Ardyn had already called for aid and waited. Although he probably knew they would be coming anyway since the men in the first aircraft sent a signal of panic. While he waited he caught sight of a figure with a black wing approaching from above. Not sensing any malice Ardyn didn't bring out his weapon.
As the figure drew closer he recognized familiar green eyes. The figure lands softly just a few feet away, smirking. So this was Sephiroth's real form.
"Back already?" Ardyn found himself smiling.
"You inadvertently granted me what I wanted. So I'll be returning the favor. If you're still interested." There was no mistaking that voice.
Ardyn couldn't help but laugh. This was going to be so much fun. When he was done he was grinning like a madman. Sephiroth however was not amused.
"Welcome to Eos, Sephiroth."
With the declaration of them uniting for a common cause the black wing disappeared into a mess of black feathers. Above, an aircraft lowers to their rescue.
"Come, Sephiroth. I assume you already know Noct's story? Allow me to get you up to speed about mine." Ardyn lead the way.
Sephiroth followed, curious to learn more about this man.
xXx
"Cloud! Wake up!" Noctis had the blonde in his lap.
"He might be too tired from that endeavor. Perhaps we should bring him to the closest camp sight?" Ignis offered. "Then we can have a better look at what ails him while he rests."
"Noct, lead the way. I got him. Can someone carry his sword?" Gladio pulled the blonde over one shoulder. "Damn he's heavy for a short guy."
"Heavier than you?" Prompto jokes.
"Can it, Prom." The tattooed warrior rolled his eyes.
Ignis reached for the broadsword while Noctis wordlessly took the lead. The sandy blonde wasn't used to it, but the blade was light to carry. He watched as Gladio did his best to even out the burden.
"Perhaps he's heavy to balance out how light his weapon is." Ignis observed.
"Shouldn't it be the other way around, then?" Gladio grunted when a root almost made him lose his footing.
"I got ya buddy." Prompto steadied him.
It didn't take them too long to the nearest camp site. When they made it Gladio was grateful to finally place Cloud gently on the ground. Together the group got to work setting up camp.
As they ate dinner that night they had a rather heavy conversation. Unknown to the boys Cloud was already awake inside the tent. He was hesitant to join them and he was lazily studying the feather in his hands. Cloud fiddled with the feather without any clear reason why.
"What do you think Sephiroth will do?" Prompto asked what they were all thinking.
"Well, one would assume he would do as he did to his home planet. How he would go about doing that, is unknown. Cloud would be the only one to provide answers." Ignis answered.
"Where do you think he would go?" Gladio frowned.
"Again, Cloud would be able to guess better than us. But perhaps he would seek out our own enemies and aid them. Or he would be on his own and we'll be dealing with two mortal enemies at once."
"I'm not sure which one of those options I like better." Noctis commented. "He used Cloud, so he would probably manipulate our enemies and eventually control them if he chooses to go to them."
"But if he's alone then he would have time to prepare and spring on us when we're not expecting it. We wouldn't know where he's hiding or when he would strike. I don't see him placing his aid with the empire." Gladio crossed his arms.
"Whatever the case, what would stop him from controlling Cloud?"
They all glanced at each other. It was something they wanted to avoid addressing, but it couldn't be helped. Cloud's link to Sephiroth was a double edged sword. One hand he would be able to have a sense to locate his mortal enemy, but on the other hand Sephiroth could potentially take control of him again.
They heard movement and looked up to see Cloud emerging from the tent, rubbing his head. He had enough of listening to them ponder and decided to brave coming out. Noctis stood up on his feet quickly. Cloud blinked, taking in the nervous stares.
"... What did he do?" He couldn't sense Sephiroth anymore. And a large part of his memory was gone. Which meant Sephiroth was responsible.
"Sephiroth went mad from the Starscourge and we put a stop to him." Noctis filled him in.
"But in the process he overcame the Starscourge and it gave him his own body. He flew off after you collapsed." Ignis added.
"So technically we didn't fully stop him, but he's no longer causing a rampage against the swamp." Prompto shrugged with a half smile.
"Can you sense where he is?" Gladio asked. Cloud shook his head.
"No. But I feel like he did more than that. A part of my memory is gone. I get the feeling we met someone but... I can't think of a face or what happened."
"Well, you met a councilman of the empire named Ardyn Izunia. He said he tried to help but Sephiroth wasn't having it. He made an aircraft crash and almost killed Ardyn with it."
The name had a rippling effect. Cloud flinched at the sudden migraine. He could almost see a face, but it was out of focus and he couldn't distinguish any features.
"That might have been it." His stomach growled.
"Here, I made extra in case you woke up." Ignis grabbed a plate and handed the still hot meal to Cloud.
"Thanks." The blonde felt a mix of emotions. He was grateful and at the same time the gesture brought back bittersweet memories.