------------------------------------------------------
PART 7-12: REEVE'S INTERLUDE: ALTERED EGOS
------------------------------------------------------
Knowing what he did about Cloud's early days as a Shinra trooper and
the circumstances of Zack's death, Reeve had plenty to be bothered
about. The entire conversation between Sephiroth and Cloud was like
waltzing in a mine field -- one never knew when a few simple words would
end up blowing up in everyone's faces.
Over the past few days, Reeve had become absolutely convinced that
Sephiroth and Zack had been closer than anyone had ever suspected. It
wasn't obvious -- that wasn't Sephiroth's style -- but there were
definite clues if one knew what to look for. Just how close the two men
were remained to be seen and Reeve didn't feeling like tackling THAT
particular issue yet. However, it was clear -- to Reeve, at least --
that the two men had been the best of friends. Despite Sephiroth's ice
cold demeanor, something told Reeve that there would be hell to pay if
he ever found out that Cloud was in all likelihood Zack's murderer. The
fact that Cloud had been totally insane at the time would be absolutely
irrelevant.
(Cloud had said, 'I was a different person back then.' Oh yes, no
truer words were ever spoken, my friend.)
That single statement -- so innocuous on its surface -- took on a
whole new depth of meaning if one knew the real facts of Cloud's past.
At first Reeve had simply thought that guilt had caused Cloud to blot
out the memories of killing his friend Zack. Amnesia about traumatic
events wasn't at all uncommon. But the more he thought about it, the
more likely it appeared that Cloud taken a much more drastic course of
action in an attempt to utterly disassociate himself from Zack's death.
It wasn't a matter of simply losing or suppressing a few memories...
it involved assuming a different name... manifesting a different
personality... anything that could distinguish this person now called
Cloud from the tormented young man who had committed an apparently
unforgivable crime.
In the end, only the physical body had remained the same.
Reeve had the vaguest recollection of his college psychology
courses, but he remembered his professor saying that the human mind
could delude itself into believing practically anything in order to
survive.
(Were your memories so unbearable that you had to completely remake
yourself, Cloud? Was that the only way you could find to live with
yourself?)
And if one added in the notorious side-effects of intensive Mako
exposure, implantation of Jenova cells, and years of Hojo's torturous
experiments....
Back in the relative safety of Midgar, Reeve shivered. Not because
he couldn't understand the terrible possibilities opening up before him
like a bottomless pit, but rather because he could understand those
impulses all too well.
It was disturbingly easy for Reeve to sympathize with Cloud. He was
doing the same sort of thing with Cait Sith -- becoming a different
person, someone he considered much more likable. The only real
difference between him and Cloud was in the matter of degree. Maybe
that's why he had always felt a particular sort of empathy with Cloud.
Although he never mentioned it to his friends, Reeve was haunted by his
own share of unforgivable actions.
Or in his case, it had been the lack of action.
Sector 7 had simply been the final straw which broke the chocobo's
back.
But his theories were just that... only theories mixed with a hefty
dose of guesswork and conjecture. He needed to talk to an expert to be
certain, but who could possibly.... Reeve shook his head and grimaced.
There was only two people still alive who has any real expertise with
the effects of Jenova and Mako exposure. And Hojo was definitely out of
the question.
(The next free moment I have, I need to have a long and very
thorough talk with Dr. Savois).
------------------------------------------------------
PART 7-13: CHANGES IN PERSPECTIVE
------------------------------------------------------
Sephiroth stared at Cloud for a long moment, then cocked his head
slightly.
(Different.... Yes, I'm beginning to see that, Strife....)
There was a long silence, then Cloud slowly said, "You don't
remember what happened in Nibelheim." From his tone, it wasn't a
question.
"The Nibelheim mission...." Although his face showed no particular
emotion, the way Cloud mentioned Nibelheim made Sephiroth's guts knot in
dread.
"Yes... Nibelheim. You were there. I was there. And Zack...."
Cloud's voice trailed off.
"And Zack was there," said Sephiroth, finishing off Cloud's
sentence.
Cloud looked away. "Yes... Zack was there, too."
"Because where Sephiroth goes, his shadow naturally follows," said
Yuffie in an oddly somber voice.
Cloud froze and went very pale. Everyone else turned to stare at
the ninja girl.
