Chapter 35: Staring at the Flames
Summary: Cloud worries that he's not taking enough care of the team. Someone unexpected turns up, and something unexpected as well.
Cloud felt a little stretched the next morning. The washout and Zack's fall, combined with the long evening, had stressed him greatly. At least the talk with Tifa had gone well – she'd given Genesis a quiet, guilty apology first thing in the morning, which he'd accepted graciously.
(So different from how the SOLDIER First had been six years ago. Or, considering Zack's story, even one year ago. Could it be trusted?)
Breakfast had been tasty with easy conversation flowing around Cloud – not demanding his participation, thank the gods! The coffee had been dark and strong, and a great (though temporary) cure-all for a draggy morning. It didn't cure guilt, however, and unlike Tifa, Cloud didn't know who to apologize to.
They'd been forming into a good team – everyone familiar with their places and comfortable with each other – but yesterday had wrecked that. It had filled the team with worry, suspicion, arrogance, and anger.
It was his fault Zack had gotten so badly hurt; that Genesis had been forced to reveal his mutation, and the team had splintered. Bad decisions, wishful thinking, no thinking….
He hated being incompetent. Why hadn't he taken them on the faster, safer, expressway from Junon down to Fort Condor? Why had he insisted on bringing them on this narrow, dangerous track that was just barely clinging to solid ground?
Because he'd wanted to show off a little. He'd wanted to show them some of the places he'd been, the people he'd met, the experiences he'd had living his weird life delivering other people's stuff.
He wanted to convince Zack to share this life with him. He wanted to show Tifa that his choice of life was just fine – more than fine, actually. He wanted Genesis…
Well, he wanted to fuck Genesis, and that was enough explanation for a lot of stupidity.
Then yesterday – the washout. Why hadn't he made Zack go out and find a better tree – wider, longer? Why hadn't he had them tie the planks together so they couldn't separate? Why hadn't he had them build some kind of bracing for all the stones they piled in the opening?
Because he hadn't wanted to take the time. He was a good driver and thought it would be fine. He'd had a schedule and they'd already been behind.
An imaginary schedule that only he cared about.
He'd planned on them stopping at Myrna's Landing, which was a couple hours down the road from this village. He knew someone there who made the best chowder and biscuits on the west coast, and he'd wanted Zack and Tifa (and Aerith and Genesis) to try it and love it the way he did. So he'd rushed through the planning and the prep for the washout. He'd taken risks and deemed them acceptable.
If they'd made it to Myrna's Landing, they could've made Fort Condor today, but now, from here? It would be a long, long day. Too long. They wouldn't be driving along the coastal track, but the mountain pass was just as bad, meaning tired drivers, a dangerous road, and full darkness – just the combination he'd hoped to avoid by pushing them during the washout yesterday.
When today's options came up at breakfast, Zack and Tifa were for taking the risk. Aerith and Genesis both said no. Aerith because Zack was still healing (the purple-green bruise on the side of his face ran around to his back even with all the Curas). Genesis…. Genesis said he wanted to take the time to enjoy the scenery and the freedom he'd lost. Cloud thought that was true. He also thought the SOLDIER was in no hurry to find and confront Sephiroth, his former friend and rival.
Cloud cast his vote with Aerith and Genesis, not willing to risk anyone else, and mentally picked Dunnon as the best place for them to stop. It wouldn't be as pleasant – he and Torven hadn't parted gracefully – but Tor would probably still have his da's old cottage they could use. It meant another four hours on the road today, and then six tomorrow. Manageable.
Luckily there were no more washouts and the only creatures to get in their way were a herd of mountain goats that leapt up off the road with a grace that even Deza couldn't match. They made Dunnon with plenty of light to spare.
As expected, Torven was pretty surprised to see Cloud. Also as expected, he still had his da's old cottage, and he needed the gil.
Tor didn't offer to feed them, and this tiny hamlet didn't have an inn, but he and Tifa managed to put together a decent meal on the camp stove (since Torven hadn't offered them any wood for the oven).
Cloud ignored the sideways looks from the team as he worked. He knew why they were doing it; this was the first time he hadn't gotten a friendly welcome and they were curious. Cloud didn't explain. Torven had been an early mistake. He'd wanted permanent, and it had taken Cloud too long to be clear that he didn't. And that misstep was nobody's business but his and Torven's.
Cloud had forgiven himself for it because he'd been young and still setting up his post-Shinra, post-Honeybee Inn life. He and Tifa'd just reconnected, and maybe, seeing his childhood crush, a living reminder of where he'd come from, maybe part of him had thought that he should want permanent.
They ate and then laid out their bed rolls and blankets on the hard wood floor and slept in a pile to conserve body heat.
In the morning, Cloud traded a Kalm wool scarf for bacon and eggs from Old Lady Merker. She sniffed at him in disapproval (Torven was a nephew) but made the trade like he'd figured. (Cloud always kept something for trade. In some of the smallest villages, gil wasn't worth anything since there was nowhere to spend it.)
After breakfast, they left Dunnon without saying goodbye to anyone and that was completely fine.
It only took an hour to be well away from the coast. To avoid the Temple Peninsula's thick jungle with its weird dangers, they were going up and over the Condor Range. The Condors weren't as high as the Nibel mountains Cloud'd grown up in, but they'd get high enough to bring back memories. He hoped they didn't make Tifa feel homesick – he hadn't thought of that either when he'd picked this route.
To get to the pass, they climbed and climbed, clinging to the side of the mountains; driving through the lightest skiffs of snow, and looking over at glaciers that covered whole valleys. Far off to the right was the South Emerald Sea glinting in the sun, and the dense greenery on the peninsula that hid all its secrets.
They drove up through thick mist, and it wasn't until they were on top of it, at the highest point of the pass, that the others realized they were looking down on a low cloud.
