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Butterfly Effect: Chapter 42
Authors: Bard Linn and Kiraya
Genre: General/Drama
Pairings: ZackxSeph, OCxOC, Assorted Past
Rating (Overall): PG-13
Warnings: None this chapter.
Summary: "I can’t believe we’re seriously discussing ghosts and spirits."
Disclaimer: Final Fantasy VII and all associated characters and symbols are the exclusive property of Square Enix and its associates. We’re just borrowing them for a while.
Chapter 42
Sephiroth is a cautious person. I’m not sure if it’s his nature or a side effect of his upbringing. While he can and will take drastic action when necessary, he prefers to think things out logically before beginning any campaign, whether military or social. This makes him somewhat easier to predict than Zack, though of course there are exceptions.
—Cloud’s journal, 15 August 471
One could call Sephiroth’s behavior paranoid.
Since that night he had comforted Zack on the first anniversary of Cloud’s death, he had found himself graying out from time to time. Not often, but usually when he found himself in a completely baffling situation — often with Zack involved. Just last week he had been pondering Zack’s birthday present, wandering around one of the shopping districts above the Plate with a growing sense of resignation, only to find himself heading back to his room about half an hour later, a new computer game and a detailed planner in a shopping bag.
He couldn’t remember picking them out.
Zack had been ecstatic; apparently the game was a sequel to another one that Cloud had introduced him to a few years back (it had been all the rage among the Seconds, who’d spent hours playing it in a grand tournament style for nearly four months). Zack had already set up brackets amongst the Seconds and even a few Firsts who’d proven amenable to the idea. Surprised, he had confided to Sephiroth that he hadn’t even known the game had been released.
The planner Sephiroth could understand — it’d be much more efficient than Zack’s current system of reminders. Zack spent a good three-fourths of his time on duty out of his office now, supervising SOLDIER teams, and his desk was covered with scattered sticky notes. But the game? He never would have thought of such a thing on his own.
He wasn’t alone in this, either. Zack had turned in the occasional report with odd phrasing or tidbits of knowledge that seemed beyond his purview, but when Sephiroth asked him about it he only got a blank look. Zack usually couldn’t recall exactly where he’d heard the information, but always passed it off as something he must have “heard somewhere around base.”
Sephiroth had cause to be concerned, of course. He’d been keeping an eye on other SOLDIERs since this had started, and none of them seemed to be experiencing the phenomenon. If it was something unique to Zack and himself, that meant it had to stem from something that set them apart from their peers.
The first thing that came to mind was their encounters with the alien lifeform the Science Department called “Jenova.” Considering both events had nearly ended in disaster, Sephiroth was more than concerned — he was downright worried, though admittedly all his lost-time periods and Zack’s flashes of insight were significantly more benign than the incidents which they had suffered through previously under Jenova’s manipulations.
It was testament to his concern that Sephiroth found himself voluntarily going to the one place he loathed more than any other: the ShinRa Science Department. He could feel the added tension in his muscles the moment he walked in the door. Even knowing that Hojo was dead by his own hand — and seeing little structural similarity due to the remodeling the company had undertaken after the chaos that had ensued in the wake of the doctor’s departure from his domain — he couldn’t shake the feeling.
“Ah, General Sephiroth. I’ll be with you in just a minute — my office is right there. Feel free to make yourself comfortable.” Professor Matheson waved one hand towards a room down the hall (a different one from where his predecessor had laired, Sephiroth noted) as he continued to… wrestle with a rather large plant. Logically, he knew that it had to be part of the MMG Project, and it was far more impressive than a “mere plant,” but after seeing Hojo work almost exclusively with “humans and other higher-thinking animals” it was odd to see ShinRa’s top scientist acting as a glorified gardener.
Sephiroth entered the indicated room and stood next to the chair in front of the desk, looking around. Matheson’s work space was somewhat cluttered, but not excessively so; beneath various reports he could see the desk was simple but made out of high-quality wood, a luxury here in Midgar. There wasn’t much decoration to the office, just a few photos on the walls. Sephiroth recognized Matheson’s daughter in her wedding dress, Specialist Dennett besides her. Another one looked like his daughter in a university gown — he seemed to recall Cloud mentioning that she had gone through university at the same time as specialist training, and if he was looking at the photo correctly she’d graduated with honors as well.
“I apologize for keeping you waiting, General,” came the voice of his host, interrupting his thoughts, “but we needed those results today.” Matheson took the seat on the other side of the desk. “Now, you mentioned something you wanted to talk about? In person?”
Sephiroth cut straight to the point. “How is your research concerning Jenova progressing?”
Matheson pursed his lips. “Not as well as I’d like. With so few samples — all of which are lab-grown — and next to no data, we are having quite a bit of trouble determining a way to detect it, short of placing SOLDIERs in various spots about the world until they begin showing uncharacteristic behavior.”
A nod. “Have you made any progress on finding a way to shield us from the outside influence?”
“Not really,” Matheson said regretfully. “Jenova is part of what makes you a SOLDIER. If I had to guess, I’d suggest looking into the Cetra— I’m sorry, the Ancients in the vernacular, but Cetra is the term they used to describe themselves. Some of the information we’ve been able to dig up on them depicts them as the antithesis of Jenova. There’s very little research in that area, as they died out so long ago. In fact, in some of the earliest research we still have on Jenova, they misidentified her as a Cetra, but the Ancients supposedly had quite different powers from what we’ve seen with Jenova. I know Hojo did research on both, but there’s not much of his findings left. He was always exceedingly efficient at ensuring his research didn’t fall into the wrong hands — that is, anyone’s but his.”
Sephiroth digested this silently for a moment, then ventured, “Professor Gast, Hojo’s predecessor, was said to be involved in the Jenova Project…”
“Yes, but much of his work has also been lost. Though…” Here Matheson looked thoughtful. “He did leave headquarters to do some work up north — I could see if we could track down the exact location. It wouldn’t be impossible that he might have left some notes there. Gast was known for hiding things so others could find them if they looked hard enough, though Hojo never seemed to dig for it. He mostly destroyed anything filed with the company, though we did find one of his journals in the Nibelheim ruins.”
“Do so, please,” Sephiroth requested. “If you need any SOLDIERs to accompany your researchers—”
The scientist thought for a moment. “…We’ll need at least a few Seconds, maybe a First. Preferably some of your… more sensitive subordinates? I don’t want my people feeling harassed because of a lack of fitness, perceived or otherwise.” He raised his eyebrows.
