A/N: Hm~ I wonder, I wonder…. From here on out, I fear that updating will take quite awhile. But, no need to worry, for my definition of "awhile" may differ greatly from yours when it comes to stories. Now, this is where I ask all of you to review, please. It seems that that has become a strong motivator for me in continuing this story and long ones are best. I really do appreciate it.
Secondly, I feel that matters in this story are too slowly making headway. It is taking a long while to solve each problem, but please bear with me. (Things like the matter with Jenova, Hojo, Genesis, etc…) It simply seems that there are too many ideas for such an amount of words and it is suffocating. So many things go on and I find myself unable to keep track of all of them. If at any moment I have missed finishing an idea in the story, or a matter, I will look back to it and amend it.
I thank all of you who sit to enjoy my story. Please don't forget to review. :}
My only profits are the reviews you write and your guaranteed satisfaction.
Now, here is another chapter…
Chapter 8
It had been a week since he had last talked to Sephiroth about the past future. Cloud stirred in his bed. Things had been tiring, with plans going on, on all sides. Cid had confirmed that the town was aiding them in repairing the rocket and that Shera was being a big help. He couldn't believe he would end up marrying the woman but after that last time in space…well, he just said it was bound to happen. Red had confirmed sightings of some Soldiers around their area and informed Cloud that the village would build defensive blockades against enemies. He was glad their experiences together gave him a strategic mind and not to worry. Aerith asked how things were going on Cloud's end with Sephiroth. Apparently, she had known when Sephiroth found out about certain things by listening to the Planet. Vincent had come to him at one point and inquired whether they were soon to move against Shinra's power source. Cloud detailed him in on the favor he was going to ask Sephiroth and Vincent had agreed that asking the General might be the safest route. Overall, it had been a busy week with everybody shuffling about from one end of the Planet to the other. He wondered whether he was going to be able to pull it all off.
The alarm rang that indicated he should get up. He shuffled around a little before dropping off and heading for the showers. He would think about everything one little thing at a time but the main thing was to seek out Sephiroth and ask him about that favor…which he wasn't looking forward to. He wondered how the General would take it if he just walked up to him one day and demanded that the man help him shift Shinra's outlook on their main energy source, that it was 'killing the Planet' and say that if they didn't the 'WEAPONS would come as a scourge to ravage the Planet'…. It would go rather brilliantly. So he would rephrase it…
He turned off the water and rubbed himself dry. The steam in the shower was still visible while he waded from one side of the room to the other, where the lockers were located. He pulled on his usual garb and headed out for something to eat. He hoped this would be a nice relaxing day.
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Sephiroth sat brooding in his office where his pen hadn't moved in the last half hour. He had been thinking things through the past week and it had disturbed him more times than not. His thoughts always came back to center around Strife and how he was starting to remember, little by little, what he had said about the future the week before. He saw flashes here and there and strange times and events relating to the ones that had already happened and now he understood the reason he had gone mad. He remembered some of what those documents had said and how he had thought certain things at the time. It was startling how strong he had felt at the time, and a bit ridiculous how much he had fought for something that wasn't true. He wondered if Strife knew who his father was…
Strife…. In his memories he had often referred to him as Cloud. What was more, now he found himself wanting to call him by that name every time he glanced at him in passing. It was infuriating, to say the least, to have this many pent up emotions after being so still and cold his entire life. He wondered if there was something wrong with him. He sighed.
There was a knock at the door but before he could answer, Zack burst into the room. "Hey, Sephiroth. I heard you had a mission for us." He grinned.
Sephiroth snapped his attention back to reality. "Yes. The mission to go to Wutai has been resettled. We are to take two other cadets with us…" Sephiroth stood and handed Zack the report. It was about the sightings of a strange beast that kept on killing all of Wutai's livestock. After a while, it had even hunted some of the neighboring people living close to the mountain. They were to go in, determine what manner of beast it was and, if it proved too dangerous, to get rid of it.
Zack flipped through the pages. "Any suggestions?"
"Take Cl…Strife, and one other." Sephiroth put his head in his hands. He had never let it slip up before but glancing at Zack, he found that the other hadn't noticed.
"Hm…How about that uh…Lupus guy? He was pretty good during the competition, and Cloud? Awesome." Zack started squatting some in front of the door in excitement. "We haven't got to travel together for a while." He laughed. "Wutai, huh? Brings back memories of that squirt." He shot a fist up into the air and headed to the door. "I'll go tell Cloud and Lupus to get ready. See ya later, Sephiroth." He ran full speed through the halls.
Sephiroth walked to close the door. It seemed things were going to get complicated soon and he still wondered why Cloud, …Strife, hadn't asked him of his favor yet. He frowned in thought before resuming his seat behind his desk.
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Cloud was walking behind Zack and Sephiroth, talking with Lupus. He couldn't believe he was going to Wutai this soon. He wondered whether Yuffie would be half his size around this time. It would be nice to see that little thief again…
"So, what are you aiming for, Strife?" Lupus grinned, a kindly fellow. "I'm going to make the Turks!" he proclaimed proudly.
"Me?" Cloud thought about it. He couldn't actually say 'I'm going to save the Planet! Ahah!'. That would make him look ridiculous but he answered anyway. "To be a Soldier." Of course, Cloud didn't know Sephiroth was closely listening in on them.
"Really? Cool." He laughed. "The Turks are so awesome! I wonder if I'll be able to use one of those stun guns that they have, or fly a helicopter."
Cloud smiled at how enthusiastic Lupus was about joining the Turks and didn't want to crush his dreams. So, he would keep quiet about how the Turks had always failed in their mission to stop him and his team, that and the fact that the Turks were a bunch of stiffs that followed the rules to the end, no matter the consequences. "Maybe."
It was winter in Wutai and Cloud was nearly frozen. Watching Zack, in his short sleeved wear, he couldn't believe how energetic and ignorant he was of the cold. He and Lupus were nearly shivering an avalanche as they headed to the village. He was glad that they were close. Wutai seemed as peaceful as he ever saw it. It was surrounded by the carved mountain on one side, which disturbed Cloud every time though he would never admit it, and the tower on the other. It was a peaceful looking place at least.
