A/N: "Those who exchange freedom for security gain neither." -Benjamin Franklyn...If you agree, copy to your profile (you can copy-and-paste from the very top of my profile page)! Because we're here right now. 'Censoring' and laws allowing people to be erased from the Net have gotten completely out of hand, and it will take people to change them. This isn't even about 'fake' news anymore, this is about a complete crushing of free speech, like by saying you don't agree with what someone in power is doing/going to do.

Phoenix: Thank you for the review! I already have a name planned for the chick, thanks, but she's being a brat about it until Genesis gets the memo. :D As for the rest, you'll just have to wait and see.

Emperors

Cloud and Tifa were making their way to Tseng/Haruna's home after their work day was done (the day after Weiss and Argento had spoken with them) to meet Hokuto, whose name had first been Neirine—for a very, very short time of them having known her. Since it was evening and Tifa had to stay until everyone had eaten supper, it was probably safe to say the Hayashi household had also already eaten. Most days, their meetings with Hokuto were a cross between children doing 'children things' and data exchange, but sometimes, one or both of them would talk with either Haruna or Maya. The two had already decided it would be Cloud to talk with Haruna that day.

However, as they got within view of the house, they saw Hokuto sitting outside with another girl—a girl Cloud immediately knew and whose presence caused him to freeze in place in shock. Tifa looked puzzled as she gazed at the other girl, mouthing the name 'Aeris', but had kept walking until she realized Cloud had stopped.

"Are you okay?" she asked him apprehensively as she stopped and faced him. "I saw you freeze up with the General, too, but I sort of guessed that's because something bad had happened with him. I don't think that's true about her?" At the question, she motioned in Aeris and Hokuto's direction.

For another long moment, Cloud just kept staring, but then sighed faintly and said, "She—that girl—Aeris—I...tried to protect her, but instead, she was killed, and I couldn't do anything...And even after she died, she kept trying to help me...us...And it was all just..."

"But it looks like she's just fine now," Tifa commented.

He drew in a deep breath and shook his head. "Actually...Zack was hard enough to meet again, even if it was for different reasons than Sephiroth. I can't...I'm not ready to officially 'meet' her again now. You go ahead and join them, and I'll slip in through the other door to talk with Haruna."

For a long moment, Tifa eyed him, then commented, "Okay, but you're going to have to face her sooner or later, especially if she's somehow now Hokuto's friend and is going to be here a lot."

"...I know. Just not right now," Cloud sighed, knowing that was true, too—it couldn't really be avoided for long, however it had happened.

Tifa eyed him again for a moment, then nodded and turned to keep walking, greeting the other girls cheerfully soon after. Of course, she'd greeted Hokuto by name, then let the other girl introduce her and Aeris. While she was explaining that Cloud wasn't in a good mood that day and was going to talk with Haruna, he made his way around the back lanes and to the side door. When he entered from there, Haruna raised a brow at him from where she sat in the living room, reading, but motioned him to a chair.

"Let me guess...Aeris?" Haruna asked, but she sounded tired.

"I'm not ready. I just had to deal with both Zack and Sephiroth yesterday, and I've only met Sephiroth a total of twice since I've been back," Cloud replied bitterly. "It was hard to see Zack, and it was only Fenrir making that easier. I don't have an 'Aeris' to make meeting her easier."

While Haruna's lips quirked up at the corners a bit, she nodded. "I actually completely forgot I was in this disguise the first time I met Aeris, and only remembered when I saw what I was wearing. In the meantime, she knew who I was anyway. It was as nerve-wracking as it was cathartic, and if you just went through that with Zack, I can't blame you for putting it off." She set aside her book, then asked, "So, what did we need to discuss?"

"Weiss and Argento visited while I was with Genesis—you can thank Zack for that—and brought up the issue of the Wutai War. Apparently you have 'High Nobles', who are the families like yours, who are 'half-Summons', and your people have been killing them off for the last thirty years or so?"

Haruna's look darkened as she asked, "How do you know about that? Wait, who's Argento?"

"You know we ended up raiding Deepground?"

"Kariya told me, yes."

"She's one of the Tsviets who's only been there about a year, I guess? A Wutain soldier who was taken off the battlefield after she'd been injured. Anyway, Hojo brought it up because he got pissed when the President told him he'd been crossing lines he shouldn't have been crossing," Cloud replied. "And since Veld already knew, I assume you're the Alexander who protected Weiss?"

