Disclaimer: we all know I don't own anything from FF7. No characters. No locations. No vehicles. No Chocobo. All I own is myself, and I'm not even sure about that one.

Oh well, at least this story's mine. See, I can see the silver lining to every Cloud... :-p

Sorry, couldn't help that one :-p

Don't upset the Lifestream... I want to share the fun too! Wait for meeeeeeeeeee!

Part 1: Planet Scars sent by Heaven

As carefully as he did everything else, Vincent lay down the unconscious man's body and his weapon on the soft grass and checked for a pulse. It was there, faint, but gradually picking up in strength: he would soon wake up. His wounds were only superficial ones and were already showing signs of healing; the only sequels he would bear from his battle would be a rather sore body. As for the thing that had knocked him down… Vincent guessed that he could not do much about that.

Satisfied with the younger man's state, Vincent left him to lay there near the water's edge and retreated to the back of the small moonlit clearing, leaning his own tired body against the trunk of an eerily glowing tree. He too had sustained minor wounds, but the… modifications… that had been thrust on his body allowed him to heal faster than most and he trusted that by the time Cloud Strife would open his eyes, he would be completely healed.

Time ticked by silently in the stillness of the forest surrounding the Forgotten Capital. Vincent was deep in thoughts, and he briefly closed his eyes to consider all of the possibilities that this encounter and unexpected save portended. Cloud, here, of all places. He did not think that the young man would have been able to come this far anytime soon, here where tragedy had struck their little ragtag band.

Vincent opened his eyes and looked to the stars shining in the slightly overcast night sky. Thanks to Tifa, he had known where Strife was headed; however, this was the second time that the young man had almost lost to the men who he knew to be on a quest to find JENOVA. That was disturbing, to say the least. Vincent had not expected to have to come to his aid. Maybe he should let his questions remain unanswered for the moment and get back to shadowing the brothers...

Tseng and Elena had not been much of a source of information, but he had not expected that from them. He had provided the care that they needed until they had been strong enough to leave. The two Turks had quietly expressed their thanks to the man who had once been one of their own, and gone on to Bone Village.

"...We owe you one, Valentine.."

And that had been more than one year ago.

The initial worry that the men had aroused upon inadvertedly divulging their goal to him at the Crater had put him on his guard. He had gone back to look for them. He had caught up with them later on and shadowed them until, ironically, they had come to the Forgotten Capital and stayed there. Vincent counted on those three to bring him to the surviving pieces of JENOVA, checking on them from time to time so as to minimize the risk of being discovered; he counted on their nature for that…whatever it was; for they were not human… as alien as JENOVA. But up to now, he had found nothing...

Closing his eyes at the stars, Vincent took a deep breath. From the battles he had fought with AVALANCHE, he knew JENOVA's cells to be nearly indestructible, able to regenerate at an alarming rate and multiply, given the appropriate conditions. But he did know that he would not stand by once again and let the world be endangered again. The last disaster had been his fault… if he had not been so weak, if he had been more clairvoyant, none of this would have happened. Thousands would still be alive. And Lucrecia…

…I am so sorry…

Vincent started violently, chilled to the bone. Her voice…? Impossible. Vincent felt his accelerated heartbeat calm down as he considered the situation. Lucrecia had disappeared from the cave she had cloistered herself in when he had gone back there. Could it be…?

Hand lightly resting on Cerberus, he looked cautiously in the faint shadows surrounding the clearing, trying to discern the slightest movement, the faintest clue of another presence apart from his and Cloud's. No one.

Vincent leaned back into the tree, bewildered. He was sure it had been her. Even after all these years, he had not forgotten her voice, its liveliness, the slight catch whenever she laughed. Did that mean that she was the love of his life? He had never been sure of that, but he did know that he had strong feelings for her. Maybe he had just never been the one for her.

But her voice… it had been so real. Could it be his mind was deceiving him? The gunman's features darkened at the thought. After all, he did not know what exactly they had done to him; was he to become mad, like those poor souls Hojo had experimented on and that they had had to eliminate around Nibelheim? Closing his eyes, he silently considered the implications of such a state.

The immobile form on the grass shifted slightly and groaned. And then, with a jerk, he shot up, his arm automatically reaching for the enormous sword lying at his side.

"Where?"

His blond hair appearing almost silver in the pale moonlight, Cloud half-lifted himself into a fighting stance before he spotted his silent comrade-in-arms some distance behind him.

"Vincent?"

The gunman did not reply, looking for all the world as if he was in a deep sleep, leaning against that tree trunk. Cloud mentally sighed.

'…Typical…and people say I'm antisocial…'

It did not take much to figure out that Vincent was not going to pour forth information of his own volition. Some things just never changed.

"Where are Kadaj and the others I was fighting? Where are the children?"

With a pained sigh, Cloud let go of Tsurugi and slid down on the grass again.

"Damn!"

