Beta/Author's Note(s): Brace yourselves, this one's a bit weird! (There is a reason for it, we promise! ;D)

xXx

Sephiroth….

Sephiroth stood in… a reactor? He blinked slowly, looking around at the metal walls, pipes and chains dangling in seemingly random places, all bathed in a bluish-green light that seemed to come from everywhere and nowhere at once.

He felt strangely… detached and hazy, and it took him a moment to remember why he was there. Right, he needed to diagnose the old reactor. There was something wrong with it. He'd left Zack behind to watch Tifa and the troopers as they weren't needed for something so trivial. So he walked by the pods, strangely shaped considering the reactor, and oddly colored, but nothing he wouldn't put past Hojo. He climbed to the top of the stairs and the doorway there, knowing somehow that any problem wouldn't be with these pods. No, it had to be in the next room.

He opened the door, and inside, practically right there, he saw the false winged countenance from the game; the empty-eyed bust in the center with wings of pipes spreading off to each side like mechanical feathers.

Sephiroth…. The voice said again… except not said so much as projected. He'd felt it more than he'd heard it…

At that realization, the strange detachment lessened and he gasped quietly.

That was Jenova…

He should turn around right now and run away, as far and as fast as he could… except… something wasn't right. (The fog returned…)

Questions flitted through the haze, what and why and how and when… (when what?). He had to know. He had to… so he reached up and grasped the edges of the metal bust. Then he pulled. It came away more easily than he thought it would. His eyes followed it as he threw it down, watching it shatter more like glass than metal, before looking back up.

Or, he started to.

"Don't."

A voice he recognized drew his attention. Older Cloud stood at the bottom of the tubes creating more-or-less a pathway leading up to the platform he stood on. When had he traversed that?

"Cloud?" he asked, confused. The blond was… more in-focus compared to the fog, but still strange in a way Sepheroth couldn't put words to, even though he felt he should easily know them.

The man cringed and rubbed the back of his head in agitation.

"Look… being here again… like this… it's…" he shifted uncomfortably, hand coming up farther to grip the hilt of the enormous sword hanging off of his shoulder, although it looked to be more for reassurance as he didn't draw it. "It's not good. For either of us. So why not go somewhere else?"

Sephiroth still couldn't quite comprehend that Cloud was even there, and it took him a minute to process his words. "To… talk?" he asked, blinking.

The blond sighed, deflating a little. "Sure, I guess. If that's what you want…"

Sephiroth frowned. If Cloud didn't want to go with him, then he should just say so. He could understand, really if—

Sephiroth….

He paused and turned.

"Wait! No!" Cloud said, but Sephiroth was already in the middle of the action and simply followed through before he could think better of it. His eyes fell on the figure inside the mako tube and widened.

It wasn't Jenova who floated there.

It was Sephiroth. (But… not…?)

It was himself. (Wrongwrongwrong!)

Those eyes opened as the General finished turning, irises bright green and glowing, a cruel smile forming on the other's lips.

Sephiroth felt his eyes widen–

–the haze evaporated–

–his heart nearly stopped in his chest–

–a hand landed on his shoulder–

–he moved to defend–

–and he was somewhere else…

It was green again. Everywhere. Not the sickly, pale green of Jenova, but a healthy, vibrant green.

The Lifestream?

He'd gone to attack the hand on his arm, to throw them or break it or something, but he stopped when the scenery changed. He looked around, more slowly and saw Cloud backing away from him, watching him warily while holding his hands in the air to show he was currently unarmed.

What…?

"That almost woke you," the blond said wryly.

"Woke…" Sephiroth said slowly, shaken and on high alert… and then looked behind him, where the visage had been before. Nothing but green as far as he could see. Then it clicked. "Oh. I'm dreaming… again."

"Yeah, let's go with that," Cloud muttered tiredly.

Sephiroth wasn't quite sure what to make of that, but felt himself relax slightly from the fight-ready coil he'd resorted to. He tried one of the more subtle calming breathing exercises he knew (how did those even work in a dream?) and found that the internal terror began to abate. Faster than he would have guessed, his near panic had faded to merely on-edge.

"Cloud," he started, but the other man cut him off.

"I really hate it when you just use my name like that, you know."

The Silver General blinked.

"Like… what?" he asked, genuinely curious but cautious.

