Gift of the Goddess
Chapter 12
'Pain... so much pain...'
He tried to open his eyes. The harsh sun glared down upon his battered form as he squinted against the light and through the agony that seared every bone in his body.
'I can't move. Why can I not move?'
His bloodied brow furrowed as he tried to remember what happened. The pain made it difficult to focus on any one thing, however.
'How did I... how long have I been like this? This pain... I have never felt so much pain before...'
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The sound of boots crunching on gravel and earth revived him again. The sun beat even fiercer upon his beaten body as he silently cursed his inability to move.
A shadow blocked the harsh light then. He opened his eyes and tried to focus. He wished he hadn't.
"Well well, this day just keeps getting better, doesn't it Tseng?"
Sephiroth turned his head slightly to the sound of a second person approaching. A man in a black suit, standing next to the first in a white coat.
"Yes, sir."
A laugh then, as Hojo regarded him with a smile, hands behind his back. "Poor boy. I thought I taught you better than this."
'I have to get out of here... I have to... I cannot... not again...'
Hojo's smile vanished as he pulled out a wicked looking syringe, filled with a green liquid.
"Restrain him. He comes with me."
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"Did you not hear me clearly the first time, Turk?"
Consciousness returned slowly once again. Hojo was yelling at someone.
"I received no such orders, Professor. You have no authorization to hold them here."
Sounded like Tseng. His usual restrained voice was forced, it seemed.
A slam of something hitting a table.
"These orders come from President Shinra himself!" Hojo's voice reached a nearly shrill tone. "They are to be held here under my supervision indefinitely! Do not argue with me!"
The rustle of paper. A moment of silence.
"I see... so that is how it is."
"This ain't right, boss, and you know it. This ain't gonna just blow over..." Another voice, less disciplined.
"They are orders, Reno." A fourth voice, calm and quiet.
"Fuck, Rude, I know that man! Urgggh..."
A cackling laugh. "Listen to your bald friend, Turk." Hojo said with glee. "They will be declared dead. Make up something about how they were heroes in battle, I don't care."
A sigh. "Reno, Rude. Let's go. We need to return to Midgar." The sound of three pairs of feet leaving.
Hojo shuffled next to him. "Welcome home, my boy."
A feeling he hadn't felt in a long, long time.
Despair.
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'How much time had passed? How long have I been here?'
This was a familiar place. Floating in a tube of mako. Scientists poring over their calculations and their computers in front of him, oblivious to his being conscious. Perhaps they just didn't care.
He turned his head slowly to the left as he surveyed the area. Beside him floated a shorter, blond man, unconscious.
To the right, floated a taller man. Black hair. Also unconscious.
He noticed movement in the corner of his eye. He turned forward. Hojo stood before him, and smiled.
"Let's get started, Sephiroth. We have a lot of work to do."
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Sephiroth bolted upright, green eyes wide and his heart racing. It took him a moment to regain his senses. He was not in Hojo's lab. He was not being held against his will. At least, not anymore. It had all been a dream, albeit a very real recollection of the past.
Dawn was just breaking, he noticed. After having taken the first watch, he had quickly fallen asleep. That in itself was odd, as Sephiroth was not one for needing much sleep. The fact he had slept deeply enough to have such a vivid dream was even more strange.
He then sensed movement, as Aerith padded quietly towards him. She must have noticed his abrupt awakening. She had insisted on taking a watch, as their team had plenty of opportunity to rest the previous day while waiting for Cloud's party to arrive. There had been plenty of opposition to the idea, but she had been stubborn, and finally got her way. In the end, she had been assigned last watch.
Aerith gave him a worried smile as she kneeled before him. "Is everything alright?" she asked him quietly.
"It is nothing. Do not concern yourself."
Aerith's worried smile didn't disappear as she lightly shook her head. "You were talking in your sleep, Sephiroth. The one thing you said clearly was... Hojo."
Sephiroth met Aerith's gaze. There was a look of understanding in her eyes, he noticed. Perhaps... he could tell this young woman, at least a little bit.
"...I was held by Professor Hojo and his team for nearly five years, and experimented upon."
Aerith's eyes widened in shock. "You were... held? What did they do to you?"
Sephiroth lowered his head and looked at his lap. "My memories of that time are fragmented and difficult to recall. The things I remember most vividly through them all are the moments of... burning pain and agony."
