Final Fantasy VII: Another Story

By:

Mystwalker

Disclaimer: I don't own Final Fantasy VII.

A/N: Hey all! I'm back! Thanks for letting me take a month off to get my head back on straight! Now I have somewhat of a direction for this story, which is a good thing, and thought about how to tie up some loose threads (like Shion and Elena). One thing I do have to point out is that I may not be able to keep up the weekly pace of updates, although I will definitely try to! There will be updates, though. This story is definitely continuing!

On this chapter, I wrote in my outline "Sephiroth and Cissnei touch the hot spring". I have no idea how I originally intended for that to work out, but that's not what happened...apparently Cissnei had other plans. Whoops.

XxXxX

File 039: The Great Glacier

The camp was a makeshift thing, nothing more than a small fire built at the mouth of a cavern to keep them out of the wind. Cloud settled down with his back to the wall, his sword on the ground beside him. He rubbed at his sore shoulder as Tifa looked through their provisions, parceling out four equal portions of food. His muscles ached from the fight the war machine, and if he closed his eyes he could still see those sawblades spinning, catching light as they drifted closer to his face. It had been a close call. But he'd won, and they'd gotten out of the city. That was what was the most important here.

Tifa paused in her work to lean out the mouth of the cave, watching the faint light in the distance that was Icicle Inn. Shinra helicopters whirred overhead, a few of them making sweeps across the Great Glacier, but even those sweeps appeared half-hearted. The Glacier was a huge, desolate environment, and no one really wanted to come trekking out here after them. Not when Cloud suspected they had bigger fish to fry.

He tried to imagine what Shinra's priorities could possibly be. Stopping AVALANCHE was one of them, for certain—the group had proved themselves to be a threat in Midgar with the bombings, but AVALANCHE's recent encounters with Shinra had mostly been getting out of their way. And in return, once Genesis and the Tsviets proved to be a greater and more pressing threat to the world at large, Shinra's focus had shifted from neutralizing AVALANCHE to capturing the Tsviets and curbing what—according to Shelke—was the start of a potentially dangerous rebellion in Deepground.

It was as if AVALANCHE and Shinra, two sides that were fundamentally and irrevocably opposed, had agreed that they couldn't continue their quarrel if there was no world left to have that quarrel in, and had both decided to consider Genesis and the renegade Tsviets to be the weaker threat.

It wasn't…it wasn't exactly a ceasefire, really. It was more like both sides agreed that they weren't each other's highest priorities at the moment. Cloud had no doubt that once Genesis was dealt with, they would immediately go back to trying their hardest to destroy one another. But at the moment...he couldn't really imagine Shinra pulling out all the stops to go after them and them alone.

Would Shinra tear up a town just to quash some small rebellion? No doubt. They'd raze Icicle Inn to the ground if they thought it would destroy AVALANCHE. But not at this time, not when there was a larger threat out there. Rufus Shinra was many things, but shortsighted wasn't one of them. Whatever else anyone said about the man, he was in it for the long haul. So what? Why send the army all the way out here?

Because AVALANCHE wasn't what they were looking for.

Sure, if they managed to catch AVALANCHE in their net, that would be great—and they certainly hadn't held back when it was revealed that the group was in town. But that wasn't why they were out here. They were looking for bigger fish. Which meant that somehow, Shinra had figured it out too. That if Genesis and company were going anywhere, it would be north, towards the Crater.

They didn't have a Cetra like Aerith as far as he knew. They didn't know about the huge amounts of energy in that location, or at least they hadn't before this. Which meant that they had to have another reason for thinking that Genesis and the other Tsviets were out here. And the answer to that was simple.

They'd seen them.

Unlike AVALANCHE, the Tsviets barely even tried to conceal their movements. Genesis and Rosso were not subtle. And Genesis liked to be seen.

He remembered the last fight with Rosso, the way she had transformed on them. She'd become something stronger, something even more fearsome than her usual self. And she was the weakest out of the remaining Tsviets. If he wanted to defeat her—to defeat them, he had to become something more than he was. He had to become stronger. So that the next time their two groups clashed, things would be different.

So that the next time they met, no one would die.

Change the world.

He let his grip tighten on the hilt of his sword, looking up at Tifa as she spoke.

"They're still out there," she said. "Do you think they'll find us here?"

Cloud shook his head. "I'm not even sure they're really looking," he said. "Besides, even if they did, would they come down to get us?" That would mean getting out of their planes, and he was sure that Shinra would feel the hostile cold just as harshly as they did.