"We're not friends. Don't be so familiar," the blond snapped.

It surprised Sephiroth that he felt a little hurt by that, but… he knew he shouldn't. He'd only ever met this other Cloud once, and he knew the man's background (for the most part). It wasn't an unreasonable response. Just… disappointing. Like if, say, Zack had said that to him instead of a random person. Maybe because he respected this man? Or, well, he respected what Cloud had had to go through in any case.

He decided to look into that more later and took a subtle, if deep breath.

"Very well. You have my apologies. What would you like for me to call you?"

Cloud seemed rather taken aback by that. He stared at Sephiroth for several seconds, as if he didn't believe what stood before him. Then his eyes narrowed suspiciously. He studied Sephiroth for multiple minutes before he seemed to find whatever he'd been looking for as he straightened with a skeptical and then accepting expression.

"I dunno," he finally answered. "Mr. Strife works for now, I guess."

He didn't sound too sure about that, but Sephiroth decided not to call him on it. He had other questions he'd like answered and dwelling on a method of address didn't seem like the best idea right now.

"Very well, Mr. Strife. May I ask you a question?" The man seemed to hold back a cringe and it took all of Sephiroth's will to not reach out with that strange sixth sense to see what had gone through the other man's head… as he had in the last dream. He refrained, though. He didn't want to use that power or enable the usage thereof in any way. Cloud had been right: He hadn't known what he'd been dealing with.

After a moment, the blond snorted, dryly. "What's stopping you?"

Sephiroth cocked his head to one side for a moment, but decided to answer truthfully. "Your opinion of me."

Cloud seemed even more surprised at that statement.

"Why would you care about that?" he asked, as if he couldn't comprehend Sephiroth's words.

The Silver General blinked because really, it was a good question. Why did he care about this future Cloud's opinion?

It took him a couple of very long moments before he could put his thoughts into words. "In some future, I hurt you. Deeply and often. I know that person is not me – not currently and hopefully not ever – but I would still like to try and make up for some of his actions."

Cloud just stared at him for several seconds before a troubled expression crossed his face. "I… don't think you can. Even he couldn't, if he ever tried. It's… not possible to make up for that."

That said a lot for his other self's actions… Sephiroth had already come to the conclusion that they'd only scratched the surface on the atrocities of the man Cloud remembered. The man Sephiroth could become, his mind whispered, but he shoved that thought aside. He would not become that.

Ever.

Still. "I feel it is only honorable to try." Something Angeal would approve of. Besides, "I… would also like to distance myself from him as much as possible." That seemed like a fairly safe path to follow if he wanted to avoid that potential future or anything like it.

More staring from the other man until, finally, he let out something between an incredulous snort and a huff. "Go figure. It's a good start. Fine, ask away."

Sephiroth nodded his head. "Thank you. My question is this: Are you real?"

The blankness on the other's face took on a somewhat confused tone, so the Silver General decided to clarify.

"I believe that this you, in this dream, is actually Cloud Strife from the future. I also believe that you are the man who delivered our food earlier, too."

The incredulous expression came back, albeit with an edge of defensiveness.

"How did you figure that out?"

Sephiroth nodded in acceptance, even as he mentally gathered his evidence. "Firstly, you implied before, in my other dream, that you were real. To back that up, what you have said and done are not… indicative of what I would likely think a future Cloud Strife would do. You're too real, not idealized for better or worse at all, as people in dreams tend to be." He'd gotten that lovely tidbit from Hojo during a particularly unpleasant phase of his life he didn't like to think about. It had revolved around him having to try and sleep through various circumstances, from animals making noises to guns going off and humans screaming in pain, each increasingly more difficult to dismiss.

"Also," he finally finished, pulling himself back from that particularly nasty train of thought, "the delivery: you left evidence, though I might never have noticed had I not gotten more than a glimpse." He decided not to mention the specific evidence: the younger Cloud being in the lobby at the same time, and the receipts. "In short, I only suspected. You simply confirmed it." He may not have been able to help the small smile on his lips at that.

Cloud put his head in one hand and seemed to be muttering something under his breath (more evidence this was a dream: at this distance, Sephiroth should have been able to understand the mutter). Then he threw his hands in the air. Not wildly, like Zack might have done, or Genesis at his most dramatic. But the movement somehow conveyed his extreme exasperation, even in the rather small gesture. More out to the side than up, actually.

