Chapter Three: Welcoming Committee

Sephiroth took the first flight to Wutai, declining the usual offer of a private airship ride. He'd always found the idea of personal transportation for military duties distasteful. Thus it was that his military helicopter landed down on Wutai.

And here was wondrous, beautiful Wutai. It seemed like a lifetime since Sephiroth had first set foot here to hunt dangerous fiends. Now he came not as a hero, but conquerer.

Ironic.

Sephiroth stepped off the helicopter when it was a few feet off the ground. It was only once he stepped out that he found those few feet were actually several. He landed in a crouch and found a beautiful, blonde woman with her hair parted to one side. She wore a suit like those of the Turks and had full red lips and bright blue eyes.

As soon as he stepped forward, she blinked and then saluted smartly. "Sephiroth, sir, welcome to Wutai. I'm Elena; I'm here as your escort."

"I haven't been here since the landings four years ago," said Sephiroth.

"Yes, sir, we're honored to have you with us here," said Elena.

Sephiroth looked around the camp and found that all signs of the destruction had not been washed away. The metal was burned in some places, and the ruins of several buildings were visible. Others were under construction.

And there weren't all that many troops standing by.

"...Where is everyone?" asked Sephiroth.

"Wutai attacked when news came of you coming," said Elena. "They tried to drive us into the sea, and it was hard-fought. We had a bit of a tough spot, but we drove them off with heavy casualties. Now they've drawn back to Fort Tamblin.

"We were in need of reinforcements before the massacre; now we're a skeleton crew. And all the disappearances being fed into Hollander's lab hasn't helped either."

"I see," said Sephiroth. "Where is my unit?"

"I could take you right to them now, sir, if you want," said Elena.

"I would prefer that," said Sephiroth.

Elena led him through the base, and as she did, he questioned her on recent events. Accounts of multiple skirmishes were told to him, most of them victories for Shinra. However, morale was bad, and Lazard suddenly being recalled had made it worse. Now there were rumors among the common soldiers of an attempted coup.

So that was all the more reason to win quickly.

Even so, by looking around, Sephiroth confirmed what he had suspected. Only a fraction of the men dispatched to Wutai for a glorious, swift victory would ever return home. Many of those here were undesirables. People of darker skin who were being supplanted by colonists from Nibelheim.

Several times, Sephiroth noticed men who looked to be under the influence of drugs. Others were sitting with their heads in their hands and hardly responding. These men had seen far too much, too soon, that they were not prepared for.

When Sephiroth finally reached the main building, he found it under heavy guard by Turks. They were patrolling the area. Sephiroth found it irritating that this place was the most secure. "This is a great deal of security, wouldn't you say?"

"Well, we're not sure who, if any is in the conspiracy you uncovered," said Elena. "Cloud Strife and Lightning have been kept guarded until now. We've been uh... getting extensive reports from them.

"Shall I go get them?"

"No, I'd prefer to surprise them," said Sephiroth. "Are you a member of the Turks?"

"Um, no, but I'm in training, sir," said Elena. "I'm hoping to be an elite someday."

"Then stay quiet and follow me," said Sephiroth, before opening the door silently.

As he entered, he slipped in and saw Cloud Strife lying in a bed while staring up at the ceiling. The spiky, blonde-haired boy was wearing his uniform. Sephiroth thought he looked quite nice in it. Glancing up, he saw Lightning staring at a wall with her arms crossed.

Neither one noticed his arrival.

"How long do you think they'll keep us here for?" asked Cloud.

"If they were going to kill us, they'd have done it by now," said Lightning. "So why didn't you walk when you had the chance?"

"Hmm?" asked Cloud.

"You could have been well beyond enemy lines by now if you hadn't gone back for Snow," said Lightning.

"It wouldn't have been right," said Cloud.

"That kind of attitude is going to get you killed sooner or later," said Lightning, glancing back. Her usually emotionless tone had a hint of concern in it.

"Probably," said Cloud. "Snow had it."

Lightning paused. "...You didn't try to attack me when I was trying to kill you back there; why?"

"I'd already lost one friend," said Cloud simply. "Why lose another without even trying to save them?"

"You wouldn't be saying those things if you were related to the people I'd killed off," said Lightning simply.

"Maybe not," admitted Cloud. "But you weren't fully in control of your actions. You are under brainwashing and possibly insane. You aren't as accountable as someone like Lazard who did it of his own free will."

"What does the reason we do things matter?" asked Lightning simply. "If people are dead, they're dead.

"Snow found that out the hard way."

"I know," said Cloud. "He said it was a kid named Hope who did it. He fired the first shot because Snow killed his Mother."

Sephiroth decided to make his entrance at this point and moved forward. "I'm told you've both been pardoned for any wrongdoing."

Cloud looked up and stared in shock for a moment. Then he leaped to his feet and saluted. "Sephiroth?!

"Sorry, sir, I didn't know you were there. Cloud Strife reporting for duty, sir." The kid was cute when he was flustered.