"Forget about that," said Barret, waving his gun arm in the air dismissively. "What I wanna know is, what the hell is she doing here?" He glanced at Shelke, scowling at her. Shelke looked up at Barret calmly, as if she didn't particularly care that he was shouting at her. Cloud watched as she took the food that Tifa handed out to her, not saying a word.

"Shelke helped me in a fight," said Cloud. "I couldn't just leave her there."

"She's a Tsviet," said Barret.

"And Sephiroth and Zack are ex-SOLDIERs," said Tifa. "Cissnei used to be a Turk."

Barret scowled, folding his arms. "That's different," he said.

"I no longer associate with Genesis or Weiss," said Shelke, interrupting. She looked up, turning towards Barret. "Nor do I consider myself part of Shinra."

"And why should we trust you?" asked Barret. "You pretty much admitted to spying on us."

"You shouldn't," said Shelke. "It would be irrational of you to do so."

She didn't even sound offended that Barret didn't trust her. She didn't sound affected by any of it. He thought about Shalua, trying to put the two of them together in his mind. If he didn't have Shalua's word to go on, and if they didn't resemble each other, he wouldn't have believed they were related. Was she always like this? And if not, what had Shinra done to her.

"If you're not out here for Genesis or Shinra, then why were you watching us?" asked Tifa, speaking up before Barret could launch into another tirade. Shelke glanced at Tifa, then looked down at her hands. It was the most emotion he had seen from her in a while. "I wanted to see," she said.

"See what?" asked Cloud, leaning forward.

"See," said Shelke. "What he thought was so important."

"He?" asked Tifa. She exchanged a glance with Cloud.

"You're talking about Kunsel, aren't you?" Cloud asked. "You were traveling with him, before…" He trailed off, remembering the events of the Forgotten Capital. He hadn't seen it himself, but he had seen the aftermath. That had been enough.

Shelke's frown deepened, but said nothing at first, staring into the fire. After a moment's pause, she looked up. "He died," she said. "To save the Cetra. That is understandable. He believed she was important to his goals."

There was a pause. "But…?" Cloud prompted.

"Many of the things he did were…irrational," said Shelke. "Especially where it concerned all of you." She fell silent, her expression far off as though she was remembering something. Cloud frowned, leaning back against the wall in thought. Tifa said nothing either, staring at the fire.

It was Barret who broke the silence.

"Hey," he said, making Shelke look up. "Sometimes people don't do things because their smart or whatever. Sometimes, people do things because they're right."

Shelke didn't respond to that, but she did look away again. Cloud saw her hand tighten around the fabric of her cloak, an almost imperceptible movement. Barret watched her from across the fire, his human arm resting across his knee. He snorted, looking away. "Well, whatever," he said. "I guess you can stay. Shalua'll be happy anyway."

The group ate in silence after that, the four of them drifting off into an uneasy sleep as helicopters continued to search for them overhead.

XxXxX

He set Cissnei down onto the snow, coming to land next to her. Sephiroth pulled his wing back into himself, black feathers scattering against the ground beneath him as the wing faded. Above them, the sky had flared up into brilliant colors, shades of blue and violet and green. A violent wind had started up further north, making it difficult to fly. He'd been forced to land before they could arrive at the base of the cliffs, but he supposed that there were worse places to be forced to make a stop for the night. Steam rose into the air, rising up from the hot springs beside them and making it almost warm. As soon as they landed, Cissnei immediately moved towards the water's edge.

He came to stand next to her. Although the cold didn't bother him as much as it did her, it was much colder in the air than on the surface, and the warmth of the spring was much nicer than standing out in the wind.

"Are you well?" he asked, noticing the way she held her arms close to herself.

She nodded. "I'm fine," she said. "Cold, sore, but I think I'm fine. I'll let you know if I start showing signs of hypothermia."

He nodded. The cold certainly wasn't something that they were unused to. As if reading his mind, Cissnei turned, surveying the desolate landscape that they had found themselves in. Cliffs rose up around the hot springs, protecting the area from the wind, but outside this natural barrier, the wind howled, piling up snow drifts against the mouth of the canyon.

"How far north do you think we are?" she asked.

"We're at the northwestern end of the glacier," said Sephiroth. "I imagine we're less than a day away from Gaea's Cliff."

Cissnei nodded, reaching into her pocket and pulling out her PHS. She flipped it open, her face becoming illuminated by the glow of the screen. After a moment of searching, she flipped it closed again.

"Nothing?" asked Sephiroth.

