Chapter7
Barret noticed that the door to his house was wide open. The large man did his best to hide the background fear brewing but it was starting to show, and it was spreading to the rest of the group.
"Oi! If there's anyone in there that shouldn't be, ya better get out or else yer gonna get it!"
"Shhh!" Cloud covered Barret's mouth. "Listen." There were sounds of clashing metal against metal, along with groans and grunts.
"The hell's goin' on in there?" Barret rushed inside and headed up the stairs. Cloud followed after him, while Rude and Elena decided to check downstairs. None of them seemed to be getting closer to the source of the sound.
"I think Wallace has just come back. Now get our quarry out of here." It was Kadaj's voice, and it was close to Cloud and Barret's position.
"Alright, ya thievin' bastards! Drop whatever the hell ya stole and get the hell outta my house!" Barret kicked in a closed door and pointed his gun-arm through the threshold.
"I wouldn't shoot blind if I were you, Wallace. You might hurt someone you don't intend to..." Kadaj deliberately emphasised the word intend. Barret growled and went into the room, noticing that a man with slicked back silver hair had hold of Sephiroth. "Now be a good boy and leave me to do what Mother told me to." Another gun was armed.
"Let him go." Cloud strode in and faced Kadaj with an icy stare. "Tell your 'Mother' that she can get screwed."
"Cloud... I now know what my true destiny is." Sephiroth sounded more confident than he had been since the escape from the Gamma Building. Cloud prompted him to speak further. "I must... become..."
The blonde man felt his heart pounding. "No, Sephiroth. Don't go back down that road."
"Unfortunately it's true. My destiny is clear. I must become one with the Planet, as my mother has said. But first, Mother must be resurrected..."
"Damn it, no!" Cloud stamped his foot in protest. "That isn't you. I saw what you were like before then! I witnessed it firsthand! Don't make me have to fight you again..."
"You see, Strife?" Kadaj smiled an evil smile. "I told you that you couldn't stop Mother's resurrection. Now if you'll excuse us, we have more important people to deal with than you vermin." He strode out of the room, with the other man following. Sephiroth stayed behind.
"Come, my brother!" Kadaj called. "Mother won't approve of the delay!"
"I'll be over in a little while, I just need to straighten out some facts with the vermin." When he was sure that Kadaj and the other man had left, Sephiroth looked at Cloud with a little sadness in his eyes.
"No, not this again..." The blonde man sighed heavily.
"That's not what I wanted to say, Cloud. Listen, that was just a front. I've been thinking about who I really am... and now I know. I was once a revered and feared member of SOLDIER. I'm going to stay with those two for now and pretend, but I'll make sure that nothing is done." Sephiroth gave Cloud a light smile. "Why I ever thought that Jenova thing was my mother... I guess I'll never know."
Cloud shrugged. "I don't think anyone ever will, to be honest..." He let out another heavy sigh. "You'd better go with those guys before they start gettin' suspicious." He took off the Black Cape, the katana and belts and handed them to Sephiroth, who then put them on. In return, he handed Cloud his weapon, shirt and belts.
"We'll see each other again, I'm sure. Is there some way I can get hold of you? In case I find anything out, I can tell you. There has to be more to this than it seems..."
The blonde man nodded in agreement and gave Sephiroth his PHS frequency. The man in the Black Cape bid them all farewell and left to go with Kadaj and the other silver-haired man.
"I'm not so keen on this whole thing with Sephiroth risking himself to find out more about what those weirdoes want. It's bad enough that he's got a patchy memory, but this? This could potentially trigger off the other side of him, and we all know what that means." Elena glanced at the other men. They didn't have to say anything and just nodded. "Cloud... you should've tried to convince him otherwise." A PHS started ringing. Everyone scrambled to check theirs, and it was Elena's PHS that was ringing. She answered and found that it was her colleague Reno. He told her more about his capture and what Kadaj had said to him. She hung up and looked towards the others.
"Looks like Reno's got some info on one of our mystery men who are hell-bent on making another Meteor incident happen. Seems the guy with the shoulder-length hair and the gunblade is named Kadaj." The men nodded in acknowledgement.
