Sephiroth had slept for maybe two or three hours. That was enough. Not for the long term, certainly, but enough that he felt more focused and capable for the task at hand.
They had a little over an hour until they arrived in Costa del Sol. He would follow the same technique in reverse to leave the ship; remain in the container while is was unloaded, then hope they were undetected while exiting. From there, they could pose as tourists. It would be relatively easy to get lost in the crowd, if not for Cloud's comatose state. That could prove detrimental. Carrying the young man around constantly would garner more attention than he wished, and potentially arouse suspicion.
He was wary of leaving Cloud alone and undefended, but… it would be late morning, on what had promised to be a relatively lovely day. Sephiroth had seen people 'sun bathing' before – he could, theoretically, leave Cloud on the beach for a brief period, perhaps beneath an umbrella or on a sun lounge if either were available, and have Cloud remain safe and undisturbed.
With freedom of movement, Sephiroth would then be able to arrange further transportation. Many buses ran between Costa del Sol and Gold Saucer, both major tourist destinations. Tourist transport to Cosmo Canyon ran less often, but that area too did have some draw. Perhaps he could find a coach tour that would take them.
It was comforting to have his tactics laid out and a plan in place. He felt content he had done all he could for the time being.
Sephiroth shifted on the wooden flooring. Cloud was beside him still, as deathly pale and unmoving as ever. There was some protective instinct that urged Sephiroth to pull him closer. That was foolish, though – being held in Sephiroth's arms may offer a degree of physical protection, but it could do nothing to reverse the harm already done, nor protect Cloud from being lost in his own mind as he was.
He reached out nonetheless, just a hand placed on Cloud's arm. It was intended as a reassurance. Sephiroth wondered who exactly he was trying to reassure.
"The hardest part is over," he said. His voice sounded too loud, out of place in the oppressive silence. He pushed aside the discomfort. If it could benefit Cloud – if Cloud could hear him – it was worth the awkwardness. "We will get you to Cosmo Canyon by this evening. They will be able to help you there."
At least, Sephiroth hoped that they could help Cloud there. There was Mideel, if that failed, but that would require further travel. Travel was risky with Cloud in this state. He hoped it didn't come to that.
There was no response from Cloud. That worried him. Even in the tank, Cloud had been starting to respond. The little twitches, the sense of his awareness. It seemed foolish to miss someone he had never even truly spoken to, but it felt like Cloud had slipped further away, and Sephiroth felt his absence keenly.
That connection they shared… he wondered if that was the culprit of such irrational emotions.
That connection they shared.
Sephiroth stared at Cloud, taking in every detail. Although his sleeping face was relaxed and impassive, he did not look peaceful. Sephiroth reached out slowly, touching his fingertips to Cloud's cheek.
"Cloud. I am going to try…"
He didn't know what he was going to try. He didn't understand... whatever their bond was. It seemed a nebulous thing, coming and going in unpredictable waves. He did not if it was even possible to instigate it of his own accord. He did not know how to achieve such a thing if it was.
Nonetheless.
'Cloud,' Sephiroth tried again. He spoke only in his mind this time, trying to imitate the mental connection they had felt before. His attempt felt flat and clumsy in comparison.
Sephiroth's throat tightened. If he could get through to Cloud, perhaps he could bring him back. But this was something he did not understand; he did not know how to make that connection, how to reach him, and if he couldn't, Cloud might never–
Sephiroth huffed a laugh at his own thoughts. Ironic, was it not? He had never been good at making connections with people.
He supposed… hm. How did one connect with people? What did Zack do? He always made it seem so easy.
Zack. Gaia, Sephiroth had messed that one up.
This was getting nowhere. His own thoughts were crowding in, getting in the way. That would most likely be a detriment.
He made a conscious effort to clear his mind. It wasn't quite relaxing, not when he had to try so hard to achieve it, but he kept it up. Even if it had no other benefit, spending some time in a meditative state would be beneficial for himself and his focus.
There was the roil of the ship, cresting the dips and troughs of the ocean. Sephiroth's own breath. Cloud's, faint and weak and too shallow, but there. His heartbeat echoing in Sephiroth's mind.
He was buffeted by the waves, dragged along, too tired to fight the current. Whatever was left of Cloud had curled into himself, trying to seek what little, futile protection he could. He had expended too much energy – reaching out to Sephiroth during their drive, the materia – and here energy meant his very existence.
His soul ached, and Sephiroth's heart ached in reply.
'Cloud,' Sephiroth breathed.
Even though he could feel Cloud's presence now, there was still no response.
