"So, you've returned from your disappearing act." Hojo remarked.

"I didn't disappear, I died." Cloud said dryly as he approached the scientist. "There's a slight difference."

Hojo glared at him over his glasses at Cloud's comment, but Cloud paid it no mind. Their relationship was never going to be a friendly one. All that mattered was the work. Of which, judging by the vials of blood and other…substances, the good doctor was in the middle of it.

"A difference I would be disinclined to believe if I hadn't seen it with my own eyes."

"And yet, here I am." Cloud spread his arms slightly to show he was once more healthy and whole.

"Indeed." Hojo's sharp eyes studied him, searching for a lie in his words. Cloud let him look, knowing the man would become obsessed otherwise. Eventually Hojo gave a sniff of approval and returned to his samples. "I'm surprised to see you down here so soon. I would have thought you'd avoid this place for as long as you were able to."

Cloud wandered over to the table Hojo was working at. Now that he was close enough to see, the various substances were all labeled to have come from Angeal. "Any day now you're going to get a formal request to lend me for a Turk mission to Wutai. I need you to accept it." Cloud answered as he picked up one of the vials of blood, tipping it to watch it splash in its container. He didn't blink when Hojo glared at him and snatched it out of his hands and returned it to its place.

"This wouldn't be the same mission Sephiroth is attached to, is it?" Hojo asked.

"It is."

"Humph. I don't think I like the idea of you two out on a mission together. Especially one I'm not in active control over."

"I'm not happy about it either." Cloud said mildly. "But I'm not going to turn away one of our very few allies when he asks a favor from me."

Cloud was tempted to spill the Hojo about his concerns regarding the bond connecting him and Sephiroth and how it seemed to be strengthening. The last thing he needed though was to have the scientist meddling even further than he wanted him to. He just didn't know which way Hojo would go, would he strive to break the bond…or deepen it.

As Cloud remembered the headiness he experienced coupled with the complete lack of pain for the first time ever from their connection, he couldn't honestly say which he'd prefer. All his remembered life he'd struggled and fought against Jenova-Sephiroth's torturous manipulations. Today though, once the rage cleared out of his system, he acknowledged it felt as different as night from day. The desire to yield to it was disturbingly strong.

Hojo grabbed a vial and syringe, moving around the table to Cloud's side.

"Give me your arm." Hojo demanded in his brisk way, holding his hand out expecting compliance.

"Why?" Cloud asked even as he surrendered his arm without fight.

"As you said, you died today." Hojo said as he prepped and inserted the needle to draw blood. "I need to know what, if anything, changed with your mako levels from the ones I took yesterday."

Cloud watched as he filled one vial and then another before the Professor withdrew the needle without even a cotton ball to help clot the wound. Not that Cloud needed one as it had already healed over, but it was the thought that counts.

"Hmm, I've taken enough of that cure of yours to suit my needs for the time being and new samples to test." Hojo said. "Very well. I'll sign off your little trip."

"Thank you for your cooperation." Cloud said mockingly, tipping one of his empty beakers over, watching as it shattered into a thousand tiny shards.

"GET OUT OF MY LAB YOU WRETCHED CREATURE!" Hojo shouted, flapping his hands angrily at him. Cloud chuckled darkly and did just that.

Cloud took the elevator up to the floor his room that Hojo assigned to him. A room he hadn't seen in more than a month. It was more Tifa's than his by now, but it was all he had and he wanted a bed for once! After what he'd been through, he deserved at least one night of comfort.

As soon as the doors opened, he sped through the hallway ignoring the few workers that were also too tired to pay attention to him. As soon as Cloud reached his entrance he was in the room and leaning back against the door in a moment of quiet exhaustion. The room was currently empty of its other occupant, but he could see signs of Tifa's presence everywhere. From an extra pair of shoes by the door to a line of bras hanging along the wall to dry, even the air had a hint of her favorite perfume lingering in it. He grinned at the at those signs that she was settling in here, in his space.

Tifa's comfort and happiness will always be a priority to him.

Cloud shucked his own boots and left them next to Tifa's then carefully removed his gear and hanging it on the racks it belonged on. As soon as he was naked, he barely paused long enough to grab a towel and sleepwear before entering the bathroom. He turned the shower on as how as it could go and stood for a small eternity under the scalding water as it washed everything the day's grime away…literally and figuratively.

