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Darkened Skies	By : Cynthia Category: Final Fantasy VII > AU - Alternate Universe Views: 949 -:- Recommendations : 1 -:- Currently Reading : 1
Disclaimer: Final Fantasy and all characters are the property of Square Enix. I do not profit from this fanfiction, it’s for entertainment purposes only.

Chapter List
- 5
- 6
- 7
"Darkened Skies"
Chapter Six: Jenova
A Final Fantasy 7 AU fanfiction
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Author's note: I don't think it's necessary to give a full recount of all the canon scenes that occur within this chapter. Instead, I'm detailing the parts that are significant to this AU's plot development and the parts that occur differently. This chapter isn't as long as it could have been, because I was trying to keep it under fifteen pages without ending it in an awkward spot.
~***********************************~
            Lazard called Sephiroth and Zack into his office, the day after Angeal returned to Mideel. There was a reported malfunction with the Mako reactor in Mt. Nibel and he didn't trust Scarlet's people or the Turks to give it a proper investigation.
            "They've gotten too cheap," explained Lazard. "It isn't necessarily the Turks' fault, but they follow my father's orders and he's more concerned with saving money than ensuring community safety."
            Zack grimaced. "He's going to lose a lot more money if the taxpayers die from Mako poisoning than he'll lose fixing up faulty equipment."
            "Exactly," agreed Lazard with a nod. He pushed his glasses further up on his nose and looked up at Sephiroth. "Mt. Nibel can be a dangerous place—which is why I've chosen you and Fair to command security and investigate the reactor itself. I'll be sending Administrator Tuesti with you. He'll be taking readings in the town at the foot of the mountains and if he finds enough contamination levels to warrant an evacuation, you're to assist him with that."
            Sephiroth nodded. "Understood. Is there an idea as to what might be the cause of the malfunction?"
            Lazard checked his data screen with a frown and he entered something on his keyboard. "It seems pressure gauges are abnormal—which could indicate a broken valve. You'll need to escort Tuesti safely in so that he can locate and fix the problem."
            "No problem," Zack said. "I'm ready to go whenever."
            "Good," approved Lazard. "I want this taken care of before the other departments get involved. I'll deal with the inevitable fallout when the president finds out I've gone ahead with it."
            Sephiroth gave the director a respectful nod. Despite catching him in the act of conspiring against ShinRa, he admired him for his sense of responsibility and principles. He had made a mistake and Sephiroth's instincts to give him another chance were thus far paying off. Thinking of this reminded him of a separate issue.
            "Has there been any word yet on the deserters, recently?"
            Beside him, Zack grimaced and Sephiroth shot him a warning look to remind him that as far as the company was concerned, deserters were exactly what Angeal and Genesis were.
            "No trace of them for over a month," answered Lazard.
            "My sources have run dry as well," Sephiroth mused with a frown. He began to wonder if the lack of contact from both Angeal and Genesis was a sign that they had succumbed to their deterioration and died.
            "Hey, I'm sure someone will find them, sooner or later," Zack said optimistically—remembering to keep it in code, "or they'll come around and turn themselves in. Don't give up."
            Sephiroth lowered his gaze and he wondered. The only thing either of them had been willing to tell him during the brief moments of contact he'd had with them since was that they were working on a cure. Whether that meant it was possible to rid them of the supernatural wings they had grown or not, he couldn't guess. The last time he'd seen Angeal was over a month ago, when he met up with him in secret to give him some medical supplies for the cure research. The big man's hair was streaked through with white and his skin lacked its normal pigment. Seeing Angeal that way, Sephiroth imagined Genesis was in even worse condition.
~*********************************~

            Zack swore as the covered transport vehicle hit a bump and his phone went skittering across the metal floor. Reeve picked it up and precariously braced himself to hand it back to him. The engineer could have sat up front with the driver, but he preferred to ride in the back with the two SOLDIER operatives and the MP's that accompanied them.
            "Thanks," Zack said to the older man as he took his phone.
