Zack slammed a fist into the conference table. "This is serious. We have to deploy in Wutai again."

Vice President Shinra, in his immaculate white suit, massaged his temples, eyes slightly narrowed at Zack. "Shinra Company does not deploy on foreign soil for your hysterical whims, Fair."

"But Avalanche could be selling Cloud on the black market," Zack argued.

"Zaaaaack," Reno drawled, head resting on the table, "those damn Avalanche psychos don't do the slave trade." The Turk looked rather drab in his faded, gray, baggy shirt and pants. Reno wasn't even wearing any shoes.

"They could capture him," Zack said, trying to get his sense of urgency across, "and send him to a training camp where they'll brainwash him into hating Shinra Company more than he fears being dragged into experiments."

"But Zack," Tuesti said, words slightly slurred with tiredness, "Avalanche doesn't have a shortage of volunteers. They don't even have training camps, let alone brainwashing camps."

"But Spike doesn't have enough training to stand on his own if he gets caught in the crossfire between Wutai and Avalanche."

"Strife has been running around Gaia for ages without you," Cissnei said, looking just as asleep as Reno. "What makes this so different?"

"Because Spiky was lying," Zack said, hoping the pleading edge in his voice would persuade at least one of them.

"How do you know that?" Shinra asked. "You already explained that you don't have legitimate proof."

"Cloud got all emotional during our conversation."

Kunsel scoffed. "That kid is too quiet to get emotional, Zack."

"He was emotional," Zack said. "He froze when I confronted him about Wutai, like he was guilty of something. He snapped at me about a stupid nickname then got ridiculously repentant over it. Then he was amused like nothing had happened, and he practically hung up on me. Erratic behavior in Spike means he's under stress. He only gets like this around the Soldier evaluations." Glaring at Kunsel, Zack demanded, "And why the hell are you wearing your helmet?"

The Second Class Soldier was indeed wearing his helmet, along with some pale green, baggy pajamas and fuzzy, brown socks.

"I wasn't thinking when you called this emergency meeting, Zack," Kunsel said irritably. "I grabbed my helmet and ran out the door. It's the middle of the damn night. Besides, you can't claim to be better dressed in that hideous, yellow monstrosity."

Zack's scowl deepened as he stared down at his own pajamas. A happy, cartoon dog posed playfully on the front of his chocobo yellow shirt. Miniature versions of the same dog littered the pants. "At least I'm wearing proper shoes and brought my sword," Zack countered. Indeed, he had his pajama bottoms tucked into his combat boots, and his sword was slung across his back in its harness.

"Yeah," Reno drawled, "and you look like a damn nutcase."

"Zack?" Sephiroth said, effectively cutting through the useless conversation.

Zack turned to face the fully dressed general, wondering if the man slept in his uniform.

"Why were you calling Strife in the middle of the night? You didn't know he would be on the opposite side of the planet where it would still be daylight."

"I couldn't sleep," Zack said. "Something felt wrong, like a disturbance or something, like Cloud was in danger."

Reno scoffed. "Did your overprotective brother 'oh-shit' alarm go off?"

"This is serious," Zack insisted.

"He's got a point, Zack," Kunsel said. "You're an awesome pal, but you should invest in more friends. You're gonna wear Cloud out if this keeps up."

Zack threw his head back with a frustrated growl. Why didn't they understand? Why didn't they see? Cloud was in trouble, and no one believed Zack. While they all sat there complaining about being tired, Cloud was getting into who knew what kind of trouble in a country that hated everything associated with Shinra Company and consorting with a terrorist group that also hated anything related to Shinra Company. Cloud may have withdrawn from the military, but he was still pumped full of mako and everyone knew that meant Soldier. The thought of what Avalanche or Wutai might do to Cloud made Zack nauseous.

"Zack," Sephiroth said, catching Zack's attention again. "Why is this call different? You've had countless conversations with Strife and expressed worry about him, but this is extreme even for you."

