knew Tifa could take care of herself, but she also believed in fighting even when the stakes were stacked against you. Plus, Denzel and Marlene were just kids. He wouldn't be able to protect them and himself at the same time. And goddess knew Midgar Edge couldn't deal with another attack on a large scale like that. Not after what the Bahamut SIN had done the last time around.

"You should come home," Tifa encouraged, tilting her head to the side. "Please?"

He didn't listen to her plea. Looking her directly in the eyes, he gently shook his head no. Tifa's eyes turned downcast and Marlene's expression became promptly crestfallen. Tifa walked over to Marlene and hesitantly put her hands on the little girl's shoulders.

"Let's go Marlene," she said in a hushed voice.

"But—" The little girl gave her a pleading glance that she was almost tempted to give into, but when Cloud gently pulled his hand from Marlene's small grasp, Tifa finally guided her back out the church and threw a last look at him from over her shoulder. Cloud watched them leave with a smoothed out expression, but inside, it had hurt for him to tell them that he wouldn't come home. He felt like he was tearing himself apart.

It would have taken a miracle for him to have gotten any sleep that night.
Okay, so I totally have to share something with you guys. I take Brit Lit at my school, and we were reading the Year 1000. My teacher brought up something during one of the chapters. A massive god known as Fenrir.

So I was like, "Whu?" Because the first thing that came to mind at the name Fenrir was Cloud's bike. School ends, and I went home to check it out on google.

And OMG.

Turns out, Fenrir is not only a massive god, but a massive WOLF god. Then I got to thinking. I went upstairs to my bedroom and pulled out this necklace I got that had Cloud's pendent hanging off the end.

The pendent is a flipping wolf! I made that connection afterwards. The name Fenrir for his bike and then the wolf being his symbol are totally connected! I loved making that connection so when I got to school, I told my friend :icondisasterbynature:

She was shocked too, and we were both like fangirling over it for a few minutes.


Steiss, Storyline © Sukita-Uchiha
Final Fantasy VII cast © Tetsuya Nomura



Oh, and on another (belated) note...

HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO CLOUD STRIFE!!!! <3
His birthday was August the 11th, so I dedicate these fan-fictions to him. (even though they're already about him...) Still! Happy birthday Cloud. We luv ya!!
© 2010 - 2024 Sukita-Uchiha
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Fishcake-Chan-XP's avatar
There are a few references to mythology in FFVII.
Cerberus, for example, is the giant 3-headed Hell-Hound that guards the entrance to Hades in Greek Mythology.

Loki is the father of Hel, the wolf Fenrir, the world serpent (Jörmungandr), Narfi and/or Nari. Loki is also the mother—giving birth in the form of a mare—to the eight-legged horse Sleipnir.

Yeah, I know way too much mythology...