The Planet's Enemy: Chapter 3
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ff7_fanfictionTitle: The Planet's Enemy
Author: Ebonrune
Rating: PG13
Warnings: Possible swears and violence
Disclaimer: I of course, do not own Final Fantasy VII or any of the compilation. That pleasure belongs to Square-Enix.
Status: Complete
Summary: It's been half a year since Omega was sent back to its rest and everyone has moved on with their lives. As Cloud and his friends soon discover however, the past refuses to remain buried.
Author's Notes: This story occurs post Dirge of Cerberus and makes references to it, as well as Crisis Core, the original Final Fantasy VII, Advent Children Complete, and Before Crisis--a game released on cellphones only in Japan. As well, I've chosen to use the fan names (according to the Final Fantasy wiki) for Cloud's various swords, since they don't have official names and 'Tsurugi' is Japanese for 'sword'. As the swords are not labeled which is which on the wiki, here's the picture for your reference.
Prequel: Ties of Friendship
Chapter Links: One Two Four Five Six Seven Eight Nine Ten Eleven Twelve Thirteen Fourteen Fifteen
It was late afternoon when Fenrir idled to a stop beside Seventh Heaven--Cloud's attempt at being stealthy--and Cloud got off his bike. Or rather, tried to.
"You....can let go now, Zack."
The ex-SOLDIER whimpered and reluctantly released his friend, then toppled sideways off Fenrir to sit on the ground acting traumatized. "Drives like a crazy person...."
"Oh come on! I'm not that bad!" Cloud got off and looked down at Zack, then sighed. "You're as bad of a drama queen as Yuffie, did you teach her that?"
"That's drama king, thanks." Zack climbed to his feet and brushed himself off. ".....I think I ripped the shirt."
"Wouldn't be surprised." Cloud looked away from Zack then as the front door of Seventh Heaven burst open and Marlene and Denzel came tearing out to latch themselves to either side of him.
"Guess you guys really missed me, huh?" Cloud dropped his driving goggles around his neck and put his hands on the children's shoulders, acknowledging the affection and feeling a pang of guilt. For all that neither child was his, Denzel for all intents and purposes essentially was and who was he to just up and vanish anyway? He didn't have Geostigma anymore, so he had no reason not to spend more time at home.
This one isn't really my fault though. Cloud thought, looking down at them. Sephiroth was the one who took me away from them this time.....oh, how am I going to protect them when the enemy is myself....?
Denzel looked up at his guardian. "Tifa's been really worried about you, Cloud." He told him while Marlene nodded agreement, her face still hidden against Cloud's clothing. "Did you get lost on the way home?"
"Hm....I guess I did." Cloud ruffled Denzel's hair affectionately. "Sorry about that, you two."
"Hey Cloud," Zack swayed on his feet, prior trauma seemingly all forgotten. “won't you introduce me?"
"Mm....right." Cloud gave Marlene a gentle nudge. "Marlene, Denzel." He motioned to Zack. "This is my friend, Zack. We met up while I was on my way back home."
"Why're you dressed like that, Mr. Zack?" Denzel asked curiously.
"Oh....err.....monsters got my clothes, couldn't get ones that fit at the time." Zack rubbed the back of his head sheepishly, then made a face when the movement made the back of his overly tight shirt rip further.
Marlene let go of Cloud and walked boldly up to Zack, then she planted her hands on her hips and stared at him. "You're really tall." She stated after a few seconds.
"Oh? Well, if you say so." Zack crouched down to her level. "That's a nice hair ribbon, by the way. Reminds me of an old and dear friend of mine."
Marlene reached back to touch the pink ribbon she always wore in her hair. "You knew Aerith?" She asked curiously.
"Mm hmm." Zack smiled and nodded. He looked about to expand on his explanation further, but the door of the bar opened again then and Tifa herself stepped out.
"Cloud...." She began, but then trailed off when she caught sight of Zack. "Kids....please go inside for a few minutes. I need to have an adult talk with these two."
"Cloud's not in trouble is he?" Denzel asked, letting go of Cloud to obediently head inside.
"No, he's not in trouble. Just please go inside now." Tifa waited for both Marlene and Denzel to obey her, and then she hopped down the steps to approach them. ".....Cloud said you’d died." She said, looking at Zack.
Zack straightened up again and rubbed his head. "Err, well...."
"He did die, Tifa." Cloud spoke up softly. "This is a clone body....I’ll give more details once Vincent and Yuffie get here, I still need to explain to them too. But....this is Zack. Can’t clone a soul....."
"Can't clone a soul?" Tifa looked at Zack dubiously and raised her eyebrows.
"Yeah, that's right!" Zack sulked a bit and huffed. "Look, I do in fact have some idea how this happened, but I'll tell that when Cloud tells his story." Cloud blinked at him, but Zack ignored his friend's curious expression.
Tifa was silent for several seconds, but then she sighed heavily and planted her hands on her hips. "Fine. First order of business is getting you clothes that fit properly. There's nothing here, so it looks like Cloud will have to take you shopping." She gave the blond a firm look. "And you'd better come right back here afterward."
"Yes, mother." Cloud dodged the swat Tifa aimed at him. "Let's go, Zack."
"Err....is there any other way? Like.....a car or something?"
".......Oh come on, you big baby." Cloud moved back to his bike. "I'll have to drive slower in town anyway.....and we need to drop by Aerith's church."
Zack perked and moved to follow Cloud. "In the slums? What for?"
Cloud glanced at him and pulled his goggles on, settling forward on the bike in preparation for turning it on. "Your sword's there."
"Aww, Cloud." Zack climbed on behind him and grabbed hold. "That's so swee--" Cloud turned the bike on and peeled out. "EEEAHHH!"
A small smile tugged at Tifa's mouth, knowing perfectly well that Cloud was obviously driving like that to scare his friend, as he was perfectly capable of driving sanely when he felt like it. She turned to head into the bar again, shaking her head slightly. While she personally had doubts that this mysteriously appearing clone somehow had the real Zack's soul, she still allowed herself to feel happy for Cloud, as he'd spoken as if Zack had been his closest--possibly only--friend in Shinra. I hope things work out for the best. She thought.
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The Turks were preparing to leave Icicle Inn when the call came.
"Yes, sir. I understand. Thank you, sir." The conversation was a brief one, and then Tseng hung up and looked at his team.
"Cloud has been found by a member of his team, so we no longer have a need to search for him and can return to our original objective."
"That's great!" Reno said with feeling. "Y'think that's why the old vampire left in such a hurry this morning?"
"Possibly." Tseng turned toward the helicopter.
Reno and the others trailed after. "Maybe we should've asked him if he knew were the boss was....." The red-head half-muttered.
"If Veld was able to hide from us, then I highly doubt Vincent would know any more than we do. That aside" And Tseng turned to look at his team with a firm look. "he is a member of Cloud's team and cannot be trusted."
"Eeeh." Reno glanced at his fellows, then looked back at Tseng. "Look Director, I didn't like the guy. He's way too damn snooty, but....we're not still against them, are we?"
"Are you implying that the Turks can't handle this ourselves, Reno?" Tseng asked calmly.
"I'm implying that extra eyes on the lookout for the boss wouldn't be such a bad idea." Reno responded. He looked at Rude and Thessa again. "Right? We can use'm to help find the boss!"
"You're such an idiot, Reno." Thessa said with exasperation. "Former rebels led by a former Infantry scout would be about as much help as a flock of headless chocobos."
"That 'flock of headless chocobos' saved the friggin' world, ya know!" Reno shot back. "And Vince--"
"Enough!" Tseng snapped. "Start it up, Reno. Our next destination is North Corel."
".......You got it, Director." Reno stepped past him to head into the cockpit, Rude following him in. Within five minutes, the chopper was taking off into the sky to head to its next destination.
