Sephiroth stared at the row of seven bags sitting on one of the reception desks from his position by the elevator. The receptionists looked uncomfortable (Sephiroth couldn't understand why, as handling deliveries was a part of the job position and they had seemed fine the previous day) and more than one employee blinked in confusion as they walked by. He was surprised at the attention the order received, especially with him in the room. Perhaps he simply hadn't been noticed yet. He puzzled over the oddity. ShinRa was not a small company, so surely large orders weren't unheard of.
Was this really that unusual? He wondered.
Before he could step forward, brisk movement caught his attention. The delivery man had two more bags in one hand as they made their way to the desk, a clipboard held to his face in the other, likely verifying the ridiculous quantity of food.
Great. This attention was all they needed. Nine bags total. Nine large and full bags.
This would get back to Hojo. He should have let Angeal or Genesis come down to pick the order up.
He had no doubt he could carry it all back to the room but it would take some very… undignified finagling. It took him a couple of moments to realize that the best decision would be to get some help. At least then the indignity of it all wouldn't also come back to haunt him on top of everything else.
Almost as if in answer to his problem, a small squad of cadets walked into the room, likely just finished with a patrol. He caught sight of spiky, blond hair among them.
Perfect.
"Cadet Strife," he said, striding up to them.
Every single one of the teenagers went utterly silent, stiffened and stared at him in utter shock. Sephiroth would be lying if he said he didn't find that a little amusing.
"Could I trouble you and three of your… friends, for some help?"
Cloud looked around at the boys, all taller than him, now staring at him, and gulped. Then he seemed to steel himself and straightened to attention. This seemed to remind the others as well and they joined in salute.
"Sir! What do you need, sir?!"
Well, he didn't lack in enthusiasm.
"At ease." He then thought of a way to possibly redirect the rumors, or at the very least, be able to claim plausible deniability in regard to breaking Hojo's strict diet. "I came down to pick up a dinner delivery for Commander Hewley, but he failed to communicate as to how large that order was. I simply need some assistance carrying it to the Commander."
Some of the boys had turned to look at the several bags piled on the reception desk and the delivery man who had passed a clipboard to the receptionists. Probably some form of verification that he'd delivered… and wait. Wasn't that the same delivery man from before? From the Wutian place?
Sephiroth frowned and squinted, focusing in a little more—
"Sir! We'll be happy to help you, sir!" Cloud said, startling Sephiroth enough to draw his attention back to them. The boys had fallen into line and all stood at parade rest. They were a little younger than Zachary, but not by much. It made him want to smile sadly to know that these were the children who would either be enlisted in the SOLDIER program or shunted into the much larger military forces. Children sent out to die… for ShinRa.
Somehow, that struck him as very much not good. He couldn't really quantify the feeling beyond that at the moment and he was still curious about that delivery man, so he nodded at them.
"Very good. Choose your team and then join me at the reception desk."
He turned and walked to the reception desk, a quiet cacophony of whispers breaking out behind him. (He resisted showing his amusement at the low-key 'pick me' scramble.) Unfortunately, the delivery man was no longer anywhere to be seen.
"G-general Sephiroth," the receptionist said, sounding surprised. Same voice as the one who spoke with Angeal.
"I am here to pick up an order for Commander Hewley."
She blinked at him for a couple of seconds, then gestured to the large line of bags. "Um… here… sir? I'm sorry we don't have any carts available. Usually we're notified when a large delivery is expected."
That explained the atmosphere, distress at being unable to maintain a standard. He nodded. "I have already made arrangements for transit." He picked up a bag himself, then turned to the boys right as they arrived, despite the squabble. "Take two each."
They hurriedly nodded and rushed to grab what he'd asked. Meanwhile, hearing the muted roar of a motorcycle starting up, Sephiroth turned towards the door, hoping he could still see the delivery man. Outside, he just managed to get a glimpse of the man as he threw his leg over a motorcycle with a sidecar attached. It looked like the same man as before – same build, same cap and jacket over dark clothes… and he turned to glance into the building as he took off his sunglasses and reached for some goggles on his forehead. Just before they covered his eyes, Sephiroth could swear he saw a flash of mako blue.
He felt his eyes widen and he took a step towards the door. Before he'd reached it, though, the man had revved his motorcycle and began to drive off. He paused, looking down at the food and realizing that his friends were waiting for him to play the game, and the cadets were waiting for him to lead them to the proper floor…
Honestly, he could really only stand there and stare after the disappearing figure, leaving all of his questions unanswered.
Could that have been…?
