WARNING! This chapter is nasty. Bad things happen. Violence is committed. Things are remembered.
I apologize for the lateness; Kingdom Hearts II ate my soul.
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Chapter Nine
Crying
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"They took you away from me. That was a very stupid thing to do, and trust me, they paid for it. For a long, very painful time, they paid for it."
"I have no idea what you're talking about."
Cloud was barely awake, but when he heard Sephiroth's voice, he forced his heavy eyelids open and turned towards his lover.
It had soon become obvious that the man in white had wanted them for Sephiroth. The spellcaster had been put away, locked in a small cage so that he wasn't in the way. Cloud hated it, but not nearly as much as he hated the fact that he was used as blackmail. He was useless to Hojo as anything else. If Sephiroth refused to do whatever the men wanted him to do, they'd torture Cloud. And that was something the general couldn't handle; he always gave up, no matter if Cloud kept telling him not to. He would handle the pain if it meant Sephiroth came to no harm.
The trouble was, Sephiroth's thoughts went along the very same lines. But all Cloud got was physical pain. What they were doing to Sephiroth… the spellcaster didn't know for sure, but it involved syringes and long sessions of the man, Hojo, alone with the general. No good could come from it.
"You're such a cruel child, Sephiroth. Lucky for us, your so-called 'mother' was foolish enough to let you join those two-bit peace rallyers. And for once, that moron's spies were efficient in their work. And I found you." The man was cooing at the general now, and Sephiroth, tied to a table, tried in vain to move away from him.
"You're not… making any sense!"
"Hmh? Are you seriously trying to tell me, that you never wondered why you looked nothing like your parents? You don't even look Wutaian."
"My father was from the north, asshole."
"Yes, I'm sure that's what they kept telling you. Did you ever meet him?"
"He… died when I was just a baby."
"Hah. They couldn't even come up with anything better than that? And you bought the lies? Maybe you're not as smart as I thought. Well, easily remedied, that one." Hojo picked up a syringe filled with green material. It almost glowed. "She will help you…"
"Stop lying to him!" Cloud surprised even himself. He had learned the hard way that interrupting Hojo usually meant pain, but he couldn't bear the look of utter confusion on Sephiroth's face. Hojo was so good with his lies that the general was beginning to buy into them, little by little. And whatever was in those syringes, injected to him several times a day, it only seemed to turn the man towards Hojo more and more.
"Would someone PLEASE silence that maggot? Is it really asking too much? You can't keep a good bitch down, I know, but at least try!" Hojo was almost livid when he turned away from the general. Sephiroth had as well turned towards his lover, and was shaking his head, despair in his green eyes. Cloud locked eyes with him, pouring all his love and adoration into the exchange before he was surrounded by three of Hojo's goons. They opened the cage and pulled him out. The spellcaster could barely stand on his own feet, so stiff he was from being kept in such small quarters for so long. He tried to keep his eyes on Sephiroth as he was dragged away to be punished. He wouldn't mind the pain, not when he knew that every time Hojo hurt him, it would keep Sephiroth from believing his lies for a few moments longer.
-x-x-x-
Cloud started awake from his dream when the boat reached the shore, slowing its speed quite suddenly before stopping completely. He almost fell from his unstable position on the bench, but managed to stay upright. Zack was helping the two sailors with the mooring, greeting the people on the piers. The spellcaster forced himself up, shivering in the coldness of the early morning sea breeze. Mideel wasn't too far from the larger continent, but the difference in the weather was very notable. Yawning widely, he stretched and folded the blanket someone had wrapped around his shoulders sometime during the cold night. Jammy was warking excitedly in the bow, eager to get on the ground.
They were back in the seaside town Zack had taken them to, just a few months ago. They'd managed to catch a ride across the sea with the two merchants, on the morning following master Ranael's call. Aeris and Elmyra had stayed behind, back in Mideel. There had been no reason for them to leave home; Elmyra was so enamoured with the little cottage and the village that she'd planned to spend the rest of her life there. Aeris had been considerably less happy that the men had left so suddenly, but after Zack had promised that they'd be right back, she'd let his hand go in the chill of the morning.
That was yesterday, and there was no reason to suspect that they wouldn't return soon. Both Zack and Cloud agreed on that, based on what the master had told them and what they knew of ShinRa. So soon after the last war, it wasn't likely they'd have anything like a big army. The President just didn't like to lose, and was trying to claim land and victory where ever he could manage. He'd probably have only a small troop of men sent to the Fort, enough to stir trouble and keep people on their toes. There was of course the possibility that the attack would be serious, but with the promise of more Peacemakers on their way to help, and with the Fort's own soldiers, of course, the fight wouldn't be a long one.
They passed quickly through the town, only stopping to say hello to Jonah and to pick up one of the chocobos from the farm where they'd left the two they'd caught last year. Zack of course rode on Jammy, but Cloud was given a well-trained chocobo. It was hard to believe it was the same stubborn bird the spellcaster had fought to catch.
"He actually does what I want him to…" the blond said, shaking his head with amusement as the trainer and Zack looked on.
"It's a she, actually. I named her Xenia." The trainer told him. "She's a very good chocobo, aren't you, Xenia? Yes you are!" The man laughed as the chocobo nuzzled him with her beak. "You can always bring her back here, I'll take good care of her for you."
"Thank you…" Cloud muttered, blushing a bit as he sat on the cooing bird's back. She seemed almost hesitant to leave her friends and trainer, but followed Jammy obediently through the forest.
They rode in silence until they reached the end of the forest. After that there was room enough for the two chocobos to travel side by side, and the men could talk with each other without having to shout too loud.
"So… you've fought in Fort Condor before right? What was it like?" Cloud asked once the chocobos found a steady pace. Zack shrugged.
"It wasn't too bad. The fort has many soldiers stationed in there, and they don't have much to do besides train. Of course, back then ShinRa was still at war with Wutai, and had troops to send here as well, on their way to Wutai. The battles were pretty even, it was ShinRa numbers against Fort stubbornness."
"Kinda like Wutai, then."
"Yeah. Good thing is, the Fort, as you know, is on a hill, so the attackers have to climb up where the defenders wait."
"With boiled oil and such?"
Zack gave the spellcaster almost a disgusted look. "Eww, no. That'd be cruel."
"For Shiva's sake, Zack. There's no room to be queasy in battle. You kill or you get killed."
"I know, but there's no reason to be all ShinRa about it. The Fort is easy to keep and defend, no matter what the numbers of foot soldiers attacking, because it's hard to climb, and only a certain number of men can get up there at once. Now, if we were talking about an aerial attack, that would be different. And we can't use boiled oil or stuff like that on aerial attacks."
"Catapults work with aerials." Cloud said with a shrug.
"They have catapults, but ShinRa hasn't so far gotten aerially serious about the Fort."
"So it's not too likely this time either."
"Yeah, I doubt it, with how much damage you guys caused him in Wutai. This should be easy."
"Great. Now you jinxed it. We're all gonna die."
