Disclaimer: I think we all know how this works by now. I don't own any part of the Final Fantasy VII compilation or any characters herein except for possible OC's. Cloud's swords are fan named and are linked in my profile if you need to know which sword he's using. This story makes references to events in the compilation as well as to the story that came before it. There are also swears because that's what people tend to do from time to time.
"Vincent. You said Chaos brought you here?" Cloud said, trying to track Sephiroth as he flew away. "Should we be concerned about that?"
"Hm. I'm not sure." Vincent frowned and looked over at the mako lake. "Chaos is...different than it was before. It's able to speak now and express opinions and desires. It was sentient before, but now I believe its achieved true sapience. Its presence in my body is a choice it's making rather than a vessel that is its prison. I think...we're currently at an impasse."
Cloud gave up on trying to keep an eye on Sephiroth and turned to look at Vincent. "But if it leaves you, you'll start aging again."
"Likely, yes."
"Is there anything that can be done about that?"
Vincent sighed softly and shook his head slightly. "Not that I know of. Chaos holds my body in a state of suspension and without it, it seems I am unlocked from the river of time, which casts me swiftly downriver in an effort to catch me up to my chronological age."
"...Right." Cloud glanced at Zack before his gaze returned to Vincent. "Though maybe that only happened because Chaos was torn out of you, and if it left on its own that won't happen?"
Vincent shook his head again and turned his head to look at him. "I don't know, Cloud. There are too many unknowns and I doubt Chaos would know the answers. I thought it had left me once before after the defeat of Deepground, but found that untrue. It had simply fallen silent, weakened after defeating Omega. This situation is unique to it. I imagine being truly self-aware is a shock to it. Weiss and Nero made more of it than it was, so all that surrounds it is unknowns."
Cloud sighed, but he had no choice but to accept this answer and nodded. "Fine. We should get back to Edge, or go to Junon and help evacuate before the tidal waves hit."
"What about the people?" Zack asked. "An entire village wiped out..." He dug into his pocket and pulled out the relic crystal he had been carrying around since their stint into Deepground's Reactor 0. It seemed like it had happened years ago. "Do you think this can bring them back?"
"You're the pseudo-Cetra, you tell us." Cloud replied, though he eyed the crystal suspiciously. Without the relic it did its job a little too well.
Zack looked at the crystal, then at the mako lake before he sighed heavily and put it away again. "No, probably not." He said reluctantly. "Might end up causing something worse."
Cloud nodded slightly. "Yeah." He agreed. "In fact you should probably put that back where it belongs when we get back and we should get rid of that relic. Aerith probably meant for it to be a one time thing anyway."
"Something like this is better than a phoenix down." Zack replied, patting the pocket. "I don't think we should get rid of it. I'll put the crystal back, and then we'll keep it safe. Who knows? We might need it for something."
"...Alright." Cloud said. "For now anyway." He turned to head back to the helicopter and wait for the WRO to finish what they were doing.
"Hey Elena!" Reno greeted her cheerfully when the younger Turk walked into the Shinra building in Junon where they had all migrated to since Meteor. The building wasn't as full as it once was, but it was still where the Turks called home and would continue to do so as long as Rufus continued to employ them. "Been a while! Glad to see you back."
Elena replied to his cheerful greeting by giving him the finger, but she was smiling, her eyes dancing with mirth. Reno was like the older brother she never wanted, but the Turks were all her family as far as she was concerned. "I heard you guys found some of the old crew while I was...recuperating."
Reno looked over at Rude, the only other Turk near them and made a face before looking back at Elena. "Yeah. Found Adrian, Alex and Veld."
Elena stopped in her tracks with a squeak, but Rude shook his head.
"He declined our invitation to return." He stated.
"We've stopped looking for our old members." Reno spoke up again, tapping his electromag rod on his shoulder. He jerked his chin for Elena to join them and started walking. "There are some rumors flying around that we might be out of a job soon, yo."
"What do you mean?" Elena asked, hurrying to catch up. "I thought Shinra was going to migrate back to Eastern, try to restore Midgar?"
Reno shrugged. "Eh that might still happen, but with most of our Infantry and all the former SOLDIER now employed by Khymera Enviro, there's some talk going around that the President is going to just merge Shinra with Khymera and hand over everyone's employment to them. There ain't no way I'm workin' for that woman, so if that happens I'm out and I'm bettin' most of the Turks feel the same way."
"Maybe the merger is that they're going to get married." Elena teased.