No… surely not.
He turned to look at the small boy with spiky blond hair in the middle of the group of cadets all staring at him. Then he looked back out again.
Sephiroth knew what he'd seen… and yet… it was so unbelievable…
After a few seconds staring through the front doors of the ShinRa building again, he turned and addressed the receptionist.
"Did he leave a receipt?" he asked Joan.
Her eyebrows rose and her brow furrowed. "I'm… not sure."
"He did, ma'am," the other girl at the desk offered. "He placed it in one of the bags, but I'm not sure which one." Considering the shuffle of the cadets, it wasn't surprising.
Sephiroth returned the nod. "Thank you," he said. Then he glanced at the group of children. "Follow me."
With that, he led the group of boys out of the lobby and to the elevator where they all piled in.
Right about then, surrounded by young teens in the small compartment, Sephiroth realized that there would be no way to really get out of this with his dignity completely intact. At least the elevator smelled more like dinner than people.
xXx
"This is a restricted area, I cannot let you actually leave the elevator. Set the bags outside the doors and rotate positions for next in line." Sephiroth ordered as he ran his ID to open the elevator doors. He stepped out and to the side to give more shuffle room to the cadets in the elevator, one hand on the frame to prevent it from attempting to close. The group quietly and efficiently complied with his instructions, Cadet Strife being last in the line.
"Thank you all for your assistance. The elevator will return to the nearest unrestricted floor before it will take any other commands. Cadet Strife, there should be some paperwork coming your way soon." The boy just looked at him quizzically as he let the elevator doors shut.
After a moment of thought for the food, he started tying the handles of the bags together in pairs, lining them up so he could more easily drape them over his arm. Then Sephiroth went about gathering all of the bags while attempting to keep the contents somewhat level and carrying them himself now that no one was around to see him. They were, by no means, too heavy, but it was awkward. He had to hold his arm out to the side to keep them from swaying and swinging in ways that made them bunch and bundle. He quickly found that moving a bit slower helped.
Eventually he reached his door, managed to grab the handle without breaking the straps on any bag (although it was a near thing) and let himself into his apartment. Genesis appeared to be in the middle of a battle with a pair of Bandersnatch while Angeal appeared to have been writing in his notebook. They both immediately paused when Sephiroth opened the door and turned to stare at him. He made sure to glare right back, especially at his dark-haired friend.
The room fell into silence, as if they'd come to a stand-off of some kind. Finally, Angeal coughed a little.
"Um, I didn't realize I'd ordered quite that much."
Genesis snorted, then covered his mouth with his hand daintily. Sephiroth sometimes wondered how his rival and friend, ever a man of contradictions, managed to balance the manners of a high-class socialite with the utter destruction he waged in battles. He did know he wanted to wipe that smug grin off the man's face though. Preferably with Masamune.
"Did you honestly come up from the lobby with all of… that?" he managed to ask, voice bright and teasing. It wouldn't have been so bad had it not the edge that Genesis seemed to favor.
Sephiroth ground his teeth together, then realized what he was doing and forced himself to breathe deeply. It helped.
"No. I managed to enlist the help of some cadets."
Genesis snorted again and turned away. It wasn't his normal, derisive snort, but definitely an amused-at-your-expense snort.
Angeal must have realized the thespian was getting on Sephiroth's last nerve because he stood up and hurried over.
"Here. Let me help you," he said, taking several bags from Sephiroth's arm and pulling them off gently. "And I'll… avoid ordering so much next time."
"A good idea," Sephiroth said, proud of himself for not biting it out.
"Or you could simply borrow a food cart from the cafeteria." The eye-roll was audible in Genesis' smiling voice. The receptionist had mentioned a cart as well. Was this another social matter? He hadn't realized logistics could apply. Though it made sense that even civilian employees would have a social network of supply lines.
Sephiroth didn't reply, wishing to avoid further jabs, and suspected Angeal didn't out of a bit of embarrassment. They went about placing the different bags on and around the table, with Angeal going through it and laying the different boxes out.
Sephiroth went into the kitchen to get each of them a plate and utensils, but as he did so, he noted his boots. The tan looked rather strange with the rest of his black outfit and he found he suddenly wanted them off. Actually… he glanced out of the kitchenette at his two friends and realized that his idea of 'dressing down' likely didn't match other people's definitions. He didn't plan to leave the apartment for the rest of the night, so why not? He could fetch his coat if leaving became necessary again. He handed the dishes over and shrugged it off, taking it with him to hang on the coat rack in his room.
