Yay, second part! Ok, no serious yaoi, more like little snippits. :D This also doesn't have much humor, but just wait. Oh, just wait. XD Summary: Hmmm...a room full of coffins. I wonder...
The next morning…
Cloud had ended up sleeping on the floor for a few hours, sandwiched between two furry bodies. Ifrit, the black male wolf, with bright yellow eyes had been curled up against his back, and his front was pressed against Jaz. He had tried sleeping on his old bed, but it was…awkward, to say the least. The floor was much more comfortable, especially since Genesis and Sephiroth had a tendency to like their beds extremely hard. It was how his mother found him in the bright sunshine of morning, nestled between the two furry bodies, a smile on his face. Regardless of how cute he was lying there, she grinned evilly, and whistled loudly.
Cloud snapped up with the four animals, all of them looking around blurrily. He had been having such a nice dream, where Zack and Angeal had been…
"Cloud!" That brought him out of his semi-haze, and he looked up at his mom, as the three wolves somehow twined around her, like cats. She flapped her hands at the wolves, indicating the door that led to the outside, and nipping playfully at each other, the three were out into the bright sunshine. Yawning, he stood, and shook himself all over, causing Elaine to snort as she went about getting food ready for their breakfast. Cloud shoved Jaz out the door, even as she whined at him, drooling over the bacon that was in his mother's hands.
"Give me a minute, I'll getcha all fed," he grumbled, as he built up the fire. He walked over to the wall, and poked his head out the window, looking down.
"Ma, ya need wood," he said, only to earn him a smack on the back of his head. He pulled it back through the window, and rubbed it while glaring at her.
"If we need wood, then go get some," she said, and then turned back to the food with a smirk. Grumbling about how nice it was to be slave labor, he did just as she asked, and bundled up to go chop wood. He only hoped he remembered how.
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The jacket was thrown to the side, and besides his dark blue sweater and blue jeans, all he wore were his boots and gloves. The pile of wood underneath the window was growing at an alarming rate, with the four wolves watching him with wagging tongues. Grinning, he took a chunk of wood, and shook it in front of their faces. They all watched it with rapt attention, and he cocked his arm back, and threw it as hard as he could. All four took off after it, and he watched them go in awe. He had never seen Jaz in her natural element, out here in the mountains. She moved just as easily through the snow, and her silvery white fur blended into it amazingly well. Hiding his eyes from the sun, he watched them until they disappeared into the woods. Grinning, he went back to chopping wood, hoping the four wolves would find something to eat while they were gone.
He jumped a mile into the air when a delicate hand touched his back, his feet shifting into an offensive position as he brought the ax up, twirling around. He found his mother, staring at him and the makeshift weapon with amusement. Letting out the breath he didn't realize he'd been holding, he dropped the weapon, and took the offered cup of tea, inhaling its musky, sweet smell. His mother leaned in closer to him, and he grinned. Putting an arm across her shoulders, he drew her into his chest, she sighed immediately when the heat from his body soaked into the blankets she wore, and her shivering relaxed.
"Let's go inside," he said, rubbing her arms. She shook her head, and tilted her head up to look at him. He blinked at the apologetic look in her eyes, and frowned.
"I need ta ask ya sometin', sweetheart," she said, and his frown deepened. He cocked an eyebrow, and she sighed. "There's been monsta'as up 'round the Mansion, and they've been attackin the village. Could ya get rid've them?" He blinked again, and started laughing. She pulled back, watching him with wide eyes.
"Well mum, I am a 1st Class SOLDIER," he said, amused. She smacked him with her free hand, and took a drink of her tea imperiously.
"Well mista 1st Class, get ya ass up there and back before dinna, ya ken?" she said loftily, and strode back through the cleared snow to the house. Grinning, he finished his tea, and whistled loudly as he started putting his jacket and protective gear back on. Just as he was settling his goggles, Jaz and the others came bursting through the line of trees, nipping at each other and barking. Sighing, he looked at all the snow around him, and grinned evilly. Bending down and scooping some together, he took aim carefully, and threw the snowball at Jaz when she was less then ten feet away. She skidded to a stop, the look of complete confusion on her face making him double over in laughter. She shook the snow off her nose, and then looked at him accusingly. Before he could even get his breath back, she pounced on him, and grabbed the back of his jacket – carefully – in her teeth, and dragged him through the snow. Spluttering, he managed to get himself free, and rolled to his feet, facing her. She was crouched down as they circled each other, and from the house window, Elaine sighed and shook her head, even as she grinned. The boy and his dog.
A few minutes later, a loud yip of pain brought her running back to the window, and what she saw had her running outside. Jaz was standing up with the help of Cloud, and hey left side was covered in blood.
