The Future Imperfect
AN – Happy New Year! And as a present to start 2022 with, a new chapter . This one has been quite awkward and taken a lot of re-writing, so I hope that it ends up reading well. Enjoy!
Chapter Four
Following Tifa through the sewers underneath the sector six slums would have been an odd experience in any circumstance. The fact that there were three First Class SOLDIERs, legendary ones at that, following them bordered on surreal. Particularly given that Cloud was fairly sure they were all supposedly dead… Cloud was keeping half an eye on Sephiroth with every step he took, but as yet the other man had done nothing out of the ordinary. He was simply following them both much as Cloud was following Tifa, in a calm and quiet manner. Angeal too was just stoically bringing up the rear of the group, next to Aerith. It was the third member of the party that was causing Cloud the biggest headache at the present time, and that was saying something when one of the three was Sephiroth himself. But Genesis just didn't stop talking.
'My friend, do you fly away now? To a world that abhors you and I? For I do so abhor this."
Cloud was then treated to the rare sight of Sephiroth actually rolling his eyes at the other SOLDIER. "Loveless, Act three. Modified to allow you to complain endlessly and yet maintain the illusion that it is poetry."
"You are getting better at that." Genesis sounded delighted, obviously ignoring the subtle dig. "There will be a poet in you yet." Sephiroth let out a quiet sigh before refocusing on the way ahead. Cloud took advantage of the distraction to join Tifa. As he drew alongside her, he caught her sending a quick glare Sephiroth's way.
"Are you sure about this?" She muttered.
"No." Cloud admitted honestly. "But I trust Aerith. And… you saw him earlier. I genuinely think he doesn't know. He hasn't done it, not yet anyway."
"But he will." Tifa argued. "He isn't innocent."
Aerith's hurried words came back to Cloud. "They are from the past…they do not know what has happened in the last seven years… please try not to judge them for things they have not yet done."
At the same time, the anger and the rage he felt simmered just below the surface. "What about my sadness? My family… friends…". It was coupled with the pain, so fresh it could have been days instead of years since Nibelheim burned. It was all spinning around in his head and he didn't have the time to try to sift through it to make sense of it now.
Cloud realised Tifa was waiting for a response. "I know that but… it feels wrong to condemn him before he's committed the crime." Some part of him felt like that was the honourable thing to say.
Tifa huffed. "I understand. I don't like it, but I understand." She glanced at Cloud and nodded when he met her eyes.
Cloud half smiled at Tifa, then looked back at the rest of the party. The tension was now palpable. Sephiroth was rigid, Angeal looked even more worried than he had before and Genesis had stopped complaining and was instead listening closely. Too late, Cloud realised that with their enhanced senses they would have been able to hear everything Tifa and he had said.
"So, what poetry do you keep quoting?" Aerith asked cheerily, trying to cut through the atmosphere. Genesis didn't answer, choosing instead to glare at Cloud and Tifa. Angeal, obviously realising what Aerith was trying to do, answered loudly on his behalf.
"It's Loveless. Genesis has studied it extensively."
"Oh, like the play? I often sell flowers on Loveless street, in sector eight."
"What happened in Nibelheim?" Sephiroth's smooth voice cut through the discussion, silencing both Aerith and Angeal. His tone was cold and his gaze focussed on Cloud, only flicking sideways once to Tifa.
Cloud stayed silent. He didn't want to think about Nibelheim. The unnatural heat in the cold mountain village as flames licked up the side of the houses, the smell of burning and ash, the dry texture and the smoke that made it hard to breath, the sound of screams as the villagers burned where they were cut down.
The sight of a tall, dark figure standing amongst the devastation. The long sword reflecting the orange glow, silver hair floating on the winds created by the fire, the expression of madness as the figure turned his back on Cloud and strode into the flames.
The spinning thoughts hit him again, coupled with the static he was becoming used to.
