Disclaimer: I don't own FFVII, Crisis Core, Before Crisis, or any other part of FFVII.
AN: Well, here's the update. Told y'all it was longer than usual. This was actually supposed to be out earlier, but a couple of scenes didn't feel right to me, so they went through a bit of a rewrite. It's not up yet, but if you're interested, I'll be talking about what I changed, why I changed it, etc, etc. in my forums in the next day or two. I'm also getting more of the item information and a few other extra goodies ready for the "FFVII Fanfic Extras" section of my forum, for anyone who's actually looking at the things. Of course, pretty much nothing besides a few BC character biographies is actually official, but I figured I'd keep posting some of my thoughts/theories on that kind of thing up. Anyway, you're probably here to read the story, not to listen to me rant. So...
Lying face down on the ground, Cloud heard the door open, and two pairs of footsteps running towards him. As they came to a stop, he forced himself to relax. No sense in alerting them before they were close enough. In fact, it sort of went against the whole point of faking unconsciousness.
The guard accompanying the scientist held his hand up, pulling his sidearm from its holster. He slowly walked towards the fallen prisoner, and staying at arm's length, cautiously reached his left hand forward to check the boy's pulse. As soon as his fingers made contact with the blonde's neck, the boy rolled to the left, grabbed the guard's extended hand, and flipped him over towards the wall.
Jumping to his feet, Cloud grabbed the scientist before he could shut the door, and planted his fist into the man's face. As the scientist fell to the ground unconscious, Cloud turned back towards the recovering soldier. Running across the room again, he kicked the man in the ribs, knocking him into the air and against the wall.
He picked through their pockets for a moment to find any keys or tools they had that could be useful, before walking out and locking the cell behind him. As he left the containment center, he hunched down, making sure to keep silent. As he reached the end of the small hall leading from the containment center to the main hallway, he peeked around the edges of the wall. Seeing that the coast was clear, he began making his way to the main laboratory for the science department, where they would undoubtedly be holding Aerith.
When he arrived in the first floor of the laboratory, he got a strange feeling in the pit of his stomach, and before he knew it, he was walking towards a chamber near the corner of the room. He stopped near the entrance, and pulled himself up to look into the small window in the chamber. Seeing the all too familiar alien being inside, his eyes widened in shock, though he knew he shouldn't have been surprised. After all, why wouldn't Shinra keep a closer eye on Jenova after the incident at Nibelheim?
As he stood looking at the chamber containing the alien, Cloud heard voices coming in is direction. Frantically looking around, he saw something that he could probably use to his advantage. It was a long shot, but…
Moments later, two Third Class SOLDIERS walked through the science department, leaving their most recent appointment with the professors due to the strange phenomenon that seemed to be affecting everyone in their ranks.
"Man, this is strange." The first one was rubbing his forehead under his helmet.
"Yeah, it's pretty messed up."
"And to make it worse, they sent out all the Firsts and Seconds. What is everyone supposed to do if someone finds out that half of SOLDIER is out, and the rest of us might pass out at any second? I mean, what about those AVALANCHE people?"
"I know. I mean holy crap, who's running this army?"
"Things were so much better when Director Lazard…" The man paused as they reached the odd chamber with the alien creature that nobody was willing to ask about, and looked towards a corner in the opposite end of the room. He was almost certain he'd seen something move. "Did that thing just…Nah, that's ridiculous. Must've been my imagination."
Once the two had left, Cloud lifted the cardboard box and wiped the sweat from his brow. He'd taken the idea from an old series of fiction books he'd read as a child and teenager. He hadn't honestly expected that to work.
Yeah. I wouldn't complain about having my own personal Otacon to feed me information either.
He wasn't able to relax for long, however. Almost as soon as he'd begun to move, he felt the familiar pulling sensation for the second time in less than an hour. And this time, it was stronger than ever. Of course, Cloud could have figured that out even if he wasn't capable of feeling the call. Because mere seconds after he felt it, the chamber containing Jenova suddenly exploded outward, and a sharp piece of debris sliced through the air, raking across Cloud's cheek before planting itself in the wall. As Cloud clutched at the injury, trying to stop the blood flowing down the side of his face, he heard a shriek from the chamber, and several tentacles latched onto the side of the chamber as Jenova freed herself from her imprisonment. The headless alien quickly turned in his direction, it's cells already rapidly reproducing to form a head where its previous one had been, and dashed over in a blur. As one of the appendages wrapped around his neck, Cloud was almost certain he was going to die.
