Well before you dive into the archive, we felt the story should introduced. It takes place right after FF7. Be warned that there are some characters being added/ressurected. If you don't like it well tough. Also that anything is pretty much acceptable except NC-17 content. Anyway I hope you like what we have so far.
The Beginning
The Beginning IX
The Beginning
XVII Memories
From the Corner...
The Beginning
II The
Beginning X The
Beginning XVIII The
Trip Has Only Begun
The Beginning
III The
Beginning XI Bedtime!!!
Survivor?
The Beginning
IV The
Beginning XII Disturbed
Sleep Face
the Truth
The Beginning
V The
Beginning XIII Hidden
Discoveries Send
in the Clones
The Beginning
VI The
Beginning XIV Hidden
Discoveries II Confrontation
The Beginning
VII The
Beginning XV Marlene's
Memories Tragic
News
The Beginning
VIII The Beginning
XVI Reunion
What Can I
Do?
"All of this is mine," thought Rufus Shinra as he looked out the window. Sighing, he took in the sight of the city below. Just then, the door slammed open, and the newest addition to the Turks ran in.
"Sir!" the blue-haired boy gasped. "Urgent news!"
Rufus sighed again. "What is it this time, James? Were Reno and Rude locker-stuffing again?" He wondered how this scrawny boy could have met the requirements of such an elite force.
James shook his head. "Not that I am aware of, sir. We have located AVALANCHE's new headquarters! It's located in Kalm. Sir, there's no time to waste!! The helicopter is waiting outside!!! Sir, sir, can you hear me? Sir?"
Rufus leveled his shotgun at the boy's neck. "Diamond WEAPON may have
left me with a gimp leg, but I
assure you, my hearing is just fine. But I wouldn't expect you to notice
that, on account of the fact that you WON'T SHUT UP!!"
James flinched. His boss was uncharacteristically
angry today.
"Why Kalm of all the places in this world?" Yuffie muttered angrily. "Why
couldn't we live in Costa del Sol?"
"Because when Cloud bought that house there, he just had to name it: Villa
de Cloud. That's the first place
the Shinra would look for us." Tifa scowled with equal vehemence.
Cloud snorted folding slender arms around his armored chest. "It was Barret's idea to stay here."
"More like Marlene's..." Tifa grinned. "Never underestimate the power of a little girl over her father."
"Power..." Cloud whispered.
"What's wrong? What did you say?" Yuffie asked suddenly watched the blond boy closely.
"Nothing." Cloud snapped and turned away leaving the two girls behind.
"He's so moody! What's bothering him now? I thought Sephiroth's death would calm him down yeesh." Yuffie shook her head in frustration.
Tifa's
eyes were downcast and full of sadness."No it would have never been
the answer for Cloud."
The new Turk stumbled through the thick scrub. He was clumsy, easily
frightened, and refused to cause
any lasting damage to anyone. "Why did we hire him?" Rufus whispered to
himself from the console in Midgar where he was monitering James' actions
via video link. James fell, careening nearly twenty feet before landing
on his head. Rufus chuckled. "He's done for...what?" The young president
looked on in shock as the blue-haired boy brushed himself off and continued
on his way. "That's why we hired him," the sinister young man remembered.
"He's almost indestructable."
*****************
Vincent sat on the roof of the HQ building, staring at the setting sun.
The past few weeks had been very tough, especially for Lucrecia. She had
lived in
that cave for the past ten years,
then was suddenly taken from it by a man she
believed dead over thirty years
ago. And to be told of her son's evil deeds...it was no wonder she lapsed
into a coma.
With a mournful sigh, Vincent lowered himself to the window and entered
the room. He picked up a cloth
and wetted it in a bowl of cool water, and placed the cloth over Lucrecia's
forehead. "You'll be all right, Lucy. I know you will," he whispered to
her.
"Sephiroth..." Cloud sighed almost afraid a sob would choke his already
constricting throat. He had told
himself so many times, that it would be better
without him. The world was safe
without Sephiroth. Would he alone mourn his death?
The warrior was sitting alone outside the safe haven that was Kalm.Around him the sun was setting from a long day. Cloud had thought peace would come to his mind after the dicover of his real memories. After Aeris' death was avenged and the world saved from meteor. Yet he felt restless and much more miserable than before.
"I
have to do something..." He muttered raking a hand through spiky blond
hair. A sudden chill wind blew
through the air making the young man shiver.
Then suddenly he stood up a strange
idea coming to his mind.
I
have to go back the thought whispered in his mind, a compelling urge
commanded him. To go north, past
the city of the Ancients, and up the icy
mountain, and into the crater.
Something whispered to him, maybe no he will be waiting.. for me... Cloud
agreed with the silent need in his body and mind. Quickly a plan formed
on how he would go back without anyone knowing.
"I
can't involve them..." Clous whispered, "Especially not Tifa." He knew
it
was something he would have to
discover himself. He knew he was needed here, to help end Rufus Shinra's
plans.
"Forgive me." The warrior began the short walk to the beach where Cid's broken plane used for a boat was waiting.
Vincent looked sadly at his true love. She was so frail, after such a period
of
isolation. Sighing, he knelt down
and kissed her lips.
Her eyes shot open. 'Could that have done it?' Vincent thought as his mind
reeled.
Lucrecia looked straight into his crimson eyes and whispered a single
meloncholy phrase.
"I must be with my son."
With those words, she vanished.
***************
"No
one else would understand," Cloud repeated to himself as he started the
ignition on the Tiny Bronco. "No
one would understand."
"I would."
Startled,
Cloud turned to meet the source of the mysterious voice. "Lucrecia?
What...what are you doing here?
You should be home in bed! And how did you recover so fast? Ohhhhh...Vincent's
gonna be looking everywhere for you..."
"Cloud. Take me to my son."
Grudgingly,
he had to comply. If there was one person who could understand
his feelings for Sephiroth, it
would be the mother that the late man never knew.
As
the plane left the shore, neither rider noticed the slight young man hiding
in the bushes.
"Are you sure?" Rufus Shinra demanded, glaring at James with a no nonsense look.
"Yes."
He stuttered feebly but with the assurance of a defiant child. "I saw
Cloud Strife and a woman leave
in a plane, using it as a boat. Both of them were heading north."
"...." The young president comteplated silently. "You've done well James." The boy beamed while the other Turks scowled jealous of the open praise. "So well in fact." Rufus continued. "That you will follow them to the northern crater."
"Yes sir!" James smiled happily and then stared in confusion. "To do what?"
"To
find out what they know, and what they find. Report any signifigant
information." Rufus explained indulgently.
"As for the rest of you." The other turks winced waiting for a reprimand.
"Go to Kalm and take care of Avalanche." Slow smiles spread across their faces.
Elena sighed. It was sort of nice not being the newbie anymore, but still...
Reno came up
behind her and slapped her on the back. "Thinkin' about
you-know-who?" he asked in his
thick inner-slum accent.
She nodded. "Yeah...If Tseng were here...he'd know the perfect thing to do..."
Reno giggled, and whispered to her "You could always tell him."
Elena gasped. "Reno!!" Dropping her voice to just above a whisper, she added "If Rufus finds out that Tseng...didn't die in the Temple...we'll all be executed for treason."
Reno pulled back. "Yeah, I know. Shame, too."
When Tseng had been in the Temple of the Ancients, Elena went in looking for him. When she found him, unconcious, slumped against a pillar, she almost lost it. Fortunately, Rude had some Phoenix Down...But Tseng insisted that he was not coming with them. His encounter with Aeris, who had been a longtime friend of his, made him think about his path in life. In the end, the other three Turks left him at an abandoned cabin in the Mideel forest. They had gone to see him a few times since then; each time, he made each of them promise never to tell Rufus where he was.
Elena and Reno arrived at the helicopter. Rude was already in the pilot's seat as the two borded.
As they took off towards Kalm, Rude set the copter on autopilot. "I don't get it," he said as he made his way back to where the other two sat. "Why does Rufus-sama send that kid on such an important job? I mean, sure he's indestructable, but he's a frickin' idiot!"
Reno laughed. "Maybe there's more goin' on between them than we know about! But really, I got no idea. Maybe Tseng was right and Rufus-sama really is paranoid. Eh, but we knew that, didn't we?"
Elena sighed again. "Tseng..." she whispered as she stared out the window.
Cloud shifted
almost uncomfortable in Lucrecia's eerie presence. One could
almost mistake her for some sort
of ghost. Although perphaps would be someone like her that could love Sephiroth.
What about you? The
question popped suddenly in his mind. No he denied
heatedly that could not be true.
It isn't right to feel that way. Sephiroth nearly took everything important
to him. Too much pain... his mother...Nibelheim...Aeris. Sephiroth tried
to take his mind, body, and soul. He shuddered audibly at the memory of
those intrusions. It doesn't matter he thought if Sephiroth is alive he
should destroy him. But could he really?
Lucrecia
shook her head sadly almost as if she could her the confused man's
thoughts. Inwardly she prayed for
his happiness, something she had denied herself long ago.
"Vincent."
*****
James
smiled at the memory of his boss' pleased face. It was surprising that
someone as lowly as himself could
do that. He vowed silently not to fail at
whatever he was doing, and make
Rufus-sama smile like that again.
The blue hared man grinned hopefully as he untied a boat at the Shinradock. Not noticing a dark form behind him.
"Dey're all in there," Reno reported. "Even dat little one, Marlene."
Elena
wrote the message on the computer, and sent it to Rufus. "Do you
really think we stand a chance
against all of them?"
Reno pocketed the binoculars and shrugged. "Why not? We're Turks."
"But
so's Valentine," interjected Rude. "And he's more than proven he can
fight."
Reno laughed. "Valentine ain't gonna be a problem. He's jes' been pacin' back an' forth in fronta da window for da past hour or so. Think it's got somethin' to do with dat weird ghost woman we saw him with right after they kicked SOLDIER-boy's ass."
"She's not a ghost," Elena added.
Rude lit up a ciggerette. "She goddamn looks like one, and she ain't been seen by no one else for the last ten years. That sure sounds like a ghost to me."
"But back to the subject at hand..." Elena sometimes felt like she was the only one who still took her position seriously. "When do we make our move?"
Reno followed
Rude's example and lit up, blowing smoke in Elena's face.
"Tonight. There's a new moon, an'
Kalm ain't got no streetlights. It'll be a standard in-and-out black
op. No witnesses, no survivors. Got it?"
Elena coughed, and tried to shake the grim order. "Could you not smoke around me? You know I'm allergic."
"Damn, girl, you ain't allergic."
"OK, Reno, I'm not. But I still don't like it." After a minute, she added, "And I don't like those orders, either. Why a black op? Marlene couldn't possibly hurt us...and if someout outside sees us, who's going to do anything about it? I know why we have to wipe out all of AVALANCHE, because even one of them is dangerous, but why anyone else?"
Rude sighed. "Elena, do you know the one thing more dangerous than a member of a rebel faction like AVALANCHE?"
"Diamond WEAPON?"
"Hmm...Besides that. I mean
the only type of person more dangerous. It's someone who grows up hating
the Corporation. They spend their whole lives
focusing on bringing us down. You
know they've almost done it, too. Come
closer than Rufus-sama or anyone
else will admit. Remember that hit last month in Sector 4? That was someone
who spent there entire life planning revenge against us."
"But we won that fight. We made the hit."
"I know, but we almost didn't. You have to remember that, Elena, if you're ever going to be a real Turk."
James shrieked
as a clawed metal hand grasped his shoulder, turning him
around. Bringing him face to face
with Vincent Valentine.
"Take me to the northern
continent." He demanded staring into the blue hared
boy's eyes, watching him squirm
fearfully.
"Y-yes..." James gasped without
a secondthought. Then Vincent let him go,
watching him scamper to the waiting
boat.
Vincent sighed disgusted with his actions, but there would be no other way to reach the northern continent. While back in Kalm the former turk had searched for any sign of the mysterious woman. Only to find that Cloud and the tiny bronco was gone. Vincent had surmised that both of them were heading north. And when he went looking for a ship in Midgar he had found this weak looking turk scampering for a ship as well.
