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Chapter Text

Chapter 1: New Beginnings

—

“Go forth, Prophet. Find the Son of the Calamity, and save Gaia.”

—

Nibelheim

1999

—

When Cloud opened his eyes it took him a minute to orient himself. He felt like he had just woken up from the longest nap of his life. He looked around at the small clearing he found himself in, laying on the grass with flowers and trees surrounding him. Next to him in the grass was a small broadsword, along with a bow and quiver of arrows.

Cloud wasn’t sure how he got here, he couldn’t really remember much of anything actually, but he did recognize the clearing he was in as one of the ones deep in the forest outside of Nibelheim. Looking up, he saw the sun beginning to set, meaning he only had a few more hours of daylight left. Not wanting to be trekking through the woods at night, he grabbed the weapons next to him, before beginning the hike back down to Nibelheim.

When Cloud reached the town's limit, a strange feeling of nostalgia washed over him, as if he hadn't been home in many years. By the time he made it to the front door of his house, he could feel a knot forming in his throat. Hesitantly, he opened the door and stepped inside. He could hear movement coming from the kitchen, and was greeted by the scent of freshly baked bread.

"Oh, hey honey! How was your trip?" A woman's voice called out, "catch anything good?" She asked, poking her head out from the kitchen.

"Ma?" Cloud's voice cracked as he spoke, his body frozen in place by the door.

Claudia quickly made her way over to where Cloud was standing, wiping her hands on her apron before cupping his cheeks.

"What's wrong, my little stormcloud?" She asked, eyes full with worry.

"Huh?" Cloud replied in a daze. He hadn't realized he was crying until her thumbs gently slid across his cheeks, wiping the tears that had been trailing down, "Oh… I… I'm not sure."

Claudia gave him a worried look, moving one of her hands to his forehead, checking his temperature.

"Are you feeling okay?" She asked. "You don't seem to have a fever." She noted while removing her hands from his face, giving him a quick once over, looking for any other signs of injury.

"I'm okay." Cloud eventually replied, however the look from his mom suggested she didn't believe him.

"How about you go shower while I finish making dinner." Claudia smiled softly and Cloud only nodded in response before heading upstairs to the bathroom while she returned to the kitchen.

Cloud made his way upstairs and into the bathroom. Looking in the mirror, Cloud couldn’t help but feel like something was wrong, yet he couldn't figure out what exactly was causing that feeling. His body looked small, and his eyes seemed a little dull, but considering he couldn’t remember much of anything right now, he decided to ignore it.

Later that evening at the dinner table, once he had calmed down, Claudia asked about his hunting trip, it was rare for Cloud to return empty handed. Cloud wasn't sure how to respond, so instead he promised to go back out again tomorrow and catch something good.

Cloud went to bed early that night. The events of the day had left him feeling drained, and he was hoping he could decompress in his room before going to sleep, yet as he lay there awake in bed, even the empty walls of his room felt wrong. With a sigh, he shut his eyes and tried to sleep. Maybe tomorrow he would feel better and things would start making sense again.

—

The next morning Cloud woke up feeling even more exhausted.

It was as if he had lived his whole life through his dreams last night… At least, he thinks it was his life. Many of the events felt so real to Cloud, like reliving core memories he could never forget, yet, some of them he felt so disconnected from, as if he had never actually lived through them.

He dreamed about growing up in Nibelheim, just him and his mother in the house. Once he was old enough, he began to hunt and gather for the two of them, and based on his dreams, he seemed pretty proficient with the sword and bow. At 16, Cloud left Nibelheim for Midgar, where he joined the cadet program at Shinra. He had told everyone he was going to climb the ranks and join the elite SOLDIER program, but in reality he knew joining Shinra was the only way he’d ever get out of Nibelheim, and it didn’t matter that much to him if he made SOLDIER or just joined the regular infantry. Cloud had just finished the cadet program, and had taken the final exam, which would decide which unit he would be allowed to join. Now, returning home for a short break while he waited for his results.

Cloud wasn't sure what to make of the dreams… or memories… or whatever they were. Deciding it was too early in the morning for an identity crisis, Cloud rolled out of bed and began his day. Looking around his room, things seemed to confirm some of the memories he dreamed about. The framed photo of him with his mom when he was younger, another photo included him with his squad from the cadet program. A large duffel bag sat in the corner with most of his clothing inside, the drawers of his dresser either empty or containing clothes Cloud definitely wouldn’t fit into anymore.

At breakfast, he made small talk with his mom before she asked him about the SOLDIER exam, wanting to know if he’d heard anything about his results yet. Cloud told her he likely wouldn’t know for another couple of days.

"And when will you be heading back to Midgar?" She asked.

“Hmm…” Cloud thought about what he remembered from his dream, "I think I have to return by the 16th."

"Oh, that's wonderful," she said, a bright look on her face.

"Why?" Cloud asked, giving her a questioning glance.

"That means we'll be able to celebrate your birthday together this year." She smiled, "I can't believe you're going to be turning 18, my little stormcloud is all grown up." With her eyes growing watery, she made her way around the table to where Cloud was sitting, giving him a big hug and pinch on the cheek.

"Ma, please" He groaned as he lightly tried to push her away, the blush growing on his face, "you're suffocating me."

They both laughed before she finally pulled away. The bright smile on her face suddenly grew more serious, and she opened her mouth to speak but hesitated for a second.

"I actually have a special gift for you, for your 18th birthday," she said, although the look on her face suggested she wasn’t all that excited about whatever the gift was. "Well, technically it's not from me, but your father."

"My father?" Cloud asked, confused. From what he could tell, he had no real memories of his father, what little he knew came from what his mom had told him about the man, and he wasn't sure he'd ever even seen a picture of him.

Claudia simply nodded in response, before quickly turning away and changing the subject.

"Well, we can talk more about it later, but I believe you have some hunting to get done today," she said putting a smile back on her face while she began to clear the table.

Cloud nodded, before clearing his own spot and then getting his gear ready for the day. Once he was prepared, he informed his mom he was leaving and she told him to stay safe. With that, he was out the door and ready to start his hike into the forest.

As he was making his way along the path leading out of town, he noticed the increased presence of Shinra soldiers. He couldn't recall hearing about any missions in Nibelheim, but he didn't think too much of it.

Once further up the mountain trail, Cloud could hear helicopters nearby. Turning around, he watched as two black helicopters landed near the Shinra Manor. When the doors opened, he saw two different people climb out. There was a taller blonde woman, who looked to be wearing a red dress, and Cloud figured it was Scarlet, one of the executives that worked for Shinra. He had heard plenty about her from his fellow cadets, considering she was Head of Weapon’s Development, and the only woman on the Shinra executive team, making her the perfect crush for many teen boys.

A shorter man jumped out of the helicopter, balding and wearing a light brown, almost yellow suit that kind of looked like mustard, and Cloud laughed as he realized the man looked like a character from a murder mystery board game he once played. He wasn’t sure who the man was but figured he must also be an executive if he’s got a matching helicopter to Scarlet’s.

Now it made sense as to why there were so many soldiers in the area, but Cloud was even more confused as to what not one, but two, executives were doing in this backwater town. As much as Cloud wanted to keep watching and figure out what they were doing here, he knew his mom would be upset if he returned home empty handed again, so instead he turned away and continued his assent.

Once in the forest, Cloud felt all his earlier worries wash away. He always felt more at peace when he was surrounded by forest, the scent of pine lingering in the fresh air all around. He trudged through the bush and trees, following any signs of animals in the area. It took him a few tries till he felt confident with the bow, but he quickly got the hang of it, and was soon able to snag a rabbit with it.

After that, he managed to track a lone Nibel wolf, and he knew it would require a little more work to kill, so he put his bow away and readied his sword. Cloud's dreams had shown he had a lot of experience hunting wolves through the years, but he still knew to be careful entering into the fight.

The movements came naturally once he began to swing his sword, however, he was having trouble getting his balance. The weight of the sword felt off, and for a couple of his swings, it seemed the wolf was just slightly out of reach. From what Cloud saw in his memories, he only ever used this style of sword when hunting, but somehow it seemed as if it was smaller than what he was used to.

The battle took him a little longer than expected, but he managed to kill the beast without any serious issues. Happy with his successful hunting trip, Cloud prepared his game to take it back home. He was getting hungry thinking about the delicious food his mom would be able to make with it. His moms Nibel stew always tasted best with some fresh Nibel wolf meat.

As Cloud made his way down the mountain, the joy from his successful hunt was quickly replaced with an overwhelmingly familiar feeling of dread as he got closer to town, though Cloud couldn’t figure out why it felt so familiar.

Before he knew it, he was practically sprinting down the mountain, racing to get back as fast as possible. He could see the final turn in the path up ahead, after that, Nibelheim would be straight down the path, and more importantly, visible.

Cloud rounded the final corner and stopped. He could see his house, and the rest of the town, in the distance and breathed a sigh of relief (although he still wasn't sure why he had felt so anxious in the first place). It was late into the evening so the natural light was almost gone, and the town almost looked like it was glowing due to the light pouring out the windows of people's homes.

Looking at his own home, Cloud could see light coming from the kitchen window, so he figured his mom was busy making dinner right now. The sound of a helicopter suddenly drew his attention and Cloud watched as one of the helicopters from earlier took off, flying back towards the direction of Midgar.

As Cloud was about to begin the last little part of the trail, he noticed as the world quieted around him. The birds stopped singing their evening songs, while the chirping of crickets and other insects went deadly quiet.

Cloud felt the earth tremble below him, and he quickly scanned the area, looking for any signs of an incoming rock slide. What he saw instead was various personnel rushing out of the Shinra Manor, before a huge explosion suddenly erupted from the building.

He had heard the shattering of windows and the rush of air through the trees before the blast wave from the explosion reached him, knocking him off his feet and tossing him onto his back.

Cloud coughed as he opened his eyes. Dust and smoke circled in the air around him, as he struggled to orient himself. As he sat up, the dizziness and ringing in his ears only increased.

Cloud saw red all around him.

Shinra Manor was gone. The explosion had torn it apart, sending burning debris everywhere. As a result, the whole town was on fire. The red flames burned bright and were spreading fast, as thick black clouds of smoke filled the sky. The buildings that weren't already destroyed from the blast, were now collapsing from the fires.

Cloud could see what remained of his home. Part of the house was destroyed in the explosion, but the structure remained standing. He could see the flames consuming his home, and the smoke billowing out from where the kitchen window once was.

Cloud's heart was hammering in his chest as he ran towards his house as fast as he could. The fire had reached the gate posts at the edge of town, causing the structure to collapse, the burning sign falling and blocking the main path through town. Cloud turned and took the smaller path that led him along the tree line behind the houses until he reached his own home.

"Ma?!" Cloud frantically called as he reached the backyard.

The heat from the flames was intense as he approached the back entrance, where the door had already been blown off.

"Ma, please! Where are you?!" He called into the house. His panic built as he listened for a response.

After a few moments he heard faint coughing from inside. Without a second thought he rushed inside, trying to stay low and avoid the thick smoke filling the halls. He made his way to the kitchen where he found his mom laying on the floor.

He grabbed her and fast as he could and dragged her out of their burning home. He sat on the grass in the backyard as he cradled her close to him. She was still breathing but, there were burns across her body, her favourite apron covered in blood and ash.

"Cloud.." She coughed faintly.

"Ma!" He sobbed. "Are you okay? What happened?"

"My sweet boy..." She rasped, her hand coming to cup his cheek. "I'm sorry..." She paused, her breathing coming in ragged breaths. "We won't be able...to celebrate your birthday...together this year."

"No, Ma. Please don't say that!" Cloud couldn't control the tears streaming from his eyes. He brought his hand up to his cheek, covering hers, and giving a gentle squeeze. She gave him a soft smile.

"Your father," she started slowly, "his gift...is already within you..." Her breath was coming in shorter gasps, "you must use it...to find his work...and continue his legacy."

"What are you talking about, Ma?" Cloud furrowed his brows.

"The chest...is hidden...within the house."

Before Cloud could respond, the sound of multiple pairs of boots could be heard running on the path in front of the house, before coming to a sudden stop.

"Sir!" The voices called in unison.

“Palmer, Sir.” One of the soldiers spoke up, “We managed to find a few survivors, but it appears many people have perished in the fires, Sir.”

“Then what are you still standing around for?” Palmer cried out, sounding exasperated, “Deal with them! We can’t leave any witnesses as to what happened here. Now go!” Palmer demanded.

There was a moment of hesitation before the soldiers gave a weak “Yes, sir,” before running off. Moments later, gunshots could be heard from the town square.

Cloud looked down at his mother with fear in his eyes.

"Go, Cloud." She whispered. "Hide...until it's safe to return."

"No Ma!" He wept, hugging her closer. "I'm not leaving without you."

"Don't worry..." she smiled, "I'll always be with you...my little stormcloud." She gave his cheek one last squeeze, before her body went limp in his arms, her breath fading out.

“No… Ma… please don’t leave me…” He softly wept. He wasn't sure how long he sat there crying, only broken out of his bubble when he heard footsteps coming around the house. Knowing this was his last chance to escape, he gave his mom one last hug before jumping over the fence, quickly escaping into the trees.

He ran and ran without looking back, the tears never stopping. The light diminished as he got further from town, until the world around him was encased in darkness.

Cloud's exhaustion caught up to him when he tripped over a large tree root. With no energy left to get up, he curled himself into a ball on the forest floor, and wept. His tears only stopped once he finally drifted off to sleep.

—

1.5 years later

Midgar

Present day

—

Sephiroth sighed as he looked at the time. He was already counting down the minutes until this event was over and it hadn’t even officially started yet, though looking at the dark storm clouds approaching, maybe it would be over sooner than he thought. President Shinra was speaking at an event today, along with a couple other executives, and Sephiroth had to tag along as ‘extra security’.

Sephiroth rarely left the Shinra building as of late, his life consisting of him circulating between his office on one floor and his apartment on another. After returning home from Wutai a few weeks ago, his sudden ‘personality change’ had concerned those in charge, so they decided to remove him from the frontlines ‘until further notice’.

Which meant he was now stuck on desk duty, paperwork after paperwork for him to read and sign, rarely talking to anyone besides his assistant. Partly because he never left his office, giving him few opportunities to talk with anyone, and partly because many people were just too intimidated to talk to him. Either they didn’t know who he was and were scared off by his appearance, or if they did know who he was, they had likely heard stories of him on the battlefield, something that had earned him the title “Demon of Wutai”.

He frowned as he thought about that title. As much as he hated these ‘security missions’, which consisted of nothing but standing around for hours while he listened to the executives sweet talk the public and other powerful officials, it was still better than mindlessly slaughtering people on the battlefield for the sake of Shinra.

Sephiroth was pulled from his thoughts when it was finally time for the speeches to begin. He followed the President out of the restricted section and towards the stage set up in the courtyard. He stood off to the side, behind the stage while the President took his place at the podium.

It was supposed to be a relatively simple mission today, the event was on the smaller side, with only a few dozen people in attendance, but since it was still a public event that the President was speaking at, they always had extra security placed around. Although most of the security was just for show, a way to intimidate anyone from causing a scene.

Yet for some reason, Sephiroth felt on edge the moment he had stepped into the courtyard, the hairs on his arm standing on end, as if he was being watched. He quickly scanned over the audience, looking for anything out of place, but came up short. The President gave his short speech without any issue and made his way off the stage, Palmer trading places with him at the podium.

Sephiroth’s eyes were suddenly drawn to one of the rooftops, as if he could feel a presence up there looking down at him. However, all he found was chimneys and shadows, and he wondered if he was making things up. For someone to get onto the roof, they would have had to get past all the guards and archers stationed around, completely unseen, which was no easy feat (even if many of them were just for show).

Still, Sephiroth couldn’t shake the feeling of eyes on him. He glanced back to the roof once more, just to be sure he hadn’t missed anything, when a sudden flash of lightning struck nearby, revealing the figure that had been hiding in the shadows.

Sephiroth felt his breath hitch when his eyes connected with the most beautiful shade of blue he’d ever seen. Sephiroth watched the other man's eyes widen when he realized he’d been spotted, before the flash of light was gone, and the figure was hidden in the shadows once more.

Sephiroth stood there in shock as the boom of thunder rumbled around him, barely noticing as the rain began pouring down on him, only broken from his trance by the chaos of others looking for shelter from the rain. He quickly found the President and ushered him out of the courtyard, back into the building, safe from the storm.

The entire ride back to the Shinra building, Sephiroth couldn’t get those blue eyes out of his head. Once back at the building, Sephiroth made his way to his office. Just like after every mission, no matter how big or small, Sephiroth had to write his report on the event. He wasn’t sure why he did it, but Sephiroth decided to leave any mention of the mysterious figure on the roof out of his report.

—

Three weeks later, Sephiroth was awoken far too early, the endless buzzing of his phone informing him of an emergency meeting being called. He groaned as he got out of bed, and made his way to the meeting room. When he got there, it looked like everyone else was also annoyed to have been awoken so early. Sephiroth was one of the last people to make it to the room, the only people left to arrive were Palmer, Tseng and the President.

The door to the meeting room opened again, and the President entered with Tseng trailing close behind him. The room went quiet as the President took his place at the head of the table.

“Executive Director Palmer has been murdered.”

—

Chapter Text

Chapter 2: Family Heirlooms/Fateful Encounters

—

Nibelheim

1999

—

Vincent made his way out of what remained of the Shinra Manor. The underground labs had been almost completely destroyed, and the surrounding town hadn't fared much better.

