Title: Honest Deception

Author: Garnet Eyes

Archived: y-gallery. net, fanfiction. net

Summary: You don't always know everything you think you do.

Rating: T

Pairings: None

Author Notes: I have not had the time to watch/play anything in the Final Fantasy VII universe beyond the original game and Advent Children. Therefore, I am certain there are inconsistencies between my writing and newer games or movies.

Disclaimers: Final Fantasy VII is owned by Squaresoft and I in no way, shape, or form profit off of my writing. This is simply for my own pleasure, and may at any time be removed and/or modified as I see fit.

...

Rain fell for days after a mission that had gone wrong out by Nibelheim. Fair had been unusually somber the entire time; not that the General could blame him. Three units of newly graduated soldiers had been sent to cull the local Mako beast population. Two days into the area, all forty-five soldiers simply disappeared. Five special ops soldiers sent to investigate found traces of camps but the weather had washed away any helpful clues. After two days of searching, a corpse turned up in the mud-caked area, mangled by whatever had come across it first but the uniform was still recognizable. All searching thereafter had been fruitless and no other bodies had been found. Sephiroth kept track of all progress while he dealt with the rest of the army, but his hands remained tied about sending any SOLDIERs. Zackary would have volunteered immediately, he was certain, but that was of little consequence when there was absolutely nothing to go by. It wasn't until a week had passed that the General, more concerned about what had happened than he let on, found his opportunity. Fair was ready within a half an hour, hauling a tiny blonde soldier with him. The boy looked a little uncomfortable, but he was packed and ready, and Sephiroth did not want to waste time on arguments. The helicopter ride to Junon got him the relevant information, anyway.

Sitting with one leg hooking over the opposite knee, arms crossed over his chest, duffle bag resting in the seat beside him, jade eyes watched the quiet little soldier stare at Fair and nod at appropriate intervals while the outline of the mission was being explained to him. When Zackary finally wound down, but before he could ask if the soldier understood everything, the silver warrior abruptly inserted himself into the conversation.

"I wasn't aware a cadet would be joining us. What good will you do?"

The blonde looked shocked for a moment and then briefly put upon. Sephiroth could not recall garnering such a reaction from a soldier before and he knew he had been rather harsh. The blonde's voice was quiet, but clear, even over the din of the moving vehicle.

"I was raised in Nibelheim, sir. Zack said you wanted me as a guide."

Ah, so the younger SOLDIER had been putting thought into this for quite some time as well. A guide would prove useful, but the boy before him looked like he wouldn't last long. And it seemed Fair was friends with the little blonde on top of that.

The silver warrior nodded acceptance of the answer but did not keep his reservations to himself.

"Do not slow us down. I neither recognize your face nor do I know your name. I don't intend to wait for you and I expect you to be able to take care of yourself."

Perhaps frightened, the blonde nodded and curled in on himself. Fair shot the silver warrior an exasperated look, but remained silent. The moment the helicopter landed in Junon, the General hoisted his bag and stalked toward their next waiting vehicle. As if to prove he would be good to his word, the blonde scurried behind, keeping pace with Zackary. The next helicopter was larger, fully fueled and ready to continent hop. That flight was silent as the General thought about where they should start once they reached Nibelheim. The younger SOLDIER had dozed off in his boredom, seemingly unconcerned although the silver warrior knew that to be a lie. The boy stared out of the window placidly, curiously showing no signs of jittery anticipation. A few minutes after the brunette fell asleep, his broad frame listed to the side and flopped against the blonde seated at the window. Azure eyes stared dumbly at the now softly snoring brunette before the boy sighed and readjusted himself under the SOLDIER's bulkier frame.

Sephiroth wondered how frequently this occurred for the boy to not even care, but kept the question to himself. He was more concerned with those missing at the moment. Aside from that, a cursory glance at the skinny teen proved enough to tell that the blonde would never make SOLDIER. He could probably be beaten by a strong wind and, although the soldier uniform covered him, it was obvious that he lacked the kind of physical strength necessary to wield the training weapons in the SOLDIER filler units. Honestly, the General couldn't even believe that Zackary had gotten clearance from all of the boy's instructors.

Stifling a groan, the silver warrior made a mental note to excuse the boy's absence, since he was too young to have graduated into a soldier unit.

