The Endless Ocean

by XpaperplaneX

Cloud has spent the last five years wondering who he is and where he came from. He's travelled the continents of Enroth and Erathia in search of answers, and now he's arrived in Jadame. An unfortunate accident causes him to wake up with a head injury on board the Black Materia, whose captain is terrifyingly familiar.

1. Chapter 1

Title: The Endless Ocean
Author: XpaperplaneX
Pairings: Sephiroth/Cloud, Tseng/Aerith
Genre: AU, crossover, romance, adventure
Warnings: underage
Disclaimer: I do not own FFVII or Might and Magic and make no money from this work.

Despite all logic, I've decided to post this and hope the pressure inspires me to finish it off in November. This was my Nano project last year, and I totally hit the 50K mark. I've been working on it off and on since then. It's a crossover AU with Might and Magic 8, but I'm hoping it won't matter too much if you haven't played it. *fingers crossed*

XXX

Cloud hefted his sword and looked around the small town that housed the main population of Dagger Wound Islands. Lizard folk were the primary citizens, and their location in Jadame suited them perfectly. The air was hot and muggy, and the ground squished under Cloud's feet if he stepped off the road.

"Got a plan for the night?" his partner in the guard, Kunsel, asked.

"I assume there's an inn," Cloud replied, glancing around. "Did the caravan master say anything to you?"

"Just up the hill over there." Kunsel pointed at a larger raised building up a gentle slope. "It's the only one, apparently."

"That's my plan, then. Want to split a room?"

"Sure, I've got to get my pay still. Meet you there?"

"Sounds good. I'll grab a room before they fill up." Cloud readjusted First Tsurugi and headed up the hill, dodging a couple of lizard children who were chasing a hoop down it.

He got a room for himself and Kunsel, then sat down in the tavern area, pondering what he was going to do next. Jadame was unfamiliar to him, which was why he had signed on with the caravan. It was a good way to travel without incurring a lot of expenses, and he kept hoping that something would jog his memory. He had toured the continents of Erathia and Enroth in the past three years, but neither of them had provided any answers to the mystery of his past. No one had recognized him, and nothing stood out to him, either.

Everything from before five years ago was a complete blank. All he knew was the name of the sword that had been strapped to his back, and that he could use it, though no blacksmith he had spoken to could identify the metal that had been used to forge the strange, six-part blade. He could also use magic, though many of his spells were different from the standard ones the mages here used.

Sighing, he turned to his tankard and took a large drink, draining half of it. There were never any answers at the bottom, but there were often fewer questions.

A deep rumble that seemed to come from somewhere under the earth suddenly drowned out the tavern noise, and then the ground lurched under Cloud's feet, nearly knocking him off his chair. He stumbled to his feet as the entire building shook, the beams overhead swaying dangerously. Screams erupted from outside, and Cloud ran for the door, not wanting to remain inside if the building was going to come down.

Chaos was everywhere in the streets; people were milling about in confusion while the ground continued to quake. A sulphurous smell was in the air, and it stung at his eyes and nose. Glancing up, Cloud saw a thick black cloud of ash erupting from the mountain located in the middle of the island. It was beginning to blot out the sky and Cloud quickly pulled his shirt up to cover his nose and mouth. He saw one of the children he had noticed earlier out in the swampy area; she had fallen and wasn't getting back up as large rocks rained down around her.

Cloud sprinted towards the girl, dodging rocks as he ran, and snatched her up off the ground. "Come on, we've got to get away from here."

The girl clung to him, her sobbing was making anything she might have said incoherent. Cloud turned to go back to the town, but his foot sank into the ground up to his knee and he swore loudly.

"Run to the fountain by the merchant house," Cloud said to the girl, taking her by the shoulders and giving her a shake to make her pay attention. "Stay away from the buildings and look for an adult. Go, quickly now!" He shoved her hard in the direction of the town; the open area around the merchant's house would probably be safest. It seemed like the debris from the volcano wasn't reaching that far, and there was nothing nearby that would fall.

As the girl ran off, Cloud turned his attention to getting himself unstuck. His leg was firmly entrenched in the thick mud that resisted his every effort to pulling it out. He reached for a root from a nearby tree to get some leverage, but something struck the back of his head and the world span. He barely felt the second strike, but he lost his grip on the root and collapsed in the mud.

XXX

"Move him to my cabin and call for Hojo."

Cloud stirred and tried to identify the source of the voice. It was vaguely familiar, but he couldn't place a name to it. Attempting to open his eyes made his skull throb painfully, so he kept the shut and groaned.