Based on the destructive power of the explosion, Vincent was almost certain it was the result of the object he was looking for. However, despite the level of destruction of the town, he knew at least some of the residents of Nibelheim should have survived. The claim that there were no survivors only strengthened his theory that Shinra tried to cover up what really happened here.

The Piece of Eden Shinra had been researching here was long gone now, so Vincent's job here was done, and he'd have to continue his search elsewhere. Just as he was getting ready to leave the area, he realized he wasn't the only person in here. Sensing the strong presence of someone else in the town, Vincent slowly made his way towards their location, staying in the shadows and suppressing his own presence.

Vincent could hear what sounded like someone crying the closer he got, and soon saw the blonde boy. The kid was in the backyard of one of the properties, huddled over an open chest, his arms and hair covered in soot, ash, and dirt. Twigs and leaves stuck to his hair and body made it look like the boy had been rolling around on the forest floor.

Considering the physical and emotional state of the kid, Vincent guessed that the boy had been hiding in the forest, managing to survive both the initial explosion and the Shinra troops that were sure to have come around after. Since it had already been a few days since the fire, the boy had to have some wilderness survival skills if he’d managed to survive alone in the woods this long already.

Vincent decided it was best to leave now, and hopefully the boy would manage to make it to the next town on his own. When he turned to leave however, the boy suddenly looked directly at him, though, with the way his eyes were searching the area confirmed he hadn't actually spotted Vincent.

“Who's there?” The boy panicked.

Vincent didn't reveal himself, but he was impressed the boy had even sensed him, considering trained professionals (who weren't emotionally unstable) had an almost impossible time detecting him.

“I know you're there,” the kid called out as he stood up, aiming his sword in the direction of Vincent.

Vincent really hadn't planned on revealing himself, but when he saw the belt that was loosely wrapped around the boy’s waist he decided to risk it, stepping out from the shadows and into the kids line of sight.

“Who are you?” The kid asked, his expression a mix of fear and anger. When Vincent didn't say anything the kid spoke again, “why are you here? Are you with Shinra?” The boy spat.

“Your belt,” Vincent spoke, ignoring the boy's questions, “where did you get it?” He asked.

The kid looked down at his belt before back at Vincent, his expression changing from anger to astonishment, and the grip on his sword relaxing as he looked at Vincent with wide eyes.

“Do you… do you recognize this symbol?” He asked, a hopeful look in his eyes, undeterred when Vincent didn't respond, "Please, I… I'm so confused,” the boy said as he took a step towards Vincent, looking like he was on the verge of tears again, “my father, he… he left it for me… he left me a bunch of things but–” his voice cracking as he tried to keep his composure, “but I… I don't know what half of it means, and there's no one I can ask, I… I don't have anyone left. If you know something, please, tell me…” the boy was practically pleading by this point.

Vincent stood there for a moment in silence. He really hadn't planned on even talking to the boy, let alone help him, but that was before he saw the boy wearing the Assassin Crest. And although the kid didn't seem to know what it meant, he clearly had the power of the sixth sense, that was the only explanation as to why he was able to sense Vincent's presence, and why the boy himself had such a strong presence.

Eventually, with a huff, Vincent moved forward, walking past the boy and over to the open chest. Inside was the armor, robes, and a beaked hood that went along with the belt the boy had already put on; a leather bracer with the Assassin crest, and a hidden blade attachment for it, although it appeared the blade was broken; and finally, a tattered piece of paper with strange writing and symbols that Vincent recognized as a Codex page.

“What is your name?” Vincent asked the boy who had hesitantly moved to stand beside him.

“Cloud… Cloud Strife.”

“Your father, did he die in the fire?” Vincent asked, although he was sure he already knew the answer.

“No… he died years ago, when I was just a kid,” Cloud frowned, “but… my mom–” Cloud’s voice cracked as he spoke, unable to even finish the sentence without bursting into tears again.

Vincent just nodded in understanding while the boy took a shaky breath to ground himself once again.

“I was told he was a scientist…” Cloud spoke up again once he’d regained control of his emotions, “I never knew there was more to him than that… that there was more to me…” Cloud paused for a moment, glancing at Vincent before speaking again, “are… are you an Assassin?” He hesitantly asked, seeing the similar symbol engraved into Vincent’s golden gauntlet.

Vincent didn't respond, simply glancing at the boy then back at the chest, but apparently the kid accepted that as an answer. Vincent crossed his arms as he stared at the chest, debating his options.

“What do you plan to do now?” Vincent eventually asked.

“I…I don't know. The letter my father left for me… it said so little, and yet, so much… Assassins and Templars, prophecies hidden in ancient writings, powerful objects he couldn’t let Shinra get their hands on…” Cloud huffed a laugh, “it all reeks of fantasy. I don't want to believe any of it… and yet, it’s not even the strangest thing that's happened to me recently…” Cloud’s hands clenched to fists at his side, “I want to finish my fathers work, and continue his legacy,” the boy affirmed, “it’s what my mother wanted me to do… and I think that's why I was brought here.” He quietly added.

Vincent was content with that response, even if he wasn’t exactly sure what Cloud meant with that last part.

“And… I want Shinra to pay for what they’ve done,” the boy spoke again with a serious tone, and a fire burning in his eyes, “they destroyed my hometown, killed my mom… she died in my arms and I couldn’t even give her a proper burial! Her body was already gone by the time I returned, taken… as if she was never even here.” The boy fumed, “The Templars are responsible for the explosion, right? That's the reason you’re here, isn’t it?” Cloud looked at Vincent.

“Yes,” Vincent eventually confirmed the boy’s suspicions.

“Then, if becoming an Assassin is the best way to get revenge against the Templars responsible for this, that’s what I’ll do.” Cloud said with a nod of determination, “will you teach me more about the Assassins?” He looked at Vincent with hopeful eyes, practically begging.

“No,” Vincent's response was quick as he casually denied the boy. Cloud deflated at the words, hurt flashing across his face, “there is a woman in Midgar,” he spoke again, causing Cloud’s face to light up, “if you're serious about your desire for revenge, and your fathers work, she can help,” Vincent explained and Cloud eagerly nodded at the words, “go to Wall Market, in the Sector 6 slums.”

“How will I know it's her? What's her name?” Cloud asked, but Vincent just shook his head.

“She'll find you,” was all Vincent said before turning to leave, “and make sure Shinra doesn't get their hands on that Codex page. It'll be a lot more useful once you decipher it. If you manage that, then we can talk.”

And just like that, Vincent disappeared as quickly as he had arrived, leaving Cloud alone once more. If the boy was as powerful as Vincent could sense, he was sure they would meet again later.

—

1.5 years later

Midgar

Present day

—

Cloud took his place on one of the lower rooftops, sliding into the dark nook between the chimney and the wall of the taller building beside him. His dark cloak helped him to blend into the shadows on the off chance someone did look his way, but he’d gotten pretty good at hiding his presence when needed.

The event today had high security since President Shinra was in attendance, and Cloud had taken note of the two guards positioned at every entrance, and the handful of archers scattered across the surrounding rooftops. But as usual, he had no issues sneaking past the underpaid and poorly trained guards.

Cloud watched as Palmer took his place on the center of the stage, along with the other executives. It seemed the man still hadn’t ditched the awful mustard colored suit despite the years. The event was going to start any minute, with the opening speech from President Shinra. Although, as Cloud looked at the looming storm clouds above, he wondered if they were just going to cancel it all together.

Thankfully, before any rain could start, one of the doors behind the stage opened, and the President finally emerged from the building connected to the courtyard, making his way onto the stage, his security team following along behind him. The long, silver hair of the soldier following along behind the President caught Cloud’s attention, and he figured that must be the officer Jessie had warned him about, SOLDIER 1st Class Sephiroth.

All the information Cloud knew about Sephiroth came from what little Jessie was able to provide him with. That included a basic rundown of his appearance, such as his long, silver hair, tall stature, and green cat-like eyes, and what little history Shinra kept on file for him. Jessie had warned him that the man was an extremely smart and powerful soldier, having earned himself the title “Demon of Wutai” for his work in the current war.

Cloud wondered why he was here and not there during such a vital time in the war, but either way, he knew he had to try and avoid any possible confrontation with the man. The focus of the mission today was reconnaissance only. Get in, get as much information as possible, and get out. Preferably without anyone seeing him.

What Jessie hadn’t prepared him for was how beautiful the man was. His long silver hair perfectly framed his face, and his green eyes seemed to sparkle, even from this far away. Not only was he tall, but he was strong, with broad shoulders and a thin waist. And on top of that, the man exuded an air of confidence.

Cloud didn't realize he had been staring until the man sent a curious glance in his direction, as if he could feel Cloud's eyes on him, and Cloud quickly slid further back into the shadows. Although he was certain he hadn’t been seen, the close call was enough to get Cloud’s heart racing, an almost electric feeling on his skin.

After regaining most of his composure, Cloud began to creep forward again. His heart was racing so fast, he barely acknowledged as the hair on his arms began to stand on end. He creeped forward to get another look at the man, when a sudden bolt of lightning struck only a few roofs over.

The sudden flash illuminated his dark hiding spot for only a millisecond, but when Cloud's blue eyes connected with Sephiroth’s, he saw them widen ever so slightly, and he knew he’d been caught. By the time the resounding boom of the thunder calmed, and the sudden torrential downpour began, Cloud was already a few blocks away, quickly hopping across rooftops towards the edge of the plate.

—

A few days later, Cloud met up with Madam M back in the Sector 6 slums. As usual, Madam M seemed to know about everything and anything happening in Wall Market. With her girls, she had eyes and ears all across the sector, and as such she knew when a certain Shinra executive started making regular visits to the Honeybee Inn.

When she had told Cloud about Palmer’s visits, he immediately got to work on his plan. After a few weeks of observation, learning everything he could about the man’s routine during his visits, Cloud was finally ready to put his plan into motion.

The Honeybee Inn was located deep in Wall Market, and was known for the extravagant shows it put on, functioning as both a burlesque club and brothel (a place where a high ranking figure would definitely attend on the down low).

Cloud found the man frequently visited the inn, usually multiple times a week, though he avoided going on the weekends (the busier times during the weekend meant a higher probability of being caught somewhere he shouldn’t be). He always used a private carriage to reach Wall Market, and had two guards with him when he arrived.

One soldier was left to guard the carriage while the other went with him to the inn. After an hour or two he would come stumbling back, guard following along behind him, before getting back in the carriage and heading back up to the plate.

The chocobo carriage had to be left outside the entrance to Wall Market, backed into a stall, surrounded by tall buildings and high walls, which allowed the guard to stand watch in front, ensuring no one tried to approach or tamper with the carriage.

Obviously they didn't think anyone would come in from above. With the guards back to him, Cloud silently hopped from the wall onto the top of the carriage, and then down onto the ground.

Staying out of sight, he made sure there were no random passerbys before sneaking up behind the guard, putting him into a chokehold and pulling him out of sight, behind a bush around the corner. A few moments later Cloud emerged wearing the guard’s uniform, and took up the position in front of the carriage.

After a couple minutes, Palmer came stumbling out of the town gates and towards the carriage, fumbling with the door handle before finally opening it and climbing in. Once the chocobo was all hooked up and ready, Cloud climbed into the passenger seat at the front, and the other guard took the reins.

As soon as they were far enough away from Wall Market, and any prying eyes, Cloud knocked out the guard driving the carriage, and quickly took control of the reins. Steering the carriage away from the plate, Cloud turned down an abandoned road leading to the collapsed expressway. The rough road earned a couple drunk grumbles from Palmer, but the man stayed tucked inside the cabin.

Cloud pulled the carriage as far as he could into the expressway and stopped once the rubble made it too difficult to continue. The tunnel, which was once a shortcut connecting the Sector 5 slums to Sector 7’s, was abandoned a few years ago after the sudden collapse of part of Sector 6’s plate during construction. The rubble and debris were never removed from the site, and the tunnel became a home to monsters and thugs.

Once stopped, Cloud quickly jumped out of the front seat and slipped off to the side, the other guard still asleep laying in the spot next to him. After a few moments, Palmer stuck his head through the curtain separating the cabin from the driver seat. "Why are we stopped?" He angrily demanded, only to realize the driver was missing.

Suddenly, the cabin door opened behind him and Cloud stood in the doorway, now dressed in his assassin armor and robes, hood covering his head. He reached out, grabbing Palmer by the collar, before throwing the man out of the carriage. His body hit the dusty pavement and rolled a few times before stopping.

"What is the meaning of this!?" Palmer called out, frozen on his back as Cloud stalked over, “do you know who I am?!” Palmer demanded.

“Executive Director Palmer, long time Shinra member and current head of the Space and Aeronautics department,” Cloud spoke with a controlled tone as he moved towards him, stopping right before the man and towering over him.

“What do you want?” Palmer asked, “Is it money you’re after?”

“I don’t want your money,” Cloud spat, “what do you know of the Nibelheim Incident?” He asked and Palmer could see the fire burning in the man's eyes.

"Nibelheim?" Palmer’s eyes widened as he tensed for a moment, before putting on a calm front as he moved to a sitting position. "Oh! You mean that poor mountain town that burned down in an accident a few years ago? I'm not sure why you're asking me about it, Nibelheim is not under my domain."

"If it is not under your domain then why were you there the day it burned?" Anger seeped into Cloud’s voice as he glared down at the man, and fear flashed across Palmer’s face.

"What are you talking about? I was not there!” Palmer denied, “I don't know where you got that information, but it's simply not true."

"I saw you there that day." Cloud growled.

"That's impossible!" Palmer cried as he moved to stand up, "there were no survivors! We made sure of it–" Palmer's words were cut off as a boot hit his chest, knocking the wind out of him, and sending him flying back down to the ground with an 'oof'.

Before Palmer even knew what was happening, he was on the ground on his back, gasping for air to return to his lungs, with Cloud standing above him, the blade of his sword pushed up against Palmer’s throat.

"I suggest you answer my next questions with a little more honesty." Cloud spat, pushing the blade a little firmer against Palmer's throat. Palmer only nodded in response, his body trembling beneath Cloud. "What do you want with the Apple of Eden?"

Palmer’s eyes widened at the question, “How do you know about that?!”

"Answer the question." Cloud demanded.

A nervous laughter suddenly erupted from Palmer, "Seems I’ve underestimated you, Assassin.” Palmer sneered, and Cloud glared at the man, “yes… I can see the resemblance now,” Palmer laughed, “I should have known you’d be just as nosey as your father was.”

The comment sparked a rage in Cloud. In an instant, he had removed the sword pressed against Palmer’s throat, instead grabbing the man by the collar and pinning him to the ground.

“What do you know about my father?” Cloud hissed but Palmer didn’t answer, just grinning at Cloud’s outburst, “What are you and your allies planning with the Apple?” Cloud snarled, as he shook the man, “Is that what my father discovered? Is this why he was killed?!”

“I’m sorry,” Palmer laughed, “were you hoping for a confession?”

The smug look on Palmer’s face was erased with a groan as Cloud dug his hidden blade deep into Palmer’s gut with a twist.

“Piece of shit,” Cloud spat in a hushed tone as life slowly drained from Palmer’s face, “this is the fate you deserve!” Cloud finally let go of the man’s collar, letting his body slump to the ground, though his anger was still boiling over, “I only wish you’d suffered more! I hope you–!”

“Enough Cloud.” Vincent suddenly appeared, cutting off Cloud’s angry outburst, “show some respect.”

“Respect?” Cloud spat, “after everything he’s done? Do you think he would have shown either of us such kindness?” He retorted.

“You are not Palmer. Do not become him.” Vincent stated as calmly as ever, before kneeling next to Palmer’s body, “May Gaia guide your soul.” He closed the man’s eyes as he sent him off with his last rites. Vincent stood and handed Cloud the two pieces of paper he had taken from Palmer's jacket pocket, before looking towards the abandoned carriage, “It’s time to go.” He told Cloud before disappearing once again into the collapsed expressway.

Cloud took a deep breath to help ground himself, before following Vincent's lead and heading further into the expressway. Because the tunnel had been abandoned, Cloud didn’t have to worry about security cameras or stationed guards monitoring the area, which made it easy for him to get to the next sector undetected.

Once he was out of the collapsed expressway, he followed the dirt path the rest of the way to the entrance of the Sector 5 slums. He blended in with a crowd, joining a random group as they approached the entrance, and slipping past the security guards and cameras undetected.

Security was only really stationed around the entrances to the slums, diminishing the further you got into town. Cloud split from the group, and stuck to back alleys and hidden paths to get to his small apartment in the container district. Once finally in the safety of his own home, he sighed in relief.

He looked at the two documents Vincent had taken from Palmer. One was a sealed letter, and the other was one of the missing Codex pages. Cloud would need to get Jessie to decipher the Codex page before it would be of any use to him, however, the letter revealed the name of another Templar… Don Corneo.

Corneo was a sleazy man, with a mouth as foul as his face, and the crime lord who ruled over Wall Market. Knowing he was a Templar made more sense as to why Shinra turned a blind eye to his criminal operations. And it seemed those operations were being used to secretly fund the research into the Apple of Eden, or “Project A”.

“Guess I have another target.” Cloud softly sighed, sinking a little further into his couch. No matter how exhausted he might have been, he needed a shower before he could even think about sleeping.