'Sephiroth…Nibelheim…Zack…Fire…Pain…Mother…Zack…Burning…Zack…Tifa…Zack…Zack'
"I'm not sure we should tell you." Tifa hedged, breaking Cloud out of his spiralling thoughts. "If you heard us then… well, whatever happened, it hasn't happened yet. Not to you anyway. I think we should keep it that way. And we don't really have time for this."
"Right!" Aerith skipped forwards. "We need to get to sector seven. Any ideas?"
Sephiroth looked like he was going to argue, but Angeal put a cautionary hand on his arm. "We can find out later." He murmured at a such a low pitch that Tifa and Aerith wouldn't be able to hear. Only Cloud with his mako enhancements and the other SOLDIERs caught it.
Except, Cloud was an ex-SOLDIER, wasn't he? Why was he holding himself separate from them? Wasn't he the same? Static filled his mind again and he could see the SOLDIER he was… but the image was wrong. Cloud shook his head. They needed to keep moving.
"Wait…" Tifa looked around at the more open waterway they were now standing in. "All the sewers are connected… I think we just need to find a way across this channel and we'll be underneath sector seven." It was obviously a main intersection; the waterway was easily three times as wide as any of the others they had seen and probably much deeper.
"Alright then." Aerith nodded, gaining a small smile from Tifa in response. "Let's go find a way across."
"Right." Cloud nodded and brushed past them to take the lead as he started to climb down a ladder to a lower level.
Angeal looked across at Sephiroth as the girls started moving again to follow Cloud. He could tell that his friend wasn't happy with the lack of answers but had decided to play along for now. Though it did cross Angeal's mind that Sephiroth could be very single-minded when he wanted to be. He would likely soon run out of patience and try to find his answers any way he could. Genesis just hummed thoughtfully as he considered everything that had been said.
They were moving down the side of the waterway to find a way across when a pair of sahagin jumped out of the water in front of them. Another pair cut off any retreat at the back.
"Finally!" Tifa sighed in relief, fiddling with her materia in a way that suddenly lit up her gloves with flickering flames. "I need something to hit!"
Angeal heard an intake of breath next to him and with a frown turned to Genesis, who was watching with an open mouth while the brunette launched herself at the monsters in a flurry of fists and feet.
"Genesis! Focus!" Angeal snapped, as he swung at one of the monsters that came up behind them. He expected Genesis to immediately back him up as usual but instead heard a croak. He turned back to Genesis – or where Genesis had been. A large frog was hopping in a puddle of the strange glowing liquid he had seen a sahagin use before. He thanked Aerith again mentally for stopping him walking into it earlier. He dove out of the way of a trident and refocused on the fight, resolving to deal with Genesis-as-a-frog after he didn't have to worry about being turned into a kebab.
Fire flew past him again form Aerith's staff to take down the second monster while Angeal finished off the first. He could see in his periphery that Tifa and Cloud had taken down the others, but he was more interested in the frog-Genesis, who was leaping around and croaking indignantly.
"Fascinating." Sephiroth murmured. He hadn't even drawn his sword during the skirmish, simply kept to the side and watched the others fight.
"Oh dear…" Tifa approached the frog and carefully scooped it up, holding it cupped in her hands. Interestingly, Genesis calmed once he was no longer on the floor and just sat croaking mournfully. "Well, this is something I haven't seen before."
"He'll need a maiden's kiss," Angeal advised, having heard a lot about toad status effects from his student Zack, who was a native of Gongaga. Gongaga was a small town on the Western continent that sat in the middle of a jungle and didn't have any features worth noting except for the frog-like creatures that had a tendency to turn their victims likewise into toads.
"He what?" Tifa asked, face screwed up as she glared down at the frog in her hands.
"Not an actual kiss!" Aerith informed her as she rummaged in a bag. "It's a medicine, I think we picked up some of that in Wall Market. I wondered what it was for but thought it might be a good idea to stock up anyway." She pulled out a small vial containing a glistening liquid. "Aha! Here we go!"
Tifa carefully put Genesis back on the floor in a clear space and Aerith poured the medicine into his mouth. There was a puff of purple smoke which cleared to reveal a very cranky redhead sat on his backside.