However, as the creature's head finished regenerating, it pulled itself closer until they were face to face. Cloud suddenly felt a strange sort of kinship with the creature that he couldn't explain as the strangely beautiful face, stolen from a Cetra woman thousands of years earlier, continued to examine him, seeming to look through him more than at him. After a short time, another of the creature's tentacles reached up to cover the wound on his cheek, and he could actually feel his flesh repairing itself.
As the alien finished healing his injury, the tentacle loosened its grasp, and the creature dropped him to the ground, before dragging itself away. Shaking his head to get his bearings straight, he pulled himself up onto a knee. Then the alien caught his eye yet again, as it began screeching and flailing about, before charging towards the elevator, ripping through the armored gate without pause, and leaping upwards into the elevator shaft.
Just as it left, the two SOLDIERS from earlier charged back into the room, weapons drawn. They looked between Cloud and the tank that had been carrying Jenova with suspicion, before taking in his uniform.
"Sir!" The two snapped to attention, and the one on the right addressed him. "We heard a commotion, Sir. Is something wrong."
Wha…Right, the uniform. Guess they haven't heard about the new prisoners yet. Either way, stopping that thing should probably take priority. "The, uh, specimen woke up." Yeah, that sounds really SOLDIER-like. Idiot. Taking on a more authoritative tone, he tried to sound a little more professional. "It regained consciousness as I was arriving to report to Professor Hojo. It looks like it was going to the upper floors." As he finished his explanation, the sounds of gunfire, alongside several screams of terror, erupted from the floor above them, and he turned to the one at the left.
"You. Call for reinforcements. And you," He turned to the SOLDIER who'd addressed him before. "Come with me. We have to get to the President."
"Sir!" The soldier that was supposed to be calling reinforcements flipped his sword, holding the hilt towards Cloud. "You might need this. I'll get help as fast as possible."
He nodded towards the young man, and began running for the stairs, followed by the second SOLDIER. The elevator was probably useless by this point, considering a very angry alien had just ripped its way through the shaft. When they opened the door to the upper levels of the laboratory, the room was in complete chaos. Scientists were trying to escape in any way they could, and the few guards stationed in the area had arrived and were trying their hardest to stop the rampaging alien.
To Cloud's surprise, Aerith hadn't attempted to leave during the chaos. In fact, she'd apparently found a nice space behind a wall, just away from the action, and was busy healing any of the people unfortunate to get caught in the crossfire. He also made note of the strange animal with red-orange fur that was dragging an injured guard towards her position, holding the soldier's uniform in its mouth.
Before he could step towards Aerith, the SOLDIER at his side fell, clutching the right side of his face. It seemed a stray bullet had managed to find a target in the man's eye. Hauling the man over his shoulder, much like Zack had done for him just days earlier, he ran to Aerith's side just as she finished healing yet another unfortunate soldier's wounds. Laying the man down and letting Aerith get to work, he glanced around the wall to see how the guards were holding out against Jenova.
To put it simply, they looked like they were pretty much screwed.
"What is that?" The flower girl asked, though her attention was focused more on the SOLDIER who'd accompanied him.
"Jenova." He would never forget the first time he'd seen it in the Nibelheim reactor. "An alien or something. One of Hojo's favorite pets." Speaking of Hojo, where did that maniac get off to?
The animal had reached them, and laid the soldier down nearby before going to look around the wall.
"Thanks Nanaki. H-"
"You named him?" How long had she been up there? It was an odd time to go around naming Hojo's specimens.
The animal looked at him, somehow looking offended. "No, actually. My mother would be the one who gave me that name."
It just talked. "…It just talked."
"Cloud!" The young woman admonished. "Don't be rude!"
"It's alright, ma'am. I get that rather often." He turned to Cloud. "Yes, I can speak. I'll speak all you wish, once we get out of this predicament."