Aerith's green eyes swelled with tears. "By the Planet, I'm so sorry... how could they..."
Sephiroth regarded the young woman with slight shock at her reaction. "There is no need for you to apologize," he told her in confusion. "You were not at fault for my treatment. ShinRa was."
Aerith sniffled and rubbed her eyes, but they still shone with unshed tears. "Yes... I know that, but... I know what it's like to be kept prisoner like that too."
That got Sephiroth's attention. "You were a captive of Hojo's as well?"
She nodded. "Yes. When I was a little girl, myself and my mother were held by ShinRa for nearly seven years. We managed to escape, thanks to someone I can't remember. My mother was shot while we were trying to escape and died in Sector Seven... and... then my mom, well, the woman who found us took me in and looked after me ever since."
Sephiroth was quiet for several moments as he watched this young woman with a newfound sense of respect. Beneath her quiet, cheerful exterior lay someone far stronger than he had realized.
"It seems Hojo has much more to pay for than I realized," he remarked quietly. "He will not go unpunished, Aerith. I promise you."
Aerith's smile returned slightly. "Thank you, Sephiroth."
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The rest of the party had awoken soon after, and thanks to Aerith's delicious meal of oatmeal and dried fruit, the group was satiated and ready to make the journey through the long, winding caverns of the abandoned Mithril Mines.
"So..." Cloud began as he turned to the assembled party of six at the entrance to the dark mines. "Has anyone here been through here before and happen to know an efficient route to the Junon exit?"
Sephiroth nodded. "I have, although it has been many years."
Barret stepped forward and coughed. "Yea, I worked here years ago myself," he spoke up. "Wuz a long time ago, though. ShinRa did some trainin' on minin' operations here when I wuz 'bout sixteen in a base camp 'bout halfway between the Junon and Marsh exits."
Sephiroth placed a gloved hand to his chin as he thought about it. "Indeed. I remember there being a base of operations and living quarters dug into the mines, although I am certain it would be long since abandoned by now."
While the two men discussed their experiences in the mines, Cloud couldn't help but have an odd feeling he too had been through the Mithril Mines before. He couldn't place it, but it nagged at him.
Shaking off his feelings of deja vu, Cloud spoke up. "Alright, Barret and Sephiroth, you two lead the way. Aerith and Red, take center and handle the bulk of the materia, and Tifa and I will bring up the rear. Sound good?"
Everyone voiced their agreement with that, and after redistributing their supply of materia and various healing supplies, the renegades began their long trip through the mines.
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The majority of the monsters that now inhabited the Mithril Mines were absolutely no challenge to the skilled group, as they plowed effortlessly through them. After about a half dozen encounters with various packs of Crawlers, Ark Dragons, Madouges, and Castanets, the clearly outnumbered and outgunned creatures wisely gave them a wide berth and left them alone.
"Shit. Almost outta ammo again."
Tifa sighed as she heard Barret's complaint ahead of her. "I keep telling you to stock up whenever we get a chance, you know," Tifa called to him with a tinge of frustration. "If you ran out of bullets, what would you do then?"
Barret threw a right hook with his gun arm and shadow boxed a bit as they walked. "I'd jes' put my hook attachment on and bash 'em in the face!"
Sephiroth raised a silver eyebrow as he glanced at Barret, and smirked lightly. "Crude... but I suppose the monsters would not expect it. A three hundred pound man with a massive hooked hand would likely frighten most of them away."
Barret stopped dead and turned to Sephiroth. "Wazzat supposed to mean, Mister Hotshot General? An' I'm not no fuckin' three hundred, I'm two seventy!"
Sephiroth began walking again, his smirk widening slightly. "My mistake. Apologies."
Barret started shaking with rage. "Now jes' wait a damn minute, you silver-haired..."
Aerith put a hand on Barret's quaking arm. "It's okay, Mr. Barret," she said softly. "Sephiroth's just kidding. Right, Sephiroth?"
Sephiroth just raised a gloved hand as he continued down the tunnel. Barret released a massive sigh.
"It's jes' Barret, I told ya..."
Red watched their interaction with interest. Human social aspects still puzzled him. Still, this was not exactly a safe place, and with Sephiroth having turned a corner out of sight a short time ago and the rest of the group still trying to pacify Barret, they would be quickly left behind.
