The Planet's Enemy: Chapter 7

[ebonrune]

Title: 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 Three Four Five Six Eight Nine Ten Eleven Twelve Thirteen Fourteen Fifteen



The hum of the engine was the loudest sound. Noises from outside occasionally permeated--usually the proximity of Cloud's bike--but for the most part things were quiet within the Shinra vehicle. Vincent sat in the back, leaning against the door with his arms loosely crossed and eyes shut. Across from him was Yuffie, fidgeting with her clothes and occasionally glancing in his direction. He gave every indication of resting, but instead he was deep in thought.

Reno's words worried him. If Nero could not truly die, if Weiss had taken the Protomateria and Chaos for Nero.....how could he fight the one who controlled the darkness, controlled Chaos? How could anyone? Nero could suck up whatever he chose into his infinite darkness, and the only being that could fight against that would be fused with him.

'Juyaku. Kudasai. Suru koto wa deki masen.' He went over the redhead's words in his mind. 'Director. Please. You can't.' He can't what? Send Rude to Deepground? He frowned faintly. Did Reno know something else he hadn't mentioned? What were they preparing to fight down there? Was it certain they would find anything? Or was turning the reactor on meant to draw attention, perhaps meant to be a trap or a diversion? The fingers of his right hand tightened on his arm. Tseng and Rude would just be unfortunate victims, but if Cloud or Yuffie got harmed or killed because he'd made a mistake....

The mantle of leadership is a heavy one. It was easy to see why Cloud wore it so uncomfortably, for though Cloud was good at leading, he was about as introverted as Vincent was. He would be happier to just follow--and on this mission, that was exactly what he got to do. Yet, there was the other presence in Cloud....and Sephiroth likely had the opposite issue. Ruby slits peered out the tinted window. Aerith had said Sephiroth deserved a chance to redeem himself, and Vincent had chosen to take the ticking timebomb with him into a volatile area. It was no secret in their group that Cloud had something of a sensitivity to mako and the reactor was likely to be brimming with it since it was on. Such a concentration could weaken the blond and....then what? Could Sephiroth take control of him? What would he do if he could? If Weiss and Genesis were there, whom would Sephiroth choose to fight?

The mantle of leadership was a heavy burden indeed.

"Vincent...?"

Sighing inwardly, he opened his eyes completely to look over at the young ninja. "Yes, Yuffie?"

She looked back at him, her eyes somewhat large. "Do you.....ever get scared?"

"Odd question....I suppose so."

"You suppose so?! You don't even know?!"

Grant me the serenity.... He gave a slight shrug. "It isn't something I think about. No matter how afraid I might feel, I still do what I must do, so why would I dwell on it?"

Yuffie looked frustrated. "You're not scared at all at the idea of fighting Nero without having Chaos?" She pressed.

Vincent turned away and sighed softly. "My feelings don't factor into this situation, Yuffie. I have to try." He looked back at her again. "But I did not face the darkness the way you did, so I understand you would have greater trepidation."

"Are you calling me a coward?! Because if you are--"

The side of Vincent's fist hit the seat between them, the sudden motion startling Yuffie into silence. She shrank back against the door, fixated by the angry red eyes staring at her from beneath his bandana.

"You are one of the bravest people I have had the pleasure of knowing." He said, his tone calm in spite of the irritation making his eyes glow. "It is not cowardice to feel fear, and bravery is but the overcoming of the urge to flee from danger. That being said....." He dropped his arm. "Your buster and bravado now is doing the exact opposite of impressing me. Now do be quiet, if you so please." And with that, Vincent turned away again. Sometimes Yuffie amused him, and more than once he'd been glad to have her watching his back. Right now however he was far from amused and not at all glad for her presence. He could accept that she was afraid--terrified--of Nero, but whining about it just showed her childishness. If she did not start acting her age soon, then Wutai was not going to fair well at all with her as its leader.

He looked out the window and quietly watched the scenery pass. If we don't stop Weiss, then that is going to be the least of her worries....

------------------------------------------------------------

Two hours and lots of walking from the location where the vehicles had to stop later, they arrived at the foot of the Shinra building. Then more walking and climbing was involved to find the entrance to Reactor 0. As they proceeded, Yuffie became increasingly nervous until Cloud temporarily took over the situation to have her give them directions on how she had gotten in and then he sent her off to wait for them with instructions to call his phone if she didn't hear from them in two hours time--and then if she couldn't get a hold of him, to call Tifa. This being done, they then proceeded to head into the reactor proper.

"These.....weren't here before." Vincent stated as soon as they came out onto the boardwalk above the main walkway. When Vincent had last been in Reactor 0, there had been nothing but mako refinement canisters. Now in their place were single rows of containment tubes, each one with a body contained within. After a few moments of listening to the steady hum and beep of machinery, he moved to step over the tops of the tubes and drop down. "Identical....every last one of them."

The others followed, dropping down by him and both Cloud and Zack hissed when they saw the forms within.

"Genesis copies." Tseng observed calmly, looking along the row. "At least a dozen in here alone."

"Wearing Deepground clothing." Vincent peered at the vitals displayed on the side of a tube. "Weiss is building up an army of copies....but there doesn't seem to be any brain activity. They're alive but vegetative."

"Maybe they're not done yet?" Zack experimentally tapped on the glass of the one in front of him.

".......In any event." Cloud spoke up, fixing his eyes down the hallway toward the heart of the reactor. "Our objective is in there, right?"

"Hopefully." Vincent glanced at the Genesis copies again and then started down toward the closed doors hiding the heart of the reactor. He pulled Cerberus free of its holster to hold at the ready and Zack and Cloud took the Buster sword and the fully assembled Merciless off their respective backs. Tseng and Rude trailed behind, as they were the ones most likely to get seriously hurt or killed in any conflict concerning Weiss or Genesis.

Vincent pushed the doors open and stepped inside only to come to an abrupt halt, weapon half-raised. The previously open area had been nearly completely filled with containment tubes, thick wires running in every which direction to connect them. The only clear space was directly down the middle to the throne before the reactor. There didn't seem to be anyone in the room, just tube after tube of Genesis copies.

"Holy crap..." Cloud intoned as he and the others filed in behind Vincent. "A dozen out there, a couple dozen in here.....that's around thirty six copies......"

"And that isn't even counting what may be in the other reactors." Tseng slowly looked around at all the tubes. "The largest question I have is how this was accomplished."

