Final Fantasy VII: Parallels
Plot synopsis: What if Sephiroth had retained some portion of his sanity after learning the truth of his birth? Genesis becomes the One-Winged Angel. A different take on FFVII.
Author's Note: Beta'd by Littlehouseinthewoods. Slightly longer chapter, this time. Happy reading, anyway:)
Chapter Seven
"Report."
The Turk known only as Shotgun shifted, a small black cellular phone held to her ear. "Genesis is dead," she answered indifferently. "Nibelheim has been destroyed, all residents deceased."
"And SOLDIER 1st Class Sephiroth?"
"Alive and well, as is Zack Fair." She paused for a moment, running an absent hand through her long black locks. "There are two more with them. One is wearing a Shinra infantry uniform. Private Cloud Strife, I believe."
She could almost feel her commander's frown through the phone. "And the second?"
"Unknown," she said flatly, gazing out at the plateau of Mt. Nibel from the concealing shadows beneath the reactor. "Red cloak, black hair, lots of leather, and a really big gun."
There was a grunt at the other end of the line, which could have meant anything, considering the source. "Where are they, now?"
"They've left the mountain, bearing west. Rocket Town, most likely."
There was silence, and then, "Return to H.Q. as soon as possible. I'll take it from here."
"Whatever you say, Boss."
She snapped the phone closed and stepped out of the shadows. She glanced around, her violet eyes resting for a moment on the grave she had watched Private Strife and the stranger dig. With a mental shrug, she headed for the bridge that connected Mt. Nibel with what was left of Nibelheim. At least, she had kept General Sephiroth from detecting her presence tonight. Considering his mako-enhanced senses, she was pretty proud of that. For now, it was time to go home, type up her official report, and have a drink. It had been one hellova night.
Rocket Town was another small hamlet, much like Nibelheim had been, except for the giant rocket which had given it its name. It sat in the northwest end of town, a giant structure housed by an equally large steel frame. Once, long ago, Shinra Electric Power Company had been interested in the idea of space travel. Now, it was nothing more than a monument to a nearly-forgotten dream.
Still, the look on Zack's face as he gazed up the rocket made Sephiroth smile. The young man looked as though he were already out there in space, exploring the cosmos as man had already explored The Planet. A part of Sephiroth was curious, as well, but after what he had learned about his origins, he thought that keeping his own feet firmly on the ground would be the wisest course of action.
Vincent, meanwhile, was studying their surroundings with a critical eye. They were drawing quite a bit of attention from the locals, and he found himself uncomfortable under their not-quite covert stares. The people of Rocket Town were surely used to outsiders; after all, they had the only space shuttle in the world here. Still, it made him uneasy to see the stares and hear the hushed whispers that their presence was causing.
Of course, they were traveling the Sephiroth. While he himself knew virtually nothing of the silver-haired warrior, save that he was probably Lucrecia's son, these people seemed to be in awe of him. And from what he could glean from those whispers, the apparently famous SOLDIER was about to be deluged with requests for autographs.
"You're quite popular," the other man turned towards him, his expression enquiring, "or so it would seem."
Sephiroth glanced around him before shrugging dismissively. "It comes with the territory," was all he said in response.
"Yeah, but we're wanted, now," Cloud inserted in a low voice. "We really shouldn't stay here too long, General."
"Of course." Sephiroth set a hand on Zack's shoulder, silently bringing him out of his daydream. "We need to buy our supplies and leave as soon as possible. You and Cloud go to the weapon's shop. Find him a sword. Vincent and I will see to the rest."
"We're on it." Zack smiled as he reached out and gave Cloud's shoulder a friendly whack. "Come on, Cloud. Let's go find you something pointy to play with."
"Oh, Gawd," Cloud muttered, his obvious embarrassment unable to eclipse his answering smile, as he trailed after his friend.
Sephiroth only shook his head at their antics as he turned back to Vincent. "We need to talk," he said simply, and the other man nodded.
"Later," Vincent replied, "after we've found a safer place to rest."
The silver general studied him for a long moment before inclining his head. "That is acceptable," he said as he turned away.
Lucrecia's son was a bit arrogant, Vincent thought as he trailed after him. Something he had not gotten from her. He followed Sephiroth to the item shop, pausing in the doorway to glance over his shoulder. Instead of going straight to the weapon's store, as they'd been instructed, the two young men were talking to an old man who was pointing up at the rocket. Vincent only shook his head and entered the shop. Fortunately, dealing with them was Sephiroth's burden, not his own.
