Sorry about the lack of chapter yesterday. I went with my mother down to help her take care of her parents (my grandfather has congestive heart failure and probably has until the end of the summer). There's no internet down there and even if there was I probably wouldn't have time to write with how much there is to do down there.
And a lengthy discussion about a gangster octopus on a ninja farm kept me temporarily distracted for a while as well (Yeah, I'm still confused about that one). But I'm back, so hello everyone and I hope you enjoy the chapter!
I have been told there needs to be more drama and sarcasm, so more there shall be. And what's more fun to write than angst and sarcasm?
COMMENT REPLIES
cloti4life, that is brilliant! I am going to do everything I can think of to work in Cloud taking someone out with a stapler! Or maybe add in some Black Bulter style combat AKA killing people with forks and serving trays.
022, I got occupational hazard from fullmetal alchemist. "Childbirth is not alchemy! Why must you relate everything to alchemy!" "I can't help it! It's an occupational hazard, it's just how it think"
Cloud against AVALANCHE. Brilliant twist! If you write it out, let me know. And I've found to internet is not nearly as dangerous as the previous generation would have us believe. There are trolls out there, but most people are alright, at least on Fanfic.
Ledah13, yes, Turks have an allergy to emotions. Symptoms include irritability, shortness of breath, and acute stupidity.
Ninja & the Writer, do you laugh when you talk about horror movies too? Not because it's funny, but because they make you freak out and for some reason smiling is a natural reaction to being terrified.
OhJay, I'm glad you liked Zack's umbrella battle ^_^ ledah has an idea for an entire scene discussing the naming of the gunblade that I really need to hurry up and write.
HazzaTL3, their map is ridiculous. And I can barely keep track of real geography, so remembering that of ff7 is a nightmare for me. And Reno totally does have marks under his eyes!
I think the comment responses are going to get as long as the chapter one of these days.
It won't cure you, but it will slow the disease's progression and prevent you from spreading it to other people, so you don't have to withdraw from human contact.
Cloud tilted his head back as he swallowed one of the small white pills the clinic physician had given him. So he wouldn't have to leave after all. If he could keep himself from spreading it to the rest of AVALANCHE, he could stay with them until he died. At least in theory. In truth, he would be gone long before that so they want them to have to see him die. After everything Zack went through to save him, it would be cruel to make him helplessly watch his best friend's slow, agonizing death, and Zack would end up taking care of him while also trying to fight Shirna just like when they escaped from Hojo. No, he wouldn't put Zack through that again. He would leave before it came to that.
The hardest part was finding the motivation to keep going. Was it really worth it to try to put himself back together if he would only be there another few months? Why fight so hard to live if he was just going to die no matter what he did? But then again, everyone lived with that. Everyone dies eventually. What exactly did propel the human race forward, anyway?
"Cloud Strife," Zack said through the door, "open up."
"What?" Cloud asked once he got the slightly rusted latch to cooperate.
"This is an intervention. Your hair is out of control. Several flocks of chocobos were seen following you and it's pointiness has been deemed a hazard to public society as well as some low flying birds. It's time; we're taking you to a barber."
"You're one to talk, porcupine," Cloud retorted, "So what's actually going on?"
"Some announcement is coming on the news about Shinra. I'm not sure what happened yet, but you might want to come down... Are you alright?"
"Yeah!" the moment it left his mouth, he knew he had overcompensated. It sounded too forceful and cheerful to be natural for him, especially after what had transpired the previous night.
"What is it?" Zack asked, "You look pale. Do you feel sick?"
"I'm fine," Cloud searched for a cover. Instead of lying, he could just tell a different truth. Something that really was on his mind, "It's just, I really liked them. Biggs, Wedge, and Jessie I mean. I know we should be used to it by now, but..."
"Death isn't something you ever completely get used to. At least I didn't. I think the day when death stops effecting you at all is the day you've given up on life," Zack told him.
"But what if I have?" he ignored his better judgment and let the words he'd long withheld escape, "I'm so sick of the living like this. Running and fighting and knowing that if we ever stop we die. And even if we do everything right, we still might not make it! I just want it to end."
"I know," in that moment, he looked far too old to be Zack. He was 23, but with the eyes of a man much older, "So do I."
