Prisoners of War Ch. 41
Title: Prisoners of War Ch. 41
Author: xpaperplanex
Rating: PG-13
Word Count: ~4500
Pairings: Sephiroth/Cloud
Genre: hurt/comfort, romance
Warnings: none
Disclaimer: I do not own FFVII and make no money from this work.
Summary: Cloud and Sephiroth are taken prisoner by AVALANCHE. No one, least of all themselves, could have expected what it would set in motion.
Previous Chapters: | Part 1 |
| 29 | 30 | Omake 4 | 31 | 32 | 33 | 34 | 35 | 36 | 37 | 38 | 39 | 40 |
Did you know? Pachelbel's Canon randomly throughout the night makes your fancy English-speaking doll cranky! Who woulda thunk it?
A/N: I'm rather horrified to admit it, but this chapter made me cry a little. Not over anything you might expect a person to cry about, but over the stupidest little throwaway detail. I have odd emotions. Odd emotions aside, I'm really proud of this chapter.
***
Alde quietly entered Cloud's room. There was a soft, sniffling sound coming from behind the bed, and Sephiroth was squatting on the floor next to it. Was Cloud upset again? Had that Jenova thing been back? Aerith had been telling her a bit more about how the connection between them worked, when Zack had come down, saying that Cloud wanted to see her. She hadn't realized that something had happened, though.
"Cloud?"
Sephiroth turned at the sound of her voice, a worried expression on his face. "He had a nightmare." Then he turned back to Cloud. "She's here. Do you want to sit up on the bed?" There was a soft murmur and Sephiroth leaned over, then stood up with Cloud in his arms. The man carefully placed her son on the bed and kissed his forehead. "I'll be downstairs if you need me."
"Okay. Thanks." Cloud sat limply on the bed, plucking at the ruff of that chocobo toy with tears streaming down his face.
Alde blinked in shock as Sephiroth slid past her and out the door, shutting it behind him. He was actually going to leave them alone?
"Mom?" Cloud's voice shook as he spoke.
Alde's attention snapped back to Cloud and she rushed over to the bed. "I'm here, baby. I'm here." She gathered her son into her arms, despite him being far too big, and rocked him. "I'm here, Stormcloud, I've got you." Cloud clung to her, and began sobbing desperately, like he had been holding it in for far too long. The occasional word got out through his sobs, but she couldn't really make much sense of it. Except for 'scared'. That one was easy enough to understand. "Shh, don't be scared. You're safe here."
Alde's heart felt like it was being torn apart as her son broke down. This world was too cruel, allowing something so horrible to happen to such a wonderful boy. She hated ShinRa, she hated Hojo, and she hated Sephiroth. No... Alde thought again, she couldn't hate Sephiroth, not when he clearly made Cloud happy. She hated what Sephiroth was, a SOLDIER and the person who had unknowingly caused Cloud to leave home and join the army. But she didn't hate him.
Eventually Cloud's sobs tapered off and Alde pulled a handkerchief from her pocket. She wiped Cloud's eyes and then held it to his nose. "Blow," she ordered. Cloud did as he was told and let out a half-hearted laugh when she put the handkerchief back in her pocket.
"Like I'm a little kid again."
"Nonsense," Alde said. "Even grown men need their mothers sometimes. Do you want to tell me about the nightmare?"
Cloud shook his head. "Was just flashbacks. I-I kept hearing things that Ho-Hojo would say to me."
"What sort of things?"
"He-he would tell me that Sephiroth was dead. Or that he'd never come for me. That he didn't love me anymore."
"Well, obviously that's not true. Even I can tell that he loves you."
"I know, and I didn't believe it, not really, when he would say it. How would he know if Sephiroth still loved me or not? It still hurt, though. I was so scared. Alone. It seemed like I had been there forever and Sephiroth never came."
Alde continued rocking Cloud as he spoke. It was good for him to get it out, even if it was heartbreaking to hear. "Go on, Stormcloud, I'm here for you."
"He would call me a monster. Hideous and disgusting." Alde hugged Cloud a bit tighter. "He said that Sephiroth would take one look at me and leave."
"But he hasn't, baby. He hasn't left you. And you're not any of those things. You're beautiful. Sephiroth's damn lucky he's smart enough to see that."
"He doesn't know, though. None of you know. I'm scared, mom. I'm scared he's going to find out and I can't keep it a secret forever."
"Find out what? It's okay, Cloud, you can tell me."
"No..." Cloud moaned. "I can't. I can't. If you knew..."
"You don't think I would-never mind. Cloud, I want you to listen to me," Alde spoke firmly. "I love you. Sephiroth loves you. Your friends love you. I will never reject you. Do you understand that? No matter what some madman has done to you, you will always be my son and I will always love you. Now, I can't speak for anyone else, but I can tell you what I believe. I've been watching the way Sephiroth acts around you, and I am positive that he isn't going to leave you for any reason. That man loves you, Cloud. He really does. Do you understand?"
"Yeah, Ma, I understand."
"Good. You don't have to tell whatever your secret is if you don't want to. But I don't want you being afraid to tell it." Alde tried to think of something that Cloud would be so afraid of sharing, but was at a loss. There wasn't anything wrong with him on the outside. Internal changes maybe? "We're only human, Cloud, so we might be surprised and we might be shocked, but we won't reject you."
Cloud nodded slowly. "Thanks, Mom." He laughed a bit more brightly this time as his stomach let out a rather loud growl.
"Are you feeling better now?" Alde asked, and got a nod and a smile in response. "How about some stew then? It should be about ready."
"That would be good. But... I don't know if I really want to go downstairs and eat with everyone."
Alde hesitated slightly, but made her decision quickly. "How about I send your Sephiroth up with some for the both of you? You can eat up here."
"My Sephiroth... Thanks, Mom. That'd be nice."
