Sephiroth didn't see Genesis or Angeal for the rest of the day, which wasn't entirely unexpected, if not his preference. Still, he didn't need the distraction as there was plenty of regular work to catch up on. The interview and training session with Cloud hadn't helped the backlog of forms, requests and updates on his desk, and aside from that break, he didn't have time to ponder the game further as he forced himself to focus on paperwork. The workload combined with the less-than-ideal sleep that morning meant that once he got back to his apartment, he plugged in Genesis' jammer, showered and then practically fell into bed, drifting off to sleep so quickly he barely remembered doing so.
Staying asleep, on the other hand…
He kept dreaming of the events of the game, seeing himself as if in real life, watching as President ShinRa slumped over, Masamune embedded in his back, or grinning as he lifted a giant snake into the air with his one, black wing before skewering it on a nearby tree, or obsessed with the tank in front of him and the demented figure it held. Then he'd see himself from the back, and run at himself with the buster sword in his hand, aimed for the small of his own back, piercing it...
He woke in a cold sweat, feeling his stomach desperately, relieved when he found no stab wound. That had been too real to just be a dream… He could have sworn… He vaguely remembered he'd had similar dreams the previous night, but not near as... visceral or intense.
Sephiroth sat there on his bed for several seconds, forcing his body to calm as he checked the clock. 2 am. He let out a tired sigh. He didn't want to return to sleep, but Angeal would definitely be upset if he didn't get more than a couple of hours again. And he was right. Sephiroth needed it. So, hesitantly, he forced himself to lay back down and still his body and mind. It took him longer than he'd like to admit – his normal training to fall asleep quickly failing several times – but eventually he drifted off again.
Then he dreamed. Of little Cloud, all wide eyes and hero worship as he tried to swing a sword, surrounded by the green of the Lifestream. He blinked. In the boy's place stood the teen he'd just met in an infantryman's outfit, but instead of a sword, he held a standard issue gun, more confused and lost than anything. Then Sephiroth blinked again and in the teen's place he saw a young man, expression still clueless and confused, but he had Angeal's Buster Sword strapped across his back and wore a typical SOLDIER First outfit. The blond glanced over and saw Sephiroth, glowing blue eyes (SOLDIER eyes) widening in surprise, and then falling into an expression of utter loathing as he drew the sword and held it in front of him defensively. The same stance Sephiroth had seen dozens of times in the game.
Sephiroth blinked again and Cloud had changed once more. More details stood out to Sephiroth for some reason, a thought of how odd that was passing through his mind but gone the next instant as he scrutinized the new form. This time, Cloud's expression could have been carved from stone for all the emotion he showed. His body moved with the grace and confidence of a SOLDIER First. His clothing reflected that of someone who had heavily modified his ShinRa uniform for both style and comfort. He wore one pauldron and an accompanying long sleeve over his left arm. His right was bare up to the shoulder except for the glove he wore on his hand. A silver wolf had been fixed to the black knit fabric just below the pauldron. He didn't wear the typical pants of a SOLDIER uniform, not as loose but still allowing for movement, tucked into black boots, just as a SOLDIER would. The one part of the outfit that seemed to be purely for style was a long piece of material hanging from his waist over one leg and around the back. It billowed when he walked, much like a trench coat would.
Certainly dramatic enough for a SOLDIER First, Sephiroth thought, a little surprised at how… conscious the thought had been.
This Cloud still held his sword – different from the Buster, more streamlined and complex – in front of him warily, but he paused when Sephiroth didn't attack. Then he cocked his head to one side, eyes narrowing as if puzzling something out.
"You're not him, are you," he said finally in a voice far deeper than the child Sephiroth had just met. It wasn't a question.
The Silver General didn't know how to respond to that.
"Not yet," the blond continued. Then, slowly, he put his sword on his back, movements flowing like a warrior, familiar with his weapon and the limitations of his body. "Hopefully not ever."
Sephiroth glanced around again, but while he still got a sense of the misty green of the Lifestream, all he saw was white. His nose tingled with the impression of earthy – almost sickly – sweet smell like... the church. He shifted, then knew he stood on something without actually feeling it. Flowers. So many flowers...