"…Right." Shaking his head, Cloud looked back towards their main problem, only to pull back behind the wall when the alien gave out a roar, sending the occupants of the room flying in all directions, before charging up the stairs. As the others began picking themselves up, Cloud turned to Aerith.
"I have to stop that thing. You two clean up here." Not waiting for a response, and trying not to step on any of the injured or unconscious victims laying about the room, he made his way towards the stairs. Along the way, he met no resistance. Only a mass of dead bodies strung along the floor. Apparently all of the guards on the upper levels had traveled downwards in an attempt to stop Jenova before it could get very far, which meant that all of the poor office workers must've been nearly defenseless when it broke the defenses below.
He was nearly up the stairs to the President's office when he heard the familiar, terror-inspiring voice of the man he'd once admired more than anyone else on the planet.
"Mister President. You haven't changed at all, have you?" The silver-haired SOLDIER of legend was standing in front of the President's desk, blade extended across the desk to the side older man's throat.
"S-Sephiroth! Impossible! How!?"
"You're after the Promised Land." Sephiroth twisted the blade, allowing the sharpened edge to slightly pierce the older man's throat, drawing a small trickle of blood. "That's something I can't allow."
"Why? You have no reason to protect it! I-I'm sure I could offer you something? What would you like? M-maybe a cut of the profits? Or control of a country? I practically own the world! I could give you whatever you want! So please, just name anything! What is it you want!?"
The ex-SOLDIER smiled, drawing his sword back. As the President began to let out a breath, Sephiroth's arm shot forward, driving the blade into the President's chest. He lifted the man into the air, ignoring the screams of pain.
"To become a god. The Promised Land will be mine, one way or another. Goodbye, Mister President." As he pulled the Masamune from the man's chest, allowing him to drop to the desk, his eyes shifted back towards the stairs, and his grin widened. Spinning and raising the blade in one swift motion, he blocked the incoming strike and grinned at the young man in the SOLDIER uniform before him.
"You…Seem familiar."
"Sephiroth!" Bastard!
"Ah, yes. Now I remember you. Cloud, wasn't it? I'm afraid we don't have any time to play, today." He tightened his grip on the blade and pushed forward, throwing Cloud across the room and into the wall with a crack. Lowering his blade, he turned back towards the window and began to lift into the air, spreading his arms and looking towards the sky.
"The Reunion has begun. And with it, my ascension. Look towards the North, if you wish to make an attempt to stop us. Which you will, I'm sure. We'll be waiting." With that, a blast of energy shattered the windows, sending glass flying in all directions, and Sephiroth flew through the air, quickly disappearing into the darkness of the night sky.
"Stupid, no good Shinra scumbags. Filthy, useless-" As Barret continued the tirade, condemning Shinra with every insult and curse word known to man, as well as a few that Tifa was pretty certain he'd made up on the spot, they finally reached the entrance to the building at the top of the stairs.
"Hm, not even locked." Zack pushed the door open slowly, taking a glance outside. Upon seeing that the room was empty, he pushed the door open the rest of the way and walked out, looking around in confusion. "That's convenient. You'd think they'd at least lock the door from the stairwell that goes almost to the top of the building. Weird."
And stepping towards the elevator, was promptly plowed over by a frail looking woman who was probably a secretary in the building. Which was pretty surprising to the young SOLDIER, all things considered.
"Hey, what's the rush?"
"Monster!"
"Monsters? Hey, what monsters?"
"O-one of the experiments escaped! I need to get out!" Actually shoving the man aside, the young woman continued running towards the elevator, ignoring the still baffled SOLDIER behind her.
How the heck did she actually push me? Oh well. Looks like Hojo let another experiment out to see what it could do. Guess he'll never learn. Of course, Zack failed to acknowledge that the last time some specimens had escaped, it had in fact been he who had released them. Hojo had simply amused himself by sending the young SOLDIER into the fray by telling him there were free items in the cells. Naturally, Zack hadn't been able to resist the lure of free equipment and items.
As Barret sat, catching his breath yet again, Tifa walked up behind Zack and gave him a pat on the back to get his attention.
