Another chapter of amusing myself with my dear muses. As usual, I don't imagine anyone but me will be very interested in this, but since I'm writing it, I may as well keep posting it.

A VERY CHOIR REMAKE
Chapter 3

Cloud Strife was a striking visual of bright colors, from his porcelain skin, to his array of golden spikes, to his large sky-blue eyes. The only things about him that suggested a shadow were the black clothes he usually wore (similar to a SOLDIER uniform) and his ability to move soundlessly, whether on a jungle trail or a building hallway, sneaking past an enemy or bouncing just a little bit tiredly. Right now he was in the latter location, doing the latter movement, heading home, which was he and Sephiroth's apartment, on one of the top floors of the tallest structure in the ShinRa Compound.

As he often did when his duties as Sephiroth's personal assistant were done for the day, the 16-year-old had gone to visit some of his furry friends, and the humans that were a package deal with them. Ardwynna had let him play with the dogs (and patiently cured his hiccups before Sephiroth could find out and over-protectively panic), Lenine had welcomed him and let him brush Reuben, as well as feed the horse applesauce, one of Cloud's favorite things to do. Commander Hanson warmly ushered him inside when Cloud turned up with a carrot for Jeffrey the black rabbit.

The boy had made his longest stop to see his human friend Phi, head of the ShinRa chocobo stables. She was always thrilled to see Cloud, as she was as fond of him as everyone else, and on top of that, the much-stronger-than-he-looks boy could shovel the manure out of the stalls faster than her entire staff put together, and the chocobos practically sang with happiness when their favorite human hand-fed them their greens and helped groom their feathers. Often, Cloud's chickabo Patrick and kitten Silverstream would accompany him on these rounds, in no danger of hurting or being hurt because Cloud seemed to be able to not only understand animals, but also to communicate back to them.

On this day, however, Cloud was alone, a bit dirty from romping outdoors, looking forward to a hot shower, pajamas, and cuddling his Seph when the latter's meeting was over. (Some Cloud was excused from, some he was strictly not allowed to come to.) It was not that late, but this building and these floors especially were access-restricted and less populated than most others, so no one was presently out and about. Cloud thought so, at least, until he turned a corner and came face to face with…a cat.

A very strange cat. Not only was it standing on its hind legs, a posture that seemed natural to it, but it was wearing a red cape and a tiny golden crown. It smiled at him so widely that its eyes nearly closed, and Cloud, an excellent judge of both human and animal character, was delighted. He plopped into a seat on the marble floor and leaned forward with wide, innocent eyes.

"Hi, kitty. I'm Cloud."

"For sure, ye are!" the bipedal feline said merrily, in an accent Cloud couldn't quite place. "Cait Sith is my name. Ye be a boy of stout heart and strong nerves to go walking about after sundown."

"That's a cool name. And don't worry, it's safe here even at night. There's SOLDIERs, and army guys, and cameras everywhere!"

Cait Sith put a finger to his lips, and winked. "Between ye, I, and the chandeliers, boyo, yer correct only two out of three."

Cloud tilted his head cutely. "Huh?"

Cait Sith bowed. "Faith, I hope ye will forgive a bit of mischief. The cameras meant to be recording thee and I this moment had to be…diverted for just a wee bit of time. Ye see, Cloud, I was hoping to meet you, and this meeting must be a grand secret."

"Secret?" The boy looked worried, a sight that generally broke the heart of any organic creature observing it. "But I tell my Seph everything."

"Hmm, indeed, Sephiroth. A foine man he is."

Cloud guessed that was a compliment, and nodded enthusiastically.

"A bargain I'll strike with thee. Ye may tell the honored general of our rendezvous, if he in turn will tell no one of it. How does that sound, me boy?"

"Okay," Cloud agreed, fully back to his cheerful self. "But how come you wanted to meet me? And how come it has to be secret? And where did you come from? I've never seen you before."

The cat-creature laughed, a sound that was oddly familiar. "By the gods below and above, such an inquisitive boy. I pray you never find the planet too small for your liking, laddie. Where do I come from? Ah, a tricky question."

"Are you one of Ammy-chan's faeries? She said I might see one someday."

Cait Sith didn't miss the reference to his own name in that question, but let it go, as they didn't have unlimited time here. Security officers could be bribed to manipulate video feeds only for so long.

