Resolving Crisis
Chapter Five: One-Winged Angel
Something wasn't right… Sephiroth rolled out of bed and drew his sword when he felt a breeze in the room. Moonlight crept through the open window, his blade catching the light as he surveyed the empty room. Half of his men were gone, but that wasn't important. Someone was in the room. A flaming blaze assaulted him, but he easily blocked the attack with a raise of his hand.
"Genesis." Sephiroth whispered as his friend landed before him. His silver strands stood out prominently against his dulled auburn hair.
"I was going to wait for you atop of the mako reactor my friend for there stood something that you needed to see for yourself… but it seems Angeal's puppy has gone on and destroyed it."
"Destroyed what?" Sephiroth asked.
Genesis snorted as he uttered, "Jenova."
The silver-haired general's eyes widened. "My mother?"
"Poor little Sephiroth, you've never met your mother have you?" Genesis drawled. "I don't know what images you've conjured up in your mind, but Jenova was excavated from a 2,000 year old rock layer. A monster."
"Monster…?" Sephiroth stared at his friend. "Why are you telling me this?"
"Project Jenova have lead to Project G that created Angeal and monsters like me." He flourished his hands for show, but his eyes glued to him seriously. "And also Project S, such as yourself."
"You're not making much sense Genesis." Sephiroth shook his head.
"My friend, you are the bringer of life." Genesis held out a dumb apple before him.
"LOVELESS again?" Sephiroth sighed as he withdrew his weapon. "If you wish to badger me at least choose an appropriate time without damaging civilian property."
"Don't patronize me Sephiroth. Share with me your cells. Cells that won't mutate nor degrade." Genesis demanded, but quickly found the Masamune pointed at him.
"Come back at sensible hour with your demands. Until then I refuse to listen to your reasoning." Sephiroth kept his blade still, yet threateningly at Genesis's throat.
Though reluctant, Genesis had no choice but to stand down and back away from the silver-haired general. "We are monsters. Make no mistake of that."
Sephiroth said nothing as he watched his friend disappear through the window. There were so many questions he wanted to ask, but knowing Genesis, his fellow first was not one to give a straight answer. He would always try to tie in LOVELESS somehow. At this hour, he had no patience to decipher Genesis's cryptic words.
He hardly needed the sleep, but he was not about to indulge Genesis when it was such an ungodly hour. Speaking of sleep, why hasn't the other trooper woken? Surely the fire attack itself would've been loud enough to wake anyone.
With a quick check, he found him deep in a sleep spell. Genesis must've cast it before he confronted him, but that doesn't explain the missing Zack and the other infantryman. Genesis said they were off destroying Jenova, his mother, a 2,000-year-old monster?
Sephiroth's frown deepened as all thoughts of sleep disappeared. Something just wasn't adding up. He needed answers… and staying here won't tell him anything. It's time he went and looked for some answers.
o.o.o.o.o
"Shit, shit, shit!" Zack cursed as he hauled Cloud out of the mako pool. In their hurry down the mountain, they had to go through the mako cave again, but as they were going past the mako pool, Cloud lost his footing and plunged headfirst into the concentrated mako.
"Cloud!" Tifa shouted out, but Zack kept her from diving in after him.
"No Tifa! You're going to get mako poisoning if you go in." Zack made sure she stayed put before running towards the pool to haul Cloud out. "Cloud! Buddy!" Zack tried his best to wipe away what mako was on him, but he knew it was useless; his clothes were already drenched in mako. "Damn it, this is a fine time for this mess!"
"You go on ahead Zack, I could take—" Tifa was cut off.
"I'm not leaving the two of you on the mountain like this. It's too dangerous." Zack snapped as he hauled Cloud onto his back.
They've wasted enough time as it is. They needed to get back to Sephiroth before Genesis does something irreparable. Though by the time they've reach town, it was too late. Sephiroth was there, waiting for them.
"Er… hey Sephiroth, what are you doing up?" Zack chuckled lamely. Cloud was whimpering in pain. "We were going on a little exploration trip up the mountains, but we had a little accident on the way up, Cloud fell into a mako spring. This area is pretty dangerous. We should be careful tomorrow."
"And pray tell what were you doing up in the mountains at this hour?" Sephiroth crossed his arms, waiting for an answer.
"Well, one of the kids in town was telling me about the seven wonders and one of them is this bomb that has…" Zack trailed off as he noticed the man wasn't buying his story. "You spoke to Genesis didn't you?"
A curt nod answered his question.
