Warnings: Still no smut.
Chapter 11 : Dark Night of the Soul
When Zack finally emerged, fuming, from the Medical tent there was a young private waiting for them. "Commander Fair, Sir!" the boy snapped, "General Sephiroth left orders that you were to be escorted to his tent."
Zack looked him over. He was maybe sixteen, long-legged and skinny. His badge was a large silver 'S' on a green cat's-eye, underlined by a ridiculously long and skinny sword. The black-haired SOLDIER rolled his eyes. Sephiroth sometimes didn't know the meaning of the word 'subtle'. But the boy was proud of it so, he supposed, that was the point. His uniform was regular army but in brown and Zack supposed it meant that he was in some special division. Or maybe it just meant the uniforms had changed in the last three years. He wasn't curious enough to ask.
Well, he was curious, but he had other, more important things to think of, so he just gave the private a nod and hoofed it after him. He'd decided to carry Cloud through the camp. One, it would reduce the amount of time the two of them were exposed to gossip and stares, and two; he was too worked up to reduce his pace to what Cloud was capable of.
Fucking doctors and their self-serving, self-righteous justifications!
Dr. Imeera had said it could take years for the Corporal to get better, if he got better. Then she'd so kindly, and graciously informed him that the SOLDIER would be allowed to visit his friend whenever his schedule permitted, because of course he and Sephiroth would be handing the blond over to the doctors to be taken care of.
As if that was a fucking option!
'He'll go to a nice place. It won't look like a hospital at all. He'll receive the best of care,' she'd said, and the reason he'd agree to it? Because he'd be going back on active duty and fighting for ShinRa, she'd said. As if he had no other choice.
He'd laughed in her face.
ShinRa had declared him dead—had declared both of them dead, so they would be dead as far as the company was concerned. ShinRa could try calling him up but they could just go spit!
"Nnggh," Cloud protested.
Zack loosened his hold, "Sorry Spike." There was no way Cloud was a burden. He'd fucking saved Zack's life so many times, just by being himself, by being there, being his friend and needing him. Stupid doctor didn't know shit about friendship.
However, she knew a lot about mako's effects on human beings.
That analogy she'd used, the Lifestream as an ocean, had made a lot of sense. Maybe more than she'd thought. If Cloud was mako poisoned then his personality, his soul, his essence, or whatever, was surrounded by the Lifestream. And that fit because, whenever he went to visit Cloud's 'house', the sky was always acid green, the colour of mako, and Zack was pretty sure he'd heard voices coming from it, so it was like his little soul-house was in a bubble in the middle of the mako ocean, protecting him.
But it was falling apart.
He could remember Cloud telling him what he'd done when they'd went to the reactor. How he'd pictured them safe in his little house and Jenova's screeching voice had been a winter storm that had battered the outside of the house. He couldn't help but smile at the memory of Cloud's red face. Who'd of thought the innocent little mountain boy would use a pornographic mystical three-way to keep them warm enough to fight off Jenova. It still made him smile.
He'd visited Cloud's 'house' for the first time soon after they'd been... intimate the first time. That time the house had been in good shape, maybe a little dirty on the inside, but it had had all its windows and walls, and the roof hadn't had a huge fucking hole in it. He'd met Cloud there and he'd told Zack all about building it and decorating it. He'd pointed out the significance of all the various things in it, from the Leviathan wall-hanging to the stew on the stove. Zack had really liked that wall-hanging. He'd put a similar one in his own house.
"Commander Fair," the young Private said hesitantly, pulling Zack out of his thoughts.
"Hmm... I mean, yes?"
"You're originally from Gongaga, right?"
"Yeah," Zack answered cautiously, unsure of where the question was leading.
"Is it true there are frogs in the jungle that can turn you into one?" The boy sounded so excited at the possibility but also desperate not to sound excited that Zack had to laugh. He could remember the desire to be 'cool' by not appearing eager. He'd given it up as a waste of time—he'd been terrible at pretending to be bored.
"Yeah, Touch-Me frogs. We used to catch them and milk them for venom, then sell it to ShinRa to make the antidote."
"Somebody told me about them but I didn't believe it."
Zack smiled at the Private, "I wouldn't believe it either if I hadn't grown up with them." The boy blushed and looked away. He was fidgeting, sneaking sideways glances at the dark-haired SOLDIER. If Zack had been paying attention he would have known the young private was working his nerve up to ask another, more personal, question, but he wasn't even seeing the boy.
He was remembering going into the jungle frog hunting with his childhood friends, Tam and Linn. They'd leave right after breakfast with lunches packed by their moms, and they'd spend the whole day and maybe catch a dozen frogs if they were lucky. They'd carefully squeeze the little frogs and scrape off the milky-substance that came out of their skin. It took forever to get enough to make any money at it, but that hadn't really been the point of it anyway. The point was they were young, the day was sunny and the jungle around Gongaga was relatively safe for young, adventurous kids to explore.