Reno choked and Rude fussily adjusted his tie. "Why?" He said. "Did you hear something?"
Elena shook her head, but looked amused. "It would just be a best case scenario."
"You're such a girl sometimes." Reno said with an exasperated sigh, only to get punched. "Ow! What was that for?!"
"For saying 'girl' like it's a dirty word. No wonder my sister doesn't like you." Elena replied. "Anyway, what are we doing before the tidal wave hits Junon?"
"Reports think only the coast and lower level will be flooded, so we're safe here." Reno replied.
"Great." Elena said flatly. "So what are we doing? To help?"
Reno gave her a weird look. "What? Us? The Turks aren't doing a damn thing. Khymera Enviro is sending their stolen Infantry and SOLDIERs out, and I guess we're deploying what military we've got, but-"
"Never mind." Elena sped up her walk to head for the elevators. "Forget I asked."
Reno stopped and looked cluelessly at Rude. "Was it something I said?"
Rude just shrugged and Reno huffed at him, but let the topic drop. He was probably going to be out of a job soon, so Elena being huffy at him was hardly the top of his priorities.
Angeal nearly collapsed when his feet hit the ground, and it was only by sheer willpower that he kept his knees from buckling. Somehow he managed to start walking, heading into a wild growing grove of Banora apples where he finally set down his burden against the trunk of one of them. Reaching up he grabbed a couple of apples and finally allowed himself to rest, sinking down to sit against the tree as well and holding one of the apples out. "Still with me, Genesis?"
"Somehow." Genesis reached out weakly for the apple, ending up having to grasp it with both hands to keep from dropping it. His body was entirely gray and seemed to be crumbling. He took a small bite and sucked, closing his eyes in bliss as the sweet moisture quenched his parched throat. As a last meal it wasn't so bad, though he still hoped for salvation. "Thank you, Angeal. If this is where I die, then I'm glad."
"Don't talk like that. I'm going to find your Goddess cave." Angeal said. If he'd had his way he never would have come to Banora again, but Genesis claimed there was a cave that held the statue of the Goddess and he had been restored there before. Angeal didn't believe in the Goddess the way Genesis did, but he could at least take him to the cave before he passed on. Maybe things would even work the way Genesis hoped it would, and if so, Angeal swore he'd pay more attention to Genesis's ramblings about LOVELESS.
Genesis smiled thinly. "Even if you do my friend, there's no guarantee of anything." He raised a hand up toward the branches above him. "The statue was destroyed, the Goddess came but one time. She may not come again. She may not save me."
"We'll try." Angeal stated, but privately he agreed with Genesis. If he was residing only in the body of a copy, then that would imply it had been a normal person who was changed and wasn't compatible. Though... "Isn't this body a clone? I remember seeing clones of you."
"Not this one. Those clones were all killed. I had to...find alternatives." Genesis stated.
Angeal nodded slightly. "I see." He looked away and bit into the apple. He didn't know what had caused that resurrection, and he had only dim dreamlike memories of wandering Modeoheim after taking his final breath. "My copies apparently endured for years after my death." He murmured. "I don't understand why you're fading so quickly."
"It's because I'm not like you." Genesis said softly. "Dreams of the morrow hath the shattered soul. Pride is lost, wings stripped away. The end is nigh." Genesis sighed. "I'm so tired..."
"Don't sleep yet, Genesis." Angeal set down his mostly uneaten apple and moved to pick his friend up. "Come on. We're going to find that cave."
Genesis chuckled weakly. "'Come on', he says. As if I have a choice." He closed his eyes briefly, but then forced them back open, afraid that if he fell asleep it really would be for the last time. "Sometimes I wonder if the puppy emulated you more, or if you've picked up some bad habits."
"I could do worse than emulate Zack." Angeal replied, doing his best to ignore the exhaustion in his limbs so he could carry Genesis to their destination.
It wasn't an easy trek, though Genesis was able to at least point the way and Angeal carried him deep into a cave that had once had a building surrounding it. What he found there surprised him. There was indeed a crumbled statue, but behind it was what appeared to be an absolutely massive tree. Angeal couldn't see into the roof of the chamber very well, but what he could see was bathed in a greenish glow that made him think of mako, though he couldn't smell any. Practically stumbling by this time after having carried Genesis for as long as he had to even reach Banora, Angeal managed to set him down gently by the roots.
Genesis looked around and sighed tiredly. "I guess...this is it."
"Don't talk like that!" Angeal snapped. "There has to be more that can be done! What about more copies?"