They approached the entrance.
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Sephiroth was about to head inward when he was barred from the path by a young ninja girl. She wore a green headband and held herself in a spunky attitude.
"Stop right there!" She held her hand up. "I don't like you so you can't come in!" She glared at Sephiroth.
"Hey, kid." Zack ruffled her hair. "We're here on a mission so you'll have to let us pass."
Yuffie pushed his hand away and crossed her arms. "Nuh uh! No way!" She pointed at Sephiroth. "I don't like him!" she huffed.
Zack turned to the others. "What now? We can't just barge in and beat her up. Maybe there's another way.
Cloud sighed and looked away. Yuffie really was half his height and even spunkier than he remembered her over the years. How had they kept her under control was beyond him. He glanced at Yuffie and found she was right next to him and gawking at him.
"Cloud?" She gawked and pointed a finger. "Cloud!"
Cloud smiled. Yuffie still remembered, even though she was a kid. "Hey, Yuffie."
"Cloud!" she yelled happily before jumping and hanging around his neck. "It really is you! Gosh, I'm so happy I wasn't dreaming!"
Cloud struggled with the energetic child. "Okay, okay, Yuffie. We could talk about it later but can we come in now? I'm kind of cold and tired."
She jumped off. "Yeah! Of course!" She grinned. "Hehe, now I know so many secrets that are true. I can't wait!" She headed for her traditional home. "Follow me, Cloud. My dad'll welcome you if I have anything to say about it."
Zack whistled. "Wow, Cloud. How'd you ever meet a girl like her?"
Cloud sighed and shrugged. "She stole all our materia one time." And headed after Yuffie.
Zack cocked his head to one side confused. "He had materia before?" he shrugged and followed suit along with Lupus. The only thing they hadn't noticed was that Sephiroth had been glaring rather harshly at the girl and now stood in place looking at the retreating back in shock.
Had he been jealous when the girl jumped to hug Strife? Or when he found out they were close companions? That couldn't be. He felt extremely confused. He had also felt slightly put out when he had eavesdropped on Lupus and Strife chatting as though they held no boundaries. He had listened harder when Cloud had stated he wished to join Soldier. This was getting a little out of hand and Sephiroth shook his head, his silver hair waving in back of him. He needed to sort his thoughts in order. He followed where the rest had gone.
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"Cloud, guess what!" Yuffie bounced up and down next to her father, Godo, Wutai's head.
"Huh, what?" They were all sitting as opposite parties in the main meeting room while dinner was being prepared. Godo had stayed silent the entire time, apparently deep in thought. Sephiroth, Cloud noticed, hadn't said a word either. It had only been Zack explaining the details of their mission and how they were to exterminate some surrounding fiends roaming close to their lands.
"You know," she whispered in his ear. "dad remembers too!" Cloud looked at her surprised. "Not a lot of it, but all the important parts anyway." Sephiroth's ear twitched at what they were discussing and how close they were discussing it. He found he rather disliked the lack of distance between the two. "It's gotten more fun around here, hehe."
Cloud glanced at Godo, who in turn stared at him…hard. He faltered. The man had always had a scary side to him. Surprisingly, Godo slightly shifted his position to face Cloud and bowed his head. "We are in your debt!" he announced. Cloud froze. He had no way of dealing with this situation.
Yuffie laughed. "When I told him you remembered too, and that everything we knew wasn't a lie, he kind of became mister serious. We've been hording materia a lot nowadays." She grinned gleefully. "Dad realized real quick that he shouldn't be useless and lazy anymore after the last time. Of course, no one else remembers."
Cloud didn't know how to answer Godo. "I…uh, not at all?" Cloud frowned at Godo's bowed form before he straightened up and resumed his position like nothing had happened. The other three, Zack and Lupus mostly, were shocked at the display and Zack jabbed him in the side with an elbow.
"Hey, Cloud." He whispered. "What did you do?"
He shrugged embarrassed. "I didn't think I did much…" he glanced unsure at Yuffie.
"Well, dinner should be getting ready, I'll go check." Yuffie bounced out. "You can use the same rooms you used last time. I'll tell them to prepare more beds so you can wash up and be ready for dinner. I'll see you later, Cloud." She winked and slid out.
"Yes, please enjoy your stay here. I'll see to it that everything you desire is seen to. Now, if you'll excuse me." He bowed at them all, stood, and walked out.
Sephiroth had been leaning against the wall, listening in and seeing to the proceedings, but now he shrugged himself up off the wall and headed towards their indicated rooms. He walked slowly in thought. Strife had been here before and now he was being granted use of a room in the main mansion of Wutai…again? He felt greatly disturbed by how distressed he had been feeling recently. Seeing the girl so close was grating on his nerves and he couldn't understand why. He nearly sighed, frustrated. Why was Strife getting to him like this? He could only wonder and he grimaced at the strange sensation in his midriff. It felt paralyzing.
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Cloud was glad they were able to make use of the natural hot spring in the house. The manor had been built around one and now they had special privileges to use it. He, Lupus, and Zack had all headed for the spring as soon as they could after traveling for so long under freezing temperatures. It was warming to the bone.
"Hey, I wonder what Sephiroth's doing." Zack swam around with a towel on his head, obviously enjoying the water.
"What, the General?" Lupus asked shakily, "I think I saw him outside but I'm kind of glad he isn't here with us right now."
"Why?" Zack looked at him confused.
"Well, because I'd be scared stiff with the General sitting right next to me. And he's got this cold demeanor that would kill anyone who so much as looked at him wrong." Lupus laughed quietly and shrugged.
"Well, I suppose he's a working stiff but, cold?" Zack laughed. "Huh, I didn't notice."
Cloud chuckled at how ignorant Zack could be about a person sometimes but was glad for it. Sephiroth, he thought, needed a companion like Zack every once in a while to keep him on his toes. "I don't think he's that cold either."
