Oh yeah, I forgot to mention this before...I'm also working on another FF7
fic, Requiem, which is a nice, normal, non-alternate reality fic. I'm not
going to send it to the list because so far, it's over 60 pages and I'm
terrified that someone will tell me it sucks and I'll have to scrap the
whole thing. ^_^ If anyone is interested in it, please let me know. Also, I
have certain characterizations in mind for Reno, Cloud, Tifa, and Reeve
that might not exactly jive with everyone else's, just because I'm weird. I
kinda got those started in two short stories I wrote that belong in the
real universe of FF7, Silence and Fallen. However, they still pretty much
show how I see some of the characters, especially Reno (he's my
favorite!!!) so I recommend reading them...but once again, I'm not
bothering to send them along...they aren't really essential to this one. If
anyone wants them, ask and ye shall receive.

Warnings: Foul language (maybe), violence, some yaoi later on (which is why
I'm being bad and sending this to the YSML) FF7 belongs to squaresoft and
not me, I'm not worth suing.

--
Katsu "O-ka-ne" no Miko
"Erst wenn die Wolken schlafen gehen
kann man uns am Himmel sehen
wir haben Angst und sind allein...
Gott weiss ich wil kein Engel sein..." (~Ramms+ein~)



Multiverse Part I


�Sir!�

Sephiroth turned just as the man who had yelled to him appeared at his
elbow, and he received the full effect of the man�s condition. The SOLDIER
first class was coated with grime and ash from head to toe, his mako blue
eyes and teeth sparkling cleanly against all the dirt like jewels incased
in mud. It was nearly impossible to tell what the original color of the
SOLDIER�s hair was; it had been turned a non-descript muddy grey brown, and
lay in desultory, hanging spikes around his face, dripping water and god
knew what else.

To most, it would have been completely impossible to identify the man. He
looked just like everyone else on the battlefield, coated with so much muck
that every possible distinguishing feature was hidden.

Sephiroth was not hampered by the need for visual clues when it came to
identifying this particular SOLDIER. While he was like almost every other
SOLDIER in the ranks, at the same time, he was special. What need was there
for distinguishing features when it was someone so close that he knew the
General�s moods before the General himself did?

With a grimace, Sephiroth wiped a strand of silver hair away from his face,
turning his thoughts back toward the problem at hand; location. The entire
valley was a stupid place to conduct a war, as far as he was concerned. It
was a natural flood plain, and since it sat next to one of the largest
rivers on the continent, it was squishy underfoot at the best of times, as
well as hellishly humid.

Unfortunately, whatever power watched over soldiers wasn�t paying close
attention, because the Midgar and Wutai armies had clashed in the valley in
the middle of the rainy season. The floor of the valley was a sea of muck.
The mud took almost as many lives as the enemy did; wounded that fell in it
drowned if they weren�t rescued, and even if they were, often fell victim
to the myriad of parasites and diseases that lived in the rich, bloody
muck.

Yes, if Sephiroth had been provided with the choice, he never would have
chosen to make a stand in this particular little slice of hell. It was too
bad that he couldn�t direct the army of Wutai as well as that of Midgar. He
could have set them up with a far more civilized place to fight it out.

Finally turning his full attention to the SOLDIER at his elbow, Sephiroth
raised a pale eyebrow. �What do you have to report?�

The SOLDIER plopped down on a convenient rock, the fatigue that he had been
trying not to show finally winning out. �Word from Zack. The left flank
isn�t going to hold much longer, and the Wutai army is beginning to
concentrate their attack there. There�s no way to recover it. We�re going
to lose the valley.�

�I could have told you that the moment we set foot here.� Sephiroth shook
his head. �Even if you discount the fact that their army is three times
larger than ours, they had the high ground from the beginning. It was only
a matter of time. Your division?�

�Completely destroyed. I took down as many as I could before our lines were
flooded with enemy troopers, but I decided that I would probably be more
use to you here than out on the field, feeding the worms.�

�Well put.� Sephiroth turned to look back over the muddy desolation of the
battlefield. The grey, oppressive sky, heavy with clouds, only served to
add to the feeling of bleakness. �How much longer before Zack�s division
completely crumbles?�

�An hour, if they manage to pull a miracle through. Zack�s slowly pulling
back, trying to find better ground. He says that the moment the situation
becomes completely hopeless, he plans to arm the minefield and run like
hell.�

With a slow nod, Sephiroth continued to take the sky in with his ice green
eyes. �Good plan. I knew there was a reason I kept you two around.�

�Gee, I love you too.�

Ignoring the last, sarcastic comment, Sephiroth crossed his arms. �Is an
hour enough time to finish completely evacuating Kalm?�

