The helicopter that had been carrying the six military personnel landed in the plains a long distance away from the Nibel mountains. A large Shinra army truck was waiting for them and the six soldiers climbed into the back. Zack had offered his hand to Claire but she just ignored it as she climbed up the rear of the truck. Once the tailgate was flipped closed and locked, the engine roared to life and they were on their way again.
"Why did we switch to a truck anyways?" Claire asked as it rumbled and bounced over the grassy plain. Sephiroth turned to her to answer but Cloud spoke first.
"Dragons are native to the Nibel mountain range."
"We would have been torn out of the sky," Sephiroth continued "We should try to get comfortable, it's going to be a couple hours until we reach Nibelheim.
The large truck rolled to a stop just outside the village of Nibelheim. Sephiroth ordered the third Shinra soldier to return to Shinra's outpost with the driver of the truck, in order to protect the vehicle. The other five walked into the town with Sephiroth leading, Cloud and the other soldier flanking the silver-haired hero, with Zack and Claire in tow.
"So, how does it feel?" Sephiroth asked, seemingly to the air before looking over his shoulder to Cloud "To be home after all this time? I have no hometown. I wouldn't know," Cloud just shrugged at the silver haired operative.
"Uh… what about family?" Zack asked shortly after Sephiroth spoke. Sephiroth turned around to look at Zack.
"My mother's name is Jenova," Claire instantly thought back to her confrontation with Genesis, it reminded her of two things, Jenova cells and what Genesis had said about her parents "She died shortly after I was born. My father…" Sephiroth started to laugh and shake his head "Why am I talking about this?" he turned back towards the town once he stopped laughing "Come on, let's go," with that said, Sephiroth, Cloud and the other soldier walked into the small village.
"Sephiroth's mother's name is Jenova?" Zack wondered aloud.
"Has to be just a coincidence," Claire said to Zack before following the other three. Clearly Zack also remembered what Genesis had said in Modeoheim as well. The young female SOLDIER felt a knot appear in her stomach as well as a feeling that said something bad is going to happen.
As Zack and Claire joined Sephiroth in front of the inn a girl, the same age as Claire, approached them. Claire quickly looked her over, as did Zack and Sephiroth. Black hair, brown eyes, cowboy hat, leather vest, button down top that showed off her middle, short leather skirt with a large black belt and leather cowboy boots. It took a lot of effort for Claire to not raise an eyebrow at the girls odd choice of clothing.
"Are you the SOLDIER people who've come to investigate?" the girl asked, Claire was surprised that the girl didn't seem intimidated at all.
"Yes, we are," Claire responded to her, in a less than friendly tone.
"Why do you ask?" Zack asked in a very friendly tone.
"Are there a lot of SOLDIER First Classes?" the girl asked them. All three SOLDIER operatives felt a pang of hurt at the question, although, Claire's was only for Angeal.
"No, we're a small elite group," Zack answered.
"They only sent three of you?" Claire cocked an eyebrow at the girl. The young pink haired girl wondered how much this country girl knew about SOLDIER.
"Yeah, us and Sephiroth," Zack answered again.
"Oh," was the girl's disappointed reply and she started to walk away. Claire and Zack looked to each other and shrugged not even trying to figure out the girl's words. She turned back after a few steps, her mouth open to say something but she just slowly closed it, shook her head, then inexplicably ran off.
"Weird girl," Zack stated as he crossed his arms.
"I agree," Claire said flatly. The two SOLDIERs turned back to Sephiroth.
"We depart for the reactor at dawn. Only one of you needs to keep watch, so make sure you get some sleep," Sephiroth said to them before opening the door to the inn.
"Why do we have to keep watch?" Claire asked Sephiroth. He turned to her before answering.
"Because I don't want to have to get out of bed," Sephiroth chuckled as he was about walk inside the inn "Ah, that's right," he looked at Cloud over his shoulder "You have permission to go visit family and friends, if you so wish," with that said, Sephiroth went inside the inn.
"What?" Claire said in a confused tone.
"Well that's… that's just unfair," Zack said as he hung his head in defeat. He then turned to Cloud "Why are you wearing the mask?" he asked Cloud. Cloud turned his head away from the SOLDIERs.
