A/N:

Wow, um. This took a while, didn't it? Then again, I did promise not to abandon a story, no matter how long it takes between an update.

But yeah~ I managed to lose the document for a couple months, then I found it, worked on it for a little while, forgot about it, then it took forever for me to update again.

Anywho, enjoy!

Any comments, reviews and the like are loved. I thrive off feedback.

Disclaimer: This was for fun, not for profit. I own nothing FF7 related….blah blah blah. To quote another writer: "These are not my characters, I'm just abusing them".

Summary: Gift for Meggurra: Sometimes, changing the past causes unexpected results. AU. Time travel fic. Young!Seph x AC!Cloud. m/m slash. Seph centric.

Words: 4,682

Rating: M

Cause and Effect

By Catsitta

Lesson Four: No legends are made of a hero still fighting

A year passed after that fateful day Sephiroth and Cloud came together as lovers for the first time with little excitement, as did many months on top of that. Nearing his eighteenth birthday, Sephiroth began to wonder if the world was actually going to find peace. After nearly two years of monster hunts, civil fights and nothing overly tragic, he was getting anxious…no, bored!

Well, maybe not bored, exactly. But Cloud never wanted to play when he did it seemed. The silver teen sighed as he thought of his mentor and lover. He could not be unhappy with his life for the past months for that would be unfair to the good memories built. Cloud proved to be the key to making his world brighter—worth living in. The blond made him feel like a human, not a weapon or a monster.

On many occasions, he and his lover had disputes; it was bound to happen due to their both possessing dominant personalities and tendencies, but Cloud always found a way to keep a level head and talk them through the argument. He was so calm and understanding, patient and wise; at times Sephiroth almost felt like a child beside him…which was ridiculous seeing as he was at least three inches taller than the man now, with broader shoulders and a deeper voice. It was hard to believe that Cloud was thirty years old now, the blond looked not a day over twenty-one.

Sephiroth smiled to himself.

For all their shared arrogance and personality flaws, they were still together. Age did not matter. Rank did not matter. Conflicting opinions did not matter. All that was important was that they loved each other, and even though Cloud never actually said those three special words, Sephiroth knew he loved him. Every action the older man took, every word he said, was filled with love. If not for that, then there would have been no reason for them to be together this long.

Though, it was not as if he was going to let Cloud go anytime soon or had ever planned to. The man had his respect, love and virginity, and there was rarely a day where he did not remind his mentor of at least two of those three things.

Life was good.

He was happy.

So of course, Sephiroth began each day wondering what was going to go wrong.

But today, like every other, started quietly. He woke in his bed, alone, since Cloud never stayed to bask in the afterglow. The smell of the night's activities lingering in the air. He crawled from beneath the sheets and padded to the bathroom, his body aching pleasantly. His bare skin prickled from the coolness of the room but soon he chased the goose pimples away with a hot shower.

Sephiroth let out a contented sight and did his best to chase away his anxieties.

Then, his PHS rang, drawing from him a grunt of irritation as he was forced to leave the warmth.

Despite popular belief, the young General despised the cold, no matter how many degrees the temperature supposedly dropped in the room when he was pissed off. In fact, there was a good reason why he walked around constantly in his leather battle attire nowadays. It was not entirely for show—rather, he liked the fact that it kept him warm in freezing cold offices of his superiors. Why the President liked freezing his fat ass off was anyone's guess, but if Sephiroth had to endure his company, at least he could do so in relative comfort.

"General Sephiroth speaking," he dried his hand off as much as possible before picking up the device, but it still felt slippery in his fingers as he spoke.

"This is Director Veld," came an all too familiar voice. Strange, the Turk Commander never called him on his personal PHS. He always went through Director Lazard or his mentor, Cloud, and had them relay a message to him. "Report to my office in twenty minutes."

The silver teen scowled,"Is that an order, Turk?"

A pause ensued. Tense and full of unspoken meaning.

"Need I make it one, SOLDIER?"