"What was she saying about experiments?"
Before Zack could answer, they heard a roar from above. Not even bothering to share a glance, the trio made for yet another staircase. Strangely, Barret didn't say a word. It wasn't hard to figure out what floor they needed to stop at. When they arrived, there were bodies strewn about the entire area. Some were in decent condition, while others most definitely weren't still among the living. It also didn't take long for Zack to see a familiar young woman trying to help them, which honestly didn't surprise him.
"Aerith!" She turned to Zack, and nearly stood to move to him as a series of emotions played across her face, but caught herself and simply gave him a sad smile before turning back to the injured man in front of her.
Right. Now's not the time for that kind of thing. "Aerith, have you seen Cloud? A couple years younger than us, uniform like mine, blond hair, kinda quiet?"
She nodded and stood, apparently having finished what she was doing, then turned to embrace her formerly missing boyfriend. He took a few seconds to return the hug, but pulled away.
"We were in the same cell. He came through a few minutes ago." A large red dog…cat..thing, Zack wasn't quite certain, landed in next to them, turning its head towards Zack.
"The one you mentioned followed the creature that did this. I believe it was heading towards the president's office."
It just talked. "…It just talked."
"Zack!" Aerith still somehow managed to make it obvious that she was angry without actually looking or sounding angry. Knowing what the tone could mean for him, Zack quickly backpedalled.
"Sorry, sorry! I'm just not used to seeing talking animal-cat-dog things."
Aerith looked as though she was about to say something else, but stopped as the animal nudged her leg.
"It's alright, Miss Aerith. I mentioned that it's a rather common reaction." He turned back towards the others. "My name is Nanaki, but you may call me Red XIII, if you wish."
"…Right. Anyway, sorry about that, but we really need to find Cloud. Like now."
Having seen what happened in the floors below, when they arrived in the President's office several minutes later, the violent scene before them wasn't that surprising. President Shinra was laid across the front of his desk, blood pouring out across the top. The entire office was ruined, and Cloud was lying on his back across the room, the wall above him cracked and broken.
"Cloud! Are you alright!?" Tifa ran over to him, kneeling beside the stunned blond.
"Yeah," He put his hand to his forehead. "Yeah, I'm fine. Don't worry about it." He began to pull himself up, trying to collect his thoughts. Sephiroth…
Meanwhile, something else had caught the others' attentions. Barret walked up to the desk, almost as if he couldn't believe his eyes.
"He's dead. The president of Shinra is dead…"
Tifa walked up behind him, brushing past his shoulder to look at the body, as the others walked over to join them. She glanced over the older man's body, pinned to the desk by the blade.
"Somehow…I thought I'd be happier." She'd thought that with the President's death, an inevitable occurrence if Avalanche was to succeed, she would feel relieved that the company's reign would be finished, or at least set back for a while. But the way he was now, impaled against his own desk…He just looked like a normal old man.
As Avalanche looked over the President's body, they heard a scuffling sound to their left, and an old, wide man ran towards the stairs. Before he could get far, Barret grabbed his arm as he rushed by, and threw him back in front of their group. As he pulled himself up to his knees, the man started babbling at them.
"P-p-please don't kill me!"
"Oh calm down, Palmer. We're not gonna hurt you." Zack walked up to the man, looking down at him. "Now what happened."
"S-Sephiroth! It was Sephiroth!"
That claim caught the attention of everyone in the room. Zack grabbed Palmer by the shirt, lifting the heavy main into the air. "Don't feed me that garbage. Sephiroth is dead. I saw it myself."
"He's not lying." Zack turned to Cloud in surprise, not expecting him to support Palmer's claim. With a combination of fear, confusion, and anger etched on his face, Cloud continued. "I saw him myself. Even spoke with him. There's no doubt in my mind that Sephiroth was standing in this office."
Palmer was pulling at Zack's arm in desperation. "I told you! Why would I lie? What good would it do me now? I didn't just see him, I heard his voice too! I'm telling you, it was him! H-He said that he wouldn't let Shinra have the Promised Land."
"So what," Barret scratched the back of his head. "Is he a good guy then?"
