Faint Memories wip

[Moon]

Hojo fumbled along the path, the short chain that locked his feet so close together only made his temper even worse as he was force marched behind Hollander with an even shorter chain between them into the depths of a cave where they had been secreted away to mine at mythril. Gone was the stark cleansing smells of his labs and replaced by dust, rock, and debris. Something had driven President Shinra insane enough to keep the two men alive but in a capacity that limited what he perceived to be a threat.

Hollander grumbled under his breath, casting glances at the dim lights the lined the cave walls as they passed them by. The rough cut of mythril could be seen under some of the rock as the two men were led to the very end of the cave. Various tools leaned against the wall nearest them beside a rough cut door where a brighter light glinted through waited.

The trooper that had led them here turned his gun in the direction of both scientists. “The President has ordered you to be confined to this location until further notice. Failure to comply will result in your immediate termination.”

(Break)


Shin-ra clenched his fists into knots as his mind became suffused with images of
his death, the pain of that damned sword impaling him from above as he watched the evil dance in Sephiroth’s eyes. Jenova stared lifelessly at him from her prison of self contained mako, the alien being that should have been Cetra, anything but beneficial. He needed to be done with it and quickly, not before Scarlett had what she needed. Oh, no, he would not be taking his eyes off his red dressed executive.


Turning his attention to the cameras that monitored the scientists he had once employed, the President of Shin-ra leaned back into his chair and began to think. He had once been considered an intelligent man. He did not miss how the staff spoke about him now. His son Rufus had not gotten his talents from his mother and his eldest, Lazard, had certainly not gotten his scheming talents from his either. He would have to bring the science division to heel.




(Break)



Cloud woke with a scream choking him and Zack wasn’t far behind as both boys sat bolt upright in their own beds. Heart pounding in his chest, he turned to stare at the dim glow that marked Zack’s presence across from him. The two of them had been sent to bed shortly after Cloud had broken Reno’s nose with the excuse that small children were cranky without a full night's sleep. If he hadn’t of been tired, the soldier in him might have been insulted at the comment coming from the observing officer.


(break)


Reno balked for a few seconds before he groaned, running a hand across the back of his neck. “Let’s go, Rude. I’m sure the SOLDIERs know to heel.”

Genesis hissed softly at the insult the Turk had dropped on them as the redhead passed him by. The bald turk ignored the reaction as they walked right past Sephiroth and him before turning left at the corner of the hallway and opening a door. The two men paused as the Soldiers followed shortly after them, each man with a considerable edge to them as they walked.

“Perhaps we should discuss your manners, you pompous ingrate?” Genesis finally barked after the leading Turk. The other redhead paused and glanced up the stairs at the SOLDIER before flashing a grin.




(break)

Vincent dropped the body of the unconscious Soldier onto the ground, his golden claw twitching under the spasms his body was going through as he turned to glare at the assistant that had attempted to take him from behind. The rifle which she was holding trembled in her fingers as the former Turk turned and continued his path back to the SOLDIER barracks and offices. President Shin-ra and Scarlett wanted him to pretend to be a SOLDIER. He did not see how that was going to happen given his dubious and murderous inner nature.

He was an honorable man once, now he didn’t think he’d have much of a shot at remembering what that might have been like.


(break)


Genesis glared hard at Sephiroth as he dimly acknowledged that the red haired Turk didn’t seem to have much in the way of survival skills if he was insulting mako induced individuals. The silver haired Soldier had turned his head to glare at the Turk, ignoring the red haired Soldier as much as Genesis was ignoring the Turk. Angeal had followed slowly behind them to watch and observe the his friends. Really, someone was supposed to be dealing with the rest of the business as they were only to advise on the best training requirements for the mako infused children.

The Soldier waited as he watched Genesis slowly tip his head forward, Sephiroth tilted his head slightly to the side, and then he moved. Both had tempers that could be explosive if kindled properly. Calling SOLDIERs monsters would certainly do it.