Zack ran a hand over his face. "It's because he was stressed and hiding something from me. Spike doesn't usually try both at the same time."

"Strife tries to be stressed?" Shinra asked.

"Kind of?" Zack offered, scowling.

Whatever the vice president may have offered after that was lost as his PHS rang. Shinra answered in clipped tones before his frown grew somewhat pinched. He set the PHS on speaker and set it on the table. "Tseng has something to report."

The Turk's voice immediately started. "One faction within Avalanche attacked CS Delivery, or possibly Cloud Strife."

"What?!" Zack bellowed.

"Zack," Sephiroth snapped sharply.

Zack actually found himself on his feet again and hastily sat back down.

"As I was saying," Tseng continued, "Veld is getting mixed information as the factions he is most familiar with didn't participate in the attack."

"It was Strife," Sephiroth said, raising his voice so the PHS would pick it up. "Zack has been attempting to convince the vice president to mobilize the military on his behalf."

"And now we'll have to," Zack said. "Cloud's been captured by Avalanche, and we can't let them keep him."

"There's no need," Tseng said, "Strife handled them. He apparently also got his business deal that he's working on with Dio to go through properly. The issue isn't exactly Strife here. The issue is that Avalanche essentially lost its Wutai stronghold and CS Delivery through this business deal and the unprovoked attack. The issue is that Avalanche is splintering. Fuhito went against Elfé and Shears in this attack, and they're extremely close to cutting ties with him."

Suddenly seeming awake, Reno demanded, "How the hell did Strife handle Avalanche?"

"I don't know," Tseng answered bluntly. "I don't know how advanced his opponents were. I don't know what sort of weapons they might have used. I don't know what weapons Strife used. I don't know what the Wutai did. I don't know what happened to the defeated Avalanche troops. The only thing that's clear is that Strife and CS Delivery have ruined Avalanche. Avalanche may not be gone, but they're splintering and have lost their staunchest ally."

Zack wasn't sure what to make of things. His buddy Cloud had defeated a number of Avalanche troopers. By himself. Of course Cloud had encounters with low-level Avalanche troops before on his Shinra missions, but he'd always had backup, been part of a group, and used a gun. How could Cloud have taken on more than one enemy by himself?

Zack's first instinct was to whip out his own PHS and call Cloud until the other answered. If Cloud didn't want to pick up, he'd probably run his own power cell dead. But what else could he do but try and call Cloud? He couldn't just leave to go look for him. He had obligations to Shinra Company, and Gaia knew Sephiroth shouldn't have anyone just up and leave again after that debacle with Genesis and Angeal.

With Cloud being able to supposedly handle himself, the likelihood of Shinra mobilizing was practically nothing. Even if Cloud had the strange protection CS Delivery offered, there was less than any reason for Shinra to offer additional support.

Zack attention refocused at a hand waving in front of his face. Reno had vacated his seat and come around the table to catch his eye. "You've been spacing out for five minutes, Fair."

"Zack," Sephiroth started.

Zack eyed the general, feeling a bit numb.

Sephiroth frowned. "Are you alright, Zack?"

"Cloud's out there by himself getting into fights with Avalanche." Zack's voice sounded vaguely absent even to himself. He watched with detachment as everyone around the table exchanged glances.

"Fair," the vice president started, "when was the last time you slept?"

Zack scowled in confusion. "Maybe night before last?"

Shinra let out a light sigh and more than one head shook in exasperation. "I order you to go to sleep, Fair," the vice president said. "If you have to, ask for a tranquilizer from the science department."

Zack gaped at the vice president. "But there's work I need to do."

"You can't contribute," Sephiroth said, "if you don't pay attention. I second the order for you to go sleep."

Zack wanted to object but the protests died on his lips. He couldn't really come up with a reason as to why he should. Perhaps the others were right, and he should get some rest.