"Fine. Whatever. It doesn't matter anyway. Yes, I am real and I am Cloud Strife from the future."

Sephiroth nodded in satisfaction. After a moment, his smile receded, and he continued with his observations. "You said before that Aerith couldn't come – that there was only enough energy to send one person back. I… am almost afraid to ask why."

Cloud shook his head, eyes not leaving Sephiroth – as if he were an aberration that would vanish the moment he took his gaze away. "He was right. You really are different."

Before Sephiroth could ask for any clarification, Cloud continued. "Jenova and the Planet were at such odds in the future that they'd worn each other down. It had come down to an outright fight between the two of them and the planet was barely strong enough to maintain any life, let alone sapient life. No children had been born in almost a decade by that point. Finally, in an all out attack, the Planet decided to drain all of Jenova's energy and all of its own energy to send me back. I'm…" he paused and looked away sadly, staring into the distance with his unfocused gaze. "I'm all that's left of that future."

Sephiroth felt himself pale and he really wanted something to sit down on. The dream world (or vision or Lifestream or whatever it was) responded and he found a chair right next to him – it looked exactly like his office chair: large and comfortable, but practical.

Ignoring the implications of that for now, he took the offer and sat, staring blankly in front of him, just to the left of Cloud.

"He… I did that," he said.

Cloud sighed. "You were right the first time. He did… a lot of it, yes. Although most of it was finished by Jenova. What was left of him did try to stop me from coming back, but our side was still a little stronger. We managed… barely."

It… didn't feel real, couldn't be real, and yet it felt all too real at the same time. Sephiroth had ruined the future over a petty grudge and some sort of god complex? It hurt to realize just how terrible of a person he could be.

Still, that did bring up other questions. He gathered himself and tried to organize his thoughts, then turned back to Cloud.

"If… the future is so dire, then why are you here giving us games instead of physically helping us stop this?" He didn't mean to sound accusatory – he didn't want to be accusatory – but it came out like that anyway.

Thankfully, Cloud didn't seem to mind. "I was dead at the time. Still am, really, but the Planet granted a boon to me before I came back: I have the capacity to manifest a physical body, but no one can truly return from the dead. Except maybe you," he finished dryly. Sephiroth flinched and looked away.

The blond sighed again and Sephiroth noted him running his hand through his hair when he looked back.

"I guess he didn't really come back either," he muttered. "He was always so… fixated. And now that I know what I do, that makes sense."

Sephiroth blinked. "What… do you know?" he finally ventured.

Cloud sighed. "The dead can sometimes manifest a body, but only in certain capacities – with certain goals they strive to attain. Aspects. The energy keeping them in the real world goes towards that manifestation and everything that isn't essential to those goals goes into that energy. A hyper-focus, of sorts. Further, those goals can only align with something you consider to be part of your identity…" He shot Sephiroth a pointed look and the green-eyed man couldn't help the pained expression he showed. It seemed more difficult to control his reactions here (wherever here was).

"You… became a courier?" Sephiroth finally asked. It was the only conclusion that made sense, and had the added bonus of bringing the conversation back to the man in front of him.

Cloud shrugged. "It was an escape and I was good at it. Gaia isn't always safe to travel with the monsters, especially after…" he faded off, eyes distant for a moment before shaking his head and focusing back on Sephiroth. "Titles are like skins: faces other people give you that you accept, reject, or grow out of, though they can blur, I guess." He raised one eyebrow pointedly. "Is 'Sephiroth the General' the same as 'Sephiroth the lab-raised'?" Sephiroth didn't wince, but he had to look away. Thankfully, the blond continued, clearly having made his point.

"As for me? I could come back in a few possible personas, but only two are important for you to know: a delivery boy – as you've pointed out," he said somewhere between deadpan and sarcastic, "or a fighter. The Planet's warrior." The blond drew himself up then, and he very suddenly seemed more somehow – larger, stronger and deadlier. His eyes glowed yellow instead of blue or even green, like two miniature suns, matching the color of his hair.

"I could help the way she intended. I could become the warrior the planet wants and forcefully end her suffering." And with his sheer presence, Sephiroth could believe it. He looked resplendent in trim, golden armor that suddenly covered his body, enormous sword held out to the side (when had he drawn that?). It was… frankly, terrifying. Sephiroth didn't use that word lightly either.

