AUTHOR'S NOTES: All Final Fantasy VII characters, vehicles and themes © Squaresoft, and no infringement is intended.
Repressed Memories

Chapter 6: The Cruelest Dream, Reality
Written by Cloud

     It wasn't supposed to be like this.
     Astfirie's lifeless body was thrown overboard as the Black Marauders laughed hysterically at the one who had dared to oppose them. The nameless leader with the dragoon lance had done it himself, killed the only person in the world who had ever loved me. And my world fell to darkness.
     I was chained like an animal inside the pirates' ship; the ship that had only hours ago attacked the Shinra vessel to hold the aristocrats for ransom. Astfirie, Zack and myself were just a nice little bonus. The red-bearded man's cruel laugh twisted something inside my stomach, and suddenly I didn't like the rocking of the boat anymore. It reminded me of her, it made me sick to my stomach as I remembered every detail clear as the blue crystal of my ring that lay before me on the filthy floor.
     They had attacked us in the blackest hours of the night, catching the meager amount of SOLDIERS off guard and taking over the ship. The yuppies were thrown in the cargo hold as rats scurried about their tattered ship. They had sent ransom demands to Shinra using the aristocrats' own PHS. Zack said that hiding, waiting for Shinra would have made more sense, but Astfirie wouldn't hear of it. She donned her thick armor, a knight in shining armor come to save the victims of plunder and piracy. I couldn't let her go alone, and Zack wouldn't let me go without him, so we followed her straight into the Captain's Quarters to kill the red-bearded man. It was a foolish plan. No limit break, no fit of rage allowed me to fend of the hordes of attackers that caught sight of us all too soon. They took Zack and I prisoner immediately with sheer numbers, but Astfirie kept fighting.
     Sweet, beautiful Astfirie swung her azure sword with blazing fire as she cut down attacker after attacker, assaulting her past until she was gasping for breath. She took off her helmet as the leader approached, knowing that she would be beaten. But she wouldn't give up- she never gave up. She looked at me with tears in her violet eyes.
     "I love you, Cloud." She cried, the last words she would ever utter. The madman laughed hysterically, words forming in between his chortles with complete inhumanity,
     "De-barrier!" He roared as Astfirie's armor faded away, leaving behind the small, scared form of the girl that I loved. Without even flinching, he ran her through with that gigantic spear, blood as red as her hair spilling about her mutilated chest. And there was nothing but blood and laughter.      I must have screamed, asking why this has being done to her, asking why I deserved to lose the only thing that I cared about, but the Planet didn't answer, except in the form of blood and laughter. The monster pulled his spear from her heart, spilling even more of the sticky red liquid about the ground as the jagged edge cut free the ring that hung from her neck. He kicked it as it hit the ground, causing it to roll over to my restrained body in a trail of crimson.
     "I think this belongs to you." He said in the coldest voice I had ever heard. I was so angry I wanted to tear his throat out with my bare hands, but the chains around me kept hold of me as I screamed my rage for all to hear.
     "MURDERER! SHE WAS EVERYTHING TO ME! YOU SICK MOTHERFUCKER, I SWEAR THAT YOU'LL DIE FOR THIS!!!"
     He saw my hurt, my pain, and he laughed in my face. Just as easily I spit in his, saliva rolling down his bearded chin. I felt his boot meet my face, my reality collapsing into nothingness. And I awoke here, in the Black Marauders' ship, my face stained with blood, my eyes stained with tears, and nothing to look at but the blue crystal of the ring that Fate had returned to me.

     I heard the door of this dungeon open, a visitor had come to add to my hell. Let him come, any light in this darkness was welcome. Once my eyes adjusted to it, the light revealed that Zack was chained unconscious and hanging from the other side of the room.
     "Stupid move." I said aloud, "Only a dipshit would put the two of us in the same cell." The figure that entered was cloaked in blackness, a hooded cowl covering his face as he approached me. The wraith spoke,
     "Not so stupid as attacking a Shinra vessel and demanding ransom." The cloaked figure uttered. He removed his hood, the dim light cascading over his young face. His green eyes burned with intensity, his silver hair glimmered oddly but powerfully all the same. It was then that I knew that I was in the presence of
     "Sephiroth!" I exclaimed, my excitement taking control of me, "The Great Sephiroth!"
     The man put a black-gloved finger to his lips, silencing me.
     Then he unsheathed his Masamune, the longest sword ever forged. I had heard that it was so powerful that only he could use it, and I had no doubt in my mind that was the truth. This man had an aura about him- you couldn't help but feel cold in the presence of Sephiroth. I admired him so much, yet in a way I pitied him as well. He was unfeeling, even though he tried not to me. This was evident to me when he voiced the words,
     "I'm sorry about your girlfriend." Tears stained my eyes as I thought of her. I didn't want to appear weak in front of my hero, but I couldn't help it. He seemed to understand, as he put an armored hand on my shoulder. "Listen to me." He said, "I know it hurts, I know what its like to be in pain. But you have to understand that whatever doesn't kill you will only make you stronger. That's why you're going to kill her murderer and take your vengeance." Vengeance. That sounded so good right now. I would take vengeance on the world, vengeance on the Planet, vengeance on the nameless man who had ruined my life again. I plunged into darkness again, my soul shrieking with anger and despair.
     "What's your name?" Sephiroth asked of me.
     "Cloud." I said simply, "Cloud Strife. The other guy hanging over there is Zack Garek. We were both on our way to Midgar to join SOLDIER before…" My voice trailed off again as I thought of her. I was interrupted as Sephiroth lifted the Masamune above his head and swung the blade toward the chains, slicing them to ribbons in a single blow. "You're free, Cloud." He said, his armlet glowing with power as he turned to face Zack. "Cure 3!" He shouted, the shimmering colors of the magic enveloping my friend. Maybe restorative magic wasn't boring after all. Zack came to with a start, his green eyes opening wide at his dank surroundings. His eyes found Sephiroth's and they seemed to burn into each other, green on green. Sephiroth sliced through Zack's chains as easily as he had my own, the heavy bonds clanging loudly on the ground.      "Come with me, Zack." Sephiroth said darkly, "Your friend Cloud has a score to settle before I can take the two of you to Midgar."