Lightning did no such thing, much to Sephiroth's irritation. He raised a hand. "At ease.

"Lightning, you've had a very busy few days."

"I'm a several billion-dollar piece of equipment," said Lightning simply. "At the moment, I'm in Shinra's hands, so they don't want to waste me."

"Duly noted," said Sephiroth, feeling a hint of amusement. "We're shipping out in an hour. Get your gear."

"We?" asked Cloud, obviously not having been briefed on any of this. "I mean...

"Where to, sir?"

"Fort Tamblin," said Sephiroth. "This war has gone on long enough. We'll be part of the B group. We will wait in reserve until the main strike is made."

"And who will be in the A group?" asked Cloud.

"Angeal and Zack Fair. I believe you met both," said Sephiroth.

"Yes, sir," said Cloud, no doubt remembering his showdown with Angeal. Sephiroth wondered if Angeal was in on the conspiracy and then remembered he didn't care. "Zack, well, the Materia he gave me saved my life more than once. Angeal, however..."

"We're working with the people who put us in this position in the first place?" asked Lightning flatly.

"Yes," said Sephiroth. "Lazard will also be personally overseeing the operation. Officially this is nothing but a publicity stunt. One to make the operation seem less one-sided. However, if indeed, Lazard is guilty, he may use the opportunity to make contact with Genesis."

"So Genesis is the one they're blaming this on?" asked Lightning, with scorn in her tone.

"Until a better culprit is found, yes. Hollander is also a suspect and is being arrested as we speak," said Sephiroth.

Cloud opened his mouth for a moment, then shut it and looked uncomfortable. Sephiroth looked at him. "You have something to say, Strife?"

"Genesis is not capable of pulling this kind of operation off on his own, sir," said Cloud simply. "He'd need at least a staff of scientists to make the initial copies. And well..." All true.

"Yes?" asked Sephiroth.

"He's antisocial and has difficulty communicating," said Cloud. "The guy uses Loveless as a language for speaking his mind. I just can't see an entire Lab being subverted on his watch by him."

"He likely has other backers. However, Genesis is the one person we know is responsible," said Sephiroth. "And he is a recognizable face.

"Also, you underestimate him.

"And Genesis is smart enough to subvert one or two people. All he'd need to do is inject them with his cells. Once done, they would be slaves to his will. We did it several times during our early operations.

"It was an excellent way of gaining contacts in hostile territories."

"Why not do it more often?" asked Cloud.

Sephiroth looked to Lightning, who looked to Elena. Elena soon found Sephiroth looking at her next. She shifted. "Genesis found out that the people he influenced suffered from the cellular degeneration. They died horrifically. After that, he vowed never to do it again."

"Well, that makes him an oathbreaker then," said Lightning.

"How would you know?" asked Sephiroth, irritated at the statement.

"Didn't you read the files, Sephiroth?" asked Lightning. "There are pictures of what was being done."

"Since when do you care about oaths?" asked Sephiroth, genuinely curious. He got his answer when Lightning looked to Cloud, who was deep in thought.

"Sephiroth..." said Cloud.

"What is it?" asked Sephiroth.

"Could he be influenced by the person he was copied onto at all?" asked Cloud.

"I am unsure," said Sephiroth. "However, he could psychically manipulate those who he injected with his blood. It is conceivable that it is a two-way street."

"Would you say that Genesis would be willing to do this kind of thing normally?" asked Elena.

"No," said Sephiroth. "He's obsessed with being a hero. Even at his worst, he was never deluded enough to think this kind of thing could be considered right."

"Well, maybe he isn't the one in control," said Lightning.

"What do you mean?" asked Sephiroth.

"Think about it," said Lightning. "Hollander, or people in Hollander's Lab, created the Genesis copies. If there was a psychic connection, it would be stronger for copyright?"

"Yes," said Sephiroth, seeing where she was going with this.

"So, if he were to create a number of Genesis copies and then brainwash them with pre-programmed instructions..." mused Elena. "He could gain control of the real thing."

"All he'd need was DNA and the facilities," mused Sephiroth. "Angeal would never willingly be a part of that."

"Maybe they got him too," said Lightning. "All you'd have to do is donate some blood. Or, lace some sort of formula into Angeal's meals."

"This is like something out of a cosmic horror story!" said Elena in horror.

"No, it's not," said Lightning. "Because at least with a cosmic horror story, it's a monster. Humans could never create the horrors you see before you in cosmic horror stories.

"This is real.

"Real, actual medical professionals who swore an oath to do no harm did this."

Oh good, now Sephiroth could just pretend like that was why Genesis was doing this. It could absolve both him and Angeal of all their actions. They wouldn't suffer any consequences if they were involved in this.

"...It could be both," said Cloud.

"Hmm?" said Elena. "What do you mean both?"

"Genesis could have been brought into the conspiracy before he was aware of what was going on," said Cloud. "Once involved, they could have created the Genesis copies as a means to influence him.

"Pretty soon, he'd be completely under their control and might not even realize it."

