Adult-FanFiction.org : Final Fantasy

Final Fantasy VII: Angelic Threnody	By : DarkSeraphim1 Category: Final Fantasy VII > Yaoi - Male/Male Views: 1315 -:- Recommendations : 0 -:- Currently Reading : 0
Disclaimer: I do not own Final Fantasy VII, Crisis Core, Before Crisis, or Dirge of Cerberus. I do not profit from the writing and/or posting of this fic. I am just a humble fan paying tribute to another's wonderful creations.

Chapter List
- 30
- 31
- 32
Chapter 31
’My friend, the fates are cruel. There are no dreams, no honor remains. The arrow has left the bow of the goddess.’ -Loveless, ACT IV
            Rufus stared across the length of his bed, ignoring the rumpled bedding and the smell of sex, as he stared at his lover with patent disbelief. Reno had finally gone over the deep end, was all he could think. The other boy—man, if he would be believed—had finally let his fixation with General Sephiroth addle what little wits he possessed. The story Reno had just told him was as fantastic as it was unbelievable, and he wasn’t buying it for a moment. Sephiroth, an insane demigod, intent on destroying The Planet for the sake of his alien mother? General Rhapsodos as a one-winged monster who had been responsible for the great general’s fall from grace by breaking his heart? Cloud Strife, the quiet little apprentice that Zack Fair had taken under his wing, as one of Gaia’s ancient, mythological weapons?!
            “You need help,” he stated bluntly. “Serious help, Reno.”
            “Ah, don’t do that, yo.” Reno actually had the nerve to look hurt as he leaned forward on the bed. “You know I’m not crazy, babe.”
            “No, Reno, I don’t.” Rufus reached for his pants, sliding into them as he pondered how best to help his obviously demented lover. “After everything you’ve just told me, how am I supposed to believe otherwise?”
            Reno’s narrow features took on an urgency was disturbing. “It’s true, yo. Every freakin’ word of it. General Asshole drove Sephiroth crazy, and Sephiroth burned Nibelheim to the ground. He summoned a huge fucking meteor down to destroy Gaia, and it almost did. Strife and his friends stopped him, yo, but it was a close thing. You almost died, and I couldn’t do a damned thing to protect you. I’m not going to let that happen, again.”
            Rufus sighed heavily and raked a hand through his white-blond hair. “Something called Diamond Weapon tried to kill me, right?” he asked, his voice heavy with sarcasm as he pulled on his shoes. “Can you hear yourself, Reno? Do you have any idea how preposterous you sound?”
            “Fuck that!” Reno began to get angry as he pulled on his own clothes. “I’m not crazy! I’m trying to stop you from making a huge fucking mistake. If you go through with this, Sephiroth will kill you. Those three ‘clones’ are a part of him, and he won’t let anything keep him from them. They’re pieces of him, Rufus, and he wants those pieces back. If you stand in his way, you’ll die, and I’ll have come back in time for nothing!”
            “Gods,” Rufus muttered, a headache beginning to form behind his eyes. How could Reno believe this shit? he asked himself with weary bemusement. The whole ‘I’ve traveled through time to save you’ bullshit was something out of a bad movie. Reno had to be aware of this, so why was he clinging to this stupid charade? What was it that he was hoping to accomplish, besides gaining brownie points with ‘His Royal Hotness’?
            He watched as Reno buttoned up his shirt with sharp, angry motions and sighed again. “Reno, you are seventeen,” he said in his most reasonable politician’s voice. “You are two years older than me. You are not a twenty-five-year-old man.”
            “The hell I’m not!” Reno gazed at Rufus with a combination of sorrow and fury. “I lived it, Rufus. I’m the one who found you after Diamond Weapon attacked. I stood by your side when you pushed me away and told me that you didn’t love me anymore. I stayed, even though you treated me like shit, because I knew what being maimed had done to you. I came back to fucking save you, and you want to ruin all my hard work by crossing Sephiroth? Fuck that!”
            Fear rushed through Rufus at the other boy’s impassioned, insane words. “Reno—“
            “And fuck you, too!” Reno realized he was yelling and forced himself to calm down. He glanced around the room, finding his EMR sticking out from under the bed. He grabbed it and shoved it into its holster, then looked back at the man who was about betray all of their trusts. “I love you, babe. I always have, and I always will, but I won’t let you do this. Not to Sephiroth, not to me, and not to yourself. I’ll save you if it’s the last fucking thing that I do.”