"All right, then." Alde stood and gave Cloud a quick kiss on the lips and a hug. "I'll send him up shortly. Are you all right by yourself for a few minutes?"
"Of course I am. Don't be ridiculous." Cloud pushed himself back so he was leaning against the headboard. "I'll be just fine."
Alde smiled and nodded, then headed for the door. She left it open, just in case, and breathed a sigh of relief on the landing. Cloud had talked to her. Willingly. That meant the world to her. Now she just needed to have a quick chat with Sephiroth. With that thought in mind, Alde made her way downstairs feeling a renewed sense of purpose.
***
Sephiroth paced the small living room, occasionally throwing worried glances up at the ceiling. Cloud was all right. He was all right. He just needed his mom for a while. That was understandable. When things are bad, people want their mothers. He had seen battle-hardened veterans screaming for their mothers many times. At least this time, there was a mother to make it better. He just wished he could have stayed.
Shaking his head, Sephiroth kept pacing. It was stupid to wish that. That wasn't what Cloud had wanted. Sephiroth knew enough to know when to butt out. It didn't keep him from worrying, however. An awfully long time had passed, but at least Cloud had stopped crying a while ago. Hopefully Alde had it under control.
Eventually, he heard the door to Cloud's room open and Alde came down the stairs a few moments later. She gestured to him as she walked towards the kitchen and Sephiroth followed.
"How's the stew coming?" she asked Aerith.
"I think it's pretty much done." Aerith was leaning over a pot with a large wooden spoon in hand.
"All right. I need to speak with Sephiroth privately for a moment and then we'll have dinner."
Sephiroth hovered awkwardly at the entrance to the kitchen as Aerith handed over the spoon with a smile and went out to the living room.
"How is he?" Sephiroth asked as soon as they were alone.
"Come closer, I'm not going to bite. Cloud has calmed down. He'd like you to eat upstairs with him, so I'll get some dished out for each of you and you can take it up to his room."
"Okay," Sephiroth agreed.
Alde started taking dishes out of the cupboard. "Cloud has a secret," she said suddenly. "He isn't ready to talk about it, but he's terribly afraid of what we, and you in particular, will think when we find out."
"I know there's something he's afraid to tell me."
"I told him, promised him, that no matter what it was, you weren't going to reject him. I told him that you love him and that you wouldn't leave him over something a maniac did to him. Especially since it was your fault," Alde added in a barely audible mutter.
"I won't, I swear it. I realize that this is my fault, but even if it wasn't, I would never leave him because of something that was done to him." Sephiroth was feeling rather desperate as he struggled to make Alde trust his sincerity. The fact that she was showing enough faith in him to have told Cloud that was surprisingly touching.
"Good. I'm glad you see things my way." Alde stared Sephiroth down with a fiery look in her eyes. "Because if you hurt him, I will hunt you down and make you sincerely regret ever having heard the name Strife. Are we clear?"
"We're clear, ma'am." Sephiroth had an uneasy feeling that there was a reason behind the surname.
"Good. Now," Alde dished out two large bowls of stew and handed them to Sephiroth, "Go feed my son. And tell the others that dinner is ready."
"Yes, ma'am."
"And, Sephiroth?"
Sephiroth paused in the doorway. "Yes?"
"Thank you for letting me talk to him alone."
"It was what he needed," Sephiroth said simply.
***
Sephiroth looked around the small room that had been their home for the past week, checking for anything they might have forgotten. He knew that Mini-Cloud was tucked safely in the top of Cloud's pack; that was the really important thing, it seemed. Anything else could be replaced when they got to Kalm. He grabbed both of their bags and hit the light switch on his way out. At the landing, he paused, not wanting to interrupt Cloud and Alde saying their goodbyes.
"And tell Tseng 'thank you' again for me," Alde was saying.
"I will, Mom, don't worry. Though I think he knows by now."
Sephiroth shuffled guiltily. He should have thought of paying for their expenses while they were staying here. He just wasn't used to living on a budget; anything he needed, he could afford. He didn't think about money very often.
"Are... are you sure this is what you want to do, Cloud?" Alde asked hesitantly. She had been against Cloud leaving at first, but it hadn't taken her long to agree to it. Cloud had been... convincing, when he explained why he needed to go. Sephiroth had whole-heartedly given up any claims to killing Hojo after hearing Cloud describe what he was going to do to the man. Tseng told him later that most of what Cloud had been describing were things that had been done to him.
And then I'll shove him in a mako tank and watch him scream as he breathes chemicals for a few days. And then I'll do it all over again.
Alde had seemed a bit shocked at her son's viciousness, but she also seemed to understand that Cloud had needed to vent. And that he needed to see Hojo dead in order to move on. Sephiroth had only been able to hold Cloud and promise him that he could have his revenge. He'd destroy Jenova so Cloud could have free rein, and then sit back and watch. In a way, that option seemed even better than killing Hojo himself.
He was impressed with how well Cloud was handling everything. He had nightmares, every night, and the occasional flashback during the day, but he dealt with them and tried to move on as best he could. Jenova's attacks had come quite often-a few times a day-for the first little while, but had tapered off when she seemed to realize that she was just wasting her energy. Now they were just infrequent and random enough to be really annoying. Cloud handled them well; he hadn't attached himself to Sephiroth's mind and refused to let go again like he had that first day. But it did usually take a few minutes for Cloud to calm down enough to want Sephiroth to let go. That made him feel a bit better about the whole thing, actually; Cloud didn't hate it when Sephiroth was in his mind and even found it comforting.
Sephiroth pulled his mind back to the present when he heard Cloud call out for him.
"Sephiroth? You ready?"
"Coming," he answered, heaving the packs onto his shoulder once again.
