Once More, With Feeling... – Chapter 29: No Sense Whatsoever
Summary: One more dedicated Operation Weatherman meeting, but not all the clues match the questions.
Author: Illusor Meaneld
Rated T: for Descriptive violence and injuries, No Adult Situations, No Cussing.
Disclaimer: I did not create, and do not own the characters from Final Fantasy 7, They are owned by Square-Enix, and I am simply borrowing them for my own (and hopefully your) enjoyment.
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Nine O'clock the next morning found Angeal trodding through the hallways with Zack excitedly pacing at his side. They arrived at the same room the previous collective meeting had been held, slipping inside after a knock, Angeal smirked at the similarities in the situation. Sephiroth once again sat at the far end of the table. With Tseng on one side, the difference this time was that Genesis sat on the same side as the Turk, with an empty chair between himself and the stoic Wutaian. One glance at the Auburn-haired Lieutenant and Angeal knew Genesis was determined to be 'grumpy'. He resisted the urge to chuckle as he walked over to take his place on Sephiroth's right. He was therefore noticeably startled when the general stopped him. With a quick shake of his head and a sharp hand gesture, Sephiroth had Angeal switch places with Zack. The SOLDIER 2nd's eyes widened at the realization he would, once again, be seated next to the General. As puzzled as his protégé, but unwilling to admit it, Angeal sat down, Zack followed his example nervously.
Sephiroth waited until silence had fallen in the room, and then he stood,
"Last night I took a shift watching the primary target of Operation Weatherman."
Zack visibly perked, eager and anxious to hear new information regarding his young friend,
"During the course of my watch, Cadet Strife's routine was interrupted…" Here Sephiroth paused, and he reached down beside his chair and retrieved a stack of manila envelopes. He placed the five thickest ones in front of him on the table, and passed one of the smaller ones to each occupant at the table. "I have documented a detailed report of the nights events within the packets I have passed out." Sephiroth added, before patting the stacks still before him. "These packets contain all the existing Weatherman Reports we have collected, I have also taken the liberty of dividing them according to the theories they support."
Angeal couldn't resist the chuckle this time, "Sounds like someone was bored last night…" He grinned as he opened his packet and began to skim its contents. A few seconds later he suddenly understood exactly why Sephiroth had changed his seating position…
"CLOUD'S IN THE INFIRMARY??" Zack yelled as he stared down at the information in his hands.
Angeal was between Zack, and the door. … When the teenager stood, Angeal was on his feet, with one hand firmly on the boy's shoulder.
Genesis' eyes flicked up at the shout, then back down to his paper with more interest as he scanned for the information Zack revealed.
"Easy there Zack." Angeal murmured hastily, the boy turned as if to brush past him, and Angeal's grip tightened.
"Cloud is fine." Sephiroth interjected smoothly, "Don't disturb him."
"But!" Zack whined, "He's my friend! And he's HURT! I need to go see him!"
"You'll see him soon enough!" Sephiroth snapped, "Besides, he's sleeping right now. He needs his rest to recover."
Angeal couldn't stop one of his eyebrows from rising, "He's sleeping right now?"
From across the table Genesis began to snicker, "Sephiroth would know! He spent the whole night with him."
"He had a concussion and needed supervision." Sephiroth grumbled,
"HE HAS A CONCUSSION?" Zack cried, and Angeal winced at the volume of it. Genesis and Sephiroth also grimaced,
"Psycho Mother-Hen" Angeal mouthed at them.
"Quit PMH-ing, Puppy." Genesis sneered back.
Zack's tirade suddenly paused and he stared at the auburn-haired lieutenant in puzzlement, "Huh?"
Angeal took the opportunity to forcibly sit the boy back into his chair. "SIT Zack! You can't just run off! Cloud will be fine! Let him sleep!" He shot a glare at Genesis' smirk, only managing to elicit a chuckle from the other SOLDIER.
Tseng, who was still reading over the information sighed softly, "If I am understanding this correctly, you witnessed four of Strife's peers assaulting him, unprovoked in the training room last night."
Sephiroth nodded, "That, is one of the critical reasons I called the meeting this morning-"
"Wait a second!" Zack interrupted, eyes skimming over his papers again, "You saw the whole fight! Why didn't you stop them?"
