I know, I'm horrible with cliffhangers. I'm sorry, I just can't help myself sometimes. ^^; I'm glad everyone's enjoying my little fic. It's amazing the ideas you can get from old dusty drabbles since that's what the first chapter was. There are a few things to clear up before I continue.

As of yet I have no plans for Kadaj and his brothers, but that doesn't mean that something can't happen later down the road. The reason why Tifa is so calm about the whole thing is because she wasn't there when the group found out the truth about the future. The only ones who know the full truth are Sephiroth, Cloud, Zack and Vincent. She will be told everything in time, but for now she's being left in the dark for her own protection.

If you guys have any other questions don't hesitate to ask. I'll either reply to them like this or by PM.

The updates will start slowing down soon. They sort of have already, but I might stretch them to once a month. My schedule's about to get a whole lot busier. *whimpers* as if I wasn't busy enough. Oh well, if I wasn't busy I'd go crazy waiting for so many awesome games to release already. FF15, Pokemon Sun and Moon, FF7 remake, Kingdom Hearts 3. These stories are the only things keeping me sane at this point. lol. Oh well. At least I won't have to wait much longer for FF15 and the Pokemon games. They come out later this year! :D

Anyways, rambling aside. (whoops) Enjoy!


Chapter Twelve

They caught the ferry from Costa Del Sol the next day. Zack was catching Z's in his assigned cabin while Tifa had dragged Cloud out onto the deck. Tifa was thoroughly enjoying herself, as she had never been out in open water before.

"Isn't this amazing Cloud? The warm sun, the ocean breeze, and the most beautiful view! Cloud?"

She looked back only to see him leaning over the rail. "Hey, you okay?"

He lifted his head to look at her and she could see the green in his cheeks. He was about to reply when he felt another urge and quickly leaned back over the rail.

When he had finished she walked over and gently rubbed his back. "Poor guy, first you're motion sick and now sea sick? Your stomach just doesn't like to travel, does it?"

"Not really," he replied. He was not in a good mood.

"I'll go see if I can find something to help," she replied before heading off leaving Cloud to deal with his unruly stomach.

He heard a high-pitched whistle coming from over the rail and blinked when he saw a dolphin swimming alongside the ship and making clicking noises at him.

"What are you looking at, you stupid fish?" he replied in a grumpy voice.

The dolphin squawked and shot a stream of water in his face from its mouth before jumping into the air and diving back under the water with a splash which hit him dead center, drenching him.

Cloud needed something to take his mind off his sea sickness, but he could have done without the unexpected shower. "Where's a harpoon when you need one?" he asked sourly as he slowly made his way to his assigned cabin and looked for a dry uniform.

He had just changed his pants and was looking for a dry shirt when a knock at the door alerted him and he sighed in defeat. He wasn't looking forward to this. "Come in, Tifa. I know you won't leave me alone until I take that medicine."

"I didn't realize she was that good at playing nurse maid," came a voice that wasn't Tifa's.

Cloud turned and he stood at attention and offered his guest a salute. "General, I apologize, sir. I didn't realize-"

"Relax Strife. You're off duty until we reach land. I merely wanted to talk."

The teen relaxed and held his stomach before sitting down on the edge of his bed, wincing in discomfort.

"For what it's worth, I believe you will lose that ailment once you obtain enough mako in your system," the general offered.

"I wish I could trade places with my future self," Cloud replied, but Sephiroth shook his head. "No, you don't."

The boy looked at him as Sephiroth stared right back. "The pain your going through now is nothing compared to what you had lost; your friends and family. People you haven't even met yet, but were very dear to you. I still have trouble accepting the fact that it was because of me, but for what it's worth, I am sorry."

Cloud blinked at him and shook his head. "But, you didn't do it this time, and you have nothing to apologize for."

Sephiroth signed and looked away. "But I do. True, I haven't done anything horrible, but you did not see the pure pain and hatred reflect in your future self's eyes. When we had fought in the crumbled city of Midgar, You fought with such pain and hatred. You showed no mercy and you defeated me."

Cloud's head shot up and looked straight at his general. "That's impossible! No one can defeat you!"

Sephiroth huffed at that. "I used to think the same thing, but when you fight for a reason, when you have something to protect, you can do almost anything. You had something to protect, Cloud, and even now you could measure up to me if you were driven far enough."

Cloud only shook his head. "Sir, I mean no disrespect, but you're crazy. There's no way I could beat you. Yeah, maybe with mako in a future where you went evil and tried to destroy the world, but right now? I'm a nobody, just a simple infantryman trying to make a name for myself."

Sephiroth smirked at him. "There is something else I left out when I told you everything. The person who stopped me when I lost control the first time. That event will not happen now because the moment has already past. But when I had learned of my origins I had become unstable. I read every book I could find and I believed Hojo's lies. I accused Zack and everyone else of betrayal and set the entire town, your town on fire and killed everyone in sight. I've told you that much, but I left out how you were angry and followed after me as I made my way to the reactor. Once there you encountered an injured Zack. You then grabbed his sword and went after me. You challenged me and we engaged in a battle. You were injured, but you managed to get the upper hand and surprised me. I fell into a vat of mako where I was killed for the first time."

Cloud was having a hard time believing all this. "I still say there's no way I could take you."

"Not right now, no, but once you're trained as a SOLDIER and you gain some confidence, you will be a force to be reckoned with."

The young blonde wasn't sure what to make of this. Whether it was praise from the general or the fact that it had actually happened he didn't know. All he knew was that it filled him with hope that someone believed in him. Someone other than Tifa and his mother…

"Yo, Spiky? You in there buddy?"

And Zack.

Sephiroth stood and opened the door only to be greeted by a surprised pup. The general was not the person the younger SOLDIER was expecting to answer.

"Lieutenant," came the general's greeting.

"Uh, sorry sir, should I come back later? I was just gonna see how Cloud was doing, you know, after that whole motion sickness thing."

"If you're implying that he's sea sick then your assumptions are correct."

"Aw, poor guy," Zack replied.

"I suggest you leave him to rest," Sephiroth replied before Cloud quickly added, "It's not so bad now. At least, not as bad as the truck ride."

With that Zack made his way in to which Sephiroth didn't object to. The ravenette pulled up a chair and plopped into it with all the grace of a carelessness of a teenager. "So, you looking forward to training with me? I've never had a student, but I've had plenty of practice being one. I'll warn ya right now, I won't tolerate any sass or backtalk."

Sephiroth quirked an eyebrow, "Weren't you the one who always whined when Angeal gave you a mission you disliked?"

Zack sputtered at the obvious verbal stab which only made Cloud smirk. "They do say what goes around comes around."

Zack glared at his superior, "Not cool man. Have you already been giving him pointers so you can get back at me?"

"No," was the simple reply. "We were merely discussing his potential skills based on what I saw from my most recent experience."

"huh?"

"The general thinks I'll be strong enough to challenge him," Cloud answered for him.

"More than challenge, but that's basically correct," the general corrected.

Zack just blinked stupidly at the two, "How the hell could Cloud be stronger than you? No offense Spiky, but I find that hard to believe."

"Give it time Zack. You'll see what I did eventually." With that Sephiroth made towards the door. "We should be docking tomorrow, so try to get some rest. There won't be much until we reach Midgar." With that he left, leaving the other two to exchange confused looks. Both were wondering the same thing. What kind of future had he seen to change him so much?


The cliffhangers are important. I'm just not about to reveal something so sensitive so soon. ;)