They weren't just frog-hunters when they went into the jungle; no, they were Defenders of the Village! Keeping wary eyes out for possible Danger, ready to fight Evil if it came their way. Many a dangling palm frond had been pummelled into submission.
He'd put one of their home-made frog traps in his 'house' along with Tam's butterfly net that they'd used to catch fish in the streams but never to catch a butterfly. If he could've installed a Gongagan spring afternoon he would've done it.
He'd built his house with Cloud's help and instructions and it had kept his soul, his self, his whatever-you-wanted-to-call-it, safe. They'd attacked him too, figuring if the blond was getting weaker then he would be too, but whatever damage Hojo and the Psycho Alien Bitch had tried to inflict on the SOLDIER it was offset by way Zack had built his house. He'd built it bigger and stronger because he'd seen what was happening to Cloud's house.
Hojo had decided early on that Cloud was the reason Zack wouldn't provide the results he wanted. He theorized that Nibelheimer's ability to block Jenova from Zack's mind had interfered with the conversion. It had made the Psycho Alien Bitch frantic. It knew it should be able to talk to the SOLDIER, to control him, yet it couldn't. They'd done everything Hojo could think of to break the blond or mitigate his power. They'd attacked him physically, mentally and emotionally. The Corporal had survived and Zack knew part of it was because of that little house he'd built.
He'd retreated to it, used it to protect himself from Hojo's onslaught, Each time Zack had 'visited' the house, to help his friend reinforce it, it had been worse off, and one-by-one he'd met all of Cloud's personas, each representing a different aspect of who Cloud thought he was or had been. There was Cloud, of course, but he'd also met Corporal Strife, Weirdo, Niisan, Spike and finally little Raincloud. Sometimes there'd be two of them in the house but usually there'd only be one.
Each time the blond had hidden himself there, less and less of him had come back to the real world until, after a particularly long-lasting 'experiment' he'd retreated completely. Cloud had become just a physical shell with the outward mind of a turnip. But he was still there... somewhere.
"Sir," the Private again interrupted Zack's memories with his timid question.
"Yes?" He was glad enough of the distraction.
"Um, were you really only sixteen when you were accepted into SOLDIER?"
"I was a couple months shy of seventeen," he confirmed.
"And, and Commander Hewley was your mentor, right?"
He nodded. The boy was blushing, and Zack knew there was another, probably rude question coming. He braced himself for the most common question: had he and Angeal been lovers? He hated that question. Angeal had been a professional. No way would he have gotten involved with his student.
"Is it true he and General Rhapsodis were lovers, but ShinRa wouldn't let them be together and that's why they left and then the company used SOLDIERS to hunt them down and one of them killed Commander Hewley and that's why General Rhapsodis went crazy and attacked ShinRa and, is it true, his hair turned grey overnight?"
"Fuck, kid, take a breath why don't you," Zack had stopped halfway through the boy's rambling question. If it was a question and not a story; it certainly had enough fiction in to qualify as a fairytale.
"I have no idea if Angeal and Genesis were lovers; quite frankly, it was none of my business. Genesis didn't go crazy. At least he was always bat-fuck as far as I could tell. He just hated ShinRa because they were fucking him over. Angeal went with him because they'd been friends since childhood and he was being fucked over by the company too." As he spoke, his voice getting more and more clipped, the poor Private was trying to shrink himself, drawing his shoulders up to his ears like a turtle, and his eyes got larger and larger. "And Genesis' hair didn't go grey overnight, it changed colour because of the previously mentioned fucking over."
"Anything else you want to know?" he barked.
The Private, trembling visibly, shook his head. It made Zack feel like a shit.
"Sorry, Private, it's not your fault I'm in a lousy mood. I hate fucking doctors, you know?" The soldier relaxed a little now the glow was fading from the SOLDIERs eyes... not that Zack realized that was happening. "How 'bout you just take us to the General's tent and leave the chit-chat for some other time."
He swallowed, "Y-yes, Sir."
Gods, Zack thought, the poor kid was so young. He looked about the same age Cloud did, with his big eyes.
He had to find a way to fix Cloud.
"Hey, Zack."
The SOLDIER recognized the voice so he turned to say hello, even though he'd rather be left alone to puzzle out the connection between Cloud's personas, his house and Cloud himself.
"Hi, Tifa."
The tiny fighter looked tired and a little down but she smiled as Cloud fluttered one of his wings at her.
"Hi to you too, Cloud." Tifa said and fell into step beside them. It occurred to the big SOLDIER that his friend was getting more expressive with them than he'd ever been if even relative stranger like Tifa could interpret his wing movements. Maybe it was a sign that the blond was somehow, kind of, getting closer to coming back?
