Chapter3
Cloud had just finished parking his motorcycle outside Shinra HQ and was about to head inside when he caught sight of the man with short silver hair dressed in leather walking out with a look of anger on his face. Was that the 'friend' the unknown caller had mentioned, or one of Sephiroth's relations? He couldn't be sure, but he assumed it was the mysterious friend. He headed into the building and saw that Reno was leaning against the wall, looking rather pale.
"What happened? Who was that guy who just walked out then?"
Reno took a few deep breaths before facing Cloud. "I don't recognise him, but he looks similar to Sephiroth in a few ways. The guy scares me. I didn't show it to him though... I don't think."
Cloud shook his head. "Let's try not to think about him for a few moments. You said before that we need some sort of Plan B. What were you thinking of?" Reno explained a few ideas, but Cloud only seemed interested in one – they let Sephiroth out of Shinra HQ and allow him to lead a fairly normal life, but he would need to be supervised. Just in case, Reno added. Cloud nodded.
"Alright, well, I'll let Rude and Elena know that we'll need a few guards. Cloud, you go to Dr. Randere and tell her to let him out, and if she says anything, say that Reno sent you."
"Right..." Cloud raised an eyebrow. "Who'll be his supervisor?"
"I was hoping that you'd do it, but if you don't want to..."
Cloud held up one hand. "No, it's fine. I'll do it." He paused. "Which way was it to the room Sephiroth's being kept in again?" Reno relayed the details, and Cloud went up in the elevator, back to the containment room on the 54th floor and Dr. Randere's office.
"Mr. Strife? I wasn't expecting you back here again. Reno told me that someone else was coming up here." Dr. Randere said as Cloud walked up to the door of the containment room. She whirled around just as he reached the door, placing her hands on her hips. "You can't go in there unless you have clearance."
"There's been a change of plan, Dr. Randere. I need to get Sephiroth out. Reno's orders – if we don't move him somewhere else there's a chance we could end up with another Meteor incident on our hands." When Dr. Randere asked why, Cloud told her about the strange man that Reno had encountered and the bizarre, threatening PHS call he had received. She nodded and opened the door to the containment room. Cloud hurried inside and noticed that the bed was empty. His heart thudded in his chest. Had those other people got to Sephiroth first?
"What's going on here? Was Sephiroth already moved out, or..." Cloud began, but he was cut off when he saw that two members of Shinra medical staff walked out of a small sideroom, and Sephiroth was following unsteadily behind them. He was wearing the same Black Cape as Cloud remembered, although he was holding one hand to his head at irregular intervals.
"This isn't any more questioning... Cloud Strife, was it?" There was still some confusion in Sephiroth's voice.
"No. No more questioning." Cloud paused. Fornow. "Actually, I'm here to tell you that you'll be going elsewhere. Reno organised it, and it's to..." He paused again. How was he going to explain its purpose without inadvertently triggering anything potentially deadly?
"Hmm? It's to what?" Sephiroth prompted.
"It's to keep you safe." Cloud sighed an internal sigh of relief, even though Sephiroth prompted him for further information about these arrangements to 'keep him safe'. "Well, safe from people who might think you've done something you don't remember doing." Still Sephiroth prompted further. Cloud groaned softly. "Look, we're doing this for your benefit. Trust me, you don't have to know the details, but it'll work out."
"I don't even know why I'm here." Sephiroth paused and pressed one palm to his forehead, swaying a little on his feet. His eyes flickered a moment. "What is this Meteor people keep mentioning, anyway?"
Cloud's eyes widened slightly. "N-nothing important. Listen, the sooner we get you out of here, the sooner we can stop worrying." He took hold of Sephiroth's wrist and led him out of the room, where Dr. Randere was signing some papers on her clipboard. She waved the two of them on, then Cloud called the elevator, getting inside it whilst also pulling Sephiroth in, and pressing the button to send it down to the ground floor.
A young blonde woman dressed in a blue suit was waiting for Cloud and Sephiroth when the elevator reached the ground floor. Cloud recognised her as Elena. She ushered the two outside quickly, not wanting to risk panic spreading throughout Shinra HQ. Cloud noticed that there was a white van waiting close to the main doors, but its windows were blacked out.
"Reno went ahead to double-check the security on the new area. I'll take Sephiroth from here. Cloud, meet us at this address." Elena handed Cloud a scrap of paper with the words 'Sector 4 Slums, Gamma Building, No. 29' scrawled on it. She then gently led Sephiroth towards the van and seated him inside it. Cloud jumped on his motorcycle and kick-started the engine, driving out of the Shinra HQ parking bay just before the van did.
