Omega Rising
Chapter 1: Sector 6
"Cloud?" Reno leaned down, face tilting in question as those shaggy red spikes fell into his face. "Can we go out tonight?" he questioned, to which Cloud rolled his eyes at the whine in his roommates tone. "Pppplleeeeasseeeeeee," he begged. "I'm bored."
"When are you not bored?" he asked the cadet, moving over as Reno flopped down weightless beside him in the small bed. He ripped at the covers as his friend dug in, making room.
"But I'm extra bored since you've been sick," the redhead pouted, turning to his side as they shared the same pillow. "Come on man. You haven't gone out in over a week."
Cloud sighed, turning to face him as well. "I told you, my stomach hurts."
"Then take a shit and get over it!" Reno said with little sympathy. "You missed two classes this week."
"They said they understood," Cloud tried to argue, frowning as his eyes knitted.
"Dude, they definitely don't understand," Reno argued. "You're trying to get into SOLDIER. They don't understand you skipping out on training because you've got a belly ache." Reno reached out, and Cloud batted his hands away as he pressed his palm against the woolen sweater he was wearing. "I know what you're worried about you know."
"Oh do you?" Cloud mocked back, frowning at the other without any real malice. Reno was his best friend. He was the only one who made living in Midgar bearable. He had befriended him when he had come from Nibelheim, taking him under his wing as they went through basic together. Of course, Reno had his sights set on joining the Turks, but they all had to start somewhere.
Reno hesitated, and Cloud shifted in nervousness, as his friend didn't have any kind of filter. "You'll get into his class, Spike," he assured him.
Cloud sighed at the thought. "You say that like it's so easy to just get into Sephiroth's class." Sephiroth taught a single class to recruits every year. It was for the top 20 who had nearly perfect test scores. It was an honor, and everyone in Shinra knew that it was one step closer to being picked to join SOLDIER.
Reno rolled his eyes. "I daresay you have an advantage."
Cloud opened his mouth to respond to that, before shutting it promptly as he realized what Reno was implying. "You mean Zack?"
Reno laughed at the familiarity that rolled off his tongue. "We all can't have friends in such high places."
Him and Zack had become friends during a mission by Bone Village. They bonded over being from hick towns, only Zack was a First Class SOLDIER, and he was still just a cadet trailing after him on missions. Zack was on a mission now, or he would have told him about this pain. He didn't understand it. It wasn't like he was going to be sick. It was a roiling feeling, making him feel like he was almost burning. He hated it, but he knew he couldn't continue to lay around feeling like he was crawling out of his skin. Reno was right. He needed a break. He wished Zack was around to talk to about it first though.
"Zack would never pull favors for me," he argued with his friend. "He doesn't cheat."
Reno rolled his eyes, sitting up and stretching his arms over his head. "Dumb fucking move by you if you ask me."
"I'm doing this on my own merit, Reno," he reminded his roommate for the hundredth time. "I'll be good enough to make it through the testing."
The redhead nodded placatingly. "Of course you will, Spike. But before that…"
Cloud cut him off before he could continue. "We can go down to Sector 6." Reno surged forward, tackling him back and Cloud struggled under the hyperactive cadet. "Get off!"
Reno laughed into his shoulder, face buried in his neck. "What do you think I'm planning to do down in Sector 6, exactly?" The redhead paused while buried in his neck, and Cloud pressed his palms into his chest as the other inhaled.
"What the hell are you doing?" the blond grumbled.
"You smell good," Reno murmured, sounding a little distracted, but not fighting as he was pushed up.
"You're so weird," Cloud just shook his head, getting up off the bed as he looked down at his attire. He was in boxers and the oversized black sweater. Dressing up to go out never was his strong suit.
"Are you planning on pants?" Reno questioned, lounging back on the bed, grin splitting his face as he seemed more than content after getting his way.
Cloud's lip curled as he looked down on himself. "I was debating."
"Not that I don't think going down like that wouldn't be more beneficial for you, but you might want to lean towards pants," he held up a finger. "At least until we get to Honey Bee Inn."
Cloud groaned at that, reaching down into his chest to pull out black jeans as he shrugged them on over his skinny hips. "I am not going to Honey Bee Inn with you," he assured Reno. "I agreed to go down for a few drinks. That's it."
Reno nodded placatingly. "That's it," he agreed, but Cloud knew the redhead was only ever this agreeable when he wanted something.
"Reno," Cloud warned.
"Cloud," Reno mocked back, laughing. "I told you one drink!"
"Yeah yeah," Cloud agreed. "You told me. I just have a hard time believing you sometimes."
Reno crossed his fingers. "Shinra's honor," he assured him, devious grin plastered on his face.
