Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

Cloud sighed to himself, looking up from his newspaper. He’s sat at his table (a crate), in the tiny ramshackle home he’d commandeered for the past few weeks. Fairly isolated and well-hidden between Sectors Six and Seven. Close enough to all of the conveniences to be, well, convenient while being far enough out of the way that having to deal with people was rare unless they’re looking for trouble.

In the past three weeks and four days he’s been back in Midgar, trouble hadn’t found him… though if a certain cellular pull is anything to go by, Cloud’s luck might have been about to run out.

It would appear the person on the other half of that invisible rope was being drawn towards Cloud, also. So, figuring this meeting was inevitable, the blond sat on his kitchen chair (also a crate) and flicked idly through a paper as the distance between them both decreased. Indicated only through a tingle in the back of his mind, subtle, uninterpretable if not for past experiences.

After all, it’d been quite some time since they’ve met as nemeses.

Eventually, footsteps could be heard outside. Boots stepping up and over the piles of sheet metal which Cloud’s thrown-together hut sat upon.

The footfalls stopped. They turned and walked several paces away. They stopped again and moved a different direction.

Cloud rolled his eyes and continued to skim the requests for mercenary work on the back page of his paper.

Finally, as the footsteps did yet another lap of the area, Cloud rose from his seat. Sword habitually strapped to his back, though it wasn’t clear what this confrontation would bring, he swung open the front door. The sheet metal toppled and clattered back onto the pile with its brothers, as it hadn’t even really been a proper door.

“Fine, I concede. You found me.” Cloud announced, emerging from his scrap metal cave. He held up a hand to shield his eyes from the sun, setting through Midgar’s smoggy haze. “Gods, you’re…” He trailed off. ‘You’re exactly how I remember’, was what he was going for? Cloud wasn’t sure what he expected, for the man before him had always held an enigmatic grace, which gave the illusion of agelessness.

…Unlike Cloud himself, who people still somehow mistook for a child occasionally. Despite being thirty-something.

Staring up at him from several decks of metal lower, were a familiar set of cold-blooded eyes, somewhat bewildered by Cloud’s entrance. Hair immaculate as usual, and wearing an amusingly homely sweater, stood Sephiroth. Posture tense, exuding elegance despite his blatant confusion. He was clearly unaware the thing he’d looking for had been a dishevelled blond hiding in a fairly well camouflaged garbage den.

Their silence continued until Sephiroth looked uncomfortable. Hands fidgeted at his sides, looking for something to say. He swallowed and replaced his uncertain expression with something more determined. “Are you the one who’s been… calling me?” The hesitation in his voice was hidden well, though Cloud had enough experience with the man to see through the cover.

In that moment, the Mercenary debated playing dumb, toying with his adversary for the amusement of it. That wouldn’t do him any favours though, and Cloud supposed he better make a good impression… if that hadn’t been ruined already by his apparent game of hide and seek.

“Uhh, yeah. I suppose you could say that.” Cloud took a step forward, keeping his movements as relaxed as possible. For a moment, he waited for Sephiroth to reply, but realised he was expected to elaborate. “Have you felt it before? The pull?”

“No, nothing of such note.” Sephiroth’s eyes never left Cloud’s. His expression even and intense.

Interesting, not that he hadn’t expected this though. “I assume you felt drawn here about three weeks ago, right? That’s how long I’ve been here.”

The taller man nodded, looking equally perturbed and relieved that the odd feeling drawing him here had been shared. “You’re not one of my Soldiers?”

Cloud shook his head, “No, but I am enhanced. You know what Hojo’s like.” He offered casually.

Sephiroth considered this for a moment before simply nodding in agreement, because of course he could relate to that. Now the ice was being broken, it appeared his confidence was rising back from beneath the cracks. “Who are you then?”

Ah, that question. Cloud considered for a moment, gazing out to the plates above them, his eyes skimming the sharp grey edges framing the city. “That’s, well… It’s a difficult one. You want some coffee?” Warm drinks always made strange days easier to process, or at least that was what he’d learned over the years from Tifa. Today was forecast to become one of the strangest he’d had in a while.

The coffee was more of the slum replica kind, unlike the real thing he was used to. It didn’t quite have its usual kick, but Sephiroth was quite alright with that. He sat a few feet away from the blond with the mako coloured and strangely old eyes. Perched on one of metal plates at the foot of the unusual man’s home, Sephiroth eyed the details of the scrapyard below. So far, they had been uninterrupted. It didn’t appear this corner of the slums was well travelled.

A half-built motorbike and various tools sat to his left while a crude electrical system wormed its way between the two of them. The man before him carried a complicated boardsword, sporting a design Sephiroth hadn’t before seen. A few monster hides were hung out to dry in the fleeting window in which the scrap hill was blessed with real sunlight. Otherwise, it was well camouflaged, hidden neatly among the grey scrapheap.

“So, you’re a time traveling Mercenary from a future where the Planet has been left partly uninhabitable, and you’ve been sent back by the Lifestream to prevent that from happening once more?” Sephiroth summarised slowly, trying to place the man’s complicated explanation in order.

The blond shrugged before downing the remainder of his cup. “Give or take a few bits, but yeah, that’s the idea.” He was tense, the drinks an informal mask to feign comfort. A hospitality which the man before him seldom preformed, perhaps? Sephiroth suspected there was something deeper to the way his fingers twitched in anticipation.

“And how am I supposed to believe any of that, Mr Strife?” Sephiroth beset the other with a critical glance.

For weeks now, he’d felt this presence, a call which tugged at his very being. At times it became so insistent that it overtook his concentration. Finally finding an opportunity, he’d made arrangements for a meeting, which he had conveniently forgotten to inform the other attendant of. Under Shinra’s watchful gaze, he’d slipped from under their thumb and quietly made his way down to the Seven slums, following the oddly elastic pull.

“Cloud is fine… I know everyone in Soldier is freaking out right now, because of what happened to Angeal and Genesis. That the mako treatments have been messing some people up for years, it’s just been kept out of the press until now. Its worse now people think they’re gonna start degrading too. The science department is probably kidnapping half the slum population, figuring out a fix and Heidegger’s probably gonna blame it all on Wutai or something.” Cloud said, a slight laziness in his voice.

Sephiroth glanced at the pile of newspapers flung into one of the nearby trash piles, all of varying ages. “That’s not much in the way of proof, you could have got that from the news.” He accused, though couldn’t deny he felt perturbed; that was indeed what was happening behind closed doors. He wasn’t even sure that the press had been told of the actual fate of his Firsts, as Cloud apparently knew.

“Oh, I only look at the pictures.” He said just as casually, also shooting a glance to the pile of discarded pages. “Want something more convincing?” Cloud tapped a finger on his styrofoam cup in thought. “Zack’s favourite movie is… oh damn, what’s it called? The badly animated one where that dog fights all the monsters. He tells everyone about it.”

That piques the General’s interest. “You know Zack?” Really, that shouldn’t surprise him, everyone knew Zack.

The blond made a face. Subtle, and Sephiroth wasn’t sure how to interpret it. “I do. He doesn’t know me, though. That’s something for the first run. Make sure we don’t repeat that.” He muttered, almost like Sephiroth wasn’t supposed to hear his words.

There dragged a pause in which the cryptic words aren’t elaborated on. Sephiroth didn’t ask and eventually Cloud continued. “Some more stuff? There’s never any toilet paper on floor twelve of the Shinra building. Shinra will break the peace treaty with Wutai pretty soon, killing thousands just to build on their land. And you were told you Mom died.”

The last one caught him off guard enough that Sephiroth felt a prickle at the back of his neck. “You know different?”

“Well yeah, she’s not dead for starters.” Cloud said simply. He lifted his cup once again but lowered it in disappointment, upon remembering it was empty. “Ever heard of a Dr Crescent? Well, she’s your Mom.”

Sephiroth had never heard of such a person, though he hadn’t exactly been privy to any of the research papers regarding himself and other scientists hadn’t been forthcoming either. Hojo had made it perfectly clear early in his life that questions about most things was disallowed.
“You are incorrect. My mother is Je-.”

“Not Jenova.” Cloud interrupted. “Don’t suppose you know a whole lot about yourself, do you? Hojo’s your Dad, too. That probably won’t be down on any records.”
Blinking in surprise, Cloud was shot an incredulous look. “What?”

“Officially yeah. Me and Cid always thought it might be Vincent though. I think you look more like Vincent, than Hojo.” He mused, picking at the edges of his cup.

Sephiroth’s head was beginning to ache. He noted that at least that strange magnetism he shared with the man had eased off from its nagging. Somehow ostensible more content at their present distance. Though thankful for that fact, it did little to quiet the feeling that he might be somehow tied to a crazy person… or have something seriously wrong with him.

Despite looking not too much older than himself, Strife held the appearance of someone who’d seen enough for at least a lifetime. It reminded him of old military personnel he’d been forced to interact with at awful company parties. Eyeing the man’s half tied boots, badly patched up pants and well used blade, Sephiroth might have expected a rant about the ‘old ways’ and ‘the hard days before mako’. Assuming the addition of artificial physical improvements were an adequate trade-off for the health conditions starting to manifest in half of his personnel; which was, in some cases, halving the lifespan of Soldiers who would otherwise be having much longer careers. An issue Shinra were trying very hard to sweep under the rug, as of recent.

Strife did seem to know more than the average person was supposed to, but then, even Sephiroth could tell he wasn’t ‘average’ in anything other than maybe height. He wanted to ask more, but pushed the questions back down. Surely this man had lost his mind in the labs and wasn’t an important enough specimen for Hojo’s people to come collect.

“Are you sure you aren’t from Soldier?” Sephiroth scrutinised.

“No. Yeah, well sort of. I was infantry, but that didn’t last too long. I’m not going near that shit again.” The coffee cup was slowly having pieces of foam shredded from its side.

Sephiroth didn’t think the man needed to ‘go near it again’, he somehow looked more well-built than a lot of his Soldiers. He wondered how well the man fought. He certainly carried his sword like it was an extension of his own body and by the number of monster bits scattered around, they were little challenge to slay.

A chill swept through the trash valley. The sun had moved past its window and left the metal hills a dusty grey, while the distant sound of city noise hummed down from the plate above. An older man in a thick coat walked a dog below them, further down along the pathway, neither group paid any mind to the other. He’d spent as much time here as he could allow and Sephiroth rose from their shared perch.

“You know the way back from here?” Cloud asked, understanding their meeting was at a close.

“I’ll be fine. Thank you for the drink.” Sephiroth said, taking a few light-footed steps down the artificial embankment. “I will consider what you have told me.”

Cloud stood also, stretching his back. “Good. You know where to find me if you want to know more,- and I’ve got more to tell.”

Sephiroth turned back with a frown, “Final question,- this connection. Why me and you?” He had many many more questions but this one was most pressing. Along with ‘are you actually a madman?’ Though the Soldier would decide that for himself.

Strife gave a shrug, a humoured smile quirking his lips. “Ain’t that the question. We both share some of the same cellular composition. Don’t worry about it, just another thing to blame Hojo for. I’ll tell you more about it next time.”

It was a good enough explanation and with that, the two exchanged a nod went their separate ways.

Throwing himself back onto his chair (crate), Cloud let out a tired breath, an imitation of what might have been a laugh, were he not so bewildered. He’d just had coffee and a civilised chat with Sephiroth. What the hell was going on? Cloud could only imagine the hysterical laughter of the friends he’d left behind in the Lifestream if they could have witnessed that one.

He’d expected the man to inquire a lot more. Hopefully Cloud hadn’t come across too deranged. He wasn’t too sure Sephiroth would bid him a second visit, but who knew? The guy had believed himself a God and his Mom to be an alien; surely some simple time travel could win him over.

Chapter Text

“We’re counting on you, Cloud. The whole planet is relying on you… again. Sorry about that…we know you’ll do great though!”

The hazy memory of Aerith’s hurried but jovial voice shook Cloud from his nap.

It hadn’t come with much warning when he’d been swept up into the Lifestream and shot back out nearly twenty years into his past, with the simple instruction to ‘save the world… again.’

“I’d go if I could.” The ethereal, not quite whole form of Aerith had said apologetically. “But I’m needed here. You’ll be fine; we know you will!”

Cloud had been too dazed by the otherworldly vision to say anything. Too overtaken by the maelstrom of warm green energy, the cacophony of souls and utter heartache at hearing her voice again. The figure didn’t hold much physical resemblance to Aerith, but it was so undoubtedly her.

He wished he’d said something, anything would have done. He wanted to beg them to let him stay there. Whatever crazy spontaneous idea Aerith and their other deceased cohorts had, Cloud hated it, with immediate effect.

“Just do your thing, keep being a hero!” Came another lovingly recognisable voice.

And then he’d felt weight return to his form, like his soul had been slammed back into its body, and he was falling. Awaking with a jolt, Cloud had found himself in an entirely unfamiliar place. Which, after some panicked stumbling he’d identified as a cheap motel, Sector Two, top plate, Midgar- a bustling city, alive and in its prime. No longer the partial wasteland they had come to accept it as for the last decade.

Thankfully, not back in his much scrawnier form from back then, Cloud awoke exactly as he’d fallen asleep. He half expected the Planet had just gotten his age wrong. ‘Damn Cetra and their convoluted bullshit.’ He’d thought while wondering around in something of a trance.

He’d also kept whatever had been on his person at the time. Much to his delight, a warm coat and his fusion sword. It also included some fast-food coupons which wouldn’t be expiring for a very long time now, Tifa’s spare keys, a pocket flashlight, his PHS, local supermarket loyalty card, a small roadmap for Junon and its surrounding area, some spare change, a shopping list and half a box of sleeping pills.

It’d taken two days of aimless wondering before the horror had subsided enough for Cloud to actually think straight. It took another two to decide where he’d be staying, which were spent clearing out half of Sector Six’s monster population, while angrily cursing the Planet and Cetra.

His rage was made infinitely more potent by a dull nagging which settled in the back of his mind, periodically pulsing through his cells. Sephiroth was here, somewhere within Midgar. It’d been a long time since the cells they shared had fired off with such intensity.
Sure, they never silenced completely, like a blip on a radar, he’d sometimes feel the other’s presence swimming around for a second, from wherever Sephiroth had ended up. It’d been years since he’d seen his adversary in the flesh and Cloud was loath to admit that he’d taken for granted the absence of their cellular pull.

In those first days back in Midgar, Cloud had wanted nothing more than to find the man and put a stop to him there and then. Common sense had prevented this course of action. That and the thought of having to sneak through any of Shinra’s buildings, which seemed far more effort than was worth.

Besides, being locked up or killed for the murder of the Company’s Soldier General might have been counterproductive. Stopping Sephiroth was only one element to the mission he’d been landed with. Shinra had footholds in every area of the Planet, beside Wutai. All of their executives could pose their own problems and Cloud didn’t even want to think about the future rise of Deepground… so he chose to conveniently forget about that.

Recently, he’d been doing well with leaving the past behind him. Or, as well as Cloud really could. Mostly, he’d come to terms with what had happened in the past, and though it still kept him up at night on occasion, it was a much more bearable weight than it had been previously.

Sephiroth hadn’t been a problem in a long time either. In a moment of reflection, Cloud had taken a serious leap and forgiven his once tormentor. Though probably spurred on by an obscene amount of caffeine and extreme exhaustion, it was like a weight had been lifted. Like the anchor which tied the remains of Sephiroth and Jenova to the waking world had been finally removed. Sure, he still had his moments of intense anger, in which Cloud had felt that abstract presence trying to secure a foothold once more, but it had never been strong enough to manifest.

Once he understood how to unhook what was left of Sephiroth from his soul, his tormentor’s sway over Cloud’s life had gone with it. Needless to say, he’d been far more content following that.

Having that time seemingly erased was a massive punch in the gut.

Speaking of unseen forces; since being thrown back into the past, there was a lack of something Cloud could barely begin to comprehend. As if a comforting hand on his shoulder had vanished. A muted presence which had followed him, now ceased to dwell around him anymore. The Lifestream had dumped him here and none of the reassuring ghosts it carried had been able to follow. He’d always known Zack and Aerith had kept an eye on him, but never to the degree that he would feel the lack of their presence when removed from them, or so he’d assumed.

That was probably the worst thing. That and the absence of his friends and the other familiar faces who had accumulated as Edge had been constructed.

After hauling together a rough accommodation in a good, camouflaged vantage point, Cloud began decking it out with the essentials and getting the place some power. The work at least allowed him some focus to start making some basic preparations for this ridiculous mission.

First was the whereabouts of his team. Tifa would still be living in Nibelheim, Cid was preparing for his first attempt at spaceflight and Yuffie was doing whatever Yuffie’s do in Wutai. They were all out of the picture, along with Wedge, Biggs and Jessie; he had no idea where to even begin searching for them. One had to assume all of them had been returned to their previous states of being, with no memory of what had happened to them all.

Cloud had spent all of his earnings from monster slaying and odd jobs to buy an assortment of vegetable seeds, which he’d requested to be anonymously delivered to Aerith’s house. He was sure she’d be able to make something of them. As of yet, seeing her in person was a little too much for him to deal with.

At first, Barret seemed like a good bet. After a check on the news, Cloud discovered that talks with the mining town had recently begun, with discussions being held with the locals of Corel, as they debated the construction of a reactor on their land. In the time since, Cloud had penned out a strongly worded letter to be sent out to his old friend. If they were careful, maybe he could help prevent a lot of unnecessary loss.

Nanaki was a safe option, though Cloud had no clue where he might be. Hopefully their paths would cross sooner or later, this time with both of them avoiding Hojo’s clutches.

He considered reaching out to Zack, though even now, Cloud wasn’t sure he was ready to meet with his old friend again. Especially if it meant dragging him into trouble. Zack had helped him enough already, regardless of erased time.

One person he could contact was Reeve. He would also write him a letter as soon as he could.

Cloud had felt a surge of victory when he suddenly remembered that Vincent would be sleeping in the Shinra mansion. When the group had originally happened upon the ex Turk, he’d been asleep for around thirty years, so Cloud could just go wake him up whenever this time, right?

Only problem was Vincent was all the way in Nibelheim. It would take weeks to travel there, give or take, depending on method and Cloud felt he needed a plan before throwing all of his woes on Vincent.

How many other people did he know in Midgar? There really weren’t that many. If a good communication was established with Reeve, he supposed the man could connect him with a few people... if he was willing to help. Cloud wasn’t familiar with the inner workings of Avalanche but they didn’t feel like the right path to head down,- if they were even operational right now.

He knew Sephiroth pretty well, at least he was active in Midgar right now. Cloud huffed a laugh to himself at the thought.

But then he really considered it and damn, maybe it wasn’t such a terrible idea after all.

Surely the man was sane still, or as much as Sephiroth had been before his mental snap. If Cloud could eliminate Jenova, stop the catalyst for that breakdown then perhaps they stood a chance. Maybe an alliance was reachable?

There was also the pull, which Cloud very much felt. From that point a meeting was inevitable.

Since then, he’d been biding his time. Slaying monsters, Mercenary work, mending things for people. Cloud had kept himself nicely busy and was earning a decent amount of Gil while at it. Improving his little home also took its time, and when he’d searched through the dump and pulled out the shell of a well-worn but intact motorcycle, he knew he’d struck gold. Though it could never hold so much as a candle to Fenrir, it was enjoyable to work on regardless.

And that had been how he’d spent his first three weeks.

It was again late afternoon that Cloud felt a pulse of shared S cells as the proximity with their other half lessened. It had been five days since his and Sephiroth’s first meeting and this time Cloud promised himself he’d at least try to be more welcoming, even if it killed him.

When the silver haired General rounded the pathway below, Cloud offered a short wave. He strapped his sword to his back and hopped down the sheet metal to meet the other.

“Strife.” Sephiroth simply greeted, in that smooth way which hadn’t changed with time.

“Cloud, please. You, urr… want to go hunt some monsters?” He offered hopefully. Something more action based might settle the mood, allow them to communicate better than words could. Especially since words had never been Cloud’s specialty.

Sephiroth raised an eyebrow but nodded without much hesitation. “That sounds agreeable.”

So Cloud led the way down the winding junkyard path. “You know how to skin and prepare any monsters?”

“I’m afraid not.” Sephiroth replied with interest and thankfully not disgust.

“Good, maybe I’ll be able to teach you something for once.”

The taller man sent him a quizzical glance. “For once?”

“Yep.” Cloud couldn’t help his slight smirk. Best to at least enjoy the strangeness of the moment.

It went without saying that even the larger and more formidable monsters lurking in the old trainyard stood little chance. Sephiroth’s technique was effortlessly perfect, as expected. Presented with a rare opportunity in which the bite of his sword was not intended for Cloud, the Mercenary took interest in watching what became of his unfortunate challengers.

Working just as naturally, Cloud made sure to pull his punches and underwork his sword technique. They were both keeping a close eye on each other.

It wasn’t long before Cloud knew that this idea had been a good one. Even against weak foes, both relaxed far easier in the thrill of battle, than small talk and pleasantries. What words they did share were more natural than that of their previous meeting, with Cloud’s abrupt mad statements about a future he’s trying to avoid.

“You fight well.” Sephiroth commented as Cloud finished off a stubborn ghost with a fatal downward swing.

“Back at’cha.” The blond huffed, again pondering how bizarre this casual situation was.

“I have to ask about your weapon.” Sephiroth stared, amused watching the Mercenary adjust his multi-bladed broadsword.

Cloud unclasped and re-clicked a piece back into place before handing the blade off to his old enemy. He could easily imagine a younger version of himself having a meltdown about what he was doing right now. “I like things I can take apart and put back together.” He summarised as Sephiroth tried the blade.

“You made it yourself?” He sounded impressed. “Does it have a name?”

“I wasn’t gonna name it, but my friend’s kid started calling it Tsurugi. The name stuck.” Cloud offered. “I had a lot of free time before coming back here.”

Sephiroth hummed with interest. A genuine look of approval as his gaze traced the intricacies of the weapon. “Very well-made. Rather bulky for my taste, but clearly it serves you well.”

The fusion sword, which in a now erased time had put an end to more than one of Sephiroth’s attempted returns, was handed back. “Sure has. Nothing more trustworthy than a good, absurdly proportioned blade.” He offered a knowing half smile, which Sephiroth mirrored and sent to his own sword, which stood waiting with its end buried in the ground. “Should we head back yet?”

They gathered their prey and began their short walk back to Cloud’s ‘house’.

“However ridiculous the explanation for your sudden appearance, I find myself unable to deny that you have piqued my interest.” Sephiroth said.
The blond exhaled something resembling a laugh, “Don’t flatter me too much.”

“And it would appear that, for whatever reason, we are being drawn together. So, I must request to know more about you, considering our... predicament, and your apparent need to save the Planet.” The other continued.

“You don’t think I’m bullshitting anymore? What changed your mind?” Cloud inquired.

The pause which followed told that Sephiroth had not fully solved that problem yet. “I did some asking around and discovered some mentions of a Dr Lucrecia Crescent, who ranked quite highly in the science division. It would appear that she was discharged from the company for reasons not specified, some time following my creation. Her whereabouts from that point are unknown and any information regarding her work is classified.” A light breeze swept through the long sweeping walkways, sending fragments of plastic packaging tumbling. “That and Zack came to see me yesterday, to very emotionally prattle about his new favourite movie. Something about a cartoon dog.”

Cloud actually smiled at that. “Don’t worry, he’ll only talk about it none stop for another year.”

“So, tell me, Strife; who exactly are you and why does the Planet require your aid?”

“Just call me Cloud, damn it. About me? I like big swords, motorbikes, pizza and the colour orange. I helped save the world a few times, once from a meteor, a pandemic and my friend Cid’s cooking. In my spare time I enjoy cheating death and contemplating my weird biology.” He kicked an empty drinks can along as they walked. “Shinra messed up the lives of, well, all of my friends, as well as the world in general. I’ve got an opportunity to change that for them this time. And as much as I want to, I can’t just sit by and do nothing. What about you? What’s your role in this?” Cloud asked back, to be met with intrigue.

“Shouldn’t I be asking you of my role? You seem privy to that knowledge.” Sephiroth said, apparently taking this very well. Cloud figured he’d been brought up to nod and accept whatever crap Shinra told him. This probably wasn’t the strangest thing he’d happened upon.

“Heh.”

The General continued, “I was raised in a lab under Hojo’s supervision. I enjoy mathematics and killing things. I was Soldier First Class by age fourteen and promoted to General at nineteen. I too, don’t have a full understanding of my physiology. My favourite colour is dark blue. Most importantly, I’m very good at doing what I’m told and am definitely in a meeting right now, and not wondering around the slums with a strange and confusing man.”

It was said with enough humour that Cloud allowed himself another smile. “Good to know we’re not all that different. I’m not so great at math, though.”

They returned back to Cloud’s hideout, where he gave a brief tutorial on how to dissect the monsters they’d found. The drakes could be skinned for their scaly hides, teeth and claws could be sold to potion makers and the horns could be kept for a multitude of purposes. Sephiroth watched curiously as Cloud showed him how to properly remove the exoskeleton from insectoid creatures, even having a go with the easier to carve beasts.

In a way that Cloud could barely hope to admit, the two were having a genuinely good time. It was enjoyable work and as the evening ticked on, Cloud guessed that Sephiroth was staying out longer than he’d planned for. They indulged in good humoured quips and conversation came much more naturally than it had done previously.

One could assume that Sephiroth got few opportunities to muck about and do whatever he wanted. Easy to see that Shinra kept his schedule gridlocked, a closely guarded prison disguised as a well sought position and power. Despite being General, the man didn’t have a whole lot of say in things. He was Shinra’s glorified poster boy, their lab-made superstar, who was crafted to be damn good at his job.

It made Cloud wonder how much of an affect Jenova had on his mind, right now, and how much her otherworldly influence had corrupted him once it had taken hold. Either way, Cloud could definitely say he preferred this version of Sephiroth.

That mad gleam was missing from his eyes, which though still mako green and reptilian, were without doubt balanced, at the very least. He no longer carried the visage of a coiled snake, ready to strike.

They washed up as the sun was setting, both feeling lighter than they had several hours pervious. Sephiroth refused any of the monster parts, nor a cut of the gil Cloud would get for them.

“Look into Hojo’s secret labs, if you can. Disappearances, odd monsters; that sort of thing. Read up about the Ancients if you haven’t already.” Cloud added as they finished up.

Sephiroth nodded, “Thank you, Cloud. This has been time well spent.” He smiled in a way which again looked much less predatory than Cloud remembered, and held out a hand.

Cloud accepted the handshake.

The reaction from their shared cells was instant. A sensation almost like electricity caused a jolt through their contact. An unexplainable feeling of complete calm washed through their blond, the tranquillity which only comes when one is half asleep. There followed a buzz of approval from their shared cells.

‘Good’, something unspoken, unheard murmured. ‘Reunion’

Cloud shivered. It’d been so long since this had last happened, he’d pleasantly forgotten the feeling, the whispered yet silent words.

Did Sephiroth feel it just as strongly? If the way he’d momentarily stopped breathing was any indication, then yes.

Their handshake lasted longer than would be considered socially acceptable, and when it was finally dropped, Cloud felt like a part of himself had been removed with it. ‘Damn Hojo and Jenova and their bullshit.’ He inwardly cursed.

Poor Sephiroth, who hadn’t been expecting any such reaction, stilled, looking stupid.

After a long moment of silence, both breathed once again.

Smiling a little wider still, Sephiroth turned, jumping down from the sheet metal decking. “See you next time, Cloud.”

The blond watched him leave, feet rooted in place. He felt the distance between them widen as their shared cells protested, separated once again. Cloud breathed a long sigh as a dull ache nestled in his skull.

This was gonna get really fuckin’ weird, wasn’t it?

Chapter Text

“The president would like you to make a public statement regarding the situation in Wutai.” Heidegger drawled, sounding almost bored. He’d sauntered into the General’s office without knocking and was busy scrutinising the bookshelf, an action Sephiroth had come to learn was one of the man’s specialities.

Fingers laced together, Sephiroth had paused with his paperwork. “And what exactly is the situation?” He asked, equally uninterested.

Heidegger picked out one of the shorter books and flipped open the cover. “The public is looking for an explanation into why your two Firsts defected, as well as our dear Lazard’s disappearance. They’re also terribly worried about our troops being possibly affected by this degradation.” The man went on with fake emotion. “Wutai is of course to blame, their spies must be finding ways to infiltrate our programme.”

It was one of the most laughably ridiculous things Sephiroth had heard, not that he reacted one bit. In fact, he didn’t even blink, continuing to hold the executive’s full attention. “I see.” He replied simply.

Since Lazard’s disappearance, Soldier and all of its operations had been passed into Heidegger’s care. While Sephiroth had enough experience with the man in question, he didn’t particularly enjoy his style of overseeing. Lazard had at least been approachable and calm, while Heidegger tended to make the infantrymen downright fearful.

He’d also tightened his grip on certain areas, giving Sephiroth even less breathing room for decision making, while showing little care for actual missions. Sephiroth had desperately wanted to investigate Genesis and Angeal’s downfall and eventual deaths; and despite their unfortunate endings, he had his reservations on whether they were truly dead.

However, Heidegger said they were gone. That was that. From there, they’d moved on to damage control.

The Science division must have been doing their own research, which was why, despite this situation transpiring some months ago, it had not been fully addressed yet. At least not with Sephiroth. Perhaps, knowing the three had been close, information had been purposely concealed from him.

Either way, Heidegger worked better with machines than people, or so Sephiroth thought. He certainly treated the General as if he were inanimate.

The executive continued, “It would appear that we are nearing the edge of a second clash. You’d think in the year of peace we’ve granted them, that they’d have allowed even one Shinra installation to be built.” His words were almost joyful. Clearly, Heidegger and the President were looking forward to lording their strength over Wutai once again.

Sephiroth’s blank expression didn’t shift as he watched his superior roughly leaf through the book before returning it on top of the neat line of titles, rather than in the space it had been removed from. “They’ve denied the planning proposals for the reactor?”

Heidegger hummed in affirmation, selecting a second volume from the singular shelf of books and repeating the same process as he had the first. “Never even acknowledged they’d received the offer, fools.”

Probably hadn’t even been sent, the General considered. Not that it mattered terribly, Shinra didn’t need to build in Wutai, this was about purely about domination. Even if the island nation conceded and allowed their land to be built upon, the company would stop at nothing until the whole country was theirs.

Sephiroth hadn’t been taught to have opinions on such things. Openly expressing one’s thoughts could be a dangerous gamble within the walls of Shinra HQ and every staff member knew it. “I shall await the statement.” Because of course, Sephiroth didn’t write his own announcements. Those were carefully formulated an approved by other people.

“Good.” Heidegger was flipping through a third book, this one a leather bound and beautifully pristine copy of ‘Last Light of Omega, a Journey Through the Stars’. An in-depth study of the Planet, Lifestream and their place in the local star system, as written by a well-travelled Physicist from Cosmo Canyon. “Do you actually read this drivel?” The man gruffly inquired, looking up at Sephiroth for the first time since barging in.

“Quite thoroughly.” The Soldier’s steely gaze bore almost dangerously into the man crudely handling his books. “Do you read?”

Heidegger let loose a strong laugh. “No! Never seen the point.” He tossed the book back on the pile and turned for the door. “Be ready boy, we’ve got another war coming.” The bearded man walked with a spring in his step, positively thrilled.

Replying with a brisk nod and trying for something which might have been a polite smile, Sephiroth watched him leave.

Not ten seconds after Heidegger had gone, there came a rhythmic and confident knock to the door. Zack’s head appeared through a crack in the entryway and scanned the room. “You free?” He asked, proceeding to let himself in, clicking the door shut softly behind him.

“I’m never free.” Sephiroth responded good-naturedly. He rolled his shoulders, not realising how tense he’d become, and unlocked his fingers from their laced grip.

Zack laughed, “Yeah yeah, well you need to make time soon, new pizza place opened in Sector One, it looks real good. Me and the guys think we should all go. That includes you, if ya want.” Since his promotion to First Class, Zack had inserted himself as a constant sociable figure in Sephiroth’s routine. He was sure Zack saw him as a friend, though Sephiroth wasn’t sure he could quite say the same, they didn’t really interact outside of work. Did that matter?

Truth was, Sephiroth wasn’t exactly sure what constituted as a real friendship and what was just welcoming corporate speak. He’d fallen into his relationship with Angeal and Genesis as if they’d been made for each other, and in their wake, Zack seemed determined to at least somewhat fill that space.

“Do they deliver?” The General had already returned to the paperwork he’d been interrupted from.

Zack huffed. “That’s not the point! We’re going down there as a group,- you included, and we’re gonna have a nice evening. We won’t force you into any bars afterwards if you don’t want to, and we can-."

Sephiroth held a hand up to stop the younger man. “Fine, fine. I’ll let you know my availability.”

A winning grin covered the Soldier’s face. “I’ll hold you to that.” He said, knowing how slippery their leader was at avoiding social gatherings. “What did he want?” Zack asked, shooting a distasteful look in the direction Heidegger had left.

“He rather fancies another war, and that’s all I shall say.”

Zack screwed his face up, bouncing from one foot to the other in a woeful motion. “Seriously? They’re breaking the agreement with Wutai? Already? The hell?”

Eyes set firmly on his dishevelled pile of books, Sephiroth gave a single grim nod.

Following his General’s glare, Zack noticed the displaced volumes. He appeared to be choosing his words carefully. “They’re good as defenceless against Shinra.”
With a gentler hand than was strictly necessary, Zack reordered the books neatly on the shelf.

Digging into his pocket, Sephiroth precured an envelope Cloud had asked him to deliver. “Do you mind pushing this under Reeve’s office door?” He changed the subject, pushing the letter to the corner of his desk.

“Urr, sure? Why does it just say ‘Cat Shit’ on the front?” Zack snapped it up with interest, flipping it over in his hand. “And why under the door?”

“Best not think about that. Try to keep it discreet. Use the stairwell, if you can.” Sephiroth instructed.

This only made Zack even more concerned. “Sure boss.” He shrugged, slipping the letter into a pocket.

“Before you go.” Sephiroth stopped him as his First turned for the door. “Does the name Cloud Strife mean anything to you?”

Zack frowned, “That a weird ice cream flavour? Sounds cool.” Clearly none the wiser.

‘He’s a weird something’, the other mused. “No matter. Thank you, Zack.”

Still looking troubled at the prospect of another war, the young man gave a nod and turned to leave. A hand on the door, he paused. “I get that it’s not my place to ask, but… you ever think we’re fighting on the wrong side?”

The Soldier wasn’t the only one to have been second guessing those they served. “Back to your duties, if you would.” Sephiroth disregarded, though he hoped his own features conveyed solidarity in that questioning.

“Is this really something which requires my assistance?” Three days later and Sephiroth had been summoned upstairs to the labs at Hojo’s request. Patience already wearing thin, it had been an unexpected call received late in the afternoon. He’d scheduled to be with one of the groups of Third Class in the training room, though his real intended destination had been the trash valley on the boarder of Sector Six.

While he wouldn’t be letting Cloud down by not showing up, its not like the two had anything planned, - that odd pull between them had left Sephiroth irritated. Today, it’d managed to affect his focus, a nagging sensation which had set itself into his very skin.

It was difficult finding an opportunity to sneak away at the best of times, and he doubted Cloud would appreciate a visit past midnight, when escaping the Shinra building would be otherwise easiest.

The question he’d asked was ignored. Down a long set of familiar winding hallways, Sephiroth was led by a lab assistant. Both likely hoped that this would be a short visit. The woman guiding him had short hair and even shorter temper. Sephiroth recognised her as one of the higher ranking staff and met her icy gaze with indifference. Naturally, liking or disliking his peers had never been his intended function.

They made their way onto the viewing platform of a specimen testing hall. “We would be grateful if you would neutralise the specimen.” She stated plainly, casting a dismissive glance which rivalled his own, down onto the trial floor.

Below, paced a large beast Sephiroth had never seen before. Six legged, bulky with a grotesque armoured yet slimy hide, the colour of raw flesh. Its head sported a pair of crushing mandibles and numerous eye stalks. Fast and large, it filled a good amount of the available room. From where he could see, two dead workers had been eviscerated by deadly mantis-like claws.

With a careless hum, Sephiroth left the platform and headed downstairs.

Warning beacons flashed and a siren barked twice, cautioning the unsealing of the door. The enraged creature, which looked injured itself, from a botched attempt to stop its rampage, didn’t hesitate before raising its claws in threat. It prowled, eye stalks fixed on the movement of the doorway.

Clicking and stomping, it rushed for Sephiroth as the door hissed shut behind him.

Summoning Masamune to his hand, Sephiroth took an easy sidestep as the giant thing lunged at him. Retaliating with a simple flick with his sword, leaving a deep slice along its body. The hide proved to be strong, despite its gooey aspect, though that was hardly a challenge for his blade.

A second easy swing managed to remove a sharp-toed limb.

It screeched with fury, lashing with deadly forelimbs. The creature moved fast, but Sephiroth had fought quicker specimens while armed with less. Following the movements as it continued to lunge, a second leg was detached.

The creature’s eye stalks flashed in a crackle of green and a volley of bolts rained down. In an intricate dance, the fire was blocked with the thin edge of his blade. Finally meeting the barrage with a slash of lightning magic, the remaining bolts were blown from the air.

Probably sensing a dangerous foe, the abomination jumped back to gather some distance. Movements wobbly, it remained strong regardless. Its many eyes watched Sephiroth intently.

Dissatisfied with the prey he’d been given, Sephiroth readied for a fatal blow. With a wave of his right hand, a chill enwrapped the air. The back end of the creature’s body grew stiff as icicles formed, encasing the plates of vile pinkish exoskeleton. Writhing and squirming, the ice shattered, splitting the tough hide right open.

With an ear-splitting scream, the creature twisted, falling onto its back. Presented with the opportunity he’d been after, Sephiroth launched into the air, slashing in a wide ark which split the softer underbelly of the monster from the head down.

It gurgled, twitched and fell motionless. Taking a casual step back, the General cast a fire spell into his hand to clean his blade. Urgh, he’d managed to get something foul smelling on his boot, but otherwise had carefully avoided any monster bits.

A warning blared once more as the door opened back up behind him and a team of nervous staff entered. A few (younger, probably recently employed) thanked Sephiroth, though he paid them little attention. He’d hoped that for the trouble of getting here, the beast would have posed more of a challenge.

Carefully looking over the fallen monster, for the first time he considered what sort of materials could be salvaged from the creature. Previously, he’d had no need for the knowledge of what one could take and craft from a beast, it was at least interesting to consider.

“Good. It’s been taking up space for hours.” Came an exasperated voice from the doorway, which Sephiroth knew belonged to Hojo.

The General turned his gaze down to the shorter lead Scientist. “Could you not have asked for anyone else’s support? Something like that could have provided a few of our Third Class with a challenge.”

Hojo was paying him little attention, instead tapping out a situation report on the data pad in his hands. “You’re the most efficient. Now come, I also require you for a moment.”

Dismissing his sword from his grip, Sephiroth tried to keep the irritation from his words. “Can this not wait? I’m needed elsewhere.”

“Oh? And where would that be?” Hojo met the much taller man with a glare over his shoulder.

“It would appear our presence will be required in Wutai once more. My men must be on top form.” He temper flared even more as Hojo barked a sceptical laugh.
“Hah! Come on! They’re Soldiers, their whole point is to be on top form.” Before Sephiroth could retort, the man had started walking. “Quickly then, this won’t take long if you cut the talking.”

Reluctantly, the General followed.

Two floors down and a web of corridors later, Hojo picked out a medical bed at random and haphazardly threw the privacy curtain around so at least half covered the booth. At the absent wave of the Scientist’s hand, Sephiroth perched on the edge of the examination bed. Green eyes followed the other’s movements and watched as Hojo set up a syringe and scribble on the labels of a few beakers.

Shrugging off his jacket and rolling the sleeve of his button up shirt, Sephiroth found he was speaking before he even fully realised it. “Have you discovered what caused Genesis and Angeal’s conditions yet?”

“You realise how many times I’ve been asked that?” Hojo spat bitterly. “I can make assumptions, but we both know that’s not good enough. I don’t have Hollander or his research, though I do know my fair share of the projects. Those two specimens were decent groundwork, but nothing of the perfection I achieved with yourself. I’m actually surprised they lasted as long as they did.”

The words were grating and Sephiroth scolded himself for letting them affect him so. Those two ‘projects’ had been his Commanders and friends. The only people truly capable of understanding what each other were. They watched each other’s backs, a quiet solidarity found in fellow ‘abominations’.

Offering Hojo his arm, his thoughts drifted back to Cloud. If this detour hadn’t occurred, he and the strange blond could have been drinking awful coffee or lowering the monster population in the slums. Though he was still left unsure of his feelings regarding the self-proclaimed time traveller, his company was certainly more welcome than Hojo’s. Cloud had claimed Hojo to be Sephiroth’s father, him or some other man, anyway. Could that have really been true? He’d indeed known the scrawny Scientist his whole life, and understood the man to be his ‘creator’. We’re those two things not the same regardless? He’d never been very fatherly. That had been Professor Gast, and Hojo had made short work of him.

While Hojo moved to replace a full vial with an empty one, the cellular bond gave an insistent twinge. Now that Sephiroth had identified the other half of this connection, his worry on the source of the new and troublesome feeling had subsided significantly. Though he didn’t understand exactly why the pull occurred. Cloud had been vague at best. Sephiroth could respect that his odd new associate was not the most scientifically minded. He appeared too scatter-brained for most academic activities, really.

What had occupied his mind most in the days since he’d last visited Cloud, was the feeling of total calm and completeness, upon sharing physical contact with the man. Nothing he’d experienced before matched the instantaneous sensation and Sephiroth wondered if Cloud might have sensed the same.

“Go on. Say it.” Hojo prompted, his temper short. “You’ve got that look on your face.”

Sephiroth wasn’t sure exactly what ‘that look’ was, in fact he was always particularly careful to remain as neutral as possible in Hojo’s company,- something he’d picked up from an early age. “I believe that the Planet has been calling to me.” He said slowly, unsure of his own words. It sounded better than, ‘I've developed an inexplicable mental link with an escaped time traveling lab specimen, who lives in the slums.’ Or at least it did somewhat.

This piqued the Scientist’s interest. “The Planet you say? Why,- what makes you so sure?”

“It’s just a feeling. A pull, of sorts.” Sephiroth continued with an air of awkwardness. Now even less convinced by his own words.

Their pause was long and weighty as Hojo studied his subject in an intrusive analytical manner. “When was your last Mako treatment?

“Ten days ago. Next is due in four.”

“Dizziness?” Hojo pulled a pocket light from his coat.

“No.”

“Unexplained exhaustion?”

“No.” Sephiroth grumbled, not flinching when Hojo seized his face and began shining a light into his eyes.

“Headaches?”

“No.” He lied.

“Visual or auditory hallucinations?” Hojo backed off, returning the light to his pocket. Instead moving to grab at Sephiroth’s wrist to check his pulse.

“None.”

“Any sprouting of unusual body parts?”

“I’m not degrading.” Sephiroth countered.

Hojo sighed, still not taking his eyes from the silver haired man. “And what exactly is the Planet saying to you?”

“I,- I don’t know. It’s just a feeling.” This had been a bad idea. Sephiroth shifted his arm, which still contained the needle the Professor had left ignored.

Taking the hint, Hojo returned to his previous work. “Well tell me if it ever decides to be something more substantial. Until then, try not to waste my time with it. This is all I require. I’ll call you when I need you again.” The needle was retracted and disposed of. Hojo motioned absently away, which Sephiroth took as a request to leave. Yet another show of the executive’s impeccable bedside manner.

Pulling his jacket back into place, Sephiroth stood. “Ah, I was wondering,- have you ever worked with a Dr Crescent?”

Hojo stilled in his task. “No, I haven’t. Where did you hear that name, boy?” He demanded, making his lie terribly obvious.

Sephiroth hummed in thought. “Nowhere, just a feeling.” He turned and left, before the other could retort.

Checking the time confirmed that he’d never get down to the slums, it was getting too late to be convenient or to move unseen. Internalising his anger, Sephiroth jammed his keycard onto the reader and the elevator door swept open.

Traveling back down to street level, the General walked the short distance to his employee apartment block, and took the elevator back up again another thirteen stories to his room. The suite was nice, functional for the limited time he spent there. White and grey walls, the standard default colours. A large floor to ceiling window spanning the whole room. A small seating area, kitchenette with a breakfast bar, compact bedroom and bathroom. Mostly open plan, minimal decoration, no fuss, just a selection of books. Large enough to be comfortable without feeling too big.

It looked almost unlived in and Sephiroth thought it was perfect.

In an attempt to centre himself, he brewed a strong coffee. Relaxing into his armchair with its view over Midgar, he could try to pretend the many thousands of lights below were stars, since the air pollution spoiled the view of them above.

So Cloud was trying to save the world? From all he had heard from the man, and by making his own assumptions, the General had reason enough to believe that saving the world had everything to do with destroying Shinra.

He pondered the idea while enjoying his coffee. The Company owned nearly the whole Planet, it was downright idiotic to think that one man,- enhanced or not- could make even a dent in the company. How many different avenues would have to be thought through, if every aspect of the many headed hydra were to be dismantled?

If it was preventing loss of life they were after, would the impact of taking on such a force even be worth it? What would the fallout be? No mako meant setting the Planet back a hundred or more years of progress. He was no fool, Sephiroth knew that mako would have to be replaced if they wanted to save the Planet. He was well aware that the resource was draining the life from beneath their feet, even if the Company liked to pretend otherwise.

The real question needing to be considered: would he help?

That was a difficult one… Sephiroth was comfortable in the little apartment he barely had time to visit. He was a public name, which made moving around outside horribly unnerving at times. He had power… though that was greatly limited. He had Zack, who was a nice enough colleague. He had his books which he enjoyed very much, despite the library only holding Shinra approved works. He liked to keep busy and, oh boy, did the company love to make sure Sephiroth had absolutely no free time what so ever. Not that he minded, of course.

He’d also been very lucky. He could have been one of a multitude of Hojo’s victims to be deemed a failure and thrown down into the slums. Everyone agreed that he’d been a most excellent experiment, maybe even the best Shinra had conjured up. All it took was countless body modifications to bring even his identity as a human into question.

He’d had friends. Brilliant friends. For a while. Feeling around them had festered, grown bitter over time. In the end, Shinra had taken them away from him, too; in one way or another.

And then there was Cloud Strife, a man so different from him. Someone who couldn’t be contained, couldn’t have Shinra giving him directions to the nearest train station, let alone a say over his life. Like Sephiroth, Cloud also talked about his friends in the past tense and they’d both survived a stay with Hojo. He fought monsters well and they shared a passion for oversized weapons.

The man seemed like a disaster waiting to happen and Sephiroth figured it might be entertaining if he stayed to watch.

Chapter Text

A pleasant crackle of fire filled the quiet evening, the light dimming enough that the embers it flicked out shone like dancing fireflies. While the smell of burnt metal wasn’t great, the atmosphere was comfortable enough. It had been a full week since their last meet up and Sephiroth had managed to find an excuse to finally leave Shinra HQ. Despite being greatly pushed for time, he had none the less made it to the slums.

“My meeting with Heidegger has been cancelled, in favour of me being summoned to the labs. Or so he should believe.” Sephiroth explained, adding an old newspaper to the small bonfire they’d made outside Cloud’s home. Recent events he was still bitter about had inspired that lie in particular.

Cloud set up the pieces of his makeshift barbeque, the frame consisting of bits which might have once been part of a car. Instead of slaying monsters, he had offered to make them something to eat, on account of their lack of available time and as another extension of goodwill. “Is that wise? I remember Heidegger being a real tenacious bastard.”

“So long as he doesn’t start asking questions, all should be fine. I don’t believe him and Hojo are particularly fond of each other, which will hopefully deter him.” Sephiroth said eyeing the chunks of meat Cloud was carefully laying above the fire. He knew better to ask what creature it had once belonged to, not that he particularly minded.

Carefully, the Mercenary placed down some thinly sliced potatoes, frowning in concentration. “How many meetings do you have to go to? Wait, do you even get days off?”

“An efficient machine need not rest, when it could be working. So yes, I attend more than a few meetings.” Sephiroth replied.

Cloud swore under his breath as the piece of potato slipped out of his hand and landed in the fire. “What do you even do in them?”

“What anyone else might,- nod and look busy.”

“I expected you’d be more engaged.” Cloud bit back a laugh, nearly dropping his potatoes again at the lapse in concentration.

“I used to, until I realised Genesis could get away with paying minimal attention. He’d sit there reading during mission briefs.” Sephiroth smiled fondly. “I learned most of my bad habits from him.”

He caught the look Cloud had fixed him with. Something intense and complicated, the same he’d had given his makeshift cooking utensils, when trying to piece them together. The analytical kind Sephiroth was used to from the newer lab techs.

Cloud looked away, the moment he was caught staring. “Want me to come to your place next time?” He asked, as if both knew these afternoons were going to become a regular thing.

Sephiroth prodded the fire with a piece of metal they’d found. The last person to visit his apartment had been Genesis, almost a year ago. Perhaps it was time seize this offer of new friendship. He couldn’t deny he was intrigued by Cloud. “That sounds agreeable. Do you have any means of contacting me?”

Digging into his pocket, Cloud pulled out a small device. “It’s twenty years out of time, but it still just about works. Number’s on the back.”

Sephiroth caught the PHS as it was tossed to him. “How compact.” He inspected the small device, which held a design and company name he didn’t recognise. Sure enough, Cloud’s number was scribbled on a clip of paper, and taped onto the back. “It’s not made by Shinra.”

“Nope.” Cloud flipped over the meat by wrapping his hand in an old rag. He had most definitely placed them too close to the fire. It wasn’t the most graceful thing Sephiroth had ever seen, but it was starting to smell pretty good, so he could hardly complain. “The company doesn’t exactly hold the monopoly anymore, where I’m from.” Then, seeing the look of interest Sephiroth gave him, Cloud continued.
“Something fairly catastrophic happened. A meteor. We did what we could to prevent it, and the Planet eventually protected itself using the Lifestream. With a few million casualties, Midgar destroyed and all the mako drying up, Shinra couldn’t really recover.”

“…What?” Sephiroth frowned, dumbfounded. “How does that even,-? A meteor?”

Cloud sat down on his crate, on the opposite side of the fire. “Yeah, big rock falling from the sky. It’s a lot. Just know that the whole thing was preventable and that’s why I’m here.” He was watching the General’s reaction carefully.

What did that even mean? “A meteor, from space? How exactly is that preventable?”

“I assume they’ve given you books about the Ancients to read? There’s some stuff in their texts,- I don’t remember what, but it talks about a ‘promised land’.

Sephiroth nodded, studying Cloud as much as the other was to him. “I recall.”

“Shinra wanted whatever they thought was hidden there. Cut a long and fairly crazy story short, they intended on wounding the Planet, a meteor was summoned and, boom, no more Shinra… for the most part, anyway. They never found what they hoped for. Nothing of the sort, actually.” Cloud explained, bouncing his leg in discomfort while he summarised hastily.

Sephiroth laced his fingers together where they rested on his knees. “Why would Shinra bring upon themselves such a death sentence?”

Cloud fidgeted, “They didn’t know what they were getting themselves into. Messed with things they didn’t fully understand. Greed, power, you know the drill.”

“While I’m interested in those details, I shall just agree for now.” He could tell the other man really wasn’t in the mood for an in-depth explanation of how his world had been totalled. The General could respect that, even though it indeed sounded ridiculous. Over the years he’d heard wild thoughts and theories from the people around him, enough that Cloud’s statements were not the strangest things he’d heard.

There was something in it which resonated with him and as Sephiroth considered the force of such destruction, something came to mind. “I’ve dreamt of similar things before. Fire in the sky, the earth splitting and swallowing Midgar.” He mused, recalling what he’d quickly forgotten upon waking, many times over the years.

He’d never given it much thought. The sight had never scared him, in fact, he’d felt quite contented at the roar of the city’s sky ablaze. People had strange dreams all the time, right? By the horrified way Cloud was staring, Sephiroth assumed he’s been wrong.

“Ah. Well, you know I’m right then, when I say we’ve gotta prevent that from happening?” Cloud swallowed awkwardly. Firelight danced in his eyes, blue and blown wide.

“That sounds reasonable.” Sephiroth nodded, not understanding why Cloud looked like his fight or flight instinct was about to kick in. He wouldn’t pressure the strange man into talking. Not today anyway.

An atmosphere settled over the two. That loud silence when words are longing to be said, but no one dares speak them. The kind that neither were tactful enough to shimmy around. In the end, Cloud was the one to change the subject. “I got a message back from Cat Shit.”

“Oh? You mean Reeve?” Sephiroth cut into the bread loaves he was helping prepare.

Cloud was hovering around their barbeque, which looked nearly done. Juices from the meat dripped into the fire, which caused it to spit at him. “I requested he leave his reply under one of the benches of the Sector Five train station. Found it this morning.” He jabbed impatiently at their food. “It was mostly just accusing me of threatening him and Shinra,- even though I specifically wrote that that wasn’t my intention. Buuut, he’s willing to talk more. Even meet and discuss things, if we can keep it quiet.” A folded paper was pulled from Cloud’s pocket and handed over.

Sephiroth read it, skimming quickly over the words. The tone was surely defensive, though whatever Cloud had detailed in the first had been enough to convince the executive of his usefulness. “Do you know yet where you’ll meet?”

“Net yet. His informants are fine, but I’d rather speak to Reeve directly. Gotta be discreet too, though it’d be a great power play, to just walk into the Shinra building.” Cloud mused.

“I’ll keep it in mind.” Sephiroth said, reaching to assist with rescuing the food from the flames. “I need to ask, this connection between us, what exactly is the exact nature of it?”

Cloud flinched away from the fire, managing to burn himself despite using both a towel and fork. “Like I said, I had some of your cells implanted in me. I don’t really understand it completely; it’s not like they talk you through these things when you’re on the operating table, right? There used to be lots of us, now it’s just us two. Shinra wanted to clone you. I don’t think they wanted to waste another twenty years raising another super kid, so they tried for an easy fix. It never really worked how they wanted. Sorry for being vague.” With some difficulty, he finally secured the slice of meat between two bits of bread and placed it carefully on a paper plate with some of the very crispy potato cuts. The plate was handed to his guest, before repeating the process.

“Thank you.” Considering the method, and slight smell of burning metal, it looked pretty good. “So, we’re not related?”

Cloud shook his head, returning to his seat. “No, nothing like that. We don’t… It’s,- it’s weird. You followed the pull to find me here, so you can feel the connection?”

“It’s difficult to ignore. I’ll admit it has made focusing difficult at times.” Sephiroth confessed.

“That intense huh?” Cloud said with interest, chewing the edge of a very crunchy potato piece. “I thought only my side was like that. But, since it’s just the two of us now, I guess that makes sense. Maybe.”

“I thought I might’ve been going mad, when you arrived.” While one of the oddest burgers he’d eaten, it wasn’t bad at all.

Cloud smiled at that. “Not yet.”

“Yet?” Sephiroth raised an eyebrow, amused by the man’s antics.

“Yep, and let’s keep it that way.”

“You know, if you’re looking to infiltrate Shinra, I could pass your name to the Turks. They’re always looking out for new Soldiers. You fight well and you’ve worked with the company before.” The General suggested.

Cloud offered an amused look. “Infiltrate Shinra? You sure you’ve not gone mad? And no thanks, I don’t think I’ll be able to do much good from in there. Not sure how I could explain why I’m already mako enhanced.” Pulling the corner off his bread, the blond tossed it to a foraging crow, who gratefully grabbed it up. “So, you’re just in on this whole thing now?”

Sephiroth returned the Mercenary’s amused smirk. “It could be interesting, and I find your company agreeable. For a while I’ve had my doubts about Shinra. Besides, I’ve always enjoyed seeing things burn.”

It was a fairly busy mid-morning in Sector Seven. Cloud, having just picked up a job for the day, sauntered past where Seventh Heaven had once sat. These days, the building was a business which sold and repaired bicycles.

He’d been tasked with making a delivery of fairly heavy equipment between Seven and a remote cluster of houses in Sector Five. Though not exactly heavy for him, Cloud had a choice of routes. The first was shorter and ran around the outskirts of the city, almost to the wall at the city limits. It would surely be crawling with monsters. The other was longer, through the middle of Five. There was the threat of being jumped by bandits but it was an otherwise safer path.

After a very brief deliberation, Cloud selected the shorter way. Mostly because it consisted of less people. He’d been in Midgar for a little over a month now and, thanks mostly to his Mercenary work, and decent monster killing skills, the locals were beginning to recognise him as one of their own.

While Cloud made few attempts to get to know any of them back, he had an appreciation for the thrown togetherness of the slums; both in aspect of their appearance as well as the close connections of the people within them. Seven was one of the most accepting places Cloud had lived and for all the dangers lower Midgar held, its people were a lot more real and welcoming than those up on the plates.

Setting off down a dirt track, his phone buzzed with a message from within his pocket. It took him a moment to think who it could have been, it hurt a little, when the first person he thought of was Tifa.

When he’d been sent back, had time just continued for his friends or had their reality been instantly destroyed, to be replaced by something new? Had they searched for him when he vanished, or had Aerith at least somehow explained to them where he’d gone?

Those questions made him cold. An uncomfortable feeling in his chest which liked to make itself known whenever Cloud pondered the whereabouts of the team he’d come to accept as family.

The amount of people dwindled as he reached the further edges of Sector Seven until the pathways became less defined and Cloud was the only one around. A few smaller beasts hid themselves as he approached. A fox scampered effortlessly over the mounds of rubble, where it chased a large rat. Cloud glared down a few smaller monsters, who were wise enough to flee.

He made quick work of some slightly larger scaly beasts, whose bravery outweighed their rationality. Reattaching his sword to his back, Cloud remembered the buzz from his pocket. The message was from a string of numbers, it read: ‘Doing paperwork, not very entertaining. Is your day any more interesting? - S”

Cloud couldn’t stop his laugh. A ‘missing you. XX’ wouldn’t have gone amiss. He tapped out a reply and, Gods, was this surreal. He hadn’t been expecting his once nemesis to start messaging him barely twelve hours after they’d last met.

Briefly, Cloud wondered whether increasing his means of contact with the General was a good idea. Right now though, Sephiroth was his best bet. Reeve on his own could only do a limited amount and he’d found out that Avalanche didn’t exist yet. The theory was, if they could prevent Sephiroth from losing his mind, then he could remain as an ally.

Should he have been more honest with Sephiroth about Jenova and their shared role in the Planet’s near destruction? Lying to him about the meteor hadn’t felt good, but the blond had no idea how to tackle the subject, without possibly triggering one of those episodes of Sephiroth shutting himself away… or having any other adverse reaction. Cloud would have wanted to know if he were a harbinger of destruction. But could Sephiroth take that knowledge, or would it just push him closer to that edge where Jenova lay below? Cloud wasn’t good at making these sorts of decisions. Lumping blame onto Shinra was hardly a bad thing. In part, it had been their fault.

Their connection was worrying. While this was nothing particularly new for Cloud, he was fairly sure that in their erased timeline, Sephiroth’s side of their bond hadn’t been quite so strong… pushy? He’d never know for sure, that was merely a guess. The only difference between then and now was Jenova. She was far away and not yet tearing the General’s mind apart. Without her malicious intent, would their connection remain as just that- a benign and often irritating magnetic pull?

Without her, how much sway did Sephiroth have on Cloud’s mind. He hadn’t felt his once tormentor picking at the loose strings of his soul; or an invisible feathery touch, oddly soothing, as it guided him to do the unthinkable. This younger Sephiroth had no idea what harm he could do, in the doorway of someone’s mind.

Cloud intended to keep him ignorant to such details.

His phone marked that his reply had been read. At the same time as the white noise in his head buzzed slightly more annoyingly.

Damn it, he thought he’d left all of this behind years ago.

Collecting his heavy baggage once again, Cloud continued down the narrow winding pathway.

Now beside the wall which separated Midgar from its miles of wasteland, the sun was beating down a dry dusty heat. Disused construction material and heaps of dirt covered in weeds served as road signs. The song of tiny birds was interrupted by the sound of something large dragging through the dirt. Cloud stilled and ducked as best he could with his hefty luggage.

Moving quietly around a half-collapsed wall, there lay a courtyard. Within were two things- A decent patch of ground, where someone had been trying their best to grow vegetables; and a gigantic monster, who was busy eating said vegetables.

Cloud hadn’t seen one of this variant before. A dusty tan, thick skin, deadly spines and big enough to eat someone in a single bite. Stealthily, Cloud shuffled past it. His destination was the opposite direction. For now, he’d let it live. If they crossed paths later, things might end differently.

The rest of the journey was an easy run though the cluster of buildings was harder to find than anticipated. By the time Cloud eventually located the discreet entryway and person he was looking for, he was beginning to get frustrated.

Job done, he took the same path back. Few monsters showed themselves this time. Cloud made sure to collect as many of the ones he’d taken out on his way, some had been carried off by scavengers, though he was left with a decent amount to sell later.

Passing the courtyard, the huge creature had continued on from the vegetable patch and didn’t make itself known for the rest of his journey.

Cloud salvaged and sold what he could from his kills, collected the payment from his job and made his way to a posting board. Sure enough, a notice scribbled in red ink sat in one of the bottom corners.

‘Rampaging monster seen at Seven wall. Beware! Two hundred Gil to however kills it.’ With a name and contact scrawled alongside a crude drawing of the creature’s head. A bit exaggerated, but recognisable.

Nice. He picked the message from the board and pulled out his PHS.

‘Fancy killing something big with me?’ Cloud sent to his apparent new best friend.

Chapter Text

“In regards to Wutai, we have given them five months to comply with our demands.” President Shinra announced. In the crowded board room, several people glanced about, giving their silent reactions.

Palmer rose a jittery hand. “And what, may I ask, will happen if they fail to comply in due time?” He queried in his usual warbling tone.

President Shinra folded his arms, effortlessly cold in his mannerisms. “Then I’m afraid we will have exhausted all our options. The peace treaty will no longer be viable.”

Reactions across the room were instantaneous. Hushed and ringing with a variety of emotions. Of the twenty-six senior staff in attendance, Sephiroth opted to silently survey the room. A few people looked his way, searching for the General’s reaction. He refused to give them one, instead staying quiet, avoiding eye contact.

Among the group was Rufus Shinra, who was trying not to look incredibly pleased. Unsurprisingly, Scarlet and Heidegger shared in his excitement. The three staff from Urban Development all exchanged worried glances while Reeve stared hard at the table.

A hand was raised by the President, which quieted the room.

Heidegger continued, “We will commence a four-part assault on the day following the expiration of the treaty. Brutal force will unfortunately be necessary. We’re preparing a heavy weapons unit in Junon as well as an advanced air fleet.” He explained, not bothering to keep the smirk from his face.

A curly haired older woman Sephiroth identified as Reeve’s Secretary spoke up. “What about the death toll last time? What are you going to do to prevent that?”

It was Scarlet who spoke up this time. “The weaponry we have at our disposal is far superior to our first clash with Wutai. We’ll strike quick and hard, they’ll barely be able to fight back. All our Soldiers will have to do is the clearing up.”

“…Yes, I was including Wutai’s casualties in that number too…” The first woman spoke, looking perplexed.

They drew to a close a short time later, and were dismissed. Paperwork and stationery were collected and with a soft murmur and the room began to empty.

On his way out, Sephiroth felt a hand gently grace his shoulder and turned to find the dark eyes of Scarlet standing closer than he’d have liked.

“Director?” He greeted, not flinching when her hand slipped down his shoulder to run through his hair.

“I assume you and your Soldiers will be ready?” Scarlet asked, eyes sly- an expression he’d come to know as her default.

Sephiroth offered her a curt nod. “Of course, you need not ask.” He said politely, itching to get out of the crowded space.

She gave a smile, whose intention he couldn’t quite read. “Oh, I’m sure. May I remind that you didn’t take me up on my offer of a tour of Weapons Dev. Invitation’s still open, as always. I’d love to show you around our newest projects.” She purred, leaning into his shoulder.

“I appreciate the offer.” Gloved hands clenched tightly into fists. “I’m afraid it won’t be possible today, perhaps next time.”

She gave him yet another look he couldn’t interpret. “I’ll make sure I hold you to that.” Scarlet smirked.

With a final pat to his lower back, she peeled herself from his side and returned beside Heidegger and the President for their meeting debrief.

With as much reservation as he could, Sephiroth bolted for the door. He’d wanted to get a word with Reeve, if possible. Him and his team had been among the first to leave and there was no point making a show of chasing them down. Instead, he took a brisk walk back downstairs. It was time to inform his Soldiers of the inevitable conflict. He’d start by telling First and Second Class, then put together a proper brief for the rest of their military force, to be approved by Heidegger.

They took it as well as to be expected, anyone with a lick of sense questioned what Shinra’s motive could be, beside attaining complete control. There was nothing Sephiroth could placate them with, no reasonable cause for the company’s actions. He wouldn’t lie to them; a hurtful truth was what they’d get.

All he could do was pass along the message from above and keep the relative peace. What they did with that information, was up to them. At this point, if they wanted no part in the impending destruction, then Sephiroth would let them leave. Not that he expected many, if any, to quit.

But then he hadn’t anticipated Genesis to leave as suddenly as he had. Nor had he expected Angeal to follow.

When their brief ended, Sephiroth wondered back towards his office, leaving the others to their own devices. He was aware of Zack tailing him, but made no comment, holding open his door for him when they wordlessly reached it.

They both sat in silence for some time.

The quiet was finally interrupted with a sigh from Zack. “What do ya think Angeal would have thought of this?”

“I think… I’m honestly not too sure.” A year ago, he’d have expected Angeal to keep his reservations silent and follow their orders. After everything which had transpired between them, he was no longer sure.

Zack tapped his foot against his chair leg. “I think he would have said something. Tried to persuade them not to restart the war.”

“Perhaps.” Sephiroth didn’t agree. He really didn’t want to think about him and Genesis. They’d chosen each other, left a hole in Sephiroth’s heart, and subsequently died for their actions.

Maybe he should have predicted it, it wasn’t as if his Lieutenant had been content for some time. Sephiroth could admit he wasn’t the best judge of character, but they’d been good friends, and it still stung a little that he hadn’t seen it coming.

It was a foreign feeling, as many had often been when it came to those two. Never before had he valued the company of others so highly or been challenged so thoroughly in combat. Never had he experienced so many things and made memories which were actually good. And never had he felt a loss so terribly.

No longer did that wound to his heart feel raw with loss, it had festered and turned bitter. He was angry. So intense that it burnt away all the fondness. The wholesomeness he once felt at their company was tinged with smoke. They could both rot for all he cared. Sephiroth hoped they did, wherever they’d ended up.
Next time he’d curb his expectations. Next time he’d dig his claws in tighter, and keep his prize for once.

“Seph, are you doing alright?” Zack asked, pulling the General from his musings, pointless as they were.

Realising his fist had been closed around a pen to the point it was splintering, Sephiroth forced out a steadying breath locking down those meaningless things once again. Blinking up at Zack, he rose an eyebrow, “I believe so. Why do you ask?”

Zack rolled his troubled eyes. “You’ve been off for weeks now. When was the last time you actually trained with me and the guys? A month ago? You keep saying you’ll be there and not showing up.”

“I suppose I have been absent. I assume you’ve all been getting along just fine without me overseeing?” He replied evenly, realising he had been preoccupied for a while.

The First poked at slips of scrap paper neatly piled on the desk. “That’s not my point. We want you there. Is it just this Wutai thing, or is something else going on?” Zack urged.

“You sound concerned.”

Zack turned more decisively in his chair to face the General. “Yeah, I am, that’s my point.”

Sephiroth gave a moment of pause to compose a response. “I’ve met someone.” He finally said.

“Met someone?” The Soldier parroted. “Like, met someone?” His words took a hopeful turn.

“Yes.” He watched Zack’s eyebrows raise higher than they were legally allowed.

A grin started to spread across his face. “Wow, really? Congrats! You gotta tell me what they’re like. Do they work for the company? Guy or girl?”

Sephiroth warmed at his colleague’s enthusiasm, though he didn’t wholly understand what had warranted such a reaction. “No, he doesn’t work for Shinra or the press or any other affiliation we’re not allowed to interact with.”

“Is he handsome?”

That wasn’t something he’d considered. Sephiroth frowned in thought. “Yes, I suppose he is.”

“Uhh, great!” Zack’s smile twitched. “I look forward to meeting him. I’ll tell you if he’s a keeper.” He winked.

“Ah, he isn’t a romantic partner, just a friend.” Sephiroth established, realising it ought to be mentioned.

Zack’s smile didn’t falter. “That’s still great! I’m really happy for ya’.”

Indeed, the First looked almost proud. Were his social skills so blatantly inept that his team would celebrate their leader finding a friend outside his immediate circle of colleagues? Yes. Because he had no friends other than maybe Zack and the madman in the slums, who he’d only known for a few weeks.

Better than nothing, Sephiroth supposed.

Cloud was surprised when the following morning he had received a message from Sephiroth, telling the Mercenary to expect him. It was an odd break of the routine which had been forming over the last few weeks and without reason, Cloud felt a shiver of concern.

Maybe he’d just snagged a day off?

Opting for a lazy morning, Cloud stayed by his little home, fixing up the bike he was restoring. It was nothing like Fenrir and would never be, despite how many modifications Cloud attempted to glue to it. His little house was looking better too; it now included extra space, reinforced walls and a decent roof. The scrapheap hill kept him well hidden and sheltered. The few smaller monsters he shared it with had learned quickly to keep their distance.

He’d also crafted a selection of traps and trip wires for extra defence at night, as well as a crude but working electrical hook-up. It was looking like the start of a great set up, as far as slum living went. It even got natural sunlight for a few hours in the afternoon!

Not long before noon, Cloud felt Sephiroth’s presence a few moments before seeing him. His movements held a subtle edge, a stiffness in his shoulders and a darkness to his eyes. Indirect enough that only those well experienced with the General would catch it.

“Bit early for you to be about, isn’t it?” Cloud called down to the path.

Sephiroth didn’t hesitate before climbing up the sheet metal plated steps. A purpose in his stride which almost make Cloud flinch. “I left work early.”

Cloud flattened his defensiveness and rose an eyebrow. “Didn’t know you were allowed to do that.”

The other sighed, and Cloud knew he’d been correct. This visit had been spontaneous. “I’m currently supposed to be having tea and a chat with Palmer, to ‘discuss the week’s news’. Secondly, I’m surveying a group of Third Class, who’ve just arrived back from Junon.”

“Palmer? Oh Gods, I don’t blame you for wanting out.” Cloud winced, loosening a bolt on the side of his bike.

“Indeed, I’d rather do anything else than share that man’s company.” Sephiroth replied, looking suddenly unwell. The kind of expression the blond knew better than to speculate on.

“Doesn’t surprise me.” Cloud gathered his tools and tossed them into a plastic tub, wiping his hands on a gross looking rag. “Listen, you wanna go for a walk? Help me with a job? I found a pretty big, probably unfriendly monster. Split the gil?”

Sephiroth shoved his hands in his jacket pockets. “You’re contracting me to help with your Mercenary work? And here I thought I was avoiding responsibilities for the day.”

“You don’t have to; we can do something else?” Cloud brushed the dust from his baggy pants and hopped to his feet.

“No, your monster sounds entertaining.” The taller man held a hand out to assist Cloud, who pretended to have not seen. “We’ll leave when you’re ready.”

They took a quiet route through the Train Graveyard, down a winding path which led between sectors and up towards the wall. Along the way they passed the occasional person, a few who Cloud had come to recognise nodded in greeting. Sephiroth kept his head down as they went by. He attracted infrequent glances, but nobody voiced their recognition.

“You gonna tell me what’s going on at work, to make you up and leave?” Cloud asked, kicking a stone along with them.

“A lot at the moment.” Sephiroth kicked back the stone when it rolled to his side of the path. “Shinra plans to break the peace treaty with Wutai in five months, which sounds like it’ll be a bloodbath. Heidegger won’t leave me alone, Hojo has been requesting I pick a few of my Soldiers to ‘donate’ to his studies. Since Lazard is presumed dead along with my other Firsts, much of their work has fallen to myself and that ‘pull’ as you call it is just infuriating and I don’t have enough hours in the day to do everything.”

Cloud spied his hands clench the insides of his pockets and noted that same stiffness in Sephiroth’s posture. In all their years of fighting, he’d never seen the General like this. This was a much more human anger than the silent seething madness Jenova’s will had bestowed upon him. Strangely, it gave Cloud hope, further removed this Sephiroth from the one he’d once known. “They treat you more like a machine than human?”

The other shook his head. “Perhaps. They don’t consider what I am, as long as I serve Shinra and its Soldiers.

“You sure they don’t? Because it sounds to me like they see you as less than human.”

Sephiroth didn’t respond quite so quick. “Shinra created me, I owe them for that.”

Cloud fired back instantly. “You don’t owe them shit. Regular people don’t say that about their parents. Without my enhancements, I’d be dead a thousand times over, by now; you think that means I can’t resent Hojo for what he did to me?”

They ducked under the beam of a fallen construction vehicle, whose metal was wrapped in bindweed and windswept plastic. Cloud made his final point, “You were in there a lot longer than I was. At least they didn’t take my childhood.”

Wind curled around the shell of a dilapidated building as their words hung heavily in the air. A ponderous silence.

“What do you want your purpose to be?” Cloud eventually questioned.

Indecisively, the other’s features twisted.

Unable to find a convincing response, Sephiroth huffed a humourless laugh. “Well, my current purpose appears to be killing a monster for you.”

“Hey!” Cloud called back light-heartedly, giving his stone a good kick so that it clattered against an old rusted fence. He felt a pang of sympathy that the General was so well conditioned to not even question his place in life. He had a feeling that Sephiroth sneaking out to see him was a larger deal to the man than he’d originally considered.

No wonder when he’d finally snapped in Nibelheim, it had been so spectacular and catastrophic.

At that moment, a larger drake eyed the two from a high ledge. Leaping up, it spat and hissed at the trespassers infringing on its territory. Cloud reached back for his sword. As they leapt forwards to meet their foe, any awkward tension fell away.

“You know, I find you very confusing, Cloud.” Sephiroth smirked, lighter than he’d been earlier in the day. A decent walk and a few monsters had him in a more amicable mood.

Cloud squinted in the light, they’d been roaming around the outskirts of Seven for a while now, looking for the large monster. “A lot of people say that, including me sometimes.”

Sephiroth continued, “You say you were only an infantryman, yet your weapon of choice and fighting style are reminiscent of most higher-ranking Soldiers.”

“Let’s just say I had a lot of time and a good friend to inspire me.”

“Your abilities are well refined but can you fight like a First?”

So far, Cloud had been pulling his punches, purposely missing opportunities his enemies presented. If he had to take out Sephiroth, then better to go in with the advantage of assumed skills. “You’re asking if I can kill this thing.”

Sephiroth gave a smile which spoke of challenge. “I’m curious.”

“Maybe not in one slice, like you’re ‘legendary weapon’ can.” Cloud jabbed good naturedly.

“A weapon is no mightier than it’s wielder.” He said matter of fact, stopping to peer around a cluster of old crates.

“Yeah, but it sure helps having a ‘legendary weapon’.” Cloud moved his fingers in quotation. He carried on strolling along, leaving Sephiroth to poke around whatever dry shrubbery the creature might have squeezed behind.

“You’re welcome to try it. Most people complain that its-. Oh, that is rather large actually.”

Cloud was busy selecting one of Cid’s better dirty jokes when the sound of tumbling brickwork made him startle.

Crawling up a mountain of debris, almost directly above them was the face of the reptilian vegetable-ruining beast. The claws of its six legs flexed, snapping discarded rubble and metal with ease. Four beady eyes followed the two, baring down on them.

Shuffling back out of reach of the monster’s massive jaws, it slowly followed, uncurling from the old building work, as large as some of the collapsed structures. “Said I wasn’t kidding.” Cloud muttered, blood pumping, ready for a good fight. They lured the creature out into the open, its spines swaying angrily.

“Here.” Sephiroth held out a hand.

Cloud had to do a double take and must have looked bug-eyed because Sephiroth was offering him his sword. “A-are you…?”

Impatiently, he shoved it into Cloud’s grip. “Yes, quickly now.”

Removing his own weapon, and burying the blade in the ground, Cloud circled the monster’s right side.

Holy shit! He was holding the Masamune, and for once touching it didn’t involve it poking holes in him. The time traveller fumbled with his grip on its handle, having never used anything like this before. Greater reach and so much lighter.

Just working out how he ought to be holding it took a moment of trial and error.

It relit a spark in him, one which hadn’t burnt so bright in a long while. That gleaming childlike excitement because what was actually happening?!

The monster followed Cloud’s movements, growing more frustrated as he sidestepped a swipe from one set of claws and ducked under that of another. When its tail followed, Cloud met the movement with a slice (the Masamune! Holy shit!). Not the most effective slash, but the creature reeled back, stomping in fury.

Searching the area for Sephiroth, Cloud found him stood a distance away, arms folded surveying the battle closely. ‘Asshole’ Cloud thought without any real ill feeling, shooting the man a mock disappointed look.

The slightest of vibrations ran down the blade, almost imperceptible. Somehow, Cloud got the distinct impression the sword did not approve of being passed off, only to be handled so poorly. As ridiculous as it might have sounded, Cloud could swear he’d felt it.

Taking an opportunity to advance, the blond jumped up to the monster’s back using the spines to steady himself. He tried for a downward slice which ended clumsy and ineffective. Cloud’s shorter stature wasn’t something this blade usually had to contend with. He misjudged its weight on the next swing and the monster retaliated. A bash from its tail sent him thudding to the ground. Back on his feet in a heartbeat, the monster, with jaws parted, lunged for Cloud.

Holding his ground, an upward strike left a hefty gash over one of its four eyes, giving Cloud an opportunity to move back. Then, he struck again, this time with only the blade’s tip. It sang on the wind as it effortlessly cut though bone and Cloud suddenly understood, as if the knowledge of how to wield the legend was released into his head.

Dropping into a ready stance, he awaited the monster’s movement first. Face torn up and livid, it jumped back. Powerful limbs sent it into the air and landing steadily. Much to Cloud’s surprise, its eyes darted to Sephiroth. Deciding that trying to eat Cloud wasn’t worth the injuries, it instead zeroed in on the other available food item.

With a swish of its tail, the creature advanced. Without a weapon, Sephiroth stood rooted, indifferent.

The monster surged forwards. Barely, avoiding being snatched up in massive jaws, Sephiroth jumped up, using the monster’s momentum to push him up and over the side of its head. With a crash, the monster ploughed face first through a large metal fence.

Sephiroth backed in casual strides away, idly watching the giant beast shake the wiring off itself, coming away even more enraged.

Moving once again, Cloud dashed back into the fray. Slicing like it was the air itself, Masamune made another clean cut into the monster’s tough hide. Using what he’d learned from the blade so far, the strike was more effective than those previous.

The creature kicked back but otherwise ignored Cloud, chasing its new target. It hissed and snapped its jaws at the other side of its large body, giving the opportunity for a few decent hits.

From somewhere Cloud couldn’t see, came the sound of tearing, accompanied by a cut off growl. The monster’s head was thrown back, a fresh wound at the base of its jaw. With brilliant agility, Sephiroth leapt atop the thing’s spiked back, in one sweeping motion, landing gracefully. Holding Cloud’s fusion sword. Stance portraying his discomfort in using a much heavier broadsword, Sephiroth was, of course, no less deadly.

A crackle of what felt like electricity jolted between Clouds ribs. A feeling like pride, seeing his once enemy standing above him, wielding Cloud’s blade as they battled side by side.

It hit him,- maybe this can work. Maybe his crazy idea of not killing the man on sight and instead forming something of an alliance, could actually amount to something.

Cloud couldn’t help but smile a little, before plunging back into the fight.

The monster thrashed, Sephiroth smacked away its tail with the fusion sword while Cloud took a slice of its shoulder.

The head swung, teeth bared. Holding the sword up to block, Sephiroth pushed back on the oncoming attack. Using the opportunity, Cloud judged his distance from the creature and let loose a killing swipe.

Almost graceful in its brutality; there was a pause before the monster’s claws uncurled from the uprooted ground and fallen brickwork. With a final gurgle it slumped in on itself, falling to the dust.

Sephiroth smirked as he hopped down from the lifeless creature. “Good form, I was wondering if you’d get the hang of it.”

Cloud couldn’t help but return the look. “Thanks. Uhh, you too.” Each blade was exchanged back to the hands of its rightful wielder. “They weren’t kidding about that.” He nods to Masamune, which somehow seems to glimmer brighter, now back in the General’s grip. The words are rather unnecessary, but Cloud felt it polite to say regardless. He’d been stabbed by the thing enough times, he ought to know whether it’s a good sword or not.

“It’s served me well, as I’m sure yours has.”

A pleasant calm emerges after the battle, which they both bask in before Cloud gets to salvaging a bit of their kill. They wouldn’t be able to take much of it in one go, the creature is huge after all, but he’d be sure to tell a few people of its whereabouts. They’ll ensure none of it is wasted.

“You ever seen something like that before?” Cloud asked, trying to work out if this monstrosity had managed to climb over Midgar’s outer wall from the wastes. “I haven’t.”

Masamune glinted in the light once more in farewell, as it was dismissed, fading into nothing. “I’ve known similar to be grown by the Research department. “So it was possibly modified.” He didn’t sound surprised that something belonging to Hojo had been left to wonder the slums.

Cloud was reminded of the strange twisted things that had wondered out of Midgar, after the meteor had left it in partial ruin. Deepground as well as the other abandoned facilities the city was built upon. “So it came from within the city. Good to know.”

Sephiroth collected one of the large back plates, which had been knocked loose, less grimy than the bit Cloud had gone for. It was thick enough to carve into a decent piece of armour. “I suppose that would best explain the nature of such a creature, though not how it got down here.”

“I’ve got a good idea where. Remind me later, I’ll have to show you.” They’d have to take a trip below the surface at some point.

And that was the end of that. They took a slow walk back to the Seven slums, chatting idly. Sephiroth far lighter than when he’d arrived that morning. When the moved from the outskirts, back under the artificial lights of the plate above, the General followed. He kept his head down when they started encountering people, a few of which gave looks of recognition and disbelief.

With ease, Cloud tracked down the person who’d posted the note regarding the monster. A middle-aged woman, she was taken aback that someone had actually managed to take the thing down. The two hundred gil was graciously handed over with thanks.

“Wait, aren’t you...?” She studied the silver haired man, who had kept his distance.

“I am not.” Sephiroth muttered, his words laced with discomfort.

She opened her mouth once again to dispute him, but stopped abruptly thanks to an intense glare from Cloud.

They finished up quickly and made haste out of the central hub of the Sector, slowing to a more casual pace once nearing Cloud’s hideout. Their little adventure had taken most of the day, which Cloud hadn’t realised until the late afternon sun began to stream through the gap between the plates.

“Sorry, it’s not the best.” Cloud kicked aside his bedroll and stepped over a pile of loose tools. He dumped some water into an old but just about working kettle and jammed it into the power outlet.

Sephiroth had to bend down somewhat thanks to the low ceiling. “You constructed this, correct? It looks durable, I’m sure it serves its purpose well.” He sounded more impressed than put off.

Relived his fire hazard of a house didn’t scare the General off, Cloud plopped down on his bunched up bedroll. “Yeah, it’s getting there.” He tapped the left wall with his elbow. “This one needs replacing, it rattles too much in the wind and did you notice the door? It’s an actual door now.”

“It’s impressive. I wouldn’t know where to begin with something like this.” Sephiroth found a seat on one of the crates.

“It passes the time. Coffee?”

Sephiroth flicked open the cover of a magazine on the slightly larger crate beside him. “Coffee would be nice, thank you.”

The kettle clicked in completion. “Good, coffee’s all I got.” Cloud snatched his hand away as a bite of electricity leapt through the appliance. He unplugged it quickly, poured the water and handed Sephiroth his cup, being careful to once again avoid any accidental contact. “Oh, and could you give this to Reeve?” Cloud threw an envelope down.

Sephiroth turned it over and read the friendly insult adorning the envelope, scribbled in poor handwriting on the front. “Of course.” He met Cloud’s eye with an amused smirk.

“I apologise if I’ve taken up too much of your time today.” The General said, on the steps in front of Cloud’s home.

“Nah, it’s been good.” Cloud half smiled. Somehow, he wasn’t kidding. Hanging out with this new (or, rather old) sane Sephiroth, had actually been enjoyable.

“I don’t manage to get out of the Shinra building often. So, thank you.” He said with the sincerest smile Cloud had ever seen on the man. Sephiroth reached out and gently clasped the Mercenary’s arm, which coming from the man in question was probably an act of utmost gratitude.

Cloud was unable to consider the gesture for long when the moment the cold leather of Sephiroth’s gloves touched his skin, his mind all but emptied.

That unnerving heartbeat rhythm of ‘Reunion’ and ‘Closer… more’ beat through Cloud’s every cell, while a deep calm sunk into his core. It wasn’t malicious, Sephiroth wasn’t trying to rip Cloud’s control away from him. Just a gently buzz of contented cells.

What might a been a few seconds or several minutes swam by in a dreamlike state. Cloud met Sephiroth’s eye with a more genuine smile than he was willing to admit. “I think you ought to start getting yourself home.” He urged softly.

It was an improvement on his self-restraint. In the past he’d have probably reacted like a startled cat and tried to break the other’s arm. Good progress.

Wearing an utterly dazed expression, Sephiroth removed the contact, his movements staggered, like he’d been afflicted with a slow spell. His features lightened, matching Cloud’s and after another drawn out pause, turned and hopped down the garbage staircase. Shooting another wholesome look over his shoulder, Sephiroth called a final, “See you soon.”

Watching him go, with a drained sort of lop-sidedness to his features, Cloud knew that that would be very soon. He had either just won or lost some sort of future battle, and Cloud had no idea which it was.

Chapter Text

“Any reason you decided not to show up yesterday?”

Sephiroth looked up from the stack of papers in his hand. He moved to answer but Heidegger beat him to it.

“After that announcement about Wutai, everyone was working overtime to brief their teams and begin preparations. Everyone except you.” Heidegger drummed his fingers aggressively on his desk. “Guess who had to fill in and explain the situation for your troops?”

Standing awkwardly in the centre of the director’s office, Sephiroth kept his features flat. He’d already informed a number of their Soldiers, albeit in a fairly informal manner, with the intention of preparing a full briefing this morning. Sephiroth hadn’t expected a day to make much difference, considering how Shinra loved to drag their feet with even the most pressing of matters.

“I’m afraid I had personal matters to attend to. I’d assumed we would be meeting before the briefing to discuss the contents.”

“Yes, well we might have, if you were here.” The drumming of his fingers picked up in intensity. Heidegger scoffed, “What personal matters could you possibly have?” His tone less of a question and more an insult. “It wasn’t down on your schedule and I, nor the President was notified.”

“The President is aware?” Sephiroth asked, keeping his best poker face.

Heidegger grinned in part anger, part glee. “And you should be thankful he’s not wrung your neck. We’ve been reviewing you and your Soldier’s scores during combat simulation and they’re barely average. I hear Hojo has been trying to contact you and Palmer was beside himself yesterday when you didn’t turn up to his little lunch date.” Heidegger growled.

“I’ll make sure all of those issues are rectified today, Sir.” Sephiroth nodded respectfully, though his grip was so tight he was probably denting the folders he carried.

“You’ll be lucky to today, you’re on poster boy duties. Or did you also neglect to check your calendar?”

He couldn’t help but sigh a little at that. Yes, he was indeed scheduled to meet with a journalist and photographer from a lifestyle magazine. Two people he found especially annoying for their ability to publish the exact opposite of what he’d told them. The last article they’d printed stated he had four dogs, and the photographer had been a bit too eager to take the General’s shirt off.

“Of course, I haven’t forgotten.” Sephiroth placed the report folder on the desk, careful his anger didn’t slip and cause him to hurl the thing at the man.
In the corridor heading back to the barracks, he passed a small group of Seconds, as well as Zack, who waved an exuberant greeting. Sephiroth pulled Cloud’s letter from his pocket and handed it to the Soldier with slightly more force than was required. “For Reeve, same as last time.”

Zack tilted his head to the side but nodded his approval without delay. “Hey, you seen the email?”

“What email?” Sephiroth demanded, exasperated and so very close to just leaving the building again, consequences be damned.

Zack’s face twisted into a wicked grin.

“You’re gonna hate it, boss.” Another Solder with excessively curly hair chuckled, wearing his own knowing smile. Whatever it was, they’d been reading from Zack’s data pad, which was being passed about and laughed at.

In less than a second, Sephiroth had his own pad in hand and was looking through the slough of new emails. Ninth down the list, one caught his eye. The pain broke through his façade of immovable apathy as Sephiroth read: ‘Your Special Invitation- Shinra Company Ball.’

‘Congratulations! This is your formal invitation for you and a plus one to attend the function hall of the Shinra building (Floor 14), for a special event in honour of Rufus Shinra’s birthday. Formal attire, two free drink coupons, dinner and live music. Higher staff will be required to attend, no excuses.’

Why now? His nerves were fried and he was much too busy for this nonsense. Sephiroth had to wonder what he’d done in a previous life to deserve this.

“Just hang out with me, it’s the first time I’ve been invited to one of these things.” Zack added helpfully, seeming genuinely excited.

As Sephiroth stared at the email like he might be able to burn it away with his eyes, Zack shook his head. “Ah, wait. You have to get chummy with all the bigwigs, doesn’t ya?” He playfully jabbed Sephiroth in the arm, a degree of sympathy in his tone. “We missed you yesterday, everything-.”

“Not right now, thank you.” Sephiroth was already across the hall, heading for his next destination. “And what are you all standing around for? Combat sim, now. No stopping until all your high scores are beaten.”

Cloud had been busying himself with his fairly well-established morning routine. Rainfall pattered down from gaps in the plates and big streams soon began to pour out of piping from above. Not much of a fan of the mid spring weather, he jogged back from the Sector Seven hub, before loitering near his home base. There wasn’t much leaking there, thankfully.

An hour later and the sky had broken into patchy sunshine once more, leaving Midgar dry but whipped with a strong wind. The damp only made the old debris smell even more so of earth and garbage. A nice touch one had to get used to if the slums were where they’d ended up.

He was busy measuring the width of his sword, with the idea of attaching a holster on the side of New Fenrir, as Cloud had started calling it.

From a short distance away, someone cleared their throat, causing him to startle. In the grey afternoon, there was a flash of colour.

Cloud looked up and nearly choked.

“So, this is where you’ve been hiding.” Aerith smiled. Confident, fearless, exactly how he remembered.

Stunned into silence, Cloud stared like a goldfish.

Thankfully, Aerith picked up where his words lacked. “You’re the one who sent those plants to us, aren’t you? That was really sweet, I appreciate it.”

Cloud nodded, his throat dry. Slowly, he sat back onto his haunches, letting his measuring tape drop in a muted clatter against iron flooring. “Aerith?” He barely managed. Even in the occasional dream she visited him in, from within the Lifestream, she never really looked like her physical self, but Cloud had always known without a doubt that it had been her.

She was exactly as he recalled. That same face which had smiled back as she met her untimely fate, hair longer from their travels, skin sporting some of the tan they’d all picked up traveling the warmer regions. Like the Lifestream had pulled her out of the exact moment she’d been taken from them.

“Your name is Cloud, right? We know each other, don’t we?... Or is it knew each other?” She approached, jumping up the first few steps of the trash embankment.

“That’s more like it.” Cloud struggled to find his voice. “I’m a little, uh, out of time.”

She nodded like that had made sense to her. Aerith hopped up onto the top layer of the sheet metal, Cloud’s front yard, one might call it. “I like what you’ve done with the place.” She drew a small handful of lilies from her basket and fitted them through a loop on his front door. She positioned the flowers to sit nicely before taking a step back, looking pleased at her work. “There, that’s better. Too much grey.”

Cloud had to agree, in this wasteland, Aerith glimmered, like light hitting a prism. He stood up slowly, as if he moved too quickly or looked too hard at her, she’d disappear again.

Aerith continued, “Not too long ago, I woke up with a really strange feeling, like I hadn’t been alive for a long time. Then the Planet starting pointing me towards something, but I was still unsure. A week ago I heard someone say, ‘have you heard of that merc who’s new in Midgar, I think his name’s Cloud.’” She mimicked a gruff voice. “I don’t know how but straight away, I knew it was you.”

“That’s me alright.” He croaked. “Sorry if I was hard to find.”

The Cetra shook her head, unconcerned. “So, what’s going on?”

Cloud considered where to start. “Well… We’re from, I suppose a now erased timeline. We were both friends. We, uhh, stopped a disaster or two. You helped me and our friends to save a lot of people. But it wasn’t enough. You and the Planet sent me back to now, to prevent as much damage as possible. That’s the short version.”

“So I was in the Lifestream then?” Aerith asked with a contented smile, like her question was of no real consequence.

Again, the words left him and Cloud was reduced to awkward staring.

She nodded in apparent understanding. “I’ll take that as a yes.”

They ended up spending a few hours together, walking into town to get drinks when Cloud’s kettle gave a final whistle and burst into flames. The blond loosened up after a while, thankful that Aerith had been patient with him. The Cetra probably knew a thing or two about talking to ghosts and Cloud was grateful for the opportunity to see her once again in the flesh. She didn’t reject his offer to walk her home at least, and by that time, he’d settled somewhat. Less jittery, able to shake off the guilt which settled whenever he met her vivid green eyes.

Yet another day he’d never predicted.

Cloud was having a fair few of those lately.

They talked about life and he found that Aerith’s was the same as it’d been in their first run. Hearing her speak was wonderful, rather than him replaying those old words in his memory. In turn, Cloud told her about him and over time, the light of recognition shone more and more in her eyes. Thanks to Cloud’s previous insights, she had someone to talk with about the Planet and the Cetra. He didn’t scoff at her obscure musings or peculiar intuition, like most people less experienced with the whims of the Planet might have.

“I’m surprised the Turks haven’t come knocking on your door. New guy in town who can slay monsters the size of Mt Nibel Dragons? They’ll be begging you to join Soldier again.” Aerith laughed as they neared Sector Five.

Cloud had partly forgotten that talent scouting was part of their branch. “They’ll see I’m enhanced and probably try to detain me.” He joked.

“So, I gotta ask,- this impending disaster? Can I get spoilers?” Aerith batted her eyelashes like it might help pull the information from him.

If they were hopefully erasing it, there would be nothing to spoil, right? “Sephiroth and scary alien Jenova summoned a meteor. Using your materia and the Lifestream, we just about stopped it. Still killed a good few hundred thousand people in the immediate destruction, which isn’t counting the death toll from the resulting fallout. There was also an epidemic… thanks for the help with that, by the way.”

“Wait, Sephiroth? Zack’s boss?”

“Yeah, he’s a problem.” Cloud admitted, following Aerith as she jumped down a ledge of displaced roadway. “Although we’re both apparently best friends this time around and he’s not met Jenova yet. So who knows how that’ll work out.”

“I remember him when we were children.” Aerith smiled sadly.

That took Cloud by surprise. “Wait, really? You mean in the labs?” Sephiroth had never spoken about his childhood and Cloud had never asked. When he’d worked for Shinra and admired the man, he’d assumed the General’s enhancements were no different to anyone else in Soldier, it’d been a long time after that he’d learned of the man’s true origins as Hojo’s lab rat.

The thought that he’d once been a child seemed almost wrong. The idea conflicted so much with the Sephiroth Cloud had come to know as his enemy, that he struggled to place them both within the story of a singular person.

Aerith nodded her confirmation. “He was older than me, but we were the only two kids. They didn’t like us playing together, both the staff and my Mother. I suppose I can understand her reservations now, considering what you just told me.”

“I can’t imagine that.” Cloud muttered.

“What?”

The Mercenary frowned. “Him playing. Being a kid. It’s too normal.”

She giggled, though it still carried a certain sadness. “Oh, trust me, normal is something he never was.”

They emerged from the old defunct roadway into a more populated area at the foot of Sector Five. The atmosphere much more upbeat compared to Seven. Two dogs raced about happily and pair of birds whistled from the branches of a tree strung with lights. The streets were more compact, with everyone existing on top of one another. Cloud found it all a bit intense, too closely spaced for his liking.

They’d just made it into the Sector’s central hub when words from a radio caught his attention. ‘…mansion in Nibelheim burnt to the ground…’

“Hey?!” Aerith called after him, barely keeping up as Cloud dashed down the street. She caught up once he reached a café. Inside was a television, broadcasting the news on a loop.

It took a few minutes of impatient foot tapping for the breaking news to play from the top.

‘In what officials believe to be an arson attack, the Shrina mansion in Nibelheim has been burnt down.’ They’d taken footage from a helicopter circling the old hellish landmark. It had been left totally in ruins. From the choppy images, they could still see smoke rising and Cloud wondered whether the innermost depths were still burning. ‘Residents were awoken by the blaze in the early hours of this morning. It took local officials many hours to get the flames under control. Witnesses report seeing two individuals fleeing the scene. Shinra officials are trying to identify the whereabouts of the suspects. As of yet, no arrests have been made. If you are from the region and have any information authorities might…’

“So, is this bad? Or…?” Aerith watched Cloud closely. They moved outside when the broadcast trailed off.

Cloud was stunned. Intently, he watched rivulets of water from the earlier rainfall travel down the edge of a building, trying to piece the situation together. “No, it’s incredibly good, actually.” He mused. “They saved me a job, Nibelheim was where I planned to go to next. Gods, I hope Vincent was one of those two.” When that thought struck him, it refused to budge. What if it was two random kids, just deciding to torch the building? They wouldn’t know Vincent was asleep in there. Would he have been able to get out?

If one of the people to flee had been the gunman, who had been the other?

“So, I assume this didn’t happen before?” Aerith guessed. Cloud shook his head.

No, things were already beginning to look different. A new picture was forming and with it came new surprises he wouldn’t be able to anticipate.

Chapter Text

Five days passed in a busy flurry. As things did, in Midgar.

Sephiroth had called Cloud two days into his absence. He’d been trying to hide his frustration, though Cloud had picked up on it instantly. Strange how, even not hearing from his old adversary for years before his time jump, Cloud was able to still identify the slightest changes to his demeanour. He put it down as a symptom of their strange connection.

The General was swamped under a mountain of work and the fire in Nibelheim wasn’t making his job any easier. Neither of the two perpetrators had been apprehended yet, thankfully. Though Cloud hoped they got away with their ‘crime’ (the mansion got what it deserved), it shed no light on whether Vincent had gotten out. The lack of clarification kept him on edge. Cloud had been banking on the ex Turk’s help on this little quest of his, he’d looked forward to sharing in their quiet companionship once more.

An ample distraction had come in the form of Sephiroth inviting Cloud to his apartment. Which was where he was presently headed towards, under the glow of streetlights and accompanied by a fake ID he’d paid good money for.

So far it was serving him well. He’d gotten through two security checkpoints, both scans had been carried out by staff members. First in the train and second on the gates into the upper-class district of central Midgar. No automated scans yet, but then again, no terrorist activity. None as coordinated as Avalanche anyway.

The atmosphere up on the evening streets of the central plate reminded Cloud of warm nights in Kalm. Well-lit streets, bars and restaurants, clinking of glasses and the smell of food… this time just with more air pollution, armed personnel and traffic noises.

Cloud couldn’t remember the last time he’d been invited to someone’s house. Sure, he’d been to Barret’s apartment in Edge enough times, but that was after they’d both saved the world together, same with the rest of their team. Considering most of them had taken to traveling around, it was well established that they would crash at each other’s homes for a night or two, if they happened to be in the area. Turning up uninvited was fairly commonplace among the group of heroes.

He’d stayed at Aerith’s house many years ago, when they’d first met. Cloud supposed that was the closest thing. He wasn’t really the sort of person many would extend an invitation too, despite being familiar with a lot of folks, there were few he could call himself friends with. And that was fine by him.

Despite joking about it previously, he hadn’t been expecting Sephiroth to actually invite him over. But then again, they were apparently buddies now, so...?

Supposing he should show some form of gratitude for the extension of trust, Cloud picked a food stall at random. He selected a bag of fried pastry sticks with cream on them, or that’s what they looked like. With that done, he headed towards one of the finer Shinra buildings in the district, which was saying something.

Its walls were shimmering black glass, lined with sleek dark metal and gold trimming. A gleaming dark obelisk which rose twenty stories into the sky. A shiver fell through the Mercenary, one of trepidation, like he might have been walking into battle.

Of course, he had his sword with him if any situations arose.

The lobby was grand, the stylish black and gold extending into the interior of the building. After Meteorfall, this sort of elaborate show of wealth had been almost unheard of. Where Cloud had come from, it felt like a long time since Shinra had owned the world.

He strolled to a row of touchscreen panels and entered the code Sephiroth had sent him, along with his name. The screen pinged in acceptance and asked him to wait, presumably for the room owner to receive and okay his request.

The screen lit green, the confirmation was given startlingly quickly. It followed with a series of directions, ‘left elevator, floor thirteen, down the right corridor, room four.’ Cloud hit the confirm button. And, would he like a print out of those instructions? No thank you.

The elevator was glass walled and spacious, leading up to the thirteenth floor, which was expectedly fancy. Room four was easy to find from there.

Cloud knocked the door and didn’t have to stand long before it opened.

“Cloud.” Sephiroth greeted simply.

Surprisingly, everything about his demeanour was warm. His eyes, his slight smile, missing jacket and half unbuttoned shirt. Handsome, Cloud recognised, matter of factly.

“Hey. Nice apartment.” Cloud said, stepping through the door. Pulling the baked things from his pocket and depositing them on the countertop. Some of the cream had leaked into his pocket, a mess Cloud pretended he hadn’t seen.

“Thank you, one of the perks of being part of higher management. Wine?” Sephiroth eyed the paper bag with curiosity.

In such a new place, Cloud didn’t know whether to feel comfortable or awkward… which probably meant he was being awkward. “Oh yeah, that sounds good. I, uh picked up some foody things on the way over. Dunno what they are and I don’t know whether gestures of thanks are required when someone invites you to their house, so I got ‘um to be sure.” He confessed with little reservation.

“I’m afraid I don’t know either. I don’t often get asked to someone’s home without them having an ulterior motive.” Sephiroth poured a glass and passed it over the kitchen counter.

“You mean you don’t have any ulterior motives? How disappointing.” Cloud joked.

Sephiroth sipped his drink, back leaning casually against an immaculate kitchen top, which looked like it might have never been used. “I’ll have to keep that in mind for next time.”

Was this classed as flirting?

“Oh shit, this is really good.” Cloud looked in mild disbelief at his glass of wine, eliminating any previous train of thought.

“Another benefit of the Company.”

“Doesn’t sound like there’s many of those.”

At the reminder of his chaotic work life, which didn’t know where it ought to begin or end, Sephiroth tensed minutely.

“Sorry, didn’t mean to remind you. You must devote a lot of time to that place, hardly looks like you spend much here.” The apartment appeared vacant, no personal touches, white walls, dark furniture. There was a neatly made bed poking out behind a stylish cutaway wall, a wall-mounted television which still bore the protective film across the screen, and a narrow bookshelf displaying a decent selection. There sat a worn armchair and a sofa which, in contrast was pristine and unused.
Sephiroth nodded. “My time here is limited, though I also prefer a less flashy layout. Makes it easier to clean.”

And then it struck Cloud what was odd. The place wasn’t just unlived in, there was no dust and very few surfaces which could collect it. His books were the only indulgent thing, other than a few bottles of red wine hidden in the cupboard. It almost resembled a hospital or laboratory. The colour scheme, the neatness. Cloud suspected that Hojo’s rooms might be surprisingly similar. Sephiroth had stated his favourite colour to be blue, and yet there was nothing in here of that colour. Even with the comfortable low lighting, it held a sterile look.

“You want some pizza rolls? They’re the only thing I know how to cook.” Sephiroth asked.

Just like that Cloud forgave his old enemy for about fifty percent of what he’d done in his past life. “Fuck yeah, I haven’t had those in years. Sounds great.”

The pizza rolls were amazing, with slightly crunchy overcooked edges, which only made them better. The apparent new friends emptied a bottle of wine between them as they swapped stories and fond memories. Their silences were comfortable as was Sephiroth’s apartment. Thanks to their enhancements, getting drunk was difficult, though the warm buzz was just what both of them had needed.

The view from the window, which stretched floor to ceiling along the length of the rooms gave a glorious view of Midgar and its nightlife. Not too far away, one of the Mako reactors ejected a glittering green glow into the sky.

By midnight they were on their second bottle of alcohol. Sephiroth gave a hollow laugh. “I have to attend a party for Rufus Shinra’s birthday. The email blatantly said management would be forced to go.”

Cloud laughed, maybe a little mockingly. “Oh Gods, I think I‘d rather die. I hate that man, have I told you that? What sort of party is it?”

“One of Shinra’s big showy ones in the floor fourteen ballroom. Everyone is going to be there.” Sephiroth let his head fall back against his armchair.

“Everyone you pretend to like, you mean?”

“Precisely. Including the press, more than likely.” Grumbled Sephiroth.

Cloud grinned at that,- this evening was shaping up to be the most he’d smiled in a while. “They love you, don’t they? Saw a bunch of girls fawning over some magazines today, with you on the front cover. You’ve got a good fan club going.”

Sephiroth stared at the ceiling, muttering something incomprehensible and grumpy.

“I used to be like that too, you know?” The blond said, moving to pour them both another glass.

“Hmm?” Sephiroth glanced down. “How so?”

Cloud recrossed his legs from his reclined position on the sofa. “When I was a kid, I thought you were the coolest thing ever. Used to cut out your pictures and stick them on my wall.” That was surreal to think about. Cloud could imagine a kid version of him seeing his current situation and imploding. Then again, that could be said about any version of him, previous to a month ago.

“That’s not strange at all.” The General sarcastically mumbled, though he didn’t sound upset.

“Oh, come off it, I was twelve. You were the one who inspired me to join Soldier.”

Sephiroth looked up, meeting Cloud’s eye once more. “Really?”

“Yeah. And then I met you and you were a dick.”

They both gave a quiet chuckle at that. “My apologies for my inadequate performance.” Sephiroth might have said sincerely, though it just sounded rehearsed and almost robotic.

“That’s alright. New start and all.” Cloud took a long sip of his drink. Fuck Jenova, they were doing things his way this time. The first thing he was going to do once his bike was done was head to Nibelheim and torch the reactor. “What were you saying about that party? Will there at least be free food?”

“And two free drinks. And dancing.” Sephiroth looked exhausted at just the thought of it. “But one must endure for the sake of themselves and the company.”

His tone of voice was disconcerting, much too automated. Manufactured.

Cloud hated it. There was a part of him who despised that he felt a new compassion for his former tormentor. That voice was a lot easier to ignore tonight.
“Wait, you said management had to be there, right? Will Reeve be there?” Cloud sat up a little straighter.

“I doubt he’ll be able to escape it.”

A plan was forming in the Mercenary’s mind. “Do they allow plus ones?”

Sephiroth frowned. “I doubt Reeve will agree on you being his plus one if you haven’t met.”

“No, dummy. I’d go with you.”

In thought, Sephiroth’s gaze fell on the middle distance. “We can go.” He said after a moment, with a measured tone. “I’m not sure what people will say. I think they’d be expecting me to bring a woman.”

Cloud shrugged, “That’s not a problem.” He had a workaround for that. “You prefer women?”

Still staring at nothing, Sephiroth replied, “Not particularly.”

“Men?” Cloud smirked in amusement though tried to hide it behind his glass as he watched the exhausted man somehow melt further into his armchair.

“Perhaps? I’ve never really thought about it.” It was said with no change to his face at all.

“Not even when you were living in the barracks?” Cloud’s memories of the place were few and far between, but he could recall some aspects of it though.

“Myself and Genesis experimented with things, on and off… Most people kept their distance from me there. Quite a few didn’t think it was fair me being already mako enhanced, nor that they favoured me for promotions despite being one of the youngest. I also nearly killed a few people during training.” The General paused to empty half his wine glass in one go.

Despite being exceedingly curious, Cloud chose not to ask more about Sephiroth’s dead friend. “Fair enough.” He concluded.

A short while later, Cloud stood from his seat and gave a long stretch. “I’m gonna head home, otherwise I think we’ll both be falling asleep.”

Sephiroth blinked slowly, hair splayed untidily about, proving Cloud’s theory. “You’re welcome to stay.”

“It’s okay, don’t worry.” Cloud collected his sword from where it rested and strapped it into place on his back. “This has been really good, thanks.”

Sluggishly, Sephiroth rose from his chair with half lidded eyes. He yawned, tossed his hair out of his face and it had to be the most human Cloud had ever seen him look. This wasn’t a wannabe God or bringer of destruction, he was just some overworked handsome guy, with a lot of things going on. “I agree, thank you for granting me your company.” He had that genuine warm smile again.

‘Reunion’

No, shush. Stop that.

“Any time.” At the door, he wondered whether Sephiroth was going to go for a hug, though that might have been a bit too adventurous for the both of them, and thankfully it wasn’t attempted.

They bid each other a final farewell and Cloud was on his way.

At this time of night, the streets were deserted save for a few late partiers and street maintenance. Relaxed and in high spirits, the blond trudged back the way he’d arrived, pleasantly stress-free.

A light rainfall had begun, which worked to clear out the remaining night time stragglers. Wondering down to the central district train station, the guard checking IDs had fallen asleep at his post. Cloud toed past him quietly for no reason than not wanting to disturb his rest.

The platform was empty, save for him, as was the train carriage once it arrived.

Cloud’s PHS buzzed in his pocket. He didn’t recognise the number, it wasn’t Sephiroth. Slightly unnerved, he answered. “… Hello?”

The receiver burst with static and a joyful shout. “Cloud? Cloud?! Is that you?!”

The audio quality was dreadful, but he knew that voice anywhere. “W-wait, Tifa?!”

“YES!” She practically screamed. “I’m so glad you’re alright, I’ve been so worried! Where are you?”

Cloud had jumped out his seat and nearly ended up on the floor, thanks to the momentum of the train. “In Midgar, that’s where I woke up. What about you, I thought I was the only one?”

“Me too. I didn’t know what was going on, I woke up in Nibelheim. No one knew who I was, it took me two days to remember you and everything from the last twenty years.” The relief in her voice made Cloud’s heart jump. “Have you managed to contact anyone else from the team yet?”

“I didn’t really think to at first, I thought I was alone. I spoke to Aerith, she sort of remembers, but not much. I’ve been trying to contact Reeve, and I think I’m getting somewhere with him now.” Cloud explained, head spinning.

Tifa gasped, “Aerith? That’s wonderful! I found Vincent, he doesn’t remember us, but his monsters do. He’s okay, said he’s had dreams of us and the meteor while he was locked away… We burned down the mansion together!” She announced gleefully.

Cloud laughed at how proud she sounded. “I saw on the news, good going.”

“We were going to the mountain reactor next, but the whole area is totally locked down. We really pissed off Shinra. We’re on our way to Corel, their still mining coal there, so hopefully we can find Barret and help them out.” Tifa continued.

“Sounds like you’ve got everything figured out. I was going to head to that area soon myself. We’ll meet up and deal with Jenova together, if her plan isn’t going so well this time, then the monsters up there might be a bit nastier than usual.” Cloud said.

“Yeah, it might be best tackled as a group.” She agreed. “I’ve got to go now, I’m on a payphone. I’ll call once we’ve got ourselves established in Corel.”
“Sounds good. You’re both alright though?”

“Look at you being all caring. I’m alright, just a little out of sorts. Vincent is Vincent, so you know he’s fine.” Tifa giggled.

“Sounds about right, great to hear.”

“Sorry I can’t talk longer. Oh! Sorry for calling so late. It’s been a busy time.” The phoneline scrambled enough that he barely heard her words.

“No no, that’s okay. Don’t apologise. Speak to you soon.”

“Bye!” Tifa finally called over the static before the line went quiet.

Slumping back into his seat, Cloud clutched at his PHS. He so badly wanted to speak to her for longer, wanted to say hi to Vincent, even if it would hurt that the man wouldn’t remember him. Relief flooded him and Cloud was met with the conflicting urge to lie in his train seat until he fell asleep and also run from where he was until he reached his friends.

They were alive and well, Tifa remembered and Cloud wasn’t alone in this anymore. Yet again, it was her reaching into the darkness to pull him out. He felt suddenly silly for not assuming that, out of everyone, Tifa wouldn’t have tenaciously fought what fate had bestowed upon them to claw her way back to him.

The train pulled up and he had to dive for the door as it closed, too caught up in his thoughts to realise it was his stop.

Jumping out onto the Sector Seven platform with a spring in his step, Cloud couldn’t remember a day where he’d smiled so much.

Chapter Text

Another week passed. No more calls came from Tifa, though Cloud didn’t expect to hear from her for another while. The spring air was hardly felt under the blanket of smog which cloaked Midgar. For the most part, the week had been marred by persistent rain.

Deciding he rather liked Sephiroth’s apartment and the amenities it provided, Cloud had been spending rather a lot of time there. The General wasn’t in most of the time, so Cloud had filled in one of the lost keycard forms in the downstairs terminal. With some quick thinking and good luck, he’d passed the security measures and hadn’t been stopped when he’d gone to collect the duplicate card from the main reception desk of the Shinra building.

The communal facilities in the slums were serviceable, and Cloud couldn’t complain, though he had to agree that a hot bath was worth the breaking and entering. Sephiroth hadn’t taken the invasion of his home too badly, he’d more so rolled his eyes upon coming home to find Cloud shovelling clothes into the washer.

They’d also spoken a lot about this ‘plan’ or lack thereof, to save the world. Cloud had shown all the evidence he could to explain Shinra’s negative effect on the Planet. Sephiroth had been familiar with almost all of it, just turned a blind eye, like everyone around him also had. Still, he seemed on board.

“You’re asking me to sacrifice everything I’ve worked for. To strike out against Shinra and everything they’ve ever told me, so we can run off together, with no plan and somehow destroy them.” Sephiroth had leaned forward in his armchair, a stormy look about him.

Cloud had given a resolute nod. Though not sure about how they were going to do it, he was without a doubt it that some form of rebellion needed to be carried out. “Yes, I am.”

“Which could mean having to take down the people who’ve been loyal to me.”

“Potentially. This won’t be easy.” Cloud agreed firmly, completely aware of what he was asking the other to leave behind.

Sephiroth didn’t break their eye contact, the air between them tenser than it had been since the two met. “Then I will need several things from you, Cloud. I want you to show me something that’ll remove any doubt in mind on whether or not to defect. And, I want to see how well you can hold your own, I will not be responsible for carrying this team. I’m afraid I’ll need the same assurance from your companions if we reach them.” He was completely serious. Dark eyes and powerful frame.

“Sure. I can work with that.” They shook on it, that strange connection like a live wire, sealing the deal.

In the time since then, Cloud had spent every day searching for an entrance to the network of laboratories hidden below Midgar. They were well hidden and a guarded secret. After Meteorfall had left Midgar devastated, the rabbit warren of various tunnels below the slums had become a huge issue, especially when monsters had come spilling out of several places as the ground crumbled. Research and Development had their testing sites everywhere (and nowhere, if one was to consult any maps), all low maintenance sites for minimal staff. Cloud had cleared a few small areas out, back in his old timeline, and he’d been nearly overwhelming by the putrid stench of decay which rose out.

It became pretty obvious how Shinra had been controlling the huge number of people living in the slums. Half formed monsters, mutated humans; for each handmade missing poster which blew like dust in the remains of the Greatest City on the Planet.

Not easy to find, but not impossible. Cloud could recall there was a research station hidden below Sector Three, which was still nauseating to recall.

Taking the train over, he stepped out into a different atmosphere to what he’d gotten from the slum communities so far. Three was one of the more densely populated areas, a faint but foul rotten smell clung in the air. More thrown together than the other slums he’d visited, everything here looked impermanent, like no one planned to stay for long.

If there were anyone content with living in the slums, and Cloud was sure there existed some, none of those people lived in Three.

The areas main attraction, a monstrous pile of garbage, rose high and mountainous. Disposed from the plate above, to rot with the people below. The main residential area was overrun, tents, unstable shacks, people climbing over mounds of trash. Barely anyone spoke to one another, there was little of the communal aspect he was familiar with from the other side of the city.

All the more did it strengthen Cloud’s determination to give the company an early grave.

Someone pointed him in the direction of the nearest maintenance shaft. Despite getting lost twice, Cloud eventually found it. The hatch was readily unlocked and the Mercenary dropped down into a twisting maze of dim flickering service lights and off-shooting tunnels.

After spending only twenty minutes running about like a confused rabbit who’d stumbled into the wrong warren, he realised it would be beneficial to not get lost down here. Cloud needed to make a map if he stood any chance of finding the labs and worming his way back out again. He thought about sending Reeve another message, begging him for a map of the service tunnels. The likelihood of that working was slim and Cloud was still awaiting a reply from the man, he didn’t want to seem too desperate for the Executive’s help.

Calling it quits, Cloud returned the following morning, armed with notebook and pen. From there he began poking his way along each passageway. It wasn’t long before he became familiar with the numerical markers every fifty feet, though the quiet and distant buzz of far-off sound was harder to adjust to.

Stale air, dripping water, the low hum of machinery and the occasional rattle. All served to grate sharply at his nerves. Cloud found himself peering around corners and toeing the metal walkway far more delicately than he had reason to. At one point a rat had raced past him from a darkened corner and Cloud had gasped and dropped his notebook, completely involuntarily. His pen had fallen beneath the metal walkway and there was no chance of retrieving it.

Swearing loudly at his own idiocy, he once again called it a day and headed for the exit. He’d spent nearly five hours down there and couldn’t have been happier to escape the labyrinthine web and see the garbage mountain and grey sky once again.

All the locked doors he’d found had led to the sewers and one had let to an old electrical generator, lost to time. No labs yet.

Two more days of searching, with a much-needed day off doing Mercenary work between them. By that point he’d become almost used to the oppressive nature of the tunnels, the repetitive unending closeness which made his skin itch with a sense that he needed to get out. However, if there was one thing Cloud had gotten very good at over the years, it was pushing things to the back of his mind and pretending they didn’t bother him. So, he persisted.

It’s on his fifth day of exploring that something happens,- before even leaving Sector Seven. Cloud realised he was being tailed, shortly before reaching the train station. Deciding quickly, he wondered the length of the station, (missing the morning train, much to his irritation) and unlatched the large metal gate marked ‘caution, do not enter’ which led down to the Train Graveyard.

Settling behind the first wall in the fenced off area, Cloud gripped the hilt of his sword as the metal gate again opened and closed behind a second person. One set of footsteps trudged towards him, steps light. Breath drawn in, muscles braced tight, ready for action.

In half a second a flurry of movement blazed through the air. Cloud’s blade thrust forwards, the speed and power of a snapped cord against a blaze of red and black set to the crackle of electricity.

Weapons at each other’s throats, both stopped, eyes locked, air sparking. “Reno.” Cloud greeted sharply.

“Heard of me then?” The red-haired young man smirked, a dangerous glint in his eyes. “Guess I have been making a lot of noise lately.”

Neither moved an inch, even as his shock baton sat inches from Cloud’s face, enough that he could feel the subtle displacement of energy around it. “Isn’t that the opposite of what Turks are supposed to do?”

At that, Reno’s smirk drew into a grin. Probably to cover his lack of well-thought words. “You already know who I am, do I get the same curtesy?”

“Cloud Strife.” Looking to diffuse the pressure somewhat, his sword was retracted, resting the blade’s point in the dirt. A show that even with his weapon resting calmly at his side, he was no less deadly. Reno conceded, removing his own and even taking a step out of Cloud’s space.
“You remember me?” the Mercenary tried.

Reno frowned at that, shifting from one foot to the next with restless energy. “No. Should I?” But there was some recognition in there. He wasn’t lying, but Cloud suspected there was some blurry misconnected memory which made the Turk second guess himself. “And shouldn’t I be the one asking questions?”

Cloud shrugged. Go ahead.

“You’re a Soldier or somethin’ right?” Reno jabbed out a finger. “You got the eyes… and all the other shit.”

If only to perplex the other, Cloud hummed in thought. “Not really. It’s complicated.”

“What? You get tired of all the mako treatments and run for it?” Reno shifted his foot impatiently over the gravel. “Don’t really blame you, that whole mako infusion deal sounds weird as hell.”

Cloud watched his movements carefully. “Not really, but yeah, they're not great.”

“We know you’ve been doing Merc stuff around Seven. That all? People been speaking real highly of you.”

Oh how nice. This conversation was too dull. “Listen, don’t tell anyone I said this, but I’ve always been impressed with your loyalty. All the Turks. But soon, you’re gonna have to make a choice about following Shinra, because I really can’t be bothered with fighting you again.”

Reno blinked slowly. “…What the hell’s that supposed to mean?”

“I’m a time traveller. Lifestream shot me back into the past. We were…” Maybe friends was too strong of a descriptor. “Good acquaintances.” Maybe ‘good’ was also too generous.

His frown deepened and Reno tapped his earpiece. “Hey, give me all you got on a Cloud Strife.” Addressing the blond once more he continued. “Look man, are you…?”
“You grew up in Kalm, which you hated. At a high school party, you got kicked out for spiking the lemonade with laxatives, and your first girlfriend left you after you got drunk and embarrassed yourself at a karaoke night. You also never get over that crush on the weather lady from that one news channel, the one with the glasses.” Cloud reeled off, watching the Turk go slack jawed.

“How,- how do you…?”

Cloud set his sword into place on his back. “I’ve got more. You confess a lot of weird stuff when you get pissed. Can I go now?”

After some more deadpan staring and odd noises, Reno threw his arms out in an exaggerated shrug. “I mean… I was gonna give you the whole spiel, maybe throw punches. It was gonna be good, man; then you threw me all off base.”

“You poured window polish into your fish tank, thinking it would clean it and your fish died. You have a peanut allergy which you were too embarrassed to tell your friends, until one of their moms gave you-.”

Reno’s face twisted into disgust. “Okay, okay! You’ve made your point, weirdo.”

“I’m not in the mood but if you really want your ass kicked…?”

“See, I’d normally rise to that, but you’ve ruined it now.” The Turk looked more than a little lost. This was clearly not how his interactions with persons of interest usually went.

Cloud stepped forwards, moving past him. “I’m leaving now. You already made me miss my train.”

“Fine! Sure! I’ll be keeping an eye on you though.” It was the most flustered Cloud had ever seen him. Cool.

With that, Cloud wondered back towards the platform. There was no point in asking Reno where the underground labs were, that information would be above his pay grade.

Reno just stood there, watching him go. “Uh… bye?”

“Later, asshole.”

Though his morning had been suitably derailed, Cloud made good progress in the tunnels below Three. Setting off down a passageway which veered sharply away from his usual line of exploration, he struck gold two hours later.

A well-fortified gateway stood before him, plastered with a fierce red warning sign. It had an electronic lock, which was by far the most elaborately crafted equipment down here. Taking that as a sign of importance, Cloud took a few good steps back before casting a high-level lightning spell. In a sharp crackle, Cloud winced away at the intense flash.

It did its job, the electronic lock was knocked instantly out… as well as all the lights around him.

“Shit…”

Now in total darkness, he dug around his pockets until he found the tiny keychain flashlight attached to Tifa’s spare keys. Unsure why he still habitually kept them with him, Cloud was thankful for them today.

Despite the inconvenience, he progressed through the gate and onwards. Having much less lighting was unnerving at best, though nothing he couldn’t deal with. The path continued straight for roughly another mile, the branching paths few and leading to dead ends. When Cloud was beginning to slouch with disappointment he came upon a red light in the distance.

It marked a door, this one could be lockpicked.

Once through, there was finally, light. The dim tones of a service closet stood around him in muted grey. Dishevelled but clinical, it stored a few broken consoles, strong smelling cleaning supplies, each with their own hazard warnings, and all the equipment one might apply them with. Annoyingly, the door leading our was locked, needing a key card.

The wall before him had a small air duct, spinning at its top corner. Dragging over a few sturdy boxes, Cloud climbed up. Again he pulled Tifa’s keys out, this time selecting a small multitool. Up to this point, he’d only used the bottle opener on the thing and had found the rest of it rather pointless. Now, the screwdriver worked perfectly in picking apart the plastic fan.

Now able to see through the small hatch, Cloud peered around. It wasn’t much, but a triumphant grin settled on his face. Before him was a staircase leading up, two arrows adorned the side, directed staff towards ‘Holding’ and ‘Bio Weapons Two’. No one could be seen nor heard moving around. The loud far-off hum of generators provided ambiance against unfiltered white lighting.

Reattaching the vent so that it just about looked correct, Cloud hopped down. Above him ran a large air duct. After a bit more moving of the furniture, he popped the grate and crawled up with much less grace than he might care to admit.

Stealth was not Cloud’s favourite thing. He actively avoided it every chance he had. Thankfully, he was particularly resilient and skilled enough that he could pull off most head on encounters. That hardly applied here.

The feeling of dust and grime sticking to his hands as he crawled was unpleasant at best, and he tried to supress a sneeze which ended up coming out loud regardless. It was fairly wide and not as dark or repetitive as the tunnels he’d spent hours in, so that was at least a relief.

He crawled a long way before the scenery below changed. Hearing nobody, Cloud removed the grate and jumped down.

Yeah. This was the place. No doubt.

Consoles, empty tanks, a few materia kept in a lockbox, a chemical distillation setup and boxes of whatever a scientist might need to prod their subjects with. Cloud turned slowly and came face to face with large orange eyes an many teeth, leering down from behind thick glass.

At that, Cloud decided it was about time he headed home. Next, he’d return with Sephiroth in tow… Hopefully he wouldn’t mind crawling through a few air vents.

Chapter Text

Two days later, Sephiroth managed to slip out of an evening training session and escaped work early. At Cloud’s instruction he had left with an unassuming hooded grey sweater, overcoat and scarf to somewhat hide his appearance. He’d also been warned it wouldn’t be the most pleasant journey.

They’d met at the Sector Zero train station just as the sun was beginning to rest, and set off together towards the Sector Three slums. If he hadn’t been looking for him, Cloud might’ve missed Sephiroth. Never before had the blond entertained that the man might own something as simple as a slightly too large hoody. Too normal to be associated with Shinra’s Silver Warrior.

The train packed with afternoon commuters, Sephiroth had kept his hood up, careful not to draw attention.

Cloud pinched the grey fabric, giving a comedically over-the-top bewildered stare.

Flicking his hand away, Sephiroth simply replied, “An old acquaintance left it with me.”

Nobody acknowledged their presence for the duration of the ride, nor their journey through Three. Pushing between the crawling crowd of commuters, Cloud nearly lost his bearings on the way to the tunnel entrance.

“After you.” The blond had said with a flourish, holding the maintenance hatch open for Sephiroth. They descended down into the dimly lit passageways.

Sephiroth didn’t complain as they traversed the miles of winding tunnels, which Cloud was thankful for. He did however make an amused comment upon seeing the scribbled map his guide had drawn out. To the average onlooker it might have been crafted by a confused spider who’d never once seen a web before, but to Cloud it made plenty of sense.

An hour of brisk walking led them to a well of darkness. The lights hadn’t been fixed yet, or maybe nobody had been by to notice. Cloud’s flashlight shone through the gateway, which was also still lacking power.

They had been walking for a second hour by the time they reached the facilities entrance. In the last stretch, Cloud’s flashlight dimmed until it flickered out with a final soft sigh. That would be inconvenient on the way back. Thankfully the red emergency light was visible, so navigation was no problem, as they approached their destination.

With held breath, the service door was pushed open.

They were alone in the storage closet.

“I’m impressed you found this place so quickly, working alone.” Sephiroth spoke low.

Cloud took the compliment and the leg up into the air vent above. Reaching down, he helped pull his accomplice up. He had to accept they were getting more accustomed to physical contact, something Cloud was both proud and loath to admit.

With a stature larger than Cloud’s, his partner in crime had to shimmy through the narrow opening. For a tense moment, it looked like he wouldn’t make it. Persistent as always, Sephiroth managed to squeeze cat-like through the hole and into the main vent. Inside was at least wide enough for him to move without too much trouble.

They moved as carefully as they both could, which was admittedly not very. Still just as dusty, it was Sephiroth’s turn to sneeze, though he was much more discreet than Cloud. Good job too, as through the next vent, Cloud spotted a white coated lab worker. He noted the direction they headed and continued. With luck, there shouldn’t be many workers remaining, unless they particularly wanted to stay until ten in the evening. It all looked automated enough to not warrant too many night staff, or so they hoped.

Out of the dusty vents, they dropped down in the same larger room as Cloud’s test visit. With empty tanks and science doodads he couldn’t put a name to. The large creature he’d encountered was slumbering in its cage and hadn’t bothered to wake for them. Both intruders were covered in soot and grime, not that that was worth contemplating right now.

Sephiroth blinked painfully, shielding his eyes under the harsh light. “I’m better suited for lower light.” He muttered at Cloud’s questioning look. The General checked each corner of the room, with laser focus and precision. He bent close to Cloud’s shoulder and jabbed a finger into the top right, above a doorway. “Camera. It lacks a view of our side.”

That was their only exit. They needed to hurry in case someone came by. The door into this lab wasn’t even closed. As Sephiroth studied the beast behind the glass, Cloud inched closer to the surveillance.

At his distance it took two ice spells before he hit the camera. That should at least buy them a few minutes unseen.

Stalking out of the room, both moved slowly, taking the utmost care. There was a lack of cameras in the corridors, which allowed more room to move. No more staff were seen, though a maintenance drone whirred past, paying them no mind. The damp air marred by the occasional animalistic cry.

One thing was sure: this place was a very large complex. Sephiroth’s expression changed from curiosity to suspicion. “What is all this doing beneath the slums?” He whispered as they hurried across a metal catwalk which overlooked a large testing floor. A smattering of drones cleaned the concrete which had been stained recently with… something.

“You tell me, General.” Cloud breathed and had it not been for Sephiroth’s superior hearing, he likely wouldn’t have picked the words out from the whirr of machinery and monstrous howls.

Sephiroth glanced around a doorway into a separate room as they passed. Identifying nothing of immediate interest, he re-joined Cloud who was waiting for a security bot to pass. “Just because I’m R&D’s creation, doesn’t mean they’ve imparted all their secrets upon me. Whether that’s a blessing or a curse is up to you.”

Cloud didn’t bother to contemplate that one. Both seemingly had the same idea, they were backtracking to where they had spotted the staff member.

This endeavour took longer than Cloud’s patience was prepared for, though luckily, they encountered no one else along their way. He guessed the workers here clocked off at normal office hours, as though insinuating that this was a normal, average occupation. Cloud had to consider how many of the Scientists here lived completely normal lives outside of this vast underground system. Did they chat to their kids across the dinner table, about the weird creatures they were cooking up down here?

Eventually, their target came into sight.

With one swift bash, the attendant crumpled to the floor, having only heard their approach half a second before it was too late. An ID badge for a Julia Sanderson, a middle to upper ranking Biologist, was borrowed. Cloud scooped her up and carried her the short distance to a fairly safe and sheltered looking corner. Just in case anything disastrous went down. For her protection as well as theirs.

Finally equipped, Cloud offered a half smile which Sephiroth returned with a nod of approval.

Icing two more cameras and stepping out of the path of a well-armed security drone, Cloud let Sephiroth take the lead on this one. He moved with the same liquid grace as in combat, proving to be surprisingly adept at stealth. Certainly an impressive feat for someone as tall as he was.

When a security drone rounded a corner on them, Sephiroth swept forwards, dismantling it in a few swipes. Both before the robot could scan them and before Cloud could even get his weapon drawn.

“Poor robot.” Cloud murmured, watching it whine and spark.

Sephiroth observed the drone until he was sure it no longer functioned. “I’m sure Shinra will survive its loss.”

His posture was careful, eyes like the steel of his sword. Cloud couldn’t recall if this was what the General was usually like on missions, he hadn’t worked with him all that much. Possibly it was the oppressive atmosphere of this place; how anyone could work here every day, Cloud couldn’t quite fathom.

Had this not been a Shinra lab, they might have been having fun. Thrilling and dangerous, the both of them moved with purpose around grey walls and between equipment trollies.

Out in the open, this facility had several stories. From their metal bridge one could see all the way to the ceiling and bottom testing floor. The walls and roof looked to be cave walls blasted with concrete or some other adhesive, some chunks had fallen down, thanks to the damp.

“Oof!” Cloud stumbled back. Admiring the dysfunctionality of the structure, he’d just walked straight into Sephiroth who’d silently stopped.

The Soldier pointed up. On the floor above them sat a control centre, its low windows showed off an array of consoles. “Do try to stay alert, Strife.”

Cloud hadn’t heard him use such a commanding tone in years and it threw him enough that he didn’t respond.

Less than a minute later they’d made it to the control room and swiped themselves in. With some minor fumbling of the IT system, the keycard was read and the cameras disabled.

“Wait, you didn’t just use your own log in for that?” Cloud asked, noting that the camera feed needed a second verified user to confirm their disablement.

“Hardly. I don’t intend on being traced back to this place. I used Heidegger’s credentials.”

