Writer's Note: So many of you readers have been with me since practically the beginning, and I am completely humbled that you have still stuck with me even through a lot of starts and stops. So thank you thank you thank you to those of you who messaged/reviewed/PMed me to show your support. This next chapter could not have gotten out nearly as fast without you. That said, the last chunk of this chapter has gone through revision after revision, but as I will be on holiday tomorrow I wanted to get it out before I leave. So I don't think it's perfect, but I hope you like it nonetheless.
(Also, I've never actually played the sequence when Junon is attacked in Crisis Core, so I probably mucked up the details. Let's all pretend it's just the ripple effect…)
Green Dreams
Chapter Thirty-Five: Übermensch
"Goddamnit!" Reno cursed as he took the corner too sharply and banged his shoulder on the brick. One more bruise to add to his collection thanks to a small army's worth of Genesises. Genesi? "Fucking clones!"
He was chasing two of them through the streets of Junon. Most of the cannon compound had been breached at this point; the Turks weren't really equipped to handle clones of a First Class SOLDIER, and they'd gotten rather sleepy with their patrols—Tseng was going to whip them later for that. But for now, these winged nuts might not have the same strength and agility as the original Genesis, but they sure did pack a punch.
Somewhere in the haste to get off the roof where they were standing targets and into the heart of the attack, Reno had lost Rude. However, he'd also remembered something vital: Hollander escaped. That's what Cloud had told him. An attack by Genesis clones to free the scientist, and damn if Reno wasn't in the middle of it.
He took the next corner a bit less sharply and careened on to the street adjacent to the jailhouse. All the doors and windows were barred of course, with the standard metal grates for double protection, but it wasn't built to withstand the kind of materia blasts the clones were hitting it with. The two clones he'd been following had disappeared, but there was a bigger problem ahead.
"Hey you assholes!" he shouted up, hoping to get the hovering clones' attention. Two glanced his way, but they didn't move from the protective circle they'd formed around the single winged guy that had the materia. Guarding him then. That was just great.
Reno started running for the next building over where there was a stairwell—Heidegger's constant patrol changes were good for one thing: he knew the general layout of the whole area—and started to climb. Thank god for all that military training, because four stories up and he wasn't as winded as he thought he'd be.
The materia blasts on the wall of the jailhouse were getting louder and more frequent, which probably meant they were breaking through. Reno drew the gun he'd re-holstered and took aim as he topped the fifth floor and started to fire.
The clones were strong, but their wings weren't that tough, and a few bullet holes would usually drop them to the ground, or at least make flying very difficult. Of course, now that he was attacking the most important part of the siege on Junon, he had three winged assholes on him.
"Fuck!" he yelled, breaking off on to the rooftop to make some space. He had his nightstick—finally, as a Turk he could use whatever weapon he wanted—but three on one were not good odds.
Reno didn't get far before gunshots exploded across the rooftop, and Rude landed a moment later on one knee, head shiny with sweat but otherwise immaculate.
"What took you so long?" Reno yelled, waving his gun at his partner.
Rude punched the nearest angel-dude instead of answering, and Reno took real pleasure in electrocuting the next one.
It took precious minutes to take down the three, and neither Rude nor Reno had come out unscathed. Reno's suit was torn up, buttons missing and his belt cut almost completely off, which was making his pants awkwardly slide down. Rude's knuckles were bloodied and sunglasses cracked, at least until he pulled another pair out of his suit pocket and slipped them on without a word.
"They're trying to free Hollander," Reno explained as he tried to draw breath, kicking the nearest guy on the ground. Thanks to all the shocks Reno had to give them before he could land a killing blow, the winged guys were starting to smell slightly like roasted pigeon, and it was making Reno hungry.
"Too late," Rude intoned.
"Ah shit." Reno spat as he finally looked back over at the jailhouse to see a gaping hole where Hollander's cell must have been. "Fantastic. Just what I need."
Rude's head turned sharply to the side. Reno followed his look and realized maybe their luck hadn't quite run out. Hollander must have only just gotten out, because he was running down the street with two angels for back up.
As one, Rude and Reno raced down the fire escape, making quite the racket. On ground level they ran after Hollander as closely as they could, but the scientist was surprisingly quick and he weaved in and out of alleys to maintain distance. Reno could swear out of the corner of his eyes there was someone in dark red following too.
Hollander's path went back toward the cannon complex with Reno and Rude panting at his heels. The scientist rushed into the open square outside the cannon's main gates just in time to get hit by three rounds fired from off to the right. Reno swung around fast enough to hurt, but couldn't see who in the shadows had fired them. Hollander went down, but unfortunately his angel buddies didn't. Together they hoisted the man up and with astonishing speed got him into the air. Reno, Rude, and the mystery guy kept firing to bring him down, but two more winged guys appeared to fend them off, and before long Hollander was up on the roof of the cannon's building wheezing but alive.
"What is he gonna do?" Reno gasped as they drew to a stop. Two angels were down, Hollander was wounded, and the red-caped dude was long gone from his hiding spot. This attack just kept getting weirder. "Sprout wings and fly?"
Rude adjusted his glasses and checked his ammunition. It was looking like a possibility.
The Turks on the cannon would have to deal with this one though, because there were more fights going on and more problems on the ground. Reno and Rude fought through another small wave of angels undoubtedly there to cover Hollander and make sure he got away. By the time they'd downed another seven, the scientist was long gone and the fight was over.
In the aftermath everyone rounded up the nearby bodies and piled them up in the center of the compound, finding there were around forty of the identical bastards, all wearing the face of the missing First Class SOLDIER. Not that Reno was supposed to know that until Veld appeared in the midst of the Turks and announced it.