"Oh," was all he could seem to make himself say. He didn't know what to make of any of this. He wondered if Aerith would show up next.
"She couldn't come," Cloud said, as if reading his thoughts. "There was only enough energy to send one, and even now I can't interact with the world as often as I'd like. Only in certain… capacities."
"You aren't making much sense," Sephiroth pointed out, annoyed.
The blond shrugged. "I probably make more sense than she would."
And what was that supposed to mean?
Sephiroth realized he was getting frustrated, took a deep breath and let his mind drift for a moment, pushing the frustration to the side. Simple to do in a dream. Then he assessed his situation, starting at the beginning.
He was dreaming. He could tell that much at least. Hojo hadn't wanted him to control his dreams for some reason, so he'd never had much of an opportunity to master lucid dreaming, unfortunately. However, sometimes he could force more consciousness into his dream state.
He looked at the man in front of him. This Cloud was a part of his dream, but he seemed so different from either the Cloud from the game and the Cadet Cloud he'd just met. Which meant…
"You're from after the game; from the future," he said. A specter his mind had conjured up to speak with, a Cloud that had survived the game. A Cloud he hadn't killed.
"I somehow always forget how intelligent you are," Cloud said, eyes narrowed again. Then he shook his head and crossed his arms.
"It's the insanity," Sephiroth deadpanned, hoping that he kept both the fear he felt regarding his potential future and the pity he felt towards this man in check behind the mask of annoyance.
Cloud didn't seem to know what to make of his comment, just staring at Sephiroth, blinking his glowing, SOLDIER eyes for several seconds. Then he blew out a breath.
"Surreal," he muttered. "Like I've dived into the life stream… again."
Sephiroth felt his own eyes widen. "That sounds… hazardous."
Cloud snorted. When he looked back at Sephiroth he seemed… amused, despite the fact that little had changed in his expression. Sephiroth wondered how he could read the man so well, then figured it was because his subconscious had conjured him up. Otherwise, he doubted he'd be able to. If young Cloud grew into something like this, he'd likely not be able to understand him so well.
He got the impression that the blond had heard Sephiroth's thoughts again because he scowled. The first real emotion he'd seen from the man.
"I know you don't mean to, but stop trying to read me. You're tapping into a power you don't want to mess with."
Sephiroth blinked. "But you're a figment of my imagination." It seemed this Cloud could read his thoughts, meaning the tapping was going the other way too. Or it meant this was exactly what this was: a dream.
Cloud didn't roll his eyes in annoyance, but Sephiroth got yet another impression that it had been a near thing.
"Great," the blond said with a shake of his head. Then he looked back at Sephiroth. "Just… don't."
Well, that made no sense. Then again, this was likely his mind reacting to recent events, few of which made sense, so maybe it was a little understandable. Of course, that just brought said events to mind and it made him feel so… tired.
"How am I supposed to take any of this?" he asked the apparition. "Born from a monster – an alien, if the game is to be believed – killed and yet somehow not. I don't want power to rule the world. Why would that change?"
The blond scowled. "You were not born from that thing."
Sephiroth waved his hand dismissively. "Yes, yes. I need to look into that Lucrecia, but the point still stands."
"No, it doesn't."
The silver-haired man paused turning his gaze to a scowling Cloud.
"You are only a monster if you allow yourself to be – if you choose to be." The blond's eyes narrowed in threat as he stepped up to Sephiroth. Somehow, the SOLDIER First found himself surprised that the man was much shorter than him. He'd seemed larger, somehow. As large as himself or Angeal. "And if you choose to be again, I will stop you again. Permanently."
Sephiroth blinked as he thought over that threat. Then his shoulders relaxed and he nodded.
"Good," he said.
That seemed to take Cloud aback. He straightened and then leaned back from Sephiroth as if making sure he was seeing things correctly.
"Good?" he finally asked, hesitantly.
Sephiroth nodded. "The person from the game… I don't want to become him."
Cloud's face went blank again. Then his eyebrows drew towards each other just a little. "Then why did you?"
