Once More, With Feeling... – Chapter 45: Sobering Revelations.
Summary: The Truth Comes Out…
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.
A flash of silver and a faint hum was all the warning before the head was sliced cleanly from its shoulders. It was always difficult to tell the gender of armored Wutaians, Sephiroth mused as he plodded deeper into the forest. There were so many ambush points, the trees and the rocky outcrops, those goddess forsaken ninjas were quiet even to the General's enhanced hearing. The sun filtered green through the dense foliage, but brighter than it had been an hour ago. It was almost noon, the General scowled fiercely, and still only the occasional scout had come his way, the rest of the Army would be attacking in less than an hour from now and thus far the Silver-haired SOLDIER had failed to engage any bulk of the opposing army. With a fierce snarl he slashed Masamune cleanly through the trunk of a nearby tree, listening with satisfaction as the upper half slid down the angled cut to crash into its still-living fellows.
Sephiroth paused as the caress of displaced air signaled another presence, a slight temperature difference to his left had the Silver-haired SOLDIER whirling, sword ready, only to freeze at the incongruous doorway open in the middle of a large boulder. Even more disconcerting was the be-suited Turk standing stoically in the entryway.
"Tseng." Sephiroth nodded, lowering his sword.
"Sephiroth," the Wutaian returned, then his eyebrows drew down in the barest expression of displeasure. "I believe it is standard protocol, that if you're alive, ... you answer your phone." the last was said in a tone that bordered on snappish. Sephiroth blinked hard once, before nodding again,
"I left it outside." He said simply, before walking forward to meet the Turk, the SOLDIER considered the control panel to the side of the door thoughtfully. "I plan to master this level today, and I had no desire for distractions."
"It's very important." Came Tseng's deceptively mild tone.
"I'm sure it will remain equally important later," the general growled in return, "besides, I won't be able to concentrate on anything until I figure out why I'm stuck!"
A nearly inaudible sigh behind him, before the disgruntled Turk capitulated, "What seems to be the problem?"
Sephiroth hid a smirk before getting to business, "I have not nearly enough forces for a head-on assault, so my only option is a decoy. I've placed the bulk of my army coming in from the south, and I've been trying to lure the enemy forces here to the east by myself, However, aside from a few scouts, they won't attack me! I should be able to convince them my army is in here! But I just can't get them to commit!" his lip curled slightly in a frustrated snarl.
Tseng's head cocked in consideration, "You are combatting Wutaians?" Sephiroth nodded in answer. "Is it a sacred forest?"
The General froze, "A sacred… Of course! That makes perfect sense! So if I attack through the South, and send my army through the forest-"
"No!" Tseng blurted, "That… would probably be a bad idea… sacred forests are usually sacred for a reason, and are not as defenceless as they might seem"
Sephiroth nodded slowly, watching the other man's face closely, "Alright… well perhaps if I go around the forest… it'll take me another hour to get that far, but if I push it… yes! That could work!" He whirled around eagerly, "Computer! Restart session!" Only to find himself interrupted by an uncharacteristically loud throat clearing.
"Sephiroth, we had a bargain, I helped you with your problem, now I need you to come to the meeting it's important!"
Eyes narrowed the General turned to face the Turk behind him. a brief, silent exchange led to a quiet huff in resignation. A few taps of his fingers on the control panel and the program whirred, flickering as the room powered down.
Tseng simply nodded, and the two of them proceeded down the hallway in silence.
Sephiroth was mildly surprised when Tseng led them to the Observation rooms, the same one they'd once used to observe Cloud training with his squad, it felt like they had been watching the boy for years now... but really it was months at the most... Inside the room they found Angeal and Genesis present, The dark-haired SOLDIER restraining his smaller friend with a firm hand on the shoulder. Genesis was already loudly complaining,
"They're not even here! I have important things to do!" the red-head snarled,
"I'm afraid this is more important." Tseng interrupted firmly.
Genesis froze, glancing over briefly before grouchily turning away, wrenching his shoulder free of the taller man's suddenly loosened hold, and rubbing at it as though pained. "Still not all here" he grouched, "Where's the puppy?"
Angeal sighed, "He didn't answer his phone either, but Tseng thought he might be a little emotionally sensitive for the first part of this discussion, so I opted to find you instead."
The red-headed Lieutenant continued to grumble as the Turk stepped inside. Sephiroth followed quietly, curiosity peaked, focused intently on the Wutaian as they all took seats around the room. Tseng sat with his back to the observation windows, a small table before him where he placed a laptop, as he opened and powered on the device he started speaking.
