Final Fantasy VII - The Other Promise

Pairing: Cloud x Tifa

Summary: What if Cloud had kept all of his memories instead of being under the assumption of a 1st Class Soldier after Zack's death? How would the story unfold with this small change? Retelling of Final Fantasy VII but with a few twists...

"Talking..."

'Thoughts...'

"Flashback..."

Limit Break

Magic/Materia/Summon

[Play/End Music]

Prologue: The Return

"My honor...my dreams...they're yours now. You'll be...my living legacy..."

Those words echoed in his mind as a 21-year old blonde man with chocobo-like spiky hair was wandering through the barren wasteland to his destination Midgar. He couldn't forget him, he swore as he tread through his journey dragging with him a sword practically as big as his body, the Buster Sword. It was more than just a weapon, it was a symbol of honors and dreams passed down to him along with it carrying the pride of a 1st Class Soldier. But he was no 1st Class soldier, he was just a Shinra trooper that had no talents. His dream to become a 1st Class Soldier was already dead and with it his promise.

"I'm going to Shinra and become a 1st Class Soldier just like Sephiroth!"

'Sephiroth...'

The name that once held so much respect was now loathed with hatred. His hometown was burned to the ground because of him, along with his mother and everyone else who lived there. As he continued to remember more, a certain point of the memory flashed into his mind.

"Promise me that if I'm ever in a pinch, my hero would come save me. I want to experience that at least once…"

"Huh?"

"Come on, promise!"

"...Ok, I promise…"

'Promise...Tifa'

Outside the train station in Sector 7 of Midgar was a young 20-year old woman with long black hair tied in a ponytail at the end where it almost split apart shaped like a dolphin's tail wore a white tank top with a black sports bra worn underneath exposing her midriff and a black mini-skirt over black spanks with a belt and suspenders, wearing red and black fingerless kadoya hammer gloves that had metal on them extend up to her elbows with red boots, black thigh length socks, a metal guard on her left elbow, chestnut-red colored eyes, a white teardrop earring on her left ear along with an incredible bust. This was Tifa Lockhart, a bartender of her bar 7th Heaven located in Sector 7 as well as a member of AVALANCHE, an eco-terrorist group that opposes the Shinra Company's actions to save the world. (1)

Tifa sighed as she was waiting for the other AVALANCHE members to show up. It was raining lightly although it would be best described as a drizzle, although raindrops were slipping through the cracks and holes from the plate above reaching their way down towards the slums.

'Honestly Barret and the others should be here by now.' Tifa thought.

Before she could think any further, she heard grunting and at the corner of her eye she saw a blonde man struggling while he was walking out of the train graveyard which was an abandoned section of Sector 7. He was holding onto a huge sword before he suddenly collapsed to the ground.

Tifa quickly rushed to the man's side as she propped him to lean against a wall.

"Are you okay?" Tifa asked.

The blonde didn't respond as he continued making more grunts.

"Hey stay with me!" yelled Tifa, but it was no use. Tifa bit her lip until she started to focus on the man's appearance. He appeared to be wearing dark blue pants as well as a dark blue sleeveless shirt giving the appearance of a uniform of some kind along with many crossing belts and a shoulder strap as well as what appeared to be a metal guard strapped to his lower right abdomen with brown fingerless gloves with a black sleeve on his right arm that went up to his forearm as well as golden-like metal claws on his left hand with two metal wrist-like pieces with bolts attached to his left arm, as well as a metal pauldron on his left shoulder with bolts attached to it. He also had a silver earring on his left ear as well as a red cloak-like cape attached to him like a scarf with the end all torn up and wearing brown boots. The sword he seemed to be carrying was practically as big as his body but what was strange was the fact that it appeared to be wrapped in bandages with two straps left tied at the end of the hilt. The strangest thing was his spiky blonde hair which Tifa felt like she had seen him somewhere before. (2)

[Play FFVII ACC OST - Anxious Heart]

With her curiosity getting the best of her, Tifa lifted the man's face and brushed a piece of hair to get a better look. What she saw shocked her to the core.

She gasped in complete shock as her hands flew towards her mouth covering them with tears starting to form in her eyes as she recognizes the identity of the person in front of her. She only knew one person who had blonde spiky hair that looked like a chocobo and thought that she would never see him again.

"...Cloud?"

Once again Cloud continued grunting, but this time he slowly opened his eyes. They were almost empty as if there was no light in them, but there was something different about his eyes that Tifa didn't remember. Cloud had blue eyes, but instead they were mako-eyes.