"This is further confirmation of ex-First Class SOLDIER Genesis Rhapsodos and Professor Hollander's association. It also indicates that Hollander does not need to be present in order to create these clones." He looked down on the corpses; face blank as usual. They were kind of creepy all stacked together like this; like a bunch of broken dolls.
Reno looked away and instead tried to read Tseng's expression. with the sudden return of their leader, it had to be kind of awkward to have his position usurped again so suddenly, but of course the Turk gave nothing away.
"President Shinra has reinstated me as head of the Administrative Research Department," Veld finished with, giving no explanation for how that had happened. He walked off to join Heidegger, who was for once not laughing, leaving Tseng to deal with clean up.
"Burn all the bodies. Six teams go out and make sure the rest of the city is clear. The attack was concentrated in this area, but they approached from all sides. Return for at 1900 for an analysis on our defense." Tseng bit the last words off, clearly pissed at how long it had taken the Turks to kill the encroachers. None of the Turks were stupid enough to wince or show any visible reaction, but a kind of collective shudder went around when Tseng strode off.
Rude and Reno were assigned to the eastern part of the city to clear the streets, combing the suburbs for any traces of the clones. The people had been warned to stay inside by emergency sirens, and no announcement it was safe had happened yet, probably on Tseng's orders. The fewer rumors there were about Genesis clones the better.
"Reno! Hey Reno!"
The redhead jumped a bit at the sound of his name being whisper-shouted, and peered down an adjacent side street, deeply suspicious. Rude was on the other side of a small park checked the side streets too, and Reno had only heard his partner say his name a grand total of four times.
"Over here! It's me, Dan!"
Reno's eyebrows were crawling into his hairline as he peeked over someone's fence. Sure enough, hiding in front of a gated house behind some bushes was Dan. He had longer, floppier hair like it hadn't been cut recently, and his clothing was a little ill fitting, but Reno would recognize that stupidly happy expression any day. He'd woken up to it way too many times.
"So you grew a pair and defected," Reno said in lieu of a greeting.
"No! It's… well, it's more complicated than that. I have to know if those were really clones out there," Dan said, almost near pleading. "That's what people are saying."
"Sorry, that's confidential, yo. Shinra only information on a need-to-know basis," Reno drawled, but a little piece of him felt reassured to see Dan was all right and even eating well. He'd honestly never thought he'd see the annoying kid again. "What are you doing here anyway? What happened during the exam?"
"No really, were those clones? Of a guy named Genesis?" Dan persisted.
Reno's eyes narrowed and straightened slightly from his slouch. "How do you know about Genesis?"
"Because I met him in the forest! I followed Cloud from the campsite but I got lost and ran into him."
"You just followed some guy in a forest?" Reno interrupted incredulously, wondering how Dan was still alive if he had such shitty instincts.
"Well I was lost and there were monsters," he said, constantly glancing around. Reno could see Rude in the distance waiting by the end of the park, but he wasn't approaching and Reno sent a short thank you to the Planet for having one awesome partner. "Anyway, I followed Genesis to this blown up building and it was the Nibelheim Reactor I learned later. Someone had attacked it! Genesis was really mad about that—"
"Wait, wait. Attacked it?" Reno repeated. "And this Genesis guy was pissed?"
"Yeah. It was just a pile of metal when I saw it. That wasn't the only thing destroyed either, but Genesis left after seeing the reactor. There was an old mansion owned by Shinra in town too that burned down." Dan was watching the play of emotions across Reno's face curiously.
The redhead, meanwhile, was calling Cloud every unsavory thing he could think of in his head. He was going to pin the blond down like those butterflies Tseng hung on his wall until he talked. Cloud had said he'd checked the reactor for Jenova during the exam, but conveniently forgot to mention he might have stopped at a couple more places and picked up a sledgehammer on the way. That was quite the omission, but also something Reno hadn't seen reported. Now that was curious.
"Alright, I gotta think about how to strangle Cloud later. How the hell did you get back here?"
"You think Cloud did that? I don't think that's really something he'd do," Dan argued instead.
"Trust me, I know Cloud a lot better than you think," Reno replied, knowing Cloud would be very interested in an ex-SOLDIER poking around the Nibelheim reactor. "You know Junon is Shinra-owned right?"
"It's my home!" Dan yelped, thankfully letting go of the Cloud part of the conversation. "Where else could I go? I ended up in Nibelheim like I said, and a nice snow-plower drove me down the mountain and nearly to the Gold Saucer. I knew I couldn't go back to Shinra then, so I came home and I've been living in the carriage house at my grandmother's." Dan swept a hand back to encompass the house. Reno had been totally right, kid had money.
"Okay, your life I guess," Reno said skeptically. Dan had remained under the radar this long probably because he was never SOLDIER material, and as long as he stayed that way he'd live. Not a life Reno ever wanted, but whatever, he had other problems. "Alright, now tell me word for word what this Genesis guy said to you."
"Not until you tell me what he was doing here! And what you're doing here. That's not a SOLDIER uniform."
"I'm a Turk."
"Like the recruiters?" Dan asked, and Reno grunted an affirmative.
"Kinda like that. More of a…we'll-kill-you-if-you-don't-join department. Now what did Genesis want in Nibelheim?"
Dan was eyeing Reno with distrust, probably thinking the redhead was exaggerating—which he would be if it weren't Shinra. "He said it was his mission and started quoting stuff from this book. He was interested in the exam too, but when I asked if he was going to Rocket Town he ran off." Reno groaned. Nothing useful then.
"You said Genesis was wearing red?"
"Yeah, red cape with a long red sword."
"Dark red?"
"No," Dan shook his head looking thoughtful, "more of a Carnelian red."
"What the hell is Carnelian red?" Reno snarled, but Dan wasn't intimidated by him anymore. At least hanging around Cloud had done the kid some good. "Okay, so not-so-dark red cape, kinda ripped on the bottom?"