Genesis chuckled softly. "Weiss made those, Angeal. I don't have the knowledge, and even if I did it took weeks. I don't have that long..."
Angeal knelt in front of him. "...Genesis..."
"Maybe the Infantryman can help..." Genesis's eyes shut. "Zack's blond friend."
"Cloud?" Cloud was half a world away at best, if he'd even gotten back out of Deepground. Angeal knew there was no hope of him reaching Edge in time, even if he hadn't already exhausted himself carrying Genesis.
"He has Sephiroth...he has the S-Cells..." Genesis's voice was growing fainter.
"You have to hang on!"
"I'm trying..."
Angeal swore softly and stood up again. Genesis was out of time and Angeal knew he could carry him no further. He didn't want to leave his friend alone in what were sure to be his last moments, but he had come back after death somehow, so maybe there was hope even if Genesis passed.
"Try to stay alive." Angeal said and turned to run back out of the cave, pushing his endurance as hard as he could. But before he left he wanted to make sure Genesis had one last thing, and he returned to him again with his arms full of Banora Whites to set down beside Genesis, placing one in his hand. Genesis gripped it weakly and smiled.
"Go Angeal. I'll try...I'll try to hang on."
"Yeah." Angeal turned and gathering his waning strength, ran out of the cave again. If there was a Goddess, then let her help him now. He had to reach help in time!
Cloud thought he was going to throw up.
Going to Icicle Inn had been bad enough, but he had managed to keep his claustrophobia at bay. The trip back though he hadn't been so lucky. The WRO had found some survivors, people who hadn't been in the village at the time or who had managed to grab a chocobo and bolt. As such the helicopter had been at maximum capacity and the cramped space had overwhelmed Cloud. It had taken all his willpower just to keep from trying to bolt.
Now off the helicopter, he knelt on the tarmac, shaking too violently to stand and gulping air.
Zack crouched beside him and put a hand on his back. "Cloud, what's up?" He asked, concerned.
"I haven't seen him this bad in years." Vincent noted. "We should have called for another transport and stayed with the surviving chocobos."
"What is it?" Zack looked at Vincent.
"Cloud's claustrophobic." Vincent stated like it should be obvious. "The last time I saw him like this was when we commandeered a submarine, I do believe."
"Man, that has to suck." Zack said. "I had no idea."
Cloud just waved it off, trying to get control of his body enough to stop shaking like a leaf in the wind and privately pretty sure this was even worse than the time on the submarine.
"Well...uh...I think our ride to Icicle Inn is refuelling and heading to Junon to help with the evacuations, so I'm going to join them and help where I can." Zack said. "You feel better soon, okay Cloud?" He looked at Vincent. "What will you be doing?"
"I'm going to get Cloud back to Tifa in one piece." Vincent said. "I wish you luck in Junon."
"Thanks." Zack threw a thumbs up. "Might just need it."
Vincent nodded slightly, remembering the headache it was evacuating Midgar and getting everyone else to shelter. Junon was even bigger than that, but they had time. Hopefully enough time.
Just as Vincent was turning away to help Cloud to his feet, Zack came hurrying back over to them.
"Oh yeah, before I forget again." Taking out the crystal, he held it out to Vincent. "Better make sure that gets back to where it came from."
Vincent nodded and pocketed it. "I will. The relic it came from should still be at Seventh Heaven.
"Cool." Zack waved and ran off.
Vincent shook his head at the boundless energy and reached out to help Cloud stand and help him over to his bike, where he let him lean.
"Thanks Vincent." Cloud said faintly after a minute or so. "I don't know why it was so bad."
"Too many people." Vincent murmured. "Engines whining, straining with the overburdened load. It was a bit nervewracking for me as well, to be honest. You did quite well."
"Thanks." Cloud was a bit surprised to hear such praise, but didn't draw attention to it. Of all of his friends, Vincent seemed to understand him the best, which was interesting since Cloud hardly understood him at all. Then again, Vincent was a former Turk and probably could read people much better than Cloud could.
"Are you well enough to drive?"
Cloud drew in a deep breath and nodded. "Yeah. I'll be fine." He turned to straddle Fenrir and looked back at Vincent. "Not going to come along?"
Vincent looked aside. "I will later." He said. "Chaos...made a decision on my behalf but then fell silent. Its behavior is strange. I need answers." He turned to look at the WRO building. "But I believe I know where to start, and I'd like to have this crystal examined before it's returned to the relic." He moved away. "Drive safe, Cloud."
