Note: Finally! Yeah, that's your words and mine both, believe me. First I was buried until the end of September under the mountain of work I mentioned on my profile, and then this chapter's editing process took frigging forever. I swear, if I had had to spend just one more day on it, I would have gone crazy. So yes, sorry I ditched you five months on such a mean cliff-hanger. As an apology, guess who makes his grand debut as a narrator in this chapter?

Published on: 10/31/2013
Corrected on: 11/14/2015

Chapter 10

"We have to go," Tseng was saying. "Our official report will state that us Turks were weakened by fighting the out of control monsters of the Scientific Division, and the rest of you took advantage to escape with one of the Security Department transport helicopters."

Angeal tried to find it in himself to be surprised and grateful. Tseng was taking a lot of risks for them when he really didn't owe them anything.

"Thank you. That's very generous of you."

"Yes, well…" Tseng said with a bitter quirk of the mouth. "It's not like we'll find enough survivors amongst the troops to man all the trucks and helicopters anyway."

Angeal wordlessly nodded. Tseng stared at him and was understanding enough to not take offence at his silence. He held up a hand.

"Good luck. I am… I am truly sorry for your losses."

Angeal shook his hand, not trusting his voice.

A third of their entire group of misfits was just… gone. Cloud and Zack were shell-shocked and even Genesis seemed unable to believe that Sephiroth, their friend, their rival, the larger-than-life figure that had always loomed over them, had just disappeared forever. The Lockhart girl was still unconscious, and though Aerith had managed to stop the bleeding before she… fell… there was no guaranteeing her condition was stable.

Valentine wouldn't step forward to carry them to safety. He wasn't a leader. Angeal took a deep breath. He had to carry on. He had to, for everyone's sake.

"Thank you," he managed to say. "We'll be gone as soon as possible."

It was necessary, or the Turks' lie would never hold. Tseng dipped his chin in acknowledgement and turned away to rally his Turks. The red-haired woman, Cissnei, was sadly staring at Zack, but she lowered her head and joined her colleagues.

Angeal turned to find Valentine by his side. Rain's accomplice was more sombre than ever, his eyes tight with his own pain. Angeal didn't pretend to understand what had made him join Rain or what had seemed to fascinate him in Sephiroth, but it just served to prove that not a single one of them had escaped this day unscathed.

"Come on," he said. "Let's get everyone in one of the helicopters."

Vincent silently nodded and went to gather Tifa's limp body. Angeal approached the three other men, all gazing down to the Lifestream in various states of shock. He touched Genesis' shoulder. His friend seemed to draw himself out from some kind of morbid trance to look at him.

"We need to leave, Gen," Angeal whispered, letting him see the grief in his eyes.

Genesis' shoulders heaved under the strength of his sigh. He shook his head, bewildered.

"I can't believe… But you're right. Of course."

Angeal gently took Zack's arm. His protégé came without resistance, although he kept staring at the gently glowing stream beneath their feet.

"Strife," Angeal called. "Come on, we have to go."

Aerith gasped and clutched Sephiroth's arm.

"What is this place?" she asked in a shaky voice.

Sephiroth doubted illusions of flames could harm them in the Lifestream, but they still felt the heat of the fire, heard its roars. There were screams, too; people were dying in these buildings. What was going on?

"Sephiroth!"

Sephiroth turned, startled. The one who had yelled his name was apparently a young Shinra infantryman, his face hidden by the helmet. He had appeared from the ruins of a collapsing house and his voice was heavy with tears and anger. He was not facing Sephiroth, though. Instead, he was looking at…

Sephiroth gaped. Was that…?

"Is that you, Sephiroth?" Aerith whispered, disbelieving.

Indeed, there was someone looking very much like Sephiroth in the middle of the burning city. In fact, as Sephiroth looked at his copy's raised arm and spotted the active Materia in Masamune's handle, he realized he was the one setting the city aflame.

"What…" he started, feeling confused and somewhat insulted.

"My village, my family… What did you do?" the Shinra soldier screamed to the doppelganger, rushing him with his sword drawn. "Why!"

Sephiroth's twin barely turned, his face a mask of detachment and indifference. In a flash of movement, the trooper crumpled to the ground, unconscious, and the scene slowly faded away. Lost in his surprise, Sephiroth only then became aware that Aerith had let go of him. She had drawn back and was looking at him with fearful eyes.