"No," Cloud and Zack both spoke at the same time. Cloud nodded to Zack, letting him continue. He was always the more vocal of the two. "Maybe if it was before Nibelheim, but not now. It has to be something else." As he said it, Palmer took off towards the balcony exit, and they finally noticed the helicopter closing in on the building. Barret cursed, slamming his fist down on the desk.
"Rufus! I forgot about him."
"Who's Rufus?" Tifa was sure she knew the name from somewhere.
"President Shinra's son." Barret's anger was clear. Their biggest concern with Shinra was finally gone, and in a matter of hours he'd already been replaced. "They say he's been on some kind of assignment where nobody could find him for years now."
"I'm afraid I only know his name." Red XIII spoke up. "Though I have heard rumors."
Tifa walked over to the office window, watching the approaching helicopter. "The president's son…I wonder what he's like."
"Well," Aerith walked up behind Tifa. "I heard that nobody's ever seen him bleed, or even cry. They always act like he's almost not human."
The helicopter finally reached the building, and they made for the balcony. When they arrived, Palmer was jumping into the hovering helicopter, with Rufus looking thoughtfully towards his father's office.
"So, Sephiroth was actually here. Hm." He turned towards the group. "And who might all of you be?"
"I'm Cloud. I was with Shinra's military."
Zack pointed towards himself with a grin. "Zack Fair, former SOLDIER."
"I'm from Avalanche! So you better watch yourself!"
Tifa's response was a little less animated. "Same here."
Rufus turned towards Aerith and Red XIII.
"A flower seller from the slums."
"A maniac's newest research specimen."
"Hm." Rufus swept his hair back with a careless expression. "What an interesting little group. Well, I suppose it's only right that I introduce myself. I'm Rufus Shinra," He bowed his head a little. "The President of Shinra Inc."
"Bull!" Barret waved his gun arm at the man. "You only president 'cause your old man bit the big one!"
"Nonetheless, I'm the President now. Allow me to give you my appointment speech." He walked over to Tifa, brushing her bangs to the side.
"My father tried to control the world through money. It seemed to be working. Perhaps it was." He walked towards Aerith, turning his head towards her as he passed in front of her.
"The population believed that the Shinra Company would protect them. And it did, for the most part." He continued his pace, and stood in front of Barret, turning to look into the larger man's face.
"Work at Shinra, and you'll get a decent paycheck. If terrorists strike, Shinra will hunt them down. If there's a war, Shinra's troops will be on the front lines and at home, protecting you with their lives. If there are criminals, Shinra will persecute them. If there's a disaster, Shinra will give you aid." He turned, and walked towards the railing, looking out over the city.
"It looks perfect on paper, doesn't it? But that's not how I do things. I'll control this world with fear. My father's methods were effective enough, but were far too costly when it came to funding and resources." He turned back towards them, raising his hands in an exaggerated shrug.
"All it takes to control the minds of the weak is a little fear. There's no point wasting so much unnecessary effort on them."
Tifa leaned towards Aerith, lowering her voice. "He likes to hear himself talk, doesn't he?" Aerith couldn't help but nod in agreement.
"Guys." Zack stepped forward, giving the sword he'd retrieved from the soldier back on the train platform a swing. "You go on ahead. I'll handle this."
"But-" Cloud started, but stopped as Zack pulled the small piece of lightning materia from the buster sword, and held the small orb out to him.
"Take this. Get them somewhere safe. I'll catch up." Cloud hesitated, but took the materia, and followed the group back inside.
As Cloud and Co. arrived at the elevator, Cloud paused, looking back towards the steps. Feeling a hand on his shoulder, he turned to find Tifa with a concerned expression.
"What's wrong?"
"I just…I don't feel right leaving like this. I'm going to stay."
"I'm not leaving if you're not."
Red XIII stepped forward, tail flicking back and forth. "Barret and I could escort the lady out, if you two would like to wait."
Cloud nodded at him, and looked to Barret and Aerith. "Could you?"
"Yeah, yeah. Jus' don't make a scene."
"Cloud, Tifa?" Aerith stepped forward. "Thank you."
