"So," Genesis asked, folding his arms, glancing at Sephiroth out of the corner of his eye while Angeal drove the airship to Junon, "was that all your dream Cloud mentioned? Returning to the submarine?"

"No." Sephiroth answered, but didn't elaborate.

Genesis sighed after a few seconds of silence. "Allow me to rephrase: What else did he mention that is probably critical to us being done with this nightmare of a game? Three things, correct?" The red-head had a point, and though Sephiroth did not feel like contributing to banter or conversation, he had resolved to voice anything important, and the three instructions qualified.

"Second: challenge either Emerald or Ruby WEAPON, to better understand the potential of what a WEAPON can do."

"We already know that after Junon," Genesis said, frowning.

"He implied we don't," Sephiroth replied stonily before moving on. "Third: We need to return to Nibelheim." He glanced at Zack. "He said it won't be easy, but we need to understand."

"Should we do that now?" Angeal asked hesitantly.

"No. We should get the key," Sephiroth offered after a moment. Cloud had given him the three instructions in that order, so it would probably be best to stick to that, if possible. Just in case.

They fell into silence except for the music of the airship. Angeal managed to navigate the map far better than any of their previous play sessions, and Junon wasn't far.

"Okay. As soon as I land, I'll switch Yuffie out for Vincent." Angeal offered. "Any thoughts?"

"Why not Tifa? Yuffie's been in the party for shorter," Zack asked.

"Then I'll switch Vincent out for Tifa. That's fine," Angeal said with a shrug as he landed near Junon and did just that. Then he headed to the submarine and got inside. The vehicle went out a little ways from the port it had been in, and then submerged.

"So, 'follow the wall' was the only directional advice given by your mysterious future courier?" Genesis asked.

Sephiroth nodded, then sat back as the dark blue of the underwater came on the screen. The music changed. Sephiroth had heard it before, but hadn't had a chance to appreciate how calming it was. He decided he liked it.

"What about that crack in the middle there?" Zack asked, pointing to the jagged black… canyon? "Is that part of the wall?"

"I don't think so," Angeal said.

"Then follow 'the wall' to the right or left?" Genesis asked dryly.

Sephiroth frowned and shook his head, indicating that Cloud hadn't said.

"I say left," the red-head said.

"I was gonna say to go right," Zack muttered.

"I spoke first," Genesis gloated.

Zack stuck out his tongue.

"Children," Angeal cut in as Sephiroth suppressed another sigh at their childishness (even if a small part of him did appreciate how their banter lightened the mood). "Genesis did speak up first, so left it is.."

"Fine," Zack said with all the exasperation of a child annoyed at an adult (which was strange as they were only four and a half years apart). "But you went with Genesis last time too, so I call dibs next time!"

Angeal sighed, but nodded. "Fair enough, next time someone asks for a direction, we'll go with your pick."

He turned the submarine left and they continued to watch as it traveled and turned far too fast across the very simplified underwater map. (To be fair, the same could be – and had been – said for the map above the water.)

A couple of minutes later, something red came onto the screen on the ocean floor around a bend in the rock (Sephiroth doubted that was what all the 'walls' of the ocean looked like).

"What's that?" Zack asked.

"Yes, because we know," Genesis muttered.

"I'm checking it out," Angeal said calmly, stepping in before the two could escalate another disagreement.

Angeal guided their sub closer, and the view changed to the inside of the submarine (including the troops they'd sparred still standing aside, which made no sense… again). It turned out to be the 'lead sub' they'd shot down earlier, and they got another huge materia from it. Huh.

"So Sephiroth was right!" Zack said. "This was one, the plane was another!"

"I feel ridiculous for not coming back and checking on the sub," Angeal admitted as they continued along.

A fair point. If a similar situation happened in the field with any officer, they would have been reprimanded for overlooking something so basic. (It was… embarrassing that none of them had thought about it.)

About a minute later, they came across something moving in the water. It was large and green?

"What is that?" Zack asked. "A plane?"

"Cloud said to skip the plane wreckage," Sephiroth ventured slowly.

"No… Is that… a WEAPON?" Genesis asked.

