I own nothing. I am the weakest link. Good night! Thank you for the reviews! There's some swearing towards the end, so if your eyes are sensitive, watch out...
Chapter seven: ...trouble, and make it double...
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"Zackery, wake up."
The light kick finally woke the Soldier up, and he squinted at the pale sky above. The sun hadn't risen yet, and he suspected that it would be an hour before it would, but the darkness of the night was almost gone. Cloud had curled up to a little ball and was sleeping soundly in his arms. Careful not to wake the boy, Zax sat up and crawled sleepily to where Sephiroth was standing on the hill.
"You didn't have to kick me..."
"Apparently I did. We should get a move on, some people from Nibelheim are approaching, we'd best leave before them, or we'll have to wait until they're out of sight." The General explained and pointed to where they had come from. Zax turned to look and, after a moment, saw movement. He then turned to look at Rocket Town, and the rocket, which was visible even from here, and sighed.
"Ok, let's go then."
Sun had risen some time ago when they stopped, about a mile from the town. People were moving around already, the town full now with all the refugees from Nibelheim.
"Why did we stop?" Cloud asked. He'd just woken up, and was eager to get into town, to find his mother. Zax carefully lowered him to the ground, and the boy managed to stand if he held on to the Soldier's shirt.
"It's not wise for all of us to go in at once." Sephiroth explained, frowning as he stared at the town. "One should go first."
"Who?" Zax asked and raised an eyebrow when the others looked at him. "Me?"
"You. I am too easily recognizable, and Cloud, no matter how much he'd like to go, is practically naked and can barely stand. Find out what's going on and bring him some clothes, we'll wait here." The General said and Cloud nodded. Zax helped the boy to sit and, with a last smile, jogged towards the town.
Even though it was still early, everyone in Rocket Town seemed to be up and moving, gathering at a small clearing between the shops and houses, not far from the rocket. Zax stayed out of sight as well as he could and sneaked into the clothes shop. He found a long, brown coat for himself, to hide his Soldier uniform, and guessing what size Cloud was, picked out a shirt, trousers and a pair of shoes for him. The man at the counter glared at him suspiciously, but didn't mind taking most of his gil.
Hiding behind the corner, he stuffed Cloud's clothes under his own shirt and pulled the coat on. Looking down at his new stomach and appearance, he groaned. "Ok, it's not the BEST disguise, but it'll have to do..." With that, he stepped out to the street and joined the people at the clearing, hoping he'd get to find out what was going on.
/Come to me, son.../
"What are you staring at?" Sephiroth finally asked, and Cloud quickly lowered his eyes. The General had felt the boy stare at him for a while now, and was starting to grow annoyed. Everyone always stared at him, no matter where he went. Stared with awe or fear, it didn't matter which, for their reaction was always to treat him like he wasn't human. Maybe something more, maybe something less, but not human. He was so used to it that it didn't bother him so much as it used to, when he had first joined Soldier. But now the General had so much on his mind that even the smallest things were making him angry.
"Nothing..." Cloud said quietly and turned to look at the town. Sephiroth raised an eyebrow. He opened his mouth to ask the boy of the things he supposedly knew, but decided not to. The whole Nibelheim incident would have to be taken care of before he could concentrate... to hell with it.
"Cloud..." the boy turned to look up at him. "Vincent said that you... know some things. About me, and... my past. What exactly do you know?" The General asked and crouched down. Cloud blinked a few times before shrugging.
"You mean about your parents, and the experiments?"
"I know my parents, what can you tell me about the experiments?"
"...that you were injected with Mako and Jenova-cells even before you were born, and after that Hojo did all sorts of experiments on you, making you into a super-Soldier. Professor Gast started the project, but Hojo took over soon, getting rid of him. You were injected with Jenova because they wanted to create Cetra again, as they are almost extinct." The boy explained after a second, repeating the basic idea of the whole project.
"Mother..." Sephiroth muttered and stood up to walk around. "I should have gone to her... I still can..." he glanced at Cloud calculatingly. "Zackery should be back soon... yes, mother will understand me..."