"Not quite, laddie. I'm a servant of a dedicated employee, and my task is to keep an eye on ShinRa, to see if anyone needs help, and to make sure this company hasn't, let's say, more skeletons than it has closets."

Some of that flew over Cloud's head, but… "That's nice of you, to help people. I like helping, too."

"'Course you do, lad, that's plain to see. But see, there are some 'round these parts not burdened by a conscience such as ye and I are, people that might hurt others with their scheming. Such beasties would call for the end of me if I was ever caught, and then all the good I might do would, pffft, be gone, like smoke in the wind."

"I won't tell anyone but Seph about you," Cloud whispered reverently, scooting closer to the animatronic creature. "Is there another way I can help you?"

Within arm's reach now, Cait Sith patted the boy's hair with another broad smile. "Now ye mention it, boyo, indeed there is."

scscscsc

Lazard blinked at the request, but no change of neutral expression occurred on the placid man's face. He was a good-natured man, easy to work with, even for employees who were not known to be particularly easy themselves.

"I'd be glad to look something up for you, General. Please have a seat."

Sephiroth glanced at the offered chair for a beat, then took it with a hint of reluctance. He looked troubled, the executive director thought, just a touch off from his usual almost-blankness.

"I would like you to look for a name among current and prospective SOLDIERs."

"Certainly. The name?"

"Roche." Sephiroth spelled it.

Lazard tapped the keyboard, adjusted his glasses, and scanned the screen for a few moments. "Ah, yes. A new 3rd Class. Strange, there's no given name listed. Just 'Roche.' Is something wrong, General?"

Sephiroth's perturbed-ness had shifted into full displeasure. It wasn't quite anger, and it was nothing like the ire and fury the legend turned on his enemies, not even the muted version of that that his 1sts encountered when sparring. It was a grumpy scowl, rather petulant, in fact, and Lazard had to fight not to smile at the sight – Sephiroth looked so young like that. He was very young; it was just unusual to see him look like a child confronted with bedtime.

"When was he recruited?"

"About three years ago. His advancement seems to have been typical, except having to repeat half of his second cadet year."

"The reason for that?"

Lazard tapped the keyboard again. "Misuse of company property, it says. Apparently, the young man and two other cadets 'borrowed,' in their words, a few ShinRa motorcycles for a joyride around Midgar. Lieutenant Roche showed remorse, tried to take responsibility for all three of them, in fact, accepted consequences, and has apparently been exemplary in his conduct ever since."

"You must have interviewed him prior to graduation. Did he say anything odd?"

"Now that you mention it, he did talk almost entirely about motorcycles, and kept repeating 'Open up the throttle' when the line of questioning didn't call for it."

"Married or serious relationship?"

"No, apparently he's still searching for 'a worthy partner for this great tango we call life.'"

Sephiroth's eyes twitched; for a moment Lazard could've sworn the pupils had looked like a cat's.

"Is something wrong, General? Has the lieutenant done something?"

"Not yet," Sephiroth said, almost too quietly to be heard. "No other misconduct?"

"No. Has the young man caused some sort of offense?" Lazard asked carefully, knowing that the Silver SOLDIER had a few times gotten rid of members who wouldn't stop hitting on him.

"No," Sephiroth said with a sigh. "It is more that I expect he might."

"Well, General, it's within your power to expel any SOLDIER, as you know."

"I…don't think that is necessary. Yet." Sephiroth stood. "I would, however, request Turk surveillance for the time being."

Lazard's eyebrows rose before he could stop them. SOLDIERs traditionally were distrustful of Turks, and it was unlike Sephiroth to use them to spy on his own men. Sephiroth caught the director's surprise, and felt compelled to answer it.

"It is…difficult to explain. All I can say is that I have knowledge this Roche might be bothersome to Cloud."

Ah, that's it, Lazard realized, schooling his features into nothing but calm.

"Therefore, I'd like to take action before anything does happen, at least until I can meet and view this SOLDIER myself."

"Of course, General, I'll put the request in at once."

"Thank you."

Sephiroth left the office with no more than a brief nod, and as Lazard brought up his email and tapped a message to Tseng, he smiled; like most at ShinRa, he was grateful for the relationship between Sephiroth and Cloud and how much more personable it had made the former.