"Cadet, I'll need to know your name, serial, and instructor."

The sudden break of peace startled the blonde, although he was quick to hide his bewilderment.

"Strife Cloud, NH01013, sir."

Raising a fine silver brow, the General leaned back against the seat behind him. After a hesitation, in which the boy looked momentarily uncertain, his soft voice continued.

"I'm almost in my second year, sir."

Blinking, cat eyes narrowed on the thin figure jammed between the window and the slightly drooling brunette.

"You're too young for preparation for entering a specific military unit."

It was almost inaudible, but the silver-haired SOLDIER clearly heard a snort of derision.

"I'll be sixteen in a few months, sir."

Surprise briefly filtered into his features, exacerbated when the boy noticed and smiled genuinely.

"I'm used to it, sir."

Being used to others mistaking his age was one thing, but the tone in his voice told Sephiroth that this Strife character was used to being entirely underestimated. Undoubtedly the Turks were keeping tabs of him if he was any good.

"Very well. Perhaps you can be of use to me. Tell me, with your knowledge of the area, where do you believe would be a good starting point for our search?"

Azure eyes turned toward the floor for a moment.

"I only know what Zack just told me. Nothing has been released to us about where anything has happened."

True enough, not even the most inept commander could expect a soldier with no information to put out anything useful. Pulling the Nibelheim map from his belongings, Sephiroth opened it and laid it flat on the floor between them. Leaning down, ignoring the silver strands that spilled over his shoulders, one gloved hand reached down to point as he spoke.

"This is the area that the last encampment was found. Here is where the body was discovered. Special Operations has covered all of this area."

Curious azure eyes briefly scanned the map before turning back to the window. There was a pause before a leather-gloved hand recollected the map, thinking that the boy might not have much training for this type of thing and the casual mention of death may have upset his still innocent mind.

"There is a cave system around that area."

Jade eyes narrowed, unfolding the map again.

"There is no mention of such a thing and no report on any entry point."

Blue eyes glanced briefly at the SOLDIER before he repositioned the sleeping brunette so that he would cease soaking the teen's shoulder in saliva.

"It's hidden. There're a lot of monsters in it, too. Some of them burrow."

It went without saying that the caves would have changed because of that, but, should these caverns exist, the boy had already proved himself useful.

Folding up the map and returning it to its place in his belongings, Sephiroth briefly checked over his materia, contemplating which would be best suited to underground terrain. Zack made an irritated noise, settling himself back into a position on top of the damp spot on the blonde's shoulder. With a doleful expression, Strife turned his head away and gave up trying to keep his uniform dry. Holding his mastered fire materia in his palm, the General looked over the open slots in his sword.

"Ice would be a better option, sir."

Cat eyes turned a speculative glance toward the blonde, seeing azure eyes steadfastly focused on the horizon line and tan lips drawn thin. Turning jade eyes down to the orb in his hand, the General wondered how Strife had even known what materia he was holding. It was impossible for the silver warrior to tell which materia was which unless he touched it. Another quick look at the blonde had Sephiroth fishing through his items until he found a tranquilizer, silently proffering the drug. Thin hands grasped the medicine with a grateful expression directed toward the SOLDIER before the boy drank, pocketing the empty bottle afterward.

"Any other suggestions?"

Strife hesitated then, and the silver warrior could practically see the inner debate although he was not positive on what precisely was being argued.

"Which materia did you bring, sir?"

Testing his personal hypothesis that the earlier offhand suggestion may have just been a fluke, the General spread all of his materia out for the boy to peruse without saying a word. After a cursory look-through of the various orbs in black-gloved hands, the teen hesitated once more before speaking.

"Don't bother to equip earth. Ultima might cause the same problem. Ice-all should affect everything around the Nibel area. …You don't have any restore?"

Belatedly, the silver warrior realized that he had neglected to remove that materia from his bracer. It hardly mattered, given this discovery. The boy was so far only naming off materia that was sitting in Sephiroth's hands. He truly could recognize them by sight.

"Would you like to use some, then?"

Pale eyes narrowed and the SOLDIER knew his intention had been read. No one outside of SOLDIER filler units and actual SOLDIERs were given formal training with materia. While anyone could buy the condensed Mako orbs, most people could only cast a few spells that were of poorer quality than the casts performed by SOLDIERs. Those individuals who could afford them enjoyed materia as an occasionally useful decoration. Unless people were told what they were buying, few individuals even knew until the first cast. Strife was well aware of his uniqueness, then.