"The Turks must be weakening to have such a pathetic looking member." Vincent commented as he boarded and waited impatiently for them to leave. I just keep sinning...Vincent thought sadly... Lucrecia don't you know I'd do anything for you?
*****
A chill wind blew through the treetops in the icy wasteland. Ice and snow flew in the wind so fast and harsh it felt like glass shards cutting through skin. Yet within it all a bundled form struggled through it bound with deep determination.
The slender body could be characterized as tall if it were not so hunched over. It was clad in all black, his cape tied snugly around him in a attempt to keep warm. Long silver hair flew in the bitter wind.
"I have to live, I have to live." Pale lips chanted in a desperate hope. He wanted to live but he did not know why, he didn't even remember who he was.
Elena watched the house silently for about half an hour. "I don't see Valentine anywhere," she commented at last.
Reno grunted. "Exit spell. That much easier for us to go in an' bust some heads without that vampire there..."
Rude stared at his watch. "Seven thirty. Should we go in?"
"Naw, not yet. Let's make it eight. They should all be settlin' down fer the night."
Elena giggled. "Hey Rude, there's your *girlfriend*!" She laughed as she handed the darker Turk the binoculars.
"Tifa..." the giant sighed,
which made his two companions burst into barely
controlled laughter.
"Shit, Baldy," Reno chuckled. "I can jes' see you fightin' off that Chocobo-headed freak..."
"Like something out of a fairy tale!" Elena added. "The knight in tailored poly weave suit versus the freak who looks like that comic strip kid!!!!" Met by blank stares, she said "Y'know, that comic strip about that kid with the spikey hair and his toy Tonberry...ahhhh, forget it."
"Anyway," Reno said, bringing everyone out of their momentary reverie, "We should be prepared for the worst. These guys are great fighters, even that stupid cat that the traitor made. So I have to say, we may lose someone. I hope everyone's got their will made out. By the way, Elena, your request was granted. If we encounter Marlene Wallace, we're to take her hostage."
"Thank you," Elena sighed. "I know it's part of our job, but I just couldn't bring myself to kill a little kid...I don't know how anyone could..."
Glaring at his emotional comerade, Rude then turned to Reno. "Speaking of Reeve, what if he's still working with them? I mean, after Rufus-sama put that price on his head, he's probably holed up with whoever can offer him the most protection. And I hate to say it about a traitor, but Reeve is a cybernetics genius. And that makes him as dangerous as any fighter."
Reno shrugged. "We take out
as many as we can. That includes Reeve, if he's
there. All I can say is that we
know for sure that Vampy-boy and the Chocobo-head aren't in there. But
it'll still be one of the toughest battles of our careers, and I'm quite
serious that we may lose someone. So say your goodbyes now. We're goin'
in."
"W-what's going on?"
Tifa asked no one in particular the sound ofrumbling filled her ears. Gunfire
and shrieking could be heard even in the house
Avalanche had taken residence.
"What do you think? Those
Shinra bastards are attacking!" Barret suddenly
appeared next to the dazed young
woman.
"H-how dare they!!" Tifa fumed."A innocent and peaceful town like this!"
"That ain't the worst of
it. Both Cloud and Vincent have gone missing! The
cowards!" Barret punched a wall
angrily. Tifa disregarded the brutal comment about the men, knowing Barret
was really worried. But still where did they go?
"C'mon Barrret! We don't have time, we have to protect these people."Tifa commanded.
Barret nodded: "The others are already out there. Let's back them up!"
******
It was then Tifa had seen it all herself, that made her realize how hopeless things looked. Shinra troopers were everywhere killing whoever they came in contact with. While others were setting fires to houses. Tifa screamed in helpless anger, the scene reminding her too much of Nibelheim.
Frustrated she went after the first man she saw, a bald headed turk named Rude.
"Tifa," he whispered as he saw her approach.
"What the hell do you think you're doing? Don't you know anything? Can't you see that you're destroying everything?" Tears ran down her face. For a split second, Rude wanted to take her in his arms and comfort her, but he shook it off. That would be unprofessional, and violate everything the Turks stood for. Instead, he faced her and aimed his pistol.
"I don't want to do this, Tifa," he said in a hushed tone, barely audible against the chaos around them. "But I have to."
He didn't even remember pulling the trigger. There was a shot, and Tifa's eyes widened. She stood there, staring at him for what seemed like an eternity, before finally falling to the ground.
"Tifa...I'm sorry..." He
knelt down to check for vitals. A faint heartbeat was
detectable in her throat, and her
breathing seemed steady, but he wasn't sure how long that would last. The
entry point became painfully clear when he saw the blood leaking from her
forehead.
*************
"PAPA!!!!!" Marlene yelled as loud as she could.
"Your papa can't help you," Elena hissed, cruelty in her voice. "Look at this. All this is because of your papa." While it was true, Elena hated saying it. "Now, you stay in the helicoptor and be a good little girl," she murmured as she handcuffed Marlene to a bar adjoining one of the seats in the back.
************
"Wat the hell you doin' here?" Barret shrieked.
Reno flipped his hair back in an almost perfect imitation of Rufus. "Boss' orders. Standard black-op. But someone hadda see us and start screaming. Otherwise, it woulda just been one building. So it ain't our fault."
"You jes' keep tellin' yerself that," Barret growled as he aimed his gunarm and started firing. Reno tried to dodge, but it was too late. He felt himself falling...but he was dead before he hit the ground.
"Shinra scum," Barret spat on the corpse.
"No!" Tears trickled down Rude's cheeks as he realized what he had just done. All of thoughts and duties left him as the turk fumbled in his coat for something, anything at all that could save her. Shakily he held a phoenix down is his hands.
Rude turned the girl over
and opened her mouth, pouring the reviving liquid
down her slack throat. He was rewarded
with a stronger pulse and the blood
stopped flowing but she was very
weak. Rude picked Tifa up and headed for the chopper.
*******
"What do you think you're doing?" Elena hissed as Rude placed Tifa in the back with Marlene.
"Tifa!" Marlene immediately cried in fear and concern of her gentle friend.
"Did you have to take her
along?" Rude replied in annoyance ignoring the
question. Not waiting for a answer
Rude told the pilot to take off for midgar.
"Rude! What the hell are you doing? Where's Reno?!" Elena asked puzzled.
"Dead." He replied his voice hollow. "I already ordered the Shinra troopers to pull back. It doesn't matter."
"You fool! We were winning!"
Elena spat suddenly. "We could have...!" The
pained look on Rude's face stopped
whatever reprimand she wanted to say.
Instead she felt ashamed herself
and pity for the other turk.
"Haven't we done enough already?"
******
Oddly the remaining Turks
found Rufus Shinra waiting for them. They both
prepared for a verbal lashing for
ending the battle and losing another Turk.
"Why are they still alive?" Was all the president had to say. He wasn't angry it seemed more of a morbid curiosity.
Elena spoke first not wanting
to give Rude a chance to betray himself. "We
couldn't win against them there
in Kalm, so we took hostages hoping to lure them back here."
"Without my approval." Rufus
reminded her, watching the young girl squirm
under his hostile gaze.
"I k-know Rufus-sama and I am fully prepared to..." Rufus shook his head and she stopped.
"You'd just better hope this plan works." Rufus replied icily. "For now take those two to Hojo."
"Hojo?" Rude suddenly asked slight alarm in his voice.
"Yes." Rufus grinned seeming as if he didn't hear it. "He will take perfect care of them."
After completing their duties, Rude and Elena met in the Break Room. At first, neither one said anything.
"...he was my best friend..."
Rude whispered. "My partner, from the very
beginning. We were the first team
to make it past a year...He was like a brother to me...I would have done
anything for him..."
"I know," Elena sighed. "We
all miss him. I sent a letter to Tseng about what
happened...he should get it tomorrow..."
"This is all because of Wallace.
None of this ever would have happened if it
wasn't for that bastard..."
"Yeah...but he escaped..." Another moment of silence, then Elena added, "Rude? I'm sorry for what I said earlier. About you being a fool. I really didn't mean it..."
Rude waved his hand. "S'ok. I just...damn...First Reno, then Tifa..."
"You really care about her, don't you?"
"Yeah...At first, it was just an infatuation. But when I realized that I could have killed her...I knew I couldn't live with myself if I had..."
**************
Back in Kalm, some of the troops were cleaning up the wreckage.
"I found the one that Rufus-sama wanted," one of them called. He kicked aside some rubble to reveal the face of Reno Potter, his eyes still staring ahead in shock.
The troop's companion walked up. "Remind me again, what does he want done with this guy?"
The first troop shrugged. "Wants him given to the Science Department. No idea why, though."
"If you ask me, the entire
Board of Directors is screwy. I mean, Rufus-sama surviving the blast was
strange enough, but then Hojo shows up after he was
supposedly killed by that vampire..."
"Aww I missed these widdle
guys." Yuffie cooed happily huging a beautiful
gold chocobo by the neck.
"This is ridiculous! Hiding
out in a damn chocobo farm!" Cid cursed sitting
crosslegged in a pile of straw.
"There's no where else to
go." Red XIII reminded him sleepily, rolling
comfortablely in the warm sun rays.
Meanwhile Barret had made a wooden beam in the barn his punching bag. At
the same time cursing under his breath.
"That isn't going to help anyone." Yuffie remarked suddenly losing her grip on the chocobo which warked it unhaapiness.
"How can you all just sit there!!" Barret growled a curse. "They have Marlene and Tifa!" It was then that both Cait Sith and its creator Reeve walked in.
"We could get in by airship again." He suggested quietly.
Cid cursed again: "It's still probably in repairs from our fight with Sephiroth."
"It wouldn't hurt to check!" Yuffie grinned leaping to her feet. "Cloud and I can go." Everyone stared blankly at the thief. "Cloud the Gold chocobo! Doesn't anyone remember that we named this chocobo Cloud! Yeesh!"
Rufus breezed into the labratory, his pristine demeanor a sharp contrast to his dank surroundings. "Professor!" he beckoned. "How are the captives?"
A painfully thin man in a stained labcoat turned around. "Rufus? My boy, what are you so worried about them for? The process is almost complete on that Turk."
Rufus ran his hand through
his hair. "I did not ask about the Reno clone. I
inquired about the two captives.
Where are they?"
Hojo chuckled. "Lockheart
is still unconcious. His quick usage of a Phoenix
Down, combined with my, if I may
say so myself, genius, have prevented any
serious brain damage. She will
probably be ready to leave the lab soon after she awakens."
"Is Rude still in there with her?"
"Yes. And let me say that I have had a hell of a time keeping my assistants from discussing the cloning project around him."
Rufus smiled coldly. "And the girl?"
"She will be available for questioning shortly. The sodium penathol takes only a few minutes to do it's job."
"Ahhh," Rufus sighed. "You work magic in here, you know that--WHAT?"
In a lighting-fast movement,
the scientist had the young President against the wall. "I told you
NEVER to use such an unscientific term!!!" the older man
hissed. "I knew I should never
have left all those imperfections in your genetic structure! You're a fool,
Shinra, you and the original both!"
The pair silently contemplated their surroundings, staring at the silent City of the Ancients. Cloud took a deep breath and repressed a shudder. To him it seemed to be a place of the dead as well. He looked at his silent companion, who wouldn't be out of place in a graveyard herself.
"We should find a place for the night." She remarked softly snapping the boy out of his reverie.
"You're right we'll sleep
in one of these houses... but first there's something I
need to do." Lucrecia nodded in
agreement and they headed to the silent city.
*****
Cloud bowed his head, tears clouded his vision. He sat in the same position she had, in prayer. Though he knew none to say, he felt as if they were conveyed anyway.
It was beautiful there, not so dead and silent as the rest of the city. Unseen light sparkled and shimmered off the crystaline structures, everything seemed to be made of glass. Fragile like the girl that died here, broken apart by a dark nightmare.
"Is right... for me to mourn your murderer?" Cloud thought silently,moisture stinging his eyes.
