Chapter seven

Disclaimer: I don't own anything.

Author's notes are the notes of authors! Ha-ha! I need a nap.

…

The trip to Nibelheim was fortuitously mostly silent. What little chatter came from Reno in the cockpit and that was solely to Rude. It acted as white noise anymore for the Turk. He'd grown used to Reno's endless chatter over the years.

Tseng sat across from Cloud and Zack in the cabin of the helicopter. Zack was napping through the night flight. His head had long since fallen onto Strife's bare shoulder and had been drooling quite the wet patch onto Strife's vest. The former infantryman didn't seem to mind either the drool or being used as a pillow. In fact, his tolerance for the hyperactive First was almost unheard of. No one handled Zack well for any length of time, it was one of the First's secret weapons.

The flight to Modeoheim walking for miles in the snow and facing off against his mentor and friend has taken their toll on the newly minted First. Tseng didn't blame him one bit for taking this chance to rest. He wanted to do the same. The beating he took from Angeal was enough to make him want to curl up and rest for the next week. However, his training wouldn't let him do so in the company of someone as dangerous as Strife.

The blonde himself was perfectly still. He appeared to be almost meditating. His eyes closed to mere slits of mako glow but Tseng was under no illusion that the other wasn't aware of everything that was happening around them. There was far too much tension in Strife's stillness to say otherwise. He reminded Tseng a lot of Sephiroth just before a mission started. That calm tension was exactly the same, a predator patiently waiting for the right time to strike and content until then.

Tseng was uneasy with this mission. Strife's easy acceptance of it and his willingness to bring in Zack at a moment's notice smelled of a trap to the wary Turk. Shinra's head scientist has a history of snatching personnel to further his research and would often use the Turks to do the snatching. Proof of that sat right in front of him. He hoped that this assignment wasn't a ruse to capture young Fair as well. He hadn't received any instructions to, but Strife could be operating under different orders from them. He was surprised when Tseng informed him that he was coming along and the blonde seemed awfully cozy with what the scientist at the planning. In fact, he seemed to be in on whatever Hojo had planned. Anyone who was that closely tied to Hojo was dangerous in a whole new way.

Anything Professor Hojo was interested in, especially if that thing was a living being, could very easily mean trouble for Tseng. The scientist's experiments and complete disregard for life was deplorable, and the worst one Tseng has ever seen was sitting in front of him. Strife claimed to be such an experiment yet he seemed to hold none of the animosity or fear towards the scientist that all of the others had, including Sephiroth. Just what did Hojo do to this young man?

Cloud Strife was a corporal in the Shinra army. Just sixteen years old and small for his age both emotionally and physically weak according to his records. He had dreams of becoming a Soldier with only the promise of potential shown in reports from his earlier missions. His issues with anger management and lack in confidence kept him from real consideration. He tended to keep to himself and didn't socialize with any of his teammates. The reports all said that he was a loner with high expectations and no drive to reach them. Tseng had difficulty reconciling what the reports said and what he saw in the man himself.

In a very small amount of time the boy had aged approximately five years or more and grew several inches. His reported hot temper had turned to an icy control that could rival Sephiroth and he didn't seem to lack in confidence in any way save for around Zack. But what really set off alarms were the instincts and skills he suddenly possessed. He could see them clearly when he watched Strife dispatch the monsters on their trail up the mountain. He let Zack take the lead but when he did act it was so precise and powerful that it made everyone else appear superfluous.

Those skills couldn't be created or enhanced by mako or any experiment he knew of. It took years of training and experience to develop what Strife learned in just a few weeks. Tseng remembered how Strife reacted when the helicopter was shot down in Modeoheim. He was up and out of his seat before anyone realized there was danger and had shielded both him and the sergeant from the impact and debris of the crash. There was no way they should have been able to survive falling from such height. Then after Zack and Strife left up the trail, he saw a large pool of blood where Strife had landed in the snow yet he hadn't shown any sign of an injury.