"I haven't had any training with materia, sir. I wouldn't be very reliable."

It was Sephiroth's turn to narrow his eyes, aware of the paper-thin line that was being walked. However, for the time being the silver warrior let the comment slide and continued plying the blonde to see how much he truly grasped.

"Anything else?"

"Your contain would be good connected with an added effect materia, if you have one. Time and destruct, if you don't mind being weighed down. Deathblow and manipulate are other options."

Strife knew a great deal about materia, then. That was not a beginner's answer. More importantly, his knowledge spanned more than just magic materia and at least into the realms of independent and support materias. Strife would be handy as a support soldier during his career in the military.

"Wake Fair; we'll be arriving in Costa del Sol shortly and we can't be late for our transport."

The tiny blonde turned his attention to the mess of a SOLDIER leaning on him and the General replaced his materia as he originally intended, not so much ignoring Strife's comments as trusting in his own judgment better. A snort and a yawn signaled that the brunette was awake, if not coherent, and Sephiroth had the unique opportunity to see someone so mousy simply ignore the sapphire-eyed SOLDIER and his questions about the dark spot on the boy's uniform and come away without an argument. Zackary whined about being treated meanly, but he wasn't nearly as overbearing as he usually was when he was left without information. The General would have to discover the trick that the boy used.

"Mou, you doing okay, Cloud?"

Concern brightened deep blue eyes as the brunette checked the little blonde over. A kind of half smile pulled at the boy's lips as he collected his own bag into his lap and shouldered his standard issue rifle.

"It's fine."

Briefly, the brunette appeared unconvinced before turning his focus toward the silver warrior. Ignoring him, the older SOLDIER placed his own bag at his side and waited for landing. Fair made a disconcerted noise, but did not argue. Before the helicopter had even fully touched the pad, Sephiroth was on the ground and heading toward the truck. He had no doubts that the others were close behind.

The truck drivers were a pair of filler unit trainees, one sleeping in the passenger seat while the other waited by the driver's side door for the General and the other SOLDIER accompanying him to arrive. Bored brown eyes snapped to attention as the silver warrior stalked closer, although the teen made no comment about the surprise addition to his cargo. The moment that the three passengers were in the back, the truck revved up and pulled out.

It was well into the night before any words were spoken. Fair had kept remarkably silent, given how obvious it was that he wanted to speak. Now that the tiny blonde was curled up wedged against the wall in the spot between his own bag and where the younger SOLDIER finally settled himself, it seemed Zackary could no longer contain himself. His voice was hushed, so as not to disturb the soldier tucked away next to him.

"Cloud's uncomfortable. What did you say to him before?"

Jade eyes swept toward the brunette, taking in the protective stance and narrowed sapphire eyes.

"Nothing of importance. I simply spoke with him about the terrain and he offered suggestions about materia."

Perking up, the younger man grinned.

"Isn't he great? I've never known anybody that good at distinguishing materia before. He's so uncomfortable about it, too, but he's really smart."

Crossing his arms over his chest, the silver warrior kept his face from forming the frown he desired to show.

"His ability is unique to him, Zackary. No SOLDIER has ever been capable of doing that."

Sapphire eyes widened before the man turned to look at the boy against his side. After a pause, the General decided to glean some information from his second.

"Simply being able to distinguish materia does not give one the ability to know which magics should prove most effective."

The statement hung between them before the brunette focused his attention back on the other SOLDIER.

"Cloud remembers every kind of Mako monster he's ever seen. He's tactically a genius, Sephiroth. He doesn't like to stand out, though, so it's like pulling teeth to get his opinion. I can't prove it, but I think he did poorly in his cadet classes on purpose. It's like he's trying to come off as mediocre."

Cat eyes narrowed on the obliviously sleeping blonde. Something had to be holding him back, then.

"How did you come across this supposed genius ability if he is so resistant to showing it?"

Bending an arm to hook around his knee, the brunette leaned back against the side of the truck and closed his eyes.

"Accident. When no one's around, Cloud tends to mess around with tactical programs. You know that AI system Shin-Ra's developed to help training? Spike's beaten it."