Cloud had to conclude that Hazuki was excellent for keeping Yuffie entertained for short stretches of time. Cloud could handle Yuffie's antics as she was no where near as competent as her future counterpart, but he didn't even have to do anything half the time.

Yuffie would ask a question. Then Hazuki would ask a question. Then Yuffie would ask Hazuki a question about that question. The two usually ended up arguing and forgetting either original question and never seem to realize Cloud hadn't told them anything.

Cloud found it difficult sometimes to keep a straight face when their questions took random turns about the optimum length of chocobo tail feathers and how to tell what day of the week it was by the shape of clouds at midday.

He had to secretly admit that he enjoyed having people around him, but what made it better was that he didn't actually have to speak a great deal of the time as his companions unintentionally entertained themselves.

This was how Cloud found himself entering Costa Del Sol. Yuffie and Hazuki were arguing about the best type of sand, not noticing Vincent, Nanaki, and Tseng approaching through the crowds of swimwear-clad beach goers. For being ninja and thieves, Cloud would have expected them to notice the only people in sight wearing a suit and a tattered, red cape with a giant creature with a fire lit tail. Cloud shook his head to himself. Perhaps it wasn't subtle enough for them to pay any attention. If Vincent was on the roof trying to hide, it would catch their attention.

Cloud slowed to a stop in the middle of the street, Vincent doing the same in front of him. The gunman eyed Yuffie and Hazkui before saying, "I was unaware you would be bringing guests."

"Quiet, you big idiot!" Yuffie snapped, brandishing her fist at Vincent. "We're not guests. We're here to keep an eye on Cloud to make sure he doesn't do anything fishy."

Rather than address the supposed monitoring, Tseng said, "That's Lady Yuffie Kisaragi, Lord Kisaragi's daughter." The Turk didn't manage to keep his surprise hidden, if he was even trying.

"That's Treasure Princess Yuffie to you, mister," Yuffie declared. "You look like a stinky Shinra Company toad."

Cloud caught the barest hint of an amused twitch to Vincent's mouth. Tseng looked a bit perplexed. "I'm Shinra Company's liaison with Strife and his companions."

Of course there was the obvious lack of his identification as a Turk.

"I knew it!" Yuffie crowed, drawing the curious gaze of a few of the people passing them on the street. "The evil man confessed, Cloud!" Yuffie pointed at Tseng. "I declare him guilty of treason and demand you execute judgment and throw him in prison."

Hazuki looked mortified with her mouth hanging open, and Cloud could tell Vincent was fighting off a slight smile. Cloud wondered when the two of them would realize Tseng was Wutaian and what they would think of the ex-patriot.

"Yuffie," Cloud started slowly, "I'm the one that brought Tseng." Shock flashed across her face. "Besides, you can't throw him in prison for having a job. We're not even in Wutai. You can't just go around condemning people to prison." Cloud had never had a more difficult time not laughing in his entire life. Of all the harebrained things Yuffie had tried, throwing a Turk in prison for admitting to working for Shinra was not one of them.

"But you have to do what I say," Yuffie said incredulously. "You're my minion."

Vincent coughed to cover up a laugh, and Hazuki was having trouble schooling her features now, too.

"This doesn't have anything to do with treasure hunting missions, Yuffie," Cloud said. "I can't go around throwing people in prison either."

"Why not?" she demanded, belligerence creeping back into her tone. "You beat up all those Avalanche troopers."

"They attacked me so I subdued them." Cloud shook his head. "I didn't try to arrest them. There's a difference."

"Fine," Yuffie blurted, "I'll do it myself." With that, the little girl darted forward. It was Vincent who took the opportunity to stop her. The gunman picked the girl up by the back of her shirt as she tried to slip past him. He hoisted her off the ground and held her aloft even as she tried to kick and punch her way free. Her efforts weren't very effective as she couldn't quite reach him to kick properly.

