Chapter Text
“Breaking News: Shinra, Wutai, and Avalanche has established a peace treaty. After a long history of blood and betrayal, A new age is upon us.” He switches channel.
“Dissolution of SOLDIER? After three decades of development, People dread the news of no more new potential superheroes on the horizon?” He rolls his eyes as he switched the channel again.
“The beloved play from passerby to critics, LOVELESS, will perform for one last time at Midgar’s Sector 8 theater to give way to new stories unfolding.” As the said city slowly coming into view, he changes gears knowing he doesn’t need to go as fast as he initially thought.
“We have with us today a continent renowned critic that was never afraid to express unique opinions on beloved fan favorites. Thank you Autumn for joining us!” It’s funny how he remembered what Midgar meant to him all those years ago. He always wanted to be someone. It was all he wanted since that’s the only thing he knew that’s worth aspiring for. Its all the other kids were talking about. Its all the grown ups were talking about too.
“I assure you Melanie, I am no contrarian for the sake of it! LOVELESS is a favorite of mine too, but overlooking flaws because of love isn’t something I do. After all, it’s what the play is all about. Love in spite of other things.” Cloud nods a little as he listened to the awfully familiar voice. He loved the town he grew up in, but most of the good memories he had were not from there. He remembers his mother’s cooking. Even though her recipes were imprinted into his DNA, it always tasted different from what he remembers.
“Very well said! Now, can I assume that you’re attending their final showing? And if so, what do you expect for the new stories yet to grace the stage?” He takes a mental note of it to try and see the play. He slows down some more when he nears the shadow of the floating metropolis. Considering how he had done things up until this point, he sees no need to change it up. While its true that Midgar was the most... eccentric in terms of dealing with wayward travelers. Cloud thinks he can manage.
“I am. While I did debate on whether or not if I really wanted to take a seat from someone who hasn’t seen it yet, I know I would live with the regret on not seeing the play in its final moments for the rest of my life.” Cloud snorts at the critic’s dramatic words. He spots Shinra troopers near one of the undercity doors so he takes a detour to find another unguarded one. A good stay in Midgar would mean not being an enemy of Shinra.
“But I’ll tell you this however, just a little secret between us. I myself have proposed my own original work and have been working behind the scenes to make it happen. While I’m not confident I’ll get the backing on my first try, I am hoping to make it a reality some time soon.” Cloud weaves through the rocks and crevices to hide from the patrol. He skips through three entrances and chances upon an eerily empty one. He guesses that its either Sector 3 or 2 that he found himself in but he isn’t really all familiar with this place, so he tempers his expectations.
“How wonderful! I’ll be watching out for it! Say, can you give us details on it? Just a little teaser on what’s to come.” Cloud goes much slower as he passes through the opening. It’s weird that a gate at this time of day would be left so unguarded like that, but he brushes it off as him getting lucky.
“Okay, okay. I’ll give a hint. What do you think of a love story and aliens thrown into the mix?” He turns off the radio as he parks it just outside what seems to be residential area. He takes a quick stock of himself. Gil pouch on his person, trench knives hidden, and he also made sure that his motorbike is not easily spotted. He does a little stretch to warm himself up after the long ride. A five hour motorcycle ride is no joke. While he had traveled for longer, the rough uneven terrain took a toll on him. He goes over the accessories he had along his arms and hands. There were braces, bangles, rings that didn’t look to have any obvious rhyme or reason to them. He wraps half of his face with a tight white cloth, more to cover up where his left eye should be. While Cloud doesn’t want attention drawn to him, he liked the impression that his accessories gives to onlookers. History, misplaced responsibility, attachment.
If she could hear him right now she would be ecstatic that Cloud has become such a romantic.
Bones popping and some muscles protesting, he walks to the cluster of makeshift homes in the distance. Through the wired fence, he sees people going on about their business. Kids playing among themselves and the older just trying make a living. Going through the heaps of junk, he somehow reaches the train station. Spotting the sign telling him that he’s in Sector 4, he mentally pats himself on the back for just being one number off his initial guess.
He buys a ticket to go up the plate just so he can take stock of what exactly he can do here. Cloud expected a lot more people with him on the train. There were a couple of free spaces to seat on each side, and he spots someone lying down on the next car over. He assumes that this time of day must have less people using the trains, he was suspiciously lucky today.
When Cloud reaches the top, he seeks out a tourist help desk. An overly enthusiastic girl manning the desk provided Cloud with exactly what he needed. He acquired a pamphlet of Midgar’s most notable destinations, but he really wanted the map that came with it. It’s embellished with a lot of annotations in order to guide newcomers, but it was enough to let him now what he was dealing with.
Traveling the world for years taught him to not expect familiarity with each place he has visited. Cloud wishes that Midgar is at least a little bit worthy of being the last stop of his seemingly endless journey. But unlike most travelers, he doesn’t get to choose his destinations for himself.