When Cloud awoke he got to his feet and checked the second bedroom. He pushed the door open lightly and saw that Sephiroth was in a deep sleep. Cloud closed the door silently and went down the stairs into the kitchen. There was no tea or anything to eat and so he was stuck with drinking the tap water; which in fact took three minutes of constant running to turn clear. Cloud rinsed out an incredibly dusty glass and filled it with water. Cloud walked back into the hall holding the glass. Cloud wondered if Tifa and the others had managed to get off the north continent. His train of thought was interrupted as he spotted a movement in the reflection of his glass. Cloud turned around and started; it was Sephiroth.
"Jesus" Cloud said "You lost your memory only hours ago and already you've got your sneakiness back"
"Sorry" said Sephiroth "Did I used to be sneaky?" Cloud rolled his eyes and his expression told Sephiroth that what he was remembering was a time he'd rather forget.
"Sneaky was no where near what you were" said Cloud "You used to pop up everywhere" he said then laughed lightly "Even in a well lit room you'd pop up and frighten the living daylights out of everyone without even trying"
"My apologies" said Sephiroth
"Well you had never tried to sneak up on any of us" said Cloud "You just always managed it"
"So what did we do for a living?" asked Sephiroth. Cloud was hoping that Sephiroth would not have asked that for a while.
"We worked for a force called Soldier" said Cloud
"Force?" asked Sephiroth
"Military" said Cloud "Of sorts, we were the special forces of Shin-Ra incorporated" Sephiroth remained silent at this piece of information.
"We were in the military?" said Sephiroth
"At a stretch" said Cloud "You could say that we were the cover for Shin-Ra"
"Can you explain?" Sephiroth asked.
"Let's get seated first" said Cloud and indicated for Sephiroth to go to the dining room. The two of them sat down on two of the chairs in the dining room.
"So explain about Soldier" said Sephiroth.
"It starts at fourth class; count backwards and you get all the classes" said Cloud.
"So from worst to best?" said Sephiroth.
"No" said Cloud "More like from best to the better, to join Soldier you had to pass a very difficult training regime" Cloud placed his glass upon a table "There is Soldier fifth class but that's just the typical Soldiers; when you got promoted in Soldier you merely went up a class"
"Merely?" Sephiroth asked
"True" Cloud said "Merely is no way to describe it, it can take almost four-years to get promoted from fifth to fourth class and the time increases as you go up each class"
"What rank did you get to?" Sephiroth asked.
"Soldier 1st class" said Cloud
"And me?" Sephiroth asked
"Leader of Soldier 1st class" said Cloud. Sephiroth sat back when he heard this
"So I guess I was there for a long time?" Sephiroth said
"You were there for a grand total of seven years" said Cloud "You rose through the ranks faster and faster each year, by the time you were in Soldier 1st class you were the quickest person to get there then you became the figure head for Soldier; you were every young boy's hero"
"What does Soldier actually do?" asked Sephiroth "You said that they were a cover"
"For the Turk's" said Cloud "A criminal organisation that works for Shin-Ra, of course Shin-Ra say that they are a government organisation but they do some very dirty work"
"So how are Soldier a cover?" asked Sephiroth
"The Turks do some very dirty work but if there is a disaster Shin-Ra dispatch hundreds of soldiers to 'help out' the people" said Cloud "Make people forget that in the background you have the Turks who literally beat people into line with Shin-Ra"
"So that they look good for the public?" Sephiroth questioned. Cloud nodded
"Shin-Ra look good in the eyes of the rich but it's the poor who see what Shin-Ra really are" said Cloud.
"What about my parents?" Sephiroth asked suddenly. Cloud decided that if he just came clean and did not hide anything about Sephiroth's childhood then maybe he would not go insane and try to destroy the planet, again.
"You're actual parents were Vincent Valentine and Lucrecia" said Cloud "Lucrecia was a woman who worked as a scientist for Shin-Ra and Vincent was a Turk" Sephiroth seemed to turn cold when he heard that Vincent was a Turk. Cloud suddenly noticed that saying Vincent was a Turk was not the best idea seeing as Cloud had just been telling Sephiroth how bad the Turks were.
"He used to be a Turk" said Cloud quickly "But he was one of the only decent Turks, he was a nice guy"
"So what happened?" Sephiroth asked.
"Well I'm not going to explain to you exactly how they created you" said Cloud with a short laugh "I'll get you a book about how children are made" Sephiroth laughed
"No need" said Sephiroth "I don't have any memories but I do still remember facts and figures and things like that"
"Glad" said Cloud "Because I would not want to try and explain sex to you, it would just be uncomfortable" Sephiroth and Cloud both laughed.
"Cloud, I can't help but notice you used the words 'actual parents'" said Sephiroth "What else happened when I was a child?"
"Hojo" said Cloud slamming his hand against the table startling Sephiroth "When you were still in the womb he injected you with Jenova's cells"
"Jenova?" Sephiroth said
"Jenova was apparently a Cetra but I believe that she came to earth to war with the Cetra; she certainly had the power" said Cloud "And from the carvings in the temple of the ancients I believe that she summoned Meteor and killed off the Cetra, which is why we have North Cave"
"So Jenova is a powerful alien?" Sephiroth guessed.
"We never knew what she was" said Cloud "But she was sure powerful, her cells were injected into you which gives you such tremendous power"
"What do you mean?" Sephiroth asked
"You can fly!" said Cloud with a smile.
"Really?" Sephiroth asked
"Yeah" said Cloud "You're the only human who can, but let's not try it just yet"
"What happened to Hojo?" asked Sephiroth. Time to bend the truth a little thought Cloud.
"He tried to kill you with the Sister-Ray, a giant cannon" said Cloud "But my friends and I killed him before he could kill you"
"Thanks" said Sephiroth "So what other parts does Hojo play in my life?"
"He stole you when you were born and injected Lucrecia and Vincent with Jenova cells but they had bad effects"
"What do you mean?" Sephiroth asked
"Vincent's power turns him into a beast when he gets angry" said Cloud "And I have only met Lucrecia once so I don't know what it has done to her, when you have got your memory back I will take you to see her, I'm sure she will be happy to see you after all of these years"
"I would like that" said Sephiroth.
"So any more questions before I disappear off to my room?" Cloud asked
"No" said Sephiroth.
"Then goodnight" said Cloud getting to his feet and leaving Sephiroth to sit there and ponder the new information he had.