They could (and did) look out over the wisps of moisture while eating a hasty lunch. Afternoon sunshine hit the isolated spire of Fort Condor, making it a beacon against the low, rolling hills that made up the misnamed Condor Flats. But, Cloud supposed, they'd probably seemed flat compared to the ring of mountains that surrounded them.
"This reminds me of the area around Nibelheim," Zack said, looking not over the Flats but at the snaking line of mountains.
"The Nibel Mountains are higher," Tifa said with a sniff, but she didn't stop looking either.
It was too late (and too cold, despite Tifa's disdainful mountain-girl sniff) to stop for long up this high, but before they get back on the road, Cloud clears his throat. "I have an Enemy Lure."
They look at him, saying nothing.
"Think it's a good idea to equip it."
Still no comment, but a lot of raised eyebrows.
He sighed and explained further. "Lotsa creatures between here and Fort Condor. Most of them are tough, but not hard," he said. "Good time to work on materia, get used to new weapons–"
"Gel as a team?" Genesis said with a little sneer.
Cloud just nodded. "Gotta an Enemy Away for when they get nasty."
A quick nod, a little shrug, and Zack was the first to agree. Genesis was next. (His shrug was accompanied by his signature sneer.) Tifa looked at Aerith who looked at Zack who smiled at everyone, and then they were both nodding. It took only seconds to swap out the materia while the others got back in the truck.
They dropped back down through the cloud, down the side of this mountain and the next. Low enough that his ears popped from the pressure change and there was suddenly enough dirt for trees. They weren't dense enough that every animal in it used the road as their highway, but there were enough that attack them that Aerith got fully comfortable with Striking Staff, Tifa managed to power up her First Strike materia, and Zack's HP Absorb and Genesis's Poison also got boosted. At this rate they would've mastered most of their materia before they even faced Sephiroth.
Eventually, the thin woods petered out and the trees turned into farmlands and ranches. The only monsters were dual horns being cultivated for meat and leather. They weren't tame, but they didn't charge either.
Soon the greens and rich browns of the farms turned into dull, dry browns, the homesteads went from vibrant to deserted, and Cloud knew the animals would go from domestic to demented. He stopped and swapped out the Enemy Lure for the Enemy Away, and aside from one attempted ambush by a couple bandits on horned lizards, they went untouched all the way to the foot of Fort Condor's Mountain.
Cloud hadn't been to every reactor location on the planet, but he could see that the land around Fort Condor was looking a lot like the land around Midgar. He wondered if there was a dead spot on the seabed next to the Junon reactor and what kind of monsters did it spawn? Then he decided he didn't want to know.
Unlike the new expressway that had bulldozed, leveled, and made bridges along one whole side to make travel fast and efficient, the old road twisted up a narrow, jagged crevice to reach the plateau the town was built on. The last bit was too steep and twisty for any kind of speed, and the high sides blocked most of the afternoon light, but they were nearly there, nearly safe once again. He knew a place on the east edge of town that they could get to without passing through Shinra's checkpoints. A place with decent food, decent rooms, but where the town's musicians got together to play for the hell of it.
He was still trying to show off, but this time no one would be hurt from it.
Unless some drunk idiot tried to pick a fight with one of them, which was unlikely.
It was a work night. Nobody would be getting too drunk, he told himself again.
Any plan they'd had to sneak around Shinra's forces was ruined before they'd reached the first building.
Just before the road was completely free of the crevice, and they'd be able to dodge left or right, a purple-clad SOLDIER Second stood in the middle of the road. He was flanked by two Third Classes, and a whole company of regular troops.
He looked over at Genesis, but the redhead was already slowing down. Cloud followed his lead. He wasn't Zack to take a thousand bullets and survive, and neither were Tifa or Aerith.
He shouldn't have worried. The helmeted SOLDIER Second waved at them and walked forward with an excited almost-jog. The Thirds followed, keeping their swords harnessed. Only the regular troops seemed nervous.
The helmeted SOLDIER stopped a couple feet away. "Rhapsodos? Wow. You look… different."
" 'Within the heart's water a hopeless wanderer will flow. Like ripples to waves come forth the dreams below.' " Genesis said.
It was hard to tell under the helmet, but Cloud was pretty sure the man's eyes rolled. "Uh, okay. You're definitely Genesis."
"Kunsel," Genesis acknowledged with a small smile. He stepped off the motorcycle and assumed a casual pose. Genesis's pose looked casual, but Cloud could see tension in the red-head's shoulders and knees.
"One thing to hear you're back," Kunsel said. "Another thing completely to see it. Zack said you were with him." The Second sounded doubtful.
"Are you going to try to kill me?" Genesis sighed dramatically, though his eyes never left the SOLDIER.
Before Zack's friend could answer, the truck pulled up behind them. The helmet swiveled in its direction. The driver door opened, and Zack slid out, slower than Cloud expected. "Kunsel?"
How did he know? Cloud wondered. The Second was wearing a helmet that covered everything but his chin, and his uniform was bog standard.
The two men met in the middle, clasping forearm to forearm, before switching to a handclasp they used to pull each other in for an odd half-hug with back thumps. It was very smooth, so they'd obviously done it many times. But Cloud didn't think Kunsel slumping and putting his head on Zack's shoulder was usually part of the routine.
"Fair. Holy fuck, man!" The voice was quiet. "You asshole."
"Yeah. I know."
The two SOLDIER thirds took a couple hesitant steps forward and then a couple more until they were close enough to punch Zack's arm. Cloud could see the smiles underneath the concealing helmets.
"Tarkin! Duff! Odin's fucking balls, how're you two still alive?" Zack laughed. "I was sure you'd've electrocuted yourselves."
While the reunion went on beside him, Cloud watched as the security troopers shifted uneasily. This obviously wasn't what they'd been expecting. He picked out the one with the sergeant's stripes. Her posture was tense, the grip on her gun was tight. She wasn't happy with the situation. Would he make it better or worse by going up and chatting?