Cloud stood awkwardly staring at his feet, just as unsure of how to put his thoughts into words as he was as the shy teenager Zack met on the mountain, "I don't want to die, Zack."
"Me neither, buddy," he said gently, then added, "But I'm becoming less strongly opposed to it all the time. There are some people up there I'd like to see again."
"Do you think there's an afterlife?" Cloud asked.
"Of course. Life sucks way too badly for this to be all there is," Zack said, "I'll be downstairs. Let me know if you need anything."
His resolve was restored, at least for the time being. He would keep moving forward for Zack and Tifa as long as he could, and accept death when it came.
"Father!" she screamed as she sprinted past dozens of burning buildings, but none of them registered. There was only one thing that mattered. "Father!" Then she saw him lying in the grass and knelt down at his side.
"Tifa," he whispered. "Run" his eyes went dark.
"Father!" she cried, "Father, please don't leave me" But she knew he was gone. And she knew who was responsible.
"Sephiroth," she said, hate dripping from every syllable. She ran into the reactor where she knew he would be. Standing in front of the tank containing Jenova was..
"Jessie?" Tifa froze. She didn't understand. How could Jessie be here? And where was Sephiroth?
"What are you doing here?" Tifa asked
"You can't stop it, Tifa," Jessie's voice was distant and monotone. Her eyes were vacant glass orbs. Fire began to spring up around her. The fire around Jessie grew until Tifa could feel the heat burning her from across the reactor. Jessie's empty eyes stared at her through the flames.
"You can't stop the fire, Tifa. It will consume you, just like everything else"
The fire was everywhere. All around her the flames grew closer. She spun around looking for somewhere, anywhere to run to, but the fire had her surrounded. She couldn't escape it.. She would burn with the rest of Nibelhiem.
"It's all because of you," Jessie's eyes bore into her, "You killed us. You're selfishness killed us.
Murderer."
"No, I didn't mean-"
"Murderer!" Jessie shrieked, "You earned this. You deserve to burn here! Burn with your victims!"
"I never meant to-"
"MURDERER!"
.
"Tifa"
Her eyes snapped open. The fire was gone. Now there were only white walls and bedroom furnishings.
"You okay?" Cloud asked. Tifa exhaled in relief. She had never been happier to see someone in her life.
"I'm fine," Tifa said forcing a quick smile. She jumped out of bed brushing past Cloud, doing her best to make it look like there was a skip in her step. She couldn't let him see the broken little girl behind the mask, wishing she could go back to when her mother was still there to comfort her and her father was there to protect her. Those long lost days when she felt safe.
"So what's on the agenda for today?" she asked when she had composed herself enough to make sure no hints of her inner turmoil were noticeable in her voice. Cloud had enough on his mind without worrying about what was on her's
"We have to come up with a plan"
"A plan for what?" Tifa turned around, feeling she had now done a thorough job of erasing the fear from her eyes.
"I don't know," Cloud thought for a moment, "I guess how we are going to avoid being caught by Shinra. Basically a plan of how to not die."
"Are we still going to try to fight Shinra to save the planet?"
Cloud shrugged, "You're going to have to ask Zack or Barret"
"They're already up?" Tifa's eyes widened. Zack and Barret both slept in like teenagers, "I'm the last one?"
Tifa was always, always the first one up in the morning. Even when she was sick, she was still awake before everyone else. And now she was last? She had been more shaken than she thought.
"Zack woke up weirdly early this morning," Cloud said, clearly a bit confused by Tifa's strong reaction, "I know Zack's not exactly a morning person. Actually, he's a royal pain to kick out of bed, but he got up early today. Barret and Cissnei have been up for about half and hour... and I didn't sleep"
Due to her effort to seem 'alright' she hadn't noticed how tired Cloud looked, but now the dark circles under his eyes seemed obvious.
"Not at all?"
"Maybe a few minutes," Cloud shifted uncomfortably, "We should go down and see what's going on."
"Is something wrong?" Tifa asked. Cloud bit his lip, unsure of what to say.
"Things are bad, Teef"
"What happened?" she was beyond worried. If Cloud thought things were bad, it must be a nightmare.
"I'll just have to show you," he lead her downstairs where she heard Zack, Barret, and Cissnei arguing. The three of them disagreeing wasn't anything unusual, but they didn't normally sound this stressed.