They all stared at the thing as it moved along in a star-shaped pattern, puffs of… water coming out behind it, but not coming towards them.

"I think it is," Angeal agreed.

"Yeah, I can see that," Zack said. "Emeralds are green, right?"

"Yes, and we were supposed to challenge Emerald WEAPON," Genesis pointed out. "Should we?"

"Not unless we can save first," Zack said. "If they're hard battles, we really need to. We don't want to lose progress, and you didn't save when you swapped in Vincent. I should've suggested it earlier." He rubbed the back of his head sheepishly.

Genesis hummed in thought for a little before he nodded. "I agree, and we now know where to find it." Then he turned to Angeal. "Carry on," he said imperiously.

Angeal looked skyward and shook his head, but followed the command.

After a couple of minutes (that felt far longer), they came across what looked like a broken plane. Oh.

"Is that the plane wreckage we're supposed to skip?" Zack asked.

"It looks like it to me," Angeal said. "I'll just keep looking then."

The others nodded and they continued on. They came across an area where the two walls came together, but a crack formed a V-shape, through which they could see more ocean on the other side. Angeal drove the sub through the break in the wall and took the left-hand side. They seemed to have wandered into a rather large underwater valley that came to a closed U-shape at the end. They also found a fairly large cave towards the bottom continuing on.

They followed the cave… and followed it… and followed it. The fact that it seemed to go under the Western Continent quite a ways, according to the miniaturized map in the corner of the screen, bordered on game insanity in Sephiroth's opinion. At least, he didn't think that was normal, but decided he didn't particularly want to say something and point out yet another annoyance.

(And what if the cave really did exist…? He decided he may want to look into that… when everything else of more importance had been taken care of.)

The tunnel ended in a large, flat, circular area.

"Wait, there's nothing here?" Genesis asked, pointing at the television screen. "Why is there nothing here? That was a giant waste of time!"

"Oh, oh, oh! Surface!" Zack said suddenly, waving his hand in a 'hold up' motion. "This is the perfect spot for a fake dead end. It's probably a grotto or something!"

That wasn't a bad idea. Angeal must have thought so too, as he followed the Second's instructions. The submarine zipped upward and the screen faded in to show…

"Are those… mountains?" Genesis asked, incredulous.

"It's a lake… at the top of the mountains. There's a river running out of it," Zack agreed, sounding utterly confused.

"We came in from the sea," Angeal groaned, managing to somehow cover his face with his hands even with the controller there. "Water – liquid – does not work like that."

Sephiroth nodded along, in complete solidarity.

Whatever. It is simply more game insanity to go with the rest," Genesis finally said, throwing his hands up tiredly. "Just… in anticipation of predicting yet more insanity, see if there's somewhere to get out."

"Over there!" Zack said suddenly, pointing to the screen. "The dark water goes all the way up to the edge… that looks like that one place we can dock our sub near Junon!"

"Can we not go into lighter water?" Angeal asked.

"I didn't try," Genesis said with a shrug. "I logically concluded such areas would be too shallow, and if I can avoid game insanity, I will."

Fair point.

"So, lighter blue means shallow, and darker blue means deep and we can drive the sub there," Zack elaborated with a nod. "I mean, I thought it was kind of obvious. That's pretty common in games, to help the player."

"Because of course it's common, and of course there's color-coded 'water'," Genesis sighed. "At least it makes some sense."

Angeal moved the submarine over to the edge Zack had pointed out. Then Cloud appeared on the map right next to the ledge and immediately began to run around. There wasn't much space to run, and it all led to a waterfall. A waterfall that came from seemingly nowhere.

The ledge made sense, in context of the game. But the underwater tunnel, the physics-breaking river, and the waterfall? Insanity. Pure insanity. Sephiroth wouldn't believe that one unless he saw it with his own eyes. Though, maybe he'd trust a second-hand account, if it were from Angeal. Genesis and Zack would be fifty-fifty on trustworthiness, the latter because Sephiroth didn't know him that well yet, and the former… well, between exasperation with illogical water and playing into the idea for a dramatic joke it wasn't unlikely he would… exaggerate. Shamelessly. Despite the potentially dire situation.

