Shado: Another update, another surprise! Well...not quite. There's going to be an epic surprise in the next chap.

Note: I would like to thank my beta reader for helping me out with this chap, it was hard to work with but with her help I did it!

Dislcaimer: I own nothing but the plot to entertain readers like you....is it just me or do I sound like the guy on PBS before the show starts?

Chapter 11 The Surai

Cissnei followed the hunting group like a shadow. If anything went wrong then she had to be in some distance away in case she had to contact Rude to bring over the aircraft for a quick escape. As a Turk, she kept herself hidden using the landscape, quick and silent steps through the boulders along the mountain side.

Meanwhile Sephiroth kept an easy pace on the path. He almost felt tempted to spring his wing out of his shoulder and scan the mountain from the air. But he wasn't sure if the Turk knew about his wing, so he put the temptation aside. Even if he did fly, there was a high possibility he may be pounced on by these monsters.

"How far do we have to go in order to find these monsters?" Zack piped up, already anxious to kick some monster butt.

"They're probably watching us right now." Genesis lazily shrugged. "The Turk did say that they watch how we fight. Maybe they like to watch how we walk to see who's the weakest to attack."

"How could they tell? I mean we're all basically strong right?" the younger soldier frowned.

"Could be anything with the way we walk in stride. For instance, the leader is always the strongest. So more often than enough, creatures that are high capability tend to attack from the rear." The general elaborated calmly.

Zack pouted. "But then that means I will be attacked!"

"Hush! Do you want them to know we're here?" Genesis harshly snapped, flicking the younger soldier's forehead.

Whining like a kicked puppy, Zack rubbed his forehead with a quivering pout. His eyes watered as they widened, giving the red soldier his best puppy look. Feeling guilty, Genesis sighed.

"I'll apologize if you manage to kill one of these monsters we're hunting down." The red soldier offered.

"Okay!" Zack grinned widely. If he had a tail it'd be wagging itself off.

Cissnei paused. She swore that something moved up ahead. She lowered herself to almost kneeling on the rocky ground, eyes scanning the area with quick precision. The female Turk was so engrossed at the scene before her she never turned her head to see something slyly slinking towards her.

Something moved a small rock, making it tumble towards her feet. Cissnei quickly veered her head just in time to see round red eyes stare back. Instead of screaming, which she almost did but held it back with a gulp, the Turk leaped back and thrust her arm to throw her shuriken at the head.

The shuriken scrapped the monster's head, making it howl with anger. Instantly the soldiers turned with weapons at hand, ready to swing their swords at their target. More like targets. The instant the first one howled more sprung out from behind the rocks. They crawled and leaped down from the steep mountain, baring their fangs at the soldiers below.

Cissnei easily moved to the edge of the path, shuriken at hand. She stood nearest to Zack, trusting him if she was in danger. Zack widened his stance, holding up his own Buster sword in its full glory.

Sephiroth did a head count. It was difficult to spot them. They blended well with the dark mountain, but with each swaying movement of their heads were easy enough for his sharp eyes to see them. The general counted twenty.

"Genesis, make sure to use your Blizzaga materia. I don't want an avalanche crushing us with your Firaga." Sephiroth gave the said soldier a warning glance.

"Will do." Genesis smirked.

Sephiroth's attention went back to the monsters. There was something trickling on the back of his neck. His intuition was telling him to get rid of all these monsters quickly and head back to the second group. The general had a dreadful feeling in the back of his mind. It made Sephiroth very uncomfortable with this situation.

"Zack. When they're distracted enough, run back to the second group. Be sure to tell the other Turk to contact us." Sephiroth ordered.

"But I can—"

"That's an order." The general snarled.

Biting his lip, the young soldier reluctantly nodded. The moment all of their attention was full on the monsters, the creatures leaped and attacked. Sephiroth made the first move and instantly killed one, and injured another at the flick of his Mesamune.

Genesis froze three, before swinging his sword and slicing them into tiny shards. It was the most efficient and bloodless way of killing these beasts, but it took more work. Meanwhile Zack swung his sword around like the grim reaper. His style was, although messy, fast and quick to kill them off.

Cissnei kept herself close to the men, dodging and aiming her shuriken at any throats that were exposed. The Turk managed to defeat three before she was knocked down. It was on her left side when it leaped at her.

Instinctively Cissinei curled into a tight ball, and while still holding her weapon she lashed at the throat, chest, and stomach feverishly. The creature limped off her, growling in pain from a deep wound that ran down from the chest to the stomach.