"Just a short while ago, I was able to catch Cloud using his access code on the Training Room." here he paused significantly, before turning his laptop around. The display was nearly consumed by a large red pop-up box that read
= Access Denied!
Insufficient Clearance. =
Genesis scoffed loudly from the side. "And? ... so what? So he got some SOLDIER friend to let him in or something." Sephiroth glanced at his Lieutenant, but before he could speak, Tseng continued.
"I have the Clearance for everyone in this room." Came the quietly firm reply. the General froze, barely hearing the outraged choking sounds from the red-head.
"What?" Angeal barked in shock,
"I even have Veld's code." Tseng continued. "There are only three people I know of, whose Codes are inaccessible to me." he raised one finger, "The President." another finger, "the Vice-President." a third finger, "and the Head of the Science Department."
Sephiroth felt a familiar tightening in his eyes that he knew meant they'd contracted into thin slits. "Hojo?" he growled in a dangerously soft voice, "Why does Hojo have such special clearance?"
Tseng shook his head. "Do not, ask." And those black eyes held enough of a warning that Sephiroth settled back, ... for the moment.
"If he's got this crazy passcode, why haven't we had him arrested then?" Genesis griped.
"On what charge?" came Tseng's rejoinder, "mere possession of the code is, at most, a technicality. We have no proof that he has used the code in any malicious or illegal sense,"
"Can't you trace where it's been used?" Angeal pondered aloud,
"I cannot."
"So he could have gotten in anywhere!" Genesis retorted,
"Or nowhere," Sephiroth returned, "Tseng is right, we have no proof of anything. Only more questions, … like, where did he get the code?"
Another alarmed silence overtook the SOLDIERs, it was several moments before the Turk continued,
"Best case scenario … he acquired it by accidental means, and is innocently using it to further his education. Worst case scenario, he's working for one of our enemies to infiltrate our ranks and access our systems without our knowledge."
"So Cloud could still be innocent…" The Dark haired SOLDIER added,
"Potentially." Tseng agreed.
"But the code is still dangerous in his possession either way. If he IS innocent, and someone else… say, AVALACHE realized he had it in his possession…" The general trailed off meaningfully.
"Exactly." The Turk nodded,
"But we don't actually know anything new for certain." The red-headed Lieutenant scoffed.
"We do not," the Wutaian concurred again, "however, in light of this new information we can no longer sit back and simply observe, we must take action, and soon... the question is, what do we do about it? The wrong actions now could be disastrously unpredictable."
"So you're not sure we should charge him criminally," Angeal frowned. "So what other options are on the table?"
Cloud returned to his apartment happy and satisfied with his thorough workout. As he opened the door he was not in the least surprised to find Reno puttering about with a half-empty bottle of some alcoholic beverage in one hand. He was a little startled to find the red-head gathering up his uniform as he staggered, muttering disgruntledly to himself.
"Reno?" the blond queried gently,
"Go' call'd ina worrrk…" the young Turk slurred unhappily, "needa 'elp tsseng wif som'ming."
"You're very drunk." Cloud observed, raising one eyebrow skeptically. "I'm pretty sure you're not safe to walk, let alone drive."
"s'portant…" came the groan, "can' eg'sactly sober ins'an'ly er anythin'." The red-head grumbled as he struggled to put on his jacket one-handed without releasing the bottle in his other hand. Cloud watched in fascination as the teenager thoroughly tangled himself in a matter of a moment, cursing volubly as he flailed in futility.
Struggling to stifle a snicker, the blond stepped forward and smoothly deprived his roommate of the liquor bottle. Once the glass container was placed safely out of reach, and completely disregarding the foul-language emenating from the tangled Turk he deftly began unwrapping the unhappy red-head. Skillfully dodging ungainly limbs as the coat was finally righted to its intended position. Overall the young Turk looked a little worse for wear, but not significantly more rumpled than Cloud had seen him on other occasions.
The bleary eyes and flushed skin however…
"yeah, I'm not letting you out this drunk." Cloud decided aloud.
"I gotta!" Reno scowled in return.
"You 'gotta' get sober first." The blond returned, and one firm push was all it took to plant the older teenager on their couch. A quick turn and perusal of the kitchen and the young time-traveler found all the ingredients he'd stashed for just such an occasion.
"how'ma gonna ge' sober firs'?"