"Now, you have to promise
that you won't kill me while I'm asleep," James
shakily offered.
Vincent smirked. "I make no such promise." Seeing the young man go pale, he sighed. "I have no intention of harming you. Sleep well."
James took that as confirmation, and laid down on the deck of the boat. He was asleep within a minute, the events of the day wearing on his mind.
Vincent looked out over the water. "Lucrecia," he whispered. "I will find you. I swear it."
****************
Rude entered the small room quietly. Tifa lay on the bed, her breathing and heart rate closely monitored on computer screens. The Turk sat in the uncomfortable metal chair at the bedside, and took Tifa's limp hand in his. "Tifa...I'm sorry. I wasn't thinking, that's all. I wish I could change what happened..."
Tifa opened her eyes. "C...cloud...?" she inquired, still groggy from the trauma.
"Ssshhhh, just relax. You're with us now," a familiar voice reassured her.
As her vision cleared, she saw who attended to her. "No..."
**************
Elena sighed. Her usual nights
of passion with Rufus had long ago lost any
pleasure. She didn't love him,
and he certainly didn't love her. He would call her in to his ofice or
his private quarters, and she would please him mindlessly, with no emotional
connection. That was fine at first, but Elena wanted someone...else. Someone
like Tseng.
Sleeply, Rufus looked up.
"You still awake? Get to sleep. You have another
assignment tomorrow." With that,
he drifted back to sleep.
Elena leaned back and tried
to sleep, but she couldn't. Everything that had
happened was too much for her.
How was she supposed to forget the events of the day?
Rufus shifted in his sleep.
One of his long-fingered hands moved to Elena's
abdomen, and she unconciously batted
it away. "Why is he still wearing his
gloves?" she thought. Gently, so
as not to disturb him, she began removing the leather from his hands. "I
don't know how you can wear these, it's so hot in here..." she whispered
to herself.
A sudden discovery made her gasp. There, on the back of his left hand, was the number one.
He felt warm and secure, his heart was at peace. Nothing mattered anymore, his past.... could not hurt anymore. All that could be seen was green, pulsing with a strange life.
A woman suddenly appeared and smiled, shaking her head sadly. Her green eyes glowed strangely, so much like the light that surrounded her.
"You have to go back. You're
not finished yet, Sephiroth. You have yet to
redeem yourself." She spoke with
a gentle scolding tone. While everything around him faded to black.
"No!"
*******
A young white hared man sat up in a bed, his head and heart aching. Confusion stole through him as he looked around recognizing nothing. It appeared to be a strudy cabin, able to keep the chilling cold away. He guessed someone had rescued him from that barren hell.
"Sephiroth...? Is that my name?" He asked, remembering the strange dream and the girl. The girl, he tried to picture her again in his mind. Long brown hair tied in flowing braid, bright green eyes, dressed in a homely pink dress.
"Ae....ri..s" He smiled truimphantly pleased he could finally remember something. Sephiroth probed his mind again trying to find his link with the girl.
"I...I ki-" The sentence
ended in a shriek of pain, a white hot agony burned
through Sephiroth's mind. He hands
grabbed his head futily trying to block the pain as he whimpered. Sephiroth
drfited back into nothingness as everything faded once more.
"So you found out," Rufus hissed.
Elena gasped. "S...sir!! You're...a clone? So...you really did die in the blast...didn't you?"
With a *snap*, Rufus pulled
his gloves back on. "I have an image to maintain
here, Elena," he whispered. "The
people must think of me as a miracle. To have survived such a calamity
means I must possess some sort of divine power or strength. As long as
they believe this, they will do anything I say. That is why your discovery
must never leave this room. And if it does...well, I hate to think about
it, of course, but let me just say that you will not suffer, but someone
you know will."
With a lump in her throat, Elena somehow managed to ask, "Who?"
Rufus leaned back, his arms
wrapping around her slender waist. "Tseng, of
course. I knew all along that he
survived."
*****************************
"My dear boy...I know you're here," Lucrecia whispered through chapped lips. She had woken Cloud in the middle of the night and insisted that they leave for the Crater as soon as possible. It was getting on 6 am now, as they neared Icicle Lodge. "My darling son, I'm coming."
Cloud shivered. He was freezing, but Lucrecia didn't seem to be affected at all. "Hey, Lucrecia," he shouted over the whirring of the Tiny Bronco's engines. "Let's just stop at that cabin there for a few hours. We can rest up and start again around noon."
Lucrecia nodded, and Cloud steered the ship to shore.
***********************
Within the cabin, the young man lay in blissful unconciousness, unaware that two people seeking him were about to find what they were looking for.
"Get away from me!" Tifa
cried and tried to get up only to be pulled back by
metal chains.
"Don't, you'll only hurt yourself." Rude said softly placing a restraining hand on her shoulder, gently pushing her down.
Tifa bit her lip attempting to hide her trembling, anger and sorrow burning her heart. "H-how could you?! Why did you bother saving me?"
Rude stared down at her, he felt pain watching her suffer like this. On impulse he reached down tilted her face up, her eyes instictively shied away from his. But Rude almost forcefully turned her face to his own. It was then he decided to tell her the truth.
"I...I couldn't..." Rude suddenly stopped at the sound of his cell phone ringing. He let Tifa go reaching mechanically for the phone. Rude turned away, and put the small machine to his ear.
"Yes... I know. All right."
Rude bowed his head and headed for the door, not
looking back at Tifa.
"Rude!" Tifa called and he looked back for a moment, seeing tears ready to pour from her eyes.
"I'm sorry." He said in a
tone barely heard and almost a whisper. He walked
through the door, not looking back.
Marlene slept fitfully that
night. After hours of interrogation, her captors
determined that she knew nothing
of AVALANCHE's whereabouts, and threw her in a cell.
Tears ran down her small face as she thought about the previous evening's events. She had gone to bed at six-thirty, as usual, only to be awakened at eight by a firefight. Barret tried to hide her, but she was snatched up by a soldier and turned over to a woman in a blue suit, who then handcuffed her to a seat in a helicoptor. After a long time, the woman returned with a large bald man, who placed an unconcious Tifa in the back with Marlene. It was about ten when the helicopter returned to Midgar, and Marlene and Tifa were turned over to a creepy man in a stained labcoat. He injected Marlene with something, then a young, cruel man interogated her for a few hours.
"And now," she thought bitterly, "Daddy's all alone. I know he's gonna try and save me, but these people really seem to hate him. Is it really all his fault that all those people died? The bald man said something about Daddy killing some guy named Reno, but I never heard about that...It's so cold here..." She pulled the thin blanket tight around her.
The cell door clanked open, and the creepy man entered. "Marlene..." He spoke the name slowly, as if it pained him to address someone so far beneath him. "I have been instructed to give you this," gesturing to a package held by a guard. "I would also reccommend that you get some sleep, as we have a full day ahead of us. Yes, we'll have lots of fun, you and I. Do you know much about science, Marlene?"
She swallowed. She hated the way this man was eying her, the same way a lizard eyed an insect. "I only know what I learned in school."
He laughed, a hideous sound, like the screeching of some twisted monster. "You'll learn soon enough, little girl." With that cryptic statement, he left. The guard accompanying him put the package on the ground, shut the cell door, and locked it.
After she was sure both men were gone, Marlene crawled over to the box. There was a handwritten note on the lid. "Miss Wallace," she read aloud. "I deeply regret the situation we were forced to meet in. Please take this as an apology. I sincerely hope we can become allies. With deepest personal regards--Pres. Rufus Shinra." Marlene didn't understand most of the elaborate language, but she knew that the young man from earlier was giving her something.
"Daddy told me not to trust
the Shinra," she remembered, but her youthful
curiosity got the best of her,
and she opened the box. Inside was the most elegant dress she had ever
seen.
"Yes? What do you want?" A young girl peered through the open door. A chill wind blew into the warm cabin making her shiver involuntarily.
"Please... Can we stay here for a little while?" Cloud asked humbly. Both his and Lucrecia's face were flushed with cold, eerily it she didn't seem to notice it.
The door was opened wider, "Yes, but please there is another man here. He needs his rest, so keep quiet." She allowed the two companions to come inside and then quickly shut the door behind her. Cloud nodded to reassure the girl, while shaking off the snow that covered his body.
"What's your name?" He finally asked to break the silence.
"Sandy." She brushed off the question. "C'mon let me get you two upstairs and out of those wet clothes."
"It's not really necesary..." Cloud started but both Sandy and Lucrecia had already went up. Cloud shrugged his shoulders and went to follow them.
A loud shriek of surprise pierced the air and Cloud's walk turned to a run. When he reached the top he was shocked to a halt.
Lucrecia was sitting on a bed, her arms wrapped around a bewildered young man. Her shoulders shook, tears pouring from her eyes. She no longer appeared as a ghost but as a grateful mother finally reunited with her child.
Cloud felt himself drowning in a sea of green, as he stared into Sephiroth's wide almost innocent eyes. He looked frail and weak, his pale skin was lighter than it should be. As Sephiroth's eyes rested on Cloud a smile curved his lips.
Memories
from the corner of his mind...
"Strife..." he whispered. "If you have come to kill me, you're too late."
Lucrecia tightened her embrace. "My boy..." she muttered, oblivious to his words. "My beautiful baby boy...I've waited thirty years, but now I can finally hold you in my arms..."
Cloud broke out of his momentary reverie. "Sephiroth...do you know who she is?"
The former general arched
his neck, trying to get a better look at this strange
woman. "I have never seen her before,"
he resolved at last.
"Sephiroth...my dear one..." Lucrecia broke the embrace to look the young man in the eyes. "I am your mother."
"Do you have any idea where you are going?" Vincent demanded angrily shaking James roughly.
"O-of course I do!" James shakily replied futilely trying to shake Vincent's grip.
"You, just stay back there!" Vincent resolved pushing the frightened boy to the back of the boat and taking the steering himself. He couldn't believe he'd been so foolish to let that imbecile steer. For days that had been wandering the sea.
"W-wait! I see land!" James exclaimed sitting up. Beaming he pointed to a patch of green land in the distance.
Vincent nearly held back a sigh of relief, as they moved closer. The land became clearer, a cloud of dark smog seemed to appear.
"There isn't any smog...." Vincent had to repress the urge to shriek for a moment. But time with James had taken a toll on Vincent's usually cool demeanor.
"YOU'VE TAKEN US BACK TO MIDGAR?????"
Marlene was lead into the
main labratory by the same guard who had
accompanied the scientist hours
before. The thin, greasy man was waiting for her, a ghastly smile on his
pointed face.
"My new specimen..." He licked his lips, and gestured for her to come closer. Reluctantly, she did so. He seemed to be straining with anticipation of...something, Marlene didn't want to think about it.
"I know about you, Miss Marlene. I know that you are able to sense the planet. But you are not an Ancient, are you?"
"The flower girl was an Ancient..." Marlene whispered.
"That's right, she was. But now they're all gone. At least, as far as we know. Tell me about the voices you hear. Are they people you know?"
"Sometimes...I know that
Daddy isn't my real daddy, and a few months ago, a
voice started calling me it's daughter.
But I don't know where it comes from or anything..." Her mind reeled. How
did this man know about the voices? And why was she telling him anything?
She remembered the shot they gave her last night, and how she told them
a lot, and realized that this was probably due to the same thing.
Yuffie laughed happily as she nearly flew across the planet. The gold chocobo sped across mountains and rivers as if they weren't there. a part of her despised being so helpful to Avalanche but they were paying her well. All of the materia used would be given to her after the battle with Shinra was over. Except for the frighteningly powerful Knights of the Round Table Summon Materia and of course the huge materia.
Yuffie shivered at the thought, Knights of the Round Table materia was scary. Too scary for even her. She pushed these thoughts aside as she finally saw Cid's hometown in the distance.
*******
"Mother?" A disgusted look crossed Sephiroth's face. "What are you trying to..? He was cut off as Cloud slapped in the face hard.
"Hear us out!" Cloud and then Lucrecia held out a hand asking for his silence. Cloud blushed shamefully and muttered; "I'm sorry."