"Don't tell me you're superstitious? I never would have guessed, Cloud. This is a whole new side of you." Zack laughed and leaned over to poke the spellcaster in the side.
"Shut up you moron. I just think it's best not to take any chances with ShinRa. Think about it. It's supposed to be an easy gig, we both know that. But now you say something like that. AND, in addition, you and Aeris just started to date, and you practically swore you'd come back to her. Another sure way to get yourself killed. We're doomed, thanks to you." Cloud explained. Zack wanted to inch Jammy away from the blond who seemed completely serious with his words.
"Okay… you can see the future now or something?"
"No. I've just read a lot. That's how drama works. It could only be worse if you two were having a baby. Or one of us was retiring within a week. You two aren't having a baby, right?"
"Ifrit's balls, no! Geez! You're freaking me out here, you know." Zack was trying to laugh, but wasn't succeeding too well. "Are you off your rocker or something?"
"Nah. Just trying to unjinx your jinx. Now that I've said all that out loud, it's not likely that it'll happen. So we don't have to worry about that, just concentrate on the battle." The blond explained like it was the most natural thing ever. Zack just stared.
"Well, it's… great… that you're… looking after us like that. I suppose." The fighter finally managed to say.
"Dork." Was Cloud's comment. "I'm just fucking with your mind."
"Well, guess you have to stoop to that, seeing that fucking with my body didn't really work."
"I walked right into that one, didn't I…"
"Yes, Cloud, you did. You practically ran into it." Zack chuckled to himself while Cloud shrugged one shoulder. He was not used to seeing this side of the spellcaster, and said as much out loud. "I mean, how can you say something so weird with a straight face? I'd be grinning too much to be taken seriously."
"Just take it as my way of coping with things, ok? It's been a long while since I was in a proper battle." The blond muttered.
"Hey, it's been longer for me. But it's just like riding a chocobo: once you learn how to do it, you never forget."
"That's true. Speaking of forgetting… I've been having dreams lately… ever since that time at the spring." Cloud's voice fell so quiet that Zack had to lean closer to hear his last words. He perked up immediately, wary because he had no idea what to expect next.
"Really? Wanna talk about it?"
"I think they're memories. They feel real, and thinking about them, I remember smells and sounds. It could just be my imagination and subconscious fucking with me, but I don't think so. I think they're real memories."
Zack nodded, not wanting to interrupt the blond with words. Cloud tugged on Xenia's reins, making the chocobo slow down. Jammy immediately followed suit, and the fighter guided the green bird closer to the yellow one.
"I remember being in the… the place with Hojo. He'd keep us locked in cages when they weren't running some sort of tests with us. It started right away, the next morning or whatever after we woke up there. They came and started to pick on Seph. I'm not sure what they did, but they had all these medical equipment, and syringes, and green, glowing stuff. I think it was Mako, but I didn't understand most of what was going on.
"After they were done with Seph, it was my turn. It was horrible being naked on that steel table, under these bright lights. And their eyes. Hojo would stare at me like I was an insect, something annoying but interesting enough to be poked at. He kept talking to Seph like they'd met before, tried to convince him of it. And with all the experiments and shit, Seph started to believe it. He'd… he'd rather believe Hojo than me. That… hurt. Hojo was one sick fuck, but he was good enough at what he did to make Seph believe him." Cloud stopped talking when the lump in his throat forced him to. Zack wanted to offer comfort, stop the chocobos and just hug the spellcaster, but the blond continued talking.
"Hojo did all these experiments with Seph. Most of the time he'd 'let' me watch, but sometimes he'd lock me away in this dark storage room or something. Usually when I tried to meddle with the bull he was feeding Seph. He was starting to believe Hojo's words, but I could still get him to think for himself. He didn't like it when Hojo hurt me, and Hojo hurt me when I'd try to meddle with his game. So, when he hurt me to stop me from meddling, he was actually helping with making Seph realize that Hojo was the bad guy, and shouldn't be trusted. But Hojo's not stupid, I guess. He'd… start to keep us separated from each other.
"At first he'd used me for some tests too, but as days went on, he'd leave me alone and just mess with Seph. They'd seen him with his camera, and took it away from him. But not before he could hide the film. In the bag, I guess. That's… pretty much all I've remembered so far. Maybe my mind isn't capable of taking it all in at once…"
"How can… how can you be so cool about this?" Zack asked, trying very hard not to scream. It had taken all his restrain not to call the blond cold. Especially now when the spellcaster chuckled, even if there was no mirth in his voice.
"If I'd let this get to me, right now, I'd start to scream, and I don't think I'd be able to stop anytime soon. I can't break right now." Cloud pointed ahead of them, where the fort and the hill it rested on were clearly in sight already. Zack started when he saw it, he hadn't realized they were that close already. Looking to the right, they could spot movement in the horizon. ShinRa troops, most likely. The chocobos picked up speed at their rider's command.
The troops at the Fort were keeping a close eye on the ShinRa troops when the two Peacemakers made it to the top of the hill. Catapults were dragged to their perches, barricades built and moats dug. The enemy was well within sight now, and as they made their way up to the top of the hill, Cloud and Zack could see the last of them reach the first lines. The ShinRa army was arranging itself to several rows of tents.
"I'd say there's no more than a thousand of them." Zack estimated when they'd reached the top. "But there are only 200 of our guys in the area, if that. Shit. I guess ShinRa is serious."
Cloud nodded, agreeing. "Well, it's not like we get a choice in this. We have to fight."
"It's not that bad, like I said, only a few men can get up the hill at once. You saw the paths yourself just now." The fighter didn't seem too worried.
"Hmh. I still say we should gather some oil. Boiling water works as well."
"You're a cruel little man, you know that?" Zack said with a smirk as they gave the reins of their chocobos to one of the Fort soldiers. They were told that they were already expected at the top of the Fort tower, so Zack lead the way in.
The view from the tower was marvelous; Cloud suspected that on a clear day they'd be able to see the island where Mideel was. Now a cold mist hung over the horizon, and everyone's eyes were on the approaching army anyway.
"The first appeared here this morning. I'd say there are between 800 and 900 of them…" were the first words from a tall man standing on a high window sill at the top of the tower. He hadn't bothered to turn around to greet them, his eyes and binoculars trained on the army.
"Yeah, that's our guess as well." Zack said with a nod and sat down on a small chair next to an equally small table. The room was little more than a crow's nest for keeping guard. Still, the table top and the walls were covered with maps and other notes. Cloud went to stand next to the man at the window, looking down at the armies. The man only then turned to look at him.
"You must be spellcaster Strife? Master Ranael told us to expect you and Lindeman. Wasn't expecting you so soon, but by the looks of it you're just in time."
"We managed to catch a boat here right away." Zack explained as the man leaned over to shake hands with Cloud.
"Good. We're about ready here. I just hope they're going to attack and not just keep us here, blocked from the rest of the world. If they do that, they'll eventually drive us into attacking them, and then we'll be in trouble."