Cloud continued struggling to say something until he uttered one word that answered her doubts before he passed out.

"Ti...fa..."

[End OST]

"Cloud! Cloud! Hang in there!" Tifa yelled as she tried to wake him up. A million thoughts ran through her mind as she thought of what to do now that Cloud was here. The little boy who dreamed of joining SOLDIER now appeared before her unconscious. Part of her was happy that Cloud had returned, but another part was worried and anxious as questions started to fill her mind. Before she could continue any further, she heard the whistle of a train getting louder. The train stopped and a dark-skinned man with a gun attached to his right arm stepped out of the train along with three other figures, two males and one female.

The gun-armed man saw Tifa with the male sat on the ground and quickly ran up to her. "Tifa! What's going on? Who's this guy?"

"Barret! Help me get him to the bar! Jesse, Wedge, Biggs carry his sword! Now!" ordered Tifa.

Barret was confused to the situation, but he decided to do what he was told. The group behind him helped out as well with the three of them carrying the huge sword as Tifa and Barret carried him over to the bar.

"How is he Jesse?" asked Tifa worriedly.

"He's got mako poisoning, an extreme case at that. From what I can tell he just needs some rest and he'll be able to recover." said Jessie as she gave out a sigh after examining Cloud who was placed in a bed. Wedge and Biggs stood at the side while Barret had his arms crossed as he stared at Tifa.

"Mako poisoning? So what's the story with him?" asked Barret as he jerked his thumb towards the blonde.

"He's Cloud…a childhood friend," Tifa whispered softly. "I haven't seen him ever since he went to join SOLDIER."

Biggs, Jessie, and Wedge stared at Tifa with their eyes wide open while Barret was choking on his air and stared angrily at her. "Did you say SOLDIER?!"

"That's what I said." said Tifa, giving out a soft glare towards Barret, not liking to repeat herself.

"SOLDIER? Aren't they the enemy?" asked Jessie.

"Damn straight they're the enemy!" yelled Barret as he stomped his foot on the wooden floor, "Da hell are we doin' lettin' him stay in our hideout!"

"What was I supposed to Barret? Leave him in the rain to suffer in the condition he's in?" replied Tifa, yelling back in equal tone with Barret.

"YES!"

Tifa crossed her arms and gave out a dark cold glare at him, then simply turned her head away to ignore Barret and focused her attention to Cloud.

Barret gave out a curse and walked out of the room while the others following him unsure what to do in the room. As Biggs, Wedge, and Jessie left the room Tifa let a single tear rolled down her cheek as she continued to stare at the blonde who she developed a crush on when he was away.

'Oh Cloud, what happened to you? Please...don't leave me again...'

Nearly six days have passed since Tifa had found Cloud, yet he still hasn't woken up yet from his coma-like state. She always came into the room and sat next to Cloud, checking to see how he was doing and would occasionally clean his face with a wet towel. The last time she saw him was before he left Nibelheim to become SOLDIER when they were sitting on top of the well that was located in the center of town. She couldn't believe how much he grew and wondered how much he himself has changed. After losing her father and hometown, she felt like she lost everything, but seeing Cloud right here in front of her, she now felt he was all what she had left.

Memories of her hometown burning made her lips tightening, her eyes burning, her blood boiling when she started remembering more, it was all Sephiroth's doing. Seeing him again reminded her of the pain of losing her hometown, her father, her friends, and her neighbors. She tried so hard to suppress the pain after that incident and now, all that pain was coming back to her. Though, when she stared at Cloud, all that pain inside of her started to disappear and she could feel her lips trying to form a smile. She placed her hand lightly on Cloud's cheek and stroked it with her thumb. She felt her face turning red as she blushed. She quickly got up and tried to cover her face up so Cloud wouldn't notice it, despite the fact he was still unconscious. As her face returned color, she stared at Cloud one last time and gave out a weak smile before she left the room.

'Please get well, Cloud. I need you...'

A groan escaped from Cloud as he opened his eyes and rose up from the bed awake. He looked down as memories of Nibelheim to Zack's sacrifice rushed through his head as he placed a hand on his forehead. It took him awhile to look at his surroundings. He noticed he was in bed inside a room with a fan on top. He pushed the blankets out of the way as he turned to the side and placed his feet on the floor. Someone must've saved him he thought as he looked towards the window from the edge of the bed he was sitting on. His thoughts were interrupted as he heard the door open and saw a bag with food falling out as he stared at Tifa as she stood there staring at him from the door.

"Cloud!"

