Summary: In the middle of a game of Monopoly, Shinra Edition, Seventh Heaven's game night is ruined with the introduction of Canon.
Sector Seven, Seventh Heaven
Cloud had his head in his arms, Sephiroth leaning on him. The two, Zack, Aerith, Ariana, and Aridai were all playing Monopoly, while Tifa was making drinks over at the bar. Barret had gone off to do…something, having left a few days ago.
Cloud, Sephiroth, Ariana, Aridai, and Zack were still in their work clothes since they had collectively left Shinra Tower when their hours were up.
Unfortunately, Cloud was terrible at the game, having gotten killed first after trying to assassinate Sephiroth's character. The game had been going on for over three hours, with his husband currently hemorrhaging play money while Aerith had become a (Monopoly) loan shark, and Zack had already gotten killed right after Cloud did.
Aridai was just watching Ariana play, having done a (Monopoly) merger with his sister, since she was better at finances than he was.
A flash of silver light made them jump from their seats, Cloud protectively keeping an arm in front of Sephiroth, Ariana summoning Muramasa to her hand, Aridai summoning his Afallon into his left, Zack shifting so Aerith is hidden behind his bulk, and Tifa moving into a fighting stance.
Looking back at them appears to be a younger version of Cloud, Tifa, Barret, and two children, which was a girl with straight brown hair, and a brown haired boy.
The younger Cloud made a strange noise when he laid his eyes on Zack and Aerith, his eyes widening as he tensed.
"What the fu—mph!" Ariana's mouth was muffled by her brother's non occupied hand, since there were children in the room.
"Language!" the brown/silver haired man hissed, jerking his head towards the children and towards Barrett.
Aridai could hear his name being repeated elsewhere, resisting the urge to just use the Lifestream to just teleport to the caller.
It seemed that the other Cloud had realized that Sephiroth was there, an expression of fury crossing his face before he moved to grab at the sword on his back.
"Sephiroth?!" the younger Cloud hissed, grabbing the attention of the other doubles, plus the other kids.
"Cloud?" the silver haired man blinked, before the other Cloud rushed at him.
"Hey!" their Cloud had realized his double's intentions, bodily pushing back Sephiroth while calling for his backup materia linked weapon, which was an unnamed short sword, "What the hell do ya think you're doin, huh!? Seph, get back!"
"Enough! No fighting in the bar!" their Tifa roared, hopping over the counter, "I don't know where you guys came from, but fighting in here is unacceptable!"
"Cloud, it's okay," Sephiroth tried placating his husband, the blonde's mako blue eyes narrowing as he studied his alternate's expression.
"No it ain't! He's trying to kill you!" Cloud growled, switching to his more natural Nibel, "Now, you better stop, other me, or I'm gonna fucking kill you."
"No one is dying! Both of you, enough!" their Tifa stepped in, smacking both Clouds.
"Tifa!" they both said in more surprise than in pain.
Sephiroth's PHS started ringing in what was Rufus' ringtone, prompting Cloud to step back to grab it and put it on speaker.
"Rufus, this isn't a good time right now. And you're on speaker."
"Let me guess. A few body doubles have popped up at Seventh Heaven and you're looking at yourself, little brother?"
"Fuck, Rufus, that's exactly what happened. You better send some Turks, or so help me Odin, my double is dying tonight. He tried to kill my Seph!" Cloud spat, glaring at his double, "And as far as I know, my husband didn't do anything to him!"
Utter pandemonium.
"Hu-HUSBAND?" the other Cloud sputtered, while the other Barret pointed at the silver haired main.
"HIM?!"
"Cloud's married?" piped up the little girl at Barret's side.
Cloud clicked his tongue, unhappy about the interruption, "Yeah, nine years now, what's it to you, kid? Hey, Rufus, my sword hand's getting itchy, you gonna call us all in or what?"
Over the speaker, Rufus gave a loud sigh.
"Noted. Stay there, don't kill them. General Crescent, that goes for you too. If Commander Fair is there, keep him and his wife together. Ghost, I know you're in there somewhere, keep your sister in check. No need for both Disaster Twins stirring trouble. The Turks will be there shortly, I'm sure Tseng will call your Disasters."
"I resent that, Boss," Ariana complained, while Aridai snorted at the same time. "Of course, Mr. President."
"Good. Rufus out."
"Father, stay back. I don't trust them," Aridai moved closer to Sephiroth, speaking to the silver haired man without taking his eyes off the intruders.
Cloud tossed the PHS to his husband's hands, who caught it automatically, "Looks like we gotta go. And here I thought it'd be a normal Friday night…" The blonde sighed, before making a very obvious 'I'm watching you' motion with his hands.
"Seph, everything's okay now. You can relax," Cloud said offhandedly. He seemed to remember that his unnamed blade was still in his hand, so he let it dissolve without another word.
"You are lucky Rufus finds you both useful and witty," Sephiroth noted, reluctantly getting out of his tense stance, "Or he would've had you killed."
