icedark_elf (![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
icedark_elf) wrote2008-09-26 10:58 pm
icedark_elf) wrote2008-09-26 10:58 pm
Entry tags:
Fic: Shadows and Rebirth 1/?
Title: Shadows and Rebirth 1/?
Author: GW Katrina aka![[insanejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/ij-userinfo.gif)
icedark_elf
Fandom: Kingdom Hearts
Claim: Nobody AU
Prompt: 36-Innocence, 35-Mountains, 49-Pet, 19-Rain, 28-Blind, 20-Sun, 25-Death, 41-Past, 44-Work, 03-Weeks, 02-Days, 09-Family, 43-Future, 31-Coffee, 23-Wind, 29-Deaf, 08-Enemies, 30-Mute, 50-Gift, 37-Guilt for![[insanejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/ij-community.gif)
50episodes
Rating: PG
Wordcount: 6,139
A/N: Yes, more crack. Fear me. Oh, and this istripoverhercats fault.
Beginnings
Innocence
The issue with being a scientist is that there were always more questions than answers, sometimes to the point of distraction.
Standing in the window, looking down onto the rest of the city, he wondered what his teacher would think of the plans he had made. The experiments he had plotted out, brought so close to fulfilling.
No. He would not think of the man.-He- was Ansem now. Not some foolish person who would let the greatest minds go to waste as he hesitated over meaningless distinctions.
He had such great ideas, and as he watched the people move, so innocent as they went through their lives, he pondered about the results of his tests so far.
Attempts to remove the darkness from people had failed miserably so far. They had become the dark creatures, the heartless, each and every one of them. It was starting to be horribly frustrating.
Though he had noticed an interesting trend. Those who were more stubborn, who had the strongest willpower, they retained themselves longer.
How much did willpower have to do with their hearts?
It was the same with those who were younger, more innocent. They held their light longest, only succumbing in the very end to what little darkness their hearts held.
He wondered if he could combine the two.
Watching people, he let the idea seep into the back of his mind, letting it take shape as it would.
He was one of the greatest scientific minds ever produced.
There had to be a way around the issue.
Mountains
It was an irritating feeling, Sephiroth decided.
He was being watched. Again.
Nor was it eyes that seemed to be particularly caring. Not like some of the children who watched from the sidelines as he and Zack sparred. The younger man was grinning as he danced out of the way of another of Sephiroth's strikes, and he shook off the unease as he focused on the match. Zack was a good opponent, quick and adaptable. He always provided a good fight, and while Sephiroth could not indulge as much as he liked, it was still good to have this chance.
As they moved, the crowd grew, full of laughter and friendly teasing, encouraging first one, then the other as the battle moved back and forth. Finally, though, Sephiroth disarmed Zack, who looked at him with a bright smile and a demanding hand held out to be helped up.
Doing so, Sephiroth looked to the side as a boy with bright blond hair came up, holding a bucket of water, which he offered up with a shy, shy smile. He had seen the boy around, one of the young teens that the King had working in the castle. Not staff, exactly, but the ones he thought would do well helping him out with his tests.
King Ansem was a scientist at heart, and always did try to lure more people to his chosen art.
"Hey, Cloud," Zack said cheerfully, ruffling up the pale hair. "You are always good at knowing what to bring, aren't you?"
The blond sputtered a bit, smiling shyly at them. "Where are you guys going next," he asked after a moment of trying to defend his hair from Zack.
"North," Sephiroth said calmly, ignoring the squeak from the boy. "Into the mountains."
Zack nodded. "Seems there are things trying to munch on peoples animals up there. So Seph and I get to go deal with the gobblygooks and then head back."
The smile Cloud gave them was bright. "Will you be back in time for my birthday?"
"How old you going to be, Spike? Twenty, twenty one?"
That got Zack a kick in the shin, which he tried to shake off. "Pointy toes. Not fair."
Cloud was red. "I'm going to be thirteen." He fidgeted. "You'll be there, right?"
The look took them both in, and while Sephiroth found himself amused by the obvious hero worship, it was still nice to be included. Especially by someone who Zack was friends with as well. "Of course."
His words were rewarded with a smile that would have made most people melt, and even Sephiroth couldn't help but smile back.
