Author's Note: Omfg! An update! I am so sorry about all the delays and all for a small chapter -_-' but I am thrilled to have an update again! Sorry, no Beta work on this. My Beta's sick. So please excuse and grammar mistakes and missing words. Thank you to everyone still reading this and for putting up with my crappy update times! Enjoy!

Disclaimer: Square Enix owns Final Fantasy VII and all its characters (damn). I just play with them every now and then! :D

Chapter 53: Family

Cloud looked up when the door to the clean room they were all still calling home and smiled shyly when he saw Elena walk in.

We will give you some privacy.

Cloud turned and looked at Sephiroth. He still wasn't used to hearing voices in his head. Nevertheless, he inclined his head in thanks.

Elena smiled shyly at Sephiroth. She seemed to have noticed that Sephiroth was ushering his clones to part of the room they normally ate in…and practically dragging Zack with them while he made kissy faces at Cloud.

Cloud reached up and rubbed the back of his neck. "Uh…you wanna sit down?"

Elena smiled and nodded. "Sure."

They were both silent for a few moments. Cloud decided to say something.

"What brings you by?"

"I came to see you, Cloud."

He was surprised. He couldn't figure out why Elena would even want to see him. Everything he had done…been a part of.

Elena reached out and touched his leg. "Listen, I can see you're kind of confused about why I'm here, but if there's anything this whole thing has made clear to me is that every day could be your last. So, I like you."

Cloud's jaw dropped. Where had that – actually, there had been a few times she'd offered him a kind word or a soft smile…plus, she had kissed him.

He shook his head slightly. "But look at everything I've done. I'm the reason Tifa got captured. I'm the reason the clones caught Sephiroth off guard. I'm the reason Reunion had been activated. I'm…nothing but trouble."

He looked away, unable to look Elena in the eye anymore. Elena's gentle touch turned his face back toward her and she was smiling. It was a soft, understanding smile…something he didn't deserve.

"Oh my God, Blondie! She likes you! Geez!"

Cloud groaned at Loz's loud assertion. "Thank you, Loz."

"No problem, Blondie!"

Elena flushed, but she smiled. "He's right, Cloud. I – I like you. I know you've been through a lot, but we all have. I think this could be a new start for all of us."

Cloud thought about what Elena had said – a new start. A new start sounded fantastic. A start to a new life, a chance to leave the past behind him, where it belonged – it was just what he wanted.

"Elena – "

She smiled and shook her head. "Cloud, we both have a lot of healing do. Let's do it together. We'll take it one step at a time, okay?"

Cloud smiled softly. "One step at a time? I think I can do that."

When he leaned in and kissed Elena, it was a shy, tentative kiss…yet it still earned catcalls, whistles, and kissing noises from Loz and Zack. When they heard the sound of hands slapping heads, followed by grunts, Cloud and Elena both laughed softly and parted. A glance toward the small group of observers revealed Sephiroth with his hand covering his eyes, while Yazoo and Kadaj were quietly lecturing Loz and Zack.

Elena covered a soft laugh and Cloud smiled, gently pulling her against his side. Okay. They weren't blood, but they were starting to feel like family. Sephiroth…not so much, but the Clones and Zack felt like brothers.

Maybe Elena was right. Maybe this was their chance at a new start.


Zack was getting kind of nervous. Tifa was always visiting Sephiroth and the Clones. Even Genesis and Angeal visited with everyone. Cloud was even fireball free! But he still hadn't seen Aerith.

Everything they had done once the Jenova Reunion had been activated was a little fuzzy, almost like a horrible nightmare. But he did remember watching Sephiroth pull the information he needed from Aerith's mind…while he just stood there, smiling like a fucking idiot. He hadn't been able to protect her. Instead, he had just stood there and watched Sephiroth take what he wanted.

If she hated him – hell, he wouldn't blame her if she did. Actually, he'd be surprised if she didn't.

"Good morning." Professor Strahm smiled when entered the room. "It's been almost a month, but the time is here. I've run the last test I can think to perform and I'm ready to say, you're all cleared."

"Really?" Cloud seemed skeptical.

Professor Strahm pulled a chair toward where they were all sitting. "I've compared the results to the ones both Hojo and Hollander had taken before and after the destruction of Jenova's head. The cells again appear benign. The same is true of the Clones."

Kadaj arched a brow. "Even us?

Strahm nodded. "Even you."

"But how is that possible?" Yazoo shook his head. "We've been connected to Jenova for our whole lives. We've never known anything other than her voice calling to us."

"But it's gone now, isn't?" Sephiroth looked at each of them. "You don't hear her anymore, do you?"

The Clones all shook their heads.