Lucrecia smiled kindly at Sephiroth, whose face held a confused expression. He stared into her eyes, bright green, shimmering with a inhuman light, just like his own.
Cloud watched in awe as the
great Sephiroth stared silently at her, his mouth
moving but there were no sounds
coming out. Lucrecia responded to the question he couldn't voice. Because
he knew the answer, it couldn't be denied or hidden anymore. She wrapped
arms around him and held him, a simple gesture she had been denied for
so long. What made it more sweet was that Sephiroth held her too.
Tifa lay in the bed, trying
to figure out a way to get out of the chains that
bound her there. But her thoughts
drifted back to the Turk who had shot her, then saved her.
"Why?" she wondered aloud. "Why did he save me? And he could have easily killed me. Was he aiming so he would have time to change his mind?"
The door swung open, and a familiar figure walked in. "Doctors say you gonna be here fer a while, ain't dat right? Betcha Rude's lookin' forward to that!"
"Reno. What do you want?"
Reno shrugged. "Eh, lemme put it this way. I wanna find that bastard Wallace and do to him what he did to me. Heh, you ain't even got a clue what I'm talkin' about, do ya?" he snickered. "Well, the second the docs say yer able, I'm gonna beat it out of you. Jes 'cause Rude's some luvy-dovey chicken don' mean the rest of the Turks are. Yer gonna tell me where AVALANCHE is, or..." he paused, thinking of what to follow that with. "Or else! Yeah..." he muttered as he walked out.
About half an hour later,
Rude entered, bearing a tray. "Here. I brought your
breakfast." Walking slowly, he
placed the tray on her lap. "Do you need help?"
Tifa scowled at him. "Why are you helping me? Reno was just in here threating me, and--"
"Wait a minute. What did you say?"
"Your buddy Reno. He was just in here about half an hour ago, saying that, when I'm better, he's going to beat me up unless I tell you where AVALANCHE is hiding. Which I will never, ever do, by the way."
"Reno...was here...?"
Tifa blinked. 'Rude must be stupider than he looks,' she thought. "That's what I just said."
"Excuse me." Rude ran out
of the room, his mind reeling. 'Reno's dead...isn't
he...?"
"What have you done to Reno?" Rude demanded bursting into Hojo's laboratory. The lanky doctor raised a eyebrow and shrugged.
"I cloned that specimen under
the president's orders." Hojo waved him away
bored and glancing back at Marlene
who still sat in a chair. Who clearly wished she could bolt away from the
doctor.
The sight of the frightened child disturbed him. Rude felt sudden understanding for Elena when she refused to kill children. "B-but..." Rude started but the doctor continued ignoring his protest.
"That specimen is necesary for the Turks... so it's only logical that he was cloned. Now don't you have work to do Turk?" Hojo glared at Rude like a bug, only a annoyance.
Rude nodded defeated and went back out the door. It was true he should be glad his friend was alive. Even if it was a clone. But why did he have such a horrible feeling about it?
"I don't understand it!!" James exclaimed, examining the map. "According to this...oh, wait, here's the problem."
"What?" demanded Vincent.
James giggled nervously and put one arm behind his head. "Well...I was reading it upside-down."
Vincent sighed. "Listen. Obviously, threats will not work on you. But I need to find Lucrecia as soon as I can. Do you understand me?"
James nodded. "Everyone knows about what happened with you and her! You're just not used to being famous, are you?"
Vincent nodded. "In my day, Turks were clandestine in every aspect."
James shook his head. "That's not for me. I only got into this because Rufus offered me so much money. But I really wanna be a star."
"We need more fuel. We must return to Midgar."
The Turk blanched. "Oh, you can't go there. The rest of the Turks just raided your headquarters in Kalm, and plus, Hojo is still looking for you."
Time seemed to stop for Vincent. "What?" he managed to gasp.
James took a deep breath. "OK, first, that creep Hojo is still looking for you. He said something about finishing something he started a long time ago. And also, Rufus sent the rest of the Turks out last night to wipe out AVALANCHE HQ in Kalm. Got that, or do you need it again?"
"Sephiroth..." Cloud stared at the pair feeling strangely uncomfortable seeing him this way.
"We should..." Cloud began taking the gaping Sandy's arm, who had been staring in awe and surprise at the scene before them. she immediately snapped put of it at his touch and nodded in understanding. The descended back down into the room where Lucrecia and Cloud had first entered the house.
Cloud sat down on the couch and buried his face in his hands. Sandy stood in front of him, curiousity evident on her face.
"So she's his mother...but how? I mean she's so young...?" Sandy asked looking at the his bowed head. After a moment he looked up and sighed a bit.
"She's older than she looks." Cloud answered quietly.
"Right...I uhm you must be hungry. I'll make something for you." Sandy smiled and hurried to the kitchen.
Cloud sighed, "So Sephiroth has changed.." He thought of the pale weak man upstairs allowing himself to be embraced, be held in the Lucrecia's tender arms. The man he remembered was too proud to allow anyone near him. At the same time Cloud wondered how mucch.. and what was his intentions? And should that affect his judgement? What will I do? What can I do?
****
Vincent's eyes widened in surprise. "Why are you telling me this? Aren't you my enemy?"
James giggled, "Well you were a turk.... I don't think I could hurt a fellow turk. Even if you are a traitor."
"Humph don't say that so easily, Rufus would kill you if he heard anything like that." Vincent sighed.
"Rufus-sama..." James smiled a blush running over his cheeks. Vincent stared at the blue-hared boy in surprise.
"Are you and Rufus...? Vincent asked confused at James' reaction.
"N-no... I just admire his strength is all... really." James blushed more furiously.
Vincent shrugged, leaving James with his privacy. "So what will we do now?"
Yuffie raced up the walkway to the Highwind residance. She pushed the doorbell and bounced nerviously on the porch. Finally, Shera answered.
"Shera, you gotta help me think of somethin'!" Yuffie screamed. Lowering her voice to a normal tone, she continued. "Shinra found out about where AVALANCHE was, and they raided and they got Tifa and Marlene and took them back to Midgar, and we're all in hiding, and we gotta think of something!!!"
Shera was stunned. "Is...is the Captain all right?" she asked as she ushered Yuffie inside.
"Yeah, he's fine. But we're all runnin' scared...And you gotta think of a way to get us outta there...and we gotta get Tifa and Marlene back...and...and...and I really need to take a nap! I've been up for about a hundred hours now!!"
After enduring two hours of the Professor's interrogation, Marlene greatfully left his office. It was a ghastly place, filled with specimen jars and dusty texts.
She did wonder about the man who had interrupted the session. What were 'clones'? Marlene had heard Barret talk about 'clones', but never really paid much attention.
And the very subject of the questions--how did this man know about the voices she heard?
"Here. This came for you during your session." A guard handed her an envelope. It was addressed "To Ms. Wallace" in the same flowing script as that morning's note.
The message inside read:
Ms. Wallace.
Words cannot convey how deeply sorry
I am at the mistreatment you recieved at the hands of some of my agents.
I do trust you were pleased by the gift I sent earlier. I have called off
all official business for this afternoon, and would be delighted if I could
have the honor of taking the noon meal with you. It is formal, so it is
requested that you wear the gown presented to you earlier. Please inform
the attending guard if you wish to attend.
Again, my deepest apologies.
Fondest Regards--
Pres. Rufus Julian Shinra
Will It Be Different This Time?
Marlene's eyes widened in surprise and uncertainty scrunched her face in concentration. She remembered how cold and cruel the man had been last night. But the two letters promised that he would make it up to her. Could the shinra be as cruel as Daddy said?
But if she didn't go she would be back in that lonely cell. Or even another session with the scary professor. Marlene nodded at the waiting guard.
"Please, tell him I will go." Marlene hoped she was making the right choice. I wish one of my daddys would tell me what to do.
******
Sephiroth pulled back from his mother and stared at her for a moment. "Where have you been all time?" His voice was low and cold, waiting for a chance to accuse her of something.
"I have no excuses to offer you... I've made many mistakes leaving you with your father was another." Lucrecia sighed sadly.
"My father..? Who was he?" Sephiroth demanded.
"There is much I need to tell you. It is the only way I can help you now. I will help you find a way to redeem yourself." Lucrecia smiled sadly.
******
"Please just eat this... you need it." Rude asked quietly trying to help Tifa eat.
"I'm honored that a Turk would stoop so low for me." Tifa replied sarcastically. She expected a snide remark or even Rude to get angry. But he merely held up the spoon again, with a silent plea for her to eat.
"There are nurses for that." Reno stood in the doorway, a look of disgust on his face. "We do have work to do."
Rude didn't reply for a moment. "You're right.. I know. Just tell Rufus-sama I'm taking the rest of the day off then."
"What?!" Reno exclaimed in surprise. "You..."
"Just do it. Rufus will be busy with the Wallace girl anyway." Reno shook his head and stalked away, shrugging his shoulders as if it didn't matter.
"Now, we have all day Lockheart... please just eat this."
Marlene was lead to the private floors of the building. This was where the Shinra family had lived...and now, Rufus was the only one left.
The large wooden doors to the dining room opened, and Rufus stood there, in a very fine red velvet jacket. "Ah, Ms. Wallace. I must say, it's a pleasure to finally meet you outside of business."
Marlene flinched as he took her hand. "Daddy says you're evil," she stated flatly.
Rufus was unfazed, but faked a shocked look. "Oh? I wonder why he says that. Come, sit down. We have much to discuss."
Reluctantly, Marlene sat at the table. It was set beautifully, but she still hated it.
Rufus took his seat and took a sip of wine. "Ms. Wallace, may I call you Marlene? You may call me Rufus."
She nodded her assent, and he smirked. "Marlene, I must apologize in person for the dreadful way you were treated last night. I meant nothing personal by it, and tried to act in a purely professional manner, but I must admit, things did get a bit out of hand. Do you think you could find it in your heart to forgive me?"
"I...don't know..."
"Well the Highwind has been repaired." Shera smiled helpfully, "The crew is ready aand hoping to fly soon."
"That's good." Yuffie gulped trying to hide her nervousness.
Shera didn't notice the girl's aversion to flying, "Avalanche can use the airship to move whenever they need to so that Shinra won't be able to attack another town."
Yuffie sighed and inwardly hoped that would survive the torture of riding the airship again. "When can we leave?"
"Today! And I'll come with you." Shera exclaimed happily.
"B-but Shera..." Yuffie gulped again knowing how pissed Cid would be if Shera put herself in danger. Shera ignored the girl's protests and ran outside to look for the Highwind's crew.
*********
"Shouldn't we be making a plan?" Red XIII asked lifting a furry eyebrow.
"Yeah fool!" Barret raised his gun arm in agreement. "When we get the Highwind we'll storm Midgar and get Tifa and Marlene back!"
"But Barret... we tried it before and.." Reeve started but Barret interrupted again.
"And it worked! We busted up the Turks, killed Heideggar and Scarlet. Also that freak Hojo!" Barret finished.
"That's not the point." Reeve glared. "What we did made no difference. The Turks survived again, Heideggar and Scarlet's death made no difference. And I'm not so sure Hojo is really dead..."
"What are you talking about?! We were all there! We saw him die!" Cid said shaking his head, as he tossed a cigarette to the ground and stomped it out.
Reeve sighed, "You should all realize by now, there is no sure way to know if someone is really dead. How many times have we seen people miraclously survive? For all we know the Hojo we fought could have been a clone! The man was crazy and a maniac but he was a genuis, a twisted genuis, but a genuis never the less."
"Not to mention we are missing Cloud, Tifa, and Vincent." Red XIII added.
"What are you saying then? That we do nothing?" Barret asked angrily.
"No." Reeve smiled smugly. "We'll have to sneak in. Remember this?" He flashed a set of keys. "We do have the key to the city remember?"
In the deepest part of the Shinra Laboratory, there was a secret door. So secret, in fact, that only one person knew about it. The hidden room was a library, but like no other library on the Planet. It was filled with tomes of experiments that would make all but the most devoted mad scientists cringe.
