Decisions Between Love and War Chapter 3: Preparations, a final fantasy vii fanfic

Disclaimer: I don't own any Final Fantasy VII characters.

Summary: AU. Jenova is the queen of the western continent, taking Sephiroth as her prince. She believed that her other children (Cloud, Zack, Kadaj, Yazoo, and Loz) were too weak to become princes, so they became higher servants. What happens when young scrawny Cloud takes interest in the prince? Other main characters will be in here. R&R!

A/N: I made a mistake. Instead of Jenova being queen of half of the northern continent, she was supposed to be queen of the whole western continent. Please enjoy…

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Decisions Between Love and War:

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Chapter Two: Preparations:

He was pissed, but he didn't know why. He never really felt this emotion before besides when someone said something wrong to him. He was restless at that moment and decided to look out the window to look at the moon. That's when he heard that annoying voice.

"Hey, you didn't say thank you".

That voice…

He looked down and saw the blonde boy he was wrestling with almost an hour or two ago. His bright emerald eyes looked at the person who approached the blonde. He looked like royalty, and he instantly knew that that was the prince of the Cetra castle.

What was he doing here?

He continued to watch because he was interested by the whole scene. Suddenly, the blonde lunged forward and claimed the black-haired prince's lips. He felt his jaw clench. His bright emerald orbs narrowed down to tiny slits, and he turned away from the window and began pacing across his room.

But what was he mad for?

He brutalized the blonde's sensitive organ, and his actions and words toward him screamed 'I hate you' over and over again. He didn't want to feel this way anymore, but what could he do? Beating the blonde youth wasn't enough. He would have to do something more drastic. A smirk played on his aristocratic features as he left his room.

His rich, long silver hair billowed out behind him as he ran his gloved fingers through it. Making many rights and left down various halls, he stopped in front of one huge door. He sighed and prepared himself for what was about to come. He knocked on the door and when he heard someone inside say, "yes", he opened the door. As soon as he did, he saw his pale-skinned mother before him, and she stood in the entry way and blocked him.

"Sephiroth, what do you want?", she hissed.

Controlling his rage, he said, "The prince of Centra…".

"Yes, Prince Vincent…what about him?", she said.

That was his name…Vincent…

"Your son…Cloud…was recently outside exchanging saliva with him", he answered, feeling his jaw clench up again with his silent rage.

Her eyes widened as she gasped. It seemed that the information was settling into her brain. She never wanted any of her sons to end up with another boy, but in this case it was perfect. Her lips curled into a cruel smirk.

"Bring him to me first thing in the dawn. We must get him dressed 'properly' for the ball", she said, and he nodded curtly. "Sephiroth…he is your brother even though he's only half".

The prince scoffed. She closed the door, and he ventured back to his room. He's not at all the type of person who snitches on people, but this was something he had and wanted to do. Instead of thinking that he was jealous, he replaced that with the fact that his blonde half-brother betrayed everyone in the Nibelheim castle. The Cetras were their enemies, but the blonde kissed the prince anyway. Getting back to his room, he slammed the door and was finally allowed some sleep.

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"Cloudy-boy, wake up!".

The blonde groaned. The black-haired youth was kind of in a hurry, since he had to be in his room before the servants arrived to dress him. He continued to poke his half-brother in the ribs, and after a minute or so of doing that, he poked him on his sternum bone. A loud scream ripped from the younger male's throat as he sat up instantly. He clutched his chest in pain. His angry sapphire eyes burned with the fire of anger as they turned to the older male.

"It's still not healed? Seph must've punched the shit out of you, Cloud", the black-haired teen said with a chuckle. "Let me look at it".

"Sure, Zack…", the blonde said with a mischievous smirk.

He gripped the part of his vest that was open and pulled it apart. The older boy leaned in to see, and as soon as he did, the blonde raised a fist in the air and slammed it down across the other boy's head. The black-haired boy's head ended up falling into the blonde's lap right on the erection that refused to leave the blonde alone.

"It seems you certainly can't control your lust for me so you jump for boy to boy", a chilling voice entered the room.

Why hadn't any of them notice that he entered?

Both boys froze, and it was Zack that slowly lifted his head and collapsed onto the bed beside Cloud. Ahead of them was no one else but the silver-haired, emerald-eyed prince Sephiroth who had closed the door while they gaped. His body, inside the robe, seemed more alluring now than in the dark.

"What are you talking about, Sephiroth? I was looking at Cloud's wound. Or maybe you just consider him property now?", the black-haired boy blurted out with an arched black brow.

The silver-haired teen chuckled, "You humor yourself. I do not own anything that is useless and weak".

