Final Fantasy - All Series Fan Fiction ❯ Now a Monster ❯ Meetings in Odd Places ( Chapter 4 )

Now a Monster

Chapter 4: Meetings in Odd Places

The WRO transport kicked up the desert sand, sending it in a sharp, biting wave at the two figures who stood peering up at it. As the transport's bulk settled, a side door was flung open and a blond figure flung itself out of the craft and ran through the swirling sand to fling itself at one of those waiting.

“Zack!” The blond, Cloud decked his long missed friend to the ground.

Zack laughed, reaching up and tousling his hair. “Hey, Spike! You went and got all grown up. Even your spikes have grown.”

Cloud couldn't end the silly grin that had taken up residence on his face. “You're alive. You're really alive.”

“Well, yeah.” Zack shoved him playfully, sending him sprawling then pounced back, pinning his friend to the ground. “And what about you Mr. Save-the-Planet? Didn't you buy it a couple of times… say getting sucked into the lifestream up north and getting miraculously spat out in Mideel, then how about getting blown to bits on top of the old Shinra tower.”

Cloud wiggled, his grin getting wider. “I knew it! It was you!”

Cloud kicked, upsetting Zack's hold and followed up with twisting his body, sliding out of Zack's grasp. Zack snickered and bounced to his feet, circling Cloud and looking for an opening. Cloud danced in a counter pattern.

“Sure, I couldn't let my best buddy get sucked into the lifestream like that. Besides…” He winked, feinted to the right then dove at Cloud's knees bringing the blond down with a thump. “How could I impress Aer if you were hanging around looking all heroic like?”

Cloud kicked upwards, arching his body out of the knee lock and sprang a few paces away. “So you kicked me out?”

“Yep.” Zack grinned, completely unrepentant.

Yuffie, having exited the transport when it landed edged around the continuing wrestling match and came to stand next to Nanaki, who was sitting watching the two friends say hello, and contemplating how kittens tumble and growl across a carpet in play.

“Hi.” She watched as Cloud swept Zack's feet out from under him and got a returning elbow in his stomach for his efforts. “…uh…” She winced as Cloud's head slammed into the ground with a loud thump. “how's things?”

“Not bad really. The canyon is safe and the people are happy” Nanaki nodded. “How are you, Yuffie? Are you well?”

Cloud flipped Zack over his shoulder, but Zack twisted bringing Cloud down with him. The two landed in a pile of laughter and dust. They tussled around a bit more then Cloud was thrown a few feet away to skid on his butt till he came to rest against the strut of the transport, snickering softly.

“I've been good.” Yuffie blinked the sand from her eyes. “Been working for Reeve. Got some great materia.”

Nanaki nodded. “I'm glad.” He nodded up the stairs to the entrance to Cosmo Canyon was.” Shall we?”

“Uh…but…”

She watched as Cloud caught Zack in a head lock and proceeded to mess up his black hair. Zack laughed and grabbed Cloud around the waist, shoving with his shoulder and sending them both to the ground.

“Oh.” Nanaki nodded. “That's easy enough to deal with. I got some advice from…” he paused a moment, looking uncertain, “an expert… on how to handle Zack.” He leapt up a few steps then yelled, “Dinner in five minutes!”

The tussling stopped and two pairs of glowing blue eyes looked up at him.

“Dinner?” Cloud felt his stomach yammer for food.

“Five minutes?” Zack felt the impending onset of starvation nip at him.

“Only clean people are allowed to eat.” Nanaki stepped aside as two blurs raced past him up the stairs.

Yuffie blinked. “Whoa. How…?”

“My expert says that the side effect of mako and exertion is the need to consume a lot of carbohydrates quickly.” Nanaki nodded for Yuffie to proceed him up the stairs. “When I thought about it, I realized he was correct. After almost every fight, if food was available, Cloud would… as you say…pig out.”

Yuffie watched as Cloud and Zack reached the top of the stairs. The blond and the brunet were shoulder to shoulder as they disappeared under the gate, pushing and laughing as they ran. As they disappeared into the pueblo, she could hear their happy yells as they raced each other towards the canyon's baths.

“I wish Tif' was here.” She walked up the stairs. “She's been worried about Cloud. Reeve's been putting a lot on him about Vinnie and the demons.”

“Has there been any word?” Nanaki paced up the steps at her side, looking worriedly up at her.

“No. Everyone thinks Vinnie's gone wacko.” The little ninja shook her head. “He wouldn't. I just know it. He wouldn't.”

“I agree.” Nanaki nodded to the gatekeeper as they walked under the gate. “Vincent may be hurt and sorrowful, but he is a strong, good man. If his demons are indeed loose killing innocents, than I fear that something terrible has befallen our friend.”

“Yeah, he needs our help!” Yuffie nodded looking as fierce as she could. “He doesn't need Reeve and Barret hunting him down.” She turned, giving her cat friend a look of outrage, “Reeve even got the Turks to go hunt for him. The Turks! They'll kill him. You know it. They're just a bunch of Shinra goons and they'll just shoot Vinnie and…”

“We will just have to find him first.” The firecat nodded firmly. “We, his friends, owe him that.”

Yuffie nodded, gulping for a moment, trying to show Nanaki that the world's greatest ninja, and the single white rose of Wutai didn't cry in sheer relief because someone finally listened after weeks of her desperate pleading. She took a deep breath that was definitely not a sniff, or if it was it was because of the dust. “Right.”

“Has Cloud said anything?” Nanaki pretended to stop a second and pull a nonexistent thorn out of his paw as a few more sniffs -from the dust- came from his friend.

“Just that he doesn't want to be the one to have to harm Vinnie.” Yuffie walked up the stairs to Nanaki's house.

“Then we will talk over this situation and see how we can best help Vincent. I am sure with the information that Zack has already shared with me, we can arrive at a solution.”

Bugenhagen's observatory hadn't changed much. The seating had changed to low soft pillows and the kitchen area had been rearranged into a high tech communication's center, but the place still looked like an old man's bachelor pad to Yuffie. She flung herself down on some of the pillows, sending up a fine dusting of cat hair to tickle her nose, and watched as her feline friend called down for dinner.

<00>

Zack leaned back against the pool's edge flicking his fingers idly through the water as he tipped his head back. “I missed this.”

“Cosmo Canyon?” Cloud lounged on the other side of the pool still watching his friend with happy disbelieving eyes.

“Nah.” Zack grinned a lazy smile. “Hot water. All there is, is mako and holy.” He rolled his head slightly to look at his friend. “Holy's fun. You can swim around in that, but…it's different. But the mako slides, now those are great.”

Cloud nodded, “Yeah…sure.”

“Just wait till you get there. We'll go sliding. It's great.” Zack gave a pretend self-pitying sniff. “Aeris won't go with me. Says she's got too much to do, so we'll go. It's great.”

“How…how's Aeris? Is she?” Cloud looked uneasily around, his smile faltering.

“She's wonderful. She's busy keeping an eye on everything.” He nudged Cloud's knee with his toe. “You should hear her yowl about some of the things you do on that bike of yours. Burn your ears off…”

Cloud ducked his head embarrassed.

“But sliding is great. I was waiting for Seph to get all unJenovaed, but…” Zack watched his friend carefully hiding behind a careless smile.

Cloud jerked, his grin gone.

“He was still sleeping in the holy and Aer wouldn't let me bug him.” Zack sighed a long put-upon sigh.

“He…he…” Cloud got up. “He destroyed…”

“Nothing.” Zack shook his head. “I told you that something was wrong with Seph. I was right…well, in a way… That wasn't really Seph that did that. It was Jenova.” He shrugged. “She ate his brain or something.”

“But he…I…you saw…” Cloud shook his head. “And the clones, he said…”

“Nah, that was Jenova too.” Zack waved it away then looked at Cloud worriedly. “You going to blame him for getting his brain eaten by Jenova? Man, that's mean.”

“He killed…”

“Poor guy tries his best all his life and takes a nap in the wrong place and gets his brain eaten by a creepy alien and you make it all his fault.” Zack shook his head and sighed. “My fault really. He used to watch out for me all the time, like when old man Shinra used to go off on his the-traitors-are-amongst-us psycho-rants and started ordering the Turks to clean house. Seph used to make sure I didn't get cleaned away, and then there was that time with the monsters in Icicle. I would have been nothing more than a greasy smear and he kept my butt alive.” Zack sighed again, his eyes sad. “And how do I repay him? I let him get his brain eaten. I knew he was upset and tired. I should have stayed and watched out for him, but I went to bed and some dead alien chick eats his brain.” Zack drooped. “My fault.” He looked sadly up at Cloud. “If you want to blame someone for what happened to your home town, then blame me. I should have watched his back. It was my fault she got him.”

Cloud shook his head. “No. Jenova was…”

“I'm the one he trusted, ya know. I watched out for him and he watched out for me.” Zack looked away. “I let him down.”

