I apologize for my absence in these past few weeks. First this website went stupid, then my brain went stupid, then real life decided to try and kill me. There will be three chapters to this, the first two I'm posting now, and the third will be later today, or tomorrow at the latest. I need to get the SephxCloud sexiness going right. :)

Theme Song: The Night by Disturbed

Summary: Is is luck, or divine intervention that lets two men finally be reaquainted, but gives the Wicked Bitch incentive to finish carrying out her plans?

September 22nd

"You seem quiet, Lady," Cloud said to the woman in his mind, taking a drink of water. She chuckled softly, as he reclined on the gym floor, watching Reno and Tseng spar hand to hand.

"There is nothing for me to say, Master," she said, and he snorted. He was drawn back to the moving figures as Reno pulled a move that had Tseng on the floor, and smirked widely when the red head followed his superior officer down, grinding their hips together. Rolling his eyes, Cloud smacked the floor with his boot, catching their attention.

"Get a room you two," he called, grinning when they both glared at him.

"Technically yo, were in a room already," Reno said back, making the other men laugh.

"Fine fine, but if your gonna keep going, let me know so I can get outa here," he laughed, groaning softly as he got to his feet, as Reno helped Tseng to his. The head Turk dusted off his loose pants, and grinned at Cloud.

"There is no need for you to leave," he said, glaring at Reno when the younger made a protesting noise. "You asked to be trained in hand to hand, and that's what we're here to do."

Reno sighed, and spoke in a resigned voice, but his sea blue eyes danced with humor. "Right blondie. You need every advantage you can get, being smaller and weaker then the rest of them SOLDIER's." Tseng and Cloud exchanged a quick glance, that Reno missed since he was already doing stretches. Tseng knew about Jenova, and what happened when they bonded. He also knew that Cloud was stronger then most SOLDIER's, despite his deceptively small appearance. The most important thing he knew though, was these impromptu training sessions were to keep his mind off Angeal, Zack, and Genesis. Angeal was becoming more surly and bitchy with every day that Zack and Genesis were gone. The President had even told him that Zack had requested no one else be sent on the mission, including Angeal. That had been a board meeting to remember. It was the first, and probably last time anyone would ever see mild mannered Angeal yelling at the President.

As Cloud walked over and took his position in front of Reno, with Tseng as the teacher, he let his mind wander as he followed directions.

He talked to Zack and Genesis at least once a week on the phone, sometimes more then that. He would never admit it, but he was beginning to think that the two of them leaving was exactly what they had all needed, except maybe Angeal. He dodged a blow to his head, and swept out a leg that Reno jumped, and they settled back down into a rhythm of attacking and defending.

Conversation between the three of them went a lot smoother then it used to, and he was starting to think that Genesis was realizing that despite Jenova, he was still Cloud. He just may look different sometimes. Zack seemed to be a lot more relaxed, laughing and joking over the phone about the stupidity of the rebels they were after. Currently, the two 1st's were mercilessly teasing the poor people, letting them think they were going to attack, and then not. Spoiling their food supplies, poisoning some water but not others. The two 1st's had them jumping at their own shadows. Cloud never really understood how Zack could be so…happily sadistic. It was also Turk, or guerilla tactics. It showed just how much interaction and admiration the higher ranking 1st's had for the Elite Bodyguards. They were both special groups, where only the best got in. Even though there was competition between them, it never got serious. If it ever did, Gaia help those that got in either sides way.

Cloud smirked slightly as Reno tried for a wild swing to the left side of his face, hoping to catch him off guard. He stepped nimbly to the side, and the red head grunted when Cloud got him in the ribs. Without missing a beat, Reno dropped to the ground, kicking upwards with his foot, narrowly missing Cloud's face. As the blonde stumbled backwards, Reno got back to his feet, rolling his shoulders as Cloud set himself again, grinning.

He yelped when Tseng smacked him sharply on the back of his head, causing him to stumble forward slightly. He turned to the man with a glare, that was returned with a smirk.

"You weren't paying attention for half of that spar," he explained, and grumbling, Cloud turned back to an amused Reno. All three snapped around when the door to the gym slammed open, the sounds of shattering glass tinkling through the room. Cloud gaped, to stunned to do anything else. Vincent stood there, his eyes already mostly yellow, panting slightly.