Sephiroth's eyes narrowed, "I could not intervene immediately without compromising Operation Weatherman."
"But… Cloud was attacked and you didn't do anything!" Zack growled back, bold in his 'righteous fury'.
"According to our observations Cloud is more than capable of holding his own against-"
"HE HAS A CONCUSSION!!" Zack yelled back, Angeal grabbed the boy's shoulder hastily, gripping hard enough to cause the youth to wince.
"I thought he could handle it!" Sephiroth almost snarled, "He SHOULD have been able to handle it!" Angeal didn't miss the flinch of chagrin in the older man's shoulders, and for a moment the Lieutenant just regarded his superior curiously. The General was so composed and confident all the time, it was easy to forget the man was only two years his senior. Angeal's lips twitched, they were all just a bunch of young veterans. Having finally caught Zack's attention, he silently scolded the youth for his outburst, noting the slump of the boy's shoulders and flushed face when his actions caught up to him. Glancing back up at Sephiroth's irate countenance Angeal hastily moved to change the subject.
"A disciplinary hearing would normally be customary for these circumstances." He interjected, pleased when several pairs of eyes flicked to his face.
"Obviously the boys will be Discharged from the Service." Genesis snorted,
"What?" Zack yelped, "Discharged? Not Cloud right?"
"No, Cloud was acting in Self-Defense." Sephiroth snorted.
Zack's internal struggle played on his face as he muttered, "But… they're my students…" Angeal could easily understand the conflict, and he rubbed the teen's shoulder sympathetically.
"The military cannot have fighting in the ranks." Sephiroth murmured, "I am certain that with Cloud's testimony against them, they can be dishonorably discharged."
Here Genesis frowned, "With Cloud's testimony? … Surely the 'Great General Sephiroth' as witness would be testimony enough?"
Sephiroth sighed, "I cannot claim to have witnessed the entire event, not without compromising this operation."
Tseng nodded, "This is a very common draw-back in spying operations."
"So a hearing then?" Angeal queried,
"I have scheduled a formal Disciplinary hearing for Noon today." Sephiroth confirmed. "I have already informed the staff and their instructors."
"I will have to inform Reno." Tseng added with a half-sigh.
"Why would some newbie brat Turk need to know?" Genesis huffed,
"Reno is Cloud's partner." Tseng explained, unruffled by the Lieutenant's bad mood.
"Cloud is just an intern." Angeal returned curiously,
"Intern, or Full Turk… Cloud and Reno are partners. Reno would never forgive me if I left him out of the loop." Answered Tseng calmly,
"Reno would totally flip a lid." Zack confirmed with a snicker, "He's crazy loyal to Chocobo-head!"
Sephiroth cleared his throat gently, "So the story at Cloud's hearing, is that I saw a couple of minutes worth of the fight, before I stepped in." He paused until the others all acknowledged this statement.
"I have no reason to be there." Genesis added boredly,
Angeal nodded in agreement, "Sephiroth witnessed the fight, Zack is Cloud's instructor, I am Zackary's Mentor, I was also present for the aftermath of Cloud's previous skirmish, and Tseng is also Cloud's superior officer."
"With how many high standing individuals will already be attending, it would neither profit nor detriment the hearing for you to attend Genesis." Sephiroth noted,
The Auburn-haired SOLDIER snorted, "I have better things to do." He shrugged off the idea disinterestedly, "In the mean-time, I believe you mentioned something about sorting the, … 'Weatherman Reports' into separate folders?" A sneer slowly spread across the Lieutenant's face, "Do explain why there is one folder too many."
Angeal also looked up curiously, noting the smirk twitching at Sephiroth's mouth.
The General gestured to the first folder, "This folder contains all the information supporting Tseng's 'Wutaian Spy' Theory." He glanced briefly at the Turk, who nodded, Zack looked at the bulging folder in obvious dismay.
"It's huge!" The teenager whined,
"There's a lot of information." Angeal chuckled,
"This folder contains the information supporting Lieutenant Angeal's and my 'Genius' theory." Sephiroth continued, ignoring Zack's outburst.
