Chapter Twelve: Fragments of Memory

As they rode into Kalm town, the sun had all but disappeared behind thick clouds, and rain was beginning to fall steadily. They hurried straight to an inn, tying the chocobos in a stable and racing inside to escape getting wet.

Tifa went to the desk to see about rooms. They only needed two, which thankfully was within their price range. Then she came back to join them at a table. The inn was empty except for a weather-beaten man sitting in the corner drinking a soda. Tifa leaned on the table and looked at Cloud.

"Cloud? Can I ask you something?" she said quietly.

"Sure, Tifa. What?" he asked, seemingly confused by the tone in her voice.

Tifa swallowed hard. "Umm… Cloud, I need you to tell us exactly what happened to you, starting in Midgar, please."

He grew quiet, staring down at a knot on the table. "Tifa… I…"

"Please!" Aerith said. "It's important, Cloud, otherwise we wouldn't ask. You know that. Just trust us."

"All right…" Cloud whispered. He continued staring at the table, taking a deep breath. "I… I was at home, in Sector 4, you know, when it all started. Sephiroth had gone away and had been gone for a week by that time. And you know, I was worried, because he'd gone to Shinra."

"What for?" Tifa asked. Aerith remained silent, knowing but not wanting to say.

"I don't remember." Cloud said softly. "But that day, he came back, but he wasn't the Sephiroth I knew. Shinra had done something to him, to brainwash him. He brought SOLDIERs with him, and I fled. I didn't know what had happened to him, and I wanted to try and find out. I used the platforms to get up on top of the plate, and got out of the city. But the SOLDIERs caught up shortly afterwards. I got taken to the Nibelheim mansion, where Professor Hojo did all kinds of experiments to me. At one point, I was locked in a Mako tube for almost two years. I don't know the half of what he did to me. But after he put me back in a cell, it got unlocked somehow. A man in red helped me get out of the mansion, and I came back to Midgar. That's all." He laughed nervously. "All I really remember is that Sephiroth was my brother, and he betrayed me. He killed someone important to me as well, but I don't remember who. That's all…"

"You idiot!" Barrett said angrily. "How could you just forget-" But Aerith shushed him, saying, "No, it's fine. Thank you, Cloud."

"What about Nibelheim? When it burned, I mean. I don't actually know what happened to you." Tifa said thoughtfully. "My martial arts instructor, Zangan, got me out after my parents were trapped in our house, but what about you?"

Cloud blinked. "It's hard to explain." he said. "I… Remember when I saw you? You were running back to your house to find your parents?" Tifa nodded. "Well, my mother had been… She had been killed, by a falling beam from our roof. I ran to the only place that looked safe at the time. The mansion. It was the only building that wasn't on fire."

"You went in the mansion?" Tifa asked. "No wonder we couldn't find you! I wanted Zangan to go back and look for you, but we didn't see you anywhere…"

"Yeah…" Cloud said. He continued the tale, resting his elbows on the table. "I ran inside, into the foyer. There was something in there. Horrible screams. I was terrified, but someone was there… He held me, and covered my ears so I couldn't hear the screaming… He wore red. I think it was the same man who helped me get out this time." Cloud stared at a knot in the rough wood of the table, adding, "I owe him my life twice now, whoever he is."

A server walked up bearing dishes of ice cream, chocolate flavored, and set one in front of each AVALANCHE member. Even Red had a bowl, which he sniffed at curiously, having never seen ice cream before.

"We didn't order ice cream." Aerith said softly to the server, looking rather puzzled. The girl smiled.

"Complements of your friend over there." she said. They all turned to look, but the weather-beaten man was gone. Only his empty soda glass remained on the table. They looked back at the ice cream in surprise, and the girl said, "He asked me to give you this as well." It was a note, written in neat, elegant handwriting.

Dear AVALANCHE,

Yes, I know who you are. Unlike many people outside of Midgar, I watch the news. I know about the Shinra building, and I know about Sephiroth. I would like to help you, if you will let me. The taboos are too great a burden to bear alone.

