The statement released by Vice President Rufus Shinra caused a massive storm. Cloud almost regretted making that bargain with Tseng. But he had nothing else in mind to tease the man with that he will take the offer.

Within hours Cloud got a call from a restricted number.

"Hello?" The blond answered.

"I assume you made some sort of deal with Tseng behind my back." Rufus spoke with a mix of admiration and frustration.

"Maybe, maybe not. Can't confirm." Cloud shrugged.

"Don't play coy. I just finished with his punishment. Although I think he thoroughly enjoyed it."

"Oh my." The Second Class blushed.

"Don't worry, yours won't involve anything sexual of that nature. I know of Sephiroth's jealousy. I have no plans to die at this age."

"All right so what's it looking like for me?"

"Here are your choices. Punishment A, or Punishment B."

"I don't get anymore information on either of those?" Cloud raised an eyebrow.

"Nope. Whichever one you choose becomes your punishment."

"No hints at all?"

"Not a single one."

"Do I have time to think about it?"

"Nope. You have one minute." Rufus wasn't going to give him anything.

"This is hardly fair. For all I know you could just pick whichever one you want." Cloud frowned.

"If there is one thing about me, I am a man of my word. I have two different punishments in mind. I am only giving you the option of which one because I can't decide which of the two I should enact on you."

"You know, sometimes I wonder what exactly Emilia and Tseng see in you that you're likeable."

"In time you will grow fond of me just as they do."

"So confident, Sir."

"Tick. Tock. Tick. Tock. Time is running out, Cloud."

"Fine. Punishment A." The SOLDIER groaned.

"Good. I will be showing you off at a party in Junon a month from now."

"Rufus? If I may ask, what was Punishment B?"

"Taking care of Darkstar."

And like that Rufus hung up, leaving a very disturbed Cloud. He heard rumors of that dog. The horrors of anyone else trying to handle it. There was a reason it only listened to Rufus.

xXx

The court date was granted to happen sooner due to Garrett's health. Cloud followed Emilia as per usual. Inside, the courtroom was bigger. Instead of two seats for the opposing sides, there were three.

Brandt all the way to the left in handcuffs with two Security Guards on either side of him. Larson by himself in the middle. And then on the right was for Cloud and Emilia.

In the crowd he spots Tseng and Zack sitting together. So that was why Rude was their driver today. Cloud had been too nervous to ask.

The court proceeded as usual. Larson began fiddling with the laptop and having it connect wirelessly to the large screen behind the judge's head. It was high up so everyone could see. Soon enough the screen turned on and Garrett's face was shown.

He looked even worse than before. His face was gaunt, eyes sunken. His cheekbones were showing and the rest of his face was hollow. He has an oxygen mask over his nose and mouth. There were gasps from the whole courtroom at the state Garrett was in.

"Can you hear us, Garrett?" The judge asked.

"Yeah, I can hear you guys." His voice was hoarse.

Cloud glanced at Emilia. This is the result of mako withdrawals? He bit his lip as he saw from the corner eye Tseng crossed his arms. Sensing his horror Emilia took action. She turned to him and for the first time she discreetly whispered to him.

"This is a one in a million chance occurrence. We already had one of the professors check him over."

Still the horrors finally set in. He sensed Sephiroth gathering interest on what caused this reaction. Cloud looked back up the screen and thought that Garrett was the one in million chance to have mako withdrawals this severe.

"With your growing fame and attention from Rufus, I doubt you will ever experience this. Plus, if my memory is correct, he was under Professor Hollander's care. As of late his performance rates have began to decline as more cases of people having strange reactions."

Cloud wondered about Angeal and Genesis. Sephiroth placed a hand on his shoulder with the assurance those two are well off to not have anything happen to them. Feeling a little secure about himself and his friends Cloud focused on the story being told.

"I got to the party a few minutes before Brandt took Cloud to the room. He sent me a text saying that he might have found someone we could have fun with."

"As clarification, were you and Brandt partners?" Larson cleared his throat.

"Not like romantically. We just liked having fun. I'm not entirely positive, but that's how six of us became close friends with him. That's why we were so loyal."

"I see. Can you go back to explaining that night?" Larson gently cut the rambling.

"Yeah. Sorry. Um, I remember walking in and seeing Brandt with this cute blond. They're talking already so I made myself part of the background. He, as in Cloud, looked like he could easily be spooked. So I just kept an eye on them while I enjoyed a couple of cups."

Garrett cleared his throat to stop a cough. He lifted the mask off enough with one hand to take a sip of water from a straw with shaking hands. He placed the cup to the side and let go of the mask.

"Sorry about that. At one point I noticed Cloud get up. He walked a little tipsy. But he was clear headed enough to make for the door. I hear Brandt asking where he was going, and Cloud said he was going home. Then I watched as Brandt came up to Cloud and wrapped an arm over his shoulder."

"And uh, he guided him to the back. Cloud was stumbling a bit as they went. I didn't know what to do. After a minute Brandt texted me to come to the back room on the right."

Cloud was shaking. Emilia gently placed her hand on his shoulder. A few cameras captured the tender moment. He forced himself to focus at the judge so he wasn't completely looking at the screen, but he was at least staring in that direction.

