Final Fantasy - All Series Fan Fiction ❯ Paradox Urges ❯ One ( Chapter 1 )

Joeysgal: So this is technically my second shot at a Final Fantasy fanfiction. I did have one written somewhere on my old hard-drive, on a computer as ancient as the sands of time…which was also lost to the sands of time! Nevertheless, my obsession for Final Fantasy has arisen once more and this idea wouldn't stop humping my leg until I decided to do something about it. Short, sweet chapters. More - ahem - “action” to come later, if you will. Hope you enjoy…and please be as rough as you like in your reviews ^^

Paradox Urges

One

-

It was the weekend, perhaps the only day off that Cloud actually got to himself to relax. When he wasn't making deliveries, he was helping Tifa at the bar, or watching the kids - he was always so busy, his mind barely got a chance to stand still. But today was Sunday, and the bar was always closed on Sundays. Nonetheless, it was a good day to stay indoors, as it was snowing. Tifa had gone out earlier in the day with the children into the city centre of Edge to buy some more supplies for their schoolwork, rugging them up warmly first. They had been going a little stir-crazy and wanted to run around in the snow. Finally she relented and took them out. Cloud could now hear them playing and laughing downstairs as he went over his accounts in his office, upstairs. He often preferred to be alone on his one day off; solitude made for a good escape from his hectic schedule of constantly being in the presence of other people, whether it was out making deliveries or helping in the bar. It seemed his attendance was always demanded by someone, somewhere.

Tifa really needed to hire some more staff, Cloud thought. She often gets so overworked that she's too exhausted to do anything nice for herself. The kids can be demanding, too, leaving he and Tifa with barely enough time to think straight, let alone have some time off. He thought dryly in that moment that it sounded like they were an old married couple; enough people already thought that, he thought with a snort. Reno never stopped giving him stick about it, but Cloud didn't see Tifa in that light. She had been a friend for as long as he could remember. Besides, a presence in his heart was stubbornly refusing to take its leave. Cloud planned on going to visit the church later on in the afternoon, whether it was still snowing or not.

Some hours later, a heavy knock sounded at the door. It was almost dark outside from the snow-laden clouds obscuring the sunlight.

“We're closed,” Tifa's voice rang through the corridor.

The knock then persisted, heavier still. Cloud frowned and stopped writing for a moment, angling his head in the direction of the front door. He was vaguely curious as to who it could be. They rarely got visitors, much less on a Sunday.

“Yes?”

“Is this the residence of Cloud Strife?”

A woman's voice.

“A delivery for Cloud? That's ironic…I'm afraid he's busy at the moment. Can I pass on the message?”

“I have confidential information to pass on to him, and I need his signature. If he is around, it would be appreciated that I see him.”

The voice had a foreign element to it. This person was not from the Midgar area. Unable to restrain his curiosity now, Cloud descended the stairs and met Tifa halfway down as she was coming up to get him. She had a concerned look in her brown eyes. He looked at her momentarily before continuing down and making his way to the front door. Tifa then joined his side, standing slightly behind him. Marlene and Denzel stopped playing and hid behind Tifa, peeking around from behind her.

Standing on the front door step was a young woman, with a plain white envelope between her fingers. The most obvious feature about her was the blood-red woollen cloak she wore about her shoulders, the hood pulled up over her head. The rest of her was clad in black leather. Apart from her face, the only part of her flesh showing was that of her knees and thighs where her skirt stopped and her combat boots began. Her hair colour was hard to depict, given that it was hidden under her cloak for the moment, though it appeared dark rather than light. Cloud eyed the revolver tucked into a pouch at her belt carefully. It was emblazoned with the winged logo of the company which brought her here. A Redcape, he thought. They don't normally come over this way; it must be important.

“Are you Cloud Strife?” Her voice was faintly accented and he wondered where he had heard it before.

“Yes.”

She handed him the envelope in a black-gloved hand, extending with her other hand a pen for him to sign with. “May I have your signature.” It was not a question.

“What is this?”

Her mouth remained unsmiling, though it was not unfriendly. Her bewitching face, cast in shadow from both the waning light and her cloak, was one of near insulting beauty; one that made Cloud both cringe and feel dumbstruck at the same time. He tried not to look directly at her. He could only recall one other woman with such beatific features, though he wouldn't exactly use that word to describe this one. There was something… haunting about this woman.

“An invitation, so I believe.”

“To what?”

The woman glanced at Tifa. Her blood-red irises unnerved Cloud a little, reminding him of Vincent. She must have been exposed to Mako at some point in her life; they had that somewhat radioactive glow that his own blue eyes possessed. His mind's knee-jerk reaction was to shy away from that notion, but then it made him wonder. He shook his head to free the thoughts of curiosity.

“I cannot disclose that information. Why don't you open it and find out?”

Cloud frowned, took the pen and signed the document anyway. He ripped open the envelope. It was indeed an invitation, from the World Regenesis Organisation no less. After all these years, Cloud didn't ever expect to hear from them again. It had been too long since he had seen any of them. He was almost certain that Rufus Shinra had been behind the administration, though nobody really knew for sure. All Cloud wanted was to put those days behind him. Since the saga of Kadaj and his gang was over, there had been relative peace on the continent of Midgar; at least, as close to peace as the people knew. The city of Edge was starting to take shape nicely, and business was as good as ever, especially since Geostigma had finally been eradicated. More babies were being born - the population was growing, which only added to the supply and demand. Keeping monsters out of the city had been a problem recently, but they had started building walls to keep them out, which was proving to be efficient.

The invitation read “To: Mr. Cloud Strife and Mrs. Tifa Lockhart”. Cloud snorted; there they go again with the old-married-couple thing. Other than that, it didn't offer much, except for a date, time and a venue - in Wutai. It simply said “Be there!” Whoever had organised this obviously believed in the element of surprise. He wondered who it could be; clearly they didn't know Cloud that well; he disliked surprises very much. Yuffie sprung to mind, but he wondered what she, of all people, could possibly want now. Her bubbly nature seemed to fit the invitation, though, he admitted. He thought about screwing up the note and closing the door, but something stopped him. He flicked his blue eyes up to meet unwavering crimson ones. It seemed this courier had time on her side, which Cloud found peculiar.

“Who sent you?”

She pointed to her badge, a small, intricately designed silver brooch pinned to the red cloak. “The Redcape Academy, of course.”

It was a dumb question, he knew that. He had hoped for some more information, but he knew she was just the messenger. He knew how that felt, being a dispatch rider himself.

“I didn't think they delivered on Sundays.”

“They don't. I came from Wutai, and I must be back at my base in Mideel before long.”

“Wutai?” It was Tifa who spoke. She came to stand in the front. “Why were you sent so far? Could this not have been delivered by post?”

A ghost of a smile passed the woman's lips. “Don't shoot the messenger.” With that said, she regarded Cloud once more before turning on her heel and walking away in the snow.

“Wait,” Cloud said, taking a step out into the cold. He noticed the long grey stockings she wore that came up past her boots and over her knees, held up by black suspenders; surely she must be cold, he thought.

She turned around, waited.

“Where are you staying? If you have more information on this…”

She stood, appraised him for a moment. “I'll be at the Old Mill Inn until tomorrow morning.”

Cloud noticed, for the first time, a long black bike, not unlike his, was parked some distance away. He watched her hop onto it with a swift leap. The double-barrelled revolver and the brown leather satchel slung over her back didn't seem to weigh her down one iota. The engine ignited and she sped off down the road without a backward glance. Cloud's fingers grasped the invitation more securely as he went back inside and closed the door.

-

TBC~