            He turned and strode angrily from the room, ignoring Tseng and Rude as he strode through the suite. He had a hand on the front door when a hand grabbed his arm and yanked him back. “You’re not going anywhere.”
             Reno spun around, knocking the hand away, only to be confronted by his very angry boyfriend. “Look, yo,” he began, holding his hands up to convey his sincerity, “I’ll be back. I’m going to warn Sephiroth, and then I’m coming right back to you, where I belong.”
            “I don’t think so.” Rufus’ aristocratic features were tight with fury as grabbed Reno by the front of his shirt and yanked him into the living room. He threw Reno down on the sofa, pushing him back down when he moved to rise. “No, you’ll sit right there while I tell you how it’s going to be.”
            The first stirrings of fear snaked through Reno as realized just how furious his lover was. “Rufus, babe—“
            A hard hand lashed out, striking his cheek hard, and Reno was stunned into silence. He glanced at Tseng, whose slightly widened eyes revealed his own shock, and then at Rude, who had taken an aborted step towards him, before turning back to Rufus.
   “Now that I have your attention,” Rufus began coldly, “let me explain a few things to you. I am in charge here. I am your employer, as well as your lover. Your loyalty is to me and no one else. General Sephiroth is my employee as well, and he will do as I command. Do you understand me?”
            Reno swallowed hard even as he forced himself to his feet. “You’re going to get yourself killed, yo,” he whispered hoarsely. “I’m not going to help you commit suicide, Rufus. I can’t.”
            Those ice-blue eyes, which he had always found so damned gorgeous, narrowed as the other man’s temper snapped. He lashed out again, knocking Reno to the floor, and then he was on him. As blow after blow rained down on him, it occurred to Reno’s dazed mind that he was getting the shit beat of out him, and that he should probably be fighting back. But this was Rufus, his heart cried. He couldn’t hurt Boss Man, not when he’d already been through so much, not after everything he’d suffered at his father’s hands.
            But it fucking hurt. Rufus showed no signs of relenting, pounding him with his fists and the occasional kick, and it hurt. All he could do was curl into a ball and try to protect himself as Rufus vented all of his pent-up fury onto him. A particularly vicious kick was aimed at his knee, and he cried out as he felt the bone of his kneecap shatter under the force of the blow.
            “That’s enough.”
            He looked up through tear-glazed eyes to see that Tseng had grabbed Rufus’ wrist in mid-swing, and as he noticed the statuette of a half-naked woman in his lover’s hand, he was really fucking grateful for it. “Rufus?” he choked out pleadingly, and Tseng silenced him with a look.
            “Rude, take him to the heliport. Call Cissnei and have her meet you there. I’ll contact General Sephiroth. Come back once you’re. . .through.”
            “Yes, sir.” Rude dropped to the floor beside him and gathered him into his arms, and Reno could only cling to him dazedly. “Come on, partner. Let’s get you out of here.”
            As he was carried away, Reno couldn’t help but look over Rude’s shoulder, wanting what he was afraid would be his last glimpse of the man he loved. Rufus looked like he was in shock, his pale eyes wide as he stared after him, his arm still raised for a deathblow. Then Rude carried him into the foyer and out of the suite, and he closed his eyes as he gave into his grief.
            Rufus flinched at the sound of Reno’s tears, coming back to himself in a rush of painful self-awareness. “Oh, Gods!” he gasped with horror, dropping the statue and falling to his knees. “What have I done?!”
            Tseng knelt beside the boy he had practically raised and drew him to him. He held Rufus as he began to shake, violent tremors wracking his thin frame, and felt nothing but sorrow. He pulled his PHS out of his pocket and dialed Sephiroth’s number, rocking his young charge all the while. Sephiroth answered on the second ring, and relief rushed through him as he began to speak.
           “It’s Tseng. Meet Rude and Reno at heliport if you ever want to find your clones. And General, leave now.”
          He closed the phone and set it aside, wrapping both arms around Rufus as the boy began to cry. “I’m just like him,” the younger man sobbed. “I’m just like my old man!”
            “Ssshhh.” Tseng didn’t dispute his words, very much afraid that the physical abuse Rufus had suffered as child would forever haunt him, as he was absolutely certain that the loss of Reno already did.