By the time he could force himself out of the blissful heat he could hear signs of life in the main compartment. Cloud smiled as he recognized Tifa's presence. He quickly dried off and dressed, opening the door separating them.

"You're back." Cloud said dryly but with a hint of humor.

"I'm back? You're back!" Tifa snarked cheekily back. "I was beginning to believe you were abandoning this room for the basement."

"I thought about it, but it was a bit drafty, and people kept walking in without knocking."

"Poor Cloud! How you suffer so!"

Tifa was mocking him. Cloud hid his smile as he moved to flop onto the bed. That Tifa felt well enough to mock him after what she had witnessed him going through this last month filled him with…Cloud wasn't sure what it filled him with, but whatever emotion he was feeling, it was a positive one.

"I've suffered so badly Tifa!" Cloud whined back at her. "It was so cold down there too!"

"You just lay there and warm up then, I'll be right back."

Tifa gathered her own toiletries and a change in clothes and made her own way to the shower. As soon as the door latched Cloud rolled off the bed and immediately started searching the room for any devices that might have been installed while he was away. The few he found were quickly destroyed but he wasn't confident he had them all. He'd have to see if he could sneak Vincent in here to do a better search at a later time.

The sound of the shower turning off caught Cloud's attention and he silently hid the evidence and climbed back onto the bed. He still had a few minutes to himself as Tifa's hair took an insanely long time to dry but he didn't want to risk her catching what he was doing and become paranoid. If she were the older seasoned version of the Tifa he knew he would have, but this Tifa was too young and inexperienced to know how to handle being spied on tactfully.

"So," Tifa said, walking out of the bathroom. Her hair still slightly damp on the ends. "What happens now? Are you done with the…" she waved her hand in the general direction of his body.

"That part's done for now." Cloud told her. "As for now, sleep."

"Sounds like a solid plan to me."

Tifa crawled onto the bed and curled into his side. Cloud wrapped a loose arm around her as she relaxed into a deep slumber. His own night might be a sleepless one, but as Cloud relaxed he could feel the parts of him that had fractured under Hojo's care, the parts of his psyche that came from Tifa, slowly flow and fit back into him. Memories that while weren't his but still about him forming into his mind.

It wasn't a very pleasant experience, but one he welcomed all the same.

…

Angeal snapped awake instantly, reaching for his nonexistent weapon before he'd fully clocked the threat near him. In the next second he blinked up to see Sephiroth leaning casually against the partition wall. Even without a blade or Materia, the silver First was still radiated danger like no one else he knew.

"Sephiroth."

"It's good to have you back, Angeal."

"I would say it's good to be back, but until I know my fate I would be lying."

"I don't blame you. If I turned traitor and abandoned my friends and colleagues, taking innocent Soldiers to be turned into mindless clones only to be dragged back by my protégé and one of Hojo's experiments, then healed by him, and now I must face the consequences of my actions. I wouldn't be happy either."

Angeal couldn't stop the flinch even though Sephiroth's tone stayed mild and conversational. There was no mistaking the rage under his calm demeanor.

"Do you want me to apologize Sephiroth?" Angeal asked.

"Not anymore."

"Why are you here?"

Sephiroth moved closer and Angeal pushed himself upright, bracing incase the other man attacked, but he just settled into the chair Zack had used earlier. The slight smile and wry amusement on his face clearly letting Angeal know he knew what he was thinking. Angeal knew he'd done it deliberately.

"I am here to determine if you are still a threat. You and Genesis caused a lot of damage while on your little 'vacation'."

"Where is Genesis?"

"Still in the wind. Though I expect we'll hear from him before too long. His spies have been keeping him up to date on your condition, but now that you're awake I'm sure he'll want to see for himself."

"If he does show, what will happen to him?"

"That depends."

"On what?"

"On how he shows up."

Angeal paused. He wanted to push with his questions, but there was a cold callousness to how Sephiroth replied that held him back. This was not his friend as he knew him when he fled. There was no warmth beneath the calm façade, no affection. The man before him truly was only here to decide if he was a threat. What friendship they once had was so badly damaged Angeal feared it would never recover.

"I'm surprised you didn't come to Modeoheim yourself to take care of us if you believe we were that dangerous." Angeal stated a little bitterly.