"Uh huh…" Lupus looked disbelievingly. "Right…and next you're going to tell me more than half the people in Shinra approach him every day because of his warm soul and offer him chocolates."
Cloud shrugged smiling. "Maybe they would if he'd stop and smile for once."
"Hey," Lupus poked, "have you seen his smile? It's as creepy as hell. I mean, if looks could kill…"
"Smile?" Zack waded around in the water in thought. "I think I've seen Sephiroth smile once, I mean truly smile." Lupus and Cloud looked up at Zack expectantly, just waiting for him to shiver and go screaming that some silver haired angel was going to bite his head off. Disappointingly, he merely put his hands on his hips and looked thoughtful. "Huh, actually, it would be pretty good to see him smile around like that more often."
"Hmph…now I'm curious. I just can't imagine it." Lupus bubbled into the water. Cloud understood what he meant. The only times Sephiroth had smiled at him were when he gave that sinisterly devilish grin that only came with death, and asked if he desired pain. He shivered at the thought. Truly terrifying, indeed.
xxx xxx
Cloud looked at the row of food in front of them and it was outstanding. The whole line was ridiculously amazing and really expensive looking. He couldn't believe they were eating this well on Wutai land, them, who belonged to Shinra. He started eating happily. Yuffie was next to him, Godo had excused himself and bade them that they eat well, so the only others were Zack, Lupus, and Sephiroth who still seemed to be deep in thought.
"You know, Cloud," Yuffie stuffed her face full of what seemed like roast pork. "I'm so glad you came. I haven't eaten this well in a long time." She grinned around her puffy cheeks.
"I'm actually glad I came too. It's really good."
"Right?"
"Yeah." They gorged some more.
Sephiroth was looking very unhappily at the happy couple. He just couldn't shake the feeling of being cheated and was in no mood to eat. Zack stared at him. "Sephiroth? Something wrong?"
Sephiroth glanced at Zack, trying to smooth his frown. "No."
"Well, it's really good. You should try some." He relished delightfully. Sephiroth looked down at the food. If he wished, he could have far greater meals prepared for them all…. He shook himself out of his thoughts. Just what was he thinking? He should have been glad that they were accepted into the village and provided well for.
Sighing, Sephiroth stood, giving up his will to eat and walked out the door. He stopped and turned back. "Retire early. We set out in the morning." Then made his way outside for some fresh air.
They all glanced at each other, their mouths full. Zack spoke first. "Didn't he like the food?"
Lupus scoffed. "More like, something was really bothering him. Did you see the look on his face when he was staring at the meal? He looked like he wanted to kill it, and that was only a mild look I bet."
"Huh…" Cloud thought about it. Nothing bad had really happened on their way here except Yuffie saying she hated him. He looked at her then. "I think you've made him mad, Yuffie."
Yuffie paled. "Nuh uh! No way! I don't want that psycho coming after me, I'm just a kid!" She sniffled. "Besides, he didn't seem angry when I yelled at him before…"
Zack shifted. "Don't worry," he chuckled, "I don't think it was you. Maybe Sephiroth's just feeling a bit down about something that went on in Shinra."
Lupus shifted uncomfortably. "Maybe someone should go check up on him…"
Zack quirked an eyebrow, "I don't know. He might cut my head off. Cloud?"
The two of them looked expectantly at Cloud. He sighed. "Fine, I'll go and see what's bugging the Great General." He stood up and walked out the door. Though he was curious, he wasn't really in the mood to poke and prod at the General to tell him every little secret. Maybe the food just wasn't to his tastes…hopefully.
Cloud found Sephiroth outside, leaning against a tree near the manor. He had his eyes closed in deep thought, with sword in hand, and Cloud wondered if he should really bother him. "General?"
Sephiroth slowly opened his eyes and looked at Cloud in an uncertain way. "What is it?"
"The others were wondering if there was something bothering you." Cloud sighed. Maybe he shouldn't have come out to bother him.
Sephiroth stood, gracefully shrugging himself off the tree, and walked towards Cloud in a slow paced movement. Sephiroth placed Masamune back at his side. "No, nothing is wrong." He stopped in front of Cloud.
"Well, Yuffie's pretty worried you might kill her so stop looking so intent on murder." Cloud reprimanded. Sephiroth nearly scowled at the mention of the name but stopped himself short. There was no reason he should dislike the girl in the first place…
"I see…" He did find it a bit amusing that Strife was giving him orders but felt he rather didn't mind. "I shall try to amend that."
Cloud blinked. Well, that had been easy. "Okay, well, thanks." He turned to head back inside. "You should probably come back inside too. It's cold out here." He walked in.
Sephiroth kept staring at the door Cloud had gone through just seconds ago. He felt very reluctant to go back inside and have 'nice discussions' with the others. He sighed, looking back at an old tree still bearing its pink tinged blossoms through the winter. A petal fell to land on the snow and Sephiroth felt pity for the thing that had landed so softly, in its grave of white.
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It was late, very late. Sephiroth made his way quietly through the halls and to the rooms where they had been indicated. Standing before the rice paper doors he heard the soft breathings of the others asleep. Zack, on the other hand he mused, was not so very quiet. He slid the door open and stepped inside. He saw all three of them lying in their own respective mats, except Zack who was sprawled in the center over Cloud and Lupus, and frowned. Lupus, he found, was a normal sleeper, twisting this way and that, every once in awhile, but Cloud…. He looked at Cloud and crouched in front of him. Cloud was sleeping very still, with hardly a breath in him and a frown to his brow. He slowly reached out a hand, but stopped, suddenly realizing what he was doing. He snatched his hand back with knit brows and stood. He went to the far corner where he sat against the wall, Masamune in hand, and watched as all three slept peacefully. He would stand guard over them, tonight.
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The next morning brought with it the utter brightness of sunlight and…Cloud hated it. It was too darn early for the sun to be so happily rearing its head towards them. He felt he was punished for sleeping so well through the night. He huffed unhappily.
