You all know what this update means, right? I finally have my computer back from the repair shop! :D I'm so happy to be able to get back to my stories again. It was a good break and one I didn't realize I needed, but now that it's back where it belongs I'm ready to dive in head first. Expect more updates down the road. For now though I figured this one needed another update. This chapter's a bit longer than the others, but I don't really care about chapter length anymore. I may go back and fix a few things in this chapter, but for the most part I'm happy with it and I hope you all enjoy it too!
Chapter Fourteen
The rest of the ride back to Midgar was a silent one. Cloud's stomach had decided to behave for the most part after the shock of the general's strange emotion. Sephiroth wasn't willing to say anything else on the matter either and pretended as if it never happened. What the general needed was some time alone in his office. He'd claim to be doing paperwork, but planned to ignore it entirely in favor of having some peace and time to himself to think things through. Fate however wasn't so kind.
The moment they arrived in Midgar he was summoned to the labs so Hojo could hold his annual checkup. Sephiroth knew that was not the case. His annual checkup was not for another two months. He was curious about his state after returning from Nibelheim. This only further proved the warnings from the future that the man couldn't be trusted. Not that Sephiroth had to be convinced of that, but the danger and the circumstances had drastically increased. Hojo wasn't just a creep, he was a monster.
The proof had been right in front of him when he thought back to when Cloud and Vincent joined him in the reactor before returning to his time. It was in the privacy of the eerie place that they relayed the most horrifying events of their past dealings with Hojo. Sephiroth has asked them why they waited until now to disclose it and the answer was a simple one. Their friends didn't need to hear the horrific events and it still bothered them to even talk about it to each other let alone someone who was once their most hated enemy.
Sephiroth understood, knowing there were a few tales of early tests done in his childhood that would never see the light of day again. Some he had forgotten and was thankful for it. He would not allow Hojo to try anything so foolish with him as he had the others. Of that he was certain. And Sephiroth couldn't think of a reason to keep him alive, other than the fact that even he could be court marshaled and considered a traitor. It would then become a man hunt and orders would be issues out to the highest ranking members to take him out. Whether by the Turks (most likely) or another First Class, but Sephiroth knew Zack would never attack him, especially with what he knew.
In fact, Zack would most likely join him, along with the young Cloud, who now knew of both his destiny and his potential, at least Sephiroth had hoped he fully grasped the idea. He seemed sharp enough, but did this Cloud have the same resolve and determination as his future counterpart? Only time would tell. For now, he had to pretend like nothing had changed. If not for changing the tragedies of the past, Sephiroth would have been more firm about remaining in the future. Rebuilding SOLDIER seemed a lot easier in comparison.
"You look unwell," Hojo observed.
"Merely tired," the general replied coolly. "The search for Genesis has been keeping me busy, and this latest mission has not helped."
"Are those excuses? I thought I taught you better than that," came the heartless reply. Like a father getting onto a child for bad grades. Disappointment then, that it wasn't something else. Then again, knowing Hojo, he was fishing for clues. He wouldn't find any. Sephiroth was onto his game. He'd throw his own false bait.
"I was also disappointed not to learn more of my mother. It seemed the lab may have held more information about her."
"Yes," Hojo agreed.
Sephiroth inwardly smirked. This was how you got information. Let the fish bite your hook and then turn that fish into bait for bigger prey.
"Unfortunately all information regarding her was in that lab. I try not to make a habit of crisscrossing my many projects, and their numbers are extensive."
Wonderful, that meant that he had made countless people suffer in his experiments. Not that the general was surprised. It just sickened him all the more. "But, you must have known her personally, what was she like?"
He could tell Hojo was thinking his reply carefully. One misstep and it could backfire later. "She was very dominating and commanded a room like no other. But for all her ferocity she had a soft, gentle voice. I recall it was rather soothing.. but recalling a voice doesn't matter. She's gone now. The Turks discovered he remains just north of Nibelheim. There wasn't much left."
North of the town was the reactor. So that thing was the monster Cloud and Vincent and warned him of. Good. Now that it was dead the threat level had decreased dramatically. Now there was just Hojo and Shinra to deal with, but he'd need more time.
Down in the Sector five slums, Zack was guiding his two friends through the garbage-ridden path towards one of his favorite hang outs. "You guys are gonna love her. She's the nicest person you'll ever meet."
"You've already told us five times already," Tifa remarked with annoyance. She didn't mind meeting the person he kept bragging about, but he would not stop talking about her.
"He's got a serious crush on her," Cloud whispered to her which made her smirk with amusement while Zack whirled around and pouted at his friend.
"I heard that!"
When they got to the abandoned church Zack's energy levels seemed to double. Tifa and Cloud had to jog just to keep up with him. He didn't wait as he pushed open one of the doors and stepped inside.
As the two entered Tifa let her eyes take in the scene before her. The church had certainly seen better days. Some of the pews were rotten and there was a big hole in the ceiling which was letting in actual sunlight which streamed in from an open space in the plate hundreds of feet above them. What was most impressive was the floor directly below the light. Where the floorboards had rotted away beautiful flowers had grown through the rich soil. Tifa had been blown away by the sheer size of the city both above and below, but this sight was amazing. Especially when both Zack and Cloud has said that hardly anything grows in Midgar. To see flowers blooming this strong was impressive.
"They're even more beautiful than the flowers back home," she commented aloud.
Cloud didn't say anything, but he slowly nodded. "This is the first time I've been here myself. When Zack told me the girl had a flower garden I didn't expect it to be like this."
"What do you mean?" asked Zack. "I told you she had an amazing garden."
"I just thought you were exaggerating," the blonde replied.
Zack just shook his head at his friend before looking around. "Aerith, you here? It's your favorite SOLDIER come for a visit!"