Shrugging, the older man settled himself more comfortably.

"The system is flawed. It has been known to boot off students and it won't match itself to lower skill levels for gradual increases in opponent difficulty."

The grin on the younger warrior's face was nearly blinding.

"If it detects Cloud logging on, it will even kick me off."

Blinking, the General turned a critical eye to the skinny teen next to his friend.

"Do you know what he wants to do with himself in the army, then?"

"Wants to join SOLDIER, last I heard. Granted, I don't know that I've ever heard him say anything."

The frown that had threatened to show earlier finally appeared on pale features.

"Is he any good with weapons?"

Making a noncommittal noise, the younger warrior turned sapphire eyes to the blonde.

"He holds back in his classes. That much I can tell. None of his instructors pay enough attention to notice. His marks show absolutely nothing special."

Now a frown appeared on Fair's usually upbeat face.

"He's hiding himself. I want to know why."

Sensing that the boy had just become a great deal more complicated than he had initially suspected, Sephiroth considered testing the blonde once this mission was finished. If he was correct, then gradually the teen would come to show his true colors after he had the confidence and the ability to "blame" his skill on someone else. Plus, that would keep Strife away from Hojo's interests. Although there was still the chore of a plausible excuse needing to be in order for why the General would not only be taking on his first apprentice, but a sub-par nobody at that.

No other conversation occurred as the two SOLDIERs settled down to rest for the night, lulled by the hum of the motor. Two days passed in relative ease, only an occasional stop required for necessary bodily functions. The blonde never once complained, although his motion-sickness was obvious. Sephiroth allowed the use of more tranquilizers from his first aid kit, perhaps a little annoyed by Fair's surprise about his willingness to "waste" supplies. There was no reason for the boy to suffer undue discomfort and he would need to be fresh to prove himself true to Zackary's diagnostic of him.

It wasn't until a pair of dragons attacked the vehicle that the General decided it was best to start their search on foot and sent the truck ahead to Nibelheim to drop off their things at the inn. Such behavior was startlingly uncommon for any breed of dragon, especially outside of mating season, and would need to be looked into. The little soldier, unfazed by the hulking corpses nearby, oriented himself with no assistance from a map or compass before starting off toward the area that the encampment had been found. Both SOLDIERs willingly followed, admittedly curious as to the teen's scouting skills. Although rain had washed away all traces, azure eyes carefully scanned the ground once the site had been reached. His elders followed suit, looking for any sign of something useful. It didn't take either SOLDIER long to realize that time and weather had destroyed anything of value, but the boy continued searching for a time, ignoring the older men. Apparently not finding anything worthwhile either, Strife next headed for the site of the corpse.

Both Zackary and Sephiroth were taking careful stock of the Nibel plains, but it was interesting to attempt to follow the boy's unspoken thought process. The silver warrior noted with mild interest that the blonde had superior recollection skills and astounding directional sense, given that he had only briefly looked at the map on the helicopter several days prior and had not seen it since. Plus, Sephiroth had only motioned to general points; given the size difference between the map and his finger, the area covered was large. Yet the boy accurately headed directly to the point that had been in the center of the General's finger.

Shortly after reaching the second site, he discovered something, if the tightly drawn blonde brows and slight scowl were anything to go by. Fair was the one to ask, thankfully saving the General the trouble.

"What's wrong, Spike?"

Without glancing over at the brunette, the boy headed off in a seemingly random direction.

"This isn't that far from the entrance."

Sephiroth, noticing his second's baffled expression, answered the unspoken question.

"Hidden caverns."

Surprised, the brunette started after the soldier without questioning why the silver warrior knew this information and he did not. There hadn't really been any discussion of where they would look during the drive.

The sheer Cliffside that they stopped beneath next looked unimpressive against the backdrop of the Nibel ranges. That was quickly dismissed when looking at the teen rapidly scaling the surprisingly smooth rock face. It wasn't until he suddenly disappeared from view, much to Fair's chagrin, that Sephiroth grasped how "hidden" these caverns were. Typically graceless, Zackary charged up after the teen, complaining about jumpings and kyuvilduns as he scaled up to a point before he blinked and started cursing. Directly behind the brunette, the General barked at him to get out of the way and followed shortly up to level ground. It was a tight squeeze for all three of them at once, but the angle, size, and type of rock made seeing this area from either the ground or the air impossible.