He entered his room and hung the coat, then sat on his bed to pull off the SIs. He opened his closet to put them away and retrieve other clothes, though he didn't have much in the way of 'relaxation' clothes, as he liked to look like the General he was when others could see him. He was ShinRa's support and the man all other SOLDIERS looked up to, after all. However, he did manage to dig out some looser pants and a very large t-shirt that he rarely wore.
It was obviously meant for someone much… rounder than he was, but fit him height-wise, so he'd kept it. A medium gray with a black outline of a box with the picture of a red push-button in the center of it. Above the box it said, 'push me'. Below the box, it said 'I dare you.' He'd found it amusing when he'd seen it in the cheap shop he'd passed by one day. Apparently a fan had witnessed his attention to the shirt because only a block away from the store, they had personally thrust it into his hands and run before he could really see anything more than a baggy green hoodie and tan floor-length skirt. He hadn't pursued her, unsure of whether he should politely refuse or thank her. He didn't think anyone had ever seen him wear it before.
By the time he returned, he felt more at ease than before. If nothing else, the outing had done its job of getting Sephiroth's mind off of the game…
Although…
"When you find the receipt, I'd like a look at it," the silver-haired man said quietly.
Angeal paused in explaining a dish he'd been pointing to and glanced over, frowning. "Why?"
"The delivery man was… strange."
Neither one of them said anything. He glanced over to see them staring at him. Apparently they found his new outfit as strange as he'd found theirs earlier judging by the way they both just stared at him. He simply stared back, one eyebrow raised, half in challenge, half in question. They exchanged glances and, other than the barest whisper of the word 'fitting' from Genesis, decided not to comment on anyone's current state of dress.
"Anyway, about the delivery man, you said he was strange?" Angeal said, bringing the topic back on track. Beside him, Genesis frowned in puzzlement.
"I only saw him from afar, but I think he is the same man who delivered our Wutain food the other night."
The other two SOLDIERS exchanged glances briefly.
"It could be that they use the same delivery service," Angeal pointed out.
"Plausible," Sephiroth nodded thoughtfully. However... "I only saw a glimpse of his eyes, but... I believe I saw a mako glow."
That raised their eyebrows.
"Are you sure?" Genesis asked in disbelief.
Sephiroth felt his lips tighten. "No."
Again, the other two met gazes then turned back to him. "We'll keep an eye out for him. What does he look like?"
The Silver General thought over what he should tell them, but eventually just decided to voice his original thoughts.
"He looks… like Cloud."
Angeal suddenly looked worried and Genesis' skepticism deepened. "Cloud. As in the cadet who is fourteen and in training at the moment?"
Sephiroth wanted to sigh. He managed to hold it in, but it was a near thing. "Who was in the very same group of cadets I asked to help me at the time, yes." But also no. "Just… older."
They all remained silent as they processed that.
"It has to be a coincidence," Angeal finally said. "We know Cloud doesn't have family outside of his mother. Both the game and the company records show that."
"Do we know that?" Genesis asked. "This whole incident has proved that the company records we have access to aren't exactly reliable. And we hardly know all of the game's secrets. Besides, that's what the boy and his family know themselves, for all intents and purposes."
"Are you suggesting he has secret family?" Angeal asked, deadpan.
Genesis shrugged, not seeming to care about his friend's disbelief. "Wouldn't be the first time in this company. After all, Director Lazard…" he faded off pointedly.
Angeal stared at him for several seconds longer than either Genesis or Sephiroth expected, expression growing troubled. "Cloud… doesn't have a father, correct?"
Genesis raised one eyebrow in question. "Yes," he answered slowly. "The records don't list one."
Sephiroth caught on faster than their red-headed friend, his own eyebrows climbing towards his hairline. "Are you suggesting that Cloud is a ShinRa?"
Genesis' eyes opened wide as silence fell again. After a moment, the red-head spoke slowly. "He said in the game that his 'father died when he was still very young' but I distinctly remember an ellipsis in the text. That could imply anything, from stifled embarrassment to a stuttered uncertainty to a simple lie."
"I… don't know," Angeal said slowly in answer to Sephiroth's question. "He has blond hair and blue eyes, though…"
"That isn't uncommon here in Midgar," their red-clad friend pointed out, reaching into his pocket and withdrawing the jammer, checking to make sure it was on. It was, thankfully. "Besides, when would the President have been able to meet Mrs. Strife?"
Sephiroth ran through what they knew from the game, looking for information that would either support or disprove the theory.
