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A Matter of Spirit	By : gcpeifer Category: Final Fantasy VII > AU - Alternate Universe Views: 824 -:- Recommendations : 0 -:- Currently Reading : 0
Disclaimer: I don't own Final Fantasy 7, neither the story nor anything else (exept my OCs) and I don't make any profit by writing this.

Chapter List
- 7
- 8
Disclaimer: I don't own Final Fantasy 7, neither the story nor anything else (exept my OCs) and I don't make any profit by writing this.
Author's note: Yes, I know this chapter is a bit shorter than usual, but I had lots of work to do and I'm still having my health issues. Next one will be longer again.
Warnings: None
Chapter Eight : Accepting the truth
Tuesday evening came and it was time for Genesis to pick up Cloud for his ballet lesson. As agreed Cloud would wait for him at 19:30 at the entrance of the mainbilding from where they would immediatly drive on Genesis motobike to Madame Natasha's studio.
But although he even managed to get a pair of sky-blue ballet slippers for Cloud, Genesis was worried. Sephiroth, Lazard and him had decided that Cloud had to learn the truth - the things Rhonda told Sephiroth as well as their own musings.
The hardest part would be to tell the boy that his high Mako tolerance couldn't be caused by natural reasons. There simply wasn't any other thinkable alternative than that Cloud was an experiment, sired in a lab.
'Like myself, like Angeal, like Sephiroth', he thought embitteredly. Genesis wondered how Cloud would react to this news.
On the other hand, maybe the boy could tell him something about his mother or his own past in Niebelheim what might confirm or refute Genesis's and Sephiroth's surmises. The pregnancy of an unmarried woman must have been the main topic of the gossip in such a small town at that time, especially when the woman visited the ShinRa villa on a regular base as Cloud's mother surely had to if their guesses were true.
Genesis stopped his pondering when he saw Cloud standing at the big entrance of the main-building, smiling and waving at him.
The redhead forced a smile on his lips and beckoned to Cloud: " Hi! I guess you've had a good day?"
"Yeah, hell! I finally mastered that complicated combo on which Declan and me were working for two weeks now!", the boy smiled brightly.
"The maneuvre 26 ? Wow, way to go, Cloud!". 'Minerva, as far as I know, Sephiroth was until now the only one who managed to learn this difficult kata in only two weeks time...That must have been a shock for Declan!'
He grinned again to veil his thoughts and said: "Ok, then, get your little ass on the bike! Madame Natasha hates tardiness!"
While Cloud mounted the bike, Genesis frowned suddenly. Behind the tall glass portals of the entrance, he saw a all to well-known figure watching them carefully. A man with a greasy black ponytail and glasses, wearing a lab coat. 'Damn!'
Genesis hurtled off with Cloud, but instead of taking the direct route to Madame Natasha's studio, he made some detours through different sectors on the plate, always looking into the rear view mirror. ' Shit...Shit shit shit. If Cloud has got Hojo's attention now, even that much that he watched him personally...' The First class felt sorry for the boy. From now on, they had to watch over Cloud literally every second of the day.
Of course him and Sephiroth could'nt do this. Declan and Akio could only do so much as Declan, as a First Class had his own tasks to do when Cloud visited the Materia and tactic classes he had to as a Third Class . And Akio was often assigned to missions. In his mind went Genesis through a list of possible keepers for Cloud. 'No TURKs. First of all, I still don't really trust them and then - according to Tseng - many of them would be busy with hacking the files of Hojo, Hollander and Heidegger. No Third Class SOLDIERs - to unrelieable as long as Angeal as their Commander wasn't here. Although none of them bothered Cloud in any way, there was a good chance that jealousy and envy made them into willing helpers for Hojo. No First Class Soldiers - to noticeable. Then it had to be the Second Class. Not Kunsel - he was too busy. But there were of course Stahl and Lowhill - absolutely relieable...and possibly Rivera and Idaho. I'll give order to them to escort Cloud even when he has to go to the restroom.'
Genesis cast again a look into to rear view mirror and watched their surrounding. No followers so far. He was quite sure that no TURKs would follow them. Hojo wasn't an idiot. He surely had realized that the loaylty of the members' of the Department of Administrative Research had changed slightly over the past few months.
But, as Sephiroth had told him, Hojo had his own connections. Don Corneo was probably just one of them.
Then finally they arrived at the studio and Cloud's lesson began (although the boy pouted a bit, when he had to put on the sky-blue Ballet slippers, while Genesis wore classic black ones).
