Thunder of Our Hearts (Preview)

Thunder of our Hearts



[Grey skies flash with lightning as the thunder rolls on. Rain falls from the clouds to revive the barren landscape.  Meet me there, at the flower grove, and we shall know nothing more than our love.]

Cloud shot up in bed, gasping for air and covered in sweat. A soft voice from his dream echoed in his head as he turned to look out his window.  The sun was rising over the horizon of newly rebuilt buildings of Edge.  He slowly slid from his bed, wiping his brow as he walked over to his closet.  The man decided against his usual attire, instead dressing in a pair of old jeans and a black T-shirt.  He sighed and ran his fingers through his hair as he walked out his bedroom door.  

Tifa greeted him from the table as he entered the dining area downstairs.  She smiled brightly and pushed a warm plate of eggs and bacon toward him as he sat across from her. He focused on his food as he ate, trying to remember his dream.  When he looked back up at Tifa's smile, he remembered something else entirely.

It came as a shock as his mind was blasted back in time to a world he didn't remember. All he saw was a woman, though he couldn't make out the details of her appearance he could clearly see her loving, gentle smile as she faded away. He cried out as he was brought back to the present, falling from his chair as he clutched his head.  The last thing he felt was Tifa lifting him into her arms as he blacked out.


[Don't worry Cloud, I'm sure we'll meet again.  Come find me at the edge, I'm falling without you here.]

Cloud shot up in bed for the second time that day, this time finding his friends gathered around him.  Vincent looked down at him curiously.

"Cloud, are you feeling better?"

Denzel sat on the edge of the bed.  "You scared us when you blacked out.  We had to help Tifa get you up here."

Marlene nodded, smiling innocently. "Cloud, next time you decide to pass out, could you at least do it closer to your room?"

The blonde sighed and smiled slightly for a moment. Tifa sat down behind him and rubbed his back.

"What happened? You looked like you saw a ghost."

"I'm really not too sure. I remember seeing you smile at me, then it was like I was seeing someone else, but she was fading…" he looked down, sadness filling his heart. "I don't know who she is, but it seemed like I knew her somehow, and it hurt to see her fading away. I don't know why…"

Vincent crossed his arms. "Memories from ShinRa resurfacing?"

Cloud shook his head. "No, we were in a barren landscape, and there was this giant stone gate… It was glowing as she faded."

Tifa giggled dryly. "An old girlfriend you've forgotten about?"

"I don't know, maybe…"

She pouted and looked out the window.  Barret sighed and rubbed the back of his head.

"Why don't you try to remember what you saw?"

Yuffie nodded. "That could help clear things up."

Cloud sighed and closed his eyes, focusing to try and bring back the memory.  His eyes reopened a moment later.

"Pink hair and blue eyes, pale skin, I can't really tell what she was wearing but it wasn't a uniform."

Marlene ran back to her room and returned a moment later with her sketch book and a pencil.  Cloud took it from her and started sketching the woman from his memory.  Tifa grimaced as she looked at it.  Whoever she was, she was beautiful.  She also seemed somewhat familiar, but she couldn't tell how.

"Maybe you'll remember who she is if you try to bring back the memories."

Cloud shrugged and looked at the sketch.  The woman seemed to gaze back at him.  Once again the voice echoed in his head.

[Come find me, Cloud.]

'I will,' he thought, tearing the page from the sketch book. 'I will come and find you, and then I'll find out who you are.'

~*~

Cloud looked across the open wastelands as he raced across the barren land toward Zack's plateau. He pulled Fenrir to a stop just before reaching the flowers that now marked the spot where his friend had died.  The blonde sighed sadly, running his hand through his hair as he sat on his bike.  When he was thrown into the white world of the Life Stream, he couldn't help but groan.  Zack appeared before him, grinning happily as he looked down at his friend.

{Yo spikey! It's about time you came to visit!}

"I'm having some issues, I just came to think."

{What kind of issues we talking 'bout here?}

"I keep hearing this girl's voice in my head, but I don't know who she is who how I know her."

{Well then, I guess all you can really do is trust your memories to clear up like they did before. I'm sure it'll come back to you eventually.}

Cloud smiled slightly and nodded, watching his surroundings reappear.  But then, out of nowhere there was a woman standing in front of him, right on the edge of the plateau.  Cloud jumped off his bike as he realized it was the girl from his memory.  The woman turned around to face him and smiled, just slightly.

[You're closer to finding me Cloud. Hurry, I'm still falling without you.]

Cloud gasped when she faded away, right as she started to fall backward off the cliff.  The man shook his head, trying to shake away the shock of seeing her again.  He slowly leaned against his bike, feeling his head spin.  He kept seeing her in his head, kept reliving memories he didn't know he had.  Cloud finally moved to sit on the edge of the cliff, feeling the warm wind blow through his hair.  He couldn't help but feel her presence surround him with a warm embrace of a lover.  The man smiled slightly as he lay back, resting his head in the flowers, letting his eyes close as he gave in to a tempting sleep.


He was running.  He didn't know why. All he knew was that the road he was taking led to her. The girl from his memories. He had to reach her, but the closer he got to her, the more she faded away. He reached out to grasp her outstretched hand and instead found himself falling into the blackness of a stormy sky.  Lightning flashed around him, turning the clouds pink and blue.  He let himself fall free of the clouds, watching the lightning seem to reach out to him. Thunder rolled through the sky as the lightning reached him. He was struck by the electric current of light-


'Light!' Cloud sat up and looked over the wastelands to the ruined ShinRa mainframe. 'Her nickname was Light.'

"Light's" voice echoed in his head once again as he got to his feet.

[Cloud, you need to come find me before it's too late.]

He stopped and looked up at the sky.  "I'm coming to find you, Light."

The man was unaware that he was being watched.  A beautiful woman smiled as the glowing orb in her hand showed the blonde pulling on his goggles, leaning down as his motorcycle roared to life.  The orb faded in little bursts of light as she closed her fingers around it, making a wish of protection for the man.  Then, she turned and walked across the barren landscape to the cliff edge.

'Come find me, Cloud. I'm waiting on the edge.'