Chapter1
Cloud Strife was rudely awoken from his weekend lie-in by a piercing ringing sound. He groaned, rubbed his eyes and sat up in bed, combing through his spiked hair with his fingers. The ringing sounded again, and he growled under his breath before snatching up his PHS and checking who was calling. He did not recognise who it was but he answered anyway.
"Cloud Strife. What the hell do you want?" He yawned whilst he waited for a response.
"Hey Cloud. You remember me?" A pause. "Is this a bad time?" Cloud knew that voice. Reno, a member of the Turks in Shinra. His left eye twitched a little, but he ignored it.
"Yeah, I remember you, Reno." Cloud thought a moment. "Couldn't have been worse, but go on."
"We haven't spoken since the Meteor incident, so I thought I'd just tell you about everythi-"
Cloud gripped the PHS tighter, his knuckles turning white. "Just get to the point, Reno. Why are you calling me?"
There was a longer pause. Cloud was about to repeat his question when he heard an intake of breath over the line. "Sephiroth is still alive." A pause. "The President of Shinra knows you were after him too, and... well, he wants your help." Cloud almost laughed out loud at Reno's statement. President Rufus Shinra, wanting his help? The two were wary acquaintances at the best of times. He prompted Reno for further information, and he found out that the President needed help with getting Sephiroth's side of the story; the Meteor incident and his past crimes. Cloud agreed to it and ended the call.
He groaned again as he got out of bed, got dressed and picked up his PHS and Buster Sword. It seemed that he was never going to get a day off. With a heavy sigh he left his house, started up his motorcycle and drove to Shinra Headquarters.
Cloud arrived at Shinra Headquarters in record time. He parked his motorcycle and headed for the main entrance, noticing the man with spiked red hair wearing a blue suit who was waiting there, occasionally tapping a metal rod against the wall. He looked up as Cloud approached, and the two exchanged a handshake.
"It's nice to catch up with you when we're not at each other's throats." Reno chuckled lightly. Cloud nodded in response, then the two went into the headquarters, the redheaded Turk explaining the President's requests in more detail whilst they headed up to the main office.
When they got there, the two sat down opposite the President's desk just as the President himself strode in. Several times he had to stop to flick his long fringe out of his eyes. He brushed down his immaculate white suit before shaking hands with both Reno and Cloud. There was a brief narrowed glance exchanged between Cloud and the President before he sat behind his desk and introduced himself. He laced his fingers together.
"I'm guessing that Reno's already given you the news, so we can keep this brief. Cloud, I need you to speak to Sephiroth and get the full story of what he's done. Jenova, Meteor, the mass killings... everything." Cloud nodded and began to explain a few things, but before he could say much more, the President held up his hand. "I have a few meetings to go to, so you'll have to tell me later." He stood up and left.
Reno and Cloud also stood up and left, but they went towards the elevator. The redheaded Turk handed Cloud a clipboard and a pen. "So here's what the President wants you to do. Go to the containment room on the 54th floor, and one of my colleagues will let you in. When you're there, I want you to ask Sephiroth about everything and note it all down, no matter what he says. Even if it makes no sense at all." Cloud nodded, took the clipboard and pen and stepped into the elevator. Reno stepped in after him and pressed the button to go to the 54th floor.
When the elevator stopped, Reno stepped out and walked briskly down the corridor, with Cloud following after him. They stopped just outside a large metal door, and Reno went away to speak to someone. He returned with a young woman dressed in a red blouse, a white lab coat, a black pencil skirt and a pair of black shoes.
She smiled warmly and shook Cloud's hand. "Good to meet you, Cloud. I'm Dr. Sky Randere, and I'm watching over our... 'patient'." Cloud felt a chill down his spine from the way the doctor said the word patient. He followed her to the metal door, hearing the beeps from the scanners as they validated Dr. Randere's identity. The door opened with a soft hiss. Cloud stepped inside. Dr. Randere was about to follow, but Cloud told her he wanted to do this alone. She hesitated before stepping back outside, the door closing.
Cloud took a few deep breaths before sitting down on a chair beside the bed in the room, where he noticed a silver-haired man was lying, his eyes closed lightly and his skin pale. The blonde man pulled the top off the pen and rested the clipboard on his knee. "Sephiroth? I need to ask you a few questions. I'm Cloud Strife."
The silver-haired man stirred slightly, his eyes opening a little. He sat up uneasily. "Cloud Strife... that's not... familiar." There was a slight quiver in his voice.
Cloud made some brief notes on the clipboard. "I remember you, Sephiroth. We were partners once." Sephiroth shook his head slightly in response. "Hmm, alright. What do you remember about Jenova?" Cloud held the pen above the clipboard and the other man said he remembered nothing of it, but he muttered something under his breath. When asked to repeat it, he said it didn't matter. Cloud made some notes.
He asked about Meteor and Sephiroth's past crimes, but every time the silver-haired man shook his head and said he remembered nothing. Cloud noted everything down before he sighed, stood up, walked to the door, pressed a button and left the room. He told Dr. Randere that everything had gone well before he went back to the elevator to meet up with Reno.
The doors slid open just as the elevator reached the top floor. Cloud stepped out and noticed that Reno was already there. He handed the clipboard to the redheaded Turk, who looked over the notes before sighing and slapping the clipboard against his face.
"This makes no sense at all." Reno re-read the notes. "Man, none of this makes sense! Exactly the same as what I, President Rufus, Elena and a few others in HQ got!" He sighed heavily. "I really don't know what Sephiroth's up to, but it ain't funny. You saw what he did, right?" Cloud nodded, and Reno looked over the notes once more. "He's denied it all up to now, so I want to try a different theory. I'll contact someone who's not connected with Shinra in any way to ask him the same questions. If we get the same back, we might be able to rethink this. If not, we need to prepare for the worst."
Cloud shook his head. "From the way he responded, it seemed like he genuinely didn't remember anything, but I'm not ready to take that chance yet. I saw what he was like. He can't just suddenly forget." He slapped a palm against his forehead before saying goodbye to Reno. It was time to think about the situation. He stepped in the elevator, but Reno pushed the door open.
"Cloud, if there's any new developments, I'll call you. Keep your PHS handy." The redheaded Turk stepped back and the doors slid shut.