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Chapter Text

Gaia stirred restlessly, vast awareness pulsing through her form in contemplation. The planet probed at the wounds left by humanity draining her, and the taint of the Calamity that lingered still within the Lifestream. Already, the One-Winged Angel stirred once more, threatening to break free and threaten the lives of all. A great sorrow swept over Gaia as certainty settled, the understanding that she would not be able to recover from the damage done to her. So long as the Son of the Calamity existed, draining energy as the Lifestream worked to contain him, or wreaking having and death upon the world, Gaia would be unable to heal.

Thus, the only way for Gaia to survive was to prevent the damage from ever occurring. Reaching out, she drew the Champion into the Lifestream, sheltering him within a protective crystal as she gathered the energy needed to return him to Before. As her focus shifted, the One-Winged Angel tore free from his confinement and began to lay waste to those upon the surface. Gaia accepted the deaths, incorporating their energy into the Lifestream once more and using it to reach across time, sending her Champion back, back, back…

As he approached the time Before, the Enemy, the Calamity from the Sky – still alive, still fighting to destroy Gaia – sensed the threat the Champion represented and reached for the cells shared between them. The Calamity strove to subvert this new weapon of Gaia, to claim and own and control. As the Champion resisted, the Calamity tore at his existence, burning at that which was not hers. Gaia gathered the last remnants of the now fading Lifestream, using it to shield the Champion as best she could. An echo of wrath and loathing rang across time as the Enemy’s grasp failed, and Gaia allowed herself to fade away.

{UC-UC-UC}

Cloud awoke with a scream of agony. His back arched, trying desperately to escape the pain, but it continued to burn through him, all-consuming. He curled tightly into himself, unable to prevent the animal noises of suffering from escaping. He lay trembling for what felt like an eternity, before the pain began to ebb slowly away.

Gasping for breath, he slowly uncurled and pushed himself to his feet, swaying unsteadily. Long years of facing danger forced him to ignore the lingering aches of his body as he swiftly took in his surroundings. He immediately knew he was no longer in Aerith’s church, where he had drifted to sleep, lulled by the sweet floral scent. Instead, he was surrounded by the metal panels and piping of a Mako Reactor. His brows furrowed at the sight. The WRO had long since decommissioned all of Shinra’s reactors, repurposing the metal and workings for sustainable energy production instead. Even more confusingly, everything was far larger than he remembered, looming over him. As he turned to examine more of the baffling room he found himself in, he felt the clutch of Shiva take hold of him. It couldn’t be.

He stood within the Mt Nibel Reactor, surrounded by tanks containing the remnants of Hojo’s horrific experiments, floating, suspended in Mako. Cloud struggled to breathe as his eyes were drawn to the name “Jenova” inscribed above the door at the top of the stairs. Immediately, his vision flashed with green static, pain ripping through his mind. Clutching his head, he felt his feet move of their own accord, dragging him inexorably towards the nightmare above. 

As he stumbled into the room, tripping over something that kept wrapping around his legs, his eyes were drawn to the false idol, the only thing hiding the horror of Jenova’s true form. Then a voice whispered in his mind.

C̶̡̽o̶̊ͅm̸̳͘e̷̫̕ ̸̹̎t̵̹̓o̵͜͝ ̴͖̈́m̴̘͒e̵̬̎,̴̝̀ ̵̞̓Ċ̷̯l̵͓̂o̷͓͂u̵͙̓d̴͙̕.̸͓̊

Cloud choked, struggling against the blanket of green static smothering his thoughts. His hand tightened its grip, ripping at his hair.

I̸͖͠ ̸͈̓s̷͉̓e̶̹͌e̶̘͒ ̷̻̔ȳ̶̥o̷͐͜u̴̗͗r̶̙̓ ̷͕̿h̴̫̿e̶̮̕ã̷̰r̷̺̂t̸̝̓,̴̗͗ ̵͉͛y̵͙̔e̴̮̒a̷̱̽r̵̹̊n̵̹̑i̸̘͘ṅ̶̺g̷͕̿ ̴̻́f̵͕͊ó̵̘r̴̢̕ ̴̚͜l̶͖͘ȍ̴͙v̸̙̊ë̸̥́.̶̺͝ ̴̯͒J̵̖̄o̴̰͑i̷͈̎ņ̴̈́ ̴͛͜m̷̭̈́e̶͕͘,̵̨̀ ̸̯̒a̴̺̽n̶̡͘ḍ̸̓ ̷̝̍I̸͍̿ ̵̮͒w̸̲̐i̸̤̽l̵͈͆l̶͔̍ ̶͙͛b̶̭̈́ḙ̴͠ ̷̖̿y̸̖̾o̷̼̾ú̵̝ŕ̶̼ ̶̺̀l̸͖̋o̵͖̔v̵͔́ỉ̴̞n̵̜͆g̵̩̉ ̶͉͆M̷̞̈õ̵͓t̸̳̍ḧ̵̭́e̴̝̔r̶̙̐.̷̡̈

The image of this monster in the place of his mother floated before Cloud’s eyes, and he tore through the mental influence with a snarl. Raising the arm bearing his Materia bangle – which had somehow slipped down to dangle from his wrist – he called upon his most powerful magic.

“Never, you abomination.”

With a surge of mana, he rained Ultima down upon the genesis of all his suffering.

{UC-UC-UC}

Genesis sighed as the interminable voyage continued. The helicopter he sat within had whirred incessantly for hours and hadn’t even deigned to allow for a scenic view. Eyes lidding at the tedium, Genesis’ thoughts drifted to the degradation he had begun to experience. Soon he would be in Wutai, and could act to be free of Shinra’s leash tugging at his neck.

Suddenly, their came the sound of a distant detonation, and the voices of the pilots yelling in shock. Leaping from his seat, Genesis rushed to the cockpit. He didn’t need the pilot pointing to the south to be able to identify the cause of the commotion. Atop the peak of one of the mountains in the range below rose a vast pillar of smoke, emanating from the glow of what could only be a Mako reactor. Or, more accurately, a former reactor.

“Infinite in mystery is the gift of the Goddess,” he murmured.

“Orders, sir?” the co-pilot called over the roar of the rotors. Genesis took a moment, weighing his plans for slipping his leash against the intrigue of the spectacle before him. Eventually, his curiousity won out.

“Change our course to investigate, Jackson.”

{UC-UC-UC}

Cloud felt blood in his throat as he screamed, heaving with all his strength to flip that accursed table. Vials, beakers and various paraphernalia of mad science shattered upon the floor. It was almost satisfying. His limbs protested the action, injuries from his journey down the mountain throbbing with agony. Nibel wolves and dragons, normally no threat to him, had managed to prove frustrating difficult in his reduced and weakened form. Turning, Cloud sped to the rows of shelves, ripping down rows of books and throwing them into misshapen heaps. He could tell Vincent was hovering in the shadows, watching with a mix of curiousity and concern, but if he wasn’t going to stop Cloud then his presence didn’t matter.

Once every shelf was satisfactorily emptied, he reached for the materia bangle tied to his waist and sent each pile up in flames. As Cloud stood panting, watching the flames grow and flicker, he did his best to ignore the strangeness of his body, with little success. Looking down at his hands, so much smaller than they should be, he wondered if Vincent experienced the same disorientation from his own changed body.

After destroying Jenova – and setting the reactor to explode to make sure – Cloud had stumbled from the accursed building and finally taken stock of himself. He was stunned to find himself terrifyingly small, swimming in his clothes and armour. Looking at his hands and realising how small they were, he realised he must be the size of a toddler. In fact, taking a full inventory of his features, he realised that he was a toddler, though one bearing the many scars he had accumulated throughout his life.

He spent so long examining himself that the reactor gave a thunderous crash and blast of light, the heat behind him rousing him. Using the shortest of his blades, he had cut his outfit down to into something serviceable for his new body, his old body, his tiny, practically an infant – don’t think about it. He had made sure his Ribbon - both powerful protection and important memorial - had been firmly tied to the hilt of the Fusion Sword for safekeeping. With his outfit temporarily sorted, Cloud had hefted his blades and marched down the path to Nibelheim.

Cloud pulled himself back to the present, burning the lab and all its vile science. Looking around, he saw that Vincent was no longer hovering ominously, likely relocated to somewhere less ablaze. He turned, storming from the building, hurling more fire at the stairs and rooms of the mansion as he passed. Finally, he slammed through the doors, freezing at the sight of several men clad in the uniform of SOLDIERs. Adrenaline rushing through him, Cloud pulled the larger section of Fusion Sword ahead of himself protectively. The closest SOLDIER wore a long red coat over a modified uniform, holding a long, thin blade as his reddish hair swayed in the breeze. Cloud felt a vague sense of familiarity at the sight of him, but couldn’t exactly place where or when they could have met. The SOLDIERs’ eyes, bright with Mako widened as they looked from the burning mansion down to Cloud.

Cloud felt his heart rate spike at the scrutiny, shifting his feet, ready to evade, to block, to strike. But the men simply stared at him with astonishment. One of them was even gaping. Feeling the hair on the back of his neck stand up, Cloud couldn’t stop his lip drawing back as he snarled wordlessly.

 {UC-UC-UC}

Genesis strode through the small backwater village, smirking at the awed whispers and fascinated looks from the inhabitants. Likely none of them had ever seen a SOLDIER in their life, and now they were graced with the presence of three, including a First Class.

As they moved along the path leading up to the reactor, Genesis felt several powerful surges of magic. He stiffened and spun to face a large mansion, which flared into flame at multiple key locations. Before any of them could do more than draw their weapons, the doors slammed open and a small figure raced through, suddenly freezing on the entry stairs.

Genesis felt his eyes widen as he took in the sight of a small child, dressed in torn, ragged clothes, covered in a worrying amount of blood, and most importantly, bearing both Sephiroth’s famous silver hair, far shorter and spikier, and slit-pupiled eyes, but with irises of vivid blue.

The child shifted, pulling an absurdly large sword in front of him, as though anticipating an attack. When they merely watched, he seemed momentarily confused, before baring his teeth and growling at them. As the boy’s eyes flitted wildly between them, Genesis quickly made a decision.

“Carter, O’Neill, continue ahead and investigate the reactor. Call in once you’ve had a look.”

The two SOLDIERs sheathed their weapons, turning to continue up the path with a sharp “Sir!” Once the others were gone, the boy’s gaze locked to Genesis, full of wild wariness. Sheathing Rapier, Genesis slowly knelt and carefully reached a hand out to the child. “It’s not safe over there little one,” he cooed as gently as he could. “Come over here, so we can protect you while we put out that fire.”

The boy’s eyes hardened, and he shifted one hand from the hilt of the sword to brush an equipped materia. A surge of magic rushed through the air, and Genesis flinched back at the feel of a Summon. With a rush of heat and a piercing cry, Phoenix appeared, soaring high into the air before crashing down on the mansion, shattering the roof and setting the already burning building completely ablaze.

Genesis gaped at the display, until the soft sound of small feet recaptured his attention. The boy was slowly creeping sideways away, never once lower his guard or looking away. Genesis’ heart felt caught in his throat at the sight.

“Wait!” he called. “I only want to help you, little one.” As the boy’s eyes remained cold and flinty, he wheedled, “Could you at least give me your name?”

A strangely conflicted expression crossed the child’s face, before he sneered, “Hojo called me Subject C.” Genesis felt his blood run cold. The boy – a victim of Hojo’s terrible experiments – looked satisfied by whatever expression had appeared on Genesis’s face, and resumed his retreat. Choking down his horror at all the implications of that statement, Genesis weaved his mana into his materia bracer, casting his hand forward into a Sleep spell. The boy flinched at his gesture, before stilling with a strange smirk. Then, as the spell settled on him, his expression twisted into horror, and he moved as if to begin running. He managed three steps before consciousness faded, and he slumped forward. With a swift lunge, Genesis caught him before he could hit the ground.

Looking down at the child in his arms, Genesis was struck by how small he actually was. Without the absurdly large sword obscuring him, he was tiny. His limbs were bird thin but wiry with muscle, and his face was worryingly gaunt. Worse, he bore fresh wounds scattered across all his visible skin. Every inch seemed covered in vicious bite or claw marks, large, deep-purple bruises and horrifically oozing burns. With a curse, Genesis activated another materia, casting his strongest Curaga to heal the wounds, followed with an Esuna, to hopefully stave off infection.

Huffing a put-upon sigh, Genesis ran a hand through his hair. “The wandering soul knows no rest,” he murmured, before gently laying the child on the ground. Removing his coat, he made quick work of bundling the boy, hiding him from any curious eyes, before picking him once more. Carefully grabbing the boy’s sword, he rose to his feet, and strode back to the helicopter.

 {UC-UC-UC}

Genesis stalked through the halls of the Shinra safehouse that he had claimed when their helicopter had landed in the quaintly named Rocket Town. While it was refuelled and resupplied, he sent SOLDIER Second Class O’Neill to discreetly purchase a few items of clothing and sleepwear of the approximate size for the mysterious child. As he waited for that delivery, he carefully hunted through the house, finding and destroying listening devices throughout. Once satisfied that none remained, he promptly moved to the roof to make his PHS call.

No such thing as too paranoid when it comes to Turks, after all.

Looking down at Sephiroth’s number blinking mockingly at him from the screen, he grit his teeth. Remembering the distressingly familiar silver hair and slit pupils of the child, he let out a hissing sigh. No matter his misgivings about Shinra and Sephiroth’s loyalty to them, he couldn’t keep this from the man. And he needed backup for this. Desperately.

Hitting call, he raised the device to his ear. It had scarcely begun to ring, when it was answered with a terse, “What, Genesis?” Genesis squeezed his eyes shut at the ridiculousness of this man.

“How quickly can you get to Rocket Town?” he asked brusquely.

“Two days,” came the sharp reply. At Genesis’s disgruntled groan, Sephiroth continued, “I am finalising an operation in west Gongaga. I can rendezvous with you once it completed and I have finished debriefing.”

“I need you here sooner than that,” Genesis snapped. “This can’t wait.”

A touch of condescension coloured Sephiroth’s tone, and Genesis firmly squashed the urge to set the PHS ablaze. “Really, Genesis, I hardly think whatever distraction has caught your eye is so important tha-”

“I have a Mako enhanced child here, asleep. He has your exact shade of silver hair and eyes with slits matching yours.” Genesis was thoroughly satisfied by the sudden silence that followed his interruption. “Well?” he prompted, after a beat.

“I will be there within the hour,” was the response, followed by a sudden dial tone. Releasing a tired sigh at the arrogance of that man, he quickly scrolled to the contact for Angeal and hit call. It rang for several long seconds, almost enough to time out, before it was answered with a small beep.

“Genesis,” Angeal panted down the line, “is something wrong?”

Genesis hummed softly. “Infinite in mystery is the gift of the Goddess. I’ve discovered something quite peculiar, and I would appreciate your help unravelling this mystery.”

Angeal huffed softly. “I’m supervising Zack’s first mission as a Second Class. I can hardly rush to Wutai to help you solve a riddle.”

“It sounds like you’re doing more than supervising,” Genesis smirked softly. “The puppy hardly needs such close monitoring, Angeal, especially now he’s been promoted. You have to let him off the leash at some point. Besides,” he continued as Angeal tried to speak, “I’m not in Wutai currently. I need you to come to Rocket Town.”

“I can hardly get there before you’ve refuelled and deployed.”

“I’m not deploying with the unit.”

Genesis quickly moved the PHS away from his ear.

“Genesis Rhapsodos!” Angeal bellowed, distorted as the small speakers strained to handle the volume. “What are you playing at!? You can’t just start disregarding orders to follow your whims!”

“I know! Listen!” Genesis hurriedly cut in, before Angeal could get his momentum. “I found a Mako-enhanced child, couldn’t be older than five, with hair and eyes just like Sephiroth.”

The line went silent as Angeal processed. Finally, he asked warningly, “You’ve told Sephiroth already, yes?”

Genesis rolled his eyes “Yes, of course I called him first. I’m not keeping something like this from him. Just … please come. I need your advice for this.”

It was a rare admission of fallibility, and Angeal clearly understood. “Of course,” he said, voice warm with pride and Genesis scoffed softly. “I’ll be there as soon as I can. Zack can finish his mission alone.” A muffled cheer echoed through the phone.

“Give the puppy my regards,” Genesis said, moving to end up the call. The quick, somewhat breathless call of “Hi Genesis! Bye Genesis!” echoed from the speaker, and Genesis couldn’t help scoffing at Zack’s boyish antics.

Slipping the PHS back into his pocket, Genesis casually stepped over the edge of the roof of the two-storey building. A twist of his wrist and a spurt of mana translated to a sharp gust of wind, cushioning his fall in front of a startled O’Neill. The SOLDIER shook off his surprise quickly enough, holding out the bag of shopping.

“Supplies as ordered, sir!”

Genesis couldn’t help but snort. “I suppose that’s what they count as, don’t they?” Eyeing the SOLDIER now standing at attention, he nodded. “Return to the helicopter and tell the unit orders have changed. Once the helicopter is refuelled, you are to proceed in deploying to the base in West Wutai without me. You have command of the unit, with Carter as your 2IC.”

“Sir!” the SOLDIER saluted crisply, but Genesis could see the curiosity burning in his eyes.

“Also, make sure it’s abundantly clear,” he smiled beatifically as he raised his hand, allowing fire to pool within his palm, “anyone who breathes a word about the child we found will deeply regret it.”

“Yes, sir! Will do, sir!” O’Neill agreed, looking concerned. “Is the kid alright, Commander?”

Genesis sighed, running a hand through his hair. “I don’t think so. Not really. But he will be. I’ll make sure of it.” At the satisfied look from the SOLDIER, he waved the man off. “Dismissed. Get going and make sure you’re ready for liftoff.”

The SOLDIER left with a final salute, and Genesis returned to the safehouse with non-bloodstained clothes for the child. Selecting a set of pyjamas, he carried them and a washcloth across his arm and filled a bowl of water. Bringing the collection of items to the bedroom, Genesis set about cleaning up the child. Removing his torn and bloodied clothes, Genesis began gently cleaning blood and dirt from his skin. He felt his stomach drop as each patch of revealed skin showed more and more scars. The worst, leaving him breathless with horror, was the pair of small incisions on the boy’s chest. At first, he dismissed them as minor, compared to some much larger and more vicious looking injuries, until he moved to the boy’s back and found matching exit wounds. This boy had been impaled through the chest. Twice. Swallowing a rising feeling in his throat, Genesis finished cleaning the child, and redressed him in clean, warm clothes. Leaving the room holding the boy’s original outfit, he leant against the closed door, cradling his head in his free hand.

“My friend, the fates are cruel. There are no dreams, no honour remains.”

Heaving a deep breath, he moved back to the living room, where he laid out the child’s clothes, noting the frayed edges and layered sections. Tilting his head and squinting, some parts even looked almost like a SOLDIER uniform.

Turning his curious eye to the strange child’s equipment, he picked up the sword. It looked similar to the Buster, but thinner, with more decorative notches and ridges along the blade. The materia was even more fascinating. One granted the blade the ability to restore mana with each attack, and another healed the user whenever they called a Summon. He clicked his tongue, almost salivating, imagining the delightfully efficient pattern it would create. He chortled at the linked pair that allowed the spell to become a barrage of multiple castings. Then he frowned as his fingers brushed the attached magic materia. He couldn’t immediately identify what spell it could cast, overwhelmed by the burst of mixed magical energies he detected. Trickling mana into it gently, his brow furrowed further. “Infinite in mysteries is the gift of the Goddess. Every spell?” he asked incredulously. Eventually, his eyes fell back to the remaining materia, noting two separate Summon materia. One, Phoenix was linked with a materia that would call the Summon if the wielder fell in battle – a sensible precaution, but horrifying to imagine being needed by a child. The other, like the magic materia before, was a confusing cacophony of multiple magical signatures. His jaw dropped as he realised the treasure cradled in his palm. Placing it down reverently, he slowly turned to the remaining materia. A sick churning filled his gut at the Enemy Skill, filled with the power of monstrous creatures. He desperately hoped someone had simply been irresponsible enough to give a small child such a dangerous materia, but from the boy’s behaviour at the mansion, he suspected it had become fully mastered in his hands.

“My soul, corrupted by vengeance, hath endured torment, to find the end of the journey,” he murmured. Rising to his feet, he began pacing the room. The others needed to hurry up and get here.

{UC-UC-UC}

Cloud snapped awake as an Esuna washed over him. Mentally thanking Tifa for her eternal support, he immediately rolled to the side and onto his feet. However, no monster’s claws or fangs struck where he had lain, no sounds of battle reached his ears and the ground beneath him was far too soft. Glancing around quickly, he saw that he was on a bed in an unfamiliar room. His eyes snapped to the only figure in the room, who was reclined across from the bed, legs crossed and rolling a magic materia in his hand. The sight of the red-haired SOLDIER from Nibelheim jogged Cloud’s memory, and he leapt to his feet, ready to dodge anything that was cast. Instead, the man simply gazed at him with a strange look that Cloud couldn’t – didn’t want – to identify.

“Who are you?” Cloud snapped as the silence stretched. “Where have you taken me?”

The strange look faded into a smirk, as the man sat up straighter. “You, my dear child, have the honour of meeting Genesis Rhapsodos, SOLDIER First Class.”

Cloud felt his blood run cold. First Class. Gaia, he was even more screwed than he first thought. His eyes darted around the room, searching for anything he could use to defend himself and coming up with precious few options, before snapping back to the materia in the man’s – Rhapsodos’s – hands.

Rhapsodos tilted his head at Cloud’s reaction, before slowly pocketing the orb. “I’m hoping you can satisfy my curiosity. That was quite an impressive Summoning display earlier. Could you tell me why you were so determined to destroy that manor?”

“Because it deserved it,” Cloud couldn’t help but snap. Why was he even answering? Shaking the fog from his head, he asked, “What year is it?”

Rhapsodos’s eyebrow quirked, and he considered Cloud for a long moment, before answering, “It is the year 2000.”

Cloud frantically wracked his brain, trying to remember key dates. Despite his repeatedly fractured mind and spotty memory, Tifa had helped him remember important information from before Shinra and Hojo. It had been mortifying to need someone else to remind him of his own birthday, though needing to relearn his mother’s name had hurt worse. Shaking his head again, he tried to focus. This was the year he had left Nibelheim to join SOLDIER. He had been fourteen. In was clear then, he mused, noting his size and his vague memories of the journey through time, that he had not possessed or replaced his younger self. There were two Cloud Strifes in the world, himself, and the teenaged version likely applying for Shinra at that very moment, having left Nibelheim and his mother and Tifa behind. Tifa, who would be thirteen now.

The realisation pulled the air from his lungs. He had known, from the moment Jenova touched his mind, that time had been rewound, that he was now in the past, but he hadn’t stopped to consider the full implications. Tifa was 13, and had never gone to Midgar. She knew him, but she didn’t know him. To this Tifa, Cloud Strife was her quiet, fourteen-year-old neighbour, who had left to join SOLDIER. Barret, Nanaki, Cid. None of them knew him. The memory of Vincent looking at him without recollection, pushed aside in the wave of anger and fear, swam back into his mind’s eye and his heart lurched painfully.

Movement across his unfocused vision forcefully dragged his attention back to the present, and he jerked sharply away from the Rhapsodos’s reaching hand, raising his fists protectively. He then realised with a blink that the man had been calling to him for some time.

“– won’t do that again, alright? But I need you talk to me, kid.”

“I’m fine,” Cloud snapped, forcing his full attention back to the SOLDIER – the threat – before him.

“What’s so important about what year it is?” Rhapsodos prompted, leaning back in his chair once more. When Cloud pressed his lips firmly closed, he shrugged. Before he could say anything else, there was a firm knock at the door. Cloud’s heart rate spiked even higher. Not only was he trapped with a SOLDIER First Class, but he had backup. “Ah, yes,” Rhapsodos drawled, “there was someone who was very interested in meeting you. Come on in,” he called over his shoulder. Cloud looked towards the door as it opened, keeping Rhapsodos in the corner of his eye, readying himself to confront the new threat. Perhaps one of the SOLDIERs he had seen before, or even a Turk. He was completely unprepared for Sephiroth to step into the room.

Immediately, he leapt away, pressing his back to the wall and placing the bed between himself and the enemy. In the corner of his eye, the other SOLDIER stood, reaching out for a moment, before pulling back. Then, Sephiroth turned towards him.

Sephiroth looked away.

Immediately, Cloud sprang into action, grabbing the lamp from the bedside table and throwing it at his enemy as hard as he could, before blurring across the bed, racing for the door. The lamp shattered against Sephiroth’s head, and he stumbled back, while the other SOLDIER yelled, reaching out to grab for Cloud, who dodged the swipe. Gripping the doorframe as he shot through, he slingshot himself around and down the hall at full speed. Quickly he reached the end, observing a living room with a glance and zeroing in on his gear in a pile on the table. He rushed towards it, desperate to reclaim his weapon and destroy Sephiroth again, when he was grabbed from behind.

“I have him,” said Sephiroth. Cloud screamed. Desperately, he struggled against the hold, kicking and punching and biting. Sephiroth merely adjusted his grip, taking the blows unflinchingly as he secured Cloud firmly to his chest. As he squirmed, Cloud’s hand pushed against Sephiroth’s bare chest, and it was like a switch was flipped. Cloud slumped in his grasp, completely limp. Reunion sang through his body, leaving him unable to resist as Sephiroth held him close.

Despite, and because of, the relaxation of his body in the hands of his worst enemy, Cloud’s breath came in short gasps, darkness edging at the corner of his vision. A wail poured continuously from his throat.

“It’s okay. It’s alright. You’re safe. No one is going to hurt you. I’ve got you,” he heard Sephiroth say above him. Desperately, he tried to move, to squirm, even to shake his head, but it felt like moving through treacle against the buzzing thrum of Reunion. Dread gripped him. When Sephiroth raised a hand and placed it gently on his head, Cloud's scream shifted into a piercing screech.

Sephiroth made a quiet noise of discontent. “Genesis, his heart is beating dangerously fast.”

The other voice of the other SOLDIER, Rhapsodos, sounded so far away. “Here let me just …” Cloud felt a Sleep spell tugging against his mind. Trapped in Sephiroth’s arms and unable to dodge, body completely relaxed, he could do nothing but succumb.

{UC-UC-UC}

Sephiroth looked down at the child in his arms and swallowed. Many people had been afraid of him, combatant and civilian alike, but he had never experienced such terror from a child as young as this. The boy had fled in complete and utter panic at the mere sight of Sephiroth.

Even stranger had been his reaction to being grabbed. When he fell limp, Sephiroth had thought, for a fraction of a moment, that he passed out from fear. However, the continuing scream and frantic pace of his breathing and heartbeat quickly disabused him of the notion. Nothing he attempted to comfort or soothe him seemed to work. In fact, they had the opposite effect, driving the child further into hysterics.

Only when Genesis cast Sleep did the child fall mercifully quiet, heartrate and breathing returning to safe levels. Looking up, Sephiroth found Genesis gazing at the child with a look of terrible sorrow.

“Dreams of the morrow hath the shattered soul. What the hell was that?” Genesis demanded.

“I do not know,” Sephiroth replied, frowning down at the boy. “He was afraid of me.”

Genesis made a rude noise. “A bit more than merely afraid, I would say.” He huffed a long sigh, running a hand through his hair. “What could possibly have caused him to be this frightened of you?”

“As you said, he is clearly enhanced, and based on his appearance, it is possible that we share a genetic heritage. It is possible that whoever created him also conditioned him fear me.”

“What benefit could that possibly serve?” Genesis asked.

“I suspect it was part of training him to kill me.”

“What?”

Sephiroth sighed. “It would make logical sense. He was either created by enemies of Shinra, to kill me, thus weakening the company, or by Shinra itself, as a failsafe to terminate me were I to oppose their interests.” Genesis swore colourfully and began pacing the living room. Sephiroth watched him for a moment, before returning his gaze to the child in his arms. “Considering the evidence, it seems more likely to me that he was made by Shinra,” he concluded.

“What evidence?” Genesis snapped.

Sephiroth stared at him blankly. “He has SOLDIER enhancements, which Shinra has worked tirelessly to ensure remain solely within their capability. Additionally, based on his phenotyping, he likely shares genetic connection with me. Hojo has all such details locked down even more securely. If we are related, Hojo had a hand in his creation.”

Genesis let out a strangled groan. “Wonderful. We have an enhanced baby assassin, who is most likely your son or brother but has also been conditioned to kill you as insurance against you ever having free will.”

Sephiroth couldn’t help but release a strangled sound. “Son?” he rasped after a long moment.

Genesis raised an eyebrow at him. “You’re the one that said you share genetics. That would make you either his parent or sibling.” Sephiroth stared down at the child. Now that the boy was no longer screaming, he realised how comfortable it felt to hold him in his arms. There was a long beat before Genesis continued, “Come on then, Daddy. Let’s put him back to bed and we can talk about all this properly.”

Sephiroth nodded mutely, struggling to tear his eyes from the child. It was surprisingly hard to let him go as he laid him down to rest. He couldn’t help but reach out and smooth some hair from the boy’s face, before reluctantly tearing himself away. Genesis leaned against the doorframe, a strange look in his eye as he watched. Sephiroth, feeling oddly uncomfortable at the scrutiny, tilted his head, allowing a curtain of hair to fall between them. “Let us discuss how we shall proceed,” he said, striding back to the living room.

{UC-UC-UC}

Cloud woke slowly, mind sluggish against the sweet whispers of Sleep. He stretched, eyebrows furrowing as he noticed the strangely large size of the bed he was in. The only person he could think of who would own a bed this decadently-sized would be Rufus. That thought helped banish the final wisps of lethargy, and he snapped his eyes open. Not recognising the room he was in, he sat up slowly, listening for a hint of where he was and who might be nearby. He made out several voices talking. One seemed somewhat familiar, though he couldn’t place it, while the other was completely unknown to him. He tensed, glancing around for his gear, before looking down at himself. Instead of his usual outfit, he was dressed in comfortable but incredibly childish pyjamas. Vertigo overtook him as he was forcibly reminded of his new size, and he suddenly remembered what had happened. The time travel, the transformation into a child, the SOLDIER, Sephiroth! As if summoned by the thought, Sephiroth’s voice joined the pair. Cloud grew rigid at the sound. A small part of him remembered the new clothes he was wearing and realised that they had stripped and redressed him, leaving him swaying with horrified nausea at the idea of such vulnerability.

Something in the tone of the voices changed, and footsteps sounded, growing louder quickly. Adrenaline shot through Cloud, and he immediately catalogued his options. As an unarmed child against Sephiroth, who had two allies, Cloud could do nothing. He needed to escape. As the footsteps reached the door to the room, Cloud turned, and charged at the window. The shattering glass was punctuated by yells behind him. Rolling into a run, Cloud slowed only to scoop up a relatively long shard of glass before accelerating to his full enhanced speed. Behind him, he could hear the sounds of pursuit. To his frustration, they were gaining on him. Cursing the short legs of his new, far too young body, he looked around for options. The large rocket dominating the skyline told him immediately where he was. Unfortunately, the houses of Rocket Town were generously spaced, leaving him without any blind alleys or tight corners to take. Gritting his teeth at his lack of options, he allowed his steps to slow fractionally and forced his breathing to sound a touch heavier and more desperate.

As the footsteps behind him closed, he tensed in anticipation, before suddenly spinning and launching himself at the lead pursuer. He met Sephiroth’s startled gaze as he snarled, swinging his glass blade for the monster’s throat. Only the man’s inhumanly fast reflexes saved him as he twisted under the slash. Cloud kept up his momentum, moving to slash at the red-haired SOLDIER’s knees. The man swore, barely redirecting his attack with a shimmering barrier of magic. Undeterred, Cloud charged past, setting his eyes on the third pursuer. The dark-haired man also bore the uniform and Mako eyes of a SOLDIER. As tall as Sephiroth, but far broader of shoulder, he looked like a giant from Cloud’s new perspective. He had a regulation broadsword sheathed at his hip, and across his back…

Cloud staggered to a stop, staring at the Buster Sword affixed to the unknown SOLDIER’s back. He had Zack’s sword. He had Zack’s sword! Cloud bared his teeth as rage flowed through him. “Where did you get that sword!?” he snarled. The SOLDIER blinked at him, surprise crossing his face.

“The Buster?” he asked, reaching a hand to touch swords handle. “It was a gift from my parents.”

Cloud felt his face twist in contempt at that pathetic attempt at deception. “Liar,” he growled. “Who did you take it from? What did you do to him? Did you hurt him? Did you kill him!?” His voice rose into a screech, before sudden movement behind him reminded his of his situation. Before he could spin to face the threat, large, strong arms grabbed him, pinning his arms to his side. He screamed as long silver hair dangled past his face, identifying his captor. “No! Let me go! Monster! Murderer!” he howled, as Rhapsodos stepped in front of him, brandishing a materia once more. Despite his protests, the red-head cast, Sleep washing over Cloud once more. He struggled against it with all his might, desperately trying to hold his eyes open, glaring hatefully at the man who had stolen Zack’s sword. Inevitably, the magic grew too strong, and he slumped into unconsciousness.

{UC-UC-UC}

Angeal stared, stricken at the small child now limp in Sephiroth’s grasp. He looked up to meet his friend’s gaze, finding pain in the tension around his eyes. Genesis moved forward, gently prying the shard of glass from the boy’s sleeping grasp and hissing at the bloodstained mess left behind.

“Let’s get back to the safehouse,” he said, unusually subdued. “We need to clean this out before I heal it.”

Sephiroth gave a jerky nod and shifted the boy in his grasp, cradling him in his arms. The look he gave the boy was full of such emotion, Angeal had to look away. As they continued back to their safehouse, he frowned, turning the boy’s words over in his mind.

“How did he recognise the Buster?” he mused softly. “And why did he think I stole it?”

“Excellent questions,” Genesis responded. “However, I’m more curious as to who he thinks you took it from.”

Angeal hummed in thought. Then, he glanced at Sephiroth, who had yet to take his eyes of the child in his arms. “Are you alright, Sephiroth?” he prompted gently.

Sephiroth’s eyes flickered towards Angeal for a moment, before returning. “I am uninjured,” he replied.

Genesis made a rude noise in the back of this throat. “Now that is the worst deflection I have ever heard. You know that’s not what he was asking. Try again.”

There was a long pause, during which Angeal could see Sephiroth working to control many conflicting emotions. It had taken years to reach this level of understanding of the closed off man and he had never been so grateful for the skill. “I suppose,” he said eventually, “it is simply difficult to learn that I have a living family member, and that he hates me so utterly.”

Angeal reached out to clasp his shoulder firmly. “I am sorry, my friend. I’m sure that with time, he will be able to recover from the conditioning he experienced and give you a chance.”

Sephiroth gave him a small smile before looking back at the child. “I can only hope you are right.”

{UC-UC-UC}

When Cloud woke up – again – he bolted upright. A quick glance revealed him to have been laying on a long couch under a thin sheet. It was in the living room he had glimpsed earlier, when he nearly reached the Fusion Sword. He knew before he looked that his gear would have been moved from the table and hidden elsewhere. Swinging his eyes around, he found himself surrounded by Sephiroth and the two SOLDIERs – the larger one, still bearing the Buster Sword, behind the couch, with the other two in front, nearer the ends. Immediately he tensed, glancing around for any possible escape, but found none. It seemed the SOLDIERs had learned, leaving no gaps in their guard for him to exploit. Instead, he snapped his gaze back to Sephiroth, as the most significant threat.

Under his scrutiny, Sephiroth spread his arms, keeping his hands clearly visible and open. He had a strange expression on his face, one Cloud had never seen before. It put him on edge. An unpredictable Sephiroth was a dangerous Sephiroth.

“I know you will find this hard to believe, but I don’t mean you any harm,” Sephiroth said, speaking slowly and clearly. Cloud couldn’t help the incredulous noise that escaped him. Sephiroth’s expression became even stranger. If it had been anyone else, Cloud might have called it sorrow. “I don’t know precisely what was done to you to cause you to fear me with such intensity, but I can only promise that I will not hurt you, as you have clearly been hurt in the past.”

Cloud felt his face twist in disbelief. While he understood that he had travelled through time – the existence of Jenova and a restored Nibelheim more than enough confirmation, even before learning the year from the red-haired SOLDIER – it hadn’t truly felt real. He knew that Sephiroth had not been a megalomaniacal psychopath bent on world destruction before he came to Nibelheim and was exposed to both Jenova and Hojo’s manipulative notes and journals. He knew that. But the man standing before him was identical to the monster that had destroyed his home, invaded his mind and tormented him for years. And, even if by some miracle, he remained sane, he was still Shinra’s paragon SOLDIER, their most powerful weapon against their enemies, of which Cloud – should they learn of his existence and intentions – would be the first.

“As if I would ever trust you,” he said, voice like ice. The dark-haired SOLDIER behind the couch let out a pained sound, shifting slightly more into Cloud’s sightline.

“I’m sorry you feel that way,” he said, voice incredibly warm and gentle. Like he was talking to a scared animal. Cloud’s lip pulled into a sneer. “I can tell you that in my experience, Sephiroth always keeps his promises.”

