A/N: See, I told you guys it wouldn't be another two years :P

Cloud watched the eleven-year-old in silence, as he leaned against the door frame of his office; he had every right to be scared and angry, but they were stuck between a rock and a hard place. Neither group could defeat the remnants on their own, but together they might stand a chance.

However, Genesis's presence wasn't an encouraging factor. If what he claimed about the goddess was true, then things were a lot worse than they'd originally thought. He hadn't considered the three remnants as big a risk as Deepground and Sephiroth, but it looked as if he'd underestimated the trio. Cloud pushed the remnants to the back of his mind as he noticed Marlene's absence, the last thing he needed was her to be outside playing. Not only was it not safe, but Marlene tended to hear everything and keep no secrets. He didn't want her letting people know about the visitors in the bar.

"Where's Marlene?"

"Her room."

It looked like the youngster was still peeved about being reprimanded. Cloud hadn't meant to order anyone around, but he'd been having a hard enough time getting his head around things, without Denzel's constant input. The twenty-six-year-old sighed as he pushed himself away from the door frame.

"Not talking to me, huh?"

"How can you side with them? Two of the biggest lunatics this world's ever seen, and a coward who hides away when he doesn't get what he wants! Don't you remember how much he hurt you the last time - he nearly kille-"

"I know."

Everything he said was true. But he didn't have much of a choice in matters. Cloud sighed as he leaned against the window of his office. Of course he remembered, he had the scars to prove it, if it hadn't been for Aerith's healing water in the church, he mightn't be standing here now. But the remnants had also played a role in that, it had been Yazoo who'd shot him.

Denzel had already been through so much, he wasn't as innocent and naïve as other kids his age. He knew bad things happened and he knew you didn't have to be a bad person for those things to happen to you. His parents had done nothing wrong, they had been victims of collateral damage. Ruvie had done nothing wrong, she had looked after him and tried to protect him, but the stigma had killed her. Denzel had done nothing other than try to survive, but Geostigma had crept up on him too.

"What do you want me to do Denzel?"

Silence met his question, but if he was willing to constantly voice his views and join the adults in their conversations, then Cloud was going to treat him like an adult.

"We can't even figure out where the remnants are. We can't beat them by ourselves. Do you want me to tell those three that we don't need their help … if I do that, what stops them from going to help the remnants?"

"What stops them from doing that as it is?"

Nothing. Absolutely nothing apart from their words - scrap that, absolutely nothing apart from Genesis's word. Regardless, it was still something to go on. Cloud was growing more and more surprised with Denzel's quick thinking, he had picked up on a lot of good points since the three men had shown up. If he had been more like him as a kid, then maybe he would have made it into SOLDIER?

The blond shook his head, mentally berating himself for mulling over the past. He needed to tackle the matters at hand.

"I'm not going anywhere, okay? I need you to trust me, and right now I have to trust Genesis. I don't have any other choice."

He didn't like it. He didn't want to trust any of those men, but Genesis was the only guy who hadn't actually tried to kill everyone. Denzel remembered seeing posters of all the SOLDIERs in Midgar, along with the bulletins their fan clubs posted around the place; why hadn't Angeal Hewley shown up with them, at least he had been cool. Denzel remembered his Mom being a member of the Keepers of Honour. She had also been a member of Genesis's fan club at one stage, but had given up due to not having enough time to keep up with the club's reading of Loveless.

"I'd prefer to trust Angeal."

Cloud laughed lightly as he glanced at the angel statue above the street outside. At least Denzel was dealt with, but he was only one hurdle. He still had everyone else to explain things to. He doubted either Rufus or Reeve would offer to explain things, and something told him none of the others would be willing to stand still and listen while Sephiroth, Weiss or Genesis explained.

That left him as the only viable mediator. He dreaded to think how Tifa would react to this, she had always told him that Seventh Heaven was an open house for those in need, but he doubted she'd accept that as an explanation for the men downstairs.