"Try the waterfall. Game developers really like putting stuff behind waterfalls." Zack suggested after a few seconds and no visible place to go like with the towns on the map. "Double dead end."

Angeal did as Zack suggested and… they entered a cavern. Well.

The rock faded into a smooth, glass-like floor and a perfectly round room. A blue box popped up, reading 'Sephiroth…'. He suddenly realized that it had been… a decent while in the game since he'd had to deal with information about his counterpart. The three Firsts exchanged glances and Zack tensed a little. On the screen, Yuffie and Vincent ran out of Cloud, Yuffie off to the left and Vincent straight out in front

'That voice… can it be?' Vincent asked, then walked slowly forward. 'Lucrecia?'

Genesis outright gasped, Angeal shot worried looks at his friend and Sephiroth stiffened. Whatever calm he'd found in the ocean music and the earlier banter, vanished.

"Who's Lucrecia again?" Zack asked.

"Sephiroth's mother… potentially," Genesis answered as if in a trance.

'Vincent…?' the woman on the far side of the chamber curled into a ball on top of a small platform asked, standing up.

'Lucrecia!' Vincent… well, likely yelled as he ran forward.

'Stay Back!' Lucrecia answered and the screen faded to white.

When it faded back in, familiar, mysterious music began to play and the screen showed the Nibelheim square. Three people in white (scientists?) led the way to the ShinRa Mansion, followed by a man in a blue suit. A Turk, he supposed. The blue-suited man stopped and turned back towards the town, looking up as the screen faded to white once again.

It transitioned back in showing the Turk and… the same figure they'd just seen in the cave? The character had the same long brown hair and white outfit. They were walking across the town towards the village entrance. Another white screen shifted the view to the front gate of Nibelheim, the Turk holding the hands of the scientist.

Was that really Lucrecia? (A memory? Game limitations?)

After a couple of seconds, she pulled her hands out of his, then ran out of the village, shaking her head as she went. The Turk reached after her, but didn't follow. The screen faded to white again.

It faded back to the same background, the gates of Nibelheim, except the woman was hugging another man in a white lab coat. The Turk looked on, closer to the screen, before turning away from the pair and drooping his head. Something about him looked familiar right then…

"Wait, is that Vincent?" Genesis asked, leaning forward.

Sephiroth blinked. Angeal's mouth dropped open.

"How–?" Angeal started before Zack cut him off.

"He was a Turk?!" the Second exclaimed.

"Then… this is a recollection," Genesis muttered, a hand cupping his chin. "He and Lucrecia…" The red-head had barely uttered the words before snapping upright abruptly, eyes wide in realization. "No. It couldn't be…"

"What?" Zack tried to ask.

But Genesis just shushed him, waving a hand and focusing on the screen. Point, as the scene was still playing out. The words 'If she's happy, then I don't mind,' appeared.

Then it faded out and in again, this time to a the woman sitting on a chair and… rubbing her stomach? Was she… pregnant? With… with Sephiroth?

The screen transitioned to white and then back yet again. They were in the library under the ShinRa Mansion, 'they' being the Turk (Vincent?), the woman (Lucrecia?), and another man. The same man she'd been hugging, he thought. The Turk said he was against human experimentation. The man said, 'She and I are both scientists'. The Turk… nodded? But it looked jerky… it would make sense that he wasn't happy about whatever experiments they were talking about, Sephiroth supposed.

He had a very… unpleasant feeling about this.

Then more words on the screen. 'After that, a child was born to Lucrecia… That child's name was Sephiroth…'

This time Zack gasped. The three Firsts exchanged wary glances again. Despite having guessed it, seeing the confirmation made something in Sephiroth's chest squeeze tightly.

Take a deep breath, he told himself, and did just that, silently counting in his head.

Then it showed the woman, now confirmed to be Lucrecia, walking into a room. She collapsed, and Sephiroth fumbled in his careful attempts at steady breathing. The scene transitioned to the library under the mansion. The Turk looked like he was shouting and the Scientist responded by running his hands through his hair…

Wait…

Wait…

He wasn't the first character they'd seen do that action, but for some reason, this time it looked… familiar.