"Hey, guys," Zack said to the SOLDIERs. "Know how I was always talking about Aerith?" There were long-suffering groans, and Zack laughed even brighter. "Well, you can finally meet her."
Aerith's light voice joined the group around Zack, and then Tifa's, sounding cautious.
Cloud decided that the sergeant wouldn't be open for a chat.
"And this is Cloud, my rescuer and m' friend!" Cloud hadn't moved, but Zack had shifted so that he could be pulled into a loose headlock.
"Rescuer?" the purple-covered SOLDIER asked. "You got him out of –"
"Not the place," Cloud said, cutting him off. He nodded at the troopers. "Don't think everyone is happy about this."
Kunsel, Zack's mysterious all-knowing friend, said, "Ah, right. Fuck. I'll deal with them," and walked over to the sergeant.
"So why are you guys here?" Zack asked the two Thirds.
One of them replied, "Kunsel got a message this morning, telling him you'd be showing up on this road."
Zack looked at Cloud. "Turks." Cloud didn't bother nodding.
"I think the sergeant was expecting Wutai terrorists," said the other Third.
"Am I still listed as an escaped experiment?" Zack asked quietly.
"Man, you are still listed as dead," replied the first SOLDIER.
"So's Genesis," added the second. He gave Genesis a nod and a wave. Genesis merely raised an eyebrow. "Is he still crazy and evil?"
Zack snorted. "Evil, no. Crazy's debatable."
"I can hear you!"
"You're really working with him?" asked the second SOLDIER more softly. "After everything?"
"Ahh," Zack hesitated. "That's also probably something best not talked about out here."
Suddenly, angry voices from the trooper area broke into their soft conversation. "… and that one is a traitor!"
"There are no outstanding orders on either of them," Kunsel replied back. "If it helps, you have no authority here: the message was given to SOLDIER, not the regular security force."
The sergeant stepped forward, whispering forcefully. Kunsel didn't bother whispering. "I know, I know. It's okay. I get it." Kunsel raised his hands. "Your orders were to watch us 'for suspicious activity', because your CO hates SOLDIER. I get it. He didn't get into SOLDIER, so you get sent out here to stand around all day watching us do nothing. It sucks."
Cloud could hear Kunsel's soft voice perfectly, as could Zack and Genesis and the other SOLDIERs. He wondered if Tifa could as well – had Nibelheim's mako affected her that much? – but he wasn't willing to look away from the stand off. Would the troopers start shooting at them? He looked at shoulders and fingers – most were relaxed, or at least, relaxing. It was obvious that some of the grunts had heard Kunsel and agreed with him.
There were some more soft arguments – soft enough that Cloud didn't hear them. Didn't matter; Kunsel turned to Zack, "Are you militants terrorists here to assist the Fort Condor rebels?"
Zack stared. "Uh, no?"
"We've been hired by Rufus Shinra to investigate his father's death!" Aerith popped up; hands clasped under her chin enthusiastically. She was wearing her painted belly guard over her pink dress today. Somehow, it didn't look weird.
The sergeant wasn't the only one who made disbelieving noises.
"Can call 'im if you like," Cloud said, because why not? If they were going to use his name, might as well use his clout, too.
"No, no, no," Genesis protested dramatically. "Shinra Junior is a busy man. However," he drawled in his best stage voice. "We could call the head of Administrative Research. After all, it was he who negotiated our contract."
Everybody who worked for Shinra knew the Department of Administrative Research was the company's dirty works division. Employees might not know them as Turks, and they probably didn't know there were only five left, but they'd know that people – even important people – were ruined when Administrative Research got involved. The sergeant wasn't an important person. She'd just disappear, and in a few months, her family would get a sad note and a large payout, and her name would be added to the board.
Cloud saw the moment she realized that this wasn't her fight. Her shoulders dropped and her stance shifted.
"I'll still be reporting this."
Kunsel waved a hand. "Report away," he said. "Not your fault this was a pissy assignment."
They were a diplomat's words. They said SOLDIERs and troopers were both victims of the military structure. It allowed the sergeant to fulfil her duties and let her know that the SOLDIER wouldn't hold it against her.
Whether the sergeant would hold it against the SOLDIER was another matter.
While the sergeant mustered her troops for the trip back to the town, Kunsel walked back to where their team had clumped with the two Thirds. "We've got some catching up to do, so let's go someplace quieter and do that."
The only sound out here was the troopers and the birds.
"You know a place?" Zack asked.
Kunsel nodded. "Our billet's good. The couple that own it are out of work while the reactor's shut down. Completely apolitical. I'll show you."
At first it looked like they'd have some issues getting everyone back to town. Apparently, the SOLDIERs had come with the troopers, but none of them were wanted to go back with them now that they knew Zack was here.
Cloud rolled his eyes when one of the Thirds – he thought it was Duff – offered to run alongside their vehicle. While Genesis snickered, Cloud pointed the two SOLDIER Thirds into the back of the truck and Kunsel into the front with Zack so he could give directions.
Though not as big as Zack, Kunsel wasn't small; that meant there wasn't enough room for Aerith or Tifa which had been the original hold up. Tifa wasn't willing to ride in the back with the SOLDIERs, so Cloud offered her his pillion seat, and Aerith skipped over to take her place behind Genesis.
"I've never been on a motorcycle," she said with excitement.
"Just don't do anything," Genesis said. "Don't lean into the turns; don't put your feet down if we stop; don't shift, wiggle, or raise your arms to shout joy to the world."
"It doesn't sound like it will be fun at all."
By the end of the ride, she'd changed her mind. Aerith hopped off the bike and bounced over to Zack, exclaiming about how "exhilarating it was!" and wanting to learn how to drive one "right now". Zack laughed and promised to teach her. She burbled happily as they walked into the house that looked more like a small inn.