---------------------------
As he listened to Yuffie's words -- words that seemed filled with
ominous double or even triple meanings -- Cid felt a chill run down his
spine. He glanced quickly at Barret and could see the same unnerved
reaction in the black man's eyes. Both of them remembered all too well
their conversation long ago outside the clinic at Mideel.
The pilot thought, (Back then, hadn't Barret muttered something
about Cloud being Sephiroth's shadow? How the hell does Zack fit into
this 'shadow' business?)
---------------------------
As everyone looked at the ninja girl in astonishment, Sephiroth
glared at her and asked sharply, "Who are you?"
Yuffie tossed her head and replied with a curiously dignified way.
"Yuffie Kisaragi."
She stared up at the silver-haired man who had brought the
millennia-old warrior tradition of Wutai to its knees. She fully
expected to hate his guts for what he had done to her father, her
nation, and her friends... but she didn't. She wasn't sure what she was
feeling, but the closest description would be a sort of wary respect.
(I guess I picked up more of Dad's lectures on honor and 'the
warrior's code' than I thought.)
It was so strange. Sephiroth had never had this sort of effect on
her before, when they had been trying to stop him from destroying the
world. Then again, Sephiroth had been a raving lunatic at the time. So
in a way, it made perfect sense. This was the first time she had really
met the person who masterminded the conquest of Wutai. And say what you
might about Sephiroth, but there was no denying that he was a military
genius and a kick-ass fighter.
After a brief pause, Sephiroth said quietly, "Godo's daughter and
heir."
She nodded curtly, then said, "The old-timers on Wutai still tell
stories about you."
---------------------------
The odd conversation between Yuffie and Sephiroth might have
continued further, but Tifa broke the mood by hissing furiously, "So
you're saying that you don't remember anything that's happened in the
six years since your mission to Nibelheim? My, isn't THAT convenient?
You conniving bastard! I have a mind to...."
Sephiroth gave her a chilling stare. "To do what, Lockheart? Kill
me? You seem to have conveniently forgotten that if I hadn't put up
that barrier spell when I did, those monsters would have probably torn a
few of your friends into shreds."
"Like hell!" an infuriated Barret roared.
But even as the large black man began ranting and raving,
Sephiroth's thoughts were racing.
(Six years? Six YEARS!? How can that be?) He had deduced as much
on his own based on the changed appearance of Strife, Lockheart, and the
Yuffie girl, but to hear it spoken aloud....
---------------------------
Cid leaned over to Yuffie and muttered, "What's all that crap about
'Sephiroth's shadow'?"
Caught up in her own thoughts, she jumped, then muttered back, "It's
what they called...."
"Him. Zack, I mean," Cait Sith said, poking his nose into the
conversation.
"Say what?" said Cid.
Yuffie stared at the pilot impatiently. "That's was Zack's nickname
with the other SOLDIERs. They called him 'Sephiroth's Shadow'. You
know, because when Sephiroth was around, Zack was always with him,
lurking inconspicuously in the background. Not to mention the dark
hair. You know, light and dark... Sephiroth and Zack... that sort of
thing?"
Red grumbled pensively, "Fascinating."
Cid muttered, "That's NOT what I would call it. I'd call it pretty
damn creepy."
Almost as one, they all slowly straightened up and turned to stare
at Cloud, who stoically observed Tifa and Barret as they yelled
furiously at an indifferent Sephiroth.
---------------------------
While the Turks were eavesdropping on the whispered conversation
between Yuffie, Cid, and the others, Elena took the opportunity to ask
Reno a troubling question.
"Reno, why didn't you want to tell Tifa what happened with Cloud?"
The female Turk was startled to see Reno's expression tense.
"What's wrong?" she blurted.
Reno was surprisingly reluctant to answer. "I... He started
hallucinating from that stuff Hojo used on him." His voice ground to a
momentary halt. "At least... I hope he was just delirious and imagining
stuff instead of remembering things that actually happened."
As Elena and Rude stared at him in confusion, Reno ran his hands
through his bedraggled hair and muttered, "Aw hell, what am I saying?"
Taking a deep breath, he continued, "Well, it seems that Cloud and
Hojo have some past history. Really ugly history. From what I could
pick out, several years ago, Hojo used Cloud for some of his wacko
experiments and basically totally fucked up his head. I had to listen
to Cloud scream about all this crap for hours and THAT was bad enough. I
don't even want to even think about how bad actually living through all
that shit must have been like. I can't help feeling sorry for him. I
wouldn't wish that sort of nightmare on my worst enemy."
