A/N: Remember to look at the dates on the chapters

Chapter 2: Year 1 Day 1

When Sephiroth first began to realize that life in the labs and placed in the care of his father, Hojo, was horribly miserable and terrifying, he was four. He was young, too young to have such realizations, and it was, in a way, completely abnormal. He didn't act like a child, far from it, too mature and too robotic. He had grown up in the labs, grown used to the individuals surrounding him and the harshness he had been forced to deal with continuously, and he had adapted. In that matter, he was considered a genius. He learned information too quickly, absorbing it within seconds of reading, and organized it into categorizes within his mind so that he can pull it out later or at a moment's notice. It had been Professor Gast originally that had placed these little nudging thoughts in his head, observing the man's happiness and merriment towards others, his gentle touches of kindness, and his warm words spoken with the thrill of life.

But when Sephiroth would peer at the man that called himself his father, he just...stared. There was no love, no adoration, no nothing. It was unlike how Professor Gast exposed to him on multiple occasions and it made him realize things a normal child couldn't.

He hated it here. He hated the tests they did on him. He hated the needles, the various equipment that beeped angrily at him, and the stuff he was forced to take that made him sick. He despised the color of green and white. He was sick of the twisted grins on the scientists that spoke words promising pain. He was tired of his father that wanted him to follow all his orders. He was sick of everything. Sephiroth hated this retched place. He wanted out. He wanted to be outside these four walls, away from the doctors that laughed at him and caused him pain.

At four years old, he wanted to be free.

He wanted to run away.

Though he was a child, he still had the capability to plot and plan. He knew which scientist was lacking in security, which one was a little kinder than the others, which one was most likely to turn away from him when the man thought he was doing nothing. It was easy and within a month's time, he had slipped out during the morning at bath time when everyone was exhausted, too tired from the late night experimenting and data collection. Security hardly existed, too comfortable with their lazing duties.

It had been too easy.

The only problem was that he hadn't thought much on what he would do once he had gotten out. He knew nothing of the outside world, absolutely nothing, and that was something Hojo had purposefully instilled. It was a sure way to prevent Sephiroth from straying too far because the child, knowing nothing and unable to do anything, would eventually return. Still, that didn't stop the silver-haired boy from wandering into the surrounding forest, driven by the desire to get as far as possible, to be free despite the nagging echo of a voice belonging to his father that said: 'You'll would never be free from me'.

So he ran and ran, ignoring the sharp twigs that would scratch his tender skin or the rocks that scrapped the soles of his feet. He ignored the bitter coldness, the burning of his lungs, and especially the danger surrounding Nibel Mountains (not that he knew anything about them). All residents of Nibelheim knew of the perilous monsters that dwelled in the range, vicious creatures that devoured any wayward human that stepped into their territory.

Sephiroth didn't realize how dreadful things had gotten until his right arm got snagged by a low branch, hard enough for him to crumble to the snow-covered earth. It was there he glanced back, eyeing the lab in the distance and then his surroundings. Nothing. There was nothing but endless white and green and cold. In a normal timeline, he would have reluctantly spun around and head back, defeated, broken, and accepting of his resulting fate. Hojo would have created a more thorough lockdown on his cage, never allowing the boy to escape his grasp again and, in turn, create the Sephiroth that most timelines knew. But here, he stubbornly refused. He kept going and continued to ignore the cold snow piling at his feet as he climbed the lower edges of the mountains. Eventually, his steps began to slow as exhaustion settled into his aching limbs, never noticing the danger stalking behind. When he finally stilled, the famous Nibel wolves took that single moment to make their appearance.

Sephiroth realized the danger when his mind could make out those glowing yellow eyes in the surrounding darkness and immediately forced himself to continue moving, refusing to stop. However, his sluggish movements left him crawling at a snail's pace, trudging through thick snow. His enhanced hearing could pick up the hungry growls of the wolves in the stillness, could feel their burning eyes resting on his prone body. Tiny droplets of blood decorated his pale body from previous scrapes (wounds mostly healed by his unnatural body), his white tattered dress-like tunic ripped to shambles (which provided absolutely no protection from the cold) and was dyed in color. The alluring scent of blood and warm flesh drew the creatures in like a moth to a flame and made their mouths watered at the hinted taste Sephiroth left behind.