Dan frowned, thinking. "No. He was dressed really nicely; had good style."
Reno heaved a put-upon a sigh. "Okay, look, you hear more about Genesis or anything weird call me." He scribbled his PHS number on the back of Dan's hand before the kid could complain. "I'll tell Cloud you're alive so he doesn't bury himself in guilt. And don't get fucking caught by Shinra, because you might be serving life in the army for defecting and then Cloud's gonna have to blow the General to get you out."
Dan wouldn't stop smiling, which made Reno want to punch him, but he settled for shoving the former cadet back into the bushes and stalking over to Rude.
The silent Turk didn't raise any eyebrows or ask any questions about what he'd seen.
"I'll tell you later," Reno finally relented, wondering how many people Cloud had killed in the future, and whether he'd murder Reno for telling Rude.
Vincent studied the corpse carefully; noting how the skin was baby-smooth and the wings grew straight out of the shoulder blades like true extensions of the body. There was no scar tissue and no surgical markings of any kind to indicate experimentation. This was a true clone, but one that hadn't had any consideration for its own life—more of a drone really.
The ex-Turk wasn't familiar with Genesis, a former First Class SOLDIER, but many of the current Turks were, and he'd listened to their chatter from a stolen radio. It confirmed what Cloud had told him: Genesis had defected along with another First Class almost a year ago and had been a thorn in Shinra's side ever since. Thanks to Shinra's machinations though, he was too powerful to be killed by anyone except the General or a concentrated group of Firsts. It was no surprise then that Cloud's story of Sephiroth's defection had resulted in catastrophe if one First going rogue was this bad.
Vincent shook his head at the folly of man and left the clone's body to be found and went to find a place to stay for the night. Despite the Turks' presence here, it seemed they hadn't been anticipating the attack. Cloud had predicted it though, and he'd been quite accurate except for Zack's presence. There were no Firsts here, no one other than the standard Third Class SOLDIERs on guard duty at the city gates.
As before, Hollander had gotten away, and Vincent hadn't been able to do much to allay that because of the sheer number of Turks around. As it were, several had spotted him in and around the area, so come Saturday he'd been twice as careful in his spying, and by the evening was resigned to finding somewhere seedy to avoid the Turks. It didn't take him long to spot a hole-in-the-wall bar with a flickering sign and a back-alley entrance.
"Beer?"
He nodded at the surly bartender who filled his glass. The drink no longer affected him after what Hojo had done, but he had to purchase something to remain in the bar.
Friday night and all day Saturday had been spent collecting leads from the townsfolk and stalking a few of the Turk patrols to listen in on their gossip. Most of it was of interest to Vincent but unrelated to Hollander. His partner from when he'd been a Turk, Veld, was still around, which was a bit of a surprise given the average life expectancy of a Turk. Veld had been skilled, a quick draw and a good shot, and more than a little clever. If anyone were going to outlive most Turks it would have been him.
He'd returned to lead the Turks like he'd never left, though whyhe'd left at all sparked a lot of rumors involving AVALANCHE and compromised security. It was also unclear how he'd returned, but most of the speculation was more ridiculous than likely. Vincent knew Veld was perfectly capable of any means necessary to get what he wanted though, so the ex-Turk filed it all away.
A man stumbled into the bar banging the door and interrupting Vincent's train of thought. He laughed loudly as he ordered a drink from the barman, and his blue suit was rumpled, shirt un-tucked and tie askew. There was no mistaking the Turk outfit or the red hair though. Vincent sunk further into the shadows of the booth and watched the rookie Turk. He seemed plenty comfortable in this seamy area, lighting up a joint from a man on one of the bar stools and chatting along with an exaggerated but definitely native Midgar street accent.
He'd been the one chasing Hollander, Vincent recalled. For all his drunken gesticulating and weaving now, the kid had bright eyes on the street.
Vincent slipped out as silently as he'd come in, leaving his money on the table, but he only made it to the end of the alleyway before someone shouted behind him.
"Hey you!" It was the redheaded Turk, he saw at a fleeting glance. "Guy with the gold shoes!"
Vincent didn't stop though, turning the corner and quickly scaling the side of a building before the redhead could follow. He was halfway out of town before Reno stopped calling for him and went grumbling back to the bar.
The weekend was supposed to be a break for the SOLDIERs, with no mandatory meetings or training sessions and all the gyms, pools, and weapon lockers open. Of course, Cloud was usually more than happy to train with Zack, but he'd rather been hoping for a break from the First. He'd been spared on Saturday, but Zack hadn't stayed away long.
Cloud started his routine, ignoring Zack who was hovering nearby. The First hadn't offered to do an extra training session this weekend, but he'd popped in now to watch. Only when Cloud had started his workout what Zack really wanted came out.
"Come on Cloud," he whined after getting two firm rejections. "Seph is ordering in the really nice stuff from this fancy restaurant. Aren't you sick of cafeteria food?"
"No Zack," he said shortly, counting breaths as he did press-ups. Arm and shoulder muscles were the most important area he needed to work on to wield the buster sword properly, though he fully intended to do a whole-body workout.
They'd had all their usual sessions that week, and Zack had been perfectly professional and friendly, but Cloud knew that every time he looked away, every time he mastered a form quickly or did something unexpected in a fight, Zack would get this look on his face.
He and Sephiroth seemed to believe him when he'd said Angeal hadn't trained him, but Cloud knew their suspicions had only gotten stronger. Tuesday's… hallucination had been bad for all of them. Zack had broached it once concerned about his mental health, and he'd gotten a long stare from Sephiroth in the hallway the next morning that told him enough: Zack thought Cloud was dealing with some kind of PTSD, but Sephiroth thought there was more to it.