(break)


Cloud was forced into a seat some four days later by Rude, with Reno slapping down his file in front of the young recruit. Zack was restrained by cuffs on the other side of the small interrogation room as the red haired teenager leaned in close to the small boy’s nose.

“There are a few small holes in your story there, Sunshine. You're not related to Fair. You were never exposed to an exploding reactor like your friend and your parents never worked for Shinra. Where'd you get the glow spos?” Reno asked, hands planting themselves on the table.

Mako blue eyes glared at the green eyes of the Turk. Most of the candidates had already been through this process with Zack and Cloud being the last ones to face the interrogation training.

Zack tugged on the cuffs that were holding him, wondering just what the Turks were playing at as the redhead leaned back in his seat. Green eyes flicked towards Zack and Rude when the bald headed man placed a hand on the teenagers shoulder and dug his fingers in.

There was more to this test than simply resisting the questions and possible torture. Zack smiled and Cloud felt something twitch in the back of his head as the dark haired former soldier first strained the cuffs until a small, wrenching sound of metal echoed in the small room.


(break)


Genesis couldn’t believe what he was watching. Two children, small boys really, were being interrogated by Turks and he had no doubt that these were the same children that had won Sephiroth’s attention. “This is not a coincidence, is it, my friend?”


(Break)



Strife, Fair, and Shinra. Oddly enough these three things only surmounted to a minor flaw in his plans. Getting to Jenova, his mother, was becoming a bigger crisis. He would need her cells in order to fabricate his plans into reality. If he remembered correctly she had been located in Nibelheim, the hometown of the puppet.


The three annoyances of his life complimented by the presence of Genesis Rhapsodos. What presence Angeal held, even he, Sephiroth could not place. The middle son of Jenova was a quiet presence in the back of his head that differentiated from the others. Strife was a whisper of purpose while Zack Fair struck out at his conscious. Genesis challenged him mentally enough that he was able to hold back for now from killing the only other person capable of giving him a work out.


(break)


Tifa breathed out through her nose as she stepped off the train clutching a thin bag strap in her hands. The straps of her sundress weren’t nearly enough to keep her warm in the cold shadow of the Midgar plate but it wouldn’t matter as she spotted the person she had been writing for almost a month. Cloud fleeing home only a few hours after she had been compelled to give him that materia had twisted something in her mind. She remembered a journey where she had been much older and in a lot of trouble with the Shin-ra and she had helped take something from the General. Cloud had been there but something had been terribly wrong with him and when she had pulled herself out of the mako stream they’d fallen into, Tifa had only remembered someone telling her to come to Midgar. To find and meet with the Flower Girl at the church.

Tifa had run away from home, following Cloud’s hurried path across the continent and smuggling herself away on to ships and stealing her way onto the train. If or when her daddy found her she was going to be in a lot of trouble, but until then…Tifa drew herself up straight and bounced down the steps to find the flower girl named Aerith.


(break)


Aerith watched the man walk up the sidewalk to his mother’s house as she squatted behind the flower bushes. Never before would she have risked coming up on the plate to do something like this, but the Planet whispered that he was important… Rather, his dolls were important. Still, she and the girl from her dream were going to have to do something.

The Planet said so and had given her directions on what to do. The boy and his other self would be able to hand the direct threat, the Weapon that walked in a man’s skin would handle the indirect threat, and all they had to do was get the greatest threat.

She was getting off track. Standing up, Aerith brushed some grass off the fabric of her green dress and began to step towards the pretty little house when the tickle of the wind stopped her in her tracks. “It’s not time yet.” She said. Turning about Aerith began the slow trek back to the train station when she realized she still needed to have someway to reach the man.