"I think we've enough SOLDIERs to deal with … Tifa's gonna kill me."

He barely had enough time to close the kitchen door behind before her silent resolve broke.

"Get them out of my house, now!"

This wasn't exactly how he'd pictured this going. He had expected her to object the moment she saw Genesis and the other two standing in the bar, she had frozen alright, along with the others who'd been with her. A few had jumped for their weapons, with the others looking around for the tell-tale signs of a fight. But there hadn't been any. Their initial fighting thoughts had quickly given way to extreme confusion upon seeing him, Rufus and Reeve sitting down and standing around the bar with no weapons and no injuries.

He had expected Tifa to demand an answer then and there, but she had quietly asked where Denzel and Marlene were before nodding at his answer and walking past him. The look she had given him on the way through the bar had said enough: we need to talk, now. He'd seen her angry before, livid even, but the fierce glare in her eyes and harsh line of her mouth told him she was beyond that now.

"Tifa … I need to explain."

What was there to explain? Sephiroth had killed her father, killed Cloud's mother, burned Nibelheim to its foundations, murdered Aerith, destroyed Midgar and had killed countless others with Geostigma. It had only been two years since Weiss and his Tsviets had awoken Omega. As for Genesis - she didn't know much about him, but she was sure he'd done something bad enough to warrant her hating him. He was a SOLDIER after all, they all seemed to enjoy a common pastime; killing people.

The planet was still recovering from Deepground's attack, families were still piecing their lives back together. She couldn't understand why they were here - surely Cloud and the others would have fought them off? Tifa ignored the small voice in the back of her head, undermining her adamant thoughts; could Cloud, Rufus and Reeve have survived if the three men had attacked? What if they'd hurt Denzel and Marlene? She wasn't willing to put her family in jeopardy.

"I don't want to know - just get them out of here, get them away from everyone!"

It fell on this his shoulders again. Everyone turned to him for answers. They all turned to him when a plan was needed and they all ran to him when a fight was coming. Even if he wanted to, Cloud doubted he would stand a chance on his own against the three, but it didn't stop her and everyone else expecting that of him. He hated two of them with an undying vengeance, the third he wasn't sure about, but for once in a long time, they had some genuine help.

They had been left on their own to deal with Sephiroth, along with the remnants the first time around and then the WRO had helped with Deepground. They had a self-destructing problem on their hands again, and for once some outside help had shown up. Cloud could never bring himself to trust Sephiroth or Weiss, but he wasn't about to dismiss any of their skills or powers.

"You think it's as simple as just asking them to leave?"

The barmaid blinked as she registered her friend's sarcastic tone. It wasn't like him to be sarcastic, even when times called for it, he generally just walked away from those situations. Why hadn't he kicked those men out or at least done something? How long had they been here? In her bar - her home. Sephiroth had already taken away Nibelheim, she couldn't let him take away this home too. How could Cloud stand there and not do anything? Was Sephiroth or Jenova playing mind games with him again?

Tifa forced back hot tears as she walked towards her friend, trying desperately to notice a change; a distanced look in his eyes, a vacant glance - something to justify this. The last time he had been used as a puppet, he had handed Sephiroth the materia he'd needed to summon Meteor, and then he'd almost hurt Aerith … had she lost her friend again?

"They just showed up. They've been trailing the remnants, they tried to deal with them on their own and failed … the remnants are acting on Jenova's behalf, not Sephiroth's, they w-"

A sharp pain across his cheek stopped him mid-explanation. Cloud stared at the floor for several seconds before looking back up to meet Tifa's eyes. He had expected the anger, the hurt, the fear, but he hadn't expected that. In all the years they had known each other, never once had either of them hit the other outside of a battle, there had been instances where a foe had used confusion in a battle, but they had never hurt each other intentionally. His cheek stung, but the pain was nothing compared to what he had gone through before. She didn't trust him anymore, he could see it in her eyes and it hurt a lot more than her slap.