εуλ2000εуλ2000εуλ2000εуλ2000εуλ2000εуλ2000εуλ2000εуλ2000εуλ2000εуλ2000уλ2000εуλ2000εуλ2000

            Sephiroth leaned forward and set his arms on his knees, meeting Angeal’s gaze evenly as he explained what had happened during his brief two-day absence. His apartment was quiet as he spoke of Rufus and the future they were trying to create, tension hanging thick in the air, making it hard to breathe. Angeal looked both stunned and disappointed as he listened, and a part of Sephiroth grieved for the inevitable loss of trust that the knowledge of his actions would cause. Zack sat at his mentor’s side, looking back and forth between he, Angeal, Genesis, and Cloud, with obvious shock.
            “So, President Shinra is dead?” Zack asked, just to be sure.
            “Yes, he is, and good riddance,” Genesis answered sharply from his place at Sephiroth’s side.
            Angeal looked at him with a pained expression. “You knew, didn’t you?” he questioned in a low voice. “While we were in the mountains, training the troops, you knew this was going to happen.”
            Genesis’ chin went up defiantly. “Yes, I did,” he answered coolly.
            His oldest friend sighed, the sound heavy with disappointment. “What you did—what you all did—lacked honor, Genesis.”
            He snorted at that. “What Shinra let Hojo do to Sephiroth lacked honor,” he shot right back. “He let Hojo kill his parents, then let the man raise him and fuck him up all to hell. I don’t know about you, Angeal, but honor seemed to be singularly lacking when it came to our former employer.”
            “That doesn’t make it right, Gen.”
            Sephiroth watched Angeal scrub a hand over his face with empathy. “No, it does not,” he admitted, smiling faintly at his friend’s look of surprise. “While I do not regret my actions, I do regret that they became necessary. Had The President not pushed me into a corner, I would have let him be.”
            “Would you have?” Angeal shook his dark head, his expression severe. “After learning about the three children he kept from you, I highly doubt that, Sephiroth.”
            A muscle ticked in Sephiroth’s jaw as he nodded and looked away, and Cloud felt a surge of anger on his behalf. “Sephiroth did the right thing,” he said into the silence which followed. “Even if he hadn’t felt moved to do this, I would have. Shinra’s taken too much from me to be forgiven.”
            Angeal looked at the young man whose story had horrified them all and exhaled harshly. “Your bitterness is understandable, Cloud, but—“
            “But nothing,” Cloud cut in. He reached back and set his left hand on the slim scabbard that housed Souba, drawing Angeal’s gaze to the sword he never used, but was never without. “Kadaj and his brothers are not disposable, and neither was I. If Sephiroth hadn’t helped me search for them, I would have gone through him to find them. I won’t let anything stop me, General Hewley. Not Shinra, not Sephiroth, and certainly not your antiquated sense of wrong or right.”
            Sephiroth winced, and then began to chuckle, much to Cloud’s surprise. “What’s so funny?” he asked sharply.
            “You,” he said simply. “I am exceedingly grateful that you did not feel the need to ‘go through’ me, Cloud. I expect it would have been quite painful.”
            Cloud stared at him for a long moment before smiling reluctantly. “Yeah, for both of us,” he murmured in agreement.
            Genesis lifted one fiery brow as he watched them. “And what makes you think that you could have gone through Sephiroth?” he asked scornfully.
            The laughter stopped abruptly, replaced by two very similar, very inscrutable expressions. “Hojo tried to turn me into Sephiroth,” Cloud reminded him tonelessly. “He very nearly succeeded.”
            “So, what exactly does that mean?” Zack asked with exasperation. “Is your hair going to turn silver? Are you suddenly going to be tall? What?”
            Cloud snorted and eased back into his seat, and Sephiroth answered for him. “No, it merely means that Cloud is powerful enough to defeat me, should the situation ever arise where he is required to do so.”
            A deafening silence followed his words, and Cloud sent him a rueful smile. Sephiroth only shrugged and returned it, knowing how preposterous the idea would seem to his friends, even though he had spoken the truth. His PHS rang, and he reached for it with a sense of relief. He flipped it open, heard Tseng’s urgent words, and very carefully folded it closed.
            “We have to go,” he announced abruptly, gaining his feet and striding through the apartment. “Genesis, gather whatever you think you will need for the trip to Junon, but do so quickly. We have to meet Reno at the heliport ASAP.”
            “Why?” Genesis questioned even as he rose to follow. “What’s happening, Seph?”
            “I don’t know,” Sephiroth answered flatly, “but Tseng said that if we ever want to find the boys, we should leave now.”
            Cloud flinched as he surged to his feet. “What can I do?” he called out, anticipation and fear flooding him in equal parts. Kadaj was almost within reach!