(break)


Reeve held the inactive doll loosely in his hands. It was not quite a working type of model but he knew the doll he named Cait Sith was supposed to be something special. What, he didn’t quite know yet, but that was a pointless thought. Setting the doll on the rocks closest to the road, the executive turned back to the house and strode inside. Perhaps some kid would find the doll and take it home to play with. He usually donated any toys he’d made to the under privileged children beneath the plate but today he just didn’t have the energy.

Opening his front door, he never saw the brown haired little girl in green approach the doll, pick it up, and flee down the road as if the very sky was falling in on her. The last thing he was aware of before he collapsed was the shade of his mother’s pale cream carpet. It smelled like feet…



(break)



Angeal watched the cadets, knowing something was missing, like he was being filled up with something that he couldn’t make sense of. Genesis, his best friend, and Sephiroth, his brother in arms, had done something horrible. A life time ago however he knew he could do something about it now. Just like when he’d gone on that mission to Nibelheim some time ago and brought that thing back.

Sephiroth’s, Genesis, and his cellular mother. Jenova. Dead or otherwise, that thing had tried to worm it’s way into his mind while he was moving it. For some reason, he had been able to resist enough to find the monster locked inside the coffin. Sealed away and locked deep inside of the Shin-ra mansion, Angeal had begun working on solving some of the mysteries that were creeping into his dreams.

Reality, as twisted as it had become, was quickly spiralling out of control. The boy Zack was supposed to be here and the other one that Sephiroth had fixated on wasn’t. Not yet. Like him, he knew they were being compelled to do something about the situation that was quickly developing without the training or gear he’d known they’d need. He had avoided going to the Turk training center but he would not avoid what he felt his friends were losing.

Glancing at his gloved hands, he tightened them into a fist. He could change their genetics to match his own. He’d have to be careful though. He would not, could not, underestimate his brothers or they’d kill him. The world would not survive the battle between two of Jenova’s sons. Madness lingered in them all, but he could prevent them from becoming monsters.

As he had once forced Zack in some distant dream to murder him, he knew he could do the same to Genesis or even Sephiroth.

“Embrace your dreams.” he said to the standing line of Cadets. “No matter what happens you have to protect your honor. As a Soldier or as a regular person.” Lifting his head, he drew the heavy blade of his Buster to show to the line of recruits. His eyes focused solely on the weapon. “Also, remember that use brings about wear, tear, and rust. Try not to use your weapons unless you have to. There will come a time when you’re going to need a sharp weapon at your back. Don’t hesitate to keep them sharp and in good condition. That is what it means to be Soldier.”

He returned the heavyweight of his weapon to his back to stare across at the double doors. “As all of you may know, we are under the command of Sephiroth and Director Lazard. You will often be ordered to do things that act against your honor. It is up to you to determine if you are willing to obey those orders. We are not monsters however we are also not ordinary men. We stand apart from the rest of the world and very few will even understand what that will mean.”

“Do not think we are gods because we are stronger. Better men than that have thought so and were brought low at the most unexpected blows.” He continued to say, not quite understand where it was coming from but it was important to be said. After all, he knew what he was going to have to do soon. Confront his friends and try… something, anything to bring them back to reason.


(break)


Coffee break or not, Genesis tipped the mug he was drinking out of slightly to the left and then the right. Sephiroth hadn’t left his side since he had revealed what he knew of the future and the Soldier dressed in crimson leather was quickly becoming impatient with his friend’s relentless presence. It was almost as if he was possessed with a desire to know what he was thinking. The two of them were indeed cut from the same cloth, it seemed. Well, if he didn’t include the fact that Angeal had become something of a stronger presence since his return from orientation with the new SOLDIERs.


“Angeal, you seem to have a lot on your mind.” Genesis prodded.


The dark haired Soldier glanced at his friend's, hands clasped tightly in front of him as he leaned across his knees on the shared office space. Shin-ra wasn’t going to spoil their commanders unless there was a damn good reason to. The irony was it left the lot of them without much privacy and all of them were on the same floor. The couch was made of a stiff brown material he didn’t know if it was plastic or leather or something else. Regardless, Angeal came to his feet as he locked eyes with them both.