Sephiroth knew what he meant. Some SOLDIERs developed a certain sense of superiority because of their enhancements. Coupled with a dislike of scientists in general — every SOLDIER’s transition was a painful thing — some friction between the two groups was almost inevitable. “I’ll see to it that we select some with discretion.” He’d have Zack double-check his choices, too.
Matheson nodded. “I expect we’ll be ready sometime next week. I’ll send you the details on the team when I finish assembling them.”
Knowing a dismissal when he heard one, Sephiroth nodded at his host and took himself out. He resolved to keep an eye on his grayouts. For now they seemed almost helpful, but if that changed… he’d just have to take steps.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
Nibelheim traditions are weird. For the most solemn of times, we often party into the night. Perhaps it comes from the fact that for a long time, life was short due to avalanches and monster attacks, not to mention disease and childbirth. When ShinRa bulled their way into the region — not that Nibelheim really put up much of a resistance — that changed, but the traditions didn’t. I guess you really can’t get rid of some things.
—Cloud’s journal, 3 November 469
When Zack thought about holding vigils, he thought about stories of the knights of old, staying up all night before important events, usually on their knees on cold stone.
Nibelheim vigils weren’t like that at all.
They were currently camped out in the apartment Tifa had moved into last month. Traditionally, they would have a fire on a stone floor, but as Tifa’s landlord would have been understandably upset, they made do by turning up the heat and sitting around a candle instead. Food was plentiful, but more traditional in nature — root vegetables, a flatbread that was almost like a cracker, smoked meats, a thick gravy, and some kind of apple and cinnamon concoction that was absolutely fantastic (it’d be amazing on ice cream, Zack was sure; he’d have to get the recipe). There were prayers at the beginning of the ceremony and again at midnight, but the rest of the time was spent talking. Much of the discussion revolved around Cloud, of course — it was the second anniversary of his death, after all — but it wasn’t necessary to only discuss him.
“…so then James Fira’ed Smithson’s ass. Smithson’s friends jumped in—”
“—and started a huge brawl,” Scott finished for his partner, “and now we’ve got half a dozen SOLDIERs out on disability for the next week.”
Zack shook his head in exasperation. “I know why Seph wants the partner program in place, but it. Is. Driving. Me. Crazy!”
“Short trip,” Tifa joked, refilling Zack’s glass.
“Must be payback for all those years you dragged him into Unspeakable Situations,” Paul put in with a grin.
“‘Unspeakable Situations’?” Aeris raised an eyebrow at the two Seconds.
“Zack’s pretty famous for them, even outside SOLDIER,” Arthur put in. “There’s one about Zack hiding out near a chocobo nest, and when the General came in, one of the hatchlings imprinted on him.” The entire group smiled at the mental image of Sephiroth being followed around by a chocobo chick. “And,” the specialist added, “the chocobo was pink."
“You’re not serious.” Tifa shook her head. “Whatever happened to it?”
Morgan shrugged. “Rumor never said.” Everyone’s eyes turned to Zack.
“Well, assuming such a thing did happen — and I’m not confirming anything, mind you — I imagine the chick would have been taken in by a careful stable hand somewhere very far away from the General until it was broken to saddle. It might have even gone on to win races at the Gold Saucer.”
Scott snorted. “Another reason the General avoids that place, then.”
“In all seriousness, though — this latest batch of pairs is proving very difficult.” Paul snagged a sausage. “I’m grateful for the pay raise being your assistants has netted us, but I miss the days when all we needed to worry about were monster hunts and whether or not I could afford the newest materia on the market.”
“I miss only having to deal with Seph’s paperwork and watching his back.” Zack sighed. “If it weren’t for you two I’d have to find a replacement aide for him.”
“That’d go over real well,” Scott and Paul chorused. The former continued, “I remember when you were assigned to Junon for a few months a couple years back. He went through eight aides in the space of six weeks. After that they just left the position empty until you came back.”
“To return to the partner thing,” Morgan interjected, “what about having Aeris and Tifa do a demonstration? They could model how much more effective the pair model is. I mean, if they could take down a Second or two…”
“They probably could,” Zack agreed, “but I’d hate to see what that might do for morale.” His Mako eyes shone with amusement at the thought, though.
“They might freak out over the sweet little gardener casting a Firaga, too.” Paul snickered.
Zack shook his head. “Tifa’s always been better with Fire materia than Aeris, but no one beats Aeris when it comes to healing,” he said. The two exchanged a look at that, but said nothing. “Now, we just need to pick out the right volunteers.”
“You mean victims,” Morgan said. “I have some suggestions; just let me invite the specialists to the party.” There was an unholy gleam in her eyes; Zack made a note to talk to his SOLDIERs about respectful treatment of coworkers.
“Cloud would have loved this,” Arthur mused aloud after some moments of silence.
“Cloud would have hated this,” Zack corrected, “or at least, he would have hated having to manage it.”
“Yeah, but he would’ve loved watching you tear your hair out over it.” Tifa smirked. “He’d’ve taken over your job and left you to your SOLDIERs’ tender mercies.”
“Ha! He’s more than welcome to the joy of exec board meetings, that’s for sure," Zack shot back. “Why we even have to go is beyond me — ‘s not like they really care what we say, and we haven’t had any major military campaigns since Wutai.”
“If you didn’t go, you’d just end up complaining when the board authorized something that cut your budget,” Aeris stated matter-of-factly.
“Point for Aeris.” Paul passed over his cup for some more hard cider, heated not by the fire but the stove in Tifa’s kitchenette.
“I’m getting the definite feeling that I’m getting ganged up on here,” Zack complained. The others only laughed.
A few hours later they wound things down, everyone pitching in on cleanup before departing for their own beds. Aeris, still living with her mother, left first. Morgan and Arthur split off before the rest of them reached the SOLDIER barracks. Zack slowed his pace a little, raising an eyebrow at his companions. “What?”
“Zack… Look, I don’t want to make you paranoid,” Scott began, “but we’ve noticed something weird about you lately — and so have Tifa and Aeris. It doesn’t crop up like all the time, but sometimes…”
“Sometimes you know stuff you shouldn’t,” Paul concluded. “Like the thing earlier where you said Tifa was better with Fire materia than Aeris… You’ve never worked with them on materia, right?”
Zack shook his head. “No, but—”
“But you were absolutely sure of it.”