A few hours later found him stumbling out of a bar in Wall Market, not able to hold his stomach back as he vomited in the back alley.
Oh well...he supposed these things happened.
Cloud's vision was swimming as he wiped at his mouth with the back of his sleeve, and he would be able to process later why that was so disgusting. Shutting his eyes to try to stop his vision from blurring, he successfully managed to push himself back off the wall. He looked around for Reno, but didn't see his friend anywhere in sight as he stumbled away from the mess he had made against the alley wall.
He needed to go home and get to bed. He had morning patrols, and if he missed another, Major Euwen would have his head...unruly blonde spikes and all. Cloud chuckled to himself at the thought, palm pressed to his stomach as he tried to prevent it from turning. He just had to catch a train and get back up to the plate. Reno did this stuff all the time. It couldn't be too hard. He just had to pretend for a moment that he had a sense of direction, and to not puke on anyone on the train. That part was probably the most important.
He felt hot down here in the slums, the smell curling his stomach as he tried not to be sick. He shouldn't have agreed to come down here with Reno. Especially not if his friend was going to abandon him at the first sign of tail. Cloud tried to remember who Reno had hooked up with tonight. He thought her name was Carrie, but maybe it was Candy. No, that was a stripper's name. Had they gone to a strip club? He couldn't remember.
Someone bumped into him, and Cloud grunted as he was knocked backwards onto the ground. His vision swam again, and he nearly blacked out as he looked up to see a man speedily walking away. Frowning, he reached down to his pockets, fingers pressing into them and frowning as he realized his key card to get home was gone.
"Shiitttttt…" Cloud rubbed at his face as he tried not to panic. All of his gil was on that card, his train pass was on that card, and his Shinra identification. They were going to kill him, and he was going to kill Reno in turn whenever he found him again.
"Spike?" Bleery blue eyes looked up at the familiar voice. It wasn't possible. He was hallucinating in his drunken panicked stupor, because he had been specifically told the mission was going to last another two weeks.
"Zack…" he breathed out, desperation filling his tone as his stomach was hurting so bad. He stared up as unruly black spikes came into view, mako laced violet eyes blinking at him as he leaned down, a gloved hand reaching out to cup his cheek.
"Spike, what in the world are you doing here?" the concern in that tone was sincere enough to be real, and Cloud blinked away some of the inebriation as he realized the SOLDIER First Class was actually kneeling down in front of him.
"You came," Cloud managed, and for some reason just seeing Zack caused the cramps to lesson in his stomach. He lunged forward without thinking, arms throwing themselves around the SOLDIER's neck, burying his face in it as a calm swept through him.
"Whoah," Zack soothed, not pushing him away, but merely wrapping his arms around him and pulling him close, comforting circles rubbing against the small of his back as his sweater rode up. "Hey, what's going on?" Concern laced his tone. "Spike, talk to me."
"I got robbed," Cloud spoke into Zack's neck, inhaling the scent of oil and sweat from the mission. "They took my ID card. They're going to kick me out, aren't they?" If there was a whine in his voice, he would blame it on the alcohol. That, and the fact that he had really missed the SOLDIER. He had been gone on this latest mission for over a month.
"Sshhhhhh," Zack quieted his anxiety, those hands going further up the back of his sweater, and Cloud pressed closer, not knowing why he was doing it exactly, just knowing that Zack's smell calmed him. "Cloud…" There was almost a warning growl in the SOLDIER's voice, but Cloud ignored it as he clung tighter.
"Help me," he begged. Reno had left him, but Zack never would. Zack was his friend. "I don't feel good."
"He's drunk," a voice said with distaste, and Cloud couldn't get the spins to stop in order to pull his face away.
"He's just sick," he heard Zack's reply, defending him as fingers seemed to knead their way up his back.
"Well I can see that Zack, but that doesn't change the fact that he reeks of slum swill." For some reason he thought he had heard that voice before. For some reason he thought he should be remembering where from.
"Listen," Zack spoke hesitantly. "Just don't say anything, alright? I swear he's not normally like this." Cloud dragged his lips against Zack's neck, practically tasting the mako on his skin as he squirmed on top of him. "Spike…" the voice was strangled, arms tightening around him. "You gotta stop that, okay?" Zack's voice was breathy, and Cloud fought against whatever instincts told him to continue to burrow forward in order to lean back to look into Zack's eyes. They were almost black, the mako only a thin glowing line around them.
"My stomach hurts," he admitted softly, wanting Zack to make it better...needing him to make it better.
"He's going to vomit on you," That other voice spoke, slight amusement in his tone, but he couldn't drag his eyes away from those blown out pupils as Zack's hand rubbed at his back.