As expected, Cloud turned out to be a natural in dance as he was in sword-play. The old ballet trainer even added already some exercises from the second lesson. He learned the positions with ease, moving with a natural grace and even strict old Madame Natasha was enraptured and whispered to Genesis : "Oh, do you want this little angel really send into war? He would made such a wonderful addition to the Midgar Theatre's dance company? What a wonderful Romeo or Puck he would make!", she said then she went to Cloud and gently bent his thumb, " No,no, my little angel, in ballet thumbs are seen as ugly. So you have always to keep them inside your palm!"
Genesis had to grin when Cloud looked at him as he wanted to say: 'Oh please, what's wrong with my thumbs?'
Then it was time for Genesis's lesson. Cloud watched with fascination, admiring the fluent moves and Genesis's incredible flexibility when the famous fighter swirled in an elegant pirouette, but Madame Natasha wasn't contended at all: "What's wrong with you today ?", she asked and looked accusingly at the oldest of the Trinity, " You move even worser than me and I'm nearly seventy years old now!"
Genesis smiled weakly, repliying apologetically: " I'm sorry, Madame, but I had a lot on my mind recently."
" I see, " said the old ballet trainer, " Maybe you should take again some more lessons in the future? You know, the lessons always relaxed your mind."
"Yes, maybe...," murmured Genesis. He went as the first of them into the locker room, reaching for his PHS, while Madame Natasha was still chatting a bit with Cloud.
Sephiroth answered the call immediatly: "Yes?"
"The reptile is watching the chockobo chick."
"Personally?"
"Yes."
" Meet me in my apartment at midnight."
"I'll come as soon as the party is over. And I'd suggest that the chocobo chick stays in it's nest with it's mother tomorrow."
"Understood and agreed."
Without a further word the call was finished.
They changed again in their uniforms again and Genesis drove them home. No followers so far, but this time Genesis wasn't so sure anymore. When they approached Declan's apartment, they could smell already the flavor of roasted potatoes and steaks.
Genesis's heart grew more and more heavy.
Cloud opened the door with his key-card and Declan hurried out of the kitchen.
He smiled to Cloud, then he saw Genesis and saluted first: " Commander Rhapsodos, would you like to join us for dinner?" he said while Cloud went into his room to put his duffel bag down.
"Actually I only wanted to talk with both of you about one or two things... I didn't intend to plunder your kitchen."
"But no, Sir. Cloud's developing the appetite of a young dragon, for what I'm glad as he's gaining more and more weight," the yound First Class smiled, " So I have always enough food prepared as the lunch in the cafeteria of the Third Class leaves him more hungry than full."
"I'll take care of that," said Genesis and thought that the usual six-thousand calories diet the Third Classes got would hardly suffice if Cloud was what they thought. "Do you know about a drink named Amino-D?"
When Declan nodded: " Yes, effective, but quite expensive stuff," Genesis said: " I' ll take care that you'll get delivered a carton of Amino-D tomorrow in the evening. Cloud should drink at least three cans per day."
"What's wrong with him?," asked Declan, suddenly worried. Genesis shook his head:" Probably nothing. But if our guessings are true than Cloud needs much more than six-thousand calories per day. I'll explain everything after dinner."
Declan nodded with a serious look and hurried back into the kitchen. While he put another steak into the pan he frowned. Since weeks now he suspected that something was off with Cloud. The boy was developing so fast...too fast.
Dinner was a quite subdued and silent affair. When they were finished, Genesis looked at Declan and Cloud and said: "Whatever we are talking about from now on is to be regarded as absolutely top secrect. It must never leave this room."
After the boy and his mentor nodded, Declan said: " It has to do someting with Cloud, hasn't it?"
"Yes. At least we assume so," Genesis sighed and continued: " Let's get right to the point. Hollander lyed about Cloud's Mako level. This we now for sure as the nurse who assisted him in Cloud's basic treatments knew from her experience that 71.9 percent couldn't be the correct magnitude when she watched the amounts of Mako Cloud was injected with and secretely, she tested his urine for the true Mako level. And her suspicions proved to be true as Cloud's level is at very least around 84 percent over average. And that's only the result of the urine test."
When Declan gasped, Genesis interrupted," You know as well than me that this high tolerance can't be caused by natural reasons."
Then the Commander faced Cloud. " You remember the talk about my parents? I told you the truth then because I trusted you. Will you tell me the truth now?"
"Of course, Gen! What do you want to know?"
"For a beginning, everything about your family."
