By a Fraction of a Degree

A FFVII Fanfiction work by findthetiger129

Rated T for Violence and Language.

I do not own Final Fantasy VII, or any of the characters, trademarks or likenesses from Final Fantasy VII or its spin-offs That honor goes to Square-Enix.

Part II: Reunion

Chapter 43, Repercussions

January 3rd [ ν ] – εуλ 0008

Reeve was watching the Heligunners with a wary eye as a couple of SOLDIER 2nds climbed out onto the building. They had their swords drawn.

"Director Tuesti, President Shinra has ordered your arrest and detainment. Do not try to resist or escape," one of the SOLDIERs called out as he drew within shouting distance.

Reeve smiled as he shrugged. "It would be foolish to fight you. I know my limitations." It was at that moment when something tugged at the leg of his trousers and he looked down. Cait 4 had apparently climbed here from the vent shaft.

"You know what to do," he whispered.

The little cat nodded and suddenly, smoke began to surround the two of them. It was a special compound designed to scramble targeting systems.

"Hey!" The SOLDIER rushed forward, but Reeve and the little cat were already sprinting through the smoke to a point where another ventilation tube peeked out from a solid part of the roof. He'd designed this building, at least the above-plate portions of it. He knew it like the back of his hand, and Rufus had given him all the warning he needed. He prepared for a rough landing as he hopped into the shaft and let it carry him down towards the building's central heating conduits. There would be a place very soon where he'd be able to stand and from there, he'd be able to get to a service hatch near the exit to the first floor basement.

He soon found his way and it wasn't long before he was strolling out the door, only to see a redhead with an EMR rod and a blonde woman with a hand gun standing ready with a small car. "How did he know?" Reeve asked, calmly placing his belongings in the back.

"It's his business to know," Lou answered crisply, eyeing Cait 5 as he appeared at the door, and hopped into the back with Cait 4.

Reeve sat next to his two creations as the two renegades took their positions in the front. "I should have guessed," he said with a wry smile. "He didn't have to do it."

"He called it helping a friend," Rod said. With that, he stepped on the gas and they were gone before anyone even noticed they were there.

Cloud fell, deeper and deeper, forcing himself to be on alert for any sign of Zack. After several pulse pounding moments, he caught sight of his friend through the flowing green mist and reached out, to grab the wrist of his good arm, before grabbing the rope with his other arm. It came taught in his gloved hand and he winced at the jerking motion which jostled his friend's body, but Cloud wasn't about to let go, even if it killed him. Once he was sure the rope wasn't going to give, he lifted Zack up and balanced him on the arm he had secured it with, before hefting him over his shoulder. It wasn't easy to do; Zack was hardly light, and Cloud was already getting tired and dizzy under the soporific effects of the Lifestream, but he forced himself to keep it together. His life wasn't the only one that was at stake.

He felt blood trickling down the back of his shirt. The pipe had apparently been knocked clear during the fall. He cursed before suddenly feeling the rope tighten in his hand. They were trying to pull him back up it seemed.

Making sure Zack was secure, he began the process of climbing higher up the rope even as he could hear shouts above him. Cid was apparently giving orders. His own arms were shaking from the effort, but he was determined. He wasn't going to fail again.

Not this time.

Little by little, the rope pulled them higher, and he inched higher along it until finally, the ledge he'd jumped off of pulled into sight, and not long after, he felt Zack's body being lifted off of him by several others, before he saw a hand in front of him. Tifa was moving to help him up.

He was about to reach out to her, when suddenly, he felt a familiar white hot stab of pain right between his eyes. Tifa caught his arm even as she saw him wince and quickly pulled him back onto solid ground. "Cloud?!"

"…I feel it…" he ground out, gripping his head in his hands.

"Cloud? What is it?" Kunsel was standing over them along with Freya.

"He's still… here… He's… laughing…"

The last thing he was aware of was Tifa putting her arms around him and calling his name before he had the strange sensation that he was suddenly no longer there, as though some strange force had yanked him deep into the recesses of his own mind and yet, not, like some distant space that seemed full of life and energy but at the same time, empty and alien.

He found himself flying along a tunnel of light constantly changing in a flux of colors, and vaguely wondered why he didn't feel motion-sick, even as the passage wound up and down and around. It seemed as though he was traveling for miles along this strange conduit through space, until finally, his eyes landed on the destination.

Down in the depths of the Lifestream, under the glow of a central bright light his eyes locked with those of a familiar figure, and he beheld the leering form of his enemy. Divested of his coat and standing poised to do battle with the Masamune in his hand, was the inspiration for his dreams as a boy, and the deliverer of his suffering as a man… Sephiroth.

Cloud felt strangely calm as he landed facing his opponent. He reached for the weapon on his back and found to his surprise, that it was the Buster Sword. Sephiroth's expression was mocking and disdainful as they regarded each other, watching to see who would make the first move.