"Were the doctors able to give you anything to help get Cloud better?"
"Not really, they can't decide whether he's been addicted or poisoned or something completely different." He shrugged and Cloud's wings spread slightly to balance the movement, "Wait is essentially all they said."
"Well," she pulled on one bare toe and got poked lightly in retaliation. "He's stubborn, and loyal, and stronger than most people think." She chuckled but not like anything was funny, "All those years we were growing up together, he used to get picked on because he stood up for his Mom, did you know that?" Zack nodded, he remembered. "He'd run and mostly he'd get away but sometimes he wouldn't. Nothing ever happened to the kids who beat him up, but he never stopped sticking up for her."
"I wish I could've met her," Zack said sadly.
"So do I," Tifa agreed quietly. "I lived in the same village and I don't think I spoke three words to her. So many in the village didn't like them, said bad things about what she believed and what she was teaching her son. I knew it wasn't a good idea to... to be seen being nice to them, so I wasn't. I wasn't strong, like Cloud.' She snorted in self-derision. "It wasn't until later that I understood that she scared people. All those books! They knew about life beyond Nibelheim, that there was a whole world out there of people and ideas and each day didn't have to be the same as the last. They were afraid that all the young people would leave Nibelheim if they knew there was more to life than what their parents and grandparents had."
She sighed, looking up beyond the dim camp lights to the stars. Ten years or so since she'd looked at them with Cloud. It seemed like eons; it seemed like a heartbeat.
"When he told me he was leaving I was so envious. I knew I'd never get to leave. I was the Mayor's daughter after all; I already knew who I was going to marry and what I would be doing for the rest of my life. He seemed so brave... he was going to be my hero," She smiled and pulled on his toe again. "Now we're both out experiencing the wide world. I don't know what's going to happen tomorrow, next week or next year. Will we still be alive? Will the war be over? Who will I be at the end of it?" She gave his foot a pat, "I wish I could go back to when Cloud could be my hero, you know?"
"Yeah," Zack said solemnly, "yeah, I know what that's like." Cloud had reached out a wing, trying to enfold her in it. Zack lifted up his arm, boots dangling from his hand, and silently invited her to tuck herself in under it. "You musta had a shitty afternoon to feel this down."
Tifa took the boots from his hand, unwilling to have them knocking into her stomach with every step. "Vincent and I went through some of the records recovered from the lab. We found some of the records on you and Cloud and flagged them for Dr. Imeera. People call SOLDIERs monsters because they're enhanced and stuff, but Hojo and the people who worked with him, they are the real monsters." Zack gave her a little squeeze.
"Ggggh," it was a sad little warble.
"You're not a monster, Spike," Zack told the blond, "No more than I am."
"Nobody's going to think you're a monster, not with those wings. They're beautiful," Tifa complimented glad for the change of subject. "Having two is pretty rare, especially one on each side. I wonder if he'll be able to fly. Most Firsts with wings only have them on one side. They can jump and glide amazingly, but only General Rhapsodis can actually fly. They theorize it's because he's one of the Original Three—"
"Wait," Zack interrupted, "General Rhapsodis... you mean Genesis?"
"Yup."
"Genesis Rhapsodis," he needed it confirmed.
"Yeah. Wears a long, red coat," she smirked at him, "Likes to quote Loveless."
"He's..." how to phrase it, "sane?"
Tifa laughed out loud, "Well, that's under debate."
"And he's one of the good guys?" He couldn't believe it.
She stared at him amazed, "You didn't know?"
"Fuck no," he answered, "last time I saw him, shit, he was helping to drive Sephiroth nuts. That was in Nibelheim."
"Wow, he's been a good guy since him and Sephiroth 'came back from the dead'. That was, what? Two years ago? He helped push Hojo out into the open. Didn't the medical staff give you an overview or anything?"
Zack shook his head, "We had other things to discuss," he answered dryly, "and we all avoided talking about ShinRa and Hojo."
"Oh well, you have a lot of catching up to do then," Tifa said eagerly.
"Who has to catch up to what?" It was another familiar voice
"Kunsel," Zack shouted. He took his arm off Tifa and grabbed his buddy's wrist, pulling him in for as much of a hug as he could manage with his feathered bundle stuck to his hip. "Fuck, man, it's great to see you!"
"It's great to see you too, Zack." Kunsel's face was split by a wide smile, "Hey, Tifa." She nodded in response. "So," he looked at Cloud, "this is the guy the General was willing to tear apart ShinRa looking for."
"This is the one," Tifa answered the Second.
"What? What are you talking about?" Cloud's wings flickered. It made him look as bewildered as Zack sounded.