A shrug. “Cloud must’ve mentioned it.”
Neither of the others seemed reassured by this. “Look, I know you two were close,” Paul said, “but you’ve been doing it more and more. And I doubt all this stuff is things Cloud just ‘mentioned.’”
“What else could it be?” Zack asked, feeling a bit miffed. “You’re making it sound like I’m possessed or something. That’s ridiculous.” Even as he said the words, though, he felt a little shiver down his spine. He didn’t like to think about it, but he had caught Sephiroth giving him concerned looks— and there were those pointed questions about things in his reports that he couldn’t remember where he’d learned them…
But what could be doing it? It couldn’t be Jenova. The rest of the SOLDIERs weren’t reacting that way. Though… thinking about it, Sephiroth had been acting odd from time to time himself — more emotional, more outgoing than was normal for him. Zack certainly appreciated it, but it was out of character…
“Look,” Scott finally said, “just be careful, all right? I know it’d be really weird for you to go unstable now, considering how long you’ve been a SOLDIER, but nobody wants to have to replace you.”
Paul nodded. “If something’s up, get some help, all right? We won’t mention it to the specialists.” The unspoken “yet” came through loud and clear. Zack hadn’t shown any destructive tendencies, but if he did, all bets were off.
“I’ll talk to Seph about it,” Zack promised. “We’ll both keep an eye on me.” Even if Sephiroth was showing odd behavior as well, the others wouldn’t have noticed. Most of those occasions he could think of had been in his quarters, anyway. Considering Sephiroth’s eye for detail he’d probably already noticed the issue, but it wouldn’t hurt to compare notes.
“Good,” Scott said firmly. He and Paul bid Zack their farewells and headed for their shared quarters. Zack followed a bit further behind, passing the Seconds’ level and the unranked Firsts, finally stopping at Sephiroth’s door. He pulled out his very illegitimate keycard and opened it. “Seph—”
“You’re back before I expected you to be.” Sephiroth appeared in the bedroom doorway, dressed in a white robe. In the darkness, he looked almost ghostly. Zack shivered. “Is something wrong?”
“Scott and Paul pointed something out to me.” Zack followed him back into the bedroom, shedding his clothing and weapons before climbing into the one true luxury in Sephiroth’s quarters — his king-sized bed, bought at Zack’s insistence a few years ago. “Have I been acting odd?”
A moment’s hesitation, then: “…from time to time.” Sephiroth placed a bookmark in the thick tome he’d been reading before laying it on the nighttable. “I’ve noticed that you seem to know information you shouldn’t.”
Just like they’d said. He nodded. “And you’ve sometimes been more outgoing than you usually are. Not with everyone — and not that I don’t appreciate it — but…”
“But it is odd,” Sephiroth agreed. “Have you noticed a loss of time? You’d been doing something and then look up, not remembering what you were doing for the last half hour or so?”
“I’m not really as conscious of time as you are, but now that you mention it…” Zack frowned. “Sometimes I’m doing work and I’ll reread some of my sentences and not remember writing them.” He pulled the covers up around his shoulders, old Gongagan legends of poltergeists circling through his head.
“I haven’t seen this phenomenon happening to anyone else.” Sephiroth’s face was serious. “If we’re the only two, then perhaps Jenova—”
Zack immediately shook his head. “Whenever this happens, it has good results. One thing that bitch was not was good, in any shape or fashion.”
“But it’s the only experience we have that even begins to correspond to this.”
“Yeah, but it feels all wrong, somehow.”
Sephiroth was silent for a long time. “…I spoke to Doctor Matheson last month,” he finally said. “He’s sending a team to the Icicle Inn area. It’s possible that some of Gast’s research might be there, in his last known location. Since Hojo’s has been mostly destroyed, that’s our most likely source of knowledge concerning Jenova… assuming they can find anything.”
Zack, who was at least passing familiar with Vincent’s report on the Sephiroth Project, even if he hadn’t pored over it as extensively as his friend, nodded in understanding. “For now, though, let’s keep an eye on each other. Just in case.”
Sephiroth nodded, then turned off the small light he’d been reading by. Zack closed his eyes and began counting chocobos. He didn’t want to think about what “just in case” would entail — for either of them.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
There are things about Aeris that truly puzzle me. Some of the things she can do without materia are just baffling. There isn’t a database of all of the limit breaks ever recorded — should mention it to Sephiroth or somebody, see if we can get one started — but hers are really weird. Most people’s are physical attacks, but hers are status-altering: healing, something like Esuna. And sometimes she just gets this look on her face like she knows something you don’t, but can’t tell you why. It’s more than a little creepy, honestly.
—Cloud’s journal, 10 July 471
“Sometimes I wish I’d gone to university,” Zack complained. “I’ve read this page three times and it still doesn’t make sense.”
“It wouldn’t have suited you.” Sephiroth frowned himself as he took down another section from the thick packet Matheson had given them. While the scientist had attempted to decipher some of the research, he was busy with his own job. Not willing to expose their true reasons for wanting the information, the two SOLDIERs had decided to slog through it on their own.
“Still. ‘Remarkably diverse cellular make-up,’ ‘viral replication method,’ ‘forms of mutation’ — this ain’t the kind of stuff they taught us back home.” He dropped the pile with a bang on the coffee table, slumping in his seat. “I’m not seeing anything that seems to fit our situation.”
“Nor I,” Sephiroth agreed. “But there is something interesting in the research on the Ancients.”
“I thought we were looking at files on Jenova.” Zack gave him a sharp look. “Have you been dumping the boring stuff on me?”
Sephiroth passed him a pile of papers no less thick than the one he’d just discarded. “I was skimming it because Matheson mentioned they were apparently the opposing force in a war against Jenova when the virus infected a significant population of the Northern Continent’s fauna. Most of Gast’s research is actually on them, not Jenova. It appears he shifted focus at some point.”
“So what got your attention, then?” Zack straightened. “You aren’t skimming now.”
The other man passed him the packet he’d been poring over. “Read that — the part about the characteristics associated with the Cetra, halfway down the page.”
Zack did so, a frown slowly crossing over his face. “‘Strong affinity with plants and/or wildlife, skilled with healing and purification, great talent with magic, uncanny intuition’ — Seph, this reads like a textbook guide to Aeris’s talents. Do you really think…?”