The child was prepared to fight. He had been trained to since he was a baby. He had the power, the enhancements, to back it up. In a restricted setting in the labs, he had faced creatures like this before and had survived. However, that was controlled. He never had to deal with fatigue and outside weather elements. His eyes calculated the surrounding pack of wolves, numbering eleven in total, and his chances of escaping. Honestly, it didn't look good, but he was stubborn by nature.

Just as he gathered enough energy to make an attempted smack with his bare fists, the wolves struck first and all at once. Sephiroth flinched and knew. He wouldn't get a chance to dodge, to do anything. His life would be over in seconds, torn to pieces by sharp jagged teeth, and yet...those seconds never came.

There was a streak of black, yellow, and something silver reflecting in the snow before Sephiroth picked up the sounds of something being cleaved in two. There was red splattering everywhere and a bitter groan. The child watched as three of the wolves were chopped in half and blinked once to find four more dead. The figure before him remained still, standing before him protectively while cutting him off from the monsters. Sephiroth couldn't make out the person's face, the man's back turned to him, but the child could see the abnormally spiky blond hair that stood out amongst the white and green background. The clothes were black in color with a turtleneck sleeveless shirt, baggy pants, boots, and a side leather cloth covering his left leg and arm. There were numerous belts and a left shoulder guard included. Sephiroth could barely make out a buckle with the shape of a wolf's head, half covered by the shoulder guard. When the man shifted slightly in stance to watch the wolves, the thing that stood out the most (besides the hair) was the massive weapon the man was wielding. The child stared both in wonder and fear.

He couldn't help the lingering thought of the man's sudden appearance: Could he have been sent to take him back? Could his father have known about his plans?

Sephiroth didn't get much time to dwell on the idea before his vision lost focus. Apparently, all his exhaustion was coming back to haunt him in that one moment. Before he knew it, he was burying his face into the ice cold snow with his eyes closing shut. He made a small muffled groan in defeat and for a split second, he thought he heard someone calling out to him.

Sephiroth twitched as his consciousness slowly crept awake. He felt...warm and...cozy? He twitched again, knowing that couldn't be right. The labs had never felt like that. It was cold, hard, lifeless, and the room always smelled bitterly of sterile rubbing alcohol. Right now, the scent of burning wood overpowered everything in the warm air. Sniffing a little more, he picked up something...scrumptious. His body felt wrapped tightly in a blanket of some sort and he could hear the crackling of wood, the shuffling of clothes close by, and the whistling of wind in the distance.

It was nothing compared to the labs he knew far too well. Everything felt different, the complete opposite of what he was raised in. Slowly, Sephiroth shuffled in the wrapped sheets and eventually opened his eyes. The first thing he noticed was that it was dark with the only light being the open lit fire that was only a foot or two away from his position. It wasn't bright and overwhelmingly white like he had expected with his father hovering over him with a sneer. He wasn't strapped down, didn't have machines surrounding him, and didn't have needles sliding into his skin. He was deeply grateful for that.

"Ah, you're awake."

Sephiroth's green eyes snapped towards the bearer of the voice. His memories of before with the wolves came rushing back and he straightened his posture, tumbling slightly within the sheets. The silver-haired child blinked curiously as he focused on said blankets. They weren't materials he was used to: a flimsy white sheet that barely protected his body from the coldness of the room. No, he was met with soft fur that looked familiarly like the wolves had. Sephiroth blinked again, curiously running his fingers over the material and watched in glee as the individual strands of hair slid in-between his digits.

All a while, the blond-haired man watched from the opposite side of the fire with sharp bright blue eyes that glowed unnaturally in the dark. The orange light of the fire reflected along the edges and casted shadows within his hair. Eventually, his lips twitched ever so slightly as if amused by the sight before him, the sight of Sephiroth acting like a curious child. "It's wolf's fur." Sephiroth peered up inquisitively with his fingers still clutching the material. He didn't speak up though and the blond didn't seem deterred by his back of response. "Since you collapsed, I had to carry you back to my base."