"He's got a really fancy apartment! Or we can do it at mine if that's better," Zack wheedled. The First had gotten wind of Sephiroth's invitation for dinner, and now the General was following up on it—by sending the Puppy to talk Cloud into going.
"I don't want to."
"I won't ask any questions; no poking and prodding." Cloud's eyes slid over to Zack, who was sitting on the floor by him. The First was abashed enough to realize the experiment metaphor was a bad one. "Just dinner with friends."
Cloud refocused his gaze. He didn't know how to make Zack's persistence stop, but maybe for once honesty was the best policy. Zack already knew Cloud was hiding secrets after all. "I don't want to keep lying to you."
"Then don't," Zack said flatly, his irritation slipping in.
"Isn't there anything else we can talk about?" Cloud grit out, angry all over again with himself and with Zack for pushing. He'd promised to focus more on the future and less on his friendships, but Zack was making it difficult. He finished his set on anger alone and rolled over to start doing crunches, glad that the paced breathing and exertion let him channel his frustration.
Zack sighed loudly. "Maybe Seph just wants a break from work, thought of that Cloud? The General's been swamped since the exams, and now the attack on Junon and the reports out of Cosmo Canyon and the Golden Saucer. They're talking about sending more SOLDIERs out to both places."
Cloud knew all about the attack on Junon thanks to Reno's call. The redhead hadn't been able to give him much detail over the phone because of wiretapping—Turks called it "conference calling" as a joke according to Reno—but Cloud had gotten the gist of it. Hollander was free, Tseng was pissed, and Dan was alive.
"What reports from Cosmo Canyon?" he asked between breaths. Zack lied down next to him and started to do crunches too since he hated to watch someone else train. He didn't pant when he answered though.
"Couple guys out there did a lot of damage. No one dead, but a lot of injuries and a lot of freaked out people. Though they did kill a bunch of guards in the Golden Saucer."
"Gang?"
"Maybe, though the report made them sound kinda crazy. They were bothering people and weirding them out." Cloud paused just a moment in the middle of a crunch, struck by how he didn't remember this information before. Maybe Zack had never passed it on.
"What did they want?"
"Inconclusive. Seems like they mostly wanted to stir people up." There was a tinge of annoyance in Zack's tone, but he otherwise described it like any mission. "Anyway, I think Seph just wants to relax for an evening. If I go alone I'll get stuck listening to his critique of the food and complaints about his new secretary the whole night. You can't leave me like that, Cloud." Zack did his best pout, but Cloud wasn't looking. He felt torn between wanting to please Zack, and putting distance between these attachments.
It didn't help that Zack was still begging. "You can also see Masamune's decorative sheath," the First added to sweeten the deal. "It's worth more than my bike. Sephiroth loves talking about it but I've heard the story at least three times, so just come and ask him one question about it. He'll be thrilled to have a new audience."
Cloud would have sighed if he hadn't been breathing carefully between crunches. He really shouldn't because the future… but if he could steer the discussion to talk of recent events, like Junon and Genesis and possibly even Lazard, it might be of value to him. And he did want to know why Lazard might seek out Zack.
"…Alright. Just… I'm not going to answer any questions."
"Yes!" Zack punched the air, uncurling from the ground. "That took less than an hour! Seph's paying for the whole dinner now."
"You bet on me?" Cloud asked incredulously, counting out his last three crunches before rolling to stand up.
"Don't worry, I had a feeling you couldn't resist good food. Although… Seph was gonna pay to retrofit my bike with new tires if I could get you to agree to another spar with him…"
"No."
Zack chuckled, already knowing Cloud would definitely refuse that. "You know," he said thoughtfully, pretending not to analyze every one of Cloud's facial ticks, "after that first injection when you kicked my ass in the bathroom, he said you moved way faster than any Third Class he'd ever seen."
Cloud's expression that had been hovering near light-hearted turned flat almost immediately upon remembering that experience. Zack pursed his lips but hid his dismay. "I'm just saying he was impressed, and he thinks you've got a lot of potential."
"I'm already going to dinner, you don't have to flatter me too," Cloud said churlishly, unhappy about the reminder of the injections. He was regretting accepting dinner now. Zack had promised no questions, but Sephiroth had not, and it wouldn't be against the General's nature to take advantage of that kind of technicality.
"I'm being honest, Cloud," Zack said quickly, sensing that Cloud might take back his acceptance or just plain not show up for the dinner now. "He really likes you. Seph doesn't invite people over to his place. I'm pretty sure other than me and… some other First Classes he's never had anyone else over. It's a real compliment."
Cloud just shrugged, but he was starting to read as more uncomfortable than angry, which Zack counted as a win. "I know you like swords too and trust me, that sheath is a great talking point. He loves talking about it to people who appreciate swordplay."
Thick wasn't a strong enough word to describe Zack's buttering up, but it was worth it just to see the tips of Cloud's ears go red as he ducked his head slightly. Zack threw an arm around the blond and hid his grin in his spikes. Sephiroth and Cloud weren't exactly healthy, well-rounded individuals, but maybe some of their jagged edges could fit together. Of course, Cloud's secrets were a giant impediment even as they reeled Sephiroth in.
"Alright! Be at my place by 1800, and if you don't show I'll come looking. Seph's apartment requires a special keycard for security purposes."
"Sure," Cloud muttered, shrugging out of the embrace. Zack let him go, smiling fondly outwardly but still watching Cloud carefully. He and Sephiroth had spent a lot of time going back and forth over Cloud's admissions and what they'd gleaned from his actions in that mako haze.
Zack considered those things and Cloud's reticence all week as he rode the elevator up to the General's office, because of course Sephiroth would be working on a Sunday. He'd forced the General out from behind his desk yesterday though for a hard spar in the desert. Sephiroth had won of course, but Zack had done his best to make it difficult—in fact, he'd even used that wrist-twist he'd seen Cloud do.