The Wutain sighed and agreed, "I am, but that effect was fairly singular and I doubt I'll be able to do it again for some time."

"Okay. Argento also said we should heavy-hand the War so we can get people in there who can eliminate the people who are killing off the High Nobles. The only other option would have been if you went back and became Emperor, but since you're obviously not willing to, we'd have to do it the destructive way, because a lot of Crescent Unit is apparently in on this 'kill the High Nobles' plan. Because of your background, we thought it was better to ask you before taking it up with Veld to push that plan forward," Cloud explained, then blinked in surprise at the reaction his words invoked.

First, the woman blanched, then turned furious, and finally, she just sagged in exhaustion, leaning her head back and closing her eyes with a sigh. "I've been working diligently to have that detail not become known. How much damage control do I have to do?"

"Unless Hojo knows you're officially Wutai's actual Emperor, you don't, because the only people who know are in on the plan to fix things anyway," Cloud commented. "How is that what you're most worried about?"

"If Veld or the President finds out—" Haruna began.

"Veld doesn't know, and we don't have to tell him," the blond boy cut her off. "And if he doesn't know, chances are, the President won't, either. So, why is that what you focused on?"

"...Did anyone mention my family name around them?"

"Kaoin, Hojo said. Apparently, that didn't mean anything in particular to either Veld or the President, and didn't mean anything to him beyond apparently you being a noble who doesn't have to obey Wutain laws. The name doesn't mean anything to me, either, but it meant enough to Argento for her to say you would be Emperor, but obviously haven't chosen that route, so we'd need another way."

"High Nobles most certainly do have to obey Wutain laws, that asshole!" Haruna snarled, gaze furious. "We only have the right to refuse to be conscripted for war, not to just—not obey any laws!" Cloud blinked slowly, but she went on, "And the fact is that he never actually knew my birth name—none of them really did, other than Veld, who checked up on me at the Academy before I joined the Turks—so Hojo could only have known I'm a Kaoin if he's well aware I'm effectively Emperor right now, and that only hasn't happened because I refuse to make that claim on Wutain soil. And there's only one reason he hasn't said that yet."

"...What reason would that be?" Cloud asked warily.

"Cloud, what is Hojo's key trait—his mainstay in dealing with people?" Haruna asked, her still-furious gaze intent on the boy's.

"...Manipulating people?" the boy began, feeling sick.

The woman nodded sharply. "Manipulating people by hitting them where it hurts, when they're already down. He won't say it until he can destroy someone with it, and right now, he can't actually destroy me that way, or anyone else, so he won't. If he opened up that path in the first place, he may have been trying to destroy someone else, but got headed off so didn't say all of it. That won't stop him from telling the President while no one is there to run damage control, and I'd arrive back to—that!"

For a long minute, the boy was silent, but then he asked slowly, "What makes this whole dynamic and your being Emperor so significant?"

Haruna was silent for a minute before rising and heading for the kitchen, so Cloud followed her—only to see a shrewd-looking Maya there, sitting at the table with a drink and a bunch of tailoring sketches in front of her. It was obvious she'd overheard. The Wutain woman collected drinks for herself and Cloud, then sat at the table and motioned him at the seat across from her. It was warm tea, something the blond had realized she drank when she was nervous or upset, other than when she had some in the morning—the morning tea was just her habit. So, he slowly sat, eying Maya warily.

"Cloud, what you need to realize is that the first rulers and nobles of Wutai were all 'High Nobles'," she told him quietly, and he blinked. "And the Kaoins were their first Emperors." He blinked again. "My family always chose whoever was best-suited to rule as the next successor, which meant that was sometimes a woman. In turn, that meant the name of the line changed, but it was still inevitably the Kaoin line. Up until recently, there were only a few generations of another name being the Emperor before it would revert back to the Kaoins. We were targeted because we have exactly that power, and would have been able to take back the Throne if needed, but in the meantime, we had been warning the Emperor of the deceptions of others in his Court."

She paused and stared absently down at her cup for a moment before going on, "Usually, we wouldn't need to take the Throne back by force because either the Emperor was good, or because it would pass back to us naturally. As long as Wutai was functioning as it was meant to, that was good enough for us, but it doesn't change that in-grained position we hold—one I'm sure is the reason I'm alive now that Minerva called me 'Leviathan's Blessed Child'. That phrase is synonymous with the intended Emperor, and also with one who Leviathan has specifically and directly helped—when they attacked, tortured, and killed my family, I survived because Leviathan directly intervened."