"We should probably keep going, everyone," he spoke up, quieting their conversation. "Sephiroth has continued on without us."
Cloud just shook his head. "Let's catch up to him."
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When the rest of the group caught up with Sephiroth, they all stopped in their tracks and immediately went on guard, drawing their weapons.
Sephiroth had his sword drawn, facing three Turks, their guns drawn and pointed at Sephiroth's head.
Cloud began advancing, but Sephiroth turned back to face him. "Don't come any closer!" he commanded.
Knowing it was in their best interests to do so, Cloud backed off, but did not lower his guard.
One of the Turks stepped forward, a Wutaian man.
"We're not here to fight you," he said in a soothing tone.
Clearly, nobody believed him, as not one of them lowered their weapons.
"What do you want, Tseng?" Sephiroth demanded.
Tseng lowered his gun, and turned to the other two, a bald man and a blond woman. "Lower your weapons," he told them.
"But, Tseng... they're AVALANCHE!" the blond, Elena, protested.
"...It's alright, Elena," the bald man, Rude, told her quietly.
Clearly confused, Elena did as she was told. Tseng turned back to Sephiroth. "We're just here to talk," he continued.
Sephiroth eyed Tseng warily. "Do I have your word?" he asked after a moment.
Tseng nodded as he holstered his gun. "You have my word, General."
Sephiroth paused for several moments, then looked back at the rest of the group as he sheathed Masamune. "I believe him," he told them. "You can lower your weapons."
Barret nearly gaped at Sephiroth. "You must be kiddin'!" he bellowed. "They the ones who killed all them people in Sector Seven!"
Tseng's head lowered at that. "It is regretful what happened in Sector Seven, but in the end, orders are orders."
Barret started shaking with rage again. "Regretful? I'll show you regretful, you ShinRa dogs!"
Cloud stood in front of Barret and held both his shoulders forcefully. "Not now, Barret," he whispered fiercely. "We'll have our chance to make ShinRa pay, but now isn't the time!"
Barret said nothing, but lowered his gun arm and glued his eyes to the ground, still shaking with emotion.
Tseng raised his head again and faced Sephiroth. "I understand you are all pursuing the renegade Genesis Rhapsodos?" he asked.
Sephiroth inclined his head in the affirmative. "We are. What of it?"
Elena stepped forward. "President Rufus is hoping we can be of assistance to one another!" she piped up.
Tseng gave his subordinate a shadowed glare. "Elena..."
Elena blushed, and stepped back. "I'm... I'm sorry sir..."
Cloud frowned as he stepped forward beside Sephiroth. "What do you mean by that?" he demanded.
Tseng sighed. "What Elena was trying to say was, we all appear to be working towards a common goal," he elaborated. He pulled what appeared to be a set of photos out of his pocket and tossed it to the two ex-SOLDIERs. "Those are some photos one of our aerial surveillance drones took, shortly before it met an untimely demise."
Sephiroth bent and picked up the photos, and looked at them one at a time. His eyes widened in shock.
"What... is this?" he breathed as he showed them to Cloud.
Tseng's expression drew grim. "As you can see, Genesis appears to be in much better health," he noted as the rest of the party began looking at the photos, with each of them becoming shocked, disturbed, or a combination of both as they realized what they were looking at.
Tifa's shock grew into a feeling of despair as she realized what she was looking at. "Clones..." she finally managed to say, her voice shaking. "Dozens of Genesis clones..."
Red shook his furry mane. "Clones... such things cannot be of the Planet, can they?"
Barret's expression was grim. "This is some fucked up shit, man..." he finally said, as he tried to make sense of what he was seeing. He looked over at the three Turks. "You sure this ain't some kinda ShinRa trick to fool us inta' lowerin' our guard?" he demanded.
"It's real..." Cloud said quietly, but loud enough for Barret to face him quizzically. "I've seen these clones before."
"I have too..." Tifa added shakily.
Tseng crossed his arms. "This is no trick," he told the assembled group. "There have already been reports of an attack conducted by a large amount of these clones."
Rude cleared his throat and pushed his sunglasses up his nose. "...Fort Condor was completely destroyed."
Sephiroth's expression didn't change at that news, although the rest of the group let out gasps. "There was a reactor at Fort Condor, was there not?" he asked Tseng.
