Exchange My Soul
FF7 Alternate Universe
Disclaimers: Characters are owned by Square-Enix
Warning: Yaoi- SephirothxCloud, Het- ZackxAerith, Abuse, Science, Violence
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"Hey!! Hey we have to leave!! Things are bad yo!!" Reno chased after the two SOLDIERs as they made their way towards the small graveyard. They were carrying the tombstone with Nevin and Cloud's name on it gently.
"Why couldn't we just let him pull it with the cart?" Zack huffed a tuff of hair out of his eyes and shifted to get a better grasp of the heavy granite.
"It would have taken too long. You're a SOLDIER, act like one."
"Yeah, yeah…"
"ARE YOU LISTENING?! THINGS!! BAD!! MIDGAR!! WE LEAVE NOW!!" Reno waved his hands frantically trying to get their attention only to fail. He looked back at Rude, who simply looked away. "Oh you're a bunch of help." He grumbled and sighed in defeat. "YA GOT 15!!" Grumbling more he pulled out a cigarette and popped it into his mouth.
Sephiroth nodded to Reno and forced Zack to hurry. Once in the cemetery, they placed the stone down above the buried coffins and stared, quietly saying something for the two.
"Oh…." Zack smiled a bit at Sephiroth. "There's something I have to do…" He patted Sephiroth's shoulder and ran off. The General blinked in confusion then looked back at the grave. He didn't know or understand why, but a sense of pride came over him and some of the guilt faded.
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Zack hurried into town and rounded the corner to the first house in the row. Smiling softly, he knocked on the door and was greeted by a small blonde haired woman.
"Zack!! It's been a year!! You haven't changed. How's that girl of yours? Popped the question yet? How's Cloud? I haven't heard from him since you were last here."
"Mrs. Strife…. I want to show you something…" Zack let out the breath he was holding. The woman blinked some and tilted her head.
"It's Emily, Zack. 'Mrs. Strife' makes me sound old. Now what is it that's got you in a huff?" Zack swallowed nervously. Now he didn't know if he should show her or not. Maybe it was a bad idea. Perhaps she had moved on already and didn't want to know.
"Uh… Emily… We um… came here to find some things out about Cloud and we--"
"Ah…. So you know…" Emily shifted. "Yes… Cloud isn't really…. Cloud…." She sighed a little. "I wish Nevin told me where my son was buried…."
"That's what I want to show you… We found him… and Nevin…" Zack watched her silently as she closed her eyes and nodded.
"I suppose now I have to look into a stone…" She came out of the house and closed the door behind her. "Well lead the way." Zack nodded some and offered an arm. Emily smiled softly at him and took it, allowing the young man to escort her.
"We already sprang for one, a stone I mean. It's all set up." Zack smiled back to her. "You remember Sephiroth, right?" She nodded. "Well, he's hell bent on making this right."
"There's no need. As long as Hojo doesn't find out about Cloud then I suppose the Planet is safe." Zack bit his lip. He couldn't bring himself to tell her that Hojo HAD found out.
"What do you mean 'safe'?" He tilted his head a little and watched her.
"Obviously you don't know much." She laughed and smiled some. "Nevin had told me about a being called WEAPON and that he believed it was what was used in the experiments that made our Cloud." She paused then looked up to see silvery hair blow in the wind as the approached the cemetery.
Sephiroth turned and frowned. "I thought you said no mothers."
"Well this is different, and she knows things." Zack stuck out his tongue, then blinked as Emily gently pulled away. Both men watched her as she walked over and crouched down in front of the tombstone. Silently, she said her goodbyes then stood.
"A WEAPON is an ancient being created to destroy any threat to the Planet. According to Gast's research, they will destroy everything that gets in their sight or way. Cloud is an artificial one. The same principle might not apply." She shifted some then turned to look at Sephiroth. "He could berserk if Hojo got his hands on him… Whether he's stoppable or not, I don't know… No has ever seen a WEAPON or fought one in over 2000 years."
"The Turks have… One called Jade WEAPON." Sephiroth looked her over. "And Hojo has gotten to Cloud. I haven't seen any violence from him."
"Cloud had a test a few days ago… To see if he was ready for First." Zack rubbed his chin some. "He was getting bumped up because Hojo was pissed he was only a Second…" He snapped his fingers. "Maybe that's what Heidegger was freaking out over!! What if something went wrong?!"
"Then we should get back…" Sephiroth turned to Emily and nodded. "I'll protect him. I will make sure he's safe and that nothing ill happens."
"You've done enough Sephiroth. You gave me back my family." She motioned to the grave then walked over to him and cupped his cheek. "You can't do everything. And perhaps it's… it's for the best this happened… He's doing what his instinct is telling him to do."
"No… Hojo implanted a chip in his head… He's doing what the chip is telling him to do and I won't allow Hojo to get away with that, especially not to the one I love." He blinked at the small chuckle the woman gave.
"No wonder he didn't have a girlfriend…"
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Hojo frowned more as he watched the sedated moaning teen. Something had gone wrong in his calculations even if he didn't want to admit it. Perhaps this thing called "love" was interfering.
A snarl came to his lips. How unscientific to think like that.
Another moan drew him out of his thoughts and he looked back at the boy.