He grinned as Reeve stumbled and cussed, barely making it back to the bench without falling on his back. He liked Reeve Tuesti. He was in his thirties and he had brown eyes, wavy brown, collar-length hair and an easy-going sense of humor. The man was a mechanical genius from what Zack understood, and he had an air of class and refinement about him. He had demonstrated a sense of morals that a lot of suits in the company seemed to lack, so far.
            Zack glanced at Sephiroth and he sobered a bit. The general sat on the bench in the far corner of the back of the transport, away from everyone else. His emerald gaze stayed on the floor in obvious contemplation and he absently tapped the hilt of his masamune against his boot. Not that Sephiroth was ever Mr. Cheerful, but he seemed even more moody and withdrawn since that night when Hollander attacked Headquarters with the Genesis copies. Zack wondered what else Sephiroth might have found in that data room, besides the evidence that Zack himself was also a recipient of Hojo's experiments.
            Zack tried to put his concerns behind him and he returned his attention to his phone, and the text message he'd gotten from his cute little Turk girlfriend.
            "My place tonight? –Cis"
            Zack winced. Oh, if only he could make that promise, but he had no idea how long he was going to be in Nibelheim. The flight from Midgar to North Corel took half a day, and the trip from there to Nibelheim ate up the rest of the day.
            "Have 2 take a rain check babe. Will not be home till 2morrow. –Zack"
            After a few minutes, she replied back. "Okay I understand. Will think of you tonight. –Cis"
            Zack sighed and put the phone away. "Yeah, I'll think of you too, honey. Nothing sucks worse than having a girlfriend and still being stuck with my hand as company, most of the time."
            "Dude, TMI," grumbled the MP next to Zack.
            The raven-haired Soldier winced; unaware he'd spoken his thoughts aloud again. One of these days, he was going to have to learn to curb that habit. "Sorry, man. Just missing spending time with my girlfriend, you know?"
            The other guy nodded in understanding. "I feel you on that, bro."
            Everyone's ears began to pop and it became obvious that the vehicle was on an incline. The twists and turns got worse, as did the bumps. Reeve pulled aside part of the tarp near him to look outside at their surroundings.
"We're heading into the Nibel area," he announced when he recognized the environment. "Ladies and Gentlemen, you may want to check your materia and weapons now. We'll be going to the reactor as soon as we reach the village and disembark. Try not to make a big fuss and disturb these folks."
~************************************~

            "What are you looking at, Cloud?"
            The blond teenager turned away from the window and regarded his sick mother. "It looks some military people have come into the village. Maybe they're from SOLDIER."
            His mother cast a concerned look at the window, but she lacked the strength to get out of her wheelchair and go see for herself. "I know you've always wanted to join SOLDIER, but I need you here."
            He lowered cornflower blue eyes and nodded, his golden bangs brushing against his face. "I know. Don't worry...I won't leave you."
~*********************************~

            While Cloud Strife reluctantly put aside his dream of joining SOLDIER for the sake of his mother, his friend Tifa Lockheart across the street was arguing with her father.
            "But Papa, I know Mt. Nibel better than anyone! Those foreigners are sure to get lost without a decent guide."
            "That's none of our concern," said her father sternly. "Those mountain trails are too slippery and dangerous this time of year, and the creature sightings have gotten worse."
            "Listen to your Papa, Tifa," advised the young woman's mother. "Those strangers are armed military people. They can handle themselves."
            "But—"
            "Our decision is final." Mr. Lockheart crossed his arms over his chest and looked down at his daughter warningly. "Abide by it, Tifa. It's for your own good."
            She compressed her lips, glared at both of them and ran to her room in a teenaged fit of angst.
~***********************************~

            Stiff from the long journey, they had some trouble climbing the paths of the mountains, at first. Zack solicitously helped an embarrassed Reeve make it up a steep incline when he couldn't make two steps without sliding. Sephiroth narrowly saved a grunt from falling over the edge to her death when a piece of the path broke away under her feet. They encountered a couple of hostile creatures on the way up, but with Sephiroth and Zack in the group, they were easily dispatched.