Fondest wishes,
Legend

"Legend? The hell? Who else but someone with a huge-ass ego names themselves that?" Barrett laughed. "This guy must be a complete dumbass if he thinks we're going to fall for this."

"No." Cloud said softly. "This doesn't feel like a trap." He set the note on the table, taking a bite of ice cream. "I think this man means it."

Following Cloud's example, the rest began to eat their bowls of ice cream. It was refreshing to be able to enjoy such a thing, because good ice cream was rare in the slums. All of it was made by hand, in small, home churns. And it was certainly never chocolate. When it was gone, they got up to look outside. The rain had ceased, apparently only a brief shower, and the night sky sparkled with stars. As they watched, bright flares arced into the sky, exploding into a million twinkling lights. They 'ooh-ed' and 'ahh-ed' over the spectacular fireworks, applauding enthusiastically as the colors lit the night. Somehow, in the midst of all the sorrow, they made the world seem just a little brighter.

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When they awoke the next morning and came down into the inn, the man that they had come to call 'Legend' was packing up a box filled with rockets.

"Was that you launching the fireworks?" Aerith asked. When he nodded, she gushed, "They were amazing!"

"I have an affinity for explosives." He turned to face them, brown hair hanging around his face in long bangs, bright hazel eyes watching them like beacons. He wore a plain, charcoal-colored trench coat over his clothes, and a matching hat with a wide brim. He removed the hat, setting it on the table, and said quietly, "Well?"

"You said you could help us?" Cloud asked.

"Yes." The man nodded slowly. "Come." He walked to the door and, somewhat hesitantly, AVALANCHE followed.

He led them up a hill behind the inn, to where they could see all of Kalm spread out before them like a beacon. He sat down on a rock, and waited until they did the same.

"Well…" he began. "I suppose I had better start with my name. I am Gabriel Vandel, the man once called Legend." He looked to each person's face in turn, wondering if any of them recognized the name. When he saw nothing but waiting on all of their faces, he continued. "I know what you have done. The break-in, the escape, Sephiroth… I know everything." Watching Cloud, he wondered briefly, He hasn't seen them. I wonder why. Did he miss them in Midgar? "I pay attention to things like that."

"So you've been spying on us?" Tifa asked.

"Maybe, in a way." Gabriel responded. "The doings of Shinra concern me greatly. I don't want them to make mistakes as bad as those in the past."

"And what were these mistakes?" Red voiced quietly. Gabriel glanced at him, smiling.

"Sephiroth, obviously." he chuckled. "Professor Hojo, when he got his hands upon Sephiroth, he was able to brainwash him. He performed experiments as a continuation to what he did when Sephiroth was younger. He has been exposed to Mako and Jenova cells since birth."

"Jenova cells?" Aerith asked, her eyes widening almost imperceptibly.

Cloud could feel a migraine coming on, and he wasn't really sure why. As Gabriel opened his mouth to speak again, the pain spiked above his right eye sharply, and he grimaced. Gabriel glanced at him, concern in his eyes. "Are you all right, Cloud Strife?"

"No…" Cloud said. Gabriel blinked, before understanding came to him. Turning to the remainder of the group, he said, "Your friend looks slightly ill. You should take him back to the inn. I will speak more later." As Barrett and Tifa began to help Cloud down the hill, he reached out and caught Aerith's hand. "A moment of your time, please?"

Red glanced back at her. She waved at him, telling him without words that she would be okay, and he nodded and padded off after the others. Holding Cait Sith in her arms, Aerith sat opposite Gabriel. "What is it?" she asked, inviting Gabriel to explain.

"It's about the Jenova cells." Gabriel said softly. "Sephiroth has no idea what's being done to him. He's being manipulated, and he has been since birth. Jenova has powers no one could imagine. I watched people under her influence begin to destroy the world from the inside out, and I will not let it continue." Aerith started to say something, but he shushed her. "Let me finish, and then you may ask all you want." She nodded, and he hurried on. "You friend Cloud Strife has been infected with Jenova cells. They were injected into him during his incarceration in the Nibelheim Mansion. That is where the headache came from. Jenova does not wish him to know or remember his past. She does not want him to know who he is."

