REUNION
Inside the Mako container, one of Hojo's experiment specimens was in a deep slumber, surrounded in liquid. Specimen C, or 'Cloud', began to react to a dream that he had been having for a while. His eyes began to flutter to the dream; voices began to echo in his mind as the dream continued.
'Cloud...Cloud...' the voice said in the dream. The voice was a bit of a low tenor and a high bass, with no emotion into it, but enough to give commands. 'Cloud...Wake up...' it spoke again. Cloud in the dream began to open his eyes slowly, as if slowly waking up. He had aqua green eyes with slitted pupils. He was surrounded with a bright green liquid inside the dream, highlighting the scenery.
'Its time...Its time...Mother's calling...' the voice said to him. With his eyes wide open in the dream world, he was confused of the word's meaning. Cloud was puzzled, 'Time? What for?'
'Mother's calling...Its time...Time...' the voice said. In a flash of green, the same green as the liquid, a man with long silver hair appears before him. He was nuzzling up to Cloud and faced him, face to face with the same eyes as he.
'Its time...For our family to be complete...' he said to him with an evil smirk. The dream soon faded in white, ending it with this cryptic message. Back in reality, Cloud was still in slumber due to Hojo's sedatives. Two highly armed guards protected the specimen very dearly, standing in front of the Mako container. Hojo approaches the area with his arms folded behind his back, preparing to check on Specimen C.
"How is Specimen C doing today?" asked Hojo. "Still the same, slumbering peacfully in his tank," answered Guard 1. Hojo looks at Cloud with anticipation.
"That is good...Soon we will test his capabilities in precisely eight hours. I want to see if he can perform well in combat. He is one of our prized specimens, including that One Winged Angel we revived last week...We need to test 'his' capabilities in combat as well. Carry on, gentlemen," said Hojo. He walks towards a sealed off room with two guards standing in front of armed with heavy weapons. Without any words, Guard 2 presses the keys on the keypad to open the sealed door for Hojo to gain access. Guard 1 accompanied him in case of an emergency. Inside the dungeon-based containment chamber, a single winged man with knee length silver hair stood in the darkness.
His outfit was in the darkest of black leather. The chest area of his jacket was held open by two straps in a fashion of an 'X'. Silver, metal shoulder guards were placed and tailored on his jacket's shoulders for combat. His eyes shined with aqua green, piercing the darkness. As Hojo approached him, he covered his upper torso and face with his only wing.
"Don't hide yourself like that...Sephiroth," said Hojo. Slowly, he uncovered his face; showing only one of his aqua green pupil slitted eyes. "...Your annoying..." Sephiroth growled.
"Don't give me that...You know why I am here. In eight hours, we are going to test your fighting capability; including Specimen C. I just came to remind you," said Hojo.
"You don't have to test me...I'm legendary..Remember?" questioned Sephiroth. "I know that...But we're still going to test your fighting prowess anyway," said Hojo. He leaves the room, allowing Sephiroth some time to himself before the combat testings began. Three hours pass with five hours left til combat testing, Specimen C slept in his Mako tube, til all of a sudden; an explosion rocks the south area of the laboratory. Hojo heard this and went to one of the monitors as the alarms went off in a panic. He finds the source on the screen of where the explosion took place: It was Containment Room X-4: Sephiroth's room.
'No..Not again..' thought Hojo. The guards at the door were instantly killed and cut up but a ray of swords, or an 'One Winged Angel'. The alarms blared everywhere with a woman on the intercom saying, 'Attention all personal and guards on staff. Containment Room X-4 has been breached. Occupant armed and dangerous. Subject is identified as Sephiroth. Proceed with caution and approach with sedative darts only, I repeat; sedative darts only by orders of Hojo.'
"What should we do?" asked Guard 2 right next to Guard 1 in front of Mako Tank C with the Specimen inside. "We already got a job right here...Best to stay right here. Maybe Sephiroth might come around here," answered Guard 1. After a few minutes, the guards hear footsteps slowly walking towards the area. As the guards armed themselves with dart guns as ordered from the intercom, Sephiroth makes his appearance; armed with his over two foot long katana.