"Then what are you doing here?", the blonde asked, hiding the frustration and anger in his voice with curiosity.

"Mother wants to see you", he replied.

"Me?", the blonde said, confused.

"I believe sucking on the foreign prince's face has made you slow in the head, Cloud", the silver-haired prince said as he approached the blonde, leaning forward in so their faces were close.

He did that to see the astonished look on the blonde's face. His blue eyes widened to the limit as he inhaled sharply. He felt a slight pain within his chest, but it was worth it. It took a couple of long seconds to meet the burning green gaze that was on him. Zack stared the blonde too and couldn't believe what he was hearing.

"Y-you know?", Cloud stuttered.

"I saw it from my window", the prince answered.

"Cloud, you kissed what prince?", Zack asked and touched the blonde's arm to get him to look at him.

"His name was Vincent. He is the prince of the Cetra castle", the blonde explained as he sighed sadly.

There was a sudden silence in the room. Zack got off the bed with an unreadable look on his face. Cloud looked away from both males. He couldn't bear to look at them. He knew what he did was wrong because their SOLDIERS here have been fighting with the Cetras for years. Sephiroth broke the silence and reached out an offering hand the blonde.

"Will you come then?", he asked.

The blonde scoffed, "I might as well before you start to make up lies about me having wet dreams about you".

Zack bit his lip and hoped Sephiroth didn't notice. Cloud grabbed the prince's hand, and without warning, he was yanked forward and dragged out of the room in mere seconds. The black-haired teen watched them before returning to his room to get dressed.

Sephiroth literally dragged Cloud across the floor when he couldn't catch up to his long strides. The whole walk was one long one-side fray. The blonde clawed at the firm hand that gripped his hand. The grip was so tight it was turning his hand a blood red color. He was curling up in little balls temporarily before his stomach landed flat on the ground. That routine went on for some long minutes. The prince seemed to ignore it completely.

"Let me go! You're breaking my hand, Seph!", the blonde whined.

He got tired of yelling that over and over again, so he decided he would start biting the prince. A very, very, very puerile and ludicrous decision. As soon as his opened mouth was positioned over his hand, he was suddenly jerked upward in the air. He went flying in the air, and he cracked an eye open to just see the prince slammed a vicious hand on his throat, curling his fingers around it. The blonde's eyes snapped completely open as his hands went to the hand around his throat.

"Ugn…", the blonde spat out at the breathing was getting choke out of him.

The prince's bright emerald eyes narrowed to slits as they glared at the blonde he was choking. He raised him up higher so that he could look up at him and scowl. The blonde began kicking, but his short legs never reached him.

"My name is Sephiroth…not Seph as you and your pathetic brother calls me", the prince hissed as he dropped the blonde the ground.

The blonde fell to his knees and got on all fours. He was facing the prince who stared at him indifferently. He was inhaling as much air as he could get. He heard the prince growl and knew he was in for more. The green-eyed prince grabbed him by his blonde spikes and dragged him the rest of the way. The blonde groaned and scratched at the hands even though he knew it was no use.

The prince stopped before the same huge room he visited before and knocked roughly on the door. Jenova, of course, answered the door and gave a fake smile to her son. He knew she could never love him, and he scoffed.

"Where's Cloud?", she asked.

"Right here…", the prince muttered as he lifted the blonde boy by his spikes and presented him to his mother.

She smiled and patted his golden head, "Oh, Cloud. How…good…to see you".

Cloud could tell she was struggling to say 'good'. Even though she was his mother, he didn't like the sound of her voice or appearance. All he could sense was pure evil. An evil even greater than the prince's. He couldn't really look at her with both of his eyes because the other was clenched, trying to block at the pain in his scalp. Gravity really wasn't his friend after all.

"You'll prove to be very useful to me after all. I shall make you a prince if you begin a relationship with the young Prince Vincent", she said with a cruel smirk.

Sephiroth scoffed again. His eyes stayed narrowed to slits. He threw the blonde at his mother and walked off to lean against the wall. He crossed his arm and legs as he lifted his head to look out the window that acted as a ceiling for this hallway. The blonde gained his composure and stepped away from his mother quickly.

He didn't like the feel of her cold skin against his. If she ever asked for a hug, he would definitely say no. He stood straight and couldn't help but glance over his shoulder to look at the prince who had so abruptly let him go. The silver-haired teen looked very angry, and the blonde knew it was because he didn't want him to become a prince and be by his side. Sighing sadly, he turned to look back at his mother.

"And if I refuse, mother?", he asked.

