...if Sephy had a last name, the title would work more Being John Malkovich -styley... no strange corridors here, though... Don't own the characters or the places, but I do have something to do with this twisted plot.
Warning! Still mucho swearing, and some disturbing violence towards the end. Well it disturbs me. Violence baaaad. Swearing goooood.
Chapter eleven: Being Sephiroth.
-
Getting through the back door without making any noise was easy, and he didn't even have to hide in the shadows to get past Shera. The woman was tinkering with something that looked like an airplane engine on steroids, and Sephiroth guessed she wouldn't notice him even if he told her where he was going.
'Where am I going?' He walked to the left, past the small bedroom window, and stopped at the corner of the house. He could hear the voices coming from the front of the house, people gossiping and undoubtedly cursing Shin-Ra. In their eyes he belonged to Shin-Ra, and even that was a big enough crime without being blamed for burning Nibelheim.
/Do not let them see you, my son. They are no match to you, only a distraction from more important things./
Sephiroth took a deep breath and looked around. Not far, he could see the dark shape of the rocket that loomed over the small town.
Everyone was busy talking, speculating what would happen next. No one would be at the rocket, and he couldn't think of a reason why the villagers would even go to it at such late hour. Highwind seemed paranoid enough to stay close to the Turks and his other guests. The rocket would be perfect.
No one noticed as he walked to the mountain of metal and climbed the long ladders, Jenova traveling safely inside his jacket. The bridge leading into the rocket was metallic and his footsteps echoed quietly in the dark, the noises of the town not reaching this place.
The rocket was dark inside, illuminated only by the glow of the moon that reached the corridor. Sephiroth didn't need much light, though, he could see almost perfectly in the darkness, and what he didn't see he sensed. He didn't have any trouble making his way to the left, to a door that lead into the cockpit. He left the door open so that a little light entered the dark space, and sat in the pilot's seat.
The air was heavy and used, full of bitterness and lost hope. Sephiroth snorted at his poetic thoughts but couldn't deny that the entire rocket seemed to be a cemetery of broken dreams, a tomb for the years spent working on it, seemingly in vain, as the rocket still stood on the ground. He could remember the fuss about going into space, some five years ago. Everyone had been so excited, but then something had gone wrong, the launch was cancelled, Shin-Ra stopped funding the project and everyone forgot the rocket and the idea of going into space. At least everyone in Midgar, with the exception of Palmer, the head of the whole space project. But the people of Rocket Town hadn't obviously forgotten. The rocket was in good condition, the cockpit was clean and everything shone in the light of the moon and the stars. Almost as if he were sitting in a room made of ice.
"This is perfect..." he muttered and turned his attention back to the head in his hands. "All right, we're alone. Talk."
"...mom?"
"Hey Cloudy... she went to eat a bit, I promised to keep an eye on you."
Cloud opened his eyes and saw a smiling Zax sitting on a chair by the bed. He smiled back and lifted his head slightly from the pillow.
"Hi... could you help me up?" Cloud was laying on his stomach, and it was starting to feel uncomfortable in his chest and shoulder. Zax nodded and very carefully took his right hand, sliding his own under the boy's chest.
"Heeere we go..." The Soldier pulled the boy up a bit and helped him to sit. "That better?"
"Yeah... thanks." Cloud pulled the blanket around his shoulders to keep warm, and to cover his injuries. Zax took a small bowl from the table beside the bed and offered it to the boy.
"Here, have some broth."
"No thanks, I'm not hungry..." Cloud muttered and wrinkled his nose at the smell of it. Zax lifted an eyebrow and sniffed at the chicken broth, which smelled delicious to him.
"Sure? It must've been a while since you last ate."
"Yeah, I'm sure. Sorry, it just smells so... ugh... I don't think I could eat a drop of it." The smell was making him almost nauseous. The Soldier shrugged and set the bowl back on the table.
"No problem. I'd better tell your mom, she told me to get her if you woke up... but... can I ask you a question?"
"Yeah." Cloud nodded, and watched curiously as Zax tried to ask something that clearly bothered him. If the question was that bad, he wasn't sure he wanted to answer it, if his answer would make Zax hate him. He didn't want that, as the Soldier was one of the very few people to ever be nice to him.
"...back there... with Tseng and the grunts... what happened? How did you..."