"Did you… did you really?" she whispered, appalled.

"No," he rebuked. "I never burned any town, not even in Wutai. I had no reason to slaughter civilians like this. This never happened."

"Oh," she sighed in relief. "Then what—"

Their surroundings came back, but this time it was a dark and strange room, filled with metal and artificial lights. The same infantryman as before was standing at the room's threshold, a very familiar sword sticking straight out of the floor next to him.

"The Buster Sword?" Sephiroth whispered.

"Sephiroth, look!"

On a higher platform on the other side of the room, Sephiroth's double stood before a tall glass cylinder. Inside of it was…

Sephiroth flinched.

"Is that…"

"Jenova!" Aerith said. "It's got to be!"

Yes, it had to be her. Although the creature only looked partly human and he could see her glowing eyes from twenty feet away, her face was more ethereally beautiful than he had been prepared for, and her hair… silver, just like Sephiroth's…

As they watched, the trooper picked up the sword and charged Sephiroth's copy. Sephiroth thought surely he had no chance of attacking him unaware, but his doppelganger seemed in such a deep contemplation of the creature behind the glass that he heard and suspected nothing before the Buster Sword slid through his ribcage. Sephiroth reflexively flinched.

The trooper drew his weapon back and Sephiroth's twin collapsed to the ground. The young man was breathing hard, and the Buster Sword had begun to shake in his grip. He turned his back to his opponent and lifted his free hand to get rid of his helmet.

Sephiroth heard Aerith gasp. He himself could only stare, uncomprehending, at the pain-stricken face of Cloud Strife. What in the world…?

"Wh… what is this?" Aerith whispered. "A dream? A nightmare? Why would the Lifestream be showing us this?"

As Strife was passing them as if they were not here, Sephiroth dived deep into his blue eyes. These eyes looked so familiar. Still a little too young, their shape not exactly right yet, the grief and the grim determination too raw and new, but…

"It's a memory," he breathed.

He didn't get it. He didn't understand, but he knew in his heart that he was right. This was a memory… Rain's memory.

On a hunch, he tilted his head back and shouted:

"Cloud Strife! We came for you!"

The metallic room instantly faded back into darkness.

"What do you want?"

This cold, no-nonsense voice. Before this moment, Sephiroth hadn't realized how much he had feared to never hear it again. They turned around, and there was Rain.

"Rain! So this is where you went," Aerith said, delighted. "We were looking for you."

Although he usually had an obvious soft spot for the girl, Rain glanced away. He seemed uninjured, but his unwelcoming frown didn't lighten.

"Go back."

He made as if to walk away.

"Wait a minute!" Sephiroth protested, leaping forward to catch his shoulder. "What do you think you are doing?"

Rain hissed and tried in vain to escape his grip.

"You never know when to leave well enough alone, do you? You always have to pry and pry and pry."

"I wouldn't have to if you were a little more forthcoming with your information."

"I don't owe you my whole life!" Rain shouted in his face, and Sephiroth's eyes widened in surprise. It was clearly a sore point for the man. "Let go!"

"Rain…" Aerith begged, wounded. "Why don't you want to come back with us? What's going on?"

Rain froze, tense as a board under Sephiroth's hand. He carefully didn't look at Aerith, instead presenting her with his back.

"You lot don't need me anymore. I did what I had to do, and I have messed up enough doing that."

"So what, you are just giving up?" Sephiroth challenged.

"I shouldn't even have been here in the first place," Rain hissed. "I'm just trying to get some balance back into this mess."

"By fleeing from it?"

"I told you, I shouldn't be here."

Despite his struggles, Sephiroth abruptly shifted them to grasp both of Rain's shoulders so that he could look him in the eyes.

"Well, it's a bit late to think of that. Because you have already changed everything, every single life you have touched, and I refuse to let you get away with not dealing with the consequences."

"I am only making things worse!"

"No," Sephiroth all but barked at him, contemptuous. "You are making mistakes, just like the rest of us. Only you have just now understood the price there is to pay for them and you are running away like a pathetic, scared little boy. Get a grip!"

Rain froze. There was something raw and afraid in the stare he was fixing on him.