The silver-haired man blinked. "I didn't." He wouldn't.
Would he?
The blond tipped his head to the side, the puzzlement back. Finally he shook his head. "If you don't want to turn to that, don't hate. Or, at least, don't let it consume you. People have done you wrong, I can admit that. Hojo, ShinRa… Jenova. Anyone would be angry. Anyone would hate what those people," he spat the term as if it were poison, "did to you. But the minute that becomes your drive – your reason for existing… that is the moment I will come for you."
He sighed and ran a hand through his spiky hair (how did he do that? Was his hair naturally like that? How was that even possible? What a… frustrating dream). "It's up to you whether you forgive them or not. Gaia knows I never wanted to forgive you. But I tried not to let hate drive me." He clenched his fist, looking frustrated. "There was always someone to protect… living people and memories. There was always something to feel guilty about." He looked down at his gloved hand, opening it and closing it as if seeing the appendage for the first time. "Maybe I'm just different because I hated myself more than I ever hated you."
"That… still doesn't sound healthy," Sephiroth said slowly.
Cloud snorted and dropped his hand. "I've never been healthy." He turned and looked off into the distance, as if seeing something in the white (green?) expanse. Sephiroth followed his gaze but found nothing. "In the right circumstances, I could have been just as dangerous for the planet as you were, I suppose."
Sephiroth shifted, the only sign he would allow to show his discomfort at the casual mention.
"Am I really… so dangerous?" he asked. He'd had his eyes opened recently as to how much damage he could do to opposing forces, but the planet itself? Directly? That was a little far-fetched, even for the game. "I'm sure I am not the only one who could use the black materia."
Cloud regarded him for several seconds. Then he shook his head again. "I shouldn't tell you this, but he asked me to take a chance on you. This is for him, not you… but yes. You don't need Meteor to completely destroy life on this planet. It's just the easiest way. Jenova has more power than you realize… more power than even Hojo realizes. If that… thing ever fully wakes…" He sighed. "We don't have the kind of power the Ancients had to seal it away."
He glared at Sephiroth, who, for the first time, could see the similarities between this Cloud and what he'd glimpsed in the man from the game. "I've given you information – the key to destroying the world… again. At least this time I chose that instead of being coerced… or forced."
Sephiroth flinched.
Cloud's expression didn't lessen in intensity. "Consider it a test. So what will you do now?"
Somehow, the SOLDIER First got the impression that the blond would stop him from leaving the (still far too lucid) dreamscape if he answered that incorrectly. Despite being a construct of his own mind, this Cloud felt… powerful. He didn't flaunt it like Genesis would, didn't take comfort in it like Angeal did, he just accepted it as a fact – a tool he would use. Although Sephiroth was sure he could force himself to wake, he... didn't want to. Well, more accurately, he didn't want to disappoint even a made up copy of this man who he'd supposedly hurt so badly.
The problem was, he didn't exactly have an answer. What was he supposed to do? If he really drove himself hard and somehow tapped into this power Dream Cloud alluded to, he could destroy the world. Did this Cloud honestly expect him to try?
Probably.
The only answer he could really come up with was nothing. He would do nothing with the information Cloud had just given him. He'd just go on with his daily routine and, well…
"Play the game," he finally said. That's what he would do.
Cloud didn't respond for several seconds. Sephiroth clamped down on his urge to read the emotionless man who just stood there with arms crossed and enormous sword strapped on his back. He just studied Sephiroth for what felt like stretched hours. He must have found what he was looking for, though, because eventually he relaxed. It wasn't much, but the slightest amount of tension left his body.
He only answered with a nod.
The next thing Sephiroth knew, he was in his bed, waking up about fifteen minutes before the alarm went off.