“Zack Fair.” he said. The name was a drop in the bucket as both of his friends stiffened. Worried glances passed from two pairs of green eyes as the only blue eyed man in the room stood up. A hand ran to the Buster Sword he had set against the couch. “So, he’s not entirely inconsequential. I’m not very sure why this is important to be said but regardless Zack and his friend share the same genetics as us.”


“No. Not quite.” Genesis answered. “Zack may have more of mother in him then his friend. Or perhaps you did something… Angeal, you remember something, don’t you?”


A smirk from Sephiroth as Angeal moved away from his weapon. The Silver haired first would let Genesis do the baiting. He dropped his hand away from Masamune. Whatever their dark haired brother was thinking it was combat. Not yet. Genesis felt his shoulders tensing under the lingering threat that seemed to come from Angeal. Almost too quickly to follow the taller, bigger man he had moved across the room in a blink and grappled both men’s wrists until his bare hands were around the skin of their own. Genesis felt something moving along his spine and Sephiroth growled, eyes narrowing into malevolent slits of glowing fury.


“What are you doing?” Sephiroth barked, twisting away from the middle son of Jenova as he felt his stomach twist under whatever it was the Second born was attempting. Blue eyes glowed with a power he knew, somehow, would twist something apart inside of him.


Not quite understanding what it was he was doing, but knowing it was needed, Angeal took something from Sephiroth and gave it to Genesis even as he sought the thing that was damaging them all and then he pressed it into a small corner of himself to be dealt with later. Feeling the energy give out from under him all three of them fell to the ground with Sephiroth falling limply to the side, semi-conscious and Genesis panting for air. There was strands of white in their hair now, with red and black catching highlights from the dim overhead lights.


Sephiroth snarled as he felt something shift. No longer was the Cloud the loudest among his thoughts. Now, it seemed as if his very soul had something snooping about and he knew instinctively what it was. “What did you do, Angeal?”


Genesis tried to reach for the magic in his bracers, to fry the traitor right there and found it fleeing his grasp. The red haired commander hissed at his ‘former’ friend when Angeal pushed himself up and glared at them both. “The virus of Jenova will not take you away from who we are meant to be. I fixed it.”

“Impossible. I am mother’s true son.” Sephiroth stated.


“And yet you are weaker then me.” Genesis countered, eager to gain back some of his self confidence. “To be killed by a mere unenhanced boy when your back was turned.”


“What is Cloud Strife?” Angeal demanded, tightening his grip on their wrists.


Genesis laughed, knowing Angeal wasn’t going to like the answer. “He’s the remnants of you, Fair, and the General.”


“A mere puppet.” Sephiroth hissed, trying to free himself as he wrapped his free hand around Angeal’s wrist. Jenova wasn’t even present in his mind anymore, any connection he’d had with her seemed to be… gone. “What did you do to mother?”


“Your mother, our mother, is dead.” Angeal stated. “I will ensure you will never be able to touch her cells again.”


“I’ll kill you.” Sephiroth snapped, the strength he was so used to barely a scrap of what he needed as he fumbled for his familiar depths of powers.


“No. No you won’t.” Angeal said, looking him deep in the eyes. “You won’t kill me or anyone else, General. You will not have the power to manipulate and hurt those boys. You will not even be able to stand until I allow it. Mother thought as you did and tried the same tactics. It will not happen.”


“You are making a dangerous enemy, Angeal.” Genesis responded, his eyes glimmering with something unholy as Sephiroth tried to get his body to respond. Neither of their fingers twitched so much as a centimeter as a fourth individual opened the door to the office and paused.


Taking in the situation, the man cast red eyes at Angeal. “You have made your move.”


“The president ordered me to find anything in Nibelheim that was unusual. I found you and I found her. Why did you come here, Vincent?” Angeal asked, never taking his eyes from the weakened bodies of the Silver General and the Red Commander.