     The HardEdge that Sephiroth had given me had a good feel to it, even if it was a bit smaller bladed than Quicksilver. The pirates in the last battle in which Astfirie had been killed had destroyed my silver sword. My memories of her were threatening to burn me alive from within, but I steeled myself for what I had to do. All my love for Astfirie would be transformed into hatred for her murderer. Zack's Buster sword had been taken by the pirates- a pretty little prize for whoever could lift the damn thing. We had found the thief soon after escaping our cell, gloating of his exploits and telling his friends how he had single-handedly beat Zack. Zack had waited until he was alone, and cleanly snapped his neck with his bare hands.
     "Who defeated who, asshole?" Zack asked, reclaiming his giant sword. A Buster Sword, a HardEdge, and a Masamune. Who could stand against us? Surely not the cowardly pirates, as Sephiroth grinned coldly.
     "We're not relying on stealth anymore." Sephiroth stated, brandishing his Masamune as the wind whipped through his silver hair. His green eyes glowed like hot embers, "Let's kill them all."
     "I have no problem with that." I said, my voice filled with anger. My rage was interrupted as Sephiroth's PHS began to ring.
     "What is it?" Sephiroth asked, his composure shifting slightly towards anger. The voice on the other end was one I would forget, only to hear again years later and never even recognize.
     "This is the Captain! Don't even think about a blood bath down there or I refuse to pick you up in the Highwind. Are we clear, Sephiroth?" The dark man cursed under his breath. The Shinra had to have been bugging him, recording his words.
     "Damn you, Cid!" he cursed, before realizing that the pilot's attempt to save the pirates had damned them all. They had heard the PHS, and our cover was completely blown. "Looks like they want to fight, Cap." Sephiroth offered, "Just get the Highwind here on time. Sephiroth out." The dark one smiled as he saw the advancing lines of enemies come to do battle with us. And in the front of them all was their leader, his dragoon lance glimmering in the fading light.
     "Surrender Sephiroth, you can't beat all of us." Before the cloaked man could even answer I charged him with my HardEdge, jumping high up into the air as I smashed the blade down on his lance, slicing it in two. He cursed, chucking the hilt of his destroyed weapon at me, knocking the brand from my trembling hands. We were both unarmed, and I thought I saw Sephiroth smile out of the corner of my eye when he noticed that I wasn't going for the sword. My rage was the only weapon I needed.
     "You took everything away from me you son of a bitch." I stated, no expression whatsoever in my voice. Nothing but death. I charged forward, my hands reaching for his bearded neck and finding his throat. I throttled the monster, nothing but pure murder in my heart. An inhuman growl escaped my larynx as he struck me off of him. The big man gasped for breath, and all of his men just stood there, watching the fight. Sephiroth and Zack stood with swords poised, waiting for action, but they weren't going to get it. I slammed my fist through his face in utter rage, knocking the big man to the floor. My boots met his kidneys as I kicked his reeling form over and over again. He struggled to his feet, holding his sides in pain as he kicked at me. His efforts were to no avail as I kept coming, striking him over and over again until he spit blood and keeled over on the deck. I could see his men selling out at the form of their fallen leader, dropping their weapons and begging Sephiroth for mercy     . The warrior dialed up Cid on his PHS and was saying something, but I couldn't hear it. All I could hear was Astfirie's voice, all I could feel was the rocking of the ship, back and forth. I strode over to the fallen form of my barely conscious enemy, gripping his throat in my hand as he struggled for breath.
     "I could kill you right now for what you have done, what you have taken from me. But then…" I choked, my eyes filling with tears, "But then I'd be just like you!" I decked him clean in the mouth as yellow teeth spilled from his battered face, knocking flat against the deck as he gasped in the misty air. Sephiroth looked at me strangely, as if I had done something terribly wrong, but I knew in my heart that I had done what Astfirie would have wanted me to do. Another love, another pain, another hatred under my belt. I had fallen flat on my face again, but this time I would be strong enough to get up on my own. I had to try.

End of Part One