Almost before he was aware it had happened, Cloud felt a limit channel within him, and after raising the Buster Sword in the air, with wind and Lifestream flying around him in a vortex, he raced forward with a speed that was greater than any he'd ever attained. Blow after blow he rained down on the former general, and to Cloud's own astonishment, Sephiroth wasn't even moving quickly enough to block. The man simply stood there while wounds opened up on his body. Fourteen times, the Buster Sword connected with its target and Cloud raised it a final time, leaping in the air, and coming down for one more blow.

Blood pooled at the silver general's feet as he backed away, and he looked up at Cloud without saying a word, his mouth open in shock that he had actually been defeated, before he dissolved into tendrils of light and faded into nothing. The Lifestream around him shimmered innocently before it too vanished…

"Cloud!" He blinked and found himself lying in a tunnel, and Tifa was near him, eyes wide with worry.

He offered her a warm smile and let out a breath. "He's gone," he said.

She returned it. "Can you stand?"

Cloud picked himself up, checking that the swords were still on his back. "It seems like it." He leaned against the cave wall as another rumble wracked its way through. "Is Zack okay?"

"He's over here," Aerith called out to him.

Ignoring Kunsel's attempts to stop him, he walked over to where his friend lay, and put the man's good arm over his own shoulders, and pulled him up so he could carry him. "Come on, let's go."

"Are you sure you're all right?" Freya asked. "You just jumped into the Lifestream, not to mention what just happened afterward!"

"I can get him," Kunsel offered.

"No," Cloud said. "I've got this."

"You carried me out the last time," he thought as he gently lifted Zack towards the exit. "Now it's my turn."

"Come on, let's get outta here before those WEAPONs really decide to wake up!" Yuffie said.

Soon the others were in formation, prepared to fight off any monsters as they made their way out, and Aerith and Tifa did not leave Cloud's side the whole way through.

The tremors had stopped a long time ago, though they had apparently frightened all the monsters away to parts unknown. By the time they got to the hole through which they'd rappelled down into the cave system, hardly an hour or so had passed. Zack was still out like a light, so they ended up fashioning a rope harness to lift him out before they were able to press on over the slope of the crater. Miraculously, Aerith had managed to retrieve the blanket she had covered him with before, so they were able to keep him relatively warm through the climb back to where the Highwind was tethered.

Rayleigh was waiting for them when Cloud finally stood below the ladder. He was tired and aching from the exertions of the last few hours, but he did not put Zack down until, under Cid and Freya's direction, the group managed a pulley system to lift him up to the weather deck.

While the others worked to get the lift set up Rayleigh was already looking him over, examining the wound that was starting to heal now that the object which had previously obstructed it from doing so was gone. "Sephiroth really got him," she commented. "Did he say anything about it before he went under?"

"He said at one point he couldn't feel his hand," Freya supplied.

Rayleigh looked worried at that. "I'll need to take a better look once we're aboard. I don't know if I can do anything, since it's already shown some signs that he tried to heal it himself, but we'll see."

At that moment, Tseng appeared, looking his usual composed self, even as the snow continued to fall around them. "We'll be going. We have no orders to apprehend you right now, but the President will want a report." It might have been his imagination, but Cloud could have sworn he saw a hint of fondness glinting in Tseng's eye as he looked at Zack. The Director of the Turks walked towards the helicopter, only sparing a moment to call over his subordinates. "Reno, Rude, Elena. We're leaving."

Reno nodded. "Coming boss!" He looked around at the gathered crowd. "Later yo. Next time, it might be a whole different ball game."

"We'll be ready for it," Kunsel assured him, even as he adjusted one of the ropes. If everyone wasn't exhausted there might have been a few more threatening glances and hotheaded words exchanged, but as it was, they only wanted to get Zack inside and get themselves away from here.

Elena looked over at Freya, who smiled and then went back to work, and cast a worried look at Zack, before the three current Turks walked after Tseng and boarded the helicopter. Soon after, they had vanished into the snowfall leaving only the muffled echoes of whirling propellers in their wake.

Not long after that, Cid tested the pulley system and determined it to be sound, so Cloud carefully loaded Zack onto the stretcher they'd adapted and helped the others secure him before Barret and Kunsel started heaving him up. Once he was aboard, Cloud lifted him up again, and in spite of the others' protests, he carried him inside and headed towards the sick bay. He barely remembered the walk, as his mind still felt hazy and muddled, but before he knew it, his destination lay in front of him.

Upon walking into the cabin, he saw that Rayleigh was already ahead of him, and was waiting next to the examining table. He paused and she had obviously noticed the nervousness in his expression. "I know you're worried Cloud, but it's all right. I'll take good care of him."