"It's… personal," Cloud said quietly. Claire assumed it had something to do with the weird girl but did not particularly care.
"Weirdo," was Zack's response to Cloud.
"I'll take second watch," Claire said to Zack, who swiftly turned to her.
"What? What am I supposed to do until your shift then?" Zack asked quickly.
"I don't know. Go find a ball to play with," Claire said back, making fun of Zack's nickname. Zack just gave the girl a look that had 'not amused' written all over it. She inside the inn and up the stairs only to find Sephiroth looking out a window.
"What are you looking at?" Claire asked in her emotionless tone.
"This landscape… I could swear I've seen it before," Sephiroth's tone indicated he was deep in thought but Claire told herself there was no better time to ask.
"Did you know my parents?" Sephiroth looked down at Claire and she knew he was about to ask why she had asked "In Modeoheim, Genesis said some… things about my parents," Sephiroth already knew what Genesis had said, mainly because he, Angeal, and Genesis used to make fun of the two Farron's.
"Yes, I knew them. And what Genesis said about them…" Sephiroth looked away from Claire and back out the window "Every word was true. But what they did doesn't matter, what does, is what you do with your life and how you can help Serah with hers."
Claire stared out the window as she stood there numbly beside Sephiroth. For years she had been wanting to know the truth about her parents and she always thought she would cry when someone finally told her, especially if it was bad news. However, no tears fell, they did not even form. Claire had no idea why tears refused to appear but she was sure of two things. Serah was happy with the life that had been given to her by the silver elite and Claire missed her chance to grow up with her sister, who was now little more than an acquaintance. That is what made tears form in her eyes, but she blinked them away quickly.
"Sephiroth?" Claire said quietly, she knew he had turned to face her "I have a very bad feeling."
"Why?" Claire knew his eyebrow was raised.
"I don't know. I just feel like something terrible is going to happen."
"Claire," Sephiroth started, he only used her real name now to comfort her "This is a routine investigation. What could possibly happen?" Claire just shook her head at Sephiroth's question "Go get some rest."
Claire was woken up by Zack shaking her arm. She routinely got up and off the bed, attached the sheath for Blaze Edge to her SOLDIER belt and stretched before heading over to the door. She glanced over her shoulder when she heard Zack behind her. The sun streaming through the blinds and the two Shinra soldiers getting ready puzzled her. Did Zack stay up all night? She ignored the question for now and proceeded out of room and out of the inn.
"Why didn't you wake me up for watch?" Claire asked Zack as they headed over to the Shinra Mansion, as the locals called it.
"I was going to but Sephiroth woke up and said he would keep watch," that just further puzzled Claire. Sephiroth was waiting for them outside the gate with the weird girl "Tifa! You're our guide?" Zack had clearly learned weird girl's name while Claire had been asleep.
"At your service!" Tifa said cheerfully "Nobody is a better guide than me in this town," Tifa took off her hat and began smoothing her hair down, causing Zack and Claire to look around and spot a man with a camera.
Zack crossed his arms and took a stoic stance, Tifa just held her hat and smiled, Claire leaned on her left leg and put her left hand on her hip, Sephiroth just kept his hands at his sides, the Masamune extended behind him.
"Okay… Say cheese!" the man with camera said, but none of the four made a noise. A click and a flash later, the four turned to head to the mountain path.
The path up Mount Nibel was treacherous. Pure Mako energy rising out of large holes in the path, the occasional narrow strip of ground, jagged rocks as sharp as swords randomly jutting out of the path, and all manner of monsters, the worst of which was a flying imp ball that the locals called Bombs. The imp balls were named that for the simple fact of, they violently explode at will. With Sephiroth leading, Zack and Claire in tow, no monster proved to be a threat. When the group arrived at the Mako Reactor, Sephiroth immediately started up the stairs.
"I want to go inside and look, too!" Tifa said loudly. Sephiroth turned around to speak.
"This is a top-secret facility. Non-Shinra personnel are not permitted inside."
"But-" Tifa began.
"Keep the young lady safe," Sephiroth said to the masked Cloud.