“It would explain why Hojo was so desperate to capture her.” Sephiroth tapped the pile in front of him. “This particular section deals with the Lifestream. Apparently the Ancients could speak with the spirits of the deceased. The details are somewhat unclear, but they were known to be able to tell when someone died, even if there was some distance between them.”
Zack’s eyes widened. “…That’s why she didn’t believe it for so long, about Cloud…”
Sephiroth nodded. “It also says some particularly powerful Cetra could lay the spirits of those who ‘walked the earth due to unresolved troubles’ to rest. The most powerful of these could communicate with the Summon Spirits.”
Zack whistled in admiration. “So… you think Aeris could talk whoever this is out of haunting us?”
“It would depend on the spirit,” Sephiroth noted. “I doubt Ms. Gainsborough could handle anything too powerful.”
Looking down at his packet of papers, remembering some of the fantastic descriptions of the Cetra masters healing miles-long tracts of land at a time, Zack had to agree. “Yeah… She’s probably only part Cetra. I mean, after this long, they were bound to mingle with humanity at some point.”
“Gast’s research certainly seems to imply that they’re capable of crossbreeding with humans,” Sephiroth agreed. “If nothing else, Ms. Gainsborough might be able to give us at least some idea of who or what is bothering us, if anything at all.”
Zack looked thoughtful. “You know…” He gestured at the list on the coffee table in Sephiroth's neat handwriting. “Everything we’ve come up with that the ‘ghost’ has done is helpful. And a lot of it was personal.”
“I agree. Also, very human-oriented — I imagine it’s a human spirit.”
“…I can’t believe we’re seriously discussing ghosts and spirits.”
“Professor Gast was a very wise man,” Sephiroth noted. “If he believed in such things, there must be some basis in it. He often said that hunches were subconscious evidence of truths we do not yet realize.”
“That’s mighty complex stuff for a kid to understand, Seph. No wonder you turned out so serious. Please tell me you at least had a chocobo doll as a young’un?” Zack ignored the cold look thrown his way. “Right, then. Let’s put it out there: We think Aeris is a Cetra, and we’re being haunted by a good, helpful spirit that only came up within the last year or two.” He ran a hand through his hair. “You know what that means — it has to be Cloud.”
“That does seem to be the most likely conclusion,” Sephiroth agreed. He stacked the papers neatly. “I want to make a copy of these, then I suggest we go and talk to our Cetra acquaintance.”
“A copy?”
“Some of the information might be pertinent to Ms. Gainsborough.”
“Good point,” Zack conceded. “Though, um… I think it’d be better to do this away from her mom. She’s real overprotective.”
“What do you suggest?”
“I’ll find out where she’s working today. Hopefully there won’t be anyone else around to make things awkward.”
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
“Never underestimate the power of stupid people in large groups” is one of V.’s favorite sayings. I’d like to add “never underestimate the power of friends in large groups.” People who care do amazing things for each other, even if they can get a bit out of hand. I’d rather have my friends along on a mission than the best weapon in the world. The weapon won’t watch my back for me.
—Cloud’s journal, 2 June 470
Zack couldn’t help noticing the looks they were getting. SOLDIERs didn’t belong in the MMG Project gardens when they were closed for— well, ‘tending’ might be a better term than ‘maintenance,’ but they couldn’t be kept out, as ShinRa employees with a great deal more power than any member of the project save its director. Personally, Zack was glad their reasons for being here were harmless; he had the distinct impression that they’d have a fight on their hands if they tried to harm Aeris.
“Ms. Gainsborough,” Sephiroth murmured as they approached.
The woman sat back on her heels and looked up at them, seemingly unsurprised by their appearance. “General,” she responded, inclining her head, all politeness. “Can I do something for you?”
“We have a few questions we would like to ask.”
Noting the way her shoulders tensed, Zack quickly added, “It’s about Cloud.”
Aeris immediately relaxed. “Let’s go over here — there are benches.”
They all took a seat, and Sephiroth, not one for pulling punches, got right to the point: “Ms. Gainsborough, we believe you are an Ancient.” Aeris stiffened, eyes flickering to the path away from the small alcove they were sitting in. Sephiroth continued, pinning her with his gaze, “Have you been able to hear Cloud in the Lifestream?”
“I’m sorry, I don’t know what you’re talking about,” she demurred.
Zack felt a twinge of pity for her with the look Sephiroth gave her. He knew it well, having been on the receiving end of it more than a few times himself — that steady stare that said louder than words “you can play that game all you like, but I don’t believe you and I’m more than willing to wait for the truth.”
He had to admire her fortitude, though; she lasted long enough that instead of waiting for a reply, Sephiroth continued. “We have experienced several instances of strange phenomenon that could be described as haunting. Upon researching the matter, we came across these documents by Professor Gast. The descriptions of the Cetra coincided quite neatly with your abilities.” His formality faded a bit as he held up a data disk. “There are also these: videos of a woman who bears a remarkable resemblance to you, dated about twenty-five years ago.”
“Mother…” Aeris whispered, staring at the disk.
Sephiroth handed it to her wordlessly, a hint of understanding in his eyes. He too, felt it necessary to cling to the few pieces he had of his past — Lucrecia Crescent’s file was carefully tucked away on his bookcase, hidden from the casual eye. “In any case,” he said, “we’d like to have Cloud’s spirit settled, so he can rest. While we appreciate his desire to continue to aid us, we would prefer he move on to whatever lies ahead of him.”
Aeris frowned… then sighed. “Give me a moment.” She slid off the bench, going to kneel on the ground, placing one hand flat against the earth in a nearby flowerbed. The two SOLDIERs went absolutely still, recognizing a look of concentration when they saw one. Zack doubted what she was trying to do was as easy as performing a particular tricky summon, either.
Finally, she shook her head, huffing in frustration as she sat back on her heels. “I can’t find him. I still can’t find him — I’ve never been able to find him. It’s always bothered me, and I’ve worried about him so much…” Aeris trailed off.
Silence ruled the area for a moment. “But— but it says that Cetra can always touch the dead!” Zack blurted. “And you knew him, so shouldn’t it be easier?”
“That’s why I didn’t want to accept it for so long; it didn’t make sense.” Aeris rose, and the SOLDIERs followed suit. “I thought I was losing my ability…”
“There’s only one option, then,” Sephiroth said decisively.
Zack stared at him. “…You can’t be serious. There’s no way that—”
“Nothing else makes sense.” Sephiroth shook his head. “Cloud must be alive.”