"Your cabin, Captain? Why?"

"Just do it, Zack. I don't need to explain myself to you."

The ground lurched under him, and his head throbbed again as the world faded to black once more.

XXX

"Hey, wake up. You've slept long enough, don't you think?"

"Don't shake him. His brain is probably bruised. You'll damage it more if you're rough with him."

"I didn't even touch him. Cloud, wake up."

He was moving. It was a gentle, rolling motion that made his stomach feel like it was going to turn inside out.

"Please stop," he croaked out.

"Stop what?"

"Gonna be sick."

"Shit, I thought you cured yourself of that. Hand me that bucket, would you?"

Cloud felt hands on him, rolling him over and lifting his head.

"Do you know him?"

Puzzling out the different voices proved too strenuous for his current mental capacity and Cloud heaved. Whatever they were saying above him was lost as he emptied the contents of his stomach while someone held his hair out of his face.

Eventually the heaving stopped, and he was settled back onto the bed he was lying on. The rolling motion hadn't stopped, but it wasn't quite as bad as it had been.

"Do you think he's likely to be sick again?"

"It's probable. That head injury is bad, but there's nothing more I can do for it. Make sure he's on his side and give him some water. I still don't understand why you're keeping him here."

"He'll die in the brig, won't he?"

"Most likely."

"That's why, then."

Cloud drifted off to the sounds of the men arguing.

When he woke next he had a vague recollection of someone helping him hover his head over a bucket at various points. Now, however, his head was feeling significantly better, and he bravely cracked his eyes open, squinting in the bright sunlight that was pouring in through a small window next to him. He struggled to sit up and felt something heavy weighing on his left ankle. Glancing down, he realized that he was manacled to the end of the bed.

He took careful stock of his surroundings. The tiny room appeared to be a cabin on a ship, which made sense given that everything was still moving. It was vacant for now. His sword was leaning against the wall in a corner by the door, and a water skin lay on a sea chest next to the bed. He quickly grabbed it, drinking thirstily. When his throat was feeling less parched, he found a chamber pot under the bed, then Cloud took another look at the manacle attached to his ankle.

It was cheap iron, and would be easy enough to break if he weakened it with a frost spell, so the question became whether or not he wanted to get free. A look out the window showed him nothing but the open ocean; escaping wasn't likely to prove very fruitful unless he used magic, and he didn't think that would be a good idea at the moment. It was rather likely that he'd just lose himself in the ether, sick as he was. Besides, his head had been bandaged, and it appeared that he had been cared for while he was out. It was possible that he would be released if he wasn't a threat. He arranged the thin pillow behind his back and leaned against it, closing his eyes for a moment.

"I want to keep the pressure on them. This is the perfect opportunity to expand the empire," a male voice was saying as the door to the cabin banged open, startling Cloud awake. "Oh, you're awake. How are you feeling?"

Cloud couldn't stop staring at the man dressed in black leather armour with long flowing silver hair. He struggled for words, for some way to voice the overwhelming feelings of fear and devotion that were coursing through him.

"Leave us," the man said sharply to the person waiting in the doorway. Cloud caught a glimpse of spiked black hair before the door shut and he was alone with someone out of a long-forgotten nightmare.

"Do I know you?" he whispered, not daring to voice his suspicion any louder than that.

"Cloud ..."

"How do you know my name?"

"The question is, do you know mine?" The man sat down on the edge of the bed, sweeping his hair over his shoulder, and Cloud wasn't sure if he wanted to push himself away or move closer.

He shook his head, wincing at the throbbing pain the movement caused. "No ... should I?"

The man shrugged. "I suppose it's enough that you recognize me. I'm the Lord of Regna, Emperor of the Endless Ocean, Captain of the Black Materia." He paused for a long moment before speaking again. "Sephiroth."

Cloud threw himself back against the wall, dragging the chain with him and fighting the urge to throw up again. He knew that name, he was certain he knew it, but he was also certain he didn't want to. "I don't remember."

"I think you do, though I wouldn't blame you if you intentionally forgot it."

"No, no, I don't know who you are." That name invoked nothing but thoughts of pain and suffering. He didn't want to even consider where he might have heard it in the past.

"Your sword ..." Sephiroth looked over at the corner where the blade was standing.

"What about it?

"Do you know its name?"

Cloud nodded, wondering how the man knew it had a name. He hadn't told it to anyone.

"I'm going to write it down, then tell me what you call it. If they match, I'm going to insist that you listen to what I say." He reached for a piece of parchment and tore off a corner, writing something while he was turned away from Cloud. "What's its name?"