“You couldn't have…”

“He depended on me and look… He got all Jenovaed and spent years getting yanked around and tortured by a crazy alien chick.”

“Jenova was…”

“Just say it, Spike.” Zack got up, his head hanging low. “I fucked it all up.”

“No.” Cloud stepped forward. “Jenova did it, not you. You couldn't have known that Jenova would attack him.”

Zack shrugged turning away. “I should have known. He was acting weird and…”

Cloud grabbed him by the shoulders. “It wasn't your fault. You didn't know that Jenova was around. You couldn't have stopped her if you did know. She wanted Sephiroth and she got him.”

“But it's all my fault that…”

“No, Jenova did it. She wants to destroy the Planet and she grabbed Sephiroth when he couldn't defend himself. It was no one's fault but hers.”

Zack looked up uncertainly. “You really think that?”

Cloud nodded firmly. “Yes, Jenova did it.”

Zack grinned. “Seph's going to be so happy to hear you say that! Just wait till I tell him!”

“What?!”

“He used to worry about that all the time.” Zack grabbed a towel and dried himself off jauntily. “Hey, let's both go tell him.”

“What?!” Cloud stumbled back as Zack grinned at him.

“Yeah! It'll be great. We'll both tell him.” Zack slung an arm around Cloud's shoulders. “Come on, no time like the present!”

“Wha…” Cloud was dragged, clutching a towel around his waist, out of the bathing room.

“He used to wake up, ya know, every once in awhile and he'd worry.” Zack kept pulling Cloud along as the residents of Cosmo Canyon laughed and giggled in their wake. “He'd look at me and say, “They blame me, don't they Zack?” and I'd say, “No they don't.” and he'd say, “Cloud does.” That really upset him, ya know. He really thought a lot of you.”

Cloud blushed as a group of teenage girls giggled and hid behind a curtain, peeking out after he was hauled past them. “Zack…”

“Bet you didn't know that did you?” Zack yanked him down a smaller hall. “He was going to get you into Soldier as his personal assistant. He said you had lots of potential and it would have been a waste to leave you as a grunt.”

An old lady walked by, eyeing Cloud.

“Huh?”

“Yep. That way you'd have a few more years to get on your feet and you'd have passed the SOLDIER test without breaking a sweat.” Zack stopped at a door and pushed it open. “Here we are.”

Cloud stumbled to a halt staring at the form sleeping on the low cot. Sephiroth was laying still with his hands folded over his abdomen looking like a statue in a mausoleum. His white hair draped over the edge of the bed, the ends trailing the floor in a silver sweep.

Zack stepped closer, waving for Cloud, “Come on, he's better now.”

Cloud stood frozen watching the soft rise and fall of his onetime hero's chest as he breathed.

“Hey, Cloud. Planet to Cloud. Come in Cloud.” Zack grinned.

“Alive…he's alive.” Cloud's voice was barely above a whisper.

“Yeah.” Zack reached down and touched Sephiroth's shoulder. “He was sleeping in the holy, getting all unJenovaed and something grabbed him. I grabbed hold of him and we both got pulled right out of the lifestream.”

“Is he?” Cloud glanced around, looking for a weapon.

“He's fine.” Zack waved for him to come closer again. “Come on, you said it yourself, it was Jenova. This is Seph. He's fine now.”

“But…” Cloud's brow furrowed as he tried to think. He had said that, and… well it made sense…right? And Zack wouldn't lie to him, so… but it was Sephiroth. Sephiroth who destroyed Nibelheim. He had nearly killed the Planet… but what if it was Jenova? Wouldn't that make Sephiroth a victim? Perhaps the biggest victim, who not only had to witness the Planet almost dying, but had a front row seat, who kept getting dragged back, even from death? Normal people, even those who sinned the worst, got to just die and move on, but not Sephiroth. Jenova kept dragging him back to suffer more. But, what if he was wrong? What if it was all…

“Yo, Spike. Smoke's coming out your ears.” Zack shook his head, laughing at him. “Let it go. He's fine.”

“But what if he's…still Jenova?” Cloud took a hesitant step forward.

“Aer said he's fine.” Zack looked innocent. “You believe her, don't you?”

Aeris? Aeris said Sephiroth was fine? Then wasn't he fine? But what if she'd just been saying that to reassure Zack? She hated for people to be upset and a small white lie to reassure an anxious Zack… she'd do that. Or what if she had been mistaken? What if she only thought Sephiroth was alright and he woke up still under Jenova's control? Or what if Zack had been wrong and it had been Sephiroth all along and not Jenova? An insane Sephiroth who would destroy everyone, believing he was doing it for the sake of his mother?

“Spike…”

“Leave him be, Zack.” The voice was breathy and exhausted, but still had the smooth, calm timber he remembered. “He needs time.”

Cloud's eyes snapped to Sephiroth's face, meeting tired green eyes. “Sephiroth…”

Sephiroth nodded wincing slightly as if the small movement was agonizing. “Strife.”

“I…” Cloud stopped, unsure what he should say. “I...” He looked into the tired eyes. They were different from the last time he'd seen him. They were steadier, sharper, calmer. As he had all during the Jenova War, he made up his mind in a flash. “I'm glad you're better.”

A tired smile tugged at the former general's pale lips. “So am I.” He then frowned slightly, “Strife, you don't know how sorry I am…”

“Talk about it later, `kay?” Zack gave a dramatic shiver. “I'm freezing my balls off here.”

“You're the one in a towel dripping water on the floor.” Sephiroth closed his eyes, looking placidly smug.

“Hey, I wanted Spike to say hi.” Zack shivered again.

“So you dragged him here straight from the bath?” The general's voice was fading. “Seems suspicious.”

Cloud grinned as Zack pulled himself up looking affronted. He remembered this from his cadet days, Zack pulling some idiot stunt and Sephiroth calling him on it. As Zack blustered, Cloud felt himself relax.

“What if he had a heart attack! He could have just wandered in here, looking for the head and boom! dead on the floor.” Zack put a dramatic hand over his heart. “I was just looking out for him.”

Sephiroth didn't respond, his breath having returned to the deep even breathing of sleep.

Zack paused then turned to Cloud whispering, “Come on, let's get some clothes on.”

Cloud nodded and stepped back into the hall. “He's alright?”

“Yeah, Aer said he just needed to rest.” Zack ambled back up the hall, waving at the girls who were still peeking out the door.

Cloud nodded. The others would…wait Nanaki already knew. He had to know, but why hadn't he ever… “Zack, how did you get here?”

“Long story.” Zack sauntered playfully along grinning at the startled, scandalized inhabitants.

Cloud crept behind him, hoping that Yuffie was far, far from this hall. He'd had enough shocks for the day. His nerves were feeling fragile. In the distance, he heard a distant clanging and wondered if it was the dinner bell. Nanaki had said something about food, so it was likely that Yuffie would be busy stuffing herself, leaving him to slink in peace to his clothes and get dressed before the situation got worse.

Zack went over to a doorway and brushed the heavy curtain door aside and gestured him in. “Come in. I've got some clothes you can borrow.”

Cloud scuttled into the room. “Thanks.”

Zack was already tossing things to him. “No problem. The pants might be a bit big.”

Cloud shoved himself into them, quickly rolling up the cuffs. The clanging in the distance hadn't stopped. He frowned, tipping his head, trying to hear better. He stomped his feet into a pair of boots.

“What's that?” Cloud nudged Zack, who was strapping on a couple of belts that settled low on his hips.

“Don't know.” Zack ran a hand through his half dry hair and walked back out to the hall. “Never heard it before.”

Cloud hurried after him then passed him. “Let's find Nanaki.”

He rushed upwards noting that as he reached the upper levels, where the clanging could be heard clearly, the people were rushing around nervously. Children were being herded together and rushed downwards to the lower levels. Men and women were dashing around, carrying weapons.

“Nanaki!” Cloud raced up the stairs to Bugenhagen's house. “Nanaki!”

Yuffie ran out the door, dragging Cloud's Ultima blade with her. “It's the demons. They were just spotted coming this way.” She handed him his sword. “I got it from the transport for you.”

“Fuck.” Zack snarled behind Cloud. “Seph. They're after Seph.”

“What?!” Cloud turned to him. “Why…”

“When we got yanked out of the lifestream we landed in Nibelheim. There was a woman and she wanted Seph. Said something like, “Hello, Jenova” and tried to give Seph a shot. When I grabbed him and ran, she set these demons on us.”

Cloud nodded. “Okay. Got it.” He turned to Yuffie. “Zack needs a sword.”

“He may get one down stairs.” Nanaki called from behind them. “We will need his assistance.”

Cloud turned and nodded. “Okay. Let's get going.”

He strode past Nanaki and down the stairs, heading for the lower level. Yuffie scampered after him. Zack grinned and nodded to the firecat.