"Oh m'dear, I'm so sorry," Cloud was whispering to her as he pulled out a small green orb that he always carried with him. Jaz held perfectly still while he healed her, except for a slight shivering when the broken skin knit up. Elaine watched in amazement as the wolf only licked her sons face, then shoved him back down into the snow with her nose. Cloud glared up at the wolf, and simply held out a hand. With an apologetic look on her face, Jaz walked over to him and opened her mouth slightly. Cloud grabbed the bottom canine tooth, and with her help, pulled himself to his feet. Shaking the snow off, he turned, and caught sight of his mother's dumbfounded expression for the first time.
"What?" he asked. She only shook her head, grinning slightly now.
"I've neva seen an animal that's been hurt, turn right back to it's masta like nuttin happen'd," she said softly. Cloud only grinned, and had to stretch up a hand to scratch Jaz between the ears. The wolf lowered her head, growling softly in pleasure.
"She's been battle trained. What just happen'd is nuttin compared ta what she's had before," he said lovingly, and Elaine shook her head again, smiling.
"Well, come get breakfast, and then be off!"
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He wiped his blade clean with some snow, and looked around with a critical eye. As he and Jaz got nearer to the Mansion, the numbers of mutated monsters kept getting thicker. He knew the source was the mako reactor, or even the Mansion itself since it had been empty for a long as he could remember. It would be a perfect, quiet place for these monsters to breed. Yawning, he walked over to Jaz, and pulled a piece of intestine off her nose that she was trying desperately to dislodge, and handed it to her. She gobbled it quickly, and then her ears perked up, towards the Mansion. It was only a black dot on the edge of the mountain they were climbing, situated at the edge of a cliff, but they both could clearly hear the howls that were coming from the building. Smirking, because now he knew he was right about the place being their breeding ground, he and Jaz took off at a run.
They pushed through the gates, only to have four of the creatures standing there. He examined them for a moment, noticing that these ones were different from the ones they had encountered on the side of the mountain. They walked on four legs, but a multitude of tentacles grew from their spines, and the tip of each tentacle was a snake head. Each head crackled with electricity, and opened their mouths to hiss at him, venom dripping from the fangs. Sighing, Cloud made sure that he had his Esuna as well as Cure, and then he and Jaz threw themselves into the melee of battle.
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"Uck," he said softly, trying in vain to brush of the blood that stained his clothes. He never understood how Sephiroth could go into battle and return without a drop of blood on him. Turning his attention to the front of the Mansion, he grinned, and pushed open the door, leaving behind the remains of the monsters. He never saw the pure human expression of thanks and gratitude that was on all four mutated faces.
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He wandered for awhile, not finding anything but dust and small animals on the first floor. Making his way to the second, he gawked when he came into a large ballroom, with a piano off to one side. Walking through it as Jaz wandered through the room, smelling different things, he sat down on the creaking bench, and propped his sword against it. Resting his fingers lightly against the keys, he smiled and played a simple melody that Zack had taught him on the electric keyboard his friend had. As he rose from the bench, he didn't know that beneath him, two figures were stirring in their respective coffins.
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Entering another room, he marveled at the multitude of books. It was obviously a study, with a rotting wooden desk, and an ancient computer that had long since lost its juice. Ignoring the desk, he walked to the bookcases, and began examining the volumes. Art of War, Principles of Philosophy, The Human Mind, were only a few that he saw. He came across one that was bright orange, with no title on the spine, and curious, he went to pull it out. A door to the left of him slid open when he did, and he stared between the door and the book in shock. With a childish look of glee, he whistled for Jaz, and she came running from the ballroom, where she still wasn't done smelling things. The two of them entered the dark door, and disappeared into the darkness. The door slid silently shut behind them, melding with the wall once again.
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Cloud pulled out his phone, checking the time. It was only early afternoon, 2 o'clock, so he put it away and went back to examining the room he was in. As far as he could find, there was no evidence in these lower levels of any sort of monsters, unless you counted one ShinRa Corporation. Down three levels, he had found evidence of human experimentation. Stainless steel beds, thick leather straps that were dark with dried blood. Various instruments that were packed up into lockers, all of them designed to monitor humans. All of them having the ShinRa logo on them. No one in the village knew that these labs were underneath the Mansion, at least he didn't think so. If they had, then the place probably would have been burned down, or ransacked. As far as he could tell, nothing was broken, or even taken. The labs still had that sterile, old smell of a place that hadn't been used in years, but was sealed up tight.
Wandering down a hallway on the third floor, he opened the first door he came to on the right, Jaz following close behind him. He shut it just as quickly. There was nothing in there but the small skeletons of mice and a few bats. The next five doors were the same. He came to the last door on the left, and blinked when the faint blue light of the hallway entered the room. Propped around the edge of the room were coffins, eight of them that he could see. Leaving the door open, he entered the room, curious. He could smell the musty, organic smell of long dead creatures, but a faint thump-thump reached his ears. It was to slow to be a heartbeat from anything alive, but the last time he had heard something like it was when on a mission with Genesis in Icicle Village, they had stumbled across a hibernating Mountain Bear. The slow beat was almost identical.
