Aeris Kills Cloud (Maybe)

Cloud looked her over and frowned, moving to stand over her.
"Jesus..." he whispered. He felt bad, practically regretted it, but he had to move quickly. He cleaned up everything he touched, and looked over to Sora, grabbing his car seat. And heading to his car. He drove to the fire station, looking at the baby. "I hope you don't hold it against me kid..."

"Freeze!" A voice shouted, a gun aimed at Cloud's head. "FBI!" Tifa identified herself, her hand steady. "Put the car-seat down and put your hands behind your head."
At least ten cop cars flooded the area, guns aimed at Cloud.
"Don't be stupid." Tifa told him.

Aeris sat up, putting her hand to the metal plate in her head, feeling the food coloring. She pealed off the layer of silicon that had hidden it, brushed with skin and hair particles for a more realistic line, the bullet spilling onto the floor as well.
"Where is he?" She asked as Detective Paulson stepped out from the closet.
"Tifa has a bead on them, don't worry. For now we have to get you as far away from here as possible." He said, worried she'd have a concussion from the force of the bullet.
"I'm not leaving without my son!" She demanded, wincing as she moved her shoulder, seeing a bright light from the pain in her head.
"Easy!" Paulson steadied her, shaking his head. "Tifa will get Sora, she'll meet us at the airport.

Cloud raised his eyebrows as Tifa aimed her gun at him. He grabbed his and aimed it at Sora. Sorry, kid...
"Back up, or I'll shoot the kid." he said.

"What are you going to do, shoot your own son?" She asked him, but she wouldn't put it past him. She had a folder so thick on Cloud that she could use it as a booster seat. "Look, take me." She told him, slowly lowering her gun and raising her hands above her head, approaching him. "Let the kid go. I'll get you more leverage with them."

Cloud readied his gun, but he stopped himself. He aimed at Tifa and looked her up and down.
"Get the kid out of here first..." He said. "Then we'll have some fun."

Tifa took Sora, who was crying, handing him to a close by officer before she stepped toward Cloud, letting him take her. She had two tracking devices on her, she wasn't worried.
"Back up." She told the police, and they did as they were told, letting Cloud leave with her.

Cloud drove off, he knew there would be no point. He'd eventually get caught. Instead he drove around for a bit before parking along a hiking trail along the river.
"How long before they track you down?" He asked.

"Not long." She said from the passenger seat. "Look if you let me go, it's a sign of good faith. They'll probably give you a reduced sentence. Or you can leave me out here and run, whichever."

Cloud smirked at her and he shook his head.
"Nah, you really want Bruce. That's the deal breaker." He said. "I've been doing this a long time."

"We really want you both." She smiled slightly. "You two have terrorized the community for quite some time. When we heard about Aeris cracking into your warehouse, we immediately asked her to go undercover for us. Didn't realize it would take you so long, and it was so risky, her being pregnant and all. I guess she got you in the end though."

Cloud chuckled and he shrugged his shoulders.
"She's pretty cool..." He mumbled. "Ah, well, I had a good time... A life on the run isn't for me."

Sirens wailed, approaching the car.
"If you agree to medication, therapy, you can probably be paroled sooner rather than later." She told him. "I don't think you're as big of a piece of shit as Bruce, and the ADA won't either." She reassured him.

Cloud raised an eyebrow at her.
"Why the fuck would I do any of that shit?" He asked. "I'm not mentally disturbed...wait maybe I am just a little..."

The police surrounded the vehicle. Cloud was hauled from the vehicle and Tifa was congratulated for a clean arrest. At booking they took Cloud's fingerprints, his mug shots, and got him searched and showered and in an orange jumpsuit. He was issued court ordered therapy and antipsychotics.

Aeris had been in witness protection for the last five years with her son. She couldn't testify, because she was believed to be dead, and it would have been a huge risk to her and Sora. Because Cloud followed a medication and therapy schedule and didn't make trouble, he was put on parole because the prison was so crowded. He was not to see or deal with Bruce.

Cloud made his way home to his tiny apartment. He had moved in a bit after he got out of prison, having to have some sort of adress. He slumped down on his coutch, sighing. He thought about Aeris and Sora often, he even thought about Julia and Emma. He didn't want to reach out to any of them, knowing it'd be pointless.

Tifa came by each week to help Cloud get back on his feet. She helped him find an entry-level job, and made sure he wasn't eating a gun or going off the deep end. That afternoon she knocked on the door, possessing something he may want to see.
"Hey. You still alive?" She asked when he answered the door.

Cloud looked up and he sprawled himself out on the sofa, tongue hanging out of the side of his mouth. He stayed that way for a bit before he laughed.
"Nah, just kidding, you're not getting rid of me that easily."

Tifa shook her head, bringing in the Chinese take-out she had picked up.
"Here, I get the sesame chicken." She said, putting it on the table. "I brought you something today, besides the grub." She told him, handing him a sealed envelope.

Inside were five pictures, all of Sora. The location gave away no landmarks or anything that could be used to trace where he was, just him. He was smiling big, reaching for the camera, dressed in a blue shirt that matched his eyes and khaki shorts.
"He's getting big."

Cloud grabbed his food and he eyed the envelope before opening it up. He looked over the pictures and frowned before tossing them on to the coffee table.
"Yep..." He mumbled, trying to be apathetic.

Tifa dug into her food, thinking for a moment.
"I've gotta leave early today. Going to advise some war veteran on coping with his PTSD so he might be useful on this terrorist we're after." She explained, examining his reaction to the pictures.

Cloud shruggedbhis shoulders, digging into his food. His eyes moved over the pictures, but he didn't reach for them.
"Sounds really depressing."

"Just a little bit, but I can think of more depressing things." She told him, eating her chicken. "I'll be by same time next week though."

Cloud nodded, eating in silence.
"I'll prbably bite the bullet by then."

Tifa rolled her eyes.
"Don't even joke about that. You still seeing the doc and taking your meds?" She asked him. "Because you know, it'd look good if you ever wanted to say, meet your children someday."

Cloud scoffed and he got up and moved to the fridge to grab a beer. He technically shouldn't drink, but he didn't really care.
"Why the hell would I want to meet them?" He asked.