"Whatever Miss Gainsborough did, it cleansed Jenova's hold over all of you." Strahm smiled slightly. "The Planet and her power is still very much a mystery, I'm afraid."

"What about kids?" Zack had always wanted a family. "We can still have kids, right? It won't mess them up?"

Strahm looked at his notes. "Well, if anything, you'll most likely find you have multiple births; twins, triplets, maybe even quadruplets. Actually, I wouldn't be surprised to see all multiples in a family, like all twins, single births being the oddity. But other than that nothing too strange."

"No effects from the Jenova Protocols?" Cloud shifted in his seat. "I never had any of the standard SOLDIER treatments before Hojo got his hands on me."

Strahm flipped through his charts. "With you, Cloud, you may see something in one or two of your children. You still have the mental connection to Sephiroth and his Clones?"

Cloud nodded. "I do. It's not fading."

Zack looked up. "I'm still wired in there, too."

"Your children may inherit some of those traits." Strahm made a few notes before looking at Sephiroth. "You can almost guarantee that all of your children will inherit the strange powers Reunion has activated in you, your clones as well, if they have any offspring."

Sephiroth sighed. "My children will inherit Jenova's cells?"

"Unfortunately, they are a part of your DNA, Sephiroth." Strahm looked at all of them. "The same is true for all of you, even Genesis, Angeal, and Bob. Most likely any SOLDIER who has any offspring will inherit something from what all of you have suffered. At the very least, your children will have the Mako glow in their eyes. Sephiroth yours will undoubtedly have your unique pupils. Cloud, Zack, your children will probably have the deep blue color you have as the predominant feature."

"Can you guarantee that my children will not fall to Jenova as I did?" Sephiroth sounded like his usual confident self, but Zack knew what to looking for. He could see the fear in his eyes.

Strahm set his clipboard in his lap. "I am almost positive your children will be safer than you were. I will be watching all of you closely. No matter where you choose to make your homes, I will be your doctor. I am committed to making sure none of you, nor your children, suffer the fate you all almost succumbed to. I – I was weak. I said nothing under Hojo and nothing under Hollander. I will make it my life's work to keep you all healthy and safe from the evil Hojo and Hollander subjected all of you to."

"And we can trust you?" Kadaj was still suspicious.

Sephiroth nodded. "We can trust him."

Strahm smiled and got to his feet. "Now, with all that said and done, welcome to freedom. You're all officially out of quarantine."

Zack jumped to his feet. "Woohoo! Later! I have to find – Aerith!"

Aerith smiled shyly. "Um, hi, Zack."

He practically ran toward her, but stopped when he was almost a foot away from her. He ran a hand through his hair and smiled sheepishly. " Ah…look, I totally understand if you don't want to see me anymore. Not after everything I did. I should have gotten the hint when you didn't come see me and everything, but I was hoping – "

Aerith looked confused, but what he was saying finally registered with her and she reached out, touching his arm. "Zack, I'm not mad at you. That's not why I didn't come and see you here."

Zack arched a brow. "It's not?"

She smiled and shook her head. "No, silly!"

"But – "

"I couldn't come and see you because I'm pregnant." She blushed, but still smiled. "Until we knew for sure Jenova's influence had been broken, I didn't want to come down here in case her cells sensed our baby and set off another Reunion in an effort to destroy our little one."

Zack paled. "Um…little one? Our baby? I'm gonna be a dad? You're sure?"

"No, moron, she's just telling you that to fuck with your mind." Kadaj winced and rubbed the back of his head. "Ow! Was that necessary, Yazoo? He's being ridiculous."

Yazoo just hushed Kadaj, while Loz watched the scene intently.

Zack sighed and took Aerith by the hand. "Come on, we need privacy!"


Tifa smiled when she saw Zack and Aerith smiling when they left the quarantine room.

She must have finally told Zack about the baby.

When Sephiroth left the room, Tifa's smile brightened even more. "Well, they finally let you out of time out, huh?"

"Well, I've been a good boy and played well with the other children, even the Chocobo."

Tifa laughed softly and shook her head. "Seph…you really need to stop calling him that."

Sephiroth rested his hands on her hips and gently pulled her closer. "I will try my best to bridge our gap. We've been through something very unusual together and it has left us connected mentally. Will that connection last forever? We don't really know. So, you're right. I should stop calling him that. He and I will have to learn to get along, if only for your sake, Tifa."

"Thank you, Seph." She smiled and hugged him. She lifted her head from his chest when she heard something like soft sobs coming from the room they had been quarantined in. She gently extricated herself from Sephiroth's embrace and walked over to the door.

Loz was sitting on the edge of the bed, his back to the door, but Tifa could see him wiping his eyes while Yazoo rubbed his back.

