Warnings: Zack's mouth, but that's about it

AN: Just a reminder that this story is based on my previous story "Making It Work." I've quoted directly from that piece so, if you haven't read it, some of this might be confusing. However, it's not necessary to read it for the majority of this story.

Chapter 3 : Now We Are Free

While Zack was off recovering his beloved Buster, Sephiroth concentrated on getting fluids into Cloud. It was as easy as Zack had said—just hold the bottle to his lips and Cloud would move them to accommodate, tip carefully and he would swallow as easy as if Sephiroth were holding it to his own. From the overheard comments of the medics, this was not the usual behaviour of someone suffering from mako poisoning but rather mako addiction. Except that Cloud's complete lack of physical response in every other test—lights in the eyes, tickling his feet, all of that indicated mako poisoning. They argued about what exactly the small soldier was suffering from but they all agreed that he couldn't be suffering from both at once, and wasn't it fascinating.

The General's rather notorious temper was beginning to fray quite badly at having his lover talked about like a specimen, so he was very glad when Zack returned, his massive sword draped over his back hanging from his old harness.. "Hey, look who I found wandering around."

Ms. Lockhart eased around the large SOLDIER. She stepped up to the table, "Cloud?" Nothing but a slow blink, "Zack said you could hear okay, although you couldn't respond so well. I just wanted to say I'm glad you're alive. I'm glad Sephiroth has found you again" No response. "When you're better, we can get together and tell horror stories about growing up in Nibelheim or something. Can I touch him?" She turned to the General to ask the question.

"I think he would enjoy that," or possibly not but Sephiroth had an odd hope that having the two Nibelheimers touch might… jump-start a reaction in the blond. When they'd been here three years ago, when Hojo had sent him here so he could be captured by Jenova's will, Cloud had been able to block her voice; so had Ms. Lockhart… so had anyone born in Nibelheim. Therefore, it wasn't unreasonable to hope that having them touch skin to skin might have a positive effect on Cloud.

She reached out and put her hand on his bare arm. Sephiroth watched the corporal's face closely but there wasn't even a flutter. Of course, she was wearing her battle gloves so there was very little bare skin involved. "We've got most of the charges set. We'll place the ones in the cave on the way out then start the timer once we hit the circular stairs. We'll have twenty minutes to clear the mansion. If you're ready to go that is."

"I have Cloud prepared," he answered.

"Good. I'll talk to you later, Cloud." She patted his arm briskly before turning to the others in the room. "Are you all ready to go?"

"Yes, I believe we've gotten just about everything," Dr. Imeera responded as head of the medical team. "We just need to put the boy on a stretcher–"

"That won't be necessary," Sephiroth contradicted her.

"But, sir, we need to get him through the tunnels." As if he weren't aware of that. He bent down to pick up the small blond. He cradled him to his chest, head on his shoulder as he would a child. There was barely any weight to him despite his size and his muscles. It was like carrying a child.

Dr. Imeera had called the soldier a 'boy' even though he would be twenty or twenty-one by now but Sephiroth could understand the impulse. Mako had frozen his features, so that he looked no older than he had three years ago. In fact, without the reflection of his personality and experiences, he looked even younger. Sephiroth suddenly thought of that expression Genesis had used to describe some of their youngest recruits–'jail bait', because they were too young to have sex with but too attractive not to want to.

"You can stretch your wings again if you like," he murmured. He had, after all, promised.

He had promised to meet Cloud's mother. He had promised to build a life with him back in Midgar. He had, if only to himself, promised to protect the smaller man. Those promises were in ruins, impossible to keep. This one was easy. Cloud gave a happy grunt of concentration, there was perhaps a shift of air pressure, and then his wings burst into existence. As usual, he stretched them before pulling them back. However, he didn't retract them fully. Instead, they cocooned around the General's shoulders as if, even in this half-dreaming state, Cloud was still trying to protect him.

"Awww, man! That is just too sweet for words." Although it didn't seem like Zack was in any danger of running out of things to say.