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"I'm tiiiiired!" Yuffie whined while she walked beside Vincent into Edge.
"You've been sitting all day." Vincent responded.
"And hanging on while trying not to throw up!"
Vincent gave the young ninja a dry look. "You did throw up." He reminded her. "Twice, in fact. The only blessing was neither time was on me."
Cait, who they'd picked up from WRO HQ when Vincent had dropped by to let Reeve know Cloud had been found, snickered while Yuffie stuck her tongue out at Vincent and didn't otherwise respond. For a couple of minutes she was quiet, but then she started up again. "I'm huuungry....."
"We're almost to the bar. I'm sure Tifa will give you something to eat."
"But I'm hungry noooow!"
Vincent glanced at her out of the corner of his eyes. ".....The term 'suck it up' comes to mind." He commented mildly.
Yuffie glowered at him and planted her hands on her hips. "You don't have a sympathetic bone in your body, do you?"
"Have you said something I am supposed to feel sympathy toward?"
"Hmph." Yuffie crossed her arms and sulked. "......Aren't you tired and hungry too, Vinny?"
"Oh indeed, and there's a convenient meal walking right next to me."
"He's got yae there, lass." Cait commented with another snicker.
"Urk!" Yuffie gave a start, glared at him and then at Vincent. "That's not funny!"
A brow quirked. "......Here is the bar." He said instead and hurried his steps slightly to head inside. He was brought to a halt however by hands fisting solidly into his cloak.
"Hey...." Yuffie said, her tone lower and more serious. "Cloud's not here yet."
"I'm sure it's nothing to be concerned about, Yuffie." Vincent tugged at his cloak to get it free of her.
".......Vinny. What do you suppose he was doing in Nibelheim? And Zack popping up too.....it just seems kind of fishy."
Vincent sighed softly. "He'll tell us when he arrives, Yuffie. Now I thought you were hungry and tired?"
"........Fine." Yuffie let go of Vincent and sulked past him to head into the bar, leaving the older man with a puzzled expression on his face.
I wonder if it's possible to understand women..... He mused, following the young ninja inside.
"Welcome, you two." Tifa greeted them from behind the bar. "Are either of you the ones who found Cloud?"
Cait popped up from behind Vincent. "Hey! Yae forgot me!"
"That was me!" Yuffie said at the same time in response to Tifa, puffing up proudly. "Do I get anything?"
"Oh, hello Cait." Tifa greeted him, then she looked at Yuffie. "And you get a thank you and food and board for the night." She chuckled softly at Yuffie's immediate sulking, then turned her attention to Vincent, relieved to see she didn't have the problem looking at him that she had the other day and raised a brow. "Reeve told me you'd been sent off with the Turks. Did something happen, Vincent?"
"Yes, but I would much rather not discuss it right now." Vincent sat at the bar. "May I have some wine, Tifa?"
"Mm, of course." Tifa turned away. "Red or white?"
"Red, please."
Tifa looked over the options. "Any particular one?"
Vincent arched a brow. ".....Old?"
Tifa chuckled and uncorked a Vernoi to pour him a glass, then turned back to set on the bar in front of him. "Not picky, then?"
"Not in particular." Vincent slipped the stem between his two middle fingers to pick up the glass and smell the drink before taking a sip. "Yes, this is fine."
"Good to know." Tifa leaned on the bar, looking past Vincent to Yuffie who had sat herself with Cait at a table by the door, seemingly having forgotten what she had been complaining about on the way and was polishing her materia. Tifa looked back at Vincent then from the corner of her eyes. ".......So what do you think about Zack?" She asked softly.
"Him as a person or the fact that he was apparently dead for several years before this point?"
Tifa shrugged slightly and straightened up again. "Both, I suppose."
"Mm." Vincent swirled the liquid in the glass and took a sip while he considered his reply. "Yuffie had apparently been chasing him around before I arrived on the scene, she was exhausted but he was not even slightly winded. For his personality itself I could not really say, as our meeting was brief and rather casual. I suppose he comes across as rather cheerful and perhaps somewhat excitable."
"And the fact he's apparently been dead?" Tifa prompted.
"Cloud did not give much detail on that, though he said he would explain once we were all assembled here." He arched a brow at Tifa. "Although I don't know if he meant just us, or the entirety of the team."
"But what do you think of it, Vincent?"
Vincent tilted his head so some hair fell in front of one eye while he regarded Tifa with the other. "......They were all in front of Shinra Manor when I arrived, so one could suppose that Zack's re-appearance would have something to do with that cursed place."
Tifa blinked and then frowned deeply. "But how? Hojo's long gone and someone would have found something.....wouldn't they?"
Vincent shrugged and straightened up. "I've said it before, Tifa. Hojo was a brilliant scientist." He took another sip of his wine. "For the time being, an assumption that Zack is somehow connected to a project of the man's is not all that far fetched."
"Mm....." Tifa leaned back on the counter behind her and glanced at Yuffie and Cait again, who were at least pretending not to be paying attention. When she returned her attention to Vincent once more, she was still frowning. "One more question. When Cloud and Zack dropped by here before I sent them off to get Zack some decently fitting clothes, Cloud said 'you can't clone a soul'. What do you think of that?"
".....You certainly are filled with deep questions today, aren't you?" Vincent sighed softly and continued on without waiting for an answer. He looked down at the metal counter as he talked. "I think that is a question beyond any mortal's ability to truly answer, but my personal take is that it would be true enough. A body is made up with DNA, but a soul is....a soul. The most scientific of minds would deny the existence of such, because ghosts are rarely seen and harder to prove." He looked up at her again. "I think the question is, can you clone a mind? Is the brain where memories are forever stored, or is it merely the 'backup' for the soul? Who can say?"
Tifa was silent for several moments, and then she gave a frustrated sigh. "That just brings up more questions."
Vincent took another sip. "Then maybe you should wait for Cloud to tell us what happened."
Tifa pursed her lips and sighed again. She doubted Cloud's explanation would answer her real question, which was 'is this the real Zack'. She had only met the man once when he had come to Nibelheim with Sephiroth and a couple of infantrymen--one of whom had been Cloud. She didn't know Zack nearly well enough to know if there was anything off about him....but then, she hadn't known Cloud that well either, and she'd been able to tell something was wrong with him while he'd been claiming to be a SOLDIER. Her train of thought cut off when she heard the purring sound of Fenrir's idling engines side up to the bar and all attention turned to the door to wait.
Cloud stepped in first with his bike's saddlebags, his lips quirked in the faintest of smiles that none the less made Tifa's own expression soften a bit. Cloud was always so serious that seeing that mask break was like seeing the sun after a rainstorm. Her attention switched from Cloud however when Zack came in.
Zack was wearing a sleeveless light blue zip up sweatervest similar in design to Cloud's, as well as gray cargos. He was also carrying the Buster sword over his shoulder in a casual pose. A casual pose that was ruined quite thoroughly when Yuffie launched out of her seat to tackle him.
"Ugly Shinra SOLDIER!" She greeted him cheerfully in spite of her words, ignoring Zack having to flail to keep his balance. "Y'got any materia for me? Huh huh?"
Once Zack recovered from being ambushed and overbalanced, he gave her a bit of a strange look. "No I don't and that's not my wallet....y'know, since I don't have one yet."
Yuffie blushed and hopped away. "I-I knew that!" She stammered. "I just wanted to grope ya!"
Cloud had been trying not to laugh, but that set him off and he had to put his hand on the back of a nearby chair to support himself. "Okay....before I tell them anything else, you have to explain how you two know each other." He snickered.
"I beat him up in Wutai!" Yuffie puffed up proudly. "He was skulking around being all Shinra-y, but I taught him a lesson!"