Cloud was dressed like he was going into battle; he was wearing a First Class uniform that had been found in one of the upstairs rooms of the mansion. And Tseng had found his sword and bracer in the lab, along with the necklace. Sephiroth had been reluctant to keep the tracking device, thinking it could be used against them, but Cloud had demanded it back. Tseng had hastily explained that he could disable the GPS, which averted what had looked like a nasty tantrum in the works if Sephiroth had argued against keeping it. When he had asked Cloud about it, he simply said that Sephiroth had given it to him.
Sephiroth set the bags by the door and went to collect Cloud, who was being crushed by Alde.
"Help," Cloud squeaked.
Sephiroth looked him up and down. "You'll live." He then turned to Elena, who was sitting on the couch, looking relaxed, but alert. "If anything happens, or even seems suspicious, I want you to get her out of here. Got it?"
"Yes, sir," Elena said, blushing slightly. "I've got my orders, you don't need to worry."
But Sephiroth did worry; he couldn't help it. Alde had... grown on him, just a little, over the past week. And Cloud would be devastated if anything happened to her. Tseng had told him that a second Turk would be arriving in a couple days, but until then, it was just the youngest Turk on bodyguard duty. He hoped she could handle it. And that Alde wouldn't put up too much of a fuss if they had to go to a safe house.
Alde finally let go of Cloud and Sephiroth took him by the hand. "Ready?"
Cloud nodded. "Yep. I'll be back soon, mom, I promise. Love you."
"I love you too, Cloud. And Sephiroth, you take care of him."
"I will, ma'am."
"And take care of yourself too."
"I will, ma'am. And please, do what Elena says."
Alde gave a hard-done-by sigh and nodded. "I will. I can't promise to be happy about it, but if she says I need to leave, I'll go. Town'll be empty soon enough if everyone keeps leaving, though."
"Who else has left?" Cloud asked.
"Miss Lockheart did, a few weeks after you disappeared. I'm pretty sure it was Greta-Mrs. Guptar who convinced her to go. Ran off to Midgar to find herself. Young Johnny followed a couple weeks after that. A few others left too, no one you knew, really. Just up and disappeared one day."
"Mr. Hoffman?" Cloud asked hesitantly. "The man who fixed shoes?"
"Yes, he was one of them. How did you know?"
"Doesn't matter. You're sure Tifa went to Midgar?" Sephiroth listened with a feeling of dread. He suspected that he could guess how Cloud knew.
"I'm sure, Cloud. Mayor Lockheart and Zangan both got letters from her a month or so ago. Said she'd settled in fine and was making new friends."
"That's good, I'm glad," Cloud said with genuine relief in his voice. "Well, I guess we should be heading out."
"Are you sure you don't want me coming with you? It's not far and I'm sure Elena can get me home safely afterwards." Sephiroth smiled at the reluctance in Alde's voice. She really didn't want to go, but it seemed like she would if Cloud needed her to.
"I'm sure, Ma. See you soon."
With that, Cloud hoisted his pack over his shoulder and headed out the front door, a look of determination on his face.
***
Sephiroth gave Cloud's hand a tight squeeze as they stood in front of the building that had been Cloud's prison for three months. "Tseng and Vincent checked it all thoroughly; there were no more survivors in there."
Cloud gave a short nod. "They found the bodies, though, didn't they?"
"About a dozen. Some in lab clothing, others looked liked civilians. They buried them all. That's where Mr. Hoffman ended up, isn't it?"
"He lived by himself on the edge of town. People called him crazy because he didn't come out of his house much and he collected all sorts of weird things, but he was always nice to me. Even in there." Cloud gave himself a shake. "After a while, Hojo decided that I was valuable enough to not want to risk accidentally killing. So he needed samples to test procedures on before he used them on me."
There was nothing that Sephiroth could think of to say to comfort Cloud, so he opted for holding him close for a few minutes. Cloud eventually nodded again and adjusted his bracer.
"Never again," he said. "Let's burn this hell-hole to the ground."
Cloud sent a fiery blast directly through the open front doors of the mansion. Sephiroth followed up with one of his own and, shortly afterwards, he heard several more minor explosions caused by everyone else casting their spells. Soon enough, flames could be seen spreading throughout the building.
"Not quite as satisfying as I had hoped," Cloud said with a tinge of disappointment in his voice.
"Would you like to give this a try?" Vincent approached from around the side of the mansion and held out a red materia. "It might have the destructive capabilities you're looking for."
"A summon?" Cloud asked.
"Looks like Ifrit," Sephiroth peered over Cloud's shoulder at the materia. "Equip it and give it a try."
Cloud popped the materia into his bracer with practiced ease, and then looked nervously between Sephiroth and Vincent. "I've never..."
"It works the same as your regular materia to cast," Sephiroth explained. "Focus your mind and imagine the energy flow. Ifrit likes to show off a little when he arrives, but he won't hurt you or anyone you consider an ally. Since you're not fighting anything, per se, you'll need to direct him. Use your mind to guide him towards destroying the building."
"Umm..."
"You can dismiss him anytime you want. Just imagine him back in the materia."
"Okay. I can do this." Cloud attempted to pump himself up.
"Before the place has burned down, Spike." Zack and Aerith had returned from their positions on the far side of the manor.
Sephiroth took a step back as Cloud shut his eyes in concentration. Moments later, a searing heat enveloped the area as Ifrit roared his way into existence. The horned, hulking beast screamed in fury and tore up a large chunk of the ground, hurling it away like it was weightless. He then settled down, eyeing their group unpleasantly.
"Direct him, Cloud," Sephiroth said a little nervously. He had never seen an Ifrit summon quite this large and didn't want to deal with the aftermath of him getting bored.
Cloud's eyes flew open and he looked in shock at the beast before him. "Wow. Um, hello. Could you destroy that mansion?" Cloud pointed past Ifrit. "Please."
