Hidden Identity (Book Two)-Complete

Year Five, Day Nineteen

Cress POV

We all gather on a cliff just outside of Midgar. I can't believe I'm actually out of that city. Everything just seems so unreal, yet familiar. The blue sky, the rocky terrain, the fresh unpolluted air...

"So...what now?" Tifa asks out loud.

"ShinRa will undoubtedly come after us, so we should keep moving," Cloud suggests.

"The nearest town in Kalm. This road should take us there. We could get supplies and stuff," Barret says, gesturing down the road.

"I think...first we should choose a leader..." Aerith suddenly speaks up. "And I think it should be Cloud."

"I second that," Tifa adds, nodding.

Red grunts noncommittally. "It doesn't matter to me. I'll go with you as far as my home in Cosmo Canyon."

A leader does seem like something we should have. A person to make the decisions and decide where we go and what we do. "I don't think I know you all enough to make a vote, yet."

We all look at Barret. He sighs and looks away. "Whatever. I'm okay with that. Let's just get going."

Cloud nods, agreeing. "Alright, then. Let's head to Kalm and stock up on supplies. Being on the run will be hard, so I hope you're all prepared for it."

I climb back onto the motorcycle with Cloud as the others pile back into the small green pickup. Soon, we're zooming down the road. I hesitantly lean into him, shielding my face from the wind and dust. 

The landscape looks the same for miles around us: golden, sandy rock like a desert. Nothing is growing. Is it because of the Mako reactors?

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Cloud POV

 I won't admit it, but having Cress holding onto me like this is kind of comforting. I don't know why, but I wish I could turn around and hold her, too. Strange...

Kalm is a relatively okay-sized town. There's an inn, weapon's shop, item shop, and materia shop like every other town. Besides a few residential houses, that's pretty much it. In a way, it kind of reminds me of the Slums: so close to Midgar yet no where near matching its population or grandeur.

It's pretty late in the evening when we arrive, and we're all really tired and hungry, so I suggest we head to the inn. We pay for a couple of rooms for one night and order stew and bread.

"Something has been bothering me since we left Midgar," Barret says once we've all eaten. We're all crowded in one of the rooms to plan our next move. "You seem to have a real grudge against Sephiroth. Man, after he stabbed me, I do, too. But, I want answers. What's going on? What's your story?"

I frown and look away. "I don't like talking about it..."

"I think...we all deserve to know. We're all in this together," Tifa says.

"Sephiroth must be stopped. He's even more of a danger to the Planet than ShinRa," Aerith adds. "I don't know how I know, but I do."

"Fine..." I relent, sitting down on one of the beds. "...I used to want to be like Sephiroth. So, I joined SOLDIER. We worked together on quite a few missions...we became friends-"

"Friends?" Barret interrupts, looking skeptical. "With that bastard?"

"There's more to the story. I'd appreciate it if you wouldn't interrupt. Yes, we became friends, comrades, war buddies, whatever you want to call it. He was older than me and didn't really talk about himself much. We trusted each other, though.

"Then, one day..." I murmur. I stand up and turn my back to the group. "After the war, it was SOLDIER's job to put down any resistance against ShinRa. That was five years ago. I was sixteen.

"ShinRa sent the pair of us on a mission to my hometown, Nibelheim. We were to investigate the old Mako reactor there."

I look back at Tifa. "You were our guide, remember? You wanted to go into the reactor, too, but only ShinRa employees were allowed inside."

She looks like she wants to say something, but only nods and looks away. I guess this really isn't a good memory for her, either.

I continue my story, "inside, we found something...unexpected...Hojo had been secretly using the Mako to create monsters...and Sephiroth...he'd been acting kind of strange that day, actually talking about himself a little. He had told me that his mother's name...was Jenova."

"Jenova is his mother?" Cress asks, shocked. "But...she's a monster. How could she be his mother?"

"Hojo created him using her cells, I believe. When Sephiroth figured it all out...he locked himself in the basement of ShinRa Manor, pouring over all the old files like a man possessed for days. When he finally came out, he had become the monster we all now know him as. He set fire to Nibelheim and killed my mother, as well as pretty much everyone else. He almost killed Tifa, too."

"So...I was forced to stop him. To put an end to him. And...I thought I had. It thought I had killed him. But, I guess I was wrong. He's still out there. He's still trying to destroy the planet."

Cress comes over and places a hand on my shoulder. "And we'll help you stop him for real this time. Yours isn't the only life he's ruined. I may not remember everything, but this little voice in my head tells me the past five years of torture I went through are his fault."

"Kind of strange that you can't remember anything beyond five years ago, and Cloud's story takes place five years ago. Is it a coincidence or not?" Aerith wonders out loud. Then she yawns. "We can talk more tomorrow. I'm going to bed. Night everyone."

"I'm coming with you," Cress says, leaving the room with her.

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Aerith POV

Cress reminds me of Sam so much. If her hair was shorter and dyed purple, and her eyes were brown instead of blue, she'd look just like her. They'd be about the same age, too.

I sit down on one of the three beds in the girls' room. "You know, you remind me of this girl I knew a long time ago. She was a really good friend of mine."

"Really?" Cress asks, unbuckling her sword belts and kunai belt and placing them on the floor next to her bed. "What was her name?"

"Samantha. But she like to just be called 'Sam'. I met her on a date with my boyfriend, Zack. It was a joint date. S-One of Zack's comrades-he was in SOLDIER like Cloud-was dating her. They were the other couple."

"That's cool," she says, pulling off her black vest. "Samantha...that's a really pretty name. I like it."

"Yeah. She was really pretty, too. And a little shy at times, but she had a big heart."

Cress smiles at me. "Then, I'm glad I remind you of her."

She even has the same smile as Sam...come to think of it...Sam disappeared about five years ago...could it be...is Cress actually Sam?

"What's wrong?" Cress asks, giving me a concerned look.

I blink a few times, shocked by this realization. "Sam went missing about five years ago. You can't remember anything beyond five years ago, and you look almost exactly like her...I think...I think you are Sam..."

She looks at me, stunned. For a full ten minutes, we sit there in silence. Then, it's broken by Tifa coming in. "Hey, you're still awake?...what's wrong?"

"I think Cress might be my friend Sam who went missing five years ago...and to think where you've been all this time..." I explain, still in shock.

"But...if I was just a girl dating a SOLDIER, why would Hojo want to experiment on me?"

I look away, biting my lip. Should I tell her? Tell her that the SOLDIER she was dating wasn't just any SOLDIER? That she had been the girlfriend of none other than Sephiroth?

"I don't know why," I finally say. "Anyways, I'm tired."

"Yeah, we all are. Good night."