"Hope you went to the ATM!" he sing-songed as he walked in the door.
"Credit card," Sephiroth replied without looking up. "Am I going to have to check the security tapes to be sure you aren't lying?"
"Cross my heart," Zack joked, making the X over his chest. "He just really doesn't want to talk." The First flopped into the available chair and immediately put his boots on the desk. "I tried to mention the injections casually, and he turned right back into a robot. He's been like that all week."
Sephiroth nudged the boots back off with his pen. "I am not surprised. Whatever secrets he is keeping are not hidden once mako is in his system. It is an obvious weakness he knows we will take advantage of." Sephiroth had devoted a lot of time to picking apart the hallucinations, but there wasn't much to go on, and right now there was a more volatile puzzle to solve.
Laid out in front of him were the reports from Cosmo Canyon and the Golden Saucer. The security tapes had been collected from the casino, and the descriptions from the canyon matched the video, but it was anyone's guess where the men had come from. Three silver-haired men of varying sizes with significant combat training had made of mess of both places. Human security had been easily overwhelmed, which prompted the General to seriously consider a contingent of Thirds to go out there.
There was something else too.
"Prior to the Golden Saucer we don't have any sightings," he explained even though Zack hadn't asked. The First was leaning on the desk to see the papers. "But there was the destruction of two Shinra properties in Nibelheim."
Zack's eyes widened as Sephiroth handed him the reports on the Shinra Mansion and Nibelheim reactor. He flipped through them reading a few passages here and there. "I'd heard something had been destroyed, including the reactor, but that was one of the oldest ones out there. Most SOLDIERs thought it was done by a demolition crew." The pictures obviously told another story. The Mansion had seemingly collapsed after being eaten away by fire, and the reactor… the exterior shell was heavily damaged but standing, however the inside was trashed.
"They were destroyed from the inside out," Sephiroth concurred. "The reactor was physically destroyed with a sledgehammer or similar weapon, causing instability in the mako and fuel compounds and generating a series of explosions. Some kind of monster in the Mansion burned it to the ground, but it's unlikely that was a coincidence. Evidence suggests both events happened within a 24-hour period."
"Planet," Zack murmured. "You think these three did that?"
Sephiroth hesitated for just a moment, almost eerily like Cloud's nanosecond hesitation when Zack had mentioned the Cosmo Canyon violence. "The Mansion was used for experimentation. It is… very likely the sight where Cloud was tested on."
Zack's eyes only had to flick to the top of the report to see the dates. "Why didn't you tell me?" he asked sharply.
"I have not told Cloud I am aware," Sephiroth said instead of answering, but the stare he was boring into the desk made it obvious why. He could empathize with Cloud's anger and frustration, and if he could burn Shinra Headquarters to the ground he would do it too. Zack forgave him a little as he understood this, but if he'd known before he might have been able to weave that into what he'd told Cloud about the Golden Saucer and Cosmo Canyon.
Zack breathed out a bit noisily to gather his thoughts. "Okay, but now you think this might not be Cloud's work at all? And these three guys instead?"
"It's a possibility," Sephiroth conceded. "I too was in Nibelheim for a short while as a babe. It may have been destroyed with similar motive to Cloud." Neither of them mentioned aloud the silver hair all three unknowns sported, but the conclusion was… it was why Sephiroth was here on a Sunday pouring over the documents.
"Looks like we'll have to ask Cloud then," Zack said tiredly. He rubbed his eyes, unhappy with the idea. He knew Cloud was going to be pissed. The thought of pressing charges didn't occur to either of them though. Other than destruction of property, Cloud hadn't killed anyone or damaged anything remotely important. It would also be an easy way to drive him and all his secrets into a locked box forever. "I told him you didn't want to talk about work though."
"It does not mean it could not be mentioned," Sephiroth commented casually, mind switching gears as he sat back. Cloud was almost a familiar problem now, he thought with a bit of fondness.
"And if Cloud did it? What then? It was a stupid thing to do."
"Or calculated," Sephiroth said, lips pursing slightly as he considered. "With the Mansion gone, any evidence regarding his experimentation that isn't on Hojo's private servers was eliminated. Thus preventing us from finding whatever secret he wanted to hide."
"And the reactor?" Zack flipped a few pages in the report, skimming the comments Sephiroth had written in the margins, including a number underlined in red. "Report Altered," he murmured, recognizing Sephiroth's handwriting. Zack had to skim through a few more times to see what Sephiroth did: all of the pictures were of the same angles of the room, neglecting other views and leaving obvious holes in the image painted of the interior of the reactor. "They're hiding something."
"Yes. Tseng was kind enough to fax me the unedited reports." Sephiroth's voice was as expressionless as always, but the way his fingers flexed as he pushed a manila envelope on the table over gave him away. This wasn't an easy subject for him, and Zack wondered just what Tseng had been threatened with to give it up. He flipped open the folder and saw a plethora of pictures that were… very, very damning.
"Planet, what were they doing?"
"Early human experimentation," Sephiroth said drily, gaze fixed on the back wall now, miles away. "We'll never know exactly without Hojo's files."
"This is mako-based though," Zack felt he had to point out. "Cloud had no mako exposure prior to his first injection." Even as he said it, the First knew that Cloud would've destroyed this lab just on principle. He rubbed his hands down his face, a moment later remembering that Sephiroth's experimentation had been solely mako-based, and he'd just said he spent some time in Nibelheim as an infant.
"Even if Cloud did not do this, the fact remains that most of the evidence to his claims were there and are now gone," Sephiroth pointed out. "If the three unknowns are responsible, and given Cloud's missing time in the exam, it's logical to suggest he knows them."