Sephiroth bit back a chuckle at Cloud's politeness and heard Zack sniggering behind him. Ifrit turned slowly, and then punched the ground in front of him. Strips of fire shot out from where the monster's fist hit the ground and sliced through the building, cutting deep into the foundation. Black smoke had started billowing out of the mansion, but a strong wind was blowing most of it away from them. Sephiroth wiped his forehead as sweat dripped down it from standing too close to the searing heat. He saw Zack and Aerith moving back to join Tseng near the chocobos. Good, it was safer there, but Cloud looked determined to stay here. So did Vincent, for that matter. It was fitting, he supposed; they were the ones who had been hurt the most by the mansion and the secrets it held.
The fire was growing hotter by the second. "Zack," he called out, "Start casting Ice around the perimeter. I don't want this to spread." Ifrit looked like he was preparing to cast Hellfire; that would surely reduce the entire thing to ashes. He glanced back to see Tseng trying to hold off the fire brigade and hoped no one would panic. Perhaps they should have warned the town of what they were planning beforehand. Although the summon had been unexpected.
"Burn, burn, burn," Cloud was chanting to himself. Sephiroth noticed a few tears sneaking out of the corners of Cloud's eyes, but they dried almost instantly. Sephiroth took hold of Cloud's hand, giving it a squeeze, and turned his attention to Ifrit as the creature summoned a wave of fire and lava to engulf the mansion. The noise was terrible as the foundation cracked and the basements began collapsing. It sounded like a giant's nails being scraped over a blackboard. All three of them flinched from the noise, but stood their ground. Lava, ash, and rubble flowed downwards, filling in the torture chambers and laboratories. No more labs, no more books filled with lies; it was all gone in a few seconds.
"That's enough, Cloud. Send him away," Sephiroth said quietly. "It's done. We don't want anyone to get hurt."
"Burn, burn-" Cloud cut off his chanting abruptly and looked up at Sephiroth. He nodded once. "It's done. Burnt." He looked up at Ifrit, shielding his eyes from the heat. "Thank you." The creature disappeared in a burst of flames, leaving the smoking remains of the mansion behind.
"At least he puts out his fires when he leaves," Zack called from a ways away, coughing. "The two of you make a very polite team."
Cloud fumbled with his bracer, blinking away tears, while he tried to remove the materia. Vincent reached out and laid his hand on Cloud's. "Keep it," he said. "I'm sure you'll get good use out of it."
"Th-thank you," Cloud said. "Are you sure? You don't need it or anything?"
"I'll be fine without." Vincent dusted some soot off himself and looked up at Mount Nibel. "I should go."
"Well, take care of yourself," Sephiroth said. "Good luck."
"Thank you. Same goes for you." Vincent shuffled awkwardly and turned away. Sephiroth breathed a sigh of relief as the man went over to speak with Tseng, who was still fending off firemen, and turned back to Cloud.
"You did good," he said, wrapping his arms around Cloud and pulling him into a hug. "That was some impressive casting there. I don't think anyone's going near that place for a very, very long time."
Cloud clutched tightly at Sephiroth's jacket and cried into his chest for a few minutes. "Got any salt?" Cloud asked when his tears had finally slowed.
"Sorry. But I don't think much will be growing there, either. At least not anytime soon." Sephiroth gripped Cloud's chin and tilted his head up, looking into his eyes. "That's one nightmare off the face of the planet. Ready to go get the rest?"
Cloud nodded whole-heartedly.
"Let's go then." He took Cloud by the hand and led the way towards the chocobos. "Am I right in thinking that I look just as filthy as you?"
Cloud laughed, "I think so. We should have done this first, then gone and had showers."
"But then we couldn't skip town before the angry mob catches us." Sephiroth pointed towards the gathering crowd by the water tower. "Done much chocobo riding?"
"A-a little. Sometimes we had to use them on missions." Cloud's voice had something akin to dread held in it.
"Don't like them?" Sephiroth reached for Yellow's bridle and scratched around his beak.
"They make me a little nervous. The ones they give the regular army aren't the best, I think." Cloud blushed and looked at his feet.
"They probably gave you guys the old and cranky ones. Does Zack know you don't like them? I can imagine a lot teasing coming out of that."
Cloud shook his head. "He'd never let me hear the end of it."
"Well, Yellow's pretty good, in my opinion. Come over here and give him a pat; he won't bite." Sephiroth held out his hand invitingly. "And, uh, hurry," he added, casting a nervous glance at the crowd.
"Don't worry, I may not like them, but I can put up with them." Cloud took a couple steps and laid a hand on Yellow's neck.
"Hop on then. I'll ride behind you." Cloud pulled himself up onto the chocobo's back while Sephiroth held Yellow's head still. He swung up behind Cloud and took hold of the reins as Tseng was disengaging himself from an argument with what appeared to be the fire chief.
"We got rid of a plague on your town," he was saying as he walked towards his own chocobo. "You should be thanking us." Tseng mounted and waved Zack and Aerith, who had been making a final check of the perimeter, over. They were already mounted and ready. "Let's go." He clucked at his bird and led the way down the path, towards the mountains.
Sephiroth wrapped his right arm around Cloud's waist. It wasn't strictly necessary; Cloud wasn't a child who was at risk of falling and they weren't going particularly fast either. But Cloud settled into his hold and laid his arm across Sephiroth's. "Lean back and relax," Sephiroth said.
Cloud did so with a smile. "I'm kind of looking forward to a several days long hug. Mom always gave you those looks if you held me for too long."
"Trust me, I noticed. Well, no one's going to glare at me out here, so if you need me to carry you with me everywhere, just say the word."
"I don't think I'm that bad."
"No, you're not. But if you were, it wouldn't be bad and I wouldn't mind."
"Thanks."
"Welcome. So, Cloud, you never did tell me about that haunted room mystery of Zack's."