"Hey, Mr and Mrs B!" Kunsel called out as he led them into the front room. "Got company for the night."
A youngish woman popped her head into the hall. "Shinra paying for the extra rooms?"
Kunsel looked at them. Cloud and Zack stepped forward, but it was Zack who replied, "No, ma'am. We can pay for ourselves."
She looked up – and up. "Lordy, you're a tall one."
"Uh, you should see this other guy I know. Makes me feel like a shrimp," Zack said, still smiling. "How much for room and board for five? Big appetites on three of us."
Genesis drew himself up. "I don't eat that much!"
"Tifa does," Zack said immediately. Which wasn't completely true but wasn't completely untrue either.
"Eyes say you're SOLDIER."
"Former SOLDIERs, yes. Well, two of us," Zack confirmed.
"Can make enough to feed you all, but we'll need the funds to buy the extra."
"Not an issue." Zack looked to Cloud. Recognizing his cue, Cloud took over the haggling, something he was good at, and at which Zack was very, very bad. Honestly, anyone in their party was better than Zack unless he pulled out his hang-dog "woe is me" look.
Although, Cloud didn't dicker too much with their hosts. He could spend Shinra's ten million gil on worse things.
Mr B looked at him, looked at his eyes. "You're not SOLDIER?" he said disbelievingly as his wife took their money.
"Nah," Cloud shook his head.
"Those eyes. I'd've said Second Class for sure," he pressed.
Cloud smiled ruefully. "Worked for Shinra once. They're careless with their supplies."
"They're careless with everything." Her husband's curiosity shifted to sympathy. It didn't go over to pity, so Cloud ignored it.
"We'll be using the back room, for a chin-wag," Kunsel said to the pair. Mr B nodded agreeably, grabbed his coat. "Back in two hours," he said, and left with his wife.
Kunsel jerked his head towards the dimly lit end of the corridor.
Zack didn't move. "Maybe Tarkin and Duff shouldn't be here for this." Under the helmet, Kunsel smiled. Zack rushed on, "I mean, it could –"
"Zack, Tseng sent me here. Me," his friend interrupted. "And he's the one who told me to stake out that old road," the Second continued. "So whatever you're worried about Duff and Tarkin knowing, the Turks obviously aren't. And before we discuss why that might be, let's get settled in the backroom with the jammer."
So, with a bottle of their host's whiskey, and tea for Aerith and Genesis, they settled in a narrow, windowless dining room with a long table and hard chairs.
Kunsel brought out a device only slightly larger than Aerith's cup and placed it on the table. He explained it was a jammer: it would stop anyone outside the building from picking up their voices, "Unless we start shouting, so let's not do that."
He also took off his helmet, placing it on the table next to him. Revealing regular features made memorable by a large scar – burn scar it looked like – covering his left temple and pushing back his hairline. Too memorable to be a Turk, but completely unnoticeable under the face-hiding Shinra helmet.
Only then did Cloud realise how wary it had made him that a friend of Zack's had kept himself hidden like that. Zack trusted Kunsel, but Cloud hadn't been able to see the SOLDIER's eyes, couldn't judge for himself if there was friendship or threat, truth or lies, in them. This was better.
On the other hand, the whiskey was terrible. Didn't stop any of the SOLDIERs from throwing back the first glass, though.
"Tseng is wooing SOLDIER," Genesis said as Duff refilled their glasses. " 'The wings of fate need air to move the world. But, to the friends, it is merely a summer's breeze.' "
"Loveless, Prologue," said Duff, and Genesis raised his teacup in salute.
"Cute, but that doesn't actually explain as much as you think it does," Zack took a sip of his whiskey, coughing lightly at the roughness.
Genesis sighed long-sufferingly. "Poor puppy. You never did have a head for intrigue."
"Kicked your ass before, Rhapsodos…" Zack growled in threat.
"It is intrigue," Kunsel said and broke up the brewing fight. "It's always intrigue when the Turks're involved. But why do you think Tseng's 'wooing SOLDIER'?"
"The Turks back Rufus," Genesis said, taking a delicate sip of his tea. Cloud kind of envied him that tea. "But there are only five of them and Rufus's position is delicate. Midgar is literally falling, and many dirty secrets are being revealed. His father was murdered, and I'm sure Heidegger and Scarlett would love to repeat the event with Rufus as the star." All the SOLDIERs, current and former, nodded agreement.
"Heidegger controls the security forces and Scarlett's got her mechs," Kunsel continued. "But if Rufus can get SOLDIER on his side, it'll be an almost even match."
"Are there enough SOLDIERs left?" Zack asked.
Genesis raised an eyebrow. "Would you not assist your friends if needed?" He waved a languid hand at the three active SOLDIERs.
Cloud snorted. "Course he would."
"You decimated a regiment of regular troops and artillery, puppy." Genesis smirked at Zack's scowl. "A few of Scarlett's toys would be child's play."
"That was you? " Duff said in shock. "That thing, two months ago. Just outside the city." he said when Tarkin poked him for an explanation. They both turned to look at Zack with huge, worshiping eyes.
To his credit, Zack shifted uncomfortably. "I did die, guys. If it wasn't for Cloud –"
"Wait!" Kunsel raised his hand, palm out. "Let's start at the beginning. Before it hit the tipping point, and everything fell apart."
"Everything?" Genesis's sneer was ugly, and his voice was accusing. It was bravado, Cloud knew, and shame. Maybe a little embarrassment that he'd lost control of himself so badly.
Zack turned to his former commander, "Yeah, actually. You weren't at the bar when Tifa and Cloud and Aerith and I filled each other in, so I don't actually know the core of the story. Whatever this crisis is, it started with you."
Genesis gave Zack a hard glare. His jaw set and he turned away.
Cloud caught his eye. "I'd like to know why you and all the other big-name Firsts went crazy in 0000."
