Title: The Nibelheim Mansion
Author: R.L.N.
Keywords: A/U, Yaoi, Angst, Hurt/Comfort
Pairings: AxSxGxZxC
Spoilers: None.
Summary: At the age of 16, Cloud Strife retired from Shinra Military due to a supposed failed experimentation. 6 years later, he's summoned to Nibelheim Mansion, after the death of Professor Hojo by an anonymous letter. Unknown to him and the 4 current residents, his experiment holds the key to creating perfect SOLDIERS.
Rating: T
Disclaimer: This story is based on characters and situations created and owned by their original creators. No money is being made and no infringement is intended.
AxSxGxZxC
"So it's true? Hojo is truly dead?" a voice asked excitedly.
"Indeed. If not for our required mako injections, we could escape from here," a second voice answered.
"But we can live in peace, right?" the first voice asked.
"Patience, puppy, I heard they are sending someone to 'keep house'. Hojo's assistant seemed hesitant to let him in though," a third voice added.
"Hojo's assistant won't be doing anything now," a fourth voice added. "We could always do the same thing to the housekeeper that we did to him."
"…Maybe we could, but we won't," the third voice reprimanded. "Unless if he's a threat to us."
"They're all threats," the first voice whined, and the other three murmured in agreement.
AxSxGxZxC
22 year old Cloud Strife parked the beaten up truck he owned and looked up at the mansion before him. He opened the door and pulled out his only duffel bag, slinging it over his shoulder as he slammed the door shut.
The numbers on the side of the doorframe matched the numbers on the paper in his hand, so Cloud pulled a key out of his pocket and tried it in the door. It unlocked, and Cloud wasn't sure if he should be happy or scared.
The entryway to the mansion was covered with a significant layer of dust. Cloud noted all the cobwebs before stepping further into the building, shutting the door behind him. The place was beautiful long ago, but now it was filthy and decrepit.
Cloud carefully made his way up the center staircase and followed the hallway, peeking into rooms until he found one that was more to his liking. He had a lot of cleaning up to do, but in the meantime he set his duffel bag down and unfolded the letter he received just that week.
Strife, Cloud
This is to inform you your resignation of Shinra is being revoked. You are now required to attend to the duties assigned to you by the late Dr. Hollander. It is recommended you remember your training, you will need it in Nibelheim.
Cloud sighed as he re-read the letter. He resigned six years ago, after his experiences with Dr. Hollander were deemed a failure. He spent the last six years of his life in misery, hiding from Shinra and everyone else in the world. He had no idea how that letter found him.
The mansion creaked and groaned, and Cloud paused, listening to the noise. He left the room, peeking out the door, and walking down the hall to explore. Unbeknownst to him, he was being watched very carefully.
AxSxGxZxC
"He doesn't look like a scientist."
"He could be a hired assassin."
"Looking like that he could be a girl!"
"You're one to talk, Gen, at least he's cute."
"Genesis, Zack," a deep voice reprimanded, and the two men named stop talking.
"Sorry Angeal," Zack said, tossing his long black hair over his shoulder. "Where's Sephiroth?"
Angeal quietly followed their target around the mansion, and glanced back. "He's examining the vehicle the boy came in."
Genesis ran a hand through his auburn hair, sighing. "Maybe he really is just a housekeeper?"
"I highly doubt that," Angeal said, watching the blond boy open cupboards and winced at the bugs flying out. He was going to have to clean thoroughly soon. "There's no doubt this boy knows something that could benefit Hojo, even if the bastard is dead."
"He looks like a lost little kid," Zack commented, admiring the way those big blue eyes shone uncertainly at everything.
"Get over your crush, you're in a happy relationship with three other men," Genesis teased, but before anything more could be said the phone rang. Angeal hurried to another room, and Zack motioned with his hand to pick up the receiver at the same time.
"H-hello…?" a soft voice came through the receiver Angeal held.
"He even sounds cute!" Zack gushed, and quickly quieted when Angeal and Genesis shushed him.
"Good, you made it Strife," another voice responded, but it didn't sound familiar.
"You're not anyone I know. Who is this?" that soft voice asked, but it gained strength at the end.
"It's best not to say," the voice answered. "You are the Cloud Strife in Hollander's notes, correct? Then I don't need to instruct you further. The labs are behind the door under the main entryway stairwell."
"I don't understand," Cloud responded, and Angeal, Genesis, and Zack all shared a glance. "I was never part of Hollander's research team. I don't know the details of anything, only that it was a failure. I don't know anything that could be useful."
There was an audible click, and Cloud could be heard in the other room sighing loudly. Angeal quietly hung up the phone, and frowned at Genesis and Zack. "What do you think?"
"I bet he'll go to the labs," Zack said, and they heard movement of a door opening. "I'll get Seph."
Angeal and Genesis nodded, and they split up. Angeal and Genesis followed Cloud through the open door into the labs, and watched as the blond turned on the lights and cringed at the sight of the exam table.
"What do I know that could be of any use?" Cloud asked out loud, and Genesis smirked as he continued to talk to himself. Genesis and Angeal listened as Cloud talked to himself, looking up when Sephiroth and Zack appeared.
"He doesn't seem to know anything," Angeal said, and Sephiroth nodded.
"His vehicle has nothing special about it," Sephiroth said. "It's mostly broken."
"Hey, what's he doing?" Zack piped up, and they all looked over. Cloud had boosted himself onto the exam table and was stretching out, his arms reaching over his head.
The four men watching just shared a look and shrugged, unable to read the mind of the peculiar blond boy on the table.
AxSxGxZxC
"I don't know anything," Cloud thought to himself, stretched out on the table. "But I remember everything."