Cloud laughed derisively. “Oh, I’m sure he’ll keep to the letter of his word. Why would he hurt me himself, when he can have his lackeys here do it for him?” An offended breath from the red-haired man behind him had Cloud tilt his head to keep an eye on him as well. “Or maybe he’ll simply have the Turks torture information out of me. Or hand me over to your scientists,” he spat the word like a curse, “to take me apart until they figure out how I work.”

The man behind him – Rhapsodos, Cloud remembered – looked sickened at his words and the dark-haired man sputtered in horror.

“We wouldn’t do that,” he rasped. “We wouldn’t let anyone torture a child, and we certainly aren’t going to let anyone experiment on you ever again.”

Cloud simply sneered at him, disbelieving, before looking back to meet Sephiroth’s unflinching gaze.

“What can we do to prove our intentions to you,” Sephiroth asked carefully.

“Give me back my gear and let me go,” Cloud said immediately.

“No,” the dark-haired one said firmly. “You are a child. It would be dishonourable to let you run off to who-knows-where without protection.”

Cloud bared his teeth at the man. “I can protect myself, Thief.”

“His name is Angeal Hewley,” Rhapsodos said firmly.

“What else can we do?” Sephiroth asked, ignoring the others.

Cloud squinted at him carefully. His heart still raced at the sight of the man, and he struggled not to allow his breath to grow short, but it really did seem that this Sephiroth was untouched by Jenova’s influence for now. He considered a moment, and thought of a good test, one that would also help his next escape attempt.

“There’s a Ribbon,” he said slowly, watching for any sign of recognition in Sephiroth’s eyes, “tied to the handle of my sword. I want it back.” Sephiroth exchanged a confused look with the other SOLDIERs. Cloud simply stared at him, daring him to show his true colours. If Sephiroth knew anything of the future, if he was merely pretending not to for some twisted reason, he wouldn’t return something that would offer Cloud protection from so many restrictive and debilitating effects.

“Very well,” Sephiroth said at last, inclining his head in concession. When he began to move, Cloud leapt to his feet. The three SOLDIERs immediately snapped to readiness, watching him warily.

“No,” Cloud said sharply. “Not you. You don’t touch it. Ever.” Sephiroth seemed even more confused but nodded again. Cloud pointed at Rhapsodos without taking his eyes off Sephiroth. “You get it.”

Rhapsodos gave a loud huff. Only when the dark-haired man – Hewley – shot him a pleading look, did he flounce off, clearly making a show of his reluctance. Cloud paid careful attention to the sounds of his movements, trying to identify where his weapon and materia had been stored. As if reading his mind – a thought that had Cloud tensing up again – Sephiroth moved and drew his full attention back. The man didn’t move closer, simply stepping around to cover move space before Cloud in Rhapsodos’s absence. There was a long silence as they waited.

Finally, Rhapsodos returned, approaching Cloud carefully, and presenting the Ribbon with a small flourish. Cloud snatched it from his grasp, pulling it close against his chest. He felt a burst of sorrow as his thoughts touched on the old wound of Aerith’s death. With a shaky breath, he set to wrapping it firmly around his bicep.

{UC-UC-UC}

Genesis stared at the utterly confounding child before them. When they had woken him again, they had been prepared for him to try another escape attempt, or assassination when he realised that was impossible. Instead, while clearly still scared, the boy had controlled his emotions and engaged them verbally. And what a sight that had been. The little hellion had stonewalled and rejected all attempts to reach out to him, instead throwing out the most horrifying statements, in what Genesis could see were attempts to destabilise, or perhaps even provoke them. He also clearly knew a disturbing amount about classified Shinra operations. Taken together with his barbed insults, almost perfectly tailored to get under each of their skins, he was revealing himself to be a delightfully conniving little manipulator. The request for the ribbon was so deliberately innocuous that Genesis knew it had to hold some special power. He remembered the boy’s strange smirk when they first met, as Sleep was cast on him. Hiding his delight when the boy demanded that Genesis be the one to retrieve it behind false offence, he strode away dramatically. He knew his friends would recognise the performance for what it was.

Reaching the cabinet storing the boy’s gear, the carefully pulled the sword down from the highest shelf, the better to keep it from small hands. Delicately, he unknotted the fabric from the handle of the blade. He definitely did not want to see the boy’s reaction should the ribbon be returned damaged. Once he had the ribbon in hand and the sword returned to the shelf, he drew out an Assess materia. Channelling mana into the orb, he set to scanning the ribbon. His eyebrows rose at what he found. What a delightfully powerful protective item. With the amount of times Genesis had cast Sleep on the child, he knew exactly why the boy wanted it back now. Popping the Binding materia from his bracer, he replaced it with Time, in case he needed to Slow or Stop the child later.

When he returned and presented the accessory to the boy, he made a small re-evaluation. In addition to the protective powers afforded by the ribbon, it clearly held great emotional significance. He felt his heart ache sympathetically at the flicker of grief on that small face. No child should know grief like that. The desire to find and burn whatever lab had created this child grew more intense. Although, he mused, remembering the boy’s dramatic use of Phoenix when they met, perhaps the boy had beaten him to that too.

Once he had the ribbon firmly affixed, the boy turned a gimlet eye back upon them. After a long silence, Angeal cleared his throat. “Well now, with all the … excitement,” he said diplomatically, “it has been far too long since you have eaten. I’ll prepare a meal.”

As expected, the boy merely snarled at him. “I’m not eating anything you make.” He then turned his glare on Sephiroth, as if daring him to comment. Genesis despaired internally when the Silver General couldn’t help but respond to the bait.

“Eating is non-negotiable,” he said sternly “You are enhanced, you need to eat.”

The boy scoffed. “I can last three days without food before anything hurts, and a week before it impairs me. Twice that if I don’t need to exert myself.”

There was a ringing silence at that declaration. The certainty in the child’s voice made it abundantly clear that he knew those facts from experience. Angeal looked utterly stricken, while Sephiroth’s face showed a grim familiarity.

Genesis clapped, startling the boy, who spun towards him with a combat ready stance. Genesis pointedly breezed past it. “Nevertheless, there’s absolutely no reason to let it get close to that point. Now, while I’m hardly as talented in the kitchen as Angeal, I’m sure I can make something to meet your high standards.”

The boy had the audacity to roll his eyes before resuming his glare. Genesis quickly smothered his delight, merely raising an eyebrow at the boy expectantly. After a long beat, the boy clarified, “I’m not stupid enough to eat anything that is probably drugged.”

Angeal made a soft sound of discontent, while Sephiroth merely hummed thoughtfully. The boy twitched at the sound, fists clenching and releasing. Rummaging quickly, Genesis produced an orb of materia and attached it to a basic materia bracer. The boy eyed it warily. With a flick of his wrist, Genesis tossed it to the child. The boy made an abortive move to dodge, before snatching the bracer from the air. He examined it for a moment, before eyeing Genesis with sheer bafflement. “Cleansing materia?”

Genesis hummed in agreement. “Mastered too,” he commented.

A complicated expression crossed the boy’s face. “You know I can stop you using Sleep on me with this, right?”

Genesis merely shrugged artfully, ignoring the other Firsts’ wary looks. “Consider it another expression of trust,” he said airily. “Now, will you let us feed you?”

The boy stared at him for a long beat before giving a small nod. Genesis breezed over to the kitchen, setting to preparing a simple but filling meal. As he gathered the required utensils and ingredients, he kept one eye on the child over the counter. Without the distraction of conversation, the boy seemed to struggle to control his fear once again. He slowly edged away from Sephiroth and Angeal, who moved to remain between him and any exits, until his back was firmly against the wall. He gripped the materia convulsively, twitching at any movement from the remaining Firsts.

Cloud kept his back firmly to the wall as Rhapsodos flitted around the kitchen, preparing food. The entire time, the man filled the air with chattering. He peppered Cloud with questions on his preferences in dishes, easily continuing the one-sided conversation when he received no answers. As the rich smell of cooking meat and sauce filled the air, he transitioned to eulogising LOVELESS, of all things, describing – and critiquing – different interpretations of the poem. It set the niggling familiarity from before itching at his mind, and he suddenly realised why.

He remembered going on missions with Zack, and seeing him fighting with Rhapsodos who had defected from Shinra. He also remembered that the man had been experiencing mutations and deterioration. Cloud shuddered at the memory of the man, hair bleached and dull, bearing a single black wing so similar to Sephiroth’s.

Clenching his teeth, Cloud did his best to simply let the noise pass over him, focusing his attention on Sephiroth and Hewley. The two SOLDIERs had shifted away, giving him some more space, while still staying firmly between him and possible escape routes. Despite the distance, he still found himself twitching at any loud noise or sudden movements. It wasn’t helped by Sephiroth staring at him unblinking, with an expression Cloud simply couldn’t name.

Finally, Rhapsodos placed a bowl upon the kitchen island, giving a shallow bow and gesturing towards a stool before it. Cloud looked between the chair and Sephiroth, until the man gave a near-inaudible sigh, and moved further back, deliberately placing the couch between them. While it wasn’t close to being enough to actually impede the man, it was the best Cloud could hope for right now. The hairs on the back of his neck stood on end at the knowledge that Sephiroth was at his back, as he approached the kitchen island. Hopping up to crouch on the stool – Cloud cursed his new height – before turning to the meal. It seemed to be a simple Bolognese. Gripping the Cleansing materia, he focused, channelling his mana into it and casting an Esuna to purify the food. Then, he reached for it, only to pause and blink, before frowning at Rhapsodos. The man smirked, idly spinning a fork between his fingers.

“If I give you this, will you promise not to stab anyone with it?” he asked, far too cheerfully. Cloud huffed and nodded. The man tutted, “I need to hear you say it.”

Shooting a venomously glare, Cloud gritted out, “I promise not to use it to stab anyone.” Rhapsodos responded with a beatific smile, holding out the utensil handle first. Snatching it, Cloud immediately began devouring the food. Now that he was eating, he could acknowledge that he was ravenous.

“Don’t make yourself sick, now,” Rhapsodos chided as he placed a glass of water in Cloud’s reach. Pausing his feast to palm the materia, Cloud cast once again at the water, before grabbing it and guzzling it down. Returning to the food, he continued at a somewhat more reasonable pace.

When he finished, he stared down at the empty bowl. Even with the large serving, he found he was still hungry. He bit down on his tongue as his desire for more warred with the need to not show these SOLDIERs any weakness. As he firmed his jaw, ready to deal with simply remaining unfulfilled, his stomach growled loudly. He felt his cheeks flush, as Rhapsodos chuckled.

“Still hungry?” he asked rhetorically, already taking Cloud’s bowl and refilling it. Cloud averted his gaze. Once the new bowl had been filled and cleansed, he continued eating, now at an even slower rate. Gradually, he forced the tension from his shoulders, and carefully relaxed the rest of his body. He allowed his eyelids to droop as he slowly chewed the next mouthful. Rhapsodos, lounging against the cabinets on the other side of the kitchen, gave a self-satisfied smirk. Keeping his breathing even, Cloud listened for the sounds of the other Firsts, hearing Hewley’s subtle shifts and Sephiroth’s quiet breathing.

When Rhapsodos glanced away, perhaps looking at Sephiroth, and opened his mouth to say something, Cloud moved. Jumping forward, he quickly kicked off against the counter and twisted in midair. As he turned, he threw the fork as hard as could at Sephiroth, who was already moving, halfway over the couch. While the man managed to roll to avoid the attack, it gave Cloud enough time to land and throw the bowl at Hewley’s face. The man raised his armed, easily blocking the projectile, but also obscuring his vision. Immediately, Cloud darted forward, dropping to slip between the man’s legs and bolt for the front door. He dodged to the side as he felt a spell cast behind him, a chill running through him as he realised Rhapsodos had cast Stop. His Ribbon couldn’t prevent that, and Rhapsodos shouldn’t have know that. His fear skyrocketed once again, and he jumped and launched off the wall of the short entry foyer to kick the front door and shatter the latch. Rolling through the doorway to avoid further spells, he leapt to his feet, ready to speed towards the gate separating the house from the road.

Before he could take a step, he smacked into another person blocking his path. He quickly took in their SOLDIER uniform, readying himself to dodge or fight, when he saw the man’s face, although he was . Cloud came to an immediate halt. The man looked down at him with kind – empty and staring and dead, dead, dead – blue eyes. He tilted his head curiously before crouching down in front of him and offering Cloud a wide grin – face growing slack as rain and tears washed away the lingering traces of blood.

“Hey there, little buddy,” he said gently, reaching out an entreating hand. “Whatcha doing out here on your own?”

“You will be my living legacy.”

Cloud stared at the impossible SOLDIER, feeling his eyes grow wide, expression blank, his hands limp at his side. He swayed where he stood. This couldn’t be …

“Get back, Zack!” Hewley shouted behind him, and he sucked in a sharp breath.

Before the SOLDIER – Zack, it was Zack, he was alive – could move, Cloud shot forwards, crashing into his chest with an anguished wail. Zack rocked back under the force before his arms automatically came up to cradle him. A part of Cloud screamed at him, reminding him that he needed to keep running, to escape the SOLDIERs and Sephiroth, but it was drowned out by the agonised relief of finally being back with Zack, who was wondrously, miraculously alive.

Zack rocked back slightly on his heels as the child slammed into him with surprising force. He felt his heart break as the little boy began crying, with loud agonised sobs. Instinctively, he brought his hands up to support him, gently rubbing his back. He felt small hands clutching desperately at his clothes and sword harness, as the boy’s face pressed into his neck growing wet with tears.

“Hey, it’s okay buddy, I’ve got you.” His reassurance failed to help, as the child’s wails simply grew in intensity, his grip tightening. Glancing up, he saw Sephiroth, Angeal and Genesis crowded around the doorway, staring in utter astonishment. Even Sephiroth’s usual blank mask had cracked somewhat as he looked down at them with wide eyes. Carefully shifting his grip to support the boy more, Zack stood back to his full height. At a quiet gesture from Angeal, he moved into the safehouse, flanked by the Firsts. Unsure what else to do, he moved in to sit on the couch and continued cuddling the crying child.

As he leaned back, allowing his chest to take more of the boy’s weight, he reached into his pocket to fish out his PHS. Unlocking it one-handed, he tossed it to Angeal, who read through the most recent messages with a wince.

He had taken it in stride when Angeal had rushed off before their mission was fully completed, excited that his mentor was trusting him to finish the job without supervision. Then, he had made his way to Rocket Town, finding accommodation to wait for the Firsts to finish up with whatever emergency had brought them all out here. He had done his best to be patient, and keep his curiousity under control, distracting himself exploring the town, talking to the locals and falling back on ol’ reliable squats. It hadn’t helped that something had knocked out most of the power for the town, leaving Shinra operations to be prioritised for what remained.

Unfortunately, it seemed none of the Firsts were checking their PHSs, as the Shinra higher ups quickly began directing their inquiries and orders to Zack. He had ignored them for a while, until he received a call from a highly aggravated Lazard, ordering him in no uncertain terms to find the Firsts and pass on their marching orders. Between new orders from higher up the chain of command and his existing desire to learn just what had caught the Firsts’ attention, he had hurried over to their safehouse to take a look. He had definitely not expected a baby with Sephiroth’s hair and slit pupils to break down the door and charge towards him. And he certainly hadn’t expected the boy to stop and stare at him as if he’d seen a ghost, before flinging himself into Zack’s arms.

Zack hummed gently, running a hand up and down the crying child’s back. He murmured soothing nothings as he watched the Firsts move carefully around the room, cleaning up what seemed like a minor skirmish. Angeal flitted around the room, collecting a bowl from the floor and a fork embedded firmly in the wall, before moving to wash everything in the sink. Genesis was at work on the door, seemingly melting the latch closed with a Fire materia. Sephiroth hovered nearby, staring at Zack and the boy in his arms. If it were anyone else, Zack would have called the look on his face helplessness.

It took a while for the boy’s sobs to cease, gradually fading into quiet hiccoughs. Eventually, he made a visible effort to pull himself together, heaving a deep breath before sitting back to look up at Zack’s face. Zack smiled softly down at him, grinning a little as he determinedly wiped his face with his sleeve.

“Sorry,” the boy muttered, cheeks growing flushed in embarrassment. He seemed torn between being unable to meet Zack’s gaze and being unable to take his eyes off him. His expression was almost reverent as he reached out, hesitantly touching Zack’s face.

Shaking off his confusion, Zack gave an easy grin. “Hey, there’s nothing to apologise for, little buddy. I hope you’re feeling better now, though.” The simple kindness seemed to overwhelm the boy, slitted eyes growing glassy with tears, but he inhaled sharply, eyes blinking them away. He brought his other hand forward, grabbing hold of Zack’s face and pressing against his cheeks. Zack suppressed the urge to coo at the boy’s suddenly serious expression.

“Zack,” he whispered, trying to be so firm and mature, despite his tiny voice, “we need to get away from Sephiroth and his minions, before he tries to kill us.”

Zack couldn’t help the snort of amusement he gave that. The boy frowned, lower lip pouting out adorably in his frustration. “Zack, this is serious! He’s not safe!”

Reaching up, Zack gently took the boy’s hands from his face and held them between the two of them. “I understand that you feel like that’s true, but I promise, Sephiroth is a good guy. He might seem pretty cold and distant at times, but he’s always looked out for me, and the other SOLDIERs under his command.”

The child scowled at this, making a noise of frustration. Behind him, Sephiroth shifted, moving slightly towards them. Immediately, the boy tensed, before lunging over Zack’s shoulder. In the blink of an eye, he stood between them, brandishing Zack’s broadsword threateningly at Sephiroth. The General stopped, holding his hands out carefully at his side. Zack picked his jaw off the floor and hurried to his feet, as the other Firsts returned swiftly to the room.

“Whoa! Hey buddy, that’s not safe, okay, lemme have that back,” he said, reaching for the boy carefully. Slowly, he brought his hand to the boy’s shoulder, feeling him tremble with battle-readiness. His eyes were unblinkingly fixed to Sephiroth, who gazed back with his expression carefully blank. Slowly, Zack eased his hand along the boy’s arm, until he was grasping the hilt over his tiny fingers. He felt breathless for a moment at the thought of this tiny child wielding weapons, so ready to fight. “Yeah, that’s it, buddy, you’re okay, no one’s gonna hurt you, lemme take that for you now.” Delicately, he peeled the boy’s fingers from the hilt until he managed to take it fully. With a careful twist, he turned it away from everyone and returned it to the mag-holster on his back.

Returning his attention to the boy before him, he could see the tension still thrumming in his body as he continued staring at Sephiroth. His breaths came in short, sharp pants, and Zack frowned at the sound of his little heart thrumming like a hummingbird’s. Behind the boy’s back, he signalled for Sephiroth to fall back. After a moment of consideration, the General complied, taking slow, measured steps backwards. At the first hint of movement, the boy’s breath caught and he grew even tenser. Waiting a moment to see if increased distance helped, Zack made a soft humming sound to get his attention.

“Hey, it’s okay, you’re safe, I promise.” At his words, the boy’s shoulders relaxed a hint. “Yeah, you’re doing great. I’m gonna touch you now, just on the back, okay?” After a moment he did so, gently pressing his palm against the boy. At the touch, the boy gasped in a heaving breath, before spinning and slamming into Zack and grabbing at him tightly once more. Grunting a little from the force of the impact, Zack kept his balance and returned the embrace. He didn’t cry at all this time, just clutching at Zack’s clothes with a desperate grip. Returning to his earlier soft humming, Zack once again rubbed soothing circles across the child’s back, calming fingers through his spikey silver hair, as he shared a helpless look with the Firsts.

Cloud grit his teeth in frustration at the cursed body he had been saddled with. His emotions were so much stronger than normal, utterly overwhelming his ability to think properly or handle things as he normally would. Now, in all the anger and tension and confusion and fear and horror, he couldn’t stop his childlike body from desperately clinging to the one person he knew, beyond a shadow of a doubt, would keep him safe. Taking a deep breath, both to steady himself and to enjoy the half-remembered scent of Zack, he pushed himself away. The gentle hands on his back and head loosened, easily allowing him to pull away. To Cloud’s chagrin, he couldn’t quite bear to let go completely, one hand holding on to the hem of Zack’s shirt as he looked up at the man who saved him and died for him. Zack looked back with warm, worried eyes. Cloud was struck by a wave of nostalgia, remembering with fondness similar looks back when he had pushed past his limits or ignored injuries to get the job done.

Then, Zack asked, “Feeling better, Spike?” Cloud started at the name, looking up at Zack with wide eyes. Could it be? Was it possible that Zack remembered too? Then, the illusion shattered as Zack seemed to view his reaction as negative. “Sorry, just thought it was a good nickname, what with the hair and all. I didn’t wanna keep just calling you kid, after all, but I don’t know your name yet …”

Closing his eyes against the wave of grief as his hopes were dashed, Cloud shook his head. “You can call me Spike,” he said, forcing his tone dead to prevent his desperate need from leaking out.

“Okay, I can sometimes,” Zack agreed easily, “buuuut, I really would like to know your name. Please?”

Unable to deny Zack, he began, “My name is Clo-” before suddenly cutting himself off, almost choking with the urgency, as he mentally berated himself. He absolutely could not use his own name. At this moment, a fourteen-year-old Cloud Strife had joined – or was about to join – Shinra in the hopes of becoming a SOLDIER. Cloud sharing not just that boy’s appearance, but also his name? No, that would set off so many alarms and draw far too much attention to his younger self, perhaps even put him in Hojo’s sights. He could not do that.

Opening his eyes, and taking in Zack’s curious but concerned expression, he cursed internally. He had paused for far too long, and now it was clear he was hiding something about his identity. Mentally scrambling, he grabbed the first name he could think of that matched what had already revealed. “Clover,” he forced out. “My name is Clover.”

Zack’s face split into a wide grin. “It’s a pleasure to meet you, Clover!” he said with such genuine honesty. Cloud – Clover, he reminded himself, not wanting to slip in the future – felt as if the air had been punched out of him. “I’m Zack, Zack Fair, SOLDIER Second Class.” Clover returned the smile helplessly.

Gods he had missed this man. He would die before letting him suffer the same fate again.

Gently, Zack turned him to face the rest of the room, where the others stood watching. Clover stiffened at the sight of them. He had forgotten they were there. He had forgotten Sephiroth was there. He felt himself sway slightly on his feet at the realisation.

“Now,” Zack continued, relentlessly cheerful. “I think you might’ve been introduced already, but, just in case, these are: Angeal Hewley, the Heart of SOLDIER and my mentor; Genesis Rhapsodos, the Red Mage of Shinra and Angeal’s best friend; and Sephiroth, General of SOLDIER and Hero of Wutai.” He gestured to each in turn. Hewley smiled nodded, Rhapsodos gave a small bow, and Sephiroth merely continued staring.

Clover stared back at him, resisting the urge to snarl. “I think the people of Wutai would disagree with that,” he said instead. There was silence for a beat before Rhapsodos burst into laughter. Hewley looked as if he had sucked a lemon, while Sephiroth merely tilted his head. Clover stared at him, frustrated and on edge seeing a gesture that he couldn’t recognise from the man. Zack shifted, drawing Clover’s gaze to his sad, puppy-eyed expression. Clover dug in his heels on instinct, before Zack’s lip shifted into a small pout, and he huffed out a sigh. Looking back at the Firsts, Clover said blandly, “It’s a pleasure to meet you.” Rhapsodos merely laughed harder. Clover sighed, bringing a hand up to pinch the bridge of his nose. He grimaced at the wet and sticky sensation there. Right. He had spent far too long sobbing onto Zack. Gaia he was a mess.

Apparently seeing Clover’s problem, Hewley chimed in. “Perhaps it’s time for Clover to bathe, Zack.”

Clover immediately baulked. “I can wash myself,” he insisted.

“Nope!” Zack said promptly, popping the word comically. “I helped out with my kid cousins, and I know you’re too little to be left in the bath by yourself.”

“I’m not a kid!” Clover snapped, irritation masking his utter mortification at such an idea. Between what he remembered of Trooper training, the Lab and camping all over the world, he wasn’t close to being body shy, but this was beyond that.

Rhapsodos had finally managed to contain his laughter, adding, with only a hint of mirth, “Definitely not a normal child in the least, as the three escape attempts have shown. With that in mind, I’d also say it would be wise not to leave you unattended.”

“Right then, let’s get you cleaned up,” Zack said, suddenly picking Clover up from under his arms, before settling him on his hip. Clover blinked, taken aback at the sudden shift, before flushing in mortification.

“I can walk!” he squawked, squirming in the man’s grip. He didn’t struggle as hard as he could, quailing inside at the idea of ever hurting Zack, even in the slightest.

“I know you can, Spikey,” Zack grinned, ruffling Clover’s hair with his free hand, “but you’re so cute, I just can’t help wanting to cuddle you heaps!” From the corner of his eye, Clover could see the Firsts watching the exchange with a mixture of bafflement and delight, and he couldn’t help but hide his burning face behind his hands. Someone making a quiet coo certainly didn’t help matters.

Before he knew it, Zack had carted him into a bathroom, popped him down to sit on the counter beside the sink and set about running the bath. Clover looked around, taking in the well-equipped, but not overly extravagant furnishings of the room. From the space and layout, he suspected it to be a Turk safehouse of some kind, which the Firsts had co-opted. He grimaced at the thought, suddenly desperately hoping they had swept it for bugs before waking him up. He really didn’t want the Turks breathing down his neck as well.

The movement of Zack’s reflection in the corner of his eye drew his attention. Realising this was the first mirror he had encountered since his abrupt journey through time and subsequent de-aging, he turned to get his first proper look at himself. The child he saw before him definitely seemed familiar, sharing his face but smaller, rounder and plumper with baby fat. But his eyes snapped to the flash of silver, battle instinct rising at the colour. His hands rose to clutch desperately at his hair, watching in horror as the child reflected before him did the same thing. He felt the bottom drop out of his stomach.

His hair was silver.

As his breathing hitched, and he scrabbled at the counter to face the mirror more fully, his caught his own wide blue eyes in the reflection. His pupils were slits.

He had Sephiroth’s eyes.

After a few moments, the ringing in his ears resolved into his voice raised in a high and terrified whine. His grip became painful as he tried to rip the disgusting hair from his head. He couldn’t tear his eyes from those awful slits, staring back from his familiar eyes. Distantly, he felt firm but gentle hands trying to pry his grip loose.

He co-operated for moment, before surging his nails towards his eyes. There was a yell as the hands snapped around his wrists, halting their motion instantly. He screamed and writhed in the grip, desperately needing those eyes gone. He couldn’t do this again. He begged and cried for someone, anyone to get Sephiroth out of his head, gasping and choking until those horrible eyes rolled away, and he fell into darkness.

Chapter Text

Zack felt himself floundering, so incredibly out of his depth at what had just happened. He’d thought things were going good! Clover – and what an adorable name that was for the sweet boy – had started opening up, sharing his name, and letting Zack carry him to the bathroom, despite his clear embarrassment. Then, while Zack was running him a nice bath, he’d turned his curious eyes on the mirror, and everything had gone to hell.

Clover had made such a terrible noise, so scared and horrified, that Zack had gone for his sword on instinct, before he realised no monsters were present. Then he had realised that Clover was rocking back and forth as he stared at his reflection in terror, almost ripping clumps of hair from his head. Zack had darted across the room, trying to gently pry the boy’s fingers loose, murmuring quiet pleas for him to stop. To his relief, Clover had complied, only to suddenly turn his fingers on his own eyes. Zack had yelled in shock and horror, immediately grabbing those tiny wrists, desperate not to let him hurt himself.

He had distantly noted the door behind him slamming open, but all his focus had been on the wailing child before him. Clover had babbled almost mindlessly, begging and pleading, “Get him out, please, I can’t, not again, get him out, I can’t!” His breathing had grown shallow and desperate, eyes wild but locked on the mirror, until suddenly they had rolled back as he went limp. Zack had cursed, shifting his grip to keep the child from falling.

Now, with the emergency resolved, he was able to raise his eyes to the mirror, taking in the reflection of the Firsts gathered in the doorway. Angeal’s face shared the horror churning in Zack’s gut, while Genesis looked sad and contemplative. Sephiroth’s face was utterly blank as he stared at Clover.

Finally, Zack broke the silence. “What the actual fuck.”

“Language, Puppy,” Angeal replied on instinct. Genesis snorted softly, and the tension eased. Pushing past Sephiroth, Genesis stepped close, gently raising Clover’s tiny arms and examining the bruises forming on his wrists. Zack winced. He’d been so desperate to stop Clover hurting himself that he’d hurt the boy too. With a quiet hum, Genesis washed a Cure over the injuries, easily vanishing the purpling mottle and the damage beneath.

As the other Firsts drifted into the bathroom, Zack cleared his throat. “No, but really, what was that? What is going on?”

Sephiroth let out a long sigh and raised a hand to pinch the bridge of his nose. Zack blinked. That was more expressive than he’d ever seen Sephiroth before. Granted, he mainly knew the man through Angeal, and not super well, but still!

“The current theory,” Genesis said, drawing his attention back, “is that Clover here was created using Sephiroth’s DNA and was being conditioned as a failsafe to assassinate Sephiroth – and perhaps other SOLDIERs, too – should he ever go against Shinra.”

“… What!?” Zack asked, appalled. “But, Shinra wouldn’t do that! SOLDIER is part of Shinra! We’re supposed to be heroes!”

“Shinra will do whatever is necessary to protect their interests,” Sephiroth replied tonelessly. “So long as it protects and expands their money and power, nothing is anathema.”

“I just don’t understand how he could have tried doing that to himself,” Angeal mused, staring at Clover sadly. Genesis sighed.

“You didn’t see him when he first woke up,” he said tiredly. “The way he looked at Sephiroth … he was completely and utterly terrified for his life. And he loathes our Silver General, too. I don’t doubt that, if he got his hands on a proper weapon, he would have made a serious attempt on Sephiroth’s life.”

They fell silent as they contemplated that thought. The only sound was the water running into the bathtub. Cursing under his breath, Zack quickly pressed Clover more firmly into Genesis’ grasp before, turning to shut it off. He stared down at the water for a moment, before shaking his head.

“This is crazy,” he said, running a hand through his hair. “Let’s get Clover clean for now, and you can all explain this to me properly.”

Genesis carried the boy over, giving a quiet hum as Zack worked to get his rather dirty pyjamas off. Zack choked, as removing the clothes revealed tiny limbs and a torso absolutely covered in scars. He almost threw up at the idea of someone hurting this actual baby. The age of some of the scars made it even worse. He dimly felt Angeal move closer to press a hand to his shoulder, steadying him.

After another moment of silence, Genesis glanced around at them, asking, “Did you catch that bit with his name?”

Angeal nodded slowly. “That hesitation. Do you think it’s a fake name, or …?”

“I doubt it,” Sephiroth interjected. “What did he tell you when you first met, again, Genesis?”

“He said Hojo called him Subject C.”

Zack’s grip almost slipped when Genesis handed him Clover at the same time. He hurriedly moved his hands to cradle the boy. Genesis shot him an apologetic grimace.

Sephiroth merely nodded, as if that wasn’t the most horrifying thing ever. “I suspect he has experienced significant punishment in the past for trying to assert his own identity, including using his preferred name.”

Flinching from the idea of what that punishment might have been, Zack carefully lowered him into the warm, shallow water, keeping a supporting hand on his back to keep him upright. His heart melted a little more as some of the tension leaked from the boy’s limbs, and he murmured quietly in his sleep. He set his jaw and mentally swore that no-one would ever going hurt this little angel ever again. Zack was going to utterly pamper him to make up for every hurt he had ever felt. Muttering a quiet thanks as Angeal passed him a soap and cloth, he set to gently cleaning the boy.

Genesis hummed in thought once again. “That’s likely why he also developed those manipulation skills,” he mused. When he received only confused looks, he huffed and threw his hands in the air. “Do none of you pay attention? Honestly. That whole production around getting this back.” He waved a hand, which bore a strange red ribbon threaded between his fingers. It took Zack a moment to remember that it had been tied around Clover’s arm. He eyed it curiously.

“Just tell us what you know, Genesis,” Sephiroth said, a tinge of weariness entering his voice.

Huffing once again, Genesis said, “When we woke him earlier to try to get him to trust us and eat, once he realised that he couldn’t escape, he made sure to throw us off balance. He deliberately brought up the idea of being tortured or experimented on because he knew we’d find it horrifying. That way, when he requested this lovely item back, -” he waved the ribbon once more, “- we wouldn’t question it too deeply.”

When Genesis didn’t elaborate, Angeal, always more willing to indulge the man’s dramatic streak, asked, “What does it do?”

Smirking and gesturing with a flourish, Genesis said, “This, my dear, is a powerful piece of protective equipment that will protect its wearer from most forms of impairment, be they magical or mundane. The bearer cannot be inflicted with Poisoning, Confusion, Silencing or even Sleep.” He grinned as Sephiroth inhaled, understanding washing over his features. “The only vulnerability appears to be Time magic,” he added.

“It was more than that, though,” Angeal pointed out. “You saw the way he looked at it and handled it too? It holds more emotional significance than just a piece of protective equipment.”

“Perhaps it is a memento of someone he lost,” Sephiroth said.

The Firsts fell silent again, no doubt considering everything that had been said and happened so far, as Zack diligently continued to clean Clover. He made sure to be extra gentle as he cleaned the remnants of the sleeping boy’s breakdown from his face.

After a long pause, Angeal shifted, looking between the other Firsts. “Well, what’s our plan? Shinra wants all of us back ASAP, especially you Genesis, since you’ve defied the deployment order. How are we going to explain all this and keep Clover safe? It would be beyond the pale to allow him to fall back into the hands of the Science department, knowing what we do now.”

“I will die before I allow that to happen,” Sephiroth declared firmly. Zack looked up at him, startled by the sudden intensity. The man stared at Clover, with what Zack realised was deep, abiding affection. He felt a smile pull at his face.

“You’re gonna be a great Dad, sir,” he offered to Sephiroth. The man looked at him sharply for a moment, clearly startled by the suggestion, before his eyes crinkled with a small smile.

“I hope so, Fair,” he said softly. Behind Zack, Genesis inhaled, as if to say something, but Sephiroth continued over him, “Something else that I am intrigued by is Clover’s response to you.”

Zack blinked at him, “What do you mean?”

“Clover has displayed serious distrust and antipathy towards Shinra and SOLDIERs in general and us specifically. He has attempted to escape our custody thrice in two days. On first waking, he showed suspicion and hostility towards Genesis, and outright terror and hatred towards myself. Later he expressed great anger towards Angeal, as well. These behaviours and attitudes, while troubling, are consistent. Towards you, however, he has displayed the opposite. He immediately ceased hostile action upon seeing you, he sought comfort and protection from you, and even took action to defend you from what he viewed as a lethal threat.” He indicated himself. “It is quite a jarring difference.”

Zack felt his jaw hanging loose and quickly closed his mouth. “Oh, wow! I, uh, hadn’t realised it was that bad. I mean, I know he said those things earlier and grabbed my sword, but I figured he just got startled or something …” When Sephiroth continued staring at him expectantly, he licked his lips nervously. “I don’t really know why he reacted so differently towards me though. I mean, I guess I’m generally good with kids, since I sorta helped raise my kid cousins, but aside from that, I’m not really sure.”

Sephiroth shared a look with Angeal and Genesis. “And you’re sure that you’ve never seen him before?” Genesis asked slowly.

“What?” Zack asked, brow furrowing. “Yes, I’m sure. I definitely would’ve remembered seeing a kid who was clearly Sephiroth’s.” He looked around at the three Firsts. “Wait, what are you suggesting?”

“We’re not suggesting anything, Zack,” Angeal reassured softly. “We’re just trying to understand what’s going on. Clover’s reaction to you is an outlier, so it stands out.”

“Okay, but I swear, I’ve never seen him before in my life, I promise!” Zack yelped.

Genesis huffed a loud sigh and shook his head. “It’s fine, Puppy, we believe you. You’ve always been a terrible liar.”

Zack deflated in relief, though he made a face, poking his tongue out at Genesis. The man flashed his hand forward, lighting a flame at the tip of his finger, and bringing it so close, Zack could taste the flame. He quickly retracted the offending organ.

“Hopefully, we will be able to unravel all the mysteries that make up Clover soon,” Sephiroth said with finality. “Now, Genesis, how shall we justify your disobedience of deployment orders to the Board?”

Zack hummed as he lifted Clover from the bath and folded him into the fluffy towel Angeal provided. As he carefully dried the small boy, he listened to the Firsts’ discussion, butting in excitedly whenever inspiration struck him, and receiving fond, supportive and exasperated looks from Angeal, Sephiroth and Genesis respectively.

Cloud came awake with a groan as he felt someone shaking his shoulder gently. His head throbbed at the motion, and he weakly batted the hand away. A soft, familiar laugh greeted his ears, and then he heard Zack say, “Come on, Clover, you’ve gotta get up now.” Cloud – no Clover – snapped upright as reality crashed over him and he once again remembered where and when he was. And who he was with. His head gave an agonising throb as he turned to stare at Zack. Who was here. Alive. Looking at him with such fondness and concern that his heart hurt even more than his head. “Whoa, slowly now,” he said, reaching out to support Clover’s back.