            When they made it to the reactor, Sephiroth ordered the four MP's accompanying them to stand by outside while he, Zack and Reeve went in to investigate. They followed the schematic Reeve brought with him and they eventually found themselves in a room lined with a dozen odd-looking pods. Reeve stopped and looked around with a troubled frown. Zack stopped with him and peered over his shoulder at the schematic.
            "Did we take a wrong turn or something? What are all these things?"
            "I'm not sure," Reeve answered uncertainly. He spotted some steam escaping from a valve in the left corner of the chamber and he gestured at it. "Ah, here we are. This is the right place after all." He put away the schematic and approached the valve with his tool kit.
            Sephiroth was standing before one of the pods on the first level, staring at the little round porthole in the top of it. Curious, Zack approached him and squinted at the pod. There was an eerie glow coming from inside that reminded him of Mako. He thought he saw the shadow of something inside, too. Zack impulsively approached the pod Sephiroth was staring at and he started to reach out for it.
            "Zack! Don't touch anything!"
            Reeve's sudden, urgent warning startled poor Zack so bad that he nearly leaped into Sephiroth's arms. "Day-um, Administrator! Way to scare the piss out of me!"
            "Be quiet, both of you." Sephiroth's voice seemed uncommonly strained as he issued the low command.
            Reeve obligingly shut his mouth and returned his attention to repairing the broken valve. Zack looked at Sephiroth, alerted by the tension in his voice.
"What's up, Seph?"
            The general's serpentine gaze remained on the pod. The light from within it reflected off his eyes. Instead of answering, he approached the contraption and he grasped the edge of the porthole to lift himself up and look in. He peered inside for a moment before dropping back to the floor and taking several steps back. He looked at Zack and nodded at the pod.
            "Have a look for yourself."
            Biting back reservations that he couldn't explain, Zack did as advised and he mimicked Sephiroth's earlier actions to see into the pod. He abruptly lost his hold on the edge and fell to the floor with shock when he saw the humanoid monstrosity inside. Eyes wide, he back-pedaled over the floor like a crab and scrambled to his feet. He looked at the other pods and he wondered if all of them contained the same creatures.
            "What the hell is that?"
            Reeve finished repairing the valve, but rather than pat himself on the back he checked out one of the pods as well. Sephiroth's gaze swept the room and settled on the containment device in front of him again.
            "They were human, once."
            Reeve and Zack both looked at him doubtfully, and the engineer spoke up. "What makes you so sure, General? Just because they're biped doesn't necessarily mean these were human beings."
            "Then what are they?" Sephiroth challenged, raising a brow.
            Reeve cast another look at a pod and shrugged. "Given the sort of experiments the research department has been known to conduct since Hojo took over, I'd guess these are human-monster hybrids. It's possible they spliced human DNA with that of some creature found in the wild. Similar experiments have been done before."
            Sephiroth stepped closer to the pod again. "Your supposition is possible. Either way, these creatures have been exposed to unusual amounts of Mako. They're literally floating in it. It's a known fact that over-exposure causes poisoning in humans at best, and mutations at worse. The SOLDIER procedure works by administrating controlled amounts over time, to make the recipient stronger, faster and more resilient. What if someone decided that wasn't enough? What if these are a failed attempt to create even stronger Soldiers?"
            Reeve looked at the pod nearest to him uncomfortably. "I think it's best to avoid speculating and get back to the village, General. They obviously had this chamber sealed up for a reason and prolonged exposure to these...things...could be hazardous. We'd best not stay in here for too long."
            "You know your way out," invited Sephiroth. His eyes followed the modular stairs between each of the four levels of the chamber, and they settled on a door at the top. He frowned. "I'm going to investigate further. Zack and the MP's can escort you safely back to the village."
            "Uh, I think I'll hang back," Zack said.