Family is powerful. The ones Fate gives us, and the ones we find.

rrrrrrrr

"Family sucks," Rufus Shinra sighed into Reno's bared collarbone.

The Turk blinked, but with little surprise; very little surprised someone as jaded and worldly as Reno. "You know you lose your boarding-school manners when you drink?"

"I'm not drunk."

"Didn't say you were, yo."

Rufus, however, did cling to the body he was stretched on top of a little tighter than usual, and was showing much more emotion than anyone had ever seen from him in public. Both men were nude, resting up from a long sex session, and intimacy tended to make both of them pensive, the unfeeling ShinRa heir and the never-let-his-guard-down Turk both.

Reno ran his hand through the other's blond fringe. "Talk."

"I just hate my father. Nothing new."

"Hate is always new. It regrows itself."

"You're very eloquent when I'm…not drunk." Rufus lifted himself up to hover over and look down at Reno. "I'm not. Am I? I only had one shot."

"Difficult to tell. Your alcohol is much higher-quality than anyone else's. Talk."

"It's just…I have all these ideas about what to do with ShinRa. I know I could do a better job than the old man. Most of all…"

Rufus ran his fingertips down Reno's cheek. The Turk knew that pensive, torn expression.

"Me?"

"You. When I'm president, he won't be around to disapprove, and I'll finally feel it's safe enough for people to know what you are to me. It's just…not coming fast enough."

Reno's mouth twisted suspiciously, and jade green eyes narrowed. "Hey, you're not plannin' on ordering me to a desk job when you take over, right?"

"No," Rufus said, and it was half-true, he no longer did. "But you'll be my personal guard, with me every moment, so I can protect you, too. I'm grateful now Tseng insisted I learn to fight."

"I don't need protectin', I'm a – "

"Mine," Rufus said softly. "You're mine, right?"

"Of course I am," Reno said back, just as quietly. "But don't worry for nothin'. You know how tough I am."

"I'll always worry. It regrows itself."

Rufus captured his mouth in a long, slow kiss. Before Reno felt ready, it stopped, and his body was turned so that his back was to his lover. He made a questioning noise, as this was not a usual position for them, but was immediately comforted by the vice president's long form pressed tightly behind and to him. As a hand moved up and down his warm skin, Reno's own arm curled back behind Rufus's head. Rufus nudged his ankle between Reno's feet, parting his legs a bit.

"Touch yourself," the ShinRa heir said softly, though not in a whisper. "Hold off as long as you can."

Obligingly, Reno took himself in hand, half-hard and trying to stay that way, and kneaded the stiff flesh. After only a few strokes, Rufus's hand covered his and began to direct the movement. Full hardness at once, and Reno had to concentrate hard not to release. Now and then Rufus let go in order to caress up and down the younger man's body in order to make him shiver and stretch as a reflex, though Rufus's gaze was almost unbreakingly directed toward the wall they were both facing. It was almost as though he were showing Reno's admittedly-stunning body off to someone not there.

"Fuck, I'm close."

"As long as you can."

"Fuck me, now!"

Rufus smiled, Rufus who would've punished an order from any other human being. He was already erect, needed only to slick himself, and instead of working Reno open with fingers as he would normally do, he began to push inside right away, going as slowly as he could to minimize the pain. Reno, for his part, relaxed as much as he could, but still had to murmur "Hurry up," as he'd take a bit of discomfort as long as he had Rufus in him when he came.

"Okay, baby. Come."

Reno let go as soon as that third word was spoken, more out of need than any respect for orders. Rufus thrust hard into him, allowing him to spill before Reno was done, and longer; he was still spurting into the flushed body when Reno went mostly still and began to recover. After giving them both a few moments to catch breath, Reno turned his head, and was tiredly puzzled at what he saw.

Rufus was still staring, gray eyes like lasers above a confident smirk, at the far wall. As though he had reason to think that from there, someone was watching.

zackzackzack

Sephiroth said a series of words he'd very rarely had occasion to before. "I don't understand."

"I told you," Cloud said gleefully, kneeling and bouncing on the large bed. "I met a kitty who walks on two legs and can talk like us! He likes helping people too!"