Strife led the way down, at ease if slower now that light was scant, not even bothering to bring his weapon around into ready position. He kept one palm on the wall to his right, not once tripping even though he had none of the night vision Mako allotted both SOLDIERs. After a few sharp turns, the sound of moving water slowly drifted to their ears. Underground rivers were not that uncommon, but this could help to explain how the blonde would be orienting himself in the dark. An eerie green glow reflecting on the rocks ahead had the eldest of the trio on edge a few minutes later. Sure enough, the river that appeared before them was made up entirely of the Lifestream. The glow left the rocks an odd coloration, but that was a negligible fact when considering how, precisely, Strife had come across the area.

"We can follow the river to a break. There should be a den on the right path."

The implication that the entire collection of soldiers had become food was not lost on either SOLDIER. However, realistically, by now that was an entirely plausible solution. As was the undercurrent that the blonde would not be taking the lead at that point. Sephiroth was forced to put aside his questions of how, when, and why the boy had found and explored this place and focus himself on his duty.

"You'll stay by the Lifestream once we get to the break, soldier. Should nothing come of it, think of where else we could go."

Ignoring the surprise and indignance, the silver warrior brusquely strode along the mostly flat path at the side of the Mako river. His second followed, arguing the SOLDIER's case about safety precautions to the silent blonde. The teen never made a single rebuttal.

An hour's walk had the trio at the split, where Sephiroth drew his sword and started into the smaller tunnel. Behind him, Fair followed suit. The walk grew more tense the greater the distance between them and the blonde, but silence was paramount when entering an unknown Mako-monster infested area. The element of surprise tended to be the most important.

Pebbles clacked against one another up ahead and Sephiroth paused, waiting to detect any monster heading his way. The noise remained distant, so the General cautiously continued his forward march, ignoring the dampness of the rock walls. Only his own Mako-enhanced vision let him see the jutting rocks and awkwardly narrowing opening. If the path didn't open up soon, both SOLDIERs would be at a disadvantage, only able to rely on materia in the fight that was sure to happen.

The stench of decay that wafted from up ahead was both a blessing and a curse. As nauseating as the scent was, it would cover the smell of the approaching warriors. Unfortunately, the stench also gave weight to Strife's prediction of dead units. It could be the remains of other beasts, to be sure, but simply knowing that there were forty-four unaccounted for men out here was enough to cause doubt.

Behind him, Fair made a soft sound of disgust to which the General turned around. The younger SOLDIER's gloved hand was held before sapphire eyes with a look of revulsion. Noticing his commander looking in his direction, the brunette lowered his hand and tilted it to allow jade eyes to take in the liquid coating. Although his vision was not good enough to allow him to detect color with as little surrounding light as he had, the brown leather looked darker where it was wet and when the hand was raised closer to his face the General could tell – if barely due to the rot permeating the area – that the walls were coated in blood. If this was at all usual, Strife had a lot of explaining to do.

Turning away and continuing down the path, the head SOLDIER mentally frowned and checked over his materia. The beasts down here were more than likely vicious enough to have killed off three units of soldiers.

The path before him sharply widened and cat eyes narrowed, bringing up a leather-clad hand to hide away the glow from his eyes. Sephiroth had to admit, had his vision not been as strong as it was, he would have believed that there were only large boulders of odd shapes in the area. It wasn't difficult to pick out stray, broken bones of various shapes and sizes, but the hulking masses before him were not normal Mako beasts. The littlest creatures were reptilian in form, with unusable wings drooping on their sleek backs. They seemed to be the only active ones, busily ripping hunks of flesh and muscle from the tattered remains of some unfortunate wolf. It wasn't easy to tell whether the large stones were actual stones or mid-sized, tail-less dragon-like monsters. Analytically speaking, should something go wrong during the battle, the terrain put the SOLDIERs at a disadvantage. Backing out now gave no promise of survival, either. This was simply a foul situation. One thing was certain in the silver warrior's mind, though: this nest of Mako beasts wasn't even native to the continent.

A subtle motion of the hand holding the Masamune had Fair at his side, shielding his eyes in a similar fashion. With a brief exchange of glances, they spread out enough to keep from interfering with one another. The size of the adults would hinder them minutely, with any luck, and the babies should be quick kills.

