Final Fantasy VII: Another Side

By:

Mystwalker

Disclaimer: I don't own Final Fantasy VII or any of its characters.

A/N: This is the last part of File 001. The story will follow the main game up to a certain point, and then it's going to break away. It'll have some changes, obviously, but only a handful of drastic changes to the plot for a while. The final scene was written to The Price of Freedom playing in the background, if you want to play that and read the scene at the same time. Enjoy!

Ninja-Yuffie92 – Thanks! Glad you liked it and found it interesting! Hope you like this chapter!

LittleMissMuddle – I'm glad you like the concept! Thanks for your review! About Jenova, she's going to figure into the plot a lot in later chapters, but you're right about her effect on Sephiroth. A constant headache and white noise. Maybe she'll become a little harder to fight after a certain event that's going to happen later on, but that option's pretty much closed to her. Fortunately for her, though, she has other choices.

Blooming Delirium – You'll get the last bits of the Nibelheim Incident in this chapter and in the next File. Cissnei's role in what happened will also be explained a bit. As for there being any other Turks in on this, at the moment, it's just her and maybe some NPCs. I'm glad you like what I did with Nibelheim, and thanks for your support with this story!

X

File 001: SOLDIER Honor

"I have 23 tiny little wishes, but you probably won't remember them all, so I'll combine them into one. I'd like to spend more time with you…"

Aerith…

Zack stared at the letter in his hands, his fingers curling protectively around it. He lowered his head, feeling a knot form in his throat as he remembered her, his memories suddenly becoming so vivid he thought he could almost touch her. Her voice, her eyes, the smell of flowers that hung around her…

How long had it been? Was she still waiting for him?

His next thought as he put the letter back into his pocket was that Tseng better have kept his promise to keep her safe.

"Cloud…I have to go to Midgar," he said, turning towards his friend. Cloud, of course, didn't say anything. He continued to stare ahead, dressed in the SOLDIER 1st Class uniform that Zack had found for him. Zack smiled, leaning forward.

"You wanna come?" he asked, grinning.

X

The chopper—predictably—crashed. Thankfully, Cissnei was enough of a Turk to keep the damage and the noise to a minimum. He set her down on the ground beside the wreckage, pulling his black wing back against itself. It disappeared in a rain of feathers, going wherever it went when he had no need of it. Cissnei placed a hand on her head and shook it, before getting to her feet.

"Thanks," she said.

He nodded in reply, sweeping aside the black feathers on the ground with his boot as he turned to face the wreckage. He didn't need the reminder that he was less than human, even if they would be in a worse condition without it. She turned as well, hugging her arms.

"Not…what I expected," she said.

"Still better than it could have been," he said.

"Mm, I suppose," said Cissnei. "It carried us far enough, at least."

He nodded. They were in the Nibel Plains, which, while not quite Nibelheim, were close enough. Zack would have at least been able to escape this far, unless the experiments had impaired him that much. As far as they knew, no SOLDIERs had been dispatched to deal with the situation.

Cissnei moved forward, towards the wrecked helicopter. The door had been pulled off most of its supports. She pulled it aside with a grunt of effort, pushing it to the ground with a clang before reaching inside and pulling something out from underneath one of the seats. He observed from a distance as she turned it over, inspecting the inside. It was a Shinra army helmet, still relatively intact. She swept aside her hair and placed it on her head, pressing the buttons that he knew would activate the features that allowed the user to zoom in on distant objects. She looked around. After a few moments, Cissnei pulled it off, tucking it under her arm.

"It still works," she said, answering his unvoiced question. "I'll scout ahead. Try to stay out of sight."

Sephiroth nodded again. Although he knew that he could easily handle any number of Shinra grunts that came after them, it would be inconvenient to have to deal with them and look for Zack at the same time. He waited in the shadow of the wreckage, leaning against the metal as he waited for her to come back. Sephiroth looked out at the plains, his eyes focusing on the black feathers that littered the ground around the wreckage.

Nibelheim. He knew it was inevitable, but he didn't think he'd be back here like this.

"Genesis!"

He didn't shout so much as project his voice, pitching it to carry the same way he would have if he were giving orders on a battlefield. It bounced off the metal walls of the Nibelheim reactor, though, making it seem louder than it actually was. Genesis stood at the top of the steps in front of the now-open door, turning towards him with a smirk on his face. He held the Rapier in his right hand, the runes on the blade glowing brightly. The degradation had turned his hair a mix of auburn and white, gray spreading down his shoulders and over his clothes. On the landing in between the two flights of stairs lay their guide up the mountain, curled up on one side, her fists clenched.