"Err....yeah. You sure taught me." Zack put the sword down by the door. "It was during the Wutai war." He explained. "I was standing in front of the......Pagoda? I think that's what it's called." He rubbed his head, then continued. "And then Yuffie ambushed me and beat me up!"
"Yuffie beat you up." Cloud intoned flatly, arching a brow. "Zack.....she couldn't have been more than twelve at the time. There's no way she would've been a challenge."
Zack rubbed his head. "Erm well.....she was about.....ten or so...?"
"I'M WUTAI'S GREATEST WARRIOR!" Yuffie broke in, flailing. "I DID BEAT HIM UP, YOU SPIKY HEADED JERK!"
"When you were ten?!" There was no way Cloud was buying this.
"YES!"
"There's nae need tae yell, we're nawt deaf!" Cait complained, covering his ears with his white-gloved hands.
While Yuffie sulked, Zack tried to salvage the situation. "In any event.....she somehow got my contact info and kept sending me missions. Between the official ones it was something to do, so I'd humor her. We didn't really ever know each other....." He shrugged.
"Alright then. Everyone come over here." Tifa turned away to start pulling things out to make dinner. "I'll make us all something to eat, and Cloud can finally tell us where Zack came from."
"Well, when a mommy loves a daddy....." Zack started up jokingly before Cloud elbowed him.
"That's Tifa's 'I'm gonna be sleeping outside' tone of voice." Cloud explained softly to his friend. "If I've really been gone as long as Yuffie said, then I'm gonna need a hell of a good reason for it." He headed over to sit at the bar and Zack rubbed his head and followed him.
Once seated at the bar with everyone, Cloud rooted through one of the saddlebags he'd had over his shoulder the whole time and came up with the relic, which he plunked on the bartop. "I found this in Mideel." He began. ".....I just went back there to confront the memories, but when I found this.....I suddenly felt the need to go to Nibelheim." And while the confronting the memories part hadn't been exactly true, Cloud realized that he had gotten the urge to go to Nibelheim when he'd picked up the relic--he'd been assuming until just that moment that it was to do with Sephiroth.
Cait climbed up on a chair to stand on and leaned over. "What's that?"
Tifa turned back to peer at the relic. "It looks like a miniature building."
"It looks like the Pagoda." Yuffie piped up, also peering at it. Lightning quick she'd snatched it and was turning it over in her hands.
"Careful with that, Yuffie." Cloud said warningly.
"Oh, calm down." Yuffie peered inside, then reached into her pocket and pulled out a lockpicking tool. She stuck it in one of the tiny windows by the tiny door and flipped something inside that unlocked the door, then she reached in with a couple of fingers and pulled out a pinkish white crystal. "Wonder what this is?"
"Hm...." Tifa tilted her head. "That's not materia..."
Vincent lightly plucked it from Yuffie and held it up to the light, ignoring her sound of protest. "It seems to....vibrate. Or perhaps pulse. Like a heartbeat."
"A pulse?" Tifa blinked and frowned. "I wonder what that means....." She shook her head. "But we're getting off topic. You were saying, Cloud?"
"Oh....right. Well, I got to Nibelheim late so I decided to spend my night in the mansion rather than the inn......the upper floors were disgusting, so I headed down to the basement--you and Deepground really broke a lot of stuff down there, Vincent."
Vincent simply arched a brow, palming the crystal so Yuffie or Cait couldn't get it.
"........Right." Cloud grimaced slightly and continued. Now to explain the situation without mentioning the unwelcome guest in his head. "Well, it was too early to sleep, so I decided to wander around a bit--thought maybe I'd run into a monster or two. Something to do.....but I found a secret door behind a wall instead and behind that wall were.....well, bodies in mako. One of them was Zack. Then the relic started glowing and the next thing I knew, Zack's trying to get out."
"Hm.....and Zack?" Tifa turned her attention to the ex-SOLDIER. "What's the first thing you remember?"
"As far as that event's concerned.....well, I was dreaming and then Aerith woke me up. She told me 'it's time for you to go', gave me a 'push'" He made air quotes. "and then I suddenly find myself drowning in stagnant mako.....which at least I don't smell as much of now thanks to that awesome shampooing the hairdresser gave me." He mussed his re-cut hair, which was very similiar to the style he'd worn before he'd died as he would always choose to honor Angeal--even if no one but him and possibly Cloud understood that.
Everyone stared at him for several moments before finally Cloud broke the silence. ".....Aerith......."
"Well, yeah." Zack tilted his head at his friend. "I mean, Aerith didn't really show any Cetra abilities when I knew her besides growing those flowers where no flowers should've grown...."
Cloud kept staring. "But you mean.....you were aware.....in the Lifestream?"
"Well....." Zack rubbed his head. "Sometimes. If Aerith or you needed me. Otherwise I just had nice dreams....."
Cloud leaned on the counter and put a hand to his face. "So I wasn't just seeing things...." He muttered.
"Cloud?" Tifa said, concerned. She reached out to touch his arm.
"I just.....while dealing with Sephiroth's remnants, I felt or saw Aerith, and even saw Zack a couple of times.....I thought my messed up mind was just playing tricks on me, but...."
"Nope, it was real." Zack rubbed his friend's back. "Aerith said you were easy to get in touch with 'cause you've got mako in your veins. Didn't mean to make you question your sanity, bro."
Cloud sighed heavily and rubbed his nose, then straightened up again to look at Tifa. "Where are the kids?"
"Upstairs." Tifa turned away again to continue the making of dinner. "Shelke came over while you were out and I think her and Marlene are subjecting Denzel to dress up."
"Hm. I'm surprised he hasn't tried to escape yet, then." Cloud snickered softly, but then he twitched and put his hand back to his face.
"Cloud?" A few of his friends intoned, with Cait adding in: "Are yae okay, lad?"
"I'm fine." Cloud heard his own voice say. "I'm just tired....it's been a long few days." His body moved on its own to stand up. "I'll just go rest for a while."
"Do you still want dinner?" Tifa asked.
".......Sure." Cloud moved to head upstairs, his body moving as if with a mind of its own but giving away nothing to his friends. It wasn't until he collapsed to the floor in his own room that he realized what had happened.
"You!" He snarled mentally, struggling back to his feet and turning to clumsily close the door, his body feeling sluggish and slow.
"I told you, you're nothing but a puppet." Sephiroth sounded amused. "Have a seat, Cloud."
Cloud remained standing out of pure spite, though he swayed like he was drunk. He didn't say or think anything more at Sephiroth, his mind running frantic circles. He's getting stronger....it won't be long until..... But then he realized something else and his panic shut off in the face of that revelation.
"You don't want them to know about you...." He muttered, finally moving to sit on his bed. "That's why you made me come up here."
Sephiroth was silent at first, but then he laughed. "What would your so called friends do, I wonder? Kill you? Lock you up? Keep you asleep?" He continued to chuckle. "What would Zack do? Who is it you fear the most, Cloud?"
"I'm not afraid." Cloud gritted out. His head was starting to throb.
"Why did you keep running then?"
The question was simple, but thinking on it just made his head hurt more. He swung his legs over to lie down and covered his eyes with his arm. ".......No matter what they did," He said, in the end choosing not to answer Sephiroth's last question, but his first. "it would be for the best......whatever it takes to stop you."
Sephiroth didn't reply, but Cloud's headache pounded relentlessly. The pain somehow dragging him deeper until he managed to fall asleep against it.
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Tifa had watched Cloud go in concern, but then she turned her attention to her friends and the ex-SOLDIER sitting at her bar.
"Alright." She said. "I'm making curry beef. Is that acceptable to everyone--who can eat, that is?" She looked at Cait.