Elena barely managed to control her facial expression as she
mentally babbled to herself, (Oh god. How are we supposed to tell him
that... that his own sister... his TWIN sister... that Hojo
probably....)
Unnoticed by the distracted Reno, Elena gave Rude a frantic look.
The bald Turk maintained his usual silence, but couldn't help wincing.
---------------------------
Cloud stood off to the side as he watched Tifa and Barret blow off
some emotional steam. He felt no impulse to join in the fray. It
wasn't because of an absence of emotion, but rather there was too much
emotion... feelings that seemed to pull him in a dozen directions at
once.
(I should hate him. I have every reason to hate him. I DO hate
him. But I don't.... What the hell's wrong with me?) He couldn't help
wondering whether Sephiroth was playing around with his head again.
But as soon as Tifa took a threatening step toward Sephiroth, Cloud
stepped in and caught her arm. She stared at him and protested, "You
can't possibly believe that crap about Sephiroth not remembering all
those horrible things he's done to me, you, and the whole Planet." She
hesitated an instant, then plunged on. "And don't tell me you've
forgotten what he did to Aeris!?"
The brief flash of old pain in Cloud's eyes told her that he had
most definitely NOT forgotten about Aeris.
As he searched for a way to explain the difference he sensed in
Sephiroth, Red unexpectedly came to Cloud's rescue by quietly saying,
"None of us have forgotten, Tifa. But I don't think we're facing our
old enemy... not yet, at least."
"What are you talking about!?"
In gentle but firm tones, Red stared up at the angry young woman and
said, "Can't you feel it? There's something different about this
man...." The red beast tipped his head in Sephiroth's direction.
Yuffie nervously tossed Conformer from hand to hand as she said
uneasily, "The vibes aren't the same, if that's what you mean, Red."
The beast nodded approvingly. "That's very well put, Yuffie." His
one-eyed gaze raked over Scarlet, Cait Sith, and the Turks. "I'd
appreciate your input. You would have known him best from before
Nibelheim. Scarlet?"
"He certainly acts like the Sephiroth I knew," she said with a sour
twist to her painted lips. "An arrogant, cold-blooded bastard, but
definitely a sane one."
Sephiroth gave her a slight mocking bow in return.
Cait Sith adjusted his hat with a paw and nodded slowly. Reno and
Rude exchanged quick looks before Reno said, "Hell, it's not like we
really knew him or anything, but he sounds like he's got his head
screwed on pretty straight."
(Especially compared to a certain other person I could mention...,)
the red-haired Turk mentally added without looking at Cloud.
As Elena opened her mouth, Reno gave her a sharp glance and said
flatly, "And no, I haven't forgotten what happened to Tseng."
Barret snarled, "Like the words of some Shinra goons are supposed to
convince me that everything's all hunky-dory?"
Red shook his head. "Tifa, Barret, I fully understand your
concerns, but we cannot afford to waste our energy and resources on what
promises to be a very costly, but unnecessary battle. Don't forget that
Hojo and his army is still out there, waiting for us."
Tifa inhaled and exhaled slowly as she fought to maintain her
self-control. Giving way to her impulse to scream in sheer frustration
wouldn't help her convince anyone of the danger she was sure Sephiroth
represented.
When she was sure she could speak with reasonable calm, she said, "I
know that, Red. Maybe you and Yuffie are right. I'm not saying that
you are, but let's assume that you are. We still can't trust him!"
Red blinked and settled back on his haunches. "I never said
anything about trusting him, Tifa. But it might be possible to come to
some sort of workable arrangement. An armed truce, you might say."
---------------------------
Cloud listened tensely as his friends and allies debated how to deal
with Sephiroth, but remained silent.
(He's... he's different. Somehow, I know that. But will they
believe me? SHOULD they believe me? No. Best to let them come to
their own conclusions.)
It seemed to be the most reasonable course of action for him, but
Cloud couldn't help feeling that he was also taking the easy way out.
/ That's right.
/ You're really good at ducking responsibility....
/ Leaving someone else to do your dirty work....
/ aren't you? /
/ Someone like me.... /
Deep down inside, Cloud wondered what he would do if his friends
decided to turn on Sephiroth.
/ Yes yes yes! /
/ Kill the fucking bastard! /
(I should be glad to get rid of the monster....)
// He's no monster. //
But Cloud had a sickening feeling that he wouldn't be happy at all.