He stood with a groan and headed for the bathroom. Cloud fell asleep only a moment after his head hit the pillow, clearly tired from the events of today. Unfortunately, his sleep that night was anything but restful.

—

People were running and screaming all around him. Abandoned cars filled the streets, along with the debris from destroyed buildings, the harsh wind kicking it up around him. Cloud looked up to see the giant flaming meteor hovering right above Midgar. Tornadoes of fire and debris connected to the meteor, circling around the city and destroying anything in their path.

Cloud looked up at the lone figure floating high in the sky, facing away from him. It was hard to make out any features on the figure with the giant ball of fire behind them, but Cloud could see their long silver hair flowing in the wind; a long, thin sword in their left hand; and the single black wing emerging from their back.

Fear, anger, and sadness consumed Cloud as he looked up at the figure, his hands tensing around the handle of his sword. Slowly, the figure turned their head, looked over their shoulder behind them. Cloud’s breath hitched when their glowing green eyes suddenly looked directly at him.

“Sephi-”

—

Cloud woke up with a gasp, suddenly sitting upright in his bed, his body covered in sweat. He was panting hard, and could feel his heart beating a mile a minute in his chest. He quickly got out of bed and headed straight for his bathroom, splashing some cold water onto his face, before grabbing a cup and quickly downing a glass of water.

He took a couple deep breaths to help calm himself, and slow his erratic heartbeat, before looking in the mirror. The empty cup slipped out of Cloud’s hand and shattered on the floor, but Cloud barely acknowledged it.

He rubbed his eyes and blinked a couple times before looking in the mirror once more. Cloud wasn’t sure how, but his once blue eyes now contained specks of faintly glowing green.

—

Chapter Text

Chapter 3: Home Sweet Slums/Mad Dash

—

~1 year earlier

February, 2000

Midgar Slums

—

It was mid February when Cloud finally returned to the city he had briefly called home. Though this time, he wouldn't be returning to the Shinra building as Cadet Cloud Strife. No, this time it was home sweet slums for Cloud.

It had taken Cloud a few months to reach Midgar after leaving what remained of Nibelheim behind. He had hiked from Nibelheim to the next towns over, which was not an easy feat, but considering Cloud had grown up in those mountains he was able to handle the difficult terrain.

He had almost no belongings or gil left in his name, so he took up odd jobs here and there between the towns, helping out the villagers in return for gil or a place to stay. Cloud had mainly made his money by taking up contracts for monsters the town needed exterminated, or by hunting animals and selling what he could, including the meat, fur, or bones.

He had managed to make it through the mountains and into the Corel region before the winter snows made the trails too dangerous. He stayed in Costa del Sol for a few weeks, there were plenty of jobs for him there, especially during the busy holiday season.

Cloud had grown accustomed to wearing the armor and robes his father left him, but had to remove them during his stay in Costa del Sol. The mountain boy in him already had a hard enough time handling the heat in a t-shirt and board shorts, he wouldn’t have survived in any added layers.

Eventually, he managed to save up enough money to make the move to Midgar, and secured a ticket on board the Shinra-8 to Junon by beating the ship's captain in an intense game of Queen's Blood.

Once in Junon, and with a little more money in his name, Cloud was able to hitch a ride in the back of someone’s truck, making the journey from Junon to Midgar a lot faster. After months of work and travel, Cloud was finally standing in Wall Market, the infamous entertainment district in the Sector 6 slums.

Now, all that was left was to find a woman he knew absolutely nothing about. With his hood up, Cloud began exploring Wall Market.

—

“You,” a woman’s voice suddenly chimed in, and Cloud looked to see her pointing at him with the fan in her hand. Cloud looked around behind him to make sure she wasn't talking to someone else but it seemed there was no one else around. “Come here.” She beckoned him with a wave of her fan.

The woman's expensive outfit looked out of place in the dingy slums. Her black kimono was adorned with gold accents, and the folding fan in her hand had a matching design. If Cloud had to guess, the elaborate hair piece alone probably cost a small fortune. Hesitantly he approached the woman.

“Give me your hand,” she demanded as she held out her own.

“Huh?” Cloud was confused by the request. He looked at the sign for the building she was standing in front of, Temomiya Massage, before looking at the woman again. “Sorry, I don’t have the money for a massage...” Cloud tried to turn her down, but the woman just laughed.

“Well, I could see that the second I laid eyes on you,” the woman laughed, “now, give me your hand.” She demanded more aggressively.

Cloud relented and extended his hand out to her. Immediately, she grabbed it and her thumb dug into his palm, the pain causing him to wince slightly.

“Hmm, as I thought,” she said with a sigh as she studied his palm, “strong firm hands of a fighter…yet they possess a certain elegance and grace.”

Stepping back, she gave Cloud a more evaluating look.

“Name?” She asked, her fan suddenly under Cloud’s chin, tilting his head up a bit.

“Cloud Strife.” He replied after a moment's pause.

“Okay, Cloud.” She smiled, “let's see what you're made of. The name is Madam M, and this fine establishment here is my massage parlour,” she used her fan to point to the entrance, “and it just so happens I'm looking for some help.”

Cloud gave her a wary look but let her continue.

“You see, I have a couple patrons with outstanding bills, and you look like someone in need of work.” She handed Cloud a slip of paper with some names on it. “Knock some sense into these people, and I'll pay you well.” She explained with a smile and certain arrogance, as if already knowing Cloud wouldn't turn her down, “just don't do any serious damage. They may owe me money, but they are still valued customers,” she huffed, before sending Cloud off.

—

After a couple fist fights and a few choice words, Cloud returned to Madam M for his pay.

“You handled that faster than I expected,” she said with a delighted laugh, “follow me.” She turned and made her way into the building.

Cloud followed her into what he assumed was her office.

“Your payment,” Madam M held out a large coin pouch for Cloud, “as promised.”

Cloud's eyes went wide at the size of the pouch.

“Thanks,” he replied as he went to grab his gil, but she pulled it out of his reach at the last second.

“Tell me, Cloud,” Madam M gave him another practiced smile, “what brings you to Midgar?”

“How can you tell I’m not from around here?” Cloud gave her a hesitant look.

“Oh, please, you stick out like a sore thumb,” she laughed, “newcomers always do.”

Cloud frowned, he knew his outfit might draw a few odd looks here and there, but it seemed most people minded their own business in the slums. He had hoped that would offer him some invisibility, but it seemed there was a lot more to it than that. Madam M’s outfit was even more extravagant than his but she seemed to blend in well enough.

“I’m looking for someone,” Cloud eventually answered her question, “I was told they could help me with my fathers work.”

“Who are you looking for?” She asked.

“I’m… not sure,” he confessed, “she’s supposed to find me.”

Madam M raised a brow at that but didn’t question it further, “and who told you to look for her?” She asked instead.

“I… never got his name.” Cloud quietly admitted, shrinking into himself, “he left before I could ask.”

“So… you came all the way to Midgar, looking for someone you know nothing about, because another person, who you also don’t know, told you to?” Madam M gave him an incredulous look.

“Yes…?” Cloud replied, grimacing at how ridiculous it sounded.

Madam M stared at him for a moment, and Cloud couldn’t tell if she was more impressed by his commitment or astounded by his stupidity. Eventually, she let out a short laugh.

“Well, your fathers work must be very important to you then.”

“It is.” He suddenly sat up again, determination sinking into his every bone once again.

“Good.” Madam M grinned at the passion returning to Cloud, “though, if you want to survive down here long enough to achieve that, you’ll need my help.”

“And how are you going to help me?” He gave her a skeptical look.

“Have you found a place to stay yet?” Madam M asked.

“Not yet…” Cloud replied.

“If that's the case, you’ll just have to stay here until you find one,” she huffed and Cloud gave her a confused look.

“Here?” He questioned.

“Well, I can't have one of my own employees living on the street, now can I?” she rolled her eyes, “it would ruin the reputation of my establishment.”

Since when am I an employee? Cloud wondered.

“There's a spare room in the back, it's mainly used for storage but it has a small bed you can use for a few days while you look for a more permanent housing. There are also showers available,” she paused, looking Cloud up and down, “please make use of them.” Madam M feigned a smile as she ushered Cloud out of her office and pointed him in the direction of the spare room, coin pouch in hand, “we can talk more tomorrow.”

He hadn't actually agreed to staying here yet, but it seemed Madam M already knew what his answer would be. He couldn't afford to stay at an inn, and a free bed was better than a back alley.

Cloud found the room and put the few belongings he had on the bed before heading to the washrooms. Madam M had made it pretty clear she wanted him to clean himself before doing anything else. Plus, Cloud knew he needed a shower, he'd been on the road for days and hadn’t had much of an opportunity to bathe recently.

After cleaning himself up, Cloud crashed pretty quickly. The bed was pretty small, and the mattress wasn't very comfortable, but to Cloud, it felt like a dream compared to where he'd been sleeping while traveling.

—

The next day Madam M sent Cloud in the direction of the Sector 5 slums to search for housing. After spending the day looking for a reasonable place to stay, he managed to snag an apartment in the container district. The old shipping container-turned-apartment was barely big enough for one person but at least it was a solid roof over his head and free from rats (which was better than most of the other places he saw).

Cloud returned to Wall Market, he wanted to update Madam M on his success, and he wouldn’t be able to move in for a few more days anyways. She was already in front of the building as he walked up to it.

“Good, you're back. Any luck?” Madam M asked.

“Yes, I found a place in the container district, although I’ll need to stay here for a few more days, if that's alright with you.” Cloud explained his situation.

“Hmm, that should be enough time, as long as we begin the lessons now,” she huffed.

“Lessons?” Cloud asked.

“Before you can do anything else, you’ll need to learn how to survive in the slums,” Madam M gave Cloud an evaluating look, “the first step is learning how to blend in. My girls can help show you how.” Madam M explained as she waved some of them over.

Cloud looked hesitantly at the girls that surrounded him, unsure how they were supposed to help him survive.

“Discretion is paramount in the slums, but especially for my girls. We must be able to walk the streets freely: seen, but unseen. You too must learn to blend like us and become one with the city's crowds.” Madam M explained.

Madam M showed Cloud how the subtle changes to his body language and positioning could help him from standing out as much. After a little practice, Cloud got the hang of it, managing to blend in with groups of people walking, or sitting on benches.

After he was feeling more confident with that, Madam M showed him how to suppress his presence. She explained the importance of suppressing his presence while walking the streets alone, and how it can help him avoid detection when there is no crowd to blend in with. Apparently, with enough practice, he would be able to keep his presence suppressed constantly, without much thought, but he was still a ways away from being at that level. The next day, Madam M taught him how to use those skills for more than just hiding in plain sight.

“Now that you know how to blend in, I can show you how to steal,” Madam M explained with a wicked grin. “Just remember, once you’ve stolen from someone, you mustn't linger.”

She explained to him the importance of picking your targets, and waiting for the right timing. With deft hands, Madam M showed Cloud how to pickpocket someone while blending in with a crowd. Cloud’s first few attempts didn’t go so well, but eventually he managed to successfully steal some pocket change.

“Well, you’ll need some more practice, but it seems you’ve got the basics down,” she said with a laugh.

Once Madam M was satisfied with Cloud’s abilities of blending and pickpocketing, she brought him back to her office.

“It seems our time together is up,” she let out a wistful sigh, “I’ve shown you what I can, the rest will be up to you.”

“Thank you, for everything,” Cloud smiled, he truly appreciated everything Madam M had done for him so far, “but, before I go, one last question, if I may?”

“Of course.”

“Why have you given your aid so readily to me, a stranger?” Cloud hesitantly asked.

Madam M pondered the question for a moment, “Your palms,” she began slowly, “they told quite the story,” she explained and Cloud gave her a confused look, “you’ve cheated death… more than a few times.” Madam M paused for a moment as she eyed the Assassin crest on Cloud’s belt, before eventually pulling the sleeve of her kimono up and revealing the scars along her forearm, “and, you are not the only one with a grudge against the Templars. With the skills I’ve taught you, you should have no trouble approaching your enemies, though you’ll need a suitable weapon if you want to finish what your father started.”

Suddenly something clicked in Cloud’s head.

“Wait!” He suddenly gasped, “the woman I was told to find, it’s you isn’t it?” Cloud asked with wide eyes, “you’re an Assassin too.”

"You're only just realizing?” She laughed, “Now, like I said, if you want to give those Templar scum what’s coming to them, you’ll need a proper weapon.”

“And what would you have me use?” Cloud asked.

“Ah, but you already have the answer,” Madam M grinned as she pulled out the leather bracer Cloud once had.

“Hey! My fathers blade and bracer… how did you get them?” Cloud asked with an accusing glare.

“With the same skills I’ve just taught you,” she laughed as she handed him his things back.

“It’s not really in working condition,” Cloud grumped as he took them from her.

“There is a bar in the Sector 7 slums, Seventh Heaven. Head there, and look for a man named Barret. He will be able to provide you with more work, and there is someone on his team who I believe will be able to fix your blade. Although, you’ll have to prove your worth to him before he’ll introduce you to anyone.” Madam M explained with a shrug.

“Thank you, again,” Cloud gave her a grateful smile before heading off.

—

~1 year later

Midgar, Sector 8

Present day

—

After they exited the bar, Cloud tried to make a quick exit with a simple goodnight to Tifa, but she already knew all his tricks.

"Not so fast, mister." She said to Cloud, her iron tight grip on his wrist preventing his escape, as she pulled him into a proper hug. "Thank you for coming tonight."

"Well, I couldn't miss your birthday." Cloud replied, hugging Tifa back.

They said their goodbyes and Cloud began his journey home while Tifa returned to her friends still in the bar. Barret was currently stuck supervising the drinking contest between Biggs, Wedge, and Jessie. The group had decided to ditch the slums for the night and head topside to celebrate. It was Tifa's birthday and the first week of screening for a production of Loveless, with Jessie in a starring role.

They decided to catch an early showing of the play, and then make their way to a new cocktail bar in Sector 8 that Tifa had been wanting to try. Jessie joined up with them after she finished with the evening show, and Cloud decided to excuse himself after the third or fourth drink, knowing the other guys showed no sign of stopping anytime soon.

It was early May, so the night air still had a bit of a chill to it. Cloud pulled his cloak over his head, the hood helping him feel a little less exposed. This was one of the rare times Cloud didn't have his usual Assassin gear on him, considering he had to dress a little nicer for the celebration.

However, the not-so-subtle threats from Tifa were part of the reason he came completely unarmed. He recalls her saying something along the lines of "bring a blade and you'll find out how sharp it is," the kind smile never leaving her face.

While walking back to the train to head for the slums, Cloud took in the unique beauty of Midgar at night. The overcast clouds above, mixed with the neon lights and signs on Loveless Avenue, created an almost glow to the night sky as the light reflected off the buildings and puddles onto the clouds above.

The streets were pretty empty tonight, and Cloud was enjoying the solitude. When he heard the rowdy group of people coming his way, he quickly slipped into one of the alleys, deciding to take the backroads back to the train station.

Cloud was a little tipsy from his drinks and lost in thought, and since it was his night off, he wasn't paying as much attention to his surroundings as he usually was. He was surprised when he went to turn a corner and ran face first into a wall with an "oof".

The sudden impact rattled his already tipsy brain, and Cloud groaned as he reached out one hand to the wall to steady himself, while the other cradled his head as he waited for the world to stop spinning.

"Are you alright?" A sudden deep voice asked from above.

Cloud froze, as he felt a shiver run through his body. Cloud could feel his face turning red as he pulled his hand back slightly from where it had been resting on the stranger's firm abdomen, not the wall (although the man was built like a brick house). He blushed from the embarrassment of running into the stranger, but also because he was sure he'd never been so turned on just by someone's voice before.

"I'm fine," Cloud replied with a small laugh, his voice going up an octave as he tried to gather his wits about him again, before turning to finally face the stranger. "Sorry, about tha–..."

Cloud’s words trailed off when his eyes connected with the leather straps in the shape of an X across the man's bare chest (which just so happened to be at Cloud’s eye level). Slowly, his eyes trailed up until they connected with the green, cat-like eyes that were staring down at him with a hint of concern.

“You…” Sephiroth's eyes widened slightly in recognition, and Cloud was certain he had a similar look on his face.

Cloud turned away quickly, breaking eye contact and using the hood to help hide his face. Suddenly, he was feeling a lot more sober.

"Uh, sorry again about that… but, um… I've gotta run." Cloud rattled as he hastily made his way around Sephiroth, and down the alley.

"Wait–" Sephiroth tried to interject and stop him.

"Can't miss the train. Sorry!" Cloud called out to the man behind him, picking up his pace as he quickly tried to escape down the alley, walking as fast as he could.

When Cloud heard footsteps start up behind him, he was fairly certain of three things:

One: Sephiroth definitely saw him on the roof that day.

Two: Sephiroth likely suspected Cloud in the assassination of Palmer.

Three: Sephiroth was somehow even more attractive up close, if that was even possible. Not to mention that smooth, deep voice of his…

Cloud shook that last thought out of his horny brain and picked up his pace as he approached the next street, still listening closely to the footsteps following along behind him. The second he was around the corner, and out of Sephiroth’s line of sight, he broke out into a sprint.

A few moments later, Sephiroth came around the corner, and seeing Cloud running away, instantly started chasing after him.

“Hey!” He called out to Cloud, “stop!”