***
Previous Chapter | Next Chapter
Author: xpaperplanex
Rating: PG-13
Word Count: ~4500
Pairings: Sephiroth/Cloud
Genre: hurt/comfort, romance
Warnings: none
Disclaimer: I do not own FFVII and make no money from this work.
Summary: Cloud and Sephiroth are taken prisoner by AVALANCHE. No one, least of all themselves, could have expected what it would set in motion.
Previous Chapters: | Part 1 |
| 29 | 30 | Omake 4 | 31 | 32 | 33 | 34 | 35 | 36 | 37 | 38 | 39 | 40 |
Did you know? Pachelbel's Canon randomly throughout the night makes your fancy English-speaking doll cranky! Who woulda thunk it?
A/N: I'm rather horrified to admit it, but this chapter made me cry a little. Not over anything you might expect a person to cry about, but over the stupidest little throwaway detail. I have odd emotions. Odd emotions aside, I'm really proud of this chapter.
***
Alde quietly entered Cloud's room. There was a soft, sniffling sound coming from behind the bed, and Sephiroth was squatting on the floor next to it. Was Cloud upset again? Had that Jenova thing been back? Aerith had been telling her a bit more about how the connection between them worked, when Zack had come down, saying that Cloud wanted to see her. She hadn't realized that something had happened, though.
"Cloud?"
Sephiroth turned at the sound of her voice, a worried expression on his face. "He had a nightmare." Then he turned back to Cloud. "She's here. Do you want to sit up on the bed?" There was a soft murmur and Sephiroth leaned over, then stood up with Cloud in his arms. The man carefully placed her son on the bed and kissed his forehead. "I'll be downstairs if you need me."
"Okay. Thanks." Cloud sat limply on the bed, plucking at the ruff of that chocobo toy with tears streaming down his face.
Alde blinked in shock as Sephiroth slid past her and out the door, shutting it behind him. He was actually going to leave them alone?
"Mom?" Cloud's voice shook as he spoke.
Alde's attention snapped back to Cloud and she rushed over to the bed. "I'm here, baby. I'm here." She gathered her son into her arms, despite him being far too big, and rocked him. "I'm here, Stormcloud, I've got you." Cloud clung to her, and began sobbing desperately, like he had been holding it in for far too long. The occasional word got out through his sobs, but she couldn't really make much sense of it. Except for 'scared'. That one was easy enough to understand. "Shh, don't be scared. You're safe here."
Alde's heart felt like it was being torn apart as her son broke down. This world was too cruel, allowing something so horrible to happen to such a wonderful boy. She hated ShinRa, she hated Hojo, and she hated Sephiroth. No... Alde thought again, she couldn't hate Sephiroth, not when he clearly made Cloud happy. She hated what Sephiroth was, a SOLDIER and the person who had unknowingly caused Cloud to leave home and join the army. But she didn't hate him.
Eventually Cloud's sobs tapered off and Alde pulled a handkerchief from her pocket. She wiped Cloud's eyes and then held it to his nose. "Blow," she ordered. Cloud did as he was told and let out a half-hearted laugh when she put the handkerchief back in her pocket.
"Like I'm a little kid again."
"Nonsense," Alde said. "Even grown men need their mothers sometimes. Do you want to tell me about the nightmare?"
Cloud shook his head. "Was just flashbacks. I-I kept hearing things that Ho-Hojo would say to me."
"What sort of things?"
"He-he would tell me that Sephiroth was dead. Or that he'd never come for me. That he didn't love me anymore."
"Well, obviously that's not true. Even I can tell that he loves you."
"I know, and I didn't believe it, not really, when he would say it. How would he know if Sephiroth still loved me or not? It still hurt, though. I was so scared. Alone. It seemed like I had been there forever and Sephiroth never came."
Alde continued rocking Cloud as he spoke. It was good for him to get it out, even if it was heartbreaking to hear. "Go on, Stormcloud, I'm here for you."
"He would call me a monster. Hideous and disgusting." Alde hugged Cloud a bit tighter. "He said that Sephiroth would take one look at me and leave."
"But he hasn't, baby. He hasn't left you. And you're not any of those things. You're beautiful. Sephiroth's damn lucky he's smart enough to see that."
"He doesn't know, though. None of you know. I'm scared, mom. I'm scared he's going to find out and I can't keep it a secret forever."
"Find out what? It's okay, Cloud, you can tell me."
"No..." Cloud moaned. "I can't. I can't. If you knew..."
"You don't think I would-never mind. Cloud, I want you to listen to me," Alde spoke firmly. "I love you. Sephiroth loves you. Your friends love you. I will never reject you. Do you understand that? No matter what some madman has done to you, you will always be my son and I will always love you. Now, I can't speak for anyone else, but I can tell you what I believe. I've been watching the way Sephiroth acts around you, and I am positive that he isn't going to leave you for any reason. That man loves you, Cloud. He really does. Do you understand?"
"Yeah, Ma, I understand."
"Good. You don't have to tell whatever your secret is if you don't want to. But I don't want you being afraid to tell it." Alde tried to think of something that Cloud would be so afraid of sharing, but was at a loss. There wasn't anything wrong with him on the outside. Internal changes maybe? "We're only human, Cloud, so we might be surprised and we might be shocked, but we won't reject you."
Cloud nodded slowly. "Thanks, Mom." He laughed a bit more brightly this time as his stomach let out a rather loud growl.
"Are you feeling better now?" Alde asked, and got a nod and a smile in response. "How about some stew then? It should be about ready."
"That would be good. But... I don't know if I really want to go downstairs and eat with everyone."
Alde hesitated slightly, but made her decision quickly. "How about I send your Sephiroth up with some for the both of you? You can eat up here."
"My Sephiroth... Thanks, Mom. That'd be nice."
