Edited version for the chapter :) Please enjoy and please leave a review-DHT
Sephiroth sat alone in his room. Zack was currently tending to Angeal and Genesis... Genesis was Gaia knew where chasing down his volatile blond lover. Cloud Strife had hated him the moment he'd laid eyes on the man. (An even before if this fantastic story about time travel was to be believed). Normally such things wouldn't have bothered Sephiroth, being Shinra's hero caused many people to love and hate him all the same. It was simply something he'd gotten used to in his life.
Cloud however was powerful enough to do something with his turbulent emotions. For the first time in his life the General had felt something akin to fear and that had bred a curiosity. Sephiroth however had trusted in Genesis and believed that the blond hadn't been a threat. Cloud feelings of rage had came from a rough time and, even with the war and bloodshed that the General had witnessed, he couldn't fathom the world that the pair had described. Armageddon brought on by Sephiroth's hands.
The General had known from a young age that he was different. In truth, it was the only thing from before Midgar he remembered with any clarity, watching other children play and realizing that he would never be like them. When they moved to the Shinra building, he could remember thinking that he'd finally find someone like him. His hopes had been dashed within the week as he realized that once again he was segregated. No one dared talk to the freak with silver hair, feral eyes and other worldly strength. In the end, Shinra had spun his image into that of a hero, but he'd never gotten past seeing himself as an outsider.
His life hadn't changed much, whatever the reason being, no one had approached the silver haired man and, by the time he'd reached the age of 15, he'd resigned himself to the fact that he'd always be alone, only able to watch the world go by without ever really being a part of it, understanding it.
But then there had been two boys his age who had showed up at Shinra's doorsteps. A blur of red had entered his life as the man demanded to make a name for himself. Sephiroth hadn't known what to do, he'd never encountered anything like the pair before. Genesis - so charismatic, energetic, and arrogant had almost been too much to bear, Angeal however had become a quite steady rock. The General wasn't sure when he'd first fallen for his honor bound friend, but he clearly remembered being in awe of the other man's silent strength.
In the intervening years, both of them had come to mean everything to Sephiroth. They had taught him about the world and finally made him feel like he belonged in it. He'd never told them, it seemed awkward to thank them for something the rest of Gaia took for granted. But now...
Sephiroth had nearly lost everything he cared about to one Cloud Strife, Angeal most of all, but even Genesis seemed to be torn away from him and, while he didn't love the ginger like he did Angeal, the man had been one of his only friends. Suddenly the General could understand Cloud's cold hatred for him. Something deep within Sephiroth started to take root when he thought of the blond who had so calculatingly tried to take his life and nearly took Angeal's instead.
If Cloud wanted to kill him that badly, then Sephiroth would come to him,and give him one hell of a fight. Never before had Shinra's star General fought for something he cared about, but never again would the man let Cloud harm what was his.
He stood, determination fueling him, making his way out the door and heading down to the medical wing. He need to make sure that Angeal was truly alright before he left on his self-imposed mission. For once in his life however he questioned his ability to complete a task.
Genesis awoke the next morning sore and stiff and for a moment he thought that he was back in the future, waiting for death and the whole time travel thing had been a weird mako induced dream. As he sat up though everything came flooding back to him as he shook, forcing himself not to break down again, he'd done enough of that before falling asleep the night before.
Gaia, he wanted to rage at the foolishness of it all. Hadn't the blond learned from Genesis's mistakes? That facing something like this on your own would only wrack more destruction? They had sworn to do this together. Cloud had been a bit shaky after the incident in Nibelheim, but he had still looked to Genesis for support.
Being cast aside hurt, even if it was the same thing he'd done to Angeal, Sephiroth and Cloud in the past. "I'm sorry." Adding to the thousands of apologies silent and otherwise he'd made since regaining his mind. Standing, he dusted off his coat and pulled out his PHS. Vincent hadn't answered last night and he'd avoided looking at this messages.
There were 13 currently, all of them but one from Zack.
Where are you? Hope you find Cloud. Angeal's alive.
A surge of relief flooded through him at the knowledge that his oldest friend had survived the attack that not even Sephiroth could. He didn't care about the how or the why right now as he quickly went through the rest of Zack's messages.
Angeal's in surgery, I wish you'd call. Sephiroth's scaring me.
Surgery went well, they say he should wake up in a few hours.
Hope you're getting these. I don't know what happened, but Cloud seemed really freaked out.
Geal's awake, right now he's only asked about Sephiroth.
Can you call? We're all worried about you. Geal's asleep now, they gave him a sedative to help him rest.
Sephiroth just left Angeal's room and said he'd be back in a few hours, but man, Gen, he looks dead.