"Hadn't thought of that…" Cloud muttered, glancing over his shoulder at Zack. The fighter didn't seem too worried.
"I dunno. Old man ShinRa ain't too patient. And he's been known to be a ruthless and demanding guy. He could just order his troops to attack, and they'd have to do it. No matter if the soldiers know that they're toast if they try to attack the hill, no matter their numbers. And anyway…"
Both Cloud and the man at the window had turned to look at him now. Zack grinned and pointed at Cloud. "We got a top notch spellcaster on our side now. Did you know that this is the guy who helped keep Wutai out of ShinRa's hands?"
The man raised an eyebrow and gave Cloud an approving look. "I'd heard something like it. Well then. Guess we got nothing to worry about. There's some grub in the kitchens if you're hungry. Take a break, we have a strategy meeting in two hours." He turned back to staring at the army then. Zack got up and motioned for Cloud to follow him down the stairs and into the bowels of the hill. Every now and then the fighter would greet someone he knew, including the kitchen staff. Cloud followed him quietly until they found places to sit in the mess hall. The soldiers who weren't working outside or training seemed to be eating or resting all around the place. It reminded the spellcaster of an anthill, and made him feel slightly claustrophobic. There were no windows this deep in the hill, just dim lamps casting off yellow light, making the small spaces seem even smaller, the thick stone walls even thicker.
"You seem to know everyone." Cloud said to take his mind off from the feeling of being suffocated by the surrounding stone. Zack laughed and dug into his stew.
"What can I say; I get around."
"Looks like it. What was his name?"
"Whose?"
"The guy at the tower. He didn't say. And it's faster to call him by his name in battle, if need be, than 'Hey, you with the black hair, you who like standing in windows'."
The fighter laughed so hard he almost chocked on his food. "Yeah, he can be a bit rude like that. You can call him Jasper. I bet you two'd get along great, having loooong conversations of saying nothing."
"Ha ha. Eat up, maybe it'll make you actually funny. Besides, I want to get a look at the back of the hill as well." 'If only to get out of here…' the spellcaster finished only in his thoughts. ShinRa better attack soon; he wasn't looking forward to being huddled in the anthill with a few hundred other people.
"Ok. The back is pretty much impossible to climb, though, it's not likely they'll try to get up that way."
"Still. I like to know my surroundings. You don't have to come if you don't want to."
"Nah, I'll come with you. Aeris would kill me if I let something happen to you. She said so." Zack added the last bit when Cloud looked suspicious.
"Funny. She said the same thing to me."
"Heh. Well then we just better stick together, we don't want to mess with her."
"Yeah. She might beat us up with her flowers."
"That would hurt if she decided to go with roses. Hey, I bet you could use a really thorny rose as a means of torture. Imagine inserting it to-"
"Zack! Just eat, ok?"
"Hey, at least I'm not obsessed about pouring hot oil on people."
Zack was still grinning when they walked out of the kitchen area and up to the top of the hill. The back of the Fort was very uneven, they almost fell more than once while walking around it. Still, there were a few ShinRa scouts on the bottom of the hill. Cloud stopped to watch them, and Zack wanted to tease them by tossing small rocks on them.
"Don't be an idiot."
"It's not like they can see us up here. And they can't get up, I've been down there and tried to climb it once. It's impossible without some serious climbing gear."
"I don't know…" Cloud still wasn't convinced, but followed the fighter when Zack started to walk again. The taller man stopped abruptly when shouts of surprise and pain carried into his ears from the ground level. Looking down he saw the scouts running or rolling around, smoking.
"What the…" Zack looked to Cloud who gave him a quick smirk. "What, I can't toss pebbles on them but you can set their pants on fire?"
"Just want to make sure they don't get any ideas."
The strategy meeting was uneventful, the soldiers mostly discussed the same issues the two Peacemakers had already gone over with Jasper. Their own scouts had confirmed that the ShinRa army numbered no more than a bit over 800 heads. One Fort soldier to four ShinRa men. Everyone agreed that the odds seemed good, with the terrain on their side. If ShinRa decided to attack. It was nearing nightfall already, and it wasn't likely that they'd try anything that day, as the terrain was near impossible to negotiate without proper light. So, much to Cloud's horror, the army was sent to bed with the warning to be ready to fight in case ShinRa would start something during the night. Not likely, but still a possibility.
Zack, who knew the place, started to head for the lower levels again to find beds for them after calling master Ranael to give him a brief report. The spellcaster followed him reluctantly, not looking forward to having to sleep inside the stone walls. He could imagine the total darkness of the place once the lights were turned off, the earth around them making noises as if a living thing.
Cloud stopped in his tracks and quickly blurted out that he'd go and join the group keeping watch. Zack started to object but the spellcaster was already almost running up a staircase towards the top of the hill. The fighter pondered for a moment if he should go after Cloud, but decided to at least find a bed first.
Once Zack had managed to secure a bed in the crowded barracks near the kitchens, he started to make his way back up to make sure the spellcaster was ok, and to let him know where to find him. He figured that they could take turns in sleeping, so that either of them would be up all through the night. The fighter was almost ready to give up and head to bed when he finally almost stumbled over the spellcaster, out in the courtyard.
Cloud was sitting underneath a dim lantern, covered so that the light only reached the area directly beneath it. With him were three Fort soldiers, and they were apparently playing a game of cards. Zack felt a stab of disappointment over missing their fun, and even a bit jealous; Cloud was having fun without him. But he discarded that thought as utterly silly, and approached the small group. Crouching beside the spellcaster he took a look of his cards and grinned. Two of the other players immediately folded their hands in defeat.
"Zack…" Cloud growled out a warning and turned to look at the grinning fighter.
"Man, are you gonna lose…"
"Weren't you supposed to be in bed?"
"I wanted to let you know where I am, so you can find me when the watch changes. Figured one of us should be up through the night." Zack explained while the others swore and laughed.
Cloud shrugged and tossed his cards to the ground. The last man holding cards picked them all up and started to shuffle the pack. "It's ok, you can keep the bed. I'll find somewhere to sleep up here. Don't wanna stumble over half the army while trying to find you."
"Uh, ok. If you're sure."
"Yeah. You didn't sleep much last night. I'll take a nap later on."
"Ok then. Good night, Cloud, guys." Zack stood up and started to head back towards the barracks, a little puzzled over his friend's strange behaviour. But he reminded himself that what was odd for someone else was normal behaviour to Cloud.
-x-x-x-
Cloud had spent the last few days away from Sephiroth, locked away in a small room. The light in the hall hurt his eyes when he was eventually taken out, and dragged into his small cage, to be locked in like an animal. It took him a long time to get used to the light and the coolness of the air. The room had been so small that the air in it had soon grown almost uncomfortably warm. At times he'd been worried that he'd suffocate.
But he had survived, and was with his lover again. Cloud forced his eyes open despite the pain and the tears, and turned to look at the general.