Pet
It was really the best combination he could hope for. Sephiroth and Zack were perfect for one half of the experiment. And if they both survived, well, it would be an unexpected by pleasing surprise. He doubted much that it would happen, but it would still be useful.
The boy, Cloud, was young still, still looking at the world around him with the same innocence that most children had, even as he stared to edge into adulthood. Hopefully, the attachment he obviously had for the older two men would be useful.
Watching as General Sephiroth walked off with his second in command, he pondered this plan. It would be difficult to get them to agree willingly, and he did not like the idea of his people knowing where the great warrior and his second in command had vanished to. The tests would have to be done in secret, of course. Sephiroth was a hero to everyone here, and he doubted they would appreciate the man being used in an experiment, even if it was for the betterment of everyone. The heartless were massing ever greater numbers, and he refused to let them take this world.
Absently, he watched as the boy ran off to meet one of his older friends, a brown haired child the same age as Zack. Squall was also one of Ansem's assistants, though he was old enough that he was more in charge with keeping the younger children in line than doing other errands. Would have to make sure that he came up with a good reason for Cloud's vanishing as well. Squall was protective of the younger children, even going as far as learning the art of the gunblade to keep them safe from monsters. While not in the same league as Sephiroth, or even Zack, he was a talented fighter.
The blond followed the older boy like a puppy, bouncing as he did.
He would be an excellent subject.
Ansem could not wait to begin.
Rain
Water shedding off his hair, Sephiroth gave himself a shake, aware of Zack doing the same behind him. At least the water came easily off Zack's spikes, preferring to soak into Sephiroth's smoother hair. He wasn't sure why, but it was something of an irritant.
They had returned from the mountains, riding just ahead of the rain, only to have it catch them in a blast of cold as they had entered the area around the castle. There was a message waiting for them there, and Sephiroth was slightly disgusted at having to brave the cold water again to report to Ansem.
And if that wasn't bad enough, he had an annoying, uneasy feeling since the rain had begun to fall on their heads.
Something about the man had been keeping him on edge lately, though he could not understand what. Ansem the Wise was a good king, better than some Sephiroth had read of. Still, he could not shake the edge of darkness around the man. It was new, and he could not quite place it.
"This had better be good," Zack muttered behind him. It didn't matter that the man was their king. Zack's loyalties laid with Sephiroth, which was a comfort for the man. Leaving their dripping coats with the servant, they followed the page to Ansem's study. There, at least, it was warm, and there was hot tea waiting.
Gesturing them to sit, Ansem was noting a few things on a sheet of paper. "Sit, sit," he said. "Make the tea as you like, before you freeze."
Collecting a cup and pouring himself some of the tea, Sephiroth added in the honey, Zack making the tea more sludge with as much sugar and milk as he put in it. Neither of them could understand how the other drank it that way, but it meant less competition for their preferred items, so it was fine.
Sipping at the tea, letting the heat soak into his skin from the fire, Sephiroth waited. Ansem was obviously in the middle of one of his note taking sprees, jotting down things he had learned from the last experiment.
"Was it a heartless?"
The question was asked without the King ever looking up, and Sephiroth resisted the urge to nod, just to be an irritant. "Yes. A breed I've not seen before, though Zack had apparently heard a few rumors of that type. Enough we were able to defeat it without too much damage to the surrounding terrain."
He added more honey to his tea, wondering what type this was to have such bitterness. Perhaps it had been left on the fire too long? That happened time to time.
"Explain to me."
"It was fire based, apparently," Zack said, hands curled around his cup. "At least, that seemed to be it's main weapon of choice. Relatively good at deflecting damage, but the sides were weak."
Sephiroth picked up the description. "Once we separated, it was relatively easy to deal with." Motion caught his eye, and he glanced at Zack, who was flexing one hand. Burned his fingers, perhaps? It was hard to judge temperature when one went from cold to hot, as they had done. Even now, the room felt almost stifling, the heat making Sephiroth's throat feel thick.
Only...it wasn't the heat.
The teacup fell from his suddenly numb fingers, and he watched as Ansem wrote another note down. "I had wondered how long it would take for that particular drug to work."