"And who is he?" Aerith murmured.

"I cannot say. But you, Aerith Gainsborough, last child of the Cetra, have the power to find out. You and Tifa Lockhart hold the keys to saving him." Gabriel was completely serious. Aerith thought for a moment, then asked the most obvious question.

"Who are you?"

"Someone who does not want the mistakes of the past repeated." Gabriel said softly. "I watched my world get ripped apart, and my friends be torn asunder by Shinra's meddling, and I will not allow it to happen again." He stood, sweeping her a half-bow, and smiled. "Go back to your friends now. They'll be worrying about you. I'll see you all again." He turned and proceeded down the opposite side of the hill, out of sight. Aerith watched for a second, and then, still holding Cait, hurried back down towards the inn.

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Reeve stared at his computer screen in awe. He had heard tales after he had joined Shinra of Gabriel Vandel, the Legendary Turk, known only by the code name Legend. He was good with explosives, or so the stories said. He had left Shinra behind a few years before Reeve arrived to work there, and Reeve had never actually gotten to meet him. It was quite intriguing why he would offer his help to the floundering AVALANCHE. Reeve pushed his wheeled chair to the opposite wall, where a computer logged into the Shinra database sat, and pulled up a search. He typed in 'taboos', and waited.

After scrolling through all the useless files of Shinra rules and regulations that came up, he noticed a small folder of files at the bottom. It was labeled, "Projects S and G. Keep out!" He tried to click on it, but was asked for a password.

He put in his executive password, but the folder denied him. Reeve sat back and gazed at the screen a moment. It must be highly important if even his password wouldn't open it. It must be keyed to the President's password. But then, how could a Turk, even a legendary one, know of it? Reeve was baffled. But if it aided AVALANCHE, and kept them alive, and helped them discover just what was wrong with Cloud, Reeve really didn't care what Gabriel did. He was no longer a Shinra employee, so they had no jurisdiction over his actions.

Reeve laughed out loud. Apparently there was little truth to the Turk saying of, 'The only way you leave the Turks is in a body bag.'

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Aerith hurried in to meet her companions, noting almost immediately that Cloud seemed better. Tifa and Barrett were debating whether or not Gabriel had done something to him. After all, he had started getting better almost immediately after they left Gabriel's presence. Barrett was all in favor of marching back up that hill to demand answers from the man, but stopped when he saw Aerith.

"Well? What did that weirdo say?" he asked loudly.

Aerith shook her head. "Wished us luck. Said he hoped that Cloud felt better." She blinked. "Told me he'd see us again some time."

"Damn mysterious assholes, thinking they're so high and mighty…" Barrett grumbled irritably. Aerith couldn't help smiling faintly, as Cloud muttered something about going to return the chocobos and hunting for information about Sephiroth. In hindsight, Aerith saw that she probably should have asked Gabriel for Sephiroth's whereabouts, but it was too late now. She did trust the man, despite knowing almost nothing about him. She figured that he had to have some form of connection, past or present, to Shinra. There was no other way he could know as much as he did.

They prepared to leave for the Chocobo Farm, hoping that Sephiroth's trail would become clearer as they pressed on.

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And here's to my other major OC, the wonderful Gabriel Vandel. The Legendary Turk is a real person, if you check Wikipedia you'll find him. I just changed his appearance, mainly. He's modeled after Gabriel Van Helsing, for all you movie fans out there. I promise you, he and Rydia have an important part to play, but his might not be evident for a long time.

Anywho, another chapter come and gone. Damn. This is like the longest story I've ever written ever! Thank you for the support, even if it is mostly silent. Jill, you can have a Sephiroth plushie! (tosses)

Til next time, y'all!
Li