Going to bed, but don't be afraid to call or text.
There was a 6 hour break in the messages and Genesis sighed, he had no news, but he was at least able to smile a bit that Angeal was going to be alright. Sephiroth bothered him, but he knew that the man was strong and, with Geal alive, the man would be alright.
Angeal's awake again, better than last night, I lied and said I'd heard from you and you were ok, just couldn't talk much. Didn't want to stress him out.
I hope you didn't lose your phone, then I'd feel foolish. Doctor said Geal's limit break saved his life.
Turks were down to talk to Angeal, said to pass along that Reno's fine.
Sephiroth just came down to talk to Angeal, ran me out.
The last message was from Lazard, but it had been sent to all 5 of them.
Pending Turk investigation, you have all been placed on paid leave. Please be patient with us as we attempt to resolve this matter.
Genesis nearly snorted, the man was being diplomatic as ever. Though at least this time they hadn't been declared AWOL, even if it was a little early with that, it seemed at least they had the Turks on their side this time and the ginger had to thank Reno and Tseng for that.
"I'll find you, Cloud. Even if you don't want to be found." He declared before looking at his phone. It wouldn't hurt to put off calling Zack a while longer, right now however he really needed to speak with Vincent.
Golden eyes took in the Ancient City that he'd started to call home in recent memory. Weiss stood right behind him, Nero to his side, darkness pouring off of him even as the trees around them lit up the night with their phosphorescent light.
"It's really pretty." Shelke smiled, her hand was tightly wrapped around Rosso's, who was treating the girl as if she was a mother. The furious woman who he had met in the battle of Midgar was nowhere to be found and he had to wonder what had happened to the woman to change her into the epitome of vengeance she would hopefully never become.
"Itt is, wittle one." Rosso replied, squeezing her hand. "It tis ouwr new home." She smiled down.
Azul simply stayed back silently, but his eyes swept the odd shell houses. Of all of them, he seemed the least changed in Vincent's mind. Not that he'd truly known them all that well.
Nero placed an arm around Vincent, a wicked grin on his features as a hand slid down the gunman's chest. "So host, what now that we're here?" He purred as Vincent shrugged him off, almost dancing out of the unwelcome touch.
Vincent hadn't been too surprised that Nero had been able to sense Chaos within him and the demon stirred at the man's touch. It was the last thing the gunman needed, as if he didn't have enough issues without the Sable trying to drag "Chaos out to play."
"Nero." Weiss snapped and the man receded reluctantly. At least the leader of the Tsviets seemed to have as strong a hold as ever on the man, or else Nero might have been successful in his endeavor.
The man sans straight jacket and artificial wings that he would have gained in the future simply moved back to his brother's side and smiled. "It was a valid question."
Vincent stood silent for a moment, seeming to contemplate Nero's question before turning to the others. "We need to get the homes livable. There are plenty of sources of food around here, but eventually setting up a more stable-" He paused a moment as he heard something odd, almost like a muffled...
"Nero." He nearly growled as he realized that he didn't have his PHS and the noise he was hearing seemed to be emanating from the young man.
"Give it to him." Weiss commanded and the man damn near pouted.
"How am I ever to make him angry if you keep intervening?" Nero asked his brother before silently handing over Vincent's PHS.
By the time it had reached his hand, the ringing had stopped. He opened it, finding 6 missed calls from Genesis, including the last one. 'Why is he calling me and not Cloud?' Ran through his mind, as he dialed back the commander with his good hand.
"Thank Minerva." Genesis breathed out as he answered the phone.
"What's going on?" Vincent asked, suspicion clear in his voice.
"A lot." Genesis's voice greeted his ears once again as Vincent shifted, moving so the Tsviets couldn't hear him. A bit of fear gripped him, were they being chased? What could possibly have happened? "It's Jenova, she's got Cloud. I thought he was fine like you, but he had a spar with Sephiroth and, I don't know, he just lost it. Sephiroth's fine, but only because Angeal took the blow. Thankfully he's alive, but afterwards Cloud regained himself like he did in Nibelhiem, but then he ran. I don't know where to look for him."
Vincent closed his eyes as the ginger dumped the information on him in rapid fire fashion and was thankful for his years as a Turk that allowed him to process everything.
"In the past, Cloud could often be found here or the church, neither are an option for him at this point in time." The gunman explained, trying his best to piece together his friend's thought process. "Cosmo Canyon might be an option, but he's looking to hide, to disappear and the area is too populated. There's only one place he would go." Vincent finally determined.
"Where?" Genesis's voice was nearly begging for information.