He started with the coffin closest to him on the right, intending to go around the room until he found the source. Jaz went immediately to the second coffin on the left, sniffing it curiously. Ignoring her – there was probably a dead animal in there – he opened the first one, and stepped back in shock and disgust. A mummy was in the wood, and even though Cloud knew it was long dead, the look of complete terror on the dried face was clear to see. He glanced at the lid, and forced bile down his throat. There were deep gouges in the wood, and he knew. This person had been shut in there alive. Gingerly putting the lid back on, he found the same thing in the next three he looked at. In the fifth one, he found something that made his jaw drop open in shock and awe. Situated in a bed of moldy velvet, was a shining silver sword. He didn't notice the triple barreled shotgun below it.
Without touching it, he could see that it was made out of several pieces. It was made in the Buster style, like Angeal's sword, but not quite. It wasn't as wide, though equally as long and thick. He leaned in closer, examining the locking mechanisms below the hilt, marveling at the exquisite design. It was a puzzle sword, where many smaller blades fit into a bigger one, but he had never seen one that had this many blades. There were five that he could see, not counting the main one.
"Beautiful, is it not?" The dry, smooth voice came from behind him, and without thinking, he grabbed the black hilt of the sword in front of him, spinning at the same moment. He turned his face away with a cry of pain when blinding blue light engulfed the sword, but he didn't drop it. It was the first lesson taught to him. Never let go of your weapon. After what seemed like an eternity, the glow died down to a faint light, and he cracked his eyes open slightly. The blade was still pointed at the man who spoke, and he narrowed his eyes, seeing how close the man was to his wolf. Actually, the mans red cape was covering Jaz's eyes from the light, and he blinked in superstitious fear when softly glowing red eyes opened slightly, assessing him.
"Who are you? Where did you come from?" Cloud demanded, adjusting his stance so if the man decided to attack, he would be ready. Cloud flicked his eyes to Jaz when the wolf whined, and relaxed slightly when she licked the mans face. He even smiled slightly at the look of disgusted patience on the red cloaked mans face. He lowered the blade, and as he did, the light winked out of existence entirely. They stood, facing each other in the darkness, glowing red patient, and glowing blue equally so.
"My name is Vincent Valentine," the man said, bowing slightly. He then looked up, and amusement was in the eyes, though nothing showed on his face. "I came from the coffin right next to me. Before that…" He trailed off, and shrugged. "That doesn't matter. Who are you, if I may ask?"
"Cloud Strife, 1st Class SOLDIER," he said, cocking his head to the side as he examined this Vincent. The name sounded familiar, something he thought he had heard from Reno, but he couldn't place it. Vincent had on a tattered crimson cloak, with the same material and color wrapped around his forehead, assumingly to keep his shoulder length black hair away from his face. His left arm was encased in a golden gauntlet to his elbow, and his feet had interesting metal shoes. They were pointy and sharp, obviously some kind of weapon and protection, made to go over the plain black boots the man had on. Black, long sleeved shirt, black pants, a black leather vambrace on his right arm, attached by buckles. Black gloves. Black holster on his right thigh. Wait, Cloud thought, blinking. Holster? So his main weapon is a gun, and probably his body. Without thinking about it, he turned back to the coffin where he found the sword, and looked down. Sure enough, there was a huge gun at the bottom, and he bent to pick it up. He hefted it, his eyes going wide. It was nearly as heavy as the sword!
Looking back to Vincent, he grinned, and tossed the man the gun. It was caught deftly in his right hand, and with quick, efficient motions, Vincent opened it, checked it, closed it, and holstered it. Whistling, Cloud grinned.
"You act like a Turk. No wasted motions," he commented, and his jaw dropped slightly when the stoic man actually cracked a small smile.
"It's no wonder. I used to be a Turk," he commented, before gesturing to the door. "Let's leave, shall we?" Without another word, he left, leaving Cloud standing there with his mouth handing open. Now he remembered where he heard that name from. He rushed to catch up with him, stopping the man at the foot of the stairs with a hand on his arm. Vincent turned back to him with burning eyes, but Cloud didn't care.
"You're supposed to be dead," Cloud said quietly, eyes hard as diamonds. Vincent narrowed his own, and wretched his arm away.
"I am dead," was the harsh reply.
"Obviously your not. The story around ShinRa is their top marksman got into trouble, and landed himself a position as bodyguard for Dr. Hojo. Official report is that you died because an experiment got loose, and when you tried to kill it, it killed you instead," Cloud said, crossing his arms and holding his ground when the red eyes flashed fire, the gloved hand tightening around the hilt of the gun.