"Hey, you ready to go?" Zack called from the other side of the room.
"Hm? Yeah." Cloud packed up a couple things that would aide them on their journey in a black bag before carrying it out the door. "Hurry up, Zack."
"Yeah, yeah, I'm coming!" He rushed out the door to catch up with Cloud. Zack stumbled a couple times.
Lupus came out of the other room with some extra materials in hand. "Hey, by the way, have any of you guys seen the General? I haven't seen him since last night."
They both shrugged. Cloud opened the front door and walked into the blaring sunlight. "I don't know. I told him that he should come inside but I suppose he went somewhere else."
"What?" Lupus ran to catch up with him. "You told the General what to do?"
Cloud frowned. "I merely suggested…"
"Wow, I wonder if he's angry…" Lupus laughed nervously.
Zack walked ahead of them into the open road with a smile. "Man, nice weather!" he started up some squats in excitement.
Lupus whispered to Cloud. "Is he some weird monster or something? How can he have that much energy this early in the morning?" Cloud merely shrugged.
"The creature has been sighted not too far north from here." All three of them jumped as Sephiroth casually walked past them without any sign of noticing their surprise. "We shall take the upper path from the mountain. From there, a guide will point us in the right direction." He indicated the mountain and started walking.
Lupus gulped. "We didn't hear him coming." He said quietly. "I think he really is mad." He walked quickly to catch up to the General and Zack, who had started following him with boundless energy.
Cloud looked at the three of them and crossed his arms. "Huh…" he followed where the others were headed.
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Sephiroth quietly simmered through the sunny air. He had left early to have a moment of peace and gain information from some of the villagers but all his calm had went out the window when he had seen the Lupus boy whispering something into Strife's ear. He had no idea why that bothered him as much as it did but now, he was silently walking at a dangerous pace. He nearly snorted at how he had been about to act before, wanting to disrupt their little talk by startling him, but he hadn't meant for Zack and Cloud to be surprised as well…
He should stop thinking these things, finish the mission quickly, and go back to his daily habits in Shinra. This mission had not been a good idea after all.
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Cloud looked up the mountain incredulously. The guide had pointed them high into the mountain quite a while ago. He gulped to try and ease his dry throat. How could it have been so tall and hard to scale? He thought about how he had climbed it so easily in the past. Could he have gotten so weak or… He looked at the pace they were going, trying to keep up with the General, and he frowned. Sephiroth was pushing the limit too hard and, noticing how hard Lupus was panting, even Zack's energy had given way, he had to find Sephiroth's inconsiderate behavior just plain rude. He huffed in annoyance.
"General, sir. I think we should take a break." He called out before Sephiroth turned to look at them all with unreadable eyes. He slowly took in Zack's hunched form and Lupus panting on all fours. Cloud thought he himself looked a little too worn for a battle at the moment. He looked up when Sephiroth wasn't answering. "Sir?"
Sephiroth closed his eyes, determining something, perhaps that he had been acting childish, before heading a couple steps in their direction. "We shall rest here for half an hour. I'll patrol the immediate area for any dangers." He walked off.
All three of them breathed a sigh of relief as Sephiroth was seen disappearing around some rocks and trees. Lupus dropped backwards and puffed into the air. "Man, I think there's something really bothering him right now." He shakily reached for a water bottle. His hands trembled as he attempted to open it.
"Yeah," Zack panted. "I know what you mean." He gulped to ease his dry throat. "I mean, what happened while we were sleeping?" He dropped onto a nearby rock.
Cloud glanced nervously around. He knew just how well the General could hear over great distances. "I think we should talk a little quieter. He might hear us." He needed something more to prove to them that it was possible. "Remember this morning when we couldn't hear him? He could be anywhere without us ever noticing…"
They both paled. "W-We got ya." Lupus shuddered.
There was a loud grumble and Lupus and Cloud tensed. They turned to Zack who was laughing a little embarrassed. "Uh, any of you have some food anywhere?" he asked a little sheepish.
Cloud smiled. Now, that was something he remembered to be prepared for. "Yeah, I have some. Yuffie had some of their cooks make us take out." He pulled out the boxes (bento) and nearly saw Zack drool.
"Awesome! I'm starting to love that kid." He rubbed his hands together.
"Yeah. I'm getting pretty hungry too." Lupus grinned. Cloud set the two boxes in front of them before quickly snatching his hand away. He didn't want that eaten as well…
He stood and looked around, to see if he could feel Sephiroth anywhere near, and smiled as he felt him leaning against a tree doing particularly nothing. "I'll be right back. I'm going to go see if Sephiroth wants to eat something as well."
"Huh?" Lupus cocked a brow and started looking around. "How do you know where he is? I can't see him anywhere."
Cloud picked up a box and started walking. "Call it a hunch." Unfortunately, he had to walk quite a bit to reach where Sephiroth was standing watch. And, when he made it, he was in no particularly happy mood. "Sephiroth." Cloud nodded as he came into view.
"Strife…" Sephiroth said softly.
Cloud held up the container full of food. "I thought you might be hungry as well, so I brought you some." He sat down on a rock near the tree Sephiroth was currently leaning against.
"I see…, thank you." He said unsurely. He appreciated that Cloud had been considerate but he hardly felt the need for sustenance right now.
Cloud looked at him disapprovingly. "Look, I know you don't really need to eat that much but you skipped dinner last night and breakfast. I'm amazed you can hold out so long without being the least bit hungry but you should have something at least." He reprimanded.
Sephiroth slightly smiled at the thought of him being scolded by a cadet, no matter how old and experienced he used to be in the past. "I'll take that into consideration."
Cloud huffed indignantly. "Fine, I'll leave this here. You can eat it or throw it away but I'll come back for the box later, unless you want to bring it to me." He started towards Zack and Lupus. He paused but didn't turn back and pouted. "And don't forget to eat your vegetables…" he said quietly before rushing back.