"I'll take you home, okay?" Zack promised. Zack, his savior...his SOLDIER.
Cloud nodded, reaching out to cup both sides of Zack's face. "Take me home," he agreed. "My stomach hurts," he said again.
"I know it does, Spike," Zack breathed, and they were so close. Zack didn't care that he had lost his key card. He didn't care that he had found him sprawled out in the dirt. He was going to help him. "I'll get you home, okay?" Those kind eyes promised, and Cloud knew he would never be let down by them.
"The hell you will," That other voice spoke, and Cloud merely whimpered at the thought of not getting to go to bed, burying his face once more in Zack's neck as he shut his eyes. "They see him like that and he'll be booted out as quickly as you can say Shinra failure."
"Sephiroth," Zack warned, and Cloud stiffened at the sound of the name.
"Have him stay down here for the night. If he goes back up the plate someone will inevitably see him stumbling around. Plus he has no keycard, and the security system on the trains runs at this time of night. He'll never get back up, even if he is with you."
Cloud was stiff now in the other's arms, trying to wrap his drunken brain around the fact that Zack had just said Sephiroth. "Zack…" he breathed into the other's ear, too startled by the change to notice the way the other seemed to shiver. "Did you say Sephiroth?"
"At least he's not completely incoherent," that voice spoke again, and Cloud turned his face so that he was practically laying on Zack's shoulder, eyes roaming up to see leather clad legs, a leather vest, and finally long silver hair.
"You're Sephiroth," he managed, and parts of his brain had lit up in panic, screaming at him to run, but his stomach was so curdled, and Zack was holding him tight, and he couldn't bring himself to move.
"I am," Sephiroth spoke, a hint of amusement in his town even as he stared down at him with bright green, almost cat like eyes.
"I'm drunk," Cloud stated now, hoping it sounded like an apology as he realized just what had transpired tonight. He was going to kill Reno.
"You are," Sephiroth agreed again, sounding a bit more amused as he watched him. "Lieutenant Fair is going to take care of you."
"Because of the keycard?" Cloud asked dumbly, hearing Zack laugh at his question.
"Yes," Sephiroth answered after a moment, silver eyebrow raised. "Any more pertinent questions for the night?"
Cloud stared up in amazement at probably the most beautiful human he had ever seen in his life. "How long does it take you to brush your hair?" Zack snickered at that, dropping his face down to hide his laughter in Cloud's neck, and Cloud only vaguely noticed the way he stiffened when he did so. Sephiroth had been frowning down at him, but his eyes sharpened as Zack's arms wrapped tight around him, making him whine at the pain around his sore torso. "Zack…" he tried.
"What's wrong?" Sephiroth asked, but for some reason Cloud didn't think he was asking him.
"The...smell…" Zack managed, his voice strained, and Cloud felt him sniff against his neck.
"Zack," Sephiroth warned as Cloud became self aware enough to pull back a little to look at the almost feral glaze to Zack's eyes.
"Zack?" Cloud asked, fingertips tracing along that sharp jawline.
"Why do you smell like that?" Zack questioned him, and Cloud felt himself squirm in response as a wave of arousal passed through him at that tone.
"Zack," A warning growl almost came from Sephiroth then, but Cloud couldn't look away from those black eyes. Soon, however, he wasn't given a choice as a whistling sound reverberated through the air and crashed into the restaurant behind him.
When the explosion came it was deafening. Smoke and rock flew everywhere as the world became alight with screams of terror and agony. Cloud sobered as he was thrown forward, forehead cracking against the ground as he skidded 20 feet.
By the time he pushed himself up shakily to his feet, he saw that Sephiroth and Zack were already in action. Soldiers in Wutai garb had surrounded the area, and his eyes were wide as he realized he hadn't brought a weapon.
"Cloud run!" Zack yelled after him, and Cloud understood the urgency in that tone as the SOLDIER swung his sword at the nearest soldier, clashing with steel as he threw him back.
Cloud watched with wide eyes as the two fought, more and more soldiers surrounding him as he took on multiple at once. He didn't even notice the sword swinging at his face until it was blocked by another right before it hit.
Blue eyes glittered with steel as he slowly glanced along the enormously long blade, seeing Sephiroth on the other end of it, before the blade shifted and stabbed directly through the Wutai soldier's head.
"Get him out of here, Seph!" Zack cried, impaling his sword through a man, before swinging the man and sword both to bowl over a group of them.
Sephiroth grabbed onto his forearm, yanking him as Cloud could only shoot Zack one more brief look before running after him.