"Rain," Aerith gently said. "Please. We all want you to come back. Cloud would be devastated if you disappeared. Zack likes you, too, even though he always says you are too serious. Vincent is your friend, is he not? And Tifa, even though she's always trying to blame you, I know she's just scared and looking for a scapegoat; she really respects you."

She set a gentle hand against Rain's shoulder blade, and Sephiroth felt him flinch.

"And me, I trust you. From the moment we met, I felt like I could trust you. You are one of the main reasons I can still feel safe with everyone after everything that happened. Please, Rain…"

Rain closed his eyes, every line of his face and body pulled taut. On an impulse, Sephiroth slid a hand to the back of his head. He tangled his gloved fingers in the thick blond hair and tugged so Rain would look at him.

"I am not giving you a choice. You are coming back with me," he proclaimed.

For a while, it seemed like his close contact and assertiveness would only succeed in pushing the man away. But after a tense moment of uncertainty, Rain slowly relaxed and produced a weary chuckle.

"I can't believe you. You're the worst control freak ever…"

Despite his words, he bowed his head in something like acceptance.

Cloud Strife absolutely refused to move. He was stubbornly squatting at the cliff's edge, glaring at the Lifestream as if daring it not to grant his wish.

"Strife!" Angeal barked, losing patience. "You are putting all of us in danger!"

"Then go without me," he yelled back. "I don't care! Rain has done the craziest things before. We found him in a Mako crystal! I refuse to believe this would kill him!"

"Even so, the current will have long since drawn them away. Staying here is useless."

Angeal stumbled when Genesis shouldered past him. His friend marched with long and angry strides to Cloud, his red leather coat blowing dramatically behind him. He forced the young man to his feet and wrenched his arms behind his back despite his struggles and protests.

"Genesis!" Angeal said, appalled.

"I've heard quite enough of this temper tantrum," the SOLDIER growled. "You are not the only one who lost someone today. Yet grief will not prevent me from smacking some sense into your thick skull if you persist in your folly."

Cloud squinted against his tears and his jaw contracted, but he let himself be pushed and pulled toward the helicopter from which Zack was sadly staring at him.

"Wait!"

For a moment, Angeal wondered who had said that. The voice was unfamiliar to him. It took him a whole second to understand that it had been Vincent who had shouted, and he felt dread well up. Valentine barely talked on most days, let alone yelled. What in the world—

He whirled around and found the ex-Turk bent over the edge of the cliff, eyes intent on something below. Cloud struggled out of Genesis' grip like a man possessed, but truth be told they were all already rushing to the rift. Angeal heard her before he saw her.

"Hey!"

A distant, but feminine and cheery voice. At the foot of the cliff, Aerith was happily waving at them. She kneeled on an outcrop, soaping wet. She seemed to be struggling to pull two figures, unconscious and much larger than her, out of the Lifestream's current.

"Holy shit," Genesis said, uncharacteristically vulgar.

Angeal found he couldn't agree more.

Cloud "Rain" Strife gradually regained consciousness. His thoughts were slow and muddled. He itched everywhere, and his skin felt hot and too tight. He realized he recognized the symptoms.

Ugh. Had he fallen in the Lifestream, again?

The thought made the memories rush back and he shuddered. Yes. Yes, he had.

He breathed deeper and opened his eyes, squinting against the blinding daylight. The air caught in his raw throat and tore a cough from him. He propped himself up on one elbow. He was lying under warm sheets in a comfortable single bed. Across from the small and homey room, another bed lay empty under a chaotic heap of blankets. He was alone.

A glass of water had been left on the bedside table. He gratefully downed it. He made to swing his legs from the mattress and hissed with pain. He glanced down to find he had been stripped to his underwear and his left thigh was wrapped in a thick bandage. Great.

He got up more cautiously. His clothes waited on a nearby chair. He got dressed, noticing they had even been cleaned and patched up.

At this point, he felt fairly confident that this was friendly territory, but he remained wary. The view from the window was swallowed by tall trees and he had no idea where he was. He opened the door slowly and slid in the corridor without a sound. From somewhere below, he could hear voices. He recognized first Zack's, then Cloud's. They sounded carefree. He relaxed.

He found the stairs and limped down. He wasn't really trying to be silent, and before long, he heard a chair scraping against the floor and someone running. Cloud appeared at the foot of the stairs, his face lit with happiness.