“He really is something special isn't he.” He trailed after his blond friend.

“Yes, he is.” The huge cat paced downwards. “But he won't see that.”

Cloud already had a Butterfly Edge Sword in his hands as they came down the last set of stairs. “Here, it's the best they have.” He tossed the sword to Zack and turned to Nanaki. “The army is about a mile away and moving fast. Has anyone called for an evac?”

Nanaki nodded. “Cid said he's on his way. I have already sent the most vulnerable away on the transport you came in.”

“Good.” Cloud looked over at Zack then glanced worriedly at Yuffie, “I don't suppose that he…”

Zack shook his head, critically eyeing the already equipped materia of his sword, gauging the spells, their strength, and effectiveness. “He can barely stay awake for five minutes.”

“Agreed.” Nanaki nodded out the door towards the cloud of dust that was advancing towards the canyon. “He will need to be evacuated with the rest to the lower caverns.”

People continued to rush around them as they made their way towards the Candle. People were gathering around the plateau carrying swords and strapping on armor. Young teens were gathering weapons into piles and rushing around handing out materia.

“Why didn't we see them sooner?” Yuffie bounced gripping her Conformer. “Shouldn't we have seen them from the air when we came in?”

“Think about it later.” Cloud looked around at the hastily arming people. “Can they hold the walls?”

Nanaki nodded. “If we hold the slope up, they can hold the sides.”

“There was a lightening elemental thing.” Zack secured the scabbard of the sword to his back and accepted a mythril armlet from a passing teen. “Nasty thing. Might cause damage at long range.”

“Okay.” Cloud nodded. “We'll take the stairs. Yuffie, hang back and work at long distance. Move to where you're needed most, but keep an eye on the sky. I need to know when Cid arrives.”

“Gotcha.”

The first of the enemy appeared. A slender, snakelike creature that seemed to ooze darkness as it sniffed around the bottom of the cliff. A second later a carpet of them appeared.

“What is that?” Yuffie looked over the cliff. “It looks like a tiny land worm.”

Cloud shrugged. “We'll give it a name later, after they're dead.” He turned towards the stairs. “Let's mosey.”

The mini land worms seemed easy enough to kill. By the time Cloud, Zack, and Nanaki reached their positions, the worms were blazing brightly from the burning oil that had been poured on them. The darkness they brought stayed and intensified, casting the area in slithering shadows and gloom. Figures moved around, slithering across the sand with a hiss, but nothing could be seen.

“What the… Is that a twin brain?” Zack peered ahead towards a line of oncoming monsters.

“It's that or a really messed up cactuar.” Cloud muttered slashing at the squishy things.

They died in splashes of stinky ichor. In moments, there was a pile of them around the three defenders and Nanaki was shaking his paws disgustedly.

“They don't seem to have any purpose except to be annoying.” Nanaki grimaced, killing the last few with a swing of his paw.

“Stay alert.” Cloud shifted around trying to peer into the dark. “They didn't wipe out Costa del Sol and Gongaga with these things.”

“Must have scared the crap out of the civilians though.” Zack muttered wiping off his blade.

Yells came from above and they looked up in time to see shadowy forms swoop down at the people above them. Yuffie's Comformer whistled through the attack causing bodies to fall.

Zack kicked one, looking confused. “It looks like the bastard son of a skeeskee and a blugu.”

“What kind of creatures are these?” Nanaki jumped aside as more fell, smashing in wet thunks around them.

Cloud shrugged. “Later. We've got company.”

A large shape oozed into sight then stopped, lifting itself off the ground in a slow rippling motion. Small appendages extended outwards, touching the fallen monsters, and absorbing them with small bubbling sounds. It wobbled a few moments then reached out towards where Nanaki stood.

With a snarl, Nanaki struck at the creature then startled back with a yelp. “It burns.”

“Acid?” Zack hacked an appendage that wavered towards him then danced back as more came his way.

“Get back.” Cloud lifted his hand. “I have an idea.”

Zack and Nanaki leapt back as Cloud activated a fire spell. For a moment, the rise towards the canyon was brightly lit as the monster burst into flame. Rank after rank of warped monsters stared back at them briefly before darkness once again settled.

“Holy.” Zack breathed. “Did you see?”

“Concentrate on the stairs.” Cloud took a deep breath. “So far, fire seems to work well.”

Zack nodded as the next wave of monsters hit. This time it wasn't so simple. The creatures looked like armored malboros from the north. Materia spells had no effect on them and it seemed he had to spend a lot of time hacking through armor before the monster fell. He had to leap and twist to avoid tentacles and to the side he could hear the clash of Cloud's sword and Nanaki's snarl. As more and more poured into the area, he kept moving, trying to keep track of where the monsters were, where the stairs he was supposed to defend were, and where Cloud and Nanaki fought. From above, he could hear the cries of the flying monsters and the answering calls from the people of the canyon. Smoke from burning monsters made visibility even more limited as he countered another tentacle attack and stumbled over a dead monster.

A crack of lightening struck the ground, illuminating the scene for a moment. The large lightening monster from Nibelheim lumbered into view with his purple dog friend and the masked freak with the chainsaw.

“Impossible.” Nanaki breathed. “Not all at once…”

Zack glanced over at him, half surprised to find that they were both still standing at the stairs. Cloud had gotten ahead of them, and was cutting through a warped malboro.

“Spike, get back here.” Zack yelled hacking through a malboroish torso. “You're too far ahead.”

Cloud nodded, but his enemy kept pressing him hard. Cloud shifted his grip and took another swing, diving to the side as the blow glanced harmlessly away off armor and a tentacle swung toward him. He rolled back to his feet, farther away than before.

Zack hissed as he got struck by a flailing limb as his malboro died, only to be replaced by another. “Cloud! Get your spiky ass back here. Cloud!”

Cloud grunted as a lightning bolt exploded next to him, throwing him to the ground. More malboroish monsters slipped through the darkness pressing Zack and Nanaki back away from him.

“Where is he?”

Cloud stumbled to his feet, holding his sword defensively, waiting for the attack.

“Where is my son?”

He recognized Galian Beast as it lunged for him. Its teeth skittered across his sword as he swung it in an arc.

“I want my son.” The voice was soft, almost pleasant. “Where is he?”

Hellmasker stumbled forward, revving up his chainsaw.

Both? How in the name of the Planet did both get here? Cloud jumped back, but found that Death Gigas was already there, reaching out for him, catching him in its arms.

“I only want to see my son.” A small, slender figure stepped out of the darkness. “I miss him.”

Dr. Cresent? Cloud kicked back, but the demon didn't flinch even though Cloud could plainly hear bones snapping from his blow. He twisted in its grip.

“My son.” Lucrecia Crescent stopped in front of where Cloud was now held. “Tell me where he is.”

“Cloud!” Zack yelled in the distance.

Nanaki's snarling roar of fury echoed around the canyon's walls.

“Just tell me where he is. That's all I want.” Lucrecia reached forward, patting Galian on the head. “Is that too much to ask?”

Cloud desperately twisted, but the demon held him.

“Alright. Fine. If you won't tell me, I suppose one of your friends will.” She sighed irritably and waved her hand to Death Gigas. “Crush the worm and get me a more talkative one.”

Cloud gasped as the arms around him constricted, crushing into his chest. He couldn't breathe. He could feel his ribs strain and cartilage pop as they tightened more. One rib cracked, then another.

“Cloud! Hang on!” Zack yelled. “Cloud!”

Two more ribs shattered with sharp snaps sending shooting pain through his chest. The darkness around him seemed to be getting denser, more confusing. More ribs broke and everything went pitch dark.

“Cloud!”

Then there was the sharp sound of ringing metal and the pressure disappeared. Cloud fell to the ground, gasping and curling into a ball. He could hear the growling moan of Death Gigas and another sharp ring of a blade.

“My son. My beautiful son.” Lucrecia cooed.

Cloud found himself hauled to his feet and tossed backwards. He caught a glimpse of silver hair as he suddenly found himself in Zack's relieved arms. He blinked a few times before he could get his eyes to focus on the tall slender figure that now stood between him, Lucrecia and the last of Vincent's demons. Death Gigas lay sprawled on the ground in pieces as Sephiroth calmly wiped Mesamune's blade clean.

Nanaki prowled up to stand at Sephiroth's side as Zack backed up the stairs and set him down. “Okay, take it easy for a bit, Spike.”

Cloud shook his head. “No… those…”

“Just let him handle it.” Zack shook his head. “Catch your breath. There's plenty of bad guys to go around.” He nodded to the looming figures that were shuffling out of the darkness.

“I am not your son.” Sephiroth said as he kicked a piece of Death Gigas out of his way.

“Yes, you are.” Lucrecia reached out one hand towards him. “Hojo, he took you from me. It was his fault, filling your head with his lies.”