Angeal noted this was one of the smaller folders, and he was torn between disappointment and amusement.
"Here is Genesis 'Brain-swap' Theory." Sephiroth's smirk widened, his green eyes flicking to the red-cloaked lieutenant, Genesis snickered at the pitifully small folder.
"This one contains Zackary's 'Not-a-spy' theory."
Zack whooped aloud, noting that between his folder and the 'Genius theory' folder it out-weighed Tseng's 'Spy' theory. Now all eyes flicked in confusion to the last and largest folder, the tough manila barely containing the massive stack of papers within.
"This folder…" Sephiroth rested one gloved hand on the last packet, "Is the 'makes absolutely no sense' section."
Genesis suddenly threw his head back and laughed, Zack jumped, startled by the full-throated mirth, having only heard the softer snickery laugh from the lieutenant before. Angeal chuckled, and even Tseng smiled, When he wasn't being snide or sarcastic, Genesis' smooth laughter was contagious. Angeal even caught Sephiroth's shoulders quivering, a grin twisting his lips.
And just like that, the tension in room eased, Angeal hadn't realized how much of it there had been until it was gone. Zack relaxed back into his chair with his customary goofy grin, and Sephiroth cleared his throat again, still smiling.
"So the leading theory is that 'Cloud makes no sense whatsoever'?". Angeal chuckled,
"I believe we also tend to assume the truth of the theory with the most evidence," Genesis jibed with an answering grin.
"Which means Cloud is just a strange kid!" Zack beamed.
Sephiroth coughed lightly, his lips still twitching and cleared his throat. "I was hoping to discuss last night's events and perhaps sort the new information into the 'theory' stacks."
Genesis chuckled again, "My theory is that Cloud was concussed last night."
Sephiroth rolled his eyes, "Obviously, but after the administration of the first potion he was relatively lucid."
"So you say, oh 'Hero of Wutai'." Genesis continued,
"Hero of Wutai, eh?" Angeal murmured, "That's a new one."
Sephiroth frowned, "I didn't think I'd heard that title before."
"Perhaps Cadet Strife invented it?" Tseng suggested calmly,
"That would support the 'not-a-spy' theory right?" Zack chirped eagerly, "I mean, a spy wouldn't call his enemy a Hero right?"
"It can work both ways actually." Sephiroth explained with a sigh. "Either way, I'm not quite sure there's anything to be made of that statement."
Zack sighed, and squirmed a little, when he glanced up and noticed Angeal's raised eyebrow he hastily turned his attention back to the packet in front of him.
"I think it is interesting to note, that once again Cloud Strife demonstrates a maturity beyond his tender years." Tseng said quietly, "According to this documentation, Cloud referred to his attackers as 'just boys'. Despite the fact all the youths involved were larger and older than Strife himself." His dark eyes glanced about the table, "If I recall correctly, this is not the first example of an uncharacteristically adult mind."
Angeal shook his head, "Cloud Strife seems to often demonstrate a mature mindset. I myself have noticed that he seems to regard his fellow students more in the mind of an indulgent onlooker than a peer."
"Like an Uncle or something!" Zack piped, snickering at the mental image that conjured.
Sephiroth paused to regard the SOLDIER 2nd. "Almost exactly like an Uncle or something…" The General murmured with curiosity.
"Unfortunately, I think this just adds support to our existing character profile, rather than bringing up new information." Tseng sighed,
The rest of the table slowly agreed.
Angeal was the next one to frown while reading Sephiroth's detailed account of his and Cloud's conversation. "Cloud actually admitted to reading books about killing?"
"Martial forms more like." Sephiroth corrected.
Genesis snorted, "I can't believe you bought that one." He snickered, "Hook, line, and sinker…"
Sephiroth sighed softly before flicking his green gaze to his second Lieutenant. "Do explain."
"He was practically stammering the answer." Genesis grinned, "According to your description, and thanks for adding 'approximate tone of voice'… Cloud was tossing out some random excuse, and you just happened to decide it fit with your theory, so you ate it like a kid taking candy from a stranger." Sephiroth glowered, but Genesis wasn't finished, "I don't care how 'Genius' he is Seph, you can't read a book about fighting and then know exactly how to put it into use when a fight comes up. Muscle memory remember? That Cadet fed you a load of Behemoth sh-"
"That's enough Genesis." Angeal hastily interrupted, noting the dangerous glint in the General's eyes, "We get the point. Regardless, Sephiroth was there to keep Cloud awake, not interrogate him."