"Score!" Zack pumped the air with hand, grinning hugely as he watched his friend. "See, I told you this was a good idea."
"You were right," Cloud admitted as he gazed down at the sword in his hands. The old man had called it Yoshiyuki. He had no idea what that meant, but even he could tell that it was a good sword. It was large, though not as heavy as Zack's Buster Sword, and it was well balanced. Why the old man had decided to give it to them was a mystery he'd probably never solve.
At least, it had two materia slots, which would come in handy during their travels. Provided that they had enough money to buy some materia, Cloud thought with sudden worry. "How much gil do we have?" he asked with a frown.
"Tons," Zack assured him with a knowing smile. "Come on. Let's get this baby loaded up."
"It doesn't hold much," Cloud reminded him.
"It doesn't have to, so long as you get the right materia."
Cloud sighed and followed him to the item shop, hoping that they had decent materia in this small town. There hadn't been much in Nibelheim, after all. He winced and tucked thoughts of his ruined hometown away. He would never forget what had happened there, but he just couldn't deal with it right now. Maybe later, he told himself as he entered the small store. For now, he had a new weapon, and he was traveling with two of the strongest warriors on The Planet. He wanted to prove himself worthy of their company, if nothing else.
"This sucks," Zack was saying as he looked through the glass window that displayed the materia. "All they've got is Barrier, Exit, and Time. That's it."
Cloud glanced up at the salesgirl, who was scowling at Zack's bent head, and quickly cleared his throat. "Grab the Barrier and the Time," he said, adding with a confidence he didn't feel, "I know how to use both."
"If you say so," Zack said with a shrug. He looked up at the girl behind the counter and smiled charmingly. "We'll take Time and Barrier, please."
The rather plain girl blinked, her face filling with color, her anger forgotten as she fumbled to unlock the case. She placed both pieces of shimmering green materia on the counter near her and quoted their total. Cloud winced at the high price, but Zack merely dug into his supply pack and handed the gil to her.
"Thank you, very much," he said politely, turning to Cloud and nodding at the Yoshiyuki. Cloud held the sword out and watched with something akin to wonder as the materia was absorbed into the sword itself. He knew that it could be removed easily, but watching it disappear was still a little unsettling.
"All right, we are good to go," Zack exclaimed with exuberance, ginning hugely. He glanced around the shop, spotting Sephiroth in the far corner, surrounded by dozens of men and women--well, there were a few men mixed in there--and rolled his eyes. "We'd better go rescue Sephiroth, before he ruins his reputation by having a panic attack or something."
Cloud couldn't hide his own smile at that. He set the Yoshiyuki on his back, much as he had seen Zack do with his own sword, and once again found himself trailing after his friend. Zack was lucky to be so outgoing, he thought with a touch of envy. He'd give anything to be able to talk to people with such ease. It was something he had never been good at.
Sephiroth looked up as he approached, an emotion that Cloud could've sworn was relief flashing through those pale green eyes. "All is well?" he asked casually.
"Yep," Zack answered, "we're locked and loaded. Where's Vincent?"
Sephiroth nodded towards the door. "He decided to wait for us outside."
Translation, he was out there playing lookout to avoid the crush of people. Oh well, Zack thought with a mental shrug, it's not like he cared whether or not Vincent Valentine liked crowds. He still didn't trust the man, even if he had saved Sephiroth's life.
"Well, we're ready to go when you are," was all he said aloud.
Sephiroth looked to Cloud, and the large sword on his back, and smiled faintly. "Good choice," he said with approval, pushing his way through a throng of disappointed fans.
"Thanks," Cloud mumbled, slanting a conspiring glance at Zack, who winked impishly in return.
They followed Sephiroth outside, to the town entrance, where Vincent was standing with inhuman stillness. If it weren't for the wind which tossed both his hair and his cloak about, he would have looked like one of the statues Shinra had built in Midgar in an attempt to beautify the too-dark city. He turned his head as they approached, proving definitively that he was a living, breathing human being.
Those startling ruby eyes moved over them to meet and hold Sephiroth's. "There's been movement in Nibelheim," he stated without preamble. "It won't be long before Shinra tracks us here."