Standing out of the way, Cloud watched the other hastily tap through a few computer files. “You know all of your staff’s login details?” He asked more as a joke.

“As many as I can recall, which is quite a few. Honesty is not always your greatest ally when moving around within Shinra.” Unsatisfied with whatever the PC failed to reveal, Sephiroth had already switched it off and was heading once again for the door.

With an opportunity to explore with greater anonymity, they could begin poking around. Dipping in and out of rooms, some were storage, while others housed various creatures and equipment. There was a bay of brutish, enhanced looking guard dogs. Ready and able to take down any huge monster they were placed before. Another held an array of creatures Cloud was familiar with, ones he fought regularly in the slums.

“Potential Options for Bioweapons.” Sephiroth read as he keyed through the computer. “They’re breeding and enhancing them.”

Cloud wrinkled his nose as he pulled out a tray to find it crawling with grubs, half immersed in compost. “Great until they end up back in the slums.”

They both ended up crowding a glass tank which housed a Ghost. It was a small one, its exoskeleton still fairly light. Phasing calmly in and out of sight, Cloud admired the claws on the insectoid and wondered what a child could do if surrounded by a few of these defending their territory. “What do Shinra actually need these for?”

“Control.” Sephiroth had that measured look again, professional, trying to not react.

His answer was believable enough that Cloud needn’t ask him to elaborate.

Thankfully, there was no sign that actual people were being kept down here, not right now anyway. “This is no different than what I’ve seen in any of Shinra’s other facilities.” Sephiroth ran a delicate finger down one of the cage bars, watching how it interested the creature inside, who bristled its short fur.

“Why hide it so well then?” Cloud hoped this wasn’t going to be a wasted journey. As abhorrent as this was, the General would have likely been exposed to worse in his youth. Still, there was something in the way he moved which told Cloud he too found this somewhat disconcerting.

Sephiroth removed their keycard from the console and made for the door. “Why indeed.”

On the floor below, the first door parted before them to reveal a sickly green light.

Cloud’s stomach turned at the sight of large bubbling mako tanks lining the walls and centre of the room. There was an itching in his head and a chill settling rapidly in his spine. The smell, the sound. Cloud could feel it, the way the stuff burned his skin and lungs. A memory which crawled back from the depths of his mind.

“You’ve experienced the tanks before?” Sephiroth tactlessly said, more a statement than question. Maybe he’d sensed Cloud’s muted reaction.

“You could say that.”

They picked through the long room slowly. A few creatures floated, suspended in the fluid. Some of whom Cloud recognised and some he didn’t.

Sephiroth had stopped to study a particularly odd monstrosity. As tall as him, bipedal, vaguely humanoid with what looked to be many grotesque arms grafted to its body. “I was nine for my first tank. Two weeks. I can still recall it quite clearly.” He said with almost a disinterested hum.

“Holy shit.” Cloud sneered, disgusted. Disgusted that Hojo would put a child through that. Disgusted that this setting was normal for Sephiroth.
A part of Cloud still hated that he felt sorry the man, who’d been responsible for his hazy five-year nightmare, for putting Zack through that too. For killing them both, in some way.

No, it had been Shinra’s fault. Cloud reminded himself. He couldn’t get stuck in that hatred anymore, unless it was directed at the right source. Sephiroth had been as much a victim of theirs as Cloud… even if he still had trouble reconciling that point. “I don’t remember for me. How long I mean.” Cloud offered, to break up the sound of hollow bubbling.

Sephiroth regarded him with interest. The look added an extra shiver to down Cloud’s back. Hopefully it wasn’t too obvious that he was struggling to keep his cool.

After studying the man for a moment, Cloud made an observation he had failed to previously; Sephiroth’s eyes were the exact same green as that which surrounded him. “Did they inject your eyes with that shit?” The blond figured he was allowed to be tactless once in a while too. That inhuman stare remained something he’d always found curious.

“I assume that was involved in the procedure. I was never told the details, only what it would mean for me.” He keyed at the computer, trying to gain some insight into the vile thing in the tank.

The absent feeling of something rattling through their connection caught Cloud a little off guard. For the moment, he was too distracted to unpack what the echoed feeling might have been.

His statement didn’t explain why his pupils were slit like a cat’s, but it at least confirmed his assumptions. The Mercenary shook his head and began towards the door. “I’ll check it’s clear outside, if you wanna finish up in here.”

Cloud sloped off, out of the room. Sephiroth close behind him, neither wishing to waste any extra time in here.

It happened that the whole floor was the same. Obscure monsters suspended in tanks. Most empty, concealed in darkened rooms, waiting patiently to become some undeserving thing’s personal hell.

The next one down was the wide, somewhat cluttered testing area. Large partitions could be slid into place, to separate out the floor into individual rooms. Right now, all was clear to move through without hassle.

Cleaning bots scooted about, but none bothered the pair who aimed for ‘Specimen Holding’, as signposted.

With trepidation in his step, Cloud moved down the line of creatures as contained along the side of the underground warehouse. A pale lanky thing with mismatching animalistic limbs and oddly curved spine, which crouched in its cell staring at nothing. A console sat beside its containment, ‘Active Specimen’ on the screen.

Again, Sephiroth keyed at the computer. Before Cloud could wonder off, he was waved over. Tapping through screens faster than Cloud had any opportunity to read, before he hit confirm on something. With a quiet beep, and whir, the top of the console detached into a small flying drone.

A few more inputs on the controls and it floated to the first cell, nearly getting tangled in Cloud’s hair as it passed. After being swiped at a few times, it got into position and scanned the occupant of the first cage.

Cloud squinted at the screen when a long report flashed up. Deciding not to interrupt Sephiroth, he instead observed the man frowning and crowding the console.

Getting impatient, Cloud opened his mouth, when Sephiroth finally broke their silence.

“It’s human. They’ve been here over two years. Look.”

Stepping closer, Sephiroth demonstrated by scrolling the screen up. Many reports filled the screen, in date order. The newest had been filed three days ago. Each could be opened out into a description of a procedure, an issue, test or general observation.

Cloud crouched down in front of the glass partition, trying to find the creatu- person’s gaze. They didn’t react. he wondered whether they could see through the glass… or see at all. He was suddenly very grateful that after his stint in the labs, his brain had been the only thing to come out scrambled. Nor had they messed with his biology too greatly. Compared to this poor guy, anyway.

By the time he gave up and back away, Sephiroth had already moved onto the next cell. “Human.” He stated once again.

This one stood with their back to the glass, rocking from one foot to the other. Over seven feet tall and only an approximation of what a person should look like. Someone might have handed an alien a big lump of clay and this was the result. Grey, hardened skin reminiscent of an armoured grassland beast. Metal protruded from a few places down their back, for reasons he’d rather remain unaware of.

The third was a monster who didn’t look that much worse than the ‘humans’.

Two more of the cells full of grotesque half people- half monsters and Cloud had had enough. “So, what do you think?”

Uncomfortably, his fingers flexed on the edge of the keypad. “I don’t understand their reason for this. Are these supposed to be used against Wutai? Shinra don’t require bioweapons, they have adequate forces already.”

“They already have perfectly good ones, from what I hear.” Cloud crossed his arms, he felt overexposed down here, if someone was to notice them from above. “Slums are overpopulated. Who cares if a few people go missing now and then, right? They’re just things to prod, no big deal.”

Sephiroth rounded on him, eyes narrow. “You say that like I’m responsible.”

“As long as you perpetuate the company’s bullshit, you indirectly are.” Cloud’s words were harsh as Sephiroth glowered under his hooded coat, eyes shining brighter under the shadow it cast. “We both were. I bought their lie too, and look where it landed me.”

Sephiroth looked caught between defending himself and lashing out. To Cloud’s surprise, he simply nodded and turned back to the computer. In a few presses, the scanning drone returned and settled in front of the General.

It took Cloud a moment to work out why the two appeared to be staring each other down. “Is that going to work?”

‘Scan complete’ Lit up on the screen, which proceeded to a new record list.

“Apparently so.” Sephiroth skimmed the page. There were hundreds of reports.

Cloud didn’t want to intrude, settling with peering over Sephiroth’s shoulder instead.

He looked through as many files as he could, skipping months’ worth as he went. Cloud waited, hovering near, keeping an eye on their surroundings. A few security bots had passed on the upper levels, though none had reacted to the pair.

“What is Jenova?”

Pressure seized Cloud. There was an edge to Sephiroth’s voice. “One of Hojo’s specimens. A powerful one. Non-human, I dunno what exactly though.”

“A Cetra?”

“No. They thought she was, I don’t know if they’ve figured that out yet. Her cells run through both of us, it’s an extra enhancement, on top of the mako.”

That seemed to provide a good enough answer. Sephiroth returned to his reading for some long minutes more.

“You were right.” He said finally, emotion laced his voice, though Cloud had difficulty telling exactly what it was. “Dr Crescent is listed as my biological mother. I was told it had been Jenova. They told me she died.”

At first, he was surprised it was even listed, but Cloud figured that these files were never meant for their test subject’s eyes. “And your father?”

“Hojo.” Sephiroth replied with a growl.

Cloud sighed. “Some Dad he’s been.”

Sephiroth turned back, a heavy pressure in the air as he shifted. “Do you want to check yours?” One could see that he’d left indents in the metal corners of the computer stand, where his hands had gripped.

“My file?” Cloud blinked. “Time traveller, remember? I won’t be on there.” He’d rather not know anyway.

Offering the console regardless, Sephiroth stepped forwards. “It can still scan your bio composition.”

“No.” His words were harsher than intended. It took Sephiroth stopping and looking over Cloud with another strange-eyed gaze before the blond realised he’d dropped into a fighting stance. “Sorry.” Beset by a need to defend himself from some unseen threat, Cloud rolled his shoulders, feeling the weight of his sword at his back. An anchor to the present. “I really don’t want to know.”

Respectfully, Sephiroth nodded. His fists were balled, composure straining to stay neutral. “I think we’ve seen enough. If you’re ready, we should take our leave.” He removed the key card and pocketed it safely.

Cloud agreed, though something more pressing weighed on him. “What about them?” He jutted an arm at the once people.

“We can do no more for them. If we make too much of a scene here, they’ll investigate. That woman won’t stay unconscious forever.”

“We’ve already broken in and turned the cameras off. Not to mention the broken security bot.” Cloud reasoned.

“It won’t be a problem if we don’t destroy any of their work. I know what these people are like. Or did you want to try escaping with them?” Sephiroth looked like he wanted to punch something, and it was looking more likely with each passing second, that that something would be his accomplice.

Sneering, Cloud saw a glimmer of his selfish past-nemesis and bristled almost instinctively. “No, we just put them out of their misery. Don’t be such a damn-.”

A low whirr pulled their attention away, Cloud caught a shimmer of red in the corner of his eye. He reached forwards, grasped Sephiroth’s arm and yanked them both backwards. The console he’d been standing beside exploded, taking half the wall with it. A second drone fired as the pair ducked from the following burst.

Turning back, the first tank had been blown apart, its occupant stumbled before crumpling with an unpleasant wet noise. The other remaining ones reacted to the sudden noise with frenzied groans and shrieks.

“INTRUDERS DETECTED- STAND DOWN- FORCES HAVE BEEN DISPATCHED.” Croaked the robotic voice of one of the drones.

Sephiroth threw out his hand and a lightning bolt immobilised one unit, which shivered before bursting into flame.

“USE OF DEADLY FORCE: AUTHORISED.” Its fellow drone whirred in response from the catwalk above. Firing out another round of blasts.

Staying close, both ducked and weaved between cover on their way to the stairs. Another blast of electricity and the second drone was put out of commission. Now with some breathing room, Sephiroth met Cloud with a steady gaze. “Now we really need to leave.”

He was right. Neither knew how long they had before reinforcements arrived.

Creatures wailed, from all floors responding to one another in confusion and fear. Cloud followed behind a slightly faster Sephiroth as they sprinted past the smouldering drones on the first floor and raced up the next set of stairs.

Shutters rattled from above and a propellered unit descended from high in the rafters. At the same time, a loud buzzer sounded from the next floor up followed by the sound of barking and a flurry of heavy steps.

The enhanced guard hounds they’d seen, huh? That wasn’t great, either.

“Cover, in here!” Cloud called as the flying unit sought them out. He flattened against one of the lab doors and waited for Sephiroth to swipe it open.

A green stained mako lab opened before them. “Here.” Cloud pointed out a ladder to the left of the door. It led up to a metal maintenance walkway above the tanks, which looked like it fed between labs. The vents weren’t too much higher than that. They could get some cover and backtrack the way they arrived. While spending longer in the vents would hamper their ability to fight, if anything should go wrong, it would at least give them cover from the dogs.

Disappear as if no one had been present. Or, that was the idea, anyway.

Cloud got to the top first. It was fairly unsteady and pretty high up. High enough that the drone spotted him and took aim. Moving forwards to attract the attention away from Sephiroth, Cloud drew his sword. Blocking a ray of bullets.

When the missile panel opened below the robot, he was prepared. The moment the bombs were released, he countered with a quick blast from his fire materia. It detonated the missiles under the drone, sending it rocking through the air. The bullets didn’t stop. Now firing in a frenzy, they bounced off the walls and rocked the platform.

With a metal screech, the walkway buckled. Then, the floor seemed to disappear from under Cloud’s feet. He tried to reach forwards to grasp the railings but the movement only toppled him further.

In less than a second, he had plunged head first into freezing cold bubbling green.

Flailing wildly, Cloud couldn’t right himself. Perhaps the weight of his sword was dragging him down. Gripping tightly onto the handle like a lifeline, the cold turned to an itching and uncomfortable heat as the fluid enveloped him.

Shit! His left hand clawed uselessly through the liquid. This wasn’t happening. This was not happening.

Like the substance itself was clawing at him, millions of pinpricks began to needle his skin, every inch of him. One thing Cloud had managed to almost forget over the years,- being in mako was like being eaten alive.

It wanted to get into his lungs. His eyes stung. He needed to breath. He was going to suffocate!

‘Just breath it’s only bad for a minute.’

The weight around him shifted, and it took a moment before Cloud understood he was being lifted. A firm grip around his ankle hefted him up, grabbing the back of his shirt, his shoulder and then unceremoniously throwing him back onto the walkway. It rocked precariously as Sephiroth joined him back above.

Cloud squirmed until he was on his knees, heaving and shivering. Clawing the burning mako from his eyes, he looked about trying to find their enemy, only to find it already in bits on the floor, curtesy of his partner in crime.

“Breathe slower.” Sephiroth’s voice was right at his ear, firm hand on his shoulder, steadying. It was all too much for him to process, too much happening to focus on a single troubling aspect of the whole terrible mix. At least Sephiroth didn’t sound angry with him despite the fiery presence he captured. Cloud took his advice and though painful, evened out his breathing from rapid gasps.

Understanding they didn’t have the luxury of sitting about right now, with shaky knees, he pulled himself up. Returning to the route they were going to take, the two continued, Cloud not letting the grip on his sword falter for a moment.

Sephiroth grabbed Cloud’s free hand and hurried him along. They were being searched out by something else now but neither had any intention of finding out what. Ducking under a mass of pipes and weaving into a second lab, the vents dipped down to a reachable level and from what Cloud could see through his slightly blurred vision, led around to where they needed to go.

Still trying not to cough enough to give away their position, Cloud tugged on Sephiroth’s arm. The Soldier looked calmer in action than he had when they’d been sneaking about, and followed Cloud’s gaze. With a bit of difficulty, thanks to the blond being a drowned rat, they made it into the air vent.

The sounds of distressed creatures faded the further they went. The robotic whir of drones came worryingly close a few times, but nothing was able to detect them. “Good job they’re using older models.” Sephiroth mused, barely audible. “The newer variety can detect heat signatures through most materials.”

Ah, what luck. His air vent idea could well have landed them in worse than a mako tank… Maybe.

There was noise around them, as the place descended into chaos. Thankfully, they remained undetected, prompting the drones to seemingly lose interest and lower their threat level.

It took longer than either wanted, but eventually, the two dropped down in the supply closet they started in. “Are we,- we keeping that card?” Cloud asked, supressing a cough and wishing he’d worn as many layers as Sephiroth.

“Unless you’d like to contend with the guard dogs now tracking us?” Sephiroth smirked, eyeing Cloud’s soaking wet hair, which clung irritatingly to his face. He was probably doubly covered in dust and grime now too.

Prepping a witty comeback, Cloud shut his mouth quick upon also hearing the huge hounds.

Their situation wasn’t the best, especially with the next leg of their escape yet to come. Still, not the worst this plan could have gone. Hopefully, they were in the clear now, unless the dogs (or any other unexpected guests) could open card-controlled doors.

The maintenance tunnel would have been a welcome sight, had it not been a void of darkness. When the door closed behind them and the red emergency light offered the only brightness, Cloud found himself reaching in the dark for Sephiroth. “I assume you,- you can see okay with t-those special eyes of yours?” He shivered, tone expressing the ridiculousness of present positions.

“What an astute observation.” His words were just as playfully sarcastic as Cloud’s, minus the laboured breathing. The General grasped the hand pawing sadly at his coat sleeve and they took off at a run.

It really didn’t help that Cloud couldn’t even see his own hand in front of his face. Their loud footfalls echoed in the tight space and bounced down the tunnel. There was no point in stopping to check behind them, it wasn’t like Cloud could see if anything approached. He had to rely on Sephiroth’s senses- further enhanced than his own, to be able to pick out trouble if it were to arise.

Eventually the sounds which made him think they were being followed, died down. It wasn’t much comfort though, indiscernible noises, dripping water and the footsteps beating on metal, all jumping around the walls, reminding Cloud just how enclosed they were.

His clothes and hair stuck to him, clammy and cold. And though they were still moving, it gave the horrible impression that a huge monster had snatched him up and was squeezing Cloud in a tight hold.

Finally, he pulled back on Sephiroth’s hand. His guide relented, letting them stop. Gasping for breath, Cloud wished he could see a damn thing. “D-do you know where-?”

“I’m quite sure we’re not lost. I recall the way we arrived perfectly for this half of the tunnels.” Sephiroth replied, robotically. “Are you cold?”

Cloud rolled his eyes at the utterly stupid question. “What an- an astute observation.” Sarcastically parroting back the other’s earlier words.

While he wouldn’t freeze, Cloud wasn’t used to being this cold. Temperature tolerance was something his enhancements had covered. Still the blond was a lot more breathless and shivery than he should be. Probably shock or something stupid like that.

Sephiroth shook their hands apart and shuffled about. “Wear this.”

It took Cloud longer than it should to work out that the General had pulled his jumper off. There was a dim flicker of green which Cloud thought might have been the other’s eyes. Cloud caught the light and held it, while he leaned heavily against the service railings he’d found at his side.

Hands worked to unfasten his armour. Caught dumb, Cloud stood idly and let the other work. “There something to be s-said for this.” Cloud tried to joke as blessedly warm hands pulled his sweater over his head. A horrid soggy feeling which reminded him momentarily of being submerged again.

“And what’s that?” Sephiroth questioned, wringing the remaining liquid out of Cloud’s shirt.

“Oh, you know?” Finally beginning to get his breathing under control, he waited for Sephiroth to laugh or make any sort of comment. “You pulling m-my clothes off in the dark?” He finished when no response came.

The baggy jumper was shoved over the blonde’s head and his hair ruffled dry in the hood until the excess mako was out of it. The motion reminded him of being manhandled by his mother.

“Well, you’ll have to keep the wet trousers, I’m afraid. I doubt mine will fit you.”

No longer trapped in that dumb jumper, Cloud could feel the gentle brush of Sephiroth’s hair settling around them. Reaching out for his equipment, Cloud fixed his gear back into place. Not letting himself feel embarrassed at having his old enemy do this for him.

Add this one to the ‘what the fuck?!’ list, which was gradually building in length.

“Thanks.” Cloud mumbled, appreciating the gesture more than he could adequately vocalise.

They took the rest of the walk slower, staying close together. The panicked thudding of Cloud’s heart was exchanged gradually by the contented whispers of S-cells.

The walk took a little over two hours and by the time they pushed open the surface hatch, it was dark outside. Gone midnight, Cloud guessed without caring to look. A light pattering rainfall kept everyone concealed in their tents, which both men were glad for.

They waited alone on the train platform and had a carriage to themselves. No one came to check their IDs. Left to sit in silence, shoulders lightly touching. An increased sense of comradery forged from a terrible evening excursion.

The drama of the night eased and left Cloud tired but comparatively relaxed. The mako which had dried on his skin was itchy and smelled strongly of sour chemicals, which the man beside him must have hated. Still, Sephiroth looked like his mind lay elsewhere. Fingers laced together, he sat immobile. Had anyone else surveyed the pair, they likely wouldn’t have noticed, but Cloud could see and somewhat feel the heat of anger playing across him. An echo of it passed through foreign cells.

How he processed today’s discoveries would determine the rest of Cloud’s stay in Midgar. This could work the way he hoped, or all come down in flames… again.

When they pulled up to the Sector Seven platform, Cloud moved to stand.

Firmly, Sephiroth placed a hand on his leg, keeping his accomplice in place. “Return with me.”

Shrugging, Cloud fell back to his seat. Actually, a hot shower would be really nice.

It was a long train ride, around the slums and up to the top plates. Perhaps they should have changed trains? Nah, the ride was comfortable enough, it worked as a cool down from their wild activities; even though his baggy pants were clinging horribly and felt like wearing cardboard.

Their train was circling the upper plates when Sephiroth spoke again. He moved like he’d been down at the bottom of the ocean and was finally surfacing for air. “I read Hojo’s most recent reports on my file. They’ve been taking blood samples from me recently, with the objective of finding the cause and cure for the cellular degradation.” He spoke slowly.

Cloud waited quietly for him to continue, recognising there was more to this.

“My biology is slightly different, I’m more resilient to the condition. By the President’s orders, I will be decommissioned if they fail. I shall be used to identify the cause and treatment, then disposed of.” A heaviness clung to his words, too dull to allow for much emotion. In its absence, Sephiroth’s hands clenched tightly together.

It took Cloud a moment to process. “…What?” He flinched in revulsion. “But… But you’re their best.”

“They’re scientists. Now they’ve identified a formula which works, they’ll likely have many more specimens like myself at varying stages of completion. I had no knowledge of Angeal or Genesis until they realised that I, like them, was different. They themselves were preludes to my creation.”

So, their time was limited even further. “That’s sick.”

Sephiroth didn’t react. “They will need me until the battle with Wutai has concluded.”

Cloud could see him running possibilities through his mind.

The General continued, “In your future, do they find a cure?”

“No.” Cloud answered quietly. “They just drew the public eye away from Soldier, after a while, to cover anything up.”

“I assume from your reaction that they do not dispose of me?”

In all the reports he’d read after Shinra’s collapse, Cloud had never come across any proposals to test on their champion. Though, he could admit that such might not be well documented. “No, but I don’t know anymore. Things are already starting to play out differently to last time.”

Nodding once, Sephiroth returned to silence.

Cloud mulled the information over, wishing he knew more. Trying to pull back any information he might have forgotten, but remained positive he’d have remembered talk of ‘decommissioning’ Shinra’s most prized Soldier.

Two stations later, they were nearing their stop, circling around the upper plates. Finally, Sephiroth ended their silence. “Spar with me. I wish to see what you’re capable of.”

“Sure. Just say when you’re free.” Cloud stretched, preparing to move from his seat.

Sea green eyes held him with a dangerous stare that had long since haunted the Mercenary. “Then we shall do it now.”

The train pulled up in an impressive looking station, below the Shinra building. Cloud opened his mouth to protest that this wasn’t exactly fair, given his present state. But then that was the point, wasn’t it? Life hardly played fair, no enemy would wait until the playing field was even before making their move, or no moves would be made at all, right? Sephiroth knew what he was doing.

Thankfully, so did Cloud.

Chapter Text

The Shinra residential building glittered its stylish black and gold, impressive even in the rain. They rode the elevator to the top floor before continuing up to the roof. Looming over them stood the Shinra building, only a short walk away.

Cloud could imagine the space would be nice on a pleasantly weathered day, open space, some decorations, a small patio and seating area. Cheerful, he thought. Quaint electrical lighting framed the pathways while larger illuminations caught the raindrops as they fell, like tiny shards of glass.

Getting right to business, Sephiroth pulled off his shirt and scarf, tossing them to a chair. Silver hair danced in the patio spotlights some ways off. All grace and muscle and concealed irritation.

Watching as he set into a waiting stance, several things struck Cloud.

A flash of old memories flooded him. Half remembered things, which told of a final battle in the lifestream. Right now, there was something fiery in Sephiroth’s eyes. A rage, while not directed at the man before him, could still be felt in the thickening pressure of the air.

It felt like suddenly being watched by a stadium of people, a heaviness he shrank under. Cloud tried not to remind himself of the times that same piercing gaze had nearly meant his doom. It was hard to not lock up, difficult to not be frozen over by a fear he hadn’t felt this intensely in many years.

“… Are you alright?” Sephiroth asked.

The words did well to shake Cloud from his stupor. This would be fine, he reminded himself. His opponent wasn’t intent on murder today, so he had that going for him.

The blond nodded, sinking into a ready stance. “Fine.” He called back, trying to shoo that old instinctual fear from under his skin. Instead, he focused on the night-time rain, which had become a light but constant drizzle. Though annoyed that he would be getting soaked again, it was at least water this time, and helped to ease the clammy residue prickling uncomfortably at his skin.

Hopefully, his residual panicky chest and cardboard pants wouldn’t be too much of a nuisance. “When you’re ready.” He called, across the rain-washed roof.

They regarded each other. Motionless, under the monolithic weight of the Shinra building towering above.

Cloud, crouched low, swallowed his trepidation and counted the seconds.

One. Two. Three. Four. Five.

Sephiroth sprang forwards, summoning Masamune to his hand in time to level an upward swing. Finding a more preferable position, Cloud rolled to his left and swung for Sephiroth’s exposed side.

With blinding speed, the other turned. Their blades met in a clash and screech of steel. The taller won out and pushed Cloud back enough that he nearly stumbled. Barely, he leapt back to a safer distance as Masamune swept for his middle.

Rushing back in, the silver of their swords glinted. Strike, block, parry, block.

Cloud kept pace, patiently looking for an opportunity.

Finally, he managed a parry which pushed Sephiroth off centre. Before he could leap out of the way, Tsurugi caught his side, slicing his hip just above the belt. A measured swipe, no actual damage. It bled none the less.

Sephiroth glanced down, his intense focus fell away long enough to regard Cloud with the slightest smile. “How unexpected.” Not many people drew first blood against Shinra’s Silver Warrior. This was about to get interesting.

They clashed again and again under the chill night air. It wasn’t long before Cloud felt the bite of Masamune on his own skin. Unrelenting, he didn’t pause until a kick to his exposed side sent his stumbling back.

“You fight well for a mere infantryman. If that is truly all you were.” Sephiroth’s gaze flickered to miniscule drop of blood at his blade’s edge.

“Failed my Soldier entrance exam.” Going back in, Cloud leapt into the air.

Bringing the flat edge of his blade up to defend from a downward slam, Sephiroth waited. Less predictable than that, Cloud’s feet met the Masamune, jumping over his opponent’s shoulder. He pivoted in the air and brought his weapon down to the ground in a charged smash. The terrain buckled below as a wave of energy shot forth.

It hit Sephiroth hard in the side. He stumbled but had his defences back up to clash once again a second later. “What a pity. Such wasted unseen potential.”

Praise like that might have pierced Cloud straight through the heart in his younger years. These days, it meant nothing… the compliment was pretty nice though.

A few strikes later had the blond pushed back. In the lack of light, he didn’t notice a small step along the border of the path. Tripping backwards and landing with a thud, all he could do was block. A piercing strike was slid almost gently over Tsurugi, forcing it to instead impale the stonework beside Cloud’s head.

Rolling back on the ground, Cloud kicked Sephiroth’s left wrist. Hard enough that had the blade not been held firmly by the ground, the General might have dropped it.

With a backwards roll, he kicked off the ground, back at a safe distance once again.

Humming in interest, Sephiroth flexed his wrist and pulled his sword from where it stood. Around them, the wind was whipping violently now, when it had been a calm night before. Cloud wondered whether his foe had involuntarily summoned it.

Despite their battle not lasting long, Cloud could already feel his muscles straining under the weight of his opponent’s attacks. The action relaxed him somewhat, no longer concerned he’d lock up under the other’s powerful gaze.

“Can you feel the pull between us? This is the strongest I’ve felt it resonate.” Sephiroth acclaimed, at least he looked to be having a bit more fun. Despite this, the intensity between them hadn’t shifted loose.

“Do you have to monologue?”

Continuing in their clashes, they remained even, despite Cloud’s flagging energy. It urged him to put double the weight into his swings, move even faster, in the hopes of ending this quickly.

Following a decent parry and riposte which forced Sephiroth to back off momentarily, the General re-entered the fray at breakneck speed, leaping for a downward strike. Cloud met him in the air but his momentum was off. Though catching Sephiroth’s higher attack, it sent him landing hard on one knee. Graceful in the air, Sephiroth rained down a second blow.

Separating his blade into two, Cloud blocked the oncoming swing with one and struck back with the other. Narrowly, his aggressor avoided being torn down the side.

Drawing back, Sephiroth struck his sword into the ground. Sounding a horrible crack, the stonework buckled and splintered. With a twist of his right hand, it rose in the air and warped into a furious storm at Sephiroth’s will.

In a heartbeat, it was released, pelting towards Cloud. He ducked, weaved and sliced through the barrage. Raising his sword up defensively to catch a chunk of debris. The Mercenary tried to roll it over his shoulder, which somewhat worked, with the stone roughly grazing above his brow.

Appearing out of nowhere, Sephiroth was beside him. They met in another evenly fast and squarely powerful duel. Cloud could feel Sephiroth putting his full force behind his blade, which sang sharp at its master’s request, while Cloud ducked and swung back.

Locked in the same back and forth, Cloud couldn’t tell how long the moment lasted with the two evenly matched, deadly and blindingly fast. When blades met flesh, it was unflinching and met blow for blow.

Recognising his strength was quickly failing him, Cloud prepared for a takedown.

Tossing one part of Tsurugi into the air, he drove the other into the ground. Dodging a lunge, Cloud jumped and kicked off the blade secured in the stonework. Collecting the thrown part out of the air, Cloud twisted and set for a final downward strike.

On his descent, the blond caught Sephiroth’s sly smile and knew his move had been predicted.

Sephiroth stepped back and fell into crouch, sword raised high and ready.

Before Cloud could land, nor move into a defensive position, it was too late. The movement was almost too fast to register, leaving the sound of Masamune cutting through the rain.

Cloud hit the floor before he could possibly regester what had happening, the clatter of his weapon against the slabs followed a second later. Rolling over onto his back, a curtain of silver hair and shining green eyes filled his vision. Sephiroth crowded over him, blade to Cloud’s throat, looking pleased with himself.

That was it, all done. Not a moment too soon, Cloud was exhausted, a feeling he wasn’t too used to anymore, after battle. “Enjoyed that, didn’t you.” He observed, gasping air back into his lungs. Letting his head fall back against the patio, which now looking a little worse for wear.

“Who wouldn’t.” The General smirked.

The wind died back down to a gentler breeze, proving Cloud’s theory. Even Sephiroth was mildly out of breath, which was something of a win at least. Finding himself huffing an amused breath, he pushed the sword away from his throat.

It was dismissed, vanishing once more. The victor moved off to sit at Cloud’s side. “I’ll admit, that last strike wasn’t intended quite so deep.” Shifting, Sephiroth pulled the borrowed hoodie up. Sure enough a fairly deep gash lay just under his ribs, bleeding steadily.

“Give it a few hours, it’ll be gone.” Cloud flapped one hand dismissively, not bothering to even look. He pinched the grey fabric between his fingers, which were still shaking slightly. “Sorry, about this.”

“No matter. You can have it if you want.” A glow of green restorative magic clung to Sephiroth’s fingers, which he ran skilfully over the deepest cut.

“Cool.” Cloud grinned lazily. “I didn’t get you too bad, did I?” He asked out of curtesy, knowing from experience that this man could survive a significant amount of shit kicking.

Sephiroth hadn’t bothered looking at his own damage. “That’s quite alright. I’ll admit, its more than my regular opponents can lay on me.”

Vision swimming precariously with exhaustion, Cloud’s mind might have turned pleasantly to jelly. “Does that mean I’ve passed your test?” He pushed himself up onto his elbows to better relieve the dizziness.

“With flying colours.” Sephiroth reassured.

They were both getting quite soggy in this rain. Sephiroth’s hair was untidy and sticking to his face and chest, which made Cloud feel more than a little awkward for considering how handsome he looked at that moment. “Come with me then? No more bowing to Shinra?”

“Yes. No more of that, I suppose.” He conceded with an almost relieved sigh.

Cloud prodded at Sephiroth’s hand, as it administered speedy healing. “Go on, let me get up. I want a shower, and before you say anything, this rain doesn’t count.”

“I‘m still astounded you ended up in that tank. You realise the window for you to land precisely in there was significantly slim. I thought for a moment you’d done it intentionally.” Sephiroth smirked at Cloud, who was drying his hair in a towel, pleasantly warm after a steaming shower which might have used up the hot water for the entire building.

He could still smell the mako, but it was much lighter now and masked by a range of vanilla smelling hair products he’d found around the shower. “What can I say? I’m a magnet for bullshit.” At least these days he was better at letting things go. He must have been, or he wouldn’t be joking about something terror inducing while sneaking an extra pizza roll from Sephiroth’s plate.

“Why do you have a philosophy book?” Cloud tried to hold back the amusement from his voice, flicking through the small book shelf.

“Is that really so comical? I’d recommend it, the author is incredibly interesting. Mayor Domino gave it to me some years back, it’s on Shinra’s list of banned books.”

It wasn’t a huge collection, by any means, but everything on the shelves were well used and carefully looked after. “No reason.” Cloud mumbled in response to Sephiroth’s question. “You like Loveless? Didn’t take you for a theatre guy.” It was certainly out of place on the shelf amongst the many volumes of nonfiction. Baring many pencil written annotations crammed on every page, when Cloud flicked through the well-loved book; more worn and torn than anything else on display.

“That’s because I am most certainly not.” The other called back from his careful cleaning of the already immaculate kitchen unit. “It belonged to one of my… acquaintances.” The word was carefully chosen.

Cloud could deduce said acquaintance was one of his previously killed Firsts. Zack had talked a lot about them during their time together, but Cloud struggled to recall much of the pair, other than his friend’s general adoration for Angeal. One had to wonder just how close the two had been with Sephiroth, how much their betrayal and gruesome deaths had tolled upon their leader.

None of his business, the blond picked out an in-depth book regarding their planetary system, which he noted was one of several. Indeed, the General was particularly drawn to the stars, if one could guess from his reading habits.

Cloud opted to make camp on the seldom used sofa. The offer of bunking in Sephiroth’s albeit spacious bed was available, but Cloud had politely declined. He’d already had enough of a heart attack today and the idea of rolling over in the middle of the night and being face to face with the man who once plagued his nightmares, might not have been ideal. Only so much he could deal with in one go.

If he hadn’t been so exhausted, he probably wouldn’t have slept. Feeling the other’s presence so closely was something he had gotten used to while awake and alert, with his sword strapped to his back. Trying to relax was different. It was then that made him question if staying so close to Sephiroth was a good idea, a question which always led to the same conclusion: We’ll see, won’t we.

With how tired he was, sleep had come easy. Despite this, Cloud still woke barely two hours later. His clothes had finished in the washer, so he untidily left them out to dry. Thankfully, after leaving another load to wash and dry a few days earlier, he had another set ready (Sephiroth hadn’t told him he couldn’t, other than mumbling something about extra clutter). His heightened healing had taken care of any remaining cuts and bruises, so he’d avoided making a mess of the immaculate apartment.

Cloud glanced around the half wall which separated the bedroom from the main area. Lying on his side in a pool of silver hair, all his usual grace and beauty, Sephiroth’s eyes moved rapidly, though closed, the occasional twitch in his brow.

The sight threw Cloud, as if it were somehow unnatural. For this man, who decimated villages in Wutai, Shinra’s manufactured killing machine who’d taken on warped Godly forms in his pursuit for domination, to rest so humanly. Sephiroth looked so normal, enough that it bothered his observer. Unsure as to why it rattled him in such a way, he leaned against the wall partition and studied the sleeping form.

Did he himself wish to dehumanise this man as much as Shinra had? The Sephiroth Cloud remembered couldn’t have been called human. Had that Jenova tainted version slept as peacefully as this one, after being released from his crystal prison?

Soundlessly, Cloud approached. Making his way to the bedside, he reached out a hand. Letting his fingertips trail down silver hair, which almost appeared to glow white in the dark. Repeating the motion with more confidence when no response came, Cloud silenced the spiralling of his mind. His thoughts threatening to be caught in Typhoon’s storm. A clustered mix of past and present confusing horror and humanity.

So, he stayed, forcing his mind to consider what the other might be imagining, instead of what the future might hold for them both… what might happen when Sephiroth ultimately learned his true role in what had led to Shinra’s downfall. He’d find out eventually, Cloud just didn’t know how to break that kind of news.

Sephiroth sighed in his sleep, which made the blond pause in his movements. Preparing to bolt, he waited but the other didn’t stir, seemingly passing through to the end of his dream.

Cloud figured he’d better leave. No point in lingering around here, waiting for awkward morning conversations. He’d never been very good at those, better to be the first to escape. Besides, Sephiroth had work in the morning, Cloud would likely just get in the way.

Quietly collecting his gear, he headed back to Sector Seven.

Chapter Text

The pale moon is the only thing illuminating his apartment, casting an icy tone where the light touches. There’s a pressure in the air. Beginning subtle, like the few visible stars which dot the polluted sky.

Gradually, its strength increases, until he can feel the displacement around his fingers. Makes the hair on the back of his neck prickle. The feeling he’s become accustomed to when facing off against monsters. A danger sense he’s learned to trust completely.

This time, he’s calm, content. To the extent that the sensation is more so reminiscent of the connection he shares with Cloud, except Sephiroth is alone.

The pull is still there, in the pressure. It calls to him and he mentally presses it. Ethereal. There but not quite.

There’s the idea that he can get closer, so he opens himself up to the feeling. Eyes flickering shut momentarily as Sephiroth stands before his high window view of a night time Midgar. Silently, he calls it, ‘closer’.

The pressure builds like it’s reaching for his offer. A web of cracks splinter down the glass, floor to ceiling.

‘Closer’

The building begins to shake. Slowly at first, a buzzing vibration through the soles of his boots, taking its time before the tremors descend into violence. The structure cries out as metal supports begin to rend and it’s music to his ears. He wants the building to fall around him, wants to feel it break under his feet, taste the weight of its debris.

Eyes fluttering open, he sees it’s not just his building which is squirming beneath an unseen hand. Every structure visible to him is shuddering, beginning to splinter. The sight is beautiful.

From above, the moon’s delicate glow is replaced by the charred orange of a raging blaze.

‘Closer’

Fire falls from above and begins to swallow Midgar. It swells until the sky is replaced entirely, as something of celestial beauty and destruction nears.

The heat can be felt burning through the glass and his eardrums are fit to burst. Yet he so desperately desires more. Total and complete death from above.

Yes. It’s the most magnificent thing he’s ever witnessed. He prays it’ll consume him too, permits him to soak in those unholy flames.

Reaching out with an unsteady hand, Sephiroth runs a digit across one of the veins splintering the window. Under the barest of pushes, it shatters about him, collapsing in raining shards.

Met with a rush of hot air, of dust and brimstone and death. The breeze smells like gloriously torched metal, burnt flesh and rubble. A smile spreads across his face unprompted.

His own building begins to buckle and sway, but Sephiroth desires more now,- he needs to see the cataclysm when it hits.

‘Closer’

Stepping out he lets the wind catch him. Suspended above the city as it’s pulled into the burning vortex above. Now, the connection beginning to form with whatever is bringing this catastrophe, resonates stronger than anything else he’s felt. It transcends the feeling he gets from his and Cloud’s shared bond, leaves it in the dust with every other useless, pointless human he’s ever encountered.

They’re all unnecessary and there’s no reason to pretend to be human anymore.

He looks up into the impending apocalypse. Closer!

Awaking with a shaky intake, Sephiroth’s eyed flickered open. Back in bed, in his darkened apartment, some hours before dawn. The dream had left him with a pleasant hum in his head, contented despite its wicked nature. A burning settled into his skin, which soaked down into his core. It all felt so real, unnervingly so.

Indeed, he was startled more so by how comforting he’d found it, rather than the intensity, or its horrific content. In fact, a sickly-sweet smile had refused to leave his face. For all its disturbing nature, he wished desperately to return to it. A longing which burned like his skin and thudded like the heartbeat in his ears.

Echoed but present, the fringes of that otherworldly connection could still be felt. He scrambled to desperately grasp the feeling, Sephiroth let it buzz in his head and numb his brain.

Suddenly too hot, he sat up, pushing the offending covers away, as though they might set him alight. Breathing deeply, trying to centre himself and better chase back that feeling.

After a minute it seemed to be working, the burning sensation ebbed as well as the almost maniacal joy he’d been consumed with.

Then, he noticed something.

Had his eyes not been so well adapted for low light, Sephiroth would have surely missed it.

Around him, the walls of his room wobbled. The movement so subtle it was scarcely noticeable. The soft ripple of a feather landing upon still water. For a moment, he wasn’t sure it had been real. It reminded him of being a child, staring out into the darkness around him, with his imagination fooling him into thinking he wasn’t alone. That had been before his eyes had been modified.

Now though, the planes of his walls squirmed with increased volume. As it built, the otherworldly connection thrummed in his head.

The floor too. The wooden board pattern of the grey lino was gone, replaced with writhing. Something alive, surrounding him.

Not inclined to do anything other than watch while the recognisable warped, the walls stared back. They blinked, a thousand inhuman eyes. Not like his own, but beautiful in their own way. More comforting than a human’s.

His head throbbed. These were things no mortal being should witness without being robbed of their mind. It was more a pleasant sort of pain, and Sephiroth welcomed it.

An instinct called hopelessly, that he should be fearful, fight back. Yet this being welcomed him lovingly. He wanted so desperately to submit his aching mind to her loving call.

‘My son.’ She spoke into his mind. Alien speech he could somehow interpret. Like the squirming tendrils which made up the floor were pressing into his head, he could almost feel the words moving somehow as they rattled and swam in his skull.

A crescendo of white noise arose, and with it the appendages, crawling up to consume him.

Yes! This was everything he wanted! Breathing hard in trepidation Sephiroth answered. ‘Take me with you. Take me with you, Mother.’

They replied with a buzz of appreciation. She was pleased with him.

The tendrils reached forwards. Sephiroth could feel the violent energy pulsing off them, more powerful than anything he’d sensed before. It felt like home.

Welcoming them with open arms, he waited for their cold embrace. Shaking with anticipation as they reached out to finally-.

“Hey boss? I’m grabbing a coffee, you want one?” Zack’s upbeat voice interrupted the vision. “Wait, were you asleep? Sorry, man.” Humoured and apologetic in equal measure.

Sephiroth blinked a few times, losing the dream and all sensations which had come along with it. A sense of loss washed over him in its absence. Those alien forms, how badly he’d wanted to touch them…

Compared to the reality he’d just lost, this waking world felt like a lie. An insult. His dream (was it even a dream?) had offered him such power. Seen his potential for what it was, opposed to the paper pushing Shinra had set him with recently.

He was pulled out of his thoughts by Zack awkwardly coughing from where he stood by the doorway. “Boss? Did you hear me?”

Sephiroth nodded, pushing his chair from his desk. “I’ll come with you.”

The good coffee machine was located the floor below them. Another could be found on their level of the barracks, but it lacked a lot of the fancy options, nor did its drinks have quite as much caffeine squeezed into them. Neither minded the longer walk, instead wordlessly agreeing on which to opt for.

Sephiroth’s headache dissipated on the way down, as did the memory of his dream, leaving him only with a sense of longing for something otherworldly he couldn’t quite place.

His discovery that Hojo was willing to take him apart bit by bit to find a cure for the cellular degradation problem, had kept him in a state of limbo for a few days now. The idea that Shinra, who had risen him to such heights, had put such time and funding into his development, would so easily discard him… it remained something he found difficult to comprehend.

Of course, Shinra’s modus operandi had always been to inject large amounts of money into projects, run them for a few years before pulling all funding. The reactor in Gongaga came to mind. The small community had been complaining for years about what they believed to be leakages, leading to mako poisoning in the community. Shinra had done nothing, having extracted the excess of the natural resources, even as the workers warned a larger collapse may be imminent.

Palmer had been excited recently, on account of the rocket ship due to launch in the near future. However, whispers told that the project had exceeded the time and money the company was willing to push into it. A shame, Sephiroth had been excited when he’d first heard of the space mission, years ago. Hopefully, they would manage to launch.

It wasn’t too farfetched to think he was just another of these investments which had run its course. Once Wutai was conquered, Shinra would inevitably ease off its military in favour of construction in its newly acquired land. In that down time, it wasn’t unreasonable that they would work on perfecting their next batch of Soldiers. After all, they had a formula which worked well, it merely required some adjusting.

Zack leaned casually against one of the surfaces of the break station, letting Sephiroth make his drink first. “So.” He began.

“So?” Sephiroth could see the young man was plotting something.

“Me and my girlfriend are going out on Friday night. To that buffet place not far from the station, you know the one.”

Sephiroth didn’t but he nodded regardless.

Zack continued, “It’s gonna be really cool, I’m gonna invite her to that big Shinra party thing, ya know, because we get to bring a plus one. An you know I gotta bring her, she’s the best, right? Well, I was thinking you could come along too. On Friday, I mean, I know you have to go to the Company party.” He chuckled good naturedly. “She said she’s cool with it too. You can invite your friend if you like, I still need to meet him. What do you say?”

“I’ll… consider it.” The General sounded almost pained. Zack didn’t even know him that well and even Sephiroth had to admire the amount of effort he was putting in. Or trying to, at least, he wasn’t exactly making it easy for his First.

“Well, offers open. Hit me up if you wanna join.” Zack smiled patiently. He’d been expecting that answer, but clearly, it wouldn’t deter him.

The coffee machine whirred and sputtered as it very slowly filled his cup. “Some time ago, you questioned if we were fighting for the right side.” Sephiroth quite drastically changed the subject, incapable of keeping the seriousness from his voice.

Caught off guard, Zack stiffened. Glancing back, he checked whether they were still alone. “I, um. Yeah, sorry about that, it was a tough day and, well. You know how ya start overthinking things?” He guiltily picked at the edge of his cup in a way which reminded the other of Cloud.

“I agree with you. I am no longer convinced that Shinra is a cause worth dying for.” Sephiroth wondered whether he’d ever believed they were, or if he’d just floated along with whatever tide they cast on him.

Zack, who must have been expecting to be reprimanded for speaking poorly of their overlords, blinked in surprise. “Wait, really? What changed your mind?”

“A lot.” Sephiroth summarised, truthfully.

“Do you think…” Zack stumbled over his words. “Do you think Angeal and Genesis… were they right?”

Sephiroth really didn’t want to think about them. Their betrayal against the company was one thing. Their betrayal of his trust was another. In truth, he didn’t think they were right or wrong; Genesis, especially, just lost his mind. “I’m still trying to figure that out. Do you think they were?” Tactfully, he passed the question back.

Zack considered for a long moment before moving to insert his own cup into the machine. “I’ve been thinking about that a lot. I don’t have all the pieces to be able to answer, but I don’t think what happened was fair. Shinra set them up to fail. The only one they could go to was Hollander, and he ended up being a real sicko.” His eyes were hard and clearly, there was more he wished to say. “What are you thinking?” The Soldier asked instead.

“I’m starting to believe that this world is a lot bigger than what I thought. Something is drawing me out. I must investigate what.”

“You gonna ditch Shinra?” Zack lowered his voice to say.

Sephiroth stirred his drink, focusing more on the swirling liquid than the nervous intonation in Zack’s voice. “That might become inevitable, yes.”

Zack collected his drink, but made no move to leave the break corner. “You thinking before or after Wutai?”

“Before.”

The other puffed a deep breath, running a hand through his hair. “Boss, you know that means I’ll be the only First, right? I can handle it, sure, but… Genesis, Angeal, Lazard and now you? Morale hasn’t been the best lately and I don’t know what its gonna do to the guys if all of their commanders disappear. I know a few of ‘um look up to me and I get along with most, but I’ve got no sway on them, you get me? Heidegger has never even spoken to me. And I’m not sure I can go through with this Wutai thing or order anyone else to, if my hearts not in it.”

Sephiroth finally lifted his gaze from his drink. “I understand. That’s why I’d like to offer you a place as my Lieutenant.”

Zack froze, a comical look on his face. He sputtered something nonsensical before shuddering back to life. The sequence reminded Sephiroth of a robot having electrical troubles.

“What!?” He barked louder than expected, making himself flinch. “What?” He repeated, whispering this time.

“Your mentor was right about you. You’re capable and the role will fit you well. Be aware that I may not always be there, especially since you know my current standing with the company, as of now… also, I’m afraid there’ll be more paperwork.” Sephiroth spoke sincerely.

“Wow, okay. Sure. Sure!” Zack fired back a confident grin. “You can count on me, Boss!”

They shook on it. An unexpected relief washed over Sephiroth, thankful for the help. Zack would make and excellent chess piece against Shinra.

“One condition.” Zack prompted.

“Name it.”

“Come hang out on Friday. I promise, it’ll be really good.”

Sephiroth couldn’t help but smile a little. Well played. “That sounds reasonable.” No getting out of it now.

Under the plates, Cloud was sat on an old piece of construction equipment. Below lay a great view of Sector Five, they’d made it quite high up. Resting with his feet dangling over the edge, beside him sat Aerith. They’d met a few times since their first surprise meeting, and today the two had taken a steep pathway for a good walk. Neither was bothered by the large drop off just below them, as they stopped for water.

“Zack’s been asked to this big Shinra party in a few weeks. He’s going to invite me along with him. It’s a surprise, I’m not supposed to know.” Aerith smirked.

Cloud hummed in amusement at that. Leave it to Aerith to work something like that out. “You’ll at least act surprised when he tells you? Don’t break his heart.”

“Oh, naturally.” She kicked her legs over the edge, boots knocking against the old metal. “Zack’s been desperate to get his boss to come out with us.”

“Sephiroth? Yeah good luck with that, he spends all his free time with me now.”

Aerith laughed. “Does he really?”

“Yeah, we broke into an underground lab together last week. If you’re looking for date options for you and Zack, I wouldn’t recommend it.”

She bumped his arm. “Oh stop it. Did you really? Were either of you seen?”

Cloud watched a plume of gas rising from an old pipeline. “Nope. They haven’t issued any reports about it, I don’t think they wanna draw attention. Guess we’re just that good at being sneaky.”

“What went wrong?”

“What do you mean? We got out without being caught.”

“No no, come on. What happened?” Aerith pushed.

Cloud shrugged. “I may have ended up in a mako tank for half a minute before Sephiroth fished me out.”

Whatever she’d been expecting, it wasn’t that. Aerith nearly choked on her sip of water. At Cloud’s mildly offended look she retorted, “Come on, that’s a little bit funny.”

“Fine, maybe like twenty percent funny.” It had been pretty amusing, in hindsight.

“Sixty percent.” She haggled. “So, you and Sephiroth, hey?”

“I don’t know what he finds so interesting about me. I wish I found me that interesting.” Cloud sighed, watching a group of sparrows chirp and flitter not far below. “I think it’s my bullshit magnet attracting him.”

“Could’ve fooled me. You like your own company enough, you can’t be that bad to spend time with.” She held him with an analytical sort of gaze, which instinctively made Cloud want to shrink away from. Her smile mischievous, knowing.

Cloud frowned back at her. “What?”

Her smile only widened, became even more impish. “Are you sure you don’t know why he’s spending time with you?”

What was she getting at? They were just standard friends, right? Just bros being bros. “I-…” Cloud was saved from having to answer her when his phone rang. “Sorry, hold on. That might be him now and you can ask him yourself.”

She giggled at that while Cloud retrieved his PHS, to instead see a number he didn’t recognise. “Hello?” Anticipation spiked through him.

“Cloud! Hey!” Tifa’s cheery voice called back, their connection much clearer than the first time she’d called. “Long time no speak.”

It did feel like a while since their midnight call on the train. “Hey. How’re things going? You made it to Corel?” Cloud felt his smile pulling at his cheeks before he even realised it was there.

“Yeah, a couple days ago. You need to come visit, it’s so nice here. I never saw it before Shinra destroyed everything, it’s such a shame. We’re in time though, they haven’t agreed on building the reactor yet.”

Beside him, Aerith tapped his arm. “That’s our friends, right?”

Cloud nodded with enthusiasm. Thrilled that she recognised Tifa.

“The whole region is crawling with Shinra personnel. We had to make so many detours on the way here, in case anyone noticed us from Nibelheim. No one’s stopped us yet, since we’ve been here.” The background sounded like she was stood aside a busy road.

Before Cloud could reply, a second voice faded in from the background. Loud and outgoing, Cloud didn’t have to ask who it was.

“Ay, Tifa! You speakin’ to Cloud?” Called Barret as he approached.

Her voice became distant as she handed the phone off. “You want to say hi?”

“You bet I do.” There was a pause before a booming voice rang through the earpiece. “Cloud! You spiky bastard! How the hell are ya?!”

Cloud flinched away from the shouting. “Someone sounds like they missed me.”

“Well maybe I did a little, when I woke up twenty years earlier than expected. You better have missed me too.” He shouted, aggressively friendly.

“Yeah, well, so what if I did?”

Barret leaned away from the receiver again. “You hear that, Tifa? He says he misses me.”

“Good.” Came Tifa’s reply from several paces away.

“I hear slum life is treating you well.” Barret continued.

Cloud leaned closer to Aerith, making sure she could hear too. “Always. I hear Corel’s in one piece.”

The other man faltered at that. “Listen, Cloud.” He said, rather more subdued. “This thing you’re planning against Shinra. I’m not saying I don’t want a part in it, you know I do, but… I’ve got all these people I never thought I’d see again. And well…”

“I get it. You want to stay there and make sure your home doesn’t get taken by them again?”

“Yeah. This is my chance to make up for last time. You can be sure I’ll be doing my bit, just here in Corel.” His relief at Cloud’s understanding was clear in his voice.

Again, Aerith tapped his arm. “Is that Barret?” She whispered.

“You remember him?” He mouthed back.

She nodded, even looking surprised by herself.

“Yeah, I know you’ll do your part, big guy.” Cloud sighed, feeling very warm and bright all of a sudden. It made him want to go take a nap, maybe brood in a darkened corner for a while to regain equilibrium.

“And what’ve you been doing? Spoke to Reeve yet?”

Cloud hummed, “Working on it. Gathering other allies.”

“Wait, who?” Questioned Barret.

Cloud offered the phone to Aerith, who took with more care than necessary. “Hey. Barret?” Nervousness in her voice, or was it an unsure excitement?

He paused on the other line. “Wait, wait. No. Wait, Aerith?”

“Yup, hiya.” She giggled.

The other side of the line erupted into crackling noise. Cloud couldn’t tell whether it was actual words their friend was saying, or if he was turning into a monster. “You got a lot of explaining to do, lady… I knew you had to be out there somewhere, but I wasn’t sure… Get over here right now and give all of us a hug!” Were some of the bits Cloud managed to pick out.

Tifa’s voice came next, her own disbelief upon hearing Barret’s exclamations. She shouted Vincent over, who didn’t sound quite so excitable compared to the other two.

Aerith grinned widely, chatting to both as they fought to speak with her. Their joy palpable in the air, Cloud relaxed in his friends’ delight. Maybe this redo wasn’t such a bad idea after all.

Chapter Text

‘Are you busy on Friday, after 7pm?’

‘That depends y.’

‘My presence has been requested for dinner. A buffet restaurant in Sector 2, you are welcome to join.’

‘Then I am free on fiday’

Cloud hadn’t thought all that much about the messages exchanged. His singular thought process had been food=good. Who Sephiroth was going with hadn’t come to mind until he met the man at the Central train station and finally asked.

Zack.

Currently, he was stood ridged in the busy evening street, Sephiroth levelling him with a questioning if not irritated stare. His head tiled as he examined the blond, who had stopped dead in his tracks.

He was an idiot. Aerith had practically told him a few days ago, they both shared an acquaintance who otherwise had no friends. It was almost inevitably the two would run into each other, it wasn’t like Sephiroth had much resembling a social circle.

“Cloud? Come now, you’re getting in the way.”

By the time the Mercenary kicked himself back into gear, his hand was snatched up. Letting himself be marched over to a more sheltered street side, Cloud found himself staring up at Sephiroth, who waited, arms crossed.

“You didn’t tell me Zack would be there.” Cloud snapped, not caring if he was harsh.

“I didn’t think it an issue. Previously, you stated the two of you were friends.” The General remained measured, not rising to Cloud’s outburst.

The other fidgeted, glanced about, suddenly not liking the number of commuters flooding the busy street. “Were. We were friends. I haven’t seen him in years.”

“Did the two of you succumb to a disagreement?”

He’d kick myself for this display later. To passers-by, the two probably looked like a parent tiredly waiting for their toddler to finish his tantrum. “No, you wouldn’t get it. He was my best friend, I-.”

Sephiroth waited, demanding more without needing to ask.

“We went through a lot of stuff together. He saved me. No, he kept me alive, for a hell of a long time.” Cloud corrected himself, forcing the words out. “But when it came down to it, I couldn’t save him.”

“I see.” If Sephiroth was bothered any by the confession, he made no show of it. “Are you able to face seeing him again?”

‘No’, was Cloud’s immediate thought, until he realised how cowardly he was being. After taking a deep breath, he steeled himself. “Of course, let’s go.”

For an extended moment, Sephiroth held him with a careful gaze. Still frazzled, Cloud had been about to snap at him again when the General finally dropped his stare; instead turning to lead the way once more.

Supressing his turmoil as much as possible, he searched the overcast sky, which threatened rain later that evening. Hoping it wasn’t some foreboding sign, Cloud stifled his nerves as much as possible.

By the time they reached the front of the restaurant, Cloud was at least confident he wouldn’t make a scene. The place was quite large, quiet, despite being located on such a busy street. Lit in warm orange and red atmospheric lighting.

Inside was even nicer than the view through the tinted glass window; dim but not dark, comfortable and warm. The pair stepped through the door and went about searching out their company. From a booth in a low lit back corner, Cloud caught the excitable form of Aerith, who waved them both over.

His tension eased a little upon seeing her. Aerith hopped up and clasped Cloud’s hands in warm greeting. She was alone at the table, no sign of Zack yet. “Hi! Looking good, Cloud.” She laughed, eyeing the grey buttoned shirt Cloud had picked out two days prior. It was also the first time since arriving in Midgar that Tsurugi had been left at home. A decision which had taken much debate, but he guessed large swords weren’t usually desired in nice restaurants.
If anything bad happened, at least Sephiroth always had his weapon… not that that should be of any comfort, he reminded himself.

“Heh, thanks. You too.” Cloud stepped back, glancing to his companion. They knew each other, right? Aerith had mentioned that?

She looked up at the much taller man with a gentle smile. Sephiroth searched her gaze. Definite recognition, perhaps something more than that.

“Hey there.” Aerith held out a hand, which the other took.

There was a flicker of something across Sephiroth’s expression, when the two shook hands. It was echoed through their connection, with Cloud receiving a pulse of residual emotion. A phenomenon which had only occurred a couple of times so far. He tried to decipher it, but the feeling remained too fuzzy to be identified.

“Have we… have we met?” Sephiroth slowly asked.

Her smile widened. “We were-.”

“Oh, you made it!” Called a voice which made Cloud freeze.

Aerith was interrupted as Zack finally appeared. Again, like all of these old acquaintances, he was exactly as Cloud remembered him. Hair longer, more tussled, like when they’d escaped together. All bright eyes, scarred face and confident stride. And damn, the sight gripped him, reached into his fading memories and tore them back, as if seeing then anew.

Their first meeting, how they’d laughed together. An actual Soldier, who knew Cloud’s name and considered him a friend. A new role model who he’d latched onto.
The two pacing nervously in the Shinra mansion, as Sephiroth’s mutterings turned gradually more manic and incomprehensible.
The weight of the Buster sword in his trembling hands, the hum of the reactor and Zack’s words in his ear. “Finish him off.”

An elbow nudged Cloud back into the present. “Sorry. I, urr, sorry.” The blond murmured, as he shook Zack’s offered hand. The other’s grip firmer than his own. “Name’s Cloud. Cloud Strife.”

“I finally get to meet ya? Nice! Cool name, bud. Makes ya sound like a hero.” That wicked grin, like a live wire threatening to choke out Cloud’s heart.

Sephiroth practically had to push the blond into his seat, before sitting on the outer side of the booth, preventing Cloud from fleeing.

Zack spoke up again, “Cloud, Boss, this is Aerith, she’s-.” Aerith interrupted him.

“I actually know Cloud pretty well. We hang out sometimes.” She declared, grinning across the table.

Cloud cleared his throat. “I’m from the Seven slums. I do merc stuff.” He briefly added at Zack’s questioning look.

“No way, that’s pretty cool! Small world, huh?” He laughed. “And this is Sephiroth-.”

“Yeah, we’re acquainted, too.” Aerith giggled. “We knew each other as children.”

In the corner of his eye, Cloud caught the slightest shift in Sephiroth’s posture. That at least explained why he might have recalled her. Zack however, frowned. He looked between the two, before he stilled, eyebrows raised, he mouthed a silent ‘Oh’. “Wow, crazy coincidence, am I right?” He laughed, a little awkwardly.

An almost dreamlike mist settled over Cloud. He was sat at a table with three people he’d never imagined seeing again. Hell, he’d seen them die. Or in Sephiroth’s case, killed them himself… several times over. In fact, the man beside him had, in some way or another, killed all three of them.

Aerith helped settle the building awkward atmosphere. “Did Sephiroth tell you? Zack got a promotion the other day?”

Cloud’s throat had become very dry. “Oh, really? You’re already a First though, right?” Right?...

Excitedly, Zack grasped the edge of the table. “I sure am, but now I’m Lieutenant, baby! WOO!” He celebrated before glancing apologetically across to his C.O. “Urr, sorry.”

Sephiroth replied with a dismissive shrug. His attention was on the drinks menu, which he studied with extreme care.

“Woa, seriously? That’s… that’s amazing.” Cloud hoped he didn’t sound too perturbed. Yet another change to add to the list.

They ordered drinks. Zack and Aerith got matching strawberry milkshakes. Not knowing what to choose from the wide selection, they convinced Sephiroth to have the same. Cloud was the one to break the chain by ordering something with a fairly high alcohol content. Of course, the enhancements wouldn’t allow him to get properly drunk, but any extra help right now was welcome.

Cloud was asked to show his identification, to prove he wasn’t underage, despite being the oldest in the group now. He didn’t find it as amusing as the others did, but reluctantly produced his fake ID regardless.

Thankfully, any social discomfort on their half of the table was made up for by Zack and Aerith. Conversing with Zack got easier as they progressed, with Aerith’s help. They spoke about their quiet hometowns, in a way which further tugged at Cloud’s heart. About snowy winters and late springs.

Totally inept at this brand of social situation, Sephiroth struggled to keep up. Cloud figured the lack of an objective or protocol to follow was confusing him. Reassuringly, the blond bumped their knees together, eliciting a spark of that connection. They flashed each other a glance. ‘Be chill, it’s okay.’ Cloud tried to transmit through their shared link, wondering whether it worked like that.

His idea was rewarded by the slightest of smiles from Sephiroth. So, he’d picked up at least an echo of Cloud’s intent. That was certainly worth noting.

At Aerith’s suggestion, they hopped up to get some food. The buffet was pretty amazing and Cloud was left unsure where to start, so tailed after Sephiroth.

“You’re finding Zack’s company more agreeable now?” He asked now the other two were out of earshot.

They ended up at the salad bar, which was quite impressive on its own. Cloud noted it being in a fairly secluded corner, which was possibly why the other had headed there first, whether the decision was a conscious one or not. “Getting there. It’s just so strange, I’ve not seen him for a decade, but it’s… it’s like a day hasn’t even passed, in a weird way. You managing okay?

Selecting an assortment of salad, Sephiroth answered, “As you say, getting there. I’d recognised her name, but it hadn’t occurred to me that Zack’s girlfriend was the same girl I knew as a child.”

“Yeah, I get it. Just try to have a good time, we’re all friends here.” Cloud encouraged, stepping away.

A minute later, while deciding whether to try some odd-looking seaweed roll things, Aerith appeared by his side. Cloud mostly ignored her presence until a barely concealed giggle stole his attention. She was giving him that look again. The one which saw more than Cloud’s narrower view of the world could hope to absorb. “What?” He snapped, light-heartedly juvenile.

He followed her swift glance to Sephiroth, who was still loitering with the salad. “Oh no, come on.” Cloud muttered, low so only they’d hear. “It’s just convenient if he’s on our side this time. Make sure he doesn’t get into trouble, you know?”

Aerith rolled her eyes. “Really, Cloud? Come on, that’s cruel even for you.”

“And need I remind you what I’m trying to prevent? What he did to you? Also, I really don’t fancy being impaled again.” Cloud argued, keeping his voice low enough that he was sure the man in question wouldn’t hear.

“What’s an adventure without a bit of impaling?” She laughed, a sound which only doubled at Cloud’s incredulous look, apparently at total ease with her previous fate. “He hasn’t taken his eyes off you since we arrived.”

“Neither has Zack.” He tried to deflect, because Cloud hadn’t actually noticed where Sephiroth’s attention had been, other than re-reading the drinks menu several times over.

The Cetra piled a few fried foods onto her plate. “I know. It’s funny you can tell more from him than the guy you’ve been glued to for the last couple of months.”

“Not really. I believed I was him for a long while.”

“Hmm, I don’t remember that.” She replied thoughtfully. “Shame you didn’t inherit his people skills.” At that she turned on her heel and strode back to their seats, leaving Cloud to fidget in place, making a sound akin to a balloon having its air slowly let out.

The food was pretty great; Zack had arrived with a mountain of assorted chicken wings, which he was determined to get Sephiroth to try each flavour of. So far, the General had only been approached by one person wanting his autograph, which he had seemingly dealt with using the very best of his Shinra-approved charm. Either way, they’d left looking pleased.

Cloud was on his third drink of whatever could induce a mental fog the fastest, and his mood was only improving with the addition of food. Still, something ached at him, a clawing in his chest, whose origin he couldn’t pinpoint. Possibly having Zack back before his eyes, had brought about the weighty feeling. It too felt like the return of another familiar face. Focusing more on those around him, the sensation was pushed to the back of his mind.

“I don’t know what these are but you should try them.” Cloud poked at some fried parcel looking things. He remained unsure what exactly was in them, but it was greasy and pretty good.

Sephiroth eyed darkly the item as it was pushed onto his plate. “Thank you, Cloud, but I’m quite alright.” He had elected only a wide variety of greens, which had been absolutely drowned in salad cream, to the point that one would have a hard time discerning what was swimming within it. The odd leaf sticking out of what had turned into something more akin to soup.

“Been wanting to ask,” Zack began, leaning forwards with one elbow on the table, effortlessly casual. “How did you two meet?”

“Urr…” The blond waved his hand at Sephiroth, in a ‘you tell them’ motion.

Without missing a beat, the other answered, “Myself and Cloud possess a mental connection which caused me to seek him out.”

“Oh. You’re just going straight in there then.” Cloud rose an eyebrow, but returned his attention back to his food. Not really caring whether Zack knew.

Aerith too appeared surprised that he’d blurted such a thing out, which might have made them both sound crazy. Zack on the other hand, did not seem to share that opinion. He sat even further forward. “No way, that’s so cool!”

Keeping his head down, Cloud murmured something under his breath, which was definitely not in agreement. Really, the bar for what was considered ‘odd’ was set pretty differently amongst their present company, compared to most people. The idea of strange cellular ties were not the most challenging thing for any of them to believe.

“Unexpected, is more so how I’d describe it.” Sephiroth added.

Zack abruptly tensed, leaned back, locked eyes with Aerith for several seconds before lurching forwards once again. A look of child-like excitement overtook him. “Does that mean you’re like soulmates!?”

Cloud nearly choked on his slice of pizza. “That’s not,- not a real thing.” He shut down, coughing.

“Actually, the clever people over in Cosmo Canyon traditionally believe that a small number of people have a predestined person that they’re drawn towards.” Aerith helpfully added, smiling at Cloud’s disturbed look.

“That’s correct.” Sephiroth said, fixing his attention on her. “Last year, their researchers issued a paper detailing the theory. It contained a wealth of evidence to support the idea.”

Aerith nodded enthusiastically back.

Still hunched and not enjoying the implications the topic brought, Cloud shot the man beside him a immature leer. “You just read that in your spare time, or…?”

Sephiroth ignored him in favour of continuing his discussion with Aerith, the two apparently finding something in common.

The two now engaged in steady conversation, Cloud’s attention returned to Zack and his steadily decreasing pile of chicken wings.

“Been meaning to ask, were you in Soldier or something?” Zack asked, a little sheepishly. “The eyes, you know?”

Where to begin on that one… “Sort of. That was the intention, but it didn’t work out. I was infantry but ended up spending a while with Hojo.” Cloud offered a knowing look.

The other scrunched his nose up, reading the hint, but continued to smile encouragingly. “I’ve… heard things about him. Still, looks like you could throw down with the best of ‘um.”

Offering his best smile and hoping it didn’t look too awkward, Cloud wished he had better conversational skills. He needed to change the subject, so reached for the first thing he could pull to mind. “You ever think about how salad cream is just lube for vegetables?”

Smooth.

Thankfully, Zack laughed at that and Cloud found himself grinning at nothing but the old ghost’s joy.

“If I could pause our evening, I have an announcement to make.” They’d finished eating a while ago when Zack tapped a fork against his half full milkshake. When attention was back on him, the Soldier scooted in his seat to face his girlfriend. “I got an invite to one of Shinra’s big yearly balls. There’s gonna be dancing and food and music and dancing and I’d like to invite you to go along with me, Aerith.”

The Cetra made a small noise of surprise, and gathered him in for a hug. “Wow, that sounds amazing! Of course, I’d love to.” She did well to make her wonder convincing.

Over her shoulder, Zack flashed the other side of the table an ecstatic grin, which Cloud returned with a thumbs up. “We’re going too.” The blond informed.

Beside him, Sephiroth made a sad hum of ‘Don’t remind me’.

“You’re going?” Zack questioned him back, when the two finally broke away. “As Seph’s plus one?”

Heh, Seph. “Yup.” Cloud downed the remainder of his drink. “Who wouldn’t want to miss Rufus Shinra’s birthday?”

“Is that the occasion?” Aerith asked. “I don’t know anything about him, really.”

Zack shrugged, “Never met ‘um.”

Sephiroth took a sip of his milkshake, his second one, so he must have been enjoying it. “It is not my place to have a personal opinion of the man.”

“But if you could, you’d say he’s an asshole, right?” Prompted Cloud.

“I might be inclined to.” The other admitted.

Aerith interjected. “Well, it sounds delightful either way. Can’t wait.”

Zack checked his watch and went pale. “Oh man, it’s later than I thought. We gotta get moving soon, or your Mom is gonna kill me.”

Cloud had to agree, it was getting late and Aerith’s Mom used to scare him too. That odd weighted sensation had persisted and though Cloud was having a much better time than expected, the strange feeling gave another prickle around his chest.

Calling it a night, they made their way back to the Central station. At a cross roads, Sephiroth and Cloud bid the others farewell, leaving Zack and Aerith to return to the slums. Not really sure where he was going, Cloud wordlessly followed Sephiroth, enjoying the evening breeze and fine rain it brought with it. He could have joined them, they’d be getting the same train, but as much as he loved the two (this evening reaffirming that fact quite thoroughly), there was only so much his heart could be tugged at in one afternoon. And oh, had it been tugged at.

So, he let them go without him, inevitably needing to retrace their steps later. For now, content to replay every moment over in his mind, a reeling emotional cooldown.

The walk continued on longer than Cloud expected. By the time Sephiroth’s apartment building came into view, the blond was heavy with nostalgia. It warped and needled at him until his enjoyment of the evening felt somehow tainted. An old internal voice of his own creation, which told Cloud he was undeserving of those he should have tried harder to save.

The cooldown had backfired, rising in discontentment instead.

An itch set under his skin, the burn of old faces and words left unsaid. It coated him in a smoky haze of guilt. That feeling which had settled within him was now rising to the surface.

“I found that more agreeable than expected.” Sephiroth sounded light, his comfort only making Cloud’s bitterness swell.

“Yeah.” Was all the blond managed to offer, his voice distant and weighty.

That strange spark lit into a burning and Cloud suddenly realised why it felt so familiar. Swirling faces and memories all blending together into a mess of rubble and anger.

Its leap in intensity must have caught in their connection. Sephiroth slowed his pace. Nearly at the door of his apartment block, he beset his companion with an inquisitive glance. “Cloud?”

Fists clenched, Cloud could imagine those acidic green eyes leering at him, as his once hero held him aloft, pierced through on his blade. Those same eyes glowering down on Zack, who lay wounded; and again at Aerith, as they watched her slump over dead with morbid satisfaction.

Cloud finally rose his eyes from the puddles gathering on the roadside, expecting that same reptilian gaze and cold smirk, expected to see fire dancing about his inhuman features. Instead, they were soft with something akin to concern.

Unexpected, it made Cloud faulter. The human side of his adversary was showing through and much like every time it did, it gave Cloud pause. Right now, he didn’t like seeing it; didn’t like admitting that the monster from his nightmares was Shinra’s creation. That being said, it was much more preferable to the metallic taste of blood on his tongue, which otherwise accompanied Sephiroth.

He had to force himself to remember that the man before him had not succumbed to the grip of madness, as the other Sephiroth had.

Cloud didn’t realise how long he’d been standing their dumbly, until the taller man reached a hand for his shoulder. Unable to think of anything worse than that linked feeling which accompanied their touch, he backed away quickly.

“Say you won’t hurt them.” Cloud growled. “Say you won’t hurt Zack and Aerith.”

The two studied each other closely, neither breaking eye contact. Any moment, Cloud expected that dark smirk to slither back onto his face, see a flash of cold steel.
Yet neither happened. Cloud felt nauseous. His memories were getting the better of him, confusing the past and present.

One could almost see the cogs turning in Sephiroth’s head. “They met their end on my blade.”

To his surprise, Sephiroth didn’t question what had led to such an outcome. As if the idea of being sent to carry out some gruesome task on behalf of his keepers, was so typical that it barely warranted questioning, regardless of the people it involved.

Cloud returned a singular hard nod. “I need you to promise not to harm them. Can you do that for me?” Clenched fists were leaving crescent indents in his palms.

The other hesitated. “I’ve never been asked to make a promise before.”

“Can you? Just this one thing, for me. I don’t care,- whatever happens to me, just promise you’ll never hurt them.” The words were forced out, like they might have poisoned Cloud if left unsaid.

“I promise.” The other assured. Totally serious, a mirror of Cloud’s intensity.

A pulse of electric sang between them as if a pact was now sealed between them. “Thank you. You ever break it- you’ll be dead where you stand.”

Sephiroth didn’t laugh, didn’t mock him. His thrice dead, Jenova tainted facsimile might have. That future version would have said much had he heard their conversation.

Deciding this chat was over, Cloud turned on his heel. “Gods, I’m…” ‘Sorry’, was what he wanted to say, but couldn’t bring himself to apologise. “I’m going home. Thanks for tonight.” He strode hastily away, Sephiroth’s eyes burning into his back as the pull on his cells begged him to stay. Ignoring them, any longer in the man’s presence would likely end in Cloud lashing out even further.

It’d been a while since he’s felt a need to escape, to get on his bike and just go. Even longer since that visceral anger had been a part of him. That had melted slowly away with time, clarity and gradual acceptance.

The high entrapping walls of Midgar were stifling, too tall and too close. A maze-like cage. Yet Cloud walked wherever his feet led him, not aiming for the train just yet, possibly running back into Zack and Aerith was the last thing he wanted now. Instead, he wondered aimlessly.

Zack’s smiling face appeared unbidden in his mind. All warm optimism and gentle touches.
A reassuring hand on Cloud’s shoulder when the long journeys left him nauseous.
Collapsing beside him on the cold steel of a reactor catwalk, bleeding out but too numb to feel.
Returning to life in a mako tank, Zack’s eyes never leaving him from his own bubbling prison.
Catching the man as he was tossed back into his and Cloud’s shared cell. Wheezy after some invasive procedure but his smile unrelenting. “Miss me, Spike?”
Blurry face and words echoing in his head, when the poisoning finally took hold. Months, fleeing from one continent to the next. Always together. Always together.
A heavy ring of gunshots above the hammering rain. Knees cutting across rock. Midgar in the distance. Red, running in rivulets down the stone. Mind crumpling.

“Live for me.”

Pulling himself back to the present, Cloud made his own promise- no matter what, he would never allow such a fate to ever again befall Zack or Aerith. Even if it meant tearing down Shinra brick by vile brick, to get to them.

Chapter Text

‘Sorry about last night. Shouldnt have gotten upset at u.’

Sephiroth read over the message Cloud had sent him earlier that morning. 4:26am, to be exact, which meant neither of them had managed to sleep much. As evidenced by his subsequent reply at 4:27.

‘I didn’t mind.’

The door to his right opened and a Second Class wondered out, or rather stumbled. He was flushed in the face and clutching a tissue to the crook of his elbow, a sway to his movements. Landing ungracefully a few chairs over from the General, who in the quiet corridor could almost hear the other’s heart fluttering faintly in his ribcage. “Man, always forget how that stuff knocks you about.” He heaved a breathy laugh which didn’t exactly sound amused.

“Quite.” Sephiroth replied, tucking his PHS away and settling his gaze on the blank white wall before him.

In the corner of his vision, he saw the Second turn to look at him. “Oh, General, Sir.” Uncomfortably, his grip tightened around the pockets of his baggy uniform pants.

Sephiroth chose ignorance, instead turning over in his head the dream which had awoken him. He could recall it quite clearly even still. Writhing tendrils and the smell of rotting flesh. An otherworldly voice which sang of love and wanting; arms open, eager. Its desperation had made him shudder, and in a moment of clarity, his mind had broken from the heavy blanket she suffocated him with, and he had escaped to the surface of wakefulness.

The feeling of being watched had prevented him from returning to sleep, until Sephiroth had finally exited his apartment, before the sun rose. Training, he shook off the feeling of eyes embedded in the walls, unseen by the waking and sane.

For days a feeling had haunted him, like something forgotten, clamouring to be remembered.

Somewhere, something was calling him, a second pulsing beacon, similar to his shared connection with Cloud. This one far away. A beckoning hand urging him out of Shinra’s confines, to squeeze through the bars of his cage and let his feathers bloom.

The opening of a door shook the musings away, silenced by a disinterested gesture of summoning from Hojo. Wordlessly, Sephiroth stood and stepped past the Soldier, who since slumping down had been overtaken by a cold sweat and sickly look.

Such effects no longer accompanied Sephiroth’s mako treatments, his body was completely at one with the substance, as if it were his own blood. Maybe that was the reason for his bizarre visions- was the Planet trying to reclaim him?
For all his study, he had no clue what ‘The Planet’ was supposed to feel like, if indeed that was the origin of the entity finding its way into his head. The imagery of squirming discoloured flesh didn’t fit any depictions he’d read about. Not that he had a lot else to go on, recalling details of said dreams remained challenging, before last night.

Of course, the Planet had its divine spirits and messengers. Perhaps one of Gaia’s Weapons were reaching out? Chaos had its dark depictions, in legend; while Ultima was a being of just destruction and judgment; were entities who sprang to mind.

Maybe he was thinking too grand. It was entirely possible the stress was just getting to him, too much work, not enough sleep, mounted atop the unsettling discoveries he’d made as of recent. For now, he cast the thought aside.

Hojo looked his usual sleepless, irritated self. Perhaps more perplexed than usual. Meanwhile a lab assistant, a chipper young woman hurriedly collected her gear. She was one of the more pleasant staff, Sephiroth had only seen her administering mako treatments. Their eyes met and she offered him a smile before leaving him alone with Hojo.

“Is there a reason for your presence today, Doctor?” The General sat back on the large central chair, tilted back into a half-reclined position; to trick the subject into relaxing, he supposed.

“I wished to see you myself.” Hojo answered, putting together the mako feed and drawing it up into a syringe. “A follow up from the last time we spoke.”

For all of his well-earned reputation, Hojo was a swift and precise worker. What he lacked in bedside manner he made up for in efficiency and results. Sephiroth watched his movements closely. “I see.”

It was probably the fastest mako treatment he’d ever had. The Scientist really did make this sort of procedure seem trivial. To his credit, Sephiroth didn’t even feel the injection. The new mako burned down his arm and made his fingers tingle, but it caused no discomfort.

“So, has the Planet chatted to you recently?”

Of course, he’d stupidly mentioned about hearing voices. Well, there was little point lying. “As it happens, yes. I’d like to know where I might find my Mother.”
For the first time since entering the examination room, Hojo looked up at Sephiroth. It took a moment for him to form a response. “Like I’ve told you before, Jenova died when-.”

“Jenova is an extra-terrestrial. I’m asking about Lucrecia Crescent.” Annoyance sat bitterly in the Soldier’s chest, like inhaled smoke. He could play Hojo’s games as well as the man himself could.

Hojo pushed his glasses further up his nose. “Who told you that name, boy?”

Sephiroth let his eyes wonder to the corner of the room. “The Planet, perhaps.”

“And what else has the Planet been telling you, hmm?” Hojo hissed, suspicion high in his voice.

“That Shinra will fall and Midgar will burn around it.” Sephiroth didn’t flinch when Hojo swatted the hair from his face and shone a light into his eyes. “You’ve not answered my question yet.”

The shorter man grasped at his subject with more force than might have been required. “I don’t know. Haven’t seen her in nearly thirty years. She all but dropped off the radar around that time, you’d be hard pressed to find anyone who does know her whereabouts.”

“So she does exist then.”

“Don’t be smart with me.” Hojo sneered, moving away once more to pull out more equipment. “Stay there, we’re not done yet. I need some skin samples.” He shot back when Sephiroth moved to stand.

Settling back into his chair, the General repressed a sigh. “Why, does something about me elude you?”

“Of course not. I know everything there is to know about you.”

Sephiroth settled his gaze on the far wall once again, not caring when his arm was grabbed at and the top of his glove pulled down. “I assume your presence has been requested at the ball next week? Will you be taking anyone?” He conversed casually, the sort of small talk the other despised.

Hojo loosed a rough sigh. Sephiroth felt the shake through the cold blade of a scalpel. “You read the invitation did you not? And no, though I doubt you will be either.”

A trail of blood dripped onto the tissue wad stuffed beneath his arm. It hurt a fair amount, but by now it was easy to level his breathing and not react. Finally, glancing down to see the Doctor’s work he found a sizable square of flesh gone. Done in such a way that even his increased healing would take a few days to fully repair, even without it being deep. Perhaps that had been intentional, the man had never liked his experiments to voice their thoughts.

The pain didn’t stop a flicker of annoyance from growing. Though, for as uncomfortable as it was, the procedure was done quickly. “Well clearly you managed to engage with someone in the past.” Though relaxed, it was spoken almost like a threat. “Actually, your assumption of my social life is incorrect.” Sephiroth pushed, aware that the Professor would take great frustration in their chatter, almost hoping to draw a rise from him.

Placing the sample into a container, Hojo grabbed a wad of bandage. “And what? You’ll be taking a date with you next week? You think I’m interested in who you fraternise with?” The Doctor’s words were as mocking as the way he pressed a cloth to the wound, applying more pressure than necessary, before wrapping it quickly with bandage.

Well, he’d just have to wait and see, wouldn’t he? Sephiroth stood from his chair. Aware he was being childish, pushing his luck. In fact, he couldn’t recall a time he’d spoken this discourteously to the man. “Will that be all?”

Hojo had gone back to fussing over labels for the container. “I want to see you again this time next week."

But Sephiroth didn’t move, instead eyeing the dark-haired man carefully.

After a moment, Hojo sent back a glare of his own. “What? Go on, isn’t there some fashion shoot you’re needed at?”

“Do I scare you, Father?” The words rolled out almost of their own accord.

“Creator,- that’s what I am to you. What is wrong with you today? And no, you’re one of my greatest achievements, nothing you’ve done has ever scared me.” Sephiroth couldn’t tell whether the man was wary or impatient. Likely both. “If you decide to follow this voice, do keep me informed, it would be interesting to observe where you might end up. Until then, silence your talk of ‘the Planet’ outside of this room and curb your trust in such things. I’m booking you in for further examination. Now leave me be.”

Reaching for the door handle, Sephiroth gave a final half smile. “There is more at work beyond just us. It would be unwise to underestimate that which you do not understand.” And with that he left.

Eventually, Sephiroth returned to his desk, thankful to be back in his own domain within the Shinra building. He was sure to regret speaking to the Head of Research in such a manner, that sort of behaviour was sure to be reported, if Hojo cared enough to do so.

His mood had improved very little. Really, he needed a better way of getting his temper under control, if this sort of mood was to become the norm, whenever he was annoyed at work.

It was stress, that’s all. That didn’t excuse such a potentially destructive response.

He’d really been saying some stupid shit to Hojo, recently. Gods… what was he thinking?

As a child, he’d have been scared stiff at such a brash display, as the punishment which would surely follow, would have been undoubtable hostile. An echo of that remained, tried to urge him to be fearful of what such a performance might prompt.

Indifference won over. While recognising he should have been concerned for his recent behaviour, Sephiroth couldn’t find it in himself to care. It appeared that anything involving Shinra, as of recent, infused him with frustration. Now he’d been given the chance for an exit, any sense of duty or loyalty was draining fast.

Moving to tidy his stationary, in some attempt for internal order, the raw nerves under his bandaged arm gave a sting. The sensation made a thought pop into his head, one he’d not fully considered previously: Why had he allowed the Scientist to touch him?

Maintenance? Study? That was the sort of answer he’d get if asked. That wasn’t normal, though, was it? Of course, ‘normal’ didn’t best describe Sephiroth. He was fine with that, but why was he allowing himself to be treated as lesser? The other Soldiers didn’t get poked and prodded as much as him, neither had Genesis or Angeal.

Sephiroth could have torn the man in two, weapon or none. Could have years ago. Shinra owned him, he’d been conditioned to believe they were somehow the ones allowing him to live, keeping him operational. That they had some kind right over his body.

But, that wasn’t true either. Just something he’d accepted blindly. Hojo didn’t rule his life anymore and if the decisions he and Cloud made were to be followed through, then neither would Shinra.

No longer did he need Hojo. No more would he be the man’s plaything.

Like a silent vow, Sephiroth decided that the man would never touch him again.

That thought helped quell his simmering anger, and to supress it further, he reached for a distraction. Checking his emails (which over the years had become something of an obsessive habit), there displayed one unread.

A mission authorised by Heidegger. The first Sephiroth had been given in a while, since Lazard’s disappearance.

It called to subdue the raging beast population in a mountainous area of the Western continent. Their focal point- the isolated village of Nibelheim.

“Ooh, this one’s nice, don’t you think?” Aerith picked a wide brimmed sunhat from the display shelf, which she put on with a flourish. They’d gone out with the intention of finding outfits for the Shinra ball, which was now only a week away. The two wondered around Wall Market, and had so far done less serious shopping and more messing about.

Aerith shoved a matching orange hat onto Cloud’s head. “It’s gonna be indoors, and late evening.” Cloud folded his arms, sighed in fake exasperation. “I mean it looks alright, it’s Zack’s favourite colour.”

She laughed sweetly, a sound which still made Cloud’s heart melt. “And how do you know Zack’s favourite colour?”

“We spent, uh, some time together back in the past… the future?” Cloud pulled off the bright orange hat and placed it back on the shelf.

“Some time, huh?” Aerith flashed him a mischievous grin, teasing.

“Yup.” Cloud confirmed flatly, and followed his friend out of the shop. Deciding that hats were not their style, a dress shop was next.

It interior bore several shades of purple and a pleasant perfumed smell greeted them. Cloud identified the fragrance to be coming from a vase on the counter, displaying a nice bunch of white and yellow flowers.

Aerith moved quickly to the counter to greet the shopkeeper, an older woman, with eagerness. Assuming she was one of Aerith’s regular customers, Cloud moved through the sparsely occupied shop. Not really knowing what he was looking for, he instead chose to look busy until Aerith had finished chatting.

There was a nice black dress, however it came down to around the knees. Cloud figured he needed something which made concealing weapons a bit easier. There was a dark green lacy thing, which was nice until he moved the fabric, finding a glittery effect when it caught the light. Screwing up his nose at the unnecessary addition, the blond instead pulled out a nice light blue one.

“That colour’s a bit extra.” Aerith said, wondering over.

Cloud placed it back on the rack. “Oh. I liked it.”

“Neck line is too low, no offence but I don’t think you’d pull it off.”

“Fair enough.”

“Dark blue or purple would look good on you.” The Cetra dug around one of the hangers, pulling out two rather nice ones Cloud hadn’t even noticed. “Don’t remember what style you had last time, when we infiltrated Corneo’s place. That was a fun day out, wasn’t it?”

Cloud rolled his eyes. “No, let’s not do that again.” He certainly hoped this Shinra ball involved less touching. Like much of that adventure, Cloud had done his best to block out the happenings in Midgar, especially Don Corneo and the Honeybee Inn. “That’s a thought, can we kill him?”

“You asking me?” Aerith snorted. “Is that not a little harsh? Lock him up somewhere instead?”

“Like where? His own basement?”

She pursed her lips in thought. “Actually, yeah. Maybe we should kill him.”

Aerith held a few dresses up to Cloud, comparing size, occasionally doing the same for herself. He watched while she worked, mostly looking dumb.

“Since we’re getting you in a dress, you think we can tempt Sephiroth, too? You think he’s pull the look off?” Aerith snickered.

The mental image was undoubtedly a strange one, and Cloud found himself unable to really picture it. “Nah, it’s the shoulders, they’re too wide. He’s like, eight foot tall, too. Now Zack on the other hand...”

“Yes! In something yellow and frilly.” She grinned.

Her words didn’t quite land. Cloud’s mind had become instantly stuck on the raven-haired man as soon as he’d thought of him; a worrying aspect which had followed him throughout the last few days since meeting his old friend again. “Did he… like me, when we met?” Cloud found himself asking.

If Aerith noticed anything off about his tone, she drew no attention to it. “Yeah, he thought you were cool. You were kind of a mystery to him, ya know? I think he liked that.”

“A mystery, huh?” Cloud found his throat a little dry all of a sudden.

“He thought you might have been a Turk, keeping an eye on me.” She suddenly turned around, glancing over her shoulder. “Speaking of which; hey, Rude.”

Head snapping up, Cloud swore to himself for not paying better attention. A suited figure leaned idly against the shop’s door frame.

At the sound of his name, Rude glanced over his sunglasses at the pair. “Who’s he?”

Aerith pouted, placing a dress back on the rack and marching towards the door. “Not even a hello, hmm?”

Following the two back into the street, Cloud met the Turk’s concealed stare. Day time in Wall Market wasn’t nearly as busy, but the few people entertaining themselves paid the group little mind.

“Soldier?” Rude asked. They were probably used to seeing her with Zack at this point.

“No, but I know who you are.” Cloud replied.

Aerith crossed her arms, preparing something scathing for the two staring each other down. Instead, another voice called from their left. “Hey, they didn’t have your usual flavour, so I got you mango. That cool?” Reno appeared from a side street.

Carrying two smoothies, he stopped dead not far from the group. “Wait, it’s him! The freaky guy I was telling you about.” Reno jabbed a finger towards Cloud from around one of the large plastic cups.

“Missed you too, Reno.” Cloud muttered.

“You the one with all the information on us?” Rude hadn’t taken his eyes off Cloud.

The Mercenary shrugged, “I’m the oracle, I see all.”

Aerith interrupted whatever was happening before her. “Hey, are you boys going to the Shinra party this week?”

Reno sauntered over. “Did he tell you about that?” He jabbed another accusatory finger at Cloud.

“No, I’m going with Zack. Come on, don’t look so shocked, he’s Lieutenant now, haven’t you heard?”

Rude offered a single nod, Reno however pulled a face. “That mean we have to keep an eye on you at the party, too?”

“Am I that much of a nuisance? You know I can look after myself perfectly well. So, you’re going?” She smiled at them as if she’d just unexpectedly ran into friends.

Finally backing off from Cloud, Rude took his smoothie. “We’ll be there. How do you know Aerith?” He asked the blond.

“We’re friends. Just shopping for the party.” Cloud absently nudged a loose paving stone with his foot.

Reno made a disbelieving sound, “Ya say that like you’ll be there too.”

“And who says he’s not?” Aerith giggled, apparently taking great joy in how flustered the Turk was getting.

“Wait, who’re you goin’ with then?” Reno demanded.

Cloud smirked. “You’ll just have to wait and see, won’t you.”

Something told him this Shinra party was going to be more amusing than expected.

Chapter Text

As it happened, Sephiroth hadn’t been expecting to trigger a wild chain reaction of events, when he had dropped a casual message to Cloud, informing him of the Nibelheim mission.

In fact, the blond had whipped into a slight frenzy, calling Sephiroth and babbling what must have been gibberish down the phone. It took a very patiently spoken, “Cloud, please, I don’t know what you’re talking about.” To momentarily still him.

Seeing this as the height of emergencies, Cloud had made a decision to ‘summon the council’ as he put it. Which just involved getting the four friends together to discuss how they would progress. After some short back and forth, it was settled that they would meet at Aerith’s house, that evening.

Aerith’s Mom had been surprised but welcoming. Her politeness was a little forced, which Zack and Cloud had most definitely noticed. All three had arrived around the same time and, on account of the good weather, opted to sit outside amongst the flowers.

Cloud fidgeted with a clasp on his armour. The pleasantly warm evening wasn’t doing much to calm him. “Go on then, what’s up?”

“I’ve been called to assemble a small team to stop the newly rampaging beasts in the mountains around Nibelheim.” Sephiroth began. He looked entirely out of place, cross-legged in a flowerbed. “We’re to set out a week today, the morning after the company party.”

“Sweet!” Zack called, looking so damn happy at having the four of them in one place again. “I like the sound of that. Hey, Cloud, that’s where you’re from, right?”

Cloud held up a hand, as if to quiet the others, despite everyone already awaiting his input. “No way, you can’t go. This isn’t… It’s not supposed to play out like this. This is all happening way too early.”

“Cloud was planning to go alone to deal with Jenova.” Aerith chimed in. “Of course, I would have tagged along.”

Sephiroth spoke up, “Am I to assume in your time this event played out differently? Jenova is the cause for the aggravated monsters?” A few fireflies had taken an interest in him, while buzzing about the flowerbed.

Aerith nodded.

Beside her, Zack looked lost. He held up a hand. “Umm, sorry. Am I missing something?”

“Ah, yes. It would be wise to bring you up to speed. Cloud is a time traveller sent back by the Planet to direct the future onto a different course. We need to bring down Shinra, stop the world’s use of mako and remove the alien threat, Jenova.” Sephiroth’s tone was set somewhere between casual and commanding.

Aerith looked impressed by his summary. “That’s the long and short of it. I’m something of a traveller myself, just more or less so than Cloud is.” She gave Zack a gentle pat on the shoulder.

The First began to laugh until he caught the groups serious looks, and his own face dropped. “You’re for real, aren’t you?”

Continuing as if her boyfriend hadn’t had that knowledge dropped on him, Aerith regarded Cloud carefully. He was still avoiding the other’s gazes, all aggravated fidgeting. “Are you sure you’d be able to deal with Jenova yourself?”

“I’ve got Tifa and Vincent waiting in Corel.” He informed without looking up.

“Yeah, but she’s at the height of her power, Hojo is shoving her cells into everything right now. It’s going to be tough just getting to that mountain, let alone actually dealing with Jenova. I don’t think you and Sephiroth should get too close to her. Not when you’ve got me, Zack and the others. We’re going past Cosmo Canyon, we might find Nanaki on the way, maybe Cid?” Aerith calmly pointed out, watching the blond roll a clump of dirt idly between his fingers, until the dry earth crumbled.

The fireflies had taken a serious liking to Sephiroth. They eagerly tried to land on him, while the General shooed them away. “Why would it be unwise for me to get close?”

Cloud answered, “She can get into your head and you’ve got a load of her cells. Mind control. It’s not pretty.” He didn’t elaborate and no one asked for further explanation. Glancing up, he caught a questioning look from Aerith. ‘Why doesn’t he know?’ was what it read. Cloud chose to ignore her. “For that reason, it’d be safer if you didn’t go at all.”

“May I remind you, my time here is possibly limited. It is my suspicion that Shinra are becoming aware of my recent disobedience. It may be wise for us to leave now while they give us an avenue for such.” Sephiroth said. One of the bugs had managed to perch on the shoulder of his sweater and was crawling around unnoticed.

Zack tilted his head at that. “Wait, what do you mean ‘limited’?”

The General’s lack of hesitation surprised Cloud. “We have reason to believe I will be decommissioned shortly after Wutai has been defeated. I shall be used to solve the degradation problem.”

Aerith winced at that. “That’s vile.” She mumbled, picking the dead bits off the plants next to her.

“Decommissioned?” Zack repeated, clenching his fingers into his knees. “You mean they’re going to…” He trailed off with a sickly look.

“It doesn’t bare thinking about, let’s just make sure it doesn’t come to that.” Cloud waved away, not wanting to dwell on the subject. He didn’t know what sort of tech Hojo had which could contain someone of Sephiroth’s power, though he was fairly sure the madman had it figured out.

From across the garden came the sound of a door opening and closing. Aerith’s Mom made her way over carrying a tray. She placed it down at the centre of their little circle. It contained plastic cups of orange squash and a bowl of off-brand animal crackers. “Hope you’re all having fun. You look like you’re planning some sort of secret mission.” Her gaze lingered on Sephiroth but said nothing, probably wondering what Shinra’s number one weapon of war was doing in her garden.

Aerith smiled, handing drinks out. “Thanks Mom, we’re planning a revolution. Tell us if you’d like to join.”

“If you need anyone to make snacks, then I’ll happily help. If not, you can leave me out of it.” She said, making her escape back inside the house.

Zack leaned over to Cloud and whispered, “She really scares me.”

Cloud nodded in understanding.

Returning back to the matter at hand, Aerith continued their discussion. “If you two are leaving Midgar, then I’m coming too, let’s get the team back together.”

“Wait, if you’re going, then so am I!” Zack piped up, not hesitating with the crackers, as soon as Aerith’s Mom disappeared.

Sephiroth nodded, flicking away a firefly which tried to land on his nose. “That can be arranged.”

“Wouldn’t it make more sense for Zack to stay here. An eye inside Shinra? As Lieutenant, you must have some power?” Cloud interjected.

“Is that not what we have Reeve for?” Sephiroth highlighted. It was a good point, though a proper line of contact had yet to be established with the man.

Aerith apparently had the same idea. “I don’t remember Reeve that well… Are we sure he can be trusted this time?” She had started rooting around the flower bed, picking small flowers and measuring the stems against one another.

“We make him co-operate.” Suggested Sephiroth.

Cloud snorted, “What? Like, threaten him?”

“Yeah, we could blackmail him. Surely you’ve got something on him we could use?” Aerith agreed with a smile. Sephiroth nodded along, approvingly.

“Guys, no. We are not going to blackmail Reeve.” Cloud held up a hand to cease the topic.

Aerith laughed, threading together the stems of her picked flowers into a chain. “Yeah, but you have dirt on him, right? If we needed to use it.”

“Yeah, of course. I have dirt on all of you.”

Zack was busy munching on crackers. “You mean me too?”

Cloud looked up, meeting his eye. “Especially you. Your parents read you bedtime stories up until you moved to Midgar.”

“H-how do you know-?!”

Sephiroth spoke over Zack, who floundered while his girlfriend laughed. “Getting back on track, is there anything else we need to do at the party, other than speak to Reeve, which I assume Cloud can do?”

“We could set fire to something? Grease the floor behind the restroom doors, so people fall over? Bomb one of the reactors while all eyes are on the event?” Aerith suggested with a smile.

“Babe, no!” Zack looked slightly alarmed.

“Gods, you’re on an evil streak, Aerith. You sound like Yuffie.” Cloud couldn’t help but smirk. “Can we kill Hojo while we’re there? Scarlet? Rufus?”

Zack slouched down as a flower crown of delicate white and blue was placed onto his head. “You can’t kill Rufus, it’s his birthday party. I’m not sure I like the idea of killing people, this all seems to be escalating a little too much. Starting to sound a bit like terrorism.”

Cloud shrugged, he’d moved on to fidget with his shoelaces. “Ecoterrorism. That makes it fine.”

“I’m not sure that’s actually-,”

Sephiroth interrupted his Lieutenant once again. “If you so much as touch anyone at that party, they’ll have your head. I’m sorry, I know how tempting it’ll be. I also rather dislike most of the crowd.”

“And what if they so much as touch me?” Cloud countered.

“We could kidnap Rufus. Would that be any better? Take him with us, personally show him all of the bad stuff his company has done?” Aerith suggested, starting on a new flower crown.

“That sounds much too whimsical for my liking.” Sephiroth grumbled. “Unless you have an incredible idea of how we’re going to execute that?”

Aerith hummed. “Leave it with me.” She smiled deviously.

Sceptical looks came from Zack and Sephiroth, neither convinced by her joking tone.

At that, the discussion dipped momentarily, while everyone had their snacks and drinks. Listening to the bubbling of the river as the evening light dipped soothingly.
A little less out of sorts, now everyone was discussing the upcoming problems, Cloud allowed the flowery scent and sound of the river to relax him, as much as it possibly could. “So Zack, you in on the ‘dethrone Shinra, save the world’ plot?” At least speaking to his old friend was a lot less trying than their first meeting.

The Soldier looked mildly uncomfortable. “I have a few questions. Okay, more than a few. Mako; the whole world uses it. What do you suppose we replace it with?”

“Corel is a mining town, it’s not a great alternative, but they’ll appreciate the industry until we can switch over to something better. The Cosmo area already uses wind and solar power, as does the Northern continent.” Cloud explained. “Not much but it’s a start. We developed more back where I’m from, but science isn’t exactly my field. You’d have to ask Reeve, if he remembers. I know right now it doesn’t seem possible, but trust me, we managed.” Just about, anyway. “It will take a bit more convincing this time, but I think we can all agree that taking out Shinra is unavoidable.”

Zack looked no less confused, but nodded regardless. “How do you plan on ‘taking out Shinra’?”

“… Okay, so. We haven’t actually figured that out yet. My biggest priority is getting rid of Jenova.” Cloud admitted. “If you and Seph disappear, then it might postpone the Wutai conflict. Not that they don’t have the firepower, but the Soldiers are crowd favourites. I think it would really piss the company off if they lost you guys. If you started to sway the public to a different perspective.”

Honestly, Cloud had expected to have more time to orchestrate something a bit more convincing. He hadn’t accounted for things moving so quickly. Jenova was moving her own pieces into place and Cloud had no way of predicting whether her battle plan would be the same this time. Nothing had tried messing with his head yet, but that didn’t rule out himself and Sephiroth becoming compromised.

“I, sorry. I’ve gotta ask. Angeal, is this what him and Genesis were starting towards?” Zack questioned, anxiously wringing his hands.

Outside, Sephiroth gave no reaction at all, despite Cloud feeling a note of emotion in the back of his mind. Did he not approve of Zack’s sentimentality over his mentor? That was more than a little heartless, what did he really expect? Cloud did his best to answer, struggling to recall anything his Zack had relayed about past events. (His Zack. As if this rewound version wasn’t the same person… then again, perhaps they were not.)

Cloud offered a delicate look he hoped portrayed his sympathy. “I suppose in a sort of way. I’m afraid my understanding of what happened to those two is limited at best. Sorry, Zack. I get that this is hard for you, it was for all of us, to come to terms with the shit Shinra has been lying about. If you wanna talk more about it, I’m here to listen. We’re not forcing you into coming along for this.”

The appeal raised a response. That unshakable determination in the flash of his blue eyes, which made Cloud’s heart jump. “Thanks, man. I appreciate it, but, I’m in. I’m with you guys. Whatever happened to Angeal, I have to figure it out, I need to know.”

Sephiroth eyed him coolly. “You don’t think they’re dead?”

“I... I really don't know.” Zack admitted, awkwardly trailing off. His eyes softened when Aerith placed a hand over his, reassuring.

Again, came that pang from his and Sephiroth’s link. This time more complicated than Cloud could decipher. He could guess the conflicting feelings such a statement might bring. Clearly, feelings surrounding the two defecting Firsts were more complicated than the magazines (which still sometimes sang of the General’s sadness over their loss) spoke of. Assigning such simple traits to him, as if they understood anything of the man.

Experimentally, still getting used to the flexibility of their mental link, Cloud tried to project back his own unseen reassurance. ‘Be cool. We’ll cross that bridge if we come to it.’

“We should name ourselves.” Aerith announced, clapping her hands together. “All cool teams need cool names.”

Sephiroth frowned, “I think that would be unnecessary.”

“No, she’s got a point. We can do branding, have a logo and a catchy chant.” Zack eagerly supplied.

“… We could take Avalanche? They don’t exist yet.” Cloud offered, not having considered her suggestion.

“Yes! We’ll bring back Avalanche!” Aerith grinned. Beside her, Zack nodded, not understanding the sentimentality but enjoying the cool name none the less.

Cloud had to accept that this was the best planning they could do. Whether it was sooner or later, they were inevitably going to end up in Nibelheim. This time Cloud was armed with the knowledge of past experience, and a rather cute flower crown Aerith arranged around his wild hair. All that was left to do was inform Tifa’s gang.

Dark had fallen on Midgar by now. Zack had braved Aerith’s Mom, and was helping her wash the dishes. He’d given Cloud his phone number as well as a wink and thumbs up before disappearing, which the blond was struggling to stop replaying in his mind. They were official friends now, Cloud guessed. Further down the path, Aerith and Sephiroth were quietly chatting. A strange sight indeed.

“I wasn’t aware that Midgar could support such floral life.” Cloud heard him compliment. She had since dived into an explanation of several of her plants, which he did appear interested in.

Cloud was sure now by that the Cetra remembered the fate she’d previously befallen. It was likely why she’d been so set on accommodating Sephiroth, quickly figuring his interests and engaging him in similar subject matter. Though Aerith’s enjoyments were more whimsical and fleeting, compared to his more factual approach to absorbing literature, which many would consider tiresome.

They remained an interesting pair to watch, with Aerith showing absolutely no sign of discomfort in his presence. It reinforced Cloud’s hope that they could secure a better end for both of them. He hated to admit the time spent with Sephiroth was genuinely enjoyable and their mental connection had been nothing worse than irritating. Certainly nothing sinister.

Cloud caught a flash of green, as the man momentarily turned, their eyes catching. Aerith noticed too, and sent the blond one of her knowing looks.

Shit, how embarrassing. Had he picked up that Cloud had been thinking about him?

Well, whatever happened, if push came to shove, Cloud would use that prior knowledge and every ounce of his strength to ensure Sephiroth never returned down the same path as last time.

Two busy but otherwise uneventful days drifted by. The hallways of the Shinra building were loud with discussions of who received invites to the company ball. More so on the floors frequented by Soldier personnel, were murmurings that First Class Zack Fair had been given a promotion.

Though Sephiroth wouldn’t partake in the merry atmosphere, he could at least appreciate it more than a sour one. A disruption had come in the form of an email request, as they often did. Less a request and more a demand for him to appear before President Shinra himself, later that afternoon.

Sephiroth was not one for nerves, but as the elevator continued to ascend up and up to the highest floor, he felt the slightest foreboding waver in his core.

Such a feeling became impossible to silence when he stepped, almost silently despite his heavy boots, into the wide top floor suite. Impeccably punctual as ever and in his assigned Soldier garb, for the most powerful man on the Planet.

He’d been here a handful of times. To deliver a situation report or to be presented by the Science department as a complete and working specimen. The interior was empty, spotlessly cleaned with the President’s desk at the centre.

Sephiroth waited at the entrance of the wide room, stepping forward when a hand lifted from behind a monitor and beckoned him over. Shinra himself moved along his desk, to sit away from his computers, and regarded the General with a calculating gaze.

The man before him was cold, unyielding and hardly bothered to regard his visitor. “Sephiroth. Do wait just a moment, the rest of our associates should be with us shortly.”

Who else was yet to arrive? Such a trivial thing, yet it worked up that same disquieting feeling.

How very stupid, of course he wouldn’t be alone. Usually, Lazard had been present for similar meetings in the past. Heidegger was always a few minutes late. So, the Soldier stood at attention, gazing off to the back windows, which showed a heavy sky. There were no chairs here, like his own office; this place was almost designed specifically to intimidate its visitors.

The silence had been well underway to feeling awkward, when hurried footsteps approached, ascending two at a time.

“Apologies for my lateness, Mr President.” Hojo huffed, fairly out of breath.

Why was he here?

Only moments later did the familiar sight of Heidegger also appear. He however, did not apologise. Instead choosing a standard grunt as greeting.

Their host sat up straighter, clicking the top of his pen. He took his time placing it carefully in position on his polished desk before lacing his fingers. A deafening silence filled the seventieth floor.

“I’ve asked your presence today, as I wish to go over a progress report.” President Shinra moved to regard Sephiroth directly, where he and the others stood a few feet from the desk. “It is with regret that many of our staff have noted a dip in your performance, as of late, as well as conduct which misaligns with company standards.”

The General didn’t allow for any hint of a reaction to slip past his mask. “Sir?”

He continued, “Your combat scores have recently read as your worst and fewest to date. Could you tell me why that is?”

Worst and fewest, he was still scoring higher than anyone else had usually managed. “I see. I’ve been aware that my scores in recent months have not been up to par. Preparations for the upcoming Wutai incursion have been taking the majority of my time, content in my own abilities, I have been assuring our troops will be preforming at their best.” Unfortunately, complaining he’d done nothing but sleep and work for the past ten months since his last assignment, would get him nowhere.

“You see, I hope you’ll understand that I find that difficult to believe.” The President ghosted a hand over a printout, which Sephiroth didn’t dare try to scrutinise right now. “I have a list of appointments you failed to attend, which I have to admit is fairly lengthy.”

Oh shit.

“Much more disappointingly so, at the time of said appointments, I have you instead down in the Sector Seven slums.”

Oh shit.

He didn’t miss the look of muted disbelief Hojo snapped up with, before the man subdued his reaction. Sephiroth tried his best to pretend the other two were not in the room. Which with the smell of Hojo’s bitter coffee which clung to his lab coat and Heidegger’s cigars, was difficult for his enhanced senses to tune out. Sometimes he wished they had an off switch. Maybe Shinra should have designed him with an off switch, so their favourite toy couldn’t wonder off unsupervised.

Not like he could deny those accusations. Instead, he waited for the President to continue, a silent confession.

“I must remind you that your image is valued very highly. We cannot allow you to damage your,- or by proxy, our reputation.” Shinra had that cold gleam in his eye. It was pathetic, really. The man had never felt the fires of burning villages or the singing bite of blades into freezing skin. And yet here he sat atop the world, having never known true struggle or trial. Born into greatness with a proficiency in scummy but effective business tactics.

Sephiroth hated him for that. It came as almost a surprise, the vehemence, a pit which opened up inside him. “I apologise, sir. I assure you it has been mere interest which has led me down there.”

The other gestured for him to continue. “Would you explain what those interests might be?”

His response took a second or two longer to formulate. “I’ve been seeing someone.” Were the words he almost painfully settled on.

Hojo coughed, an abrupt noise which might have caused the General to startle, had he not been so immovably ridged right now. A similar response could be heard from Heidegger. Good to know they both expected so little of him.

President Shinra raised a single eyebrow. “How interesting.” And Sephiroth again felt like he was being examined like a lab animal. “Well, I’d like you to remember that Shinra have given you everything you could possibly want, and not to go looking for cheap thrills from inferior people.”

That was what they thought Cloud was? His heart pounded in his ears, blood starting to boil. How dare he.

“Of course, sir. My deepest apologies.” Came his level response.

Shinra turned to Hojo and in part, Heidegger. “I’d like you to carry out whatever you need, to make sure Sephiroth is in working order. I’d like a diagnostic report and action plan by next week.” He returned back to Sephiroth, who was quietly seething. “Strange to think I’ve known you longer than my own son. You should know I do in part consider you, too, as such.”

The statement was surprising. Nothing the man had ever said or done had in any way come across as fatherly towards him, though there was no love lost between him and Rufus, so Sephiroth had heard. Actually, perhaps he wasn’t the best judge of what a normal family might look like, considering his own; or lack thereof.

Sephiroth wanted nothing more than to put his sword through the man’s chest. Enough that he felt his blade hover incorporeal, as if asking if it were needed. Sephiroth dismissed it quickly.

Then something truly strange happened, and had his visible emotions not been so rock steady in that moment, he might have drawn his sword after all. The space behind the President wobbled like water, until it took shape. Standing around his height and loping forwards, was a feminine, mostly humanoid figure. Her magenta eyes glued to his own. An emaciated, almost bluish, naked form stumbled forwards. Moving in a way utterly inhuman. Many secondary, paler eyes and tentacles adorning her form, both beautiful and grotesque.

Nobody reacted to the strange woman(?) and neither did Sephiroth, who stood fixed, an unexplainable feeling of… safety? When he stared into her eyes. Like she was overriding his much more reasonable responses of disgust and shock, filling them with cotton.

The President continued despite the large creature lumbering behind him. “I’d hate to think you’re losing your edge, we’ve not had nearly enough use out of you, and neither has the press, if I’m to understand. You’ve even amassed your own fan club, which even I haven’t managed.” He chuckled without humour.

Still, no one acknowledged the thing. “Of course, Sir.” The words slipped from Sephiroth’s mouth, his mind elsewhere.

“I’ve made the decision to restrict your access for the time being, I’m sure you’ll understand. Until then, your travel log will be sent directly to me and your ID will no longer allow train access. You have an upcoming mission, I hear. I do hope you’ll take the time to think about all of this and get your priorities in order. You understand we only want to maximise your potential, correct?”

But as he spoke, the figure squirmed unnaturally and leaned forwards. She wrapped her too-long fingers around the President’s throat. A desire Sephiroth reflected. A flash of delight glinted in her impossible eyes. Long wet hair spilling onto the shoulder of his suit, clinging grossly to the fabric.

“Correct.” Sephiroth spoke on auto pilot. Mouth dry.

Then, just as abruptly, she vanished, back into an otherworldly ripple.

“Wonderful. Thank you all, I think that’ll do for this afternoon. Please, continue your duties.” The President finished, unclasping his hands or the first time since this lecture had begun.

It took Sephiroth a moment to answer, still staring just past the man’s head, where the enigmatic figure disappeared from. “Of course. My deepest apologies for disappointing you, Sir.”

He waited until Heidegger had turned to leave before he himself followed. Setting a measured pace across the wide polished floor to the opposite winding staircase as the other. He was vaguely aware of Hojo following, but the moment he was out of sight, Sephiroth hurried, taking two steps at a time.

“Sephiroth.” Hojo’s voice carried down the stairs.

Stopping suddenly, as if the command had hit some subconscious trigger, he waited for Hojo.

Catching up, the other beheld Sephiroth with an analytical stare that he just hated. “Gods, there is something the matter with you.” It was spoken with interest, rather than concern. “Listen, this assignment they’ve booked you for. I’ve been thinking it might be best to take some time away, extend the trip to wherever it is you’re going. It might be beneficial for you to follow that voice you’ve been speaking of. Keep me informed if it leads to anything, bring it back if you find a physical source. In return, I’ll make excuses for you, until you’ve had time to, shall we say, explore these feelings?”

Again, it was offered with no honest thought to Sephiroth’s wellbeing. This was just research.

His blood felt like it was burning in his veins, and the need to get out of here spoke louder than whatever Hojo was proposing. “I shall… consider it. Thank you, Doctor.” With that he turned to go.

Hojo shot out a hand, but the General was faster. He had to get out of here before he put a fist through someone’s skull.

Racing ahead once more and slipping out unseen, he made his way down to the VR training hall.

‘Activity in session’, advised the outside display. Ignoring this, Sephiroth keyed his authorisation into the console and instructed it to override.

The Soldier Thirds who’d just had their programme unexpectedly shut down, blinked in surprise when the General drifted through the doors. When met with a deadly gaze, they all scurried out without a word.

By the time the door slid closed at his back, Masamune was ready in his grasp. Somehow reading that it was ready to be wielded, without even being consciously summoned.

Fuelled by rage, Sephiroth’s sword work was lacking, movements fast but erratic. A performance marred with too much fury to be considered elegant.

When the round completed, his hands were shaking, head pounding. Still, he’d underperformed.

Again then.

So consumed by this sudden need for violence, Sephiroth failed to watch his back, feeling the static sizzle of holographic bullets hitting his side. In retaliation, a vicious blast of electrical energy caused the holographic projection to waver, leaving the smell of burning wires.

This round longer than the last, when the sequence pinged complete, Sephiroth was nearly out of breath. His body unable to physically process everything happening in such a short amount of time.

Still, his scores weren’t good enough.

Fleetingly, Sephiroth wondered if it would make a difference were he to feel the weight of real bodies on his blade. Could see the thin trail of blood and smell the gore. Would it spur him on if presented with a real challenge?

What an animalistic thought.

Sense returned to him then. This was unacceptable behaviour, and he scolded himself for letting himself be consumed by such primal, mindless anger.

What the hell was wrong with him?

His frustration had reached new levels recently, his behaviour an inch away from slipping from his control. The dreams, which had escalated to a near nightly occurrence. And now he was hallucinating.

Gods, was he beginning to fall apart like Genesis and eventually Angeal had? The thought was frightening. Was this how it’d been for them? Was that why Genesis had left so suddenly? How his mind had started to break?

No, no. He wouldn’t allow himself to think like that. Strife had assured him he wouldn’t end up like them… but this wasn’t his timeline anymore, was it?

Perhaps that examination was necessary after all.

Taking a deep breath and running a steadying hand through his hair, Sephiroth began to finally get a hold of himself.

That upcoming mission would do him good. Anything to get away from this place for a while.

A weak buzz from his pocket diverted his focus. Two messages from Cloud in the last hour, both asking whether he was okay.

Sephiroth tapped a fairly standard ‘I’m fine.’, which was sure to pull a sarcastic reply from the other.

In place of his anger, he instead lingered on that strange little connection they shared. Now a little guilty that Cloud would have felt the echoes of rage as they’d flared off.

It stood as a comforting reminder,- Shinra could take everything away from him, but they couldn’t take what he shared with Cloud.

That belonged to no one except Sephiroth.

Chapter Text

It was the big day. Only a short few hours before the ball.

Cloud had commandeered Sephiroth’s apartment and turned it into their base of operations.

The door clicked lightly open and closed, footsteps stopping short, two steps in. Cloud had made himself at home some hours ago and busied himself around the bedroom, which he had covered in costume parts and plastic bags. In fact, he’d left the whole place in a similar state of disarray.

“Cloud? Would you explain what you’ve done to my house?”

The blond pouted. “What? No hello? I haven’t seen you all week.” With his travel ban and under Shinra’s microscope, Sephiroth had been making sure to stay at work for the full extent of his scheduled hours, if not a few extra here and there. Presumably for good boy points. Today however, it was still light outside. “You’re back early.”

There came a click from the coffee machine. “Anyone going to the party has been permitted to leave early, to ready themselves. Why are there flowers in my kitchen?” He asked with an air of disgust.

“They’re from Aerith. You didn’t have a vase, but I think they look alright.” He’d messily arranged them in an empty wine bottle, pulled from the trash.

Sephiroth stepped closer, the coffee maker whirring in the background. “Isn’t that a waste? We’re leaving Midgar tomorrow-,”

“Don’t come in! I’m not ready.”

The other sighed, but stepped away from the wall partition.

Already becoming impatient with the ordeal of getting ready, Cloud threw on his dress. It fit well, comfier than it had initially appeared when Aerith had picked it out with the assistance of her shopkeeper friend. Lavender in colour, falling to just below his knees, slightly ruffled and hanging lower on one side. It would hide a few concealed weapons nicely. Trying the belt Aerith had insisted on, it fit alright; its purpose in completing the piece had been explained, which Cloud had dutifully nodded along to but paid little attention. He could finish the makeup as he went, a drink sounded really good right now.

Sephiroth was staring intently at his coffee maker as it finished up, shoulders slouched in exhaustion. The kind he only showed when away from other’s eyes, Cloud had noted. Work jacket hung neatly at the back of his door and shirt half unbuttoned. Sleepy green eyes followed the swirl of his coffee as he stirred it. “I see you’ve moved all of your rubbish in here. Did your firetrap of a home finally succumb to your electrical… system…” He looked up when Cloud finally rounded the corner.
Expression pulling into surprise, if only for a moment.

“It’s not that much, don’t complain. I’ll move it out when we get back to Midgar.” If they came back to Midgar. “Don’t look at me like that, you knew I was wearing a dress tonight… right?”

“No. I don’t recall you confirming that.” Sephiroth studied closely.

Oops. Cloud supposed he could have been clearer on what the plan was. “Does it bother you?”

“Not at all, I just wasn’t expecting such. Coffee?” The sentiment was genuine and Sephiroth finally tore his gaze away to fish out a second mug.

“Anything stronger than coffee, if you’ve got it? I need my brain as numb as possible, if we’re gonna do this.” Cloud watched the other pause in his action, before selecting a wine glass instead. “You like it?”

Sephiroth gave him another sidelong once over. “It is… good.”

“Good?!” Cloud laughed incredulously. “Is that it?”

“Nice, then. It’ll do the job well.”

Cloud scoffed, taking the offered glass of wine.

“What would you rather I say? You look very pretty?” Oof, the sarcasm.

Sephiroth leaned against the central counter. His expression an unreadable mix between amusement and frustration. The word ‘pretty’ didn’t seem like it should belong in the man’s vocabulary. He appeared to have as much trouble saying it.

Cloud rose an eyebrow, finding this all very amusing. “Well do I?”

“Yes. It suits you well. Your efforts aren’t lost on me, if your intention was to impress.”

“Thanks.” Cloud smiled a little, appreciative of the compliment. “Zip me up?” He turned, quirking a shoulder at the half undone back.

Placing his drink down, Sephiroth stepped into Cloud’s space. Delicately, he did as asked, smoothing a hand up to idly rest on his shoulder.

The blond had accepted by now that he’d have to be tolerant of physical contact. After all, there was potential for a lot of that this evening, unfortunately.

That initial ‘reunion’ reaction, which made his mind empty was no longer a shock when it happened. If anything, it was quite pleasant. Their general closeness eased the headaches caused by the cells, a welcome reprieve. By now he knew Sephiroth experienced the same, he surely felt calmer together than when they were apart, if the random bursts of echoed anger were anything to go by.

Cloud wasn’t deluding himself, he understood this had the potential to destroy him. That it couldn’t last. That holding too closely onto something good would only make it hurt more when all went wrong…

“One more night and we’re leaving Midgar.” Sephiroth reassured them both.

Cloud couldn’t wait to be out of here. Though nostalgic to be back in the old city, it was starting to feel claustrophobic, as places did after too much time spent.

Sephiroth broke away from their contact. “If you don’t mind, I’m going for a nap.”

“You look really good.” Cloud’s compliment came off too forced and Sephiroth sent him a look. He’d changed into an expensive looking five-piece suit. Which consisted of mostly grey and black, a tie, carefully ironed trousers and a gleaming pair of very normal dress shoes, which might have been a little on the small side. His hair fastened back into a low ponytail, after it had taken a painstaking amount of time for the man to wash and dry. How he had the patience for that kind of upkeep, Cloud couldn’t fathom.

“Good?” Sephiroth sarcastically mimicked Cloud from earlier, as he fastened the jacket around his waistcoat.

“I mean, it’s just a suit. I don’t really see what’s so special about it.” He admitted, eyeing the cufflinks the other was attaching with almost suspicion. “That’s not to say you don’t look very good.” Cloud couldn’t think of any better descriptors. Of course he looked good, it was Sephiroth, who could be wearing anything he damn well pleased and still look handsome. Handsome, that was a good one.

Sephiroth flicked off the low lighting as they headed out. “You’re not going to call me pretty?” He slyly joked.

“Handsome.” Corrected Cloud. They made their way out, the blond tripping over his feet as they went. He cursed under his breath. His damn sandals had thin heels and while they weren’t especially tall, they required a certain amount of delicacy Cloud didn’t possess. They were the only thing he and Aerith had found which matched his dress, and Cloud hated them.

He’d almost had a row with Aerith, who insisted that flats, mismatching colours or boots were out of the question. While he somewhat understood her reasoning, he also thought the dress looked just as good with his usual heavy boots.

While he was no stranger to exploring his more feminine side, inconvenient flimsy heeled things had never once appealed. Hopefully he wouldn’t break his nose.

“Oh Gods, that’s a lot of people.” Cloud groaned. The Shinra building interior was as magnificent as he remembered, but the fourteenth floor had to be a winner. They hadn’t even made it into the ballroom itself, but it was clear that this was the reserved space for the company to show off.

Around the entrance were many suited individuals, sporting mics, cameras and the logos of every media service Cloud had heard of. They surrounded the attendants who dared enter the hall of certain pain, demanding short statements from all of them.

Ah, the first trial.

Sephiroth stuck out his arm, for Cloud to take. “All of the other couples are doing this. Let’s try to assimilate, shall we? No need to be concerned with the press.”

Choosing to ignore the term ‘couple’, Cloud took his arm. More afraid of falling over and making an idiot of himself, Cloud did as instructed and held his breath as they approached.

As expected, they mobbed Shira’s poster child as soon as he was spotted. Cloud tensed at the sudden rush of people and flashes of cameras. For once they were less interested in the man himself and more so in his unexpected date.

Sephiroth smiled in faux sweetness, said a few words Cloud failed to catch and then dragged him the rest of the way through the door. Security helping to wall them off.

“Dunno how you deal with that.” Cloud shivered. The hall was huge, beautifully decked out and not overwhelmingly busy.

“The press become quite predictable, after a while.” Hummed Sephiroth, bored at the attention.

The halls interior was magnificently made, gleaming chandeliers, tall elegant ceilings, a wide doorway leading to a balcony. Clusters of tables and chairs bordered the room, leaving room for a wide floor space. On a large stage, a variety of instruments were set, waiting. Currently, a curly haired woman played a gentle ambient tune on a piano.

Dark suits, rich refinery and cigar smoke. Women in beautiful gowns sauntered by, arms linked with their partners as they moved about the room. While the room steadily filled, the two made their way to the bar, trying as best to fit in. In all his years, Cloud had never felt so out of place. High society was a concept he cared little about, all pointlessly frivolous; he’d never seen the appeal.

Was his makeup okay? Had he done his hair alright? Was the hunting knife strapped to his thigh secure?

“Reeve is here.” Sephiroth murmured close to his ear.

Subtly following his gaze, Cloud eventually found him at a table far across the hall. Flanked by two other men Cloud didn’t recognise, the three laughed to one another. It was a relief to see him finally in the flesh. Their scheduled meeting would be later on the balcony, while the dancefloor was busiest.

While exchanging one of his drink coupons for something strong, Cloud was somewhat aware of a figure stepping up beside Sephiroth. When they spoke, it nearly caused him to drop his drink.

“Ah, Sephiroth. I couldn’t help but notice you missed both appointments we had scheduled.” Came Hojo’s scratchy voice, a sound which likely caused a lot of people’s hair to stand on end, both for its unpleasant timbre and dislike of the man himself.

“Professor.” Sephiroth Steadily greeted, at the Scientist’s blatant disregard for his privacy. “My apologies. I’m afraid my timetable didn’t allow. Next time, perhaps.”

Cloud turned, inserting himself into the exchange.

Hojo had been about to respond with something undoubtedly scathing, until his eyes caught Cloud. The Doctor looked oddly at him, followed his arm to where he clutched loosely at Sephiroth’s suit.

“This is Cloud.” Sephiroth stated, not bothering to fully introduce them. “The one I mentioned.”

Hojo was left disbelieving. He stared between the two, and it really didn’t need as much scepticism as he was giving it. He might have been raised in a lab, but Sephiroth wasn’t that socially inept. At least he left work a little more than Hojo did, who Cloud was fairly sure had always just slept in his office. Always with his experiments in reach.

“Good things, I hope.” Cloud glared back, knowing the Scientist was focusing on his mako eyes.

“How very interesting.” The unpleasant man simply murmured, giving them both a final once over before shuffling away.

Cloud turned back to his drink and downed most of it in one go. “You told Hojo about me? How sweet. Are you sure I can’t kill him? Promise I’ll be discreet.”

“No, I’d like to be the one.” Sephiroth replied quite casually, disinterested by the whole interaction. “Ah, the others have arrived.”

Indeed, Zack and Aerith had squeezed past the reporters and made their way inside. Cloud waved them over, prompting Aerith to take Zack’s arm and lead him towards the bar.

Aerith pulled Cloud into a hug. “Wow, look at you! Someone’s got the knack for getting scrubbed up well.” She motioned in almost disbelief at the dress and all the paraphernalia that came with it.

Unable to gracefully take the compliment, Cloud just shrugged. “You helped. Yours looks nice too.”

Aerith wore a pale-yellow dress. Simple in design but lovely, with a loose scarf of similar colours. White flowers peppered the front of her dress as well as her hair. All sunshine and cheerfulness. “Nice?” She playfully scoffed.

Beside her, Zack’s suit was also nice, a burgundy and dark grey which matched him well. A flower the same as Aerith’s pinned to his lapel.

Zack laughed, a noise of disbelief. “Wait, Cloud? Didn’t recognise you for a sec. Love the colour, that’s real hot!” He offered a fist bump, which the other met.

Cloud hoped he wasn’t blushing. “Heh, thanks. You too.” He leaned back to Sephiroth, “See, that’s a compliment.”

He man in question watched on with casual interest.

“Oh, come here mister.” Aerith delicately produced an attractive purple bloom, taking a step closer to Sephiroth. “So you two match.”

With a nod, he allowed her to pin the flower into place. “I’ve not seen a plant which flowers that colour before.” He regarded the fragile thing with interest.

“They’re catmint. They usually prefer the warmer climate of the western continent, but they get along fine in my garden. I keep them for special occasions.” She winked.

Running a careful digit over the edge of a delicate petal, he returned her with a smile. “Interesting, thank you.”

Cloud rolled his eyes, while Zack wore the biggest stupidest grin. ‘Great. Now they matched.’

The room filled slowly, but never reached a point of being crowded. There were a few familiar faces, though most remained indistinguishable. Sephiroth disappeared, fulfilling his duties of greeting various people of power. In his absence, the three remaining had grabbed a table.

Zack engaged them both in an overview of his day, in which him and a group of Second Class had been tasked with constructing a new holographic training sequence.
Zack had contributed a rather formidable monster, who could be defeated easily if its challenger could tell it a good enough joke. They also included a bonus point system which involved kicking over every street cone one encountered. This had subsequently devolved into its own elaborate game, which had held the Soldiers’ attention longer than the exercise itself.

From the stage, the piano music trickled into silence. An older man Cloud didn’t recognise climbed onto the stage, encouraging the crowd into respectful silence.

“Ladies and gentlemen, if I could interrupt the start of a magnificent evening to have your attention. I think first and foremost, if you could join me in wishing of dear Vice President, Rufus Shinra an excellent birthday celebration?”

He motioned across to his far left, where across the hall, lounged Rufus at his table, flanked by both Tseng and Reno. Setting a careful eye at the side of the table, sat a massive guard hound, an enhanced creature Cloud recognised as belonging to Rufus. They all looked perfectly at ease with this brand of social setting. Rufus offered a short wave as the hall answered with polite clapping and the odd cheer.

The man on stage laughed and shuffled, edging the attention back up to himself, once the applause had gone on a moment too long. “I hope you don’t mind, I just wanted to make mention of some of the excellent feats…”

Cloud stopped listening, instead turning to Aerith. “We going to kidnap him or what?” He asked, jabbing a wine glass idly in the Vice President’s direction.

Awkwardly, Aerith toyed with the tablecloth, bunching it up between her hands. “You know that was a joke, right? Like a spy movie or something? I just wanted to make it sound like I had a cool plan.”

“Wait.” Zack leaned over towards Cloud, actually trying to keep his voice low, unlike the blond. “You really thought we were gonna do that?”

Cloud huffed, he couldn’t help but feel disappointed. “Fine. What’re we doing instead?”

“You’re going to talk to Reeve? Other than that, we could just have a nice evening?” Zack suggested innocently.

Honestly, Cloud had expected better from him. This should have been a key area of the young man’s expertise.

Seeing Cloud’s displeasure, Zack continued, “Like I said before, I just kinda feel like we’re messing up someone’s birthday for no reason. It’s not cool if someone actually gets hurt.”

“You don’t want me to grease the toilet floors?” Aerith added. She had reached for her shoulder pouch, for who-knows-what might have been inside. “Or poison the salad bowl?”