“Zack,” he rasped, then grimaced at how that hurt his throat.

Wincing in sympathy, Zack grabbed a glass of water from the bedside table and holding it out. “Yeah, I thought you might be a bit dehydrated after last night.”

Clover hesitated a moment as he took the glass. He couldn’t feel the orb of Cleansing materia in the pocket of the pyjamas he was wearing, which he realised with muted horror and frustration were different than the set he had been wearing before. He couldn’t remove any drugs or poisons in the water. But, as he turned his gaze back to Zack’s kind, smiling face, he knew that he didn’t need it. More than anyone in this world, he trusted Zack implicitly. With that truth wedge firmly in his heart, he greedily drank the glass of water.

“Whoa, not too fast, Spikey,” Zack said, carefully pulling the glass away before he could scull any more. “Don’t want to make yourself sick, yeah?” With his free hand, he ruffled Clover’s hair. The motion reminded Clover of his hair, and its sudden inexplicable and horrifying new colour, and the similar changes to his eyes, and he felt his fledgeling smile fall.

Clenching his fists to resist the impulse to go for his own eyes again, Clover took a deep breath and turned his focus back to Zack. The SOLDIER Second-class looked at him, clearly worried about Clover’s sudden change in mood.

“Why does Hewley have your sword?” Clover asked, firmly putting the changes from his mind for now. Zack blinked at him, tilting his head in surprise and confusion.

“My sword?” He reached back to touch the hilt of the broadsword strapped to his back. “What do you mean? It’s right here.”

“Not that one,” Clover almost rolled his eyes. “The Buster Sword.”

Zack looked even more baffled. “The Buster? What makes you think that’s my sword?” When Clover didn’t answer, he continued, “That’s Angeal’s pride and joy. His parents had it made for him when he got accepted into SOLDIER. It cost a lot and they went into debt for it, so he sends them what he can and takes extra special care of it.” Clover felt his frown deepen as Zack explained. Now he was confused why Zack had been wielding the Buster Sword in the future. If it was so important to Hewley, why hadn’t he hung onto it. It left an awful churning suspicion in his gut.

When Clover didn’t say anything more, Zack ruffled his hair again. “Anyway, let’s get you up and going, yeah buddy?” At Clover’s curious look, he added, “Angeal and the others got their marching orders from Shinra. That’s why I came over, actually. We’re all heading back to Midgar, so the Board can yell at them. Well, mostly Genesis, but they’ll all be there for it.”

Clover felt his expression harden. “There’s no way in hell I’m letting Shinra get their hands on me,” he spat.

Zack waved his hands quickly in assurance. “No, I promise we’re not gonna let anyone hurt you, okay? No Turks, no scientists or anything.”

“I’m still not going. Just give me back my gear and we can go our separate ways,” he said, ignoring the large part of his heart that wept at the idea of walking away from Zack.

“We can’t do that!” Zack cried, looking almost offended. “We’re not gonna leave a kid all by himself.”

“I’m more than able to take care of myself,” Clover insisted.

“I bet you are,” Zack agreed, looking sad as he said it. “But wouldn’t that be really lonely?” Clover had to look away at that. Yes, of course it would, but it was necessary.

“I have a job to do,” he said instead.

“Oh yeah? What is it? Maybe we can help.”

Clover shook his head firmly. “No, you can’t help with this.”

“Can you at least tell me what it is, though?” Zack asked, eyes wide and pleading.

Clover sighed, caving immediately and unable to even feel bad about it. “I need to save the Planet.”

“Oh?” Zack asked, tilting his head. “How are you going to do that.”

Clover stopped and looked Zack directly in the eye. “I’m going to destroy every Mako reactor and annihilate Shinra.”

“What? You can’t do that!” Zack protested. “Shinra helps so many people! And people need Mako power!”

“Mako power is killing the Planet, and Shinra is a cancer that needs to be burnt out,” Clover said coldly.

Zack looked at him sadly. “But I’m part of Shinra. Do I need to get ‘burned out’ too?”

Cloud felt his heart twist and he stuttered, “I didn’t – you don’t – no of course not!”

Zack smiled softly. “Well, I’m glad to hear that at least. Now, unfortunately, we can’t let you run off alone to do any of that, so you’re just gonna have to sit tight and come with us. I promise, we’ll keep you safe, okay?”

Clover sighed as he realised that he wasn’t going to be able to convince Zack to help him. He’d just have to bide his time until he had an opportunity to make his escape. The man ruffled his hair again. “Okay, now let’s get you dressed, so we can get some food in you and head out.”

With a grimace, Clover slipped from the bed. Once Zack handed him a bundle of clothes, he stared at Zack. The man simply stared back. “I can dress myself,” he clarified.

“I know,” Zack replied.

When he still didn’t leave, Clover cleared his throat. “Some privacy?”

Zack simply shook his head. “Sorry, Clover, no can do. The others told me about your many escape attempts,” he said, eyeing the still broken window.

Sighing and glaring at the man, he turned and marched to the other side of the bed, for at least a modicum of privacy. He shot Zack another glare – though he couldn’t put any real heat in it, this was Zack – and he unfolded the clothes that had been picked out for him. While the pants were simple enough, the shirt was all bright yellows and oranges, and bore an image of Shinra’s dog mascot for child propaganda, Stamp. Clover huffed a sigh before turning the shirt inside out to hide the design, ignoring Zack’s pout as he did so.

Once dressed, he turned to find Zack holding out his Ribbon. His eyes widened, and he clutched at his bicep, confirming that it had been removed. As he shot a betrayed look at Zack, the young man said, “I figured you probably wouldn’t want it getting soaked in the bath.” Mollified, Clover reached for it, before hesitating.

“Rhapsodos tried to cast Stop instead of Sleep,” he said slowly, “so he knows what this does. Surely, he told you all.”

“He sure did, little buddy.”

Clover made a small, frustrated noise. “Then why are you giving it back to me?!”

“Because it’s clearly important to you,” Zack said, as if it were that simple. Finally, under Zack’s expectant gaze, he took the Ribbon and tied it firmly and reverently around his arm.

He was then ushered out into the living room, where Sephiroth and Rhapsodos were both seated on the couch. Clover stopped, stiffening at the sight of his nemesis, but Zack merely continued steering him forward, until he found himself seated once again at the kitchen island. He gripped the edge of the counter, senses coming to high alert with Sephiroth behind him. He idly noted Zack sliding into the seat beside him, while Hewley stood in the kitchen, facing the stove. The smell and sound of food frying struck Clover like a wave and his stomach gave a startlingly loud growl. He felt a blush rise to his face as Rhapsodos gave a quiet chuckle.

Clover tried for a minute to eavesdrop on the conversation between Sephiroth and Rhapsodos, but Zack’s enthusiastic chatter quickly stifled that plan. Shortly, Hewley turned and placed a plate heaped with sausage, egg and toast before him, setting his mouth watering. A tall glass of water followed, along with a set of cutlery.

“Please, don’t throw these at anyone again,” the man said with a put-upon tone. When Clover simply looked at him expectantly, Hewley sighed and withdrew an orb of materia from his pocket, placing it beside the plate. Clover snatched it up, hurriedly casting Esuna before falling on the food. It was delicious. He remembered Rhapsodos’s comment about Hewley’s cooking and felt mild regret at snubbing the man last night. Especially in light of Zack’s confirmation that the Buster Sword belonged to him.

Zack’s cheerful rambling, to fill the silence and keep him from overhearing the Firsts – Zack wasn’t dumb after all – fell silent when Clover paused and set down his cutlery. Clover turned his gaze to Hewley, who was at the sink, washing a frying pan.

“Uh, Commander Hewley, sir,” he said, hesitantly. Hewley looked over to him with a raised eyebrow. Clover cleared his throat, feeling his blush return. “I wanted to, ah, apologise for accusing you of stealing the Buster Sword. I was under a mistaken assumption, but it was rude and cruel. I’m sorry.”

Hewley blinked at him, clearly surprised. Then, he gave Clover a warm smile. “Thank you, Clover. It’s good of you to apologise for mistakes like that.” He walked over, wiping his hands on a tea towel before holding one out. “And please call me Angeal.”

Clover took his hand and shook it carefully. “Okay… Angeal.”

An offended noise came from behind, drawing his attention back to the couch, where Rhapsodos and Sephiroth sat. He stiffened at the sight of Sephiroth. He had forgotten about Sephiroth. Again. Reeling from that horrifying realisation, it took him a long moment to realise Rhapsodos was watching him impatiently. Once Clover finally met his gaze, he tilted his head and scoffed imperiously.

“I absolutely refuse to be the only one not on first name terms. You will call me Genesis,” he commanded.

Clover blinked at the strange, dramatic man. “Okay,” he replied, before turning back to his food. Ignoring Genesis’s squawk of protest, he tried to keep his ears focused on any sound from Sephiroth. The task was made more difficult by Zack’s enthusiasm for conversation.

“Yeah, that’s right, you thought the Buster was mine, didn’t you Clover? Why did you think that?”

Uh oh, Clover thought, feeling the tension in the room skyrocket as all three Firsts suddenly focused on them.

“He thought the Buster Sword belonged to you?” Angeal repeated slowly.

“Yeah,” Zack replied, sounding cheerfully baffled. Clover felt tension thrum through his body. He could see the creases forming on Angeal’s forehead as the man turned the information over in his brain.

He flinched at the sound of Sephiroth’s voice. “Clover seemed to believe that Angeal had stolen it from someone. He even suggested that he had hurt or killed the original owner in the process and was highly distressed by the idea.”

Zack turned wide, confused eyes onto Clover. “Spike?” he asked. Clover looked down, unable to bear such scrutiny from the man who died for him.

“I-” he cut off. He couldn’t tell them the truth, but perhaps he could share a fraction of it, enough to explain and satisfy them. “There was a man with me, in the lab, where they- in the lab. We broke out together and he took care of me, but then he-”, Clover’s throat closed, he hated talking about this with anyone. It’s why he avoided it, even with Tifa, even thought she had seen and shared and known. They didn’t need words for this. He shook his head, pushing down the rising wave of grief at the thought of his friends, lost to him in a future unwritten. “I was too weak,” he whispered.

Zack made a wounded sound, and Clover swallowed, trying to avoid drifting with the memory. It was always hard, thinking about Zack’s death.

“He had a sword that was almost identical to Angeal’s,” he forced himself to continue. Turning his gaze up back up to Zack’s face, which was filled with such empathy and compassion and sorrow that Clover had to blink back tears. “You … you look so much like him,” he told Zack, past the lump forming in his throat. And he did, just so much younger and less scarred and jaded by years of the horrors of Shinra. I’m going to protect you, this time, Clover swore.

“I’m very sorry for your loss,” Angeal said, looking solemnly at him. Normally Clover would scoff at platitudes like that, but he could see in the man’s eyes that he truly meant it.

Suddenly, Zack reached out and pulled him into a tight embrace. Clover instinctively clung to him, blinking back tears. He could feel Zack almost trembling with the force of emotions swirling through him. He practically melted when Zack started running fingers through his hair.

“I won’t let anything else happen to you,” Zack promised. “I’ll protect you.” Clover stiffened, pushing back from the embrace.

“No!” he exclaimed, looking up at Zack’s face. “No, you can’t! If you stay, I’m just going to get you killed! You have to let me go!”

Zack looked so sad. “I can’t do that, Clover,” he said solemnly. “I wouldn’t be able to live with myself if anything happened to you.”

Clover struck at the chest of this stupid, stubborn, brilliant, kind man, trying desperately to blink back tears. “You’re so stupid!” he wailed, losing the battle against the tears. “You’re going to die again, and it will be all my fault!” Zack merely hushed him, pushing him closer once again, and let him sob into his shirt.

Sephiroth sat in contemplation over the new information he had gained. It was clear now that the Clover’s affection and trust for the man who had helped him, and the guilt he felt regarding the man’s death, had been transferred onto Zack. That certainly provided an effective explanation for why he had reacted so differently towards Zack compared to the other Firsts. Sephiroth felt somewhat sheepish at the realisation. He had been so focused on Clover’s unusual competence and hostility, that he had, on some level, forgotten that he was also a young, traumatised child. It made sense that he would be irrational in many regards.

While Sephiroth had been ruminating on the revelation, Clover had ceased crying and was wiping his face with a paper towel provided by Angeal. At Zack’s urging, he resumed his meal, now far more subdued. While Clover was occupied, Sephiroth stood and left the room, moving to the storage cupboard and collecting the boy’s equipment. From there, he transferred them into the storage trunk of the vehicle that Genesis had requisitioned from the local Shinra garrison. As he did, he removed the equipped materia, dividing them among each of the SOLDIERs’ bags, to prevent Clover from recovering them easily should he attempt another ill-advised escape.

When he turned to face the safe house, he witnessed Zack leading Clover out by the hand, resulting in a mixed expression of contentment and embarrassment. They were flanked by Genesis and Angeal, who kept a close eye on the young escaped experiment. At the sight of the vehicle, Clover grimaced.

“Is there a problem with our mode of transportation?” Sephiroth asked.

Clover flinched minutely before glaring at him. He merely raised an eyebrow in response. After a few moments, Clover looked away, scowling. “It’s fine.” When all the SOLDIERs remained where they were, watching him, he sighed. “I get motion sickness when I ride in vehicles that I’m not driving,” he said wearily. “I was hoping you would requisition a helicopter, so it would be a shorter trip at least.”

Genesis made an aggrieved sound as he moved to the driver’s seat door. “As did I. Unfortunately, however, our illustrious Board of Directors, in their infinite wisdom, have decided that due to our disregard for the chain of command, we will not be provided with aerial extraction. Thus, we return to Midgar ‘with all haste’, via the longest route possible.” Yanking open the door, Genesis swung into the driver’s seat, muttering invectives under his breath.

Angeal sighed before gesturing Clover towards the car. “You’ll be in the back with Zack and I. Let us know if there’s anything we can do to help.” Shortly, they were seated and underway. Sephiroth admired Angeal’s subtle manoeuvring, arranging for Zack to be seated behind Genesis, where he would naturally draw Clover’s attention away from Sephiroth himself. He basked in the simple joy of working with competent allies once again.

Clover endured half an hour of misery before finally begging to be allowed to sit in the window seat, for the modicum of relief the wind from the window could provide. Genesis eyed him in the rear-view mirror when he asked. “And should we permit this, you wouldn’t be planning to leap from the window of this moving vehicle, would you Clover?” Clover was unable to hide a grimace in response. Ultimately, a compromise was reached. Clover was allowed the window seat, enjoying the fresh breeze so long as he was seated in Zack’s lap. Even the easing of his motion sickness felt like a poor trade for the mortification he was left with.

As the trip dragged on, Clover flagged, even with the open window. He soon found himself being cradled close to Zack, chin resting on his shoulder and gazing sightlessly out the back window. He tried to focus on Zack’s soothing touches across his back and ignore the roiling in his stomach.

Suddenly, a shift in the landscape behind them drew his attention. He blinked and refocused his eyes. After several long minutes of staring, he caught the miniscule flash of motion again. He inhaled sharply. It had taken years of knowing the man and observing his habits before Clover had been able to consistently notice him, so Clover was certain. Vincent was following them. Clearly noticing the shift in Clover’s posture, Zack asked, “Doing okay buddy? Do you need us to pull over?”

Clover shook his head quickly, before stopping at the rush of nausea it caused. “I’m fine,” he said. At Zack’s doubtful hum, he added, “I just got dizzy for a moment. It’s passed.”

“If you’re sure,” Zack replied. He didn’t comment when Clover pulled closer, gripping at the back of Zack’s shirt to sit higher and bury his face against the young man’s neck. With his right hand now visible through the rear window, he shifted his grip to raise both his middle and little finger of that hand. A Turk hand signal for requesting immediate extraction. Leaving his thumb down included a request to avoid the use of lethal force. He knew Vincent would recognise it, as he’d learnt it from the man after all. Now all he could do was hope that Vincent’s curiosity would outweigh his fear.

Clover’s patience was rewarded during a stop-over at Gongaga to refuel, resupply and rest. They had driven through the night, reaching the isolated jungle village early the next morning. While the sleepless night hadn’t compromised the SOLDIERs, Clover could see that it had left them wearier than the norm. Once they had secured accommodation at a local inn, Sephiroth and Zack had left to collect supplies for the remainder of their journey. The decision was justified as Zack knowing the local trade the best, while Sephiroth would ensure Shinra was represented appropriately. Or, as Genesis put it just before they left, “Puppy’s going to gossip with friends and family, and Sephiroth gets to babysit and make sure he doesn’t spill any secrets.”

Clover, in an effort to play up the lingering effects of his motion sickness, had claimed the bed nearest the window. He had pitifully requested it be opened, in the hopes of fresh air. The remaining SOLDIERs had acquiesced, but Angeal then stood beside it, clearly ready to prevent any further escapes. Genesis sat on the bed closest to the door, idly playing with an orb of materia. Clover curled up on the bed with a soft noise of discomfort and waited.

Enough time passed that Clover found himself almost dozing off when he heard a  loud commotion from outside. He raised his head, blinking blearily, as Genesis strode to the door and looked outside. The man swore. “My friend, the fates are cruel. A fire has broken out in the neighbouring building. I’ll take care of it. You keep an eye on our little escape artist.” With that, he swept from the room, firmly closing the door behind him.

Clover sat up slowly, turning to blink at Angeal. The man shot him a tired smile, but remained firmly at his post by the window. They stared at each other for a few seconds, before a blur of black and red shot through the window into Angeal, knocking him to the ground. The First Class SOLDIER was on his feet in an instant, but it had been enough for Clover to throw himself into Vincent’s grasp and allow himself to be whisked from the room.

Vincent dashed through alleyways, across rooftops and even took one foul-smelling detour through the sewers, before finally coming to a stop in the jungle outside the town. He stood with his head tilted and eyes closed for a whole minute before relaxing minutely. Then he turned his gaze on Clover.

“I believe it is time that we spoke.”

Vincent had spent several days tracking and observing the mysterious child, since the boy had torn him from his atonement and set Hojo’s lab ablaze. He had intended to question him once he had worked through his violent outburst, but the boy had been found and taken by Shinra forces first. His intrigue had increased as he witnessed the boy attempt several impressive escape attempts. As he was following their vehicle, he had been shocked when the boy used Turk hand signals to communicate with him, indicating both knowledge of highly classified communication and that he was aware of Vincent’s pursuit – no mean feat itself.

When the Shinra agents stopped to resupply, he had observed their movements, engineered a distraction to draw away their attention, and broken in to extract the child. He was startled by the remaining Shinra agent’s reaction time, only able a clean escape thanks to the child’s immediate and effective co-operation. The boy’s clear and total trust in Vincent did not go unnoticed and was added to his growing list of questions.

Now, Vincent made his way through the jungle underbrush towards the local Gongaga reactor under the direction of the enigmatic child in his arms. As they travelled, the boy began talking, with diction and vocabulary far beyond those typical for his age.

“You don’t know how glad I am to see you, Vincent. Honestly, it’s been a nightmare.” He paused, considering something, then added, “Mostly. There’s been some good things, but being treated like a kid is the worst.”

“You have yet to explain how you know me,” Vincent reminded him firmly.

The boy looked up at him with serious eyes. “Okay. This is going to sound crazy, but it’s the truth. I’m a time traveller from the future, and you were one of my closest friends. We saved the world together a few times over the years.”

Vincent kept his gait steady as he processed the boy’s claims. While wild and highly improbable, it did neatly explain several confusing factors about the child. Additionally, the heavy presence of Chaos in the back of Vincent’s mind stirred with interest and amusement.

With a thoughtful hum, he asked, “What is your actual age?”

The boy huffed out a relieved sigh. “I’m twenty-five,” he said. “While the Planet was sending me back, I think Jenova did something to me. Maybe she was trying to weaken me or make me easier to control, but it resulted in me looking like this.” He gestured towards himself.

“And your name?”

“My real name is Cloud Strife,” the boy replied, “but I told the SOLDIERs that my name is Clover, since, knowing my luck, there’s a 14-year-old version of me applying at Shinra right now.”

When they reached the reactor, Vincent was surprised to find it unmanned, but Cloud merely looked resigned. After demanding to be set down, he led the way through the reactor. As he went, the supposed time traveller set about initiating a shut-down sequence.

“I can’t blow this one up, since it’s so close to Gongaga,” he rambled to Vincent, “but I definitely need to take care of it now, since I remember it blows up in a few years, and a lot of people die because of it. I’m glad I still remember how to do this after Reeve showed me that one time. Oh, yeah, you’ll like Reeve when you meet again. He’s good people.”

Vincent suspected Cloud was somewhat manic at having someone he could share details of the future with. “Is this why you travelled through time? To prevent needless deaths?”

Cloud snorted. “That’s putting it mildly. Mako reactors draw energy from the Lifestream, which is slowly killing the Planet. So, we need to stop that before everything inevitably dies. And since Shinra won’t just let us do that without trying to stop us, they’ve got to go too. Which will also prevent them from committing more crimes against humanity than they already have at this point in time. But really, the most urgent objective is hunting down any remaining bits of Jenova that Hojo has squirrelled away and making sure she’s destroyed completely, so she can’t turn Sephiroth into a genocidal megalomaniac bent on Planetary destruction.”

Vincent stopped in his tracks. “Sephiroth?” he whispered. “You’re talking about Lucrecia’s son?”

“Yeah,” Cloud said absently, as he pulled wires from underneath a console. “Do you have a Lightning materia I can borrow? Thanks,” he said, as Vincent handed it to him on autopilot.

“How could that possibly happen?” he rasped.

“The Sephiroth thing? Terrifyingly easily. Hojo set up the perfect trap for him. Since Sephiroth had so many of Jenova’s cells shoved into him before he was born, he’s extra vulnerable to her influence and could easily make him help her continue her fucked up interstellar alien lifecycle. Between that and the library Hojo left in the Shinra mansion, full of rubbish like claims that Jenova is an Ancient, well … that’s plenty to set Sephiroth on the path that leads to him trying to destroy the Planet.”

There was a blight flash and crackle as the materia discharged into the console, and then the reactor fell dark and quiet. Cloud sat up, hair somehow even more on end than previously.

“I’ve done what I could already,” he said, rubbing at his face, “burning the library and destroying Jenova’s main body. I’m just not sure if it’s going to be enough. Hojo can probably replicate all that information and get Sephiroth to read it, and there’s enough bits of Jenova remaining. She could still drive Sephiroth crazy. I think I might still need to kill this Sephiroth before that can happen.”

As Vincent did his best to process and compartmentalise the many revelations, a sound caught his attention. It had been barely more than a whisper of cloth moving, the smallest intake of breath, but he knew they had been found.

“We have company,” he declared, drawing his Quicksilver gun. Cloud swore softly and stood, stretching his arms above his head.

“Well, at least I took care of the reactor,” he mused, as a man with long silver hair and gleaming green eyes, pupils oddly slitted, stepped into sight, brandishing an extremely long katana.

“You will return Clover to my custody,” he said firmly, “and then explain who Lucrecia is.”

Sephiroth did his best to smile politely as Zack stood talking excitedly with various members of his immediate and extended family. They had had only been conversing with the proprietor of the store for a short while before being practically invaded by members of the Fair clan. Witnessing evidence that Zack’s cheerful and verbose personality was not an aberration, Sephiroth quickly retreated to the corner to avoid the majority of interactions. Several teens slowly gravitated towards him, watching with wide worshipful eyes. He was saved from the frustrating experience of interacting with fans when his PHS rang out, tone indicating Angeal.

“Angeal,” he answered. He blinked in surprise when the man swore into the receiver.

“A mysterious figure just jumped in through window and grabbed Clover,” he said. Sephiroth felt his heart sink and closed his eyes in resignation. Of course. Things had been going far too smoothly. “I would call it a kidnapping, but Clover recognised and co-operated with the man. Genesis and I are attempting to pursue, but we can’t seem to find their trail.”

“We’ll join the search presently,” Sephiroth said before hanging up. “Zack,” he called, before eyeing the civilians milling around, watching and listening with avid curiosity. Zack looked over expectantly. “Clover has become lost again,” Sephiroth said deliberately, “and we need to find him.” Zack’s eyes widened, his immediate understanding apparent.

“Oh! Uh, yeah, right. Let’s get right on that. Sorry, everyone,” he added as he made his way through the crowd, “important SOLDIER business, can’t stick around to chat any longer.” As the pair swept from the store, Zack’s easy grin faded to something more serious.

“Get in contact with Angeal and Genesis, and co-ordinate your search with them.” Sephiroth ordered.

Zack gave a quick salute and short, “Sir!” and began to leave, before pausing. “What are you going to do?”

Sephiroth gave him a small smile. “I believe the phrase is ‘following a hunch’.” Once Zack gave a nod and ran off, he closed his eyes. Ever since the first moment of physical contact with Clover, he had been experiencing an odd sensation sitting on the edge of conscious awareness. It was a strange combination of an itch and a pull, growing stronger as the distance between the two of them increased and fading into a warm and satisfying hum when their skin came into contact. Based on Clover’s physiological reactions to that contact, Sephiroth suspected he experienced a more intense version of the phenomenon.

Closing his eyes, Sephiroth focused on the sensation, attempting to draw it more into his conscious awareness. As he did, the itch and pull intensified, as he had hoped. Attending to the pull, he found that, as suspected, it was indicating a specific direction. Following this new instinct would lead him to Clover, Sephiroth was certain.

After a short trek through the jungle surrounding the small town, he came across the local Mako reactor. Stepping quietly inside, he was vindicated to hear Clover’s familiar voice in conversation with an unknown party, most likely the person who had managed to extract him from Angeal and Genesis’s supervision. Sending a message to alert the other SOLDIERs to his and Clover’s location, he edged closer, taking all efforts to conceal his presence. Perhaps their conversation would help unravel some of the mysteries surrounding Clover.

He froze in place when he heard Clover refer to Jenova, Sephiroth’s mother, as being in pieces, along with a need to destroy them, lest she somehow turn him into a power-mad psychopath. The man Clover was talking to seemed equally shocked by the idea, before identifying him as the son of someone named Lucrecia.

Sephiroth stared sightlessly ahead as Clover continued, describing a plot by Hojo to make him even more susceptible than his biology’s natural vulnerability to the manipulations of Jenova, who was apparently an extra-terrestrial lifeform. Reeling from so many horrific revelations, he almost missed Clover musing about his level of success in disrupting said plan, and whether it required Sephiroth’s termination. He was surprised by the intense rush of negative emotion he felt at hearing that. He was hurt that Clover was considering killing him in cold blood. While he knew the boy feared and hated him, due, he suspected, to intense and traumatic conditioning, he had not anticipated the boy capable of planning murder so deliberately.

Some aspect of his emotional reaction must have become physical, as Clover’s companion indicated awareness of his presence. Stepping into view, Sephiroth eyed the man, who trained a firearm on him immediately. He was tall, with red eyes and long, dark hair, partially hidden behind a red bandana. His left arm was covered in a gold gauntlet that ended in sharp talons. His face was partially obscured by the top of a long, flowing red cloak.

“You will return Clover to my custody,” Sephiroth said firmly, “and then explain who Lucrecia is.”

The man’s aim didn’t falter in the slightest while facing the wrath of Sephiroth, General of SOLDIER. His gaze lacked the recognition that he had long grown used to. Still, some glimmer of familiarity was there. “Sephiroth,” he stated, as though seeking confirmation. When Sephiroth inclined his head, he continued, “Lucrecia was your mother.”

Sephiroth’s gripped his blade, flattening all emotion from his voice as he said, “My mother’s name was Jenova.”

Clover chose that moment to interject. “No, it isn’t. Her name is Lucrecia Cresent, and she was a scientist, who agreed to let Hojo inject her unborn baby with cells from Jenova, an alien parasite that wants to destroy the world.”

He spoke with such certainty that Sephiroth was momentarily distracted, wondering how he could possibly know any of this. Clover took immediate advantage of his dipping blade to attack with magic from the Lightning materia. Leaping aside, Sephiroth easily evaded the attack and deflected gunfire from the mysterious man. From behind came the concerned cries of the other SOLDIERs, approaching fast. At that, Clover swore colourfully and charged forward, casting faster than before to force Sephiroth back several steps.

“I’m not letting Hojo get his hands on you again! Get out of here!” Clover was clearly shouting towards the man at his back while keeping his gaze fixed intently upon Sephiroth.

Once again, Sephiroth was startled by the insight provided by such a statement. He was unable to advance through Clover’s magical onslaught, and the mysterious man turned and fled, vanishing in the darkness of the reactor. With the man no longer providing suppressing fire, Sephiroth was able to weave around Clover’s magic, getting close enough to grab the boy’s wrist.

Immediately, his hand slackened, releasing the orb of materia. It fell, bouncing away from them. Clover’s expression remained defiant as he locked his joints, clearly fighting the effects of the strange resonance that existed between them. His heartrate had once again spiked dangerously high. With the child disarmed, and reinforcements arriving shortly, Sephiroth decided against trying to increase the effect with more contact. Instead, he released the boy’s wrist, stepping cleanly back and away, while scooping up the orb of materia from where it had rolled.

Clover was left reeling at his sudden retreat, blinking at him for several seconds. In that time, the other SOLDIERs had caught up, with Zack leading the way. He hurried over and scooped Clover into his arms. The boy flinched at being grabbed, but settled once he realised it was Zack.

“Clover,” Zack scolded, “you have got to stop doing this to me. My heart can’t take it. I’m going to go grey before I even turn 20, and everyone will mistake me for my own Grandad!”

“You’re too immature for that to ever happen,” Clover replied, expression a near perfect deadpan, if not for a small quirking of his lips. Zack squawked in protest.

“I should tickle you for that,” he threatened. Clover looked supremely unimpressed. “What possessed you to run off with someone who was kidnapping you, Clover?” Zack asked, looking incredibly sad. “Do you really want to get away from us that much.”

Clover looked away from Zack, expression twisting with guilt. “It’s not that I want to get away from you, I just have important things I need to do, like I told you.”

“Such as destroying Mako reactors, yes?” Genesis interjected. “I’m surprised this one didn’t receive the same explosive treatment as the one in Nibelheim.”

Clover glared at the man. “I’m not going to blow up a reactor when there’s people living right next door! I’m not a monster. Hell, the whole point of doing this was to prevent this one blowing up!”

“Why do you believe this reactor was going to blow up?” Angeal asked. Clover released a frustrated sound.

“Look around you! Do you see any workers? Any engineers or mechanics or even a damn janitor? Shinra’s left this place rot, because it’s cheaper, and they don’t care who’s lives might get ruined because of their negligence and greed!”

Looking around the interior of the reactor, Sephiroth noted signs of significant wear and faults that should have been repaired, far beyond any damage that Clover could have caused with his sabotage. Noticing the doubtful expressions the other SOLDIERs wore, he confirmed, “It appears Clover is correct. The absence of staff, in combination with clear evidence of a dangerous lack of maintenance, supports his claims.”

Zack stared at him, jaw dropped wide. “Wait, you mean the reactor would have exploded and hurt a bunch of people if Clover hadn’t shut it all down?”

“It is probable that sometime during the next several years a major fault would have occurred and potentially caused an explosion, yes,” Sephiroth confirmed.

Angeal looked thunderous at the sheer disregard for life.

“My friend, the fates are cruel. There are no dreams, no honour remains,” Genesis muttered quietly. Zack squeezed Clover into a hug so tight the boy gave a small squeak.

“Thank you!” he said fervently. “I still don’t approve of you running off with strangers, but I’m so very grateful that you protected my home.”

Clover gently hugged Zack back. “You’re welcome,” he said quietly. “But you don’t have to worry, Vincent would never hurt me.”

Sephiroth felt his fellow SOLDIERs’ focus snap back to the boy.

“You know him?” Genesis asked to confirm. Clover grimaced, clearly regretting the slip up.

“It all happened so fast,” Angeal said carefully, “but Clover didn’t hesitate to go with that man when he broke into our room. He knew he was coming, and they were incredibly co-ordinated.”

“Clover,” Zack said slowly, “How do you know him?”

Looking around at the SOLDIERs and clearly realising he couldn’t avoid the conversation, Clover sighed. “He’s from the lab.” When the tension sharpened, he hurriedly added, “He didn’t do anything to me; he wasn’t a scientist. He was experimented on too, by Hojo. I made sure he got out, before I burnt that hellhole.”

“Yes, the laboratory and library that you burnt to prevent me from being made vulnerable to Jenova’s manipulations,” Sephiroth said. Clover looked shocked, then fearful. Clearly, he had not realised how much Sephiroth had overheard. “I’m curious how you know so many details about Jenova, and Hojo’s plans for me regarding her.”

Clover stared at him, muscles in his jaw twitching as he clenched it tight. He took several long, deep breaths, clearly trying to slow his racing heart. Eventually, he managed to unstick his jaw.

“I was in that laboratory for four years,” he spoke between still grit teeth. Sephiroth heard the other SOLDIERs hiss in quiet breaths of shock at Clover’s confirmation that he had been born there. “Hojo talks to himself a lot, and I was able to read a lot of things when no-one else was there.”

There was a long moment of silence, before Zack pulled Clover close.

“Oh kid …” he said, sounding utterly devastated. Clover looked surprised by the reaction but sank into the embrace easily enough.

Genesis huffed out a frustrated sigh. “I believe we should track down this Vincent fellow. If we can pin him down, perhaps he will be more forthcoming with information.”

“Especially once we assure him that we don’t want him or Clover to fall back into Hojo’s hands,” Angeal added.

“You’ll never catch him,” Clover said smugly, with his head resting against Zack’s shoulder. He appeared to be experiencing an adrenaline crash, now that the action was over. “He’s just that good.”

“We will see,” Sephiroth replied.

They didn’t catch Vincent, to Clover’s vindication. After wasting hours attempting to track the man, the SOLDIERs finally gave up. The long night of sleepless driving and fruitless search had tired them out, even with their enhancements. As they set to bedding down in the late afternoon, Clover considered staying awake and attempting to escape in the night but discarded it as the SOLDIERs began organising a watch rotation. Clearly, they weren’t going to drop their guards around him again. Curling up on the bed against the wall so no one could get behind him, he forced himself to relax. He did his best to sleep in preparation for the long, miserable drive the next day. It was a challenge, as every time Sephiroth spoke, tension thrummed through his body. Eventually, the SOLDIERs’ conversation ceased, and everyone except Angeal claimed a bed. Finally, without the constant reminder of his tormentor and nemesis, Clover was able to drift off to sleep.

Perhaps because of the short skirmish against Sephiroth earlier, or perhaps because it was the first sleep Clover had experienced in this time without being Sleeped or passing out in fear, that night, Clover’s nightmares returned.

He was once again battling Sephiroth in the darkened reactor, with Vincent at his side. This time, Sephiroth bore a cold, cruel smile as he contemptuously batted away their attacks. He paced forward slowly, a predator prowling towards them. A single black wing unfurled behind him, filling the corridor, blocking out what little light filtered from outside. As he approached, Cloud’s hand grew limp, the materia falling away. He couldn’t move, couldn’t scream, couldn’t even blink as Sephiroth stepped forward and calmly ran Vincent through. Even suffering such a terrible wound, Vincent didn’t make a sound, merely turning his head to look at Cloud, apology clear in his eyes. Sephiroth ripped his blade free, and Vincent crumpled to the floor. Cloud stared at his lifeless eyes, unable to breathe.

“Cloud,” Sephiroth purred. “Did you really think you could escape me? You will never be free of me. I told you; I will never be a memory.” A flash of silver was the only warning before hot agony tore through Cloud’s chest. The horrifyingly familiar pain of Masamune pierced his torso, and he was lifted helplessly into the air on the man’s blade. “Don’t worry,” Sephiroth crooned, “We will be reunited soon.” Then he tore his blade from Cloud’s chest, leaving him to fall into darkness.

Cloud awoke with a scream caught in his throat. Feeling hands pressing against his shoulders, he lashed out blindly and was rewarded with a pained grunt. Scrambling backwards, away from the touch, he pressed himself into the corner of the room that the bed sat against. Wildly, his eyes darted around, zeroing in on Sephiroth, who stood across the room. He stared at the threat, watching for the slightest movement to indicate the summoning of Masamune, ready to desperately dodge when the attack finally came.

Time passed agonisingly slowly as he waited, but Sephiroth did not attack. Cloud’s breath came in short gasps, muscles trembling with tension. Movement in the corner of his vision sent him flinching back, slamming his head back against the wall. Sephiroth stayed still in place, barely breathing as he stood against the far wall.

Belatedly remembering the motion he had seen, Cloud turned his head, trying to see it without looking away from Sephiroth. The movement repeated, and Cloud’s eyes focused on the figure reaching for him carefully. It was Zack. Cloud stared at him dumbly, seeing his mouth moving soundlessly, before sound returned.

“- need you to talk to me, buddy. You’re okay, you’re safe, no-one’s gonna hurt you okay, Spike?”

“Zack? Didn’t you …?” His eyes darted between Zack and Sephiroth, and a part of his mind noted two more SOLDIERs present, identifying potential additional threats. When none of them moved, Cloud’s attention returned to Zack, who smiled reassuringly.