"You don't know the story?" Kunsel was astounded, "Nobody's told you yet?"
"I was just about to," said Tifa. "He doesn't even know about the Red General."
Kunsel's eyes perked up; sharing information was one of his favourite things. "Oh, man. We need to bring you up to speed!"
"At least three years worth of news," Tifa agreed happily.
"They were hauling food into the General's tent when I went by earlier looking for you," Kunsel waved at the structure they now stood before. A banner, with the distinctive cat-eye 'S' design hung down beside the door. Zack couldn't be sure, he thought dryly, but they might've reached Sephiroth's tent. "We could eat and talk," the blond SOLDIER suggested.
"Excellent," Tifa said, "I'm starved. We can tell him all about the changes on the Board."
"Reeve," the SOLDIER sighed, "he probably doesn't know about that."
Kunsel smiled at her, "I'll get the Private here to bring more food."
"A herbal tea would be nice, too," Tifa requested.
Zack laughed. It looked like they were going to learn all the gossip from two of the best. "Come on, Spike. Be prepared to get your ears talked off."
He ran as fast and as far as he could. As the Galian Beast, he ran into the mountains where nothing but vegetation existed. Even the wolves had the sense to run, conceding territory to the greater predator. He blew up boulders, he uprooted trees. He single-handedly rerouted the stream that ran through the valley.
It wasn't enough.
Chaos always had more awareness of what the Beasts were up to and he stepped in when the Galian's destructive capacity wasn't enough of a release. With an incoherent roar of outrage and challenge, he shifted. In answer there came a deep bellowing. A dragon, protesting the other predator's intrusion into its little fiefdom, came charging over the ridge. It dove toward the puny silver and red creature, confident of its victory.
Chaos' red eyes narrowed and, as much as he was able to, he smiled. This was much more to his liking than tearing up helpless vegetation.
And Vincent, aware and grieving inside the demon that had his body, said nothing to dissuade him.
Although darkness descended rapidly in the mountains, it was full night when the Wutaian War Lords finally declared themselves unable to eat anymore. A last, traditional drink—this one alcoholic, a warm cloth to wash the hands, and the meeting was over.
Thankfully Lord Godo turned down the offer of a tent and army cots for the night and decided that they would return to the transport and continue their journey. The return walk to the airship was a near duplicate of the original trip in. They chatted about this and that, social and entertainment gossip mostly, until the transport was reached. The Captain was waiting for them by the ramp.
A few final pleasantries, a couple more respectful bows and the Wutaians walked up into the airship. Sephiroth let out a relieved breath. He didn't care that Tuesti could hear it.
"Thank you for taking the time for this meeting, General. I know you have other things you'd rather be doing." Sephiroth looked down at the slim, sophisticated man beside him. "I understand that they're here now."
"I suppose asking you how you know that when you've never been out of my company since you arrived, would be a pointless waste of time," the General commented dryly.
Tuesti just smiled. "How are they?"
"About what you'd expect after three years of Hojo." Idiot.
"If there's anything I can do to help," the Vice-President offered. Sephiroth nodded acceptance although he had no intention of taking Tuesti up on his offer. Then he said, "Tell Zack I'm glad he made it out," and the General remembered that his SiC had often worked for Tuesti back when he'd been the head of Urban Development, an underfunded and mostly ignored branch of ShinRa.
The bureaucrat would receive reports of monsters invading lower Midgar but, because he had no budget, he couldn't do anything about it. Zack had volunteered to clear out the monsters for him. In later years, the SOLDIER would take his trainees with him to give them a chance at real combat with their enhanced abilities. It had been a good partnership between the two.
"I will tell him," Sephiroth promised.
With a final smile and a nod, the Vice President strode up the ramp into the ship. The General waited as the ramp lifted and closed, holding still as he was approached from camp-side. "Master-Sergeant Lutton," Sephiroth greeted him without turning.
"Guv'nor," the heavy-set man replied, his voice sounding like gravel in a cement-mixer. He had the grasslander's thick accent but Sephiroth had had enough dealings with the man to understand him easily. He actually found the lazy cadence soothing.
"You and your people did an exemplary job. If you give me a list of names and recommendations, I'll make sure mention of it is made in their files."
"Thank ya, Guv," he rasped out. "I'm supposed to tell you that the 'ospital is still standin' and no injuries or fatalities were reported." Sephiroth turned amused eyes on the NCO. "They're in your tent now wif Commander Kunsel and Miss Tifa."
"What, no medical report, Master-Sergeant," he teased gently, talking louder to be heard over the airship's engines.
"Nuffin' that would surprise you, Guv. Commander Fair is essentially okay, and they don' really know what's wrong wif the Corp'ral. Time and food, they say," he paused, waiting until the transport was in the air and the noise was fading. "So I've sent extra into your tent, includin' a pot of those meatballs you're so fond of."