When no one appeared He tried again, still nothing. He looked around and knocked on the back door and still there was no sign of the flower girl. With a sigh Zack plopped down on one of the pews which groaned under the sudden weight.
"Maybe she didn't come today," Tifa offered.
"No way, she always tends to her garden every day. We probably just missed her," he replied. "Guess we'll have to come back tomorrow."
"Do you know where she lives," asked Cloud.
Zack shook his head. "There was never any need to meet her there, though I probably should have asked."
"Well it's too late to worry about that now," added Tifa who turned towards the door. "Let's head out and try again tomorrow. I'd like to find someplace nice to stay for the night."
Zack smirked as he looked over at Cloud. "Why not let her stay with you?"
The blonde gave him a deadpan look before replying. "You perfectly know well why. I live on-base in a bunker with three other infantry. And last I checked it was against regulation to bring civilians past the gate unless under orders…" Zack gave his friend an evil grin. "No Zack. Don't even think about it. Where will she sleep? There are only two bunk beds in there and there's no room for a fifth. No. I won't subject her to that."
Zack's grin only grew. "What are you getting so worked up for? All I did was smile. You're the one digging yourself a nice grave."
Cloud couldn't hide how flustered he was and Tifa failed to suppress a giggle. The First Class SOLDIER just stood and stretched. "I was going to offer her my couch, but if you want to make her suffer in a cramped space filled with smelly, stinky military men then that's your call."
"You were not," Cloud argued. "I know that look."
"Do you?" Zack countered. "Trust me, you and I may be friends, but there's still many things you don't know about me Spiky."
Cloud didn't doubt that, but he wasn't too keen on Tifa staying in Zack's apartment.
"Don't I get a say in this," asked Tifa who had come over to lean against the back of the pew they were sitting on.
"Of course, but I assumed you'd like to have enough room to stretch and relax. Not to mention have a shower all to yourself. Infantry only get two showers per room and there's no solid door, just tattered old curtains."
Cloud wanted to tell Tifa Zack was exaggerating, but he was being perfectly honest. Since the infantry was the lowest class of military in the city and mostly used for grunt missions they were treated with little to no respect while a highly decorated First Class like him was treated almost like royalty.
"I think it's best if you take Zack's offer," Cloud told her.
"You don't think I can handle a room of boys?" Tifa asked, sounding offended.
"I have no doubts, but I also know that one of the men in my room has a rough history. He made it to SOLDIER only to get caught and demoted the next day for some pretty serious crimes. Thankfully he hadn't gotten his mako shots yet."
"If the crimes were that bad why is he still in the military at all," she asked.
"Because it wasn't treason," Zack replied. "I remember him. He was always a bully, but then he had to go and assault that woman…" he stopped when Cloud was making a motion with his hand across his throat, silently asking him not to tell her. He blinked in reply and looked back at Tifa. "It still makes me sick when I read the report and I won't repeat it." He waited a moment before smirking sheepishly, "I guess that settles it then, you'll be staying with me for now until we can find you a more suitable place to stay."
They left the church soon after. Zack felt a little deflated when he couldn't see Aerith, but he knew he'd see her soon. They walked around Wall Market for a bit, exploring the stores and doing a bit of window shopping. Tifa went inside one of the shops when she noticed they were selling materia and bought a fire element. They stopped at a small diner for lunch when Cloud got a message on his PHS.
"I gotta go. There's a mission for me to take care of nearby. I'll see you later."
Tifa watched him go while Zack waved him off. Then it was just the two of them. Zack was digging into his burger while Tifa was watching the area where Cloud had left while sipping from her to-go cup. "Still the same."
"What's that," asked Zack through a mouthful of burger bun.
"In some ways he's so different, but in others he hasn't changed."
Zack chased his bite down with a big gulp from his drink. "Really? I haven't known him that long, only a few months, but I knew right away he was a good guy. How's he different?"
Tifa smiled softly as he took another sip. "He's more outgoing then when we were kids. He used to be so shy and wouldn't approach me unless I was alone. I can't blame him though, the rest of the kids in town were jerks. At least the boys were and they were really unfair to him." Zack saw her eyes shift upwards as she got lost in a childhood memory. "It's different now though," she continued. "Maybe it's the military that's helped him, or maybe it was getting out of Nibelheim, but whatever it was I'm glad he's discovering who he's supposed to be."
What she said hit a bit too close to home for Zack. The memory of what the general had told them washed over him like a flood. Zack easily recalled the look of utter shock when Sephiroth told them what he had done to Cloud's hometown in another life. The pain and torture he had suffered and then everything that led up to him facing the general more than once in a life or death battle for the entire world. It was definitely enough to change a person. And the worst part was they hadn't really had a chance to process it all. After just arriving in Midgar they still had normal missions and infantryman especially had to watch their backs. They were given the worst jobs and a fair few were dangerous enough to warrant the company of a few SOLDIERs to tag along. It reminded Zack that he needed to remind Sephiroth of his promise to help Cloud who claimed to have fought with the future blonde and lost. Zack still had a hard time believing that, but the general never made up crazy stories, especially where he lost a fight. That was practically unheard of.
Cloud hurried to where the mission said to report to and the further he went the more suspicious he became. The directions had led him into a dark and secluded ally, away from the eyes of any passersby. He kept feeling like he was being watched. He knew that the slums were far from safe, but the standard issued rifle he carried should have warded off most thugs.
He took a slow, deep breath to calm his nerves. It was pointless getting worked up over shadows and street punks. He could handle himself just fine. He should have kept his guard up better. A can flew out of the darkness and struck the wall behind him. As Cloud turned and trained his rifle on the noise something fell over him and all he saw was red.
A/N: I'll try to have the next update out soon. After almost two months I'm excited to write again. :)