"Rain! You're awake!"

He smiled at him.

"Hey."

Cloud beamed.

"I'm sorry I wasn't there when you woke up. Sephiroth got up just a little while ago and we were making sure he was okay."

Zack popped in from a nearby doorway and smiled at Rain.

"Hey buddy. Come in and eat something!"

He nodded and followed him, Cloud close behind. The living room he entered was of average size, but it felt a bit cramped given how many people were present. Tifa was half-lying on the couch, her right arm in a sling and a scowl on her pale and pinched face. Aerith was taking what little space was left beside her friend; she perked up and waved at Rain when he came in. Genesis lounged in one of the armchairs, his attention glued to the TV tuned to some news station. Vincent stood beside one of the windows, arms crossed around his weapon, and Sephiroth and Angeal sat at a round table that probably couldn't fit more than four persons.

Sephiroth's eyes were on Rain as soon as he left the corridor. Instead of his usual leathers, the man was clad in a dark grey turtleneck and some sensible black pants. His expression was blank and he didn't say anything, but Rain found himself faltering under the weight of his stare. Shame built up in him. He averted his eyes.

Cloud had already scurried away to a backroom that was probably the kitchen and Zack waved Rain towards a chair.

"C'mon, sit. Cloud'll be back in a sec' with some food. You guys must be hungry as hell, you were unconscious for a whole day! Aerith was fine, though. But, uh… I guess the usual rules don't apply to her."

Zack scratched the back of his head and gave a baffled look to his girlfriend who smiled, amused. Rain reluctantly sat at the small table. Whether out of mercy or loss of interest, Sephiroth finally turned away from him.

"What's our situation?" he asked Angeal.

"We are on the island southwest of the Eastern Continent," his friend answered. "The land is mostly uninhabited with only a small village near the coast. It serves as something of a tourist spot during the summer, but with the cold season beginning to settle in, we were able to rent this place. It's deep in the woods and we managed to hide the helicopter nearby."

"And it's got hot water and electricity!" Zack gushed with overly bright eyes. "Oh, technology, how I have missed you!"

He threw his arms around the TV set. Aerith and Tifa laughed at him, the martial artist cheering up some despite her wound. Rain's lips twitched up.

"Move, Puppy," Genesis drawled with a tired smirk. "Your wagging tail is hiding the screen."

"Hey!"

Cloud chose this moment to reappear. He was holding two plates overflowing with food and Rain suddenly realized Zack had been right: he was ravenous.

"It's only leftovers," Cloud apologized.

"You are a godsend," he blurted out, more spontaneous than he was used to.

Cloud blushed happily, and even more so when Sephiroth thanked him. They dug in while Angeal updated them on what had happened with the Turks at Banora, then on the supplies they had managed to acquire since then, such as new bullets for Vincent, bandages and the like. Tifa's shoulder would be fine, though she was looking at close to a week of recovery even with the use of a Materia. Her head rolled around the couch cushions and she groaned at the reminder.

"My dominant arm!" she bemoaned.

"So we've heard," Genesis waspishly said, ignoring her glare. "Multiple times."

"What are the news, Genesis?"

Sephiroth's voice was perfectly neutral, as was his face. Genesis glanced at him in surprise, as if unsure of how to react to Sephiroth addressing him directly. Angeal was looking between them, hope and nostalgia struggling not to show in his eyes. Genesis tried for casual.

"Nothing unexpected, I suppose. You and Zack have now been officially branded traitors to Shinra. The company is desperately trying to salvage some of its image by promoting some kind of big reality show where SOLDIERs get to compete like dogs in a pit to win a spot in the next First Class. Can you believe it?" he sneered, disgusted.

Vincent added:

"There are some rumours of unrest, explosions in remote locations and terrorist attacks on supply convoys. But it's hard to know how much is being filtered through Shinra's propaganda."

Rain nodded, grim. For all they knew, Shinra Inc. could be in a desperate position and covering as much of the damage as possible so other opponents wouldn't deem it fit to attack while they were at their most vulnerable. He lowered his eyes to his half-empty plate. He couldn't decide what would be the better news. Shinra deserved to fall, but if this dissolved into some sort of civil war, there would be a lot of casualties and the political void left by the company would attract power-hungry figures like flies.