"Then, we need to leave as quickly as possible." Sephiroth reached into his own supply pack and began to mete out their newly purchased supplies. "Keep the potions handy," he instructed, adding, "As a precaution."
"Will do," Zack responded cheerfully, while Cloud just nodded gravely. "By the way, Vincent, how do you know about--"
"I listen," Vincent said with the faintest signs of irritation, the first emotion any of them had seen from him. "You should try it sometime."
Deep blue eyes, brightened by mako, narrowed menacingly on his. "Listen, friend--"
"Enough," Sephiroth snapped. "We really don't have the time for this. We're going to be on the road for quite some time. You two will just have to learn to get along. Is that understood?"
"Yeah," Zack said with sigh, "understood."
Vincent merely inclined his head, and reminded himself that he had a great deal of patience. After all, what the point of losing his temper when he had all of eternity to regret the results of doing so? He had all the time in the world, and it wasn't that he disliked the boy. He merely wished that Zack were a little more cautious in what he said and did.
Like the other one, Vincent thought, his gaze moving to Cloud. Although he was the younger of the two boys, he showed a great deal of promise. He was quiet and thoughtful, and brighter than most boys his age. The only thing that Vincent could see holding him back was his lack of confidence, and that was something he understood all too well, and could be conquered with a little work. Later, once he and Sephiroth found that opportunity to talk, he would voice his opinion of young Cloud. Until then, he would keep his thoughts to himself, where they belonged.
But he did owe Zack an apology. "Zack?"
Zack's head came up at the deep voice with its questioning intonation. "Yeah?" he said warily.
"You have my apologies."
"Uh, okay," Zack replied slowly. "Thanks, Vincent. And, uh, I'm sorry, too."
Vincent inclined his head in what seemed to be his favorite gesture before turning away. Zack shot a questioning look at Cloud, who shrugged his own ignorance. None of them knew Vincent very well, and while the apology had been the right thing to do, it had still surprised them. It seemed that there was more to the mysterious gunner than met the eye, and they were both deeply curious.
Unfortunately, unraveling that mystery was probably going to take a lot of time. Something they really didn't have in abundance right now. Getting caught by Shrina after destroying one of their reactors would be a very bad thing.
As they attempted to leave Rocket Town, a helicopter appeared out of nowhere, landing no more than twenty feet from them. Cloud brought a hand up to cover his eyes as bits of grass and rocks were blown at them, courtesy of the helicopter's swiftly rotating blades. Two men jumped out, their severe black business suits marking them as Turks, and he could have sworn that he heard Sephiroth sigh.
Sephiroth exhaled harshly, angry with himself for not anticipating this. Of course, The Turks would be dispatched to find them. After all, there weren't any 1st Class SOLDIERS left to do so. "Reno, Rude," he threw out coolly in greeting. "Missed us, did you?"
The shorter of the two, the one sporting the shock of deep red hair, rolled his eyes at that. "Give it a rest, Sephiroth. You know why we're here."
The taller, more muscular man with the bronzed skin and sunglasses covering his eyes didn't speak. He merely whipped out his baton and extended it to its full length in one quick motion. Reno slanted a glance at him and grinned. "Oh, yeah, lookin' sharp, Rude."
Sephiroth merely shook his head, ignoring the silvery strands that flew into his face as he did so. "You don't want to do this," he said in quiet warning. "We won't go easy on you."
"Yeah," Zack said in emphatic agreement. "Listen to him, Reno. We're not going back to Shinra."
"I was afraid you'd say something like that." Reno rested his own baton, already fully extended, on his shoulder as he spoke. "It's The President's order, Sephiroth. He wants you back--both of you."
"Forget it." Zack drew the Buster Sword and held out before, his meaning perfectly clear. At least, they hadn't sent Cissnei for this. "You and Rude should just walk away now, before there's no turning back."
"It's already too late, kid." Reno's looked at him with a glimmer of regret before smiling roguishly. "You guys should have left the reactor in one friggin' piece. Maybe, the President wouldn't have been so pissed, then."
Sephiroth lifted his chin as he slowly drew the Masamune. "We couldn't allow those abominations to live," he said as he extended his arm. "Now, leave us in peace, and I will grant you your lives."
The massive sword glinted menacingly in the sunlight, and Reno swallowed hard as he eyed the infamous blade. Shit, this was going to end badly! "Can't do that, Sephy," he returned as lightly as he could. "Orders are orders, and we Turks are loyal. That's something that SOLDIER can't exactly say, now isn't it?"