Sephiroth watched the blinking lights of the airship grow smaller, "I'm always surprised that Tseng doesn't scoop you up for the Turks."
"It would be a step down, Guv'nor, and not 'alf so int'restin'."
The transport was safely out of their airspace so Sephiroth finally felt comfortable turning away. The Master-Sergeant was still standing straight, patiently waiting for the next question. "Anything else to report, Master-Sergeant," the General obliged. He turned towards his tent, keeping his pace easy so that the NCO could finish his update.
"Miss Tifa took that ex-Turk you found to the Materia Pit. I'm not sure what 'appened—"
"Tsk, tsk," the General chided.
"... but they buried themselves in Cataloguin' for the rest of the day. Valentine, that's the Turk's name, took off for the 'ills a bit ago, as if Ifrit himself was bitin' at his 'eels."
"Is that everything?"
"The Gossipin' Barnacle," meaning Lieutenant Hinz, "is developin' a nice set of blisters up at the construction site."
"Hmm," Sephiroth snorted, "As long as I get his report." There weren't many people in camp that knew exactly what Hinz did and who he reported to. Master-Sergeant Lutton hadn't been told but he knew.
Really, the General suddenly thought, he could be quite slow sometimes. He should've introduced the Vice-President to the Master-Sergeant and then invited Tseng to the party. His lips quirked in his usual small smile as he pictured the meeting—all the knowledge in the world together in one place. He knew the Master-Sergeant would think he was smiling at Hinz being forced to do actual work. It was an acceptable cover for his amusement as he wondered how long it would take each of them to find out the secrets of the others. Would there be a betting pool?
"About that, Guv, I've taken the liberty of putting a guard on your tent 'til noon tomorrow. To keep you from bein' disturbed."
"Did you," Sephiroth was intrigued. This action was far outside the Master-Sergeant's area of authority.
"Figured you might want to recuperate from tonight's performance," he explained trying to sound innocent with his gravel voice and failing, "The Officer of the Day agreed. He'll make sure the guards know you ain't t'be disturbed."
"Babysitting?" the General asked.
"Lookin' after the mental well-bein'of our commandin' officer. Well within regs," he justified. It was a clever argument. As long as they got permission from a command officer, senior NCOs had a wide choice of actions under that article of the army regulations; they just very rarely invoked it.
"Very well, Master-Sergeant," the General agreed to the terms. After all, it wasn't like he didn't want the time with Cloud and Zack.
They'd reached Sephiroth's tent. There were two MPs stationed on either side of the door. Lutton stopped and turned to the General. His face, always serious on the outside didn't have its usual gleam of hidden amusement, "It's not enough after three years, Guv, but it's the best we could do. The boys on duty can be trusted not to repeat anyfin' they hear."
"Thank you, Master-Sergeant." Obviously, his sleeping arrangements were part of the common gossip pool, just as Hinz had predicted. Sephiroth couldn't bring himself to care. It hardly mattered now that Cloud and Zack were no longer under the enemy's direct control.
"Good luck, Guv'nor." He saluted and walked off into the night. Probably to supervise the clean-up crew.
It was odd, Sephiroth mused, considering his better-than-enhanced vision, how much he hadn't seen when he'd been focussed on finding his friends.
In a way, taking over as General of ShinRa's forces on the Western Continent had been a tool to be used for that purpose. Like any tidy craftsman, he looked after his tools; he maintained them in the best condition he could, he used the proper tool for any given job and he used them as gently as possible, but the people who had made up his army had been tools to be used.
He'd been friendlier than previously at first because Zack would have expected. Later, because it had proven to get much better results than the cold, impersonal approach he'd used before.
He hadn't realized that the people under his command had become so... so protective of him. Captain Carter and the rest in the Officer's Mess, Master-Sergeant Lutton just now, and yes, even the two MPs standing at attention outside his tent prepared to spend the night guarding his privacy.
Despite the fears expressed by the ShinRa board that once he'd rescued Corporal Strife and Commander Fair he'd lose interest in the fight, he'd always intended to see the war through. After all, he had three very good reasons for wanting to kill Professor Hojo: What he had done to Angeal and Genesis by denying them the cure he'd discovered back when they'd been teenagers, how he had treated Sephiroth himself—especially as a small child, and the tortures he had inflicted on Cloud and Zack.
Now he added a fourth reason... because he would not let down the troops who were depending on him.
When Sephiroth entered his tent he was unsurprised to find Master-Sergeant Lutton had been correct as to the number and identity of his guests. The scene was surprisingly cozy. Zack was working his way through a plate piled at least a hand high. Kunsel's was only a little smaller. Tifa also had a full plate but she was sharing it with Cloud. Cloud... who chewed and swallowed without assistance. Remarkable.