For several seconds he just sat there, committing the dream to memory as best he could. Then he got up. He wasn't going to get back to sleep in fifteen minutes, so he may as well. And if doing so caused him to put strange dreams to the side to contemplate later, well, so much the better.
xXx
Angeal and Genesis both read over the report Sephiroth had for them as they sat at their traditional breakfast table, empty trays in front of them. Zack had decided to join them for their third day in a row in the commissary (Sephiroth hadn't spent so many days in a row in the common eating area since he'd been a Second), but since they hadn't realized he would be there, he'd have to wait for Angeal or Genesis to finish with their reports before he could read it. The SOLDIER Third sat with barely contained energy, switching between bouncing his knees, tapping his fingers against his leg and shoveling food down at a truly eye-opening rate as he waited.
Patience was, apparently, not his strong point.
Sephiroth couldn't say he was surprised.
Genesis finished his report first and set it down on the table, looking over at Zack as he perked up but merely tapping the paper, as if daring the boy to take it. The dark-haired teen frowned and slumped a little. Sephiroth rolled his eyes at the display. Genesis was enjoying teasing the boy a little too much.
"So," the red-head said, not taking his eyes off of Zack who huffed and folded his arms, "you think the boy has talent?"
Sephiroth nodded. "He is a fast learner, although I hypothesize that he has problems with authority he doesn't respect. More than one of his superiors has complained about his defiance."
"Hmm," Genesis confirmed quietly. "Yes, I did notice that. Few reprimands, but many… frustrated comments."
"How does this fit into our plans?" Angeal asked as he finally finished reading his and handed it over to Zack, who took it eagerly.
"What even are our plans?" the younger SOLDIER asked as he began to read the report. Sephiroth raised an eyebrow. Did he want an answer, or to read the report?
"Just a moment," Genesis said, then reached into his pocket. After a couple of seconds, he nodded. The jammer Sephiroth had returned to him when they'd initially met that morning had been turned on again, apparently. "I think it goes without saying that we need to… check the areas from the game. There are too many inconsistencies for us not to, but too many secrets and consistencies to dismiss anything."
"I vote Seph doesn't go to Nibelheim," Zack said, rather impressively not taking his eyes off of the paper but keeping up with the conversation anyway.
Sephiroth didn't flinch, either at the shortened name (really?) or at the mention of the town where he would supposedly go crazy. Genesis rolled his eyes then scowled at Zack.
"No, puppy, we didn't account for that potential. Of course we will send Sephiroth right into the very situation we were trying to avoid."
Zack held up one hand in surrender, even if he still didn't look up at Genesis… who was getting rather annoyed. Sephiroth was unsure why he found that amusing. And a little impressive that Zack could at least somewhat keep track of their conversation while he read the report.
"Just making sure we're on the same page here," he said.
"What do we do after we have checked the problems from the game?" Angeal interjected before Genesis could say something scathing. The thespian harrumphed and sat back in his seat with his arms folded, pouting (not that he'd admit it).
Sephiroth ignored him, focusing on Angeal's question. "We fix them."
Angeal looked surprised. Out of the corner of his eye, Sephiroth saw Genesis turning to him and even Zack looked up from the report.
"We… fix them," the older brunet repeated.
"What… exactly do we fix?" Genesis asked. "Ninety percent of the problems in the game were caused by the very company we work for. The last ten percent by that rather nasty alien… thing."
"I think it's more of a third each with Hojo," Angeal muttered. Sephiroth was more inclined to agree with that.
The Silver General folded his hands and brought them up in front of his mouth, thinking. "We have to take care of Jenova… and Hojo."
Genesis sat forward, looking interested but shocked. Angeal's eyes nearly bugged out of his head, flabbergasted. Zack's jaw dropped open.
"Wait, you mean we—"
"Zack!" Angeal said, holding a fist up in front of his student. To his credit, he shut his mouth.
"Yes," Sephiroth said, simply.
"Just like that?" Genesis asked. "No plan, no caution, no nothing? Just walk up to the man and…"
Sephiroth shook his head. "No. But we will need more information before we make any… arrangements. I will be looking into that today, myself."
Everyone else exchanged looks.
"Um… maybe you should wait until one of us is with you… you know… to look through it," Zack said slowly, unsurely.