“I have two knives on me.” Cloud further supplied.

Zack frowned deeply, more than a little concerned. “No, none of those things. And why are you carrying knives?” Above them, the man on the stage was rambling on about something utterly uninteresting.

“I thought we were going to kidnap someone.” Cloud sighed at Zack’s shaking head. “Okay, I’m sorry. Do you have any suggestions? Harmless pranks? Stupid stuff?”
Cloud had not come all the way to this awful party to just sit and look gorgeous.

Aerith folded the tablecloth into another scrunched formation. “We could talk to the press about Shinra’s dirty secrets?” She offered.

The other two nodded approvingly. Nice.

Something had gotten Zack’s attention. Back on the stage the man had gestured in a wide ark up to two huge screens on either side of the room. They flashed on, displaying a metadata tag of the phrase ‘HappyBdayRufus’.

The man on stage explained, “I’ve been told that this, will let you display your photographs of the evening and birthday wishes up on the screens, so we can all see. How wonderful technology is these days!” He grinned.

Experimentally, the display changed. A photo from one of the staff flashed up, taken several seconds earlier. A few people clapped. Cloud rolled his eyes.

“I think I’ve got it.” Zack’s face had split into an utterly devilish grin. “Wanna see something cool?” He took out his PHS and Cloud knew he was onto something.

Eventually, having overstayed his welcome by more than a while, the man on stage rose his glass. “Thank you all again. You’ll be happy to know the food will also be served shortly.”

With one final cheer from the crowd, the piano player resumed with gusto.

After watching Sephiroth awkwardly greeting a group of men who Cloud could guess might have been some of the President’s business friends, he wondered over to offer some moral support.

They watched with beady eyes when the blond caught the General’s arm and drew him away. “Who’re they?” Cloud questioned, leaning hard into Sephiroth’s side as he took yet another stumble. Behind them, the panel of men stared hard over their whisky glasses, at Cloud’s back. “Hate to assume but they look like mega creeps.”

“Simply those I’m obliged to greet at these functions. They’re some of the people who funded my development.” His tone stayed reserved, heavy with that forced lukewarm respect the company liked to establish within its chain of command.

Cloud huffed, too disgusted to have been a laugh. “Oh Gods, definitely mega creeps.”

Sephiroth made no attempts to disprove his statement as they joined Aerith at the now much quieter buffet table. Instead, thankful for an excuse to return to more agreeable associates.

With a jovial note to her voice, Aerith was talking to someone else at the table. Busy looking over all the posh food, it took Cloud a moment to realise the individual on the receiving end of her chatter was Hojo. Speaking of creeps…

The shorter man looked to be enjoying the party as much as Cloud was. He’d stopped mid scoop of pickled eggs to stare at the Cetra, baffled.

“I’m here with my Soldier boyfriend.” She explained with a mischievous smile, if meeting him here bothered her, she made no show of it. Completely in her element, as always. “He’s a First Class, you know? Just got promoted to Lieutenant.”

“I see… and the Turks?” Hojo struggled to respond, caught seemingly unawares by her attendance.

“They’re doing well, you should go say hi if you haven’t already. They know I’m here, Rude even helped me pick my shoes.” She clicked her heels.

The other’s eyes darkened at her cheery words, following her movements as she handed Cloud and Sephiroth their plates.

“These are my friends. Though I suppose you’re already acquainted.” She smiled far too sweetly. “Are you here with anyone Professor?”

With that, he jammed his pickled eggs onto his plate and left abruptly, muttering under his breath.

Sephiroth hummed, almost impressed. “Nicely done, he hated that.”

“Yup!” Aerith nodded proudly. “Can you believe this is the second buffet we’ve had in two weeks? I think we should go to these more often if the food’s this good.”

From the other side of the table, a woman wearing an extravagant beehive hairdo motioned up to one of the screens. “What is that?”

Looking up, under the handle ‘HappyBdayRufus’, displayed the attached image of a particularly gross pair of feet. The trio looked up just in time for another to roll in, this time depicting a creature’s backside.

“I believe that’s a dog’s arse, my dear.” Answered a gentleman with a well-crafted moustache and suit matching her dress.

Coughing to disguise his laugh, Cloud sent a look back to Zack. Still sat where they’d left him, the Soldier was bent ridged over the table, trying and failing to supress his laughter.

The messages continued to roll in, with Zack pausing to photograph the screens every few minutes. Curtesy of the online group he’d riled up, more increasingly unsavoury images and sentiments poured in. As the group finished their food, it had reached a point that the ballroom’s attention was solely focused on watching for the next foul post.

They’d been approached once, a staff member asking whether anyone knew who had shared the information and to which site. With a deadly look from Sephiroth and an innocent one from the other three, the tech guy had backed off.

Rufus didn’t look best pleased, neither did his Father. Tseng was half-heartedly trying to resolve the situation, not appreciating his evening being interrupted in such a way. The other Turks were clearly trying to conceal their amusement.

Why they didn’t just turn the things off, Cloud wasn’t sure. All the more fun for them though.

“How long until the dancing?” Cloud asked, impatient.

Zack checked his watch. “Uh, ‘bout an hour or something?”

“Why? Can’t wait?” Aerith jabbed, watching the blond press the heels of his hands against his eyes. “Watch the makeup.”

“The night is yet young!” Zack cheered in a mock grandiose voice, finding humour at Cloud’s aversion to the whole event.

“The night needs to grow up then.” Cloud groaned. “How do they expect people to get by on only two free drinks?” He absolutely refused to pay for anything at the obscenely expensive bar.

Sephiroth was busy neatly organising all of the discarded plates and glasses into neat stacks. “I’m afraid we’re required to stay until the end.” He stood from his chair, “I’ll be back shortly.”

“Can’t sit still, can he?” Zack smiled. They watched Sephiroth make his way back to where the press guarded the entrance. “Suppose I should go get friendly with the bigwigs, too. You guys wanna join?”

Aerith jumped up, eager as always. Cloud rose from his seat less enthusiastically. They had to pass the time somehow.

Meandering through the finely dressed crowd, the blond considered how many were genuinely having a good time. They passed by Heidegger who was exchanging short tempered words with an equally angry Scarlet. Zack flashed his superior a smile and wave, only to be ignored.

“So many important folks here.” Aerith mused. “Can you imagine if someone tried something? Or what our old Avalanche might have done with this?”

“Are you talking about terrorism again?” Zack whispered, still trying to find someone important to mingle with. “If so please stop.”

Ignoring his friend’s concerns, Cloud replied, “How many people do you think brought weapons on the off chance something like that happens?”

Zack shushed them when Cloud barely bothered to lower his voice. “No one. No one has weapons. The Turks are here and if they wanted security, decent security, they’d have asked Soldier.”

Aerith hummed in consideration. “Let’s see, shall we?” She stepped out from the group, towards one of the wait staff. In a way which looked accidental, she bumped into their arm, sending a large tray full of empty glasses onto the floor. Both Cloud and Zack flinched at the ear-splitting crash and, on que, the majority of people around them instantly had guns drawn.

Seeing the clatter had been of no malicious intent, the weapons were concealed as quickly as they’d been exposed. Now glad they hadn’t tried anything too idiotic; Cloud went to help clear up where Aerith apologised profusely to the poor employee, leaving Zack looking rather freaked out.

Unnerving, but a good reminder to not relax in the presence of any of these people.

By the time the band assembled on stage, Sephiroth still hadn’t returned. The remaining three were debating whether the press had kidnapped him or he’d just taken a detour to the training room to blow off some steam. Either way, when everyone gathered in the middle of the hall, in some practiced high-class custom he was unfamiliar with, Cloud was left without a partner.

Aerith and Zack both sent him an apologetic look as their friend lingered awkwardly.

About to turn and head for a quiet corner, he nearly bumped into someone.

“Hey. You lookin’ for a partner, or…?” They said, moving into his space.

“Reno?!”

The Turk held out a hand, waiting for Cloud to take it. “Oh, you know me already? Good start. Do I get your name?”

Behind them, the music began and the room commenced their routine. Cloud didn’t know what the hell to do. He stood set in place. Reno gave him a questioning look.

“It’s me!” The blond hissed, staring at the Turk a little harder than might have been required.

“Wait, Cloud?” He eventually asked, recoiling. “Hang on, what?” Reno continued when Cloud nodded.

Reaching out, he grasped the Turk’s forearms not knowing how to even begin this. “Yeah, I’m Sephiroth’s plus one. I’m waiting for someone, just help me blend in.”

“What?!” The other stammered.

They stuck out like a sore thumb, a disaster to behold. All awkward swaying and terrible footwork. Reno co-operated though, regardless of how out of sorts he suddenly was.

“How’d you end up going with Sephiroth?” Reno asked over the music, likely in an attempt to lessen the strangeness of this encounter.

Cloud stepped on the red-head’s foot, mumbling an apology. “He invited me, we’re friends.”

“Dude, everyone knows Sephiroth never brings anyone to anything, it was always just him and the other two First Class, the ones who went crazy and died.”

“He’s incredibly boring, yeah.” Cloud agreed. “But here I am.”

Reno was doing his best to lead their messy dance. His gaze having not left Cloud, suitably intrigued.

“You’re going to be keeping tabs on me now, aren’t you?” Cloud asked, noting Reeve moving quietly towards the balcony from the corner of his eye.

“You bet.”

“Heh, I’m flattered. Good luck keeping up.”

Appreciating the air of challenge, Reno grinned.

Waiting it out another few minutes, Cloud stepped back out of the other’s hold. “Thanks. Later.”

Reno was left looking dumb when Cloud weaved between dancing forms and vanished.

The night air was chilly, a sharp contrast from the stuffy hall. The balcony ornate and large, with many fake potted plants, luxurious furniture and pretty lighting. Out here the music wasn’t quite so obnoxious.

Around to the left, out of view of the rest of the hall, stood Reeve. Silhouetted by a set of lights and leaning on the glass railing, looking over Midgar. Luxury suit and serious face.

He drew his gaze away from the sprawling city at the sound of footsteps on polished stone. Quietly, Cloud moved to stand several paces away, looking out to the massive expanse beneath them.

Reeve remained uncertain, clutching his drink cautiously where it rested on the barrier.

“What’s the matter? Cat got your tongue?” Cloud made the first move past silence.

Reeve tensed even more. “You’re not quite what I was expecting.” He said eventually.

Turning to face his old friend, he offered a placating half smile. “It’s me, Reeve. Cloud?”

The other only frowned. “Sorry, do I…?”

“Yeah yeah, I got all this makeup ‘n stuff, but I’m not that impossible to recognise. Reno got it and I trust your sense over his.”

But the executive’s composure didn’t shift. “I’m not sure what you’re referring to. You’re the one I’ve been exchanging mail with, yes?”

Cloud’s face fell. “Come on, stop playing. You remember right? Tifa and Barret remember, Vincent half does… We saved the world. The meteor, the WRO, Sephiroth, Deepground?”

Something clicked in the other’s expression, he gripped his glass a little tighter. But even Cloud could see it was only the barest of familiarity. “I… I’m afraid I don’t understand what you’re referring to.” His words turned harsher. “Now speak what you must, before I change my mind and leave.”

But Cloud had been banking on him remembering. A horrid feeling curled in his gut, understanding both that Reeve truly didn’t remember him and was about to leave if he didn’t come out with anything smart right now. “You want to change things, right? You’ve got the ideas, the drive to change Midgar, you just need the push to get it done; you’ve been waiting for something to click. Right?”

Reeve nodded slowly. “I’ve been trying for years, for some sort of reform of Shinra. It’s impossible though. They’re stuck.”

“Then think bigger. Your own company, one which can put the world to right, reverse the damage Shinra’s done.” Cloud tried, knowing his desperation was showing.
“How?” Reeve bit back, laughing humourlessly. “You know that’s impossible, don’t you?”

Cloud opened his mouth ‘Use me, use my team’ was what he sought to say. But what was their plan, really? Dismantling Shinra did feel like it ought to be impossible, without some catastrophe to set their fall in motion. “Project Jenova. Its existence is the biggest threat to the Planet right now. I’m,- we’re going to Nibelheim to stop it.”

“And dare I ask who ‘we’ is?”

“I’m associated with General Sephiroth and his Lieutenant. Hell, if we had you planning with us, we could have all of Soldier at your call.”

Reeve shifted from incredulous to inquisitive. Though he was yet to be swayed onto such a dangerous path.

The ring of more steps interrupted them and both tensed in anticipation.

Aerith emerged around the corner, examining the large potted plants, turning her nose up at their synthetic facsimile of nature. “Hey, thought I’d drop by to say hello.”

Cloud heard the sharp breath Reeve drew. “Aerith?” He whispered, her name cloaked in a deep disbelief.

Baffled, Cloud looked between them.

“Reeve.” Stepping closer, Aerith offered a patient smile. “It’s been a long time. I’m not sure we’ve ever met like this in person. You’re looking well.”

The man reached out unsteadily, touching her hand, fragile like she might fade into the wind.

“Oh, come on, you remember her but not me?” Cloud crossed his arms.

With Aerith’s help, they managed a discussion. Reeve listened much more soundly to her, compared to Cloud. She explained what’d happened regarding the time jump, how she too struggled to remember their erased future before meeting old faces again.

“Of course. I can assist you with Gongaga and hopefully Corel also. If I hear any whisperings which might be of your concern, I shall make you aware.” Reeve promised mostly Aerith, Cloud to a slightly lesser extent. “Understand that my influence is limited, but what power I have, I shall use to help.”

Cloud shook his hand in a firm grip, relief flooding back through him. “Thank you, we’re one step closer to getting the gang back together.”

“Indeed.” Reeve nodded, equal parts determined and confused by Cloud.

A successful meeting then. The three headed back inside, discreetly splitting ways back into the crowd. The overhead screens had been shut off, finally. Scanning the crowd for any abnormally tall people, Cloud realised that Sephiroth still wasn’t back.

In his absence, Cloud slipped instead to the bar. Time to burn through the extra coupons he’d ‘borrowed’.

None of the bartenders questioned why Cloud had exceeded the limited amount of free drinks. It wasn’t really their place to care, he supposed. Hopefully this would be over soon, the makeup around his nose was starting to itch.

Someone moved to sit beside him. Cloud caught the smell of cigarettes and peeked over to see it was none other than Heidegger.

Cloud knew the other was checking him out, but reacting was more effort than it was worth, so he resigned himself to feeling just slightly uncomfortable. Attention staying fully upon his drink, like it was the most interesting thing in the room.

“I haven’t seen you around here before. Which department are you from?” A gruff voice addressed him, because of course Heidegger would wait even a moment before talking to him.

“Actually, I don’t work for Shinra.” Cloud replied shortly.

The director hummed in interest. “How interesting. Your man does though, of course?” He was difficult to hear, thanks to the upbeat turn the music had taken. The brass segment was at least giving the dry atmosphere a good kick.

“He does.” Cloud didn’t know whether to laugh or scream that Sephiroth was being referred to as ‘his man’.

Heidegger received his drink. “And he’s left you all alone? That won’t do.”

Cloud downed the rest of his own and gave a half shrug. “He’s with his associates. I don’t care.”

Heidegger laughed, a low rumbling sound like a brewing storm. “It sounds to me like you need someone who does care. Yes?”

“I think he cares a lot, actually.”

“Not enough to indulge you, it seems, my dear.” He lifted a hand to the blonde’s shoulder.

Instantly, he was ready to strike. A trigger about to be pulled, as Cloud tensed under the warm hand.

Heidegger waited for the other to react, as if not noticing the other go completely rigid.

Then, in a flash, a second hand wrapped around Heidegger’s wrist. A looming figure appeared between them, silver hair, the shine of acidic eyes. Cloud could feel the echoes of anger rolling off him like the waves of a storm.

The grip on Heidegger’s wrist hadn’t been forceful, but it shocked him into motion. “Ah, Sephiroth.” He greeted, barely hiding his surprise.

Taking a step back from the seated pair, the man in question held a hand out. “Cloud, shall we?”

Thankful for the escape, Cloud took his hand and hopped off the bar stool, luckily not breaking his ankle in the process. The hatred which rang through their connection was unwelcome, but it was better than sticking with Heidegger. Better the devil you know.

“Sir.” Sephiroth nodded to his superior before guiding Cloud away. Leaving Heidegger with the aspect of someone who’d just witnessed an atrocity, or something of an otherworldly nature. They moved, inconspicuous as possible, into the crowd.

The music dialled back into something less excitable. Cloud pulled at Sephiroth once he’d settled into the mass of people. “Hey, you alright?” The pressure between them was intense, a constricting coil around their foreign DNA. ‘Mine’ hissed the reverberations through their cells. A forward possessive note which chimed louder than the music around them.

“Of course. I just met Zack and Aerith. They’re leaving soon and said they’ll see you in the morning, if they miss you.” He spoke casually, his tone at odds with the burning under his skin.

Cloud shook his head. “You can’t kill Heidegger. You’d be breaking your own rules then.” He grasped the taller’s forearms, like he had with Reno, not knowing how to begin with dancing.

Realising that his partner was suffering from culture shock, Sephiroth ordered Cloud’s hands to where they were supposed to be sat. “I would very much like to.” He admitted, voice low.

“Don’t, it’s not worth it.” Cloud wasn’t going to mention the possessiveness beating between them. He followed Sephiroth as he tried to lead them into a simple step. “You know I can’t dance, right?”

“Nonsense. You fight well. If one can duel with a sword, they can dance.”

Trying not to pay much attention to the hand on his hip, Cloud attempted to keep his footwork even. “Where did you disappear to? We all thought you’d made a quick getaway.”

Sephiroth was decent at leading, showing Cloud the basic footwork. “Spilling company secrets. Providing the login details of high-ranking officials, for the press to explore at their leisure. In exchange, they’ll keep my involvement quiet and hopefully give us a few weeks to get off the continent by the time they break any news.”

“Can we trust them?”

“We’ll have to see.”

Cloud’s balance slipped, Sephiroth tightened his grip, keeping his dance partner upright. “Thanks… You really are throwing everything away.” It was said in mild disbelief. Now that he considered, it really was wild that Sephiroth was ditching his career, his life with the company, in favour of their dangerous adventure. It had only been a couple of months since they’d met, after all.

“I’ve decided I greatly prefer you to Shinra.” Sephiroth spoke quietly, holding Cloud closer to both steady him as well as to exchange words unheard.

One had to admit the sentiment was shared. The months getting to know his old enemy had been some of his most interesting in many years. “You too.” Cloud confessed, the ripple of the sentiment waving between them, a pulse which meant more than his words could carry.

Whatever it did, washed out most of the General’s temper, leaving only the more subtle dregs behind to bounce through their bond.

Cloud dared to call him out on the previous barrage of unwanted emotion. “Hey, what was with that possessive shit just then?”

“I’m not completely sure what you mean.” Though something incredibly slight shifted in his expression.

“When you pulled Heidegger off me. I could feel it, you know? I appreciate the getaway, but not that.” Cloud stated firmly, giving no room for misunderstanding. He held Sephiroth in a careful stare until the other relented.

“I apologise. I’m unsure what came over me.” By all the tells from their connection, Sephiroth was being genuine.

Cloud nodded, not having the fortitude right now to push for a better answer. It could rest for the time being, he’d have something to say if such a thing happened again. They had fallen into a good flow, the movements coming much easier now, and though his feet were sore from the shoes, Cloud found them getting easier to move in.

By far, this was the closest the two had needed to be, and Cloud was struck with conflicting emotions. He wondered whether he’d hate himself for this in a few hours, when the burn of alcohol had worn off and the delighted chime of S-cells had petered out.

As they sank into a comfortable rhythm, Cloud noticed how Sephiroth loosened up. It hadn’t occurred to him until that moment that the man had been uncomfortable with Cloud’s hands on him, though a difference was visible now. It was encouraging, in its own way, to know that he too had pushed past a comfort barrier this evening. It added an extra layer of humanity to the cold-eyed General, who right now, felt anything but icy.

For now, what happened here didn’t terribly matter. They had Reeve as an ally and whatever Sephiroth had planned sounded like it might deal a significant blow to the company. If he hated himself for this later, Cloud was reassured that it was worth it.

At present, both could forget about the large crowd, or the life-altering steps they were about to take. Maybe this dancing thing wasn’t even too bad. Perhaps staying till the end of the night wouldn’t be so awful after all.

Chapter Text

Finally, they were leaving Midgar. Not a moment too soon, in Cloud’s opinion.

He’d gotten changed at Sephiroth’s apartment, packed ready to leave and had a nap. In the early hours of the morning, he’d headed back down to the slums. First, collecting Aerith, who was seen off at the door by her Mom, who appeared surprisingly understanding and positive about their adventure.

They’d grabbed ‘New Fenrir’, and given it the test run Cloud had neglected to do, up to the meeting point. By then, the sun was beginning to peak over the horizon, somewhere behind Midgar’s wall.

The pair waited on a quiet roadside. The highway almost entirely dormant at such an early hour. Punctual as ever, a Shinra military van honked as it approached, pulling up at their side.

“Who’s ready for an adventure?!” Zack hollered, winding down the driver’s side window. Beside him, Sephiroth grimaced at the noise.

There was just enough space in the back of the truck for the bulky motorcycle and two extra people, though Cloud and Aerith were forced to contort into some creative shapes to squeeze amongst the luggage.

Then they were off to Midgar’s gate. The two in the back ducked down as best they could, with the pair in front conversing briefly with the guards. Zack stalled the van a few times on their exit, but the entryway creaked open and they were off.

Now in view, a magnificent red sunrise loped lazily over the horizon. Zack and Aerith whooped and clapped, like they’d just made some grand escape.

After gaining some distance from the city, the group pulled to the side of the ill-kept road. Cloud was glad to be free from the cramped back, holding on as the van jumped around potholes. There was very little traffic arriving in and out of Midgar, besides a few large delivery trucks, certainly no one who would pay them any mind… not that the group were hiding but Cloud still found himself eyeing passers-by with a level of suspicion.

“Where are we heading?” the blond called over to Sephiroth, who was busy studying a map.

“We can aim for the western coast, the port may have some spaces left for vehicles. If so, we can be in Costa Del Sol by midnight, weather permitting.” He stated.

Cloud kicked out the stand for his bike, leaning against it. “You don’t want to stop by Kalm?”

Sephiroth paused, mid turn of a page. He looked at Cloud like he might be stupid. “Kalm is the opposite direction.”

“So? There’s no rush. You guys wanna go?”

Aerith piped up, “I’ve never been there before. Or, well, I have. You know what I mean. I hardly remember it.”

“I’ve not been in ages. The street food is really good. We could refuel there, stay the night?” Zack offered, happy to extend their road trip.

Sephiroth didn’t look convinced. “And where do we travel from there?”

Cloud shrugged, scrubbing a smudge from his goggles. “Wherever we like. Southeast over the mountain road, stopping by the mining outposts for gas, or if we don’t want to camp out. Then into Junon, heading for the port.”

Sephiroth surely wasn’t taken with the idea of such a meandering trip. The spontaneity contradicting his objective based way of operating.

“Actually, if me and Aerith are splitting to Gongaga, it would make more sense to set out from Junon.” Zack pointed out, flicking the page on the map and drawing the distance across the ocean with his finger. “Junon is an equal distance from Corel and Gongaga.”

Zack and Aerith looked pleadingly at Sephiroth while Cloud just crossed his arms. The General let out a long huff. “You understand there’ll be many monsters in those areas?” He pointed out, likely for Aerith’s sake. “And not a lot else out there?”

“All the better for it.” Cloud unfastened his Fusion sword and slotted it into the holster at the bikes side. “I’ll find enough for us to do. I’m well versed in the southeast of the continent.”

“Fine. Not like Heidegger will bother checking in on our progress for a while.” Sephiroth folded up the map and tossed it onto the dashboard, conceding.

This prompted another cheer from Zack. “Who wants snacks?” He called, restarting the engine.

“My Mom made us packed lunches!” Aerith echoed, jumping into the back again, now with much more room to move.

Cloud hopped onto his bike. “Just try to relax, have fun. That’s all you need to do, yeah?” Cloud patted the passenger side door.

“You sound like Genesis.” Sephiroth muttered, as his window wound up to close.

And again, they were off. Finally leaving Midgar in the dust.

The roadway was surrounded by uneven rock formations. Battered by strong winds in the otherwise barren wastes outside the city. Some steep hills and craggy slopes, worn down by dust on the breeze. The landscape hadn’t changed a whole lot in fifteen years, and Cloud found he could weave about it with ease.

Most monsters kept off the roadway, didn’t bother vehicles, though that couldn’t always be said for the packs of large well-adapted canines, especially if they were hungry. Cloud rode ahead of the others, ready for anything which might want to take a bite out of their ride.

The drive was everything Cloud had been missing. No more cramped walls, towering buildings, metal sky. Just land as far as the eye could see. Most found Midgar’s wastes to be utterly uninteresting, if not depressing in their lifelessness. And yes, they were all of those things, but Cloud found an odd contentedness when it came to that lack of substance. Aside from the few main paths, the smaller roads were rarely travelled. Interesting cut-outs from dust and stone. A final bound between home and freedom.

New Fenrir was doing surprisingly well. It handled great, considering it had been buried in a pile of scrap metal for who knows how long. So far, nothing had fallen off-.

An unnerving clang sounded when he bounded down a rock face. Okay, so the suspension needed some work, but that could be sorted in time. Granted the bike survived that long.

Riding up on a ridge, higher than the roadway, movement was spotted up ahead. A large monster, with silky dark fur and tremendously muscled legs had noticed them.

Getting in its way first, Cloud pulled ahead, skimming down the hillside and reaching back for his blade. The monster rose two large ears and began to bound, almost like a massive fanged hare, towards him.

As fast as the motorcycle itself, Cloud led the creature off the road, jumping up an embankment and leaned back into a swing with his sword. With one lucky slice, the monster was downed.

Joining the van back on the pathway, Zack shouted something out his window. Over the noise, Cloud didn’t catch his words, but their upbeat tone left him feeling warm none the less.

They pulled up not long after for a tea break. Aerith had insisted on it, as she happily passed sandwiches to everyone. By midday it was warm, if not for a strong chilly breeze which swept across the deadland. Cloud gave his motorcycle a once over, making sure he hadn’t pushed it too greatly on its first day out.

“That was so cool, you and that monster!” Zack excitedly imitated Cloud’s backwards swing which had taken out the creature. “One slice, and on a bike! So cool.”

“You could do better. Want a go? There’ll be a lot more monsters further ahead.”

Zack looked hopeful, but shook his head. “Thanks man, but I don’t trust myself not to crash your bike.”

“Then I’ll drive, you swing?” Cloud suggested.

“Really? You don’t mind?” Zack perked up.

His excitable nature made Cloud’s heart melt. A completely involuntary response he’d be terribly embarrassed to admit if he ever had to. “Course not. Could use a co-pilot.”

Honestly, Cloud had expected to feel some overbearing sense of loss, looking out over this landscape with Zack at his side. Expected his mind to jump back to that terrible day when his friend’s blood had stained these clifftops; yet it hardly bothered him. He’d anticipated a similar feeling when they climbed inside the Shinra van, maybe expected his old motion sickness to kick back in. But the ride out had been nothing like the one twenty years ago, and Cloud had felt nothing.
Today, he was just content. Being on the road, with friends, finally off his ass and on his way back to Tifa and the others. No rush, no world in immediate peril.

“Would anyone like more tea?” Sephiroth asked, drawing Cloud from his musings.

They set off shortly after, skimming past a sweeping hillside range and the skeletons of withered trees. The ground littered with the remains of long dead shrubs which had not been present before this point. It gave the distinct and worrying impression that this lifeless space was growing outwards, Midgar at its centre, sucking the very life from the Planet’s surface.

But it wasn’t entirely lifeless. Sure enough, more monsters cropped up, as did the occasional lizard or burrowing rodent. They all kept out of the way, for now.
Sephiroth’s driving was much more careful than Zacks, but it was also slower, much to the annoyance of the bike riders.

“Hey, I’m glad you managed to convince Seph to chill out. He listens to you more than me.” Zack shouted up over the noise of their ride.

Cloud shrugged, not expecting his advice to be rated higher than Zack’s. “Some time off will do him good. He talks about you a lot, too. I think he really values you being there for him.” Cloud called back.

“Really?”

Zack gripped his shoulders tighter as they swerved around a dried patch of brambles. “Yeah. He just doesn’t express it well, does he?”

“Like trying to get water from a brick wall.” Zack laughed. “Heads up on the left.”

A pack of three mutated not-quite-canines descended from their side. Zack reached back for his Buster sword while Cloud weaved away. They made a few careful turns, the monsters more agile than the old bike. Moving to divide the pack, they closed in on a single monster. Zack managed a few good strikes, taking it out.

When the two remaining attempted to attack from both sides, the Soldier threw a fire spell, which flashed at the beast’s feet. It yelped and broke formation. Cloud drew his own sword, holding it up to shield his friend’s back. The retaliating monster’s teeth bounced off the metal, before it pounced a second time.

Zack struck it down with a wave of light from his blade. The final creature was intelligent enough to give up. It veered away to flee out of sight.

Cheering, Zack threw his arms into the air and instantly lost his balance. He tumbled straight off the motorcycle. By the time Cloud had screeched to a stop, the Soldier was back on his feet and laughing. No harm done.

Cloud couldn’t help but laugh either.

The others carried on ahead, having not noticed.

Patchy grass was beginning to show through the dust, meaning Kalm wasn’t too far away now. Back up again, they pulled back in front of the Shinra van, to see Aerith and Sephiroth chatting pleasantly. Clearly, they’d paid no attention to any of Cloud and Zack’s stunts.

An hour later, they rode into Kalm, down a road flanked by green trees and well-trimmed hedges. The old town had changed a lot compared to how Cloud’s time had left it, perhaps with the exception of the main street leading to its centre, where the group made their stop. Cobblestone roads, old sturdy buildings set beside a glistening blue river. The opposite of Midgar in nearly every way; hard to believe they were close neighbours.

After Meteorfall, the shockwave of the near impact had inflicted significant structural damage; while the pleasant glow which the town seemed to perpetually emanate, had been doused by the thick dust cloud rolling out from the wastes. Deepground’s subsequent invasion hadn’t helped much either… In fact, it was almost impossible to identify them as the same location, Kalm had shifted from a well-off and scenic location to a forlorn and sometimes dangerous shadow of its previous glory. It really was like night and day.

Finding an ideal place to stop near the centre of town, to group set out.

They’d made good time. A large metal clock resting atop the town hall, informed that it was approaching five in the afternoon.

The van had been stuffy, even with a window open. Not something Sephiroth would bother to complain about, but after such a long journey, it was refreshing to be out of there. Together, they checked into an inn and shopped for supplies. With some extra camping gear in tow, in addition to drinks and emergency food, they were set for a longer trip than originally planned.

Still unsure what to make of this new turn, Sephiroth followed along. Content with letting the others have their fun, the extended journey would indeed provide him a break from work, even if he didn’t really see the point. If he needed to step in, the group would listen, but for now, all was well.

It was difficult to stay dreary with the others so jovial. Cloud especially had more energy than Sephiroth had seen in him previously. Despite this being their first trip together, he could already see that Cloud’s favourite place was on the road. Free, anywhere but cooped up under the heavy weight of the city.

As dusk fell over the evening, the atmosphere morphed into one of delight. Strings of lights lined the streets around every storefront and along the edge of the river, warm scents of vibrant food, colourful street music and a new flood of people looking to enjoy the nightlife.

Not expecting to spend a second evening in the presence of herds of people, Sephiroth tried to find an excuse to hide in their van for a while. Easily, he was caught out and practically dragged back by the others.

Letting them decide the plan, he ended up sat outside a bar, their table overlooking the river. Across sat Zack, watching the water birds who were still chasing food thrown to them from the riverside.

Aerith had grabbed Cloud’s wrist and declared the two were going shopping, before zipping off elsewhere. Sephiroth found himself envying their carefree approach. The group’s whimsical love of the directionless, which he found himself lacking. ‘Just try to enjoy the moment.’ Aerith had told him on the ride over, ‘Keep it up and you might just find yourself relaxing.’

“You’re still overthinking this, aren’t you?” Zack stated more than asked.

Sephiroth stirred his drink. A fruity something which matched Zack’s, lacking both caffeine and alcohol, for a change. He didn’t need anything extra adding to his headache, a day of bright sunlight reflecting off pale rock had prompted enough discomfort. “I rather believe I’m the only one here who is thinking.”

“There’s nothing to worry about, Boss. Making a few extra stops isn’t gonna get us reprimanded. Heidegger hasn’t let us out of Midgar in nearly a year. Drop him a line, if you want. Tell him we’re scoping out a couple military outposts, checking everyone’s ready for the Wutai invasion.” The Soldier suggested.

It was an idea, probably the most useful anyone had delivered all day. “Good suggestion. We needn’t be concerned, I doubt Heidegger will even notice were gone.”

“Well, not like it matters, I suppose. We’re eco-terrorists or the anti-Shinra force, or Avalanche… Whatever Cloud and Aerith are calling it today.” He sipped his drink.

“No.” Sephiroth corrected, making Zack look up from where his eyes had wondered across the water once more. “I’m defecting, whether that happens to be drastically in the next few weeks or over a much longer time. My place in Shinra is compromised. Yours is not. Whatever happens, you must appear to remain loyal. It’ll be safest for you and Aerith.”

“Safest? I mean are you really sure? Considering what we’ve learnt about the company?”

Sephiroth tapped a finger lightly against their table. “Which is the most effective chess piece on the board?”

“The Queen?”

“And where is she placed?”

Zack frowned, though not entirely giving a look of confusion. “At the back, beside the King. Seph, what’re you asking me to do here? Because I think I know, and I don’t like it.”

“Whatever happens, keep Shinra close. Utilise the advantages they give you but know when to get out. That’s what I’m doing right now, and you need to utilise my desertion to get a better foothold within their ranks.”

“Throw you under the bus?” The Soldier frowned deeply. “No, I’m more honourable than that, I’ll be beside-.”

The other interrupted, “You will be beside us. Just let Shinra believe you’re with them. The Turks like you, they’ll vouch for your defence. Forget honour and promise me- if you see a chance to take that King, do it.” Sephiroth urged, quiet and serious.

Zack chuckled nervously. “Ya’ sound like you’re about to martyr yourself away. I doubt they’ll stand much chance of taking you down, they owe Wutai to you.”

“Which is why I’m an asset they won’t want to waste.” His fall was inevitable. As soon as Shinra identified Sephiroth as a threat, they would move everything they had into making sure he be neutralised or recaptured. He was not a piece they could afford going rogue, without pricy consequence.

Quietly, Zack mulled over their exchange. Finally, he cracked a brighter smile. “Sounds like we better start dreaming big. But while we got it, let’s take some time to relax.” He rose his glass, encouraging Sephiroth to do the same. “Hey, hey, look! Baby geese!” The Soldier pointed a short way across the water.

Always the optimist, so like Angeal at times… Zack understood though, he had a good head on his shoulders. He’d also likely have Sephiroth’s job too, sooner or later, if this all took shape. Sephiroth had to wonder why Zack was even in Soldier, the only normal one amongst the freakshow the rest of First Class had turned out to be.

Either way, Sephiroth was content to call him an ally.

As he said: better start dreaming big… and maybe relax some, in the meantime.

Chapter Text

A lazy sun rose upon an idle Sunday morning in Kalm, and with it did the party of four. Aerith decided that ‘Operation: Relaxation’ had begun. This had called for a peaceful morning of breakfast by the riverside and an insistence that they needn’t rush off to their next destination too soon.

The map of the eastern continent was flipped open and bickered over. Eventually concluding in a decision to travel south then southeast across the grasslands, alongside the marshes, then over the mountain pass, before heading into the Junon area.

After midday, seeing Sephiroth’s irritation at being stuck in one place with no present objective, they hopped back into the van for the second leg of their trip. Cloud’s bike was holding up well, for now. The wild treatment the day previous hadn’t exactly helped it much, but it still worked, which was good enough for them.

A bumper sticker, presumed courtesy of Zack, had appeared on the back of the van. It displayed the delightful message of ‘I’m only speeding cuz I really need to poop.’ Upon noticing it, Sephiroth had merely shook his head and sighed, leaving the others to giggle like children.

Met with some traffic, heading to and from the mines and smaller settlements around eastern side of the plains, Cloud pulled ahead of the van took the left of a Y junction. Purposely taking them off the main roads and into the lesser travelled roadways, alongside farmland and vast green landscapes.

They encountered no monsters along the way, which Zack announced to be a disappointment. He and Aerith kept themselves entertained with a loud sing along to the radio. Finally, much to their sadness and Sephiroth’s relief, their radio signal began to drop off.

This exercise of trying to force the General to take a vacation was going arguably poorly, as he kept grabbing at the map whenever Cloud made an unexpected turn. Finally, they had pulled off the dirt path (it hadn’t been a ‘road’ for some time) to take a rest stop. Cloud had jumped into the seat beside Sephiroth, and were both jabbing at parts of the map.

“No, we’re past the sunflower fields, that was a few minutes ago.” Cloud protested.

Sephiroth huffed, placing his finger a few inches away from Clouds, as they tried to find their current position. “I’m not saying we’ve not passed it. We passed it an hour ago, that’s the point I’m trying to make.”

“I’m telling you, we’re next to this river.”

“No, we’re here. Closer to these farms than the river.”

Cloud rolled his eyes. “Look, I ride around here all the time. I think I know where I am.”

“You rode around here in your time. Need I remind you this is no longer your time.” Sephiroth countered.

“Oh, come on. You think massive landmasses are gonna be different? That’s dumb.”

“Only small things are different, then? Little things like Shinra and meteors?”

Zack coughed from where he and Aerith were unpacking their sandwiches. “What was that about meteors?”

He was ignored as Cloud bit back, “Oh, come on, that’s not how the past and future work. Right Aerith?”

“Don’t bring me into this.” She called back.

“There are three pathways into the mountains. Which one do you aim for us to take?” Sephiroth pushed, beginning to get frustrated.

Cloud moved to point at one road. “This one… no, this one.”

“Then why are you taking us in our current direction?” Sephiroth traced out their current path, marking how it curved away from the Mythril area.

“Because it’s nice. We’re supposed to be having fun.” Cloud argued back. “Have you not liked any of this?” He gestured to the rolling hills and quiet trees.

“Not when I’ve been sat in a hot car all day being led by someone with the directional sense of a headless cockatrice.” The other growled back.

“Use the bike then! It’s for everyone to use, not just me.”

Aerith shouted up from the back. “Gee, I sure do wish mom and dad would stop fighting.” Her statement echoed by a sound of agreement from Zack.

Cloud twisted in his seat to glare at the two in the back. “Hey! Don’t,- don’t fuckin’-.”

“Yeah, Cloud. You straight up sound like my mom.” Zack crossed his arms, in mock disappointment.

“I do not!” The blond protested.

Sephiroth sighed, losing the fight he’d had previously. “Okay. Just get out and look for that river you claim we’re next to. Please?”

Without another word, Cloud jumped out of the passenger side and closed the door with more force than necessary.

Aerith grabbed the picnic blanket and hopped out. “It’s lovely out here. Don’t stress, we’ll find where we are later. Come on out and grab some stuff.” She called back encouragingly.

It only took Cloud a matter of minutes before he returned, grinning triumphantly. He had been correct and the river was just off the ‘roadside’, down a grassy verge and through some trees. With their location mostly established, the tension between the two died down considerably, allowing them to at least enjoy their lunch.

Zack had been the one to suggest they set up camp here, for the night. An idea which the others quickly agreed with, especially Aerith and Sephiroth who were eager to be out of the van for a while. They would soon begin to lose daylight, in a few short hours, there was no point in venturing out any further.

The bubbling of the wide but shallow river was pleasant, with no further sign of monsters inhabiting this part of its bank. With only some minor struggling, they set up their tents, one for each of them. Aerith excitedly pointed out a few large birds of prey passing over above, which made the smaller ones in the trees go quiet and still.

Sometime later, Zack announced that he and Sephiroth were going to stretch their legs for a while, survey the area and pick up some wood for a fire, while they were at it. The idea was spontaneous and announced a little oddly, but Sephiroth didn’t decline. The two ambled away down the riverside until they were out of sight.

“He’ll take some time to get used to things, but don’t worry, he’ll adapt.” Aerith began with a reassuring tone.

Cloud nodded, hoping she was right. He had faith that Sephiroth would adjust to their new activities. If not? Then they’d have a problem on their hands. “You two seem like you’re getting on well.”

“Oh, you bet. I want to be best friends with the guy this time around, if it means avoiding what happened last run.” She chuckled.

“Yeah…” Cloud couldn’t laugh at that, like she could. He still had to mentally separate this Sephiroth from the one who’s blade had ran her through. He’d continue to pretend they were different people; pray that they were.

Aerith continued, “He’s sweet though, isn’t he? In his own way. Rough around the edges, sheltered, sad.”

“I guess so.” Cloud shrugged, collecting some larger stones from the sweeping river bank. He wouldn’t exactly describe the man as ‘sweet’.

“Does he ever talk about his friends, the two who died?” She asked.

His foot rolled off a wet stone, nearly landing him in the shallow water. “Angeal and Genesis? Nah. He gets weird whenever they’re mentioned. I think him and Genesis had an on and off fling, has one of his books in his apartment. Never talks about them though, whatever happened is a sore subject.”

She hummed thoughtfully. “Sounds like he doesn’t know how to deal with them being gone. Zack talks a lot about Angeal a lot. I wish I’d met him, he sounds like he was a lovely man. I’m not really sure about the circumstances of their deaths, I know they… mutated. I wonder what the flowers would have to say about them…” She trailed off in thought.

“And what do the flowers say about Sephiroth?” Cloud queried.

“They hate him.” She gave a strange and worried laugh. “They tell me he’s a harbinger of destruction, a virus, the devil’s son.” Settling down on the grassy verge, she watched her friend push a few large rocks about with his foot.

“Right…” Cloud shivered, uncomfortable at that admission. “Do you think Jenova is trying to alter the future?”

Aerith nodded, no room for disagreement. “That’s what scares me. I think last time, once she found Sephiroth and made her will his own, it was pretty plain sailing. Until you showed up, of course. She didn’t foresee you winning, or my plan working. And now, she’s alone, or so we think. Sephiroth was her key and now he’s under our influence more than hers.”

“He told me once, after we’d only just met again, that he’s had dreams of the meteor.”

She ran her hands through tall blades of grass, with the gentleness of petting an animal. “How much have you told him about that? Does he know what Jenova is?”

“Yeah, I’ve told him about Shinra and Jenova. He knows she’s not his Mother, at least.” Cloud didn’t meet her eye.

“Shinra and Jenova?” She repeated back suspiciously. “You haven’t told him about his own role in it, have you?”

Uncomfortably, Cloud reached down to pick out a few decent stones. “I’ve told him what he needs to know.”

“Cloud. Really?” Her tone was clear disapproval. “You should know better than anyone what hiding that could do to him.”

“And what? Just break it to him that he brought about what was very nearly the end of the world? Caused the death of over a million people and didn’t know when to stay dead?” He shot back.

“Yes! You’d want to know, wouldn’t you?”

It hurt because yes, she was absolutely correct. Cloud knew she was right but… “I’ll find the right moment to tell him, okay? Break it to him slowly.”

“Good. Last thing you want is for him to meet the others without any past knowledge. They’ll probably want him dead.”

Right. That was true. Tifa would likely try to murder their new ally the first chance she got. He’d told her about their new companion, hadn’t he? Perhaps it was best to check next time they spoke.

Cloud collected his chosen rocks and brought them back to their campsite, arranging them into a circle at the centre. He stayed quiet, awaiting Aerith to change the subject once their silence became unpleasant.

Eventually she brought up the Turks and their potential to interfere. “They won’t even know I’m gone for a few more days, then my mom can make some excuses. It’ll be fine, I promise.”

“I suppose. They’ll just track where Zack is heading and probably end up in Nibelheim way before us.” He didn’t particularly want to end up on the group’s bad side just yet, though it was fairly inevitable that they would. “Does Sephiroth know about that- why the Turks are interested in you?”

“Nope. He probably wouldn’t have let me come if he knew what a massive liability I am.” She chucked.

Cloud rolled his eyes, but couldn’t help his own amused smile. He wondered how long they could last under the radar like this, before Heidegger’s ignorance and Hojo’s excuses for them ran out. As soon as the Turks became suspicious, this already loose plan of theirs would begin to splinter.

The other two were gone for quite some time. When they did finally reappear, it was beginning to get dark. Zack gave a loud whistle and wave when they spotted the camp, a way off down the riverbank. Sure enough, they came carrying wood. A fire was built with the help of materia, which Aerith quickly took charge over.

It certainly appeared that nothing untoward had occurred while the two Soldiers had been gone, neither reported having seen anything. When asked, Zack informed them that he’d spotted some fish swimming about. Sephiroth was a little calmer, which put Cloud’s mind at ease. The walk and easy company had helped.

“Yo, Cloud.” Zack sauntered back from his trip to the van, carrying some vegetables and cooking utensils. “The Boss said you’re pretty mean in a fight. You wanna spar? I’d like to see more of those cool tricks from yesterday in action.”

Cloud’s face must have done something without his input, because Zack put up a hand apologetically.
“Don’t worry, man. We’ve been traveling all day.”

“No no, it’s fine. Uh, let’s do it.” Cloud quickly babbled. He hopped off the ground from beside Aerith and collected his sword.

Sephiroth gave a look of interest, watching Zack bounce around, stretching out his arms, while his would-be opponent meandered after him. He took Cloud’s now vacant seat beside the fire.

“Go easy on him, Cloud.” Aerith called, poking at the base of the flames with a stray gnarled branch.

Cloud’s feet moved on auto pilot as he followed. Almost in a daze. He’d never done this before with Zack, one of the innumerable things ill fate had stolen from them.
“I was gonna say I’ll go easy on you.” Zack laughed and drew his Buster sword. Their Buster sword.

“Thanks, I’ll need it.” Cloud mirrored his movement, dragging his own Fusion sword up in front of him. His grip was off though.

They stood there awkwardly, staring at each other across the short distance. It took Cloud longer than it should have to figure that Zack was waiting for him to make the first move.

“Uhh, you okay, Spike?” The Soldier called over.

Cloud mentally kicked himself back into the present. Everything was fine, and he reminded himself that his old friend was no pushover. In fact, he was definitely going to kick the crap out of Cloud, if he continued to forget how to fight.

With a long steadying breath, Cloud fell back into a proper stance. He counted to five and dashed forwards.

From the side lines, Aerith gave a clap and cheer at the first singing clash of metal.

Unused to fighting against an opponent wielding a similar weapon and fighting style, Cloud started out the fight aggressive. Zack blocked his swings with ease, pushing back when the opportunity came to him.

He was an adept fighter, of course, but lacked Cloud’s extra years of experience or J-cell enhancements. Cloud was also very used to his opponents having a height advantage over him, so much that it didn’t faze him. The blond managed a parry and bashed into Zack’s side with the flat of his sword.

It knocked him back but the Soldier recovered with ease. “Nice!” He cheered before rushing back in, matching Cloud strike for strike.

After managing to gain some ground and push the blond back, Zack dug his sword into the rocky earth below, with ease. In a deceptively agile movement, he swung around, kicking out with both legs. Raising his own weapon to block, Cloud was thrown off his feet by the force of the kick.

Keeping his blade up, he rolled back to land in a low crouch. Cloud heard the kick of dirt and slide of metal against stone; he glanced up at the sound to see his foe mid leap. Buster sword raised deadly above his head, it glowed with energy. Cloud barely rolled away when Zack came slamming down a few feet away, a shockwave of blue light bursting from the impact.

Moving swiftly back into position, Cloud bounced on his toes, avoiding the energy wave, with a flurry of his own attacks.

Cocky grin knocked from his face, Zack returned with playful concentration as the two met again and again in clashes of steel. When Cloud managed to knock him back again, the Soldier laughed, giving a push back of his own. Cloud hadn’t realised he was smiling until he recognised the thrum of joy in his chest for what it was. It fluttered like a caged butterfly beating softly about, enough that he understood the common likening of the feeling to gentle winged creatures.

It was entertaining. Really fun, even. As they continued, their swordplay lost its seriousness, though simultaneously involving more potentially dangerous manoeuvres, when Zack figured that Cloud was able to keep up with a fighter of his class.

Still, they were mostly just playing. At one point, Cloud chanced a jab, which Zack ducked away from with an easy block and roll of his shoulder. Retaliating, he had returned a decent punch, which had caught Cloud right on the cheekbone. From there it devolved further until Zack reached a leg around Cloud’s feet when he stepped into his opponent’s space. A shoulder bash sent the blond stumbling backwards straight onto his ass.

Aerith gave another little cheer from the spectators’ corner. At which Zack rose his hands in victory, looking about as if to the imaginary audience of a stadium. It ended abruptly as he doubled over laughing.

“That was awesome!” The First Class praised; hand braced on his knee as he stifled his laughing.

Cloud hadn’t bothered moving from the floor, sensing their duel was over. Instead, he found the late evening air was more pleasant than anticipated, as it wound itself around their camp, flickering the gentle crackle of fire.

“Yeah, that was fun.” Cloud hoped the smile he offered was good enough. He meant it.

Zack dug his sword into the dirt once again, leaning on it casually. “Wasn’t expecting you to be an expert already.”

He shrugged at Zack’s compliment, unsure what to do with it. Neither of them had been fighting at full strength, or anything close to it, for that matter. In fact, it had descended into them not really fighting at all. But then, it had been a long time since Cloud had messed about while sparring in such a laid-back manner.
“Had someone who inspired me.” He replied simply. “That’s a good sword you’ve got there.”

“Thanks. A great friend left it with me.” A flash of reminiscence flashed across his eyes.

“Same.”

“Huh?”

“Nothing.” Cloud looked off to the fire, where their companions were seated.

Blue eyes met green and for a moment, the firelight dancing across Sephiroth’s features made a shiver run down his spine.

“You want a go?” Cloud called over, to break the awkwardness and cover the horrid feeling which threatened to curl around him. He didn’t particularly desire a second matchup.

Thankfully, Sephiroth waved him off, a small shake of his head. Aerith took the opportunity to seize the General once again in conversation.

In the end, Cloud cooked them some food. A simple vegetable broth which went down nicely with the group. By that point, the sun was down and the stars out. Zack settled in beside Aerith to point out the constellations he knew, eventually dragging Cloud over to sit the other side of him, so he could join in.

It didn’t surprise Cloud that Sephiroth had practically memorised a space encyclopaedia, and was able to spout facts and figures about whatever Zack drew their attention to, as well as pointing out more subtle shapes himself.

Aerith loved it. This was the first time she had seen the stars in this timeline, without a blanket of smog marring their beauty.

Soon, the firelight and far-off astral bodies were all they could see, as the countryside descended into peaceful night; the temperature dropped rapidly with it.

“Right, that’s it. I’m off to bed.” The Cetra wrapped a blanket tighter around her shoulders as she stepped past everyone, heading for her tent.

Agreeing, Cloud finally moved from where he was still partly slumped against Zack’s shoulder. A position he wasn’t wholly sure how he’d ended up in.

It was simultaneously agreed that everyone was heading to bed. Or rather, everyone moved apart from Sephiroth.
“I shall stay up and take first watch.” He offered.

“Don’t bother.” Cloud replied, unzipping his tent, which was a little too tiny for his liking. “Nothing around here for miles and there’s hardly any monsters. I’ve never encountered anything here after dark.”

The others nodded, taking his words as gospel.

“You’re sure?” Sephiroth further questioned, moving to stand and stretch. He looked like he needed some rest.

Even if they were ambushed, Cloud was certain it would be no problem, they were all capable enough fighters. “Yeah, I’m sleeping with this open anyway.” He kicked the open flap of his tent, not liking the idea of being penned in so tightly. He had no idea how Sephiroth was going to fit into his. Maybe he should have done as Aerith suggested and gotten the size up… those had been slightly more expensive though, so he’d refrained.

“We’re all light enough sleepers. It’s cool.” Zack backed him up, pulling off his boots and slipping into his tent without complaint.

Defeated, Sephiroth shrugged- a movement he managed to pull off with uncompromised grace, and moved to his own tent.

There was a lot of giggling from Zack, which was replied by disgruntled grumbling, as Sephiroth contorted like a cat to climb into the tiny, cheap and flimsy pod.

He’d missed this. Staying out with good company, enjoying the quiet without the threat of impending doom, or the worry of menacing green eyes waiting for him to fall asleep. It was a nice change of pace from cramped Midgar and being out alone when out making deliveries.

Cloud drifted to sleep thinking of quiet nights just watching the moon with Vincent, silly over-the-top group activities suggested by Yuffie, Cid insisting his cooking was great- despite having poisoned the party…

For now, he had a new traveling group, forged of unexpected old faces.

They settled in for the night, contented as the last embers of the fire crackled happily.

Chapter Text

Cloud’s eyes fluttered open, a shuffling of tent fabric drawing him out of sleep. He sniffled, wiped his face of morning dew which had settled through the open partition of his tent. Across the charred spot their fire had been, Zack’s tent rustled. The zip was stuck, but with a rip of fabric, he freed himself. A head of messy dark hair popped out from the opening, making an upset whine at the tear he’d made in the cheap material.

“Mornin’ Cloud.” Zack’s face lit up when his gaze met the Mercenary’s.

Cloud returned a smile. “Hey.”

Hearing them, the others began to shuffle awake also. Zack stumbled bleary eyed out of his pod. He turned and made a choked sound. Eyes bugging, he pointed down, coughing out a laugh which seemed too loud, considering they had just awoken. “Seph, I,- Oh my…”

Shifting to see what the fuss was about, Cloud nearly had the same reaction.

“Oh Gods. Aerith, you gotta see this.” Zack knocked on the front of her tent as if it were a door.

His limbs sticking out at odd angles, Sephiroth looked like he had dramatically burst from his tent at some point in the night. A leg stuck out one side, while his upper body had erupted from the other, thin blanket wrapped around one of his arms.

“Stop laughing at me.” The General groaned, lifting his head enough to wipe damp grass from his face.

They packed up the camp, not waiting until the morning dew had dried from their tents before screwing them into untidy bundles and tossing them into a carrier bag (except for Sephiroth, who meticulously folded his, despite it being ruined). Zack was determined to get someone to have a water fight with him in the river, unfortunately, no one offered themselves up to freeze alongside him.

The morning was ground to a disastrous halt, when Zack, now dry and helping clear up the campsite, asked a simple question. “… You guys seen my materia?”

Ears perking up, Cloud watched the Soldier lift the Buster sword from where it had sat beside his tent. Sure enough, the glowing orbs were missing. Upon inspection, the same could be said for Cloud’s.

No way. She hadn’t.

“Wait, are you serious?” Aerith asked, having the same brainwave as Cloud. She reached up to make sure her own was still in place, which thankfully, it was. She dove back into her tent a moment later. “I had some healing materia, just in case. It’s gone.”

“Damnit, Yuffie.” Cloud pressed his palms to his head, watching as everyone checked their pockets.

All in all, they lost everything equipped to both armour and weapons. With the exception of Masamune, which was thankfully incorporeal at the time. It left them with Aerith’s Holy, alongside an Ice, Thunder and Gravity still safe in the legendary blade’s hilt.

It wasn’t like they were defenceless, far from it, but it would have been reassuring to know they had a decent healing spell, or two, if needed. “Soooo, you gonna share now, Boss?” Zack enquired, sauntering up and eyeing the Thunder, having just been lamenting the loss of his own.

Sephiroth, who clearly hadn’t intended to share, relented with a sigh. Handing the Thunder to Zack and Ice to Cloud. The blond passed the little green stone off to Aerith, accepting that she was a far greater caster than himself.

Grabbing their equipment, they made their way back to the van. Upon arriving, something felt missing. It took Cloud a few seconds of examining the scene before he realised.

With a clatter, the cooking equipment he carried clanged onto the ground. “She,- she took my damn bike!”

Yes, his bike key had indeed vanished from his pocket.

“Well Cloud, I can’t say I quite like your choice of friends so far.” Sephiroth all but sneered. “I do hope the rest are less on the undesirable side.”

“For the most part.” Aerith smiled sweetly, aiming to keep the peace, as always. “Yuffie is an odd case, but she’s really lovely.” She watched Cloud pace the length of the van in irritated steps, looking like he might be about to cry. He echoed her praises by muttering obscenities and threats of violence under his breath.

Continuing on their ride, the group stopped at a farm to buy some eggs. The owners, an older weather worn gentleman and his very sweet wife recognised Sephiroth; or ‘the handsome young man from the telly’ as they referred to him.

They insisted the group stay for breakfast, which consisted of bacon and huge chocobo eggs. The awkwardness of the encounter was saved by Aerith and Zack, who were far more extroverted than their companions’ reserved natures.

The couple were more than a little upset at the sharing of Shinra’s misdeeds but didn’t seem terribly surprised at the idea that they weren’t the most responsible overseers.

Sent on their way with a large box of eggs and wishes of good luck, the party continued south-eastward. It was turning into the hottest day of their trip thus far, which the crackling radio presenter verified as the warmest day of the year yet. Crowds were already flocking to beaches and resorts along the eastern coast, who were expected to have a busy few days as spring shifted into summer.

Cloud was sat upfront with Zack, still fuming over the loss of his bike; while the back of the van was occupied by Aerith and Sephiroth, who were attempting to tidy up their supplies and refold their tents.

Zack was undeniably going too fast for their current environment, a narrow tree-lined path with sharp corners and limited visibility. A tired silence brought on by uncomfortable heat filled the van.

Cloud was about to resign himself to taking a nap when Zack grinned his way. “Watch this.”

Suspecting something awful, Cloud reached out to grip his seat and door.

A sharp corner approached, and Zack sped up. “Action movie!” He cried, as he turned the wheel hard, hitting the breaks. Wheels screeched and the clutch made a horrible grinding sound as they slammed into an unsteady drift, a manoeuvre built for a vehicle much sportier than their Shinra military supply van.

A yelp sounded in the back, followed by a thump and clatter as something, or someone, hit the right wall. Zack, realising this might not have been a great idea, when the van struggled to complete the turn, twisted the wheel sharply once again. It stopped them from flying over the edge of a downward incline, just off the path, but it caused a second crash in the back. Cloud was thrown hard against his door, though thanks to their driver’s prior warning, was at least able to brace himself.

Straightening out back onto the road, their turn complete, Zack’s shoulders were bunched up, a look of mild horror on his face… almost like he’d nearly just killed them all. Which he had.

“Zackary.” A deadly voice growled which made both in the front go still. They turned slowly in unison to see Sephiroth, who must have stood from his seat just at the wrong moment. His hair was dishevelled and nose dripping red from under his hand.

Aerith was fine, she’d been seated on the floor at the time, but bounced to her feet to try to get a look at the General’s face. He tried to shoo her away but relented, finding her more persistent than himself.

Already pulling the vehicle to a stop, Zack looked like he was to be dealt a death sentence. “I didn’t mean,- Oh Gods, I’m so sorry.” He shrunk away from the glower Aerith levelled him with.

Cloud hopped from his own seat to help out, so he could at least appear to be busy. It was less awkward that way. He felt partly responsible, somehow.
“It’s not broken.” Aerith reassured.

Though he had gone pliant when Aerith pulled him down for a better look, Sephiroth hadn’t removed his glare from Zack. “Out.”

It took Zack half a second to have unbuckled his seatbelt and bolted from the driver’s seat, out of the door.

The tense atmosphere took a while to dissolve, fuelled by the uncomfortable heat itching at the group. Zack had been relegated to the back of the van, where he helped Aerith with the supplies. His job of driver had been left in the far more careful hands of Sephiroth, whose nose was fine, if not slightly bruised. Downing his fourth bottle of water, Cloud was sure his brain was frying in his skull. Pulling the sun visor a little lower as he shrunk further into his seat, he’d found that rest wasn’t coming as easily as he’d have liked.

Slightly more traffic surrounded them now. Moving around between the small communities which connected the eastern grasslands with the mountain range. Long roads, overlooking green fields and passing through tiny hamlets. Collections of buildings so few that there was little point in stopping.

The Mythril mountains were poking up along the horizon now. They were aiming for one of the larger towns which the miners made frequent pitstops at. Cloud was in charge of their map, having the best sense of direction when it came to these parts. Unfortunately, is concentration had drifted elsewhere, instead trying for the hundredth time to encourage the air conditioner to work.

Always the one to save a strained situation, Aerith spoke up. “Anyone up for a game? I was thinking, since not all of us know each other that well, we could go around in a circle a give a fact about ourselves that others might not know.”

“Sounds great.” Zack replied, hopeful to regain a few good boy points.

“No.” Sephiroth grumbled. He looked more annoyed than he actually was, Cloud could tell… for some ungodly reason.

Aerith clapped her hands together. “Wonderful! I’ll go first.” She ummed and arghed for a drawn-out moment before continuing. “I’ve always wanted a pet dog. Cloud?”

“Same.” The blond waved from his sprawled position in the passenger seat. “I wanted a dog too. Zack’s turn.”

“I had a dog when I was a kid. His name was Rusty.” He added with a fond note. “Seph?”

“I don’t like dogs.” Sephiroth replied, nonchalant.

“Umm, great!” Aerith chirped. “Let’s go again, this time try to think of something yourself. My favourite flower changes all the time, but at the moment its chrysanthemum.”

Cloud ran the name over in his head a few times. Too many syllables. “My favourite food is prawn toast.”

“My favourite colour is red.” Zack said.

“I’m really good at making pizza rolls.” Sephiroth followed, continuing to join in the game despite apparently not wanting to play.

Aerith clapped again. “Better! Now we’re getting it. Uhh, I broke my arm riding a bike once.”

“I had six award winning chocobos. And a whole bunch of others.” Cloud regaled, more than a little sad that time had erased his dear birds.

Zack excitedly patted the metal crate he was perched on. “No way, man. That’s so cool!”

Cloud shot him finger guns, a lethargic half smile on his face.

“I always wanted to go on that game show, the one where they have people do the assault course over the slime pit. The one where they cover them with slime even when they win. That always looked fun.” Zack continued. “… Boss?” He prompted after waiting.

Sephiroth shifted, his attention having slipped at some point. “Oh. I used to like the idea of being an astronaut… Why is that funny?” He questioned when Cloud gave an amused huff.

“No reason.”

“Good, even better.” Aerith nodded approvingly. Her hair stuck to her face and she looked like she might have been melting. “I would love to spend a week in Costa del Sol.”

There was a joke to be made there, with them all sweltering in the car, blazing sun outside. “I competed in the annual chocobo racing grand prix. Two golds and a silver.” He’d been aiming to make it three golds, before the Lifestream had pulled a fast one on them. The acclamation roused interest from the others, even a raised eyebrow from Sephiroth, who’s pale skin was beginning to burn.

They continued their game for another hour, at least. Checking frequently to see how close they were to their destination. It also didn’t help that their windows could only be wound down half way, an absolutely ridiculous design choice.

Fast running out of water bottles, the group were counting the seconds before arriving at the village. Of course, Cloud and Sephiroth had bickered over which route to take, which had landed Cloud in the driver’s seat for the first time this trip. He’d spent a long five minutes adjusting the seat and a further few complaining about the clutch, the old gear box and the ineffective sun visor. All set to the sound of passing vehicles honking at them, while the irritated blond stalled and shunted about. It’d been a while since he’d driven anything with more than two wheels.

Despite jumping out for a few moments whenever they saw a shaded spot by the roadside, delirium and possible heat stroke was setting in. Aerith’s game had received the addition of guessing true or false to their statements, with the intention of keeping their minds alert and thinking against the heat.

As should have been predicted, this was fast turning into a disaster.

“I wanted to be a Physicist when I was young.” Sephiroth mumbled, now in the back, elbows resting on his knees and looking overly hot and bothered.

Zack rose a hand into the air. “False. You said you wanted to be, urr…”

“An astronaut.” Aerith finished.

“True.” Sephiroth corrected. “I quite fancied both.”

“Oh, come on. That’s a trick question.” Zack countered. He by far, looked the most alert of everyone, if only by a small margin.

Sephiroth gave a subtle shrug. “And who said trick questions weren’t allowed?”

Aerith had as much of her head out of the window gap as she could. “I speak more than one language.”

“False.” Zack called back.

“Actually, I speak some Ancient, too. I’m a bit rusty, not like I have anyone to practice with.” She replied.

“Seriously?” Zack replied. “That’s really cool.”

Sephiroth hummed in interest. He’d have been much more interested in that fact, had he not felt like a baked potato.

They waited for Cloud. No response came.

“Hey.” Aerith prodded their driver’s arm.

The car swerved dangerously for a moment as Cloud jolted in his seat. Aerith yelped, grabbing hold of the dashboard. “Holy-! Cloud, were you sleeping?!” She half screamed.

Cloud straightened the wheel, holding it in an iron grip. Blearily, he blinked. “Oh, uhh. When I was a kid I’d sneak into my bullies’ houses and cut holes in their socks.” He blurted, looking disarrayed.

“…That’s true, isn’t it?” Zack cringed in disappointment.

Cloud wiped a hand across his face, trying to shake himself into awareness. “Don’t judge me, they were assholes.”

Zack just shook his head, shrugging. “I would kill for some ice cream right now, toffee flavour.”

“Nope!” Aerith called up. “I know you like mint choc chip waaay more.”

Her boyfriend lazily grinned over. “You know it!”

Using Cloud’s story as jump-off point, Sephiroth mumbled out the next thing which came to mind. “When I was first placed in the barracks, some of the others thought they could pick on me. I ignored it until they attempted to tamper with my hair. I got a good lesson on how Shinra like to cover up accidents. Needless to say, no one bothered with me after that.”

Aerith blinked slowly. “When we’re done, I think I’ll find a good therapist for you three, because I can tell that’s true.”

Sinking lower in his seat against the truck wall, Zack looked over at her, a lag to his movements. “Yeah… Was that you’re go, or?”

“Yes.” Aerith confirmed. “I will be insisting you all get therapy at the end of this.”

Sephiroth couldn’t remember whether he was allowed that, and was sure his contract had forbidden anything which might prompt him to divulge company secrets. Not like he had a whole lot to talk about anyway, he was a pretty boring person, when it came down to it.

Cloud took a few moments to respond again. “I once had a bad ketamine experience in a Junon nightclub. Don’t tell my Mom.” He hurriedly muttered.

“What the hell?” Zack frowned, caught off guard. “Please tell me that’s false.”

“Yeah…” Aerith agreed.

“Uhh. Please don’t tell my Mom.” Cloud repeated. Sephiroth noticed the blond hadn’t blinked since nearly falling asleep.

Aerith pressed her hands to her face, muttering something disapproving.

Pushing himself up in his seat, Cloud looked suddenly flustered. “Look, it was a bad week. Don’t judge me.”

Continuing in their turn order as established, Zack went on. “I’m not allowed to visit certain parts of the western continent.”

Sephiroth knew the answer to that, so stayed quiet.

Instead, Aerith answered. “False? You’ve never mentioned that before.”

“Correct. It’s the northern continent I can’t visit.” Zack answered.

His girlfriend frowned. “Wait why?”

“Um, I’m not legally allowed to discuss that.” Zack stuttered.

“Wait what the…?”

Sephiroth saved him by continuing their current activity. “I’ve seen half of my organs outside my body.” He wasn’t totally sure why he said it, only that it seemed oddly right, with how his vision was swimming.

With a tired and slightly manic laugh, Cloud called from the front. “Oh snap, me too!”

At that, Zack exchanged another odd glance with Aerith. “I think that therapy might be a really good idea.”

They waited another drawn out several seconds for their driver to realise it was his turn.

“…Cloud, I don’t want to kill the disgusting sweaty vibe here, but I haven’t seen a sign for that village in a while.” Aerith warned, sounding slightly concerned.

True, now that Sephiroth looked, there were nearly no other cars around them like there had been before.

The blond just stared straight ahead for another long moment. He slowed the van down to a near stop before pulling their map towards him. He blinked at it slowly. “I got really drunk and slept with Vincent, but I’m pretty sure that it was actually just Chaos the whole time and I don’t know how to feel about that.”

“No, were not playing anymore. Where are we?” Aerith pressed, it was the first time Sephiroth had seen her look anything but smiling and positive.

“I think… I… I think we made a wrong turn back here.” He pointed on the map.

Aerith rolled her eyes and threw herself back in her seat, growling a frustrated sigh. “Lets just pull up and camp for the night.” She pleaded.

Zack jumped up, moving to help. “Nah, I really want a bath after all this. Plus, our tents are crap.”

Sephiroth just stayed where he was, deciding this debacle wasn’t worth the energy as he listened to them argue.

“Look, we’ll just turn around here, then this road, then we’re there.” The blond slurred.

“Cloud, you’re gonna hit the wall! Watch where you’re going!” Aerith yelped, grabbing the steering wheel when no one else was paying attention.

Finally. Finally, they rode into a pleasant little village. A cobblestone road guided them through to its centre, past old stone buildings. ‘Welcome to the Mythril Mountains!’ read a large sign, displaying a photographed view of the huge mountain range at a distance.

Parking up in front of an inn, the group slid out into blessed shade. One thing was immediately noticeable- this place was busy. Many heavy vehicles similar to their own as well as larger trucks packed into the available parking and squeezed around the tight corners of old streets.

Collectively deciding not to dally, the group wondered into the inn. Delightfully old, with lumpy flooring and polished dark wood beams, the old building none the less had a fresh smell to it. Above the desk, a huge sheet of scaled Zolom hide was pinned up as a curtain, with the serpent’s massive fanged skull sat mounted upon the far wall. A teen sat at the desk, tapping at her PHS; seeing the oddball group approaching she hid the device under a pile of papers.

“Welcome! Urr, just to let you know, we’re really busy today.” The girl grimaced before anyone could speak.

“That’s fine.” Aerith smiled encouragingly, despite looking a little worse for wear, as they all did. “Do you have four single rooms, or even one big one is fine?”

Looking between them each with increasing worry, she precured two keys. In what must have been her best ‘please don’t shout at me’ voice she said, “I’ve got one double and one with two singles. That’s all, I’m sorry.”

Cloud reached out to take the key for the two singles. In a flash, it was gone, swiped up by Zack. The blond looked up at him, betrayed.

“Sorry Spike. Aerith’s Mom will kill me otherwise.” His friend apologised.

“Will there be a problem with that, Cloud?” Sephiroth asked from over their shoulders.

With a whine, Cloud took the second room key. “No problem.” He mumbled.

Cloud did his best to plead with Zack, in the hopes that he might take pity and swap. Turns out he also didn’t fancy the idea of bunking with his boss, either. In the end they guilted him into staying with Sephiroth, reminding Cloud that the General would likely be upset if he opted to sleep on the floor of Zack and Aerith’s room, rather than to share.

It wouldn’t be too bad, Cloud figured; the rooms were nice and cool, and the shower modern and considerably high powered. Sephiroth took over an hour in the bathroom, trying to get his hair back to perfection.

He took so long in fact, that the others left him to it, while they went to replenish their supplies and look about the area. The miners used this village as a frequent stop off point between outside the mountain range, accounting for its busyness. This fact meant that there were a few decent equipment stores and places to eat. Enough to entertain their lazy sun-soaked brains, until an early night was call for, by the whole group.

“What’re you reading?” Cloud asked, stepping out of the bathroom, clad in a pair of pyjamas. The shirt, which sat far too large on him, displayed a low-quality image of a lobster and the caption ‘Crabby sleeper’. Certainly his favourite recent purchase.

“It’s a ghost story, or at least it’s supposed to be. There’s a rather invasive romantic subplot which takes from the narrative rather than adding to it.” Sephiroth informed from where he sat up in bed. With his shirt removed, one could see the parts of his skin which had caught the sun, leaving him looking lightly fried. “It’s not very good. I found it in the drawer.”

Despite this, he’d managed to get through nearly half the book. Cloud frowned, weirded out by the sight. Again, he was struck with how average this made his old adversary look, especially with a slight bruise still smudged across his nose. “Right.” Looking away before the other could catch him staring, Cloud fussed instead with his bag.

“Why are you nervous?” Sephiroth asked, bluntly.

Cloud felt a chill run down his back and cursed their damn connection.

Why was he nervous? He’d slept for an hour or two when staying at his apartment. They’d both been fairly close then, and it had hardly bothered Cloud… this was going to be slightly closer than that.
“I’m not.”

Behind him, Cloud heard the book fall softly to the bed covers, followed by a soft chuckle. “There is little point in pretending, when we are bound as such.”

His words only worked to annoy the blond, who upon shoving his clothes into his bag, found himself at a loss for what to do. “I’m just tired, that’s all.” Which wasn’t a total lie.

“Did you hear what I just said?”

So damn patronising.

When Cloud refused to answer, the General continued. “You’ve never fully explained exactly how we knew each other, in your past or my would-be future. I suspect that your current trepidation derives from that.”

“Or maybe I just don’t like sharing beds with people.” Cloud grit out, finally turning back to his old foe.

Sephiroth gave a languid half shrug, bringing a bit more of that alien grace back into his aspect. “And that would be perfectly understandable.” He smirked, returning to his book.

That expression, one which grated at the blond in a way which muddied his mind. Aloof, looking at Cloud like he was all on display, as readable as the book in his hands. A look which made his reflexes battle between reaching for his sword or cursing the other for his cruel beauty.

In the end, he settled for resting his back against the wall and folding his arms. No point in getting annoyed at things this man hadn’t done yet. Wouldn’t be doing at all, this time. He corrected.

In an attempt to bridge the gap between them, Cloud spoke again. “Fate pitted us against each another. We weren’t exactly friends.”

Again, Sephiroth glanced up from his reading. “I see. You’ve been fighting against Shinra for a long time. What did I do to gain your opposition?”

“You killed a lot of people.” Cloud edged around his point. “Messed with me and mine.”

“I see. Acting under duty can be of ill consequence. A weapon cannot always choose where it is pointed.”

“Suppose so. I blamed you completely at the time, but I’m not sure I do now.” He answered with total honesty.

Sephiroth nodded, no hostile reaction to Cloud’s confession. “I presume our shared cells made for an intense conflict?”

“Heh. More than a little. You were Shinra’s back then, but the choice is back in your hands now.” A bubble of determination rose within him, one which he hoped was felt between them both.

“Of course.”

“Go Avalanche, or whatever, I guess.” Cloud half smiled. He sank down the wall, onto the well-worn but sturdy hardwood. “You take the bed.”

Sephiroth watched him closely, unbothered by the uncomfortable atmosphere the blond had created. He closed his book without marking the page. “And you’ll sleep on the floor? Don’t be foolish.” He made to get up.

“Really, it’s fine.”

But Sephiroth had already climbed out.

Switching off the light left the two in darkness, an icy moonlight shining through the window, casting the floor between them and the foot of the bed in a soft light. “It doesn’t bother me. I can always see if they have a spare chair.” Trust them both to make this difficult…

“Well, I don’t mind either.” Cloud sighed. He really didn’t mind the floor. After sleeping on the ground for so long while at Hojo’s mercy, mattresses and blankets had felt foreign for long time after, even if his memory loss prevented him from understanding why for a while. Good thing his bones were tougher than the average person’s, or he’d have likely damaged his spine at some point… not that his back felt great right now, he’d been slouching in a car seat all day.

“Truly, Cloud, I insist.”

“And I insist harder.”

Sephiroth rolled his eyes, the sway of his tied-back hair caught in the moonlight as he moved. Dropping his book back where he’d found it, and settling back in the spot he’d just left. “Suit yourself. Petty child.” He muttered the end under his breath.

“Yeah yeah.” Cloud rested his head back against the wall.

Perhaps he was being dramatic about this. He highly doubted his roommate would stab or strangle him in his sleep... or that anything else would happen.

After a minute or so of quiet, the vague lump of bed covers shifted. “Cloud?”

“Hmm?”

“Would you tell me about your friends? The ones you travelled with.”

An odd request, the blond thought, but one he’d indulge. “Sure. Uh, you’ve heard of Tifa. She’s sort of my oldest friend, we grew up together, lost touch for a while but met again in Midgar. She’s great, owns her own bar; I ended up living with her when everyone was trying to settle down again.”

“Were the two of you romantic partners?” He shuffled about until Cloud could see a faint hint of green, where the light caught half-lidded eyes.

“Not really. We tried it, but… I suppose I couldn’t commit to what she was looking for.” Cloud’s presence around Seventh Heaven had been impermanent at best, thanks to his inability to sit still. That had been the core of his failings. All had been fine though, it had taken the experience to realise the two were better suited as friends, rather than lovers. Though Cloud was never sure how well Tifa dealt with that. In hindsight, he should have listened a lot more, not been so bogged down by guilt or anger to stop and consider why she never wound up with anyone else. Everyone knew she had enough admirers, as she should. “Not sure she’ll take too kindly to you. You sort of killed her dad… and everyone else in town.”

“I see. She’s strong then. If all were to fall besides yourselves.”

It was an odd thing to take from Cloud’s explanation, but not totally unexpected. “Yeah, she’s kicked your ass before.” He remarked fondly.

“Good, I look forward to meeting her.”

Cloud continued, “Barret is waiting for us in Corel, too. The town was raided and destroyed by the company, at some point in the future, that’s how we ended up meeting in Midgar. The two of us took some time before we got along, but it clicked after a while. He’s kind of the reason we all ended up on that journey together.”
Cloud reminisced, warmly. “Just think of him as the unofficial dad of the group. I don’t think you’d get along too much, he’s very huggy.”

“Was that me? Was I responsible for Corel’s destruction?” Sephiroth asked.

“I don’t think so.”

“Good.”

“Uhh, there’s Yuffie.” Cloud sighed.

Sephiroth made a sound of vague displeasure. “Our thief?”

“That’s her.” Cloud moved on, Aerith had already pleaded her case earlier that morning. “There’s Reeve, I guess you know him. I don’t know what’s happened to Cid. Love him, he’s an asshole, great pilot though. If I’m right, he’s getting ready to launch a rocket ship on the western continent.”

“You’re referring to Cid Highwind?” Interest rose in his voice.

Cloud was taken by surprise. “Wait, you know him?” He asked, shifting his legs about in an attempt to get comfortable.

“He’s a world-class engineer. I’ve read over the designs for his rocket, as well as his other creations. He’s not much of a writer, but is cited in a number of papers.” The faint light betrayed how his eyes sparked with interest.

“There you go. Tell him that and he’ll be your friend for life.” Cloud smirked, finding it amusing that Sephiroth of all people could find interest in Cid’s work, enough to possibly even hold a discussion with the man, a feat which the rest of the group lacked. “I’ve mentioned Vincent?”

Sephiroth grumbled, “You did earlier…”

It took Cloud a moment to recall what he was referring to. The effects of the intense heat had thankfully faded off through the evening, for the most part. “Yeah yeah, whatever.” He tried not to come off too defensive, it wasn’t a big deal. “You’ll get used to him and his others. He looks like a vampire and turns into various monsters. Not so tough once you get to know him.”

“He sounds… fascinating.” The word was hard chosen.

He wasn’t wrong, Vincent was a lot of things. The Ex-Turk would have a lot to impart upon Sephiroth in regards to his parentage, but that was all his to tell, none of Cloud’s business. “There’s Nanaki, too. We broke him out of Hojo’s lab. He’s something like hundred and fifty now, which is crazy. Oh, he’s not human. Not sure what he is, actually. Canine, I think? With natural fire magic. Great guy, he won’t have forgotten us.” Cloud held up his hands. “That’s the team.”

“How about Aerith and Zack?” Sephiroth asked.
Cloud nodded, discomfort squirming within him. “Aerith, yeah.” He agreed. “Zack… well, he would have been.”

They fell into silence, one which didn’t feel as relaxed as Cloud would have liked. Without the distraction, he failed to block out just how uncomfortable his position on the ground was.

The minutes dragged on with growing discomfort. After shifting this way and that, he finally rose with a sigh, having lost feeling in his left leg.

“I was wondering how long it would take you.” Sephiroth commented when Cloud finally approached.

Lifting the quilt corner, he waited for Sephiroth to move over, but soon realised there was nowhere further for him to go. “My back hurts.” Carefully, he slipped under, trying to shift away from where his shoulder brushed against his roommate’s. This bed was a bit damn small, he thought with a scowl.

This would have been fine, had it been their other two traveling companions, or any of the other friends he’d just listed off. At least then he’d be without the excited drum of to gain your ‘Reunion’ thrumming through him in an increasing cacophony.

“Relax.”

The word broke through the searing intensity of cells buzzing in his head. Turning to look, Cloud was met with emerald eyes, liquid silver hair and a look of calm but mild curiosity. He sighed deeply, willing away that sudden spark of nervousness as it threatened to resurface. They’d had more contact than this the night of the party, and been vulnerable in each other’s presence before. This was all fine.

Their conversation had been comfortably distracting. Cloud tried to bring back the quiet chatter, if only to divert from his tension. “So, you having fun yet?”

“On this convoluted little trip you’ve planned for us?” Sephiroth replied. “Aside from the dreadful tents, nearly boiling alive, almost broken nose, your friend’s silly games and having a fortunes worth of mastered materia stolen; It hasn’t been too bad.”

“Yeah, I suppose all of those things suck.” Cloud conceded, feeling rather guilty but hopeful things would improve.

“Still, being outside Midgar has been pleasant. In addition to the lack of contact.” He continued in a sleepy drawl.

Cloud turned onto his side, facing away from the other in the hopes of lessening the contact between them. The slight touch between shoulders set their shared cells off like popping fireworks, a feeling Cloud could no longer be sure was just his own anxiety. “Can you move over?”

Sephiroth grumbled, already half asleep. “No, I’m already on the edge.”

“You keep shifting around.”

“Hardly, it’s you who keeps moving.”

Cloud flinched when something shoved against his lower back. “And what was that?”

“Keep complaining and I’ll push you out next time.” Sephiroth murmured, in good nature.

The blond smirked against his pillow. “You wouldn’t dare.”

Sephiroth chuckled, shifting about a final time. “Goodnight, Cloud.”

“Yeah.” Was all he responded with, clutching at the edge of the bedcover. Sleep wasn’t necessary, he could stay awake and nap on the road tomorrow.

After a short while, Sephiroth’s breathing levelled out as he drifted off. Clearly, he felt none of the trepidation Cloud did, and was quite at ease with this arrangement.

Perhaps it was their closeness which caused his own mind to fill with tired fog. Listening to the other breathing in the quiet night, the moonlight passing over them as time ticked on; it became harder to keep his eyes open.

S cells urged him to shuffle back, into their shared space. Cloud denied them even as his consciousness was dragged slowly away, until he finally surrendered to sleep.
…

Chapter Text

The first thing Cloud registered as he slowly surfaced from sleep, was how incredibly comfortable he was. Perfectly warm and cosy, as if wrapped securely in a weighted blanket. Somewhere outside his eyelids, shone the first light of morning, which the cheery birdsong corroborated to be dawn breaking over the mountain range.

For the first time since Cloud could recall, he had slept all the way through the night. A feat he’d thought impossible, even with the aid of medication.

He wasn’t needed anywhere, so maybe he’d just carry on sleeping?

Unexpectedly, a tickle of breath rustled his hair.

Breath? How did he know that? Also, why was that annoying cellular connection being so oddly quiet? And why was there an arm secured around him, or a body wrapped so closely around his back and a leg between his and-.

Ah. Of course.

If not for the extreme comfort and weird security he felt enfolded in, Cloud would have caused a scene. He wasn’t sure yet how, but a scene would most definitely have been caused.

Being little spoon to Sephiroth hadn’t exactly been on the agenda at any point in his life, actually. However now it was happening, and Cloud had no idea how he should react. It disturbed him a little that he didn’t feel instantly compelled to move… or compelled to do anything other than maybe get some extra sleep. Whether that spelled doom or progress for him, he couldn’t tell.

No, no. He needed to get up, comfort be damned. Cuddling with the enemy wasn’t allowed. And yes, while Sephiroth wasn’t the enemy anymore but that didn’t count, it was still Sephiroth. Maybe he’d be able to squirm out and leave the other to sleep? Leave a pillow in his place as a decoy? Then he could hide all evidence that this ever happened and save them both an awkward conversation. Problem solved.

Carefully, Cloud shifted up but found that particular escape route was impossible. He tried down but stilled when the man behind him sighed in his sleep, unsettled. Maybe not that way either.

Fighting the urge to give up and just return to sleep, Cloud hooked his elbow under Sephiroth’s wrist and began to inch out. Now a bit closer to the edge of the bed, he supposed he could drop over the side and worm his legs out of the other’s grasp. That might work.

Cloud’s plans were thwarted when Sephiroth made a small sound of displeasure and a strong arm wound around his front and tugged him back.

Left with no time to lament his recapture, the taller behind him was slowly waking. The hand resting at Cloud’s front scrunched a handful of night shirt as his fingers clenched reflexively. It tickled, as did the breath in his hair.

“I thought we agreed no touching.” The blond mumbled.

The other went still, awake and seemingly taking in their current situation same as Cloud had. “I wasn’t aware this had happened.” Sephiroth sleepily replied, but made no attempt to move.

Had it been anyone else, Cloud would have called them out for bullshitting. As it happened, he somehow knew the other was being truthful, and they’d both just ended up like this at some point in the night. Usually Cloud was a fairly light sleeper, so it was worrisome that he hadn’t noticed any of this occurring. Like most things, he blamed all of these points on J cells or S cells or whatever it was.

“Is this making you uncomfortable?” Sephiroth asked, making no move to untangle the two of them.

Cloud thought about his question for a moment. “Umm… No, I don’t think so.” He said in more confusion than anything else. A rational part of him said he should be grabbing his sword or sprinting out of the door, but a more pressing side favoured him just staying here. “In case anyone asks, shall we just pretend this never happened?”

“That seems reasonable.” The other agreed.

The minutes passed in a silence which was neither awkward nor completely contented, but was calm enough that neither felt pressed to move. However, they were both usually up by now and Cloud didn’t fancy explaining to Aerith why he and Sephiroth were late meeting with them.

“C’mon.” Cloud encouraged. Both seemed to get the same idea at once, and finally moved out of each other’s space, albeit reluctantly, on Sephiroth’s part.

Cloud had made it across the room before a strange feeling struck him. “What?” He asked, turning to see the other watching him.

Sitting bleary eyed with his hair a mess, Sephiroth wore look of deceptive normality, only his alien eyes and beauty indicating that he was something other than regular. Cloud wanted to liken him to a siren, trying to fake his ordinariness, but he reminded himself that Sephiroth had never tried all that hard to be normal. If he had, he was doing a poor job of it.

“I was curious about you and Zack. The two of you have been very close the last few days.” Sephiroth stated.

Cloud sighed, recognising that possessive curl in his gut echoed from the General. Then again, he supposed he had been getting rather close with Zack, so much that Cloud was starting to wonder whether the Soldier really did remember any of their previous time together. He hadn’t mentioned any of such, so Cloud had to assume not. “Why? You got first dibs on him or something?”

Sephiroth frowned at that, so Cloud continued. “We’re just friends, that’s all. I told you before, we went through a lot of shit together and haven’t seen each other in a long time.” He said conversationally, refusing to argue about this.

To that he received a more thoughtful look. “But you would consider pursuing his affections?” Sephiroth asked.

“That’s irrelevant.” Cloud shrugged, collected his bag from the corner. “Have you forgotten Aerith? It’s not nice to steal people’s boyfriends, remember?” He offered a half smile. “You’d agree it helps to be friends with they people you’re traveling with, right?”

“Of course.” Sephiroth nodded, that uncomfortable feeling between them unravelling, for now. He moved to get up, apparently satisfied with Cloud’s answer.

Shaking his head, Cloud disappeared into the bathroom. He considered himself pretty tone-deaf when it came to social behaviour, but Sephiroth was something else. Cloud also didn’t want to think about how he’d just admitted the other man was his friend… though they would have to be, considering what had just happened. Perhaps they were more alike than he’d thought- both oddities with limited social capacity.

“Don’t give me that look.” Cloud said, voice low.

Aerith wore the biggest smirk as she watched the two emerge from the inn. She and Zack were already waiting at the van. A new sticker had since appeared on the back of their vehicle, this time displaying the image of a cute cartoon character, with the caption ‘Eat the rich’. Sephiroth was busy asking Zack where it had come from, while his Lieutenant played dumb.

She continued to give him that look. “We expected you to end up in our room. You guys have fun?”

“We tolerated each other.” He simply replied, which somehow only made Aerith’s sly smile widen. Cloud chose to ignore her.

A gorgeous deep blue silhouette followed them, as the party travelled the vast length of distant mountain range, spread out atop the horizon like a sprawling lizard under the high sun.

Early afternoon, Sephiroth was driving the team towards the next town they aimed for. Sparsely, road signs were beginning to spring up here and there, a comforting mark, for one unfamiliar with their present terrain. The land here was almost perfectly flat. A huge flood plain which had kept the area populated only in small clusters and the occasional farm. The mild weather and damp ground made for excellent growing conditions for certain crops, or so he’d read at some point.

Never had Sephiroth travelled so far east, there’d been no need to. With the ground too unstable for any large structures, Shinra had left this land to the farmers and miners up in the mountains. That had been enough for them, and the company hadn’t felt the need to mark this land with their stamp, as they had further west.

He was glad, this side of the continent was picturesque and life by the marshes simple. People in Midgar considered Kalm to be restful in comparison to the largest city on the planet, though if they travelled all the way out here, they might think time had stopped moving all together.

Today consisted of a much more pleasant temperature than the one previous, wind rolling down the mountain range and across the lowland. Chilled enough to stop the intense sun from frying them. Glancing out of the passenger window, the marshland bordered close to the roadside. A group of six large bird-like monsters picked through the greenery. Unlike chocobo, their feathers were short, black and white, with pink featherless necks and long sharp bills. Accompanying them were at least three chicks. The largest female watched the van closely until it passed, a look of challenge in her eye.

With the birds out of view, his gaze fell upon Cloud, who slept soundly in the passenger seat. Curled on his side, in a way which made him look deceptively defenceless. Naturally, Sephiroth had insisted he wear a seatbelt, though how effected one might be was up for debate, with how Cloud had contorted both it and himself to lay somehow comfortably.

Their insistent tour guide had been so much calmer since escaping Midgar, a feeling the General was finally beginning to echo. No calls from his superiors, no connection to obsessively check his emails and none of those strangely haunting dreams. Sephiroth had to remind himself that the normalcy Shinra brought him was not something he would be returning to, if they succeeded in their current goal… whatever that goal even was.

One thing for sure,- the escapism this trip had already brought, during its short duration, was further selling him on the idea of ditching the company. Of course, his mind was set weeks before leaving Midgar, but the freedom which Cloud thrived under was more appealing than previously imagined.

And what would he be left with then, if by some stretch of the imagination they managed to topple Shinra? What would Sephiroth actually do? Perhaps he’d be tried for his war crimes against Wutai? Somehow, he doubted that. He’d continue to just follow Cloud around, until further opportunities appeared, he supposed.

Not really considering it before now, Sephiroth realised just how content he was with just following around after his strange friend. As his mind slipped back to their encounter earlier that morning, he considered exactly what their relationship was.

Sometimes, they were perfectly comfortable together. Others, a beat of anxiety could be caught in their connection, and he’d catch the other staring. If Sephiroth were to move too quickly, Cloud might startle, or subtly measure the distance between he, the General and his weapon, if it was not secured to his back.

And yet here Cloud was asleep within an arm’s reach.

There lay an old injury between them, one Sephiroth couldn’t remember. Not knowing frustrated him beyond end. Cloud had been fearful of him, but his priority had shifted to help erase the source of their previous conflict.

At first, he hadn’t thought it odd. Most people he interacted with were nervous, if not frightened of Shinra’s Silver Warrior, on some level. So average was that fact, that he’d barely taken any notice of the way Cloud occasionally fell into a battle stance, which Sephiroth suspected was involuntary. After all, the blond had done well to pretend is trepidation was not an issue.

But how about the time they’d been dancing? Or when Cloud allowed him to approach from behind without a careful eye over his shoulder, or the way Sephiroth hadn’t been pushed away this morning.

Strange and confusing, as many emotionally driven aspects of life were…

Cloud felt a lot of things for a lot of people, clearly- he had many friends. All as eccentric sounding as their current little traveling party. Cloud held a warmth for Aerith, something a little stronger still for Zack. He’d felt it too, upon asking about Cloud’s friends, a host of little candle flames he could see glinting in the blonde’s eye.

Sephiroth could sense that Cloud felt something for him too, albeit tiny and fragile. Sometimes that flame sparked in threat, but it burned resolute, despite the danger. A testament to the man’s stubbornness.

Yet, Sephiroth struggled to return those feelings. He felt something for Cloud, but it was tricky identifying exactly what. He valued Cloud’s companionship, guidance and amusing attitude, his determination to not be held down by their company overlords.

Aerith and Zack were perfectly nice people; but did Sephiroth actually care about them? Perhaps it was that Shinra-approved threat that everything he might enjoy could be taken away. Was he consciously detaching himself from those around him? Sephiroth wasn’t sure. He’d cared about Genesis and Angeal more than anything else at one point, but had learned to forcibly supress those feelings, and instead prioritise his work. Being angry with them had made that process much easier…

Did he truly care about Cloud? Or was he latching onto that connection they shared. If not for that, he likely wouldn’t have given the madman who claimed to know all of the answers, any of his time. When the two were together, he felt enjoyment, comfort and less of a headache. Despite this there remained a confliction. A sense that his feelings should sit at an opposite pole to warmth.

Sephiroth had the inclination that he should somehow hate the blond. A hazy half-aware thing which didn’t feel entirely like his own.

Behind them, Zack and Aerith spoke in quiet voices. Seeing the way they interacted further increased his confusion when comparing his and Cloud’s relationship to theirs. They didn’t hold hands like their couple of friends nor did they exchange chase kisses, or playfully goof around. He and Cloud didn’t do any of those things, yet their traveling companions didn’t possess a unique bond like he and Cloud did.

Sighing, Sephiroth supposed it was one of those ‘love things’ he struggled to understand.

Would he like them to share what Zack and Aerith had?

That was certainly a question…

No, not really. Sephiroth was sure he could have Cloud without all of the lovey-dovey extras.
An uncomfortable beat passed through him, a reaction he’d had recently when contemplating he, Cloud and their peers. Yet again, he had trouble distinguishing where the feeling had come from, as if it wasn’t entirely his own. Whatever it was that curled dangerously in his chest had been persistent, in the last few days.

Without warning, the General was hit with a wave of nausea. A sensation like a gust of wind had impacted his optic nerve, which caused him to flinch, blink away the sensation.

The intense sunshine must have been getting to him. His headache had long let him know his eyes weren’t built for such extreme light. Maybe he’d have to relent to the hat and sunglasses the others had been threatening him with… well, maybe not the hat. Sephiroth lifted a hand to rub over his eyes and.-

Aerith yelped and something bashed into the back of the driver’s seat, as Sephiroth slammed on the break.

When he’d lowered his hand, a large form had somehow appeared without warning. A grotesque loping thing, in the middle of the road. Same as had appeared in the President’s office. All sickly colours and textures not normally associated with anything good nor land-dwelling.

The screech of tires filled the air, in addition to startled shouts from his passengers and equipment sliding across the metal flooring.

They came to a stop around five metres from the thing. She was staring straight into him and Sephiroth found her magenta eyes held an inexplicable magnetism. Now viewable in perfect light, her wet hair swayed thickly, along with the slow writhing movements of fat rubbery tentacles. Iridescent and gleaming under the midday sun. Her body was female, humanoid, but wrong in every aspect, even if slightly. It reminded him of those people they’d found in the labs,- human but not quite.

Sephiroth’s heart leapt in fright, something he hadn’t felt so intensely for a long time. She was reaching out, a caress over his mind. She smiled, lips too wide for such a gaunt face, too many teeth. A hand rose up, an offer, to beckon him fourth. The movement wasn’t right though, too much roll in the elbow joint, too lengthy in proportion. An approximation of human created without enough care or consideration to make it convincing.

‘Closer. Come, my son.’

No, that wasn’t right. He was human, not whatever this was.

That’s right, she was a lure.

The enticing glow hanging above the distended jaws of an anglerfish, encouraging him into her trap.

With great effort which shot searing pain behind his eyes, Sephiroth dragged his gaze from hers.

At that moment he became aware of everything happening around him. Cloud scrambled wildly, trying to untangle himself from his seatbelt. Zack stumbled around, clutching the side of his head while Aerith pushed past all of their now jumbled clutter.

“You okay? Did you nearly hit something?” She asked, leaning over between the front seats.

“Or was that just revenge on me?” Zack gave a pained yelp.

With a snap, Cloud’s seatbelt retracted leaving him to slump head-first into the footwell, legs kicking in the air. “The hell was that, Seph?!”

Blinking away his discomfort, Sephiroth motioned to point at the monstrosity. He stopped mid movement. It had vanished. Not even leaving any of the slimy residue which had dripped so freely from its alien appendages.

His face must have betrayed his confusion. Aerith lightly clasped his hand when Sephiroth failed to wiggle away from her. “You’re not alright, are you? Maybe all that heat yesterday really did get to you.”

It was as good a bluff as any. “Ah, yes. Perhaps once we’re done with Shinra, the sun should be our next foe.” With his free hand, Sephiroth hastily wiped at the moisture forming at his eyes. The initial sting of pain was fading, but it still felt like something had injected venom straight into his nerves.

With Aerith’s help, Cloud was plucked from under the seat, where he could shimmy out. He went to attend to Zack, who was still stumbling blindly over their displaced luggage. “Hey, hey, calm down buddy.”

“Did we hit anything? Please tell me you didn’t squash something cute.” Zack called up from the back. “Ow!”

“Ay, hold still. It’s fine, just a bruise.” Cloud affectionately cooed back as Zack nearly tripped over his own sword.

This was all kinds of worrying… “A deer ran in front of us. My apologies for the upset.” Hopefully they’d drop it fairly quick.

Aerith was still gently clutching at his hand. Her bright eyes made Sephiroth shy away, like they could see through his lie, as if his own eyes still held an image of that grotesque creature. There was an awareness he hadn’t been expecting. Perhaps he’d ask her about it later, if they managed a quiet moment.

“Perhaps you should rest a while.” Aerith smiled.

The scare that morning hardly slowed the group down and there was much debate on where they were to go next. An idea came to Cloud, which made him draw a circle around a stretch of mountain and proclaim what the destination held was a ‘surprise’. One thing seemed to ring true on all fronts- they were going to cross the marshes.

Oddly enough, it was Zack who opposed the idea. With a tone of apprehension, he expressed worry at Aerith’s safety, if they were to encounter any number of the area’s dangerous creatures. Chief of which, the Zolom, he had only faced in simulated combat.

His concern was blown out by the rest of the group, in tones of reassurance and dismissal. One thing they did agree on, was the need for a second mode of transport. A chocobo was the obvious choice, light-footed, silent and providing easy visual cover for their main vehicle.

Dropping into the next town, which was renascent more so of Kalm than their previous few smaller stops, they refuelled and split ways. Aerith and Zack insisted they needed snacks, while Cloud and Sephiroth sought out a vendor of livestock.

Easily found, the keeper’s supply consisted mostly of chocobo, for the purpose of crossing the wetland. With a careful eye, Cloud scrutinised the available birds. They supplied a rental service for a few hundred gil, a well as the permanent purchase of birds.

None of them would be winning best in show, any time soon, with some containing that semi-wild tick hatchlings from wild birds possessed. Resilient to the elements, aware of predators, not bred for beauty and exactly what he was looking for.

“Got any troublemakers? Any you’re hoping to get rid of?” Cloud asked the keeper, a laid-back man in his mid-thirties.

The man loosely folded his arms, leaning his weight on one leg. “You don’t know what you’re asking for.” He chuckled heartily. “You good with birds then?”

“Very. Hit me.” If there was one thing Cloud knew what he was dealing with, it was chocobo.

The guy leaned casually on the fence. “Then let me introduce ya to my… what’s the opposite of pride and joy?”

The mercenary shrugged.

Continuing, the man grinned. “Let’s just say I’ve tried t’ sell her to the meat market a few times an’ even they don’t want her. I’d take her home for the wife and kids, she’d make a good roast, if I could bring myself to do the deed.”

“She got a name?”

“Usually just gets called an asshole.” He answered honestly. Gesturing over to a bird Cloud hadn’t even noticed on the other side of the paddock.

While most of the birds roamed free or were tethered with rope, this bird in particular wore full reins around her head, secured to the fencepost by a thick chain. The others were keeping a wide birth, not rising to the hisses of warning she was giving. A few patches were missing from muddy coloured feathers. Definitely not the prettiest, compared to the fluffy sunshine yellow of the others. A little on the thin side but very strong and well built. Alert, no obvious health issues.

“She wild?” Cloud asked, peering over, noting the bird’s intense orange eyes had locked onto him.

The man laughed, “You’d think so, right? Nah, just a bad egg, I guess. She rides well once you’re on. The rest of the time you have to watch her, no manners.”

Cloud nodded, having made up his mind. “How much?”

The man looked stunned. “Ya serious? You’ll be her fourth owner.” At Cloud’s determined look he held his hands up. “Two hundred. One fifty if ya promise to not bring her back.”

“Serious?” He hadn’t been expecting a deal this good. “Yeah, I’ll take it. Can I get all the reins, saddle for two and some greens to go, too?”

“Sure thing!” He warmly clasped Cloud’s hand. “You’re crazy you know that? Don’t say I didn’t warn ya.”

With that, he wondered off to collect what they asked for, after Cloud forked over an easy couple hundred gil for the whole set of equipment.

“I’d have gotten you a better bird, if you wanted.” Sephiroth hummed, also giving the blond an unsure look.

“Nah, it’ll do. Can’t say no to a great deal.” Cloud rolled back and forth on the heels of his boots, content with the world and the cheapest chocobo he’d ever seen. He rolled his eyes at the disapproving look he was getting. “Don’t worry, I know what I’m doing. These birds are my thing, remember?”

Sephiroth gave a passive smile. “Certainly. Two golds and a silver.”

“That’s the one.”

Since nearly running over that animal earlier and almost giving Zack a concussion, Sephiroth had been slightly out of sorts. Rather, he’d spent the last few hours quieter than usual. Having been asleep at the time, Cloud had missed the almost impact. Maybe he had hit the unfortunate thing, and had lied to reassure the others?

Since recognising such reserved behaviour, Cloud had been taking opportunities to engage him in conversation where possible, which had been mostly working.

“At least the three of you will have a pet to keep you entertained.”

Cloud huffed a short laugh, leaning back on the paddock fence. “Were you ever allowed any pets, as a kid?”

Sephiroth watched the barn attendant tie a fresh set of walking reins around the chocobo, which he was stepping around nervously. “I suppose. When I was a child, they bred some guard hounds. Dr Gast said one of puppies could be mine. Soon, it grew bigger than me, which was unexpected. Eventually, Hojo pitted me against it in a fight to the death. I won.”

Cloud screwed up his face, what a very Hojo thing to do. “Gods, that’s depressing.”

Sephiroth didn’t react, not appearing to care much. “What about you?”

The chocobo, now fixed in new reins watched the keeper with beady eyes as he collected the equipment Cloud had asked for. The man periodically glanced back at the bird, making sure it kept its distance, despite being fixed to the fence.

“None of my own, my mom was allergic to all the usual pets. One of the guys next door had some pigeons, he’d have them carry little things over the mountains, to someone in Rocket Town. Used to let me hold the birds while he tied little packages to their legs. Nice man. He got arrested when I was twelve and never saw him again. Turns out he was using the birds to traffic drugs.” Cloud folded his arms.

Sephiroth stifled a sudden laugh. “Sorry, that’s very amusing.”

“Yeah, I was a criminal accomplice back then, too. That was an interesting talk from my Mom.” Cloud smiled along.

“E’re she is.” A voice called to their attention.

Reins were handed off to Cloud, who carefully stood at a good arm’s reach from the chocobo. “Thanks, appreciate it.” He gave another nod of gratitude.

Her keeper looked ecstatic, as did the other penned birds, who had realised by now that ‘Asshole’ was being traded off. “Pleasure doing business with ya! Remember, no takebacks.”

With final thanks, they bid each other farewell. Leading their new purchase through the streets was easier than Cloud anticipated. In fact, she walked better than expected. A call came through from Zack, to Cloud’s phone. They had found a scenic spot just outside town to set up camp, and had taken the liberty of moving the van over already.

Sephiroth grumbled, he’d apparently been hoping for another nice inn. Not that he was terribly fussed either way, but Cloud preferred camping outdoors, usually cheaper too.

The walk back through town was enjoyable and heading back onto the road they rolled in on, they reunited with the gang soon after.

“Guess who’s got a bird?” Cloud called, as he emerged through the trees into their nicely secluded spot. Again, they had chosen beside a river, which probably meant Zack would be urging everyone for a water fight again later.

Aerith, who was fussing with the new camping equipment called back. “Ooh, is he pretty? Does he have a name?”

Cloud proudly led the bird into the clearing. “Her name is Asshole, and she cost me hundred and fifty gil!” He announced triumphantly.

“Oh no…” Aerith worriedly looked over her shoulder, as if she knew something awful was about to transpire.

Zack looked up from where he was securing another new bumper sticker beside the others. This one reading ‘Please be patient, student driver.’ “You can’t call her that!”

Their chocobo didn’t look the happiest at being led into the excitable group of strangers. She clawed at the ground, a low rumble of threat in her chest.

Cloud gave a gentle tug on her rope, hopefully reassuring. “Got any better suggestions?”

“Waffles?” Zack supplied.

“I like that.” Cloud shrugged.

Before Aerith could voice her agreement, Sephiroth spoke up. “I am not calling that thing such a ridiculous name.”

Cloud made sure he looked as offended as he felt, by that comment. “Go on then?”

“Why don’t we call it Edge?” Offered Sephiroth.

The group burst into loud simultaneous laughter, even Cloud. Sephiroth frowned, not understanding what had provoked such a reaction.

“How do you like Sunny?” Aerith sniffled, after she caught her breath.

“Sure, that’ll do.” Cloud shrugged.

With that, it was agreed upon. Aerith strode straight up to the chocobo, who levelled her with a steely look. “Welcome to the team, Sun-. OW!”

In a blur of movement so fast once could barely catch it, the bird had struck forwards with its beak. It snatched up a good beakful of the Cetra’s hair. Only did it release her after a few slaps to the side of her beak. Sure enough, Aerith stepped back quick. “Not doing that again. She’s all yours, Cloud.”

The blond stepped between both, holding a hand out to the chocobo. “No! That’s naughty! We don’t bite people.”

As if in challenge of this rule, the large bird struck at the outstretched hand. Sinking its beak in and ripping back, like some predatory beast. Cloud jumped back with a strangled cry. “Shit!” For a horrible moment, he thought he’d lost a finger. Getting firmly out of reach, he cradled his hand, which was now soaking red into his shirt.

“Oh my,- are you alright?!” Aerith was back over like a shot, as were the other two. Sephiroth looked downright murderous.

“It’s fine. Just… just grab me the first aid kit?” The blond glared at the chocobo who glared back with fiery orange eyes.

Zack grimaced, trying to inspect Cloud’s injury. “I’m starting to think Sunny doesn’t suit her either.”

Cloud had to agree.

Chapter Text

At Sephiroth’s insistence, they kept watch in shifts. Cloud first, who was too busy glaring at his new chocobo to want to sleep anyway. Next, Sephiroth, while the night was at its darkest, and finally Zack. Aerith managed to avoid any responsibility and the night was subsequently concluded without incident. Everyone agreed, the addition of slightly better tents much improved the atmosphere.

When she let them close enough to jump on, the chocobo was responsive and good to ride, as they’d been told. She still managed to trigger an argument between Cloud and Sephiroth before they could set off, when she again lashed out. This time aiming a sharp peck at Zack.

Not long into the morning, they were heading to the marshes. Passing a fence adorned with a warning sign, displaying a vehicle stuck in the swamp, their path promised to become increasingly tricky. Sure enough, after an hour of travel, the group were forced to slow their pace as the road conditions worsened.

Thankfully, their van excelled in rough terrain. The thick mud and surface water did little to faze the robust tires. Their chocobo was forcing them to make frequent stops. Regularly, she would demand snacks for her efforts, or would veer from the road to forage for a while.

At one such stop, Cloud held her reins loosely, letting her pick at the marshy weeds. The air around them was beginning to take on a distinctly swampy smell, and the road was steadily losing its definition the further they proceeded into the trees and closer to the mountains.

Perched on the back of the van, Zack took great amusement in her antics. “Spoogle suits her.” He observed, resting his elbows on his knees. “Or Spork.”

“Good luck getting the rest of us to call her that. Though I do like Spork.” Cloud smirked.

“I think Boss wishes we could call her Speedy, maybe to inspire her? You’re lucky ya haven’t had to listen to him complaining all day.” Zack shot a playful glance over his shoulder, into the van. A low grumble followed from the other man inside.

Though it was nice to be riding outside the stuffy confines of the van once again, Cloud did wish he could grab the seat beside Zack for a cup of tea. Still, he didn’t wholly trust their newest addition not to run for it, or kick him head-first into the mud, while his back was turned.

“True,” Cloud shuffled in his seat, he tugged lightly at her reins, trying to bring the bird closer to the van. “You can ride along, if she’ll let you. You want to jump on?”

The Soldier’s eyes lit up and he quickly finished his tea, wincing at the temperature. He stood at the edge of the bumper, looking suddenly very excited. “You think she’ll try an’ kill me?” Asked Zack, ready to jump.

“Yeah, I do. It’s your call though.” Cloud shrugged, knowing this wouldn’t deter his friend.

Aerith stuck her head out from beside Zack. “What’re you two up to? Wait… oh, please tell me you aren’t planning on-.”

Picking his moment, the raven-haired man leapt from his perch. Grabbing Cloud’s hand to steady himself, he managed to land on the saddle.

Head shooting up, a look of total fury in her beady stare, the chocobo screeched. With strong legs even in the thick mud, she jumped, unseating Zack. Unable to stay on, even with Cloud’s help, Zack toppled backwards. Meeting him with a firm kick to the chest, Zack hit the mud with a wet slap.

Stomping and kicking dirt, the chocobo was livid. She snapped her beak at Cloud, aiming for his hair.

“Oh shit, you alright?” The blond called over, making sure the bird didn’t circle back around for another attack.

Zack rose a hand, giving a thumbs up.

Watching from safety, Aerith peered over her hands, looking horrified. “You idiot.” She gasped. “You absolute idiot.”

Winded but fine, Zack finally sat up. It was like the man was unsticking himself from wet velcro. The back of his hair looked especially vile, thick muddy clumps dripping down to roll off his shoulders. Still slightly out of breath, he burst into wild laughter.

Unable to help himself, Cloud couldn’t help but grin along with him. Something whizzed over his head and slapped against a nearby tree. “Did you just-.” Cloud narrowly ducked when Zack picked up a second handful of slime and flung it at him.

Aerith retreated back inside. “No thank you, that’s gross. I’m not having either of you in here covered in mud, I don’t care if you have to strip off.”

Cloud and his very angry chocobo dodged and ducked, as Zack continued to pelt them with mud balls. Especially with how hard he was laughing, he was finding it terribly difficult to get up off the ground without slipping and sliding. His boots and baggy pants were absolutely caked in slime, when he ended up on his knees.

Intercepting a throw aimed too high, Cloud caught the gloopy handful and flung it back… at the same time Sephiroth stuck his head out of the van.

His heart hammered with sudden fear before the mudball even made contact. Zack’s grin shifted into terror as he too followed its trajectory.

With a slap, it collided with the side of Sephiroth’s face.

Time froze as the General paused, slowly reached up and inspected the substance which dripped down his perfect hair. If the chocobo’s stare had been vengeful, Sephiroth’s was something else. As it landed on Cloud, he pulled the reins. Clearly just as intimidated, his bird dashed ahead at his command.

“I’ll scout on ahead.” He called back, praying for his life to be spared.

As the mountains began to tower closer and closer over them, the less defined the road became. Now traveling at a snail’s pace, as the area changed from less marsh to more of a swampy mud mangrove. Traveling so slowly, they were able to pick out the wildlife. Long-legged birds walked in lengthy strides, searching for frogs, while massive dragonflies watched the intruders pass without upset.

Aerith gasped and pointed out of the window, alerting the party to a group of large grazing monsters. Greyish blue with short tusks and trunks, and foraging contently through the mud. They were large enough to topple their Shinra military van, if the beasts really wanted to, yet they weren’t the most feared species around here.

Dotting the vague roadway, there began to appear handmade wooden signs, hammered into the ground. Old and rotting with time, still their red paint read clearly. ‘Beware! Zolom!’, ‘Zolom active in this area, please take care’. Were the general sense of their messages.

Despite presumably not being able to read, the chocobo slowed her pace to a careful crawl. Sensing the presence of creatures large enough to eat her in one.

Early evening, they made it to the first slopes of the mountainside incline. Finally finding solid ground to park up and step out without sinking into the mud, everyone took the chance to stretch their legs. In spite of the long day of slow travel, the group were in good spirits, having not seen much of this area before.

Sephiroth was still trying to get the last traces of mud out of his hair, which took the use of several of their bottles of water. When Cloud protested this unnecessary use of resources, he was levelled with a look of plain evil and a, “You brought this on yourselves.” From the General.

In an area populated by such dangerous creatures, they agreed a campfire would be potentially hazardous. Cloud spent the evening dissembling each part of his blade and pointing out the intricacies of each at Zack’s request.

The uncomfortable rockface didn’t supply the greatest of resting places, but it was sufficient. Again, each taking turns on watch, they passed the night in peace.

Enjoying the sunshine, as it hit their side of the mountains, the group readied and continued to follow Cloud. This area never changed, and by looking at the curve of the mountain, it was easy to determine their exact location and destination.

Sure enough, a steady pace had them where they needed to be after only two hours. During this trip, one important observation was made: their chocobo had a good eye and incredible appetite for slugs. The larger the better, whenever she spotted one, would yank the reins aside snap at them, as if she had a sixth sense for them.

Leading the group up to a rocky area at the mountain base, where they parked up and climbed out, Cloud posed his suggestion, “You wanna call her Slug?”

“That weirdly suits her.” Aerith agreed.

Sephiroth shrugged, which was as good as a triumphant yes, when coming from him. Zack gave his own big thumbs up as they started up the mountainside, leaving the newly named Slug tied at the bottom.

“I hope this is worth the journey.” Groaned Sephiroth, who Cloud had noted was not a fan of surprises. He’d asked five times now what they were headed for, only for Cloud to reassure that it was something ‘really really good’. Though not contented with this descriptor, he’d let it slide, with only an oddly worried shiver through their shared cells.

It wasn’t a long hike, barely ten minutes. Cloud pointed out a series of cracks up the curve of the grey rockface and one at their level, big enough to squeeze through.

With one last promise that this was worth it, Cloud led them through the passageway.

Upon seeing the interior, Aerith gasped. She grabbed Zack’s arm and yanked him through the rocky cutaway.

A huge cave stood before them, incredibly high with long curving walls. Growths of blue and purple crystals covered the rockface and hung from the ceiling like glass chandeliers. The higher cracks in the cave shone from above, bathing the inside with lavender light. Perfectly untouched by mining operations or tourists.

An unbidden sense of wonder rang through from Sephiroth, who stayed otherwise quiet. Cloud let himself feel a little proud at their reactions. Slowly moving through into the next chamber, the walls and cave floor shone with naturally forming crops of materia. They grew out of the harsh cave wall, seemingly tapping into an unseen mako source somewhere beneath them. Beautifully, it further lit up the structure with bioluminescent glows.

“As far as surprises go, I’ll admit, this isn’t bad.” Sephiroth confessed.

“It gets even better the further you go, this place is huge.” Cloud said. “You hear that rushing sound? There’s a waterfall down here too.”

Zack, who had been staring about with childlike wonder, looked like he was about to explode. “Yo! There’s an underground waterfall?!” He grabbed Cloud’s hand and tugged him forwards. “That’s awesome! Come help me wash this mud outta my hair.”

Now being dragged away by his overly excitable friend, Cloud turned back to the others. “Catch you in a bit then?” And was promptly hurried away by Zack.

Compared to their traveling companions, Sephiroth and Aerith took the path much slower. Aerith chuckled, a sweet sound which accompanied her and he upbeat attitude wherever she went. “I’m amazed Cloud managed to pull this whole thing off. I’m actually glad we did all that traveling now.” She said, voice low in the near soundless cave, minus the low rush of distant water.

“Quite.” Sephiroth agreed. He tracked the patterns of the gemstone formations, trying to commit them to memory. If he were a more adept illustrator, he might sketch them out, write about them later. He’d never read about this place before and had consumed enough scientific journals on the natural world that he felt confident in trying his own. Though, that would mean potentially alerting others to the presence of this place. The undiscovered aspect of this phenomenon was instrumental in its charm and he bore no desire to mar that.

Aerith traced a finger along the perfect edge of a larger stone. “Knowing Cloud, I half expected his big surprise to be a weird dead racoon he found or a blacksmithing shop that makes oversized swords or something.”

He nodded, having also expected an oddity of such nature. “How long is it that you’ve known Cloud. If you don’t mind me asking?” He added, concerned for any social ques he might have missed.

“Of course not. Before we all got sent back is still a bit hazy. A good few months, I think. Maybe a year or so?”

“I see.” Not knowing where to take the conversation next, Aerith swooped in and saved the situation from any awkwardness, as seemed to be her natural ability.

She continued, jolly as ever. “You want to know mine and Cloud’s relationship.” It wasn’t a question.

Yes, he did, though he likely wouldn’t have asked in such a forward way, even with Cloud joking of his blunt attitude. Thankfully, Aerith went on without his input. Falling into a slow pace together through to a separate rock formation of equal elegance.

“I loved him and I think he loved me, too. Though, hearing about it now, I think some of it was Zack shining through, from his side, but that’s just a guess. It would have been interesting to see what happened if our time hadn’t been so short. Cloud’s different now, the years have changed him a lot, I think he sees me more as a friend… And yes, I still love him, if you were wondering.” She carefully stepped around a shallow pool of clear water which had gathered in the centre of the chamber. “I’m not sure we were ever intended for one another and I’d rather those feeling stay in the past. I think we’re all different people now, in ways.” She spoke so contently, that one had to assume this was easy conversation to her.

It was odd hearing her speak of such things, understanding that it was he who tore her from Cloud in that past life. Was that something he should bring up, with her being so open with him? “I’ve come to understand that it was I who ended your life.”

She looked up from where she was examining a pretty turquoise stone. “You remember?” She didn’t sound upset.

“I do not. However, I’ve come to learn that our causes were opposed. Which led both yourself, Zack and many others to fall to me.” He replied carefully.

Watching her expression cautiously in the low colour-stained light, Aerith only smiled. “That’s right. But, I forgive you.” The emerald of her eyes glittered, an unwavering certainty.

“Why?” Sephiroth found himself asking.

“I forgave you before it even happened, and I think everyone else should too.”

They wondered around the curve of the tunnel, into a narrow pass almost obstructed in places. “… I’m afraid I don’t know what to say.” He said honestly. Her words struck deep, despite him barely understanding the context of them.

Aerith followed him in hopping over a layer of stalagmites with more ease than Sephiroth, thanks to her smaller stature. “That’s okay, I wouldn’t expect you to. Can I ask you something?” She waited for his gesture of approval before continuing, “You’ve been quiet the last few days. What’s been bugging you?”

“I’ve been,” How should he phrase it? “Out of sorts, recently. Never had I imagined myself on a path such as this, despite my trust in Shinra diminishing for some time.”

She nodded, “That’s understandable, you’re being presented with ideas and information about yourself that they’d never want you partaking in. You’re taking back a level of autonomy Shinra haven’t allowed you to experience before.” Aerith sounded proud for him, a feeling he wasn’t sure he deserved.

At his lack of response, she went on. “I grew up the same place you did, I know what it was like. What happened to you was infinitely worse than my treatment, but just remember, I’ve seen what they’re like. I saw how they wore down my mother.”

While he understood her try for empathy, Sephiroth didn’t appreciate the overtone of pity her words carried. “I assumed you’d been transferred to a separate area, when you disappeared.” They stopped at a rounded juncture of the cave, where the gemstones had formed to encase a crop of growing materia. The whole mass was softly luminous, casting the pathway in what would have been eery light, had it not been so naturally beautiful.

Beside him, Aerith studied the enchanting glow. “When Professor Gast died, my mother couldn’t ensure our safety anymore. We were being passed under Hojo’s supervision, you see. She managed to break us out. She died, but managed to leave me in my other mom’s care. The Turks were sent to bring me back, but Research keeping kids in the lab didn’t sit right with them. So, they managed to strike a deal which would leave me in peace, in turn, they’d watch over me.” She explained, laying her hands upon the encased materia and letting her eyes slip closed.

So that was her connection with the Turks. Sephiroth had to wonder how important of a specimen she was, to be under watch from such an elite group. Of course, he could tell the young woman was different, had an awareness of the life around them that others lacked. He wouldn’t pry, it was improper for subjects to inquire of each other’s purpose and research relevance. He’d learned that early. “I see. I appreciate you sharing that.”

But, Aerith was distracted. She hummed idly in response, as if listening to something else. “Put your hands on here. Do you feel it?”

As instructed, the Soldier placed his hands upon the growing formations. With the living materia beneath them, these stones were not as cold as the others. The had a flawless glassy feel, which prompted him to be mindful in case they broke under pressure. That was all, it just felt like glass. “Feel what exactly?”

“The pulse of the Planet.”

Sephiroth had no idea what that was supposed to feel like. He cleared his mind, slowed his breathing, focused on the minute details hitting he senses. Yet all was still. “There’s nothing.”

Aerith hummed in thought, before taking a deep breath. A shift could be felt in the air, a magical sort which weaved between them like wisps of spectral wind. The materia before them shone brighter in response. Dots of light glinted on the walls, as if the cavern flared to life, to meet her.

Then from under his fingers, came a strange reverberation. One could indeed liken it to a pulse, though not anything belonging to a living creature. Gentle but deep, pulled from the earth below, through mako veins and to their feet. Having never felt anything of this nature before, Sephiroth was struck by wonder and awe, at the reminder that their world was every bit alive as they were.

It was almost overwhelming, but he persisted and kept his hands in their places.

After nearly a minute, the magic dissipated slowly, curling and vanishing invisibly in the air. Aerith’s eyes fluttered open and turned up to Sephiroth, a look of expectant delight.

“That was… unexpected.” He stepped back from the rock formation, which gradually dimmed back to its previous gradient.

“It’s incredible though, right. A little intimidating?”

Yes, intimidating was the word. While he could marvel at the raw unimaginable power running below them, it made the General feel uncomfortably small. To the Planet, he was but a speck, a parasite living atop it, like the rest. It put things into perspective in a way which did not sit right with him. “Yes.” Sephiroth agreed, swallowing uncomfortably.

Aerith, apparently done with her show, pushed back from the formation. She rocked from one foot to the other, hands coming to rest casually behind her. “Shall we go find the others? I think we’ve given them enough time alone.”

He supposed they should seek out the others, before either decided to do something too childish or irresponsible. Offering Aerith a half smile, he replied, “I too believe that is in order.”

Ambling through the cave system, Sephiroth’s slightly superior hearing directed them closer to the sound of rushing water, when the path split.

“Could I ask for your opinion on something?” Sephiroth inquired, somewhat abruptly.

Aerith giggled, the sound echoing softly within the rounded passageway they moved through. “No need to ask first. Go for it.”

He paused, recalling that ridiculous conversation with Hojo. Hopefully she wouldn’t think him unstable or absurd. “Something has been attempting to speak to me, as of recent. I think it may be the Planet.”

Her pace slowed and eyes searched his. “Oh really? What’s it been saying to you?”

Encouraged by her seriousness, he continued with less hesitance. “It is beckoning me. Calling me out to somewhere. I understand that’s vague and unhelpful, but She too is vague.” Sephiroth wasn’t sure he wanted to give away that he’d been hallucinating.

Aerith pursed her lips, her troubled look reflecting back though him a feeling of discomfort. “How does She feel when she talks to you? Like, is it peaceful? Warm? That sort of thing.”

“Not really. I suppose more commanding, almost desperate.” Sephiroth shuddered at the memory of writhing tendrils and the smothering of his thoughts and senses.

“Possessive?” She supplied.

“Yes. I suppose that would be it.”

The quiet of the underground passageway sat still as Aerith paused in thought. “That’s different from the feeling I get. But then, we’re different people. I can only speak from my experience.”

That was reasonable. “I wondered if perhaps it was Chaos or one of her other celestial agents, the imagery I’ve been getting hasn’t fit depictions of Gaia wholly well.” That was as close as he’d get to admitting his visions.

Aerith responded with that thoughtfully serious look again. They were interrupted when they rounded a corner, emerging from the low tunnel into a much larger cave. Cracks in the rock above shone light down in gleaming paths upon silver rock and shimmering stone. A waterfall descended from high above and crashed down to form a pool and river below.

From where they emerged, there was a drop down a steep slope. Below, Cloud and Zack could be heard talking, though it was tricky to pick out their words behind the rushing water.

“Actually, let’s give them a moment.” Aerith perched on a smooth wall of stone, once carved out by running water. She patted the place beside her.

Seeing no need to rush, Sephiroth agreed, taking a seat where asked.

“I think…” Aerith started, wringing her hands in careful consideration. “I think, you need to be very wary of whatever is trying to talk to you. Not everything that can get into your head has your best interests at heart. I’m sure I don’t have to tell you that. However, I’ve got some ideas.”

Sephiroth nodded, hopping he didn’t appear too eager.

“First, I think you should talk to Cloud about this. He’s fairly well versed in this sort of thing, he won’t think you’re weird. It’s possible that you might be recalling bits from your erased time, I’m still slowly remembering things, perhaps you could be too.”

He hadn’t fully considered that. It would explain the fiery death brought upon Midgar from the skies, that was likely the meteor they stopped? That didn’t really explain the rest, or his glee at seeing such a catastrophe.

Sephiroth watched as Aerith reached back and undid the bow from her hair. Bringing it before them, she unwrapped a small and carefully concealed ball of materia. She held it up between her fingers in presentation. “This is Holy materia, it contains something like the essence of the Planet herself.” She held it out.

The tiny orb prickled to the touch, almost like static, and Sephiroth got the suggestion that it somehow didn’t want him near. It was fragile, and pure. While the untrained eye might not pick out much difference between it and other stones of such, he could see it held a great potential for strength, if used correctly. Despite this, he couldn’t identify what exactly it did.

“I’d like you to hold onto this, keep it on you at all times, if possible. It’s not really useful for anything, so its kind of a rubbish gift.” She laughed, a little apologetically. “But it might help. I think it’ll know when it’s needed.”

“Where did you find this?” The girl just kept surprising him today.

She gathered her hair, retying her bow back into place. “It was handed down from my mother.”

“I can’t except such-.”

Aerith silenced his protest. “Please take it. I won’t hear you complain. I’ll make sure to shout if I need it back, okay? Just…. um, keep it hidden from the others, please? I know that’s an odd request, but it’ll make things easier, trust me.”

She gave a final encouraging not. Caving to her generosity and thankful once again that she wasn’t being judgmental of him, Sephiroth pocketed the tiny stone. “Then I will abide by your request, thank you.”

“Also!” She announced with more excitement, “You wanna learn some Ancient? I only know bits, but it’s what the Planet sometimes speak in, so that might help you, if you think it’s her communicating with you?”

“That sounds, very much agreeable.” He calmly replied, though barely concealing his enthusiasm. He’d looked but never found any good resources on the language. It wouldn’t matter if it was just odd phrases, any learned would be greatly interesting. Though the Planet (if that’s what it was) might be slightly confused if it called to him, only for him to reply with very broken language. But that was to he expected, he assumed.

“Hey you two!” Came Zack’s voice.

Both turned to see the Soldier was climbing up the cliff wall, up to the mouth of the waterfall.

Aerith gave a sound of mild panic. “Oh my,- be careful please!”

“Don’t worry-.” His foot lost its grip. Thankfully, Zack managed to cling on and find a better foothold. “Don’t worry, we looked and the water’s deep.” He reassured.

Least he wasn’t caked in mud now. Sephiroth shook his head at the man he’d chosen as his Lieutenant. “Shall we go and supervise?” He asked Aerith, who nodded, both moving quickly on from their discussion.

Chapter Text

Now at their destination, the group found even less reason to rush. The caves ran as webs through the mountains, and all found their features captivating enough that they were happy to stop for a while. Slowly, a little camp was set up, the cave roof having enough air holes that they could make a fire without the smoke dangerously gathering.

Zack was finding this place to be the best adventure ever, climbing walls and squeezing through gaps into new areas of the large system. Cloud and Sephiroth didn’t bicker, with the latter on the quiet side. Cloud assumed he was just enjoying their new surroundings, he certainly seemed interested in just about everything they came across. Aerith came back out to help retrieve Slug, their horrible chocobo.

She and Cloud picked their way back, wondering how they were going to get a seven-foot bird through some of the narrower passages. “Umm, hey, just wondered if I could talk to you about something?” Cloud asked, a little awkwardly.

Aerith climbed through, just behind him. “You too?” She sighed, amused. “If you’re about to ask if we can both co-date Zack, then yeah. You have my blessing.”

That one caused him to nearly trip. “Oh, wow. Um… that’s not actually what it was but, thanks, I guess.” He could instantly feel his face heating up, thankfully it was fairly dark in here.

“Really? Oh. fire away then.”

“I was just thinking, Seph’s been acting kinda odd. I don’t know if its stress, having no objective right now, me, or being stuck in the van so much. Don’t you think he’s being too quiet?” Finally emerging back out onto the mountainside, Cloud blinked back the light. The sun hadn’t long passed over the tip of the range, now casting a shadow over the swamp.

Taking his offered hand, Aerith hopped down a steeper incline. “Likely all of those things. He’s probably confused why you’ve been getting so close and personal with Zack. I bet you’ve not talked with him about that.”

Slug, seeing their approach looked almost relieved that she hadn’t been abandoned, still there was a threat in the way her claws rhythmically sunk into the soft dirt.

Aerith continued, “He did actually speak with me today, he thinks the Planet has been trying to communicate with him. I dare say it’s probably Jenova trying to sneak into his head.”

Cloud’s head shot up at that. “Wait, for real? He hasn’t told me.”

She sighed again, this time with slight impatience. “Yeah, because you haven’t been honest about Jenova either.”

“I have been-.”

“You’ve told him Jenova is a dangerous extra-terrestrial, but not what she is, what they were.” Aerith cut him off calmly. “That’s kind of important.”

He really couldn’t combat that. She was right. Instead, Cloud stayed quiet while he untied the chocobo and began bribing her with greens back up the mountain.

The Cetra picked up where Cloud struggled. “I recommended he talk to you, so don’t be surprised if you have that conversation soon. I know it’s hard, but we’ll never know how he’ll react until he does.” With a quick yelp, she ducked away from a peck from Slug, and stepped back out of reach.

At the opening of the cave, Cloud visually measured both the entrance and the bird, before deciding that it could just about be done. “Yeah, I know I’ve messed up…”

Positioned at the back, ready to push Slug through if needed, Aerith called back. “No, you’ve not messed up yet, but you will if you don’t tell him. I can do it, if you want. Or both together? A little backup might be useful?”

Cloud appreciated her offer, he really did, but… “No, it’s fine. Next opportunity I get, okay?”

“Good. Make sure you do, alright?”

“Right.”

Slug wasn’t a fan of the caves, or the people inside, but it was better than leaving her out on her own with so many large predators nearby. It took some effort, these birds were not built for this terrain, but with a bit of ducking and wiggling, she arrived at their chosen camp.

later in the evening, Cloud cooked them something to eat. Roast vegetables over the fireplace, which went down well. Aerith and Zack told of their first meeting, in which Zack had crashed through the ceiling of the Sector Five church. With great humour, it was then explained how Cloud had also met Aerith through the same means- which Zack absolutely loved.

During this time, Sephiroth stayed quiet, engaging even less with their conversations than usual. Slug turned her nose up at the offered veg, instead opting only for the nicer greens she knew were hidden in Cloud’s pocket. She’d caused quite the commotion when grabbing and tugging a large beakful of Sephiroth’s hair.
Delicately, it was diffused by the others, but did involve threats of death and a very intense stare down before Cloud could get her to release him.

Their dilemma began when Zack, ever looking for an outlet for his boundless energy, held his Buster Sword up to Cloud in challenge. They’d sparred a few times now, since their first match, so much that any trepidation Cloud had previously held, had vanished.

This occasion involved Cloud springing into a backflip over Zack’s head, which earned a clap from Aerith. It also had Zack making an ambitious leap over the cave river, to make a powerful spring from the rugged wall back towards his opponent. Finally concluding with a surprise move from Zack, which involved dropping his sword and tackling the other to the floor.

“Ay Seph, you wanna join in?” Zack called over to their spectators, while he picked himself off the floor. “Aerith?”

“Careful, you know I’d kick your asses.” Aerith laughed.

When Sephiroth failed to even grunt in response, Cloud glanced over and was met with a sight which made him tense up. A familiar look flashed across Sephiroth’s features. It gave Cloud pause, made a shudder run involuntarily down his back.