However, Professor Hojo was just the sort of mad scientist who would enjoy such a room. Obviously, it had been furnished by him, with volumes of notes on his twisted experiments.
And right now, he was researching two of his prior test subjects--Ifalna Gast and Aeris Gainsborough. "That girl's an Ancient, I just know it!!!" he muttered as he parsed the page before him. "But who were her parents?"
Finally, he found the passage he seeked. The transcript of an interview with Ifalna, taken when she had first been brought in.
GAST: Are you aware of any
other Ancients?
IFALNA: I know there's a
few more. I think one of them lives around Costa
del Sol, another by Corel,
and the rest are in Midgar. But I've never met any
of the others.
Another in Corel! That was where Marlene's parents were from! Damn that Scarlet for burning the town! And damn Gast for letting his personal feelings interfere with the Project.
But was it a coincidence? Or was it proof? Ifalna herself said she wasn't sure about the locations of the other Ancients, but she could have been lying...
This is insane, Elena thought spooked. Elena stood alone on the balcony of her room. Rufus had been unusually generous allowing the Turks to have the afternoon off. She had heard from Rude that Reno had been cloned by Hojo. The thought frightened her. Both Rufus and Reno. Who else could be a scientific experiment for that mad man Hojo?
I should do something, Elena sighed and wondered at the same time. But what about Tseng? And what about being a Turk? Serving the Shinra Corporation should be her only concern right?
"Right" She whispered to herself. It would be safer for everyone that way. Wouldn't it?
******
"Why aren't you eating? Isn't the food to your liking?" Rufus asked with a expression masked with concern.
"It looks... good." Marlene's face scrunched with the considerable effort it took to ignore her hunger.
Rufus chuckled inwardly at her silly stubborness. "Come now Marlene. Won't you allow me the chance to redeem myself by at least feeding you."
"What do you want? The voic-" Marlene was cut off when Rufus pressed a hand to her lips.
"Just eat. Everything will be discussed in due time. It would be rude to ignore a little girl's hunger." He replied with a slight smile. Marlene nodded defeated and did as the young president asked.
"Well, I don't know where you got your information, but we never had an order for a chocobo pickup!" Choco Billy demanded.
Shera blinked, her expression unchanging. "I have the manifest right here," she insisted.
*********
Yuffie burst into the stalls, frightening the inhabitents, both feathered and non.
"OK, everyone!!" she shouted. "Shera's stallin' Billy, so everyone on the Highwind, STAT!!!"
Reeve calmly walked over to her. "Why was it necessary to stall Billy? He knows we're here. Is he being watched?"
Yuffie looked down and ground her foot in the dirt. "Um...no. But I thought it would be more fun this way!!! Y'know, a covert operation!!"
The former executive fell over. "Yuffieeeeeeeee..." he groaned.
Cid smirked. "An' you all say you can't see the damn similarities 'tween him an' that cat. Come on, let's get the hell outta here!"
"He wants to see you now." Lucrecia came flowing down the stairs. Her face was a expressionless mask once more. Cloud uncertain what to say simply nodded and went back to Sephiroth's room. What he found surprised him even more. Sephiroth was out of bed and just finished dressing himself in his dark attire.
"What are you doing? You're supposed to be-" Cloud stopped as Sephiroth stared at him with a pentrating glare.
"Come with me."
"What? Where?" Cloud asked as the other man wrapped a heavy black cloak around his body. Sephiroth kept the silence for a minute and then moved to stand in front of Cloud.
"I need to get my sword back." He said brusquely and then gently pushed Cloud out of his way.
"Why? Sephiroth!" Cloud shouted while Sephiroth moved quickly down the wooden steps.
"Are you going or not?" Was his only reply before walking out the door.
"Just go Cloud. Please. He can't go alone, he is still so weak." Lucrecia asked with a slight look of pleading in her eyes.
"Right... Sephiroth has a weird way of asking for help doesn't he?" Cloud replied shaking his head before taking the same path Sephiroth had.
******
"Well we could just go back to the port and take another boat before anyone notices." James said hopefully.
"If that's the only way..." Vincent said with a hint of discomfort in his voice.
James nodded ethusiastically; "Don't worry I won't mess up this time."
Vincent sighed a bit and steered the boat to the destination where they first began.
As the Highwind sped toward Rocket Town, Yuffie remained on deck. Her motion sickness had lessened somewhat, but she still had accidents. Plus, Cid had told her, in no uncertain terms, that if she made another mess on his ship, she would have to walk back.
Red walked up to her. "Yuffie, do you need a Remedy?"
She shook her head. "No thanks. Hey, why aren't you inside like everyone else?"
"I wanted to ask you something. Do you think that there are more like me out there?"
Yuffie was taken aback. "Why ask me? I mean, I don't even know what your species is called!"
Red chuckled. "According to my grandfather's notes, there have been sightings of quadrapedal leoine creatures near Wutai for the past thirty years. Several of the reports suggest that these creatures have flames on their tails."
Yuffie blinked. "Quadra-what? You lost me."
"Quadrapedal. It means it walks on four legs. Have you ever heard of this?"
"Yeah, my dad saw one once. At least, he SAID he did. But you know my dad. Probably drank too much sake with the other temple guardians. Y'know, for a bunch of holy people, they sure don't act like it."
Red sighed. "Have you ever heard of anyone else seeing these creatures?"
"Don't think so."
"Ah." After a moment of silence,
he asked "Do you think Tifa and Marlene
are all right?"
"I hope so, Red. I really hope so."
**********
Inside the ship, things were a bit more hectic.
"The hell we goin' back to Rocket Town for?" Barret demanded, waving his gunarm around menacingly. "Marlene's in danger, an' we missin' two of our best fighters!! We don' get them back, we ain't never gonna save Marlene an' Tifa!!!"
Reeve sighed, a common thing for him to do around the huge man. "If we find Vincent and Cloud, so much the better. But it is better that we give some time to clear the air. Most likely, they will not be harmed. Tifa is the only one who knows anything, and she has no idea where we are now. We must return to Rocket Town and plan our stragedy, rather than perform an all-out assault. You said it yourself, that there's no way we can beat the Shinra without the assistance of out two missing members. So we will go to Rocket Town, and send out small search parties to locate the others."
Barret flushed bright red. "The hell you talkin' 'bout?"
Reeve held back a chuckle. Barret was not a stupid man by any means, but it was impossible to get a quality education in Corel. Actually, it was impossible to get quality ANYTHING in Corel.
The silence was thick in the air as Cloud and Sephiroth walked through the frozen wasteland. With each passing moment Cloud felt his frustration growing.
It was a unusually clear day, the sun could be seen shining in the sky. It did little however to abate the cold.
Cloud felt uneasy he wanted answers both from the silent man and himself. Before Cloud could vent his frustration Sephiroth chose to finally speak.
"Why don't you just strike me down? Isn't that what you want?" Sephiroth did not stop but he turned his head, acknowledging his companion for the first time. His face could be called expressionless except for his mako green eyes which peered at him with a inquisitive curiousity.
"....." Cloud couldn't answer for a moment taken back by his words. For a moment he wanted to him that he didn't know what he wanted. But something screamed at him to keep silent. After all he could not show weakness. Not now. "Why don't you just worry about your sword? I have nothing to say to you."
Sephiroth stopped this time and his head tilted upward. His body shaking, laughter bursting from his pale lips. It was neither condescending or maniacal, the sound Cloud was so used to. The other man clearly enjoyed it, a small smug smile appeared after he finished.
"You haven't changed a bit. You're just as stubborn as I remember. And childish." He smirked watching Cloud clench his fists angrily, biting his lip, to stiifle whatever reaction he could have.
"Childish? What are you talking about?" Cloud asked his voice barely level.
Sephiroth cocked a eyebrow and folded his arms across his chest. "When we went to Nibelheim... that last time together. You wore a mask to keep yourself hidden from the that girl Tifa. So ashamed of yourself... afraid to confront the truth. Too stubborn and childish..."
"Yes I know. You enjoyed my weakness didn't you?" Cloud said angrily.
"You misjudge me."
"Do I?" Cloud accused with a sneer. "You used me to get what you wanted and then tried to throw me away."
"I don't remember everything. It seems like some damn nightmare. And it hasn't disappeared from my mind yet." Sephiroth shook his head.
"What do you expect? What you have done. Do you expect it all to fade away like a dream?" Cloud demanded.
"She told me..." He said quietly. "I need to redeem myself."
"Who? Lucrecia?"
"She did too.. but there was another." Sephiroth said slowly trying to get used to the idea. "I think she was the one you call Aeris."
"So..." Sandy began. "I kinda thought he looked familiar, but...he's the real guy...wow..."
Lucrecia stared out the window. "He's out there," she whispered.
Sandy blinked. "You mean Sephiroth? Of course he's out there. He just left."
Lucrecia shook her head. "No...someone else..."
Sandy grinned. "You can tell me. Go ahead."
"No...best you didn't get involved. The power I'm sensing is greater than ever before..." Before she could complete her thought, she fell to the ground.
Sandy screamed. "Miss Lucrecia!! Miss Lucrecia, are you all right?"
The only sign of life from her was her slow whispering of "...i used to love him..."
**************
Hundreds of miles away, in Midgar, a figure shuffled through the labratory. As he perused a clipboard, Hojo began to mutter the text to himself.
"Marked increase in Mako energy starting the eleventh--that's two days ago-- hmmm...Lucrecia, you weren't in Kalm...neither was your precious Valentine..." He cleared his throat and returned to the paper. "Mako signature identical to that of JENOVA project #001, dubbed 'Sephiroth'. Possibility of error--point zero zero zero one percent." He looked up, his glasses falling to the end of his pointed nose. "Lucrecia, what are you trying to hide?"
"Ms. Wallace, I find your stubborness quite charming. Do you know that?" A smirk crossed Rufus' face as he regarded the quiet girl before him.
Marlene didn't respond acting as if her dessert was the most interesting thing in the world to her. The silence was killing her, the way the president looked at her with that calm cool scrutiny. She almost wished he would act the way he did last night. Then she could at least know what this strange man wanted.
"Would you like to see something?" The president stood up and politely held out his hand. Marlene nodded almost eagerly hoping whatever it was would answer some questions. Allowing the man to lead her to whatever it was he wanted her to see.
Rufus lead Marlene towards on of the strangely paneled walls. He pushed a flat red switch, slowly the panel began to open. Revealing a view of the city of Midgar from the tall tower they were in. Marlene's eyes opened wide in amazement at the dread ful scene before her. A feeling of nasea almost choked her, it was much worse then she could ever imagine. The sky was almost pitch black even though it was only the afternoon. Dark clouds burst from the Mako Reactors in the city.
"You see, this is the only way to power this city Marlene. This place is rich in Mako energy but it takes so much to power the city."
"But... I can't see the sky, don't you miss it?" Marlene asked.
"Of course Ms. Wallace. Always. But if we could only find a way to get more energy. Everyone could see the sky and live the way humanity was meant to. Don't you want that? Rufus asked smiled convincingly his eyes glittered with a strange intensity.
"Y-yes.. but how could I?"
Cid, as was customary of him, swore profusely as Shera attempted to fly straight. She was a very good pilot, but the Highwind was a bit bigger than what she was used to. Aiming a few more improper words at her, he staggered out of the control room and headed to the deck.
Red smiled at him. "Yuffie hasn't gotten sick. Don't worry."
Cid laughed. "Well, that's good. Shit, when was the last time we flew that she didn't get her lunch all over the deck?"
Red curled up, the flame on his tail flickering in the wind. "Try 'never'."
**********
Tifa lay in bed, still restrained, but she had given up on trying to break the bonds. She was very strong, but not that much.
"Why?" she asked herself. "Why is he acting like that?" She was confused. Rudolph "Rude" Washington, known for his emotionlessness and ruthless effeciancy, was acting like..."Heh." she chuckled mirthlessly. "He's acting like Cloud did when we were kids."
Another question popped into
her mind. "Why was he so upset when I told
him Reno had shown up?"