"Relax child… The new chip is being created as we speak… Then you can go free." He reached out and stroked Cloud's cheek then quickly drew back his hand, scoffing at his fatherly action. This was not his child… technically. Cloud was, in a way, Hojo's child by the fact he was the scientist in charge of his birth, but biologically he wasn't.
In fact, he couldn't remember who was the boy's biological father. Shrugging and deciding to look it up later, he grabbed a syringe and filled it with propofol. He reached up and injected the milky liquid into the IV and watched it slowly work its way down the tube into the hand it was connected to.
"Sir… We figured out what was wrong with the chip. It was electrically damaged. After reviewing the training exercise, we pinpointed where it happened. His head collided with a makou pipe as he was knocked backwards. It was a direct hit to the chip."
"That's rather good news…. It means it wasn't his body that was the cause. He is under anaesthesia. Install the new chip."
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Sephiroth walked Emily home before going to the waiting helicopter. Reno had managed to go through his all cigarette and looked like he was hitting a nicotine fit.
"Three hours!! I said 15 minutes yo!!" The Turk threw his empty pack at the General. "Whatcha do?! Hold a complete damn funeral?!" Reno ran a hand through his hair. "Look man, I know this means a lot to you, but that." Reno pointed to the town behind Sephiroth. "Is in the past. You got a little purpled haired squirt at home to take care of. He needs you more then ever right now." Sephiroth frowned at the last sentence and climbed aboard.
"What has Tseng told you?" He looked at the redhead as he climbed into the cockpit.
"HEY!! WAIT!!" Zack came running and jumped into the copter at record speeds. "Sorry… Had to say hi to Tifa. Would be wrong if I didn't." He smiled at Sephiroth who just shook his head.
"Tseng told us that Cloud is back in the labs." Rude interrupted before Zack could get another word in. "The chip in his head was damaged. He went berserk and killed a complete squad."
"Told ya it was bad." Reno started the helicopter as he felt the tension rise.
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Personal Diary Entry [u]-eyh1985-08-27
I gave Hojo and Hollander my two-weeks notice. Hojo wasn't please and Hollander said he understood. A part of me fears this was my down fall. At least neither of them or ShinRa know of Emily, her and Cloud are safe.
I gave her all of the information I was allowed to access, hoping it would help her in understanding what Cloud is. Strangely enough, she understood better then I did the first time I saw Gast and Cresent's works. Sometimes I think Emily should have been a scientist herself.
"It's easy to understand," she told me, "this thing called WEAPON is a saviour, but corrupted like Cloud is, then it could easily destroy the Planet without the proper guidance." She could easily tell I was confused by her discovery, which made her laugh and put a hand on my shoulder. "Without the Planet having given birth to Cloud like the other WEAPONs, there's a chance he can't hear the Planet, didn't they think about that?"
"No. Hojo dismissed the data as a myth." I informed her.
Now I feel maybe this child should have the fate as the others but I can't bring Emily through the loss of another. There's a possible chance of him destroying the world and another chance that the cells will just stay dormant.
I made my good-byes to Sephiroth today as well. He was heartbroken and I felt bad for abandoning him. I know Hojo will just erase me and this town from his memories when they're transferred back to Midgar, but the sadness lingers. I wish a fate which is in store for Sephiroth wasn't in the works. Deep down, however, I believe if anyone would be capable of destroying Cloud if he were to berserk, would be Sephiroth after all the experiments that are headed his way.
I hope to the Gods that Sephiroth becomes the God like creature Hojo has slated him for.
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"HOLY SHIT!!" Sephiroth was brought out of his reading daze at Reno's loud blurt. He unbuckled the safety restraint and moved to the cockpit. He frown at what he saw.
"Midgar is in flames…" He mumbled to himself then thought more on the subject. "Either it's a Genesis attack or--"
"Or it's your sky cotton ball going batshit crazy!!" Reno looked up at Sephiroth. "Look I know you're all lovey-dovey and it makes you this disgustingly sweet and caring guy who TOTALLY isn't you, but you need to tune that out now!! You need to be that badass General who makes the Turks piss themselves, and quite frankly… You haven't been."
"The way you've been acting makes us think we can piss in your coffee and get away with it." Rude added with a nod. Sephiroth frown.
"Have my actions changed that much?"
"Well you still haven't killed us." Both Turks said in unison. Sephiroth blinked and growled.
"You pissed in my coffee?!" He will kill them. Later. When they aren't flying a helicopter. But this discovery of him lacking his… Generalness was disturbing and they were right. He needed to buck up and deal with this.
He stood upright then spun on his heel and made his way back to the cargo hold of the chopper.
"You look pissed." Zack commented as he got up and followed.
"I just found out that two people pissed in the coffee I gave you to drink. Wouldn't you be pissed too?" Sephiroth held back a smirk as he freed his Masamune and a parachute. Zack blinked.
"Yeah I'd be pissed if I found out--- HEY WHAT?!! Son of a-!!" Zack went back to the cockpit to give Reno and Rude an earful. Sephiroth watched as he slipped on the parachute and hit the button to open the bay door. He heard cursing from the cockpit and jumped out.
Vaguely he caught his name being yelled but he ignored it as he dove towards an open, non-burning area. He pulled the ripcord and glided down. Once a distance he could handle, he freed himself from the chute and dropped.
Green eyes scanned the area and stopped when they caught a sight of something he never thought he'd see ever again.
Spiky blond hair.
"Cloud!!"