Hand over the Black Materia.

The voice, so smooth and alluring ordered. With the tone it sounded like a request. But the cells in his body took it as an order. So he reached for his left arm.

Only to get distracted by a single black feather as it fell. And he wondered, how? He was standing upside down. How can a feather land next to his foot?

Then it reminded him of the feather he saw as the elevators closed. So then this had to be from Sephiroth. He glanced at Sephiroth, still asleep in the mako crystal.

No. Not him.

"What's going on?" Hojo was confused.

"Fight it, Cloud!" A female voice encouraged.

Tifa? Or was it Aerith? His hearing was muddled when it concerned their voices. And yet he could hear the professor just fine.

There was pain. There were no words this time but the order was given again. His body hurt from denying the materia. Cloud grimaced and raised a hand to his head.

And words echoed from a memory.

"Run, Cloud...run away. You have to leave. You have to live."

The words snapped him from the spell placed upon him. Cloud blinked, his eyes returning to their normal color. And immediately he leaped from the mako crystal with great force.

There was a scream.

He glanced at his friends, hand on the sword handle. And they weren't in danger? Who screamed then? Suddenly he was doubling over in the worst pain he felt to date. His whole body screamed at him to obey.

Obey her. Obey her and hand over the materia. But a part of him held onto the words that he spoke of. And it was enough to defy her.

"What's going on? He was supposed to gift Sephiroth the Black Materia!" Hojo's voice held panic and confusion.

"Cloud!" Tifa ran towards him. At her heels were Barret, Aerith and Red.

Then Cloud felt his presence. It was enough to distract him from the pain. He turned with accuracy to stare at Sephiroth. And blinked. Cloud glanced back up at the mako.

There were two Sephiroth's?

"What is this? So there are more than one...Interesting." Hojo was in awe.

Wait. So this wasn't an illusion? Cloud turned to stare at the more clothed Sephiroth. He was smiling at Cloud. His eyes danced with emotions.

There was a howling. So deep and yet so high pitched. And suddenly Cloud was swarmed by Harbringers of Fate. The cloaked figures circled around him.

They cut him off from his friends. He couldn't see anyone or anything beyond the tornado. Cloud reached for his sword, only for the pain to become unbearable. Cloud doubled over.

The worst of the pain was centered at his head and his left arm. He tried to bite back the scream. But as the pain intensified he couldn't. His scream could be heard over the entities.

"Cloud!" His friends muffled cries can be heard.

Obey! Obey! Hand over the materia! A voice demanded.

Cloud shook his head.

I AM YOUR MOTHER AND I DEMAND THAT YOU OBEY!

An image of a woman in a glass tube. Dead from a war at the early years of humans. He questioned how he knew this detail, but that wasn't enough to distract him from the pain as she demanded again.

No. She wasn't his mother. His mother had blonde hair. Sky blue eyes, not pink swirling purple. She perished with the village.

YOU WILL OBEY ME!

"Never!" Cloud grit his teeth from the pain. And still he grasped his weapon and took a stance.

Before he could attack the entities, Cloud's ears picked up the distinct sound of Masamune. Out of instinct he rolled to dodge where the sound came from.

Turns out he didn't have to. Masamune cut through the tornado. And they dispersed with a scream. Behind him his friends called out his name. But Cloud focused solely on Sephiroth.

He helped? But why? Not sensing any malice Cloud placed his sword on his back. However his eyes never left the man in front of him.

"The threads of Fate are almost completely cut." Sephiroth finally spoke with pride.

"What are you talking about?" Cloud glared.

His friends stopped behind him. They were confused at the sight of two Sephiroth's. And a part of them wondered why Cloud wasn't outwardly attacking the one that stood before them.

"Come now. You're aware of what was meant to be. You've seen the visions of what was supposed to happen. Yet here you stand. Denying that future."

Images of a meteor aiming towards the Earth came to mind. Cloud grimaced from the pain, for it was influenced by her. He blinked away the pain.

"You mean that meteor?" Cloud knew it was the truth.

"That is the power you hold inside your arm. To destroy the planet."

"You're not getting it either!" The blond glared.

Sephiroth smiled.

"I have no need for it." His response surprised them all.

"Then what do you want?" Tifa asked.

"Cloud already knows that answer." In other words, Sephiroth won't indulge them.

And the words cut. Cloud knew what he was trying to achieve. Drive a wedge between him and his friends. And it was working.