"I have a special recipe for that." Cloud admitted with a slight smirk. "Developed by a friend of mine…"
Those bleary eyes blinked a few times as his muddled brain seemed to turn that idea over, "Really?"
"Yep!" came the overly cheery reply, "You're not going to thank me for it though." Stirring in the last of the herbs required into a glass of already foul-smelling liquid, Cloud turned around and advanced on his unsuspecting roommate. Moving quickly before the red-head could cotton on, he thriftily pinched the young Turk's nose in one hand, tilting up his head in the same motion, and pressed the glass to his lips with the other hand. "Drink up! And swallow quickly!"
Too startled to do anything but comply, the older teen swallowed compulsively, almost instantly his eyes went wide, but Cloud's hands were there coaxing and persistent until the glass had drained. Waiting until he was sure the concoction had been swallowed, the blond slowly released the other's nose and face, stepping away as the Turk gagged noisily.
"Oh Shiva!" Reno cursed, "what was THAT?" his face screwed up in loathing.
"Sober-up." Cloud grinned, "Near-instant soberization… of course in the morning you'll feel like having a bad hangover would be an idyllic dream. And I swear that taste won't leave your mouth for a week… just a tip… mouthwash makes it worse!"
"Oh Bahamut! Woulda rather been drunk!" the red-head moaned pitifully, "that's just … revolting!"
"I know," the time-traveler admitted, his expression moving slightly to sympathy, "but you have to go into work you said. It was important?"
The other boy wimpered softly but pulled himself up from the couch regardless. "I'm 'onna hate ya for this." He growled under his breath.
Cloud only chuckled, "Go on then!"
He watched with a fond amusement as the teenager wandered grudgingly from the apartment, pausing at the door to shoot a surprisingly venomous look over his shoulder.
Once the door slammed loudly shut behind the petulant young Turk, Cloud took the opportunity to meander back into his room. Left alone with his thoughts and with no potential interruptions from his roommate, the blond settled down to write some long overdue letters.
He paused briefly at the first one, tapping his pen against his chin in thought, before shrugging to himself and jotting down the address that felt most natural.
Dear Aeris,…
Sephiroth tapped one finger rhythmically against the arm of the chair he sat in, gazing at the room's occupants as they all waited. Tseng sat near the door, his poise as collected as ever, Angeal sat a little to his left, another of those small puzzles in his hand despite his attention divided between it and his young protégé. Zack sat bouncing agitatedly even further left of the dark-haired Lieutenant, small whimpers huffing past the fist he seemed to be chewing on. Past him, near the back of the room sat Genesis, mumbling to himself as he read his ever-present play. Strangely, this particular copy was full of small colored post-it notes and the pages of the usually pristine hard-cover were notably crinkled.
Between his literarily inclined Lieutenant and Sephiroth himself sat the young red-headed Turk Reno. Sephiroth was mostly familiar with him as Cloud's Turk partner, a very young addition to the Turk's Department of Administrative Research. At the moment the teenager in question was sulking more expressively than the silver-haired SOLDIER had realized was quite possible, his entire lanky body slouched until he barely touched the chair he'd claimed, and he grumbled nearly continuously, half of his complaints centered around the 'betrayal' of his 'partner', and the other half seemed to center around the lingering taste in his mouth, complete with disparaging comments at said partner.
They were all waiting, with various degrees of patience for Cloud's arrival, Sephiroth regretted the necessity of the casual nature of Tseng's request. A more official request would have brought Cloud more quickly, but could potentially alarm a wary insurgent, should Cloud turn out to be one, not to mention the digital footprint that such an official message would leave.
Several moments passed, and Sephiroth was sure the tension would increase to blows if Genesis didn't stop reading aloud around grumbling about wasted time. Thankfully the sound of footsteps echoed down the hall, the enhanced SOLDIERS pausing first, before the slowly opening door released the intensity of the room like a snapped rubber band.
A flash of yellow hair preceded the teenager they'd been awaiting. Blue eyes made a quick scan, a moment's pause as he took in the eclectic collection of individuals present. Yet despite his hesitation Cloud entered the room without more than a bemused tilt of his head.
Definitely not as wary as I might expect of a possible 'spy', Sephiroth mused, noting the equally analytical gaze of Tseng from across the doorway. Or perhaps he is simply an exemplary actor…
Allowing the door to close behind him, the young Turk in training turned to face his 'superior'. "You asked to see me Tseng?" another confused glance around the room, "Is there a mission? … or something?" Sephiroth could almost see his mind trying to make sense of the group surrounding him. A General, two Lieutenants and one SOLDIER 2nd Class. The Turk Second-In-Command and the youngest two additions if you included Cloud himself.