"Weiss had absorbed Hojo's neural data.....it seems he retained the knowledge, if not the man himself." Vincent's tone was low and growly, posture tense. "This place needs to be destroyed...." He looked around, and then focused on the thick tangle of wires. "That. Destroy the wires, and the copies will all die. Cloud, if you would."

"Of course." Cloud stepped forward and lifted Merciless.

"Don't!"

The blond halted his downward swing with difficulty and turned in the direction of the shout. "Zack?"

"Don't....destroy it just yet." Zack had wandered away from the others when they'd filed in and was out of sight in the mass of tubes. His voice sounded strange and Cloud frowned.

"Zack...?" He called again and jumped atop the tubes to find his friend quicker, soon jumping down beside him again. "Zack, what....?" He trailed off when his friend pointed and he turned his head to stare stupidly at the contents of the tube in front of him.

This individual was different from the others. Though he had the same Deepground-styled uniform as the copies, the build and face was far far different.

"Angeal...." Cloud muttered under his breath. He himself had only encountered the man during the mission to Modeoheim, but Sephiroth certainly knew him.

"Angeal." Zack agreed with an unsteady tone. Cloud looked at him and he could see that his friend was trembling. Concerned, he brought his hand up to touch Zack's arm, but then stopped before he completed the motion.

"How strange it must feel" Sephiroth snarled in Cloud's mind. "to face again the man he'd murdered."

"Shut up!" Cloud snapped back at him. "Can't you see he's upset?!" He moved his hand to complete the motion and put on Zack's arm to gave a light squeeze before letting go again.

Zack glanced at him and offered a faint smile before he turned back to the tank and brought his hands up to the glass, then he leaned his forehead on it and shut his eyes. "......Genesis.....how did he do this.....how did he clone Angeal?!"

"Genetic samples were taken from all members of SOLDIER." Tseng supplied as he, Rude and Vincent joined them. "It's possible Deepground gained access to those samples." He looked at Cloud. "There was no mention of Genesis before this. This isn't the best time to ask for what you might know about this situation, but this seems to be quickly becoming an elevated problem."

Cloud nodded slightly to him. "Hm....oh I agree with you, Tseng." He turned away then to look at Zack, who was still leaning on the tank and then shifted his attention to the monitor of the clone's vitals. "Brain dead, just like the others. Whatever Weiss and Genesis know about cloning, they don't know how to bring them to life."

"I don't mean to intrude, but" Vincent jerked his chin at the tank Zack was leaning on. "who is the man in there?"

"Angeal Hewley. Former SOLDIER operative and the third success of the Jenova project." Tseng told him simply.

"Third....." Vincent sighed softly. "So he's like Genesis then."

"No!" Zack hit the tank weakly with his palm. "He was a good man with honor! He forced me to kill him rather than.....he thought he was a monster! Genesis made them both think they were monsters!" He made a pained sound in his throat. "He's a good man...."

Cloud shifted uncomfortably, then put his hand on Zack's arm again. "Maybe Aerith will send him back like she did to you?" He offered lamely.

Zack shook his head. "She couldn't even if she wanted to. He never went to the Lifestream." He turned his head to look at the blond and Cloud realized he was crying. "He's still there, at Modeoheim.....a ghost.....he wouldn't listen when I tried to reach him." Zack turned back to the tank and squeezed his eyes shut, fingers curling on the glass.

Vincent sighed heavily and reached into his pocket, extracting the crystal he had taken from the relic the day before. "Perhaps this will work without the rest of it." He suggested, but then frowned and looked at it. "Or perhaps not.....it no longer pulses."

"Here...." Zack wiped his eyes and turned, holding his hand out for it. "let me try." Vincent obligingly dropped the crystal into his hand and Zack closed his fingers around it, then held it to his heart for several seconds before turning back to the tank and holding the crystal up against the glass. At first nothing happened, but then Zack let out a startled cry of pain and the crystal lit up so suddenly and brightly that everyone instinctively threw an arm up to shield their eyes. When the light faded again they were left blinking away spots and Zack was standing with a grip on his wrist and a surprised look on his face.

"Che....damnit.....I should have told you, the relic got hot when I used it...." Cloud muttered. "Are you alright, Zack?"

"I think so...." Zack gingerly picked at the crystal to peel it off his glove and then drop it into his own pocket before staring at the damage done. "That kinda sucked though." He looked up at the tank that held Angeal, but before his eyes could focus there was shattering glass behind him and the pouring out of mako. Alarms began to blare and Zack found himself grabbed around the neck and yanked backward to slam his head into the tank behind him.

"Shit!" Cloud jerked around, eyes widening as he saw other clones breaking their way out of their tanks. "They've all come alive! The relic must focus the energy!"

"Now isn't the time to speculate!" Vincent had his gun out and he fired at the clone who'd grabbed Zack, killing it and making it let go. Zack collapsed to the mako drenched floor, coughing and shuddering, eyes gone blank and wide. Several more shots and several more clones died before even escaping their tanks. "We can't fight in here, there's no room!"

Tseng and Rude needed no further urging and they were off, weaving their way through the maze of tanks. Occasionally Tseng fired his gun at one of the copies, but his bullets didn't seem to be as effective as Vincent's were and he mostly just succeeded in pissing them off.

"Zack, come on!" Cloud grabbed his friend and began to tug at him. "What's gotten into you?! MOVE!" Zack snapped out of his daze and got to his feet, then without much more urging, he followed Cloud and jumped up onto the top of the tanks to travel along them and reach the narrow corridor between the doors and the reactor. Cloud jumped back down by Tseng and Rude, but Zack remained balancing atop one of the tanks. It seemed like he intended to stay there until Tseng shot at one of the copies that had lunged at him from around one of the tanks and he jerked so badly he nearly lost his balance.

Cloud grit his teeth. Zack reacted to the sound of guns. Of course he would, he'd been shot to death! "Zack, just stay there!"

The raven-haired man fell into a crouch, his mako blues wide. "Cloud....I'm sorry. This is my--"

"Don't even try to take the blame, Zack! There was no way to focus the crystal!" Cloud jumped up onto a tank opposite his friend and swung his sword around to activate one of the materia junctioned to it. "Tseng! Rude! Get away from the cables!"