Sephiroth was asleep in his own cage, leaning against the cold iron bars. Limp as a discarded doll. Cloud's chest felt too tight for breath when he saw the new scars and needle marks on his lover. The general's skin was paler than it should be, the hollows under his eyes deeper than he remembered.
"Oh, Seph… what is he doing to you?" Cloud whispered, and scooted inside the cage as close to Sephiroth's as possible. If he reached out as far as he could, squeezed his shoulder so far between the bars that it hurt, he could just catch a lock of the silvery hair with his fingers. The spellcaster leaned back, pulling his hand and the hairs with it back into the cage. He wanted to wake Sephiroth up, get him to talk, tell him how much he loved him, assure him that Hojo was full of it. But looking at the peaceful face, he couldn't.
Deciding that he'd only wake his lover if he'd have a bad dream, Cloud sat back, and twirled the tips of his lover's hairs between his fingers. He had wreaked his brain day after day, trying to come up with a way to break free. But the only thing that seemed even near possible would be to kill everyone in the place after he was taken out of his cage. Not at once, though; first he'd just have to kill enough people to be able to get Seph out of his cage safely. Then they could take their time killing everyone else who stood on their way to freedom.
"We just have to wait for the right moment. Hang on until that. Just hang on. Please, Seph, hang on. Please…" he brought the hairs to his face, smelling their familiar fragrance, even if it was masked with the smell of sweat, blood and dirt. "We're gonna get out of here, and bathe. Wash all of this from our skins." It would be far less easy to wash the memories away, but he knew that they would fade in time. He'd lived with enough bad memories that he knew it well.
But good memories faded as well. Cloud looked up at Sephiroth, praying that the memories of their love would never fade.
The one memory regarding Sephiroth that he could stand to lose was the look in his eyes just before Cloud had been locked in the small room. It was just after Hojo had discovered that they were lovers. The spellcaster had been whispering to Sephiroth, telling the general how much he loved him, when the scientist had walked in. Cloud hadn't noticed it, too immersed with his lover, in keeping Sephiroth his. He feared so much that Hojo's meddling would eventually change the general's mind, make him believe the lies the scientist told. So far he had managed to remind Sephiroth of who he really was, but it was getting harder and harder. There wasn't much time; he'd have to break out, and fast. He couldn't be sure, but he believed that they'd been Hojo's prisoners for several weeks now. Must have been near two months.
He'd been whispering affirmations of his unending love to Sephiroth, trying to pour the emotion of all those words through his eyes as well, when Hojo had walked right next to his cage, close enough to hear. The scientist had immediately become enraged, and had his assistants throw Cloud into the small cell again. But the spellcaster had hung to the bars of his cage, staring desperately at Sephiroth, screaming that he loved him, begging the general to remember the truth.
Once they'd managed to tear him loose from the bars, Sephiroth had finally looked up to his lover. Cloud had almost cried when there was no emotion in the look.
That was a few days ago, and Cloud had spent those days in the dark cell, the memory of that look painted bright before his eyes. But he wouldn't give up. No matter what Hojo did, he believed he could make Sephiroth remember the truth. He had to believe it, or everything would be lost. If Sephiroth believed Hojo, if he would forget his own spellcaster, who belonged to him, body and soul, what reason would there be for Cloud to go on?
"What indeed…" the spellcaster muttered and twirled the hairs again. His eyes followed the silvery threads, and he started when his eyes met the general's green ones. Sephiroth was awake, and staring at him. Cloud, surprised and relieved, smiled and scooted closer again.
"Seph… how are you?"
The general stared at him sleepily, blinking his brilliant green eyes. Cloud forced himself to stay calm when there was no immediate recognition in the eyes, no welcoming smile. It took a while these days, but Sephiroth would soon remember him, recognize his lover.
"Did Hojo do something to you?" A stupid question; of course Hojo had done something. But it was a way to remind the general that Hojo was the bad guy, the one hurting them.
"Sephiroth?" Cloud couldn't keep his voice steady when there was still no emotion in the green eyes. Sephiroth was staring straight at him, almost unblinking now. "Love?"
Cloud let go of the silver hair, and they both watched as the threads fell slowly to Sephiroth's side, to join with their brethren. The spellcaster lifted his eyes back to his lover's then. Sephiroth stared back again.
Cloud stopped breathing when the general opened his mouth. He had no idea what to expect anymore.
"… Liar."
-x-x-x-
Zack had told another member of the first watch that he wouldn't mind taking the second watch, but it was morning outside when he was shook awake. It was always dark inside the hill, but the man going around the barracks waking everyone informed him that it was morning, and that ShinRa was on the move.
Once the troops were up and out, Zack could see that it was still very early in the morning. The Fort soldiers were watching the army below while eating some breakfast. ShinRa's army was indeed up and moving; they were spreading into a crescent shape around the front of the hill. Zack frowned and made his way up to the tower, where Jasper was on his spot, staring out of the window. Zack leaned out as well, scanning the area quickly.
"You think they're going to attack?"
"Looks like it." Jasper commented quietly and spoke a few quick commands into his radio. "Where's your friend?"
"I've no idea, haven't found him yet."
"I want him in the back, at least until we see how bad this is going to get. You'll go out with the attackers?"
"Yeah, sure." Zack said with a nod and checked his sword. "I'll find Cloud and head on out. This'll be easy."
"Hope so…" Jasper muttered as Zack started to run back downstairs.
Luckily he found Cloud standing on one of the large boulders around the main courtyard. The spellcaster was checking his materia and keeping an eye on the army below. Zack took a moment to see that ShinRa hadn't started the ascend yet, but the troops were closing in.
"Hey. Did you get any sleep last night?"
"Yeah. What's the plan?"
"You're to stay back until we see what's going on with ShinRa. I'll head out with the soldiers."
Cloud shrugged, quite familiar with such a plan. "All right. Be careful down there."
"Hey, no worries. As long as ShinRa don't drag us out to the fields, it's gonna be ok." Zack flashed him a bright smile and hopped off the boulder to join the fighters. "You just watch our backs."
"Will do…" Cloud muttered, fastening his materia bangle tighter.
Zack quickly found the first wave of the defenders, and they briefly discussed strategy while watching ShinRa's army. They were near the bottom of the hill now, but hadn't yet made one move up towards the Fort. The defenders still started to head down the hill, to make sure the attackers wouldn't get high, and to protect the catapult crews who were already at their weapons.
Once the fighter was out of sight, Cloud let out a long sigh and sat down, hoping that everything would indeed be ok. He did have faith in the defenders and believed that they'd beat ShinRa, but it didn't mean that they'd survive without casualties. And the fact that he had the feeling that something wasn't quite right wouldn't leave him. He couldn't put his finger on what felt so wrong, though, and it was annoying. So no matter what his own eyes and Zack had told him, he suspected that ShinRa would try to attack from the back. It wasn't likely, so that's exactly why he thought that it would happen. He'd mentioned it to the men he'd played poker with last night, and they'd agreed to the possibility and reassured him that there would be men keeping an eye on the back of the hill as well.
