Silmeria - Happy reading.

Disclaimer - I claim no rights to Final Fantasy VII

Chapter Twenty-Five: Edge: City of the Lost and Damned

Death had a particular scent - a particular feeling that pushed against the mind and soul. It smelled of the earth after a long rain and it wrapped around one's mind like a blanket where it grew hot and stifling where nothing could be done until the feeling faded into the air.

Edge smelled of Death and Decay.

The smell stuck to the wet streets and to the empty stalls and stores and despite the rain that continues to fall, it did nothing to appease the smell and Cloud wanted nothing more than to turn back and turn tail to Midgar where it was safe and deprived of this rancid smell. He knew that it was metaphorical and that it was his empathy that made him feel this way, but such a fact failed to make him feel better. What happened here? Where were all the people? It was barely past two o'clock in the afternoon and no cars or busses running and no people coming to and from the stores. No food lingered in the air from the vendors and no smell of metal from the blacksmith's shop just across the massive plaza. Jesse's words from earlier echoed in his mind, telling him that Edge had grown quiet since the war declaration from Midgar. No one could get through communication-wise and apparently, no one had left the city and Cloud realized that in order to leave the city there had to be people in it.

Where was everyone?

He was checking out a materia stall when the sound of boots slapping against the wet ground caught his attention. He looked up from underneath his wet hood to see two soldiers approaching him. Thankfully, he hadn't been spotted and it gave him enough time to duck behind a pair of trash cans that had a -

"Is that a finger?" Cloud murmured his heart dropping to the ground at the sight of a lone finger sitting in the trashcan. What the fuck was going on in this city?

"I saw someone."

Cloud ducked back behind the trash cans as the guards passed, his heart racing against his chest praying that they weren't Sentinels. He didn't think he could handle the emotional outlash if he had to kill one of them. Guides who killed Sentinels never lasted long after the fact. The burst of energy released was enough to break their shields and cause enough mental damage that it turned them comatose.

"And you need glasses." the guard muttered, displeased that his partner was seeing shit. They didn't have time for this- not when they still the entirety of the plaza and two residential districts left to round on. "C'mon. We have to get going and report back."

"I could have sworn-"

"We don't have time and if someone was here then they wouldn't last long; the canines are going to be rounding the area in less than an hour.

Well, Cloud gave the trash can another belated glance. That explained the finger, but it also brought the question as to when Edge was able to purchase military hounds. Last he heard, they were banned due to animal cruelty and experimentation.

Great.

Military Hounds or Hellhounds were used for tracking in inaccessible terrain and were also used as scouts into enemy territory. The animals were doused in mako which caused the genetic transformation and enhanced smell. It wasn't simple to put them down and the hounds became more of a hindrance than an aid thus leading to their eventual ban within the military. The reason Cloud knew this?

The Hellhounds were formerly wolves of Mt. Nibel.

Cloud remembered representatives of all three territories coming into Nibelheim and dragging the wolves out either by sedatives and cages and soon enough, the wolves on the mountain thinned out until they were all but extinct. It was a sad state of affairs considering the wolves never bothered the villagers. In fact, they were considered guardians of a sort and to have them used in such a manner was not only disgusting but disturbing. There was nothing special about Nibel wolves and the amount of larger and more vicious animals that could be used numbered in the hundreds so Cloud would never understand why such beasts had been chosen for such an atrocious act. He supposed that it didn't really matter now. What was done was done.

Once the coast was clear, Cloud stepped out of the alley and continued down the empty streets. The sun was setting and he wouldn't have much daylight left. His cellphone was dying and he didn't want to attract attention by turning on the flashlight and if he turned it on, it would only be a matter of time before Zack tracked him down. He knew his Sentinel was upset and angry and at a loss that Cloud had run away from the hospital - away from the safety of Midgar. However, Cloud couldn't just sit by and wait for this war to end. Not when he felt when he was at fault for it. If he hadn't run away after that argument then none of this wouldn't have happened. He never would never think that his coming to Midgar would end with him being involved in the start of a war.

He didn't mean for this to happen, but he had all the intentions in the world to fix it. And that started by finding Weiss. He knew that it was foolish and that it was possible that Weiss could kill him and that his actions could make it worst, but Cloud had to try.

He turned a sharp corner stilling when he spotted a lone figure at the end of the path. He was dressed oddly but what drew his attention were the four pairs of guns - two in his hand and two on his mechanical wings? He didn't know who this man was, but he knew that he or it was dangerous. Cloud knew, however, that it wouldn't be wise run nor would it be smart to engage him in battle. He was at a standstill.