Icy green eyes narrowed on his with clear menace. "You know not of what you speak," he said in the coldest, deepest voice Reno had ever heard him use. "Had Shinra not played the role of God, none of this would ever have happened."
Reno fell silent, wishing that he didn't privately agree with the man. "Genesis really did torch Nibelheim?" Sephiroth nodded once, not deigning to speak. Reno thought twice about the next question, and then asked it anyway. "So, is he really dead?"
Those pale eyes flickered, and then went flat once again. "Yes."
Thank Gawd, for small favors, the Turk thought with relief. One less thing for them to worry about. Now, to settle this without getting he and Rude killed. . ."You know," he began casually, "the pilot who was gonna go up in that rocket still lives here. He even had his house built right next to the damned thing. He never made it into space, but I hear that he flies in a small airplane nowadays. He keeps it in his backyard, of all places. Can you believe that?"
Sephiroth raised one silver eyebrow at the completely unnecessary, but wholly welcome information. "Ah, that I did not know."
"I guess, SOLDIERS don't know everything, huh?" Reno glanced at his partner, waiting to see if he'd support him in this. Rude nodded his bald head once, and it was a done deal. They'd have to make it look good, but at least, they'd live a little while longer. "Well, I'm afraid we're going to have to hurt you, now. Nothing personal, you understand."
"Of course," Sephiroth returned smoothly, doing his best to control the smile tugging at his lips. "Zack, can you and Cloud handle these two?"
Zack snickered as he met his gaze with knowing blue eyes. "Easily," he said with confidence.
"Good. Vincent, stay with them, if you would. I'll go secure our transportation."
Vincent merely drew his handgun, the one he had christened 'Cerberus', and assumed his own battle stance. "As you wish, Sephiroth."
Cloud glanced at Zack, his bright blue eyes asking a question he didn't dare voice. Zack nodded at him, and he pulled the Yoshiyuki from his back. They were going to do their best not to hurt The Turks, who had just betrayed Shinra to help them, but they had to make it look real. Easy enough, if you were a SOLDIER 1st Class. Not so easy for a plain Shinra grunt.
"You'll do fine."
He looked around Zack to find Vincent gazing at him with tranquil crimson eyes. He looked away, a faint frown pulling his golden brows together, as he wondered if Vincent was capable of reading minds. How else could he have known that Cloud was having doubts about his ability to pull this off?
He shook his head before focusing on the men they were going to not kill today. It was a standoff, just like the ones on those old movies Mom used to watch. Each side gazed at the other, and Cloud wished that somebody--anybody--would make the first move, so they get this over with and move on.
And then, Reno did just that. With a smirk, he launched himself forward and swung his baton at the closest available head. Zack ducked and lunged forward, using his shoulder to knock the Turk away from him. Rude came next, the big man curling his free hand into a fist and aiming for Cloud's face. Cloud jumped back, taking a quick swipe at him with his sword. Rude merely adjusted his tie, raised his baton, and aimed for the young man's head.
A shot rang out, stopping him dead in his tracks, as it hit the ground at his feet. Rude looked up to see the man in the red cloak training an enormous, three-barreled handgun on him. The look in the stranger's odd crimson eyes warned him to be careful, and Rude knew that if he hurt the little blond kid, he'd pay for it.
Meanwhile, Reno was grinning like a madman as he sparred with Zack Fair. It was obvious that he was enjoying himself, and equally obvious that if this had been a real fight, Reno would probably be dead already. The SOLDIER 1st Class was damned good, nearly as good as General Sephiroth, although he'd still lay odds on the general. He just wished that Sephiroth would get that damned plane going, so that he and Reno could get out of this godforsaken country and back to the city. He really didn't care for the whole nature thing.
Rude focused on the blond kid once more, who was eyeing him a little more warily than he had before, and began to circle him. The kid was a skinny little thing, all big eyes and spiky hair, as he kept pace with him. Cloud Strife, the report had said named him. A country bumpkin who had grown up in Nibelheim. After seeing what was left of the kid's hometown, Rude really couldn't blame him for choosing to run. But that didn't stop him from raising the baton as he would a sword, a silent invitation that the kid finally accepted, as he became aware of the crowd they had drawn.