Cloud Strife had an annoying habit of figuring out a little more than was convenient. If that story got around, then Genesis might suffer consequences for his actions. Sephiroth didn't want that. Best to get people back on track. "Meaning that if we were to exterminate all of the Genesis copies, their control over him would be broken."

"It could be a start," said Lightning. "We'd be doing the people who became them a favor. I saw what happened to those he infected."

"Well then, we'd best get going, shouldn't we?" asked Elena brightly.

"We?" asked Sephiroth.

"Oh, um," Elena paused. "I forgot to tell you. The Turks will be coming with you."

And so it was that the four of them met with a group of Turks and took off. And what followed was a very, very awkward helicopter ride. Reno of the Turks, a spiky-haired, redheaded man, was polishing an electro-stick. Cloud, however, was glaring daggers at him for reasons Sephiroth did not understand.

Granted, the file said they had encountered one another before but hardly spoken. Elena opened her mouth to speak, but Cloud looked at her, and she shut it. Then he went back to glaring at Reno.

"We will land at our post, and the Turks will undertake observation duties," said Sephiroth. "Our mission is cover for them as much as reinforcements."

"Where are the rest?" asked Reno.

"We don't need them," said Sephiroth. "We have myself and Angeal. Anyone of us could finish this war on our own."

Elena turned to look across to Reno. "What?

"Then... why not do that?"

"Look, kid, I'll level with you," said Reno flatly. "We don't actually need Wutai. The nationalizing of our businesses was a drop in the bucket. The only reason we're pursuing this war is that Shinra manufactures weapons. The governments buy weapons from Shinra and give us tax breaks."

"We're trying to establish a free market, though, aren't we-" began Elena.

"No, we're trying to make the Shinra execs money," said Reno flatly. "You realize that SOLDIER is a private military contractor, don't you?

"We only went after Wutai because we'd already run out of places to conquer. Why else would they put complete incompetents in charge of the military? Shinra doesn't care if the military wins. And if they all die, we can sell weapons to the people who replace them.

The only reason SOLDIER became big was because Lazard made a point of winning battles. So he got kept in reserve until the wars got unpopular and arrived to save the day with his forces.

"Everybody loves a hero, right?"

"But we're trying to end the war now, aren't we?" asked Elena.

"Yeah, because monster populations all over the world are rising," said Reno. "Once we conquer Wutai, we can just retask the surviving military to fighting them, and we'll never run out. Mako reactors are real handy.

"Of course, sometime after we've all died, the entire planet is going to wither away. Or, in a best-case scenario, future generations will face a revival of Ultimate Weapon. Then we'll be bombed back into the stone age.

"But hey, we're getting our names in the papers.

"So shut up and follow orders."

Sephiroth looked to where Cloud's hands were shaking with obvious rage. He decided to present an olive branch. "...Reno has taken a very cynical outlook toward our operations.

"Shinra's expansion has raised the standard of living the world over dramatically. Electric power is now almost universal, even in the frozen north of Spira. Medical technology has advanced dramatically. Mass transit has connected the world like never before."

"Reno..." said Cloud, not looking up. "It was you who murdered those mystics and hung their bodies from the Church of Minerva, wasn't it? I heard about it when I was working in the factories of Midgar."

"It's possible," said Reno casually. "I kill a lot of people. You don't get bogged down on the details in my line of work, kid. No time to get all the names memorized."

"Whatever helps you sleep at night, murderer," snapped Cloud.

"Tough crowd," said Reno. "Mind telling me the difference between putting a bullet in a man's head in battle and doing it in a church."

"Killing someone on the battlefield is honorable," said Cloud. "Both of you know one another to be enemies and are fighting of your own will. What you do is go around killing people for saying something you don't like.

"You don't announce your intentions or give them a chance to leave. You just knock on their door, wait for it to open, and shoot them. Even on holy ground."

"Geeze, look at Mr. White night, pretending to be Lancelot," said Reno.

"Look at Mr. Bandit, pretending to be a policeman," said Cloud.

"We're both parts of the same system, kid," said Reno. "Who are you to judge me?"

"We're nothing alike," said Cloud. "You murder civilians and fellow employees and then cover it up. You're no soldier; you're a dishonorable coward Reno. An assassin and murderer who kills those who can't defend themselves by stealth."

Reno stopped polishing his stick and tensed. His mouth curled into a low snarl. "Say that to my face, why don't you?"

And then, to Sephiroth's horror, Cloud unbuckled his seatbelt, stood up, and leaned in. "You. Are. A. Coward."

Reno's hand went for a knife, and Cloud drew his own. Sephiroth shot forward and caught both their hands by the wrist. The last thing he needed was Strife and Reno, knifing one another on the helicopter he was sitting on. "Save it for the operation."

Reluctantly, Cloud relaxed his grip and sat back down next to Lightning. Her face was expressionless as always. She looked to Cloud. "Why didn't you say that to Tseng?"

"It would be insubordination," said Cloud.

This was going to be a long day.