"First ... First Tsurugi," he whispered. There was no way that anyone would guess that. No way.

Sephiroth handed him the parchment without changing his expression and Cloud unfolded it with trembling hands. This wasn't what he had hoped for when he went searching for someone who would recognize him. This was all wrong. He turned the parchment over and stared in horror at the words scrawled on it in sharp, angular letters: First Tsurugi.

"What do you want from me?"

"Cloud ... my dearest puppet ... I want to start again."

Puppet ... he heard a cruel laugh ringing through his ears, as clear as the sounds of the ship's crew just outside the room. Cloud fought back another bout of nausea that had nothing to do with either the movement of the ship or the blow to his head. How could he have forgotten? Sephiroth, the Nightmare, his old enemy was sitting right next to him and he hadn't done a thing to defend himself.

"I killed you," he whispered, not wanting to believe that the man was back yet again.

"You tried," Sephiroth pointed out. "And I did the same to you on several occasions. But I was hoping we could move past all that."

Cloud shook his head. "No, I killed you. I had to ... you would have destroyed everything ... you killed Aerith."

"Would it help to know that your flower girl is alive and well and living under my protection?"

"I watched you kill her ... and did nothing."

"Cloud." Sadness appeared to creep into Sephiroth's expression, and his hand reached out towards Cloud, but stopped when he jerked away. "I don't know what happened, or why we're here. I suspect that the Lifestream finally had enough of us and our constant battles. But we're all here, on Enroth, even the people who died. You were the last one I was looking for."

"What do you mean?" Cloud asked, feeling bewildered. Who all was here?

"I'm going to get you something to eat," Sephiroth finally said after staring at him for several moments, "and I'll tell you what I've been doing for the last five years. Then you can decide if you want to pick up where we left off or not. Try to remember as much as you can while I'm getting your food."

XXX

Sephiroth shut the door quietly behind him, allowing himself to lean against it and breathe a small sigh of relief. Cloud remembered. Maybe not everything, not yet, but something was better than nothing. The years he had spent hoping to find someone who remembered Gaia and Shinra and SOLDIER had been the loneliest he had ever experienced. Seeing people he had once called his comrades ... or his enemies, but having them remember nothing was painful, even if it was also for the best.

"Captain! Are you done talking to the prisoner yet?" Zack's long spikes of black hair were swept to one side by the wind, and his armour was different from a SOLDIER's uniform, but he otherwise appeared to be the exact same man whose death Sephiroth had inadvertently caused.

"He's not a prisoner," Sephiroth said quietly. Regardless of what Cloud decided, Sephiroth wasn't going to hold him against his will. "I need to get him some food."

"The fact that you ordered him chained says something different. Sir, what's going on? You've never treated a prisoner like this before." Zack's face was clouded over with worry. "Do you know him?"

"I knew him a long time ago. Whether or not I still know him ..." Sephiroth shrugged and pushed himself away from the door. "Have you contacted the rest of the fleet?"

"I sent a message to Lockhart's ship; she's establishing a supply line for the ships at Dagger Wound. She'll relay the information to the rest. "

"Good. I want to begin building an outpost on that western island by the time the week is out. That volcano was the opportunity we were waiting for. I'd hate to not take advantage of it. And I need you to stay on deck for a while longer. I'm not done talking with ... the prisoner yet." Sephiroth made his way down to the ship's galley and yelled for a meal. Zack still followed him closely with his eyes, but didn't attempt to talk about his strange behaviour again.

When he opened the door to his cabin again, Cloud frantically wiped at his face with the back of his hands.

"How's your memory?" Sephiroth asked while he set the tray of food down on the sea chest and took a seat.

"Probably still messed up from Nibelheim and you fucking with me," he said shortly.

Sephiroth thought that was rather unfair—he had only ever attempted to tell Cloud the truth. But he didn't argue. Arguing wouldn't suit his purposes. "Eat," he said instead, gesturing at the tray. "Might as well take advantage of the fresh rations while we've got them."

"This is a long journey, I take it?" Cloud grabbed the tray and sniffed at it before he began to shovel food into his mouth.

"Actually no. We should arrive in Regna tomorrow in the late afternoon. I suppose I'm just used to saying that. I only came out because I wanted to see what was happening on Dagger Wound for myself. I'm glad I did, however. Zack would have thrown you in the brig. If he had rescued you at all."

"Zack?" Cloud choked on a crust of bread and spent several moments coughing. "Zack Fair?"