---------------------------
Cid rubbed the back of his neck and scowled as everyone turned to
stare at him. They clearly expected him to make the final decision. He
glanced irritably at Cloud who met the pilot's gaze for only a brief
instant.
(Why the hell are they looking at me for!)
But Cid knew why. With Sephiroth involved, Cloud's judgment was in
serious question and Cloud knew that better than anyone. It was no
surprise that Cloud had decided to keep his mouth shut while he let his
teammates come to their own decision.
"Aw, crap...," the pilot muttered.
Red was making a lot of sense. This Sephiroth was one arrogant
son-of-a-bitch, but he just wasn't acting like the raving lunatic they
knew and hated before. Scarlet, Reeve, and the Turks all agreed that he
was acting normally enough. Cid didn't have any doubts that they could
take out Sephiroth if they had to, but even with odds like eleven-to-one
-- twelve-to-one if he counted Scarlet -- it wouldn't be a cheap
victory.
And then there was Hojo and his pets still slithering around....
The pilot glanced at Vincent who had been characteristically quiet
during this whole argument. But the dark man remained silent as he
watched Sephiroth with a frightening intensity that missed nothing.
(I wonder.... What is Vince seeing? What is he looking for?
Traces of Lucrecia? Or is he looking for traces of Hojo?)
The pilot could tell from Tifa's tight, angry expression that she
wasn't buying any of their arguments. That was no surprise. Sephiroth
had killed her father, toasted her hometown, and caused her no end of
misery. She would hate Sephiroth's guts to the end of time and that was
all there was to it. And Barret was being his usual stubborn,
hard-assed self about the whole thing. That was only to be expected.
Barret and Tifa had been friends long before the Meteor crap got
started.
But he could understand Tifa's and Barret's viewpoint. Like Tifa
said, it's so damn convenient that Sephiroth's memory ended so precisely
at Nibelheim. Almost TOO convenient.... He'd feel a lot better if the
guy's memory was a lot more screwed up.
(Maybe he's really doesn't remember a damn thing of massacring an
entire town and trying to blow the shit out of the Planet. Or maybe
he's pulling one hell of an act and he's planning on plunging that
goddamn sword of his into our backs just like he did to Aeris.)
He gave Sephiroth a dirty look. Throughout the discussion, the
former Shinra general had remained silent, but Cid had no doubt that the
guy was filing every scrap of information away for future reference.
And Cloud.... Now that was the strange thing. He would've expected
Cloud to be right beside Tifa yelling for Sephiroth's blood... but he
wasn't. Sephiroth and Cloud were both playing the exact same waiting
game, letting everyone else argue the pros and cons. Cid found that
downright unnerving.
Tifa opened her mouth to voice her objections again, but before she
could say anything, Cloud finally stepped in. He said firmly, "Guys, we
could go on about this forever, but we need to come to a decision NOW.
Like Red said, we have other problems to worry about and we're running
short on time."
"What are you talking about?" growled Barret.
Cloud jerked his head in the direction of the collapsed hallway.
"Aside from being surrounded by Hojo's little army...." He took a deep
breath before continuing. "Hojo's recovered the... um, Core."
"The what?" said Tifa and several others.
"The Core."
"WHAT bloody core?" grumbled Cid.
Cloud's eyes flicked briefly toward Sephiroth. With exquisite care,
he said, "Some time ago, Hojo found the head of a certain... space
alien."
Barret blinked, then said, "Oh, you're talking about Je.... OW!!!"
His words turned into a sharp yelp as Yuffie jabbed him with her weapon.
He whirled around and bellowed, "Why the hell did you do that, girl!?"
"You JERK!" the ninja girl hissed furiously, making little pointing
gestures in Sephiroth's direction.
Barret scratched his head as he muttered, "Oh... yeah. That's
right." He coughed, then said with exaggerated tones, "Oh, THAT space
alien."
It wasn't the most graceful or subtle of recoveries, but it was the
best any of them could do under the circumstances.
------------------------------------------------------
PART 7-14: INSINUATIONS
------------------------------------------------------
Suddenly one of the large video monitors in the lab sprang to life.
On the screen, Hojo scowled angrily and whined, "No, no, no! What the
hell are you doing out of the tank already?"
Sephiroth froze just an instant in surprise as he took in Hojo's
altered appearance -- the green scaly skin, the protruding bug-eyes, the
sucker mouth, and the long tentacles. But he quickly regained his
composure and said coldly, "Hojo. I see your exterior at last
accurately mirrors your interior."