Minutes inched by and ShinRa kept off the hill. The defenders tried to stay patient, even if the suspicion that ShinRa would keep them trapped on the hill until they gave up or starved was spreading between the groups of fighters. Cloud wandered to the back of the hill every now and then, just to ease his own mind, but there were no attackers there, just the occasional scout. The spellcaster got so bored that he even called master Ranael on the PHS to let the Peacemakers know of the situation. He was told that a few more members of the group were heading to Fort Condor, just to be sure that they could keep ShinRa off the hill. The master offhandedly mentioned that ShinRa scouts had been spotted around the Icicle Inn area, and that a group of Peacemakers were heading there as well. The master suspected that ShinRa wouldn't have enough men to attack both places at once, but it was better to make sure.
Once he'd closed the PHS, the feeling that something was wrong grew even stronger. Too restless to sit still, Cloud got up and wandered towards the back of the hill again. ShinRa were sitting still, the defenders waiting. It was almost noon already. Sun was shining behind the last wisps of mist, and the spring day was getting warm. Despite the two armies gathered, the world seemed so peaceful.
But something was wrong with the picture. Cloud just couldn't put his finger on it. "I bet you'd figure it out immediately…" he muttered quietly, thinking of his dead lover. He leaned his back against the stone wall of the Fort, running everything he knew of the situation again through his mind. The wind howled in his ears, throwing his bright spikes of hair around. Below him a ShinRa scout rode past on a chocobo.
Noon passed without any incidents. Cloud was growing so frustrated that he almost started to bang his head against the stone wall. The flapping of the wind in his ears was annoying him further.
Wait… wind didn't flap…
Cloud blinked and shook his head, paying more attention to his surroundings. Wind didn't flap, but something somewhere nearby certainly did. He pushed himself off the wall and leaned over to look to the bottom of the hill, but there was nothing there. Looking up he could see a guard on the higher levels of the Fort, looking out into the horizon. He was too far for Cloud to tell if he was hearing it too. Frowning, the spellcaster got down to his hands and knees and crawled closer to the edge of the cliff to look down.
Nothing.
No. Wait.
Nothing solid. But there was something there. The air between him and the earth below was shimmering. There was something there, something hidden by magic. Cloud started to get up and opened his mouth to shout a warning to the guards when the dragon hiding behind the magic appeared not twenty feet from his face, and opened its maw to spit fire at him. Cloud's shout of warning turned into a shriek of horror as he stumbled backwards as quickly as he could to avoid the fire. Thinking fast he called a wall spell around himself and concentrated on throwing an Ice spell on the fire-breathing creature which was flapping its wings and rising higher. The guards above had noticed it, and bullets, spells and arrows were already flying towards the creature. Cloud could hear the voices of soldiers coming towards him, and soon bullets were flying from his right as well. He didn't take the time to turn and see the other men; killing the dragon was his top priority. He threw more spells at it, trying to keep the creature's attention on himself. He could shield himself against its attacks, but he wasn't sure that the others could.
Oh what joy, the dragon realized that he was its worst enemy, and spat a volley of fire on him. Cloud groaned as his shields held against the battering. The dragon was strong, but between his spells and the soldier's attacks, it wouldn't last long. Hopefully.
His shield was about to give up entirely, one ball of fire had already pushed through and given him a nasty burn on his leg before the dragon gave up and flew off. Cloud breathed a sigh of relief and dropped to the ground, quickly healing himself. The guards were shouting something, and as he turned to his right Cloud saw that the soldiers who had come to his aid were hurrying back to the front of the fort. One of them ran to him and helped him up.
"The attack started." The man told him before running after the others. Cloud groaned and took off after him, his injured leg complaining slightly even after the healing spell. So the dragon had been just a distraction. But how had ShinRa managed to get a dragon onto their side?
The battle was full on on the other side. ShinRa had ascended up the hill, and were fighting the defenders furiously, shooting and throwing spells at the footmen and the catapults. Cloud swore when he saw that one catapult was already down. He swore more when he heard someone report that ShinRa's first line were all Soldiers, far stronger and faster than normal humans, their physique altered with Mako. ShinRa wasn't playing with them after all. This was serious.
Somewhat ignoring the command to stay behind, Cloud made his way to a spot further down the hill, to a boulder from where he could see the fight better. A few soldiers followed him, to make sure he'd be safe while throwing his spells. And that was exactly what Cloud did for the next few minutes, aiming and throwing his more powerful spells at the enemy lines. The sudden attack surprised the ShinRa Soldiers and the line immediately fell back, giving the Fort soldiers some more space to move and to get a new catapult into position. The spellcaster couldn't do much, though, the fight with the dragon had taken so much energy and so many spells. Swearing at his inability to help the fighters he was about to pick up his sword and jump into the fray, but a hand on his shoulder stopped him. Looking up he saw Jasper, covered with mismatched pieces of armour. Now that he finally saw the man face to face he noticed that his eyes were completely black, and sharp as a hawk's.
"You stay back here. We'll need your spells more than your sword. Take it easy and gather your strength."
"… Yes, sir." Cloud was about to object, but he did understand the man's reasoning. The Fort had only a few spellcasters, no one as gifted as he was. So he sat back and concentrated, trying to relax to regain his mana faster. Jasper nodded and left, walking fast back to the top of the hill.
ShinRa Soldiers could fight, and their stamina was something a normal human could barely understand. Cloud had fought many of them during the Wutai war, and even if he had never fought one alone, the fights had been long and hard. He was eager to get back to throwing spells, just to be able to do something to help, and cursed the dragon. Had ShinRa known somehow that he'd be there? No, it wasn't likely. It was more likely that the dragon had been sent into the fight to distract and kill as many men as possible. It had been sheer luck that he'd been there, to stop the creature before it could wreak havoc on the Fort.
Cloud's eyes shot open when he realized that the dragon hadn't died. It had just flown off. It might return. He stood up and explained his worry to one of the soldiers, who nodded and took off immediately towards the Fort. The dragon had been wounded severely, so if it returned it could probably be taken care of quite easily. But it could still do a lot of damage before it got close enough for the bullets to do any damage.
"Shiva's icy ass, Seph, how did you manage this year after year…" Cloud muttered and leaned against a boulder, watching the fighting below him. The Soldiers were still going strong, the troops behind them didn't have to do much. ShinRa could easily fight for a long time with just a few men like that.
Cloud stayed on his high perch for the rest of the day, watching the battle and throwing spells every time he had regained enough mana to do so. From so high he recognized ShinRa's every effort to pull the battle down to ground level, where they'd have the upper hand. Luckily the front line recognized the attack patterns early enough as well and didn't follow, keeping the main bulk of the fighting on the hillside. The catapults and spells had managed to make large holes into the ShinRa's lines, and even the number of Soldiers had thinned by the time the troops pulled back for good. Fresh troops headed down the hill to make sure ShinRa wouldn't try anything while the front lines climbed up. Those of them who could still walk. Too many were carried up, and too many never came back. Cloud waited patiently on his perch, leaving it only to heal some of the more serious injuries. Luckily he didn't have to wait in vain; Zack climbed up among the last of the front lines. He was bruised and bloody all over, but didn't seem too hurt as he greeted the spellcaster with a wide grin.