Zack and Claire proceeded up the stairs behind Sephiroth. When the trio entered the main chamber of the reactor, it was an unnerving sight. Six large pods on either side of a staircase with a large door at the top. Claire stayed at the bottom of the stairs while the other two went to the top. The sign above the door at the top of the stairs was not helping Claire's foreboding feeling. The sign was just six capitol letters engraved in the metal, JENOVA.
Zack and Sephiroth went to the top, took a very brief look around and came back down the stairs. Sephiroth went to the pod at the bottom and just to the left of the staircase.
"This is the cause of the malfunction. This section is broken" Sephiroth stated "Lightning, go seal the valve," Claire went over to a large wheel on one of the many pipes and tuned it "Why did it break?" Sephiroth asked himself.
The three SOLDIER operatives inspected the other pods, checking for any breaks or leaks. When it was determined that only one of the pods was damaged the rejoined near the pod just to the right of the bottom of the stairs. Sephiroth looked in through the small window and stepped away. Zack then decided to take a look himself and then stepped away quickly.
"What is that?" Zack asked in a very freaked out tone. Zack's tone is what made Claire take a look, she could not help but agree with Zack on this one.
"You average SOLDIER members are mako-infused humans," both Zack and Claire turned to Sephiroth as he spoke "You're enhanced, but you're still human. But then, what are those things? Their mako energy levels are exponentially higher than yours."
"Are they…" Zack just trailed off as he leaned forward to take another look.
"Monsters?" Claire finished for Zack. Sephiroth walked away, but stopped in front of the stairs.
"Yes. The Shinra scientist Hojo was the one who created them," Sephiroth turned to the younger SOLDIER's who had followed him to the stairs "Abominations spawned by mako energy… That's what monsters are," Sephiroth's tone had taken on a dark edge at the end.
"You said 'average' member. What about you?" Claire felt like kicking Zack for asking that, she did not know why though. Sephiroth turned away from them and covered his face with his hands as he took a few uneven steps.
"Could it be… that I?" Sephiroth took his hands away from his face and stared at them "Was created the same way? Am I the same as these monsters?" silence fell between them for several moments before Sephiroth spoke again "I knew, ever since I was a child… I was not like the others. I knew mine was a special existence. But this… This was not what I meant. Am I… a human being?"
"No such luck. You are a monster," a soft poetic voice said.
Zack and Claire were hit by powerful fire spells before they had time to react. Sephiroth was able to erect a shield in front of himself, negating the fire spell. A man with a long red coat, faded across the shoulders, and a large black wing landed on the stairs above the incapacitated Zack and Claire.
"Sephiroth… You were the greatest monster created by the Jenova Project."
"Genesis…" Zack half whimpered from the pain.
"You are alive!" Claire shouted not making any attempt to hide her anger. Genesis looked down at her and gave a half smile.
"I suppose I am, if you can call this living," Genesis said as he ran his fingers down his cheek.
"What is the Jenova Project?" Sephiroth asked, ignoring the wounded SOLDIER operatives.
"The Jenova Project was the term used for all experiments relating to the use of Jenova's cells," Genesis explained.
"My mother's… cells?"
"Poor little Sephiroth. You've never actually met your mother. You've only been told her name, no?" Genesis sat down on the stairs, just outside of Claire's reach "I don't know what images you've conjured up in your head, but…"
"Genesis!" Claire growled. He was doing the same thing to Sephiroth that he did to her in Modeoheim.
"Jenova," Genesis said loud enough to be heard over Claire "Was excavated from a two thousand year old rock layer. She's a monster," Sephiroth let out a breath and stepped back as if he had been struck "Sephiroth… I need your help. My body is continuing to degrade," Genesis stood up "SOLDIER First Class Sephiroth!" Genesis walked down the stairs, around Claire "Jenova Project G gave birth to Angeal and monsters like myself," Genesis' tone had a hint of smugness in it "Jenova Project S-"
"S?" Zack questioned the air. He and Claire were recovering from the attack but not fast enough.
"-used the remains of countless failed experiments to create a perfect monster," Genesis continued, not hearing Zack's question.
"What do you want of me?" Sephiroth asked in his soldier tone.
