Disclaimer- I claim no rights to Final Fantasy VII

Chapter Thirteen: Can You Hear the Cries of the Planet?

"You must be careful," Cloud advised, rubbing a balm over Zachary's scent glands that would hide his scent. "The entrances and exits of the Underground are protected by the Bloodhounds-"

"Bloodhounds." Kunsel approached Cloud with a tight frown. "You must have misunderstood Jessie, Cloud. We executed the Bloodhounds when Lord Fair took over as Alpha." Kunsel turned to Zack who remained silent under his gaze. "Did we not?"

"Not all of them, Kunsel," Zack uttered, becoming more displeased as their time in the Underground progressed. "Sephiroth thought it unwise to execute all of the Bloodhounds in case civil unrest would rise again under my reign. It is a decision that I am coming to regret."

"A decision that we will all come to regret." Kunsel echoed, a solemn scent thickening in the air. "How many did you spare, Lord Fair? How many do we have to place our blade against?"

"Five," Zack responded, a rush of shame flowing down his spine. "Three males and two females, each of them holding a talent that is equal to that of Sephiroth and Genesis." Zack jaw clenched at the wretched look Kunsel sent him. It was enough to make bile rise in his throat that he was quick to swallow down and continue. "I am at fault for the Bloodhounds remaining and I will make sure they join Ifrit and his Flames."

"Aye." Kunsel agreed with a small grunt. "And my blade shall join you in your task." Kunsel withheld a small yelp when Cloud's cold hands grasped his throat. "What are you-?"

"You stink." Cloud murmured with a tight smile, his hands rubbing along Kunsel's scent glands. "Our blades are ready for the Bloodhounds, but let us do what we came here for before engaging in battle, no?" Cloud removed his hands, the task complete before turning to Zack with a grim frown of his own. "It was a mistake allowing the Bloodhounds to linger in this world, Lord Fair. A mistake that we will all come to regret, but I beg that you and Kunsel keep your thoughts focused on the task that lies ahead - to find evidence of Sephiroth, Genesis and Angeal's involvement."

"Of course." Zack agreed. "However, I don't believe that's possible with the Bloodhounds protecting the Underground. We cannot find the evidence we need without dispatching them first, no?"

"We will do what we can, but in the meantime, let us get started? The daylight fades." Cloud lowered his hood over his head and pointed down the long, winding road that led up to a massive building with little lighting. "According to Madam Jessie, that is the former Alchemist Guild where the cloaked figures are entering and leaving and that, gentlemen, is our destination."

"Our Final Destination if we are not careful." Kunsel quipped with a strained smile, earning a small glare from Zack and Cloud.

The Underground - or Graveyard - was a massive area with entrances from the North, South, East and West and exits from the Northwest and Southeast, but one thing that drew Zack's attention was the dark green-gray sky. It seemed unnatural compared to the dark blue skies of Midgar and Zack didn't care to know how it became such an unnatural color. The second thing that he seemed to notice was the smell. It was putrid and acrid and it choked Zack throat to the point where he lifted a gloved hand and placed against his nose.

"No." Cloud murmured, next to him, pulling his arm down with an apologetic glance. "The Cloaked Ones are used to the smell and if they can't catch you trying to muffle it, understand?"

"It's horrid." Kunsel put in quietly. "It smells of death-" Kunsel stopped, his shoulders stiffening at the realization that actual corpses were buried in the ground underneath their feet. "It smells of burnt flesh."

"There's smoke rising from the building," Cloud stated, grimly. "It's possible that they're burning the bodies further underground."

Zack stopped at the statement, earning a confused glance from Cloud and Kunsel. When Cloud opened his mouth to inquire about his sudden stillness, a scream pierced the air, raising hairs on the back of Zack's neck. His jaw clenched as they listened, helpless as the screams grew louder and louder until it stopped, cloaking them in stifling silence.

"We have to hurry." Cloud urged with a grimace. "It won't be the last of the screams."

"Are you sure that this balm will work?" Kunsel questioned as they approached the hills leading to the manor. It was then that Zack noticed a number of cloaked figures gathered in the small plaza. It sent a shiver down his spine to see them so still as if they didn't have a spark of life.

"Keep going." Cloud urged, lowering his hood further over his head as they started to merge and pass the small crowd, careful not to bump or startle the still figures.

"Where are you going?" one of the cloaked figures called out, halting their progress and forcing Zack to place a hand on his sword, placed underneath his cloak. "We are ordered to remain here until our Lord appears."

"Our Lord?" Cloud echoed, causing Zack to tense at the question. If they didn't know who their Lord was then-

"Our Lord." the cloaked figure echoed. "Our Lord Weiss and Nero. The Tsviets. I'm afraid that the Ladies Rosso and Shelke cannot be with us today and the Lord Azul is patrolling our borders - keeping us safe."

"The Bloodhounds." Kunsel murmured, taking up Zack's right side. "Are ruling over the Underground?" Kunsel turned to Cloud who shook his head quickly took up Zack's left side. "Who are the Tsviets?"

"A small unit elite unit of the Bloodhounds," Zack responded, sweat dripping down his neck. "I met them - briefly."