The Turks moved quickly, hurrying toward the reactor itself and once Cloud deemed it good enough he jumped into the air to come down hard on the cables, slicing them apart and electrifying them with the Thundaga in his sword. The electricity traveled back down the lines, zapping most of the copies. Some of them died instantly, but others managed to survive the charge and even seemed strengthened by it, moving all the quicker from their containment. They were starting to climb up atop the tanks as well, seeing it as a quicker way to their objectives--the intruders. Vincent hopped atop the tanks himself and began shooting the ones he could, but now even his bullets didn't seem as effective and the remaining ones were taking longer to die.

"Cloud" Vincent half-growled, slicing a copy across the face with his gauntlet and sending it crashing back to the floor. "do you have any ideas?"

"We need to get out of here..." Cloud looked at the doors that would take them back out, but he had no idea if the copies there had come alive as well. "it's too cramped in here and they have us outnumbered." He punctuated his sentence by bashing a copy with the broad side of Merciless.

"They outnumber us, but we have weapons and they don't." Vincent pointed out.

"And they're not dying fast enough." Cloud looked over at the Turks. Tseng was firing as quickly as he could, but as one copy fell, two more seemed to replace it. It was like a horror zombie movie. Rude had taken a fighting stance next to the Director, but weak as the copies were, they had still been made with a SOLDIER's DNA and would probably be able to overwhelm the two men without too much trouble.

"Zack!" The raven-haired man jumped a bit when Cloud called his name. "Any ideas?"

"Uhm...." Zack looked around for inspiration, but in the end he shook his head and licked dry lips. He hated this, but every time Vincent or Tseng fired, he flinched. The guns didn't sound like the rifles that had killed him, but still he reacted and that kind of weakness was intolerable in his eyes.

I'm getting better. Zack told himself. Next time I won't be so weak....I mean, what would Angeal-- He cut his own train of thought off. "Hey! If you see Angeal....even if he's not acting like Angeal, don't kill him!" He called to the others. "Just....knock him out or something."

Tseng and Rude ignored the request, but both Vincent and Cloud looked around themselves briefly. "I don't see him, Zack." Cloud told him, then spun to dodge a strike from a copy armed with a bit of broken glass and he hissed through his teeth. This really wasn't a good situation at all and he again jumped up atop the tanks. I'm sorry.... He once more called upon the Thundaga and held Merciless up, aiming for a widespread cast even though such an attack would hit his allies as well. He was just about to release the magic when pain spiked through his head so suddenly that he tumbled right off the tubes to the mako-drenched floor. He thought at first that Sephiroth had done it, but when the same kind of sharp pain rained down on his back and legs he realized he was being struck with something. However, before he could retaliate he found his face shoved down into the mako and his arms and legs being restrained.

"Cloud!" Zack jumped to his feet, hoisting the Buster sword along with him. Enough was enough! He was done cowering just because shots were being fired around him, his friend was gonna get killed! He launched himself across the narrow corridor to slice through the copies from above and get them off of Cloud, who came up hacking violently--just because you could breathe fresh mako didn't mean you would want to. "Hurry!" Zack called to him, eyeing the copies which he'd injured but largely not managed to kill. "Get up here. We need to finish this."

Cloud gave an awkward jump that didn't quite clear the tanks, forcing Zack to have to drag him the rest of the way and then he shook his head out, gave a few more violent coughs and wiped at his eyes. "Damn..." He muttered. "they were trying to drown me or something....."

"Never mind that." Zack hefted the Buster sword. "You're the only one with materia, right? When the Turks showed up at the bar, we forgot to get some for ourselves."

Cloud hissed through his teeth and edged up to stand back to back with his taller friend. "That's right....." He sighed. "I have no idea if Tseng or Rude have any, or Vincent....but you're definitely out of luck....."

"Well, what've you got?"

The copies were starting to climb up after them, but the injuries Zack had just inflicted were slowing them down and that gave Cloud time to take mental stock. "I have Thundaga and Waterga linked in my sword and Graviga and Ultima.....in my right arm. Learned that trick from Sephiroth's remnants. Curaga in my left. All mastered."

Zack chose not to think too hard about how Cloud had junctioned materia into his body and instead tried to concentrate. "Damnit....this would be a great time for some Hell materia...." He muttered under his breath.

"What?"

"I'll explain later." Zack looked around. "Che....everything's metal in here.....okay.....this is probably gonna suck, but.....Vincent! Go over to the Turks! Cloud, we're going there too."

Cloud glanced back at him. "You have a plan?"

"I've got a plan." And Zack launched himself off the tubes to land hard on the closest Genesis copies approaching Tseng and Rude. He winced when a bullet grazed his neck, but he was in the zone now and wasn't very phased by it. He took up a position in front of them and seconds later, Vincent and Cloud joined him.

"Alright, now what?" Cloud asked.

"Now cast that Waterga, then follow it with Thundaga!" Zack pointed ahead of them. "Aim that way. It might cascade back on us, but we'll have to risk it...."

Cloud had to admit that this was better than his plan, but at the same time he hesitated. "Are you sure....? What about Angeal?" It was one thing when it was his own idea, but Zack's....

"......Have to risk it. Now do it!"

The water shot out in all directions, tumbling the nearest copies and splashing back on them. When Cloud followed up with the electricity they did indeed feel it as well, but not as strongly as the copies. When the first attack didn't work, Cloud followed up with a second barrage and then a third just to make sure. Then they stood there with only soft dripping and their breathing breaking the otherwise stillness.

"Looks like that did it...." Cloud slowly moved forward, setting Merciless into the straps. He looked back at Zack. "Can't clone a soul, huh...?"

"Can't clone a soul, but that doesn't mean a soul can't go into the wrong body." Zack responded. "Now then...." And setting the Buster sword onto his back, he headed into the mess of tubes, stepping gingerly to avoid piercing the soles of his boots on the sharp glass.

"You're bleeding, Cloud." Vincent pointed out to the blond. "Rather heavily, actually."

"......I am?" Cloud reached up to touch the back of his head and came back with blood on his glove. "So I am.....what the hell did they hit me with?! Hmph. Curaga." The restorative magic actually made him sag a bit, even as his injuries healed. Using materia became taxing after a while.

"Most likely the glass from their tanks." Tseng pointed out, stepping around Cloud and Vincent to nudge a Genesis copy onto its back. He crouched to examine it, but Cloud had lost interest.

"Zack?" He called. "Everything alright?"

"....Yeah. Everything's fine. Can't find the release, that's all."