“I’ve been assigned to SOLDIER for the foreseeable future.” The former Turk replied, his red eyes glowing brighter as he felt his insides prickle in the presence of the Jenova Cells. “The President will no doubt be interested in full disclosure of your actions.”


“He sent you to spy on us.” Angeal drawled. “I’m certain it has nothing to do with those boys everyone seems so interested in. Beyond that, I am merely trying to buy some time.”


“Release me,” Sephiroth drawled darkly. What was Angeal buying time for? Genesis and he were quickly released to slump onto the floor with weakened knees. All of his power was still there, but something, Angeal was strongly present. “Explain yourself, SOLDIER.”


Pulling rank was probably insane to do right now however Angeal did have explaining to do. Had he come into contact with Mother? From what he could remember, the red eyed Turk had been with Cloud at the end of the world. Why was he here with Angeal? His former friend had said something about finding a her and the Turk. Sephiroth focused his eyes on Genesis as the redhead pushed himself into a sitting position.


Resting his now free arm on his legs, Genesis watched as the Turk drew even with Angeal who had finally released them. Words burned in his chest demanding to be spoken but something about the way Angeal was moving around the dark haired man gave the SOLDIER a wary sense of self. “What do you think you are doing, friend?”
Vincent locked glowing red eyes on the two men who were slowly bringing themselves to their knees. It would be a while yet before they would have the strength to do more than talk. Angeal had suffered much the same when they had come into contact and during the time he had gone to retrieve Jenova the young man had started showing traits that were more like his own.


“I replicated Vincent’s unique cell structure onto the two of you.” Angeal answered. “All of us were suffering deterioration of either our minds or our bodies. Eventually, we would have ceased to be the men we should be.”


“Unique cell structure?” Sephiroth echoed, turning his green eyes towards the Turk. It shouldn’t be possible… Angeal continued, ignoring Sephiroth’s comment as the Turk moved away to take a position near the only window in the small shared office space. He stood closest to Angeal’s desk, free of the clutter that found it’s way onto Sephiroth’s desk or the books acting as paperweights on Genesis’s.


“Vincent Valentine is our genetic paternal donor.” Angeal stated, crossing his arms over his chest as he moved away from both slumped bodies of his ‘brothers’. “Just as he is the biological donor of those two boys you were so interested in, Sephiroth.”


Genesis choked. Sephiroth found himself drawn into an unwitting smirk as his ‘brother’ looked at the Turk that had turned back to them. “My friend, the war of the beasts…”


“Is a fairy tale. Something strange is happening and I expect the two of you are in the middle of it.” Angeal answered as he tilted his head in the red head’s direction. “You two have been acting strange since Gongaga, when all three of us were exposed to the same mako. I don’t understand where the blond kid comes in but he comes from the same village as Sephiroth and Vincent.”


“Regardless of where any of us were exposed to mako, Jenova, or the chaos cells my body creates, we still need to discover what the President in planning. You have not yet explained to me why you gave the Turks the location of those two boys you keep bringing up.”


Angeal nodded, taking to his office chair as he cornered the rampaging feelings of guilt he had been feeling since he had started this course of action. “Some time ago, I began to have dreams of a teenaged boy killing me. I taunted him, tortured him, into killing me because I had thought it the right thing to do. Later, the dreams began to include bits of things that came after. Zack and some trooper trapped in a prison made of mako, experimented on, and eventually they had come to dispose of both of you. I do not remember much past that other than that the boy Zack had died for the sake of his friend because I went for him and drew his dying body into the lifestream.”


Here, Angeal’s eyes turned pained and furious. “I was a coward caught up in my own madness in that dream and I decided that I would not let it come to pass. I have no doubt based on that dream that the two of you have dealt with something similar.”


“The Gift of the Goddess…” Genesis whispered, watching as Sephiroth hunched forward and began to laugh.