Still glaring at his auburn-haired subordinate, Sephiroth ran two fingers down the bridge of his nose. "Let's proceed to the next point of interest." He growled.
"I cannot find any particular sense to be made of him not 'remembering' how the war is going." Angeal mused aloud, "So how about 'Don't want her to die, gotta work on that.'?"
"Since he slipped that particular tidbit while discussing the war, One would assume they are related." Sephiroth pointed out calmly,
"Someone from Wutai he is supposed to protect perhaps?" Was Angeal's first suggestion,
Tseng shook his head, "It does not make logical sense for him to be protecting someone while sequestered so effectively in the heart of Shinra. Despite my investigations, I have found no indication that he has contacted any outside sources."
Genesis suddenly smirked, "You guys are thinking to hard about this… What if this Cadet just happens to have a Wutaian girlfriend?" When the rest of the room paused, the lieutenant's grin broadened. "He could have learned Wutaian, some ninjitsu, and have someone he wouldn't want to die pertaining to the war all rolled into one."
"And he wouldn't have to be a spy!" Zack cheerfully added.
"Not a bad theory." Sephiroth admitted, "except… where did he learn Royal Wutaian?"
"The only females of the royal house is Godo's wife, and his daughter." Tseng stated bluntly.
"Are either of those probable suspects?" Angeal asked curiously,
"Godo's Wife is more than 20 years Cloud's senior, and is happily married by all accounts, Godo's daughter is 8." Tseng raised one eyebrow slightly when Zack snickered, "Regardless, We have been keeping close tabs on the royal family, there is no way one of them could have gotten anywhere near Strife."
"A maid in the royal household perhaps?" Genesis mused aloud,
"Improbable, but not impossible." Tseng conceded.
Angeal took a moment to flip through a few pages of the report in front of him, carefully re-reading the conversations. He frowned at the next highlighted section. "Cloud wants the Buster Sword?"
"A sword similar," Sephiroth corrected.
"How would he be familiar with Angeal's sword?" Genesis quirked an eyebrow skeptically,
"Oh…" Zack mumbled, suddenly scratching at the back of his head sheepishly, "I talk about Angeal's sword all the time actually."
Angeal couldn't resist a chuckle, "Cloud wouldn't be the first Cadet I'd met who had grandiose dreams where weapons were concerned."
"I wonder if perhaps in his confused state, Cadet Strife was unable to distinguish fantasy from reality?" Sephiroth mused, "After all, if he had, say… Daydreamed about using the Buster Sword, and or his 'own' sword, he might not have been cognizant enough to remember it hadn't happened. It might explain a lot of the strange things he said…"
Tseng raised one eyebrow, "Another interesting theory."
Angeal's gaze flicked up as Zack rustled through his own stack of papers.
"What's Edge?" The boy inquired aloud, scratching thoughtfully at his chin. Angeal covered his mouth to hide a smile. Under the table the boy's leg bounced impatiently, the SOLDIER 1st could practically feel the anxiety rising off him in waves. Eager to go visit Cloud no doubt… Angeal resisted the urge to chuckle at Zack's attempted subtlety. Glancing at his own papers, Angeal considered the question carefully.
"…Midgar, not Edge." Sephiroth quoted, "I have never heard of any place called 'Edge'."
"Perhaps he meant 'the Edge of Midgar?" Angeal pondered aloud.
"I have never come across a slang like that." Tseng interjected.
"Not to mention, the Train Graveyard is pretty darn close to the 'outer edge' of Midgar, if you can call it such." Angeal added.
"Speaking of the 'Train Graveyard'" Genesis chimed in, throwing a pointed glance at Tseng. "What is this 'Turk Secret' Cloud spoke of?"
"IS there a 'Turk Secret'?" Sephiroth turned to the Wutaian curiously,
Tseng gently cleared his throat. "Actually, … there is."