How was he supposed to know what would be best? He wasn't a politician. Abruptly, he missed Reeve.

No. He missed all his friends, with an almost physical ache that pulled at his heart. He sighed and tiredly rubbed his face. The grief wasn't as overwhelming as it had once been, dulled, ironically enough, by time, but he would never forget. He missed the Seventh Heaven, the kids. He missed Cid and Barret's loud voices, Yuffie's cheekiness, Nanaki's wisdom.

Somehow, he even missed Vincent and Tifa. How strange was it to feel such a thing, when they were right here in the room with him?

But no, even as he looked up, he recognized his mistake. He glanced at Vincent, the man colder and more distant than he had known him to be in years. There was no trace of the unspoken understanding that should have existed between them, born from similar burdens and loaded silences. Then he looked at Tifa, at the petulant frown on her young face. This fifteen-year-old teenager, how could he ever compare her to the mature woman who had been his closest friend… even more than this for a while? Although Tifa had always been stubborn, she wasn't this demanding, quick-tempered girl any more than "Rain" was the friendly and earnest boy listening to his elders' conversation from his spot near the table.

He bowed his head. Fresh grief lanced through him. He had to stop seeing these people as warped versions of those he had once known and loved. All of his friends… they were gone. Tifa, Vincent, Aerith, and yes, Zack too… They didn't deserve to be constantly measured against his unreliable memories of the persons they should be to fit in his worldview. They weren't ghosts. They were their own selves, just like Cloud was… And just like he had gladly taken and kept the mantle of "Rain" to let this precious boy live his life, he had to acknowledge these people's existence. They were real, flesh and blood. They had dreams, aspirations, loved ones and places to return to.

And they had needs. Right now, even if it killed him a little to admit it… they needed him. He was the only one with answers, the only one who knew everything that was at stake here… and he was the one who had dragged them all in this mess. As such, he had a responsibility to see them safely out the other side of it.

And yet, just yesterday, he had wanted to turn his back on them.

It had seemed like the best solution at the time. He had saved both Angeal and Genesis, and Sephiroth's discovery of the truth of his birth and nature had come and gone without any major breakdown. Truthfully, he hadn't expected such a seemingly miraculous outcome. He had been so focused on Sephiroth, so sure that it couldn't be the end of it, that something was going to push the man off the edge anyway, that he had been completely unprepared when the problem had come from outside. The other shoe had dropped, only in a way he hadn't foreseen at all.

Jenova.

He had been certain he had gotten rid of the problem on that end—how could he have been so foolish? Sephiroth was a symptom when Jenova had always been the true disease. Which was not to say Sephiroth had ever been an innocent victim; no, he was too strong-willed, too arrogant to have been a mere puppet in Jenova's grasp. The cruelty, the cunning, the hubris, they had all come from him, of this he had no doubt. But Jenova had both been the trigger and given him the tools. Without her, the Sephiroth he once knew and fought might have walked all his life that fine line between light and darkness: a weapon in Shinra's hands, a "hero" with the power to change the world and no will to do so, be it for the better or for the worse.

Jenova had always been the beginning, and he had screwed that up. When he had realized it, everything else had seemed to snap into perspective: he had caused all of these people to come together, and now, every last one of them was a fugitive hunted by the company ruling over the entire planet. Sephiroth, Zack, Cloud, even poor Tifa and Aerith… All of their lives would have been vastly different if he hadn't interfered, or if he had at least done it better.

The arrival of those monsters that shouldn't have existed had felt like the universe trying to tell him that he was done, now. That he had stumbled his way through what he had been sent to do, and that it was time he drew back before he caused even more of a mess. Being flung into the Lifestream had seemed like the perfect cue to take his leave.

Only, however much it cost him to admit it, Sephiroth had been right. He had behaved like a coward.

All that time, he had been acting like a stranger in a world where he didn't belong. He had known things no one should have known, had acted upon them, trying to "fix" everything the way he would have fixed a problem with Fenrir's engine. He had kept his distance and tried to observe from afar… but it had only been an illusion, hadn't it? He was right here, with these people. They accepted him as one of their own, a friend, an ally, even a brother.