Briefly, the General held his sword in a defensive stance as he directed his energy into his manipulate materia. It was a gamble, but controlling one of the adults would make this exceptionally less dangerous. Off to the side, Zackary was casting a lightning combination on the cluster of babies. Both spells went off at once, causing an echoing cacophony of shrieks as the vulnerable children withered. The manipulate managed to be effective and the General wasted no time in turning the monster on the younger creatures. The moment one of those enormous boulder-like forms stretched out to full size, the SOLDIER was no longer certain that he was controlling an adult. It made little difference, as he could not be distracted with such irrelevant thoughts.

Zackary was using his well-honed skills to run through an oncoming hoard of the young ones, slicing through with relative ease. Sapphire eyes were set, a calculating expression on the brunette's face as his split-second reactions kept him from more than minor scrapes. Sephiroth was unconcerned, knowing that Fair could handle himself. He set to his own task, pleased that the monster's razor teeth easily rended through the flesh and bone of its young. The other boulders began unwinding themselves, rearing up without sound. One turned bright yellow eyes toward the elite SOLDIER, staring directly into jade before lunging forward with surprising speed. Dodging out of the way of the massive jaws gnashing through the air, the silver warrior drew his own Mako beast around to seize the throat of the attacker. With a gurgle, the large beast fell to the side with blood gushing from its torn throat.

Unfortunately, before he could command another attack, the fallen one swung out with one petrified wing, sheering into the smaller one's face and breaking the trance. Unexpectedly, two sets of yellow eyes turned almost instantly toward him. They worked in unison, taking opposing angles and sides from which to strike, and causing the General to retreat every few attacks or risk having one at his back. The scales on the adults were interesting, being slick and contoured to deflect the slashes and swipes that normal beasts could inflict. This had the side effect of lessening the damage of sword attacks.

Not one to be startled by something that could be easily remedied, the SOLDIER drew into defensive sword work and summoned an area fire attack. The monsters hissed as they drew back, but not before spitting an oddly hued liquid that caught fire and forced the blaze hotter. With narrowed eyes, Sephiroth followed up with a directed fire attack on the wounded monster. A loud shriek was his only warning before the bloodied beast charged forward, scales ablaze. Changing to an offensive position, the General lunged with his sword poised to plunge into the open throat. To his surprise, the beast halted and bristled, scales shimmering under the fire. A child dropped from above, distracting the SOLDIER as he disposed of the annoyance, only to turn his vision back to more bristling monsters, scales covered in a substance that caught flame quickly and held it.

Belatedly, Sephiroth recalled Strife's warning against fire, but this was the first time that the celebrated SOLDIER had seen his own attack effectively used against him. Annoyance briefly flared in his mind, but was rapidly set aside as his blade sunk into the tender, exposed throat of the wounded beast and severed the stocky neck. Turning from the dead monster, sword still poised for the attack, Sephiroth deftly avoided the substance shot toward his face from the closest monster's mouth. Out of the corner of his eye, the General noted that Fair was quite a bit further away from him than he had been earlier.

A sudden, high decibel wail resounded off of the walls and sent the hanging stalactites trembling. The noise was disorienting, but not enough for the SOLDIER to drop his guard even as he quickly checked for the source. The echo of the scream still ringing in his ears, Sephiroth twisted his body to block a clawed appendage lowering to strike him.

With startling clarity, the silver warrior realized what was happening too late to prevent it. A bulky body whipped up, cracking the wall and sending fine tremors through the cave. Zackary, who had just managed to bring down one of the larger creatures and had turned to fend off the snapping jaws of another, had only the barest second to detect the rock that had snapped away from the ceiling. His reflexes only prevented the tip of the stalactite from shooting through his head, instead causing the rock to lodge into his chest.

With a pained growl, the brunette collapsed and then all of those beasts turned toward Sephiroth. These monsters were sentient. As grim as that revelation was, the General had no time to ponder it. Zackary was fatally wounded, or would be if that rock wasn't removed so that he could be healed, and there were an unfortunate number of Mako monsters remaining. Most of them were collecting to spread the fire.