Silently, the General rose from his seat in a liquid movement and strode past Aerith. Her bright eyes bore into his back, mild surprise that he was for once rising to the challenge.

Eyes reflecting the firelight, the look which flashed across Sephiroth’s image was familiar but one Cloud hadn’t seen in a long time. Instantly he froze up, heartbeat thrumming loudly, caging the delicate joy which had danced freely within him only moments ago.

Instant, like a light switch.

“Oh cool, was wondering when you’d finally…” Zack trailed off, sensing something was amiss.

Acid eyes and poison smile clawed predatorily onto Sephiroth’s features; instinctively filling Cloud with the need to cower.

Behind him, Aerith’s curiosity had shifted to worry, which marred her carefree countenance.

An omen.

Zack, too, had quietened, though Cloud’s focus had shifted from him now completely.

Their cellular connection burned with something dark and insidious, as if to confirm the wrongness of this new state.

With the elegance of a rising wave on a dark sea, Sephiroth lifted his hand. Making a baleful entrance, the long thin blade of Masamune slid into being, glinting in the low light still shining from above. The black leather of his jacket cut a frightening backdrop, a banner of night which whipped at his heels. It drew a shiver from Cloud, and he got the terrible impression that this was not the man he’d escaped Midgar with nearly a week ago.

No, this was a would-be God, hoping to reclaim his wings.

Beneath his stare, Cloud felt like a lone deer trapped under the paralysing stare of a Nibel dragon.

Somewhere to his right, Zack spoke again, but Cloud caught none of his words. An old fear making the air both bitingly cold and uncomfortably clammy at once.
Made the wide cave walls feel like they we somehow shrinking with every slow step the other approached with.

Sephiroth stopped before him, smile widening.

By default, Cloud reached for his weapon, which lay useless at his feet. Wrapping a hand around its cold handle had a grounding effect, which pulsed through his bones and prepared him to move.

Fine.

Swallowing down that feeling of ice in his breath and burying the feeling of fire on his skin, Cloud rose to his feet.

Fine. If he were to be hunted, then they would both be predators.

Sephiroth rose his blade high at his shoulder, in challenge. A gesture his quarry mirrored. “Show them your true potential.” The challenger purred like a threat.

The war drum of their connection beat a countdown.

Three, two, one-.

Jumping into battle perfectly timed, a rush of steel and light. An explosive blaze of movement in the still air. The sound of rushing water or the crackling of their campfire were all but silent to Cloud’s ears. Action- reaction, like lightning.

A deadly gale of blade edges, the only sound Cloud could recognise behind the pounding in his ears.

Cloud was somehow keeping pace. Moved by adrenaline and an instinct which unlocked inhuman reflexes. It wore at his muscles in a way which made him wish he’d warmed up before sparring.

Their duel atop the employee apartment block had been playful in comparison, couldn’t hold a match to the blaze that surged through them.

A trail of moonlight hair silhouetted as Sephiroth slammed his blade down in a piercing strike. Cloud blocked, sliding the sword over his own. The deflect only worked halfway, coming to graze over Cloud’s leg. He felt it tear into his thigh, but adrenaline blocked out any pain, leaving only the sensation of metal scraping over bone.
Unlike their last battle, Sephiroth had scored first blood this time.

In an attempt to even the tally, Cloud spun in a deceptive movement, forcing his foe to block one way before swinging less predictably. The trick earned him a long gash in a half spiral down Sephiroth’s forearm.

Back and forth, gaining and losing ground. Strikes looking to maim.

Like an erupting solar flare, anger eclipsed their shared cells. Burning so strong it nearly knocked Cloud still, again. On the previous occasions he’d felt the other’s temper rise in such a way, there had always been the security of knowing it wasn’t aimed at him. This time however, it was like the feeling itself was piercing into the blond, had set him alight. It was both frightening and further spurring him on.

A swing from Sephiroth scorched a streak of purple energy. Cloud narrowly dodged, moving back in quickly to catch him in a clash of metal. Holding the Masamune captive between two of his detached blades, Cloud leaned in, searching the other’s eyes. It disturbed him that they looked nothing more than normal.

“Get a grip!” Cloud growled.

With their shared cells set aflame in a barely recalled intensity, a new feeling pushed through. So strong it burned like a livewire in his skull, the pain so intense that Cloud recoiled as if he’d been struck.

A new fear crept up to swallow him, an old long forgotten thing. Unnatural, and this time originating from an outside force. A beat pulsing out from a far-off beacon, shining like a lighthouse from an aged mountain reactor. Gleaming in shades of otherworldly magenta.

Dazed, a firm hit impacted his shoulder with a loud crack, followed by what felt like multiple piercing knives ramming into his back. They held him in place as Cloud’s feet scrabbled uselessly at the cave floor. Disoriented, vision swimming. His right hand was empty, the primary part of his Fusion Swords had been knocked from his grip.

The pain was too intense, Jenova was making her presence known and there was no way he could fight both her and Sephiroth simultaneously. Blearily he was aware of a dark looming shape above him and a thread of silver pointed down at him. The total sensory overload of everything around him- everything in his head, was crippling. A killing blow was readied above, with shuddering effort, Cloud tried to raise the other piece of his sword. It wouldn’t budge, as if held in place by a boot.

There sounded a scream, whose origin he failed to pick out.

Cutting through the fog and pain called a sweet sound, like the whistle of grass or the rustle of leaves. A scent of flowers in early summer and a gentle afternoon breeze.

Beside it, everything slowed to a whirring stop. The pressing into his mind loosened, allowing Cloud to regain some sense of what was happening around him. With heaving breaths, he blinked until the world had stopped warping, the settling of the water’s surface.

Zack stood over him, Buster Sword held defensively across them both. In front of him was Sephiroth, a peculiar stagger to his movements. It took Cloud a moment to notice his blade had clattered to the ground and now lay at his feet.

Beyond, by the campfire stood the rigid form of Aerith. Her hands clasped in prayer with power of some ethereal sort radiating between them in soothing waves.
Whatever she was doing, it drove Jenova’s influence out, a cleansing upsurge which had chased her back, letting her cells fall dormant once more.

“Sephiroth?” Zack questioned warily. Glancing back to Cloud in quick movements, not wanting to take his eye from a potential threat. “That’s enough. You back with us now? Show me you’re here.” He urged delicate but firm.

The General, looked just as dazed as Cloud felt. He swayed unsteadily on his feet, the anger engulfing him was now but a quiet drip, a steadily loosening thing. He rose a hand to his head and gave a short nod in response to his Lieutenant.

Still as unmoving as a statue, Zack held his position. “Then I want you to dismiss your weapon for me.”

In a sluggish movement, Sephiroth gave a mute gesture and banished his blade.

The moment it was gone, Zack strapped his own to his back and turned to Cloud. “Hey Spike, you still good?” He peered over Cloud’s shoulder where something sharp still dug into his back.

With a grunt of affirmation, the blond once again tried to find his footing. Carefully, Zack slung an arm around him to assist. Something, no, several things popped free from his flesh. His right shoulder also felt strangely out of place, but Cloud made sure to stifle any sounds of discomfort as Zack helped him back towards Aerith.

“Sit tight, bud.” Zack tugged loosely at Cloud’s baggy pants. “Could ya roll these up for us? We’re gonna have to take a look at your leg.” He then stood, ruffled Cloud’s hair before he could protest to it and moved back to where Sephiroth was trying to regain some composure.

Cloud levelled the General with a look that could have killed, if Sephiroth were one to die so easily. “You had enough now?”

“Quite.” Came an unsteady reply. Though Sephiroth failed to meet the dangerous stare.

“Then sit down then, you look like you’re gonna fall flat on your ass.” Cloud called back, venom in his voice. His shoulder was definitely busted, and made even rolling up his trouser leg an arduous job.

Aerith, was suddenly beside Cloud, studying his leg. “This’ll need stiches.”

He wanted to protest, but she was very much correct. Now that the adrenaline was wearing off as quickly as they were losing their little natural light, Cloud was becoming increasingly aware that they had no healing materia between them.

“I’ll run back to the van, first aid kit’s still there.” Zack said.

Aerith held out a hand. “No, I’ll go.” She protested, grabbing a flashlight.

“Let me.” Sephiroth went to move from where he’d slouched onto the ground.

“No!” Both Aerith and Zack yelled, making the General pause in his action.

Cloud wasn’t offering, he wasn’t sure he’d be getting back up for the rest of the night. “Look, both of you go, in case you run into any trouble. We’ll look after ourselves.” He gave a dismissive wave to the look Aerith was giving him. “Neither of us are going to go nuts, besides, we’ve got this one.” Cloud threw a glance to Slug, who was looking highly flustered, scratching at the ground in an anticipation of violence.

With last conceding words, the couple left. In their wake dragged a heavy silence through the still air. Uncomfortable, Cloud prodded at his shoulder. Dislocated. He tugged at his shirt, where the fabric was sticking to his back. His eyes travelled back to where Zack had moved him from. A formation of stones grew from there, several of which were now marked with blood.

Sitting a careful distance away, back partially turned, there came a steady drip from the corner of Sephiroth’s jacket onto the cave floor. He hadn’t moved an inch.

“You going to explain what the fuck that was?” Cloud demanded, actually making Sephiroth flinch at the sudden sound.

The other was quiet for a long moment, though he did finally look to be breathing again, rather than imitating a frozen corpse. Cloud had to wonder how Sephiroth’s hair only looked barely out of place after all that. Crazy alien handsomeness genes, he assumed. He’d been about to shout up again when Sephiroth finally spoke.

“I’m afraid I’m not sure.”

It was the least powerful Cloud had ever heard him.

Sephiroth continued before he could be prompted for a cleared answer. “I saw you fighting and I… I hated you. So much that it took over.”

“Why? Why’d you hate me?” He hoped Sephiroth could tell how pissed off he was right now. Hoped he could feel it.

“I don’t know. It’s like the emotion wasn’t my own.” There was a hesitance behind his words which nearly put a shake in his voice. One had to assume that the lack of a clear answer was something he hated to give, something he’d been taught not to do.

“And have you wanted to rip my head off before? Or was that a one off?” He didn’t really care how uncharacteristically vulnerable Sephiroth appeared in that moment. Their safety was more important, and Cloud’s trust was more than a little bruised.

Sephiroth went back to staring hard at the floor. “It has happened sporadically. Recently. When I’ve watched you spar.”

“That’s why you weren’t joining in?” Cloud pressed harder at his shoulder, figuring the angle he needed to push.

Turning back to Cloud upon hearing his hiss of discomfort, Sephiroth looked concerned. An expression which couldn’t have been mistaken for anything else, now his emotional state was so exposed. “Are you alr-.”

“I’m fine.” Cloud bit back at him before cracking his shoulder back into place. It came with a gasp of pain through clenched teeth but felt instantly better once the sharp sting had died down. The limb moved much better, if not a little sore. Good, got it right on the first go.

Movement had him snapping back to attention, and Cloud had his sword in his hand and levelled at the other man in a heartbeat. It made Sephiroth still as he moved to get up, his eyes soft but firmly on Cloud.

“Don’t come near me.” The blond snarled, absolutely ready to gut this man if given an excuse. Still, a part of him prayed he wouldn’t have to.

Sephiroth stopped dead and backed off. “Your leg is bleeding badly.”

He’d live. “And whose fault is that?” Cloud pressed the roll of his trouser leg down tightly over the wound. “Your arm is worse and you’re ignoring that.”

Looking down as if noticing it for the first time, Sephiroth pressed a hand over it. Actually, on closer inspection, he looked a real mess. Cloud had managed a few good hits on him, which did improve his mood, slightly… not that he’d mention that aloud.

“Next time, don’t listen to invasive thoughts or,- or anything that isn’t your own. Like I said before, we both have Jenova’s cells, it makes us targets.”

“I thought you said we’re only a liability when close by Nibelheim? We’re thousands of miles away.” Sephiroth settled back into his seat.

The sound of footsteps echoed down the higher tunnel. Thank goodness.

“It only worsens the closer we get, I suppose. Look, just… just heal up and rest. And don’t cave so easily when things want to get into your head.”

Sephiroth nodded, eyes cast low like a scolded animal. A motion which looked entirely foreign on the man. “Cloud?”

“Hmm?”

“I’m sorry.”

From the ledge above, Aerith and Zack burst onto the scene, sliding down the steep incline and hurrying back over. Armed with their bag of extra blankets and medical supplies.

Aerith knew Cloud was going to be difficult the moment he regarded her carefully, while setting up her needle and thread. “Can’t I just have some of those sticky strips? It’ll be gone by morning.”

“No, it won’t, you know that. You also know it’ll heal faster if its properly closed.” She replied in a sing-song voice.

He eyed her needle like it were the head of a venomous snake. “Hold this for me.” She requested, practically forcing the flashlight into his hand.

The smell of antiseptic didn’t help Cloud’s growing anxiety. He ignored Zack’s more than forced jokes as he danced about Sephiroth, trying to get him to also accept help.

Flinching hard at his friend’s touch, Aerith was trying her best to be careful. “Sorry sorry.” She reassured, attempting to at least clean the injury.

“Can’t I just do it?” The blond hissed with more irritation than expected. Too panicky to be embarrassed that he was shaking like a leaf in front of Aerith of all people.

“It’s at a funny angle, it’s better if I do. Would you let me?” At the second attempt she managed to at least wipe the wound. “Sorry if it hurts.”

The pain really wasn’t the problem. “No. C’mon, just give me the thing.” Cloud purposely moved the light source and held out his hand.

Giving in, they exchanged equipment. “Fine fine. But roll up your shirt for me too, I need to see how bad your back is.”

Cloud grumbled but did as she asked. Across from them, Zack was having more luck. He was busy working on Sephiroth’s arm, which had fallen almost totally limp in his grip. Meanwhile, Sephiroth just sat motionless, eyes blank and fixed on the middle distance, looking almost lifeless.

Though a bit worrying, the sight served to assure Cloud that though he was jittery, at least he hadn’t began dissociating the moment he was touched.

Despite the tension, all worked out fine. Cloud just about managed to sew his leg up, he wouldn’t be winning any awards for his work, like Aerith might have, if he’d left it to her, but it was serviceable. On top of that, his back only had a few minor punctures, which were clean and would likely be gone by the morning.

Sephiroth took a bit longer, sporting a few more cuts and bruises, which Cloud didn’t even recall giving him. The General looked utterly despondent the whole time. As usual, Aerith and Zack did their best to act as emotional buffers, chatting jovially to fill the dead air until Cloud too felt it time to lose his frustration, and he also joined in as best he could.

Zack knelt down by a supply bag next to Cloud. “Wow, man!” He mouthed barely audible, grinning rather unsteadily at Cloud. “You kicked the crap out of him, I’ve never seen anyone do that before.”

Cloud just smirked and nodded.

“That was dope!” Zack offered him a slow, silent high-five, which Cloud accepted.

When they finally bunked down for the night, Zack and Aerith opted to keep a watchful eye. For any lurking predators, they’d said, but it was fairly clear what they were really looking out for. With them on guard, Cloud felt safe enough to rest and let himself properly heal.

Helping with such, Aerith went about casting. A warm rolling air imbued with gentle healing and the smell of spring time. It reacted with the natural bioluminescence of the cave, to glow in comforting shades.

Of course, Slug decided this was a good moment for a bath, and preceded to spend the following ten minutes splashing loudly in the shallows, showering the group with water, much to their disdain.

They’d all been at rest for a while, the crackle of fire, Slug’s delicate preening and low bubbling of the river filling the silence. Zack sat up, fiddling relentlessly with a button on his clothing.

While everyone else looked relaxed, no one actually was, despite the best efforts from Aerith’s spell.

A soft voice spoke up, sounding truly tired. “I apologise for the commotion I caused, and for ruining your evening.”

Aerith spoke up in a tender reply. “That’s alright. You didn’t mean to, we’ll work through it.” Behind her, Zack hummed in affirmation. Cloud wondered whether their optimism was genuine.

Sephiroth’s apology had been sincere, a ripple of his distress had reverberated through their bond. Echoing and bouncing like the crackle of the fire in their cave. The intensity was startling and only worked to keep Cloud awake for longer. He didn’t mind too much, it was like witnessing some rare cosmic phenomenon, one you dream up but never think will actually happen.

Though it didn’t do too much to mend the burnt trust between them, this previously unheard of confused and remorseful Sephiroth was a decent return.

Still, if was hard to shake the feeling that the dangers they’d sunk into the caves to avoid, were nothing compared to the monster among them.

Chapter Text

The atmosphere the following morning was the most trying since leaving Midgar. Their gear was collected in unusual quiet, one which was utterly unfamiliar for their group. Eager to get out of here now and back on the road, the enchanting nature of the caves only served to halfway lighten the mood.

Sephiroth didn’t feel particularly well rested, as was common when his body had focused its efforts on healing. Anyone could tell the same went for Cloud, who for once appeared mildly groggy for a while after waking.

The stiches in his arm burned, the ache radiating discomfort into his wrist. His ribs were still sore from a firm kick he’d received, but all of the other cuts and bruises had evened out and healed well. Not a problem, by the afternoon it should be fine so long as nothing was exacerbated.

Slug was encouraged back through the way she’d entered, and was more than happy to be back in the open once again. Despite her being an utterly vile creature, who attempted multiple times to latch onto Cloud, Sephiroth was thankful for her presence today. At least she kept the other man out of the vehicle.

The morning was awkward enough, the last thing he wanted so soon was to be cooped up in a box with Cloud all day.

After the sheer pristine majesty of the crystal caves, the swamp seemed fouler than it had on their approach. The smell hit doubly as hard when they emerged through the passageway and hopped down the short hillside.

As if understanding they were leaving the area, Slug was being much easier to work with. She moved at a confident speed, allowing Cloud to guide their way with little effort. As they’d come to understand, she still made her little inputs and interjections, stopping for snacks, veering off the path or darting suddenly after frogs. Either way, Cloud appeared grateful to have a distraction.

For his part, Sephiroth sat quietly in the passenger seat. Without dispute he’d given the driving up to Zack, when requested.

A conversation was in order, a review of what the plan was after last night. Still in partial disbelief that it had been real, Sephiroth was disturbed to his core.

Aerith looked apologetic, for reasons the General couldn’t quite understand. He hoped it wasn’t pity. She’d softly asked that morning whether he was alright, if he’d like to talk about it. Naturally, he’d lied. Yes, he was fine and no, chatting about it was unnecessary.

Truth was, everything they’d spoken about the day previous was catching up on him. Her mentions that he might be remembering past emotions or events jelled well with how horrifically natural that anger had felt. Seeing Cloud tremble in fright had been like slotting a missing jigsaw piece into his mind. A piece he didn’t know had gotten lost until it was back and visible. For the moment he’d seen it, felt then the rush of blades and the deep seeded desire to end him, it had been as effortless as letting himself drift in the tide.

And he’d given into it so readily, it was frightening.

Cloud had blamed Jenova, that entity they’d barely mentioned. So little that Sephiroth had discounted it as a threat, considering the blonde’s apparent lack of knowledge on the subject. Why had Cloud failed to explain the creature to him, if he knew with such certainty it could cause mental overrides of this nature?

He’d come to accept that Cloud was no careful strategic planner, that was quite alright. That didn’t explain why had he failed to provide such vital information.

The final explanation, and the one Sephiroth was leaning more heavily towards the longer the day dragged on: He was degrading.

It explained his barely controlled fury. The euphoric dreams, the hallucinations. Perhaps that was why his arm still ached so much, the wound hadn’t been that bad, had it? Was his body struggling to heal? Was that why he felt so exhausted today? Why the sunlight seemed to burn straight through to his brain? Maybe that was why he’d allowed the values he’d served under be drawn from him so easily, to find himself essentially on the run from Shinra?

There was something terribly wrong with him, wasn’t there? Why the hell hadn’t he let Hojo run those tests? Perhaps if they’d caught it early it might have been treatable. Now he was seeing things and attacking Cloud out of the blue. Something about him wasn’t working right and he’d gone and separated himself from the only institute with the knowhow to fix him.

For the first time since leaving, Sephiroth longed to the safety and solitude of his employee apartment. There was something desensitising about its simplicity. Not that he hadn’t enjoyed traveling, he just recognised the security of those white walls and pristine surfaces, knew his role within them. Without it, this was all getting too much.

If it wasn’t for the years of strict training and careful control the labs had taught him, Sephiroth would likely be panicking. It was hard to control his heartbeat and breathing while keeping watch for potentially dangerous movement in the undergrowth.

The whole thing made him further berate himself. He’d led armies, had shown no hint of fear or distaste during their raid of Wutai, though the battles had been vicious. Had faced many a formidable foe during his training who had come close to killing him, enough that the novelty of fear had faded. Death hadn’t scared him in a long long time.

This though? The terror of the gradual loss of self he’d witnessed in his other Firsts? That struck an entirely different chord, and it made him shudder.

Zack tried, bless him, but Sephiroth gave him nothing conversational to work with. In the end, he looked just as stressed as Sephiroth felt, eyes hard and knuckles white around the steering wheel. As if Sephiroth’s apprehension was leaking into the air around them.

Aerith had a unique sense for these things, though he couldn’t comprehend how so. When a distracting cool swept over his senses, it took a moment in his inner turmoil to realise it was her magic. Sat behind them, she was caught in an almost trance, whispering some incantation or prayer.

Whatever the young woman was summoning up worked wonders to ease at least a little of the stress.

Stress. Yes, that had been an explanation for all his symptoms, right? Sephiroth tried to convince himself.

Compared to the journey in, the group made startlingly good progress. On the cusp, where the sludgy swamp was shifting gradually into flat marshland once again, a break was called for. With a small portion of actual firm ground to park upon, Cloud was able to tether their chocobo and everyone could walk around the van without being knee deep in mud.

Thanks to whatever Aerith had done to keep the mood light, Zack had at least responded positively to it and had returned to being as jovial as ever, by the time he was out of the drivers seat. He’d jumped out to laugh and joke with Cloud and was trying to get into a mock fist fight with Slug, who looked ready to throw him in the mud again.

Everyone was up and socialising. All except for Sephiroth, who knew he was sulking but didn’t very much care, and instead stayed put.

When Cloud jumped into the van, Aerith offered Sephiroth a smile and wink. She climbed out and shut the door behind her, leaving the two alone.

For all he was emotional, Cloud didn’t react. He stilled momentarily while rummaging about one of their equipment boxes, but that was all. Considering he’d been actively avoiding Sephiroth all day, one might have expected more.

Now alone with each other, Sephiroth found himself inexplicably unable to meet the others gaze. Not that Cloud tried either. From the corner of Sephiroth’s eye he watched the blond lean down to retrieve a water bottle with a casualness that pretended the General wasn’t there.

“I meant my apology last night, Cloud. I’ll say it again if it helps. Truly, I am appalled at my lack of control.” Sephiroth tried, feeling physically drained of his usual finesse.

The seconds dragged between them uncomfortably. Cloud moved back to sit on his haunches. “I know you did.” He finally replied.

Stuck between berating himself for this horrific show of weakness and wishing he’d set up some sort of social procedure to follow in events such as these, Sephiroth was unsure how to proceed. He couldn’t, not without admitting to those weaknesses.

Saving him from his internal debate, Cloud spoke up again. “So what? You still want me dead?”

For his question he received a dubious look. Then again, it apparently wasn’t that wild of a query, was it? Coming to the same conclusion, Cloud met his eye and gave a slow shrug.

“Don’t be ridiculous!” Sephiroth snapped back.

Cloud just watched him carefully. They held the intense stare until the blond concluded it with a nod, returning to the lid of his water bottle, which came open with a click of plastic. Seemingly satisfied with what he’d found in the General’s reptilian eyes.

“You said this Jenova had been the culprit. How can you be so sure?” From outside it sounded like Zack and Aerith were engaged in a singalong, doubling as an attempt to tame their chocobo, who squawked in clear distaste.

Cloud took a drink from his bottle. He nearly managed to feign indifference, if not the rhythmic clenching and relaxing of a hand against his knee. “We both have J cells, right? I felt her too, that’s what knocked me out at the end of our fight.”

The proximity mind control had been mentioned, however Cloud neglected to relay how far-reaching and consuming it could be… Sephiroth couldn’t fathom the stupidity, couldn’t quite believe what he was hearing. “Why didn’t you adequately convey its threat?

“… I don’t know.” Was Cloud’s long-awaited answer.

“Did you know the threat was that high?”

“No.” The answer came a little quicker this time, as did a rise in Cloud’s visible discomfort.

Okay. Fine. It was done now, let it go. “And you’re absolutely sure that was the cause?”

Cloud nodded. “I am.”

They went back to staring off in separate directions. It was beyond frustrating, to not have an adequate explanation for what had occurred. Trying to figure it out for himself was one thing, putting it into words was quite another.

Just how did one construct a situation report on something so vague and surreal as a loss of lucid will?

For all his bottled anger, Sephiroth didn’t typically hate people. People like Hojo and President Shinra- he disliked, but tolerated. Learned to deal with them as he assimilated into the role they had constructed for him.

The closest he’d come to hating someone was probably Genesis, but he-, he really didn’t want to think about that man right now…

Cloud pulled him from his thoughts. “You wanna know something?” He waited until Sephiroth’s eyes were on him once more before continuing in his measured tone. “This path we’re on-, this quest, whatever you want to call it. Me and my friends, we didn’t fail before. Sure, things weren’t great- far from it, but we worked with what we had and got the job done. We had you against us that time. You, Jenova, Shinra, and we won.” He squeezed the bottle until the plastic creaked, near breaking point.
“I could have killed you in your sleep, after you pulled that shit last night. I think I had every reason to, to protect the rest of us. You should know I thought about it. Know why I didn’t?”

Sephiroth waited patiently, his attention undivided despite the noise of the others outside.

Cloud continued, “Because I could tell you were even more scared than I was. It’s that bond between us, right? I never expected to hear you apologise for anything, but I know you meant it. And, I can tell you’re terrified now.”

He wasn’t wrong. Sephiroth respected his honesty as well as the decision he’d been willing to make. “I… I am concerned I may be degrading.” The words were a battle to get out.

“What makes you say that?” The poor water bottle had been released, though liquid dribbled out from somewhere in a slow trickle.

“I’ve found my emotional state harder to control as of recent. I find rest more difficult to acquire at night and I believe I should have fully healed by now from yesterday.” Gosh, it reminded him of talking to Hojo. Still, he absolutely would not mention the visions.

To his surprise, Cloud offered the slightest of smiles. “Sounds to me like you’re just under a lot of pressure. Don’t worry, I haven’t healed right yet and I feel like crap today, too.”

Though his worry fought back, Cloud’s reassuring words carried more weight than Sephiroth would willingly admit. Instead, he nodded. “I suppose that makes sense. How do you recommend we combat the Jenova threat?”

After thinking for a moment, Cloud answered, “Communication. You start to feel like that again, tell us right away, so we can be ready. Also, fight back as much as you can.”

Exactly how one fought back against such a mental attack, Sephiroth was unsure. He nodded regardless, while it wasn’t as carefully thought out as the General would consider a ‘plan’ to be, it did work on easing his tension. It didn’t sound like there was much else they could do, but at least he felt lighter after discussing this with Cloud and infinitely grateful that the man was still willing to show him friendship.

Feeling the air between them lighten, Cloud let his shoulders roll into a more relaxed position. “Hey listen, my idea of getting the guys back together and driving about, camping, seeing the sights. I should have figured that it’d just make you feel worse. I can tell now that this really isn’t your speed, and I’m sorry for not realising that. I should have been more conscious of what you’d be comfortable with, considering what you’re going through.”

Sephiroth could forgive that, had already, after the various issues they’d encountered. He wasn’t necessarily having a bad time, just that he was a very long way from his comfort zone. “It hasn’t been that unpleasant. I’ve appreciated the villages and the scenery. The cave was incredible… sorry again for trying to impale you on the gemstones.”

Cloud gave a sigh which Sephiroth knew to be a laugh. “What’s an adventure without a little impaling?”

The door to the van was knocked and Zack’s voice called out. “Hey guys? You, urr, done yet?” Slug had finally gone quiet, so they both must have found some way of placating her.

“One moment, please.” Sephiroth answered, calling back.

“I really want you away from those assholes and on our side this time.” Cloud offered a small but genuine smile, fragile in its trust but encouraging none the less. “Hell, I don’t mind if you get fed up of us and jump ship at some point. Just stay away from Shinra and Jenova, yeah?”

Sephiroth returned his own smile. That was reasonable, he had little intention of giving up his freedom for anyone again. As it happened, for someone who valued quiet and his own company so much, he found himself contented with their little traveling band, far more than expected. Staying with Cloud was of no concern, despite the man’s frequent idiotic tendencies.

There came a second knock to the door, this time more insistent. “Guys, I’m sorry, but we’ve got a slight situ-.”

“Watch out!” Came Aerith’s shout from somewhere further off.

Zack gave a worried yelp and Slug screeched in distress. Cloud’s expression had shifted into a grave wide-eyed look, and it took Sephiroth a moment to discern the blond wasn’t looking at him, but instead past him through the van’s windscreen.

Just as it dawned on Sephiroth what the ‘situation’ was, there sounded a terrible smash and the world around them spun.

Bashing head first against the driver’s side door, the van flipped, mud bubbling through the partly open window. In a deafening crash, their luggage tumbled and clattered with the harsh momentum. The moment, which had admittedly lasted only a second, slowed to a hard stop. Sephiroth saw stars, but wasted no time before twisting about, trying to regain his centre of gravity.

Thanks to his sensitive hearing, his ears rang from the terrible noise. The impact had mostly fallen on his shoulders, whereby he could feel the swampy water seep under the collar of his leather jacket. Sephiroth was very aware of how his previously cracked ribs burned, though he didn’t react when a fresh stab of pain ripped through his abdomen as he pulled himself into a better position.

From outside, Slug was still screaming in alarm. There came a crack of low branches and a rush of displaced water which told of something huge in their midst. Aerith was shouting something from a way off, though the ringing in his ears hadn’t cleared enough to allow for her words to be identified.

The van had come to rest somewhere between its side and roof, leaning at an odd angle. The front was facing such a way that it was impossible to see what was happening through the screen. Balance wasn’t the easiest thing to come by, but Sephiroth lifted himself over the seats and into the back.

Cloud groaned, shoving a luggage crate from atop of him. Now likely sporting his own matching set of cracked ribs, Sephiroth helped pull him up. Both braced themselves as something huge rushed past outside, threatening to tip them further.

While everything rattled, Cloud tried the doors, finding them jammed against something. With unsteady footing, the blond jumped into a powerful kick. With a horrible snap, the metal bolts broke from their hinges.

With a second kick, the left door clattered loose. Bolting out of their containment, Sephiroth found himself momentarily blinded in the grey but bright morning light. Following Cloud as he hopped across the broken door and onto more solid ground, his vision cleared to behold a wild sight.

Not one but two Zolom, both around thirty feet tall, rose high in menace, their magnificently coloured hoods displayed as a threat. Hanging from the lower jaw of one was Zack, who whipped and flailed as the serpent tried desperately to get him loose. From his position, he struggled to make a good swipe with his Buster sword. A large portion of the creature’s neck was encased in ice, curtesy of Aerith, who kept her distance while casting.

“Ayy, you guys okay?” Zack called down from… whatever he was attempting. “You don’t mind us starting without you?”

At his call, Masamune was ready in his grip. “Concentrate.” Sephiroth warned, closely surveying the movement of the two snakes.

Cloud moved into position, dashing up to the giant monsters, preparing to take a swing at the half frozen one. Opting for a more defensive position, Sephiroth figured he could let the others take the lead on this battle, so moved to guard Aerith. Finding himself more interested in what Zack would make of the situation, Sephiroth himself didn’t need assurance of his ability to take on such dangers.

The undamaged monster lunged. Pulling himself out of the way, it missed Zack, instead sinking its fangs into the other’s neck with a hissing screech, it whipped its head, managing to finally shake the Soldier free.

Everyone stopped to watch Zack get flung another fifteen feet straight up, flail, right himself and deliver a devastating downward blow as he landed.

With a final stuttering tremor, the giant snake flopped down dead. Pulling his sword free and dismounting safely, Zack punched the air in victory.

There was still one more, which Cloud had his sights set on. He did some major damage in just a few swipes of his sword. Recoiling, the remaining Zolom pulled its fangs free from the other and lunged instead for the blond.

A trail of blue whizzed past and hit the serpent on the nose. Ice exploded, encasing much of its head and neck in jagged formations, courtesy of Aerith. The interception gave Cloud a few extra seconds to react, which he used to make a co-ordinated move with Zack. Both delivering a slash from either side, which finished off the monster with ease.

Impressed, Sephiroth turned to Aerith. “I wasn’t aware you cast so well.”

“Thanks. I prefer to leave the messier work to you boys. I’m not a hack and slash kinda girl.” She grinned, watching Cloud and Zack exchange high-fives. “Hey. How are you feeling now? Did everything go alright with Cloud?” Aerith stopped him before Sephiroth could move.

“Better.” He nodded, appreciative of her concern. “I shall try to prevent a repeat of last night.”

She opened her mouth, but something else caught her attention. Her pleasant visage shifted into one of apprehension. Then Sephiroth felt it- a slight tremor under his feet. Heard the faint sounds of tearing undergrowth until a massive form burst from the ground, even uprooting several low trees and shrubs.

Emerging from the water and earth alike was a Zolom far larger than Sephiroth could have ever imagined.

“You’re kidding me.” Aerith uttered at her side.

An earthy brown, giant hood and sharp amber eyes. Nearly twice the size of the previous two and likely capable of swallowing their military van without trouble.

“You think we killed its babies?” Zack nervously backed off.

Cloud followed, looking just as unprepared for such a gigantic creature. “Those were adults. They often prey on each other, since there’s nothing larger to eat. We probably just killed its lunch for it.”

“Yo, what if they were its babies and its lunch? How metal would that be?” Zack shot a grin at the others, though it lacked its usual confidence.

They finally backed up to where Aerith and Sephiroth watched from the side-lines. Hopefully the snake would just eat and leave?

Making up its mind, the Zolom lunged. Speed impressive despite its size, the serpent struck out and the team scattered.

Grasping Aerith and making a wide bound out of the way, the caster sent forth another bolt to freeze inside the snake’s mouth. Flinching off course, the chilled explosion knocked the monster out of Cloud’s way, preventing him from being snapped up.

A huge coiling mass now separating the group, the Zolom shook its head wildly. Taking advantage of its confusion, Cloud leapt up, making a few neat slices. However, the monster was so massive, it didn’t even react to the attack.

Cloud fell out of sight once again and the Zolom slammed forwards once more. The blond was sent hurtling across the battlefield, he skidded across the muddy floor and splashed into the swampy water somewhere beyond their capsized van.

Slug screeched, hopping out of the way as her rider flew past.

“Oof, he’ll feel that tomorrow.” Aerith winced, preceding to watch Zack also get knocked out of the air in a slightly less impressive fashion. “He’ll feel that, too.”

With one final bite down, the ice spell shattered. With an angry hiss, amber eyes focused now on Sephiroth. Crouching down ready, he waited for the serpent to make its move.

When the attack came, in the form of a bite; the General leapt to meet it.

Recoiling as a long gash from nose to neck was split open, the Zolom couldn’t turn its head in time before the blade sunk into the back of its neck. The beast shuddered, its jaw going slack, but it remained very much alive.

“Incoming!” Zack followed with his own downward swing to the monster’s back, this time with the assistance of his lighting materia enwrapping magic around Buster sword. Like a thunder bolt had struck, the Zolom quivered and gave a mournful hiss.

It turned its head, locking onto the two perched atop its back. A pressure weighed in the air and small orange eyes sparked with some ancient power. The air grew hotter and Sephiroth instantly knew it wasn’t the natural humidity getting the better of him. Heatwaves wrinkled the space around them, Zack bolted out of the radius of the yet unknown magic. Sephiroth however was at its centre and chose instead to throw his own attack.

From a safer distance, the space around Aerith glowed with a primordial incantation as she tried to assist. Sephiroth was enwrapped in a faint power, almost like a barrier spell. Still, his ears continued to pop. A simple swing of his blade wouldn’t be enough to retaliate effectively. Tapping into his own eldritch source to summon up his magic, the intensity of whatever the Zolom was doing held him in place.

Searing heat erupted the same moment as Sephiroth tossed his own magic bolt at the centre of the serpent’s coiled body.

The eruption which took place must have been loud enough to be heard for miles. Everything went dark, as the terrible loudness hammered into his head. Burning, too hot. Like it was trying to scorch him alive.

Ears ringing, the next thing Sephiroth became aware of was the damp ground under his fingers. He was still conscious, if only just, hilt of his sword securely in his hand. Around him faded in the sound of rushing, blades flying and the wounded groan of a gigantic creature.

Blinking away the fog covering his vision, Sephiroth slashed at the writhing body which threatened to wall him in. The head of the snake rose up, hissing widely, its attention elsewhere.

Slug was trying to assist, if the distinct silhouette of their chocobo was any indication. She dashed about, sending out kicks and bites, doing well to divide the beast’s attention.

Whizzing past came the dark shape of Zack, followed by one of the Zolom’s fangs, which pierced the ground a few feet from the General. Everything sounded underwater and he nearly didn’t hear the wild slashes of energy cased blades moving faster than he could keep track of. Aerith cast one last freezing spell, enwrapping the battlefield in a mighty blizzard. Once looking frigid, Zack delivered a series of lightspeed slashes.

With a final skyward summersault and slash, the Zolom swayed unsteadily. It toppled and crashed to the ground, the impact making the earth shake. The beast had been slain.

“Everyone alright?” Aerith called out, her words meeting his ears in disorienting waves.

Sephiroth was still high alert, despite the creature being very much dead. Senses struggled to catch up.

Amongst the burning and the ringing ears, Sephiroth had somehow expected Hojo or one of his lab techs to appear, with reprimands for his poor performance. As it happened, the one to appear quite suddenly in front of him was Aerith. Cursing himself for such feebleness, Sephiroth knew he flinched when she reached out to him.

Instead of whatever his jumbled mind had been expecting, she only smiled understandingly. Kind green eyes and a curative spell of some nature which eased the burning sensation. “Don’t worry, your hair is fine.” Aerith hummed.

Putting together what had happened, the General found his voice. “I think you might have just saved my life.”

Aerith smirked, patting his arm. “Don’t make me regret it.” She was looking pretty haggard too, from the excessive spellcasting.

The healing wasn’t as good as a cure materia, but it seemed to work with speeding up his own healing process also, which worked nicely. They continued until Zack marched a very disgruntled Cloud over to them, from around the massive snake left in the clearing. The blond was drenched in green mud and pond water, now walking with a slight limp.

“Found Cloud.” Zack cheerily reported. “You okay boss? That hit you took was pretty scary.”

“I straight up thought you were dead.” Cloud said with his own not-quite-there-yet expression.

There words no longer such an assault to his senses, Sephiroth nodded. “You have Aerith to thank for that.

Slug squawked her own reply, already taking an interest in the taste testing the fallen Zolom, which had been cooked in places by Sephiroth’s own magic blast.

After a short rest, everyone was back on their feet. Nowhere close to perfect, but able to hold their own if another threat were to rise. Then came the fun part- getting the van out of the marsh. It took all four, well, Aerith mostly cheered them on- but they managed to tip the vehicle back onto its wheels. The inside was a mess of gross water, mud staining and tossed about clutter. The back door was also inoperable and needed to be tied shut with rope. Of course, they made sure to bring the knocked-out fang from the largest Zolom, a trophy for later regaling the tale to others.

Once they were just about back on their wheels, it was time to leave the marsh behind them.

It took until nightfall to find the next town, wherein the receptionist of the inn gave a mortified look which quickly morphed into humour when the muddy group stumbled in.

Deciding that the Zolom had been the final straw to break their ‘relaxing’ week, Cloud conceded to head straight for Junon. The team got onto a highway, travelled a pass through the mountains and stopped for a final night together on the western side of the range.

It was a fun if not bittersweet evening. Sephiroth was fast at picking up new languages, as Aerith discovered, and could now say a few basic things in Ancient. This included asking for directions to the nearest train station. Cloud hadn’t thought the Cetra had those, but what did he know? They all stayed up late into the night, enjoying the last of their time together.

Finally, at ten the next morning, they made it to the portside city.

The group booked their separate ferry tickets, got the van washed and arrived finally at their last few hours together.

Cloud was being distant, which he was well aware of. The thought of having to say goodbye to Aerith and Zack hadn’t really sunk in until the night previous, and had subsequently disturbed his sleep. For all its problems, this had been the most enjoyable week Cloud had had in possibly years.

It wouldn’t be for long, a month maybe, and he’d be back with them. Still, he couldn’t shake the feeling that there was something very final about this departure. Now, as the ferry bound for Costa Del Sol was being loaded and their remaining hours turned to minutes, the Mercenary felt lost.

“Hey Spiky.” A familiar voice called out.

Cloud turned from where he overlooked the portside, noting that Zack was alone. “Hey.”

The other joined him, mirroring Cloud’s pose. “Looks like someone doesn’t want the band to split.”

“You could say that.”

Zack hummed a laugh at that, one which affirmed his empathy. “Been meaning to ask you… I, uh, hope this doesn’t sound too crazy, but… that friend you mentioned, the one who helped you out, taught you to fight? That was me, wasn’t it?”

Cloud had to do a double take, make sure he’d heard correctly. He spun to face the taller man, head suddenly too full of questions. All Cloud could do was nod, his tongue frozen in place.

Possibly expecting such a reaction, Zack continued, his tone gentle. “I think I knew from our first meeting. That there was something there, uh… familiarity, that’s the word. But I guess it grew and I started noticing more.” He smoothed a hand through his unruly hair. “I guess I’m trying to say I feel like I’ve known you longer than a few weeks.”

“Seven years, that’s how long we knew each other.” Cloud’s throat was dry.

Zack cast his gaze out over the harbour. “Yeah, sounds about right. Something kinda bad happened to us, didn’t it?”

Personally, Cloud would have gone for something a little stronger than ‘kinda bad’ to describe their five years of hell. He shouldn’t have expected much more than that from Zack, the forever ray of sunshine he was. Cloud nodded once more, “Enough to make you ditch Shinra, too.”

“Thought so.” The Soldier heaved a long sigh. Cloud wondered what terrible suspicion he was confirming for his friend. “Ya know, it’s been really nice getting to know you again. I don’t remember exactly what went on last time, but this time’s gonna be different. You, me, Aerith, Seph. We’re a team now, and we’ll be back together in no time, just you wait and see.”

Cloud gave a sentimental smile when Zack ruffled his hair. “Yeah, you were always right.” He murmured.

“Okay, Cloud we’re all ready. Slug and Seph are already onboard.” Aerith announced, jogging over. “Aww you! Chin up. Don’t look so gloomy, you’re goin’ to Costa Del Sol!”

The Cetra never did miss a beat when it came to him. When she beckoned them in for a group hug, for once, Cloud didn’t hesitate.

“PHS reception can get pretty dicey in Gongaga, but I’ll text as much as I can.” Zack reassured.

“You’ll be fine, it’s just Sephiroth, you can handle him. It’s that damn bird who’ll be the problem.” Aerith joked.

Cloud didn’t really care about whatever was about to happen to him, his concern was completely for his two friends. “Don’t get into any trouble, okay? I’m counting on you two.” He urged, stamping down his emotion.

Aerith urged him to start moving and reluctantly, Cloud let go. “Oh please, it’s Gongaga. If the Turks show up, we’ll just make them tea and cake. I reckon they’re waiting for us in Nibelheim, that’ll be a shock to them.”

They moved to the edge of the pier and Cloud hopped aboard. “I-. It’s been really good to see you both again.” He wished he was better with words.

“Really good?” Aerith jokingly scoffed. “I’ll leave you to come up with a better compliment than that. Have a good trip, say hi to the others for me.”

“Love ya, Spiky!” Zack called as he and the other bystanders were herded away from the platform, all huge grin and big wave.

Cloud’s heart echoed the statement, knowing he’d start missing them instantly. This time would be different, he promised himself a second time. This time they’d all be together again.

Chapter Text

Cloud had forgotten how arduous the ferry trip between Junon and Costa Del Sol was. It felt so slow, moving across the water. Being friends with both Cid and Reeve, crossing the continents was usually no issue at all, both happy to save him a seat on their various airships.

The journey took several long hours and Cloud passed them in moderate boredom. Slug, who was shut in the shared pen with the other chocobo, was causing havoc. He’d had to apologise for her unsociable behaviour numerous times. The bird had invented the game of acting cute to lure in onlookers, then pecking them once within reach.

Meanwhile, Sephiroth had been recognised by the other passengers. For a while, he withstood the social interaction. Cloud didn’t listen in, but from the reaction of those he conversed with, the General was casually spilling a few more of Shinra’s grim secrets… or he’d said something offensive, it was hard to tell.

Eventually, with the vessel run by the company and guarded by its military, Sephiroth seized the opportunity to hide out in the employee only areas.

There was much talk of the brewing conflict with Wutai. Apparently, diplomats from the island nation had been trying to reach out and make deals with Shinra. By the look of things, this last-ditch attempt to avoid what would be a clear massacre was met with deaf ears.

The clock was ticking for Wutai, and Cloud had no clue how to prevent the oncoming skirmish. Dismantling Soldier would only prevent so much, if the company had their eyes glued hungrily on their next step closer to world domination.

Finally, the ferry docked. Late evening, a few early summer parties were still running on the beachside and in the mixture of clubs through the town. Despite turning overcast with a chilled wind rolling off the sea, there were still a well-sized gathering of people about.

Slug enjoyed the sand under her feet, while Cloud and Sephiroth discussed their next action. Once the chocobo realised she could kick it into people’s eyes, the group were forced to move on. The next leg of the trip would be an overnight train ride to Corel, which both decided to head straight for.

Catching a midnight cross-country train, a very angry Slug was again locked up in her own compartment, where she would undoubtedly bully the other birds. Finding their own seats, Cloud was at least able to get a few hours of sleep.

“Hello?”

“Hey Tifa.” Cloud cheerily greeted.

“Cloud! We’ve been trying to call you, I was starting to get worried.” Relief was clear in her voice.

Guiltily, the blond picked at a loose thread on the knee of his pants. “Ah, sorry, we were knocking around southeast of Junon for a week. We’re on the train now, we’ll be in Corel in three hours.”

“Oh wow! I’ll meet you at the station. We’re so looking forward to seeing you, even Vincent, but you know he’ll never tell you.” She chuckled. “Who’s with you? Aerith?”

“Nah, I’ve got Seph. Aerith and Zack split ways to Gongaga, to help out the situation there.”

“Who did you say? Cait Sith?” Tifa asked.

Cloud held the PHS up with his shoulder, as he added a milk and two sugars to his coffee. “I’ve got Sephiroth. Oh, and the bird. Her name’s Slug, she’s an asshole, you’ll hate her.”

There came a pause from the other side then an awkwardly forced laugh. “Gods, you must be in a good mood… Listen, I’ll meet you later alright? I gotta go.”

The two exchanged goodbyes and hung up. “Thanks.” He tried the coffee Sephiroth had just brought back, opting to add a third sugar. Turning his PHS around to show his traveling companion the many images of adorable animals and ‘miss you already’ messages Zack had sent.

Sephiroth nodded but didn’t appear too taken by the collection of puppies and kittens wearing silly hats and glasses. “Your friends are aware I’ll be present, are they not?”

Cloud nodded. Then he really processed the question and stilled, stopping mid sip of his drink. He’d told Tifa, right? An alliance with Sephiroth was a pretty big deal, he couldn’t have gotten through their handful of calls without mentioning that, right?

In front of him, Sephiroth sighed, arms crossed. “I suggest calling her back.”

Trying to retain a little dignity, Cloud shook his head, trying to appear like this was in his control. “No, its fine, we’ll be there soon. I just warned her anyway, it’s fine.”
Sephiroth rose an eyebrow but otherwise stayed silent.

Boredom made Cloud retrieve his small travel sewing kit from his bag, and stitch up the several slices to Sephiroth’s favourite coat, as well as his own clothes from their scuffle several days back. Eventually, the terrain outside the window, became a jumble of odd hillsides and pine trees.

In the distance sat the huge scaffold structures of the Corel mining operation, ferrying carts both empty and filled with coal. It was quite exciting, Cloud had never seen the town in its glory, or the mining structures in use. He’d climbed them a few times, either passing by or clearing out monsters for the locals, but by that point they were dilapidated and structurally unsound after years of neglect.

The train rolled into an old timey looking station, immaculately kept, with hanging flowers and rich burgundy accents along its archways. Standing proudly on the opposite trainline waited a grand steam engine, well-polished and chugging fumes as a good number of passengers were loaded onto it.

There were a large amount of people waiting at the station, some reading posters advertising nearby attractions, lined at the refreshment counter or squeezing through the crowd with their luggage. It reminded the blond of what Barret had told them, about how this whole area used to be a major tourist hotspot on this side of the continent, not just the Gold Saucer amusement park.

Sephiroth dipped into the information booth, while Cloud went to retrieve Slug. Tying her reigns tighter to serve as a quick muzzle, he waited until most of the passengers had left the station or changed trains, not trusting the bird to behave in a crowd.

Then, he saw Tifa.

Slug stumbled when Cloud hurried forward. “Hey!”

With a gasp, Tifa ran to meet him, throwing her arms around his neck without hesitation. “Cloud! I was so worried. I know I didn’t have to be, but don’t tell me that.”
She smiled brightly, moving back to hold him at an arm’s length. “Wow, you look really good.”

“Uh, thanks. You too.” He supposed he had been sleeping better than usual, getting a lot of sun and actually having an enjoyable time. She too looked brighter, more so than when he’d last seen her months ago, when they were still together in Edge.

“And this must be Slug, was it?” She smiled up at the chocobo, who Cloud now noticed was circling the woman in an aggressive display. “Funny name.”

Quickly, he stepped between them, noting the bird was missing a few patches of feathers from whoever she’d challenged in the holding pen. “Oh yeah, don’t get too close. She likes to grab hair, give black eyes and try to steal fingers.” At Tifa’s questioning look, he continued, “Only cost hundred and fifty gil.”

She just shook her head, laughing quietly. “So, you wanna go find the others? I think Barret should be out of-.” Then her gaze landed on something just over Cloud’s shoulder, her posture suddenly rigid.

Realising what the catalyst for such might have been, Cloud followed her stare.

Sauntering out of the information booth came Sephiroth, mulling over a small handful of leaflets. He must have been an undoubtedly baffling sight to Tifa, with his hair tied loosely back and clad in one of his homely woollen jumpers. “I was unaware that so much was located around this area, the local quarry looks interesting.” The once wannabe God stated. Finally glancing up from his pamphlets and noting Cloud’s friend. “Greetings, you must be Tifa, if I’ve heard correct.”

When Sephiroth stepped up to Cloud’s side, Tifa stepped back. Something between confusion and horror replacing her cheery countenance. It took her a moment to form words. “W- what-, what the hell is…?”

“Uh, so I might have forgotten to mention a few-.” Cloud tried.

But Tifa was glaring daggers at the newcomer. “Oh, you think?!” She just stared bewildered, stuck, having been thrown into such an unexpected situation.

“… Maybe we should go talk somewhere?” Cloud awkwardly suggested.

Tifa nodded a few times, her jaw set and fists clenched. “Yeah… Come with me.”

Both followed as Tifa turned to leave. They took a right, off the street, around the back of the train station. Entering an area which while not secluded was still without the prying eyes or ears of others. She kept a careful watch of the two as she led them, briefly pulling out her PHS and muttering her location and a few random words, which must have been some established code between the group.

Whatever Sephiroth thought of this, he made no comment, instead shooting a scathing look at Cloud. “I told you to call ahead.”

Finally coming to a stop amongst a gravel clearing, framed by piles of old steel, large weeds and chain-link fences, Tifa fell into a ready stance, anticipating danger.

Letting Slug’s reigns fall slack, Cloud took a careful step forward. “Listen, Tifa. Uhh, everything’s fine, I should have been clearer.”

But Tifa ignored him once more. “What have you done to him?” She hissed at the General.

Sephiroth muttered something along the lines of “Not instilled enough common sense into him, apparently.” Though after a loud cough from Cloud, he continued a little more courteous. “I’m afraid I don’t follow. I believe there’s been something of a misunderstanding.” He stayed completely calm, impassive as ever.

“Bullshit!” The woman sneered back.

Cloud stepped forwards again, hands up, nonthreatening. “He’s telling the truth. No one’s tried to get into with my head, not once. I messed up, I thought I told you already. Sephiroth is on our side, he’s ditched Soldier.”

At her questioning look, Sephiroth gave a nod. “Cloud is correct. Shinra is no longer a banner I wish to serve under.”

“What? So you have morals now?” She laughed mockingly. “How am I supposed to believe you when you have that thing between you?” She motioned to her head, nodding between them both.

“Yeah, that’s how we found each other. We still share S cells, but we’re the only ones, right now. You’ve gotta trust me, Tifa. It’s nothing like it was back then. If it was, I’d have killed him.” Cloud turned back to Sephiroth. “No offence.”

The other shrugged. “None taken. From what you’ve relayed, you’d have been within your rights to.”

Slug scratched at the floor, sensing animosity in the air. The crunching of gravel beneath her claws accompanying the growl rattling from her beak.

“And Jenova?” Tifa asked, somewhat losing some of her fight from Cloud’s appeal, but remaining sceptical.

“A problem, but one we’re dealing with.” The blond assured. “Look at him, look at his dumb sweater. You can’t possibly say he’s the same as our Sephiroth.”

“You don’t like my sweater?”

There was a hint of understanding upon her features, though Tifa remained ready to move at a second’s notice.

Cloud tried to smile in a way which didn’t look too forced. “Seriously. It’s been fine, we’ve just travelled with Zack and Aerith for a week. She likes him and she remembers; hell, I think they’re planning on starting a book club or something. No mind fuckery, no bullshit.”

Tifa looked long and hard into Cloud’s eyes, he held her stare.

Daringly, he reached forwards once more, slowly, understanding how badly he’d messed up. “I’m not asking you to trust him, but trust me. Please?”

After a long and agonising moment, Tifa’s shoulders relaxed, even if slightly. “It’s really just you in there?”

“Hundred percent genuine idiot.” Cloud opened his arms in mock presentation.

“I could have told you that.” Tifa remained wary but softened, apparently liking his answer.

“Likewise.” Sephiroth agreed. “I did tell him to check whether my presence would be approved.”

She opened her mouth in what might have been a scathing reply, if not for being interrupted as sound was heard overhead. Descending from above, a swath of red and black cascaded to pool silently between Tifa and the others. With a click, there was a gun levelled at Sephiroth’s head.

Heavy boots scuffed the gravel at their back as a second approached. “What the hell?” Panted an out of breath Barret, as he squinted in disbelief at the gathering of people.

Cloud turned to see the man pointing his own weapon at their unexpected visitor’s back. Sephiroth didn’t move, but like a struck match, his urge to fight was fizzling just beneath his calm exterior.

“Woah, woah. Everyone settle down.” Cloud held up his hands, urging the others to wait. “It’s fine, it’s just us.”

“What the hell?!” Barret repeated. He shot a questioning look to Tifa.

Cloud rolled his eyes, hating the crawling feeling this fiasco was giving him. “Yeah, I know. Lovely to see you too, big guy.”

Tifa sighed, crossing her arms and just looking exasperated, rather than annoyed. “Calm down, guys. Situation’s under control.”

“I- uh, under-, under control?!” Barret shouted in disbelief.

“Yes.” She assured firmly. “Though Cloud has some explaining to do.”

The blond finally moved, trying to quiet their chocobo. “Sure, sure. Later. I think I need a drink now.” It took a few attempts to get close to Slug, with her trying to headbutt him, her feathers puffed up and short wings flapping.

After a few seconds longer pause, all guns were lowered. So too did Sephiroth’s coiled stance, though he still carefully eyed the two who had just been threatening him.

“So.” Cloud forced a smile. “Sephiroth, this is Barret and Vincent.” He motioned between the three of them. “Both of them are going to lower the weapons and neither of them are going to do anything stupid.”

“Good day to you both.” Came their old enemy’s measured but cold greeting.

Barret gave an awkward chuckle. “Wish I could say the same. A warning ahead of time would’ve been nice.”

“As we’ve established.” Tifa interrupted, now looking exasperated. She finally moved, stepping around the group and heading back in the direction they’d arrived in.
“Come on, I need that drink too. It’s done now, there’s no point in standing about arguing.”

The following short walk back through Corel was horribly tense. Sephiroth kept his cool, but Cloud had spent enough time around him to know the man was on high alert. He was also more annoyed with Cloud than his friends, which the blond had to accept was understandable.

Tifa announced that they could go back to her flat, though was careful to withhold the invitation from Sephiroth. The General promptly stated that he would depart from the group to find an inn and stable to house Slug. Reluctantly, he took the reins from Cloud and immediately had his hand bitten.

Cloud hadn’t failed to notice how Vincent, who stuck to the back of the group, never took his eyes from their unexpected guest. As Sephiroth disappeared, the gunman followed after him, keeping a distance and seemingly melting into the shadows. Those remaining were led back to Tifa’s rooms.

It was a cramped flat, located above a laundry shop. The building, despite being one of the more modern structures, was lacking in upkeep. Inside, the furniture was mismatching and was devoid of any details which might have made it homely, a testament to how the occupant didn’t intend on staying long.

“I’m sorry. I just don’t buy it.” Barret shrugged after another round of the blond trying to explain the last several months.

Across the drab room, Tifa nodded as she leaned against the doorframe. “Cloud, as many times as you insist he’s ‘just a sad nerd’, it’s still Sephiroth. I don’t care if he’s done with Shinra or has no past memory, it’s still him, and that makes him a massive liability.”

Taking another sip of his drink, Cloud sighed. He understood their trepidation but it was still hard not to get annoyed. Besides, this discussion would have needed to happen whether he’d informed them ahead of time or not. “I get it, but I think I’d know if I was being controlled. I’ve gotten pretty good at telling when things are poking around in my head.”

“That might be so, but I’m thinking more of him holding influence over you. He might not have a whole lot of sense himself but you can’t deny he had a way with manipulation.” Tifa said.

To Cloud’s left on the sofa, Barret made a noise of agreement.

“I’m not sure he can even do that anymore. I dunno which of his abilities were channelled through Jenova. There’s been no mind control, no illusions, no weird wings or transforming into weird shit…” Cloud trailed off as the door softly opened.

The group turned as Vincent slipped almost silently into the flat. He was met with expectant looks from all three.
“He has chosen to occupy the inn on main street. The twelfth room.”

Cloud wasn’t sure why they all looked so relieved. It wasn’t like the guy would start looking for trouble… perhaps he had been spending too much time with Sephiroth lately… “You know Aerith was able to extend her trust to him. She knew right away there was a distinction between his and Jenova’s will. I figured that too, just by talking.”

At the mention of Aerith, the others seemed to lose some of their fight, like they didn’t quite know what to say to progress. In the end, Barret chuckled, “Course she did.” He remarked fondly.

Tifa poured a glass for Vincent. “What’s your impression of him?”

The gunman didn’t look too interested in partaking in their drinking, but accepted the glass with a nod regardless. “My memories of past conflicts are still repairing. However, my Others are greatly perturbed by his presence.” He paused, running a finger along the rim of the glass, while he lingered by the wall. “Personally, I am… conflicted. I don’t yet know how I should progress.”

Barret was next to break the silence which momentarily gripped the room. “I know I don’t like the guy, but would it help trying to reconnect? Fate’s dealt you a second chance, and we’ve got your back, whatever happens.”

Vincent replied with a grunt, but didn’t grace them with a further response. From the other side of the small room, Tifa finished her drink, placing the glass on the countertop with more force than required. Inwardly, Cloud winced at her sour mood, as she began losing ground on her argument. The ‘us VS him’ steadily shifting to ‘us and him’.

She continued, “I assume learning the truth didn’t make him lose his mind and start killing people this time?”

“About that…” Cloud muttered.

Barret rose an eyebrow. “You’ve not told him?”

Cloud replied with a non-committal noise. “I’ve told him bits. Not the whole truth though, I didn’t want history to repeat itself.”

“Good.” Barret instantly looked a whole lot more content.

Tifa frowned. “What have you said?”

“That he was under the control of Shinra. Haven’t really mentioned Jenova a whole lot. He knows she isn’t his mom.”

But the woman heaved a sigh, shaking her head. “Are you sure that’s wise?”

“Of course it is.” Barret answered. “Less he knows the better, I say.”

At everyone’s curious looks, Vincent contributed to the discussion with a shrug.

Yet again, Tifa sighed. “I understand your worry, Cloud. But I’m not sure you’re making the right choice on this. On any of this, actually.”

“Listen.” Cloud tried a final appeal. “Let me say this, then I’ll let it rest for now. When all that shit went down, ten or whatever years ago, I was an asshole who didn’t even know who I was. You guys still managed to trust me, hell, you even let me lead the group, even when I’d done more than enough to prove I was a huge liability. I was losing my mind and I don’t think things would have improved had you all not been backing me up. I’m asking that you extend a fraction of that trust to Seph. He might surprise you too.”

An air of contemplation settled among them. Until suddenly, Barret laughed. “You’re fucking him, aren’t you?!”

Cloud nearly choked on his drink. “No! Piss off, Barret.” That wasn’t how he wanted that heartfelt plea to be taken.

“You’re not, are you?” Tifa scowled across, looking highly offended.

“No!” Cloud insisted. A soft noise had him turning to Vincent, to see a gold glint in his eyes and a sharp smirk. The blond jabbed a finger over at him. “Hey! Don’t act like you know shit, Chaos.”

Barret held his hand up but continued laughing. “Look, I’m not judging. Everyone’s got their thing, right? If gettin’ back at your arch nemesis by fucking their brains out is yours, then cool.”

“Barret.” Cloud growled in warning, feeling the heat rising to his face and absolutely not flashing back to the morning him and Sephiroth had woken up cuddling.

“It’d be like a control thing, right? I just said I’m not judging. Honestly it’s kinda badass.” Barret continued at Cloud’s expense, barely containing his laughter.

Cloud moved to argue back, but Tifa thankfully stepped in. “Enough. Planning heads on now, please. What’s our next move? How soon do we want to head for Nibelheim and how much danger will we be in by taking Sephiroth?”

Eager to change the subject, Cloud replied quickly. “A few people are making excuses to cover his absence, but we’re unsure how long for. He’s been sent to Nibelheim to deal with the monsters anyway, so hopefully Shinra won’t be on his back for a while longer.” He explained, casting a final glare at Barret.

“Have you seen the news? The nasty stuff hanging around that whole mountain is causing havoc. Last I heard, they’re thinking of evacuating the village and stopping travel into there.” Barret said, still trying to control his laughter.

That got Cloud’s attention. “What, really? She’s pissed then, Jenova.”

“Looks that way.” Tifa muttered. She looked up from where she’d been poking at a bump in the wooden doorframe to carefully meet the blonde’s eye. “Like I said, what’s the liability?”

Cloud picked at a stray thread on his shirt. “We had an incident where Jenova managed some sway over him. It was only for a minute or so and no harm was done.
Before you jump to conclusions, he didn’t know it could happen. We’ve talked about it, he knows what to do next time and he apologised.” If the exercise here was convincing them to trust the man, Cloud wasn’t about to mention how they’d both tried to kill each other.

No one appeared best pleased, but apart from some unsavoury looks, they didn’t comment.

“So she’ll be a problem, just more so than we planned for, with him in tow.” Tifa summarised. “If you’ve not seen the news, you haven’t heard about the leaks, right?”
“Leaks?” Cloud frowned.

“A load of Shinra’s dirty laundry has been coming out in the press. Tons, from years back, before we were born up to recent. They think someone really sneaky hacked into the files for high-ranking staff members, or it’s an inside job.” She clarified.

Cloud perked up at that. “Seriously?” He almost laughed. “That was him. That was Sephiroth. He talked to the press and,- look, I’ll explain later, what’s the plan?”

At that, Tifa looked genuinely surprised, but continued regardless. “We could set out tomorrow morning. Catch the trainline west. It takes three days to get up there, then we can enter through the village for supplies and the safest route up the mountain. Heavy storms have been forecast, but that won’t delay us much, unless they’re really bad. If the rain closes the lines, then it won’t add too much time on, I don’t think.”

Barret held up a hand. “No way, I’m coming too.”

“You’ve changed your mind?” Tifa looked surprised.

“Well, you threw a spanner in the works when ya turned up with Sephiroth. No chance I’m letting you go without backup. Give me three days. We’ve got a town hall meeting about the reactor I need to be at, then we can go.”

Cloud nodded, fine with the later start. “How’s that been going?”

Barret smiled confidently. “A lot better now Reeve’s been getting involved. He made up a load of crap about the land being unstable, thanks to the controlled explosions in the quarry and the mining operations. The only people who have the knowhow to counter his points are the ones who don’t want their livelihoods replaced by the reactor. There’s a good chance we’ll have this debate over sooner than planned.”

“Hey, that’s great news. I’m glad Reeve came through. He said he’d provide support in Gongaga, too. That’s where Zack and Aerith have gone.” Cloud said, giving his friend a congratulatory nudge to his arm.

“Zack?” Barret blinked. “Wait he’s...?”

“What?”

Barret frowned, a discontented look in his eyes. “He’s real?”

“Barret!” Tifa scolded.

Cloud just stared for a moment, not knowing how to react. “You thought I’d made him up?” It had been hard, even after they group had stopped traveling together. Speaking about Sephiroth had become a sore subject with anyone other than Tifa but mentions of Zack were almost taboo. As if his friend was synonymous with Cloud’s mental instability, despite how much clearer his head felt, once he was able to separate his memories from Zack’s.

At the idea that Barret, let alone the rest of them thought the Soldier was a mere figment of his distorting mind, was painful. Cloud wasn’t sure whether he wanted to laugh or cry at that admission.

“Well sorry!” The other man tried, squirming under Tifa’s burning gaze. “Ya can’t really blame me.”

Tifa directed a much softer look at the blond. “I’m glad you were able to reconnect with him.” She smiled.

Cloud returned her warmth as best he could.

“The Turks passed through two days previous.” Vincent spoke up. “They left westward.”

“Really? They were probably looking for Aerith.” Cloud guessed. It was about time they took note of her absence. Well, that sufficiently slashed their available time, considering she’d disappeared the same day as Zack’s mission, it didn’t take a genius to guess where she might be.

Well, they’d cross that bridge when it presented itself. That had always been the plan with the Turks, one which had worked up to this point.

Cloud glanced at the time, finding it to be early evening. He stood and stretched his back. “I’m gonna go update Sephiroth, let him know you all aren’t planning on executing him, or whatever.”

“Who said that’s off the table?” Tifa joked. “You can stay here tonight, if you like? Be good to catch up. We can talk about equipment when you’re back.”

“Yeah. Sounds good.” Saying goodbye for a short while, Cloud stepped out.

It would be great to stay up late talking to Tifa, learning everything his friends had gotten up to in the last few months. But at the same time, he found himself looking forward to informing Sephiroth of their plan. They’d just spent a whole week in each other’s company, he wasn’t missing him already, surely. He shouldn’t be missing him at all.

Cloud had briefly considered his friends’ reaction to their old foe. He’d though that, if they didn’t approve of him, then he would leave Sephiroth at the drop of a hat. No fuss, no loss.
But now, as he waited, secluded from the group, Cloud realised he didn’t like the thought of any of them being left behind.

Chapter Text

Three days. Three in Corel and three by train traveling cross-country to Nibelheim.

Though he wasn’t particularly looking forward to any of it, considering the tense atmosphere set by Cloud’s friends, Sephiroth refused to complain. It wasn’t the worst mission he’d been tasked with, after all. Maybe once this ‘Jenova’ had been neutralised, the troublesome occurrences he’d been recently burdened with would fade also.

That was what Cloud had assured, and if he was correct, it would prove Sephiroth wasn’t degrading. For now, he tried to stop such invasive thoughts from gaining a permanent foothold in his mind.

The room acquired at the inn was at least nice and had enough space to accommodate Cloud, if he chose to stay. Sephiroth had to admit he’d been rather put-out when the blond had dropped by, only to announce he’d be staying with his other friend, Tifa. The woman who had survived him not once but twice, so Cloud had said. That fact alone made her worthy of note. By experience, the fire in her eyes was enough to prove what he’d been told.

Though they were certainly a quirky group, Cloud’s friends were of little importance. So long as they could carry their own weight, Sephiroth would tolerate them.

It would be nice to pass the time by looking around the town, maybe even going to view the quarry or the huge tracks the mining vehicles rode over. The morning was grey and threatened rain later, not liking the idea of wasting a day, Sephiroth set out to peruse the town.

Not long into his walk he found a laundry place, to bundle in any washing still tainted with mud and swamp water. Then, he dipped into a book shop and selected something to help stave off the boredom.

The cashier of the shop gave him a wide smile of recognition, and on the way out Sephiroth noted a poster in their window. It displayed the image of a bright gleaming reactor and the text ‘A new future for Corel’.

The opinion of Shinra around these parts was clearly conflicted. Especially with emotions running high as the final meetings regarding the newly proposed development were coming to a head. Those eager to see a new wave of technology in the aged town, greeted him warmly. Others who were more opposed to change wore a look of nervousness, that Shinra had possibly summoned their war hero to hurry a decision from the community.

Concerned his presence might evoke a negative response, that might impact their cause, Sephiroth decided to keep his appearances to a minimum. Calling off his walk early, Sephiroth returned to his room.

Supposing he had better keep a line of contact open, in case Zack needed, he switched on his PHS for the first time in over a week. Before the device had even fully booted up, Sephiroth was already receiving a flood of notifications. Eight missed calls from Heidegger, nineteen from Tseng and a host more from various private extensions within the Shinra building.

Ah.

There was also a simple message received early that morning, from Zack. It read, ‘Heading into Gongaga area now, don’t expec phone signal. Will give update in few days.’

Sephiroth repressed a sigh, but without dwelling on his unease, quickly dialled Heidegger’s number. It rang for long enough that he wondered whether it would go to voicemail. Eventually, the line clicked and a gruff voice came through.
“General?”

“Sir.” Greeted Sephiroth simply.

There was a short bark of laughter, though it was clear the executive found none of this exchange amusing. “So good of you to finally check in.” The sarcasm was clear in his voice. “Report, now. Where are you?”

“I’m currently in Corel and will be shortly making my way to Nibelheim.”

Heidegger stuttered about. “Dare I ask why you’re in Corel?”

“I see you’re having trouble convincing the populace to allow a reactor on their land. Thanks to Reeve’s pathetic negotiation, I have recognised a need to step in and assist. Though at this point, it looks entirely possible that a deal will fail.” Sephiroth channelled his instant annoyance at hearing the Director’s voice. “I have also been made aware that a development team will be in Gongaga for reactor repairs. Which is where I have sent my Lieutenant.”

There came a growl from the other side of the line. “I don’t recall giving my permission for either of those deviations. Have you been in Corel all week, or did you find other ways to avoid your responsibilities?”

As much as he disliked Heidegger, Sephiroth also had an aversion to derailing his missions. He’d always been one for following his directions to the letter, and wouldn’t dream of pulling anything like this with Lazard. Indeed, his current boss only had to look through Sephiroth’s past missions to know there was something amiss going on here. “We made various stop-offs at military outposts between Kalm and the eastern coastal boarder, to check our forces will be ready for combat, should they be necessary in our upcoming conflict.” He continued before Heidegger could, leaving a bite of annoyance in his tone, to push his point. “We were disappointed by what we found and our travel was hampered by multiple breakdowns, thanks to ill-kept equipment. I thought it best to send Fair to assist in Gongaga, lest Shinra’s reputation fall further by the wayside.

“I would have it noted that my Lieutenant was initially opposed to our detour, though after the incompetence witnessed by us both, he too decided it was in our best interest to oversee Reeve’s scheduled reactor repairs.” Sephiroth allowed his annoyance to show.

“Fine, fine!” Heidegger shouted down the phone. “In your absence, the situation in the west has changed. We have reports that squads of our personnel have been ambushed or gone missing around the Nibelheim area and monster sightings have occurred as far as Rocket Town.” Heidegger continued. “An evacuation plan is being devised, so your assistance will be required for that also.”

“Understood. I can be there in three days from my current position.” Granted the trainlines stayed open…

“Also, Hojo has personally requested that you stay within the area. He seems to have made a discovery of sorts and will be arriving in Nibelheim in the next few weeks.”

That didn’t bode well. “A discovery of what nature?”

“Hah! Don’t ask me! You think I understand anything that smart-ass says?” Heidegger laughed mockingly.

Stifling another sigh, Sephiroth replied. “No. Of course you wouldn’t.” He hoped his tone was just as scathing as the Executive’s. “Thank you for the update, I will leave Reeve to sort out his own mess in Corel and continue onto Nibelheim.”

“Good. I want a situation report when you arrive and I request you keep in mind that chat you had with the President. Remember you’re on thin ice. He may not be so lenient when he hears your mission debrief.” Heidegger warned before hanging up.

Sephiroth wouldn’t call having his travel around Midgar monitored and restricted ‘lenient’, but that hardly mattered. He supposed that could have gone worse and he managed to keep his cool even though Heidegger’s voice alone made him see red.

Taking a steadying breath, Sephiroth chose not to dawdle. Tseng was next.

Unlike Heidegger, the call was answered by the second ring.
“Where are you?” The Turk instantly questioned.

“Tseng.” Sephiroth greeted, trying to set a more even pace to their conversation. “I’m in Corel.”

“And who is with you in Corel?” Personal experience taught him the man’s tone was set firm to mask something of greater intensity.

That made both of them then. How interesting, the Turk wasn’t often one to anger. “Merely myself. I’m on my way to Nibelheim. If you’re concerned for Aerith’s safety, worry not. She and Lieutenant Fair arrived today in Gongaga.” He spoke calmly.

The line went quiet for a moment, as if the man on the other end was heaving a sigh of relief. “Do you have any idea the position you put us in, taking her out of Midgar? Without our agreement?”

He didn’t really understand why he’d need the okay from the Turks for a civilian matter. Perhaps they truly cared more for her safety than he’d realised. “Our mission required several detours which were safe for civilian accompaniment. She asked to come along after learning Fair would be required to spend some time away. I agreed. I don’t see why that would have required authorisation from your division.”

“… I can’t tell whether you’re playing dumb or seriously don’t understand her significance.” Tseng replied.

“She’s imparted some of her history onto myself- I’m aware her mother died in an escape attempt from Hojo when she was very young. I’ve also seen she has a clear talent for spellcasting.” He answered honestly.

“I suppose no one cared to tell you. Aerith is the last known decedent of the Ancients, possibly the last in existence. She is more valuable than you could possibly imagine.” Tseng did well to keep his frustration at bay. “That is why our division is interested.”

Struck dumb, it was Sephiroth’s turn to take a beat of silence. “If I’d been aware of that, I’d have disallowed her attendance.” He wasn’t kidding either. “Does Fair know?”

“Only if she’s told him, that information is need-to-know. Though I was intending to make him aware, considering he looks to be remaining a part of the girl’s life for the time being.”

Zack better have been clueless, or he’d be finding himself in serious trouble. “Then my sincere apologies for the trouble I’ve caused.” The oversight gave him genuine displeasure, he’d always got on well with Tseng, which might have just saved him and Zack from even more serious trouble.

“So long as we can bring her in safe and well, then there’ll be no issues. I don’t believe you knowingly caused a situation, it’s not like that information is general knowledge.” Tseng conceded.

Sephiroth knew he’d just dodged a bullet. “No, you rather caught me off guard. You know it’s never Soldier’s intent to step on the toes of other departments.” He further apologised.

“Of course. I’m aware.” The tension on the other side of the line eased. “Have you been updated on the Nibelheim situation?” He spoke conversationally, or as much as Tseng could on a business call.

“I’ve been informed of the evacuation.”

“Indeed. Have you seen the images of the monsters, or the damage they’re causing? Not that I doubt your ability at all, but they’re like nothing I’ve seen before.” Tseng cautioned.

His warning was blown off without much care. “I’m aware of some details, though not all. Tseng, I would urge you to look into an entity known as Jenova. Though perhaps do so with discretion and away from Hojo’s eyes specifically.”

“Is that something we’ll need to be aware of?”

“Potentially the reason for our issues in the Nibel region. It’s something I’m sure you’ll be interested in.” Sephiroth eluded, not fully sure what they’d find but knowing that if anyone stood a chance at figuring how Jenova linked Shinra, himself and the disaster currently unfolding, it would be the Turks.

Tseng hummed in consideration. “I see. We’ll keep it in mind. We’re rather busy at present, I assume you’ve been made aware of the data breach we experienced?”

Yet another thing he’d have to edge around. “It is most troubling. I’ve only heard mention of it via the news, I’m expecting to have a full brief once I get back to HQ. I assume the Turks have been given the task of finding those responsible?”

“We’ve traced the incident back to three non Shinra-funded press organisations. We believe they hired someone to access employee files. Leading to unreported and mislaid data falling into the wrong hands.” Tseng gave a mute sigh. “The more I’m looking into this the more I’m starting to see that the Turks are the only division capable of adequately filing their paperwork.”

“My thoughts go out to you. I’ve no doubt you’ll get to the bottom of this.” Sephiroth thanked the Gods for Shinra’s shoddy management of secrets and potentially damaging data. Still, even if they tracked the breach to him, by that time, their situation would have shifted. These sorts of matters were never solved quickly, especially if the culprit was discreet, which he had been. “My apologies again for the added stress I’ve caused, but know that Aerith is quite safe.”

Tseng hummed at that, a good-natured sound. “Your confidence is welcome. And no harm done, we’ll bring her back in and collect Fair when their work in Gongaga is complete. Just a warning- you might have to beg forgiveness from Reno, I’ve had him flying the length of the western continent searching for her.”

“Noted.” Sephiroth smiled. “Good speaking to you, Tseng.”

“Before you go…” The other added. “Sephiroth, have you been alright? I don’t mean to pry, but I noted the unauthorised diversion from your mission. I’d also heard about your reprimand from the President and the travel ban he landed you with.”

And there it was. “Ah, yes. I’m not proud to admit that I haven’t been performing at my required standard. I’m sure the President and Heidegger had good reason for such punishment. I suppose I’ve been stressed and cooped up in Midgar for nearly a year. Hojo recommended I extend our trip where possible, to fix these issues.” He said almost mechanically.

Tseng appeared to give this some thought. “It has been a long time since they sent you out. Don’t mention this to anyone, but I think their punishment was rather cruel and unnecessary. I know you’re their poster child but you’re also human. It’s a shame they don’t often allow you to act as such, you’ve had an unfortunate year.”

His sincerity was a welcome surprise. Sephiroth hadn’t considered that one so close to the heart of Shinra might carry a differing opinion of his treatment, it was strangely refreshing, if not a little exposing. “I appreciate that.”

“Just a word of warning. I suggest following their orders for the time being, you’ve got eyes on you and it would be wise to look sharp and play to their tune, until the spotlight has shifted elsewhere.” He said with a clear undercurrent of caution.

“Noted.” Sephiroth gave an involuntary shudder at the prospect of what betraying his orders might entail. “Good day, Tseng.”

“You too.” Tseng finished, the line clicking dead.

Sephiroth stood rigid at the centre of his room, and suddenly realised he had barely moved a muscle throughout both calls. He rolled his shoulders, to ease the stark tension from his joints, which might have seized up and left him a statue.

This room was too small… perhaps he could sneak back to where they’d confronted Cloud’s friends, behind the train station so that he could go through his sword work in peace… No, no. It was best to just linger here until it was time to collect his laundry later.

Gods… he was going to kill Cloud. Surely, he knew about Aerith and how much of a liability she was.

With a defeated sigh, he sat back on his bed and grabbed his book.

Sephiroth snuck from his room later in the day, while the evening commute was beginning to wind down. This time, he managed to stay inconspicuous under the early evening light.

Just as he arrived to collect his laundry, a door opened to his right. Stepping out of a doorway and nearly walking straight into him was a familiar face. Tifa, clad in a smart black work uniform.

“Sorry!” She squeaked in surprise, as the two narrowly dodged each other. The woman glanced up at who she’d nearly collided with and recoiled in horror. Her face twisting from pleasant to disgust.

“Miss.” He greeted plainly with a nod.

She eyed him carefully. “What’re you doing here?”

Sephiroth sent a glance to the laundry drum his washing should be sat in. “Merely using the services. I was unaware you’d be here.”

Tifa sneered but didn’t move.

“Or were you referring to my presence in Corel? Which I would assume you’re aware of already.” He asked, not caring if he was sarcastic.

“Oh, do I?” She leered, taking a step back and keeping tactfully light on her feet.

His patience was running short this afternoon, a likely symptom of being shut in his room all day. Sephiroth sent her a befitting glare he hoped conveyed his feelings. “I assume our objectives align, or so I thought we’d established. We both have reasons to want an end to Shinra. I assumed our friend imparted as much.”

“Our friend?” Tifa scoffed.

“Indeed. I’ve spent enough time with Cloud over the last few months to consider him as such.” The General stated and found himself highly amused by her deepening frown.

She replied by stepping back into his space, cautious demeanour changing to one of challenge. “Few months, huh? You know nothing about him.”

Sephiroth held her lethal stare. “Well maybe you could impart some of that knowledge onto myself. And maybe while you’re at it, demonstrate why we ought to continue this mission with you in tow.”

For a moment she regarded him, a blaze of determination in her burgundy eyes. “Yeah, come with me. I’ll impart something onto you.” She warned before turning away.

He followed her, dipping down two different streets and through a narrow gate into a sparsely used parking area. If his direction sense was accurate, they were at the back of the same set of shops. It was quiet around here, lacking in the high upkeep the front of the buildings possessed. The foul smell of old milk permeated the back area around the high-walled perimeter. Devoid of prying eyes.

He smirked to himself at the thought that both interactions with this woman had resulted in him being led around the back of a building.

How amusing. Cloud certainly kept the company of some ambitious individuals.

They stopped a distance from one another, Sephiroth watching her closely. Tifa reached into a pocket and withdrew a pair of gloves, slipping them on.

A new silence stretched between them, drawing out by the second as the taller surveyed her with mild interest.

The traffic sounds were dulled out here and in the quiet, the General’s sharp senses were able to pick up the other’s pounding heartbeat. She was itching for a fight and Sephiroth considered whether he fancied provoking her or getting straight to the point.
“I’ve been looking forward to testing your capabilities. What weapon do you wield?”

She had a way of looking confident without it coming across as cocky. “Who said I need a weapon?” Tifa pulled another wrap from her pocket which she began to bind over her knuckles and wrists, fastening the covering with practiced efficiency, never once taking her eyes from her opponent.

Sephiroth noted the metal plating secured in the binding, as well as the shimmer of materia. “I see. I’ve always considered it crude, to just use one’s fists.” But he would face her on even terms regardless. Retrieving an elastic band from his wrist to tie his hair in place. Hand to hand was by no means his preferred or most proficient means of combat, but he was trained in it regardless.

“You can use that stupid sword, if you’re squeamish. We’ve killed you before, you know? Our team did, when you were at your strongest.”

“Killed me?” Sephiroth hummed in thought. He wasn’t so sure he believed her- had no reason to believe anything this woman said.

With a final tug of her arm wrappings, she settled into a ready stance, fists raised. “Yeah, did Cloud not mention that? We ended you.” She said, without boast. In fact, she sounded quite thrilled at the prospect of their fight, like she’d been looking forward to the opportunity.

Sephiroth gave a muted shrug before falling into a pose matching her own. “Well, we were in opposition, and you appear to still be alive. So one can assume you were victorious in your little conquest against Shinra.” He drawled back, voice dripping with sarcasm. “Though I suppose that’s only fair. I’ve taken a great many things from you, by the sounds of it.”

The burning in her eyes flared up at that, so intensely that many fighters would have backed off from just that glare alone.

Then, like lightning, she sprang into action.

In an instant, Tifa had closed the distance between them, fist raised. Sephiroth just managed to block in time, raising his arms against a flurry of punches. A particularly powerful one aimed at his eye was only just knocked off course.

Sephiroth moved onto the offensive, though this was predicted and Tifa sprung away before he could land a single blow. Waiting for her to step back in for another strike, he blocked one more of her punches and pushed through with his own. Greater height and brute force on his side.

But it turned out she knew how to take a hit, as well as just deliver one. Tifa’s superior agility allowed her to roll back with the movement so that he merely grazed her.

The motion caused him to reel too far forwards with the movement. An exposed opening to his left side was quickly punished with a sharp kick to his ribs.

Activating her fire materia to cloak her fists, Tifa came right back with a follow-up punch, not allowing any breathing room. With a burning slam, she went for a high strike. His footwork was fast, but unable to match her own,- Sephiroth failed to roll the impact off with such ease, subsequently earning him a searing fist right over his eye.

It caused him to back off, stumble from the power behind the blow. Tifa gave him a moment to regain his composure. Impressed, he blinked away the sting across the bridge of his nose. “Good. I understood from Cloud that you were formidable.”

“Thought you’d be more of a challenge.” She retorted.

He offered a slight smile at that, enjoying the competitiveness of the encounter. Raising his fists once more and prompting her to begin when ready.

They swung back into action, Tifa moving at incredible speeds while Sephiroth kept up a firm defence, attacking when the opportunity presented itself.

Knocking off path another fiery punch, he delivered a strong hit to her lower ribs. Tifa gasped, lurching forward, allowing another window of attack. To follow, Sephiroth slammed an elbow down onto her shoulder with enough force that it might’ve broken her collarbone.

He watched her stumble, a wild glare never leaving him. Tifa winced as she moved her shoulder but didn’t appear deterred. “You can do better than that.” She sneered.

Again, she barrelled forwards, a flurry of strikes falling on the both of them.

The relentless struggle met another pause when Tifa ducked under one of his punches and sprang up in a summersault kick.

Sephiroth was thrown off immediately, feeling blood drip from either his mouth or nose, he wasn’t quite sure.

“That’s one for Aerith.” He heard her speak to his right.

In the few seconds he was left disorientated, there came a kick to the side of his knee. Sephiroth stumbled and felt a forearm wrap around his neck from behind.

“And this one’s for Nibelheim.” She hissed into his ear.

“Hey! What the hell are you doing?!” Shouted a third familiar voice from across the parking lot.

Ignoring them, Sephiroth reached behind and grasped the back of Tifa’s work shirt. He lifte her up and threw her over his head, roughly onto her back, losing the air in her lungs in a surprised gasp. He stood over her, acid eyes meeting her own in threat.

The warning click of a loaded gun sounded at his back. Accompanying it were hurried footfalls across the concrete.

“Fuckin’ stop you two!” Cloud practically screeched, as he raced over.

Sephiroth glanced up to see an impressive modified pistol levelled at his head. Second time in two days, how welcoming. This time he knew the wielder’s name to be Vincent. The General waved a placating hand at the raised barrel. “Not to worry, we were merely sparring.”

“Yeah.” Tifa gasped, steadily pulling more air back into her lungs with each breath. Still eyeing Sephiroth she leaned back into a sitting position, frowning when he offered a hand towards her.

It didn’t come as a shock when his hand was batted away and she hopped back onto her feet. Enough energy remaining to give even some of his Soldiers a run for their money. Sephiroth was quite disappointed they’d been interrupted.

She gave another look of shock when he bowed respectfully, to conclude their session. “As I said, very impressive.” He justly praised.

Tifa considered him a moment before turning and stalking past a bewildered Cloud. “I’m late for work.” She muttered, striding towards the gate they’d entered through.

Cloud held up a hand to stop her, but seemed to realise his attempt would be futile. Instead, he let go a harsh breath and forcefully pushed Vincent’s gun away, out of Sephiroth’s face, sending the cloaked man a critical look. Cloud marched up to Sephiroth, frowning at the blood dripping onto his shirt. “You expect me to believe you were just messing about?” The blond reached to check his face, but Sephiroth gently pushed the hands away.

Pressing a sleeve to catch the dripping from his mouth? Nose? He still wasn’t quite sure. “Your friend was quite eager.”

“Damn, she really did a number on you.” Cloud badly supressed a smirk, getting over his initial panic.

Sephiroth hummed in agreement. “Indeed. Hand to hand has never been my strong suit and your friend was more adept than expected.” Despite feeling rather like he’d been hit by a truck, Sephiroth found himself in a lighter mood than previous. “What’re you doing here? Did you feel the need to track my scent like a bloodhound?” He sent an unamused look to Vincent, who despite standing in the middle of an empty lot, still somehow gave the impression of lurking.

Cloud wrinkled his nose at the comparison. “Something like that. Could tell you were nearby.” He shuffled his feet, conflicted by the admission. “I was going to suggest we find some food, but you wanna go get cleaned up? I can bring something back for us? He gave another awkward look at the taller’s messed up face.

Sephiroth nodded, finding that most agreeable and both continued on their separate ways.

Hoping he wasn’t sporting a black eye; the General made a note to think twice before underestimating Cloud’s companions in the future.

Chapter Text

Cloud returned a while later carrying a bag of takeaway food, cooked in a local style with flavours Sephiroth wasn’t too familiar with, but were pleasant enough.

They switched on their tiny television and flicked to a news network not funded by Shinra. The recent classified information leaks were all the station could talk about and it appeared that more material was being presented by the day. The company’s detractors were having a field day as all manner of sensitive material was finally making its way to the public.

From funding cuts to public support to cover ups and unsafe reactors, all the way to the lies presented during the Wutai war and the scope of the company’s greed. All sorts of squirming falsehoods were crawling out of the woodwork and Shinra could do little to nothing to prevent their broadcast.

Naturally, they were trying. A mysterious power cut had afflicted Rocket Town, who were a community generally in favour of the company. One of the smaller news stations and several tabloids had suddenly declared bankruptcy, being bought out by larger Shinra-owned brands. As well as a protective wall of misinformation about how none of the leaks were trustworthy.

Thankfully, all of these tactics appeared to be proving ineffective.

“You did this.” Cloud commented, from where he lounged on the other single bed, a few feet from Sephiroth’s own. He wore a look of something like pride. “Good going.”

The General found himself drawn to that look, for reasons he couldn’t quite place. “I believe it was Aerith’s idea… Speaking of which, why did you not inform me she was an Ancient?” Sephiroth asked, shifting the focus to what he really wanted to talk about without a second thought.

Cloud stilled a moment. “I was wondering if she’d tell you herself.”

“I understand I’m not the most socially aware at times, but I certainly would have recalled a detail of that significance. I spoke to Tseng over the phone today. To say we were on the verge of causing an international incident would not be an exaggeration.” He made sure to keep a note of seriousness in his tone. “Why in Gaia’s name did you not inform me?”

Cloud shrugged. “Because she specifically told me she didn’t want you knowing.” When Sephiroth raised an eyebrow, he added, “You understand things didn’t go so smoothly between the two of last time, do you really blame her? Besides, I don’t feel safe leaving her behind. Anything major goes down and she’s likely to wind up with Hojo. We can’t trust their care of her.”

“You realise her presence nearly compromised our whole operation? Do you have any concept of the scale of this?” Sephiroth pressed. Not angry, but not willing to let this go lightly. “Cloud, if you were under my command, I’d have you demoted and never serving on the same mission as me again after such an oversight.”

The other squirmed at that, those words having apparently struck a nerve. “I’m sorry, alright! It was her secret, not mine.” Coming under fire, Cloud’s demeanour shifted defensively. “Just,- just tell me where that leaves us.”

“Now that Tseng is aware, the Turks will be collecting Aerith and Zack once they’re done in Gongaga. They seemed only interested in her safety and otherwise have their hands full. I also don’t believe Hojo will be an issue, or if he’s even heard of her disappearance. He’s made a discovery of some nature, in Nibelheim, and will be traveling over in the next few weeks.” He kept his words level, not wishing to reprimand his friend any more than needed.

What he said caught Cloud’s attention, receiving from him a look of worry completely separate from his concern for the Cetra. “Seriously? Okay, maybe that’s alright with Zack and Aerith, if they can appeal to the Turks and still appear on their side… Hojo isn’t supposed to know Jenova’s location yet. He,- last time, he didn’t know until we were…” He fidgeted, grasping at various thought paths before frowning up at Sephiroth. “Did Hojo ever mention injecting himself with anything? The J cells we both have?”

“No. Why?” He watched Cloud fidget, trying to piece together his thoughts.

“When me and my team faced down Hojo, back in our time, he turned into something.” At Sephiroth’s look of intrigue, Cloud elaborated. “Something mutated and… like those things we saw in the lab, or those violent monsters by Nibelheim. We attacked him and he started to shift, like the cells were dormant until he was under physical threat. I’ve no idea if I’m right, or whether she was communicating with him on some level.”

“I’ve never known Hojo to experiment on himself, when he has an endless supply of subjects at his disposal.” Sephiroth speculated, not liking the implications Cloud was presenting.

“But he shouldn’t know she’s in Nibelheim…” The blond slouched in defeat. “Maybe the monsters making a ruckus were reason enough to figure it out. That’s what they’re there for, right? To draw us out and set things into motion like last time?”

Sephiroth lifted the television remote and lowered the volume to barely audible. “We’ll deal with the situation when we arrive.”

Cloud nodded, trying to grasp the encouragement in his words. “Yeah, you’re right. There’ll be nothing left by the time Hojo arrives and everything will be fine.” Though there was still a jittery undercurrent to his aspect.

“If there’s something you’re not telling me, it would be prudent to do so now.” Cloud looked uncomfortable but Sephiroth pressed on. “Lest we have a situation like Aerith’s.”

At that, Cloud reluctantly nodded. “This all feels more and more like the first time. There was an incident in Nibelheim then and Hojo arrived.”

Sephiroth was aware that an occurrence of sorts had happened involving Nibelheim in the past, perhaps this was why he’d been ordered to destroy the small village. “What did that involve?”

“Me and Zack were there, clearing up monsters.” Cloud began. “We discovered Jenova and called it in as an anomaly. There was an accident in the reactor and we were injured, pretty fatally. I get the gist that Shinra didn’t approve it but Hojo grabbed the opportunity for two subjects he probably wouldn’t have otherwise been given. We were held in the basement of the old manor, they have a testing site there.”

A horrible energy of sorts echoed through their connection. The subject must still bother his friend greatly. At his pause, Sephiroth gave a hopefully comforting nod, intrigued to know more.

“We were held there for five years.” Cloud continued, his fingers working into a tear along the seam of his jeans, worsening the hole. “Zack broke us out. But, Shinra got to us, had to kill their best to cover their tracks.” Cloud ground out, hating every moment of this retelling, but trying to pretend it didn’t bother him, even if that attempt fell flat. “Anything to clear their name.”

Sephiroth didn’t know what to do. He didn’t really have anything to say to comfort the other. Should he approach or keep his distance? It wasn’t like Cloud was the easiest to read, even with their strange bond. Reaching out mentally to appeal to their connection, he sent what he hoped was a wave of reassurance over to the other.

Something of it must have been felt, since Cloud looked up at him, trying to shield his emotions with a neutral gaze, which didn’t completely work. His previously good mood having been rained upon.

“I assume I was the one tasked with clearing up the evidence. From what you’ve mentioned previously.” Sephiroth asked.

Cloud paused and looked momentarily unsure. After a second, he collected his thoughts and nodded. “I’ve just been thinking about it more recently.”

Sephiroth found the display intriguing and it only made him desire to know more. Should he try for comfort now? What might someone like Angeal do in his position? He’d always been the most proficient when it came to interpersonal matters. Perhaps it was time to test the waters. Slowly, he moved from his seated position, and slipped across the small space. When Cloud only eyed him curiously, Sephiroth sat down beside him.

Something buzzed between them which seemed to suggest there was more to Cloud’s inward conflict than what he’d experienced a decade or so ago.

“From time to time, I try to remind myself of how much I hated you, back then.” Cloud confessed. “I just… I admit I try to separate who you are now and who you were. Thing is, I really don’t know how different you are between this time and last, and that really messes with me.”

With no idea how to sympathise with that, Sephiroth took another note he’d learned from Angeal and placed a gentle hand on his friend’s shoulder. The gesture was received well, with Cloud leaning so that their shoulders touched. “I gather that our conflict ended in my death.” He asked, interested in what Tifa had said.

Another beat of discomfort fell over the blond. “Yeah.”

“Did that help to reconcile the acts I committed against you?”

“No.” Cloud replied with bitterness. “I thought it would make up for the people we lost, for my friends, family… but I was still angry. It took a long time before I could come to terms with that. I’m worried that what we’ve done hasn’t been good enough to stop time from repeating.”

Sephiroth could tell he was a little more than ‘worried’. Again, he really had no bearing on what Cloud spoke of. He was now the only one in their group who had no knowledge of prior events, a lack of understanding which had already proved to be at his disadvantage. He could relate to Cloud’s feeling of loss and anger, though unlike him, Sephiroth had nowhere to aim that fury towards… or nowhere he’d been able to, without facing serious consequences.

A question came to mind and before he could employ any consideration, it was already on his tongue. “What did I do to you?”

The other pulled away, giving Sephiroth a look like he hadn’t heard him right. But he held Cloud with a stare. “Will you tell me?” It came from a place of imperturbable curiosity.

There sat between them a moment of silent consideration, with blue eyes searching green as if to check it was still Sephiroth asking the question. Finally, Cloud grabbed at his shirt and pulled it up over his head. There held a smattering of faint scars, which continued up from what had been visible on his arms,- the increased healing brought on by mako always did a wonderous job of mending even vicious wounds and with the added help of a cure spell, they could usually be entirely erased.

There remained a few of which healing hadn’t repaired quite as nicely as most. Cloud lifted a hand to tap at an oval slit just below his collarbone before moving to show a slightly cruder exit wound on the other side of his shoulder. “Like I said, we didn’t like each other much.” The blond murmured.

With Cloud watching his movement’s closely, Sephiroth lifted a hand. The other tensed considerably when Sephiroth reached towards the exposed scars. With a feather light touch, he ran a finger delicately over the old injury.

As if he’d been expecting the touch to bring pain, Cloud released a shaky breath, when his assumption proved false. Instead, he wrung his hands between his crossed knees, locked his eyes onto something across the room and tried to still his jumpy nerves.

Overcome with something like reverence, knowing without doubt that the matching marks had come from his own Masamune, Sephiroth was flooded with a barrage of emotion he hadn’t expected. Confusion and something akin to sadness that their conflict had led him to inflict such things onto the man he’d come to know as a friend. There was also thankfulness, that this nor the other rest of his plethora of past injuries had managed to end him. Exhilaration, that he had managed to leave his mark upon Cloud, as if this were a brand and not an indiscernible stab wound to the untrained eye. And a hot and bubbling desire that he would truly love to leave more.

His hand drifted down Cloud’s back, until it felt the uneven surface of another exit wound, this one barely missing his spine.

“Yeah yeah, ya got me more than once.” Cloud sighed, poking a thumb at another more faded injury which had also pierced straight through him. He lifted a hand to silently point out several more- a thin slash which ran down his abdomen, the faintest trace of a number of small points from the tip of a blade and an odd pale scar at the top of his left arm which almost resembled a burn, which had faded to the point of barely being seen. Sephiroth had noticed the final one before but never paid it any mind. None of them quite matched his reaction to those first two matching wounds.

Even if one had almost faded entirely, it was evidence, an unmistakable proof of his and Cloud’s shared history. That the whirlpool of colliding emotions surrounding the man had some grounds, had an even greater origin than previously thought.

It was also strangely moving to know that Cloud could still single out each small mark Sephiroth had inflicted, from the faded tapestry of barely there scars.

As the light from the television danced mutely across bare skin, that half-foreign curling in his gut began to grow fangs. As much as the General hated that he’d inflicted such things upon Cloud, he longed to do more. Be it with the elegance of his blade, or the carnal rip of teeth or nails. He needed to mark Cloud, in a way he could remember this time, in a way they’d both never forget. How could he have forgotten such things?! To feel the tear of flesh and the smell of his blood.

To make him mine.
No, Mother’s.
No, ours.

“Seph? You okay? You’re being real weird about this.” Cloud’s voice knocked him off of a dangerous trail of though. The nervousness in his voice pulled Sephiroth’s gaze away from scarred flesh and he hadn’t realised he’d been staring so fixated until his focus had been disturbed.

“Hey!” The blond tried again, this time with more command.

“Cloud.” His throat was dry and voice sounded further away than it should. “I don’t feel like,- like myself again.”

In an instant, the other had turned in his seat and slipped his shirt back over his head, covering the marks which seemed to be fuelling this episode. Firm hands grasped Sephiroth’s forearms, anchoring him in reality. “Fight it! That’s not you, remember?”

Sephiroth did as instructed, trying to keep a level head. Quietly, something had crept up, grabbing the opportunity while he was distracted.

It was like his head was filling with water, hard to focus, dull senses. Something smothering his mind with a warm hand which offered comfort in exchange for giving into sadistic urges. It became hard to keep his eyes open, as a wave of discomfort rippled through his optic nerves.

Cloud breathed curses, gripping on tighter where he held. “C’mon you’re stronger than that.” He hissed.

He tried to push it back, force the intrusion out of his mind. But, it was like trying to keep the water away from him while standing in the ocean. Fearing what hallucination would greet his vision, Sephiroth kept his eyes firmly shut; sure that some image of Jenova would be hanging over them. It didn’t feel like the two were alone anymore.

It was difficult and Sephiroth was vaguely aware that his breath was coming out in shallow gasps. A horrible buzzing and scraping reaching his ears, which rationally couldn’t have been coming from their room. He pushed back against the intrusion, it was a challenge, never having needed to set up mental defences before.

But, he was winning. Something was helping. Not Cloud, but a faint light behind his eyelids. Green and pale which warded the alien presence tangling with his brain.

An arm could be felt wrapping around his back and Sephiroth recognised he was being pulled down so that his head rested on Cloud’s shoulder, though the sensation still felt somehow second hand.

“Focus, Sephiroth. If you don’t fight it, you’ll fail the mission and you’ll end up back with Shinra,- back with Hojo. They’re going to decommission you, remember? This is your chance to prove yourself, get your life back.” Cloud whispered into his ear.

Those words struck him and with a final breakthrough, whatever remained of the force invading his mind was knocked out completely by the sudden terror of such an outcome.

As if a light switch had been flicked, Sephiroth found himself back in his own mind, having successfully shut out the intruding forces. He staggered to catch his breath, having somehow become exhausted during the ordeal, though unable to recall how.

Through him swam rapid waves of varying emotion, which must have belonged in part to Cloud. Despite the discomfort and intensity of such, it was a welcome familiarity when compared to the hostile takeover attempted on his mind.

Sephiroth pulled his head back, moving out from Cloud’s tight grasp. He received a wave of dizziness for his efforts, while the glare from the quietly murmuring television seemed too bright in the otherwise low lighting. The blond gave a hesitant, wide-eyed look of question, which Sephiroth answered with a nod.

Heaving a sigh of relief, Cloud’s grip still lingered, not willing to move in case his sanity went adrift. “Gods, Seph. She was right there, I,- I thought we were gonna lose you for a sec.”

That fear and relief… Sephiroth didn’t think he’d ever had anyone care about him quite as much as Cloud did in that moment, and it was a feeling he had to admit to returning.

Left feeling like a mess, Sephiroth swept his hair to the side, still trying to reassure himself that the attack was over. How embarrassing… Perhaps it was best to call their evening a failure and sleep all of this off?

Standing from the bed and breaking from their shared embrace, Sephiroth offered what he hoped was a heartening smile. Hopefully not swaying under the dizzy spell or headache he’d been left with. “What do you say to a drink and then an early night?”

Cloud barely managed to get Sephiroth to leave his room the following day. He succeeded in dragging him to the train station, with the company of Barret, for the purpose of figuring out which tickets they required and the pricing of such. Turns out Sephiroth was much better at working those things out than the other two of them, so his presence was welcome.

He was thankful for Barret, who seemed to have resigned himself to the idea that their once enemy would be joining as an ally, or at least he was trying. The poor guy’s jokes didn’t quite land and he clearly found himself at a loss for what to say. It didn’t make for the most comfortable atmosphere but Cloud was grateful he was at least trying. He’d need all the support he could, if last nights near miss was any indicator of what to expect.

“What time will your town meeting be occurring tomorrow?” Sephiroth had asked, on their slow stroll back from the station.

Barrett looked surprised at the other’s interest. “Six, then it goes to a vote next week. Our last chance to make a stand.” He spoke with confidence, though Cloud could tell the other man was nervous of the upcoming decision.

“Then I would like to be there, if you’ll have me.” Sephiroth replied. At the look of interest he received, he elaborated. “I believe I may be able to sway a decision in your favour.”

“You’d do that?” Barret blinked, caught off guard. “Then you’re welcome anytime! I’ll come by and pick you up half hour before.” He laughed, delighted. Clapping a firm hand on the General’s shoulder, causing him to tense.

Cloud spent the evening at Tifa’s following her restaurant shift, where she’d been working for the last few months. He purposely failed to mention the rather terrifying episode Sephiroth had been overcome with the previous night, though he did mention the prominent black eye he’d developed since their fight the previous day.

That made Tifa smile. She too had been left with the odd bruise, though nothing as significant as what she’d left on Sephiroth.

“He’s really not controlling you at all, is he?” She smiled, finally seeming to realise how different their situations were from the time they’d left.

Cloud shook his head. “Nope. Like I said before, he’s just some sad nerd and I’m his weird plus one.”

She huffed a laugh, apparently feeling a little lighter about the subject, having gotten the opportunity to punch the guy in the face a few times. “But you both still have that thing right?”

He repressed a sigh, they’d been over this already. “I have his cells, so yeah. That’s how we met this time around, right? We both have a little influence over each other, I can feel what he’s feeling sometimes and vice versa. It’s weird as hell and I’m not a fan, but its surprisingly not terrible.” Cloud took a sip of his beer, carried by his light mood.

Tifa shrugged, “Won’t claim I get it and won’t pretend I like it. But, you’re clearly dealing with it.” She took a long drink from her own glass. “Him and Vincent though?”

Cloud shook his head. “Gods, we need to talk to Vince or something. They’re definitely related.”

“Can’t believe Hojo ever thought he was the father. You think he knows Sephiroth isn’t his? Maybe that’s why he was so willing to do all those awful things to them both?” Tifa speculated.

“Who knows. It’s Hojo, so who can be sure.” Cloud said.

“I’m glad you’re okay though.” Tifa continued after a moments quiet. “I’ve been worried about you and Aerith. And I know you hate me saying this, but I can tell you’re a lot happier. Don’t give me that look, it’s true.” She chuckled at her friend’s pout.

Cloud offered her a mute smile. “Well fine, I guess I am. It’ll be even better once we know Zack and Aerith are safe and with us again.”

“Absolutely.” Tifa smiled. “Can’t wait to see them both again.”

Their final day in Corel rolled around. Cloud and Tifa spent the morning collecting supplies, before heading to the stables for Slug. Cloud sent her his worst death glare as he forked out an extra fee to the keeper. She’d started a fight with one of the other birds, resulting in a hefty veterinary bill Cloud had to shell out for. He could swear their damn bird looked smug as she watched Cloud pay for the damages she’d caused.

Securing all of their luggage to Slug’s saddle, Cloud joined Tifa as they made their final preparations. She was slightly mortified when Barret gave the two a wave, on his way to the town meeting, Sephiroth in tow.

At the look she gave, Cloud supressed a snarky comment, turning his attention instead to Slug, who was sneaking up and definitely planning some form of attack.

Later in the evening, a chilly breeze rushed through the same train station they’d arrived at. Grey skies had swept in during the afternoon which promised rain for later in the night. Before them stood the final cross-country train of the day- a modern engine with all the conveniences for passengers making multiple day long trips. Cloud was a little sad, he’d still trade the comfy seats for the old Shinra van they’d rode in on; even at the cost of Zack’s awful bumper stickers. They’d have to plan more road trips like that, hopefully without Jenova hanging over their heads. That would be nice…

The four watched as Barret and Sephiroth wondered in, Slug hissing at their arrival.

Barret however, was grinning ear to ear. The General said something which caused the him to firmly clap a hand to Sephiroth’s shoulder, making him flinch.

“Hah! I don’t think Shinra’s gonna be building anywhere around here for a long time. Think we’ve got this one in the bag!” Barret merrily called to the group.

Tifa’s sour reaction dipped, seeing Barret’s joy. “Really? That’s fantastic.”

“And we’ve got this one here to thank for it!” Again, Barret patted Sephiroth’s shoulder, a gesture which didn’t look terribly well received. “You almost had me welling up at that speech of yours. Really hit where none of us were expecting.”

Sephiroth subtly frowned. “I was merely being factual. I didn’t intend on eliciting an emotional response.”

“Well ya got one.” Barret chucked at the other’s impassiveness.

Moving as a group, they jumped into the holding carriage. When Slug realised she’d be spending another stint on a train, she began kicking up a fuss. Thrashing about and kicking at Cloud, as a group they managed to manhandle the bird into the small stable area. This time, she was thankfully alone.

Hoping to divert attention from Slug’s awful behaviour and, by extension, Cloud’s questionable purchase choices, the blond brought the conversation back on track. “So, what did you talk about at the meeting?”

“The reactors and their environmental impact, as well as the long-term health issues from close proximity to them. I also confirmed that the information leaks they’d heard were correct. Then, answered what questions were asked of me… in which I may have mentioned the company’s penchant for human experimentation. As well as the injustices of the Wutai invasion.” Sephiroth recounted. “Attendants assumed I was there at Shinra’s request, to force a decision in their favour. They were proved quite incorrect.”

They made their way to the next train carriage, which consisted of individual rooms, each seating six passengers. Most were left unoccupied, allowing for quiet travel. Picking one after scoping out the rest of the carriage, Cloud moved to follow Tifa and Barret inside.

“I’d prefer to rest for the time being. Please excuse me.” Sephiroth took the door opposite theirs.

His decision caused Cloud to linger in the corridor, as the others filed in. “You sure? No one will mind.”

The other nodded, keeping resolutely to his side of the walkway.

“Well…” Cloud supposed he’d spent last night at Tifa’s flat anyway. It would be most reasonable to continue to alternate whose company he was in, until they finally came around, whenever that might be.

Ducking into the cabin where the majority of the party were taking their seats, “I’m going to keep him company.” Cloud stated, and to his surprise, no sarcastic comments were fired off.

“I’ll be scouting out the area.” Vincent slipped out the door, following Cloud.

Tifa chucked something about there being no need, but they let him go. Cloud waved Vincent off down the corridor, expecting to not see much of the gunman for the duration of the journey… wherever he might sneak off to.

Sephiroth looked mildly surprised when Cloud stepped into his room. A look which softened back to neutral a moment later.

“You mind?” Cloud asked, moving to sit opposite.

“Of course not.”

The seats were more comfortable than they looked, a pleasant surprise. “Thank you for your help today. Barret will never forget this, you know? Especially if it changes Corel’s fate.”

“It was simply the best option. I believe it will sway the vote significantly. Let us hope Shinra take their refusal without conflict.” Sephiroth replied.

An announcement rang out, five minutes until departure.

True, this would be the first stage of Corel’s battle to preserve itself, if the vote fell in its favour. “Well, we appreciate it anyway. No one was expecting you to do that.”

Sephiroth gave a muted laugh. “Your friends still regard me heavily as a villainous figure.”

“Can you blame them?” Speaking of which… “You been feeling alight today? After the other night?”

“Fine for the moment. I’ll speak up if I feel another intrusion occurring. Are the rest of the group aware of our recent conflict with Jenova?” The General said.

“They are, though I didn’t mention what happened the other day. They’ll be on the lookout too.”

“Naturally.”

A whistle blew and the train hissed, its components clicking and huffing. With a slow whirr, the engine began to move. Rolling out of the station into the steadily darkening open, a light rainfall had started, and spattered faintly against the windows.

They were off, goodbye Corel. No going back now. It was time to see what the journey would bring them, as the new party advanced on, Nibelheim in their sights.

Chapter Text

Sleeping on the train proved near impossible for everyone aside from Barret, who slept like a baby. The gathering storm which rolled in, followed the train across the vast stretch of the western continent. It cast a dreary blanket over the dry but well vegetated scenery.

By mid-morning during their first full day of travel, Cloud found himself getting restless. Though he wasn’t affected by motion sickness as badly as previous years, the constant bumps and rattles of the carriage were beginning to get to him.

Vincent couldn’t sit still for long, and kept getting up to roam about. Slug occasionally engaged in a screaming match with herself, which must have been annoying to the few other passengers; so the group pretended she didn’t belong to them. In the next room, Sephiroth was quite content with his book- something mind-numbing and technical about the biology of stinging insects.

Tifa had at least thought ahead enough to bring a pack of cards.

With Barret’s help in extending a little good will, Cloud convinced Tifa into letting their newcomer join in for a game of cards. For which, he practically had to drag the man in to the neighbouring compartment to force him to participate.

Unfortunately, at Sephiroth’s appearance, Vincent (who they’d also managed to drag in) promptly left.

A simple game worked to level the atmosphere. Sephiroth knew a few games, even introduced the group to one while they taught him several more. He was certainly a fast learner, needing the barest explanations before appearing fluent in whatever they were doing. Tifa destroyed them all with minimal effort, likely forged on by a sudden competitive streak sparked by Sephiroth’s presence. Meanwhile, Cloud gave up halfway through and began dropping in and out of daydreams for a while, only half aware of the others.

It was great seeing them all engaging in nonviolent activity, if not begrudgingly in some cases, and more than a little awkward at times. It was a start, and Barret especially was willing to extend a helping hand in repayment for Sephiroth’s role in potentially saving Corel.

The time passed and the rain continued to lightly scatter atop the train. They travelled through some tiny villages and towns, some with the same rustic heart as Corel, others run down and ill populated. Aside from watching the environment shift every few hundred miles, it was incredibly drab, with the landscape flat and consisting of mostly low and dry shrubs.

At some point in the afternoon, a large beady eye appearing in front of their door window, causing everyone to startle. Slug had somehow broke free from her pen and made her way into the next train car in search of some entertainment. Thankfully, no other passengers or staff noticed… Speaking of which, the already small number of other travellers had thinned considerably.

This was further confirmed later in the evening when Vincent returned from one of his many ‘patrols’ to announce that they were one group of only a handful of people left on the cross-country line. Clearly no one fancied traveling further west with the Nibelheim situation continuing to escalate.

“You doing okay?” Tifa asked quietly, barely above a whisper.

Cloud peered from between his closed eyelids, noting that his friend wasn’t addressing him. The soft opening and closing of the door had shaken him out of a light slumber. Night had fallen on their first full day of journeying with only tiny distant lights shimmering outside the window.

The cabin lights were dimmed, setting the red of Vincent’s cloak in a deeper crimson. He leaned against the wall, beside the door, skulking. “Not a fan of these cramped spaces.”

Tifa hummed a laugh. “Could’ve fooled me. I thought you had a liking for compact things.” She moved her hands around her head and sides in an imitation of the coffin they’d first discovered the man in.

Vincent made a soft humoured sound in response.

“What about him being around?” Tika asked. Peering one eye open, Cloud watched her jab a thumb towards Sephiroth’s chosen room across from their own.

“I am… still conflicted.”

“You’ll have to talk to him soon. I know it’ll be difficult, but I think it’s best to get what needs to be said out of the way.” She suggested.

In his slight vision, Cloud caught a shift from Vincent’s cloak as he crossed his arms. “I’m concerned he won’t want to associate with me. We’re on a mission after all.”

Tifa gave a moment of thought before replying. “I don’t think it’ll come to that. In fact, learning those origins might prevent him siding with Jenova.”

Barret gave a loud snore and shifted his weight further onto Cloud, who was being squashed between the window and his friend. It was fine, not uncomfortable enough to make hm move. Still, the blond continued to act as if he we’re napping.

“Just consider it. I understand how much you hate talking about all of that, but it’s as much Sephiroth’s story as it is yours. Might even help you, too.” She tried, voice gentle.

“I thought you hated him.” Vincent replied.

“Oh, I do, without a doubt. I can’t see that changing.” Tifa sighed. “But Cloud trusts him, and I have to accept that this Sephiroth isn’t the one I knew. Just look at them. I know your memories of Cloud are still returning but I’m sure even you can see how much better he looks. They’re making each other better, and I hate that that bothers me.”

Vincent stayed silent. Cloud hoped they couldn’t see his face reddening. He certainly wouldn’t risk opening his eyes.

Eventually, Tifa continued. “Not everything can have a negative outcome, right?”

“You’ve proved to have a tolerance for monsters. I’m sure you’ll deal with him.”

She quietly laughed at that. “Can I ask what Chaos thinks of this?”

Cloud expected an extra overtone to Vincent’s voice, which told that he’d passed the smallest amount of control to the strange entity. Instead, it was just his own voice. “He thinks I’m a coward. But, is enjoying recent events. They’re both conflicted still, about whether the stranger can be trusted.”

“Well, you know I value insights from either of you. Why don’t you sit down, try to rest for a while? I’ll keep watch.” Tifa encouraged. There was another beat of hesitancy, so she tried again. “I’ll make sure to wake you if I need to sleep.”

There was a shifting as the gunman gave in, taking the seat closest to the door, beside Barret.

Figuring he could try to get another nap, Cloud attempted to relax back into his own position. Listening instead to Barret snoring, as their other friends relaxed into silence once more. He couldn’t force himself to sleep, especially not with the rattling momentum of the train, but Cloud wouldn’t give away that he’d been listening.

He could rest regardless.

Then a click and fizzle sounded which made everyone, aside from Barret startle abruptly.

“Attention all passengers. Unfortunately, due to a worsening in the situation in the western mountains, this train will be shortly making its final stop before returning east towards Costa Del Sol. We apologise for the inconvenience and thank you for your patience during-.”

“Are you kidding?” Cloud spoke over the announcer, nudging Barret to encourage him to wake.

They barely had to wait a second before the door was knocked and opened by their silver-haired tagalong. “I’m going to speak with the driver. We’re still much too far from Nibelheim.”

Sephiroth shut the door as he left. Hopefully he’d be able to flex some of that Soldier war hero power and get them where they needed to be.

“What the hell? Just how bad is it up there? We’re barely… oh Gods, how far away are we?” Tifa asked nervously.

Barret was awake and fuming. Muttering something distasteful under his breath, he headed out, following Sephiroth towards the front of the train.

When Vincent moved to leave also, both Cloud and Tifa gestured for him to stop. All they could do was wait.

Hope sparked when, not long later, they whizzed past the town they were supposed to have stopped in. Not long later, the sound of approaching footsteps had their two party members back with them.

“This is really shit.” Barret grumbled.

“We might have gotten a better deal if you hadn’t threatened the man.” Sephiroth replied with a scathing glare.

Barret rounded on him, a sneer of his own meeting the equally tall man’s in turn. A moment later, he backed off with a heavy sigh, pinching the bridge of his nose.

Sephiroth regarded the rest of the group. “We negotiated for them to take us one more stop. It’s at least another seventy miles.”

Not great, but it was something. With dejected looks, they settled into the last hop of the journey.

It was barely twenty minutes later when the engine began to slow. The scraping of brakes drew Cloud from his musing of whether he’d be able to get a refund for their tickets.

The station they pulled up in was the dingiest they’d seen in this journey so far and stepping out proved that the town wasn’t much nicer. A dirt road, slick with mud led the team into town, etched out of the dark with ineffectively spaced street lamps, some not working, others too dim to provide any actual illumination.

Anything could jump them on this road, and Sephiroth didn’t blame the careful glances each were giving to their surroundings. Even Slug complied, easily moving with the group, a whine rumbling from her beak, practically pulling Cloud towards the village.

The party were alone now, any other stragglers deciding to stay put on the train.

With the help of Sephiroth’s increased dark vision, they navigated the run-down streets under a blanket of ever-increasing rain. Finally, they found an inn, or what was marked as such, at least.

Upon ringing the bell, an elderly woman answered, wearing a night gown and fixing each of them a careful look. Finally, the group were steered inside, out of the rain and close-to-midnight chill.

It was a small place and they were directed upstairs and told to take up as many rooms as they felt like paying for. Sephiroth followed Cloud, who found a room with a few single beds and made his way inside without a word to the others.

The floorboards creaked terribly and the place smelled badly of mould. The damp stench strong enough on his heightened senses, that it nearly made his stomach turn.

Cloud dropped his bag with a thump bedside his chosen bed. He kicked off his boots and with some reluctance, lay down on top of the covers.

Doing the same, Sephiroth at least removed his jacket and unbuttoned his shirt to a much more comfortable level. The covers did indeed smell stale and though it was chilly, he had no intention of slipping beneath them.

Instead, he watched Cloud trying to settle, neither choosing to speak. What a mess this was already turning out to be. Scenarios and their consequences flooded his head. Hopefully they’d be able to acquire a transport tomorrow, if no more trains were to be headed past their position.

All would be fine, even if it came to picking up a few chocobo.

Cloud had since given up on staring angrily at the ceiling and turned onto his side, not quite asleep but at least making an attempt to do so. What a curious thing their connection was, that Sephiroth could on some level tell how relaxed the other was.

While the General knew what an exploitable flaw such a thing could be, he was at a loss for what to do about it. Couldn’t bring himself to do anything about it, despite the risk… Not that there was anything one could do without permanently removing one side of that bond.

To have such a sway over each other’s actions and presence of mind… what an abysmal vulnerability.

It made him shiver to imagine what the research department might do would do if they learned of that particular trait.

Speaking of which, Tifa had mentioned it- the idea of him having a malicious level of control over Cloud.

Upon dwelling on this idea, that strange an external smothering fell over his mind. Not to the point of threatening to take over, but one which encouraged him. It reassured him, said it was fine to not be repulsed by such an idea and eroded away at his conflicting thoughts.

It presented itself almost like the cheerful advice from a friend. Unthreatening and inspired. So soft it was that Sephiroth did nothing more than allow its words to sit in his mind.

After all, it had been a bother, Cloud having to split his time between Sephiroth and the rest of the group…

Gently, curiosity getting the better of him, Sephiroth tried to copy the feeling he’d experience when Jenova tried to invade his consciousness. Sending a wave through their mental connection. Abstract, and pillowy, a recollection of the weightlessness when one is moments from falling asleep and that cotton wool feeling, dampening his thought.

Watching closely for a reaction, he needed only wait a moment before Cloud’s breathing became deeper and the last dregs of tension slipped from him.

That had actually worked.

Sephiroth was so struck by amazement that he wondered whether he’d accidently wake his friend again.

Perhaps it was influence from Hojo’s style of upbringing, but now there was a proven theory in his hands, Sephiroth felt the desire to test it to its limit.

Surely it would be of no harm to Cloud, he’d make sure of that, but this was something never before documented. A new phenomenon. Why hadn’t he seen it as such before now? Why hadn’t he tested his sway over Cloud previously? It couldn’t hurt to push, right? This would be a great scientific disservice, if left unresolved.

With the barest of prods, he tried at Cloud’s mind again. Their shared cells responded in some sixth sense of awareness. When no reaction came, he tried with increased force, which gradually built until the blond gave the barest of shifts.

Sitting up to get a closer look at his subject’s subtle reactions, again, Cloud stirred in discomfort.

‘Mine’. Rang through their connection. ‘Mine’.

The influence from Jenova swam through him, bringing a sensation not unlike a breath on the back of his neck. Somehow, he knew she was pleased. Absently, he considered stopping his experiment. If their enemy was pleased than that likely didn’t bode well for either of them.

No, no he needed to continue. He needed to see.

Sephiroth could feel it, somehow, that he was pushing at the doorway to his friend’s mind, edging it open bit by bit. He had to know that Cloud appreciated him more than the others.

He gave a further push and somewhere in the link, that mental door seemed to swing right open.

In a sluggish motion, Cloud’s eyes opened. Though something was amiss, and with the assistance of his dark vision, Sephiroth could see they did not consist of their usual sky blue. Their aspect had shifted into something monstrous- acidic green and slit. An imitation of Sephiroth’s own.

With a sudden fitful gasp, Cloud broke from the force holding his mind open. He lurched forward to grasp at his head and a second later Sephiroth’s invading force was thrown out with an apparent ease.

“W-wha?-” Cloud choked, wide eyes having returned to their usual state.

In a second, he was up off the bed, grasping a fistful of Sephiroth’s shirt and blue eyes burning with fury. “Don’t you- don’t you dare!” Cloud hissed through gritted teeth.

The General was slammed down onto his mattress. He’d never seen the other so furious, it was almost intoxicating, it almost felt right.

The thought raised a red flag which stood out in his foggy mind. Recognising that something was wrong here, Sephiroth pulled himself from his perverse trance. Realising he might have unintentionally hurt Cloud.

“What the hell were you doing?!” The blond snarled, looking like he might just kill Sephiroth there and then. Still, he kept his voice at a whisper, as to not alert the others.

What had he been doing?

“I was intrigued by the mental bond we share. It was not my intention to cause harm.”

That didn’t appear an adequate answer and Cloud gripped down so hard on his chest, that it might bruise. “What did you think would happen?!”

“That was what I hoped to determine.” Sephiroth replied innocently. Surely Cloud understood his desire for knowledge, there was no malicious intent. He lifted a hand to Cloud’s and ran a gentle thumb over his knuckles.

The hand was slapped away, Cloud never moving his intense gaze from Sephiroth’s, as if searching for his intent. “Please don’t do this.” The blond finally gasped, fighting his own anger. Hands shaking. “Please don’t make us regret this.”

In a slow motion, Sephiroth nodded. “Understood.” He replied, utterly calm, in stark contrast to Cloud’s anger.

The other winced at his response, as if to question if that was all he had to say. “Fine.” He said eventually. “But if you try anything like that again I swear I’ll…” With one last push down on Sephiroth’s chest, he finally let go. “I’m not yours. Now stay the hell out of my head.” Cloud sneered down his nose at the man beneath him, setting him with one last hate filled glare before turning back to his side of the room.

Sephiroth watched him go, an unfurling guilt settling where his friend’s hands had no doubt left marks. He shouldn’t have pried so eagerly, shouldn’t have missed the blatant overstep. It wasn’t like he could even blame Jenova for this, she’d barely even egged him on.

How very foolish of him. How very Hojo of him.

Cloud retook his seat on the opposite bed, drawing his knees up close to his chest and looking momentarily lost.

“I was unaware of such a boundary. It will not happen again.” Sephiroth assured.

No one was rushing to their room, so the quiet disagreement must have gone unnoticed by the others.

Still wearing a look of betrayal, Cloud nodded. After a minute or two, he decided to settle back down, back facing Sephiroth in a blatant show of discontent.

Without anything further to do, Sephiroth resigned himself to sleep.

Hopefully tomorrow would serve them better.

Chapter Text

To say Cloud was pissed off would be a foolish understatement.

The sun had barely risen and already, there was a steadily mounting list of stressors waiting for him.
Sephiroth had, knowingly or not, dealt another blow to his trust. The group had been all but kicked out of the inn at the crack of dawn. People stared suspiciously out of windows, clearing the roads upon seeing the travellers. Slug, when they found her, looked absolutely terrified, and Cloud wondered whether someone had tried to steal her away as good meal at some point in the night. And, to top it all off, it was teaming with rain.

Gods, this village was even shittier than Nibelheim. There was nothing here at all. Not a shop willing to sell to them, nor any vehicles they might be able to acquire. Apparently, the folks here relied wholly on the train service and possessed not a single vehicle between them.

At least Nibelheim had the mountains, the dangerous but cool fauna, the weird and spooky manor house for the kids to break into and a reactor providing them with power. What did this place have? Mud roads, ancient houses, horrible people and a lot of rain, apparently.

Did this place even have a name?

With grim faces, the group reconvened under an old wooden overhang, which leaked fat raindrops. To their dismay, it appeared increasing likely they’d be traveling the rest of the journey on foot.

Tifa looked about ready to give Sephiroth another black eye, as even her usually rock-solid patience waned. The General had managed to pull up a map on his PHS and was explaining in that bluntly factual way of his, that it would take a little over two weeks to reach the Nibel mountain range.

Even worse news, this storm would likely persist for the majority of their trek. Curtesy of the glorious western weather patterns.

Without another option, they resaddled their equipment onto Slug and set off, following the now abandoned train track.

With emotions running so high, it didn’t take long before the first argument broke out.

“No, I disagree. We need to keep following these tracks. See how they curve around the plains.” Sephiroth argued, pointing to their map.

Cloud huffed, wiping his soaked hair out of his face. “And if we do that, we’re adding an extra two days onto the journey. We should head straight north west, along the desert outskirts to the-.”

Sephiroth cut him off. “The desert?” He scoffed. “You realise how open and vulnerable we’ll be out there? Supplies will be hard to find as it is, without us tackling a desert. We need to preserve our supplies where possible, even if it costs us a day.”

“That’s not fast enough!” Cloud snapped. “In case you’ve forgotten that Hojo will be arriving in an unknown amount of time?”

Making matters worse, Slug had taken the raised voices as a challenge, and began squawking. An ear-splitting sound which repeated every other second, as if imitating a car alarm.

“What about a town?” Barret tried. “Where’s the next one over?”

Sephiroth scrolled his map far over to the right, showing a scattering of settlements on the north coast, a vast detour from their current location.

“Great.” Barret sighed, turning away and leaving the others to their squabbling.

Tifa yelped, clutching her hand, having just tried to calm Slug. “Cloud, next time you need something like a chocobo, please pay more than pocket change for it!” She hissed.

“Not now, Tifa, please.” Cloud raised an exasperated hand to his friend. “Just leave Slug, she’s fine.”

“Fine?!” Shouted Barret. “It just bit Tifa!”

Around them, Slug continued to blare, alerting everything within miles to their presence.

Vincent spoke calmly from off to the side. “We should avoid wasting time and just vote.”

“I agree. I don’t think I entirely trust Cloud’s navigational prowess, on account of what I’ve seen so far.” Sephiroth replied. The note of irritation in his voice entirely unhidden.

Cloud swung back to face the taller man. “And what’s that supposed to mean?” The blond braced his hands on his hips.

“Oh, I think you understand perfectly what I mean.” Green eyes pierced down on Cloud’s blue.

The blond reeled back, offended. “Well, I think you’re too nervous of a driver.”

“Better than falling asleep at the wheel like you did.” Sephiroth countered.

“You didn’t!” Tifa interjected in disbelief.

Holding another hand up for her to wait, Cloud shot back, “Well, I think you’re a loser with an empathy problem!”

“Cloud.” Barret scolded.

Sephiroth sneered, “You call yourself the leader of your little group, yet I find that hard to believe, when you act like a petty child.”

“Really, General? At least my little group didn’t massacre thousands in Wutai.”

Those words struck at some hidden sensitivity. “At least Shinra were capable of giving a full mission brief. I’m beginning to lament following you so blindly into this mess.”

“The pizza rolls you make aren’t even that good!” Cloud yelled back with even greater ferocity.

The other looked harmed by that accusation, even more so than the bite about his war crimes. “The colour of that dress didn’t actually suit you.” Sephiroth argued uselessly back.

“Yeah?” Cloud glared, livid. “Well, I fucked your dad!”

Tifa gasped, bringing a hand to her face while Slug abruptly stopped screeching. Barret shook his head, rubbing his temples.

Left with only the sound of rain hitting the dirt, Sephiroth just stood there awkwardly. He frowned deeply, not in anger but confusion. “What? Hojo?”

Cloud could only hear his heartbeat thundering in his hears. “No! Fuck no!” He half laughed, jabbing a finger to the red-cloaked gunman at the edge of their group.

Before him, Sephiroth’s anger cracked, falling away as it was replaced utterly with puzzlement. He turned slowly, as did the rest of the group.

Vincent looked on, his eyes wide and face somehow paler than usual. It was then that the silence hit Cloud, followed by the realisation of what he’d just said.

Bemused, Sephiroth turned back. He opened his mouth, likely to admonish the former for making such a tasteless joke. That was until he read each of their reactions. Finally looking back down at Cloud, a look of hurt and confusion staining his features.

“Oh shit.” Was all Cloud could think to say.

A horrified look on her face, Tifa appeared as though she longed to say a million things, most of which berating her idiotic blond friend.

Barret stepped forward. “Way to let the cat out of the bag, Cloud.” He grumbled, give the shorter man a disapproving sidelong glare. “All those in favour of Seph’s plan.” He rose a hand.

The gesture was slowly but surely copied by everyone. With a sigh, even Cloud rose his hand, mortified by the scene he’d just caused.

“Would ya look how easy that was.” Barret said, voice still low in mild threat. “Follow the tracks it is then.”

It took everyone a moment to follow Barret, with Sephiroth and Vincent’s eyes lingering on each other in mutually odd looks before they too followed.

“Hey.” Tifa called out softly, approaching Cloud from behind.

He supressed a look of displeasure, instead slowing to match her pace, unable to avoid his friend for long. Even clad in her raincoat, her hair was damp, cheeks red from the sharp cold wind which whipped across the lowland. No one in the group had wanted to chat so far, in fact, all kept a distance from one another, with the exception of Tifa and Barret, of course.

That had been fine by Cloud, he was fairly sure none of them wanted to speak with him after his earlier display. Still, he replied to his friend with a sullen nod.

“How’re you doing?”

Cloud wasn’t terribly sure why she was asking. Firstly, he’d always been notoriously unresponsive to ‘Are you okay?’ themed questions, and was unsure why Tifa continued to ask them of him, after all these years. Secondly, his answer was pretty damn obvious.