"I think we should find somewhere safe and lay low for a while. Maybe we can just wait it out," Cissnei's voice was low, but the tension remained obvious.
"Wait for it to be over?" the frustration in Barret's voice was verging on pure outrage, "And when will that be? Months? Years? We can't just sit here and do nothing!"
"For once, I agree with Barret," Zack was every bit as edgy as the other two, "We need to keep our cover, but I don't think this is something that will just blow over."
"We're the most wanted people in the world right now," Cissnei argued, "You and Cloud aren't just fugitives that Shinra is trying to keep quiet anymore. When you got to Midgar, they didn't send soldiers into the city after you because they were trying not to attract too much attention. They don't have to be careful anymore." It was the first time Tifa had heard Cissnei sound scared.
"So what if they ain't got to be careful. I'd prefer a straight fight anyway," Barret stopped when he saw Tifa.
"Hey, Teef. Have ya heard the news?"
"What happened?" Tifa repeated the question, unsure if she wanted to know the answer. Cissnei picked up the television remote and clicked off the mute.
"This happened"
On the screen were pictures of them. Zack, Cloud, and Cissnei were all shown in photos taken while they worked for Shinra. They had a blurry picture of Barret running and Tifa's high school picture from her freshman year. She could only guess at how they had gotten her school picture, but it went on the ever growing list of thing Shinra had done that she just didn't want to know about. The camera zoomed in on Barret and Tifa.
"The large black man and the young dark haired woman belong to a terrorist group known as AVALANCHE," said the news anchor. The screen then changed to show Zack and Cloud, "They are believed to be housing these two fugitives who attempted to kill the war hero Sephiroth in a small town called Nibelheim five years ago."
"What?" Tifa couldn't say anything else. Her voice had been stolen by disbelief.
"My words exactly," Zack said dejected, "Keep watching. It gets better"
The television changed to a news reporter standing with the man who had plagued her dreams for the past five years.
"I am here with First Class SOLDIER, Sephiroth, who has reappeared after going missing five years ago."
"No," Tifa whispered. She didn't hear the reporter's words anymore. Sephiroth. Alive. It couldn't be. Her hearing returned in time for the reporter's first question.
"What happened that day?"
Cloud's mind was numb. There was no one left to go wake up. No more excuses or distractions to avoid the truth. Sephiroth was alive.
He couldn't breath. Everything he had kept buried beneath his calm facade threatened to break through the mask.
"I had just arrived at the reactor with my comrades Zack Fair and Cloud Strife," it was more terrifying to hear him speak. His image could be faked, but his speech proved that he was real.
"We were all sent there on a mission to investigate a break in the mako reactor. I hadn't known Strife for very long, but he seemed to be a promising young soldier. In addition to that, Zack was quite fond of him, and Zack was a trusted friend." Had Cloud not seen for himself the flames and slaughter in Nibelheim, he would have believed the silver haired soldier.
"But Zackary had never been the same since the death of his good friend and mentor, Angeal. Zack used this new friend, Cloud Strife, to replace Angeal, but before he could become a replacement he had to become a SOLDIER. Strife had talent, his natural ability went far beyond his years. There was only one thing standing in the way of him moving up to SOLDIER. Me"
Cloud stole a glance at Zack. He looked just as miserable as Cloud felt.
"Strife was equally ambitious, and together they sought to be rid of me by any means necessary."
"And by what means did they attempt, and for a while succeed, to get rid of you?" The reporter asked.
"I was inspecting the reactor when I was attacked from behind and fell into the lifestream. I never saw which one of them did it. I'm hoping it was Strife, for I didn't know him as well, but it could easily have been Zack. I will never know. Either way, it was quite a shock."
"What would you do if you ran into either of them again?"
"Kill them," Sephiroth answered bluntly. His eyes flickered with the insanity they had held the last time he had seen him. The reporter took an unconscious step back. It took a moment for Sephiroth to notice the unease surrounding him.
"It's only logical," he continued, "It would be kinder to end there lives quickly the moment I saw them, before the trial after which they would most certainly be sentenced to death."
Cloud had heard enough. It wasn't just Shinra anymore. The whole world was against them.
"Any plans on how we're going to survive this one?" he asked Zack.
"You know me. I'll wing it," Zack was attempting to hide his apprehension, but failing miserably.
