CHAPTER 3:

VESTIGES OF HARRY POTTER

It was hard of Vert to think of himself as Harry Potter nowadays. So thorough had been Shinra's attempts at brainwashing, and so desperate he was to get rid of the pain and anger from being Harry Potter, that he embraced a new identity with fervour, believing it to be able to give himself a fresh start. It hadn't worked, not entirely, but there were times when he was able to delude himself to that effect.

Still, one thing that was left over was his 'saving people thing'. Dear Hermione, opinionated, bossy, know-it-all Hermione. Merlin, he missed her. He missed them all, but Hermione caused an even worse pang in his heart. And Sirius. The man he had saved from falling into the Veil, only to fall into it in his turn. What had happened to them? And could he ever go back?

He dismissed those thoughts. To dwell on the past was futile, especially if he couldn't go back home. Instead, he needed to focus on the present. He looked at his new travelling companions as they stood outside the boundary gate of Midgar, having escaped from Shinra HQ, and fought off pursuers. They had done so without sticking around to wait for Rufus to arrive.

There was his dear little sister, Shelke Rui, aka Shelke the Transparent. People thought of her as emotionless, but in truth, nowadays, she was merely highly reserved. There was Tifa, dark-haired, kind, rambunctious, and with a prodigious bust. There was Barrett, dark-skinned and hot-tempered, the former leader of AVALANCHE with a gun replacing his right arm. There was Red XIII, a creature who resembled a flame-coloured mountain lion with a Mohawk, a scarred-over eye, and various beads and feathers decorating said Mohawk, and with the ability to speak like a person. There was the calm and collected Cloud, with prodigiously-spiky blonde hair, and blue eyes shining with Mako infusion. But, despite what he believed, he wasn't actually in SOLDIER. He still wielded that Buster Sword like he had been, though.

And finally, there was Aerith. Brown hair framing a gentle face, and with green emerald eyes so much like his own. Gentle, and yet, hiding both an inner strength and an impish sense of humour that wouldn't be out of place in the Marauders. The last of the Cetra, save for himself. And he came from another world.

He looked up at the sky. So long he had spent in Deepground, he had almost forgotten what it looked like. His dark-tinted glasses weren't for show, either. Deepground's processes had corrected his eyesight so he didn't need glasses, but he was now rather sensitive to light. Given that they had all but turned him into a lifeforce vampire, albeit one able to transfer lifeforce between people, he found the irony bitterly appealing.

"We've got to split up," Barrett mused. "We'll meet at Kalm, to the northeast. I wanna hear what Cloud has to say about Sephiroth, and what these two former Shinra goons have to do with Aerith. I don't trust you."

"Understandable. We were part of SOLDIER, and of Deepground, a section of SOLDIER so secret, even other members of SOLDIER may not have heard of it," Vert said. "Shelke and I will travel with you, if you wish, and Cloud can escort the ladies and Red XIII."

"Actually, can I travel with you?" Aerith asked.

Cloud and Tifa acceded to this, the former more reluctantly than the latter. And they were soon traipsing towards Kalm.

As they began walking, Barrett looked over at Shelke and Vert. "So what's this Deepground place anyway?"

"One of Shinra's dirtier secrets," Vert said. "As I said, it was a top-secret wing of SOLDIER. That being said, save for Shelke and myself, it no longer exists. Aerith was brought down into Deepground by Hojo because she and I are of the same blood."

"The Ancients," Barrett said, nodding. Impulsive and bullheaded though he was, he was also not a fool. "So that creep Hojo wanted to breed you?"

"Indeed. I would, but more for the sake of continuing our people than for Hojo's sickening ambitions," Vert said. "And I would understand if Aerith wanted to do so with someone else, someone she felt affection for." He noticed Aerith smiling in both relief and gratitude. "Being a Cetra is really just a human with extra abilities, and no matter who our chosen mates are, odds are that our children would be Cetra. However, I still intend to guide her. The world is in danger, and from more than just Shinra's predations."

"So what did you do to her? I can see her damn eyes, she's got that weird glow that SOLDIER has."

"Mako infusion. Mild Mako infusion, just enough to wake up her abilities. The true gifts of the Cetra."

"Y'haven't brainwashed her or anything like that?"

"I have given her abilities and knowledge, but I have not indoctrinated her. I had little time, anyway. You got captured trying to rescue her. I decided that was the time to escape Deepground, and given that you were her friends, as well as experienced combatants, I would rescue you."

"Damn, man, you cold," Barrett said. "You remind me a lot of that spiky-haired fool Cloud."