"There was nothing left," Tseng said quietly. "ShinRa had several squadrons of troops and machinery stationed at the base of the Fort, and there were a sizeable amount of rebel troops garrisoned there. The clones relentlessly slaughtered both the ShinRa troops and the rebels, and razed the entire area. There was nothing left worth salvaging."
Cloud stepped forward towards Tseng. "When did this happen?" he demanded.
Tseng didn't flinch. "Three days ago."
Sephiroth was lost in thought for several moments as the rest of the group spoke in hushed whispers amongst themselves, discussing this newest information in apprehensive tones.
"What are you proposing, Tseng?" he finally asked.
"An alliance," Tseng replied bluntly. "If Genesis and his clones are not stopped with all due haste, there may be nothing left for you AVALANCHE to 'save'. President Rufus Shinra is offering the assistance of one of us Turks, in addition to our own operations, to track and take down Genesis."
Cloud's expression drew confused. "What do you mean, 'one of us Turks'?"
Rude coughed lightly. "...it would be an undercover operation."
Tseng nodded. "Officially, you are still enemies of ShinRa Corporation, and would be treated as such by any rank-and-file you may come across, as we cannot publicly be working together with a terrorist organization," he elaborated. "You would have a Turk assigned to you as an undercover member of your team, and in exchange we would share information relating to Genesis."
Barret shook his head vigorously. "I don't like th' sound of that!" he protested vehemently. "Havin' some ShinRa suit spyin' on us so ya'll can jus' come and capture us whenever ya all wan'ta!"
Red sniffed. "I would really not want to be captured by ShinRa again..." he commented.
Tifa looked down with conflicted emotions. "I don't know... I kind of agree with Barret..." she said after a moment.
Aerith stepped forward and looked at Tseng. "...can we trust you, Tseng?" she asked him.
Tseng's expression softened as his face grew somber with regret. "I cannot change what I did, Aerith..." he told her. "I promise you, we have no ill intent. We will not capture you again."
Aerith's green eyes met Tseng's dark ones as she appeared to study his face. After a moment, she nodded. "Okay, I believe you."
Tifa looked at the flower girl with worry. "Are you sure, Aerith?" she asked. "They took you away and locked you up once already..."
Aerith gave Tifa a smile. "It's okay, Tifa," she reassured the brawler. "I know Tseng, and I believe he means it."
Cloud and Sephiroth each mulled over the information that they had been given. They turned to each other.
"What do you think, Strife?" Sephiroth asked first.
Cloud frowned. "If what they say is true, who knows where these clones will hit next..." he replied. "It might be in our best interests to go with it for now and accept their proposal, albeit with caution, and watch the Turk they assign to us very closely for any signs of betrayal."
Sephiroth was slightly shocked and impressed at Cloud's well thought out analysis. He nodded in agreement. "I concur," he said. With that, he turned back to the waiting Turks.
"Very well, we accept," he told Tseng, his green eyes narrowed. "Be aware, if there is any sign of deceit on your part, we will not hesitate to take the appropriate actions."
Tseng smiled slightly at that. "Of course, I would not expect anything less," he agreed. He then pulled his phone out of his pocket and opened it, pressing a button. After a moment, he spoke.
"They have agreed. You can come out now," was all he said, and then he hung up.
Sephiroth frowned. "Who are you assigning to us?" he inquired.
"That would be me," a voice called out.
A figure came walking down from behind the three Turks and came to a stop in front of them, giving them a smile. She was a short redhead in a Turks suit, carrying a large shuriken.
"You can call me Cissnei. I look forward to working with all of you."
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AN: And one of my favorite characters in the entire FFVII compilation, Cissnei, makes her appearance. It's a shame Square-Enix never elaborated to what happened to her after Crisis Core that I am aware of, but at least that leaves the door open for me to bring her into the story without any fuss.
Also, for those of you interested, I'm going to share a few technicalities with the FFVII universe with you, and how they will be presented in the story. Firstly, single-spell materia found in Crisis Core will be considered manufactured materia for the purposes of the plot, while multi-spell materia is considered naturally-formed. The materia that the group has so far is all manufactured materia, but they will find more powerful natural ones later on of course. Also, for the purposes of the plot, limit breaks don't exist, perhaps with the exception of Vincent when we encounter him. They will be treated as standard techniques that they use in battle, however the strongest ones could be considered limit breaks in that they might only use them out of desperation, such as Omnislash, Octaslash, or Final Heaven.