"Can't find the...." Cloud trotted after Zack and soon found him looking all around the tank that Angeal was in. Like the copies, he had come to life, but unlike them he hadn't even attempted to break out and was just floating there. Cloud glanced at his friend, and then looked at Angeal who looked calmly back at him. Right body, but right soul? "Are you certain that it's Angeal in there?"

"What's that supposed to mean?" Zack crouched down to see if there was something down there that could possibly open the tank.

"You just said souls can go to the wrong body. And you'd also said your friend had never gone to the Lifestream. With the Lifestream being dredged out right here, wouldn't it make more sense for a closer soul to take over the body?"

Zack peeked out from around the tank, and for several moments he was silent. "......Well whoever it is didn't attack us, so Angeal or not, I'm getting him out of there."

"....Alright then." Cloud looked at the clone of Angeal and motioned for him to move back. The clone gave a slow blink and then pushed himself away from the front of the tank and Cloud unslung Merciless to slam the blade into the glass, cracking it.

"Hey!" Zack jumped to his feet and jumped around to the front of the tank. "Cloud, what the hell are you doing?!"

"I cut the wires, Zack. There's no power to make it release. I have to break him out." With another awkward swing in the cramped space he broke through and mako began to spill out. Cloud and Zack both stepped out of the way and Cloud gave a sneeze. "All this damn mako is starting to make me foggy." He groused. "Stay back." He told the Angeal clone and unlinked Vendetta from the main blade to cram into the top of the tank and use it as a lever to further break the glass so Angeal would be able to get out. He ended up having to slam Merciless into the floor so he could use both hands, but it worked and soon enough the clone was able to step out.

The clone looked between them and softly coughed once, then finally focused on Zack and arched a brow. "I think the right thing to say right now would be 'what the hell'?"

Zack bit his lip. "......Angeal.....?"

A soft sigh. "Yes."

"Oh....oh man......An-Angeal....." Zack grabbed his arm as if he couldn't believe he was real, and then hugged him hard. "Angeal!"

Angeal pushed at him to try and make him let go, but the motion seemed half-hearted and in the end he just let the other man cling. "Zack...." He said with some exasperation.

Cloud began to laugh softly. "Afraid you're just going to have to put up with it." He addressed the former First Class. "You know how he can be." He pulled his sword free of the floor and clicked Vendetta back into the blade, then turned to walk away with a slight smile. Cloud had gotten his best friend back, and now Zack had his. Now if only Genesis and Weiss would mysteriously drop dead and Sephiroth would go to his rest he could call it the month of miracles. But, speaking of Sephiroth....

"Tseng." He addressed the leader of the Turks when he came back into view. "You said genetic samples were taken from all SOLDIERs, did that include Sephiroth?" Vincent gave him a sharp look, but he ignored it.

Tseng looked up from his examination of the Genesis copy. "That's right." He confirmed. "Why do you ask?"

"Why do you think?" Cloud spread his hands. "If they could clone Angeal, why would they stop there? Why not clone Sephiroth too? An army of Sephiroth's? That would make more sense than an army of Genesis's, wouldn't it? It would provoke more fear....or something."

"Hm." Tseng shook his head and looked back at the Genesis copy. "A good point. However, unlike the rest of SOLDIER, Sephiroth's samples were kept in the direct care of Professor Hojo."

"Weiss has Hojo's memetic data." Vincent stated, still eyeing Cloud.

"If that is the case.....then it may be a valid concern." Tseng got to his feet. "What of Angeal?"

"Currently being clung to by Zack."

Tseng gave a slight nod and looked off at the tanks. "And it is really him?"

"Seems to be." Cloud gave a slight shrug. "It isn't as if I'd ever met the man before Modeoheim."

"Mm...you remember that?"

"It was when I met Zack, so I'd hope so."

Tseng gave a thoughtful nod. "Cloud, I have a question for you. When did you start to regain your memories?"

Cloud gave him a look. "What?"

"Your memories." Tseng repeated. "When we encountered one another again in Midgar after you had sided with AVALANCHE" Cloud twitched. "you didn't seem to remember me at all, and you were identifying yourself as an ex-SOLDIER. When did that change?"

".......They came back during the original hunt for Sephiroth." Cloud eyed the other man with some wariness. Why was this coming up all of a sudden?

"That long ago? ......I see." Tseng gave another thoughtful nod. "Then why did you lose them in the first place?"

"......Oh, I don't know." Cloud's tone was slightly sarcastic because he felt on the defensive. "Maybe it has something to do with the fact that I was experimented on!"

"There's no need to get upset." The Director of the Turks responded calmly. "I'm only curious."

Cloud shook his head slightly. "You're a Turk. You're never 'only curious'." Vincent quietly cleared his throat and Cloud glanced at him. "You're different, Vincent. You've earned my trust, and you say you're a former Turk."

"No one is 'former' when it comes to the Turks." Vincent replied, though he moved to step away. "The training is too deep for that.....but my training is different from theirs, so maybe when it comes to them I'm wrong."

Tseng gave a quiet sigh and put a hand to his forehead. "In any event" He said. "I have to inform the President of what we found here and get further orders. It would probably be best if we left quickly."

"Right." Getting out of there was something Cloud was certainly not going to protest. The mako was all over his clothes and in his hair, and he wanted to wash off quickly before it started to affect him. "Zack! Come on, we're leaving!"

"Yeah, coming!" Soon Zack came into view with Angeal following. The older man paused briefly when he saw Tseng, but then continued following Zack. Cloud looked them both over and gave a slight nod, then moved toward the doors to lead the way out. The tanks beyond the door remained unbroken, the copies inside not having been brought to life by the crystal.

Vincent stepped over to the nearest tank to check the vitals and then nodded in satisfaction. "Dead." He reported. "Cutting the wires out there cut them off too. That saves us some time."

"Good to know." Cloud responded. He hopped atop the tubes to make it to the walkway above and the others followed though the Turks and Angeal had to climb. Making it outside, Cloud found himself ambushed by a very frazzled Yuffie.

"I heard shots, was there a fight?! Are you guys okay? Was Nero--"

"No." Vincent cut her off harshly. "Now calm down. It was only......it's fine, we handled it. Calm down."

"....Hmph." Yuffie let go of Cloud and then wrinkled her nose. "Eew, what's that smell? Oh, you've got mako on you, and now it's on me!"

"Look before you leap, Yuffie." Cloud scratched at his scalp to try and dislodge some of the thick liquid. "I'm going to head back. I don't know what Tseng's going to be doing....so might have to call on Reeve to get a WRO vehicle out here to pick up the rest of you guys."