"Hey Cloudy, had fun?"
"Time of my life…" Cloud muttered dryly and joined the fighter. Zack threw a sweaty arm across his shoulders and squeezed him tight.
"That's the spirit. I think we better get in touch with the masters, and let them know what's going on. I hope the others will get here soon. I mean, we can handle it, sure, but I wouldn't mind a few more strong hands."
"Yeah, we definitely need more spellcasters. I was out of spells for most of the fights."
"Don't worry about it. When you were bombing the bad guys, they went down like bugs under a boot."
"I just wish I could do more."
"Well, you can always heal the wounded." Zack said as they reached the top of the hill. The courtyard was almost full with the wounded and dying. Cloud sighed and got to work with the other spellcasters and healers while Zack headed up to the tower, after stealing the PHS from Cloud's belt.
The rest of the night was mostly quiet. The dragon hadn't returned, and ShinRa didn't try to attack again. They stayed far enough from the hill that the defenders would have to get down on even ground to attack.
"Smart buggers." Zack swore and yawned as he and Cloud sat on a boulder, staring down at the army. There were campfires all around, far more than the army left would need. A simple strategy to try to unnerve the troops on the hill. "Master Ranael said that the others should be here tomorrow. I suppose they'll attack from the back. Three spellcasters and two fighters. This'll be a piece of cake. I only saw a few Soldiers, basically just the front line. The rest are normal troops. They'll fall or surrender easily."
"Hmh." Cloud just commented, too tired to voice his regret at such senseless killing.
"Ok, that's it. I'm taking you to bed." Zack said with a grin and stood up. Cloud perked up immediately.
"It's ok, I'm not tired."
"Bullshit. You've been throwing spells and healing all day. Come on. You'll need your strength for tomorrow." Zack started to tug him up but Cloud refused to budge.
"Zack…"
"The beds are reeeeal comf'table…" the fighter said with a grin, "makes me sleepy just thinking about them."
"Zack. Let me go. I can take care of myself."
"Then take your ass down to the barracks or I'll have to get nasty."
"No."
"Why not?"
"It's too crowded down there."
"No, a lot of people are gonna stay up here."
"Then so will I."
"Cloud…"
"Don't worry, I'll find a place to sleep in."
"What's wrong with the beds?"
"Nothing. I just like it up here, ok?"
"All right. I'll trust you to get some rest, so you won't do anything stupid tomorrow."
Cloud gave him a look that bordered on insulted. "Zack. I've been in battles before. I'm not an idiot. Go and get some rest. I'll do the same. Up. Here."
"All right." Zack said, raising his hands in defeat. "Whatever you say."
Next day the battles started before the crack of dawn. Troops had waited at the lower levels of the hill just in case of that. Zack had just been woken by the alarm when the PHS he'd forgotten into his pocket started to ring. Surprised at such an early call, he answered to hear Ranael's voice. The master was fast in informing him that the help should be arriving soon, and that Icicle Inn had been attacked last night, and was now under siege. ShinRa was behind it, of course. Zack couldn't stop to figure out what ShinRa was after as he followed the soldiers up to the top of the hill.
By the time Zack got out, the fighting was already on. He swore as he saw it from the courtyard, and started to make his way down to the bottom of the hill. Halfway down, far lower than he liked, he spotted Cloud, sending lightning bolts down on ShinRa troops. The fighter ran to him and tossed Cloud the PHS, as the spellcaster would be able to answer it better than him. Cloud gave him a quick nod, not turning away from watching the battle. Zack just hoped he'd had enough rest. He didn't get a chance to ask, nor to worry about the spellcaster once he joined the battle.
This time Cloud controlled his spellcasting so that he wouldn't be left without mana at any point. He should have realized it already yesterday, but the battle had been so fierce and so sudden that he'd just forgotten all strategies. Two soldiers were protecting him again, and using their guns to aid the fighters below. They were high enough and protected by boulders so that ShinRa bullets didn't reach them.
It was afternoon already when the spellcaster was surprised as the PHS which he'd quickly shoved into his pocket started to ring. He had to ask for the two soldiers to stop shooting and cover his other ear with his hand to hear anything. Luckily the message was short and clear. With a relieved sigh, Cloud asked one of the soldiers to run up to inform people that the other five Peacemakers were there, they'd be attacking ShinRa's troops from the side in a matter of minutes, and try to make their way up the hill. Three spellcasters could cause a lot of damage before the enemy could even reach them. The soldier grinned from ear to ear as he shot up the hill, leaving Cloud with the other soldier.
"ShinRa's going down today." The female soldier said with a wicked grin when they were alone. Cloud nodded and aimed a Flame just behind the front line.
From halfway up the hill they could see the change in the battle once the Peacemakers joined it, somewhere behind the hill's right side from where they were standing. Cloud dared to come closer to the edge to see how the regular ShinRa troops suddenly retreated. The Soldiers kept their positions, but when ice-storms and bolts of fire started to rain on them, not to mention the fact that pretty much everyone behind them were running like headless chocobos, the professional fighters saw it best to retreat as well. The Fort soldiers cheered, and some even started to chase ShinRa troops away before the commanders got them under control.
"That was impressive." The soldier with Cloud commented. The spellcaster nodded, frowning.
"Yes. But… I know that they're ShinRa troops, but I still had expected that they'd stay and fight, not run like that at the first sight of trouble. Something's wrong here."
"Well, I don't mind the breather…" the woman commented with a shrug. Cloud, still frowning, jumped off the boulder and headed down the hill, towards the cheering troops and the approaching Peacemakers. Two of the spellcasters were still throwing spells at the retreating enemy. The fighters were dragging with them a few ShinRa troopers.
Cloud nearly tripped over Zack, who was lying on his back on the ground, eyes closed. The spellcaster knelt beside him immediately, searching to see where his friend was hurt.
"Zack? Can you hear me?" To his relief, the violet eyes opened immediately, and the fighter grinned.
"Sure, why couldn't I?" then he seemed to realize he was lying on a battlefield. "Oh, damn. I'm ok, just relieved that it's over. You ok?"
"Yeah. Don't scare me like that again. Jerk." Cloud muttered and helped the chuckling fighter up. They stood side by side as the five other Peacemakers approached them. Fort troops were already heading down the hill, to take the wounded up and to keep an eye on the enemy.
"You guys got here just in time!" Zack hollered as soon as the group was within hearing distance.
"We aim to please." One of the spellcasters shouted back, making people around them laugh. The tension of the battle had eased immediately, and the soldiers were applauding at the new group, patting their backs.
Zack was surprised when he recognized two of the group; Cloud's old roommate, Josin, and one of the fighters, Deren, who had known Sephiroth and helped in searching Cloud. The redheaded spellcaster hugged his old friend a bit awkwardly. Deren bowed at the two of them, and pushed forward the trooper he'd caught.