"I'll disown you and let the real prince, here, massacred you in front of all of your brothers…slowly", she hissed.

"I'll…do it", he sighed.

She patted his golden head again, "That's a good boy".

Without warning, she slapped him to the ground. His cheek stung where she had hit him. Even Sephiroth looked at them when he heard a loud thud. The blonde crawled across the floor to get up since he fell rather awkwardly on his ankles. It hurt, but he could walk. He got up and glared at his mother, putting his handover the red mark she left.

"If you ever talk to me that way again, young Cloud, I will make sure Sephiroth tortures you in front of your brothers", she snarled.

"Now, now, Mother. You don't want to harm the prince's whore, do you?", the prince butted in.

Where those suppose to be some kind of comforting words?

Cloud growled, "I am not a whore, and just because you're a bitter and lonely prince doesn't mean you have to lash out at anyone who says something to you".

Sephiroth raised a perfect silver brow as he smirked, "Oh? I'm bitter? You have reason to talk when every time I say something to you, you bark like a mutt".

"I'm tired of you! You're such a…such a…such an ass!", he shouted as he charged at the prince with his fists cocked back.

"Boy…", Jenova sighed, then clapped her hands. "Guards!".

The prince caught the blonde's fist in a bone-crushing grip and punched the boy's broken sternum bone. That was enough to make the blonde release a bloodcurdling scream and topple over. The blonde passed out from the pain instantly, and the prince merely lifted the boy over his shoulder.

"There was no need to call the guards. Here he is. Take him before I kill him", he said.

"It would've been easier if he were conscious", Jenova scoffed as she clapped her hand again. "Elena!".

A young blonde woman stepped out from inside the room and bowed to the queen, "Yes, your majesty?".

"Take him inside and get him dressed in the purest silk you girls have", the queen order as the prince put the unconscious blonde in the servant's arms.

"Yes, your majesty", she cried as she carried the blonde inside.

The queen watched as the servant left. As she turned to look at the prince, he was long gone. She rolled her eyes and sighed. She couldn't help but notice how the prince was getting more complicated with each passing year.

"What am I going to do with that boy?", she asked herself before going into the room and closing the door.

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Zack stood outside of his room. The servants weren't here yet. He didn't know where Reno and Rude were so he decided to sit and wait. He heard footsteps to his left. Where was everyone anyway? The question was wiped clean out of his head when he saw long silver hair. The prince….he looked mad.

The black-haired boy couldn't really stand to see his relatives pissed, so he decided to try to cheer him up. When he was about to pass him without saying a word, the black-haired boy waved at him even though he saw that the older man's eyes were closed.

"Sephiroth!", he cried, making himself sound and look really stupid on purpose.

The silver-haired prince stood and pinched the bridge of his nose. Under his hand, it looked like a smirk played on his features. Once he removed the hand, the smirk was gone, and he stood in front of the younger male in a blink of an eye. The boy stood his ground and stayed against the wall with his arms crossed across his chest.

"What…do…you…want?", Sephiroth hissed.

"Look, Seph-", the prince growled, "I mean…Sephiroth, what I said about Cloud-".

"Why do you protect a traitor?", he asked.

"He's my friend AND my brother, and I will protect him at any costs", the black-haired boy answered sternly. "But that's not my point! You've been a real ass to him, and it's been stressing him lately. Could you just…lighten up a bit?".

"And why would I do that?", the prince asked.

The black-haired teen sighed, "Could you do it as a favor for me?".

The silver-haired youth's eyes glared at the younger male, "You are the Lieutenant of my army…and I wouldn't dare do you a single favor now that you lowered yourself to filth".

The prince started to walk off when the other boy stomped his foot down, "If you gave him a chance, Sephiroth, you'll see that he's good companion. Having one friend can fill that hole in your heart. I'm sure of it".

The prince suddenly stopped and looked at the ground. He looked over his shoulder at the youth. The black-haired boy could tell that his words seemed to affect the older male. Maybe now he wouldn't have to see the blonde's fits of feral anymore. His eyes instantly locked with the flowing silver hair as the prince disappeared from his sight. He sighed as memories tucked deep away arose to surface again.

Sephiroth rushed down the hall. He didn't think it would take him so long to get outside to his carriage. He reluctant to hurry, but he didn't anyway because he had to get his treatment. The terrible place ahead of him was something he never looked forward to every month. As soon as he stepped outside, he saw the red-haired servant and the bald servant preparing his carriage. It was the same servants that Cloud and Zack were friends with. The red head waved and approached him.

"Prince Sephiroth, your carriage is ready, yo", he said with a smile as he bowed.