Sephiroth stared at the container left on the rock and looked at it as if it were some strange creature that had started ordering him around. He chuckled lightly as Cloud had made sure to warn him about eating his vegetables and reached to lift the container into the air. How in the world, and under such strange circumstances, had he been forced to consume a substance that he had no desire for? He quirked a brow at it as if it may answer his questions. Such strange circumstances.
xxx xxx
Cloud quickly brushed past Lupus and Zack and landed right on the rock he had previously been sitting on. He crossed his arms and sat there looking, in the world, as if he had poked and prodded at a hungry lion. He seemed…unsure.
"So, how'd it go?" Lupus asked curious. "Did he actually take the food?"
"…Uh huh…"
"Really?"
"Yeah…"
"Are you sure he's not just going to dump it somewhere?"
"I don't know…"
"…Wow…, I really can't imagine the General eating anything!" Lupus shrugged. "He just seems so inhuman sometimes."
"Don't say that." Zack frowned. "He's really a nice guy if you get to know him…I think."
"You don't say." Lupus had finished his food and was now putting his dirty dishes back in the bag.
Cloud looked thoughtfully depressed. Maybe he had pushed Sephiroth too hard to eat something. He rubbed the back of his head nervously. "Hey, Zack. We should start packing up."
Zack was scraping the last of his meal into his mouth as he nodded in agreement. "Whew, that was good." He started wiping his mouth of rice grains. "I wonder if Sephiroth will be coming back soon." He looked around.
Cloud was the first to notice Sephiroth walking out into the clearing with an unsure look on his face. It was subtle, though, that only Cloud recognized his look for what it was. He walked up to them with the food container held elegantly in his hand. Who knew someone could pull off looking so graciously with a mere lunchbox.
"I have…consumed it. Thank you…" he replied as he re-handed the container to Cloud. Cloud took it with a disbelieving face but nodded anyway.
"Anytime, General…" he placed the box back into his pack and started putting everything away. Lupus and Zack looked at the two with gawks and wide eyes.
Lupus whispered to Zack. "Can you believe that? The General actually ate it?"
"I know. A surprise." Zack was still gawking.
Sephiroth straightened, quickly dropping his uncertainty and addressed them all. "We are heading out. We should reach the destination before nightfall." He started up the track again.
Zack and Lupus hastily stood. "Y-Yes, sir." They followed him immediately.
Cloud stood, shrugging on his pack. He hadn't actually expected Sephiroth to eat the food, let alone announce that he had, and it confused him. He smiled thoughtfully. Maybe this mission was a good one after all. He followed.
xxx xxx
They reached their destination, just as Sephiroth had said, before nightfall. Their target was supposed to be somewhere close to a cave, apparently taking refuge in it. It was described as a rather large shimmering yellow creature with horns and a long tail but Cloud wondered if it was only a random fiend misplaced from its natural habitat. He hoped it was a fiend they shouldn't worry about because fighting any creature in the middle of the night wasn't very appealing. They walked a bit further before they spotted the cave.
Zack whistled. "That's a really big cave." He laughed nervously. "I hope the thing that comes out of it is small though." They edged closer until they reached the small clearing in front of the dark opening. Cloud shifted in his spot. He hadn't thought to bring a better weapon by somehow sneaking it and now he regretted his decision. The trademark cadet rifle was not a reassuring weight against his back.
Sephiroth pulled Masamune from his side and held it in front of him. He pointedly looked at Zack to do the same. "Zack, you are to draw the creature out. Strife, Lupus, fall back and cover from behind." They did what was ordered.
Zack pulled out his blade and faltered. "Now I really hope that this is nothing to worry about." He edged into the mouth of the cave, going further little by little and soon Cloud couldn't see any form of Zack at all. There was a rumble. "Damn!" Zack cursed. Frantically rushing out of the cave. "You guys won't believe this."
The rumble grew louder as Cloud and Lupus clutched their guns. The first thing they saw was a sword…or as thick as a broadsword could ever get. Cloud looked up slowly, following the shape up. It ended up as a paw, revealed in the moonlight, then an arm, then a chest. Cloud cursed. "It's a King Behemoth!" he yelled towards the others. He quickly looked back at the advancing creature and took a step back as it took one forward. In the moonlight it was clear that the ferocity of the creature would be something to behold. Its fur shimmered gold, its eyes red with unleashed fury, and its threateningly curved dual horns glistening with a black gleam. It's violet mane came next followed by its six-spiked tail. Cloud stared. It's teeth were nearly as large as him.
"Damn it!" Lupus started shooting and backing away. Zack stood off to the side to try and inflict heavy damage by slashing its hindquarters and Sephiroth merely stood in front of it. It growled in his face.
"Sephiroth!" Cloud felt the mako in him flare and for a moment he felt his previous strength rush back to him. He charged, wanting to take advantage of everything he had to try and take down the monster. This thing, he believed, could possibly be as strong as some of Jenova's forms. He leapt up and over both Sephiroth and the head of the beast. He landed on the beast's back and, finding it futile to shoot bullets at it, smashed the gun onto the base of the creature's mane. Cloud left it jabbed in and it started welling up with blood dribbling down its sides. It reared back and roared, taking Cloud along with it as it tried to smash about.
"Cloud!" Zack rushed up only to be knocked back by its tail, the spikes barely missing him by an inch. He gave a grunt as he flew back to be slammed into a tree.
"Zack!" Lupus ran up to the fallen Soldier for aid. Cloud was hanging on only by gripping the great mane that trailed down its back but was steadily losing his grip. It thrashed this way and that, knocking over trees and boulders.
Sephiroth had never taken his eyes off the monster, dodging every incoming blow while trying to determine how to decapitate it without hitting Cloud. He frowned, where had that burst of power come from and how had Cloud managed to drive a blunt object with enough force into the creatures back? Cloud had said that he had come back at half his strength but if that had been half…. He dodged another swing of the creature's tail. First things first, he had to stop the creature in its tracks before it managed to hurt Cloud. He drew back and sent slashes of waves its way. It cut deeply into the fiend's chest but it still gave no indication of even slowing down. He slashed again, this time at its front paws and it fell forward to crash onto the floor. It roared and reared back up shaking this way and that.