"I vote one of the two of us… at least," Genesis said, gesturing to himself and Angeal. The puppy looked like he wanted to protest but thought better of it. It made sense seeing as Zack was a Third and likely wouldn't be able to do much if Sephiroth started… acting strangely. And going through information in the first place had been what had pushed his game self over the edge, so he understood why they wanted to proceed with caution. He may not like it, but he understood it.
So he looked over at his red-headed friend. "You said you leave for the Northern continent next week? We will need to make an attempt to both gather and look through the information before then."
Genesis nodded. "And play the game. And investigate, seeing as Angeal said he's going to take the puppy to the Rocket Build on a mission about the same time I will be heading up north."
"Wait, what?" Zack asked, turning to his mentor to stare incredulously.
"I was going to tell you about it today," Angeal said with a sigh.
"So we're going to kill the… undead alien virus thing?" he gestured between himself and his mentor.
It was everyone else's turn to look at him.
"What?" he asked.
"Why did you call it that?" Genesis asked, sounding intrigued.
Zack rubbed the back of his head. "Well, it's in people's bodies, right? And it has weird properties. Like, despite it coming from something that was buried and dead for a millennia, it's still somehow active. It changes people, enhances them, but then they go through a mental or physical breakdown. So… like a sickness, but undead and an alien."
That was… actually, surprisingly well thought out.
Apparently, Genesis thought so too, because he actually laughed. "Well said, puppy. Well said."
"Um… thanks?"
"In any case," Angeal cut in again, drawing everyone back to the problem at hand. "While Zack and I take care of that thing—"
"How?" Zack asked.
Angeal, visibly upset at being interrupted, closed his eyes and took a deep breath. Then he turned to Zack, who had the good grace to look a little sheepish.
"What?" the mentor asked.
"How do we take care of it?"
"I say burn it," Genesis said. "Enough fire will take care of most anything biological that isn't fire based itself. Enough Fire 3's and that should accomplish your task."
Angeal looked thoughtful at that. Then he nodded. "Good idea. Even if its cells are still alive or undead somehow, I'd like to see it do something after it's been burnt to a crisp."
"And throw whatever's left in an incinerator," Zack muttered. Then he glanced up at his mentor, gaze firm. "Do not throw the rest of it into the reactor. There was a lot in the game that... It's still Mako – part of the planet's life-force or whatever. I don't think we should take chances."
That was a little paranoid of the boy, but Sephiroth could see the sense of erring on the side of caution. And if something in his own game had spooked him, maybe the idea wasn't so far-fetched.
"I agree," he finally said.
"Good," Zack agreed with a nod. Then he leaned forward, chin propped up on his hand. "What about the other problems?"
"You mean Hojo and the oth—" Genesis started, but Sephiroth cut him off, noticing a couple of blue suits entering the cafeteria, focused on their PHS's.
"Not here. Let's head to my office."
Because jammed or not, he wasn't willing to take a chance with Turks. Speaking about things most people would have little context for if they did overhear a snippet or two, he could put up with. Blatantly speaking about heads in the company and potentially planning their demise? No.
One elevator ride later, that would have been awkward if not for Zack continuing to read the report and making amusing small thoughtful noises, they all gathered in the Silver General's office. Genesis immediately took the lone chair in front of the desk, leaving the other two to stand. Angeal rolled his eyes at that while Zack scowled, then shrugged and just leaned against the wall.
"Do we now get to discuss the other problems we seem to be facing?" Genesis asked as he took off one glove and examined his nails.
"Do we even have enough time to discuss them all?" Zack asked dryly.
He had a point.
"From what I can see, our largest problems stem from Jenova," Sephiroth said as calmly as he could while taking his own seat behind his desk.
"Jenova wouldn't have been a problem without Hojo and Hollander," Zack said. And, again, he had a point.
Angeal seemed to think so too, because he let out a weary sigh. "True. But they wouldn't have been a problem at all without ShinRa."
"So," Genesis said softly, "it is back to treason."
The room fell silent.
"What can we do about ShinRa?" Zack asked, his voice also unusually quiet. "We could take the company out, but…"
"That would create a power vacuum at best, destabilize entire cities – entire continents – at worst," Genesis pointed out.