"Yeah...." She looked around at everyone, then fixated on Angeal and her eyes slowly widened. "You.....you, you!" She suddenly lunged at him. "You were there! You--! Hitogoroshi! Fumeiyona Shinra no zasshu! Temee wa korosu!"

"Yuffie!" Cloud grabbed her to hold her back. "What the hell?!"

".......She's saying he killed someone." Tseng said slowly. He looked at Angeal and then back at Yuffie. "But that would have been during the war." He gave a heavy sigh. "Yuffie Kisaragi." He said calmly but firmly. "Explain yourself."

Yuffie turned an infuriated expression on him, chest heaving. "Fort Tamblin!" She snapped after several moments. "That yaro....he massacred them!"

"Eh....oh crap....." Zack grimaced and stepped in front of his mentor. "Yuffie, that wasn't Angeal. That was me."

Yuffie stared at him blankly for several moments. "You...? But..."

"Yes." The raven-haired man said wearily. "Me. Angeal'd probably followed me to watch my back, but....I'm the one who took out Fort Tamblin. You met me in there, remember?"

For several more moments Yuffie stared at him, but then she straightened up and yanked herself free of Cloud to turn and walk away from the group.

"......Don't worry about it, Zack." Cloud tried to reassure his friend, who now looked a bit downtrodden. "It must just be a shock to her, but I'm sure she'll get over it."

Zack gave a heavy sigh. "Yeah. Okay...." He said in a tone that told Cloud he didn't believe him. The blond pinched his nose briefly and then looked at Angeal. This addition was going to be problematic. He'd dealt with intimidating individuals before, but this was the first time that individual was a SOLDIER First Class. How was Angeal going to react when he found out Cloud was the de facto leader? Hell, considering what he apparently thought of himself, was he even going to stay and could he be trusted if he did? He took a deep breath and let it out slowly. "Angeal, if I could have a word?" He motioned with his head and turned to walk away from the others as if expecting the former SOLDER to simply obey him.

"Oh now, this should be interesting." Sephiroth commented.

Cloud opted not to reply and turned back once he deemed himself out of hearing range of the others. Angeal had indeed followed, though he'd stayed far enough back that Cloud didn't have to tilt his head too much to look at the taller man.

"Right." Cloud sighed softly. "My name is Cloud Strife. I understand it's been a few years, so I'll give you a quick run down of events." He glanced to the side briefly for inspiration, then looked back at the other man. "Zack took over SOLDIER after your.....death and as far as I know, he did a good job." He folded his arms loosely as he continued. "About....eight or so years ago, Sephiroth, Zack and I were sent to check on the Nibelheim reactor.....something happened within the reactor and Sephiroth became obsessed with the notion that the creature kept within the reactor--called Jenova--was his birth mother." He paused briefly, waiting to see if Sephiroth would lash out at him for his wording, but when nothing happened he quickly continued. "This ended in him deciding to burn Nibelheim and kill the residents.....Zack and I were able to stop him, just barely.....but he resurfaced four years later and...." Cloud shook his head. "the long and the short of it is, I and my team were able to stop him.....but he'd summoned the ultimate destructive force, Meteor. It ended up destroying Midgar." He motioned to their surroundings and Angeal cocked a brow and looked around briefly. He frowned, but then returned his attention to Cloud and mutely nodded.

Cloud remained silent for a few moments, gathering his thoughts. Angeal didn't need to know about Sephiroth's temporary rebirth thanks to Kadaj and the head of Jenova, and Cloud didn't know enough about Deepground to give enough details there. It was best to just go straight to current affairs. "Genesis has resurfaced in recent days. He's already killed at least one person and nearly killed a member of my team. He's working alongside a man named Weiss. We don't know what their objective is currently, but considering what's happened so far.....it can't be good. Now then.....Shinra is all but gone--it fell apart after Midgar was destroyed. Khymera Corporation has taken its place and they've employed all the remaining SOLDIERs if you would like to join them.....or you could join my team and help us stop Genesis and Weiss."

Angeal looked at him silently for several moments, then she shook his head and turned away. "I choose neither." He looked over at the others. The Turks had stepped away from Cloud's friends and Tseng seemed to be speaking on his phone with someone. Zack had crouched down and was prodding at some rubble with his hand and Vincent was watching the Turks. "I don't know what Zack has told you, as I'm fairly certain I've never seen you before myself......but Zack has a tendency to gloss over things he doesn't like. I shouldn't even be alive right now."

"No, but you are. You have a second chance." Cloud straightened up. "We would really appreciate your help."

"You don't know anything about me. The answer is no." Angeal moved to walk away.

Cloud grit his teeth. "I know you were an experiment, like Sephiroth and Genesis. I know you have a wing, like they do. I know you consider yourself a monster." He took a deep breath. "I also know that none of that matters."

Angeal stopped, his fingers curling into loose fists. "You think not?" His tone was starting to turn hostile.

"I know not. Vincent was experimented on by Professor Hojo. He had four monsters--at least--implanted into him. Monsters he transforms into and which has taken years for him to learn to control. He used to potentially turn on any one of us when we first met him, but my team and I still consider him one of us. Another member of my team, Red XIII--he's a four legged, furred beast. He's also more intelligent than most humans. He looks like a monster, and yet he's just about the furthest thing from one. Your choices make you a monster, not your race...or species, or whatever."

Angeal looked back at him, expression unreadable for several moments before he sighed heavily and gave a slight nod. "I'll.....think about what you've said." He said slowly. "I suppose in the meantime, I'll have to.....stick around."

"Thank you." Cloud watched as he walked over to Zack, then looked up at the sky when it gave an ominous rumbling. By the looks of things, it was soon going to rain. The blond gave a heavy sigh and moved to head back over to the others. As he rejoined them, Tseng concluded his phone conversation and turned to step over to them himself.

"The President has ordered us to return to Seventh Heaven." Tseng told Cloud. "I don't know what his plans entail after that, however."

Cloud gave a soft but heavy sigh. "Alright." He glanced up at the sky again. "We should get going then before the rain--"

And of course, the skies decided to open up right then and drench them all within seconds. Immediately everyone scrambled for cover and ended up crowding under an overhanging fold of metal while the rain seemed to be doing its best to drown their surroundings.