"Ae can eat." Cait responded, sounding almost offended. "Oh, actually this might be the best time tae tell yae." He put his hands solidly on the bartop. "Ae used tae be run on mako power, but a'course that's nawt a very good idea anymore so Reeve's trying mae out on alternate energy. Ae can get fuel from certain foods." He tilted his head. "Donnae know what gives mae the most energy yet though."
"So you're like an eco-car." Tifa said, sounding amused.
Cait laid his ears back and sulked a bit. "Aye.....ae guess ae am." He conceded. "Ae need tae sleep also. Prolly nawt as long as the rest of yae though, and not as long as Vincent, hey?"
".........If you are referring to having spent thirty years asleep, then I would appreciate if you would not." Vincent said with forced mildness. "I was atoning for my sins."
"Yae have nae sense of humor, do yae?"
"Not one you are likely to appreciate, no."
Tifa shook her head slightly at the banter and turned her attention over to Yuffie, who was poking Zack's arm. Zack was eyeing her, but he looked amused rather than annoyed. Tifa arched a brow and was about to make a comment on it when an explosion somewhere outside rattled the bar's windows.
"What the?!" She exclaimed, bracing herself on the bar. Vincent was the first one to react, slipping off his bar stool and drawing Cerberus before heading to the door to peer warily out a window.
".....Gather your weapons." He said before opening the door and slipping outside. Cries of surprise and fear leaked in, as well as the stench of burning oil....and flesh.
So much for things being peaceful and quiet. Tifa thought ruefully and turned to turn off the stove while Zack and Yuffie both ran for their weapons.
Shelke, tugging Marlene and Denzel--who had not in fact been subject to girly dress up--came down the stairs, closely followed by a frazzled Cloud. "Tifa Lockhart." She said. "What has happened?"
"It's just Tifa." Tifa corrected absently. "And I'm not sure. There might be some kind of attack." She glanced to Cloud, and then looked to Cait.
"Ae'm nawt much of a fighter." The robot said briskly. "Ae'll stay here with the kids."
"I did not bring my weaponry, I will remain with them as well." Shelke looked over at Cloud when he passed her to follow Yuffie and Zack outside, then turned to haul Marlene and Denzel back up the stairs. Cait got off his bar stool to follow them.
When Tifa stepped outside after everyone else, she found she had to pause for a moment to absorb the scene. A car was on fire further down the street, its tires scattered around it as if it had been hit with a bomb. There were injured people nearby that Zack and Yuffie were pulling away from said vehicle, but as Tifa looked around herself she saw this was only the beginning of the chaos.
Several buildings no where near the vehicle were also on fire. Some citizens were trying to put the fires out with hoses, but they were fighting a losing battle. What's going on? She thought with a frown, working her gloves on her hands. Cloud was nearby quickly assembling Merciless to its complete state, but Vincent was no where to be seen. "Hey!" She called to Zack and Yuffie, who had been the next ones to exit. "Did either of you see where Vincent went?"
Zack looked up and shook her head, but Yuffie pointed up at the roofs. "He saw something and went after it, probably the guy causing the fires!" She called.
"Great...." She muttered and turned to step over to Cloud, who was just putting his weapon on his back. "So, what should we do?"
"We don't know where Vincent went," Cloud said, closing the sword compartments of his bike. "I'll go take a look though." And before she could think to protest, he proceeded to jump and climb his way up onto the bar's roof, squinting off in the direction Yuffie had indicated to try and see where Vincent had gone. After a few moments, he thought he could see an unusual glimmering off near the center of Edge, where the Midgar memorial had been rebuilt after Kadaj's summon had demolished it. He jumped back down. "I think he's at the memorial." He glanced at Yuffie and Zack, then looked at Tifa. "Tifa, finish up helping Yuffie. When you two are finished here, head to the memorial and try to meet up with us. Zack, you're with me! I might need your backup." He then turned to get onto his bike--Merciless in its complete state wouldn't fit in the compartments and he couldn't take the time to take it apart again, so he simply made do. Zack hurried over to join him and grimly hung on as Cloud turned on Fenrir and peeled out.
"Men!" Tifa huffed. She knew Cloud was trying to keep her and Yuffie out of whatever fight was coming, but she'd chew him out for it later and dutifully turned to the victims of the car explosion to help them.
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When Cloud came to a stop by the memorial, he found Vincent alone, energy threatening transformation surrounding him, glaring in hatred at the sky.
"Vincent!" Cloud called, jumping off his bike and stepping over warily. "Vincent, what happened?"
For a few moments, the energy increased around him. But then slowly it began to settle again until it was gone. Vincent remained silent and still for another two minutes however before he slowly turned to face his leader. Cloud flinched at the expression on his older friend's face, Vincent was livid.
Zack slowly stepped over as well, even more wary than Cloud as he didn't know Vincent or about his monsters and so didn't understand why his body was telling him so strongly to run in the other direction.
".......What happened, Vincent?" Cloud prompted when Vincent just stared at him. It was difficult for the blond to continue to stare back at Vincent, as it felt like he was staring at an alpha predator--which if it was Chaos or Galian staring out of his eyes, then he was.
Vincent finally exhaled explosively and shut his eyes. "..........He has Lucrecia." He said softly.
It was easier now that Vincent wasn't glaring at him, but Cloud's mouth was still dry and he had to clear his throat before he was able to speak. ".....'He'?" Why was it that he could fight summons and Sephiroth, but Vincent's monsters could scare the bejeebers out of him?!
In response, Vincent held out a sheet of paper. "He left this. He said; 'one of your friends will know what it means'."
Cloud looked at the paper and frowned at it, reading the words on it. ".........What's this? It looks like a poem, or something."
Zack leaned over his shoulder. "My friend, do you fly away now? To a world that abhors you and I? All that awaits you is a somber morrow, no matter where the winds may blow." He read. "......That's a passage from LOVELESS." He also frowned at it, but then his pupils dilated. "........Genesis."
Both Cloud and Vincent stared at him, Vincent with incomprehension and Cloud with dawning horror as Sephiroth obligingly reminded him of who that was.
"The.....rogue First Class......?" Cloud said haltingly, images and memories not his own distracting him.
"Yeah......" Zack took the paper from Cloud and stared down at it. "I guess he didn't die after we left him at Banora......" He looked at Vincent. "So, what did he tell you?"
Vincent stared at Zack silently for several moments, monsters fortunately under control once more. ".......He told me I should give up the Protomateria, or Lucrecia will suffer." He turned away from Zack then and paced the short distance to the memorial to stare at it intently as if it would give him the answers he needed.
Zack looked at Cloud in confused concern, and then just plain concern when he saw Cloud's face had blanked out. "Cloud? Hey Cloud!" He snapped his fingers in front of his face.
Cloud gave a start and looked at his friend. "Huh...?"
"Man, you were miles away. What was going on?"
"Oh....mm....it's nothing." Cloud shook his head and looked over at Vincent. Even though he'd been stuck in Sephiroth's barrage of memories of Genesis, he had still managed to process what his friend had said. "Do you know where she is? ........Or where Genesis wants you to take the Protomateria?"
"No!" Vincent hissed, his glove creaking and his gauntlet hand flexing. "When I refused to give him what he wanted, he simply took off into the sky! ..........I've doomed her."
".........We'll get Lucrecia back, Vincent." Cloud told him firmly. "And we'll make Genesis pay for touching her. Come on, calm down. We'll find her."
Zack was scowling, it didn't make sense. Had Genesis known he was around, or had it been a wild guess? He stared hard at the handwritten passage from LOVELESS. Folding the paper to put it in his pocket, he decided he'd try to figure it out later. Genesis liked puzzles and riddles, so the answer was there somewhere. He remained quiet and pensive as Cloud coaxed Vincent to convince him to return to the bar and Zack found himself walking along with them as Cloud guided Fenrir back to the bar. This was definitely not good.