Cloud's eyes went wide for a second when he realized what Zax was talking about. He wasn't completely aware of everything that had happened, he had been taken over by such a strong rage which had pushed everything else, all his other feelings and thoughts away. But still, deep inside he knew the truth.
Vincent had said that Hojo had messed with him a lot. That was both true and the understatement of the year. He couldn't possibly remember or know everything the scientist had done to him, but he had been a part of the Jenova-project. Even though he was just a fun side-project, something to spend time on, test new theories. Of course Hojo would have used her with him...
"...I think it was her. She... is in me..."
"Oh. She. You mean..."
"Jenova. She's in me, and ... she doesn't really talk to me, she just... I don't know."
'She doesn't talk to me, but there's too much of her in me that I can't just ignore her...'
"I see..." Zax muttered and shook his head. "She sure gets around, huh?"
Cloud smiled and looked up. The Soldier smiled back, violet eyes glowing warmly. The blond almost moved away when Zax's hand came up, but in stead of hitting him, it landed on top of his head and ruffled his spikes gently.
"Don't worry about it too much, Spike. I'm sure everything's gonna be ok eventually."
Cloud smiled at him, and didn't move away, not even when the hand slowly slid down to his cheek.
"Are you really my mother, or just some ancient specimen whose cells were implanted in me?"
/... I am both, my son. When you received my cells, you became mine, even though it wasn't I who bore you. I am your mother. Do you think I could talk to you like this if I were not?/
Sephiroth frowned and thought about it. The severed head in his lap had a point. He was as much Jenova's son as Lucretia's, maybe more so, as all of his powers were from her and the mako treatments. Lucretia and Vincent may be his biological parents, but Hojo and Jenova had made him.
But the General ignored his family tree for now. He had read quite a few of Hojo's books, back in Nibelheim's mansion, before Zackery had interrupted him, and the writings had had many holes in them which Jenova could probably fill, even though he couldn't trust her words completely.
"Well then, mother dearest, where exactly are you from? The Cetra traveled from planet to planet, until eventually some of them decided to stay here. Were you the same? One of them?"
/Yes, my son, I did travel from world to world, with the Cetra. We saw such wondrous worlds, and even though we grew to love them, we eventually moved to another one, for that was our way. We were nomads, our lives were harsh and hard, but it was the way. Until those appeared who disliked the journey. They stopped migrating and settled on the planet we were on at the time. They became the ancestors of the race known as humans.
/So we stayed here, with our brothers and sisters, not wanting to abandon them, even if they had abandoned the way. Eventually we were divided to the humans and the Ancients. Until a few thousand years ago, a disaster struck the planet from the skies. We fought, oh how we fought! Even the smallest battles seemed to last for years, but eventually the calamity from the skies was subdued, by sacrificing the Cetra. Our numbers diminished and now we are almost nonexistent. You, my son, are our, the Cetra's, last hope. Revenge our deaths, our destruction, and destroy the puny humans who have killed us and now rape our beloved planet!/
The quiet voice had grown from whispers to war cries, and Sephiroth was moved by the words, enraged by the injustice and the fate of the Cetra... his race. His ancestors.
/Yes... yes, my son, hate them, hate the humans, they are traitors, they will destroy the planet if you do not stop them! They are all cruel, not worthy of the legacy of the Cetra. Think, my son, Sephiroth, think how they treated you, when you were a child, when you were a Soldier, when you won their wars... you gave them everything you had, but what did you get in return?/
Sephiroth closed his eyes as the memories came flooding back, uncalled but very lifelike.
His childhood in the laboratory... he now realized that it must have been the one in Nibelheim. That's why the town had felt so familiar, he had spent his childhood there. If it could be called a childhood, being locked up in a tube, all alone, with no one to talk to, no one to play with, no comfort, no feeling of security, no warmth, no love. He'd been denied all that, and so much more of what he'd later learned was the right of every child.
They didn't talk to him, only ordered him, told him what to do, where to go, to cough, sleep and eat. He had teachers who taught him what he needed to know, but even they stayed distant, cold and professional. And once a teacher had taught him everything he or she knew, Sephiroth never saw them again. As a child he'd thought that they hated him so much, couldn't stand being close to him, that they just left and forgot him as soon as possible. Later on he'd started to suspect Hojo had had them all killed, not wanting to risk one of them talking about his experiments.