Well, that took care of the mako at least. Cloud thought dourly as he watched the now diluted material running off his clothing. He then looked out into the downpour and wondered if Yuffie had managed to find shelter....though knowing her, she'd probably walked back to the Shinra vehicle while they were all standing around by the reactor and broken into it--and stolen everything inside she thought she could make off with, if not the vehicle itself.

They ended up waiting nearly fifteen minutes before the rain tapered off and wet and shivering, Cloud's group and the two Turks were all equally miserable as they tromped off back for the vehicles. When they arrived, Cloud found his guess had been right. Yuffie had indeed taken refuge in the Shinra vehicle, though it didn't seem like she'd done any vandalizing. She opened the door when they showed up and giggled softly. "Cloud, you look like a half-drowned chocobo!"

"Thanks, Yuffie." Cloud responded dryly, pushing at his water-flattened hair a bit self-consciously.

She emerged from the car, not much drier than they were and squeezed out her shirt. If Cloud wasn't used to Tifa, the sight of Yuffie's clothes clinging to her like a second skin likely would have turned his face red. Poor Vincent was not so lucky and rolled his eyes upward to avoid seeing more of it.

"Okay..." Cloud said with a sigh. "I guess Yuffie's riding with me. Try not to throw up on me, alright?"

"Huh?" Yuffie blinked at him. "Why am I going with you?" She paused and looked at Zack. "Oh...." She stuck her nose in the air and turned away from the two SOLDIER's. "Yeah. Fine."

Cloud facepalmed and sighed heavily. She was twenty years old, but still acted like the sixteen year old she'd been when he'd first met her. When the hell was she going to stop being such a brat?! He turned toward his bike. "Alright then, let's go."

".....You know, on second thought.....I'll walk." Cloud looked back at Yuffie, who had backed away from both vehicles and was holding her wrist with the opposite hand in a nervous motion. "My old man says it's good for the body anyway...."

Cloud gave her a funny look while the others got into the Turks vehicle. "You want to walk...? Yuffie, we're in the middle of the city! It will take you hours to get to Edge!"

"Then I'll summon Leviathan and ask it to carry me!" The young ninja retorted. "I just....I need to think." She nodded slightly. "Just need to think."

"........Yeah, fine.” Cloud leaned back on his bike and sighed. He watched as the Turks drove off and then switched his attention to Yuffie as she headed off after the vehicle. She glanced back at him with a nervous look before jumping around some debris and was out of sight. It wasn’t hard for Cloud to come to the only logical conclusion.

"Great..." He muttered, straightening up again to try and squeeze out his clothes a bit. That was one more person afraid of him because of Sephiroth. Once he'd done what he could with his clothing, he moved to get on his motorcycle, wrinkling his nose a bit when the seat squished under him. He was about to turn the bike on to follow the Turk vehicle when his phone gave off a bizzare ditty.

"What the...?" He reached down to grab it and flip it open and then he groaned in dismay. "Why now?" He muttered. Why now did a prior engagement have to come up that he had no way of getting out of? After a few more moments, he gave a heavy sigh and shut his phone to put it away again, then turned his motorcycle on to head back to Seventh Heaven.

------------------------------------------------------------

To say Tifa was annoyed would be a bit of an understatement. She had Shinra employees in her bar. Worse, she had Rufus Shinra in her bar. Even though this was not the original Seventh Heaven, it still felt like blasphemy. The Turks she could tolerate, even the ones she didn't know--but Rufus.....

She subtly looked over toward him. He'd moved from the bar to one of the tables closer to the door, the two unknown Turks were sitting near him and they were all speaking quietly with their heads close together. In the row on the other end of the room Cid sat with Cait, the former eyeing the Shinra President and employees with annoyance and the latter happily spearing and eating sardines out of a tin Tifa had given him. Finally, the woman turned her attention to Reno, who was sitting at the bar nursing a Spiky Cactaur pop he'd bought from her. He looked like he could use something far harder than that, but as he was still on duty he couldn't indulge himself.

"Worried about Rude?" She finally ventured softly.

Reno tilted his head slightly to regard her with one blue eye. "They're only checking the reactor, right? Shouldn't be a problem."

Tifa put her hands on her hips. "Who are you trying to convince, me or yourself?" She leaned forward slightly. "Did you leave something out earlier, is that it?"

"Hwaah...." Reno sipped his pop and grimaced. "Nice to know you trust my word, yo. Isn't Nero enough to be worried about?"

"I don't know about Nero--though considering how Vincent reacted, I suppose you have a point." She leaned on the bar, looking at Reno's face and trying to read his expression. "But what else is there? Vincent's the one who went into Deepground, so tell me. What is it about it? What is it that has you so concerned?"

Reno's eyes drifted briefly to her cleavage before he snapped them away and he leaned back to sip his drink again. "The whole place is a nightmare." The redhead muttered. "Big fat experiment pool. Used to be used for injured Infantry and the first SOLDIERs.....but then there was the Jenova Project." He eyed her, then shrugged. "But yeah, turned into a big experiment pool.....and if you think Hojo was bad, he spawned worse down there--or so I heard."

Tifa frowned and straightened up. ".....The Jenova Project." She said. "So it had a connection to Sephiroth?"

Reno shook his head and sighed. "There were two scientists working on the project, Hollander and of course, Hojo. Outta Project S was Sephiroth, but there was also Project G which made two kids....and one of them was kinda strange--don't remember quite how off the top of my head--and they took his cells to infuse into some fetuses down there....and worse, supposedly. One of the results of the experiments down there was Nero the Sable." Reno gave a feral grin briefly. "That abomination was created because of another scientist's research--Grimoire Valentine."

"Grimoire Valentine...." Tifa repeated slowly. Valentine. Was Reno hinting that this scientist had a relation to Vincent? She decided to file that information away for later. "So, what about Nero? You said earlier he had a part of Chaos in him, right? But how could that be possible?"

"Same way Cloud could be a part of Sephiroth, yo." Tifa stiffened briefly before she realized Reno was referring to Sephiroth's cells supposedly infused into Cloud during the time he was in Hojo's clutches and not because he knew Cloud was possessed by the man. Reno shrugged, seemingly not noticing her reaction. "Don't know the full details, but Nero is a part of the Planet--a part of Chaos. That was the standing theory, at least--and he was so dangerous he had to be chained up, so I'd say they were right."

Tifa crossed her arms and frowned, thinking briefly on what Reno had said earlier. ".....So....Project G.....for Gillian?"

The redhead looked at her sharply. "How do you know that?"