"No. But my ment—"

"Strife has already been informed and will be joining you at the requested time."

"Very well. I will be there."

And without further exchange, the line went dead. No goodbyes or any unnecessary formalities.

"Humph…Turks." Sephiroth muttered,"Intolerable lot." Then he shook his head and ran his fingers through wet, tangled locks—wincing when they snagged painfully. What a way to start the morning, Sephiroth mused irritably as he searched for his beloved comb.

000X000

Hair still dripping slightly from his interrupted shower, Sephiroth pushed his way into Veld's office with little concern. The Turk knew he was coming. Hell, the little baby Turks scattered about the halls probably notified their Director of his approach. There was no reason for him to knock. Well, other than maybe out of the sake of being polite, but manners were a difficult thing for him to manage around Turks. He did not know why, but the spies and assassins of ShinRa just gave him chills. They followed orders without question or qualm, so very unlike SOLDIERs.

"General," Veld greeted coolly, his amber eyes glinting in the light, tousled russet hair framing a scarred visage. The man scratched absently at the beard lining his jaw for a moment, before that hand came to rest beside the other atop of his desk. His sunglasses lay folded nearby. Strange. Turks almost always wore their dark shades, even indoors.

"Commander," Sephiroth made his response just as cold.

There was certainly no love lost between the pair. Veld was one-step away from hostile towards SOLDIERs, Sephiroth himself included. His Turks were polite, for the most part, but he figured there would never be trust between the two groups. They were just too different. Their goals were similar, but their mindsets virtually polar.

"Take a seat, Sephiroth. Lieutenant Strife should be here shortly."

The silver teen nearly snorted at that. Cloud was the best SOLDIER in the military but he refused countless promotions and turned down any missions that would reveal him to the public eye as anyone special. Instead, he pushed Sephiroth and his friends to the front and watched from behind, critical and observant, but never in the limelight.

There had to be a reason, but after nearly two years of being 'together', Sephiroth knew better than to ask. The past was a sensitive subject for both of them, and thus, they let it remain silent. Was it for the best? Now, that was anyone's guess.

"I would rather stand…if I may, Director."

"If you insist."

Oh, he most definitely insisted. Creepy Turks had no business telling a SOLDIER what to do, much less the SOLDIER General. Only Cloud and Lazard were allowed to do that. Cloud because of he was his mentor and in the pact they made, Sephiroth was to do as the blond demanded of him regardless of reason. And Lazard because he was the designated Director of SOLDIER whom primarily assigned missions and approved promotion recommendations.

Deciding to refrain from glaring daggers at the obstinate and oftentimes obsessive Turk Commander, Sephiroth directed his gaze elsewhere and allowed his mind to wander freely. There was no point in wondering why he was here since the Turk wasn't going to tell him until Cloud showed up. If he knew anything about Veld it was that he hated explaining things twice. Which was also one of the few things he understood and agreed with.

"Pardon my tardiness, Director, but a Wutaian Second-in-Command of yours decided to be chatty." Sephiroth nearly jumped at the sound of his mentor's voice. It was one part due to surprise and two parts due to excitement. Finally, he was here! A smile manage to work its way onto his lips. The expression was easier to allow these days since Cloud had been working tirelessly to make him more sociable and had taught him that it was okay to permit one's emotions to show.

He was not a tool…nor a weapon…Sephiroth remembered Cloud drilling into his skull early on. He was a human being capable of love, hate, sadness and joy. He could smile and laugh, as well as cry. True, he did not always understand his own desires or actions, but it was comforting to know that he would not be thought less of for being human.

In fact, ever since his SOLDIERs first saw tears in his eyes, when a young rising star and growing friend of his, died in the careless hands of a doctor, his men seemed to admire him more. His humanity made him seem more real…less of a god. But the fact still remained that he lost a good SOLDIER in a horrible way.