“Yeah, that’s it, Clover, you’re doing great, everything’s okay.” Cloud blinked at him, brow furrowing in confusion.

“Clover?” he said, tongue feeling thick in his mouth. “Why’re you …?” He blinked slowly, as memory slowly trickled back to him.

He sucked in a sharp breath, latching onto the ache it created in his chest to ground him in the present moment. He squeezed his eyes closed, grinding the heels of his palms against them. Firm, gentle fingers closed around his wrists and pulled them away.

“Hey, no hurting yourself,” Zack said firmly.

“Sorry,” Cloud – no he was Clover right now, he couldn’t be Cloud – said, looking around blearily. The SOLDIER Firsts stood arrayed around the room, clearly ready to act, but unsure what would help. Sephiroth remained standing against the far wall. Clover felt his heart spike at the sight of him, but took it as win that he didn’t descend into mindless terror once again.

His gaze returned to Zack, drifting down the hands cradling his wrists. A strange discolouration caught Clover’s eye, and he shifted his arm slightly, turning so that more of Zack’s arm was revealed. Clover felt his hands start to tremble at the sight of a terrible bruise forming along the man’s forearm. He’d lashed out in his sleep, he realised, when Zack tried to wake him from his nightmare. If he’d struck at a slightly different angle, he would have shattered the bone. If he had managed to hit Zack in the face, he could have killed him. His breath hitched, and he found himself choking on a sob.

Zack rushed to reassure him once more, “Whoa, hey, Spike, no it’s okay, it was all just a bad dream, you’re safe-”

“No, I’m not,” Clover rasped.

Zack stopped and looked down at him sadly. “I promise, no one’s gonna hurt you, I won’t let-”

“No,” Clover interrupted more firmly, through the terrible ache in his throat. “I’m not safe to be around.” He could feel Zack and the Firsts staring at him in clear confusion. He let out a frustrated sound as he tried to pull his wrists from Zack’s grip, but couldn’t without hurting the young man more. “I’m dangerous. I hurt you.”

Zack’s brow furrowed before he glanced down at the bruise forming on his arm. He looked momentarily surprised, as if he hadn’t noticed it. “You mean this? Kiddo, it’s just a bruise, it’ll be fine. Nothing a Cure won’t patch right up. I’ve had worse in spars before.” He grinned sheepishly.

Clover shook his head firmly. “I could have killed you!” he exclaimed. “You need to let me go, before I hurt someone in a way that can’t be fixed!”

Angeal cautiously approached, speaking in a low and gentle voice, “The fault for this injury lies with us, Clover. We should have known better than to wake someone with SOLDIER enhancements from a nightmare like that. I’ve certainly had the same reaction to being awoken suddenly before, and I know Genesis and Sephiroth have as well.”

Clover gave another groan of frustration, trying to pull his wrists free once again. Zack let him this time, and he was so surprised that he failed to react when Zack scooped him up into a tight embrace. He held himself rigid, hands pressed firmly against his chest, desperately afraid that he would hurt Zack again, even with the slightest touch. The young man had no such fear and pulled Clover close, resting a hand against the back of his head.

“I’m sorry for startling you when I woke you up,” Zack said, shifting in a slight rocking motion that was strangely soothing. “I promise I won’t wake you up like that again, okay?”

Clover sighed, letting his head sink against Zack’s shoulder. He knew when he wasn’t going to win an argument, and Zack was stubborn and caring and foolish enough that he would never back down. He would simply have to keep searching for opportunities to escape, as he had already been planning. He just needed to be more careful around Zack in the meantime.

Feeling him relax somewhat, Zack hummed happily, continuing the almost hypnotic rocking. “Do you wanna talk about the nightmare, baby?”

That got his attention. “I’m not a baby,” he snapped, trying to push himself upright. Zack kept him in place with that gentle pressure against the back of his head. “And no,” he added unhappily.

“It seemed pretty scary,” Zack wheedled. “I know it helps me feel better to talk to someone after a bad dream.”

From across the room, Genesis said, “He was clutching at his chest, as if he were in pain. Right where he has those impalement scars.”

This time, Zack let him push himself up to glare at the SOLDIER First. Genesis merely smirked back at him, before approaching to look over Zack’s bruise. A wave of his hand and a burst of Cure magic left the arm healed and pristine.

Zack pulled his attention back by asking, “Is that what your nightmare was about, Spike? Someone hurting you like that?”

Feeling far too exhausted to think of lie, or even a reason to for this, Clover gave a small nod.

“Was it me?” Sephiroth asked. Clover went rigid, looking over to him wildly. He almost expected to see that cruel smirk again, that black wing unfolding, but the man remained as expressionless as before. “Were you trained in combat against simulacra of me?”

Since he wasn’t keen to share the truth, Clover gave another nod, grasping the offered explanation. Swallowing, he added, “Something like that,” just in case he slipped up on some detail that might make them suspicious.

Angeal released a long sigh, and softly clapped his hands together. “I think that’s enough of this conversation for tonight. Let’s try to get some more rest now. We have a long day in the morning.” With that, the topic was tabled, and the Firsts began returning to bed. Zack set Clover down on the bed, before moving to sit against the headboard.

When Clover looked up at him in confusion, he said, “My ma always sat with me, after a nightmare. Made it easier to get back to sleep, knowing I wasn’t alone.” Clover felt Zack’s fingers running gently through his hair, as sleep tugged at his eyelids. “Get some rest, kiddo. I’ll keep you safe, I promise.” Clover made a soft noise of protest, before sleep claimed him once more.

Zack had hoped they would be able to wait for the stores in Gongaga to open, so that they could finish their interrupted resupply. Unfortunately, Sephiroth received a call that morning from a clearly furious President. Zack couldn’t help but wince at Sephiroth’s back, as he stood ramrod straight, stoic in the face of the angry tirade he was receiving. Finally, with enough Yes, Mister Presidents, he was free of the call. The barest slump of his shoulders revealed his exhaustion to those who knew him.

“We cannot wait for Gongaga’s operating hours for our resupply,” he said, as he returned to their group. Clover stiffened in Zack’s arms, where he had been kept securely all morning. “We need to leave immediately if we are to arrive at Costa del Sol in time to catch the naval transport Shinra has organised, lest they begin applying sanctions to us.”

Genesis scoffed, “Are we simply meant to ration our remaining food until we get there?”

“I don’t like the idea of anyone going hungry,” Angeal added, eyes darting to Clover.

“I agree,” Sephiroth nodded. “If we leave now, there will be enough time for us to stop at Corel for supplies.” Clover gave a twitch at that, but refused to meet Zack’s gaze when he looked down at him curiously.

With new marching orders, they swiftly packed and resumed their journey. Zack waved to the few Gongaga residents they passed one handed. His other cradled Clover, who was hidden under a thin blanket. They had decided early on that it would be unwise to reveal a child who bore Sephiroth’s hair and eyes to random civilians.

Clover once again clung to Zack miserably. It seemed not all his motion sickness had been faked as part of an escape attempt. Zack was somewhat relieved. He knew Genesis was right, that Clover was capable of lies and manipulation to get what he wanted, but he was grateful that the boy wasn’t constantly going that far in an effort to escape.

Zack was incredibly grateful for the General’s forethought allowing them to stop in Corel. They’d had little chance for food before leaving, and it was good to have a chance to stretch their legs, even with the much shorter comparative trip. Once they arrived in Corel, Genesis had quickly procured a pair of child sized sunglasses, and a beanie, with which they had hidden Clover’s eyes and hair. Zack was grateful, as he did not want to be trapped in the car, waiting to keep Clover hidden.

Zack strolled through the streets of Corel, enjoying the sights of the bustling mining town while the Firsts gathered the needed supplies. Clover remained seated firmly within his grasp. They weren’t taking any chances after last time.

Zack smiled at the sounds of laughter echoing from a nearby. Suddenly, Clover stiffened in his arms. Zack tightened his grip before glancing around carefully. When he looked back, Clover was staring at one house. He squirmed for a moment, as if trying to escape Zack’s grip, before looking back at him with desperation in his eyes.

“I need you to take me there, Zack,” he said, pointing to the house. Zack looked between the boy and the building sceptically. Clover hissed out a frustrated breath. “I’m not trying to trick you or escape again, I promise, okay? I just need to see something.”

Zack felt his brow furrow, but he nodded in agreement. “Alright little buddy, I can do that.” Walking over to the house’s front door, he was stymied for a moment by his lack of free hands. He wanted to trust Clover, he really did, but he didn’t want to risk loosening his grip to knock. Clover solved the issue by leaning forward and pounding on the door with his tiny fist.

When he didn’t stop, Zack stepped away, lightly scolding, “Hey, no need to be rude, I’m sure they know we’re here by now.”

Clover ignored him, simply staring at the door until it opened. A rather pretty woman looked out at them, smiling politely but clearly confused. Clover inhaled sharply at the sight of her. “Hello?” she greeted tentatively, “How can I help you?”

Zack opened his mouth to answer, but paused, was unsure what he could possibly say to explain. Clover took the opportunity to learn forward. “You’re Myrna Wallace, aren’t you?” he asked, with a strange tone of voice that Zack couldn’t place. The lady blinked and looked at Clover.

“Oh, yes, that would be me. And who are you, sweetheart?”

After a moment, it became clear that the boy was struggling for words. Zack hefted him slightly higher in his arms, offering the confused lady a smile.

“Hi there, I’m Zack Fair, and this is Clover.”

Myrna’s looked them over hesitantly, clearly noticing the SOLDIER uniform. “Can I help you with something?” she asked after a moment.

“I need to speak to Barret,” Clover said quickly, belatedly adding, “please.”

Myrna seemed even more confused and slightly suspicious, glancing back to Zack, who could only shrug sympathetically. After a moment of consideration, she stood and waved them into the house. Zack stepped inside, moving through a short hall and into a cozy looking living room. Seated on the couch were two men, who had been casually speaking before Zack’s arrival. One was a relatively average looking man, with close-cropped blonde hair. The other was much taller and broader with dark skin and hair. Clover once again caught his breath at the sight of them.

The two men stood at the sight of Zack, the shorter looking far more suspicious than the taller. The taller man offered them a polite smile before looking past them to Myrna. “Who’re these people, Myrna?” he asked.

“This is Zack, and the little one is Clover,” she said, moving to stand with the men. “Zack, this is my husband Barret, and his friend Dyne.” Barret offered Zack his hand, which, after ensuring he had a firm one-armed grasp on Clover, he shook. Dyne merely inclined his head, squinting a small glare.

“Well then, what brings folks from Shinra all the way out to our small town?” Barret asked.

Zack found himself floundering once again. It was quite a new experience to not know what to say. After a long pause, he carefully jostled Clover in his arms.

“Hey little buddy, this is your show, yeah?” Clover swallowed and nodded, then motioned Zack closer to Barret. When they were directly in front of the confused man, Clover held his arms out, clearly demanding Barret take him.

When Zack tightened his grip, Clover huffed and tapped him lightly in the ribs with his heel. Looking back over his shoulder at Zack, Clover said, “He won’t hurt me, and I’m not trying to get away. I just need to talk to him.”

Hesitantly, Zack passed Clover to the man, who took him with clear bafflement on his face. His attention was pulled from Zack to Clover when the boy gently grabbed his cheeks and pulled his face around to meet his eyes.

“Barret,” he said, serious tone still sounding utterly adorable. “Listen to me, this is very important. Myrna is going to be diagnosed with a chronic illness soon.” The man’s eyes grew wide, and he attempted to look at his wife, but Clover’s firm grip on his face prevented him. “I’m not finished, listen. A few years after that happens, Shinra is going to show up offering to build a Mako reactor, promising jobs and prosperity for everyone. They are lying. No matter what happens, you can’t let them build that reactor. If you do, it will be sabotaged, and Shinra will retaliate by razing Corel and killing everyone in it.”

Zack finally managed to pick his jaw off the floor and scooped Clover from Barret’s grasp. “Clover!” he exclaimed. “What are you talking about? Shinra wouldn’t do that!”

“Yes, they would,” Clover rebutted, sounding so certain that Zack couldn’t think of a response. Twisting in his grip to look back at Barret, Clover said, “No matter what they promise you, you can’t let them. Please.”

The adults exchanged helplessly baffled looks, with Barret looking incredibly shaken by the boy’s intense declaration. Then Zack cleared his throat.

“Right, well, we should probably be going, sorry for taking up your time.” Turning, he hurried from the house. As he stepped through the threshold, a hand stopped him. Looking back, he saw the bigger man, Barret, holding him back.

“Can I speak with the lad for a moment?” he asked. Reluctantly, Zack turned to allow them to see each other. “Clover, right? Thank you for the advice, and warning, I suppose. I don’t know why you’re so certain about these things, but I’ll keep them in mind, all right?”

Clover was clearly frustrated at not being listened to but nodded all the same. “You deserve to have a happy life,” he said, sounding oddly choked. Barret’s face melted into a kind smile.

“Thank you, kiddo. You do too.” When Clover gave a small hiccup of a sob, he reached out and gently patted his head atop the beanie. “It was lovely to meet you,” he said, glancing at Zack as well. “If you’re ever passing through, feel free to stop by and say hi, all right?”

Clover gave a jerky nod, before hiding his face against Zack’s neck. From the tremors that Zack could feel against his chest, he suspected the boy had started crying. With a wan smile and final nod to this Barret fellow, he turned and strode away. He returned to the car, both to give Clover some more privacy and to await the Firsts so that he could share more of Clover’s utterly baffling behaviour.

Chapter Text

Genesis thanked the Goddess that the remainder of the journey from Corel to Costa de Sol was uneventful. He had been on tenterhooks trying to rest, expecting another hair-raising escape attempt or new mystery to be unveiled by their small passenger. Instead, Clover had become even more quiet and withdrawn, only speaking to answer direct questions and that, only some of the time. When not miserable from motion sickness, he would stare into space with a frown, pulling his eyebrows together and his lips into an adorable pout. Something about giving that ominous prophecy to a seemingly random miner had left him in a contemplative mood.

Once their small group had boarded the naval vessel that Shinra had directed them to, they gained confirmation that Clover had definitely not been faking his motion sickness. To the boy’s poor fortune, it was even worse at sea, leaving him completely incapacitated. The boy spent the majority of the trip on their cabin’s bathroom floor with Zack and Angeal offering what support they could. Sephiroth had wisely avoided offering assistance, clearly wary of the boy’s antipathy for him, while Genesis had refused to risk being spattered in vomit while there were still willing martyrs.

To the entire party’s relief, after two arduous days at sea, they arrived in Junon in the evening, the city darkening just as it came into sight. Easily breezing through the military checkpoints, thanks to their instantly recognisable appearances, their small group made their way to the nearby luxury hotel that regularly catered to SOLDIERs. It was a towering construction of dark metal and glass, but the lobby was paved with light wood and full of green shrubbery. After much bowing and scraping from the manager for not being prepared in advanced to provide appropriate service for such esteemed guests, they acquired a room for the night. Having extracted a promise from the man to have a lavish dinner sent up, complimentary of course, Genesis deigned to allow the group to retire. Once food was consumed, their first decent meal in a while, the SOLDIERs settled down to rest for the night. Angeal took first watch to prevent Clover from attempting another escape.

Genesis woke bleary-eyed the next morning as Sephiroth tried to make him rise with the sun. Genesis nearly throttled Sephiroth when he offered some pitiful explanation about needing to requisition another automobile. Deadening his rage in an attempt to find sleep again, Genesis grumbled at him to fetch it and bring it back himself. Sephiroth merely insisted that collectively leaving from the Shinra carpool would be “more efficient.” Goddess, but Genesis hated that man sometimes.

As soon as they arrived at the carpool, however, Sephiroth’s PHS sang out. Glancing at it, he grimaced and flashed them the President’s caller-ID. Striding away for a modicum of privacy, he answered the call with a resigned air.

Genesis tuned out the idiotic conversation that was no doubt about to occur, instead slumping onto a nearby crate and cradling his head in one hand. He could feel an exquisite headache forming behind his eyes. Nearby, Zack had managed to pass Clover off to Angeal and was stretching his neck, arms, and back with a series of groans and wince inducing cracks. He then shifted into his traditional routine of squats to work off his boundless fountain of energy. Angeal smiled fondly, while Genesis rolled his eyes at the hyperactive puppy-SOLDIER.

Suddenly, Clover let out a distinctly audible gasp, drawing their attention. He began to squirm against Angeal’s grip.

“Let me go,” he said fervently. “Let me go before I break your wrists. He’s about to damage her irreparably!”

Startled by the boy’s intense proclamation and sudden rebellion after so long being compliant, Angeal's grip broke. The boy tumbled to the floor, shooting off across the tarmac in a blur of motion before any of them were able to seize him.

“What in the hells do you think you’re doing!” he roared, slamming into shocked looking trooper with two open palms. The trooper was sent sprawling beside the bike, the can in his hands clattering to the ground and leaking onto the asphalt. He gaped at his tiny assailant from the ground, as Clover began berating him loudly.

Exchanging an equally shocked look with Angeal and Zack, Genesis rose to his feet and hurried over to where the boy was tearing into the increasingly indignant trooper. When the man made to stand, Clover shoved his shoulders, toppling him back to the ground and keeping him there with a foot on his chest.

“-didn’t know any better, I’d call it a deliberate attempt at sabotage, but you clearly don’t have even half the brains you would need to manage that!” Clover ranted. As he drew in the breath to continue his tirade, Zack swept him into his arms, prompting a tiny squeak of surprise. Genesis disguised his grin behind his hand as he rubbed his face.

“What’s wrong, Spikey?” Zack asked carefully, while Angeal helped the apoplectic trooper back to his feet.

“He was about to break her!” Clover insisted, pointing at the trooper and the motorbike.

“I was not!” the trooper retorted, puffing up indignantly, before seeing who exactly he was speaking with and gaping. Collecting himself after a moment, he continued, “I was about to test the N-Booster efficiency for this Daytona, when this brat attacked me!”

Clover bared his teeth furiously at the man. Genesis was impressed. He’d only seen the boy this spitting mad when faced with Sephiroth, and that was usually tempered by fear. “Yeah, sure,” Clover snarled, “after filling her with that fucking poison!” He stabbed his fingers at a can of motor oil leaking near the trooper’s feet.

“The motor oil?” he snapped. “It needs that to run, you stupid child. Were you dropped on your head?”

“That’s motor oil for cars, idiot,” Clover said, voice dripping with loathing. “You’re working with a Daytona, and those are so damn precise. You turn on the nitrous with that slop in it and you’re gonna shred the whole gearbox, go ass over teakettle and probably take out half a squad with your idiocy!”

The trooper angrily grabbed the cannister, raising it and shaking it at them. “You think I can’t tell the difference between types of motor … oil …” he trailed off, staring at the label on the container he was holding. His face fell, the colour draining from it. Looking between the – apparently incorrect – oil and the motorcycle, he suddenly lurched towards it and yanked off the electrical cabling that had been connected. Then, he slumped to the ground, hands trembling and groaning, clearly overwhelmed by emotion.

Angeal hurried to kneel by the man and coached him through a breathing exercise. Genesis simply stood blinking as he realised how close this trooper had come to nearly killing himself, and likely others, crashing that motorcycle.

“Spike,” Zack said, sounding strangled, “how did you know that?”

Clover looked back at him, suddenly all wide-eyed innocence.

“I like bikes,” he said, as if that was sufficient to explain such specific mechanical knowledge.

Zack gave a helpless sputter. Sephiroth returned from his call, brow furrowed and demanding answers. Genesis simply threw back his head and laughed.

Back at the hotel, after their mixed trip to the carpool, Angeal moved to sit on the edge of the bed, next to where Genesis was reclining. Zack sat with Clover, trying to coax him into a conversation with little success. Angeal put the two younger party members out of his mind, glad that the President has re-authorised their use of aerial transport. That had been the one silver lining to Sephiroth’s call from the President, though it was hardly worth suffering Sephiroth’s short temper afterwards.

Now the remainder of their journey to Midgar would be a matter of hours, rather than days. As there were no helicopters currently in Junon, however, they returned to their hotel to await the arrival of one from Midgar. Only Sephiroth had remained at the carpool, set on performing a surprise inspection after the near-accident Clover had prevented.

“How is your shoulder?” Angeal asked Genesis softly, leaning in close to his lover so the others wouldn’t hear. Genesis opened one beautiful blue eye to peer at him. “Hollander said the transfusion was successful, but I wanted to check in with you, as well.”

Genesis opened his other eye and gave a bitter smile. “Dreams of the morrow hath the shattered soul,” he intoned. “The wound has certainly closed.”

Angeal turned to face his partner more fully, brow furrowing.

“But …?” he questioned slowly.

Genesis gave a bitter laugh.

“It appears that it was merely a symptom of the larger condition.”

Angeal felt a chill run down his spine.

“What does that mean?” he asked. Genesis merely turned his head away. As he reached out to grab his foolish, prideful lover and shake some sense into him, a small voice behind him gave him pause.

“It means he’s degrading.”

Genesis sat up at that, looking over Angeal’s shoulder. Turning, Angeal looked to Clover standing nearby, Zack hovering behind him, expression caught between desperate curiosity and abashed at being caught.

“Eavesdropping is not honourable,” Angeal firmly reminded Zack. Clover, by contrast, simply moved forward, climbing onto the bed beside him and poking Genesis on his cheek, with his face strangely blank. It seemed as if he was testing for something. Angeal wasn’t sure; the kid’s behaviour always seemed strangely erratic.

Clover pulled his finger back when Genesis mockingly bared his teeth.

“And what do you know about it, then?” Genesis asked haughtily, in the way that Angeal knew meant he was hiding his fear.

“Type G SOLDIERs inevitably experience a genetic imbalance caused by the rejection of, or assimilation by, J-Cells. This is known as degradation,” Clover intoned, as if from a memorised report. Angeal would have called him heartless for the recitation if he couldn’t see the sorrow in the boy’s eyes.

“Effects include, but are not limited to, accelerated aging, increased susceptibility to injury, lack of effective healing processes and emotional instability. Eventually, this total genetic collapse results in insanity and death.”

There was a ringing silence after he finished speaking.

Turning his sad eyes on Angeal, he said, “You are also a Type G SOLDIER.” Angeal felt his breath catch in his throat. He looked helplessly at Genesis, who sat with head bowed. Angeal knew he was struggling, grappling with the enormity of what Clover had revealed.

“My friend, the fates are cruel. There are no dreams, no honour remains,” Genesis intoned slowly. “So, that is it then? We are simply doomed to waste away?”

“No,” Zack said sharply, looking rapidly between the two SOLDIERs. “No way we’re just going to let that happen. There has to be a way … a way to fix it! Right, Clover?” He spun to the boy, dropping to his knees and grabbing his hand desperately. “Please, tell me there’s a doctor, or someone we can find who can make a cure for them.”

Clover shook his head, looking up at them with sad eyes. “I’m sorry Zack …”

Zack choked out a sob, tears slowing rolling down his face. Angeal shook off his numbness and reached out to place a comforting hand on his protégé’s shoulder. Zack leapt onto the bed, latching onto Angeal desperately.

“No, Zack is right,” Genesis said slowly, raising his head. There was a fire burning in his eyes, unlike any Angeal had seen in him before. His voice grew faster and more impassioned as he spoke. “There is still something we can do. My soul, corrupted by vengeance hath endured torment, to find the end of the journey. We shall willingly accept out fate. But we’ll take the world with us!”

Angeal opened his mouth to rebuke his lover for such a horrifying declaration but was interrupted by Clover suddenly slapping Genesis. The man looked shocked, blinking down at the child.

“Don’t be stupid. Even if you know you’re doomed, there’s no reason to drag innocent people into your mess. Besides,” he said, now more contemplative, “I think there might be something that can fix it.”

Zack’s head shot up, staring at Clover like he was an oasis in the desert.

“But you said …”

“Shinra can’t cure this. No modern medicine can. We need the power of the Planet, of the Lifestream. And the easiest way is …” he trailed off, eyes growing distant. “I think it can work.” Refocusing on Zack, he said, “When we’re in Midgar, I’ll take you to meet someone. She’ll be able to help.”

Genesis’s hand was like a snake, catching the boy’s wrist.

“And we’re just supposed to trust your generosity in this?” he asked, coldly.

“Consider it enlightened self-interest,” Clover replied, “so you don’t try to set the Planet on fire on your way out.”

Genesis snorted and let the boy go, before flopping back against the mattress. Clover rubbed his wrist and made a face, before retreating across the room to his own bed.

Angeal returned his attention to Zack, who was now sobbing tears of relief. He pulled his apprentice close, shaken by the horrifying revelations, and clinging to the sliver of hope Clover offered.

“It’s okay,” he soothed. “We’re going to be okay.”

Dimly, he heard Clover moving around the room. Likely collecting a change of clothes, he thought, holding Zack and drawing as much comfort from him as he was giving.

Clover felt a stir of guilt. He had shared what he knew of degradation with the SOLDIERs in the hope it would distract them, giving him an opportunity to escape. However, their reactions – especially Zack’s – had him hesitating. It had clearly hurt him and would hurt even more now that Clover was about to vanish after offering a ray of hope. Gritting his teeth against the remorse churning inside, he pushed on. His offer to lead them to a potential cure was genuine, and he would keep his word. But, before he did, he needed to take advantage of the opportunity he had created. This would likely be his last chance for a long while to try to take out another reactor before he was effectively trapped in Midgar for the foreseeable future. Once he was done, he would return, he decided. Both to honour his promise and to keep an eye on Sephiroth. In case he needed to put the man down.

While the Junon reactor was the closest, it was also far too well guarded for Clover to be able to successfully infiltrate and destroy. Instead, he would aim for Fort Condor. Once that was taken care of, and the people sufficiently armed to protect themselves and the condor, he would return to help the degrading SOLDIERS. Or more likely, if the niggling suspicion he had about Sephiroth was correct, the SOLDIERs would be able to find and re-capture him.

Plan in place and conscience sated, Clover kept his motions calm and quiet as he carefully looked through Sephiroth’s bag. The return from the carpool to await a helicopter had been an unexpected boon. Frazzled by their early awakening, followed by the shock of the near miss with the Daytona, the SOLDIERs had made a terrible mistake. They had failed to return the bags containing their supplies and extra equipment to the highest shelves of the cupboard. The bags that also contained Clover’s gear.

No matter how distracted the SOLDIERs were by the revelations he had just dropped on them – recalled from documents found in the fallout of the Deepground fiasco – Clover would only be able to search one bag. He selected Sephiroth’s.

Unzipping it casually, he found his decision vindicated when he opened it to find his Fusion Sword nestled within, along with several of his materia. At a glance, he could tell not all of them were present. Clearly the SOLDIERs must have divided them between their bags, to prevent, well, exactly what Clover was doing now.

He stroked the blade, regretful that he wouldn’t be able to take it with him in its entirety. With one twist, he separated the two shortest blades, as the only components he could effectively use in his younger form.

Reaching down, he ran his fingers across the materia, internally cursing the absence of any of his Master materia. After a moment of deliberation, he picked up his Enemy Skill and Phoenix, fitting them into the blades’ slots.

Stash successfully pilfered, Clover rezipped the bag and made his way into the bathroom. He was careful not to rush, trying to avoid drawing any attention from the distracted SOLDIERs.

Once safely in the bathroom, he quickly got the water running, as if he was about to take a shower. Zack and the Firsts had learnt to allow him to bathe on his own when there was a shower, after he bit Genesis for trying to undress him.

With the sound of running water disguising any noise he made, he set to quietly scaling the sink and pulling himself up to the window. It was far too small to fit an adult, but Clover knew he would be able to squeeze through it. For once, he was grateful for his reduced size, as he carefully undid the latches and pushed the window open. Pausing for a final moment to check if he had been heard, he squeezed out through the window, holding onto the bars to make sure he wouldn’t fall until he was ready.

Pitching himself out into thin air, he began falling from the dizzying height of the apartment. He allowed himself to drop for several long seconds, before twisting in the air and cleaving his blades into the wall. There was a terrible sound as the blades tore through metal and concrete, but it slowed his descent enough to land safely. Ripping his blades free, he dashed away, pushing through the crowd of gawking onlookers and into the narrow alleyways of Junon.

Clover wound his way through the alleys towards the Shinra carpool. An infinitesimally small noise sounded behind him, and he smiled.

“Hello Vincent,” he said softly. Vincent let out a tiny huff of breath, which Clover recognised as shock. It had taken years of continual practice with the man to gain the level of familiarity he had now. Glancing back, his smile become subtly mocking, “It’s good to see you again. Let’s mosey.”

As they made their way through the narrow and winding alleys, Clover relayed his plan to Vincent, who merely nodded agreement. Arriving at the edge of the carpool, they crept along the edges, staying low and out of sight. Clover gave a grin as he saw it. The Speedy-Daytona from earlier had been set to the side, away from the other vehicles being worked on. He looked around and spotted Sephiroth at the far end of the compound, hovering ominously over a squad of troopers as they worked on a large truck.

Moving briskly, not too fast to draw the eye but not too slow to be obviously sneaking, Vincent approached the bike, with Clover doing his best to stay hidden below the billow of the man’s cloak. Indulging in a moment of appreciation, he ran his hand along the seat. This model of Daytona had long been out of production in his time, supplanted by the sturdier Hardy model, made to handle combat. While those were beautiful bikes, they could never match the top speeds of the earlier Daytona models thanks to their heavier chassis. The moment taken, Clover opened the oil compartment and checked the levels and texture. As he had hoped for, the bike had been emptied and refilled with the correct type of oil.

While Clover checked the bike, Vincent crouched down and used a small blade to pry open the ignition wiring cover. After a few moments of fiddling, the bike roared to life.

A shout rang out. Someone had clearly seen them. Vincent straddled the bike, waiting only long enough for Clover to leap up behind him and get a solid grip, before kicking up the stand and punching the ignition. Revving the throttle, Vincent accelerated quickly forward. More shouts went up as they raced across the tarmac. Groups of troopers scrambled out of their way.

Sephiroth was there in an instant, blocking their path. Clover leaned around Vincent, raising his blade as he reached for the power of Enemy Skill. The General’s eyes widened as Clover lashed out with Shadow Flare, the powerful spell sending Sephiroth flying into the side of a cargo truck with a tremendous bang. Sephiroth tumbled to the ground on hands and knees.

Taking the opportunity, Vincent wheeled them around, driving for the main road of Junon. As they reached the strip, he gunned it to the Daytona’s full speed, racing away.

Soon, they reached the far end, and Vincent only slowed slightly as he drove into the Shinra building. Troopers screamed and leapt aside, pressing against the walls to avoid the speeding bike.

Careening through corridors, turning rapidly back and forth for nearly a minute, they reached the indoor cargo elevator. Ramping the motorcycle over the edge of the platform, Vincent rode down the sloped elevator shaft.

Pulling to a stop beside the controls at the bottom, he slammed the door release. Revving loudly, he shot between the doors as soon as the opening was wide enough, ignoring the startled yelp of the solitary trooper guard.

The two of them sped through Lower Junon, Vincent keeping careful watch for any who might stumble into their path, as Clover slumped against him, desperately wishing he was large enough to drive this beautiful bike himself. The journey to Fort Condor was going to suck.

Vincent felt the grasp of enigmatic supposed-time-traveller tighten, leaning closer as they drove east from Junon. After nearly an hour passed, the man-turned-boy pulled back slightly and called out to him over the sound of the bike, “I assume you have questions.”

“I would know more of this future of yours and how we came to be allies.” Vincent confirmed.

What followed was a near-unbelievable tale, as Cloud described a future in which they had both worked together as members of a ragtag group to fight against Shinra and succeeded in stopping Sephiroth from destroying the world. It was a story of strange creatures and Ancients and vast and terrible magics. He revealed that Lucrecia lived in her own isolation, a similar self-imposed penance to Vincent’s own. Cloud suggested that following the success of their current objective, Vincent should seek her out.

The easiest path to her, it seemed, was deep underwater, requiring a submersible vehicle to access. Thus, his next objective should be the decommissioning of Junon’s underwater Mako reactor, from which he could hijack a submarine to make the journey. The time traveller then shared news of the degradation being experienced by two of the SOLDIER Firsts who had captured him, and his plans to provide what he suspected would be a cure.

“You are confident in your ability to remain free of Hojo’s grasp, should you return to Midgar?” Vincent asked.

“Confident enough,” Cloud replied. “With how things have been so far, I know Zack will raise hell if Hojo tries to get his hands on me, and I think the Firsts would do the same. They seem disgusted by what Science would do to me. And if Hojo gets to interested, I can vanish below the plate.”

After several more long hours of travel, they arrived at a spire of rock bearing a Mako reactor, the peak of which seemed to be home to a bird of exceptional size. As Vincent stopped the motorcycle and leaned it against the rock-face, Cloud took the time to coach him through what to say to allow them entry to the Fort. After a long moment of consideration, Cloud sighed loudly and gestured for Vincent to pick him up.

Continuing on foot, he carefully approached a somewhat hidden cave entrance. It was guarded by a single man, who was clothed in the sturdy clothes of a labourer.

“Howdy,” he greeted them. His expression was friendly, but his eyes held a hint of suspicion as he watched them approach. “What brings y’all all the way out to our neck of the woods?”

Vincent nodded his head in greeting. “We have heard that this is the place to come if one is seeking shelter from …  powerful people.”

The man’s eyes moved between Vincent and Cloud, who kept his face mostly turned away. After a moment, the not-child made a quiet noise, as if tired from the long journey and pressed his head against Vincent’s shoulder. The guard’s eyes softened, and he offered a small smile.

“Yeah, this is the place. Y’all feel free to stay as long you need. We do see the occasional push by Shinra to try and get at the reactor, but we’re able to keep them out well enough.” His eyes drifted to the firearm at Vincent’s hip. “Though any help y’all can offer, if you’re here when they next attack, would be greatly appreciated.”

The guard turned and led them into the cave, where a single rope hung from a hole high in the ceiling. After confirming that they would be able to make the climb, he nodded and returned to his post.

“I am curious why, if these people are so opposed to Shinra, we are not simply informing them of our intent regarding the reactor,” Vincent mused as they climbed. Clover grunted from where he was climbing ahead.

“They’re willing to fight to protect the Condor and her egg, but Shinra hasn’t ramped up the scale of their attacks yet. If we told them we planned to break the reactor, they wouldn’t let us in, since they’d be afraid it would draw more forces against them than they could handle.”

Vincent hummed a quiet acknowledgment, before adding, “You have something in mind to address that, after we are done?”

“Yeah,” the time traveller grinned down at him, something close to child-like mischief dancing in his eyes, “I’ve got an idea.”

At the top of the ladder, they spent a short time wandering the simple facilities, during which Cloud had Vincent purchase two new Lighting materia. He apologised for the loss of the previous one and made promises to repay Vincent for the costs. Successfully re-equipped, they made their way up to the peak of the spire, avoiding the untrained eyes of the Fort’s inhabitants.

When they reached the reactor, Cloud once more led the way, using a combination of brute strength and the materia to efficiently sabotage key components, going slower this time and explaining the process to Vincent all the while.

As they worked, Vincent asked, “Could Shinra not simply repair the damage?”

Yanking another set of cables free, Cloud replied, “They could, yes, which is why I’m going to need to get rid of them eventually. But for now, we’re damaging enough key components that are incredibly expensive and time consuming to manufacture. It’s what we did to start with, when the dust settled after Meteor, so that Rufus wouldn’t try to keep the reactors running. For now, short of blowing it up, destroying the entire structure, this is the most we can do.”

Soon, the reactor was fully disabled, and Vincent was fully versed and ready to decommission the one in Junon. Cloud deliberately did not hide their descent from the now clearly dormant reactor, drawing shocked, fearful and angry looks from the denizens of the Fort.

“What in the blazes did you just do!?” a tall man demanded after pushing his way to the front of those gathered around.

“Disabled the reactor,” Cloud said calmly, looking up at the man, who was clearly startled to be addressed by a child. Then his face twisted into a grimace.

“You gods-damned idiots!” he snarled. “You think we didn’t think of that when the Condor arrived! Leaving the reactor running has been the only thing preventing the full force of Shinra coming down on us!”

“They’ll probably be a bit distracted for a while,” Cloud replied. “Nibelheim’s reactor blew up, and Gongaga’s went cold a few days ago.”

The man blinked at that, looking around at the other people in surprise. An older man stepped forward.

“Even if that’s true, it’s just delaying the inevitable. We can’t hold out if Shinra starts coming at us seriously.”

“You can with this,” Cloud said, drawing one of his short blades, which were almost proportionally swords at his height. He drew a Summon materia from the slot, and presented it to the man, whose eyes widened. Then, as he held the orb and studied it closely for a moment, his eyes bulged and his mouth fell open in shock and awe.

“This is …”

“Phoenix,” Cloud confirmed, smiling fondly at the Summon. “I’m leaving her with you to help defend yourselves from Shinra.”

The man sputtered gratefully, while the crowd murmured in amazement. Cloud began to move towards the exit, with Vincent, almost as surprised but not wearing it so openly, following closely behind.