"Um, Sephiroth, sir?" Cloud was starting to feel very uncomfortable, listening to the quiet whisperings. The words didn't make much sense, but the most unnerving thing was that he could hear them, even though Sephiroth was talking very quietly, and far enough that he shouldn't hear a thing. "You... you do know that your mother died over 25 years ago?"
Sephiroth whirled around, facing the boy angrily. "Of course I know! She died giving birth to me! Died in my father's arms."
"...Vincent never mentioned that. I'm sorry..." The boy said after a moment. The General frowned.
"Valentine? What would he know about it?"
"He said that your mother died, but he wasn't there then. Hojo was with her."
"Fool. Hojo IS my father!"
Cloud blinked and just stared at the older man. "...I thought you said you know your parents?"
"Of course I do."
"...and you still think that Hojo is your father? Sorry, sir, but have you looked in the mirror? You look nothing like him. Didn't Vincent tell you?"
"There was no time. He said you could tell me everything he knew."
"...He's your father. Vincent. Not Hojo, even though he says so. Vincent loved Lucretia, Hojo just used her."
"Lucretia?"
"...your mother?"
"But... my mother is called Jenova."
"Jenova is just a specimen, Hojo took cells from her and planted them in you, and numerous other people. Including me. If you want to look it that way, she's as much my mother as yours. Vincent and Lucretia are your real parents, sir, and Hojo destroyed both their lives. Lucretia died or disappeared soon after you were born, and Hojo experimented on Vincent for some months before you were born, and then made him sleep until last year or so."
Sephiroth stared at the boy, not knowing what to think. Cloud had spoken like he truly believed what he said. But the voice in the General's mind, the quiet whispering voice, calling him 'son'... which could he trust? With a frustrated sigh, he rubbed his eyes and forced the voice out of his mind so that he could think more clearly. "...Valentine told you this?"
"Yes. He read it from Hojo's personal notes, not the ones in the library."
"Personal notes?" The General noticed how the boy shuddered at the next words.
"In the computer files. Vincent hacked in and read them. Hojo confessed everything, how he wanted to take over the whole experiment, how he used Lucretia and Vincent and drove Gast out. Vincent could tell you so much more, or if we could find professor Gast..." the boy remembered what the Turk had said about the other professor and decided to find the man, as soon as he had found his mother first.
Sephiroth did hear the words, but didn't really listen, as the voice inside his head spoke up, stronger than before, telling him that Vincent and Cloud and even Zackery were all traitors who just wanted to use or kill him. He was starting to develop his own opinions about the whole thing, but the voice was so strong, it didn't just speak to him, it almost controlled him, gave subtle orders to his body. He lifted a hand to cover his eyes, to block out the light and better to concentrate on his own thoughts.
/Come to me, son. Come to mother.../
Cloud closed his eyes and frowned. A menacing buzz was coming from Sephiroth, the same kind of noise he'd heard in his own head when he'd hear the voice. A noise he sometimes heard around Vincent, when the Turk got the strange, haunted expression on his face. The look on the General now was much the same, and Cloud forced his voice to work.
"Sir? Are you alright? Sephiroth, sir?"
"This... is driving me mad..." Sephiroth eventually mumbled and lowered the hand to his side. Without looking at the boy, he stepped out of the relative cover of the trees and looked at Rocket Town. "When Zackery returns, tell him that I had to take care of something."
"Wait!" Cloud Called and the General stopped, turning his head slightly. "She's talking to you, isn't she? Don't listen, sir, please! She's with Hojo, don't trust her!"
Without another word, the General started back towards the Nibel mountains.
"Sephiroth!" Cloud called and lunged after the man, missing the end of the black cape by mere inches. He lost his balance and fell flat on the ground, eyes still fixed on the black-clad man. "Don't listen to her!"
Zax had expected the people from Nibelheim to blame them for the fire, and heard the very words many times. People were starting to get anxious, townspeople and refugees both. He could see a man with a spear trying to get them to quiet down a bit, and cursed when he saw a figure in a blue uniform standing next to the man.