"......Zack mentioned it." She eyed the Turk. While it was satisfying to take him off guard, she knew she might accidentally reveal something the Turks shouldn't know--and likely without even realizing it.

"Zack....well, that just figures since he got up to his eyeballs mired in it all." Reno sipped his pop again. "But why'd he mention it? Not something I'd think he'd want to just bring up."

Tifa eyed the Turk, frowning faintly and wondering if she should tell him. In the end however, she decided it would be more dangerous if she didn't. Cloud might not agree with her and she certainly hadn't been pleased to find they'd showed up at her bar, but the more people on the watch for Genesis as well as Weiss, the better.

"Genesis has shown up." She told the redhead. "He's....already caused some problems. He's working with Weiss."

Reno gave a low hiss. "Weiss the Immaculate....Nero's older brother." He put a hand to his face. "Yep, Gaia's going to hell."

Tifa abruptly slammed her hands on the bar, startling Reno and making everyone else in the room look over. "Where were you all half a year ago when Deepground was kidnapping people?!" She exploded at him. "All that 'the pure will be spared for the cause' crap that was broadcast on TV, didn't you notice any of that?!"

Reno winced. "Ah, we--"

"They were evacuating who they could." Rufus spoke up. "Deepground struck too fast and hard, but as soon as I found out what was going on I tried to keep others safe."

Tifa looked at him, expression still somewhat furious. After a few seconds however, she let out a heavy breath and straightened up again. She forced herself to turn away and arrange some pots and pans to give herself a chance to calm somewhat.

"So...." She said at last, deciding to drop the current topic and move on to another one. "Grimoire Valentine....is he related to Vincent?" As soon as the question was out, she wished she could take it back. That was Vincent's history, something he'd kept private from them. All he'd told them had been that he'd been a Turk, loved Lucrecia and been experimented on by Hojo. They knew so little about him, but it was his story to tell....

"Heh." Reno finished off his drink and set the can on the counter. "Not sure I should tell you, yo. I might not like him, but he was one of us once and Turks don't betray their own." Which unfortunately was causing a hell of a problem finding Veld, as Thessa and Adrian could easily know his location and just weren't telling.

Tifa gave a huff of frustration even as she found herself relieved. Maybe she would try asking Vincent himself--it was his story to tell, and without Chaos he didn't seem as intimidating. She perked slightly when she heard a car pull up outside and looked over toward the door, which shortly opened to admit Rude, Tseng, Vincent, Zack and....a very built and rather tall individual wearing a Deepground uniform. She wasn't the only one who stiffened and Zack immediately got in front of the individual.

"Don't you dare!" The raven-haired man hissed at the Turks, eyes shifting between the ones by the door and Reno at the bar.

Tseng too moved forward. "Stand down." He told his Turks. "This is not an enemy of ours." He paused a moment, then said a word in Wutaiese. "Genzai."

Adrian sighed and pushed his glasses up his nose. "Tseng, it's been years. I'm certain neither Thessa nor I remember that language any longer."

"My apologies. I'll have to give you a refresher course, then." Tseng turned to Rufus. "Shall we go, sir?"

"I believe that would be wise, yes." Rufus rose along with Thessa and Adrian to follow Tseng out the door. Rude remained behind to wait for Reno to rise from the bar and then they left too.

Zack didn't relax until he heard the car pull away and then he turned to his mentor. "Well Angeal, here it is." He took the Buster sword off his back to flip around and offer the handle to the older man. "Sorry about any wear, tear or--"

"Zack, that's yours now." Angeal interrupted him, putting a hand up. "I don't deserve to have it any longer."

"Don't deserve...?" Zack lowered the weapon slightly, then put it on his back again. "Why not, Angeal? Because...." His eyes hardened slightly. "Because you're a 'monster'?" He asked lowly.

"Intending to tell everyone that, are you?" Angeal responded with a touch of irritation.

"He already told us before, while explaining about Genesis." Vincent spoke up, stepping around them. "But I would much appreciate it if you would not throw the word around, nor the thoughts of it. Jenova cells does not a monster alone make."

Angeal arched a brow at Vincent, but then returned his attention to the sulking puppy standing in front of him. He gave a heavy sigh, finding himself having to resist the urge to muss Zack's hair. "Because of....our last battle." He said lowly. "That is why I no longer have the right to the Buster sword."

Zack sighed heavily. "Alright, fine." He turned away. "Tifa, is there anything around here that could fit Angeal? And could he have a shower?"

"Yes, he can have a shower. I don't know if there's anything here that's....suitable for him to wear though." She frowned slightly at Angeal. "I don't stock clothes for clients that....built."

"Hmm...." Zack crossed his arms. "That's a problem, then."

"Nawt neccessarily." Cait spoke up, tail tip flicking in feline contentment. "Yae called him Angeal? Angeal Hewley?"

"That's right." Angeal said warily, eyeing him. "And you....?"

"Cait Sith. Occasional mouthpiece for Reeve Tuesti, who's the leader of the World Regenesis Organization." He gave a fangy grin. "Anyway bloke, ae can see if yaer fittings are listed in the public files--unless yae can just tell mae?"

"........Twenty across, twenty two down for shirts. Fourty four across, fourty two down for pants." Angeal rattled off his measurements somewhat flatly.

Cait gave a jaunty salute. "Ae'll see what ae can do!" He then fell quiet, presumably communicating with Reeve or whoever was on the other end of the mechanical cat at the time.

"Well, in the meantime, I'll show you to the shower." Tifa said, moving away from the bar to lift the countertop and motion Angeal over. "I'll do what I can about your clothes....but they look like they're the most mako-free part of you, oddly." She proceeded to lead Angeal upstairs, when she came down a few minutes later she found that Cloud had arrived, though without Yuffie and she noticed he looked a bit troubled.

"Cloud?" Tifa ventured, stepping over to him. "What's wrong? Where's Yuffie?"

Cloud looked over from where he'd seated himself with Zack, Cid and the seemingly offline Cait and sighed. "Yuffie decided to walk, hopefully to clear her head from her latest....issue." Zack wilted a bit as Cloud continued. "As for what's wrong...." He pulled out his cellphone and clicked a couple of buttons, then held it out to Tifa.

"Chocobo Fair. Gold Saucer. Must Attend." Tifa read off. She looked to the blond. "I don't understand."

"I'm selling off some members of my flock. I can't afford to keep paying Choco Bill to house them anymore. The Fair is tomorrow, and I need to be there. Bill is shipping the birds in, but as the owner I need to sell them which means I need to attend."