The old man found his voice once more. “Wait, but why?”

“This place is important to her,” Cloud said over his shoulder. “She would be delighted to stay and help defend your home and families … and hers also.” He looked back and up towards the condor’s nest.

The man gasped and returned his gaze reverently to the Summon in his hands. Others drifted forward, reaching out to touch the materia, to confirm for themselves that it was true.

After climbing back down the rope and retrieving the motorcycle, they began riding once more.

“I want to keep the Firsts away from the Fort,” Cloud explained, as he directed Vincent to drive them back towards Junon, “and also show that I was still planning to come back to help like I promised.”

“Will they not know your intentions when you have returned to Junon?”

“I don’t think we’re getting that far,” Clover nodded towards a speck on the horizon. The speck shimmered and rapidly resolved into the shape of an approaching helicopter.

“Ah,” Vincent commented.

Genesis sat with bowed head and closed eyes, as Clover withdrew, and Angeal turned to comfort Zack, who was trembling with the force of his emotions. The boy’s revelation – horrifying and terrible, with a mere sliver of hope offered – aligned too closely with the little information Hollander had provided for Genesis to doubt it. The Shinra scientist had given him only vague hints and speculation of the cause of his mysterious and terrible condition, before dripping honeyed whispers of treason into his ears. By contrast, Clover had revealed precise and specific knowledge of Genesis’s illness, clearly gleaned from ransacking Hojo’s research. Which proved to Genesis that this degradation was not an unknown affliction unique to him, but one studied and understood by Shinra scientists.

Genesis grit his teeth in the face of the burning inferno of rage rising within him. He had been ready to defect from the company’s control, taking dozens of loyal SOLDIERs with him on his quest for answers, at Hollander’s behest. And now he knew the man to be either fool or manipulator. Genesis could scarcely believe how cleanly he had been hooked. He released a long, shuddering breath, and slowly levered himself upright, gaze drawn to Angeal holding Zack close.

“I see how it is,” he drawled, pulling their teary gazes to him. “Scarcely a few moments from learning of my impending demise, and you already seek comfort in the arms of another man.”

Angeal choked out a laugh as Zack jerked out of his hold and retreated to the other bed. Genesis waved off his sputtered apologies before turning to focus on his partner.

Cradling Angeal’s face in his hands, Genesis asked, “How are you holding up, love?”

Angeal sighed, leaning into his touch.

“I should be asking you that,” he said, reaching a hand up to cup Genesis’s against his face. “You’re the one who ...” He trailed off with a stricken look.

Genesis felt an upswelling of guilt, struck suddenly by how his earlier declaration must have affected his love.

“My friend, your desire is the bringer of life, the gift of the goddess. I am sorry,” he murmured, pressing his forehead against Angeal’s. “I shouldn’t have given up hope so quickly. We will seek out this cure that Clover has promised. And even should that fail, we will continue searching, until we find something to fix this. No matter what, we will find an answer.”

Before Angeal could reply, his PHS rang out. With a final caress of Genesis’s cheek, he withdrew and pulled out the device, frowning down at it before answering. Before he could say anything, Sephiroth said sharply, “Clover and Vincent have escaped on a stolen motorcycle.”

Genesis held back a sigh as Zack sat staring out the window of the helicopter, leg bouncing violently. On hearing the news of Clover and Vincent’s escape, they had scrambled to figure out where they had gone and make chase. Genesis had nearly strangled Sephiroth when the man stopped them from jumping into a car and chasing immediately. The General had instead firmly insisted they wait for the helicopter to arrive. When Genesis had incredulously questioned his sanity, a queer look had crossed the man’s face. Haltingly, he told them of the strange connection he had discovered between himself and Clover, and the ability it gave to unerringly sense the boy’s direction. Between this strange, new power, and their past failure in tracking this Vincent, Sephiroth clearly expected to have little luck with traditional methods.

After an agonising hour of waiting, the helicopter finally arrived. Their Turk pilot had raised an eyebrow at the changed orders, but merely shrugged it off. They followed Sephiroth’s directions due east, until he suddenly ordered them down toward an open field. As they lowered, a small figure came into view, standing on a boulder and waving up at them. A glance showed expressions of stunned disbelief on Angeal and Zack’s faces. Sephiroth managed to look smug, once more leaving Genesis containing an urge to throttle him.

Genesis huffed when Zack threw open the door of the helicopter the instant it touched down, not even waiting for the blades to slow before leaping out. The young Second charged across the grassy field towards Clover, whose eyes widening at the swift approach. The boy released a small squeak as he was snatched up and pulled into a tight embrace.

“Never do that to me again!” Zack scolded, before placing him down again and checking him over for injuries. The boy swatted Zack’s fluttering hands away as Genesis, Angeal and Sephiroth approached.

“I’m fine!” he exclaimed, trying to look aloof but unable to keep a small smile from his face. “I’m not hurt, Zack!”

When he caught sight of the Firsts, his smile faded. Reaching behind himself, he pulled forward two short blades. He held them out hilt first with a scowl, lips turning into his usual endearing pout. Genesis resisted the urge to coo, instead raising an eyebrow at the weapons.

“Well?” Clover asked, looking up at them expectantly. “Aren’t you going to take them?”

Angeal carefully stepped closer. “You’re giving these to us willingly?” he confirmed, taking them when the boy nodded.

Sephiroth reached and plucked a materia from one of the blades. “Where is the other one?” he asked, eyeing Clover suspiciously. The boy had the gall to roll his eyes in response, to Genesis’s internal delight.

“I gave her to some people so that she can protect them.” Genesis felt his eyebrows climb at that.

“You’re telling me you had the materia for the legendary Phoenix, a Summon long thought lost, and you gave it away?!” he asked incredulously. Clover simply nodded, as if that wasn’t the most nonsensical suggestion.

Genesis shook his head disbelievingly and threw up his hands. He no longer doubted that the boy was related to Sephiroth – they were both equally infuriating.

“Why did you run off, Clover?” Zack asked, reaching out to pick the boy up again. “You said you knew a way to help Genesis and Angeal, and then suddenly Sephiroth is telling us you’ve stolen a bike and ridden off. Is there even a cure, or were you just trying to distract us?”

Zack looked so hurt, like a kicked puppy, as he gazed down at Clover, who looked away, decently shamefaced.

“I’m sorry,” he said quietly. “I do think I know something that can help them. I promised to help you, and I meant it. I just … I needed to take care of something first. I was coming back, I promise.”

Zack huffed a sigh of barely concealed relief and pulled Clover into another tight hug. Angeal reached out to place his hand on Zack’s shoulder before looking down at Clover sadly.

“Please, tell us if there are such important things in the future. We would much prefer you ask for our help than run off on your own.” Clover shot him a look of disbelief.

“I can’t ask you for help. You work for Shinra. If it comes down to helping me or protecting their interests, it would be your job to stop me.”

Genesis grimly met the distressed look Angeal shared with him.

“We all good to head on back now then?” called their pilot, from where he was reclining in the main seat. He was a young Turk, with silver goggles nested in his red hair, and a set of tattoos framing his eyes as he peered back at them. Reno, Genesis believed his name was. He had a delightfully sharp tongue.

From the corner of his eyes, he saw Clover grimace as Reno set about beginning the liftoff sequence. The boy curled up in his seat, expression growing resigned. Zack, seated beside him, ran a hand through the boy’s hair, and started up his now-usual endless tirade of meaningless chatter to distract the boy as they took to the air.

Sephiroth was relieved that their flight was blessedly short and lacking in turbulence. Despite it only taking a few short hours, Clover had clearly been utterly miserable for the entire ride.

Clover’s expression had grown smug at the exclamations of surprise that had sounded when Angeal realised that the two short blades he had used to escape could be attached to the large Buster-like sword he had been captured with. Even Sephiroth had been impressed when investigation revealed that the weapon could separate into six different blades. Clover had received many awed looks as the SOLDIERs tried to imagine wielding such a weapon.

Finally, they arrived, landing atop Shinra tower. Zack rubbed soothing circles on Clover’s back as the Firsts stepped from the helicopter. Another Turk – Rude, Sephiroth recalled – stood waiting to greet them, standing with hands behind his back. He had a clean-shaven head and closely trimmed beard. His eyes were hidden behind a pair of dark glasses. Their pilot, Reno, hopped from the helicopter and clapped him on the shoulder in greeting.

“General. Commanders,” the new Turk greeted them with a short nod. “The President has ordered your presence for a meeting with the Board of Directors.”

Sephiroth took note of his eyes darting behind them, to where Zack was disembarking with Clover held in a firm grasp. When Sephiroth gestured for them to lead, the Turks proceeded inside, through hallways, and across the President’s office to the executive elevators. Soon they arrived at the conference room.

“Lieutenant,” Sephiroth said, and Zack quickly settled against the wall beside the door. Clover watched them with furrowed brows and eyes squinted behind his sunglasses. With a final nod to the SOLDIER Second, Sephiroth led the way, sweeping through the doors into the meeting, Genesis and Angeal following closely at his heels.

Conversation stopped and all nearly all eyes turned towards them. Heidegger and Palmer looked up from the discussion that had them chortling together. Scarlet glanced up from her PHS with a bored look. Reeve flinched with his whole body. Lazard cleared his throat, straightening a pile of files before him. Hojo didn’t even look up from whatever document he was scribbling notes on. President Shinra sat forward in his seat and steepled his fingers.

“So good of you to finally join us, Sephiroth, Commanders.” Long practice allowed Sephiroth to restrain his distaste to a single finger twitch at the overly familiar address.

Genesis stepped forward, brushing past Sephiroth to bow dramatically.

“Mister President. Directors. It is a delight to be greeted by the sight of your inspiring visages once again. Truly, a gift surpassed by none other-”

Heidegger slammed his fist against the table, roaring, “Enough of this rubbish! You defied the orders for your deployment to Wutai, Rhapsodos! You will explain yourself!”

“Of course, Director,” Genesis acceded. “I was on my way to Rocket Town, in preparation for the deployment to Wutai, when I and my squadron witnessed a large explosion to the south. I, of course, diverted us to investigate. Arriving in the town of Nibelheim, we discovered the explosion had been centred on the Mako reactor in the Nibel mountains.” At that, Sephiroth noted the widening of Hojo’s eyes, the stiffening of his posture. “Based on its proximity to Wutai, I believed it to be an attack by their forces,” Genesis continued.

Lazard frowned and leaned forward. “If they have sufficient strength to launch such an attack, it could signal the beginning of a full counter-offensive. It is possible we have misjudged the Wutaian forces.”

“Yes,” Genesis agreed, “I thought so as well. Upon closer investigation, I discovered clear traces of magic and determined the reactor’s destruction to be from sabotage – almost certainly by Wutai.”

“And you decided to neither continue your deployment against Wutai, nor inform us of this discovery, why exactly?” Scarlet asked scornfully.

“Because, my dear, the detour to Nibelheim led to the discovery of something of even greater significance,” Genesis said, gesturing to the door.

Sephiroth saw Genesis’s eyes glittering with restrained glee and heard Angeal snort a quiet laugh. Sephiroth even had to restrain the smile slowly pulling at his lips. As Angeal opened the door for him, Zack entered carrying Clover. Once they were beside him, Genesis reached out and removed the glasses and beanie hiding the boy’s striking features. He gave a satisfied smirk at the sharp intakes of breath from around the room.

“Ladies and gentlemen, meet Clover.”

At this, Sephiroth stepped forward, drawing even more attention to the similarities between himself and boy.

“We strongly believe that an unknown party have acquired, either in part or in whole, my genetic sequence and used it in the creation of Clover-”

“Utterly ridiculous,” Hojo gave a loud scoff. Clover became ramrod stiff at the sound of his voice. “Even if someone was to gain a sample of your blood or saliva, or even your sperm, your genetic information is far too complex for any idiot to be able to take and use for their own purposes. The similarities in appearance are likely cosmetic features, lacking true replication of your capabilities.”

Sephiroth narrowed his eyes at the man. Despite his arrogance, Hojo had played a significant part in Sephiroth’s creation. The easy and immediate dismissal of any other scientist being able to use his DNA supported Clover’s claims regarding the Department Head.

Heidegger made a rude noise in the back of his throat.

“This seems like an awful lot of effort to try disguising the fact you’ve made a bastard,” he said with a guffaw. Sephiroth felt a wave of rage wash through him at the crude insinuation. With rigid control, he restrained his reaction to a narrowing of his eyes as he shot the man a withering look, before returning his gaze to Hojo.

“I assure you, Professor, the boy displays highly advanced capabilities on par with my own at a similar age,” Sephiroth replied cooly. “The possibility that anyone outside Shinra has the capability of creating such an enhanced asset represents a major threat, especially as it appears Clover was created and conditioned as an anti-Shinra asset, with a particular focus on anti-SOLDIER training.”

The President sat up straighter at the proclamation, as did Lazard. The Turk leader, Veld, lurking at the back of the room, shifted position, clearly having re-assessed Clover’s threat potential.

“If he has been enhanced in some way, give him to me, and I will determine how,” Hojo said carelessly.

Clover began to struggle in Zack’s grasp, tiny face locked in a furious snarl.

“Unfortunately, I have extreme doubts in the capability of the Science and Research Division to contain Clover.”

“Please,” Hojo sneered. “He is merely a child, no matter how enhanced.”

“Very well,” Sephiroth replied, in a carefully blank tone that Genesis once declared to be his Malicious Compliance voice. “Lieutenant Fair, cease your restraint.”

At the command, Zack obeyed, and Clover became a blur of motion. As he had done previously, he shot up into the air, taking Zack’s sword from his shoulder as he leapt. Landing on the table, he lunged forward, thrusting the blade at Hojo with an enraged screech. The tip of the blade touched the bridge of the man’s glasses, before Sephiroth snatched him back from his attack just in time.

Sephiroth cradled the boy, who now lay limp in his grasp, despite the furious sounds he continued making. Once again, he felt the satisfying hum of their strange connection thrumming through his entire body with contentment. Hojo had not even had the chance to flinch.

Both Veld and Lazard stood with guns drawn and turned towards Clover and Sephiroth, while the other members of the Board were cowering away, as they belatedly realised the danger they had been in.

“As Clover has so effectively demonstrated,” Sephiroth said, carefully shifting the boy to cradle in one arm, turning his body to shield him the firearms, “his enhancements and anti-Shinra conditioning would prevent any department but SOLDIER from being able to effectively contain him. Additionally, with effective deprograming, he will likely provide a valuable and profitable asset for Shinra in the future. He has grown more compliant with the members of SOLDIER he has been exposed to. Finally,” he said, casually collecting Zack’s dropped sword before pointing it at the President, and smiling coldly, “he is my only living biological family.”

The majority of the Board members appeared sufficiently cowed by Sephiroth’s speech and implicit threat. President Shinra attempted to remain unaffected, but Sephiroth could see the pallor of his skin fading and the thin sheen of sweat forming on his brow. In contrast, Hojo appeared enthralled and ecstatic as he stared at the child in Sephiroth’s arms.

“Fascinating,” he murmured, so low only those with SOLDIER enhancements could hear. “This provides further support for Reunion Theory.”

Before any of them could press him for answers on that tidbit, the President managed to compose himself and cleared his throat.

“You have argued, and demonstrated, your case quite effectively, Sephiroth, my boy. I will approve SOLDIER taking custody and leave the boy in your care.”

“Thank you, Mr President,” Sephiroth demurred, lowering the blade and returning it to Zack.

“However,” Shinra continued, “if you are unable to contain him and he causes significant damage to Shinra property, I will have him transferred to Professor Hojo, is that clear?”

Sephiroth stiffened and glared icily at the man.

“Perfectly,” he said sharply. “If that is all, Mr President?”

He barely managed to wait until the man waved them away with a lazy hand before turning and storming from the room. Only once he was ensconced within the elevator did the furious tension begin to bleed from Sephiroth’s body.

He found his hand coming up instinctively, running his fingers through Clover’s hair, as his head rested delicately on the mighty General’s shoulder. When Clover began making noises of confused distress, he stopped. Turning, he carefully handed the boy back to Zack, ignoring the looks Genesis and Angeal were giving him.

As their elevator reached the floor for their accommodations, he swept out, leading the way down the hall to his apartment. Opening it, he ushered the others in with a wave of his hand.

Angeal immediately gravitated to the kitchen, setting about providing them all with refreshments, while Genesis began prowling around the space, sweeping it for any newly placed bugs. Zack stood awkwardly for a long moment, before drifting to the couch and taking a seat with Clover in his lap.

Sephiroth remained standing in the entryway, forcing himself to take several long, deep breaths. They had cleared the first hurdle. Clover was safe, for now. It was done.

Clover glared furiously at the Firsts as they trickled into the living room area of the sparse apartment and claimed seats. Being toted around like a prized pet before the Shinra Board had been humiliating and, on hearing Hojo’s voice, enraging. Clover had been so close to ending the bastard there and then. That Sephiroth had stopped him nearly had him seeing red. He would have torn the man’s hands off, if it hadn’t been for the awful paralysing effect Reunion had on him. Clover was also still somewhat reeling from Sephiroth having the gall to pet him like an animal in the elevator afterwards.

Angeal was the last to join them in the living room, bringing several mugs of tea, which he passed around to the other SOLDIERs. He then held one out to Clover, who took it instinctively before blinking down at what he realised was a hot chocolate. Turning his glare on Angeal, he drew out the bracer holding his Cleansing materia and cast to purify the drink, ignoring the sad pout Zack gave in response.

Genesis took a long sip from his mug, before heaving a great sigh.

“Ripples form on the water's surface. The wandering soul knows no rest. By the Goddess, I am glad to be done with that production.”

Clover felt the last thread of his restraint snap.

“What the fuck was that!?” he exploded, forcing his way out of Zack’s arms. Slamming his mug down, he spun to face the SOLDIERs, breath heaving with rage. “You were talking about me as if I wasn’t there, like I was some thing to be assigned to a department!”

“We know, Clover,” Angeal said gently, reaching out as if to soothe. Clover slapped the hand away with a snarl. He turned and bared his teeth more as Sephiroth spoke up.

“We spoke about you in those terms because it was the only way to achieve our goal – preventing you being placed under Hojo’s control again. Arguments about your needs and desires would not have swayed any of the Board members, and certainly not the President. Only by focusing on those things that they value, such as power and profit, were we able to convince them to allow you to stay with us, rather than with the Turks or Science, as you feared might happen.”

Clover felt his anger slipping as Sephiroth explained calmly and rationally.

Grasping onto his rage, determined not to give in simply, he said, “You lied to them in there,” glancing between the Firsts. “You said some faction outside Shinra created me to fight Shinra and kill SOLDIERs, but you know Hojo … he was responsible for-”

“Yes, we know Hojo created you to kill Sephiroth at some point in the future, if he ever turned against Shinra,” Genesis interrupted. Clover started, turning to look at him with slightly wide eyes. That’s what they thought he was? “But we can’t just go throwing accusations like that around without any proof, which I expect was mostly hidden within the mansion you so expertly incinerated.” Clover felt himself flush at the mixed look of appreciation and exasperation the man shot him. “And telling the Board that Hojo created you would most likely end with them simply handing you back to him to continue his experimentation.”

Clover clenched his hands into tight fists.

“I would die first, and I’d make sure to destroy as much of Shinra as I could on my way out if they tried.”

“We know, buddy,” Zack said, unusually soft, before reaching out to gently pry his hands open, rubbing his thumb soothingly over the indents Clover’s nails had left in his palms. “That’s why we did all of this. To protect you, so that doesn’t have to happen. We want to keep you safe.”

The last of Clover’s anger drained away, leaving him strangely numb. As awful and humiliating as the whole experience had been, he was very glad it had not ended with Shinra leaving him to Hojo’s non-existent mercies.

His rage had vented out of him so suddenly and intensely. Clover had forgotten what it was like to be a child. Had he always been so mercurial? The last time he remembered feeling so overwhelmed, leaping from one emotion to the next, each feeling cutting across the one before, had been when he left Nibelheim to enlist as a teen.

Clover realised that he even had the same focussed, driven sense of purpose – bordering on obsession – as at fourteen. Hopefully, he would be more successful in this goal than he had been in that one. This one was definitely less misguided than striving to be like Sephiroth. He felt a pang of sympathy for the Cloud Strife of this time going through all that right now.

With a breath, his eyes refocused and he noticed the silver General hovering far too close, enough to raise his ire again.

“And don’t fucking touch my hair,” Clover snapped instinctively.

He turned away and reclaimed his abandoned mug. Taking a sip, he made a soft noise of startled pleasure at the taste, eyes fluttering closed as he enjoyed the warm, rich chocolate on his tongue. Even when things settled after Meteorfall, and things were mostly rebuilt and recovered, chocolate had been a luxury that he rarely indulged in. Something about the taste was far sweeter than he remembered.

Opening his eyes, he flushed at the indulgent smiles being sent his way by the SOLDIERs. Trying to keep his remaining dignity intact, he absolutely refused to try to clamber onto the couch, instead opting to sit on the coffee table behind him.

“I can still touch your hair though, right Spikey,” Zack said before leaning forward to ruffle his hair, easily ignoring the look Clover shot him as Genesis and Angeal laughed. Even Sephiroth was supressing a smile, eyes glittering with amusement.

“Infinite in mystery is the gift of the Goddess,” Genesis said as the laughter subsided. “We seek it thus, and take to the sky. I believe you owe us some information on this cure you offered.” Clover looked back at the man, nodding slowly as he considered his phrasing.

“I know … about someone,” he said haltingly, “who might be able to heal your degradation.”

“What makes you think they will be able to help?” Angeal asked.

“There was … I had something similar. Not degradation, but something with the same root cause. The person I’m thinking of … might be able to make what cured me.”

“Wait,” Zack said, tilting his head in confusion, “but if Hojo used whatever the stuff is to cure you before, why don’t we go take the stuff from him?”

Clover blinked, looking back at him blankly. “Hojo didn’t cure me. Why would you think that?”

“Hadn’t you just escaped wherever they were keeping you, when Gensis found you?”

“No, I …” Clover let his eyes grow distant as he considered how much to share. “We were in the lab for four years. We broke out. Z-” He cut off quickly, gaze darting to Zack before looking away, “the man who was with me, he protected me and took care of me while I was … while I couldn’t. We spent a year on the run from Shinra forces, until he died saving me. After that,” he said, stretching meaning into absurdity, “I arrived back in Nibelheim and destroyed the reactor and the lab to stop Hojo’s plans.”

“My friend, the fates are cruel. There are no dreams, no honour remains,” Genesis intoned solemnly. “You have our deepest sympathies for the hardships you have endured.”

Clover blinked at him, before giving a jerky nod and taking a slightly unsteady sip from his mug.

“With that clarified,” Sephiroth said, “perhaps you can explain what about this person allows them, and only them, to produce this cure? And how you know about them?”

Clover hummed from behind his mug. “Like I said, Hojo likes to talk.” He gave a bitter smile. “I know a lot of things Shinra wouldn’t want me to know thanks to him. And this person is … well, special.” Looking around at the SOLDIERs’ expectant looks, he sighed. “They’re an Ancient. Well, half-Ancient.”

“I thought Ancients were a myth,” Angeal mused.

“No, they existed,” Sephiroth confirmed. “But to think any could have survived this long …”

“And you overheard this from Hojo?” Genesis asked, to which Clover nodded confirmation. “Then I suppose a rescue is in order.”

“No, Hojo doesn’t have them, they live under the plate in Midgar” At their confused looks, Clover sighed. “Shinra wants an Ancient to lead them to the Promised Land – which is extra stupid because it’s just an allegory for returning to the Lifestream – so the Turks were sent to collect them. But since they were so young and they don’t want to risk killing them by trying to torture them for information, they were left free, with Turk supervision and the threat of being taken dangling over their head.”

“I mean, I guess it could be worse,” Zack said, rubbing the back of his head. “It sounds like they’ve at least got to live a mostly normal life, yeah?”

“Still, to always have reminders that your freedom could be taken away from you at any time …” Angeal mused, brow furrowed.

Genesis clapped loudly, startling the other SOLDIERs from their thoughts. “Regardless, you can lead us to this person then?” he asked, staring at Clover intensely.

“I’ll introduce Zack to them,” Clover replied firmly. “The rest of you can stay here.” When the Firsts began protesting, he raised his voice. “I trust Zack! I don’t trust any of you.”

Genesis snarled, “I am the one who is degrading!”

“Yeah, and you were planning to ‘take the world with you’ because of it,” Clover retorted. “You’d probably threaten to hurt them to get your way.”

“That will be fine for the initial meeting,” Angeal said, quickly speaking over Genesis as he puffed up in outrage. “We can trust Zack to help secure their assistance in this. But going forward, we will need to meet them eventually, if we are to trust any cure they offer.”

Clover scowled. “Fine. Eventually. But not you!” he added venomously, pointing at Sephiroth. “You don’t go near them!”

Sephiroth blinked at the sudden address, before raising an eyebrow.

“If I agree to your terms, will you give me something in return?”

“I … it depends what you want,” Clover said carefully.

Drawing forth a small, sealed package, containing a cotton swab, Sephiroth said evenly, “I would like to take a sample of your DNA.”

Clover tensed up at that. “What do you want to do with it?” he asked, eyes narrowed at the man.

Sephiroth seemed unfazed. “I wish to test your genetics to determine the exact biological relation we hold for each other.”

Clover felt his face grow slack with shock. They thought he was … He’d heard them talking about genes and DNA earlier with the Board, but he had thought they were talking about Hojo’s use of S-cells, not that he and Sephiroth were … He kept recoiling from the very thought of what they were suggesting. His face screw up in horror and disgust.

“What?” he spat. “We’re not related.” At the incredulous looks he received from the SOLDIERs, he gave a frustrated noise. “Hojo shoved a bunch of Mako and S-cells – your cells – into me, to try to make me into a clone of you. It didn’t work, obviously.”

“Simply having my cells implanted into you is insufficient in explaining your phenotyping,” Sephiroth said implacably. At Clover’s uncomprehending look, he clarified, “Your appearance. We share a unique hair colouration, and pupil formation. You would not have those if we were unrelated.”

“You don’t know that,” Clover snapped, though with less conviction than he had before. It was true that in his original world, Hojo’s use of S-cells had not given him – or Zack for that matter – any visible similarities in appearance to Sephiroth. The idea that Jenova’s meddling in his journey through time had done more than simply de-age him made his nauseous. Pushing away the thought, he stubbornly insisted, “We can’t be related.”

“Then prove him wrong,” Genesis said lazily, lounging back in his seat. “If you’re so certain that you aren’t related, then there’s no harm in letting him run the test, since it will just vindicate your argument.”

Pursing his lips, Clover found himself unable to truly argue with that.

“Fine,” he said sharply. “I let you test my DNA, and you stay away from Ae- from the Ancient.”

“I accept your terms,” Sephiroth said with a small nod, as Angeal hid a smile behind his own mug. “Zack, if you would,” he said, offering the sealed swab to the young SOLDIER.

Clover allowed Zack to carefully swab the inside of his cheek, before it was sealed in a small plastic vial Sephiroth had also provided. As it disappeared into Sephiroth’s dark coat, Clover felt a thrill of unease but did his best to ignore it. There was nothing he could do about it now.

Shortly afterwards, Clover found himself fighting to keep his eyes open, as the SOLDIERs discussed sleeping arrangements. His wild escape from Junon, the unpleasant helicopter ride and the confrontation with the Board were all finally catching up to him. It wasn’t helped by the warm, full feeling in his stomach from the hot chocolate he had just finished. Noticing his struggle, Zack reached over and scooped him into his arms.

“Hey little buddy, don’t worry I’ve got you. Let’s get you ready for bed, yeah?”

Clover was too tired to complain, resting his head against Zack’s shoulder as he carried him into the apartment’s bathroom. After setting Clover on the counter, he darted from the room, quickly returning with the shared bag of toiletries. Fishing out the toothbrush Clover had been using for the journey – an embarrassingly colourful monstrosity covered in cartoon characters - he applied some toothpaste to it, before looking at Clover.

“Need a hand tonight, baby boy?”

Clover fought his exhaustion enough to open his eyes and glare up at his friend, thrusting out his hand expectantly. Zack’s grin remained undimmed as he gently handed over the toothbrush. He quickly retrieved his own toothbrush from the small bag and set to cleaning his own teeth as well.

Once they had completed their nighttime ritual, Zack picked Clover up again and carried him to the guest bedroom. Much like the rest of the apartment, it was somewhat barren, lacking decoration. Zack placed Clover on the bed and returned to the bag sitting at its foot. He drew out a small set of pyjamas and laid them out beside Clover.

“You okay to get changed?” he asked with a smile.

Clover roused himself from the near doze he had fallen into, slipping from the bed to tiredly push Zack from the room, which received a laugh.

Once he had privacy, Clover changed into the pyjamas, ever frustrated at the cutesy designs. He paused, looking between the bed and the door with furrowed brow. He had not been left to sleep unsupervised since he had been found and captured by the Firsts. Deciding that if someone was going to be in the room with him, he would rather know before sleeping, rather than wake to discover someone in the room.

Wandering out of the room, he found the SOLDIERs having a quiet discussion. Sephiroth was the first to notice him, looking at him curiously.

“Clover? What is it?”

“Who’s watching me tonight?” he asked tiredly. The SOLDIERs exchanged confused glances.

“What do you mean, Clover?” Angeal asked gently.

Clover blinked impatiently at them, “I know you don’t want me to sleep alone, in case I run out again, so who is it?” When they remained silent, he added, “I don’t want to wake up to someone in the room that I don’t expect.”

Genesis sniffed a small laugh. “My friend, do you fly away now? Are you planning on trying to leave again?”

“No,” Clover said grouchily. “I’ve already promised to help you solve the degradation, haven’t I? I’ll take Zack tomorrow morning.”

“Then I think we will trust you to sleep on your own in the tower,” Angeal said. With a somewhat teasing smile, he added, “Just, please don’t jump out of any windows, especially this high up.”

Rolling his eyes and releasing a reluctant huff of laughter, Clover nodded, before turning to trudge sleepily to bed.

Chapter Text

Zack barely restrained a coo at the sight of Clover stumbling out of his bedroom half asleep. He was almost as cute rubbing at his eyes and yawning as he had been almost dozing off last night. Sephiroth had been already awake and cooking breakfast when Zack rolled off the couch that he had slept on at the General’s behest – not wanting to be the only adult available should Clover wake up in the night. Probably a good idea, Zack realised, as the boy caught sight of Sephiroth in the kitchen and straightened sharply, all signs of tiredness washing away in a wave of instinctive fear, before the tension slowly drained back out of him.

Warily, the boy approached the table where Zack sat, taking the offered chair beside him. Zack hummed cheerfully as he worked his way through his breakfast. A moment later, Sephiroth approached and laid a plate piled high with food before the boy. Clover flinched at the movement, before squinting suspiciously at the food. Zack hid a smile behind his glass. Clover was just so cute when he looked all serious, little forehead scrunched up with focus. After a moment, the boy produced his orb of materia and purified his food before digging in ravenously. Which was fair, Zack thought, since their dinner the night before had been ration bars on the flight back. Clover had barely managed to choke down one.

Sephiroth joined them at the table with his own meal. Clover froze momentarily, before pulling himself together and simply continuing to eat, now even faster. Once his plate was cleared – at a rate even Zack was impressed by – he darted away like a shot, vanishing back into his room. Sephiroth gave a soft sigh, and when Zack looked at him, he had dropped his head into his hands.

“Hey, it’ll be okay,” Zack said, always choosing to look on the bright side. “He just needs time to get used to everything here, and to learn that you’re not like the people who hurt him, yeah?”

“I hope you are right,” Sephiroth said, sounding tired, “though I fear it will likely be more challenging.”

Clover returned carrying a pile of clothes, only to immediately disappear again into the bathroom. Shortly after, the sound of the shower echoed out. Sephiroth tilted his head, listening for a moment, before sighing. “He is actually showering, at least.”

Zack barked out a nervous laugh. “Oh Gods, I really hope he doesn’t try going out the window from this high up.”

As they finished their food, Clover emerged from the bathroom, dressed in what were clearly the least colourful clothes he could find. Over the top, he was wearing a set of straps that reminded Zack of his own magnetic weapon harness, held together with knots instead of buckles. Approaching them, he looked up at them expectantly. Zack bounced to his feet excitedly.

“Ready to head out now, Spikey?” he said with a grin.

Clover folded his arms and frowned seriously. “I need my weapon and materia back.”

“No,” Sephiroth replied instantly.

Clover huffed. “We’re going under-plate. I’m not going down there unarmed.”

“Zack will be going with you,” Sephiroth countered, with infinite patience.

“And if he’s busy or distracted fighting one thing, and something else shows up? I’d rather be able to fight and watch his back too.” When Sephiroth paused, seeming to contemplate the idea, Clover added, “I’ve already promised to stay and help Genesis and Angeal. I’m not going to run off again, alright? Just let me have my stuff.”

“I will return the two shortest blades from your weapon,” Sephiroth negotiated, “as well as your Materia bracer, and a selection of Materia that I will provide.”

Clover narrowed his eyes, perhaps thinking to tempt his luck, before nodding sharply. “Fine, I can work with that.” Looking at Zack, he added, “We’ll go as soon as I’m equipped.”

Sephiroth rose to his feet and swept towards the door with his signature coat billowing. “I will retrieve the items,” he said before glancing over his shoulder and shooting Zack a small smile. “The two of you can take care of these dishes, yes?”

“Aw man,” Zack complained, with an exaggerated pout, before turning and grinning at Clover. “Welp, guess we don’t have any choice. Wanna see if we can get it done before he gets back?” Clover sighed and rolled his eyes, but Zack spotted the small smile tugging at his lips and grinned widely. Success.

The two set about washing the breakfast dishes, with Zack cleaning and Clover drying while seated on the counter. Zack kept trying to rush the job, resulting in Clover pushing a pan back into his hand, looking judgementally at the small scraps of food still clinging to it. Zack simply laughed, unrepentant. With Clover’s diligence, they only barely finished before Sephiroth returned.

Sephiroth nodded approvingly to Zack, before approaching the dining room table and placing down a selection of items on it. Clover leapt from the counter and darted over to them, Zack trotting along behind.

As Clover hopped into a chair to reach the gear, Zack looked them over. There were the two short swords that Clover had returned to them after fleeing Junon, each baring a slot for materia, as well as a materia bracer with six linked slots, made from a strange gold-like materia. Additionally, Sephiroth revealed a large pile of materia, mostly magic types.

“What’ve we got to play with?” Zack asked eagerly, reaching out to pick one up, only to be stopped by Sephiroth deflecting his hand.

“I selected these for Clover specifically. They are focused around providing healing and support, rather than engaging in direct combat.” When Zack turned his puppy-dog eyes on him, Sephiroth merely stared back, fully unruffled. “You have your own materia already.”

“Fine,” Zack huffed and pouted. “But tell me what you got for Clover, so I don’t overlap.”

Clover interrupted from where he was slotting materia into the bracer. “It’s Healing, Revival, Barrier, Subversion and Time, all fully Mastered, as well as three Magnifies to let me be more efficient. I’m leaving the Subversion for my Cleansing since we’re much more likely to encounter something poisonous than anything that can create protective effects. I’m linking the Magnifies with Healing, Barrier and Time, since those will be what I’ll be casting on both of us most often.” When Zack and Sephiroth simply stared at him in stunned silence, he glanced up at them. “What?”

“How did you identify the types of materia so quickly?” Sephiroth asked. Zack blinked at him. That’s what he was focusing on?

Clover looked between his bracer and Sephiroth with a furrowed brow. “I just … picked them up and checked them?” he said slowly.

After a long pause, Sephiroth declared, “You are connecting your mana to them without equipping them or casting their spells.”

“Wait, what?” Zack asked, stunned. “You can do that?”

“Yeah?” Clover replied, looking between them in bafflement.

“It is possible, but takes significant control of one’s mana,” Sephiroth said, slipping into his lecturing tone. Zack swallowed a small groan. “Too much and one will cast a spell from the materia. Too little and one will fail to connect at all. For the majority of people, connecting with materia is a difficult process, as the body struggles to allow mana to flow in significant enough quantities. Thus, focuses, such as weapons and bracers bearing materia slots, allow the natural mana paths to be channelled through the materia, keeping them connected and active, ready for use in casting.” His eyes fell back down onto Clover. “I assume you can cast using an unequipped materia, then.”

Clover tilted his head, raising the materia orb in his hand. Zack felt a shift as the boy focused his mana, and then smelled the sharp ozone of magic casting. A shimmering barrier of purple hexagons appeared around him, before fading to almost complete translucence. Zack felt his jaw drop. Genesis was the only person he had ever seen use materia without equipping it first, and even then, it had left him incredibly drained to do. “I didn’t realise it was such a big deal,” he said nonchalantly, as he continued adding the materia to his bracer. “I usually don’t bother, since most weapons have enough slots that I’d rather keep my hands free to use them instead.” With bracer full, he slipped it onto his arm, needing to pull it all the way up to his bicep for it to stay on. Turning to Zack, he picked up his swords and attached them to his miniature magnetic harness, then asking, “Are we ready to go?”