Again, the Wutain woman paused, then sighed. "With some of the Court Nobles and many of Crescent Unit obeying whoever wants the High Nobles dead, Leviathan's hold on Wutai would effectively catapult me onto the Throne if I made that declaration in Wutai. That would be a literal catapulting, too. Our land is in danger, and the Emperor's job is to fix it. But, the way I am now, and have been since I was tortured, I can't, and I know that, too. If my state can be fixed, or at least functionally fixed, at some point in the future, in theory, I could take the Throne, but I would honestly prefer to give that position to a descendant of mine, or to another I choose, not take it myself. That's not who I am—being a Turk has shown me that."

"But you're a leader, even in the Turks. It's your nature to lead, Haruna," Maya commented dryly. "I'm sure you'd be a good one if you chose to do it."

"Not in the situation Wutai is currently in," Haruna answered tiredly. "I have too few allies and only know the identity of one Court Noble who could be eliminated. There are more of them who are problems than that, otherwise so many of the High Nobles wouldn't be dead right now."

"So you mean, even if you were to take the Throne, without first eliminating a large number of people whose identities we don't know, you wouldn't be able to fix things anyway," Cloud suddenly realized. Haruna glanced up at him, so he went on, "The title is only that—a title. Its effectiveness isn't just based on you having it, it's based on the people you're responsible for. And that also means you don't actually have to be known as the Emperor directly to still do your duty to fix the problem, by working to find and remove those who are doing the damage."

"That's also true," Haruna agreed.

"So, fine, tell us what the best plan is. We have Weiss, Azul, and Argento all willing to go along with heavy-handing the War, or whatever else will be needed, as well as Angeal and Sephiroth, and we know the Turks will want in on it," Cloud informed her. "Genesis would, too, but he seems to have acquired a newly-hatched Firebird he has to make sure is getting fed and warmed, and baby birds eat a lot."

She blinked in surprise, then gave him a thoughtful look and said, "Yes, heavy-handing the War is probably a good idea, and if you've got Azul and Sephiroth's agreement, that could go very well. Yufi would be six or seven years old right now, so if you could get her out of there and to a place where she can learn not to be—well, a common thief—that would be a good thing. Hide her in the Turks, maybe? They'll catch her at her tricks and pay her the attention she needs while letting her have an outlet for all that extreme amount of energy she has. Most of all, it would get her away from the War and let her see us—Shinra people—as humans."

Blinking, Cloud admitted, "I hadn't really thought of Yufi at all since we were sent back. But, if she's anything like she was when we first met her, finding her will be a shot in the dark. You might have to do that on your trip. What else?"

"...There's a question Argento can ask anyone you capture or question later, once you've taken over," Haruna offered slowly. "By the current dynamic, if I give her the right to ask it, anyone she asks it to who has Wutain blood will be compelled to answer it—or not—in the most honest way." She paused to pick up one of Maya's blank papers and her pencil, then began writing on it in Wutain. As she she did, she said, "It's used very specifically for this purpose, to weed out people who have been rejected by Leviathan and to alert the High Nobles and the Emperor to who needs to be watched. Anyone not answering at all, you can kill out-right—they'll be compelled to stay silent if they've been rejected. Any other answers will need to be recorded and come back to me, because that's the only way we'll be able to find the ones pulling the strings."

"So wait, somehow all Wutains with a certain amount of that blood will have no choice but to react in a certain way to the question?" Cloud asked in surprise.

"That's what it was designed for," the Wutain replied flatly. She tipped her head to the side a bit, then commented, "The question doesn't translate well into Standard, so I won't try, but this paper now has what Argento needs to take with her so she can do this task. The General and any others of high rank there will need to be aware that she's the head of investigation and must be allowed to question anyone she wants to question. Otherwise, names and replies are mine to interpret. I'm only telling you what the 'no reply' answer means to save you time and effort so you can eliminate them up front."

"So what if someone replies by saying, like, 'no comment'? And is there anything in particular we need to know to heavy-hand it effectively?" Cloud asked curiously, realizing for the first time just how complex Wutain society and their bond with Leviathan was.

Her lips quirked as she finished writing, folded the paper, and passed it to him. "To the first, that will never be a reply a Wutain could give to this question. To the second, skip Fort Tamblin and head right for the capital."

"Don't we have to go through Fort Tamblin to get there?"