That was a dangerous thing to say because those three had proven to be aggressive and lethal—any association would be damning for Cloud. "I won't believe that unless Cloud says it," Zack said forcefully. He still believed the hallucinations he and Sephiroth had witnessed had been from Cloud's experimentation. The blond suffered deep mental scars, but he wasn't anything like these three guys.
"Until otherwise proven I agree with you, Zack," Sephiroth replied, eyes flashing between all the scattered reports on his desk. "Cloud is very much a controlled individual, and has none of the neuroses or instability reported in these men." Sephiroth waved a hand over the blurry security footage of one, the smallest with hair covering one eye looking up at the camera. "That said, you have promised to not ask anything of Cloud tonight, but I have said nothing of the kind."
"He's going to hate you for resorting to a loophole," Zack pointed out.
"As he comes to know me he should expect it."
At 18:03 Zack was ready to march out the door and find whatever hole Cloud Strife had hidden himself in, but he forced himself to wait another agonizing two minutes before the new Third finally knocked on his door.
"I thought you weren't coming!" he said immediately as he opened the door to admit the resigned looking blond.
Cloud glanced at the clock, and then realizing how wrong Zack's kitchen clock was, pulled out his PHS instead. "I was five minutes late."
"Yeah well, when you hang around with Sephiroth you get used to his punctuality."
"Must not rub off," Cloud muttered under breath, forgetting that Zack could hear him and getting his hair mussed up for that.
"Come on, let's head up since I have no doubt at 18:16 on the dot I'll get a PHS call about my lateness," Zack joked, grabbing Sephiroth's spare keycard and nudging Cloud out the door.
Sephiroth lived in the same building as the Firsts, but he had the penthouse on the top floor. Zack chattered about the food they'd ordered as he swiped the keycard and the elevator automatically started to rise. When they reached the top the doors opened into a simple, but elegant foyer with plain, light-colored wood floors and the kind of stark, modern furniture that looked tastefully expensive.
Cloud toed his shoes off after Zack and padded behind him into an open-plan living and dining room with a stainless steel kitchen off to one side. Everything looked pristinely designed and mostly untouched, except for a few landscape paintings Sephiroth must have chosen. Parallel to the dining room table was an impressive set of floor-to-ceiling windows that offered a spectacular view of the desert and quite possible the ocean, though the cloudy sunset obscured the far-off view.
"Welcome," Sephiroth said, jolting Cloud from the mesmerizing view to one that garnered a very different stare. Sephiroth was dressed even more casually than he'd ever seen. The work shirt's top two buttons were undone, the shirt pulled up slightly like he'd been reaching up high, and he'd gone shoeless, just in black socks.
"Lemme help with the dishes, since apparently eating out of cartons is too good for you," Zack said with a smirk, and Cloud was still staring so hard he missed how Zack's eyes darted slyly between the General and the Third. "Go ahead and poke around, Cloud." Zack nudged him in the direction of the living room, as he walked by.
Prominently displayed on the far wall was an intricately painted and carved six-foot long sheath, which immediately drew the eye. The sword itself was resting on a stand in the corner, but Cloud approached the sheath slowly, examining the story told down the length of the etched wood. It looked like the fable Sephiroth had told him, about the beast Gilgamesh forging the sword.
"I met a man east of Gongaga that made it. He was formerly a blacksmith with great appreciation for unique weaponry," Sephiroth said suddenly from behind him, having gravitated over from the kitchen while Cloud was occupied. The blond had to consciously relax his shoulders from the start, because Sephiroth made no sound in socks. "He was the one who had the scroll with the story of Gilgamesh on it."
"What is this?" Cloud asked, careful not to touch as he pointed at a character about a third of the way into the etching. Gilgamesh had forged the blade now and was attacking some flying green bird with it. It looked vaguely like the Emerald Weapon.
"Valefor, as the Wutains call it. A great creature that comes from the depths of the Planet. It was the first beast Gilgamesh slew with the sword in the story. The blade absorbed some of the creature's skills, giving Masamune the ability to channel magic. Most of the rest of the sheath depicts similar battles."
Cloud swallowed a bit thickly as Sephiroth elaborated on some of the more interesting sequences. His voice was usually so expressionless, but now was rich with interest in this ancient Wutain tale. Cloud was only hearing about half of what he said, the rest just letting that sound wash over him.
"Gilgamesh remained undefeated, but in the story it is said he felt as though he were slain when his closest friend was killed. He was buried with the sword." That was the last part, right at the tip of the blade. A tiny seal there was the mark of the craftsman.
"How long did it take to make?" Cloud's voice almost sounded raspy, and he peeked up at Sephiroth from the corner of his eye. The General was examining the end of the blade in thought, but at Cloud's look his eyes flickered over.
"Three years in total."
Cloud looked back at the sheath, but his eyes were already returning to Sephiroth again. "It's beautiful," he said honestly.
"It is." They stared at each other for several long moments until the sound of utensils falling on the table broke them apart.
"Oops. Sorry to interrupt your moment," Zack said with an exaggerated wink, hands full of cutlery, "but I'm pretty sure Seph will kill me if I try to move the rice dish thing because it'll be a mess."
Cloud couldn't stop the flush up his neck as he realized just how absorbed he'd be in the story. Hadn't he come here intending to be less distracted by Zack and Sephiroth?
"Yes," Sephiroth's smooth voice cut through his embarrassment, but the General hadn't missed the sight of that blush. "I should cover a counter with plastic when you are visiting."
"Can I help?" Cloud offered as soon as Sephiroth padded away into the kitchen. Zack handed him the pile of silverware he was holding to set up, along with the plates while he went back in to retrieve some of the simpler entrees. Cloud strained his ears to hear if Sephiroth and Zack were talking in the kitchen as he laid everything out, but all he heard was something else clatter and then Sephiroth's deep voice saying, "This is why I chose the fortified dishes."