He eyed Sephiroth with concern, not liking the strange tension in the man's stance. Something was definitely off-key with him and Seph himself often warned him that ninety percent of accidents occurred because a Soldier got distracted and didn't pay attention. Right now, the general was definitely distracted and Zack wanted to know why.
"General, I must remind you that even though I've repaired the valve, there has been a leak of fumes in here for some time," Reeve cautioned. "I hope you don't intend to risk exposure for much longer. In fact, we probably should have been wearing hazmat gear for this—"
"Don't concern yourself," Sephiroth interrupted coldly. "I've been exposed to Mako chemicals many times before, and so has Zackary. We can endure it for a while longer. Now go and do your work in the village, Administrator Tuesti."
Reeve sighed and looked at Zack. His dark eyes silently cautioned him and the young Soldier nodded in understanding. "Don't worry about us," he reassured the older man. "I'll make sure we don't spend more time in here than we need to, okay?"
Reeve gave Sephiroth another look and his expression said he doubted Zack could make Sephiroth leave before he was damned good and ready. "All right, then. I'll be taking some samples and scanning for contamination in town. Be careful."
~****************************************~

            "What do you think is up there?" Zack came up behind Sephiroth and looked up at the arching door at the top of the stairs. At once, he saw the lettering over the door and his eyebrows went up.
            "J-E-N-O-V-A." Zack looked at his superior with wide eyes. "Hey, remember that thing I told you about with the Jenova injections? Do you think it could be related to what's behind that door? Oh, and wasn't Jenova your mother's name?"
            "Be quiet, Fair." Sephiroth had broken into a sweat and his face was like carved marble. He looked at one of the pods again and he began to mutter under his breath. "Was...I...created this way?"
            Feeling a chill go up his spine, Zack tried to reassure Sephiroth. "Hey, don't let it get to you, man. I'm sure the name on that door is just a coincidence. There's probably a totally logical explanation for all this."
            Sephiroth stopped and reached out to trace the edges of the clear portal on the pod before him. "And the logical explanation, Zackary, is that these creatures were genetically enhanced through methods similar to what was done to me...and to you. I don't know why your body rejected the treatment, but we were both meddled with in ways normal Soldiers aren't. So were these."
            "So you really think these guys used to be human?" Zack questioned with a grimace. He wanted to deny it, but given Hojo's obsession with science and the things he'd learned about the old fart so far, it didn't seem so far-fetched.
            Sephiroth apparently wasn't listening to him any longer. "I always knew I was different...special, somehow...but not like this." Sephiroth placed his palms flat against the surface of the pod and bowed his head, his long silver bangs falling forward to veil his face.
            Zack approached him and did as his instincts always told him to do, when another human being was in pain. He laid a hand over one of Sephiroth's tense shoulders and tried to comfort him. "Don't think like that. You're just as human as—"
            Sephiroth shoved him away and raised his masamune. Zack instinctively reached for his sword, but instead of advancing on him, Sephiroth hacked open the pod. The creature inside fell out with a gush of Mako-colored liquid, its scaly, warped body writhing on the floor as if in pain. Steam arose from its skin, as if it reacted negatively with the atmosphere. The creature lifted its head and cried out in a manner that was very human, before it went still and lay there in the puddle of fluid, unmoving.
            "Seph..." Zack covered his mouth with a hand as the stench hit him and nearly made him puke.
            Sephiroth seemed impervious to the fumes. He squatted over the expired creature and he lifted one of its eyelids with a gloved hand. He looked over at Zackary with wild, dilated green eyes. "Look. You see it, don't you?"
            "See what?" gagged Zack, blinking against the sting of fumes. Despite the warning in his heart, he moved closer and peered down at the body to see what the other man was talking about. He went still when he saw that creature's dead, staring eyes had slit pupils, like Sephiroth. They were yellow rather than green, but otherwise the similarity was uncanny.
            "Was I created this way too?" Sephiroth asked aloud, getting to his feet. He walked to the stairs and climbed them to the door at the top. He turned around to gaze down at Zack and only a thin band of green showed around his widened pupils.