On the screen, the scientist gnashed his needle-like teeth and
glared at Cloud. "This is all your doing, no doubt!" he hissed
furiously.
Surprisingly, Cloud did that casual little shrug of his and gave
Hojo a wolfish grin.
"You're getting sloppy in your old age, leaving me unsupervised and
unrestrained like that, Hojo. Did you expect me to lie around doing
nothing? After all this time, you should know me better than that,"
Cloud calmly retorted. It was no boast, but rather a bland statement of
fact.
His words produced two very interesting reactions. Sephiroth
stiffened, then snapped his head around to stare at the young blond man
standing beside him and was barely able to hide his astonishment. The
choice of words, the tone, the body language... even that careless
shrug... all those things were quintessential Zack.
At the same time, on the monitor, Hojo twitched nervously. It took
the scientist a few seconds to recover his smug composure. Turning back
to Sephiroth, Hojo muttered, "So you don't remember...."
"Remember what?" Sephiroth snapped, jerking his attention back to
the monitor, even as he sensed Cloud suddenly tensing beside him. The
ex-Shinra general didn't like the sly malice filling Hojo's voice.
"About what you discovered in Nibelheim."
Sephiroth didn't bother to reply.
"Well, it's obvious that you don't. In that case, you're probably
wondering what's happened to your good friend Zack, eh?"
With no particular expression on his face except for cold contempt,
Sephiroth said neutrally, "What about him?"
Hojo giggled, "Why don't you ask Strife about that?"
Before Sephiroth could respond, Cloud stepped forward. He spoke in
a soft, but perfectly audible voice.
"Don't EVER call me Strife."
Hearing the tightly controlled rage in Cloud's voice, a sly look
came over Hojo's face.
"But that's your name...." The scientist's voice suddenly turned
thoughtful. "Or is it, hmm?"
Vincent silently stalked forward to stand on the other side of
Sephiroth. The rage that hovered around the dark man like an ominous
haze made even Sephiroth discreetly edge away from him. With stark
simplicity, Vincent spoke to the creature who had destroyed so much in
the former Turk's life.
"You're dead, Hojo."
The appearance of his old enemy seemed to actually boost Hojo's
self-confidence. With his usual arrogance, he smirked and said, "Idle
boasts, Valentine. You'll fail, just as you've always failed when
you've tried to challenge me."
"You weren't satisfied with destroying Lucrecia, were you? How many
women did you murder in your attempts to create another Sephiroth?"
Vincent's voice grew rougher, more animal-like with every word.
On the screen, Hojo shrugged carelessly. "Oh, I can't remember off
the top of my head. Ten? Twenty? Thanks to Gast's secrecy and
sabotage, the whole experiment turned out to be a massive waste of my
valuable time. Although...." He chuckled viciously. "I did come very
close to success with dear Regina. What a beauty she was!"
Elena uttered a horrified, "Eep!" as Reno abruptly stiffened. He
caught a brief glimpse of the appalled looks on Elena's and Rude's faces
before the Turk whirled around and angrily shoved his way past Barret
and Yuffie toward the screen.
"What did you say, asshole?" the redheaded Turk demanded in a low,
furious voice.
"Oh, that's right. Regina Donovan is your twin sister, Reno. Or
should I say, WAS your twin sister." Hojo said in mock sympathy, now
back in full gloating mode.
"Don't try fucking around with me, Hojo! She died in a railroad
crash in Midgar over four years ago," Reno ground out.
"Well, she didn't die then and she didn't die there, but she's
certainly dead now," the mad scientist said with a crazed little giggle.
"WHAT DID YOU SAY???"
Cloud interrupted sharply. "What do you want, Hojo?"
The look of pure malice on Hojo's inhuman face sent a shiver down
nearly everyone's spine.
"Well, I had hoped to introduce Sephiroth under more controlled
conditions, but due to your bumbling interference, I've had to move up
my timetable somewhat. Sephiroth, are you ready to meet your mother?"
"My... what...?" Sephiroth involuntarily retreated a step and
nearly backed into Cloud.
Hojo's mouth contorted into an even wider grin as he purred, "Your
mother... Jenova."
(Well, so much for keeping THAT little secret,) thought Yuffie.