"He's my Quartermaster, and he takes over as Captain when I can't be on the ship, which is most of the time."

"Zack's alive?"

"He is. I ... I always regretted his death you know. I never intended ..."

"You stabbed him," Cloud said coldly. "What exactly did you intend?"

"Point taken." Sephiroth sighed, wondering how he was ever going to convince Cloud to work with him. Maybe it would have been better if he hadn't remembered. A sleek white cat crawled out from beneath the bed and stretched, yawning widely. "Hello, Rufus." He patted his lap and the cat jumped up and began grooming itself.

"Rufus?"

"It didn't seem likely that he ended up here as well, though some of the Turks are, but the cat needed a name. If I meet him one day and he takes offense, well ... tough." Sephiroth shrugged. "Dark Nation should be around somewhere."

"You said you were going to tell me what you've been doing. How'd you wind up the Lord of Regna?"

"Simple." Sephiroth picked the cat up and set it down on the bed, then crossed his legs and smiled at Cloud. "I decided that destroying the world was not in my best interests. I'm going to rule it instead."

"Oh?"

"Well," Sephiroth hesitated, seeing the look on Cloud's face, "at least a corner of it. When I found myself here, I joined the Regnan Navy as a way to survive. Given my skills, it wasn't long until I was noticed by the lord at the time, the Dread Pirate Stanley. When he retired three years ago, I was given command of the empire and the fleet. I came across Zack when I was sailing under Stanley, and after I convinced him I wasn't crazy, we became friends again. He's had my back ever since."

Cloud snorted loudly. "How'd you manage that? Convincing him you're not crazy, that is."

"I'm not, Cloud. You've proved it. As for ... what happened, I truly am sorry. Mother ... Jenova ... she doesn't even know who I am. There's nothing for me here except a chance to start over."

"Jenova's here?"

Sephiroth nodded. "She lives in Regna without a clue as to who or what she was. Still entirely evil, mind you, but she's just an ordinary woman. She's a grandmaster of dark magic and teaches anyone brave enough to seek her out."

"I'm sorry. It must be hard having her not know you." Cloud's voice held a wistful tone, and Sephiroth moved over to the bed, laying his hand lightly on Cloud's arm.

"Don't be. You know it's for the best. It's just been lonely."

"Yeah, I know what that's like." Cloud reached out and touched a strand of Sephiroth's hair almost absently, like he didn't fully realize what he was doing. "You want me to join you, don't you?"

"Everyone else has."

"You're leading an empire of pirates."

"Tax collectors. And Regna itself is a rather nice place. Is it really any more immoral than a council of necromancers? Or the dragon hunters? How about Erathia's constant attempts to wipe out the elves and take their lands? This world is different from Gaia, Cloud. You know it. There's no single faction that has power over all the others. I'm just one of the many factions."

Sephiroth sat quietly and waited while Cloud appeared to think it over, still playing with the strand of his hair. It reminded him of how Cloud used to like to touch it when he was a cadet in Shinra's army, and he wondered if Cloud remembered any of that. He rather doubted it. Those memories had probably been locked away after the incident at Nibelheim, never to resurface. He had certainly shown no sign of remembering while he was with AVALANCHE. Although, feelings that had once existed could certainly develop again.

"I want to see Zack," Cloud said, breaking the silence. "And Aerith."

"All right, Aerith is in Regna as well, but keep in mind, neither of them remember a thing. And Zack is ... perhaps a little different than you remember. I wasn't lying when I said he would have thrown you in the brig with a severe head injury."

"That's not something Zack would do."

"It is now. He's not the only one who's changed, I think, but I knew him the best. Anyway, you can see him, and perhaps you'll understand a little better what I mean."

Cloud nodded slowly and let go of Sephiroth's hair to pet the cat instead. "Will you take this chain off me?"

"Oh, yes, sorry. I forgot about that." Sephiroth rummaged through his desk for the key. "It was just a precaution. I didn't want you attacking me the instant you woke up."

"My head hurts too much for that." Cloud cracked a small smile and rubbed his ankle as soon as the chain was removed.

"Why don't you rest a bit for now? Zack isn't going anywhere."

"Yeah, all right, this has been kind of draining." Cloud moved back down on the bed and curled up on his side; Rufus immediately planted himself in the crook behind Cloud's knees, and Sephiroth noticed a black head peeking out from under the bed. It wouldn't be too long until Dark Nation would be making himself comfortable against Cloud's belly.

"Rest well, Cloud," he said softly as he let himself out of the cabin.