"We're not going after him right now though." Cloud was firm. "I know I'm as apprehensive as the rest of you, but let's give Sephiroth a chance. Besides, we don't even know where this Kadaj went to after he left."
"Damn! I ain't jes' gonna sit around an' let those morons do whatever the hell they want t' the Planet! I'm gonna go after 'em an' give 'em what for!" Barret stood up and raised his gun-arm. "I'm gonna show 'em ya don't mess wi' Barret Wallace! An' I'm-"
"Barret!" Cloud stood up and covered Barret's mouth. "I said we aren't goin' after Kadaj yet. We've gotta wait."
"An' wait for Meteor to crash into us again? I dunno what yer game plan is, Cloud, but I sure as hell ain't keen! We can't jes' sit 'round, as I said!"
Elena groaned under her breath before standing up and calling for silence. She made the point of saying that they should go with Cloud's plan for the moment, at least until they find out any more information on Kadaj and his allies. They decided to head back to Shinra HQ to discuss their plans further.
President Rufus Shinra was waiting for them all when they arrived at the headquarters. He smiled lightly and led them to his office.
"Since I finished in the meetings, I'd like to check on the progress of how everything is going. I'll start with you, Cloud." He gestured towards the ex-SOLDIER. "Were you able to find anything out about the Meteor incident and Jenova from Sephiroth's perspective?" Cloud shook his head. Reno raised his hand, and the President called on him to speak.
"Actually, President, Cloud's findings were the same as mine, yours and Elena's. As well as the findings from a few others in HQ. So he's right, we didn't really find anything more out. Sephiroth's memory does seem to be returning though." The President prompted him to explain further. "Nothing definitive. Just snippets that don't seem to make much sense."
"Thank you, Reno." President Rufus looked towards Elena. "And the isolation proceedings? How did those go? Is Sephiroth being kept away from anything that might cause him to start up another Meteor incident and try to bring Jenova back?" Elena remained silent. She fidgeted with the gun in the holster on her hip and bit her lip. "You... didn't... let him free... did you?" Still Elena said nothing. Cloud raised his hand and the President called on him to speak.
"Well actually... about that... Elena and Rude didn't let him free deliberately. He's actually in a position where he's trying to find out about another group who are trying to bring back Jenova. He's currently pretendin' to work for them and he'll contact me if he finds anything."
"We found out that there's a guy named Kadaj involved with them." Reno added. He went on to explain what Kadaj looked like. The President nodded and faced the computer on his desk. He conducted a worldwide search to find any records, and he got one hit.
"Hmm..." The President studied the search result. "Full name is Kadaj Trevelyan, appears around 29 years of age, birthplace and birth date unknown. Current residence unknown. Family unknown. No criminal history, no affiliation with Shinra or any of the experiments that have been conducted here." He propped his chin up with his free hand and sighed. "How he could have known about Jenova is beyond me. Ideally we need to search through all known records of him."
The group nodded and Elena stood up. "I can send a message down to the Shinra Science Department and ask them to search their records, just in case. I'll also conduct searches on the computerised databases of all the residents in all the main towns." The President agreed and sent her away before he looked towards Reno and Rude.
"You two, search the non-main towns and outlying villages." He faced Cloud and Barret. "And you two, stay sharp. If Sephiroth finds anything out about Kadaj Trevelyan and his motives and allies, tell me straight away. If he's swapped sides, tell me about that too." The duo nodded and left.
Cloud and Barret had gone back to Barret's house whilst they waited for further updates from Sephiroth or any more information on the elusive Kadaj Trevelyan. By the time they had settled down with some food and drink, Cloud's PHS rang. He answered it.
"Glad you answered so quickly, Cloud. It's Sephiroth."
The blonde man seemed relieved. "What've you got for us?"
"I've found out something more on those guys who are trying to resurrect Jenova- hold on, there's someone coming." The line went mostly silent. Cloud could hear knocks and thumps, shouts and curses along with a low bubbling sound. "Sorry about that. Kadaj needed me for something."