"So that's the official story," Vincent muttered, more to himself then Cloud.
"Hojo experimented on you, didn't he?" Cloud asked, his voice steel. Vincent visibly twitched, and slowly met Cloud's eyes. He didn't even need to answer. Cloud saw the truth in the haunted eyes, as well as the questions. Cloud shrugged, and attached the new sword to the magnets in his harness. "I saw the labs." Then he turned and walked away without waiting for an answer, intent on investigating deeper into the labs, whether Vincent followed him or not. The man was up and out of the damn coffin. He was an ex-Turk, so he could probably find his way out of the building on his own. Cloud whistled, and Jaz came panting to his side. She looked once over her shoulder to the red cloaked man still standing on the stairs watching them with interested eyes, before following her master deeper into the labs.
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Cloud boosted himself up slightly, looking into the portal of the container. Wincing, he let himself drop back down. What was in them used to be human, but wasn't anymore. Stepping back, he pulled out his phone and snapped a few pictures, the anger in him smoldering on a dangerous level. He knew this was Hojo's work now. It didn't help that many of the people in these containers had tags attached to their ears, that clearly had Hojo's name on them, the number of the experiment, and the date they were put into the container.
He ascended the stairs, passing rows upon rows of the same containers, and he knew that all of them contained the failed experiments. What really interested him though, was the bright blue glow at the top of the stairs. As he ascended, he felt himself become curiously light, as though he was walking on air. He forgot the form of the wolf behind him, as she watched with apprehension, or the fact that it was nearing nightfall, and he should probably be getting back to his mothers house. All he could concentrate on was the peace and love that seemed to be suffusing him, and as he reached the landing and walked over the threshold, he staggered, memories flashing through his mind.
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Sephiroth was so gentle as he pushed into Cloud, caressing the cadets flushed, sweaty skin, murmuring sweet nothing of encouragement to the form underneath him. He slipped the last of the way in, causing Cloud to gasp and moan with the sensation, the pain of the entrance being thrown away with the pure pleasure. He was no longer a virgin, and he was with the man of his dreams.
-x-x-x-x-
Glaring up at Zack as the man threw him once again to the ground, laughing.
"Try again Spike," Zack said, helping him to his feet. Scowling, Cloud set himself again, even though he knew he had no chance against the 2nd Class SOLDIER. He would keep going until he collapsed.
-x-x-x-x-
The first time he met Genesis, how he had been fascinated by the mans hair. He had seen Reno's but it was a pure red, with only faint darker streaks. Genesis had blonde, and brown, giving the auburn its own life as it weaved around his face, caressing the edge of the sensuous mouth. The pure lust that he had felt pooling low in his body, as Sephiroth left them alone. He had requested this meeting, after talking to Sephiroth about his anger problems.
"How can I help you?" Genesis asked smoothly, and Cloud wanted to throw himself down and beg to be taken right there. Swallowing his hormones, Cloud bowed.
"I need your help, Sir," he said quietly.
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They crept through the abandoned buildings below the plate, and Cloud was still amazed at how silent Angeal could be. If anything, the bigger man was more stealthy then Sephiroth. Cloud almost screamed when a hand landed on his shoulder, and he whipped around, glaring at the General. Angeal only smirked at him.
"Careful Spike," he whispered, and Cloud growled at the nickname that everyone had seemed to adopt. "This is a stealth mission. If your not careful, I'll take you down." The mental image that accompanied that statement made Cloud blush brilliantly, and turn away. Oy, why was he surrounded by all these sexy ass men that he couldn't touch?
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The feel of Sephiroth's hand as it glided down his chest, teasing and making him whimper…
Arching against Genesis as he moved inside him, eliciting a purr from his hoarse throat…
Angeal's hands on his hips as he rode the 1st, head thrown back and mouth open in pleasure…
Zack's words as they were whispered in his ear, their bodies pressed together to intimately…
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He snapped out of it, and found himself standing on a pipe, his hands splayed across a smooth surface. He idly wondered why his hands were bleeding, but it was far away in the back of his mind. Inside the glass cylinder was a feminine figure, attached to tubes and wires, with a metal helmet on her head. Jenova, the plate said. The name sounded oddly familiar, much like Valentine's name had, but he couldn't place it. His mind was at peace, and he felt awash in a sense of unending love, much like he did when around his mother or his lovers. It was nice, and he found himself smiling goofily.
"Who are you?" Cloud whispered softly, his eyes wide with wonder.
Oh my son, a voice whispered in a caress, so sweet in his mind. Set me free. I want to be with you. With all my children.
He stared up at the feminine, blue figure encased inside the glass cylinder, and couldn't think of a single reason why she shouldn't get her wish.