So, they heard about Project-G firsthand, from one of its subjects? Victims? Survivors?
They heard how Genesis, Angeal, and Sephiroth had snuck into the VR training room – not to fight, but to hang out as friends, away from paperwork and PR, and all that went with being celebrities. But they'd ignored the ban on them fighting in the VR room (they tended to wreck the equipment) and sparred anyway – Genesis and Angeal vs Sephiroth – and somewhere in there the friendly spar had turned serious.
Angeal had tried to intervene. His sword had broken and a piece impaled Genesis. A simple wound. It should have healed almost immediately, but it hadn't.
The Science Department had been useless. More worried that the flaw that kept Genesis's shoulder from healing might occur in the other SOLDIERs. Hojo's smug face, as he dismissed Genesis's body as "based on an inferior process" and ordered his staff to work on other projects.
"Only Hollander tried. Only he cared. Even then, he didn't care about me." Genesis had moved onto drinking their host's wine and he took a long swallow. "Angeal said later that he'd noticed changes in me after Wutai, but he'd thought it was the war." He gave a bitter laugh. "He might have been partly right. The War was not…. It wasn't 'noble'," he sneered. "There is no glory in slaughtering villagers defending their homes, and that was what most of that 'war' was. I denied it at the time," he admitted it with a deliberately casual wave. "But we were not the heroes."
Zack was generally unsympathetic towards Genesis and his many complaints about Shinra and SOLDIER, but at this, even his face softened. He'd also wanted to be a hero when he'd joined SOLDIER.
Genesis walked them through his discovery (via Hollander's messy office and a project paper carelessly left out on a chair) of Project-G: its purpose (super soldiers), its subjects (Hewley, A and Rhapsodos, G) and its lead scientist (Angeal's mother – Doctor Gillian Hewley).
"Wait! Angeal's mother was a doctor?"
"Hmm," Genesis confirmed. "The senior scientist actually. That is why it was called Project-G, and not Project-E."
"What's the E for?" Zack asked, confused.
"Ermias," Kunsel answered.
They all winced. "Ermias Hollander," Duff said slowly. "Name like that, of course, he turned out evil."
Genesis snorted. "He wasn't evil. Just incompetent and ambitious."
Duff smiled. "And that refutes my statement, how?"
Genesis raised his glass to acknowledge the point, and then he went on. It wasn't that different from how Sephiroth had been turned into … what he was. Except Doctor Hewley had saturated herself with inert J-cells. Then they filtered them out of her blood and injected them into two artificially fertilized human eggs. Gillian Hewley took one of the eggs to gestate in her saturated body, and the other was implanted into the wife of a local merchant, who also agreed to be injected with inert J-cells.
"My mother's womb was bought with fifty hectares of orchards and the mayoralty for her husband." There was genuine hurt under the sneer. "They weren't awful to me. They just weren't interested. One of my earliest memories is of them handing me over to Doctor Hewley and walking away. I was still in diapers." He twirled the wine in his glass and looked beyond them into his past.
"That's why you and Angeal broke down differently?" Kunsel asked.
"Goddess knows," he sighed. "Doctor Hewley killed herself before explaining anything and Hollander never figured it out."
After that they talked about Angeal's defection and death. (Aerith leaned in close to Zack and he leaned back.) Sephiroth's growing unhappiness with Shinra… And they covered everything they'd gone over in Seventh Heaven two weeks ago. The reactor in Nibelheim, the lab, the showdown between Zack and Sephiroth….
"Are you sure you killed him?" Tarkin asked.
"I didn't kill him," Zack repeated. "Private Gidson did."
Cloud wasn't sure why Zack insisted on repeating that every time it came up. Maybe it was the remnants of that SOLDIER honour that he mocked. Whatever. The other SOLDIERs nodded and accepted the correction.
Tifa described it from her viewpoint. Zack talked (lightly) about his capture by Hojo, his eventual escape, his final showdown with Genesis in Banora and his nearly final showdown with a regiment of troopers on the cliffs above Midgar. Cloud explained about his squad and his coma; finding Zack, and being dropped into the underground lab and Deepground, and finally, Roman Shinra's murder by something that had looked like Sephiroth, and how they'd ended up on their overly-funded road trip with the new president as a client.
By the end of it, they'd gone through the bottle of whiskey, two of wine, and had started on some thick home-made liqueur none of them could identify, but that packed more punch than the whiskey had.
Kunsel sat back, scrubbing his face. "Fucking hells. Fucking hells." He looked at Zack. "Shinra really did all that." Zack nodded, looking sick that he'd pulled the 'honour' rug out from under them so completely. Cloud stroked a hand over Limri's Ifrit summon and resisted the impulse to say "duh!"
"What the hells do we do, Kuns?" Duff asked in despair. "We can't go back… Can't serve Shinra."
They could hear Mr and Mrs B puttering around in the kitchen, but they hadn't come in or said anything about their much-depleted liquor cupboard.
"Use it," Tifa said forcefully. The three SOLDIERs looked at her.
For a moment, it looked like she might back down.
"Go on," Genesis cooed encouragingly. She swallowed. Genesis rested his head on his hand and leaned towards her. "Tell them, Ms Lockhart." Cloud wondered if the red-haired SOLDIER hadn't completely given up his desire to destroy Shinra. Or maybe he just liked sowing chaos.
Bit of both, he decided and took another sip of the liqueur. It also tasted better than the whiskey had.
Tifa straightened. "Rufus is nervous," she blurted. "I don't think he feels as secure as president as he wanted us to think."
"Oh! Oh, yes!" Aerith bounced in her seat. "I think Tifa's right."
"If SOLDIER throws in with him, backs him against the rest of the board –"
Genesis looked at the SOLDIERs. "Heidegger and Scarlett, specifically."
"Whoever," Aerith waved it away. "The point is you could get some concessions out of Rufus Shinra in exchange for your support."