Not long after, the two reappeared with plain white dishes full of food and then went back for a second batch. With two First Class SOLDIERs and a Third, they could eat an elephant's share between them. There was some kind of roast stew with potatoes that appealed to Cloud's country roots, and ribs drizzled in sauce. There was a quiche too which Sephiroth said was seafood based, and baked tomatoes and pineapple that Zack would appreciate, among several more dishes. It all looked and smelled delicious, and just the sight was enough to make Cloud's mouth water.
"And you were gonna eat at the cafeteria," Zack said with a laugh, reading Cloud's expression correctly.
"Sit, Zack," Sephiroth ordered when the First started to go back towards the kitchen.
"The best part isn't out yet though!"
"I was under the impression pie was a dessert and reserved for last," Sephiroth said without an ounce of humor. Zack shot an imploring look at Cloud.
"Hands in the cookie jar means no cookies in your hands for dessert," Cloud repeated verbatim from his mother. He said it so automatically he looked comically surprised in his chair as Zack burst out laughing.
"Betcha you were the kid that stole cookies all the time."
Cloud flushed a bit, remembering the tiny, cozy kitchen in his house, with the little jar always sitting by the refrigerator. "She counted them."
Zack started to really laugh, but Cloud missed whatever else the First was trying to say between chuckles as he remembered many an evening sitting on his bed regretting his enthusiasm for the sweets his mother made—except his birthday, when he was welcome to eat as much as he could stand.
His mother's chocolate cake recipe was in the box under his bunk, in fact, along with her birthday card. He hadn't heard back from her since he'd replied, but it was still January, and Nibelheim often had snow from December to February. It would be no surprise if the post couldn't get in or out.
"I'm guessing you have a sweet tooth," Zack said with a cheeky grin, ladling out portions on to his plate. Sephiroth started taking vegetables from another bowl and Cloud went straight for the beef and potato stew.
"A bit," Cloud admitted, starting a small conversation about various sweets in Nibelheim and Gongaga versus what Midgar had. Sephiroth commented sometimes, but mostly preferred to watch Cloud steadily relax into his seat and Zack talk away comfortably. As much as Sephiroth savored Cloud's relaxation around him, especially after the two mako injections, it was also the time when his defense was its weakest.
"Your team has a mission tomorrow, correct?" Sephiroth asked, turning the conversation when the talk of food and culture lulled.
"Yeah," he answered, swallowing quickly. "Just below the plate I think."
"Exciting, huh, your first mission!" Zack exclaimed, poking through one nearly clean bowl for any last bits of carrot or mushroom. Cloud had pushed all of his mushrooms to one side of the plate, never acquiring the taste for them, but Zack couldn't see it behind the centerpiece.
"How do you like your captain?" Sephiroth asked.
"Harke? He's a good guy."
Zack rolled his eyes at his plate at Cloud's typical short answer. "I've never done a mission with him, but the other Seconds like him. Speaking of which Seph, who are you sending out to Cosmo Canyon?"
"A team of Thirds led by a Second. Heavy." It wasn't the smoothest transition to what they really wanted to talk about with Cloud, but the blond didn't seem to have noticed. He'd slowed down on eating and was starting to look a bit sleepy, which Sephiroth found it hard to tear his gaze from. "Most likely Zuke's team."
"Is he the one with the broadsword with a snake on the hilt?" Cloud asked, sitting up a bit. "I know one of his members." John had talked a lot about his captain.
"That's him," Zack confirmed winking. "He has a weird thing for snakes, but he's a good guy to have at your back. I did a run with him somewhere…" Zack's brow furrowed as he tried to recall.
"I'm confident Zuke will be able to handle the problem in Cosmo Canyon," Sephiroth continued, starting to pile up the dishware that had been emptied. "His team is quite good, and there is a squad in Wutai should it become necessary."
"It's only a few guys," Zack finished, standing up and noticing at the same moment Cloud had a small pile of mushrooms on his plate. He speared three with his fork immediately and Cloud sighed. "And luckily we know how they fight thanks to the security cameras."
"Yeah, the Golden Saucer," Cloud murmured, standing up too to help. He didn't have quite the metabolism of the Firsts, so the food settled heavily in him while Zack and Sephiroth had no such issue. Cloud couldn't remember the last time he'd quite felt this full. Tifa had certainly tried.
Sephiroth had disappeared into the kitchen while he was thinking, but he reappeared now holding a dishtowel. It was such a domestic thing that Cloud actually stopped halfway through lifting his plate to watch as Sephiroth dried his hands with the towel. He did it as elegantly as he did anything else.
"…yes, though they were likely in the Nibel Mountains before then," he was saying, and Cloud twitched a bit at the mention of his home, realizing he'd been staring.
"There's nothing there," he said with a frown, feeling a sudden foreboding. Zack was concentrating on juggling some of the heavy dishes on the way to the kitchen, but Sephiroth was watching Cloud with those eerie bright eyes. The bright green color made his open, assessing look uncanny.
"The reactor in Nibelheim was destroyed not long ago," Sephiroth stated.
The blond felt like a piece of ice had slid down his spine. It wasn't like he'd tried to hide what he'd done in Nibelheim, and he'd do it again a hundred times just for the satisfaction alone, but the way Sephiroth was staring at him made his skin crawl with the revelation. He knew Cloud had done it.
His eyes narrowed on Sephiroth, who was openly watching his reaction.
"There's some speculation," Zack's voice carried from the kitchen, followed by the sound of something banging on the counter, "Sorry! –Speculation that they might be associated with AVALANCHE. Particularly the Ravens." Zack couldn't stare at Cloud from where he was, but the words bit just as deep. Cloud had told Zack about the Ravens ages ago; that was a deliberate jab, and Sephiroth was still watching him.