"Are you capable of fighting if necessary, Commander? The troopers have fought hard all day, I'm sure they would appreciate your assistance if we are attacked." And it would give the SOLDIER something safe to take out his anger on. Despite the laughing fit he'd had earlier, Sephiroth could tell it was still there, inside of him, and it would allow him to test his altered body on dangerous, but not deadly, creatures.

"Um," Zack thought about it. This wasn't his friend asking, this was his General–even though he was cuddling Cloud like a proud parent. His automatic response, three years ago, would've been to say 'hell, yeah!' as if it were a no-brainer but this wasn't three years ago. People, good people, would be trusting him with their lives and he'd been in a tube for a long time. "My reaction times are gonna be a bit different than I remember. I should probably be given lots of room if I have to start swinging. Until we know where my new kill zone is."

The General nodded shortly and turned to the unit's captain who'd escorted them down, "Is that acceptable, Captain Biggs?"

"Absolutely, Sir."

"Very well, then. You have the lead. Commander Fair's never had a good head for navigation."

"Hey!"

"We'll be taking the long way out of the lab and laying the charges and the cord as we go," the captain said, both of them ignored Zack's defensive protest, but his next question couldn't be ignored.

"You're blowing this place up?"

"Yes," the General confirmed, "Hojo littered his complexes with too many experiments, secret passages and booby traps. It's not worth risking a back-attack to preserve them. Whatever other knowledge they might contain is best destroyed anyway." He walked to the main room as he spoke.

"Good decision. Don't need a neo-Hojo trying to re-create Dr. Creepy's work. Hang on a sec' though." Zack strode off before they could say anything.

"Zack," Sephiroth called.

"Two seconds, promise," his voice echoed back to them from the library, if Sephiroth remembered the layout correctly. He'd buried himself in this lab, bludgeoned by Genesis' accusations and Jenova's voice he had come here to find the truth, instead he'd found lies. Zack and Cloud had followed him down. Zack had been determined to save him but it had been the young corporal who'd provided the key.

"I assure you, Sir, these aren't as old as they seem to be."

Most of the books Sephiroth had been reading, most of the works Hojo had quoted to support his experiments, most of the books in the library, in fact, had been forgeries. An elaborate hoax initiated and carried out to convince the genetically-designed warrior that he was a god. Corporal Cloud Strife, son of a University Librarian, had been dragged down here by his friend. He had recognized them for what they were.

This one," he picked up a thin, gilt-edged volume, "is definitely a fake. It's obvious if you know any history of printing, or just plain history."

Step by step, book by book, he had exposed Hojo's lie. Cheap forgeries and hurried fakes, their flaws should have been obvious to the forcibly educated General.

Zack came back to the group. In his hands was a large, leather covered volume. "He thought this one was special," Zack explained but he didn't have to; Sephiroth remembered.

"This one was a lot of work," Cloud picked up another, even larger book. Its pages were uneven and water damaged. Thick leather straps formed hasps for keeping the massive work closed. "Hemp paper, hand bound and hand cut. It's beautiful and old-fashioned, but the letters are too even to have been hand written. And there are no guidelines that scribes would've used to mark their edges. It was printed using an old mechanical typeset machine." He rubbed his hands over the tooled leather, "It's possible this is an antique forgery."

"You already said it was a fake, Corporal."

Cloud blushed, "Sir! I meant that this forgery was made long ago, maybe a hundred fifty to even two hundred years ago. If that's the case, it's priceless in its own right. The University library would love to have it."

Kalm University was no more but Cloud had survived, and now Zack had made sure this volume would too. One of the small blond's wings stretched out toward the dark-haired First as if to touch it and confirm that it was real.

"Yes, I remember." One of the medics, already burdened with notebooks and discs, stepped forward and offered to carry it and, mindful of his role as protector, he passed it over so he would have his hands free to fight. Then he moved to where Captain Briggs and Tifa waited, "Ready now, thanks."

"Very good, Sir," The captain responded.

Zack just grinned, "Anybody who helps me out of this fucking hell-hole can call me 'Zack'."

They moved out into the caves. Zack and the captain led them. Then Tifa and some of the troops, laying and setting the charges, followed by the General carrying Cloud, the medics and then the rest of the troopers. They moved smoothly together, confident and alert, and it was obvious that this group had fought together before. It made Zack curious. Three years ago, when they'd been sent on this puking dog of a mission, Gaia had been at peace. Except for the occasional Wutaian terrorist or bug hunt, there'd been nothing going on that would give regular troopers this kind of experience.

