Disclaimer: I don't own Kingdom Hearts or its characters.
Clack. Clack. Clack. Clack. Boots. Heavy stepped. Steady and confident in stride. It had to be that silver haired general, judging by the sound coming down the hall.
Leon looked up when the steps stopped in front of his cell door. He shifted his position, the chains rattling. Chains. Such horrible things. Sure, the llarcloa had binding methods, too, but they used magic that just safely restricted their prisoners, not those bulky things that painfully dug into them. He then watched as a man with long, silver hair walked in. General Sephiroth V. Crescent.
"Finally not snarling at me, beast?" Sephiroth asked, closing the door behind him. "I see that your glare is still steady."
"What do you want?" Leon demanded.
"Answers." Sephiroth asked.
"You're better off asking a pile of dung your questions." Leon snarled.
"You answer my questions… I'll answer yours… the one about your pups." Sephiroth said. He saw Leon's tail bristle, sign enough that this was the start of being tempted. "In fact, I'll tell you about one now, then the other after." He nodded. "That blonde one you fought alongside, the one with messy hair, he is at this facility, kept in isolation like you are. His injuries have healed."
"Thank Gaia…" Leon sighed.
"Now… my questions… where would hostages be taken to by your people?" Sephiroth inquired.
"A place where you wouldn't find too easily… trying, you're more likely to lose more people to accidents or getting lost." Leon replied.
"Damn..." Sephiroth sighed. "Is there are chance we'd expect those of ours who were taken hostage back? Alive?"
"Alive and well." Leon stated. "We see life as sacred… we're only fighting this war because we want to live." He sighed. "While some will complain, the medics will see to anyone's injuries. They'll be kept locked up, but they'll be well and strong… weakness leads to illness… illnesses they cannot heal without further risk."
Sephiroth let out a sigh of relief. "Thank goodness." he said.
"Someone you're hoping for?" Leon asked.
Had it been someone else, Sephiroth would have told them that he was asking the questions, not them. But this was different. He felt Leon could relate. "My four sons… they were all unaccounted for. Part of me hoped they were taken prisoner, but..." Sephiroth sighed. "However, knowing they'd actually be fine, I'm back to hoping they were taken and not killed." He leaned against the wall and slid down to the floor. "That explosion… if my studies were correct, it's something you beasts would never do, huh?"
"We prefer being called llarcloa." Leon grumbled. "That other term is rude." He then sighed. "While we do use magic… that thing was destructive… we wouldn't use such a thing…"
"I see." Sephiroth nodded. "And you wouldn't lie about it?"
"That thing killed many of our own… we'd never risk that." Leon snarled. "On my life, to which I give my pups… I would never lie about that thing."
"A father who lives for his children usually is the most trustworthy." Sephiroth said as he got to his feet and turned to leave the room.
"And my other pup?" Leon asked.
"There was no mention of a blue eyed, brown haired be… llarcloa documented as a hostage or one of the dead." Sephiroth stated. "One was mentioned to have been seen after the blast… tending others… claiming hostages, too. The scout who reported said he had never seen such a fluffy looking one." He didn't miss the sigh of relief coming from the other.
"One… one more question." Sephiroth said.
"It depends on the question..."
"What is your relationship with Cloud Strife?" Sephiroth looked back. "You both froze on the battlefield when you came face to face… I didn't miss that."
"We met a long time ago..." Leon mumbled. "And we refused to fight then..."
Sephiroth was a trained general, he could tell when someone was hiding something. Leon was definitely hiding something. He didn't press, though, because that little bit of information was enough for him to go on. Nodding, he left the cell and went to another part of the base. He entered a room, only knocking twice.
"Cloud?" Sephiroth asked, looking to see the blonde man lying on his bed, another soldier sitting at his bedside. "How is he, Zack?"
"Something's not right with that blast… Did you find out if those beasts set it off?" Zack asked after checking over the blonde's breathing. "It's triggered his illness again… he's back to coughing up that black substance..."
"It makes me worry about Kadaj… he had the same illness..." Sephiroth sighed. "I'm certain they didn't… so it's a matter of finding out who did it..." He sat down in another chair. "Something was off with that blast… and it doesn't seem like something our own people would use."
"Perhaps those southerners?" Zack inquired, meaning about another country they were at war with.
"It was so far into our land…" Sephiroth sighed again. "We'll look into it more."