Author: Ebonrune
Rating: PG13
Warnings: Possible swears and violence
Disclaimer: I of course, do not own Final Fantasy VII or any of the compilation. That pleasure belongs to Square-Enix.
Status: Complete
Summary: It's been half a year since Omega was sent back to its rest and everyone has moved on with their lives. As Cloud and his friends soon discover however, the past refuses to remain buried.
Author's Notes: This story occurs post Dirge of Cerberus and makes references to it, as well as Crisis Core, the original Final Fantasy VII, Advent Children Complete, and Before Crisis--a game released on cellphones only in Japan. As well, I've chosen to use the fan names (according to the Final Fantasy wiki) for Cloud's various swords, since they don't have official names and 'Tsurugi' is Japanese for 'sword'. As the swords are not labeled which is which on the wiki, here's the picture for your reference.
Prequel: Ties of Friendship
Chapter Links: One Two Four Five Six Seven Eight Nine Ten Eleven Twelve Thirteen Fourteen Fifteen
It was late afternoon when Fenrir idled to a stop beside Seventh Heaven--Cloud's attempt at being stealthy--and Cloud got off his bike. Or rather, tried to.
"You....can let go now, Zack."
The ex-SOLDIER whimpered and reluctantly released his friend, then toppled sideways off Fenrir to sit on the ground acting traumatized. "Drives like a crazy person...."
"Oh come on! I'm not that bad!" Cloud got off and looked down at Zack, then sighed. "You're as bad of a drama queen as Yuffie, did you teach her that?"
"That's drama king, thanks." Zack climbed to his feet and brushed himself off. ".....I think I ripped the shirt."
"Wouldn't be surprised." Cloud looked away from Zack then as the front door of Seventh Heaven burst open and Marlene and Denzel came tearing out to latch themselves to either side of him.
"Guess you guys really missed me, huh?" Cloud dropped his driving goggles around his neck and put his hands on the children's shoulders, acknowledging the affection and feeling a pang of guilt. For all that neither child was his, Denzel for all intents and purposes essentially was and who was he to just up and vanish anyway? He didn't have Geostigma anymore, so he had no reason not to spend more time at home.
This one isn't really my fault though. Cloud thought, looking down at them. Sephiroth was the one who took me away from them this time.....oh, how am I going to protect them when the enemy is myself....?
Denzel looked up at his guardian. "Tifa's been really worried about you, Cloud." He told him while Marlene nodded agreement, her face still hidden against Cloud's clothing. "Did you get lost on the way home?"
"Hm....I guess I did." Cloud ruffled Denzel's hair affectionately. "Sorry about that, you two."
"Hey Cloud," Zack swayed on his feet, prior trauma seemingly all forgotten. “won't you introduce me?"
"Mm....right." Cloud gave Marlene a gentle nudge. "Marlene, Denzel." He motioned to Zack. "This is my friend, Zack. We met up while I was on my way back home."
"Why're you dressed like that, Mr. Zack?" Denzel asked curiously.
"Oh....err.....monsters got my clothes, couldn't get ones that fit at the time." Zack rubbed the back of his head sheepishly, then made a face when the movement made the back of his overly tight shirt rip further.
Marlene let go of Cloud and walked boldly up to Zack, then she planted her hands on her hips and stared at him. "You're really tall." She stated after a few seconds.
"Oh? Well, if you say so." Zack crouched down to her level. "That's a nice hair ribbon, by the way. Reminds me of an old and dear friend of mine."
Marlene reached back to touch the pink ribbon she always wore in her hair. "You knew Aerith?" She asked curiously.
"Mm hmm." Zack smiled and nodded. He looked about to expand on his explanation further, but the door of the bar opened again then and Tifa herself stepped out.
"Cloud...." She began, but then trailed off when she caught sight of Zack. "Kids....please go inside for a few minutes. I need to have an adult talk with these two."
"Cloud's not in trouble is he?" Denzel asked, letting go of Cloud to obediently head inside.
"No, he's not in trouble. Just please go inside now." Tifa waited for both Marlene and Denzel to obey her, and then she hopped down the steps to approach them. ".....Cloud said you’d died." She said, looking at Zack.
Zack straightened up again and rubbed his head. "Err, well...."
"He did die, Tifa." Cloud spoke up softly. "This is a clone body....I’ll give more details once Vincent and Yuffie get here, I still need to explain to them too. But....this is Zack. Can’t clone a soul....."
"Can't clone a soul?" Tifa looked at Zack dubiously and raised her eyebrows.
"Yeah, that's right!" Zack sulked a bit and huffed. "Look, I do in fact have some idea how this happened, but I'll tell that when Cloud tells his story." Cloud blinked at him, but Zack ignored his friend's curious expression.
Tifa was silent for several seconds, but then she sighed heavily and planted her hands on her hips. "Fine. First order of business is getting you clothes that fit properly. There's nothing here, so it looks like Cloud will have to take you shopping." She gave the blond a firm look. "And you'd better come right back here afterward."
"Yes, mother." Cloud dodged the swat Tifa aimed at him. "Let's go, Zack."
"Err....is there any other way? Like.....a car or something?"
".......Oh come on, you big baby." Cloud moved back to his bike. "I'll have to drive slower in town anyway.....and we need to drop by Aerith's church."
Zack perked and moved to follow Cloud. "In the slums? What for?"
Cloud glanced at him and pulled his goggles on, settling forward on the bike in preparation for turning it on. "Your sword's there."
"Aww, Cloud." Zack climbed on behind him and grabbed hold. "That's so swee--" Cloud turned the bike on and peeled out. "EEEAHHH!"
A small smile tugged at Tifa's mouth, knowing perfectly well that Cloud was obviously driving like that to scare his friend, as he was perfectly capable of driving sanely when he felt like it. She turned to head into the bar again, shaking her head slightly. While she personally had doubts that this mysteriously appearing clone somehow had the real Zack's soul, she still allowed herself to feel happy for Cloud, as he'd spoken as if Zack had been his closest--possibly only--friend in Shinra. I hope things work out for the best. She thought.
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The Turks were preparing to leave Icicle Inn when the call came.
"Yes, sir. I understand. Thank you, sir." The conversation was a brief one, and then Tseng hung up and looked at his team.
"Cloud has been found by a member of his team, so we no longer have a need to search for him and can return to our original objective."
"That's great!" Reno said with feeling. "Y'think that's why the old vampire left in such a hurry this morning?"
"Possibly." Tseng turned toward the helicopter.
Reno and the others trailed after. "Maybe we should've asked him if he knew were the boss was....." The red-head half-muttered.
"If Veld was able to hide from us, then I highly doubt Vincent would know any more than we do. That aside" And Tseng turned to look at his team with a firm look. "he is a member of Cloud's team and cannot be trusted."
"Eeeh." Reno glanced at his fellows, then looked back at Tseng. "Look Director, I didn't like the guy. He's way too damn snooty, but....we're not still against them, are we?"
"Are you implying that the Turks can't handle this ourselves, Reno?" Tseng asked calmly.
"I'm implying that extra eyes on the lookout for the boss wouldn't be such a bad idea." Reno responded. He looked at Rude and Thessa again. "Right? We can use'm to help find the boss!"
"You're such an idiot, Reno." Thessa said with exasperation. "Former rebels led by a former Infantry scout would be about as much help as a flock of headless chocobos."
"That 'flock of headless chocobos' saved the friggin' world, ya know!" Reno shot back. "And Vince--"
"Enough!" Tseng snapped. "Start it up, Reno. Our next destination is North Corel."
".......You got it, Director." Reno stepped past him to head into the cockpit, Rude following him in. Within five minutes, the chopper was taking off into the sky to head to its next destination.