“Seph, we've got incoming.” Zack yelled as the next wave of monsters came into range.

“I will have you.” Lucrecia hissed. “Come to me now, or this village will be wiped off the surface of the Planet.”

Sephiroth stepped back, delicately tracing his way through the field of monster parts. “How's Strife?”

“Living.” Zack stepped down to the ground again as the malboros came up. “You?”

“I'm not going to last.” Sephiroth hissed softly as he felt Zack come up next to him.

“Then you have done enough. Go back to Cloud.” Nanaki stepped forward. “Take him up the stairs and send Yuffie down. She will have to fight down here with us.”

“Any sign of that pilot friend of yours?” Zack tried to peer upwards but the gloom of the demons prevented any clear sight of the sky.

“I cannot tell.” Nanaki lowered himself down to attack position as the enemy closed in.

Sephiroth scooped up Cloud. “I'll see about getting a potion for him and sending him back.”

“No.” Cloud twisted feebly in his arms. “I need to stay. I need to…”

“Go drink a potion, Spike.” Zack stepped towards the monsters, “then get your ass back down here.”

Sephiroth took the stairs in a couple of bounds setting him down at the top. People raced around bringing arrows to the people that lined the canyon's clifftop, carrying vats of oil, and fighting off the last of the flying monsters. In the middle of the battle, Yuffie swung her Conformer and bounced after the enemies.

Sephiroth sagged to the ground next to him shaking his head. “Sorry. I'm not going to be much help.”

Cloud nodded slowly, blinking hard, feeling his eyes closing. “ `s okay. Not goin' t' either.” The world was getting hazy. In the distance he could hear a high pitched howling. He frowned to himself. It was familiar. Very familiar and not in a good way. His eyes popped open as it came to him.

He struggled to his feet, ignoring the scream of his body. “Yuffie! Yuffie! Get everyone out of the caves! The Gi! She's summoned the Gi!”

Sephiroth struggled to his feet and stood swaying next to him. “The Gi? The ancient demons?”

The people around swiveled to look at him and many instantly raced into the caverns. Yuffie stood blinking, trying to process Cloud and Sephiroth standing together in the middle of Cosmo Canyon and not trying to kill each other.

“The Gi! The Gi are attacking!”

Cloud stumbled towards the entrance a few steps and realized his Ultima Blade was still on the battlefield below. “Fuck.”

People came pouring out of the caves, running madly towards the edge of the canyon. “The Gi! The Gi!”

Down below the malboros gathered closer to where Zack and Nanaki desperately held the stairs.

“Yuffie, get these people over to the other side of the plateau.” Sephiroth yelled at the stunned ninja. “Set up a defense there.”

The princess just stood looking shocked. A couple of teens that had been running weapons relayed the orders to the others and started herding the panicked escapees to the other side as wispy ghosts raced out of the cavern mouth and attacked.

Yuffie snapped out of it and twirled around heading for the ghosts a materia spell already forming around her as she ran. “Fire! Use fire to fight them!”

The arrows that had been turned to defending the wall arched into the onrushing specters. Cloud shuddered as the screams of the dying echoed around him. Below, he couldn't hear anything, not a growl, a curse, or the clang of a blade hitting the malboro-things armor. All he could hear was the steady thrum of his heart, which seemed to be getting louder…

No…not louder…closer…

He looked up to see the beauty of the Shera above him. Next to her a swarm of black helicopters with the Shinra logo on their sides were settling downwards as WRO soldiers leaned out sighting for materia attacks. Footsteps raced around the plateau as he sagged to the ground, falling on top of a sprawled, silver haired form.

>00<

Cid growled his way through his new passengers. While there were plenty of weeping, crying people, there seemed a lack of anyone sensible. All he wanted was a good idea of what the fuck had happened. Reeve was nearly hyperventilating on the communication's line, and Tifa was nearly burning the air with her constant calling.

“…so horrible..”

“…how we survived…”

“…by the grace of the Planet…”

“Oh Gawd! I'm gonna hurl.”

That's what he'd been looking for. He wound through the frightened people tracking his prey by the sounds of miserable gagging. He closed in on the sick ninja as she sat against a wall with her eyes squeezed shut.

“Okay, brat. Where's Cloud and Nanaki.” Cid stomped to a halt in front of her.

“Ulp.” She gulped.

“Well?”

“Try…infirmary.” She gulped a few more times.

Not wanting to see his precious ship defaced by ninja puke, Cid tromped quickly away winding through the crowded decks and down a few levels. People huddled in small groups, clutching each other and crying. A few were praying softly, thanking the Planet. Others curled in corners crying softly, clutching a item that they had salvaged from the wreck of Cosmo Canyon. Many didn't even have that, so just sat staring numbly at the walls or ceiling.

Cid kept his eyes away, needing to stay focused, needing to protect himself from the misery around him so he could do his job and get them all safely away from the area. He knew it would haunt him later, but that was later, when he got home to Shera and could let her sooth it all away. Now, he had to concentrate. He barged into the infirmary and glared around a second, then paused.

Cloud was laying on the floor with an oxygen mask over his face. Next to him, a tall man with spiky dark brown hair, lay wrapped in bandages. To the other side of the room, Sephiroth lay, looking paler than he'd ever seen him with Nanaki sprawled next to him covered in burns, bandages, and muck.

“Wha…?” He couldn't even curse. Cosmo Canyon was a wipe. He had a ship of desperate, homeless, hopeless people, and …

“Somebody want to explain this?” He finally managed to whisper.

The last person he wanted an explanation from opened his cat green eyes and looked at him tiredly. “Not really.”

“What the fuck are you doing here?” Cid looked around for a weapon, cursing himself for not carrying his Venus Gospel around the ship for moments like this.

Sephiroth closed his eyes a moment, took a deep breath, and looked back at the captain. “I'm not sure. I was in the lifestream with the Ancient girl, Aeris. Something grabbed me and I woke up at Cosmo Canyon with Zack.” He nodded towards the tall dark haired man that lay next to Cloud. “When the fighting started, I went to see if I could be of help. We got attacked by demons from above and the Gi from bellow. You can guess the rest.”

“Got your asses kicked.” Cid puffed a moment on his unlit cigarette missing the soft, comforting hit of nicotine, but he'd promised Shera he'd cut back.

“Yes.” Sephiroth took a few more deep breaths. “But that wasn't what was important. When I pulled Cloud away from the demons, there was a woman. She kept calling herself my mother.” He glanced over at the captain. “As you might guess, I'm not particularly trusting of people who claim to be my mother. She seemed to be in charge of the demons.”

“A woman?” Cid frowned, thinking. “Jenova?”

“Have you taken a good look at Jenova?” Sephiroth snorted softly. “Did that thing look like a woman to you?”

“Point.” Cid frowned. “Anything else?”

“The monsters that attacked the canyon.” The ex-general frowned. “They were odd. There was something not quite right about them.”

Cid chewed on his cig and nodded. “I got a glimpse.”

Actually, he'd gotten more than a glimpse. He'd had to run down the canyon's stairs and haul Nanaki and the tall brunet up them. It hadn't been one of the happier times in his life. It had gotten progressively unhappier when he realized that he had been the only standing fighter capable of fending off the demons, and the demons had realized that.

Had he really seen both Hellmasker and Galian Beast at the same time?

Sephiroth drifted off again, and Cid sized up the situation. One maniacal general who wanted to crush the world for his mother was passed out on his floor. Check. Cloud, the only one to be able to fight the maniacal general with any true hope of success, was unconscious nearby. Check. Nanaki, the one who could make sense of this situation, was taking a prolonged catnap while looking like someone had tried to use a steamroller on him. Check. One mystery man, who might be Cloud's long dead friend, was also on the floor looking like road kill. Check.

Cid shook his head and decided to go back to the bridge and smoke two cigarettes in honor of the occasion. He was sure Shera would understand. She might even take up the hobby with him. He still had to deal with Reeve and Tifa. She at least would be happy to hear that Cloud was alive and with any luck they'd be too distracted with the sudden reappearance of Sephiroth to mind the very scanty information he now had.

He walked up the halls of the Shera chewing thoughtfully on his cig. The Gi… He hadn't been there when the others had faced them, but he did remember hearing Nanaki talking about them with Aeris. They'd been some kind of enemy of Nanaki's people that wouldn't rest peacefully in the lifestream but stayed behind to haunt the caves bellow the canyon. He did remember the demon at the Temple of the Ancients and Aeris's comment that it had resembled the master of the Gi, Nattak.

He turned into the meeting room and flung himself down in a chair, switching on the com system. “Reeve? You there?”

Reeve appeared. “Cid, any news?”

On the screen Reeve looked tense and rumpled. Behind him, Tifa stood gripping the back of the chair and looking anxious.