            “Go to the heliport,” Sephiroth ordered, raising his voice to be heard from the other room. “Stay with Reno and find out what’s happened. We will meet you there shortly.”
            “Got it.” Cloud turned to Zack and smiled with obvious regret. “I’m sorry, Zack, but we won’t be coming back to Shinra. Thanks, for being such a great friend, and for teaching me so much. You’ll never know how much your friendship has meant to me.”
            “What do you mean, you’re not coming back?” Zack asked with wide blue eyes. “You’re my best bud, Cloud. You have to come back.”
            Cloud shook his head quickly, making his golden spikes sway. “We have to get the boys away from Shinra, Zack. I have to get Kadaj away from Shinra. I can’t come back,” he finished quietly.
            “Then, we’ll go with you. Right, Angeal?”
            He twisted around to look up at his lover, who gazed at him for a long moment before slowly nodding his acquiescence. “We’ll help you free Kadaj and his brothers,” he said in a low voice. “We’ll figure out what to do about SOLDIER. . . later.”
            Angeal looked stunned by the realization that his two best friends had made plans to flee Shinra without him, but Cloud didn’t have time to hold his hand. “Let’s mosey, then,” he said, drawing First Tsurugi and heading for the door. “We need to find out what’s happened.”
            Genesis entered the room, a hastily packed duffel bag in his hands. He stopped short as he observed the hurt, dazed expression on his friend’s noble features. “Go with him, ‘geal,” he ordered gently. “Make sure Reno’s all right. Seph and I will be right behind you.”
            Midnight eyes cut to his. “Genesis. . .”
            “It’s all right, ‘geal.” Genesis gave him a quick, tight hug, hoping it would be enough to reassure him. “Go, okay? We’ll meet you there.”
            Finally, Angeal nodded and turned towards the door. Genesis watched the door close behind him and let out a sigh of relief. He really hadn’t wanted to leave his best friend behind. Now, he didn’t have to.
            He heard Sephiroth moving around in the next room and shook himself. He went to the stand he had so recently refurbished and simply ripped the glass casing out. He closed the priceless copy of Loveless, covering it with the ancient silken cover, and hugged it to his chest. He wasn’t leaving this behind, either!
            Sephiroth swept back into the room, a small duffel bag slung over his right shoulder. “Are you ready?” he asked tersely, his austere expression softening as he saw the book.
            “I’m ready, Seph.” Genesis picked up his bag, cast one last look around the place that had served as their home for so long, and turned away without a shred of regret. His future was with Sephiroth, wherever he happened to be. The rest was just bullshit. “Let’s go find our boys.”
            Sephiroth took a step towards him, cupping his cheek with one gloved hand, his pale green eyes soft with affection. He leaned down and brushed his lips over the other man’s. “Thank you,” he whispered softly.
            Genesis merely smiled and marched to the door, then looked at him pointedly. Sephiroth got the message. He walked to the door, grasped the knob, and slanted a glance at his lover. Genesis smiled at him encouragingly, juggled the book and the bag, and placed his hand over the other man’s. Together, they opened the door, and took their first steps into a future that was not yet written.
            Sephiroth walked swiftly to the down the hall, taking the stairs up to the roof, Genesis hot on his heels. He pushed the roof access door open and strode to the cargo helicopter, which bore the hated Shinra logo on the side. The bald Turk who was Reno’s partner waited at the side of the chopper, his normally immaculate black suit and white dress shirt liberally dotted with blood.
            “What happened?” he asked without preamble, and Rude only nodded his head towards the helicopter’s interior. He climbed on board, only to stop as his gaze met that of Reno. He heard Genesis gasp behind him as he slowly knelt beside the injured young man. Reno was sprawled out on one of the benches, his head resting on Cloud’s lap, his face swollen almost beyond recognition. “Rufus?”
            “Yeah.” Reno’s thin, bloodied lips trembled as he attempted a smile. “I guess, my taste in men is worst than yours, yo.”
            Sephiroth didn’t reply, only looked the battered boy over with a critical eye. “It’s his knee,” Rude said from behind him. “It’s shattered.”
            “He’ll require surgery, then.” Sephiroth eased back and glanced at the stoic Turk. “Are you our pilot?”
            Rude only shook his bald head. “Cissnei,” was all he said, but it was enough.
            “Then, let us be on our way.”