"He doesn't need SOLDIER," Tarkin shot back. "He's got the Turks."
Kunsel leaned forward. "No, no. She's right. If Heidegger and Scarlett made a play, that's like, five Turks against the army and all the mechs. That's bad odds for him. But with SOLDIER…."
"Fair did take out a regiment." Genesis leaned back, watching them with enjoyment.
"No offense, Genesis," Duff said. "But none of the SOLDIERs left are close to Zack's level."
"No, but there are more of us," Kunsel argued.
"And Scarlett's mechs are just as likely to kill allies as enemies," Duff added. "So, they hardly count as enemy forces."
"Chaotic neutral?" Cloud suggested.
"Yeah," Duff laughed. "And Heidegger's soldiers are a lot easier to kill than we are, so if one did go nuts, they have the most to lose."
"Ruthless pragmatism!" Genesis exclaimed. "I love it!"
"But what would we be making ourselves meat shields for?" Tarkin asked. "Shinra's still Shinra."
"Have them shut down the Science Department," Zack suggested. "Get rid of all those fucking monsters that take up so much room and are always getting out and destroying everything."
Genesis nodded. "Emphasize the waste of gil and resources," he said. "I believe that will appeal to Junior more than any moral argument."
"Get rid of Heidegger," Cloud said.
"What?" Tarkin asked. "Have him tossed as head of Public Security?" He laughed. "Yeah, right."
"Or maybe just shift SOLDIER out from under him," Kunsel said. He was leaning forward, enthusiasm building. "Fuck. You probably don't remember Lazard, but when he was director of SOLDIER, we could actually choose our missions."
"You can't do that anymore?" Zack looked at them in surprise.
They gave sad laughs and head shakes. "Not for years," Duff replied.
"If we could, we certainly wouldn't be wasting our time here," Tarkin added.
Kunsel nodded as if Tarkin had made a great argument. "When we had Lazard, we would've given him our assessment, and he would've taken it up with his old man, and he actually sometimes got things changed."
"I thought crushing insurrections is what SOLDIER was made for?" Tifa said, chin up.
"This isn't an insurrection," Kunsel replied "This is fucking miscommunication based on a really bad translation." Everyone except the two SOLDIERs looked at Kunsel in confusion. He looked at all of them in turn. "You know Fort Condor used to be its own little area, right? With its own language." They nodded. "Well, whoever first translated the place names into Northern Plains Common got it so wrong," he said. "Shinra didn't build their reactor on Mount Condor; they built it on Mount Phoenix and that is what is sitting on top of their fucking reactor: a phoenix."
Cloud blinked; Genesis sat back. Both Tifa and Zack looked stunned, but Aerith squealed, clasped hands coming up under her chin as she bounced. "Really?" She sounded so hopeful and excited.
Kunsel laughed. "Yeah. Really. I mean, holy shit! How can you blame them for shutting down the reactor knowing that a mother-fucking phoenix built its nest there?"
"You can't," Zack agreed. Everyone nodded in support. "You told Heidegger?"
Kunsel sighed. "Hells, yeah. I told him; I told the assistant to the assistant director in charge of SOLDIER. I told the assistant director in charge of operations. I burned every favour I had to get five minutes to talk to Heidegger. And I said, all we got to do is wait until the egg hatches and they'll start up the reactor again, no problem. Why make enemies when we don't have to?"
"But instead, they sent the army," Aerith said unhappily.
"Timing's perfect, then," Cloud said. "Rufus needs support, maybe wants to be different from his da."
"The idea of asking for concessions is a good one," Zack said. "Get out from under Heidegger, refuse missions SOLDIER used to be able to do."
"Oh yeah," Kunsel laughed. "I'll just phone him up. Oh wait…" He laughed. "I'm good, Zack, but even I can't get hold of the president's personal PHS number."
"Oh!" Aerith bounced. "Zack! Your phone."
"You gonna?" he asked even as he dug it out of a pocket. The screen was cracked, there were several major dents in the casing. Cloud made a mental note to pick up a new on for his friend before they left Fort Condor.
"Hello, Tseng, it's me, Aerith! We're in Fort Condor now, which you probably already know." Tseng must've said something because Aerith stopped talking. "We're very well, thank you. I leveled up five materia."
Cloud watched the SOLDIERs staring at Aerith in disbelief. They didn't know Aerith, and nothing about the way she dressed or held herself even hinted at the brazen core that ran through her. His mouth twitched. He dragged his lips back into shape.
"So, we've met up with Zack's friend, Kunsel, like you planned, and we have an idea that we'd like you to present to Rufus right away. Or!" she said in sudden excitement. "You could put him on the phone, and we could talk directly to him. That would probably be best."
Another pause. Cloud could barely make out Tseng's soft voice over the sound of three SOLDIERs choking.
"It's really quite important, Tseng," she replied. "Kunsel said he'd be willing to throw in with Rufus if Rufus is willing to negotiate. Starting with ending this stupid mission to Fort Condor. Did you know there's a phoenix nesting on the reactor?"
This time Tseng's sigh was clearly audible. "You want him to call the mission off because of a bird?"
"Tch!" she chided. "You know a phoenix is more than just a bird, and you can't be surprised that the locals are willing to fight to protect it. But it's a really stupid reason to start a war, Tseng." She sounded truly disappointed in the unseen Turk.
"This is what you hoped for, isn't it?" she asked bluntly.
A pause, then she handed the PHS to Kunsel. "He wants to talk to you." Kunsel looked a little stunned, but he took the PHS.
Aerith stood up. "We should go pay for the alcohol you all consumed and maybe help prepare supper."
"I would like to stay here," Genesis said mildly.
Aerith frowned at him. "Zack should stay," she declared. "You should come. Cloud?"
It was an order as clear as one from his old sergeant. This time Cloud did smile. He put his hand on Genesis's shoulder. "Come on. Fort Condor has a decent materia shop. Should still be open."