This time, someone answered. "Tha's'cause I'm supposed ta be dead. But I ain't." Reno Potter stood in the doorway, his red hair breaking the bland decour of the room. "I got blasted by that bastard Wallace. An' lemme tell you, when we find him, I'm gonna return the favor." The thin man moved into the room as he spoke. "Of course, we're gonna need yer help in finding him an' the others. An' if ya don' listen, well...let's jus say that the Professor needs a new specimen."
Tifa merely glared at the other man for a moment and turned her face away from him. Reno chuckled at the futility of the gesture.
"I don't care what that freak Hojo does to me." Tifa spat. "I won't abandon my friends."
"WE'll see if that's really true tommorrow. Consider yourself fortunate that I'm not the one in charge here Lockheart." Reno flipped his hair and smiled coldly.
"And you are fortunate I'm tied up. Are you done yet? I didn't think you Turks had so much time to waste on me. I thought you were too busy slaughtering innocent people!" Tifa countered her brown eyes glowing in anger.
"Hah we'll see how tough you are tommorrow little girl." Reno laughed and then stalked out of the room. Tifa sighed and leaned back against the bed. "I wish I knew what to do... or at least what's going on."
******
"Are you sure this one will be okay?" Vincent asked looking over the new boat they were going to take.
"Of course." James looked wounded. "Don't you trust me?
"Hey!" A voice suddenly called. "Who's there?"
"Ahh uhm." James struggled to find a reply, as he turned to Vincent for help only to find him gone.
"James? Is that you?" A shinra trooper appeared out of the gloom that normally surrounded the harbor.
"Oh yes! I was just leaving to go on my mission. Yeah! That's right." James replied nervously.
The shinra trooper looked at the nervous boy puzzled. "But I thought...?"
"Hey! I have no time!" James exploded. "I must go now in a hurry. So..."
"Right I get the idea." The man walked off mumbling incoherantly about snooty high class officers.
"Whew." James breathed a sigh of relief and then shrieked as he was tapped lightly on the shoulder.
"I thought we were leaving." Vincent stood behind him a slight smile on his face.
"Sir, you got a letter. Looks important. All the way from Midgar, and only dated yesterday."
Tseng thanked the man, and took the letter. No one in what was left of Mideel knew about the stranger's past, nor did they know why he occasionally recieved letters from Midgar.
As he walked back to his simple home, curiosity got the best of him, and he leaned against a tree and opened the envelope.
"Dearest Al" he read aloud,
remembering the code names he and Elena were
forced to communicate under. He
was Al and she was Betty, after an old song. Rude was referred to as Baldy,
and Reno was just Reno, as it was such a common name in certain sectors.
"Dearest Al, I have some bad news. One of our closest friends--Reno--passed away today."
Tseng looked up. "I couldn't have read that right..." He looked over it again. And again. And again.
"Reno...no..."
Part of his mind was greatful that it hadn't been Elena, but that was greatly overshadowed by his grief. "Reno..."
"Who's Reno?"
Tseng looked up to see one of the local boys staring up at him. "Reno is an old friend of mine, who died yesterday."
And I'm going to go to the funeral, Tseng thought. I don't care if that Shinra bastard has my head for it. Turks stick together.
"You talked to her? Does that mean...?" Cloud asked confusion and hope clear on his face.
"I don't know... She was in a dream, the girl was covered in green aura." Sephiroth folded slender black clad arms around himself.
"If 'redeeming yourself' is what you're after then why are you going after a sword?" Cloud asked.
Sephiroth gave the other man a haughty glare: "I never said that's what I wanted. I need my damn sword back, there's someone I plan to use it on." Then seeing Cloud's shocked expression he continued: "My father, I want to make sure he stays dead the next time I see him."
"That can't be.. Sephiroth! I already..." The other man shrugged his argument aside.
"Don't be ridiculous. Thanks to him no one in my family dies easily." Sephiroth began walk again moving in faster pace then before while Cloud stood there trying to put his thoughts together.
"Wait! I'm coming!" Cloud shouted as he followed. I should stay with him, if Aeris beleives... then maybe I should too.
"How...how can I help?" Marlene stammered. "I don't know anything about this..."
Rufus smiled, a very friendly smile. "I'll teach you. You see, this world is in a very bad condition, and it has long been my family's duty to take care of that. As I can see, you are very concerned about the world, and I admire that."
Marlene gasped. This couldn't be the evil man her father had told her about. Not even his behaviour during the interogation would indicate such a thing. "I..."
"Hush now, Marlene. You will not be returning to the cell, and will only be in the labratory for short periods of time. All other times, you will be under my instruction. You are to learn all about your role in this grand design, and about your abilities. Perhaps, in time, you may convince even your father to join me. If there's anyone who can do that, it will be you."
Marlene cast her eyes downward, partly in thought, partly to block out the hideous skyline. "I don't know..."
Rufus ran his hand through his hair. "You will recieve the finest education the world has to offer, be treated to the greatest luxuries, and someday may inherit the most powerful office in history. But that one is if I deem you worthy. Marlene, you must understand where I am coming from. I...am very lonely."
She looked up at him. Rufus leaned against the wall, his normally teasing eyes filled with...sorrow? "Sir...Rufus..."
He knelt down to her. "I would like a companion. Someone to talk to Someone I can trust. And I trust you."
She put her hand on his shoulder. "All right. I'll be your friend. You won't be lonely anymore."
He looked deep into her eyes. "Thank you," he whispered.
***************
After a few minutes more, he showed her to her room.
"All this is for me? But...no, I can't do this," she whispered in awe. There were high vaulted celings, a four-poster bed, lavish thick carpet, and the most beautiful chest of drawers she had ever seen.
"That's not all," Rufus smirked. He opened the closet door. "It's bare now, but I'll have my outfitters make you anything you want. Marlene, I must thank you again. Without you...I don't know what I would do."
She smiled. "I...I'm a little tired right now. Can I take a nap?"
"Yes, my dear. Oh, and, to ease your rest, Tifa will make a full recovery." With that, he left her room.
As he entered his own room, Elena was there waiting for him. "I heard what you told her. Is it true?"
"I need an heir, Elena. And since you are unwilling to bear my child, I must turn elsewhere. Marlene Wallace will make an excellent heir, and, in the meantime, may be able to influence her father."
"But, Rufus..." Elena bit her lower lip. She had to choose her words carefully in dealing with him. "Did you really mean...all that stuff about being lonely?"
He laughed. "No, of course not. Such things are for the weak." He turned and smiled at her, but this was not the warm, friendly smile that Marlene had seen. This was a very frightening thing to behold, especially on such a handsome face. "Elena...You know what I want right now, though. Put that pretty mouth of yours to better use..."
Elena did as she was told, feeling utterly disgusted with herself.
"I hope you'll be all right Miss Lucrecia." Sandy said softly as she tucked a blanket around the unconscious form. She had taken the woman to one of the beds upstairs so she could rest in comfort.
As the woman slept nightmares and plagued her mind. The failures and misjudgements of her prolonged life always haunted Lucrecia even when she slept. She felt the desperation and logning of the one man she truly loved. The sins of both husband and son, as if she had committed them herself. And the fear and uncetainity of the new life her son longed for.
But Lucrecia would not cry like always. She clutched the pillow in a iron grip, this time could be different. Sephiroth... her dear son.
"He has a second chance."
The words whispered in sleeping mind, gave her this once a peaceful rest.
******
"See I managed to get us out of that.. so maybe I'm not so hopeless after all!" James said with a grin.
"I'm not not letting you steer."
"Aww! B-but!" James started to protest.
"Let's just go." Vincent said jumping into the boat. James pouted miserably but complied never the less.
"I never get to steer..."
As Lucrecia dreamed, memories flooded her mind.
***************
34 YEARS AGO
"But...you didn't even let me finish!!" the gangly young man demanded.
The teacher glared at him. "You have had fair warning. No one is interested in your cloning idea. Now sit DOWN!!"
Lucrecia cringed at the teacher's tone. It was the first day of college, and already this man was on the bad side of the most respected scientist of Midgar University.
After class, she went over to the man. "I heard what you said. I really don't think that was fair what he did."
The man shrugged. "I'm used to it."
"Are you really serious about wanting to create the geneticially perfect human?"
"Of course...and if you even THINK about mocking me, I know some very powerful people."
Lucrecia took a step back. "I...that wasn't what I was going to say. That's always been my dream, too."
The man's eyes brightened behind his thick glasses, which were about three sizes too big for his small face. "R...really? No kidding?"
She smiled. "I can even show you my notes sometime. Want to meet me in the library at five tonight?"
He nodded frantically. "Right by the front desk. I'll see you there." With that, he started to dash off.
"Wait!!" she called after him. "What's your name? Mine's Lucrecia."
"I'm Hojo."
"You trust me don't you? You and I have working together for so long dear Lucrecia." Hojo smiled with almost warmth at the hesitant young woman.
"But... our baby. What if something goes wrong?" She protested feebly.
"I thought," he said with a hint of ice in his voice. "That creating a genetically perfect human was your dream? I am giving you a opportunity to be a part of the greatest scientific experiment in your career Lucrecia."
"Y-your right of course I'm sorry." She turned and prepared to leave the room.
"Where are you going?" Hojo snapped.
"Vincent said he wanted to tell me something." Lucrecia saw a hard glitter come over his eyes.
"We have no time for that. We must get started, you can see that Turk another time." Lucrecia looked ready to protest be quickly retreated from that option.
"I understand." She replied as Hojo led her by the arm to the laboratory.
*****
THE PRESENT...
"We should think of some plan to look for the others..." Red XII said thoughtfully.
"We could just split everyone up and search in different areas." Yuffie said obviously impatient to come to a conclusion.
"I don't like that. We'd become even more vulnerable then." Reeve pointed out.
"Who sez I can't fight those Shinra bastards on my own!" Barret challenged. "We aren't weak, we can take 'em!"
"We aren't invulnerable either." Red XIII snapped back.
"Well there can't be that many places those fools would go. Why don't we narrow them down and all go to look in each place." Everyone turned in surprise at the sound of Cid actually sounding intelligent.
"What?! Why the hell are you all looking at me like that! @#$%!"
As the giant craft arrived in Rocket Town, various crews ran out to check on their beloved Captain Highwind. Sensing this, Cid burst from the door with a shout of "I'm OK!!!"
Yuffie rolled her eyes. "Show-off egomaniac," she muttered.
As the ragtag band of rebels walked to Cid's house, Shera noticed one member seperated from the rest. She went over to him.
"Reeve, are you all right?"
Reeve turned to look at her. "I just need some time by myself, OK?"
She nodded. "But hurry back to the house. I'll put some tea on and start on dinner. Can't plan on an empty stomach, that's what the Captain always says!!"
When she was gone, Reeve sighed. "I try to be so many different things...but I can't keep it all up..."
He leaned against a tree and reflected on the day he was hired into the Shinra Corporation...
********
"So, Jan-Michael Reeve, right? Pleased to meet you."
Reeve smiled and shook the President's hand. "It's an honor, sir. But...I have to ask you...why was I hired? The other applicants were much better qualified, and--"
The President raised his hand, calling for silence. "Take a seat, Reeve, and I'll discuss that with you." When Reeve did as he was told, the older man continued. "You were selected for a very important reason. Out of all the applicants, you are the only one who fit our specific qualifications."
Something in his voice unnerved Reeve. "And that would be what, sir?"
The President laughed. "You are a simple man, Reeve. I admire that in a man of your position."
Reeve was stunned. "Sir...? What do you mean?"
"To put it bluntly, Reeve, the office of City Management is a sham. You are to be under the direct control of the higher-ups at all times."
With that revelation, Reeve was determined to change things even more than he had been. But he could only do things subtly. As it was, his true intentions were made clear very quickly.
"All I wanted to do was give those people something to live for...some quality of life..."
After years of barely dodging the bullet (both figuratively and literally, he was sure those 'incidents' were not accidents), the final straw was broken.
Sector Seven was destroyed.