There were so many inconsistencies with his story. NO ONE was casual with the Professor. Even the President was wary of the scientist and yet Strife acted 'familiar' towards the man. He went so far as to rebuke the scientist in front of them, and Hojo tolerated it, even listened to him. NO ONE could learn to fight like that in such a short amount of time. It was impossible. Everything about Strife was simply impossible.

Then there was the way he acted around Soldier First Zack Fair. He treated the other man like he was something precious. Tseng wasn't that far away when Zack and Angeal fought. When Angeal fell he was certain it was over with. He watched as Strife rushed in and swiftly took control of the situation. Strife was able to command Zack when he was distraught. When Zack started to falter Strife brought him back with no effort. Afterward, he was tender and protective of him, hovering over Zack and guarding him. His treatment of Angeal and Genesis was almost the exact opposite. He was cold to Genesis and almost cruel to the near fatally wounded Angeal.

And when Tseng tried to take control of the situation - his eyes...

"What happened to the sergeant? The one who came with us?" Strife's soft voice suddenly interrupted his musings.

Strife's molten eyes were focused solely on him, Zack still sleeping undisturbed on his shoulder. Tseng suppressed a shudder at being under such a potent gaze.

"He didn't make it." Tseng informed him quietly.

Strife nodded slightly in understanding and fell back into his resting pose. All interest in further conversation clearly lost.

There was a great mystery surrounding Cloud Strife. Tseng hoped the fallout would be manageable.

…

Zack jolted awake as the helicopter landed. He lifted his head off Cloud's shoulder and surreptitiously wiped the drool off his face. Zack hoped Cloud wouldn't figure out what caused the wet spot on his vest. It wasn't his fault he had spent the journey drifting off a bit. Cloud didn't seem to like talking and Tseng kept glaring at his friend. It was a long and somewhat disappointing day so Zack decided to use the flight time to nap. He had earned it.

Cloud was already out of the cabin by the time he got himself together. Zack rushed to get out of the helicopter to catch the blonde.

"What we're looking for is inside the Shinra Mansion. It'll be a bit tricky getting there but there shouldn't be too hard. Mid to low range monsters at best if I remember correctly." Cloud told him.

"Right! Got'cha."

Zack went to unlatch his sword and saw the Buster Sword lying beside it. He hesitated long enough to attract Cloud's attention. He developed an odd look when he saw why Zack was hesitating.

"You should take the Buster Sword." Cloud said softly.

"Use brings about wear, tear and rust." Zack quoted. Angeal's mantra was fixed firmly in his mind.

"That's part of being a weapon. Use brings damage but to not use it destroys its purpose." Cloud shrugged "It's your choice Zack."

"Yo blondie!" Reno called out from the cockpit "the Prof left a goodie bag fo'ya!"

Cloud turned away and headed over to Reno. The redheaded Turk reached in and pulled out a black bag. He tossed it over to Cloud who then checked the contents briefly. With a brisk nod to the Turks he grabbed his sword from where it was latched on the floor and headed down a path to an abandoned building. Zack quickly grabbed his own sword then switched to the Buster Sword and jogged to catch up with him. He caught the edge of Spike's smile as he saw what blade he carried. Zack walked a little bit taller.

"Stay here and keep a watch out." Zack heard Tseng tell the other two.

Tseng steadily followed behind them. By the look on Spike's face he wasn't too happy the Turk was coming along. He didn't say anything though so Zack let it slide. There was a lot of tension between the two that would need to be worked out sometime but that could wait until they weren't in the middle of a job. Whatever the mission was, Spike never said Tseng couldn't be there. He just didn't seem happy about it.

The short trip to the so called Shinra Mansion was picturesque. There wasn't any snow anywhere Zack could see which he was grateful for. He was kind of done with snow for the next…decade. The village was a ways further down the path but what he could see of it was quite charming. A row of quaint cottages lined the way into what he assumed was the town center with a water tower smack-dab in the middle. Zack wondered if they would be stopping by Spike's house after the mission. It might be cool to meet his family.