He sensed their trust in him change. Cloud was panicking on the inside to address them or Sephiroth. He felt their eyes on him.

"Cloud? What is he talking about?" Tifa asked, voice shaking.

He looked away, avoiding their eyes. And he grit his teeth. That wasn't going to help him in the long run.

In truth he wasn't entirely sure what Sephiroth wanted himself. He recalled their conversation at the Edge of Creation.

And suddenly he knew. At least, a theory. Cloud turned his attention back at Sephiroth, who smiled again as he registered that the blond made the connection. Cloud took one step back.

Suddenly a helicopter flew close. It must have been flying at great speed for it had to turn around. Everyone saw the company logo on it.

"Sorry for being late to the party!" Reno said on the intercom.

"The hell you want!?" Barret yelled.

"As much as I want to kick your asses today, it's not happening." The redhead scoffed.

"What? Too scared we'll beat your ass again? Huh?" Barret challenged.

"We're dropping someone off." Rude explained.

The door opened when the helicopter hovered above a good ten feet. And revealed a Soldier with dark hair. The distance couldn't give much else in details.

"Wait...could it be?" Aerith gasped. "But how?"

"Did you really think defying Destiny wouldn't come with consequences?" Sephiroth spoke up. "That is the result of the first time at the crossroads."

The Soldier leaped from the helicopter. He landed safely. Figures for a Soldier. Then he ran towards him. And Cloud couldn't help but stare at the weapon on his back.

"It is you!" Aerith ran to embrace him. He laughed as he hugged her just as tightly.

Cloud wasn't the only one to stare. But his heart tore at the sight. He wondered what was wrong with him. His body acted like he knew this person. His eyes were still hyper focused on the sword.

"Aerith! You finally stepped outside of Midgar, did you?" The Soldier grinned.

"With help of course!" She giggled.

"I can see that. Hey, Cloud! How about a group hug!" He waved him over.

"You know him?" Barret asked the blond.

"No." Cloud stated flatly.

"What? You don't remember? Did the mako poisoning mess up your memory or something?"

"Don't remember." Cloud stood firm, now getting angry.

"Come on, is that how you're supposed to greet an old friend?"

"I don't have Soldier buddies." Cloud bit back.

"I don't understand. They're not lying. Neither of them are." Tifa was confused.

"If it is as he says and Cloud had mako poisoning, then he wouldn't remember everything." Red glanced up at Cloud. "It could also explain why you have headaches. Your memory might be trying to come back, but you resist."

"So you're saying everything I am is a lie?" Cloud frowned.

"I never said anything of the sort." Red tilted his head.

"So you really don't remember." The Soldier approached, expression perplexed.

"Who are you?" Cloud tensed.

"Cloud, it's me. Remember our time in Midgar? What about Nibelheim?"

"Wait. You were there. I remember now. You were the Soldier who was also there!" Tifa exclaimed. "How could I forget?"

Now Cloud was alarmed. How could she remember him at Nibelheim, but he couldn't? His eyes studied the face again. And there was something familiar.

As he thought this he was hit with another wave of pain. Cloud raised a hand to his head as he looked away. His heart panicked as his mind felt pressured to remember.

"Don't fight it, Cloud."

"I'm not listening to you!" He snapped. And the pain receded.

"I'm just trying to help." The dark haired Soldier looked hurt.

"I don't need your help!" Cloud stepped back.

"Cloud - " Tifa reached for him.

"Don't touch me!" He backed away further.

"Hey, man, calm down." Barret reprimanded.

Once again Cloud focused on the sword. Exact same as his own. Even some of the same nicks and scars. Not all of them matched, but close enough that Cloud felt his stomach drop.

And suddenly a memory surfaced. It was like his mind cracked open like an egg. And memories that had been buried deeply flooded in.

Zack. His friend Zack Fair. The man who inspired him to keep trying Soldier. The man who originally carried the Buster Sword. And he gave it to Cloud at his dying breath.

"You...you died. You're supposed to be dead." Cloud felt his voice shaking.

The raw emotions of the loss he witnessed was still felt strongly. And yet here Zack stood alive and well. And the evidence was the sword. The weapon he passed on to Cloud.

"Hey, I know my odds weren't in my favor. But here I am! Ready to help, because it looks like you're gonna need it." Zack smirked, eyes shining with pride that his friend remembered.

