The next morning Cloud awoke groggy and exhausted. He shook it off as best he could. But now the feeling of the fog was back over his mind and now that he was aware of it, it only annoyed him.
What's wrong? Sephiroth sensed his unease.
Do you have vivid dreams of a woman going on about destroying the planet? Cloud knew whoever she was, she called him her son.
No? Are you sure you're well enough for this mission? He seemed more concerned of Cloud's well being.
I'll be fine. First, I gotta see an old friend before she gets too impatient and breaks down the door. Cloud played off his joke. He knew Tifa wouldn't do that, but it had been a while since he saw her. For all he knew she could have changed.
He made his way downstairs. Cloud glanced around the tables, only to catch her making fresh coffee. She turned upon hearing his footsteps and smiled.
"Oh, hey! I was wondering if I would see you today. Finally got over being shy?" Tifa greeted him.
"Yeah. Sorry. For not saying anything sooner. I hadn't made it to First Class yet." His laugh played out as awkward.
"Is that why you hid your face? Jeez, you know it wouldn't be such a big deal. At least you're a SOLDIER, right?"
"I guess?" Now Cloud felt stupid.
"So. Do you guys still want me to guide you up the mountain, or do you have good memory?" Tifa saw another SOLDIER arrive behind Cloud, and changed the subject.
"Actually, Cloud will be staying behind while Zack and I have a look at the reactor." Sephiroth explained.
"Huh? This wasn't in the briefing." Cloud frowned at the general.
"They didn't tell you? There were Genesis sightings around the area. We need someone to to keep an eye out in the village while we're at the reactor." Sephiroth was equally disturbed.
How am I supposed to fight him off? Cloud heard stories from Zack a few times. Genesis had a way of keeping even the lieutenant on his toes.
It's only a precautionary measure. He will most likely follow me and Zack.
Then why do I have to stay behind? Cloud frowned at the idea. It didn't make sense.
He's destroyed a whole town before. It is unclear if he'll strike again to target this village.
And so Cloud left it at that. He watched them leave with a heavy heart. They took two of the troopers with them, leaving the other two to support Cloud in the village. The entire day was uneventful for the three as they patrolled the village.
It wasn't until well past dark when the group returned. Cloud had debated whether to go and check on them, but just as he was getting ready to leave they returned. And short one trooper.
"What happened?" Cloud noticed a lot of details at once. Sephiroth was distant and deep in thought. Zack was disturbed and sad. Tifa seemed exhausted and immediately left to shower. The trooper lowered his head.
"The bridge fell apart. Sephiroth and the trooper fell. We saved his dog tags to return to his family." Zack held up the standard military dog tags handed out to everyone, even SOLDIERs.
"It's why we were late coming back. We had to find another route down the mountain."
"Anything on the reactor?" He didn't know how to respond to the loss. Cloud grieved, but he couldn't shake the feeling something else happened.
"Well... Genesis showed up. And we didn't find anything wrong with the reactor. Although there was this weird statue of a lady in the back." Zack shrugged. He didn't seem bothered by that detail. He was stuck on the death of one of their own.
Cloud was disturbed. A vision of the woman from his nightmare came to mind. He didn't understand why he made that connection, but he recalled how the dream started with him on the top of Mt. Nibel, the same spot where the reactor was located.
Is that where she's hiding? Cloud wondered to himself. He noticed how Sephiroth closed off the link between their minds. The general silently made his way upstairs, presumably to his room.
"You two hungry? I saved you guys some food." Cloud offered Zack and the trooper.
"No, thanks. I think I'll go to bed." The trooper shook his head. It was understandable to be shaken.
"I'll eat if you sit with me." Zack wanted to talk.
"So what's this about?" Cloud went straight to the point once they sat down at a table as Zack ate.
"Sephiroth started acting weird at the reactor. I don't really know how to explain it." The lieutenant explained.
"Cold and keeping to himself you mean?" The blonde noticed the change real quick.
"Yeah. And it was before Genesis showed up."