As Sephiroth froze, Cloud lunged forward and shouted at the monitor,
"No more of your damned lies, Hojo!" He couldn't explain the
overwhelming sense of fury that seem to consume him at that moment. All
he knew was he couldn't let Hojo OR Jenova win... not this time.
"Oh, but I'm not lying...," the scientist replied smoothly.
"Yes, you are," growled Vincent, his crimson eyes glowing. "You
forget to whom you're talking to. We know you. You would do anything
to accomplish your own twisted purposes. If you're not spewing forth
filthy lies, you're warping the truth beyond recognition. You've always
had a talent for stabbing people where it hurts the most."
Hojo snorted. "You're pathetic, Valentine. Your pain and a few
paltry lives means NOTHING when compared to the glory of the discoveries
I've made!"
"Glory? GLORY!? You corrupt and taint everything you touch!"
Vincent snarled, his red eyes smoldering in fury. Metal scraped against
metal as he clenched his claw into a fist.
"One man's corruption is another man's exaltation," the scientist
retorted with a mad giggle. Hojo rubbed his tentacles together with
glee, then peered through the monitor at Sephiroth.
"Jenova is the only true power. I realize that now. Come,
Sephiroth. The path to divinity awaits you. All you have to do is take
your rightful place by your mother's side." The scientist's voice was a
twisted, paternal croon that sickened everyone who heard it.
Sephiroth's blank expression and ominous silence had several people
stealthily reaching for their weapons.
Apparently confident that his words had struck home, Hojo turned his
attention back to Cloud and the others.
"I find it wonderfully ironic that I spent so much time and effort
studying the Cetra when true power in the form of Jenova lay in my hands
all along. But never fear. All that research will not be wasted...."
Cloud glared at Hojo and snapped furiously, "Aeris and her mother
weren't specimens for you to dissect as you please! They were human
beings...!"
Hojo interrupted angrily, "Human beings? Bah! YOU're a fine one to
talk about human beings! The Cetra are aliens to this planet, just like
Jenova. They had no greater right to be here simply because they
arrived on this Planet first. The Cetra were weak and deserved to lose
to the greater power! In the end, these so-called Ancients and their
puny achievements will end up serving Jenova's will just as everyone on
this miserable Planet. And Jenova's spawn will lead the way! Won't
you, Sephiroth?"
Almost as an afterthought, the scientist glanced at Cloud and hissed
maliciously, "And you too, Strife."
Flinging his tentacles wide like a street preacher, Hojo shouted,
"The true Jenova has returned! PREPARE TO FEEL HER GLORY!"
The screen exploded into junk as Barret sprayed the screen with
gunfire. As Sephiroth whirled to glare coldly at the black man, Barret
shrugged and said, "We ain't got time to listen to any more of his
bullshit."
Red thought to himself, (For all his bluntness, it is at times like
this when I realize that Barret has a wisdom all his own.)
---------------------------
Nearly white with rage, Reno stormed out of the lab and into the
hallway, before whirling toward his fellow Turks who were warily
trailing behind him. He hissed, "What's going on? What the fuck's Hojo
talking about!?"
A white-faced Elena said in a strangled voice, "Reno... when we were
searching in Nibelheim, we found... Hojo had been doing... experiments
involving injecting Jenova cells into pregnant women in order to
modify... the unborn human fetuses."
"And...?" said Reno in an ominously quiet voice. He could already
guess how his sister Regina was involved, but he needed to hear it. He
needed to hear someone say it aloud to make it real.
Elena took a deep gulp of air before continuing. "His experiments
were a total botch. None of the mothers or the babies survived. But
Hojo kept the bodies in specimen containers to...." She simply couldn't
finish and turned away, her hand clamped over her mouth.
Rude's face was impassive as usual, except for a faint tic in his
right cheek.
"I saw her body, Reno. It was her. Regina."
Cloud and his friends had seen Reno pissed off and in various stages
of annoyance before, but at that moment, they realized that they had
never seen him truly angry. It was a frightening, quiet sort of rage,
simply because it was so different from his usual careless, cynical
attitude.
Elena and Rude had caught a glimpse of this sort of anger before,
when Reno had found Tseng's body lying outside of the Temple of the
Ancients, but that emotion had been a pale shadow of the fury they saw
now in his eyes.
Reno stood with his head bowed, his Nightstick clutched in a
white-knuckled grip, then abruptly turned to face Vincent, who had
silently followed them into the hallway.