“Uh, yeah,” Zack said, shaking off his shock. “Just one last thing.” Reaching into his pocket, he drew out the sunglasses and beanie they had previously disguised Clover with. Before the boy could put down his blades, Zack put them on him, ignoring the glare he received with a bright grin. “Now we’re ready. Let’s go!”

Genesis glanced up and frowned as Sephiroth entered Angeal’s apartment for the second time that morning. “What is it now?” he sniffed. “Did you forget something while you were ransacking my materia collection?” He wasn’t offended, not truly, at needing to lend materia for Clover’s use. They certainly couldn’t allow him access to the incredibly unique and powerful materia he had been found with. Mostly, he was annoyed at Sephiroth for interrupting the quiet morning he was sharing with Angeal – especially for waking them up – after their confusing and stress filled odyssey.

Angeal, looking at Sephiroth more fully, asked, “Are you alright, Sephiroth? Did something happen?” Glancing up from his plate, Genesis felt his eyes widen as Sephiroth turned and moved into the kitchen, pouring himself a mug of coffee from their machine. Genesis shared an astonished look with Angeal. Sephiroth never indulged in stimulants. It had been an ordeal to even have him try tea, early in their friendship. Now, he had a mug full of strong coffee raised it to his lips, draining it in a handful of gulps.

As he finished, he turned to look at them, shoulder slumping as he raised his free hand to pinch the bridge of his nose. “Sephiroth?” Angeal prompted carefully.

“Clover can cast high tier spells using un-equipped materia.”

Genesis felt his mouth fall open. “I beg your pardon,” he managed, after several long moments. Sephiroth’s gaze raised to meet his, and Genesis bore witness to the deep and abiding exhaustion of a new parent.

“Clover was able to identify the type of each materia provided with a single touch. When I questioned him, he revealed that he passively channels his mana to establish a connection even before equipping them. He then demonstrated his ability to cast without inserting the materia in an equipment slot, using a Barrier to cast Manawall. After which he declared that he had never viewed the ability as particularly important, as he prefers to wield weapons, which can hold materia sufficiently.”

Genesis, realising he was gaping at Sephiroth, snapped his jaw closed with a click. “My friend, your desire is the bringer of life, the gift of the goddess,” he breathed. “And he doesn’t even realise the rarity of such a talent.” He gave a helpless laugh.

“I had wondered how he was able to select the materia he stole – well, I suppose recovered is more accurate – during his escape in Junon,” Angeal mused. “I know we were distracted, but one of us would have noticed if he had been looking through the bags for too long. I thought it simple luck that he picked such useful materia for his needs in escaping.”

“Indeed,” Sephiroth agreed, “though he was also fortunate to select the bag containing them in the first place.”

“Infinite in mystery is the gift of the Goddess,” Genesis hummed, eyes glinting with eager curiosity. “What miracle will you show us next?”

Clover couldn’t resist snorting with amusement at the look on Zack’s face when they got off the train at the Sector 5 slums. He looked equal measures fascinated and horrified by the conditions he witnessed around him. “What?” Clover said teasingly, “Never been under-plate before?”

“Not really, no,” Zack replied, following behind Clover’s quick footsteps. After a moment of looking around at the denizens of Sector 5, he suddenly reached down and scooped Clover into his arms, deftly avoiding the blades attached to his back.

“Hey, put me down!” Clover exclaimed.

“No can do, Spikey,” Zack said, eyes darting around. “There’re a bunch of suspicious types here, and I gotta keep you safe.”

“Don’t be an asshole, Zack,” Clover chided, rapping him on the head with knuckles sharply. “Most of these people are just poor, that’s why they’re living down here. And even if someone were to try to mug us, I’m much safer when you’re not holding me so we both can’t draw our weapons.” He was incredibly patient to not include the “obviously” in his explanation.

“Oh. Right," Zack said, before putting Clover down and rubbing at the back of his head, chuckling sheepishly. “Sorry Spikey. Guess I’m a bit rattled, with everything.”

Clover sighed, before reaching up to gently pat as high as he could reach – irritatingly, just above the wrist on Zack’s forearm. “It’s going to be okay,” he reassured, searching for the words that might help. He’d never been good at this. “We’re going to find … this person, and she’ll help us fix things.”

Zack smiled down at him. “Yeah, you’re right! Gotta stay positive! Alright, let’s go!” He grabbed Clover’s hand and began walking before pausing. “Uh, where are we going again?” he asked sheepishly.

Rolling his eyes, Clover pulled him back in the other direction, towards the dead-end alley that would take them to Aerith’s church.

At the end of the alley, Clover easily scurried through the gap in the fence, huffing amusedly when Zack’s sword was caught when he followed, flailing wildly for several moments before breaking free. Carefully, they made their way through the scrapyard only to be confronted by several hedgehog pies.

Zack immediately leapt into the fray, swinging his broadsword heavily, and yelping as he was singed by the fireballs the monsters threw.

“They’re weak to Ice magic,” Clover advised as he darted forward, slashing at the creatures and dancing easily away from clawed strikes. “Here,” he added, throwing out a Haste spell to increase their speed for attacks and evasion. Between the magical buff, and Clover’s insight, Zack quickly finished off the monsters.

As the bodies shimmered and faded into green flecks, rejoining the Lifestream, Clover rounded on the grinning Second.

“You need to stop rushing in like that or you’re going to get seriously injured.” He waved his hand, and a burst of green healing magic washed over the young man, curing the burns and scrapes he had received during the fight.

“You sound like Angeal,” Zack said, grinning, unrepentant.

“Angeal’s right,” Clover insisted, before sighing. “At least let me buff you before you go charging in, alright?”

“Sure thing, Spikey!” Zack agreed.

When they came upon another group of the same enemies, Zack almost vibrated in place for the half a minute it took Clover to apply magic to Hasten them, as well as shield them both from physical and magical harm.

The word, “Done,” was barely out of Clover’s mouth before the SOLDIER launched himself into the fight once more. Rolling his eyes, Clover called, “Remember, Ice magic!” before slipping into the battle as well, drawing some of the monsters’ attention and guarding Zack’s back.

Despite their being more enemies in the encounter, Zack slayed them far faster and with fewer injuries received. He grinned good naturedly at Clover’s expectant look. “Alright, I’ll admit, you were right. You’re a pretty dab hand with magic, huh?”

Clover shrugged as he resumed leading the way. “I suppose I’m competent enough,” he said, before catching sight of the church as they rounded a bend. “We’re here.” He sped up to a quick trot, reaching the stairs to the church entrance before realising Zack was no longer with him.

Looking back, he saw him standing, gobsmacked. “Are you okay?” he asked, before hitting him with an Esuna, just in case. As the glow the spell faded, Zack seemed to shake himself, before hurrying after Clover.

Looking up at him, Clover gave him a quick once over to check that he was fine now, before turning to face the church doors. Aerith was – hopefully – here. He took a deep breath, already fighting back tears. Forcing his breath out in a long sigh, he steeled himself and pushed open the doors.

He entered, with Zack close behind, and a painfully familiar figure, sitting at the far end of the church by a patch of flowers, looked up. Clover felt his heart clench as he met Aerith’s eyes, saw her lips form into a polite but curious smile, heard her steady intake of breath. She was alive. Distantly he felt wetness on his face and realised he had lost his battle against the tears, but found himself struggling to care, compared to the reality of Aerith alive and breathing and smiling and getting bigger …? Oh, she was coming closer. As she knelt before him and gently pulled away his sunglasses, Clover found himself utterly captivated by her eyes. He’d almost forgotten how vividly green they were, how many different shades made them up.

“Hi there, Petal,” she said, and he choked on a sob as the sound of her voice balmed a wound inside him that had never healed. Her smile grew even more tender and then she opened her arms and Clover found himself falling into her embrace. He sobbed as he clung to her, feeling her body shift beneath his grasp as she breathed and vibrated with soft words and hums that his ears just couldn’t process. His head was pressed gently against her chest, and he latched onto the beat of her heart, every beat a reminder that she was alive, alive, alive.

Finally, after Clover didn’t know how long, the sobs eased, and the tears stopped flowing. Catching his breath, he gentled pried himself away from where he was pressed against Aerith, feeling the blood rush to his cheeks as she smiled down at him.

Unable to help himself, he blurted, “Do you remember me?”

Her smile gained a wistful edge, and she gently said, “I don’t, I’m sorry.” Clover closed his eyes against a fresh wave of grief, nodding sadly. “But,” she continued and his eyes opened, “the Planet shared a lot of things with me, so I do know you. And I love you very much.”

Clover felt his eyes well up again and made a frustrated sound in the back of his throat.

“Stop making me cry!” he demanded, but it came out as a whine, as he swiped at his eyes in embarrassment. Aerith giggled at him, and he drank in the sound. Suddenly, she shifted her grip around him and lifted as she stood, and he found himself cradled in her arms. The movement turned him to face Zack, who was holding Clover’s short blades. Clover felt a surge of gratitude that Zack had made sure Aerith wasn’t hurt by their embrace.

“Nice to meet you,” she greeted warmly. “My name is Aerith.”

“Hi, Aerith,” Zack said, sounding slightly breathless. Looking at his face and seeing the utterly smitten expression he wore, Clover felt a giggle bubble out of him, before slapping a hand over his mouth, eyes wide. His blush returned with a vengeance as Aerith gave a soft coo. As he turned a glare on her, Zack continued, “I’m Zack.”

Realising he didn’t want Aerith to accidentally reveal his real name, Clover quickly added, “And I’m Clover.”

“A pleasure to meet you,” Aerith said warmly, shooting him a knowing look.

Zack grinned, regaining some of his poise. “The pleasure’s all mine,” he said, sounding suddenly smoother in a way Clover recognised as a mimicry of Genesis. “I must have incredible luck to meet someone as beautiful as you.”

Aerith giggled, while Clover rolled his eyes. Teenagers, honestly. “Maybe Clover’s your lucky charm, then?” she said, eyes dancing with mirth as she looked between them. Clover shot her an unimpressed look.

“You’re right,” Zack said, giving a cheerful laugh. “He really is a Lucky Clover, huh.” Clover released another noise of frustration.

“Nope, we’re not doing that,” he insisted firmly. Looking back at Aerith, who was laughing at him with her eyes, he continued, “Can we please sit and talk? We need your help.”

With a nod, Aerith turned gracefully, moving back into the church and taking a seat on the ground by the flowers. She still hadn’t put him down. Despite his mortification over being carried, especially by someone who knew he wasn’t actually a child, it was … nice. And this was Aerith. If she wanted to hold him longer, he couldn’t deny her that. Zack followed closely behind them and sat beside them, watching them with bright, hopeful eyes.

Taking a deep breath, Clover looked up at Aerith and said, “Two SOLDIER firsts are degrading – or are about to start – because of the cells they have from Je-” He cut himself off, glancing at Zack. Aerith raised her eyebrows at that, glancing at Zack as well, before giving Clover a knowing smile. Clover felt some tension leave him, knowing that she wasn’t going to spill the secret of his time travel. Carefully he continued, “… from the Calamity. I was hoping that you could help us heal them, especially if the Planet has shared things with you. If you can make the water that healed me of Ge- of something similar, I think it would work to heal them too.”

Aerith’s expression turned regretful, and Clover felt his stomach drop. “I’m sorry,” she said, shaking her head. “I don’t know how to do that, yet. My connection with the Planet isn’t strong enough.”

Zack looked utterly devastated. “So that’s it,” he said mournfully. “Angeal and Genesis are just going to waste away and there’s nothing we can do to fix it?”

“No,” Clover insisted. “She said she doesn’t know yet. We can help make her connection to the Planet stronger.” At Zack’s desperately hopeful look, he continued, “There are places where the Planet’s voice is easier to hear, like Cosmo Canyon.”

“Oh!” Aerith said excitedly. “Yes, I think that could work! And if I’m able to hear the Planet more clearly, I can connect with it and learn more and then-”

“You can create healing water with Great Gospel,” Cloud finished with satisfaction.

Aerith beamed, before her face fell again. “Only, I doubt my mum would approve of me gallivanting off to another continent.”

“Don’t worry,” Zack said confidently, “I can be very persuasive.”

“I don’t think puppy-dog eyes will work on her mum, Zack,” Clover said dryly. Zack sputtered in protest.

Suddenly, the doors to the church opened with a loud bang. The three jumped at the sound, Zack surging to his feet and hand grasping the handle of his sword. Clover twisted carefully in Aerith’s grip to look over her shoulder, muttering a curse at the sight of Reno and Rude entering.

“Language,” Aerith chided teasingly as she stood and turned to face the Turks. “Hello again, Reno, Rude. How are you?”

“Aerith,” Rude greets with a polite nod.

“Enough small talk,” Reno said, striding down the aisle with his baton resting casually on his shoulder. “I wanna know why a SOLDIER’s down here, and why he brought an enhanced baby-assassin with him.”

Zack stepped closer to Aerith, casually putting himself between her and the Turks and allowed his easy grin to return. Clover could see the edge to it, noticing his eyes sweep the room quickly, assessing.

“We were just admiring Aerith’s flowers here!” he said cheerfully, crossing his arms. “I was surprised when I heard about a place down here that had real flowers! It’s really impressive that she’s able to get them to grow here! I don’t think I’ve ever seen so many plants in Midgar before. Angeal’s gonna be so jealous.

“Although,” Zack tapped a finger on his chin thoughtfully, as the Turks exchanged a glance, “now I’m sorta curious what brings two Turks down here, and how a lovely girl like her knows your names. You wouldn’t happen to be keeping an eye on her, would you?”

“Our orders are to surveil the child,” Rude said evenly, “based on his demonstrated power and instability.” Clover noted the Turk’s truthfulness, and effective deflection while not answering the question at all.

Clover knew that Reno and Rude would not be leaving until their questions were answered, or … He released a slow breath, gently prying Aerith’s arms open and dropping to the ground before stepping in front of her. He didn’t miss the Turks tensing at his motion. “Zack,” he said lowly, “give me my swords.”

“What?” Zack said, blinking down at him. “We don’t need to fight right now, Spike.”

“Yes, we do,” Clover replied, not taking his eyes off the Turks. Despite Reno’s attempt at appearing casual and relaxed, Clover could see the tension thrumming through his body. Rude was similarly on-edge, carefully keeping his arms loose by his sides. They were ready to attack in an instant.

Flexing his arm, Clover fed mana into his bracer, calling up the protective magic of the Barrier materia and casting Manawall over himself, Zack and Aerith. At his first twitch and surge of magic, the Turks’ eyes widened, and then Reno was blurring across the room, the end of his baton crackling with electricity. Clover, unable to move properly without disrupting his spell, braced himself to take the hit. Instead, a loud clang echoed through the church. Zack had darted forward, drawing his blade and blocking the attack, one handed. Without looking, he tossed Clover’s blades backwards. Clover grabbed them, just in time to intercept Rude as he moved to attack Zack from the side.

From there, it was easy to fall into the rhythm of battle, blocking and evading Rude’s blows and answering with swipes of his own. It reminded him of sparring with the man in the future. After dodging a kick, Clover frowned in confusion. He knew Rude could move faster and hit harder than this. He wasn’t leaving Clover any room to cast further spells, but his blows were almost gentle compared to what he knew of fighting the man. Was he… going easy on Clover, because he looked like a child? Clover narrowed his eyes, forcing the Turk back with a fast flurry of slashes, before glancing over his shoulder. Zack was mostly holding his own but did seem to be struggling somewhat against Reno’s fast movements.

Leaping back and away from Rude, Clover called, “Switch!” Zack immediately complied, falling back and allowing Clover to meet Reno’s baton with his blades. Behind him, the sound of Zack blocking Rude’s punches with his blade rang out.

Reno smirked down at him, “My turn to play with the kid, huh?” He immediately launched into a series of blindingly fast attacks. Clover spun his blades, blocking and deflecting them with ease. That clinched it. Reno would never handicap himself in a fight, not even against a child – and especially not one as clearly dangerous as Clover. It was because of the time travel. This was seven years before his first fight against these two. While talented and well trained, they were missing almost a decade of experience and training. Clover couldn’t help the grin that came to his face. This would be, quite literally, child’s play.

Reno clearly did not appreciate the expression. “What’re you grinning about, Shortstack?” he demanded.

“This,” Clover replied, before suddenly redoubling the pace of his attacks. Reno let out a loud yelp of surprise, falling back under the onslaught. Dancing around his opponent, keeping his opponent continually off balance, only barely able to defend himself, Clover couldn’t help but laugh. This was so easy, it was almost fun.

Suddenly, Zack released a shout, and Clover was struck by a flying body. Rolling as he was thrown to the floor by the impact, Clover spun to face the threat, only to see Zack groaning on the floor. He huffed in exasperation. “Did you really just let him throw you?” he asked.

“I didn’t let him,” Zack groused, rising to his feet, “he just did it.”

Clover shook his head. “Right, let’s get serious then.” Rude let out a small, choked sound at that, and Clover’s grin returned. Yes, this was definitely fun. Channelling more mana, he cast Haste on himself and his allies. Reno swore.

With the buff to their speed, Clover and Zack were unstoppable, and soon both Turks were laid out on the floor, groaning in pain. Clover kept one eye on them as Aerith bounced forward from where she had taken cover at the back of the church.

“So,” she said cheerfully, not put off in the slightest by the violence moments before, “I’ll take you to meet my mum.”

The wide grin had yet to fall from Clover’s face, as he said, “Wow Aerith, introducing Zack to the parent already. You sure do move fast.” And then, amazingly, both Aerith and Zack flushed bright red. Clover couldn’t restrain his laughter at the sight. His heart felt full to bursting, see them both here, together and alive.

Aerith hummed to herself as she led Zack through Sector Five, the SOLDIER eagerly looking around and chattering excited. Clover was once more in her arms. Her heart hurt a little every time she looked at the not-child, and she easily caved to the desire to soothe the pain by holding him close. She was almost overwhelmed by the intensity of emotions that had struck her at the sight of him, and the SOLDIER he accompanied.

Less than a week ago, the Planet – usually so quiet, barely more than a whisper in the back of her mind – had suddenly filled her head with noise, almost knocking her out with the intensity. When she recovered from the shock, she realised that she now knew things she had not before. She had knowledge of a terrible future, filled with so much suffering and death, including her own. She knew of people who would come into her life and be so incredibly dear to her that she would willingly lay down her life to save them. She knew of the bonds they would forge and the victories they would achieve. And she knew, even that would not be enough, and the Planet would be forced to bend time itself to prevent a slow and inevitable end. Her mum had been bewildered by how intensely Aerith cried that day, overwhelmed by the weight of knowledge she had been burdened with, and the powerful emotions she felt for people she had never even met.

She also found that she knew that she was not alone in her knowledge of the future. There was another, sent both in body and mind to protect the Planet and prevent the Calamity from laying waste again. They had been far away, she knew, but would find her. And find her, he had.

As she walked these not-strangers back to her home, the children of Leaf House eagerly milled around them, excited to meet a new child, asking if he was to live with them in the orphanage. They were somewhat more cautious around Zack initially, but the young man’s indomitable cheer won them over as well. Clover, seemingly embarrassed by the attention, turned away from the children, hiding his face against her shoulder. Aerith laughed brightly, telling them that Clover was rather shy and requesting they have some space. In retaliation, as they walked away, Clover tugged sharply on her bangs, glowering darkly. She couldn’t help but coo, echoed by Zack. Flushing brightly, Clover returned to hiding his face, as they shared in delighted laughter.

Finally, they arrived at her house, and Zack marvelled at the small fields of flowers that surrounded it. Sauntering through the front door, Aerith sang out, “I’m ho-ome! And I brought guests!”

“Guests?” Elmyra said from the kitchen space. She turned with a small smile, which faltered somewhat at the sight of Clover in Aerith’s arms, and Zack hovering behind them. Her brow furrowed, gaze growing slightly suspicious, as she asked, “Who are these?”

“Mum, this is Zack,” Aerith said, turning slightly back towards him, “and this treasure is Clover.” She smiled, ignoring Clover’s quiet noise of protest. “Zack, Clover, this is my mother, Elmyra Gainsborough.”

Zack gave a blindingly bright grin as he stepped forward, offering his hand eagerly. “It’s a pleasure to meet you, ma’am,” he said, all polite manners. Her mother’s suspicion dimmed somewhat, and she took his hand to shake.

“Likewise,” Elmyra said with a touch of warmth. “What brings a Shinra SOLDIER down here, may I ask?”

“Ah, well,” Zack rubbed at the back of his head. “I was told that Aerith would be able to help me with something.”

Elmyra stiffened at those words, sucking in a quick breath. “And what exactly can a fifteen-year-old girl help you with?” she asked sharply. Realising her mother must suspect Zack was here to take her away, Aerith leaned forward slightly, catching her mother’s eye and gave a small shake of her head, smiling reassuringly.

“Two people who are very important to me are sick,” Zack replied earnestly, seemingly missing the by-play. “I was told that Aerith would be able to help make a cure for them. Unfortunately, it seems she can’t yet. That’s why we came to speak to you, actually! Aerith needs to go to … um, where was it again?”

“Cosmo Canyon,” Clover spoke up for the first time, and Aerith’s mum jumped in surprise. She blinked down at him for a moment, before processing what he said.

“What?” she snapped, bristling with fury. “You want to take my daughter all the way to the other side of the world?”

“Apparently it’s where the voice of the Planet is the loudest,” Zack said, “and that will help strengthen her connection more so she can help heal my friends.”

“You Shinra people are all the same,” Elmyra said angrily, “trying to take my daughter away so she can reveal some mysterious secret for you. I won’t have it! Get out of my house!”

Zack looked shocked at the intensity of her wrath. “Mum!” Aerith exclaimed, stepping closer. “Please, hear them out.” Elmyra reached out, pulling Aerith further from Zack and moving to step between them. She was stopped when Clover suddenly twisted in Aerith’s grip and placed a small hand before her.

“Mrs Gainsborough,” he said, small voice so incredibly serious, “I swear to you, we are not working with the Turks or Shinra. This is not about the Promised Land. Two men are going to die without Aerith’s help.” As Elmyra stared down at him in surprise, he continued, “I know you’re afraid for Aerith’s safety, both outside of Midgar and within. I swear to you, she will be safe, and we will bring her home. I will die before I let anything happen to her.” His face hardened with determination far beyond his apparent age, as he added, “And I will kill anyone who tries to take her to Hojo.”

Elmyra’s jaw dropped open at such an intense declaration coming from what looked like a small child. She glanced up at Aerith, who gave an encouraging smile and nod, and then to Zack, who was watching with a hopeful expression and begging eyes. Looking back at Clover, she frowned, asking, “How do you know any of this? You’re just a child. Practically a baby.”

Aerith stifled a giggle at the exhausted sigh Clover released. “I know a lot about what Shinra wants and the harm they can do,” he said, lowering his shaded glasses to reveal the Mako-green filling his eyes. Elmyra gasped, hands flying to her mouth, before her eyes turned sorrowful.

“Oh, you poor thing,” she said softly. Aerith reached out, touching her mother on the elbow and sharing a sad look. Taking a deep breath, Elmyra slowly nodded. “Alright. I can’t in good conscience stop Aerith from helping you, if it will save lives. But you need to promise me that she will be safe, and you will bring her home to me.”

“Of course, ma’am,” Zack agreed immediately, smiling tentatively. “Aerith will be safe with us; you don’t need to worry about that.”

“Yes, please don’t worry,” Aerith said brightly, “Clover will be my little bodyguard and make sure I come home.”

She gave him a teasing smile, which turned warm and wistful as he took a shaky breath, fighting back tears, “Always.” His eyes glittered with unshed tears, and she hugged him close. Things would be better this time. They would make sure of it.

Genesis paced back and forth through Sephiroth’s living room.

“What is taking them so long?” he snarled. He knew he was being impatient.

Zack had sent a message via PHS confirming that Clover’s mysterious acquaintance was willing to help, but there were complicating factors. He had then refused to elaborate – at Clover’s insistence. Genesis had never wanted to strangle the child so intensely as he did at that moment. He knew he was being unreasonable – Zack and Clover were returning as fast as the trains allowed – but he struggled to care. Finally, after what felt like an eternity, they arrived.

“What do you mean complications?” Genesis snapped as soon as they were through the door.

“Let them sit down at least,” Angeal chided, reaching to help Clover remove the pieces of his disguise, only to be slapped away by the glaring boy.

Zack took the opportunity to pluck the short swords from his back and pass them to Sephiroth. Clover shot him a betrayed look, before stomping over to the couches, and claiming a single armchair for himself.

Genesis huffed, resuming pacing until they were settled on the couches, before rounding on them once more. “What complications?” he repeated.

Zack blew out a sigh, shooting a glance at Clover, before saying, “So, her name is Aerith, and she is willing to help us. Unfortunately, she doesn’t know how to do the Ancient magic thing that will fix it. She and Clover talked for a bit, and they think if we take her to Cosmo Canyon, she’ll be able to hear the Planet more easily and that will help her connect with it somehow.”

“Fine,” Genesis said sharply, “we will take her there now, and she then can produce the cure for us.”

“Uh,” Zack rubbed the back of his head, looking away uncomfortably. “Well, the thing is, she’s sorta … only fifteen. And her mum isn’t exactly happy with the idea of us taking her off to a whole other continent.” Seeing the look on Gensis’s face, he hurriedly added, “She agreed to it! She just needs a lot of assurance that Aerith will be safe and won’t get taken by Shinra.”

Genesis felt himself relax minutely, at confirmation that they were on the path to finding a cure. Angeal, focused on something else entirely, asking “Taken?”

“I told you,” Clover said tiredly, “she’s a person of interest to Shinra, because they want her to lead them to the Promised Land. She’s had Turks watching her since she was a kid, waiting for her to show signs of any abilities, so they can snatch her up and deliver her to Hojo.”

Angeal looked as horrified by the thought as Genesis felt. He was starting to hate Shinra more with each revelation from the boy’s mouth.

Suddenly standing, Angeal declared, “I’m going to cook us lunch,” before practically flying to the kitchen. Genesis felt a fond smile pulling at his lips, at his love’s long formed habit. Stress cooking had honed Angeal’s skills in the kitchen to perfection.

“Why did you not simply tell us this earlier through PHS message?” Sephiroth asked, from where he was loitering near the hall.

“Because Aerith is a person of interest for the Turks, and I didn’t want them knowing why we’re going to see her. They’d probably try to stop us, or take her early, if they knew we were planning to take her out of Midgar.”

“Our PHS devices are clean of Turk interference,” Sephiroth pointed out.

“Is Zack’s?”

Genesis stopped, then swore softly. He couldn’t believe they had forgotten about the Puppy’s phone. Clover sighed, “And they’ll probably pay extra attention to him now.”

“Clover,” Zack whined.

“The wandering soul knows no rest. What did he do now?” Genesis asked.

“We beat up a pair of Turks,” Clover said flippantly. As Genesis turned a glare on Zack, Clover added, “They did attack first. They didn’t like that we were talking with Aerith, because, y’know, SOLDIER,” he waved at Zack, then brought his fingertips to his chest, “mini-assassin.”

“Didn’t he call you a baby-assassin?” Zack asked, with a mischievous grin, before squawking as he was struck in the face by a thrown cushion.

“In summary,” Sephiroth interjected, “this Aerith has agreed to assist, once her connection to the Planet is strong enough. To help her achieve this, we will escort her to the location, Cosmo Canyon, on the West Continent, and guarantee her safety from harm, including from Shinra itself.”

“That pretty much sums it up, yeah,” Zack said cheerfully. Sephiroth nodded shortly and turned to stride down the hall.

“I will begin making preparations,” he said as he vanished from sight.

“Yes, of course, the great General will take charge,” Genesis muttered bitterly.

Interrogation clearly over, Zack bounced to his feet, ruffling Clover’s hair on his way past to join Angeal in the kitchen, where he proceeded to do his best to steal as much of the mid-preparation meal as he could, to Angeal’s vocal displeasure.

Genesis turned his gaze on Clover, allowing a manic gleam to enter his eyes. Clover immediately inched back in his seat, suspicious.

“So,” Genesis drawled, “Sephiroth tells me that you can cast using unequipped materia.”

Clover blinked at him. “Yeah?” he said carefully.

“How long have you been able to do so?” Genesis prompted.

“I … can’t remember not being able to,” Clover replied. “Honestly, I thought everyone could do it.”

Genesis laughed at the utter absurdity. “No, everyone cannot do it. In fact, the vast majority of people cannot.”

“Oh …” Clover frowned down at the materia bracer still attached to his bicep.

“In fact,” Genesis continued gleefully, “I am the only person who has ever achieved such a feat, and I am, quite literally, the best in the world with materia.”

“Humble too,” Clover retorted.

Genesis merely hummed, in far too good a mood to be bothered by the boy’s sharp tongue. “He also mentioned that you can identify materia with a single touch.”

“What, is that another thing that only you can do?” Clover asked mulishly.

“No, but it is still impressive,” Genesis commented lightly. When Clover merely sank deeper into the armchair, he frowned. “You seem less than enthused to receive praise for your talents.”

“It’s hardly a talent if I didn’t do anything to learn it,” Clover said pointedly. “Besides, people paying attention to you because they’re impressed with you is a bad thing.”

Genesis stared at the boy, not understanding how he could think that. Genesis had always imagined attention and praise for one’s accomplishments as something all people craved. But he remembered what he had been told of Clover’s childhood, growing up within a laboratory, under Hojo of all people. He could imagine that any demonstration of a skill or talent would be met not with praise, but instead with gruelling tests designed to push the young boy to his limits, and even beyond. Leaning back against his own couch seat, Genesis felt his brows furrow as he dwelled on his darkest thoughts.

He was drawn from his contemplation by Angeal calling from the kitchen. Looking back over his chair, he was greeted by a platter of toasted baguettes – piled high with thinly sliced meats and cheese – placed upon the table. Angeal looked more settled after working out his nervous energy. Rising to his feet, Genesis clapped to gain Clover’s attention, before gesturing to the table. Clover sighed, slipping from the couch and trudging to where Zack had pulled out a chair for him. Genesis looked at the boy’s back, thinking of all he had endured, and then followed him.

Before he would let them start eating, Angeal moved down the hall, returning with a harried- and frustrated-looking Sephiroth. Once they were all seated –and Clover had magically ensured the purity of his food – they were able to partake of Angeal’s delectable cooking. Zack, as was typical, filled the silence with excited chatter. This time, however, it seemed the Puppy was developing quite a crush on this Aerith. He spoke non-stop about her, carefully talking around any details of her location, as Clover eyed him warningly.

“- and the most incredible part was that her house was completely surrounded by flowers!”

“Really?” Angeal asked, sounding intrigued. “That sounds exorbitantly expensive.”

“No, she didn’t buy them, she grows them! She has a patch in the church we m- oof.” He cut off as Clover elbowed him firmly in the side, eyes narrowed menacingly. “Right, sorry Clover. But, yeah, she’s able to grow them somehow.”

“In Midgar?” Angeal asked, disbelievingly. Zack nodded excitedly, eyes glowing with clear infatuation for the girl.

“It’s because she’s a Cetra,” Clover explained, after swallowing his mouthful. “An Ancient,” he clarified at the blank looks he received. “Her connection to the Planet draws the Lifestream to her, and makes it easier for things to grow, even in Midgar where the air is full of toxins and the reactors are draining life out of the earth.”

Angeal let out a noise of frustrated revelation. “Is that why my plants don’t grow?” At Clover’s confused look, he continued, “I have a balcony full of pot-plants that I have been attempting to grow for several years, but they never take.”

Clover nodded, “You’ll probably have more luck if you keep them inside, and only give them filtered water. But really, until the reactors are shut down, only an Ancient will be able to get things to grow properly anywhere near Midgar.”

“You are describing Planetology theory,” Sephiroth said, tone carefully neutral. “Shinra scientists have long since disproven it.”

Clover’s expression turned to utter contempt.

“Yes, I’m sure that people who work for the company that profits from the destruction of the Lifestream can be trusted to be impartial on the issue.”

Sephiroth merely gave a low hum and nod of acknowledgment. Clover blinked, seeming surprised by the understated response, before shifting uncomfortably and returning to his meal.

They sat in relative silence, continuing eating, until Sephiroth’s PHS chimed loudly. Drawing it out, he read the message he had received before standing suddenly.

“Pardon me, for a moment,” he said, before sweeping from the room. Genesis despaired at his abysmal manners. It had taken years of work from him and Angeal to get him this far.

Returning carrying his laptop, Sephiroth declared, “The results from the DNA test have been delivered.”

He sat, moving his plate out of the way and opening the device. In a flash, Zack moved behind him, peering over his shoulder, until Angeal moved and pulled him back to a more respectful distance.

“That was rather fast,” Angeal commented as Sephiroth logged into the computer.

“I requested it to be completed as soon as possible, with the highest-level priority and discretion.”

Genesis, unbothered by the need to respect Sephiroth, crowded close over his other shoulder, drawling, “You mean you went to medical and terrified a poor doctor into getting your way.”

Sephiroth glanced at him but did not deny the accusation. Clover scoffed at them, shaking his head and continuing his meal.

Navigating through his messages, Sephiroth pulled up the file, before reading aloud, “Through analysis of the provided genetic sample, the subject was found to be the biological child of Sephiroth, SOLDIER First Class, and … Cloud Strife, SOLDIER cadet.”

Clover choked on his food. Sephiroth’s eyes snapped to him. Zack hurried around the table and thumped the boy firmly on the back, until the blockage was cleared, and the boy caught his breath.

“You recognise that name,” Sephiroth declared.

Clover looked up, eyes mutinous despite the tears filling them.

“Yes,” he said shortly.

“Who is he?” Angeal asked, eyebrow raised.

Clover glared, jaw clenched with such force that a muscle jumped in his cheek.

Eventually, he grit out, “A boy from Nibelheim.”

“Which is where I found you, after you destroyed the reactor and mansion,” Genesis noted.

“How do you know Strife?” Sephiroth asked. When Clover remained silent, he probed, “Was he part of the laboratory that created you?”

“What? No!” Clover exclaimed, eyes suddenly wide. “He had nothing to do with anything!” When Sephiroth gave him a doubtful look, Clover’s eyes darted between the three Firsts. After a long hesitation, he said, “I read some of Hojo’s files before I burnt them.”

It made sense, Genesis acknowledged, that the escaped experiment would seek to gain knowledge from the location of his creation. Which left one mystery to be solved.

“I wonder then,” he mused, “what unique traits of this Strife drew Hojo’s eye, for him to be used in Clover’s … conception, I suppose would be the term.”

“Can you pull up his file?” Angeal asked, leaning towards Sephiroth in an echo of his protégé.

“I am doing so now,” Sephiroth informed them.

“It’s because he’s from Nibelheim,” Clover interjected. “It’s where the first reactor was built, and it leaked traces of Mako into the groundwater over the years. Long-term, low-level exposure makes the Nibel population unique.”

“That would explain the laboratory’s location, and the selection of a Nibel resident,” Sephiroth acknowledged, “but not why this particular one. I have accessed the file.”

Genesis looked down at the accompanying photograph and felt his eyes widen. The cadet was the spitting image of Clover, bar the slit pupils and silver hair. He even still bore traces of baby fat, making the similarity even more prominent.

“What is it?” Zack asked, clearly desperate with curiousity, but not wanting to leave Clover’s side.

“Strife and Clover are nearly identical,” Sephiroth declared, looking between the image and boy, who was shrinking down in his chair at the scrutiny. “Strife has hair more golden blonde, and typical pupils, but they are the same in all other regards.”

Angeal began to read aloud from the file. “Name: Cloud Sky Strife. Rank: SOLDIER cadet. Born: 11 August 1986. Age: Fourteen. Gender: Male. Nationality: Nibe-”

“We don’t need to know his shoe size,” Genesis interrupted with a scoff, “just get to his personality and performance.”

Rapidly moving down the page, Sephiroth took over the recitation from the appropriate sections. “Strife has demonstrated moderate proficiency with bladed weapons, though can be somewhat inconsistent, with excellent or abysmal performance seemingly dictated by mood. Strife displays excellent materia control, though lacks significant stamina for prolonged mana use. Strife has a firm grasp of core curriculum but lacks any education in wider domains. Fast learner in some areas but struggles with large volumes of information retention. Strife is single-minded and displayed extreme stubbornness. He is antisocial, confrontational and has been reprimanded for insubordination on multiple occasions.”

Genesis glanced at Clover, making note of the strangely frustrated expression on the boy’s face.

“I suppose the boy’s natural proficiency with a blade and materia could explain Hojo’s selection,” Angeal mused.

“Perhaps,” Sephiroth said, eyes still locked on the screen as he pulled up graphs on the cadet’s performance. “However, Strife did not demonstrate a level of competence significantly higher than the average when he first enlisted earlier this year. This indicated less a natural inclination, and more capacity for rapid development in certain areas.”

“Or that the boy was hiding his abilities initially,” Genesis argued, mostly to be contrary.

“He would have no need to” Sephiroth countered. “Even if he were somehow involved in Hojo’s creation of Clover, he had no reason to suspect we knew about him at the time.”

“Perhaps we can make some assessments of our own,” Angeal interceded, pointing at the screen. “According to his schedule, his section is running sword drills in 17E right now. We could go down and observe personally.”