Now Cloud was beginning to feel that his theory was correct. And as days passed Sephiroth grew more distant. He started to spend time reading document after document in the basement of the mansion that had once been Hojo's lab during his stay at Nibelheim.
The feeling in his gut wouldn't go away. In fact it grew stronger the longer Sephiroth spent in the mansion. So one night he snuck out while Zack and the remaining troopers were asleep. He made the treck up the mountain to the reactor.
The old reactor stood looming ominously. Parts of the metal rusted, but it remained in decent condition despite the harsh conditions of the mountain. Cloud entered and to his horror he discovered the dead bodies of monsters inside weird tanks.
Swallowing the growing fear he continued to the back, where Zack had described the weird statue. It was a woman with pipes, tubes and wires connected to it. Sprouting from her shoulders were metal wings. Suddenly he could feel the familiar cold presence of her.
"I knew it was you." Cloud stepped closer. His head buzzed with a pounding headache, his vision grew fuzzy.
Reunion...
"It'll take more than that." He grunted as he forced his legs to move. Cloud gripped the handle of his sword.
REUNION. DESTROY. ESCAPE.
The Third Class SOLDIER felt like his entire body was made of lead. Yet he willed himself to keep going. He thought of how she wanted to use Sephiroth. Cloud wasn't going to let it happen.
NEUTRALIZE. DESTROY. ENEMY.
He could sense her grip on Sephiroth increase by the second. Cloud grit his teeth. He had to succeed. No matter what he had to succeed. He was close enough to the statue for his sword to reach. It felt heavier than Zack's Buster Blade. Still he raised the standard ShinRa weapon and sliced at the wires.
It took a few more hacks and slashes for the metal to crash down into the pool of unfiltered mako down below. By now the weight was the heaviest yet in his body. Cloud struggled to remain on his feet. He flinched as she let out a scream in his head. He opened his eyes to stare at her.
She was in the first body that she had shown in his dream. Her pink eyes stared at him, dead to the world and yet still seeing. He couldn't imagine what it was like to live on like that. It would explain why she was driven mad. Or perhaps she had always been that way. He wouldn't know.
After gathering his breath he raised his sword to slash at the glass. It only took one slice for the glass to shatter and the liquid inside splashing everywhere. Her body slumped a little, no longer suspended in liquid. But the tubes connected to her held her up still. However Cloud lost his strength to hold his sword. It fell down into the bright mako.
Great. Now what? Cloud wondered. He could sense Sephiroth was in a panic, not quite unsure whether to listen to her or not. But their link was cut off. Was it her doing?
Then he recalled the materia in his pocket. He pulled it out. Firaga. He had carried this since Zack gave it to him in his trooper days. He wasn't supposed to use materia, but it came in handy in some missions. And from there he was able to level it to maximum. Cloud concentrated as he focused. The heat rose in his hand as the magic activated.
"Burn!" He casted the spell.
She let out a terrible primal scream as her body burned. It was so strong Cloud collapsed while his body shook. It seemed as if it would go on forever. Suddenly he could feel her presence invading his body. His body contorted in pain as every cell vibrated and tingled.
HOST. DESTROY. SURRENDER.
"GET OUT OF MY HEAD!" Cloud yelled out.
She tried to activate the materia again. She wanted to burn him. With every ounce of his strength Cloud threw it into the mako below. He hated to lose it, but if it was forever lost then she couldn't use it. In that moment it seemed as if he won when his body stilled and he was in control again.
Cloud laid there gathering his breath. It felt as if he fought an entire army by himself. However she wasn't done yet. The link between him and Sephiroth was finally connected. And he gasped in horror as he saw through Sephiroth's eyes.
"No, no no no no no no!" He cried out.
Before them Nibelheim burned. Sephiroth left the house of Mrs. Strife last. He knew Cloud was watching.
"Sephiroth!"
You destroyed my mother. I'll be returning the favor. Sephiroth stabbed her. She screamed, then gurgled at her own blood before her body went limb. Cloud released a cry of grief and pain. The sound echoed through the entire reactor.