No one had even touched him. They were afraid to. All the years in the laboratory, living through every painful experiment and operation, and no one really touched him. They gave him shots, cut him open, took him from the operation table to the Mako tank and back again, but always kept their distance. He wouldn't have wanted them to touch him, not really, but would one kind touch, one reassuring pat on the shoulder have been too much to ask? He was just a test subject to them, nothing but a guinea pig, an animal that didn't deserve their attention or emotions.
After he got out... people still didn't touch him, not really. They were afraid as well. It was if they could all see that he was somehow very different from them. He knew he was, of course. He was left alone, shunned, feared... respected, yes, but what was respect worth if it was all he'd ever get? He rose to the rank of Soldier First Class faster than anyone before him. He had trained with members of the First Class when he had been only a Third class, barely thirteen years old. He'd beaten them and eventually his teachers without effort, and no one objected when he was made General before he was even allowed into bars.
He was respected, feared and adored, but people still wouldn't talk to him or touch him.
And then along came Zax. The brown-haired man had touched him, with both body and soul, and made him feel like he wasn't just a freak of nature brought up in a laboratory.
/No. He just wanted to get close so he could use you. He is a traitor./
"Why are you making me remember all this? Live through my life again?"
/Son, you are wise, but you have missed many important things. You do not yet understand how they have used you./
"'They' being everyone I've ever met, right?" His voice was cold and bored, Sephiroth trying to act like he didn't believe a word he heard. He knew that he wasn't normal, he'd known all his life, but it was kind of hard to believe that the whole world was against him. But still... some small part of him believed it, feared that it was the truth. That there was some secret conspiracy against him. But he couldn't believe, didn't want to believe that Zackery would have anything to do with it. The young Soldier had befriended him almost immediately after signing up in the army, and Sephiroth had been intrigued, especially after he'd shown potential of becoming perhaps the best Soldier ever. Not including him, of course.
He'd trained Zackery personally, letting his personal guard down while teaching the younger man how to build his, and they'd eventually become friends. And as Zackery rose in the Soldier hierarchy, they became even closer, the dark-haired man becoming his second-in-command. They'd fought together in the Wutai war, saving each other's lives more than once. Zax had even rubbed on him a bit, and he'd formed some sort of a friendship with Tseng, one of the Turks who soon became the leader of the small group.
So there was no way Sephiroth wanted to believe that even Zackery was only using him. He didn't care for the rest of the world, they could abuse him all they wanted, but he'd never believe it of Zackery.
/Yes. Everyone. Even those you thought were your friends. They are traitors./
Sorry, mother, but I don't believe you."
/Then you will have to learn the hard way, my son. They will all betray you, leave you or turn against you. They'll find someone else, someone HUMAN, and forget about you./
Sephiroth frowned and looked away from her eyes. "Granted, I do not know much about this mother-child interaction, but aren't you supposed to encourage me, not kill my self-esteem?"
A chuckle. /It sounds harsh, my son, but I don't want you to be hurt more than you already have suffered. But since that is, sadly, unavoidable, I want you to be prepared for what the traitors have in store for you./
"And how do you know I will be hurt?"
/...it is your destiny, as a Cetra. You will suffer, but in the end, you'll find the Promised Land./
"Remember what you promised."
Tseng looked up from his chafed wrists and smiled.
Zax was just going to get up and get Ame when they heard the front door open. Both he and Cloud turned to stare at the closed bedroom door, listening. They soon heard Cid's voice, or more like the rough tone of it. The pilot didn't sound pleased at all. Zax stood up and patted Cloud on the uninjured shoulder, smiling down at him.
"I'll go see what's going on, and tell your mom you're up. Later, Spike..."
Cloud smiled and nodded, trying not to blush. When the Soldier was gone, he lifted a hand to his cheek, remembering what it had felt to be touched without malice.
Zax stepped into the kitchen and smiled to Ame. "He's up." The woman nodded, smiling back nervously, and took the rest of the sandwich with her to the bedroom, glad to be away from the cursing captain. Cid was pacing the floor, muttering and chewing on the filter of his cigarette.
"This is great, this is so fucking great, we are so screwed."
"What's going on?" The Soldier asked and sat down. Cid glared at him and threw his gloved hands into the air.