Then it clicked.

"That's Hojo," Sephiroth whispered. He'd seen the scientist run his hands through his hair like that when he was particularly frustrated, and in this setting, in what clearly showed a lab, and had a moment ago declared himself and Lucrecia both scientists…

Sephiroth's body stiffened again. He felt like he was about to snap in half, he'd tensed so much.

"WHAT!?" the others exclaimed.

Hojo!? But–?" Genesis started, but before anyone else could say anything, a sound of a gunshot sounded from the speakersz, and the red-head cut himself off. Hojo's hand had moved like he'd held something that recoiled and Vincent staggered back, then slowly collapsed while the scientist watched on.

Before anyone could say anything, it faded out and then back in to show Vincent lying on the… desk? A table instead of the desk? An examination table? And Hojo (or was it Lucrecia… or someone else even?) was… the motions, as blocky as they were, implied the scientist was 'working' on him…

Sephiroth felt his stomach drop and Zack shuddered. Angeal and Genesis looked on in horror. The screen faded out and back in to Vincent alone in the same room, sitting up and slowly – as if in a daze? – getting off of the table. He put his head in his hands, and then began to shake. He arched his back, throwing his hands in the air and the whole scene dropped down, leaving blackness behind.

'Urrrrrrgh!' flashed across the dark screen.

Then Vincent said, 'This body is… the punishment that has been given to me…"

"Wait, punishment?" Zack asked.

"He changes into monsters for his limit break," Genesis answered, eyeing Sephiroth cautiously.

"Oh, right," the Second said, sounding both thoughtful and worried.

On the screen, 'I was unable to stop Professor Gast and Hojo…'

"Gast?!" Angeal exclaimed. Sephiroth's fists clenched.

"What does that mean?" Zack whined.

'And Lucrecia… I was unable to stop them.'

"Wait, she experimented on… someone? Herself? On…" Zack had the sense to stop and glance at Sephiroth again.

As for the silver-haired man, time seemed to freeze for a moment. He remained as blank as he could, forcing himself to continue to breathe while trying not to break the arm of his couch by squeezing it too hard. It still creaked under his fingers.

His own mother… experimented on him?

Let Hojo near them?

Did he want her to be his mother? Perhaps the alien would do a better job.

As if in response to his thoughts, the sense of other returned, breaking the frozen moment.

'Sephiroth…'

No! He shook his head, hard, and focused on the screen, mentally pushing the other away as hard as he could. This was missing too much. He needed to withhold judgment for real life. He needed to find that cave.

'All that I was able to do,' Vincent continued, 'was watch… That is my punishment…'

"Oh, please," Genesis said, just a little too loudly. "Don't be so over-dramatic."

Angeal coughed and muttered to his friend as the screen faded to white again. "I don't think anyone wants to hear that from you."

Genesis scoffed and folded his arms.

Listening to the banter… helped. He could hear the strain in their voices, but they were trying to lighten the mood, and he honestly appreciated it.

At this point, he didn't know what to think about the information he'd received.

The screen faded to white again, and the faded back in to the cave, showing Vincent in front of Cloud and Yuffie while the woman on the dais – Lucrecia – stood with her head bowed.

'Lucrecia,' Vincent said, 'you're alive.'

It was a text box. Not one of the scenes that played out without them controlling the pace. Angeal was clearly debating if he should continue or let them take a moment.

"Well. That was an info dump." Zack offered, also clearly open to taking a much needed break.

Genesis, naturally, took the opening. "He's your father!"

"Wait, who's whose father?" the younger teen asked.

"Vincent!" the red-head said triumphantly. "He's our esteemed General's father!"

Sephiroth blinked, the puzzle pieces falling together. He'd… never really thought about who could be his father… Why not?

(And why didn't it feel right?)

"We don't know that–" Angeal started.

"But if that was a flashback, wouldn't he have to be, like, forty?" Zack plowed over Angeal's rebuttal. "He doesn't look that old… though that could be the art style, I guess. And why did she leave him? And Sephiroth said that was Hojo? So… is Vincent his father? Or is—" Zack started.