With an inquiring quirk of an eyebrow, Reno asked, "What about you?"
In a stark voice, Vincent simply said, "Lucrecia."
"I thought you killed Hojo at the Sister Ray," Reno drawled.
"I did. He came back," was Vincent's equally calm retort.
"Then I guess that I'll have to do a better job of it."
"Not if I get to him first."
Reno shrugged. "Why quibble over shit like Hojo? We guess we can
both share in the fun."
There was a brief pause, before Vincent replied, "I can deal with
that."
The red-haired Turk and the dark-haired ex-Turk stared at each other
in a moment of perfect understanding as the same vicious, predatory grin
appeared on their lips.
------------------------------------------------------
PART 7-15: DARKER IMPULSES
------------------------------------------------------
As everyone was trying to recover from the rather traumatic
conversation with Hojo, Sephiroth suddenly staggered. At the same
instant, Cloud collapsed to his knees and clamped his hands to his head
in a frighteningly familiar gesture.
"What the hell...!?"
"Cloud!"
"Spike?"
"Damn it!"
As Tifa ran to Cloud's side and grabbed his shoulder, the others
became aware of something repulsive and alien in the air.
Red reflexively shook his head in a futile effort to clear the
foulness from his sensitive nose, but he knew that what he sensed was no
simple odor. It was actually a psychic 'stench' caused by the unholy
mental energy that was now permeating the entire area. And from
Sephiroth's and Cloud's reaction, there could only be one source.
"Jenova!" snarled the beast, fighting down the urge to howl
defiantly.
---------------------------
His friends' worried questions faded to a distant babble as Cloud
struggled to fight off the mental onslaught. Instead of the brutal,
crushing force he vaguely remembered encountering before, this assault
was much more subtle... a soft, coaxing alien voice that he couldn't
shut out or ignore....
It whispered terrible things to him... dark, hissing promises of
power and dominion. All he had to do was surrender himself to Jenova --
body, mind, and soul. It would be so easy....
A part of him jumped at the offer... the chance for revenge... the
chance to show everyone just what sort of person he really was... the
chance to make them all sorry for crossing him....
The first to go would be that stupid bitch grabbing at his arm....
(No, damn it! Get out of my head!)
The alien voice whispered more sinister promises as ugly, dirty
images fluttered through his battered brain.
(Stop it! I won't listen to you again! Never again!)
Then another voice joined in... but this voice didn't come from the
outside.
It came from somewhere deep inside of HIM.
/ Yes! You know it's true!
/ They laugh at you.
/ They hate you.
/ They hurt you.
/ They all deserve to die.... /
(No! That never happened. They're my friends, damn it! You're
twisting things around, just like before! You made me... you made me
kill....)
/ You enjoyed it! /
(Shut up!)
The two voices -- Jenova's alien voice from the outside and the
dark, inner voice from within -- hammered at him like some demented
choir hell-bent on driving him inexorably toward the bottomless abyss of
insanity.
As the voices clawed at his mind, exposing unexpected weak points,
something in Cloud finally roused and shouted, (ENOUGH!) Like a
drowning man, he grabbed for that steely resolve that abruptly slashed
through the maddening babble and refused to be manipulated any further.
A sudden calm washed over Cloud's mind, driving the malignant voices far
away.
// Not this time, Jenova. //
// I know your tricks now. //
---------------------------
It had been easy for Sephiroth to dismiss Hojo's ravings. He had
long since stopped believing anything the scientist told him, except
with a hefty dose of collaborating evidence. The bastard had lied to
him too many times. More importantly, Sephiroth knew from painful
personal experience how much Hojo enjoyed manipulating people with a
carefully calculated mixture of lies and half-truths.
The fool had obviously gone stark raving mad, but the scientist's
comments of someone called Jenova being his mother had still given
Sephiroth a nasty jolt. And before he could quite recover, there was
something even more disturbing for him to deal with.
Yes, it was easy to ignore Hojo, but Sephiroth found it impossible
to ignore the strange voice that now slithered into his mind. The words
were almost exactly the same as Hojo's, but this time the talk of
godhood, destiny, and power stirred something deep inside Sephiroth.
It made a perverse, seductive sort of sense. It made all the
differences that separated and isolated him from every other person in
this world understandable.... The loneliness and alienation that
constantly haunted him would have meaning and purpose.
The hatred... the constant suspicion... the hidden and blatant fear
in everyone's eyes.... He wouldn't have to think about those things
anymore. They wouldn't be able to hurt him anymore.