�We should have them all on the trucks and out of there in about half an
hour. Zack�s just trying to hold on as long as possible to give the
evacuees a lead.�

�Commendable.� He paused, to consider. �You realize that it�s now only a
matter of time until they�re knocking on the gates of Midgar.�

�A matter of a very short time, I thought.�

�Yes. We need to prepare to evacuate the President and his essential
administrators. Unfortunately, the slums are going to have to take second
place to that��

�And Reeve�s not going to like it. Yeah, I figured. We decided that if we
can�t get him to go quietly, we�ll just knock him out and dump him in a
helicopter. He can fire us after he wakes up in Junon.�

Despite himself, Sephiroth smiled slightly at the mental image of President
Reeve being chloroformed. Though the man had only taken over the company a
short year ago, already he was showing the promise that President Shinra
and his worthless son Rufus had lacked. Perhaps the biggest advantage that
he held over his predecessors was the fact that he genuinely cared about
the welfare of the people. The people sensed this, and followed him with
fanatical loyalty. Ah, the comparisons of ruling by fear and ruling by
love, he mused. Fear could control people, until they became strong enough
to rebel. Love put them under a yoke that they could never escape�and never
wanted to.

The SOLDIER seemed to be echoing his thoughts. A small smile crept onto his
lips. �Who would have thought that assassins from Wutai would actually be
doing us a favor?�

�Oh, it wasn�t their fault that they actually succeeded.� Sephiroth
chuckled softly. �It was entirely my fault for assigning a known drunk to
stand watch at that time. A complete miscalculation on my part, you
understand.�

�Of course, sir.� The SOLDIER laughed, but quickly sobered. �Do you
honestly think we can get everyone out of Midgar before Wutai takes it?�

�Honestly? It would take a miracle. There are too many people in Midgar to
evacuate quickly or efficiently. It would be possible if Wutai was going to
settle down for a siege�but we aren�t that lucky.�

�Why not?�

�Why bother laying siege to a self contained city like Midgar when you can
simply roll into it and crush it in your fist? The personnel cost would be
the same�but an all out attack is much better in the sense of time. There
is no chance of retaliation.� Sephiroth smiled tightly. He could see
movement on the edge of the field�the flank that was commanded by Zack
slowly caving in. �Some day, when this is all over, I will have to
compliment the Empress of Wutai on her choice of generals and tacticians.�

�Yeah�who would have thought. I remember the first time we met the little
brat. She stole my materia.� The SOLDIER laughed. �And I topped her before
I realized that she was Godo�s daughter. Who would have thought that little
Yuffie would make a good ruler?�

�Certainly not I. Things changed, however, when I killed Godo.�

�Well yeah. People tend to get pissed when you kill a member of their
family.�

�I suppose so.� With a shrug, he relegated that thought to the back of his
mind, to be considered later. Right now, he only knew of one surviving
biological relative of his, and he would happily kill the evil little man
at any time. Sephiroth snorted in disgust, flicking his fingers at the
muddy battlefield. �However, this had nothing to do with me killing Godo.
It has everything to do with the moronic former president.�

The SOLDIER didn�t even have to express agreement. They both already knew
that they agreed completely in their assessment of President Shinra. The
fat git had ordered them to withdraw from Wutai just as they were readying
to crush it completely in their fist, all because Yuffie had offered a
peace treaty. Sephiroth�s mouth twisted at one corner, at the memory of
that. It had been exactly the same ploy that Shinra had used in order to
get Wutai�s guard down. Shortly after that little incident was when Wutai
assassin�s had somehow managed to get into the quarters of Shinra and his
son, murdering them in their beds.

�The man was a moron. He deserved to die. And his son, too. The kid always
gave me the creeps.�

Sephiroth brushed back another bit of hair from his face. �The past doesn�t
matter, however. No amount of cursing the dead will do anything other than
waste time. Have the last trucks left yet?�

The SOLDIER pulled a small pair or binoculars out from where they had been
tucked into his belt, looking back toward Kalm. �Yeah. And the troop
transports I called for are coming up the road, right on time.�

�Good. Please, go tell Zack to give the order to retreat as soon as the
troop transports are within running distance.�

�You got it, sir.� The SOLDIER jumped to his feet with an effort,
attempting to look more energetic than he felt.

�And Cloud?�

�Yes, sir?�

�Take my aides with you and find as many wounded as possible to throw in
the troop transports while we�re waiting for Zack to finish his retreat. If
they protest, tell them that I am perfectly capable of rolling up my own
maps, and that they would have a difficult time doing it themselves on the
point of the Masamune.�

�Yes, sir.� With a grin despite the desperate situation, Major Cloud
Strife, SOLDIER first class, turned and ran for the battlefield.