"And?" Cloud urged quietly.

"They are not to be underestimated," Zack responded, his lips thinning. "We should be able to handle them, but it's not wise to encounter them one-on-one and I advise not to turn your back on Rosso. She's quick to stab you through the heart. A promise she means to keep should she see me again."

"What caused her to hate you so?" Cloud inquired, watching as Zack's face went through a myriad of emotions at such a simple question. "You don't-"

"Although it wasn't my idea to keep the Bloodhounds alive, it was my idea to keep them sealed." Zack swallowed at the confession. "They are not mentally capable of enduring the daily-to-daily life that the world offers so I thought it best to keep them sealed away in order to keep my people safe." Zack shook his head, his morose eyes scanning the area around him. "I see that decision was a vast mistake-keeping them alive was a mistake. It would have been a mercy to put them out of their misery. It's going to be a mercy."

Cloud's lips thinned at the statement. "I-I don't know," he whispered, drawing Zack and Kunsel's gazes to him. "Do you really have that right? To take their lives away? Can we really stand here and cast judgment on them? After all, they've been through? It wasn't their fault that they were born in such conditions nor was it their fault that they were sealed." Cloud turned away from Zack's horrified gaze. "However, it is their fault for bringing such chaos. Their circumstances and surroundings might have been out of their control, but their decisions were not. It was up to them to undertake Sephiroth, Genesis and Angeal's commands and it was up to them to continue following them until today. From now on, what they do and how they choose to continue will be their own decision. And then, only then, will I be able to strike them down."

"If that is your resolve then I expect no hesitation when we reach that point," Kunsel uttered, a displeased frown marring his lips from underneath the hood. "These are not easy targets nor are they sympathetic towards our plight. They will kill you, Cloud-"

"I know," Cloud uttered softly, watching with cautious eyes as the door to the balcony opened and a tall man dressed in robes of black and white emerged, an insane gleam to his eyes that Cloud could see from this distance. "I know and I won't hesitate."

"See that you don't." Zack murmured, watching with rising bile in his throat as the people bowed before the figure and an echo, a murmur, starting rising from the crowd as he, too, went to his knees in false reverence.

"Lord Weiss. Blessed God of Gaia."

"Lord Weiss. Blessed Warrior and Sword of Minerva."

"Lord Weiss. Blessed Sheild of Us All."

A hand gripped Zack's forcing him to turn to meet Cloud's gaze underneath the hood. He gripped the hand in return before turning back to Weiss, who watched him with what Zack could only describe as a mixture of smugness, disgust, and pride. To think that this man thought of himself as a God? A Warrior and Blade of Minerva? The Goddess would never allow such atrocities to be done in Her name and Zack would see to it that Weiss understood that before the end.

"Rise! Rise, my adored people." Weiss' deep voice echoed across the plaza. "I thank you for this most...generous welcome. It honors me that you would compare me to the Great Goddess, but rest assured, I am as mortal as you. I bleed, just as you do. I mourn, just as you do. And I embrace death, just as you will. You must know that your sacrifices will not be in vain-"

"Sacrifices?" Kunsel uttered, his tone on the verge of panic. "What does he mean by-"

"You all we are remembered as sacrifices to the Goddess Minerva. Your journey into the Fires of Ifrit will spread our message to the depths of the Lifestream and beyond-"

"This man is insane." Cloud whimpered, keeping his head lowered, and tightening his grip on Zack's hand as Weiss prattled on about sacrifices and fires and brimstone. "Does he mean to sacrifice all these people?"

"Including us, if we are not careful," Zack responded, eyes darkening before turning to Cloud. "What can human ashes be used for, Cloud?"

"Nothing of medicinal benefit," Cloud responded tightly. "But, they can be molded into jewels of a sort to keep a departed loved one safe and close to one's heart. But, I don't think Weiss is particularly close to anyone in our ragtag group."

"Molded into jewels?" Kunsel repeated. "You spoke of elemental magic earlier, right? What if they're molding these ashes into jewels that can-"

"Connect to the Goddess?" Zack finished. "Connect to the Lifestream? I remember the legend my mother told me when I was a child. That the human body returns to the planet and the soul with it, but it must be buried within the earth and not burned. The ashes take longer for the spirit to return to the land."

"That means that the human ashes still hold power and a connection to the land." Cloud finished softly. "To sacrifice so many makes no sense. Wouldn't it be a waste of time to see which one holds a connection?"

"It's not a waste of time if you hold family records." Kunsel countered calmly. "There are records in the archives that span hundreds of years and it was around the time that the Ancients died out, but just because the pure-blooded ones died out-"

"Doesn't mean they didn't bore descendants." Zack finished as Weiss concluded his speech and urge the group of people to rise to their feet. "The people that are here must hold Ancient blood and that means elemental magic."

"Enter!" Weiss commanded, as the gates to the manor creaked open. "Enter! And let the Fires of Ifrit embrace you."

"Are you ready? Cloud? Kunsel?" Zack made sure to hang to the back of the crowd, watching as the people filtered in, their excitement brimming and merging with the air, forcing Zack to pity them all the same.

"Come," Zack commanded. "Let us see what these Lords have in store for us, no?"