Shit, Cloud cursed to himself. He knew he wouldn’t be able to outrun Sephiroth on flat ground, or fight him off hand to hand (just look at the size of the man), so his best chance at escape would be by making it to the rooftops. Hopefully, his agility while free running would allow him to give the man the slip.

Cloud had worked a few scouting missions above the plate, so thankfully he was relatively familiar with this area. He kept running straight ahead but could hear Sephiroth quickly gaining on him. Cloud was surprised he had even managed to evade Sephiroth for this long, but he blamed the sudden extra horsepower in his legs on adrenaline.

Come on, come on. Just a few more streets. Cloud kept running as fast as his legs would let him, please still be there. Suddenly he made another sharp turn down one of the streets. Thank Gaia, he thought to himself as he turned the corner and saw the remnants of an old shop front still there.

The large wooden crates that sat out front were covered by what was once a white sheet, and Cloud ran up the boxes, using them as a staircase. He hopped across the old wooden posts that once held the sign, and onto the balcony of the apartment above the shop. He jumped railing to railing towards the edge of the building, and heard when Sephiroth came around the corner and stopped, not seeing Cloud at first.

"Shit!" Sephiroth cursed once he spotted Cloud leaping across balconies, already two stories up. Sephiroth quickly made use of the same boxes, continuing his pursuit onto the balconies.

Although Sephiroth wasn’t as agile as Cloud, his long legs allowed him to easily make the jump between balconies, still following along closely behind Cloud. As they approached the edge of the plate, and the last balcony along this block, Sephiroth had managed to close more of the gap between them.

Cloud stopped on the final balcony, looking over the edge at the 300 meter drop from the plate to the ground below. He turned to face Sephiroth as the man landed gracefully on the opposite end of the balcony.

Sephiroth stood tall, feeling confident that he'd finally cornered Cloud.

"There's nowhere left for you to run." Sephiroth spoke calmly, taking a step towards Cloud.

Cloud said nothing as he took a step back, his back hitting the railing behind him.

"Now, who are you?" Sephiroth asked, his green eyes carefully watching Cloud.

Cloud could see no hostility in his eyes, but he still refused to respond, answering with a glare instead.

"I don't want to hurt you," Sephiroth tried to reason with him, slowly inching closer to Cloud, but Cloud only snorted a laugh in response. Sephiroth frowned, clearly giving up on trying to talk.

Cloud watched Sephiroth's every movement, while he waited for the right moment to make his move. When he saw Sephiroth getting ready to pounce, he knew his chance was about to come.

As Sephiroth finally dove towards Cloud, thinking he had nowhere to escape, Cloud quickly turned and leaped off the railing. He grabbed onto the hanging pot jutting out from the corner of the building, narrowly missing Sephiroth's grasp, as he used the hanging plant to swing around the corner to the other side of the building, landing on the balcony and continuing his escape.

Sephiroth caught himself on the railing, his face stuck in a look of utter disbelief. He knew that there was no chance the flower pot would be able to hold his weight, and he also wasn't crazy enough to try that move in the first place.

Sephiroth suddenly let out a laugh as he leaned against the balcony railing, watching the swing of the flower pot slowly die down. He couldn’t even be angry that the man had managed to escape, amazed by his pure audacity. With a sigh, Sephiroth picked himself up and began the journey back to the Shinra building. It seemed he wouldn’t be getting any answers about the mysterious stranger tonight.

—

Sephiroth couldn’t get those eyes out of his head… again.

He grabbed a coffee from the small cafe in the cafeteria and sat at a table alone. Genesis and Angeal left for Wutai today, so Sephiroth would be on his own again for a few weeks while his friends returned to the war.

He thought about last night's encounter with the mysterious stranger. Sephiroth was sure it was the same man that he had seen on the roof all those weeks ago. He could never forget those eyes. After all, they had been the most beautiful crystal blue he had ever seen. That's why Sephiroth was certain the faint specks of an almost glowing green he had seen last night had to be a new addition. But how did he get those eyes?

It was only three weeks after Sephiroth had first seen the man when Palmer was murdered. Immediately, Sephiroth had suspected the mysterious stranger to be behind the assassination, though he had no actual proof (which is why he still hadn’t told anyone at Shinra about him).

There had been no witnesses to the murder, both guards had been knocked out before they even knew what was happening, and no one in Wall Market had seen anything suspicious that night. The way the assassin was able to get in and out undetected reminded him of the man on the roof, who had been able to easily sneak past all of the guards and archers without getting caught.

Even though the man escaped last night, Sephiroth was still able to gather a lot of new information about him from the short encounter. When he had seen him on the roof so many weeks ago, it was only a brief moment, and he was so far away that Sephiroth saw almost nothing besides his face. Now, he had a better idea of the man’s build and appearance.

The cloak the man wore last night was similar to the one Sephiroth had seen him in last time, and it worked well to cover his golden blonde hair, but the clothing underneath had definitely changed. The dress pants and shirt were well-fitted, and had accentuated the man’s small but toned body. Sephiroth had smelt alcohol on him so he figured he must have been drinking somewhere nearby, which also explained why the man’s face had been so flushed when he first ran into him. Although, part of Sephiroth wanted to believe the man was blushing because of him.

“Hey man,” Zack suddenly appeared next to Sephiroth, causing him to jump slightly from surprise, "what's got you in such a good mood?”

“What? Nothing,” Sephiroth frowned as he eyed Zack, “why?”

“Normally you're all, like, gloomy and brooding in the mornings, but you seem to be in pretty high spirits today,” Zack shrugged as he sat down with his coffee and breakfast.

“I don’t brood,” Sephiroth grumbled as he took a sip from his coffee, but Zack just laughed.

“Whatever you say, man.”

Zack Fair was a SOLDIER 2nd Class and Angeal’s current protege. Sephiroth had met Zack a few times in passing when Angeal had first taken him on as a student, but they didn’t talk much outside of that. However, since Sephiroth had been removed from the Wutai war, Zack had started showing up around him a lot more, and Sephiroth assumed it was Angeal’s doing.

At first Sephiroth had been annoyed by him, Zack had been given the nickname ‘puppy’ due to his boundless energy and curiosity, but now Sephiroth had grown used to it. And, with Genesis and Angeal frequently away, Zack was one of the only people who went out of their way to talk to Sephiroth. As much as he hated to admit it, Sephiroth did enjoy having some company occasionally.

“How was the show yesterday?” Zack asked with his mouth full, as he continued to shovel his food back, and Sephiroth had to hold back a look of disgust.

“It was fine,” Sephiroth sighed. Genesis had dragged him and Angeal to another performance of Loveless last night, despite Sephiroth’s protests. “The acting and stage design was well done, I just don’t understand how Genesis can find so much enjoyment in consuming the same piece of media time and time again.” He bemoaned and Zack just nodded along.

“You got back pretty late last night,” Zack commented, “did you get up to anything afterwards?”

“No,” Sephiroth replied too quickly, earning an eyebrow raise from Zack, “I just… went for a walk.” He explained as he stared down at his coffee.

Zack looked like he didn’t quite believe Sephiroth but thankfully, Zack’s PHS went off before he could question it.

“Oh shit, I’m late for training!” Zack’s eyes widened as he looked at his phone, quickly downing the last few bites of food he had left, “I’ll talk to you later!” Zack grinned before running off.

Sephiroth sighed, thankful for some peace and quiet once again. He pondered over Zack’s words. Did his mood really seem so different this morning? Did this mysterious stranger already have such a grip on Sephiroth’s emotional state? With another sigh, Sephiroth finished his coffee before heading to his own office, the never ending stack of paperwork awaiting him.

—

Chapter Text

Chapter 4: Kalm Carnival Clash

—

~1 year earlier

July, 2000

Sector 7 Slums

—

Cloud made his way into the small bar in the Sector 7 slums.

“Hey, Cloud,” Tifa called from behind the counter, “can I get anything started for you?”

“Nothing for me today,” Cloud smiled, “I’m just here to see Barret.”

“Okay. He’s just in the back so I’ll go grab him for you,” she smiled before disappearing behind the door.

Cloud had been working for Barret for a few months now. Barret was in charge of the Neighbourhood Watch… which was a nice name for the group, considering it consisted mainly of mercenaries and thieves.

Most of the jobs involved clearing out any monsters that had made their way into the slums, but some members of the group also taught the locals how to defend themselves. Occasionally the jobs changed, such as searching for lost pets, or recovering stolen items, which is what Cloud’s most recent mission called for.

It was still early in the day so the bar was pretty empty, and Cloud took a seat on one of the stools while he waited. A few moments later, both Barret and Tifa emerged from the back.

“Hey, Cloud! Thanks for taking care of that last job for me.” Barret exclaimed as he gave Cloud a firm pat on the back, “hope it didn't cause you too much trouble.”

“Didn't exactly go according to plan,” Cloud huffed, “but I was able to lose my pursuers, and I got you what you wanted, so I guess it was a success,” Cloud gave a one sided shrug, as he handed over the recovered item.

“Right, well, glad to know you're okay. Wait here while I go grab your payment,” Barret nodded before turning to leave.

“Wait.” Cloud suddenly stopped him, “I was actually hoping I could talk to you about something first.”

Barret raised a brow at Cloud’s request, turning to face the man again. Cloud had never been one to ask for something, so Barret figured it must be pretty important.

“I need your help regarding a… personal matter.” Cloud’s voice lowered as he looked around the empty bar just to be sure no one was listening in, “I was hoping you know someone who might be able to help me.”

“And what exactly do you need help with?” Barret eyed the man.

“I have an important document, but it's encoded. I need someone who can decipher it.” Cloud kept his explanation short.

Barret paused as he examined Cloud, an evaluating look in his eyes despite the downturned face.

“And why should I care about some random document you got?” Barret eventually huffed.

“Because…” Cloud eventually sighed, he had figured Barret wouldn’t agree so easily, at least not without knowing a little more about it, “I’m going to use it to take down Shinra.”

Barret let out a loud laugh, but Cloud’s determination didn't waver.

“You wanna take down Shinra?” Barret gave him a skeptical look but Cloud only nodded. Eventually, after a long moment Barret sighed, “Fine. Come back tonight, after we close,” he emphasized, “I'll have your payment for you then, and we can talk more about your…ambitions.” Barret eventually huffed before shaking his head as he turned around and returned to the back room, while muttering something under his breath.

—

That night Cloud returned to the empty bar to find Tifa finishing up with her closing tasks, her back to him while she washed the remaining dishes in the sink.

“Sorry, we're closed,” she turned to inform the late comer, instead greeted by Cloud, “oh, it’s you. Welcome back,” she smiled, though it didn’t quite reach her eyes. “I’ll let Barret know you’re here.”

“Thanks,” Cloud nodded at her, but Tifa seemed frozen in place.

“Hey, Cloud… can I ask you something?” She eventually spoke up, a hesitant look in her eyes.

“What is it?” Cloud asked cautiously.

“Did you really mean what you said? About wanting to take down Shinra?”

“Yeah,” he eventually nodded, “though I know it sounds pretty unrealistic.” Cloud sighed.

“Not at all.” Tifa suddenly stood tall, “I think if anyone can do it, it’s you.”

Cloud was surprised by the sincerity in Tifa’s words. “Thanks, Tifa,” Cloud gave her a small smile, “though I didn’t take you for such a Shinra hater,” he tried to joke.

Tifa suddenly frowned, and Cloud was sure he said something wrong. He was certain she was about to start yelling at him, based on the anger he could see in her eyes, but instead she just closed them as she took a deep breath.

“I was orphaned by Shinra, too,” she eventually spoke in a calm tone, a sadness in her voice despite the anger still burning within.

Cloud was suddenly left speechless, and feeling a little stupid.

Tifa had grown up in Nibelheim alongside Cloud. Although they were never close as kids, there was also no bad blood between them. When Cloud had said he was moving to Midgar to join SOLDIER, everyone else laughed but Tifa was the only one that wished him good luck. They had reconnected a few months ago, when Cloud had come to Seventh Heaven searching for Barret, only to find Tifa behind the counter.

Apparently, she had moved to Midgar just after her 18th birthday (which was only a few months before Cloud’s). Her father had instead chosen to stay behind, ultimately leading to his death during the Nibelheim Incident. And it wasn’t just her father that Tifa lost.

Since Tifa’s mother had passed away when she was only eight, the other women in town had taken it upon themselves to help raise the girl, teaching her to sew and cook, and as a result, many of them felt like family to her. She was not only orphaned by Shinra, she had lost her whole community because of them.

“I’m sorry…” was all Cloud could manage to say. Cloud knew Tifa wasn’t angry at him for what he said, rather she was angry with Shinra for what they had taken from her, but Cloud still felt bad for bringing it up.

“It’s fine,” she gave him a small smile again, her anger subsiding, “I’ll let Barret know you’re here now.”

Tifa suddenly stomped her foot twice, paused, and then stomped again. Cloud gave her an odd look, but his attention was quickly drawn to the pinball machine as the floor around it started descending into the ground. A few seconds later it came back up, with Barret in tow. Cloud had not expected this unassuming bar in the slums to have a whole room hidden beneath it, let alone a secret elevator, and he stared at Barret with disbelief written across his face.

“Get over here,” Barret eventually huffed and Cloud was shaken from his daze, quickly making his way over to him.

Cloud looked back to see if Tifa would be joining them but it seemed like she still had things to take care of above ground as she was still behind the counter.

“Good luck,” she waved at Cloud before the floor began descending once again.

—

~1 year later

2001

Midgar

—

Sephiroth looked out his window as his eyes scanned across Midgar down below. Since Sephiroth was a SOLDIER 1st Class, his apartment was on one of the top floors of the Shinra building, right in the center of the city, giving him a view of both Midgar, and the surrounding landscapes. Angeal and Genesis lived on the same floor as him, though their apartments were usually empty, considering how much time they had to spend in Wutai.

As Sephiroth looked down at all the people going about their day, so far away they looked like ants, he briefly wondered what his life would have been like if he had never worked for Shinra, a company he was beginning to despise more and more everyday. He let out a heavy sigh as he thought about how he ended up in this position. It seemed he had been destined to work for Shinra for eternity.

The Shinra Electric Power Company. What started as a company specializing in weapons manufacturing, quickly grew into a worldwide mega-corporation upon discovering the power of mako energy. Using this new power source, Shinra began constructing mako reactors in areas with high natural mako reserves, places such as Nibelheim. Eventually, they created the floating city of Midgar, powered by its own nine reactors.

Mako provided a more reliable and efficient form of energy, allowing Shinra to build a monopoly on electricity production. Soon the world over was relying on this mako energy to power their lives… well, almost the whole world.

Wutai was one of the only remaining independent nations, not dependent on mako energy, and free from the influence of Shinra. When Shinra proposed a plan to build a new mako reactor within Wutai, which would ultimately allow them to economically dominate Wutai and as a result give Shinra autocratic rule over the world, the leader of Wutai denied their offer, refusing to surrender to Shinra.

As a result, Shinra waged war on Wutai. Considering its origins in weapon manufacturing, Shinra held an advantage over Wutai with its advanced military technology. However, Wutai was not one to surrender easily, resulting in the ongoing war, which was now heading into its fifth year.

As Shinra’s power had grown, so too did their research and operations, and soon the company expanded into multiple departments. They still had their Advanced Weaponry division, led by Scarlet, which focused on the creation of new military technology. The Urban Planning division, which was led by Reeve Tuesti, focused on the day-to-day affairs of the city, such as housing and transportation. The Space and Aeronautics department, which had been led by Palmer, was focused on space travel, although its other goals were less apparent. The Public Security Forces which consisted of the Shinra army and police forces, were led by Heidegger. The department had multiple divisions including the Cadets, Infantry, Turks, and SOLDIER.

Finally, there was the Research and Development division, run by Professor Hojo. The official role of the research department was studying mako, finding new and more efficient ways to use the energy source. The other role was studying the power of materia, researching a way to harness the magic power within the naturally formed materia crystals, and work on creating man made materia orbs alongside the Advanced Weaponry division.

However, as many Shinra employees knew, there was more to the Research and Development department than that. Many seasoned soldiers warned newcomers to stay away from the mad scientist Hojo, as stories had spread about Hojo secretly conducting human experiments. Many assumed those stories were nothing more than baseless rumors, but Sephiroth, he knew them to be true.

As Hojo’s son, Sephiroth had grown accustomed to being used as a guinea pig in many of Hojo’s experiments. In his desire to create the “perfect soldier”, Hojo had raised Sephiroth to believe that a good soldier needed to be strong in body, mind and heart. Although to Hojo, strength was equated with a hardened heart, ruthless and devoid of hesitation. In order to achieve this, and unlock Sephiroth's “true strength”, he had subjected Sephiroth to immense physical (and emotional) pain and forced him to endure it.

By his preteens, Sephiroth had already begun his combat training with Shinra, and by 15 he was going into the field on missions. At 16, the Wutai war began, Sephiroth was sent on mission after mission, killing just as he had been taught, and showing off his skill on the battlefield. Sephiroth had actually been thankful for the war, because the endless missions meant less time spent in Hojo’s lab. By 17, Sephiroth had been promoted to SOLDIER 1st Class, after earning a name for himself in Wutai, making him the youngest SOLDIER 1st ever.

During one of his missions to Wutai, Sephiroth ended up meeting SOLDIER 2nd Class Angeal, the same mission during which Sephiroth had acquired his sword, Masamune. Angeal had been friendly enough, but at that time, Sephiroth didn’t care for making friends, believing friends to be nothing more than a weakness, and barely giving Angeal the time of day. Once Angeal was promoted to SOLDIER 1st Class a few months later, along with his childhood friend Genesis, the two practically forced Sephiroth to become friends with them, considering Sephiroth was the only other SOLDIER 1st the same age as them.