Hazuki didn't seem quite sure whether or not she should intervene as her eyes constantly darted between the others. Tseng still seemed a bit startled at being confronted with Wutai's heir and Nanaki only stared on as he watched the scene play out.

With his free hand, Vincent reached over his shoulder and drew a long blade from off his back. Extending the handle to Cloud, he said, "Your sword. I've never seen a design like this, Cloud. I assume it functions as you explained to Nanaki and myself?"

"Yes." Cloud carefully took the weapon proffered him, feeling the familiar weight of it in his hands. The weapon maker had done an excellent job. With his fusion sword in hand, Cloud breathed a sigh of relief, releasing the tension he didn't realize he had. Fights were always sketchy with the other swords he'd been using. They were good, but nowhere near as excellent or familiar as his own sword. He was never entirely sure he would be able to fight properly without his fusion sword. His sword skills were meaningless if they didn't match his weapon.

"Crazy weirdo," Yuffie declared, a bit of disgust coloring the child's tone.

Cloud tore his attention away from his fusion sword to stare her down. Vincent had apparently set her on her feet while Cloud was reacquainting himself with his sword.

Shifting uncomfortably with a scowl, Yuffie said, "You're looking at the sword like it's your best friend."

Cloud huffed a quiet laugh and rolled his eyes. He slung the sword onto his back and started toward the docks, hearing the others following behind while Vincent and Nanaki kept pace next to him.

Loud enough for Yuffie to hear, Cloud said, "The fusion sword is my best weapon. Hopefully, you'll never have to see me use it to its full functionality."

"Why not?" Yuffie scoffed. "It's just a sword. Shuriken are much better than swords."

Cloud bit the inside of his lip to keep from smiling. Just a sword indeed.

"This is the most awesome place ever!" Yuffie yelled from the top of a nearby, crumbling, conical Ancient house. "I've already found three treasure chests! Treasure Princess Yuffie rules!" With that, the tiny girl jumped through a hole in the roof she was standing on and disappeared. Again.

Cloud shook his head and kept walking. He could spy the smirk on Vincent's mouth from the corner of his eyes. Cloud had to agree with the sentiment. He had a hard time keeping in his mirth.

Hazuki fell into step on the other side of Vincent and eyed the two men nervously. Cloud was only thankful she wasn't shooting narrow-eyed glares at Tseng when she thought no one was looking. "Yuffie isn't going to be in trouble for looting the ruins, is she?"

Mouth twitching, Cloud said, "The only person who can try to claim these ruins is my friend Aerith, and she won't mind."

Tseng cut in from behind them, "Ms. Gainsborough won't mind Lady Yuffie stealing?" The Turk seemed more perplexed than Cloud would have expected.

Cloud shrugged, glancing at Tseng over his shoulder. "Aerith would probably think it was cute."

"From what I know of her," Nanaki said, "she would probably hide more so-called treasure just to amuse the small ninja."

Cloud nodded, the corner of his mouth kicking up.

Cloud's PHS rang, interrupting the conversation. Cloud fished it out of his pocket and scowled at the small device. He pressed a button on the outside to silence it and shoved it back in his pocket.

"Fair again?" Vincent asked quietly.

Cloud nodded sharply.

"You can't ignore him forever," the gunman said.

Cloud shrugged, trying to ignore the feel of Tseng's gaze on his back.

"Is the prospect of facing Sephiroth so dangerous?" Hazuki asked. "I mean, I know he's the demon of Wutai, but you already faced him once and he couldn't do anything to you."

"Strife's plans right now depend on Shinra Company not discovering his identity as CS Delivery," Tseng said. "The general has the best chance of seeing through the ruse."

Cloud scowled.

"That's wrong," Nanaki said.

"What do you mean?"

Cloud could hear the frown in Tseng's voice.

Nanaki said, "Cloud doesn't wish Zack Fair to learn the truth before Cloud is ready to tell him."

