~Snow's POV~

"Sazh," I groan, pulling my pillow up over my head as the man across the hall's alarm go off. "Some of us like to sleep past six thirty in the morning."

"Tell me about it," Cloud grumbles from the floor. "This has been going on for three days. I'm losing sleep over the prospect of the stupid alarm."

"Not all of us are pilots," I whine into my pillow.

"Sazh! Shut it off!" He yells. Moments later, the beeping stops and we sigh with relief. Turns out, Cloud had a condo he hadn't used in awhile near the old Shinra building. Tifa, Light, and Hope are staying at the bar. Vincent has Yuffie, Vanille, and Fang. And Cloud has me, Dajh, and Sazh to serve.

"Get up, lazies!" Dajh swings the door open. "Daddy says you're gonna get fat if you sleep too much! 'specially Snow!"

"Hey! It's all muscle, little man!" I insist. He giggles and leaves the room, happy to have bothered us. With really no chance of falling back asleep, I throw my blankets to the side and tug my shirt and hat on. I went through so much crap with Cloud about how I look without the stupid thing in my head. Why else would I wear it? I have a total dork look and I rock it. Wink wink.

"Hey Spiky," I call to my fellow blonde. He groans and opens his glowing eyes. "Get up or Sazh will literally drag you around until you get a bad rug burn."

"I'm up," he says quickly, tugging his shirt on too and heading toward the bathroom. I smirk and stand in the doorway.

"So how much gel does it take to get your hair like that?"

"None," he shakes his head wildly, his mussed up spikes rearranging perfectly. What?!

"... I swear you must have a wig on," I shake my head and leave the room to go to the kitchen. Sazh grins at me and Dajh bounces in circles.

"Finally awake, huh kid?"

"It's only been five minutes since you blasted an alarm!"

"A record too!" The pilot laughs at my face.

"Five minutes? Really?" Cloud exits the bathroom. "I had to do it in thirty seconds if I didn't want extra crap to do."

"Well not all of us were in the army, soldier boy," I roll my eyes.

"Does the Air Force count?" Sazh raises his eyebrows.

"Hey, Cid was in the Shinra Air Force," Cloud says randomly.

"That's nice," I shrug. I'm just not in a very good mood lately. I can't stop thinking about Serah, and every time I think about her, I end up mixing Tifa in there too and I just want her out. I want to think about my dead fiancé in peace. I absentmindedly hold up my necklace, the one identical to the one she wore. Cocoon... No longer a fal'cei made oasis, but a shattered crystal ball wandering through space. She shouldn't be dead. She had eternal life... Right? But I guess that doesn't mean you can't die.

"Yo, you alright kid?" Sazh breaks my thoughts. I blink and look back at him, his dark eyes full of worry.

"I'm fine," I mutter and turn to go back to the bedroom.

"If this is about Serah..." He starts.

"I'm fine!" I yell back, now stomping. I sit down on the edge of my borrowed bed heavily and stare at the charm, lost in thought. I remember clearly the day that I proposed to her and gave her a matching necklace. The day she tried to break up with me because she was a l'cei. The day she awoke from her crystal slumber alongside me. How happy we were.

"Snow?" Cloud awkwardly and hesitantly jabs his head in. "Are you sure you're okay?" I shrug, not wanting to talk about it or bug someone else with my problems. Wonder how Light's getting through this.

"I guess. I mean, I'm not dying or anything. At least I'm alive, right?" The last sentence comes off way too bitterly for my liking.

"Being alive is different than really being alive," Cloud shakes his head.

"Huh?" I raise an eyebrow at him.

"Lightning warned me that you're really slow," he huffs.

"Hey, I'm not-! Wait, when did you two talk about me?"

"I dunno?" He shrugs, expertly avoiding the question. "Anyway, what I meant was, if you're just living as in your heart is beating, then you're not... Living? I don't know how to explain this."

"No, I don't think you do," I sigh, looking back at the necklace I've managed to pull off and hold in my hand.