He gave into the instinct this time, pulling Cloud's comatose form into his arms, barely thinking of what he was doing. The physical was irrelevant. What mattered was his energy. Their energy. He tried to reach out, wrap his energy around Cloud. It was clumsy – he could vaguely sense his own energy, his movements, but only through Cloud's weak awareness.
It did something. The constant, destructive battering of the Lifestream in Cloud's head lessened, and his soul shuddered a deep sigh.
'I'm here,' Sephiroth said.
Cloud was too weak to give the same level of almost-verbal sensation as a reply. But Sephiroth thought he could imagine just the lightest touch of Cloud's energy twining with his own. Like taking his hand, their fingers interlocking.
They stayed like that the rest of the journey. It was gradual, painfully slow, but Cloud's awareness began to shift, some of the energy starting to come back to him. By the time the ship's horn sounded, indicating their arrival, Cloud's energy pulsed like slow, even breaths.
Sephiroth reluctantly withdrew. He had to get them to physical safety as well, but he did not like to leave Cloud unprotected again.
Cloud understood. His energy brushed against Sephiroth's as he let go. Thank you.
Sephiroth lay and breathed for a moment longer. Even having parted from each other, he could still sense the underlying connection; an awareness of Cloud's presence that he could not explain.
The level of relief that washed through him at that realisation was irrational.
He shook himself. He had to prepare for their departure.
Sephiroth stood, and immediately had to brace himself against the side of the shipping container. He felt even more exhausted that before he had slept – less tired, but more a bone-deep weariness that manifested as physical weakness. He felt ragged, like the corners of his mind had been clawed at.
It took several heavy, too-quick breaths to steady himself.
He had been protecting Cloud in his mind, taking the damage that would otherwise have kept eroding at Cloud's psyche. The crushing pressure of the Lifestream in his head, the mako in his veins, inescapable.
Sephiroth resolve reignited. He needed to get Cloud whatever help he could.
The ship docked, and Sephiroth waited on tenterhooks. Their crate had been on of the last to be loaded, and thus would be one of the first to be removed. All his senses worked overtime, listening out for the movement of machinery, for the voices of the dock workers.
He waited. The machinery – another forklift, probably – deposited their crate and moved on, and Sephiroth scooped Cloud up into his arms. There was no sound but their own breaths. He reached out, ready to crack open the doors–
Sephiroth felt the brush of Cloud's energy, and turned to look at him.
"Shh. It's okay, Cloud. Just rest."
The push only became more insistent. He was pulling Sephiroth in, asking him to open up and listen.
"Stubborn," Sephiroth muttered. But then he understood.
Cloud braced himself, then let go. The energy overwhelmed him in an instant. It was busy – so busy here, so many people, so much energy. Every single one was another current, a swirl of existence, the energy buffeting against Cloud, straight through him, pulling pieces of himself away.
But Cloud held on to Sephiroth and ignored the tumult. It was the patterns that were important. The patterns of movement, where the energy was condensed. If he could read it right…
There was someone there, patrolling close to the containers.
Here, Cloud insisted.
Sephiroth let out a breath he hadn't realised he'd been holding.
"Alright," he said quietly. "Can you tell when they're gone?"
That was more difficult. There was so much energy, and it threatened to overwhelm him. So many people. They overlapped, blurred into one, an endless sea of swirling Lifestream.
But he would manage. He could do it.
Cloud focused his awareness. It was starting to get to him, too much, tugging away at his sense of self again, his existence. Just a little longer.
There was a lull, the waves receding to leave just background noise, just for a moment. Cloud gave Sephiroth the energetic equivalent of a nod.
He moved the instant Cloud allowed it. Even if it was no guarantee – Cloud's ability was mostly untried, and they were both very aware of the inherent unreliability of trying to read the currents of the Lifestream in such a way – Sephiroth moved with no hesitation. There was no room for it.
He stepped out into the sunlight. A split-second to take stock – ShinRa troops, two patrolling the top bulwark, five in rotation guarding the shipping goods as they were unloaded, dock workers scurrying like ants between the docked ship and the unloading area. The container was directly facing all of these – but no one was facing them for that one vital moment.
Sephiroth swore under his breath. There was no gap between the containers, so he was forced to vault to the top of it, rolling with Cloud in his arms to keep as low down as possible. He dropped to the other side, a small gap between the containers and the low-fenced edge the dock, the ocean just beyond that.
Nobody had seen them.
He let out a shaky breath. "Thank you, Cloud," Sephiroth said, letting his gratitude saturate their mental link. "That would not have been possible without your aid."