"No signal," said Cissnei. "Which is only to be expected out here, but it means we'll have no way of knowing how the others are doing until we get there." She sighed, folding her arms and walking back over to the water. The ex-Turk slipped off her pack and dropped down to the ground, resting her back against one of the rocks that bordered the spring. "At least it's warm."

Warm, in this case, was relative, but it was warm enough. Sephiroth nodded, coming to sit against the rock next to hers. The warmth from the water had seeped into the rocks, and while a fire might have been more preferable, this would do for the night. Cissnei stretched out, the two of them sitting so that they were facing each other.

Cissnei rubbed at her sore shoulder. "Did you see any sign of them?" she asked, "When you were flying above?"

Sephiroth shook his head. He had looked, but wherever the others were, they were obviously well-hidden, and between finding a safe place to land and dodging Shinra's search aircraft, he hadn't been able to devote much time to the actual search. "They must have taken shelter," he said. "It's what anyone would do in weather like this."

Cissnei nodded, looking down at her clasped hands. "Shelter," she said. "That would be the smartest choice. There are caverns set into the mountain not too far from here. They wouldn't brave the Glacier at night." She sounded more like she was trying to convince herself than to convince him.

"They wouldn't," he said, nodding in agreement. Vincent and Yuffie both had some experience with survival in the wilderness, and Tifa had spent a good portion of her life as a mountain guide. Leading any group through the Glacier was still a chancy prospect, but there was not much more that could have been done.

He was concerned more with what they would find when they got there, and why Shinra had such an interest in that place. The Northern Crater.

"When we get to this cabin," said Sephiroth, glancing at Cissnei. "What next?"

"We climb, I suppose," said Cissnei, with a shrug that told him she wasn't being entirely forthright.

"You suppose?" he asked.

"We'll have to get across Gaea's Cliff to get to the Northern Crater. There isn't another way around it. We don't have a plane, and you can't ferry everyone up the cliffs yourself."

"But you do have a plan," he said.

"I have…a guide," said Cissnei, smiling. "Maybe. It depends on whether or not she decides to show up."

"She?" asked Sephiroth. "Another ex-Turk?"

"Maybe," said Cissnei. She glanced northward for a moment, turning her attention towards the mountains that loomed ahead of them. Then, she glanced back at the springs. "Anyway, we should rest. We still have a long road ahead of us tomorrow."

Sephiroth nodded, placing a hand on Masamune's hilt. "Sleep first," he said. "I'll keep watch."

Cissnei stretched languidly, raising her arms up over her head as she reached out towards the spring. "I was considering taking advantage of the hot springs," she admitted, a playful smile on her face as she turned towards him. "Care to join me?"

Sephiroth's brows rose, but he made no objection as she inched closer to the spring.

XxXxX

The cave was set into the hillside, a darkened structure that appeared just big enough for a group twice their number to take shelter in. Vincent stepped into the cave first with Nanaki at his side, leaving Cid and Shalua to support each other just outside. He held his gun at his side, his finger resting near the trigger. The Great Glacier's weather didn't just affect its visitors—any shelter they found would likely already be occupied. Still, he needed to get his group out of the weather first—while he and Nanaki might be able to keep going for a few more hours, Cid and Shalua had obviously reached the end of their strength. He paused just inside the cave, glancing at the creature next to him.

"How is it?" he asked Nanaki.

Nanaki sniffed the air cautiously. "I don't sense any enemies," he said. "But there's something here, Vincent. An odd scent in the air. I can't quite identify it. And also—." He paused, his tail swishing as he sniffed the air further. Vincent frowned, about to ask him what it was when he caught sight of movement out of the corner of his eye. A figure dashed out from behind a rock, yelling a battle cry.

Vincent immediately turned towards it, raising his arm and catching the kick on the side of his gauntlet. His attacker sprang back, pushing off of Vincent's arm, flipping over nimbly in the air and getting back on their feet. The figure sprang forward, swinging something at his head. He caught the figure's arm by the crook of the elbow, stopping the attack as he raised his gun with his other hand, the barrel resting at the side of the figure's head. They both paused, the two of them staring at each other for a moment in the dim light caused by Nanaki's tail.

Brown eyes met red and blinked. Vincent was the first to lower his weapon, moving the gun back to his side.

"Yuffie," he said, giving her a nod of acknowledgment.

"Uh—hey there, Vinnie," said Yuffie, sounding slightly sheepish. His eyes moved, glancing at the four-pointed shuriken in her other hand, the one that he was holding at bay. One of the tines had come within an inch from the side of his head. He frowned at her, and she cleared her throat, her face flushing as he released her arm and she lowered her shuriken back to her side.