"Call before you do anything drastic, Vincent!" Cloud called after him, though raising his voice made his stomach flop over. Vincent just raised his right hand in a wave of acknowledgement that he'd heard. Cloud sighed softly and pulled on his driving goggles, though he paused to look up when a helicopter flew overhead, presumably with Zack onboard. Cloud silently wished him luck, a part of him wishing he could have beaten down his claustrophobia so he could have gone with.
When Sephiroth landed at the Forgotten Capital, he told himself it was because he was tired of flying. Considering the distance he had already been flying just to get from Nibelheim to Icicle Inn, all while avoiding detection, it was a valid enough excuse. The truth however was some urge had compelled him to land, and considering that Cloud's memories were still fresh enough in his mind from his forced tenancy, he had a feeling he knew what it was. The question then was, what did the Cetra woman want with him?
The glow of the conch reflecting off the water gave him no answers, nor did the oddly luminescent trees. Sephiroth shook his wing in irritation, but he iwas/i tired and this place seemed as good as any. He smiled sardonically when he wondered if the Cetra wanted to lecture him about his former remnants defiling her precious pool once upon a time. Kadaj had indeed had a beautiful sense of irony if nothing else.
As he continued to wait and nothing happened however, he began to wonder if he had really been as compelled as he assumed, or he had come here instead just because it was beautiful. Beauty...what an abstract concept, and a poisonous notion besides. This place held nothing good for him.
He turned to the conch and almost defiantly reached out to put his hand on it, half expecting it to throw him as it had done Cloud when he had been sharing his body, but found only disappointment when nothing happened at all. He ran a gloved hand over the smooth lines almost curiously and then noticing an opening, turned to walk inside.
"You came."
The voice was quiet, but it stopped Sephiroth in his tracks and elicited a strange double reaction. Cloud's memories told him he should love the sound of that voice, while the rest of him spat that he should hate it. It confirmed his first suspicion however, and he turned slowly to behold the woman who had drawn him there.
Aerith stared back at him, head slightly tilted back so she could look him in the face and completely unperturbed by Sephiroth's glaring. She seemed perversely happy to see him, in fact. What in the names of all the summons and Genesis's beloved Goddess was wrong with this damn woman?!
"What do you want?" Sephiroth intoned at last.
Aerith did a neat little turn, her body seeming to shimmer briefly and lose consistency. When Sephiroth's eyes could focus properly again, she was facing the water.
"The Calamity is waking up."
The Calamity was what they called Jenova, and Sephiroth frowned, unsure why the confirmation didn't make him happy. "How nice of you to confirm Mother's continued existence."
"Not Jenova. The rest of them." Aerith responded. She looked back at Sephiroth. "All of them are waking up."
Unexpectedly, Sephiroth felt dread. "All of them?"
"Yes." Aerith turned fully back to him. "But now there are no more Cetra to stop them."
Sephiroth arched a brow. "And you expect me to care why?" This sounded about perfect, in fact. If he ignored the cold feeling in the pit of his gut, that was.
Aerith smiled faintly. "You have an important choice to make. The choice is entirely yours, but I hope you'll choose the Planet."
Sephiroth's lip curled slightly. "I see no reason to."
Aerith turned away again. "You know," She said. "I used to think of you like a big brother."
Oh now what was this tripe? Sephiroth gave her an exasperated look and flicked his wing in irritation. Why was he even still speaking with her?
"Before my mother and I were able to escape, we'd see you sometimes. I don't think I knew your name back then, but I could never forget you. The boy with green eyes and stained white clothes." She wrung her hands. "I don't know why Hojo let you interact with us. I guess he must have thought it was interesting, but I couldn't mind too much. It was nice to have a friend on the other side of the glass."
Sephiroth's eyes narrowed. If he cast his mind back to his childhood-a topic he tried to avoid as much as possible-he supposed he could dimly remember a brunette woman and child. He had convinced himself that he had conjured imaginary friends in an attempt to keep his sanity, but now that assumption was being proven untrue.
"Are you trying to elicit sympathy?" He asked instead, his tone carefully cold. "Should I feel sorry for you that Mother in my guise ran you through?"
Aerth shook her head. "I just wanted you to know that I remembered. It's alright if you don't, but I don't hate you. Even if you help the Quana, I'll just be sad."
Quana. Sephiroth supposed that had to be the race Jenova belonged to. An interesting tidbit, but hardly worth more than a moment's attention. "I don't particularly care how you feel." He stated, and with that proclamation, took to the air, even though he was aware too late how much it looked like running away.