"If… Nibelheim is where I… was initially raised," he said slowly, not liking how painful it felt to say that – he knew so little about his own past, "it would not be… out of the realm of possibilities for the President to stop by the town for… updates." On their pet project… as if Sephiroth were nothing more than a tool for the company to use and had been since birth.
He hated that most of the board thought of him like that. Although, better that than someone they owned simply to experiment on.
Perhaps he needed to reconsider his position in general if being used as a tool was a 'step up' from normalcy…
"Cloud… is five or six years younger than we are, so… that is plausible…" Genesis finally conceded, looking troubled. Sephiroth didn't blame him. The scandal that could cause if it were true and brought to light…
"On the flip-side, it's also entirely possible that his father isn't ShinRa, but had similar… inclinations." The President's intimate exploits weren't exactly secret in recent years. "Or that his father was thought dead and simply ran off and Cloud was told otherwise by his mother. We don't know and for his sake," Angeal said, as if reading his thoughts, "we may want to forget this line of thought. At least for now."
Sephiroth began to nod, but then paused."If any of these thoughts are the case, though, then Cadet Strife has potentially several brothers and sisters."
"Well, there you go then," Genesis said. "If the delivery man is related to Cloud, there is an easy explanation."
"No," Sephiroth said with a shake of his head and the realization that the conversation had wandered from his initial observation, "you don't understand. He looked like what I imagine Game Cloud would look like were he real." Besides, were they forgetting the mako eyes?
Genesis and Angeal turned their stare on him. Thankfully, they didn't ask if he was sure this time. He knew what he'd seen. At least in that capacity.
He idly wondered if they should stick with the label of Game Cloud, now that he'd met Cadet Strife. Perhaps just verbally, if they needed to distinguish. For now he would stick to 'Cloud' in his notes.
"What exactly are you saying?" the thespian asked slowly in regards to Sephiroth's comment.
That was the frustrating part. "I don't know." It couldn't be Cadet Strife… unless…
But, no. That couldn't be right either. The Cloud from his dream couldn't be real…
He hadn't gotten a good look at the delivery man from last time, who had asked for his autograph, as he'd been wearing sunglasses and that cap…
Genesis had begun to root around in the bags. Angeal and Sephiroth joined him. After a couple of minutes of searching, Genesis came up with a long receipt.
"Here," he said, as he looked it over. Nothing unusual on the front, except for the sheer length of the receipt. They'd be eating this for a couple of days, at least, Sephiroth suspected. Then the smaller man turned the paper over where something had been written across the back.
"Courier service provided by Strife Delivery…" Angeal read over his friend's shoulder, then faded off. Sephiroth felt a chill run down his spine as he reached out for the receipt. Genesis didn't stop him from taking it and looking over the note. It also had a percentage written down for payment, but it did indeed say, 'Strife Delivery' on it.
Genesis paused, stiffening. "I'll be right back." And hurried to the door.
He was indeed back in less than a minute. Holding out what seemed to be another receipt. "I took the Wutain leftovers from the previous delivery to my apartment while you were asleep, since I paid for that order, using one of the bags they'd come in. This was still in it."
A much shorter receipt, but on the back, the exact same words.
His first thought jumped to the explanation that the delivery man really was the Cloud from his dream – from the future, but he quickly pushed that aside. When you hear rodents scurrying, it is likely a wererat, not a bagrisk, as one of his careworkers used to say. It was far more likely that this was simply an older brother, whether Cadet Strife knew about it or not.
And yet...
"Well, there is nothing we can do about it now, if we want to continue to avoid attention," Angeal said with a tired sigh. "The best we can do is put it on the list to ask Cadet Strife about later"
"Ah, back to the game, then?" Genesis said, although he still eyed the receipt with a frown.
"Unless you want to track down a cadet on his off hours," Angeal said pointedly.
The red-head tapped his chin thoughtfully. Sephiroth blinked. Was he honestly considering such a potential waste of time? Hours to hunt down a cadet that very well may not even be in the building all for a simple question about family which he might not even know? Time that could be far better spent playing the game.
Apparently Angeal came to a similar conclusion because he folded his arms and shook his head.
"Genesis, no."
"We could order some more food." As if it would work a third time.
"Genesis."
The thespian scoffed. "Oh, very well. We'll just add that to the rather long list we already have."
Angeal put a hand to the bridge of his nose, and thus didn't see Genesis' smirk. Had he… done that on purpose to rile up his friend? Why? And why did it make Sephiroth want to snicker too?
"Just, keep playing," the brunet said tiredly.
