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Summary: A FF VII story – Alternating thoughts between Cloud and Sephiroth through their journey to Nibelheim and its infamous Mako Reactor. Thanks to Joe Pinto for his website that proved to be a great help with the complex storyline of Final Fantasy VII.
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Chapter 1: Unleashed Terror
Sephiroth:
The kid is too anxious; too jumpy, thought Sephiroth to himself. He doesn't know how to harness the energy that's been given to him.
He looked up slightly, his silver hair swaying gently as the Shin-Ra van bucked over the rough country road. He frowned as he watched his black-haired counterpart, pacing relentlessly around the loading area of the van.
"Calm down," said Sephiroth; the words came out in a tranquil whisper, but the fact that they had come from Sephiroth's mouth meant instant attention.
Zack immediately ceased his pacing and turned to face Sephiroth; frustrated, he sat heavily on a crate and gazed at his mentor.
"Why aren't we there yet? We should be there by now...Come to think of it, I really don't understand why we're going to Nibelheim. What's in Nibelheim, anyway?"
Sephiroth sighed, annoyed slightly with his protégé. Clearly, the Mako treatment that Zack had received upon becoming a SOLDIER had excited the nerve endings throughout his body – not uncommon, but very bothersome when forced to be dealt with.
"For the last time Zack, Shin-Ra's Mako Reactor #1 is located in Nibelheim. The President has received reports that something has happened to the Reactor...It's..."subjects" have changed. Monsters are appearing, so it's our job to remedy the situation."
The calmness that radiated off of Sephiroth swept over Zack, forcing him in some small way to calm himself.
With distractions firmly removed, Sephiroth retuned his gaze to the rain-stricken roads passing by. He could feel them; the monstrous spirits that were streaming from the Reactor – he could feel their presence as the realm of conscious reality flooded through his body.
He could sense them everywhere – but even beyond that, he felt an aura that exerted much more energy than anything he had ever experienced before.
There was something in those mountains, something more powerful, more awesome than anything ever seen by all of mankind. And whether it existed for good or evil, Sephiroth wasn't sure if he wanted to come face to face with it.
~{:*:}~
Cloud:
Exiting the van, stepping back onto the soil of his hometown, was one of the hardest things Cloud Strife had ever had to do. Clad only in his uniform, the blue garb of a Shin-Ra grunt, he felt the weight of the world come crashing onto his shoulders as he and another fellow grunt, following the lead of Sephiroth and Zack, approached the gates of Nibelheim.
He had not been here in over two years – and now, at the age of 16, he had come back on his first Shin-Ra assignment, and he was terrified.
Many things terrified him: he was scared of the deadly creatures that were appearing around Nibelheim. He was trained in the art of combat – every member of Shin-Ra infantry was – but he had no clue on how to defeat the specters that were spewing out of the Reactor.
I don't NEED to worry, he thought. Zack and surely Sephiroth will be more than enough to counter anything we see.
More so than creatures, Cloud feared those in his town. His parents...Tifa, the girl of his dreams...what would they think of him when hit with the fact that he, breaking his promise, had not become an elite SOLDIER in his two years with the Shin-Ra?
He couldn't let anyone see him...he couldn't bear the shame that rested upon him.
"Let's go." The calm voice of Sephiroth broke Cloud's reverie – he followed his crew through the town square. Sephiroth, Zack, and the other grunt entered the hotel.
Cloud stopped dead in his tracks. Looking across the square, he saw his parents' house and next to it...Tifa's.
Every fiber of his being called for him to go, to talk to Tifa, to see her face again. But his rational mind would not let him – he could not see her...not like this.
"Are you coming?"
Sephiroth had come back outside. Cloud looked at him, and nodded quickly.
"Yes, sir."
As he followed Sephiroth into the hotel, Cloud gazed up at the outline of Mount Nibel, stretching into the heavens. He didn't know what his troupe would meet, but he hoped beyond all reckoning that they would finish their job quickly and leave.
There were too many memories here, too many remembrances of pasts, of broken promises, and Cloud feared that it would be more than he could bear.
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Haha, I know, kind of slow, but it will build up hopefully :-) Please review and tell me if you would like me to go on. Cheers!!
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