Final Fantasy - All Series Fan Fiction ❯ Hateful Transformation ❯ Chapter Two ( Chapter 2 )

Hateful Transformation

Chapter Two

Disclaimer: I own nothing. :'(

"Hey, where did you park?" Zax asked, staring around at the gigantic parking lot.

"Ummmmm……………. I………. Forgot……….?" Cloud replied, and then shrugged at Zax's surprised look.

"Man, what's up with you today? You've been acting weird. Not remembering anything. Usually you're like `Yes, we do.' And `Over there.' But today………." He shrugged, and sighed. "You need some kind of medication or anything? If Hojo notices you're acting strange, you know he's throw you in some freaky lab thing to study you for weeks. You know how that damn bastard is…………………"

Hojo. Cloud hadn't thought of him. He had known Sephiroth from the time he was born……………… after all, Hojo was his father. Would he notice something was different?

"I'm fine. I just didn't get enough sleep last night…………… that's all." Cloud told him half-heartedly.

"Okay, whatever……………" Zax said, now searching for Sephiroth's car. "Ah ha! I see it! Over there!" He cried, and pointed to car to the right of both of them. "You go first, Seph. It's your car, after all."

Cloud nodded, and dug in his pockets for the set of keys he had discovered in the bathroom. After examining it for a moment, he took a guess at which one may be the car's, and set out for it.

"Something is wrong with you today……..'Seph'." Zax said, running in front of him.

"Huh?" Cloud said questioningly, starting to get a bit worried. If Zax noticed something was wrong, so would Hojo. And everyone else.

"That car……… it isn't yours. Tell me, seriously, what's up with you. You get high or somethin'?" Zax said, smile appearing on his face.

"Me? Get high? Nah, of course not…………" Cloud answered, now trying to think up an excuse, a believable one.

"Well, -something- is wrong with you. The appointment we had, I made that up too, by the way. So if it's some sort of long story, we've got time." Zax told him, full-fledged grin now stuck on his face. "We don't have anything else to do right now."

"I can't tell you what's wrong with me, when there's nothing wrong with me. I told you, I'm just a little bit tired."

"You're not tired. You're being too energetic physically." Zax said arrogantly, getting into the typical SOLDIER pose.

"…………..Leave me alone……………"

"Why? If everything really was okay, you wouldn't care." Zax glanced thoughtfully up at him. "What was with the little `outburst' you had this morning anyway?"

"Outburst? You mean with the door………? I was……. I was……… upset because I couldn't find my sword."

"That's not it; I know. You hadn't even looked over at where the sword had been the night before. You just cracked man."

"What?! How did you know………..?!" Cloud yelled, voice panic-filled. How many others had seen……….?

"The camera, of course. I was on guard duty last night." Zax answered. "Don't tell me you forgot about the camera too."

"………How many other people saw………..?"

"Just me. Luckily for you. So, tell me what's up, or I'll show everyone at Shinra Headquarters your little outburst. I wonder how Hojo would react……………?"

Cloud visibly winced. "No…… you can't………. you wouldn't, would you……..?"

"How do you know I wouldn't? I have the tape…….." Zax reached down into his pant's pocket and pulled out something. "Right here." He waved the object in front of Cloud's eyes. Sure enough, it was a black tape, filled up with days of security information. Zax smiled evilly, his canine teeth making him appear like some sort of vampire watching his prey. "So, you gonna tell me or not?"

"Zax, if you're really a friend to me, you wouldn't do this." Cloud said anxiously, hoping for him to get Zax to back down.

"Alright, alright, fine…………… I won't show it to anyone, but I WOULD like to know what's wrong with you." Zax said, smiling.

Cloud sighed in relief, relaxing a bit. "Thanks a lot Zax."

"Pfft. It's nothing." Zax replied. "Let's get out of this parking lot…………. I feel like an idiot just standing here. Not like we have some fantastic view here or anything."

Cloud nodded, and laughed. "It does seem rather………." He paused for a single solitary moment, and went through his mental dictionary for a `Sephiroth' word. "Foolish." He finally said, barely managing to contain a smile.

"So what do you want to do?" Zax questioned, now pacing back and forth out of boredom.

"Nothing, really." Cloud answered quickly, not quite sure if he wanted to socialize yet around large areas of people. Places like Zax enjoyed going to.

Suddenly, a teenage boy, no older than fifteen, ran up to them, gasping for air. "Finally! I found ya Zax!" He said, and grinned. The boy had short brown hair, and blue eyes. He was about the same height as Cloud had been in his youth. "I found a way you could win some gil! A lot too! Fifty-thousand!" He said excitedly.

"Really Jeff? How?" Zax said, eyes widening. Cloud knew for a fact that he loved money.

"Over in Wall Market," Jeff explained, "There's this place that gives money for the prettiest girl. You could bring Aeris! If she wins though, you give me some of the money."

"Aeris…….? Wall Market………? Winning money………..? Zax……….?" These four things together did not bode well in Cloud's mind. He knew Zax wouldn't want Aeris to be harmed in any way, but……….. Would he realize just how rough it could get there?

"Thanks for telling me, Jeff, but I don't think I'll do it…… Wall Market is a bad area, and I don't want Aeris to get hurt." Zax said softly to Jeff. "She's far too good for anyone…… in that area."

Jeff, though he was disappointed, mumbled "Okay," and then ran off. Zax shook his head at him, and rolled his eyes. He sighed, and turned towards Cloud. "I won't use Aeris for such a thing……… but I have a better idea. Will you help Seph? Please? I really need the money."