"Hold it right there!" called Guard 1. "This is Unit 48..We have contact with Sephiroth..You better get here fast. We're armed with darts only as requested," said Guard 2 into the communicator. With the blade aiming upward into the air, Sephiroth approaches the two guards and to the Mako tube containing Cloud.
"Fire the darts...Take him down!" ordered Guard 1. The two guards fire dart after dart at the legendary One Winged Angel, but with supreme superhuman speed with his impossibly long sword, Sephiroth deflected them with ease. They fire another wave of darts, but soon Sephiroth shows another ability he's adapted to. Holding his right hand out, a psychic-telekinetic barrier was formed, blocking the darts and causing them to fall to the ground. Hojo watched on the monitor with shock at Sephiroth's newly acquired and newly mastered ability with telekinesis.
'No...He's adapting too quickly...How powerful is he? Will I be able to control him? I have to get there before he takes off with Specimen C!' thought Hojo. He was quickly losing control and he needed to find a way to regain it. He rushes with a few guards accompanying him to the area that the second guard said on the communicator. Back at the location of the Mako tube with Cloud inside, the second guard was the only one standing. His comrade was dead from one of Sephiroth's deadliest sword technique, the 'Octa-Slash'.
"I thought of a wonderful present for you..." said Sephiroth, aiming the blade's sharp tip to the guard's heart, "On your knees...I want you to beg for forgivness.." Immediately, the guard falls to his knees in fear.
"Please...Have mercy.." whimpered Guard 2. As always, Sephiroth shows a wicked smile, "All must return to the planet...Don't worry, you will live again as part of me." With one fatal move, he kills the guard. Without no one to stop him, the legendary swordsman approaches the tube, talking telepathically to Cloud.
'Cloud...Cloud...Its time to wake up, now. Mother's calling...Wake up, Cloud...Its time to make our family complete..' he said to Cloud. Reacting to Sephiroth's voice through telepathy, Cloud begins to come out of the sedatives. Slowly opening his eyes, he sees the One Winged Angel standing in front of the Mako tube. Now fully awake, Cloud was wondering what was going on. At the same time, Hojo and a few guards arrive to the scene.
"Get away from Specimen C! Sephiroth...How was you able to do all that with telekinesis? How powerful are you?" said Hojo. "As powerful as Mother made me to be...Even to destroy the planet.." answered the single winged swordsman.
"Again with Jenova...Why are you doing this? We were the ones that gave you life...Continue this and I will take it away. Now...Go back to your room and stay away from Specimen C!" ordered Hojo. "His name...Is Cloud. I will not submit myself as your guinea pig. I will never forgive you for making me some experiment," said Sephiroth. With a couple quick swipes of his sword, two of the four guards were instantly killed and decapitated. Hojo and the remaining two freaked out.
"Gah! Don't do this! Just stop and think of your actions...Think of how much power you really have. Together, we can create a force that is unstoppable, and you can be our general..." said Hojo.
"Unstoppable? Me? How precious. Can 'you' stop me?" questioned Sephiroth. Hojo didn't answer, "Hmph...I thought so. Such an ignorant fool you are. No one can stop me, nothing will ever defeat me and you know that. Your going to wish that you weren't born when I'm through with you..." Sephiroth enters a type of sword stance, preparing to spin his sword's blade around the area he was at center in.
"Ruination to all..." said Sephiroth. Inside the Mako Tank, Cloud lowered himself to the floor of the tube as low as he could. Hojo began to panic, "Get down!"
"I bring you...Despair!" the One Winged Angel finished, swinging his sword around the spot of center. Hojo and Specimen C were the only ones unharmed, but the other two remaining guards weren't so lucky. Instantly in the attack, they were decapitated. The top part of the Mako tube broke; then the rest of the glass containment structure broke like window glass, freeing Cloud instantly. Sephiroth teleports to the spot and catches him. Cloud opens his eyes; then looked at the victims that were slaughtered by the One Winged Angel.