Genesis huffed a laugh. “How many of them do you think will pass out at the sight of the great Silver General?” he teased.

“Oh man,” Zack said with a grin, “there’s going to be so many rumours.”

Sephiroth sighed. “We should assess all the cadets,” he added, “so that we do not draw undue attention to Strife.”

“Alright, let’s look at some SOLDIER newbies!” Zack cheered.

“No, Zack,” Angeal said firmly, “you’re staying here with Clover.” As the young man deflated, and turned wide, sad eyes on him, he continued, “We need to minimise Clover’s exposure. We don’t know how he will handle having to deal with attention from the public or, Gods forbid, the media.”

Clover’s expression twisted into a grimace of distaste, Genesis noticed.

Closing his laptop with a sharp click, Sephiroth stood. “Onwards, then.”

Clover grit his teeth in frustration as the Firsts left the apartment to assess his alternate teenage self. He had been frozen in horror when Sephiroth read out the DNA test results and declared that Clover was his offspring. He had barely had a chance to process that, before Sephiroth continued, revealing Cloud Strife to also be his genetic parent. Clover almost had a heart attack hearing him speak that name again.

He had done his best to divert the SOLDIERs’ attention from his teenage copy, declaring his innocence, and sharing information about the Mako tainting the Nibelheim water supply. That part was even true. The WRO had discovered the leak in the Nibel reactor a few years after Meteor, when everything went down with Geostigma and Deepground had finally settled. Cloud had been enraged to learn that Shinra’s greed and negligence had been making his life worse even during his childhood. Ultimately, he had failed to distract them, and they had left to continue investigating.

Zack pouted at the door behind them, calling and whining piteously for Angeal to change his mind. After several long seconds, he moved to the door and poked his head out, then looked back at Clover with a wide grin. “Okay, they’re gone. Grab your stuff.” Clover stared at him blankly, as his brain continued flinching away from the latest revelation.

“We are absolutely sneaking out to watch what happens. So, get your disguise bits and we’ll head down, yeah?”

Finding it easier to move than think about … that, Clover hurried to the room he had been assigned and grabbed the items, shoving them on and rejoining Zack. He glanced around for his weapons, grimacing at the realisation they had been hidden once again. At least he had his bracer, even if the materia were all focused on support and healing Magic.

As they left the apartment, Zack maintained a firm grasp on Clover’s hand. He led the way with an exaggerated creeping step, provoking an unwilling snort of laughter. They went past the elevator, instead entering the stairwell.

“Want me to carry you,” Zack asked, then laughed at the glare he received.

He led them down nearly two dozen levels. Clover mentally cursed viciously at his younger form, as his shorter legs made navigating the stairwell far more difficult than he recalled. He soon found himself struggling and breathless, and felt a belated pang of sympathy for Barret’s pain climbing the same stairs, all those years ago.

“You sure you don’t want me to carry you?” Zack asked, concern colouring his voice. Clover snarled and forced himself on, despite the exhaustion weighing him down.

Finally, after an eternity and a dozen more stairs, Zack declared they had arrived. Clover collapsed to his hands and knees, gasping and panting for breath with Zack rubbing his back worriedly. When he caught his breath, he stood up on trembling legs. He barely managed to totter a few steps, before heaving a sigh and looking up at Zack’s concerned expression. Feeling his face burn as he glanced away, he held out his hands in silent request. Zack, despite wearing a giant grin, at least recognised that comments would not be appreciated and simply picked him up. He settled Clover in his arms easily, before carrying him through the door onto the main floor.

Slipping into a small room, Zack turned Clover to show him where they were. On the other side of what was clearly one-way glass, stood a squad of SOLDIER cadets, looking wide-eyed and starstruck. The reason was obvious as Clover saw the three Firsts standing separately around the room.

Angeal was speaking with a group of cadets, seeming to set them at ease with a gentle, reassuring expression. Genesis had claimed another group and was testing their aptitude with materia. The cadets near him were arranged in a line, casting spells at the far wall. Clover’s eyes locked onto one of them, with bright blonde hair sticking up wildly. His teenaged doppelganger, Cloud Strife.

He guessed that they were being tested for both accuracy and magical endurance, as one by one, the other cadets ran out of mana and stepped away, leaving only Cloud. He was focused stubbornly on his target, continuing to sling spell after spell. Clover could see the tension in the teens frame, the way his head twitched to the side, before forcing his attention back. Clover knew exactly what was affecting him so. The final group was under Sephiroth’s command, where he stood with Masamune drawn. Clover felt his heart skip a beat at the sight. One by one, cadets – excited and terrified in equal measure – were called up against him. Clearly in a whole other league of skill, Sephiroth stood planted firm, never once swinging his sword to harm, merely blocking and deflecting the cadets’ strikes.

Clover watched as Angeal ushered cadets from his group towards Genesis, who handed out materia bracers and set them to casting. Those from who were fully expended and no longer able to cast were sent to wait in line to face Sephiroth. Angeal smoothly intercepted those Sephiroth had sent away, clearly working to soothe bruised egos and offer words of advice and encouragement. Clover couldn’t help but admire the smooth teamwork the three displayed.

Zack gave an impressed whistle, “Oh wow, that Strife kid really does look the same as you, huh Spike? And I think he’s impressed Genesis too.”

The teenaged Cloud Strife had suddenly cast a particularly large Thudaga, drawing Genesis’s attention. He had stared down at the boy critically, before sending him on to join Sephiroth’s queue. The teen, with no distraction, was left staring at the General in near reverent awe. Clover watched as the line between them dwindled, until finally, Cloud Strife stood before Sephiroth.

He could clearly see the fear his teen self was trying to hide, as he lifted his training sword in both hands and moved into a combat stance. Dashing forward, the teen feinted high, before twisting the blade into a side swipe. Sephiroth easily read the feint, deflecting Cloud’s attack into the ground. The teen stepped closer, trying to move inside the SOLDIER’s guard and thrust forward. Masamune sang, twisting to intercept and knock aside the sword. Sephiroth’s hand came up as Cloud stumbled, grabbing him.

Clover sucked in a sharp breath, and the scent of smoke and burning flesh filled Cloud’s nose. Fire and smoke flickered at the edge of his vision. Reaching back over his shoulder, Cloud grasped the handle of a blade and kicked forward, unheeding of the pained exhalation behind him. He crashed through the window, to a chorus of shocked cries in the room, but Cloud had eyes only for Sephiroth, who spun to face him, eyes wide. Cloud dashed forward, ignoring the pain as glass crunched underfoot. He swung his borrowed broadsword high, crashing into Sephiroth’s guard and forcing him back a step. Not allowing him a moment to recover, Cloud attacked as fast as he could, blade singing with a flurry of slashes and strikes. Dimly, he heard voices shouting, but disregarded the cries of terrified bystanders as he struck at the Nightmare with all his strength.

Suddenly, a surge of magic washed over him, despite Sephiroth clearly having all this attention on their swords. Cloud felt his eyes widen in horror at a Stop spell took hold, freezing him in place. No longer defending against an all-out assault, Sephiroth once again moved forward, looming over him, somehow so much more than ever before.

As he reached for him, Cloud felt a terrified wail escape through his frozen jaw. Then the hand clasped around his, pulling the sword from his grip, and Reunion flooded through him, his body relaxing him into his magically frozen stance.

Then, his enemy pulled him up, so terribly gently, and settled him into the crook of his arms. He felt a rumble in the chest he was pressed against, the Monster speaking words he couldn’t process. Then, there was another surge of magic, and the Stop faded. He tried to fight, to escape, to flee, but the pull of Reunion left him barely able to struggle in his foe’s grasp. A familiar but strange voice sounded behind him, and he managed to turn his head, meeting the gaze of… himself?

He stared at another Cloud Strife, eyebrows furrowed in confusion, before memory slowly seeped back in, and Clover blinked.

Right. He wasn’t Cloud, in the here and now. Sephiroth was not insane under the influence of Jenova, and Cloud Strife was a fourteen-year-old SOLDIER hopeful. Who was staring at him in open astonishment.

“What the actual fuck?”

Oh, Hel.

Cloud had nearly passed out when their afternoon drills had been interrupted by all three of Shinra’s elite SOLDIER First Class, including Sephiroth himself. After a short conversation with the Third Class Sergeant commanding their squad, the Firsts had taken over, dividing the cadets into groups to work with each of them.

Cloud found himself being directed to Commander Rhapsodos, the Red Mage of Shinra, who was rumoured to set ablaze any cadets who had the misfortune of drawing his ire. He was soon handed a Lighting materia – fully mastered, he admired – before frowning in confusion. A glance confirmed that he was the only cadet not given a bracer for the materia.

As he opened his mouth to question it, the Commander gripped his shoulder, turning him to face the targets, and set to casting “until I say stop.”

And so, Cloud did exactly that. He did his best to keep his attention focused on the target, ensuring the bolts of lightning he summoned didn’t stray, but it was so hard, when Sephiroth, the General, was right there. He even heard him speak at times, offering sharp corrections to some of the cadets he was sparring with. Well, not sparring – no cadet would be able to come close to being on the level to spar with the Silver General – but having their swordwork tested.

Feeling somewhat frustrated by the fact that Sephiroth was in the same room as him and he couldn’t watch him, Cloud mentally reached for his mana and shoved a larger amount into the materia, hoping to be done sooner. The hairs on his arms stood on end as a full Thundaga blasted from the materia, utterly annihilating the target. A small hush fell as the other cadets stopped casting to stare at him. He blinked down at the Lightning materia, shocked to realise that he had been given one capable of such high-level spells, and even more shocked that he had the ability to cast them.

He jumped as a hand found his shoulder and looked up to see Commander Rhapsodos gazing at him with a strange expression. After a long moment, the Commander smirked and pulled him from the group. Before he could blink, Cloud found himself waiting in the line leading to face General Sephiroth.

Numbly taking the practice sword handed to him by their Sergeant, he realised with a jolt that he still had the Commander’s materia equipped. He looked back, opening his mouth to apologise, but Commander Rhapsodos had already returned to his group. Cloud let his mouth fall shut, turning his attention forward to watch Sephiroth in action.

He was amazing. He stood, tall, powerful and unbeatable, turning away the cadets’ swords with barely a twitch of his own blade. Cloud felt hypnotised by the man’s grace and power, feeling his cheeks grow hot with envy at the sight. He was so entranced by the General’s skill, he was startled when his name was called and he realised he stood at the front of the line.

Embarrassed, he hurried forward, falling into the ready stance he had been taught. When Sephiroth called him to begin, he launched forward, drawing on everything he had learnt, hoping desperately to impress the man he joined SOLDIER to emulate.

He feinted high before changing the angle of his swing, coming on the General’s non-dominant side. Not that it mattered, Masamune arcing through the air to meet his blade and deflect it easily. Instead of retreating, Cloud pushed forward, moving inside Sephiroth’s guard, and bringing his sword up into a sharp thrust. Sephiroth twisted his blade in a breathtaking motion, catching Cloud’s blade and twisting it away, making it miss him with less than a centimetre to spare.

Before Cloud could recover from the stumble it sent him into, he felt a hand on his shoulder steadying him. He sucked in a sharp breath, looking up to see General Sephiroth looking down at him, his green eyes with their unique slitted pupils looking down at him in fierce analysis.

“Sir?” Cloud asked.

As the General opened his mouth, a sudden crash of glass shattering interrupted, and they spun towards the sound. Cloud blinked in shock at the sight of a toddler, wielding a SOLDIER broadsword charging at them. Suddenly he was pushed to the side, and Sephiroth was, shockingly, fighting the child.

Even more shockingly, the child had him on the defensive. His sword moved so fast, Cloud could barely see it. Instead, his shocked mind caught a strange detail. The boy wore a beanie atop his head, but his fast movement had partially dislodged it, revealing a shock of silver hair, identical in colour to the General’s.

Cloud was jerked from his transfixed reverie by Commander Rhapsodos stepping up beside him and casting a spell from his bracer. The magic swept over the child, freezing him in place. No longer facing a rapid assault, Sephiroth strode forward and reached down to pluck the sword from the boy’s grip. He then pulled him into a close grasp, triggering a terrified wail from the child. Once secured, Rhapsodos cast again, apparently countering the original spell, as the boy began shifting weakly in the General’s arms. Stepping forward, unable to help his curiosity, he met the boy’s eyes, and felt his own widen. Those were his eyes.

Cloud stared at the child cradled in Sephiroth’s arms, taking in features that were so incredibly, deeply familiar, because Cloud saw that face in the mirror every day. If it weren’t for the strange slit pupils and silver shade of hair, Cloud would be certain that this kid was his … clone? Kid brother? Instead, the boy was a strange fusion of his own features and Sephiroth’s.

“What the actual fuck?”

Cloud jumped as a hand came down on his shoulder. He turned his head to find Commander Rhapsodos watching him with a strange expression.

“Dismissed, cadet.”

Several months of training had Cloud’s body moving to salute on instinct, before he forcibly stopped himself.

“No, wait,” he said, looking back to the weird Cloud-Sephiroth combo child. “What the fuck is going on? Why does that kid look like me?”

“That’s classified,” another voice said, and a glance showed Commander Hewley flanking his other shoulder. “You were dismissed, Strife.”

Cloud dug his heels in as the Commander applied gentle pressure to his shoulder to pull him back.

“No. No way in Hel! There’s a kid who has my gods-damned face and the General’s eyes and you expect me to just walk away and forget about it? Fuck right off.”

Ignoring Commander Hewley’s widening eyes, and the strange choking sound from Commander Rhapsodos, Cloud turned back to General Sephiroth, who looked almost startled by the scrutiny.

“You,” Cloud growled. “Explain. Now.”

He raised the wrist bearing the materia bracer, channelling a trickle of mana into it, and producing an ominous crackle of electricity.

A new voice rang out with a peal of laughter, and Cloud suddenly found an arm thrown around his shoulder.

The new person crowed, “They even talk the same when they’re mad!”

Twisting in the grip, Cloud found himself looking up into the beaming face of Lieutenant Fair, Commander Hewley’s protégé, and newly promoted SOLDIER Second Class.

Strangely, it was remembering that fact that reminded Cloud exactly who he was talking to, and he felt the blood drain from his face. Eyes darting back and forth between Lieutenant Fair, and the First Classes, he stuttered out, “I’m ssssorry for ssssaying that g-g-General, c-Commanders. I-I-I d-didn’t mean any d-disressssspect.”

“Oh, and you were doing so well,” Commander Rhapsodos said, voice strangely lamenting. Commander Hewley shot him a glare and hissed something at him under his breath, earning an unrepentant look in return.

Sephiroth, thankfully, did not run Cloud through, instead turning his gaze to the other side of the room. Cloud jumped as he remembered that the other cadets were present. Almost absently fixing the beanie over the boy’s hair, Sephiroth spoke in a low, clear tone that still echoed throughout the space.

“The details of what you have seen here are classified. None of you are to discuss anything that has occurred here. If I learn that anyone has revealed any details of this, I will ensure this entire squad is expelled from the SOLDIER program. Am I clear?”

A loud chorus of “Yes, sir!” rang out from the terrified cadets, as they snapped to attention.

Sephiroth gave them a final glare, before intoning, “Dismissed.”

Cloud’s gaze was caught by his sergeant’s, who eyed him and the SOLDIERs he was surrounded by, before turning to leave with the squad. Clearly, he was being left to face whatever punishment the Firsts deemed suitable for his insubordination.

“Here,” Lieutenant Fair said, handing Sephiroth a small pair of sunglasses with the hand occupied holding Cloud, “These came off when Clover went through the window.”

The unfamiliar name, Cloud realised, must refer to the child, who he looked back at, examining curiously. His eyes trailed over the boy’s small form, only to freeze at the sight of tiny feet covered in blood.

“Oh gods, he ran through the glass,” he breathed in horrified realisation. Suddenly, he was surrounded by noise and movement, as the SOLDIERs leapt into action. Commander Rhapsodos stepped forward, gently taking the boy’s bloody feet in hand and examining them closely. He gave a hiss at the sight.

“They’ve healed over with some of the glass inside them,” the Commander declared, after he carefully extracted the larger shards visibly sticking out. Cloud felt nauseous at the thought of standing on such an injury, never mind trying to fight Sephiroth himself. “I’ll need my medical kit to clean them all out.”

The boy, Clover, shifted in Sephiroth’s arms, expression somehow more frustrated than pained. “I can debride the glass myself, just give me a knife.”

There was a long beat of appalled silence, before Commander Hewley firmly declared, “Absolutely not.”

“We should return to your apartment, Genesis,” the General said. “You are dismissed, Strife.” Cloud jumped at being addressed by Sephiroth himself.

Lieutenant Fair let out a whine, not releasing Cloud from his hold and instead protesting, “Aw, come on, we should bring Big Spikey with us! He deserves an explanation for all this too!” He gestured between Cloud and Clover with his free hand.

“Zack,” Commander Hewley chided, almost sounding tired.

“No, I quite agree with the Puppy,” Commander Rhapsodos interjected, turning his gaze onto Cloud. “Strife should join us to discuss what we know of Clover. And afterwards, he can sign the forms confirming his acceptance as my protégé.”

Cloud’s jaw dropped open, staring at the man in shock. Him? Being mentored by Commander Rhapsodos? He couldn’t have heard that right. Beside him, Zack let out a loud whoop of excitement.

“Genesis,” Commander Hewley sighed, now truly sounding exhausted as he rubbed the bridge of his nose, “you can’t just claim a cadet as your protégé.”

“You got your Puppy, I’m claiming this one,” Commander Rhapsodos shot back.

“Zack was a Third Class when I took him under my wing. Strife hasn’t even been accepted into SOLDIER!”

“Yet,” the Commander retorted. “He can cast with unequipped materia, just like Clover, making him a prodigy. That talent needs to be nurtured.”

Cloud felt his face burn at the praise from the notoriously hard to please Commander. He hadn’t even realised that casting without having the materia properly equipped was impressive.

“Enough,” Sephiroth snapped, the other SOLDIERs falling silent immediately, though Commander Rhapsodos looked mulish. “Clover needs medical attention now. You can debate the merits of Strife’s apprenticeship later.” With that, he turned and swept from the room. Cloud found himself being pulled along by the arm around his shoulder.

As they the elevator whisked them up a dizzying number of floors, Clover lay in Sephiroth’s arms, trying to ignore the pain pulsing in his feet. The three Firsts stood crowded around him, attention focused on examining his injuries. Towards the front of the elevator, Zack stood chattering at the teen Cloud Strife.

“So hey, I know your name is Cloud, but I didn’t introduce myself, did I? I’m Zack, it’s great to meet you. You’re from Nibelheim, yeah?”

“Uh, yes sir,” Cloud replied hesitantly, when Zack paused expectantly.

“Oh wow, no, forget that ‘sir’ stuff,” Zack said with a laugh. “Call me Zack.”

“Yes, si- uh…” Cloud cut off at the look he received. “I mean, okay, Zack?”

He glanced back at Clover and the Firsts, meeting Clover’s gaze. Clover shot him a look of resigned commiseration.

Looking back at Zack, and clearly remembering his manners, Cloud prompted Zack, “What about you?”

“I’m from Gongaga,” Zack said. Despite the situation, Cloud couldn’t help the chuckle that burst from him. “Hey, what’s so funny about that!?” Zack asked defensively. “You know Gongaga?”

“No, but it’s such a backwater name,” Cloud teased. Closing his eyes against a wave of intense déjà vu, Clover listened to the two teens talk.

“Ditto Nibelheim!”

“Like you’ve been there.”

“I haven’t, but there’s a reactor there, right?” Zack asked. At Cloud’s nod, he continued, “A mako reactor outside Midgar usually means…”

“Nothing else out there,” Cloud finished at the same time as him. They shared a look and laughed together.

“Yeah, Genesis was at Nibelheim recently, though,” Zack said. Cloud blinked, glancing back at the mentioned First, but the man continued to focus on examining Clover’s foot. “He said there wasn’t much to see about the place, but there was a big mansion on the edge of town.”

Clover sighed as he realised that they were using Zack’s friendliness to get Cloud’s guard down in the hopes he would reveal more information.

“The old Shinra Mansion?” Cloud asked. “I mean, yeah, I guess most places don’t have a big mansion like that do they? It’s been abandoned as long as I can remember. The other kids used to make a game of trying to break in, but a monster got someone pretty bad, and we were banned from going near it.”

“There were monsters in the Mansion?” Zack asked, shocked. “Wouldn’t that endanger the town?”

“I suppose,” Cloud said with a shrug, “but they never left the Mansion, so we never really thought about it.”

Suddenly, the elevator chimed, and the doors opened.

Zack immediately moved forward, dragging Cloud along with him. The Firsts followed, Clover still sitting in Sephiroth’s arms. Angeal moved ahead, drawing out a card to swipe against the access panel and unlock the door where Zack was waiting.

The excitable Second pulled Cloud through the door. The apartment beyond was just large as the one Clover had slept in, that he suspected was Sephiroth’s, but with more personalised decoration. The shelves bore various trinkets and mementos, and surfaces were not completely cleared of used items.

Clover watched as Cloud gaped at the room, clearly amazed at the idea of so much space for just one person, as he would have been used to the humble construction of Nibelheim and the spartan barracks Shinra set aside for cadets. Zack steered him over to a lounge area and sat them down on one of the couches.

Sephiroth did not pause, sweeping down the hall into a well-furnished bathroom. Clover was deposited on the sink counter, as the other Firsts followed in after, leaving the door sitting open. Sephiroth reached towards Clover’s face, pausing as he flinched. After a moment, he continued reaching, gently removing the glasses covering his eyes and then the beanie from his head. Clover scowled up at him, frown deepening as the man’s lips twitched.

Genesis knelt down, reaching under the sink to pull out a medical kit. He withdrew a small scalpel and tweezers from it, then cradled Clover’s foot in hand.

“This will hurt, I’m sorry,” he said, looking up at Clover. Clover took a deep breath, bracing himself, as the man began cutting the glass shards free. Voices drifted in from the other room, and he did his best to focus on those instead.

“You said other kids made a game of getting into the Mansion,” Zack continued, talking as if they hadn’t been interrupted. “You weren’t part of it, then?”

“Ah, not really,” Cloud said. “I wasn’t really … popular back home, and the other kids never really included me in anything.”

“So, you never tried breaking in yourself?” Zack wheedled.

“I mean, yeah, I did once,” Cloud acknowledged. “I actually stayed for a whole night.” Zack made a shocked gasp. “Yeah, it was pretty dumb and I’m lucky I wasn’t eaten. But I was a dumb kid, and I thought it would impress the others. Not that they cared,” he finished bitterly.

“That sounds rough, buddy. But that was super brave! How old were you?”

“Oh, uh … I think I was seven, maybe eight.”

“So, a little less than six years ago,” Zack said. “Did you fall asleep?”

Angeal, standing near the door, made a soft noise of realisation. Clover felt a pang of disbelief, as he realised the conclusion that was being drawn by the absurd coincidence unfolding before him.

“What?” Cloud asked, sounding baffled by the question.

“When you stayed in the Mansion overnight, did you fall asleep?” Zack asked.

“Oh. I guess, yeah? I mean, I was scared as Hel, so it took a while, but I must’ve fallen asleep since I don’t remember being awake the whole night.”

A burst of healing magic washed over his feet, and Clover looked down to see Genesis smiling up at him encouragingly.

“All done,” he said, taking a wet cloth Sephiroth handed him, and wiping the remaining blood from Clover’s feet.

Before he could respond, Clover found himself being picked up, and the buzz of Reunion sang through his body. A contented sigh slipped past his lips, before he grit his teeth, transforming it into a frustrated snarl. Sephiroth carried him back into the main space with Genesis and Angeal following behind. Zack and Cloud turned to look at the sound of them entering the room. Cloud jumped to his feet at the sight of them.

“Is he okay?” he asked quickly. “Clover, his name was, right?”

Sephiroth inclined his head. “He is named Clover, yes, and his injuries are healed.”

“What’s going on?” Cloud said, looking between Clover, the Firsts and Zack. “Why do you have a kid that looks like me, but with your hair? Why did he attack you before? What is going on!?”

Clover sighed loudly, rolling his head as much as his lax muscles would allow, to make eye contact with his teen doppelganger.

“You’re going to want to sit down for this,” Clover said wearily.

Cloud blinked at him. Clover looked around at the Firsts, who moved as one to claim chairs in the living room area. Cloud slowly retook his own seat.

Sephiroth inhaled a deep but quiet breath, then said, “Based on information we have gathered, Clover was created by Professor Hojo in a laboratory within the Shinra Mansion in Nibelheim. His behaviour and skills evidence advanced combat training, likely most frequently against virtual copies of myself, thus explaining his reaction earlier. I believe he experienced a trauma flashback triggered by witnessing my spar with you, and reacted violently based on his training. Genetic testing has revealed him to be the offspring of myself … and you.”

Cloud’s jaw had dropped wider the longer Sephiroth spoke. The last revelation left him sitting, gaping in shock. Angeal huffed a sigh, commenting, “You didn’t need to drop all of it on him at once.”

“It was an efficient briefing of the relevant information,” Sephiroth defended.

“I think you broke him,” Zack said, gently prodding Cloud’s shoulder. Shaking himself, Cloud took a deep breath and ran a hand through his hair.

“So that’s why you came to our drill. I thought it was weird for the three top SOLDIERs to suddenly all show up to assess a bunch of cadets.” Then he paled, and let out a loud groan, “Oh Gods, Ma is gonna kill me.”

“I beg your pardon?” Genesis prompted, eyebrow raised.

Cloud huffed a small laugh. “I left for Midgar and now it turns out I’m a teenage father. Oh man, how am I ever gonna explain this to her.” Clover let out his own startled huff of amusement at that.

“You need not concern yourself with that,” Sephiroth said, “as Clover’s existence if classified.”

Cloud shook his head.

“With all due respect sir, after today, I doubt you can keep him a secret forever, and when my Ma finds out I didn’t tell her about this, she will actually kill me. I need to call her.”

Sephiroth’s face darkened. Clover, catching a glimpse of it, felt his breath catch and heart rate spike, and blinked back flashes of another time. Sephiroth, clearly noticing Clover’s distress, calmed his expression and glanced down in concern. Clover closed his eyes and forced a deep breath into his lungs, trying to ignore the battle instincts screaming in his mind.

“Perhaps she might be able to provide some more insight,” Angeal offered cautiously.

“Here,” Genesis said, fishing his PHS from his pocket and offering it Cloud, blithely ignoring the mild glare Sephiroth shot him. “You’ll need to use one of ours to talk about this, as we’ve kept them clean of wiretaps.”

“Thank you, Commander Rhapsodos,” Cloud said gratefully.

“You shall be my protégé soon,” Genesis replied, “call me Genesis.”

Cloud’s eyes went wide. “Yes sir, I mean, Genesis,” he said, slightly breathless with awe. Shaking himself, he quickly dialled a number into the PHS and held it to his ear. With the enhancements of everyone else in the room, they would all be able to hear both sides of the conversation clearly.

After nearly a dozen rings, the call was answered with a tired, “Hello?”

Clover forced himself to keep breathing evenly at the sound of his mother’s voice. His mother, who had died almost a decade ago, at the hands of the man currently cradling him gently. Sometimes he wondered if he’d simply lost his mind entirely, and was suffering a terrible hallucination, but he doubted his imagination would be so creative.

“Hi Ma,” Cloud said, wincing. “Sorry, I forgot the time difference. I hope I didn’t wake you too early.”

“Well, I would have preferred some more sleep, but it’s always lovely to hear you voice, sweetheart. You don’t call enough.” Cloud’s eyes darted over the SOLDIERs sitting around him and blushed brightly.

“Ma, I called because something important has come up. I, uh … I’m sort of a dad now?”

There was a long beat of silence, before Claudia Strife’s cracked sharply through the PHS, “What? Cloud Sky Strife! You promised me you wouldn’t let that city destroy your morals, and you’re telling me you’ve gotten some poor girl pregnant! I’ll have your hide …”

“Wait, Ma, please listen!” Cloud interrupted. Clover winced, as that was always a risky move with their Ma. “It’s not like that!” Cloud added hurriedly.

“… I’m listening,” Ma said, with a warning undertone.

“General Sephiroth found a kid who’s at least a few years old, who looks identical to me, but with silver hair,” Cloud said in a rush. “They did a DNA test, and it says both he and I are the boy’s parents.”

There was another long pause, followed by, “Is this a joke? Since I know you’re far too young to be a father to any kid that isn’t a newborn, and I certainly don’t remember popping out any recently.”

“No, Ma, I promise …” Cloud trailed off as Sephiroth stood and approached.

Leaning down, he carefully passed Clover to Zack, and Clover sighed in relief at no longer be affected by Reunion. Then, Sephiroth turned and held out his hand for the PHS.

“Please, allow me to speak with her,” he intoned. Cloud mutely handed over the device. “Mrs Strife, this is General Sephiroth of Shinra speaking,” Sephiroth said, tone professional, “I apologise for the early call. What your son has told you is indeed true, we have discovered a child, approximately five years of age, who bears a striking resemblance to your son, but bears distinctive traits unique to myself. Testing revealed a genetic connection between Clover and myself, as well as between him and cadet Strife. We believe him to be the result of a scientific experiment by certain parties and are seeking information regarding his creation.”

“His name is Clover, then?” Ma Strife replied. Sephiroth blinked at that, seeming confused that she would focus on that point. Clover kept a grin from his face. Cloud didn’t. “Alright, how soon can you arrange transportation for me to Midgar?”

“What?” Sephiroth replied, sounding completely baffled. Clover swallowed the hysterical giggle that tried to claw its way out of his throat.

“You’ve just told me that I suddenly have a five-year-old grandson in Midgar, and you expect me not to come help raise him? You’re clearly not as smart as Shinra makes you out to be. Now, are you going to organise for someone to come pick me up or are you going to force me to make the journey on foot. I can promise, you don’t want to see how cantankerous I’ll be if you do.”

Sephiroth shot a helpless glance at the other Firsts. Angeal attempted to look sympathetic, but a smile pulled at his lips, while Genesis had turned to muffling laughter with a couch cushion. Licking his lips, Sephiroth nodded slowly, before remembering he was on a call.

“I will arrange to have someone arrive to escort you within the week,” he managed.

“That’s a good lad,” Claudia said warmly. “Now be a dear and put Cloud back on for me, would you?”

Nearly shell-shocked, Sephiroth passed the phone back to Cloud.

“You’re coming to Midgar?” Cloud asked immediately, sounding halfway between elated and terrified.

“Yes, I’ll be there to help take care of Clover,” Ma replied. “Now you take care of yourself until I’m there, okay, Stormcloud?”

“Yes, Ma,” Cloud promised.

“Alright, I’ll see you soon. Now, I’m heading back to bed. You, be good, y’hear. I love you.”

“Love you too, Ma,” Cloud said, before the call ended. He passed the PHS back to Genesis with a grateful smile, before looking up at the frozen General and laughing softly. “I told you, sir. My Ma’s scary as Hel.”

Sephiroth blinked down at him. “Indeed,” he agreed.

Chapter Text

Unlucky Clover

Chapter 5

AN: Hi y'all! I'm still alive! Hit by the writer’s block brick, then got a full-time job, so this took a while. Still, here’s the new chapter, a little shorter than normal but I feel it ends in a good place. Thanks for all the lovely comments, they helped keep this fic alive in my heart! <3

Genesis strode through the hall of the Shinra building, basking in his sense of satisfaction. It had been an age since he had felt as settled as he was now. Firstly, he had found an apprentice, something he had never anticipated desiring or allowing. But Cloud Strife’s potential practically sang to him, with his speed, his tenacity and his prodigious talent for materia. It also helped, Gensis thought with a smirk, that he had a sharp tongue, capable of utterly scathing sarcasm towards even Sephiroth – at least when he forgot about their respective ranks.

And secondly, based on Genesis’s report of the destruction of Nibelheim’s reactor and the potential Wutai counteroffensive it represented, his deployment orders had been rescinded, exactly as he had hoped. It left him free to remain in Midgar, near both Clover and the obscure Aerith, in search of a cure.

Despite being a vexing ball of mysteries, Clover had provided him with far more information on degradation than Hollander had volunteered. Based on the revelations from the young former experiment, Hojo at least had done extensive research on how the phenomenon affected “Type G” SOLDIERs. Genesis was left wondering how many of the men under their command had been falsely labelled missing – or killed-in-action – to hide the truth of their disappearance. He also wondered darkly, how much of the truth Hollander had kept from him and how terribly he had been manipulated by the man.

Speak of the devil, Genesis mused, as Hollander rounded the corner of the hallway ahead of him. Catching sight of him, the scientist’s expression twisted into anger, and he stormed towards Genesis.

“What in the blazes are you doing here?” he snarled as he stepped into Genesis’s space. “We had a plan! Have you given up on your vengeance already?”

Genesis snaked a hand between them, grabbing Hollander by the shirt and pulling him up onto his tiptoes, closer to his face.

“Careful, Hollander,” he purred darkly. “We wouldn’t want anyone to overhear and think you were encouraging sedition against the company.”

Hollander’s face morphed into shock, then fear, as he scrabbled at Genesis’s grip.

“What are you doing?” he demanded, eyes wild. “You need me!”

“Do I?” Genesis said lightly, before turning and dragging the scientist through a random doorway along the corridor. With somewhat more privacy, he seized the man by the throat and slammed him against the wall.

“Now, we’re going to have a little talk about the fact that you don’t know how to cure me.”

He eased his hold slightly as Hollander gasped and sputtered for breath.

“I don’t know what you mean, Genesis,” Hollander rasped. “I told you, I don’t know what exactly triggered the degradation, but it likely the result of the experiments Shinra performed on you in your infancy.”

“Ah yes, the implanting of J-cells, was it not?”

Genesis smiled coldly at the utterly astonished expression Hollander gained.

“J-cells that are imbalanced in G-type SOLDIERs and which cause their degradation. How many?” he growled, pulling the man away from the wall before slamming him against it again. “How many of my SOLDIERs have been disappeared to hide the truth?”

Hollander gaped at him, fear flickering in his eyes.

With a dark hiss, Genesis asked, “How many are you personally responsible for?”

“I- Genesis, I swear I don’t know what you’re talking about!” Hollander gasped. “I just need time, and then we can figure out how to stop your degradation!”

Now that he was looking for it, Genesis could see the deception, the wild desperation in the man’s eyes.

“Don’t lie to me,” he hissed, raising a hand and conjuring a tongue of flame.

He pressed it close to the scientist’s face, ignoring his cries of fear.

“Now, you’re going to tell me everything you know about Project G, and then I will consider letting you live.”

Hollander stared at him, pale and trembling, and then began to talk. Genesis smiled in satisfaction.

Clover forced himself to sit still, despite the tension and nervous energy thrumming through him. It had been several days since their return to Midgar, and the SOLDIERs discovery of the ‘connection’ between him and cadet Cloud Strife. To Clover’s relief, they had quickly decided on Cloud’s innocence. However, something in the teen’s performance had drawn Genesis’s eye, and he had snatched to boy into an apprenticeship, filing the paperwork that very afternoon.

Once he had gotten over the revelation of Clover’s existence, the young cadet had clearly been overwhelmed. His shoulders had grown hunched and a blush had risen at the attention and praise directed at him; far more than Clover knew he was used to. Noticing Cloud’s distress, Angeal had ended the discussion and had allowed him to return to his squad.

In the intervening days, Genesis had taken to pulling Cloud from his normal schedule to test his materia proficiency and engaging him in spars. Clover suspected Genesis was simply doing his best to keep himself distracted from his impending degradation. Angeal had focused on preparing Zack to escort Aerith to Cosmo Canyon with a level of thoroughness that would hopefully appease Elmyra. Sephiroth had been called into frequent meetings to discuss plans for withdrawing most of Shinra’s forces from Wutai, in the face of the deactivation of all non-Midgar reactors heralding a Wutaian counterattack. Clover hoped that he could address the Shinra problem before they realised no Wutai attack was coming and, hopefully, protect Yuffie’s homeland from further harm. He supposed he could only be grateful that the Firsts blaming Wutai to cover for him had worked out so well.

With everyone else busy, Zack was the only one left to supervise Clover most of the time, to the young SOLDIER’s delight. He had immediately set about helping Clover “rediscover his childhood,” which apparently meant consuming large quantities of junk food and playing video games for hours at a time.

Clover was struck by a strong sense of déjà vu that he attributed to a mix of the memories inherited from Zack and his own half-remembered days as Zack’s trooper friend. It left him with an odd mix of sense- and muscle-memory, allowing him to beat Zack every time Zack held back, much to the young SOLDIER’s incredibly vocal displeasure. Soon, Zack gave up coddling him, and took the games seriously, and Clover found himself enjoying the challenge far more, even getting lost in the moment on several occasions.

On one occasion, he had been so distracted playing that he had not heard the door, or noticed the approaching footsteps, until he suddenly found himself being lifted into the air, Reunion singing through him. Sephiroth had been so startled by the intensity of his terrified scream that he almost dropped him, before quickly passing him to Zack, who soothed his rapid, panicked gasps.