Then he was suddenly just Cloud again, dressed in his modified SOLDIER outfit, sword back in its holster on his back. "The problem is, I can't switch between the personas quickly. I would have to return to the Lifestream and manifest again – and I cannot tell you how much effort and energy it takes, even with my boon. If I manifest as a warrior… I would be a WEAPON – the Golden WEAPON – single minded in my need to destroy anything and everything Jenova related. And I mean anything."

He stared at the Silver General as Sephiroth thought through those implications. He would destroy Jenova… and also Sephiroth, Genesis and Angeal… likely even Zack if his suspicions were correct. He didn't know how well the man knew Zack, but the idea of condemning him for all of this seemed particularly unfair. He couldn't stand the thought of his friends being condemned like that either. Or all the other SOLDIERS under his command…

"I… see," he finally said. "Thank you for… your discretion."

Cloud stared at him coolly. "I didn't do it for you."

Sephiroth nodded. He didn't know who Cloud had done all of this for, but asking would not go well right now, so he just said, "I know. Thank you anyway."

The other man hmmed, but otherwise said nothing.

Sephiroth decided to move onto his next question before their interaction could become too awkward.

"How did you get the games to give to us? Did someone in the future make them?"

Cloud snorted, looking mildly more amused than he had a second ago. "No. Not gonna lie, I was tempted to say 'sure let's go with that'. That explanation is just easier. But then you'd constantly be on edge looking out for possible sources." He huffed again. "That's the last thing you need, so you get the truth… whether you believe it or not.

"There are some universes out there that act as a… 'base' world – for lack of a better term. Whether we are simply products of their minds or they have some way to bring the stories of our world into theirs, or even the other way around, I don't know. I don't want to know. Normally, crossing the boundaries between worlds is almost impossible. Fortunately, when one is dead, those boundaries become…" he paused, thoughtful. "Looser. Less of a problem," he finally finished.

Sephiroth blinked. "So the games – about our lives and planet… are from another world?" he asked, not having expected that. At all. He couldn't help the passing thought of 'Game Insanity'. In Genesis's voice.

The blond just nodded. When the Silver General realized he'd get nothing further from the man, he tried to open his mouth to ask more, but his mind didn't seem to want to work, having not wrapped itself around the concept that the game they were playing – that had politics, relationships and personal thoughts of the characters – was from another world.

Genesis wouldn't get over that.

And as much as the SOLDIER First hated to admit it, Cloud was right: Sephiroth wasn't entirely sure he could either.

"Very well, then," he finally said quietly. Then he swallowed and forced himself to ask. "How… much of it is true?"

Cloud's face went utterly blank. "As far as I know, almost all of it."

Sephiroth felt sick.

"I…" he started, but faded off. "And what of the information on the disk we acquired from the Science Department?" he finally managed to ask.

The blond frowned. "I don't know. I don't know what information is on there, but my guess would be most of it. I don't know how much might be spun, incomplete, or twisted, though."

"As soon as we finish the game, we will read through it," Sephiroth said. Cloud probably knew but Sephiroth hadn't said it to inform him. Maybe he'd hoped that if he said it aloud, it would make the prospect less ominous and disgusting.

It didn't.

"Yes," Cloud said, his voice harsh. "And here's what you won't do when you read about it this time. You won't go crazy and kill everyone in your path. You won't tear the building down around you and you won't try to destroy the planet – or the city, for that matter."

Sephiroth wanted to say that of course he wouldn't… but he knew better. He swallowed again, his mouth feeling suddenly dry.

"Is it… that bad?" he asked quietly.

Cloud's stony expression softened. Then he nodded. "Yeah. If not worse."

"I thought you didn't know what was on that disk…"

"I can guess. Far too easily."

Sephiroth closed his eyes. Well… having a warning of what would come helped. Now he could brace for it – for the knowledge of something so terrible it could lead to the destruction of the world. Right now, they could only hope that that warning would be enough.