Sephiroth's silver eyes narrowed. He was admittedly extremely protective of his young lover, despite the latter's proven ability to thrash anyone if he needed to, and the general was painfully aware that Cloud's importance to him put the boy high on anyone's should-kidnap list. If ever confronted with the necessity to do something to assure Cloud's return, Sephiroth knew he would do it, no matter what it was, no matter how much it would hurt or haunt him later. And this supposed talking cat sounded very like someone's method of luring Cloud off Gaia knows where.

Cloud, no longer bouncing but just shifting restlessly, regarded his soul mate patiently, puzzled but not much perturbed, and certainly not scared of Sephiroth's dark expression. Anyone else on the planet would be, but Cloud had absolute faith that Sephiroth would never hurt him. He never even got angry at him.

"What's wrong, Seph? The kitty likes you. At least, I think that's what he said."

Sephiroth, moving with inhuman rapidity, took a seat beside Cloud, who turned to face him. "Cloudy, until we know who is behind this cat-thing, if you encounter it again, you are to call me at once, or press the button on your phone that signals me and transmits your coordinates. Promise me."

Confused though he was, Cloud would never deny Sephiroth anything he had the power to give him. "I promise. Why do you look so worried? It's just a kitty."

"Normal cats do not stand on two legs or speak Continental."

"Or wear capes and crowns," Cloud admitted.

"And it concerns me that this creature has access of some kind to the security systems. I know it seemed friendly, baby, but remember, not everyone is what they pretend to be. And if anything ever happened to you…"

Sephiroth looked terribly sad. Cloud quickly grabbed the silver head and pulled it to his chest, hugging the man tightly and nuzzling his hair.

"I won't let anything happen to me, I'll be with you always, I promise. I promise I'll do what you said."

"Thank you," Sephiroth said, voice muffled in Cloud's shirt.

He waited until the boy's grip loosened, then sat back to smile at him. Predictably, the expression was returned, innocent and beaming as ever.

"The kitty said not to tell anyone but you about him, though. I promised him."

Sephiroth ran his cool hand down Cloud's warm cheek. "There's no need to alert anyone yet, I don't think. I'd like more information first, at least. You will not have to break your promise. And perhaps we'll discover the creature is well-meaning."

Cloud grinned, and Sephiroth, unpracticed with emotion, did not register the hint of guilt behind it. Cloud had made a promise to the kitty to perform a simple task, which he had not revealed to Sephiroth, because he trusted the cat, and wanted to help it, and knew that if Sephiroth knew he would not let him perform even this harmless action. Unused to hiding anything from his lover, Cloud felt a swirl of unpleasantness in his stomach. He climbed onto Sephiroth's lap, buried his face in the moonlight hair, and took comfort in the floral smell of it.

scscscsc

Reno sat back in the uncomfortable cafeteria chair, so far that anyone else – with less balance – would've toppled over, and regarded Zack quizzically.

"Okaaaay. Are you trying to tell me you've joined some weird mystery cult? Blink twice if you're being tailed. By anyone except us, I mean."

"Please don't equate the Crazy Lady with religion," the SOLDIER answered, looking pained. "It's weird enough that she does that with us. I told you about her creepy shrine, right?"

Reno said nothing for a moment, considering what to say rather more than the devil-may-care young man usually did. Aside from the Turks' standing orders to tread carefully around Fair, to keep peace with SOLDIER and Angeal, Reno genuinely liked Zack, considered him a friend. The redhead was really trying to understand.

"Okay, so, this Crazy Lady of yours, she lives in, like, a different world?"

"Yeah. Or maybe just a different reality, but her planet is different, too."

"And she knows about all of us, all of this," Reno gestured vaguely at the mostly-empty cafeteria, "from a video game?"

"Yes. Well, several. And a movie."

"Okay…and she thinks you, Hewley, Rhapsodos, Sephiroth, and Cloud are her muses."

"Yeah."

"And…why?"

"I don't know. Thinking about why I exist makes my head hurt. I'm a SOLDIER, not a philosopher."

"And you dislike this lady because…?"

The boy pouted. "Because of what she writes about me. She makes me act all weak, like a girl, and keeps putting me in sex scenes with Genesis, and writes about me getting molested by pervy randos."

"Uh, and that last one is incorrect how?" Reno held up his hands in surrender at the mega-pout that prompted. "Sorry, sorry, I know, you don't like to talk about that. But why do you care what some girl in another dimension writes about you?"