His only consolation was that someone had discovered a way out, and had led several hundred people to safety, but that was hardly the relief that Reeve wanted. The human loss was still unbelieveable, and to top it off, those bastards didn't even care. "They never cared..." he whispered. "Never in their spoiled rotten lives did they ever give a damn for the common folk."
He had to join AVALANCHE, it was the only way. But when he was taken prisoner by Scarlet and Heiddiger, the secret was out. They had both long suspected him of harboring enemy sympathies, and they beat a full confession out of him.
If AVALANCHE hadn't show up when they had, and defeated the two sadistic executives, Reeve knew that he would have been executed very soon. His skin crawled just thinking about it. Those two would have found the most painful, disgusting way to kill him, and delighted in it.
"Reeve?" He turned sharply. Yuffie was standing there, hands on her hips. "Are you OK?"
He took a step back. "O...of course I am. Why wouldn't I be? We're screwed, that's all. We're dealing with a goddamned godboy!! He gets blasted by one of the most powerful things on the face of the Planet, and he shows up a few days later with only a limp to show for it!! Shit, this is ridiculous!!"
Yuffie was a bit nervous. She had never heard Reeve swear like that, or get so angry. "Reeve..."
He fell to his knees, sobbing. "I...I couldn't help the people in Sector Seven...I've spent my whole life trying to make life better for people, and they spit in my face...I'm a traitor to both sides...I don't know what to do..."
Yuffie hugged him. "You're not a traitor to us anymore. Besides, that's long forgotten. Just...just come inside, OK? There's a storm coming, and...Shera's cooking dinner, and we need you to help with stragedy, and to decide who goes to look for Cloud and Vincent..."
Reeve sniffled. "I...thanks, Yuffie. I'll be OK now, I just...needed a good cry. Sometimes I think about everything that company's done, and I just want to scream. Don't worry."
She stood up and giggled. "I wasn't worried. Come on, your tea's getting cold."
Cloud sighed after their confrontation he and Sephiroth had lapsed into complete silence. And the chilling cold wind didn't help the boy feel any better. Cloud bit his lip trying to suppress his shivers. It was colder than usual, the wind was beginning to pick up at the same time.
"Great... Now there's a storm coming." Sephiroth cursed watching the storm clouds gather.
"What are we going to do?" Cloud asked with clear dread in his voice.
"What else can we do?" Sephiroth asked with a hint of ice in his voice. "Find some shelter." His eyes clearly watching the reaction on Cloud's face.
Cloud's eyes narrowed but he bit back a curse and folded slender arms around himself. "Oh I'm sorry for being so ignorant mighty Sephiroth-sama." He replied sarcastically.
"We have no time for your stupid bantering." Sephiroth shot back quickening his pace nearly to a run.
"Stupid?" Cloud said outraged. "You started it!" Sephiroth said nothing but his lips twitched slightly upward in what could have appeared as a smile.
******
Vincent stared upward at the clouded sky with a inward curse of his luck so far. It appeared as if a storm were brewing quickly over them. James clutched Vincent's arm with a iron grip, green eyes wide with fright.
"I...I don't like storms." He whimpered when Vincent tried to pull him off.
"We'll just have to reach land more quickly then. Don't worry." Vincent replied with a hint of reassurance.
"This going to be tougher then we thought..." Red XIII grumbled looking over the map of the world. What was left of Avalanche were all gathered around Cid's table eating a dinner Shera had quickly prepared for them.
"Humph! The problem is that we don't much about them! Both Vincent and Cloud were pretty freaking antisocial." Yuffie pointed out while drinking her tea.
"Well we could try Nibelheim first.. since it's so close." Reeve suggested.
"Do we have to? That place gives me the creeps." Yuffie said shuddering.
"Ya know... what if Cloud went back to the crater?" Barret suggested.
"There's no reason for him to.. it doesn't make sense." Red XIII replied his tail swishing audibly in the silence that followed.
"Well we should look anyway... that kid has always been strange. We'll go to Nibelheim tommorrow first though." Cid responded with a shrug. The others nodded and turned their complete attention to the meal set before them.
"Rufus-sama..."
Rufus looked at Elena with disgust. "Are you still here? I told you to get out!"
Elena looked down. "Sorry, sir, but there's something I have to ask you...Just one thing, then I'll go..."
"What?"
She gulped, then winced at the bitter taste still in her mouth. "Sir...I...need to know if you're going to kill Marlene."
Rufus sat at his deck and toyed with a pencil. "I will if I am forced to. But I will try to avoid that at all costs. She could very well be my heir, if she is properly groomed to be so, and to kill my heir would be, frankly, stupid." After a pause, he leaned back in the leather chair. "Why do you ask? Do you think you could stop me?"
She took a step back. "S...sir? No, I was just wondering...that's all..."
He sighed. "Good. Because if you were planning on stopping me from doing anything, that would be treason. But you realize that, don't you, Elena?" The last sentence was delivered in a very mocking tone.
**********
Elena went straight to her apartment. "No...why do I keep doing that? I don't understand it...I hate that man...but something keeps me going back..."
She looked out the window. It was about three in the afternoon, but, as always, it was black as midnight in Midgar. "Tseng..." she whispered.
"Tseng!!! Oh, no!!!" He had probably gotten the letter by now, and, from his loyalty, was probably on his way to Midgar!!
*Makes a Pathetic Attempt At a Title*
At least this time they were at the right place, was somewhat of a consolation to James and Vincent. It was bitterly cold, occasionally the two men felt the light tapping of hail upon their bodies.
Vincent's crimson eyes took in the sight of the frozen land carefully, as James sat looking puzzled at his strange companion.
"I think..." Vincent said finally. "I see a cabin. We should be able to get there before it gets worse."
"How can you see anything?" James squinted only seeing a dark outline ahead.
"Just trust me." Vincent replied evasively.
*****
"Dinner." Rude announced quietly placing the tray on the nightstand next to Tifa's bed.
Tifa managed a small smile. "Good. I'm actually kinda hungry."
Rude seemed to smiled a bit shyly in response and quickly sat down next to her. Tifa found herself staring at him with uncertainity. He seemed to be more mechanical then before like as if he were debating something inwardly.
Rude proved his inattention when the spoon dropped about four or five times in the next few minutes. Concerned Tifa blurted: "Rude what's wrong with you? Are you all right?"
The Turk stared stared downward for a moment and then started speaking, his voice somewhat shaky. "Tifa... about Kalm I just wantes to..."
"Rude!" Reno yelled from the doorway. "Rufus wants to see you, now." Reno clearly emphasized the word now.
Rude leapt up from his seat and looked at Tifa meaningfully before moving to the doorway. Then his face became blank and expressionless, as he strode past Reno who smirked mockingly at the girl still bound to her bed. He watched Rude walk down the hallway, and then turned back to regard Tifa.
"Just doing this for his own good. You understand don't you Lockheart?"
"Thank you," Tseng said monotonally as he paid his fare to Midgar.
"I have to admit, I'm a bit surprised," the captain said. "Not many people wanting to go to Midgar anymore."
"I know. But a friend of mine...passed away yesterday, so I have to go pay my respects."
"Ah. I understand. I'm sorry."
Tseng went into his cabin and flopped down on the bed. "I still can't believe it," he whispered. "Reno..." But he was more concerned about "Betty". As he drifted to sleep, he remembered the last time they had all gathered...
********
"So, this is it, right?" Reno asked as he came in the door. "We're all gonna die soon, and there ain't a thing we can do about it..."
Rude followed his partner. "Reno, there's no use in talking about it. Just try to enjoy what you have left."
Elena stood outside, staring at the sky. Meteor was due to hit in less than two hours, so the Turks had gathered together for what they were sure would be the last time.
Strong ams wrapped around her waist, and she turned to see Tseng, his head on her shoulder. "Elena...come inside."
She gazed at the sky again. "It's so close...almost here..."
Five minutes from Time Zero, the four huddled around a small TV set to watch the sattelite pictures of the approaching doom.
Tseng cleared his throat. "I have to tell all of you that, even though I couldn't be with you these past few weeks, it's been an honor serving with you."
There was silence for a moment, when Reno added "Yeah. You guys are my family, you know? I mean, I grew up in the slums, and you guys are the best people I've ever known."
Rude nodded. "Yeah. It's been an honor. Even these last weeks..."
Elena bowed her head. "I...I know I'm new, and you don't really consider me a real Turk, but I'm very proud of what we've done...and I'm glad that, since we're all gonna die, at least we're together."
Their attention returned to the TV, where the clock now read :15. Elena reached out and gripped Tseng's hand tightly. He looked over and saw that Reno was doing the same to Rude, so he took Reno's free hand in his.
As the clock ticked to zero, Elena whispered "It's been an honor..."
About half an hour later, Tseng joined Elena outside.
"It's gone..." she whispered. "The Lifestream totally destroyed it..."
"Elena, come back inside. It's freezing out here. Besides, Reno's almost off the PHS. You can call your parents and tell them--"
"My parents are dead!" Elena shouted. "I got the message yesterday..."
Tseng took her hands in his. "What happened?"
Elena avoided his gaze. "They...killed themselves. They knew that Sector One would be the first to go, so they sent me this" she gestured to her necklace "and a letter, and shot themselves. They didn't even try to escape..."
Tseng took her close to him. "I'm so sorry..."
She pulled back. "I don't want your pity! I can survive on my own well enough!!! Just because they were rich snots doesn't mean shit!! I've proven that, haven't I?"
"Elena...I would comfort any of my comrades that needed it."
She looked down. "I...I'm sorry, Tseng. I'm just having a hard time. I mean, we were all so sure that we would die today...and now, to adjust to an actual life ahead of us is just...I feel like I'm losing it..."
He sighed. "Elena...I'm sorry. I really am. I just want to help you..."
****
Elena remembered the rest of that night. In celebration of their furthered lives, Reno and Rude got completely wasted on Mideel vodka and passed out in the living room. As for Tseng and herself...that was the first and only time they had made love. She still considered that her first time, even though she had been with Rufus several times, and had endured the Initiation into the Turks...
She sighed and looked out the window. "Tseng...turn back now while you still can."
"Look here, Lockheart," the redheaded Turk said as he flopped down in the metal chair. "I donno what the hell is goin' on wit' you and Rude, but it ain't allowed. Got it?"
Tifa looked away. "I have no intention of having a relationship with him. Or any of you, for that matter."
Reno grinned. "Oh, yeah? You still hung up over that spikey-headed freak? Y'know, he abandoned you. Izzat the kinda person you wanna be with?"
"No!! He didn't abandon us!! No one knew we would be invaded!"
"He knew. That's why he left. Kinda goes to show you don't know shit about him."
Tifa closed her eyes tightly. "He wouldn't have known. I know you're lying to me."
Reno leaned forward. "Really? Ya don't think a guy with SOLDIER training wouldn't see us?"
"He...was never in SOLDIER..."
"Yeah, but he still had the training. Ya didn't think about that, did ya? Look, I gotta go. I just hadda get Rude outta here. You think about what I said, though. Yeah, you'll see that freak for what he really is..."
Tifa sighed and looked at the unatteneded tray;and was about to call for a nurse when she heard the sound of her room's door opening.'Great now what?' Tifa thought irritated, she had enough of strange visitors today.
"Tifa?" The shy voice of Marlene reached the young woman's ears.
"Marlene! What are you doing here?" Tifa exclaimed. The young girl smiled nervously as the nurse that had escorted Marlene there left the room. Tifa blinked unsure of what she was seeing; the little girl looked like a princess from a fairy tale. She was wearing a purple silk dress with matching ribbons in her hair.
"I was captured." She replied solemnly. "But don't worry everything is okay now." Tifa stared as Marlene climbed into the chair next to the bed. 'Doesn't she see how those two sentences contradict?' Tifa thought confused.
******
"Well this should do until the storm blows over." Sephiroth remarked. Cloud stared at him with a odd look. 'Why is he so freaking light hearted all of a sudden?'
"You learn to appreciate your existence when it's been taken away from you a couple of times, Strife." Sephiroth replied to the young man's unspoken question.