The blond sighed and rubbed his hand through his hair again, drawing the taller man's attention. "Look," he said, "your life, and the lives of your friends, will depend on your reactions to the news. I hate it, but even Zack's life will depend on how you take it all. You don't truly comprehend how thin of a line you're walking, Sephiroth." He said the name with such pain and loathing…

"I…" the silver-haired man paused for a moment before continuing, "may have more of an indication than you think," he refuted.

Cloud didn't answer, simply staring until Sephiroth looked away, realizing he wouldn't get anything more out of the other man.

So he focused on something he'd noticed, namely how Cloud had spoken Zack's name, with a worn sadness that seemed very old and deep.

"You… sound like you knew Zack well…" he said slowly. Zack had said they were friends in his game, but Sephiroth had learned that there were varying degrees of closeness, even among friends.

Almost instantly, he knew it had been the wrong thing to say (in all fairness, he wouldn't be surprised if the man had more triggers than Genesis… or himself, and should have taken that into consideration). Cloud's expression closed off completely and his eyes narrowed. He looked around, breathing deeply as if asking for patience before focusing back on Sephiroth, eyes hard and defiant, voice steady and devoid of warmth with a tone of ominous finality. "I have three things to tell you:

"One; return to the submarine, have Vincent in your party, follow the wall. Explore everything. Don't leave the ocean until you have the Key and you know Vincent's story. You can skip the plane wreckage.

"Two; Challenge Emerald or Ruby. You need to comprehend the potential power of a WEAPON and those two will give you some idea.

"Three; go back to Nibelheim. You won't like it, and it won't be easy for Zack to see, but you – all of you – need to understand.

"It's time for you to go," he concluded. "Don't forget."

Sephiroth opened his mouth to say something – to apologize or change the subject or simply agree, but before he could, he found himself abruptly waking up to his neutral-colored room. Grays, tans and beiges. Nothing nearly as vibrant as the Lifestream or as empty as the enormous white space he so vividly remembered from his first dream.

After taking several seconds to calm his racing heart, he glanced over at the clock. He still had half an hour before it was set to go off. Of course.

Had that been some small revenge from the time-traveler?

(And what a strange idea that was...)

After several seconds, he realized he wouldn't be getting back to sleep any time soon, so he may as well get up and begin his morning routine. He'd worked on less sleep before after all.

That didn't make the prospect any more appealing.

xXx

The smell of blood and processed mako permeated the air, along with the scent of rotting flesh. It was familiar – almost comforting to Hojo… or it would have been under any other circumstance.

The trip hadn't been nearly as productive as the scientist had wanted it to be. He'd been so close to realizing some of his conclusions, but the specimens had given out too quickly. They'd been too weak.

As most were.

Hojo didn't growl or grumble, but he did glower as he sat in the front seat of the ShinRa vehicle, waiting for the men to finish loading his equipment. They would hurry if they knew what was best for them. He needed new specimens after all.

He hated being in such a foul mood, but it couldn't be helped. And, worst of all, he'd had to wrap up early, no time for extra experiments as he had to get back to ShinRa earlier than he'd truly wanted. It was unfortunate, but he'd gotten some… odd reports about Sephiroth, and even his current projects couldn't trump his masterpiece.

No… this was for the best.

Or at least necessary.

That didn't mean he had to like it.

He glanced back at the troopers with him, still taking forever to load the trucks, and felt a smile begin to tug at his lips. He'd just have to console himself with new experiments, he supposed.

He relaxed a little, sitting back in his seat as he mentally began to prepare a proposal for the oaf that ran ShinRa.

xXx

AN: You guys have NO idea how much I've wanted to get to these chapters… and this is just the first of several, and there will be revelations, twists and doozies all throughout it all. *Evil grin here*

Now, if you follow my other stories or my discord, you probably know that my computer crashed and has been giving me issues. Due to this, I lost a lot of work, including some I'd done on this one. It's very frustrating. Fortunately, I had most of it on the interwebs and so most of Advanced Release was saved. Unfortunately, I lost a bit of my SW story and so Inevitability will likely not be updated this month. *Sigh* Sorry, guys.

Also, due to that, if you spot any errors, please point them out here or in Discord since the crash did mess up a fair bit. We did our best to recover, but it's still possible stuff was missed.

Thanks to Quathis and Imagination7413 for their help on this! Luv you guys!

And thank you to my readers. I really appreciate your support too.

Discord: discord. gg/xDDz3gqWfy (no spaces)