A bitter chuckle wormed itself from Vert's throat. "I've had much of the warmth wrung out of me, Barrett. I'm surprised I can feel even a remote amount of empathy."

After a time, Shelke asked, "Barrett Wallace, do you know a woman called Shalua Rui?"

Barrett looked at her, before nodding. "Yeah, 'course I do. Shalua was the doctor who gave me my gun-arm after Corel was burnt down by Shinra(1)! I think she's still there, last I heard! Not sure I want to head back there, though. A lot of folks blame me for encouraging Shinra to put a Mako Reactor there. Can't say I blame them, in hindsight."

"Shelke is Shalua Rui's younger sister," Vert explained. "She was kidnapped by Shinra and experimented upon. She's like my younger sister too now. Part of the reason we escaped was to try and find her."

"So you've got a heart after all?" Barrett said, looking at Vert.

"Blackened and twisted out of shape, but yes," Vert said with a cynical smirk.

"Better that than no heart at all, unlike some of those bastards in charge of Shinra," Barrett snarled, his anger turning back towards Shinra. "Only one who seemed to give a damn about what happened in Sector 7 was that Reeve Tuesti guy, and I hear he's the one who thought up Mako Reactors in the first place!"

"Reeve is one of the few executives of Shinra who isn't a psychopath, an imbecile, or both," Vert said. "Well, with Lazard, the former head of SOLDIER, dead, he pretty much is."

Aerith, who had been quiet for this, eventually said, "Vert, when are we going to talk to Cloud about…Zack?"

"Maybe once we get to Kalm. Remember, he wanted to talk about Sephiroth. I've got the feeling it's going to be about what happened at Nibelheim."

"What's this about?" Barrett asked.

"Long story," Vert said, pulling the Rapier from where it sat on his back, and looking at it. "Very long story. Let's just say that Cloud, like myself, is someone's living legacy. Only I don't think he remembers it."

"And whose legacy are you meant to be?" Barrett asked.

"I don't know whether you heard of him, but his name was Genesis Rhapsodos. Once a man, then a monster. Now, a mentor. To yours truly." After a moment's reflection, he added, "Definitely not going to quote Loveless all the bloody time, though."

Aerith's laughter baffled Barrett, and even Shelke had a small smile on her face.

It took them a few hours to reach Kalm, and a few hours to listen to Cloud recite his story. Vert paid particular attention to how Tifa, supposedly a participant in these events, reacted. Vert caught subtle changes in expression that she swiftly hid. She knew he was lying, or rather, not telling the truth about his involvement at Nibelheim.

Vert nonetheless decided to wait until Cloud was finished, before making his own interjection. "I think there's a few things that need to be cleared up, Cloud, before we go on. The first is the matter of Sephiroth's survival. He is a Jenova hybrid. His will merged with that of Jenova, and it was the Jenova specimen in Hojo's labs that changed into Sephiroth. The real Sephiroth is elsewhere, a spider at the middle of a web, pulling strings."

"And you know this how?" Cloud asked, not actually disbelieving him, just wanting to know how.

"The Planet has much to say, as do those who have returned to it, to those who can listen to it," Vert said, moving around to where Cloud's Buster Sword (or rather, Zack's, though Zack had obtained it from Angeal Hewley) leaned against the wall. "Case in point: this sword's former owners are grateful that you're looking after it. Though the previous owner does wish you'd stop thinking you were him. He wanted you to be his living legacy, not a mangled clone."

Cloud's eyes narrowed. "I don't know what you're talking about."

"I know. Which is why I intend to enlighten you. Tifa, did you ever see Cloud at Nibelheim?" As Tifa dithered, Vert said, "It's a simple question: yes, or no?"

After a moment, Tifa admitted, in a quiet voice, "No."

"Tifa?!" Cloud demanded. "You were there, you saw me!"

"I know what you said, Cloud!" Tifa yelled. "And I remember those events as you remember them, save for one difference: you weren't there. There was another member of SOLDIER!"

As Cloud gaped at her in sheer disbelief, betrayal etched on his face, Vert said quietly, "Was there any time that you thought you saw Cloud, Tifa? Be honest."

After a moment's hesitation, she said, "After I was attacked by Sephiroth…I thought I saw Cloud. But…I was pretty delirious from my injuries."

"What's the meaning of this?!" Cloud demanded, wheeling on Vert. "What the hell are you trying to pull?"

"I am pulling to unravel that little fabrication you put together, Cloud," Vert said calmly. "I am not saying you were never at Nibelheim. All I am saying is, you were never in SOLDIER. There is a difference."

"You bastard, trying to cause trouble! I don't know how you got Tifa in on this, but…" Cloud began. But Vert didn't let him finish.