"All right, then." Alde stood and gave Cloud a quick kiss on the lips and a hug. "I'll send him up shortly. Are you all right by yourself for a few minutes?"
"Of course I am. Don't be ridiculous." Cloud pushed himself back so he was leaning against the headboard. "I'll be just fine."
Alde smiled and nodded, then headed for the door. She left it open, just in case, and breathed a sigh of relief on the landing. Cloud had talked to her. Willingly. That meant the world to her. Now she just needed to have a quick chat with Sephiroth. With that thought in mind, Alde made her way downstairs feeling a renewed sense of purpose.
***
Sephiroth paced the small living room, occasionally throwing worried glances up at the ceiling. Cloud was all right. He was all right. He just needed his mom for a while. That was understandable. When things are bad, people want their mothers. He had seen battle-hardened veterans screaming for their mothers many times. At least this time, there was a mother to make it better. He just wished he could have stayed.
Shaking his head, Sephiroth kept pacing. It was stupid to wish that. That wasn't what Cloud had wanted. Sephiroth knew enough to know when to butt out. It didn't keep him from worrying, however. An awfully long time had passed, but at least Cloud had stopped crying a while ago. Hopefully Alde had it under control.
Eventually, he heard the door to Cloud's room open and Alde came down the stairs a few moments later. She gestured to him as she walked towards the kitchen and Sephiroth followed.
"How's the stew coming?" she asked Aerith.
"I think it's pretty much done." Aerith was leaning over a pot with a large wooden spoon in hand.
"All right. I need to speak with Sephiroth privately for a moment and then we'll have dinner."
Sephiroth hovered awkwardly at the entrance to the kitchen as Aerith handed over the spoon with a smile and went out to the living room.
"How is he?" Sephiroth asked as soon as they were alone.
"Come closer, I'm not going to bite. Cloud has calmed down. He'd like you to eat upstairs with him, so I'll get some dished out for each of you and you can take it up to his room."
"Okay," Sephiroth agreed.
Alde started taking dishes out of the cupboard. "Cloud has a secret," she said suddenly. "He isn't ready to talk about it, but he's terribly afraid of what we, and you in particular, will think when we find out."
"I know there's something he's afraid to tell me."
"I told him, promised him, that no matter what it was, you weren't going to reject him. I told him that you love him and that you wouldn't leave him over something a maniac did to him. Especially since it was your fault," Alde added in a barely audible mutter.
"I won't, I swear it. I realize that this is my fault, but even if it wasn't, I would never leave him because of something that was done to him." Sephiroth was feeling rather desperate as he struggled to make Alde trust his sincerity. The fact that she was showing enough faith in him to have told Cloud that was surprisingly touching.
"Good. I'm glad you see things my way." Alde stared Sephiroth down with a fiery look in her eyes. "Because if you hurt him, I will hunt you down and make you sincerely regret ever having heard the name Strife. Are we clear?"
"We're clear, ma'am." Sephiroth had an uneasy feeling that there was a reason behind the surname.
"Good. Now," Alde dished out two large bowls of stew and handed them to Sephiroth, "Go feed my son. And tell the others that dinner is ready."
"Yes, ma'am."
"And, Sephiroth?"
Sephiroth paused in the doorway. "Yes?"
"Thank you for letting me talk to him alone."
"It was what he needed," Sephiroth said simply.
***
Sephiroth looked around the small room that had been their home for the past week, checking for anything they might have forgotten. He knew that Mini-Cloud was tucked safely in the top of Cloud's pack; that was the really important thing, it seemed. Anything else could be replaced when they got to Kalm. He grabbed both of their bags and hit the light switch on his way out. At the landing, he paused, not wanting to interrupt Cloud and Alde saying their goodbyes.
"And tell Tseng 'thank you' again for me," Alde was saying.
"I will, Mom, don't worry. Though I think he knows by now."
Sephiroth shuffled guiltily. He should have thought of paying for their expenses while they were staying here. He just wasn't used to living on a budget; anything he needed, he could afford. He didn't think about money very often.
"Are... are you sure this is what you want to do, Cloud?" Alde asked hesitantly. She had been against Cloud leaving at first, but it hadn't taken her long to agree to it. Cloud had been... convincing, when he explained why he needed to go. Sephiroth had whole-heartedly given up any claims to killing Hojo after hearing Cloud describe what he was going to do to the man. Tseng told him later that most of what Cloud had been describing were things that had been done to him.
And then I'll shove him in a mako tank and watch him scream as he breathes chemicals for a few days. And then I'll do it all over again.
Alde had seemed a bit shocked at her son's viciousness, but she also seemed to understand that Cloud had needed to vent. And that he needed to see Hojo dead in order to move on. Sephiroth had only been able to hold Cloud and promise him that he could have his revenge. He'd destroy Jenova so Cloud could have free rein, and then sit back and watch. In a way, that option seemed even better than killing Hojo himself.
He was impressed with how well Cloud was handling everything. He had nightmares, every night, and the occasional flashback during the day, but he dealt with them and tried to move on as best he could. Jenova's attacks had come quite often-a few times a day-for the first little while, but had tapered off when she seemed to realize that she was just wasting her energy. Now they were just infrequent and random enough to be really annoying. Cloud handled them well; he hadn't attached himself to Sephiroth's mind and refused to let go again like he had that first day. But it did usually take a few minutes for Cloud to calm down enough to want Sephiroth to let go. That made him feel a bit better about the whole thing, actually; Cloud didn't hate it when Sephiroth was in his mind and even found it comforting.
Sephiroth pulled his mind back to the present when he heard Cloud call out for him.
"Sephiroth? You ready?"
"Coming," he answered, heaving the packs onto his shoulder once again.