Damien, the striking blond whom he met as a newly promoted Third Class, suffered for 36 hours all because the doctor monitoring his mako levels made a simple, stupid mistake. He was to be a Second Class as of six months ago. Instead, he writhed in pain, sweating and screaming as the mako overwhelmed his system. It was a horrible way to die—mako poisoning. A slight headache led to vertigo, and before long came the fevers and vomiting, then the eyes, both iris and pupil, became a tainted green. If one was lucky, they fell into a coma and never woke up. Damien wasn't lucky. He screamed in agony until the end.

Bitter bile always rose in Sephiroth's throat whenever he remembered that day.

Just another reason to hate the labs and scientists, if his childhood spent in Hojo's 'loving, tender care' was not enough an excuse.

"Strife, I am glad you decided to join us," Veld's dry retort cut through Sephiroth's musings. What an asshole! "Come, sit."

"I'd rather stand, if I may?" The silver-haired warrior blinked. Déjà vu.

Veld lifted a brow briefly before nodding reluctantly.

"You are likely curious to as why you both are here." He began, and soon the Turk Commander spelled out their mission. It was a different breed of assignment, that was for certain. The reactor in Gongaga was reportedly giving off strange data readings and the locals were complaining about increased monster attacks, a rise in 'Green Syndrome' (a minor, and oftentimes not lethal, case of mako poisoning that temporarily changes eye color to green) in children, and how the wildlife population was depleting rapidly for one reason or another.

Sephiroth listened with grim curiosity and Cloud's face was unreadable. They remained silent through Veld's entire briefing, neither willing to speak lest they have their fears be truth. It had been rumored that the reactors were responsible for certain phenomena around the Planet, but people were all too willing to overlook it as long as their electricity was cheap and their homeland secure. Was it possible that Gongaga's problems could occur at other reactor sites? What would happen if there was a mako leak in Midgar? Gaia, the chaos that would ensue!

No. This mission had to be kept quiet. If word were to ever get out that the reactors were not safe…

"No." Wait? What had Cloud just refused to do?

The Turk Commander lifted from his seat and glared harshly at the blond,"No?"

"That's right, no. I refuse to hide the company's dark secrets under the rug. What is happening in Gongaga needs to be dealt with, yes, but it also needs to be known. The reactors are dangerous to the Planet and everything that lives upon its surface—including human beings."

"Are you an eco-activist, Strife?" Veld practically hissed,"Such words could be considered treason against the company. Especially if you have affiliation…or even fondness for that terrorist group running amok as of late."

Cloud snorted,"What interest should I have in AVALANCHE? They aren't helping the Planet, they're just using it as an excuse to hurt executives…" He did not sound overly displeased with their actions. "So hold your accusations for someone else, Commander."

The air boiled with tension. Sephiroth, being as he had come to learn the easiest way to diffuse potentially dangerous situations like this, walked over to Cloud and wrapped a strong arm around the smaller man's waist. His mentor's eyes flashed bright with mako all of the sudden and the man let out a snarl. Mildly annoyed by Cloud's struggles, the silver General manhandled the blond out of the room, shutting the door rather forcefully behind them.

It was almost expected when Cloud whipped around, backhanding Sephiroth for his efforts, causing the taller male's head to snap back and his grip to loosen. Now sporting an aching jaw and likely one hell of a bruise, the silver teen did his best to keep his calm. When Cloud lost his temper, it was dangerous for all involved. Luckily, Sephiroth was mako-enhanced and that meant no one else needed to get hurt trying to contain the blond.

When the next strike came, the younger swordsman took the hit without a word of protest. Merely, he caught Cloud's wrist as his balled fist caught him square in the chest, and drew the blond flush against him. Blue eyes bright with shine, his mentor was clearly in no mood for compromise, so, Sephiroth made no effort to do so. Instead, he sealed his mouth over Cloud's, reveling in the forceful exchange as they contested for dominance.

In a matter of minutes, Cloud's eyes returned to their natural color, though, his knee was jammed between Sephiroth's thighs, parting them. They broke apart once his tempter abated, both of them breathless and panting. "Feeling better now, Cloud?" The silver teen asked with a smug quirk of his lips.