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Genre: General/Drama
Pairings: ZackxSeph, OCxOC, Assorted Past
Rating (Overall): PG-13
Warnings: None this chapter.
Summary: "I can’t believe we’re seriously discussing ghosts and spirits."
Disclaimer: Final Fantasy VII and all associated characters and symbols are the exclusive property of Square Enix and its associates. We’re just borrowing them for a while.
Chapter 42
Sephiroth is a cautious person. I’m not sure if it’s his nature or a side effect of his upbringing. While he can and will take drastic action when necessary, he prefers to think things out logically before beginning any campaign, whether military or social. This makes him somewhat easier to predict than Zack, though of course there are exceptions.
—Cloud’s journal, 15 August 471
One could call Sephiroth’s behavior paranoid.
Since that night he had comforted Zack on the first anniversary of Cloud’s death, he had found himself graying out from time to time. Not often, but usually when he found himself in a completely baffling situation — often with Zack involved. Just last week he had been pondering Zack’s birthday present, wandering around one of the shopping districts above the Plate with a growing sense of resignation, only to find himself heading back to his room about half an hour later, a new computer game and a detailed planner in a shopping bag.
He couldn’t remember picking them out.
Zack had been ecstatic; apparently the game was a sequel to another one that Cloud had introduced him to a few years back (it had been all the rage among the Seconds, who’d spent hours playing it in a grand tournament style for nearly four months). Zack had already set up brackets amongst the Seconds and even a few Firsts who’d proven amenable to the idea. Surprised, he had confided to Sephiroth that he hadn’t even known the game had been released.
The planner Sephiroth could understand — it’d be much more efficient than Zack’s current system of reminders. Zack spent a good three-fourths of his time on duty out of his office now, supervising SOLDIER teams, and his desk was covered with scattered sticky notes. But the game? He never would have thought of such a thing on his own.
He wasn’t alone in this, either. Zack had turned in the occasional report with odd phrasing or tidbits of knowledge that seemed beyond his purview, but when Sephiroth asked him about it he only got a blank look. Zack usually couldn’t recall exactly where he’d heard the information, but always passed it off as something he must have “heard somewhere around base.”
Sephiroth had cause to be concerned, of course. He’d been keeping an eye on other SOLDIERs since this had started, and none of them seemed to be experiencing the phenomenon. If it was something unique to Zack and himself, that meant it had to stem from something that set them apart from their peers.
The first thing that came to mind was their encounters with the alien lifeform the Science Department called “Jenova.” Considering both events had nearly ended in disaster, Sephiroth was more than concerned — he was downright worried, though admittedly all his lost-time periods and Zack’s flashes of insight were significantly more benign than the incidents which they had suffered through previously under Jenova’s manipulations.
It was testament to his concern that Sephiroth found himself voluntarily going to the one place he loathed more than any other: the ShinRa Science Department. He could feel the added tension in his muscles the moment he walked in the door. Even knowing that Hojo was dead by his own hand — and seeing little structural similarity due to the remodeling the company had undertaken after the chaos that had ensued in the wake of the doctor’s departure from his domain — he couldn’t shake the feeling.
“Ah, General Sephiroth. I’ll be with you in just a minute — my office is right there. Feel free to make yourself comfortable.” Professor Matheson waved one hand towards a room down the hall (a different one from where his predecessor had laired, Sephiroth noted) as he continued to… wrestle with a rather large plant. Logically, he knew that it had to be part of the MMG Project, and it was far more impressive than a “mere plant,” but after seeing Hojo work almost exclusively with “humans and other higher-thinking animals” it was odd to see ShinRa’s top scientist acting as a glorified gardener.
Sephiroth entered the indicated room and stood next to the chair in front of the desk, looking around. Matheson’s work space was somewhat cluttered, but not excessively so; beneath various reports he could see the desk was simple but made out of high-quality wood, a luxury here in Midgar. There wasn’t much decoration to the office, just a few photos on the walls. Sephiroth recognized Matheson’s daughter in her wedding dress, Specialist Dennett besides her. Another one looked like his daughter in a university gown — he seemed to recall Cloud mentioning that she had gone through university at the same time as specialist training, and if he was looking at the photo correctly she’d graduated with honors as well.
“I apologize for keeping you waiting, General,” came the voice of his host, interrupting his thoughts, “but we needed those results today.” Matheson took the seat on the other side of the desk. “Now, you mentioned something you wanted to talk about? In person?”
Sephiroth cut straight to the point. “How is your research concerning Jenova progressing?”
Matheson pursed his lips. “Not as well as I’d like. With so few samples — all of which are lab-grown — and next to no data, we are having quite a bit of trouble determining a way to detect it, short of placing SOLDIERs in various spots about the world until they begin showing uncharacteristic behavior.”
A nod. “Have you made any progress on finding a way to shield us from the outside influence?”
“Not really,” Matheson said regretfully. “Jenova is part of what makes you a SOLDIER. If I had to guess, I’d suggest looking into the Cetra— I’m sorry, the Ancients in the vernacular, but Cetra is the term they used to describe themselves. Some of the information we’ve been able to dig up on them depicts them as the antithesis of Jenova. There’s very little research in that area, as they died out so long ago. In fact, in some of the earliest research we still have on Jenova, they misidentified her as a Cetra, but the Ancients supposedly had quite different powers from what we’ve seen with Jenova. I know Hojo did research on both, but there’s not much of his findings left. He was always exceedingly efficient at ensuring his research didn’t fall into the wrong hands — that is, anyone’s but his.”
Sephiroth digested this silently for a moment, then ventured, “Professor Gast, Hojo’s predecessor, was said to be involved in the Jenova Project…”
“Yes, but much of his work has also been lost. Though…” Here Matheson looked thoughtful. “He did leave headquarters to do some work up north — I could see if we could track down the exact location. It wouldn’t be impossible that he might have left some notes there. Gast was known for hiding things so others could find them if they looked hard enough, though Hojo never seemed to dig for it. He mostly destroyed anything filed with the company, though we did find one of his journals in the Nibelheim ruins.”
“Do so, please,” Sephiroth requested. “If you need any SOLDIERs to accompany your researchers—”
The scientist thought for a moment. “…We’ll need at least a few Seconds, maybe a First. Preferably some of your… more sensitive subordinates? I don’t want my people feeling harassed because of a lack of fitness, perceived or otherwise.” He raised his eyebrows.