When Sephiroth tried to push them away at first, telling them he “preferred to be alone”, Genesis was quick to call him out on his bullshit, saying everyone needed at least one friend (or in this case two). Sephiroth reluctantly agreed after that, letting the two hang around more often, and eventually, building a close bond with the two of them.

Now that Sephiroth had been removed from the war, he saw his friends less and less, as Genesis and Angeal still spent most of their time in Wutai, only returning to Midgar for a few weeks at a time. Sephiroth frequently found himself alone once again, though now that he knew what it felt like to be around friends, the solitude felt much lonelier.

However, the worst part of Sephiroth being removed from the war was that Hojo didn’t have to worry about his test subject being sent away on any important missions, which resulted in Sephiroth having to spend more and more time in the labs, and often suffering from the horrible consequences of Hojo's strange experiments.

Hojo’s latest experiment involved trying to create a super soldier, believing the power of mako could enhance human abilities in small doses. As a result, Sephiroth had just gotten his first mako injection only two weeks ago.

When Sephiroth’s friends had first invited him to go to the Kalm Carnival with them during the brief period they would be back in town, Sephiroth had initially declined the invitation, worried he would be too sick from any strange side effects the mako might have.

And the side effects had been bad. Really bad.

They had hit almost immediately after the injection, and they were so intense Sephiroth needed help just to get to his apartment only a few floors away. Since Genesis and Angeal hadn’t returned to Midgar yet by that point, Sephiroth ended up having to reluctantly call Zack for help. Of course Zack agreed and quickly came to Sephiroth’s rescue, but in the end it had left Sephiroth feeling even worse about himself.

Sephiroth had grown up always being told by Hojo that asking for help was a sign of weakness. Plus, Sephiroth really didn’t want anyone to see him in such a pathetic and vulnerable state, where he was too weak to even stand on his own, let alone someone he was not very close with.

Having to ask Zack also highlighted the fact that Sephiroth had so few people he could even call in the first place. Since the only two people he considered friends were gone, Zack had truly been a last resort for Sephiroth. Considering they were closer to mutual acquaintances than friends, Sephiroth wondered if Zack had agreed to the request for help simply because it came from a superior officer.

After making it to his room, Sephiroth had spent nearly ten days after his injection stuck on bedrest, barely having enough energy to make it to the bathroom when he inevitably needed to throw up. The pain was too awful for Sephiroth to even sleep, the mako feeling like sandpaper coursing through his veins, leaving him laying awake for hours in bed. His poor temperature regulation meant he was shivering one minute, and overheating the next, his sheets wet from all the sweat. That was also how Sephiroth found out the mako had given his sweat a horrible green tint.

After a few days, once he finally had enough energy to stand again, that's when Sephiroth had looked in the mirror and noticed the specks of glowing green in his own eyes…almost identical to the ones he had seen in the mysterious strangers eyes. But that left Sephiroth with even more questions as to how he had gotten those specks.

By the eleventh day, it was as if Sephiroth had magically recovered. He felt completely fine, even better than before actually, he felt stronger than ever. It was after his miraculous recovery when his friends finally convinced him he should take a weekend away from the Shinra building while he had a chance, and join them in Kalm for the festivities.

—

Kalm

Present day

—

The Kalm Carnival was already in full swing when Sephiroth, Genesis and Angeal arrived. The festival, which happened every year near the beginning of September, brought people in from all over the world. The celebrations took place over the course of a week, but the main events, such as the large street party which had the whole town involved, occurred on the Saturday night.

Decorations and lights were hung up on every block, and the streets were filled with circus performers, mini games, and vendors selling food, alcohol, and trinkets. People were dressed up in elaborate costumes and masks, which allowed them to conceal their true identities and be someone else for a night.

Sephiroth found himself currently participating in one of those mini games. He had seen a sword fighting competition set up, and decided to join in. He thought it would be a good opportunity to see just how much the mako had altered his senses, plus after being stuck in bed for so long, Sephiroth missed swinging a sword around.

Sephiroth stepped into the ring and grabbed one of the wooden swords. He quickly defeated the current contender before another person from the audience stepped up to fight. After quickly beating him as well, Angeal decided to join in on the fun and give Sephiroth a real challenge. He lasted longer than the two civilians, knowing Sephiroth’s fighting style well, but was ultimately defeated. By that point, quite a crowd had gathered around to watch the battles, with many people cheering Sephiroth on loudly.

Genesis, feeling cocky, had challenged Sephiroth after that, and even though he put up a good fight, still eventually lost. With a huff, Genesis made his way out of the small arena back to where Angeal was standing, while Sephiroth stayed in the center of the ring, wooden sword still in hand.

"Well, ladies and gentlemen, that makes four wins for our reigning champion here!" The announcer called out to the cheering crowd. "That means, this next battle is for the crown and tonight's grand prize… the golden mask!"

The crowd roared. The golden mask was a free ticket into one of the most exclusive parties of the year, even some of the directors from Shinra attended, not that Sephiroth actually cared about the prize. He didn’t need the mask to get into the party, not that he planned on attending it either way.

"However," that announcer spoke again, quieting the crowd, "that means we need one more brave soul to step into the ring. Do we have anyone who is up to that challenge?"

The crowd murmured amongst themselves. After seeing Sephiroth easily defeat the first two people willing to fight, and then defeating both Angeal and Genesis, no one seemed foolish enough to step into the ring.

"I guess no one's willing to fight our dear old Sephiroth." Genesis let out a wistful sigh.

As Angeal opened his mouth to reply, he was cut off by a sudden voice within the crowd.

"I'll do it," the mystery voice called from the audience, but neither Genesis nor Angeal could seem to pin point where the man was.

Genesis had also taken note of how Sephiroth had perked up upon hearing the voice, although his face showed nothing.

A masked figure suddenly emerged from the audience, all but materializing at the edge of the crowd.

Genesis took note of the odd outfit (although who was he to judge). The outfit was mainly black and white, but featured many red and gold accents as well.

He wore a single black metal shoulder pauldron, which was connected to the cape draped over his shoulder. The exterior of the cape was black with gold accents across the face of it, and there was a deep maroon lining on the inside.

A red sash circled around his center, accentuating the man's thin waist. A leather belt on top of it, with a large metal buckle at the front, the shape resembling a tear drop. Genesis assumed the symbol on the front was some sort of insignia although he had never seen that one before. A hood covered the man's head, and the red and gold volto mask covered his face.

The man confidently made his way towards the announcer and into the ring.

"Ladies and Gentlemen, looks like we have a willing sacrifice!" The announcer exclaimed to the cheering crowd, earning him a couple laughs from the audience.

Cloud walked over to the swords, picking one up and giving it a couple test swings.

By this point, the crowd began to murmur as everyone could see the size of Cloud. His small stature is even more apparent once next to Sephiroth's overwhelming height (and width).

"If I win, do I get the prize?" Cloud asked the announcer, much to the man's surprise.

"Sure, kid," the announcer let out a laugh, "if you manage to beat him, we will crown you champion instead."

The audience also apparently found Cloud’s question hilarious but he paid them no mind, only nodding in response to the announcer.

Cloud finally turned towards Sephiroth, acknowledging the man for the first time since stepping into the ring. He moved toward the center of the ring, standing opposite from Sephiroth, as he raised his sword into a ready stance.

Cloud examined his opponent. A mask covered almost all of Sephiroth's face, only a U-shaped cut out at the bottom leaving his mouth exposed, and Cloud could see the amused smirk on his face as he watched Cloud, unmoving. Although Sephiroth couldn’t see his face, Cloud was sure Sephiroth could tell he was sporting a similar grin.

Slowly, Sephiroth entered into his own ready stance. With the blade parallel to the ground, he raised the hilt of the sword towards his face, wrists crossing in front of him, with the tip pointed straight at Cloud as he moved his weight towards his back leg.

Both Genesis and Angeal took note of Sephiroth's choice of stance. This was one he used when he was about to take a fight seriously, not when he was supposed to be fighting a stranger during a carnival minigame. They gave each other a curious glance before returning their eyes to the ring, not wanting to miss a second of the incoming battle.

Sephiroth waited to see if Cloud would make the first move but the man remained unwavering in his position. Sephiroth suddenly launched forward towards Cloud with impressive speed, aiming a cross slash at him.

The crowd gasped at Sephiroth's sudden attack, but they were left speechless when the other man didn't immediately crumple under the force of it, instead successfully blocking the blow. Cloud knew his form was a little sloppy, but Sephiroth hadn't given him much of a chance to warm up.

Sephiroth was relentless with his attacks, knowing exactly how much power he could put into his swings without the wooden swords breaking. Cloud continued to deflect and dodge the incoming blows with ease, more confident now that he had a better feel for the weight and durability of the wooden sword.

Cloud had mainly been on the defensive, falling into step with Sephiroth while maintaining some distance. Perfectly deflecting and blocking all of Sephiroth's attacks, as they practically danced across the small arena.

The swords were swinging too fast for most of the audience to know what was actually going on, simply listening to the crack of the wooden swords as they slapped together with impressive force, but Genesis and Angeal were able to keep up with every swing. They were left speechless by Cloud's performance, the man showing no signs of exhaustion despite Sephiroth's endless onslaught.

Cloud noticed the grin still plastered across Sephiroth's face and decided it was time to switch things up. Suddenly, Cloud parried one of Sephiroth's blows, shifting his feet slightly before rushing in with a counterattack and closing much of the distance between them.

Sephiroth moved quickly and was able to block the blow but couldn’t regain the distance between the two of them. Cloud took the lead, sending an endless stream of attacks back towards Sephiroth. Cloud was a little faster and more agile than Sephiroth, his smaller size giving him the advantage when fighting in such close proximity.

Sephiroth tried to regain the upper hand but Cloud wouldn’t give him the chance. As Sephiroth continued to back away, dodging and blocking Cloud's attacks, he found himself trapped between the edge of the arena and the man in front of him.

Sephiroth parried another one of Cloud's blows, counterattacking right after, but as if Cloud was waiting for Sephiroth to try that specific move, Cloud's eyes lit up as he sprung into action.

With amazing speed and accuracy, Cloud parried the attack, using the momentum of his own weapon and angle of the swing to dislodge the sword from Sephiroth’s hand, disarming him as the sword flew away into the empty corner of the ring. The force from being disarmed had caused Sephiroth to stumble forward, landing down on one knee.

The fight came to a conclusion with Sephiroth kneeling on the ground, and Cloud standing tall in front of him. The blade of Cloud's sword was aimed at Sephiroth's throat, hovering just below his chin and forcing Sephiroth to tilt his head up and back, eyes locked with Cloud’s.

For a moment, not a single person in the audience made a sound, the only noise that could be heard came from Cloud and Sephiroth's heavy breathing. It wasn't until Sephiroth slowly raised two hands in defeat that the crowd went up in a roar.

The two were frozen in their position for a moment, their eyes pinned to each other, before Cloud eventually lowered the sword from Sephiroth’s throat, and extended a hand to help Sephiroth up. Sephiroth hesitated for a moment before taking Cloud’s hand and getting to his feet. Once standing, Cloud released Sephiroth’s hand and for a moment, Cloud was sure Sephiroth had looked disappointed by the loss of contact.

Cloud turned to return his sword to the weapon rack but was stopped by Sephiroth.

“Congratulations on your win.” Sephiroth quickly praised, as Cloud slowly turned to face him again.

“Thanks,” Cloud smirked, “you put up a good fight.”

Sephiroth grinned at the complement, but when Cloud turned to leave again Sephiroth suddenly stopped him once more.

“Wait,” Sephiroth called as he reached out, lightly grabbing Cloud’s sleeve, and preventing his escape. “Can I at least get your name?” Sephiroth asked in an almost timid manner.

Cloud paused for a moment, looking down at Sephiroth’s hand before meeting his gaze again, an amused look in his eyes.

“Do you think you’ve earned it?” Cloud questioned, and Sephiroth could hear the teasing tone in the words, “I believe the score is now 2-0.”

Sephiroth was confused for only a moment, trying to remember if they had battled once already, before he remembered how Cloud had slipped away from him during the chase through Sector 8. He could barely huff a laugh in response before the man turned away once again, returning his sword and going to collect his prize, while Sephiroth was left to deal with his friends who undoubtedly had questions regarding what they just witnessed.

“Who was that?” Genesis asked in an accusing tone as Sephiroth exited the arena.

“I’m wondering that myself,” Sephiroth laughed lightly, a grin still plastered to his face. “So, what next?” Sephiroth asked his friends as he looked around to see what else the carnival had to offer.

Genesis and Angeal just looked at each other, eyes wide as they wondered if they were seeing the same thing. Sephiroth just lost in a sword fight… Sephiroth just lost in a sword fight. The man who had never been defeated even once by his friends, and who was now microdosing mako, just lost to a stranger in a sword fight!?

But, the most shocking thing of all… Sephiroth was smiling.

—

Chapter Text

Chapter 5: Ace up my Sleeve

—

~1 year earlier

July, 2000

Sector 7 Slums

—

After Cloud had asked Barret for his help in his pursuit to take down Shinra, Barret had revealed to Cloud the secret hideout in the basement of Seventh Heaven. That night, Cloud discovered Barret was not only the leader of the Neighbourhood Watch, but also the leader of Avalanche, an anti-Shinra resistance group that wanted to save the planet.

Barret had introduced Cloud to the other members of his team. There were only three other people already in the hideout when they arrived, and Cloud had met two of them already. Biggs and Wedge were members of the Neighbourhood Watch, so Cloud had worked with them during previous jobs for Barret, but the woman with them was someone new.

“Ooo, fresh meat?” The girl grinned as she eyed Cloud.

“Hey, Cloud!” Wedge eagerly greeted upon seeing him, and Biggs gave a small wave.

“Hey, guys,” Cloud nodded at Biggs and Wedge.

“What? No fair,” the girl pouted towards the other two, “you guys already know each other?”

“Well, looks like you already know Biggs and Wedge,” Barret cut in, “Cloud, meet Jessie.”

“So you're the new Merc, huh?” Jessie grinned, “Nice to meet ya.”

“Jessie is Avalanche's go-to girl. Anything you need, from mechanics to computer hacking, this girl can help.” Barret continued.

“How would you guys ever survive without me?” Jessie teased, earning a scoff from Barret.

Cloud was impressed by Jessie's role with Avalanche, perhaps she would prove to be more useful to him than he originally thought. Maybe along with helping decipher the Codex page she would be able to fix his broken blade too.

After the brief introductions, Barret excused himself, taking Biggs and Wedge with him and allowing Cloud and Jessie to speak in private. Barret understood this was a personal matter for Cloud, and the fewer people that know about it, the better.

Along with the computer and multiple monitors mounted to the wall, the hideout also included a workbench with various tools, gadgets, and miscellaneous parts spread across the counter space.

“So, what exactly do you do for Avalanche?” Cloud asked as he looked around her small workshop.

“Lots of things,” Jessie shrugged, “getting counterfeit IDs, making explosives, procuring other tools or information needed for missions, stuff like that. I like those sorts of things, bombs and monitors…you know, flashy stuff.” Jessie smiled.

“How did you end up working for Avalanche?” Cloud asked.

“Long story short, while looking into the impacts mako harvesting was having on the planet, I met Barret and the others. We had similar interests and shared goals, and the rest is history.” She explained.

Cloud knew there was more to it than that, but he understood the need for some secrecy. Either way, it seemed Jessie wanted to take down Shinra as much as him and was willing to help, which was good enough for him.

“So, what can I do for ya?” Jessie asked.

“Do you think you would be able to repair something of mine?” Cloud asked as he pulled out his broken blade and bracer.

“Sure! Bring it here and I can take a look,” Jessie smiled as she cleared a space on the table for him.

Cloud placed the broken blade and bracer in front of her.

“Wow, this is super cool!” Her eyes lit up upon seeing the bracer, “Where did you even get something like this?” She asked as she leaned in to take a closer look at all the bits and pieces.

“It was my father's,” Cloud answered briefly as he watched her fiddle with the various mechanisms on the bracer, “do you think you can fix it?”

“Hmmm, I'm not sure,” she frowned, “despite its age, the construction is rather advanced. I've never seen anything quite like it,” she answered with both awe and disappointment, "unfortunately, without the original plans I don't think there's much I can do. I'm really sorry, Cloud.”

“That's alright,” Cloud gave her a small smile despite his disappointment.

“Is there anything else I can do for you?” Jessie asked, “Barret said you needed something deciphered?”

“Oh yeah,” Cloud pulled out the Codex page, “here.” He handed it over to Jessie.

Jessie unrolled the document and examined the page.

“Wow, this is some serious encryption, I don’t think I recognize the code… but with enough time I'm sure I could unravel it!” Jessie grinned up at Cloud.

“I've got time,” Cloud shrugged.

“Do you have any more information on what the document might say? It could help me with deciphering it.” Jessie asked.

Cloud shook his head no.

“Wait a minute… these sketches…” Jessie’s eyes analyzed the page again, “was this also from your father?”

“Yeah, how did you know?”

“If my guess is correct, I think this might show me how to fix your blade.” Jessie looked up at Cloud, her eyes shining with excitement, “do you mind leaving the bracer and blade here with me? I think if I decipher the document I'll be able to fix the blade as well!”