Suddenly and as quickly as it came, the surge of mako left him abruptly leaving him tired, weak, and angry. Now, he was gripping on to dear life from the beast's mane. Cloud found himself slipping rapidly and quickly looked around for something safe to land on. He silently swore when there was nothing safe but the terrible ruins of rocks and trees. Behemoth reared and rose on its hind legs. For a moment, Cloud saw the entire surrounding of the forest on the mountain before he felt himself fall backwards. He kicked himself off Behemoth's back and tried to flip backwards when suddenly the creature's tail rose and struck him square in the midriff. Two spikes penetrated Cloud's body before he was flung off to crash into the head of the cave. His breath was knocked out of him and he fell painfully to the floor.
Sephiroth froze, staring at the unmoving form of Cloud. His nerves left him numb as Cloud was seen flung to the floor with blood welling up his front. He kept staring, unnoticing the very same tail that had hit Cloud swinging his way. He clenched his fist in anger and brought his sword up just in time to catch the tail. He slowly looked up to glare frighteningly at the beast with death in his eyes.
"Sephiroth!" Zack was on the other side of the beast, Lupus at his back. He had his sword up to defend himself.
Sephiroth kept glaring at the creature. "Go see to Strife." He ordered before disappearing from sight. The beast twirled, its fangs bared in a growl. Sephiroth softly landed atop the beasts head, sword positioned downwards. Behemoth whirled around, shaking its head, but Sephiroth stayed where he stood. The beast charged into a tree, the tree skewered onto its horns before he flung it away but still Sephiroth didn't move an inch. He stood still before bringing Masamune straight down into the King Behemoth's skull. It skewered all the way through to its maw. Eyes going wide, it gave one high whine before it dropped heavily to the floor…dead.
Sephiroth jumped off and quickly made his way towards where Zack and Lupus were leaning over Cloud. Lupus was patching Cloud up in bandages. "Hey, Strife, hang in there."
Sephiroth quickly made his way over to them. "What is his condition?" He was worried but covered it up with an unreadable expression.
Zack sighed and glanced at Sephiroth through the corner of his eye, worried. "I'm not sure but we should get him medical attention immediately." Zack stood and turned around to face him. "Did you know he could pull of a stunt like that? How did he learn how to jump that high and drive the blunt side of a gun straight into the hide of a Behemoth? I heard the King's got one of the toughest hides for a fiend…" He rubbed the back of his neck.
"No. I did not know." He walked over to Cloud and crouched in front of him. They had laid him on top of his jacket and cut his shirt open. He could see that there were two puncture wounds from the blood welts through the bandages, one on the chest and one in his side. He was still unconscious but sweating profusely. He stood and quickly pulled out a phone.
"Who are you calling?" Zack asked.
"Tseng." Sephiroth held the phone to his ear waiting for the Turk head to pick up on the other side. After three rings the phone clicked.
'Hello?' It was Tseng's voice.
"We need a plane, now!" he flipped the phone close and turned to Zack. "Get ready to move Strife." He ordered.
"Of course." Looking grim, Zack started helping Lupus clean up the bloody bandages and covering Cloud with his uniform jacket.
"Gaia," Lupus breathed, "is he going to make it?"
Zack grimaced. "There's no way I'll let him die." He shook his head.
Sephiroth stood glaring at the Behemoth when suddenly the sound of a whirring helicopter was heard. He looked up to find Tseng slightly leaning out of the back of a black chopper. The chopper landed in the middle of the clearing that was created by the raging Behemoth. Tseng jumped out and walked towards him. "What's the emergency?"
Sephiroth indicated to the fallen cadet and Tseng raised a brow in question. "You have never concerned yourself with other cadets before." He glanced around until his eyes fell on the form of the fallen Behemoth, its golden fur still retaining its beautiful shimmer even in its death. "Hm, impressive." He looked at the gun that was jabbed into the back of the beast. "I don't suppose you used a weapon other than your sword?" he indicated towards the gun.
Sephiroth glanced at the gun jabbed into the back. "No."
Zack came up carrying Cloud in his arms. "Can we get moving? He's lost a lot of blood and I'm worried." He said a bit angrily. He was annoyed Tseng wasn't hastening his actions.
Tseng stepped aside. "Of course." Zack took Cloud with him into the chopper with Lupus following.
"A report needs to be sent to Wutai to inform them that the Behemoth has been dealt with." Sephiroth started for the plane. "We should return to Midgar immediately."
Tseng looked at the retreating General's back. He could never figure out what Sephiroth was ever thinking but knew never to question his actions, lest he take his anger out on him. Tseng was sure he could never match up to Sephiroth in battle and didn't even want to try to prove that statement correct. Shaking his head, he followed the others into the helicopter that would take them back to Midgar.
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A scientist, that's what he was. He stared at the reports of the injured and his status. He sneered. There was nothing particularly impressive with the subject's performance, nor were there any definite abilities that the subject had proved to be good at. He flipped through the pages again and again, looking for some sort of information that would tell him something about the subject that had been recently brought into the ward, but there was nothing to be found! Frustrated, the scientist flung the clipboard full of the patient's reports back onto the table in the doctor's office. He was more than intrigued about the patient but there would be only one way to find out why a mere cadet had great amounts of mako in his veins. He cackled sinisterly. Yes, the boy was intriguing indeed.
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Sephiroth walked down the halls in a sort of absent-minded manner. They had safely arrived back in Midgar, and Cloud had quickly been rushed into the hospital, but…. Something bothered him. When he had gone to check up on Cloud's condition he had been told that the cadet was currently unable to receive any visitors and that the woman was very sorry she couldn't make an exception, even to the General, so he had conceded for the moment. Shinra was quiet this time of night and Sephiroth was glad for it but the nagging in the back of his mind that something was wrong would not go away. Frustrated, he turned around and headed back towards the hospital wing.