"But he's your friend," Hazuki said. "He's not going to hate you."

Cloud sighed. "I don't know if Zack can ever really hate anyone. But he might think it's a betrayal, and he wouldn't have to hate me to never want to talk to me again."

Hazuki muttered something suspiciously similar to "overly dramatic five-year-old" before speaking for all to hear. "If you're so worried about him finding out when you don't want him to, why don't you just tell him?"

"Because then he'd have to tell Shinra company."

"But he's your friend. Why would he inform on you?"

"Because the big oaf still believes in Shinra Company. I can't ask him to betray that."

"Why?" Tseng asked. "Because then he'd have to choose between you and Shinra Company?"

Cloud shook his head. "Because he'd probably leave Shinra just because of me." He eyed the Turk over his shoulder. "Did it never occur to you that if that idiot Angeal had actually told Zack what was going on and asked him to come, he probably would have?"

"Zack is loyal to the company," Tseng said.

"Zack is loyal to certain people in the company first," Cloud said. "There's a difference. Shinra Company was lucky Angeal was the only person Zack lost to that stupid, failed insurrection, and that he didn't like Genesis. Zack already told me he won't make me go back to the company and that he's going to protect me from whoever did whatever he thinks they did to me. Aerith is on my side. Zack might stick with the company for Sephiroth, but the chances of the general going berserk are decent."

Several quiet moments passed before Tseng said, "I see your point."

An uncomfortable quiet fell over the group. Hazuki drifted back to walk with Nanaki behind Tseng. Cloud only hoped the woman didn't think she was actually being subtle. If Cloud had noticed, then Tseng had probably noticed, too.

Cloud almost felt bad for the Turk. Tseng was still obviously uncomfortable with Vincent and Nanaki, only speaking to Cloud if the others were a polite distance away or a conversation was already underway. It didn't help that Yuffie tried to chuck rocks at the man when she was bored. Of course, Yuffie tried to chuck rocks at everyone but Hazuki when she was bored. And Hazuki, of course, always had this air of wariness around Tseng.

The woman was clearly more suited to something that didn't involve infiltration or socializing. As far as Cloud was concerned, she only came with three states of being: horrified—generally at Yuffie's behavior, confused—generally at anything Cloud tried to explain, and wary—generally in regard to everyone but Cloud and Yuffie, but especially at Tseng.

Cloud's pensive mood broke entirely his PHS rang again. When he got a chance to see the screen, he frowned at Aerith's number.

He flipped it open and answered. "I'm busy, Aerith. Can I call you back, or is it an emergency?"

"I knew it!" Zack screeched through the line. Everyone on Cloud's end heard, probably even Yuffie, who was off somewhere pilfering ruins.

"You've been ignoring me!" Zack yelled.

"I told you I was busy and would call when I was in the area," Cloud said, keeping his tone down in the hopes that it would curb some of Zack's volume.

"You answered Aerith's phone," Zack shot back.

"To tell her I was busy and to ask if I could call her back, which is exactly what I did with you two days ago."

"But you aren't answering my calls now."

"Because you should already know that I'm busy and will call you back later." Cloud sighed. "I've got to go, Zack."

"Wait, Spiky," Zack blurted, suddenly sounding pleading, "Talk with me for just a minute."

"What, Zack?" Cloud asked exasperatedly, sorely tempted to hang up on the man.

"When are you going to be in Midgar?" Zack asked, clearly trying to sound innocent.

"I don't know. A few days maybe."

"Great," Zack said. "Then you can meet up with me and Sephiroth, and maybe Kunsel, too. He says you're really entertaining."

"Zack," Cloud said with a sigh.

"Sephiroth is not that bad," Zack said. "He's a nice guy. Kind of awkward, but nice. He won't try to kidnap you. I promise."

"I'll think about it," Cloud hedged.

