Silmeria - Happy reading.
Disclaimer - I claim no rights to Final Fantasy VII
Chapter Twenty-Eight: A Sleep Eternal
"We can wake them at your command, Lord Weiss." the woman, a Guide herself, stared down listlessly at the pair of still bodies on the ground. Lord Nero was a formidable warrior and he wielded his magic - a byproduct of their experimentation - with an efficiency that she feared and admired. Yet, she felt a trickle of disappointment at his defeat at the hands of Alpha Guide Cloud Strife.
Who, in her eyes, was significantly weaker. However, that didn't negate the fact that Guides were tenacious when it mattered most and she was a prime example of earning herself a position serving as Lord Weiss' new Guide when she had been a mere proxy to the soldiers who served Edge.
It was an honorable position and she saw no judgement in it. But, she was meant for greater responsibilities. She was meant to witness the start of the new world by Lord Weiss' side and she would see it done.
"No," Weiss murmured, ripping her from her thoughts. "Nero was reckless and entertained Cloud far too long and this will be a suitable punishment and serve as a reminder to follow my orders to the letter."
"Shall I place them in Lord Nero's chambers?"
"No," Weiss murmured, a thoughtful expression coloring his features - one that she knew all too well. "I originally planned to have Cloud's head sitting on a pike to greet Alpha Fair, but I think he and my brother would serve better as our vessels."
She raised an eyebrow in surprise. "Lord Nero would be an excellent candidate, but Alpha Guide Strife? Would he not weaken the hold? If he could bring Lord Nero into such a deep slumber then what of-?"
"You are my Guide, Shalua," Weiss murmured, interrupting her tirade. "You are not meant to worry about such trivial matters. All that is required of you is to proceed with the plan and do as I command." Weiss reached out, placing a hand on her pale cheek. "Yes?"
Shalua swallowed, lifting her eyes to stare into her Sentinel's. "Yes," she whispered, fighting back the urge to flinch when she felt that ever-present caress against her shields. "I understand."
"Good," Weiss pulled away but not without pressing a firm kiss against her forehead. "See that these two are properly dressed and moved to the location."
"And you?" she dared question. "What are you going to do?"
Weiss paused for a long moment, taking in the surroundings of the area where his brother and Cloud fought. He did not doubt that Sephiroth and Zack would find it eventually, and he would like nothing more than to meet them here and find out if the rumors of their battle prowess were true, but he didn't have the time to entertain.
Another time, perhaps.
"Eliminate the remaining citizenry and make sure the bombs and denotators are ready to denoate once we're clear. If Alpha Sentinel Fair and Crescent seem so intent on invading them let them die with their newly conquered lands - I no longer have any further use for it."
"To the North, then?"
Weiss' lips pulled into a wicked and pleased smile. "To the North where She awaits."
"I had forgotten why I disliked Scorpion Sentinels." Sephiroth sheathed his blade and stared at the machine's remains - now nothing more than metal scraps. "This was a stark reminder." He turned to Aerith, who was leaning against the wall in a poor effort to catch her breath. "Are you alright?"
"Fine." Aerith turned to Zack who was staring ahead with thin lips and darkened eyes. "Zack? Are you hurt?"
"No." Zack kept his gaze ahead, not wanting his Second to see the worry lingering in his eyes. He didn't want to see that he thought they were too late to save Cloud. That he no longer felt Cloud in his mind. That the feeling had vanished mid-battle. But, he had to make sure for himself.
He had to see - to make sure Cloud was dead or worse.
"We have to hurry," Zack ordered, swallowing the lump that formed in his throat. "We've delayed long enough."
He didn't wait for their responses taking off at a dead run and kicking down the door that led to an area that was filled with empty cages and down below over the lone bridge was a deep pool of-
"Acid," Sephiroth uttered in disdain from behind him. His green eyes also take in the empty cages. He didn't have to guess what or who was in those cages.
"We need to find Cloud." Aerith swept forward, snatching Sephiorth's wrist. "If he's not here then we need to keep looking." She passed Zack, who stood frozen at the sight of the cages. "He's not dead." she urged. "I would have felt him pass into the Lifestream if he was, Zack. We need to hurry."
Zack took a deep, shuddering breath, shaking off the thoughts of what or who was in those cages, and nodded in Aerith's direction.
"Right,"
The next room the three found themselves in was reminiscent of a frozen wasteland and Zack managed to catch himself on the door as his booted feet slipped on the slick floor. He gritted his teeth and took in the room with a cautious stare. Everything from the ceiling to the floor was covered in a thin layer of ice. It looked -
"It looks like someone was either having fun with ice materia or they were trying to hold someone back." Sephiroth was careful to make his way across the room with Aerith's hand grasped in his own. "It's obvious that there was a battle here not too long ago."
"You think it was Cloud?"
Sephiroth spared a glance at the man behind him and frowned. "If he's as tenacious and stubborn as our fearless leader then I do not doubt that he either took on Weiss or his brother, Nero, and survived." He held out his free hand towards Zack and lightly pushed him in the direction of the exit. "I sincerely hope he is not injured and hiding or captured."
"We'll find him regardless of his condition." Zack dug in his heels and with Sephiroth's guidance made it across the floor and to the exit where another long, empty hallway and the sudden dread that Zack felt urged his feet into a faster pace, heedless of Sephiroth's and Aerith's warnings.
To a Sentinel, it didn't matter if Cloud was unconscious or not, his mind and body would still feel a connection and the further they moved inside the base, the emptier Zack's mind and body felt and the truth sat like a stone in the pit of his stomach.