After that incident, Clover noticed Sephiroth took care to loudly declare his presence when entering the apartment. It left Clover incredibly on-edge whenever he was faced with a reminder of the man’s presence, but it was tinged with an edge of grudging gratitude. Sephiroth was taking deliberate steps so that Clover wouldn’t be caught so off guard again.

The realisation set him more firmly on his plan to escape. While immensely grateful for the chance to see Zack alive, Clover had fulfilled his promise to help put them on the path to a cure for degradation and didn’t want to stay in Shinra’s grasp any longer. He was already struggling with nightmares every night, of being taken by Hojo, or of Sephiroth cutting him down while he was practically helpless. He needed out.

He would escape to the slums, find a weapon and scavenge to survive. He also planned on keeping an eye on Aerith to make sure none of the Firsts went near her.

Now, the opportunity he had been looking for had arrived. Zack had been rostered on to a monster hunting mission, and Genesis and Angeal remained busy with their self-assigned tasks, leaving Sephiroth as the only one available to supervise.

Clover had noticed that Sephiroth had a tendency to retreat to his personal office within the apartment whenever he and Zack were playing games. Clover suspected he found video game music annoying. After noticing the habit, however, a plan had taken shape in Clover’s mind. Thus, he waited, doing his best to mask his nervous energy by directing it towards Zack.

“Are you sure you have enough potions?” he asked, looking Zack over near the front door, where he was securing his boots. The young man laughed, leaning over to ruffle Clover’s hair fondly.

“I told you before, I’ve got plenty,” he grinned. “But thanks for looking out for me Spikey. Now, are you gonna be good for your- for Sephiroth?”

Clover bit back a grimace at the near slip.

The day after the DNA test results returned, Zack had made the mistake of referring to Sephiroth as Clover’s dad. It took nearly an hour to for Clover to calm down from the screaming meltdown he suffered at the idea. In hindsight, he was rather embarrassed at throwing what was basically had a tantrum, like an actual child, but felt at least somewhat vindicated because it was Sephiroth. Even sharing S-cells with the man in the past had been a nightmare, much less being directly biologically related. He cursed Jenova with every invective he knew, and several he made up for the occasion – somewhere, in a world unmade, Cid was proud of him. Further reactions to mentions of their supposed relationship had been less intense, but no less negative, and so the SOLDIERs had learnt to avoid the sensitive topic. Mostly.

“I’ll keep myself entertained,” Clover replied, tilting his head towards Zack’s game system, which had been connected to the television in a mess of cables that had Sephiroth pursing his lips in clear annoyance. Clover absolutely refused to promise to be ‘good’ for Sephiroth.

Zack snorted, clearly not missing Clover’s wording, before rising to his feet.

“Alright, I’m heading out.”

“Are you sure you don’t need any extra materia?” Clover felt compelled to ask, running his fingers over the materia bracer hidden under his loose sleeves. Zack merely grinned at him and shook his head.

“I’m all good,” he said warmly. When Clover continued to shift anxiously, his smile gentled. “Hey, I’ll be fine. I promise. I’m awesome! No monster’s gonna get me!”

Clover huffed a small laugh, then took a deep breath and nodded. He could admit, at least to himself, that not all his tension was due to his planned escape. He planned to be away from Zack far longer than the man knew, and, while he knew Zack could handle himself, an echo of his grief left him anxious.

“Alright, I’ll see you when you get back,” Clover said, before darting forward to hug him around the legs, unable to deny himself the chance to hold his friend – sometimes the miracle of his life left Clover breathless.

Zack smiled, ruffling his hair again.

“I’ll be back before you know it!” Zack promised. With a final thumbs up, he exited the apartment.

Clover turned to find Sephiroth watching him from the far side of the room and couldn’t restrain his flinch. The man gave a small frown, before turning and moving down the hall. Giving him space, Clover recognised, and resenting how grateful he felt for it.

Shaking himself, he glanced at the door. He felt the temptation rise to bolt but smothered it. He knew Sephiroth would be listening for exactly that, and despite Clover’s enhancements, Sephiroth was faster than him, if only by virtue of longer legs.

Clover turned away and booted up Zack’s console, picking the game with the most annoyingly repetitive electronic techno music he could find, and turned the volume up a few notches. It was time to create a false sense of security. Picking up the controller, he launched the game and set about fighting waves of fictional enemies.

After a few levels, he glanced at the clock to see that he had played for nearly two hours. Pausing the game and hopping to his feet, he moved to the bathroom. After quickly taking care of business, he carefully opened the cupboard under the sink and retrieved the wide brimmed hat he had stashed earlier.

Returning to the game, he unpaused it and moved his avatar to a safe location. Then, he put on the hat and crept towards the door. Carefully slowing his breathing, he waited for the loudest and most complex stanza of music. As soon as it began, he eased open the door and slipped through, not bothering to close it as he crept down the hall. Reaching the door to the stairwell, he took care to open it quietly as well and darted in.

Sneaking, he hurried down several levels, startling when he heard voices echoing up the stairwell. Abandoning that route, Clover darted back into the building proper and moved towards the elevator. Hitting the call button, he anxiously waited for it to arrive, keeping an eye out for any Turks.

With a bright chime, the elevator arrived and opened to reveal a somewhat harried looking secretary. Clover froze, quickly ducking his head to hide his eyes under the brim of his hat. She glanced up, looking confusedly through the open doors for a moment, before her gaze dropped to Clover.

“Oh,” she said, blinking in surprise.

As the doors started closing again, she reached out to block them.

“Hi there, sweetheart,” she said, voice taking on the overly bright tone often used on children. “Are you lost?”

Shaking his head, Clover moved onto the elevator, doing his best to keep his features hidden.

“You’re here with your parents are you darling? What floor are they on?”

After a moment of hesitation, Clover nodded. He didn’t want to risk being found and trapped if he risked going all the way to ground level, instead quietly saying, “The thirtieth floor, please,” and doing his best to ignore the soft coo he received.

He did his best to avoid fidgeting, until he realised that a child standing at parade rest would likely be far more suspicious. The secretary offered him a cheery wave and called encouragingly after him as he stepped onto the selected level. He hunched on himself as the noise drew the attention of some passing employees, who looked at him curiously. That at least told him there wasn’t a general alert out to capture him. Yet.

Returning to the stairwell, he resumed his hurried descent. As he rounded the stairway, his luck ran out, as he made direct eye contact with an unfamiliar Turk, who’s eyes widened at the sight of him and his awfully unique eyes.

“Hey there, kiddo,” she said, offering a faux casual smile as she slowly reached for her earpiece radio. “I’m pretty sure you’re not meant to be–”

She was cut off as Clover lashed out with a Stop spell, freezing her in place for a precious handful of seconds. He paused only long enough to Hasten himself as well, before spinning and sprinting up the stairs.

Slamming out of the stairwell, he raced through the hallways and ducked into the first bathroom he saw. After a quick glance confirming all stalls were unoccupied, he leapt upward, scrambling into the vent system. For once his smaller body aided him, as he found the vents much easier to move through than he recalled from previous infiltrations.

Clover crawled through the vents, taking care to muffle the sound of his movements, especially when dropping to lower levels. Glances down into the hallways showed increased activity, as Turks, SOLDIERs and even some Security troopers patrolled the corridors.

Seeing an opportunity, Clover slipped from the vents and dashed into an empty elevator car just as the doors closed. Hitting the button for the third floor, he then launched himself up and through the rooftop hatch. Holding it open a crack, he rode the elevator down, watching various passengers hop on and off throughout the descent. As it arrived on the lowest level, he renewed his Haste spell before the doors opened. Silently dropping down behind a small handful of Shinra employees, he moved in their shadows.

When he had almost reached the stairs, a shout rang out, and Clover felt sudden movement at his back.

Springing into motion, Clover launched himself over the railing down to the ground floor. A hand swiped at him, catching the brim of his hat and tugging it free. Stealth now thoroughly abandoned, Clover charged forward, dodging between vehicle displays and startled people.

As he approached the front doors, he didn’t both to wait for them to automatically open – or to see if the Turks had sealed them – instead raising his arms to shield his face and crashing through the glass. Loud cries echoed around him as he took in his surroundings, ignoring the shocked civilians as he searched for a route to avoid capture.

His gaze froze as it landed on Zack, who stood with arms folded, giving him an incredibly unimpressed look.

“Didn’t you promise to be good?” he said in a chiding voice.

Licking his lips, Clover tentatively replied, “I only said I’d keep myself entertained.”

Zack couldn’t contain a bark of laughter, and Clover used the momentary distraction to dart sideways. He barely made a dozen steps before he felt strong arms close around him, hauling him into the air. He struggled against Zack’s grip.

“Clover, c’mon stop it, please,” Zack cajoled.

“Just let me go dammit,” Clover snapped, trying to twist his way loose, but Zack easily matched him and held firm. “I need to get out of here before someone tries to take me apart!”

“That’s what we’re trying to protect you from, dammit,” Zack hissed. “Do you really think you stand a better chance running off on your own?”

“Better than sitting in the viper’s nest waiting for someone to come for me!”

“Clover, I know you’ve been on your own for a while, but you don’t have to rely entirely on yourself. Please trust us to take care of you. We can protect you now.”

“I can take care of myself!”

“Really?” Zack whispered, with such an uncharacteristically scathing tone that it gave Clover pause. “You think that you’re more capable of keeping yourself safe, without any weapons or combat materia, than four SOLDIERs? Three of who are Shinra’s most famous and powerful Firsts, and a Second who isn’t too shabby, if I do say so myself.”

Beneath the dubious tone, Clover could hear the hurt in the young man’s voice. Between Zack’s unyielding grip and admittedly solid arguments, Clover huffed a frustrated sigh and stopped struggling. With his own sigh of relief, Zack secured his slumped form more firmly in his arms, turning Clover’s front towards his chest.

“Thank you,” he said softly, giving Clover a quick squeeze of reassurance. Clover couldn’t keep himself from resting his head against Zack’s shoulder. In his heart, he had to admit he was guiltily glad to have more time to spend with Zack.

“You’re just a little agent of chaos, aren’t you?” Zack said teasingly. “We can’t take our eyes off you.”

Clover made a small noise of discontent.

“Why are you back so soon?” he asked. “I thought your mission was meant to take hours.”

“It was,” Zack replied dryly as he turned and began walking back to the entrance of the Shinra building. “Sephiroth called me back early.”

Thinking back on what he knew of Zack’s mission, Clover remembered that it had been under the plate in Sector One. For Zack to have arrived in time to intercept him, he must have received the call almost immediately after Clover had escaped the apartment. A terrible suspicion struck him, which he desperately hoped would be wrong. If Sephiroth could sense his location through the call of Reunion, he would never be able to escape his grasp.

As the glass crunched under Zack’s feet, Clover noticed the sounds of phone cameras shuttering. Lifting his head, he looked around, frowning as he saw multiple people with phones out, pointing and whispering.

“Why’re they photographing us?” he asked. Zack snorted.

“This might have something to do with it, Spike,” he said, ruffling Clover’s hair. At Clover’s blank look, he added, “It’s a pretty recognisable colour.”

Clover took a long moment to process the realisation that obviously the people had realised his connection to Sephiroth and, in this era, the heyday of the Silver Elite, any scrap of information on the man was gold.

Closing his eyes in resignation, he intoned, “Fuck.”

“Language,” chided Zack absently, stepping through the empty frame of the glass door Clover had smashed, into the lobby, which was just lousy with Turks. A grimace crossed his face. “Oh no, I’m turning into my Mother…”

Clover glared at Reno, who gave a grin and a taunting wave while spinning the stolen cap around one finger. As he walked, Zack settled Clover onto one arm, giving him a warning glance before reached into his pocket and withdrawing his PHS.

He thumbed through his contacts then made a call, which was answered immediately.

“General, sir,” he said, blasé tone at odds with the respectful address. “I’ve got him, you can all stop looking.”

Clover noticed several people blatantly eavesdropping as they passed.

“Thank you, Zack,” Sephiroth replied. Clover thought the PHS speaker must be distorting his voice, for him to sound so deeply relieved. “We will return to the apartment.”

“We’ll meet you there. See you in a jiffy!” Zack said, ending the call.

Clover let out a tired snort. He’d forgotten how ridiculous Zack’s turns of phrase could be.

“What, you think that’s funny?” Zack said, grinning down at him. “I’ll give you something to laugh about.”

He wiggled his fingers threateningly at Clover, who kept his face carefully deadpan. He did not want to encourage these kinds of impulses in the slightest. Zack tilted his head at the lack of reaction, before realisation seemed to dawn on his face.

He softly uttered, “Oh. You’ve never been tickled before, huh?”

Clover looked away at the mournful note in Zack’s voice. It was incredibly awkward receiving sympathy for something that hadn’t happened to him. But he didn’t exactly want to correct the misunderstanding. He doubted Sephiroth and the other Firsts would be as eager to fight for his freedom if they knew the actual truth of his origins. Thankfully, time travel was so far from the realm of normal possibility, he wasn’t worried they would guess it. It just led to many uncomfortable and incorrect assumptions.

They rode the elevator back up to the Firsts’ apartments, Clover doing his best to ignore the curious stares he received from Shinra employees whenever they got on. Within minutes they were back. Clover felt a bite of resentment at how quickly his work escaping the tower had been undone.

The three Firsts jumped to their feet from the couches in the living room area. Clover glared at Sephiroth as he led them over.

“How the hell did you know I was gone so fast?” he snapped. “You knew to call Zack back early, how?”

Sephiroth paused, tilting his head a miniscule fraction, as if considering whether he would deign to answer, causing Clover to grind his teeth together furiously.

After a moment, he replied, “Shortly after you … left, I realised that I was only hearing the music from the video game you had been playing and that the audio effects had ceased. After a sweep of the apartment to confirm your absence, I alerted the others to assist in locating you.”

Clover gaped at him.

“You’re fucking absurd. Just absolutely ridiculous. No one else would notice that. Fuck you.”

Angeal tutted disapprovingly, and Genesis fell into peals of laughter, while Sephiroth merely blinked confusedly at him.

As he ate his lunch, Genesis idly scrolled through the notifications from the various SOLDIER fan forums to which he was subscribed. He enjoyed keeping up with the speculation and gossip spread by the communities, as they were always delightfully dramatic and scandalous. Sometimes he even leaked hints and tidbits himself, to truly rile up the rumour mill. After all, if one didn’t offer them some scraps, fans were likely to grow feral in their hunt for more salacious news.

Suddenly, a phrase previewed in one notification piqued his interest, and he clicked through. The revealed image had him choking on his next bite, and Angeal firmly patting him on the back. Once the blockage was cleared, he murmured a soft thanks to his partner, and quickly perused some of the comments below the post. With an aggravated noise, he turned his eyes on Zack, who blinked back at him curiously.

“Puppy,” he said lowly, “we need to work on your debriefing priorities. You neglected to mention that Clover made it outside – drawing significant attention by smashing his way out, mind – where he was witnessed and photographed by dozens of citizens.”

The other Firsts straightened at the declaration, looking to Zack for verification. Angeal looked exhausted as the young SOLDIER nodded sheepishly.

“Ah, yeah,” Zack confirmed, rubbing at the back of his head. “I’d only just arrived back at the tower when he burst out, so a lot of people saw. I didn’t really think it was important to mention, though? People take photos of SOLDIERs all the time.”

“Yes, of SOLDIERs,” Genesis agreed, turning his PHS to reveal a collage of photographs featuring Clover, above a thread of comments, “not of a child who bears a striking resemblance to our esteemed General here.”

Sephiroth could see the images focused on Clover’s hair and eyes, with the comments below speculating on their possible relation to each other.

“Luckily for you, Sephiroth, it seems the majority of the Silver Elite are rather taken with the idea of you as a ‘baby daddy’ and are eager to know more.”

Angeal sighed, rubbing at his temples.

“We truly are afforded no privacy,” he muttered.

“I mean you’re all pretty famous,” Zack said. “People are super curious and wanna know all about you because of it.”

“Don’t forget all the propaganda Shinra puts out about you,” Clover added suddenly, voice tinged with bitterness. “Gotta build a cult of personality for your strongest SOLDIERs so you can recruit as many teenagers as possible for cannon fodder in your wars.”

“Whoa! Hey Clover, that’s not fair!” Zack exclaimed, looking shocked. Clover looked up at him dubiously.

“You’re sixteen. How long before Shinra sends you to kill people in Wutai?” Zack reeled back as if slapped. Clover continued relentlessly, “Cloud Strife is fourteen. How old do you think he’ll be before he’s forced to take a life?”

Zack stared at Clover, stricken. Angeal and Genesis exchanged concerned glances. Sephiroth leaned forward, and Clover’s sharp gaze snapped towards him at the motion.

“Clover is correct,” Sephiroth said. All eyes turned to him, shocked. “It is no secret that Shinra is willing – practically eager – to accept teenagers into the ranks and deploy them for combat, whether against monsters or people. I, myself was twelve years of age during my first deployment in Wutai.”

Genesis felt his eyes widen, as he inhaled sharply.

“What?” he breathed. “I thought you were at least twenty the first time you were sent to Wutai!”

Glancing around, he saw Zack with jaw agape, and Clover sitting with eyes distant and unfocused.

Sephiroth raised an eyebrow, looking between Genesis and Angeal. “How old do you think I am?”

Genesis shared a disturbed glance with Angeal who tentatively offered, “Everything we have heard… never said directly, I now realise, but it was always implied that you were in your late twenties.”

Sephiroth huffed at him softly.

“I am approximately twenty years old. I am unsure of my exact date of birth but am reasonably confident of the year.”

Genesis stilled at the revelation. Sephiroth had always been an ideal to strive for, the ultimate paragon, the Hero of the Goddess. To learn that the man against whom he measured himself was not his elder was shocking.

Genesis found his mouth moving without thought, blurting, “I’m older than you?!” At Sephiroth’s nodded confirmation, he leapt from his chair and began pacing. “My friend, the fates are cruel. There are no dreams, no honour remains.”

Angeal remained in his seat, looking devastated, while Zack appeared dumbstruck. Clover closed his eyes for a long moment, taking a deep breath and seeming to come back to himself as he opened them once more.

“They sent you to war as a child,” the boy breathed, looking at Sephiroth with a strange, fragile expression. “No wonder you turned out the way you did. You never had a chance to be anything but a weapon.”

“Yes,” Sephiroth agreed, tone and expression remaining in that damnable blandness that always made Genesis want to shake him until his teeth rattled.

Now he was left wondering how much their friend relied on that emotionless mask to face the world.

“It was only through the connections I have gained,” Sephiroth said, gesturing towards Genesis and Angeal, “that I understood what had been kept from me. I hope that I will be able to protect you from the same fate.” Clover’s open expression suddenly shuttered, replaced by cold fury and hatred.

“The only way you can protect me from that is to die,” he said coldly, before slipping from his chair.

Easily evading Zack’s reaching grasp, he raced away, slamming the door to his room behind him. Sephiroth rested his head in his hands, flinching as Angeal gripped his shoulder reassuringly.

“I’m so sorry, Sephiroth. For everything you’ve gone through,” he said solemnly.

Sephiroth’s expression, subtle as always, turned almost confused as he looked up and blinked at them.

“Why?” he asked credulously. “You do not bear any responsibility.”

“It’s sympathy,” Zack said from his other side, eyes wide and glossy with unshed tears. “We’re saying that it sucks, and we wish it hadn’t happened to you. Because we care about you, dummy.”

Sephiroth merely furrowed his brows at the young man, the teen’s – Clover was right, he was still a child – earnest expression.

With a violent lurch in his stomach, Genesis remembered how strange and stilted Sephiroth had been when they had first met, coming across as incredibly arrogant and rude. After several years of friendship, he had confided in them that he had been raised within Shinra’s science department and only been afforded his own private accommodation upon reaching his majority.

“I am sorry too,” Genesis said, drawing himself to his full height as Sephiroth’s confused gaze landed on his face. “When we first met, I was cruel to you. I thought you were looking down on us, on me, condescending to those you viewed lesser than you. But I remember you telling us that you were only granted accommodation outside the Science Department when you turned eighteen. I thought that was years in the past, not mere months after we met. If I’d know how little time you had spent free from that sort of isolation, I would have viewed your social missteps with far more charity.”

Swallowing the bitter taste of his pride, Genesis bowed to Sephiroth.

“I apologise for how I have treated you since that day.”

There was a long moment of silence. Genesis peered up through the loose dangling threads of his fringe, taking in Sephiroth’s furrowed brow and pursed lips.

“Thank you,” Sephiroth said eventually, voice slightly rough. Clearing his throat, he continued, “However, I believe we should focus our discussion on how this most recent development will affect our ability to protect Clover. We were concerned that such scrutiny would negatively impact his ability to feel safe here with us.”

Genesis straightened, pushing down the almost habitual burst of offence he felt swelling within his chest at being brushed off so easily.

Of course, Sephiroth wouldn’t know how to respond in the face of such an apology. It had taken them years to develop his social graces enough for basic interpersonal interaction. Acknowledging and addressing such an intensely emotional and personal topic? Sephiroth would rather eat Masamune.

Clearly having similar thought, Angeal gave Sephiroth a look that was at once chiding and sympathetic. Genesis recognised it from the man’s mother.

Gently Angeal asked, “Will Shinra’s public relations department not simply sweep speculation about him under the rug? That was my understanding of how revelations of surprise children are handled, after all.”

Struck by a sudden stroke of genius, Genesis inhaled sharply, murmuring, “What if …” He trailed of for a moment, eyes distant as ideas formed in his mind’s eye, before continuing, “What if Sephiroth makes a public statement confirming the speculation and acknowledging Clover as his son.”

“Wait,” Zack interrupted, “weren’t we trying to keep Clover away from having to deal with all that media attention? Hell, it was pretty overwhelming for me when I was promoted to Second Class, and I had you all coaching me for weeks.”

“Yes, but it’s too late for that,” Genesis replied glibly. “That cat is quite firmly out of the bag, after all. Even if it were censored, it would still be discussed, just on forums where we have less oversight and ability to influence. My suggestion is that we lean into this. Make a public declaration of your fatherhood. Show off how excited and proud of Clover you are.

“Apologise for the unfortunate accident earlier today with the door, for which you will of course repay the company, while explaining that Clover is at the age to misbehave, and with no small fraction of your strength. Then finish with a polite but firm request for the people of Midgar to respect your privacy.”

“How would that help?” Angeal asked. “Giving them details like that will just make them want to know more, and they’ve ignored requests like that in the past.”

“Exactly!” Genesis replied triumphantly. “It will have the public desperate to know more about Clover and your sudden parenthood. Your fans will be practically foaming at the mouth. And with so much publicity and scrutiny around Clover …”

“… there would be curiosity and concern from the public if he were to suddenly disappear,” Sephiroth finished the thought, “thus preventing Shinra from giving Clover to Hojo.”

“Or him being kidnapped in the night,” Zack added distractedly. When the Firsts looked at him, astonished by such a morbid thought from the perpetually sunny teen, he defended himself, “Clover mentioned it earlier! He seems pretty scared of it really. It’s why he was trying to run away again.”

Genesis sighed, “Yes, well this will help with that as well, for it will turn him into a minor celebrity. It will be much harder for him to remain undetected in Midgar, if everyone knows his face and wants to learn more about him, after all.”

With a nod, Sephiroth rose to his feet.

“I will retrieve my laptop. I would appreciate your assistance in composing this statement.”

“Of course,” Angeal agreed, Zack nodding behind him.

Genesis scoffed lightly, but smiled as he said, “As if you could keep me away.”

Sephiroth snapped awake at the sound of his PHS ringing from his bedside table. Sitting up, he grabbed the device, answering the call and bringing it to his ear.

“Sephiroth”, Veld’s dry voice came through speaker. Without waiting for acknowledgement, he continued, “The revised press release regarding your… son… has been completed by the Public Relations department. We advise you to delete all previous statements and publish the new one today. Preferably by midday.”

“Acknowledged,” Sephiroth replied, waiting a second longer for any additional order before ending the call.

As he rose from his bed and began dressing, he reflected on the statement he had crafted and published the night before, revealing Clover’s name and relation to him, with the assistance of Genesis, Angeal and Zack. Genesis had assured him that timing his statement’s release for shortly after business hours would generate the maximum impact. Having needed to mute notifications within the first five minutes, overwhelmed by the deluge of responses to his rare social media post, Sephiroth had no doubt that he was correct. The immediate attention had been useful in preventing the Turks from simply scrubbing the post, much to Genesis’s satisfaction.

While sharing a dinner, cooked by Angeal towards the end of their brainstorming –which diverged significantly from the diet mandated for him by the Department of Research and Development, but which was far more enjoyable – Genesis and Zack had entertained the group by scrolling through social media on their respective PHS devices and taking turns orating the reactions to Sephiroth’s announcement that they found interesting or amusing. Clover, enticed from his room by the aromatic food and Zack’s persistent urging, had grimaced at each different comment read aloud.

As they had finished their meal, a knock at door heralded the arrival of a Turk, bearing summons from the President. After leaving Clover in Zack’s mostly reliable care, Sephiroth and his fellow Firsts had been escorted to the man’s office, where they were reprimanded for releasing a public statement without the approval of Shinra’s Department of Public Relations.

Genesis soothed the man’s temper by showing how well the public had received the news of Sephiroth’s “fatherhood” and how excited they were to know more about the mysterious Clover. Thus, the trio had been sent away without further censure, and with orders to publish and support the expanded backstory that would soon be crafted for Clover. Which, the call he had just received indicated had just been finalised.

Donning the outer layer of his uniform, Sephiroth exited his bedroom. Conversation echoed down the hallway as he approached the living room. While his apartment had seen some visits by the other Firsts in the few years that he had occupied it, since Clover’s arrival, Sephiroth found it near constantly overflowing with noise and activity. He was bemused at how quickly he had adapted to the new norm, that such ruckus did not disturb his sleep despite his enhanced senses.

Stepping into the living room, Sephiroth surveyed the space. Angeal had once again claimed dominion over the kitchen and was preparing a breakfast that promised to be both flavourful and filling. Zack, who had stayed overnight to assist in supervising Clover – and prevent further escape attempts – had already activated his gaming console and was attempting, unsuccessfully, to goad the boy into a contest. Genesis, who had apparently been watching and waiting for Sephiroth to emerge, strode over to his side.

“Was that the new press release? Well then, what travesty have they concocted now?” Genesis asked archly.

“Let him eat first, Genesis,” Angeal chided, moving to place several plates of food at the table. “Breakfast is ready. Game off, children!” he called to Zack and Clover.

Zack protested loudly when Clover immediately shut down the system and moved to the table. The boy cast Esuna over the food almost absently, before turning a glare on Sephiroth as he approached. He paused for a moment as Genesis, following behind him, placed his hand on his shoulder for a long moment. Sephiroth blinked at him, but he simply smiled enigmatically and moved away. Putting aside his confusion, Sephiroth took his seat at the table – as far from Clover as possible, for the boy’s comfort.

Nodding in thanks to Angeal, he withdrew his PHS and opened the email containing the press release. After taking a moment to glance through it, he forwarded it to the other Firsts. Genesis snatched up his own PHS at the sound of the notification, and proceeded to read through it, making various noises of irritation and scorn as he ate. Zack complained loudly at being left out, until Angeal succumbed and shared the email with him as well. Immediately, he began orating to the table, with a surprisingly accurate impression of the President.

“The Shinra Electric Power Company is proud to announce the official debut of Sephiroth’s son, Clover! At five years of age, he is rather rambunctious, and already able to show off the great strength he has inherited from his father. Sephiroth, as the General of SOLDIER, entrusted the care of his child to Shinra during his deployment, to ensure he received the highest quality of care and educ-”

Zack let out a loud yelp as his PHS was torn from his grip. He looked in shock at the wall, where it was pinned by a fork, still quivering from the force of Clover’s throw. The boy’s face was twisted in a rictus of fury.

“Not a fan, then?” Genesis asked mildly, resting his chin on his fist. Clover’s nostrils flared as he glared at him, before he pushed away from the table and stormed back to his room.

“Must you antagonise him?” Sephiroth asked tiredly.

“Dreams of the morrow hath the shattered soul. Pride is lost. Apologies, dear friend.” Genesis replied, voice unusually soft.

Sephiroth paused, blinking at him. It took him a moment to place the source of his confusion. He had been expecting Genesis to snap a sharp retort or insult, to initiate one of their regular verbal spars. For him to suddenly relent left Sephiroth unmoored, unsure of how he was supposed to interact.

“Zack,” Angeal said firmly, drawing his apprentice’s attention away from the destroyed PHS, “go apologise to Clover. You know he’s sensitive about his… upbringing.” He eyes flickered over towards Sephiroth for a moment. “Take the rest of his breakfast with you, and make sure he finishes it. He never eats enough.”

Zack whined as he collected both his own and Clover’s plates and slinked off to join Clover in his room. Sephiroth allowed himself to release a quiet breath of relief. Genesis’s eyes gained a sharp glint, and he opened his mouth. Sephiroth braced himself to be lashed by the man’s sharp tongue, but instead he closed his mouth sharply and looked away, leaving Sephiroth unsettled once more.

Angeal looked between the two of them, a pinch forming between his brows, before he shook his head firmly.

“We should finish reviewing the new press release, yes?” Angeal asked.

With a firm nod, Sephiroth retrieved his PHS and continued Zack’s recitation, though with far less boisterousness.

“Clover was born of the union between Sephiroth and Amaranth Scott, a woman of impeccable breeding and beauty. The pair were introduced by President Richard Shinra, in the summer of 1990. The chemistry they shared was so intense and powerful, that Sephiroth pursued a relationship with Amaranth, seeking her company between deployments to Wutai. After several years, Sephiroth proposed, and the besotted pair married in the spring of 1994. Shortly after their romantic honeymoon, the happy couple were expecting a child. Tragically, Amaranth was injured in an attack by Wutaian assassins targeting Sephiroth, leading to her death in childbirth. Heartbroken, Sephiroth entrusted his child to the care of Shinra, and returned to the warfront, determined to avenge his lost love.”

Sephiroth broke off as Genesis gave a loud scoff. “Stop, I beg of you. I can’t listen to a word more of this drivel, or I’ll start bleeding from the ears.”

“It is rather egregious,” Angeal agreed, frowning down at his own PHS as he continued scrolling through the press release. “Particularly the inclusion of Wutaian assassins. It is quite dishonourable to accuse one’s foe falsely.”

“There is little we can do about it now,” Sephiroth replied, returning to his perusal of the email.

One particular order caught his eye, and he felt his lips tighten fractionally as he read through it. Despite his near complete control of his expressions, Genesis somehow noticed the subtle signs, turning to him with intense focus.

“What is it?”

Sephiroth resisted the urge to sigh.

“I have also been ordered to include an appropriately familial photo of Clover and I together.”

After a beat of silence, Genesis unleashed a cackle.

“My friend, the fates are cruel. There are no dreams, no honour remains. I bid you good fortune for the mission. You will sorely need it, I fear.”

“Let’s try at least asking Clover, before we throw in the towel,” Angeal said, reasonably.

“I suppose we can have Zack hold him,” Genesis said, rising to his feet, “and simply tell Shinra to edit the photo themselves, if it comes to that.”

Sephiroth felt a strange ache in his chest at the thought. Furrowing his brow, he rubbed at the spot.

“Coming, Sephiroth?” Genesis asked.

Sephiroth blinked from the reverie he had fallen into, and nodded, standing and following his friends to Clover’s room.

Clover sat in the wingback armchair in Sephiroth’s living room, holding himself rigidly still. Despite facing firmly forward, he couldn’t keep his eyes from drifting sideways, to the apartment door. For once, he wasn’t even considering another attempt at escape – futile as it would be at that moment, with Zack, Angeal and Sephiroth watching him carefully. Genesis and Cloud had left to the helipad, to collect his Ma, and bring her to meet Clover … and Sephiroth. The man who murdered her. Would murder. Would have going to have murdered her. Odin, time travel was a headache.

Clover had spent the last few sleepless nights trying to figure out a way to prevent this meeting, but he couldn’t think of anything that didn’t involve laying all his cards on the table. Which he desperately didn’t wish to do. Both for fear that learning of the future could unhinge Sephiroth, and that the revelation of his true age would lose him the protection of the Firsts.

As much as he hated being condescended towards as a supposed child, Zack had made quite a good point on capturing him the last time. Without protection, he was vulnerable to the non-existent mercies of Shinra and Hojo. Worse, if the Firsts learned that he was not as young as they believed, they may even cast him into the Science department themselves. A tremor wracked him at the thought.

Clover was distracted from his morbid thoughts by the sound of approaching footsteps and voices. They soon resolved into the sound of Cloud speaking. Clover focused his attention and strained his ears.

“– still sorry I didn’t warn you, Ma. I just didn’t think that you’d also have it…”

“It’s fine, Stormcloud,” came his Ma’s voice.

Clover forced his breath not to catch, not wanting to reveal how deeply affected he was by hearing her alive, knowing Sephiroth was watching him closely. He allowed himself to close his eyes for a moment and bask in her voice.

“Even if I’d known beforehand, I’d still’ve insisted on coming the same way.”

“Are you sure you don’t wish for me to cast Esuna upon you?” Genesis asked, voice bordering on a whine. “It would take but a moment for-”

“Don’t waste your magic on me, young man. I told you already, we mustn’t be frivolous with such things. This ginger tea you had that nice boy fetch will do me just fine.”

Clover felt tears stinging behind his eyelids and squeeze his eyes tighter to force them back. He sucked in a deep breath before looking over as the door swung open. Genesis stood half bowed, ushering their guest through the aperture. Cloud stepped through, bearing an expression of utter delight that Clover could not remember ever having worn. Entering on his arm was his Ma. Clover held himself even more rigidly in his seat, eyes wide and unblinking as he drank in the sight of her.

She was exactly as he remembered her from his recovered memories of that day. Her eyes crinkled and glittered with mirth as she gave Genesis that soft, teasing smile. She was wearing her nicest outfit, Clover recognised, the one she never wore, but always cleaned and ironed once a month, keeping it ready “just in case I ever need it.” She clasped a thermos her free hand, from which she took a quick, final sip before passing it to Cloud. As she began scanning the room, Clover found himself inexplicably shrinking back behind the arm of the wingback, suddenly feeling overwhelmingly shy.

“Mrs Strife,” Angeal said, stepping forward and offering his hand. “It’s a pleasure to meet you. Cloud has told us nothing but good things. I am Angeal Hewley,” he introduced, as Ma shook his hand, before gesturing Sephiroth forward. Clover felt his breath stall at the sight of his Ma facing the man who had killed- will kill- would have killed her. “And this is-”

“My teenage son’s baby-daddy from the sounds of it,” she said, straight-faced as she shook his hand.

Sephiroth and Angeal froze, the latter’s jaw going slack, and the former’s eyebrows rising sharply. After a moment, Zack’s loud laughter broke the silence.

“Hi there, Ms Strife!” he said, grinning as he bounced up to Ma eagerly.

“Call me Claudia” Ma said, shaking his hand.

“You have the same ‘fake innocent’ expression as Cloudy here.”

“Fake?” Ma said, tilting her head in confusion.

The moment held for long enough that Zack’s confident smile faltered, before she huffed out a laugh. Behind her, Genesis cackled loudly.

“C’mon Zack,” Cloud chided, “you really fell for that?”

As Zack sputtered protests, Ma turned her smile back on Sephiroth.

“It’s a pleasure finally to meet you, Sephiroth. My Cloud’s talked about nothing but you for years.”

“Mum!” Cloud protested, face turning bright red.

Clover felt his cheeks burn in synchrony. Ma ignored Cloud and stepped into Sephiroth’s space. Clover felt his breath catch. She was too close! He could do anything to her! He could… stand rigid and flabbergasted as Ma pulled him into a hug.

“Welcome to the family, dear,” she said warmly. Then she pulled back and clapped her hands loudly, looking around once more. “Now, where is my grandchild?”

As one, the SOLDIERs turned to look at Clover’s chair. Following their gazes, Ma finally caught sight of him.

“Ah, hello, sweetheart,” she said softly, making her way over to him “I’ve been looking forward to meeting you. I’m your grandma.”

“Hi,” Clover whispered, staring up at his Ma who smiled at him so kindly, but without recognition. It felt like something in him was tearing apart at the sight. He swallowed against the lump in his throat, but it refused to budge.

‘She’s not really my Ma,’ Clover thought desperately, as she crouched in front of him. He was vaguely aware of the SOLDIERs tensing, moving closer, but he couldn’t take his eyes off her. ‘She doesn’t know me. She thinks I’m someone else. I’m lying to her-.’

“Don’t get lost in your head now, little wolf cub,” Ma said, and the familiar chiding set loose something tight within Clover’s chest.

With a loud wail, he threw himself into her arms. All the fear and pain and loss he had suffered from this terrible journey through time poured out of him in wrenching sobs.

Desperately he tried to stop the flow of tears, but no amount of holding his breath or biting his lip helped. He felt the calming comfort of Ma’s hand stroking gentle across the back of his head and hear her murmuring soothing noises.

Finally, he gave up, allowing himself to relax into her embrace and be comforted.