"No! Don't let them get away!..No..." whined Hojo. He runs towards the two, but a pipe explodes and the area of the lab was engulfed instantly with flames of a developing inferno. Soon the lab catches fire from the heated inferno. Luckly, Hojo got out of there and letted the fire elimination team to take care of the flames. 'No...Sephiroth is beyond my control. He's too powerful and important. I will get those two back, even if I have to sell my soul to do so. Project JENOVA will continue...No matter what,' Hojo thought, pledging himself to retrieve Sephiroth and Cloud.
Flying away from the labs in Midgar amazingly with one wing, Sephiroth carried Cloud with him to a cave to hide from the ShinRa Company. They soon land inside the cave, resting for awhile. After three hours pass, Sephiroth turned to Cloud, who was in need of clothes to wear.
"Don't worry...I will bring back something for you to wear..Wait for me," said Sephiroth. He flew off and went to a nearby town by air. Cloud sat there looking towards the sky. He began to shiver, feeling cold. Cloud was made to be a survivor, so he used what body heat he had left to keep warm, just by huddling up to himself. After thirty minutes, Sephiroth returns with supplies, clothes for Cloud, and a tent they could use for shelter. Night-time came to the cave with the rising of the crescent moon. Now fully clothed, Cloud got inside of the tent with his food to eat. Before he ate, he had one question on his mind.
"Sephiroth...What do you mean 'Mother's calling'? I don't understand what your trying to tell me. What family am I part of?" Cloud asked. "You have been made to be a SOLDIER for ShinRa. You have Jenova's cells inside you. You are a part of Jenova and part of a family she created. I am part of that family and always was...They will pay for this very soon. You need to eat, regain your strength from your stasis," answered Sephiroth. Cloud nodded reluctantly, but did as he was told, for now. Three days pass and Cloud was growing restless. He paces with mixed emotions brewing in his heart: anger towards the single winged soldier that slaughtered those people, anxiety of what will transpire further along the road, and a strong feeling of uncertainty.
He hid this to Sephiroth with all his might, but due to Sephiroth's empathy; it was fruitless, even with effort on his part. "Why are you so angry? You can tell me," said Sephiroth. "Why? You killed those innocent people...They did nothing to you. Why?" questioned Cloud.
"They deserved to die from the very beginning. They made me an experimental genetic guinea pig for too long...Now its time for them to pay with their lives," said Sephiroth, Cloud was appalled, "That's it? that's why you hate them and killed those people is because of you being used as an experiment?...Your sick..." Cloud backs away from the scene, trying to tell himself that this wasn't happening.
"I saved you from them so you wouldn't end up like me...Don't do this to yourself, their poison is coursing through you. Let me take it away," said Sephiroth as he drew closer to Cloud.
"No...This isn't happening...You just don't get it, your a sick man that likes to kill innocent people from a stupid excuse! Get away from me!" screamed Cloud, fighting off Sephiroth. The One Winged Angel stood his ground, "...They hurted you...Didn't they? Don't do this to yourself, Cloud...Let me save you." Trickles of rain drops began to fall on the clouded sky, but over time, the trickles began to become down pours with minutes' time.
"I'm not the one that needs to be saved...You need help, not me..." countered Cloud. He stared at Sephiroth, afraid of what was going on. 'So...I guess this is it..He's a sick individual...' thought Cloud.
"Jenova will save us and all her children embraced by her will. Mother will save you, too. Don't do this to yourself with their lies," said Sephiroth. He tries to calm Cloud by getting him away from the cave's entrance, making sure he didn't get wet. Cloud pushes away instantly.
"I don't have a mother! I will not submit to your lies! I want to be left alone...Away from here. You can't save me, no one can!" with that final sentence, Cloud runs off into the rain. Sephiroth calls after him, "Cloud! Cloud! Come back!" With all his leg strength, Cloud just ran through the rain.