AxSxGxZxC
"Doctor, I don't think I will be of any use," fifteen year-old Cloud said, following the man into the labs. "I'm not a scientist, I'm training for SOLDIER."
"Sit there," Hollander ordered gently, motioning to the table. "I know, and I believe this will help you."
"What is it?" Cloud asked, curious as the man approached him with a large smile and an even larger syringe filled with glowing green fluid.
"It's a mako test," Hollander explained. "I believe introducing it to recruits will boost their training."
Cloud relaxed and closed his eyes, feeling the fluid enter his body. "You will be the strongest," Hollander said, pulling the needle out. "You will be the best."
AxSxGxZxC
"I am the best," Cloud thought, opening his eyes from the memory. "But that doesn't mean I know what to do now. I've never ever seen Hojo's work…maybe there's research notes…"
Cloud sat up, shook the dizzy spell from his head and slid to the ground. He poked around some more, finally managing to find research papers of some kind. They were messy and scribbles were everywhere, and Cloud sighed, pushing them aside.
There was a locked cabinet against the wall, and Cloud frowned, reaching into his pocket. The key ring had several keys that came with the letter, and Cloud tried them all. Finally, the last key gave a satisfying click, and the cabinet opened with a groan, cobwebs floating through the air.
The breath caught in his throat as Cloud reach into the cabinet, and pulled out a sword, long and thin and easily the most recognizable blade on the planet.
"Masamune," Cloud breathed, and he knew it was the genuine blade of General Sephiroth. There was no denying the craftsmanship and the beauty, or the infinite power he felt in the hilt of the sword.
He knew eyes were watching him, he felt them the entire time he arrived, but for the first time he felt nothing but the sword in his hands.
AxSxGxZxC
"I think he just had an orgasm holding your sword Seph," Zack chuckled, enjoying the look of awe on the blond's face.
Sephiroth instead was frowning, watching the blond boy place the sword carefully aside and reach into the cabinet again. "That sword is mine," Sephiroth said, and he heard the others sigh and snicker behind him. "No, it truly is," Sephiroth elaborated, turning to them. "It's a blade crafted to only answer to my touch. He should not be able to handle it at all."
Genesis grinned but his reply died in his throat as Cloud pulled out another sword. "That's my Rapier," Genesis said, his smile fading to a frown. That frown disappeared to a look of stunned disbelief as Cloud ran a hand down the blade, and it lit up with red inscriptions. "That's…impossible…" Genesis sputtered, knowing full well only he knew the mental incantation to activate the sword.
Rapier joined Masamune off to the side, and Angeal looked almost eager as Cloud pulled out the Buster sword. This time Cloud's wonder turned to a full grin, and he swung the sword around easily, being careful not to slice anything in the lab apart.
"He wields it like a SOLDIER," Angeal commented, watching Cloud.
"His stance is too narrow," Zack remarked, and before the older men could stop him he had snuck up beside Cloud and gently nudged his feet apart.
The reaction was instant. Cloud turned around, his face stone hard. "Who's there?" he asked coldly.
The others froze, Zack only inches from Cloud when the blond's anger disappeared and he put the swords away in the cabinet again. Cloud held the Buster sword last, seeming to hesitate to put it away. He closed his eyes, and raised the blade up to his face, and he breathed words that made Angeal freeze wide-eyed.
"Embrace your dreams. If you want to be a hero you need to have dreams," Cloud whispered, his lips grazing the blade of the sword. "And honor."
Cloud put the sword back, and closed the cabinet before exiting the lab. Angeal just stared at him open mouthed, unable to believe this stranger knew those words.
"Angeal?" Sephiroth prodded, looking concerned.
"He knows," Angeal muttered, finding his voice again. "There's no way he could know…unless he was there."
"Where?" Zack asked, curious.
"At the SOLDIER training grounds," Angeal said, following Cloud. The others followed Angeal closely. "There was one recruit, during my introduction speech, where he said he was following his dreams. And those words, those words were exactly what I told him."
"He was a cadet?" Sephiroth muttered, frowning. "I've never recalled seeing him before at the training grounds."
"He had to be there," Angeal insisted, and they watched Cloud lock the doors and head upstairs. "They were all wearing those stupid helmets and thick scarves, they all looked alike. But he had to be there to hear that."
They gave Cloud time to change and get ready for bed, and once they no longer heard the rustling of clothing they peeked into the bedroom. Angeal stepped forward first, his brow furrowed in concentration as he tried to remember who Cloud Strife was.
Was he at the training grounds? Angeal rarely oversaw the cadets, despite it being his favorite duty. He always tried to at least stop by and watch, but no matter how hard he tried to remember, he didn't find any cadet that matched the sleeping blond boy in the bed before him.
It was growing colder at night, and Angeal retrieved another blanket to tuck in the slumbering youth. He gently tucked a loose strand of blond hair from Cloud's face, and after another long look left the room.
AxSxGxZxC
The bedroom of their preference was across the mansion, and Angeal was the last one to enter. Sephiroth looked up at his entrance. "It would appear the boy's vision is also unable to see us, just like Hojo and his assistant."
"Hojo's Mako injections were focused on speed," Angeal said, sitting on the edge of the bed. "He was hoping to create faster SOLDIERS and we are the result. From what I understand, we just move at a speed too fast for normal vision."
"He's really cute," Zack grinned, curling in bed. They obviously knew Zack wasn't talking about Hojo at that point.
"Get over your crush," Genesis scoffed, but he was smirking a little.
"Bedtime," Angeal absently ordered, and after a while he was the only one left awake to his thoughts.
TBC