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Zack ran into the infirmary when he heard that there had been a commotion. He had been called up because he was the closest and now he rushed with fervent energy. It had been the same ward that Cloud had been sent to. Running, he pulled out his phone and dialed Sephiroth's number in case the man was still nearby as well.
'Zack?' It was Sephiroth.
"Yeah. Did you hear about the trouble in the medical center? Cloud was supposed to be in there and I'm worried. I was wondering if you could reach it faster if you're closer."
'…I'll be there.' And with a click the phone line was cut.
Zack rushed faster than he thought possible with only one thought in mind, that Cloud was alright.
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Sephiroth burst into the room in a whirl of black and silver. He saw the troubled look on the counter girl's face and didn't wait for an explanation before he walked straight into the ward they had assigned to Cloud. What he saw surprised and angered him. There was a nurse sitting on the floor, clipboard in a death grip, and trembling with fear as she watched what was happening. There were also two other nurses huddled together right outside the door wondering if they should have called for backup before the incident got worse but…they were Shinra soldiers.
There were three other Soldier operatives fighting to hold Cloud down onto the bed, one holding a syringe in his hands full of a strange liquid that Sephiroth could only guess was an anesthetic. Cloud was struggling with the other two attempting to hold him down and it was causing him to reopen his previous wounds. It seemed as though Cloud had put no actual conscious thought into why he was struggling, his eyes were shimmering a sickly green as though mako was blinding his sight. Sephiroth drew Masamune and approached quietly.
He held his blade up the first of the three that was the closest. "Release him." he calmly demanded. The man slowly turned around and tensed. The other two soon followed suit. He saluted, obviously surprised.
"General, sir! We have orders…" Sephiroth was disappointed he couldn't make out the faces of the individuals because of their headgear. Otherwise, their uniforms indicated their statuses in Soldier, two 3rds and one 2nd.
"From who?" he could barely keep the anger out of his voice.
The man gulped. "F-From Professor Hojo, sir."
"Hojo…" Sephiroth breathed. "What does he want?"
"Um, the patient, sir…. H-He told us that it would be best to b-bring him back unconscious." Yes, Sephiroth could see how that would be best as Cloud desperately continued struggling against the other Soldiers. He was about to step up but it was just then that Cloud succeeded in throwing them both off his arms. . He sat up panting, looking this way and that but actually seeing nothing.
Sephiroth glared at the three operatives, the other two struggling to get up off the floor. "Get out."
All three of them ran off, with the 2nd helping another 3rd rush through and out the door. Turning back, Sephiroth put Masamune away and looked at Cloud, who still seemed to be staring at nothing in particular. He walked up to him and put a light hand on his shoulder. It caused a gut reaction and Cloud immediately tensed before swinging his other arm in Sephiroth's direction. Sephiroth easily evaded. "Cloud." He tried to get Cloud to recognize his voice.
A nurse, the one that had been sitting on the floor, came up to him. "May I help in any way?" She asked, clearly worried.
Sephiroth glanced at her. "Keep everyone away from the rooms. I'll deal with him."
She looked concerned, tightly gripping her clipboard in both hands, but was a little relieved. "Of course." She briskly stepped outside and took the other two nurses with her.
Sephiroth turned back to Cloud, a punch getting ready to be thrown his way. "Cloud." He demanded more firmly.
Cloud paused before he swung out a second time. "…Sephiroth?" Hesitant but calm, he put his arms down and rubbed his face. "…I can't see." Cloud realized it really was Sephiroth and that the others were nowhere near him anymore.
"Has something happened?"
Cloud sighed and leaned back a bit on the bed. "I don't know. I woke up to find myself struggling with enemies I couldn't see."
Sephiroth paused, a question coming to his lips. He couldn't help but notice that it was strange that the mako was blinding him when he had not been injected recently enough, nor pumped full of it enough, to have mako poisoning. Instead, he decided to ask the other question that had been bugging him from the beginning when Cloud had mentioned Hojo's relation to those documents on Jenova. "How do you know of Hojo and what is your relation?"
Cloud looked at him doubtfully, without actually looking at him, as though he knew that Sephiroth had wanted to ask something else but refrained. He merely shrugged. "It was his fault from the very beginning. After Zack and I escaped, I came back to find Hojo's madness in all of this. He tried to prove that your insane self could overcome even the limitations of science." He wasn't going to tell Sephiroth that Hojo had mentioned he was his father, then. "He experimented with everyone, trying to create the most powerful being to rule the planet, and used Jenova to accomplish it."
"Escaped? What happened to Zack?"
Cloud looked at the memory with poisonous hostility. "Hojo experimented on us for years before Zack broke us out. He was trying to recreate a new 'Sephiroth' or something."
Sephiroth couldn't believe what he was hearing. Cloud and Zack had been subjected to experimentations by Hojo? "And Zack…?"
Cloud hesitated. Unsure whether saying it might cause it to happen again but resigned. It would not happen again. "He died…protecting me…"
He had suspected that that had been what had happened when Cloud had mentioned he had used the Buster blade but he had hoped it wasn't true. "I see…" There was another thing that was bothering him but was unsure whether he should ask, after all that had been revealed.
Cloud rubbed his eyes again. They were becoming clearer and his eyes were reverting back to the blue that they actually were. "You want to know of Jenova." It wasn't a question. He blew a breath out and looked at Sephiroth, actually seeing him this time. "I suppose I can't hide it any longer." He searched around himself, shuffling this way and that.
Sephiroth quirked a brow. "Looking for something?"
Cloud growled in frustration. "They put my phone somewhere."
"What do you intend to do with it?" Sephiroth was as confused as ever. He had thought that Cloud would simply explain it all himself, not call somebody to do it for him.
"I need to make a couple calls. Can you see if they have it at the front counter? I don't think they'll answer if it isn't from my phone." Cloud asked as though he had no idea he was asking the General to do something as mundane as that for him. Sephiroth couldn't help but be flabbergasted at his first experience of being asked a simple favor. No one had ever simply asked him to go fetch their phone. He couldn't help but give a little smirk of wonder. Cloud frowned, seeing the expression. "What?"