"Tseng... hoo boy..."
Trying not to draw attention to himself, Zax made his way closer, to hear what the head of the Turks would say. Somehow he got the feeling that this wouldn't be good, and wished that Sephiroth was here instead of him.
"Everyone shut the hell up!" The man with the spear finally roared and thumped the ground with the weapon's blunt end. The clearing fell silent and Tseng stepped forward.
"People of Nibelheim, Rocket Town... I am here today on the behalf of President Shin-Ra" Someone booed in the audience, but one cold glare from Tseng silenced them soon. "He was most devastated to hear what had happened. Be assured, that the incident will be thoroughly investigated.
"I have heard witnesses claim that the General Sephiroth and his men were to blame for the fire that burned down your quaint town. This is, however, wrong. The investigators have already found out that the trouble was started by the monsters who the General was sent to destroy. They caused much havoc at the reactor and at one of our research facilities, freeing two very dangerous specimens. Troops have been sent to locate and terminate the specimens. They look as normal humans but are mere beasts, and we have to ask that if you see them, do not try to engage them in battle, but leave it to the Soldiers."
'...he can't mean Vincent and Cloud?' Zax thought and bit his lower lip. 'Who else? That's nice, Hojo, blame it on the victims. Next thing that bastard'll tell us that it's the villager's fault the reactor is producing monsters...'
"Help and provisions will be sent from Midgar to help the survivors of this horrible event, and as soon as the monster problem of the Nibelheim area is taken care of, the rebuilding of your village may start. Shin-Ra will do all in its power to help, even though the investigation shows that the monster problem could have been avoided if the reactor's workers would have done their work properly."
Zax rolled his eyes as the crowd started to murmur unapprovingly. Tseng made some more empty promises but Zax paid him no more attention, in stead letting his eyes roam over the gathering. He could recognize some of the people he'd met in Nibelheim; there was the innkeeper, and there was their little guide girl, wiping tears from her pretty eyes, and there... wait. His violet eyes returned to the blonde, soot-covered woman who just stared at Tseng with an empty look in her eyes. In her bright blue eyes. Sunshine hair was tied back, but some of it had escaped the ponytail and spiked up a bit. The Soldier grinned, looked at Tseng one more time and started to make his way out of the crowd. Mission accomplished. He knew what was going on, had clothes for Cloud and even the good news that his mother was alive and seemingly well.
As soon as he was out of people's sight, he quickened his pace and half ran towards the small forest. He only now realized that Tseng hadn't said anything else about Sephiroth or the General's companions, but figured that Shin-Ra had decided to keep them alive for a while longer. They could maybe go and talk with the Turk, Tseng and Sephiroth being friends of sorts... find out what exactly was going on in Midgar, what the President had decided to do about the situation and them.
Being brought up in the Gongaga jungles, he had learned to walk in the forest without making any noise. Otherwise he wouldn't have heard the quiet sobs. His hand went automatically to the hilt of the Buster-sword, and Zax bent down, ready for anything. Quietly he walked towards the noise, hiding behind bushes and trees, until his eyes caught the end of a bright red cape. Still, he was wary as he rushed towards Cloud, who was laying on the ground on his stomach, sobbing.
"Cloud? What is it? Where's Seph?" The Soldier asked quietly and helped the boy to sit up. Cloud wiped the tears from his eyes and hiccupped.
"I'm... I'm sorry, Zax, he... Sephiroth left... I tried to stop him but I couldn't..."
"Left? What the hell?" This was not good, not good at all.
"He told me to say that he had to take care of something... he... he... heard the voice, I know... I hear it sometimes, but it doesn't like me much... she wants him... he went to her... I told him not to, but he went..."
Zax was sure the boy was delirious or something, for the words didn't make any sense to him. But Cloud's forehead was only a bit too warm, indicating a slight fever, but nothing to make him hallucinate. And if the boy would be that sick, Sephiroth wouldn't have left him...