"Tifa."

She hadn't meant to do that, it had just happened. In the seconds it had taken him to look back up, she had been bracing herself for a blow back … Cloud would never hit her, he'd always promised to protect her, but how could she believe that after seeing those three in her bar? Tifa swallowed past the lump in her throat as she spoke.

"No. You don't get to stand here in my home and defend him. No, Cloud."

"Papa!"

Barrett quickly changed his gun back to a hand and he stooped to pick up Marlene as she ran into the bar; she was safe, Spikey hadn't been lying. Barely a word had been spoken since Tifa and Cloud had left, he could have sworn he'd heard the barmaid's raised voice a time or two, but no one within the bar had decided to go and investigate. Why were they here, were they delivering a message or threat from the remnants?

Were they what the remnants were now? The last time the youngest remnant had turned himself into Sephiroth - had the other two had makeovers this time too? It didn't explain Spikey's lack of action, or excuse Reeve and Rufus either. They had just been sitting here with those three, not a care or doubt in mind - why?

"They're here to help - they don't like the remnants either - they want to help you get rid of them."

It had been left to a child to point out the obvious yet again. Genesis smirked as Marlene informed the bar of their intentions, the clever child had also effectively disarmed her father. He couldn't help but wonder if she and Denzel had planned this, considering their inquisitive and perceptive queries earlier, he suspected there was more to the duo than their innocent looks and naive questions.

He had made an agreement with Sephiroth and Weiss to allow him to do whatever speaking was necessary. He had done the least amount of harm in the past, so therefore he was the one people wouldn't feel as threatened by. However, he hadn't banked on Reeve and Rufus keeping their mouths shut too, nor had he expected Cloud to get towed out of the middle.

He had no doubt the blond was being interrogated elsewhere, something told him the woman who had collared Cloud wasn't a push-over. Neither were any of the people standing in the bar now; he had spotted several guns, an electro-magnetic rod, and some more guns the moment they'd all froze upon noticing him and the others.

Genesis nodded as Rufus picked up where the young girl had left off.

"She's telling the truth. Genesis, Sephiroth and Weiss have tried to deal with the remnants on their own and failed. We have failed also - the next logical step is t-"

"Hell no - we spent long enough chasing this fucker around the planet, tryin' to get rid of him - and now you want to logically go and play team-mates?"

"You want to go do the same with the remnants? Wait, where are they again?"

Now he had their attention. Genesis doubted any of them, besides the Turks, would know who he was. Apparently ShinRa had destroyed a lot of his information when he'd defected. They could take the time to delete his information, but yet overlook Deepground? Granted, not many within the company had been privy to the knowledge of Deepground, but the higher ups certainly had. It wasn't much use musing over their incompetence now, it wouldn't get him very far in this popularity contest.

He wished he had a better explanation for where he'd been all along, or why he was suddenly here to help. For some reason I was a sleep and now I woke up, just didn't have the reassuring ring he was looking for, it made him look like he was narcoleptic. Genesis knew Angeal was laughing his butt off, wherever the man was. All the years he'd spent lecturing them about their SOLDIER honour and dreams, and here they were trying to justify their past actions and cling on to that honour.

"Laugh it up Angeal … you don't like us, we're not the biggest fans of you either, but we're not here to cause trouble. The very fact that we're standing here unarmed, while you all jumped for the nearest weapons should prove that."

Genesis noticed several of their grips loosen on guns, they could still draw them if they wanted, but it was a step in the right direction.

"What do you really want?"

The low voice had come from the black-haired man with the red cape. He'd ask about their names later, he'd been the owner of the gun Genesis had been paying the most attention to. He had already exhausted the 'we're here to help' line, it had been thrown out there twice for the bar already and they weren't biting, it was an honest answer, but they were more concerned with personal agendas.

"I caused a lot of trouble within ShinRa before I disappeared, because of it, the Goddess made allowed me to sleep until the planet would need my help."