"Whoa! Cool!" Zack chirped, "What's the secret?"
"It wouldn't be a secret if we told everyone." Tseng added with a slight smile.
"I believe this qualifies as a 'need to know' basis." Sephiroth leveled his gaze on the Turk next to him.
Tseng sighed, "It's more of a Turk tradition, and you cannot reveal that I have told you."
"That's fine." Angeal quickly agreed, Sephiroth nodded , Genesis 'hmmph'ed', and Zack just looked disappointed.
Having received the agreements, Tseng continued, "The 'Train Graveyard' has another nickname amongst the Turks,"
"Really? What's it called?" Zack enthusiastically piped in.
"We call it, the 'Turk's Playground'." Tseng continued smoothly, ignoring the interruption. "It's a common orientation practice for a newly partnered pair to take some explosives and firearms out to the Train Graveyard for some fun."
Zack's eyes widened, "WHOOAAH"
Angeal grinned appreciatively, "You guys get to blow up trains?"
Sephiroth chuckled, and Tseng smiled wryly, "If the SOLDIERs knew about it, there wouldn't be any trains left."
Genesis snickered, "We just destroy the Holo Training rooms instead!"
"That sounds like SO MUCH FUN!" Zack bounced excitedly in his seat.
"But you have to pretend you never heard about it." Tseng admonished firmly,
"Awwww man!" the raven-haired SOLDIER 2nd pouted, Angeal just chuckled,
"We have plenty of other fun things to do Zack, don't worry about it."
"So the boy was definitely lucid enough to know not to 'reveal Turk Secrets' eh?" Genesis noted in amusement.
"So it would seem." Tseng murmured, for a moment the room fell silent, as the various occupants considered this thought.
Sephiroth was frowning again, Angeal noted as he glanced at the General.
"Tseng…" the Silver-haired warrior began slowly, "You traveled to Nibelheim, Correct?"
"Correct." The Turk answered, his gaze resting on the SOLDIER 1st.
"Was there… anything of interest in the mountains?" Sephiroth's eyes glittered with curiosity.
Tseng paused to consider this, "I did not personally travel into the mountains." The Turk explained slowly, "But my information indicates there is not much up there aside from an old Mako Reactor."
"Is there anything particularly special about the Mako Reactor?" Sephiroth asked with slowly narrowing eyes.
Tseng frowned, "Nothing that I know of…" He murmured softly, "But I can certainly look into it."
Genesis heaved a sigh and stretched in his seat. "Personally I've had about as much 'musing on a concussion inflicted youth's muddled statements' as I can stand for one morning. So while I'm sure this has been fun, I vote we toss this all in the 'Cloud makes absolutely no sense whatsoever' pile and get on to more important things."
Angeal coughed an exasperated laugh. "One might think you lacked patience Genesis."
"I have plenty of patience when it's worth my while." The Auburn-haired SOLDIER smirked,
"Genesis does have a point." Sephiroth interrupted, "I doubt we'll come up with any more answers this morning, we've covered the important points."
"So we can go now?" Zack perked visibly in his seat,
"Those who are attending need to be present in room 93 for the disciplinary hearing at Noon." Sephiroth finished, tossing a glare at Zack for his interruption. "This meeting is dismissed."
Zack stood eagerly, but before he could race out the door, Angeal grabbed his shoulder once again. "Let's walk together Zack, we can look in on Cloud, but if he's sleeping, you're not to wake him." The SOLDIER 1st chided gently.
"Sure, alright." The youth agreed quickly, and the two of them proceeded congenially out the door.
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Tseng waited as the various SOLDIERs exited the room, pausing until the General moved to sweep passed him.
"A moment of your time General?" The Turk queried softly, Green slitted eyes flicked to meet his, and the taller man halted.
"Yes?"
Tseng met the SOLDIER 1st's eyes unflinchingly, hesitating until he was certain the others were well away. "It would have been advantageous for me to have been informed of Cloud's mishap at the same time you informed me of this meeting." Tseng began,
One silver eyebrow slowly rose, "Oh?"
"Shortly after your missive, I took the liberty of installing a recording device into the keypad outside of the room Cloud Strife customarily trains in." Tseng explained calmly,
Sephiroth smirked in wry amusement, "Ah, … what unfortunate timing then."