"You're kidding me," Zack said in disbelief, "They killed him off? Hey, General. Plenty more food if you need something solid." It was a typical Zack invitation, casual yet welcoming. It acknowledged the presence of their superior officer without allowing any of them to become formal.
Cloud stretched his wings out and flapped them hard enough to lift him from his seat and blow some of the items on the table around. The General quickly moved to his young lover, gripping his shoulder and making a soothing noise. With one quick, self-conscious glance at the others, he pressed a hard kiss to Cloud's head. The wings settled down although they didn't fully retract.
Tifa smiled at the romantic gesture. Sephiroth pretended not to notice. Instead he pulled out a chair next to Cloud's, sat down and began to fill a plate.
"Sir," Kunsel nodded but continued with their conversation, "A year ago. Prentice was getting all pissy about being 'The Star' so they filmed a scene of his second-wife hitting him with a car. Prentice went along with it because they'd said he'd have a long arc about recovering in hospital where but, instead of that, they just has a doctor walk into the waiting room and announce that the character was dead. The show went on with lots of tears, a big funeral, some grief inspired sex and Wife Number Three's got a new baby and a new husband."
"Shit, that's..." Zack chuckled, "fucking great. I always hated that guy—character and actor."
"He was cute but such a jerk," Tifa added. "I never understood why people liked him."
"What are you talking about," the silver-haired warrior asked. A wing came out to rub against him, feathers rubbing against his hand.
"The last three seasons of Midgar Nights," Zack answered, but Sephiroth still looked blank. "It's a soap. It was really big before we went t-to Nibelheim."
"Ah," the General said, enlightened, "important stuff." He manoeuvred a forkful to his mouth, barely managing not to spill it as Cloud tried to keep in contact with him. He moved closer to the blond, hoping to reassure him.
"Cloud, you have to let Sephiroth eat. He's had a stressful evening," Tifa scolded and the wing retreated momentarily before sneaking back out to brush through long, silky hair.
He looked at the young woman carefully feeding his lover. He wasn't jealous, he knew Cloud wanted him—the wing lightly playing with his hair was proof of that, but still... it was his job. "I can take over feeding Cloud if you wish, Ms. Lockhart."
"It's okay, General," she declined, "You had a full, formal Wutaian meal for dinner which means you're probably already hungry again."
"That's right," Kunsel said interrupting the protest Sephiroth was going to make, "I heard about that. How'd it go?"
"It was," boring, but it wasn't diplomatic to say so, "successful. I believe they will sign the treaty."
"Excellent," Kunsel enthused. "Once we get our troops out of Wutai we should have no problem kicking Hojo's butt."
"I have some ideas on that issue that I'll be exploring in the next day or so. If my research backs up my new theory I'll be giving a briefing to the senior officers. " Since Ms. Lockhart was currently lifting food to her own mouth, Sephiroth decided to give Cloud some of his rice. He pretended not to notice her small smile just as he pretended not to notice that she took a little longer to chew her food than she had previously.
"When are you announcing Zack's return as your Second-in-Command?" Kunsel asked. Sephiroth stared at the SOLDIER Second Class, who looked up from his food to see all eyes on him... except for Cloud who was gazing half-lidded at the table in front of him and making a happy little humming sound. "What?" the SOLDIER asked, "It's not like we didn't know why you'd kept that position open."
"I haven't asked him yet," Sephiroth stated.
Kunsel, finally realizing he'd put his foot in it, flushed bright red. "Aahh, I'm so sorry, Sir," he fumbled, "I thought it would've been almost the first thing you said to him. Everybody knows what a great team you two made and so, we all thought it was, you know, a given. Especially as you're going to kill Hinz if you have to continue dealing with him on a day-to-day basis and that would be a really bad thing,"
Zack's shoulders started to shake as he tried to contain his laughter, "Seph, are you still scaring secretaries and privates?
"I've moved up to random lieutenants and captains. It's more of a challenge."
"Shiva's Tit's, Seph!" the Commander choked on his drink, "Warn a fellow before you make a real joke, will you?"
"Lieutenant Hinz is a bit more than a random LT. He's supposed to be the General's aide but he's just a brown-nosing snot rag so it would make sense to let Zack deal with him as your SiC, right?" Zack's chuckles and Sephiroth's silence were his only answers. Kunsel looked at both of them with dawning horror. "Did I just fuck up?"
"Not especially, Captain," Sephiroth tried to reassure him, "I was going to ask Zack to take back his old position. He's just getting the offer in a slightly less formal manner than I had envisioned."