"So what have I missed in three years?" he asked the group at large, "Are we back at war with the Wutai?"

"Um, no Sir, I mean, Zack," Biggs answered. "Actually, we might be pulling out of Wutai if the mutual defence talks go through."

"Mutual defence," Zack didn't sound any more enlightened, in fact he sounded even more confused.

"When I emerged from the Lifestream I went hunting Hojo. He ran and demolished Shinra by activating a secret facility hidden under the basements of the Tower," Sephiroth explained.

"If you mean the 'secret sub-levels'–" Zack started.

"No, he means the ones forty or more floors beneath those," Briggs continued the tale with the air of a well-enjoyed tale often told, "Hojo had built an advanced lab in a natural cave filled with crystallized mako, right under President Shinra's nose. He'd made hundreds of highly enhanced fighters, including elite warriors called 'Tsviets'. They destroyed the foundation and most of the supports for the tower collapsing when they emerged. And the tower? It fell onto Sector 7. The plate gave out under the extra weight and the whole thing collapsed into the slums."

"Holy shit," Zack said, awed.

"As if that weren't enough," he continued, "President Shinra was killed, and most of the board was injured. Including his son, Rufus. Things were a mess for a long time. Mr. Tuesti was trying to salvage Midgar, and Heideggar was trying to mount a counter-attack."

"Heideggar?" the SOLDIER repeated in disbelief. Heideggar was a self-important idiot who couldn't organize his desk.

"Yeah, he took control of everything and marched out, but it was a disaster. We lost nearly a quarter of our military. He got killed too. At Gongaga..." Then Biggs shut up, remembering that the small jungle village had been this man's hometown.

"What happened at Gongaga?" he asked, but the captain didn't answer, just looked helplessly at the General. Zack walked back to him. "What happened at Gongaga?"

"Your family is safe," the silver-haired man said, figuring it would be the primary question in Zack's mind. "When Deepground forces started to approach, the villagers hid in the jungle and most of them survived. It was a trap, of course. They tried to warn Heideggar, but you remember what he was like. When he was close enough Deepground blew the reactor. The village was destroyed along with over half of the SOLDIERS and a third of the regular Armed Forces. Heideggar died a week later of injuries sustained."

"Fuck," it was a prayer in its way. "Over half?"

"Hmmm," Sephiroth hummed confirmation, his voice just as soft, "They had a piece of Jenova with them. Like we had been at Nibelheim, they were vulnerable to her…call." As much as he hated to use Hojo's term for the awful, wrenching force the alien imposed on him and the other Firsts, it was accurate.

Zack was called away to deal with a cloud of bats, likely poisonous, but he soon returned and they resumed their sotto voce conversation.

"Hojo's insane," Zack said after a moment, "I mean not just 'without a conscience', but seriously bat-fuck. He talked all the time, and not just to himself. He talked to Jenova, always justifying and explaining as if she were giving him orders. He was all slimy and obsequious when he 'talked' to her then he'd yell and have a tantrum as soon as she was gone. He talked to you or some future you—a wiser version of you maybe. It didn't make any sense." He gave an odd little half-smile, "We knew you were alive because of that. He used to taunt us with the fact that you'd made it out of the mako and picked up your life at Shinra without giving us another thought." Cloud shook his wings, a couple sharp movements. "I think that means he never believed it," Zack interpreted.

"I'm glad. I didn't believe it when Shinra told me you both were dead either. Death has been far too convenient for them in too many ways." Zack grunted agreement but it was absently, like he had something more important on his mind. Sephiroth didn't push. He walked in silence beside his friend, just grateful that he was alive, until the dark-haired SOLDIER finally talked.

"Hojo ranted on about the Cetras and what they'd done to the Psycho Alien Bitch way back when. He was convinced that the reason you 'failed' is because you got the host's cells along with Jenova's. He had a hate-on for the Ancients," Zack swallowed, "He used to cackle happily about how he'd killed the last Cetra. How he'd ordered Tseng to…" he trailed off.