Tseng stood from his chair, one hand reaching out to grab Cloud's shoulder gently, subtly steering him further into the room and not coincidentally placing the older Turk between the young man and the exit.
"Cloud, I have a question for you, and I need complete honesty." The Wutaian murmured,
"Yes?" Cloud chimed, his stance straightening as his focus honed on the older man.
"What code have you been using to enter the Training Room you have been utilizing at night?"
The teenager blinked, several times, the expression on his face utterly flabbergasted. But in only a few moments he shrugged, "A code I got from a friend… why?"
Sephiroth could almost hear Zack and Reno relax, and he nearly snorted aloud at their naiveté.
"I need to know who gave you the code." Tseng continued firmly, and the general watched as the boy scratched behind his head awkwardly,
"Well,… I can't really say." He mumbled,
"I'm afraid I have to insist, Cloud."
"I can't." the blond sighed, every inch apologetic, but with a glint of steely determination that Sephiroth found intriguing.
Tseng returned the gaze with an equally unforgiving one. He half-turned and reached for the laptop he'd left open on the table behind him, rotating it until the screen was visible to the room once more. "You don't really have a choice here Cloud, the pass-code you've been using is proprietary, either you give me the name of your supplier, or I will be forced to take more drastic measures."
Cloud gaped at the screen. His face paling visibly, and from under his breath came an almost inaudible string of curses that caused the eyebrows on most the room's occupants to rise, … and despite having grown up in the military, Sephiroth found himself impressed by the sheer diversity of the young blonds words.
The Silver haired SOLDIER noted Genesis wince from the corner of his eyes, muttering something about physics, anatomy, and logistical probability that the General tried not to pay too much attention to. Conversely The young red-headed Turk seemed positively starry-eyed at the language.
"I… I didn't even know…" Cloud stammered finally, "She never mentioned that it was…" He winced looking at the laptop, "Look, … my friend isn't… isn't around anymore. They can't give that password to anyone else!" This was the first time Sephiroth had really seen the young blond ruffled, and his demeanor finally shifted to subtly battle ready, Sephiroth wasn't even sure if the Cadet was even aware of it.
Tseng paused briefly, "I need to find the source of this leak, this is a high security risk that I cannot allow to stand. I can understand, and even admire your loyalty your to friend Cloud. But in this case you cannot be loyal to both your friend and Shinra simultaneously."
Sephiroth had expected another tirade from the blond, but to his surprise the young man paused in deep contemplation, his brow furrowing as the thoughts seemed to whirl behind his eyes. The General watched the youth intently, waiting and pondering over his potential reactions, the Silver-haired SOLDIER immediately dismissed the idea of him fighting, and running wasn't much better as he was obviously outnumbered. Others in his position might beg or cry or forfeit their friend, but none of those option fit what he knew of the young blond. Finally he shook his head slightly at the realization that Cloud would do what he always did… something they wouldn't expect. It was several long, tense moments before the blue eyes raised to meet Tseng's once more, a wry smile played on the young boys lips though his gaze remained distant.
"Alright, … I don't see another option. I can tell you the truth but it's a bit hard to swallow, so bear with me." He heaved a heavy sigh and straightened even further, gazing out at the room instead of just at Tseng, "I'm a warrior from the future, I was sent back to the body of my younger self to try and prevent a tragedy."
Sephiroth started to scoff in derision, until his keen mind began comparing this idea to all of the evidence and theories that the Weatherman Operation had been collecting over the past few months. He was stunned to realize that it made disturbingly perfect sense, and he realized he wasn't the only one who'd come to this conclusion when the auburn-haired Lieutenant across from the door snorted loudly. Rising to his feet with undisguised glee.
"I was right! You all SUCK!"
((Author's Note: Got another Chapter! See you next year! …. Just kidding… at least I hope… .
We're finally getting into the meat of this story, I have a lot more planned, just gotta keep finding time to write when I can. Convention season is coming up though, so I might be a bit scarce this summer…
For those of you in the So-Cal area… I'll be at Anime Expo! Feel free to come see me at the Star Dragon Studios Booth in the Artist's Alley. ;)
-Jianre M. A.K.A … Illusor Meaneld.))