The Stop For FF7 Freaks - Nightmares Chap4 - Video Games - http://maxpages.com/theff7stop/Nightmares

Nightmares: Chapter Four

Cloud Strife stared hard at the demon in front of him. The demon looked just like him, moved like him, talked like him. But it wasn't him. He felt the urge to crush the damn thing's head in. Yet, he had no weapon. His sword had been destroyed back at the underwater cavern. It seemed so long ago.....
"I am your worst enemy," the demon said to him.
Cloud squinted his eyes, staring at those blue Mako eyes that looked just like his own. The shapeshifter-demon smiled, brought his hands in front of him, and summoned up the energy.....
The energy formed into a Buster Sword, its blade in perfect condition. Cloud felt a tiny surge of energy in the back of his mind; an unusual feeling.
The demon charged at him, throwing him off balance. Cloud managed to duck the oncoming slash, but just barely. Cloud rolled on the ground, trying to put as much distance as he can from the Cloud with the sword. The shapeshifter-Cloud charged again, sword slashing wildly. Cloud managed to hop back far enough to avoid the strikes. He didn't know how much space he had left to back up on before he hit the glass room's far wall. The shapeshifter-Cloud continued its assault. Cloud, realizing that he was very close to the wall, ducked and rolled between the shapeshifter's legs, not stopping his roll until he was several feet away from the evil doppelganger. Cloud got up on his feet quickly, arms in a defensive position.
The shapeshifter merely laughed at him as it continued its assault, charging again. Cloud jumped up as high as he could, his opponent's attack swishing harmlessly below his feet.
Cloud spun in the air, landing on his feet, facing the shapeshifter's back. Cloud quickly punched his opponent in the back, at the base of its spine. The shapeshifter screamed in agony, its shape blurring as it went to its knees. Cloud backed away in horror as the shapeshifter stood up again. It was no longer screaming; it was laughing. The shapeshifter turned to face Cloud. Now it looked like Zack. The shapeshifter brought its sword up above its head, prepared to cleave Cloud down the middle. Cloud closed his eyes, letting all of his rage out it one nerve-shattering roar of denial. When Cloud opened his eyes, he realized that he was still alive, and blocking the shapeshifter's sword with his own Buster Sword. He knew now that the tiny surge of energy he felt earlier was his own inner strength trying to get out. That hidden energy created his sword, just like it created the shapshifter's own blade.
Now armed, Cloud easily parried the strikes of his opponent. Cloud saw through the his peripheral vision that the glass room was shifting, transforming. When the change had been completed, Cloud and the shapeshifter were now in the Sleeping Forest.
Cloud and the doppelganger continued trading blows with one another, battling for dominance in Cloud's tortured mind. The shapshifter changed again, just as the Sleeping Forest changed. Now Cloud's opponent was Tifa, and the battleground was Sector Seven. After several more minutes of combat, the shapshifter and the battlefield changed again, becoming Barret and North Corel. The process continued for what seemed like centuries: combat, transformation, combat, transformation.
"You cannot kill me, Cloud Strife," the shapeshifter said to him, this time wearing Yuffie's form. They were now fighting in the streets of Wutai.
"You cannot stop me," Cloud replied.
In an instant, the two combatants were back in the glass room, the shapeshifter now in the form of Cloud Strife, complete with Buster Sword. Cloud stared at his opponent, a murderous glare in his eyes.
"Give up. I can bring you to new levels of power," the shapeshifter promised.
"I can see through your lies," Cloud said sternly, "I have finally found the truth. And that truth will be your doom and my freedom!" Cloud dropped his Buster Sword and closed his eyes, listening for sounds from the real world, no this hell that was Cloud's mind.
He could hear the soft pitter-patter of rain drumming on mud, the soft trickle of a nearby stream, the rush of.....an airship?
Cloud, eyes closed, never saw the shapeshifter attack him, sword flashing. Somehow, though, Cloud sidestepped the lightning-fast attack. Cloud could somehow feel his opponent's movements, using his heart to see instead of his eyes. Cloud easily dodged the next slash, and the next, and the one after that. Every attack made against him failed. The attacks became faster, more deadly. But Cloud was ready. He kept feeling his way out of each attack, eyes still closed, and his spirit still attuned to the sounds of the real world.
Cloud could hear the pitter-patter of...tears? Yes, tears. Tears from someone crying. And he knew who the tears belonged to.
Cloud jumped, ducked, dodged, and sidestepped the next combination of attacks, eyes still closed. The young man finally opened his eyes, his steely gaze resting on the tired form of the shapeshifter, who was still wearing his form. Cloud bent down and picked up the sword he dropped.
The shapeshifter was too tired to bring up any kind of defense. Cloud's blade cut cleanly through the shapeshifter's neck, its head falling to the ground. The head and body of the shapeshifter transformed one last time, transforming into a hairless, sexless mass of skin and bones-- a humanoid of some sort. The shapeshifter began to disintegrate, the glass room disintegrating as well. Cloud felt himself being propelled through the decaying world and into the real world.....to freedom.......