Zack sighed. "I don't know what he told you, but that monster in the reactor isn't your mother. You're human like the rest of us! Whoever told you Jenova is your mother is a liar. And before you jump to conclusions, we had to kill that thing! It was self-defense!"
"Self-defense?" Sephiroth questioned.
"It was raiding my mind!" Zack said frantically. "Telling me to kill, to maim!"
"And the reactor?" He frowned.
"There's nothing wrong with it. I think this is a set up." Zack answered. "The only thing there was Jenova and a bunch of failed experiments."
Sephiroth said nothing as he turned his heel and walked off.
Zack chased after him. "Where are you going?"
"To get some answers. Hojo had a lab here years ago. There should be something here that would explain this." Sephiroth muttered.
"Didn't you hear what I said? This whole thing is a set up! You could be walking into a trap for all you know!" Zack snapped.
"Zack." The man started. "Remember what I said about this mission in the beginning?"
"The beginning?" Zack frowned as he thought back. "You said depending on what happens on the mission you might…" His eyes widened. "Leave Shinra? Are you serious?"
"…I'm not sure… not yet." Sephiroth murmured.
"Do you have a plan? You'll leave Shinra, then what? At least Genesis has his army." Zack reasoned. "What do you have?"
Sephiroth paused in his steps and turned to Zack seriously. "What do you suggest I do? If you're so clear on everything."
Zack paused for a moment wondering. This was his chance to help Sephiroth, but what could he say to change the man's fate?
"Ngh…" Cloud groaned from Zack's back.
It was then that it clicked in his mind. "Why don't you help Genesis? I don't mean like join him. I mean really help him. His degradation is getting worse right? Maybe we could do something to stop it. Someone has to stop his rampage right?"
"…Genesis." Sephiroth murmured as he thought of his friend he saw only moments earlier. The auburn-haired man did seem desperate even amidst his floral words and cruel insinuations. He closed his eyes briefly before continuing his walk. "We'll see."
"Wait Seph—" Zack stumbled as Cloud started to slip from his back. He quickly lowered the near comatose blond to the ground before Tifa rushed over to him. "Think you can handle it? I'm going to try to do some damage control."
"Just go. I'll make sure he gets back safe." Tifa said as she pulled Cloud's arm over her shoulder.
"I'll do what I can, but just incase, we should prepare for the worse." Zack said before he ran towards the manor quick at Sephiroth's heel. Fortunately, the man hadn't gotten far. He's only gotten to the front of Shinra mansion. "Wait up!"
"Is there a need for you to follow me? I could go through the documents myself." He eyed Zack for a moment. "It seems like you've already had a rough night."
A grin spread across Zack's face as he brushed a finger under his nose. "Glad you care, but I'm not one to leave friends swimming through hordes of paper. After all you can get a dreaded paper cut!" He said jokingly.
Sephiroth snorted a chuckle as he continued on. "As you will." He said as they both entered the manor and gone towards the hidden passageway on the second floor.
"You know… do mad scientists all have to have the same motif going on?" Zack started after going through a long moment of silence. Sephiroth glanced to him briefly as if to humor his rhetorical question. "You know, creepy secret passageways, doing evil deeds away from the light of day, the works."
"Mad might be too mild of a way to describe Hojo." Sephiroth commented as they descended the treacherous staircase.
Zack let out a laugh as he followed. As they ventured deeper into Hojo's former lab, they're encountered Sahagins and dispatched them easily. What they found from the remains were keys.
"A little suspicious ain't it?" Zack commented as he tossed the key in the air and caught it swiftly. "Why go through all the trouble putting keys on the monsters and letting them loose like this?"
Sephiroth frowned. "Someone was trying to hide something… but why bother if this is a trap? It would be wise to make it easy access…"
"Maybe this isn't part of the trap and Hojo is being vindictive." Zack commented as he looked around. "There seems to be a few rooms here… maybe we should check it out before heading towards the lab? Even though it's a side tour, it shouldn't take up much of our time."
He was trying his best to act natural and sound natural, but he couldn't help but feel his heart race against his chest. If they could manage to get Vincent to assist them with the truth, they'd have a chance in saving Sephiroth, but he has no clue on whether or not this Vincent was from their time, or if he was still the same guilt ridden Turk. Either way, he could only hope for the best.
"Coffins." Sephiroth muttered as they inspected the rooms.
The keys went to these unknown coffins. Why there were any was a question in itself. The first three they've opened had only giant insects, bugs that were barely worth their time, but they pressed on. Hojo has a sick sense of humor if he simply placed monsters in coffins waiting for some un-expecting soul to come and free these monsters.