Sephiroth ended the miserable creature's life the instant it was off the Turk. Cissnei quickly got back on her feat and started fighting all over again. Meanwhile, the general faced a crowd of the monsters. They knew he was the strongest, therefore more gathered to attack him.

Taking this as his cue, Zack silently slinked away until he was clear. Zack then ran, he ran as fast as he could towards the direction of the second group. The young soldier felt his lungs burn from taking in too much cold air, still Zack pressed on.

'I have to get there. I have to get there.' Zack repeated the thought over and over like a chant.

After what seemed like hours of running, Zack pulled himself to a stop when he finally reached them. He nearly screamed at what he stumbled upon.

There, some ten feet away from the aircraft, fought a lone monster against the puny Cloud. Shocked, Zack stared at cadet in surprise. The blonde was concentrating, as he swung Angeal's sword at the creature. The fight was half and half, the creature had a slight limp, a gashing wound on one of its legs. Cloud had an equal gashed wound on his upper left arm, and by the way he swung the Buster sword around he was having trouble holding the broad weapon up.

Realizing that Cloud had Angeal's sword, Zack immediately scanned for his boyfriend. The young soldier sighed when he saw his beloved standing on the sidelines, ready to jump into the fight and aid Cloud at any given moment. Zack glanced at the cadets. He stared at the guns in their shaking hands.

Then an idea hit him.

"Cadets! Shoot at the thing's eyes!" Zack called out.

Gathering his wits, Kyle raised his gun and started shooting as ordered. The eyes were huge, making them easy targets. Kyle put two bullets through each eye for good measure. The big cadet then nodded curtly at Zack.

"Good! Now, Cloud, when I turn its attention at me, you whack its nose! Make sure to use the sharp edge of the sword!" the young soldier shouted, swinging his sword at the beast's hindquarters.

Cloud watched as the creature turned its head back and forth. It couldn't decide which mortal to attack. When the head paused, Cloud swung his weapon with great difficulty. His left arm was just about left for dead, but the blonde drew all of his strength and aimed it at the shiny black nose.

The creature stepped back, blood dripping from its nose and eyes. Unable to see or smell, the creature lowered with belly on the ground. Its ears were perked, listening in for the rhythm of an injured mortal. Angeal cautiously stepped closer, unsure just what the monster was doing. He'd never seen this behavior before.

"What should we do? Take it in for Hojo?" Zack pondered out loud.

"That could be a possibility. But I've never seen one surrender like this." Angeal stopped a good five feet away from the monster.

Cloud handed the sword back to the first class soldier. The blonde cautiously stepped back, limping as he walked. Angeal held his sword tightly, furrowing his eyebrows when he saw the sharp ears eagerly pointed forward the cadet.

"Wait." Angeal ordered.

An instant the blonde cadet stilled. His body tensed, ready to dodge or run at a moment's notice. Cloud was scared, and confused. His instincts told him two very different things. One way he was to stay perfectly still. The second was to run, run off the cliff. Right now the first instinct was the safest.

Yet Cloud couldn't ignore the pull, this strong and heavy pull to jump. Somehow, the thought of flying entered the cadet's mind. He didn't know where flying came from, but the urge grew into an intense tug, like the gravitational pull of the planet's circular motion around the sun.

Jump. The voices told him.

'No…' Cloud bit his lip.

You'll survive. Jump now. The voices pressed on.

'I'm scared.' The blonde replied, his body shivered in fear.

Jump! Go! A violent ripple pulsed through Cloud's body. The voices were violent again, but this time white hot anger rushed through his veins.

Cloud's vision blurred, he thought it was the voices. Or maybe his eyes were watering as he did his best to keep himself in control. His control was in vain when the monster launched itself at him. Screaming Cloud bolted to the edge of the cliff without thinking. Gunshots rang in his ears, but the blonde cadet paid no attention to his friends firing at the monster.

"Cloud!" Zack shouted as he watched the said blonde nearly stumbling over the cliff.

Angeal lashed at the monster, his attack missed by a hair. The commander growled at himself and ran after the beast. He stopped when something white and covered in feathers flapped. It took mere seconds for Angeal to realize that the something happened to be a white wing. Wait, make that two wings. The commander nearly fainted in shock.

It was just as Tseng suspected, Cloud was one of the beloved sons of a goddess. Angeal watched in horror as the beast took hold of one wing in its lethal jaws. The horrid, blood curling scream echoed through the dark mountain. Wasting precious time, Angeal rapidly attacked. His own wing made itself known as he aimed for the beast's neck.