"There's a path through a nearby cave system. Though, you may want someone to distract the people at Tamblin while the others go on ahead through the caves. From the valley entrance leading to Tamblin, don't go into the valley, head left along the mountain. Those mountains are riddled with caves, most of which are unmarked. There are three you should find with a mark within five feet of the cave entrance, one for 'sun'—the way Wutains write it, not the way Shinra people do—one for 'moon', and one for 'death'. Definitely don't go into the one marked 'death'. The one you need is the one with the sun, which will take you through the mountains to a point past Tamblin."

Cloud blinked again as Maya asked, "So why are you sharing something obviously only meant for Wutains, otherwise you'd have shared it earlier?"

"I did share it earlier. Everyone—or Heidegger at least—chose to disregard it," Haruna answered flatly. "This time, I hope that won't be the case."

"Probably not," Cloud agreed. "So, heavy-hand it by first bypassing Tamblin and taking the Capital, ask everyone that question of yours, kill the ones who don't give an answer, note the answers for the rest, and get Yufi out of there. That covers it?"

"To start. I'll need Turks readily accessible to start eliminating people after my trip, though. This will give Veld time to prepare. Hopefully by then, Yufi will be a suitable interim Emperor until someone else from my line can take over, with a Reagent to do most of the work until she can do it herself."

"That assumes you're agreeing to have kids, Tseng."

"With the situation the way it is, I had been resisting that for a very long time. I don't think I can resist it for overly long now, and my only benefit is being an eighteen-year-old so I have time to find someone to have children with. This is also part of why I can't be Emperor directly—I have mental damage which interferes with my ability to do many things. I'd suit the role of an Imperial Assassin better, frankly."

"...Agrento mentioned that, too. What is it?" Cloud asked in confusion.

"...They can fight Sephiroth on equal terms," Haruna sighed, and Cloud's eyes widened in horror. "Thankfully, there are only about...eight, I think. If the one Sephiroth killed years ago has been replaced. In theory, only the Emperor can give them orders, but in practice, they can choose to obey orders from others or to disobey the Emperor."

"...And we probably won't be able to capture them if they choose to run rather than fight," the boy sighed.

"You might be able to, but not easily," the woman shrugged. "You also won't ever know their actual identities. What's more important is their answers to the question, because it should regard either Wutai's or the Emperor's well-being in a positive manner unanimously. Any of them not answering that way is a danger, and they need to be eliminated. For others, the answers are a lot more variable, but for them—they aren't supposed to be variable."

"In other words, they're brainwashed," Maya and Cloud both said together.

"No, not really," Haruna answered in amusement as Cloud and Maya stared at one another in surprise. "They were chosen as children to be trained for the role because that was already their answer. If anyone brainwashed them, it was their parents, not the Emperor or their trainers. That's why it isn't supposed to be variable—they were already asked it, and already gave that answer."

"Oh..." Cloud blinked in surprise. "...Is that something like the way Turks are chosen—that they have a commonality in 'answer', and those answers shouldn't change, no matter how much time has passed?"

"Essentially," the woman agreed. "It's also the reason why there are so few of them, like there are so few Turks."

"...And chances are that at least a few aren't on that path anymore," Cloud sighed, and Haruna nodded. A long silence fell, then he said, "I'll let the others know, then. In the meantime, I want to also talk with you about something, because I think it's changed."

"What's that?"

Cloud told her about Scarlet and the current situation which he didn't yet have in full, finishing by saying, "I'm sure she's not as hard-core evil as we initially thought when our plans started."

"How much are you willing to bet on that?"

"Oddly, after finding out the situation she's in right now, I'd bet my life on it since this would be a good reason for her to go cold. If she gets help and support, rather than having to deal with it herself, I doubt she'll be the kind of person we were worried about."

For a few long moments, Haruna thought about that, then looked at Maya and said, "You've had to deal with her the most, Maya. What's your opinion?"

The woman's brow cocked a bit, then she commented, "You do realize she made a mistake and only realized after doing it that she could never actually stop, right?"

Haruna blinked slowly at her, then said, "She's not actually willing, but had another reason for doing it. In that case, it may be possible to change that outcome. If so, she'll be one less enemy, and a lot less we'll have to fight later (1). Since we plan on removing her other two required 'partners' from the picture, she'd be free of that, because Rufus doesn't believe in sleeping around, or that anyone should be in their positions for such a reason. That might also make it easier for her to deal with him."