“Fine… its’s wet.” Cloud had insisted he didn’t need a rain coat, a decision he was now regretting… not that he’d admit that. He continued before she could say anything along the lines of ‘I told you so’. “Is your hand okay? Sorry about that…”

Tifa shrugged, humming an indifferent sound. “You have a way with finding unconventional tag-alongs. I shouldn’t be surprised you’d find a chocobo capable of shattering its species’ expectations. Everything okay with you and Sephiroth?”

“Yeah. We’re both just… you know?” Cloud replied unhelpfully.

“Stressed? This is a lot to take in, for all of us. So, I’m not surprised.” Tifa said, in that careful tone she was so good at. Considerate, despite her hatred for one of those mentioned. “You need to apologise to him.”

“He doesn’t want me anywhere near him right now.” Cloud huffed, sending a glance far in front, where Sephiroth was leading the group, well out of earshot. It wasn’t a statement of total truth. Sephiroth had been difficult to read since the awkward revelation earlier, Cloud just assumed he’d appreciate the space. “Didn’t think you cared about him.”

“I care about keeping this team together. We only set out two days ago and you’ve already said some vile things to him. We’ll be stuck until you own up to that.” Tifa rolled her eyes.

Cloud opened his mouth to say something along the lines of ‘but it’s Sephiroth’. He managed to stop himself, but not before Tifa could detect his defiance.

“Apologise to both of them. Please. I’m not letting you make this journey any worse than it’s going to be.” She gently urged.

“Okay.” He relented. “Alright.”

“Thank you, Cloud.” Tifa smiled when he stepped away from her.

He’d speak to Sephiroth later; it would be fitting to apologise to Vincent first, anyway. The red-cloaked man stayed far back from the group, a vigilant sentinel at their backs. The crimson around him dulled by the thick grey above and the blanket of rain.

Vincent didn’t react when Cloud stepped over onto the other side of the train tracks, towards him. The blond wiped the soggy hair from his face, eyeing how the gunman’s didn’t look any better. The two fell into step beside each other for a long minute. When no admonishment came, Cloud began. “I wasn’t thinking earlier. I had no right to say that and I really messed up.”

The slow seconds it took the other to reply were agonising, but eventually a response came. “Correct, you had no right.” The ex-Turk muttered. “But I’m glad you did.”

Cloud made a double take. “You are?”

Their eyes met and though his expression could be perceived as one of boredom, there was something telling in those haunting eyes. Cloud understood the unspoken sentiment, for as fearless as Vincent was in the face of danger, he struggled with words and expression even more than Cloud. This would have likely been one of those instances where Vincent sat on the issue for longer than necessary, to the point in which it became unhealthy.

“Right.” The blond concluded. “Anything else I can do?”

The other made a negative motion with a subtle hand gesture. “I’ll talk to him.”

“Alright. Sorry again.” Cloud said for good measure, understanding that though he felt increasingly awful over his slip up, he might have unwittingly helped the situation along… hopefully.

Either that, or Sephiroth would kill them all in a fit or rage.

Though the rain failed to stop, it at least slowed for the arrival of early evening. The train track curved around a large sweeping hillside a quarter of a mile away, where a vast forest of pine trees stood unbothered by the days storm.

Choosing to climb up and camp in their midst, the group soon found a long-felled trunk, half sunken into the ground. Barret set up a fire, once satisfied the foliage was damp enough to keep it under control. Meanwhile, Tifa and Vincent wrestled with their tents.

Assured that everyone else had the camp in hand, Sephiroth volunteered to scout the area for threats they’d be potentially exposed to. He was subtly aware that Cloud was following a short distance behind.

Wondering a good ten minutes away from camp, picking his way past more pine trees than he’d ever seen in one place before, Sephiroth slowed. Eventually, Cloud caught up, a slight nervous glint in his eye, when meeting Sephiroth’s.

Since their disagreement earlier, there had persisted an extreme air of discomfort over the whole group. In fact, barley anyone has spoken a word for the entire day’s trek. There was something to be said here, and Sephiroth wasn’t going to be the one to say it.

“If I’m on your shitlist now, I get it.” Cloud eventually spoke. “I didn’t mean for that to happen earlier, it just sorta… came out.”

It was nice, the rain softly pattering down through the drooping canopies, and the evening song of birds warming themselves up after a soggy day. Sephiroth tried to embrace the calm around them. Overall, he mostly just felt tired. “I thought as much. We were both equally petty. Though I did mean what I said about your directional sense.” He was now resigned to the fact that the horrible day of travel would likely be repeating for much of the following two weeks. If he could help it, there was no point in being sour for the entirety of those.

Cloud huffed a laugh, which tugged lightly into the slightest smile. “Yeah, you’re probably right. Honestly, the only reason I know the area so well is because I gotten lost more times than I remember.”

“Why didn’t you tell me about Vincent? If not for all of your reactions, I’d have thought you were joking. The two of us look the same age.”

“Ah, well… we always speculated it, but no one ever had any proof. I wasn’t so sure when we looked through your file, in that underground lab, when it listed Hojo as your dad. Then we met Vince and I think everyone just knew, instantly. Seeing you both together.” Cloud shoved his hands into his pockets. “At that point, it wasn’t my story to tell… until I did… sorry.”

It was Sephiroth’s turn to laugh. “That is understandable. I suppose the humiliation of such was a fair return for my actions last night.”

“Heh, guess so. That wasn’t the point, by the way.” They resumed their walk, together this time. “You seem awfully calm about this.”

Softly, their steps crunched over fallen pinecones and old branches, as the two set a vague path which circled around their camp. “I was always told my mother was Jenova, until I find out she was actually a woman I have no connection with. I was told I have no father, but found that he was a man who’s seen me as nothing more than a lab animal. To now know that it was not him, but another man I know nothing of is of little consequence at this point, I suppose.” Sephiroth shrugged. If Vincent didn’t have some seriously good answers or proof, there was little point in believing him either.

His response made Cloud’s shoulders slump. “Yeah. I’m not sure I get it, but I know for sure you can trust Vincent more than Hojo. If it makes any difference, I don’t know my dad either.”

“Oh? You haven’t mentioned your parents.” Or at least not past his mother’s pet allergy.

Cloud kicked a loose pine cone as they wondered, which bounced off the large tree roots jutting about. “My dad bailed before I was born, so it was just me and my mom.”

“Did you ever wish to reconnect with him?” Sephiroth asked, nudging the pine cone back into his companion’s path.

The blond shook his head. “Not really. The two of us were fine without him. I’d never met him, so I had no one to miss when he was gone. You know what I mean?”

“That makes sense. On the other hand, it’s something I’ve always wished to know.” Even when he’d been introduced to Genesis and Angeal’s sometimes messy home lives, it hadn’t put him off from imagining the family he’d be potentially missing out on. “Dare I ask why I never knew of Vincent?”

“It’s his story to tell, but don’t blame him for not being there. He didn’t exactly have a choice.” Cloud said, not really keeping an eye out for monsters lurking in the trees. “We found him locked in Hojo’s basement, taking a thirty-year depression nap.”

Well, if he had to choose between an actual alien, a mad scientist with a certain delight for torture or a strange time-traveling recluse for potential parents, Sephiroth supposed he got the best of such. “Then I shall wait for him to approach me before I ask for answers.” He could suppress his eagerness for answers until the other saw fit, even if it hurt to wait.

“Right.” Cloud nodded. “You know, I didn’t mean what I said earlier, you do make really good pizza rolls.”

“Good, you had me worried for a moment.” Sephiroth hummed a laugh. He’d been concerned that Cloud would be upset with him for longer, especially after last night. The ease of which they spoke to one another again proved to be a welcome shift from the awful day they’d shared. Perhaps that was the reason both were so willing to forgive and forget, on this occasion. “I lied too. The dress you wore was very nice.”

Cloud smiled a little wider. “Nice to know. It’s still in your apartment, I think.”

“Why? Were you thinking of wearing it for me again?” He offered his own sly smile back at the blond, who gawked at his words.

“For you? Technically the last time I wore it was for Reeve.”

“Oh really? Not trying to impress Zack or Aerith?”

“Not intentionally.” Cloud smirked. “Also, why would you buy something and only wear it once? That’s a complete waste.”

A while ahead, a creature snuffled about in the undergrowth. Hearing their approach, it darted swiftly out of sight. “Not even the shoes?” Sephiroth questioned.
Cloud shook his head with a look of revulsion. “Anything but those. Already got rid of them.” At the questioning glance he received, Cloud continued. “I threw them out of your bedroom window.”

Sephiroth laughed openly at that. “That night wasn’t so bad. I enjoyed your company.”

“Hmm, yeah, I suppose. Let’s not make parties a regular thing. I can only deal with one every several years.”

“What about the dancing though?” Sephiroth teased. “You seemed quite at home with that.”

Cloud made a mock choking noise. “Yeah right.”

“No, really. You were quite talented.” He insisted, but Cloud just rolled his eyes.

A thought passed through Sephiroth, which morphed into a sudden impulse. Giving into it, he did what Genesis might have in such a situation- just go for it.

Reaching out, Cloud’s eyes followed Sephiroth’s hand as it grasped his. Pulling them to a stop amongst the twisting roots and darkening forest. At their touch, that familiar connection flared to life, a little stronger than they’d recently come to expect. Perhaps thanks to the emotionally charged day or that sudden impulse to touch.

With a look of curiosity, breaching slightly into nervousness, Cloud watched carefully, but didn’t pull away even as Sephiroth took his other hand.

“Our connection was so strong then, do you recall?” He moved them into position, as if to begin a slow dance, but stopped there without beginning, instead searching out that feeling they’d shared.

Cloud nodded, still looking sheepish. “Yeah, I do.”

Admittedly, they couldn’t move around much in their present location, on account of the writhing damp roots covering every inch of the woodland floor. Both would probably end up on their asses if they tried to dance. As it happened, Sephiroth was quite content to do very little. In fact, Cloud made him realise just how chilly he’d been, having gotten soaked through hours previous.

Likely coming to the same conclusion, Cloud sighed, sinking into the touch. Taking the opportunity, Sephiroth moved in closer, pulling the other against him, rather like they had been during the night of the party.

Giving in despite his apparent apprehension, Cloud let his head rest against the other’s shoulder. There was something right about this, Sephiroth couldn’t put his finger on what. Most likely to do with that bond the two shared, which seemed so delighted the closer they were. At least while they’d been traveling these last few weeks, the headaches and other symptoms he’d experienced while fighting to get through his working hours had dissipated.

“You know, you can always ask Barret if you want a hug. He’ll never say no to one.” Cloud mumbled into Sephiroth’s shoulder.

Disregarding the statement, instead focusing on the other’s emotional tiredness, Sephiroth wished he could do something about that. “Would you prefer us to not share contact?” He hadn’t been the most stable recently, it might be wise for Cloud to stay out of his reach for now…

“Nah, ‘s fine.”

There was something deeply contenting about the slow patter of rain and low evening lighting. As the sun had sunk down, the birds had begun to retire to their nests… probably where the two of them should be heading too.

“These next few weeks are going to be difficult.” Cloud stated, in a voice which suggested he was dreading the journey and destination both.

Sephiroth nodded. “The point of a mission should never be enjoyment.”

“Suppose not.” Cloud laughed bitterly. “We got each other’s backs though, right?”

“Whether we’d like to or not.” Sephiroth assured in good nature.

He released Cloud when the other began to move away. His friend’s face settled into something stoic and unreadable. “C’mon, let’s see if the fire is going yet. I’m starving.” Cloud said, turning to lead them back to camp.

After a short walk, they returned to find the others gathered around a campfire, finally drying off. One of the tents had been stretched out and tied to the trees to act as a canopy, under which their sleeping bags were gathered.

“This is going to be a really trying few weeks.” Tifa spoke later, once everyone was beginning to settle. “But, we’ve done crazier things before. It’ll be worth it to get rid of Jenova.”

The others agreed, hopefully finding some motivation in her words, as well as the pleasantly blazing campfire.

Sephiroth opted to take first watch, for which he settled onto the remains of the fallen trunk. Everyone was so exhausted after just their first day, he worried they’d lack the stamina to reach the mountain range, if these conditions were to persist.

Still, he had hope. If Cloud’s friends had done anything, it was prove that they were not to be taken lightly.

Appreciating the calm and quiet, which worked to soften his overstimulated senses from the day, Sephiroth worked on a plan. Recalling the map, he thought out places to rest, areas where they could cut a more direct route, contingencies for if his teammates couldn’t keep up.

Glancing over his shoulder at the sound of soft footsteps, a figure of red and black stepped out of the darkness. Sephiroth didn’t even noticed that Vincent hadn’t bunked down with the others. Carefully, he drew near, finally allowing his presence to be known.

“Sit, if you’d like.” Sephiroth spoke, letting his eyes settle on the middle distance once again.

With an air of reluctance, the other approached, taking a place on the other end of the fallen log. Not too close.

From there, time stretched out around the two. The quiet between them not uncomfortable but not relaxed either.

It must have been nearly half an hour before a gruff voice spoke quietly. “I understand if you’d like me to stay further from the group.”

“You do? I hardly see how that would be beneficial.” Sephiroth noted the way the other fidgeted with his hands, poking a hole through his worn cloak with the thumb of a single armoured hand. An accessory the General hadn’t previously noticed. How peculiar.

Though, he hadn’t noticed much at all about the man, on account that he’d stayed out of Sephiroth’s line of sight as much as physically possible. He was tall, nearly as much so as Sephiroth and possessed similar facial features. From what one could tell, that was where the similarities ended. Though, they also appeared to be of comparable age, which only raised more confusion.

The man had a half-wild aspect about him, like he no longer possessed something vitally human. Be it his oddly creeping gate, the crimson eyes, his unkept hair or that he remained mostly hidden under his well worn cowl. The man was pale as a corpse and Sephiroth recalled what Cloud had said about him being locked up for three decades.

When they threatened to lapse back into silence, Sephiroth tried to drag back the conversation. What to ask though? He supposed it didn’t very much matter if his questions might be considered improper. Might as well get straight to the point. “You are aware of the circumstances of my conception?”

Reluctantly, Vincent nodded.

“I learned recently that my father was Hojo. I’d been told beforehand that I didn’t have one.”

Vincent pushed another hole into his tattered cloak, as if the words had bitten into him in equal measure. “I knew it was one of us.”

“My file lists my mother as a Dr Crescent.”

“Lucrecia, yes.” Vincent supplied.

“Not Jenova?” It was terribly strange, to finally be discussing this with a seemingly knowledgeable source. Sephiroth once thought he’d be elated to find his parents- had imagined this meeting countless times over. Yet it brought him little of the delight he imagined.

Vincent shook his head. “Though I suppose she was more a mother than anyone else.”

It was an odd statement but one which felt strangely true, regardless of how foul he now knew the alien entity to be.

Behind them, the campfire crackled happily away while the rest of the group slept soundly.

Realising there was about to be yet another break in conversation, Sephiroth jumped in again. “Perhaps our previous introduction was improper. I did appear without your knowledge and caused quite the stir.” He heard Vincent hum, in a way which might have been humour. Sephiroth hoped to at least make an even playing field for them both. He held out a hand. “General Sephiroth, Soldier First Class.”

The other eyed his hand for a moment before slowly reaching out his own gloved one. “Vincent Valentine.”

Sephiroth frowned, he recognised that name from somewhere. Upon releasing each other’s hands, Vincent seemed to catch up to his confusion. “Ex-Turk.”

“How intriguing.” Actually, that did ring a bell, but that wasn’t the first thing the name brought to mind. “I was thinking of a Professor Valentine.”

In surprise, Vincent’s eyes rose further out from under his cowl. “My father?”

“His study being xenobiology?” Sephiroth queried. He continued when Vincent provided a single nod. “Ah, small world. Forgive me, I take enjoyment from a variety of scientific journals- whatever I can get my hands on.”

Again, Vincent nodded, his expression deepening into a grimace. “I never had a head for science, as much as he’d have liked.” Sephiroth was unsure what he’d said to cause such a reaction, but he let it slide as he discovered more of this man’s oddities.

Still, the surreality of their situation persisted and suddenly there was a question on his lips which couldn’t stay silenced. “Am I to believe that Hojo assumed I was his child? If not, how did I end up under his control?”

“Yes. And because I was weak.” Vincent whispered. His gauntlet clicking as he squeezed the metal around his fist.

“How so?” Sephiroth asked.

“Lucrecia chose Hojo over myself. I should have understood the nature of what they aimed to achieve. My son or not, I should have fought tooth and nail for you.” The grinding of his metal armour was an irritating sound. “It is my greatest sin that I failed to do so.”

What he was suggesting fell finally into place. “I was bred to test Jenova’s cells.” A simple specimen to rival Hollander’s projects. Not lost from some loving family, who mourned his disappearance, as he’d once fantasised.

Well, that put things into perspective.

At the choice of words, Vincent gave a wince. Sephiroth didn’t understand why, it was what it was, even if the admission stung. “That hardly matters now.” Sephiroth answered in the other’s absence, rather than watching him try to form a response.

Vincent continued to look like he wished to say more, but was fighting with the words. This time, Sephiroth let him stew, the core of his own questions having now been answered. More could be asked in due time.

Then, a strange phenomenon occurred. Vincent’s eyes shifted from crimson to a ring of gold, inhuman but strangely intelligent in their glow, as if they emanated a lost ancient knowledge. The energy of the clearing subtly changed to one of a dark and hidden power.

Tilting his head back to reveal a curling grin, the gold of his eyes fell back on Sephiroth’s. “My host is too cowardly to pry, but I will.” It spoke in Vincent’s voice. This time, the tone was off and Sephiroth understood that something was speaking through him. “At world’s end, we prevailed over you, crushed all such spawn of the Calamity. Despite your past ties, we put you down. Though, my host would prefer to avoid such this time.”

Sephiroth was careful not to express his shock at such a change. “And who am I speaking with now?”

Not-Vincent’s smile broadened. “Wouldn’t you like to know.”

Oh, how very grown up. Sephiroth quirked an eyebrow. “Well rest assured I intend to keep firmly out of anyone’s grasp this time around. I note you said your host would prefer to not engage me again, can the same be said for yourself?”

The other loosed a low rumbling laugh, the sort of sound no human should be capable of producing. Perhaps it offered a reason why the man’s voice sounded so worn. “I always appreciate a decent opponent.”

With a shudder, the smile and peculiar eyes vanished, as he returned to Vincent. He lifted a hand, pinching at his bandana and looking suddenly unwell.

“I see that neither of us are entirely human.” Sephiroth said, trying not to feel shaken by the encounter.

“Don’t take anything Chaos says seriously.” Vincent grumbled.

Wait… “Chaos?” The primordial aura the change gave off, Professor Valentine’s study of choice- the Planet’s Weapons…

The other nodded unenthusiastically. “Hojo and Lucrecia found other ways of making me useful.” Before Sephiroth could ask any further, Vincent continued- the quickest he’d spoken all evening. “I’ll cover the watch. Get some rest.”

Sephiroth understood there was no use in prying now. This conversation was over. “You’re sure?”

The other gave a dismissive wave and Sephiroth rose from his seat, eager to climb into a warm sleeping bag. Although, with the awful day they’d had and the revelations just revealed to him, he wasn’t sure when he’d find peace in sleep. “It was nice to finally meet you. I hope you know now that you don’t need to stick to the shadows when I’m around.”

Vincent was now the one schooling his expression into one of neutrality. “Understood, and… I’m sorry.”

Standing over the hunched man, it was strange to believe they were related. The apology was unnecessary, it didn’t very much sound like he’d had an opportunity to decide Sephiroth’s fate. If he was being truthful. “What is done is done. I harbour no ill will towards you.” Briefly, they shook hands a final time, a formality which felt right in the moment. “Thank you, for giving me some answers.”

With that, Sephiroth turned, heading for the warmth of his bed.

Chapter Text

Cloud awoke slowly, rising to the sound of Barret’s snoring accompanied by a pattering of fine rain. Greeting him was grey morning light and a full song of birds in the trees. Pulling himself into a sitting position, he blinked away the feeling of sleep and took stock of their surroundings.

Their five sleeping bags lined up in a disorderly manner, beside Slug, who had also squeezed under the tent canopy. Vincent sat just beyond their burnt-out fire. All good and in order.

Cloud smiled, filled with a renewed excitement for traveling as a group again. Surely this journey wouldn’t be a awful as they were anticipating, not when he was with friends. Finally, after so long, they were-.

Wait. Five sleeping bags?

He recounted, picking out familiar forms until his eyes came upon something unexpected.

Or rather someone.

“Yuffie?!” Cloud spoke in disbelief.

The sound roused Tifa and Sephiroth, and from the corner of his eye, Vincent jolted, seemingly having fallen asleep on watch.

Tifa sleepily wiped a hand over her eyes, coming to blink up at Cloud. He pointed to her left, wearing a look of disbelief. “Oh,- Yuffie?” She asked, sharing her friend’s amazement.

“Hmm?” The campsite infiltrator stirred. “Ay, hey guys.” She yawned loudly. “Fancy meeting you here.”

“Where’s my bike, Yuffie?” Cloud immediately asked, skipping greetings and introductions.

Her gaze met him, and the young woman grinned. “Yo, Cloud. Uhh, don’t be mad, okay?”

“So, this is our thief?” Sephiroth sounded terribly unimpressed and more tired than usual. He stretched his back, rolling his shoulders with an irritated wince.

Cloud crossed his arms. “I assure you, I am already mad.”

“Cool.” She replied cheerfully, as if not hearing him. “That bike was waaay too loud and clunky, so when it ran out of fuel, I swapped it for a few packs of trading cards.” Throwing her arms forwards in an energetic movement, Yuffie sat up.

“You what?!” Cloud cried, mortified. A few birds scattered from nearby at the sound.

Yuffie reached into her pocket. “Yeah, lemme show you. I got some neat shinies.”

“You swapped my bike for trading cards?!”

Barret grumbled, waking up. He muttered something under his breath in great distaste.

“And our materia?” Sephiroth narrowed his eyes.

“Don’t worry about that.” Yuffie chirped. “It’s all perfectly safe in Wutai.”

Sephiroth visible bristled. “Wutai? That was mastered materia.”

Tifa shuffled out of her sleeping bag, rolling and tying it together. “How did you even find us?”

“Ya see, that’s a loooong story.” The youngest of the group scrambled out of her own bed alongside Tifa, instantly full of energy. “I followed you over on the ferry from the eastern continent, by hiding in the cargo bay. I wanted to spend the week in Costa Del Sol but it was just tooo hot, so I hitched a ride over and jumped on a train, literally on top of it, it was awesome you should have-,”

Holding her hand up, Tifa sighed. “Right, better question- how did you find our camp?”

Yuffie shrugged. “Lucky guess. You guys are kind of predictable. Vincent fell asleep on watch so I just walked right in. Tadaa! Yuffie joins the party!” She waved a greeting at the gunman, who was slowly catching up with the situation.

“Good morning, Yuffie.” Vincent nodded, unbothered by her antics.

Cloud looked disapprovingly at their chocobo. “Damnit, Slug. You had one job.”

Beside him, Barret was rolling back over, having decided that it was too early to deal with this nonsense.

“Your ‘bo?” Yuffie pointed at Slug. “That’s a cute name.” She strolled casually over to the resting chocobo. “Cute name for a cute bird.” She cooed, hands outstretched and stepping into Slug’s space.

Before the others could give a word of warning, something incredible happened. They gasped as the rogue took both hands and softly clasped them around Slug’s face, affectionately ruffling her feathers. The bird didn’t even feel the need to stand or threaten- not even growl!

Cloud’s first worrying thought was that their pack chocobo was sick. Had she picked up a respiratory infection from getting so wet yesterday? He climbed out of his bed while Yuffie petted the vile beast as if it were a house cat. The instant Cloud stepped closer, sure enough, Slug was on her feet, feathers puffing up and low growl rattling from her beak. Nope, she was fine.

“How did you manage that?” Tifa asked, watching the exchange in shock.

“Manage what?” Yuffie had returned to rolling up her camp bed. “Can I make an observation? A criticism?”

“No.” grumbled Cloud.

Yuffie continued regardless. “Uhh, bold choice inviting him into the team.” She prodded a finger towards Sephiroth. “Don’t recall agreeing to that one. I’d have ticked the ‘strongly disagree’ box, if you’d have included me.”

“Don’t worry. You aren’t the only one who didn’t get the memo.” Barret mumbled, his back turned on the others, shoulders somehow not too wide for the compact sleeping bag.

“If you have an issue with my presence then you’re welcome to say so. Everyone else has.” Sephiroth’s temper was already running short, it seemed.

Ignoring the disagreement, Vincent busied himself with packing away their camp. Having already sorted everyone a breakfast ration from their supply pack.

Yuffie continued, addressing Cloud. “Yeah, odd choice, if you don’t mind the observation. After what he did to you? After he killed thousands of my people? Helped bring Wutai down under Shinra’s foot?” Her tone shifting from its usual carefree into something more sarcastic and bitter.

Cloud tried to reassure her before she said anything regrettable. “That’s why he’s here, to prevent the second wave of the war.”

But Yuffie stomped over to Sephiroth, glaring up from where she barely came up to his chest. The two very different fighters glared at one another in unspoken exchange. “Yuffie Kisaragi, Wutai’s greatest warrior.” She introduced with an air of determination.

Sephiroth studied her. “Kisaragi? You are of the royal family?”

“And don’t you forget it.” She prodded a finger into his chest, not backing down from the intense glare.

Coming to some sort of conclusion, Sephiroth nodded, turning away to assist Vincent. “Then it would appear our blades are pointed against the same foe.”

“Good answer.” She replied.

Tifa shook her head, shouldering her own equipment. “Welcome back to the team then, I guess.”

The following five days passed in a blur of wet weather and sore legs. Nobody could quite compete with Yuffie’s energy and only Tifa could rival her dislike for Sephiroth.

It was interesting observing Cloud’s gaggle of friends. They were an odd assortment with barely any hint of command structure. Occasionally, they would look to Cloud for guidance as if he were a kind of part-time leader, but even that seemed more out of habit than anything else.

Sephiroth, from his military background, was sure most of his Soldiers would end up at odds with each other if their ranks were removed, so it was entertaining to view a group which worked so well with such a lack of formality.

More so, was the way they fought together.

All proved to be formidable combatants on their own, but their group work appeared almost effortless in how they moved as one.

Though monsters were an infrequent problem, on the fourth day of travel, the group became surrounded by a large flock of avian creatures. The feathered monsters outnumbered the party and towered over even Slug in size.

Still, they proved no real threat and it allowed Sephiroth a good chance to see the team in battle.

Barret took a defensive position, watching Tifa and Cloud’s backs while Vincent alternated between both positions with a careful aggression. Meanwhile, Yuffie zipped through enemies, flanking preoccupied monsters. Even Slug got in on the action, finally allowed an outlet for her killer instincts.

At one point, Cloud and Vincent broke off, apparently unbothered by the ongoing combat. The blond made a suggestion which Sephiroth was unable to hear. Then, as if challenging the General’s expectations even further, Vincent did something.
A subtle shift in the air preceded the man’s hunched form altering into one of bestial nature, resembling the formidable shape of a Behemoth. Upon just hearing it roar, the remaining monsters scattered, with several managing to be chased down by the destructive creature which had moments ago been Vincent.

After said incident, Sephiroth had come to learn that this was a common enough occurrence. He’d also found that Vincent had at one time shared his existence with four separate creatures, though two had long since gone dormant.
Galian, he discovered the beast was named,- which the team seemed to treat as a weird oversized dog. The other, Chaos, which Sephiroth had learned was the Chaos from the scriptures of the Cetra, (Which had admittedly blown his mind a little) was much bolder, now Vincent wasn’t trying to supress its presence.

Each clearly had a mind of their own and their host was resigned if not begrudgingly, to their whims.

“They get along better than they used to.” Cloud had said without any further explanation when asked. “Travel with us for long enough, and you’ll stop finding things like this weird.”

To everyone’s utter shock, Yuffie had indeed befriended Slug. Speculation was that the chocobo must be held under some spell. She spent most of their days sat cross-legged on the bird’s saddle, with Slug walking carefully as to not knock her off balance.

No one could understand how such a thing had happened, but everyone agreed it was a nice change of pace for Slug to look something other than menacing.

“Yeah, but you ever think about how weird it is that we just decided to start giving each other little metal disks and calling it money? Like it means something? Who the hell decided that?” Barret mused, mid rant as he studied some short change he’d found in the bottom of his pocket.

Cloud, lit by the glow of their campfire, crossed his arms. “Okay, but there needs to be some form of trading currency. What would we use otherwise?”

Finally, the rain had let up during the day, a welcome respite from the constant dreary cold and damp. The party gathered around their campfire once the sun had finally set.

Between them both, Tifa pressed a palm to her face, muffling a plea for them to stop.

“I don’t know… produce. Home grown stuff?” Barret answered.

“What if the ground you live on isn’t suitable for growing? Like Midgar.” Cloud pointed out.

Barret was next to cross his arms. “People would have more respect for what’s below their feet and have some incentive to keep their land healthy. Or, you’d just make other things for trade, right?”

“But then what’re the rich going to be hoarding? Potatoes?” Cloud threw back in a painfully dry tone.

“That’s enough.” Tifa held her hands up. “Change the subject, please.”

Yuffie, who was leaning casually against Slug, giggled as she cleaned the mud out of the bird’s feathers. She continued their conversation, moving the subject of discussion elsewhere.

Sephiroth chose not to listen. He’d been beset by chills over the last few hours and found the others hard to focus on. It was so different traveling with this group than it had been with Zack and Aerith, and with each passing day, he found himself missing their easy company a little more. Then again, he wasn’t exactly well liked by the current group, nor were they having a particularly good time.

He stared long into the flickering of the campfire until the light began to sting his eyes. Was all this wet weather making him sick? Their voices were swimming together in his head and his back ached horribly. Rolling his shoulders to try to loosen the muscles only made it worse, strange considering he’d done little physical activity aside from walking. Sleeping on the floor had never bothered him previously, when out on missions. For days now, it had gotten progressively more uncomfortable.

Climbing to his feet drew the attention of the others. “Do excuse me, I’m off to bed.”

The others gave a few dismissive words of response, which Sephiroth didn’t bother listening to. He stretched out his back again, which fired another shooting pain across his shoulders. Hopefully it would pass in a few days.

When Sephiroth stepped away to collect his sleeping bag, something caught the corner of his eye. Something which didn’t fit the sandy dirt and low but plentiful vegetation. Looking up, his tired eyes adjusted slowly to the light.

The breath must have audibly caught in his throat.

There stood a figure twenty feet out. An unmistakable shape which caught the last light of the fire. Auburn hair, long coat of red, a subtle glint from armour.

The ghost looked up, meeting Sephiroth’s disbelieving eye. No way. There was no way this was real.

But he none the less felt his heart lurch. How? How had he survived? How had he found them? His pulse beat in his ears, loud and aggressive.

The wall he’d built up over the last year threatened to crack, under just the ghost’s blank gaze.

“Seph?”

Cloud’s voice broke through his stupor. Sephiroth blinked and just like that, the firelit spectre vanished.

That had been an illusion too? It couldn’t have been real… but no, he was there!

The voices behind him became more defined the longer he spent rooted to the spot, peering into the darkness in case the other had managed to slip away without him noticing.

“Hey, you see somethin’?” Barret’s voice, louder than the others’ buzzed uncomfortably in his ears.

Yuffie chuckled, “You think it’s updog?”

“What is updog?” Vincent asked, concern in his low voice.

At his response Yuffie howled with laughter, the sound cutting through Sephiroth’s skull like a lighting bolt. He winced, recoiled and finally drew away. He needed to go to bed right the fuck now, something was seriously wrong with him.

Ignoring the others, he finally turned away, refusing to search any longer for the mirage.

“You okay?” Cloud had stood, wearing a fretful look, turning a blind eye to his jovial friends.

Sephiroth offered him the most dismissive of nods, not stopping before grabbing his sleeping bag and tossing it further away from the group. A little voice warned that if he were sick, he should be stopping closer to the fire, not further out in the cold, especially if it rained later. There was something claustrophobic about a tent, even the larger ones intended for sharing… No, he needed to stay as far away from them as possible.

Shedding his coat and draping it over him for extra warmth, he couldn’t stop repeating the second in which they’d looked up to meet each other’s stare. It must have been a conjuring of his own mind, there’d been something missing from the mirage’s eyes. That spark which made a person alive.

Sleep was hard to come by. Sephiroth couldn’t stop shifting, it was impossible to get comfortable with his muscles so strangely uncomfortable. At first, he tried to block out the quiet voices of those still up around the campfire, until eventually they became an ample distraction.

Eventually, the encroaching exhaustion got the better of him, and sleep dragged him forcefully down…

Sephiroth sat in his apartment, reclined comfortably in his armchair- his favourite place in the world. Eyes drooping closed, the lights of his room dipped low and comfortable. Nothing to challenge him or get under his skin, just his own simple sanctuary…

Except Sephiroth wasn’t alone.

Cracking open his eyes, they fell on a man he’d seen both incredibly recently and equally not for a very long time.

“I think I hallucinated you.” Sephiroth sighed.

Genesis, who copied his relaxed position from the other sofa, turned his head. Giving Sephiroth a relaxed smile. He said nothing.

Sephiroth rose an eyebrow, expecting something smarmy like ‘Then maybe it’s time to get yourself checked into an institute’ or ‘How flattering’. Yet nothing came.

They’d spent a decent number of evenings this way, just sat in the quiet, reading together. Sometimes sharing insights or quips. So familiar was it that Sephiroth instinctively listened out to hear whether Angeal was elsewhere in the apartment.

There was something unsettling which pushed through his bliss. Genesis never left a potential tease unsaid, especially if it was at Sephiroth’s expense. They were rivals, after all.

Something was missing in his expression, eyes too dull… And the way he was sitting was a copy of the General’s posture. No, Genesis always sat facing him and the large window, with his legs across the sofa. Angeal used to grumble at him, swat his legs over to make room.

Why was he wearing his uniform in Sephiroth’s room? He never did that.

“I still have your book.” He tried. If fate was going to give him a chance to talk to this man again, then he would talk to him like a ghost.

The test was failed when Genesis merely quirked his lips, widening his smile the smallest amount.

With well-defined hearing in the otherwise noiseless space, Sephiroth searched out the delicate drum of a heartbeat.

He found one- the beats scattered and ill timed, abnormal with no rhythm.

The mask began to break, awareness crawling back within his grasp. Examining the man before him, Sephiroth scrutinised his appearance. His Lieutenant’s posture was too straight, failing to capture his rebellious nature. Still, it was a more welcome version of Genesis than when they’d last met in person, when the degradation was draining him away. His eyes were calm and might have even held a comfort in them, if they still carried that spark of life.
Although, his hair was a little too perfect, the strands all a singular colour, not made of subtle differing shades, only noticeable by a close observer. His right pauldron was supposed to have a slice through the edge, one the man hated and had been unable to buff out. The third clasp on his coat had come loose and had needed restitching by Angeal, leaving the treads a slightly different shade, mismatching the rest of the jacket. Also, along the top of his right boot, the leather was wrinkled from a burn, barely noticeable under all the polish… or so there should have been.

None of those details were present. Even if Genesis, who always strived for perfection would have loved it, the ghost’s aspect lacked something which was very distinctly the man it was trying to impersonate.

An imitation, another lure.

“Why’re you here?” Sephiroth asked, voice low in suspicion. Setting into motion and slipping out of his chair. There came with the movement a dizzying feeling, like the air pressure was off. For a dream, he felt awfully lucid.

The imitation Genesis matched his movement. “Mother has been calling you. Why do you ignore her summons?”

That voice crashed upon him like a tidal wave. It was so like the man he’d known, and it hit him in just the wrong way that it threatened to crack his resolve. “Explain yourself.” He demanded.

“You isolate yourself from your Mother. Why? You could be so much more, return to us, your intended place is with her.” The ghost stepped closer.

Sephiroth held his ground, not giving this thing an inch. “Jenova? You’re mistaken.”

“How could you have forgotten her so easily?” The red spectre waved a hand at something behind Sephiroth, who turned to the large window of his room.

Blazing in orange and black, a now familiar image of death from the heavens, but one he still failed to understand. His attention finally being drawn to the oncoming cataclysm, the building began shaking.

‘Genesis’ continued, seeing Sephiroth’s confusion. “This is all yours you know? You brought this down, on her behalf. How could you have forgotten.” He repeated.
His words didn’t sound much like his Lieutenant’s should have, with a listlessness in their timbre.

It was true, he still experienced that obscene joy at seeing Midgar burn, a feeling which slipped undisturbed to the back of his mind during waking hours. Sephiroth chuckled at the sheer absurdity. “You take me for a fool.” That level of carnage caused by him? Such a thing was inconceivable.

Had he been alive, Genesis would have laughed at that. This facsimile only stared blankly ahead. “They deceive you, those insects you’ve been fraternising with. Why bother with them when you can be one with us?”

His fist clenched and the building precariously swayed. “What do you want?”

“This vessel longs for you to become one with our collective.”

“Maybe that vessel should have known his place and stayed within his previous fold!” The General glowered, the heat from Midgar’s doom radiating through the splitting window pane. ‘Genesis’ continued to say nothing, so Sephiroth picked up in his absence. “What happened? In the version of events I don’t remember?”

For a second time, ‘Genesis’ gestured to the window. “You answered Mother’s call.”

Dust fell from the ceiling as the building gave a mournful groan. There was movement on the walls and floor about him and like the other aspects of this dream, they seemed to become fully real once Sephiroth noticed them. Inhuman magenta eyes covered the walls, all trained on him while tendrils weaved like snakes in a sluggish crawl over his feet.

Like Midgar’s fiery death, he should have felt repulsed by this, but somehow the feeling just didn’t reach.

Sephiroth sneered. “Jenova is not my mother. If she were, she’d know not to puppet your disgraced husk in my presence!” In a bid to force himself into waking, Sephiroth tried to focus his mind.

Unfortunately, this place seemed as much Jenova’s as it was his. Instantly, she knew and an ear-splitting cacophony like a shriek sliced into his head. Doubling over at the intensity, Sephiroth couldn’t react before those otherworldly appendages entrapped his legs in a bone-crushing hold. All around him, her eyes peered straight into his soul.

“Why?!” ‘Genesis’ strode over, the first display of anything resembling discernible human emotion gracing his features. “We’re so close, we can purge the Planet this time! Just like we wanted!”

Held firmly in place, snarling at the agony shooting through his head, burning anywhere those accursed limbs touched, Sephiroth reached for his blade.

But, to his horror, it failed to respond to his call.

With no means to prevent him, Genesis reached out and grasped at Sephiroth’s face.

Something in the action ground his mind to a standstill. Relenting to the pressure and the pain and the sudden understanding that this wasn’t something he could opt out of. It wasn’t new, the fear, nor the barely awake surrender which overtook him.

The weakness was seized on and the world rapidly plunged into thick darkness.

Down here the air was viscous, like being underwater, pricked at his skin like a mako pool. His eyes were wide, Sephiroth knew they were, and yet he was blind.

It was too much, his senses overwhelmed and an unwelcome force rifling through his head. Almost clawing through his memories, rearranging things, tugging things out of place, lessening his resolve. Desperately, he tried to recall what Aerith had suggested and what Cloud had said. But unlike his friends, Sephiroth just couldn’t bring up the kind of mental defence which was needed.

That unbearable sound. A choking smell of something between oil and ozone. Knives in flesh. A kaleidoscope of sensation. Burning and freezing.

A glimmer broke through the discordance, a tiny hint of light, only semi corporeal. Green and alive, repelling the darkness.

The Holy materia.

Snatching it up before Jenova could become aware, its energy pulsed through him. Weak in its affect but one of monumental assistance none the less. Sephiroth couldn’t tell what it was doing, what it’s power even was. It didn’t drive Jenova away, nor did it wake him, but like a barrier spell, it walled him from the full threat of her hell.

Still, his mental fortitude wasn’t strong enough, and it wasn’t long until Jenova coiled fully around his brain. Sephiroth knew he’d lost when his pain began to ebb away, the terrible screeching in his head became a sound like heavenly music to him.

The overwhelming sensations were all still present, but something of his perception of them shifted. Unexpectedly, it was like opening his eyes anew and seeing this powerful, ethereal entity for what she was.

Sephiroth could sense her around him. A great shifting mass, sometimes taking on a form more humanoid before morphing into the otherworldly. She wasn’t just a single entity anymore. Her cells populated him and numerous other creatures, where they grew and multiplied.

It made them family.

Oh, he understood it now. How could he have missed it all this time?

This was love, wasn’t it? This cloying feeling which dripped down his spine from under his skin. Suddenly he understood why she’d fought to aggressively to get into his head. Mother really did love him, it was just shown in a manner he’d struggled to recognise.

She looked into his mind and singled out his reason for denying her- his friends.

Lovingly, she made a compromise. ‘Join me and I’ll give you power over them. They can join us as we devour this planet.’

He need only give himself to her and he could take his rightful place as a God over this world.

Hers.

In that moment, he wordlessly agreed. The feeling so far above anything he’d experienced before with a human. There was no obligation to pretend to be like them anymore. He never had been human, had he? Her cells had been there nurturing him right from the very beginning.

‘I suppose she was more a mother than anyone else.’ Someone familiar had said.

They didn’t all have to die. He’d keep Cloud, even if Mother recoiled at the thought of him. Aerith and Zack could stay too. Vincent was interesting enough and Barret had been nice to him, if reluctantly. Lazard too, if he was somehow still alive…

There came a twisting in the air, as some sort of response was raised.

Oh, was he being too greedy? Mother was reluctant to share him with that many… fine. He’d pick Cloud, if she would only permit him one.

He smiled to himself at the thought of it- the two of them ruling together. Cloud would like that too. Sephiroth should know, the two were made for each other. Perfect accomplices tied so wholly together, unlike Cloud and his pathetic friends.

Sephiroth wouldn’t allow them to keep him. No, the Planet’s Champion belonged to Mother and by extension, him.

She showed him visions, strange things he didn’t remember doing but felt so familiar.

Coercing Cloud into handing over an artifact of some description. With which he emerged from a long sleep, now infused with Mother’s powers into the light and the cold.
Using that power and the artifact to summon the cataclysm, the joint will of himself and Jenova.

Each vision increased in its familiarity until he understood, these were his forgotten memories!

They could do it all again, this time with knowledge of the past and Cloud at his side. (Why hadn’t Cloud stood with him last time?)

She needed Sephiroth to free her, from the reactor in the mountains.

That was his first job.

Wake up now, no dawdling!

She placed an unseen appendage on his back, a soothing thing behind his shoulder, in some show of encouragement. As she released his exhausted form from her grasp, Sephiroth was vaguely aware of a tiny ball of materia still held tightly in his palm. It pulsed soothing waves in time with his heartbeat, but in his utterly overwhelmed state, he had no clue to the thing’s origin or use.

As if drifting freely back up to the waters surface, she allowed him to finally wake…

…

It was like being dropped from freezing water into boiling magma.

He had awoken, Sephiroth knew that, when the terrible sensations twisted, impacting his nerves with greater clarity.

Muffled sounds, several of them, all with a murky, ill-defined quality to them. Two at least were shouting.

Blistering pain lanced through his shoulders and down his back, like muscles he didn’t even know existed were being set ablaze.

A weighted feeling was atop of him, which pushed him further into waking. Needing to get whatever it was off of him.

The one set of shouting died down, replaced by wheezing breath and a dry soreness in his throat. With less impacting his ears, the next loudest voice could be identified as Cloud.

He needed to see why his friend was upset. Forcing open his eyes revealed the early morning light, the sun just beginning to ascend over the horizon. Too bright. Sephiroth’s head swam, he was lying on his front, with a foul nauseous sensation gripping his stomach.

He’d half crawled out of the sleeping bag sometime in the night, and was busy clawing his fingers raw in the dirt.

“This has gone far enough, Cloud. I’m sorry, I truly am but-,” Tifa spoke from somewhere nearby. Her speech shaky.

Her voice was followed by Cloud’s “No, don’t you dare. Everyone just stay away from him and we’ll- we’ll see.” Sephiroth could tell from the urgency in his tone that something very wrong had occurred. Gods, had something attacked them in the night? He needed to come to his senses fast, check whether everyone was okay.

“Listen, Spike. Ya have to hear reason right now. Look at him.” Barret cut in, soft and pleading.

“Yeah, Cloud. You’re freakin’ me out here…” Yuffie added. Even she sounded flustered, if not downright fearful.

“No! Let me just… give me a second to think!” Cloud retorted angry, distressed.

That was it, he needed to move. Sephiroth gritted his teeth as he lifted himself with trembling arms. There as something wrapped around his back- why? The others fell silent at his movement. It was like the muscles around his spine were tearing to bits and fuck, did it hurt.

A blurry shape helped pull him up into a sitting position, who was moments later joined by another. Blinking the splitting headache away, his vision cleared gradually. Suddenly beset by the urgency to move, Sephiroth pushed Cloud and Vincent away and stumbled shakily to his feet. He rushed to the edge of their camp before emptying the contents of his stomach, nearly collapsing again. There was still something wrapped around his shoulders and a searing agony with every movement.

Stumbling to the side, he nearly tripped on something. Glancing down, it was a blanket of scraggly feathers. He hadn’t seen that in their pack previously.

They’d been attacked by something, must have. Had a stray bullet become lodged near his spine?! That was the only thing the General could surmise.

Turning back to the others, encompassed by a new wave of exhaustion, Sephiroth squinted at their faces. They looked as pale as he felt. Wide eyes, open mouths, hands on weapons. Something dragged through the stones and across the lumpy earth beneath him- he could feel them beneath him, as if running a gloved hand over them. It was bizarre and disconnected, like his right arm had grown and was dragging across the floor.

Slowly, his gaze turned back down to the covering which was being draped across his back. Black feathers. Painfully moving his shoulder to peer over at it, Sephiroth followed the trail up as far as he could see. Experimentally, he rolled his shoulders. There was a stab of discomfort and with it came a jolt from weak newly formed muscles.

Oh Gods.

Chapter Text

Not much traveling happened that particular day. In fact, no traveling happened at all. Sephiroth lay inside one of the tents, taking fitful naps and draining his magic usage on a low-level cure materia to speed up his healing process.

So, he really was degrading after all.

That thought rang in a whole new horrible tone after seeing Genesis, even if it had just been an imitation. Sephiroth wasn’t even sure why, just that he kept replaying that corpselike look Jenova had adorned his old friend with.

Outside the tent, Vincent kept guard, a hand on his gun at all times. Sephiroth took no offence. He understood the team’s apprehension a lot better now. The group had been struggling to decide his fate. Knowing what he did now, Sephiroth would support whatever the party chose.

Cloud had looked dismayed, an expression which hadn’t shifted the few times Sephiroth had glimpsed him. The blond had kept well away since Sephiroth had retreated into the tent and shut himself in.

That dream had been rough, his stomach turned just thinking about it… How was he supposed to build up a mental fortitude when Jenova could poke holes into his psyche and rummage around his head with such ease? Cloud was certainly stronger than him in that respect.

Aerith’s materia. Sephiroth was fairly sure now that it had saved his mind from a disturbing hostile takeover. It had warded Jenova somewhat and prevented a lot of potential damage. Still without a clear understanding of how the strange primordial magic worked, he was infinitely grateful for it.

Outside, another disagreement had broken out, prompting him to try for another nap. With his body working overtime trying to compensate for the new limb, he could barely keep his eyes open.

The sound of his tent zip shook Sephiroth awake, followed by someone clearing their throat. He peeked his eyes open to see Barret’s head poked around the opening.
Weakly, pushing himself up into a less pathetic position, Sephiroth forced himself to stay neutral, despising his current vulnerability.

“Hey, uhh.” Barret started, trying to keep his voice a lower volume than usual. He lifted a medical kit and gave it a slight shake. “Mind if I come in?”

Sephiroth considered. The rain had resumed, with steady droplets pattering down upon canvas. Grudgingly, he nodded, scooting over to allow more room. Any movement making his right-side sear with pain.

The tent was large enough for them to both comfortably sit, though the inclusion of a massive and currently limp wing gave them less space to work with. Carefully, the other climbed in, mindful of the splayed feathers laying across the floor. Under Sephiroth’s watchful gaze, Barret sank to the floor beside him and uncapped the medical box.

A cloth was taken out and wet with sterile water. “Ya had us real worried there for a sec.”

With a glare, Sephiroth watched him run the cloth over the outer part of his new limb, wiping off the new scraggly feathers with a touch more delicate than he’d expected from the man.

It reminded him of the labs, with Hojo sauntering around his table, speaking into his mic to detail some upcoming procedure. At least at the end of a blade, Sephiroth knew where he stood. This was different, and though he didn’t consider Barret as any real threat, Sephiroth was floundering like a wounded beast.

This would have been different, had he been accepting help from Cloud…

Cloud, who had lied to him. Had been for months, about near enough everything. He hadn’t been the one to offer his help, or even check on Sephiroth after he’d initially awoken. Barret had, a member of the team who trusted the General significantly less.

“You shouldn’t bother.” Murmured Sephiroth, as he watched the other’s delicate work with a twisting in his stomach. “This addition does not bode well for me. You should all have left while I was too weak to follow.”

“Hey, c’mon.” Barret gave an encouraging half smile. “While you did become more of an asshole depending on how many feathers ya had, we’re not giving up on ya that easily.”

Sephiroth couldn’t fathom his eagerness to help. From what he could see, there remained only one outcome. “This appendage is Jenova’s, not mine. It should be removed.”

Barret grimaced, “Whoa, whoa! No more talking like that, okay? Last I heard, loosing limbs ain’t all that fun.” He added, lifting his own gun arm with a half-smile. “Plus, who doesn’t want to fly?”

He hadn’t thought of that. Angeal and Genesis had been able to fly, so Sephiroth supposed he would have that ability also, regardless of what logic might dictate. That didn’t seem like a decent trade off, when it left him blatantly marked by Jenova’s cells and with his sanity likely devolving.

Sephiroth had to hold his tongue when Barret carefully lifted the wing back to give the same treatment to the feathers of its underside, to the tune of quiet apologies.

They sat in silence, listening to the rain hitting their tent. Trying to find some distance between his mind and body, Sephiroth focused on his breathing and not that thing trailing from his back which absolutely did not belong to him. It wasn’t his, couldn’t have been.

With a pair of fabric scissors, Barret cut a larger hole in the back of Sephiroth’s shirt. Something which had apparently happened when the thing had burst from… wherever it had been. Seeing little point in it now, Sephiroth unbuttoned the loose material and let it be cut the rest of the way off.

The flesh at the base of the wing felt the worst. Whether it was or not, it was as sensitive as an open wound and he kept himself as distanced as possible when Barret switched to an antiseptic to clean around it. The smell of it alone threatened to throw his mind off kilter.

Just focus on the rain.

“Think that’s the best I can do.” Barret sat back. “I reckon it’d be best to bandage it into place, that might get it healing better, save it from being pulled along the floor.”

It took Sephiroth a moment to realise he was being spoken to, and replied with a simple nod.

“Hold this for me?” Barret asked, breaking his patient’s meditation.

It was several minutes of intense discomfort as they both worked at lifting and folding the wing. Pinning it to his side with bandages as if it were broken. From there, a few more casts from their cure materia eased the fire within the new muscles.

Barret patted the General’s shoulder. “All done. Get some more rest if ya can.” The medical kit finally clicked shut and Barret climbed to his feet.

Honestly, he was already teetering on the verge of sleep, so that would be no problem. “Thank you.” Sephiroth wished there was a way to express his greater appreciation, but right now he could barely think.

Barret grinned, with a gentleness he hadn’t previously directed at Sephiroth. “Don’t sweat it, Seph.”

Had he been in a better mood, he might have smiled back, returned his own quip. “Don’t wait for me, please. You need to keep moving.” There were some steep cliffsides ahead, if he recalled. If they left now, the group might make it there by nightfall for a more secure camp.

Barret chuckled, “Don’t worry about us. Get some rest.”

Finally alone once again, Sephiroth didn’t need to be asked twice, practically collapsing back into a dreamless sleep.

When he next awoke, it was with more energy and a clearer head. At last feeling like himself for the first time since that hallucination of his old companion. By the lighting, it was late afternoon and from the sound, they hadn’t left him behind.

Fools.

Unzipping the tent and ignoring the pain radiating across his back, the Sephiroth stepped out into the late-day light and fine but steady rain.

The others stopped in their tasks, all turning uneasy eyes on him. An annoyance sparked at their gawking. This time, Vincent didn’t reach for his gun, nor did Yuffie ready her throwing knives.

Sephiroth crossed the clearing, to a second tent, housing equipment and a certain blond mercenary. Cloud eyed him hesitantly and flinched when Sephiroth snapped a hand out to retrieve his jacket, which rested beside the man.

“Someone’s lookin’ a lot better.” Cheerily, Barret called over, attempting to lessen the intensity of the atmosphere.

Sephiroth chose to ignore him, instead containing a sigh at his sudden inability to wear his coat.

“You should have left without me.” He announced finally, when his audience failed to stop gawking. Tired that he was again repeating himself, annoyed by their failure to grasp such an obvious solution.

Cloud scoffed, “We’re not going to leave you out in the middle of nowhere while you can’t look after yourself.”

The words irritated him and encouraged that ugly anger closer to the surface. Something in Cloud’s expression changed, when he realised he’d said the wrong thing.

So, Cloud cared now, did he? “Interesting you’d say that, considering you’ve repeatedly lied to me.” The words seeped with bitterness.

The other balked at his retort. Cloud opened his mouth to argue back before just turning away guiltily.

“What? No excuses? Did it not matter that I attempted to end the Planet on Jenova’s behalf?” Sephiroth sneered, and continued when the other could only reply with a stupid look. “What about how I thought myself to be her kin? Or was that irrelevant also?”

Tentatively, Barret stepped up. Hand held up in some uselessly placating gesture. “Now listen, Seph; let’s not fight about this right now. How ‘bout we sit down and-.”

Sephiroth could have drawn his sword at those words alone. “No. I think now is a perfectly good time for a discussion.”

A clear threat now hanging in the air, Cloud climbed out of his shelter. The others watched on carefully. Sensing the brewing conflict, Slug growled. Yuffie shushed her with a ruffle to the bird’s unkept head feathers, but she too shared the bird’s unease.

Cloud tried again, “Calm down, okay? We can talk about this.” Sephiroth waited expectantly until the blond continued. “I admit, I wasn’t as transparent as I could have been.”

Really? Well, that was putting it lightly.

Much to his irritation, Yuffie spoke up. “Uh, yeah. He had a damn good reason not to share that.”

“Oh? And what would that be?” Sephiroth narrowed his eyes, leering at the lot of them. Of course they’d all been in on this.

Cloud wrung his hands, an awkwardness claiming him. “When you found out about her last time you… didn’t take it well. You locked yourself away with their research on Jenova and when you came out… you weren’t the same.”

“How so? Where was this?”

Cloud struggled to get his words out. He was fearful, a shadow which grew larger over the blond with each passing second.

Before Sephiroth had a chance to snap at him, the question was answered by Tifa. “The mansion in Nibelheim, you shut yourself away in there for days. When you came out, you burned Nibelheim to the ground. You killed my father, tried to kill me, Cloud and Zack. We found you in the reactor, pulling Jenova’s head off for God knows what reason. If Cloud hadn’t stopped you, I don’t know what would have happened.”

“I was ordered by Shinra to do that.” He tried to justify. That was what Cloud had told him.

Tifa shook her head. “Say what you want about Shinra, but they didn’t order that. You attacked us. That’s how Zack and Cloud ended up with Hojo, why Zack died, why Cloud has you in his head.”

Disbelief was his immediate reaction. But then, fragments of memory cleared as if a mist had been lifted. Like during that terrible dream, how the true nature of the meteor had been unveiled to him. So badly did he want to call her a liar, but the dreadful evidence began to open within his mind, like tiny snapshots.

The scent of the fire and the heaviness of bodies on his blade.
Leaving Zack and Tifa to perish on a cold reactor floor.
Cradling the desecrated face of his mother, where she was fastened into unholy machinery.
A much younger Cloud run through on his blade, followed by the static of an electrical blast, a weightlessness and then nothing.

His gaze flew back to Cloud who, to his dismay, confirmed his fears with averted eyes and guilt burning through their connection. Then again, it was all the pieces he’d been told, just together now, with context.
Another wave of nausea washed over him.

It was one thing to keep Jenova’s effects from him, with her being merely a dangerous and unknown entity- it was another when he’d sold his soul to her and acted as a willing extension to her will.

Sephiroth longed desperately to deny Tifa’s words, wanted to say that such actions were below him… but he knew different. That burning fury, Shinra’s lies, Hojo’s actions, his longing for kinship, the desertion of his friends, the company’s ceaseless control and the wholeness he’d felt in Jenova’s presence. As far removed as he felt now, with those memories only mere echoes, he couldn’t deny that what she was describing was well within his scope.

The denial turned to disgust, which shifted back into anger. “Why?” He growled at Cloud.

Cloud flinched and with wide eyes glanced back to track where he’d placed his Fusion sword. Seeing the reaction, his companions followed in the uptake in tension. Tifa eyed which materia were set in her glove and this time, Vincent placed a hand inside his cloak, upon his gun holster.

“Are you going to answer or kill me for asking questions?” Sephiroth leered back at them.

Finally, Cloud spoke. “This is the reason. I didn’t know how you’d react.” He motioned to the General’s poised stance. “I didn’t want a repeat of all that. Can you blame me?!”

“Then you have severely mis-predicted my present constitution.”

Cloud must have felt the disappointment in his tone. Something in his posture sagged, for the first time understanding the gravity of this mishandling of information.

“Look, I… you have to at least understand my reasoning, right?” Weakly, Cloud argued.

Sephiroth shook his head, feeling sick. “We were friends. I thought better of you.” He sneered in reply.

The blond held a certain look of revulsion, like there was still some debate that he and Sephiroth were truly friends. He stuttered, struggling to form an answer.

Oh Gods, this was all getting too much again. He needed to get out of here, or he ran the risk of repeating history. Wishing to draw his sword, Sephiroth instead clamped his hands tightly upon his jacket. The leather likely warping under the pressure.

No, he wouldn’t bring himself to that level again.
He was done.

Following the wind as it sailed across the prairie, Sephiroth turned and began to walk away.

“Where are you-.”

Cloud cut off Tifa’s question alongside a choked noise from Barret. “Seph, wait! W-where are you going?”

“Anywhere that’s not here.” He said without looking back.

Barret’s voice called out from further behind. “Ah, c’mon. We can talk about this.”

He barely managed ten feet before there was a shuffling of feet in the sodden dirt.

“You can’t just leave!” Cloud tried, a new desperation in his voice, one Sephiroth hadn’t heard before.

The protest was ignored.

“You’re taking this way too far, just let me talk to you!”

Sephiroth scoffed at the weak attempt, which only made the fire in his veins sear hotter.

The others just watched on, now seemingly stunned into silence.

“Wait damnit!” Cloud shouted, his feet splashing through small puddles forming in the dirt. He skidded to a stop when Sephiroth rounded on him, Masamune materialised in his hand with the blade levelled inches from his pursuer’s nose. Cloud staggered in place. “Seph, please.” He whispered.

At any other time those words would have affected him. Not today. Instead, he leered down from the other end of the sword between them. “I trusted you.” His hand shook, part in anger, part with the effort of keeping his arm raised, as pain radiated across his shoulders.

With wide blue eyes, Cloud stopped. It wasn’t like either wanted a fight, Sephiroth doubted he even could right now, regardless of what his anger urged him to do.

“Please…?”

But Sephiroth just shook his head. Not today.
Withdrawing his sword, he turned his back on the blond. “Stay out of my sight.”

Without looking back, he set out across the endless damp ground and low shrubbery.

Behind him, Cloud had begun shouting again, accompanied by the others, who seemed to have regained their voices. Sephiroth tuned them out, listening instead to the thundering of his own pulse, as he set a directionless pace out into the wilds.

Chapter Text

Three things Zack hadn’t been expecting upon returning to his hometown: Firstly, how incredibly green it was, after becoming accustomed to the grey of Midgar.
Secondly, Gongaga was much smaller than he recalled. Perhaps another symptom of being in the world’s largest city for so long.
Third, his parents looked older. An observation which had been immediately jarring, but he figured this was his first visit in a few years, so it was to be expected… just something you don’t really notice as a kid.

Something else which took them both by surprise, was the sickly look worn by not just the towns people, but the plants and animals, the closer one got to the reactor. Something wasn’t right with the air- which Aerith noticed immediately, while Zack remained blind to the apparent change; likely his tolerance to mako.

There were a bunch of lesser observations, of course, such as the mass of phone messages from various superiors, and a repair crew who had arrived the day before them.

Time had seemed to slow the moment he’d left Midgar, and compared to the hectic city, the small isolated community of Gongaga was even more of a drastic change. It was nice for a few days, and while Aerith enjoyed the atmosphere (despite the slow poisoning in the air), it began to bore Zack. The amount of mental stimulus this place provided was severely lacking, compared to what he’d become accustomed to.

After discussing this with Aerith, she insisted she was fine to mill about on her own, while Zack offered his help to the repair team. The assistance was greatly appreciated, with his increased strength and mako resistance proving to be assets for clearing up the dilapidated reactor.

The place was a mess, with the community only possessing limited knowledge in how to maintain the old structure. The difficult to reach lower areas were hard to traverse, with the reactor descending further below the surface than he’d expected.

Sure enough, they found the fault after some digging into the depths, having to break through faulty containment doors and into wiring boxes the old fashion way, when control panels and locking mechanisms failed them. One of the three mako dispensaries had sustained a serious leak, flooding the maintenance floor. Aside this, there were serious concerns that the cooling system was malfunctioning.

It was a damn good job that Reeve had assembled a task force as quickly as he had. The prognosis stood that the reactor needed to be shut down for emergency repairs. Left in its current state, with leaking substances polluting the air, it posed a massive threat if the whole containment system were to go down. The complex could go up in smoke, with a blast capable of taking Gongaga with it.

A week into their stay, the whirring of helicopter blades approached over the trees- an inevitable interruption to the town’s peace and quiet which displaced tree branches and scattered birds.

Hopping out came Cissnei, who greeted both Zack and Aerith warmly. Alongside her was Reno, who was less eager but relieved to see that the Cetra was safe.

Zack was familiar with Aerith’s secret, she’d told him shortly before they’d left Midgar, so he was aware he was walking on eggshells. It didn’t feel good playing dumb to her origin, when speaking with the others, but if Sephiroth had found out, there was no way he’s allow her to come.

If he hadn’t, when else was Aerith going to get out of Midgar? With them more or less defecting, it didn’t feel right to leave her alone, even under the supervision of the Turks. They were fine people, though less could be said for those dispensing their orders.

After all, Aerith was smart and as their monster encounters proved- capable of defending herself. There was nothing for Sephiroth to complain about, in regards to her presence. She’d enjoyed the trip so much, it would have been a disservice to leave her behind. Zack was happy to take a risk for her, she was worth it. That way, he justified the dishonesty to himself, as he feigned ignorance to the Turks, when they questioned his actions.
To his surprise, they didn’t immediately throw him and Aerith in the chopper, back to HQ.
“Need you in Nibelheim.” Reno had muttered. “Place is a shitshow.”

With that, they resigned themselves to a waiting game, until the group were summoned to the western mountains. There was a tension in the air with the Turks around, and the atmosphere shifted into one of awkwardness and uncertainty. Aerith tried to remain cheery, like the situation didn’t bother her, a passiveness which could only be feigned for so long.

It felt like the group were watching a brewing storm, waiting for it to hit. Even the Turks appeared unsteady, as they waited for further instructions or word on Nibelheim.

Days continued to be spent helping out with the reactor, while Aerith still explored the surrounding forest; this time with Reno in tow, as he desperately tried to find a phone signal in the area.

The questions came early on the first full day of the Turks’ stay, when Cissnei asked Zack to show her around the town. He always thought himself a bad liar, but then it wasn’t something he often had to do. Either way, the questioning began. About him, Aerith, Seph, their mission objective, their delays, the stops they’d made… it was a lot.

She was mostly curious about Sephiroth and inquired almost casually about his mental state during the trip. It quickly phased into asking about the man’s stability over the last year, since the Genesis and Angeal situation.

It was highly uncomfortable, despite how Cissnei was a pleasant person to talk to. Zack supposed that was an aspect critical to her job, it was hard not to open up to her,- so he did.

He talked about his boss’s reclusiveness, and often unsociable personality. About how this was aided in part by Lazard, and the two other Firsts. Zack also detailed how this had undoubtedly gone downhill over the last year, with Heidegger misunderstanding the General’s tendencies and tying him instead to paper pushing.

He talked about how Sephiroth could be stubborn at times. How his occasional lack of social awareness impacted on his decision making, a trait which had worsened since losing his two friends. His reluctance to be sociable with others and Zacks subsequent discovery that he (and Cloud) was the man’s only affable company.

He talked about how Sephiroth had insisted that he handle Nibelheim on his own, while Zack should supervise the reactor repairs in Gongaga. About Sephiroth’s sudden distaste for following orders which had crept up slowly in recent months.

Zack didn’t need to fake his shock when told that Sephiroth hadn’t arrived yet in Nibelheim. Perhaps him and Cloud were scaling the back end of the mountain range and going in from a quieter route… There were too many factors to speculate on, he’d run his brain ragged if he dwelled on it too long.

Cissnei replied in the comforting and sympathetic manner he’d come to expect from her, which left Zack conflicted, not knowing how much of her soft words were intended to gently pry information from him. He wanted to believe he knew the Turk enough by now to see her concern as genuine.

As the two stepped down a steep pathway from the outskirts of the town, their conversation drew towards a close. “Word of advice,” The Turk began. “Watch your step. You might need to relay all that to Heidegger and the President when we get back to base.”

“The President?” Zack reeled at the thought, he’d never even seen the elusive man in person. “Seph’s in it deep then?” He didn’t love the implications her words illuminated.

She simply smiled but elaborated no further and Zack knew any further questions from his side were off limits.

After an evening spent sat beside the radio trying to listen for updates in the west and hearing about the awful storms which had fallen upon the region, Zack’s nerves were beginning to crack. Neither Cloud nor Seph were picking up his calls, which wasn’t unlikely, considering they were supposedly in the middle of nowhere, but he was becoming more desperate for an update from them.

It was dark outside by the time that Aerith slipped into their now shared room, turned down the staticky radio and settled beside him.

“We made blueberry muffins. You might want to come grab some before your dad eats them all.” They’d sounded like they were having a good time, but Zack needed an update from their team, last thing he wanted was to have to call Heidegger for one.

He sighed deeply, but tried to offer a smile, which must have been unconvincing at best.

She gave his shoulder a comforting squeeze. “I know it’s hard not to worry about them, but they’ll be fine, trust me.”

“I know…” Surely if the two had been apprehended, they would have heard by now. Cloud and Sephiroth were the two most capable fighters he’d ever witnessed, of course they’d be fine. “When we first left Midgar, Seph told me this would happen,- that I’d have to work against him to stay in Shinra’s good graces. Call me naïve, but I never thought it would actually come to that.” He hung his head, trying not to imagine what Angeal would make of the situation.

“Is that all it is, not wanting to betray him?” Aerith asked with a soft smile and eyes that always seemed to see right to his core.

Zack took a moment to order his thoughts. “I know we have to do this- break away from Shinra, start righting all the wrongs we’ve helped them commit. But…” It was hard to admit now, especially after coming to fully understand just how evil the corporation had been, he felt ashamed to have believed their lies. “I still want to be a Soldier. I love it, despite everything that’s happened. I’m proud to have made First, and Lieutenant now, I guess. I have loads of friends who are probably wondering where the hell we’ve gone. I don’t want to throw them into Shinra’s firing line if me and Seph get into trouble… I can’t imagine not being in Soldier, and I don’t want to leave, but I also can’t in good conscience stay there.”

Aerith pulled him into a hug, which Zack easily accepted. The air around him always seemed calmer when she was near, he had no idea how she did it, but was forever thankful for her support.

“There’s nothing wrong with that. Not many people would hold their lives at stake like you are. Just keep doing what you’re doing and we’ll keep moving forward, like we planned.” Aerith said. “I’m glad it led us to be here, together.”

She was right, of course. It just felt very selfish to admit those feelings, especially when Shinra posed such a threat to her… he was so conflicted, but let her words comfort him. Step by step, day by day. Secure control of Soldier, then find a way to remove the people in power and dismantle the beast from the inside.

… He’d always liked impossible tasks, right?

Aerith giggled, drawing back to kiss him on the forehead. “Beside, you’re practically a celebrity now, remember? Probably have your own fan club by now. There’ll be plenty of jobs to do outside Shinra… You could be in action movies and do all the stunts! That would be fun right?”

He smiled, that would be cool. Everything would be fine, he repeated to himself as he returned the kiss. “Sure would. We’ll make it work.” He turned back to finally switch the radio off. Bottling his fears, Zack replied with a more convincing smile. “What was that about blueberry muffins?”

They both laughed as Aerith took his hand and dragged him from his seat and through the door. In the kitchen, his parents were pleasantly chatting over something. Reno, who must have arrived at some point, was now casually positioned on the sofa. He didn’t look up from whatever game he was playing on his phone.

For now, everything was fine.

Everything would be fine.

Cloud was a lot of things. He was stubborn, adaptive, a bit dull, forever unsettled and good at driving dangerously while managing to not hurt anyone. What he wasn’t good at however, was facing his problems without the use of a sword. He was equally unskilled at expressing those problems to others through any means other than violence.

The half-truths he had perpetuated for months had finally come back to bite him, and because of him, the group had split. Great move.

Sure, Cloud had pissed his friends off in the past, but never to a point that it’d driven anyone out.

Tifa wanted to talk to him, and so far he’d managed to avoid a conversation for the two days since Sephiroth had left. A feat worthy of praise, considering he was stuck at her side.

Vincent had followed after Sephiroth, to keep an eye on the rage-filled man. With both absent, the traveling group felt notably smaller, and missing a vital part. Tensions had been iffy, to say the least, with all topics relating to the missing team members being shot down quickly.

Cloud was still conflicted. He stuck by his decision to not share the man’s history with him, though he sympathised with the betrayal Sephiroth must have felt. Equally, he resented Jenova for her involvement. Again, if not for her, things would have continued on as planned.

“You did the right thing.” Barret had said, after they’d watched Vincent trail off into the distance in pursuit, as the sun went down.

Tifa had mostly kept her opinion to herself. “I’d have thought you’d have learned from your own past…” She’s muttered over his shoulder, following the incident. Despite this, she appeared much more relaxed since the General’s absence.

Yuffie was smug and brightened considerably with Sephiroth gone from the group. She didn’t need to verbalise her opinion for the others to guess her feelings on the topic.

It sure seemed that Cloud was the odd one out, with everyone returning to an increased sense of normalcy with Sephiroth gone.

At a great distance, Cloud could feel the echoes of an anger which wasn’t his own. It felt strangely obscene to still feel their connection, after growing accustomed to their mutual closeness over the last while.

What unfortunately came with the loss of that closeness, were the sleeplessness and headaches. It’d been some time since their shared cells had kicked up such a fuss, and it felt worse than Cloud could remember.

Following the route they’d established, the group arrived at the southmost leg of the mountains. While they were still a way off from the Nibel region, it was a cause for celebration, regardless. With each passing day, the group found themselves tiring easier, thanks to not taking any breaks. So, to congratulate themselves for the great distance already travelled, they set up an early camp.

Cloud just wanted to continue forwards, but kept his opinion to himself, knowing they all needed a good rest.

Above, the cold sunlight was blocked out by a massive shape. All looked up to watch as a condor, soared above them on giant golden wings. Everyone stopped to watch in awe, while Slug cowered out of sight in a rocky alcove.

The bird ignored them as it continued its own journey, filling the sky with a powerful cry. Watching it go, Cloud wished they could have all been together to see such a thing and guiltily wondered where Sephiroth and Vincent had ended up.

As a frightfully large shadow passed overhead, blotting out the sun, Sephiroth barely gave it a glance. A condor, he acknowledged. It was his first time seeing one, and under better circumstances, he might appreciate the immense and stunning creature. However, he most defiantly in no mood to marvel at anything of such spectacular nature.

Since splitting from the group, he hadn’t paused in his motion. One step after the other. Directionless, mechanical. Trailing through the living desert, the days punctuated by sunrises and sunsets.

Sephiroth was aware he was being followed. He’d seen the red-swathed figure following on behind, and cared very little, despite how the distance between the two was growing gradually narrower. Vincent was welcome to shadow his footsteps, so long as he too was content to go without rest.

The new addition to his body was slow to heal, but the wing was getting stronger, where the bandages still secured it in place. The thing was lucky- it’d nearly been sliced off several times already. What stopped him was a horrid sensation, that self-preservation instinct which makes one think twice before chopping off a body part. Sephiroth didn’t know why it applied- it wasn’t like the wing belonged to him anyway. Still, it stopped him from removing the thing from his back.

Annoyingly, he’d needed to make accommodations for it. A slice had been made through his favourite leather coat, so the collar now hung limply around his shoulders. It did nothing but further sour his mood, as did the fresh nerves in his new limb, the increasingly terrible headache or his mind replaying Cloud’s pleas for him to stay.

He was better without them. Was what he repeatedly told himself.

In defence, he blocked out his connection with the other as much as possible, to a point where it was barely noticeable.

The sound of footsteps pulled Sephiroth from his meditative trance. The sun was beginning to rise again, through the heavy and endless sky, not that he’d even noticed the passage of time since seeing that bird overhead.

Still with the sense to not draw his sword at the sudden presence of another, Sephiroth sent a sluggish glance to Vincent. The man hovered nearby, curiously watching for a reaction.

For the first time he could recall in days, Sephiroth stopped walking. Ignoring the strain in his muscles, he surveyed Vincent and their surroundings. “You needn’t have followed.” Sephiroth found his throat was horribly dry.

“Did you feel called to travel this way?” Vincent asked, disregarding the General’s discourteous greeting.

In truth, he’d just picked a direction at random and set off in a straight line. There wasn’t much reason at all other than the need to leave and a lack of any other destination. Not wanting to admit this, or that he had no idea where they were, he chose to stay silent.

The desert area was fading out now into fine grass and they’d began to leave the storm behind, as it settled further north.

Vincent spoke again, “There’s somewhere close by which may be of help to you.”

“How so?”

“Lucrecia. Your mother.”

How unexpected. Sephiroth rose an eyebrow in interest but remained sceptical.

The gunman’s eyes shifted into a sinister gold. “Your kin harbours my resting place.” Chaos spoke in its inhuman voice. “We know of her location, if it will settle your pitiful mood.”

They were lucky he was in enough of a ‘pitiful mood’ to not throw back at that. Instead, hoping to fall back into his meditation as soon as possible, Sephiroth nodded. “Then lead the way.”

Like that, they fell back into stride. This time together, finally with a destination in sight.

Chapter Text

The sun rose and fell overhead, the winds bringing light rain and spotted sunshine. Gradually, the landscape changed to lightly grassy around the perimeter of a winding river, but otherwise remained sparse. Monsters ignored the traveling pair as they set their unwavering pace from one end of the horizon to the next.

Sephiroth broke from his daze when they came upon a tall crater of rock. His awareness falling back into the present when Vincent began to scale it, rather than walk around.

He sent a questioning glance to his guide, who replied with a nod.

The climb up was difficult, and pushed Sephiroth to his limit, preventing him from slipping soundly back into the edges of consciousness. The sleeplessness and lack of sustenance was finally catching up to him and it took considerably longer to get to the top than it would have under better circumstances.

Vincent was the better climber, and Sephiroth was grateful for his much-needed patience. Any other time, he’d have been appalled at this awful show of weakness, but right now lacked the presence of mind to care.

The ascent took most of the day and finally at the top, Vincent sat down. “Rest now. We’ll continue later.”

When Sephiroth shook his head, an arm caught his and pulled him to sit amongst the rocks.

Not finding it in himself to protest, Sephiroth instead shuffled his new wing into a semi-comfortable position and settled against the rocks…

It was roughly mid-morning when the General stirred. He hadn’t even been aware of falling asleep until he opened his eyes to a new sky and the smell of smoke. Further down the rock was Vincent, who had built a small fire and was presently preparing something he’d found.

It had taken until then for Sephiroth to really look at where they were. Up on the highest level of the mountain gave an incredible view of a massive canyon. Birds of a variety of shapes and sizes nested around the inside cliff, some taking to the air for a morning hunt.

Mountainous goats ventured about precarious ledges above a waterfall- the largest he’d ever seen. It gushed down to form a river; the winding one they’d passed earlier. This place was completely cut off from the world- its own self-contained ecosystem.

Noting that Sephiroth had awoken, Vincent climbed back over. He reached into his cloak to unlatch a water bottle, which Sephiroth gladly accepted.

Silently, Vincent wondered back to the fire, allowing Sephiroth time to compose himself. The man returned not long after to deliver food. Sephiroth thanked him with as much dignity as he could muster in the moment- which wasn’t much.

“How long was I asleep?” Unsurprisingly, his throat still felt dry and awkward.

Vincent shifted to sit down beside him. “About twelve hours.”

He felt like he could go for a few more after eating, but there were more pressing things to attend to. “Where are we?”

“A resting place. Where Chaos was once sealed and where Lucrecia now resides.” Vincent’s eyes shifted into a primal gold. And his Other’s voice continued, “The lifestream flows close to this place.”

That figured. This place was so vibrant, compared to the plain landscapes they’d been crossing. “Do you require rest?” Sephiroth asked, wondering how Vincent didn’t even look tired. Strange, considering he didn’t appear to be enhanced.

In reply, Chaos met his gaze and offered a wicked grin.

Sephiroth took that as a no.

Heading down the mountain was much easier than their ascent. Vincent knew the path well, and Sephiroth wondered whether that was the result of many visits to this isolated outpost or some intuition from Chaos.

Following the curve of the rockface, and stepping carefully around birds’ nests and other scurrying creatures, they made it to a crack in the rock near the opening of the waterfall. The inside of the cave began unassuming and rather claustrophobic. Sephiroth was glad for his dark vision, otherwise he’d likely be stumbling into his guide. The further they ventured, the stronger he felt a primordial power in the air.

Glowing gemstones became more common, until the walls were covered in them. Unlike the cave Cloud had shown them, these stones took on different formations and colours than the ones in the eastern continent.

That feeling in the air grew until a subtle beating was felt around them. It didn’t take Sephiroth long to realise it was the same pulse of the Planet Aerith had summoned up. Here, it was much more powerful, and didn’t require the Cetra to bring it forth.
Each beat of old energy made him feel increasingly small. To think in some past life he had waged war on Gaia, was still a fact he could barely comprehendible.

Why would a person be living here? While there were enough basic resources to live within the canyon, it seemed like a lot of effort to go to, for an isolated life.

Eventually, they descended far enough that the roar of water could no longer be heard and the ancient pulsing dulled to a more comfortable state. Vincent stopped before turning a corner. “She may be sleeping.”

Sephiroth nodded, not really sure what this meeting would entail. He followed the other man into a wider room of clear blue crystals. Springs of water settled over the floor, elegantly reflecting the glow lighting the space. Hit by confusion, he wasn’t sure what he’d expected- not for the room to be empty.

A moment later, Vincent stopped short before a large cluster of stones. Sephiroth contained his shock, upon noting a human shape inside one of the stones.

As if feeling their presence, the figure impossibly shifted. Bright mako eyes opened and settled imprecisely on the man at the centre of the room. “Vincent?” An ethereal, sleepy voice asked, in a way which seemed like the room itself spoke.

“Yes. I’m here.” The gunman answered, an emotion in his voice which the other couldn’t identify.

Sephiroth was taken aback. He stayed aside, for now.

“Vincent.” Lucrecia repeated in the same ghostly timbre. “Everything feels different… yet not. I’m confused.”

“That’s nothing for you to worry about. We’re fixing things.” Vincent replied.

She shifted again, as if to stare up at the cave ceiling. “The world is changing… fixing things… fixing things…” She mumbled, almost as if caught in a dream. “Someone I know is with you.”

At a gesture to approach, Sephiroth stepped closer, though as of yet, he wasn’t sure he wanted to.

Vincent spoke up. “Sephiroth is here to see you.”

Lucrecia made a ghostly sound, of whose meaning he failed to categorise. “Sephiroth? But he is dead? Then why can I feel him here?”

He knew he was supposed to say something, but right now, nothing sounded right. This was all too abstract and strange to apply the normalcy of basic pleasantries. “I… am here.” He spoke clumsily, forgetting how dry his throat was.

“Time is changing.” Vincent said. He turned to the General. “This is Lucrecia, your mother.”

Her gaze moved from the ceiling down to him. “Sephiroth?”

He had no clue what to say. “Yes?”

The woman in the crystal smiled sadly. “I dreamt of you. The Planet tried to silence you, but I knew you couldn’t be taken so easily.” She sounded so bittersweet.
Sephiroth stepped closer, studying her features, finding that he bore a resemblance to her, as he also did Vincent. Then it hit him- he was standing with his parents- both of them. Though it wasn’t quite the reunion he’d played out in his mind many a time, it was still them.

That revelation alone threatened to knock him off his feet.

“Oh, how the lifestream cried for you…” She hummed nonsensically.

There were so many questions he wanted to ask. The problem was, he didn’t know how long this half-alive woman would stay lucid. So, he chose his most pressing one. “Why didn’t I know about you?”

She focused on him clearly, for the first time looking fully present. However, by her expression, it was unclear if she’d even acknowledged his question. “What did they do to your eyes? They’re the only part of you I remember.” Her words gave a mournful echo.

Well, that still mostly answered his question.

“I asked the research staff about you. Many remember you, and hold fond memories of your time with them.” Sephiroth continued. It wasn’t the whole truth, only a handful of the scientists he’d asked had recalled Dr Crescent. Of them only two had mentioned her personality.

She gave a pitiful whimper. “Hojo…”

He wished she was capable of giving more concise information. “You knew of his plans for me, correct? You signed me into his care.” He chanced, seeing how Lucrecia was already beginning to become overwhelmed by his presence.

Within the stone, her eyes returned to the hollow look. “I’m sorry.”

Her response was frustrating. Sincere but lacking any valuable information.

Vincent spoke up, changing the subject. “Sephiroth is the General of Shinra’s army.”

“Oh…” There was a quiver to her voice and her face contorted into something of extreme sadness.

Sephiroth wasn’t sure why she reacted in such a way. What was so upsetting about that? “You bore me on Shinra’s behalf, are you not glad I achieved greatness among their ranks? My being here should prove your experiment a success.”

Vincent gave him something of a scolding look. Why was that? Shouldn’t he have even more of a basis to be angry with her?

Lucrecia uttered another haunting sob. “I’m sorry.”

“Why?” Sephiroth frowned.

“How fitting it is. Sephiroth, Vincent, Chaos… my three greatest mistakes. Together after so long.” Lucrecia mumbled, apparently ignoring his question again. “I’m sorry. Take care of each other. I’m sorry…”

Lightly, Vincent tugged at Sephiroth’s arm while Lucrecia continued to mutter her apologies. “She isn’t completely aware anymore. She’ll be like this for a while.”

The echoing words of a sorrowful spectre rang uncomfortably in his ears. Her apologies shouldn’t have sounded so sincere, considering what he knew of her. Sephiroth nodded to Vincent, but turned on his heel. “I’ll wait outside.”

Without another word, he made his exit. Listening to her mournful cries of guilt until they were replaced by the pulse of the Planet and the rushing of water.

The sun was high in the sky by the time he returned back into the open. He hated that the encounter had made him so emotional. She shouldn’t mean anything to him- not like they knew each other… and yet that haunting way she gazed through her crystal cage struck a chord in him.

Sephiroth hiked up, where the waterfall wasn’t so loud and took a seat overlooking the great canyon.

If she had noticed his dishevelled appearance or the giant wing on his back, Lucrecia hadn’t mentioned. For that, he was glad. The wing, yes. That should offer a staple distraction from the intense rushing through his veins.

There was no point in being frustrated with the woman. Not with the state she was now stuck in. By whatever means, she had found herself imprisoned and half alive, which was surely not Sephiroth’s problem. If she was so quick to hand him off as company property, then he would waste no time with her either.

Shrugging off his jacket, Sephiroth unwound the bandages for the first time since Barret had secured them. That memory alone made him shudder.

The new limb flopped down, splaying glossy feathers across the rocks. More feathers had come through and some of the casings Barret hadn’t cleaned off had mostly broken away in the wind. Sephiroth reached around his back to feel at the new muscles forming under the appendage and found a coat of long thin scapula feathers had grown around the base of the wing.

It took some effort, but with only mild discomfort, he managed to raise the limb. It brought with it a horribly disconnected feeling- how could this be a part of him?
How was he able to move it when it shouldn’t be his?

With stuttering breath, he tested its range of movement. It wasn’t great at the moment, but in a resting position felt better than when it’d been tightly bound across his back.

He continued for a while. Replaying the meeting with his mother, his actual mother while slowly gaining some movement in the new joints.

Even if the degradation eroded away his mind, at least he’d been blessed with the opportunity to be with both of his parents. Regardless of his opinion of them, meeting them was enough.

Footsteps signalled that Vincent was returning and sure enough, the cloaked man settled beside him.

Their silence stretched on companionably while Sephiroth continued to exercise his wing. Eventually, after a long while, the new muscles became too uncomfortable, so he loosely rebound the limb, this time to still allow it some slight movement. Ignoring it would only make it a burden in the future, if he couldn’t bring himself to cut it off.

“She might have calmed down now, if you want to try talking to her again.” Vincent said.

Sephiroth shook his head. He’d seen enough today and didn’t want to risk emotionally compromising himself any further. “I appreciate you bringing me here. I’m glad to have met her.”

The quiet man beside him gave a wordless nod.

“I’m unsure whether I should be angry at her. I don’t understand how you aren’t, when you have every right to be.” Sephiroth spoke again.

Vincent gave a dismissive half shrug. “Perhaps I should be.”

He couldn’t fathom why Vincent would want to spend any time with the woman, after all she’d done. Yet, nothing in the man told of resentment, when he’d spoken to Lucrecia.

“When I first learned that Jenova was of alien origin, a part of me wanted to believe that she was still my mother, like I’d been told. I’ve never felt completely human. It would have been more fitting, I think. Some means to justify that feeling.” He confessed, silver hair and midnight feathers fluttering amid the grey noon breeze. “Knowing I was born human makes less sense to me.” Made his place in the world somehow even less secure.

The other looked to be mulling the words over. “If it helps, me and Lucrecia aren’t what many would consider to be human either.”

Was it wrong that it did make him feel slightly better?

“Creator,- that’s what I am to you.” Hojo had said. For once he hadn’t been lying. It was strange to consider Hojo, who had indeed been as much of a parental figure as he could have hoped for, after Gast had died. It would raise way too much suspicion if Vincent, who had disappeared under suspicious circumstances- had been named as the lab rat’s parent. He supposed that was why the Head of Research’s name had been on his birth certificate.

“I’m sorry that I let you down.” Vincent sighed.

“I’ve already said, there’s no need for that. We aren’t the first people Hojo has stepped over to get results.” He didn’t understand Vincent’s logic or his self-loathing, it wasn’t like the man had much choice in anything he was put through. “One thing you can tell me- do you happen to know the date of my birth?”

Sephiroth received a look of anguish at the simple question. As if Vincent’s cycle of hatred had found a new reason to begin anew.

The General rolled his eyes. “Come on, there’s no need for the dramatics.” Though his words held no bite.

“December. The fifth.” Vincent shrunk back, like there might have been something dreadful only he could see.

“Interesting.” Sephiroth considered the date. “That means I’m only thirty-one.” And here he’d been adding a number at the start of each year. The thought made him chuckle, this time seeing the strangeness of the day under more of an amusing light.

Vincent looked surprised by the reaction but at least appeared comforted by it. There was a joke to be made about how his parents looked the same age as him, but Sephiroth left it unsaid.

Then, something caught both of their attention. A silhouette appeared, further around the ring of the canyon. It prowled along the top, Large canine or maybe feline body with the glint of a flame on its tail. Squinting over at the beast, Sephiroth was sure it was regarding him just as closely.

Vincent rose from his seat and offered a subdued wave, which the newcomer replied with a nod of its vaguely canine head before sitting down.

“Does the family reunion continue?” Sephiroth asked, quizzically regarding the odd interaction.

“Something like that.” He checked his belt for all their supplies and began towards the creature. “Come, someone is waiting for us.”

Eager to see where this unexpected turn would bring them, Sephiroth followed.

They left the verdant paradise of Chaos’- now Lucrecia’s resting place and journeyed westward towards the dusty mountains of the Cosmo region, following the embers of their strange new guide.

Chapter Text

Cloud was starting to remember why he’d hated the northwest mountains. It was supposed to be summer, yet it was cold, wet and windy. Still, a few more days, and they’d be at their destination… or at least at a point where they could begin climbing the jagged peaks.

If everyone was getting fed up with the travel before, then they were now at their wits end. Even Barret, who had been determined to keep the group’s spirits up, had mostly fallen silent during the long days of walking. He was looking under the weather, Cloud noticed, and hoped he wasn’t coming down with anything.

Speaking of which, the worst among the party was Tifa, who had spent the last two days riding atop of Slug. She’d picked up some sickness in the constant wet weather and was looking worse by the day.

Anyone could tell from the glances they gave each other- everyone was starting to get worried for her.

Their saving grace came in the form of an old log cabin, on the edge of the treeline, which separated them from the mountains. An old hunting lodge.

They practically ran to it, with Barret singing praises when they found the door unlocked and the building unoccupied. No one cared about the old wood smell or the spiders, there was a roof and fire place. And beds! Actual beds!

Even Slug looked impressed.

Whoever stayed previously had graciously left some dried meats in the store cupboard, as well as some wood for the fire. It wasn’t a lot though, and they hadn’t eaten properly for days. So, Cloud left Tifa and Barret while he hunted down some food. Yuffie tagged along, followed by her new best friend, Slug.

The woodland around here had always gave off an eerie feeling, with weather gnarled trees and a distinct lack of colour, even in the brighter months. Nibel perpetually carried a wintery feeling, nor had the landscape ever felt particularly homely, which further added the coldness. Tifa wouldn’t agree with him on that opinion, but Cloud didn’t recall the place as fondly as she did.

However today, something about the seedy wilderness felt amiss. Both he and Yuffie had spent enough time out on the open road to know there was something terribly off about this place. It had been an encroaching sensation he’d had during their last two days of travel, but one he’d brushed aside until now. These trees were too quiet. It sounded more like a forest at night, rather than mid-afternoon.

“You gettin’ the creeps too?” Yuffie broke the silence.

The question was rhetorical, both knew the other was on edge. Even Slug was walking around with quiet steps and wide orange eyes.

Around them, a few ravens cawed, which did little to soften the atmosphere. “Yeah. Talk to me about something, I need a distraction.” Cloud muttered, trying to push aside the feeling of being watched.

“Sure, uhh… So, Vincent is Sephiroth’s dad, right?” She began.

Cloud could already tell he was going to regret asking her to chat. “As we’ve established. Why’s your face like that?”

Her smirk morphed into a mischievous grin. “Just thinkin’. Does that recategorize him as a dilf?”

“Yuffie.”

“What? I’m being serious.” She giggled at his disappointment. “It’s important we classify everyone correctly.”

Cloud frowned as he went back to peering through the trees. “No,- what does that even mean? Actually, don’t answer that, please.”

“Well, you’re obviously the twink. Barret is the himbo, Cid is the grumpy old man, Nanaki’s the family pet, Tifa is our big booby wife, Reeve is his own problem, Aerith is our fairy godmother and I’m the cool ninja.” Yuffie helpfully listed, counting each off on her fingers.

“You’re a little shit.” Cloud grumbled.

“Anyway, did that ever get weird, you and Vince, with him being like, more than twice your age?” She casually asked, skipping over a few fallen branches. “He could be your dad. Ever think about that?”

Cloud cringed at the thought. “He was asleep for thirty years. I don’t think that exactly counts as living. So no, I’ve never found it weird.” There was no point in pleading with her to move on. Otherwise, she’d nag him endlessly.

Yuffie grabbed a discarded branch, and tried to use it to play with Slug, but the bird was far too distracted by their surroundings. “Okaaay, but I bet it’s weird now with Sephiroth, right?”

“What do you mean?” He glared back over his shoulder.

“Well, you’re sleeping with him, aren’t you?” She supressed a laugh. “Like, no shame, but that’s gotta be awkward for all three of you, right?”

Why they all found his almost non-existent sex life so interesting, Cloud would never know. He didn’t care who they spent their personal time with. “I’m not, actually. It’s not like me and Vincent are dating. I’m sure you’re caring about this a lot more than he does.”

Behind them, Slug perked up, peering into the trees. Following her que, Yuffie moved like lightening, pulling two darts from her pocket and tossing them. Catching up, Cloud looked just in time to see a deer hit the ground.

They trudged over to collect their kill, and Cloud found himself glad she was on their side. He’d been struck by a few of her blades, upon initially facing her as a foe. Since then, she’d become much more deadly. “Nice.” Cloud praised; the sooner they left this creepy forest, the better.

“Yeah, so as I was saying.” Yuffie helped move their catch onto Slug’s saddle. “I don’t believe you. Everyone can tell you like him. So, what’s the deal, huh?”

He’d really hoped she would leave this conversation alone. Cloud didn’t want to think about Sephiroth right now, doing so only made his headache worsen. “He’s fine. I’m sure you’d have gotten along if you’d tried to get to know him.”

“No thanks. He’s too boring.” Yuffie scoffed. “You guys both have Jenova bits, yeah?”

“Yeah?”

Yuffie’s expression became thoughtful. “Does that make you, like, half siblings?... Also am I the only one getting really bad vibes right now?” She glanced about the grey trees.

“No, it doesn’t mean that at all. And from the forest? Yeah, me too. Go climb a tree and have a look, if you want.” The blond waved her off.

Immediately, she picked a tree and began to scramble up with the acrobatic capability of a squirrel. “Because, hypothetically, that would make Vincent your stepdad.” She called down.

Cloud pressed his hands over his eyes. “Why would you think,- whatever. If you get a blood transfusion at the hospital, it doesn’t make you related to the donor.”
She pulled herself further up, not caring about the height. “Blood transfusions don’t give you weird brain links.”

True. He watched her look out over the landscape for a minute before hopping down.

Yuffie pointed in a new direction. “This way. Something’s going on.” She began a quick stride. “So, you can tell what he’s thinking and stuff, right?”

He and Slug followed her quick pace through the trees. “Kind of, not really. More like what he’s feeling.”

“What’s he feeling right now?”

That, he hadn’t been able to tell for days, which worried Cloud greatly. “Dunno, we’re too far away.”

She hopped over a large fallen tree. “You can feel more the closer you are? What’s it like when you’re touching?” Yuffie turned, demonstrating by lightly pressing her index fingers together, still grinning widely.

He considered lying, but in the end figured there was little point. “It’s alright. Sometimes intense but… nice.” If Cloud wasn’t getting red in the face before, he definitely was now.

“Soooo, what’s it like when you-.” She made a more obscene gesture with her hands.

“We haven’t.”

“Come on, Cloud! You can tell me! I’ve seen how he looked at you.”

“What’s that supposed to mean? And again, no, there’s nothing to tell.” Though it did make him think… What would physical intimacy be like with that connection? Cloud shut down the thought as quick as it arrived. Not something to be considered right now.

Yuffie was about to continue when Slug made a fearful sound.

Searching out the problem, something could be seen through the trees. Carefully, they neared a large thing on the ground, thirty feet away. Ravens covered the lump, pulling bits off.

The smell hit Cloud first, so bad it made him cough, scaring a number of the birds away.

Creeping closer, there was not one, but three grotesque lumps, the third housing a gigantic set of antlers. They were was the only means of identifying the animal as a moose, which had been dead for several days.

“Woa…” Yuffie crept around the carcase with fingers pinching her nose. “A dragon must have done this, right?”

The dragons didn’t often leave their peaks, unless there was a serious food shortage driving them down. “No. It’s partly eaten. A dragon couldn’t land here without damaging the trees, or its wings.” Aside from a few broken lower branches, there was nothing to indicate a flying creature. Even a dragon would have difficulty carrying something this size.

A pack of wolves could take a moose, if they tried hard enough. Firstly, they didn’t have the strength to fling such an animal around nor tear it into three in such a vile way. They didn’t often leave much for the birds to pick at. This looked more like it was killed out of rage, rather than hunger.

“What about that giant six-legged thing we fought that once around here?” Yuffie speculated, eyeing the space between the trees and likely comparing the size of the monster they’d once took down.

“I don’t think so…” Materia keepers and those of similar species were rare and strictly stuck to caves where they could feed from naturally occurring mako springs. Even residents of Nibelheim could go a lifetime without seeing one, so long as they didn’t go looking. Most people hadn’t.

Something large and unknown had torn this animal apart and then just left it… “I think we should go.”

“Yeah, what the heck even happened here?” Yuffie peeked up from where she’d been examining a wicked claw mark left in one of the antlers- which were larger than she was tall, just on their own from the rest of the animal.

“I dunno. C’mon.” At a brisk pace, Cloud led the way back, with neither slowing or lowering their concentration until they were back within sight of the lodge. Slug keeping close to their heels, seemingly hurrying the pair. Perhaps she knew more than they did?

Now with lights on and smoke puffing through the chimney, they approached the log cabin. The quaint aspect at least helped to calm Cloud’s nerves. His attention was drawn away by a buzz from his phone. Were Sephiroth or Zack finally calling him? He’d lost count of how many angry or apologetic messages he’d left on Seph’s answer phone… no wonder the others thought they were dating.

“Hello?”

“Cloud? It’s Reeve.”

“Oh, no way. How are you? Remember me now?” Cloud smiled, hoping the dicey signal could keep up for the whole call.

Yuffie tried to shove her head next to his. “Who is it?”

A laugh came from the other end. “Ah, yes. My memory is getting gradually catching up with you all, my apologies for not recognising you. I’m not sure the dress helped.”

“What dress? Is that Cid?” Yuffie asked.

Cloud shushed her. “Don’t sweat it. We’re at the bottom of Nibel. Two days or so from the mountain. How’re things on your end?”

“Good. I would encourage you to make haste, if you’re trying to get to Jenova before Shinra. Hojo has personally requested to be there. He’s kicking up a fuss over his safety. He’s twisted the President’s arm to being escorted by both the Turks and Soldier.” Reeve explained, voice lowered. “Rufus doesn’t like it. There was quite the argument at our last meeting.”

“The Turks and Soldier?” Just how bad was Nibelheim right now? He couldn’t recall Hojo being terribly big on safety, he was just observant enough to avoid most incidents. “How long until they fly out?”

“Not for at least a few days. The Turks have other priorities. Two are out in Gongaga.”

“Wait, are Aerith and Zack okay?” Cloud couldn’t help the worried chill which ran down his spine.

Yuffie perked up. “Zack?”

Reeve continued, “No need to worry. By the sounds of it, they’re having a nice time. The reactor repairs are going well.”

“Wait, Zack’s real?” Yuffie asked again.

“It’s a damn good job you raised the issue, Cloud. By the sound of it, we could have been looking at a meltdown in the fut-.”

“Hold on a sec, Reeve.” Cloud fixed a glare at the young woman. “What do you mean ‘is he real’? Does everyone think I just made him up? Did you never ask Tifa?”

Yuffie’s quizzical expression didn’t change. “Yeah, of course. We always thought she was trying to make you seem less crazy to us. Can you blame us though?”

“Oh my God… Reeve, you knew Zack was real, right?” Cloud practically pleaded.

“Of course. I made sure to go over all of his mission reports when Sephiroth became a problem. I’ve spoken to him before.” The Director answered, sounding slightly confused.

“See!” Cloud nearly yelled back at Yuffie, who just shrugged, totally unbothered by his outburst.

Reeve cleared his throat. “Speaking of which, I assume you have Sephiroth with you?”

“… No.” Cloud admitted. “And I’m not sure whether he’ll be joining us for the rest of the mission. He’s somewhere south, still on the Western continent. He’s got Vincent with him.”

“I see… Be watchful, management are aware he’s gone AWOL. I wish I could help out more here, but Shinra’s on high alert right now, with Sephiroth and the data breach. I’ve had to be much more careful; it’s taken me this long to call you.”

“Thanks for the update. Stay safe, okay? Got time to speak to the others?” Cloud pushed Yuffie away from where she was trying to swipe his phone.

He laughed again. “Yes, I’d love to. You keep yourselves safe also, and understand you won’t be able to reach me again on this number.”

“Gotcha. Thanks again.” He turned back to the pest trying to steal the phone. “Yuffie, you wanna talk to Cat Shit?”

“YES!”

“Please don’t call me tha-.”

Cloud didn’t hear the rest as the PHS was snatched away, with Yuffie immediately babbling down the line. He watched her rush back into the building, for the others to talk to him also.

After some investigation, they discovered the lodge had board games. This was both a blessing and a curse. While breaking the monotony of their last while of travel, it reminded the group why they avoided such games in the first place.

“No, you lose your counter. I rolled a five and jumped mine over yours.” Barret insisted, pointing at where his red piece had knocked over Cloud’s blue.

Cloud crossed his arms. “You can’t move that way, we already established that. Tifa?”

Sitting curled up under a blanket beside the fire, Tifa looked utterly miserable. She sniffled, flicking through the rule book again. “Cloud’s right. You lose yours, Barret.”

“Wha-! Oh, that’s bullshit.” Barret shook his head, but delicately placed the blue piece back into place.

There came a sad sound from behind the door, followed by the scraping of talons on wood. Not the first of the evening.

“I thought you tethered her up.” Cloud frowned at Yuffie, who was rolling her dice.

“I did. Ooh, I got four.” She moved her green piece of plastic. “Someone ask me a question.”

This was the third time Slug had left the stable outside their shack and come knocking on the door. Cloud ignored her and picked up a card “Which eastern town elected a cat as their mayor?”

“Banora.” Yuffie answered without missing a beat.

Cloud nodded, impressed. “Yeah, that’s right.”

There was a tapping, this time on the glass of the window. They looked up to see the angry beady eyed stare of Slug, who sounded a deep growl behind the glass.

“Damn bird.” Barret growled back at her, waving a hand away. “Go back to bed!”

In response, Slug’s beak came smashing through the window, as she glared and hissed back at him, scattering glass all over the floor.

Tifa gasped, which made her start choking again. “Be careful!” She urged between coughs.

Yuffie sprang up and opened the door.

The moment it was open, their chocobo barged in, taking up most of the room. Yuffie was thrown back behind the door while the table was knocked over, effectively ending their game. The bird stood in the middle of the room and shook herself, showering everyone with water before choosing a space along the wall and flopped down.

With a sigh, Tifa threw the rule book into the game box and muttered something distasteful.

Seeing no way around it, they cleaned up and closed the door behind the obnoxious chocobo. Now with a draft whistling through the broken window, the gang scooted closer to the fireplace.

Rather awkwardly, Barret offered a suggestion. “I was thinkin’, Tifa. Uhh, with you not feeling so great, how about stopping here and waiting for us?”

She sent him an incredulous look. “Leave me here so you can deal with Jenova on your own?”

As much as he hated it, Cloud had to agree. “You shouldn’t push yourself. We don’t know what’ll be up there.”

“No, absolutely not.” She huffed, offended. “I can still fight. I won’t slow you down.”

Barret made a scolded sort of sound. “We know you won’t, but-,”

She cut him off. “Then there’s no problem. I’m not letting you go without me.”

“Sorry.” Both Cloud and Barret replied, letting the discussion go…

The beds were incredible- heck, they could have been utterly awful and it would have still been bliss compared to bedrolls on the stony floor. It was probably the fastest Cloud had ever fallen asleep.

… He was awoken by a strange sensation. The hairs standing up on the back of his neck and a crawling under his skin.

Understanding such a danger sense, he hastily blinked out of sleep and peeked over the edge of the covers. Beside him, Barret was soundly asleep, but that was all he could hear aside from a soft whistling of wind through the cracks in the old cabin and broken window.

Something had awoken him. Maybe it was just paranoia or possibly an echo from whatever Sephiroth was doing? A shudder from Jenova, perhaps? The edges of a lucid dream?

Moving to lean on his elbows, Cloud suddenly noticed Tifa. She was sat upright in bed on the other side of the room, Yuffie asleep beside her. Her back was shot straight, eyes wide in the dark. She looked at Cloud and before he could ask, raised a finger to her lips.

Then there came a sound, a deep and guttural rumble which made another round of tremors cascade down Cloud’s spine. It was right beside him, on the other side of the log wall.

Tifa pointed to both Yuffie and Barret, still staring with the same severity. What the hell was that?! Both knew the fauna around this area well-, everyone familiar with the region did. Neither Cloud nor Tifa could recognise whatever was making that sound.

He patted Barret’s shoulder. Shushing him when he snorted loudly upon waking.

In response there came a rustle from outside, with something brushing up against the log wall.

Whatever it was sounded big.

Thankfully, neither Barret or Yuffie needed an explanation, and both silently exchanged glances with one another.

Light on his feet, Cloud collected his sword from where it rested against the wall and slipped over to Tifa.

Yuffie was also up and crouched, moved to the other side of the open door leading into the main room. A set of darts ready in her hand, ready and lethal.

Tifa crowded up by Cloud, at the other side of the door as the rustling continued around the building. She pointed where the sound was shifting with a look of question.

Cloud shrugged. Maybe it was a stray young materia keeper after all, he had the least experience with those, of all the Nibel wildlife. Or a particularly large wolf scenting out the building?

Peering around the doorway, Cloud examined the main room. Slug was wide eyed and shaking, all of her feathers raised in fright. She ducked down under a window as something lumbered through the dark trees. For the moment he caught a glimpse, the shine of eyes, and felt himself freeze up. The deeply unsettled feeling multiplying into an overtaking of dread.

Whatever effect was thankfully dropped the moment the monster was out of sight. Cloud pinned his back against the doorframe once more the moment he forced his muscles back into action.

Eyes. Way more eyes than any creature he knew around here. On a large domed head sporting an oddly slimy texture. Dark in colour, hunched low to peer through. It’s bulging gaze carrying some effect reminiscent of a petrify spell.

Not a wolf then.

He prayed Slug stayed quiet, which she thankfully had done, so far. At the sound of the creature moving again, Cloud chanced a look. His dark vision wasn’t as good as some Soldiers, but with the little light the outside provided, it was easy to tell the shape of the thing.

It was bipedal, though something was wrong with its spine, affecting the gate of its walk and making it hunch terribly. Long legs of a slightly lighter colouration and a spindly tail, which quivered in strangely painful convulsions. It loped around the side of the lodge.

There were three windows from which it could see through. Too small for it to climb in, but if this thing was capable of ripping a moose into bits, if it wanted to come in, then it would.

“Shit, the door.” Tifa breathed.

And of course, the door didn’t have a lock on it.

“I’ll go.” Barret offered. But when he stood from the mattress, the old wood of the bedpost gave a protesting squeak.

A shuffling and grunt came from the monster and Cloud wasted no time dashing from his position to slide under the window beside the door. He held his sword pressed to him and kept perfectly still when a haggard breath rasped on the other side of the glass.

When the head lifted and moved once more, Cloud moved with it. Peering out of the window, he watched the creature go. It was large, well built with long thin fingers sporting lengthy claws. Its domed head covered in eyes. On its back sat a pair of wings, which were now so misshapen they were hard to identify and impossible to fly with.

Again, that quaking gripped at his heart. Breath caught in his throat for the duration those slimy yellow eyes were glimpsed. That could be a serious problem is one of the group were caught alone with it...

It took him a moment to realise, but then it clicked- this was a velron. A moderately common sighting in the mountains. They lived in groups and were prised for their velvety violet skins. Semi intelligent and winged competitors to the wolves in the area.

Usually, they stayed away and were shy around people. They were supposed to be human sized gargoyles, not whatever that was.

Whatever had happened, had changed it in every aspect. Unfortunately, Cloud was fairly sure he knew the cause of its deformation.

Barret skidded into place beside Cloud, both moving their backs to the door. For a long moment, all was silent aside from the sound of their shallow breathing.

Barret looked over, concerned. He leaned over to whisper, likely to ask why the blond looked so uncharacteristically frightful. Just at that moment, something pushed against their backs.

It was merely a nudge, but served to get his heart pounding in his ears even harder.

Beside him, Barret was uttering a string of profanities under his breath. This only picked up when a clawed hand scraped slowly down the outside of the door. Lengthy claws skittering over the bumps in the wood. If needed, they could take this thing down, though facing it wasn’t particularly advisable. Not with it being the dead of night or the risk of there being more than one.

After another press to the door, it backed off and began to circle further. Realising that left them vulnerable, Cloud waved to Tifa, who moved forwards and squashed up against him and Barret.

Luckily, Yuffie had noticed Slug, now sitting in full view of the next window. With incredible agility, she raced into the room, snatched a blanket off the armchair, rolled and had it completely covering both herself and Slug without making a sound. The cover settled just as an array of milky, pale-yellow eyes pressed close to the pane.

As if on reflex, Barret wrapped his arms around the other two, securing them in a near rib-breaking hold.

No one breathed as they watched a talon appear through the broken glass and probe around the empty air. The monster grunted when the long digit clipped a shard of glass, and quickly retracted the hand. Its large head leaned down, snuffling at the missing pane in a way which made the monster sound sick or wounded.

Despite them fighting creatures both more fearsome and grotesque, there was still something which had all of them gripped with fright- in a way entirely separate from the awful effect of its gaze. Perhaps a fear of the unknown?

When the monster pressed its claws to the glass in the next pane, the popping sound and shards hitting the floor nearly made Cloud jump out and start flailing his sword around. Thankfully, he didn’t have much of a choice with Barret’s arms around both him and Tifa.

The monster lingered at the window for nearly another full minute, before lumbering onwards.

They heard it move back into the line of trees, continuing its slow pace. Cloud shimmied out of Barret’s hold and lightly opened the door, much to the distress of the other two.

In the dark, he caught a glimpse of the thing roaming back into the trees, apparently losing interest in the cabin. He heaved a sigh and returned, this time pulling the armchair to block the door until morning.

Yuffie and Slug’s heads popped out from under the blanket. “Is it gone?”

“You think that was your moose monster?” Barret shivered.

“No.” Cloud replied, troubled and definitely not sleeping the rest of the night. That thing hadn’t got the strength in its limbs to carry out what they’d seen in the forest earlier, which didn’t help his sense of foreboding in the slightest. If this was just the base of the mountain, the rest of the ascent wasn’t going to be a whole lot of fun.

Tifa pushed past them both. “You are not leaving me here.”

This time, Cloud couldn’t agree more.

Chapter Text

A lot of things were on Sephiroth’s mind as he crossed over into the Cosmo region. - His place in the world and the life with Shinra he could never return to; Cloud, and the truth he’d withheld; his newly found parents; Jenova, and the atrocities he’d committed in her name… To say but a few matters which spiralled through his mind.

As they kept clear from the busy roadways, dutifully following Vincent’s four-legged ally; he considered his degradation. He thought of Angeal and Genesis, how their biology had quickly begun to fray. How for Genesis especially, his mind had stripped itself of rationality.

That had begun happening before they had grown their wings. However, Sephiroth’s mental instability could be traced exclusively to Jenova’s interference… Frustratingly, it was a guessing game. He wished there was some research or anything which might hint at whether he was right.

At least now, his new wing was able to sit unaided without the bandage for support. He could even work the new joins to perform a weak flapping motion, but that was all. It would be an inconvenience while fighting, and he’d need to practice his sword work, lest he slice it off by accident.

All in all, the once feared General felt directionless. Agreeably following wherever he and Vincent were being led. Right now, the mission he’d taken on with Cloud seemed so far away. Was it even his task anymore? Perhaps that goal belonged to Avalanche, or whatever they’d named the group, (yet another banner he didn’t feel he belonged under).

Right now, he felt as out of place as the wing on his back.

It was a long trek, up dusty trails and across the lip of a huge canyon. Eventually, the highest outpost town was within sight.

Towering over, casting a long shadow was Cosmo Canyon, an outpost town huge cliffside, carved into and built upon. A harmonious merging of nature with technology. Atop the highest point, he knew there sat a large observatory.

Closer, it became more difficult to say hidden from roadways and passers-by. Across any of the flat spaces, crops were being grown, regulated by machinery and advanced looking biodomes. A small amount of traffic passed by, trailing back and forth from the entrance of the bustling town. Overhead, a large bird circled before coming to roost among others, while their keeper fussed with letters and packages. With a hand gesture, an even larger bird of prey took off, carrying a sizable package high towards the upper residence within the cliffside.

Under better circumstances, or even if he was less exhausted, Sephiroth would have been excited. He’d read so many books and papers from the researchers in this area and its neighbouring communities. Visiting the observatory had been one of the few things he had hoped to find time for.

Vincent stopped to glance over his shoulder when Sephiroth slowed. Seeing his reluctance, the gunman beckoned him onward. “The people here know to expect oddities.”

Understanding he couldn’t hide behind a rock all day, Sephiroth followed hesitantly. Unfortunately, his face was plastered on enough that he was sure to be recognised here. Despite his discomfort, Sephiroth followed on.

Sure enough, they got some glances. A few waved or called a welcoming greeting but to his surprise, that was all. No one appeared outwardly horrified at the very clear mark of Jenova he now carried.

Nanaki, as he’d been indirectly introduced, disappeared through the gates of the town, out of sight. It seemed that the beast no longer deemed it necessary to guide the pair.

Not lingering about, Vincent led them to a narrow walkway over a natural bridge in the rock towards an old but elaborately decorated gateway. To Sephiroth’s displeasure, a guard stepped forward to meet them.

“I’ve been told you know where to go?” The man said, not stopping either of them.

Vincent replied with a respectful nod and continued through.

The centre of the town consisted of an open plateau, bursting with shops, a mixture of music and children racing about. Both were met by the vibrant smell of street food, which didn’t help by reminding Sephiroth that he’d forgone eating since their last stop.

Taking a path up a staircase carved skilfully out of the towering rockface, they ascended into room spaces, cut from the rock. All serving a variety of functions, though still containing technology one might have found in the Shinra building. A perfect blend of natural and man-made.

It was a unique feature which Sephiroth recalled reading about, though he’d never fully been able to imagine such a way of living. It held a sense of harmony he hadn’t previously considered.

Vincent led him high up, until the sounds of music through the windows was fading out and glimpses outside told that they had climbed quite a way. Had he been at his usual strength, the strain wouldn’t have been a bother, yet the climb was starting to wear Sephiroth down fast.

Finally, his guide took a separate door, stepping into the stone carved entryway of a cosy looking room. Vincent knocked on a door and on the other side there came a startled noise, followed by something clattering to the floor.

“He’s eccentric but wise.” Vincent muttered.

Before Sephiroth could ask him who exactly he was referring to, the heavy door was pulled open with a terrible squeak. Appearing in the doorway was an elderly man, shuffling about in a long blue cloak which trailed along the ground behind him. He only stood at about half Sephiroth’s height and almost gave the impression he’d been shrunk, if the ill-fitting cloak was anything to go by. He had an impressive beard and large glasses, which framed kind eyes.

“Ah, how wonderful! Vincent, my friend! Do excuse me, I was getting the place cleaned up, trust me to loiter until the last moment, even when I know I’m having company.” The older man announced jovially.

Mildly perturbed, Sephiroth followed Vincent into the strange man’s house; a quaint kitchen area with a large dining table, slightly too big for the room. A pot of water was already boiling upon the stove. The crash had come from a biscuit tin, which had been knocked over when the man had startled.

Neither at ease, both Vincent and Sephiroth lingered by the doorway.

Moving about with an excited step, the elder called over, “Sephiroth, delighted to finally make your acquaintance! Now, how do you like your tea?”

“I don’t mind.” Hopefully the exhaustion from all the stairs wasn’t caught in his voice.

Oh Gods, was this man part of his fan club? Sephiroth watched with suspicion as the elder busied about the kitchen. It would seem he already knew how Vincent preferred his drink, and a mug was pushed into the man’s grip.

“Ah, where are my manners?” A hand was held out, which Sephiroth took. “Bugenhagen, Nanaki’s grandpa.”

“Bugenhagen?” He recognised that, and rolling the name about his head for a moment, Sephiroth recalled why. Some of his unease fell instantly away. “I’ve read your books.”

The elder’s eyes widened from behind his glasses and he gave an excitable laugh. The General’s hand was shaken with even greater enthusiasm. “Well, what do you know, I expected you to have interesting tastes but a fan of mine? Hoho! What a pleasant surprise!”

… Did that make him a hypocrite?

Bugenhagen continued, “We’ll have to chat more, but first, let me show you to a guest room. You look like you haven’t slept in weeks.”

Sephiroth didn’t have the energy to argue as a hot drink was rushed to him and he was promptly beckoned through another door and up yet another flight of stairs. After a moment, he was led into a well-decorated suite.

“Make yourself at home. I’ll bring some food shortly, I’ve a feeling you need it.” Bugenhagen said as he ushered his guest through the door.

Sephiroth couldn’t help but feel out of place in the large but cosy room. It consisted of a sizable bed and bath, which both looked absolutely amazing to his tired eyes. “I don’t mean to take your hospitality lightly, but why am I here?”

“A good question.” The other replied. “I find that people tend to be drawn to this region for a variety of reasons. Often when they feel lost.”

“Lost? Firstly, I was led here. Nor am I searching for anything.” Sephiroth lightly countered, though he wasn’t sure he believed his own words.

“Well, perhaps that’s for you to discover while you’re here.” Bugenhagen answered. He left, closing to door softly behind him.

Sephiroth wasn’t sure what to make of his situation, or what to expect. Either way, he wasn’t going to pass up the offer of kindness being presented.

Waking was a sluggish process. This time the midday sunlight streaming through the windows didn’t hold the same sting to his eyes as Sephiroth had come to expect. The new muscles of his wing ached when they moved, but even that had eased quickly under the heat of a pleasant shower.

It was clumsy, but for the first time, the new limb moved as a part of him.

Caught in something like a brain fog, which while mildly confusing, left him feeling well rested and oddly safe.

He found his uniform had been washed, folded and left by the door, smelling strongly of a heavy floral scent which nearly made him sneeze.

Examining his leather jacket, Sephiroth was thrilled to find that the back had been modified to include a hole for his wing, which was buttoned closed on the shoulder. While it implied that someone had been hovering over his sleeping form with a tape measure, Sephiroth decided he could forgive that and happily tried the new addition to his coat, finding that it fit around his wing perfectly.

After readying slowly, he stepped out and trudged quietly down the stone staircase. Hearing movement, he pushed open a door and found himself back in the kitchen, which he only barely recalled.

“Ah, you’re awake!” Bugenhagen hopped from his seat at the dining table. “Sit down, make yourself at home.” The odd man invited, as he went to make tea.

Feeling more than a little lost, he took a seat, watching as the other man began rummaging around the room. Bugenhagen was entertaining to watch as he skipped about, frequently tripping on his ridiculously long cloak. He pulled the tea bags from under the kitchen sink, mugs from a hanger on the door and sugar from the fridge. All while humming a cheery tune.

A slight movement drew his attention down to the floor. Sephiroth had failed to notice another shape lay near his chair. The beast who had led them here, Nanaki, if he recalled. With one yellow eye, they regarded him carefully, the flamed tail flicking under Sephiroth’s gaze. That single eye held an inexplicable intelligence which made the General aware that he was staring perhaps rudely.

He averted his gaze back towards Bugenhagen. “How long was I asleep?”

“Two whole days.” The elder laughed. “I wondered whether you’d left us to go live in dreamland.”

A much-needed rest then. Sephiroth gave a hum of acknowledgement. Problem was, he felt like he could sleep another two with ease. “Was it you who fixed my coat?”

“Ah, I believe Vincent did that. Quite handy when he wants to be, isn’t he?” His host laughed again, switching off the gas when the kettle began to whistle. He placed down two large mugs and took his place opposite Sephiroth.

With thanks, he moved to collect the drink, but found the mug somehow too hot to even touch. Bugenhagen had no problem drinking straight from the molten hot tea, as if it were not somehow hot enough to melt the cup.

They sat in silence for a few minutes, which Sephiroth spent meditatively staring into his drink. For fear of fidgeting, he kept his fingers laced and still, trying to pretend he was calmer than this situation truly made him feel.

His host’s side of the table held a scattering of lose papers; some with writing, others which looked like they’d come out of a broken printer. They were dark and speckled with many grainy dots. It took until Sephiroth’s drink had cooled for him to realise what it actually depicted.

The other must have followed his eyes. Bugenhagen pushed one of the printouts closer, showing that it was a closely magnified corner of the nights sky. “I was about to give up and go to bed last night, but then the clouds parted and look what I found!” He had circled a cluster of distant lights. Then showed a second sheet of the same area, dated several months previous.

“It’s a new star.” Sephiroth answered.

“How exciting!” The other knocked a foot against his chair with great enthusiasm.

Sephiroth continued to study the comparative images, looking closely at the tiny speck of light amidst the starfield. He agreed, it was very exciting, one had to wonder at what unknowable worlds and secrets might be surrounding that single dot on the page. The thought made him shiver.

“You like the stars?” Bugenhagen looked encouraged by the younger man’s blatant interest.

It was perhaps a silly question. One had to enjoy talk of the cosmos if they were to appreciate the complicated works Bugenhagen had published. “I do.” Sephiroth answered.

“Well then, you should come by the observatory later.”

His heart jumped at the unexpected offer. Long had he known about the Cosmo Canyon Observatory- the greatest of its kind. “That would be alright?” His face must have given away his surprise and subsequent delight.

“Of course! It’ll be nice to have company. Nanaki says he has better things to do.” Bugenhagen said in a humoured voice.

Before Sephiroth could ask, the canine rose its head. “I’m busy, Grandpa. I also don’t allow my hobbies to compromise my sleeping schedule.” They rumbled in a deep and well-spoken voice.

This time, Sephiroth tried to school his expression to hide his shock.

Oh, so it wasn’t just the man’s weird dog? The General felt suddenly guilty for having stared at the beast.

Bugenhagen merely chuckled at the response. Looking for a distraction, Sephiroth returned to his drink, which had cooled to a more pleasant, less flesh-melting temperature. The surface of the liquid twisted in lazy spirals. Watching them seemed to pull his mind back into fog. A comfortable feeling he allowed to take over for the time being.

A sigh from across the table pulled him back out of the half-awake state. Worryingly, Sephiroth wasn’t sure how long he’d been spacing out. “You seem awfully lost, young man.” Bugenhagen’s voice took on a more sombre tone.

The simple observation rocked him, unsettled the mist which had been allowed to settle. Unwilling to give any sort of answer, Sephiroth replied with a question. “Why are you helping me?”

“Because you look like you need it. From what I managed to get out of Vincent, you’ve both travelled quite the way. It sounds like you’re a long way from home.” The elder replied.

Sephiroth spent the majority of the day holed up on his room, perched on the window seat, flicking through a book. Below, people scurried about like ants, bathed in dull grey afternoon light. The sun hid mostly away, only peering occasionally through. He’d slept for another while, though not as long as he’d have liked.

His wing hung at his side. The great thing had knocked a drink onto the floor, much to his distain. As punishment, it had been wrapped back up once more with bandage.

In frustration, he’d pulled at it, tugged on the feathers. Sephiroth resented the feeling- hated that the nerves reacted and again, some instinctual sense had prevented him from ripping more than a few feathers from the thing. It was beginning to feel like a part of him, and now, that only made him hate it more.

Watching the people below, Sephiroth wanted to hate them just as much. They all moved with purpose, did things which meant something to them, no matter how miniscule. It only served to agitate him further, as his purpose remained hidden from him.

Who even was he? What was he?

Did it matter? Did he still matter?

Thankfully Jenova’s attention had been pointed elsewhere for the last few days. Perhaps she thought he was firmly under her control, after their last ‘meeting’. If not for Aerith’s materia, he might have been. Next time he met the Cetra, he’d have to find a way of expressing his gratitude. Sephiroth hoped he’d see her again…

With the day spent resting and refuelling, the mist hanging over his mind slowly lifted, only to be replaced by displeasure. Sephiroth had been looking through a selection of frankly uninteresting books when there came a knock to the door. After calling out, Vincent entered, slipping silently through the doorway, still looking wild and unkept as ever.

“I heard you were awake.” Greeted Vincent, closing the door soundlessly behind him.

Sephiroth guessed this was an unconscious movement, rather than something which implied secrecy. “You heard correctly. Did you mend my coat?”

The dark-haired man nodded.

“I appreciate that. Thank you.”

When Vincent did little more than just stand there, Sephiroth’s gaze moved back down to the people below. He watched one of the delivery birds fly back down to the postal stand by the gates, lacking any real desire to start a conversation with his visitor. If Vincent wanted to make something known, then he would. For now, he took a place casually leaning beside the door.

Eventually, as expected, Vincent did speak. “What’s your plan?”

There was no plan. He truly had no idea what he was doing, but wouldn’t admit that. In truth, Sephiroth felt hollow, directionless, like he’d blown here on the wind. He was someone who at all times had had their purpose dictated to them, and was now without guidance. It wasn’t as freeing as he’d have hoped.

Really, he only had a single option. “I can’t be allowed to live. You aren’t safe with me around.”

Vincent frowned under his mess of hair, but Sephiroth continued. “I’ve seen the threat I pose. I understand it now. I refuse to lose my mind again, under the will of another.”

“Jenova?”

“Keeping her distance for now.”

The gunman moved, this time to lean against the bed frame. A casual act which mismatched the natural coldness he exuded- as if the gesture had been fake. When next he looked up, Vincent’s eyes shone in gold. “He won’t tell you this, but my host thinks you’re keeping yourself together remarkably well.” Chaos said.

Closing his book and setting it aside, Sephiroth looked across in mild interest. “And what do you think?”

“There are many things I think. I wondered whether you would survive, when she took hold of you.” He nodded to the wing. “Or whether you’d off yourself afterwards. It helps that you have a piece of the Planet, keeping her at bay.”

“Your Cetra friend bestowed this upon me for reasons I couldn’t fathom at the time.” Sephiroth explained, wondering how they knew such a thing when he’d kept it secret.

Chaos hummed an eerie laugh. “Of course she did…” He trailed off momentarily. “It can be so awfully dull in here. Your presence had brought about some unexpected entertainment. You’ve challenged my expectations.”

Did he dare ask? “How so?” Sephiroth raised an eyebrow.

“You’ve got more patience than I imagined. I’d have torn Cloud to bits had he lied to me as he did to you.” He sauntered over, coming to stand by the window and picked up the book which had been resting on the General’s knees.

“It did cross my mind.” The list of people Sephiroth didn’t want to think about was steadily growing.

“Don’t do that with your face. You miss him really.” Chaos made an odd scoffing sound. “Thankfully, Gaia’s chosen has a certain charm to him. I can tell you see that also. The two of you are stuck in each other’s orbit. I suspect you should get over yourselves and re-join soon enough.”

“I doubt he will want to see me.” Sephiroth watched the other examine the tacky novel he’d been skimming through. Chaos made it sound so easy.

The Planet’s Weapon lifted the paperback and sniffed between several of the pages like he was looking for something. “So? When has he ever wanted to see you?”

Sephiroth laughed bitterly. “That hardly sounds healthy.”

The other gave a sharp smirk. “Or we can sever the connection. I’m sure Gaia’s plans only need one of you.”

Sephiroth shrugged. “As I’ve been suggesting. I’ll haunt you though.”

Chaos ran the finger of their armoured hand gently down the spine of the book. “We’d expect nothing less.” They flicked to end of the novel and tore out the final page.

“What? I don’t like endings.” Chaos regarded Sephiroth’s displeasure at the action and tossed the book back where they’d collected it from.

Sephiroth shook his head, halfway between disturbed and amused. “You know, when Jenova first presented herself to me, I wondered whether it was you. I thought perhaps the Planet was delivering a message through you.”

Chaos, who had turned to stalk back towards the door, stopped. “I find that… offensive? Is that the word? What a very human feeling, I like it. Your assumption offends me.” They smiled despite the sentiment.

“No problem?” One more thing lingered on Sephiroth’s mind. “Do you think Cloud will forgive me? Would you and Vincent?” Or the rest of the group, though their opinions mattered significantly less to him.

“Depends.” The other said, pausing at the door, which was pulled open much more roughly than when Vincent had snuck inside. “Can you forgive yourself?”
With those words, Sephiroth was left alone again.

After dark, Sephiroth slipped from his room. He headed up, navigating the beautifully carved inner rockface. None of it was dark, as might be expected, every bend was lit pleasantly with both electric, gas and in some cases, torchlight. All placed thoughtfully for both easy passage as well as for a decorative purpose. Highlighting the coloured layers of stone as well as hand-carved murals depicting various cultural and historic events.

Eventually, following signposts, he emerged up onto the top plateau. The differing air pressure could be felt this high up, and Sephiroth moved to the railing at the edge to look down at the tiny lights below. It reminded him of the view from his Shinra accommodation, this time with a chilly wind whipping at his coat and running through his feathers.

Otherwise, it was dry. The overcast sky had broken further into the day, to reveal the moon and a near overwhelming blanket of stars. He was saddened the view had been hidden under Midgar’s smog. What a terrible shame, to deprive the residents of this incredible sight. Such a sky held a strange weight to it, and he stayed gazing out until it began to feel crushing around him.

Heading inside the observatory, he found Bugenhagen, tapping away at a console. It was more compact inside than he’d imagined, dark with the buzz of machinery breaking the silence. Sitting nearby was Nanaki, who rose his head at the sound of the door.

“Ah, welcome! I’m glad you decided to join us.” Bugenhagen’s jovial greeting felt akin to an attack on the General’s grim mood, though not one he could be upset at.

Approaching at the man’s beckon, Sephiroth came to stand near his side. The room filled with a low electrical whine and the walls were lined with dark panels. He recognised such things from the Shinra building- from the VR rooms. That certainly sparked a further interest.

Displayed on the panel readout was a vast array of stars. A clear and beautiful view into the depths of the cosmos.

“Here’s the little one I found last night.” Bugenhagen panned the camera across, focusing in as far as the telescope could go. Pointing out a cluster of stars, Sephiroth recognised them from the paper he’d seen earlier. “All we need to do now is add it to the chart.”

He tapped at the panel again and with a whirr, the open space at the centre of the room came to life. For a moment, the whole room seemed to spin and, to further Sephiroth’s surprise, the starfield came to life around them. It was so dense and vast that he struggled to process what was happening for a moment. It tracked comets, beautiful deep candy-coloured nebulas and suns of all sizes.

Nearly tripping over his absurdly long cloak, Bugenhagen shuffled into the centre of the holographically generated field and waved for his guest to follow.

Stepping into the vortex of stars, they swirled to meet him. It was brilliant, a truly magnificent work of science and craftmanship. A beautiful ode to the forever untraveled.

Even if just for a moment, Sephiroth understood the other man’s joy. He could spend the rest of his life happily staring out at this. It filled him with an indescribable feeling, akin to hunger. Perhaps it was Jenova’s influence reacting to the sight, as he felt an almost natural pull to experience the heavens.

Finding the cross section he needed, Bugenhagen pulled up a virtual control panel and with his hand and placed the newly found star onto the chart. With interest, Sephiroth watched the other add in the movement details of the tiny light. “TG-437.” The elder said. “That’s its name, for now. Perhaps it’ll get a more affectionate one if we ever visit.” He chuckled.

“You’ve charted all of these?”

“Me and others.” Bugenhagen replied. He manipulated the display, to show smaller clusters of planets and their moons. At the centre of the hologram, there sat a tiny but detailed galaxy, which Sephiroth recognised as their own.

“Feels a lot less isolated when you imagine all the other worlds out there.” The elder said.

Sephiroth nodded in response, not really agreeing. Considering how many lifetimes it would take to travel to their neighbouring solar system, it didn’t exactly reassure him. No, space was cold and lonely, but that had its own charm. It was calm, unhurried in its motions. Thrilling and dangerous, vast but never empty.

“Do you know where Jenova might be from?” He asked without really thinking, wondering how many other species like her there were. He asked, ignoring how Nanaki was eyeing him with a scathing gaze.

The other man regarded him with great interest. “Actually, I was hoping you might have known.”

Unexpected but understandable. Sephiroth gazed out into the holographically generated cosmos, searching out some spark from his J cells. Eventually, he gave up with a shake of his head. “Perhaps her kind are born adrift in space. Some find a world to devour, some do not. You know of her then?”

“Considering their apparent natural capacity for travel, you’re probably right. No matter. And yes, it’s not often we get to interact so thoroughly with extra-terrestrials.” He answered with a bounce of excitement. “It may seem that myself and Nanaki are some of the few who were permitted to retain our memories from past experiences. I like to think I helped here and there when dealing with our prior crises.”

“Dealing with me, you mean?” Sephiroth stated rather plainly.

To his surprise, the elder waved him off dismissively. “You, Shinra, all of Jenova’s bits and pieces, my fridge not working...” He trailed off a moment before regaining his trail of thought. “Do you understand what occurred in that previous time?”

“I’m aware of certain events, though I won’t claim to understand them.”