"You saw it!" He gestured wildly behind him at the door. "And this door is labeled with my mother's name!"
            Zack glanced at the body of the creature, then back up at Sephiroth. "It's just a woman's name, Sephiroth! Look, come back down and we'll get out of here. Maybe we can make some calls and find out what's behind that door. Just don't jump to any conclusions until you know for sure, all right?"
            Sephiroth turned to look at the door behind him and Zack feared for a moment that he would break through it. Reinforced steel or not, Sephiroth's masamune could probably make short work of it. The general hesitated for a moment before turning to face forward again, as if afraid of what he might find behind that door if he were to open it. He shut his eyes and moved his lips in a way that had Zack thinking he was speaking to himself silently.
            "You're right," Sephiroth finally said—and again, Zack wasn't sure if the man was addressing him. "I need more answers. The mansion at the edge of the village...it served as a base of operations for ShinRa, years ago. I read about it. Gast wrote about it. I need to go there...need to investigate."
            Zack had no idea who Gast was or what Sephiroth was even talking about, but he was relieved to see some semblance of calm returning to the man. He'd never witnessed the general in anything remotely resembling an anxious state of mind, before. It shook him more than a little, to see a man so in control suddenly start to unravel like that, before his very eyes. Zack breathed easier as Sephiroth descended the stairs and joined him.
            "Now you're thinking with a clear head," Zack announced in a falsely light tone. He coughed and grimaced at the body on the floor. "I think we should have that cleaned up, too."
            "Of course." Sephiroth began to walk, barely sparing a glance at the creature in passing.
            "Sephiroth?"
            The general stopped and turned to look at Zack. "What is it?"
            Zack swallowed, un-nerved by the way Sephiroth's pupils remained dilated. "Whatever this is...whatever it's about...just remember, you've got friends. Angeal and Genesis aren't around right now but I'm sure they're still alive and they'd agree with me. You're not alone, Seph."
            Sephiroth smirked without humor. "Indeed." He turned around and continued walking out the door. "I'm never alone, Zackary."
~******************************************~

Meanwhile, in Mideel:

            Angeal stared up at his lover with furrowed brows and parted lips. Genesis rocked steadily on top of him and a charming blush of passion suffused his cheeks. A red leather leash was wrapped around his right wrist and clutched tightly in his hand. He tugged on it demandingly when he wanted Angeal to change the force or rhythm of his hip motions. The big man sat with his back against the headboard and his wrists bound to either side of it. A couple of pillows cushioned his back to prevent chafing as Genesis enjoyed a long, thorough ride on his cock.
            "Unh...now...ah yes...give me a hard one now, Angeal!"
            Distantly thankful that Hollander was out at the market, Angeal obeyed his lusty companion and bucked his hips firmly upwards, shoving his length deep into Genesis' clenching warmth and stroking his prostate exactly as he wanted. Angeal admired the open, helpless expression of pleasure on Gen's face and he could no longer hold back his own orgasm. He groaned heavily and shut his eyes as he bucked inside of Genesis, freeing the spunk he'd been holding hostage for him.
            Genesis moaned and gazed deep into his eyes as they came together. He sighed with contentment when his orgasm faded and he let go of the leash, leaving it trailing over the side of the bed. He stroked Angeal's throat and kissed his gasping lips, shifting on top of him with obvious delight.
            "I thought," gasped Angeal as his climax tapered off, "you were kidding about the collar and leash."
            Genesis bit his earlobe just enough to make it sting a little, then followed up with a lick. His breath tickled the area as he spoke in a winded, smug voice. "I warned you. It's hardly my fault you didn't take me seriously."
            Angeal turned his head and kissed him on the mouth, keeping it gentle so as not to give the impression that he'd forgotten the role he'd agreed to take in this little exchange. "I never would have seen myself doing this, until now."
            Genesis gave him a secretive little half-smirk. "I think I can relate to that sentiment."
            Angeal was intrigued. "What have you done with me that you've never done before?"
            Genesis shrugged evasively, still breathing heavily from his climax. "It isn't important."