"Sephiroth, how nice of you to join me," he said. "Have you reconsidered my request?"

Go to hell.

The words were on the tip of his tongue, but he didn't say anything, his eyes narrowing dangerously. Genesis glared at him.

"No?" he asked. "Too bad."

He turned around heading into the chamber. His words bounced off the walls as he held up the dumbapple in his left hand. "My soul, corrupted by vengeance / Hath endured torment, to find the end of the journey / In my own salvation / And your eternal slumber…"

He grit his teeth, tightening his hold on Masamune as he ran up the steps, following Genesis into the chamber.

He opened his eyes to the sound of soft footsteps on the grass. Cissnei walked towards him, the Shinra helmet resting on her head. She frowned, pulling the helmet off and setting it down on the ground before sitting beside him.

"He's alive," she said. "The second experiment's with him. He seems to be suffering from severe mako poisoning. I couldn't get close enough to know for sure. Zack mistook me for a Shinra infantryman and shot at me with a sniper rifle."

"Are you alright?" he asked.

"I'm fine," she said. "Zack's a terrible shot."

"Hn," he said in response, turning his head slightly to look at the crest of the hill. A lighthouse stood in the distance, a beacon of bright light wheeling over their heads. "You lost them?"

"The last I saw, they were stealing a Shinra motorcycle and preparing to leave," said Cissnei. "He was heading towards the highway."

"He's heading to Midgar," said Sephiroth.

"Probably," agreed Cissnei, nodding. "Aerith is there, after all."

"Was that her name?" asked Sephiroth. He knew that Zack was seeing somebody in the slums. It was the talk of the SOLDIER floor for weeks. He had never bothered to ask about her, though, believing that Zack's personal life wasn't relevant. He regretted it now. Knowing where she lived would give him some idea as to where Zack was going. Cissnei nodded.

"Aerith Gainsborough," she said. "We had her under surveillance for some time. She lives in the Sector 5 slums."

He looked up. "Surveillance?" he asked, surprised. "Why?"

She wrapped her arms around her knees. "I suppose it doesn't matter now," she said. "Aerith is an Ancient. The last one. She escaped from the company's laboratory with her mother as a child and was adopted by a woman in the slums."

Ancient. Not a word he wanted to hear at the moment. He frowned, remembering what he had read in Shinra Mansion. Was this Aerith girl of the same race as Jenova, then?

"The mother?" he asked.

Cissnei shook her head sadly. "The company found her dead on the train platform. It was fourteen years ago, about eight years before I joined the Turks."

He looked at her. Cissnei could be no older than twenty or twenty-one, and yet she claimed to have been a Turk for six years? Just how old had she been when she joined? She looked up at him, noticing his expression. Cissnei smiled slightly.

"I was fourteen when I joined," she said, looking away. "The youngest person to ever successfully join the Turks." Cissnei shook her head, as if trying to rid herself of a bad memory. He kept silent, not asking her any questions. The information wasn't relevant to him. There was no point in upsetting her. She tilted her head back, looking up at the sky. "…In any case, we need to move," she said. "The Turks will be in the area soon, if they aren't already. And Midgar's crawling with troops."

He nodded, getting up. "We'll need another mode of transportation," he said.

"That shouldn't be a problem," said Cissnei, getting up as well. "I have another contact around the Gold Saucer area. But…" She folded her arms and turned towards him, frowning. "…to get there…"

He looked at her, realizing what she was asking. Slowly, he nodded, his black wing extending again.

X

The car ran through the wasteland, kicking up a cloud of dust in its wake. Sephiroth glanced over at Cissnei, who was sitting in the passenger's seat, staring down at the GPS in her hand. They had picked up Zack's trail again outside Gongaga. "How much farther?" he asked.

"A few more miles," said Cissnei without looking up. "If you keep going straight, this should lead us to the ridge overlooking the city. Hopefully we won't run into any patrols." Even as she said it, she placed one hand on Rekka, as if reassuring herself that the weapon was there. Sephiroth nodded, turning back towards the road. If they did run into patrols, they would have to fight them. There wasn't any other way.

A figure suddenly dropped down in front of them. Sephiroth's eyes narrowed and he slammed on the brakes, turning the wheels so that the car skidded to a stop. He opened the door, jumping out before the car stopped completely. Sephiroth reached up, pulling Masamune from his back and pointing it at the figure. Cissnei got out of the car as well—he heard her footsteps behind him and the sound of metal against cloth as she pulled Rekka free.

Genesis smirked at them, standing in the middle of the wasteland. He held his Rapier in his hand, the blade pointing towards the ground. He was dressed in his usual red leather coat, his reddish-brown hair half-covering one of his eyes.