            Rude nodded once and climbed inside long enough to say goodbye to his partner. “Take care of yourself, Reno,” he said quietly. “Mind General Sephiroth, and don’t cause any trouble.”
            Reno managed a pale imitation of his usual grin. “You know me, partner.”
            “Yes, I do,” Rude said with a grunt. “Keep your phone charged. I’ll call you when I can.”
            “I will, yo.” Reno paused for a moment before adding, “Take care of him, Rude. He doesn’t know what he’s doing.”
            Rude only gazed at him for a long moment, the sunglasses not dimming the effect of his stare in the least, before turning away. He stopped in the opening, waiting until he caught Cissnei’s eye, and nodded once more. The pretty young Turk only smiled slightly and turned back to the controls, but it was enough. She would watch over their battered comrade, and keep him informed of Reno’s progress. He couldn’t ask for any more than that.
            He jumped down to the tarmac below and turned, grasping the handle of the large sliding door and pushing it closed. He hit the outside of the helicopter once, and forced himself to walk away. There was nothing more he could do for Reno. He was in The General’s hands, now.
            Sephiroth glanced around the helicopter, noting that Zack and Angeal were on the far end of the vehicle, strapping themselves in. They both looked tense as the blades began to rotate, but there was nothing he could do about it right now. If nothing else, at least Zack looked a bit excited by the prospect of adventure. That was a small bit of comfort.
            He felt a touch at the small of his back, and knew that asking Genesis to secure himself would be a waste of time. Until he himself moved, Genesis would be at his side, doing everything that he could to help Sephiroth with the situation they currently found themselves in.
            He flashed a grateful look over his shoulder before turning back to the injured Turk, raising his voice slightly to be heard above the din as they took flight. “Tell me exactly what happened,” he said in his most commanding voice, and Reno responded instantly, just as he had expected. What he had not expected, however, was the content of Reno’s verbal assault.
            “I told him everything, yo. He was going to have the triplets moved so you couldn’t find them, and he’d have a fuckin’ bargaining chip, so I told him what happened with Jenova and Meteor and the world almost being obliterated. He thought I was crazy, yo, but he was fine with it until I tried to leave to warn you.”
            The young man paused, his blue-green eyes filling tears, as he gazed up at Sephiroth. “He just lost it, yo. He started babbling about how I was his, and how you were too, and then he just started hitting me. He fucking beat the crap out of me, yo, because he thought I was giving my loyalty to you instead of him.”
            Reno squeezed his eyes shut and turned into Cloud, hiding his face against his stomach, and Sephiroth felt ill. He reached out and hesitantly laid a hand on Reno’s head, much the way he had seen Zack do with Cloud on so many occasions. Instead of ruffling the soft red spikes, he settled for smoothing his thumb over the boy’s scalp, much as he would for Genesis if he were in need of comfort.
            The boy let out an audibly shaky breath before slowly opening his eyes. “Can I touch your hair, now, yo?”
            Sephiroth blinked at the unexpected request, and then forced himself to do the unthinkable. He slowly withdrew his hand, gathered up a section of his own hair, and handed it to the boy. Reno’s eyes grew huge as he eagerly snatched up the gilded strands and began to play with them, and Sephiroth heard Genesis laugh gently behind him.
            “Just this once, street-rat, and only because of the circumstances.”
            “I’ll take it, yo.” Sephiroth only sighed heavily as the boy added, “It’s so fucking soft, yo.”
            Genesis shifted so that he was at his side, a shimmering green orb held in his hand, a world of questions swirling in his pale gaze. “Should we heal him now, or wait until we can find a hospital?”

            Sephiroth let a quiet breath, infinitely grateful that Genesis had chosen not to ask those questions, which would require that he lie to him. “If we heal him now, he will be left with a limp. We should wait until we can acquire proper medical attention for him. Kalm is the closest town. We can take him there and--”
            “I don’t think that’s a good idea,” Cloud cut in quietly. In his arms, Reno was coughing, covering his mouth with his free hand. That hand, when he pulled it away, was covered with blood. “He’s got internal injuries, Sephiroth. I don’t think he’s going to make it to the next town.”
            “Very well.” He took the Full Cure materia from Genesis, turning back to the injured Turk, who had yet to let go of his hair. “This is going to be painful, Reno. Would you like me to cast a sleep spell first?”
            “No,” Reno said flatly, every inch the Turk as he added, “I want to feel this, yo, so that I never forget what Rufus tried to do.”