Said base consisted of a large cave that looked somewhat lived in. There were numerous furs bundled in one corner and leather skin that belonged to another animal that Sephiroth didn't recognize in another. Behind the blond was another set of furs that was laid out for a makeshift bed, much like the one he was on. Hanging on the walls was dried herbs, veggies, and meat, carefully covered to prevent lingering scents. There were a few accessories for cleaning, various knives and gloves, and other little things Sephiroth couldn't quite recognize. The man had obviously been living here for a while. The inner of the cave was mostly closed off except for the narrow opening at the very top (the boy could feel a bitter chill battling against the rising heat) and, on the other end that lead outside, the child could see piled snow covering the entrance, containing heat within the cave.

The man leaned forward, grabbing a stick from a gathered pile of wood to shuffle the burning fire. Little flickers of ember scattered in the air. "I've already treated your wounds. I'm amazed you actually got that far bare foot and wearing that."

Sephiroth immediately peered down at himself. He felt no pain, no stinging of any sort. The cuts and scrapes all over his body were completely gone, perfectly pale pink in shade. No evidence of what had occurred to him was left except for his rugged oversized tunic covered in dried blood and strung barely together from the various rips. Almost immediately, Sephiroth yanked the fur closer around his body, attempting to cover as much skin as possible with a small tinge of red decorating his cheeks in embarrassment.

When the child didn't reply, the blond sighed, closing his eyes shut for a few seconds before shuffling to grab a few things behind him. "You thirsty?"

The man held a metal canteen of water and jiggled it slightly for the boy to hear the swish of liquid inside. Sephiroth didn't move at first, distrust burning in his green eyes as he continued to stare. Strangely, the blond didn't seem deterred by the gaze and simply opened the cap, taking a drink himself before reoffering. "It's not poisoned or anything. I didn't save you just to do so afterwards."

"Are you with Father?"

The man blinked at the sudden question, the first time Sephiroth had spoken. The boy himself looked actually surprised by his own words. He had planned on being quiet, knowing it was normally easier this way when dealing with adults. Talking meant they could do further testing on his abilities.

The blond tilted his head. "Father?"

Sephiroth watched as the man then raise an eyebrow as if considering something.

"Who?"

That was a 'no' and the silver-haired child shook his head. He eyed the canteen, his throat dry and raw. Carefully, he outstretched his hand and took it, finding it somewhat heavy in weight. He eyed the darkened insides before taking a hesitant sip. It tasted like...water. There wasn't anything flavorful or bitter about it, unlike the stuff he had been forced to take in the labs. Just water (unknown to him, he was immune to most poisons anyway). With that out of the way, he began swallowing large gulps, relishing in the cool sensation it brought to the burn in the back of his throat. He ignored the way the furs slid down his shoulders.

The man spoke again once Sephiroth settled, the boy having replenished some of his lost fluids from his escape. "My name is Cloud. Cloud Strife. What's yours?"

The boy blinked once, tilting his head in question. With a twitch of fingers along canteen, he spoke, "Sephiroth..."

Cloud nodded. "Well, Sephiroth, are you hungry?" He motioned to the fire where the child finally noticed the skewered sticks of thinly chopped cubes of meat that were hovering a few inches above the flames. He had never noticed, too focused on his surroundings and the stranger sitting before him. The child took a cautious sniff of the air, realizing that the previous delicious scent had been wafting from the meat. Cloud reached over to take one off the makeshift rack and carefully pulled the chopped cubes aside, placing them in the center of a clean slab of rock between them. "It's wolf meat. You were out for most of the day so I had plenty of time on my hands."

Taking one of the pieces, Cloud simply chucked it into his mouth and chewed, unbothered by the stare he was receiving in return. "I don't have any fancy spices or anything like that out here so I had to make due. The herbs I have currently aren't for that purpose." He motioned behind him where the dried vegetation lined the wall.

Sephiroth could feel his stomach growling at the thought of actual food, not that disgusting slob they had been feeding him since he remembered. This one looked...good. Everything in the labs had tasted bland and repulsive and there was never enough for his endless appetite. Unable to help himself, he stuffed his face, finding the flavor bursting on the tips of his tongue. Luckily, the meat had time to cool and within seconds, Sephiroth had greedily devoured everything before him. It was only afterwards that he realized what he had done. He had never been allowed such freedom in the labs, not without punishment, and he had done something that would have earned him broken bones back home.