"Cloud? Cloud? Wake up, Cloud!" a voice, familiar and soothing.
"Uhhhh....." he groaned in reply.
"He's coming around," another voice, gruff yet trusting, replied.
Cloud opened his eyes slowly, trying to get his bearings. He saw the wooden ceiling of his room in the Seventh Heaven Bar. He also saw the too people who were talking: Tifa and Barret. The others were there as well, standing around near the back wall. Cloud sat up in his bed, his thoughts jumbled. He felt like he was having a hangover.
"Hey, how are you feeling?" Tifa asked him, concerned.
"Uh, he don't look too good, Tifa," Barret commented, noticing that Cloud's face was turning green. Then Cloud unloaded the contents of his stomach all over Barret's boots.
"YEEEECK!!!!!!" Barret yelled, quickly taking off the ruined boots and tossing them into the trash bin. The others laughed at Barret's expense. It wasn't everyday Barret got one-up'ed by Cloud. Especially by vomiting all over Barret's boots.
"Sorry about that, Barret," Cloud offered weakly, his thoughts clearing and his stomach settling down.
"That was disgusting, Cloud!! Now you're going to get it!!" Barret roared at him, reaching for Cloud's neck. Tifa intervened before it got out of hand.
"Hey, give him a break! He's been unconscious for two days!" she scolded.
"Yer jus' lucky yer girlfriend's around to save yer rear end, Cloud," Barret muttered. Cloud wasn't even listening; he had fallen back asleep. His body was in good condition, but his spirit would need time to recover.

"When did you guys start looking for me?" Cloud asked Tifa the next morning at breakfast. They were in the Barroom. It was too early for business, so the couple had decided to eat breakfast down here.
"It was about two or three hours after you left." Tifa began, "No one could find you anywhere. Knowing how confused you must be after the fight with Sephiroth, I figured you might run off. I got worried and had Cid pick us all up and start looking for you." She took a sip from her orange juice before continuing, "We found you near the spot where Zack was shot. We saw what the rain had done to the cliff: it turned it to mud. We saw your body, and we figured out that you came to the cliff and fell when the cliff turned to mud. We brought you back, used the Full Cure materia on you, but it was two days before you woke up." She took another sip, finishing her story.
"I guess it was pretty dumb of me to go wandering off like that," Cloud muttered.
"Yeah," Tifa agreed, "and if I ever find out that you pulled a stunt like that again, I'll personally beat the crap out of you!" She waved her fist in his face for emphasis.
Cloud gently pushed her fist away from his face, needing no demonstrations of her strength. That was when Cloud noticed something: Tifa seemed more irritable. Tifa got grouchy or irritable only if there was something wrong happening...or if she had a rotten night's sleep. Cloud figured it was the former.
"Hey, what's wrong Tifa?" he asked her gently.
"You almost died, Cloud. Or you could've gone into a coma. You nearly abandoned us," her voice softened as she finished her sentence. Cloud noticed that Tifa's hand was resting on her abdomen.
"Heh, You mean Barret and the others?" Cloud asked, thinking she meant their friends.
"No, Cloud. Not them," she looked at him, tears of joy rimming her eyes, "Cloud, I think I'm pregnant....."

What an ending, eh? Cloud's free of his lies, and he and Tifa have a child on the way!
I need descriptions for their kid, so please Instant Message me with any ideas!
By, the master, SenshiB@aol.com

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Page Updated Tue Apr 10, 2001 3:30pm EDT