With a single swing of his broad sword, Angeal let out a howling battle cry. In an instant the monster let go of the captured angel, just about to turn and snap its fangs at the soldier. Determined, Angeal was too quick and the monster's head tumbled down the cliff.

Satisfied in his victory, the white winged commander immediately threw his sword to the ground and reached for the struggling cadet. Cloud's right wing was severely damaged, feathers bent or missing, blood dripping and staining the once pure wing. Ignoring the poor sight, Angeal grabbed hold of Cloud's waist and gently pulled him back to the ground.

The blonde cadet continued to struggle. All he could feel was the pain, the searing pain that gripped his body like a vine choking on a seedling. Cloud thrashed with his arms and legs, his good wing flapping furiously. His body was desperately trying to escape. To escape from memories that was rushing through his mind all at once. Too much information, too many memories, too many past emotions drowned Cloud.

Rude ran to the aircraft to grab the first aid kit, it wasn't any of the normal kind. The bag was packed with a few sedatives, morphine, bandages, and the usual cleansing alcohol to clean the wound. At the moment the bald Turk wasn't sure if the liquid would be of some help. They were in the middle of a mountain that was infested with monsters.

When the bald Turk reached the still frantic cadet, he seemed a little calmer. This time Cloud wasn't thrashing, instead he was trembling. The blonde was curled up in a tight ball, his left wing folded around him like a protective blanket. Meanwhile his injured wing was lying out as it continued to bleed.

Zack and Angeal were trying to calm the blonde, while the two remaining cadets stared up at the mountain in case any of those other monsters were to attack.

"Zack…I r-remember…I'm from the Ancient City in the north. Those monsters…the Surai…they killed my mother…" Cloud whispered hoarsely.

"Surai…?" Angeal repeated.

"What the hell happened?" a calm voice spoke up.

"Sephiroth, we need to leave now. Cadet Strife is injured." Angeal instantly stood up.

Being weak, Cloud leaned on Zack's shoulder. The memories have calmed and the blonde no longer felt that he was going to explode. But that didn't help fill in the grief he had for the loss of his mother.

Rude examined the wing carefully, not too long after he reached the blonde with the aid kit he gave Cloud a shot that would calm him. The Turk wasn't really fond of drugging a cadet, but he needed the blonde to remain calm.

"Wait, Cloud, you remember everything?" Zack whispered, hoping the general wouldn't hear.

Sephiroth ignored Zack. He couldn't help but stare at the blonde cadet with two white wings. It wasn't until Cissnei blocked his view did he snap out of his shocked trance. The general took a glance at Zack, who was still talking to Cloud.

"—so those things are called the 'Surai'?"

"Mhm. It means 'sly', which they are. Their leader is about twice the size of the rest, and he has the ability to talk. They…they can sniff out who's the savior, and the women who gave birth to us. That's why…" Cloud trailed off, he didn't have the heart to.

"Keep him talking. I may have drugged him to keep the cadet calm, but it'd be best if he talks to you." Rude said.

"So…they attacked your city in the north, you had to escape and you somehow lost your memory along the way?" Zack encouraged, trying to avoid Cloud loosing his mother topic.

"I was riding a chocobo full speed to the south. I didn't know where I was going, and yet I urged the bird to move faster. When we reached this field…the chocobo tripped and I fell on my head. That was how I lost my memory." Cloud elaborated.

Cissnei bit her lip. "Rude, I don't think that wing could be saved."

Rude said nothing. The bald Turk continued to examine the wing. He had noticed the wing was broken in two different places, which was the reason why it was curved oddly. Cissnei may be right.

"We can't move him until we take that wing off." Rude said dryly.

"What!? You can't take it off! Can't you see he's one of the angels!?" Genesis roared.

"Gen, calm down." Angeal sighed. "Look at the cadet. Do you want him to suffer from his wing all the way back to Midgar? Even if we do, it'd be too late to save it anyway."

"But he's the first of us that has two wings! Well, you have a wing and a half. That tiny thing under your main wing doesn't count as one." The red soldier retorted.

"Enough, both of you." Sephiroth glared at the two commanders. "Turk, what's the probability of saving that wing?"

"Very low. And we don't have enough morphine to ease the pain for the whole trip." Rude answered truthfully.

"Maybe if we should ask him first…?" Ryu squeaked.

Everyone standing stared at the young runt.