Cloud stared at Tifa and as he saw her, he couldn't believe his own eyes as they widened.

"Ti-Tifa?"

Tifa quickly ran towards Cloud and hugged him as tightly as she could. She couldn't help herself but burst into tears as she saw him awake. She was filled with pure joy, happy to feel him let alone speak to him.

Cloud was sat dumbstruck by what just happened. He turned his head towards Tifa who was quivering in the hug. "This is real." Tifa whispered softly as she tightened her grip on the hug. Cloud couldn't help but let a small smile on his face as he returned the hug placing his arms around her gently. (3)

"I missed you too." said Cloud softly as he let go of the embrace to look at her. "Were you...the one that saved me?" asked Cloud, still surprised that he was reunited with Tifa.

She slowly pulled herself off of Cloud and wiped the last tear away from her eyes and smiled softly at him.

"Yes. I saw you coming out of the train graveyard at the abandoned section of Sector 7."

"I…can't remember much…head hurts," groaned Cloud as he placed his hand against his forehead again as Tifa tentatively reached her hand out to his.

"How long has it been?"

"…Seven years…"

'She doesn't know I was there when Nibelheim was burning...but have I really been gone for five years?' thought Cloud. He lowered his head and mumbled softly.

"Seven years huh?"

Tifa gave a weak nod.

"A lot has happened you know."

"I see…"

A small silence filled the room until Tifa decided to break it.

"Cloud, I don't know if you this. But Nibelheim..." said Tifa as she was worried about his reaction about their hometown destroyed.

"I know, Sephiroth burned it to the ground." Cloud said as the memories of their village and the flames that consumed it were fresh in his mind, as if it was yesterday.

Tifa herself was surprised as she didn't expect his answer. He wasn't there that day, so how could he have known? Unless...

Before Tifa could say another word, a voice cut her off.

"So the punk woke up huh?"

Cloud and Tifa turned to see Barret who had just entered the room as he stared at Cloud.

"Tifa who is he?" asked Cloud as he got up, staring angrily towards Barret.

"Relax Cloud," Tifa smiled softly as she stood up and blocked Cloud from doing anything drastic. "This is Barret, the leader of AVALANCHE."

"Wait a minute…did you say AVALANCHE?" asked Cloud.

"Yeah, she said AVALANCHE. Though we are nothing like the first group. We are a small team and less ruthless. Our main goal is to help the people of the Midgar slums." explained Barret as he also gave out a glare towards Cloud. "Tifa told us you were left to join SOLDIER. Personally I would've left you to rot, but Tifa said she had questions for you."

"I actually have many I want to ask, but for now I'll ask the most important one…Cloud, what happened to you?" asked Tifa with worry etched on her face.

Cloud remained silent for a minute as he lowered his head. A lot has happened after Nibelheim burned down, but the events afterwards while he was comatose were starting to come back to him as clear as day, "Tifa…a lot has happened, but I can't explain them right now."

"You left for SOLDIER whose working for Shinra and you're wearing a SOLDIER uniform. Ya expect us to believe your word?" asked Barret.

"Does it look like I give a shit about whatever the hell happens to Shinra?" said Cloud aggressively as he glared at Barret.

Both Tifa and Barret were surprised by Cloud's response. Sure enough there was anger in his eyes and they could tell Cloud has some kind of history with Shinra, and not good history at that. Tifa had more questions to ask, but she saw Cloud's eyes. She could have sworn she saw sadness in them for a split second. Tifa gave out a sigh as she decided not to push her luck.

"You should rest Cloud. We have a mission were planning on and if your interested your free to join." explained Tifa.

"What kind of mission?" asked Cloud.

"Just wait till tomorrow. But are you up for it, SOLDIER? Don't worry, you'll be paid for your 'cooperation' if you do take the job," replied Barret as he left the room with Tifa following behind.

Cloud sighed and laid himself back down on his bed. He just stared at the ceiling in front of him and turned his head to see the Buster Sword bandaged up resting against the wall next to him.

[Play FFVII OST - Opening Theme/Bombing Mission]

Somewhere in Midgar, a girl with light brown hair is plaited with a large pink ribbon and segmented bangs frame her face. She was wearing a shin-length pink dress that buttons up the front as well as red bolero jacket. She wears brown boots and metal bracers on her wrists and around the edges of her jacket sleeves.

She was crouched in front of some pipes that emitted a soft green glow and slowly opened her eyes revealing emerald green.