"Outsider." the man murmured. "You are not one of us."

"No." Cloud returned fighting the urge to run into the approaching darkness. "I am not." He raised his head staring into the man's dark eyes. "I am looking for Alpha Weiss."

"Why? What business do you have with Edge's Alpha and Savior?"

Savior? Cloud raised an eyebrow at the word. That was going a little far wasn't it? "I'm here to entreat with him. To discuss with him a better solution than war."

"Yet, it was Alpha Zack Fair that declared it." the man cocked his head in curiosity. "You are the one who Rosso tried to kill."

"I am."

"Cloud Strife - Alpha Guide of Midgar." the man stepped closer forcing Cloud's eyes to stray to the man's hand where he held one of his guns in a tight grip. "You are the one who started this war. You are the one who has killed us all."

Cloud lowered his gaze at the statement. "I didn't do anything. I was merely defending myself and -"

"A punishment has been dealt and my brother has lost his Guide as a result." a sound of a gun cocking had Cloud lifting his eyes. "I see no need to discuss this further."

"That is not for you to decide." Cloud bit out, angered that this man - this person - decided Edge and Midgar's fate as if it was his decision. "Who are you to decide?"

"I am Nero the Sable." Nero's pale lips pulled into a soft, dangerous smile that had Cloud taking back a step. "I am the Beta Sentinel of Edge."

"You're Second in Command?" Cloud couldn't believe his luck. He was expecting resistance on his arrival, but to run into the Second-in-Command so early in the game? He wouldn't wish this on his worst enemy. "I need to speak with Alpha Weiss." Cloud's hand twitched as it burned and flickered to life with fire magic. "You're going to take me or I'm going through you, Beta Nero." He didn't want to fight. He didn't want to make this worse, but he would do what it took to get to Weiss and convince him to stop his advance - stop this war.

"You've done enough damage," Nero murmured stepping closer raising his firearm and aiming it at Cloud's heart. "You have taken away his Guide - our Guide and have plunged this city into utter turmoil, but you needn't worry." Nero stopped a mere two feet, away as a spark of darkness emerging from his body. "You don't have to worry about the tragedies that come with war." Nero's body sparked again before a burst of darkness emerged from his body plunging the area into complete darkness. "Nor do you have to worry about the fate of those around you."

Cloud turned on his heel and ran as the area around them turned pitch black. He didn't know where he was going or how he was going to get there, but he had to get out before-

A gun was pressed to the small of his back.

"I told you that I saw no need for you to meet my brother, but I am starting to think that you may be useful." Nero snapped his free hand and the darkness receded leaving them back in the cold and merciless rain. "He is in need of a new Guide - one who will be able to match him in power. One who would be able to continue his legacy."

The statement, while idle, held enough implications that it wrenched a harsh gasp from Cloud's mouth. All of a sudden, he understood his Father's hatred of the prophecy. He understood why his father wanted nothing to do with it. Not when his son was at the center of it all. Not when the implications that his son would be used in such a manner sat heavily on his heart.

"I am meant to bear a wolf," Cloud murmured, shaking as the gun was pressed harshly against his back as darkness enveloped for a second time. "Alpha Weiss is no more of a wolf than I, correct?"

"You would be correct," Nero responded, snapping his fingers again and Cloud found himself faced with a rather luxurious-looking manor. "However, I am sure that Weiss wouldn't mind breaking the rules."

"I don't think he would want me as a Guide," Cloud grunted being forced to step forward after Nero pressed the gun against his back again to force him to walk forward. "Why do you think he would want me as a Guide?"

Nero huffed leading him forward. "Do you honestly think he wants you as that after you killed Rosso?"

"I didn't-"

"A Sentinel and Guide represent one another." Nero put in calmly - a touch too calm for Cloud's liking. "Zack's actions are yours and your actions are Zack's and that means...?"

Cloud actions further incited the war.

A Guide - an Alpha Guide - sneaking into another territory after his Alpha Sentinel declared war was not only stupid, but it would make negotiations after the fact worse. It didn't matter who won, Cloud's actions would be brought before the people and judged and a cloud of doubt would spread over them: If an Alpha Guide was considered a spy then what else was he capable of?

As the revelation of his actions was made clear, Cloud couldn't help the wretched sob that escaped his lips. He just wanted to help and he continued to screw up. He wanted to go home and he wanted Zack to take him in his arms and scold him, but he couldn't go back and Weiss wouldn't let him go back once he had his hands on him.

Not alive at least.

"Come. He's waiting for us."

Cloud clenched his teeth and followed.