"Who's driving?", the prince asked prayed that it wasn't the red head.

"Rude is driving, yo", he answered as he opened the door for the prince.

"Good…", was all the silver-haired youth said as he stepped inside.

The red head sighed and closed the door. He walked to the front where his bald-headed friend waited for him to give him the signal. He caught the bald-headed man petting the two white horses that were supposed to carry to carriage. The red head smirked and cleared his throat. The other man looked at him and quickly jumped in his seat, acting like noting happened.

"Reno, he's in?", Rude asked.

"He's in there, yo. Let's roll, partner", Reno said.

The older man nodded, and the red head hopped on the seat beside his friend. Rude got the horses going, and they were off. Sephiroth stared blankly out of the window. His thoughts consumed him, and he was unable to focus on the danger ahead of him.

"If you gave him a chance, Sephiroth, you'll see that he's good companion. Having one friend can fill that hole in your heart. I'm sure of it"…

"I am not a whore, and just because you're a bitter and lonely prince doesn't mean you have to lash out at anyone who says something to you"…

The words of both Zack and Cloud continued to ring in his ears over and over again. Out of all of his five brothers, he thought about them the most. He remembered when Zack, the lieutenant of his army of SOLDIERS, and him, the general, fought in the grand battle of Nibelheim against the Cetras that happened about two years ago. Despite their youth, they were very strong, but the whole castle knew that Sephiroth was the strongest.

Cloud was different. He had no training at all, and he was weak. Even after all of that, he still had a sharp tongue and always snapped at anyone who insulted him. The prince continuously had to fight with the blonde over and over again every time they meet. Though that would usually get on his nerves, he had to admit that it was eating away past his calm exterior. He was deep in thought he didn't feel the carriage stop.

"Prince Sephiroth, we're here", the red head's voice pulled him out of his thoughts.

He was here already…?

Sighing, Sephiroth got out of the carriage, and Reno closed the door behind him. Rude was by the prince's side instantly and acted as a guard. Reno did the same, and the prince merely scoffed at the fact that his mother still thinks he needs protection.

The sight ahead of him…would've been a joke if this had been the first time he had visited here, but it was no joke. Sure the huge sign said "Golden Saucer-The place where fun is endless", but in fine print smaller than any normal people could see it said "Owned by Professor Hojo". He, Sephiroth himself, almost cringed as he read the sign.

The Golden Saucer was an amusement center with pony rides, arcade games, a bar, and many other things for both kids and adults. The prince knew it was a huge scam though. Underneath all of the happy fun stuff was something sinister and cruel.

Reno and Rude escorted Sephiroth inside. There were many kids with their parents running around, and the trio stopped right at the place where there was employee collecting money for tickets inside. As soon as she saw the prince, she gasped and saluted him.

"Prince Sephiroth, good to see you're here, sir!", she cried. "Professor Hojo is in the back. Let me escort you".

"Hn…", was all the prince responded with as he followed the woman.

Reno and Rude followed too, and they cut through the crowd of people. They passed the bar, the outside arena where they held fights, kiddy rides, and pony rides, and entered the employee's only door. It was dark, so the woman flicked on the lights. They journeyed through a couple of more rooms before she stopped at one door.

"He's in here and waiting for you, sir", she said as she bowed.

"You are dismissed", the prince said curtly.

She nodded, and he didn't even give her one glance as she ran out. Reno and Rude leaned against the wall. This was a monthly routine for them, but they still held uncomfortable looks on their faces. Sephiroth twisted the door and entered the room without knocking. Upon barging into the room, he was met with a needle in his neck.

He hissed sharply, and it was completely unexpected. The man that threw it at was cruel and unpredictable, but he still didn't expect to get a tranquilizer thrown at his neck. He saw a man with long black hair in a ponytail and glasses leaning back in a chair with his legs crossed. There a light green glow coming from behind him, and the prince noticed it was a capsule.

Within mere seconds, he fell to his knees. His silver hair fell and covered his face as his head dropped and hanged downwards. The liquid pooling in his blood stream was making his eyelids very heavy, and he wobbled from side to side on his knees.

"Ah, Sephiroth, my boy…Glad that you barged in. Your capsule was up and ready", the cruel voice rang in his ears.

"Hojo…", he hissed.

The man got up and walked over to him. Once he was in front of him, he leaned down so that their faces were close. His squinted eyes staring the hazy bright emerald eyes that glared at him.

"You might not want to catch an attitude with me this time, Seph. It'll be unlikely that you'll get off conscious", Hojo warned as he patted his son's head.