            Cloud winced even as he pulled Reno higher on his lap. He wrapped his arms around him and said, “Go ahead. I’ve got him.”
            Sephiroth only nodded and drew on the power within the crystallized mako. He directed the magic at the injured man, watching with sharp eyes as the spell did its work. Reno stiffened in Cloud’s arms, thrashing around and cursing with a creativity that surpassed even Genesis. Sephiroth set his hands on the boy’s thighs, helping Cloud hold him in place, until it was done.
            Reno finally went limp, his thin chest heaving as he slumped against Cloud. His breath came in harsh pants, his left hand still clutching Sephiroth’s hair like it was a lifeline. “That fucking hurt, yo!” he declared, belatedly adding, “but thanks for the save, babe.”
            Genesis rolled his eyes, reached out, and very carefully plucked the moonlight strands from the Turk’s hand. “That’s enough of that,” he stated firmly. “I don’t share, street-rat. You’d do well to remember that.”
            “Ah, come on, man!” Reno’s thin, thankfully healed, features creased as he scowled. “I didn’t even have time to enjoy it, yo.”
            Genesis snorted as he turned away. “You’ll live, Turk.”
            Sephiroth frowned at them both, consternation darkening his patrician features, as he slowly followed. Genesis took a seat on the opposite end of the bench, patting the spot beside him as he strapped himself in. Sephiroth slid onto the bench next to him, ignoring the safety harness as he reached for his lover’s hand. Genesis met him halfway, red-gloved fingers tangling with his own, and Sephiroth shifted closer.
            “Why is everyone so fascinated with my hair?” he asked in a low, bewildered voice which Genesis’ enhanced senses had no problem detecting.
            “It’s not just the hair, Sephiroth.” Genesis reached up and gently fingered one silvery lock. “It’s what it represents.”
            Sephiroth merely continued to gaze at him without comprehension, and he smiled gently as he added, “It’s you, Seph. It’s part of you, and that’s what everyone finds so fascinating.”
            Exotic green eyes widened slightly, then narrowed as he blushed. Profusely. “You are teasing me, again,” he muttered as he pulled his hand away, and Genesis couldn’t help but laugh at the embarrassed reaction.
            “Sorry, Seph, but it’s true.” His sky-blue eyes danced with mirth as he added, “Everybody wants the great General Sephiroth, even though most of them wouldn’t know what to do with you if they got you. I, however, have no such problems.”
            “Hmph.” Sephiroth lowered his head, hiding his sudden smile behind the wealth of said hair. “You know what to do with me, do you?”
            Genesis grinned as he leaned as close as the safety harness would allow, setting his hand on his lover’s leather-covered thigh and splaying his fingers. “Oh, I know exactly what to do with you, gekkou.” His voice dropped to a rich, seductive murmur as he squeezed Sephiroth’s leg meaningfully. “Once we land, I’ll be more than happy to prove that to you—in precise, toe-curling detail.”
            Sephiroth’s hand immediately clamped down on his, a precaution in case his passionate, mercurial lover decided that he was too impatient to wait. “Genesis,” he growled in warning, and earned another tinkling laugh.
            “And, you can tell me exactly what Reno was babbling about in the process,” he murmured with a warning of his own.
            Sephiroth’s breath came in hard at those dangerous, too-quiet words. His agile mind automatically began to sort through the past, dissecting his memories and discarding those he deemed too dangerous, even as he leaned towards the other man. “I’ll tell you all that I can,” he whispered solemnly, hoping that what little he could reveal would be enough to appease Genesis’ insatiable curiosity.
            “Then, that’s enough.” Genesis brushed those beautiful bow lips with his own and drew back. “Now, I’m going to read Loveless to you, and you’re going to sit back and enjoy it. Understood?”
            Sephiroth chuckled with both relief and affection as he settled back beside the other man. “Understood, Gen.”
            “Good.” Genesis only spared a fleeting glance for Angeal, who was watching them that same lost, disturbed expression he’d worn before, and carefully opened the priceless book. “Angeal, you’re going to enjoy this too, so suck it up.”
            The other man smiled, the first since being told about his friends’ questionable actions, and Genesis nodded decisively. He knew his best friend too damned well. “When the war of the beasts brings about the world's end,” he began, pitching his voice so that Cloud and Reno could hear the epic tale clearly, “the goddess descends from the sky. Wings of light and dark spread afar, she guides us to bliss, her gift everlasting.”