For the first time, Sephiroth realized that Zack hadn't asked about his former girlfriend, not once. "He did order Tseng to dispose of Ms. Gainsborough. However, being a 'stickler for details' is the phrase I believe he used, he required confirmation of the order from several senior executives, many of whom were unavailable. The Turks had, as a matter of procedure, taken her into custody—to make carrying out the order easier once it was confirmed, he said. Hojo ran before that could happen."

Zack smiled, relieved and grateful more than anything. "Sneaky bastard."

"Of course, he's a Turk. He's actually the head Turk now. Veld was killed during the tower's collapse." Sephiroth continued, "Ms. Gainsborough currently lives in the Shinra compound as there have been several attempts made to kidnap her. I know she has created a garden that is considered a wonder as it's in the middle of a reactor wasteland. However, that is all I can tell you about her." In other words, the General didn't know if she was seeing someone or waiting for Zack's return. "When we leave here you can call her if you like."

Zack hunched his shoulders and shrugged, looking every inch a sulky teenager rather than an adult SOLDIER. "Three years, Seph. That's a long time. What if she's changed?"

"I'm sure she has changed, as have you. All you can do if discover if you've changed in ways that are compatible with each other. That will be more difficult to determine over the phone, but it can start the process."

"I dunno," the tall warrior practically scuffed his toes on the ground in his uncertainty, "I have such… stuff, dark stuff, inside of me now. I didn't have it before. Maybe she'd be better off without me."

Sephiroth frowned. He barely restrained himself from growling because what Zack said, and its implications, were completely unacceptable. "It has been nearly three years since I became Cloud's lover and even then, we had only one night together. Should I back away because we might have changed?" he asked.

"Hell no! He'd be devastated." Zack was ready to be angry on Cloud's behalf until he realized the point of the question. "Oh."

Sephiroth ignored his small outburst of enlightenment, caught up in his own insecurities, "I am an unholy mix of mako, Cetra, Jenova and Ramuh knows what else Hojo decided to add to the mix. I was raised in a lab and my emotional responses are… interesting at best. I can cast Firaga without materia now. I am dangerous and barely human. Should I stay away from Cloud because of what I carry inside me?" Cloud's wings wrapped even tighter around the silver-haired man. It brought a measure of peace—at least he knew what his once-and-future lover thought of that idea.

He took a deep breath to calm down. "The only people who can say whether a relationship is feasible are the people involved in that relationship," he continued, "The question is 'do you want to try?' and the only ones who can answer that are yourself and Ms. Gainsborough." Zack opened his mouth, ready to concede the fight. Sephiroth thought he was going to argue some more and his temper flared again. "You will call her once we're out of the mansion, as soon as it is safe to do so. That is an order, Commander."

His former-SiC smiled and saluted. He wanted to make some kind of self-mocking comment but he was called away to deal with a sahagin before he could say it, and by the time he'd done that, the General's focus had moved on to something else—actually, someone else.

One of Cloud's wings was fluttering, and straining; stretching away from the General. He was obviously trying to communicate but Sephiroth didn't know how to interpret it. "Wait," he called to the team and they all halted, gathering round to watch whatever was going to happen. Even Tifa came back from laying the charges to investigate the commotion, feeling safer when close to the group.

"Zack, Cloud's sensing something," the General said, "Can you talk to him; find out what it is?" There were disbelieving murmurs in the crowd. The corporal was essentially a vegetable, he heard them whisper, there's no way he could sense anything. He ignored the comments. They hadn't been here three years ago when the young man had blocked Jenova with a trance.

"I'll give it a try," the First said as he removed his glove and placed his hand on Cloud's smooth cheek. "This is going to be somewhat more complex than asking him to pull in his wings." Zack said before he closed his eyes and 'reached' looking for that place that was all that Cloud would reveal of himself. He heard echoes of Jenova's voice calling him to a reunion but it was broken up and faint. Zack ignored it, concentrating on finding the path.