"Hah! And leave Lazard with him, and Evan? No way. Us bastard children need to stick together," Cloud grinned, though it didn't reach his eyes, "Don't kid yourself, Seph."
Ariana breathed in deeply, recalling Muramasa back into its materia, and picking up the dropped Monopoly set. Her brother adjusted his suit jacket, hiding his gun from view.
The SOLDIER's PHS rang, Aridai picking it up since his sister was still busy shoving Monopoly money back in the box.
"Hello Tseng," the man greeted, listening to his Bossman on the other side, "Yes, that is the situation here, sir. Oh? Another you? How dread—I mean, wonderful. Yes, wonderful. Yes, I do respect you, sir, of course. President Shinra spoke with Uncle a little while ago…yes sir. I'll get the others, see you then."
Aridai hung up, handing the PHS back to his sister.
"So…another Tseng and Rufus, huh?" Ariana teased with a wide grin, "You can have an orgy with—hey!"
The green eyed Turk's cheeks heated up with a fierce blush, squeaking at the implication and elbowing his sister roughly in the stomach.
"Shut up! And not in front of children!" Aridai hissed.
"The arrow has left the bow of the Goddess. In your case, a red one," the older twin couldn't help but giggle, throwing an arm around him.
Sephiroth, who couldn't help but listen in with his enhanced hearing, sighed into his palm, eyes closing to stave off an oncoming headache. Cloud had herded him to the far corner of the bar, since the younger blonde didn't trust his seemingly younger, broodier, and apparently out to get Sephiroth, double.
Zack was the first to be friendly to the alternate people, with a bright, easy smile on his lips.
"Hey, so you're Cloud too, right," he bounced in place, "Wow, you're pretty short. Reminds me of when our Spikey first got in SOLDIER, kiddo was soooo short. Hey, Aerith, come here! It's another Cloudy!"
"Zack, you're overwhelming him," Aerith sighed, "Lay off a little, will you?" She flashed a small smile at the other Cloud, who seemed to be frozen solid.
"Aerith?" the younger Cloud asked hollowly, sounding unsure.
"I'm a version of her, yes," Aerith approached slowly, and nodded, "I had a dream the other day with your version of me. She wishes you all the best, Cloud."
"But for real, our Cloud used to be really tiny before he got picked up by Seph, you know?" Zack kept talking with an animated exuberance, dragging his version of Cloud from where he was hovering around Sephiroth, and slinging an arm around the 6'1" blonde, "Ah, the years flew by! This guy grew like a tree!"
"I am getting offended on his behalf," Cloud grumbled, "And stop being cringy, Zack!"
"Zack, sweetheart, you might want to stop talking, or Cloud's going to hit back," Aerith recommended.
"Ack! Right! Thanks for reminding me babe!" the dark haired SOLDIER raised his arms to block a playful swat from Cloud.
"Didn't Rufus say we were being picked up? Get dressed for work, Zack!" Ariana reminded the room, grabbing her coat, "Everyone, get your things! Oh, and what about Papa and Dad?"
"Your other two parents are most likely still at Loveless Avenue. We can get them in the meantime," Sephiroth stretched slightly, noticing the older newcomers tensed at his movement.
"Oh yeah, Dad's been talking a lot about the new production. I think he nearly set Zack on fire when he talked about the movie again," Ariana snapped her fingers, "My friend, do you fly away now? To a world that abhors you and I? All that awaits you is a somber morrow, no matter where the winds may blow."
"Ugh, more Loveless," Aridai mumbled under his breath.
"Shut it. Come on, guys," Ariana whined, picking up Orion from where it was hanging on a weapons rack next to Masamune and Tsurugi.
"Always so reliable, Stalwart Commander," Cloud teased, the taller blonde ruffling his stepdaughter's hair.
"Hey! Cloud!" Mako green eyes glared at the blue eyed man, but there was no heat behind the outcry.
"Yeah, whatcha gonna do, huh? I outrank you, remember Ana?" Cloud grinned, a challenging glint in his eyes.
"I'll tell Papa not to give you his leftovers for a month," huffed Ariana, "You'll truly taste despair, Uncle! You know his food is the best! Father can't cook worth shit!"
"Then I'll just ask Ma to send something from Nibel, so there," Cloud stuck his tongue out playfully, "Nothing beats home food."
"Can both of you not, at this instant," Sephiroth groaned, well aware of his husband and his daughter's food rivalry.
"Not sorry," Ariana clicked her tongue, "Hmph. Ari, when's our pickup going to be here? We'll send the lovebirds there first."
"According to Tseng," Aridai read off the PHS texts, "Two Guns, Katana, Shotgun, and Cisseni are doing the pickup."
The Monopoly box was shoved into a cabinet, which had a bunch of other board games in it, by Aerith, since Ariana was too busy arguing with Cloud.
Aridai sighed, already feeling the long haul. He made a call to Genesis and Angeal, the black haired man saying that doubles were appearing in the theater during the intermission.
The Turks appeared in little less than an hour, with three helicopters with room for four passengers each, and Seventh Heaven closed early.