"No more thinking, Spiky. Make up your mind," Zack said. "I made him promise not to do anything. Even if you don't trust him, trust me. He'll play nice. You'll be fine. It'll all be good."

Cloud desperately wanted to bang his head against something. Of course Zack just had to bring up trust issues. Cloud couldn't do anything but trust the only one of the two of them who was telling the truth. "Fine," he whispered.

Zack let out a prolonged whoop that actually caused a feedback whine over the PHS. Grumpily, Cloud said, "I'm hanging up now," and did exactly that, cutting off the sounds of Zack's continued jubilations.

"Did you just agree to meet with the general?" Tseng asked as they approached the mostly intact building that housed the re-entrance to the underground capital.

Cloud scowled in response.

"How did Zack accomplish that?" the Turk asked in bewilderment.

Cloud clenched his jaw in irritation at Zack's unwitting connivance.

Vincent said, "Fair accidentally implied that Cloud didn't trust him by refusing to meet with Sephiroth."

"How do you do that accidentally?" Hazuki asked.

Nanaki said, "Fair is aware that Cloud doesn't trust Sephiroth, but told Cloud that he should trust Fair."

Yuffie jumped down into their midst from another roof. "What are you all doing heading to that building?" she asked, pointing to Cloud's destination. "I've already been in there. The only awesome thing is a fish projection that I couldn't figure out how to steal yet."

Brushing off his thoughts about Sephiroth, Cloud kicked up one side of his mouth at the pint sized ninja and said, "That's where I've hidden all my treasure."

Yuffie gaped, stopping dead in her tracks. "No way!"

Cloud glanced over his shoulder at her and kept walking. Even Vincent was hiding a small smile, and Nanaki's tail was twitching a bit more exuberantly than usual. Hazuki seemed worried.

Like a bolt of lightning, Yuffie shot off in front of them, sprinting straight toward the building. Cloud chuckled to himself. Clearly, the little girl thought she would now find his treasures and pilfer the lot before he could stop her.

Yuffie was spitting mad and stomping up a storm when Cloud and the others finally joined her. From her position on top of a rickety table, Yuffie pointed at Cloud and demanded, "Hand over your treasures, minion, and you won't be punished."

Cloud rolled his eyes and headed straight for the holographic fish. Over his shoulder, he eyed Vincent and Nanaki. "Don't let her destroy the building." Both nodded.

Cloud took one last look at Yuffie's thunderous expression and stepped through the portal, almost wishing he could hear her tantrum through the barrier.

Cloud encountered few ghosts on his way down, and the hidden chamber he had everything in was empty of other beings. He deposited the replacement sword he'd picked up in Wutai on the weapons rack with all the rest of the swords he'd acquired. With the fusion sword in his possession, he no longer needed anything else.

He eyed the shuriken he'd picked up and smiled thoughtfully. Yuffie would probably assault him for hiding such weapons away from her, but she wasn't even ready for the least lethal of the ones he'd picked up. She would just have to wait, even though she didn't know it.

Ignoring the weapons, he headed toward the Huge materia and started fishing all the mastered magic materia he had out of his bag. Once he had a nice pile of green materia beneath the hovering Huge materia, he touched the chunk of mako to activate it so he could get his Master Magic materia.

Nothing happened.

No flash of light. No building energy. No nothing. The pile of mastered green materia simply sat there.

Cloud sat back on the floor and massaged the bridge of his nose. Just on the off chance of something happening, he touched the Huge materia again. Still nothing.

He knew he'd never get a reliable, steady signal out so he pulled out his PHS to send messages. To Aerith, he wrote, "Remember the Master materia? I've got a pile and the Huge stuff and nothing is happening. Suggestions?"

A few moments later, he got his reply. "Are you sure you have them all? P.S. Don't neglect Zack. He's like a puppy that requires much positive reinforcement."

He chuckled and composed his reply. "I've got them piled up in front of me. I counted them. Zack's visited you more than three days in a row, hasn't he?"