'They look as normal humans but are mere beasts...' Tseng's words came to mind, and for a second Zax feared that Cloud had hurt or killed Sephiroth. But he dismissed the thought as soon as it came to mind, as the boy could barely sit, and the General was in perfect condition.
"Shh, it's not your fault..." He pulled the boy to lean against his chest. "Who is 'she'? Do you know where Seph went?"
Cloud calmed a bit and nodded. "She's Jenova... in the reactor... he must have gone there. I tried to tell him the truth, about Vincent and Lucretia, but I guess he didn't believe me..."
"Okay, kid, slow down a bit... what about Vincent and... Lucretia?"
"They are his parents, not Jenova and Hojo, as Hojo would like him to believe. I told him, but Jenova must have told something else."
Zax stared ahead for a while. It made sense, he had noticed it himself. Sephiroth and Vincent were identical. He had never believed it when Hojo had claimed to be the General's father. Back in Nibelheim... it seemed like it had happened years ago, even though just a few days had passed after Sephiroth had gone down to the mansion, muttering something about not being human. But if Vincent was his father, then the general HAD to be human.
"...what's this?"
The Soldier looked down to find Cloud poking his 'stomach' curiously. With a grin he pushed a hand under the shirt and pulled the clothes out. "Here, put these on. You'll look a bit more presentable for your mom."
"You saw her?!" Cloud's eyes started to glow more brightly again, and a relieved smile crept on his pale face. Zax grinned and nodded.
"If she's about your height, blue-eyed and has that same freaky hair, I sure did."
"...who are you to call my hair freaky..." Cloud muttered quietly and smiled, looking at the clothes. The Soldier heard the words and laughed, running a gloved hand through his own, dark spikes.
"Touche! Get dressed, I want to see if I got the size right..."
The boy nodded and let the cape fall off his shoulders. Zax frowned when he saw, for the first time, about ten small holes in Cloud's upper back, in two straight rows. He lifted a hand carefully and touched the reddish, raised ring around one of them. Cloud moved instantly away from the touch and looked at him with wide eyes.
"Don't!"
"Sorry... what... what are they? Do they hurt?" Zax managed after a second. The blond slipped the large shirt over his head before answering.
"...Hojo made them. My 'plug-ins', like he called them... after a while in the tube he decided that it would be easier to feed and inject me through them, especially after my hands got pretty bad..." he showed Zax the inside of his right elbow, the skin scarred and dotted with old, once infected needlemarks, before pulling the sleeve over it. "They don't really hurt, it just feels really... odd when someone touches them. Like their fingers would go under my skin..."
"What... sorry, I mean, how do they... uhh, don't they close up or something?" If Cloud wouldn't have put the shirt on already, Zax knew that he'd just have to stare at the small holes. They made him feel sick but he still wanted to see them again. Like a train wreck.
The blond stared ahead for a while before answering, fingers twisting the hem of the shirt. "No, they don't. Put a needle in and it'll go straight to a major vein or connect to a tube that eventually goes into my stomach. Whatever. Hojo's way of making sure that I don't need to leave the tube for anything."
The Soldier swallowed and shuddered. "Damn... I always knew Hojo was one sick bastard, but this... sorry, kid..." The dark-haired youth looked at the blonde and smirked, trying to get them both to think something else. "Heh, must've judged your size a bit off..."
Cloud looked down at the bluish shirt that would have gone down close to his knees if he had stood up. "No, it's nice... for a tent." The boy blushed a bit at Zax's laughter, but smiled. "Really, thank you. It's warm."
"You're welcome. Get the pants on, then we'd better start figuring out what to do next..."
Cloud obeyed, and pulled the shoes on as well. Zax looked at him up and down approvingly and nodded.
"Not too bad, you'll grow into them. Damn, that sounded just like my mom..."
Cloud snickered at the look on Zax's face but grew silent in a second and turned his head to listen. Zax did the same, just before a gun poked out of the bushes, aimed straight at him. Another one appeared next to it, pointing at Cloud, and no other than Tseng stepped out to the small clearing between the two armed Shin-Ra troopers who soon followed.