Genesis rose. "Well, in that case, why should we linger?" He moved in such a way that his coat swirled around him dramatically. Cloud appreciated how much practice it must have taken to get a knee-length jacket to move like that.
He could admit to himself that he was very attracted to Genesis – hells, he'd admitted to Tifa, and his reasons hadn't changed. That moment in Junon when he and Tifa had paused and they'd both lifted their faces to the sun and just… savoured it. That had probably been the point that Cloud's mild interest had turned into serious attraction. It had somehow been more honest than all the posing and quotations.
He also had a pretty good idea of why he hadn't pushed to make it more than a flirtation.
Cloud stayed behind the redhead as Genesis strode through the large house, charming and commanding and flirtatious. He kissed Mrs B's hand. He laid a manly hand on Mr B's shoulder. He asked Aerith and Tifa if they wanted to come while subtly steering them into remaining.
A man in control. A man in command. A man who liked to dominate his environment. He was very good at it.
Cloud shifted to walk beside Genesis as they headed in the direction of the materia store. Shinra had cured him of being submissive. Giving in hadn't saved him from bring hurt – had made it worse, probably. He'd learned not to give in and discovered he liked it.
"So are we truly going to a materia store, or are we sneaking away to ravish each other in some disgustingly seedy love motel?" Genesis leered and licked his lips as if it were a joke. It made Cloud remember that more than half of what Genesis said and did was an act.
"Materia is good here," Cloud said, and watched Genesis shift his expression to one of pouting disappointment. He cautiously added, "Been thinking about the other."
Genesis turned to him, walking backwards. "Truly?" he said delighted. Cloud reached out a hand to keep him from bumping into a baker with a tray of sweet buns as they entered a narrow, crowded passthrough from this part of the village to the high street.
Cloud didn't want to discuss this where everyone could hear, so he hummed, and waited, and tried not to triple-guess himself about the wisdom of admitting to his attraction. Genesis kept turning to look at him, which meant he kept bumping into the person in front of him when the line stopped.
With a sigh, Cloud grabbed his shoulders and kept him pointed in the right direction.
The high street was wide enough they could put space between themselves and the other pedestrians. It was Fort Condor's main street, filled with shops and offices. Most of the buildings on it weren't new, but they were looked after – fresh paint, repairs. Once upon a time their city hall had been here. Shinra had torn it down and replaced it with a glass and steel 4-storey monstrosity that looked as out of place as a marlboro in a flower garden.
The 4-storey Shinra Regional Office was smack-dab in the centre of the block on this side of the street. The lower floor was mostly showroom (Cloud had looked) and the bank, but the upper floors were probably barracks for Shinra's Security Forces.
"Problem is," Cloud went on once they were safely on the other side of the street from the regular army. "I don't bottom. Not for anyone." He knew his voice had gone hard, but it always did when talking about it. "I'm slim, not soft, not submissive."
"Ah," Genesis fell in beside him once again. "That sounds like an unpleasant story."
"Hmm," Cloud agreed curtly.
"Have you somehow determined that I would need you to take on that role during sex?" Genesis asked.
"Wouldn't you?" Cloud asked back just as bluntly. "You like ordering people around."
Genesis looked thoughtful, dipping out of the way of a passing child with the grace of a dancer. Cloud could appreciate that Genesis was taking his concerns seriously, while still being impatient as fuck to hear his response.
They were nearly at the materia shop – second ugliest building on the block, built out of cement and suspicion. The overly bright neon sign didn't help it seem more inviting.
Next door was a much more welcoming-looking item shop which was Cloud's actual destination. He was pretty sure the owners would have a direct line to the rebels holed up in the spire. Materia shop, then item shop, and then if all went well, reactor tomorrow and the huge materia would be lying on the ground somewhere, overlooked until they came along to find it.
"I like seeing what people will let me get away with; pushing at the doors of luck," Genesis replied eventually. "My mother's favourite axiom was 'if you never ask, you never get,' after all." A philosophy that had made her husband mayor of Banora.
"You are correct, that I am not a submissive person. And I have never been interested in relinquishing the upper position, as it were," Genesis said. It wasn't anything Cloud hadn't expected. He pushed open the door to the shop.
Before he could go in, Genesis dipped close. "However, lovely Cloud, I would certainly make an exception for you."
Cloud's mind kind of skittered to a stop. Genesis's smile as he slid by – a shade too close for casual – said he knew what he'd done. Cloud's hand had fallen from the door, and it was nearly closed when Genesis caught it.
He poked his head back out, waggling his eyebrows dramatically. "Are we still shopping? Or perhaps you now want to go somewhere else?"
Cloud put a hand on Genesis's pretty face and shoved him back inside the store.
A small bell tinkled as they stepped into the shop. It was barely 5-steps deep before you hit the counter – the very wide, very electrified counter that kept anyone from reaching over to grab the precious materia. Materia that was behind thick, locked glass.
Kane was a very small man who sat on a very high chair behind the very tall counter. He looked at them suspiciously and frowned at their swords. "Gentlemen." His scratchy voice said they had about five seconds before he pulled some kind of alarm.
Genesis immediately went into theatrical mode. "My good man! What a display!" If he'd had a handkerchief, he would've been waving it. "Cloud, my dear, you were absolutely right! It was worth coming here."
"You heard about my shop?" The suspicion was willing to give way to flattery.
Genesis, of course, picked up on that immediately. He smiled and said, "We're here from Midgar," in a tone that said they'd made the trip specially to come here. He also leaned forward, bending as if to put a hand on the counter.
Cloud reached out and stopped him. "Electrified," he warned.
"How droll." Genesis's smile turned brittle and sharp. He brought it back up to full power before looking back at Kane. "Now, my good man, your most interesting materia. What have you got?"
Kane turned off his countertop and slipped off his stool to open his cabinets.