Sephiroth knew what he meant. Some SOLDIERs developed a certain sense of superiority because of their enhancements. Coupled with a dislike of scientists in general — every SOLDIER’s transition was a painful thing — some friction between the two groups was almost inevitable. “I’ll see to it that we select some with discretion.” He’d have Zack double-check his choices, too.
Matheson nodded. “I expect we’ll be ready sometime next week. I’ll send you the details on the team when I finish assembling them.”
Knowing a dismissal when he heard one, Sephiroth nodded at his host and took himself out. He resolved to keep an eye on his grayouts. For now they seemed almost helpful, but if that changed… he’d just have to take steps.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
Nibelheim traditions are weird. For the most solemn of times, we often party into the night. Perhaps it comes from the fact that for a long time, life was short due to avalanches and monster attacks, not to mention disease and childbirth. When ShinRa bulled their way into the region — not that Nibelheim really put up much of a resistance — that changed, but the traditions didn’t. I guess you really can’t get rid of some things.
—Cloud’s journal, 3 November 469
When Zack thought about holding vigils, he thought about stories of the knights of old, staying up all night before important events, usually on their knees on cold stone.
Nibelheim vigils weren’t like that at all.
They were currently camped out in the apartment Tifa had moved into last month. Traditionally, they would have a fire on a stone floor, but as Tifa’s landlord would have been understandably upset, they made do by turning up the heat and sitting around a candle instead. Food was plentiful, but more traditional in nature — root vegetables, a flatbread that was almost like a cracker, smoked meats, a thick gravy, and some kind of apple and cinnamon concoction that was absolutely fantastic (it’d be amazing on ice cream, Zack was sure; he’d have to get the recipe). There were prayers at the beginning of the ceremony and again at midnight, but the rest of the time was spent talking. Much of the discussion revolved around Cloud, of course — it was the second anniversary of his death, after all — but it wasn’t necessary to only discuss him.
“…so then James Fira’ed Smithson’s ass. Smithson’s friends jumped in—”
“—and started a huge brawl,” Scott finished for his partner, “and now we’ve got half a dozen SOLDIERs out on disability for the next week.”
Zack shook his head in exasperation. “I know why Seph wants the partner program in place, but it. Is. Driving. Me. Crazy!”
“Short trip,” Tifa joked, refilling Zack’s glass.
“Must be payback for all those years you dragged him into Unspeakable Situations,” Paul put in with a grin.
“‘Unspeakable Situations’?” Aeris raised an eyebrow at the two Seconds.
“Zack’s pretty famous for them, even outside SOLDIER,” Arthur put in. “There’s one about Zack hiding out near a chocobo nest, and when the General came in, one of the hatchlings imprinted on him.” The entire group smiled at the mental image of Sephiroth being followed around by a chocobo chick. “And,” the specialist added, “the chocobo was pink."
“You’re not serious.” Tifa shook her head. “Whatever happened to it?”
Morgan shrugged. “Rumor never said.” Everyone’s eyes turned to Zack.
“Well, assuming such a thing did happen — and I’m not confirming anything, mind you — I imagine the chick would have been taken in by a careful stable hand somewhere very far away from the General until it was broken to saddle. It might have even gone on to win races at the Gold Saucer.”
Scott snorted. “Another reason the General avoids that place, then.”
“In all seriousness, though — this latest batch of pairs is proving very difficult.” Paul snagged a sausage. “I’m grateful for the pay raise being your assistants has netted us, but I miss the days when all we needed to worry about were monster hunts and whether or not I could afford the newest materia on the market.”
“I miss only having to deal with Seph’s paperwork and watching his back.” Zack sighed. “If it weren’t for you two I’d have to find a replacement aide for him.”
“That’d go over real well,” Scott and Paul chorused. The former continued, “I remember when you were assigned to Junon for a few months a couple years back. He went through eight aides in the space of six weeks. After that they just left the position empty until you came back.”
“To return to the partner thing,” Morgan interjected, “what about having Aeris and Tifa do a demonstration? They could model how much more effective the pair model is. I mean, if they could take down a Second or two…”
“They probably could,” Zack agreed, “but I’d hate to see what that might do for morale.” His Mako eyes shone with amusement at the thought, though.
“They might freak out over the sweet little gardener casting a Firaga, too.” Paul snickered.
Zack shook his head. “Tifa’s always been better with Fire materia than Aeris, but no one beats Aeris when it comes to healing,” he said. The two exchanged a look at that, but said nothing. “Now, we just need to pick out the right volunteers.”
“You mean victims,” Morgan said. “I have some suggestions; just let me invite the specialists to the party.” There was an unholy gleam in her eyes; Zack made a note to talk to his SOLDIERs about respectful treatment of coworkers.
“Cloud would have loved this,” Arthur mused aloud after some moments of silence.
“Cloud would have hated this,” Zack corrected, “or at least, he would have hated having to manage it.”
“Yeah, but he would’ve loved watching you tear your hair out over it.” Tifa smirked. “He’d’ve taken over your job and left you to your SOLDIERs’ tender mercies.”
“Ha! He’s more than welcome to the joy of exec board meetings, that’s for sure," Zack shot back. “Why we even have to go is beyond me — ‘s not like they really care what we say, and we haven’t had any major military campaigns since Wutai.”
“If you didn’t go, you’d just end up complaining when the board authorized something that cut your budget,” Aeris stated matter-of-factly.
“Point for Aeris.” Paul passed over his cup for some more hard cider, heated not by the fire but the stove in Tifa’s kitchenette.
“I’m getting the definite feeling that I’m getting ganged up on here,” Zack complained. The others only laughed.
A few hours later they wound things down, everyone pitching in on cleanup before departing for their own beds. Aeris, still living with her mother, left first. Morgan and Arthur split off before the rest of them reached the SOLDIER barracks. Zack slowed his pace a little, raising an eyebrow at his companions. “What?”
“Zack… Look, I don’t want to make you paranoid,” Scott began, “but we’ve noticed something weird about you lately — and so have Tifa and Aeris. It doesn’t crop up like all the time, but sometimes…”
“Sometimes you know stuff you shouldn’t,” Paul concluded. “Like the thing earlier where you said Tifa was better with Fire materia than Aeris… You’ve never worked with them on materia, right?”
Zack shook his head. “No, but—”
“But you were absolutely sure of it.”
