Last revision: 07/01/99
Last modified: 07/26/99
CAUTION: This videofic contains spoilers for future parts of
"Conflicts of Interest". ^_^
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A Final Fantasy VII vidfic
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SAD BUT TRUE
by Metallica
Metallica: the Black Album
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Hey
I'm your life
I'm the one who takes you there
[A Child Cloud runs into the kitchen and starts crying as he tries to
tell his mother something. She barely seems to pay attention to him,
absently nodding and not bothering to look at him as she continues
cooking. As he gets more upset, she makes a vague, placating gesture
and waves him away.]
Hey
I'm your life
I'm the one who cares
[As an unhappy Child Cloud slowly shuffles away from his oblivious
mother, an indistinct ghostly form seems to put its arm around Child
Cloud in a consoling gesture.]
They
They betray
I'm your only true friend now
[Several kids peek over their shoulders at Child Cloud, then start
giggling and whispering among themselves. Child Tifa isn't laughing
but she doesn't try to stop the other kids from gossiping or teasing
Child Cloud. The indistinct ghostly form appears behind Child Cloud
as if to lend its support.]
They
They'll betray
I'm forever there
[Child Cloud slowly turns away from the laughing kids, his face sullen
and stoic. The ghostly form standing beside him momentarily becomes
distinct enough to show a clear expression of pain and anger.]
I'm your dream, make you real
I'm your eyes when you must steal
I'm your pain when you can't feel
Sad but true
[The ghostly form watches as Child Cloud is grabbed and thrown to the
ground by some shadowy adult figures. They laugh drunkenly as tears
slowly trickle from dull, empty blue eyes as they all start pawing at
Young Cloud's body. Finally, one of the shadowy figures squats over
Child Cloud and starts to rip the boy's clothes off while unzipping
his own pants.]
I'm your dream, mind astray
I'm your eyes while you're away
I'm your pain while you repay
You know it's sad but true
Sad but true
[The ghostly form, now more distinct, whispers in Child Cloud's ear.
Child Cloud, a wild gleam in his blue eyes, is seen setting a building
in Nibelheim on fire, then running off. Tifa's father catches him and
starts to beat him severely.]
You
You're my mask
You're my cover, my shelter
[The ghostly image of Strife is superimposed on a teenaged Young Cloud
as he sullenly goes through his duties as a Shinra Trooper.]
You
You're my mask
You're the one who's blamed
[The ghostly Strife steps away from Young Cloud and smirks in cruel
amusement as Young Cloud is publicly berated and slapped by his
superior officer for some apparent screwup.]
Do
Do my work
Do my dirty work, scapegoat
[The ghostly Strife maliciously watches as a drunken Young Cloud
threatens a skimpily dressed young woman with a broken bottle, throws
her to the ground, then viciously assaults her.]
Do
Do my deeds
For you're the one who's shamed
[The battered and bleeding young woman, now naked, staggers out of the
room screaming. Some hefty looking cops run in, arrest Young Cloud,
and drag him out in handcuffs in front of a jeering crowd.]
I'm your dream, make you real
I'm your eyes when you must steal
I'm your pain when you can't feel
Sad but true
[Young Cloud sees his name on a publicly posted list of people who
rejected from the SOLDIER program. He turns and slowly walks away,
shoulders sagging. However, Strife snarls in fury as he sees the
other troopers laughing and jeering at Young Cloud's failure. Strife
is no longer ghostly, but now appears almost as real as Young Cloud.]
I'm your dream, mind astray
I'm your eyes while you're away
I'm your pain while you repay
You know it's sad but true
Sad but true
[Strife follows the most obnoxious of Young Cloud's tormentors into a
dark alley, then silently sneaks up behind him and stabs the other
trooper in the back with a long knife. Strife grins viciously, then
starts to laugh.]
I'm your dream
I'm your eyes
I'm your pain
I'm your dream
I'm your eyes
I'm your pain
You know it's sad but true
Sad but true
[Flashing images of Young Cloud arguing, getting into fights, etc. as
Strife continues to whisper in Young Cloud's ear and goad him on.
Strife's image steadily becomes more distinct and solid.]
Hate
I'm your hate
I'm your hate when you want love
[At Nibelheim, with the almost solid image of Strife sitting beside
him, Young Cloud watches the easy camaderie between Sephiroth and
Zack. Young Cloud merely appears sullen, but Strife has a look of
envy which changes to outright rage and jealousy as Young Tifa walks
up to Zack and starts chatting in a friendly manner.]
Pay
Pay the price
Pay, for nothing's fair
[In the Mt. Nibel reactor, a smugly smiling Strife holds back Young
Cloud, who ends up doing nothing to help the badly injured Young Tifa
who's slowly bleeding to death.]
Hey
I'm your life
I'm the one who took you there
[Strife and Young Cloud are both huddled in one of the test chambers
in Hojo's Nibelheim lab. As Young Cloud stares dully at Zack who's
imprisoned in the neighboring chamber, Strife keeps whispering into
Young Cloud's ear.]
Hey
I'm your life
And I no longer care
[Strife and Young Cloud are in the same test chamber in Hojo's lab,
but now it is Strife who is solid and real while Young Cloud is merely
a ghostly image hovering to one side. Young Cloud's image keeps
shifting and starts to resemble Zack.]
I'm your dream, make you real
I'm your eyes when you must steal
I'm your pain when you can't feel
Sad but true
[On an familiar-looking outcrop overlooking Midgar, Young Cloud, his
ghostly image still erratically shifting between himself and Zack,
stands off to one side as Strife smirks coldly. At first Young Cloud
doesn't nothing as Strife lifts a huge broadsword into the air and
slashes repeatedly at Zack's helpless and bleeding body. However,
Young Cloud suddenly snaps out of his apathy. With an utterly
horrified look on his face, Young Cloud starts fighting with Strife.]
I'm your truth, telling lies
I'm your reasoned alibis
I'm inside, open your eyes
I'm you
[In a bathroom on the Highwind II, the present-day Cloud washes his
face and stares unseeingly into the mirror. The reflection in the
mirror is Zack. Suddenly, the mirror shatters. In the mirror's
shards, the image of Zack is abruptly replaced by an image of Strife,
whose glowing blue eyes burn with insane rage and hatred.]
Sad but true
[The present-day Cloud walks out of the bathroom, seemingly unaware of
anything unusual. But in the shattered mirror's fragments, the image
of Strife smiles darkly.]
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madamhydra@aol.com /\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/:E
http://www.geocities.com/~madamhydra
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Disclaimer:
"Sad But True" by Metallica, copyright 1991 Elektra Entertainment.
All rights and privileges to Final Fantasy VII and its characters
belong to Square Co., Ltd. The characters of this series are used
without permission for the purpose of entertainment only. This work
of fiction is not meant for sale or profit.
All original characters are the creation of the author. All
copyright privileges to these characters are reserved for the author.
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