“The kid looks like he took a few hard hits.” Cid reached in his pocket and got his lighter. “He's out cold.”

Tifa's eyes got wider. “Will he…”

Cid shrugged. “He looks okay for now, but we're running out of the fucking potions and ether, so we've got to wait till we land to heal him properly.”

“Nanaki? Yuffie?” Reeve took a deep breath. “Are they?”

“Yuffie's barfing on my deck and Nanaki…” Cid took a long drag. “He looks pretty much like the kid.”

“It's good to hear Yuffie is alright.” Tifa tried to smile, but it wobbled away miserably.

“We've got a bigger fucking problem.” Cid took a couple long drags on his cig. “When I was pulling people's asses on board, I got a couple extra.”

“Cid…” Reeve frowned.

“That friend of Cloud's. The one that got himself killed trying to save the kid from Hojo…” Cid nodded. “Well, he's here now and he brought a friend.”

Tifa tipped her head. “Zack? Is it really Zack?”

“Yep.” Cid took a couple more long hits, wishing his nerves would calm down. “You might want to sit your ass down for the next though.”

“Aeris? Is it Aeris?” Tifa leaned forward eagerly.

“No. Think the other side. Think the last person you want creeping around while demons are running about.” Cid felt his hands grabbing another cigarette and as he snubbed out the first, he lit and puffed on the second.

“Chaos.” Tifa's face got tense.

“Keep guessing.” Puff. Puff. Puff.

“Weis? Omega? Jenova? President Shinra?” Reeve sighed. “Cid, we have a lot of people who we don't want to come back from the lifestream. You'll have to narrow it down.”

“Try this. I have Sephiroth's ass passed out in the infirmary.” Cid nodded towards the door. “And he's the one who gave me the low down on the situation.”

“Oh Planet…” Tifa backed away.

“You don't look too shaken up, Cid.” Reeve eyed in carefully.

“I'm going with the flow on this till I hit ground.” Cid puffed. “Then I fully intend to have a fucking full blown breakdown.”

“What else did Sephiroth have to say?” Reeve was pressing buttons on his side, probably calling for reinforcements.

“That there was some bitch that was in control of the demons and she said she was his mother.” Cid reached for a third cigarette. “He wasn't feeling all warm and trusting so didn't go for the family reunion shit.”

Reeve blinked. “Jenova?”

“Nope. I asked him that too. Got strange reply.” Cid ground out his second cig and lit the third. “Said that Jenova wasn't a woman and he called the bitch a thing too.”

Reeve sat back in his seat thoughtfully. “Hmmm. That is…unexpected.”

“He also said something else.” Cid puffed a few times. “Said that they got caught between the demons and the Gi.”

“The Gi?” Tifa bit her lip. “The ghosts under the canyon?”

“Yep. I never saw those fuckers before, so I can't tell.” Cid shrugged. “They looked kind of odd though. Kinda rotted and shit.”

Reeve nodded. “Alright. Anything else? I need to get my people working on this.”

“Yeah.” Cid leaned forward. “I saw something. At least I thought I saw something.” He snubbed out his cig. “I fucking saw Hellmasker and Galian Beast at the same time. Anyone want to tell me how Vince can get his skinny ass to do that?”

Reeve sat up. “He can't. The transformation is singular. He can only assume one form at a time.”

Tifa smiled. “It isn't him!” She gave Reeve a hug. “It isn't him. I knew it! I knew Vincent wouldn't…”

“We can't be sure.” Reeve shook his head frowning. “Those demons are a part of him. If they were there then he was there too. Did you see him, Cid?”

Cid shook his head. “No. Just those fucking demons.”

“Okay. Keep an eye on Sephiroth. When you land, I'll have a security team in place to handle him.” Reeve stood up. “I'll also get medical teams in place to handle the wounded.”

Tifa nodded. “I have the emergency shelters all set and waiting. You can tell the people that hot food and comfy beds are ready for them.”

Cid got to his feet. “Okay.” He paused a moment. “Reeve, get word to Shera and tell her to get her ass and the rest of Rocket Town on the Highwind. I want them out of there.”

Reeve nodded. “I'll tell her.”

Reeve watched as the vidscreen blanked. Tifa frowned at him and turned away.

“You act like you want Vincent to be doing this.” She walked towards the door. “Even when evidence shows it can't be him, you keep insisting.”

“I have to be careful.” Reeve gathered a few papers up and followed her out. “I want Vincent to be innocent. You won't believe how much I pray our friend is not responsible for this, but I have to look at all the possibilities.”

“Have you considered the possibility that he's not to blame?” Tifa continued to march ahead of him. “Have you considered that Vincent wouldn't do these things? That he would rather die than harm innocent people like this? That possibly there is something else going on?”

“Yes, and I hope they are true.” Reeve looked down at the papers he was carrying. “I hope wherever he is, Vincent is safe and away from all this, but I also have to look at the facts. We have sightings of Galian Beast, Hellmasker, and Death Gigas in all the villages that have been destroyed. Vincent is the only one who possesses those forms. As far as anyone can tell, he is the one responsible for these attacks.”

“And the woman?” Tifa turned and faced him. “What about her? You've had reports of her, too.”

“I don't know. She might be helping him, or she might be the one controlling him.” Reeve shook his head. “I just don't know, Tifa. I have to be cautious.”

Tifa turned away from him and walked down the hall. “Fine, be cautious, but remember,” She turned and faced him. “I haven't forgotten who was the traitor.”

She walked away, leaving him standing in the hall.

>00<

Tseng rushed down the hall. Not that anyone would have known he was rushing. He made it a point of keeping up certain appearances, and the image of a nearly unflappable Turk Leader was one of them. For him, rushing meant a slightly increased pace, and a refusal to look longingly at the door on the executive level that had once been his. When he reached Rufus's office, he knocked three sharp knocks. Rufus, wanting to take a break from having his office destroyed hadn't replaced his secretary yet, so there was no one to announce him.

“Come.” He heard Rufus yell.

Tseng opened the door and stepped in. “Sir. We just got word that the Shera is arriving in Edge in twenty minutes.”

Rufus, perched uncomfortably on a folding lawn chair and doing his paperwork on a TV tray, nodded. “That was fast.”

“They have General Sephiroth on board.” Tseng handed Rufus the transcripts of the conversation Rude and Elena had “accidentally” overheard while making routine adjustments to the communications satellites.

Rufus read them quickly and nodded. “Get him. I don't want him in WRO hands.”

“This might cause problems, sir.”

Rufus nodded. “Not if handled right. We do still have those containment cells Hojo used to use, don't we? I'll just be friendly and offer them. You just be friendly and escort him there.” He reached for the phone.

Tseng stood quietly at attention and waited as his boss called Reeve smothering the man in charm, helpfulness, and logic.

“…are already in place. The cells were designed just for situations like this.” Rufus leaned back in his lawn chair.

“Oh, no problem. Really.” He waved a hand as if brushing something aside. “I must admit, this is purely selfish. I think I'd sleep better at night knowing that he was in a secure lockdown.”

“Yes, of course. I agree completely. Having WRO men as guards would be necessary. I really don't have the manpower to handle it.” Rufus smiled at the ceiling, leaning his head back against the seat. “After all, Tseng, Reno, Rude, and Elena are all busy working on finding Valentine. I really don't have anyone else.”

Tseng wondered if Reeve still believed that. The man was pathetically easy to fool sometimes.

“Fine, fine. It's all arranged then. I'll have one of my Turks meet you at the airport and we'll have this situation under control.” Rufus sighed. “I for one will be much happier not dreaming of getting a seven foot sword through my back.”

A few more pleasantries later and Rufus hung up. “Get him here. Once he's here have our men in WRO take the guard shifts. I want this under Shinra control. Also, we are going to have a meeting with WRO about our findings in our search for Valentine. “

“How much shall we share?” Tseng glanced at the battered book that now sat on a folding conference table.

“Everything.” Rufus smiled grimly. “I want to see how Avalanche reacts.”

“I'll see to it.” Tseng bowed and left.

He grit his teeth and stopped at the Turk floor to gather Rude and Elena. A cloud of thick, noxious smoke blinded him a second as the elevator doors opened, but he bravely squinted his eyes and proceeded. The jumble of wreckage that half blocked the hall was easily stepped around. Dim figures scuttled through the hall, darting from doorway, to wreckage, to… Tseng felt a headache coming on… overturned vending machine.

A shadowy form leapt from a doorway towards him. Tseng recognized it instantly as Reno, but also instantly decided to not recognize his subordinate. The roundhouse kick that he landed on Reno's chest sent the other flying back through the door he'd come from. Tseng instantly jumped to continue the attack, feeling a happy sense of relaxation as he slammed his fist into Reno's face. It wasn't often he got to pound on the redhead with no lingering suspicions about him stooping to payback. He also managed to slam Reno's head against a desk and kick him into a wall with enough force to elicit a pained grunt.