Cloud was content to let Genesis take the lead here. He'd had enough discussion with Genesis (and Aerith) about the best materia to give to who, and how to configure their equipped materia for the best output, that he was completely confident in Genesis's ability to pick out the best materia for the team. Instead, he let his attention drift over the store and his mind think about what Genesis said. Could it be true?
Kane pulled out three gold materia, one green and one purple, all glowing only a little, meaning they were all low level. "These here are some of the best materia you can have in battle," he said with pride. " Throw, Manipulate, and Deathblow; Destruct and All."
"Take the All," Cloud said automatically, but his attention had been taken by a misshapen yellowish crystal that had been carefully mounted under a light on a heavy stone base.
He let his awareness of Genesis's dramatic haggling fall away – he still didn't care how much of Shinra's money they spent – and instead tried to feel whatever Aerith felt when she encountered a huge materia, because it couldn't be…
He wasn't sure it would work, but he knew his involuntary dips in mako had changed his body chemistry, and whatever Hojo had dumped on him had shifted him even more to the side of non-human. It wasn't Cetra level, but it was something, and it had given him better control of materia than he'd had before. Made him more sensitive though he tried to pass it off as experience. Less remarkable that way.
He could hear the people on the street outside, going on with their day. He let them fade. He could feel the slight hum of the mastered Lightning materia Kane used to power his alarms. He let that go as well. The regular materia – even the rare ones like Deathblow and Manipulate – Cloud put their hums all to one side. There should've been nothing, but there was still something….
He wouldn't be taking Genesis to the inn just up the street after all.
"That stone there." He jerked his chin at the lump. "Crystalized mako?" Kane seemed slightly thrown by the disruption to his negotiations.
"Um, yes. Good eye. Useless but pretty." He turned back to Genesis.
Cloud hummed. "Used to have mako caves where I grew up."
"Good for you?" Kane said uncertainly.
"How much you want for it?" Cloud looked down at the man.
"It's… just a rock."
Cloud shrugged. "Like you said, it's pretty."
They bought the All, the Destruct the Deathblow and the Manipulate plus a Restore for 35,000 gil and Kane threw in the 'crystalized mako' for another thousand. (He kept the stand.)
They walked out of the store and down the street in silence, until Genesis held his arm out to stop him. "Was that…? I mean, it couldn't be that easy, could it?"
Cloud shrugged. "Know when Aerith touches it, ya?"
"By the Goddess." He laughed softly. "I thought being rescued from Deepground would the be only piece of amazing luck I'd ever experience, and then we walked into a materia shop in Fort Condor – I'm sorry. Fort Phoenix."
"Can't have bad luck all the time?" Cloud suggested, even though he absolutely believed it was possible. Genesis gave him a look that said he didn't believe it either.
They didn't take it out over dinner. Instead, Cloud watched the light play over Genesis's red hair and pale skin. He watched the fluid flow of his hands and graceful line of his body as they listened to the three SOLDIERs laugh and tell the tale again, of how Aerith had gotten Rufus Shinra on the line for Kunsel to chat with, and how it looked like they'd be pulling out of Fort Condor in a couple days, and how maybe – just maybe – being stuck in SOLDIER wouldn't be a death sentence after all.
Only once did Genesis look at him and give him a sad smile that said he knew they'd lost their moment. Cloud hoped his return look said there'd be other moments. Genesis's slow wink said he'd succeeded.
Later that night, when he presented the stone to Aerith, she paled. "Diamond," she whispered and handed the materia to Tifa who held it like it was a grenade with the pin removed. Probably a good analogy, Cloud thought.
.o0|0o.
"Put me down and fight fair, Shinra lapdog!" The high-pitched demand was accompanied by some fist flails and kicks that set the kid to spinning in Barrett's outstretched hand.
"You gonna try 'nd steal from us again?" he asked. He figured she was Wutaian, somewhere around 12 to 15 years old, but she was skinny as an alley cat and about as prickly as one, too. He could hold her up this was for a while longer.
"I wasn't stealing!" she shouted. "I'm gonna kick your butt for saying that!"
"Uh huh," Barrett wasn't impressed. "You can join us for supper, get somethin' to eat, but you have to apologize to Marlene first. For scaring her."
The kid crossed her arms and pouted, letting herself dangle and twist.
Marlene peaked out from behind his leg. She said something in Wutaian, a question. Barrett hoped it was just her asking the kid to stay and eat.
Whatever Marlene said it worked well enough to have the kid drop her arms in shock. "You speak Wutaii? I mean," she coughed. "I don't understand what you said."
Marlene stepped out a little further. "I said, 'would you teach me how to do that'?"
Barrett dropped the kid. "Aw, no, honeycakes," he said, kneeling down in front of his daughter. "You don't want to be learning that nasty thievin' stuff."
"It's not thieving stuff'," the kid sneered. "It's ninja stuff, because I'm the best ever ninja warrior!"
"It was really cool!" Marlene said with big, pleading eyes. "You're really cool!"
The kid looked at Marlene's hopeful face and did what most everyone did when given that look – she caved.
"Uh sure. I guess I can teach you. A little." She shuffled her feet and rubbed the back of her head.
Marlene shrieked and clapped her hands together. "I'm gonna go tell Nanaki!" She ran off through the trees to the campsite, a spot of bright yellow colour against the greens and browns.
"Who's Nanaki?" the kid asked.
Barrett put his hand down on the kid's shoulder. "Welcome to the Madhouse, kid. You gotta name?"
"Yuffie." She stopped, horrified, then struck a pose. "I mean, I'm the Treasure Princess!"
"Only princess in my life is Marlene. So, Yuffie," he emphasized. "I'm Barrett. And if you don't try to steal any more of our shit, you can help us take down Shinra."
End note: Thank you all so much for your patience. I edited, remixed and rewrote a lot of this chapter. I still don't know if it's right, but I need to move on.