"Anyway… Vexen should be arriving soon; I'm going to go receive him and see if he'll come look at Cloud first." Zack said, standing up.
"Have him treat those hurt worse, then send him here." Sephiroth said.
"Yes, sir." Zack nodded before walking to the door. "Sir?"
"Hmm?"
"This is an illness we know humans contract..." Zack said, getting Sephiroth's attention, "for some reason one of those beasts fell ill… coughing up the same thing."
"Which one?" Sephiroth asked, though he had a feeling he knew.
"The little blonde one… that kid." Zack said.
"Thank you for reporting." Sephiroth responded, dismissing Zack. He then looked back to Cloud when the other left. He could tell Cloud was conscious, but not feeling well and mostly out of it due to a medication he was given to help after showing his illness again. "I thought we had this under control… and now it's in one of those… llarcloa." He watched Cloud look to him after that word was said.
"Cloud… what happened when you disappeared all those years ago?" Sephiroth inquired. "You and that brown haired one met..." Cloud didn't respond and just curled up, not that Sephiroth blamed him; the general knew that those with this illness just preferred curling up and trying to sleep, it made them weak and tired. This was something he had learned easily with Cloud being his friend and Kadaj being his son, both having this illness. "Cloud… did you find a lover among them?" Sephiroth then asked. "Is that blonde child, the llarcloa with the same illness, yours?"
Sephiroth didn't get an answer again. "You can tell me… I'll do what I can to protect you, old friend." he said. He reached over and ran a hand through Cloud's hair. "The other pup is fine, though… I'm sure he's back home where he belongs." He sighed. "Are they that brown haired one's pups? I heard that they differ from us humans…"
"Leon."
"Hmm?"
"Leon… that brown haired one is Leon… the blonde pup is Roxas." Cloud mumbled, his voice soft and raspy. "The brown haired pup is Sora..."
"You know their names?" Sephiroth asked. "Cloud… did you and Leon… were you two lovers? Was that why you couldn't fight each other?" No response. "This is off the record… I won't report this."
"I got ill… a different illness when I was found by the llarcloa." Cloud responded. "Leon… he vouched for me… he and another treated me… and… I fell in love." He let out a yawn, sign he was tired. "I shouldn't have… but I did… They told me I could die… or use their medicine… they warned me… it could… change… me..."
Sephiroth watched as Cloud drifted off to sleep. Change him? Change Cloud? In what way? Well, he wasn't getting an answer on that yet. He nodded, allowing Cloud to sleep it off. "I'll see about asking Leon later… and I'll get Vexen to check on Roxas for you." he whispered softly. He then got up and left the room, instructing a guard on standby to keep an eye on Cloud in case he needed medical attention.
Sephiroth then walked down the hall, pondering over things… at least until he saw another man walking his way. "General Xemnas, congratulations on the promotion." he said.
"And something tells me you won't continue calling me by my title." the man, Xemnas, said with a laugh. "You're like my older brother, anyway."
"Of course." Sephiroth chuckled. "What brings you by?"
"My medical officer." Xemnas stated. "Dragging me everywhere."
"Because you got hurt, dammit, and I need to make sure you don't pull those damn stitches!" shouted a blonde further down the hall before he went another direction.
"Quit fussing!" Xemnas called back. He then shook his head and chuckled a bit. "I'm glad I have him, though. And I'm surprised he's steady on his feet."
"Why wouldn't he be?" Sephiroth asked as he and Xemnas walked down the hall.
"His son, Zexion, was one of the ones unaccounted for." Xemnas said. "He's most likely been taken captive..."
"He's a medic himself… maybe they'll have mercy on him." Sephiroth said, not bringing up what he learned about hostages yet.
"I hope so." Xemnas nodded. "Xion's training well, too."
"Ah, that's Vexen's daughter, right?" Sephiroth asked.
"Yes, she was sent to Marluxia's base so she can treat injuries there." Xemnas said. "Vexen didn't want her on the field yet, so I got him to agree to that. Got her to stop complaining about not being allowed to help."
"Well, it's a start." Sephiroth nodded.
Heyo, lovelies!
Ah, another lovely chapter. And this time we're seeing it from Sephiroth's base and seeing another llarcloa imprisoned. And to no surprise, knowing me, Vexen has adopted Zexion as his son, and even Xion as his daughter.
Anyway, I hope you all enjoyed this chapter and I hope you look forward to the next one. Remember, reviews are necessary, but they are appreciated. Until next time, my dears!
~chibi