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"I'm tiiiiired!" Yuffie whined while she walked beside Vincent into Edge.
"You've been sitting all day." Vincent responded.
"And hanging on while trying not to throw up!"
Vincent gave the young ninja a dry look. "You did throw up." He reminded her. "Twice, in fact. The only blessing was neither time was on me."
Cait, who they'd picked up from WRO HQ when Vincent had dropped by to let Reeve know Cloud had been found, snickered while Yuffie stuck her tongue out at Vincent and didn't otherwise respond. For a couple of minutes she was quiet, but then she started up again. "I'm huuungry....."
"We're almost to the bar. I'm sure Tifa will give you something to eat."
"But I'm hungry noooow!"
Vincent glanced at her out of the corner of his eyes. ".....The term 'suck it up' comes to mind." He commented mildly.
Yuffie glowered at him and planted her hands on her hips. "You don't have a sympathetic bone in your body, do you?"
"Have you said something I am supposed to feel sympathy toward?"
"Hmph." Yuffie crossed her arms and sulked. "......Aren't you tired and hungry too, Vinny?"
"Oh indeed, and there's a convenient meal walking right next to me."
"He's got yae there, lass." Cait commented with another snicker.
"Urk!" Yuffie gave a start, glared at him and then at Vincent. "That's not funny!"
A brow quirked. "......Here is the bar." He said instead and hurried his steps slightly to head inside. He was brought to a halt however by hands fisting solidly into his cloak.
"Hey...." Yuffie said, her tone lower and more serious. "Cloud's not here yet."
"I'm sure it's nothing to be concerned about, Yuffie." Vincent tugged at his cloak to get it free of her.
".......Vinny. What do you suppose he was doing in Nibelheim? And Zack popping up too.....it just seems kind of fishy."
Vincent sighed softly. "He'll tell us when he arrives, Yuffie. Now I thought you were hungry and tired?"
"........Fine." Yuffie let go of Vincent and sulked past him to head into the bar, leaving the older man with a puzzled expression on his face.
I wonder if it's possible to understand women..... He mused, following the young ninja inside.
"Welcome, you two." Tifa greeted them from behind the bar. "Are either of you the ones who found Cloud?"
Cait popped up from behind Vincent. "Hey! Yae forgot me!"
"That was me!" Yuffie said at the same time in response to Tifa, puffing up proudly. "Do I get anything?"
"Oh, hello Cait." Tifa greeted him, then she looked at Yuffie. "And you get a thank you and food and board for the night." She chuckled softly at Yuffie's immediate sulking, then turned her attention to Vincent, relieved to see she didn't have the problem looking at him that she had the other day and raised a brow. "Reeve told me you'd been sent off with the Turks. Did something happen, Vincent?"
"Yes, but I would much rather not discuss it right now." Vincent sat at the bar. "May I have some wine, Tifa?"
"Mm, of course." Tifa turned away. "Red or white?"
"Red, please."
Tifa looked over the options. "Any particular one?"
Vincent arched a brow. ".....Old?"
Tifa chuckled and uncorked a Vernoi to pour him a glass, then turned back to set on the bar in front of him. "Not picky, then?"
"Not in particular." Vincent slipped the stem between his two middle fingers to pick up the glass and smell the drink before taking a sip. "Yes, this is fine."
"Good to know." Tifa leaned on the bar, looking past Vincent to Yuffie who had sat herself with Cait at a table by the door, seemingly having forgotten what she had been complaining about on the way and was polishing her materia. Tifa looked back at Vincent then from the corner of her eyes. ".......So what do you think about Zack?" She asked softly.
"Him as a person or the fact that he was apparently dead for several years before this point?"
Tifa shrugged slightly and straightened up again. "Both, I suppose."
"Mm." Vincent swirled the liquid in the glass and took a sip while he considered his reply. "Yuffie had apparently been chasing him around before I arrived on the scene, she was exhausted but he was not even slightly winded. For his personality itself I could not really say, as our meeting was brief and rather casual. I suppose he comes across as rather cheerful and perhaps somewhat excitable."
"And the fact he's apparently been dead?" Tifa prompted.
"Cloud did not give much detail on that, though he said he would explain once we were all assembled here." He arched a brow at Tifa. "Although I don't know if he meant just us, or the entirety of the team."
"But what do you think of it, Vincent?"
Vincent tilted his head so some hair fell in front of one eye while he regarded Tifa with the other. "......They were all in front of Shinra Manor when I arrived, so one could suppose that Zack's re-appearance would have something to do with that cursed place."
Tifa blinked and then frowned deeply. "But how? Hojo's long gone and someone would have found something.....wouldn't they?"
Vincent shrugged and straightened up. "I've said it before, Tifa. Hojo was a brilliant scientist." He took another sip of his wine. "For the time being, an assumption that Zack is somehow connected to a project of the man's is not all that far fetched."
"Mm....." Tifa leaned back on the counter behind her and glanced at Yuffie and Cait again, who were at least pretending not to be paying attention. When she returned her attention to Vincent once more, she was still frowning. "One more question. When Cloud and Zack dropped by here before I sent them off to get Zack some decently fitting clothes, Cloud said 'you can't clone a soul'. What do you think of that?"
".....You certainly are filled with deep questions today, aren't you?" Vincent sighed softly and continued on without waiting for an answer. He looked down at the metal counter as he talked. "I think that is a question beyond any mortal's ability to truly answer, but my personal take is that it would be true enough. A body is made up with DNA, but a soul is....a soul. The most scientific of minds would deny the existence of such, because ghosts are rarely seen and harder to prove." He looked up at her again. "I think the question is, can you clone a mind? Is the brain where memories are forever stored, or is it merely the 'backup' for the soul? Who can say?"
Tifa was silent for several moments, and then she gave a frustrated sigh. "That just brings up more questions."
Vincent took another sip. "Then maybe you should wait for Cloud to tell us what happened."
Tifa pursed her lips and sighed again. She doubted Cloud's explanation would answer her real question, which was 'is this the real Zack'. She had only met the man once when he had come to Nibelheim with Sephiroth and a couple of infantrymen--one of whom had been Cloud. She didn't know Zack nearly well enough to know if there was anything off about him....but then, she hadn't known Cloud that well either, and she'd been able to tell something was wrong with him while he'd been claiming to be a SOLDIER. Her train of thought cut off when she heard the purring sound of Fenrir's idling engines side up to the bar and all attention turned to the door to wait.
Cloud stepped in first with his bike's saddlebags, his lips quirked in the faintest of smiles that none the less made Tifa's own expression soften a bit. Cloud was always so serious that seeing that mask break was like seeing the sun after a rainstorm. Her attention switched from Cloud however when Zack came in.
Zack was wearing a sleeveless light blue zip up sweatervest similar in design to Cloud's, as well as gray cargos. He was also carrying the Buster sword over his shoulder in a casual pose. A casual pose that was ruined quite thoroughly when Yuffie launched out of her seat to tackle him.
"Ugly Shinra SOLDIER!" She greeted him cheerfully in spite of her words, ignoring Zack having to flail to keep his balance. "Y'got any materia for me? Huh huh?"
Once Zack recovered from being ambushed and overbalanced, he gave her a bit of a strange look. "No I don't and that's not my wallet....y'know, since I don't have one yet."
Yuffie blushed and hopped away. "I-I knew that!" She stammered. "I just wanted to grope ya!"
Cloud had been trying not to laugh, but that set him off and he had to put his hand on the back of a nearby chair to support himself. "Okay....before I tell them anything else, you have to explain how you two know each other." He snickered.
"I beat him up in Wutai!" Yuffie puffed up proudly. "He was skulking around being all Shinra-y, but I taught him a lesson!"