Cloud led them to the gates of the worn down giant house. The grounds were full of over grown plants that have taken over the yard and up the sides of the walls. It definitely looked like a haunted old building. Zack had a sudden dark feeling that bad things happened here. The urge to turn around and run was strong so naturally Zack did the exact opposite.

"So!" Zack said, clapping his hands together "What are we here to pick up Spike?"

Cloud paused just outside the ironwork gate. He turned his head and arched his eyebrow at his antics. Zack grinned and bounced on his toes. Cloud huffed in fond exasperation.

"Project Chaos, you might want to wait here Tseng."

Tseng glared and pulled out his gun and held it ready "I'm coming with you."

Cloud nodded and opened the gate to lead them in. "The Dorky Faces that can cause confusion, and the Lost Number will be a pain." He said as he pulled his sword from its harness.

With a precise downward swing, Zack watched him cleave the locks off the door. How did he get such precision with that monster blade? Cloud grinned back at him and pushed the door open. The cheeky blonde then half-bowed and invited them in. Zack pulled the Buster Sword off his back and led the way into the mansion. Tseng followed in second with Cloud taking the rear.

The inside definitely fit the outer motif. It was a dark and dreary kind of place with dust moats in the air and grime covering every surface. Faded wallpaper peeling off the walls and broken furniture with tattered coverings were all that was left of what once was a grand place. Zack felt dirty after the first five steps into the main room, and if Tseng's expression was believable, he felt the same way. Zack always suspected the Turk was a closet germ-a-phobe. Cloud just ignored the filth and focused solely on the monsters and where he was going.

"All right. So…the first fun part is going to be a scavenger hunt." Cloud told them.

"Huh? A hunt for what?" Zack asked as he looked around.

"The combination for the ZACK LOOK OUT!" Cloud suddenly shouted.

Zack dodged and rolled just in time to avoid getting split in two by a massive blade.

"What the hell is that!?" Zack shouted as he got to his feet.

"Ying Yang I think."

Zack readied his sword to swing at it when three loud bangs filled the air. Whatever was riding on the swinging blade was knocked down and Zack quickly ran forward to decapitate it.

"A bit of advice Tseng, you might want to save your bullets. We're going to face off against something far worse and you might need all you have." Cloud told them casually. "Do you have any offensive materia?"

Tseng shook his head mutely and Cloud removed one from his bracer. He handed it over to Tseng as if it were nothing. Zack got close enough to read it and was shocked to find a natural ice materia, a Mastered Ice materia! Those to forever to Master and Cloud was handing one out like it was nothing. Tseng stared at it for a long time with a pensive look before linking it into his gun.

The scavenger hunt was all in all a piece of cake which was fine by him. It was actually rather fun. Zack focused mainly on slicing up any monsters that came near while Cloud looked for his clues. He also found some interesting treasure though why anyone would need an arm gun was beyond him. After getting told off, Tseng mostly just followed Cloud and tried to help find the missing numbers.

When they had the complete combination Cloud directed them slowly to where the safe was located. He kept slightly ahead and apart the other two. Zack watched him slash and cut the various monsters now that he wasn't looking around for clues. He kind of wanted to continue in the fun but he held back and allowed Cloud this chance to vent some of his hidden rage.

Zack noticed as they were walking that Tseng tried to keep him between him and Cloud. Zack had never seen Tseng so on edge and he'd done several missions with the man by now. It was odd to see The Turk so wary of someone who was supposed to be their ally, regardless of whether or not he was new.

"It's fine Tseng. He's not going to suddenly turn on us." Zack whispered to the Turk.

"You don't know that." Tseng replied just as softly.

Cloud ignored them and led the trio to the upper northwest corner of the building. Once they were in he closed and locked the door behind them. It did nothing to calm Tseng's nerves. The room was pretty barren save for a large wall safe in the middle of the right wall.

Spike paused before the safe in the wall and said "This is where Lost Number is located. Its split in two sections, the red side is vulnerable to physical attacks, the purple to magic." He knelt before the safe and swiftly entered the combination. He took a deep breath before opening the door.