The ex-SOLDIER glanced to the two men alongside him, shrugging as Weiss took the initiative to pick up where he had left off.

"I want to avenge my brother - Hojo had control of me… the Jenova project and everything related to it, including the remnants are his doing."

Several silent seconds ticked by as eyes rested on the third and final person, awaiting his attempt at an explanation. All waiting to shoot down any word of an apology he might make.

"Redemption … that's all I want, I will do anything it takes to get that. I am no longer under Jenova's influence, or my own insanity. I won't insult you with apologies or explanations, but I will offer you my skills and help."

"What do you want me to do, Teef? Tell them that we don't need their help? Tell them that we can handle this? The only reason Genesis is back, is because we can't deal with the remnants. The Goddess only woke him because the planet needs all the help it can get this time."

It had needed it all along. She assumed Genesis was the one with the red coat. Cloud was speaking as if he knew exactly what was going on - how long had they been in her bar? Tifa shook her head as she stepped away from her friend, she couldn't keep listening to him defending the man who had destroyed their hometown. He was a murderer, so was Weiss.

"The Goddesss - and you believe that?"

He hated the sarcastic tone her voice took one. She wasn't one to get sarcastic, upset, angry, teasing even, but not bitter and sarcastic. Cloud held her glare as he spoke honestly.

"As much as I believe that Aerith helped us during Geostigma."

"You're using that card? Are you serious - he's the one who murdered her, Cloud!"

Cloud groaned as Tifa stood at the other side of the kitchen table, her eyes demanding his come-back. He was getting nowhere, and he wasn't going to either. She was upset, shocked and hurt - but above all that, she was being stubborn. Just like when they had been kids, once she got a notion in her head, she wouldn't let it go. They had her stubbornness to thank for their fall from the bridge in Mt. Nibel, and he had it to thank for the angered threats he'd received from her father back then.

"Why d'you always have to be so stubborn?"

She felt her anger rise as his words met her ears - stubborn? She was the one who always had to hold everything together. She was the one who looked after Marlene and Denzel, she was the one who had looked after his business when he'd gone on the missing list during the remnants first appearance. He was the one who took an age to get over things. He was the one who had always thought himself better than the other kids - he was the stubborn one.

"You always thought you better than everyone else - you ran off to go play SOLDIER!"

Cloud slammed his hands down on the edge of the kitchen table, mirroring Tifa's stance, glaring at her as he spat out his answer.

"I only did that to impress y-"

"Why're you arguing about when you were kids?"

They had been too busy shouting to notice him open the door. Denzel looked from Cloud to Tifa as he pushed the door shut behind him; he didn't like it when they argued. He didn't want Cloud to move out again. At least if he was there, they'd stop arguing and might listen to each other. He had been angry at Cloud too, albeit moreover for getting told to leave the bar than anything else, but he hadn't done anything wrong.

"Denzel, go back upstairs."

"Why? Coz there's three SOLDIERs in the bar - is Weiss technically a SOLDIER? I'm just gonna call him one anyhow."

The eleven-year-old's constant input may have irked him earlier, but Cloud was finding it difficult to keep an amused smile from his face as the boy shrugged and sat down at the table, picking a chair mid-way between himself and Tifa.

"Marlene's with her Dad in the bar, they were all just staring at each other, so she broke the ice."

Tifa took a breath to say something to the boy, but found herself unable to form words. Why had she and Cloud been arguing about their childhoods? It had absolutely nothing to do with the men standing in her bar. Her slap had done nothing but stun the blond, she'd wanted to actually hurt him, so throwing about his past had seemed like the easiest way to achieve that.