There were no signs of degradation.

His eyes widened. Genesis smirked. "Surprised?" he asked, taking a step forward. "I don't need your cells anymore, old friend. Why would I need a copy's cells when I could acquire the real thing?"

Jenova. He clenched his teeth as white hot pain suddenly shot through his head, accompanied by a jumble of images and memories. Shinra Mansion's basement, the reactor, Jenova's body behind the doll, Genesis falling backwards, slipping just out of reach…

He held Masamune with both hands, raising it up and pointing the blade at Genesis. From beside him, Cissnei ran forward, swinging one of Rekka's points at Genesis. He raised his sword to block her, the shuriken striking the Rapier's blade. Cissnei jumped back as Genesis moved to strike, flipping over in the air and landing on her feet.

"Stay out of this," said Genesis, smirking at her. "I'll have my copies keep you company."

Gunfire rang through the air as two winged Genesis copies appeared. Cissnei jumped back, her eyes narrowing as she threw Rekka at one of them, rolling to the side as the second shot at her. The shuriken slashed the copy in the side as it dodged, and Cissnei reached up from her crouched position, catching it as it returned to her. She ran out of the way of another attack, jumping into the air and charging at the copy she had already injured.

Sephiroth raised Masamune to block Genesis as he ran towards him, blocking all of his strikes with ease. He jumped back, twisting his body around as Genesis thrust forward with the Rapier, its deep red blade passing just an inch from his torso. He swung Masamune with his left hand, aiming for Genesis's head. Genesis quickly jerked away, bringing the Rapier up for an upward slash. Sephiroth jumped back to avoid the attack. Genesis swung his free hand around, fire coating his fingertips as it raced towards Sephiroth. He blocked the flames with his blade, jumping into the air.

The wind whipped around him as he rose. Genesis rose up to meet him, extending his wing and propelling himself through the air with a flap. Sephiroth spun sharply to avoid the thrust, his own wing extending again as he pulled away from Genesis, then rushed forward from the side with an attack of his own. Genesis blocked it with his sword, the two of them falling to the ground together. Sephiroth looked up over the clash of blades, meeting Genesis's eyes.

Genesis swung his Rapier, breaking the stalemate between them. Sephiroth jumped back, landing on the black metal floor of the chamber just beyond the reactor. His friend rushed forward again, his mako blue eyes wide and crazed as he stabbed his sword through the air. Sephiroth blocked it, the sound of steel on steel ringing through the chamber.

"Sephiroth!"

He barely looked up at the sound, seeing Zack entering the chamber. The dark-haired 1st stopped, his eyes widening as he saw the battle in front of him. "Genesis…" he said, understanding dawning in his eyes. Sephiroth quickly pushed back against Genesis, causing him to lose his balance and sending him stumbling towards Zack. Zack looked up at him, a conflicted look on his face for a moment before he nodded, pulling his Buster Sword from his back…

The two of them landed on the ground, the force of the impact sending them skidding apart. Genesis ran towards him, exchanging another volley of strikes and parries. There was something different about Genesis, besides the lack of degradation. He seemed stronger somehow. Sephiroth heard a crash coming from Cissnei's fight, but he couldn't spare her a glance. He grabbed the sword with both hands and swung, steel ringing on steel as Masamune drove Genesis back. He jumped back, his red cloak fluttering around him as he landed on the ground.

Sephiroth leaped forward, taking his chance. Genesis's eyes narrowed and he leapt into the air, spreading his wing and hovering in place as he stared down at Sephiroth. He glanced at something in the distance, then smirked.

"You'll need to hurry, if you're planning to save the puppy," he said.

He flapped his wing once, sending him shooting into the sky. Sephiroth spread his wing, about to take off after him.

"Sephiroth, wait!" said Cissnei.

He turned towards her. She was shaking out her left hand, Rekka impaled on the ground about a foot from her. The two Genesis copies were lying around her, green light surrounding them as they faded away. Her eyes were wide. He froze, realizing why.

The copies were dead, their guns lying on the ground beside them. But gunfire still rang from somewhere in the wasteland.

X

The Shinra infantrymen raised their guns. Zack barely felt the hits now; they just blended in with everything else. He clenched his teeth, holding tightly to his Buster Sword as he charged forward. He shouted out a battle cry, slashing the sword downwards. Three more infantrymen fell as he spun around, trailing blood in a half circle around him as he slashed at two more. It wasn't enough. They just kept coming. He stumbled back against the shots, letting out a grunt of pain.