"Cloud, you need to…" he trailed off, and for once, Cloud saw Vincent at an utter lack for words. The yellow receded back to red as he stared at Tseng, the head Turk staring right back.

"Vin...Vincent?" Tseng whispered, and now Cloud could only stare at Tseng. Were there tears in those black eyes?

"Tseng," Vincent stated quietly, then the spell was broken by Reno whistling, walking up to Cloud's side.

"Dude, your Vincent Valentine?" Reno asked, his voice dripping with awe and admiration. "Dude, your like, a legend in the Turks yo."

"I thought you were dead," Tseng said quietly, and it made Cloud wince to see the Turk try to bring himself back under control. It looked like it hurt. Vincent smiled slightly, and walked farther into the room, not stopping until he was in front of them.

"Does it look like I'm dead?" he asked, and Cloud grinned slightly. It had only been in the past few months that Vincent had taken to using sarcasm, coming from to much time spent with Genesis, he was sure. Tseng shook his head, and hesitantly reached out a hand, stopping himself just before he would have touched Vincent's chest. He looked scared to move that last inch, as though as soon as he touched him, he would realize that it was all a dream, that Vincent wasn't actually there. Cloud noticed Reno looking between the two of them curiously, and with a slight tinge of jealously. Reno obviously thought something had happened between the two of them, but Cloud knew different.

"I am alive, Tseng, though no one else can know," Vincent said seriously, stepping forward that one step, and Tseng nearly whimpered when his hand came in contact with the broad chest. His long fingers curled into the soft material of Vincent's t-shirt, pulling him forward until they were pressed together. A sob was ripped from the head Turk, and Vincent closed his eyes, embracing the man as Tseng pressed his face in his chest, crying almost silently as Vincent whispered comforting words in their native, Wutainian language. Cloud grabbed Reno's arm when he opened his mouth, dragging him into the hallway.

Reno turned to him, indignation and anger clear on his face, and Cloud smirked.

"Tseng trained under Vincent," he said, understanding and confusion swimming in the bluish green eyes.

"I thought Tseng trained under Verdot," Reno questioned, and Cloud frowned at the unfamiliar name. Seeing this, Reno shrugged. "Verdot was the previous Head of Turks." Understanding dawned, and Cloud nodded, looking through the broken glass of the window, to the two men who were speaking quietly in the gym.

"You know the official story of what happened to Vincent, right?" Reno nodded. "You also know that Tseng was pretty much raised in the Turks?" Another nod. "Vincent wasn't killed when he was with Hojo. He saw something Hojo didn't like, so the good doctor put him into suspended animation." The explanation was as close as Reno was going to get. "Tseng lived, and trained, with Vincent until he was seven, when the mission with Hojo came up. Vincent never came back, and the only thing that anyone knew was that Vincent was dead. As far as I know, no one ever had any reason to think different. Tseng…" Cloud stopped, watching Tseng and Vincent as they talked quietly back and forth, both of them sitting cross-legged on the floor and completely ignoring the two in the hall. He didn't know if Tseng wanted the rest of the story out there, but Reno surprised him.

"Tseng and Vincent had a fight," he said thoughtfully, an unusual look of seriousness on his face. "He told me that he lost the only father he ever knew when he was seven, and that it was all his fault. I never thought he was talking about the Vincent Valentine yo."

"Tseng didn't want him to go, 'cause no one likes Hojo, but Vincent was very proud to be a Turk, from what I got from him," Cloud said with a small smile, motioning for Reno to follow him, and the two went down the hallway to a small seating area on the left, with some vending machines. They were both silent as they got protein bars and drinks, not speaking until the food was gone, and the drinks halfway there.

"Turks follow orders yo," Reno said, in a matter of fact voice. "You don't question them, you just do them. It's not surprising that Vincent went, even if he did hate Hojo."

Cloud turned his head, glancing down the hallway. Ah, he had heard right. Vincent and Tseng were coming down the hallway, and Cloud had to blink a few times. They both looked…free? It was like a great burden had been lifted off both of them, and they could float into the sky with the relief of it. He smiled slightly, glad that someone in his life had some of their burdens eased.

lxlxlxlxl

Jenova was panicking. When she had seen Vincent come barreling through the door, she had known exactly what was wrong. Chaos had sent her a smug smirk, along with the accompanying thought that they knew exactly what she was doing to the man she was bonded with. Oh fuck, were the very helpful words that came to her mind.