"PETRIFICUS TOTALUS!" Vert snarled, gesturing. Cloud's arms snapped to his sides, his legs snapping together. As Cloud toppled over, Vert rushed over and grabbed him. "I'm doing this now to save a mental breakdown later, Cloud Strife. You'll thank me for it, in time." He then propped Cloud up against a chair, before turning to the others. "When Nibelheim fell, the survivors were taken by Hojo to be experimented upon. They were given infusions of Mako Energy, even if they weren't potentials for SOLDIER. But Mako Infusion is not the only thing members of SOLDIER are given. They're given injections of Jenova cells."

"That headless freak in the Shinra labs?!" Barrett yelped. "That thing Sephiroth thought was his mother?"

"Yes. Sephiroth was wrong: Jenova is no Cetra. Indeed, it was Jenova who wiped most of the Cetra out two thousand years ago," Vert said. "Jenova, in the Cetra tongue, literally means 'Calamity from the Skies'. Think of her as an alien entity." He then turned to Cloud. "You were one of Hojo's experiments. Your co-prisoner was an actual SOLDIER called Zack Fair."

"Zack…" Tifa murmured.

"Yes. Cloud was there, Tifa, but he was ashamed to show his face at his hometown. He had apparently intended to join SOLDIER, but couldn't make it, instead becoming one of Shinra's troopers. I would think that a proud enough achievement anyway. When Cloud spoke about meeting his mother, perhaps that was the only time he removed his helmet."

"But how could he speak of such things?" Red XIII asked in his low, gentle voice. "You said it yourself, his recollection was accurate, save for him being in SOLDIER."

Vert nodded. "When Zack made his escape, and helped Cloud to come with him, Cloud was in a bad way. He suffered from Mako poisoning. This was a year ago, more or less. I have spoken to Zack's spirit, Cloud. That is how I know these things. You were in a catatonic state, virtually unresponsive. But Jenova cells have an odd knack of transferring memories, and Zack was telling you about what happened at Nibelheim, though he obviously left one detail out. Genesis Rhapsodos appeared to him and Sephiroth while they were in the Mako Reactor. It was Genesis' words that truly spurred Sephiroth into researching his origins. Zack speaking about these events, along with the susceptible state of Mako poisoning and the Jenova cells combined to have Cloud eventually believe that he was Zack."

"His personality is different to Zack's," Aerith said. "The Zack I knew was easy-going and nice."

"I think it was a combination of Zack and what Cloud thought SOLDIERs were meant to be like. Cold and professional and aloof."

Tifa then walked up to Cloud, the young man still petrified, and gently hugged him, stroking his hair. "You didn't have to hide, Cloud. You came for me. That's all that mattered." Vert noticed with some amusement that Cloud's face was between Tifa's prodigious breasts, and there was a faint blush on his cheeks. Tifa then looked over at Vert. "Can you fix his memory?"

"I could selectively change parts of his memory, but that never ends well," Vert said. He thought of the Quidditch World Cup, that poor Muggle owner of the field they were holding it on being Obliviated several times. "I personally reckon that the best thing for him is to have his friends there for him. He's got you, at least, Tifa, and I'm sure Aerith wants to be his friend still. This is the thing you must realise, though. Cloud is the same Cloud you knew. His memory is just a bit fucked up. If what Aerith said is true, then he's doing a fine enough job living up to Zack's memory already. And Sephiroth must be stopped. That is in no doubt."

Vert then walked over to Cloud, and looked him in the eyes. "Cloud, I know what it is like to be the living legacy of someone great. At least you get to stand on the shoulders of a truly brave and great man. I, however, am the legacy of a man who became a monster. I spoke briefly of Genesis Rhapsodos." He showed Cloud the Rapier. "A man who became a monster…but who later sought redemption. He was my mentor. He is not so different from Sephiroth, but with one key difference: he seeks redemption. And I'm helping him find it. Stopping Sephiroth, whom Genesis helped drive towards madness, is part of it. That, and, well, I have a 'saving people thing', as an old friend told me once. I'm going to remove that Body-Bind I put on you. Try not to kill me, okay?"

Vert then lifted the Body-Bind, and was promptly kicked in the groin, causing a lot of pain. For Cloud. "Ow!" Cloud yelped.

"Armoured codpiece. Standard equipment in Mako suits for men," Vert said with a smug smile. A smile that, given the glare Cloud gave him, was something Cloud wanted to hit with a brick…

CHAPTER 3 ANNOTATIONS:

Vert trying to nip all those Cloud/Zack issues in the bud. Time will tell if they stick.

1. Yes, this is true, according to the Final Fantasy Wiki.