"I wouldn't suggest it." the Turk said quietly as Zax's hand went up to the hilt of his sword. "Unless you think you are faster than a bullet."
The Soldier frowned and let go of the weapon, eyeing the troopers. One stared back, unmoving, gun pointing straight between Zax's eyes. The other concentrated on Cloud, who was just about paralyzed to the spot, still and quiet.
"Word of advice, if you are trying to blend into a crowd, do something to your hair, Lindeman." Tseng looked around and frowned. "Where is General Sephiroth? The specimen didn't eat him?" The Turk pointed at Cloud, whose eyes went large. Zax had to laugh.
"Yeah, you just missed it. Picked his teeth with the 'mune. Quite a sight."
Tseng shook his head with a small smile, but his dark eyes were devoid of all feeling. "Always had a quick tongue, Soldier. Too bad I have to silence it. But you tell me where Sephiroth is, and I'll try to make it as painless as possible. If you do not co-operate, I will have to use force."
"I thought you and Sephiroth were supposed to be friends..." The Soldier said, and Tseng's calm facade broke for just a second.
"...you ought to know that men in our positions cannot afford to have friends. Where is he?"
"Even if I knew, I wouldn't tell you, Turk..." Zax scowled, his good humour all gone. He managed to utter the last word like it was an insult. Tseng just nodded and lifted his right index finger slightly. The trooper aiming at the Soldier moved his aim a bit lower and pulled the trigger. Cloud's scream of fear drowned out Zax's growl of pain, which was all he would give. The bullet had passed straight through his left leg, just below the knee.
"Anti-Mako bullets, Lindeman. They stop your enhanced blood from healing you as quickly as it should." The Turk explained. "Now. Sephiroth wouldn't leave his second-in-command without knowledge of where he went. Give it to us, and the next bullet will end your pain."
"Promises, promises... cut the shit, Turk, you won't get a word out of me." Zax said through gritted teeth, resisting the urge to grab his leg and howl in pain. He just prayed that Cloud would keep his mouth shut.
The trooper on Tseng's right side looked at the Turk questioningly, but he just shook his head slightly.
"We could play this game all day, I'm sure Lindeman is a man of his word. But we don't have the time, we have to find the General. Let's see if the specimen knows anything..." Tseng turned to Cloud and smiled slightly. "You ARE Hojo's little specimen, aren't you?"
The boy nodded timidly and looked quickly at Zax. Tseng noticed it and his smile grew a bit wider.
"I thought so. Tell us what we wish to know, and your death will be quick. Otherwise, we'll let you live, and take you back to Hojo."
Cloud's eyes went even wider and he swallowed loudly, but kept quiet and shook his head. Tseng sighed and stepped closer.
"Be reasonable, boy. Do you really wish to spend the rest of your long days in Hojo's care?"
"...no."
"Then tell us where Sephiroth is."
"He doesn't know!" Zax shouted in frustration. Tseng lifted a finger again, and the next bullet hit the same leg, this time above the knee. The Soldier screamed and thumped the ground with his fist. Cloud tried to back away from the approaching Turk, but Tseng was soon right in front of him and grabbed his chin, forcing the blue eyes to meet his dark ones.
"Strange. They told me you would be dangerous, and strong. But you're as harmless as a kitten... still, my patience wears thin. Where is Sephiroth?"
"I'm not telling you..."
"I don't have the time..." Tseng muttered and grabbed the front of Cloud's shirt, pulling the boy up. "This is your last chance... what are you doing?"
When pulled up, Cloud started to feel dizzy, and his back itched as the rough fabric of the shirt rubbed against the small holes. He could almost feel something moving, just underneath his skin. Tseng's hold loosened just a bit, but that just made the itching worse. Cloud squeezed his eyes shut and squeaked as something slithered under his skin and pushed its way out, through the small holes.
"Holy..." Tseng let go of the boy and stepped back, his eyes wide with surprise and even fear, when thin, almost transparent tentacles grew out through the shirt and hovered above the blond hairs.
