[ The plaque goes up as it feels like his heart was ready to jump out of his throat. Every time he swallowed, it felt like that nervous lump wouldn't go away. Choking yet breathing perfectly fine. He slowly steps towards it, barely registering the hand upon his shoulder. ...barely being important here. Without it, he would feel like he lost his anchor, drifting farther and farther away. Despite himself, he's...scared. But he didn't come this far not to find the truth. Not when he'd learned so much in his time here. He was tired of falling asleep just "accepting" things. He... ]
..... Ggh...
[ What? Cloud can't make out what it says. Or rather, even when staring straight at it, the words appear to be jumping around. Scrambling in his mind's eye to give him something else. Anything else. A high-pitched noise pierces his ears, threatening to send him over the edge as his eyes widen. His breath clips, before something else inside of him snaps. Not his sanity...but another voice.
It was...
"Hey buddy." ]
— — —
[ ...his own. Cloud's hearing his own voice in his head again. He thinks. On the surface with Zack, he looks as if he's frozen, hand resting over the plaque as the message sits right there in front of him. Yet underneath it all, he's on the brink of something very risky. Elsewhere, he finds himself standing in an empty white void, a familiar space that he can't place where he was last. ]
This is...
[ He can't quite see his face, but standing across from him, sharing his height, his tone...gradually they'll become clearer. His voice still sounds ethereal.
"You sure about this? Don't think this was supposed to be how it goes," the double of him warns, leaving Cloud confused as their face remains shrouded in a hazy light. Beforehand, he was barely conscious, being told to get moving and to slowly and steadily collect himself, before he came around thanks to Aerith calling him. But now...things were different. This time, the Ex-SOLDIER wasn't unconscious. He was in charge of his own thoughts and actions. So then... ]
I know.
[ The double places their hands on their hips, sighing as they shake their head.
"Guess a lot has changed in the first place... Can I ask you something?" ]
Shoot.
[ "If you go back...when this is all over... You'll probably forget all this." His words leave a sinking feeling in his chest, the blond's gaze faltering as he stares down at himself. The sad reality was...he was right. His double was probably right. If he was sent back through the door back to his planet, and time proceeded normally? Who was to say he'd keep his memories of this other world intact? He wouldn't remember dragging Reno out of a swamp for some bounty. He wouldn't remember wishing for his friends to be safe, only to have Zack back in his life and setting the wheels in motion. He wouldn't have the memories of a certain white heron princess, someone who made him feel solace and comfort in a time when he felt lost...
"You think you can do that again?"
When Cloud finds out about the truth back home? ]
I'll have to.
[ Last time, he asked the mysterious double, "Who are you?" This time, he steps forth, closing what little distance remains between himself and his other. No...it wasn't some "other". ]
Well? [ Himself. ] You ready?
[ "I can't let you see everything yet, but..." The haze around his double's face finally vanishes. Sure enough, the blond can see perfectly. A reflection of himself. The reflection steps forth, nodding resolute and not stopping. "This'll be enough." As his reflection walks into him...he melds into the blond, his sight going white as the voice becomes less ethereal, and something more clear, softer yet determined in his head. Until the voice that was once separate from his?
Is finally his own. A part of him. A part of Cloud, from Nibelheim. ]
[ "Let's go, Cloud." ]
— — —
[ Back in reality, Cloud is clutching the plaque without ripping it down from the wall, until he finally breathes again...and his palm slips down from the words. They were no longer jumping around and distorted. They're clear. Crystal clear as the weight of Zack's hand upon his shoulder is that much more heavy than before. That much more real and less distant to him. It's familiar... ]
Zack...
[ He never made SOLDIER. But he was still Cloud. ]
no subject
..... Ggh...
[ What? Cloud can't make out what it says. Or rather, even when staring straight at it, the words appear to be jumping around. Scrambling in his mind's eye to give him something else. Anything else. A high-pitched noise pierces his ears, threatening to send him over the edge as his eyes widen. His breath clips, before something else inside of him snaps. Not his sanity...but another voice.
It was...
"Hey buddy." ]
[ ...his own. Cloud's hearing his own voice in his head again. He thinks. On the surface with Zack, he looks as if he's frozen, hand resting over the plaque as the message sits right there in front of him. Yet underneath it all, he's on the brink of something very risky. Elsewhere, he finds himself standing in an empty white void, a familiar space that he can't place where he was last. ]
This is...
[ He can't quite see his face, but standing across from him, sharing his height, his tone...gradually they'll become clearer. His voice still sounds ethereal.
"You sure about this? Don't think this was supposed to be how it goes," the double of him warns, leaving Cloud confused as their face remains shrouded in a hazy light. Beforehand, he was barely conscious, being told to get moving and to slowly and steadily collect himself, before he came around thanks to Aerith calling him. But now...things were different. This time, the Ex-SOLDIER wasn't unconscious. He was in charge of his own thoughts and actions. So then... ]
I know.
[ The double places their hands on their hips, sighing as they shake their head.
"Guess a lot has changed in the first place... Can I ask you something?" ]
Shoot.
[ "If you go back...when this is all over... You'll probably forget all this." His words leave a sinking feeling in his chest, the blond's gaze faltering as he stares down at himself. The sad reality was...he was right. His double was probably right. If he was sent back through the door back to his planet, and time proceeded normally? Who was to say he'd keep his memories of this other world intact? He wouldn't remember dragging Reno out of a swamp for some bounty. He wouldn't remember wishing for his friends to be safe, only to have Zack back in his life and setting the wheels in motion. He wouldn't have the memories of a certain white heron princess, someone who made him feel solace and comfort in a time when he felt lost...
"You think you can do that again?"
When Cloud finds out about the truth back home? ]
I'll have to.
[ Last time, he asked the mysterious double, "Who are you?" This time, he steps forth, closing what little distance remains between himself and his other. No...it wasn't some "other". ]
Well? [ Himself. ] You ready?
[ "I can't let you see everything yet, but..." The haze around his double's face finally vanishes. Sure enough, the blond can see perfectly. A reflection of himself. The reflection steps forth, nodding resolute and not stopping. "This'll be enough." As his reflection walks into him...he melds into the blond, his sight going white as the voice becomes less ethereal, and something more clear, softer yet determined in his head. Until the voice that was once separate from his?
Is finally his own. A part of him. A part of Cloud, from Nibelheim. ]
[ "Let's go, Cloud." ]
[ Back in reality, Cloud is clutching the plaque without ripping it down from the wall, until he finally breathes again...and his palm slips down from the words. They were no longer jumping around and distorted. They're clear. Crystal clear as the weight of Zack's hand upon his shoulder is that much more heavy than before. That much more real and less distant to him. It's familiar... ]
Zack...
[ He never made SOLDIER. But he was still Cloud. ]