Gods don't feel pain.
It would be so easy....
All he would have to do is let go and believe....
Under Jenova's insidious assault, the barrier locking away the
memories of the last six years weakened ever so slightly. Sephiroth
staggered as disjointed images flashed through his mind.
....staring at Zack through a roaring wall of flame as a small
mountain town burned....
....Masamune plunging deep into Zack's stomach....
....a long fall into green Mako fires that seared but did not
consume....
....blood-splattered hallways littered with corpses in Shinra
uniforms....
....glowing pale blue eyes filled with terror, horror, and shame....
....a swift plunge into the heart of a crystal city and the heart of
a brown-haired young woman....
....Strife's tortured screams of anguish and denial....
....a hellish red light and a huge glowing rock filling the sky....
....a barren, featureless place and a young man wielding a huge
two-handed broadsword in a complex, yet instantly recognizable series of
strikes that only one person knew and mastered....
---------------------------
When Cloud finally managed to get his head back in working order, he
found himself swaying on his hand and knees on the floor. At the
moment, he couldn't quite gather up the energy to stand up so he wearily
propped himself against a nearby lab table.
Cid squatted down next to him and drawled, "Please tell me that
you're not hearing little voices telling you to do bad things."
Cloud rubbed his hand over his face before ruefully saying, "Do you
want me to lie to you, Cid?"
"Uh, no,"
As she knelt on the other side of Cloud, Tifa eyed him uneasily for
a few seconds before questioning him in an anxious voice.
"Cloud, does that mean that you ARE hearing voices?"
"Well, I was." He had only the haziest memory of those voices. At
the moment, he couldn't quite remember what they had said, but he knew
that their words had both sickened and infuriated him. Aloud, he said,
"I made them go away."
"How the hell did you manage that?" said Cid.
Cloud calmly replied, "I forced myself to stop listening to them."
The pilot blinked at Cloud's matter-of-fact tone, then said, "Well,
I guess that's one way to handle it."
Although the mental battle had clearly taken a lot out of Cloud, Cid
observed with relief that his friend appeared... well, pretty much
normal. The calmness wasn't that unusual either. The pilot had noticed
before that Cloud tended to become more cool-headed and decisive as
situations worsened.
Tifa put her hand on Cloud's shoulder and said worriedly, "How are
you feeling? Is it... is it over?"
"I feel like someone's been kicking the inside of my head around,
but other than that, I'm feeling okay at the moment." He looked away.
"But is it over? I don't know. I doubt it."
Even as Cloud spoke, the others noticed that the intensity of the
oppressive, foul energy filling the air was gradually fading. It wasn't
completely gone, but at least it wasn't as nearly as bad as before.
Red padded over and peered worriedly into Cloud's face before
asking, "Was it Jenova?"
Cloud nodded slowly. "Yes... and this time, I think it's the real
thing."
The beast lashed his tail back and forth. "You're saying that it's
not just Jenova, but rather Jenova-CORE -- this thing that Hojo calls
the true Jenova."
"Yeah. The head must have gotten ejected from the Lifestream when
Meteor nearly hit the Planet. Hojo found it... or maybe it called him.
Who knows? Anyway, Hojo babbled something about reconstructing
Jenova-CORE as well as Sephiroth...."
Cid slammed the butt of Venus Gospel on the ground. "Shit! That
probably explains all the bodies!"
"What bodies?" asked Cloud as he hauled himself back to his feet.
Tifa muttered, "The missing bodies from Nibelheim... and apparently
from other places."
Off to the side, Scarlet said sourly, "The crackpot's been hauling
hundreds of human corpses into the lowermost levels of the plant."
Red growled, "Hojo probably used them as raw material to build or
create a new body for Jenova-CORE."
"But hundreds of them?" asked Yuffie. "Just how big is this
resurrected Jenova-CORE thingie supposed to be!?"
"I'm almost afraid to guess," Cloud said quietly. "But it could
easily be as big as the other incarnations of Jenova we've encountered
before."
"Shit!" muttered Barret.
Cloud suddenly realized that nearly everyone in the room was staring
at him, except for Vincent and the Turks who were still in the hallway
outside the lab. That meant that no one was keeping an eye on....
Cloud abruptly demanded, "Who's watching Sephiroth?"
--------------------------------------------
[continued in PART 7-16]
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