"I see..." Cloud thought a moment. "Did Kadaj tell you anything about himself, his family... anything?"
"No he didn't. Why do you want to know?"
"The President of Shinra's trying to find out more about Kadaj's motives and the reason he's tryin' to bring back Jenova. If you find out anything at all, I need you to tell me straight away, alright?"
"Got it. I have to go now though. Kadaj isn't so keen on anyone using a PHS when he's around. Not even Yazoo or Loz."
"Yazoo? Loz? Who are those two?"
"Kadaj's friends, although they look so similar I'm sure they're all related. Anyway, Kadaj is trying to resurrect Jenova because he believes he'll be granted immortality. And if they manage to do it-"
"Sephiroth! What were you going to- Damn! It's gone dead!" Cloud gripped his PHS tightly and shook with anger before taking a deep breath and putting it away. Barret looked at him and asked what the PHS call was about.
"It looks like Sephiroth managed to find some more out about Kadaj Trevelyan. Nothing about him or his motives, but that he's got two friends called Yazoo and Loz. Nothing more about them though. I think we should tell the President about that."
Barret nodded while Cloud took out his PHS again and called President Rufus to update him with the new findings. The President kept him on the line whilst he looked into the new names from his end and he got some results – Loz Carradine and Yazoo Saltzmann, but both records had no residence, birth date, birthplace, affiliation with Shinra or any criminal records listed. Their ages were estimated at 32 and 26 years respectively. The blonde man thanked him and hung up, relaying the new findings to Barret.
"Something's botherin' me though, Barret. Before the line went dead, Sephiroth was trying to tell me about what would happen if Kadaj, Yazoo and Loz managed to resurrect Jenova."
"What'd he say?"
"He was cut off before he could finish. I just hope that Kadaj didn't find out he was tellin' me. I really don't want to think about what that bastard does to people who disobey him."
"Ya see Cloud, if we were goin' after 'em instead of jes' sittin' around an' doin' absoulutely nothin', we mightn't 'ave ta be thinkin' about that! Sometimes, ya gotta let someone else take charge!"
The ex-SOLDIER rounded on Barret. "Yeah, but knowin' what you're like, you'll end up getting us all killed! You make reckless decisions sometimes, Barret. That's why I can't let you take charge."
"Oi, don't start pushin' me! I was in charge when we were in AVALANCHE, but then again, you started tryin' to twist me into makin' decisions I didn't agree with! Suit yerself then, you sit here an' jes' wait it out. I'm goin' after Kadaj."
"But you don't even know where he's hiding!" Cloud slapped a palm to his forehead. "If you go out there without any plans, you're gonna get yourself killed." Barret sighed heavily and stormed upstairs to his bedroom.
Meanwhile, Elena was getting frustrated with searching all the computerised databases. She hadn't found a single record mentioning Kadaj Trevelyan anywhere. Slamming a fist down on the desk and pushing back her hair, she tried conducting searches on each database separately. Surely something had to turn up. Eventually she managed to find one record in the Nibelheim database, mentioning that Kadaj Trevelyan was born there, and that only his mother was listed. No other data was listed.
"It's not enough to go on... only his birthplace and maternal record listed. No paternal record or anything else." She sighed heavily and rested her head on the desk. A loud knock reverberated throughout the room.
"Elena! Elena! We've got some more records to search!" It was the President. The Turk sighed once more and sat bolt upright just as the door swung open behind her, the breeze ruffling her hair and the papers on the desk. "But before you do, did you find anything more on Kadaj Trevelyan?"
"Nothing much, President. Only that he was born in Nibelheim and that his mother was a woman named Eloise Trevelyan. A search on her shows that she's living in Kalm. I haven't heard back from the Science Department either."
"Alright, I'll send a team to ask her more about her son. In the meantime I need you to search for two new names in all the main databases. Loz Carradine and Yazoo Saltzmann."
Elena raised an eyebrow. "Saltzmann?"
"You know him?"