After reading Aerith's next response, he smacked himself in the forehead. "Cloud, dear, you have to be holding the materia, or have it in your bag, or the larger one doesn't see it. And Zack would visit more than once a day if he could get away with it."

A short time later, Cloud emerged from the under-city through the holographic fish, and in possession of his first Master Magic materia.

He ducked out of the way as Yuffie launched herself at him from the top of a decaying railing. "Let me in there!" she demanded.

Vincent intervened by hauling Yuffie into the air by the back of her shirt before she could perform another attack. The young ninja thrashed ineffectually and screeched some nonsense about red eyed monsters planning to eat treasure princesses. Then she just plain screamed when a Cetra ghost popped into the middle of the small group.

The ghost bobbed around a bit as Yuffie calmed down. It stared at Cloud and floated slowly toward the door. Cloud sighed and followed. At least he didn't have to chase it down, running through a dozen doors just to catch it.

Vincent stepped up next to him to whisper, "Is that one of the remnants of the Ancients you told Nanaki and I about last time?"

Cloud nodded.

"Where is it going?" he asked.

Cloud shrugged. "Maybe the coliseum with the projector."

The group made their way to the far side of the Forgotten Capital, Yuffie still glowering and everyone else seemingly nervous or pensive. Cold light filtered through the coliseum arches as Cloud picked his way through the sparse rubble. He listened to Yuffie purposely kick rocks in front of everyone and over the outer edge. No one else in the group made a sound.

Cloud's thoughts wandered skittishly as they approached the narrow walkway out to the projector, slightly anxious and more than a little curious about what they would be shown. At least he knew it wouldn't be like last time where he would have to relive Aerith's murder. His friend was very much alive and marginally safe back in Midgar. She could take care of herself, even if she was stuck in a younger body.

Even Yuffie grew silent when they reached the walkway. Cloud followed the ghost without hesitation, but the others followed with more caution. The ghost fluttered about once they all reached the platform, then the central apparatus began to glow. Light rushed into the air in a cascade of images, looking like falling water.

Cloud screwed up his face in confusion when images of his fight in Wutai with Avalanche's forces lit up for the group. He watched the first three gunmen go down and his own pause to stare at the soon-to-be-broken long sword. At least with the strange, Cetra cinematography, he got to watch his final opponent slink out of the trees behind him and start firing.

Cloud cringed when his blade snapped. The broken end had been closer than he remembered to his foot, dangerously close. The image lit up with spells as Cloud was left with no options besides that other than to dodge. He watched the Avalanche fighter take advantage of his distraction to cast Haste on himself and give the resulting injury to Cloud's arm.

The images took a surprising turn then when the focus followed the spray of blood from his arm and the splatter on the unconscious terrorists. His blood evaporated in a green mist, and then the image flashed white.

Cloud scowled at the Cetra's ghost. "I don't understand." He shrugged. "Minerva decided my blood was better off evaporating."

The ghost frantically shook its head, and the images restarted. Cloud folded his arms in irritation. The last time Cloud had seen anything on this projector, it had been for the purpose of showing him Holy had been already summoned. That told them what their next step was supposed to be. This sequence was obviously supposed to do the same thing, but he couldn't reason as to why his blood evaporating would be important. Knowing Holy had been summoned was the reason Cloud and the others went to the center of Gaia. What sort of quest was evaporating blood supposed to send him and this new group of cohorts on?

Vincent stepped up next to him and whispered, "Have you never had any hand-to-hand combat training, Cloud?"

Cloud's scowl deepened, his eyes flicking to the rest of the group. Only Nanaki seemed to have heard what the gunman asked.

"Nothing useful," Cloud whispered back. "I utterly failed as a new recruit at hand-to-hand."

The corner of Vincent's mouth turned up as he continued to stare.

"Shut up," Cloud whispered irritably, turning his attention back to the images just as his blood hit the unconscious fighters again.