Centering in on the largest group, jade eyes narrowed as the SOLDIER cast a high level ice and watched as even the flames were coated in the hard casing of frozen water. It unfortunately didn't last, the Mako having warped these creatures to an uncomfortable resilience that allowed them to struggle out of their freezing confines to continue attacking. Sephiroth, however, could not afford a long – if satisfyingly challenging – fight when he had to get Fair taken care of. As much as the brunette could be the source of headaches, the man was also the only individual wholly unaffected by the silver warrior's titles, honors, or even his very aura. Zackary was his friend and a consuming battle was not worth losing that.

Snapping jaws lunged toward the SOLDIER at a staggered rate, allowing each beast to get in a shot without interfering with another, and the General gracefully dodged and blocked each attack, casting the highest level spells he could focus his attention on in quick succession as he danced out of reach of fangs and claws alike. The beasts were slow to fall, wary now to stay spaced out so casting a group spell would be wasteful and inefficient. Irritation simmering in the back of his mind, the SOLDIER restrained himself from calling on his ultima materia tucked into his right bracer and focused all of his mind on the contain he had brought, charging the air around him before releasing a powerful freeze into the two closest monsters. With some satisfaction, he listened to their pained shrieks as they collapsed, unable to even writhe in agony. Piercing cat eyes turned from the fallen to find the others changing tactics. Atrophied wings fanned out, brittle and hardly threatening in and of themselves. As one, those surrounding him lowered their heads to protect their necks and let loose a violent wave of sound. Almost wincing, Sephiroth shook off his rapidly growing disorientation and gathered himself into a defensive crouch.

A subtle shift caused jade to flicker to the side, a painful hollow sinking into his gut as he realized that the younger SOLDIER was about to be ripped to shreds while the General was in no position to help. Muscles contracting, the silver warrior sprang into action, determined to prevent what seemed inevitable. Not two powerful strides toward the unconscious SOLDIER, the hulking form over the brunette leaned down, massive mouth split wide, and the head simply fell. Snout impacting the ground, the scaled appendage tilted and dropped to the side while the massive body stayed poised to attack. All at once, blood gushed from the suddenly severed neck, spraying across the cave from the cleanly sliced carotid artery. Before the SOLDIER could even fully process the event, he felt a distinct drop in the temperature to the point that his breath was visible before him. Turning in full preparation for an attack, the silver warrior was hard-pressed to hide his shock upon finding solid ice statues instead of some kind of breath attack. Now was not the time to stare in wonder, however; Zackary was in need of immediate medical attention.

A small blonde heaved the stalactite from the brunette's chest, turning him even as Sephiroth hurried over, restore already activated. Kneeling and pressing the palm of his free hand to the fallen SOLDIER's wound, Sephiroth released a powerful cure. His sword stayed resolutely gripped in his other hand, senses alert for any disturbance. Mind systematically sorting through what he had witnessed, the silver warrior tensed as his brain caught hold of a few things. The soldier had no exposure to Mako and by all rights shouldn't be able to see at all in this completely black area – he headed unerringly to the downed brunette without aid of walls or tripping over any bones littering the ground. Those azure eyes were not dull like a normal man's would be in this darkness and his pupils were not wide to catch any stray light possible, but rather there was an iridescent sheen and narrowed pupils. The large chunk of bloodied rock resting to the side must have weighed a good deal more than those spindly arms could hold; it looked to be enough to give SOLDIER thirds trouble. The gun that should have been over his shoulder was missing and no other Shin-Ra issued weapon was noticeable on his person. Further, the little blonde was particularly calm in this situation.

By simple deduction, Sephiroth could guess the monsters-made-ice-sculptures were courtesy of the Strife boy, as was the beheaded lumbering giant still poised for attack next to them. How was an entirely separate matter, and an alarming thought at that. The boy was unarmed and that was not a standard ice spell by any stretch of the imagination.

Maintaining his outward calm, the SOLDIER reached for a more powerful cure to heal over the gaping hole even as his sword tilted into a better position should he require it. The restore wasn't as effective as he would have liked, but he did not have a full-cure on him and potions wouldn't have done any better. He also didn't have his heal on him, so there was no way for him to prevent possible infection.

A movement to the side startled the silver warrior into action, swiftly heading toward the simple-minded Mako beast only to be cut off by the solid ice that encased it. Shoulders tense, the SOLDIER turned back around to look at the boy who seemed wholly focused on the brunette next to him. That wasn't coincidence and the silver warrior knew it. That ice was Strife's doing.

