At first the whole place was creepy and dark. His eyes didn't need light to see, but that didn't take away the fact that it was still very creepy. Cloud searched around the areas that weren't blocked off.

He found a lab on the first floor. Second floor was nothing but bedrooms. One of them had many stuffed into one room. A random piano in one room. And an oddly placed bookcase on the main floor.

That first night he was beyond creeped out. Cloud sensed a lot of sadness and pain happened here. He couldn't imagine what those traumatic events were. And yet he couldn't find anything.

The second night around he only had a few hours before he had to sneak back home to sleep. But in his tired state he somehow managed to find a lever. And then he heard something move from across the mansion. Cloud wanted go investigate, but he checked his watch and knew he had to call it a night.

The third night he made his rounds and found a surprise. A hidden staircase. With a gulp Cloud made his way down. It was dark and the tunnels went deep. He fought off monsterous bats.

Then he came into a room with coffins. Cloud went past them towards what looked like another room. It was a library of sorts. He tried to read into some of them but couldn't make out heads or tails of it. Until one mentioned Project Chaos.

Something about it caught his attention. Cloud couldn't understand why. It was some research into Omega and Chaos. And there was the belief that Chaos had been located. The notes were faded out after that point. But Cloud now had something to search for.

Just when he was about to give up he came across a document mentioning Project Chaos was at an end and deemed too uncontrolled. Therefore the fate of the project lay in the coffins. Cloud hated doing this but then began to open them up one by one.

Each one bats appeared and he had to quickly fight them off. So he tried the next one. Then the next one. Until he reached one that actually had a person inside. Suddenly the individual sat up and Cloud froze as blood red eyes stared at him.

They froze, taking in the sight of each other. Long black hair. Bangs held away from the face by a red bandana. Black leather outfit and pants. A crimson red cape, and a golden claw over the left hand. There was a gun holster at the hip.

But what drew Cloud in was the face.

"You...look like Sephiroth." He was not prepared at all.

Except for the nose? It was almost the same shape but not quite. Otherwise the cheekbones. The jawline. The shape of the mouth. The shape of the eyebrows. All of it was Sephiroth. A carbon copy. Or perhaps it was the other way around? The dates of those documents stated this happened roughly before Sephiroth was born, or perhaps around the same time.

At the mention of Sephiroth the person blinks slowly. Recognition. That name meant something to him.

"...The child lives?" The strange man asked softly.

"He's an adult now. I know him personally." Cloud wasn't going to say partner when he doesn't know this man's connection just yet.

"Who raised him?"

"Professor Hojo." Cloud saw the silent fury in those eyes.

"And his mother?"

"Dead. Or so we're all told." The blond answered.

"...I see." The figure processed this information slowly.

"Forgive me for the introductions. But my name is Cloud. Cloud Strife. I'm a Second Class SOLDIER. And you are...?"

"Vincent Valentine."

"Vincent. This might sound crazy, but you see, Professor Hojo is experimenting on me and Sephiroth. The side effects include headaches and strange visions. One of them was of the mansion above us. And well, I was hoping to find some answers as to why."

"Why would he experiment on both of you?"

"He believes we're compatible. For what I have no idea. But it's making us hear voices. And the visions are beginning to disrupt our lives. I want it to stop before things get too out of hand."

"How do you plan on doing that?"

"Finding a way to kill him." Cloud knew he caught Vincent's interest at that point.

"...You want him dead."

"Yes. Very much so." The blond never looked away as those eyes stared into his soul.

"...I suppose you have the resources to do so if you're asking me." Vincent narrowed his eyes.

"Actually, yes. I have some gil for you. Plus a master keycard to get on all floors of the Shinra building. And a phone with my number already on it in case there's an emergency." Cloud produced all of them out of his various pockets.

"What floor is he on?"

"The 69th floor." Cloud informed as Vincent accepted the offered gifts.

"I can give you more gil once the deed is done." The blond offered. He was only handing over the total of 4,000 from his hunting expeditions.

"No. There's no need. This is personal enough that I won't need the money." Vincent shook his head.

Well, damn. Then again, Vincent had been an experiment then practically left to die. That sounded reasonable enough for this job and not take a reward for it he supposed.

"If I may ask, how do you know Sephiroth?" Cloud wondered.

"I knew his mother."

At the word mother Cloud felt a wave of pain. He raised a hand to his head after he flinched in pain. He saw a vision of the words JENOVA again. This time he could see some sort of metal statue. Then his vision cleared again.