Genesis, still with that smug smirk on his face, picked up the controller while Angeal began picking through the food and thrusting various dishes at Sephiroth for him to try. The fried onion rings were… an experience that he wasn't sure on, but he didn't much care for most of the sour things he came across. He did like the tangy ones and the 'spicy' ones, though. He wasn't a huge fan of the sweet ones, but rather enjoyed savory as well.
The various meats didn't make a huge impact on whether he liked the sauces, but he did make sure to eat some of the rather good grilled vegetables and the fried sweet rolls would likely seem like too much normally, but after a tangy or savory dish seemed very appropriate. He was glad he'd relented to Angeal recommendations, even with the odd delivery, commendering the cadet group, and his earlier rush to the restroom sink.
Meanwhile, Genesis picked at whatever happened to be in reach while he played the game.
After wrapping up the battle he'd pause in, Sephiroth saw that Game Cloud was immediately outside of Icicle, and Genesis only needed to take a few steps to reenter the town.
The next house they went to had a dog sitting in the snow outside of it. Walking up to the dog had it growling or barking… or something. The game sounds weren't exactly realistic. Heading into the house, though, showed a normal, if messy, house. A man inside told them that his son got hurt about the time they moved there due to snowboarding. Walking into what looked like a very large room for a child and approaching the boy just had him whimpering and weeping. Over snowboarding… What was the worst that could have happened to him? A broken bone? Was that so difficult to deal with for a civilian?
Two children outside of the door to the dwelling on the far right seemed to be building… something made of snow. It looked rather repulsive to Sephiroth, but Angeal grinned at the screen, so he decided not to say anything.
The screen faded as they walked into the building and it took Sephiroth a couple of seconds to realize where they were, as a wall blocked them from view. They only figured it out due to the screen moving when Genesis moved Cloud.
It turned out to be another house, if a much larger one. Walking into the largest room, they saw a woman standing by the fire, speaking about a husband who left 20 years before and never returned. Then she said he should be at Gaea's cliff…
Then, going towards a room that had items gleaming inside of it, a menu popped up asking if they wanted to look at or take the map on the wall. Genesis ended up taking it as there didn't seem to be any repercussions to doing so, and they walked further into the building. After some exploring, they found a door that led them into what looked to be a back-yard of some kind. Speaking to a man out there had him talking about a map and how difficult it was to reach the northern limits without one.
Genesis and Angeal both snorted at that. Sephiroth agreed.
They left that house and the next building they entered turned out to be the actual Icicle Inn. Walking up to the desk, they decided to spend 200 gil for a night's stay. It was reasonable and would (insanely) heal up their characters.
Once they "woke up" from that, they began to go around and speak with the different people. One person sitting at a table spoke of a 'gnarly hill' that was off limits for some reason. Apparently that person's companion sitting across from them was not happy about that either, saying they 'came all this way' for nothing.
Another person said they came from Costa Del Sol and were about to leave. Sephiroth wasn't sure if that person meant the people at the table or was referring to someone else, but ultimately decided it didn't matter.
A larger man walking on the opposite side of the building said something about 'not getting too close or it will burn you'. Sephiroth saw Genesis roll his eyes out of the corner of his eye as he put a piece of barbecue chocobo into his mouth. Normally he found the large birds too tough and stringy, but it worked with this, he supposed.
Further exploration had Cloud finding another door, which led to a room that looked like a bar of some kind. Some of the conversations there spoke of a Cetra who used to live in the town but was taken by ShinRa. Sephiroth felt his fist clench and was grateful it only held a fork. The next person they conversed with spoke of a man who left to go North. Yet another patron spoke of the Northern Crater. The bartender told them about a snow-woman who hated hot-springs.
"What does that have to do with anything?" Angeal asked after swallowing a bite of his food. He seemed to be enjoying it immensely. Sephiroth concluded it probably wasn't something he wanted to eat on a regular basis, but it wasn't something he was particularly opposed to either. Especially if it was with his friends.
With no one else to speak to and not much else to explore, Genesis moved Cloud back outside and towards the back of the screen, where someone else walked back and forth. Said person told them not to go any farther as there was a dangerous hill.
Genesis scoffed loudly… again. Then he picked the option that stated he was still going. The person didn't seem to like that, saying he'd just been trying to be nice. Then he asked who 'those people' were 'over there' and that it looked like trouble. At that, a light-yellow, rather large ball, popped up on the bottom of the screen. The ball turned around to show Elena, apparently with infantry men if the blue blob that appeared next to her was anything to go by.