"Trouble, sunshine, that's what's going on. There are two Shin-Ra dogs, grunts or Soldiers, looking for Tseng and the two guys you snuffed. Questioning people. It's only a matter of time before they start searching the houses. And then they're gonna come here. They're gonna come, and find three little Turks, neatly wrapped, sitting in my garage." Cid sat down and covered his face with his hands, the burning cigarette sticking out from between them. Zax hid his smile and coughed.
"We could take care of them, but that would probably bring Shin-Ra's attention to Rocket Town and you."
"Yeah, I know. I may be older than you, kid, but I'm not stupid." The Captain lowered his hands to the table and sighed, blowing out a cloud of smoke. "If we haven't figured anything out before they start searching, we'll shove the Turks into the cellar or take them to the rocket. Don't want to throw you out or anything, but I think it would be best for all if you guys hit the road asap." Cid really looked like he was sorry for saying it. Zax smiled and shrugged.
"Yeah, it sounds like a good idea. Have to talk with Seph about it, see what he's come up with."
Cid nodded and looked around. "Speaking of the devil... where is the white-headed bastard?"
"He's..." Zax started but then paled. He'd heard Sephiroth come out of the garage, and had guessed that the man would be in the kitchen. He clearly wasn't. "Oh shit..."
The Soldier stood up and half ran to the door of the garage, taking a quick look around it. Turks were huddled in one corner, but there was no other life form there.
"Don't tell me you've lost him?!" Cid shouted when Zax ran to the other side of the kitchen and opened the door leading to the bathroom. Empty. And he was sure the General wasn't in the bedroom.
"Uh, I'm sure he just stepped out to get some fresh air..."
Cid swore loud and with devotion and stood up. "Well he can't be crazy enough to go out the front door, not with that lot out there..." They both ran to the backdoor, looking around wildly, but all they could see was Shera, working on an engine, oblivious to her surroundings.
"Shera! You dumbass, have you seen that son of a bitch of a--"
Zax waved the Captain quiet before he'd let out all of his curses or scream Sephiroth's name so loud that everyone would hear, and ran to the woman.
"Have you seen Seph around? He's not in the house, we thought he might have come out this way."
Shera stood and looked around, worry creeping into her features. "No, sorry, I haven't seen him. But I didn't hear you two either, so he might have slipped past me."
Cid let out a loud string of curses, making Shera blush and Zax uncomfortable.
"He wouldn't just have left, not without telling me where he was going. I'm sure he's around here somewhere." The Soldier said, trying hard to ignore the fact that that was exactly what had happened the last time. Cid glared at him and threw his hands up.
"Okay smartarse, since you know everything so bloody well, go and find him! I'll go back in, have some tea and a stroke! You crazy fuckers are killing me!"
Shera grimaced as the Captain banged the door closed and turned to Zax. "Please hurry."
The Soldier nodded and ran from the backyard.
Sephiroth walked around the cockpit, the severed head in his hands, and tried to convince them both that she was wrong. The whole world wasn't out to get him, and Zackery wasn't just waiting for an opportunity to stab him in the back. He kept assuring himself of it, because he knew that if he'd lose faith in his friends, his truth, he'd lose his mind as well.
"Do you want to break me? Is that your goal? How will I get revenge if I lose my mind?" He questioned Jenova, who chuckled dryly in his mind.
/Son, sometimes we see the clearest when we are 'broken', as you say it. When mundane things don't distract us. It wouldn't be so bad.../
Sephiroth quickly silenced the voice in his head and turned as he heard quiet footsteps coming closer. He had thought that no one would bother to come up to the rocket, but apparently he had been wrong. The General lowered Jenova to the floor and grabbed the hilt of his Masamune, ready to pull it out of its sheath and kill the intruder if he needed to.
"...Seph?"
He relaxed immediately, recognizing Zax's voice. Of course. The Soldier knew him better than anyone else, and would know where to look for him.
"In here, Zackery."
The footsteps stopped for a second, but soon approached faster than before. The little light that came from the corridor was soon blocked out as Zax stepped in through the small portal and stopped. They just stared at each other for a second, until Zax lifted a hand and ran it through his hair.
"Shit, man, why did you disappear like that?"
"I needed to think." Sephiroth answered quietly, surprised and pleased at the worried tone, and a bit embarrassed. Zax had been worried about him. He could almost feel Jenova's hate towards the Soldier.