A shrug. “Cloud must’ve mentioned it.”
Neither of the others seemed reassured by this. “Look, I know you two were close,” Paul said, “but you’ve been doing it more and more. And I doubt all this stuff is things Cloud just ‘mentioned.’”
“What else could it be?” Zack asked, feeling a bit miffed. “You’re making it sound like I’m possessed or something. That’s ridiculous.” Even as he said the words, though, he felt a little shiver down his spine. He didn’t like to think about it, but he had caught Sephiroth giving him concerned looks— and there were those pointed questions about things in his reports that he couldn’t remember where he’d learned them…
But what could be doing it? It couldn’t be Jenova. The rest of the SOLDIERs weren’t reacting that way. Though… thinking about it, Sephiroth had been acting odd from time to time himself — more emotional, more outgoing than was normal for him. Zack certainly appreciated it, but it was out of character…
“Look,” Scott finally said, “just be careful, all right? I know it’d be really weird for you to go unstable now, considering how long you’ve been a SOLDIER, but nobody wants to have to replace you.”
Paul nodded. “If something’s up, get some help, all right? We won’t mention it to the specialists.” The unspoken “yet” came through loud and clear. Zack hadn’t shown any destructive tendencies, but if he did, all bets were off.
“I’ll talk to Seph about it,” Zack promised. “We’ll both keep an eye on me.” Even if Sephiroth was showing odd behavior as well, the others wouldn’t have noticed. Most of those occasions he could think of had been in his quarters, anyway. Considering Sephiroth’s eye for detail he’d probably already noticed the issue, but it wouldn’t hurt to compare notes.
“Good,” Scott said firmly. He and Paul bid Zack their farewells and headed for their shared quarters. Zack followed a bit further behind, passing the Seconds’ level and the unranked Firsts, finally stopping at Sephiroth’s door. He pulled out his very illegitimate keycard and opened it. “Seph—”
“You’re back before I expected you to be.” Sephiroth appeared in the bedroom doorway, dressed in a white robe. In the darkness, he looked almost ghostly. Zack shivered. “Is something wrong?”
“Scott and Paul pointed something out to me.” Zack followed him back into the bedroom, shedding his clothing and weapons before climbing into the one true luxury in Sephiroth’s quarters — his king-sized bed, bought at Zack’s insistence a few years ago. “Have I been acting odd?”
A moment’s hesitation, then: “…from time to time.” Sephiroth placed a bookmark in the thick tome he’d been reading before laying it on the nighttable. “I’ve noticed that you seem to know information you shouldn’t.”
Just like they’d said. He nodded. “And you’ve sometimes been more outgoing than you usually are. Not with everyone — and not that I don’t appreciate it — but…”
“But it is odd,” Sephiroth agreed. “Have you noticed a loss of time? You’d been doing something and then look up, not remembering what you were doing for the last half hour or so?”
“I’m not really as conscious of time as you are, but now that you mention it…” Zack frowned. “Sometimes I’m doing work and I’ll reread some of my sentences and not remember writing them.” He pulled the covers up around his shoulders, old Gongagan legends of poltergeists circling through his head.
“I haven’t seen this phenomenon happening to anyone else.” Sephiroth’s face was serious. “If we’re the only two, then perhaps Jenova—”
Zack immediately shook his head. “Whenever this happens, it has good results. One thing that bitch was not was good, in any shape or fashion.”
“But it’s the only experience we have that even begins to correspond to this.”
“Yeah, but it feels all wrong, somehow.”
Sephiroth was silent for a long time. “…I spoke to Doctor Matheson last month,” he finally said. “He’s sending a team to the Icicle Inn area. It’s possible that some of Gast’s research might be there, in his last known location. Since Hojo’s has been mostly destroyed, that’s our most likely source of knowledge concerning Jenova… assuming they can find anything.”
Zack, who was at least passing familiar with Vincent’s report on the Sephiroth Project, even if he hadn’t pored over it as extensively as his friend, nodded in understanding. “For now, though, let’s keep an eye on each other. Just in case.”
Sephiroth nodded, then turned off the small light he’d been reading by. Zack closed his eyes and began counting chocobos. He didn’t want to think about what “just in case” would entail — for either of them.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
There are things about Aeris that truly puzzle me. Some of the things she can do without materia are just baffling. There isn’t a database of all of the limit breaks ever recorded — should mention it to Sephiroth or somebody, see if we can get one started — but hers are really weird. Most people’s are physical attacks, but hers are status-altering: healing, something like Esuna. And sometimes she just gets this look on her face like she knows something you don’t, but can’t tell you why. It’s more than a little creepy, honestly.
—Cloud’s journal, 10 July 471
“Sometimes I wish I’d gone to university,” Zack complained. “I’ve read this page three times and it still doesn’t make sense.”
“It wouldn’t have suited you.” Sephiroth frowned himself as he took down another section from the thick packet Matheson had given them. While the scientist had attempted to decipher some of the research, he was busy with his own job. Not willing to expose their true reasons for wanting the information, the two SOLDIERs had decided to slog through it on their own.
“Still. ‘Remarkably diverse cellular make-up,’ ‘viral replication method,’ ‘forms of mutation’ — this ain’t the kind of stuff they taught us back home.” He dropped the pile with a bang on the coffee table, slumping in his seat. “I’m not seeing anything that seems to fit our situation.”
“Nor I,” Sephiroth agreed. “But there is something interesting in the research on the Ancients.”
“I thought we were looking at files on Jenova.” Zack gave him a sharp look. “Have you been dumping the boring stuff on me?”
Sephiroth passed him a pile of papers no less thick than the one he’d just discarded. “I was skimming it because Matheson mentioned they were apparently the opposing force in a war against Jenova when the virus infected a significant population of the Northern Continent’s fauna. Most of Gast’s research is actually on them, not Jenova. It appears he shifted focus at some point.”
“So what got your attention, then?” Zack straightened. “You aren’t skimming now.”
The other man passed him the packet he’d been poring over. “Read that — the part about the characteristics associated with the Cetra, halfway down the page.”
Zack did so, a frown slowly crossing over his face. “‘Strong affinity with plants and/or wildlife, skilled with healing and purification, great talent with magic, uncanny intuition’ — Seph, this reads like a textbook guide to Aeris’s talents. Do you really think…?”