The younger SOLDIER looked down, troubled. "We can't just do nothing," he said.
"We could leave," Sephiroth said, looking at Angeal, expecting his friend to object. The brunet never would have put the option out there. Not unless he'd reconciled the suggestion with his ideal of honor. Their gazes met and Angeal looked away. He wasn't objecting. Unexpected but not unwelcome.
Again, the room fell into silence.
"The problem with that," Angeal spoke up, still sounding tired, "is that we wouldn't have access to the kind of medical facilities SOLDIERS need."
Sephiroth nodded. "True. But I suspect we may not be as… dependent on the facilities as we have been led to believe. I planned on trying to get information from the science department anyway. I will make sure to look into how feasible the idea really is."
Then, to Sephiroth's surprise, Zack spoke up, looking directly at Genesis. "What about the degradation?"
The other three SOLDIERS stared blankly at him.
He realized they had no idea what he was talking about and his own eyes widened in surprise. "You guys don't know about that?"
"Our respective games seem to cover different areas and time-periods," Sephiroth said. "So what is this… degradation?"
Zack opened his mouth, looked at Genesis and then closed it again. Then he opened his mouth, looked up with a frown, and closed it, scratching his head.
"I'm… not really sure," he finally said. "It's something Hollander did to Genesis and I think Angeal though."
"What?!" Genesis and Angeal said at the same time.
"It's like… I…" he looked back and forth between Angeal and Genesis like he didn't know what to say.
So Sephiroth spoke up first. "Genesis and Angeal were featured in your game?"
Zack looked a little relieved at being relegated to answering questions. "Yeah," he confirmed. "Um… Genesis was the bad guy."
"What?!" Genesis exclaimed while Angeal's mouth dropped open.
"Well, the degradation had to do with G-cells – which both you and Angeal have."
The other three SOLDIERS continued to stare.
"What are 'G-cells'?" Sephiroth asked.
"'G' for Genesis?" Genesis asked, looking a little sick.
Zack shook his head and glanced nervously at Angeal. "Um… no. 'G' for… um… Gillian."
Each silence seemed somehow more tense than the last, and this one was no different. Angeal pushed off of the wall, staring at Zack as if seeing him for the first time.
"My mother?" Angeal asked.
Zack, looking nervous, nodded. "Yeah. She was… part of the experiment. From what I understand, they put Jenova cells inside her and then the cells merged somehow with her body and became G-cells."
This time both Genesis and Angeal looked horrified.
"Jenova cells…" Genesis started. "You mean we have that… that thing inside us too?!"
The younger SOLDIER looked pained as he shrugged, "Kind of, I guess? I mean, they didn't exactly explain it in the game. But what I got was that when Jenova cells are put inside someone, they create a new type of cell. I don't know how or why. The only ones the scientists named, though, were G-cells and…" he paused and looked over at Sephiroth, almost pityingly. "S-cells."
Sephiroth wasn't entirely sure what to make of that, so he pushed any emotional reaction to the side and tried to look at it objectively. "All this will be in your report?" he asked.
Zack nodded. "Yeah."
"Hmm," Sephiroth responded with a nod of his own. "So I seem to have those cells placed directly in my body, thus creating a new type of cells, while Genesis and Angeal have already mutated cells."
"Second hand," Genesis said, sounding disgusted.
"My mother… knew?" Angeal sounded so lost.
Zack seemed like he wanted to say something, but was unsure whether he should or not. Finally, he must have decided to go with it because he spoke up.
"When you confronted her about it – in the game – she… kind of… um… killed herself."
"My mother would never do that!" Angeal practically shouted.
Zack shrunk back, eyeing his mentor warily – defensively. The motions didn't fit him. Angeal must have realized that he'd scared his student because he backed down, putting one gloved hand to the bridge of his nose.
"I'm… sorry, Zack. I didn't mean to yell at you."
"Yeah, well… it's not exactly easy to hear," Zack responded, bouncing right back. Any trace of fear had left his body and he just seemed sympathetic to Angeal. This child...
"How was I involved with the G-cells?" Genesis asked, frowning.