Sparks flew as the Yoshiyuki met his baton, and then slid away with more of the same. Cloud noticed that the citizens of Rocket Town had gathered around to watch the fight, not getting too close, but watching all the same. No wonder the Turk had swung at him like he had. He hadn't been going back on their unspoken agreement, merely playing to the collected crowd. Which was fine, Cloud thought with a slow, sudden smile, that he could do.
He suddenly dropped into a crouch and aimed for the Turk's feet. The man jumped over his sword, swinging his baton down in an arch. Cloud met him with the Yoshiyuki, then took a page from Zack's book and attempted to push him away. There was a momentary hesitation as the bigger man resisted, and then gave way. He slid back a couple of feet, his own smile forming, as he realized that the kid was finally getting into it. Cloud came at him again, those big blue eyes shining with enthusiasm, and it was all Rude could do not to laugh outright. As Reno would say, the kid had guts.
Vincent flipped and twirled around the battle, each graceful movement precipitating a pull of the trigger. He aimed as close to the Turks as he dared, taking care not to hit any of the four men. Of course, neither Turk had gone after him, obviously preferring to duel with the two swordsmen. And while it had annoyed him at first, he thought that he understood. If either of them had attacked him, he would have fought back. Having once been a highly trained Turk himself, he would've had trouble controlling the urge.
Not that Reno or Rude could possibly know that, but they were obviously smart enough to be wary of him. Which was good, Vincent reminded himself quickly. He had more than twenty years of anger and guilt built up inside of him. If he ever chose to unleash it. . .
He stopped his thoughts right then and there. He had excellent self-control, so long as the being which dwelled within him continued to cooperate. And as it needed Vincent to survive, he had no doubt that it would.
Zack continued to dodge Reno's attacks, bringing the Buster Sword up just often enough to make the fight look real. The Turk was grinning from ear-to-ear, having 'the time of his life', as he'd said after one particularly close call with the sword. Zack had barely refrained from rolling his eyes at that one. Reno was obviously nuts, but he was a hellova lot smarter than most people gave him credit for. He talked a big game, only half of which he could back up, but he was pretty damned good at the whole acting thing. He'd thrown himself into this little farce with total and complete gusto, talking enough shit to make for the fact that his partner hadn't spoken at all. And as much as Zack hated to admit, he was enjoying himself, too.
Sounds came to him then, the whirring of multiple motors, and he felt a pang of regret. "It's time to go!" he yelled, taking one last swipe at Reno before running back into town.
Cloud and Vincent quickly caught up with him, the former wearing a smile that made Zack laugh out loud. It looked like he wasn't the only one who had enjoyed their little mock battle! Vincent looked as somber as he always did, those strange ruby eyes as veiled as ever. But he had helped, keeping Cloud safe there at the beginning, and playing his part as well as any of them. Of course, the good citizens of Rocket Town probably thought that he was a horrible shot, but having him there had seemed to help Cloud, so he couldn't complain too much. After all, it wouldn't have helped if he'd actually shot one of the men trying to help them escape!
They ran for the medium-sized house at the north end of town, running straight through it, heading for they hoped was the back door. They crashed through it to find not Sephiroth, but a man they had never seen before sitting behind the plane's controls.
"Well, hurry the fuck up and get in!" the man hollered impatiently. "Your General's not gonna wait forever!"
That was when Zack noticed Sephiroth hanging on to one of the wings, his silver hair blowing wildly in the wind caused by the plane's propellers. He waved them forward with an elegant hand, silently commanding them to climb aboard. Zack hesitated and looked at Cloud, who only shrugged and ran for the plane. Vincent was already there, holding out his gloved right hand as he grasped the wing with his gauntleted one. He pulled Cloud up first, making sure that he had a secure handhold, before turning back to Zack.
Zack only grinned, his distrust pushed aside for the moment, and took that hand. He nodded his thanks to Vincent, patted Cloud on the head, and maneuvered until he was crouched beside his hero. Sephiroth merely smiled one of his small smiles as the plane began to move. They taxied through the large backyard, heading straight for the fence. Zack yelped and tightened his hold, sure that they were crash into it.
Instead, the plane veered upwards, taking to the air with a speed that surprised them all. Gawd, but it's beautiful up here, Zack thought with awe. He remembered Aerith's words about the sky frightening her, and grinned to himself. He couldn't wait to get her on this thing and really show her the real beauty of the sky. She was going to love it!