'Don't think...Just act. Keep running from the madness...Just keep running,' thought Cloud. After an hour of running, he was exhausted. With no strength left, he falls onto his front. 'Finally...The end is drawing near. Just get it over with...' thought Cloud, 'Come what may...I'm ready...' From the sky above, Sephiroth flies over to Cloud's location with worry. He lands at the northeast area of where Cloud collapsed, rushing over to him. Flipping him over, Sephiroth examined him quickly; indicating that he was still alive.
"Cloud...Don't do this to yourself...Mother will save all her children, even you..." he said to Cloud as he laid unconscious. A few hours pass from Cloud being found in the down pour, the two return to the cave they were using as a shelter with the tent inside. Thunder rumbled through the sky, as if the planet was releasing a divine roar from the heavens. Lightning flashed through the dark clouds in deadly arcs, releasing the planet's wrath. Cloud was garbed in dry clothes as he laid in a huddle of blankets to keep him warm from the outside. Sephiroth walks into the tent and lays down beside him, but in the process stirred him from unconsciousness.
"Hm? What?...Where am I?" Cloud mumbled. "Your back where you need to be...Cloud.." answered Sephiroth. Immediately, Cloud began to wake up and turned to face who was talking to him. As soon as he saw the One Winged Angel, Cloud was upset. He was back from where he ran away from in the beginning.
"No...No...I can't be here! Let go of me! Just kill me and get it over with!" screamed Cloud as Sephiroth held onto him to keep him from running away and from hurting himself. "No...I wouldn't do that...Calm down, Cloud...Just calm down...Shhhhhhh..." Sephiroth said to soothe Cloud. With each 'shhhh', Cloud begins to calm down, cuddling up to him to stay warm and to help Sephiroth keep warm as well. Cloud was then wrapped by Sephiroth's only wing, holding him close so he wouldn't get away.
"Why are you doing this? Why did you free me?...I just want answers..." asked Cloud. The single winged former hero looks down at Cloud and moves his head towards his face, "Why?...This is why..." In a simple motion, the two embrace for a few minutes. Cloud was shocked at this odd situation, but within a minute, he melts to the kiss. By instinct, he wrapped his arms around the former hero's neck, holding him close. They soon break for air, looking at each other with half opened eyes.
"You...Freed me because...You loved me?" asked Cloud. He rests his head on Sephiroth's chest, listening to each beat of his heart. "..I do...Don't become like me, Cloud..I don't want you to end up like me; trying to destroy the planet...You need your rest," answered Sephiroth. Cloud falls asleep under the former hero's heart's trance, hoping he would wake up to still be hearing it. The moon rose up into the night sky as a silver sickle under the stars. While Cloud sleeps, Sephiroth makes a couple sandwiches for the both of them. Finished, the former hero hears Cloud whimper, beginning to wake up.
"Sephiroth...Where'd you go?...I'm cold.." he said. The former hero returns with the sandwiches in hand, "Just making sandwiches...Time to eat." Sephiroth hands Cloud one of the sandwiches. In the darkened cavern, they ate their fill of their sandwich and looked at the star filled night sky.
"Don't become like me, Cloud...The planet is like a beautiful organism. If I try to destroy it, I want you to make sure I don't by any means necessary. I know it will be tough, but you must. I'm nothing but a shadow, tied to the depths of darkness. The planet has forsaken me because of my evil deeds, but know this: I will never, never become a memory," said Sephiroth. Cloud leaned into him and continued to eat his sandwich. Through the remainder of the night, the two cuddled close in the cold night.
Sephiroth, a vicious killing machine destined to destroy the planet by Jenova's command, knew the planet's fate was all up to Cloud. Call it what you want: A foreseeing into the future, a whim, or just a way of saving another of becoming like the other; it matters not to the two at this point. No one knew that even Sephiroth could fall in love, awkwardly to someone of the same gender as he. It didn't matter to them at all. The two fell into a peaceful sleep together in the cold temp of the desert night. Even if the future was about to make them a nemesis to each other, as long as they love one another; the fallen will always be with the other in spirit as a guardian to the very end.