Taking a moment to collect himself, Cloud gently lowered his friend onto the table and Rayleigh pulled on a pair of gloves before she sniffed the air and looked over at him. "Did you end up exposed to Mako when you rescued him? He's already showing symptoms of poisoning."

"I… jumped into the Lifestream after him…" Cloud admitted.

The doctor's eyes widened. "Then get out and get yourself cleaned up, now, and then report back immediately. After I'm done with him, you're next. The last thing we need is for you to go comatose again."

Cloud was vaguely aware of Tifa and Kunsel behind him even as he opened his mouth to protest.

The doctor shook her head, her expression stern as she cut him off before he could say a word, "No buts! Now!" Cloud found himself unable to articulate an argument, and so, he left the room. He barely heard Tifa walking behind him to make sure he didn't stumble as he walked to the showers.

Aerith had been waiting outside the sickbay for while along with Freya, Cissnei, and Yuffie when Cloud returned, still somewhat damp, and he and Tifa sat down on the bench next to her. Kunsel followed after them, having gone with the two of them to assist if needed. "Any news?" Cloud mumbled.

Aerith shook her head, looking down at her hands clasped together in her lap. "She hasn't said a thing. How are you doing?"

"I'm all right," Cloud said.

It was a lie. She could see the tired lines on his face and even though he looked a lot better now that he was no longer covered in residue from the Lifestream, she could tell he seemed to be having trouble focusing. It wouldn't do any good to say anything right now though. She understood. After all, she wasn't willing to rest until she'd heard something either.

The Planet seemed to have not actually awakened the WEAPONs after all, though it had definitely been a near miss. They had been lucky. She could feel the Highwind's engine humming through the bulkheads, carrying them south, towards home, but she was uneasy. The Planet didn't think it was over. That much she was certain of. Not to mention, she was really worried about what Zack had said earlier…

The door to the sickbay finally opened again, and Rayleigh walked out, regarding the waiting crowd. "He's resting now, though he probably won't wake up until well after we return."

"Why?" Kunsel asked.

The doctor removed her glasses, and cleaned them with a cloth as she answered "What happened at the Crater took a lot out of him, and getting exposed directly to the Lifestream in large amounts like that didn't help. It probably wasn't as serious as the Mako tanks in Nibelheim, but that's not the worst of it, I'm afraid."

Cloud looked up. "What do you mean?" he asked.

"When he said he couldn't feel his arm for a moment while he was pinned to that wall of Mako crystals…" Rayleigh paused, as though bracing for the torrent of questions she knew was coming. "It was because the nerves in his shoulder were severely damaged when Sephiroth injured him. He made the right decision to heal it when he did, but because the rod was still obstructing the wound, it wasn't able to heal properly..." She sighed and clasped her hands in front of her. "If he hadn't done what he did, he might have lost the ability to use his right hand at all. As it is, he'll probably never be able to wield the Buster Sword again. I honestly don't know what he'll be able to do with it. For that, we'll have to wait until he recovers."

"But that sword means the world to him…" Kunsel said, clearly shocked by the news. "How's he going to take this?"

Yuffie looked on the verge of tears. "How's he… going to fight Shinra if he can't use his sword?" she asked.

Freya put an arm around her to be comforting. "I guess we can worry about that later."

Aerith nodded and stood up, hearing Cloud behind her, though when she glanced in his direction, she saw he'd put out a hand to steady himself on the bulkhead as Tifa had also stood to try and help balance him.

"She's right," Rayleigh agreed. She then turned her attention to Cloud "For now, I want you under observation. I know you're tired, but you are not joining him in unconsciousness on my watch."

Cloud didn't answer her, but instead asked "Can we see him?"

Rayleigh nodded and walked to the door opening it so the others could enter. "I'll probably need a little help getting him to bed anyway."

Aerith walked past her into the sick bay and saw that Zack was resting where she'd seen him last on the examining table. A nasty scar now marked the place on his shoulder where the pole had gone through it, but Rayleigh had pulled a blanket over him so that his now bare chest wasn't exposed. She was glad to see he seemed to be resting peacefully though. She walked over to him, placing a hand on his arm, and leaned in to plant a small kiss on his forehead.

"Don't take as long as Cloud did…" she whispered. "Everyone's waiting for you."

As she stood again, she noticed the very man she was speaking of standing behind her. At first she was worried he'd taken offense but then she saw him smile before he sat down in a chair nearby, mumbling "Especially her."

January 4th [ ν ] – εуλ 0008

Rufus stood in the president's office at the Shinra building, looking out at the sunrise. The Turks had arrived a short time ago and were due in his office any moment now. Tseng had delivered an interim report on the way, and in spite of still being slightly ill, he had assured him that he was still fit to brief him on the current situation. Though Rufus had at least allowed him time to be checked over by one of the company physicians, just in case the doctor with Zack Fair's party had done something devious. He'd learned from the original AVALANCHE that there was no such thing as being too careful, and Tseng was too useful to Rufus for him to be willing to take chances.