Zax stared, squeezing his leg to stop the bleeding. The troopers stared, their guns momentarily forgotten. Tseng stared, mouth open but mind running a mile a second, coming to the conclusion that this was bad.
Cloud's body had slumped, he seemed almost unconscious, but the thin tentacles moved on their own, as if testing the air, searching their surroundings.
"...shit." The Turk ended his almost forgotten whisper when the strange snakes seemed to turn towards him. They moved like blind worms that had just crawled out of the ground on a rainy day, but they still knew where he was, and shot out towards him. The Turk didn't have time to move or think before they hit him on the chest, just like a bolt of lightning, and threw the dark man across the clearing, hitting the trooper who had shot Zax, throwing them both against a tree. Tseng had had a wall spell on, so he survived the crash, but was knocked out. The trooper wasn't as lucky.
The remaining man looked at the Turk and the fallen trooper in shock, but turned fast to face the tentacles, now hovering in the air, moving slightly like enchanted snakes. He lifted his shaking hand, and the gun, which instantly brought the creature's attention to him.
"Don't!" Zax screamed but the bullet left the gun already, going straight through the skin and muscle between Cloud's neck and left shoulder, and injuring the shoulder blade. Two of the tentacles went limp and soon disappeared into thin air.
Luckily for the trooper, he was too far for the other eight to reach him, but unfortunately the bullet had woken another monster. Cloud's head came slowly up, mouth twisted in rage, eyes barely open but glowing fiercely. It scared the trooper so that his second bullet missed its mark completely, and he never had a chance for a third. Cloud was up in a blink of an eye and pounced on him like an animal, throwing the screaming trooper to the ground. Fingers sharp as claws dug through the fabric of the jacket, sharper teeth sunk into the exposed skin of the man's chin and the tentacles jolted the dying body with electric shocks.
Zax stared.
When the trooper was dead, the beast seemed to calm down. The tentacles went back in through the holes and Cloud pushed himself off the body. The boy stood on his knees, swayed and sat down, grasping his injured shoulder.
Both the troopers were dead, but Tseng was still alive and coming to. The Turk was confused for a second but remembered soon where he was and what had happened. Opening one eye he scanned his surroundings, finding one body near himself and one next to the specimen, which seemed to be oblivious to its surroundings. The Soldier was much the same way, just staring at the boy. Tseng inched his left hand slowly towards his own gun while getting ready to jump up. He'd kill the specimen first; Lindeman only had his sword, and probably couldn't stand on his injured leg.
With one swift movement that would have made Sephiroth jealous, Tseng got to his feet and pointed the gun at Cloud. Zax had just enough time to register the movement before the gun went off and the blond collapsed in an explosion of blood. But before Tseng had a chance to pull the trigger again, something hit his already injured head hard, and he dropped to the ground.
Zax stared at the Turk, feeling like he'd fallen off the train completely somewhere between Tseng's appearance and getting shot for the second time. Maybe it was the blood loss, but he couldn't really understand what had just happened. Not until a blond man stepped out to the clearing, holding the spear which had efficiently knocked Tseng out.
"Fuckin' Turk..." the man hissed and nudged the unconscious form with the tip of his boot. "No good Shin-Ra slut..." Then he lifted his eyes to Zax and frowned. "And a damned Soldier." Then he looked at Cloud. "And a ... what the hell was that fucking thing anyway?" Back to Zax. The man shook his head and lit the cigarette hanging from the corner of his mouth. "You know, it's days like these that make me thing that the fuckin' Shin-Ra exists just to make my life miserable."
"Tell me about it..." Zax muttered and finally fainted from shock and loss of blood.
A.N: Everyone hears voices! Yaagh! ...must run in the family or something. Tune in next week to get a dose of painful angst! Yay! No wait, that isn't cheery...
No extra this time, thanks to schoolwork... and again I'm sure there's something wrong with the chapter... well. But! Remember, reviews make me very happy, and when I'm happy, I write a lot... ;3