Tseng sighed under his breath, "Quite, … how long will Cloud be 'debilitated'?"
"According to the nurse, he will require at least 3 days of general bed-rest, and then another 2 weeks of light work."
Tseng pinched the bridge of his nose gently between two fingers, breathing slowly to temper his frustration.
"What is the problem?" Sephiroth inquired curiously,
"Technically speaking… I am not supposed to install those kinds of recording devices on our own systems. It would be very difficult to properly explain my actions if anyone were to discover the tampered keypad."
"I see…" Sephiroth mused, "Can you remove it?"
"The tampering will be evident either way." Tseng said with a quick shake of his head. Followed by another sigh. "I suppose we shall just have to hope the staff is less than ideally observant, and that Cloud will use that room again soon."
"IF he uses that room again at all." Sephiroth added with a slight twitching of his lips, "If worse comes to worse… I can take care of it."
Tseng raised one eyebrow at that statement, but shook his head silently and turned towards the door. "I can handle it. I simply wanted to appraise you of the situation."
"Next time, I shall endeavor to keep you better informed." Sephiroth chuckled. "I would have informed all of you immediately, except I did not wish for Zack to go all, … ah." Sephiroth lifted his hands to draw quote marks in the air, "'PMH', as Genesis so delicately put it."
"Understandable," Tseng murmured, "I appreciate your cooperation." With a nod, the Turk stepped from the room.
Tseng had barely taken a few steps down the hallway before he removed his PHS from his coat pocket, clicking one of the speed-dials before pressing it to his ear. It answered on the second ring.
"This is Reno yo, wassup boss?"
"Reno, I require your presence in room 93 at 11:50 later this morning." Tseng calmly informed the youth.
"Eh? …" The boy paused in confusion, "This some kinda mission or somethin'?" he queried through the receiver.
"No, It is a disciplinary hearing."
"Wha'd I do, yo?" Came the stunned reply,
"It is not for you."
"Wha? … Huh?… well then… why do I gotta go?" Tseng could easily picture the bewildered expression on the boy's face,
"Your presence is required-" Tseng began again, only to be interrupted,
"I don' got the rank to sit on a council or anythin', why's it important that I'm there yo?"
"You are required to attend, because you are Cloud's partner." Tseng sighed.
"Wait, wait… What? … What did CLOUD do?" Reno almost yelled, Tseng winced, briefly pulling the PHS a little further away from his ear.
"Cloud did not do anything."
"Then why the h-" Reno's indignant voice continued, rising in volume as his agitation grew.
"Cloud is not the offender, he is the offended." Tseng hastily interrupted. Mildly annoyed, but not particularly surprised, by Reno's arguments.
The silence on the other end lasted only a second. "Who, Did What, to Cloud." Reno growled out slowly,
"I will brief you at 11:50 when you arrive in room 93."
Tseng pulled the PHS away again when Reno began spitting curses.
"He's my PARTNER Yo!" The red-head snapped,
"Reno!" Tseng cut in sharply, "You are to meet me in room 93, before that you are not to seek out Cloud, nor will you in any way attempt to acquire information prior to the briefing."
"Tseng! You can't DO this!" The teenager yelped indignantly.
"You need to be as unbiased as possible Reno." Tseng explained sternly, "I'll see you at 11:50."
There was a furious growl on the other end, followed by a sharp crash, then silence. Tseng waited for several seconds, but when no more sounds were forthcoming he closed his own PHS and continued on his way down the hall.
He arrived before the Turk offices in short order, pausing as he stepped through the door, to regard the sight before him with a sigh.
"Sir?" The young secretary chirped, "You just missed Reno, he, ah… smashed his PHS on the floor… and…"
Tseng calmly waved her silent. "Have it cleaned up, and put in a request for a new one. Charge it to the general maintenance expenses."
The young woman nodded, and turned back to her computer, Tseng gingerly stepped over the shattered and broken pieces of Reno's handheld, pausing only to pick up the charm that customarily hung on the young Turk's phone. Pocketing the small item he shook his head and briefly smiled, before proceeding into his office to finish what work he could before the Hearing.
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