Cloud was dressed like he was going into battle; he was wearing a First Class uniform that had been found in one of the upstairs rooms of the mansion. And Tseng had found his sword and bracer in the lab, along with the necklace. Sephiroth had been reluctant to keep the tracking device, thinking it could be used against them, but Cloud had demanded it back. Tseng had hastily explained that he could disable the GPS, which averted what had looked like a nasty tantrum in the works if Sephiroth had argued against keeping it. When he had asked Cloud about it, he simply said that Sephiroth had given it to him.
Sephiroth set the bags by the door and went to collect Cloud, who was being crushed by Alde.
"Help," Cloud squeaked.
Sephiroth looked him up and down. "You'll live." He then turned to Elena, who was sitting on the couch, looking relaxed, but alert. "If anything happens, or even seems suspicious, I want you to get her out of here. Got it?"
"Yes, sir," Elena said, blushing slightly. "I've got my orders, you don't need to worry."
But Sephiroth did worry; he couldn't help it. Alde had... grown on him, just a little, over the past week. And Cloud would be devastated if anything happened to her. Tseng had told him that a second Turk would be arriving in a couple days, but until then, it was just the youngest Turk on bodyguard duty. He hoped she could handle it. And that Alde wouldn't put up too much of a fuss if they had to go to a safe house.
Alde finally let go of Cloud and Sephiroth took him by the hand. "Ready?"
Cloud nodded. "Yep. I'll be back soon, mom, I promise. Love you."
"I love you too, Cloud. And Sephiroth, you take care of him."
"I will, ma'am."
"And take care of yourself too."
"I will, ma'am. And please, do what Elena says."
Alde gave a hard-done-by sigh and nodded. "I will. I can't promise to be happy about it, but if she says I need to leave, I'll go. Town'll be empty soon enough if everyone keeps leaving, though."
"Who else has left?" Cloud asked.
"Miss Lockheart did, a few weeks after you disappeared. I'm pretty sure it was Greta-Mrs. Guptar who convinced her to go. Ran off to Midgar to find herself. Young Johnny followed a couple weeks after that. A few others left too, no one you knew, really. Just up and disappeared one day."
"Mr. Hoffman?" Cloud asked hesitantly. "The man who fixed shoes?"
"Yes, he was one of them. How did you know?"
"Doesn't matter. You're sure Tifa went to Midgar?" Sephiroth listened with a feeling of dread. He suspected that he could guess how Cloud knew.
"I'm sure, Cloud. Mayor Lockheart and Zangan both got letters from her a month or so ago. Said she'd settled in fine and was making new friends."
"That's good, I'm glad," Cloud said with genuine relief in his voice. "Well, I guess we should be heading out."
"Are you sure you don't want me coming with you? It's not far and I'm sure Elena can get me home safely afterwards." Sephiroth smiled at the reluctance in Alde's voice. She really didn't want to go, but it seemed like she would if Cloud needed her to.
"I'm sure, Ma. See you soon."
With that, Cloud hoisted his pack over his shoulder and headed out the front door, a look of determination on his face.
***
Sephiroth gave Cloud's hand a tight squeeze as they stood in front of the building that had been Cloud's prison for three months. "Tseng and Vincent checked it all thoroughly; there were no more survivors in there."
Cloud gave a short nod. "They found the bodies, though, didn't they?"
"About a dozen. Some in lab clothing, others looked liked civilians. They buried them all. That's where Mr. Hoffman ended up, isn't it?"
"He lived by himself on the edge of town. People called him crazy because he didn't come out of his house much and he collected all sorts of weird things, but he was always nice to me. Even in there." Cloud gave himself a shake. "After a while, Hojo decided that I was valuable enough to not want to risk accidentally killing. So he needed samples to test procedures on before he used them on me."
There was nothing that Sephiroth could think of to say to comfort Cloud, so he opted for holding him close for a few minutes. Cloud eventually nodded again and adjusted his bracer.
"Never again," he said. "Let's burn this hell-hole to the ground."
Cloud sent a fiery blast directly through the open front doors of the mansion. Sephiroth followed up with one of his own and, shortly afterwards, he heard several more minor explosions caused by everyone else casting their spells. Soon enough, flames could be seen spreading throughout the building.
"Not quite as satisfying as I had hoped," Cloud said with a tinge of disappointment in his voice.
"Would you like to give this a try?" Vincent approached from around the side of the mansion and held out a red materia. "It might have the destructive capabilities you're looking for."
"A summon?" Cloud asked.
"Looks like Ifrit," Sephiroth peered over Cloud's shoulder at the materia. "Equip it and give it a try."
Cloud popped the materia into his bracer with practiced ease, and then looked nervously between Sephiroth and Vincent. "I've never..."
"It works the same as your regular materia to cast," Sephiroth explained. "Focus your mind and imagine the energy flow. Ifrit likes to show off a little when he arrives, but he won't hurt you or anyone you consider an ally. Since you're not fighting anything, per se, you'll need to direct him. Use your mind to guide him towards destroying the building."
"Umm..."
"You can dismiss him anytime you want. Just imagine him back in the materia."
"Okay. I can do this." Cloud attempted to pump himself up.
"Before the place has burned down, Spike." Zack and Aerith had returned from their positions on the far side of the manor.
Sephiroth took a step back as Cloud shut his eyes in concentration. Moments later, a searing heat enveloped the area as Ifrit roared his way into existence. The horned, hulking beast screamed in fury and tore up a large chunk of the ground, hurling it away like it was weightless. He then settled down, eyeing their group unpleasantly.
"Direct him, Cloud," Sephiroth said a little nervously. He had never seen an Ifrit summon quite this large and didn't want to deal with the aftermath of him getting bored.
Cloud's eyes flew open and he looked in shock at the beast before him. "Wow. Um, hello. Could you destroy that mansion?" Cloud pointed past Ifrit. "Please."