"This is the last one." Zack commented as he patted the coffin loudly. Hoping to wake Vincent before they opened the coffin.
Sephiroth inserted the key and opened the locked coffin. The wooden lid slid off with a gentle push and they found a sleeping man in a red cloak. "He's alive… how is this possible? The manor hasn't been used for over twenty years… and this man is alive? How—"
"Who are you and what is your relation to Hojo?" A velvet voice droned out.
Both Zack and Sephiroth glanced to the man's face as blood red eyes met with theirs. The man sat up in the coffin, his hands clenching to the sides of the coffin. One a golden claw, the other a gloved hand that buckled up to his elbow and hidden in the black material of his clothing.
"I am General Sephiroth. Who are you?" Sephiroth avoided the second question.
"Lucrecia's son?" He breathed with widened eyes.
"Lucrecia?" Sephiroth frowned.
"What has Hojo told you? What lies has he given you?" The man demanded with a frown.
"And just who are you?" Sephiroth asked.
"Vincent Valentine." He answered without hesitation.
Zack pretended to be surprise as he blurted out. "The legendary Turk?" Both Sephiroth and Vincent turned to him with a look. Zack held up his hands defensively. "I heard that there was a legendary Turk that was a sharpshooter. They said he's been MIA for over twenty years…"
"…Twenty years… I've been asleep for twenty years." He murmured to himself.
Seeing Sephiroth wasn't talking, Zack decided to continue. "How did you end up in that coffin like you did? And you said twenty years, how did you survive that long without food and water?"
"Hojo…" Vincent growled out. "That man did this to me. He turned me into this creature… this monster."
Zack grimaced at his choice of words. "And Lucrecia? You said she is Sephiroth's mother?"
Vincent ignored his question, his eyes focused on Sephiroth alone. "What lies have that man told you Sephiroth? What illusions have he shrouded over your life?"
Zack could see the slight hesitation in his superior officer's face, but at the same time, he could see him giving in. A brief sense of relief flooded him as Sephiroth answered.
"He said Jenova was my mother…" He said slowly. While he sounded far from a child, Zack could see the uncertainty the man had on his face.
"Jenova?" Vincent said in disbelief. "The man had you believing that fossil is your mother?" He growled. "Unbelievable. Is he so obsessed with that specimen that he's completely ignored the existence of his wife?"
Sephiroth clenched his fists at hearing his words. "If you know what kind of man Hojo is, why did you not take my mother and leave?" He demanded furiously. "Why did you leave her with him? Why did you leave me with him?"
Zack felt his heart jump for joy at hearing those words from Sephiroth. While the danger of Sephiroth going mad was far from over, he was excited in the least that Sephiroth believed he was truly human. He believed Lucrecia was his mother. Though furious for Vincent failed at what Angeal's stepfather managed to succeed in, he wasn't running amuck burning down villages. It was a good progress.
"My sins cannot be atoned, but I wished I could have taken Lucrecia with me before I was cursed with this body."
"While I'm all for heart to heart, I don't think this place is appropriate for it. Why don't we head back to the hotel?" Zack clapped his hands trying to catch their attention.
"What about the lab?" Sephiroth was never one to forget the objective.
"I'll look through it and bring whatever's good. I doubt there would be much though." Zack reasoned. He glanced to Vincent. "You'd come with us right?"
"If this would clear the lies Hojo said in the past years." Vincent said darkly as he jumped out of his coffin and landed lightly on his feet.
"Great, head on up without me. I'm going to head towards the lab." Zack gave a shudder. "This place gives me the creeps. I don't know how you could stand it for 20 years."
Neither Sephiroth nor Vincent protested as they ascended up the stairs and towards the rooms in the mansion. Zack on the other hand went towards the lab and dived into the abundant amount of research material. Anything written by Hojo was to be shredded or burned. Anything written by Lucrecia Crescent was carefully placed aside to bring up later. Zack sighed as he continued in this manner in boredom.
o.o.o.o.o
While Zack was busy down below, Vincent and Sephiroth were facing one another in awkward silence. Without the spiky-haired first to move the conversation along, neither was willing to speak.
"… What would you like to know about Lucrecia?" Vincent asked after the silence became unbearable.
Sephiroth breathed through his nose as he glanced to the secret passageway, hoping Zack was soon done.
"Is something wrong?"
"H-hm?" Sephiroth snapped his attention back to the other man before crossing his arms. "Nothing, just wondering if Zack is having much trouble." He lied.