A giant rainbow rushed out of the safe pushing Cloud hard against the wall, plaster breaking off with him as he slid down it. Tseng quickly jumped back out of its reach and Zack scrambled to the side with a shout. Cloud got up and caught the monster with the flat of his blade and with a great shove pushed it into the far wall; he then cast a powerful barrier over the three of them before the creature could recover. It quickly returned and lashed out at Zack. He rolled to dodge the tentacle and got back to his feet near a wall.

"This isn't the thing you need to bring back with us is it?" Zack shouted as he rushed and swung at the red/yellow tentacle thing before it could reach him again.

Tseng stood in the back and shot it in the eye. The monster raged and tried to rush the Turk only to be caught and pushed back by Cloud again. Cloud then spun around lightning fast with his sword and gouged the monster right in the middle of its red side before jumping out of its reach.

"Nope" Cloud said almost cheerfully as he struck it with a nasty bolt of lightning, "This…we get to kill."

"Oh goodie!" Zack called out.

"Enough chatter!" Tseng called out as he emptied his first clip into the red side and swiftly changed it out.

Zack rushed forward in the lull of bullets to land his own strike only to be hit by a wave a fire from the monster.

"Careful there." Cloud called out as Tseng let loose a powerful ice spell to freeze the flames.

"Yeah, yeah."

Zack built up a power surge and slashed in as hard as he could several times before it's claw forced him to back out again. Tseng took over empting his second and third clip into the red side while Cloud unleashed spell after spell onto the purple half.

Before Zack could react the giant claw hand lashed out to strike Tseng.

"Tseng!"

Zack ran over to him but Cloud was there first. The blonde had somehow managed to get in between the claw and Turk and blocked what would have been a killing blow for the Turk using the flat of his sword as a shield.

"You alright?" Zack asked just to be sure.

Tseng nodded and changed clips again. Cloud's eyes flared brighter and the whole mansion shook as he used the most powerful quake Zack had ever seen. He was honestly surprised they all didn't go through the floor.

The purple side died with a horrible shriek. Zack ran and jumped on the remaining half using his sword like a spear to pierce down into it. The second he pulled away Tseng emptied his last round dropping the red side dead.

Zack stumbled back against a wall to catch his breath. It wasn't a long fight and no one got hurt, aside for his burn which was already healing, but that was a very fast paced fight. Tseng was next to the wall checking on his gun. He wasn't leaning on it but it was close enough to make Zack smile at the thought of the Turk wearing a dusty suit.

"You got any bullets left in there Tseng?" Zack asked with a faint grin. The Turk didn't say anything, but the look he shot him spoke volumes. "So Spike's advice was useful after all huh Tseng?" If Tseng did have any bullets left Zack was sure he would have been digging them out of his ass for that.

Cloud had knelt by the safe again while he was ribbing Tseng and pulled out an old key along with something he couldn't quite see and a red materia which he tossed to Zack.

"What is this? Is this a summons? An actual natural summons?" Zack asked as he rolled the orb in his hand. He'd never owned a natural materia before let alone a summons. This was too much!

"It's called Odin." Cloud answered.

Tseng look up sharply "You cannot give away materia, especially a summons."

"I did" Cloud said simply and left the room without another word.

Zack shrugged as far as he was concerned it was his now and he wasn't giving it up without a lot of whining. He quickly chased after Spike leaving Tseng to follow behind. Cloud took them to the upper east wing and into a bedroom. He stood before a circular brick wall in the corner. Zack watched him push on part of the wall, and it opened up into a secret passageway.

"Project Chaos lies down there." He turns to face them "You two don't have to go down with me. I should do this part by myself."

"You're not leaving me behind Spike. I'm right there with you." Zack told him firmly.

"I'm not staying behind either." Tseng told them.

"I hate this place. Almost all of my demons live down there. I never thought I'd have to come back." Cloud spoke so softly that if it wasn't for his enhanced hearing Zack didn't think he would have heard it. "Stay close and don't touch anything." Cloud said louder. Then started down the stairs to hell.