Zack shook his head. "I don't know. They said something about taking her cells and mapping them onto you either as a baby or a… um… fetus. Whatever 'mapping' means. Most of the sciency-stuff went over my head, but I'll be sure to include anything I don't understand in the report, 'cause it's probably important. If you want I can try to answer some of it now?"
And Sephiroth had honestly thought they'd heard the worst of what ShinRa and its scientists had done. Somehow, hearing what had been done to his friends just made what had been done to him seem worse.
"What does this have to do with 'degradation'?" The Silver General asked, trying to keep everyone on track.
"Well, whatever they did… um…" Zack seemed to think about what he needed to say and frowned. "In the game, you three were sparring and Genesis' shoulder got cut somehow. And honestly, with how many hits you just tanked, it was kind of surprising that's all you had."
Genesis didn't seem to know exactly how to take that, so Zack went on.
"Anyway… it… um… didn't heal."
The red-head frowned. "I'm a SOLDIER First. I heal very quickly."
Zack nodded. "Which was why it was so weird. The degradation stopped you from healing and somehow it gave you a wing."
This was getting more and more ridiculous.
"A… wing?" Genesis asked.
Zack nodded. "Yours was black. Angeals' were white."
"Wait, I get wings too?" the larger SOLDIER asked, astounded.
"Yeah. You get a big one and a small one, on the same side. You both could fly with them."
More stares and blank blinks. "How?" Genesis asked, incredulous.
Zack shrugged helplessly. "I don't know! It didn't make sense to me either, but you could even carry other people if you wanted to. Well, Angeal could."
This sounded like a much larger potential problem getting in the way of them leaving than anything else Sephiroth could think of.
"We will need medical facilities then," he said, disappointed.
"Why?" Zack asked, sounding suddenly bitter, "It's not like ShinRa, Hojo or Hollander care if the degradation heals or not."
"Why not?" Angeal asked, affronted.
Zack shrugged, although the Silver General could tell he was forcing it. "They only care what the results of their experiments are."
Sephiroth could definitely see that from the different scientists.
"I think we've discussed this enough," he finally said. "We've gotten new information, we need to examine it and understand the implications. I'm sure your report will help with this, Zack." The SOLDIER Third nodded, determinedly. "Right now, we need to go about the rest of the day as we normally would. I will finish my paperwork, Genesis will work on his materia theories, Angeal will train Zack and the other SOLDIERS. The most we can do today specifically is preparation work for me to get the information from the Science department and for one of you to stop and talk to Tuesti.
"Tonight, we will meet after we finish for the day, and we will play the game." As much as he didn't want to. The idea of going back to the game after everything that had happened in it did not appeal. Even if he had enjoyed the 'hanging out' part of it.
Genesis huffed. "So which one of us will go to speak to the man while you 'look' into the Science department?"
"I think Angeal should talk to him," Sephiroth said. He may still be upset about the betrayal in the game, but he was professional enough to put that to the side.
"Wait, who?" Zack asked. So his game hadn't had Tuesti in it. Interesting.
"Take Zack," Sephiroth said. If nothing else, it would be a reminder to remain civil. Not that he thought Angeal would have a problem, but they weren't the only ones who wanted to practice caution.
The larger SOLDIER nodded firmly and Zack nodded determinedly.
Sephiroth returned the gesture, then decided to voice one final thought he'd decided on. "I also plan to put in my recommendation to take Cloud on as a student."
Silence.
"Wait, what?!" Zack asked.
The Silver General met the gaze of each of his subordinates. "In less than a decade, according to the game, most of us are gone. Perhaps dead, perhaps just missing, but we have to assume dead for now, as much as I do not like entertaining that thought. I am the only one who remains, and even that seems to be in question. And if I do remain, I am, apparently, insane. Cloud, on the other hand, lives. If, for some reason, the events of the game do come true, and we cannot stop them, we need a contingency plan. In the game, Cloud doesn't have the abilities or qualifications to take on any of us – either too inexperienced or not well trained enough. I intend to remedy that."
The quiet that followed seemed awkward somehow.