“Yo, boss…it's me… sorry…” Reno finally gasped.

His fun over, Tseng let Reno go. “Just what are you doing?”

“Uh…. Training?” Reno hobbled slowly over. “You know…uh… working in low light conditions…”

Tseng refused to get drawn into the senseless argument he could see looming. “Fine. Get this cleaned up.” He stepped outside the office. “Rude! Elena! Report!”

He could hear two locks disengage and saw two heads peer cautiously out of their offices. Seeing that their boss was indeed calling for them, Rude and Elena scrambled out and stood at attention in the smoke filled hall.

“We are needed at the airport to meet the Shera.” Tseng turned briskly away and strode down the hall, gracefully avoiding the destroyed office furniture that littered the area.

“Hey, how about me?” Reno trotted after them.

“Clean this up.” Tseng hit the elevator button and was pleased when it instantly opened.

“But…but…”

He stepped into the elevator with Rude and Elena following at his heels. “Now. Reno.”

The elevator door closed and Tseng pulled out his phone.

“Maintenance.”

“This is Tseng. Do you still have the furniture from the preschool?” Tseng smiled.

Rude and Elena glanced at each other and looked nervous.

“Yes, sir.”

“Good. We need replacements in the Administrative Research Department. Use that.” Tseng felt a warm glow deep in his heart.

Tseng's happy mood lasted all the way to the airport. He puttered merrily on his PSH arranging Sephiroth's accommodations and contacting various people to make sure he had appropriate, Shinra friendly guards. He pulled out his laptop, the first one he'd had that survived for over a week, and made a few notations. He answered e-mail, sent forms and requests off to various departments, and ordered supplies. By the time he stepped out of the car to the sight of refugees streaming off the Shera, he was at peace with the world.

He nodded to a contingent of WRO troops. “We'll be assisting them.” He glanced over at his operatives. “Do you understand?”

Rude and Elena nodded. Assisting meant being friendly, helpful, and letting Tseng handle the manipulating.

They approached and Tseng stepped forward. “I'm Tseng. I was asked to show you to the secure facility that we have set up for General Sephiroth.”

The man nodded nervously. “Yes sir. We were told to expect you.” He glanced over at the Shera, jittering. “We will handle the transportation.”

“Of course.” Tseng's voice was smooth and soothing. “We won't be in your way.” He waved for the man to go ahead. “Just let us know when you have him secure and we'll proceed.”

The man gripped his gun tighter. “Yeah… sure.”

The last of the frightened, ragged people were herded into busses and ground transports and were taken away. The tarmac was empty for a few moments then ambulances approached. Stretchers were brought down the Shera's loading ramp and loaded.

“Okay, move out.” The WRO officer's voice wavered, but he motioned his men forward.

“Boss.” Rude whispered.

“I know. Keep an eye on him. If he gets trigger happy, take him down.” Tseng stepped back. “Everything else is in place. We just need to get Sephiroth out of here in one piece.”

Rude nodded slightly and went back to pretending to be a wall. Elena looked around, keeping track of the airport personnel that were rushing around the Shera. Tseng watched as one of the stretchers was transferred to the nervous officer's care and the men slowly walked back.

Sephiroth was strapped to the stretcher either unconscious or drugged. A thin blanket covered him from mid chest down. Tseng could see that he wasn't dressed in his usual leather battle gear, but in a simple cotton shirt.

The men loaded Sephiroth into a transport and piled in. The officer came around and gave them a nod, his courage restored after seeing his enemy was immobile.

“Lead the way.” He gave them all a small look of contempt. “After we get there, WRO will no longer need your services.”

Tseng gave the man a professional smile. “Your people should already be in place when we arrive. I see no reason to linger.”

He turned and nodded to Rude and Elena. They smoothly returned to their car and waited while the officer strutted around a few more minutes yelling orders to the driver.

“Are you sure he's safe in there.” Elena watched the man swing into the truck and wave for them to go.

“Probably not.” Tseng tapped Rude's shoulder, telling him to drive. “Best if we hurry.”

They zipped through the streets with the truck tailing them. At the edge of Edge, close to where the old city used to be, they turned down an alley and stopped by a large building. Tseng got out and waved for the truck to go up to a large cargo door.

“What's the meaning of this!” The officer yelled. “We are supposed to go to a security lockdown, not a warehouse.”

“This is the place. Please proceed inside.” Tseng walked over to a panel on the wall, keying in a code. “This is security level alpha. It was created to hold monsters too dangerous for normal facilities. Due to more radical factions, it was disguised so that militants would not find the facility and free the monsters onto the general public.”

The man blustered a few moments, but when the door lifted, showing the high tech, gleaming interior filled with WRO personnel, he grunted and nodded for the driver to go in. Tseng turned and went back to the car.

“Drive to the other entrance.” He settled into the seat. “We'll let him have his moment.”

Rude drove down the alley, turned right and went down two blocks, passing decrepit warehouses. He took another right, hit a button and went into the small parking garage that opened its gate for them. He drove to the lowest level, hit another button and went through what had seemed like a large maintenance hatch down to a long slender tunnel. They arrived in a small yellow lit parking area and stepped out of the car.

Tseng walked quickly through the gleaming, brightly lit halls till he reached the main security room. A couple of WRO soldiers were sitting in the seats watching as Sephiroth was carried down a hall.

“Any problems?” Tseng watched as the officer, on another screen, ranted at his men.

“No, sir.” The men saluted as the officer in charge stepped forward. “He was transferred to us without incident.”

“Good. See that he is secured and that a physician is called. I want a full report on my desk in an hour.” Tseng nodded.

“Yes, sir.” The man made a few notes. “President Shinra has already sent a physician over. The man is waiting.”

“Good.” Tseng watched a few more minutes. “Keep me posted. I want to know when he wakes up.”

“Yes, sir.”

Tseng walked back to the car, pulling out his PHS. “Sir, this is Tseng.”

“Has he been transferred?” Rufus sounded like he was in his car.

“Yes, no problems, sir.”

“Fine. Come to WRO headquarters. Reeve wants to discuss Cosmo Canyon's attack and I think that we should share our findings.”

“Of course, sir.” Tseng settled into the seat and motioned for Rude to drive.

When Tseng arrived at the meeting, the room was full. A battered looking Cloud was standing in a corner talking with an equally battered looking Zack. Reeve was hovering next to Yuffie, who in turn was hovering over a tired looking Nanaki. Tifa and Barret were standing in a corner looking like they were arguing. Cid Highwind was stretched out in a chair, smoking and talking to Rufus. Tseng went to stand at his boss's shoulder, waving Rude and Elena to stand guard outside.

“Fuck that. I know what I saw. Both of them, and I'm pretty sure Death Gigas bits and pieces were scattered around the ground.” Highwind tossed a glare over his shoulder to where Barret and Tifa were still arguing. “There's no way, no fucking way Vince could do that.”

Rufus nodded. “I see.”

Highwind puffed a few aggravated puffs. “Reeve's got you looking for him, doesn't he.”

Rufus nodded.

“Well, just remember, Reeve's only one part of Avalanche. If anything happens to Vince, we're all going to be fucking curious.” Cid gave Reeve, who looked up, a narrowed glare.

Reeve glanced quickly away.

Tseng looked around again gauging the interactions. The once united front of Avalanche was showing cracks. Zack and Cloud's conference to the side was looking more and more like the two were separating themselves from the main group. Reeve, who was usually the most social and pleasant of the group, was looking unsure and nervous. Tifa and Barret, the two original members of Avalanche, were still in the middle of a heated, though at the moment quiet, argument. Yuffie was avoiding looking at anyone, and Nanaki was, under all this wounds, looking upset.

“I assure you, we have no interest in bringing any harm to Mr. Valentine.” Rufus shook his head sadly. “From what we have found in our investigations, we are quite concerned that he might be the first victim of this situation.”

Cid sighed. “I think so too. Vince is a sorry fucker, but he's as good a guy as you're likely to find.” He took a long drag on his cigarette. “The only way those demons would be fucking around with everything would be over his dead body.” He shook his head. “I mean that literally.”

“Yes. I understand.” Rufus got up. “We will do what we can, but I fear it might be too late for Mr. Valentine.”

Cid nodded. “Probably. But I won't write him off. He's a hard bastard to kill. If there's any way he's alive, he's alive.”

Rufus stepped back and walked around the table to find a seat. Reeve noticing that, cleared his throat and started waving for attention.

“Let's get started.” He walked to the head of the table, opposite Rufus. “We are all here, so settle down and let's figure out what's going on.”

With a last glare, Tifa walked around the table and sat down next to Cloud. Zack took a seat next to her, grinning over to Cloud. Barret slumped angrily into a chair across from them with Nanaki beside him. Yuffie, still worrying over the firecat perched nervously next to him. Cid grabbed a seat and pulled it over to the corner by the ashtray. Tseng stood behind Rufus.