He kissed Angeal with slow, languid sensuality, effectively distracting him. The kiss deepened and Angeal strained impulsively against his bonds as he began to harden again within Genesis. He broke free of the left restraint and he ran his hand possessively over Gen's back and ass. The only thing that stopped him from trying to initiate a repeat performance was his sense of responsibility. Remembering that they had travel plans to prepare for, Angeal reluctantly stopped fondling his companion's bottom and broke the kiss.
"We'd better stop while we can and get cleaned up," he sighed when Genesis gave him an offended look. "We still need to contact Sephiroth and let him know to expect us."
Genesis groaned softly and for a moment, Angeal thought he might refuse to cooperate. He obligingly freed Angeal's other wrist from its restraint and he gave him one last, lingering kiss before easing off of him with a wince and removing both their condoms.
"You try and contact our silver swordsman," sighed Genesis. "I'll flush these and have a quick shower."
Angeal admired the sight of the redhead's bare backside as he walked away toward the bedroom door. The slight pressure around his throat reminded him of something. "Genesis."
            Genesis turned halfway to look at him.
            Angeal picked up the trailing end of the leash and tugged at the collar around his throat. "Is it safe to assume I can take this off, now?"
            Genesis gave the collar a lazy glance. "Oh, all right. I spoil you, Hewley."
            A rare, soft chuckle rumbled in Angeal's throat.
~************************************~

Back in Nibelheim:

            Sephiroth locked himself in his Inn room as soon as they returned to town. Zack still didn't understand what was going through his head, but he supposed being confined to his room was a lot better than Sephiroth breaking into a restricted chamber in a Mako reactor containing Gaia knew what inside. He tried to make the most of the situation and he looked around town a little, mindful of the order not to be too conspicuous. He was thoroughly exhausted, but the strangeness of Seph's behavior had him on edge and restless. Reeve was still going around with some kind of scanning device and when Zack asked him what the verdict was, he shook his head and told him he wouldn't have conclusive results until tomorrow.
            "You should try and get some sleep, kid," advised Reeve. "I think we were all a little shaken up by what we saw in that chamber, but if I have my way, we'll get some answers when we return to Midgar."
            Zack looked back toward the cottage-style hotel, his blue-violet gaze troubled. All of the buildings in Nibelheim had the same comfortable, quaint storybook appearance to them. "I just hope the general snaps out of his deal. I don't know what that chamber was all about, but it really seemed to get to him."
            Reeve glanced at the Inn as well before returning his attention to the device in his hand. "Don't get yourself worked up thinking about it, Zack. Sephiroth is a complicated young man, and I for one am happy to leave him to his thoughts for a while."
            Zack sighed and nodded in compliance. He knew Reeve was right and honestly, bugging Sephiroth to open the door and talk to him wasn't the brightest idea. He again wished Angeal was there to work things out with his calm, level reasoning. "All right. I guess I'm going to head to my room and try to get some shuteye."
            Reeve patted him absently on the shoulder, his eyes still fixated on the device he held. "Good. I'll be retiring shortly, myself."
~****************************************~

            Zack paused outside Sephiroth's room and he argued with himself. He knew he should just leave it alone for now like Reeve suggested, but his great respect for Sephiroth was tempered by a certain fondness. In a way, Sephiroth replaced Angeal as his mentor in the big man's absence and Zack had come to think of him as a surrogate older brother—just like Angeal. He hated the thought of him suffering.
            Zack pulled out his cell phone, flicked it open and stared at it blankly. If things were different, he would have called Angeal and asked for his advice. He had no contact number for him now, though. He refused to believe he might be dead. So what if nobody had contact with him for over a month? Angeal wasn't the kind of man to lie down and just die. Zack didn't know Genesis that well but he guessed he wasn't that kind of guy, either. After all, he was part of the "trio" with Sephiroth and Angeal.
