Sinner

Chapter Eight: Challenges

Could someone have a choice in becoming mad?

One could argue that they possibly couldn't be given the option not to. Events would have changed them, pushing their mind beyond it's limits.

Yet they could have chosen that path themselves. They could have wanted to fall, to just not want to make sense of anything anymore.

But, in the end, the actions and deeds they perform under the shadow of a broken mind – would they have wanted that if they'd been in a saner state of mind?

Perhaps, perhaps not; after everything the small, mildly sane part of Cloud didn't want to remember – he wanted to be free of his burdens once and for all. Insanity had seemed like an easier option, his subconscious couldn't deal with the pressure. Otherwise, there would be an endless flow of guilt and shame, which would have lead to an unhinged state of mind in the long run.

But, honestly, insane Cloud couldn't care less.

And maybe that was what the blonde had wanted all along.

He had to tell him soon.

Hell, Zack could almost taste the tension. They were all keeping secrets from each other, and, if not secrets, then true feelings and suspicions.

Vincent was a given, Zack himself was keeping the existence of the other Cloud from them all and Tifa...

She was frowning. An unreadable emotion was always present in her eyes, and it seemed mostly directed at Cloud, as if she was confused by something. Zack figured it was mostly due to the change in Cloud's personality. Well, there had to be, right? She had to know people change, especially with the amount of time they'd been apart, and considering Cloud's recent captivity with Hojo.

Cloud himself was edgy and stiff, and a new paranoid habit of glancing around warily every five seconds seemed to have integrated itself into his persona. The blonde confused Zack – he confused him a lot.

It felt as if there had been three different Cloud's interacting with Zack in the entire course of him knowing him. Hell, maybe there had been four different Clouds, considering how he was acting now!

Even before the five year period, Cloud had been an enigmatic individual. There were a lot of things about the blonde that practically screamed he was different than your usual grunt.

First there was that personality Cloud had greeted him with. Quiet, shy – inexplicably gentle-tempered; hell, he had even shown reluctance when fighting! Second was his odd fits, when that glazed expression overtook the blonde's eyes. It was perhaps this personality that scared him the most. Yes, Cloud was definitely a different person when this happened. Ruthless, almost robotic... Zack didn't like it. He liked the gentle side of Cloud, and maybe that was what made him so enamoured towards the blonde in the first place.

His third change in personality began during their third mission together, after at least four or five months of knowing each other. It wasn't like Cloud had changed a lot – no, there were slight changes, small ones, but Zack had still paid attention to them. Tired, Zack had described those blue eyes back then. Tiredness not caused by fatigue, but something else entirely. It took Zack a few days to recognise it, but he could finally recognise it.

Cloud had been tired – of life, maybe? Nevertheless, it seemed like the blonde had lived for more than his far amount of days. It was something that bewildered the First Class, but he went along with it. Yet when it came to battle... Cloud hadn't been ruthless, per se, but neither had he bore the previous reluctance.

And now this Cloud... he definitely had a reason to change so drastically in his personality. He seemed sharper, more snappish and commanding. And Zack wasn't sure if it was for the better.

Nevertheless, he focused on the now. Cloud, it seemed, had decided to randomly capture a chocobo, something Zack didn't even know he knew how. And where did he get those greens?

"Yo, what's the chocobo for?" Zack asked, approaching the blonde curiously.

Cloud gestured back. "For Vincent."

Immediately, Zack guffawed. Damn, the mental image of the extremely serious guy riding on a chocobo of all things... not too shabby.

While Zack was currently collapsing from laughter, Vincent came forward while Tifa looked on from the sidelines. The former Turk went up to the chocobo, his face as expressionless as ever.

"Why am I having it?" He asked, a tinge of... was that reluctance in his tone? Zack noticed and sniggered.

Cloud nodded to the towering mountains in the distance. "Over there. Behind the waterfall. I'm sure you know what's in there."

Vincent frowned, then he breathed, "The Crystal Cave...? But, how do you know-?"

The blonde's lips quirked slightly into a smile. "That's where Lucrecia is." He said, "Take the chocobo to get over the mountains."

"She's...?" Vincent lapsed into silence. By now Zack had stopped, thinking it seemed rather inappropriate to continue laughing at the image he had conjured into his head, no matter how ridiculous it looked.

Finally, the former Turk nodded to Cloud. "Thank you." He said shortly. Without further ado, he straddled the chocobo, and it began heading towards the mountain range. Short and simple goodbye, but the First Class had the feeling they'd see him once again.