Elena ran up to Cloud, told him not to go any further (implying she could somehow stop them) and then berated them for 'messing up' her boss. They told her it was Game Sephiroth who did it (Sephiroth grit his teeth, but didn't say anything). She didn't believe them.
Then she challenged Cloud to a fight.
"You don't challenge enhanced SOLDIERS to a fight!" Angeal said, exasperated and waving the hand with his fork in it around.
"Indeed," Genesis said, before putting a piece of chocobo into his mouth without taking his eyes off of the screen.
Apparently they could dodge the punch, and Genesis chose to dodge right… and by 'dodge', Sephiroth meant Cloud walked to the side. Elena apparently stumbled and then somehow tucked into a ball, but continued to roll down the curve towards the top of the screen.
"That was… anticlimactic," Genesis said flatly. The two other SOLDIERS nodded in agreement. The man who had tried to stop them before appeared and commented on how ShinRa was pretty weak.
Genesis scoffed again. Sephiroth agreed with the sentiment.
Trying to continue down the path, the man stopped them again and literally pushed them back, saying they couldn't get down without a snowboard and a map.
"We already have a map!" Genesis said, annoyed.
"Where do we get a snowboard?" Angeal asked.
"Why do we need a snowboard?" Sephiroth asked. "Why not a sled or simple snow-hiking gear? And how will they all get down on one snowboard anyway?"
"Game logic," the other two said, simultaneously. Sephiroth wasn't sure whether to snicker or stare at them. Then he just shook his head. They weren't wrong.
"The boy who got hurt had something that looked like a snowboard," Genesis commented thoughtfully, running back into town and the hut with the dog in front of it. Probably not knowing what else to do, they had Cloud enter the hut again and walk towards the child sitting in his room. Once they entered, he stood up.
"Does he not have a face?" Angeal asked, voice monotone.
"Too small to try and draw one on him?" Genesis ventured, shrugging his shoulders.
Of course, then the child just gave them – total strangers – his snowboard. For no other reason than that they needed it, apparently.
"What kind of child just gives away something like that?" Genesis asked.
"What kind of northern town built in the snow doesn't have a winter equipment shop of some kind?" Angeal pointed his fork at the screen.
"True," Genesis conceded. Then he proceeded to head back to the 'steep decline' and the man walking back and forth in front of it.
"Is he there to merely stop people?" Sephiroth asked.
Genesis shrugged, although Angeal looked thoughtful. "If it truly is a problem, it would make sense to post a guard."
"Oh, something in this game makes sense for once," the thespian expounded dramatically. "There is no hate, only joy! For you are beloved by the Goddess!"
Angeal rolled his eyes, which Sephiroth only saw because he glanced over at his friend, unimpressed.
Genesis didn't even acknowledge them, placing some broccoli in his mouth instead before returning to the game and the controller, finishing his journey to walk up to the man.
Who apologized for running off because it had looked like trouble.
"But… didn't he already return?" Sephiroth asked. "Why apologize now?"
"Didn't you call it 'game insanity' yourself?" Genesis asked.
Sephiroth raised a challenging eyebrow at him. "Am I wrong?"
The red-head snorted, amused. "No."
The man proceeded to 'tell them' how to snowboard, after which several menus instructing them on how to snowboard in the game popped up.
"They're trying this 'gnarly' hill and have never been snowboarding before?" Angeal asked around a mouthful of… something. It wasn't chocobo, so he wasn't entirely sure what it was. It could be Malboro for all Sephiroth knew (although he hoped not… that would have to be extremely toxic meat…).
"It seems it is the only way forward," Genesis said, not sounding entirely pleased himself.
"Well, then go on," Angeal said with a grin. "This should be amusing."
Sephiroth wasn't sure he could truly find anything about this game amusing anymore, but some points were more… entertaining than others. With how Genesis seemed so reluctant, he couldn't help but think that this would be one of the more tolerable parts of the game.
"Oh, very well," Genesis said, moving Cloud forward, and the screen faded to white.
xXx
AN:
Firstly I would like to thank Imagination7413 again. I'm considering giving her co-authorship in this... that's how much she's helping out. It's been a while since I've had a friend/beta who was able and willing to do that.
Secondly, I would like to thank my Discord server for helping me again. Sometimes, you guys keep me going.
If you'd like to join my Discord: discord dot gg/GPfDYy5ZPa ( dot =.)
Also, the most wonderful fanart comic again! *stars in eyes* sta dot sh/019vjmgqmg1n ( dot =.)
Thank you so much, xAshes!