Cloud turned cold as he felt the color drain from his face. He knew what the Ancients wanted him to see. The ghost bobbing in front of him seemed to realize this as the lights in the air died and the ghost itself faded out of sight.

"Oh, hell," Cloud whispered to himself, closing his eyes and pinching the bridge of his nose.

"Turn it back on," Yuffie demanded. "I'm not done watching. What kind of materia is that, Cloud? Where did you get it?"

Ignoring the girl, Cloud brushed past the others and started back down the walkway. He had to talk to Aerith. He wasn't even sure what the hell this meant, but he couldn't imagine it was entirely good.

"Don't run away, you coward," Yuffie yelled after him. "Where'd that materia come from?"

Nanaki caught up to him first and had to trot to keep up with Cloud's strides. "What did the vision from the Ancients show you, Cloud?"

Cloud eyed his friend sideways, then glanced over his shoulder to see everyone at least ten feet back. He faced forward, the shadows from the arches passing over his face. "Something I wasn't expecting."

"For the good or for the bad?" Nanaki asked carefully.

Cloud shrugged. "I need to talk to Aerith."

"Something mysterious then."

Cloud didn't bother to respond. A faint sense of cracked and shifting glass woke in the back of his mind. He held a hand out, indicating for Nanaki to stop before Cloud stepped into the sunlight outside of the coliseum. Now that he knew how to track it, he could follow the movement like he could with Sephiroth.

A volley of Firaga announced Genesis' presence. Cloud didn't bother with magic as he knew where his opponent was, and leapt off the ground, twisting between the fire balls. Clear of the magic, he pulled the fusion sword from its magnetic scabbard and held it in the ready position. From the bit of surprise on Genesis' face, he had either not expected Cloud to simply dodge or not expected Cloud to join him in the air.

Genesis brought his own Rapier around to block Cloud's lightning quick swing. The force of the blow combined with Cloud's momentum threw Genesis into the ground. The former general actually created his own small crater as he threw up a cloud of dust. Cloud landed on his feet not far from Genesis as the other man shakily pushed back to his feet.

"Ripples form on the water's surface. The wandering soul knows no rest," Genesis said, brushing all the dust off his clothes.

Cloud just scowled at the apparent disquiet Genesis was alluding to, and placed the fusion sword back on his back. He made a quick motion over his shoulder at those still in the shadow of the coliseum and the others started making their way toward him. Not in the right frame of mind to wait for the others, he headed back toward the heart of the ruined city. He heard Genesis following behind him.

"I ask you to heal me, Cloud," Genesis said quietly.

Cloud scowled, but didn't turn. He opened his mouth to speak but Genesis beat him to it.

"I need to protect the people, Cloud. For that, I must fight. Degradation only increased the uselessness I have been building for years. My honor, as Angeal would have called it, began degrading long before my body did. Even if the morrow is barren of promises, nothing shall forestall my return."

Cloud's scowl softened. He glanced over his shoulder to see the serious expression gracing Genesis' face. Facing forward again, Cloud was careful to keep the accusation from his voice and asked, "What makes you think you're good enough to protect people anymore?" He didn't think touching on the other man's honor directly would be well received.

Genesis was quiet for so long that Cloud thought he might not answer. When the silence broke, it wasn't entirely what he expected. "The goddess gave you the task of healing me. That could only mean she had some task for me. Given the nature of the goddess, I cannot think my task would be any less than yours. Even if it is for only one person, I must do as the goddess bids. There is no hate, only joy."

Cloud huffed a laugh. Even Genesis' reasons for helping people had to be wrapped up with faith and the goddess.

"Oi! Hey minion!" Yuffie yelled from back with the group. "Is that a monster?" she screamed in question. "Does it have any materia I can take?"

Cloud picked up his pace, hoping Vincent would distract the little girl before Genesis lit her on fire in a violent fit of irritation.