“Okay. First, I want to say that we are all thankful that Nanaki and many of his people are safely here with us today.” Reeve looked over to the big cat. “I also want to say how sorry we are that not all of the people of Cosmo Canyon escaped.”

Tifa nodded. “We are so sorry Nanaki. If we had only known…”

“There was no way to know Tifa.” Nanaki nodded his thanks slowly. “Or even if we had known, that it would have changed the outcome.” He turned to Cid. “I want to thank you, my friend. If it had not been for you and your bravery, many more would have died.”

Cid puffed. “Just watching your back. You'd do the same if it had been Rocket Town.”

“Speaking of which, I have heard from Shera, and she and the people of Rocket Town are already on the Highwind and on their way to Junon.” Reeve gave a weak smile. “Once they are there, we should consider if evacuating Corel and The Gold Saucer would be wise.”

“My folk won't go.” Barret rumbled. “Said that no demon trash are going to force them out of their homes.”

Reeve sighed. “We can't force them. However, Dio has already shut down the park and has gathered his personnel into the upper sections. He's willing to have them relocated as soon as possible.”

Cid nodded. “As soon as the Highwind is ready again, I'll send her over.”

“We'll extend another invitation to Corel to join them.” Reeve gave Barret another small smile which was ignored.

“On to other business then.” Reeve glanced over to Cloud and Zack. “It seems that we have to welcome back Cloud's friend, Zack Fair.”

Zack grinned happily at everyone. “Hi. It's great to be alive again. Not that death was all that bad.”

Cloud leaned back in his chair and smiled slightly at him.

“We also have Sephiroth back as well.” Reeve motioned to Rufus. “Thanks to President Shinra, he is now being held in a secure vault, but we will have to deal with him.”

“There's nothing to deal with.” Zack frowned. “Jenova's the one that did all that. Seph's innocent.”

“Bullshit.” Barret snarled. “I saw that crazy fucker.”

“It wasn't him.” Cloud stated. “It was Jenova.”

“You're just saying that because of him.” Barret jerked his head at Zack. “But who the fuck was the ass that tried to destroy the Planet? Who killed all those people?”

“He was being controlled by Jenova.” Zack leaned forward, his hands flat on the table.

“Yeah, sure.” Barret's voice became sulky and he shot a mean look at Tifa. “Like I believe that.”

Reeve took a deep breath. “As of now, Sephiroth seems to be sleeping. He is in a containment cell and a doctor has looked him over. It will take awhile for the test results to come back.”

Barret grumbled.

“I think that in the case of Sephiroth, we should hold judgment until he is awake and we can assess his condition.” Nanaki glanced over to Barret. “While there is ample evidence that Sephiroth was a threat in the past and may indeed be a threat in the future, we should proceed with caution. A hasty judgment at this time might prove to be a cause for regret in the future.”

Barret grumbled softer, but relaxed slightly in his chair.

“Agreed.” Reeve seemed happy to put the matter aside. “We have other problems to deal with. As Barret pointed out, we still have the unsolved issue of what happened to Vincent.” He looked down the table to where Rufus sat placidly watching the show.

Rufus smiled. “Well, we have found a few rather interesting things.” He motioned for Tseng to bring a box that had been sitting in the corner of the room. “First, Reno and Rude tracked the last known movements of Mr. Valentine and found a few things that might answer some questions.”

He opened the box and carefully pulled out Vincent's metallic glove. “This was left in a room in North Corel. The proprietor said that Vincent had rented a room for three nights. When the man checked the room after the third night, he found this.” Rufus put the glove down on the table. “He also found this.” He reached in the box and placed Cerberus next to the glove.

“Shit.” Cid breathed. “He wouldn't leave those.”

Tifa looked at them a moment, then looked away, blinking hard.

“Vinnie… oh, Vinnie…” Yuffie buried her face in Nanaki's shoulder and started weeping.

Reeve swallowed, looking down at the table. “I see.”

Cloud reached over and picked up the glove. It was tarnished and dusty. “How long ago?”

“About two days before the attack on Costa del Sol.” Rufus reached into the box, pulled out a stack of papers then handed the box to Tseng. “We guess that he was in the area to visit Dr. Crescent and didn't return.”

Cloud looked up. “I saw her. At Comso Canyon. She was there.”

“You mean the babe with the demons?” Zack picked up Cerberus appreciating the workmanship.

“Yes. I saw her. She kept asking for Sephiroth. Saying she wanted her son.” Cloud shook his head. “She even ordered the demons to attack me.”

Reeve nodded. “That would confirm the reports I've had about a woman being in charge of the demons.”

“But isn't Dr. Crescent…” Tifa glanced at Vincent's glove. “I mean, she helped us with Omega. Vincent worshiped her, why would she harm him?”

“We might have an answer to that.” Rufus took a small sheaf of papers from the top of the stack and passed the pile around the table for everyone to take a copy. “We also searched Vincent's old apartment and his things. In the locked ammunition box you gave us, we found this.” He reached into a pocket and pulled out an old tattered book. “While I have to admit I was somewhat skeptical about its contents at first, recent events have changed my mind considerably.”

Tifa frowned as she flipped through the pages. “It looks like a diary.”

“It is a diary of sorts.” Rufus placed the book down. “It's Hojo's diary.”

Barret shoved his papers away from him. “I ain't reading that.”

“It is really quite fascinating. In it, he states that it was Dr. Crescent who performed the atrocities to Vincent. He also claims the reason for this is because she wanted to summon Jenova, Chaos, and Omega to control them and give her power.”

“No.” Tifa shook her head. “She loved him.”

“I have to say that evidence shows different.” Rufus tapped the papers. “He claims that Dr. Crescent deliberately infected Vincent with the Chaos gene and gave him mind altering drugs to keep him under control, hoping that she would be able to control Chaos through him.”

Reeve flipped through the papers. “We'll have to read this to understand better.”

“Yes, but before we go off to our corners, I would like to point out two other pieces of information.” Rufus flipped through the papers. “First, you may wish to note that this diary was written, hand written, by Hojo and that in it he clearly indicates that he was alive and well after the Omega incident. If you turn to the highlighted paragraph on page one hundred and seventeen…”

Cloud flipped around to the page, started reading, turned pale, and shook his head. Zack frowned, quickly turned to the page.

“Hey, Spike.” Zack reached behind Tifa and caught his shoulder. “Spike. It's okay. Take deep breaths. It's okay.”

“I'm…” Cloud shook, his world shifting uncertainly around him.

“Well, yeah, but don't sweat it. You're you, you just have a twin brother that you shared everything with but never met.” Zack gave his shoulder a shake. “It's fine. You're still you.”

Reeve looked at the passage.

I hate drinking. The whole idea of cloning Sephiroth in the attempt to see if I could get one right -as in not psychotically butchering villages- was conceived while I was drinking. -I will have to privately admit that Cloud, who I term a failure, was actually the only success of that mindless idea of mine. Take note that he is, when not trying to kill me, everything that a father would be proud of. And I am proud of him. But don't tell him I said that, he's delicate and needs to hang on to the belief that he's the original Cloud Strife.- The notion of making a digital duplicate of myself was an idea I found at the bottom of a bottle of rum while on the beach of Costa del Sol. -I should say, since I am in the mood to explain these things, that I blame a programming error for the whole Deepground incident. I never did get the hang of those things much past word processing, so I had a so-called expert do it for me. What a mistake that was. Who was to know that all he copied was the worst and most broken parts of my psyche? If it helps, there was some poetic justice to the whole affair. He was one of the first people to disappear in Junon. I only hope that Weis got to snicker at him a bit before he got tossed in for demon chow.- The depressed and suicidal act of injecting Jenova cells into myself was also the result of an all night binge of vodka and tequila. Why do I keep doing it? It's one of the mysteries of being a man, I suppose.

“He obviously wrote this after the Omega incident.” Rufus set the papers on the table. “He also states something else. Turn to page one hundred and forty two.”

Avalanche flipped quickly to the page.

I have heard the failure and his dimwitted companions worrying about Vincent when he disappears. The little brat ninja even thinks that he returns to the mansion and his coffin. He wouldn't. He despises that place as much as I do. I've always known exactly where he is when he's not flamboyantly saving the world. He's there, in the Ancient's city. It's the place that he fits the best.

Oh, he loves Wutai, but there is always a barrier between him and that place. For him, it's a nice place to visit and unwind, but it isn't his home. The City of the Ancients is his home. As I watched him fingering the dead soil, I could almost hear the click as his jagged edges slipped into place in that city, like the last puzzle piece snapping into place in a complex pattern.

If you ever wondered, I only partially lied to Sephiroth. It wasn't his mother who was the Ancient.