Bugenhagen waved at the display once more. It warped the starfield, bringing it to a fixed view overlooking their planet, which spun slowly in place, dancing alongside the moon. It stood as a jewel of colour in a sea of nothingness.

“I’ve heard Cloud hasn’t been terribly forthcoming. So, I’ll give you the rundown, if you’d like.” Bugenhagen watched Sephiroth closely. “Though understand I was there in person for very little of it.”

“I’d appreciate any information you’d be willing to share. My memories are still scattered.”

A sound, not unlike a growl came from Nanaki, which Bugenhagen turned towards. “Now, now. He deserves a chance, don’t you think?”

The canine said nothing more, just replying with a dissatisfied flick of his tail.

Bugenhagen cleared his throat. He began tapping at his virtual control again, this time dropping in bits of rock and space debris to sit in the Planet’s orbit. “Shinra lost you after the massacre in Nibelheim. Though the evidence made it seem certain that you had died, officially they never found your body. Some were sceptical, myself included at the time. I’ve looked over many of the papers- some official, some theory… It became a bit of a thing to guess what had befallen you. Everyone was at it for a while, when Shinra couldn’t keep your disappearance a secret anymore.
They all had their own wild and wacky theories, I even made one of my own. Hoho! It was quite well received amongst your fans.
I've worked with Shinra enough that I was certain you’d suffered some debilitating injury. Something which had prompted Hojo to pack you off back to the assembly line, as it were. My apologies if that’s rather blunt.”

Sephiroth gave a dry chuckle. “That’s why I can’t go back to Midgar. Hojo was planning on decommissioning me. I’m sure my apparent desertion has only sped up their decision making.”

The shorter man shook his head, tutted in disapproval. “Yes, let’s do our best to avoid that… Ah, as I was saying- you were later discovered in a frozen crater, up in the Northern continent. Presumably, Jenova had been healing you there. Fascinating, don’t you think?”

He tried to recall that. Sephiroth could remember something cold and crystalline encasing him. Jenova imbuing him with her greater strength. He’d felt so close to her then…
Then there’d been Cloud, unwilling, under his spell. The stone had cracked like paper and he’d felt the chill of the northern air for the first in a long time.

Bugenhagen continued. “Using Cloud, you acquired an artifact sealed away by the Cetra, to summon down a great disaster.” He motioned to the hologram, which now contained a cluster of debris orbiting with the planet. “I made enough studies of the phenomenon, I hope I’m remembering the specifications right.” He muttered, mostly to himself.

“Here.” With a few presses to the controls, the debris collected together, as if finding its own orbit before being pulled into Gaia’s atmosphere.

“I’ve seen it. I dream about it often.” Sephiroth watched the unfolding disaster with a twisting in his gut. Unlike in his dreams, the view wasn’t accompanied with that obscene delight. Right now, he just felt… a lot.

It shouldn’t be real- and yet it was there, playing back in his head. He could recall watching the approaching cataclysm descend while he viewed it from the mouth of the northern crater.

But it shouldn’t be real… Yet he remembered his weakened state after pulling forth such a great disaster. And then there was something new- knowing that he was about to fall to Cloud and still being steadfast in the knowledge that even in his defeat, they were powerless to stop the calamity.

“How?!” Sephiroth demanded. “How did you manage to stop it?”

The other man scrutinised his features for a long moment before answering. “The lifestream, and a sacrifice from the Cetra.”

Oh.

He supposed that made sense. Gaia was a living being, self-preservation was bound to kick in.

But the Cetra? Aerith of course. When he thought about it hard, he could catch fragments of still water, the unusual structures of an abandoned city and blood dripping onto cracked marble.

“Aerith.” He heard himself utter. While he’d known for a while that he was her killer, it felt strangely more abhorrent to know it had been an act of his own choice, rather than an order from Shinra.

Bugenhagen went to reply, but was interrupted. “Don’t tell me anymore. I’m keeping her at bay for now, but if Jenova learnt of this, it could spell even greater death for you, if she were to gain control of me.”

Sagely, the other nodded. “As you wish. Though, I fear she already knows. Want to hear the rest?”

Sephiroth blinked. “There’s more?”

The other laughed, breaking the sullen mood which had befallen the room. “Of course, there’s always more! Life doesn’t just stop once you return to the Planet. For that matter, do you remember your time in the lifestream? Anything past that?”

Perturbed by the thought, Sephiroth shook his head. Nothing came to mind.

“I see. I’ll keep it brief, shall I? With that and the damage from the meteor, a number of phenomena occurred. Geological disturbances, disorderly weather patterns. The dead zone around Midgar increasing all the way up to the next town. With Gaia weakened, you were able to take a corruptive hold within the lifestream. It caused a rather nasty plague as a result, which ended with yourself manifesting from the dead.
Thankfully we had the assistance of resourceful friends and Gaia’s champion to put things back into a touch more order…” It didn’t sound like he wished to spend too long on this topic.

An illness had been mentioned, but Sephiroth had no idea he’d been involved. The very idea that he had become such a threat that his influence had managed to corrupt even the lifestream, was inconceivable and utterly absurd. This was all getting worse and worse. However, there was the singular through line which he knew had prevented each and every one of his attempts. “Cloud.” He murmured.

“Indeed. He’s stubborn but undeniably reliable when he’s needed. I’m not surprised the two of you found each other so quickly this time. I was pleasantly surprised to hear that you’d met as allies.”

“How many lives were lost because of me?” Sephiroth asked, not really taking in what the elder had said.

“Ah, well…” Bugenhagen tapered off, uncomfortable.

The question was answered by Nanaki, who finally spoke from the edge of the room. “It was impossible to count.”

“As I feared.”

His pulse had at some point begun racing. “I think I need some air.” Sephiroth murmured, suddenly hating how stuffy the observatory was. “Please excuse me.”

Though trained to deal with stressful situations, he was about to lose his composure.

Neither tried to stop him as Sephiroth made for the exit.

Blissful night time air greeted him, pulled him out onto the plateau once again. Surrounded by little lights, both manmade and astral from below and above.

It was a struggle to think straight, caught between two extremes of wanting to switch his brain off entirely and also pull all of his past memories out to examine. So much burned through him it was a struggle to keep afloat. The metal railings were cold under his grip, as Sephiroth struggled to centre himself.

‘You see my son? You see the beauty we created?’ An otherworldly voice spoke over his mind, warm and sickeningly loving.

Sephiroth pushed her away, shutting her out more successfully this time, with his emotional state so rattled.

The gravity of what he’d done was finally sinking in. It was all him. He had done the unthinkable and brought the entire world to near ruin. He’d put himself at odds with a deity and almost won.

Suddenly, was swiftly gaining respect for Cloud and has friends, for not simply killing him on sight.

He really had been the monster all along.

Gods, he wanted to… to run away? Kill something? Punish himself? Sephiroth wasn’t sure. There was the overwhelming desire to throw himself into research. To study Jenova, what she was, her weaknesses, what her cells were doing to him, what they could yet do to Cloud. Anything tied to their past timeline, to the meteor- anything relevant at all. Yet, there was nothing to look through.

All that remained was hearsay from the scant few unlucky enough to retain their memories.

Maybe he should talk to Chaos about what kind of punishment Gaia saw as fitting for him.

It wasn’t until he felt the metal of the railing bend under his grip that Sephiroth realised how much force he was exerting. Letting go quickly, he controlled his breathing, searching out that meditative unawareness which had gotten him through so much in the past. Perhaps he’d become too good at leaving himself in such a daze, right now, it felt more like he was avoiding consequences.

As it happened, such a state wasn’t as easy to achieve, with his mind racing, but the technique worked him out of the borderline panic he was caught in.

By the time the observatory door opened once again, Sephiroth was at least in a more agreeable condition… if only slightly.

Footsteps descended the metal staircase and the soft embers of a flaming tail approached.

“You’re still here.” Nanaki stated, rather uselessly.

“The sky isn’t this clear in Midgar.” Answered Sephiroth, not knowing how else to reply.

Bugenhagen wondered over to stand beside the taller man’s side. “Carry on to bed, Nanaki. You needn’t escort me.” He waved the beast away.

“Grandpa-.”

“No, go on. We’re quite alright.”

Another person who openly didn’t trust him… Not that Sephiroth could blame him. Nanaki hesitated before bowing his head in a low nod, turning, and padding back down into the halls of the mountain.

“You should know that I don’t blame you for clinging to Jenova. It’s my belief that she really does care for those she deems as her children. Whether their purpose is to further her goals or not. Perhaps she too longs to find her kin, as you did.” Bugenhagen mused. “Her cells have been with you even before birth, and they pulled you back from death more than once. Her sway on you is undeniably strong.”

“I don’t intend to fold under her hand again. You can rest assured of that.” Sephiroth practically sneered at the thought of his past foolishness.

The other nodded. “I’m sure. And now you understand her desire to force that invisible hand, if her subjects are unwilling.”

“You seem to know a lot about me.” Sephiroth replied with an air of accusation.

Bugenhagen gave a humoured sort of huff. “I split from Shinra around the time of Hollander and Hojo’s experiments, involving yourself and your peers. I had strong opinions regarding experimentation on humans, especially infants. I also get the monthly emails from your fan club.”

Sephiroth ignored the final point of the man’s statement. While his stomach turned at the prospect of being described as a victim; that people once argued against the experiment which created him. “You’re aware of Hollander’s projects?”

Bugenhagen tutted, lightly flicking at Sephiroth’s arm in a lightly scolding gesture. “Don’t call them that.”

When the other refused to continue, Sephiroth repressed a sigh. “Then what do you know of Angeal and Genesis?”

“Not a huge amount.” The elder confessed. “I looked over the reports of what happened to them last year. Terrible shame. How did you feel about it?”

Sephiroth wondered why the other man would ever want to know. “It was unfortunate. They were competent in their roles.”

Again, another reprimanding wave. “Surely you have more to say than that?”

“… I believe their degradation could have been better handled.”

“What was it like losing them?”

It wasn’t something he wanted to respond to, but did so automatically in the only way he knew how-tactfully, to avoid further trouble. “It was difficult to consider their desire for desertion. I believe I could have handled the change more effectively.” His eyes were hard, staring out at nothing.

“They meant a lot to you?”

Sephiroth answered mechanically once more. “They were skilled commanders.”

The shorter man huffed. “I’m not Hojo. You’re allowed to be a real person when you talk to me.”

Bugenhagen patted the other’s back, making Sephiroth startle. He wasn’t aware of how rigid he’d become. Taking a deep breath, the General rolled his shoulders and placed a hand back on the railing to better anchor himself.

The binding around his wing was tugged at. “You can take that off. It hardly looks comfortable.”

At the request, Sephiroth slipped the wrapping off, letting the wing unfold and rest in a more natural position.

“Now, again. What did they mean to you?”

“They were good friends.” Sephiroth wasn’t sure how he was answering incorrectly.

“Hmm?”

This form of questioning was quickly becoming irritating. It was dredging up feeling that his readily weakened state couldn’t handle. It brought back the clammy feeling and increased heartrate he’d been fighting off. “Closer to family, I suppose. I’m unsure. I never had much of a reference.”

The older man was still looking up expectantly, so the General continued. “We supported each other. I’d never experienced friendship before them. They didn’t have to but they took me in, despite my flaws.”

“Go on.”

“I wasn’t alone anymore. They taught me what it meant to live. For the first time, I dared to believe I could do more than what Shinra planned out for me.” When Bugenhagen still refused to speak, Sephiroth continued to fill the silence in a way which felt almost out of his control.
“Everything began to spiral so quickly when Genesis got sick. We all grew suddenly apart. When they both left, I didn’t think I would cope. I ordered Zack to hunt his own mentor because I couldn’t go through with it. Nothing I did helped one bit. I watched them fall apart and turn into monsters, and now the same thing is happening to me and I’m just as powerless now.” His hands really were digging into the railings now.

He was babbling, and knowingly making a fool of himself, caught in a vortex of longing, hate and regret. “They meant everything to me. They showed me what life was supposed to be and then they left. Shinra made me pretend nothing was wrong and… and all I could do was despise them.”

“Why don’t you think they told you?” Bugenhagen asked gently, his hand still firmly on the other’s back.

Sephiroth opened his mouth to reply but faltered. “I don’t know.” He finally uttered.

At this point he couldn’t stop the trembling. Breathing too hard and fast. He hated that the most- the weakness they had left him with. That mess of a child who used to frightfully hide under his blanket, hearing the night time roars and screeches of fellow specimens. A facet of his past thought left behind, dredged up again at the absence of his friends. A thing which had twisted from sorrowful to loathing- and oh how far that resentment had taken him.

“Is it really them you hate?”

Sephiroth shook his head at the question, asked so softly. “I suppose not. I’m just angry about what they left me with.” The cold midnight air burnt his lungs, it was impossible to handle everything he was thinking and feeling at once. “If I hadn’t met Cloud, then Aerith and Vincent, I don’t know what would have become of me.” Though both had a very good idea of what they had saved him from.

“Are you still angry with Cloud?”

“Yes! Gods, yes!” Sephiroth hissed through his teeth. “But I… I now understand his lack of transparency. Even if I don’t approve.”

“It’s my understanding that the two of you are linked by unusual means. Correct?” Bugenhagen surmised.

Sephiroth laughed abruptly. “Whether we like it or not, so I’m told.” He loosed the railing to prevent any further dents, instead balling his fists in his jacket pockets. “Together, we find a sort of equilibrium.”

Bugenhagen chuckled. “Makes you sound like each other’s soul mates.”

He couldn’t help the slightest of smiles. “He’d hate that… I do enjoy his company. I think he does mine too. Even if he won’t say.”

“I’m glad. I always hoped that the two of you could one day come to see eye to eye.” For the first time, he allowed Sephiroth a moment to control himself, before finally continuing. “Come, let’s go inside. I suspect the weather shall be turning again shortly.” Bugenhagen turned to guide the two back down.

That was agreeable. Between the weight of the vast sky, the wind brushing through new feathers and his body refusing to do as told, Sephiroth was ready to get out of here- even if it was just to walk back to his guest room.

“I don’t think you’re degrading, you know.”

Sephiroth frowned. “But I carry the same mark of Jenova as my companions did.”

“Ah, yes, but from my estimation, how your cells relate to Jenova is much more welcoming that that of Angeal or Genesis.” Bugenhagen flicked one of the sleek feathers. “While she might not have been your actual mother, in a way of giving birth to you, I believe this is an extension of your non-human genes. That can’t be so strange to imagine, can it?”

From what he had come to learn, that made some sense. “I suppose not. Do you think if we were to destroy her, that those cells would fall dormant once again?”

“I think it worked well enough for Cloud, in our erased time. We won’t know for sure until we try.” The elder mused. “Though it pains me to agree with the elimination of such interesting alien life, to leave her alive would be suicide for us.”

In almost no time at all, they reached a point where they would split ways. The walk had helped considerably to calm him, but there were things which still remained unsaid. “I wanted to thank you. For all this.” Sephiroth managed, without feeling like he would crack again.

“Ah, no need. No need at all. You’re welcome to stay as long as you like.”

“I regret the trouble I caused. I’ve no idea where to begin… I can’t fathom why Gaia wouldn’t seek to eternally condemn me.”

Bugenhagen paused, having turned to leave. The lines of his eyes crinkled with a smile. “Then how about showing yourself a little of that mercy too? You’ve got a chance at a life, my friend, a proper chance this time.” Bugenhagen waved and continued down the staircase. “See what you can do with it.”

They parted ways, Sephiroth couldn’t help being thankful his wise host for lending an ear, even if it’d been uncomfortable. He readied for bed in a mechanical fashion, but knew there was too much on his mind for rest. Thankfully, the familiar movements worked to further bring him down from his compromising state.

He had been too harsh on Angeal and Genesis, hadn’t he? Sephiroth himself hadn’t shared his symptoms of Jenova’s incursion with Cloud or Zack; had barely confessed them all to Aerith when she’d asked him directly. So, his decision making was no purer than theirs.

Had they seen strange visions? Had she pushed into their heads also?

No wonder Hojo hadn’t been able to cure the degradation, if he wasn’t considering Jenova’s ability to creep up and control.

Cloud had said that Sephiroth hadn’t degraded quite the same in his original timeline, which unless he was lying, further hinted that the alien’s cells lay partly dormant until she activated them.

Which meant if what they said was true, and eliminating Jenova would make those cells return to dormancy, then was there a chance they could have been saved. That Genesis, if he was still around in some form, could still be reached?

Either that or could destroying Jenova also result in his own death, too?

He recalled the dream, ‘This vessel longs for you to become one with our collective.’ Which certainly implied that his friend’s consciousness still lingered in some form.

Was it then possible that some part of Angeal still existed also? That was much less likely, unfortunately. Zack had been quite sure of his death. But then his cells had been eager to split themselves onto monsters, so was it such a stretch to think a part of him may exist too?

Maybe they’d both deteriorated too far… Sephiroth couldn’t decide if that idea made him feel. Were they both resting easy in the lifestream or still stuck somewhere between life, death and Jenova? Right now, it was impossible to predict.
What the thought did leave him with, for sure, was guilt.

While there was no way to go back and absolve himself of his remorse, he could serve some vengeance, on their behalf. The answer was the same either way- Jenova had to die.

That declaration followed Sephiroth as he readied for bed, turned the lights off and just… sat there.

When long minutes came and went, he finally pulled out his PHS with a sigh. Switching it on for the first time in several days, he was greeted to a message box full of voicemails.

Well, no better time than now, to go through them.

“Seph, listen… Shit, look I’m-, I don’t know. Just call me, okay.” Cloud’s voice cracked with the static of a bad phoneline. It was strained in obvious desperation and Sephiroth could nearly hear the pacing or fidgeting that were bound to have accompanied it.

Deleting the message, he moved to the next.

Cloud- “Pick up, please. I can’t believe you just-, call me, okay?” [DELETED]
Cloud- “I can’t believe you just left like that! Fuck, Seph! You walked off like this is nothing, like we’re not trying to save the damn world! You know why I didn’t tell you, right? I had no choice; I couldn’t risk all of that repeating. Fuck you... just…” [DELETED]
Cloud- “If you’re going to up and leave, you could at least have the curtesy of calling me back. Tifa’s sick, not that you care. Ya know we nearly killed you the other night. I think the others would have if Vincent hadn’t vouched for you. Think about that for a second, yeah? I hope you two are having fun, wherever you are.” [DELETED]
Zack- “Heyyy buddy! How ya doing? How’s it going? We’re livin’ it up, getting great sun tans- just kidding, we’re working. Call me when you can.” [DELETED]
Cloud- Call me, please. I’m sorry for those last messages, just let me know where you both are.” [DELETED]
Heidegger- “I hope you realise what hell you’ve brought upon-.” [DELETED]
Cloud- “Look, this is… you know I’m not good with words, okay? I just-, Tifa’s really sick. Just call me, please.” [DELETED]
Aerith- “Hey you, haven’t spoken for a while, have we? I hope you’re keeping everyone out of trouble. I had to hike pretty far out to get service, so I hope this reaches you. I’m picking mushrooms for a casserole later, hopefully I’m collecting the right ones, haha! Bye!” [SAVED]
Cloud- “Okay, listen. I’m sorry, please just come back. I can’t sleep, I can’t think, I don’t know if we can do this without you two. We could take Jenova down together. I- I think it was always meant to be that way. Call me.” [DELETED]
Barret- “What’s up, Seph? Haven’t gotten lost have you? Hah! Say, Cloud isn’t much of the talkative type, so I bet he hasn’t called. You should know he’s pretty upset about all this. If you can, call us, we’re all worried about you.” [SAVED]
Cloud- Hey… Just wanted to say, I’m sorry I lied. I know what it’s like, knowing shit that’ll hurt you. It’s useless and nothing ever helps and-, damn… I guess I didn’t want to put that sort of thing on you, but I was wrong. If you can’t forgive me, I understand. Know that I’ll be waiting, if and when you want to talk. I-… miss you…” [SAVED]

Sephiroth sighed. That was a lot…

Dialling Cloud’s number, met him with just the out of service tone. He dialled Barret’s and got the same. The group were scheduled to be up in the mountains by this point, where signal and battery power were hard to come by.

Damnit… Bugenhagen had gotten his mouth running and now Sephiroth couldn’t stop his thoughts from spilling out. Or rather, couldn’t bring himself to stop.
Instead, he pulled up Zack’s number.

This time, the phone rang, though a crackle of static marred the line.

“Seph? That you?” Came a disbelieving and slightly breathless answer.

“It’s me.” Sephiroth replied rather dumbly, unable to stop himself from coming across as awkward. It was a relief to hear the other’s voice.

Thankfully, as usual, Zack saved his graceless welcome with a delighted cheer. “O-oh, oops. I should shut up, it’s the middle of the night.” The line cracked as he laughed to himself. “Couldn’t sleep, went for a run. Glad I was out now. What’s going on? Where are you guys?”

“I’m… in Cosmo Canyon. Though I expect Cloud and his friends are in the Nibel region by now.”

“Wha-.”

Sephiroth interrupted him. “A lot has happened. More than I can explain right now. We’re all okay though, no need to worry.”

“Okay, sure… Who’s ‘we’? and at least tell me why you’re up over there?” Zack was clearly concerned.

“I’m with someone named Vincent, one of Cloud’s friends. He is-, he’s my father. I met my real parents.”

On the other end, Zack stuttered then whooped again with joy. “No way- Gods, Seph, no way!” His grin could be heard. The line crackled more, as if struggling to keep up with the young man’s enthusiasm. “Wow! I’m so happy for you, boss! What’re they like?”

Finding himself sharing in the other’s happiness, Sephiroth could feel himself smiling. All of the pent-up emotions he’d carried for so long finally breaching the surface. Zack was right, it had been a pretty great achievement. “They’re unusual but interesting. Vincent is a good man. Neither are exactly human, but they’re all the better for it, I think.”

“That’s great. Wouldn’t be any other way with you, would it?”

“I suppose not.” And Sephiroth even found himself laughing along with Zack this time. “Listen, I…”

“Say again? Bad line.”

Sephiroth forced the words out, refusing to leave things unsaid any longer. “I wanted to apologise. For ordering you to take down Angeal, when I couldn’t bring myself to do it. I should have left Shinra then, you should never have had to be involved. Also, for shutting you out after he died. It was cruel, for both of us. I think he would have wanted it to bring us closer, rather than close us off.” He confessed.

“Yeah.” Zack clearly hadn’t been expecting that conversational shift either. “Y’know I don’t blame you though, right? It was Shinra’s fault, we were just chosen to clear up their mess. Neither of us deserved to have to make that choice. We’re here now because of that, right? And we’re friends. I like to think I understand you a lot better these days.” His cheerfulness lapsed, to reveal a sombre undertone.

“I’m glad you were persistent with me. You company has been… good.” Very eloquent.

At least Zack found that amusing. “You too, man.”

“I hope you know how proud Angeal would be of you. How far you’ve come, what you’re doing now.”

Zack took a moment longer to reply. “That means a lot, Seph. I think he’d feel the same about you. Genesis would too. I didn’t know him quite so well, but I know you were really close. I think he’d be happy for you.”

“I hope so. Thank you, Zack.”

“Sure, sure… Listen, I’m worried, Seph. They’re sending me and the Turks to help in Nibelheim, we’re just waiting for the call. I’m scared for Aerith and you.” Zack listed quickly.

“Don’t worry about me-.”

Zack interrupted him, an anxious waver in his voice. “They’re onto you, the Turks, Heidegger, the President. I don’t-, something’s brewing. I don’t know whether I can keep all of you safe.”

“Then simply don’t.” Sephiroth felt a pang of sympathy. “It was never your role to keep us safe. Remember what I told you? Focus on yourself and Aerith. Blend in.”

Zack sighed a shaky exhalation. “I know… just can’t help worrying.”

“I understand. Go to bed, Lieutenant.” Sephiroth tried to reassure.

The small laugh was more forced than previous. “Heh, I got it. You too. Stay safe now, and thanks for the call.”

“Goodnight, Zack.” It was a sobering end to their talk, but he was thankful, regardless.

With that, he was seemingly alone once again. Sephiroth tried Cloud’s phone a second time- still nothing.

Without anything else to be done, he retired finally to bed…

“You’re awake earlier than expected.” Nanaki observed, rounding a corner to find Sephiroth making his way downstairs.

Latching the final buckles onto his coat, the General quirked an eyebrow at the canine. “Am I? I’m a Soldier, if you recall.”

The other hummed in thought, a sound more like a purr. His tail curled casually about his legs. “Where do you plan on journeying now?”

To Sephiroth’s surprise, the canine’s voice lacked the dislike he was expecting. It would seem like he’d passed some sort of test last night. What it involved, he wasn’t quite sure.

“I’m returning to my mission, alongside Cloud. Jenova needs to be eliminated.”

“You’re sure?” A third voice spoke. Vincent stepped around the doorway, still looking like he hadn’t slept in weeks.

Sephiroth nodded. “I’ve dawdled long enough. There’s a lot of time I need to make up for.”

Likely seeing no reason to argue, Vincent gave a firm nod before sweeping away.

“A wise choice.” Nanaki said.” Expect me to accompany you.”

“Your support would be most welcome.” Sephiroth replied, appreciating that he appeared to have earned a modicum of the beast’s trust. Despite their limited interaction, he suspected that like his grandfather, Nanaki had a way of seeing more of a person than their outward appearance.

Speaking of which- “You’re leaving? But it’s so soon.” Bugenhagen shuffled out wearing a fluffy pink nightgown, just as lengthy as his regular outfit. “At least have breakfast while I sort you some transport.”

“I-, that would be appreciated.” Sephiroth nodded. “Thank you, for your wisdom and hospitality. You can be sure neither will be quickly forgotten.” Truly, he was more thankful than he could adequately express.

Bugenhagen laughed, tripping over his long nightgown in his sudden mirth. “Oh, my friend! Anytime, anytime! You must come visit once this trouble is over. I’ve no doubt your eyes are a lot more adept than my own these days when it comes to stargazing.”

“I will. This place is good for the soul as well as the mind. I’ll also be looking forward to your next publication.” Sephiroth smiled.

“Hoho! Don’t flatter me too much or I won’t want you to leave.” Bugenhagen extended a hand, which Sephiroth shook. “I’m glad Gaia has given us this chance. Let’s use it wisely, shall we?”

“Yes, indeed.” Sephiroth agreed, looking out of a stone-carved window, over the gleaming morning and endless sky. “It’s time to rectify my past transgressions. Beginning now, with Jenova.”

Chapter Text

What Cloud and friends hadn’t known at the time, was their haunting night at the cabin was not going to be an isolated incident.

In fact, it had merely been a prelude. A drop of moderate discomfort compared to the truly ‘bonkers shit’, they later found; as Barret had called it. The further they neared the base of the mountain, the more twisted and unusual the creatures became. Ascending into the sheer trails and jagged peaks revealed an abundance of overly hostile Jenova-tainted abominations of nature.

So far, it was nothing the team couldn’t handle. After all, otherworldly alien spawn was nothing new. Still, they were large, brutal and hard to kill; especially when fought in the dark or biting cold.

With the wet ‘thunk’ of a shuriken to the back of the neck, the most recent attacking monstrosity was brought down by a killing blow from Yuffie. She stepped up to pull the weapon free from atop the great thing’s back.

“Which way now, Spike?” Barret asked, rearranging the components of his gun. Irritation heavy in his voice, finally finished with yet another encounter.

Despite the dark sky, Cloud squinted, the light uncomfortable to his eyes. Honestly, he couldn’t even recall which way they’d entered this clearing from. “Lemme go check.” He muttered in response, resecuring his swords. He made his way up the next slope to get a view over the mountain side. Only a few steps up, the ground seemed to swim beneath his feet, causing the blond to stagger, lose his footing and nearly fall.

“Oh, for goodness sake.” Sighed Tifa. “I’ll go.”

Barret waved her away, exasperated. “No, sit down. Let me.”

Cloud shrugged them all off. “I’m fine, leave it.” He pulled himself the rest of the way up the tiny slope and gazed out over the huge mountain expanse. Nibelheim couldn’t be seen from this point, however, as his eyes adjusted, the metallic shell of the reactor loomed far in the distance.

“Two peaks away.” Cloud answered pointing towards their destination. Hopefully there was some confidence in his voice… not that he actually had a whole lot. Not with how his headache was only going to worsen from this point forwards.

He stumbled down, continuing around the mountainside, ahead of the others.

“No time like the present.” Barret grumbled, taking the first step onwards.

Yuffie giggled, skipping up to throw an arm around his side. “The present? Because our time together is a gift, right?”

“No.” He shot a glare down at her.

Tifa and Cloud exchanged worried looks. They couldn’t blame him for being grouchy, no one had gotten a decent meal or undisturbed sleep in the past few days. Ideally, they would have dropped into Nibelheim to rest and restock, however the town was presumably still abandoned and too much of a detour. They were against the clock, especially having lost a day or two of travel when they absolutely needed to rest.

Cloud was more than sure the Sephiroth was on his way back towards them. While he was confident that this was to regroup and finish their journey as allies, the rest of the team hadn’t been quite as convinced as Cloud, which he could understand from their perspectives. Something had most surely changed in Sephiroth in recent days, and while he was certain it was for the best, the rest of the group remained anxious.

He decided it would be too awkward trying to explain their connection had seemingly opened back up the last few days, the foreign feelings which weren’t his own or the weird but wholesome dreams he’d fall into.

Unfortunately, they were not the only odd dreams Cloud was receiving. Cold corrugated iron, bubbling tanks and the smell of decay. Magenta eyes and an all-encompassing hatred which entrapped him, suffocating until he awoke bitter and shivering.

Cloud had come to assume these were a response to his and Sephiroth’s new alliance against Jenova. While he shouldn’t have been surprised the team had begun eyeing him with discomfort and at times even suspicion he hadn’t seen in many years, it still hurt, even if he understood why they were so on edge.

After all, they’d dealt with enough of Jenova’s bullshit over the years. Everyone knew to be wary.

Gods, he was going to spend a week in Costa Del Sol after all this. Responsibilities be damned, he was overdue a rest and some sun and strong alcohol and-.

Pleasant thoughts were interrupted by a rumble of thunder which echoed loudly about the range.

Cool, more bad weather. That was sure to lift their moods…

“I’m worried she’s got pneumonia.” Yuffie whispered, clinging to Cloud’s arm it only to emphasise her worry.

He nodded, gazing out of the cave opening at the now hammering rain.

She gave his arm another tug. “You hear me?”

“Yeah, I know.” Cloud glanced over his shoulder down the unstable looking tunnel. The team had decided to take shelter and the opportunity to rest, Tifa was visibly shivering as she clung to the flaming branch they were using a flimsy torch. She was doing remarkably well, considering the ground they’d covered, as well as the mountain they were busy scaling; with the assistance of the ever-unpleasant Slug.

He placed a hand on Yuffie’s shoulder. “We’re doing the best we can, right? Any worse and we’ll have to rethink things.” Cloud had no idea what he meant by that, but it sounded like something a leader would say.

Sure enough, Yuffie nodded and smiled up at him with some semblance of conviction. He hoped her faith in him wasn’t misplaced.

They’d already had this discussion plenty of times by this point, with all the outcomes leading the same way. They didn’t have enough people or resources to adequately split the group, nor did they have enough time to make a significant detour out of the mountains. Tifa wasn’t overconfident, she was reasonable and had reassured the group that she wouldn’t push her limits. While some might say that was exactly what she was doing right now, it was the best option they had.

Venturing into their tunnel proved to be a huge waste of time. A deviation which cost the group several uses of a cure materia, their last pack of antidotes and a lot of time. They got lost within the warren of caverns which wormed under the peaks, spent two hours retracing their steps and finally remerged to find most of their daylight gone. Dashing into another rocky shelter had left the group utterly drenched yet again, from the thundering downpour.

Yuffie had been first into the next tunnel and come face to face with a Nibel dragon. Sporting a few extra eyes than would be considered normal and its scales twisting into unnatural formations, it was still one of the less mutated creatures they’d encountered. The young dragon put up a tremendous fight in the enclosed space, regardless.

Halfway up over the second peak, late evening, the gathering water causing minor landslides. On their side of the hill, the problem wasn’t serious enough to endanger anyone, merely loosen the sheets of slate underfoot. While the now slippery surfaces posed only a mild issue for most of them, Slug was a chocobo bred for the plains and marshes of the eastern continent. Not a mountain climbing bird, the others could do nothing but watch when, with a shriek, her claws slipped out from under her.

All progress was given up on when the group dashed back down to her. Thankfully, Tifa had pre-emptively seen the warning signs and climbed off. One less person to carry hadn’t been enough to help the bird though.

Yuffie was all over Slug, cooing gently at the horrible creature who was busy hissing at the others. “Nothing broken, I think.”

Some good news, at least.

“We need to stop.” Tifa sounded just a dejected as everyone felt. She was right though, and Cloud was forced to concede another day of minimal progress.

As they came to expect, the night brought more stress than rest. No one even bothered to unpack the bedrolls. Seeking safer locations in the middle of the night had become the usual. This time it wasn’t due to a roaming monster, but rather the water streaming from cracks in the rock.

It was frustrating and if he could have, Cloud would have spent his restlessness scouting ahead. With the heavy rain obscuring his vision, there was little point. He instead spent the night huddled between Tifa and Barret.

Thankfully, by the first light of early dawn, they were heading off again. The weather had eased in their favour and Slug could still walk, so things were already looking good. Even Barret cheered up somewhat when the made it over the hardest part of the second peak by mid-morning, ready to begin the descent. Knowing this area better than the previous, Tifa helped guide the group the safest and most time-effective way. They were lucky to have her giving directions, as it meant Cloud didn’t have to admit that he had no idea where they were.

His reaction times had become so hampered by his intense migraine, that it took longer than it should have to recognise Slug growling at something.

The group had been following a natural pathway carved by many lifetimes of rain, which curved slowly around the mountainside. The chocobo stopped in her tracks, looking about with wide orange eyes. She’d been doing this a lot lately, often when there was no threat at all. Yuffie encouraged her onwards, doing a better job than Cloud, who grabbed her reins and tried to tug her along.

“Uh-oh.” Barret said, as if the interruption was only a mild inconvenience. “We got three. Above.” He pointed up to a cluster of monsters hunched like gargoyles. At first they appeared to be different species, until Cloud recognised them as just having different mutations.

Velron, the same as what they’d encountered at the lodge days ago. Each bore slightly different physical additions, thanks to Jenova tainting the springs around the area. This wasn’t the first time they’d been drawn into battle with them.

The closest lifted its head, domed and full of bulging yellow eyes. Not averting his gaze soon enough, Cloud was struck with the same inexplicable terror as he’d felt when first encountering the one in the cabin. While the cheap trick was little more than an nuisance, he was still left frozen immovably in place. Only able to watch the monster crawl from its perch, it chirped, alerting the others, who both unfolded their bodies in a similar fashion.

It was taller than Cloud by a small amount, and as it approached, unhinged its jaw showing rows of blade-like teeth. Long arms dragged across the floor, it sported webbed wings and was missing its tail. While not the most horrifying thing he’d this week, it was like a bucket of ice water had been dumped over his brain, crippling its every function.

Cloud had been utterly lost within his mind when Slug, her reigns still in his grip, had pulled viciously back. It caused him to stumble over his feet and land on his side- just like that, the world burst back into life.

Slug was screaming, the sound drowned out by a flurry of gunshots and shouting. The other two creatures had rushed past and were being engaged with by Barret, who pelted one with bullets, and Yuffie who was darting about the other one.

“Cloud?” Tifa moved up to his side, covering with a shot from her fire materia.

“Sorry. Eyes got me.” He muttered, shaking off the effects and drawing his sword.

The monster, now hissing with rage, charged forwards with surprising speed, considering its misshapen limbs.
Blocking a raking claw with the flat of his blade, a snap sounded from its other limb as Tifa flanked the opposite side, striking the creature in the joint of its elbow. It turned on her, snapping and screeching.

Cloud moved in to cover her, defensively shielding them both from their opponent’s gaze. “You need to back off.” He urged.

Already breathless, Tifa nodded, edging instead towards Slug who was still somewhat weak on her feet. “Careful, okay?”

On the other side, Barret was backing slowly away from the other two, while Yuffie struggled to distract them. Whatever the J cells had done to these creatures’ physiology, they didn’t appear to exactly feel as much as a living thing should. An upgrade which left them equally unintimidated. The largest one advanced towards Barret with little regard to the numerous bullet holes it was now littered with.

Cloud swung to leave a gash in the monster’s side. Despite looking emaciated, they were tough, with bones built like steel bars. Trying to keep his eyes averted, Cloud missed an incoming strike, which nearly flawed him on impact. Over his shoulder, Yuffie gave a strangled shout, dropped her weapon and stopped in her tracks.
In her absence, Barret was swamped by both velron. Nearly tripping over the steep cliffside, he fired a retaliating blast which took one of the creature’s wings clean off. “Damn!” He choked, as he too all but froze up.

Despite her injuries, Slug charged in. Feathers puffed up in aggression, she met the one closest to Yuffie with a kick, which sent the monster flat on its back, before striking down with pecks and scratches. Pretty brutal, but the distraction released Yuffie from its hold.

Moving to assist, Cloud sidestepped an overarm swipe and brought his sword down to fire a shock of energy across the field. It slammed into the side of the one advancing on Barret and threw it over the edge of the path with a howl.

While he succeeded in breaking Barret out of the paralysis, Cloud had left himself open for attack. The mutated velron sprang up, tackling Cloud and pinning him with strong claws. He held his Fusion Sword up as a barrier, blocking its eyes from view. The claws of its long fingers skittered across the metal and clawed at his shirt.

Cloud levelled a solid kick to the thing’s neck- or close enough to that area. Which earnt a snap under his foot. The creature reared back, gurgled in a vile imitation of a scream and redoubled its efforts, slamming its domed head against his sword.

Heat exploded at his side from a fire spell, courtesy of Tifa. Again, only serving to piss it off further.

Feeling it rear up, Cloud closed his eyes and chanced an upward slash. It made contact and he followed through by activating his own materia. A crackle of static rose into the air before electricity bolted up the length of his blade.

It left the monster stunned, allowing Cloud to finish his upward cleave. Finally, the monster flopped into its side. One down.

Chancing a look to their friends, Yuffie was desperately trying to score a fatal strike against hers, though this was proving difficult, being unable to look at the monster head-on. Barret was having a similar problem in preventing the other from climbing back the slope.

On the advance to assist Barret, a pale-yellow beacon caught the corner of his eye and drew his gaze in an almost magnetic way. As if out of his control, the blond was trapped by the one chasing after Yuffie.

Again, the world slowed to a shuddering halt.

It all happened quicker than anyone could react. – A massive fireball exploded what must have been inches from the blond, in a blast strong enough to shake the mountainside. He was thrown back, ears ringing and on the ground.

Tifa was yelling something, as was Yuffie, though Cloud failed to make sense of anything. What he did just about comprehend, was a new huge form thundering onto the scene.

A blur of red and navy fur, teeth and horns. It paid no interest in whatever effect the monster’s gaze brought on as it bound in, accosting the first monster with teeth and claws. Cloud sighed in relief.

Galian was followed by Red, the two moving with practiced synchronicity and brutality. Together they made quick work of the remaining monsters.

“I assumed you’d at least be able to take those down on your own.” Came a familiar smirking tone.

“You bastard.” Cloud breathed, unable to hide his utter relief. Was he delusional right now? Because it sure looked like Sephiroth who was offering a hand.

As he was pulled into the other’s hold, it was like morphine had been dumped into his bloodstream. The effect was instant, bringing cooling relief to his headache, a familiar feeling of completeness, and the sharpening of dull senses.

“Am I hallucinating?” Cloud murmured, inhaling the leather smell of the other’s jacket. His head still spun, and he didn’t fully trust his judgment.

Sephiroth chuckled. “I certainly hope not. Not today, anyway.”

That at least helped him get his bearings, somewhat at least. Breaking away from the hold, Cloud stepped back to see an undoubtable look of relief on the General’s face.
Real. Yes, that was good.

Turning to view the rest of the scene, the others were having their own joyful greeting. Yuffie was on her knees hugging Nanaki, which he appeared to be tolerating for now, rather than enjoying it. Beside them, Slug circled, glaring with a look of betrayal. Aside them, Galian was excitedly bounding around the rest of the group. The behemoth licked all over Tifa’s face like a giant happy dog, an action she too appeared to be patiently tolerating.

“Look who decided to show up. Late, might I add.” Laughed a relieved Barret. “Could have been less dramatic with the timing, but I ain’t complaining.”

Everyone’s attention was drawn to Sephiroth, who was taking their mixture of stares in his stride. “Good afternoon. It may please you to know that I’ve elected to not kill Cloud. If you’ll have me, I’d like to accompany you with eliminating Jenova, together.”

Yuffie held her hands up, finally allowing Nanaki to slip away from her. “Ya know, normally I’d argue, but after this I don’t even care. Alright, mister, kick some ass for us.”

Looking just as thankful to have backup, was Tifa. “Yeah… You’ve proved your point.” She admitted, now holding Galian back by the horns.

Sephiroth smiled down at Cloud. “Objections?”

“Nothing from me.” He smiled back, almost on reflex. “Welcome back to Avalanche, I guess.”

After such a chaotic morning, Cloud was a bundle of wild nerves and emotions. The part of his brain tied with Sephiroth was finally contented and it felt like the end was now just around the corner.

Stating that he’d “Had enough of this shit.”, Barret informed the three fresher party members that any further monster encounters today were up to them. No one disputed this new ruling, and as a result, the group made excellent headway. They climbed up over the second peak and made it halfway around the third.

By dusk, everyone was desperate for a rest. Cutting into one of the tunnels, a weak fire was set up, with the hopes of arriving at the reactor midday tomorrow. Guard shifts were established, with few of the group planning on actually sleeping in such a hostile place.

Hoping to get his shift out of the way, Cloud offered to scout the surrounding area for immediate threats. Though the job wasn’t going to take long, he didn’t decline Sephiroth’s offer to assist. It would give them an opportunity to talk privately. A discussion of recent events was inevitable, and putting it off would only make it more awkward.

Both were tactfully quiet, speedy but thorough in their scouting. Once done, they circled back towards the camp, coming to stop at a natural spring within the rocks. There sat a naturally formed mako pool, subtly glowing a cool sea green. Materia grew from the rocks around it and helped the pool in providing a small amount of light.

Sephiroth had followed, so far without saying a word, seemingly expecting that they’d find a moment of quiet together. The camp wasn’t too far away, if anything happened, they’d hear it. With a tired sigh, Cloud dropped down beside the glowing pond. Though the smell of liquid mako failed to bring back a single fond memory, this place still provided a calming enough atmosphere.

Beside him, Sephiroth shadowed, coming to rest at his left.

“I’m sorry.” Cloud began after a moment. “For lying about you and Jenova. I had no right to keep that from you.”

“I know. You’ve apologised already. No need to do so again.” Sephiroth replied with casual honesty.

Cloud frowned before outwardly cringing. “You got those voicemails? Oh Gods, I’m sorry, I was a mess-.”

“Not to worry, I understand. I did try to call you back, no signal, I suspect.” Sephiroth interrupted before Cloud could start rambling. “While I may not have appreciated it, I do understand somewhat better now, why you withheld that from me.”

Cloud chanced a look and found none of the expected hatred in the other’s expression. It had been mentioned in earlier conversation that Vincent and Sephiroth had journeyed to Cosmo Canyon and subsequently met Bugenhagen. No doubt the crazy old man had given a lengthy explanation. “Right…”

“You said you missed me.”

“Huh?”

“In the last message you left, you said you missed me.” Elaborated Sephiroth, sounding amused.

Cloud opened his mouth to deny the accusation, but cut himself off. He had said that, hadn’t he? Well shit. “So what?”

“Once I was done angering after you, the feeling became mutual.”

Cloud glanced over, watching closely. Sephiroth’s eyes were the same colour as the pool and his ever-perfect hair gleaming almost ethereally in the low light. Of course, his wing, too. The blond was finding it impossible not to stare at least a little at it. “Right…”

Unfortunately, he was caught.

“It won’t bite, you know.” Sephiroth said, having noticed Cloud’s glances. “While quite inconvenient at times, I’ve largely just accepted that it’s there.”

Shifting on the spot, Cloud masked his momentary awkwardness. It was much healthier than the last time he’d seen it, full of glossy feathers. Strong and established, like it was always meant to be there. When his friend had left, the wing had been weak and patchy, poking painfully out of that roll of gauze.

Taking it as an invitation, a hand was reached out to run a tentative fingertip along the edge of the outer feathers.

The wing flared suddenly out, startling Cloud out of his concentration. Sephiroth gave a low chuckle at the blonde’s expense.

“Asshole.” Cloud scowled, lightly punching the other’s shoulder. Reaching back, he ran a hand down the soft surface with slightly more confidence. The wing was stronger than he’d initially imagined, and dipping between the feathers found it warm and densely layered. The inner parts were layered differently, with softer feathers, more pleasant to the touch.

When it’s owner didn’t appear bothered by the contact,- perhaps quite the opposite, Cloud began picking the loose bits of fluff trapped between the stems. He could see how this might be a therapeutic activity.

“Can you fly?”

Taking his time, Sephiroth considered. “I’ve not tried yet.”

“Seriously? That’s the first thing I’d do.” Cloud admitted. It’d be pretty cool to fly; surely advantageous. Then again, Sephiroth always had a way of defying gravity on a whim, so maybe the concept wasn’t so enthralling to him.
“Does this make you a bird now? You gonna get hollow bones and a beak next?”

“I certainly hope not. Though, nothing would surprise me, considering my genes.” Sephiroth mused. Cloud wasn’t sure how to respond to that, thankfully, the other changed the subject quickly. “I met Lucrecia, while I was gone.”

“You did?” That surprised Cloud. He and Vincent really had travelled a long way. “I’ve only seen her once before. What do you think?”

Sephiroth reached to the inner part of his wing and picked off one of the loose downy feathers, placing it on the ground between them. “I think she was a fool, who disregarded the toll her experiments would take on her own body and mind. She took a risk on Hojo’s behalf; deathless purgatory was her reward.”

“What was it like meeting her?” Cloud picked the feather from the rock and ran it through his fingers, examining the interlocking glossy strands. It was one of the softer sort, long and thin with a weaker stem.

Sephiroth rearranged himself on the floor, a little closer to Cloud, crossing his legs more comfortably. “The meeting was uncomfortable. She remained lucid for a few minutes, which was quite enough. Despite everything, she never forgot me though.”

“That would be hard to forget. You’re kinda hard to forget.” Cloud let the other reach over and take his hand, examining a slice in his leather glove. It had been an injury from some days back, now almost completely healed. “Not every revelation like that is positive. Still, I hope it give you some closure. Vincent makes up for her though, right? He fixed your coat, didn’t he?”

“Yes, it’s good, isn’t it?” Sephiroth rolled his wing and shoulder in demonstration. “My conversations with Chaos have been… enlightening.” He replied with heavy amusement.

Cloud smiled, understanding what he meant by that. “They can be pretty intense. Especially if they're bored.”

“I can only imagine… What’s going to happen tomorrow?” Sephiroth asked, his tone letting slip some of his anxiety over the coming hurdle.

“Honestly, I don’t know. Maybe the place will be overrun by monsters. Maybe she’ll get into our heads and have us kill each other. Or maybe we walk in with no trouble at all.” Cloud speculated. “Then we can take a stroll down to Nibelheim and relax a few days while the place is empty. Then I guess we’ll decide which part of Shinra to hit next. I’m not willing to plan until Jenova’s gone.”

Sephiroth hummed a laugh. “Vague as always.”

“I like to be consistent.” Cloud’s eyes drifted back to the pool and its soft light. “Whatever happens, we’ll do it together this time.”

The declaration made him recall that evening he’d met Sephiroth again; perturbed eyes which caught the setting sun through the smog and metal sky. When both thought they were alone in their little worlds. It hadn’t been that many months since then, but it had changed them both immeasurably. Now, Cloud couldn’t imagine him not being part of their group-, the last week of him missing had reaffirmed that.

As if to seemingly prove the point, Cloud didn’t even flinch when a hand ran through his hair and moved to softly cup his cheek. The look in those green eyes, as he turned to them, was hard to read. The pupils dilated to compensate for the lack of light, making Cloud’s hair prickle like static before a thunder spell.

“What are we, Cloud? What do we mean to each other?”

Cloud shivered at the whispered question, utterly unprepared to answer. “I-. I don’t know.”

The piercing expression didn’t change. “Because I’ve become terribly fond of you. Compromisingly so, in a way I hadn’t thought myself capable of. I’ve felt it for a while, though I was unsure how to proceed.”

Oh Gods. Okay.

Admittedly, this shouldn’t have been such a huge revelation, but Cloud had no idea how to deal with it. He had a migraine, for goodness sake, this was not the time. “Oh, really?” He replied dumbly.

“You pulled me from my predestined path and gave me something to cling to when I didn’t think I had anyone. For that, I am forever in your debt.”

“I think you’re okay too.” Cloud replied thickly. It was the part of shock rather than discomfort which had him unable to form anything better.

It didn’t appear to matter, Sephiroth seemed thoroughly enamoured by the incompetent reply. “Whatever we do after this, I want us to stay together. You feel it too, don’t you?”

Whatever ‘it’ was, Cloud had to admit that, yes, he did feel it. He reached up, letting the other’s perfect hair run between his fingers. “Yeah. I don’t think we really have a choice, do we? The more we pull apart the worse things are going to be.” It had been difficult to pinpoint when Sephiroth had been gone, but Cloud couldn’t deny how much better he’d felt today since being reunited. “I’ve preferred this to our fights to the death.”

Sephiroth smirked, still running his hand through Cloud’s hair. “Are you sure? I get the idea that they were quite enthralling.”

“Heh, kind of, but no thanks. So… is this your version of a love confession or something?”

“Something. I’d like to explore how deep our bond could be. If you’d be willing?” Sephiroth drew closer still, until their foreheads touched.

“I’ll think about it, okay? Like I said, no plans until we’re past Jenova.” It was a good excuse to stall for time. What bothered Cloud most, was how comfortable he was with the idea. What would that mean? Would they be partners of some form? Boyfriends (that sounded weird)? Something else entirely? Sephiroth hadn’t been specific.

Cloud leaned back a little, and brushed Sephiroth’s hair from out of his face. “One condition. You lay off the possessive shit.” He continued before Sephiroth could butt in. “Don’t deny it, I can feel it right now. It you want me, then you’re saying yes to them too. Tifa, Vince, Yuffie, Barret, Aerith, Zack and the others. Nothing changes. If that’s something you need to work through then fine, but it will not change anything between me and them.”

Sephiroth backed up at that. Uncomfortably, he averted his eyes. “I was never like that with Angeal or Genesis. Perhaps it’s a product of our connection.”

Cloud drew the other’s gaze back up to his own. “That’s good, I guess. It’ll be fine, we’ll work on it. I’m not going anywhere.”

It was worth the fragile smile from Sephiroth, one that bared his soul and told of a more delicate side to him, rarely witnessed. When Sephiroth moved in closer again, Cloud backed off. This was enough, a potential kiss would be too much for now. This would hamper his focus enough tomorrow, without anything more adding to it.

Without needing to say anything, Sephiroth got the message.

“Gods, I hope we don’t fuck up tomorrow.” Cloud laughed despite himself.

“I won’t be happy if you’ve dragged us halfway across the continent just to-.”

“Would’ya look at who I found!” Yuffie suddenly appeared from nowhere. It caused the other two to startle upright, Sephiroth’s sword even manifesting in his grip in less than a second.

Cloud pulled away from the comfort they’d just been sharing. “Yuffie! What?!”

She shrugged, feigning innocence. “Wanted to see if you’d both been eaten or something.”

“Or something?” Sephiroth echoed, looking awfully put out by the interruption.

She grinned, winking sharply. “Yep. Now c’mon back, we found half a pack of cereal crammed in Slug’s saddle bag. It’s stale as hell but still tastes like sugar.”

Sugar did sound pretty good. Cloud slipped the feather he’d picked up into his pocket and followed after Yuffie, Sephiroth close behind.

While it was strange being back and allied with a team who had so openly disliked him, it was also refreshing. Further, it solidified Sephiroth’s purpose and pushed him to work tighter with the group. Besides, they all shared in their goal, and now it was (quite literally) just the other side of the hill. So close now, all felt a collective push onwards.

Under his skin, Jenova coiled in caresses of fake comfort. The alien virus was growing both more delighted and agitated the closer Sephiroth got to her, which he’d informed the group of, as warning.

With the campsite established, marked by a tiny fire, which wouldn’t stay lit for long at all, the group were settled for now. Cloud, Barret and Yuffie were soundly asleep, while Vincent and Nanaki guarded the entrance of the cave. Watching over the camp itself was Sephiroth, not that he was the only one awake. To his right, sat Tifa, who shot over untrustworthy glances every now and then.

“You can get some sleep if you need it.” Sephiroth tried, quietly so not to disturb the others. “I understand your dislike for me, but you can be assured that my blade will stay safely out of hand while you all rest.” … As long as no threats appeared, anyway.

Cloud had mentioned that she was unwell, but he’d had no idea how bad. Under normal circumstances, it was just a simple flu, but had been left to worsen under the bad weather and sleepless traveling. Tifa looked awful. “You understand now, do you?” Her words carried a sting despite how ill she sounded.

“I can recall most of my actions, and those I don’t have been explained to me.”

Tifa laughed humourlessly, “Bugenhagen’s always had a high expectation of people. Let’s hope his intuition was right about you.” She shivered, scooting closer to the fire. Wrapped around her was Vincent’s cloak, which looked to only be helping a small amount.

“There might be more we can collect for a better fire?” He offered, trying to bridge the gap between them. While he had no real interest in appeasing the woman, they were, under no uncertain terms, both part of Cloud’s life. Like he’d said, if Sephiroth wanted to be a part of that, it was an all or nothing kind of deal. Though if his friends truly couldn’t forgive Sephiroth, then things might get even trickier.

Tifa held up a hand, shook her head. “Don’t bother. It won’t help me relax.”

Gathering that there was more than one meaning to her statement, Sephiroth nodded. He raised his hand to call his blade into existence. With startled eyes, Tifa watched carefully as he presented her with the hilt.

With the same reservation, she reached out and accepted Masamune. Momentarily, Tifa faltered with the massive blade, turning it in her hand before lowering it to rest on the other side of her. “Not the first time I’ve held that.” She looked down on the legendary weapon with a mixture of reminiscence and disgust.

For extra measure, Sephiroth unbuckled his wrist brace, which had been less than adequately armed with cheap and low quality materia; thanks of course to Yuffie’s thievery. He handed those over too, deciding not to engage her last comment.

Placing the bracer beside Masamune, Tifa stared into the fading embers, looking half delirious. Breaking the silence around them was Barret, whose snores echoed down the tunnel.

“At least until our goal has been completed, we’ll have to co-operate. If you wish, I won’t bother you again, after Jenova is gone.” Sephiroth offered. Truly, he didn’t wish to upset her.

She scoffed, flicking her gaze towards Cloud. “Like he’d make that easy.”

Sephiroth smiled at that. She was right.

“I suppose…” Tifa began. “That I’ve accepted you for a long time. I accepted that you killed my father, that you burned to the ground my home and many of the people I knew. I accepted that you’d always be a part of Cloud, as his tormentor; a ghost who just wouldn’t quit with the haunting.” She sighed deeply, an exhale which turned into a cough. “And now I’ve got to accept you as a person and into our family.”

Well, it seemed they were all on the same page… “I’ve learnt that not every family is ideal.”

“True, but I like to think ours is, despite its flaws.”

“Perhaps we can at least try? For him?” Sephiroth asked, motioning with his wing for her to move closer. He averted his gaze, trying to combat her blatant discomfort.

After a moment of thought, Tifa couldn’t seem to argue with his reasoning and moved a touch closer, still keeping a reasonable gap between them. Extending his wing, Sephiroth let it drape around her. At first, she flinched away, but a moment later, the touch was accepted, wrapping about her like an extra blanket around her shoulders.

Finally welcoming the extra warmth, Tifa’s shivering slowly tapered off. Not completely, but it helped.

Eventually, she spoke again. “I think my problem is admitting that you’re a different person this time around.”

Sephiroth smiled bitterly, recalling how Cloud had once said the same thing. “You say that, but the thing is, I am the same person. That’s the unnerving part, not only knowing what I did, but how close I came to repeating it all.”

Tifa’s expression shifted from suspicion to contemplation. “And Cloud helped change that?”

“Yes. All of you did.”

She shuffled under Vincent’s long cloak, pondering over his words.

Before they could fall back into silence again, Sephiroth continued. “I never thanked you before, for stopping me. Destroying me.”

“You’re welcome?” Again, she was left searching though the sincerity of his words, having not expected them.

To accompany Barret’s snoring, Cloud began muttering in his sleep- all unintelligible gibberish. Over the faint glow of the fire, Tifa smiled fondly, watching the blond. “You asked about him a while back. I think I might be okay with talking now.”

“When you gave me a black eye?”

She smiled much more broadly at that memory. “You had it coming.”

Sephiroth tried not to cringe at the thought of walking about Corel or going to Barret’s town meeting with a very prominent bruise across his face. “Yes, you’re probably right. Try to rest now, I’ll take you up on the offer once we’re done.”

Their attention was drawn away when Cloud jolted suddenly awake. With sluggish movements, he heaved himself upright and gave Sephiroth an odd look. “Was that you?” He motioned to his head.

“I don’t believe so.” Sephiroth assured, fairly certain he hadn’t been meddling this time.

Dark circles under his eyes, Cloud stood up and stretched his back. Muttering obscenities, he moved to sit between Tifa and Sephiroth, huddling under the wing. “I’ll stay up now, get some sleep if you want it.”

“No thank you, I’m quite content.” Sephiroth declined, not wanting to risk dreaming this close to Jenova, following previous incidents.

Tifa shuffled in closer, content with Cloud now between her and their newest party member. Hopefully, she would find some rest.

The fire crackled on a while longer, accompanied by Barret’s loud snoring and the intermittent conversation from the two at the mouth of the cave. Beyond came the wild noises from the mountains, of thrashing creatures and pattering rain.

They moved out the moment dawn broke, with no packing to do, there was nothing stopping the group from leaving immediately. Tension in the air, they set off, not stopping to pick at the meagre rations still available.

On the plus side, the wind and rain had died down significantly, which made for much easier travel.

Not too far left.

Part way up their next hill, and less than an hour into travel, Sephiroth’s phone buzzed. Catching a small window of signal, a new flood of messages were dumped onto it. All of them from Zack, pleading with Sephiroth to call him.

Stopping to do so, the group gathered as the call was made. The line was thick with static even as it rang.

“He-o?” Came a choppy but recognisable reply. “Seph, -at you? -ou there?”

“Zack? I’m here, what’s the matter?” Sephiroth replied calmly, despite the worry rising in him.

“-eph? -an’t hear you.” Came the panicked and broken up reply.

Then the line went dead.

“What? What’s going on?” Cloud asked, hovering anxiously like he was about to grab the phone.

Sephiroth ignored him in favour of dialling back. He got nothing.

As anticipated, Cloud snatched the PHS from his hand and redialled.

After a few seconds, he redialled a second time and waited. “Zack? You there? It’s me.”

There was some garbled noise on the other end, more static nonsense.

“Hey, slow down. Say that again?” Cloud’s expression was only working up Sephiroth’s nerves. “Now? Where are you? Zack? Where are you?”

His question wasn’t answered as the static abruptly died.

“Shit.” Cloud hissed between his teeth as he tried again to call back.

“Either of you going to tell us what’s going on?” Barret asked.

Cloud ignored him as he tried again and again but the phone was no longer connecting. He pulled his own from his pocked only to curse again when the battery was dead.

“What did he say, Cloud?” Sephiroth prompted growing quickly frustrated by the display.

Realising he was fighting a pointless battle, the blond looked up, apprehension written on his face. “They’ve found Jenova. They’re on their way.”

Chapter Text

“They’ve found Jenova. They’re on their way.”

Zack’s words seemed to haunt the group, with which the gripping tension only increased exponentially after his phone call.

While it had contained next to no factual information, the call conveyed one thing for certain- their time was about to run out.

The mountain peaks seemed to loom sharper and more imposing than previous days. The air hung heavy and bitter in the grey morning light. Cloud’s frustration was building the further they travelled. There was still a decent distance to go, and though they were making good time, thanks to the warning as well as the good weather, everyone was still exhausted.

“How about you and me stay outside the reactor and watch the entrance?” Yuffie suggested. Cloud glanced to the front of the group, to see she was speaking to Tifa.

The fighter, still clad in Vincent’s cloak, looked highly unamused.

Cloud spoke before she could answer. “That’s a good idea, we need someone to watch our backs.”

“I can see what you’re trying to do, but I’m going in.” Tifa argued. “If anything, it should be you and Sephiroth watching the door.

This time, Cloud was the one interrupted before he could reject the idea.

“That’s a valid point.” Sephiroth stated from the back of the group. “If everyone else is in favour?”

There came voices of agreement from everyone except Cloud. “But-, it’s Jenova.”

Barret spoke up next. “Exactly. We’re not susceptible to her bullshit. It’s fine, we know what to do.” He disputed.

Cloud wanted to argue, after all, this felt like his fight. Sephiroth’s too. Still, they had a point. He conceded defeat on this one, his friends were right.

Tifa pulled on Slug’s reigns, bringing her up a steep left curve of the spiralled mountainside. The bird hadn’t gotten a chance to rest her leg after the fall a few days back, and had developed a worrying limp. “Not too far away now, I promise.” She called back, having taken the lead to guide the group.

“Oh, thank Gods!” Barret laughed. “Anyone want to say a few words?”

“Shouldn’t that come after our victory? On the way back down?” Nanaki asked, the only one who didn’t appear to be suffering from the incredibly steep hike.

Yuffie nodded, “The family pet has a point. I’m not jinxing it.”

“Fine, I’ll start.” Barret waved, paying them no attention. He cleared his throat. “This has been the worst planned idea we’ve ever had and I’ve hated every second of it.” He announced, his jovial tone casing a contradicting light on his words. “I’d like to thank Tifa for not complaining, even though she had every right to; and congrats Yuffie, for killing the most monsters.”

“Aww! You counted?” The rogue grinned in delight.

“Always do. I’d also like to thank Red, Vince and Seph for doing all the hard work yesterday.” Barret paused to catch his breath. “And lastly I’d like to thank me. For not losing my mind and killing that damn bird. That is all, thank you for coming to my speech.”

Slug turned, narrowing her eyes in a challenging look.

“It’s been an unusual mission to say the least, but your patience, regardless of the rocky start, has been appreciated.” Sephiroth offered.

Barret held up a hand, indicating a great example. “There we go! Easy!”

“Did you leave me out on purpose?” Cloud asked.

“As a matter o’ fact, yeah.” Barret panted. “You were a dumbass who almost ruined everything and made this entire nightmare pointless.”

“Hey! I helped. I tried to fix things.” The blond argued back.

Barret placed a firm hand on Cloud’s shoulder. “You’re lucky Seph decided not to murder you. Cloud, you’ve got a nice ass, that’s the best compliment you’re gettin’.”

He shook his head, ignoring the laughter from the others.

Unexpectedly, Red stopped. His ears searching out a yet undetectable sound. “Something’s coming.”

The others readied, expecting a threat to come along the cliffside. Cloud followed suit, until he heard a distant but recognisable rumble. “Heads up.”

Appearing first as shapeless dots, two helicopters neared.

Without having to say another word, the team broke into a run, scaling the remaining peak as fast as possible.

When it became clear the incoming aircrafts were indeed heading for the mountains, rather than the town below, the group pushed themselves even further. As they neared, it could be seen each were equipped with a sort of storage container below, as well as the expected Shinra logos printed on the sides.

Tifa had guessed they had been around an hour’s hike away. Even if they kept a good pace, it didn’t seem likely they would beat them to the reactor. Annoyingly, both helicopters stayed well out of reach of attack, though Vincent still tried unsuccessfully with his rifle.

It wasn’t long before everyone accept Nanaki was struggling to keep up, even Slug couldn’t stay ahead. The canine turned back, expending a large amount of mana to cast haste on the whole group. While it surely took a lot out of his own energy, he repeated the action each time the spell began to run out.

With that, they were able to make much better time, though the aircrafts overtook them before long.

Finally, hastened, but not moving at quite a run anymore, the group rounded the upper mountainside. Finally, they were greeted by the massive structure of the reactor. It loomed over them, as dilapidated and eerie as Cloud remembered. He hadn’t been back here in years, since their race to find Sephiroth. The return was as unpleasant as he ever imagined it would be.

While there was no sign of the two helicopters, a figure waited atop the metal staircase. A Turk, by the uniform, but not one Cloud recognised.

She rose an eyebrow at the approaching group, looking somewhere between surprised and amused. “Need a minute to catch your breath?” She asked, when the party stumbled up to the foot of the staircase, panting and looking very much like they’d just sprinted up a mountain.

First to regain their composure was Sephiroth. The Turk took a defensive step back when the General moved to the forefront of the group, sword materialising in his hand. “Cissnei.” He greeted. “I assume you know what brings us here.”

“The asset powering the reactor?” She met him with careful eyes. “Got quite the history, hasn’t it?”

Sephiroth moved closer, onto the lowest step. “Certainly. A history which should be swiftly discontinued. I assume our goals do not align?”

She drew a weapon, of similar design to Yuffie’s. A gesture which answered his question. With every slow step Sephiroth took forwards, Cissnei moved back. She sent a glance down to the rest of the group, still catching their breath. “Who’re they?”

“We’re Avalanche!” Yuffie cheered before turning back to the others. “We’re still Avalanche, right?”

“We are.” Cloud confirmed.

“Friends.” Sephiroth also answered, continuing to stare down at the young woman.

Cissnei, hand upon her weapon, retreated slowly into the reactor. “Interesting.” She said, her tone indecipherable.

Behind Sephiroth, the rest of the group followed into the entrance way, through two heavy sets of doors. A short way ahead, talking could be heard amongst the low groan of the inner reactor. After a moment, they found themselves in a familiar room, with layers of tanks either side of a tall staircase.

“Well shit.” He recognised Reno’s voice. “Doc was right all along. How’s about that!”

When the group filtered into the lowest area of the room, Cissnei joined Reno on the staircase. Above them, another group worked on the stubborn mechanical door leading further inside. From where he could see, Cloud counted Rude, Hojo and… Zack. Hidden mostly by the tanks stood a fifth figure he couldn’t identify.

Reno’s announcement drew the attention of those at the top. Hojo stood, leaving Rude to puzzle over the mechanism for the door. “You know, when I suggested you take extra time out on your Nibelheim mission, I was hoping you might lead me to Jenova, not disappear off the grid for over a month.” Though Hojo sounded annoyed, there was still some satisfaction that his theory had none the less been proven correct.

A chill swept through Cloud which seemed to come from Sephiroth’s side of their shared consciousness. Aside from that, he said nothing.

Hojo adjusted his glasses, squinting down through the dim service lighting. “No matter, you’re here now-, eh? Wait, are you degrading?” His tone shifted to that of anger. “No no, that’s not possible…” The scientist continued to mutter.

Regardless of how cool Sephiroth was staying, Cloud could positively feel his blood boiling just hearing the man’s voice. And he surely didn’t miss the low growl from the usually stoic Nanaki, who likely shared his feelings.

“Hojo.” Sephiroth finally greeted. “The Turks are one thing but I can’t help my disapproval on you bringing Soldier into this mess.”

This only brought everyone’s attention onto Zack, who looked so stressed, he might be sick. The First Class was sticking beside Rude, trying in vain to avoid everyone’s eye contact.

Reno chuckled, “Kinda wild comin’ from you. Like you didn’t just ditch him? For these weirdos, too? Sure, okay.”

“We’re here to eliminate Jenova. And inevitably you, too, should you insist on getting in our way.” Sephiroth continued.

He was ignored, with Hojo continuing to peer down the staircase. “Why, you certainly are an odd group of specimens.”

“Enough of this.” Cloud stepped up, all too eager to begin the inevitable fight.

Hojo tutted, “Fine, fine. Have your little brawl then.” He waved Rude away from the door as well as the additional figure, who turned towards the low fluorescent lights. Cloud only vaguely recognised them, one of Hojo’s hellish projects? They were pale, almost faded, limbs stretched slightly too long to be normal, with dark eyes and sporting a wing of a similar nature to Sephiroth’s. This one was oddly jointed though, adding to the peculiar wrongness which settled about the being’s aspect.

Beside him, Sephiroth tensed. Taking note of his reaction, Cloud watched his friend’s shock switch to a frigid sneer.

It suddenly clicked- this was Genesis, or at least some version of him.

Interrupting the growing tension was Barret, who rose his gun arm. “Incoming!” He fired a shot, launching an incendiary charge which flew over everyone’s heads and slammed into the sealed door, where it flashed threateningly in a countdown. All those at the top of the staircase dove for cover, including Rude, who made a leap to cover the scientist.

Three short bleeps and flashes later, the device exploded, taking the door, half of the landing and several mako tanks with it.

“That’s your cue.” Barret said, over the noise and billowing smoke.

Sephiroth nodded and moved fast as lightning. With a flare of his wing, he raced up, disappearing through the smoke.

Lunging after him in an almost inhuman way, was Genesis, who also followed. Yuffie next, followed by Red not even a second later, disappearing through the passageway.

Vincent, seeing that Cissnei was preparing to dive through also, called upon an ice spell to seal the doorway back up, stopping anyone from getting through, for now at least.

So much for the ‘plan’.

Jumping into battle, Cloud made it halfway up the stairs before blocking a swing from Reno.

“Why’s it always you I keep running into?” The Turk blinked in surprise, but wound up his next attack regardless. “Whatever, weirdo.”

Cloud denied him an answer, instead blocking in oncoming flurry of hits. Without even looking, Reno let loose a surge of electricity, which zapped towards the base of the stairs. Lighting the smoke in curling plumes, it struck Tifa, who was thrown back against the metal walls and knocking the air from her even more than the smoke already was.

The sound of gunfire bounced around the dark steel walls. Both Barret and Vincent were preoccupied by Cissnei and Rude, both sides a flurry of blades, bullets and punches.

Reno zipped away out of reach just when Cloud thought he’d gained an upper hand. His attention left the Turk when the swing of his attack was caught by Zack.

“I’ll leave him to you, yeah?” Reno called as he vanished.

“I hear ya.” Zack responded, paying the Turk little mind as his eyes locked with Cloud’s.

He and Zack exchanged a few swings, blocking each other with little difficulty. Jumping back, Cloud hopped over the lids of the mako tanks. Following closely behind, Zack found an opportunity to rush forwards, but a parry from Cloud caused his foot to slip from the dust laden tanks.

Before the Soldier could fall, Cloud grabbed the back of his shirt and threw him, pursuing with a charge forward. Zack was trapped against the wall by the flat of Cloud’s blade. The move caused a pause in the combat long enough for the blond to speak. “This isn’t the get-together I was hoping for.”

“Cloud.” Zack uttered painfully. “I’m so sorry.”

The distraught expression he received had Cloud fighting the urge to drop his weapon and just pull the other into a hug. If the stakes hadn’t been so high, he might have. “What happened? Hey, look at me.” He urged, hating how the other couldn’t meet his eye.

“They’ve got Aerith. Hojo took her.”

His stomach twisted at the horror in those words. Cloud had no idea how to respond.

Adding to the tension, the facility shuddered around them, shaking dust from the ceiling. A groan of metal creaked from somewhere in the depths; or could it have been a distant roar? Whatever Sephiroth was doing, hopefully it was going better than topside.

“Zack, we need to take out Jenova.” Cloud pleaded, a new worry making his heart hammer even harder; a feeling which worsened the longer he looked at Zack. He could only guess what compromises his friends was being forced to make, and couldn’t blame him for fighting back.

The spark seemed to return to Zack, when he pushed Cloud off, grabbed him by the shoulder in a crushing grip and switched their positions, bashing Cloud back against the wall. Though he was caught off guard by the sudden change of pace, he still managed to bring his sword up to meet the other.

It was a clumsy mess of blades. The crashes of metal going nearly unheard over the booms of spells and gunfire. With little time to contemplate his friends’ situations, two issues struck Cloud simultaneously.
Still backed against the wall, he couldn’t make an effective swing in time, nor did he anticipate a burst fire magic exploding against the wall close to his side.

The combination of factors allowed Zack to advance back into his space. With none of the control he’d shown during sparring, the Soldier shoved Cloud. Stumbling on uneven footing, a further kick to the side of his knee had him falling face first onto of the nearest tank lid. A second later, his sword was kicked from his hand with a practiced disarming motion. Around them, another rumble escaped from below, presumably down within Jenova’s chamber.

Rolling over to stop what he knew would be a restraining hold, Cloud caught Zack in a grapple. “Stop it! We don’t have to do this!” Hissed the blond, “We can help her together.” Though he really didn’t know how he would handle this either, should their positions be swapped.

Across from them, another set of tanks exploded, showering everyone in glass, mako and whatever unfortunate thing had been inside.

Reno and Vincent were darting about in a trail of darkness and static. Though Reno was faster on his feet, Vincent could take a hit with ease, which was good, since he was taking a lot. He wasn’t the only one, and had left the Turk looking rather worse for wear.

Equally struggling was Barret, who was left with both Rude and Cissnei. Unable to divide his attention onto both without being backed up by a teammate like usual, he was fighting a steadily losing battle.

Looking about the chaotic battlefield, he failed to locate Tifa.

Flying in from the doorway came Slug. In her usual savage manner, grabbed hold of Rude by the back of his shirt and threw him clean over her head by the beak. The usually stoic man let out a shout of sudden fright. Had Cloud not been in his own fistfight with a distraught Zack, he would have found it highly amusing.

“Wait, what the hell?” The sight left Reno bewildered enough that Vincent caught an opening. Casting his own thunder spell, he hit Reno in the back.

From the rafters, Cissnei had them both covered. With a hit from something, Slug hit the floor, going instantly limp.

She better not be dead! Yuffie would kill them all for not looking after her bird baby.

From the corner of his eye, Cloud noted that Tifa was down and not moving. He hadn’t even seen it happen, but it made him throw himself at Zack with renewed effort. This was getting far too out of hand… “C’mon, just hear me out, please!”

The other didn’t reply but began casting around an ice spell, likely hoping it would hold Cloud in place.

A shout from Barret caught his attention, and Cloud strained his neck to see what was going on. Both he and Vincent caught an opportunity for a simultaneous attack. Trying to avoid the first hit, put Cissnei into the path of the second. She was thrown against the wall, with enough force to render her instantly unconscious, and clattered down onto the floor.

Vincent slowed in his movements to cast a high-level cure spell for their ally.

The cast never went off when Rude stepped up behind the gunman and placed an oddly gentle hand over his eyes. Cloud recognised the hypnotic weave of light to have come from a sleep spell. Sure enough, with no resistance, Vincent went instantly slack and crumpled to the cold tiles.

Their situation was deteriorating faster than Cloud had ever imagined. Whatever Sephiroth was doing, he needed to hurry the hell up!

Squirming away from the freezing magic, and aiming to again throw himself at Zack, Cloud’s vision filled with flashing light as a head-splitting pain pulled his nerves apart.

Over the wave of buzzing in his ears, he heard himself cry out. A terrible feeling reached inside of him, as if seizing his heart. So overwhelming, it was like he was drowning in it. From somewhere, Barret called out to him.

The room erupted in light and heat as a powerful blast detonated at his back, throwing him tumbling across the metal staircase. Even as he knew it had happened, all the senses which came with it felt oddly disconnected, as if he was being pulled from reality. Must have come from Barret, his friend’s last-ditch effort to get Zack away. This did little to help.

Cloud curled in on himself, Jenova whispering sweetly in his ear above the cacophony of fading sensation. With the world spinning, he slipped under into unconsciousness.

With Genesis at his heels, the flames from Barret’s explosion weren’t even felt as Sephiroth slashed away at what was left of the door. Through the smoke they emerged into a service hatch, wide and packed with hanging wires and a web of pipes and tubes. Both the service lift and emergency staircase were ignored in favour of simply hopping over the edge to jump from one thing to the next.

He didn’t get far before Genesis, or some faded facsimile of him, sprang from the smoke and collided in a spray of feathers. Thrown back into the protruding pipework, Sephiroth switched their positions, throwing his opponent off and hurling himself headlong into his own attack. Both crashed down through several levels of the ancient rusty staircase and came to land upon the overhang of a separate service door.

The Genesis copy drew its rapier, an emptiness to its eyes which Sephiroth couldn’t remember his friend previously having.

It was impossible to count the number of times the two had trained together previously, enough that they were well acquainted with each other’s fighting styles; yet this time there was none of the renowned eloquence, only viciousness behind his opponent’s swings.

There was something savage, animalistic even about its movement. A lack of humanity which offset the original’s usually striking countenance. It hurt to see, hurt even more so to not understand.

Managing the upper hand through their flurry of slashes, he threw the copy off and took the opportunity to descend lower. For the first time, his wing was useful in keeping his balance, allowing Sephiroth to fall with a little more precision than usual. Unfortunately, Genesis had acquired more aerial experience than himself, and was able to effortlessly keep pace.

Again, the two collided. “I need to go. Jenova must be destroyed.” Sephiroth tried.

For a moment, it was unclear whether the other had even understood him, until the words seemed to sink in a moment later. The faded warrior opened their mouth, only to emit a choked sound. Its movements became even more frantic, redoubling their efforts in fighting back.

Disturbing, to say the least. Sephiroth didn’t have time to worry when the copy was lunging yet again, a push which launched him into another web of pipes. The rapier was raised to follow with a piercing stab-.

Before Sephiroth had a chance to react, an object flew into the vent system to his right. The pipework burst, spraying a torrent of scolding steam onto his attacker. As Genesis lurched back, a bestial form landed upon the copy. Again, knocked further off course, Nanaki bit into its shoulder.

The distraction allowed Sephiroth room to free himself from the tight corner. From the railings above, Yuffie landed and gave a cheery wave.

Sephiroth offered her a nod, before both were rushing further below. Within seconds, the copy had recovered, throwing Nanaki off. The two were springing off the walls, doing only minor damage to each other in a near blindingly fast display. Seeing Sephiroth descending right for him, the air shifted as a magic attack was fired.

In a burst of light, half of the passageway went up in flames, resulting in a series of smaller explosions loud enough to deafen.

Around them, the entire structure shook.

In the mess of sound and light, the Genesis copy predicted Nanaki’s strike, catching him along the side with the edge of its sword. The canine staggered, breaking off from the attack.

Moving back in keep up the assault, Sephiroth flared his feathers to spin in the air. Calling on his own dark magic, he sent a flare down towards their aggressor. Genesis dodged the blast- right into the corkscrew spiral, Masamune catching him hard in the side in a way which was sure to sting.

Not yet adept enough with his wing to bring himself out of the roll in time, a crackle of electricity lanced through the air. It caught the new limb, searing along the feathers and grounding the world to a halt for several long stuttering seconds.

By the time Sephiroth recognised the speed he was falling, he could do nothing to recover, instead crashing down through at least two layers of scaffolding left from the reactor’s construction.

Left momentarily dazed, his wing was stiff from the high-level spell, as was his entire right side. As he regained his bearings, Yuffie hit the surface hard beside him, landing awkwardly on her knee. The fall didn’t stop her fast retaliation, she loosed a flurry of darts, which from the sound of metal hitting flesh, all made contact.

With some further interference from Nanaki, by the time Genesis was upon them, Sephiroth was up and ready. Yuffie rushed off, scaling the side of the wall to provide support.

Below, the cold surface of the lowest floor came into view. About time, the dust and narrow passageway was putting them all to the test.

Keeping the copy’s attention, he noted his allies lining up a co-ordinated attack. Yuffie’s shuriken struck hard into their opponent’s right shoulder, while Nanaki leaped upon them, sinking his teeth into its wing. The force lurched them downward into Sephiroth’s grip, who caught their foe with a close-range blast of magic.

Genesis plummeted the last length of the tunnel, clattering onto the steel floor. Beside the copy, the others landed in the pale light. They readied a strike against their foe, but found Genesis had been knocked unconscious from the fall.

The three took a moment to catch their breaths. Yuffie picked a black feather from her hair. “Like two crows stuck in a chimney.” She chuckled. “So, you know this guy?”

It was a fair summary of what had transpired. “Someone who should have been a friend. Or a piece of him, at least.” Sephiroth answered, casting a healing spell onto Nanaki, which appeared to do very little.

He hadn’t noticed while in the thick of battle, but this place held an uncomfortable energy. A foreboding which crept up around him like alien appendages in a dream. It whispered to him in an unintelligible language, but one which felt he should be somehow privy to.

“Oof, if that’s how you treat your friends…” Yuffie replied, though her words lacked any malice.

Around them, masses of piping flowed through the doorway of the next room. The longer Sephiroth stared through the dark doorway, the feeling grew. At his side, Yuffie and Nanaki were conversing, though their voices drifted further and further out, the words never quite reaching past the muttering in his head.

She was greeting him, welcoming him into her metal prison. A magnetic pull in his blood drew Sephiroth in.

A moment later, the young rogue appeared in front of his face. She seemed… concerned? It was hard to tell. Though he could see she was shouting something, it must have been over something inconsequential.

Sephiroth opened his mouth to ask what the matter was, but found himself unable to form words. Then, he became fully aware of the haze blocking his senses, and began to struggle from Jenova’s hold.

His right arm was gripped tightly by Yuffie. She held it in place as if he might strike out against her-, which was ridiculous.

The hand offered some means to anchor him in reality and Jenova was forced from him.

His reward was a tearing pain through his head, almost as if a part of him had been taken with her. It had Sephiroth clawing his gloves through his hair but none the less coming back to the present.

“Are you with us?” Nanaki asked when Sephiroth blinked back at them both, regaining his awareness.

“Yes, I… made the mistake of letting her get a hold of me.” Sephiroth replied quickly, reassuring Yuffie that it was alright to back off now. While it left him with a splitting headache, Sephiroth promised himself that he wouldn’t be falling back under her control as easily next time.

Understandably wanting to hurry things, Yuffie continued ahead, leading the way to the next chamber. “Wow, this place sucks.” She coughed, covering her nose at a terrible acidic stench from nearby.

“Agreed.” Sephiroth nodded.

From far above, there echoed the rumble of an explosion, accompanied by the background feeling of dread from Cloud. Faced with an urge to turn back and secure their allies above, all shuddered at the noise but continued on with their own mission. No amount of worrying for Cloud or Zack would fix anything, the two were capable enough to look after themselves… or they should be.

“So…” Yuffie began, as the group made their way across the metal walkway. “I got a feeling this can go one of two ways, right? Like, we either beat Jenova right now… Or, you go crazy and, well, kill us.” She spoke quickly, filling the opposing silence.

“I think we’d all prefer the former.” Sephiroth agreed. “I’m confident in my ability to not harm either of you.” He wanted to smile, if only to lighten the mood but found the gesture too much.

Finally, they emerged into the final room. Across a bottomless pit, all pipelines converged around one single figure at the end of the room. Upon the last platform, a steel-faced monument glinted. She gazed down on the intruders with black lifeless eyes.

Yuffie, still desperate to evade the quiet, whistled long and low. “Damn, dude.” She said in a mock compliment. She led the way, delicately hopping over the bridge of interweaving wire to step right up to Jenova’s towering shrine.

Realising that Nanaki had no intention of crossing, Sephiroth followed after Yuffie, more caution in his step than he hoped to exhibit. It was taking all his effort not to cringe at the low throbbing headache and white spots dancing about his vision. The longer he looked at her silver shell, the further past and present blurred together, bringing forth a mixture of uncomfortable emotions. She was whispering to him again, but so far, that was all.

“So how do we… you know?” Yuffie took a contemplative stance, tracing a finger from edge to edge, deciding where to begin hacking. “We gotta be careful of anything, or just slice ‘n’ dice? Hey, you okay?”

“Quite. Merely auditory hallucinations attempting to impede our progress.” Sephiroth stepped up, readying his blade. “As you say, ‘slice ‘n’ dice’ should do the trick.” In a few short flicks of his wrist, the metalwork slid apart from itself. The air filled with bursts of steam and the sickly smell of oil, as it leaked from the gashes and severed chords.

That smell tripled his sense of déjà vu. Sephiroth could feel the mix of anger and glee he’d experienced last time he was here, just below the surface.

Yuffie gave the statue a few good kicks and flung it out of the way. “Whoa.” She stood, wide eyed at what the metal figure had been concealing. Dimly lit and floating in a clear fluid, was Jenova herself.

Sephiroth staggered and wondered through his blurring vision whether he’d really just seen her smirk. Gripped by a chill which ran down his spine, her words intruded into his mind. “I’ve so eagerly awaited your return, my son.”

He couldn’t look at her. It was like his guts were turning inside out and for a moment, he though he might be sick as the room spun. This was punishment for siding with Gaia’s heroes this time, that was a fact.

The world rocked as the floor shook, following a blast of light and sound from somewhere at his back. His senses unable to process anything efficiently, it was like being trapped in that nightmare again.

Yuffie was in front of him again, sweeping the hair out of his face. Like before, she was grabbing hard onto his shoulder and yelling something between nervous glances of the room. Sephiroth couldn’t pick out any of what she was saying and barely processed that she’d reeled back, before he was slapped hard across the face.

That did the trick. The world shifted back into focus, and while his head was still a wreck, Sephiroth could at least discern what was happing in reality. Another loud crash had him turning to see that Genesis had awoken. His wing was limp, as was his left arm, which looked torn at the elbow, his eyes still wore the same cold determination as previous.

Nanaki had been holding him off by the doorway, the two exchanging a series of magic attacks, with Genesis possessing the upper hand. When the copy locked eyes with Sephiroth, it rose its hand, activating a materia which burst with crimson light.

“Are you being serious?!” Yuffie shouted, her voice pitching higher than usual.

They weren’t left with much time to sulk, when the air shifted and the shadows above coalesced, pulling forth the Dragon King himself.

Thankfully the ceiling was fairly tall, but this still didn’t give Bahamut excessive room to spread his massive wings and the dragon screeched in anger. Claws sunk into the metal lining of the walls, causing several panels to fall into the well below. Beady eyes locked onto its summoner’s three enemies. Sephiroth shared in Yuffie’s lack of enthusiasm, summons were a fair challenge on a normal day, and one he really didn’t feel like contending with today of all days.

Rolling her shoulders and drawing another handful of darts, Yuffie readied for another round of fighting. “Lets just do whatever, I guess?”

Nanaki, who looked less worried by the summon and more annoyed, nodded. He was still sporting a limp on one of his back legs and out of the three, looked the worse for wear.

“Naturally.” Sephiroth stepped back, slashing across the casing of Jenova’s cell. Glass and fluid hit the floor at the same time as a fresh wave of pain hit Sephiroth’s mind. At that, the room sprang to life.

In another silent scream, the Genesis copy lurched forwards. Undeterred by its injuries, flapped its wing and coated its blade in flaming energy. The two on the centre platform split up. Yuffie sprang along the edge of the wall while Sephiroth met the replica of his friend in the centre of the room. The clash of swords tested his ability to fight with the new addition of his wing, as well as preform accurate footwork along the mass of squirming wires.

Combined with the affects from Jenova, it was certainly a test of skill. The kind which Hojo would have loved to take credit for.

In all his previous anger for his two friends, Sephiroth had assumed he’d perhaps even enjoy an opportunity to clash with them again. But after coming to terms with his feelings for them, even facing off against a mere copy made his heart lurch in sorrow. There was something almost morbid about this echo shambling about. He wasn’t even sure whether the original Genesis was even still alive, and that open question was felt as it wielded his friend’s sword and replaced the original’s finesse with savagery. It was wrong, and Sephiroth hoped to put it out of its misery quickly.

Around him, Yuffie and Nanaki sprang about the walls, drawing the attention of the huge newcomer still clinging to the side of the chamber. The dragon now had several darts and Yuffie’s shuriken jammed into its tough hide. She clung to her weapon, trying to pry it loose. “Urr, incoming?” She called down.

Bahamut drew energy between his serrated jaws and fired a bright beam down onto the centre bridge.

Parting just in time and hopping out of the way, the pipework was utterly destroyed. A few small explosions popped about the room as the vents were severed. One directly behind Jenova shattered the remainder of her containment and seared along the back of her suspended form. Almost like the burn had afflicted him, Sephiroth was left disorientated.

Before he could regain his bearings, Genesis was upon him. There came a piercing stab as the rapier jabbed onto his side and punctured straight through him.

Sephiroth stuttered in place as the blade was retracted. Before he could even think to retaliate or process the pain, the copy was knocked off-centre by Nanaki. The canine’s strong jaws tore at the its shoulder armour until the metal buckled, before delivering a crushing bite to its neck.

Now distracted, Sephiroth delivered a payback swing, slicing fatally across the copy’s chest.

The room flashed with white, and Sephiroth realised a moment too late that it wasn’t his head playing tricks on him. Bahamut fired off a second beam of energy, which engulfed the three of them, as well as Jenova.

Tossed like a ragdoll, Sephiroth landed somewhere across the room. He grit his teeth as he pulled himself up onto his knees. Despite how the stab had missed his spine and hopefully most major organs, his back had almost locked up involuntarily. The wound probably wasn’t fatal, he guessed. Still, Sephiroth could feel blood dampening his coat, making the inner fabric feel sticky on his skin. He chose not to look.

Jenova had lost a few chunks but still hung suspended like dead meat from what remained of her cell.

Nanaki lay on the metal floor, barely conscious. The Genesis copy was elsewhere, hopefully knocked down the pit which separated the sides of the room. Adjusting his grip on Masamune, Sephiroth threw himself at the Dragon King.

Seeing him coming, Bahamut snapped at him, but ultimately received a gash across his nose and a lash of dark magic to match. Following up was Yuffie, who lay down several firm strikes. She seemed to have located the weaker points to the summon’s hide, and was selectively striking where it would make the most impact.

Using his wing to propel himself above, Sephiroth reached again for his magic- perhaps one useful gift from Jenova- and cast a super destructive blast right into Bahamut’s underside. Yuffie followed, her arm guard glowing with green as a magic force grabbed the dragon and sent it slamming to the ground.

Sephiroth landed and watched the summon gave an angry snarl before retreating back to wherever it had come from, through a shift in reality. Now alone again, Yuffie slid down the wall to land at his side. She grinned, holding up Sephiroth’s gravity materia.

Great, that was yet another mastered materia she’d stolen from him. For now, he replied with nothing more than an eye roll, more pressing matters at hand.

While she hopped over to cast a healing spell on Nanaki, Sephiroth tried to level his breathing. That was when he realised something odd-, he couldn’t feel Cloud’s side of their connection. The recognition caused him to stop and seek it out.

Sure enough, it was there. Faintly. And shit, that bothered him. “Let’s not dawdle. I fear we may be the last line against Jenova.” He was more breathless than expected.

Like he’d said something amusing, Yuffie looked at him smugly, preparing some sort of disbelieving comeback. Looking over his serious expression, she dropped it and nodded. With their canine friend stable, just unconscious, Yuffie paced back over to Sephiroth, wincing at the red staining his jacket.

“Okay, yeah, good plan.” Yuffie grimaced. She activated the materia in her armour again and cast a few fire spells.

Sephiroth followed with his pitifully low-level fire materia. Clattering sounds echoed up from the well below, but for now couldn’t see the Genesis copy in the darkness. Still, it must have been somewhere down there.

There was also a sound from somewhere above, a whirring… the service elevator. Hopefully their backup was arriving, but Sephiroth didn’t hold out hope.

With a flap of his wing, he joined a much faster Yuffie over by Jenova. The flames were creeping in, but they drew their weapons regardless.

Sephiroth rose his sword… but didn’t move. Something was trying to stop him.

“Why?” Her voice shuddered through him. “I love you.”

“No. This is where you die.” He gritted his teeth against what he knew would come and forced his hand forward in an arcing slash.

The barrage through his own senses was instantaneous, still he kept going. When Jenova’s now mutilated form lay across the floor, Sephiroth felt himself hit the ground alongside her. The flames were getting higher.

Beside him, Yuffie was frantically shaking his shoulder. She moved a hand to place pressure on one side of the wound Genesis had left, while uttering something frantic.

Sephiroth wondered why she wasn’t just taking care of Jenova.

There was another barely discernible voice from above the crackling flames. Yuffie was shouting back, talking to someone. No, to multiple people. From the small amount he could make sense of, they were not allies. The loud ring of gunshots echoed up to the high ceiling and Yuffie took off running.

There was more commotion. After that, he seemed to be left alone. A new warmth fell over him, it was comfortable and utterly calming. Oh, a sleep spell. Easy, he could resist those without a problem… except he was bleeding badly, wasn’t he? Ah, that could be an issue…

It pulled him lovingly under, letting pain finally give way to something blissful and numb.

… Sephiroth flickered in and out of sleep, the spell not enough to hold him under for long. There was something dragging him limply across the floor. Some sort of verbal dispute was happening, barely, he could pick out Zack’s voice alongside Hojo.

He recognised the boots and unnatural gate of the one pulling him, to be the Genesis copy… somehow it was still alive. He couldn’t move his head, but could see Hojo and one of the Turks each carrying a large metal container, marked with a biohazard sticker. He wondered what those could be.

The dragging stopped and he was lifted up to be carried instead. Zack.

… He next came to at a shift in the air pressure. They were going up the service elevator, which from the stuttering and groaning, was barely functional. Hopefully it would fail…

Momentarily, he closed his eyes and reopened them in one of the first rooms they had arrived in. The group trudged down the metal staircase and for the first time, Sephiroth realised he wasn’t the only one being dragged along. Nanaki, too.

Where had Yuffie gone? Hopefully she had fled.

Sephiroth could only watch with minimal comprehension when they passed by Cloud and his friends.

They were so still, and the rest of the room was still spinning so much. Were they even alive? Zack clutched onto him tighter as they passed.

By the door, a gunshot rang out and one of the Turks… Reno, dropped whatever he was carrying and teetered to the side. Everyone turned to see someone rise from halfway up the stairs.

Ah, that was Vincent. He too was swaying, barely staying upright.

Hojo stepped up, the two exchanging something short and verbal which he couldn’t understand.

Before Sephiroth could fully comprehend, Vincent went to aim his firearm again. Hojo beat him to it. He pulled his own pistol and shot Vincent once between the eyes. The yellow gleam faded from his irises and he toppled to the floor. Sephiroth watched on, barely grasping the scene as Vincent just… lay there.

With no fuss, Hojo laughed, turning back to the door.

The others appeared as stunned as Zack, who held on even tighter, his hands shaking where they braced Sephiroth at his sides.

Pushing himself to do something, anything, Sephiroth forced himself to weakly move. Zack held him steady when his legs couldn’t support him.

No, they couldn’t do this. It couldn’t all end like this.

Sephiroth didn’t even manage to escape from Zack’s hold before another sleep spell was cast upon him. This one leaving him with nothing to hold onto as the world blackened and he drifted away into nothing.

Chapter Text

The helicopter ride back to Midgar was agonising. It wasn’t boring, by any means, in fact it was mostly spent patching up Reno and Cissnei. The Turks had gotten hit pretty badly in the reactor, especially Reno, who had taken a bullet in the back of his shoulder from that guy Hojo killed.

Speaking of the mad doctor, Rude had gotten the short straw and ended up piloting him, with that weird Genesis copy in the back, now the containment cells were full…

Zack was never usually quiet on these sorts of trips, even after the worst missions, the others on the transport were often begging him to shut up or sit still. Today, he sat praying Sephiroth was still alive in the specimen containment lock just below their feet. While he was fairly sure that healing spells couldn’t travel through solid metal, Zack must have burned through nearly all of his mana by the time they landed, just in case.

“You.” Hojo called after Zack, when they reached the landing pad of the Shinra tower’s science department. “I need you to bring them up for me.” He motioned to the sealed containment cells.

It had been agreed that the Turks would be heading straight to the infirmary, and they weren’t waiting about, ready to get out of there the moment they’d landed. Cissnei gave Zack a sympathetic smile before being hurried away with the other two. At least they all got to stay out of this.

Zack returned his attention to Hojo, eyes narrowed, not caring to mask his dislike. “Only if I get to see Aerith.”

Clearly, the Professor hadn’t been expecting that, but he met the Soldier with amusement. “I don’t believe you’re in a position to be making demands. But alas, if that’s what it must take, then fine.” Shrugging, he punched in the code for the first container.

The Genesis copy lumbered over. Zack wondered how it was even still alive, its wing and left arm looked barely attached and it still sported a heavy gash across the chest, which cut seriously deep. It was super gross, but the oddly mute thing didn’t appear to even notice its injuries. In fact, it just continued to shamble about in an almost mechanical fashion.

Reaching out with an uncaring grasp, the copy grasped around inside with its functioning arm. Dragging out the orange furred canine with little to no care, letting them slump onto the concrete. Zack had never seen a creature quite like it before and didn’t really understand Hojo’s interest. A rare animal, he supposed.

Typing in the code for the other, the lock popped open. Zack swallowed hard when it swung free, expecting Sephiroth to either jump out and stab him or for his Commander to be dead in there.

Thankfully, neither happened and Zack was greeted by the incredibly sorry sight of the most powerful man he’d ever known, curled into the fetal position. While he wasn’t dead, he didn’t have an abundance of life either. Gingerly, Zack reached inside and carefully lifted his friend out, accepting that he was about to be covered in semidry blood. Hojo collected two heavy looking cases, each adorning a variety of hazard symbols, which the sludgy remains of Jenova had been stowed.

Wordlessly, he turned to follow the other two, who were met by a barrage of both scientists and armed guards alike. These bystanders kept a wide berth from the copy. Zack waved them off when they attempted to assist him, he wanted to know exactly where Sephiroth and this other beast would be placed.

Sephiroth was tricky to hold. He was glad it’d been Cloud he’d had to carry about for so long, rather than this guy… yeah, that had been a series of memories which had slowly come back over the last while. That and a bunch of other cool things, like dying.

He’d of course noticed the very hard-to-miss wing which had hooked itself around his shoulder when he’d lifted Sephiroth. Honestly, Zack had no idea what that meant anymore. While it was terrifying to imagine that he was degrading the same as Angeal and Genesis had, Sephiroth had seemed sane. He’d sounded fine a few days ago, when they’d spoken. Either way, the new limb had been there long enough to get his coat tailored to fit it, apparently.

The horrible smells of the labs greeted them inside. Too artificial, too sterile. They headed for the nearest elevator, into which Hojo punched in a security code before selecting a restricted floor. One Zack had thankfully never had the misfortune of visiting.

When the doors opened, a new set of smells accosted him. The eerie stench of something strong and foul masked under copious amounts of antiseptic and disinfectant, threatened to bring back even more of those memories which both had and hadn’t happened. For a split second, he wasn’t in Midgar, but a decrepit old manor basement; with mould growing over the south wall and the fluorescent light which constantly buzzed so loudly he couldn’t think-.

Zack shook it off in favour of getting out of here sooner.

Still those thoughts meshed with the present and made his stomach turn. What was he doing handing Sephiroth off to the same, or even worse of a fate? He should have acted in the elevator, killed Hojo first and then made it look like the copy had gone apeshit and attacked them. Not like the thing could talk, for some reason.

… But then, there were cameras inside, right? There were security features everywhere in here.

Now though, there were even more armed guards and Zack had Sephiroth, Aerith and apparently what remained of Soldier to protect. If he screwed up now, it would make the terrible events of today meaningless.

Gods, what was he doing?!

Taking deep breaths, he didn’t dare cast another healing spell on Sephiroth, just in case there was some sort of detector for that around here.

It was a long walk through Hojo’s domain, which involved three sets of coded doors. There was a vent system which could fit a person, if they were careful. Those were likely monitored too, this far in.

Finally, after a long stretch of corridors, Hojo input the final code. Door ‘UD-377’ slid open and the automatic light flickered on. It was large, spacious with a mixture of tanks and cells, of varying security levels. Glancing about, Zack couldn’t see any other ‘specimens’, just the range of odd-looking cages, some which were opaque and contained a viewing hatch or camera. One was visually open but kept in a corner so dark nothing could be seen within.

Hojo picked a random unoccupied cage of simplistic design, and motioned for the copy to dump the canine inside. The poor thing had been dragged all the way here by the leg, and would no doubt feel pretty rough when they finally awoke.

The two cases of Jenova bits were locked securely away. If it were any other creature, it would have been truly dead, but Zack got the impression that the usual constraints of ‘life’ and ‘death’ did not apply to this alien, as they would have to any worldly lifeform.

Holding onto the man in his arms even tighter, Zack stood about, waiting to be directed by Hojo.

Finally, the Professor motioned dismissively at a gurney in the corner. “Just on there.” He said, going back to the data pad in his hand.

All of Zack’s hatred for the man was coming back faster than he ever imagined. He placed Sephiroth gently down, realising there wasn’t enough room to comfortably support his wing. Quickly he wheeled over another medical bed, so that the extra limb could rest securely. Uncaring of who else was here, Zack smoothed the hair out of his boss’s face. Sephiroth was paler than normal, which said a lot.

Leaning in close, the Soldier took his hand. “Hang in there, alright? I’ll get you out of here, I promise.” He whispered, gaining no response.

Hojo sauntered over, setting his tablet down and pulling a pair of rubber gloves from his pocket. He gave the second bed supporting Sephiroth’s wing an amused glance but said nothing, moving to the opposite side and inspecting the medical equipment waiting in a nearby tray.

This room housed multiple surveillance cameras. It wouldn’t be safe to kill the madman here, either.

He felt suddenly unwell when Hojo inspected the leather jacket out of the way to locate the injury point. Humming in interest, he unbuckled the coat and lifted the side away from what had been a piercing stab. It’d been bad, but still slight enough that Sephiroth’s speedy healing had already begun to mend it. It wasn’t bleeding anymore, at least. That was something of a relief, perhaps the cure spells he’d been casting had reached his friend? Who was to say…

“I’ve paged someone to take you down to the Ancient.” Hojo said, sparing an odd look to Zack’s hand, which was still interlaced with Sephiroth’s. Not that Zack gave a damn.

“What’re you going to do with him?” Zack asked, wondering whether he was better or worse knowing.

Hojo was busy wiping up the mess the wound had caused. “Ah, plenty. I would have liked to get him back in working order, I can’t say I was expecting him to degrade. Still, he’ll always be good stock.”

Yeah, no, he wasn’t going to ask for a further elaboration on that. Just then, the door opened and a gaggle of three technicians hastily entered.

“Good. You, take the Soldier down to briefly view the Cetra girl, no contact. You two, disarm the G-copy and dispose of it.” Hojo ordered, pointing at each in turn.

Zack gave Sephiroth’s sleeping form a final sad smile and squeezed his hand, not knowing when they’d next meet. Reluctantly, he turned and wondered up to the man selected as his guide.

From across the room, a sudden riotous noise erupted. A screaming roar, crashing and shaking metal as something large fought against the walls of its containment. One of the bigger opaque cells was shaking, standing strong against whatever thrashed inside. It wasn’t just one creature, there were multiple sounds at once, from slightly differing vocal forms, all sounding in unison. It sent chills through Zack and made some of the staff startle in place. Otherwise, no one moved, nor appeared to care much.

The Genesis copy didn’t react in the slightest. It had wondered across the room to the darkened cell, staring blankly inside.

He’d have stayed to watch what might happen next but Zack’s guide gestured for him to follow. They left quickly, leaving the others to deal with the mangled copy.

Again, he was led through rooms both large and small until they arrived at the elevator again. Every step further away, the less he wanted to leave Sephiroth behind. While he was more than confident that his boss would live through whatever Hojo had in store until a rescue attempt was made, the thought held little comfort.

He tried desperately to memorise all the twists and turns through the corridors which led to and from lab room ‘UD-377’, but it was borderline impossible.

Luckily, his guide didn’t attempt to make conversation. Zack was grateful for that, and soon enough, they arrived at a viewing station overlooking the testing floor in which Aerith’s containment sat. It was quite high up, displaying the whole floor, a number of staff milling about, all working at a slow pace. Three other large glass cells stood empty across the large room.

He ran to the glass when he saw her. Even if he shouted, there was no chance she’d hear him, so he stayed quiet to not make a scene. Up here, even if he waved about, she probably wouldn’t see him.

Overall, she looked… fine. Bored was the word, really. She sat in her glass cell, leaning against the wall, cheek resting in her hand. Other than that, Aerith seemed alight. Zack wasn’t sure what he expected, perhaps one of those horrid papery gowns they had him wear for his mako infusions? Or for her to be surrounded by scary looking equipment or weird prying scientists?

Her dress was a bit creased and she looked fed up, but that was thankfully all. Perhaps he’d just feared for the worst.

“Can I talk to her?” He asked.

The technician shook his head, motioning that it was already time to leave. Zack frowned but conceded, letting himself be led away towards the exit. Aerith was fine, that was all he needed to know.

They retraced their steps once again to the elevator. Zack nodded his thanks and continued in, hitting the button for the lowest level.

He’d been so used to Midgar, that Zack failed to realise how truly gross it was here. It was loud, smelled of pollution. Grey everywhere. It really was a stark contrast to Gongaga and for the first time, the First Class wasn’t sure he liked that.

Usually he loved the city, the busier the better. He was never bored and it had become quickly home after he’d first arrived.

He hadn’t realised he was still covered in dried blood for several blocks, as he made his way back to his apartment. No wonder he was receiving some odd looks. Either way, it was dark by the time he returned to his apartment, a cheap box room a few streets away from the Shinra building. He’d picked it after progressing to First Class, if only to get some distance from the unfolding situation in the company.

Tossing his uniform haphazardly onto the floor (it’d make its way to the washer eventually), Zack took advantage of finally being able to sulk without being caught. Without bothering to turn on any of the lights, he sloped into the bathroom and-, ah damn it.

Plants. Everywhere.

After Angeal had died, no one else had wanted his excessive collection of houseplants. Of course, Zack couldn’t just let them get thrown away, so he’d taken them in. Problem was, he had no idea what to do with them. Knowing he’d be out of town for a while, he’d filled his bath with water and plant food, and crammed as many pots in as possible.

The Soldier swore under his breath, lifting them out to dry. A few had begun to wilt and one had become far too waterlogged and fell apart in its pot. The whole apartment smelt of wet soil and had stained the white basin of his bath. Zack spent a while trying to clean up and at least save a few of the sadder looking plants.

Finally, he gave up. With a long sigh, he sat on the edge of the tub, surrounded by a near forest of mostly unhappy plants.

How quickly things had fallen apart…

Mere days ago, he’d been halfway across the world with Aerith and his parents. All he’d wanted was to help give her the freedom to explore outside Midgar. Honestly, he had no idea what being a Cetra actually meant, let alone the last remaining one. What he did know was that this made her valuable to Shinra.

When him and the Turks had been called back to Midgar, Zack had been taken aside and reprimanded by a very very impatient Tseng. Despite Zack’s reasoning, it would seem that taking Aerith from under their watch was a sin worthy of the worst punishment.

Painfully, the bargain was made that he would hand her back to the Turks (which ended up instead being Hojo, which none of them had initially known about) and assist them in recapturing Sephiroth. In exchange, he would avoid a guaranteed suspension and possible dismissal. The choice was tough to make, but what option did he have? Zack hadn’t been expecting it to culminate in that huge battle in the reactor, or any of Cloud’s friends getting killed.

While Zack trusted the Turks to some extent, Hojo was a major threat. He’d had enough experience to know that he wouldn’t wish the scientist’s ‘creative prodding’ on anyone. By the not-too-subtle language he’d been using, Zack had reason to be worried.

Had Seph woken up yet? Probably not. They’d likely keep him heavily sedated… maybe for the best.

Of everything which had happened today, having to fight Cloud might have been the worst. Leaving the blond and his friends in a burning reactor had been the foulest thing Zack had maybe ever done.

Cloud was strong, he’d be okay, but that didn’t make Zack feel any less vile.

Really, he wouldn’t be surprised if the team wanted nothing to do with him after this. No matter how many times they’d assured him that maintaining his standing with Shinra was the most important thing, Zack didn’t quite believe the outcome of this battle was worth it.

All he could really do now was make it up to them by rallying Soldier. Still, that didn’t sound like it quite compared. Perhaps he could find out what would be done with Jenova’s remains. His understanding of the entity was unclear, only that the alien sludge the Genesis copy had scraped off the floor was still dangerous.

He sat there for some time, thinking everything over, and over, and over.

Finally, after a decent cry, he picked himself up. Afterall, he hadn’t eaten since yesterday.

Miserably, Zack trudged into the kitchen, stubbed his toe on the sofa and flung open the window to help the smell. Several more plants were rescued from the sink basin before flinging open the fridge. The light stung his eyes in the otherwise dark room.

Wrinkling his nose, everything in the fridge was tossed in the garbage, and the rubbish bag was thrown outside. The only thing in his small freezer drawer was a tub of ice cream, sharing size. That would do for now.

Dejected, Zack slumped onto the couch and stared hard at the wall. Not even opening the ice cream, his mind relentlessly replayed everything from the last few days on loop.

At some point, the breeze coming in through the window stuttered and there came the lightest sound of shuffling. Zack leaned to glance over his shoulder.

What the heck?

A black and white cat was busy crawling through his window. Weird, that had never happened before and he was on the third floor. Pretty impressive.

“Hey, watcha’ doin’ buddy?” The Soldier cooed, climbing up from his seat.

Caught, the cat froze. Slowly, it turned to look over at him.

It was weird, the head shape a little too round, features oddly cartoony. It wore a crown and fabric tied around its neck. Then, it smiled. “Ay! Well, if it isn’t the Soldier I wanted to see.” The cat announced, its voice bombastic, exaggerated. It stood up on its back legs, doing a little flourish and wave.

Zack screamed.

He reeled back and threw the ice cream tub overhead like a baseball.

The cat yelped dove for cover on top of the microwave. The tub was flung with enough force to smash clean through the window.

“No!” Zack yelled, not caring what his neighbours thought. “I’ve had enough shit today. You don’t get to do this!”

“W-whoa there! I’ll only take up a moment of ya time, promise.” The cat tried, poking its head out of its hiding place. “I’m one of Aerith and Cloud’s pals.”

At the mention of his friends’ names, Zack stopped his flailing. “Wait, wha’?” At this point, he might be going crazy.

“Haha, thought that might get ya.” The weird feline chuckled. “How ‘bout we sit down, friend. Somethin’ tells we’ve got some business to discuss.”

With a tension like he was being held at gunpoint, Zack sank back into his seat. With wide, horrified eyes he watched the feline hop down and move to the centre of the room. It smiled, regaining its confidence easily after Zack’s outburst and gave a cordial bow.

“Good to finally get to talk to ya, Zack. Been wantin’ to find an excuse to say hi, and now I’m here!” The cat did a short but theatrical twirl.

Zack just stared blankly. “Have I lost my mind?” He couldn’t remember being spiked by anything while in the research department… “Am I hallucinating? Did I die? Are you real? You’re not real, are you?”

“Ah, real is whatever we put our minds to, don’t you think? You can consider me a messenger, or I guess a conduit for someone else to speak through.” The cat explained. “Call me Cait Sith.”

“You’re like a video game avatar? But in real life?” Zack murmured, still questioning reality.

“Yeah yeah, exactly like that! Right on it!”

His bewildered expression didn’t change, nor did his quiet mutter. “That’s so cool.” …But then that would mean… “Who am I talking to?”

The cat gave a little grin. “Normally that’s not somethin’ I give out on the first date.” It laughed an irritating little chuckle. “Buuut, since ya haven’t had the bestest of days, I’ll give you a break. Iiiit’s Reeve!” Cait Sith dramatically announced.

There was a pause between them. A silence which got more awkward each second that passed. When the cat began to look less confident and Zack’s blank expression didn’t change, it continued. “Cloud mentioned me, right?”

“Reeve, from Development?” Because Cloud had in fact mentioned the executive’s involvement.

“Ta-daa!” It gave another flourish.

Zack only responded with a subtle frown. “No way… wait, you’re Cat Shit.” Cloud’s random utterings were beginning to fit into place.

“Uh, I’ve told him not to call me that. But, well, I’ll have ya know we travelled allll over the place, doin’ all kinds of wacky stuff.”

The cat didn’t appear to act a whole lot like Reeve, from his experience with the man. It suddenly occurred to Zack that he had not only smashed his window with a tub of ice cream, out of terror, but was sitting in a dark smelly apartment in only socks and boxers. This cat was not only one of Cloud’s greatest allies, but one of the most authoritative men in the company.

“Oh shit.” Zack whispered suddenly, the realisation crashing over him. “Oh sh-, I messed up today. I seriously messed up. I ruined everything we all worked for.”

“Hey now, don’t be like that.” Cait Sith- or Reeve, jumped up on the couch beside him, making Zack flinch away. The other didn’t seem to notice. “It’s a setback, sure, but nothin’ we can’t handle, wasn’t all your fault.”

“Hojo has Jenova’s remains. He’s got Aerith and Sephiroth. And, uh, your orange dog friend.” Zack urged, his tone pleading.

The cat grimaced, but went back to the supportive attitude a beat later. “They’re strong, ya know that. They’ll be fine, I promise. We’re pretty tough too, last I checked. We’ll find a way to get ‘um.”

Zack continued, “We left Cloud and the others passed out in the reactor.”

“And I’m sure they’re all fine.”

“Hojo shot one of them. He killed them.”

Cait Sith faltered at that. “Who?” They asked quietly.

“Uh, tall guy, dark hair. Used some weird modified firearms. Creepy eyes.” Okay maybe the last point was a bit insensitive, but Zack wasn’t exactly thinking straight.

The tension which had built eased when the cat let out a relieved breath. “Oho, ya had me for a second there. Don’t worry about him, he’ll be fine.” Cait Sith bounced back to their previous cheerfulness.

Yet again, the response left Zack in mild shock. “He got shot. In the head.” He needed Reeve to understand the gravity of this.

Again, the other didn’t appear bothered. “That’s Vincent, he can walk most things off if ya give him a couple days.”

“Wait, Vincent?” He knew that name. It’d been mentioned during-. “Sephiroth’s dad?”

“Ah, yes. That would seem to be the case...” The question knocked the cat mildly off balance again.

Well that put today’s events into a whole new horrible light. Zack stared hard at the floor. “He watched it happen, I’m sure he did.”

A paw came up and nudged Zack’s arm. “Maybe its best we start thinkin’ ahead. We gotta lot to start plannin’!”

And yeah… he couldn’t exactly argue with that.

…The grass was soft under his hands and a heavy mist tingled against his face.

“Don’t go blaming anyone, alright? Least of all yourself.” Aerith’s voice was like the wind, yet it was right beside him.

Cloud’s eyes flickered open. The foggy grove carried a cold chill which hit his lungs. Aerith sat next to him, her expression melancholy, despite her warm smile.

The words left Cloud’s lips the moment he they came to mind. “I don’t blame anyone.”

“Which means you’re blaming yourself. You always blame someone.”

“So what?” His eyes were fixed on a point in the thick grass, where a few tiny flowers lay. “We failed. Shinra have you. We fixed nothing.”

“Said who?” The encouragement could be heard in Aerith’s voice, but the tone struggled to reach Cloud. “Don’t be so hard on yourself. One step at a time, remember? We’re waiting, when you’re ready.”

Before he could think to reply, Aerith’s hand covered his own and his eyes fell closed once more…

Sensations returned back to him one by one. Warmth, softness, light gracing the outside of his eyelids. A gentle sound, a conversation between familiar voices which became clearer the closer he rose to the surface from sleep. The homely smell of something cooking a few rooms away.

Cloud opened his eyes to late afternoon sun making patterns on the walls. He recognised the furnishings of the house.

“Rise and shine, sleepy.” Spoke Tifa softly, running a tender hand through his messy hair when he began to stir.

He mumbled nonsense into the blankets, covering his face in them to hide from the light. They were in Cid and Shera’s house, in Rocket Town and his friends were here. Those two facts easily convinced Cloud it was safe to go back to sleep.

“Yo, he’s actually awake?” Asked Yuffie, who Tifa had been previously chatting with.

Before anyone could stop her, she had bound across the room and threw an arm around Cloud, even as he tried to hide under the covers. “Oh my gosh, I can’t believe you’re awake. I mean, I know I should, you’ve been right there just sleeping but that’s not the point. When I saw you jus’ lying there, you and everyone else, I straight up thought they’d killed you or something…” She rambled at light speed.

Cloud untucked one of his arms, grabbed her around the shoulders and pulled her down next to him, cutting off her blathering by mushing her face in the covers. “Five more minutes.”

Beside him, Tifa giggled, she already sounded better than the last he’d heard her. From the other room echoed the boisterous laughing of Cid and Barret, which in that moment sounded like it might be loud enough to shake the foundations of the house.

The door to the room creaked open. “Dinner’s ready. Who here would like some stew? O-oh, is Cloud awake?” A shy voice asked.

“No, he’s not.” Cloud grumbled in response.

“Yes, he is.” Tifa answered for him. “And we’d appreciate that, Shera.”

It did smell damn good, so, reluctantly, he released Yuffie and moved to sit up. If only to be a decent guest, and also make his friends happy. Cloud found his limbs were stiff, but nothing was painful. He could feel the tug of bandages somewhere across his shoulder and down his back, under a baggy shirt he didn’t recognise. His head didn’t agree with the change in positions, but unlike recently, he didn’t feel terribly dizzy or disordered.

Tifa had been sat up beside him- they’d commandeered Cid’s bed, it appeared. A book resting on her knees and drink beside her, she sat relaxing and looking much better than last. Her eyes were still rather puffy, her cheeks and nose red, but it was a massive improvement. Seeing the relief on her face, Cloud realised he hadn’t seen her truly smile in a while.

“You look better.” He said, watching Yuffie perch back on a nearby chair.

“Thanks. Hot lemon and honey with a nice warm bath work wonders. You’re looking more like yourself, too.” Tifa said, her relief clear.

On the chair beside Yuffie, sat Vincent. He wore a thick wad of bandage around his head and down covering one eye, while the other faintly glowed Chaos’s signature gold. Leaning off to one side, they looked strangely… off.

“Uh, yeah.” Cloud agreed. He frowned, trying to recall how they’d gotten from the mountain to-. “What happened in the reactor?” He questioned as the memory came returned one piece at a time. If he thought hard, he could recall Zack, and some of what had been said as they fought.

Yuffie was decidedly quiet.

Just when Cloud was beginning to get worried, Tifa spoke up. “It didn’t go so well. We lost. Yuffie pulled us out when the reactor started to burn. Cid had caught on that we were up there doing something, him Yuffie and Barret pretty much got all of us to safety.”

Something felt distinctly missing. “Where’s Seph?”

On her chair, Yuffie pulled her knees to her chest.

“They took him with them.” Tifa answered, softly, as to not provoke.

It didn’t quite work, and the worry rose quickly in Cloud. “What do you mean? That’s not possible.” Sephiroth wouldn’t abandon them this close to their goal.

Finally, Yuffie spoke up, though she couldn’t meet his eye. “Jenova did something, and him and Red both went down. Hojo and the others took them, I think they grabbed some of her remains, too.”

A host of questions begged to be asked in that moment. “Are they alive?”

“We got Red stable, I think he should have been alright. Sephiroth though, I was hoping you could tell me. He lost a lot of blood.” Yuffie glanced up, their eyes meeting for just a moment as she struggled to finish her sentence.

Almost frantically, Cloud searched out Sephiroth. It took a moment to find, but he managed to pick out the other end of their connection. It was faint, unsteady and very far away. He tried to reach out to it, but got no reaction. “He’s there.” The blond confirmed.

Yuffie nodded, looking more reassured than she might care to let on.

Cloud said nothing, leaning back and letting his head bump against the back board. It really had all gone to shit, hadn’t it?

“We nearly destroyed Jenova, there wasn’t much left. If it was anyone else other than her, they’d be long gone. The fire would have taken care of her if the Turks hadn’t arrived.” Yuffie continued. “I’m sorry. I messed up.”

“Don’t apologise.” Cloud returned. He hoped his words were sincere, but suspected they might not sound like it. “Hojo has Aerith, too.”

“That’s what Zack told you, right?” Tifa asked quietly, which Cloud replied with a nod.

From the other chair, Chaos grumbled. “I’m thinking of eating him this time.” They spoke with a notable slur, visible eye still glassy and unfocused.

Cloud leaned up again, regarding his friend. “Who? Hojo?”

“Don’t worry, I can save some bits for you.” Chaos continued, still staring dead ahead, almost entirely unmoving.

“It’s okay, you can have him. I think I’d prefer slum mystery meat.” Tifa said, trying to lighten the mood somewhat. “We heard from Reeve; he’s doing okay. He’s got Zack working with him now. He’s warned us about calling, the Turks are suspicious of both of them, but we’ve got our contact back, at least.”

The door was thrown open so suddenly it made Cloud startle. In came Cid, carrying a large tray of food. “Would ya look who’s awake.” He announced, handing out bowls of stew before going to Cloud and ruffling his hair with more force than was appreciated.

Cloud swatted the hand away and took the food with a grumble of thanks.

Cid was equipped with a stupid grin and cute apron. It read ‘Stay out of my kitchen’ and depicted a tonberry wielding a knife and frying pan. “A phone call would have been nice. A letter? Email? Fuckin’ carrier pigeon? Glad I got my own shit together and found Yuffie before you all died of exposure or some shit.”

While Cloud had excuses, he couldn’t be bothered with them. “It was dangerous.”

This clearly wasn’t a sufficient answer.

“Dangerous? And I’m not?!” Cid threw his arms up, nearly sending the last bowl of food into the air.

Tifa cleared her throat, holding a hand up to calm the room.

“Anyone going to tell me what happened to Vincent?” Cloud asked, waiting for his stew to cool.

Tifa answered in between bites of her food. “Hojo shot him in the head. Ooh, this is really good! The beef is amazing.”

She seemed way too casual for what had been said. “What? Seriously? Vince is still… in there though, right?” Cloud watched Cid walk around to their friend’s stool.

“Aye, he’s fine, always a tough cookie, that one. We’re stuck with this prickly bastard for now.” Cid grinned, throwing an arm around the other and shaking their shoulder.

For the first time, Chaos’s expression shifted to a snarl, but that was all. “I’ll tear out your still beating heart. You wouldn’t be the first, mortal.”

Cid laughed at what had sounded like a genuine threat, patting the cosmic entity on the back, earning him another hiss.

When it became apparent that basic motor functions were going to be an issue, Cid pulled up a chair beside their injured friend, a sappy smile on his face as he offered Chaos a spoonful of stew. “Say ‘ah’.” He ignored the string of what sounded like curses, spoken in some ancient language, and the absolutely livid glare Chaos was sending him.

Well, even though everything felt like it had fallen apart, some things never changed.

Chapter Text

It didn’t take long for Cloud to begin getting restless. In fact, it happened mere hours after waking. While he knew his friends needed longer to recover than he did, patience had never been his strong suit.

Even having Reeve as a reliable contact didn’t sate him, nor did it stop him from frequently trying to call Zack, who had for now, blocked him. It might have been selfish, but Cloud didn’t care that Zack was under investigation, he just wanted to speak to him.

By day two, he had begun scouting the town and local mountainside. Plotting frequency of Shinra troops in and out of Rocket Town. There was no shortage of vehicles, considering all the Nibelheim residents had been evacuated down here. Cloud made sure to stay well out of their way.

“Have you thought about seeing whether your mom is around?” Tifa asked one evening. She’d been keeping an eye on him.

Cloud shook his head. “Feels too weird.” It wasn’t like she’d sort out her family either.

“I get it. Maybe after we’re all done with Jenova and Shinra?” She suggested. “I know you’re feeling flighty, but don’t do anything rash, please?”

He’d not really responded to that, not making any promises he was bound to break.

After exchanging a few knowing glances with Vincent, Cloud knew he wasn’t the only one feeling caged.

Before first light of the third day, earlier than anyone else would consider waking, both snuck out and headed for the mountainside.

Though he was now bandage free and looking physically fine, the gunman still moved with a slight wobble. He wouldn’t be able to hit any challenging targets, but though he mourned his aim, it was still a fast recovery, considering he’d taken a bullet to the head.

It was actually quite freaky; for once Vincent and Chaos were indiscernible from each other. No one could exactly tell who was manifesting at any given time. Whether that was down to the head injury or the fact that their goals and frustrations aligned so fully, one could only guess, though it was likely down to both.

So, at two in the morning, they met outside and snuck past Slug, who was sleeping nearby. Without a vehicle, it was a long trek down the south-eastern road out of town, but nothing either would complain about. Warnings littered the roadways the closer they got to the Nibel region, cautioning travellers of the large and dangerous monsters. Understandably, they encountered no traffic as they cut through a long tunnel in the jagged hillside which led out onto the open plains.

From there, Cloud checked the time and nodded for them to find cover. The walk had taken nearly two hours, and had taken place without a word exchanged between them; the air filled instead with an agitation both sought to rid of.

As predicted, it wasn’t long before an armoured Shinra van emerged out of the night.

Cloud jumped out and stumbled into the road, flailing his arms about.

Thankfully, they slammed on the brakes the moment he was caught in the headlights. Stopping some metres away, the passenger door opened and a young man in standard trooper uniform hurried out.

“A-are you okay, sir?” Stammered out the trooper, shaken by the sudden occurrence. He was shorter than Cloud and was already so rattled that one had to assume him to be fairly new to military life. He kind of reminded Cloud of himself back then, heh.

The moment after the words were uttered, the massive form of a behemoth stormed over the edge of the road and rammed into the truck. His horns left huge dents in the metal as the vehicle flipped. Galian roared in excitement, salivating as he tore the doors right off and within seconds was ripping out whatever and whoever he could find, flinging them overhead to roll down the embankment. It would have been comedic, had it not been so brutal.

The kid in front of Cloud squeaked in horror and pulled out his rifle, fumbling with the strap of it. Yanking his arm back, Cloud snatched the weapon out of his hand and threw it down the roadside gully, then kicked the trooper’s leg out from under him.

The poor guy landed hard on the asphalt, his ill-fitting helmet rolling half off. Frozen in fright, he stayed put.

With Galian taking care of everything, Cloud found his job nice and easy. It took only moments, but soon the truck was half shredded with everyone inside floored and disarmed. Hopefully not dead but whatever, right? Cloud wasn’t one to judge. He whistled Galian back over, the giant monster bounding over at his call. Following a hand motion, he flipped the truck back onto its wheels, excitedly throwing himself at it, tongue lolling out in excitement.

Sauntering over and climbing into the driver’s seat, or what was left of it, Cloud examined the comms system. Galian gave a curious whine, watching the blond poke at the buttons.

“Yeah, of course I remember how to work this.” He muttered mostly to himself, periodically pushing the behemoth’s slobbering jaws out of the way. Yeah, he’d definitely eaten someone, he smelled terrible.

It’d been… a few years since he’d needed to use a radio like this and it was nothing like the one in Cid’s ship.

Relenting, he poked his head out of the door and waved the kid over, who was still whimpering and playing dead on the pavement. “Uh, little help?” The young trooper took a moment to figure out he was being spoken too, and only shrunk down even more.

Cloud rolled his eyes. “Go bring him over here.” He motioned to Galian. “Be gentle!”

Ecstatic to have been given a new task, Galian bound over like a squeaky toy had been thrown for him. Cloud winced at the screaming which followed but was relieved when the trooper was dropped onto the seat next to him, arriving in one piece. His uniform looked a bit slimy in parts and he’d lost his helmet but that was the least of anyone’s worries when playing fetch with a behemoth.

“Good boy. Now, go play for a bit.” Cloud waved the navy-furred monster away, who ran off, leaving the two together in the front of the truck. “You know how to work this thing?” He asked, totally calm while the guy beside him was borderline hysterical.

The short trooper was clawing at the knees of his uniform, mousy hair all over the place and muddy brown eyes blown wide as he struggled to breath normally. Cloud quickly realised he was in too much of a state to give step by step instructions.

“Hey, you can calm down now, okay? What’s your name? Sorry about intruding, the quicker we do this the quicker we can all leave.”

After some sniffling, he stuttered out. “M-m-Mikey.”

“Nice to meet you Mikey, I’m Cloud. We’re just dropping by. Can you help me call Heidegger?”

“Heidegger?!” He squeaked, clearly hating the idea of calling the head of department as much as any sensible person would. “Wha-, wa-?”

“Look, I’ll handle the talking, just help me work this thing.”

Mikey watched Galian running about outside, closely keeping track of his movements as the behemoth played about with the various bits now littering the road, wagging his tail happily. Likely realising it would indeed be faster if he co-operated, he grabbed up the mic and tapped in a series of numbers. Shaking like a leaf, he fumbled the keys several times until they finally got a tone through the speaker.

“Squad 288, we read you. What’s your situation?”

“I- um… we-.”

Gently, Cloud took the mic from the trooper’s hand. “Squad 288 is currently being held hostage by enemies of Shinra, I want someone who can patch me through to Heidegger right now before I lose my patience.” That was what hostage takers said, right?

There was a long pause from the other side. “Uhh… sorry, can you repeat?” Asked a tired voice.

Cloud rolled his eyes. “Squad 288 is being held hostage. I want to speak with your head of department.”

Mikey scooted closer, suddenly gasping and Cloud looked over to see Galian’s head in the truck, apparently wanting to be part of the action. “Just ignore him. He’s just a big idiot.” Cloud muttered.

The other side of the line spoke up again. “Is this a prank? You know control won’t be happy if they know you’ve been using the emergency line for this.”

“No, it’s not a prank, what the hell? Is that seriously how you’re going to respond to an emergency call?!” Cloud berated, any adrenaline he’d been feeling when they’d attacked the truck was already dying off.

“You’re right, sorry. What did you say?”

For fuck sake. “We just got done killing Squad 288, aside from Mikey. I want to speak to Heidegger.” Cloud said slowly and clearly, so the imbecile couldn’t possibly mess up.

There was another long pause.

“Hang on, I gotta talk to my supervisor.”

They waited in an awkward silence, until Galian got bored and went back to look around outside. He found Mikey’s helmet and began to frolic around it, picking it up and tossing it about. The trooper seemed a little calmer without the massive beast leaning its head on his knees.

When a crunch sounded, Cloud leaned out of the door again. “Spit it out! No, spit it! It’s not just you who’s got to eat that.”

Caught red handed, Galian opened his mouth, bits of plastic from the destroyed helmet falling out of his mouth.

Sitting back down to wait, Cloud sighed deeply. “They really don’t care about you guys, do they-.”

He was interrupted as another voice came through the radio, this one with a slight accent. “Squad 288, come in. What’s this about a hostage situation?”

“We’re taking your squad hostage. I want to speak with your head of department, now.” Cloud replied, his tolerance for stupid people beginning to fray.

“What’s your name?”

“Cloud Strife.”

Another pause.
“You aren’t listed as part of 288.”

“I know! I’m one of the hostage takers! Listen to me closely, I want to talk to someone with some damn sense or little Mikey is being fed to the behemoth!” He leaned over to the trooper and whispered. “I don’t mean that, just roll with it.”

The trooper said nothing, only gave a tiny nod as he struggled to not hyperventilate.

Another new voice came on next. “288, we’re getting situation reports from your location. Please state the nature of your emergency.”

“I want to speak to Heidegger.” Cloud spoke slowly. “Or your squad dies.”

“I can’t get you Heidegger.” They said with mild annoyance. “This is Sergeant Peters, Junon command centre.”

Galian’s head appeared at Clouds side, snuffling about. His long horns caught on the side of the van, scraping noisily along the paintwork. The blond ruffled his long mane of fur like he would a dog. “No offence, but I really don’t care who you are, just get me-.”

“Okay, rude. You can’t talk to Heidegger, he’s not going to be around. It’s three o’clock in the morning.” They said, like Cloud was the true idiot here… which he might have been.

That was true, and thinking about it, Cloud realised he’d been a bit stupid. “Right… what about Soldier? Lieutenant Fair?”

“I don’t have any contacts in Soldier.”

“… Could you take a message for someone in charge then?” Cloud facepalmed.

“We could possibly do that for you. What’s your message?”

This really wasn’t as cool and dramatic as he’d been imagining. “Okay, tell them we’re Avalanche, anti-Shinra terrorists. You have one of our group, Sephiroth; you might’ve heard of him. We want him back and if we hear nothing, we’ll start levelling Shinra’s weapons, reactors, structures for every week we don’t have him.” He decided not to name Aerith or Nanaki, in case it dragged Zack any further into the mix.

Mikey was looking at him like Cloud was even crazier than anticipated.

“Uh, message received, I guess. I’ll pass it on during handover.” They sounded somewhat bemused, but that was probably understandable.

“Make sure Heidegger gets it!” Cloud insisted.

“Okay, well. Is that all?”

“I guess?” Cloud sighed as the line went immediately dead. He pressed his palms into his face. “Hey, Galian.” The behemoth’s head shot up, horns clanging on the roof and jostling the truck, which made Mikey squeak. “I need Vincent back. Don’t whine, we can play later if they’ll let you. I need him to see if you killed those guys and tell me if we were dumbasses for doing this.”

The huge beast growled in protest but padded away back behind the truck.

They sat there for a few quiet minutes before Mikey eventually spoke up. “Are you going to kill me?”