"Don't say anything." He hissed as he accepted Tifa's hand to pull himself up. Angeal looked away to avoid laughing and saw Sephiroth suppressing a smirk. "Pride is lost, wings stripped away, the end is nigh."
As Angeal turned he ended up facing Cloud, who was watching Sephiroth intently. A faint expression of confusion flitted over the blond's face before he noticed Angeal and schooled it back into a blank gaze.
"Well, at least we know what that weird glowing puddle does now." Aerith shuddered. "I think we want to avoid stepping in those."
"I'm surprised you didn't avoid it this time." Cloud spoke up. "Aren't you meant to be a First Class?"
"Well excuse me if I was a bit distracted." Genesis huffed, staring straight at Tifa who watched him back warily. "May I?"
Confused, Tifa could only watch as Genesis reached for one of her hands and turned it over to study the materia contained within. "An elemental materia! I knew it! Where did you find that?"
"Um…" Tifa's eyes flickered over to Cloud. "Just underneath the sector four plate, by the sunlamps."
"Just… what? What were you doing there?" Genesis shook his head. "Actually, never mind that. I want to know how you've managed to get a materia that I have searched for years to find without success. Apparently just lying around below the sector four plate."
"Genesis, you already have a flaming sword." Angeal sighed, rubbing the crease between his eyes.
"That's not the-"
"We need to keep moving." Cloud interrupted the beginning of Genesis's rant, already striding away. Tifa hurried to catch up, whispering something to him that Angeal didn't catch. Genesis huffed irritably next to Angeal, who thought that actually the blond probably had the measure of his long-time friend.
They made good progress after that. Cloud and Tifa were quick to engage any monsters they came across with Aerith providing back-up. The SOLDIERs found they didn't have to do much at all, which gave them plenty of time to watch the others as they continued through the sewers. Angeal couldn't help but wonder if that was partly intentional, as both Cloud and Tifa weren't shy with their suspicious glances towards them all but Sephiroth in particular.
"He fights like you do." Sephiroth commented eventually, watching Cloud wielding the Buster Sword he carried with ease. "Which is impressive, given his much slighter figure. I would have thought a style such as that used by Genesis might suit him better." Angeal merely grunted, having noticed the same himself but not liking the implications.
"Do you think you trained him?" Genesis asked, picking up the conversation. "Because Sephiroth is right, there is a lot of you in his fighting style. Something else too, but I couldn't pin down what that is."
"I… doubt it." Angeal hedged, not wanting to keep this discussion going. There was one thing that he hadn't told the others yet from his discussion with Aerith and he was hoping not to anytime soon. Namely, the fact that in about eight months' time in his future he apparently died. Angeal looked at Cloud and assessed his age as anywhere between about seventeen and maybe twenty at a push. That meant that six years ago he was eleven to fourteen, too young to be being trained by Angeal.
"But look, isn't that one of the moves you invented?" Genesis pointed out. Angeal winced as he saw Cloud perfectly execute a braver slash, something he had indeed invented when he first got his SOLDIER strength and could manoeuvre the larger blades.
"What are you not telling us?" Sephiroth cut in, sharp eyes fixed on Angeal. Angeal sighed, his friend really was sometimes too intelligent for his own good.
"I have a suspicion about who trained Cloud." Angeal said finally. "But it isn't me. He didn't recognise me earlier, remember?"
Genesis frowned. "He did have some strange seizure after you introduced yourself…"
"Who do you think trained him, then?" Sephiroth asked, straight to the point as ever.
"I think Zack did."
"Your puppy?" Genesis said, surprise on his face turning into thoughtfulness as he continued to watch Cloud fighting. "Yes… that could explain it."
"I only called him a puppy once, and only on a call to my mother." Angeal sighed. "Just because you were listening in on a private conversation doesn't mean that you should keep calling him that."