"I don't think so, but the surname sounded familiar. I'm not sure if it's connected or not... but there's someone in Shinra by the name of Christopher Saltzmann..." Elena turned her attention back to the computer and typed in the name, searching through all the databases for any connections. One turned up. "Here we go. Christopher Saltzmann, aged 36, works in Shinra Weapons Development, only known family member is his brother Yazoo Saltzmann."
The President put his hands on his hips. "And what about the other name – Loz Carradine?"
Elena typed in the name and conducted another database search. "No other records. Hold on, let me try something..." She typed in the name 'Dean Lorcraza' and searched. One result turned up.
"Looks like Loz Carradine is using an alter ego. Dean Lorcraza is an anagram. Just came to mind. I know we've had people escape prison by making anagrams of their names, so I tried the same theory here." Elena read through the record. "Hmm... born in Wutai but was exiled because he refused to train using their ways. Both parents registered – Chiara Stephens and Frederick Lorcraza. Criminal record shows seven accounts of looting, two accounts of murder and one account of rape. This one is probably the most dangerous of the three of them."
"Does Loz, or Dean, have any other family members outside of Wutai? Any contacts or anything? His parents wouldn't know anything about this."
"Nothing, President. Looks like another dead end." Elena sighed heavily. "Tell you what, I'll go and ask Christopher Saltzmann what he knows. Do you think you could update the others?" The President nodded and left the room. The female Turk brought up Christopher Saltzmann's record, took a few notes and prepared some questions before she too left the room to find him.
"I'm startin' to get used to the Shinra now." Barret commented after Cloud had received and relayed the latest update from the President. "Least we're sorta getting' along, an' we're all workin' together, even though I still don't completely trust 'em." Cloud nodded in agreement.
"Still, we've only found out more about those three in terms of background. Nothing on motives though, and nothing on where they're based either. I found out that Shinra's chasing down a few relatives of them – Kadaj's mother, Eloise Trevelyan and Yazoo's brother, Christopher Saltzmann."
"I dunno 'bout this, Cloud... but I've got a hunch 'bout where they might be. Since we basically faced off against Jenova in th' Northern Crater, I'm thinkin' they might be there. Jes' sayin', could be wrong..."
"Well... I'm bored of waiting for something solid. Let's go with your hunch and head to the Northern Crater. I'll give Cid a call and get him to bring the Highwind. We'll make good time then." Cloud pulled out his PHS and called Cid immediately. He explained the situation as best as he could, despite the fact that there were a lot of gaps that needed to be filled. Cid said he would come as soon as possible and hung up.
"Right, that's that sorted. We'd better grab some warm coats so we can wrap up when we get there. Last time we went, because we were unprepared, I almost got frostbite." Barret nodded and went up to his bedroom to gather some suitable coats, scarves, gloves and hats. Almost instantly after he had come back with them, he and Cloud could hear a low whirring rumbling sound outside. They looked outside and they saw the familiar shape of the Highwind. When the rumbling had stopped, there was a knock at the door. Barret opened it and let Cid in.
"Good t' see ya, Barret. An' Cloud too. Said it was urgent so I came as soon as I could, even though I'm not really sure what's goin' on here." Cid flipped open a packet of cigarettes, pulled one out and chewed on the filter a bit.
"Don't light that in here, Cid. Gotta keep this place clean for me daughter Marlene." Barret warned. Cid nodded and put his lighter away.
"I'm lightin' up when we get outside though. Got your stuff? We're goin' now. I ain't waitin'!"
"Neither are we!" Barret snatched up the warm clothing in one hand, dragged Cloud out of the house with the other and boarded the Highwind. Cid followed after them and lit his cigarette. He took a long drag before blowing a smoke ring.
"Ya not lockin' ya front door, Barret?" Cid took another drag. Barret rushed back out, shut and locked the door and climbed back into the airship. The blonde pilot also got into the airship, closed and locked the airlock and headed into the cockpit. He fired up the engines and they were off.
"To th' Northern Crater! Yeeee-haaaw!" Cid punched the air before taking another drag on his cigarette. "Sure feels good to be flyin' this baby again!"