Ch 1

What is Cloud's fate?

A strange place

A moan escaped the lips of Cloud as he slowly awoke to a major pounding on the back of his head. He slowly brought himself into a sitting position. He moved his tail to make sure he had feeling in that before looking around. He was a tank that was maybe a little over a story high and fifty feet wide.

'Where am I?' he thought, pushing himself a little off the floor.

He swam about a little, taking in his new, yet weird surroundings. Looking outside, he saw an ampi-theater on the other side.

'How did I—'he started to think, but suddenly remembered what happened; the battle on the sea! Something hit him hard and that was the last thing he remembered.

Suddenly, he heard a door opening on the surface and he looked up. Two figures stood near the edge, looking down at the blonde merman. He cautiously swam to the surface, not fully sure how these humans would react to something such as he. Breaching the surface, his eyes came upon a silver haired male beauty. He had piercing MAKO eyes, a black outfit and a well toned chest that was hidden behind the black coat. His hair cascading behind him shone in the light.

The other had long, black hair, a red dot in the middle of his forehead and wore a blue outfit. By his face, he must've been a Wutaian himself.

"Where did you find him, Sephiroth?" asked the black haired male.

"I found him floating on some of the debris from a Wutaian ship. When I saw him for the first time, I couldn't believe he was really one. I thought these beings didn't exist... or says Hojo," Sephiroth replied, saying the last word with disgust, giving away a hatred for the said man.

"We'll have to keep him out of Hojo's sight for awhile. Who knows what he'll do to him if he finds out," said the black haired male.

"Who's Hojo?" Cloud asked suddenly.

The two males turned to him and Cloud felt him blush out of embarrassment. Maybe he shouldn't have spoken too soon. But, Sephiroth knelt so he could get a good look at the blonde merman before him. He had never seen such beauty; soft, baby blue eyes, golden blonde spiked hair and perfectly tanned skin.

"Hojo is the Biochemistry head... and practically insane. He claims to be my father, but the way he acts... he's no father of mine," Sephiroth replied with a shake of his head.

Cloud shifted his gaze towards the Wutaian man behind him and Sephiroth followed it.

"That's Tseng, head of the Turks. They guard Rufus, who's the President of ShinRa. ShinRa Sr. died mysteriously somehow. We're still investigating who did it," he added.

Cloud nodded in understanding. Suddenly, they heard a door open somewhere. Sensing a familiar presence, Sephiroth hissed to him "Hide!"

The merman dove back under and hid underneath the platform. Listening in, he heard another voice join the two. This third voice sounded sickly, yet held a hidden insanity to it. That must've been the man whom they spoke of now.

"There's nothing in the tank. There's no point in looking in there... unless you want me to shove you in so you can get a good look yourself," he heard Sephiroth growl.

"Now, now, Sephiroth. There's no need for that. I am of a curious mind, of course, but if you insist..." the voice faded away and the door closed.

There was an intense silence before he heard Tseng say "You can come up now." The blonde surfaced, heaving a sigh of relief.

"That was Hojo?" he asked.

The men nodded gravely. "You cannot be seen by that man. If you are caught... he'll do horrible things to you. You must stay hidden until one of us signals you to show yourself, ok?" Tseng said.

Cloud nodded in understanding. As Tseng bowed and excused himself, it was just Sephiroth and the merman. For awhile, they talked, sharing their good times and bad times, their pleasures and pains. As Cloud told his tale on how he about lost almost of all of his family but Aerith, Zack and Vincent, Sephiroth showed sympathy in his eyes. Evening came around and the General stood from his spot.

"You'll be here tomorrow morning, right?" Cloud asked.

Sephiroth nodded. "I promise I'll be here tomorrow with Tseng if I can. If you hear anyone but either me or Tseng, hide yourself," he said.

"Ok. Goodnight, Sephiroth," Cloud replied before diving back underwater.

As Sephiroth headed back to his office, he couldn't get his mind of the merman. Why was he drawn to him? Arriving at his now dark office, as he climbed into bed, he couldn't help but fear for him. What if Hojo caught him? He couldn't fathom what he would do to the sweet merman. Finally, his eyes closed and he drifted off into a dreamless sleep.

The next morning, he awoke at 3:30 a.m. Getting dressed in his usual outfit, he snuck downstairs to the ampi-theater. Looking around, he spotted the blonde sleeping beneath the platform. Smiling softly, he rapped three times on the glass.

Rousing from his sleep, Cloud looked around and saw the General on the other side of the glass, hand pressed on it. Smiling himself, he swam towards where he was and pressed his own against the glass. The two looked as if their hands were actually touching; they would've if this glass was not separating them. Sephiroth pointed upwards at the platform and Cloud nodding in understanding and swam upwards. The General hurried upstairs and met him there.

"Good morning, Cloud," Sephiroth said, sitting near the edge.

"Morning. You're up early," Cloud pointed out.

"I have to, along with the rest of the SOLDIERS. Speaking of which..." he whipped out a cell phone and pressed a number on it. After three rings, someone answered.

"Genesis, get Angeal up and wake the others." Hearing a confirmation, he hung up and shoved it back in his pocket. "Genesis Rhapsodos. He and Angeal Hewley are commanders here. By the way, how did you sleep?" he said.

"Ok, I guess..." he looked away. "I hope my friends are ok," he said.

"I'm sure they're fine. I bet they're looking for you. They better be careful when swimming near shore. A soldier could spot them and..." he trailed off, not wanting to finish his sentence for Cloud's sake.

Suddenly, they heard a small, weird noise. It came from Cloud's stomach. The two chuckled as Sephiroth got up and went to get breakfast for the both of them. While he waited, he heard something and hid. But, it was only Tseng.

"Cloud, are you awake?" he whispered.

Hearing the familiar voice, Cloud surfaced and smiled.

"Awake, huh?" Tseng asked, kneeling near the edge.

"Sephiroth woke me up. He just went to get breakfast for us. By the way, what do you and the other Turks do?" Cloud asked, resting his arms on the edge and resting his head on them.

"... We do assassination missions and what else the President wants us to do. Recently..." For a moment, Cloud saw sadness in Tseng's eyes. "... Elena was murdered. She and I... we loved each other," he said, voice cracking a little.

Cloud gasped. "... How long did you two love each other?" he asked.

"Two years. Two years we were together and... she was taken from us... from me," Tseng said, turning away, determined not to show tears that were forming in his eyes.

Sephiroth happened to come in during the Turk's confession and a sad frown formed on his lips. He remembered when the Turks came back with Tseng carrying Elena's dead body. For a day, Tseng couldn't stop crying for her death. Their mission was to assassinate a drug lord in Midgar and it went wrong and it cost their 'sister's' life. Though he was killed, Elena had sacrificed herself for her lover by taking a dagger through the heart, thanks to a last ditch by the drug lord. Tseng got up and excused himself quickly before leaving the room.

Cloud and Sephiroth followed him with saddened eyes.

"He hasn't gotten over it then, huh?" Cloud asked.

Sephiroth shook his silvery mane sadly. "Thinking of her brings him nothing but pain, though he tries not to show it," he said, setting the tray of breakfast down before them.

"Reminds me when I lost my parents during the war," Cloud remembered sadly.

Sephiroth brushed the merman's hand with his own in a small gesture of comfort. "Enough with the sad times. Breakfast is ready," he said with a small smile.