"Nice to see you again, sir. I think we'd better have a chat with these fellows as soon as possible."
"Yeah, this doesn't smell right." The other fighter said, also dragging a crying trooper with her.
Zack frowned and leaned closer. "Is he really crying?"
"Yes."
"I'd be too if I'd just been caught by such bad-asses." One of the Fort soldiers commented, making people laugh again.
"Let's go up to the Fort." Cloud said, nodding his head towards the top of the hill. He wasn't liking this at all.
Once at the top of the hill, the seven Peacemakers, Jasper and some other commanders gathered around the two very nervous prisoners, who had been tied down to chairs. They seemed more likely to pass out of fear than run away, or try to attack their captors. And even though the regular soldiers were cheering outside, the people with the prisoners were far from happy as they tried to figure out what was going on.
"This guy's… Odin's lance, how old are you, son?" one of the commanders was questioning the prisoner who wasn't crying. The boy, who couldn't possibly be even near 18 refused to answer.
"You don't have to try and act brave, kid. Just tell us." Zack said, trying his brightest smile on the young man, but he wouldn't even look at the fighter.
"… No wonder they ran off at the sight of us." Josin said as he lifted the helmet off the crying soldier, revealing an even younger boy. "They're children."
"Please don't kill meee…" the crying boy managed between sobs.
"No-one's going to hurt you. Just tell us what we need to know, and we'll let you go." Jasper said. No one bothered to question his words. It wasn't like these children could cause them any harm.
"Why is ShinRa sending children to war?" Another commander asked but got no answer besides a few sobs.
"And were they all children, except for the Soldiers?" Cloud asked the one question which no one else had dared to ask. Had they spent two days fighting and killing innocent children?
"I want to go home…" the younger boy whispered in the heavy silence that fell over the room.
The two boys were taken to the kitchen where they were fed, and then to the barracks where they could rest. They hadn't said anything more, and Jasper had decided that they wouldn't bother them more right then. The revelation had been a shock to everyone, and the commanders retreated with Jasper to talk on what they'd do now. Zack, two of the spellcasters and both fighters joined them. The third magic-user had offered to take care of the boys, and Cloud had decided not to join the meeting, too disturbed by the findings.
They had reasoned that the whole army couldn't have been children; they'd fought hard enough. But until their prisoners would choose to talk, they'd assume that the troopers behind the front lines, the ones engaged in the battles, were more or less children. Zack had immediately contacted the masters, letting them know. Icicle Inn was still under attack, and it was likely that the situation was the same over there.
"It would explain why the Soldiers fought so hard… guess they wanted to keep the kids safe." Zack whispered quietly when he finally found the blond spellcaster. Night was falling, the meeting was over, and ShinRa had lit its army of fires down in the valley. Cloud just nodded.
"We… if they attack, we have to fight. But we decided that… until we figure this out… we'll only fight the Soldiers. If we have to fight anyone else, we'll try to just, you know… knock them out. And no more spells."
Cloud nodded again, staring at the horizon. Zack looked over the courtyard, at the soldiers who were more or less calmly celebrating the successful battle, and trading stories.
"Man… I wouldn't want to be in the commander's shoes tomorrow… they have to tell these guys what's been going on. I mean… it's not likely that they were all kids. It could be that ShinRa just let a few slip, to make a bigger group of them. But… shit, I don't want to think about it anymore." Zack shook his head and fell on his back. "I wish the kids would talk."
The two hadn't moved from their spots an hour later when Josin joined them.
"Hey. I need to talk with you two."
Zack sat up, giving him a weary smile. Cloud nodded and motioned for the spellcaster to sit down.
"Eska, the spellcaster… he apparently put some sort of spell on the two boys, and talked with them while they were eating. He just told us what the kids told him."
Cloud and Zack both inched closer, almost afraid to hear what Josin would say.
"Apparently things aren't as bad as we thought. Of the 800 ShinRa soldiers, only about 200 were children younger than 18. But they're anything from 10 to 18. And of the 800, only about 150 were actually trained soldiers. The rest were peasants, people from the slums. They were either paid or threatened to join the army and come here."
"What the hell?" Zack said after Josin had fallen quiet. "That's it?"
"That's what the kids knew, from their own experiences and rumours in the army." The spellcaster said with a shrug.
"I don't get it… did ShinRa think that the Soldiers and the big number of attackers would be enough to win this battle?" Zack muttered.
"I suspect so." Josin said.
"And it's likely that the situation is the same up in Icicle…" the fighter laid back down on the cold boulder. "Shit, this is fucked up. Why would they do that?"
"The question is… what's ShinRa after?" Cloud finally joined the conversation. "Does he want the Fort and Icicle Inn? Or is he just trying to distract us from something else?"
"And how the hell can we figure out what they're up to until they make their move?" Zack said with a groan, rubbing his face with his hands.
"I don't think the regular troops, or even the Soldiers will have any idea." Josin whispered. "They're just been sent here."
"So we can't do anything, except keep the Fort from their hands, and hope that we don't kill too many innocents…" Zack reasoned. "I think I'm getting a headache."
"We should all try to rest. There's a meeting early tomorrow morning, and after that, the troops will be informed about the situation. Let's hope ShinRa won't try to attack before that."
"Yeah. Hopefully you guys scared them enough that all the kids will run off during the night."
Silence fell over them after Zack's comment. Josin was the first to leave towards the barracks. Zack got up a bit after him, asking Cloud with a nod of his head if he was coming, but the spellcaster said he'd sleep outside. Zack was too tired to argue, and headed for bed. Cloud sat still for near an hour more before finding a safe spot to sleep in.
-x-x-x-
Sephiroth wouldn't believe him anymore. No matter what he said, how much he pleaded, even cried, it made no difference to the general. Hojo had managed to change him.
First Cloud tried to convince himself that Sephiroth was just acting to make Hojo trust him enough to let him out, give him a chance to escape. But when days went by and turned to weeks with no change in the general, no conspiratory smile or nod towards him, not even an inkling of emotion, it got harder and harder for Cloud to hang on to his conviction. Sephiroth was his no longer. Hojo had won.
He still tried to remind Sephiroth of the truth, kept pleading with him to believe, to remember the truth. He couldn't accept that it would end like this. It just couldn't. He couldn't let Hojo win like this.
The scientist seemed to disagree. He would let Sephiroth out of the cage more these days, and there were far fewer syringes and far less tying the general to the steel table. Hojo would just talk to the silver-haired man. Sephiroth sometimes asked questions, and the older man was thrilled to answer each and every one in great detail. And Cloud was forced to listen. The lies and how eagerly Sephiroth believed them made him cry.
"Who are you?" Sephiroth would ask.
"I am your father, my son." Hojo would answer.
"But... my father died when I was just a child." Sephiroth would remember.
"He was an impostor. They stole you from me, my child." Hojo would explain.