"If the shoe fits." Genesis said airily as he waved a hand. "So, Cloud was trained by the puppy. Does that make him the puppy's puppy? Your grand-puppy?" He continued walking after the others, still spouting out suggestions.
"Genesis, you are being ridiculous." Sephiroth sighed. Angeal raised an eyebrow as if to say 'well, what else did you expect from Genesis?' Sephiroth huffed out one of the quiet laughs he only ever gave around his closest friends and strode forwards to be alongside Genesis.
Angeal shook his head fondly at them. He was just relieved that no one had asked where Zack was now. Or, indeed, why Cloud was using his Buster Sword at all. It was something he really wanted to know, but at the same time was dreading. Hearing about his own death was one thing. Potentially hearing about Zack's… was something he wasn't prepared for yet.
-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-
Cloud dispatched the nearest sahagin, slinging his sword back onto its harness when he realised that was the last of them. He flicked a look back over his shoulder to see Sephiroth still walking calmly along with Angeal at the back. Masamune was still holstered, though that didn't make it look much less threatening.
One of the reasons Cloud had been so eager to rush forwards and engage the monsters they'd come across was that he really didn't want to see that blade in action. Not again.
He thought back on what he knew of Sephiroth – the war hero he had idealised, the aloof SOLDIER he'd met, the crazed murderer he had killed. This Sephiroth… was none of them, and that couldn't be more confusing to Cloud. This was an eye-rolling, smirking, laughing Sephiroth who looked more real than any poster boy, lighter and younger than the aloof SOLDIER and on the saner end of the spectrum. At least for now.
Cloud shook his head again. The reality was, he had probably never known the true Sephiroth. A tiny, traitorous part of his mind whispered softly that perhaps this was his chance to.
"We must be nearly at sector seven," Tifa said next to him, stretching her arms over her head and twisting from side to side. Cloud spotted a ladder leading to a hatch further down the walkway.
"Over there." He nodded towards it. "I'll go on ahead." He quickly reached the ladder and was about to test the rungs when he heard Tifa shout behind him.
"Cloud!"
Turning, he grabbed his sword as he saw multiple sahagin leap out the water. He pushed Aerith and Tifa behind him, the SOLDIERs taking up stances ahead of him.
"Looks like they're hungry for more." Tifa ground out, her fists up and ready.
"Where are they all coming from?" Angeal wondered, his Buster Sword raised in a stance similar to Cloud's. "I don't remember the monsters ever being this prolific."
"Aerith, go." Cloud indicated at the ladder out of the sewers as Sephiroth knocked the first wave back with one sweep of his sword. With a nod the girl turned and began climbing. Another sahagin leapt out of the water near her, but Tifa quickly beat it back before following Aerith out.
Cloud took out another monster, hitting it back with the flat of the blade and causing it to fly over the SOLDIERs. Angeal deftly swung his own sword and took down another, sending a quick smile over his shoulder to Cloud as he did so. The static built up in Cloud's mind again and his hand raised to his forehead to press against the pain he felt.
"You're a little more important than my sword. But just a little."
"Cloud?" Angeal was close to him now, looking at him with concern. One hand was on Cloud's shoulder, the other was still holding his sword. Behind Angeal, Genesis and Sephiroth were keeping the path clear but the sahagin were building up on the far side. Cloud shook his head, dispelling the static as best he could.
"Sorry, I'm fine. Go." He jerked towards the hatch. Angeal frowned before sighing.
"Ok, but follow me?"
Cloud nodded it once, sharply. Once Angeal had disappeared out of the sewer, Cloud climbed quickly. As he reached the top he heard someone else start up behind him and soon Genesis joined them. Sephiroth didn't even bother with the ladder, he simply jumped up through the opening and landed cat-like next to it. Cloud and Angeal immediately slammed the hatch down on the sahagin before any could follow them out.
"Phew." Aerith looked down at the hatch. "I really didn't want to be fish food."
"Look, the pillar!" Tifa pointed out into the distance. "We're not too late!"
AN – Next up – Ghouls, ghosts and just a little bit of truth all mixed in.