Chapter 90 - Seperation - 1

"What were you thinking?! Using Jenova's Power in your condition! Your Cell Encroachment has reached 78%! Do you even understand what that means?!"

"I do," Cloud lay inside a machine, hearing the fuming Howard Stark, "It was necessary to deter them."

Mar-Vell looked at his data, raising her eyebrows, "Do you know how many casualties Kree suffered in this attack?"

"How many?"

Pym watched the blood in fascination, having seen it for the first time.

"Less than ten. That, too, were accidental deaths. Friendly fire."

"Really," Pym pulled away from the dish, "Huh. I thought there would have been more."

"It wouldn't take Supreme Intelligence a nanosecond to realise that you were all bark, no bite."

"Probably."

"Then this was for nothing?"

Cloud closed his eyes; he knew better. He wasn't some master planner, but there were a few twisted personalities in his mind. He only managed to come up with simple plans, but they refined it and came up with backup plans, and then another personality would come up with a backup plan for that one.

He sat up, removing all the equipment in his body, "Stay in this moon's orbit for a few days. I will be back in a few days."

"Wait, kid, where are you going? Your examination is not done yet!"

"You'll have to do the tests again a few days later. Do them then," Cloud waited for the door to close, opening a portal, and he stepped inside Hala, on the barren land far from civilisation.

'Lucrecia. Help me out.'

"Yes. Which one do you wish to separate?"

"The Brothers."

"Oh, and what do you want to use as a base?"

"I am still waiting for that."

"So you just didn't want to do the tests?"

He roamed, found a cave, and sat inside, looking towards the sky and the moons.

"Did it feel good…finally letting go?"

Cloud was familiar with the voice, "Sephiroth. You know…that's not what I am worried about."

"Don't tell me it's really about those two girls?"

"Tifa hates you with good reasons…I hate you…and the more…I fight against Jenova the more I rely on you. If that's not enough…Zack is Aerith's, first love. I…can't…she can never really know. What I am becoming."

"The ones you rely on. Your anchor, the ones who help you keep your sanity. You are becoming a constant reminder of their past. Is that truly what worries you?"

"He just said that."

Cloud looked up, feeling Zack's palm on his head, ruffling his hair, "You worry too much, kiddo."

"Listen to the puppy; he's usually right about these things."

"Hey, stop calling me puppy!!" Zack protested.

"I am calling you by your name, Puppy."

"That's not my name! It's Zack Fair! Do you hear me?! Zack Fair!"

"Hahaha," Cloud watched them and let out a light-hearted chuckle, and the two stopped bickering.

Sephiroth tilted his head while Zack bent forward, looking into Cloud's eyes, "That's more like it. Now, go back home and show the two of them that smile. You make them worry too much."

Cloud gently nodded, smiling, "Yeah…and Zack…I'll save you too."

Zack scratched his cheek, "Really? Because that will be very awkward for the real me."

He grinningly winked, "He won't give up on Aerith, Cloud. So, you better take good care of her."

Cloud raised his hand and bumped his fist with Zack's, who grinningly disappeared, hearing his promise, "I will."

He closed his eyes, sitting in the cave, waiting until he heard another voice, this time not of one of the illusions but her.

"Cloud. The things you asked for are ready."

"Ok. Have Dobby or Winky bring them home. I'll pick them up."

"Sure. But…Cloud. It's safe, right?"

"It's safe."

"Mm, it better be. Can I come and watch?"

Cloud hesitating, "Tifa…."

"Sorry about putting you on the spot. I shouldn't have sprung that on you. I'll have them take these things homes. Be careful and come back safely, Cloud."

"Mm."

After a few days, Cloud returned to the ship, and they all went their separate ways. Calon Danvers had things she wanted to do with her new powers. Howard and Pym still had a few things they wanted to learn. Mar-Vell wanted to keep saving the Skrulls and make sure they were reunited and out of harm's way, and Cloud went back to Earth, taking Harry and Hermione. As for Nick Fury? He returned to SHIELD; what he did after returning was something that no one had known for a long time.

"This is your house?"

"Yes. Make yourself home," Cloud walked up the stairs, "Rest today. I'll start your training tomorrow."

He didn't hear their reply and went straight to his room, closing the door behind him. He leaned against it, looking at his bed, and fell forward on the bed, "I am…tired."

He almost heard the system rebuttal, reminding him of it, and he turned over, resting on his back, "That…."

'Right…I left my Sling Ring on the ship.'

He put his hand down, resting his eyes and body, but there was something he couldn't get out of his mind.

(Believe…Mr. Strife.)

He raised his hand, watching the back of his palm, and curled his palm. A Keyblade appeared in his palm, "Believe..."

He closed his eyes, imagining that what was in his hand was a Sling Ring, not a Keyblade; then was it believing? No, it was only when he truly believed that it was possible that the Blade would turn into the Ring then it would follow the wish in his heart and change its form. He opened his eyes, seeing the Sling Ring on his fingers, "That's…believing in magic?"

He opened the portal in front of him, and on the other side was a room of the ship, and with the new change in gravity, the Tesseract fell downwards into his hands.

'System. Are you there?'

[Yes. I am.]

'How can you only communicate when Tesseract or Time Stone is nearby? Do you need energy?'

[No.]

'Then?'

[The one that the energy of the Infinity Stone hides is not me. It's the user.]

'Me?'

[Yes. There is an Observer. While they can't observe the System, they can Observe the Users. Because of that, the System distributes the energy of Infinity Stone to disturb their perception of the whole planet, hiding the User.]

'Is this Observer dangerous?'

[One of them is Neutral. The other? Yes. He's dangerous.]

'Does it matter? We are not from this Universe. We have no history. Suppose we are under so much scrutiny that they would be able to tell the difference with trillion lives around. Then they would have figured it out by now.'

[Yes. Since the place where the user is—is a Multiverse. There is a parallel universe where something similar might be happening. And there, you do not exist. It would be easy for the Observers who watch the Multiverse and Infinite Timelines to pick you out. Which is why there is a whole universe and hundreds of billions of new possibilities to hide your presence.]

[Without the Tesseract beside you, hiding your actions from the observers who watch the Multiverse. You would have been found out long ago and are not ready to face those entities.]

'I can destroy planets.'

[You'll be embarrassed by that comment later.]

"Ah," Cloud put his forearm on his eyes, crossing his leg, 'Never got to ask your name. You never mentioned it, either.'

[Echo.]

'Echo…you are a girl?'

[Genderless, currently. I was a female android before my evolution into the System.]

'I won't even ask,' Cloud moved his hand away from his eyes and kept the Tesseract on the table.

[…]

'What?'

[Not allowed to unnecessarily help you.]

'Then shut up.'

[Hmph. Fine.]

[The other two users are much better than you.]

'Yeah. I know. They…are the best parts of my life.'

[Tsk.]

'Aren't you too chatty today?'

[Because of your incompetence, the Space Stone that was supposed to stay in Earth's Orbit for Six Years and Later, still on Earth, was taken to Hala. Leaving you open and me having to stay disconnected from the outside world.]

'I thought you could see all those possibilities. You must have seen that one.'

[I can calculate the possibilities, and yes. I did calculate that one. It doesn't make you less incompetent.]

'Sorry. Not about the incompetent part. About you not being able to talk to anyone for years. I'll make sure to keep one of the Stones on Earth.'

[…]

'Goodnight. Echo.'

[Goodnight, Cloud.]