Sephiroth bit back a chuckle at Cloud's politeness and heard Zack sniggering behind him. Ifrit turned slowly, and then punched the ground in front of him. Strips of fire shot out from where the monster's fist hit the ground and sliced through the building, cutting deep into the foundation. Black smoke had started billowing out of the mansion, but a strong wind was blowing most of it away from them. Sephiroth wiped his forehead as sweat dripped down it from standing too close to the searing heat. He saw Zack and Aerith moving back to join Tseng near the chocobos. Good, it was safer there, but Cloud looked determined to stay here. So did Vincent, for that matter. It was fitting, he supposed; they were the ones who had been hurt the most by the mansion and the secrets it held.
The fire was growing hotter by the second. "Zack," he called out, "Start casting Ice around the perimeter. I don't want this to spread." Ifrit looked like he was preparing to cast Hellfire; that would surely reduce the entire thing to ashes. He glanced back to see Tseng trying to hold off the fire brigade and hoped no one would panic. Perhaps they should have warned the town of what they were planning beforehand. Although the summon had been unexpected.
"Burn, burn, burn," Cloud was chanting to himself. Sephiroth noticed a few tears sneaking out of the corners of Cloud's eyes, but they dried almost instantly. Sephiroth took hold of Cloud's hand, giving it a squeeze, and turned his attention to Ifrit as the creature summoned a wave of fire and lava to engulf the mansion. The noise was terrible as the foundation cracked and the basements began collapsing. It sounded like a giant's nails being scraped over a blackboard. All three of them flinched from the noise, but stood their ground. Lava, ash, and rubble flowed downwards, filling in the torture chambers and laboratories. No more labs, no more books filled with lies; it was all gone in a few seconds.
"That's enough, Cloud. Send him away," Sephiroth said quietly. "It's done. We don't want anyone to get hurt."
"Burn, burn-" Cloud cut off his chanting abruptly and looked up at Sephiroth. He nodded once. "It's done. Burnt." He looked up at Ifrit, shielding his eyes from the heat. "Thank you." The creature disappeared in a burst of flames, leaving the smoking remains of the mansion behind.
"At least he puts out his fires when he leaves," Zack called from a ways away, coughing. "The two of you make a very polite team."
Cloud fumbled with his bracer, blinking away tears, while he tried to remove the materia. Vincent reached out and laid his hand on Cloud's. "Keep it," he said. "I'm sure you'll get good use out of it."
"Th-thank you," Cloud said. "Are you sure? You don't need it or anything?"
"I'll be fine without." Vincent dusted some soot off himself and looked up at Mount Nibel. "I should go."
"Well, take care of yourself," Sephiroth said. "Good luck."
"Thank you. Same goes for you." Vincent shuffled awkwardly and turned away. Sephiroth breathed a sigh of relief as the man went over to speak with Tseng, who was still fending off firemen, and turned back to Cloud.
"You did good," he said, wrapping his arms around Cloud and pulling him into a hug. "That was some impressive casting there. I don't think anyone's going near that place for a very, very long time."
Cloud clutched tightly at Sephiroth's jacket and cried into his chest for a few minutes. "Got any salt?" Cloud asked when his tears had finally slowed.
"Sorry. But I don't think much will be growing there, either. At least not anytime soon." Sephiroth gripped Cloud's chin and tilted his head up, looking into his eyes. "That's one nightmare off the face of the planet. Ready to go get the rest?"
Cloud nodded whole-heartedly.
"Let's go then." He took Cloud by the hand and led the way towards the chocobos. "Am I right in thinking that I look just as filthy as you?"
Cloud laughed, "I think so. We should have done this first, then gone and had showers."
"But then we couldn't skip town before the angry mob catches us." Sephiroth pointed towards the gathering crowd by the water tower. "Done much chocobo riding?"
"A-a little. Sometimes we had to use them on missions." Cloud's voice had something akin to dread held in it.
"Don't like them?" Sephiroth reached for Yellow's bridle and scratched around his beak.
"They make me a little nervous. The ones they give the regular army aren't the best, I think." Cloud blushed and looked at his feet.
"They probably gave you guys the old and cranky ones. Does Zack know you don't like them? I can imagine a lot teasing coming out of that."
Cloud shook his head. "He'd never let me hear the end of it."
"Well, Yellow's pretty good, in my opinion. Come over here and give him a pat; he won't bite." Sephiroth held out his hand invitingly. "And, uh, hurry," he added, casting a nervous glance at the crowd.
"Don't worry, I may not like them, but I can put up with them." Cloud took a couple steps and laid a hand on Yellow's neck.
"Hop on then. I'll ride behind you." Cloud pulled himself up onto the chocobo's back while Sephiroth held Yellow's head still. He swung up behind Cloud and took hold of the reins as Tseng was disengaging himself from an argument with what appeared to be the fire chief.
"We got rid of a plague on your town," he was saying as he walked towards his own chocobo. "You should be thanking us." Tseng mounted and waved Zack and Aerith, who had been making a final check of the perimeter, over. They were already mounted and ready. "Let's go." He clucked at his bird and led the way down the path, towards the mountains.
Sephiroth wrapped his right arm around Cloud's waist. It wasn't strictly necessary; Cloud wasn't a child who was at risk of falling and they weren't going particularly fast either. But Cloud settled into his hold and laid his arm across Sephiroth's. "Lean back and relax," Sephiroth said.
Cloud did so with a smile. "I'm kind of looking forward to a several days long hug. Mom always gave you those looks if you held me for too long."
"Trust me, I noticed. Well, no one's going to glare at me out here, so if you need me to carry you with me everywhere, just say the word."
"I don't think I'm that bad."
"No, you're not. But if you were, it wouldn't be bad and I wouldn't mind."
"Thanks."
"Welcome. So, Cloud, you never did tell me about that haunted room mystery of Zack's."
***
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