Zack sighed and shut his phone, holding onto it helplessly. Angeal wasn't there to fix this. He had to stop lamenting that fact and see what he could do for Sephiroth, himself. Hesitantly, Zack put his ear to Sephiroth's door to listen for any signs of activity within the room. His enhanced senses were sharp, and he could detect noise that a normal human being often missed. After a moment, he frowned and he pressed his ear harder to the door.
Sephiroth was talking to someone.
Zack listened even harder, but there was no secondary voice. It sounded like the general was carrying on a conversation with himself. Zack couldn't make out everything Seph was saying, because he was speaking in a low voice. He heard mention of a "promised land" and the Ancients, but the rest trailed off into nonsensical muttering.
Zack pulled his ear away from the door and frowned at it. "Okay...so he's talking to himself. Big deal. I do that sometimes, too. Hell, I'm doing it right now. There's no reason to freak—"
His cell phone blasted a heavy metal riff at that moment.
"—OUT!"
Zack tossed the device into the air in his surprise and he juggled it frantically to keep it from hitting the floor. Heart pounding, he hurried down the hall to his room with it so as not to disturb Sephiroth. He flipped it open and frowned again when he saw an unregistered number appear on the screen. Casting a quick look around, he went into his room and locked the door.
"This is Zack."
"Zack. It's me."
The sound of that deep, reassuring, very-much-missed voice almost did the young man in and for a minute, he thought he might sob like a baby. "Ange? Is that you?"
"I just said it was, didn't I?"
Zack had been in the process of sitting down on his bed but now he stood up and spun around in a circle in his excitement. "Angeeeal! Aww man, you have no idea how glad I am to hear from you!"
The other man's voice was laced with quiet humor. "I can tell. It's good to hear your voice too, Zack. A lot has happened and I'm going to need your cooperation, okay? Where are you now? Are you able to talk without anyone listening in?"
Zack looked around at the cozy Inn room and nodded. "Yeah. I'm in Nibelheim, actually. Sephiroth and Reeve are here too. We came to check out the Mako reactor in the mountains and things have been really weird since then."
"Are you all right?" Even though he evidently had something important to discuss, the older man's protective attitude took priority.
"Yeah, I'm okay," Zack assured him. "It's Sephiroth."
"What about him?" Angeal's voice sounded wary.
Zack scratched the back of his head and tried to think of how to explain. "Uh, we found this secured chamber in the reactor when we brought Reeve in there to check out the plumbing. It was really creepy, Angeal. There were all these pod things lining the walls with some kind of Mako-drenched monsters in them. Sephiroth said they used to be human and he started freaking out. There was this door at the top of the stairs with the words 'Jenova' tacked over it and when he saw that, it was like...like he was a whole different person."
"Did you say 'Jenova', Zack?"
"Yeah," agreed Zack. "That's what the sign over the door said, and Seph told me that was his mother's name, too. Angeal, man...I've never seen him like this. He's got himself locked up in his Inn room and I think I heard him talking to himself in there a minute ago. We could be here for days and I don't like the thought of him going for another stroll to that reactor."
Angeal took a deep, slow breath and he said something to someone else on his end of the line before speaking to Zack again. "Zack, listen to me. I'm coming to Nibelheim with Genesis. Keep a close eye on Sephiroth for us, and watch yourself."
Zack plopped down on the bed with relief, feeling suddenly exhausted. "Thanks, Angeal. Are you guys okay, though?"
"We're fine," assured the big man. "Hollander cured our condition and we'll be dropping him off into custody on our way there to meet you. Don't tell anyone we're coming, Zack. I don't want to have to fight my way through ShinRa authorities and we have some important information for Sephiroth. What he's found there so far is only a small part of it and he needs to know all the facts."
Zack sat up with a frown. "Angeal...what the hell's going on? Who is Jenova?"
"It's too complicated to explain over the phone. I tried to contact Sephiroth, but he wouldn't pick up. Just try to keep him occupied until we get there, Zack."
Zack swallowed. "I've got a bad feeling about this."
~****************************************~

-To be continued
- 5
- 6
- 7
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Darkened Skies