His green eyes peered over the blond curiously, trying to read his expression, but Cloud remained blank. Biting down on his bottom lip, Sephiroth figured it was safer to say something first. "I-I'm sorry. I didn't mean to eat everything." His voice cracked out of fear, staring up at the stranger as if Cloud would turn against him like all the adults in his life had.

All the blond did was raise an eyebrow before shrugging. "Sorry? What for? You were hungry." Cloud went for the remaining three skewers, carefully tugging off the meat. "And I have plenty anyway. These were meant for you whenever you woke up anyway."

The silver-haired child went silent, eyeing the food hungrily. He didn't act on impulse this time, unsure of his newfound situation. He had never been given such freedom before. He didn't know how to behave now that he had it. "You're not...going to punish me for eating everything?"

Cloud froze at the word 'punish', his gloved finger hovering above a cube questionably. "Punish? Why would I punish you for something like that?"

"Father..." Sephiroth paused, skirting closer into the safety if his blankets. "Father always punished me. He said I have to be perfect. If I don't follow his direction or rules, he punishes me."

There was an unsettling silence that followed before Cloud finally reacted, taking the time to examine the boy closely from across the fire. "Sephiroth, how old are you?"

"Four."

"Four?!" Cloud's eyes morphed into an expression the child couldn't quite recognize. "You don't act like you're four. And he's punishing you for being a child..." Turning away to prevent the boy from seeing the flash of hatred in his sky blue eyes, Cloud sneered into the fire, mentally cursing the man in the various languages he had learned over the years. Sephiroth didn't understand what was happening or the language Cloud was using, tugging the covers closer against his body. Still, this place was nice. He was warm, well treated compared to the labs, and given food he had never received before. He was currently eyeing the cooling cubes on the stone, waiting for Cloud's response before gathering the rest for himself. Eventually, Cloud calmed down enough to notice the sheepish glances and huffed, clearly amused as he finished the rest of his task. "Go ahead. Eat. You look like you need all the nutrition you can get."

Not one to hesitate on such a gracious gift, Sephiroth carefully reached over (afraid that Cloud would change his mind), slowly devouring the remains. He drank a little more water from the canteen and found himself pleasantly full for the first time in a long while, eyes slowly drifting closed. His short silver hair dangled over his eyes as his head bobbed forward in resistance to his brain's desire to remain awake. Still, he couldn't deny the warmth that was spreading throughout his body. It was...nice.

Cloud's lips twitched at the sight, running a hand through his spiky hair. He reached over to his right to the gathered wood that was collected there, tossing a few into the fire to keep it burning. It was going to be night soon, the sun just setting when the child had finally woken up after sleeping most of the day away to recover. "Get some rest. Those furs should be enough to keep you warm for the night."

Sephiroth peered down at the small collection he had, rubbing one of his eyes.

"You'll be safe here from the outside elements and from your...father." Cloud spoke bitterly at that last mentioning, almost like he was spitting poison. He tugged at the fur that had been behind him, hanging it over his shoulders like a large fluffy coat. He unintentionally uncovered his weapon hidden underneath and Sephiroth stared at the massive blade curiously, wonder in his eyes.

It looked so heavy and when Cloud stood up, lifting it up unnaturally easy, Sephiroth just watched. Cloud, on the other hand, hadn't been able to hide his wince when his bones creaked from remaining in a sitting position for so long, waiting for the child to wake up while watching over the cooking meat (he had to keep it at the edges of the fire to keep it warm without overdoing it). He shuffled his blade and the fur makeshift coat.

"Sorry if this sounds strange, but I need you to take off that tunic of yours. Its covered in blood and it can't be too comfortable." At the narrowing of Sephiroth's eyebrows, Cloud continued. "I'm going to patrol the surrounding area, make sure there are no monsters around. The access area to the cave is small and closed off which makes it hard to find. However, the remaining blood on your clothes can draw curious monsters." Cloud glanced towards the fire where he had thrown the wood. The smell of meat was already gone, burned out by the scent of ashes. "I've made sure there's no food left out in the open, but it's better to be safe than sorry. Nibel's monsters aren't known to be forgiving and they're extremely intelligent."