He had thought of himself as an anomaly, something to be removed once he had played his part. But he had a place, here. Cloud's brotherly love, the frightening trust Aerith put in him, Tifa's glares and pouts, Sephiroth's unrelenting inquiries… they were all aimed at him. At "Rain". Not a shadow bound to disappear, but a man whose existence was just as real as the table under his palms.

"Rain?"

The gentle contact of Cloud's hand on his elbow snapped him back to reality. He sent him a quizzical look. Cloud seemed wryly amused.

"I had kind of wondered if you spent so much time deep in thought because you had nothing else to do at the back of my head, but I see that's not really the case. You want some more?"

Confused, he glanced down at his plate. He was only half-surprised to find it empty. No, his habit of zoning out hadn't gotten any better these past few years.

"Thanks," he murmured, collecting his cutlery for Cloud to take back to the kitchen. "I'm fine."

Cloud smiled at him before turning away. Rain didn't miss the way his eyes remained trained on him a bit longer than strictly necessary, as if he was afraid he would disappear as soon as they left him.

He felt a pang of guilt. He had caused this. Cloud had already lost him once, and he knew how grateful he had been to have him back. Yet in all his selfishness, he wouldn't have hesitated a second to leave him behind… If it hadn't been for Sephiroth…

He turned to find the man's vivid green eyes already on him. Once, he would have flinched, but this was quickly growing to be the norm. Sephiroth had finished his own meal and had moved to seat sideways in his chair. His long legs were crossed and Rain could see the peak of his knee above the tabletop. The pose looked completely natural, and yet… not on him. He kept expecting to see a sneer on his face or a bloody Masamune in his gloved hand. His disorientation was only heightened by the casual clothes the man was wearing. Who knew he even owned anything besides black leathers?

Rain rubbed his temple, frustrated. His skin still itched and burned from the Mako, which wasn't helping his focus. Sephiroth had looked away to continue his conversation with the others. He belatedly tuned in. They were now talking about what to do in the foreseeable future.

"I suggest we stay here as long as possible," Angeal was saying. "We have all been living in the wild for anything from a few nights to months on end, and these accommodations are probably the nicest we'll be able to find for a while. We should take the opportunity to rest."

"And heal," Aerith chimed in. "Tifa isn't the only one injured. Cloud, Sephiroth and Rain need a bit of time, too."

Rain reflexively brushed a hand against his thigh. Of course, Sephiroth had no outward reaction. Gaia forbids he let them remember he was human, too. The thought struck a cord in him and he looked away, frowning.

"It would be prudent to rest for a few days," Sephiroth agreed. "No more than this, however. We can't afford to stay too long in one place when we don't know how Shinra discovered we were near Banora."

"I trust no one used a Shinra-issued PHS while we were there?" Genesis asked, mulling it over with a frown.

"Nope," Zack said, and Cloud, back from the kitchen, mutely shook his head.

Sephiroth didn't even seem to believe the question could be aimed at him. Genesis hummed, but dropped the matter. However, Rain only needed one look at the glint of distrust in his eyes to understand what he was thinking. He shivered.

Genesis suspected there was a traitor among them.

It was a legitimate worry. How else would Shinra have procured their location? And yet, as Rain peered at the people around the room, he found himself unable to believe it.

Vincent and Cloud, he would trust with his life. Zack wouldn't betray friends, period. Tifa hadn't even registered on Shinra's radar before she joined them. Genesis had been half-mad and unable to contact anyone when the attack had started. Sephiroth… For all his faults, Sephiroth wouldn't bother with such an underhanded scheme. He had left Shinra of his own volition, and Rain couldn't see him bargaining information for his return. Similarly, Angeal had made it clear he had no intention of going back to the company.

Which only left Aerith. He wanted to dismiss her immediately, but remembered his vow from earlier and struggled to stay unbiased. He didn't want to think such a thing of her, but she had been under Shinra's surveillance and the Turks had known she was Zack's girlfriend. Could they have somehow blackmailed her? But it had taken Vincent's considerable ruse to sneak her out from under their noses. Wouldn't they have made it easier for her to join them if they were forcing her to work for Shinra? And more importantly, would someone as sweet and innocent as the Aerith of now be capable of this level of deception, especially with Zack?

No. She would be an open book to Zack and Rain. It just wasn't in her nature to lie.

Then what… some kind of bug, maybe?