"Was that one of those visions?" Vincent asked.

"...Yeah. Usually they get triggered by immense emotions. That's a first it was a word." Cloud blinked as the headache dimmed.

"Why would mother trigger them?"

"No idea. Oh, after the deed is done, find someplace to hide and call me. I'll make my way there to take back the master keycard. I made a deal with a Turk to give it back so he can dispose of it." Cloud almost forgot about that stipulation.

"This came...from a Turk?" Vincent studied the card. "Which one?"

"You knew them?" Cloud was surprised.

"Is Veld still around?"

"Kinda? I haven't seen him. But his second in command is basically running the Turks. His name is Tseng." The blond wasn't sure if it was a good idea to reveal his name. But there was the off chance they knew each other.

"That three year old brat Veld brought in?"

"How...old are you? If you don't mind me asking. You don't look older than twenty something." Cloud was genuinely curious.

"The result of Hojo's meddling. I wouldn't be surprised if the same happened to you." Vincent commented.

Cloud didn't know what to say to that. Vincent decided to stand. He glided out of the coffin. The blond stood with him and realized that Vincent was almost the same height as Sephiroth. Once again the similarities were shocking.

Except now that he had a better look, Vincent's body frame was different. The cloaked man was built more for speed. Cloud would have paid to see Vincent and Hawke have a face off. Except Vincent's weapon of choice was a gun. And with a claw he had an advantage to hand to hand combat. But Cloud could daydream.

"Is there a time limit?" Vincent asked.

"The phone is in service for a whole year. That's the only time limit I can think of, unless you pay the phone bill when it's due."

"I will keep that in mind. I suggest you get some rest. I will start making plans." Vincent wanted to have a look around the mansiom.

Cloud nodded, suddenly feeling tired. He made his way back up onto the main floor and snuck his way back into his house. He didn't bother changing his outfit and laid down on his bed. Soon as his head hit the pillow he was out.

He had a strange dream again. This time he could see the statue more clearly. A woman with angel wings. Above her head was the name JENOVA. Behind the statue was the woman in the glass mako tank.

Come to me, my son.

He felt the pull. And so Cloud awoke in a trance and followed. All the while he heard words of encouragement. At this time Vincent was just exiting the mansion and saw the odd sight. The blond's movements seemed a little off, so Vincent decided to keep his distance and trail him.

They came upon the abandoned reactor. And suddenly Cloud awoke at the foot of the steps. He blinked as he took in his surroundings. Cloud leaped back, hand on his sword. What? He put it next to his bed. That was when he felt a presence nearby. And suddenly Vincent approached.

"You were in a trance. You trekked all the way here." The gunslinger explained.

"A voice called out to me in a dream. I think the source is inside? But..." Cloud looked at the reactor again.

"Cloud?" Tifa's voice startled the two men. Vincent backed away a few steps while the blond moved closer to her.

"Tifa - What are you doing here?" Cloud panicked.

"I had a nightmare. Then I look outside and see you leaving town and this strange man following. So I changed and followed the tracks. What's going on? And who is he?" She even adorned her fighting gloves.

"His name is Vincent. He's a friend. As to what's going on, I don't know."

"What do you mean you don't know?" Tifa frowned.

"I had a dream. A voice called out me. I guess it brought me here?"

"What did you see in the dream?" Vincent inquired.

"A metal statue of a woman with wings. Above her head is JENOVA. Behind the statue is a body of a woman in a glass tank of mako." Cloud described.

"Jenova? Are you sure?"

"Trust me, I've been seeing the name in my visions for a while now. There's no mistaking it." Cloud then caught on. "What do you know of Jenova?"

"Only bad things. Allow me to take the lead." Vincent didn't wait and made his way up the steps.

"Let me come with you!" Tifa had no idea what was going on but she had a bad feeling.

"No, stay here." Cloud shook his head.

"Can she hold her own in a fight?" Vincent paused.

"Yes, I can! I helped him take down a giant Nibel Wolf that mutated from the mako pools." She proudly proclaimed.

"...She did." Cloud confirmed.

"Then she can handle her own. I should warn you, though. I do not know what horrors lie inside. It wouldn't surprise me if Hojo left a few surprises here."

"Hojo? As in the Professor Hojo? From the company?" While Tifa didn't know a lot of big names, she knew of him since he apparently owned the Manor.

"The one and same." Vincent said as he opened the door.