"Oh..."Sephiroth wasn't entirely sure how to respond to his savior, but followed his commands, tugging off the ruined tunic over his head. The furs kept him mostly covered from the elements and the moment Cloud grasped the oversized shirt, the child was already pulling the makeshift blankets around his entirety.

"Rest, I'll be back in a little while. Don't leave the cave in the meantime, alright?" At the following nod, Cloud made his way out the narrow passage and disappeared. Sephiroth was curious, but listened, knowing very well he couldn't quite wonder about naked and how so tired he was. Eyes closing once more and lulled by the crackling of the fire, he curled up on top of the surrounding furs and promptly fell asleep. He was exhausted, unable to stop the yawn that slipped through his lips. The hard ground, despite the furs that had attempted to cushion the rocks, was far better than the labs.

In his sleep, he dreamed of warmth and winter wonderlands.

Cloud had waited at the entrance long enough for the child to fall asleep, using his enhanced hearing to listen to the boy's faint breathing patterns. As he did so, ensuring the child wouldn't attempt to leave while he was away, the blond tightened his grasp on the bloody tunic, eyeing it momentarily before shaking his head. He was amazed the child had been able to survive that long out in the bitter coldness of the mountains dressed like that, even if it was currently the start of the fall season (in another week or so, the sun would vanish completely until late spring and temperatures would rapidly drop to negative thirty during the night. Not a place anyone wanted to be). Still, no one was stupid enough to come wandering in the mountains when it was continuously snowing, not even those that knew the terrains as well as he did. Still, as much as he would rather wait till morning, he had work to do and it was easier while Sephiroth was sleeping.

He made his way down the rocky areas, heading back to the area he had originally found the child. The bodies of the wolves he had slaughtered had been purposefully moved away from the site, not wanting anyone to ponder over the area just in case someone had attempted to follow Sephiroth's obvious tracks when still fresh. Cloud searched the area.

No one had searched for the boy from the lack of disturbance in the area. How unusual considering Hojo's determined nature. It didn't matter in the end. The tracks from the child had been covered up by the freshly fallen snow, doing its job in shading the splatters of red until there was nothing left. Still, Cloud needed to create fake ones to give the impression that Sephiroth had been killed. Apparently, being close friends with an ex-Turk (and sometimes a few still in service) gave him inside information regarding falsifying data.

He knew the troopers that protected Hojo would at least scout the surrounding area and Cloud knew there was a nearby cliff, not too close, in the area that would work for his purpose. He also needed proper clothes for the child that is in his care now, which would require him to sneak through Nibelheim during the cover of night to break into some of the homes for supplies (he had to be careful on this one since he didn't want anyone alerting others of said missing items). His enhanced hearing and speed would allow him to slip in and out without notice and he was familiar enough with the town to know who had what size and what items he required. After wandering the mountains for almost two weeks, killing wolves and dragons and collecting their wares as he planned for a sneak attack the ShinRa mansion, it looked like his plans had been thrown completely out the window when Sephiroth decided to take the initiative and escape himself.

The thought of killing the child while still young had been tempting...except he couldn't do it. He couldn't bring himself to go through with that step, not when the child stared up at him so innocently and covered in physical horror stories he had suffered in Hojo's care. And it wouldn't matter, Hojo could just create another Sephiroth with the resources he had at hand. It would push the madman's plans back by years and that was all Cloud needed to do right now. Shaking his head to push those horrid thoughts aside, he carefully stepped along the slippery rocky surface.

As for how he got here, the answer was quite simple: time travel.

This wasn't his first time doing such things, caught in an endless loop. It wasn't Aerith's or the planet's fault that he had been forced into this position and he had long given up on bothering with anything. He could only repeat something so many times before he gave up on fixing anything anymore. Still, this had been the first he had been thrown back this far into the past, unsure of his new outcome, and it seemed that even just appearing had already changed this for the unknown. He hadn't expected a child version of Sephiroth to materialize before him surrounded by Nibel wolves during his patrols and yet it hadn't stopped him from automatically reacting to protecting said child.

Shoving aside his pondering thoughts, he focused on his current task at hand. He had things to do and plans to plot for the future. There was no way he was going to hand the child back over to Hojo's care, no way in hell.

But what to do?

Well, he would think about that when he got there.