"Well, if you were going to do it anyways," Tifa said brightly, "now it's done and you don't have to worry about it." Sephiroth frowned at the young fighter. She just smiled sweetly back and fed Cloud another mouthful. Sephiroth stared at her even more repressively but she just giggled—giggled! at him and Zack laughed, and coughed, at them both.
Briefly, the General wished for the days when people lived in terror of his temper.
"If he decides to accept the position I will make an announcement, but it is totally up to the Commander whether or not he wishes to return."
"I want back pay," the SOLDIER coughed out, still trying to clear his lungs, "with three years of raises."
"Holidays and sick time too," Tifa contributed.
"A really cool car," Kunsel added.
"Will I get to wear that neat badge of yours with the eye?" Zack teased his General.
Sephiroth just sighed and shared his meatballs with the Corporal. "We will discuss it later, Commander."
Tifa had nearly finished her plate by now and she noticed that the SOLDIER Second Class was almost done as well. She kicked Kunsel under the table, just in case he didn't get the hint. The Second hastily swallowed his mouthful. "You guys do have a lot to discuss. We should get going, I guess."
"Yes, we should," the dark-eyed fighter stood up.
Zack and Sephiroth stood up with them but it was the Commander who walked them to the door. He gave Tifa a squeeze and a peck on the cheek, "Thanks a bunch, Teef," he said before pulling Kunsel into a proper hug and thumping him on the back. He didn't say anything to his friend. He didn't need to.
"Sleep well, Zack," Kunsel said. "You too, General." With a final wave the odd pair left the tent.
Zack stood staring through the door, hands on his hips. There was too much information in his brain. All the changes at ShinRa; Rupert dead, Rufus in charge with Reeve as his Number 2. Gongaga destroyed. Most of SOLDIER gone but Genesis a hero. Peace with Wutai. Hojo as the planetary villain... although that one was the easiest to adjust to... fucking bastard. The mutations occurring in all the SOLDIERs First Class. Cloud's problems. His. Dr. Crescent and the whole Chaos and Omega thing. And Seph had a real mom who might not have been such an unfeeling bitch after all.
Could he go back to what they had before? Did he want to?
"I was planning on explaining everything," Sephiroth offered, "I had expected to have the whole day with you."
"It's okay, Seph. You always did have too many claims on your time," he said but he didn't return to the table. "I can't go back to ShinRa, Seph. Obeying their orders. Keeping my mouth shut about...everything. Even with Hojo being the target... I can't."
"Zack—" the silver-haired man tried to interrupt.
"I appreciate that you went back and I know that part of it would've been to rescue Cloud and myself and... and, y'know, thank you for that. Thank you so much. But—" A firm hand fell on his shoulder, shutting him up and turning him around. He looked into amused green eyes.
"I didn't rejoin ShinRa. I was hired by them." Sephiroth smiled that lazy quirk of the lips that was his signature and so fucking sexy. And I don't need to be thinking of that right now, Zack told himself. Then he heard what his General had said.
He frowned, "I thought you were owned by them or something. Isn't that what Hojo had set up?" Zack was sure he'd read portions of the research contract for Project 'S'... or was it something he'd overheard in the lab.
"Hmm," the General's smile deepened, took on a nasty triumphant look, "but I died. Rupert ShinRa himself was at my burial and made a speech. There was no provision in Hojo's contract for resurrection."
The First's eyes opened wide, "Shit. They sure weren't thinking." he chuckled in appreciation of the oversight. "But that still doesn't explain why you're back to being a ShinRa General."
"Patience." He raised his arm, inviting his friend to return to the table. "Genesis and I revealed ourselves to be alive shortly after Heideggar made his disastrous assault on Gongaga. Rufus and Scarlet were still in serious condition, only Palmer and Tuesti were left from the Executive. When Tuesti first approached me to take over command of the ShinRa forces I said no, as did Genesis when he was asked." Sephiroth lifted the juice bottle to Cloud's lips. The Corporal was making a sound he couldn't identify. "Genesis and I were going to try and reach Nibelheim on our own. Then Hojo consolidated his hold on the Western Continent and Palmer, backed by Scarlet, tried taking over the presidency, and the remaining SOLDIERs and most of the armed forces mutinied."
"So?" Zack questioned.
"Without a strong central government, the world was descending into anarchy. Assets best kept under lock and key were disappearing from ShinRa and turning up on the black market. Pure liquid mako was making its way onto the streets overloading an emergency response system already crippled by the destruction of Midgar. Criminals were carving up territories. Refugees were being turned into slaves and traded like currency." The General's eyes narrowed dangerously and Zack could see the utensil start to bend.
"Gggnn," Cloud said and gave his lover a little nudge. The command couldn't have been clearer if he'd said 'don't stop there' out loud. At least that's how the General interpreted it. He eased his grip on the fork.