"There's not much I can tell you. The name of my mother is Elanor Strife. Although I asked her more than once, she refused to tell me the name of my father - neither me nor anyone else in Niebelheim. My grandfather died when my mother was twelve, my grandmother died a few months before my mother's eighteenth's birthday, that was two years before I was born. Mother told me that my father died when I was a baby, before he could marry her. But the people in Niebelheim said that he was a Shin'ra man who left her alone after he discovered her pregnancy. They told me that I was a son of a whore. That's all I know."
Genesis raised himself from the chair where he sat until now, took place on the couch, where Declan and Cloud sat, the boy in their midst and he took Cloud's hand.
"Cloud...before I'll tell you more...," he paused," I think it would make things easier for you if you hear my whole story first...Mine, Angeals and Sephiroth's. I told you that my father always called me a lab rat...". when Cloud nodded, he continued" When I was a child I always wondered why he did that.
I knew that he didn't like me. But why did he call me, of all things, a lab-rat? And then, of course Angeal and me wondered why every six months a doctor from Midgar came - only for doing a routine examination and taking a blood-samples from us both.
Well, in my case perhaps it wouldn't be so strange as I was the son of the richest couple in Banora. But why Angeal, whose parents were probably the poorest people in our town? Then, one day - it was maybe a few weeks after the incident with the science fair - another doctor came instead of Dr. Hollander. Dr. Hojo didn't seem really interested in us. In fact, he seemed to be even more arrogant and cold than Dr. Hollander. He spent more time in the small brothel of Banora than with our examinations.
But he brought with him a fascinating beautiful boy with silver hair - Sephiroth. Angeal and me befriended with him and he told us about his life. He told us that, in spite he claimed that Hojo was his own father and his mother - a woman named Jenova - was dead, he grew up in a lab and we were shocked when he told us of the experiments his 'father' did to him!
For two years Hojo visited us now, always acompagnied by his 'son'. And time after time, it gave me an vague idea why my father always called me the 'lab-rat'.
After these two years, when I was twelve, Hollander returned. But he was changed in a strange way. For his next one or two visits, he wasn't anymore the cold arrogant scientist. He seemed to be ...somehow broken - or depressed.
I, anyway decided to make use of the hole in his wall and was determined to find out the truth. My father was busy in the factory and my mother was at one of her 'coffee parties', so I had the perfect opportunity to implement my plan.
I offered him a glass of my father's Brandy," Genesis smiled, " but I spiced it with my mother's pills. It wasn't until years later when I learned that Rohypnol in combination with alcohol is used as a truth serum - especially as it causes an amnesia, so the victim wouldn't remember the interrogation. But I knew that my mother was always in a good mood and very talkative when she took them, so I thought they might be helpful. And - surprise, surprise - the good doctor talked his head off when he answered my questions.
He did not only tell me everything about my own origins, but about Angeal's and Sephiroth's as well. All three of us, Sephiroth, Angeal and me were experiments.
Attempts to recreate a Cetra. You know, an Ancient. They took the cells from the frozen body of a woman Dr. Gast Faremis found during a excavation. But relatively soon Dr. Faremis came to the conclusion that this body couldn't be that of a Cetra as he found bones of real Cetra near the place which is called now the "Old Capital" and compared the DNA.
He protested against any further experiments due to the uncaculable risks he saw in experimenting with this unknown lifeform and finally retired from the project.
But Hollander and Hojo continued with the research because they discovered the potential of this cells - greater strength than was natural for humans, high tolerance to Mako which would enhance the strength even more and an enormous ability to revover from any kinds of injuries and diseases.
At first, they experimented with deadened cells - first on prisoners, later on recruits, then injecting the subjects with Mako to additionally enhance them.
That was the beginning of SOLDIER. As you can imagine, President ShinRa was enthusiastic about his new army.
Soon they came to the conclusion that a child which was already born with living cells must have an even higher potential and Hollander began with project 'G' - 'G' as in Gilian, Angeals mother, who worked at that time in his lab. He injected her with the cells of the body called 'Jenova' to change her DNA and then he combined Gilian's DNA with the genetic information of one of my mother's egg cells and impregnated it with my father's sperm.
A few weeks before I was born, Gilian got pregnant naturally by an unknown man and Andeal was born. That was how Angeal and me were created.
But we were deemed as failures because meanwhile Hollander got the idea that the effect of the cells would be much more stronger if the woman would be treated with Mako injections during pregnancy.
The problem with this matter is that there are hardly any women who can tolerate the necessary amounts of Mako. Hollander gave up his attempts after a few women died, but then Hojo claimed to have found a woman with an Mako-accepting DNA - an assistant of him, Dr. Lucrecia Crescent.