Cloud's mental landscape coalesced into an odd amalgam of brightly coloured buildings that were squished together and falling apart, on a landscape that was warped and twisted under a heavy green sky that pressed too close and called out to him. Zack had long ago learned the trick to navigating the maze that was Cloud's mind—ignore everything else and look for his mother's house. It could be hidden behind another building, set back from the main path, or buried halfway in the ground but it would always be here and there would always be a piece of his friend there.

The scariest setting was the plain, white emptiness with the low, green sky that appeared to be alive. He hated that one because the sky called out to him, tried to drag him into it, and Cloud was always hardest to find. His odd little cottage would be half-filled with the green miasma and he'd have to call and call and call before there was a response. The weirdest was the one with the trees and things that seemed melted and dripping. Sometimes, people or animals were twisted into the features or walking around losing bits of themselves. Those only happened during the worst of Hojo's torture as if what was happening in the real world was manifesting inside Cloud's mind.

This time it was easy to find, as it was the only stone coloured building in a row of yellow and purple houses. As he always did when he came this deep, he checked the building for signs of deterioration. The roof was mostly gone still, but it hadn't collapsed any further. The corner that had been torn off hadn't lost any more blocks. One of the cracked windows had fallen out though. The building was sturdy, but it needed repairs. He'd tried, after all, he could swing a hammer with the best of them, but this wasn't his house and he couldn't fix it on his own.

He didn't want to know what would happen to his friend if the house completely collapsed but he didn't think it would be anything good.

He walked through the doorway; the door itself leaned drunkenly in its frame, held on only by the bottom hinge. Leaves had blown in, but they were mostly at the entrance so it wasn't as bad as it could have been. Maybe, depending on who was here, they could rehang the door. Once beautiful wall hangings were tattered and faded. Books were off the shelves and scattered in piles on the floor. An old guitar sat in a place of honour but it was missing a couple strings and couldn't be played.

It was depressing.

"Hey, Cloud?" he called even though he never got an answer to that name. "Spike? Corporal Strife?" Those were his two favourites to call for. They tended to be the most confident and get the most done. "Niisan? Weirdo?" he called and waited—nothing. He had one more chance, "Raincloud?" he called and a small boy, perhaps four or five-years old appeared from under the kitchen table.

His hair was a familiar spiky mass of pale gold. He wore a set of footie pyjamas with little purple wolves on them. He was sucking the fingers of one hand and dragging an old stuffed dragon by the tail in the other. He looked like a sweet, innocent child except that he watched the SOLDIER with Cloud's adult eyes; wary, hurting and a brilliant mako blue.

Zack knelt so he was eye level but he didn't go any closer. None of the versions of Cloud liked anyone too close but Raincloud was especially timid. "So... what's up, Raincloud?" Zack had learned to call each representation by the name they'd chosen for themselves. This was Raincloud, not Spike and not Cloud. If he used the wrong name, even this persona would disappear and he'd have to leave and try again.

"Man," the child mumbled around soggy digits.

"A man? What man?"

Dealing with Raincloud required lots of patience. He would usually only answer with one or two words, if he answered verbally at all, and it often took him a long time between the asking and the answering, so Zack waited until the youngest Cloud answered, "He hurts."

"Yeah? You wanna make him feel better?" he asked the little boy who nodded his head, making spiky hair wave. He kept his gaze locked on Zack's.

"Is your man the one holding the other you, outside there?" Pronoun and prepositions took on a life of their own in this place, Zack had found, but he knew Raincloud would know what he meant. A solemn shake of the head, so it wasn't Sephiroth. "Is he close by?"

The young boy finally pulled the fingers from his mouth and pointed off to his right, "He's got a funny bed."

"So, he's over there in a funny bed," Zack confirmed. The littlest Cloud put his fingers back in his mouth and solemnly nodded his head. "Okay, Raincloud, we'll find him. Anything else?" Wide-eyed head shake. "Do I get a hug this time?"

He always asked. Even knowing this was a mental construct, he had to ask. Tiny little Cloud, all alone in this ruin of a house pulled at his heart in so many ways. He needed to offer the comfort even though Raincloud usually shook his head and clutched his dragon to his chest.