The two vehicles remained close for the journey, but even though they were going at a faster speed than the other road traffic, some people seemed to pay attention to the van, since the blacked-out windows seemed suspicious. Elena had instructed Sephiroth to keep his head down so that he couldn't be seen whilst her bald-headed colleague Rude drove towards the agreed address.
Everyone arrived at the Gamma Building in Sector 4 within fifteen minutes of leaving from Shinra HQ. Cloud parked his motorcycle in an alley next to the building whilst Rude parked the van in front of it. Elena emerged from the van, ushering Sephiroth out as she did so. Rude climbed out the opposite side, and he helped Elena. Cloud, meanwhile, was checking the tyres on his motorcycle when he felt something cold touch him on the back of his neck. He shuddered slightly and one hand closed around the hilt of his Buster Sword.
"You didn't really listen before, did you?" Cloud recognised the voice from the threatening PHS call. The cold thing touched his neck again, and he turned around slowly to see that it was a gunblade. He couldn't make out who was pointing it at him though. He held one hand up whilst the other one remained gripping the hilt of his sword.
"I warned you not to try anything funny, Strife. I'll give you one last chance. As I said before, you can't stop Sephiroth from resurrecting Mother, and we will remind him about it if he's forgotten." Cloud closed his eyes for a brief moment and took a deep breath.
"Who's 'we'?" he asked as he opened his eyes. There was no gunblade aimed at him, but he felt the cold touch on the back of his neck again.
"You'll find out when the time comes. If I decide to leave you alive." There was a peal of chilling laughter, then silence. Cloud looked around, but he couldn't see anyone. He sighed and headed out of the alley, where Reno was waiting for him with his arms folded.
"Surely it doesn't take you that long to park your bike, Cloud." Reno snorted a little.
Cloud sighed. "I know, but someone was in the alley. I didn't know who it was, but I recognised the voice from a threatening PHS call I'd received before you called me to Shinra HQ."
"Oh?" Reno leaned in closer. "What did they want?"
"I don't know, but I think they want another Meteor incident. They said that I can't stop Sephiroth from resurrecting Mother, and that they'll remind him about it since I told them that he'd forgotten."
Reno shook his head. "We can't let that happen, no matter what we have to do. We have to keep Sephiroth well hidden, and-"
Cloud cut him short. "I think they already know he's here. The one who got me in the alley... they knew he'd been brought here."
"Son of a Chocobo! That means we'll have to relocate again!" Reno was about to tell Rude and Elena, but Cloud told him that they should all stay here and keep out of sight. Perhaps these mysterious people would leave them alone then. Reno sighed and nodded. "I'll call President Rufus, tell him to send a few more guards. We can't take any chances."
"Right." Cloud nodded in response and went into the building.
The alternative arrangements that Reno had made were not particularly first-class, but at least it was better than the containment room in Shinra HQ. All the basic amenities were there, and there were security cameras in the corners of most of the rooms. There was also an intercom system installed. Cloud went inside, and noticed that Sephiroth was sat on the sofa, just finishing off a glass of juice. He sat down next to the other man and the two exchanged a brief glance. They sat in silence for a few moments.
"It feels strange..." Sephiroth began, his voice trailing off slightly.
"Strange how?" Cloud turned to face him.
"Do you know what it feels like... to not be sure of who you are any more?" The question sparked a few odd memories in Cloud's mind. He remembered about his former colleague Zack Fair, and that he had basically lived hislife, only coming across the truth when he and Tifa had fallen into the Lifestream. During that time he'd had no recollection of who he really was.
Cloud could only nod weakly. "It turned out that before I knew the truth, I was actually living out my late friend's life." He looked down at his feet. "Not that it matters now."
Sephiroth let out a long sigh. "Well, I don't really know which part of me is real. Some of my memories tell me that I was both an admired and feared member of SOLDIER First Class, but others suggest that I kill others and destroy things for the sake of something that I referred to as 'mother'. Which one is really me?"
Cloud bit his lip and thought a moment. Both parts were true, but remembering the Nibelheim incident made him realise how easily Sephiroth could misinterpret things. He would have to be careful about how he answered this. "To be honest I'm not entirely sure myself. I think it'd be best to not think about either of those things and start fresh." Sephiroth had a look of confusion on his face, but he nodded and said he'd try. He fiddled with the empty glass in his hands.
Reno entered the room just as Cloud stood up. "Alright, the guards are on their way. Whoever those guys are, they won't be getting us." The blonde man was about to head out, but Reno blocked his progress. "Where are you going?"
"I'm just going to visit my friend, Reno. I'll be back in a bit." Reno nodded and let Cloud pass. The blonde man had had an awkward feeling when Sephiroth brought up the whole thing about not knowing who you were. He needed time to think. Maybe he could visit Tifa, but he wasn't sure. Perhaps it was best not to tell her about this. She was already apprehensive.