"So I get there. I find Brandt already working on Cloud's pants on the bed. I notice Cloud doesn't seem to be helping. Or responding to anything. His eyes were open but, it just looked like he wasn't there? I don't know if that makes sense. I don't know how to describe that. That expression has been giving me nightmares since that night."

"I believe the term is dissociation. Later we will be having an expert better explain in detail about it. Will you continue your account on what happened next?" Larson encouraged.

"I asked Brandt if he really is willing to do this. He told me just get to work on him already. Or if I didn't want his mouth then wait for my turn. I couldn't get over his eyes so I waited." Garrett hesitated, gathering himself.

"Take your time." Larson spoke gently.

Cloud was biting his lip. His arms were crossed over his chest. One leg bounced a little. His hands were tight fists. He was on the verge of a panic attack and he was forcing it back. He couldn't pretend to be giving any attention to the screen anymore. He stared off into space.

"Keep focus." Sephiroth's lips whispered into his ear. "Cry if you must. Only enough to stay in control. Tonight you will have my arms to cry into."

Cloud lowered his face. A few angry tears escaped. He quickly wiped them away. He hears the clicking of cameras forever capturing the moment. Even as he heard Garrett continue Cloud didn't look up. He kept his head down.

"When Brandt finished, he stepped aside. He was actually grinning. I asked him what was that about. He said that he believes he was Cloud's first. This was the first time I knew his name. And it made my stomach drop. And uh, Brandt asked me if I was willing to have a go."

"And I felt like he was challenging me. So I did. I am not proud of what I did. And I just wanna say I'm sorry. I'm so sorry." Garrett was in tears.

The cameras were having a field day on both the screen and Cloud. He raised a hand to pinch the bridge of his nose. Even so a few tears of his own did escape. He felt the presence of Sephiroth comforting him.

"I understand this is hard for you. This is hard for anyone in your place. Can you explain to us what happened next?" Larson asked, his own voice strained.

"Cloud came to when Brandt tried to put his - himself into his mouth. I think, um, I think he bit Brandt. Because Brandt yelled and pulled away. I had just finished and I didn't want Brandt to hurt Cloud. I pulled him off the bed, but he was trying to fight me too. He kicked me and I hit the wall. Cloud is on the floor, he couldn't get up because his pants are at his ankles. Then Brandt moved to stand over Cloud and punched him a few times in the face."

Cloud felt the rage burn in his chest. He did look up at the screen. He realized that the fury must be showing when Emilia beside him nervously fidgets. He saw her squirm from the corner of his eye. He focused on his breathing to help calm the urge to act out.

On the other side of the courtroom Brandt is a little more obvious. He was fidgeting, looking all around to see that everyone was either silently blowing their noses or wiping tears. He looked back up at the screen as Garrett continued without his attorney's help this time.

"And Cloud went still. I think the hits knocked him out. I see his nose bleeding. And I knew he was going to have a bad black eye. Brandt fixed his pants before moving over to me and doing the same. He rushed me out of the room and pulled me along out the front door. We get into his car and he tells me don't tell anyone what happened. I just nod, scared. I was scared about what just happened."

After a long moment the judge requested Emilia for cross examination. She moved to stand close to the laptop so that Garret could hear her better. She looked up at the screen so Larson didn't have to turn the laptop around.

"Garrett, I only have one question. When you said that when Cloud came to, what do you mean by that? Can you explain in a little more detail for us?" Her voice was a little shaken. Even though this is the second time she's heard the story from Garrett, it still hit her deeply.

"It was like, how I said earlier that he was awake but not aware of whats going on? It was as if he snapped out of it. And he tried to fight back. I'm actually amazed he managed to kick me so hard as he did. It usually takes a lot of force to knock me down. At the time, anyway. Right now I'm a toothpick compared to how I used to be."

"So what you're saying is that Cloud, who at the time hadn't started mako injections, managed to send you flying in his panic?" Emilia wanted to drive this point home with the courtroom.

"Yes, ma'am." Garrett nods.

Whispers all around. Some turned to look at Cloud. He was still staring, his fury mostly masked now. He wanted to be out of here. Cloud wasn't sure if it was plain on his face, but he couldn't bring himself to care.

"Your Honor I have no more questions." Emilia returned to his side.

"I believe that ends the proceedings for today. Garrett, I wish you luck in your recovery. I will put in order that if you're still too sick to attend, Larson will represent you in your absence. The next available date is three months from now. Meeting adjourned." The judge sighed heavily, that was a lot to process.

"Thank you, Your Honor." Garrett coughed.

Soon as it was over Cloud was the first to stand. He paused, remembering he had to follow Emilia. She took the lead and he followed behind her heels. Tseng matched her pace, stating he will bring his car around the front for them. Zack placed a hand on Cloud's shoulder in means of support.

"You did great, Spike. I'm proud of you." His mentor whispered.

Cloud could only nod. He loved Zack as a brother, but in that moment all he wanted was Sephiroth. Upon arriving at HQ Cloud told Zack he needed today off for training. His mentor agreed. Cloud made his way to Sephiroth's suite where he waited, having requested the day off.

Soon as Cloud entered arms wrapped around him protectively and he lost it. He cried and cried. Sephiroth held him through it all.