“Nah.” Cloud shook his head dismissively. “Not sure your buddies are in one piece though. Sorry about that.” He tried starting the engine but found it busted.

“They were assholes anyway…” The kid mumbled.

Damn, he really did remind Cloud of his younger self.

“Cool. We’re heading back to Rocket Town. You wanna come? Bodies might attract monsters; you probably shouldn’t stay here.”

“Okay.” Mikey nodded, psyching himself up for the long walk. “They have a temporary barracks set up there.”

“We aren’t killing him?” Vincent or Chaos or whoever reappeared, making the kid startle all over again.

“Unnecessary.” Cloud jumped out, beginning back down the road towards the tunnel once more. The sky was lighter now, as dawn approached. Behind them, Mikey scurried to catch up. “Is it me, or was that a colossal waste of time?”

Chaos grinned sharply, “I enjoyed it. Tifa told me nothing’s a waste of time if you enjoy it.”

“I think she might have been talking about knitting or watching movies.” Cloud grumbled, his mood somehow worse than it was before.

It was a long walk back. While Cloud was tired, Chaos seemed to have adopted some of Galian’s excitable energy and between bouts of throwing up whatever the behemoth had eaten, had decided to annoy the other two, using a variety of methods. They’d taken to trying to provoke Cloud in whatever way possible, and were being promptly ignored.

“Do you really know Sephiroth?” Mikey asked after nearly an hour of observing the banter between the other two. He was looking mildly better, at least like he wasn’t about to have a heart attack now it had become evident that he was reasonable ‘safe’ with present company.

“Oh yeah… you could say we’re acquainted.” Replied Cloud.

“Wow…”

Cloud huffed a humourless laugh at the slight sparkle in the guy’s eyes. “Word of advice, don’t meet your heroes.”

“Um, can I ask, you guys are terrorists? Why is Sephiroth involved with a terrorist group?”

“Because he’s sick of Shinra, like we all are. We’re Avalanche, whatever that even is these days. Yeah, I guess we’re terrorists. We are now. Honestly, we just want our teammates back.”

Chaos chuckled darkly. “We’re also going to eat Hojo. Teach him to take what isn’t his.” He reached out and snatched the Fusion sword from the blonde’s back, again.

Cloud ignored him.

“The others aren’t going to be pleased when they hear about this.” Chaos continued, his tone quickly switching to chipper. “Barret’s going to sit us all down and give us the ‘family talk’ again.” They pressed one of partitions in the giant blade, making one of the smaller pieces spring out and clatter against the pavement.

Cloud stopped to pick it up and snatch the rest from Chaos. “He might. Even if we sneak back, it won’t matter either way. We did promise to attack somewhere. We’ll have to break that to them slowly. Mikey? Any suggestions?”

“I p-probably shouldn’t.”

“Yeah, but if you could?” Cloud encouraged.

The kid gave a strange expression, as if in pain. “Have you seen the huge weapon they’ve been constructing in Junon? I’ve heard it’s finally finished. They’re going to test it on Wutai. I don’t want the war to restart… I lost my big brother in the last wave.”

Cloud nodded solemnly, not really knowing how to respond. “That sounds like a good enough reason.”

“Might be fun.” Chaos chimed in. “I like the idea.”

The sun was peeking over the horizon by the time they arrived, the looming tower rocket a good place marker for any map. At a crossroads in town, Mikey reassured them he knew the way to the barracks while Cloud apologised again for ruining his night and promised some good would come out of it if they could take out the new cannon in Junon.

They even managed to get something which might have been a smile out of him when Chaos and Cloud stopped halfway through their goodbye to bicker between themselves about absolutely nothing important.

After that, they went their separate ways.

Stepping back into Cid and Shera’s front yard, the pair came face to face with Slug. She narrowed her eyes, clawing at the ground in anticipation. If a bird could smile menacingly, she was doing it now.

“Don’t.” Cloud threatened.

She ignored him and began screeching, loud enough to wake the entire town.

Sure enough, the door was thrown open with a thud. Revealing Yuffie and Barret, the first to rush out. Initially, they regarded the two outside with surprise, though this quickly turned to suspicion.

“Right, so, we can explain.” Cloud began.

Tifa gasped, next to the door. “Why do you have blood on you?!” She gasped, eyeing Chaos who smiled back sweetly, a look which didn’t suit him.

“Do I? I thought we were getting better at not biting so hard.” They were certainly in a better mood than the past few days.

"You couldn’t have made that sound any less weird?” Cloud sighed, “Lets go in. I think we have something we need to discuss.”

Awareness was an inconsistent, fleeting thing.
A flicker of clarity. The brief peak of an ocean wave. At some point cold and distant and others uncomfortably clammy.

Jenova. She was closer than ever; a grinning viper, a prowling darkness. Her sickness crawled about the blackness, curling upon the surface of his flesh and through his bones. Amidst the confusion and unconscious drifting, Sephiroth knew they had failed their mission.

The scant times he was able to surface from the artificial sleep and open his eyes, it was to a familiar setting. White walls, immovable bindings, florescent lamps, cool metal, rubber gloves and tingling suspension fluid which finally embraced him.

It was a battle to cling to lucidity long enough to determine his current state. The small glimpses Sephiroth managed were immeasurably troubling. Though he struggled against sleep, it would inevitably pull him down once more. The mako suspension didn’t help, the weightlessness only serving to detach him even further from reality. Something felt awfully wrong- he was numb and lacked any feeling at all in his lower limbs.

Shapeless, Jenova writhed around him. The feeling was vaguely reminiscent of the years he’d spent crystallised, at least from the glimpses he could recall. Unlike then, she regarded him now with wrathful betrayal, rather than love. It felt a whole lot like drowning.

Now, (whenever ‘now’ was.) the alien was coiling in fury, enough that she strangled the warmth from the dream abyss. It left behind a tingling which gave way to panic, which had Sephiroth fighting to escape.

There was talking outside his containment, muffled and low. Grasping onto the noise and fuelled with desperation, Sephiroth struggled towards it. Grasping onto the dregs of awareness, he pulled himself up until light blurred around him.

Sleepily, Sephiroth blinked away the mako which had settled around his eyes. The distant and detached feeling lessened by the second as he found movement to follow. Stained green from the mako and warped by the curve of thick glass, there were a set of figures. They stood gathered in front of his tank.

Fighting to wake himself further, Sephiroth tried to move, succeeding only barely by a slight twitch to his fingers. The muscles in his left hand were stiff and the limb prickled in opposition to the movement. He couldn’t feel his right hand at all, nor the rest of him really. Everything felt so absent, and though he tried to look down to check his condition, he was unable to move anything beside a finger or two, and sluggishly, his eyes.

Still on the edge of comprehending why he felt so unusual, Sephiroth focused on the voices from the blurred figures. Hojo was speaking, though his words remained distorted. The white of his coat could be seen moving in gestures as he showed a group around.

One of them approached, until a hand was pressed to the glass and the details of a face could be discerned. Heidegger. His words were too muffled for any sense to come from them, but it was clear whatever had been said was condescending. Another stepped up beside him- the President himself. Despite his usual cold indifference, the man looked oddly disturbed as he eyed Sephiroth’s form.

A roar erupted from elsewhere in the room, followed by the sound of something large clattering against metal. Following everyone’s attention, Sephiroth’s eyes landed on a large opaque cell across the room.

Hojo launched into an explanation regarding the unfortunate thing inside, and ushered the group over to peer through the small viewing hatch. Palmer gave a pathetically frightful yelp, as the thing began to thrash once more.

Eyes flicking away from the distraction, Sephiroth noticed someone else had moved into Heidegger’s space in front of his own tank. Reeve. He was looking about, closely eyeing the control panel for the containment as well as up and around the walls. He was taking note of the workings of the room, exits, cameras, vents.

Oh right, Reeve was their ally, wasn’t he? There was a jittery undercurrent to the man’s features, which gave away that his calm exterior may have been a rouse.

Sephiroth blinked slowly, trying to stay awake.

The others were still distracted with the rest of the room, and Scarlet looked to be regaling them all with some tall tale. Reeve waved and drew Sephiroth’s wondering attention back to him, the man held his gaze carefully. He was moving his hands, the first two finger of his left, tapping against the back of his right in a contemplative gesture.
… Except it wasn’t an unconscious movement at all.

It took Sephiroth longer than he might later admit, to realise the purpose of the movement. After it repeated several times, he finally caught on that it was morse code.

‘Are you awake?’ Reeve tapped the question on his hand.

Desperately hoping to give him a sign of his own, Sephiroth blinked slowly and forced his fingers to flex again.

Reeve nodded, a subtle movement but one of relief. ‘Hang in there. We’re working on getting you out.’ He waited for Sephiroth to give another twitch of acknowledgement before backing away. Reeve re-joined the group before they could notice his absence.

The statement didn’t bring with it much reassurance. He wanted out, now. Waiting simply wasn’t an option, he needed to know why he felt so strangely. Flexing his hand again, he was able to move one more finger this time, and managed to gain movement for the others up to the knuckles.

They were speaking from somewhere behind him now. Scarlet and Heidegger were laughing, halting the scientist’s ongoing explanation. Hojo was trying to talk over them with little success.

In a moment of strange clarity, Sephiroth realised how much he utterly despised each and every one of them; with the exception of Reeve, who had always been pleasantly mild and unassuming. Otherwise, his whole life he’d served under them, was owned by them. Bending to their will and expected to never question that position.

None did he hate more than Hojo.

Now regaining wakefulness more successfully than prior attempts, a memory came back,- one from the reactor, of a gunshot and Vincent hitting the floor.

Sephiroth flexed his hand again, this time drawing a small amount of movement back into the wrist this time. Spurred on by a desire to rip them apart, he called on his summon and felt the familiar grip of Masamune settle into his palm. Already he could picture how Hojo’s blood would glisten. Could feel the movement as the air would be slashed through in an arc of silver.

Wanting so badly to make it a reality, Sephiroth fought back against the stiffness in his muscles.

Yet, his arm wouldn’t move, no feeling coming at all. It left the edge of his blade to uselessly poke at the glass walls, feeling unbearably heavy, even submerged. Useless.

Which materia did he have equipped in his blade? Gravity? No, Yuffie had taken that. He had a low-level fire and something curative. There was also the one Aerith had gifted him. He hopelessly tried to draw from either of the weaker spells, earning no results.

An alert beeped loudly from the other side of his cell. Sephiroth knew it well, the machinery having detected his increased heartrate. The others hurried over, erupting into chatter both excitable and horrified.

He felt like a fool. There was no way be able to regain his faculties and escape before Hojo could intervene, the man was already tapping away at the console screen. Defensively, regardless of all his hate, Sephiroth banished his sword out of sight.

The water bubbled as a new dose of sedatives were added to the fluid. He’d get his revenge, eventually, just not today…

The drowsiness was immediate but Sephiroth continued to glare down at Hojo’s pleased expression until it blurred back into nothing. Out of reality, he drifted back under once again…

Chapter Text

Zack’s week was going from one extreme to the next. The good part was the assurance that Cloud and his team were safe and well. Reeve was organising the group’s safe passage into Midgar and Zack could hardly wait to see his friend again.

There was a nervousness which came with the upcoming meeting too, and Zack had no idea if they would actually want to see him, after their battle in the reactor. He could possibly win Cloud over, but the others were a mystery.

Interacting with Reeve’s cat was, in no uncertain terms, fuckin’ weird. He didn’t know Tuesti particularly well, or at all, but the man had always seemed quiet and subdued. Cait Sith was not. Zack had no idea how much of the cat’s bombastic attributes were AI based and how much was the man piloting the little thing.

Zack wouldn’t judge. He kinda got it, some people preferred a character of sorts to act through, which made sense. Without wanting to speculate too heavily, Reeve was a busy guy with a reputation to uphold. The persona of Cait Sith would undoubtably provide some escapism, or something. A way for him to work beyond the bounds of his position. A little weirdness was fine by Zack. After all, the guidance was appreciated.

The day after getting back, there had followed a very uncomfortable debrief with Heidegger. The meeting had been sat in on by Tseng, who had stood in the corner and simply watched on in perfect silence while Heidegger had verbally ripped into the Soldier.

It was awful to do, but as previously directed, he cast the blame of the whole situation onto Sephiroth’s brewing madness. Heidegger didn’t question this and appeared just as eager to insult him, remarking that he’d “known that man wasn’t right for years.” Zack had miserably played along, knowing Tseng could see easily through his deception, even if he didn’t call him out for it.

All in all, Heidegger was eager to simply sweep the whole thing under the rug, take full control of Soldier and forget the incident ever happened. As much as possible, anyway. The press had been poking around the Nibelheim situation, and questions as to why Soldier had not been involved were being asked. A newspaper had printed a photo of a casually dressed Sephiroth in Corel with a small group of civilians, which Shinra had yet to comment on, as well as a fire which had irreparably destroyed a mountainside reactor.

Needless to say, Zack had given his report, listened to Heidegger rant and then hastily scurried out, incurring only a few threats to his position.

Since then, he’d been back to the labs to ask about his friends held there, only to be refused entry. In fact, he’d tried several times, so there was no way he’d be getting back in there now.

Soldier was… a mess? More of a mess than usual? Just the usual? Zack couldn’t tell, not with him being so preoccupied.

Everyone wanted to know what had happened. Rumours had arisen in the wake of their disappearance and Sephiroth’s apparent desertion. Zack had no idea what to tell them, so he smiled and deflected everything asked of him.

He was supposed to be rallying everyone, and that had sounded easy a few weeks ago. Now, with everything weighing so heavily and all eyes on him, Zack was stuck.

As ever, Kunsel was patient while Zack vented his ears off long into the night before calmly giving his thoughts and suggestions. He agreed to assist with the endeavour, and would begin talking to the Second and Third Class men.

For now, that was really all Zack could ask for. It made him feel a bit lighter, after everything which had happened. It allowed him the headspace to indulge a few of his Third Class friends, and grabbed an early lunch with them.

One of the guys was telling a story, in which he had ‘no-clipped out of bounds’ in the VR room. Vehemently, he was arguing, insisting that it had happened, and how it had been quite terrifying, until he’d managed to discontinue the program. The others found his story unlikely at best.
Naturally, like all good campfire tales, there had been no one else around to verify the occurrence.

Zack was laughing with the others, when his PHS had gone off. Idly, he slipped it from his pocket, glanced at the message… and froze dead in his chair.

The others eventually took note of the likely horror in his eyes.

“Bro? That pasta sauce is goin’ all over you, yeah?” One of them said from across the table. “Has Heidegger finally learnt your name?”

“Worse.” Zack choked out, re-reading the message another ten times to check he wasn’t going mad. “Rufus. Rufus wants to see me.”

“What?!” Came the trembling voice of the guy who’d been telling them his VR glitch story. “When?”

“Now.”

“Shit! Then get out of here, man!” The other said, nudging Zack to get him to act. “It was nice knowing you, dude.”

He didn’t stick around and darted from his chair. Damn, he really had just dropped tomato sauce all over his uniform. Bravely, Zack resisted the urge to scream, cry or throw himself out the nearest window and instead rushed to wash his lunch off him before running to the elevator.

Why Rufus!? The Vice President rarely interacted with anyone besides the Turks. There were enough whispers of people going missing, with their last known location being his office.

Was he about to die? Was he going to lose his job? Should he sprint up to Reeve’s office and beg for help?

There wasn’t time to worry when the man was apparently awaiting his immediate arrival. So, Zack rushed towards the top floors of the tower.

It took him a while to find, but eventually, he located Rufus’s office the level below the President’s suite. The room was incredibly grand, with a large expanse of immaculately polished stone floor. An observation Zack wasn’t surprised to make, but it made the place all the more intimidating.

Tseng met him at the doorway and gestured without word for Zack to enter. Awkwardly, he smiled back as they passed, not quite knowing if or how he should greet the Turk, who did not follow him inside.

Feeling like a spotlight was on him, the Soldier shuffled across the gleaming floor, walking the huge expanse to the desk at the end. At the left of the room sat a group of black leather sofas; on one of them, Zack noticed Reno fast asleep, something which looked way too casual for such an oppressive space. He softened his footsteps, any noise at all seeming excessively loud in the grand room.

Waiting for him at the desk at the other end was Rufus Shinra himself. Backed up by a gigantic window, showing a sprawling view over Midgar. The white-suited man barely gave even a look up at who was approaching.

Zack swallowed hard, the walk feeling longer and the room more imposing than it ought to be. Rufus cut a strangely intimidating figure, as he eyed his guest. While there was nothing outwardly worrisome about this man at a glance, he still carried a weighty presence in the room. Daunting, in a way which made the giant monsters he fought on the daily feel unthreatening, in comparison.

Speaking of monsters, a massive guard hound rested by the deskside. It rose its head in a slow, calculating movement, the chains of its collar clinking against the stone. With small yellow eyes, it observed Zack closely.

“Soldier First Class Fair.” Rufus said as Zack neared. A slight smirk to his tone. “Or it’s Lieutenant Fair now, isn’t it? Congrats.”

“Thank you, Sir.” Zack saluted, hoping he didn’t sound too awkward.

“I appreciate your swiftness in getting here. I do hope I’m not disrupting your workflow too badly.”

“O-of course not, Sir. No trouble at all.” Zack stammered, which he covered not too subtly with a grin. He dropped it a moment later, realising he probably looked like an idiot.

Rufus finished signing whatever document sat on his desk and pushed it aside. “I won’t waste your valuable time with small talk. There’s something I wish to discuss with you. A matter which will require your utmost discretion.” The Vice President fixed him with an uncomfortably exposing stare.

Despairingly, Zack hoped he didn’t look as intimidated as he felt. “Yeah, sure thing-, ur, I mean, of course, Sir.”

“Excellent.” Ignoring the other’s idiocy, Rufus stood from his (rather extravagant) office chair. His smile widened in a way less of warmth and more cunning. Almost like he’d somehow smelt Zack’s fear. “Let’s sit then, shall we?”

Knowing that hadn’t truly been a question, he diligently followed. Zack paid special attention to how the hound’s eyes tracked his movement across to a pair of dark leather armchairs. They sat overlooking the dizzying view high above Midgar. Between them sat a table, which held a chess set. Finding yet another opportunity to feel out of place, Zack removed the Buster Sword from its place to lean against the window. Hopefully, it wouldn’t scratch the floor. Behind them, the dog growled and Reno continued to sleep soundly.

Rufus waved a hand to shush his pet and motioned Zack into one of the seats before moving to a cabinet to pour them both a drink. Whiskey.

Urgh, great. One of Zack’s least favourites.

He waited for his host to speak first, not knowing where to look or what to do with his hands. Usually, being such a social butterfly, these anxieties weren’t enough to reach him. However, he’d heard things about this man, and had no prior experience with him. Anyone in his position knew to be wary.

Rufus placed the drinks down on the table. “As said, I shall spare you the niceties and get right to my point. Over the last month or so, in conjunction with recent and ongoing events, I have been experiencing a peculiar sense of déjà vu. A resurgence of memories, experiences and a future I have apparently lived through.” He sat down in the chair opposite. “I have a feeling that might be something you can relate to?”

The lack of subtlety in the Soldier’s expression must have given him away. There was no point in trying to deceive the other, instead, Zack replied with a single nod. No way he’d ever have imagined this to be the topic of conversation.

“Good. In that case, I believe we’re two of only a small handful.” His gaze flicked down to the board. “Your move first.”

Zack regarded the ornate chess set with apprehension. He wanted to play a board game about as much as he wanted to partake in the drink he’d been given. If only to show willing, he did both. First moving one of the centre pawns two squares forward and swept up his drink, doing well not to wince at the vile amber liquid.

Following his movement, Rufus pushed one of his own pawns two spaces. “How long have you known?”

“Things have come back slowly over the past few months, I guess. The more I interacted with the people around me, the more I’ve remembered.” Zack confessed, seeing no reason to lie, since Rufus could not only relate to the odd memories, but also correctly predicted Zack’s own experience with them.

Apparently getting a response he liked, Rufus nodded with interest. “What happens in your supposed future?”

Gosh, that was a bit personal. Still, he answered. “I spend five years, give-or-take, as Hojo’s lab rat. Then die escaping.” Zack simplified, trying not to feel uncomfortable. He reached down, moving another chess piece.

“Which would explain why I don’t recall your involvement.” The other replied, seemingly without any regard for what the Soldier had just said. “Then I ask what Jenova means to you?”

What exactly was he supposed to say here? He could feign indifference? Though that might be the safest option, Zack was unconvinced of his ability to lie, especially to a Turk. Best to be honest. “A blight. Something better left alone.”

Rufus hummed, turning his attention once more to the game board. They exchanged a few turns, opening up the second line of pieces. It kept Zack purposely on edge, unsure whether he had answered favourably.
“I thought you might say something like that.” He said eventually, picking a rook to knock down one of Zack’s unsuspecting bishops- the first major casualty on his side.

In return, he frowned, both in annoyance and confusion. Damn, he wasn’t a fan of chess at the best of times, especially not while having to puzzle over the Vice President’s words and their loose meanings. He knew the rules and what all the pieces did, sure, but it had always been a game he lacked the patience for.

A lot of his time with Genesis involved this game, which likely contributed to Zack’s dislike for it. The commander had tried desperately, in an attempt to improve the Soldier’s planning and strategy, but had ended up calling him ‘hopeless’ and ‘unappreciative of the arts’. As it happened, Zack was perfectly fine with learning field strategies without first mastering a pretentious boardgame.

Finally, Rufus continued, “Sephiroth thought it was worth trying to destroy the asset. Do you know why I find that so interesting?”

There were flashes he could recall of that erased time, regarding Sephiroth’s prior discovery of Jenova. Rather than explaining, Zack shook his head. “Um… I’m not sure, Sir.”

“Because from what I remember, Sephiroth wouldn’t be of the persuasion to side against her.”

Zack sat there looking dumb, until he realised this might be an exchange of information. “He’s the reason I ended up with Hojo, in that other time.” He offered in short.

“The reason you died.” Rufus corrected.

Zack moved to argue back, but remembered the company he was presently keeping. “By proxy, I guess. He’s a good man. I wouldn’t hold it against him.” Again, the truth. Sephiroth’s mental state during their very first encounter with Jenova had been all over the place. Regardless of how things progressed, Zack would always see him as a friend who just never got the help they needed before reaching a breaking point.

“Interesting. So, we can assume that he too remembers and that Jenova has the ability to hold persuasion over him.”

Though he wasn’t sure that was the actual way of things, it was good enough for now. It wasn’t like Zack was about to start correcting this guy, thus revealing everything he’d gleaned on the situation from his allies.

Rufus lifted his glass, eyeing Zack in that sly predatory sort of way once more. “If he’s such a dear friend, I’m surprised you handed him over to Hojo as readily as you did.” He spoke casually.

Those words stung. “I was following orders. I did what was asked of me.” Even if it killed him to do.

Another piece was moved to capture one of Zack’s. The words were received with amusement. “What a good little Soldier you are.” Rufus chuckled.

Zack bit the inside of his cheek and moved his remaining bishop to take one of his opponent’s knights.

Rufus went on, “Thing is, I think you’re a lot smarter that you appear.” He stopped to contemplate his words. “Perhaps not always smart, but certainly aware.” He continued once more, ignoring the annoyed look from his guest. “The Ancient.”

“I just want her to be safe.” Zack answered quickly, hiding nothing.

“You say that, but you removed her from Midgar without our permission.”

“She deserves a chance to see the world. She shouldn’t be restricted to the city.”

Rufus chuckled. “How righteous of you.” He made a gesture for Zack to continue giving his opinion.

Given the chance, he took it. “The tighter you make her leash, the less willing she’ll be to help you. Has it occurred to anyone that she’s better free? Aerith’s strong, she’ll find the Promised Land on her own.”

He received another laugh, less contained this time. “The Promised Land doesn’t exist.”

Slowly, Zack frowned, feeling like he’d missed something important. “Then… why bother jailing her?”

“That’s hardly my decision to make. Hojo and my father have decided she’s useful.”

Zack sneered, letting his emotions slide. “If she needs protecting from anyone, its them.”

Rufus nodded. “I agree. Unfortunately, the most I can have the Turks do is keep an eye on her safety. Which given this recent turn of events, even they cannot do.”

He hadn’t expected the other to be on his side over this.

“Yes, that’s right. We need to prioritise her safety. Though before we discuss that further, there’s another thing I’d like your input on.”

Zack watched intently as Rufus retrieved his phone from a pocket of the elaborate suit jacket he wore. He tapped at it until a sound clip began to play, it was muffled, recorded over a radio call.

'You have one of our group, Sephiroth; you might’ve heard of him. We want him back and if we hear nothing, we’ll start levelling Shinra’s weapons, reactors, structures for every week we don’t have him.’ Came an agitated voice, crackly but recognisable.

“You’re familiar with this man?”

Probably going pale, Zack shook his head.

“Yes, you are. You left Midgar with him. You travelled the continent, until you parted in Junon and met once again to duel in the Nibelheim reactor.” He pushed another piece into place. “I know Cloud, and his terrorist friends. I’m also aware of Tuesti’s true intentions and strongly suspect your involvement with him.”

Damn it, Cloud.

“To move onto the reason I called you here, I have a proposition.” Rufus stated, pushing one of his rooks into a seemingly odd position.

Zack tensed but responded with his own move, taking the rook with his queen. He waited, intently listening.

The other looked amused at the play, but didn’t comment on it. “I understand the level of threat Jenova poses. Sephiroth or not, history is liable to repeat itself until she is destroyed. Like we said, all eyes are on her and Aerith, as Shinra’s most valuable assets at present. On my own, I can do very little to change things if the rest of management are siding against me.”

“Go on.” Frowning, Zack wondered how exactly him and Rufus, of all people, were beginning to look allied on their concerns.

“I’d like to arrange for Soldier to be directly under your command. A small token of what I hope to be a lasting friendship.” He placed his next piece, watching as Zack immediately took it again with his queen. “In return, you’ll help me eliminate both Jenova and my father.”

Zack shifted in his chair at that, his surprise and discomfort blatant. “There’s a few words for that, what you’re asking me to do.” He responded slowly.

Rufus shrugged, airing a great lack of concern. “Call it what you want. Deal with it however you please. Aerith won’t be safe until the current chain of command is reworked.”

Rufus had never seemed the caring type, and the excuse to rid of the President was awfully convenient. It was clear what he wanted out of this, and it sounded dodgy as hell. Still, Zack couldn’t disagree with his thinking.

Smiling, Rufus returned to the game board. “I would suggest removing Heidegger, also. This time, I’m willing to compromise with Cloud and Reeve. Jenova or not, there are still threats at play.”

“I don’t want Soldier.” Argued Zack, hating that this came down to him. Agreeing was the most logical, but doing so felt dirty. Undoubtably, he was signing himself away for something much more sinister. He didn’t want to contemplate of what Angeal would have thought of all this. He could imagine his mentor’s disappointment that Zack was even considering this. “I just want them safe, Aerith and Sephiroth.”

“And I’m giving you the perfect opportunity to enact that. The Turks are on your tail. I’ll call them off their investigation, but be aware that as of now, they fall under my father’s authority, as much as my own. Let Cloud’s team engage the tower however they wish, I’ll hinder the opposition as much as I am able to. Prepare for that on your end however you like. All I want is the Ancient out of my father’s grasp and Jenova gone. I’ll relinquish Aerith over to yourself, if that’s what you like? I have no desire to keep her bound to us.”

Despite hating the choice of words, Zack understood a generous offer when presented one. He also had the vague idea he couldn’t say no to this. “Sephiroth?”

“I’d prefer him dead and gone, but that’s your call. If you choose to keep him alive, he’s your responsibility, I want nothing to do with it. If you can’t stomach the idea of getting rid of my father, I’m sure he’ll happily oblige. I don’t care how, so long as it’s done.” He picked one of his knights to take Zack’s queen. “Check mate.”

Searching the board sceptically, Zack found that his complacency had indeed led to his loss. He plucked up the fallen queen and ran the ornate crystal piece between his fingers.

“You look conflicted.” Rufus observed.

Zack gave a nod. “I am.” It was the kind of sabotage against their rulers he’d sworn against, upon joining Soldier.

“The way I see things, it sounds like you’ve been Jenova’s unwitting pawn this whole time. Gaining your group’s trust before ruining their plans and handing them off to their enemies. If you’d played better, then perhaps this whole thing could have been avoided. From my perspective, you don’t appear to in a position to be picky.” Rufus smirked, resting an elbow casually on his knee.

That hurt. Zack snatched up his drink and downed the remainder of the liquid, the glass cold in his hand. “Alright, yeah. Works for me. Deal like that doesn’t come by often, right?”

Rufus gave a slow smile, sitting triumphantly back in his chair. “No, it doesn’t.”

“Guess that makes us a team.” Zack conceded, not liking this one bit.

When Sephiroth next regained something akin to awareness, it was within the dark abyss of sleep,- Jenova’s domain. Cold but clammy, writhing and otherworldly, it was as he came to expect, with the exception of one detail. He wasn’t alone.

A soft glow followed him. Tiny, but a powerful verdant green. With it near, Jenova backed off, furiously squirming out of Holy’s light.

Stuck in his dream-like state, Sephiroth stepped out of the alien grasp and into the dark and murky nothing. She didn’t chase him down, which he somehow wasn’t too surprised about. The light from Holy lit a path, and with nothing else to do, Sephiroth followed.

Not really being ‘awake’, it was unclear how long he followed. The path was lined with dark tendrils, all spanning out from Jenova, filling the colourless nowhere with a spiderweb of corruption.

The further he travelled, more recognisable images appeared. A lone tower block emerging from dark fog, a mountainside in the far distance, the grey husk of a crumbling house. A few stray monsters wondering listlessly by, people too. Each had one of those shadowy tendrils latched onto them, leading back to Jenova’s rapturous core. None of the people he recognised… except one.

It was unmistakably Hojo, the scientist just standing in one place doing nothing. Sephiroth stopped briefly to observe him. Turned away, he could see only the easily recognised man’s back, his long hair tied as it always was.

He’d assumed this realm, whatever it was, was reserved for only those in slumber, but Hojo’s inclusion here challenged that thought. But, who was to know?

No matter. He’d wake up eventually and face the despised man by his own terms. Sephiroth had little interest in meeting him here, so he turned and continued his aimless wonder.

His clarity increased the further he went, until the low grey light of a fog cloud caught his attention. Curiously, the mist sticking out as an anomaly in the otherwise dreary nothing, Sephiroth headed towards it. It was magical in nature, he could tell. Ethereal, even.

Moving through it, a clearing drew him in, a tiny corner of this dreamscape. This place undisturbed by Jenova, isolated away from her influence. Low foliage, a scattering of tiny flowers, the smell of morning dew.

At the centre, cloaked completely in the cool fog, rested a soft figure, cross-legged in the flowers. Her pale dress pooling peacefully around her.

“Hey there, stranger.” Aerith greeted, without looking back.

There was something about her crouching form which brought back a memory. The misty clearing was overlaid by the slowly crumbling temple of an ancient civilisation. Still water and her lone figure.

“I didn’t expect to find you here.” The words were hard to get out, like he hadn’t spoken in some time.

Aerith giggled. “I hear that more than most people.”

Pushing aside the intrusive memory, he moved to her side and settled down on the grass. The mist clung to him in a strange but refreshing haze.

Sephiroth looked over her, Aerith looking just as he recalled when they’d departed. “It’s been some time. Are you… well?” He got the odd impression that this was as real of a meeting as anything in the waking world. Perhaps for Aerith, dreams were as real as reality.

She nodded, eyes searching the distance, for a moment reminiscently. “Yeah, I guess it has. I’m in Midgar. You’re there too, right? We’re in the same place, I think.”

Which could only mean one thing. “That is… unfortunate to hear.”

"Figured it would happen eventually.” She laughed, though it carried an underlying tiredness. “We can only hope the others aren’t worrying themselves silly over the two of us.”

“I suppose.” He replied, words otherwise failing him.

Aerith laughed again, more genuine this time. “They really do worry about you, ya know?” She nudged his arm, a playfully teasing flare to her movements.

Sephiroth allowed himself a smile. Was it selfish to feel warmth from that? He hummed to himself, pondering her words.

“Have you spoken to Cloud?” The Cetra asked, like this was a completely normal query, considering their circumstances. Perhaps it was, to her.

Then again, he’d tormented the blond for years while he’d been ‘dead’. Being sealed away in sleep that time hadn’t stopped him, even if Sephiroth had no clear memory of what that had been like. He’s still managed to reach out and manipulate the waking world using those carrying his cells.
“From here? No, I… haven’t figured that out yet.”

“Give it a go, maybe? I bet he’d like to hear from you.” Aerith winked. “Jenova though… you guys weakened her, even if she isn’t gone yet. Perhaps in the meantime, you should explore who else she’s tied to?”

“What do you mean?”

Aerith motioned behind him. Glancing around, for the first time, Sephiroth realised that he too had one of those shadowy tendrils trailing behind him, from where his wing should be.

“Jenova’s web spreads out far and wide. Pick one which calls to you, maybe? Follow it and you might find others like yourself on the other end.” She explained.

That made sense, considering what he’d seen from this place already. At least that would give him something to focus on.

She reached out and placed a hand on his knee, both relishing in this moment of calm. “Guess we’re stuck here, huh? Until Avalanche find us.”

“Yes, I suppose we are.” He conceded with a huff.

Chapter Text

Taking Aerith’s advice, Sephiroth followed the web of Jenova’s influence, if only because doing something helped keep him lucid… which was odd to consider, with him being currently asleep.
An in-between state which gradually blurred the lines between rest and wakefulness.

His connection with Cloud still felt like a tangible thing, which he could mentally reach for. After speaking with Aerith, Sephiroth really had tried to communicate with the blond, but something in it just wasn’t quite there yet. It wasn’t as easy to pin down that link while not fully ‘awake’, and so he’d failed. He figured eventually, it would come, so in the meantime continued his wondering. Cloud had Jenova’s cells too, so it would stand to reason that one of these strings was his, too.

With this in mind, he set a path, following a particular dark trail which seemed to call to him more than the others. Everything littering the path was dark and cold, mostly of metal or stone. Not that he understood their significance, if there was any to be interpreted. An old warehouse, a half burnt out vehicle and a massive impact crater where the ground looked like it had been pelted by something from space.

After an indecipherable stretch of time, his footsteps echoing quietly in the seemingly infinite space, Sephiroth found himself in front of a door. It stood on its own, set oddly upon the bleak landscape of nothing. Jenova’s webbing seeped through the edges of varnished redwood.

Stepping up to it, he paused at the peculiarity of the phenomenon. A trepidation seeped through him, though Sephiroth forced himself onwards, reaching to grip the handle. The brass was warm to the touch, while a soft instrumental piece could be heard playing faintly from the other side.

Holding his breath, he turned the handle and pushed it open.

Cosy warm light spilled out from the crack, accompanied by the smell of cinnamon, old wood and paper.

The library of a grand house. Made to be homely, but still none the less impressive. Rustic gas lamps and candles of various sizes set a comfortable light, made all the more comfortable by a large fireplace. At the far end of the room, a record player hummed, its volume low.

This was somewhere he recognised from photos; a sanctuary once resided within by…

Icy blue eyes cut through the relaxed atmosphere from an armchair across the room.

“Hmph, would you look who decided to grace out presence.” Greeted a haughty voice.

Cosily lit by firelight, dressed in snug casual wear and more complete than any memory. There sat one of the two men he’d both resented and longed for after their violent last goodbye. Genesis reclined in the worn chair, legs crossed, a novel open in his hands.

Still clinging to the door, Sephiroth froze, statue still. Absently, he was aware he looked utterly bewildered, but lacked the will to care.

The dead man rolled his eyes in a condescending way that was undeniably Genesis. “If you’re going to gawk then at least come inside. You’re letting in a draft.”

Obeying on autopilot, he stepped through and closed the door behind him. Sephiroth continued to stare blankly. Unlike the manifestation he’d met in a previous nightmare, the man before him held none of the falsehoods Jenova’s impersonation had displayed.

“You’re… alive?” Sephiroth finally managed.

Genesis rose an eyebrow, “Whatever this constitutes as, I suppose.” He waved at the space around them. “Alive but not necessarily living. You found us here, which means…?”

“Jenova.” Sephiroth forced his suddenly dry throat to vocalise. “I followed her to you.”

“Ah, indeed. Impressive, isn’t she? The virus, the great puppeteer. A mother of monsters. You know of your heritage then?” He spoke with a poetic flare. Though he did well to act so casual by this sudden meeting, one who had spent much time around the man could tell that he was as intrigued by this encounter as Sephiroth. Neither had expected to stumble across each other today, or possibly ever again.

“I’m aware.”

“And you’ve not degraded yet?”

It took a moment to get his thoughts in order. “I-. Like yourself, I possess an aspect of her, though my cellular structure has remained intact, from what I can tell.” Sephiroth explained, still in shock.

Genesis smiled, wide and self-congratulatory. “That means I was right. Pat on the back for me.” He didn’t elaborate.

“Your copies?”

Genesis waved him away. “They serve Jenova’s whims, not my own. I haven’t been allowed to wake in some time, I assume my physical form continues to deteriorate.”

The person in front of him held none of the faded look he’d come to expect as he’d watched his friend degrade. No wing, no sickly appearance, just the same dark tendril of Jenova’s influence as Sephiroth bore.

“Where is your physical self?” Sephiroth asked, uncomfortable but taking in the other’s appearance regardless. Gods, he hadn’t seen Genesis in over a year. Hadn’t seen him looking this ‘normal’ for far longer. Gazing at him now made it feel even more like an eternity had passed. This whole conjured scene made him ache for how things used to be, and equally reaffirmed just how badly things had fallen apart.

“The upper research floor, under Hojo’s supervision, last time I checked. I assume Hollander and Lazard are both dead and all of this was for nothing… Oh, stop looking like that!” Genesis scolded, coming out of what had begun to sound like a lament. “You’re staring like I’ve grown extra heads!”

Sephiroth couldn’t help it. “You’re alive.” Any number of hours spend stewing in his hatred and remorse for this man had not prepared him for whatever this was.

“Astute as ever, I see.” Genesis unfolded his legs, leaned forwards and flipped his book closed. “I’m glad to see the monotony of Shinra life hasn’t blunted those sharp senses of yours.” He replied mockingly, though his sharp smile didn’t leave.

“I…”

Genesis rose to his feet in a quick movement. “What? No witty comeback? Perhaps I was wrong?”

But Genesis had always been the one with the wit.

“I thought you were dead.” He managed instead, finding this moment more suited to blunt honesty than wordplay.

Genesis rolled his eyes, sauntering forwards, a flare to his movements. “Me?” His smile cut a sarcastic line. “You think me so dull to just disappear soundly into the Lifestream? I thought my reputation spoke of more than that. Hmm, I’ll have to try harder.”

“And Angeal?” Sephiroth was feeling more bewildered by the second, still stood nearly frozen in place as he watched the other.

“Oh, he’s somewhere.” Genesis glanced over his shoulder, scanning the room, like the last of their trio might have crept in unheard. “I’m afraid he isn’t completely here, in the same way as you and I. Though, enough of his essence remains. He likes to make sure I’m behaving, so I’ve no doubt he’ll be by shortly.” He only looked mildly perturbed by this explanation, as if the dilemma was old news to the pair.

Close enough to do so now, Sephiroth reached out and caught his friend’s arm. Real warmth coming from under the maroon button up he wore. “It really is you.” It was a thought not intended to be said aloud, but it crept out anyway.

With a chuckle, Genesis caught his hand, taking it properly and curling their fingers together.

“Tell me where you are in the labs, I’ll find you.” Insisted Sephiroth.

Genesis regarded him sceptically. “If you’ve found us down here, something tells me you’re in as much of a quandary as we are, correct?” He must have seen Sephiroth’s face fall, when he continued. “They’ve got you too, haven’t they? Or you may not have degraded, but you’re under Jenova’s spell?”

It hurt to admit. Powerlessness was something to be despised. Unfortunately, the Shinra labs brought it in abundance. “The former is true, yes. I may have disobeyed a long list of direct orders and broken a few rules here and there… enough for the company to remove me from service.”

Genesis brightened at that. “Did you really? Gods, finally! I always said you were a rulebreaker deep down, didn’t I?”

Yes, perhaps his influence had something to Sephiroth’s recent decision making. “I have a team now, they’ll be working on destroying Jenova. With them, we can get out.”

“A team? What’s this? Haven’t gone replacing us, have you?” Despite his words, Genesis looked undeniably thrilled-, in fact he was looking more joyous by the second.
Had he been in a better position, Sephiroth would have tried for an amusing comeback. “I… I doubt you’d allow that. There’s Zack, of course, and his girlfriend. I befriended a madman in the slums, who introduced me to his anti-Shinra terrorist group. I deserted the company. We’ve travelled a long way together. Through them, I met my family- my real parents. We’ve all been through a lot together. I’ve learned many things about myself.”

Staring back in near disbelief, Genesis’s fondness grew even brighter. “You’ve, - really? My, what did they do with the Sephiroth I knew? Making new friends; are you sure you’ve not degraded?”

Finally, he too broke into a smile. “I’ve asked myself more than you know.”

“Your family too, tell me more.”

“I met my mother and father. They’re rather odd… though, Hojo has seen it fit to ruin things earlier than I’d have liked.” At the other’s frown he continued. “Hojo killed my father.” It felt strange to finally vocalise.

Genesis gripped his hand tighter. “Ah. While I’m not much of an authority to speak on well-meaning familial relationships, I do know that a fleeting happiness can be more painful than none at all, once taken away. You have my sympathy.”

“… Thank you.”

Genesis didn’t fight it when Sephiroth pulled them together in an embrace. Such an undignified position wouldn’t usually appeal to either, but for now, the red-haired Soldier accepted his fate. Sephiroth hadn’t expected them to have an opportunity like this again, regardless of how ‘real’ this was.

There was no way this wasn’t real, in some capacity.

"Why-.” Sephiroth struggled with his words, the breath getting caught in his throat. “Why didn’t you talk to me before you left?” He pulled the shorter man impossibly closer, fingers traced the cotton of his shirt. Relaxing in the hold, Genesis circled his arms around to card through Sephiroth’s hair.

It took Genesis a long moment to collect his answer. “A great many reasons at the time. Though I must admit, none look especially clever now.” He sighed a long exhale. “I wanted to spare you from my trouble, for you to stay out of it. She’d appear to me, offer such grandeur and release from my post; an escape from Shinra. I realise that was foolish, but my mind was terribly muddled back then. It still can be now, even here.”

“I understand how Jenova can poison the mind, if given an inch. I’m also not one who should judge a person’s ill deeds.” Sephiroth said, not knowing precisely how to reply. Even now, he still wasn’t sure he could forgive his friend that easily, but for now, that was fine. “Shinra have become my enemy, now more than ever. I’d like to end their reign, if you’d be willing to help?”

Just then, a shadow in the back of the room caught his eye and Sephiroth dropped his hold on Genesis. It moved unnaturally, partly spectral, partly solid. Multiheaded and bestial, warping and unbound to a single shape.

“Ah. I told you Angeal would be by eventually.” Genesis spoke offhandedly, at easy by this strange phenomenon.

“… What has happened to him?” Sephiroth frowned, taking a step closer to this inconsistent shape. Despite the appearance, ‘Angeal’ was unthreatening, and approached with a vague curiosity.

“Do you recall how his cells leaked into the nearby beasts? Shinra collected them, to contain the possible outbreak.” Genesis waved a hand to the squirming silent thing. “Angeal, as we once knew him, is dead. These remain.”

The writhing form neared, but that was all. It seemed to regard him, but did nothing more. Sephiroth frowned, wondering how much of their friend’s spirit it had retained. “Angeal?” Sephiroth asked, moving an open palm slowly towards the figure.

Shifting forwards with a movement almost like liquid, what remained of Angeal brushed against the offered hand. It was a weird feeling, warm and alive but undulating and inconsistent. Ticklish and kind of gross. Sephiroth’s smile softened, this was good enough. His friend remembered him, even in this state.

“Hojo has both of you, doesn’t he?”

Genesis gave a nod. “You’ve got that look like you’re plotting something. Before you decide to do anything stupid, remember that we’re still degraded, at Jenova’s mercy. Even if you were to somehow find and release us, we may not be your allies.” When Sephiroth moved to speak, Genesis held up a finger to silence him. “Also, you seem very confident that when you awaken, you too will be in your right mind.”

“I’ve fought off Jenova adequately so far.” He tried to argue.

“Adequately isn’t going to cut it against her. What makes you think she’s not puppeteering your body right now, while you’re stuck here with us?” Insisted Genesis, more fight in his tone than Sephiroth was willing to give.

That was a terrifying thought, and while he didn’t think for a second that Hojo would let his precautions slip, it still didn’t bode well. Sephiroth could feel something else left unsaid. “What aren’t you telling me?”

Genesis faltered at the question. “I think Hollander may have found a cure.” Genesis appeared to be fighting back his own hope, and glanced instead back to Angeal who hadn’t moved from beside them both. “Not exactly a cure, per say, more of a theory, really… You may not have been Jenova’s kin, but you are as good as such. If you’re really immune to the degradation her cells cause us, your blood may be the answer.”

“Then I’ll find you.” Sephiroth vowed with a new determination.

Genesis peered back up with a pained expression. “Sephiroth, I want you to think of your own wellbeing here. Being rash could cost you everything; me and Ang both agree, you need to leave us in the past.” He reached out and took Sephiroth’s hand again.

He held on tightly. “You forget, this is as much my domain as it is Hojo’s. I intend to survive.” With his other he called into being the materia which had been stowed in his sword. The verdant green of Holy stood strong in the gentle orange firelight which bathed the library of Genesis’s old home. “I’m hoping this might help.”

The auburn-haired Soldier leaned in close to inspect the tiny and outwardly insignificant looking materia. “What… where did you get this?” He scrutinised with the expertise of knowing there was something special about the otherwise plain looking casting tool.

“A gift from a new friend to help fight back Jenova. A relic of the Cetra.” Explained Sephiroth, watching Genesis move a finger just above the surface of the orb.

“The Cetra?!” He repeated with intrigue.

Sephiroth nodded. “It acts of its own whim, cannot be commanded quite like your average materia. It’s the only force I’ve seen capable of banishing Jenova’s rot.” He should have known how excitable Genesis, of all people would be at this.

“Well…” He muttered, glancing back up at Sephiroth with an elated grin. “We might not be quite as screwed as I thought, you clever bastard.”

Sat idly on the floor, Aerith stared up at the bright circular light in her cell until it made her eyes go funny. Then, she’d close her eyes and count the seconds until the afterimage of the shape faded from her retinas. It was boring here. So so boring.

Still, being bored was better than a lot of activities in the Shinra labs. Aerith still wished she could have something to occupy her. A book would be nice, preferably a long one, so she wouldn’t finish it too quickly. It was stuffy in here, with no privacy. They could at least let her be useful and make the teas and coffees for the staff, perhaps. Everyone here looked stressed and rushed off their feet, they’d probably appreciate a break.

She’d been told that Zack had been asking about her nearly daily, but denied entry. Aerith couldn’t help but smile at that, he really was too sweet for his own good. Really, he should know they would never let him in to see her, apparently it was no secret that they were significant to each other; namely because Zack couldn’t keep his mouth shut about these things.

Coupled with Sephiroth being imprisoned elsewhere in here, there was no way Zack would get in without a damn good reason. She wished he’d hurry up and find one. Cloud was better at things like this, he didn’t care enough to ask nicely, he’d just storm the building, eventually. Then again, the Turks were definitely aware of him and likely their whole gang too.

Just thinking about it all was giving her a headache.

This afternoon was slightly less boring than the previous afternoons. The containment next to hers was being prepped for a new arrival, and the safety measures were being tested out, which was kind of fun to watch.

Presently, she was observing Dr Howard, a bumbling middle-aged man, big-brained but sometimes lacking interpersonal skills. He was attempting to talk one of female staff into going bowling with his friends- Dr Howard being the only one in the group without a partner to bring. Aerith rolled her eyes while he failed to grasp why bowling with his friends was not a good first date option. Meanwhile, he slipped on the disinfectant spray he was applying and nearly landed on his ass.

It was a shame, he seemed like a sweet guy. If she got the opportunity, she’d give him some advice.

The tone of the room shifted drastically when Hojo entered. All talking other than basic communication fell away and everyone kept their eyes down on their work.

His presence altered to atmosphere without a word needing to be said. It certainly had an effect on Aerith, automatically making her heartrate pick up. She sat up straighter, watching him inspect the work of his underlings.

When Hojo neared Aerith’s cell, she stood, brushing the creases out of the skirt of her dress. An acknowledgement that she had seen him, a display that she wouldn’t be caught ignorant to his presence, but was equally unafraid. Carefully, she followed his movements as he milled about, knowing he would come to her next.

It wasn’t so much that she feared the man, but was more so wary of the horror he could so easily afflict. An awareness that he was the reason her mother was dead.

Content that his technicians could handle their duties, Hojo stepped up to her, as predicted. Aerith gave him her full attention, keeping her shoulders relaxed and her hands idle, despite inwardly feeling how a prey animal might, when cornered.

He didn’t speak for a long moment, clicking through his notes.

“Your mother was one of my most prized specimens. You can rest assured that I will not lose you under the same lax restrictions.” He began as a greeting, not looking up from his data pad.

Aerith chose not to respond, keeping a jab about the less than five-star accommodation to herself.

Finally, Hojo looked up. Through the cell walls, his voice was slightly muffled, but perceived without an issue. “I’ve received orders to focus my full resources on the degradation problem, before conducting anything with yourself. Now, I’m no fool, I know what it looks like when the Turks try meddling in things. Even if young Rufus can hide his tactics from his father, he won’t from me.” He glanced back down, typing out a brief note. “I do hope they haven’t gone soft.”

The Turks were trying to assist? Unexpected but definitely not unwelcome. Zack was friends with them, perhaps that was the reason. Rufus specifically though? Aerith wouldn’t have thought he’d care. Weird.

“No one dictates to me which projects are most important and usually I’d consider defying them, purely on the grounds of making a statement. However, having Sephiroth back has finally given me an opportunity to make a much-needed breakthrough. We have also come into possession of a most intriguing specimen, which will make our lacking supply of J cells no longer a problem. So, it seems you will indeed have to wait, I intend on overseeing every aspect of your stay with us, but Project S comes above even you.” Hojo stated.

He must have been busy, the mad scientist looked like he hadn’t slept in days.

Aerith smiled sweetly, wholly relieved that she’d be left in relative peace for a while longer. “Well, sure. Doesn’t look like I can go far anyway.” She replied with a pinch of teasing sarcasm. It wouldn’t hurt to lighten the mood now she wasn’t in immediate danger.

Hojo didn’t give a response, he was glancing down and typing at his data pad again. Aerith continued to wait, since he didn’t look to be leaving just yet.

Sure enough, he glanced over the rim of his glasses. “You were with Sephiroth when he left Midgar. I want to know exactly what happened to him.”

“Um, well, we had a nice time camping and just hanging out, I guess. He was a little out of sorts. Doesn’t go out much, does he? Other than for work, of course. I think he has trouble relaxing because he’s never off duty.” Aerith answered.

Behind the glass, Hojo narrowed his eyes. “I didn’t ask that. I want to know what happened up to his physical degradation.”

“Physical degradation? He’d been hearing voices. Kind ones. He thought it was the voice of the Planet, but I don’t think so. I think there’s been a lot of symptoms, he just keeps them to himself.” Aerith didn’t want to give away her knowledge of Jenova and land herself in even more trouble. From what she’d been able to tell, Sephiroth had been more whole lately. At least until they’d locked him up a few floors above her. Aerith didn’t know anything about a physical degradation, but as long as Sephiroth was still of his own mind and fighting Jenova off, it was maybe not as bad as it sounded.

“How long was this going on for?”

“Some months now, I’ve known him since around March.” Aerith exaggerated a thinking pose, as if making a show for the local children. “Maybe if you knew him a bit better, you’d have been aware of the change yourself. Perhaps he wouldn’t have been so opposed to sharing those problems with you.” Her tone was scolding, but not angry.

The advice didn’t appear to go over too well and Hojo sneered. “I hardly have time for that sort of dallying. Besides, he knows to seek me out when there are issues, that’s never been a problem.”

“And then he watched his two friends die. He thought he had the same incurable illness as them.” Just from what Zack had told her about that whole fiasco, it had sounded truly dreadful. She couldn’t imagine how Sephiroth had been forced to hunt down his sick friends. “Me and Zack helped him open up, but he was still completely stuck on that, thinking he couldn’t talk about it.” And of course, being unable to move past it.

“Good.” Hojo spat. “Those are company secrets and not something he should be discussing with anyone. We’ve been careful to reduce and monitor his outside influences, as you should know, Shinra are careful to guard what is theirs.”

If Aerith were a person of less patience, she might have screamed at his idiocy. “That’s what I’m saying. Then you need to talk to him, or find him someone who can. You’re his dad, you should be concerned with more than just his physical functionality.” While the idea of having a heart-to-heart with Hojo was laughable, her point still stood. He’d wanted her opinion and she was damn well going to give it to him.

Predictably, he bristled at her words. “I do not see how his parentage is relevant.”

“Really? He’s always been curious of his parents, right?”

“More than you know…” Hojo leered, his words carried a displeasure on a deeper level to her understanding.

“Don’t you think it’s the connection that matters, not the biology?” After all, she should know. In truth, Aerith had no idea who Sephiroth’s real parents were, and quite frankly, it didn’t matter. The answer certainly hadn’t been to lie about his heritage in regards to Jenova.

Hojo glanced down at his notes, though he didn’t appear to be reading them. When he next met her eye, it was with a scornful look. “Clearly, you’ve known him longer than I’d assumed. No doubt thanks to First Class Fair. Sephiroth has been leaving the tower and spending time below the plate. Was this to see you?”

Aerith resisted the urge to correct him on Zack’s rank. Though enjoyable, it would be pushing her luck. “Not really, I’m more like a friend of a friend. He did come to hang out at my house at one point though.”

She watched Hojo make a face like he’d just bitten into a lemon. “Then why else was he going down there?”

His line of questioning gave Aerith an idea, possibly a stupid one, but still an idea. If Hojo was so interested in Sephiroth’s acquaintances, it might open up a reason for Cloud and his friends to make a personal visit? Especially if the Turks were on their side, in some capacity. It wasn’t like Cloud would get into trouble in this timeline… he was getting himself into enough as things were. “He made friends with a guy from Sector Seven.”

“His name?”

Inwardly, Aerith debated. There were an ungodly ton of things which could go wrong with this idea of hers. “It’s Cloud. He’s a kind of tough guy merc.” She answered quickly.

“I shall ask the Turks, I’m sure they’re already aware of him. How did they meet? Is Fair involved with him also?” Hojo asked.

“I’m actually not sure. They said they sorta stumbled into each other and hit it off. And like I said, me and Zack only knew him through Sephiroth. He just sometimes came to hang out, and went camping.” She bluffed well, though it wasn’t a total lie, she supposed.

“Cloud who?” He was making notes now.

Aerith wasn’t about to make things any easier, knowing she’d already led him down a track with enough clues. “Neither ever said. They knew they’d get in trouble, so were always quiet about details like that, even to me.” The longer he was busy solving this pointless mystery, the less time working on ‘Project S’ or whatever. The more time it bought Cloud and friends to get here before Hojo inevitably turned on her.

It seemed like Hojo was having trouble grasping the concept of having friends outside of work. Or just having friends to begin with.

“His mental state after leaving Midgar?” He continued to query.

“Like I said, out of his element, but okay.”

“And a voice had begun speaking to him?”

Aerith nodded. “One he called ‘Jenova’.”

On the other side of the cell, Hojo nodded. “That’s all for now. This hardly matters, really, now I have him back. He’ll never be deemed fit to return back amongst the public…” His muttering trailed off.

When it looked like the scientist was about to leave, Aerith spoke up again, determined to at least make something of a point. “I know you wanted a weapon rather than a son when your experiment began, but you have to accept that you ended up with both. He couldn’t find any warmth here, so he simply found it elsewhere. Sephiroth might have been well behaved until recently, and not expressed any disloyalty towards you, but let me warn you- he has no reason to remain in your good graces.” She lowered her voice, needing this brick wall of a man to understand how deeply he was digging his own grave.
“One thing I do know about him, once he’s found something to replace you, he’ll burn the whole world down to ash to keep it. If you talk to him, see if you can come up with a compromise to help him, I think you still might have a chance to end this non-violently. But I need you to comprehend how deeply he hates you, and what that means for the future of you and Shinra.” Aerith stressed, completely serious.

To her dismay, Hojo didn’t blink. “As I said, that will be all. Now do sit down and shut up until the unlikely time that someone asks your opinion again.”

Without a hint of drama, Hojo turned and strode out of the room, in a way which lacked the impact Aerith felt it should have. Really, this shouldn’t have been a surprise, it wasn’t as if the man in question was known for his social graces.

Sighing, back to minding her own business once again, the excitement around the room had died down, back to the regular amount of staff traffic.

Engaged in her conversation with her captor, Aerith had failed to notice the arrival of her new cell neighbour. They were-.

No way.

Pacing angrily back and forth was the graceful but intimidating form of Nanaki. His flaming tail at full blaze.

Aerith faced him, waving to get his attention.

The canine caught her movement, stopped and went wide eyed in recognition. Aerith grinned, wishing she could run up and hug him. Nanaki in return, pawed at the glass wall of his containment. A mixed look of mostly relief at finding a familiar face.

Well, if Cloud and Zack kept dragging their feet and Sephiroth didn’t break out and rain hell on them all, at least her and Nanaki stood a chance, now there was two of them.

Chapter Text

They’d done this before, right? Storm a giant building, cause a ruckus and make a few of Shinra’s admin staff very busy for a few days.

One thing which hadn’t been tackled so directly before was the Junon cannon… What was it called? Something blaster? Something ray? Or rather, Cloud hadn’t had much experience with the place, apparently the rest of the group had at some point…

Whatever, not like it mattered to Cloud.

It seemed the others had some vague knowledge of the structure and Cid, through his engineering connections, had picked up a few blueprints for the place.

Despite the issue a few of the team had with the spontaneous decision to strike at one of Shinra’s strongholds, an action plan was settled upon in record time. Really, if they wanted to cripple the company, the cannon would eventually find itself a target. Whether that was done in defence of Wutai or in revenge for their own losses made little difference in the grand scheme of things.

Personally, Cloud had envisioned a big entrance, with lots of magic blasts and cool swordplay. Possibly involving them dropping down from above or scaling the side of the massive building. Maybe even a rematch with the Turks.

As it stood, none of those things happened.

Being treated as a highly honoured guest, Cid had booked them in for a tour. Shinra, as it turned out, had already converted their newest warhead into Junon’s latest must-see attraction. A café, of all things had been set up in the huge lobby area, which sported a lovely sea view.

Cloud and Barret had followed Cid, as they were led up into the main structure. Meanwhile, Tifa, Yuffie and Vincent stayed in the café, splitting up to remain discreet.

The tour, given by an excitable man, was loo long and too boring, in Cloud’s opinion. Barret was doing a little better at remaining somewhat aware enough to ask the odd question, but he and Cloud still exchanged an eyeroll every now and then. Cid didn’t need to pretend and was having a great time, as they were led through all the various mako converters and shown model reactors- the real ones hiding at the bottom of the cannon, below sea level to help cool them.

Eventually, they reached the main control room, which was manned by six staff members. Their guide didn’t notice Cloud and Barret suddenly wake up, and only appeared pleased that they were finally asking more questions. He certainly wasn’t concerned with how suspicious or prying those questions were, in regards to what each control station did, how many people worked on this floor or what level of security were needed for various tasks.

The guy never made a sound when the three sprang into action, incapacitating both him and everyone else in the room, all in minimal time and without incident.

Cid didn’t waste a moment before jumping on the controls while Barret secured the doors.

Pulling out his PHS, Cloud called Tifa and placed her on loudspeaker.
“We’re in.” He said, looking over the vast array of controls and taking his place at the console to Cid’s left. The one responsible for security and access.

“Great, Yuffie’s got us some passes, which look high enough clearance.” Tifa cheerfully reported. “The coffee here is actually pretty good. Oh, and we got you all some cake for later.”

“Thanks!” Barret called over from the other side of the room, keeping watch of the doors.

Cid shouted up, “Alright, head for the elevator and we’ll check your access.”

There was a pause, in which they could hear shuffling and the beep of a keycard. “Seafloor reactor access starts at basement floor three, right?”

“That’s it.” Cid confirmed. “I reckon we’re gonna lose signal as you get below sea level. We’ll monitor door access from up here, if you need anything, use one of the terminals for internal comms. What’s your badge code?”

“Urr, right its 357-4009.” Tifa read off, with the sound of Yuffie chattering in the background, probably trying to annoy Vincent.

“We’ll keep an eye out for you from up here. Tell Vincent to watch his ass, he’s not spending another week on sick leave.” Cid called back.

Behind Tifa, there was the sound of the elevator descending. “Will do, see ya later.” She laughed and ended the call.

Cid pointed to the screen Cloud was already looking at. “Watch that one, pay attention.”

Cloud rolled his eyes. “Yeah, I got it.” Sure enough on the map of the lower levels, the team’s badge access pinged up, having just been used to enter the first door. They were on their way to the first engine room.

“Gonna scout out the other rooms. Be back in a sec.” Barret said before slipping out of the door.

With a contented sigh, Cid leaned back in his chair. “So.” He began.

Anticipating the worst, Cloud kept his gaze fixed on the computer. “So?”

“So, a little birdy told me that I’ve missed more than I thought, not being invited along for your adventure. Something about you getting all buddy-buddy with, oh, what was his name? Oh yeah, Sephiroth.” His tone was somewhere between amused and sceptical.

Wow, Cid really wasn’t going to wait a damn moment with this one, was he? “I’m not talking about that.” Cloud deflected. Honestly, he’d been avoiding the man for the last few days for this very reason.

In the corner of his eye, Cid leaned forwards in his chair. “Ooh, so it is true?”

“It’s none of your business, more like.”

“Actually, I’d say it kinda is.” He sounded offended. “I helped chase the guy down and kill him- more than once, may I add. Nearly died a couple of times myself, here and there… Dealt with the fallout from all of his bullshit. And as it happens, I also give a crap about you, if that’s not too hard to believe.”

Cloud finally looked over to see he’d been listing these things off on his fingers. “I appreciate it, but you don’t need to worry about me.” Cloud replied, aggravatingly neutral.

“Seriously?” Cid scoffed. “Ya know, I initially didn’t believe Yuffie, when she told me she’d walked in on an ‘intimate little moment’ between you two but this is clearly worse than I thought.”

“Yuffie’s just saying that to get some drama out of nothing.” He tried playing it off as appearing unbothered.

“See, usually I’d agree. Now, you’ve got me worried.”

“Aren’t you more interested about everything else? Going back to Midgar? Aerith and Red? Jenova? Those are the worrying parts of this.”

Cid gave a sceptical sort of laugh. “Difference is I understand all that, just about. You all went and blindsided me with this ‘Sephiroth is our friend now’ shit. What am I supposed to do with that? How am I meant to take it when I mostly know him as the guy who killed Aerith and was constantly messin’ with your head?”

“Like I said, you mind your business.” Cloud glared back, again getting annoyed that his friends didn’t trust his judgment on this.

Cid didn’t have time to air his next scathing comeback, interrupted by the door opening and Barret returning to the room.

“We’re clear for now.” He reported. “Still good here?”

“The others have cleared engine room one and are heading down a floor to the second one.” Cloud informed, quick to grab the opportunity to change the subject.

Unfortunately, he was unlucky. Cid twisted in his chair, leaning back and looking like he owned the place. “Cloud was just telling me all about his newly budding romance.”

Barret looked between them, taking in Cid’s sly grin and Cloud’s ‘kill me now’ face. “Ah, why not, I guess.”

Both were surprised at his subdued response.

Seeing this, Barret shrugged. “What? Give him a break, Cid. We can take the piss out of him once we have the whole team back together. When we know they’re safe.”

While cloud was overly thankful, Cid sputtered. “But it’s Sephiroth?!”

“Sure is.” Barret moved to lean against the wall. “He’s not even all that bad, once ya give him a chance.”

“For real? You’re sure you didn’t all go mad on that trek through the wilderness? Have you considered mind control?” He sat up in his chair, looking stunned.

Cloud wondered how long it would take them to stop questioning his sanity over the matter.

Finding great amusement in Cid’s bewilderment, Barret continued. “Ya know, he’s surprisingly boring, considering how batshit crazy he used to be. Guy’s chill, polite. Looks like he’s going to snap sometimes, but never has, unless its warranted. Plus, our whole group radiates that energy, so he fits in well.”

“Seriously?”

“Seriously. Not certain how sure he is about social stuff, but whatever. He likes his own space.” Barret surmised.

“He was raised by Shinra’s science department.” Cloud added and didn’t realise he was defending Sephiroth’s behaviours until Cid rose a sceptical eyebrow.

An alert from the console drew their attention and a red flashing appeared on the map in front of Cloud. “They’re requesting access into the next area.” He announced, tapping in the very simple ‘grant access’ option which came with the pop-up. “They’re entering the second engine room now.”

The plan was to damage engines one and two, causing them to overload. Get to the mako reactor below, and set that to power down. Leave some fires around and get out. There were numerous safety measures, to account for all manner of situations and on their own, the automated systems could prevent them. Having both engines go up would result in a more controlled explosion than detonating the reactor- in theory. Taking over the control desk would stop manual fixes from occurring, and they could pass off the warnings as inaccurate readings. The damage from the engines would render the reactor useless, or possibly even buried, deep under the sea.

And if that still wasn’t enough, they’d start making a nuisance of themselves in other ways.

Cid returned to idly clicking around his computer screens. “Go through and delete the security footage for today, would ya? I don’t want to be nailed for this.” He waved to a screen beside Cloud, which was flicking through the various camera feeds.

“Any reason you’re so chilled about this?” The blond questioned, doing as asked and finding what he presumed was the relevant files.

Cid gave them both a sly grin, which spoke of an ulterior motive. “You realise how much it costs to maintain this thing, let alone use it? Building this crap has already stolen millions, no, billions from my space programme. Money I’d say would be better spent on that, rather than blowing each other up.”

“Fancy another go at getting into space, huh?” Barret asked.

“You bet your ass I’m having another go.”

A warning buzz pulled their attention back to the screens.

“Temperature rising in engine room one. Multiple errors detected in two.” Cloud read off.

Reaching over, Cid picked up a mic and dialled in a code, with all the confidence of a man who’d been working here for years. He cleared his throat. “Attention all lower decks. We are experiencing a minor system error regarding temperature readings across all engine rooms. Nothing to be concerned about, but can all staff please make your way calmly to your designated evacuation points, as per procedure. There is already a team working to rectify this fault. I repeat, please make your way-…” He announced in his best and clearest voice.

Cloud sent Barret a sceptical glance while Tifa’s party sent up a request for access into the innermost part of the reactor. This was going way too well. Only a matter of time until shit enviably hit the fan.

A separate ring came through on the internal comm, which Cid grabbed before Cloud could.
“This is Control, go ahead.”

“Control, we’re getting reports of extreme temperatures in engines one and two. Also reporting comms issues with those rooms.” An unknown voice asked.

“Copy that, we’re aware. Ongoing investigations are taking place with the tech guys down there. Appears to be false readings due to electrical issues. Doesn’t look like it’s anything to worry about, but evacuation of all non-essential personnel is in progress, as per protocol.” Cid bluffed, grabbing up a health and safety document from a plastic bracket on the wall and flipping quickly through it.

It seemed his deception passed unnoticed, when the voice came back. “Understood, Control. Keep us posted on the situation and just file it into the docket for hand-over.”

“Copy that.” Cid paused, cringing and crossing his fingers before pressing the mic a second time. “Do you think it’s worth running an emergency evac drill? It’ll give us time reset what we need. It’s been over a month since the last one. Might be good for the visit next week?”

The other voice hummed in thought. “That’s not bad thinking. Scarlet doesn’t care much for safety checks, but it wouldn’t hurt. Especially if it stops the IT guys from complaining about unexpected system maintenance. Tell your engineers they’re fine to reboot whatever they like.”

From the back of the room, the door opened. Cloud looked over his shoulder to see a scrawny office worker wonder into the control centre and stop dead at the unexpected sight. Before he could make a sound, Barret came from behind the door and knocked him out with a single whack, catching and moving him silently out of sight.

“Understood, Sir. Control out.” Cid shut down the call and turned to the other two, a look of absolute triumph on his face. He threw his hands up in celebration. “Yeah! You see that?! That’s what getting a nat 20 deception check looks like babyyyy!”

Barret quietly chuckled, leaning the intruder gently against the wall. “Holy shit.”

Even Cloud couldn’t fault his performance. “That was actually quite impressive.” He admitted, knowing he’d have failed, had he taken the call instead.

“At least one of us did any amount of research on this place and paid attention during the tour. Either of you could have done that if you’d been listening.” Using the safety manual, Cid plugged in the code to activate the emergency siren and lighting. One such began blaring outside their door. “Attention all staff and guests. Please make your way calmly towards your emergency points. Thank you.” Cid spoke into the mic, repeating the announcement several times.

Across from them, Barret was still laughing in disbelief.

After Cid was done, a new call came through.

“That’s coming from the entrance to the reactor.” Cloud confirmed.

“Go ahead, Control here.” Cid answered carefully.

“Wazzup old man?!” Ah, just Yuffie. “Mind turning the volume down? I can’t hear myself think.” The alarm could be heard on the other side of the line.

“Hey! You ever heard of sound cover? More like you should be thanking me.” Argued Cid. "C’mon, what’s the situation? We’re all falling asleep here.”

She laughed back. “Urm, well… shits on fire, I guess. We broke some stuff, killed some dudes, you know how it is.”

Ah, fire. Cloud had wondered what the flashing red symbols on the floorplan were.

“Long as you’re having fun, that’s all that matters. How long do ya think you’ll be?” Cid was interrupted by the back door opening again. Another visitor wondered in, covering their ears with their hands. Like the last one, they barely made it through the door before Barret knocked them out cold.

“Eh, not long now. Tifa and Vince have gone to the middle of the reactor, I’m on guard duty… Say, it’s kinda weird down here, being underwater, ya know?” Yuffie explained, unbothered.

Cloud frowned at her unhelpful words. “How so?”

“Eh, it’s just weird. Feels like I should have brought my swimsuit, just in case the place suddenly floods.”

“That won’t happen, chance it might if the reactor does go up, but it’s an impossibility, otherwise.” Cid explained.

“You remember the submarine? Ooh, that was awful!” Yuffie laughed.

“That sucked.” Agreed Cloud. He could remember the horrible inescapable claustrophobia of their stolen submarine. That had been an interesting and wildly uncomfortable day out.

“Nah, you’re kidding, the sub was great!” Barret called over.

“I promise to argue about that later, big guy. I can hear the elevator.” Yuffie said, in the background came a ping amongst the alarms, followed by Tifa’s voice. She sounded calm, unhurried.

“Alright, place is set to blow in like, five to ten minutes. Gonna head up now.” Reported Yuffie, with no sign of urgency.

Cid leaned over to Cloud’s console to hit a few of the buttons, which Cloud really could have done without assistance. “Making sure the elevator is working for you now. Looks like most people are out, too. We’ll wait until you’re on ground level then join you.”

“Neat, see y’all in a minute.” And the line was cut.

Leaning back, Cid propped his feet up on the console and lit up a cigarette. Meanwhile, Barret and Cloud gathered up the unconscious staff they’d been impersonating and waited for Cid to give the call.

After a long moment, he nodded, noting the security access code leaving the elevator at the ground level. As he was standing, a new round of alarms sounded, flashing ‘critical error’ on the main screen.

The noise was accompanied by another call coming through, which this time remained ignored.

Climbing from his seat, Cid stopped to stretch. “Right, shall we go?” He asked, hefting the last two people onto his shoulders.

Their elevator brought the group down about five floors before a violent rumble shook the structure. The emergency lights flickered. An automated emergency stop halted them on the next passing floor. They’d passed here on the tour, so the three turned back in the direction they’d entered from and headed for the stairs.

Another crash and shake from below had panels falling from the ceiling.

Maybe Yuffie had got the time wrong, it hadn’t been a full five minutes yet. Not that it mattered all too much, they were well on their way out. By the time they had reached to lobby, dust was falling and the metal screeched as the walls began to move.

Breaking out into the glorious summer sun, a crowd of people, mostly horrified staff, gathered at a moderate distance away. Rushing to meet them half way, a few helped take the unconscious staff from them. Thanking Cloud’s team profusely for finding and saving a few individuals.

Heading off to the edge of the crowd, Cid pointed out the other half of their team. Yuffie met them with a flurry of high-fives and Tifa with a pat on the shoulder.

From that point, they moved with the gathering crowd, as it was ushered away, further back from the collapsing cannon. While staying on to assist might have been the more heroic course of action, the group took the opportunity to disappear back onto the runway, before the airfield would be surely locked down.

Rumbles could be felt under the concrete as well as the distant snapping and tearing of metal underground. A deafening boom and an eruption springing out the side of the gigantic cannon, shook everything around them. For a horrible moment, Cloud wondered whether it would take out the entire seafront and dock.

High above, fire ripped through the massive barrel of the cannon, sending bits flying off and crashing into the sea.

Despite this, most of the structure remained intact, with only flames licking through it and small eruptions escaping, shooting into the sunny Junon sky, now grey with smoke.

By the time they had reached Cid’s plane, the end of the barrel had slipped off to loudly hit the ocean’s surface. The surrounding area, now cleared of people had some scattered debris, and large cracks in the pavement, but Cloud doubted anyone in the surrounding area had been harmed. Hopefully that was enough to make it up for probably traumatising that Shinra kid in Rocket Town. At the very least, it was a step towards ensuring the war wouldn’t restart.

That had… gone exceptionally well.

“Ow!” Barret yelled, fighting off Slug, who had insisted on coming along, despite how everyone had wanted her permanently left in Rocket Town. “Damn bird won’t let me sit down.”

The hissing chocobo was lashing out, snapping at everyone who tried to get in alongside her. Barret had all but crammed his metal arm into her beak, while Yuffie climbed over and shushed her. This was only halfway working.

“C’mon, squeeze up.” Tifa urged, trying to find a space.

Yuffie had squashed herself in between slug’s back and the roof. “It’s a bit tight…”

“Yeah.” Cloud echoed, staying at the back while the others organised themselves. He was wondering where his sword was supposed to fit.

Cid rolled his eyes, the sound of an engine coming to life downed out his exasperated sigh, while he waited for them to all settle into place. “Yeah, think about who’s fault that is. Now get a move on or I’m shoving you in the cargo hold!”

“Vincent is already in there.” Replied Tifa, she jumped in beside Barret and motioned for Cloud to follow.

Follow where, was the question. After a moment of hesitation, he sighed, and crammed himself down between them all. Really, the aircraft was only built to hold two or three at a squeeze. Despite this, they managed to get into the air after playing their game of human Jenga.

“Where next then?” Cid called back, after getting them into the air.

“Midgar.” Cloud replied, crammed between Tifa and the window, in a way he would describe as ‘not fun’ and a bit motion sickness inducing. Not that he could really complain, now that they were on their way to where they were needed.

Chapter Text

By the time the Tiny Bronco glided smoothly onto the Midgar landing pad, it was painfully stuffy and uncomfortable inside. Slug, who had taken up most of the passenger seats had spent the journey covering Barret’s metal arm with scratches and dents and showering everyone else in feathers.

The moment the doors opened, everyone spilled unceremoniously into a heap on the tarmac. With a pop, Slug hopped out of the narrow door and shook herself, looking mightily pleased to have made everyone’s time all the more miserable.

Having fallen asleep scrunched up in the cargo hold, Vincent must have had the easiest time out of everyone.

After a round of stretching and grumbling, they set off.
It was late evening by the time they made it into the streets of Midgar, the light of city blocks crowded up on all sides on the upper plate. Above them, the Shinra tower stood tall from the centre of the city. Despite the encroaching sense of claustrophobia this place brought, being back in Midgar held a certain nostalgia for the whole team.

Eyes shining in the colourful lights, Barret and Tifa pointed out familiarities and unforgotten details to each other. Yuffie was eyeing all of the tall buildings and high up scaffolding, probably figuring out what she could climb. Meanwhile, Cid was talking animatedly to Vincent, who to the common onlooker, didn’t appear to be paying him an ounce of attention.

They ended up walking quite far, eventually needing to ask directions to the small side street which held Zack’s house. All around them, the streets were buzzing and alive with people, who had flocked to larger screens and bars to watch the news. The Junon cannon was… gone. A sight which both terrified and amazed people, though there were some who seemed to be quietly celebrating that such a weapon no longer existed.

Thankfully, if the reports were correct, the loss of life had been minimal, and they were already commending the security staff for their tightly followed evacuation. Considering the scale of the disaster, it had been well contained. No one would be allowed on the Junon seafront for a while, until it was found to be structurally sound.

To celebrate how well everything had gone, the team began the all-important discussion of which takeaway to choose.

By the time they reached Zack’s apartment, Cloud’s heart was hammering with both eagerness and nervousness. It wasn’t his first time visiting here, he’d hung out at Zack’s place during the time they both worked for Shinra, but it had been long enough that he had to check the room number twice before knocking.

“It’s just us.” Cloud called through the closed door. Six distinctive strangers squeezing into a tiny studio flat wasn’t exactly discreet, nor was the chocobo waiting outside, but they made it work.

There was some shuffling on the other side. “I got it!” called a distinctive voice, accompanied by the sound of scratching and clamouring against the door. The lock clicked and the door was nudged open from the inside. Dangling from the handle was a familiar black and white cat.

Everyone made clear their delight at seeing Cait Sith again after so long, but it was Yuffie who swept him into a hug first.

After all of their greetings had been made, the group were beckoned inside. There were… a few more plants than Cloud remembered, and the place kinda smelt like them too. It was also a bit less lived in than he recalled. Still, this place held the same comfort as any atmosphere inhabited by Zack.

Finally, they settled on ordering pizza and Cait Sith brought them up to speed with an animatedly preformed recap of the last few weeks events from his side of things.

It wasn’t long before the door handle turned once more and a wide-eyed Zack poked his head around the door.

“… Hey.” He greeted, voice small and clearly unsure, despite being aware this gathering would be happening. Carefully, he eyed everyone crammed into his small living space, while their chatter instantly died down. When his gaze landed on Cloud, he gave a wary smile. “This looks like a party.”

Cloud tried to reassure him with his own half-smile. “Is now you’re here, I guess.”

Carefully, he stepped in, still sticking close to the wall, as he eased the door closed behind him. “Cloud’s friends, huh?”

“Ta-daa!” Cait Sith, now sat on Barret’s shoulder, give a dramatic bow. “’Bout time you finally met the crew.”

“Well how about that.” Cid chuckled, placing his hand on his hip as he studied their newest arrival. “And here we all thought you were blondie’s imaginary friend.”

“Cid!” Both Tifa and Cloud scolded, sending their friend a warning glare.

Yuffie’s mouth had also dropped open in disbelief. “Whoa, same.”

“Gotta admit I’m kind of surprised too. Just sayin’.” Barret agreed.

Zack blinked back at their various looks of shock. “You guys aren’t mad at me?”

“For what happened in the reactor?” Tifa asked, and Cloud could tell her warm smile just from her voice. “You were protecting Aerith, right? Yourself, too. No one can blame you for that.”

Though he eased up a bit at Tifa’s encouragement, Cloud gestured his friend over. Like he’d been waiting for the opportunity, Zack shot across the room and pulled Cloud into a strong hug.

“Ignore them, they didn’t think you were real.” Cloud grumbled, glancing at the others over Zack’s shoulder while they still stood there hopelessly gawking. Not that he cared what they thought.

“Wait.” Zack’s voice strained, as if processing a tough thought. “You’re Tifa, right?”

“I’m impressed you remember me.” She replied.

“So am I.” Zack breathlessly admitted. Now with his grin back in place, he released Cloud and pulled back just enough to regard the others crammed into his tiny room. “I guess you guys already know who I am?”

“We’ve heard a few things.” Barret chuckled.

“If I may interrupt.” Cait Sith hopped down onto the coffee table. “Couldn’t help but notice all the ruckus in Junon today. Don’t suppose that had anythin’ to do with anyone here?”

Barret looked proudly between the group. “Glad you noticed our good work.”

“W-wait, that was you?” Zack’s voice pitched up in shock.

“You know it, kiddo. Hope you’re hungry, we ordered a ton of pizza for the occasion.” Barret gave Zack a firm pat on the shoulder.

Zack nodded, looking totally shocked by this sudden revelation, but not necessarily put off. “Oh, yeah, sure. Sounds fun… Wait.” His eye had caught something, or rather someone.

Everyone turned to see that the Soldier was staring with clear disbelief at Vincent, who was loitering in a dark corner by the fridge.

“Wait, but… I-I saw you get…?” Zack stammered looking between everyone else now, confused by their lack of responses.

“Killed?” Finally Vincent replied, his voice taking on a bored tone. “An inconvenience.”

Clearly, that didn’t answer Zack’s question.

Cid spoke next, shaking his head and looking sympathetic to the other’s confusion. “Jus’ roll with it, kid. This is Avalanche, where no one makes sense.”

Zack nodded, no less baffled, accepting that that was the best answer he was going to get for the time being.

The evening was an enjoyable one, all things considered. There was pizza, celebrating a job well done and getting to know each other. Naturally, this meant a lot of embarrassing Cloud, as many of their group activities seemed drawn to doing. Thankfully, Zack was delighted to meet Cloud’s odd little family. He also didn’t mind the running joke about him being a figment of his friend’s imagination, in fact, he found it quite funny, if not a bit disturbing.

Zack got to hear about their first adventure of chasing down Sephiroth and saving the world, while he got to talk about what Cloud was like before everything had gone wrong. Tifa had recounted the times when they’d all been living on Cid’s airship. Apparently, she had wondered into the kitchen to find Cloud sitting on a counter top, eating cereal straight out of the box while muttering to himself at two o’clock in the morning… Cloud didn’t remember this but everyone agreed it had happened often.

Of course, Zack saw it fit to respond with his own anecdote of ‘dumb kid Cloud’ who had dropped a broadsword and nearly broken his toe, in front of a significant amount of people.

Getting his own back, Cloud told the one about Zack setting his curtains on fire and recounted how Cid had bet Yuffie couldn’t jump from his airship and land on top of a condor. A feat which had nearly gotten her eaten by the gigantic bird.

They’d talked about important stuff too, though this was kept brief, with plenty of time to plan properly later. Rufus’s involvement was both unexpected and worrying but everyone had assured Zack they were fine with dealing with the President for him, which unfortunately didn’t quell his concern.

Despite Zack’s social proficiency, after a while the atmosphere began to wear on him. When Cloud wondered outside for some air, he was followed closely behind.

They spotted Slug halfway down the street, breaking open someone’s garbage bag and emptying it all over the pavement. It appeared she had done this to for every single one, leaving trash all over the sidewalk. She was Yuffie’s problem now, not Cloud’s, so he ignored the mess and wondered across the street, where they both settled on the roadside curb. Nearly midnight, they were the only ones out.

Zack exhaled deeply, his hands fidgeting on his knees. Cloud could tell he had something to say, but was fighting with the words.

“Ya know…” The Soldier began after a few drawn out moments. “I had so much I wanted to tell you. I even wrote it down, then threw it away, then wrote it all down again… then threw that away too.”

“Did it help?”

“Not at all.” Zack laughed, the sound bitter. “I’m sorry.”

Cloud frowned, “What for?” He didn’t understand why the other suddenly couldn’t meet his eyes.

“For always failing you. Last week in the reactor and back when Sephiroth went crazy in Nibelheim, for not making into Midgar with you-.”

Perplexed, Cloud stopped him. “Are you apologising for dying?”

Zack just looked lost. “You had to deal with everything after that on your own. I wish I’d been with you. I could’ve helped you, could’ve helped Aerith. I wish I’d got to know all of them with you, too.” He nodded up to the second-floor window, where the silhouettes of Cloud’s group were faintly visible.

Hearing him admit such a thing made his heart sink. Zack had already done more than Cloud could ever hope to repay him for. He placed a hand on his friend’s forearm. “You’re the reason I got that far, don’t forget that. I wasn’t alone. I had you and them. And now, we’re changing things, to make sure none of us get lost along the way, this time.”

Slowly, processing Cloud’s reassurance, Zack nodded.

“You know how Aerith’s doing?” Cloud asked, changing the subject.

Zack shrugged. “I keep asking to see her, but they always say no. When she talks to me, I can never tell.” He didn’t need to specify how she was talking to him, Aerith and weird dreams were things which came as a pair.

“Doesn’t like to worry people, does she?” Cloud smiled sadly, hating that she was now so close yet still so hard to reach.

“Hopefully she’s fine, long as Hojo is keeping his attention off her. I know some of the Turks aren’t happy about the whole thing, so hopefully they’re putting some pressure on him, in their own way. Just sucks knowing that if it’s not her under the microscope, it’s Sephiroth or your other friend.” Zack sighed.

“Kind of weird, right? How it’s him we’re trying to save this time around?”

Zack ran a hand through his hair, looking up to where the Shinra tower loomed impossibly high overhead. “Really really weird. I’m glad though.”

Cloud nodded. “Agreed.” He joined Zack in glaring up at the tower. “I hate just sitting here. I want to just go get them, now that we’re this close.”

Zack bumped Cloud’s shoulder with his own. “I know, I know. Same here. Just give me a couple more days if you can.”

“Whatever you need.” Glancing over, Cloud caught Slug dash down the next street, chasing a fox. Whatever, she’d find her way back later. “I assume you remember everything now?” The question was rhetorical, if he could remember Tifa and recall little details about their time in Shinra together, then it had all come back to him by now.
There was something off about Zack, which Cloud wasn’t sure was down to recent stress or the evening being somewhat overwhelming. It was something in his eyes which made the other seem… strangely older? He wasn’t sure exactly what, but it was there.

“Yeah.” Admitted Zack, his voice taking on a stained tone. “Everything. Hell, I could probably remember every damn day, if I had to.”

Keeping his eyes fixed forwards, Cloud didn’t want to see what he knew would be a distant look from Zack. “Probably more than I can remember then. There’s a lot that’s still blurry for me.” Not just their time in the Nibelheim manor, but almost everything before the age of twenty-one. Still, he could recall enough to put things into perspective.

“Good. The less the better.” He sighed, as if relieved, but a hardness remained in his tone.

There had been plenty of times over the years since then, where new memories would return in floods, usually brought back by some external stimuli or a wondering thought which led to dark places. These would usually be enough to make him close off from the world, at least for a few days. Cloud had no idea how that entire tidal wave of terrible recollection could hit Zack over a few short weeks, and for him to still be able to get out of bed in the morning.

But then Zack had always been the stronger of the two of them, right? It didn’t surprise Cloud that his friend was dealing with things better than he would have.

“How are you… taking all that?” Cloud asked, ever hating emotional talk, but caring more so for Zack’s wellbeing.

Zack shrugged. “It’s more like an echo of a memory, than a memory itself. I know those things happened… but like they happened to someone else. Sometimes it can feel really real, but I can also detach from it.” Though his expression didn’t grant as much confidence as his words did. “It was easier when you and Aerith were around. Last few days have sucked.”

“We’re together now. Not completely, but we’re working on it. I’m not leaving and neither are they.” Cloud gestured back upstairs, where Barret’s ruckus laugh could be faintly heard from inside.

This time, Zack did smile, if only a little. “I’m glad you found them. They all seem like a blast. Just wish I’d been there with you all.”

“You were, I-.” Cloud answered instantly, but cut himself off. He continued slower, putting a bit more thought into his words. “To me you were always with us.” Same as Aerith had been.

An arm was swung around his shoulder. Easily, Cloud accepted the hug, another thing which had apparently never changed between them both. For a while they sat like that, Cloud resting easily at Zack’s side.

Quietly, Zack whispered, his head resting above Cloud’s. “I’m so proud of you, Cloud. So, so proud of you.”

The words, so genuinely sentimental, made the blond frown. “Why?”

“What d’you mean why? Despite everything, you did it. You became the strongest, you saved the world, you became the best Soldier, what all of us should have been.”
Cloud wanted to argue but he didn’t have the heart.

Zack continued, “No one would have blamed you, if you’d killed Sephiroth the first opportunity you had, this time. Instead, you gave ‘um a chance. Thank you.” Zack sounded so incredibly sappy that Cloud nearly didn’t take him seriously.

Although, the way he clung on so tightly reminded Cloud of the less fortunate things the pair had been through, the sentimentality of his words didn’t help, but he still couldn’t deny the comfort it brought. “It’s no big deal.” He shrugged, only a small movement while wrapped up like he was. He needed to lower the emotional level here, before it became too much.

Contrary to what he wanted, Zack only squeezed him tighter. “Are you kidding? Gods, you’re hopeless. Jus’ take the compliment for me, yeah? I’ll be happy then.” His chest shook with a silent laugh.

Cloud couldn’t deny him that. “Sure, alright.”

The hold loosened to something more comfortable, but Zack didn’t let him go. “Was, ur- was Seph okay while I was gone? I saw the wing. Is he actually degrading?”

“I don’t think so. A lot happened, I nearly messed everything up, but luckily not. Jenova was a nuisance, but nothing new. He met his parents, too. Again I dropped the ball a bit early on that, but whatever. That’s Vincent, by the way, if you haven’t guessed already.”

“No way, seriously? The guy I saw get shot? He looks our age.” Questioned Zack, somewhat lost.

“Comes with being immortal, I guess. You’ll get used to him… or he’ll get used to you. He’s a pretty low energy kind of guy.” Cloud cleared up. He reached into his pocket for the feather Sephiroth had given him. It had become frayed, but still glossy and soft. With a fragile touch, Cloud tried to organise the strands back into their places. “He said he wants us to get closer.”

Zack perked up at that and moved away only enough to get a better look at Cloud. “And? What did you say? You say yes?”

He rolled his eyes at the Soldier’s antics. “I didn’t say no.”

Zack giggled and shook Cloud’s shoulders a little. “Yooo, nice one! How do you feel about that?”

He grumbled and playfully jabbed Zack in the side. “I’d prefer if it were you and Aerith.” He joked, but realised that it hadn’t sounded wholly like one.

Clearly, Zack wasn’t sure of Cloud’s truthfulness either, but took it in his stride just fine. “Well, sounds like you’ve got the pick of whoever you want. Didn’t I always say you’d got more admirers than ya think?” Zack laughed.

Taking this less easily was Cloud, who attempted to play off his awkwardness with a forced laugh. “Getting kinda cold out here, don’t you think? We should probably go grab a last slice of pizza before the others finish it.” He squirmed away, hoping Zack wouldn’t notice the heat rising to his face, thanks to that blunder.

“Yeah, thanks for the talk, buddy.” Jumping to his feet, Zack held a hand out to Cloud.

Taking it, he was pulled up with much more speed than expected but caught himself before he could trip.

Before they stepped inside, Zack caught his arm again. “I really am glad we got to have another go at this and I wasn’t kidding when I said I’m proud of you.”

Unable to come up with anything snarky, Cloud gave a deep sigh. “Thanks. I’m glad to have you back with me. It’s about time you finally met everyone.”

Zack patted him on the shoulder with an affectionate roughness. “You bet! Now let’s go grab that pizza, yeah?”

Unable to help his fond smile, Cloud let himself be led back up to Zack’s studio flat. Despite the encounter leaving him even more of a mixed-up bag of emotions than before, he was eternally grateful for having his friend back at his side. Even just with the addition of Zack, their next task felt like it might even be achievable.

Chapter Text

In Zack’s opinion, Soldier had never been a busier department to work for. Not because there were a huge influx of missions to assign or any conflicts to report to, but rather because all of the paperwork had fallen on his shoulders. One of the reasons he’d pursued a military career in the first place was the hopefully minimal admin work it would entail, but the amount in front of him might just take weeks to get through.

Sure, he’d done little bits here and there. He wrote his own mission reports, but those were mostly just recounting events. Once he’d reached First Class, Sephiroth had shown him the basics of a few more duties, but these had been mostly removed from his workload after seeing Zack’s weakness in that area. All in all, his office tasks had, up to now, been none existent.

He hadn’t realised exactly how much there was to do. Really, the department had been built to function around having three Firsts, their secretaries and Lazard, in order to function effectively.

Lazard was presumably dead, as were two out of the three Firsts. Sephiroth was probably wishing he was doing paperwork right now, and no one had ever bothered to hire those secretaries. While Heidegger had taken over from Lazard, the amount of support he offered was less than nothing.

Wording reports had been challenging enough, but Zack was getting stressed just thinking about the email box, which had been unanswered for weeks; he still had to look at the last two financial reports and the mission rota for next month still needed to be done. Despite avoiding his new office since returning from Nibelheim, Zack couldn’t hide from this forever.

When his shift was over, him and Cloud’s friends would be making a proper plan of action. So far Zack hadn’t contributed many ideas, and he didn’t particularly like the ‘just break in by force’ mentality some of the others had. It might have worked out for them before, but he had his doubts.

It was hard to focus on the email he was supposed to be writing when he knew he’d have to provide some sort of plan tonight. Maybe it would have been better to look through the main email box, rather than his personal one first. But then, Heidegger would get most annoyed if he didn’t get the financial report done quickly and he had to call the IT department again…

There were too many things to focus on.

He was startled when the small ventilation grate behind his desk clunked open and fell to the carpet. Zack spun in his chair in time to see Cait Sith pop out.

Zack blinked down at him, amazed that the little guy had managed to fit through there to begin with. “Hi?”

“Well hello there friend buddy pal!” The cat waved and dusted itself off. “Ya having fun on this fine Thursday afternoon?”

“How’d you even figure out where I was?” Surely navigating through air ducts wasn’t the easiest thing to do.

The cat did a twirl. “A magician never reveals his secrets.”

“Cool. I’d warn you against sneaking up on me, but I don’t think you’d listen somehow.” Zack slumped back into his chair, not thrilled at having another distraction to contend with.

“You’ll be pleased to know I cleared out your schedule for later, and everyone else’s, for that matter. So you can all have a nice chat about our action plan.”

Zack eyed him with suspicion. “Uh, when you say ‘everyone else’…?”

“The Second and Third Classes, of course. I’ll help you out, don’t sweat it.” Reeve’s cat smiled broadly. “You were dragging your feet about it, so I thought I’d help out.”

“Help out, huh?” The Soldier pinched the bridge of his nose. He’d wanted to get his own bearings on the situation before pulling anyone else into this. It was difficult to bring everyone up to speed when they hadn’t even settled on a plan yet. It didn’t feel right.

Plus, the ‘killing the President’ thing was still eating at him. No matter how much Cloud’s friends reassured him that they’d happily deal with it, that felt like passing off the responsibility.

For now, Zack heaved a deep sigh. “Okay, well… You’re good at big wordy stuff, right? Could you tell me what the heck this email means?”

Without hesitation, Cait Sith jumped up onto his desk and began looking over the printout. Zack had thought that having things on paper where he could make his own annotations might help, but it so far hadn’t done much good.

Though it looked clumsy in his big comical gloves, the cat picked up a pen and began making a note in the margin. “If we’re still here in next week, we’ll see about getting you a secretary. Something tells me this isn’t your forte, hmm?”

The Soldier peered out between his fingers. “Really? Thanks, man. I can’t see straight with all these letters and numbers.”

“Ah, don’t sweat it.” The cat pointed to one of the question marks Zack had scribbled onto his sheet. “Okay, see this one here? Grab a pen and I’ll explain what to-.”

He shut up immediately when two loud knocks startled them both. Without waiting, the door was swung open.

Cait Sith yelped as Zack grabbed the back of his cape and shoved him under the desk. He shifted his chair forwards just as the imposing form of Heidegger threw open the door. The motion sent a number of papers as well as the pen scattering across the room.

Heidegger scowled across at a wide-eyed Zack, who must have looked like he’d just been caught in the middle of something embarrassing. “Fair?”

In the most awkward way possible, he waved back at Heidegger with both hands and a ‘I swear I wasn’t up to something’ grin. The loop of Cait Sith’s cape had gotten snagged on one of the buckles of his trouser leg. Desperately, the cat was pawing at where it was stuck.

“Hi!” Zack greeted with too much enthusiasm to be normal.

Wordlessly, Heidegger’s gaze drifted over to the mess now on the floor, then to the vent grate lying on the carpet and slowly back to Zack. His eyes hard and unforgiving.

“Ah, paperwork. Hah! You know how it is.” He laughed in a very obviously fake way.

Heidegger crossed through the door, closing it behind him. “I don’t understand why the Turks have taken such a shine to you. You’re good at fieldwork, but as a commander?” He scoffed. “So how have you managed to get on their good side?”

The question came with a hint of threat and Zack felt his skin crawl under the heavy gaze. “Uh, well, Cissnei is always cool and have you ever tried Rude’s sponge cake? Who wouldn’t want to be friends with the guy, right?” The thick fabric by his knee was jostled by Cait Sith, still trying to get himself free.

It didn’t seem that Heidegger as going to laugh along with the light-hearted comment. Instead, the man moved to tower over the desk. “Because I couldn’t help but notice the suggestion to have you take lead of Soldier, a proposal with quite a few notable signatures.”

It didn’t escape Zack that sitting here like this with his papers all over the floor was a bad move. He feebly shook his leg, trying to get Cait free. “What can I say? I’ve worked with a lot of people.” He defensively replied. He really should have known that Heidegger would take issue with this decision.

“Rufus himself?” The director scowled, towering over Zack’s desk chair.

All he could do was pathetically shrug. “Maybe Sephiroth put in a good word for me?”

Heidegger replied with a cruel laugh and the shake of his head. Clearly, he knew the Soldier was bullshitting. “A good word, ay? From what I’ve seen, I doubt there’ll be any good words coming from him again.”

Zack was struck by concern at the hatred in those words. “You’ve seen him?”

“I have.” Heidegger smiled, without a trace of sympathy. “Hojo’s got him knocked up in one of those big tanks of his. I’ve always said there was something wrong with him. I’ve known him since he was a boy and I always tried to tell the President there was something off about him. But did he listen? No! Of course he didn’t! Now he’s got extra limbs and this and that. Foul. Foul it is!” The rambling continued.

There had been a few massive tanks in the room he’d left Sephiroth in. “Lab UD-377?” Zack recounted, having committed the door number to memory. “I’ve been there before.” He said, during a pause in his superior’s rant.

“Maybe? I don’t know.”

“They had one of those creepy Genesis clones wondering around too.” Zack pressed for more information.

His eyebrows rose. “They have more than just a few copies.” Heidegger confirmed. "What’s left of the original, too. How do you think they keep getting the copies?”

“Hojo’s still trying to cure this degradation thing. Doesn’t want to admit that he has no idea how.” Heidegger sounded highly amused at that.

Zack felt his blood run cold. “What do you mean by remains? He’s dead?”

“Looks dead to me but Hojo says Rhapsodos is alive. The weird copies have much more life in them than him. The madman also said he supposedly has Hewley, not sure that I believe him, mind you.” Disgust laced his words.

“But I- I saw him die.” No way. There was no possible way.

Abruptly, Heidegger let loose a boisterous laugh. “Oh, what’s left of him isn’t human.” He made a wild gesture with his hands. “It’s this grotesque beastly thing. Huge, looks all melted together. I told them Hollander was crazy…” He began a new rant.

Zack recalled the animalistic multi-voiced screech he’d heard in the lab, accompanied by the crashing of something large in a concealed cell. “Inside that massive metal tube thing? The one you can’t see into?”

“Aye, you’ve seen it then?”

Zack nodded. The realisation that he’d been so close to what was left of Angeal hit him like a bolt of lightning. Further, he recalled the darkened cell, and the mangled copy which came to linger by its bars.

How long had they been there, only for him and Sephiroth to have no idea?

He must have been staring blankly, because when Heidegger spoke next, it shook Zack from his stupor. “Anyway, I can see you’re dodging the subject, boy. Why is Rufus aiding you?

Still in shock from what he’d just been told, Zack realised that their rescue operation had now increased to five people- if Angeal and Genesis could even be counted as single people anymore. Besides that, would it even be possible to save them now? Even with the best intention, would Genesis especially still meet them as an enemy?

Either way, Zack had to try. It would be kinder to give them a definite final end than leave them in a cage. Cure or no cure.

A slam came down on the desk, abruptly snapping the First from his thoughts. “Pay attention! Whatever you think you’re doing, we’re not of equal rank yet, and we won’t be as long as I have anything to do with it.” Heidegger sneered.

The director’s hand reached up to snatch the front of Zack’s uniform and he automatically reeled back out of reach. Knocking his chair out from under him. Cait Sith yelped, he’d freed himself at some point but was now left exposed. He tried to hide again but had already been seen.

Heidegger’s offended glare turned into one of shock. “Wait, I’ve seen that damn cat lurking about all over the-!”

Leaping into panicked action, Zack grabbed the cat, who gave a shout of protest. Without thinking, he tossed Cait Sith straight at Heidegger. Both screeched as they collided and the cat clung onto the Head of Department’s face, who clawed at him right back.

Acting solely on instinct, Zack grabbed his desk chair. Wielding it overhead like any other oversized weapon, Heidegger couldn’t react before it bashed over his head, in one loud crash.

He stumbled in place for a moment before crumpling onto the office carpet. Cait Sith, thankfully unhurt, landed beside him with more grace.

Holding his hands up, as if trying to play innocent, Zack looked at Cait with wide, probably crazed eyes.

“Bloody hell!” The cat cried, stepping away from the man knocked out cold on the floor. “You’re dangerous you are. Ya better not have killed ‘um!”

“Oh Gods, I-. I’m sorry, he-. I didn’t mean to!” There wasn’t much point in trying to explain himself.

“Do you know what he’ll do to you once he wakes up?!” Cait Sith shouted back, checking Heidegger’s pulse.

“Yes!... No? Maybe? Look, I’m sorry, okay!”

“There’s no way I’m clearing up this mess! No way…” The cat continued to mutter in irritation.

Taking a moment for some deep breathing exercises, Zack ignored Cait’s fussing. Alright, so… clearly some adjustments needed to be made here.

Zack stepped over Heidegger, beckoning the cat to join him as he headed for the door. Giving a careful glance up and down the corridor, Cait followed him out.

“Uh, I feel like our plans just changed.” Zack locked the door behind them. Heidegger would have to wait there until later. “Any chance you could bring that meeting with the rest of Soldier ahead a few hours?”

“Sure can do. When were you thinking?”

“Right now.” Zack said, with more conviction than he’d felt since this whole affair began. Whether or not that was fuelled by panic or not mattered very little right now. “As soon as possible, any room where no one will listen in on us. Let’s get this over with.”

By the end of the hour, the gymnasium was crammed full of Soldiers of every rank. Not really the most ideal room for a meeting like this, but Cait had assured no listening devices were installed in here, as apparently they were in many rooms of this floor.

The mood was an excitable one, with everyone talking amongst themselves. Not that Zack could blame their energy, it wasn’t like this sort of thing happened often. Or ever, really. Hopefully, he could match some of their enthusiasm, to chase away the nerves he was feeling right now.

Kunsel gave him a reassuring and much appreciated pat on the shoulder. With that, he climbed onto a pile of crashmats stacked against the wall and looked over the crowd. While the room itself wasn’t exceptionally large, it was filled with enough people to feel intimidating. Thankfully, Zack was at least acquainted with everyone in here, if not friends with them. This should be easy, right?

He cleared his throat, nervous but smiling, and waved at a small group who called to him.
“Hey, guys.” He spoke up in greeting, drawing anyone’s attention that hadn’t already been on him, and quieting the rest. “Thanks for getting yourselves here so quickly, I know it was out of the blue. I’m still trying to get my thoughts together with this, and I’ll admit I didn’t rehearse this before coming up here. I’m here to answer some questions about recent events, as well as other things.” This immediately captured everyone’s attention.

Zack took a deep breath and began. “So, a lot has changed over the last few months. First off, the chain of command. For now, yourselves and this department will be under my leadership.” It felt weird to say, didn’t feel right at all, in fact. There were a few confused faces but plenty who looked instantly pleased at the news; a few even cheered. Nobody looked outright upset.

The reaction filled him with confidence, as well as gratitude. “Thanks, guys. I admit, it’s not something I really wanted, or what I planned for, but it’s what we’re rolling with for now.” He shrugged. “There’s a rumour going around about what happened to General Sephiroth.”

That cleared up any residual whispering after Zack’s first announcement and left everyone waiting eagerly. “One- he’s alive. Two- he hasn’t ‘gone mad’. It’s true that the Nibelheim mission went wrong, that me and Sephiroth disappeared for a few weeks. In summary, this is because we were… we were having doubts about Shinra.” He had to force himself to say. While it was true that everyone had their doubts about Shinra, especially those involved with the Wutai conflict, it was fairly established taboo to air those thoughts.

Unsurprisingly, there were a few odd looks and raised brows. Without dwelling on how spontaneous their trip outside Midgar had been, Zack continued. “Me and Sephiroth discovered what had been causing the Nibelheim situation and sought to destroy it. An entity, Jenova. The force powering the reactor. We determined that this force was not just a problem to the local area, but one which could easily escalate to a near uncontrollable threat. As a powerful asset of Shinra’s, they were against us destroying it, but we determined that this ‘asset’ posed an existential danger great enough to threaten the safety of everyone on Gaia.”

Zack paused a moment to recollect his thoughts. “Long story short, Sephiroth stormed the reactor, but didn’t manage to fully destroy the target.” He could be light on details and hide the nature of his personal involvement, not that it really mattered for a speedy retelling. It wasn’t like anyone else in this room had been there or had high enough clearance to read the report.

“As a result, he’s been declared an enemy of Shinra. Currently, they have him locked up in R&D, with Hojo. I dunno what the hell is happening up there but I’ve caught on to enough to know it’s nothing good. In fact I don’t think they’re planning on letting him out of there again.” There were some mumbling from the crowd at this, all of shock over how this entity had been strong enough to defeat the legendary warrior, but also how easily Shinra could seemingly dispose of such a person.

“He’s not the only one. They’ve taken someone I’m close to, who might be facing the same fate. I also just caught wind that commanders Rhapsodos and Hewley may also be alive and being kept in some suspended state too. I don’t have direct conformation of this yet, but It’s possible.”

Again, this triggered more talking. This time, Zack let them talk for a minute.

“The main thing I want you to take from this- those were their best people and Shinra have them locked up as lab rats. All my life, I’ve followed the company blindly, while they told me my friends were our enemy and while I killed on their order. We all have. They don’t care about any of us.” He stressed as seriously as he could. “I’ve collected all the evidence surrounding this that I can, and compiled it together,- or my friends did that bit, I suck at paperwork. I’m gonna send that to all of you after this. I’d like you to read it, because… well.” He trailed off, struggling to complete the thought.

“Shinra isn’t safe for any of us. It never was. I know that danger doesn’t bother us on a regular day, but if the place that we come home to when the missions are over doesn’t care for us, then we need to ask whether it’s really where we want to be.” His words, seemed to strike a chord with many in the room, in a range of ways. “There’s something me and some allies outside Shinra have been putting together, a plan to get those guys out of Hojo’s claws and finally get rid of Jenova. I’m not set on the details yet, but it’s probably gonna be big. Honestly, I’m not sure what will happen in the next week, I won’t ask anything drastic of anyone here, I just want what’s best for you guys, but I know we can’t let things stand as they are.
I know it’s been all of our dreams to do this. I get it if you want no part in this or what might come after. By now you know what I’m implying, if you want to continue under strictly Shinra’s order, rather than mine, I won’t argue. Any questions?”

Zack eyed the variety of reactions from the crowd. One particularly dismayed Third Class rose their hand.

“Go on, buddy.” Zack prompted them to speak.

“Um, are we gonna lose our jobs?”

Zack cringed, hating to be the barer of bad news. “Honestly, I don’t know. I can’t promise anything. I understand that staying with Shinra is gonna be shaky, and might mean coming into opposition with me. I don’t want that and hopefully it won’t need to happen.” The mood shifted into mostly one of worry, though a few notable faces seemed quietly understanding.

The next hand rose, a Second Class who’d been in the department longer than Zack, probably the longest serving in the room. “Two years ago, Commander Rhapsodos stood in a similar position to yourself. Half of Soldier up and left, only for them to be hunted down by the rest of us. What’s different between you and him?”

For a moment, Zack was unsure how to answer. He never witnessed the campaign Genesis had used to talk so many people into leaving with him, but he hoped this was different. “I don’t want to leave Soldier. I still love this job. I won’t claim to understand exactly what Genesis wanted, I think what drove him was conquest, more than escape, in the end. I’m not saying things aren’t going to be rough for a while, but I’m hoping we don’t have to leave here, this is our home. I don’t want to quit Soldier, I know none of you do either, but I think we can make it something better. I sure know the people running Shinra don’t have our best interests at heart. The difference now, is that I’m pulling a rescue mission in the next few days, not a desertion. If I need to leave to protect people, then I will.”

Davies, who’d asked the question, nodded, seemingly content by the answer. As vague as it’d been. “I trust you, Fair, your hearts in the right place but you don’t actually have a plan for this mission of yours, do you?” His words were kind, and drew a few light-hearted chuckles from the crowd.

Despite it being awkward to admit he was right, Zack appreciated that these people knew him well enough not to jump to malicious conclusions. He gave a laugh of his own to soften the blow. “I admit, it’s a work in progress. For now, anyway.” Even after that, no one looked outright disturbed or horrified by what he was saying. Zack appreciated them all immensely. It was no stretch of the imagination to assume that everyone knew how little Shinra cared for their wellbeing and it’d been Zack deluding himself all along.

No matter what he came out with today, evidence or not, he already knew a few who would stay on Shinra’s side regardless. He wouldn’t take that personally, Zack knew that staying could potentially be just as risky as leaving, in the long run. They were comfortable here, and he could sympathise with that.

Another hand rose up from the crowd. “This entity… thing. You tell us anything about it?”

“I’m no expert.” Zack warned. “It’s in this building, it’s weakened but still dangerous. It’s the reason all the monsters in the Nibel region went crazy. One of my friends has compiled everything we know about it, I’d ask that you read through that later.” He didn’t mention that this friend was Reeve.

One last hand was held up in question. The Third Class looking confused by curious. “If you’re in control of Soldier now, what’s you’re rank? What do we call you now, Sir?”

Zack hadn’t even thought about that. Commander felt wrong, he’d done nothing to warrant it. Vague promises from Rufus and the Turks pulling strings in the background was nothing to be proud of. Even his title of Lieutenant felt hollow, knowing now that Genesis was still alive somewhere. “Look, just call me Zack, you know I’ve never cared about that sorta thing.” He shrugged.

The casual answer seemed to go over surprisingly well. With no more questions left, he wrapped things up. “All I ask is that you give what I’ve said some thought, keep an eye on that reading material. If you have any further questions, just ask away. If you wanna talk about this amongst yourselves, be discreet, there’re loads of listening devises placed around this floor. Also, avoid Heidegger as much as you can, if possible.”

“Same as always then?” Someone called out, which got a few more laughs.

“Appreciate you guys showing up, that’s all I guess. Dismissed!” He called and hopped down from his platform. The room erupted into chatter and movement and Zack breathed a sigh of relief, thankful that it was done. Now all he had to do was wait.

… and he didn’t have to wait long.

After resuming his admin work, Heidegger safely tied up and hidden for the time being, his office door was knocked on yet again. After a call to enter, Reno sauntered in, looking about the room with an impressed nod. “Got an office all to yourself already? Nice. Someone must like you.” He gave a knowing smile.

“I wish they didn’t. I need to do the training rota for next week, but I don’t have admin permission for the system. IT said they’ve fixed it, but it’s still not working.” Zack grumbled. Reno grabbed a second desk chair from the against the wall and flopped down on it.

“Shame bro. Sounds unfun… I know I don’t come to this floor all that much, but you should’ve seen all the weird looks I just got from your guys. Don’t suppose ya know why all the Soldiers ‘round here look suspicious all of a sudden?” But Reno wasn’t hiding that he already knew the answer to that question.

Zack shrugged, most of his focus still on his computer screen, which he was glaring at with hatred. “I’ve no idea what you’re talking about. What brings you all the way down here? Rufus want something?”

“Nah.” Reno shook his head, spinning in his chair, unable to sit still. “I’m here at the request of Hojo, actually.”

That got Zack’s attention.

Reno continued, “He’s been nagging us about the blond guy who’s been seen hanging out with Sephiroth. Really wants us to track him down.”

“What does he want with Cloud?” Zack frowned.

“Says he wants to ask about his involvement with his ‘prized specimen’.” Reno put on a voice to imitate the scientist. “Never really know with Hojo though, do you?” He shrugged.

“Right.” And that was what worried Zack the most. “I’m not telling anyone where he is.” He replied simply.

Holding up his hands in a gesture of innocence, Reno went on. “Wasn’t expecting you to. We already know where Cloud and his ever-growing team of weirdos are hiding anyway, and I’ve been told to withhold everything we have about him from Hojo.”

“… Then why’re you here?” Zack’s suspicion was growing. Clearly, the Turks had everything figured out. Being decent friends with several of them was sometimes kind of weird, when they were always ten paces ahead of him.

“Because I think you should bring him to Hojo.”

“What?!”

With the dramatic roll of his eyes and long sigh, Reno made Zack feel like he’d just missed something majorly important. “Zack, I love ya, man, but you’d make a shit Turk. I know you want Aerith and your boss out, and that little blond bastard is just as handy with a sword as you are. Even without the rest of his band, I’m not sure there’s a lot Hojo could throw at you, if you wanted to tear the place up. Hell, no one’s gonna even try if you manage to get Sephiroth out. Be clever and sort out some means of accessing the high security areas, you’re high enough rank to order most people about and we’ll stay out of your way. Anyone’s mad if they try to stop you. Get what I’m saying?”

At first, all he felt was revulsion at the idea of holding Cloud as some kind of playing piece. But the more Reno talked, as much as his idea was crazy, it was also undeniably clever. “Yeah. I think I get you.”

The redhead leaned back in his chair, simply observing Zack, who was now realising all the positives and negatives to the idea.

“Reno, did you know he has what’s left of Angeal and Genesis up there too? And that they’re still alive?”

On the other side of the desk, Reno’s expression changed from smug to puzzled. “Wait, seriously? What, he got them pickled in mako or something? How’d ya find that out?” He wasn’t bothering to hide his surprise.

“Heidegger told me when I asked. He came in a couple of hours ago, demanding to know why Rufus suddenly likes me.”

“Oh shit, what’d you tell ‘um?”

Zack’s eyes shifted over to the locked storage closet in the wall to his left. “I,- well I freaked out. I, uh, kinda knocked him out, tied him up and threw him in the supply closet.” The Soldier blurted out in one go.

Reno burst out laughing. “Oh shit! You’re crazy, man!”

“I’m a Solder, not a Turk!” Zack said, as if this was a valid explanation. “I’m not supposed to think before knocking people out.” Still, he couldn’t help but laugh along.
“He’s gonna kill you, ya know? Not even I’ve got the balls to do somethin’ like that.”

“Yeah, I know… can you help me, uh, hide him?” Zack asked genuinely, a hush to his voice. Perhaps he wouldn’t mention this particular blunder to Cloud and friends.
Reno continued to howl with laughter.

Chapter Text

“So…” Zack began. He looked around the group with a weighty nervousness about him. Once again, they were crammed into his tiny studio flat, away from the Shinra building.

The silence dragged on, until Barret was the next to break it. “…So?” He asked with a raised brow. “You figured out how we’re gonna to do this yet?”

For the last few days, ‘the plan’ had been a major point of deliberation and annoyance for all, with no one having a complete idea of how they were going to get eight armed individuals all the way up to the Research department, break into the highest security areas to not only rescue their friends but also deal with Jenova.

“I do.” Zack answered slowly, giving away how unsure he was of his own thinking. “I think I do.” He corrected.

“But it’s risky, yeah?” Yuffie asked from her cross-legged position on the floor. “That’s fine, we’re all about taking risks. I ate that last pizza slice days after we bought it, didn’t I? If that didn’t kill me, nothing will.”

Beside her, Cid cringed but nodded in agreement.

Her reassurance didn’t help Zack’s confidence. If anything, the prospect of added danger only filled Cloud with eagerness. After the rather uneventful attack on Junon last week, he was itching for some action.

With a sweet smile, Tifa reached out, placing an encouraging hand on Zack’s. “Don’t worry. I doubt it’s crazier than some of the things we’ve done. For them, anything’s worth suggesting.”

“Heh, right.” Still nervous, Zack winced. “Ya see… Hojo has been poking around, trying to get information on who’s been hanging out with Sephiroth.” His eyes drifted guiltily across to Cloud. “He, uh, wants to speak to you.”

The tension in the room morphed into something more uncomfortable.

“Speak to me, huh?” Crossing his arms over his chest, a chill of discomfort seized Cloud like a sudden cold draft had swept through the room.

Cait Sith spoke up, from where Yuffie had him cradled in her arms. “Bring Cloud to Hojo?” He asked, to clarify.

“It’s a way in.” Zack quickly explained. “If we play our cards right, they can take us directly to Sephiroth. There’s a lot we can do with it once we’re in, we can play it by ear.”

Out of everyone, Tifa looked the most worried. Her previously reassuring smile dropped instantly.

The Soldier went on. “I learned something today. Apparently, they have Genesis and Angeal locked up in there too. I don’t know what state they’re in, I’m not even sure if we can save them, but I think I know where they’re being kept and I want to at least try.”

“They’re alive?” Both Cloud and Cait asked in unison.

“I know, I’m shocked too.” Murmured Zack, in a way which betrayed how strung out his emotional state must have been.

“Were you planning on doing all that on your own?” Tifa asked, a hardness in her voice. “I’m sorry, I’m not comfortable with you both putting yourselves in that position.”

Cloud knew her well enough to know she meant him, more than Zack. “I’m also not the best to take on Jenova.” It hurt to admit, but it was the truth. He’d let the group down in the reactor and didn’t plan to do so again.

No one looked particularly happy. Dejected, Zack’s eyes turned down to his knees.

Cloud didn’t understand why they all looked so forlorn. Risky or not, this was the best idea anyone had put forth so far. “I’m prepared to try. It gets us in, if nothing else. We bring Cait with us, leave him somewhere he wouldn’t otherwise have access to. He can help the others get in, or Red and Aerith get out.”

Everyone looked surprised at his willingness to be led into such a dangerous position. Surely there were no doubts over Zack’s trustworthiness amongst the group? Barret glanced over his shoulder to Vincent, who was lurking in the corner. “I’m sure Galian wouldn’t mind staging a breakout? Nothing causes a distraction like a rampage.”

“That can be arranged.” The gunman agreed with a nod.

Pleased, Cloud carried on, sharing a determined look with Zack. “You could tell them I’m potentially dangerous, if they try to separate us, I’ll cause a scene and we get out quick. We can keep Hojo alive for as long as he’s useful. If something goes badly, we play it safe and leave, reassess and come back more prepared. You guys get Aerith and Red, help kill Jenova and then leave. We’ll get the others.”

“I dunno, kid. Still feels like we’re putting too much to chance.” Cid looked unsure, his elbows digging into his knees.

Cloud shrugged. “If anything goes wrong, we have you as backup.”

Beside him, Tifa was looking more uncomfortable by the second. “You’re sure you’d be okay with that, Cloud?”

No, not really. The idea of him and Zack being led deep into Hojo’s domain was, admittedly, kind of terrifying. Instead of airing that, he shrugged. “We’ve done this before, with less people. We even have a guarantee that Soldier and the Turks will keep off our backs.”

“Don’t forget, last time was just for Aerith. You just found Nanaki along the way. Now it’s those two, Seph and his two buddies, who we don’t even know are cool or not.” Yuffie said. “Also on the shopping list are Jenova, Hojo and the President, just to keep Rufus happy.” She listed off, sounding increasingly more sceptical.

Cait Sith stirred where she held him. “Ah, but if they get me inside, as our friend said, I could be a big help. Our informant inside the building would like to see you all before we stage this big breakout, he’s got some things to help you out.”

That was good, any help from Reeve would be appreciated... and needed.

“The President doesn’t matter.” Zack shook his head. “It’s not like Rufus gave me a time limit on that request. As long as we get everyone out, it’s fine. However, I’m not leaving without at least trying to get Angeal and Genesis… Cid, you got somethin’?”

“Don’t suppose the Turks could help us get to the upper floors?” He asked.

Zack didn’t look so sure. “They don’t want to appear to be directly helping us. But if you need a reason to be escorted up there, we wouldn’t need the Turks for that. Soldiers have access to medical, as well as the first two floors of R&D. I’ll negotiate with Rufus about finding us a safehouse for when we get out.”

The others nodded, now with slightly more enthusiasm. Finally, this was looking like a cohesive strategy and with Cloud’s encouragement, they were finally coming around to the idea.

Everyone, except for Tifa. She simply gave a hopeless shrug. “I hate this plan. I think you’re both mad to go in alone, but you’re right, we can’t leave them any longer.” She gave Cloud a hard look. “Are you sure about this?”

He replied with a firm nod. “Absolutely, and we won’t be alone.”

“Alright then.” She conceded. “Have you managed to, uh, speak with Sephiroth yet?”

Everyone else cut their quiet chatter and diverted their full attention back to Cloud, who immediately despised all the odd looks that this sort of conversation brought. Zack, on the other hand, looked confused. “No. I haven’t.” He replied simply.

“Well… have you tried reaching out to him?” Tifa asked again.

“Not really.” Cloud admitted, forcing the words out while everyone watched on in anticipation.

Tifa seemed surprised by that. “If you can, you might want to try. We’re going to need all the preparation we can get.” She waited for Cloud to reluctantly nod.

“I’m not getting it.” Zack frowned, looking between everyone. “Is this like another soulmate thing you guys have going on?”

The others laughed at that while Cloud scowled. “Don’t call it that.”

“I’ll take that as a yes.” Zack reached up to ruffle Cloud’s hair, only to have his hand swatted away. “Alright, good talk, everyone. I guess we can go through the finer details next, but all those in favour, raise your hand, I guess?”

In a wide range of reluctance and acceptance, everyone rose their hands, Tifa being the last, only after levelling Cloud with another intense look.

“Great.” Zack breathed a heavy sigh of relief. “We’ll make this work. Together, I know we’ll kick their asses.”

It wasn’t like Cloud hadn’t wanted to communicate in any way since being separated from Sephiroth, quite the opposite. Clearly, his once nemesis was also reaching out on his end too, and when Cloud fell into that familiar dreaming state, Sephiroth’s presence could be felt easily around him.

Weird dreams were something Cloud was very used to, but having Sephiroth intruding in on those still wasn’t something particularly comforting. While the man was much more amicable these days, it was still a shock when he tried to reach into Cloud’s consciousness.

After that one incident on the way to Nibelheim, where Cloud had threatened him, Sephiroth had actually followed through and stayed out of Cloud’s head.
Or he had until recently.

Cloud would find himself in a place of darkness, a realm of Jenova he was mutely aware existed in some capacity. He’d be dreaming, only half aware he was in that place, when something would begin pulling on the connection the two shared. Who it was, was obvious, and regardless of intention, Cloud would be caught in a fight or flight response which would have him squirming away from the feeling.

Suddenly, he’d awaken from it, back into the reality of headaches and that bond they shared feeling horribly stagnant and weak. He’d only be half aware that Sephiroth had been attempting to contact him, the problem being that Cloud’s subconscious still didn’t welcome him as openly as it did with Aerith.

After dwelling on the lacking connection they shared, especially after Tifa’s questions that evening, Cloud disappeared from the shabby hotel the party had been staying at. He nodded to Vincent, who melted into the shadows of one of the doorways as he passed, and made his way the short distance towards the main Shinra complex.

He took a left at the main building and along the now quiet roadside to the first staff apartment block. In the elevator, he travelled to the thirteenth floor. It took a moment to recall the room number, but after a moment of deliberation, Cloud swiped the key card he’d saved.

Sure enough, the reader blinked green and he entered.

Sephiroth’s apartment smelled of dust. Flicking on the light, Cloud had forgotten just how stark and lifeless the place was. On the pristine leather sofa sat a tattered duffle bag of belongings Cloud had used from when he’d lived in that shack in the slums. That was strange to think back on, almost felt like another lifetime ago. On the kitchen countertop stood the flowers Aerith had given them, now rotted and dead where they sat in an empty wine bottle. Cloud smirked, recalling Sephiroth’s revulsion at having potential contaminates around his kitchen.

For a while, he stood with his back to the closed door, waiting for nothing to happen.

Eventually, he dumped the flowers in the otherwise empty garbage can and wondered over to the bookshelf- the only thing in here to suggest the room had belonged to a real living person. All impersonal non-fiction, with the exception of a battered old copy of Loveless.

He’d hoped being here would help that connection to feel less empty, but if anything, this place just felt wrong now, like someone had died here and left this home empty. Thing was, this place never possessed any soul to begin with, Sephiroth’s presence here had done very little to warm these walls and Cloud was unsure how it could have been called a home at any point.

That realisation only made the blond second guess himself. What had he hoped to achieve by coming here?

If nothing else, he could at least pick up a spare change of clothes. Sephiroth would probably appreciate that, once they broke him out of the labs.

Cloud opened the bedroom wardrobe to a selection of black and white items, though a strike of lavender caught his eye. Oh Gods, his dress. Taking it out to examine, the whole evening at the Shinra party flooded back. Yes, he could admit, the dress had looked great. Maybe, there might come a time where they’d return here and it’d see the light of day again.

He grabbed a change of clothes before shutting the lights off again and curling up in Sephiroth’s armchair, as it overlooked a sprawling midnight view of Midgar.

There was something about this which made his heart ache, but Cloud gave up trying to put a name to it. Perhaps he shouldn’t have come alone? The others wouldn’t have understood though, maybe except Vincent?... It took a while, but finally, the twinkling city lights lulled him into sleep. This time, Cloud welcomed the previously haunting feeling.

…

That dark place greeted him.

Here, Sephiroth and by extension Jenova alike felt frighteningly close. As ever, it was startling and uncomfortably smothering to be down in this cursed place. As per the promise he’d made himself, Cloud held steady and endured the cloying feeling until it settled enough to glance around.

Things moved in the dark around him, though it was hard to tell what, if anything. All abstract, dreamlike.

“S-Seph?” Speaking in this place was odd, like the pressure was turned up too high, and his voice didn’t quite reach his own ears as it should. “You there?”

Turning on the spot, Cloud gasped. Before him stood the man he’d been after. Amusingly, Sephiroth looked just as flustered as Cloud felt, as if he’d also just been dropped into this place in the same way.

His form wasn’t complete, appearing almost foggy. Sephiroth looked Cloud up and down, eyes wide with surprise. “You’re here?” It was odd seeing him so shocked at this, Cloud had assumed this sort of meeting was Sephiroth’s thing.

“Looks like it.” Cloud replied with a light shrug. After all this time he still wasn’t sure of ‘dream etiquette’.

Sephiroth looked relieved, a small smile breaking onto his face. “I’ve been calling out to you. I wasn’t sure it would work as easily as Aerith made it sound.”

So, she’d been chatting with him as well. Cloud gestured to himself in a way which said ‘well here I am’. “You got me. Dunno how long for.” Sephiroth’s form wavered precariously before his eyes.

“Good. Jenova hasn’t wanted you here, I don’t think. She doesn’t like you much.”

Cloud smiled at that, deciding not to mention that it was him who hadn’t wanted to be here. “Damn right she shouldn’t. How’re you holding up?”

“I,- I’m not sure.” He admitted. “This place has me trapped and Hojo is keeping me under heavy sedation. However, I’ve found,- I’ve found Angeal and Genesis.”

“What? Seriously? Zack heard something about them today, reckons he knows where you’re all being kept. Do you know if they’re up there with you?”

He nodded back, smile more genuine, brighter. “They are. I admit, I’m not sure what state they’re in, but they’re here.”

“And if we get them out, will they co-operate?”

“Genesis will, he intends to escape. Angeal no longer bares a human form but the beast he’s become still seems to possess some of his will. I would hope the same could be said for him too. I haven’t asked of their plans after we get out.”

Good. As long as they could be an asset for escaping then Cloud couldn’t care less what the two did afterwards, as long as it didn’t slow him or his friends down. If issues arose, they could be dealt with.

“That’s great.” Cloud congratulated. Zack would be delighted. “Listen, we’ve got a plan for tomorrow. We’re coming up to get you three, Aerith and Nanaki. We’re going to kill Jenova. For good this time.” It felt brilliant to finally be able to take action.

“I’ll be eagerly waiting. Me and Genesis have made our own preparations. We’re going to find Jenova’s core and attack her from her own realm. It appears she exists largely within this dreaming space, it would stand to reason that we can fight her on her own terms here.” Sephiroth eagerly replied.

“That works. Perhaps that’s why we’ve never completely gotten rid of her before.” This was starting to sound like it could actually happen. The readiness to get into battle made Cloud’s pulse race.

“Once we get out, there’s something I must do.” Sephiroth began. “Genesis thinks my blood might be the cure to the degradation. I’ll provide him with a transfusion as a priority, when I awaken.”

“Oh.” That idea brought to mind a conversation the two had shared while traveling. “Is that why I’ve never had degradation symptoms? You have a sort of immunity?”

“I hope that’s the case. If so, Hollander’s theory might actually be right.” There was a hopeful brightness in his eyes. “Tell me your plan.”

Cloud huffed a laugh. “Lucky me got a personal summon from Hojo. I’ll make my way up with Zack while the others follow further behind. We’ll get you three, the others will get the Red and Aerith and we’ll meet in the middle and kill Jenova… or something like that. It’s kind of improv. Honestly, I’d expected you to get yourself out by now. Blow up the Shinra building, grab the others for us, you know?”

Sephiroth gave his own laugh. “Remind me of that tomorrow and I’ll consider it then… I’m not sure how long we can both remain like this.” He warned.

The image before him was distorting more by the minute, like something was interfering and pushing them apart. “Okay, hang in there, a little longer and we’ll be with you. I’ve never properly met your two friends. I’m looking forward to an introduction.” Cloud held up a hand for Sephiroth to take.

“I’d love to.” He replied warmly, then stepped forward in a motion which would have caught the hand and pulled him into a hug.

However, before Cloud could register the touch, he was jolted out of the dream and back onto Sephiroth’s armchair.

Two in the morning, the clock told him. With a stretch, Cloud got up. He couldn’t stay in this place any longer, time to head back to the hotel. At least he’d accomplished what he sought to do.

Finally, things were moving and Cloud could practically feel the seconds counting down. Today, they would finally take the fight to the heart to Shinra.

Chapter Text

Stepping into the grand foyer of the Shinra building was a very odd experience for the Avalanche team. Their most recent memories of the place had it burnt out, collapsing and graffiti covered, but of course that version of events had been replaced.
Sleek, hi-tech. Corporate and busy but undeniably beautiful in its construction. Comparing the two, Cloud found he preferred this place as a dilapidated wreck.

The hour was five in the afternoon. Most employees were leaving now, so little attention was paid to Cloud and friends as people hurried out of the wide main door. A foreboding feeling passed between the group, the calm before action. It spelled a nervous sort of anticipation, but not the sort Cloud shied away from; finally, they were taking the battle to the heart of the problem.

Zack was chatting to another Soldier when they arrived, who looked to be second class, based on the uniform. Cloud vaguely recognised them but couldn’t put a name to the guy. Seeing the arriving party, Zack waved them over. He met everyone with confident smiles and hugs.

“Ready to feed yourselves to the wolves?” Cid asked, lighting a cigarette next to the ‘no smoking’ sign.

Cloud nodded, measuring Zack’s apparent confidence, which looked artificial, even to him. “Ready as we’re gonna be.”

Tifa stepped up, grasping both by the shoulder. “Anything happens you’re not expecting, just get out. We’re in deep trouble if we lose you two as well. Regular updates, like we agreed.” She stressed the last part mostly to Cloud, who nodded.

“Like we agreed.” He repeated for her.

“Don’t worry, I’ll make sure they do.” Cait Sith gave a muffled squeak from the bag Cloud had resting over his shoulder.

Zack poked the bag, making the cat inside wriggle. “Yeah yeah, we’ll be fine.” He gestured to the Soldier he’d brought down. “Kunsel here will be your guide for today. He should help you all get to where you need.”

Ah, that was his name, Cloud vaguely recalled him now as one of Zack’s best friends.

The Soldier stepped up, shaking hands with Cloud’s team. “Good to meet the people Zack’s been getting into trouble with. Stick with me and I’ll show you around, hopefully, no one should bother us.”

“That’s a relief.” Tifa sighed. She wasn’t hiding how jumpy this situation made her.

Yuffie, on the other hand, groaned and screwed her face up. “Urgh, that’s lame. I thought we’d be climbing up, rescuing some peeps and then making some grand, daring escape.”

“You wanna fight all of these people? You sure about that?” Cid chuckled at her antics as he eyed the countless employees making their escape from the building.

“Yeah! Of course I wanna fight all these guys!”

“Please, Yuffie.” Tifa put a hand on her shoulder in an attempt to calm their fiery teammate. “Zack’s friend is risking a lot to help us. The least you can do is thank him.”