Cloud merely grunted in response, resting his brow against the crook of Sephiroth's neck. He seemed unbothered by their height difference, which struck the silver teen as odd, since, he sprouted like a weed a few months back rather unexpectedly.

"Are you still mad about the mission?"

"Not exactly."

"Are we going on the mission?"

There was a long pause before Cloud nodded.

"Wanna go home and fuck off some of the stress?" Sephiroth could not help but grin a little wickedly at his own suggestion.

The blond in his arms pulled away slightly and rolled his eyes,"Don't be crude, Sephiroth."

"Yes sir." His grin grew a little more.

"What's with the smile?"

"It's my 'I'm going to get laid' smile. Like it?"

"What about the situation makes you think…?"

Sephiroth cut him off,"Let's just say I know a thing or two about my lover."

Cloud narrowed his eyes,"is that so?"

It would be mid-afternoon before either of them emerged from the bedroom, ready to face the day once again.

000X000

Sephiroth hated Gongaga.

He made the decision promptly after a Touch Me sprang from a murky puddle and landed in the middle of his face. Cloud killed the unfortunate creature with a quick flick of his wrist and knelt beside him, an amused smile gracing his features for the first time in hours. Apparently, something was funny about one's student being turned into a damned toad in the middle of the jungle.

The silver teen let of a croak of complaint and stood on uncertain legs.

How in Gaia's good name did these creatures stand up on these things?

"I told you to wear the Ribbon, Sephiroth." Cloud teased before unwinding a strip of pink cloth from his upper arm. "But you wouldn't listen." A few seconds later, the blond pressed a bottle of Remedy against Sephiroth's lips and slowly the teen reverted back into his natural form. How he hated transformations…

"Here." Cloud offered the unwound a strip of pink cloth from around his upper arm to his student. Reluctantly, Sephiroth took the Ribbon, remembering all too well how it felt like to be a frog.

Even after he was fully cured and marching along behind his mentor, the silver teen could not quite shake the slimy sensation creeping along his skin. He shivered. At least Touch Me's were only native to this blasted jungle. Having to deal with them on a regular basis would be an absolute nightmare! He managed not to blush as his mind wandered to the fact that, if, the beasts were more common, then there would be a whole lot of people running about naked. It was unfortunate that the clothes did not shift with the wearer…at least Cloud kept his silence when Sephiroth had to redress.

At last clearing his mind of ugly and odd thoughts, he focused entirely on their mission, slaying monster after monster with growing ease as Cloud watched.

It was reaching dusk when they at last reached the small village of Gongaga. For some reason, passing a graveyard as he entered the area was rather disconcerting. There was a rusted metal fence marking the perimeter, and if one looked carefully, they could see the fallow field dotted with white stones—grave markers.

"Come, we'll stay at the inn for the night."

"There's an inn here?" Sephiroth found it hard to believe that such a backwater town would possess such a thing.

Cloud chuckled softly,"Yes. Of course. There's a reactor and ShinRa officials have to stay somewhere if there is a need."

Sephiroth gave a noncommittal grunt as a response.

Soon, they found themselves standing in the lobby of a two-room inn.

The walk there had been quiet for there were few lights in the village and the inhabitants apparently did not stray outside after dark. If the dozy man whom was the supposed innkeeper was anyone to judge by, Sephiroth would say that it was likely that much of the village was getting ready for an evening meal and bed.

"Ahem."

Slowly, the innkeeper looked up from where he sat at a low, wooden table. Casting his visitors a sleepy look, he asked for a small sum of Gil to stay the night before laying his head back down. Now having paid for their room, the pair turned in for the night. Morning would be busy.

000X000

It was only a short while past dawn when Cloud roused his student, and after a quick meal made of their travel rations (since there was obviously no kitchen in the tiny inn in which to buy food) , they once again made their way through the winding paths of Gongaga. Which, Sephiroth had to admit, looked different during the day.