Although no accusation had been made aloud, he hadn't been the only one to notice Genesis' scepticism. The girls, Zack and Cloud remained oblivious, but Angeal, Sephiroth and Genesis' eyes roamed around the room, systematically assessing everyone like he had. Vincent was just glancing between them all, waiting to see how this would play out.

In hindsight, Rain shouldn't have been surprised when three speculative glares slowly converged on him. But he was, and he blinked, taken aback. Angeal seemed unsure while Sephiroth just looked frustrated, like his stare would make him spill his guts once and for all.

Rain sighed and raised his hands, palms out, in a gesture of irritated acknowledgement. Yes, okay. Maybe from where they were coming, he was the most suspicious of them all.

His reaction caught Cloud's attention.

"What?" he said, seemingly becoming aware of the tension in one half of the room. "Rain? What's happening?"

He edged closer, sending hesitant glances to the three SOLDIERs. But he was quick, smarter than Rain remembered being at his age.

"Not this again!" he hissed, suddenly on the defensive. "Rain is not a traitor, damn it!"

This alerted the three remaining clueless people to what was going on and Tifa, Aerith and Zack all turned to them, shocked.

"Then how come we still know nothing of who he is, where he came from and what his goal is?" Angeal challenged. "Why is he so reluctant to talk about it? Even you confessed to not knowing any of it, Cloud."

"Actually, I know all of that," Cloud countered to everyone's surprise, peevishly crossing his arms and glaring at Angeal. "I just respect the fact that telling you should be Rain's decision."

And then, in the middle of it all, completely out of the blue, there was this:

"I know your name. I know your real name."

Sephiroth was looking in Rain's eyes, with so much intensity he felt for a dizzying, horrifying second like he could see right through him, to all the secrets he had been clinging to with a death grip. To the naked and gruesome truth.

Sephiroth turned to Aerith, freeing him from the spell of his slit pupils, and he tried to remember how to breathe through a rising nausea.

"Don't we?"

Hesitantly, Aerith nodded.

"The Lifestream… It's the life blood of the Planet. You can't possibly lie about something like this in there," she whispered.

She sent a curious glance to Cloud and Rain realized with a pang that they truly did know. Only now did he begin to contemplate the consequences of what these two had seen in the Lifestream. Sephiroth… Sephiroth had seen Nibelheim. He anxiously searched his face, but the man's eyes were clear, empty of any trace of hate or madness. They just bored into him, even thirstier for answers than they had been two days before.

Another unexpected voice rang.

"I know it too," Vincent said.

It earned him a bewildered stare from Rain.

"How could you possibly— I only told you—"

He had only told him—implied, really—that he was from the future. But he cut himself off with a side glance to Cloud. The boy grimaced at him as if in apology. Of course, it would have been obvious to Vincent as soon as he saw him. With a heavy sigh, he conceded defeat.

"Hum… Okaaay," Zack drawled in helpless perplexity. "Anyone else wanna confess while we're at it? Am I the only one left out of the loop, or what?"

"No, you're not," Tifa muttered irritably. "Do we get to know the big secret?"

"What I don't know is how," Sephiroth went on like they hadn't said anything. "And I believe it's about time you shared… Cloud Strife."

He couldn't help it; he flinched. Zack and Tifa didn't notice and turned to Cloud, standing behind him. Under their quizzical glances, he blushed. Uncomfortable, he shook his head and pointedly looked at Rain. They followed his eyes, but no comprehension lit their faces.

"What," Tifa said, voice flat.

He fought to control the panic blooming in him. How had this conversation turned into such a mess?

Over the past few months, he had never once thought about telling these people. There had been no question in his mind that they didn't need to know anything about him, and that it might even be dangerous to let Sephiroth learn too much. And yet… Yet, didn't they deserve to know for what cause he had turned all of their lives upside down? Didn't they deserve to know… that he had done such a crappy job of his mission? That things were slipping through his fingers? If his knowledge of the future couldn't protect them anymore… shouldn't he at least give them the tools to protect themselves? And after all… didn't they deserve to know who this strange man they had been fighting alongside with was?

He sat back in his chair and swallowed the dread. He forcefully reminded himself that he was no shadow.

"Yes," he confessed, quickly, before he could change his mind. "My name is Cloud Strife."