"Stay behind me." Cloud insisted before following after the gunslinger. Tifa silently nodded and stayed at his heels.

Inside it was creepier than the mansion. There were strange pods. Cloud wiped away the dust off of on and gripped the handle of his sword. It was a monster inside. Tifa gasped at the horrible sight.

"They're dead. The mako reactor is preserving their bodies." Vincent sensed no life in them.

They all look up at the back of the reactor. There in clear letters was JENOVA. Cloud felt a flash of pain and he shook his head in an attempt to get rid of the white noise. Tifa reached for his hand and the noise stopped.

"Are you okay?" She asked in concern.

"Yeah...I just didn't think this was real." Cloud sensed Sephiroth in the back of his mind. Watching.

"How long have you had these visions for?" Tifa wondered.

"A while now." Cloud couldn't place a date in mind.

"Let's see what's in that room." Vincent wanted them to continue.

So cautiously they made their way through the narrow door. And Cloud felt his heart stop. There above the mako within the reactor was a single pathway to the metal statue of a woman with angel wings. That meant that behind the statue was the body of a woman.

My son. Come to me. Let me embrace you.

Suddenly Sephiroth was trying to force his way through. Cloud let out a yell of pain as he placed both hands on either side of his head. He doubled over as the pain increased as Sephiroth continued to push his way through.

"What's happening? Cloud?" Tifa backed away a few steps.

"She wants...Sephiroth...he's trying...control...no!" Cloud shook his head. And suddenly a voice not his own spoke through him. "You dare deny me? After all I have given you?"

"What does she want?" Vincent asked both of them.

"Reunion. Reunion. Meteor. Destruction. Reunion." Both voices of Cloud and Sephiroth spoke in union. Suddenly Cloud stopped thrashing and Sephiroth's voice came through again.

"Come now, puppet. You promised your heart and soul to me. Allow me this one favor to be close to Mother?"

"Cloud, fight him!" Vincent encouraged, sending a warning look at Tifa and she backed away a safe distance.

"I...I...I'm sorry." Cloud whimpered and his body went still. His arms lowered to his sides and he straightened. When he opened his eyes they were completely green with slits for pupils. A smirk that was not all Cloud sent chills down everyone's spines.

"Cloud!?" Tifa cried out.

"Find the means to destroy the body behind the statue! I will hold him off as long as I can!" Vincent told her before leaping to tackle the now possessed Cloud out of there and into the room full of monster pods.

Tifa felt her heart race when she heard the sounds of fighting. Her panic rose as gunshots went off. Still Tifa forced herself to run down the path to the statue. She kicked and punched at it with all her might. All she could manage was make it tilt to one side.

"Stupid thing! Move!" Tifa spun kicked with all her strength.

Finally the statue ripped off the wires and fell into the mako pool below. She stood there, gathering her breath as she took in the horrifying sight. It terrified deep into her soul.

A naked woman inside a glass tube of mako. Connected all over her were wires. Long hair moved with the movement of the mako. Her pink soulless eyes staring.

A gunshot went off and it snapped Tifa back to reality. She heard the small explosion out in the other room. Sephiroth had used Cloud's Fire materia and she hoped Vincent was still holding his own.

"Okay, first things first." Tifa tapped her fists together before swinging at the glass. It shattered after two hits. She stepped back far enough so the glass didn't hit her as it scattered all over and mako spilled.

The body slumped forward now that the mako was gone. Tifa gagged at the movement. For a second she thought it would come alive and reach out to her. So now what?

Another explosion. And she had an idea. Tifa willed forth her Fire materia to activate and aimed at the body. There was a shrilled scream coming from where the fighting took place seconds ago. Tifa did her best to ignore it and casted Fire again just for good measure.

The smell of the burning body was too much and Tifa ran. She hoped it was enough. Tifa made it into the pod room and immediately began coughing. Smoke was everywhere. The fire alarm was going off but the reactor had been abandoned so long that the sprinklers no longer worked.

Tifa found a wounded Vincent dragging an unconscious Cloud and she grasped the other arm. Together they pulled the blond out of the reactor and a safe distance aways as the whole reactor began to burn. When they stopped Vincent checked over Cloud's injuries.

"He's not breathing." He stated softly.

"No...no! Cloud! Cloud!" Tifa panicked. She checked for a pulse. It was faint, barely there.

But as Vincent said he wasn't breathing. Tears streaming down her face Tifa began chest compressions.