Cloud shook his head rapidly. "No……… I won't do it."

"Come on! Please?" Zax asked frantically, followed by a look of mischief. "Well, if you don't do it willingly………….." He pulled the tape out of his pocket.

Cloud automatically flinched, eyes filling with fear. "I guess I have to…. but I hate you now. I really do."

Zax smirked. "That's a good Sephy………… heheh………. Now where should we go to find your `appliances'?" He laughed. "Any ideas Seph?"

Cloud gave him the evil eye, and said nothing. Now he could see why Aeris and Zax got together…………… they thought of sick twisted ideas like this.

"Wall Market………………hmmm……….. I bet that place would be good for finding stuff like that…….." Zax said to himself. "Yeah, better try there first. That's within walking distance……….."

Cloud sighed, and stared at the ground, aggravated. "Will you hurry up?! I want to get this over with!" He called loudly.

"Yeah yeah! Let's go ahead and go over to Wall Market then………that'd be our best bet." Zax replied, and laughed. "I'm glad I got this tape…….. Otherwise I would have had to just forget all of that money. Now, at least, we'll get the `consolation prize' of five thousand gil. As long as you don't blow it. Don't talk at all, k?"

Cloud nodded once more. He knew what to do, and what not to do. From experience, he thought angrily. One time had been enough, and he was normal then. Him being Sephiroth and having to do such a thing made it about ten times as worse.

"Zax……………."

"What?"

"I really can't do this……………."

"I'll show everyone the…………."

"I don't care. I just can't do this. It's just sick. You shouldn't make people do these types of things for money. It's blackmail. Speaking of that………… being your superior officer, shouldn't I report this to Shinra Headquarters?"

Zax's face immediately started to pale. "Okay. Forget the tape. Don't report me………… my parents would hate me then. I'm their main source of money………………"

"Destroy the tape, and maybe I'll consider not reporting you…………." Cloud said, liking the authority he commanded. He had always looked up to Zax before; now it was the opposite. Now that he thought about it……… he had the whole Shinra army under his thumb.

Maybe this whole thing wouldn't be so bad after all.

~~

A few hours later, Cloud ordered Zax to have the tape burned. While Cloud watched the flames with a small smirk on his face, glad that the only evidence against him was being destroyed, Zax sulked. He could have sold the damn thing for a lot of money…………

Finally, after many moments of silence, Cloud asked:

"When -do- we have a meeting with Shinra?"

"Tomorrow? I think? I need to check; but I'm pretty sure it's tomorrow around three p.m……"

Cloud cringed. That soon? He was ready to take it on today……… but, now that he thought about it, he was sure he wasn't ready. How -did- Sephiroth act around Hojo? He had never seen the two together in one place. Cloud knew Sephiroth never respected the scientist behind his back; but what if they were face to face? If he blew it around Hojo, he would never live it down. The worst part was that he always paid attention to details.

"Zax." Cloud said calmly. "Leave."

Zax stared at him for a moment, one eyebrow going up quizzically. "Huh? Why?"

"Just go. Now."

"Well…….. bye then………" Zax turned around and left, and waved once when he was out of hearing distance.

Cloud had no real reason to want Zax to leave. He just felt like being alone……….. That was all.

Staring at the flames, Cloud sat down, pulling his legs up closer to his body.

How was he going to get back?

To Tifa, to everyone?

Then he started to envision other things he hadn't even considered before:

What if they didn't care if he was there with them or not? The last few days before he came here, to the past, most of them seemed to ignore him. Work, work, work. Maybe he was being self-centered, but……… hadn't he been the leader? Was it just him; or after they had all gone back to Midgar, no one seemed to care about his opinions?

Cloud suddenly laughed. Why was he blaming everyone for ignoring him? After all; Midgar was a complete wreck when they first found it; finding not only demolished buildings; but also several corpses, openly rotting out in the sun. Of -course- they would ignore him after finding such a mess!

"Sorry about that Tifa………." He said to her in his mind; feeling guilty. "Sorry to the rest of you all too……"

Reluctantly, he stood up, and then grabbed a bucketful of water to douse the fire out with. Fire…….. That brought back memories.

Painful memories………

Trying to ignore these thoughts to the best of his ability, Cloud turned to leave, to go back to Sephiroth's apartment.

~~

As soon as Cloud entered the small apartment, he headed for the bathroom, to study his reflection in the mirror. He wanted to make sure he looked -exactly- as Sephiroth normally did, without a single difference. He also wanted to study body language, such as the expressions on his face. For example, Sephiroth -never- had an expression of absolute glee on his face. He wanted to make sure he could control his expressions, so no one else would be apprehensive of him in any way.

To Cloud's great surprise, he discovered the looks he made were actually comparable to Sephiroth's. He didn't quite know how to handle this……. The good part of it was that he didn't have to practice at hiding his emotions very much at all, but the bad part was that he must have similar body language to Sephiroth. Cloud felt relieved, yet also……………disgusted.

He, in addition to watching his facial expressions, practiced walking in front of the mirror. The way he moved, too, was the same. Cloud stared disbelievingly into the mirror at himself. -Surely- he wasn't -this- much like Sephiroth.

He turned away from the mirror, leaning against the counter, facing the shower. He felt like taking a bath or something, to clean himself up………..……but he wasn't ready for something that……….. Intimate. The very thought made him shudder.

As he began to feel drowsy, he left the bathroom and marched over to the bed. He threw the trench coat on the dresser, and flopped on the bed, landing on his back. Staring at the ceiling blankly for a little while, sleep finally began to overtake him……………….

~~