"What I'm trying to say is: don't be getting all sad on us and stuff, okay? I get that your planet exploded and someone there might have been important to you, but that's all in the past, okay? The reason you're here is to get used to living on this planet. And all this came from Sazh by the way, I don't generally say crap like this."

"Thought you were being a little strange," I force a laugh. He laughs softly too, but I can tell its fake. Then his smile falls and he looks at me again.

"Look, I heard what happened to Serah, and I..."

"Don't."

"Can relate to that, sort of. You lose the person you were in love with, your planet as you know it falls apart, you have to keep going and stay strong for the others because they look up to you. I get it."

"I guess we're more alike than meets the eye, huh?"

"Guess so," he gives me a half smile. "You know, Vince can relate too."

"Wouldn't think so. I don't like to dress up like a vampire."

"It's... A long story, and not my job to tell it. But we're all really similar in a strange way."

"Hmm," I hum, standing. "I don't know about you, but I'm starving. Why don't we call every one and go get breakfast together? I don't like be separated from them for too long."

"Sounds like a plan," he nods, pulling out his phone. I frown at it and he pauses, not sure of why I'm looking at him funny. "What?"

"That's your phone?"

"Uh... Yeah? Why?"

"This is mine," I hold up the slim twig of a device.

"Wha... How do you dial?"

"Like this," I press the small power button and and a holographic dial pad appears.

"Whoa," his bright eyes widen. "That's awesome!"

"I guess," I shrug, putting it away. "I've grown up around them, so it's nothing significant to me."

"That's cool," he grins and dials up someone. "Hey Teef." Tifa. I force down the feeling of wanted to see her again badly. "Why don't we all meet at that breakfast place that just opened a couple blocks away from the bar? Alright, see you soon then."

"She coming?" I ask hopefully. He eyes me, sensing my slight feelings toward her.

"Yeah. She's just waking Hope and Lightning up."

"Lucky," I groan. "They don't have Sazh waking them up at six in the morning."

"Come on, we'd better go the him," he stands and nods for me to follow. I sigh and shove my feet into my large boots before leaving the room.

"I only have my motorcycle, so I don't think that..."

"That's alright," Sazh waves him off. "I've got Brynhildr."

"... Who?"

"Nevermind," he shakes his head. "I've got a transforming car robot. And Snow's got the Shiva sisters. They turn into a motorcycle."

"Nice ladies," I comment brightly, stepping out into view. "Though, Nix's stilettos can be a real pain in the butt. Literally."

"Let's get going then," Cloud laughs quietly and we leave the condo, Dajh bouncing excitedly at the though of riding Brynhildr.

"Hold up. This is yours?" I gawk at the black and gold bike parked nearby. Cloud nods proudly.

"Traded a lifetime of free food and drinks from Tifa's bar for it." I frown at him and he waves me off. "She suggested it, not me." Mental notes run through my mind as I take in the unique vehicle. Looks like an oval-piston twin cylinder engine to me.

"Nice," I finally break out into a smile. "Sazh? You gonna get her out or what?"

"Who?" Cloud furrows his eyebrows.

"And I thought I was slow," I mutter. "Brynhildr."

"Oh!"

"Alright sweetheart," Sazh mumbles and I chuckle. "Brynhildr!" The enormous female creature appears from the sky, weapon ready. "Whoa girl! Can ya go gestalt for me?" Brynhildr grunts and folds her limbs in until she's taken the from of the first orange race car Sazh is completely fascinated with.

"Alright, nice show," I grin at Cloud's utterly shocked and confused face. "Shiva!" Swimming in a bubble... Freezing the bubble... There we go! Breaking out of the bubble! Why do they have to make such a dramatic entrance? "Gestalt, please, ladies." Nix winks and her sister waves as they link together to from my ice powered bike. "Heck yeah!"

"That's... Amazing!" Cloud exclaims. Such a fan girl.

"Let's get going before their time runs out," Sazh calls, zooming off first with his son in the passenger seat.