"Your traits cannot be copied unto others. Your genes can't be diffused. Therefor, your body cannot degrade," Genesis smiled up at the ceiling as he spoke the last point. He walked over beside Sephiroth before continuing "Share your cells with me. My friend, your desire is the bringer of life, the gift of the goddess," Genesis pulled a dumbapple out of his coat and held it out to Sephiroth, who turned to him and looked up at the JENOVA sign then back to Genesis.
"Whether your words… Are lies created to deceive me… Or the truth, that I have sought all my life," Claire could hear the confusion and pain in Sephiroth's tone "It makes no difference," Sephiroth swatted the dumbapple out of Genesis' hand "You will rot," Sephiroth then left the chamber and those inside.
"I see… Perfect monster, indeed. Estuans interius ira vehementi. Sors immanis et inanis. Venias, ne me mori facias," Genesis quoted something Claire did not recognize as he walked out of the chamber.
"No! Stop!" Zack yelled as he struggled to his feet and stumbled after Genesis. Claire soon followed him.
When Zack and Claire got out of the reactor, both Sephiroth and Genesis were nowhere to be seen. However, there were three Genesis copies attacking Cloud and Tifa. There were two weak copies in red versions of the Shinra soldier uniforms and a large armored copy with a scythe. Before either SOLDIER was able to help, Cloud was hit by a spell from the large armored copy and fell to the ground. Being SOLDIER First Class, Zack and Claire quickly disposed of the Genesis copies.
"Tifa, help back to the village. Lightning and I will clear your path," Zack said to the girl.
He and Claire did exactly what Zack said they would and mercilessly vanquished any monsters and Genesis copies that got between them and the village. When they arrived back in the tiny village, Zack took the masked Cloud from Tifa and to the inn and Tifa asked around about Sephiroth. Claire stood watch out front of the inn, waiting for Tifa. It was about Midnight when Claire gave up waiting and wanted to get some sleep. She went inside woke up Zack, removed Blaze Edge and its sheath, then lay on top of the covers of the bed and promptly fell asleep. She woke up an hour after dawn and saw the blond just waking up as well.
"How are you feeling?" Claire asked in a detached way as she picked up Blaze Edge's sheath.
"I just need a bit more rest," Cloud said flatly.
As the pink haired SOLDIER walked out of the inn, she was nearly ambushed by Zack. He had told her that Tifa had told him that Sephiroth was up at the Shinra Mansion, so they went there themselves. It was a short walk from the village and the gate was open, confirming the information they got from the girl. Claire wasted no time on heading in but Zack stopped and pulled his phone out his pocket when Claire was out of earshot. Once Claire was opening the door to the mansion, Zack ran up behind her.
"Who was that?" she asked, referring to his phone call.
"My girlfriend," Zack said cheerfully. Claire rolled her eyes.
"Why such a short call?"
"Bad reception out here. I promised her I would go visit once we are done here," Zack said in his cheerful tone.
The two SOLDIERs scoured the building searching for their commanding officer but found nothing. They took a break in the room with the curved brick wall with a large sliding door in it. Wordlessly agreeing there was nowhere else to check, they opened the door and went down into the basement. The basement was cold, dry, and very stuffy, obviously did not have good air circulation in the slightest. The were doors in the walls but beyond each door was a collection of coffins. Neither SOLDIER wanted to get within ten feet of any of the coffins, so they let the caskets lie there and quietly shut the door behind them each time they found a room with coffins. At the end of the long cave, they found a library/lab.
Sephiroth was pacing back and forth reading a book and muttering what he read. Claire caught a few phrases like 'suspended animation' and 'Reactor One authorized for use' but most of the mutterings were incomprehensible. Both had tried to get Sephiroth's attention but it was like their calls fell on deaf ears. The two young SOLDIERs decided to keep watch at the mansion, sleeping in shifts and patrolling from the basement lab/library to the village.
For six days, the two SOLDIERs had broken sleep patterns, walked up and down a multitude of stairs, and waited for Sephiroth. For six days, the light in the basement never shut off, Sephiroth never stopped reading, the shelves were slowly left bare of books which had been put in piles scattered around the library. For six days, Sephiroth never left the mansion.
But on the seventh day…
I know I am evil for leaving it there. Anyone know what Genesis quoted?
By the way, just wanted to let you all know that I am still taking suggestions for pairings.
As always, please leave a Review.