Looking back at all that happened, I should never have left Vincent to sleep in Nibelhiem. I should have brought him to that city to recover from her perversions. It would have been better for him. Perhaps there, those demons would have left him in peace and he could have regained his strength. I can only claim that my own mind was in too many shambles to think clearly. By the time I realized my mistake, it was too late. He was conscious and would have killed me instantly if I dared to try to move him.

 

“It seems Hojo believes that Vincent would go to The City of the Ancients.” Reeve frowned. “He also seems to believe…”

“That Mr. Valentine was an Ancient.” Rufus nodded. “It seems so. I am looking for the health records on Mr. Valentine from when he first joined the Turks to see if there was any indication of that. I'll keep you informed of what I find.”

“But if Vinnie is dead. It hardly matters.” Yuffie wiped her eyes.

“It would still be a good place to start looking for him.” Reeve nodded. “I would rather hope he is alive, than to believe the worst at this point.”

“In locating Mr. Valentine, we might also be able to gain valuable insight into Dr. Crescent and the demons.” Rufus nodded towards the book. “In here, Hojo claims that the demons were a side product of his attempt to remove Chaos from Vincent's body. He even mentions a way to capture a demon into a mako crystal and have it become a summon.”

Nanaki lifted his head. “That… that would explain why we didn't see the army approach.”

“She has an army in her pocket.” Zack sat back shaking his head. “No warning. Just one person traveling around. When she wants to attack, it only takes a moment and boom…an instant army of demons.”

“They were summons.” Cloud murmured. “I couldn't place the monsters. I kept trying to, but they just didn't look familiar.”

“It would also explain why no matter how many we killed, we kept getting more.” Zach looked disgusted. “She only needed to resummon them.”

“Quite a trick.” Rufus sat down.

“We will need to look into this.” Reeve tapped the papers with his finger tips. “We should check The City of Ancients to see if we can locate Vincent.”

“We should also look for Hojo.” Tifa was still reading. “If this is true, he might have some information about how to deal with Dr. Crescent or the demons.”

“You really want to talk to that crazy fucker?” Barret shook his head. “We all know what he did. We saw it. Nanaki and Cloud lived it. For all we know, he might be helping the bitch do all this. He was married to her.”

Nanaki nodded. “I have to agree. While Sephiroth may still be cleared of wrong-doing, we have more than enough reason to distrust Hojo. He, more than his son, has done more to harm the Planet than can be forgiven.”

“Yeah. And no one said he was ever taken over by Jenova.” Yuffie nodded.

“Trusted or not, he may still be a valuable source of information.” Reeve set the papers down.

“I offer the services of the Turks to assist you in locating him.” Rufus waved a hand towards Tseng. “They have, I should point out, done an excellent job of finding this information.”

Reeve nodded, looking around. When no objections were said, he smiled. “Thank you. I accept.”

Rufus stood. “Good. Now, if you don't mind. I need to go.”

Tseng bowed to Avalanche and stepped aside as Rufus waved casually and sailed out of the room. He trailed after his boss until they were settled into the car.

“That was really quite fascinating.” Rufus settled back into the upholstery. “Yes, quite fascinating.”

“Tensions did seem a bit high.” Tseng sat next to him.

“We also have all the cards now.” Rufus smiled. “Sephiroth is in our care. WRO is busy with the demon threat. We will be looking for both Hojo and Valentine. Yes, everything is working out very well.”

“Shall I send Reno and Rude to The City of the Ancients?” Tseng pulled out his PHS, making a few notations.

“No. I want you and Elena to go there.” Rufus smiled slightly. “If Valentine is there, this needs to be handled with delicacy.”

<00>

Bone Village had never impressed Tseng. It looked like an open grave at the best of times. With the influx of ragged refugees clogging the streets, it looked worse. The streets were covered in filth, cast off food wrappers, human excrement, and pathetic, yet vaguely threatening beggars. The normal sounds of inebriated archaeologists and their diggers were replaced with the caterwauling of urchins fighting in the streets, and the sharp sound of men brawling in the alleyways. The original inhabitants hustled down the streets, shooting angry, distrustful glances at their new, unwanted neighbors and brushing by the panhandlers rudely.

Elena stood at his shoulder trying to breathe through her mouth. “This place hasn't improved with age.”

Tseng shifted the carry bag he held over his shoulder. “Keep an eye open for Davies. I need to talk to him.”

They waded through the streets, searching for a house. It had taken hours of research in the old records to find Hojo's address in Bone Village, but Reno had finally managed it.

“Here it is.” Tseng stepped to the door and knocked.

“He's not there.” Davies came up and stood behind them. “He came through here a few months ago, but we haven't seen him since.”

Tseng turned and looked at him. “Why didn't you tell me?”

The village head man shrugged. “Priorities. Hojo's one of us first. If it comes down to you or him, he's always going to win.”

Tseng narrowed his eyes threateningly. “That is not part of our understanding.”

“My understanding was with Veld, not you.” Davies turned and walked away. “And that was only because Vincent asked.”

“Wait, have you seen him? Vincent?” Elena called to Davies back.

Davies paused then shook his head. “No.”

He walked away as Tseng growled.

“Why do Veld's people always turn?” Tseng snarled.

Elena shrugged. “Let's go in, maybe we'll find something.”

The lock was easy enough to pick and they were inside in a moment. The house was dark and had the smell of abandonment. Tseng flicked on a light switch, and wasn't surprised when nothing happened. He set the bag down next to the door and stepped farther into the house.

“Okay, let's get to work. Elena, search the kitchen and dining area. I'll look in the bathroom and at the bedroom area.” Tseng reached in his pocket and pulled out a flashlight.

Elena scurried off and started searching through the kitchen. Tseng headed into the bathroom. He had just leaned down picking something out of the drain when he heard Elena yelp.

He drew a gun and stepped to the side of the door, peering around.

“Wha' the fuck are you doin' here?” A rough voice asked.

Barret.

Tseng stepped out of the bathroom. “We could ask you the same question Wallace.”

“I'm looking for Vampie and I saw you two come into town.” Barret growled, eyeing the gun.

“I was not aware that you were searching for Mr. Valentine.” Tseng put the gun away, but remained tense.

Elena retreated to his side.

“We all got things to do. I'm here to find Vampie and haul his bloodsucking, demon butt back to WRO.” Barret glanced around the house. “This his house or somthin'?”

“No. This house is one of Hojo's past residences. We were trying to see if he had recently spent time here.” Tseng motioned around him. “It doesn't seem likely, but we have to exhaust all possibilities.”

Barret shrugged. “Jus' stay outa my way.”

The big man lumbered to the door. “I'm going to find him and I don't need no Shinra Turks gettin' in my way.”

Tseng watched him leave then passed the small thing he'd pulled out of the drain to Elena. “They were here.”

It was a small scrap of blood red cloth.

“Do you think?”

“He did say that he wished he'd left Vincent in the Ancient's city.” Tseng stepped out the door. “I think it is likely that if Vincent was hurt, Hojo would take him there.”

Elena tried to suppress an excited grin. “Then we have to go to the city?”

“Yes, that is what we will have to do.” Tseng picked up the bag and rummaged around in it for a moment. “Here.” He handed her a small Lunar Harp. “You play. I'll deal with the malldancers.”

They got through the woods easily, even with Elena standing in the middle of the path gaping at the trees. Tseng blasted the malldancers with a few bolt spells, and the thing by the stairs was barely an afterthought.

“Wow.” Elena breathed. “I never got to really look at this place before.”

“It ain't nothin' special.” Barret came up behind them, glaring. “I tol' you to stay outa my way.”

“Hey!” Elena turned. “You're the one who's following us.”

“I ain't followin' no Shinra.” Barret stomped past. “Jus' leave me alone.”

Tseng watched him trudge into the city. “I wonder if Reeve knows he's here?”

“No.” Yuffie's voice answered him from behind a tree. She looked around at them then checked to make sure Barret was gone. “Barret got angry. Said that we were all getting sucked back into Shinra's lies and left.” She waved towards where Barret had disappeared. “I got worried. He's had it in for Vinnie for years and… I just thought someone needed to keep an eye on him.”

Tseng nodded. “Well, welcome to our search.”

Yuffie grinned. “Sure thing. You'll probably need my help.” She posed dramatically, a giggle lurking in her eyes. “I am the world's greatest ninja and the single white rose of Wutai.”

Tseng arched an eyebrow. “Really? Amazing. I guess my mother's rose bush finally died then. Too bad. It really had beautiful roses.” He turned and walked off. “They'd bloom every summer and were the color of sea foam.”

“Not that kind of rose…” Yuffie raced after him. “This is a metaphor…”

“Metaphor…that's a big word for such a tiny ninja.” Tseng murmured in his native tongue, walking calmly along the road.

Elena glanced around and started after the two as they entered the city bickering softly in Wutaian.