They slid around the corner, taking off down an alley as Sephiroth ran in front of him, slicing through bodies to create a path. Blood splattered over Cloud's face as adrenaline pumped through his veins. Sephiroth stabbed through three bodies at once, pinning them to the wall like shish kabobs. He yanked the sword out with just as much grace as the bodies piled before him. Cloud reached down shakily, grabbing for one of the discarded swords, and just barely being able to turn it around to stab through armor as a man charged him.
He felt the sword go through flesh, bone, and armor, coming out the other side of his chest cavity and drenching him in the arterial spray. Cloud's eyes are wide as he saw that head slump over. He'd never killed anyone before.
Sephiroth grabbed him by the shoulders before he had the chance to think too much more on it as another explosion sounded through Sector 6. His head rang, and it was laughable to think that a few hours ago he had been thinking about a pain in his stomach. Carnage surrounded him in the form of bodies blown into pieces. The smell of burning flesh maked his stomach roll, and he vomited up whatever little was left inside of him, before Sephiroth is once more yanked him forward.
It never occurred to him when he had been whining to Reno a few hours ago that he would ever in his lifetime get the chance to meet the General, and yet now he was being saved by him over and over again. If he lived through the night he would deeply consider the life choices that had led him here.
"Can you fight?" Sephiroth questioned as 20 soldiers surrounded them. He knew it wouldn't matter, Sephiroth himself could probably take out 100. But he was having to worry about him. He was a liability.
"I can fight," he assured him, tightening his hold on the stolen blade. Up until this point he had only ever used a rifle outside of practice.
"Good," Sephiroth murmured, eyes scanning around him as he weighed their options. "Don't die. Zack would never let me hear the end of it." Sephiroth was gone after that, and murder laid down in his wake.
Cloud charged a Wutai soldier as well, managing to connect with his sword as he was pushed back, spinning to try to counter as metal clashed again. He tried to keep up as the soldier began to slash faster, and Cloud's inebriated mind was having troubles as he moved as quickly as his body could. Cloud cried out as a sword sank into his flesh, slashing across his forearm, and spinning around to impale him. Sephiroth's sword cut him clean in half at the waist before he ever could make the killing strike.
His eyes glanced around the carnage as a pile of bodies surrounded them. Sephiroth had taken them all out, as if it had been child's play to him. "Why did they attack?"
"Why didn't you defend yourself?" Sephiroth barked back, not bothering to wipe the blood from his sword before sheathing it. "Did you want to die tonight!?"
Cloud was so taken aback by the fact that the famous SOLDIER was yelling at him, that it took him a few moments to become defensive. "I tried to fight!"
"Oh?" Sephiroth questioned, motioning over to the dead Wutai soldier. "Was that trying? It looked an awful lot like failing."
"What the hell is your problem?" Cloud found himself asking before he could stop himself.
"I said I would keep you safe!" Sephiroth barked. "You have no idea how much he talks about you! How he…" Sephiroth cut himself off, and clearly the situation had caused his temper to spike. He took a deep breath to calm himself, his eyes going cold again as he watched him. "What did he mean earlier? When he smelled you?"
"You're asking me?" Cloud asked incredulously, having been half out of it when he had seen Zack earlier.
"Who else would I be asking?" Sephiroth questioned back with a raised brow as screams continued throughout the district. "Do you know what Zack is?" Sephiroth asked quietly.
"A SOLDIER," Cloud answered back, and from the chuckle he knew he had said something stupid.
"Yes, but do you know what a SOLDIER is?" Sephiroth questioned, taking a few steps closer. "What they make us?"
"Make you?" Cloud questioned, brow furrowed as just those words strung together had his stomach rolling again.
"Alphas," Sephiroth replied. "They infuse our cells with mako and all manner of different beasts, and in return we become something more. Our senses become heightened. We become more aware. We have certain...urges."
"Urges?" Cloud asked quietly, not believing what Sephiroth was saying could possibly be real. He had known Zack for over a year and he had never said anything. Zack was the kindest person he had ever met. He couldn't be a monster. Is that really what it meant to be a SOLDIER?
"Strong predilections you might say. So when I saw the way he was looking at you, I must admit, I got curious." Sephiroth grabbed him again, yanking him close as the taller man pressed his face to his neck and inhaled.
Sephiroth stiffened once he smelled him, and Cloud didn't know what was happening as that feeling in his belly began to swirl again. The General of Shinra pulled back, eyes wide and searching as he stared down at him.
"What are you?" he growled out low, and Cloud could only stare as a million questions ran through his mind.
"I'm just a kid from Nibelheim," Cloud answered, reaching up to press his hand against Sephiroth's chest to create some space.
"No Cloud," Sephirother spoke, and his voice was practically a purr. "You really aren't."
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