A wry grin touched the man's lips as he held back a chuckle. "You're lying. You're wondering if that boy could come back and ask the questions for you."
Sephiroth tensed, but said nothing.
"You act like your mother." Vincent said gently. "She acts the same way when she's trying to hide something… I'm sorry you've never met her. She was a brilliant woman."
"…What was she like?" Sephiroth found himself asking at seeing the wistful look on Vincent's face.
"Kind, gentle, beautiful, I could continue listing all of her qualities, but even then it wouldn't touch the surface of who she truly is. Even though I was assigned to watch over her, she was always friendly and open to conversation. It was hard not to be drawn in by her."
Sephiroth soon found himself a seat on the bed as Vincent began to talk more and more about the woman he loved. He felt like a child for once in his life as he soaked up what he could of his mother.
o.o.o.o.o
Zack cracked his neck after five hours of paper shuffling. There was already a sizeable pile of Hojo's works ready to be burned, while Lucrecia's pile was neatly stacked atop of the mahogany desk. He knew there was a sewer connection to the lab and decided to haul all of Hojo and any documents relating to Jenova to burn. The nonsense about Jenova being an ancient, a Cetra are all bull. There's no need for anyone to think of Jenova on the same level as Aeris. They're incomparable.
Once the pile of books was in the sewers, Zack stood a good distance away before firing off Firaga spells at the pile. The methane combusted immediately and engulfed the books in a fiery death. Zack gave a sigh as he watched the books burn and collapse into itself.
"Well, that's that." Zack sighed in relief as he clapped his hands clean in a job well done. And if everything goes well between Vincent and Sephiroth, they wouldn't have to worry about Sephiroth losing his mind and trying to destroy the world. The only thing left is to get rid of Shinra before it drained the Planet of its life force. This was going better than he thought.
Pain blossomed at the back of his head as the world shifted around him. Zack fell to his knees and raised a hand to his head wondering where the pain came from. Blood stained his gloves as he strained to stay awake. What was going on? The sound of a wing flapping met his ear as black feathers floated in his line of vision.
"Legend speaks of sacrifice at world's end. The wind sails over the water's surface quietly, but surely. You will be my sacrifice, puppy." Genesis's voice echoed the sewers.
"Gene…sis…" Zack strained before he finally passed out from the assault.
The red clad first knelt down to pick up the unconscious Zack before he flew through the sewers and out the other exit. If Sephiroth will not pay him any mind, he will just have to make the man come to him by taking his only remaining friend.
o.o.o.o.o
"Do you smell burning?" Vincent asked as he paused in mid-story.
Sephiroth raised his nose as he took in the air. "It smells like raw sewage."
"…There's a sewer system under the mansion… high concentration of methane…" Vincent trailed off.
"Zack." Sephiroth quickly rose to his feet as he hurried down the passageway to check on his fellow first.
Both he and Vincent followed the smell down through the lab. The place was stripped bare of any of the books that were there before. There were only a few books on the shelves and a small pile stacked neatly on the table.
"Your friend decimated the place. I recalled there being more books." Vincent commented as he looked through the room.
The books on the table he noticed were all written by his mother, but everything else were mass-produced books not a hint of Hojo's work anywhere. Zack was nowhere in sight.
"Where is he?" Sephiroth muttered as he followed the smell of burn sewage.
They descended down the ladder and into the sewers. At the bottom they found a pile of charred books still burning and crumbling into ash, but that wasn't important. What caught his attention was the blood on the ground and the feathers floating in the raw sewage. He saw red. Wasn't it enough that Angeal is gone?
"Genesis." Sephiroth growled under his breath. "He's gone too far!"
"Sephiroth?" Vincent questioned when the general placed a hand to his forehead.
"No… No I won't let this happen." Sephiroth growled as a single wing thrust out from his back. "Not again."
"Sephiroth wait!" Vincent called out as he chased after the silver-haired man.
He's had enough of Genesis, this time there will be no mercy.
o.o.o.o.o
CM Aeris: Sorry for the shortness of this chapter. I just wasn't feeling it when I wrote this. Bright Misdreavus insisted Vincent's eyes were red, but I still think it's yellow. It seemed a little choppy to me how everything flowed. I hoped Sephiroth wasn't too out of character. Oh, and it's likely I'm not going to work on this story as much, considering I'm also doing a Full Metal Alchemist cross over with FF7. Swing by Golden Gift and tell me what you think about it and don't forget to review!