"You could have told me. Highwind came back, saw that you were gone and..." the dark-haired youth coughed. "Damn, Seph, I've never, ever heard anyone swear like that! You remember the time Heidegger spilled coffee on his ancient map collection? That was nothing! Ame, I mean Ms. Strife, she jumped to the roof, and I bet even Cloud got scared."
"Zackery. You're babbling." Sephiroth said, knowing that the Soldier couldn't see his smile. Zax shrugged and stepped a bit closer.
"Yeah, sorry. We were all just worried about you, you know... disappearing like that. And we couldn't just go out and ask people if they'd seen you... So I came to look for you."
"And you found me. You can go back now, I'll be there shortly."
Zax clearly didn't know what to do. The General guessed that he wanted to obey, wanted to trust him, but considering what had happened the last time he'd said similar words...
"I mean it. Trust me, Zackery. I just need a few more moments. If I'm not there within half an hour, you can come and drag me out."
Zax chuckled at the rare display of humour. "All right, Seph. I'm holding you to that!" With that, he turned and left. Sephiroth shook his head slightly and bend down to pick up the severed head. Looking into her eyes, he smirked and muttered "Traitor, eh?"
"...son of a fucking cold blue bitch from hell..."
"Captain, please!"
"Shera, shut the hell up!"
Zax stopped at the door, cringing and remembering the times he'd walked in to the middle of one of his parent's fights. It hadn't been nice as a child, and it certainly wasn't fun as a grown-up, either. But these weren't his parents, and hence not his problem. Shrugging off the thoughts he closed the door and walked bravely to the kitchen. His appearance quieted the Captain immediately, and Shera seemed relieved to see him, although they both grew worried when they noticed he was alone. Ame was standing at the bedroom door, watching them.
"Well?" Cid was the first to voice his concern. "Did you find the insane dipshit?"
Zax grinned and nodded. "Yeah, he's just behind me." It was cruel, but the look on Highwind's face was priceless. "Nah, not really. But I did find him, he's at the rocket, and will come down soon. He just needs a bit more time to think.
Cid flipped him the bird when the blood started to flow again in his body. He didn't bow down to any man, but the thought of calling someone as powerful as Sephiroth something like that to his face didn't seem like a good idea. Then he paled again.
"At the rocket? At MY rocket?! What the fuck is that crazy son of a bitch doing at MY ROCKET?!"
Zax cringed again at the following litany of curses which lasted until Cid was completely out of breath. The Captain still glared at the Soldier and lit a cigarette. "Shera, make some more tea. This is starting to get on my--"
"No! Vincent!"
Cid's words were cut off and everyone turned towards the bedroom where the frightened shout had come from. Ame ran in immediately, Zax and Shera not far behind. Cid cursed quietly and followed them.
Ame was already sitting on the bed, holding her shivering son. Cloud sobbed and stuttered, trying to get understandable words out of his mouth.
"What's wrong?" Zax asked from Ame, worried. The woman turned to look at him long enough to explain.
"He fell asleep just after you left. He must have had a bad dream. Are you all right, my little chocobo? What is it?"
"Vincent... h... they... hurt himmm... keep... hur-ting... pain..." the blond howled like he could feel some of the pain himself.
"What the--" Cid started but was cut off with an angry glare from Zax.
"Don't start, Highwind. Can't you see the kid's not ok?"
The Captain snorted but held his tongue, listening to Cloud's broken words. He had dreamed of Vincent: the ex-Turk was alive, being tortured and hurt.
"Do you know where he is?" Zax asked quietly when the boy stopped speaking. Cloud shook his head.
"I'm... not sure. But I think... I think I can... feel... him. Hojo. Hojo has Vincent."
"Shit... are you sure?" The Soldier asked and came closer, kneeling in front of the bed, looking up into the blue eyes. Cloud stared down at him for a moment.
"...yeah. Hojo... he's like a ... a wall of darkness... evil."
"How poetic. Have to say, that was a perfect distraction. Now if you all would slowly turn around."
Everyone froze as they heard Tseng's smooth voice. Electricity crackled in the air, and turning around, they saw the three Turks, unbound and armed.
"How the fuck..." Cid started but shut his mouth quickly as Reno's nightstick turned towards him, the lanky Turk grinning viciously.
"Well hello there, good captain. I suggest you don't move, this baby is stronger than your spear... you wouldn't like me to knock you on the head with this."