            Sephiroth closed his eyes and let Genesis’ smooth, beloved voice wash over him. He listened to the familiar, once-hated words with a profound sense of hope. Genesis would always love poetry, Loveless in particular, but he no longer clung to the ancient epic as though it were his only salvation. Instead of pain, anger, self-loathing, and jealousy, the words were filled with something resembling faith, and they resonated with something within Sephiroth’s own heart.
            No, he thought with determination, the future was not yet written, and they were the ones would recreate it. Misfits, monsters, SOLDIERs. . .whatever one chose to call them, they were Gaia’s last, best hope for survival, and they would not fail. They would defeat The Calamity which threatened them all, and perhaps, become the heroes they were always meant to be in the process.

            ‘Father.’
            Sephiroth’s eyes snapped open as he heard a high, childlike voice deep within his mind. ‘Kadaj?’ he questioned tentatively, and was rewarded with a happy, albeit very disturbing, laugh.
            ‘Yes, Father, it’s me. I can’t stay very long, but you need to know that they’re about to move us. They’ve already separated us as a precautionary measure.’
            Fear flashed through him at the boy’s matter-of-fact words. ‘Where are they taking you?’ he demanded silently.
            ‘Nowhere, if we have our way.’
            Sephiroth felt a mixture of concern and relief as he closed his eyes and concentrated. ‘We’ve just left Midgar. We are on our way. Can you stall them?’
            ‘Oh, I think we can do a little more than that, Sephiroth.’
            He winced inwardly, even as he reminded himself that the boys were more than capable of defending themselves. ‘We will be there shortly. Keep yourselves alive, little one. I would very much like the chance to know you all.’
            ‘Yeah, we’re looking forward to meeting you, too. Is Nii-san with you?’
            Sephiroth smiled faintly to himself. ‘Yes, Cloud is with me.’
            ‘He has Souba?’
            ‘Yes, little one, he has your sword.’
            ‘Good,’ came the satisfied reply. There was a pause, and then, ‘Tell him that I’ll see him soon, and that if he develops a sudden fondness for the redhead in his lap, I’m going to kill them both!’
            Startled, Sephiroth opened his eyes, his gaze flying to Cloud. Reno was still sprawled on out on lap, looking as though he had no intention of moving. Cloud sensed his perusal and looked up, and Sephiroth was shocked to see that his pupils had narrowed until they were little more than slits, lost in a sea that should have been blue but wasn’t. Acid-green swirled in those eyes, glowing power with that little to do with mako, and everything to do with the alien cells they all shared.
            Then, Cloud smiled, and his eyes were own once again. “You heard?” he asked wryly.
            “Yes,” Sephiroth replied with a smile of his own. “He is quite possessive, isn’t he?”
            “You have no idea,” Cloud answered with a small laugh.

            Genesis listened to them speak, his own voice having died as soon as he’d realized that Sephiroth wasn’t listening to him. He wasn’t quite sure what was going on, but it almost sounded as though the youngest of Sephiroth’s clones had somehow been in contact them. While that shouldn’t be possible, there was too much he didn’t understand about Hojo and his ‘work’ to dismiss the notion. Sephiroth was a prime example of that.
            Sephiroth turned towards him wearing an apologetic expression, and he quickly shook his head. “Are they all right?” he asked with concern, accepting it just that easily.
            His lover gazed at him with silent surprised gratitude before slowly nodding his head. “They are about to be moved to another location,” he said, his deep voice betraying his worry. “Kadaj, however, has other ideas.”
            Azure eyes widened dramatically at the implication behind his words. “They’re going to fight their way out?” he questioned with equal parts of worry and amazement. Sephiroth nodded again, and Genesis grasped him arm tightly. “Sephiroth, they can’t. They’re children. What do they expect to do against trained SOLDIERs?”
            A snort sounded, drawing their attention back to Reno. “They’ll be fine, yo,” he said as he very carefully sat up. “Feel sorry for the poor schmucks they’re going to decimate before we get there. It’s not going to be pretty, yo.”
            Genesis frowned at that. “Reno, they are children,” he snapped with the first stirrings of anger. “They couldn’t possibly survive a fight with—“
            “Yes, they can.” Cloud sighed heavily, trading a flat look with his former nemesis. “The aging experiments, Sephiroth. They’re more than capable of defending themselves, and of killing anyone who gets in their way. They’re a lot like you, in that aspect.”
            Sephiroth fought the urge to smile at that last, bitter comment. It would not have been a pretty sight. “Regardless, we need to get to them before they collapse the dome,” he said, tapping his right arm meaningfully.