But Cloud was panicking as the rest of his memories filled in the gaps. He never made it into Soldier. Everything he thought happened was a lie. Everything about him after Nibelheim was a lie.

"Hey, why are you looking so scared? It's okay. We can work together." Zack noticed how pale the blond became.

And a defiance grew within Cloud. It was also mixed in with fear, horror and sorrow. They were all felt so strongly that he couldn't identify which was the strongest emotion.

And he sensed his connection with her disrupted. He no longer felt the calling to answer them. He no longer had the urge to hand over the Black Materia. No outside force was driving him anymore.

"The threads of Fate have been cut." Sephiroth spoke up, and Cloud didn't have to turn around to know that he was smiling.

Fear won the battle and Cloud bolted. He ignored the cries of everyone as he ran full speed. Zack tried to catch up. The blond ran faster, determined to get away.

"Cloud! Spike! We can work together! Just like old times!" Zack called out.

"Leave me alone!" Cloud yelled.

Recalling that he somehow was able to ascend and descend like Sephiroth, the blond tried to call upon this ability. The best he could do was take great leaps into the air and land a longer distance away than he should humanly be able to, Soldier or not.

Zack gave up on the chase. He turned back to return to the others. Meanwhile the rest of Avalanche turned to Sephiroth, who continued to smile with pride.

"The hell did you do!?" Barret pointed his gun arm at the silver haired man.

"I did nothing." Sephiroth was indifferent with the weapon.

"Don't act so smug! You guided him to cut ties with the planet!" Aerith glared.

"Hm. Did I? Or was it perhaps your own influence? Your intentions, although good, have unfortunately caused him to run. Now he is under no obligation to do anything you or I want him to do. He is free to shape his own Destiny." Sephiroth countered smugly.

"So then he's just like you..." Aerith realized with horror.

"Indeed. I wonder, which of us will he turn to? Or if he doesn't, then what will he do? Save the planet anyway, or destroy it?"

"He wouldn't destroy it! Not after all we've done to protect it!" Barret was confident.

"But he has the Black Materia." Red reminded. "And in his current mind state, he might react irrationally."

"So then...we just find the White Materia!" Barret wasn't so confident this time.

"Easier said than done. I thought those were just a myth." Tifa sighed.

"Then we find Cloud." Zack proclaimed. His eyes darted to Sephiroth. "And we'll find him before you do."

"I don't have to search. He shares my cells. I can reach him no matter the distance, no matter where he is." Sephiroth smirked.

They knew this to be true. If he can come and go as he pleased, and always seem to meet them at the right moment at the right place, it had to be true. The times he showed up couldn't just be a coincidence.

"But you're not going to search. You want him to come to you." Aerith concluded, biting her lip.

"It is still ultimately his choice." Sephiroth replied.

"Then we can beat you here and now!" Barret was ready for a fight. "We've done it before!"

Sephiroth smirked darkly. "I will never cease to exist. Strike me down now, and I will return. But go ahead, waste your efforts."

"Let him go. He's not worth the trouble." Zack wasn't keen on the idea of fighting him. At least not yet.

Sephiroth studied Zack curiously. He found this odd behavior. For the Zack he knew would raise his sword at any given chance for all the wrongdoings he had done.

"What, still fond of him because you knew him before he went insane or something?" Barret accused.

"He's not holding his weapon and he's not interested in fighting. If he so wished to fight he would have started one a long time ago." Zack countered.

Barret wasn't the only one to have another look at Sephiroth. When did he stop holding his sword? He had used it just minutes ago to disrupt the Harbringers of Fate.

"Interesting. You sound like your mentor. I would almost say I'm looking at him instead of you." Sephiroth observed.

"You're not getting into my head." Zack glared.

"No, that would be too presumptuous of me. No matter. Let's see who Cloud decides to seek out in the end. And if he doesn't, well, I'll still win in a way." A black wing burst out from Sephiroth's right shoulder.

Black feathers descended as he took flight and disappeared into the night sky. The group pondered over his choice of words.

"How could he still win if Cloud doesn't choose?" Barret asked.

"Because it means Cloud will no longer align with us. He means for him to be separate from us and our goals." Red answered. He glanced up at Aerith. "Is that correct?"

"...Yes. Even if Cloud doesn't choose a side, it is enough for Sephiroth. Because it means he can separate him from us." She grew sad at the thought.

"Then we convince him to stick with us." Tifa had hope.

Aerith nodded, but in her heart there was an uncertainty.