“No problem. Not like I was using it anyway,” Cloud agreed, “any idea how long it will take?”

“Not sure,” Jessie shrugged, “could be anywhere from a couple days to a couple weeks, just depends on how hard it is to decipher the document, and how detailed the instructions for fixing the blade are.”

“I leave it to you, then,” Cloud sighed a breath of relief. “Although, there is one more thing…”

Jessie paused what she was doing to look at Cloud.

“If you do decipher it, there may be more to the document than just instructions on how to fix the blade. Information no one else can know about.” Cloud warned.

“My lips… are zipped,” Jessie joked as she pretended to zip her lips shut, and Cloud sighed, not sure she was taking this seriously enough. “Don’t worry, I won’t tell anyone,” she laughed, sensing Cloud’s hesitancy, “it’ll be our little secret, I promise.” She said with a wink and Cloud just shook his head.

Hopefully Jessie would be able to handle it. She seemed to be eager to get started right away, so Cloud left her to do her thing. He would have to return in a couple days for an update.

—

1 month ago

August, 2001

Sector 5 Slums

—

Cloud shut the door behind him as he entered his apartment. It had been about five months since the assassination of Palmer. Since then, Cloud had been doing his best to remain under the radar while he prepared for his next assassination. During that time, he had also picked up a couple jobs from Barret. Unfortunately, assassinations didn't pay the bills.

Today, it was Cloud’s 20th birthday. Tifa had been adamant they do something to celebrate his birthday, along with the rest of the group, but Cloud had convinced them to do it during the weekend rather than on his actual night of his birthday, which this year fell on a Wednesday.

After changing into something more comfortable, Cloud made his way to his kitchen. He took out the small cake he had in the fridge, and cut two pieces out of it. After taking the two plates of cake to the living room, Cloud grabbed the lone framed photo he had in his bedroom.

Only one picture had managed to survive the fire after his home burnt down two years ago, and it was of his mother. He had found the photo while he was searching for the chest from his father.

He placed the framed photo in front of one of the slices of cake, while he grabbed the other one for himself.

“Well, Ma. It’s my birthday today.” He said with a somber tone, before taking a small bite of the cake. “I thought you’d still want to celebrate together this year, even if you’re not able to be here.”

Cloud couldn’t believe it had been two years. Two years since he woke up in that clearing, two years since his mother died in his arms, two years since his journey as an Assassin began.

“I did what you said… following in Dad’s footsteps, continuing his legacy.” Cloud spoke softly, “it hasn't been easy, but… I want to make you proud. I just…I just wish you had told me more about it,” Cloud sighed. “There’s still so many things I don't understand.”

He pushed the cake around on his plate for a moment, before eventually putting it down on the coffee table again, his appetite diminishing.

“Palmer is gone, and in one month, Scarlet will be, too.” Cloud affirmed.

The two executives that had been there during the Nibelheim Incident. Cloud knew it was bigger than that, that these two were not the only ones involved, and someone else was leading the Templars, and as a result, controlling Shinra, but there was still a sort of satisfaction about getting revenge on the ones directly responsible for his mother’s death.

Cloud knew he couldn’t let himself be consumed by the desire for revenge. He had let his emotions get the best of him during Palmer’s death, and he was thankful Vincent had been there to step in and guide him, preventing him from becoming just as evil as the ones he was fighting against, but that didn’t mean he wasn’t still eager to deal with Scarlet, and get vengeance for his mothers death.

Cloud looked at the mask Jessie had gotten for him for the Carnival. The plan was already in place for Scarlet’s assassination, all that was left to do was wait till September.

—

2001

Kalm

Present day

—

After defeating Sephiroth in the wooden sword fighting competition, Cloud had his hands on the golden mask, his ticket into the most exclusive party of the year…one Scarlet never missed.

The party was an over-the-top celebration to mark the final day of the Carnival, where the attendees got to flaunt their wealth through elaborate dresses, costumes, and masks adorned with gold, jewels, and feathers.

It was held inside the historic Clock Tower in the center of town, giving the elite party goers a view of the festivities below, as well as the surrounding grasslands and ocean. The building next door was owned by Shinra, and the rooms on one of the floors were used to accommodate the wealthiest of guests attending the event, as opposed to the lone inn in town, where most of the visiting civilians stayed during the Carnival.

The building next door also housed a missing Codex page. Of course, Cloud had no direct way of accessing the building, considering he was not part of the wealthy elite. But, with his golden mask he did have access to the Clock Tower connected to it.

Cloud made his way up the steps towards the large Clock Tower. He was thankful the golden mask covered his whole face, considering it made it easier for him to remain anonymous. Unsurprisingly, there was security at the entrance, barring anyone not welcome from entering the party. As Cloud approached one of the guards they gave him a dirty look.

“Sorry, pal. This event is invite only. No invitation, no access.” The guard huffed, blocking Cloud from entering while barely even giving him the time of day.

Clearly, Cloud’s outfit screamed ‘poor’ compared to the elaborate costumes of the people inside the party, and the guard (correctly) assumed Cloud had not received an invitation to the event. However, Cloud glared anyway as he looked up at the guard, simply pointing at the mask on his face.

“Oh,” the guard's eyes widened slightly, though he still looked at Cloud like he was an inconvenience, “didn’t realize you had the golden mask. Fine, you can go in,” he huffed as he opened the way for Cloud, letting him into the party.

Cloud took a few steps into the building, looking at the elaborate party around him. There were decorations all over the room, hanging from the ceiling and railings of the staircase. People stood around the tall tables, covered with decorative tablecloths and half empty glasses of champagne. Servers, all dressed in well tailored suits, were moving through the crowd of party goers, providing fresh beverages for any empty hands.

The door opened again behind Cloud just a few moments later as another guest arrived at the party.

“Right this way, ma’am.” The guard’s demeanor was completely different compared to when he had talked to Cloud just moments ago. “Please enjoy the party.”

“Oh, I will,” Scarlet smirked as she blew past the guard and into the room.

Scarlet was wearing her signature red color, an elegant crimson gown with a deep V neck line and thigh high slit, along with a red and gold colombina mask that covered half her face. The mask was adorned with feathers, gold accents, and crimson jewels which sparkled in the lights. The jewels on the mask matched the earrings and bracelet she wore. The mask was connected to a small stick which allowed her to hold it up to her face.

Scarlet stopped when she saw Cloud near the entrance, looking down at him as if he was a stray dog that had wandered in off the street. Cloud felt just as much disgust towards her, but at least he was a little better at hiding his emotions.

“Are you lost, little boy?” She mocked as she looked down at Cloud, “this party is for adults only. Children should go play elsewhere,” Scarlet laughed as she pushed past him.

It took all of Cloud’s strength to keep quiet. As much as he wanted to make a joke about Scarlet’s age, he couldn’t let himself get thrown out of the party immediately after arriving, not before he finished what he came here to do.

After that encounter, Cloud stuck to the corners and shadows, doing his best to remain out of sight while he waited for the right moment to slip away, which wasn’t hard considering most people didn’t even offer him a second glance. He watched Scarlet from afar, doing his best to listen in as she mingled with the wealthiest of attendees, sucking up to them as she begged for more money for Shinra.

Once the majority of attendees were adequately intoxicated, the mayor of Kalm drew everyone’s attention as he gave a speech. During this time, while everyone was distracted, Cloud used the opportunity to slip out one of the windows, dropping down onto the roof of the building next door, and using an open window on the top floor to get into the Shinra building.

Thankfully, the guests who were using the Shinra building as accommodation were still busy at the party, along with most of the security, so the building was almost completely empty. Cloud quickly made his way to one of the head offices on the other end of the floor. Picking the lock on the door, he made his way into the office, shutting the door behind him.

Cloud started riffling through the office, searching for any sign of the Codex page. He found a hidden safe and figured the Codex page was inside. Cloud searched through the desk and filing cabinets for a code to the safe but was running out of time. Suddenly, Cloud remembered he had the power of the sixth sense, and wondered if it would help him.

His sixth sense highlighted the fingerprints on the safes keypad. Only four numbers had prints on them so Cloud prayed it was only a four digit code. Cloud tried a few different combinations but the small light kept flashing red. He was running out of time, and was beginning to worry that too many incorrect attempts would result in him being locked out of the safe for good.

With a deep breath, Cloud tried one more combination and almost jumped for joy when the light flashed green and the safe unlocked with a click. Thankfully, Cloud was right, and the Codex page was inside. Cloud carefully grabbed the document, tucking it safely into one of his inner pockets, before shutting the safe and getting ready to head back to the party.

With the Codex page now in his possession, Cloud thought about his next move. Recovering the Codex page was just one part of tonight's mission. The other goal… kill Scarlet.

This was one of the few days of the year where Scarlet left the Shinra Headquarters in Midgar. If Cloud didn't kill her tonight, it would likely be months before he would get another opportunity. Ideally, Cloud wanted to confront Scarlet without others around, but he wasn't sure how to get her away from the party.

Cloud made sure everything in the office was back to the way it was before he came in before leaving. He turned off the lights and shut the door behind him while brainstorming ways to get Scarlet away from the party.

Maybe he could accidentally spill a drink on her, that way she would have to leave to get cleaned up, then he could follow her and confront her once alone…but that option risked Scarlet killing him on the spot for ruining her dress.

“What do you think you're doing?” An accusing voice suddenly called from behind Cloud causing him to freeze.

Guess he didn't need to worry about finding a way to get her alone.

“This is a restricted area. Not for children.” She huffed as her high heels clicked loudly against the stone floor.

Cloud turned to face Scarlet in the empty hallway, thankful he had put his mask back on before leaving the office.

“You again?” Scarlet frowned at Cloud, “What are you doing here?” She eyed him before smirking, “let me guess, you lost your mommy?” She asked in a mocking tone.

Cloud's eye twitched in anger, and he was glad the mask covered his facial expressions. He ducked his head down while looking at his feet, trying to make himself appear smaller.

“I did…” he spoke softly, “but, maybe you know where she went?” He looked up at Scarlet.

“Why would I know anything about your mother?” Scarlet scoffed.

“You were there… the last time I saw her.”

“Ugh, I don’t have time for this, kid,” Scarlet huffed as she crossed her arms, “I don’t know you, and I sure as hell don't know where your mother is. But, I do know you’re not supposed to be up here–”

“Perhaps you need a refresher,” Cloud cut her off, “I know memory issues are common for people your age.” Cloud grinned under his mask as Scarlet’s face twitched in anger.

“You little…” Scarlet growled.

“You may not remember me, but I remember you.” Cloud took a step towards Scarlet as anger overtook his tone, causing her to tense, “You were there that day, when I last saw my mother. The day she died in my arms… the day my hometown burned to the ground…” Cloud spat. With every sentence Cloud took a step closer to Scarlet, but she held strong in her position, arms crossed, as she glared down at Cloud. “You see, you were there that day in Nibelheim…just like Palmer had been there,” Cloud growled, “the real question is not if you were there, but why?”

At this point, Scarlet finally took a step back as Cloud encroached on her.

“So… you’re the brat that killed Palmer? Not that I’m complaining, that man was insufferable with all his whining,” Scarlet laughed, though Cloud could still hear the fear in her voice, “But, unfortunately, your little revenge streak ends here.”

Scarlet suddenly reached for the dagger she had been hiding under her dress, strapped to her leg, and Cloud jumped back as she swung it at him.

Scarlet was the head of the Advanced Weaponry department, so Cloud wasn't surprised she kept a weapon on her, or that she knew how to use it. He had actually expected she'd put up a lot more of a fight than Palmer.

“Don't worry, I won't kill you,” Scarlet cackled as she gave Cloud a maniacal grin, “Hojo has been begging for more test subjects lately.”

Scarlet swiped at Cloud again, but this time he blocked the blow as he pulled out his own dagger, the sound of their clashing blades echoing throughout the empty hallway. No matter how well she wielded her blade, after his battle with Sephiroth earlier, fighting Scarlet was a walk in the park for Cloud.

At some point, once Cloud had put up enough of a fight for her, Scarlet clearly gave up on the idea of capturing him alive, aiming more and more for vital spots as her anger took over, but Cloud continued to block and dodge every attack.

On the next swing of Scarlet’s dagger, Cloud blocked the blow, but let his own dagger slip from his grip during the attack, the blade crashing down to the floor. He looked down at his dagger on the floor before looking back at Scarlet.

Thinking she had successfully disarmed him, Scarlet gave Cloud an evil grin as she went in for the killing blow. Believing that she had already won, Scarlet had let her own defenses slip, providing Cloud with a small opening.

At the last second, Cloud dodged the incoming blow, bringing his hand towards her stomach where the blade hidden within his bracer shot out, plunging deep into her abdomen before retracting back into hiding.

The grin fell from her face as fast as her dagger fell to the floor. She took a few steps back as her hands clutched her stomach.

“Impossible…” Scarlet looked down at her hands stained with blood the same color as her dress, “You… you killed me? You killed me?!” Scarlet snarled as blood began pooling at her feet. She tried to take a step towards Cloud but her legs grew weak, as her complexion paled.

Cloud quickly caught her as she began to collapse to the floor.

“Where is the Apple of Eden?” Cloud asked as he held her, lowering her down to the ground, “What have you done with it?”

Scarlet let out a weak laugh, “it’s gone, you fool.” She tried to put venom into her words, but it sounded more pitiful than anything else.

“What do you mean it's gone?” Cloud questioned.

“I mean it’s gone. Destroyed!” She gave Cloud a wry grin, “Stupid thing self destructed before we could use it…taking poor little Nibelheim with it.” Scarlet laughed weakly, still acting like her usual cruel self even on death's doorstep

“Then why is Corneo still funding ‘Project A’?” Cloud demanded.

“Did you really think there was only one Piece of Eden out there? When we find another piece, our work will continue,” Scarlet rasped, her breathing getting weaker by the second, “and we won’t stop until we get what we want.”

“I see,” Cloud replied with a somber tone, “I’m sorry it had to end like this. May your mind and body at last be still.” As Scarlet took her last breath, Cloud laid her body to rest, gently shutting her eyes as he sent her off with her last rites, “May Gaia guide your soul.”

Cloud gave her one last look before picking up his dagger. Hearing footsteps heading his way, Cloud quickly made his exit. As he climbed out the window onto the fire escape, he could hear commotion from inside, and moments later he could see guards rushing in and out of the building.

He dropped to the ground before blending into the nearby crowd. With the Codex page in his possession and Scarlet dead, all that was left was to escape the town and head back to Midgar. His bike, Fenrir, was waiting for him just outside of town, carefully hidden out of sight.

Security had been quick to respond to Scarlet's death, so guards were already moving to block the entrance and exits to the town, preventing anyone from coming or going, as they searched the streets for the killer.

Thankfully, Cloud had already secured another way out of town, he just needed to make it to the Kalm Inn without being detected. He tried to sneak across town using the back alleys, but the guards were quick to start searching the town for the killer, and he could hear two coming down the alley in his direction.

Thanks to the historic architecture of the town, the stone walls and decorative trimmings of the residential buildings acted like the perfect ladder for Cloud, allowing him to climb to the roof easily, and avoiding the guards coming his way.

The overhead mako pipelines provided a secret shortcut across town, allowing Cloud to make it over to the inn quickly, and without being seen.

Once inside, the innkeeper, Broden, who also happened to be a friend of Avalanche, recognized Cloud and wordlessly opened the door to the backroom for him, giving him access to the secret underground tunnel that connected to the outside world. Using the secret passage, Cloud successfully made it out of town and into the open grasslands.

Cloud let out a sigh of relief when he made it to his bike. Pulling Fenrir out of its hiding spot, Cloud hopped on and began the journey back to Midgar. He would have to bring the Codex page to Jessie so she could decipher it, but that was a problem for tomorrow.

The ride back to Midgar was calming. He always felt more at peace when he cruised down the long, empty highways on his bike. It was nice to finally be alone after being surrounded by the crowds of people in Kalm.

Cloud couldn’t help but think back to his interaction with Sephiroth. He hadn’t expected him to be at the Carnival, much less participating in any of the mini games. Cloud’s plan relied on him winning the golden mask to gain access to the party, but he didn’t think any of the mini game participants would be much of a challenge for Cloud to defeat.

Seeing Sephiroth in the ring had been a bit of a shock. At first, Cloud debated if he should just find another way into the party, but in the end, he couldn’t deny the fact that he wanted to try fighting Sephiroth, at least to get a gauge of the man's strength and abilities. After all, Jessie had said Sephiroth was one of Shinra’s best SOLDIERs.

It was a risk to show himself to Sephiroth, but the Carnival was all about costumes and disguises, pretending to be someone else for a night. Even if Sephiroth knew it was him, his mask still provided him with some anonymity, and hopefully Sephiroth wouldn’t try anything in front of so many civilians. He had been right, thankfully, and if anything, Sephiroth had been just as excited for an opportunity to clash blades with Cloud.

The fight proved to be even better than he thought. Sephiroth was strong, and he definitely knew how to wield a sword, even if it was just a wooden one. But the thing Cloud really couldn’t stop thinking about was Sephiroth’s eyes.

Cloud wasn’t sure how or why, but he was certain Sephiroth’s eyes had contained new specks of glowing green, just like Cloud’s. Unfortunately, Cloud wasn’t sure why Sephiroth’s eyes had changed, or what had caused the change in the first place. Cloud didn’t even really understand how or why his own eyes had changed.