Tifa handed his phone back to him, frowning. "So what you're saying is we need to put our hunt for Genesis and Weiss on hold so you can do this."

Cloud shook his head. "No, that's not what I'm saying. I need to go, but the rest of you don't have to. Cid can lead everyone just as--"

"Now hold on there, Spiky." Cid interrupted him, putting his hands up. "Don't go nominating me outta the goddamn blue like that. I led everyone before 'cause you'd gotten your ass mako poisoned. You're our leader. What's the goddamn problem all of a sudden?" He suddenly leaned forward and poked Cloud in the forehead, making him recoil. "You ain't trying to run off on us, are you kid?" The grizzled pilot said. "You seem to have a habit of that when shit goes wrong for you."

".....I am not running off!" Cloud snapped. He moved to stand, planting his hands firmly on the table and giving his older friend a glare. "If you're talking about when you couldn't find me for a month and a half, that was because I'd...." He trailed off. "Because.....Sephiroth had gotten a hold of my mind and pulled me to the Northern Crater.....like one of his copies....." He finished softly. Cloud hadn't lost time since, but the fact that Sephiroth had been able to do that at all....thinking on it again made him feel cold.

Zack reached up to forcibly yank Cloud back into a sit. "Let's rewind a little." He said seriously. "You have to sell some chocobos you own, you're going to the Gold Saucer to do that.....Cloud, the Gold Saucer is on the Central continent, isn't it?"

Cloud blinked at his friend, then nodded. "That's right."

"What else is on Central?" Now it was Zack's turn to poke Cloud's forehead. "Gongaga. I need to go home."

"Come to think of it, I think that wouldn't be a bad goddamn idea." Cid said thoughtfully, scratching his light stubble. "Shera's due soon, I should check on her and my current brat and Barret's over in North Corel cleaning up while between jobs I think. We can check on him too and ask him if he'd like to help save the world from these couple of crazies."

"There is also Cosmo Canyon, while we're speaking of absent friends." Vincent spoke up, moving from where he'd been leaning against the wall to approach. "There is much we could get done while Cloud is selling his flock."

"Then it's decided!" Zack smacked his palm on the table and began to grin. "Probably a good way to get Angeal used to everyone too, and I can take him to meet my folks too! I used to write home about him all the time, it would be about time they met him!" He turned to Cloud, his usual energy level coming back with a vengeance. "Andandand....chocobos! My Dad raises them, you know. He'd probably love the chance to see yours, if he hasn't managed to get transportation to the Saucer anyway. I've never been to the Gold Saucer, I think I told you that before and--"

"Zack, Zack! Calm down!" Cloud put his hands up. "I don't have to be at the Saucer until about mid-afternoon tomorrow, and since Cid is our ride there in the first place.....well, I'm pretty sure I'd pre-booked a room at Ghost Square, but that's a single. In any event, if we plan it right we might have time to fly to everywhere we need to go. I'll call the hotel to see if it has any other empty rooms.....and I didn't know your family raised chocobos."

"Well, we do!" Zack was very proud of this fact. He hopped to his feet and moved away from the tables a bit so he could do squats. "This is gonna be great! I finally get to see everyone again!"

Cloud gave a faint smile, looking at his friend. Zack's parents had been unaware of their son's fate at the time Cloud and the others had met them, but that situation could have changed by this point. But either way, they deserved to see their son. He only hoped the shock wouldn't kill them.

"Did someone say Gold Saucer?" Cait spoke suddenly, making everyone jump and look at him. The mechanical cat gave a happy sigh. "Ahh, mae old stomping grounds!"

"Hm." Tifa gave a faint smile. "Cait, do you think Reeve could take care of Marlene and Denzel while we're away? I know they can take care of themselves, but I'd feel better if they were with someone, considering the current situation."

"Nae problem, lass! Yae can send them along with the bloke bringing Angeal something tae wear."

"Alright, thank you." Tifa turned to head upstairs and let the children know.

"Speaking of Angeal...." Cloud said, turning back around to look at Zack once more. "Is it really safe to trust him? He was friends with Genesis, and with that opinion he has of himself...."

"Angeal's a good person, Cloud." Zack said softly, stopping his squats and looking over at his friend with a somber expression as his manic energy tapered off again. "He got messed up by Genesis, but he's a good person. He wouldn't want to hurt us."

"Are you sure, Zack?" Cloud pressed. "I want to trust you, I want to trust him, but I need to be sure."

Zack squeezed his eyes shut, looking pained. ".......I'm sure." He said softly. "He's a good person."

"........Alright then." Cloud turned away again, unable to look at the expression on his friend's face. In the end though, Zack could still be wrong. The body was a clone, it could have something in it so it could be controlled. Why had it even been there? It was the only one, what if it had been planted? Cloud groaned softly and put his head in his hands. I don't like being so paranoid....

"Thinking too hard on something, Spiky?" Cid asked, arching a brow.

"Yes." Cloud muttered. He sighed heavily and rubbed his forehead, then dropped his hands. "I have the weight of the world on my shoulders, or at least that's how it feels." He grumbled and rubbed his forehead again. "But for a couple of days at least, hopefully we'll be able to relax. We don't know where Weiss and Genesis are anyway."

"Indeed." Vincent said evenly. He moved away. "I think I will see if I can find Yuffie and harry her steps back here."

Cloud brought his head up to look at his taller friend. "You're not going to run off on us again, are you?" He said directly.

Vincent looked back at him with an unreadable expression for several moments, then sighed and shut his eyes briefly. "I swear to you, I will return." He said, looking away when he'd opened his eyes again.

"No Vincent, that's not an answer. You'd probably planned to return the last time, too."

Cloud saw a muscle in Vincent's jaw twitch and then Vincent gave another, heavier sigh. "I will go directly to find Yuffie and then we will together, return." He looked at Cloud out of the corner of his eyes. "Does that satisfy you?"

Cloud sighed softly himself. "Yes, Vincent. Thank you." He couldn't blame the older man for getting peevish, he probably felt he was being treated like a misbehaving child and wasn't used to it. Cloud certainly didn't like feeling like he had to second guess everything Vincent said, and he watched as he left. Once the door had shut behind Vincent, Cloud thunked his head onto the table and covered the back of it with his arms for a few moments. "The whole planet's going crazy." He muttered.

And no one disagreed with him.