Cloud sank back tiredly into himself, reforming the fragile cocoon of his own energy that helped hold his consciousness together. He was exhausted and shaky from the effort, but satisfied.
Safe from prying eyes for the time being, Sephiroth evaluated their location. They were on the side of the dock closest to the main beach and tourist area – that was good. They would be far less conspicuous in public areas. Unfortunately, there was a bulwark separating the docks and the beach. Even if Sephiroth did scale it, he would be very noticeable while doing so. The docks dropped off straight into the ocean.
He stared down into the water for a moment. It glittered invitingly in the bright morning sunlight.
"Hmm. Do you have any protests to swimming?" Sephiroth asked Cloud, mostly rhetorical this time.
Of course, Cloud couldn't possibly swim in the state he was in. And, frankly, Sephiroth would prefer his supplies did not get wet.
But then, they were at a dock, after all.
It wasn't hard for Sephiroth to shuffle along the little ledge of space left behind all the shipping crates and containers. Closest to the bulwark, there was an area of surplus and disused equipment. It was the wooden palettes in particular that had caught Sephiroth's interest.
There was rope there as well. Frayed rope, cut offs from the ends of other pieces, but enough to serve Sephiroth's purpose.
He lashed four of the wooden palettes together to form a makeshift raft. He found some empty plastic drums and roped them to the sides for extra buoyancy. It was not an elegant solution, but it would do.
He dropped the raft into the water – it seemed to float well enough. Lowering Cloud onto it was an endeavour that required more finesse. Sephiroth utilised some of the remaining rope pieces to abseil halfway down the side of the dock wall, gently dropping Cloud into place from there. The supplies he tossed down onto the raft as well.
Sephiroth stripped down to his underwear – the simple black briefs would pass as swimwear well enough – and added those to the pile of supplies.
With a small smile, Sephiroth dove from the dock into the water.
It was cold, but not unpleasantly so. He bobbed in the water a moment, regathering his sense of direction, before taking hold of the makeshift raft. He dragged it behind him as he swam round the edge of the bulwark.
He kept them as close to the wall as he could – they were less likely to be spotted that way. Content that the direction of the waves – against the bulwark – would prevent the raft drifting out to sea, Sephiroth left it for a moment and dove beneath the water.
The beach was active, but not yet heaving with tourists. The highest population density was further along, away from the shadow of the bulwark. There were only a handful of families closest to the dock area, children playing in the shallows.
For a moment Sephiroth was displeased – not being noticed at all would have been his first choice. But, then again, he could use that to his advantage.
Content with the results of his reconnaissance mission, he returned to the raft and pushed it round to the other side of the bulwark.
As expected, the children started to perk up and take notice as Sephiroth approached the shore. Sephiroth ignored them for the time being, landing on the beach to a small chorus of fascinated 'ooh's.
He collected up Cloud and his belongings. He gave a small smile to those watching – one that he hoped was reassuring, maybe a little wry, self-aware of his strangeness. But that was a lot of nuance for Sephiroth to try to put into a facial expression, he wasn't sure how successful it was.
"Would you like to play with this raft?" he offered.
The wide eyes got wider.
"Boat!" one young boy announced with delight, and that was enough to set the rest off. They ignored the strange silver-haired swimmer and his unconscious blond friend in favour of splashing back into the water and clambering onto the raft with glee.
A good distraction, and it took care of the evidence.
The parents of the families had started to take notice, but were more concerned by what the children were doing in the water. By the time they got a straight answer about where the 'boat' had come from, Sephiroth was already gone.
He took Cloud further up the beach, to a cluster of beach umbrellas and sun lounges he had noticed. There was a pang of guilt in his stomach at the idea of leaving Cloud now. He hoped Cloud would understand.
Sephiroth didn't speak out loud, not when there were so many people around, but he relayed his plan to Cloud in his mind. Cloud gave a small, tired hum of acceptance; it felt like a soft vibration in the energy of their mental connection.
Sephiroth laid Cloud out on one of the sun lounges, making sure he was as comfortable as possible and safely in the shade of an umbrella. He had the sort of skin that looked like it would burn easily.
Redressed and with his pack of supplies on his back, Sephiroth made haste for the town's main shopping area. He wanted to return to Cloud as quickly as possible.
The central parts of Costa del Sol were a tourist trap, filled with tacky souvenirs, overpriced, gaudy clothing, and hawkers shouting over each other to advertise their tours.
Sephiroth still felt out of place. Even with his hair back in a ponytail and a cap pulled down low over his face, he was too recognisable. His clothing of choice – even the civilian clothing he had packed – consisted of black cargo trousers and a tight dark top. Good for sneaking around during the night; far less suitable for blending in during the day.