            Cloud’s bright blue gaze followed the motion. “The underwater materia,” he stated with obvious relief. “I’ll take care of it.”
            He twisted in his seat and reached out, tapping the back of the pilot’s seat lightly. “Step on it,” he ordered. “We need to be in Junon yesterday.”
            The pretty young Turk who had been one of Zack’s favorite flirts turned and offered a brief smile. “Got it.” The tail end of the helicopter dipped as they changed altitude, and then accelerated. “Consider it yesterday, Lieutenant.”
            Cloud gave into the urge to smile as he turned back to the man he had once hated with all of his heart. Sephiroth returned it briefly before turning towards Genesis, who looked genuinely distraught, as he gestured rather dramatically to emphasize his words. As he watched the great general soothe his distressed lover, he was once again struck by how different Sephiroth seemed. The legend was not the cold, emotionless SOLDIER he barely remembered from his time as a Shinra cadet. Neither was he the maddened, sadistic demigod Cloud had fought so many times over the last eight years, and remembered all too well.
            If anything, Sephiroth was proving that he was only a man, one who didn’t always understand the world around him, and whose emotional ties appeared to be his entire world. Genesis, Angeal, Zack, and the boys, they seemed to be all that he lived for. It was disconcerting, just how much of himself Sephiroth seemed to have invested in those he cared for, and Cloud worried about what his reaction might be if something happened to one of them.
            “You worry too much, yo.”
            He focused on Reno, who was gazing at him with atypically dark blue-green eyes, and shrugged once. The redheaded Turk smiled crookedly and said, “I know the feeling, yo, but we’ve got to take it as it comes. There’s nothing else we can do.”
            Cloud’s lips curved slightly in a smile of his own. “Shit rolls downhill, huh?”
            “And then some.” Reno’s chuckle sounded forced as he shifted a little closer and lowered his voice. “Sephiroth’s solid—for now—and that’s all we can ask, yo. Try to have a little faith, Chocobo Boy. You’ll be with Baby soon enough. The rest will work itself out.”
            “Or not,” Cloud said with another sigh. He paused before asking, “What about you, Reno?”
            “I’m alive,” came the flat, yet bitter, response. “After what Rufus pulled, it’s probably more than I deserve, but I’ll take it, yo.”
            Cloud gazed at him for a long moment. “For what it’s worth, I’m sorry, Reno.”
            “Yeah, so am I.”
            The Turk turned away, resting his head on the wall behind him, and closed his eyes. Cloud took the hint and did the same, trying to take Reno’s advice and push his worries about the future away. They had a long, hard ahead of them, and worrying about what might come really was pointless.
            He glanced over at Sephiroth and was surprised to see him holding Genesis in a telling, intimate embrace. The arrogant First had his head on Sephiroth’s shoulder, and was clinging to him in his upset. Sephiroth was holding him close, speaking in low tones, and occasionally kissing the top of Genesis’ head. Even as Cloud watched, Genesis shuddered and moved closer, and Sephiroth merely tightened his hold and continued his comforting ministrations, speaking soothingly all the while.
            They really did care for each other, Cloud thought, knowing that he shouldn’t be surprised. He’d seen proof of that the night Sephiroth had almost died. Sephiroth’s concern had been for Genesis, even though it had been he who had lain there dying. And Genesis’ near-hysterical reaction had shown just how much he loved the silver-haired warrior, regardless of whether or not he had before.
            And Cloud had to admit, that even with everything Genesis had done, there was a good chance that he had. None of them had any way of knowing just how much of Genesis’ destructive actions had been his own, and not Jenova’s. After seeing what she had done to Sephiroth in Nibelheim, it wouldn’t surprise him in the least to discover that Genesis had been influenced by the bitch that called herself “Mother”.
            As though reading his mind, Sephiroth lifted his head and looked at him with narrowed green eyes. Cloud saw the warning in their mako-brilliant depths and nodded his blond head once. Sephiroth wasn’t his enemy this time around, and he would do whatever he could to help him save the man he’d sacrificed everything for. He’d do nothing less for Kadaj, and he wouldn’t begrudge the other man this opportunity. Fuck Gaia, fuck Jenova, and fuck Rufus Shinra. They were going to do this, and nothing would stop them.
- 30
- 31
- 32
You need to be logged in to leave a review for this story.You need to be logged in to leave a review for this story.
Report Story

Final Fantasy VII: Angelic Threnody