Today, a small blond head nodded once, slowly, so Zack held open his arms and let Raincloud come to him. He buried his nose in the spiky blond mass; amazed as always that the image smelled the same as his friend did in real life. Before letting go, he ruffled the hair as he always did when he was allowed to hug. Raincloud scowled at him. It was a familiar look. It never varied from persona to persona, and it was the same as the real Cloud's back before he vacated his body.

He stood up to leave Cloud's safe-place. If anyone else had answered his call he'd have offered to help them tidy up a bit, but there was no point with Raincloud. He'd just give that solemn-eyed stare and stand there. Still, he would have liked to hang Leviathan back up, at least. It was his favourite and it suited his friend so well.

"Be careful," a young voice drifted after him, "He's got angry parts."

When Zack thought of it as he walked through Cloud's mental landscape of horrors and weirdnesses, he realized it was a really strange thing to say.

He came back to the reality of the dim cave with a 'pop', like he usually did. He looked up at his former General to see cat-slit eyes frowning at him. Instinct had him asking, "Did you sense that, Seph?"

"I… " he hesitated, trying to formulate in his own mind what he'd felt. "There was a boy, very young, quite small."

"Huh," Zack was amazed, "That was Raincloud. It's one aspect of Cloud's identity."

"A manifestation?" Sephiroth asked.

"Kinda, I guess. I'll explain it later. Right now he said that there was a guy asleep over…" he oriented himself to Cloud, "there." He pointed at a closed door set back from the main corridor.

One of the troopers protested, "There's nothing in there but coffins."

"Coffins?" Zack repeated, brightening, "Shit, I'd forgotten about those. There were here the last time we came down here. Remember, Seph? Maybe you wouldn't." he corrected himself. "Cloud and I found them when we came down here to dig you out of the lab." He was moving towards the door as he spoke, drawing his big sword as he went and pulling the crowd with him. "Besides, a coffin would count as a 'funny bed', wouldn't it?" He looked back at the crowd and frowned. "Maybe you should all stay out here? It might be dangerous, and it'll probably be too small for me to swing without hitting someone."

"Perhaps a couple troopers to watch your back," the General looked at Captain Biggs, who nodded and assigned a couple privates to go with the SOLDIER.

Inside the room the only light came from the open door. Zack could navigate perfectly in the dark thanks to Hojo's experiments—may rats gnaw off his balls. "You guys okay in the dark?" he asked his escort.

"Yes, sir. Night vision goggles."

"Excellent," he said and it was. If someone had been stuffed in a coffin for a while he'd probably be a bit light sensitive. He looked at the coffins in the room. There were fewer than he remembered, only five of the original dozen or so. Two were open and empty so that left three possible resting places for Raincloud's man. One would have him, but the other two? He regripped his weapon and kicked the lid off the first one. Nothing. He repeated the process on the second one and released a cloud of Bizarre Bugs. He took care of them while the troopers shot him with Cure and Esuna.

I'm going to strongly suggest it to Sephiroth. If regular army's going to act as support they should bloody well be able to support.

He remembered saying that to Cloud and he had mentioned it to Sephiroth. Maybe the General had instituted the training after all. The thought made him smile as the healing tingled through him.

He approached the final coffin more carefully since he knew this had to be the one with Cloud's 'man'. Sure enough, inside the coffin was a dark-haired male. He looked human enough. He didn't look alive though—his skin was too pale. Like death…

'Of course he's pale, you doofus,' Zack mocked himself, 'he's in a coffin in a cave in a basement. Bet he doesn't get much sun.' He would've smacked himself in the head for his stupidity except he was, y'know, holding his sword. He moved closer to the guy, crouching a little, "Hey, fella. Wake up."

"Who is it?" a gravelly voice asked. Long hair nearly covered the eyes but Zack could see them glinting in the dark. "Never seen you before. You must leave." He closed his eyes again.

"Actually, we all gotta leave. Don't go back to sleep… or whatever you were doing."

"I have nothing to say to strangers," he mumbled, "Get out. This mansion is the beginning of your nightmare."

"You can say that again." Zack forced the memories away. Time enough to wallow in them later; right now they had an evil lab to blow up.

"Hmm? What do you know?"