Then Zack stared at the retreating figure, a grin tugging at his lips. Hell, that looked way more amusing than what he had thought!

And for the next few hours, Cloud and Tifa had to deal with the sounds of their resident First Class snorting away behind them.

Every limb felt weighed down with lead.

He should have suspected – this was Hojo for crying out loud.

Even as he blinked rapidly to clear the fog from his vision, he could feel the restraints. They strapped him securely to the table, but he knew they wouldn't be able to hold him for long.

What the hell did Hojo do to me? He scowled inwardly, and was incensed by how much the drugs affected his rational thinking. He knew he had to get free, but for some reason he just couldn't care enough to.

He lifted his head, eyes half-lidded and glazed as he struggled for clarity.

"Specimen C-2 has awakened." Hojo's slick voice drifted over to him. It felt as though his ears were blocked, and any noise was heard distantly. "The time Specimen C-2 has been asleep is approximately thirty two hours. The advanced tranquilizer is potent in its dosages, yet Specimen C-2 has already overcome the expected five day unconsciousness the tranquillizer was supposed to inflict. Further observation is required." There was a click that sounded suspiciously like a tape recorder. Yep, Hojo definitely loved the sound of his own voice.

"So you've finally awakened." There was the sound of approaching footsteps – his hearing was getting sharper by the second already.

"Yes, and didn't we agree to not restraining me?" Cloud asked in a dangerous tone. He was desperately staving off the paranoia and claustrophobia that was assaulting him; it took a lot of willpower to not go into a wild panic. He did not like labs, and being restrained, with Hojo in front of him no less, was not good for his mentality.

However, this time was different. He needed to show Hojo who was boss, and sinking into a panic attack was not the way to go.

"It seemed like an appropriate action at the time." Hojo's tone was clipped, and he smiled coldly down at Cloud.

Tch, I can't wait until I-

For a moment, Cloud paused. Why not act on his desires? At least for a little while.

Immediately, the blonde ripped out of his restraints. The scientist didn't look surprised at the action, but his eyes did widen when Cloud grabbed him by the throat and held him against the wall roughly.

"I don't think you understand fully of what I am capable of." Cloud hissed. Unbeknown to him, his vivid blue irises became a burning gold. Lips pulled back in a snarl, it was probably one of the most terrifying things to be subjected to in this world.

Unfortunately for Cloud, Hojo was used to terrifying. He glared right back, even as he was struggling for breath. "I am the greatest scientist on the Planet. No one else can compare to my skill! Where else do you think you can receive the help you have asked of me? I am the only one superior enough to do it! Don't think you can threaten me so easily." Hojo said right back, mockery dripping from his tone.

Then again, Cloud wasn't going to be cowed. Not this time.

"And I am a WEAPON. One of the Planet's defences. I am more powerful than you can even dream. I can kill you in more than a thousand ways, and I can bring you back from the brink of death just as easily. Even if you don't co-operate, there is another way for me to get what I want. I have back-up plans, Hojo, and you aren't in them." Cloud stepped back, panting harshly as he let him go. His eyes faded back to blue.

The scientist didn't respond, but this was the angriest Cloud had seen him. Hojo's eyes were pinpricks of black; fury practically radiated from his form.

"Fine." Hojo spat, "but you will regret this." With that, he stormed off.

Cloud smirked, calming down considerably. He was sure Hojo wouldn't pull a stunt like that again, but that incident felt particularly relieving.

He sat back on the metal bed, lying back on it with both his hands behind his head.

Needless to say, he was in a happier mood for the rest of the day.

She had to stop by the church just before exiting Midgar.

It always was a calming place for her, and she needed to feel at peace. For a moment, she cast away the things she had learned from her thoughts. They brought on too much inner turmoil, and it would be brought up later on. But for now, she wanted to listen to the Planet.

And she was just kneeling down to pray when a large crash interrupted her.

She coughed lightly as the dust swirled around her. Waving her hands, she was glad that most of the debris didn't land entirely on the flowers. In fact, a familiar person did instead.

He wore a red coat, and as he got up slowly, groaning, she saw that he was wielding a red sword as well. He looked familiar; maybe she had met him once or twice...?

And what was with people falling into the church and landing on her flowers?

Nevertheless, she started forward to ask if he was okay. She hardly took a step forward before a figure came flying down from the hole in the roof, the ridiculously long sword swooping down at the red man.

"I said I would push you out of the window, didn't I?" The second person to arrive said smugly, and raised his sword to strike-

"Stop!" Aeris said loudly, starting forward. Her hands were clasped nervously in front of her chest as she looked at the two newcomers imploringly. "Please don't fight on top of the flowers! Go somewhere else if you have to battle!"