Just one more mystery to add to the stack of growing questions Cloud needed answered.

Upon making it back to his apartment in the Sector 5 slums, Cloud couldn’t help but feel relief over the day finally coming to an end. After a quick shower Cloud immediately crawled under his covers, welcoming the warm embrace of his bed as sleep quickly washed over him.

—

When Cloud opened his eyes it was his 11th birthday. He had just finished eating dinner with his mom and now it was time for cake and presents. It had become tradition for birthdays to be celebrated by just the two of them.

Claudia sang Happy Birthday to him as she brought the cake from the kitchen to the dining room, eleven candles burning bright on top of it.

“Make a wish,” Claudia smiled as she placed the cake in front of him. Cloud took a deep breath before blowing them all out in one go.

His mom asked what he wished for but he wouldn't tell her. If he did, it wouldn't come true, and he needed all the luck he could get in order to achieve his dream of meeting the great SOLDIER 1st Class Sephiroth.

When they finished with the cake, Claudia handed Cloud his birthday present. After carefully removing the wrapping Cloud was overjoyed when he saw the framed poster of his hero. His first poster of Sephiroth!

He immediately ran upstairs to his room to hang it on his wall, right in front of his bed. Cloud couldn't help but get lost in those bright green eyes that seemed to stare back at him just as intensely.

~~~

Sephiroth had been Cloud’s gay awakening (which wasn't too surprising since Nibelheim didn't provide Cloud with many other options), and over the years his obsession with the famous SOLDIER only grew. By his mid-teens, his room had practically turned into a shrine for the man.

His early teenage years also meant puberty, which brought along hormonal changes, resulting in many late nights dreaming about those mesmerizing eyes, and just as many mornings spent showering and changing dirty sheets as a result of said dreams.

~~~

Cloud sat on the watertower as he gazed up at the clear night sky, the stars shining bright above.

“Heya.” Tifa called from behind him, “so…what did you wanna talk about?” She asked as she sat near Cloud.

“When spring comes, I’m leaving town and going to Midgar.” Cloud explained.

“Should’ve figured. All the guys are leaving.” Tifa sighed.

“B-but, I’m not like them.” Cloud defended, “I’m not going just to look for work. I’m gonna be a SOLDIER.” Cloud looked to the night sky with determination, “the best of the best. Like Sephiroth.”

“The great war hero, huh? Mm… Isn’t it pretty hard to become SOLDIER?” She asked.

“Yeah. So I won’t be back for a long time.” Cloud replied.

“Guess not. Think you’ll be in the papers?” Tifa wondered.

“I’ll try.” Cloud promised.

~~~

Cloud packed the last of his belongings into his bag. He was leaving for Midgar today to join the cadets. Of course, he wouldn't be bringing everything with him, a lot of it would be remaining at home in his old bedroom (like all of his Sephiroth memorabilia).

Cloud gave one last look around his room, saying goodbye to the posters that covered his once empty walls. Cloud was going to join SOLDIER, and become a hero just like him. Not that anyone in Nibelheim believed he would achieve his goals, but he would show them.

~~~

Cloud didn't make SOLDIER, and he definitely didn't want to return to Nibelheim with his tail tucked between his legs, so instead, he had settled for the infantry. He could always try for SOLDIER again next year.

Unfortunately, Cloud was going to have to return to Nibelheim anyways, this time for a mission. Not wanting people in town to recognize him and realize he hadn’t made SOLDIER, he vowed to keep his helmet on the whole time. Hopefully the actual SOLDIERs on the mission would be enough of a distraction for Cloud to slip by the town's residents undetected.