"I think he earned some points with her by telling her she looked better wearing one of the Turks' jackets over her dress than she did in just the dress," Cloud commented in amusement, and both women chuckled. "So I think she'll be able to deal with him once he's out of the 'brat' phase. She only handles my company so well because I'm a 'child', not a young man high on hormones—and Rufus just showed her, hormones aside, that she's more in his eyes than his father has made her."

"That's a good start, then," Haruna agreed. "How are things with Rufus, by the way?"

"Did Kariya tell you about the shrines to the past Turks?" the boy asked curiously.

"Yes, including Lady Shinra's," the Wutain agreed.

"We showed him her shrine and he decided he's inheriting her cane and a pair of daggers. Vincent's in charge of training him, and it seems he's gotten the idea that training isn't about winning, and that there are better reasons to fight than just 'to win'. Vince told me he's actually doing better without all the stress his father puts on him in his other lessons. And I guess Verde is helping him train Dark Nation now, too," the blond explained.

"Verde let Ghost (2) out to visit someone?" Haruna asked in bemusement.

"Ghost?" Cloud asked in confusion.

"Verde's 'dog' is an escaped experimental Guard Hound which somehow ended up white instead of black. When he inherited it, he named it Ghost, and almost never lets anyone see him. How he gets him in and out of the building without being seen, I still have no idea, but Ghost almost never makes a sound. Verde gave up trying to keep him hidden from me only because the monster seems to have decided he must greet me in person every time I visit," she explained in amusement.

"I don't know if that's the case, just that Lakis apparently knows about Ghost even if he doesn't have details, so suggested Verde as the primary source for Rufus to train his 'dog'. Derin was the other Turk he offered," the blond said in amusement, feeling better after the near-run-in with Aeris.

"That's true. Derin has a Trickplay (3) called Rogue, but I'm not sure how much 'training' he gave him. Unlike Mus, Trickplays are quieter by nature, and often sneak around a lot like raccoons and ferrets and the like. I'm pretty sure everyone has seen Rogue without even knowing they did, since he sleeps on Derin's living room chair, curled in a ball. Like that, he could just be mistaken for a fluffy, red-brown pillow."

Haruna's words actually made Cloud start giggling, but he managed to say around his giggles, "I haven't visited him yet, but I'll see if Rogue is there when I go. How did he get it?"

"He was out on assignment on the northern continent and stepped out of the helicopter for several minutes while the door was open because of the heat that day, as sometimes happens on the southern shores. Rogue was inside when he got back, chowing down on the rations—and he was obviously starved, so Derin just got him some water and hoped he'd leave on his own when he was done eating. Instead..."

"Rogue decided to hang around the person who fed him."

"Pretty much. At least Ghost makes more sense because he was still a puppy and Verde got him medical care."

"Wouldn't both make sense, each in their own way?"

The Wutain chuckled at the words, but didn't deny them, so they kept talking about various things until Cloud had to go.

Notes:

(1) This refers to Scarlet's 'war machines' as the 'enemies' they would have to fight if she was one of their enemies. If she's not an enemy, her machines also won't be, other than in isolated circumstances (someone else hijacking one, for example).

(2) Ghost is my creation, though I liked the 'dog' theme based on who Verde was taken from (that character had a dog-shaped familiar). I also took it from the FFVII Remake's enemy called the Wrath Hound, so some of its skills match the actual ones the Wrath Hound was given, and a few are improvised. It's powerful, and will eventually show up directly. I just figured this was a good place to put this note since he's now named. No skills will be named unless it becomes relevant to do so.

(3) Anasazi Darkmoon suggested I use a Mu as someone's pet, but when I went through the list of FFVII monsters again, I realized Mus have a color-swapped (and more powerful) alternate which is called a Trickplay. Based on who Derin's root character was, he'd actually have a small, fluffy critter as a pet, so I thought this would be an appropriate one to use. Again, while I added to the skills it already has (one thing from in FFVII and two from Pokémon), they won't be named unless it becomes relevant to do so.

And there's a REASON Derin called his Trickplay Rogue, by the way...Some of you might guess by the name (depending on which association you make), but if not, you'll find out in the course of the story. In the meantime, Trickplays and Mus are squirrel-dog crosses (primarily squirrel-like in FFVII) probably between the size of a house cat and a fox, and about as generally fluffy as a fox's tail. Unless they've just been digging in the dirt to pop out of it to attack someone. Which Rogue kind of can't in Midgar, so he's just...always fluffy. Just wait for the utter chaos he's going to cause when he meets Hex and Sly (you'll see why when you 'meet' this pair of pets).