"I'll see if they have it." He walked out to the front counter and thought it was a good thing that Cloud's room was far from the hearing range of any curious onlookers.
Cloud leaned back and sighed. When and if Sephiroth read those documents, he wanted to be sure that Sephiroth was absolutely positively not going to go insane. There was still the chance that Sephiroth might still have doubted his existence and was currently questioning his origins because of his inhuman strength. Cloud waited determinedly. He would have to explain things in full before he gave Sephiroth the information he was asking for. It was just then that Sephiroth reentered the room.
"I have retrieved your phone." Sephiroth said, slightly amused at the look the counter girl had given him when he had asked for it back. He handed it to Cloud.
"Thanks." He took it before looking squarely into Sephiroth's eyes. "Okay, there are some things we have to get straight." Sephiroth took a seat on the chair next to the bed. He felt that this little discussion would become very important soon. Cloud continued. "First of all, you have to know the reason Hojo made you believe that Jenova was your mother."
Sephiroth quirked a brow in question, still disbelieving that who he had thought was his mother since his birth was not really his mother at all, no matter that he had never seen her. "Then, is my mother still alive?"
Cloud looked sadly at the memory. "In a way I suppose you could say that."
"In a way?"
Cloud waved it off. "I'm not the person who should be telling you but you'll find out sooner or later." He rubbed the back of his head. "Anyways, the reason Hojo convinced you…" Cloud was reluctant, very reluctant to say. "is because you carry her cells, Jenova cells, in you. You'll get more information later but you have to know that she wasn't an Ancient."
"Ancient? Jenova cells?"
"You'll find out soon. The other thing I should probably tell you is about those documents…" Cloud wondered what he could say that would stop Sephiroth for even a little bit to think things through. "Not all of them may be true. When they found Jenova they believed she was an ancient and that was false." Cloud huffed and grumbled. This was too much information to explain. It would be better if he found out for himself. He flipped his phone open. "Just know," he glared seriously at Sephiroth, "that if you go mad after this I'll have to do this all over again." Or maybe just kill himself to save himself the trouble, was what he thought.
"I shall consider it." He simply replied.
Cloud dialed a number and called. From what Sephiroth could hear, it took three rings before someone picked it up. 'Cloud?' It was Vincent.
"Vincent. I need you to find Red and fetch those documents."
'Your reason?'
"Sephiroth knows."
There was a silence on the other end. '…I see. I understand. I'll contact Red.'
"Thanks. I'll be calling Cid to come pick you up. It'll be faster on the Highwind."
'Understood.' Click. Cloud dialed another number.
''ello? Cloud, that you?' Cid sounded as if he had just gone for a smoke.
"Cid, I need you to get Vincent and Red to pick up some documents."
'Documents?' Cid seemed to be in thought for a moment, wondering what documents could be important enough that all three of them had to go…'Don't ya dare tell me it's that………that thing's documents.'
"He knows already, Cid." Cloud explained a couple things to Cid.
'Well, damn it, Cloud. But, alright, I here ya. I'll go fetch the rest of the team….ya want me to get Yuffie too?'
"No. She's just a kid."
'Heh. Not like she ever grew up in the first place, but well yeah. I'll see ya later. Oh and the bugger's ready to fly, just so ya know." He hung up.
Sephiroth sat there unmoving, assessing every move that had been taken. "When have you had the time to move the documents?"
Cloud looked guilty. "The same night I stopped you."
Sephiroth was sure there weren't just one or two pieces of paper that had been lying around. "How did you manage to move them yourself?"
"Hm? Vincent helped me."
He hadn't noticed another person there. "Vincent?"
Cloud looked at him with a light smirk. "You'll see when you meet him. He may not say much but you two have a lot of catching up to do."
"Hm…" It was just then that Zack had burst straight into the room.
"Cloud!" Both Sephiroth and Cloud sat wide-eyed at Zack for barging in so abruptly.
"Zack?"
"Cloud! You're okay!" Zack started inspecting him all over the place, frowning at the two dots of red on the bandages that were there because Cloud had reopened his previous wounds.
"I'm fine, Zack. Really." He gently pushed Zack away.
Zack put his hands on his hips. "What happened?"
"It's fine, they're gone now. I think some guys just wanted to pull a prank." Cloud gave a pointed stare at Sephiroth to indicate that he had better go along with it. Sephiroth merely leaned back in his chair, crossed his arms, shrugged, and then smirked.
"A prank?" Zack frowned. "That's going a little overboard, don't you think? I mean, look at you! You're injured!"
"Don't worry. The General here," he indicated to Sephiroth sarcastically, "came and saved the day."
"Wow, thanks Sephiroth. I know you're busy and all but I was worried." He rubbed the back of his head nervously. "I thought something big was going on and that I wouldn't make it in time."
Sephiroth looked on indifferently. Actually, it was true that Zack would have been too late and was grateful that he had called him first. "I happened to be close." He wouldn't ever admit that he had been on his way back in the first place. "I'm glad it was sorted before it got out of hand." For that, he was very grateful. He didn't know what he would have done if they had actually succeeded and Cloud had been captured.
"Well, thanks anyway." He plopped down into a chair that was next to Sephiroth's. The room wasn't very big but the chairs were comfortable. "Busy night, huh."
Cloud had forgotten that it was still the middle of the night. He had to stifle a yawn at the thought. "What time is it?"
Zack checked his phone. "Just before 4:00am."
Cloud groaned. It was that late? He rubbed his eyes, they had become clear again before Zack had burst into the room and for that he was thankful. He would've had a hard time explaining why he thought he was going blind. "I need some sleep."
Zack nodded. "Yeah, I know. It's been a tiring day and now this happens, whatever it was. I'm just glad nothing else happened."
Cloud just looked straight in front of him. "…Yeah, I know."
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