He had achieved his dream though, as the mission to Nibelheim was led by none other than SOLDIER 1st Class Sephiroth. Cloud wasn’t sure he had made a very good first impression though, since the entire ride over involved Cloud trying not to throw up from motion sickness. Cloud was certain the only reason he had managed to keep the contents of his stomach from coming up was due to the pure embarrassment he would have felt by barfing in front of his hero after just meeting him.

~~~

Cloud coughed as he lay on the ground in the main town square, thick smoke filling his lungs as the heat from the fire danced across his skin. He watched as the flames around him engulfed his entire hometown in red.

“Ma…” Cloud weakly called out, his hand reaching out towards his burning home, but too weak to move his body any closer.

His attention was drawn towards the figure standing tall amongst the flames. The silhouette created by the bright flames in the background was all too familiar. The leather coat, the shine of the eerily long sword that was held loosely in his grip, the long flowing silver hair.

Slowly the figure turned towards him. The mako green eyes seemed to glow ominously in the night as they stared down at Cloud. Slowly, a small smile broke out across the man's face, making him look all the more sinister.

Cloud felt himself consumed by both overwhelming anger and unbearable sadness as his voice called out to the man.

“Sephiro–”

—

Cloud sat up straight in his bed as he tried to slow his rapidly beating heart. He took a couple deep breaths, letting them out slowly, as he tried to process what he just saw.

Cloud could feel his emotions flying all over the place as he thought about his latest dream. Growing up in Nibelheim with his mother, his admiration for Sephiroth, his friendship with Tifa, and dreams of joining SOLDIER. The feeling of hatred as his whole world came crashing down around him at the hands of the man he once called a hero.

After Cloud had dreamt of Sephiroth the first time so many months ago, he wondered if it had been a glimpse into the future or a memory from a distant past, but either way, it had felt like a warning, the strange voice that had instructed him to ‘save Gaia’ echoing through his head once again.

Now, Cloud was certain about one thing. These last two dreams, they were memories. His memories…his real ones.

—

Chapter Text

Chapter 6: Prophecies and Pickpockets

—

~1 year earlier

August, 2000

Sector 7 Slums

—

“Cloud! Perfect timing, I just finished!” Jessie smiled as Cloud made his way into the hideout.

“Hey, Jessie. What did you finish?” He replied as he made his way over to where she was sitting at her work station.

“The blade! I managed to decode that document you gave me, and it showed me exactly what to do.” She showed him the bracer that was now in one piece.

“That’s great,” Cloud sighed a breath of relief as he reached for the bracer, but Jessie moved it out of reach before he could grab it.

“There is one more thing though…” Jessie explained as she put the bracer down and picked up a knife, “I need to remove your ring finger.”

“What?” Cloud asked in shock, but the look on Jessie’s face said she was serious.

“I’m sorry, but this is how it must be done.” She let out a mournful sigh, “The blade is designed to ensure the commitment of whoever wields it.”

“Fine.” Cloud sighed as he put his finger down on the table, “do it quickly.”

Cloud couldn’t help but flinch as Jessie brought the knife down, he grit his teeth and closed his eyes as he waited for the pain to hit, but instead, with a loud bang, Jessie stuck the knife into the table next to his hand. He opened his eyes to see his finger still intact and glared at Jessie for her prank as she let out a laugh.

“I’m sorry, I was just having some fun,” she said through her giggles, “though the blade once required a sacrifice, it’s been modified since then. You can keep your finger.” She informed him, and Cloud sighed in relief.

She handed him the bracer and Cloud slipped it on, testing out the new weapon as the blade extended from its hiding spot within the bracer, before retracting back in.

“Incredible…” Cloud examined the bracer with awe.

“Here,” Jessie said, pulling his attention away from the bracer as she handed him two pieces of paper, “the original document, and the information it contained, decoded on a separate page for you.”

“Thanks,” Cloud grabbed the two documents, unrolling the decoded information.

—

Although their leader may be dead, the Templar Order survives, though less conspicuous in appearance. Where they once walked the streets–making for easier targets–now they retreat into the shadows. It grows difficult to track them. What wicked things will they weave in the darkness? It has made me realize our tactics, too, must change. We must weave our webs quietly. And we must do so differently than we have in the past.

I ask my brothers to abandon their rituals, though I do not ask that they abandon the creed. This is what makes us Assassins. Not the removal of a finger. Not the false promise of paradise. Not the prohibition of poison. Our duty is to the people, not to custom. If we must sneak, we will sneak. If we must use poison, we shall use poison. If our blades can be used without removing fingers, we shall not demand they be taken. We shall not manipulate our initiates with lies and parlor tricks. We shall speak plainly and honestly. We shall be made anew…

The Hidden Blade has been a constant companion of ours over the years. Some would even say it defines us–and they would not be entirely wrong. Many of our successes would not have been possible without it. Still, the device has begun to show its age–and so I have been researching improvements beyond ending the need to remove one’s finger to wield it…

—

As Cloud read the document, he couldn’t help but wonder why Shinra would be after these pages. The way Vincent had warned him to keep it away from them, he thought there would be something a little more important hidden in the document, but this just sounded like a regular journal entry. It didn’t seem like it contained any top secret information Shinra would need.

“Do you have any other pages like that?” Jessie asked.

“No, just the one,” Cloud replied.

“Well, if you do happen to come across another one, please bring it to me, and I’ll help.” Jessie offered.

“I will. And thanks again for fixing this,” Cloud smiled.

“Anytime!” Jessie grinned.

—

A Few Weeks Later

September, 2000

Sector 5 Slums

—

Cloud shut the door behind him as he entered into his apartment, grateful for the day to finally be over. However his brief moment of peace was immediately interrupted upon sensing an intruder in his home. Cloud quickly spun around, and since his apartment was too small for him to be swinging his sword around, he used his hidden blade instead. He stopped with the blade extended and aimed at the intruder's throat, and yet the man didn't even flinch.

“Vincent!? What are you doing here?” Cloud suddenly exclaimed, “and how did you even know where I live?” He sighed as he retracted the blade.

Cloud hadn’t seen Vincent since they had met in Nibelheim, which felt like eons ago despite having been only a year and a bit. Since Vincent hadn’t given Cloud any information about himself (the only reason Cloud even knew Vincent’s name was thanks to Madam M), Cloud wasn’t sure when or if he’d ever see the man again.

“You deciphered the Codex page.” Vincent said as he looked at Cloud’s bracer, though Cloud wasn’t sure if that was meant to be a question or just a statement. “I trust you’ve met Madam M?”

“Yeah, I stumbled upon her shortly after arriving in Midgar,” Cloud sighed, realizing Vincent wasn’t going to answer his first questions, “she helped me to get settled, and then directed me towards someone who was able to fix the blade.”

“Good,” Vincent nodded.

Cloud figured if Vincent was here now, he must have been keeping tabs on him, even if Cloud hadn’t realized. After all, the timing of his arrival was too on the nose to just be coincidence. Vincent did say he would talk with Cloud only after he deciphered the Codex page, a task Cloud had finally completed only a few weeks prior.

“If you’ve come to find me, does that mean you’re finally ready to talk?” Cloud asked as he sat on his couch, sinking into the cushions.

Vincent didn’t verbally agree or disagree, but he did relax a bit, crossing his arms as he leaned against one of the counters. Taking that as a confirmation, Cloud thought about what to ask him first. He decided to start with a question he had been asking himself over and over again since their fateful encounter so many months ago.

“Back in Nibelheim, why did you decide to help me? I assume there was more to it than just the belt I was wearing.”

Vincent was quiet for a moment while he thought about his response.

“It was the power of your sixth sense.” Vincent eventually answered.

“Sixth sense?” Cloud gave Vincent an odd look, before remembering what his mother had once said, “is that what my ‘gift’ is called?”

“Gift, Eagle Vision, Odin’s Sight. It has been known by many names throughout the years, but the idea is the same.” Vincent explained, “Your eyes perceive what others cannot. A power found only in those whose blood traces back to the Precursors.”

“The Precursors…?” Cloud asked, confused.

“The ones that came before,” Vincent replied, as if that response helped answer Cloud’s question at all.

“Does that mean it’s a power all Assassin’s have?” Cloud asked instead.

“In a way. Think of it as an intuition, hidden deep within people… Some have it but never find it, others spend years slowly teasing it out. But, for a rare few, it comes as easy as breathing.” Vincent pointedly looked at Cloud, and Cloud figured that meant he was one of those rare few.

“How does it work? I've only used it once, when I was trying to find my father's chest. All I know is that one moment I was looking at burnt hallways and collapsed rooms, and the next I could suddenly see strange writing on the walls, leading me to its location.” Cloud wondered.

“Despite its name as the sixth sense, the power is closer to an enhancement of all of your senses, not just vision. What you see and feel with the sixth sense can be thought of as the light of life. Of living things past and present. The residue of vitality,” Vincent explained, “in general, those who possess the gift can instinctively sense how people and objects relate to them. It can be used to discern allies from enemies, or to locate targets within a crowd. You used it when you sensed my presence in Nibelheim, whether you realized it or not.”

“Is that what you meant when you said Madam M would ‘find me’ then?” Cloud asked.

“Precisely,” Vincent nodded, “Back in Nibelheim, your presence was… strong. You’ve gotten better at concealing it, and controlling the intensity, I assume Madam M showed you how, but I can still feel the underlying power hidden within the little that I can sense. I had been drawn to that strength, although it was unclear whether you were an enemy or not. I knew Madam M would notice your strength, too.”

“I see,” Cloud was still a little confused about parts of it, but at least he had some sort of understanding of the power now, “and what about the Codex page? Besides the instructions on how the hidden blade functioned, the rest of the information seemed more like a journal entry… Why is Shinra interested in it?” Cloud asked, recalling the warning Vincent had given him when they first met.

“The Codex was written by an Assassin like us. It is a guide to the inner workings of our order–its origin, purpose, and techniques. Our creed, if you will. When he died, the pages were encoded and scattered across Gaia. There are nine in total, you now have one of them, and I’ve found two others, but there are six still out there.”

“Okay, but that still doesn’t explain why Shinra would want them.” Cloud pointed out.

“The Assassin who wrote the Codex had held a Piece of Eden. Individually, the pages may not seem like much, but together, they hold a powerful secret. A prophecy hidden within the pages,” Vincent explained, “in the bits I’ve managed to make out, he spoke of something powerful and ancient hidden beneath the land, and predicted the arrival of a prophet who would use a Piece of Eden to open this vault.”

“What’s in the vault?” Cloud recalled his father’s letter mentioning a prophecy and powerful objects, but it hadn’t provided any details about it.

“What indeed. Solving that little mystery is exactly why we are collecting these pages.” Vincent explained, “as far as Shinra’s concerned, they believe the vault will lead them to the ‘promised land.’”

Well, that would explain why Shinra wanted it. The “Promised Land” was a place of ancient legend, believed to hold an infinite supply of mako. And for Shinra, infinite mako meant infinite wealth and power. Before Cloud could ask any more follow up questions, such as what a “Piece of Eden” even was, Vincent stopped him.

“I think that's enough for one day,” he stated, and Cloud was disappointed, but ultimately agreed, “you’ve fixed your hidden blade, but you still need more practice before you’ll be ready to assassinate anyone with it.”

Cloud reluctantly agreed, as much as he wanted to get his revenge as soon as possible, he knew he wasn’t prepared yet. Cloud finally got up from the couch as Vincent made his way towards the door.

“I’ll return tomorrow. We can begin your training then.”

Before Cloud could even agree to it, Vincent was gone out the door, leaving Cloud alone to wonder what tomorrow would bring, and process everything he had learned tonight.

—

Night of the Carnival

September, 2001

Midgar

—

“Mr. President, sir,” Tseng greeted as he entered President Shinra’s office, interrupting the meeting between him and Heidegger.

“What is it?” The President huffed. Considering it was late on a Saturday night, and most employees were off or in Kalm for the celebrations, whatever news Tseng was bringing him, he knew was not good.

“The assassin has hit a second target.”

—

Sephiroth had returned home late on Saturday night. After the sword fight, him, Genesis, and Angeal stayed at the Carnival for a little longer before heading home. None of them wanted to attend the party that night (after all, they were trying to get away from work, not spend the night mingling with snobby rich people and other Shinra executives), plus they hadn’t prepared any accommodations in Kalm for the night, so they had to drive back to Midgar at some point.

When Sephiroth's phone started buzzing incessantly, far too early on a Sunday morning, he already had a suspicion as to why. He rolled out of bed and made his way to the meeting room. He was in no rush this morning, and as such, was one of the last people to arrive. He noted the two empty seats near the head of the table, one where Palmer used to sit, and the other, Scarlet's.

The President appeared moments later, taking his seat at the head of the table with Tseng right behind him.

“Last night, Executive Director Scarlet was assassinated while in Kalm.” The President started the meeting.

Just as Sephiroth suspected, another executive had been killed.

“What? How?” Reeve asked in shock, seemingly the only one concerned by the news. “Do you know who was behind it?”

“She was found by security moments after her death. The guards were quick to respond, blocking off all exits of the town while they searched the streets for the killer, but they came up empty handed.” Tseng answered for the President.

Considering no exits were blocked when Sephiroth was leaving with his friends, he figured the assassination must have happened shortly after he had left.

“We believe this to be the work of the same individual behind the assassination of Executive Director Palmer.” Tseng added.

“What makes you think that?” Reeve questioned further.

“The autopsy report shows both victims died due to major blood loss, resulting from a single stab wound to the abdominal cavity.” Tseng explained.

“I hardly think that counts as evidence it was the same person,” Reeve argued, “anyone can go buy a weapon and stab someone with it.”

“Most stab wounds to the abdomen are not fatal, as long as the victim gets medical attention fast enough. However, with both victims, a major artery was damaged with a single hit, giving them only minutes to live. The size and shape of the wounds were similar between the two victims, though the measurements were not consistent with that of a standard dagger.” Tseng explained, “Although the shape of the blade would allow for the weapon to penetrate deeper, the thin width greatly reduces the chance of the weapon hitting anything vital. It would require immense precision and skill to successfully kill someone with a single hit to the abdomen with this style of weapon. For it to happen twice suggests we have a trained killer on our hands.”

“Is there any other evidence from Scarlet’s death? She was attending the party in Kalm, was she not? Didn’t anyone see anything?” Reeve asked.

“Scarlet was attending the party, though she was seen leaving the event minutes before she was found dead in the building next door, meaning there were no witnesses to the killing.” Tseng replied.

“That building is owned by Shinra, isn’t it? Weren’t there any guards or cameras that saw anything?” Reeve questioned further.

“He already said there were no witnesses,” Heidegger huffed in annoyance.

“I’m just trying to understand all the facts before we start jumping to conclusions–” Reeve argued.

“We can sit here all day twiddling our thumbs while we talk about the nitty gritty details, or we can actually do something to stop the assassin!” Heidegger bickered.

“And how do you suppose we stop someone when we don’t even know who they are? How will we ever find them that way?” Reeve demanded.

“We don’t need to find them, we just need to lure them out of hiding!”

“Lure them out?” Reeve questioned.

“We set a trap for them. So far, the assassin has been targeting executives while they are away from the Shinra building, and with limited security. I say we set up an event away from HQ, and wait for the killer to make their move. And when they do, my men will be ready and waiting.” Heidegger answered.

Although Sephiroth had been paying attention at the beginning of the meeting (Reeve had been asking questions Sephiroth also wanted the answer to), he stopped listening once the executives had started bickering amongst themselves.

His thoughts were consumed with the blue eyed stranger he’d encountered for the third time now. He couldn’t help but feel drawn to the man, both literally and metaphorically. There was something about him that was so…enticing.

On the day Sephiroth had seen him on the roof, he had felt a strange feeling wash over him from the moment the event started, his eyes being pulled towards the roof without understanding why. When the man ran into him in Sector 8 a few weeks later, Sephiroth felt it again, that strange connection to him. It was part of the reason why last night at the Carnival, Sephiroth had known the stranger had been the one to challenge him before he’d even seen the man pop out from the audience.

After seeing the man at the Carnival last night, followed shortly by Scarlet’s assassination, Sephiroth was even more convinced that he had something to do with the killings, though he hardly had any proof to back up his claims.

He decided to keep his thoughts to himself for now. Maybe if the assassination had happened inside the Clock Tower, and during the party, he would have brought up the stranger who had won the golden mask, but at this point it was nothing more than speculation.

Plus, Sephiroth was sure that if he did tell the others about the mysterious man, Shinra would want to get their hands on him. Even if the man ended up not being the one behind the assassinations, Hojo would never let someone who had bested his prize experiment leave without conducting further “research”. No matter how much Sephiroth liked or disliked someone, he would never willingly put anyone in Hojo’s possession.

When Sephiroth finally did tune back into the discussion, it seemed the executives had finally agreed on what to do. Apparently, they believed if they set up an event with multiple executives attending, that the assassin would use the opportunity to attack his next target, in which case, they would be ready to apprehend him.

Sephiroth knew that if the person behind the killings was his mysterious stranger, he wouldn't fall for something so obvious. The man he had met was smart, cunning, and quick on his feet. Even if he did make an appearance at the event, Heidegger’s pawns would be useless in stopping him. The man had snuck past all the guards easily when Sephiroth had first seen him on the roof months ago, and now he knew the man was a skilled swordsman, too. He could easily take down some of Heidegger’s men if he needed (though it seemed like the assassin avoided any unnecessary killings).

Plus, the man likely planned these assassinations weeks, if not months in advance, making preparations and backup plans in case anything went wrong. The thought that the man would just jump at any opportunity to kill an executive made Sephiroth scoff at the stupidity of it.

“Is there something you'd like to add, SOLDIER?” The President questioned in a patronizing tone as all the executives suddenly turned their attention towards Sephiroth.

Well, almost all the executives. Hojo hadn’t even spared a glance in Sephiroth’s direction, a disinterested look on his face as he looked off into space. A subtle way of saying that he didn’t think anything Sephiroth had to say would be a meaningful contribution to the discussion at hand.

“No, Sir.” Sephiroth answered the President, sinking a little further into his seat.

He didn’t miss the ‘tsk’ coming from Hojo, or the suspicious look from Tseng, as if the man knew he was hiding something. And honestly, Sephiroth wouldn’t be surprised if Tseng did already know Sephiroth was keeping something from them. The Turks always seemed to know more than they should.

“If there is nothing else, then this meeting is adjourned.” The President stated with finality as he got up from his seat, Tseng following him out of the meeting room.

—

Three Weeks Later

Sector 7 Slums

—

“Hey, Jessie. What have you got for me?” Cloud asked.

“I found the location of another Codex page for you,” she smiled.

“Where is it?”

“The Shinra tower.”

“...the Shinra tower?” Cloud gave her a blank look.

“Yup.”

“So…what? You want me to just walk right in and ask them nicely for it?” Cloud deadpanned.

“Of course not! Don't be ridiculous,” Jessie laughed, “I want you to walk right in and steal it from them.”

Cloud stared at her for a moment before letting out a sigh.

“Please tell me you have a better plan than that.” Cloud groaned and Jessie just laughed.

“You still have that trooper uniform you took from the guard during the Palmer assassination, right?” Jessie asked, and Cloud nodded in agreement, “good. Then that's how you'll walk right into the building.”

“I’ll need a keycard to get access to any of the floors though. Do you even know where the Codex page is being kept in the building?”

“Corporate Archives on the 62nd floor.”

“They’re just keeping it in the library?” Cloud scoffed, and Jessie gave him an odd look, “they call it ‘corporate archives’ to be all fancy, but everyone just refers to it as the library. Most of their actual data archives and files are held elsewhere.” Cloud explained.

“I see,” Jessie nodded.

“Though even if they are just keeping it in the library, it's probably still in a restricted section, which means I'll need an even higher level keycard to get access to the room. And, even if I do manage to get in unnoticed, I'm sure security would get suspicious if they see me digging through the archives for too long.” Cloud huffed.

“I can handle security, but you’ll have to manage the keycard.” Jessie nodded with determination, “I'm sure you could swipe it off of some executive without them noticing.” She joked but Cloud knew it wouldn’t be as simple as that.

With a rough idea of the plan outlined, the two were able to hash out some more of the finer details over the next few days when the perfect opportunity to fulfill their plan landed in their lap.

“Shinra announced some big event happening in Sector 6 next week, and a bunch of executives will be in attendance, including the President. Apparently, it's happening in the undeveloped part of the sector, where they will be announcing their new plans for the area. The whole event seems pretty odd, but I think it'll be a good opportunity to get into the Shinra building if everyone is away.” Jessie explained.

“I agree, the event seems suspicious. It was thrown together way too quickly, and for all the executives to be attending an event so quickly after Scarlet was killed seems like they're begging for another one to be targeted." Cloud scoffed and Jessie agreed. “But, I think you're right about it being a good chance to get into the Shinra building.”

“Do you think you can make it to the library in your trooper uniform without getting flagged?”

“Shouldn't be a problem. I know the layout of the building pretty well, I can avoid most of the cameras on the way there as long as you handle the ones in the library.”

“No problem, I’ve already prepared some footage I can put on loop without raising any suspicion. That should allow you to move about freely once inside.” Jessie nodded.

“Now the only thing left is the keycard…”

“Did you pick a target?” Jessie asked.

“Yeah, I've got a plan in place, as long as all goes well.”

“Then it looks like we're ready to go,” Jessie grinned, always eager to see her plans come to life.

—

Midgar

Present Day

—

Today was the day of the trap, and Sephiroth was set to work the event as extra security for the President, while all of Heidegger’s men were sitting in wait for the assassin. The whole thing seemed pointless to him but he was at least grateful that he didn’t have to escort the President to the location, the Turks would at least be handling that.

Sephiroth sighed as he exited the Shinra building, he wasn’t looking forward to the hours of standing around with nothing to do. Even though he knew the trap wasn’t going to work, he was still hoping to see some sign of his mystery stranger.

As if on queue, Sephiroth felt that strange feeling wash over him again, and his eyes quickly scanned the area, wondering if the blonde man was nearby. Sector 8 was always pretty busy, but it felt even more crowded today as Sephiroth looked across the sea of nameless faces, none of them the man he was looking for.

His scan was interrupted when two women suddenly appeared next to Sephiroth, each of them wrapping themselves around one of Sephiroth’s arms, preventing him from leaving.

“Hey there, handsome,” one of the girls flirted.

“You look like someone who knows how to work hard,” the other one spoke up, batting her lashes, “but do you know how to relax?”

Sephiroth frowned at the two women, wondering what they wanted from him, and where they even appeared from in the first place. One of the girls giggled at Sephiroth's reaction.

“A sour expression like that shouldn’t be on a face as handsome as yours,” she teased.

Before Sephiroth could shoo them off, the other girl grabbed his hand and began massaging into his palm. “Hmm, just as I suspected,” she sighed, “so much tension in your body.”

“Why don’t you let us help you ease some of that stress?” The other girl smiled up at him, “we can get you back into tip top shape in no time.” She said with a wink.

“I’m sorry,” Sephiroth frowned as he tried to pull his hand away, but the girls wouldn't back off, “I have somewhere I need to be, so if you’ll excuse me–”

Sephiroth’s words were interrupted when someone suddenly bumped into him, their shoulder knocking against his, causing him to stumble slightly into one of the girls, making her finally release his arm.

It wasn’t the lack of manners that had Sephiroth turning towards the culprit so quickly, but the fact that when that person had run into him, that strange feeling had shot through him once again.

He turned and tried to reach out to the hooded stranger who had run into him, but before his hand could reach them, the person was already turning to say something to him.

“Watch it, kupo.” The young girl in the moogle hood hissed at him, before she turned and kept walking away, leaving him standing there in disbelief, still trapped by one of the women from before.

As much as Sephiroth should have been mad about the stranger's lack of respect (especially considering she ran into him!), he could only feel disappointment that the hooded stranger wasn’t the blue eyed man he’d been hoping to see.

He huffed before he turned back around, shaking his hand free from the girl's grasp and ignoring their protests, before continuing to make his way towards the event he was now running late for. Sephiroth had only been outside of the Shinra building for ten minutes and already his mood had gone from bad to worse.

—

Cloud was shocked it had worked.

He would definitely have to treat Yuffie to some food later, as thanks for her help. The double distraction had been an excellent idea, and Cloud was sure he wouldn’t have been able to get close enough to Sephiroth without the man noticing him if it wasn’t for her.

While Madam M’s girls had been useful for getting Sephiroth to stay in one spot, Yuffie had been the one to actually draw Sephiroth’s attention away while Cloud snuck past him in his stolen trooper uniform, swiping Sephiroth’s keycard from his pocket while he was distracted.

With Sephiroth’s keycard, Cloud would have no problem getting access to any part of the Shinra building, and with most of the executives attending today’s event, that left few people, and very little security still inside the building.

Cloud made his way through the lobby, and towards the elevators. His destination was the 62nd floor, where the corporate archives were. It was just Cloud’s luck that as he approached the elevators, one of the doors opened and SOLDIER 2nd Class Kunsel popped out with another SOLDIER next to him.

Kunsel was probably one of the only people who would actually remember Cloud from his cadet days, even if the two had barely talked. The man had made it his mission to know about everyone and everything happening in the Shinra building. Cloud remembers asking him once if he was going to try for SOLDIER 1st Class but the man told him no, he preferred the invisibility being a 2nd offered him.

Cloud quickly diverted his course, making a beeline for the stairs, keeping his head down while doing his best to stay out of Kunsel’s sight. Guess I’m getting my steps in for the day, Cloud huffed as he began climbing the stairs. Eventually, he managed to make it to the 62nd floor, his thighs screaming at him as he arrived at the library.

Now the real mission began. Cloud knew there was a Codex page being held here, he just didn’t exactly know where. He figured it would be in one of the three restricted sections, but he knew it would still take him some time to find it. While searching, he also had to make sure he didn’t gather any unwanted attention, and he had to find it before Sephiroth inevitably realized his keycard was missing.

Cloud combed through the first restricted area with no luck, before moving on to the next room. After he came up empty handed again, Cloud got ready to search through the third and final room. He knew his time was running short, but before he could make it to the door, a man in a suit suddenly appeared in front of him.

Crap, Cloud thought to himself, worried he’d been caught.

“Greetings and welcome, Mr. Strife I presume,” the man bowed before Cloud, “my name is Hart, and it’s a pleasure to meet you.”

Cloud looked at the man in surprise. If the man knew his name, there was probably a lot more he knew about him, yet he seemed very relaxed, and Cloud wondered what he could possibly want from him.

“I’ve come to escort you to Mayor Domino, per his request.” Hart explained before Cloud could even ask.

The mayor of Midgar? Cloud wondered to himself. As far as he knew, the mayor was nothing more than an empty suit and mouthpiece for Shinra. Why would he be interested in Cloud?

“What does the mayor want with me?” Cloud asked, hesitant.

“I am afraid you’ll have to ask him that yourself. Now, if you’ll follow me.” Hart explained as he began making his way towards the back of the library.

Cloud followed him to the back of the library, where a small office was hidden away, which only confirmed Cloud’s suspicions that the position of mayor was just a figurehead. Hart opened the door for Cloud, motioning for him to enter.

“Ah, wonderful! You've finally made it.” The man behind the desk spoke as Cloud entered the small office, “I am the mayor of the great metropolis of mako. Domino, at your service.” The man bowed, “however you, Cloud Strife, need no introduction…”

—

An hour later, and with the Codex page finally in hand, Cloud was making his way out of the library. It had been a couple hours since he first got here, and he knew the event would be finishing any minute now, with people returning to the Shinra building soon after that.

Cloud knew he was running short on time, but he needed to make one more stop along the way before leaving. He headed back towards the stairwell, and with a groan, began climbing the steps once again, his legs still burning from earlier.

—

Just as Sephiroth had suspected, the mystery assassin never showed up. The pointless event finished without a hitch and everyone started packing up, ready to head back to the Shinra building. The only thing that made the whole event worthwhile was Sephiroth getting to see Heidegger’s forehead vein twitch when he realized his “perfect plan” was going to fail.

Zack had found Sephiroth at some point during the event and stuck himself to him, so when the time came to leave, they ended up walking back to the Shinra building together. It was only once they got back, and Sephiroth went to grab his keycard to use the elevator, that he realized it was missing.

“What's wrong?” Zack asked, noticing the stunned look on Sephiroth's face.

“I don't have my keycard,” Sephiroth frowned.

“What?” Zack gasped, “how did that happen?”

Sephiroth knew he had it with him earlier when he left… suddenly he thought of the girl in the moogle hood from earlier, but he decided not to tell Zack about that whole interaction.

“I must have forgotten it.” Sephiroth lied.

“Since when do you forget things?” Zack laughed. “Do you have a way to get into your apartment then?”

“No,” Sephiroth groaned, “I’ll have to go to the receptionist to get a new one.” As if Sephiroth’s day couldn't get any worse.

“Wait, I have Angeal’s keycard! Does his card have access to your apartment?” Zack asked.

“Yes, it does,” Sephiroth sighed in relief. Him, Genesis, and Angeal had all given each other access to each other's place months ago, allowing the friends to come and go as they pleased. “Wait, why do you have Angeal’s keycard?”

“I water his plants while he’s away.” Zack shrugged.

Sephiroth raised his eyebrows at that, but didn't comment further. Zack scanned the card and hit the button for Sephiroth’s floor. They made their way down the hallway to Sephiroth's apartment and Zack used Angeal's keycard to unlock his door.

“Thank you,” Sephiroth sighed, glad he hadn’t had to deal with reception, and the endless paperwork required just to get a new keycard. He had a back up one somewhere in his apartment that he could use for now.

“No problem, glad I could help,” Zack smiled, “well, see you tomorrow.” He waved before quickly heading off, leaving Sephiroth alone.

Sephiroth was glad to finally be back in his own apartment after his long day. He took his shoes off and hung up his jacket before heading to his kitchen. It had been hours since Sephiroth’s last meal and he could feel his mood getting worse from hunger.

When he rounded the corner from the hallway into his kitchen, Sephiroth froze in his tracks. The first thing he noticed was the small chocobo stuffie on his counter. Sephiroth tensed knowing someone had been in his apartment, that someone could still be in his apartment. He quickly scanned over the room looking for anything else out of place before eventually moving towards his counter.

Upon closer inspection, Sephiroth relaxed when he saw what was next to the stuffie. There was a single flower, along with his missing keycard, a sticky note stuck to the surface of it, the only thing written on it was “3-0”. Sephiroth couldn’t help but let out a laugh, all his earlier frustrations somehow slipping away. Looks like his mysterious stranger had bested him once again.

Sephiroth was surprised to see that the flower left for him was in fact a real one, and not a fake. Fresh flowers were not just rare in Midgar, they were almost non-existent. He grabbed a glass from his cupboards, filling it with some water, before placing the flower into the cup and displaying it on his kitchen island. A gift to cherish.

It seems he had been right about the mysterious stranger not being at the event today. Instead, he had used the opportunity to slip into the Shinra building undetected. Sephiroth was left to wonder not just what the man needed his keycard for, but why he had felt the need to return it…as if he wanted Sephiroth to know it was him. But, that was a question for tomorrow.

—