The blond's stomach tightened as he sensed this had been another trap like that first spar with Sephiroth. Sephiroth and Zack weren't asking questions as promised, but they were pushing at the wall his secrets were behind and hoping to see a crack. Loopholes and technicalities.
He might have dropped the dishware a little harder than necessary on the counter next to the sink where Zack was now elbow deep. The First was eyeing him too, not even pretending to clean. It took all of Cloud's willpower not to react as Sephiroth stepped into the kitchen behind him. All sleepiness from the good food and banal conversation was gone.
"Dinner was good," he said as evenly as he could, turning so he could see both men and wondering just how flat-out rude he could be to escape and simmer alone. "I should—"
"The pie'll be better," Zack promised, cutting the blond off and giving him puppy eyes. "You can't leave before the best part."
There were a hundred excuses he could say or he could even just walk out, but Cloud stayed his feet. He could leave now and give them more time to speculate or he could cut it off, like pinching the artery to stop the bleeding.
"You said this would just be a dinner as friends," Cloud accused, not bothering to beat around the bush, and all movement in the kitchen stopped. The blond didn't realize it, but he was mirroring the same tone he'd used during his second hallucination. Sephiroth certainly did though.
"It is, and we are friends," Zack denied. He pulled his hands out of the sink like he was going to reach out to Cloud before realizing how sudsy he was. "I'm sorry if we put you on the spot like that, Cloud. It's just the secrets—"
"I told you I didn't want to lie to you." Cloud's glare had moved from hot to searing at Zack's denial, and Sephiroth was careful not to lean forward when he thought he saw a green tinge in the background of those blue irises.
"And I told you not to," Zack snapped back, putting one hand on his forehead before remembering he was still covered in soap. He quickly dried off so he didn't get soap in his eyes as Sephiroth shifted forward in the background and that glare was switched on to him.
"Perhaps direct would be best. Did you destroy the Nibelheim reactor and Shinra Mansion during the SOLDIER Exam?" Sephiroth's face was as always perfectly blank as he watched Cloud pause, taken aback for just a second, before coming to some decision. The blond's face went from shuttered to cold, not an ounce of emotion leaking through. Only the green of his eyes got brighter.
"I did."
In the silence of the admittance, they could all hear Zack breath in sharply.
"To be sure we would not learn what happened to you?"
Sephiroth's logic was strangely reversed, since Cloud had done it precisely to ensure Sephiroth wouldn't learn about what happened to himself there. There was another perfectly good reason though:
"Revenge."
Sephiroth didn't immediately respond, so Cloud transferred that mako-touched gaze on to Zack. "You didn't want me to lie, so that's the truth." It was a challenge.
All the glibness and shock was gone from Zack's voice when he answered. "It doesn't matter how bad the truth is, we'd both rather hear it. We can't help you if we don't understand, and you keep hiding it behind omissions and lies. What am I supposed to think when you reenact memories and tell me they're going to get you? When you beg me for help? When you fight like a warrior ten years your senior? I'm your friend Cloud, and I would have smashed that laboratory with you if you'd asked!"
The greenish tinge of mako behind Cloud's eyes rapidly disappeared at Zack's raw voice, and the harsh façade he had adopted started to splinter. He'd obviously thought his admission would drive Zack and him apart or at least inspire fear of his volatility, but it had done the opposite.
"I don't care if you punch me in the kidney and knee me," Zack said determinedly, "but you're my friend, Cloud." The First half-tackled Cloud to hug him, and the blond went stiff almost comically, face unwittingly buried in Zack's shoulder, but he didn't respond to the hug.
He never quite lost the cold edge, like a chill he couldn't shake off, but it was softened significantly. Zack finally released him when Sephiroth took out the pie, though both of them saw how Cloud flinched violently when he remembered the General was still there. Sephiroth moved carefully, wanting to test the atmosphere to see if he could ask about the three silver-haired men, but when Zack gave him a warning look as he passed out the dessert plates, Sephiroth relinquished that line of thought. Another time.
Zack handed a warm piece of pie to Cloud and watched him take at least three bites before he even touched his own. It was a monumental sacrifice for Zack, who normally demolished pie in two breaths. Cloud had burrowed himself deep in Zack's heart.
Sephiroth ate slowly as he watched the blond, who continued to keep his back to the far wall so he could see the kitchen exit. His eyes never quite made it to his plate either because he'd lose sight of them both. That hole in Cloud's explanation niggled like a loose tooth to Sephiroth, but the peace was fragile now; dredging up more pain would not be productive.
Cloud finished his slice of pie carefully, with measured amounts of cream, fruit and crust until there was nothing left. Only then did Zack let him take his leave, though he and Sephiroth both followed the blond right to the elevator doors.
"Like I said before Cloud, you ask for help anytime and you got it." Zack couldn't quite resist another hug, but Cloud didn't respond to this one either. He looked almost pained, but Sephiroth wasn't sure if it was from the touch or something else.
Then Zack was letting the blond go, but he didn't get more than a step away before Sephiroth put two of the boxed slices of pie into the blond's hands and remained there in his personal space. Cloud was… not a friend in the way that Zack and others were or had been, but there was a kinship there he could not deny, nor could he argue any indifference towards him. Sephiroth… liked Cloud in his own way.
"The next time you desire to destroy a laboratory, I too would like some revenge," Sephiroth murmured, a strong admission for him, but one he'd been thinking about since Cloud had said the word. Revenge… a potent, heady idea, and one he'd avoided ever latching on to because it was an abyss, as he'd seen in a hundred other men.
There was a twitch in Cloud's jaw, but whatever words or expression he was fighting to keep inside did not escape. As he took the elevator down, Sephiroth promised himself he wouldn't let Cloud fall into that abyss.