Cloud was gone.
Every room he checked was empty and devoid of life and the less sign of life he witnessed, the more he wanted to set fire to this base and the entirety of Edge itself. Where was Cloud? Where was his Guide?
The next door led Zack into a massive room with a single throne on a dais and Zack's sharp eyes caught on to a single article of clothing dropped across the seat. Cautious, he approached the throne and lifted the clothing to see that it was a black jacket with ice dusted along the sleeves and it didn't take Zack a second more to figure out that it belonged to Cloud.
He tentatively lifted the cloth to his nose took a deep, shuddering breath, and closed his eyes tightly as Cloud's scent calmed his racing heart. Zack lowered the jacket and turned to see Aerith and Sephiroth at the bottom of the stairs leading up to the throne, staring at him with solemn expressions.
"We're too late," Zack whispered, gripping the jacket as he made his descent. "Weiss is gone and he took Cloud with him."
"How can you-" Aerith stopped when Zack handed her the jacket. "Be so sure...?"
"Weiss left that as a calling sign - bait." Zack swallowed back the anger rising in his throat. The urge to scream grew with every breath he took. "He knew Cid's attack on his front door was a distraction which is why he sent the Sentinel Scropion to the tunnels. As much as I don't want to admit it, my battlefield tactics are much like my grandfather and Weiss remembers the pincer maneuvers the old man loved to use and followed suit with a tactic of his own."
Aerith gave a grim nod, looking down at the jacket that was still cold to the touch. "What do we do now?"
Zack turned to Sephiroth with a resigned look. "Get Cid on the line and tell him to pull his forces and return to Midgar. I'm going to call for a meeting with the council."
"What about Cloud-?"
"There's-" Zack swallowed back the nausea. "There's nothing we can do for Cloud now until we can conduct a thorough investigation of this city and what happened." Zack stepped closer to hold out a hand for the jacket, smiling bitterly when it was placed back in his hands. "We don't have a road to go down - yet and I won't lead my people astray because of my feelings. No matter what, I'm the Alpha Sentinel of Midgar, and their needs come before my own."
The number of casualties from the frontal assault only came from Edge's side and Zack was silently thankful considering that they emerged from the operation empty-handed. It wouldn't take long for the city and Junon to find out that Edge was essentially an empty coffin and that their Alpha, the one that they depended upon, was the reason for the massive loss of life.
His council didn't take the news well.
"You're telling me," Cid began stiffly, blowing out a plume of smoke through his nose and mouth. "That Weiss killed all of his people and kidnapped Cloud?"
"Yes." Zack took in the disgruntled faces of his council before nudging his head in the direction of the jacket dropped across the table. "We checked the basement levels and found several cages over a lake of acid. We believe that Edge's citizens were in those cages."
"Were?" Shera pressed, mildly horrified at Zack's words. "Are you telling us that no one in Edge is alive?"
"Except for Weiss and Nero and Cloud? No." Sephiroth looked harried, turning to Zack with a thoughtful expression. "Did the investigators find anything?"
"They're still looking, but what the officers told me, there's a lot of research about JENOVA." Zack shared a look with Sephiroth. "It's seems Grandfather Xavier strikes again, eh?"
"Indeed." Sephiroth reached over and placed on top of Aerith's and gave it a gentle squeeze. "We won't have a repeat of the past. Our officers will be conducting a full investigation and once we pinpoint a lead-"
"I'll be following Weiss and Nero." Zack finished tightly. "He has my Guide and I'll be taking him back."
"You're being a bit gung-ho about it." Cid sounded approving. "I hope you have that same enthusiasm once Rufus graces us with his royal presence."
Zack winced. A message had been sent to Junon with a less-than-polite response and in so many words informed them that he would be visiting them and lending a hand with the investigation and it was the last thing Zack needed.
The door to the council room opened and Barrett along with Tifa came in each wearing a look of solemnity. Zack rose to greet them, arms opening as Tifa gave him a tight embrace, burying her face into his shoulder.
"It's true?" Tifa asked, stepping back from their embrace. "About Edge and Cloud? They're gone? Everyone?"
"Everyone," Zack confirmed, an unease setting in the pit of his stomach. "I'm sorry, Tifa-"
"The only people that we should be blaming are Weiss and Nero." Barrett cut in swiftly. "You're not the one who massacred an entire city - men, women, and children and for what?"
"We don't know," Aerith murmured, gripping Sephiroth's hand. "We don't know where he went or what he's planning. What we do know is that he has plans with JENOVA."
"JENOVA?" Tifa muttered. "Does he plan to do experiments with it? Like with Xavier attempted?"
"I have a feeling that what he has planned is worse than what my grandfather was attempting." Zack felt a touch of frustration at what was laid at his feet. No information. No trail. No witnesses or survivors.
Nothing.
It made him feel foolish and less of a leader and more of a fumbling Sentinel who was still wet behind the ears. It was that same lack of information that led him to the loss of Cloud and thousands of innocent people. It was Zack's inaction that caused all of it -
"Are you done?" Sephiroth murmured into his ears, jerking him out of his thoughts and looking up to meet his Second's impatient gaze.
"What?" Zack dropped his gaze and held back his flinch when he saw his council staring at him with various degrees of worry and pity. Great.
"We don't have time for you to feel sorry for yourself, Zack." Sephiroth continued, placing a hand on his shoulder. "We need a strategy. The world wants answers and we have to be ready to give it to them."
"Right. Of course." Zack turned back to his council - the people who supported him - would always be there for him. "If they want answers - let's find them."