"It's his wing…" Ryu added. "And so it should be his decision."

"Cloud? What do you say, should we take the wing off, or leave it?" Zack timidly asked.

The blonde, who was just about to fall asleep, raised his head. His eyes opened half way, obviously tired. Cloud gazed up at Zack, who repeated the question. For a few moments the blonde stared at the broken and bleeding wing.

"Take it off." Cloud boldly said.

Rude stood up. "General, I believe this is your department. You're the only one who could cut it off with one, clean slice."

Sensing fear amongst the young men, Cissnei urged the two cadets into the aircraft. If there was any interference, Sephiroth would loose concentration. Kyle grumbled angrily as he stepped into the helicopter, sitting back in the seat he sat during their flight. Ryu silently sat in his seat, still agitated.

Cissnei turned to the others. "Zack, I don't think you should be there."

"But—"

"Come on pup. I don't think you should be here either." Before Zack could protest, Angeal picked him up and settled him over his shoulder.

"But he's my friend! He's my underling! Surely you'd feel that you should be by his side if I was him! Angeal, please!" Zack begged.

"I would be by your side, if you were him, pup. But this is for your own good, as well as Cadet Strife's. Sephiroth can't have any distractions." Angeal pointed out.

The young soldier whimpered, lashing with his fists and feet at his boyfriend's chest and back. "Why can't I be by his side?! He's my friend damn it!"

"Cissnei, would you do the honors?" Angeal sighed.

"Wait, what are you—"

Cissnei pinched a nerve on the back of Zack's neck. The young soldier instantly went limb, completely knocked out.

"I'm sorry, pup." Angeal stepped into the aircraft and settled Zack in his lap.

"Here. Give him one dose when he's done." Rude handed the needle to Genesis, who took Zack's place by Cloud.

Genesis nodded, taking the offered needle and glanced at the blonde. He felt horrible for doing this. He had a wing, but never had two. At first he thought himself as a monster, until Sephiroth and Angeal told him he was one of the beloved sons of a goddess. This brought Genesis back from his self hatred and started to love and care for his oddly shaped wing.

Now they were to take away a wing from Cloud, who was the one the goddess loved most. Genesis read everything he could about the legend. He found that the oldest and youngest sons were the sons the goddess loved the most. Of course, Genesis envied the two. He at first thought it was Angeal, until he read a particular line where the two sons had two wings. And the rest had one.

"Do you think the wing could somehow grow back?" Genesis looked up at his love.

"Could be a possibility, but we'll have to wait and see. I'm not fond of doing this myself." Sephiroth grimaced, holding his sword over the injured wing.

"May I ask something?" Cloud spoke up.

"Permission granted." The general nodded.

"When we're done here, can we head to Nibelheim? I know where to find the first angel, the Fallen One. We have to go to him." The blonde requested.

"We can't head for Nibelheim with you seriously injured, cadet." Sephiroth reasoned coldly.

"I have to wake him up. He's in a coma, my mother told me how to find him. Please, we need to go to Nibelheim." Cloud said. "Look, it has nothing to do with my family there, its just that I'm the only one he would recognize."

"You've met him?" Genesis tilted his head curiously.

"No. But he would recognize me through my mother. I look exactly like her, only she doesn't have spiky hair." The blonde explained. "He might attack or cower if anyone else woke him up."

"Then all the more reason why we can't go to Nibelheim. He might attack you." Sephiroth glared.

Genesis knew that glare. Sephiroth was protective of Cloud, even more now that the blonde was one of them. The general has already claimed Cloud in his mind, he wanted no room for anyone else to involve into what was his.

"How about this, we ask one of the Turks to investigate. You can tell Cissnei how to find him, and she'll wake him up." Genesis offered. "He won't attack women, right?"

"He…well no."

"Then it's settled." The red soldier smiled. "Now lean towards me, and make sure your shoulder is away from the wing as much as possible."

Cloud did as he was told, the pain was almost unbearable. But the calming drug was still in effect, and he was glad for it. The blonde cadet leaned his head on Genesis' shoulder, shutting his eyes as tightly as possible, tuning the world out.

You wouldn't have to loose that wing if you had jumped! The voices scolded.

'You're not helping.' Cloud scowled.

Look at you, you're going to be like one of them. You won't be the one who saves the human race. Or even protect the last of us Cetra, you're a failure. The voices continued to hiss at the blonde.

'I'm not a failure!' Cloud trembled.