He squinted as the light filtered in through the windows of the office where his own father had been killed, and considered the possibilities. Everything that had been happening since his rise to the presidency had been in reaction to some sort of crisis or another, but now, with Sephiroth gone, it was time to begin acting on what he actually wanted to achieve.

He heard a door opening on the level below them and the sound of three pairs of patent leather shoes, and a pair of high-heeled boots. Turning to face the stairs on the right side, he saw Tseng walking towards him with his three subordinates. Good. Though he also noticed a fresh scar along the man's hairline. Apparently it hadn't been healed soon enough to disappear.

"I would like to congratulate everyone on a job well done out there," he began. "Not only were we able to neutralize the threat represented by Sephiroth, but we've had ample opportunity to assess the combat capabilities we will be up against when we locate Zack Fair's hideout."

Out of the four Turks, Elena was the only one who seemed surprised by this. "After everything he did, you still intend to go after him… sir?"

"Is that a problem?" Rufus asked.

"...No sir." Elena assured him.

"If you're certain. I was there during your altercation with the Professor." Rufus smirked.

"It won't happen again sir," Elena replied.

Rufus looked away from them. "I certainly hope not. But that brings us to our other problem. You may not have heard Tseng, since you've been away, but the Professor has escaped. We have no evidence as to who might be responsible aside from a security feed." He reached for the controls to a projector and an image appeared on the wall behind them of Hojo leaving his prison cell accompanied by a man with lines of glowing blue running through his clothes.

"Freaky," Reno commented.

"Our objectives for now are two-fold," Rufus continued, walking around his desk to stand next to Tseng. "First off, we can't allow Zack Fair to become a symbol the world can rally around. Therefore, and his companions must be neutralized. The same goes for any other resistance group that might stand in our way." He gestured to the figure by the professor in the picture. "Second, we must find where this man comes from and where he took the Professor. Hojo may be insane, but through Sephiroth he already almost destroyed the Planet once. He's too dangerous to be allowed to run free."

"We'll look into these matters immediately," Tseng said.

"Excellent. I have had a full briefing on the Professor's disappearance sent to your office. I will expect a full assessment of the situation as soon as possible. You are dismissed."

With that, he turned his attention back to watching the sunrise. He had much work still yet to be done, though he couldn't help but smile. One day, historians would look back on his rise to power as the dawning of a new age.

The Highwind arrived at the lodge late in the afternoon, and the sun was still streaming beams of light through the forest even as it was lowering in the sky. Cid brought the ship in low so that they wouldn't have far to lower Zack since he still hadn't woken up. As they got the lift set up, Marlene and Jessie came into the clearing, along with Mao and Tanjuu. Zack's parents had naturally been very worried, but nobody really said much. Cloud and Kunsel simply picked up the stretcher and carried him upstairs.

Miraculously, Cloud had managed to avoid going unconscious again, but there had been a moment or two where they'd been worried, as he'd definitely been woozy and Rayleigh had at one point been concerned enough to have a syringe of adrenaline prepped just in case he succumbed before they were sure he was out of danger. Cissnei walked into the living area after the others to see Mao waiting for her and offered him a small smile.

"I'm glad to see you made it," Mao said. "So Sephiroth is gone?"

"We think so," Cissnei said. "For all our sakes, I hope we're right."

Mao looked around at the others, Vincent was leaning against the wall, though Cissnei was almost certain he'd figured out some way to sleep standing up. Barret was with Jessie and Marlene, while Cid was waiting on Shera to brew some tea in the kitchen and Nanaki was curled up in the corner, though his good eye was open.

After a moment, she walked along the hall and up the stairs, finally coming to a stop at the room where the guys slept. Aerith was seated in a chair next to Zack's bed while Cloud was standing near his own bed. Kunsel had gone back out to the ship with Rayleigh to get her supplies. Tifa and Freya had left the room already to see about helping Alice and Elmyra with dinner. "How's he doing?" She asked.

"He stirred a little when we got him up here," Aerith said. "His mother was really something. She was in here until just a little while ago, and we couldn't get her to stop fussing over him."

Cissnei looked over at Zack. Now that Rayleigh had finished with her Cure materia, he definitely looked a lot better than he had, but more than anything, she was glad of how peaceful he looked. That was when she noticed Aerith's eyes on her. "To be honest, I'm just glad he's back, and that he's safe."

Cissnei nodded. "Me too."

Not much to report this time around. The party is being held in Junon while Tifa sleeps off what happened at the Northern Crater and Cloud is... somewhere in the Lifestream? Hopefully being rescued in Mideel by now or in the very near future? Wherever he is, he's definitely still very much in the throes of one hell of a Heroic Blue Screen of Death.

Not much else to report. See you next time!