Men and women were everywhere, living out their daily routines with bright smiles on their faces. Strange how people could be so cheery in a backwater place like this where everything was a shade of either green or brown, or something eerily in-between. Perhaps the lacking color pallet of the scenery was what inspired the villager's bright dress. Vivid hues of pinks and blues, yellows and reds, dotted the drab landscape.

His musings, however, were broken by Cloud taking in a sharp breath, as if in pain.

Startled, the silver General furrowed his brows with concern and placed a friendly hand on his lover's shoulder. "Cloud?"

Blue eyes were focused intently on the ground…well, what would have been the ground if there had not been a child standing there.

Sporting a wild mess of raven-colored spikes for hair, a streak of mud down one cheek and a dark scar on his chin, the young boy grinned up at the two SOLDIERs fearlessly. He wriggled and bounced on the balls of his feet and flashed pearly teeth. His eyes bore a trace stain of green, causing what were likely crystal-blue eyes to appear aquamarine.

Strange, how could someone with Green Syndrome (even those in the late stages of recovery, where the irises returned to their natural color, were often weak) be so alive with energy, enough so to be alert and act as they would normally?

"Hi! I'm Zack." The boy chirped before jumping into the sloppiest, albeit most enthusiastic, salute that Sephiroth had ever seen. He dropped said salute five seconds later and continued,"And you're with ShinRa, aint 'cha?"

Cloud's face was blank and he only offered a slight nod in response.

"That's sooo cool!" Zack crooned, those mako-tainted eyes of his glittering with awe. "Are y'all SOLDIERs? That's be so cool if you were. I mean. I wanna be a SOLDIER some day, 'cause SOLDIERs are heroes and I wanna be a hero! Then all the pretty girls will wanna talk to me and all the boys will be jealous 'cause they're not as cool as I am." He struck what was supposedly a heroic pose and giggled. "Just wait an' see! Three more years and I'll fourteen. Then I'll prove to everybody how brave and strong I am."

Did this child ever stop talking?

Sephiroth shook his head as Zack continued to chatter and Cloud continued to stand there like a lifeless statue, face devoid of expression. What exactly about this little boy made him retreat into himself like this? In the face of a terrible war, he had never shut down. Yet, here he was, silent and stony.

Deciding that enough time had been wasted on this one-sided conversation and that his mentor's silence was something to be rather concerned about, Sephiroth stepped between the blond and the brunette and tugged Cloud behind him. Zack let out a yelp of complaint, but the silver-haired teen ignored it. He was worried and making sure Cloud was all right was his primary concern.

000X000

"I'm fine, Sephiroth, really I am." It was about the third or fourth time Cloud had said such, but Sephiroth could still see the tension in his normally relaxed and aloof behaviors. Each half-smile seemed reluctant and the blond kept scratching the back of his head in an almost nervous manner.

"Then explain why—?" Cloud cut him off.

"I don't have to explain myself to you!" Weak smiles abandoned, the SOLDIER's expression became nearly deadly in quality. The eerie glow in his eyes suggested that Sephiroth was one misspoken word away from a fight.

Still concerned for his mentor's well-being, but not wishing to come to blows at the moment, the silver General bowed his just slightly and allowed his bangs to veil his face. There was a time and place for this discussion and right outside of a potentially malfunctioning reactor was not it. "I apologize." He offered curtly and let the argument drop.

Ten minutes of thick silence later, the pair reached the mako reactor.

Cloud walked up the rusted, front steps and swept his eyes around the area. Then he scowled.

"Listen." The blond commandeered softly as he continued his scrutiny of the facility and the surrounding area.

Sephiroth closed his eyes and allowed his heightened senses take in every sound…or more accurately, the lack of sound. Nowhere was this quiet. From the way wind rustled leaves and grass to the way animals scurried and cried. Not even the soft flutter of breathing or the constant hum of a heartbeat reached his ears aside from his own and that of his mentor's.

Opening his eyes, the silver-haired teen expressed his concern with just a look.

Cloud nodded.

Together they entered the reactor, unaware of what lurked ahead.