He clutched his left arm. Weak, he was weak. Pathetic. His arm was still hurting from the attack he had back there, when he had been in the middle of the battle with Kadaj, the mysterious leader of the three men. What good was he? Cloud bitterly muttered to himself more than anyone else, rubbing his throbbing arm.

"I really can't save anyone." I'm a failure…

When he looked up briefly, still massaging his arm, his voice was sharp, too sharp, betraying his irritation with the silent gunman, with himself, with his weakness.

"Vincent. What's going on?"

Silence.

"I often come here."

Vincent looked up, opening his eyes and in a sudden move, flung his cape aside in a dramatic gesture.

"I have been keeping an eye on 'Kadaj and the others'."

Vincent advanced whilst saying those words, until he was near Cloud. Suddenly, he bent down and grasped tightly the arm that the young man was still rubbing, hard.

Cloud flinched and suppressed a hiss of pain as Vincent watched him, impassive.

'He knows...'

Cloud did not doubt for a moment that the ex-Turk had seen the scars, and put two and two together; his illness was common these days. It had appeared two years ago, and many had died of it in the first terrible days after the destruction of Meteor. The non-afflicted had shunned those who had it; it had been thought to be contagious. Maybe it was. Cloud had no definite idea. But he did know that those who contracted it rarely lasted more than a few months.

The first bruises had appeared twenty-seven days ago… and now, his whole arm was covered in bruises and scars. The attacks were coming more and more frequently these days; black blood-like liquid frequently ran from the wounds and sores…. like Denzel's.

There was no cure for that. All he could do was bind his wounds and cover his scars and wait until the end came. Tifa and Marlene still held the hope that Denzel would recover, but Cloud knew, deep down, that you just don't 'get better' once you've contracted it. It was an accepted fact, everywhere, that the ones afflicted were goners.

Maybe Shin-Ra could have had a cure. Hell, maybe it had come from their wretched labs. But Shin-Ra was no more, and no one knew what it was, what made it appear, what could stop its spread. The wildest theories had run around, but ultimately none of them had been plausible. Cloud knew that the World Restoration Organisation founded by Reeve was looking for the answer that people desperately needed. But up to now, there have been no major discoveries made, and the scientists and meds were as puzzled as on the first day it had appeared, baffled that this was a world-wide epidemic and not a localized one... What could be spreading it? What could be causing it?

And then, as if he had read his thoughts, Vincent calmly stated:

"The Geostigma is caused by an over-reaction of the immune system."

He let go of the arm and moved to the other side, behind Cloud and continued his explanation.

"There's also a stream like the Lifestream within the human body. And basically, it fights the alien substances that penetrates the body."

Vincent turned around to face a thoughtful Cloud. A sudden chill ran through the young man at those revelations. Vincent was one of the most erudite of the group; he had little reason to doubt the veracity of his statements. Cloud breathed out in sudden realization:

"Alien substances…"

Vincent went on, confirming Cloud's doubts.

"Sephiroth's components… JENOVA's genetic thoughts…call it whatever you want."

"You know a lot".

"Tseng and Elena. They were gravely injured when I brought them here. They had apparently gone through intense torture. I saved them. But…hmm…who knows".

"Torture?"

"It's the result of their actions. It seems that they have retrieved JENOVA's head."

'…JENOVA's head…'Mother'…it can't be. No. Not again.' The blond leader of AVALANCHE's head reeled. He could not quite accept that JENOVA was back to poison their lives. Sephiroth was dead, JENOVA destroyed. He had seen to it. But if her head had been found…he had to know.

"Is the 'Mother' that Kadaj is looking for…"

He could not finish his sentence; he could not believe that the nightmare was beginning anew. Vincent heard his reluctance to say those words aloud. He did not blame him; however, indecision had no place in the present circumstances.

"An unpleasant thing sent by Heaven. JENOVA. If you wanted to, it's possible to eventually recreate Sephiroth."

Just as he had feared…Cloud's head lowered, trying to absorb all that this entailed.

"Kadaj…who is he?"

"Hmm. I don't even want to think about it."

Vincent's response made the feeling of dread rise higher in him. So Kadaj was-

The silence that had permeated the clearing was suddenly interrupted by the sound of something crashing through the bushes. Both men turned around towards the source of the noise, Cloud jumping to his feet with Tsurugi at the ready.

'Too noisy'

Vincent did not draw out Cerberus; whoever was approaching was fleeing something, not attacking. He had ample time to observe the modus operandi of the three men and he did not think that they would have made such a racket if they had been coming over. And they would definitely have been in full view by now, thanks to their height. So whoever or whatever was coming was small.

A child? Kadaj had subjugated them all. Except for the girl that had clung to the man, Loz. Could it be her? Maybe she had escaped them, but how had she found them? By following their voices? Improbable.

But he also knew that there were no animals in this forest.

The sounds were drawing closer. Vincent laid a light hand over Cerberus.

"Show yourself…whoever you might be."