"I didn't want to kill a friend, and Zack advocated trying to bring you in peacefully." Sephiroth commented dryly. "He still believed in you and wanted to try. It was decided that if anyone had a chance of bringing you in peacefully, it was him. That he failed will not be held against him."

"He's going to be a fine Soldier." Angeal said softly. If he'd done only one thing right, it was Zack.

"Zack IS a very fine Solder. He has become an officer of high regard within the company. I would never have let him go otherwise."

"With Hojo's experiment as well." Angeal added, flexing his hand. Marveling at the returned strength in it. He hated owing anything to that madman, but he couldn't deny the results. "How sure are you that this cure of his is permanent?"

Sephiroth stared at him for a moment, head tilting in that curious analytical way of his. "I trust Hojo's treatment more than I trust most things these days. But that doesn't mean as much as it used to."

"I never thought I would ever hear you say that you trust anything connected to him. Have things really changed so much?" Angeal said softly.

"More than you know."

"Will I live to find out?"

"That will be determined by you."

"By me?" Angeal scoffed. The very thought that he had any control over his future now was a ludicrous one.

"Yes." Sephiroth said. "The Professor has already informed the President of all the harmful side effects of degradation, including the emotional and cognitive failures that would cause a person to act erratically."

Sephiroth caught his gaze and held it firmly. Angeal watched, trapped as those slitted eyes contracted to slivers and he could almost feel Sephiroth's presence pressing down on him. He never looked so inhuman to him than in that moment. Angeal knew without a doubt that this was not the same he had left when he went to Genesis.

"And the President believed him?" Angeal asked once he found his voice.

"As I said, that depends on you." Sephiroth replied. "If you return to a sane, levelheaded and loyal member of the Company, I see no reason for your removal. If the Professor is proven wrong, you will be 'retired' as the Turks say. But Hojo's reputation will take damage, I believe they call that a win-win."

"I believe they do."

Sephiroth stood and headed for the door, pausing before the threshold. His hand frozen over the release button. Angeal couldn't see his face from this angle, but his shoulders and back were tense enough to look like they hurt.

"You are not to leave the tower nor access any mission critical information. You will be allowed to leave medical in the morning. You will submit to the Professor's tests and take his medical care." Sephiroth told him without turning to face him. "You'll also be monitored twenty-for seven, so try not to do anything stupid. You will not have another chance."

With that, Sephiroth left him alone once again.

…

Training room 3

1 hr.

Zack smiled down at the terse message. Cloud really needed to work on his communication skills, but he was trying to reach out a little. It was funny watching the blond trying to keep his distance while 'subtly' mother-hen him. Zack would never admit it, but he appreciated both behaviors from his friend, but he suspected Cloud knew all about it already. Cloud knew him all too well.

Last night had been difficult for Zack. Seeing his mentor strong again, aware and talking. So different from the last time Zack saw him awake. When he wouldn't listen to him. When he tried to make Zack…

No.

He wouldn't think about that.

Not now that Angeal is back.

Because of Cloud.

I'm on my way!

Zack jumped out of bed to rush through his morning routine in a hurry to make Cloud's deadline. He pushed all thoughts of what happened yesterday as far out of his head as he could. He stopped just long enough to stare at the bowl of bugs Cloud's…friend left for him. Shivers crawling up his spine at the thought of being spied on. Zack shook it off and made for his door, making a mental note to bring it up with Tseng sometime in the future.

"Excuse me!"

"Coming through!"

Zack shouted with his usual cheerful abandon though the corridors and down the stairs as he was in too much of an excited rush to wait for the elevator.

"Pardon my way!"

With five minutes to spare, Zack slammed into the training room door barely halting his momentum enough to stop himself from breaking it open. He'd done that before (a few times) and he didn't want Lazard threatening to take it out of his pay (again).

Zack tapped his access card to the panel and entered the training room. This room was one of the few that wasn't VR set up, it was more like the dojos he saw during the war, just a flat empty area with space for a regular human to maneuver in. This one contained a Cloud in a tank and training pants slowly dancing with two long serrated blades with four more at his feet. Zack let the door close behind him and leaned against it as he watched the blond go through his steps.