"Does he know where he's going?" I raise an eyebrow. The blonde nods his head and pulls his shades on before climbing on his bike.

"I told him before you came out. Let's catch up while we can."

"Seems you know he's a crazy driver," I smirk, mounting my own. "Right now, all of my pity goes toward Dajh."

~|~|~|~|~

"That was so awesome!" Dajh says loudly just as Cloud and I zoom up.

"I win!" I announce. Cloud rolls his eyes.

"You were leaving a sharp trail of ice for the first half of the ride."

"Hey, not my fault the ladies don't like you," I tease.

"But I have over six thousand fan girls!" He protests.

"I bet Vincent has more than that. And he's pretty creepy." When I turn to tell the sisters they can go, I see some... creature running toward us with Fang, Vanille, and Yuffie on its back. Fang hops off first, shooting me a smug look like always, and pats the thing's head.

"Aw, what a good boy! You're so cute!" I laugh and shake my head. Strange woman. Cloud laughs too, but not for the same reason. The animal glares at her with his golden eyes, waiting patiently for Vanille and Yuffie to dismount. When it stands up on its two hind feet, I see that the creature looks like something painted in a pyramid, and his tattered red skirt thing looks very familiar. I just can't place it.

"Don't make him bite you, Fang," Vanille giggles. The creature rolls its eyes and wanders off around the side of the diner building. Moments later, Vincent walks toward us, cape fluttering behind.

"Where'd the doggy go?" Fang coos. Vincent shoots her the scariest glare I've ever seen, but she doesn't look fazed.

"I would appreciate it if you did not call me 'cute' or treat me like an animal."

"But you were an animal," she sneers back.

"No, Galian was an animal," he raises an eyebrow.

"Duh!" Yuffie says loudly. Fang takes a challenging step toward her and Vincent instantly grabs her arm and jerks her back to where she was before.

"I'm not a puppy, Vincent. I know not to kill the kid," she yanks her arm from his grip.

"You didn't seem to know that yesterday."

"She was picking on Vanille!"

"You tried to choke her after I pulled you away for punching her a few times."

"So? She's alive, ain't she?"

"That is not the point."

"Let's just go inside," Cloud interrupts, opening the door. "Tifa and the others are bound to be in there anyway."

"Hope! What the heck!" I hear Tifa squeal. Lightining laughs and Hope just smirks to himself proudly.

"What'd he do?" I grin, stopping at the side of the table. Tifa groans and wipes her face off with a paper napkin.

"Hope spit his milk all over me."

"Light said something funny!"

"What did she say?" I raise an eyebrow. Tifa turns bright red and Lightning shakes her head, lips pursed. "Oookay."

"Snow!" Cloud waves me over to the table he, Sazh, and Dajh are sitting at. Lightning clears her throat and nods her head at an awkward angle. I blink and furrow my eyebrows. Tifa and Hope just continue to chat. She rolls her blue eyes and cough-speaks.

"Sit down," is what I translate her coughing fit into. Still confused, I glance at Tifa and then back at her. She nods. Oh.

"You mind if I sit here?" I smile at Tifa.

"Of course not! I've missed my wall!"

"I'm not a wall," I scoff, sitting beside her.

"Suuuuure you're not," she teases. "Just like Lightning loves coffee, right?"

"Ew," Light crinkles her nose. "It's so gross."

"How do you survive," I shake my head. "Strange people."

"Hey, at least I'm not ten feet tall," Tifa elbows me.

"I am not ten feet tall," I frown. "I am six foot seven, thank you very much."

"Which is a foot taller than me, so therefore, you are ten feet tall."

"... Fine. Whatever," I sigh. "I'm hungry."

"Me too!" Hope exclaims. "Tifa only feeds us fruit and peanut butter sandwiches."

"You can't starve kids, Tifa," I tease, nudging her with my shoulder. "It's not nice."

"I'm a growing boy!" Hope adds playfully.

"Oh poor you," Lightning rolls her eyes. "Now let's eat. I'm starving!"

...