000X000

The General's danger sense was going haywire. Every inch of his skin tingled with warning. Something very bad was about to happen. It took every ounce of restraint not to turn tail and run. Even after Wutai, where he stared into Death's gristly maw each day and spat it right between the eyes in retaliation, Sephiroth felt the urge to escape this place if at all possible. As if Death and his wicked minions were but children in comparison to whatever loomed ahead.

Gripping Masamune tightly in his left hand, he controlled the primal instinct to flee. He reminded himself that he was the great silver General of ShinRa. The Demon of Wutai. He was the perfect weapon…the perfect SOLDIER. Despite what Cloud said, Sephiroth was built, birthed and branded for battle. From his earliest of memories, he could remember fighting, whether it was against Hojo when he was a toddling child with only his fists, to massive Summons on the warfront when he was barely a teenager and Masamune was unfamiliar in his hands.

Yet, for some reason he still trembled.

Cloud looked no more at ease than he, Sephiroth noted, for the blond had out First Tsurugi—the fusion blade split into two pieces, materia glowing in the hilt, ready to be used.

After a while, they reached the core.

Massive pipes sprawled out like the limbs of a spider from a tall cylinder of steel. Said column sat at the heart of a massive pool of mako, the motors within churning soundlessly.

Climbing down a series of ladders, the pair found themselves standing near the edge of the 'bowl' that contained the mako, a simple metal railing the only thing between them and certain death. Cloud moved quickly across the room, crossing the bridge that spanned the bowl so that he could reach the cylinder—ignoring the impressive mako reserve altogether—and studied the control panel.

Employing understanding that Sephiroth was startled to see from someone who hated labs, reactors and technology in general, Cloud entered the reactor's computer mainframe with a quick pass of his fingers over the keys. The longer he studied the information on the screen, the deeper his frown became and the quicker his fingers flew across the keyboard.

Sephiroth, already on high alert, nearly threw himself skywards when Cloud let out a shout and slammed both fists against the consol. Electricity sparked and smoke billowed from the cracks made in the machine. Why had Cloud just done that?

Before he could open his mouth and ask why, the blond unsheathed his split sword (since he had to get them out of his hands to work with the computer) and began to pry at a panel on the core's side, as he yelled for Sephiroth to leave.

The silver General set his feet in protest. He would not leave without knowing what was going on.

Cloud worked the panel loose and tossed it aside, then proceeded to crouch by the exposed wires and began to make adjustments with his bare hands. Was he trying to get electrocuted?

Suddenly, an alarm went off, causing the blond to swear and work more franticly.

"RUN! That's an order, Sephiroth."

"No."

Cloud cussed more profusely and shouted back,"Do you want to die? Because if you don't leave in the next five seconds, you're dead. This reactor is about to have a major meltdown, and when it blows, anything in a mile radius is going to be leveled."

"What about you?"

"What about me?" The blond growled,"I'm trying to buy you as much time as possible, Sephiroth. I can't stop it, but you can get out alive if I adjust a few things."

Then it hit him. Cloud knew from the moment they started this mission that the reactor was going to malfunction. He had not investigated the surrounding area; he had not pondered aloud what the problem was because he already knew. And judging by the calm, accepting mask that covered Cloud's features—the blond was okay with the possibility of dying. He was either going to be able to fix the problem or die.

"This was a suicide mission…" Sephiroth whispered. He had convinced his own mentor to accept and participate in a suicide mission! Something cold dropped heavily in his gut.

His mentor merely smiled,"Run, Sephiroth. Run while you still can."

Against his own steeled will, he obeyed.

Turning away from the man he loved and ran.

Only, just as he reached the entrance of the reactor, Sephiroth realized that he had wasted too much time…that he was in just as much danger of dying as he was before. He hesitated.

And his entire world went white—burning in intensity of both fire and sound.

A/N: ( Yes, I love my cliffies. One more chapter after this and maaaybe an epilogue. Please review. They are so very important to me. =3)