As it turned out, Hojo either was wrong about this or he lied. Dr. Crescent got very sick during the pregnancy and survived the birth of Sephiroth only for a few weeks.
But nonetheless, Sephiroth was deemed as the perfect specimen. And indeed, he is much stronger than Angeal or me.
But one thing we have in common: All of us are enhanced with living Jenova-cells." Genesis sighed.
"What did you do after you learned the truth from Dr. Hollander?", asked Cloud.
"As soon as Hollander slept fitfully, I run immediatly to Angeal's house and told him everything - in Gilian's presence. It was an horrible experience for Angeal. His mother cried, but she took us both in her arms and explained some things Hollander didn't told me. She was threatened by ShinRa that they would take away Angeal from her if she ever told him the truth about his origin.
But she loved her son and didn't want to maintain that he was only her foster child. And because she didn't play along like the Rhapsodos's, she didn't get any money. They forced her to live in Banora on her own at first, but then she met Angeal's stepfather and life got a bit easier for them.
Gilian cried when she heard what Sephiroth had to go through. She told us that Hojo was a monster, and that she couldn't bear the thought of a helpless little boy being in his clutches.
It was then that Angeal and me decided to help our friend, what meaned that we would have to join ShinRa as SOLDIERs.
We had to wait one year though, until Angeal was twelve, which is the minimum age for a cadet.
"And what happened when you arrived at the academy?" Cloud asked, distracted for the moment from his own worries.
"Well, at first Hojo tried to prevent that we were accepted. But President ShinRa personally intervened. Even if we were inferior to Sephiroth, we were by far superior to the other SOLDIERs. And old man ShinRa didn't want to waste any potential. On the contrary - he wanted his 'golden boys' to be a team.
Then, at the next opportunity we told Sephiroth everything what we knew from Hollander and Gilian. At first, he didn't believe us, but then, he found out the truth by himself. Probably nurse Rhonda told him that we were true."
"Nurse Rhonda ? The same Rhonda who took care of me during the basic treatment?", gasped Cloud.
"Yes indeed. You must know that before she was assigned to Hollander, she worked for Hojo. And probably she was the only one who treated Sephiroth not like a specimen, but like a human child. When he was six, Hojo kicked her out of his team because of that.
But Sephiroth and Rhonda managed to stay in contact over the years - exept for the years 1985 and '86. This was the case until recently , but then Rhonda left suddenly the night after your basic treatment. We don't know where she is right now. But before she left, she sent Sephiroth a message containing everything she noticed about you.
Anyway, Sephiroth nearly got nuts at the time when he found out the truth about himself. But Angeal and me ensured him that we always would be his brothers, his family. Only Minerva knows what would became of us if we wouldn't have done this. Probably former or later, all of us would have become insane. Especially as we were injected with living J-cells.
Anyway, Sephiroth calmed down again and since that time, we were unseparable," the redhead grinned, " Of course Hojo was furious that his prized specimen was influenced again and became more and more human, but this time, he could do nothing against it because the Pres forbid him to intervene.
Well, Cloud, that's the story of the Trinity, as thy called us soon."
Cloud said shyly: "And you think that I'm ...something similar?"
"As far as we know, there aren't other possibilities. Nobody can have such a high tolerance due to natural exposition," Genesis replied.
Declan harrumphed: " Yes, I understand that Cloud's Mako-level can't be caused naturally. But what makes you believe that he is...he is...like you?"
Genesis looked at Cloud. " Cloud, after you came to yourself again, did you feel any burning pain in your back?"
The boy shook his head: " Not really. Well, at least no burning pain. Only a feeling of a kind of pressure on my backside."
"But...but that is impossible, Cloud! ," Declan said, " Even the candidates who get 'special treatment' feel some burning pain."
"Exactly, Declan," Genesis replied and looked at Cloud, " The J-cells have to connect with your neural-system first, which means that even under sedation, some pain is unavoidable. The fact that you didn't feel any serious pain can only mean that the cells were already integrated in your body. Hollander must have knew that and injected some harmless substance to fake the implantation."
"I was borne in the year 1986," whispered Cloud.
"Yes," Genesis replied lowly, "We believe - but at the moment these are just speculations - that Hollander couldn't bear the fact that his experiments were deemed as inferior to Hojo's and he might have decided to undertook a third one. But right now, we have no idea what he did. Hollander wouldn't tell us anything and Rhonda disappeared. But ...," now Genesis took a deep breath," Worst of all is that you gained Hojo's personal attention."
"What ?", gasped Declan, " Do you want to say that he is....that he wants Cloud as a subject?"