"Because!" Zack knew he sounded childish, but kept speaking anyway. "Because all this," he made a gesture similar to Reno's of a few moments earlier, "is under her control! She's taken the canon badasses we were and changed us! Look how short I am!"

Reno lowered his voice to a tone meant to encourage calm. "Zack, you've always been one of the shorter SOLDIERs."

"I'm not supposed to be! I'm supposed to be six-one! It's in the strategy guide!"

"The what?"

"And she keeps us at our current ages! She won't let me turn 18, which means I can't marry Angeal, and if she ever changes her mind, she'll probably spring mpreg on me and liwata berries are really gross with eggs, Reno!"

"Whoa. Dude." Reno clapped his hands on Zack's shoulders, fearing he'd fly out of his seat and damage something. "Relax. No idea what you're talking about with the berry thing, but…so, you're saying that our world, our lives, are in this lady's control?"

Zack, seeming to distrust his ability to not shout, merely nodded.

"Uh, have you told your shrink about this?"

"I've tried, but it even confuses me. How can I make anyone else understand?"

"Then why are you telling me?"

The boy looked at him with…sympathy?

"Because…it might not be any use, but I wanted to advise you to kinda, like, lay low a while. Maybe make yourself less attractive."

"Why?"

"I peeked at her story notes, and apparently she's plotting one involving you."

"Zack, even if that's…somehow true, and a thing that would affect me, don't you think I can handle myself, yo?" Reno capped that with a lazy smirk.

"Well, you're my friend and I don't wanna subject you to her."

"Zack! You're looking out for lil ole me!" Reno reached out to condescendingly pat him.

"Reno, that is where I keep my dick."

The redhead lunged back as though he'd been burned. "Sorry! Just as well, I hardly need Commander Protective up my ass, and I assume he's lurking somewhere nearby."

"Nope. He's just got a 1st watching me as usual." Zack turned to look at the wall between them and the adjacent hallway. "Hi, Commander Halloran."

"Hey, kid. Oh, shit…" a gruff voice groaned from the next room.

Reno cracked up at this exchange, and even Zack briefly smiled, before his expression became troubled again.

"Seriously. I didn't see much, but like, all she does is angsty stuff."

"Has she written about me before?" Now Reno sounded genuinely intrigued.

"Yeah, you and Rufus have been fucking in the background of, like, all her multi-chapters."

"She writes about me being with Rufus?" The Turk's jade eyes twinkled.

"Yeah, usually. Except that one time with Seph instead."

"Sephiroth!" Disturbingly, Reno briefly sounded like an excited girl. "I got to fuck Sephiroth?! That's fucking awesome."

"Seph didn't think so. He almost started seeing my therapist."

"Wait a fuckin' sec…" Reno leaned forward, eyes narrowing now, looking nearly as dangerous as he truly was. "Can't believe I've never thought of this…how did you and your weird gay SOLDIER family know about me and Rufus in the first place?"

"Her! I told you! We're like chess pieces to her. You and the VP are together because she wants you to be, because she's obsessed with unequal relationships."

Reno frowned, but looked less menacing now, though clearly disturbed and suspicious. "Rufus and me are together because we wanna be."

"I'm sorry…I didn't mean…"

Sighing, Reno reached out to ruffle the younger boy's spiky hair. "Don't do the kicked-puppy impersonation on me, Fair. It's fucking heartbreaking. I ain't mad. Just…okay…according to this Crazy Lady, how many people know about me and Rufus?"

"Just us five, I think. Angeal swore us all to secrecy."

"Good old Hewley. So, like, this Crazy Lady is writing us, making us do everything we do?"

"Her versions of us, yes. We're different in canon. Well, Seph isn't, really, and there's no sex."

Reno looked put off by that. "Then I think I might be on this lady's side. So, is she controlling what you and I are doing and saying now?"

Zack looked like he was fighting an oncoming headache, which he was. "I…think so. I'm not sure."

"Wouldn't that mean that everything you're thinking, saying, and feeling come from her? Including your dislike of her? That doesn't really make sense, yo."

Sighing, Zack leaned forward, plopping his arms on the table and his head down onto them. Reno scooted his chair close enough to comfortingly pat the teenager's back.

"Please stop the planet. I want to get off."

"Please tell me those are two separate ideas."

A short, hollow laugh came, muffled, out of Zack.

The unnecessary journey will continue.