Cloud sighed and looked around the cave, he and Sephiroth had taken shelter in. They was snow stacked thickly around the entrance, but deeper revealed frozen ground but relatively clean of snow. The spiky haired youth shivered and sat down, wrapping arms around himself in a attempt to ward off the chill.
Sephiroth took one look at the shivering Cloud, and immediately undid the clasp on his black cape. He swung it gracefully off his shoulders as he moved closer to Cloud. The silver haired man held the cape out to him, with a expression that would not take no for a answer. "Here just take this and don't argue with me, Strife."
This is so freaking stupid..." Cloud complained wrapping the cloak Sephiroth gave him tightly around his body. He stared at Sephiroth with a irritated expression but the other man was completely unfazed. Instead Sephiroth seemed to be studying him with a thoughtful expression. Cloud glared at the older man waiting for him to respond in some way. Exasperated the blonde hared boy turned away, that was when Sephiroth spoke:
"You do realize that you look like a chocobo?" Cloud blinked a few times in disbelief, Cloud wanted to yell about the freaking cold, the stupidity of wasting time for a sword, and everything else that was wrong with that man. The man that sat there perfectly calm and unaffected by the cold.
"How do I look like a chocobo?" Cloud asked grinding his teeth.
"Your hair, don't be stupid." Sephiroth replied with a hint of mockery in his voice.
"I do not look like a damn chocobo." Cloud said with a hiss in his voice. "And what would you know about chocobos?"
"I had one once. It was a great fool just like you." Sephiroth shrugged.
"I feel honored to be compared to the Great Sephiroth's chocobo." Cloud said sarcastically.
"It didn't last long, but then nothing does." Sephiroth continued as if Cloud had not spoken at all.
********
"Wark!" A metal cage rattled and shook as a young Sephiroth jumped back in shock. The boy peered cautiously into the cage in front of him. And found himself staring into big blue eyes, surrounded by yellow fluffy feathers. Sephiroth smiled and looked down at the label of the cage it said:
Specimen #17 Species: Chocobo
The white hared boy gazed at the 'chocobo' with curiosity, it was just another of Hojo's specimens for a experiment. However the boy couldn't help thinking it was cute. Sephiroth looked around the small room lined with cages, as he thought. 'I'll be all ready be in trouble with the professor for sneaking out of my room again. So I may as well...'
Sephiroth smiled at the thought of Hojo's angry face, he knew that Hojo would make him pay dearly for any trouble he caused. However the boy simply did not care, oh yes the punishment was severe, enough to make the boy want to rip Hojo apart. But Sephiroth knew that he couldn't, not now, so this would have to suffice.
Sephiroth smiled as he opened the giant bird's cage, the animal immediately jumped out warking furiously. It leapt at the boy flapping its feathers wildly. Sighing Sephiroth held out the green that he had taken from the animal food room. The chocobo chirped in delight and ate it out of his hand. 'Maybe' Sephiroth thought smiling 'This was't such a bad idea after all.
Sephiroth gave the chocobo a witheringglare, forbidding himself to crack a smile at its antics.
"You're practically a dog, you overstuffed pile of feathers." Sephiroth grumbled. It had been a month since the young boy met the chocobo. Every day he visited the giant birdand snuck back to his room, luckily without being caught.The chocobo unfazed by the boy's grumbling continued to wark and chirp. While leaping about the room, gazing at the greens Sephiroth held in his hands. Finally it just walked up the Sephiroth and sat down next to him pretendling to be uninterested in the food.
"Huh?" Sephiroth blinked surprised by the chocobo's strange tactic. He enjoyed watching the chocobo think of new ways to earn the food he brought for it. The chocobo chirped and stared at Sephiroth with a cute pout in its wide blue eyes. The white hared boy smirked, "Do you honestly think that will work?" He laughed then stopped as the chocobo pressed its head against his chest, gently pushing him. Sephiroth smiled then reached to pet it, but the chocobo seemed to take advantage of that knocking the greens out of the boy's hands. Then leaned down to eat them before Sephiroth could respond.
"What did I expect from a dumb animal? Of course the food was all you wanted." Sephiroth snapped not able to hide the hurt on his face. But the chocobo surprised him again, after it finished eating it looked up at Sephiroth again. Chirping it pressed its head into Sephiroth affectionately. Sephiroth could not keep the smile off his face as he petted its soft feathers.
******
"Sephiroth we have another test for you." Hojo said with the slightest hint of excitment in his cold voice.
Sephiroth looked up from the book he was reading coldly. "You want me to fight another one of your creations right?"
"To test your strength, we must keep President Shinra happy about your progress." Hojo said irritated.
"Fine." Sephiroth shrugged listlessly and followed the scientist to the "arena" where the boy was constantly out on display to validate his worth to President Shinra. A assistant handed the young boy his sword the Murasame, which had been created by Hojo himself for Sephiroth. He stepped into the arena, watching the doors slid shut protecting those not partcipating. Somewhat curious he looked over to the wall where another door was sliding open.
Wark!" The sound was not the usual cheerful chirp, more like a strangled cry. Sephiroth's bright green eyes stared in horror as he was greeted by tortured round blue eyes. The creature stepped forward bearing no resemblence to the chocobo Sephiroth knew. There were no fluffy yellow feathers, they were replaced with crystalline blue spikes. The creature's beak,with a elongated and sharp. It's legs were twisted and gnarled, feet wit sharp claws. It walked up to the stunned boy and immediately sat down infront of him. It writhed as if in pain for a moment, then looked up at Sephiroth hissing. The creature pushed against Sephiroth roughly cutting the boy with it beak.
Sephiroth instinctively reached for his sword at the feeling of pain. He jumped backwards, and saw that the creature had not moved. It was waiting, he realized at that moment, it was waiting to be killed."You want this? You've earned it." Sephiroth asked as a tear slid down his cheek unbidden. The creature remained unmoving, only staring with wide blue eys, as Sephiorth raised the sword and lowered it. The blade piercing deep into the disfigured chocobo's body.
"What do you mean everything is all right?" Tifa asked. She couldn't believe this was happening.
Marlene shifted in the chair. "Rufus treats me nice. He's not really a bad man, he's very very lonely."
Tifa's eyes widened. "I don't know what he's been telling you, but it isn't true. Rufus Shinra is one of the most evil people in history."
Marlene looked down. "He was sad...I could sense it...his eyes weren't shining like they did before..."
Tifa sucked in a breath. Could it be true? No, that was impossible. But then, Marlene had a sixth sense about these things... "What did he give you?"
Marlene jumped down from the chair and twirled around. "Isn't it pretty? He gave me this dress and a whole bunch of other stuff, just for being his friend!! He's real nice."
Tifa winced. "Marlene...I still think he's using you...just don't tell him anything important, OK?"
Marlene giggled. "OK! And he said you'll be out of here soon, so don't worry, Tifa!!" With that, the little girl scampered out of the room and began holding an animated conversation with the guard.
Tifa bit her lower lip. "Just be OK..."
Sandy paced nervously in her home, waiting for Lucrecia to wake up. The strange woman always seemed to be so sad and lonely. Sandy couldn't help but to feel pity for her and hope that Lucrecia finds some sort of peace soon.
A sharp knock on the door interrupted the young woman's thoughts, causing her to stop pacing surprised. She hurried to the door wondering if Sephiroth and Cloud were back all ready. As she pulled the door open a slight figure in a black suit practically fell in. Sandy could not suppress a scream of fright as the blue hared young man scampered to the fireplace.
Her gaze was averted from him as she heard a quiet voice from outside. He stood there seemingly unnaffected by the storm outside and his companion's strange behavior.
"Excuse me. My companion and I are in need of a place to stay until this storm blows over. May we stay here for a little while." He said politely with no visible strain in his cool voice.
*******
"That's sick." Cloud commented as Sephiroth finished his story.
"Thank you for you critical opinion." Sephiroth replied sarcastically. A frown creased his lips as Sephiroth looked Cloud over. "You don't look so good." He remarked as if commenting on the weather.
"Excuse me, but us lowly humans are affected by things like temperature." Cloud scowled with a glare that seemed to say: 'What are you going to do about it?'
Sephiroth seemed to shrug and then moved towards the spiky hared youth. Then grabbed Cloud pulling his body close to his own.
"W-what are you doing?!" Cloud said pushing Sephiroth away with a startled cry.
"Body Heat. It's the only way I can help keep you warm." Sephiroth said with a cool stare.
"I don't need you to-" Cloud was cut off as a black gloved hand slapped his face hard. Shocked blue eyes met angry green ones, as Sephiroth spoke again his voice hard.
"Do you want to freeze to death out here Strife? Unless you have a better idea I'd advise you to shut up and do what I say. I don't need you boy so I'm not going to listen to your bitching. Now what are you going to do?"
"There you are, sir."
Tseng thanked the man and stepped onto the dock. After four months of abscence, he was back in Midgar.
He quickly made his way to the pay-PHS and dialed Elena's personal number. It was probably monitored, just like their official PHS's, but at least the caller would be traced to a public spot.
After five rings, Elena answered. "Hello, Elena speaking."
"Elena. Oh, it feels so good to hear your voice."
She gasped. "I...is this Tseng?"
He would have smiled were it not for the sorrowful purpose of his journey. "Yeah. 'Lena, I needed to come to the funeral. When is it?"
"Tseng...there won't be a funeral. Reno's alive. Hojo cloned him."
"What?" Tseng almost dropped the phone. "But...it's only been a day and a half!"
"I know...he's somehow perfected doing it in a few hours...I really don't know how, and frankly, I don't want to know. Look...you have to stay away. I can't tell you why, but Rufus has completely lost it. He'll kill you if he finds out you're here."
"Elena...OK, but I have to see you again. Meet me at Location C in two hours."
A pause, then "OK, Tseng. Just watch your back."
Sandy could only nod mutely as Vincent Valentine, entered the cabin shaking off the snow on his shoulders. She couldn't help but to stare at the strange elusive man, wondering how much weirder the day would be. Sandy was brought back to reality however with an insistent whine coming from Vincent's companion, James.
"Please, please could I get something to eat?" James asked hounding the poor young woman before she had a chance to reply.
"Uhm sure." Sandy said quickly heading for the kitchen. After a few minutes she had a dinner assembled for the blue hared boy and the cloaked man. The latter however waved if off politely saying he was contented with the hospitality given already. Suddenly out of her strange anxiety she blurted..
"Are you here for Sephiroth, Cloud, and Lucrecia?"
James didn't react at all, but Vincent leapt to his feet. "How do you know about Cloud and Lucrecia? And what about Sephiroth?" He demanded firmly but his volume did not go any higher than usual.
"I just thought that I've been getting so many strangers today, that they all must be well connected." She stammered. "I found Sephiroth a few days ago and Cloud and Lucrecia arrived yesterday looking for him. Cloud and Sephiroth left soon after but Lucrecia is upstairs."
"Lucrecia…" Vincent moved quickly up the wooden steps ignoring Sandy's protest that Lucrecia was sleeping. He found however that it was the truth; Lucrecia lay in one of the beds sleeping quite peacefully. He moved silently, to stand beside it, upon reaching his destination one hand reached down to gently stroke her hair. Surprisingly she stirred, gentle eyes focusing on him as Lucrecia woke up and smiled.
********
"What is it you want? I am busy." Hojo asked irritably at the President's sudden appearance.
"Shinra doesn't seem to have enough power, more specifically human soldiers. The Troops are a pitiful marching band, Soldier is pathetic, and the Turks seem quite disloyal. They are slowly taking the path Tseng took awhile ago." Rufus explained folding slim arms across his chest. "They are unreliable."
"I could just clone more loyal Turks, but that won't satisfy you will it?" Hojo interested in what his own greedy specimen had to say.
The young man's smirk grew at Hojo's reply and he nodded in admission. "Yes that is correct. I was thinking of Sephiroth clones."
"If you really want that then I require that specimen's body intact." Hojo shrugged with disinterest.
"If that's possible…" The President mused quietly.
"Of course it is." Hojo stared directly at Rufus making the man shift uncomfortably despite himself. "That specimen is thus far my greatest work, he will survive indefinately."