"We can't wing this," Cissnei said, her whole body ridged, "If we are going to get out of this alive, we need information."
"And how do you plan on getting that?" Zack shot back.
"... No idea" The group fell silent, each one lost in their own thoughts.
"Why don't we just keep doing what we're doing?" Barret said. Having no emotional ties to the news, he viewed Sephiroth's return in a far less complex light, "He's just another Shinra nutjob. We keep blowin' up reactors and we'll deal with Sephir-whatever when we meet him."
"Yeah, because it worked out so well the last time," Cissnei said bitterly, but she didn't bring up that she turned out to be right in their last argument, probably for Tifa's sake Cloud thought.
"Sephiroth isn't just 'another Shinra nutjob'," Zack interjected, "I doubt he's even really on Shinra's side, and he's just as skilled as he is insane."
"What really did happen at Nibelheim anyway?" Barret asked.
"I've told you before," Tifa replied, "Sephiroth went crazy and burned everything to the ground."
"I know, but then what? How did he really disappear?"
"It's actually pretty close to what he said," Cloud answered, "I threw him into the lifestream. He just left out the part where he hurt Tifa, beat Zack unconsciousness, and stabbed me"
"Sound's like a nice guy," Barret said with raised eyebrows, "Probably good with kids. Why exactly did he do all this?"
Cloud zoned out while Zack briefly explained Sephiroth's origin and connection with Jenova. The world thought Sephiroth was a hero again. Understandable. He had once believed the same thing. The truth was so well obscured in Shinra one could say black was white and it would be accepted as fact. Sephiroth represented every naive dream he had once had that went up in flames with Nibelhiem. He was the cause of everything they'd endured and the disastrous situation they were in now. The only people left on his side were the ones in this room. He was so tired of running, but now everyone was hunting them. Would the nightmare never end?
He didn't notice he was hyperventilating until he started to get lightheaded. Then the flashes started again. Fire, green, needles, and Sephiroth.
"Kill them," a voice screamed in his head as loudly as though it were a physical sound, "Kill them all!"
He sprinted up the stairs to the room he and Zack shared and slammed the door shut. The moment the rusty latch to lock, he sank to the floor. The panic attacks could be explained by the mako poisoning, but voices telling him to kill people was something else entirely. Even more terrifying, not only had he heard the command, but for a split second, intended to obey it. What was wrong with him? Was he crazy? How could he think something like that if he wasn't?
He's just started to recover, and now Jessie, Wedge, and Biggs were dead, Sephiroth was alive, and he was going out of his mind. He kicked the nearest piece of furniture, a desk of some sort, in frustration. A vase that had been sitting on top of it shattered across the floor in a thousand pieces.
He was surprised Zack hadn't followed him up yet. Maybe he attributed his flight to the strictly psychological factor of Sephiroth's return and decided it was best to leave him alone for a while.
"Tseng, what the hell is going one?" Reno demanded, "Why are we supposed to take the weird guy with the silver hair to Sector 7, why are there a bunch of Shinra grunts in my helicopter, where's Rude, and isn't the guy with the ridiculous sword supposed to be dead anyway?"
"I have something to ask you first," Tseng said icily, "And you said I'm mentally impaired. What were you thinking?"
"If anyone should be ticked, it's Rude and I!" Reno countered, "They didn't know we were out of the building yet when they blew the whole place up! If I didn't disobey orders, we'd both be dead right now."
"No, I meant what were you thinking coming back? They know we're lying to the rest of the company so that was their attempt to get rid of you and make it look like an accident. Why are you still here?"
"I'm a Turk. Where else am I supposed to go?" Reno shrugged, "Are you going to answer the rest of my questions or not?"
Tseng sighed, "Their base of operations was destroyed, but AVALANCHE remains. It could be ages before Shinra relocates them, so desperate measures call for the destruction of the entire sector. Shinra has been given a great opportunity. Sephiroth, although insane, is still viewed as a charismatic hero. I'm hoping the President isn't so naive as to believe he can control this man or bend him to his will in any way, but Sephiroth may have him convinced that he really is on Shinra's side," Tseng thought for a moment.