"Sorry about that," she said. "I was on watch, and I heard a noise—and um—yeah. Hi."

"On watch?" asked Vincent, frowning at her. "You're camped here?"

"You could say that," said Yuffie, scratching the back of her head with her free hand. "Apparently, it's a whole system of caves. We're camped about one cave over. Through that passage there." She pointed.

Vincent looked in that direction. A small side passage had carved itself into the mountain, leading off into the darkness. It was barely more than a crack in the wall. Anyone bigger than Yuffie would have had difficulty squeezing through it. As it was, she must have barely scraped her way through.

He realized with some slight chagrin that he hadn't heard her coming.

The crunch of snow and ice beneath boots made him look up, watching as Zack strode into the cave, his hand on the Buster Sword. He lowered the blade as he saw Vincent, frowning. "Oh, it's just Vincent," he said, sounding relieved.

"Zack?" asked Yuffie, frowning at him. "What are you doing here?"

"Blaire woke up and said you left," said Zack, turning towards her. "So I came looking for you." He glanced back at Vincent. "What are you guys doing back here?"

"Searching for shelter," said Vincent, glancing at the ex-SOLDIER.

"Well, if that's the case, you should head back to our camp," said Zack. "Cid and Shalua look half-frozen outside. We've got a fire, though it isn't much. We're heading for the Northern Crater first thing in the—."

—The cave shook, a blast of icy wind radiating from deep inside of it. Vincent immediately turned away from Zack, facing the interior of the cave. Frost crystals formed on the walls, rapidly inching towards them.

"How dare…" said a feminine voice from inside the cave. "…how dare you touch that filthy hot spring!"

Vincent immediately raised his gun, pointing it in that direction. Zack's eyes narrowed, and he glanced that way as well, raising his Buster Sword. On his other side, Yuffie widened her stance, raising her shuriken, and Red got down on his haunches, his hackles rising.

A blast of ice shot out from inside the cavern, heading towards them.

XxXxX

Deepground was silent that night, the sound of the patrolling soldiers above them the only thing that broke that silence. None of Shinra's guards, occupying the top floor of the sealed structure with guns and swords in hand, paid any attention to a single nameless Deepground SOLDIER, slipping his way past them as he made his way deeper and deeper into the structure.

The nameless SOLDIER pressed his back against the wall as a patrol of two SOLDIER Thirds passed by, hands on their swords. He waited until they had rounded the corner before slipping out of his hiding place, taking off as a run towards a door on the far end of the corridor. The door was locked electronically, a red light signaling that he was denied entrance, but it only took the SOLDIER a few moments to slip past it, and he was inside the room by the time the patrol doubled back, the SOLDIER Thirds barely giving the door a second glance. He locked it behind him, then turned his attention towards the room.

It was a room of screens, various computers and machinery shining back at him from a single control panel. The SOLDIER stepped forward, then peeled off the restrictive Deepground helmet, setting it aside. He reached into his pocket, pulling out a pair of glasses and slipping them onto the bridge of his nose.

Shion of the Turks stepped towards the row of screens, placing his hands on the control panel. His left hand moved stiffly, but although he couldn't handle a sword with that hand, something like this was still well within his capabilities. He flexed his fingers, then placed his hands on the keyboard, the computers coming to life. Deepground's database opened up around him, several security screens denying him access. Shinra would have given this room their highest level of electronic security, and the Tsviets would have simply added onto that, but Shion had been the most senior member of the Turks at one point, and he had been trained directly by Veld.

He was in within minutes. He mused, as the words on the screens around him shifted from red to green, that he was probably losing his touch.

The warning screens faded, information writing itself into the screens directly around him. He typed a few words into the keyboard, scrolling through a list as he looked for the files he needed. He stopped on one file, pausing there as he read the filename.

Rhapsodos, G: JENOVA Project.

Shion raised a hand, about to click on it when he froze, catching sight of something in the screen's reflection. A sword, pointed directly at the back of his neck. Shion hesitated, then slowly pulled back from the screens, raising his hands to the side of his head.

"Don't move," said a voice from behind him—a voice he recognized. Auriel the Golden.

In the reflection from the screens, Shion saw the Tsviet smirk.

"Step back nice and easy," he said, his blade beginning to hum with a golden light. "Wouldn't want this to get messy."

Shion stared at the screens, the moment seeming frozen in time.

TO BE CONTINUED