She frantically formed and discarded plans on how to deal with Vincent, as Cloud went about talking to Reno. She had a moment, Vincent was still in the gym with Tseng. She thanked whatever higher being of the Planet that the demon possessed man chose that particular moment to find and tell Cloud about her manipulation. If Tseng hadn't been there, if Vincent hadn't picked that second…

If she had a pulse, it would be pounding. Terror infused every fiber of her being, until she could feel nothing but the overwhelming need to escape, in anyway possible. She drew back from Cloud swiftly, gathering herself to attack.

lxlxlxlxl

Jenova disappeared from his mind, causing Cloud to frown slightly. She rarely left that quickly anymore, much preferring to stay, listen, and comment on the conversation. He blinked when Reno leaned into him, studying his face. No, Cloud thought with a burst of panic. He's looking at my eyes.

"Um, Reno?" Tseng asked with an amused smirk, but the seriousness in Reno's face only deepened, along with his frown. Cloud didn't look away, keeping his now solid blue irises steady on Reno's face.

"Where did the red go, yo?" Reno asked, his voice deadly quiet. He stared steadily into Reno's eyes, showing nothing.

"I have no clue what you're talking about," he stated, causing Reno to growl softly.

"Bullshit," Reno said quietly, and the anger that was always on the surface of Cloud's mind flared. He knew when the crimson entered his eyes again, because Reno jerked back in surprise, and Tseng and Vincent shot him warning glares. He only smiled slightly, and from the tensing of the men around the table, he knew it wasn't a nice smile.

"Do you mean this red?" he purred, causing Reno to narrow his sea blue eyes at him. Then his body bowed backwards in pain, as one moment, he couldn't even feel Jenova, and the next, she was suddenly there in his mind, overwhelming his senses. It was such a bad shock and surprise to his system to feel her so angry, determined, and utterly terrified, that his control slipped for a brief moment. In that moment, she smashed through his defenses completely. He felt the blood erupting from his back with the emergence of the wings, red light exploding as his eyes changed, and then he was the one floating in blackness. Although it was strange, since he was able to stare out his own eyes, but the voice that spoke was not his. The personality that moved his body was not his. She had taken him over completely, and was now barreling straight towards the window, shattering it and launching their shared body into the afternoon sun. He was barely aware of Vincent melding with his demon, and giving chase.

The surprise fled from his mind on a wave of white hot anger, and he tackled the female personality that was currently taking over his body.

"You bitch!" he screamed in rage, not caring that his body faltered in the air, before she kicked him viciously in the head, sending him tumbling back in the dark. Her body appeared before him, and the look of pain, and love on her face stunned him badly enough that he froze. She knelt before him, and gathered his body into her arms.

"I can't let you be around them anymore, Master," she whispered, and he blinked wide eyes, staring over her shoulder out his own eyes, at the swiftly moving scenery underneath them. She continued when he stayed silent, stroking the back of his head softly.

"All they do is hurt you. None of them are good for you, none of them help you. They could never understand what you go through, what you have gone through. They don't get the sacrifices that you've made for all of them, and never will."

"Sephiroth," he whispered, firmly. Sephiroth had never turned from him, had never looked at him as though he was a monster. She tensed around him, and he could hear the sneer in her voice with her next words.

"He only uses you, Master," she hissed, and knew it was the wrong thing to say, when the small body in her arms went completely still. She stilled as well, waiting to see what he would do, as the terror came back, and panic roared through her mind. She was so close to having him all to herself, to getting him away from all these people that hurt him! She was so damn close to getting away with it all!

"Bullshit," he said softly, pushing her away from him. She fell backwards onto her ass, and glared up at the man as he stood, hand clenched tightly into fists at his side. She fled back into the forefront of his mind, as he threw his head back, and howled, sounding eerily like Jaz and Ifrit. They both knew the angry, anguished cry echoed through anyone that had her cells, even though the average 1st's had no clue what they were hearing, and easily put it out of their minds.