Aerith, Barret, and Red XIII entered the elevator, and the two turned back towards the stairs to wait for their companion. Minutes later, they began rushing down the stairs at the sound of shattering glass and gunfire. Reaching the elevator on the floor below, Cloud lifted his sword, and tore through the doors. Looking down, they could see a strange flying machine of some kind firing at their friends. Thankfully, Aerith seemed to be maintaining some kind of protective barrier.
Cloud was preparing to jump down when Tifa grabbed his arm. She pointed a little ways into the distance, where he could see the flashing lights indicating Shinra's local police force heading towards the building. And if they were coming to Shinra Headquarters, the military units in the city probably wouldn't be far behind.
"Go find something to do about them. I'll help the others."
"What? Tifa, I can't let-"
"Just hand me the materia. I have a plan." He hesitated, but opened his fist, letting her take the small orb. He looked down, placing a hand on his waist.
"So what's this pla-" He looked up at the sound of Tifa running, and ran towards the window as she hurled herself down the elevator shaft. As she neared the machine attacking the group, he saw a green glow appear as electricity began cackling around her fist, and she plunged her fist forwards into the top of the machine. As the machine began to shake and rumble, Tifa jumped to the elevator to join the team, and the machine exploded in a burst of flames and debris. Cradling the arm that she'd used to destroy the weapon, Tifa looked upwards towards Cloud, and gave him a nod.
"So, you must be SOLDIER First Class, Zack Fair. I've heard about you from Tseng. Some say you were the best in the organization. Well, if we exclude the legendary trio, of course. But Sephiroth is no longer under our employ, and Angeal and Genesis are gone, aren't they?"
"Thanks to Shinra."
"Indeed. But their fates are ironic, are they not? The real hero is believed to have been a monster and a traitor, the conflicted rebel yearning for recognition died alone in obscurity, and the murderer is remembered by all as the hero of Shinra." He let out a short laugh.
"How could you think that's funny? Shinra has been behind the destruction of so many good people. Sephiroth, Genesis, Angeal, Lazard…Don't you care at all?"
"What is there for me to care about? If they were so inclined to betray Shinra, then their removal simply solved a problem that I would have to have dealt with eventually anyway. As for my half-brother…I'll admit that I would have preferred it if Director Lazard hadn't been lost. He was as devious, manipulative, and competitive as I was. That's probably why I respected him so much. Almost all of Shinra's executives are power hungry, but Lazard was at least competent. Most of the others have lost their touch."
"Your…brother? Lazard was your brother, and you still don't care?"
"Is that why you want to fight me? Do you believe killing me will somehow avenge your comrades?"
"…I guess. Maybe that's part of it. But we can't let you have the Promised Land. You, or Sephiroth."
"I suppose this means we can't be friends, then." With that, Zack jumped forward, bringing the Buster Sword down in an overhead slash. His eyes widened in surprise as Rufus suddenly reached into his coat, and pulled out a strangely designed shotgun. Bracing the top of the weapon with both hands, Rufus brought the shotgun up, blocking the SOLDIER's strike with the underside of the weapon.
Despite the obvious strain on his face, Rufus wasn't giving any ground. The blond man twisted his rifle, firing several times as Zack pushed the shotgun with his sword to force the shots away. Moments later, Zack broke off the attack, jumping backwards a few feet. He looked over the president for a few moments, before noticing his eyes.
"You…"
"Went through the SOLDIER procedures? Yes. Not to the same extent as some SOLDIERS, and I haven't had the same training as you, but my father wasn't a complete fool. He wanted to ensure that he would have a successor upon his death, and he certainly didn't want an illegitimate son like Lazard in charge, so he needed to keep me alive. Hojo deemed me fit for the process."
No one had ever seen him bleed or cry…It does make some sense.
Rufus gave a quick chuckle, before sweeping his hair back again. "I would love to continue this, but I'm afraid I have other matters to attend to. That's all for today." Backing towards the ledge, Rufus gave Zack a salute, before turning and jumping to grab the runner of the helicopter. As Rufus took off, Zack began to head after the others.
It was definitely time to get out.
AN: Well, there ya go. Hope it was up to expectations. Remember, the author loves it when people R&R.