"Err....yeah. You sure taught me." Zack put the sword down by the door. "It was during the Wutai war." He explained. "I was standing in front of the......Pagoda? I think that's what it's called." He rubbed his head, then continued. "And then Yuffie ambushed me and beat me up!"
"Yuffie beat you up." Cloud intoned flatly, arching a brow. "Zack.....she couldn't have been more than twelve at the time. There's no way she would've been a challenge."
Zack rubbed his head. "Erm well.....she was about.....ten or so...?"
"I'M WUTAI'S GREATEST WARRIOR!" Yuffie broke in, flailing. "I DID BEAT HIM UP, YOU SPIKY HEADED JERK!"
"When you were ten?!" There was no way Cloud was buying this.
"YES!"
"There's nae need tae yell, we're nawt deaf!" Cait complained, covering his ears with his white-gloved hands.
While Yuffie sulked, Zack tried to salvage the situation. "In any event.....she somehow got my contact info and kept sending me missions. Between the official ones it was something to do, so I'd humor her. We didn't really ever know each other....." He shrugged.
"Alright then. Everyone come over here." Tifa turned away to start pulling things out to make dinner. "I'll make us all something to eat, and Cloud can finally tell us where Zack came from."
"Well, when a mommy loves a daddy....." Zack started up jokingly before Cloud elbowed him.
"That's Tifa's 'I'm gonna be sleeping outside' tone of voice." Cloud explained softly to his friend. "If I've really been gone as long as Yuffie said, then I'm gonna need a hell of a good reason for it." He headed over to sit at the bar and Zack rubbed his head and followed him.
Once seated at the bar with everyone, Cloud rooted through one of the saddlebags he'd had over his shoulder the whole time and came up with the relic, which he plunked on the bartop. "I found this in Mideel." He began. ".....I just went back there to confront the memories, but when I found this.....I suddenly felt the need to go to Nibelheim." And while the confronting the memories part hadn't been exactly true, Cloud realized that he had gotten the urge to go to Nibelheim when he'd picked up the relic--he'd been assuming until just that moment that it was to do with Sephiroth.
Cait climbed up on a chair to stand on and leaned over. "What's that?"
Tifa turned back to peer at the relic. "It looks like a miniature building."
"It looks like the Pagoda." Yuffie piped up, also peering at it. Lightning quick she'd snatched it and was turning it over in her hands.
"Careful with that, Yuffie." Cloud said warningly.
"Oh, calm down." Yuffie peered inside, then reached into her pocket and pulled out a lockpicking tool. She stuck it in one of the tiny windows by the tiny door and flipped something inside that unlocked the door, then she reached in with a couple of fingers and pulled out a pinkish white crystal. "Wonder what this is?"
"Hm...." Tifa tilted her head. "That's not materia..."
Vincent lightly plucked it from Yuffie and held it up to the light, ignoring her sound of protest. "It seems to....vibrate. Or perhaps pulse. Like a heartbeat."
"A pulse?" Tifa blinked and frowned. "I wonder what that means....." She shook her head. "But we're getting off topic. You were saying, Cloud?"
"Oh....right. Well, I got to Nibelheim late so I decided to spend my night in the mansion rather than the inn......the upper floors were disgusting, so I headed down to the basement--you and Deepground really broke a lot of stuff down there, Vincent."
Vincent simply arched a brow, palming the crystal so Yuffie or Cait couldn't get it.
"........Right." Cloud grimaced slightly and continued. Now to explain the situation without mentioning the unwelcome guest in his head. "Well, it was too early to sleep, so I decided to wander around a bit--thought maybe I'd run into a monster or two. Something to do.....but I found a secret door behind a wall instead and behind that wall were.....well, bodies in mako. One of them was Zack. Then the relic started glowing and the next thing I knew, Zack's trying to get out."
"Hm.....and Zack?" Tifa turned her attention to the ex-SOLDIER. "What's the first thing you remember?"
"As far as that event's concerned.....well, I was dreaming and then Aerith woke me up. She told me 'it's time for you to go', gave me a 'push'" He made air quotes. "and then I suddenly find myself drowning in stagnant mako.....which at least I don't smell as much of now thanks to that awesome shampooing the hairdresser gave me." He mussed his re-cut hair, which was very similiar to the style he'd worn before he'd died as he would always choose to honor Angeal--even if no one but him and possibly Cloud understood that.
Everyone stared at him for several moments before finally Cloud broke the silence. ".....Aerith......."
"Well, yeah." Zack tilted his head at his friend. "I mean, Aerith didn't really show any Cetra abilities when I knew her besides growing those flowers where no flowers should've grown...."
Cloud kept staring. "But you mean.....you were aware.....in the Lifestream?"
"Well....." Zack rubbed his head. "Sometimes. If Aerith or you needed me. Otherwise I just had nice dreams....."
Cloud leaned on the counter and put a hand to his face. "So I wasn't just seeing things...." He muttered.
"Cloud?" Tifa said, concerned. She reached out to touch his arm.
"I just.....while dealing with Sephiroth's remnants, I felt or saw Aerith, and even saw Zack a couple of times.....I thought my messed up mind was just playing tricks on me, but...."
"Nope, it was real." Zack rubbed his friend's back. "Aerith said you were easy to get in touch with 'cause you've got mako in your veins. Didn't mean to make you question your sanity, bro."
Cloud sighed heavily and rubbed his nose, then straightened up again to look at Tifa. "Where are the kids?"
"Upstairs." Tifa turned away again to continue the making of dinner. "Shelke came over while you were out and I think her and Marlene are subjecting Denzel to dress up."
"Hm. I'm surprised he hasn't tried to escape yet, then." Cloud snickered softly, but then he twitched and put his hand back to his face.
"Cloud?" A few of his friends intoned, with Cait adding in: "Are yae okay, lad?"
"I'm fine." Cloud heard his own voice say. "I'm just tired....it's been a long few days." His body moved on its own to stand up. "I'll just go rest for a while."
"Do you still want dinner?" Tifa asked.
".......Sure." Cloud moved to head upstairs, his body moving as if with a mind of its own but giving away nothing to his friends. It wasn't until he collapsed to the floor in his own room that he realized what had happened.
"You!" He snarled mentally, struggling back to his feet and turning to clumsily close the door, his body feeling sluggish and slow.
"I told you, you're nothing but a puppet." Sephiroth sounded amused. "Have a seat, Cloud."
Cloud remained standing out of pure spite, though he swayed like he was drunk. He didn't say or think anything more at Sephiroth, his mind running frantic circles. He's getting stronger....it won't be long until..... But then he realized something else and his panic shut off in the face of that revelation.
"You don't want them to know about you...." He muttered, finally moving to sit on his bed. "That's why you made me come up here."
Sephiroth was silent at first, but then he laughed. "What would your so called friends do, I wonder? Kill you? Lock you up? Keep you asleep?" He continued to chuckle. "What would Zack do? Who is it you fear the most, Cloud?"
"I'm not afraid." Cloud gritted out. His head was starting to throb.
"Why did you keep running then?"
The question was simple, but thinking on it just made his head hurt more. He swung his legs over to lie down and covered his eyes with his arm. ".......No matter what they did," He said, in the end choosing not to answer Sephiroth's last question, but his first. "it would be for the best......whatever it takes to stop you."
Sephiroth didn't reply, but Cloud's headache pounded relentlessly. The pain somehow dragging him deeper until he managed to fall asleep against it.
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Tifa had watched Cloud go in concern, but then she turned her attention to her friends and the ex-SOLDIER sitting at her bar.
"Alright." She said. "I'm making curry beef. Is that acceptable to everyone--who can eat, that is?" She looked at Cait.