He eyed one of the luridly floral shirts in disgust. Did they not have something that looked sufficiently holiday-like without having to sear peoples' eyes? Sephiroth wouldn't be seen dead in one of– oh.
The best disguise was one people would not expect.
With no small amount of reluctance, Sephiroth entered the nearest store. He bought himself an entire outfit, very glad for the years of practice in keeping his expression neutral as he handed over the cash. Hideous and expensive.
But he had his disguise. The straw hat was big enough for Sephiroth to twist his hair up and hide the entirety of it beneath. Sunglasses covered his distinctive mako-green eyes. In shorts, sandals, and a horrendously neon blue and pink flowered top, he was certainly not going to stand out as being a SOLDIER elite.
He bought a similar outfit for Cloud as well – the young man could do with some clothes that actually fit, though Sephiroth could only take an educated guess as to his size. It was just a shame they had to be those clothes and not something more tasteful.
The most important order of business remained: transport to Cosmo Canyon. Sephiroth walked amongst the shops and stalls offering various tours – the majority were to Gold Saucer, but a few went further afield to Gongaga and Cosmo Canyon.
He took a handful of leaflets from various companies, scanning through them analytically. Most only did one or two buses a day, leaving in the morning and allowing tourists the day in the Cosmo Canyon area before returning in the afternoon. They had missed the majority. But there was still one that left in a little over half an hour. It would not have been Sephiroth's first choice of company to use – it was gaudy and cheap and even in the brochure their coach looked out of date – but beggars could not be choosers.
Sephiroth booked two tickets on the coach.
He hurried back to the beach, reaching out mentally as if that could help him reach Cloud quicker. He could still sense Cloud; sense their connection. Cloud didn't seem to be feeling any additional distress.
Sephiroth slowed as he reached Cloud. The young man hadn't moved at all. It was both reassuring, and a bitter reminder at the same time.
Cloud was still in there, Sephiroth knew that better than anyone. They would get to Cosmo Canyon and figure out how to wake him up. They were so close now.
There was nothing that could be done about Cloud being comatose for the time being. But Sephiroth changed him into the tourist outfit he had bought. He smirked. The outfit was ridiculous; it looked ridiculous. But, somehow Cloud made it look amusing, almost sweet in its hideousness instead of simply being an insult to the senses.
Sephiroth laughed softly. "What a sight we make."
He hoisted Cloud up, holding him by his side this time. Cloud's arm over Sephiroth's shoulders, Sephiroth's arm around Cloud's waist. It was less strange to witness that than if Sephiroth used a bridal or fireman's carry for him.
Sephiroth caught sight of their reflection in a window as they made their way to where the tour departed. He wrinkled his nose. What a sight, indeed.
Although Cloud was unable to see himself, he must have picked up some sense of their appearance through Sephiroth's thoughts. And he laughed.
Sephiroth started, staring at the blond. No– he hadn't actually heard him laugh. It was just an echo in Sephiroth's mind, but it was the most real and tangible thing he had felt in his connection to Cloud. The energy of it bubbled out of him. It was light and uplifting, just for a moment, in the face of everything that threatened to drag his mind back down into oblivion again.
He had laughed.
Maybe the shirt was worth it, if it could get that response from Cloud.
They made it the coach without incident and boarded. Sephiroth belted Cloud into a window seat, taking the seat beside him for himself.
This was it. There was nothing more he needed to do. The coach would take them directly to Cosmo Canyon, posing as tourists. No ShinRa presence. They were not likely to be recognised. They had done it.
Sephiroth leaned back, trying to relax. He did not intend to let his guard down entirely – he never did – but he did not need to be so on edge anymore.
The coach journey would be another long one. He could rest. He would attempt the same protection he had provided Cloud while they had been smuggled away on the boat, to give Cloud a chance to recover as well.
Sephiroth took Cloud's hand, using the contact to reassure. "Not far now," he said.
Not far. Not compared to how far they had come. It had felt like an age, Sephiroth's brain working overtime to analyse and plan and complete their mission objectives with no intelligence or preparation. It had dragged the moments out. But… it had been fun, Sephiroth realised. Perhaps not a standard interpretation of fun. It was a challenge; a game. A dangerous game, but a game he had taken on and beaten. He had beaten ShinRa.
Sephiroth couldn't remember the last time he had been so truly satisfied in his successes. The last time he'd felt alive.
Maybe he had made the right decision after all, for both of their futures.