"What are we gonna do?" Loz's voice was shaky. "Zack has Aerith, Chocobo's got Elena, and Big Brother has Tifa. We…have no one."

"I don't know, Loz." Yazoo was trying to be there for his brother, but his own concerns could be heard in his voice. "I'm sure we'll be okay."

"Yeah. We'll be fine, except we don't know how to survive, earn a living, or anything about life outside the labs." Kadaj stared out of the window. "Maybe the planet should have taken us."

Tifa turned and looked at Sephiroth. "You're going to help them, aren't you?"

"Help them? They nearly destroyed our lives and killed our Planet." Sephiroth frowned. "They're nothing but trouble."

"Trouble? Sephiroth, they're your family."

Sephiroth arched a brow. "Vincent is my family. You are my family. Angeal and Genesis are my family. Those Clones are genetic castoffs of me."

"Those Clones are like your brothers. That's how they see you and they need you." Tifa reached out and took his hand in hers, squeezing it gently. "We can help them. They need to learn how to live and they need someone they can trust. They trust you and they seem to trust me."

Sephiroth was quiet for a moment before sighing softly. "You're not going to let this go, are you?"

Tifa smiled and shook her head. "Nope."

He closed his eyes for a moment and shook his head. "Alright. We'll help them. Though, I am uneasy."

"I know you are, but think about how you felt after finding out about Jenova and your creation; how you felt so alone because your friends were gone." Tifa squeezed his hand again. "They need you. Everything they've done…that could have been you if ShinRa had ever caught up with you."

Sephiroth looked over his shoulder at the clones, his mind clearly going everything she had said, plus his own thoughts. He lowered his gaze before looking at Tifa once again. "You are right, Tifa. Perhaps this will be another lesson for me in what being a family really is."

Tifa nodded, her smile bright and proud. "I'll be here with you every step of the way, Sephiroth."

Sephiroth leaned in and kissed her, his hands pressed her closer to him, and in that moment Tifa knew that she'd never love another man the way she loved Sephiroth.


Sephiroth knew Tifa was right. He knew the loneliness his Clones were feeling. He'd lived it and understood how lost they must feel. When he lifted his head, he kissed her forehead, silently wondering what he had done to deserve a woman like her.

He took Tifa's hand in his and walked back into the room where the Clones were sitting. "You don't have to wonder what will happen to you."

All three of them turned and looked at Sephiroth. Yazoo was the one who got to his feet and walked toward him.

"What do you mean, Brother?"

Sephiroth looked at Tifa before looking again at the Clones. "I mean…you'll have a home with me until you three find your new path without Moth – Jenova."

Kadaj looked skeptical. "You would do that for us?"

Sephiroth looked at each clone. They all held a piece of him and he could see various traits of his in all of them. They weren't brothers and not quite sons. They were more like…remnants of the image ShinRa had built up around him.

Sephiroth nodded. "I will do that for all of you. I know what it's like to have the only life you know suddenly ripped apart. Though you're lives are better without the taint of Jenova clouding your decisions, it's still jarring to be alone in a world that probably despises you."

Tifa arched a brow when tears started forming in Loz's eyes at the mention of being "despised" by the world. "Oh, that's a great choice of words, Seph."

Sephiroth smiled softly and shook his head. "It's a truth best to be revealed here in the safety of privacy, Tifa."

Yazoo nodded. "The world should hate us after what we've done."

"And you will be in good company." Sephiroth gestured to himself. "Lazard and Rufus will have to answer a lot of very uncomfortable questions as to why three of SOLDIER's most well-known Generals lost their minds, began degrading, and how it was possible for so many clones of both Genesis and I to be seen around the world. Many people may hate us as well, but in the end the only thing that matters is that we find a new path. One of our own choosing."

"And you really aren't alone." Tifa smiled brightly. "We'll be there every step of the way."

Sephiroth saw the wide smile on Loz's face and knew before he'd even taken a step that he had every intention of hugging him. Sephiroth took half a step back when Loz strode toward him.

"All hugs belong Tifa. She's the one who championed supporting all of you."

Yazoo covered a smiled when Loz made a beeline for Tifa and wrapped his arms around her, lifting her from her feet, and squeezing her tightly. Even Kadaj tried to hide a small smile at the sight of such a big man hugging such a tiny woman, her feet no longer on the ground.

"Thank you, Tifa!" Loz finally set her down on her feet.

Tifa blushed and smiled at Loz. "You're very welcome!"

"I knew she be a kick-ass Sister!" Loz put his arm around Tifa and grinned at his brothers.

Sephiroth watched Yazoo smile and nod while Kadaj pretended to think about it before nodding. One word kept coming up in his head.

Family.