"Tseng finally approached us again." Zack grunted and not in surprise. Who else would've had the guts to approach two pissed off genetically-enhanced warriors? "He had a new proposal from Rufus, much more generous, if we agreed to support his presidency. For Genesis, they had a possible cure," he paused. His eyes were blank, looking at the past. "Hojo had apparently worked out a way to halt the degeneration but, of course, he hadn't shared it because Genesis and Angeal weren't his creations."
"Tifa said he was alive," Zack commented meaning Genesis, not Hojo.
"Alive and brilliant, if still annoying and abrasive. He is doing very well establishing a recruitment and training program and defending the Eastern Continent. He doesn't have the same vulnerability to Jenova that the rest of the Firsts do. Probably because the process used to create him wasn't the same. It takes away their greatest and least expensive weapon."
"So is ShinRa going to be making more SOLDIERs based on the Genesis model now?" The swordsman didn't bother hiding his bitterness.
"No. The SOLDIER program is essentially finished. Corporal Strife is the last new name to be added to the list." He ran a soft finger down Cloud's cheek. "It almost sounds like he's purring. Are you sure they used wolf DNA and not one of the large cats?"
"Pretty sure that's what I heard, but it's not like they came out and told me what they were injecting him with."
"Hmm," Sephiroth mused, still stroking a silky cheek "perhaps it will be in the documents recovered from the lab." The General's eyelids were drooping in a sleepy, sensual fashion. He'd always liked cats...
Zack snapped his fingers and brought him out of his daze. "So that's what they offered Genesis. What did they offer you?"
"The autonomy to conduct this war whatever way we see fit, top level authority for myself and Genesis in any military area, and insulation from the other of the ShinRa Executives and the Press while we are in the field. Access to any and all information pertaining to Hojo, Jenova, Deepground and anything else that takes our fancy." He stopped and looked straight into Zack's eye, "and the complete and absolute freedom to make finding and rescuing you and Cloud my number one priority."
Zack blinked. He'd expected the other stuff, the military stuff, and he'd known that Seph would've considered their recovery important, but the General was saying it was the most important thing.
"But," he stuttered out his thoughts, "from what everyone's said, you've nearly eliminated them from the Western Continent. Their air and sea forces are destroyed. Their ground forces are a joke because of you. Because of your strategies. Are you saying that... that allof it, everything was..." It was unthinkable, wasn't it?
"It was for you. And for Cloud." Sephiroth confirmed. "When I returned the first thing I did was contact ShinRa, to inform them exactly what their head scientist had done. I told Rupert Shinra that Hojo was lying to him and that he had his own agenda and that, when he revealed it, it would be the end of ShinRa Electric Power Company. He laughed it off. Next, I argued that the loss of investment was worth investigating. SOLDIERs were expensive and time-consuming to create and, for the most part, the program was a failure. Once Wutai was conquered, there was nothing for an elite squad of enhanced warriors to do. You were one of ShinRa's shining lights, the Marketing Department's golden boy. A hero to the people for your monster fighting and rescue missions." He smirked at his SiC's blush before his face became serious again.
"Nobody cared. Just like they'd done with Genesis and Angeal, ShinRa absolved themselves of all responsibility by pretending it wasn't important. That you and Cloud weren't important."
Sephiroth looked away releasing Zack from his gaze but the chatty First had no idea what to say. He'd known that Seph appreciated him and had mostly enjoyed his company. Before all this had happened, back in Nibelheim, the General had called him friend and Zack knew Sephiroth well enough to know that he'd meant it. But this...This was a bit more than what he had with Kunsel. And the Silver General hadn't finished.
"I knew they would send Turks after me. Rupert couldn't afford to have the world know that I was alive, so I found Genesis and we went straight to the nearest town where we would receive media attention for our 'resurrection'."
"Fort Condor?" Kunsel had told Zack about this part. The Second had said it had been an accident but it sounded like Sephiroth had planned it.
"It was a good choice. A phoenix nesting on the reactor and a local populace ready to take on ShinRa's might to protect it. Media from all over were there, approved outlets as well as independents. A phoenix!" Sephiroth chuckled, "Both Genesis and I thought it was appropriately symbolic." The General stroked fingers over Cloud's feathers. "You can see why neither one of us was anxious to rejoin the company when they asked."
"And yet," Zack waved indicating the tent and the base, "here you are."
"We negotiated. Genesis and I are contracted by Rufus ShinRa to pursue the military campaign against the combined forces of Hojo and Deepground. It is a standard paid contract and, as soon as the war is over, the contract will be concluded with bonuses. The same contract can be offered to you, and Cloud."
The more he'd spoken the wider Zack's smile had become until he laughed out loud. "I don't fucking believe it. You're a mercenary?!"