Voice low, silky but bordering on menacing, the General finally spoke.

"What are you?"

Azure eyes glared sharply, but the blonde's voice was calm.

"Strife Cloud, from Nibelheim. That's all that matters."

Slamming his fist against some nearby rocks, ignoring the pain that action caused, the General allowed his fury to well up in his voice.

"Do not lie to me. You aren't normal."

A fleeting expression of sorrow appeared on the boy's face before he became closed off again.

"No, I'm not. I have not lied, however."

Changing position quickly, the older man readied his weapon.

"What do you hide, Strife?"

With a blank expression, the teen remained seated next to the unconscious brunette.

"You wouldn't believe me, sir."

Jade eyes narrowed, displeased with the response.

"Try me."

A heavy sigh erupted from the teen before a pale green light spread from his hands out to Fair's unconscious form.

"Nibelheim burned, once."

Keeping himself poised for attack, Sephiroth momentarily marveled at the visibly closing wounds lining his second's still body.

"Regale me."

Crossing his arms as he shifted to sit more comfortably on the hard ground, the blonde remained completely neutral to the sword point directed toward his chest. Dispassionate eyes stared directly into jade, hardly cowed by the sight before him.

"A great man learned a terrible secret there. The Planet suffered for it the most. She vowed to never let any suffer in such a way again, after all was said and done."

Pale blue eyes turned toward the no longer life-threateningly injured brunette.

"When a sister is in danger, a WEAPON will defend her."

"Sister?"

Softly glowing blue eyes turned toward jade once more. The boy remained silent, even after the older man recoiled in unabashed shock.

"You are one of the Planet's WEAPONs?"

Blue eyes dimmed, another sad expression crossing tan features.

"I am Strife Cloud of Nibelheim. I was normal, once. The Planet and her sisters need protection."

Completely drawing back, the silver warrior leaned heavily against the wall behind him. Hojo had spent years attempting to find out anything about the WEAPONs. Not only was this boy precisely what the man had been searching for, but he was also a WEAPON shared by multiple worlds.

"…Is it normal for planets to share their protective measures?"

Sighing, the blonde let his arms drop to rest against his legs.

"No."

Then the boy was completely alien even among his own kind. Sharp jade eyes glanced at Fair before it occurred to him that the blonde had no materia. His magic was innate. This was impossible.

"I never heard of Nibelheim burning before now."

For a moment the depth in azure eyes hinted at profound knowledge as though they had seen a thousand years. Sephiroth wondered if that wasn't true.

"Different Nibelheim, different Planet."

"How many worlds have you defended?"

Turning away, the blonde silently stood and brushed himself off. Recognizing that his question would receive no answer and unwilling to provoke a being he had no understanding of, the General tried another topic, mind quickly organizing all that he had been told.

"Why do you hide in plain sight?"

The small blonde paused before picking up the brunette's sword and strapping it to his back.

"I want to live."

Without preamble, the teen proceeded to hoist the younger SOLDIER into his arms and start back out the way they came. The General followed silently, contemplating the myriad of facts before him. Nothing of significance was said until nightfall, when they reached the town of Nibelheim. Sephiroth acquired the key to their room at the inn, having taken over carrying Zackary to keep up the blonde's illusion. It wasn't until after the brunette warrior was placed in a bed that the silver-haired male spoke directly about the topic he had been mulling over for some time.

"Should I offer you the position, would you take up an apprenticeship with me?"

From the far end of the room, pale eyes watched the SOLDIER blankly.

"Why?"

Sighing, Sephiroth sat on the edge of the empty bed.

"It would give us plausible excuse to speak to one another."

For a minute the teen was silent – conflicted – and the silver warrior could hardly blame him. After spending so much time trying to come across as nothing impressive, the boy was being asked to become the center of attention. However, given that the blonde was indeed clever, he had to be taking into account the matter of the situation report that had to be written up. There was no way for him to slip under the company's radar anymore. Not unless he managed to utterly disappear off of the face of the Planet.

"I accept."

Pleased, the SOLDIER nodded in recognition and pondered how long it would take to get the boy outside of Midgar again. The apprenticeship was flimsy as an alibi considering how important solo missions were to the General. Irrelevantly, the silver warrior briefly wondered what happened to the blonde's standard issue gun.