"The crater." Vincent's voice sounded firm and resolute. "He'll likely avoid the area, but meet me here. I'll get the Tsviets settled as best as I can, then I will accompany you."
"Thank you, Vincent." The ginger sounded relieved.
"Don't thank me yet." Came the gunman's cryptic reply as he hung up the phone, wondering how this all would end. This was like the times that Jenova had possessed Cloud before, an extension, a puppet of her 'perfect son'. She wasn't toying with him, wasn't torturing him for daring to stand in her way. Cloud was her vessel now and she wouldn't give up her hold easily.
Genesis pocketed his phone, thankful that Vincent had finally answered. His logic made sense, there were only so many places he could go and the crater was far enough away from civilization that he could hope contain whatever had overcome him.
"I should have turned her to ash, incinerated her until there was enough left for her to infect anything." Genesis growled. He knew it was likely a bad idea, if he'd missed anything she would have infected the planet. The rocket ship had been the best plan. But now, after she had managed to sink her horrible claws in Cloud, he was beginning to question whether it had been the right choice.
Without much of a thought, the ginger's black wing was stretching out of his back, spread out far, he gave it a small flap before he took to the sky, all thoughts of calling Zack all but forgotten.
Sephiroth stood at Angeal's side as the man smiled up at him. "Really Sephiroth, I'm alright." He assured the other man. "I'm worried about Cloud and Genesis. Zack told me what happened after the accident. Something's wrong with him. I could see it."
"You shouldn't be giving him so much consideration." Sephiroth's tone was a bit clipped as he thought of the blond. It was more than the man had apparently given him.
Angeal sighed and closed his eyes, the wounds that Cloud had inflicted should have been fatal and he was still a bit worn. "You trust Genesis, right? I do, this whole mess about the future sounds crazy, but it makes sense. If this Jenova got a hold on Cloud the way she did you, then we have to help them. " The man pleaded. "I know they say there was no one around to help you, to save you, but just because the job of fixing the future was tasked to them doesn't mean we don't have a responsibility to make sure it turns out better."
Sephiroth sighed, of course his raven would see it that way, it was the same way he looked at everything in life. At least honor hadn't made its way in to the conversation, though, if he continued to resist the man's point of view, the General was certain it would. He loved Angeal, yes, but he often wondered if the man realized how he sounded giving one of his speeches, especially when he was looking to escape one of Genesis's Loveless performances.
Not that he'd heard a single word from the play fall from the ginger's lips since he'd come out and that was what truly had convinced Sephiroth months ago that this wasn't some elaborate farce.
In the end though he knew he couldn't deny Angeal, even if he wasn't in love with the man, the raven had saved his life. "Alright, I'll see what I can do to assist Genesis in recovering Cloud, but I won't allow him to harm anyone else." The words were ended with a rare show of affection as the General ran his hand over Angeal's hair and leaned over to give the man a kiss.
Zack sighed, shoving his hands into his pockets. Angeal was alright, but, he thought with everything going on, he should go tell Aerith what had happened. Though part of him wondered if his girlfriend already knew. She did have that odd connection to Cloud after all.
By now he knew the path down to the church well enough, his feet taking him there almost on autopilot. Zack had wanted to get her a present, but, when your girlfriend is the only person in the slums to grow flowers, that was kind of out of the question. Jewelry would have just made her a target and it wasn't like she needed it. Aerith was beautiful on her own.
In the end he'd decided on a ribbon, unfortunately it wasn't the ribbon he really wanted to get her, the accessory that would provide her protection in the slums, but it was pretty and simple all on its own.
As he approached the doors to the church however, the doors flew open and Aerith ran out, tears running down her face. Zack easily caught her, holding the brunette in his arms. "Shush, it's ok." He soothed as he knelt down, getting her to sit next to him, rubbing circles on her back. A few people walked pass, but a woman crying in the slums was nothing new and so they drew very little attention to themselves.
"No, it's not." She pleaded, shaking. "Something's wrong - the planet... it's trembling."
Zack just tilted her head up and dried her tears. As much as he wanted to console her, the pieces weren't hard to put together even for him. "I came here to see you, to give you this." He muttered, trying to start out light hearted as he dropped the ribbon in her hands. "But also to tell you what's been going on."
The girl took the present and held it to her chest, the tears had stopped, but she looked up at her boyfriend's face with a bit of sorrow. "I knew something had happened, the planet's too upset. Did something happen with Sephiroth?"
Zack just nodded, "He's fine, thanks to Angeal... but Angeal almost died. Cloud..." The SOLDIER just sighed, running a hand through his head. "I don't know everything, but this Jenova woman, apparently she was able to control Cloud, trying to get him to kill Sephiroth, Angeal got in the way and Cloud bolted. Genesis is chasing after him, but I haven't heard anything else from him since."