But Kunsel laughed from under his helmet. “If it’s a fight you’re after, I think you’ll still be in luck. I can only get you halfway, remember? After that, well… ‘As long as Aerith is safe, I don’t care.’” He shrugged, appearing to quote Zack.

“We should go.” Cloud said abruptly. “Before we attract too much attention.” He continued when everyone’s eyes fell on him.

The others nodded and wished each other luck. Barret immediately caught Kunsel in conversation and it looked like this was where they would be parting ways for now. Not wanting to wait for them to move, Cloud offered a final encouraging nod to Tifa and turned towards one of the large curving staircases.

Chasing after him, Zack followed Cloud up to the elevator. After a long moments wait, one finally arrived, crammed full of workers eager to escape for the rest of the day. Tapping the floor number, Zack finally spoke when the doors closed behind them. “I messaged Hojo’s secretary. He knows to expect us.”

Cloud caught the underlying anxiety in his voice and watched as Zack’s boots worked at the floor while he eyed their cramped surroundings. “You’re worried?”

“Of course I am! You’re not?” The words were laced with sarcasm. “I know this was my idea, but I still can’t believe were doing this. I’ve been up all night-, Tifa wasn’t kidding, this plan is terrible. I feel like I’m leading everyone to their deaths! I dunno what we’re gonna find up there, but I don’t want to freak out and lose my cool and-, I don’t know- I might just kill Hojo on reflex! I-.”

The increasingly agitated rambling stopped suddenly when the elevator doors slid open, welcoming another group of employees. That quietened Zack, and stopped his pacing. He instead joined Cloud, who leaned casually by the wall. Cloud could practically feel the restless energy sparking off the man beside him. Naturally, he too had his worries, but was at least keeping them tame.

With the elevator constantly stopping and starting, it took a while to get to the upper floors, enough time for the nervousness he was feeling to grow some more. It took several drawn out minutes, longer than he’d been expecting. Finally, the flow of people tapered off leaving just him and Zack once more. Only three floors from their destination, Cloud quickly hit the button to pause the lift.

He was met with confusion by Zack.

“We’re going to be fine.” Cloud urged the frantic Soldier. “You need to breathe.”

The other looked like was going to argue for a moment but stopped. There was a light shake to his hands which Cloud decided he hated seeing.
Rolling his eyes, but not really meaning anything from the gesture, Cloud stepped up and offered a hug, which was accepted immediately.

“I just don’t want anything to happen to you.”

Cloud couldn’t help but smile, Zack was too sweet. “And nothing will. Like I said, they try to separate us and I’ll kick off. I need you to be able to smooth talk us through this, okay?” Everyone knew the blond didn’t have the charisma to talk his way out of anything.

Cait Sith’s head popped out of Cloud’s bag. “Don’t forget you’ve both got backup just around the corner. You won’t be that alone.”

“I forgot you were in there.” Cloud muttered, slightly embarrassed that they had observers right now.

“Okay.” Zack finally agreed, after half a minute of clutching at Cloud. “You’re right. Let’s go.” He took a few deep breaths and finally hit the button.

By the time the door opened and they stepped out into the reception area of Research and Development, Zack was all smiles and confident stride. With as much casual swagger as he could fake, he led the way to the desk and relaxed against it, as he waited for the receptionist to finish her phone call.

The brunette woman at the desk greeted Zack with a smile and wave, as she hurriedly finished on the phone. Not only did she look happy to see him, but also like he’d been expected.

“Hey Judy. Ya got my email then?” Zack greeted with a wink once she was done.

“Wassup, Mr Soldier man? What’ve you done this time to get an invite from the big boss himself?” Her demeanour and cheeky grin reminded Cloud of Yuffie. She played along with the easy flirting and handed over a pair of temporary passes.

“Oh, you know? Nothing tooo bad, I promise.” He laughed in reply.

She perked up for a moment. “Wait, is he finally going to let you see your girlfriend?”

His smile turned to more of a grimace but Zack brushed it off easily. “Sure hope so. Have to see if we can sweet talk him into letting me.” He handed one of the passes over to Cloud and started towards the department entrance.

“Hope you can. Have fun up there. Don’t let him poke too many holes in you.”

“We’ll try our best. Thanks.”

She gave them both a wave before returning to her work.

The pair stepped into a second smaller elevator and scanned their passes onto a reader. It pinged and without them needing to select a floor number, the doors closed and it began to rise without their input.

They were left in the quiet again. A spark of thought entered into Cloud’s mind, unprompted. A feeling which with rippled upon his awareness. “I can feel him close by.” He spoke barely above a whisper.

“Who? Sephiroth?”

“Yeah.” Their connection still felt dormant, but underneath, something was stirring.

In the foyer of the Shinra building, the main group ended up chatting for longer than they were probably meant to. Cid, who had insisted on finishing his cigarette before starting the mission, had fallen into easy conversation with Barret and Kunsel. If their impending task concerned any of them, then they were hiding it well.

Tifa, on the other hand, had become apprehensive since seeing Cloud and Zack leave… okay maybe she’d been worried for far longer than that. Every moment spent waiting made her feel like they were fast approaching some deadline which they should be rushing towards, not standing around.

It didn’t help that one of the reception staff had noticed Cid smoking in the building and was presently glaring at their group. Better get a move on before they were all thrown out.

From the back of the group, Vincent looked as ragged as she felt and after exchanging a look with him, Tifa decided she’d had enough of waiting and insisted they all get going.

It was Kunsel who led the way up towards the elevators. Their mismatched group attracted a few glances, which was to be expected amongst all the dark business uniforms and Tifa ignored it the best she could.

Once the elevator had taken them to their selected floor, Kunsel, went into an explanation of what was going to happen and what levels of security the team would have to bypass. His explanation was thorough but simple enough to stop them from getting it wrong.

While the corridor was quiet, now with most of the staff in this area having left, the Soldier pointed out a few details on his own badge that they would need to know to determine the level of clearance it would grant them. It would seem that much of their afternoon would be spent stealing badges to access the higher floors.

Finished with that part of their briefing, he motioned them to follow. Kunsel stopped at a seemingly random floor, found the first meeting room and held the door open for the group.

“Well, aren’t you all a sight for sore eyes.” A soft and familiar voice spoke when they appeared in the doorway.

Yuffie squealed and ran inside.

“Reeve!” Tifa exclaimed as she watched the youngest of the party tackle Reeve into a hug.

He smiled fondly across from the other side of the meeting room table, fine business suit and a tiredness around his eyes which gave away a recent sleeplessness. He indulged Yuffie in the hug she insisted on giving and met the others with slightly more subdued greetings.

“I hope you’ve missed us.” Cid laughed, giving their friend a firm pat on the shoulder.

Reeve chuckled, “Always. You’ll be pleased to know we’ve located Aerith and Red’s positions and Cait is heading to them now. It shouldn’t take long.” He pulled out his PHS. “I’ve already sent you the directions and details of their exact whereabouts.”

Ah, Tifa had been wondering what the odd string of numbers and passcodes were for.

“I’ve also mapped Sephiroth’s location for you all as well, though I imagine you’ll have to find someone with a high clearance level to open the door. I’m afraid there are some places I don’t have eyes on. Including Jenova. I can tell you where I think she is, but that information is speculation only.”

Tifa smiled, his encouraging words melting at least a small fraction of her worry. “That’s more than enough. Thank you.”

“As soon as I get back to my office, I’ll have eyes on you all with Cait. As you know, there’s not much I can do in the way of helping but I hope what I have will be enough. If there’s anywhere you can’t access, I’ll do my best to get you in.”

Yuffie put her hands on her hips. “Why couldn’t we meet in your office? I’ve never seen it, I bet it’s cool.”

“Ah, the Turks have had it bugged for years. Today I’m sure that won’t make much difference, but I didn’t want any eyes on us. This floor is perfect for that. Anyone can get in and out quite easily without issue, if they need.” Reeve answered. “However, I’ve got you a few things to hopefully make this somewhat easier.”

He motioned to several suitcases beside him on the floor, each was lifted up onto the table and unlatched. The first held an array of field healing equipment. Expensive and powerful potions, antidotes and other recovery items.

“Take what you need.” Reeve opened the next box alongside it, which secured a fine array of high level materia.

Yuffie made to dive in first, but was held back by Barret. As she already had the highest grade materia of the group, it was insisted upon that everyone else went first. Cid got a means to cast barrier, Barret equipped an elemental to his weapon, while Tifa got a mastered sense materia. She was also handed a revive, just in case things didn’t go smoothly. When finally allowed to take her pick, Yuffie ended up with an exit materia, for easier escaping.

“Vincent?” Reeve asked, when the gloomy figure stayed put on the far side of the room.

The cloaked gunman lifted his weapon, showing that he could cast ice spells, even if they were low level.

Reeve reached into the box and tossed him a shining pale-green orb. A time materia. “Go on, I’m sure you’ll make use.”

Vincent caught it, examining the softly glowing casting tool between the sharp fingers of his gauntlet. “…Thanks.”

Reeve tossed a second one to Kunsel, who’d been quietly observing by the door. “And for your help today.”

“You sure? Cheers.” The helmeted Soldier gave a thumbs up.

“Of course. And finally…” He lifted up another case. “Thanks to sourcing parts for personal projects, I have a few allies within the experimental tech team. These are for Yuffie. I know you never have enough.” He handed off a selection of throwing darts, which she excitedly jumped for. Next, he waved over a reluctant Vincent and presented a modification for his handgun, which was taken with great interest. “And this is for you, Barret. Should work with your arm, if the specs are as I recall. It’s a heatseeking mod; once locked on, it’ll automatically avoid all other moving objects except for the selected target.”

“Seriously?!” Barret pulled Reeve into a side hug before the two began fussing over the fitting of the part.

Kunsel stepped up from beside the door. “Remember, getting in will be one problem, leaving will be another. We’re going to keep the heat off you for the most part, but I can’t guarantee anything. I’d recommend using the stairwell to get back, it’s a long walk but you should encounter minimal threats. Got problems, contact Reeve or Zack.”

Everyone nodded. Tifa still wasn’t absolutely sure they could count on him, despite the man seeming decent. It had been difficult trusting Zack and Sephiroth, even though all were sure their intentions were good. Still, Kunsel had helped and they had Reeve watching through Cait’s eyes. The team was finally getting back together.

Tifa took a deep breath and geared up to go.

Of all of the boring days spent in her cell so far, today was slightly less boring.

Aerith had woken up to an anxious feeling which hadn’t settled for the whole day. Something was happening. Not necessarily something bad, but it poked at her awareness none the less.

Nanaki noticed the nervous glances she’d been giving him all day and had begun pacing his cell with new vigour. She hadn’t intended to set him off.

Worryingly, throughout the day that feeling grew. Into the afternoon the feeling fluttered in her chest with uncomfortable beats. Nanaki picked up his pacing, snarling at passers-by, so Aerith could guess he was picking up on whatever unseen thing was occurring.

Clumsy Dr Howard was doing observations today. Gradually, as she’d come to expect, he made his way around the large room to the cells beyond hers. With Nanaki’s cage in the way, it was kind of hard to see what was in there, but sometimes, the odd sound could be heard. Nothing too strange.

As she waited for him to get to her, Aerith’s eye caught some movement. High above, near the ceiling, she could have sworn she’d spotted something moving behind the grate of the air vent. Following the vent along, sure enough, there was movement across the next grate also.

Had a creature escaped? Now interested, she next caught sight of something black and white as it carefully dismantled one of the ventilation fans, silently broke the cover off and pulled the grate back into the vent with practiced care.

Cait Sith!

Aerith could hardly believe her luck!

She watched him jump out and squirm on top of the ventilation system, making his way back, this time creeping atop the tunnel.

Across from her, Nanaki growled at Dr Howard, who had flinched away. After briefly noting down the beast’s vitals, he backed off, casting a final wary glance at the large canine. The doctor smiled at Aerith when he approached her.

“You’re on the late shift today, huh?” She asked, returning his smile.

“Sure am. How are you feeling today, same as usual?” He asked, tapping on the console in front of her containment and swiped his access badge.

Aerith didn’t really know why they’d bother asking. “Same as ever.” She replied, upbeat. They’d built up a good rapport so far, enough that the man had stopped viewing her as a specimen of concern. Both were eager for some company in this place, so talking had become easy for the two of them, especially while the ward was quiet.

Foolishly, it was clear he had begun to trust her.

“Good good. Ah, there’s a request on your file for some bloods to be done. Shall we do that now, get it over with?”

Cait watched from above while Aerith kept her glances minimal, careful to not draw attention to him.

Aerith climbed to her feet from her cross-legged position. “Sure. I’d say I have a little time for it.” She pretended to check the time on the wrist.

This got a laugh from him and with a few more button presses, the door to her cell hissed open.

Stepping out, Aerith gave a big stretch, looking up above to see Cait Sith watching from almost directly above. She followed Dr Howard as he led the way into a side room which appeared much like a regular medical office.

“Take a seat a moment while I-.” His stack of notebooks slipped from under his arm and flopped over the floor. “While I prepare everything.” After hastily picking up his books, Dr Howard hummed a happy tune as he went through boxes, pulling out the equipment they needed. His back turned to her while he wrote on the vial.

Had he forgotten that she was Shinra’s prisoner? Because this felt way too casual compared to what she’d come to expect from these people.

Given a clear opportunity, Aerith looked about the room. Her gaze landed on the metal wheeled shelving unit between her chair and his desk. Other than some waste cartons, it was empty.
“Hey, I’m really sorry.” She mumbled.

He didn’t look up from his fast and messy scrawling. “What for? Oh, do needles worry you? That’s alright, it’ll only be a small one.”

Moving quickly, Aerith hefted the heavy unit up, and threw it at him as hard as she could. With a loud crash and clatter, it knocked the man out cold as both him and the metal trays landed on the floor. She winced, hoping no one was passing outside.

She waved a hand in front of his face and got no response. Dr Howard didn’t look like he was hurt too bad… hopefully. Flipping open his notebook, Aerith grabbed a pen.

‘Sorry for knocking you out.
You’re too good for this place, why not try for a job in the medical unit or a hospital?
Thanks and sorry again, Aerith. xx’

She snatched up his ID badge and crept out of the room, making sure the clatter hadn’t attracted any unwanted attention. All looked as it had been, so Aerith hurried back.

Studying Nanaki’s containment was Cait Sith, who jumped in surprise when Aerith reappeared alone. “Cait!” She cheered.

The cat laughed and leapt into the air for her to sweep him into a hug. “Oh Aerith, I’ve missed you! I was waiting for that man to come back so me n’ Red could ambush him, but looks like someone beat us to it.”

Nanaki was watching on, still patiently waiting to be released, so Aerith moved to the console, trying to find the controls for the door. “Yeah, I knocked him out with a metal table thing.” She replied innocently when Dr Howard’s ID beeped in recognition and the door slid open with a hiss. "Gotta say, I'm really glad you're here, I didn't actually have a plan beyond whacking him over the head."

“Plan or not, it was nicely done.” Nanaki nodded, eagerly stepping out. He even tolerated the big hug both of them gave him. “Have the others arrived?”

“Aye, they’re around somewhere. One group are going up to Reeve while Cloud and Zack are going to meet Hojo.” Cait helpfully replied, moving to settle on Nanaki’s back.

Aerith looked puzzled. “Hojo? That’s going to end really badly for someone.”

There was some sound across the room which made all three duck down. “You know it. Now, let’s get going. I’ll tell you the plan along the way.” The cat said.

With that, they were shuffling out of the room. Whatever the circumstances, Aerith couldn’t be happier. She just hoped that foreboding feeling would pass soon and said a silent prayer for the safety of her friends.

Chapter Text

The trio set out from Genesis’s hiding place shortly after Sephiroth had managed to speak with Cloud. Together, they set out into the dark expanse of Jenova’s realm, this time back the way Sephiroth had started, following those shadowy bindings back to their source.

Traversing Jenova’s domain was like a walk across time itself. Simple distances took both no time at all to reach and an eternity in equal measure. His sense of time was so lacking that once an approaching landmark was reached, he was left unsure whether it had taken minutes or weeks to reach.

He and Genesis talked at length, with Sephiroth bringing him up to speed on everything which had happened over the last year, and especially the last few months. Genesis relished every detail of Sephiroth’s adventure and his quirky new allies. On the other hand, he was reluctant to share too much of his time after leaving Shinra, though Sephiroth could guess that much of that had been spent in this plane.

Angeal’s monstrous form was inconsistent in appearance as it swept in and out of view, like an amorphous ghost. Whatever remained of him wasn’t completely responsive but still possessed enough of their friend’s will that he diligently followed the other two towards their goal.

Something about re-establishing contact with Cloud made their connection much less muddied. Though Sephiroth had no idea what was happening outside of this space, there was a sense of uniting determination between them. Wherever they were, Cloud and friends were on their way.

Conversation died down when they finally neared Jenova’s core. Here, the air became more difficult to breathe. The atmosphere held a thin quality to it and worryingly, it prickled at his lungs with each drawn breath.

A murky quality took over the space around them, like wading into fog. It became so thick that even the red of Genesis’s coat appeared dull and Angeal’s liquid form was cloaked in rolling mist.

An awareness encroached upon Sephiroth, bring something dark and ominous.

“She knows we’re here.” He informed, pre-emptively drawing his sword. The green glow of Aerith’s holy materia shimmered from its slot in the hilt, like it already knew a great enemy was nearby.

Angeal’s shifting form alerted Sephiroth to something incoming. There was a whooshing sound, a hollow sort of drone somewhere in the mist.

Suddenly, sweeping in from the side came a gigantic and very solid tendril. The thickness of a huge tree trunk, it swung for the three out from the darkness. Despite its size and little warning, each ducked under the oncoming strike, letting it swing harmlessly overhead.

It had moved almost silently in the unusual air, only to be heard when it was right on top of them.

With a frown, Sephiroth watched it disappear back into the dense and curling fog. It’d had a strange organic texture similar to tree bark and had carried enough force to cause serious damage if it would have hit. He was also sure there’d been strange dots of magenta upon its sickly grey surface.

“What a delightful welcome we get.” Genesis muttered. With a flare of movement, he too drew his rapier. Catching a new movement before Sephiroth, he sliced up and made a hefty gash into a second sweeping branch. It writhed in place but was so monstrously large that its momentum continued regardless.

Sephiroth leapt into the air, just managing to clear the attack as it lunged for him. Getting a good look at it, he was able to confirm two things- the surface was fleshy and covered in eyes.

Picking up the pace, the three headed further in. The pressure in Sephiroth’s head worsened the closer they got to the core, making his ears feel like they might pop. Under the pressure of this place, it was like waiting for a hand to close around him (and in the presence of this gigantic unknown creature, he was uneasily aware that one might).

Dodging more oncoming attacks, they reached a great squirming tangle of the same grey appendages. Some sunk into the ground, while others remained active outside, almost resembling a tangle of roots. These roots, however, towered high enough to cover a several story building.

Beyond that, rising up into the dark was a grey structure. A wall? A pillar? Some kind of alien flesh mound? Whatever it was, this was surely the source of her infection.

Genesis leapt up onto a few roots, until he was high enough that Sephiroth could barely see him through the fog. The Soldier cast a flurry of fire spells into the air above. From the ground he watched the orange glows illuminate the thing looming over them. The flames cast a light on the unseen surface, traveling up and up until they fizzled out.

For a moment, Sephiroth was lost for words as to what he saw. It was lined with eyes and twisted half faces and towered so high and wide to be possibly the largest structure he’d ever seen. It must have been a similar height to the Shinra building, if not bigger.

Was this Jenova’s truest form? No wonder burning her in the reactor hadn’t worked as they’d thought. Her influence ran deeper than what could be fought on the surface. He’d seen many forms of hers across both timelines, but never this one. This was as grotesque as it was powerful and even Sephiroth couldn’t help a shiver of intimidation.

Wordlessly, she spoke into his mind in a satisfied hiss. She could taste his fear, she knew they were here to end her and both knew how much of an impossible task that was looking to be.

A gentle nudge at his side stole Sephiroth’s attention from her whispered half words. He looked down to see Angeal’s bestial form peering up with a variety of eyes. Pushing Jenova away out of his head, Sephiroth hurried to join Genesis further up the structure.

More of the huge mass came to life around them. Squirming and fleshy, they lashed out at the approaching trio. Dark vision didn’t help much when the atmosphere was so murky, and the difficult to breath air wasn’t helping their advance.

The air lit up with magic attacks from above, lighting the way further through the darkness which rolled and lashed with moving roots. They swung for him but Sephiroth was faster and he made his way up to Genesis without much issue.

“Any ideas?” He asked, landing beside Genesis on one of the upper roots.

It didn’t look like magic attacks were effective, despite the high-level bolts and icicle shards Genesis was showering her with. “I’d really been banking on you knowing what to do here.” The affects of the dense air could be subtly caught in his speech.

Further up, Angeal bashed up against the main trunk. With mismatching claws and teeth, he tried to break through her tough exterior layer.

Jenova’s limbs were trying to swipe at him, like she was trying to swat an annoying fly.

“I suppose we’d better follow him.” Genesis replied, watching as Jenova reacted with fury over Angeal’s ineffective scratching.

The two scattered when another monstrous root lashed out. Genesis attempted to freeze it in place with an ice spell, but this proved ineffective.

Sephiroth gave a glance back to Angeal, who for all his scratching and biting, wasn’t doing any damage. When one of Jenova’s attacks looked sure to hit their friend, he focused energy into his blade and sent it slicing forth with an arcing swing. It intercepted before the strike could land and severed the tendril.

Replacing it, several more came swinging out of the mist, which Sephiroth managed to take down before they could hit.

Seeing the attention Angeal’s futile attacks were getting, Sephiroth jumped up and sliced a long gash down the outer layer of the trunk.

The damage was immediate and Sephiroth swore he could also feel an echo of it in his own mind.

The wound spilled a vile black sludge which smelled almost like burning tarmac. A stench which didn’t help with the choking of the poisonous air. Only a moment later it began to heal, quickly knitting together the corners and pulling itself closed.

Though the strange reflected effect on his own mind made him shudder, Sephiroth smiled grimly. “So, you bleed as any mortal does.”

Genesis took note, swapping from elemental attacks to lend a hand with his sword.

The moment was shaken when an appendage came from below them and slammed into Sephiroth and Angeal, sending the both down to the lower roots again. Unable to recover in mid-air, Sephiroth crashed into the grey surface below and rolled to dodge a second impact which landed beside him. Picking himself up quickly, he scowled at the several eyes along the surface which tracked his movements.

The air was starting to get harder to breathe but he pushed on, dodging more angered swipes to return back to where the three had been.

By the time he climbed back, Genesis was struggling to ward off a barrage of oncoming attacks. The slice he’d made down the trunk had already healed over in no time at all.

Genesis sidestepped an oncoming hit from a smaller tendril and arced his blade through the air, creating another split down Jenova’s main body. Then he kicked off away from the site, followed by a coiling mass of limbs. “Keep going!” He shouted back to Sephiroth.

Understanding what they needed, he dived in, adding to the damage with two good slices before the appendages diverted from Genesis, to who was attacking its body.

Sephiroth backed off when things became too crowded. Jenova screamed in his head in piercing alien tones. Then, Genesis was back, the same repeating until Angeal joined in too, finding his place in their attack pattern, though his abilities unfortunately lacked the damage they needed.

“She’s healing too fast.” Sephiroth announced, his lungs burning with the toxic air.

Before his friend could respond, Jenova’s attack pattern changed. Genesis was struck in the side and thrown off. Besieged by the now huge squirming mass, which worked to form a wall to block the wound they’d been working at, Sephiroth couldn’t get back in time and the damage they’d managed to achieve healed entirely within moments.

Shit.

Before he could consider his next move, another unexpected force caught his back and knocked the air from his lungs. Sephiroth was thrown back to the lower levels again, landing hard on his side and definitely feeling one of his ribs give way. For one harrowing second, he thought he was going to pass out. His vision faded and it was suddenly impossible to force air into his lungs.

One of Jenova’s eyes was watching, a few feet away. Though expressionless, he could have sworn it was mocking him. ‘Give in.’ She whispered softly, as his vision darkened and lungs refused to co-operate.

Once, he’d found comfort in her words, before he understood. When nights in the labs had been cold and dark. When the name Jenova had meant his dead mother.

Back then, he’d assumed she’d been like him. Silver hair and tall like the rest of his caretakers; but that she’d smile more than them, been gentler. He’d liked to imagine her reading to him, like Professor Gast had, and later teaching him like the kindly man had, before he’d left.

Now, Sephiroth realised as he struggled, that his imagination changed the form of this placeholder parental figure to one which resembled Lucrecia. Long brown hair and crystal blue eyes. Her voice was low and haunting, as it had been when he’d met her, but he could imagine it as something more soft and loving.

She hadn’t truly wanted to give him away to Hojo, had she? Sephiroth replayed Lucrecia’s mournful apology in his mind over and over until he could start to breathe again, just little gasps of air, one at a time.

Jenova though? She’d lied to him more than even Hojo had. She’d preyed on his weaknesses and twisted him into believing he was some sort of God. It made him feel sick. Angeal and Genesis too, they’d thought her to be something she wasn’t. She was the reason they’d tried to kill each other- the reason Angeal was dead. That whole situation was created as a setup to isolate him, so that when she presented herself as an escape, he’d take it without thought.

And yet this miscreation of nature was what she’d actually been all along. Stringing him along. Deceiving him.

‘My favourite son.’ She crooned into his head, fanged and poisonous.

But he held nothing but hatred for her now, and he hoped she felt all of it.

The eye which had been glaring a few feet from him, flickered up, catching movement above. Beside him landed a flash of red and Sephiroth was lifted up to his feet by an arm around his back.

“Do not quit on me right now, Sephiroth or I swear this godforsaken thing will be the least of your worries.” Genesis muttered close to his ear, sounding halfway between panicked and dangerously angry.

Genesis helped him move, while Sephiroth slowly came back to awareness- in fact he half carried him while they both sidestepped incoming strikes.

“I’m alright.” Sephiroth insisted, still getting his breath back but more confident in his own abilities now. The side he’d landed on seared with pain, but didn’t stop him from moving. He wriggled out of the other’s grip and severed one of the appendages with his sword for good measure.

“What we did before was working. We just need something to stop it closing so fast.” Genesis nodded up above. “Come on, I can’t stand this place any longer.”

They both took off, back to the upper roots once again. Sephiroth was well aware that if they screwed up again, then that would be it. This place felt like it was draining the life out of them and each of Jenova’s attacks came with the force of a speeding train.

The first strike was curtesy of Genesis, who backed off, allowing for Sephiroth to follow through. Above them, he noticed Angeal ripping away albeit ineffectively at the grey pillar. Whatever he was doing was a good distraction to split Jenova’s attention.

Sephiroth dodged two tendrils which slammed into each other, while Genesis delivered his next strike. Before breaking away, he summoned up an ice spell which coated the deep wound in a layer of thick frost. The disgusting substance which bled from it froze over, and with it, the large gash stayed open.

Slash, slash, freeze. They kept up the momentum even as Sephiroth’s lungs burned with toxic fumes. Jenova was screeching in his head, mourning his betrayal while she frantically tried to stop them. He and Genesis were too fast though and before long, they’d carved away enough of her tree-like form to nearly fit a person inside.

The ice spells were hastening Genesis towards exhaustion but the deeper they both cut away, the stronger the glow of Holy became. It was the only indicator that this plan was working. In reality, to Jenova’s immense size, the damage they’d inflicted was little more than a papercut. While their efforts certainly stung, it was doubtful that any permanent harm was being caused.

Still, ignoring the pain which streaked down his side and through his chest, Sephiroth pushed on, glaring back at her alien eyes when they focused on him.

Genesis narrowly avoided a strike and managed a fresh blast of ice. He retreated, allowing Sephiroth a turn to hit.

Finally, a slash from Masamune ripped open a new layer within. A bright pink-purple light spilled out, almost blinding in the dark. Aerith’s materia seemed to call to him. That was what they’d been looking for here, they were almost there!

But as soon as he’d seen it, the bright glowing innards closed up again. Frantically, he swung again. It made contact but Sephiroth had stayed a moment too long and was again pelted by one of the massive tendrils. The force made his head fuzzy, but he caught himself and remained in place.

Genesis took over, adding another strike and layer of ice. Looking ragged now, he opened his mouth to speak but couldn’t form the words as he struggled for breath.

Sephiroth pulled the tiny materia from the hilt of his sword. Angeal was with them again, he noticed. That, and they were quickly losing the rhythm of their attacks. Now or never. “Ang!” He called, getting the beast’s attention. When offered, he took the materia from Sephiroth, between one set of jaws, seemingly understanding what they were doing. Then, all three shot for their target.

Genesis made a desperate cleave into their foe, which lacked his usual finesse. The next ice spell caught Sephiroth. Icicles exploded around the surface of his coat, but he didn’t care. It froze Jenova just enough for Genesis to open that bright magenta core again.

Jenova’s screams were the loudest and most frantic he’d ever heard. So loud that even if his friends were able to speak, he might not have heard them. Was the noise even exclusively in his head anymore?

To his side, Genesis gave a strangled gasp as he was snagged by one of the roots and pulled away. Sephiroth didn’t see where it took him before his friend was enveloped in dark fog.

Following up with a flurry of slashes, unable to cast an ice spell of his own and knowing he had only seconds left, Sephiroth put his all into doing as much damaged as possible.

Angeal’s liquid form squirmed past him. In one of the most disgusting sights Sephiroth had ever witnessed, Angeal’s amorphous form squirmed through and disappeared into the glowing core as it tried to heal up around him. He slipped through with a vile wet sound before the wound closed like a door, separating the two.

Sephiroth couldn’t stay to free him before Jenova grabbed his legs and pulled him back. It was sudden and jolting and as he was flung back, Sephiroth was sure that anyone unenhanced would have been killed just from the force of the whiplash. His spine gave a painful twist and crunch before finally being released.

When he skidded to a stop, he came to rest lying on his side, a dusty cold ground beneath him. Somehow, he was still conscious- not that he really wanted to be at this point. Sephiroth found he couldn’t breathe again and this time, he didn’t think he’d get the air back. Weakly, he gasped for whatever air he could get, dry lungs working on nothing but a self-preservation instinct.

He could move, but was sure his back was twisted into a position which shouldn’t be humanly possible. That explained the inability to feel his legs and the numbness working its way up his arms ad hands. Hopelessly, Sephiroth searched for Genesis but between the dark and his blurring vision, he couldn’t find him.

Nothing was happening. She jeered at him, mocked his futile efforts.

Her tendrils calmed in their movements, the threats now dealt with. The screaming in his head stopped, replaced with her scornful hisses and half words.

Angeal was lost somewhere unknown and Genesis wasn’t coming back for him. Perhaps they were both dead by now, if one could truly die in this realm.

… It certainly felt like a plausible thing.

Jenova’s voice in his head shuddered strangely. It was getting darker, quieter. Consciousness slipping further from him by the second now.

Had they been wrong and Holy wasn’t enough to stop her anymore?

The monstrous tentacles quivered strangely above him, like they were caught in a rolling breeze, which didn’t exist.

Her jeering whispers heaved until they abruptly stopped.

A rumble began and oddly it sounded like a tremor which was… coming from the sky?

Then, for nearly ten seconds, movement above him stopped. The quake increased in intensity until a the bit of gravel beside him began to quiver along with it.

Above, the rootlike tendrils all crumpled to the floor, falling to pieces like broken rubble.

The fog dispelled in one huge wave, which blew it back. With it gone, Sephiroth was weakly able to pull in some semblance of clean air, if only a tiny amount. It wouldn’t help him much now, he knew.

As he’d thought, this form of Jenova was huge, and continued up into the sky until she could no longer be seen. In a flash, from top to bottom, the tremor swept down, followed by cracks of soothing green light. Those cracks spread until the tree itself began to collapse in on itself, a gush of green light cascading forth, like the Lifestream itself had come to their aid.

It swept over Sephiroth in a powerful torrent and instantly, everything went black.

… Then he opened his eyes.

Without Cait Sith with them, the cold corridors of the upper labs felt even more pressing. These large rooms all looked nearly the same, all blank walls with signs that led them in circles and windows into dark observation rooms. Zack had never been to this floor before without a guide, so wasn’t much help with directions. Hojo’s secretary had indicated which level to meet him on, but not the exact location.

Lucky for them, a stern-eyed man in a white coat spotted the pair looking lost and thankfully approached.

“Lieutenant Fair, correct? Hojo is awaiting the arrival of your guest. With me.” He gestured for them to follow and began walking without waiting to receive a response.

Cloud and Zack exchanged odd looks at the man’s uninterested demeanour.

With no reason not to, they followed.

Only a minute later, their guide came to a stop in front of an ordinary looking door and silently held up a hand for them to enter. Zack was hesitant, but Cloud stepped forwards, promptly ignoring the analytical stare he was receiving from this stranger.

“You don’t need to enter.” The man spoke in a monotone voice, the words directed at Zack.

The Soldier made a disbelieving stutter. “He’s dangerous.” He replied shortly.

“Worry not. We’ve taken precautions.”

Those words made Cloud’s heart beat in his ears and he stopped, halfway through the door. Next thing he knew, Zack’s hand was at his back. “I don’t care.” The Soldier pushed past the man and moved through the door, glued to Cloud’s side.

The room they entered had only a single light on. It wasn’t a large space by any means. Along the walls hung a variety of tools, firearms, rope, poles, nets, fire safety equipment… anything one might need to subvert a dangerous situation.

“Through there.” The bland voice called out again. Cloud looked back to see the man standing behind them in the doorway, now pointing to a second unassuming door across from them.

He shook his head with a final sigh and stepped forwards, pushing through the door with the hope of getting this over with quickly.

The lights were at least on in here. They’d entered a large chamber through a side door. Looking about, it resembled a basic gymnasium, only with crude flooring which held odd gashes and burns, and lines not corresponding with any games court. At the near end of the room were two observation decks. One above and one on the ground level. No one could be seen on the upper story, but sure enough, Hojo was waiting for them on the lower level.

It was at that moment that Cloud realised several things. Firstly, how long it’d been since he’d last seen this man, followed by an unpleasant slew of memories which pushed to the surface of his thoughts. And lastly, though he’d obviously known Hojo was alive and an active threat once again in this timeline, he hadn’t quite viewed him as ‘real’ and ‘alive’ until that moment. Only as some ghoul who would inevitably show up to torment him or his friends, whether dead or alive, in some capacity.

For some reason, that realisation shook Cloud more than it probably should have.

He was shaken out of the cascade of thoughts by the sound of the door they’d entered through being closed and locked behind them. The sound caused Zack to startle at his side, his boots scuffing across the floor with nervous footsteps.

Cloud sent their sealed off exit an irritated scowl. “Nice way to welcome your guests.”

Hojo’s voice rang out through the room’s speakers. “Ah, but thank you for responding to my invitation. Fair, I appreciate you taking the time to deliver our friend here. You may take your leave now, should you wish.” He was observing Cloud closely on the other side of the glass.

Zack’s voice was stiff, betraying the anxiety he felt. “I’ll stay here, thanks.”

“Hmm. Very well.” Hojo didn’t appear to care much either way, in fact, Zack’s refusal to leave and the pair’s closeness in this unfamiliar place seemed to answer something on the scientist’s mind. He smirked, stepped closer to peer through the glass at Cloud.
“Strong mako eyes, good musculature. Physique not suggesting you’re a simple mako addict. A little short for a Soldier but an impressive weapon none the less. I’ve never seen you in here before, so you’re not one of mine.” He listed off as if dictating for his notes. “You’re one of Hollanders?”

“Nope.” Cloud replied dismissively, secretly relishing that this man couldn’t make sense of him. Considering there’d been a time when Hojo had known every aspect and limitation of his body, it was liberating, in a way, to take that back.

Hojo frowned, looking puzzled. “Then who?”

Cloud only crossed his arms. “That’s not for you to know. Now why am I here?”

“I think you’ll find I’m the one who-.”

“Let’s see to the reason why I’m here, then you get to ask about me.” Cloud interrupted him.

There was a long moment where the two just stared at each other. Eventually, it was Hojo who backed down first. “Fine. I asked you here to discuss your involvement with Sephiroth. I’d heard he’d been fraternising with an individual in the slums. I know he then left Midgar with you, dropped off the radar and then reappeared while we were retrieving an asset from the Nibelheim reactor. You were with him during that time, I recall seeing you during that attempted raid. I have to wonder why.”

Suddenly, from nowhere, a terrible chilling sensation sunk into Cloud. It took a moment for him to realise that it must have been coming from Sephiroth. It was odd, the first true surge in their bond in a while. He tried to ignore the uncomfortable feeling. “Why what?”

“Before there were any whisperings of you, Sephiroth wouldn’t often dare put a toe out of line. Then he meets you and within a few months has commit treason against Shinra and has been stripped of his rank thanks to his recent escapades alongside you. Explain that to me.”

Cloud was glad to have Zack just over his shoulder, the feeling crawling through him was making him jumpier than he needed to be. He could sense something around him, which made him anticipate an unseen attack, and yet he was positive the sense was merely an echo from Sephiroth.

Despite the foreboding feeling, Cloud continued. “I’m the leader of the anti-Shinra group Avalanche. I met Sephiroth by chance, eventually he decided to become one of us.”

Hojo narrowed his eyes from behind his glasses. “Do tell me why it would be in his interest to throw away all we have given him in favour of a terrorist group.” It was clear that Hojo was still having difficulty grasping that his famed ‘Project S’ could have defected.

“Jenova’s influence is harmful, not just to him but the Planet at large. We sought to destroy her, as you should have done when you found her.” Answered Cloud, keeping himself as level as possible, given the situation.

“You are in the know, aren’t you?” Hojo replied. “And what are you and your terrorists going to do now?”

“We warned Shinra that we wanted him back. Last week we struck Junon. This week, who knows.” Cloud levelled him with an equally intense look, not taking his eyes off Hojo regardless of that echoed feeling from Sephiroth. It stirred unseen around him, making him feel cornered.
What the hell was happening!?

“That was you?” Hojo looked honestly shocked for a second, which filled Cloud with glee. The vile man narrowed his eye, expression becoming more antagonistic. “You’ve made me decommission my greatest creation much earlier than I would have allowed. I should be the only one who gets to decide what happens my assets and I do not appreciate my hand being forced in this matter. Sephiroth should have known better than to fall under the sway of such lowly bandits. I suppose he deserves his punishment.”

Before Cloud could find a retort, Zack stepped up beside him, his expression edged with sheer malice. “You really don’t get it, do you? D’you have any idea how close to snapping he was?! He hates it here. Maybe it was creeps like you he needed to get away from.”

Hojo shook his head in disappointment. “You too, Fair? I had my suspicions but didn’t expect you to just tell us outright. One must wonder how far down this leak goes. I suppose detaining the entirety of Soldier shall be first on the docket for tomorrow…”

“Yeah? Well maybe you shouldn’t have taken Aerith, or killed her mom, or locked them up in the first place!” Zack shouted back.

Damn, Cloud had thought he’d be the one to lose his cool first, but Zack really meant it.

“It seems that despite your rank, you’re dreadfully unaware of how things work around here.” Hojo said. He sauntered over to the control panel at his side.

Before he could press anything, Cloud spoke up. “Listen, Sephiroth is on the verge of waking up, and when he does, the first thing he’ll do is kill you. You can try to contain us but even if you do, it won’t be for long. We’re coming for you and Jenova.”

Hojo wasn’t deterred by the warning, instead, there was also a sparkle of challenge behind his dark glasses. Cloud was an unknown, a new exciting plaything. “We’ll see about that. It appears that you’ll be staying with us for a while, I’d say. I’ll get my answers, don’t you fret, I’m a patient man. So, why not settle in, have some fun? You look like the type to appreciate a good opponent.”

He tapped away at the control panel. A sound behind Cloud and Zack made them turn. At the back of the room, a mechanised door eased open and two bipedal forms were released. The single wing each sported on their backs were the only indicator that these were two horribly mutated Genesis clones, one being larger and more twisted than the other. Neither were armed, but one could see the sizable claws each of these half-beasts possessed.

“Now, both of you. Give me a show.”

It was unclear which two Hojo had been referred to, but the words turned the directionless steps of the copies into something much more hostile. They hissed, crouched low and locked on to Cloud and Zack, who were both drawing their swords.

That ominous feeling hadn’t shifter either. In fact, it had only worsened. The two copies stalked closer. Cloud shot a glare back at Hojo, who had crossed his arms, watching on with great interest.

The first copy to approach gave an inhuman hiss and readied itself to fight. They looked twitchy, volatile and far less human than the one they’d fought in the reactor. Cloud raised his fusion sword in a defensive motion, waiting for the first strike, but his movements felt far too sluggish.

That feeling of abnormality at the back of his mind was building to a peak, which made him shudder involuntarily. It brought with it a tingling sensation down his arms and legs. This was different and screamed that something was very wrong.

“Cloud? What’s the matter?” Zack was close to his side. Noting something was amiss, he’d moved in between the blond and the two copies.

Before he could respond, pain exploded behind Cloud’s eyes, so intensely that white noise and dizziness overtook him. The tingling turned into something more fierce and phantom pains which weren’t his own spiked through his chest.

It was reminiscent of what he’d felt in the reactor, when they’d lost.

In the distance there came a clang of metal hitting the floor. Around him, the room spun. Zack’s voice was somewhere just out of reach, like Cloud’s perception was split between two plains, or rather two people. Something was happening to Jenova or Sephiroth, maybe both? The intensity made it hard to tell.

Hojo voice was ringing out, too loud and garbled to discern the words. The noise added to Cloud’s dizziness and his knees hit the floor with a thud he barely felt. Suddenly, it was like the air had been sucked out of the room and he was gasping for breath. Had Hojo done something to cause this or was it a result of the flaring pain shooting through him at random intervals?

There was distress, not just his own but Sephiroth’s too. Cloud felt like he was dying.

Was he? Was Sephiroth?!

Then, like a light switch was flipped, the pain stopped.

It took a moment for the feelings to ebb away. Besides the ringing of his ears, the room was surprisingly quiet. For a moment, Cloud wondered whether his hearing had been damaged by whatever the hell that was, until he caught his own heaving breaths and the shifting of Zack beside him.

Opening his eyes revealed he had indeed dropped his sword, so quickly scooped it back up with shaky hands and climbed raggedly back onto his feet.

… Everything looked frozen in place.

The two copies who’d been ready to attack had stopped in their tracks, expressions blank. Zack looked between them, just as confused.

“What’s going on?” Hojo’s voice barked out much too loud. He moved quickly back to his console.

While the scientist was distracted, Zack rounded on Cloud. “Are you okay? What was that?” He asked, pulling Cloud to his feet and hovering beside him fretfully.

Cloud only shrugged. Where there had been fear, determination and agony there was now nothing. He couldn’t find the words right now to explain his thoughts before large emergency lights flashed around them in bright orange and a siren sounded from further away.

Hojo grabbed a device from his pocket, looked at his in disbelief before his venomous glare settled back through the glass. “What did you do?!”

A part of their connection had snapped away. Leaving Cloud with a feeling he hadn’t had for about as long as he could remember- he was alone. No connection. No Jenova. No Sephiroth.

Zack grasped his shoulders, a pleading look on his face.

“I don’t- I don’t know what happened.” Cloud struggled to explain.

“Is he waking up? Did he manage to find Jenova?” There was desperation in Zack’s pleading expression, but Cloud had no idea what to say.

“I can’t tell. We need to go.” Cloud weakly offered, knowing his words gave no help. He was still shaking off the effects of whatever that had been. If he focused, then maybe there was something there still? He wasn’t sure.

The two copies stirred. Zack and Cloud were on guard ready to face them again. This time, both were ignored as the two not-quite-humans turned their attention towards Hojo.

One rushed forward in a burst of movement and slammed into the glass window. A hexagonal pattern rippled out of the impact point. A barrier.

Zack was already on it. He rushed to the wall beside their entry point and drove his sword into the panelling around the doorframe. Three large tiles clattered to the floor, leaving others buckled and broken. Underneath them lay a mass of wiring and a small fuse box.

Drawing power from his materia, the Soldier delivered a powerful electrical blast which burst through the room, making the walls shudder and the lights flicker until they popped.

The clones, both still attempting to get through, swiftly made contact with unprotected glass. Hojo’s face shifted into a look of concern and he backed away from his console.

“Barrier down!” Cloud split his blade into two and with as much force as he could muster, flung the smaller half so that it pierced through the glass with a shriek. Both copies followed, beating on the webbing lines spreading across the pane.

Managing to avoid hitting the copies (not that he really cared), another piece of Cloud’s blade embedded into the window. Hojo looked over the scene, intrigued as much as he showed a sliver of fear. Then, he turned and bolted out of sight.

A powerful kick from Zack seconds later had the glass finally caving in.

The copies squirmed through the hole, not caring about the shards of glass blocking the way. Cloud cringed as one teared large clumps of feathers from its wing in pursuit of the mad scientist.

Making their way through the break with a little more care, Zack and Cloud hurried close behind. While Hojo didn’t stand any chance of outrunning them, he possessed a knowledge of their surroundings which the others didn’t. As one of the copies leapt for him, he pulled a device from his pocket which sent a crackle through the air. The attacking copy slammed to the floor in a twitching pile. Before the other could make its own lunge, Hojo ducked into a side room and locked the door behind him.

Coming to a stop behind the thrashing copy, Cloud looked through the glass slit in the door. Not a large room, the scientist was as good as trapped in here. This time, the window wasn’t enough to squirm through and by how sturdy the door looked, it was probably built for emergency situations like this.

They could force their way through, the copy was certainly trying. Was it worth the valuable time?

Cloud pulled out his phone and dialled for Tifa.

She answered on the second ring. “Cloud? You’re both okay?”

“Fine. We have Hojo locked in a storage room for you. Room number, uhh, 236_35, if you can figure out where that is.” He read from the plaque above the door. While Tifa repeated the number to herself, Cloud continued. “Jenova’s gotta be close to here. Make your way up and get him to take you to her. We’re going on ahead.” He omitted the detail about the frightening episode he’d just experienced.

“That’s great. We’re nearly with Cait now, Reeve said he’s found out where Aerith and Red are. We’re okay, haven’t needed to cause any messes yet. Zack’s Soldier friend helped a lot, he’s just left. I can hear sirens on your side, can’t hear them from where we are.”

“Don’t worry about that and good to hear. Stay safe.” Without awaiting a reply, Cloud flicked his PHS shut and turned back to Zack, who was watching the Genesis copy beat against the door with amusement.

“We leaving him for the others?” The Soldier asked, gesturing casually to Hojo, who hadn’t stopped glowering at them since trapping himself. Zack was much calmer now they had the scientist stuck in a box, rather than the other way around.

“Yeah.” Cloud replied simply.

“Hey, what happened back there? Don’t just say you’re fine, I’m worried about you.”

Cloud thought about his reply before speaking. He reached out through shared cells to test the feeling once again. It was there, but only just. Flickering like a candle ready to go out. “I don’t really know. I’m worried about Sephiroth. I think that was… from him.”

Zack didn’t question Cloud’s unsure reply. “Better pick up the pace then. Let’s go.” They didn’t waste any more time before dashing back the way they had arrived.

Zack’s Soldier friend had led the team as far as his clearance would allow. Carefully, the team continued on. Most staff didn’t do anything more than offer the group an odd look. One security guard by an elevator had challenged their reason for being all the way up here. For that, they’d been knocked out and had their ID ‘borrowed’.

The phone call from Cloud had eased Tifa’s mind somewhat. So far, everything was going well, however crazy the plan had sounded initially.

Everyone was on edge but kept up good spirits. Vincent, who had been restless for days, had become especially twitchy. The present situation had been wearing on him since Nibelheim, he’d just done well to hide it. Right now though, he looked eager to let one of his monsters handle this situation for them.

At Barret’s signal, they dropped into a darkened side room, in time for a gaggle of younger staff to walk by, chatting excitedly. All were too busy to notice the group of trespassers lurking just past a shadowed doorway.

From her pocket, Tifa’s PHS buzzed again. Flipping it open revealed a message from a hidden sender- Reeve.

“We need to head east from here. Cait is waiting for us.” She reported.

Following the instruction, they found themselves at a door which was easily swiped through with the stolen ID. Pushing through led into a long dark corridor. Strangely, all the lights were out, leaving only emergency bulbs over doorways and tiny pinprick lights from softly whirring machinery.

Slowly walking in, the group were silent, listening for any hint of danger.

Only a short way in, one of the side doors peeked open and startled Barret and Yuffie who lead the group.

“Ah, there you are! Hurry, come in, come in.” Cait Sith’s voice called out from the door, his small form only just visible in the dark.

Yuffie swore under her breath. “You scared the life outta me you little…” She muttered but followed quickly through.

“Why are the lights off?” Tifa asked. It might help with hiding but it wasn’t exactly discreet. Beside her, Cid muttered something distasteful under his breath.

“Shh! This way!” The cat pointed to a second door off from the first and ushered everyone inside.

This next room wasn’t completely dark, an orange flame danced across the plain tile of the floor.

“Nanaki!” Tifa was over to him in a flash, ruffling his fur and checking him over for injuries.

“Good to see you-, oof!” The canine began, but was tackled into a hug from Yuffie. Reluctantly, he accepted it, pleased to see all of them.

Barret gave their friend a firm pat on the head. “Who knew we’d have to save your ass from this place twice? You’re okay? Not hurt?”

Nanaki hummed in amusement. “Indeed. I’m perfectly alright.”

“Aerith.” Vincent spoke quietly, though the surprise was barely kept from his voice.

A soft giggle from the other side of the room caught the attention of the rest of the group. “Hey guys.”

There she was, caught just in the light of a nearby emergency lamp and the flame of Nanaki’s tail. Dishevelled hair, rumpled dress and eyes so bright they almost shone in the dark. For a moment, all were stunned into silence.

Of course, they all knew she was alive, Tifa had even spoken to her some time ago, but it was undoubtedly surreal. The last time they’d seen Aerith in the flesh had been years ago, in that old crumbling city.

The momentary silence was broken by Barret, who broke into a boisterous laugh. “Aerith!” He hurried over, arms wide. She rushed the short distance, jumping up to be pulled into strong arms and spun around.

She hugged him back as hard as she could. “I’ve missed you too, big guy.”

Everyone else piled in then, joining into one big emotional hug pile. Aerith laughed, “Okay, okay, let me breathe!” Her voice was strained and yeah, maybe they were getting a bit overexcited.

“Oh my-. You’re alive!” Yuffie squeaked, tears in her eyes. “I mean, I know that’s old news at this point, but it’s still crazy, right?!”

“Pretty crazy alright.” Aerith agreed, giving the rogue’s hand a squeeze. “But look at you, you all look great! Yuffie, you’ve grown so much, you look like a real princess now.”

She just nodded back, blinking away the tears in her eyes. Tifa put her arm around the younger woman, who huddled into her side. Beside them, Barret had begun loudly crying while Cid pretended to not be affected by this too.

Aerith, tears also catching the light by her eyes, scooped Cait Sith from the floor where he nuzzled her cheek affectionately. Her eyes landed next on Tifa. “Still keeping everyone safe, huh? Looks like you’ve done a great job.”

Tifa laughed, the sound coming out breathy as she fought back her own emotion. “Just about. It’s not always easy with a family like ours.”

Nanaki was at their side, looking content as Aerith gave him a scratch behind the ear. She caught Vincent’s hand next, leaving him looking unsure.

“You’ve come a long way, haven’t you?” She smiled up at him.

Tifa couldn’t help but smile. He really was awful at dealing with emotional situations, so just stared back at the Cetra. There was subtle shift in his eyes which experience told her was him having some internal debate. After a moment, he simply nodded.

At least Aerith found humour in the exchange as well. She also didn’t flinch away when his eyes took on a golden hue and his expression curled into something which was no longer Vincent.
“The last of the Cetra.” Chaos greeted. “We never got to make a proper acquaintance.” He offered a slight bow, which earned a quizzical look from more than just Tifa.

“Shouldn’t this be the other way around?” Aerith asked, confused but taking the unusual interaction in her stride.

Shining eyes flashed up to meet hers. “Gaia holds you in very high regard. I am here to serve at your will.”

“Oh, well… sounds good to me!” Aerith laughed. Chaos finally dropped her hand and she turned to face the group once more, who were still a blubbering mess. “You guys wanna get going? I hear we have friends to save.”

“You’re right.” Barret sniffed loudly. “We’re a team of cold-hearted professionals, there’s no time for crying.”

“You sure?” Tifa laughed.

Now all they had to do was go find Jenova and meet back up with the boys. How hard could that be with Aerith and Red back in the party?

Chapter Text

Now a group of eight, the Avalanche team headed up two more floors, led by Reeve’s directions and with the assistance of another ‘borrowed’ ID card. Up here, it took longer to navigate the winding halls than their thinning patience was content with, but not long enough to warrant an update with Cloud.

Stepping out onto the next floor up, sirens were blaring in orange. Peeking around a corner, Tifa spotted two lab staff pondering over a panel on the wall.

“C’mon, it can’t’ve been that long since you used one of these?” The taller of the two called over the noise.

The other was imputing information into the screen and being met with error messages. By his expression and snappy movements, he was irritated. “Look, do you really want to be first on the scene for a containment breach? Give me a moment, damnit.” He grumbled. With a few button presses, the siren went quiet, at least on this floor. “Wait, this can’t be right… it’s saying there’s three security failures, on completely different floors. We sure this isn’t just an error?”

Tifa shot a look over her shoulder to Vincent. “Time for a distraction?” She whispered.

He simply nodded back.

The next thing the two men knew, a large snarling behemoth was stepping around the corner. Both looked up with wide eyes. The taller who’d been watching, dropped his clipboard in terror while the other stumbled back away from the console. “Okay, I see what you mean about not wanting to be first to deal with these.”

They took off running down the hall, Galian beast chasing after them. With an ample distraction in place, the rest of the group ducked down the next hallway. Red took the lead, following his nose until eventually halting.

“You got something?” Cid asked, noticing the canine’s posture change.

Taking a slower pace, they followed him down a long corridor past ominous looking clinical rooms and a massive tank of various aquatic creatures, all floating blissfully unaware in the murky ill-kept water. Nanaki’s ears were up, now following something which, for the rest of them, couldn’t yet be heard.

Eventually, Tifa did pick up on something. A scratching and banging sound.

Around the next corner they came across an unusual sight. Two single winged figures, both beating hopelessly at a locked door. Based on features, Tifa wasn’t sure if they’d be best described as people or monsters.

“Hojo. He’s in there.” Red announced, motioning with his nose to the locked door.

Barret was first to step forwards. “Urr, friend or foe?” He called to the two unknown figures.

His question was paid no attention even as he took a few more careful steps closer.

Aerith shrugged and Nanaki sat down to watch since no one was sure how to deal with these two entities. Cid turned on his heel, pulling a box of cigarettes from his pocket. “You lot have fun, I’m going to find Vince.” He said and sauntered back in the direction they had arrived.

Cait hopped down from Yuffie’s shoulder and wondered over. The two strange beings were so set in their task that it took the cat poking one of them in the leg before they finally acknowledged the newcomers. Still, they didn’t act aggressively, or at least not to them and just resumed their previous punching and scraping of the door.

In a move even Tifa thought was brave, Cait sprang up and hopped onto one of the half-monster’s shoulders, to peer through the window. “Yep, we found ‘um.” The cat pointed through the glass of the small window. “Right where Cloud said.”

“Ideas?” Tifa asked. “You think they’ll turn hostile if we interfere?”

Again, Aerith shrugged. “Or just try encouraging them out of the way? We’re probably better avoiding unnecessary fights unless we have to, right?”

“Helloooo?” Yuffie called out. “Mind letting us through? I promise you’ll get the chance to punch Hojo later, although it’ll be a pretty long queue to do so.” Again, she was ignored.

Grumbling something under his breath, Barret stepped forwards, his arm canon whirring to life, charging an explosive blast. “I really don’t have the patience today.”

With a squeak of surprise, Cait leapt off his perch and raced back to the others, who were steadily retreating further up the hallway. With everyone barely at a safe distance, a powerful explosive bolt fired off. It slammed into the door, right in front of the pair of copies and caused an eruption of smoke and flames which shook the walls around them. Diving back, everyone was nearly pushed off their feet by the gust of hot air in the narrow hallway. All except Barret, who didn’t react even in the slightest.

“Barret!” Tifa scolded between coughs. “Bit more warning next time, please.”

The others were too busy choking to air their own opinions.

Both copies had been thrown somewhere down the hall, and had probably been blown to bits, like the wall had. The door was gone, as was most of the corridor around it, which now dropped bits rubble to the ground.

A new unfamiliar coughing caught everyone’s attention. A moment later, a figure stumbled out of the smoke. Debris stuck to his hair and his glasses knocked askew.

“What the hell is going on?! Who are you?” Hojo glared, emerging through the dust. He looked scrawnier then Tifa could recall from their thankfully limited interactions. Overworked and tired to the point that he looked nearly sickly.

“Ah, just the man we were after.” Barret greeted with fake exaggerated cheer, still entirely unphased by the explosion. “You’re going to show us where Jenova is.”

Tifa was glad Barret was taking the lead on this. None of the others looked terribly intimidating, considering they were all still trying not to choke on the smoke and dust.

Hojo was about to respond when his gaze settled on Aerith and his expression shifted into something even more furious. “You.”

“Yep, me.” She giggled, sweeping some dirt from her jacket. “Hello! These are my friends. I’d say they did a good job busting me out, but I actually kinda did that on my own… no offence guys. Cait’s timing was perfect.”

The little cat gave her a thumbs up. Tifa was pretty sure that Aerith and Red were a force to be reckoned with just on their own, so they probably would have been fine even if backup hadn’t been on the way.

Aerith continued, “Sorry, I’m talking too much. We’d like to see Jenova now, please?”

“Oh, and who are you to demand that?” Hojo sneered, giving a glance behind him, down the hallway still filled with swirling dust.

“Avalanche.” Barret answered with a hint of pride. “But you just need to know us as the guys with more firepower than you.”

“The terrorists? So, your Soldier allies hadn’t been bluffing.”

Yuffie pounced, aiming to grab him. While she was much faster, Hojo slipped something from his sleeve. With a loud crackle, the rogue seized up and hit the floor with no resistance. With his other hand, Hojo drew a handgun.

The sound was paired with a click beside Tifa, who turned to see Vincent had appeared with his own pistol raised. Looking between them, she held her breath.

“You’re outnumbered.” Vincent stated plainly. His face no different than if this were any other encounter, though a fire raged in his eyes.

“And you’re dead. Twice over now, or so you’re supposed to be.” Something about this was apparently amusing to the scientist. “I underestimated Dr Crescent. It appears she imbued you with the same senseless persistence as she always carried.”

Tifa startled as a gunshot fired from her right. Hojo’s weapon flew from his hand and clattered down the hall, while the man hissed and clutched at his hand.

“Jenova, now. Or I’m sure his next shot won’t be so generous.” Barret stepped up and this time successfully shoved Hojo forwards.

“Fine, fine.” He grumbled, his one hand now staining his dusty coat a deep red.

They moved in, surrounding and disarming their hostage properly. Yuffie was scooped off the floor by Cid, having been stunned rather badly. They led the way back to the elevators, aiming for the higher security floors.

Hojo obliged without another word, scanning the access with his ID and hand print. He seemed annoyed but grounded, not outwardly distressed by his predicament. For this reason, Tifa kept her eye out for traps.

When they entered the high security floor above, she saw some of Hojo’s confidence falter. Destroyed security drones and the remains of armed staff and monsters alike, littered the floor. Clearly, Cloud and Zack had been taking out their misgivings on just about everything in sight. Trailing after them sure made the rest of their team’s job way easier.

They were led down a host of long passageways by Hojo for around ten minutes. The large number of locked doors and hallways would have been a nightmare to traverse without someone guiding them.

“Wait.” Aerith said, causing everyone to turn to her. “This isn’t the way to Jenova.” Her gaze was accusatory as she stared at Hojo.

Before Tifa could enquire how she knew, she recalled that unique sense that Aerith always possessed.

The scientist, likely coming to the same conclusion, said nothing as he turned around and led them in a different direction.

Once more along the way, Aerith interrupted, making him change their course when he attempted to misguide them yet again. Another fifteen long minutes passed. As the moments grew longer, Hojo became more fidgety, his options becoming fewer. It didn’t seem that any of his security bots were coming to his aid and his options were running thin.
This wasn’t a nice tactic, Tifa didn’t enjoy this power play but would concede to making exceptions for this particular man.

Finally, they arrived at a large door, emblazoned with hazard warnings and security measures. Hojo set about opening the multiple doors. The first requiring a password and his ID, the second, a hand print and retinal scan and the third needing another long passcode.

The final vault opened, revealing an expansive dark room. The lights blinked on one after the other, showing that the space was mostly empty. Seated on the other side of the space was a large… funny box, sat on some kind of robotic pedestal. Tifa had no idea what she was looking at, this wasn’t exactly her area of expertise. Honestly, she’d been expecting something a bit… more.

She could still remember the headless Jenova floating in her tank the day she had first seen the extra-terrestrial, and had expected something similar today. Yuffie had said that her and Sephiroth hadn’t left much of her in the rector, and had Jenova operated like any normal living creature, she would have been most certainly dead. That sure would’ve made their job easier today.

Everyone began to turn their gaze on Aerith, who confirmed with a nod. “She’s here.” Her expression was hard, determined.

“Open it.” Barret ordered. He shoved Hojo forwards after the man had stopped sort through the door.

Begrudgingly, the scientist walked the rest of the way across to the box. “And what, dare I ask, do you plan to do?” He asked over his shoulder, pace reluctant but steady.

“What do you think? We’re eliminating the biggest threat to life on the Planet. Barret answered.

Aerith’s eyes shone a resolute green under the bright fluorescent bulbs. “It’s what needs to be done.”

Hojo sneered back at her with unrepressed hatred. “And what would you know about ‘what needs to be done’?” Despite his anger, he began imputing a code into the primary keypad attached to the box. “I struggle to imagine you even know what you’re doing here. Idiotic fools.”

An orange warning flashed up on the screen and in response, a metallic scraping sounded behind the group. They all turned to see a heavily armed security drone twist itself into life from the upper left of the huge doorway.

No hesitation, Vincent switched to the heaviest of his firearms and aimed a series of shots which ripped through the edges of the circuitry. Barret followed with a charged blast, which tore the top plating straight from its frame. Yuffie, still leaning weakly against Cid, summoned a thunder bolt with her materia.

No sooner had the robot landed ready to fight, it was left broken and twitching.

Noise on the opposite side of the door had the group turning to see the same model of bot land almost gracefully, blocking their exit. A similar exchange of hits and another flash of electricity, had the second one blasted across the room in a smouldering heap.

Hojo, for the first time in Tifa’s memory, looked fearful. That had surely been his final avenue for escape, and it had been lost in seconds. Smoke, accompanied by the soft crackle of burning wires, rose idly into the vast room.

This time, understanding his defeat, he began typing the codes into the keypad. With a clunk and hiss, one of the hydraulic locks released, letting the lid rise a few inches before being stopped by the next lock. A set of lights turned green and the display awaited the next command.

“If you leave now, I’ll allow you to take the Cetra and the beast. I’ll call off the guards and you can walk out of here without resistance.” Hojo tried, his voice giving away his mounting desperation.

“Negotiating now, are we?” Barret laughed. “Don’t think we’ll take you up on that one. Thanks though.” Out of everyone, he looked like he was having the most fun here.

Cid swapped a sceptical look with Yuffie. He whispered something to her which made the rogue burst out laughing. Probably something crude which Tifa was glad she didn’t hear.

“Fine then. Have it your way, imbecilic brutes.” Hojo began typing in a second set of numbers, looking more vivid by the second.

“You call us that, but what are you planning to do with Janova’s bits? There’s not a whole lot left of her.” Yuffie called back. She was still shaking off the effects of whatever Hojo had shocked her with, and was still beset by a limp and the occasional twitch.

Pushed to his limit, Hojo spun on his heel to face the group. So furious, he had the appearance not unlike a snarling beast and Tifa wondered whether he was going gamble his self-preservation and just attack them himself. “What can’t we do with J cells is the better question. You realise that your closed-mindedness could set us back decades of advancement if we lose this specimen?!”

“I’d rather lose a few years of medical advancements if it prevents the world from nearly ending.” Aerith replied, meeting the hatred in Hojo’s eyes with little concern.

“And what would give you the basis to think that?!” He shouted back, looking more dishevelled as his temper rose with each passing second.

Tifa found herself momentarily distracted by an absolutely terrible smell, so bad in nearly made her wince. Acidic like mako, bitter like oil and carrying the sharpness of vinegar. It made her want to gag. The only place it could have been coming from, was the slightly open box.

Hojo was continuing on his tirade of screaming across the room and the others were all slowly becoming aware of the awful stench. Tifa’s attention was now set upon the box. Within the darkness, she could swear there was movement where the lid had begun to open.

She squinted hard past Hojo’s shoulder. Even if Jenova was conscious in there, the lid was only open a few inches, no way anything could get out yet.

“It’s idiots like you who have no conception, no idea of the gravity of my work…” The scientist continued to loudly make his point. If he was stalling for time, there was little point. Tifa was sure any help would take much longer than usual to get here, now Soldier and the Turks were choosing to turn a blind eye.

Yes, there was definitely movement in the container. A dark bubbling. Something struggling to hold its form?

Remembering the materia Reeve had given her, she used the honey yellow orb to cast a scanning spell. The first time she locked onto Hojo by mistake, momentarily feeling a mix of fury and fear as if they were her own.

Shaking off the echoes of his wild heartrate, Tifa cast again. The feeling was one she had definitely never encountered before. No heartbeat, liquid cells, vast cosmic intelligence, wounded and wary and so, so very hungry.

Then, like tar- something between solid and liquid, escaped the side and curled around the lip of the huge box. “Movement!” Tifa pointed, drawing everyone’s attention and silencing Hojo’s rant.

Not a second later, a bullet fired off and pinged against the metal beside the professor’s head. Vincent’s pinpoint aim had caught the bubbling thing, which withdrew as it was struck. This proved to only hold it back for a moment when even more began bubbling up against the opening of the box, inching its way out.

Hojo lurched out of the way but part of the formless thing tracked his movements from under the lid. Before he could get away, a sticky tendril flicked from the corner and grabbed first at his coat before climbing up his arm.

It wasn’t just a rope of sticky substance, it was a tentacle. Horrifically, it reminded Tifa of a nature documentary, when octopuses squeeze themselves through spaces much smaller than they should be able to fit. Not wanting to see the form trying to escape the box, that thought didn’t fill her with much confidence.

Nanaki growled, keeping low to the floor while everyone else backed away further out of reach. Vincent fired off a full round of bullets which, other than it flinching at the impacts, didn’t slow the gelatinous mass at all.

Tifa gasped in horror as the slime twisted and engulfed more of Hojo. He had no chance of overpowering the alien mass as it caught his arms first, then legs. He screeched something unintelligible as he futilely fought back against it.

“Aw what the fuck?! What the fuck?!” Barret shouted, his voice pitching up. He lifted his weapon but didn’t yet fire.

Red cared much less for Hojo’s wellbeing though, and sent a blast of fire magic which scolded the dark ooze. The tentacle writhed with the flames but took little damage. Worryingly, it was only growing, new appendages splitting from existing ones while more slipped free from the box. It resembled a dark grey, almost blue tar, which shone in an iridescent spectrum where it caught the light. The body was headless, adorned with dark blobs, strange alien organs which wrapped around the engulfed scientist.

With a final cry, his single free hand scratching helplessly at the floor, Hojo was wrapped in the growing creature. His screams were finally silenced, only bits of his coat and one arm visible anymore.

The sight turned Tifa’s stomach and she found herself almost feeling sympathetic for the vile man. Almost.

Out of morbid interest more than anything else, Tifa cast again to asses their foe. The sensation was like darkness itself. A spiralling feeling, like staring up at an infinite blanket of stars made her press a palm to her head. Hunger. The need for vengeance. Hatred. Wounded but still strong, driven by hunger and the desire to seek out and kill and consume. She was going to escape, take her revenge and devour everything.

Tifa wrenched herself out of that state with a gasp. If that was anything like the feeling Cloud and Sephiroth were besieged with, then it was little wonder that madness could come quickly after Jenova had made herself known in their minds.

“What’re you waiting for?” Cid shouted, drawing power from his own fire materia and throwing a blast at the writhing mass.

“What about Hojo? Do we need him?” Tifa asked, readying her own magic. By the looks of it, they wouldn’t stand much chance of getting him out, even if they tried.

“Not anymore, thanks!” Barret called back, completely freaked out by this sudden turn of events.

Yuffie stepped up, teetering on her feet a little. With one hand she pinched her nose against the terrible small and with the other, drew a handful of throwing knives. The small blades sunk into Jenova’s slime with a gross wet thunk. Otherwise, no visible damage was sustained. Slowly, the knives were drawn into the mass, just like Hojo.

Backing her up, Cid sent another wave of flame through the air to scorch the alien. It had been a strong cast but when the smoke cleared, Jenova had sustained far less damage than she had with the first two spells. She continued to bubble outwards, beginning to take on a shape, tightly constricting Hojo, almost as if feeding off of him.

“Back up, don’t get too close.” Tifa warned. Not that anyone would be stupid enough to (except Yuffie, maybe). “Cait, do we still have Reeve’s eyes on this?”

He nodded back, gaze not leaving the mutating heap.

The flames had been pushing Jenova back, so why hadn’t Cid’s attack worked? Experimentally, Tifa focused on her magic for a few long seconds, casting the highest-level spell her materia would allow. The fluorescent lights were drowned out by bright orange as flames circled the vast room, coalescing in a swirling inferno which ripped through the air, engulfing Jenova.

Everyone retreated into the doorway at the incredible heat pouring through the room. Tifa kept the blaze going for longer than she usually would, but allowed the spell to finally drop when it became too taxing.

Heatwaves danced over the floor, which glistened in an orange glow. The large metal containment which had held Jenova was lopsided and beginning to melt in places. The alien herself was… crispy, but still hadn’t sustained any serious damage.

“Seriously?” They looked at each other with a mix of horror and confusion.

Jenova’s body began to swell to an even greater size, snatching in parts from the robots they’d destroyed with coiling limbs. Her form began to shift in a mass of grey flesh, liquid ooze and tendrils, until she began to take on a terrible, new, monstrous form.

“You kidding me with this?!” Cid growled, chewing on the cigarette he’d just lit. “Hate this alien bullshit.”

Honestly, Tifa couldn’t have put it better herself.

Like a spasm caused by an electric shock, his body jolted. The sudden movement brought with it a burst of discomfort through every muscle. Unwelcome, like his body was forcefully pulling itself out of sleep before his mind could catch up.

Coming back to his senses was a challenge. As if his body needed to readjust to the pressure after a deep dive in the ocean. So, he let himself slowly resurface.

Part of him wished to slip back into sleep, to avoid whatever was waiting on this side of reality, but Sephiroth faintly recalled that he was needed elsewhere.

His skin felt numb on the surface but every muscle burned beneath. Coming out of mako stasis always made for a long, horrible process and was, in his opinion, the worst part of the whole thing.

Reluctantly, eyes blinked open to green tinged glass walls and a blurry sterile lab space beyond. Flexing his fingers to try to get some life back into his body was tough just on its own. How long had he slept? His bones felt welded together. While slowly regaining movement, Sephiroth began to piece together his situation.

He and his friends had defeated Jenova… or more like Gaia had destroyed her, once they had cleared a way.

Wait, had he died back there?! It sure felt like it.

Of all his deaths that he could remember, that one ranked the lowest, in Sephiroth’s opinion.

Were Angeal and Genesis okay? He needed to get out of here and find them. He needed to deactivate the defence systems in the room so Cloud wouldn’t have to.

If all was going according to plan then the Avalanche team would be arriving at some point. When they did, Sephiroth needed to be ready to leave. The idea of seeing everyone again filled him with eagerness more than previously. Knowing that Cloud was on his way helped motivate him to fight back against the cold pain, as it bit into his sore joints.

Forcing himself into motion, Sephiroth flexed his fingers until the muscles lost their sharpness. It freed up some motion in his hands, and so he worked slowly up until he could move his wrists, then his arms. That accomplishment alone took several long minutes. The movements were weak and lethargic but he was making progress. It hurt like hell but that was to be expected. Pain was merely a temporary hinderance, getting to see Cloud again was worth it.

Gods, he couldn’t recall this much aching even after being encased in crystal.

His shoulders and wing were the worst and felt almost as bad as when the new limb had first manifested. Moving it sent agonising spasms through his back and down his legs.

…On a lighter note, it would seem that whatever damage he’d sustained while fighting Jenova, hadn’t followed him here.

There were alarms outside his tank, which were becoming pretty irritating. That alone became good enough motivation to get him moving. Sephiroth hadn’t realised at first but there was a mask over his face and IV lines attached at the crook of each elbow. All three were promptly pulled off, once he could get his hands to obey and grasp the offending objects.

There was a littering of feathers at the bottom of the tank. Way more than looked healthy, at least from his limited experience of bird-like appendages.

He moved his neck, rolled his shoulders, curled his toes.
All in working order.

How to get out was the next question. These tanks weren’t designed to be opened from the inside… unless you knew how. The hatch at the top was sealed with three locks around the rim and with some wiggling, could be encouraged to open… something else he happened to know from being a bored child, trapped in these for days at a time.

Pushing up from the bottom of the tank, he reached up with heavy arms and felt around the top of the hatch with numb fingers.

On second thoughts, this idea was stupid. Why waste time picking locks when he had a giant sword?

Calling it forth, Masamune felt much heavier in his hand than it should have. It was also much too large to properly move in the confined space. Swinging it was a clumsy affair that thankfully no one was around to witness, especially when he blundered the first several attempts before finally slicing through one of the metal bolts.

A few small pieces of metal dropped down, sinking past him. Kicking up from the bottom again, Sephiroth pushed at the hatch as hard as he could- another attempt which failed dreadfully. Mako wasn’t the easiest substance to breathe, which was a good enough excuse for his poor efforts.

The short burst of energy was enough to make his head swim and Sephiroth was forced to admit that this was going to be more challenging than first thought.

A blur of movement caught his eye. Seeking it out, his expression must have become one of delight when a grinning face appeared on the other side of the glass.

Zack!

Sephiroth had never been so pleased to see his First Class troublemaker.

The Soldier waved and pointed above. ‘We’ll get you out.’ He mouthed from the other side.

A crash of metal from above shook the whole containment unit. He looked up to see the hatch had been flipped open, replaced with light filtering down, tinged green by the mako. Plunging into the murky green came an open hand reaching out to him.

Pushing off the bottom once more, he reached out and grasped the offered hand. With great strength, Sephiroth was hauled up to finally break the surface.

Cloud grappled with the awkward hold but just about managed to heave a very soggy Sephiroth out and onto the upper surface of the tank.

His legs scrambled uselessly beneath him and the dripping wing was like a deadweight behind him. Though it did very little for his dignity, Sephiroth appreciated the help. The moment he tried to inhale air, breaking the steady liquid flow of mako, he began to choke.

He gripped on tight, maybe too tight, but Cloud wasn’t complaining. The blond was warm and steady and probably getting soaked. Now on a solid surface, he held Sephiroth in place while his vision swam and gravity felt too heavy.

“I’ve got you.” The quiet words were only just heard above Sephiroth’s gasping breath. “We’re here.”

The numbness across his skin finally broke enough to feel that Cloud was gripping him just as tightly.

Finally, their bond could be felt again. This. This was what home felt like. Discomfort or none, Sephiroth could have stayed in that desperate embrace forever.

Oh, wait…

Gracelessly, Sephiroth turned and promptly threw up.

With most of the mako gone from his system, breathing was wet and raspy but now much easier. On the downside, his head spun even worse and his legs felt far too heavy. Everything was much too loud and even though the alarms had thankfully been switched off, the ambient hum of machines sounded like a thousand flies swarming the room.

When he next opened his eyes, Zack was beside them, offering a sturdy hand. Sephiroth recognised his Lieutenant’s expression- bright but carrying a deep worry just below the surface.

“Hey boss. Feelin’ better now?”

Sephiroth didn’t want to think about how dreadful he must have looked. Hair stuck to his face, eyes probably bloodshot, only in his underwear, struggling for breath and practically lying over his much shorter friend.

“Y-yes.” He lied, voice weak and grainy. For a moment, he hardly recognised himself.

All the worry and rush to escape fell away for those long moments. The three sat quietly, nothing needing to be said when relief was so present around them.

Eventually, the lights didn’t seem so bright nor did the room sound so deafeningly loud. Ever the talker, Zack began relaying the story of how the two had gotten here, in a much quieter voice than he normally would have. Sephiroth didn’t listen to most of it but the gentle upbeat tone brought him back into reality a little easier.

He’d expected a cocky remark from Cloud, or at least something. Instead, he stayed almost statue still where he supported Sephiroth. The blond was equally frightened and relieved, that was easy to tell. Finally managing to sit up and take stock of his friend, Cloud’s eyes were set in a blank and steely blue.

“Aw man, my heart’s still pounding.” Zack broke the silence once more. “You’re not allowed to scare us like this again, okay? Let’s all stick together this time.”

Sephiroth nodded slowly. He could agree to that.

It was good to be back in the waking world, with the people he treasured most.

Chapter Text

The three sat close together until Sephiroth found enough strength in his bones to finally move. It was clumsy, especially when the others helped him down off the side of the tank. Supporting his own weight was difficult but he knew this weakness would last for a short while. His wing hung limply behind leaving a gross green trail behind them when his friends led him towards a side door.

They emerged into the shower room and led him to the closest bay.

“You going to be okay or do we need to hose you down ourselves?” Cloud finally spoke. Surely it was supposed to be a joke, but for a moment the dry tone left Sephiroth unsure.

“I’ll be fine.” His voice still sounded much too broken for his liking.

Zack stepped to grab something Sephiroth could at least sit on, and tried the water. “Pretty cold.” He frowned, trying to encourage the water to heat.

“S’ fine.” Sephiroth coughed, knowing the water wasn’t going to be anything but cold. Right now, he didn’t mind either way, too eager for a shower and not caring for the temperature.

Cloud steadied him until he was sure Sephiroth wasn’t going to collapse, and left him on the chair. By this point, Cloud was rather soggy thanks to his closeness. If he cared, he didn’t show it.

As the minutes passed since getting down from the tank, Cloud had become gradually more difficult to read. His nervous relief hadn’t gone away but this time, Cloud was trying to hide it.

Under the harsh spray, the mako washed off easily, leaving his skin in one solid film where it had begun to dry. The colder water was wonderfully refreshing and proved to be just what he’d needed. It made his heart beat a little faster and drew the feeling gradually back into the surface of his skin, making him feel alive once more.

The previous light chatter had dulled into an uncomfortable quiet. After a further minute, boots strode across the tiled floor towards the doorway. “I’m gonna look for the others.” Zack announced, quickly leaving.

Sephiroth looked over his shoulder to see Cloud unpacking a bag along one of the surfaces and soon recognised what he was unwrapping. “You brought my clothes?”

Cloud shrugged and set about folding them into a neat pile. “Figured you’d prefer that over being naked.” The words were snappier than he’d expected.

Was Cloud angry at him? Sephiroth had trouble accounting for this sudden coldness. “Thank you.” He replied after a moment of contemplating the other’s state.

The two returned to silence. Sephiroth focused on washing the mako out of his hair. The motion made the muscles in his arms burn but by the end, he could feel the water run between his fingers, as the numbness edged away. On the other side of the room, Cloud leaned against one of the walls and began tapping speedily on his PHS.

Not to take his kindness lightly, but Sephiroth wished his friend had packed some shampoo for him. His hair was knotted in parts, almost glued together in others, where the acidic substance had settled around his still form. Once it dried, it was bound to become sticky in the parts where the mako hadn’t properly come out. He also knew it was going to smell like the stuff for days, which was hardly a pleasant thought.

“The others have Hojo. They’re heading to Jenova now.” Cloud spoke, reading off his phone.

Good news then. After all this, he was rather looking forward to seeing them all again. Even more so hoping for the opportunity to kill Hojo. “I doubt much of her is left now. If any at all.” At least he was also beginning to sound somewhat like himself again.

“So, you fought Jenova?” Cloud asked, sparing a glance from his place beside the wall.

Clearing up his hair as best he could for now, Sephiroth pulled his wing up to him next. He had to focus his efforts on keeping the discomfort out of his voice when pain radiated through his side from the movement. “We did. Myself, Genesis and Angeal. We used the Holy materia to finish her off. I would think that destroyed her on both sides.”

“… That’s good to hear.” Cloud resumed his quiet brooding, keeping his eyes far away from Sephiroth.

His wing didn’t look so good. It was unclear whether the clumps of missing feathers had come out in the mako or during their battle in the reactor. Sephiroth wasn’t accustomed to most injuries lasting more than a few days, so it was odd that the once sleek plumage still bore some trace of damage. It would seem that lots had come out in the mako, especially the smaller marginal feathers. Any which hadn’t come out in the tank were falling freely under the shower stream, coming loose under the slightest touch. It created a patchy look which Sephiroth wasn’t fond of.

Most of the primary flight feathers were still intact, so hopefully it would still be useful. As things were, he cleaned them as best he could in their limited time. The full clean with no doubt be tedious when it finally came time to do.

He tried his legs again and found more success with them supporting him. Gripping onto the stool Zack had found, he gave his hair a final rinse through. “What is the matter, Cloud?” This mood was getting tiring, and Sephiroth had only just woken up.

To his surprise and vague amusement, Cloud rounded on him with a scowl. “What’s the matter?! Seph, less an hour ago I thought you might be dead. That fight with Jenova- it felt wrong. Like I was part of it, even though I wasn’t. I felt our connection cut out. Something came back but I didn’t know if that was you waking up without Jenova or the other way around.”

Oh. Well that explained a thing or two. Thinking upon it, he could confirm that their bond did certainly feel weaker. If they were far enough apart, it might just drop away entirely. Sephiroth found some disappointment in that.
“You worried about me.” Sephiroth couldn’t help his smirk. It was endearing as much as it was surreal, that Cloud’s decision to spare him, however many months ago had culminated in this.

Cloud glowered back. “Of course I worried about you.”

With a snap of his wrist, Cloud whipped a towel off the countertop, stormed over and pushed it into Sephiroth’s grip the moment the water was turned off. He glared into the taller man’s eyes, his own blue ones hiding a storm beneath. “Even Tifa’s been worried about you.”

“Really?” Sephiroth replied, admittedly surprised about that. Beyond the truce the two had formed, he didn’t think she’d care, regardless of what fate befell him.

Cloud sized him up with one long final glare. “Your hair is green.” He said before turning away and resuming his post back alongside the wall.

Wait, wha-? Ah damnit, the mako. Sure enough, his silver hair had taken on a pale green tinge. Rolling his eyes, Sephiroth wrapped the towel around his shoulders. That was bound to take a few washes to get out.

Cloud was back on his phone again. “Reeve says Hojo is leading the others in circles. Might end up in here before they find Jenova.”

“Good. I’ve had a lot of time to ponder how I’d like to see him die.”

“Long as we’ve checked to see if Jenova is dead first, he’s all yours. Might have to fight Zack for the honours to kill him. And Vincent. And me… everyone else too, probably.”

Drying off his hair, Sephiroth made his way over to where Cloud was sulking. Surveying the clothing selection the blond has so kindly packed, it didn’t exactly consist of combat gear. Mainly, it was what he would wear to lounge around his apartment; warm fluffy bottoms and a more comfortable button-up shirt. Not what he would have chosen for their escape, but the thought was appreciated.

On the other side of the door, there came a shout from Zack, more of excitement than anything to inspire worry. He was saying something, though the acoustics of the lab failed to carry his exact words.

Cloud shoved his phone away and turned to leave.

Stumbling on his feet still, Sephiroth reached to quickly catch his friend’s arm. Cloud paused, turned back and met green eyes with a conflicted expression.

Seizing the given opportunity, Sephiroth took hold of Cloud’s hands, a loose hold but an insistent one. The contact pulling that familiar bond back into light. “I’ve missed this, haven’t you?”

The frown Cloud wore remained for a moment. He opened his mouth, preparing a likely sarcastic retort, but chose against it. His expression shifted, betraying a seldom seen vulnerability and the coldness in his eyes fell away. “Yeah.” Came his whispered reply.

Slipping a hand into his pocket, Cloud brought out a dark tattered feather. It’d seen better days, frayed and bent out of place. Still, it was held delicately, a display which warmed Sephiroth’s heart without need for words.

His hand slipped higher to cup Cloud’s cheek, tilting his chin up until the two were almost nose to nose. Sephiroth felt the other’s heartbeat quicken. Nervous excitement and Cloud’s unflinching spirit drew him in.

“My madman from the slums.” Sephiroth practically purred, enamoured by the way Cloud blushed against his hand.

Sephiroth leaned in and without hesitation, kissed him. Cloud’s eyes flashed with surprise, but again, he remained in place. Only the lightest of touches, but it was enough. Enough for now, at least.

A hand trailed up his back and came to rest at the base of Sephiroth’s wing. “Not here. Not until we’re out.” Cloud whispered when they parted, though he made no attempt to carry out his suggestion.

Sephiroth could abide by that. This place wasn’t the most comforting, plus they had business still to attend to. There was however, one more thing which begged to be said. “It would seem I am indebted to you once again. Thank you for returning for me.”

“D-don’t mention it.” Came a flustered reply. “Thank Zack, not me.”

This time, when Sephiroth leaned back in, Cloud met him halfway.

The contact was brief, fleeting but it set a fire under Sephiroth’s skin. It was hard to comprehend how much his world had changed since meeting this man, who rightfully should have killed him the day they’d met. He’d missed this wild spirit, this powerful, ridiculous man. This man who’d given him a taste of what life could be. Now being back together, it was plain to see how much he’d missed the other’s presence. Two souls not meant to divide.

There was no way Sephiroth was letting Cloud or his newfound freedom go ever again.

Fingers uncurled from feathers and Sephiroth stepped finally away. “I suppose we should see where he’s gotten to.” Sephiroth glanced at the door, finally taking note once again of Zack’s calls for them.

Cloud, red in the face and looking rapidly between Sephiroth and the floor, nodded. The reaction was somewhat delayed, like his brain was still catching up to the world around them. “Mm, yeah. Yeah.” He offered a small but sincere smile before finding his feet and heading out of the room.

Sephiroth smiled to himself, contemplating how much of a liability his adoration for this weird and wonderful blond was. Not that he cared. Grabbing the towel, he gave his hair a final dry, lamenting that it would have to stay tangled and gritty for now. His wing was too much of a nuisance, so a decision was made to forgo his shirt for now. His favourite jacket was missing, but he still had his sword- which was all that really mattered. Everything else would fall into place later.

Stepping around the corner and back into the main room, Sephiroth was treated to an odd sight. Zack had opened the largest of the containment units and was talking animatedly to the creature within while Cloud watched on several paces away, looking mildly disturbed.

The thing inside was… disgusting. An abomination of nature, or whatever artificial means had formed it. An assorted pile of fleshy forms, each belonging to a variety of monsters.

It was the final remaining parts of Angeal.

It slumped on the tiled floor, body attempting to resemble some sort of four-legged creature. It was large, at least twice Zack’s height. A form which might have been crafted by the most deranged of sculptors. A sprout of white feathered wings protruded from one side of its back. Multiple heads- at least six, that could be immediately seen, tracked the Soldier’s enthusiastic gestures.

Guard hounds, sewer dwellers and Hojo’s grotesque creations had all been assimilated into a single entity. As for that smaller fluid form he’d encountered in Jenova’s dream realm, this was what it’d been in reality.

Like he’d encountered in Jenova’s reality, this thrown-together collection of a creature appeared to have retained a portion of Angeal’s will. Eyes, too calm and attentive to have truly belonged to a beast, watched Zack as he excitedly recounted their days adventure.

The massive creature (though that descriptor felt disingenuous, when its eyes held such intelligence) attempted to stand, to lumber closer to it's student. Failing, the legs buckled and even cracked under the body, none built to support such a form. A low whine of several voices at once sounded mournfully out.

Looking over his shoulder, Cloud exchanged a look with Sephiroth, somewhere between confused and disgusted.

Like nothing was amiss, Zack stepped forwards. Two of the monstrous heads bent low to greet him, and the young man threw his arms around a canine snout as if welcoming an old friend.
Sephiroth supposed to that to Zack, this final trace of his mentor was better than none.

Multiple sets of eyes turned and focused finally on Sephiroth, another low whine of question rumbling from within the creature.

It turned his stomach. Unlike his Lieutenant, he bore no joy at seeing these leftovers of his friend. This was the sickness which had torn him apart. Their Angeal was long dead, this was merely the infected remains Jenova had stripped away from the man. This pitiful thing was far beyond saving. He would give this sickness a merciful death, as he should have done a long time ago. Zack shouldn’t have to watch his mentor die a second time.

At the call, Sephiroth approached, legs still awkwardly shaky but at least strong enough now to carry him. Only stopping when Angeal was within reaching distance. He forced a dry smile. The air smelt of decay.

“Hey, look. Even Seph’s here.” Zack said, voice tight with emotion, his optimism forced.

One glance was all Sephiroth needed to confirm that Zack understood. After all, he knew better than anyone that their Angeal was dead and gone. There was no coming back from this. Zack had arrived with optimism that more than one of the Firsts would be saved today, and that hope had just been shattered.

His good mood from a moment ago now affectively soured, Sephiroth bit back his anger and the sick feeling in his gut. “He’s grown a lot, hasn’t he?”

‘Angeal’ gave another morose growl in response.

“You should be proud of him, he outranks you now.” Sephiroth continued. Up close he noted that where this creature had melted together, held more of a gelatinous quality, rather than solid flesh.

Swaying one of its heads, ‘Angeal’ caught Zack by the back of his uniform and lifted him up. The Soldier kicked out in surprise, but laughed, the sound soured by heartache. It dropped him a moment later, jaw failing to work for long.

One of the heads nosed at the Buster Sword, with the same affectionate motion. After, another whined, nudging Zack towards Sephiroth, the gesture easy to interpret.

“I’m gonna carry on looking.” Cloud muttered behind them, not pausing before quickly retreating elsewhere.

Sephiroth placed a hand on Zack’s shoulder and was instantly pulled into hug. Watching on, ‘Angeal’ rumbled a more appreciative noise.

“I’m sorry.” Sephiroth muttered close to Zack’s ear as his Lieutenant’s breathing hitched.

“Don’t be.” Murmured Zack against his shoulder.

Sephiroth leaned into the other, his legs still protesting. This only made Zack pull him in tighter. “You know what needs to happen.”

“I-, yeah. Yeah, I do.”

Sephiroth closed his arms around the young man’s back, two bestial heads resting against them also.

The mournful sounds the beast was making combined with how Zack’s hands trembled against his skin made it difficult to keep his own emotions shut out. “Go with Cloud.” Sephiroth gently urged, not breaking eye contact with the closest of the monster’s heads.

“No. I’ll do it. ‘S okay.”

“Once was more than enough. Go, now.” This time, he pushed gently, trying to pry his friend away.

What followed was reluctant but Zack did finally move, his eyes teary and previous optimistic grin gone. He turned and placed a hand on the closest snout, forced a weak smile and turned to hurry away.

Sephiroth waited for Zack to round the next corner before releasing a slow steadying breath. “Thank you for your help against Jenova. We wouldn’t have destroyed her, if not for you.”

‘Angeal’ blinked slowly in understanding.

“Zack doesn’t need me to keep him safe, but I’ll make sure he is. I’ll get Gen out of here, you don’t need to worry about him either. What happened to us will never happen to anyone else, I can promise you that.” Masamune still felt strangely dense in his grip, as it was summoned.

A few of the heads nodded, the movement out of sync. Slowly, each of them bowed, welcoming the end.

Taking a few long deep breaths, Sephiroth centred himself. This was no different than putting down any of Hojo’s abominations. This was him making up for a task he had once failed to complete.

The blade moved faster than could be seen. ‘Angeal’s’ eyes lost their focus and it was over. He’d slain enough men and beast to know that this amalgamation was dead before it collapsed to the ground.

“Farewell, friend.” Sephiroth stepped back, tanking a moment to quietly observe the first to fall of their trio.

He stayed until the tremble in his legs turned to an urgent agony. It forced him to step away, following after Zack and Cloud.

They hadn’t gotten far, and it seemed that Zack had latched instead onto Cloud, as one might have expected. Seeing him approach, Zack broke away and instead settled his back against the wall.

Joining beside them, Sephiroth nodded in confirmation when Zack’s teary and questioning gaze found his.

“Thank you.” The Soldier murmured.

“Of course.”

While he wasn’t sure exactly how much context Cloud had, he understood enough. He had returned to that stoic mask of shielded emotion but still stood shoulder to shoulder with Zack, still invested in his friends’ wellbeing. The feeling coming from him was conflicted, both wanting to comfort as well as not intrude on their shared grief.

Barely a minute was spent like that before the need to find Genesis and escape returned to the forefront of their minds. Sephiroth was no expert but he knew he and Zack needed longer to process what had just happened. This was neither the time nor place for doing so.

Wanting out of their current emotional deadlock, Cloud was happy to resume the search first. It left Sephiroth and Zack to quietly contemplate what they had both not expected to witness. Was Genesis going to be any better? He’d been left to the degradation for longer than Angeal had and Sephiroth wondered whether they were even dealing with a human anymore.

Gods, he’d only just woken up from a wretched mako tank barely an hour ago and he’d already gone through the whole spectrum of human feelings before even regaining his muscle strength back. It made him want to retreat back up to the safety of his apartment. Reuniting with old friends and going on the run with Cloud sounded alright too, he supposed.

“I’ve got something.”

He and Zack looked up to where Cloud had called from. A corner of the room kept in low light.

“You doing okay?” Zack asked when Sephiroth stumbled on weak legs, limp wing not helping his balance.

In response, he nodded, turning away from Zack’s less than cheerful look. Together, they made their way to the third of their trio.

Cloud hit the lights, buzzing to life a bright panel above them.

Inside resembled a small-scale medical bay. This might have been one of the rooms from the medical wing, if not for the dingy feel and the cage bars in place of walls.

There before them was Genesis, clear as day. He was nothing like Sephiroth had seen only a short time ago, in Jenova’s realm. The degradation had marred just about every aspect of the man. His skin was sallow, he was too thin, too grey. Once auburn hair was peppered with streaks where the colour had drained out of him. Even his oddly-jointed wing had lost some of its splendour.

His bright crimson coat was gone and without its colour Genesis looked… like death.

In its place he wore a papery medical gown, its simple shape doing little to hide how thin and emaciated Genesis was.

With the addition of the light above them, the man on the medical slab stirred. He winced in discomfort, wheezing breath rattling as he squirmed in place.

“Genesis?” Sephiroth dropped his weight beside his old friend’s head, the movement betraying how the pain clawing at his legs. The man beside him was so weak that Sephiroth hesitated before touching him, like Genesis might just crumble away right there. Reminding himself that this was ridiculous, Sephiroth brushed a gentle hand through his hair.

The others watched on curiously. Cloud had found another wall to lean against on the outer side of the cage bars and despite his casual stance, looked ready for action at the first sign of trouble. Zack had stayed at Sephiroth’s side. “Is he waking up?” He whispered, leaning over Genesis.

“Yes, Fair. Please get out of my face.” Genesis weakly croaked. He coughed, voice hoarse but undoubtable alive, even if he looked barely conscious.

Sephiroth found himself sighing in relief. “That’s a rude way to greet your rescuers, don’t you think?”

Eyes flickered open and Genesis winced. Slowly, he adjusted to the light before focusing on Sephiroth. The once striking blue was paler than usual, drained of colour like the rest of him. A sly grin spread up his face. “Well hello again, dear friend.”

“Genesis. Happy to see you in one piece.” Sephiroth reached down to take the Soldier’s hand. He turned back to the others observing. “We need some water, and wheel me one of those equipment cabinets.” He gently spoke, careful to hide his utter relief and conflicting worry. Hopefully the others couldn’t detect the hammering beat of his heart.

Zack and Cloud moved quickly and within less than a minute, Sephiroth was setting up his requested equipment. Everyone watched closely as he assembled the necessary lines for the transfusion. For once, he was glad of the number of procedures he’d ended up watching (or rather participating in).

It wouldn’t be the most professional job but it was the best he could do when accounting for their limitations.

With half-lidded eyes, Genesis watched him work. “Ah yes, about before… Did we- did we die?”

“Hmm, yes. I think we might have.” Sephiroth casually replied, as if the question was no big deal, nor did he elaborate for the others who were now watching on with quizzical expressions. He set his own equipment up, keeping his hands as steady as possible while doing so.

Hopefully this was the correct setup, if his usually sharp memory served. Sephiroth’s understanding was limited and he was very aware that the other end of the machine was not supposed to connect directly with a second person. Luckily, Genesis already had an IV line fitted, which was diverted from whatever drip he was being fed to match up with Sephiroth’s. The machine hummed softly as it began its task, feeding Sephiroth’s blood directly into Genesis’s veins.

One thing he wasn’t certain about was how long the transfusion should take or how much blood would be enough. They were working off an untested theory, a guess from desperate parties.

Zack took a seat at the end of the medical bed, where he watched with interest.

“Is Angeal with you?”

Sephiroth stalled a moment before answering. “No… that was not our Angeal. He is suffering no more.”

“I see.” Genesis stared past him a moment, taking in the news. Before long, he turned his attention elsewhere. “Ah, Zack. I admit, even you’re a sight for sore eyes.” He smiled almost sweetly.

The Soldier didn’t smile back. He watched Genesis for a moment, sceptical. “Okay, don’t get me wrong, I’m glad we found you… but I’d be lying if I didn’t mention how you made the last year and a half unbelievably shitty, especially for him.” Zack idly gestured to Sephiroth.

Genesis opened his mouth to reply but was instantly cut off once more.

“If you’re about to quote poetry at me, I’m going straight back to that console and reactivating the security drones. I do not have the patience for you right now.” Zack continued, making his seriousness perfectly apparent.

That shut Genesis up for the moment. Sephiroth noticed Cloud trying to hide his laughter on the other side of the containment. They didn’t have to wait long before the blonde drew their patient’s attention.

“And that would make you Cloud then? Sorry that this is how we meet, I know I’m a rather sorry sight. Our dear Sephiroth has told me so much about your misadventures.” Weakly, Genesis coughed, but still managed to convey some of his casual charm.

“You told him about me?” Cloud’s narrow stare made Sephiroth smile despite the fretful feeling which hovered in his chest.

“I didn’t have that much to talk about.” Sephiroth admitted. “I’m afraid to say you’ve been the most interesting thing that’s happened in a rather long time.”

Cloud’s frown deepened, though he still seemed more amused than annoyed. “I’m flattered?”

Genesis weakly nudged Sephiroth in the side as he peered back at Cloud appraisingly. “He’s a nice catch, I’m impressed. Mind if we share?”

“Piss off.” Cloud snapped back, though the words lacked any real irritation.

“Ooh, I like the attitude!” Genesis’s laugh was cut off by a sharp cough, which left his chest heaving.

“Try to rest.” Sephiroth urged. This man would never lose his spark, no matter what state he was in, but that did little to quell his concern. Still, Sephiroth tried not to consider that he may lose his friend a second time.

Without a sound as warning, the building shuddered around them, capturing everyone’s attention. Zack jumped to his feet and Cloud was on high alert. The tremor wasn’t extreme and lasted only a few seconds but it was enough for Cloud to instantly pull out his PHS and begin dialling his contacts.

“What do you think that was?” Zack asked, searching out a target.

“Reeve’s not picking up. Nor is Tifa.” Cloud reported with apprehension.

Zack went to speak once more but was interrupted by an even stronger shake. A piece of equipment clanged as it topped off its tray. Sephiroth focused in on the slight sounds vibrating through the walls. Something had awoken and was heading straight for them.

His gaze found Cloud’s as the two came to a terrible realisation. An awareness which wormed its way out of nothing, like an intrusive thought. A terrible, alien beacon which focused in on them both.

“I though you said you’d killed her.” Cloud’s words were nearly accusatory in their alarm.

“Assumed we had.” Sephiroth was just as reluctant to accept what was inevitably about to happen.

Before anyone else could speak, the far wall crumbled in a plume of dust and debris, blown inwards.

Stepping through was the most unnatural creature Sephiroth had ever witnessed. It’s single-eyed gaze focused right on him.

Static broke out across his mind. Her large single eye swayed hypnotically in the centre of a large head, partly covered by rows of teeth and four strange jaws which made up a head.

Once loving words rumbled through him, a language he could barely understand anymore. Now, nothing but vengeance and fury remained.

They had pushed Jenova to her breaking point, this was all which remained of her and she was out for blood.

A strong grip on his arm pulled Sephiroth back to his senses. Genesis was beside him, easy smile slipping into something actually fearful. Sephiroth couldn’t blame him, the man couldn’t very well fight back in his current state.

Reassuringly, Sephiroth wrapped an arm around his friend, sitting him up as best he could. Defensively, the other two moved into position.

This time avoiding her direct gaze, Sephiroth attempted to take in exactly what they were seeing.

She was large, more so in length than height. Tough greyish skin, fleshy but with the segmented appearance of an insect. The large head, mostly comprised of four interlinking jaws were framing a single huge eye of eerily pulsating magenta.
Protruding from the back of the head and down a malformed neck were two mirrored sets of large tendrils. These came down to the floor, to support her as if they were her own approximation of arms.
The body was lumpy, crudely shaped, almost like a child had moulded her out of clay. Most disturbing, in Sephiroth’s opinion, were the chunks of metal and piping sticking out in various places, in a way which suggested she was mashed together with various bits lying on the floor, rather than a real, living creature.

Sticking out of one side, near the end of the body was a lab coat-covered human arm. Moulded in with the rest of her, whoever it had been showed no signs of life.

The body ended in a second mass of tentacles, which came together in a strange representation of a tail which slithered and pushed her across the ground.

Despite what such a form might suggest, she was surprisingly agile.

It reminded Sephiroth of those strange microscopic creatures, found in the ocean. Little things in their own world, without a need to adhere to any known biological standard.

Compared to them, this alien held no beauty.

Jenova lifted herself to move into the room through the crumbling arch. No sooner had she taken one lumbering step forwards, an electrical blast exploded behind her.

The lights flickered as she stumbled forwards, tentacles splaying out to keep her from collapsing.

A figure sprang out from the opening, summersaulted and showered Jenova with a handful of darts. Below, someone else slid between the alien’s front limbs and delivered a powerful uppercut.

Yuffie and Tifa joined beside Zack and Cloud, who looked beyond thankful to see them both safe.
With Jenova momentarily staggered, Barret hurried past, dragging with him a man Sephiroth recognised but couldn’t immediately place.
Nanaki sprang out of the dust and landed on the back of the alien’s head, where he sunk his claws and bit down like a particularly large and annoying flea. She rolled and squirmed, trying to fight him off.

At the sight of Aerith, Zack sprinted forwards to greet her. Sephiroth found himself smiling when she leapt up, letting him catch and spin her around, overjoyed to see each other safe. Cloud was called over, and though he was clearly thrilled to see her again, he was trying to play it cool. The blond didn’t resist when she pulled him into a tight embrace.

Jumping from Aerith’s shoulder and racing off out of sight was a peculiar black and white cat. Someone was going to have to explain that to him later.

“Sephiroth, hey!” Yuffie jogged over. Weirdly, she was sporting an overly excitable grin, almost like she was happy to see him.
“How’s it going, bro? Sorry ’bout what went down in the reactor, I wish it could’ve ended different. Did you know you have green hair?” She spoke quickly.

“No need to apologise and yes. I did know.”

“Yeah, he’s lime flavoured today.” Zack called from the other side of the room for everyone to hear, much to Sephiroth’s utter joy.
“Neat.” Yuffie grinned. “We found Jenova by the way, if you couldn’t tell. Hah! Anyway, this is your friend, huh?” She crossed her arms, leaning against the metal rimmed doorway, despite the combat behind her.

Sephiroth wasn’t sure where this new change of attitude had come from, but he was more than happy to run with it. “Indeed, this is Genesis. He usually looks sharper than this.” He replied at the same time returning a half smile and polite nod which Tifa sent his way.

Genesis squinted up at Yuffie, who had climbed up to idly swing on the cell door. “I know you. You’re a Kisaragi, aren’t you?” He accused with a hint of disbelief.

“Yeah, and you’re one of Shinra’s chief bitches who attempted the genocide of my people, but here we are, right?” She gave him an odd smile which didn’t carry any of her previous cheer. Reaching into her pocket, Yuffie tossed him a green orb, which Sephiroth caught. “I should probably go help. Chat later, assholes.” Yuffie concluded, hopping off the door to re-join the fight before either could reply.

A healing materia, that was what she’d given him. It didn’t quite make up for the small fortune’s worth of mastered ones she’d pilfered from him, but it was something.

Nanaki was knocked off his hold and thrown to roll roughly across the tiled floor. In his absence, a flurry of gunshots rang out, making Jenova flinch away again. A swath of red flew out of the opening in the wall and slammed into her, toppling her oddly-proportioned form back down.

No way.

Sephiroth replayed that blurry memory. He couldn’t have misremembered, could he? Hojo’s biting laugh and the blood beginning to pool across the staircase.
Yet Vincent was here. Alive.

A tendril lashed out, throwing Vincent back and prompting Cloud to jump in. The blond split his sword into two and ripped a large piece from Jenova.

“Careful with your materia!” Tifa called across the field. “She adapts quickly if you use the same spell more than once.”

Genesis gave a light chuckle as he watched the group work. “My my, Sephiroth. You’ve certainly found yourself a good-looking group of companions.”

“Don’t start.”

Across the room, Zack cast a thunder spell which, sure enough, didn’t quite leave the same impact as the previous one had.

“You weren’t kidding.” A new voice spoke over the noise, in clear disbelief.

“Told ya.” Barret chuckled from where he stood off to the side of the room, providing covering fire.

“Yea, but-. He’s there! He’s right fuckin’ there!”

“Come on, don’t be shy.” Aerith spoke next. “I’ll introduce you.”

Before the first speaker could object, Aerith had dragged over the only person Sephiroth had yet to meet... aside from the weird cat. Aerith hopped inside the cell and took Sephiroth’s hand without a second thought. “Hey mister. Are you okay? Zack said you didn’t feel great when you woke up.” She looked him over with a careful eye which seemed to see through him. With Aerith though, that somehow never felt intrusive.

He was surprised for a moment by a warm tingling which crept up his arm. A curative spell.

Sephiroth smiled at her kindness, it really had been too long since they’d seen each other. “I’m coming back to myself quickly. Are you alright? You’ve been in here just as long as I have.” She looked a little on the sleepless side but appeared otherwise unscathed.

“Fine thanks. Hojo was too busy with you boys to bother with little old me.” She moved next to Genesis, studying him closely. In return, he watched her, a hint of recognition in his eye but one which couldn’t be placed.
“You must be Genesis then?” She held out her hand for him to take instead.

Weakly, with a shudder, he grasped onto the offered hand. “I’ve heard I have a- have a reputation.” Genesis paused to wheeze. He still sagged limply against Sephiroth’s side, it was hard to tell if his condition had improved any since waking.

“I’m Aerith, we’re here to make sure you get out of here.” A green glow and slight displacement in the air told that she was casting a second healing spell. “This is Cid.”

Cid had been hovering in the doorway, keeping an eye on both Aerith and the ongoing fight. “Uh… hi?” He fixed Sephiroth with a shocked expression before shaking his head. “I’m sorry, this is fuckin’ bonkers. That’s Sephiroth! How are you so chill?!”

“Good afternoon.” Sephiroth greeted, not really knowing how to respond but opting for civility.

“You know what happened though? You remember, right? That part where he killed you?!” Cid gestured wildly between Sephiroth and Aerith.

The reminder was still an upsetting one. “We’re working past that. I have improved upon myself since then, thankfully.” Sephiroth remarked, watching Cid balk, a reaction which had nothing to do with the way Jenova’s tail caught a piece of equipment and sent it crashing into Barret, just behind him.

“That’s not very nice.” Aerith playfully scolded. “He’s a fan of yours, you know? He likes space, pizza rolls and hates dogs. Just like you.”

“Wait, for real?”

Ah, so this must be Cid Highwind. Cloud had mentioned him traveling with their group. That instantly sparked his interest “I’ve been following your rocket development closely. I might not be an engineer myself but I do find interest in your journal citations.” Sephiroth tried, wishing he’d been in a better state to meet this man.

Resting his head back against the slab, Genesis rolled his eyes. “Nerd.”

A crackle caught their attention when Jenova tore away another large piece of machinery from the floor and flung it with great force. Tifa sprang over it with ease, only for it to crash into Zack. He was probably fine.

Ignoring what was happening around them, Cid’s expression turned to one of shock. “No way. Never took you for that kind of guy.”

Sephiroth continued, trying to pay attention to both their conversation as well as the ensuing pandemonium around them. “I don’t dabble in anything more than the reading side of things but I wouldn’t mind getting your opinion on the new cooling systems you decided to switch to, at some point.”

Cid looked pleasantly surprised and not so subtly impressed. He smiled and went to reply-.

With a crash, Cloud slammed into the cell bars with enough force to bend them inwards. He stumbled on his feet, only just catching himself. “Hey guys, you good?” He shook off the damage like it wouldn’t have just killed most unenhanced people. “Cid, can we get a hand, please? She’s regenerating too fast.”

“Yeah, got it, boss.” Cid drew his lance and raced back into the fray. “Uh, talk later, I guess.” He called over his shoulder.

Genesis rasped a laugh, he put on voice imitating Angeal. “I see your social skills are improving, Sephiroth.”

“We keep him on his toes.” Aerith laughed, still focusing on a healing spell.

“Incoming!”

Pale pink light burst around them, a narrow but powerful beam splintering the metal of cell bars and tossing about the heavy machinery of the makeshift med bay. Just in time, Sephiroth moved to cover Genesis, pulling in Aerith and enwrapping them both with his wing. The heat from the ray seared his skin, it punched through the wall, showering them in dust and crumpling the containment around them.

Looking back, Sephiroth caught Jenova’s gaze. A cold chill struck him as her hatred caused through him like it might have been a tangible thing. He so badly wanted to be an active part of this conflict like the others, but his duty remained with Genesis. Instincts told him to at least get out of this corner, but that too was difficult right now.

Without any better options, Sephiroth collected Genesis, cradling him in his arms. Moving the three of them to the floor, the set up the medical table to be an ineffective shield and made sure their transfusion hadn’t been interrupted.

Something changed in the air and Sephiroth knew somehow that Jenova was done messing with the others. He had betrayed her and she wanted him dead. It wasn’t in his nature to hide away, but for the sake of the two beside him, Sephiroth hunkered down in the nearest corner, sheltering behind the displaced equipment and rubble. Without the eye contact, Jenova’s burning rage was easier to block out. She no longer had a complete hold over him like she once had. She was slipping.

A fire spell lit up the room, Jenova didn’t even flinch. Her movements entirely unnatural, unlike any typical beast, when Tifa jumped back in, Jenova moved in an almost swimming motion and knocked her off course. Yuffie attacked from the other side, managing to score a slice which severed one of the tentacles attached to her head.

Oddly enough, the weird black and white cat, presently perched on Barret’s shoulder, cast its own spell. A surprisingly strong blizzard sent a chill through the room. It cloaked Jenova in a frigid layer, which she struggled to fight back from.

A slow spell was cast alongside it, allowing the ice to crawl around the alien. With her held in place, the others descended with their own attacks.

“How much time do you need?” A familiar voice asked.

Sephiroth looked up to see Vincent nearby, his focus split between everything happening around them. It was still a shock to see him alive and Sephiroth found himself taking in the details of the man’s messy hair and deep red eyes for some confirmation that this was real.
“As long as you can give us.”

“What’s your status?” As ever, Vincent’s voice carried little emotion.

“I’ll be able to fight.” He answered. “What about you? I thought you were dead.”

“My heart doesn’t always beat.” With his clawed hand, Vincent trailed two fingers down his chest in a Y shape. An autopsy incision? “We’ll spare you as long as we can.”

Vincent moved quickly away when, with a terrible cracking sound, Jenova fought against the ice enveloping her. She ripped through it and sent a sizable chunk shattering against the space Vincent had been occupying. The rest splintered in all directions, showering the others.

Able to move freely once again, Jenova’s eye glowed with power, her four jaws undulating around it. The gathering light reflected off long mismatching teeth.

Sephiroth wrapped his wing around the other two again but knew he could do little to stop the blast.

Nanaki dashed by, a slash of orange. The bottom of Jenova’s head was sliced with deadly claws at the same time as Barret detonated one of his own bombs from atop her back. The alien stumbled under the force of both.

Light erupted in a beam from her eye nearly blinding in its intensity. Knocked off target, it bit into the walls. Panels and steel bars rained down around them. A huge support beam crashed down, above Cid and Tifa. Racing in just in time was Zack, who caught the brunt of the force, though the metal bar landed heavily on his left shoulder, staggering the soldier until Tifa could assist.

The light beam seared across the room wildly until Jenova regained her position and refocused upon Sephiroth.

Jumping out from their hiding place, Aerith conjured her own retaliation. In a conflicting, calming light, a magic barrier shielded the trio. As the two forces collided, a powerful vibration of magic whipped through them like a burning shockwave. It was kept up until Aerith’s shield began to buckle. It bore the brunt of Jenova’s attack, but began to splinter.

The calamity gave a piping sort of howl from otherworldly vocal chords when Cloud drove his sword down into her back. The incoming laser stuttered out just as Aerith’s shield fractured. She stumbled back, clutching at her arm where the intense heat had caught her.

The Cetra moved straight back to Genesis to begin another healing spell, without bothering to cure herself.

A cold hand brushed against his cheek and Sephiroth looked back to see Genesis looking feebly up at him. “You need to help them. You should go.”

Sephiroth grasped his friend’s hand. Beside them, Aerith gasped as long tendrils slammed into their shelter and thrashed about where they could fit past the bars. “It’s a bit late for that, Gen.”

“I think we need to stop.” Aerith said, a hand moving to his shoulder.

Sephiroth hadn’t realised he’d been swaying in place. Her eyes were somehow difficult to focus on. “Little more.” He urged, having thought the light-headedness a by-product of Jenova, rather than blood loss. They needed to see some improvement in Genesis before leaving.

Jenova whipped around, knocking both Yuffie and Barret onto their backs. Doing so revealed a gaping wound on her right side, dripping tar-like fluids onto the once pristine floor.

Her tendrils tore open a case of machinery from the wall, which the snake-like arms coiled around and dragged closer. Jamming them into place, they fused with her body, patching the injury and filling it until metal and flesh melded together.

Tifa moved in, raining powerful attacks on the still healing spot. Jenova whistled a strange deep sound and coiled around the wound.

Out of nowhere, Tifa collapsed to the ground without warning, followed by Vincent. Both, who had been closest to the alien now fell down gasping.

Sephiroth was reminded of the Jenova he’d fought in the dream world and the toxic air which had shielded her.

Vincent managed to shoot off another round of bullets. She turned on him furiously and with a slam from her multiple tails, sent him sailing across the room, smashing clean through a mako tank and disappearing into a burning pile of machinery.

The battlefield was fast descending into madness. Cloud turned back to assist Vincent, but was struck by something, which threw him elsewhere. Yuffie, in a flash of movement combining a haste and exit spell, grabbed Tifa and pulled her out of harms way before Jenova could retaliate.

Cid flung his javelin, which skewered what would have been Jenova’s chest, if she were any recognisable creature. Materia was fast losing its effectiveness and with the addition of poison gas, no one could get close enough to attack physically.

“Sephiroth.” Genesis loosely gripped his hand with worryingly little strength. “You need to understand, I’m good as dead. The Genesis you knew died the moment he walked out of Shinra. I don’t deserve your forgiveness.” The pretences had dropped, the cockiness he’d had before was gone.

“So dramatic.” Muttered Sephiroth, trying to keep track of everyone. He hadn’t seen Vincent since he’d been thrown off to the side.

Slumping against Sephiroth, Genesis seemed to be having trouble staying awake. “I’m being serious, you need to take your friends and leave.”

“Shut up.” Under the pressure, irritation was beginning to build up in him. No one else was going to die today and Sephiroth was going to make damn certain of that.

A ripple caught in the air, making Sephiroth shiver involuntarily. A dark presence, power unlike anything he’d felt before. The feeling shrouded the room, quietening the action as it was felt by all.

Jenova, for the first time since spotting Sephiroth, diverted her gaze towards the burning pile into which she had flung Vincent. Her strangely segmented body hunched in anticipation.

A snarling inhuman laugh rattled through the room. Out of the flames rose two huge wings, the smoke curling about them in a demonic visage.

“Oh wow.” Aerith whispered under her breath.

In a single wingbeat, the smoke cleared, revealing a form Sephiroth had yet to see in its entirety.

Chaos stood amongst smouldering wires, fully transformed and grinning wildly.

Jenova backed away, her body rippled, the alien flesh gaining a gelatinous quality. Viscous slime dripping and reforming. Her large eye locked with Chaos.

Between these powerful conflicting forces, the room stood frozen, aside from the dancing flames and Jenova’s liquid form.

As if today couldn't get any stranger...

Chapter Text

The disgusting, unearthly form of Jenova stood in a deadlock with the freshly transformed Chaos. Half recognisably Vincent and half something else, the Weapon’s golden eyes pierced through the flames enveloping them and met the alien’s single magenta eye.

Aside from the crackle of burning machinery, the battlefield fell into an eerie momentary silence.

Jenova’s body turned into a thick liquid mass, only vaguely keeping its form. Undulating under the flickering emergency lighting, it shone in iridescent beetle blues and tar black. It dripped, slopped and reformed, moving around parts and healing away the damage they’d managed so far.

While Chaos held her attention, Zack moved in from the side.

“Uh, wait, I wouldn’t-.” Tifa called over but her words didn’t reach Zack in time.

The Buster Sword cleaved into the gelatinous mass, a blindingly fast series of strikes which collided in rapid strokes of silver.

While Sephiroth had never taught Zack much more than mundane Shinra jargon, he would happily admit to the pride he felt in seeing the young man wield Angeal’s weapon as proficiently as his mentor once had. Reflectively, Sephiroth hoped Angeal hadn’t been to so wrapped up in his ideals and principles to recognise the undimmable light and promise his student exuded.
Zack’s energy was almost infections.

… The moment was ruined terribly when the dark tar of Jenova’s body reached back and wetly coiled around Zack’s leg.

“I said wait!”

Yanked back suddenly, Zack’s eyes turned wide with shock as he was flipped and suspended in the air by his foot.

“Guys?!” He called back, voice wrought with panic. “Guys, help!”

Jenova was dragging him closer, despite her attention being mostly elsewhere. The substance which made up her body was reaching out to envelope him.

The others reacted instantly, Barret fired off a rocket which was eaten by Jenova’s liquid body, the small explosion having little effect. Cid cast a barrier around Zack, which gave the tendrils trying to envelope him flinch back, buying them all at least a few extra seconds. Yuffie’s shuriken whizzed past to sever a few of the lines which had been trying to ensnare his arm.

Jenova, finding herself between various attacking forces and still not breaking eye contact with Chaos, sidestepped away. Slimy trails stained the floor behind her and the moment Chaos moved, she turned to one of the walls and pounced.

With remarkable strength, she crashed through the partition.

“Guys, help!” Zack screamed as he was dragged behind her, sword stuck in place and unable to gain purchase to rip it free.

With a flare of wings, Chaos didn’t hesitate and was on Jenova the moment she turned.

Dashing behind them was Cloud, who grabbed onto Zack’s hand before both were pulled out of sight as Jenova made to escape.

The others began pouring out in pursuit, Yuffie swung thought the opening in the wall using the broken pipes as handlebars. The strange black and white cat grabbed onto Nanaki and the two rushed past.

Tifa stopped beside the now destroyed cell, wrenching the collapsed entryway up to help their escape. “We need to leave, now.” She said, eyeing the transfusion lines connecting between the two Firsts. She was stressed, more serious than he’d seen her in a long time.

Sephiroth thought her statement was rather obvious, but nodded, instead of criticising. Carefully, he detached the IV line from Genesis, whose half-lidded expression gave no indication that he’d even noticed.
Less carefully, he disconnected himself. Sephiroth stood quickly and-, oh dear. Perhaps that had been a lot of blood to lose in one go.

A hand wrapped around his arm when he swayed unsteadily on his feet. “Let’s take it slow. The others have this under control.” Comforted Aerith, her face swimming in his vision.

It did not look like anyone had this remotely under control, by any means. Choosing to respectfully ignore her, he hefted Genesis into his arms and started towards the hole Jenova had left. He was absolutely not going to be left behind while the others were too distracted, so instead hurried after Barret and Tifa.

“I don’t remember you being so sentimental.” Genesis mumbled against his shoulder. “I’ve done nothing to deserve this.”

Sephiroth gave one final glance to where the remains of Angeal’s monstrous amalgamation lay, turning Genesis to at least spare him the grim sight. “I’ve found I don’t like having my things taken from me.”

“And since when did you start making so many jokes?”

“I wasn’t entirely joking.” The words came out as more of a grumble than anything.

There was shouting up ahead and when Sephiroth and Aerith caught up with the group, they were treated to… something Sephiroth hadn’t been expecting to see today.

Jenova had jumped up, this time smashing through the ceiling and was quickly clambering up through the higher floors. Zack was screaming like a wild animal as he hung by the leg, Cloud held onto him tightly as the two were pulled higher and higher through the building. Yuffie and Red were bounding after them, scaling the vertical climb like it was nothing.

Causing the most damage out of everyone was Chaos, and that damage was annoyingly, not being received by Jenova. Gaia’s Weapon was tearing the building apart in smouldering heaps. Worrisome cracks were appearing in the walls and floor with each new crash from above.

Chaos summoned up a flurry of fireballs, which in a beat of wings, were sent hurtling upwards. With a conflicting flash of pink, the attacks were spat back in the opposite direction. In a blast which had all onlookers running for cover, the fire hit Chaos, who was thrown off in a blaze of heat and smoke, which had likely taken out the floor further above theirs.

“Hurry up!” Yelled Cid, who waved the group towards the elevators.

Tifa followed after him but looked sceptical. “Are you sure that’s a good idea?”

Her reluctance was mirrored by Barret. “Um, yeah, I do not want to go falling down however many floors up we are right now if they blow this place to bits.”

Cid gave a shrug and pressed the button to call the elevator. “It’s either that or the stairs. Take your pick.”

“Okay, yeah. I see your point.” Barret grumbled, reluctantly joining Cid at the door.

Everyone gathered around the elevator, waiting for the door to open. Tifa dialled for Reeve, who apparently picked up immediately. Tifa talked quickly with him, discussing the evacuation of the building, now that things had gotten truly out of hand.

Sephiroth resettled Genesis in his arms, his attention struggling to keep up with all his allies, as well as the fight happening above them.

With a ping, the door opened and everyone stepped inside, the moment strangely ordinary despite the madness of the afternoon. Automatically, Sephiroth moved to the control panel. He tapped in his access number.

[REQUEST DENIED – ACCESS REVOKED]

He frowned. Revoked? He was supposed to have access to the whole building. He tried again, only to have the same message flash on the screen.

Cid mumbled an almost inaudible apology and swiped an ID badge against the reader. He selected the top floor and when nothing barred his access, began rummaging in his pocket. “Did no one tell you? You’re been on Shinra’s naughty list since that shit you pulled in Nibelheim.”

That admittedly made sense. It shouldn’t have come as a surprise, especially when he’d had his suspicions about Hojo retiring him back into the labs sometime soon. The reality that he was no longer the General of Soldier, a position which had been his entire persona for so long, was chilling. Of course, it had been his decision to defect, nor did he miss any of the daily grind, but that was beside the point. To know he’d been discarded and erased so quickly was a tough thought.
“Oh.” Was all he uttered.

“Yeah, they had it in the newspapers and all that.” Cid sounded fairly unbothered as he pulled out a small rustling packet. “It’s okay, I’m on their shit list too. I haven’t been to work in a few weeks and I’ve got about fifty missed calls from Palmer. Fancy a mint?”

“No thank you.” Sephiroth declined, waving away the offered packet. So much for PA.

The motion of the elevator wasn’t helping the light-headedness, but Sephiroth wouldn’t complain. They were getting out. These people had fought to get him out and kept them safe while he tried to help Genesis. Sephiroth leaned heavily against the wall, the cold metal panelling against his back keeping him grounded in reality. He’d be sure to find a way to adequately express his gratitude, when they were all safe.

Cid went around the group, offering them all a mint. Everyone except Aerith declined. Around them, the elevator shuddered and shook while the building creaked precariously around them.

“I’m surprised they haven’t issued your arrest, after you took out half the Junon seafront.” Barret laughed.

“Hey! If you remember, I was thanked after heroically rescuing several people. Besides, it was Yuffie, Vince and Tifa responsible for a few murders and blowing up Scarlet’s billion gil project.”

Aerith held up her hand like she was in class. “Sorry, for those still catching up, what are you talking about?”

“You haven’t heard?! We blew up Junon’s mega death ray.” Barret grinned, his tone self-congratulatory.

“Wait, for real?” Asked Aerith, looking a little shocked. “C’mon, you don’t just get to drop that casually into conversation.”

“Well, it was kind of easy… I’m not bragging, don’t look at me like that.” Barret said.

“He’s not kidding, it was easy.” Tifa finally spoke. She gripped on hard onto the handrail, the only one looking concerned by the almost constant shaking of the building.

Cid nodded, taking a second mint before repocketing the wrapper.

“Nice.” Genesis murmured.

Sephiroth was reasonably impressed, he’d always fancied breaking something big and important of Shinra’s. “Sounds like you’ve been busy.”

Everyone tensed when a particularly forceful impact rattled dangerously around them.

“Sephiroth.”

Tifa’s voice took his attention. She stepped closer and reached out.

“It’s fine.” He tried to brush off how supporting his own weight right now was difficult enough without carrying Genesis too.

“I’m not asking.” Tifa restated. “You look like you’re going to drop him.”

While his immediate instinct was to refuse, he’d also come to trust Tifa, despite her dislike for him. He needed to get his head in the game if he wanted to be useful in their upcoming battle.

“Let her, Seph.” Urged Genesis.

Stepping up to Tifa, Sephiroth gave her a nod of appreciation. With care to support his oddly jointed wing, she took Genesis from him, her posture not faltering, like Genesis weighed nothing. Yeah, she was much more suited to this right now.

“Are the others okay?” She asked, still holding a determined eye contact.

“I believe so. Fighting hard.” If anything awful happened to anyone, Sephiroth was sure he’d feel it from Cloud.

Tifa moved back to the other side of the cramped space, that answer apparently good enough for her.

It was then that Sephiroth regretfully realised he had forgotten something important. “What happened to Hojo?”

The others looked at each other. Tifa cringed, Cid grinned, Aerith shrugged.

“Jenova kind of ate him, I guess.” The Cetra answered.

“Ate him?” Asked Genesis, coughing between words. “Please e-elaborate.”

“You see that arm sticking out?” Barret held his arm up, imitating the random appendage Sephiroth had seen emerging from Jenova.

Disappointment sank through him. “Really? Well that’s a real shame. I’d spent a long time contemplating how I was going to end him.” Sadly, he crossed his arms.

Aerith patted his shoulder reassuringly. “I’m sorry. We’ll talk later, I’m sure we can find a more productive outlet for that anger.”

Sephiroth nodded solemnly. Productive outlets sounded reasonable but he had really really wanted to see Hojo die.

The elevator shuddered and the lights above them flickered. It made everyone tense, but the moment passed shortly after.

Finally, the elevator sang its cheerful ping.

“Wait.” Genesis interrupted, bringing everyone’s attention to him. “Something’s wrong.”

Sephiroth’s first thought was the same as Tifa’s, who looked over the man in her arms, for some sign that something was wrong with Genesis.

… Until he felt it too.

A rising hatred which was not his own. A sickly-sweet whisper in his mind.
The feeling of eyes on him. Or in this case, a single eye.

Both Aerith and Cid gasped and jumped futilely away from the open door.

Sephiroth didn’t even get to turn before heat and light ripped through the small space they were trapped in and the world exploded around them.

Dark and light flashed by, fire and electrical bulbs intermittently peppered with a dusky grey and squirming tar. Screaming, the echoes of alarm bells, rending metal and exploding rubble. The hand which squeezed Cloud’s was crushingly tight, as desperate as Zack’s blue eyes.

Jenova fled upwards, tunnelling through the building at a speed Cloud would have thought her incapable. All he could do was cling onto Zack’s hand and take this slimy express elevator up as far as it wanted to go.

Dust threatened to clog his lungs and a piece of falling pipework had nearly blinded him on the way up, leaving a sting and the feeling of damp running down his face. All Cloud could do was swing at the sticky tendrils whenever they tried to further engulf Zack. Jenova exchanged fire with Chaos, whose large wings struggled against the narrow climb. Red, Cait and Yuffie were helping as best they could with slices and frequent casts of haste spells.

They broke free of another layer of steel and landed heavily against dark polished floor. The form in front of him shifted, the liquid tar reforming once more into a solid body. Her head swayed to the side, charging a searing beam. Just when Cloud assumed it would be aimed at him, her gaze found the other end of the corridor.

The ping of an elevator door barely reached his ears before the alien bared down and fired. Flames burst from the hallway, punching through several layers of the building and utterly destroying whatever structure had been there.

His bond with Sephiroth, though weakened, gave a notable shudder. A second-hand burning curled against Cloud’s skin which told him enough of what had just happened. In that moment, he could do no more than gape hopelessly into the flames and pray his friends were alright. They had better be alright.

Jenova moved to continue her path but the moment of pause bought enough time for Chaos to catch up. The hole Jenova had left in the tiled floor burst open and deadly claws wrapped around her tail-like set of appendages.

She made an odd keen, a sound which didn’t seem to have come from any single place, as Jenova was thrown against the nearest wall. Chaos was upon them instantly, all claws and ruby wings and tattered cape fluttering at their back.

Zack flinched away, eyes wild with fear as a hand wrapped around his middle and tore him from Jenova. Together, both he and Cloud were thrown back to a safe distance, finally stopping still on solid ground once more.

Both staggered to their feet, Zack still clinging onto Cloud’s arm. The Buster sword was still wedged into Jenova’s side, off balancing her strange body into an uncomfortable looking lean.

Yuffie flew past, joining Chaos who finally had their foe cornered. She had a fight in her which Cloud rarely saw, and despite a deep red patch seeping through the back of her shirt, leapt into the air to shower the alien with handfuls of darts.

“Oof, you certainly took a beating!” Cait Sith appeared at Cloud’s side. He was riding atop of Nanaki who was sporting a few injuries of his own. “You alright?”

Cait cast a healing spell. Soft light and a slight tingle prickled at Cloud’s skin. It was weird feeling the small gashes he’d sustained close up, but not an unpleasant one.

“Uh, fine, I guess?” Zack said, shaking off some of the weird goop still clinging to his knit shirt. He opened his mouth to continue but was cut off by a shout from across the room.

“You there, Soldier. What’s going on? What is that thing?!” A frightened voice called.

All turned to see President Shinra on the other side of the room. Apparently, they had burst through the floor of his office.

Zack regarded him for a moment, not knowing how to react. Finally, he pointed towards a door leading outside. “Get out, find someplace safe!”

Without hesitation, the man cowering behind his desk took off running.

Cloud couldn’t say he was surprised. Zack had been distinctly offput about his deal to kill the President since he’d agreed to it.

Yuffie’s gauntlet shone green as she activated a spell. A rippling force reached around Jenova in a crushing hold.

Then in a flash of coloured light, the gravity spell was reflected. It zipped back at Yuffie, and like a rock, she lost her momentum and crashed into the ground. Winded and prone, she couldn’t dodge the follow-up slam Jenova delivered.

Nanaki cast another haste on himself and darted forward, defending their friend. Following, Cloud and Zack raced in, pulling Yuffie out from immediate danger and flanking their opponent.

Now trapped in a corner and taking hit after hit from Chaos, Jenova shuddered, the surface of her skin rippling strangely.

Something cloyed in the air. A small like chlorine mixed with rancid eggs. Cloud didn’t have long to ponder the stench when he found himself abruptly unable to breathe. It was like the air around him had just stopped being oxygen. Struck with panic, he heaved in breaths and though his chest worked desperately, he might as well have been in space or underwater.

Looking about revealed that everyone had been struck with the same affliction, with the exception of Cait Sith. Reeve’s cat looked about, assessing the scene. His ears jolted in fear when the team stopped in their tracks, stumbling and clawing at themselves.

Bristling in anger, Jenova uncurled. Standing at full height, her single eye found Cloud. It was like he’d been hit with a stop spell. He couldn’t move, couldn’t breathe. Her hate coursed through him and Cloud became very aware of how much she utterly despised him. She remembered well their now erased timeline and knew how Cloud had intervened in stealing Sephiroth away from her.

Despite the strange grip crushing him, Cloud smirked back at her.

His smile dropped when energy began gathering around her once again, coming to focus in the eye again.

Cloud tried desperately to stumble back, but he knew he’d never avoid the impact in time.