"Hojo's gone nuts and is apparently ruling half the known world with a Psycho Alien Bitch as his main advisor. He attacked Sephiroth, and then he—"

"Sephiroth! You know Sephiroth?" The guy finally sat up and looked directly at Zack. His eyes glowed red.

'Shit, that's fucking weird,' Zack thought to himself. Out loud all he said was that he'd known General Sephiroth for years.

"General Sephiroth?"

Since the guy was interested, Zack expanded on his terse statement, how Sephiroth had been genetically-designed to be a warrior and how he'd led the ShinRa forces to victory in Wutai when still a teen and become a General shortly after. He explained the SOLDIER program and how he'd joined up and met Sephiroth. He glossed over a lot of it—Hollander, Genesis, and Angeal. He didn't know enough about these Deepground forces to explain about them, but he could and did explain how Hojo had tried to bring Sephiroth under Jenova's control three years ago and how the General had escaped but he and Cloud had not. "Now he's back. He busted us out of the lab and they're going to blow up this place so Hojo can never use it again."

The strange guy blinked long and slow, face mostly hidden behind his hair or the ultra-high collar of his cape and Zack couldn't get a read on what he was thinking. "Hearing your stories has added upon me yet another sin. More nightmares shall come to me now, more than I previously had."

"Yeah," Zack smiled wryly, "we can all have nightmares together. I'm not sure where the 'sin' thing comes into it. Unless you were one of the scientists who assisted Hojo when he essentially tortured Sephiroth as a kid…" If he were, Zack would cut his head off just for the hell of it. Then the guy could go back to sleep for as long as he liked.

"I did not." It was a flat statement–not embarrassed or defensive or offended. He sounded like Tseng.

"Who are you, by the way?" the SOLDIER asked.

Again, the man blinked as if the answer to Zack's question held the secret to the universe. "I was with... the ShinRa Manufacturing Department in Administrative Research, otherwise known as—"

"You're a Turk?"

"Formerly of the Turks," he clarified, "I have no affiliation with ShinRa now. You are also with ShinRa, so do you know Lucrecia?"

"Who?"

"Lucrecia Crescent; the woman who gave birth to Sephiroth."

Gave birth…? "Uh, no, but I've met up with Jenova who said she was his mother."

Another long, slow blink as the guy processed the information. He could be related to Cloud. They both did that blink thing to hide their thoughts. "That isn't completely wrong, but not completely right either. He was born from a beautiful lady. That lady was Lucrecia. Beautiful Lucrecia," he sighed and Zack almost laughed. Coffin man had it bad for the lady—whoever she was.

A thought occurred to him, a question he wanted answered, "Did Hojo force her to let him, y'know, inject her baby with Jenova cells?"

The red-eyed man looked away, in shame Zack thought but it was hard to tell. "No. She was an assistant to Professor Gast, head of the Jenova Project. She agreed to it, I couldn't stop her. Once the first injection was done there was no way to cancel the experiment." He closed his eyes and laid back down, "That was my sin. I let the one I loved, the one I respected most, face that alone."

'Fuck!' realization hit Zack, "You're Cloud's Turk… the one that disappeared and became the town's spooky story. Shit, that was like, thirty years ago."

"Has it been that long?" he asked disinterestedly.

"Yeah, about that. Don't go back to sleep there, Turk."

"Ex-Turk," he corrected. "Leave me to atone for my sins."

"Can't do it. Cloud would be unhappy and that would make Sephiroth unhappy. That would make the troops unhappy, which would make Hojo happy. No fucking way I'm ever giving that psychotic bastard even a little bit of happiness."

Red eyes opened again. "If I go with you I will meet with Hojo again?" This time his voice held a deadly threat.

Zack shrugged, "As far as I know, that's the plan: find him, kill him, pretty basic."

As enhanced as Zack's vision was he could barely follow the movement as the guy flipped out of the coffin to balance on the edge of it. It was his turn to blink as he processed new information.

"I've decided to go with you. Being a former Turk, I may be of help to you."

"Fucking right, you will. Turks kick ass. Not as good as SOLDIERs but they come close." Bliiiink. 'Great, a guy without a sense of humour.' "You never did tell me your name."

"Vincent Valentine."