Meanwhile a train was running through the tracks at high speed toward the Sector 1 reactor of Midgar. On top of the train was Cloud with his hair and cape flowing wildly through the wind with the Buster Sword attached to his back with two small green orbs attached to the holes of the Buster Sword emitting a small glow.

The train started to use its brakes slowing down with a large amount of steam coming out of the train. As the steam cleared, Cloud flipped off the train landing in style with his golden claw as he slowly stood up and swiped the Buster Sword to the right as he then placed it on his back and stood up with determined mako blue eyes. (4)

[End OST 1:10]

Final Fantasy VII - The Other Promise

(1) Final Fantasy VII Remake - Tifa's Design

(2) Kingdom Hearts 1.5 - Cloud's Design

(3) Kingdom Hearts 2.5 Reference - Sora & Kairi Reunion Hug

(4) Final Fantasy VII Remake - E3 Intro

AN: Yes I made Tifa's appearance based on the Remake if you didn't notice from reading it already. I'm also using Cloud's Kingdom Hearts outfit or his 'Sky Soarer Outfit' as Dissidia NT calls it because GOD I LOVE THAT COSTUME SO MUCH! I honestly like it more than his Advent Children outfit.

In order to live up to the hype of the long awaited Final Fantasy VII Remake that was announced at Square Enix's E3 presentation, I'll be writing tons of FF7 fanfics that have been stored up inside my brain for too long. Also there aren't really that many CloTi fanfics that retell the entire story of FF7. I get that most of them take place after Advent Children and Dirge but they're just angst stuff that I don't really enjoy. So I took it upon myself to start some fanfics that will retell the memorable story of FF7 that we all love, but with a few twists of course and CloTi pairing.

Speaking of which, Tifa finally got announced to Dissidia NT guys! All we have to do now is wait for Laguna since he's like the only one who hasn't appeared into NT yet from Duodecim since the 012 characters included Lightning, Tifa, Yuna, Vaan, and Kain. I really hope they make a remaster for the original Dissidia PSP games and port them to the PS4.

To those who graciously decided to add me to their favs/follows, some or most of you probably added me because of my RWBY fanfic "The Jet Black Dragon" which unfortunately is on definite hiatus. TBH I lost all interest to continue the story mainly because I've been busy throughout the past years I've been gone. I apologize to those who look towards the updates, but there may be hope or I feel a tiny glimmer of inspiration for me to continue the story, although as I've said before that I'm most likely not going to update it. As for now I'm mainly focusing on FF7 fanfics right now and if you've fav/followed me because you've read my bio, you will know that those stories are about to come out of my head soon I hope you look forward to them. Most fanfics that will appear soon besides the FF7 fanfics I'm working will be Kingdom Hearts, Attack on Titan, My Hero Academia, Yugioh Arc-V, etc. This paragraph will be updated on the Jet Black Dragon as well so to any of those who are reading it from there, I hope you share an interest to FF7 and hope to see what's more to come.

Speaking of which, here's a little preview of what you're gonna expect here in the Midgar Arc, which will take place during these chapters here along with the other arcs that will take place in this story that I've planned so far….

Final Fantasy VII - The Other Promise [Story Arcs]

Midgar Arc - Chapters #1-10

Kalm Flashback Arc - Chapters #11-16

Junon to Rocket Town Arc - Chapters #17-27

Wutai Arc - Chapters #28-31

To the Forgotten Capital - Chapters #32-36

North Crater Arc - Chapters #37-40

Mideel & Huge Materia Arc - Chapters #41-?

Chocobo to Weapons Arc - Chapters #?-?

March to the Final Battle - Chapters #?-?

Preview for Midgar Arc:

"Halt! Hands Up!"

"You double-crossing!"

"You're not real! You're…"

"Hold on to that hatred…"

"Are you okay?"

"A flower?"

"So that's it?! You're just gonna walk out ignoring your childhood friend?!"

'If you were ever in a pinch, I promised that I'd come and save you…"

"I hate Shinra! I hate SOLDIER! I HATE YOU ALL!"

"Cloud please don't die! You can't die! There's so much I want to tell you!"

"I'm Aerith, the flower girl…"

"They're the same as Zack's…"

"Come on out Miss Cloud!"

"Tell us, or I'll chop them off!"

"You're her father?!"

"I bet she likes you!"

"I don't know…"

"Jenova?"

"Face it—you turn your back on the present and live in the past. Because the light of the present is too much..."

"You don't know me!"

"I know. Because, I am you..."

"I guess this is goodbye Midgar…"

Next Time: The Bombing Run

TO BE CONTINUED