"Yes, I'm afraid Hojo raised some suspicions concerning you, Cloud. He watched us today when we left for your dance lesson," said the Commander, "And that's why the General and me decided that both of you will stay here in the apartment tomorrow. The day after tomorrow, you'll return to your usual routine. Until then I'll have assigned some of my most reliable men to watch over you permanently. I know, it's like playing cat-and-mouse with Hojo. The most important thing though is that you don't lose your nerve. Then, at the second of november, both of you will accompany me on a trip to Wutai."
Much to Genesis's surprise, Declan didn't show any discomfort, but nodded slowly. "I guess that's probably the safest place right now for Cloud."
Cloud interjected: " I'd like to ask you a question, Genesis. Do the living cells have any other effect on me than just enhance my strength?"
"That's a good question...Did you feel anything suspicious?"
"I...I guess so. When I was living in Niebelheim where everyone seemed to hate me, as well in my first year at the academy, where most people picked on me because I was so small....I sometimes heard, no it was more like I felt it...a whisper in my head. It was a female voice. She always told me that I'm so much better than the other boys...that I'm superior. I recalled it when you mentioned that word. You know, with my background, at least in Niebelheim I wouldn't have used a word like this. But anyway... Sure, in Niebelheim most people despised me and called me a child of shame, but maybe in truth not everybody hated me, but perhaps this voice made me behave in a way that others didn't like me as well?"
Genesis smiled, although it was a sad smile: " You're full of surprises Cloud. So smart...It took me years to come to that insight. But yes, you're right. Jenova can have these effect. Did your hear that voice again since you made friends with Declan, Akio, Zack and the three of us?"
"No," Cloud shook his head.
"There you have the other halfth of the answer to your question: Jenova can have this effect, but only then when you're damaged and suffering from a low self-esteem. I heard her everytime when my father called me a lab-rat. This voice was the reason why Sephiroth nearly went insane when we told him the truth. He told us later that she screamed to him that she was his true mother. But somehow we three together managed to fight her off, although no-one of us had figured out at that time the true nature of that voice. When you feel happy and contend then it has no power and stays silent. And even when you feel depressed, now that you know what it is, you can easily silence it."
"I'm not human then?", whispered Cloud.
"Cloud...Cloud! You are as much human like everybody else! Yes, Jenova seems to have an consciousness of her own, but like I said, it's primitive and easy to defend. Don't believe her! Don't trust her and you'll always be safe as long as you're aware of her true nature. It isn't like she can force you to do something if this is against your own will."
A moment later they heard clicking the lock of the apartment's door. Akio had returned from his mission in the mines of Corel and looked at the three of them first with surprise, than with anxiety when he registered the scared looks of Declan and Cloud and the serious expression on Genesis's face.
"What happened?"
After Genesis made sure again that the following information was deemed as top secret and Akio assured him that he'd observing secrecy, the Commander of the Second Class repeated in short what they'd talked about.
Then Genesis left. He was tired, sad and felt sorry for Cloud, but nonetheless he'd still had to talk with Sephiroth about their further proceeding.
Cloud, Declan and Akio remained, and the boy looked at once again like the fifteen years old teen he really was.
The boy's lips were compressed and he had a desparate expression in his eyes, fighting back tears. "Cloud, please tell us what we can do for you," said Declan lowly.
"It isn't worthy of a Third Class SOLDIER," sobbed Cloud, no longer able to hold back the tears.
"Nonsense! Whatever it is, please tell us," Akio replied.
Cloud sighed and lowered his eyes:" Please...please don't judge me..."
"We won't, "said Declan. "I don't think that I can sleep alone tonight."
Akio said: " But no, don't worry. It's completely understandable that you're shocked after hearing such a revelation..."
"It's ok. You can sleep with us. Nothing will bother you," murmured Declan while he hugged the boy. And he was right. While Cloud slept, tucked in a blanket and hugged by his 'older brothers', he felt nothing but peace and his dreams where undisturbed.

XXXXXXX
When Genesis entered the General's apartment, Sephiroth was already waiting for him, looking soliticiously at his lover.
" How did Cloud take it? "
"Relatively well. I think he's lucky that he has Declan and Akio to take care of him." Sephiroth nodded: "Just like me, when you, Angeal and Rhonda told me the truth. But without you and Angeal, I'd never would have accepted it - and she might have won."
Genesis run his fingers through long silver strands. "But she didn't." After Genesis explained in short his plan to keep Cloud safe from Hojo and the General agreed, they went to bed. But this night, both of them shared only the innocent hugs and kisses they remembered from their childhood.
- 7
- 8
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A Matter of Spirit