"Reno." Tseng simply said and stepped into the room. He didn't have his gun, at least not in hand, but the tall man was still threatening. Cid was efficiently held in place, Zax still kneeled before the bed, Ame and Cloud sat on it. The only one who had a bit of room to move was Shera, but she froze to the spot when Tseng's dark eyes turned to her.
"Young lady... where is your baseball bat now?"
"Fuck it you Shin-Ra slut, you leave her alone!" Cid roared, forgetting the weapon pointing straight at him. Reno tsked and kicked him behind the knees, dropping the Captain.
"Didn't I just tell you to stay still?"
Tseng looked slowly at each of them and chuckled quietly. "How does he always do this? Someone better tell me where Sephiroth is, or one of you will get a one-way ticket to the Promised Land." His eyes landed on Cloud. "Perhaps you. Or maybe..." The Turk turned to Ame, who held her son protectively.
"No!" Cloud screamed, holding her tighter. Zax stood slowly up, turning to stare straight into Tseng's eyes.
"Don't start this game again, please... Seph isn't here, you can see that. He left an hour or so ago, just after talking to you."
Tseng stared coldly back, not wavering at all, not showing any kind of emotion. He kept his eyes on Zax's, even when his hand shot out and grabbed Ame by her throat, yanking the woman up and away from her son.
"This isn't a game anymore, Lindeman. Talk, or she dies."
What happened next took only a few seconds, but for Zax, it seemed to take a small eternity. He was unable to move, still trying to think of a way to get out of the situation without bloodshed. He had his Buster-sword, but it would take too long to pull it out. Cid was on the floor, Reno held him down with one foot. Shera had backed into a corner, Rude blocked the door, and in the middle of it all, Tseng stood and slowly strangled Ame. Cloud sat on the bed...
...next thing he knew, Cloud didn't sit on the bed anymore, he was in the air, jumping from the bed, flying towards the exotic Turk, hands stretched out like talons, mouth open and growling. Zax felt that he was watching it all in slow motion, as the jump that Cloud shouldn't have had the strength for carried the boy past him, off the bed, to crash straight into a very surprised Tseng. The Turk let go of Ame who stumbled away and fell on her knees. Tseng was thrown to the floor, Cloud on top of him.
Zax's eyes went wide and he started to make a move to stop the boy, to distract him or something, anything. But by the time he got the first letter out of his mouth, Cloud had already descended upon the Turk like an angel of death, grabbed his head and bashed it to the hard floor twice before the rest of the man hit the ground. Blood exploded from the back of Tseng's head a fraction of a second before Cloud's teeth met the skin of his throat and sunk in, tearing it open, exposing the windpipe and ending Tseng's final, ragged breath before the Turk even had a chance to draw it in. Still, the enraged boy bit deeper into the bloody flesh, tearing it, swallowing it, until half of the throat was gone and all the life had left the leader of the Turks.
No one dared to move, they didn't breathe, couldn't believe their eyes as Cloud sat up, breathing hard, covered in blood from fingertips to elbows. The red was all over his face, it matted down his spiky hair and made his eyes shine even brighter. He sat still, catching his breath, and then, with slow, languid movements, lifted one hand and licked it slowly. Once, from elbow to the wrist, bringing out a white line to the middle of the redness. He swallowed the blood from his mouth, closed his eyes and made a small sound of pleasure.
"N-no..." Reno's hoarse whisper seemed to bring time back to life again, and Zax realized he was shaking all over. Shera was throwing up and sobbing, Reno kept repeating 'no' over and over again, but the rest were still frozen to their spots. Cloud seemed completely oblivious to his surroundings, didn't even notice when Ame started to cry.
"Fuck this!" Reno suddenly screamed, tears in his eyes and cheeks, and ran out of the room. Rude was still blocking the door, but the redhead pushed him out of the way effortlessly. The quiet Turk stared at the scene for a moment longer, no emotion showing on his very pale face. Then he turned and ran after Reno. The front door was thrown open and banged loudly against the wall. No one paid it any attention, still too much in shock.
A.N: Ungh. Yeah. Tune in next time to find out just how the Turks got free and what happens next!
Cloud: Rawwwww meeeeat!! Guuur, gimmmeeeeee!
Ame: -whacks Cloud in the back of his head- Where are your manners?! Did I raise you to tear open people's throats like that? I don't think so!
Cloud: ...uuuuuurh, gimmmeeee, pleeeeze?
Ame: Better.