[When Cloud found out about Ira making a move to confront his shadow so quickly there was a flash of anger that briefly ran through his mind. He wanted to be at the lab to help play a bit of security just in case things went badly like they did in the vision, but for a friend to go off and try to do this on his own? What was he thinking? Just because he had to confront himself didn't mean he had to do it alone!

Cloud arrived on the heels of the others, and while his hand moves to his sword hilt, looking a bit odd on the Santa costume he's wearing, he doesn't make a move to draw it. He trusts Ira and his ability to handle this.

He frowns as the accusations are thrown around. Words like 'double agent' and the listing of what Ira has done hang heavy in the air, and while Cloud is inclined not to believe them he doesn't get the feeling it's lying either. For a moment he's about to call out as Ira punches the shadow, worried that he's going to try to reject it, but stops as his friend stands his ground. He remains quiet until after that hope speech, nodding in agreement.]

Sora's right. Ira's our friend and a fellow Hero. We count on him and he's given us no reason to doubt him or our trust in him. And whatever he did in the past, I'm sure he had a good reason to do it. More than that, if he didn't feel bad about the bad things he did and wanted to make up for them then you wouldn't be talking about them right now, would you?

[Turning from the shadow, Cloud glances at Ira now. His tone softens, but he tries to keep any accusation out of it, trying to be reassuring.]

Ira. The girl he's talking about. You did all you could to help her, right?