"Ae can eat." Cait responded, sounding almost offended. "Oh, actually this might be the best time tae tell yae." He put his hands solidly on the bartop. "Ae used tae be run on mako power, but a'course that's nawt a very good idea anymore so Reeve's trying mae out on alternate energy. Ae can get fuel from certain foods." He tilted his head. "Donnae know what gives mae the most energy yet though."
"So you're like an eco-car." Tifa said, sounding amused.
Cait laid his ears back and sulked a bit. "Aye.....ae guess ae am." He conceded. "Ae need tae sleep also. Prolly nawt as long as the rest of yae though, and not as long as Vincent, hey?"
".........If you are referring to having spent thirty years asleep, then I would appreciate if you would not." Vincent said with forced mildness. "I was atoning for my sins."
"Yae have nae sense of humor, do yae?"
"Not one you are likely to appreciate, no."
Tifa shook her head slightly at the banter and turned her attention over to Yuffie, who was poking Zack's arm. Zack was eyeing her, but he looked amused rather than annoyed. Tifa arched a brow and was about to make a comment on it when an explosion somewhere outside rattled the bar's windows.
"What the?!" She exclaimed, bracing herself on the bar. Vincent was the first one to react, slipping off his bar stool and drawing Cerberus before heading to the door to peer warily out a window.
".....Gather your weapons." He said before opening the door and slipping outside. Cries of surprise and fear leaked in, as well as the stench of burning oil....and flesh.
So much for things being peaceful and quiet. Tifa thought ruefully and turned to turn off the stove while Zack and Yuffie both ran for their weapons.
Shelke, tugging Marlene and Denzel--who had not in fact been subject to girly dress up--came down the stairs, closely followed by a frazzled Cloud. "Tifa Lockhart." She said. "What has happened?"
"It's just Tifa." Tifa corrected absently. "And I'm not sure. There might be some kind of attack." She glanced to Cloud, and then looked to Cait.
"Ae'm nawt much of a fighter." The robot said briskly. "Ae'll stay here with the kids."
"I did not bring my weaponry, I will remain with them as well." Shelke looked over at Cloud when he passed her to follow Yuffie and Zack outside, then turned to haul Marlene and Denzel back up the stairs. Cait got off his bar stool to follow them.
When Tifa stepped outside after everyone else, she found she had to pause for a moment to absorb the scene. A car was on fire further down the street, its tires scattered around it as if it had been hit with a bomb. There were injured people nearby that Zack and Yuffie were pulling away from said vehicle, but as Tifa looked around herself she saw this was only the beginning of the chaos.
Several buildings no where near the vehicle were also on fire. Some citizens were trying to put the fires out with hoses, but they were fighting a losing battle. What's going on? She thought with a frown, working her gloves on her hands. Cloud was nearby quickly assembling Merciless to its complete state, but Vincent was no where to be seen. "Hey!" She called to Zack and Yuffie, who had been the next ones to exit. "Did either of you see where Vincent went?"
Zack looked up and shook her head, but Yuffie pointed up at the roofs. "He saw something and went after it, probably the guy causing the fires!" She called.
"Great...." She muttered and turned to step over to Cloud, who was just putting his weapon on his back. "So, what should we do?"
"We don't know where Vincent went," Cloud said, closing the sword compartments of his bike. "I'll go take a look though." And before she could think to protest, he proceeded to jump and climb his way up onto the bar's roof, squinting off in the direction Yuffie had indicated to try and see where Vincent had gone. After a few moments, he thought he could see an unusual glimmering off near the center of Edge, where the Midgar memorial had been rebuilt after Kadaj's summon had demolished it. He jumped back down. "I think he's at the memorial." He glanced at Yuffie and Zack, then looked at Tifa. "Tifa, finish up helping Yuffie. When you two are finished here, head to the memorial and try to meet up with us. Zack, you're with me! I might need your backup." He then turned to get onto his bike--Merciless in its complete state wouldn't fit in the compartments and he couldn't take the time to take it apart again, so he simply made do. Zack hurried over to join him and grimly hung on as Cloud turned on Fenrir and peeled out.
"Men!" Tifa huffed. She knew Cloud was trying to keep her and Yuffie out of whatever fight was coming, but she'd chew him out for it later and dutifully turned to the victims of the car explosion to help them.
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When Cloud came to a stop by the memorial, he found Vincent alone, energy threatening transformation surrounding him, glaring in hatred at the sky.
"Vincent!" Cloud called, jumping off his bike and stepping over warily. "Vincent, what happened?"
For a few moments, the energy increased around him. But then slowly it began to settle again until it was gone. Vincent remained silent and still for another two minutes however before he slowly turned to face his leader. Cloud flinched at the expression on his older friend's face, Vincent was livid.
Zack slowly stepped over as well, even more wary than Cloud as he didn't know Vincent or about his monsters and so didn't understand why his body was telling him so strongly to run in the other direction.
".......What happened, Vincent?" Cloud prompted when Vincent just stared at him. It was difficult for the blond to continue to stare back at Vincent, as it felt like he was staring at an alpha predator--which if it was Chaos or Galian staring out of his eyes, then he was.
Vincent finally exhaled explosively and shut his eyes. "..........He has Lucrecia." He said softly.
It was easier now that Vincent wasn't glaring at him, but Cloud's mouth was still dry and he had to clear his throat before he was able to speak. ".....'He'?" Why was it that he could fight summons and Sephiroth, but Vincent's monsters could scare the bejeebers out of him?!
In response, Vincent held out a sheet of paper. "He left this. He said; 'one of your friends will know what it means'."
Cloud looked at the paper and frowned at it, reading the words on it. ".........What's this? It looks like a poem, or something."
Zack leaned over his shoulder. "My friend, do you fly away now? To a world that abhors you and I? All that awaits you is a somber morrow, no matter where the winds may blow." He read. "......That's a passage from LOVELESS." He also frowned at it, but then his pupils dilated. "........Genesis."
Both Cloud and Vincent stared at him, Vincent with incomprehension and Cloud with dawning horror as Sephiroth obligingly reminded him of who that was.
"The.....rogue First Class......?" Cloud said haltingly, images and memories not his own distracting him.
"Yeah......" Zack took the paper from Cloud and stared down at it. "I guess he didn't die after we left him at Banora......" He looked at Vincent. "So, what did he tell you?"
Vincent stared at Zack silently for several moments, monsters fortunately under control once more. ".......He told me I should give up the Protomateria, or Lucrecia will suffer." He turned away from Zack then and paced the short distance to the memorial to stare at it intently as if it would give him the answers he needed.
Zack looked at Cloud in confused concern, and then just plain concern when he saw Cloud's face had blanked out. "Cloud? Hey Cloud!" He snapped his fingers in front of his face.
Cloud gave a start and looked at his friend. "Huh...?"
"Man, you were miles away. What was going on?"
"Oh....mm....it's nothing." Cloud shook his head and looked over at Vincent. Even though he'd been stuck in Sephiroth's barrage of memories of Genesis, he had still managed to process what his friend had said. "Do you know where she is? ........Or where Genesis wants you to take the Protomateria?"
"No!" Vincent hissed, his glove creaking and his gauntlet hand flexing. "When I refused to give him what he wanted, he simply took off into the sky! ..........I've doomed her."
".........We'll get Lucrecia back, Vincent." Cloud told him firmly. "And we'll make Genesis pay for touching her. Come on, calm down. We'll find her."
Zack was scowling, it didn't make sense. Had Genesis known he was around, or had it been a wild guess? He stared hard at the handwritten passage from LOVELESS. Folding the paper to put it in his pocket, he decided he'd try to figure it out later. Genesis liked puzzles and riddles, so the answer was there somewhere. He remained quiet and pensive as Cloud coaxed Vincent to convince him to return to the bar and Zack found himself walking along with them as Cloud guided Fenrir back to the bar. This was definitely not good.
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Date: 2010-09-16 04:46 am (UTC)