"Do not finish that thought." the Silver General sharply cut the Third's rambling off. He might not 'get' the complexities of social relationships, and even less so romantic ones, but he knew enough, and what Zack was implying made Sephiroth recoil. He reminded himself to keep breathing.

This was fine. (Breathe…) He was fine. (In…) He was. (Out…)

The Second snapped his mouth closed and looked over at Sephiroth, eyes wide… in fear. The General hated seeing that expression on the boy's face, but couldn't bring himself to do anything about it at the moment.

"Sephiroth…" Genesis started.

"No." He wanted to hit something, or stab something – to channel his confusion (and fear because no, no, no!) into the familiar motions of a fight. He wanted to move, but where would he go?

"As I tried to say before, Zack, we don't know," Angeal said quietly after Sephiroth didn't elaborate. "Both are possibilities–"

"No." Sephiroth repeated, voice cold. His emotions… He wasn't thinking clearly. About the only thing he could think about was the fact that he couldn't seem to think clearly. But… There was really only one way to find out the truth. It would also give him something to focus on.

"Sephiroth?" Angeal asked, voice extremely calm, reminiscent of asking for orders in the field. It was familiar and routine. Exactly what he needed. He made a mental note to thank his friend later, when he didn't feel so… off.

"Continue. Get it over with," Sephiroth said as calmly as he could manage. By the look the others sent him, he was unsuccessful. Nevertheless, Angeal continued.

'I wanted to disappear,' the woman responded. 'I couldn't be with anyone. I wanted to die. But the Jenova inside me, wouldn't let me die.'

"Wait, what?!" Zack asked loudly. "What does she mean by that?"

None of the SOLDIERS seemed to know how to answer that. Jenova wouldn't let her die? Was that even possible? And what did that mean for them? SOLDIERS still died. Had died. Did it have to do with the amount of Jenova cells in a person? Or was there another reason? Far too many unanswered questions, and that only scratched the tip of the iceberg.

"And why couldn't she be with anyone?" the Second continued down a completely different path of thought than Sephiroth, of course.

"Genesis," Angeal said quietly, "write these questions down."

"They are good questions," the red-head agreed, reaching down in front of him and picking up his notebook from off the floor. "I should have already been doing that."

'Lately I dream a lot of Sephiroth, my dear, dear child…' the woman went on.

Your dear child that you experimented on? Sephiroth thought scathingly. And yet, the words on the screen felt like a balm to his soul.

'Ever since he was born, I never got to hold him…,' she went on. That… actually went a long way to draining Sephiroth's anger. She hadn't gotten to even hold him? Why not? He might not have the best understanding of social behaviors, but that seemed highly unusual.

"Okay, that's messed up," Zack said, immediately confirming his thoughts.

"This doesn't make sense," Genesis muttered, putting the pen he'd been writing with down.

'Not even once,' she went on. 'You can't call me his mother. That is my sin.'

"Another question: What does she mean by 'sin'?" Genesis muttered, picking the pen back up. "Does she mean it in the same way Vincent does, or in a different capacity?"

Meanwhile, all Sephiroth could think was, She doesn't want me? Then he berated himself for such a thing. She'd experimented on him… or herself while pregnant with him. Neither was exactly conducive to good parenting.

He shouldn't want her in his life.

He shouldn't.

(So why did he?)

'Back!' she said suddenly. 'Stay back!' She threw her arms out, but then drew them back in.

'Vincent…' she asked, 'won't you please tell me?'

'What?' Vincent replied.

'If Sephiroth is still alive?'

And yet… all her thoughts seemed to be of him and his well being.

How should he feel about all of this?

He had an alien 'mother' and then a human 'mother' and then that mother experimented on him (or herself) and was with Hojo (but maybe also Vincent?), but she never got to hold him and wanted to know if he was alright…

They were definitely missing something here.

'I heard that he died five years ago,' she went on. Sephiroth wondered how she'd heard anything, locked away in this cave. The Lifestream? 'But I see him in my dreams so often. And I know that physically, like myself, he can't die so easily.'

Angeal didn't click to go on. All the others turned to look at him with varying expressions of pity, concern and fear on their features.

