Cloud wasted no time. He made a beeline for the ground floor, pushing past Zack as he did so. The lieutenant yelled after him and the sound of boots following was heard. The blonde omega pressed the elevator buttons a dozen times. With Zack giving chase Cloud panicked and bolted to the stairway and used that route.

Upon arrival he was overheating and dizzy from going in endless circles so fast. Even so he ran straight into the wreckage despite the fires.

"Yo! Hey! Goldilocks stay back!" Reno grabbed him and pulled with all his might.

Cloud elbowed him, earning a pained grunt. Still the redhead held onto him and the blonde turned for a punch when he noticed how parts of Reno's suit was burned and singed. With this distraction the Turk took advantage and grabbed the would be fist that would have knocked a tooth out.

"I already checked, he's not in there, yo." Reno motioned to the dead charred body that was sliced partially in half. "His body was all I could find and pull out."

Cloud frowned, studying the body as he slowly processed.

"Then... Where the hell is he?"

"Fuck if I know." Reno released his hold on the omega as his phone went off. "Yo, boss, great timing. Listen. He's not in the wreckage."

Zack caught up to them, hearing the last part and stopped short, confused and lost as they were. Vincent and Aerith were at his heels, her eyes wide in horror at the sight of the poor soul who was sliced before being burned. At the sight of her Cloud knew.

"He will be targeting you. All three of you," Cloud glanced at them. "But first he will want her. He thinks I'm dead."

"Where will he start?" Reno asked as he put Tseng on speaker for him to hear.

"I..." Cloud wasn't sure. He wasn't even sure how Sephiroth could escape a crashing helicopter. Unless...

He looked up. The ShinRa Tower stood tall. It was so dizzying trying to see the very top from this angle. Cloud resisted the urge to vomit. There was a helipad at the very top of the tower, right?

"If he timed it right he would land at the helipad as the helicopter went down."

"You hear that boss?" Reno asked.

"He's here." Tseng's voice had the faintest hint of trembling.

Shit. The only SOLDIER who can fight him on even ground was at ground level floor.

"Put me on speaker!" Cloud grabbed the phone out of Reno's hand.

"General, someone wishes to talk to you. You're on speaker." The head Turk

"Sephiroth! I'm alive!"

"... So it seems. While I am glad, that still doesn't change the fates of certain insects."

Cloud scrambled for ideas. He thought of how they first met and before he knew it his mouth was spewing.

"Remember when we first met?"

"What of it? Of course I remember. How could I forget something such as that?"

"I have a proposition for you. Let's play again." Cloud paused, biting his lip. He was still making this up on the fly.

"Oh? With what stipulations?" He had his mate's interest, but not his full attention. Cloud could imagine his eyes burning with smoldering hatred at President Rufus and Tseng.

"You forget killing them for what they did."

"That is a high demand. What exactly do you have that is worth their pathetic lives?"

Cloud stared up at the tower again. His mind raced, heart ready to burst from the anxiety. What could he offer? Sephiroth was beyond insane. What would he want worth over their lives? Cloud was his mate. There was nothing much else he could give. He was beginning to think this wouldn't work.

Then he remembered small details. A blurred memory of the first time Sephiroth had full control over him. And Cloud latched onto the memory even as it slipped through his fingers like water.

"My loyalty. You tried to have control over me right? Make me your puppet? If you let them live, and you catch me, then you won't have to go through all that effort anymore. I'll be by your side and won't betray you. I won't hesitate to raise my sword against anyone you say is our enemy."

"Cloud! What the hell!?" Zack grabbed his arm. The omega pushed him away. Reno stopped the lieutenant from trying again. He put a finger to his lips at the heated glare. Reno knew if he tried to speak Sephiroth would hear. Sensing that he had his mate's attention Cloud continued talking.

"Just the two of us against the world. Isn't that what you want? Sephiroth?"

Silence. He was seriously considering it. Cloud continued again without hesitation.

"And if you object my offer, then I will hunt you down. I will fight you. I will become your worst enemy and I will never stop until you're dead. Mate or not, I won't let you kill them. If you do then that shows me you don't even respect me enough as your equal, as your mate. And that means you don't deserve my blind loyalty to remain by your side."

His voice meant every word. Everyone listening were filled with surprise at the determination. Cloud counted the seconds as they passed. The fear of actually having to go up against his mate as an enemy grew on him. And he was beginning to have second thoughts of the idea. But he was true to his word and he wasn't backing out of an offer he pulled out of his own ass.

"Very well. But I have one stipulation of my own to add, if you are willing to go that far." Sephiroth finally spoke.

"What is it?" Cloud got him to this point, might as well.

"You don't get help from anyone associated with the company. To make it fair, I won't pull strings that I have with the company. Do you agree to my terms?"

In other words he wanted Cloud alone with no support. No backup or set up any plans to trap Sephiroth. The blonde pulled out his own phone and tossed it into the still burning wreckage.

"I agree."

"Good. You get an hour head start."

Cloud hung up, handed the phone back to its rightful owner.

"You can't be serious!" Zack glared. Never had Cloud ever seen him so mad before. It was scary in its own right.

"I understand what he's trying to do. So shut your mouth, hot shot. Now get going and run, an hour head start is nothing to the likes of him." Reno crossed his arms, unhappy but his eyes held a newfound respect for the omega.

"Protect her?" Cloud knew he didn't have to ask. But he liked to be assured. He was staring at the Turk as he asked.

"We been protecting her for years. Now off you go! You ain't got a lot of time!"

The omega turned and ran towards the train station. Above at the edge of the helipad Sephiroth watched curiously. Footsteps behind him and he didn't have to turn around to know who it was.

"What are your plans after you catch him?" Rufus inquired. He was gaging what his real intentions were to better prepare for future conflict.

"Simple. Transform this dying planet into a vessel to roam the cosmos to find the Promised Land." Sephiroth didn't give a damn if they knew his plans or not.

"That's... A bit extreme. Even for you." The blonde alpha commented.

"It is the will of Mother."

"And who is she?"

"Now you're trying my patience." Sephiroth half turned his head to glare at the other alpha. Getting the obvious threat Rufus backed away to show he wasn't going to challenge him. He knew when he would lose a fight and relied more upon tactics and strategy than brute strength.

What a pity. Rufus was among the few who held a high enough respect from Sephiroth to understand the level of importance of strategies. But Mother wasn't as forgiving, she made it clear the only person he can save from the doomed planet was his mate.

Sephiroth smirked, wondering what sort of tricks Cloud would pull for this hunt. He was excited just at the endless possibilities.