"Just get them out-"

"But then they could turn around and help the remnants out of spite. Cloud didn't invite them here, they just showed up. The remnants already beat them, and they beat you guys, so maybe you can all beat them together? I know what everyone thinks, but Sephiroth and Weiss have barely said two words, they're not here to hurt anyone, Tifa. I think they want to do something to fix the bad they've done - like how Vincent thought he had to fix things he'd let happen years ago - and how Cloud thought he had to fix things he'd let happen to Zack and Aerith. If Cloud was allowed to make things right, then why can't these guys try to makeup for what they've done?"

"I'll make this a bit easier; ShinRa accepts your offer."

Rufus smirked smugly as his Turks separated from the larger group, making their way across the bar to stand behind him. He ignored several of Reno's muttered swears as he waited for silence to fall once more. Many of the Turks who had broken away when Tseng had eliminated Veld, had since returned to the company following Deepground's attack; none within the Turks could cast judgement on the three men standing before him. The Turks had done their fair share of dirty deeds in the past - point of principle, Reno had carried out the order for the collapse of Sector Seven, killing thousands of innocent people .

The company owner frowned as he stopped mid thought - that approach could work to win over some of the others. He understood their wariness and anger, but the three men weren't here to harm or hinder, they were here to help. Several of them had been swayed by Genesis's words, he just needed to finish the persuasion. The young man glanced back as Reno let rip another string of swears.

"I heard that. You're quick to judge - what was the approximate death-toll of Sector Seven again?"

Rufus raised an eyebrow in the red-head's direction before turning to face the rest of the bar.

"Look at the facts; ShinRa was once your adversary. Cait Sith and Reeve were tasked with spying on you all, and Yuffie had an affinity for stealing your belongings in the past."

"She still does."

Cid's muttered comment gained him an elbow to the ribcage from the petite ninja. Yuffie stuck her tongue out as she pushed past the gruff pilot. She eyed Rufus and his Turks, before glancing over to the three SOLDIERs. Rufus had a good point, especially where Sector Seven was concerned. None of them openly blamed Reno for it, he had been following orders after all, but she understood the point it made.

She had been forced to grow up a lot in the two years since Deepground's attack. Her father had been tasking her with more and more official duties, it had made her realise that sometimes you had to look at the larger picture, not just the small pieces that constituted it. She turned her attention to the one man she didn't recognise - one of the words he'd said rang faint bells of recognition in her mind.

"You said 'Angeal' - who's he?"

Genesis frowned as he glanced up, he hadn't thought anyone had heard that, he'd barely mumbled the comment. He would have to learn to watch his words around this girl, something told him she wasn't one to be fooled easily. Why would Angeal's name interest her though, he doubted Rufus had made SOLDIERs' past members open knowledge to the population.

She seemed far too young to remember SOLDIER at its height. Although, she looked like she was from Wutai, Angeal had been on a mission in Wutai when Genesis had persuaded him to leave SOLDIER.

"Angeal Hewley, he was Zack Fair's mentor … and an old friend of mine and Sephiroth's."

That was where she'd heard the name - Zack. She had only been around eight or nine when Fort Tamblin had been raided by SOLDIER, but she vividly remembered her battle with Zack, if only for the embarrassment it caused her today. The poor guy must have thought he'd run into the village idiot when she had loudly announced her heritage, along with how she was going to defeat him. But he had played along where other SOLDIERs would have struck her down … if Angeal had been his mentor, that meant Zack had been influenced by the man.

"Okay … I give one chance, please don't make me regret it."

"Yuffie."

Yuffie shrugged as she strolled over to stand alongside Reeve, Rufus and his Turks, ignoring Vincent's warning tone. She knew she was putting a lot on the line - she was heir to the throne in Wutai, by trusting these men, she could be putting her people at risk. But Zack had obviously had an amazing teacher - anyone else would have killed a meddling and annoying little brat, especially during a raid on a stronghold. Something told her she could afford to trust these men.

"I know. But I'm trusting my head here, and it says we need to trust them."

A/N: It's a little longer than the last chapter, but I wanted to try and cover everyone's reaction, let me know what you guys thought and thanks for sticking by this despite my sporadic updates :)