"Who is my mother?" Sephiroth would inquire.
"A woman named Lucrecia, a brilliant scientist." Hojo would show him an old photo.
"What about… the woman in Wutai?" Sephiroth wouldn't recognize the face in the photo.
"An impostor. She's the one who stole you from me." Hojo would insist.
"Why would she do that to me?" Sephiroth wouldn't understand.
"They were jealous of you. They wanted you for themselves. They couldn't stand to see our happiness." Hojo would smile when Sephiroth wouldn't notice.
"But…"
"You were born with such an inheritance. You are meant for such wondrous things. They wanted to stop it."
On and on it would go, minutes and hours and days and weeks; Hojo spinning his webs tighter and tighter around Sephiroth who could not escape anymore. Who was so wrapped in the lies that they were all around him, holding him prisoner. Hojo would lie so smoothly, answer every desperate question through a smile and shark teeth, lie and lie and lie and lie until Cloud couldn't take it anymore and then he'd start to scream and cry and curse and plead with Sephiroth who would stare at him with no emotion, like he was nothing. The assistants came then, of course, they wanted to take him away from Sephiroth, wanted him to shut up and be away from sight, away from the heart. But he wasn't so weak and small as they thought. He was a fighter after all. Only two men couldn't hold him for long, not if he really wanted to go to Sephiroth, and he really really did, nothing could stop him, not if he managed to punch one man in the throat like that and kick the other in the groin just like that, not if there was a scalpel nearby that so easily opened their throats before they could get up. The sharp, sharp knife slashed through flesh without stopping, it moved up to cut Hojo's chest, it made him bleed and scream so much, it made him fall down on the ground. Cloud could walk over him then, could finally be with Sephiroth.
"Seph… please… I love you…"
The green eyes blinked at him slowly, emotionless even if he had just cut through three men, even if he was standing on the still breathing body of the man who had claimed to be Sephiroth's father. There was no recognition, no regard for him. He was like air to Sephiroth. It wasn't just an act. The man he loved as gone.
The scalpel in his hand was so sharp, the edge of it so cold, the dark red of blood in such strong contrast with Sephiroth's pale skin. There was still no emotion, just a glitter of pain in the brilliant green of those twin pools which had stolen his soul, his heart.
No.
They hadn't stolen anything from him. He had willingly given everything he could to those eyes. And he knew that he would do it all again, in a heartbeat, for just one smile, one kiss, one touch. But there was already so much blood, no strength in the tall body to stay standing. Cloud fell as Sephiroth fell, and gathered the body into his arms as life left it. The green eyes stared up at him, still so cold, so empty.
Cloud stared as the thin, pale and bloody lips opened once more, for the last time. He leaned closer on pure instinct, disregarding Hojo's moans of pain, quiet cries for help. Sephiroth wanted to say something, he was watching with those green eyes Cloud had fallen so madly in love with the first time he'd seen then. There was no use claiming anything else, he had been in love with the man from the first moment. He just hadn't dared to admit it. It would have taken too much of his cold facade from him. But now it was safe to own up. Now there was no one but the two of them, and soon there would be none.
"Thank you, love…" Sephiroth whispered.
Once the green eyes closed, Cloud, still quiet, stood up and walked to the cages. He picked up his sword from the corner. He'd need it, he'd have to get out after all. He picked up the small bag Sephiroth had hidden. Maybe someone would find out, then, once they'd find his corpse. They'd figure out what had happened, and everything would be over.
Cloud walked, he simply walked out of the hall. There were no closed doors until the hatch to the outside world, and that was opened easily enough with his sword. He thought he could hear them, the ones he hadn't bothered to kill. Shouting, shooting, spells. But he was gone already, the shining world was before him.
They didn't come after him. His head hurt, and when he lifted a hand up to it he felt something wet and warm oozing out of his skin, down his neck, into the collar of his shirt. Since when was he wearing a shirt? Hadn't he been naked? Where had he been naked in? Where was he? Why was he carrying a bag? And a weapon? Why was his head hurting so?
What had happened?
Why was he shaking?
What…
-x-x-x-
"What?" Zack shot up from his bed when what Josin was telling him finally pierced the haze of sleep.
The spellcaster looked around in the crowded room, grimacing at the sleepy complaints of everyone Zack had just woken.
"ShinRa has attacked the Peacemakers headquarters. They have several dozen Soldiers and hundreds of regular troops. Fort, Icicle, they were just distractions from this, to draw as many of us out as possible. Those left there, they're in trouble. We have to go, now."
"Oh shit…" Zack rubbed at his face, not believing what he was hearing. This was just a dream, right? Just a stupid dream. Soon he would wake and go downstairs and tell Aeris, Elmyra and Cloud about it. Aeris would kiss him and Cloud would call him an idiot.
"Shit. Do the others know yet?"
"Yes. They're talking with the commanders, and trying to arrange some transportation. I haven't told Cloud yet, I came to see you first. I'm not sure where he's sleeping at."
"Up in the courtyard." Zack picked up his things and they hurried out in the darkness.
The moon and the stars above shone bright enough that they could easily make their way through the courtyard without stepping on anyone. A lot of people preferred to sleep outside, perhaps so that they could be ready in case of an attack.
Zack, in fact, had no idea where Cloud was sleeping, but when he stopped to look around he heard the whimpering. He had heard the spellcaster cry in his sleep several times before, and recognized the noise immediately. Swearing, he started towards the direction, Josin following him a bit slower.
"What's wrong?" The spellcaster asked, scared, once they reached Cloud. The blond was almost convulsing on the ground, crying and pleading and whimpering incoherently in his sleep.
"A nightmare. Looks like a bad one." Zack explained quickly before grabbing Cloud's shoulders not too gently and starting to shake him awake. "Come on, it's just a dream. Cloud, wake up."
The blond spellcaster let out a heartbreaking wail before finally opening his teary eyes.
"Cloud, it's ok. It was just a dream."
"No. It wasn't. And it's not ok. Nothing is ok. Everything is wrong. I know now. It's me." Cloud, nearing panic, babbled on. Zack shook him again, desperately.
"Come on, calm down. Cloud!"
"I did it, Zack…" Cloud said, eyes wide and shocked.
"Did what, Cloud?" Zack was starting to panic himself.
"Summon's sakes… I killed him."
.
A.N.: … Eh. Eheh. This is how it was meant to go from the start, but … woah. Please put the pitchforks and torches down… please?
I don't remember much of the Fort Condor –part of the game, and instead of me playing it again, you get a cameo of one of my reaaaaaally old characters. So, Jasper is mine.
J: "About time you remember that I exist."
Answers to reviews:
scarlettHuntress: I was kinda hoping they WOULD do something they'd regret, but that's just my own preference XD Thanks for the comment, and thanks so much for the comment on The Bet!
Beatrisu: Cookies! Muffins! CHOCOLATE! –melts- Sorry for taking so long with the chapter, especially after all these goodies. Hope I still deserve them after this one… -nervous grin-