"Although if the President is sending him to Sector 7, odds are he knows he can't trust this man and intends to get rid of him there. I don't know what Sephiroth's true motives are, but I can guarantee they have nothing to do with the well being of Shinra company. He's going to Sector 7 tomorrow because he's been told Shinra is going to threaten to blow up the support pillar and obliterate the entire Sector to draw out AVALANCHE, when the true intention is to actually destroy the place."
"Uh.. I'm not much of a politician, but doesn't the general public typically frown upon genocide? And that still doesn't explain why Sephiroth is complying with this."
"Anything that happens will be blamed on AVALANCHE. It's even easier to put the blame on them now since they're already viewed as criminals who attempted to kill a celebrated hero. Sephiroth enjoys power. My best guess is he's testing the waters to see if Shinra will be useful to him or if it would be more efficient to go solo," Tseng momentarily lost himself in deep contemplation.
"Does it hurt to think that hard?" Reno asked. Tseng ignored him.
"I don't know what exactly he's after, but he was always mission oriented. There must be something he wants. Why he's still alive, I have no idea. Oh, and the helicopter isn't yours to begin with. It belongs to the company; they can use it as they wish. Anymore questions?"
"Sure, plenty. Why is the sky blue, why is the grass green, why is a raven like a writing desk, and why does it look like it damages your soul to be remotely happy? If you'll allow me to go get my list, I have plenty more."
"Blue light is scattered by the atmosphere at a downward angle and the other colors cannot be seen until sunset, chlorophyll, no one knows, and because I work with you."
"You missed one"
"What?"
"Where's Rude?"
"Doing what he's supposed to be doing and getting ready for his next mission. Now go do something productive you unremitting source of incessant aggravation."
Only in hide sight did Zack realized that due to the numerous possible weapons present, the kitchen is not an ideal arena for a political debate.
"Why do you insist on dying?" Cissnei shouted angrily across the room at Barret as she chopped an onion a bit more aggressively than was probably necessary.
"Why are you determined to be completely useless and let the planet die!" Barret retorted as he slammed the refrigerator door shut.
"Why are both of you so loud?" Zack interjected irritably, unconsciously drumming his fingers on the table. He kept his eyes locked on the window, trying to ignore the fight surrounding him, until Cloud set a plate down in front of him.
"Zack, you get the anti-conformist plate," he commented referring to the single blue plate contrasting all of the other white ones, "It's random weirdness suits you."
"It's not a weird as you having two glasses," Zack replied, grateful for the temporary distraction, "You can't do that."
"The milk one is almost empty, and I'm putting water in the next because there isn't much milk left in the pitcher," Cloud defended his extra glass, "Unless you're pouring the same thing back in, you get a new glass."
"No you don't. You use the same one so you don't have to wash as many dishes."
"What's so terrible about washing two glasses?"
"You just can't!" Zack exclaimed, "The universe will explode! The very fabric of space and time will begin the unravel and initiate the end of life as we know it!"
"'The end of life as we know it'," Cloud repeated, the playfulness gone from his voice, "Getting kind of used to that one, aren't we, Zack?"
Suddenly, the argument behind them went silent. Zack turned around to see a fork imbedded in the wall behind Barret's head.
As a shuriken wielding Turk, there was no way Cissnei would ever have accidentally hit him, but on principle, throwing a fork at someone's head is not the recommended way to solve your differences.
"WHAT WAS THAT!" Barret shouted, "I disagree wit' cha, so ya try to kill me?"
"Oh, relax," Cissnei went back to cutting vegetables, "I never miss. At least not at this distance."
"Oh, so 'at makes it okay?" Barret asked angrily, "If I decide to shoot a hole in that cabinet there beside ya, is 'at fine too?"
"No, because the gunshot could draw attention to this building and possibly get us discovered"
"Listen Turk, you may know how things work at Shinra, but out here in the real world, we have somethin' called 'Rules of conduct'"
"Good for you," Cissnei still hadn't turned around, only angering Barret more, "I'll have it printed on a t-shirt for you."
"You're just askin' for an-!"
"Where's Tifa?" Cloud interrupted.
Everyone fell silent. Cissnei spun around in surprise.
"You mean she's not back yet?" she glanced up at the clock, "We had to buy all new food since we lost everything at Seventh. We got what we could close by, but in the end Tifa had to go to the main market anyway. She should have been back here an hour ago."
Zack messaged his temples trying to clear his already overloaded mind, "Then I guess we'd better go find her"