“It would explain why Hojo was so desperate to capture her.” Sephiroth tapped the pile in front of him. “This particular section deals with the Lifestream. Apparently the Ancients could speak with the spirits of the deceased. The details are somewhat unclear, but they were known to be able to tell when someone died, even if there was some distance between them.”
Zack’s eyes widened. “…That’s why she didn’t believe it for so long, about Cloud…”
Sephiroth nodded. “It also says some particularly powerful Cetra could lay the spirits of those who ‘walked the earth due to unresolved troubles’ to rest. The most powerful of these could communicate with the Summon Spirits.”
Zack whistled in admiration. “So… you think Aeris could talk whoever this is out of haunting us?”
“It would depend on the spirit,” Sephiroth noted. “I doubt Ms. Gainsborough could handle anything too powerful.”
Looking down at his packet of papers, remembering some of the fantastic descriptions of the Cetra masters healing miles-long tracts of land at a time, Zack had to agree. “Yeah… She’s probably only part Cetra. I mean, after this long, they were bound to mingle with humanity at some point.”
“Gast’s research certainly seems to imply that they’re capable of crossbreeding with humans,” Sephiroth agreed. “If nothing else, Ms. Gainsborough might be able to give us at least some idea of who or what is bothering us, if anything at all.”
Zack looked thoughtful. “You know…” He gestured at the list on the coffee table in Sephiroth's neat handwriting. “Everything we’ve come up with that the ‘ghost’ has done is helpful. And a lot of it was personal.”
“I agree. Also, very human-oriented — I imagine it’s a human spirit.”
“…I can’t believe we’re seriously discussing ghosts and spirits.”
“Professor Gast was a very wise man,” Sephiroth noted. “If he believed in such things, there must be some basis in it. He often said that hunches were subconscious evidence of truths we do not yet realize.”
“That’s mighty complex stuff for a kid to understand, Seph. No wonder you turned out so serious. Please tell me you at least had a chocobo doll as a young’un?” Zack ignored the cold look thrown his way. “Right, then. Let’s put it out there: We think Aeris is a Cetra, and we’re being haunted by a good, helpful spirit that only came up within the last year or two.” He ran a hand through his hair. “You know what that means — it has to be Cloud.”
“That does seem to be the most likely conclusion,” Sephiroth agreed. He stacked the papers neatly. “I want to make a copy of these, then I suggest we go and talk to our Cetra acquaintance.”
“A copy?”
“Some of the information might be pertinent to Ms. Gainsborough.”
“Good point,” Zack conceded. “Though, um… I think it’d be better to do this away from her mom. She’s real overprotective.”
“What do you suggest?”
“I’ll find out where she’s working today. Hopefully there won’t be anyone else around to make things awkward.”
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
“Never underestimate the power of stupid people in large groups” is one of V.’s favorite sayings. I’d like to add “never underestimate the power of friends in large groups.” People who care do amazing things for each other, even if they can get a bit out of hand. I’d rather have my friends along on a mission than the best weapon in the world. The weapon won’t watch my back for me.
—Cloud’s journal, 2 June 470
Zack couldn’t help noticing the looks they were getting. SOLDIERs didn’t belong in the MMG Project gardens when they were closed for— well, ‘tending’ might be a better term than ‘maintenance,’ but they couldn’t be kept out, as ShinRa employees with a great deal more power than any member of the project save its director. Personally, Zack was glad their reasons for being here were harmless; he had the distinct impression that they’d have a fight on their hands if they tried to harm Aeris.
“Ms. Gainsborough,” Sephiroth murmured as they approached.
The woman sat back on her heels and looked up at them, seemingly unsurprised by their appearance. “General,” she responded, inclining her head, all politeness. “Can I do something for you?”
“We have a few questions we would like to ask.”
Noting the way her shoulders tensed, Zack quickly added, “It’s about Cloud.”
Aeris immediately relaxed. “Let’s go over here — there are benches.”
They all took a seat, and Sephiroth, not one for pulling punches, got right to the point: “Ms. Gainsborough, we believe you are an Ancient.” Aeris stiffened, eyes flickering to the path away from the small alcove they were sitting in. Sephiroth continued, pinning her with his gaze, “Have you been able to hear Cloud in the Lifestream?”
“I’m sorry, I don’t know what you’re talking about,” she demurred.
Zack felt a twinge of pity for her with the look Sephiroth gave her. He knew it well, having been on the receiving end of it more than a few times himself — that steady stare that said louder than words “you can play that game all you like, but I don’t believe you and I’m more than willing to wait for the truth.”
He had to admire her fortitude, though; she lasted long enough that instead of waiting for a reply, Sephiroth continued. “We have experienced several instances of strange phenomenon that could be described as haunting. Upon researching the matter, we came across these documents by Professor Gast. The descriptions of the Cetra coincided quite neatly with your abilities.” His formality faded a bit as he held up a data disk. “There are also these: videos of a woman who bears a remarkable resemblance to you, dated about twenty-five years ago.”
“Mother…” Aeris whispered, staring at the disk.
Sephiroth handed it to her wordlessly, a hint of understanding in his eyes. He too, felt it necessary to cling to the few pieces he had of his past — Lucrecia Crescent’s file was carefully tucked away on his bookcase, hidden from the casual eye. “In any case,” he said, “we’d like to have Cloud’s spirit settled, so he can rest. While we appreciate his desire to continue to aid us, we would prefer he move on to whatever lies ahead of him.”
Aeris frowned… then sighed. “Give me a moment.” She slid off the bench, going to kneel on the ground, placing one hand flat against the earth in a nearby flowerbed. The two SOLDIERs went absolutely still, recognizing a look of concentration when they saw one. Zack doubted what she was trying to do was as easy as performing a particular tricky summon, either.
Finally, she shook her head, huffing in frustration as she sat back on her heels. “I can’t find him. I still can’t find him — I’ve never been able to find him. It’s always bothered me, and I’ve worried about him so much…” Aeris trailed off.
Silence ruled the area for a moment. “But— but it says that Cetra can always touch the dead!” Zack blurted. “And you knew him, so shouldn’t it be easier?”
“That’s why I didn’t want to accept it for so long; it didn’t make sense.” Aeris rose, and the SOLDIERs followed suit. “I thought I was losing my ability…”
“There’s only one option, then,” Sephiroth said decisively.
Zack stared at him. “…You can’t be serious. There’s no way that—”
“Nothing else makes sense.” Sephiroth shook his head. “Cloud must be alive.”
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