Sephiroth couldn't face that right now. So he kept his eyes on the screen.

"Not right now. Just go on," he said, hoping he didn't sound as desperate as he felt. "Get through it."

Angeal's expression saddened, but he complied.

'Please, Vincent,' Lucrecia went on. 'Tell me.'

On the screen, Cloud walked forward, as if to say something. Vincent held his hand out to stop him, and Cloud paused.

Then Vincent spoke. 'Lucrecia, Sephiroth is dead.'

Sephiroth closed his eyes for a moment. That… that was the right thing to say to her in those circumstances. No matter what had been done to her, what she'd done to herself – what she'd done to him – prolonging any hope for Game Sephiroth's redemption was… cruel.

The scene faded to black, slowly, and then back in with Cloud standing outside the waterfall.

For several seconds, the SOLDIERS just sat there in silence, no one seeming to know what to say.

"We don't have enough context," Sephiroth finally forced himself to voice the thought aloud.

"Yet another place to add to our list of destinations?" Genesis asked quietly, cautiously but… supportive. That was new… but Sephiroth thought he could get used to it.

The silver-haired man nodded.

They continued to sit there, but the avatar on the screen still didn't move. Out of the corner of his eye, Sephiroth saw how Zack fidgeted, a large contrast to Angeal who just sat there stiffly. They both kept glancing at him, the latter with an increasingly worried expression.

Sephiroth saw Genesis open his mouth to say something, but Zack suddenly spun around, a determined look on his face. He focused his full attention on Sephiroth.

"You know, I like the guy I've gotten to meet these last few days. You're funny and witty and intelligent and someone I'd like to call a friend, eventually. I don't care who your parents are."

Sephiroth blinked, staring at the boy and hating how lost he suddenly felt. His parents, whoever they were and Hojo and his childhood and…

And this boy… who he'd only officially met a couple of days ago, said that.

He really was Angeal's prodigy.

"I…" Zack started again, this time seeming a little more self conscious, "I kinda miss that guy – the one I was starting to get to know last night."

"Zack, let him be," Angeal admonished gently, smiling warmly at his charge. When he glanced at Sephiroth, though, he looked no less concerned.

"I think we've all noticed the lack of voluntary vocal contribution," Genesis added, nonchalantly sprawling back against the couch. "But as much as I would like to pry, I agree with Angeal. I delivered some very unpleasant, and more importantly, immediate, news before we even sat down, and then we get…" he gestured to the screen, "this. Let him process it."

Zack looked thoughtfully at Genesis and then at Sephiroth before slumping a little and nodding. "Right. Sorry, sir. I won't press. Just… when you are ready, we're here. Remember that? Please?"

With that, he turned around. And suddenly, Sephiroth felt as if his strings had been cut. All the tension leaked out of his body and he, too, leaned back against the couch. He… wanted to cry, he realized. He didn't think he could let himself right now – years of habits didn't just go away – but he could recognize the emotions at least… And… And he had his friends there with him. Friends who supported him, and even defended him in such little (but so important and often overlooked) ways. People he could trust.

That wasn't anything he'd really had before, he realized. Not like this.

He looked at Zack, sitting there, simply ready and waiting for them to make the next move; looked at Angeal, manning the controller, so the rest of them wouldn't have to; looked at Genesis, still slumping against the back of the couch, but watching Sephiroth through half-lidded eyes, deliberately nonchalant while paying close attention to his friend's mood.

The Silver General nodded gratefully at them.

Genesis just smiled back before focusing on the screen again. Then he nudged Angeal, who had watched the entire exchange with a soft grin of his own. The dark-haired man nodded and turned back to the screen, having Cloud walk back towards the sub.

xXx

AN: Beta's note: Imagination would like to once again apologize for not being able to give this chapter as many passes as previous chapters have gotten. Work is kicking her butt.

Obi: Guys, SHE says that, but you don't know how much work Imagination7413 did for this chapter. Her splicing skills just… *chef's kiss* We do apologize for any mistakes, though.

Thank you for reading!

Discord: discord. gg/xDDz3gqWfy (no spaces)