Aerith drew her knees up to her chest, nodding. "Cloud." She sighed. She sat there, seeming to think something over before standing. "Give me a minute." She said suddenly, looking at Zack, a resolve seeming to wash over her as she walked back into the church.
Zack followed her just inside as she slipped to a back room and the man kept his distance. When she came back out, she was wearing a pink jacket over her sundress and had the ribbon Zack had given her in her hair, tying it back. In one hand sat a metal staff. In the other a basket sat in her elbow and her PHS was against her ear.
"It will be alright, mom, I just have to help some friends. I know we talked about this. I'll be alright, Zack will be with me." There was a bit of silence as the raven in question watched her, confused. "I love you, mom, and I promise to be careful." With that the PHS was packed into the basket.
"Let's go." Aerith smiled at her boyfriend.
"Go where?" Zack asked in confusion, a doe eyed look on his face as he scratched the back of his head.
"After Cloud, silly." She giggled a bit at him, dress swaying a bit as she looked at him.
"Wait, it's too dangerous, I'm not taking you on something like that." Zack's face shifted from confusion to fear as he shook his head fiercely and waved his hands in front of him.
"Zackary Fair." She stomped her foot. "I'm far from some helpless child. I'm coming with you, I can help him. I helped Reno, remember?" This was different and she knew it, but that didn't mean her boyfriend did.
Zack just sighed, rubbing his eyes. "Sephiroth's gonna kill me."
"Absolutely not." Sephiroth snapped, faced with the two of them, he was preparing to go track down Genesis when the knock came at his door. Zack had explained that Aerith wanted to go to help Cloud and that he was coming as her bodyguard.
"I am going alone, besides, someone has to stay here and watch after Angeal." Sephiroth continued, he really didn't want company when he own emotions were fighting over what he should do.
"Angeal will be fine, his connection to this world is strong." Aerith said calmly, far from intimidated by Sephiroth's attitude. Zack was left to wonder how she did it.
"I don't need a couple of children getting in my way. I'm not a baby sitter." Sephiroth retorted, annoyed that this woman seemed intent on standing her ground, as much by the fact that he couldn't simply order her away. Even if he ordered Fair back to his room, he had a feeling that this damnable creature would stay. Gaia, this is why he never got involved with women either personally or professionally.
"Well, either way we are going to help Cloud, we're both on the same path so whether or not we are 'with' you or not, we are going." Aerith smiled as her words left no room for argument.
Sephiroth simply remained silent, he didn't have the patience to argue with her. "Do what you please, but if you become an afternoon snack for some beast, do not blame me."
With that he left his apartment, the pair close behind him. Zack wanted to argue that he could handle everything, but Sephiroth's mere presence silenced him as they followed the man to the helicopter.
"Hey Yo!" Reno declared, smiling at seeing Zack and Aerith.
"Reno, nice to see you doing well." Aerith smiled, moving to give the redhead a hug.
"Thank's babe." Reno replied hugging her as well.
"So you wanted to go alone, but yet Reno's here." Zack finally had the nerve to ask, assuming that Sephiroth wouldn't kill him with the two witnesses.
"He's just the pilot." Sephiroth replied stoically as he stepped up into the bird. Annoyance hidden behind his mask.
"The General here called Tseng requesting the use of a Helicopter to track down Cloud and Genesis. Boss man figured it would be best to send me since I didn't really need an explanation of what was going on." Reno explained as Zack helped Aerith into the helicopter.
"Cool." Zack replied, he didn't know the man that well, but he knew that he was connected to the whole future mess. It was because of him that Zack found out anything at all.
Once Zack and Aerith were seated, Reno flipped a few switches before taking the control stick in his hands. "Thank you for flying with Reno-Air, the pilot is not responsible for any turbulence, lost items or pregnancy's that occur in flight. Have a good day."
Zack nearly choked as Aerith laughed in her seat.
Sephiroth however was wondering how this endeavor was supposed to keep him from wanting to kill someone.
"So where we going, General?" Reno, asked not aware (or perhaps just not caring) how close he'd come to death just moments before.
Sephiroth merely opened his phone and pressed a few buttons. "Genesis is currently heading north."
"North it is." Reno confirmed before taking to the air.
Half way around the world in an isolated cave, Cloud sat clutching his head as tears streamed down his face. His world was falling apart, reality and fantasy were blurring together. Scenes of the future, his past, were flashing through his mind and all the while the relentless whispers that, if he just gave in, she would make it alright. Deep down he knew that all she told him were lies, but it was becoming harder and harder to resist them.