Not yet…he thought to himself. I can't die yet…

Aerith's face entered his mind again, her voice washing over him in a flash. He closed his eyes briefly and took in a breath, feeling a tingling feeling wash over him and heal some of his wounds. It wasn't enough, but it kept him standing a little while longer. He rushed forward, letting out a shout as he placed his sword at his back. He remembered Angeal as he neared the next infantryman, punching him squarely in the face. He ran through a series of punches and kicks that Angeal taught him, three more infantrymen falling to the ground before he grabbed his sword. Zack straightened up, remembering Sephiroth as the Buster Sword fell in eight quick slashes, killing another one.

The field was strewn with bodies, but it was only three-fourths of their number. There were still enough of them standing in front of him, guns pointed at him. Bullets flew over his head and against the Buster Sword's blade, a few of them sinking into his skin. He thought of Cloud, lying on the ground with mako poisoning, and about how he needed to save him. It gave him a little more strength as he jumped into the air, spinning the Buster Sword overhead. Rocks fell down, slamming into the infantrymen.

There were still more of them. He groaned as they shot at him, swinging his sword to kill another one of them. Blood dripped down his arms and into his gloves. He wasn't sure if it was his or not anymore. He could feel the life slipping from him with every breath—his mako-enhanced body the only thing keeping him alive at the moment. He stared at the army in front of him and did a quick headcount before raising his sword up, rushing at them.

Aerith…he thought, closing his eyes for just one moment as he thought of her. …I'm sorry.

The sound of steel rang through the air, the Shinra infantrymen on either side of him suddenly falling to the ground. Zack's eyes widened and he turned his head. Sephiroth and Cissnei came into view, Sephiroth coming in from his right and Cissnei from his left. Sephiroth swung Masamune through the air effortlessly, taking out a handful of grunts. From his left, Cissnei spun around, artfully dodging a hail of bullets as she manipulated a spinning Rekka around her body. The two of them crossed paths, cutting through the remaining soldiers easily as they crisscrossed across the field.

He fell to his knees, his strength spent as the last infantryman fell at Sephiroth's hands. The silver-haired SOLDIER flicked his blade, the blood flying off Masamune in a line. He ran over to Zack just as Zack fell backwards, placing Masamune on the ground and catching Zack with one arm. Zack leaned back and realized belatedly that a green light was surrounding Sephiroth's free hand. A Curaga Materia?

"You're…a little late there, Sephiroth," he said, grinning as he looked up. Sephiroth faded in and out of focus for a moment.

"We would have come on time, if you could take a normal route to Midgar," he said, frowning at Zack as he continued his work.

Zack let out a short laugh. "Where's the fun in that?" he asked, then hissed in pain as some of the bullet wounds made themselves known.

He turned his head slightly to the side to see Cissnei bending over Cloud, checking his pulse quickly. "Hey, Cissnei," he said, grinning. "Long time no see."

"Stop moving," snapped Sephiroth. "You're making this harder than it has to be."

Cissnei looked up, smiling at him. There was relief in her eyes, and worry. Zack saw her glance at his injuries for a moment. "Hi, Zack," she said. "Don't worry us like that again." She looked around the battlefield, then turned to Sephiroth. "We need to get out of here," she said.

"Understood," replied Sephiroth smoothly. Cissnei ran off, out of his field of vision. Zack turned his head to follow her, but was stopped by both a sudden stab of pain and an impatient glare from Sephiroth. A few moments later, he heard a motor running. A car pulled into his view and Cissnei got out of the driver's seat, running forward and holding on to his legs.

"Do you have him?" asked Cissnei.

"Mm," said Sephiroth, shifting around to hold him under the arms. Zack braced himself as the two of them lifted him, and managed to only grimace in pain as the two of them maneuvered him into the backseat of the car. Sephiroth got in beside him, continuing his healing. Zack extended a hand towards the Buster Sword on the ground.

"My…sword," he said.

Cissnei walked over to it and picked it up. It was too heavy for her to lift; she had to use both hands to do it. Zack watched as she placed it in the trunk of the car, and only when the lid was shut did he relax. As he watched, the front door opened, and Cissnei helped Cloud in, strapping him in. Cloud's head lolled forward. As always, his eyes were open, but there was no response. Cissnei ran around and got into the driver's seat, buckling herself in.

"We're in a hurry," she said, starting the car. She turned around to face him, smiling apologetically. "Sorry, Zack. It's going to be a rough ride."

"I'll manage," he said through clenched teeth. Cissnei nodded, and didn't give him any warning as she slammed on the accelerator, sending the car screeching away from the battlefield.

END FILE