"You want to train someone to… kill you?" Angeal asked, voice soft and worried.
"Potentially," Sephiroth said. "Although I do hope it will be unnecessary."
Then he turned to Zack. "I don't know how patient I will be with his level and progress. Could I ask that you teach him the basics initially?" He glanced at Angeal. "If that is okay with you."
If anything, the boy looked… angry at the suggestion.
"Zack?" Angeal asked, concerned.
"I am not training anyone to kill their mentor!" he said through gritted teeth. "No one should have to go through that!"
Yet again, silence fell.
Sephiroth felt both frustrated and understanding – upset and pitying. It was a strange dichotomy. He couldn't say he liked it.
"It needs to be done," the Silver General finally said, looking Zack directly in the eye.
The boy stood with his hands clenched at his sides, the very picture of defiance. He would not capitulate, Sephiroth could see. He resigned himself to figuring out how to teach basics that he hadn't had to think about for over a decade. He hoped he'd done an acceptable job the other day, but he'd never really had to teach before, and it worried him. He'd hoped he wouldn't have to take on that worry on top of everything else.
Finally Zack shook his head. "No. I'm not gonna train him to kill you!"
Sephiroth repressed a sigh.
"Zack," Angeal started, but the boy cut him off.
"We're gonna train him so that he's so good he won't have to, even if something does happen! He's gonna be better than all of us combined," he paused, then frowned. "Which probably isn't impossible with Jenova involved," he added on as a very disturbing but not untrue afterthought.
More staring and blinks. And then Genesis snorted, Angeal shook his head with a fond smile, and Sephiroth relaxed a little.
"That is acceptable, Zachary Fair."
The younger SOLDIER nodded firmly at the Silver General.
"And please get that report to us as soon as possible," Angeal said. "The more you say about it, the more worried I get."
Zack nodded at his mentor, then frowned… was he pouting?
"So I don't get to come to the game session tonight?"
This.
Child.
Sephiroth felt the sides of his mouth twitch upward. "You may join us in my apartment when you finish the report, if you can find a replacement device for your game by the time we're off, and finish an outline at minimum. If you cannot find one, then I still expect an outline first," he conceded.
"And only if it's before midnight," Angeal said pointedly to his student… the hypocrite.
Zack nodded eagerly.
"And if you get all of your other duties done. Including at least two missions."
"Yes, sir!" Zack said, saluting crisply… with a huge smile on his face.
Sephiroth shook his head (hiding the smile as best he could without drawing attention to it) and reached for his own stack of paperwork. "We can discuss more either tonight or tomorrow, once we have more information. Until then, I believe we should return to our jobs. If you need extra breaks today, feel free to take them. Just, please be responsible," he said as he shot a warning look at Genesis, who raised his hands in surrender as he rose to his feet.
He watched them file out of the room and shut the door behind them, Zack practically rushing out, Angeal following with a troubled expression and then, finally Genesis, looking contemplative. Sephiroth let out a sigh as they left. Then he looked at the pile of papers that had been stacked on his desk and sighed again.
Today would be a long day.
xXx
AN: Sooooo... a long chapter for you today! Mainly because I'm going to be going on Hiatus for a week or two. According to my beta reader: Y'all are getting at least three extra pages to tide you over! No complaining!
But all joking aside, I just need some time to write other things and this. I mean, 10 pages a week,e very week for the last 6 months... Yeah. Just need a bit of a break but I should be back soon. :)
Now, we have AWESOME fanart to share! From chapter 8:
sta dot sh /0dr9do1yen7 (no spaces, dot = .) That last note just KILLED me. But man, what a way to go. *makes undead noises*
*ahem*
In any case, I'd like to thank my awesome and AMAZING beta reader Imagination7413 who went through this MULTIPLE TIMES with a fine-toothed comb. I cannot thank her enough. (string of hearts here)
And thank you to my discord community. I really love hearing the feedback from all of you and see the different theories everyone comes up with. :D I know it's not for everyone, though, and I love everyone who reads and comments here too. :D So yeah, thank you!
Discord: discord dot gg /esVSuhAXdg