Sephiroth raised his sword, eyeing the joint where the wing met shoulder blade. He paused when he saw the blonde tremble, something tugged on the back of his mind like a cobweb pulling on his skin. Something was wrong.

"Cadet?"

The blonde murmured something. The general couldn't quite hear what was said. And by the confused expression on Genesis, he didn't catch what Cloud said either.

"Seph, go ahead. They're waiting for us." Genesis urged.

You won't be the loved one anymore. You'll be like the others. You have failed. The voices taunted.

'Shut up! I don't care about being loved by Minerva, I don't care!' Cloud whimpered.

How dare you say such a thing! The Goddess created you to be strong, and you ruined yourself! Ruined yourself! You have displeased her! The voices screamed.

'Leave me alone!'

We can never leave you alone, you are the son of a Cetra, one of us. As long as you live, you will always hear us. They hissed.

"No…" Cloud shook his head. "Get out of my head."

Genesis stared at the cadet in his arms. He glanced up at the general, a mix of shock and horror was shown in his expression. Sephiroth sheathed his sword and quickly picked the cadet up bridal style. Genesis stood up, following the distraught general.

"What are you doing?"

"Something's wrong." Sephiroth replied dryly. "He's hearing voices, which isn't good."

"Of course it isn't! But if we bring him to Hojo, he'll only experiment on him! The poor boy has had enough to deal with remembering he lost his mother some time ago!" Genesis pleaded.

"And what do you think we should do? Leave Shinra, find the Fallen One, then run and hide from Shinra?!" Sephiroth gave his love a cold, harsh glare.

Genesis stopped in his tracks. "That's not a bad idea actually."

"What did I just hear?" Angeal poked his head out from the helicopter.

"Genesis thinks we should abandon Shinra, find the last angel and run and hide." Sephiroth elaborated.

"And you're doing this because…?" the dark haired commander raised an eyebrow.

"Think about it, if we bring Cloud back to Shinra, all they'll do is experiment on him. No one but Tseng knows of us being the three of five saviors, and Cloud is one of the favored sons. We bring him to Shinra, he'll be altered." Genesis reasoned.

By now the Turks were beside Angeal, shocked of what they had just heard. Rude adjusted his shades and returned to his co-pilot seat. Cissnei continued to stare at the two men standing outside the aircraft.

"Wait how about we keep an eye on him. If Hojo does try anything, we run. Meanwhile, what about the Fallen One? How are we going to find him?" Angeal crossed his arms.

"We thought we could send a Turk to wake him up. The cadet said something about Nibelheim." Sephiroth enlightened.

"Such as where in Nibelheim?" Cissnei spoke up.

"Cloud didn't say. And are you planning to go?" Genesis remarked slyly.

"I know of you three being the angels. Tseng warned me that something might happen on this mission that involved the legend." The female Turk stepped out of the aircraft.

"Then we'll drop you by Nibelheim on the way to Midgar. We'll just say you found something suspicious and decided to investigate." Sephiroth planned out, handing the cadet to Genesis.

"I have to give him a sedative. It's the best way he can travel without any pain." The general said.

Nodding, the red soldier strode into the helicopter and sat down. He set Cloud so he was leaning on him at the end so his injured wing would be safe from bumping into something on the trip. The blonde trembled, tuning out the voices as best he could. Cloud didn't even notice Sephiroth leaning over him, or the sharp pinch of the needle entering his arm.

Then slowly, Cloud slipped into a dreamless sleep.

Shado: And once again, I end it with another cliffe. As explained in the previous chapter, I looooove~ cliffes. Keeps you guys on your toes. But the good news is that Cloud finally showed his wings! The bad news is...he won't be the star in the next chap. In fact he'll come back in chapter 13. Chapter 12 is gonna be all~ about the "Fallen One".

I know some of you may have already guessed who the "Fallen One" is, but for some who still don't know, I suggest you either patiently wait til the next chap or carefully go over the chapter that explains about each angel. I think that was chapter 3? If not then its one of the early chapters.

1) I just remembered, the "Goddess", or the "Divine One" has been revealed. Yes, it is Minerva, the Goddess that Genesis had a serious thing for in the game...kinda odd but I couldn't think of any other goddess to use in this fanfic, it was either Minerva or the goddess in Dissidia...which I kinda forgot her name. It's been too long since I last played it. It was highly tempting to use the one in Dissidia, but then it'd be kinda like a crossover, right? So I turned that thought down and decided on Minerva.

Now, without further ado, the button below beckons your mouse to click it!