It was graceful, one could even say beautiful, but in his mind's eye Zack could see just how devastating each blow and slice would be to the invisible enemies Cloud was 'fighting' against. The angle of each blade perfectly aligned to be a killing blow against anything human size. Zack marveled at the fluid ambidextrousness of his friend. There was no favoring, no weakness in either hold as he moved from one position to the next.

"How can you duel-wield like that?" Zack asked before his brain could stop him. Zac wanted to kick himself for interrupting Cloud's dance.

"It's simple really" Cloud said. Finishing his last move before gracefully dropping down to one knee to place the two blades in line with the others. "You're right-handed, Sephiroth is left-handed. I absorbed both."

"That…makes sense." Zack said awkwardly.

Cloud met his eyes for the first time since he got there, quiet amusement dancing in them. Cloud wasn't moving so Zack left his post and skipped over to him instead. Squatting down in front of him with the serrated blades between them.

"What did you want to see me for Spike?" Zack asked, noting the flash of emotion when he used the nickname.

"Tseng has me going to Wutai next week as a bodyguard. I have to leave my sword behind." Cloud said softly. "I don't know if you're giving the Buster sword back to Angeal or not, but you seemed interested in her so I thought you might want to use her while I'm gone."

"What!...Huh!... really?"

"I…can't follow that."

Zack stared at Cloud who stared at him.

"Why is Tseng sending you anywhere?, Why wouldn't I give the Angeal his sword back?, and lastly I get to use your sword? Swords?"

"Hm." Zack watched as Cloud started assembling the six blades together. "I have always thought of the Buster as yours, it's hard for me to think of her belonging to anyone else." Cloud said as he locked the last small blade in place and presented the handle to him. "Tseng's request can wait until we're somewhere else." Zack accepted the handle and stood with Cloud. The weight of the sword was as he remembered it. "And finally, yes Zack. I want you to use her while I'm gone. Even if all you use is the Buster, you should know how to break her apart and put her together again."

The next few hours were spent learning how to break down and put together various combinations of swords. According to Cloud, there were over seven hundred different combinations he could create out of the sword to customize to whatever he was fighting. Zack tried not to let not only the very versatile sword, but Cloud's even more versatile mind intimidate him. At the same time, he really, really wanted to see the blond go all out in a fight that would require him to use his complicated weapon to her full extent.

"Why would you even have a weapon as crazy as this?" Zack asked as he ran through the standard stances for a Buster.

"Part of it was self-discovery and part of it was convenience." Cloud answered. Taking his turn to lean against the wall to watch.

"The self-discovery I get, but convenience?"

Cloud chuckled with genuine humor.

"I'm somewhat nomadic. I needed a sword that was both versatile and compact."

"Somewhat nomadic." Zack said dryly.

"Very nomadic." Cloud shrugged. "I only ever stopped moving when I came back to the bar to visit the kids and restock. Even then I could only last for a couple of weeks before I had to be on the move again."

"Where have you been?" Zack asked, pretending to not see the pain flash at the mention of the kids.

"Everywhere." Cloud answered glibly. "I doubt there's any place left on the planet that I haven't touched."

"You seem to be settling down here alright." Zack said, heading back over to Cloud to return the sword. "All things considered."

Cloud gave him a strange look as he took the sword back before passing back Zack's broadsword that had been sitting unused this whole time.

"I haven't been here that long, and outside of the harvesting, I have been out on missions."

"Uh…"

Cloud was right. He's only known the other man for a handful of days, not even a full month yet. Just yesterday he questioned whether he could even handle all that was happening. But the more time he spent with Cloud the more it felt like they'd been friends for years.

For lifetimes.

"If you want me to back off, just say the word and I will." Cloud told him calmly. Zack knew he was serious too. Cloud would yield to whatever Zack wanted. Zack knew Cloud would always yield to what Zack wanted. Cloud, who fought with every ounce of his being to resist Sephiroth, would give into Zack's every whim without a whisper of protest. That was more power than he ever wanted over another living being.

"You're my best friend." Zack told him seriously. "In your last life, in this life, in your next life, you will always be my best friend. So stop trying to wiggle out of it Spiky. You're stuck with me."

Cloud, more at peace than Zack had ever seen him simply smiled and nodded.

….

High above in the observation room, Sephiroth cut the feed and erased all footage from Training room 3 for that day.