Sephiroth snarled and instantly jerked his head away. No one…not even his mother…made him this angry. He couldn't feel his limbs anymore and collapse onto the cold tiled floor below him. Hojo released his malicious laughter and grabbed the silver-haired prince by his arm.

The prince couldn't hold on anymore and passed out on the cold floor. Hojo smirked, and it took him a great effort to get his son onto the table. Once he got him on the experiment table, he strapped him down tightly. He went to the nearest table to his left and grabbed the needle with the clear liquid in it.

He went back to the prince and grabbed the youth's arm, trying to find his vein. When he found it, he shoved the needle into it and injected liquid into his bloodstream. The black-haired madman looked down at the prince's loins and smirked when he saw it rise.

"Perfect…", he muttered.

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Vincent returned home that morning. He felt he should at least attend this ball, so he got to the Cetra castle, his home, as soon as the sun showed its face in the sky. He got some rest only to be wakened up a loud scream of joy.

"Vinny! You're here! We're been looking for you for months!", a female voice cried.

He almost bounced off the bed because of the high-pitched voice. Growling, he glared at the girl with short-black hair. She was still atop of the fiery-red animal that was sniffing his foot. He pinched the bridge of his nose to control his anger that was rising.

"Yuffie, what are you doing in my room?", he asked firmly.

"I come in here every other week to see if you'd return", she answered.

"You're been to the Forgotten City, haven't you?", the creature asked.

He looked at the creature and nodded.

Yuffie looked confused and said, "How could you tell, Red XIII?".

"I have a keen sense of smell. You should know that when you've been riding on top of my back everyday", the creature answered. "I'm going back to bed…".

The fiery-red creature put a paw forward and leaned down on it, making the black-haired girl slipped down his back and onto the floor. She pouted and got up to dust herself off. Red XIII was gone by then, and Vincent was patiently and quietly waiting for her to leave. She smiled and ran up to him. He fall backwards to avoid her, but she ended up embracing him tightly anyway.

"We've missed you. I'll tell everyone else you're here. I'm so glad you're back", she said with a huge smile still written on her face.

Slowly, he hugged and secured her tiny form in his arms. He put his nose on her hand and smelled her hand. The smell of vanilla entered his nose, and he let her go. There was no readable expression on his face. After she nodded at him, she ran out of his room.

It was only five minutes later when Aerith, Tifa, Barret, Cid, Ifalna, and a few other Cetras barged into his room. Aerith and Tifa were the first ones to give him hugs. Their hugs were powerful enough to squeeze the life out of him, and he could've sworn they bruised a few ribs. Next up was his adoptive mother who gave him a tight hug that seemed nothing compared to Tifa's and Aerith's hug.

"Vinny, you're back!", the younger girls cried.

"The prince couldn't handle his 'business' here so he left", Cid butted in with a smirk.

"For months? Cid, be reasonable", Ifalna said.

"Why did you leave anyway, Red?", Barret asked.

Vincent looked down to the floor, "I…just wanted to…".

"Well, next time please tell us. We were worried. Everyone go back to your rooms. We have to get ready for tonight", Ifalna said as she shooed the others out of the room. She turned back to Vincent who looked like he was about to crawl back into bed. "Vincent, I'm sorry about what I said".

He said nothing, and she sighed. She walked, leaving to dwell on his thoughts.

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Cloud lay naked and unconscious on the bed. He didn't move at all. Elena was still rumbling through some clothes that she found, but none were "the purest silk she could find". She sighed in frustration and decided to let Jenova go ahead give the blonde the injections. She met up with the pale-haired woman right outside of the room.

"Is my son ready?", she snapped.

"No, your majesty, but he can still get the injections", Elena answered as she bowed.

"Okay…since you can't seem to finish your job, go away. I'll take care of it, dimwit", Jenova hissed, pushing the blonde woman out of the door.

She landed out on the hallway on her stomach. She groaned and hissed at the lady who threw her out. She slammed her fist on the ground after the door slammed shut. She got up and brushed herself off. Sighing, she left.

Jenova picked up a needle on the table to her far right. She went to the room in the back and saw Cloud lying naked on the bed. She sighed.

She inserted the needle into the blonde's arm, and all of the liquid invaded his bloodstream. He still didn't stir in his sleep. She pulled the needle out and put it aside on a nearby table.

"Now for the clothes…", she muttered.

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A/N: Well, that's it. I promise the Cetra Ball will be the next chapter. I've been holding it off for too long. Zack seems to have some secrets. What could it be? I didn't think this chapter would be so long. If you review quickly enough, I'll write the ball chapter soon.