Insanity lingered at the edges of the General’s mind as he took in what his ‘brother’ was saying. He had removed access to the Jenova cells by imprinting cells of the dead turk on top of them. He was saying that he knew somewhat about the entire thing… if only the beginning. Like Genesis, Angeal had come into his full power as a son of their Mother. “That was no dream, Angeal.”


Genesis felt his shoulders tensing up as he realized there was more to what Angeal planning than simply removing a few cells. “Angeal…”


Valentine had moved to a side wall and pushed it open to reveal just one of the many hidden labs in the Shin-Ra building. This one contained a full Mako tank large enough to contain four or five men. The nearly pure white energy of the life stream glowed from behind the protective glass and for the first time Sephiroth began to understand.


“You’ve hidden mother and now you intend to hide us? Angeal, I didn’t think you had it in you.” Sephiroth taunted as Valentine moved around the room preparing the tank for human occupants. “When I get out I’m going to have to kill you.”


“Get in line, Sephiroth.” Genesis growled as Angeal got to his feet.


“We are a danger to the entire world and I will not allow that danger to continue. If I must I’ll take you both to the grave with me.” Angeal responded, his own eyes meeting their own in a glittering barrage of ideals. “I can force my own student to kill me. I’ve already proven I can manipulate your cellular structure with a simple brush of skin. Don’t take me for a foolish man. I will see that our honor remains intact.”

“You have betrayed our Mother.” Sephiroth whispered, trying to reach for that part of Jenova that had always been there when he felt the Turk move closer and force him to his feet. Weakness clung to him, reminding him of something he had not felt in a long time. “You have made an enemy of me, Angeal.”


The SOLDIER First was pulling on his gloves as he walked towards Genesis. “You will at least be alive.”


“What would you have me do, Angeal?” Genesis quipped as his friend lifted him to his feet. His former friend, he corrected. “Allow Sephiroth free reign to destroy our world. The least I could do was make it entertaining.”


“For our Sins…” Angeal answered them. “For failing when we should have stood stronger we will sleep until the time is right.”


Vincent laid eyes on him, taking in that part of himself that had worked its way through Jenova’s madness and into the SOLDIER. Five sons and he felt only a shell of comfort in knowing that at least two of them would be safe for a time. Keeping them in the Turk program kept them out of Hojo’s eyesight. The disappearance of Sephiroth, Angeal, and Genesis would most likely be noticed. However with the President convinced that the three of them were a threat they could at least vanish into the walls of Midgar.


“It’s time to rest now.” Vincent stated, dragging the weakened Sephiroth, Lucrecia son, to the mako prison. Dragging him in front of himself, Vincent force marched the general off the dais and into the pool. Chaos shivered around him as Angeal and Genesis joined them. The time release on the hidden wall triggered and the entire area plunged into complete darkness. The two SOLDIER firsts struggled as the mako filled their lungs, Angeal tightened his arms around Genesis as the SOLDIER struggled in his tight grip. Sephiroth’s eyes remained opened as the wings of Chaos unfurled around the three of them, his eyes taking on the evil glow they once had as the Mako dragged them down into a coma like state. Angeal could have his time. Genesis could make a game of things. Vincent or whatever he was could try and hold him… but in time he would be free to bring this Planet to it’s knees before him.


(break)


She first tested on eye, then the next, and realized that the body she had taken over was covered in mako crystals. That would not do. Using the arms augmented by her own cells, Jenova pushed her way out of the coffin imposed on the body by the Planet and walked towards the glittering entrance of the waterfall cave. It truly was unfortunate that Hojo and the other scientists she had come to identify had failed her. Her children were becoming confused, fighting among each other like the humans that had helped them into creation.


“Don’t worry, my children. Mother will make everything better.” She said in the echoing darkness of Lucrecia’s Cave. Smiling, Jenova stepped from her prison and into the bright sun that Gaia circled. “Mother will make everything go away.”

(END)