For a whole minute, the two stared at her even as their swords were raised at each other. She fidgeted nervously.

Wait, now she recognised them. Weren't they the other First Class' that were friends with Zack...?

"Sephiroth! Genesis!" Yet another figure dropped from the sky, landing in a crouch. At least Aeris recognised this person straight away, however.

"Angeal?" She asked hesitantly. The dark-haired man straightened, looking at her in surprise.

"Good afternoon, Aeris. I apologise for my comrade's behaviour. They got a little carried away..." At this, he gave a scathing glare at the other two. They had the decency to look a little ashamed, but that quickly disappeared.

"So you're Aeris, right? Zack's girl?" Genesis asked, a little crudely.

Indignation shot up in her, but she pushed it down. Manners above antagonising.

Before she could answer, Sephiroth rolled his eyes at Genesis, sheathing his sword. "Play nice for a lady. You can't even do that?" He turned to Aeris, and she felt an irrational bout of fear flash through her.

This was the man who had killed her, in that other timeline. He had killed her and... she shook her head inwardly. No, he was not the same person, and if things went the way they were meant to, he never would be. So she pushed down her terror, and gave him a warm smile.

He gave a curt nod. "It's good to finally meet you. Zack has talked a lot about you."

Aeris inclined her head back. "Yes, Zack seems to hold you all in high regard as well, especially his mentor. I've heard a lot about your exploits."

"Pup does love to boast. How are you? Last I saw you were knocked out..." Angeal said, looking genuinely concerned for her.

Aeris shrugged, beaming gratefully at him. "I'm fine. I didn't get hurt at all."

Angeal nodded, returning the smile faintly. "That's good." It faded as he turned towards the other two. "But enough mucking around, you two. We have to go. It was good seeing you again, Aeris."

The brunette waved a hand. "Yeah... hey, you aren't going to hunt down Cloud, are you?" She asked hesitantly. The other three froze at that.

Genesis was the first to recover. "Why not?" He asked flippantly. "He did hurt you, didn't he?"

Aeris shook her head immediately. "It was nothing like that! He... he just appeared in front of me, and I only touched his cheek..."

"Touching his cheek, huh?" The redhead smiled wickedly, but his silver-haired comrade brushed him off.

"He 'appeared' in front of you? So you were there when he first arrived then? What happened exactly?" Sephiroth asked firmly. He took on a no nonsense tone, and it seemed like his entire stance had changed.

They think he's a threat, Aeris realised. Well, of course they would, but couldn't they see that Cloud was just a little... lost? She knew he attacked them, but he hadn't killed them. And from what she knew of him, he just needed to know the truth.

"It... he just appeared." She said lamely. "He wasn't awake at the time, so I decided to see if he was alright."

A thought occurred to her. Maybe she could tell these three also...? They could rendezvous up at Kalm and sort the problem there. Hopefully there wouldn't be any unwelcome visitors. Besides, she could use their help, in one way or another.

"Listen, I'm going to be travelling to Kalm. I'm meeting up with Zack there."

"Zack?" Angeal turned to her sharply. "Where is he now?"

Aeris blinked at the sudden intensity aimed at her. She could almost feel the worry radiating off of him, and had to be thankful that Zack had such great friends to look after him.

"I think he's making his way from Nibelheim. We were planning to meet up at Kalm."

Sephiroth thought about it, then nodded. "Okay, then we shall accompany you to Kalm. Did Zack tell you anything else?"

Aeris hesitated. Would it be better to tell them now or wait?

Genesis seemed to notice, and he yawned visibly. "Can we just start moving now? I'm sure we can clear everything up in Kalm." The other two nodded, and Aeris sighed in relief.

As they moved out of the church, she thought she heard a faint whisper from the Planet follow her.

Look after... our Citrine WEAPON...

A/N: I feel that this chapter was a bit... off.

Also, I noticed a lot of confusion happening. I guess that was what I was aiming for, but if you want me to clear up any points I've laid down so far, just ask.

Anyways, the incentive still stands. Almost to fifty - I'll send a PM to the person who is the fiftieth reviewer.

So, review if you please.

P.S.: As you may have noticed, Cloud and Hojo have a tad bit of an issue with each other. I'm sure you all love that tidbit of information thrown at you.

As for Cloud's WEAPON name, I didn't want to be cliche and use Golden, though, admittedly, that does sound more fashionable.