"What...?" Zack got out, his words slurring. Or was it Sephiroth's hearing, as everything spun around him. He tried to stand, only to have things tip on him.
"You are about to become parts of a grand experiment. With your assistance, we will finally be able to work out how to separate the light and darkness of hearts and stop this plague that is getting worse, every day."
Someday, Sephiroth thought as his vision blurred into nothing, he would learn to listen to those nagging feelings.
Lost Time
Blind
He couldn’t see anything.
Aching, not sure what was going on, Cloud curled into a ball. He was sure his eyes were open, but the only thing he could see was darkness. In the distance, he heard something scrabbling, but whatever it was seemed to be ignoring him. That was fine by him. All he wanted to do at the moment was breathe.
His chest ached, as if something had hit him really hard, and he shifted, pressing his palm against the center of his ribs. That ached, and he let out a strangled gasp at the shock of pain.
Something brushed against his back as he moved, and he had to slam down hard on a yell. He didn’t know where he was and he couldn’t see, so he really didn’t want to bring down anything that might want to eat him.
Hand reaching back carefully, he was started to feel something…soft and hot against his back. Even more startling was the fact that he could feel his fingers touching it.
Whatever it was, it was attached.
After a few moments of tentative exploring, he still couldn’t figure out what it was.
Getting out of here first. Then figure out what was wrong with him.
Only…where was he?
Cloud tried hard to remember what had happened before he had gotten here. As he did, the headache flared up, spiking hard and he couldn’t quite help the whimper this time. Okay. Last thing he remembered really was being at the castle, helping out.
Right.
Pushing to his feet, hands held out as he started to shuffle forward, Cloud stumbled further into the darkness.
Sun
He paused on the ledge, looking down as the newest swarm of heartless passed by. Hair in his eyes, reflecting the dull glow of blue back, hiding it from the creatures, Cloud waited patiently. Flexing the claws on one hand, he shifted his shoulder, wing settling against the blade he carried there.
The blade. He had found it shortly after he had woken up here, in the darkness filled with heartless. Still more confused than anything, he had taken it with him, something telling him that he needed it.
Which he had.
Over the time he had been here, he had gotten stronger, faster. Which was just as well, as the heartless would hesitate only a few moments before attacking him. As he traveled the paths, he collected bits and pieces of gear, debris from fallen worlds.
Cloud wasn’t sure how long he had been here. Long enough that he had forgotten some things. Like warmth, light. Long enough for his eyes to glow on their own, so similar to the yellow eyes all around him.
Pale skin gleamed, and when he found himself in the center of a mass of heartless, all focused on him, he almost glowed.
In a way, it reminded him of the sun. Pale yellow light.
Just about the only sun there was down here.
Too bad it wasn’t something anything in the dark cared for. Instead, he focused on staying out of sight as much as possible, out of the way.
The only time he really descended was when he got tired. Didn’t know why, but when Cloud started to drag, he would simply go and kill heartless. It wasn’t that it made him feel any different, it was just a change in the monotony.
All there was to do here was to walk and kill. He never really got sleepy, or hungry. Nothing like that. Just…bored.
So, sometimes, he would jump into the midst of a mass of moving darkness, and there he would shine.
Just for a while.
Death
It was something of a stumble.
Not that he would ever admit it, but stepping from the darkness to the dim light, surrounded by fog was not something Cloud intended.
In fact, he wasn’t expecting anything like it.
Which explained his reaction of a yelp and slamming back against a wall, arm covering his eyes. He stood there, panting, forearm pressed across his eyes, which were watering horribly. It had…been a long time since he had been surrounded by this much brightness.
Before, it would have been different. Then he was used to sunlight and lamps and everything like that. But that was before. Now anything stronger than the occasional bolts of electricity some of the heartless put off was painfully bright. Rather like staring at sunlight reflecting off snow, or water.
After a while, though, he rubbed his eyes and slowly dropped his arm. Clicking his claws, he edged forward, eyes opened just the tiniest bit.
An orb of soft glowing light drifted close, and he froze, watching it. Carefully, he reached out and pricked it with his claw. It exploded into a shower of clear spheres, and he yanked his hand back, a voice murmuring through his head. It was something about not being late.
Shaking his head, confused, Cloud decided that the only thing to do was to walk.
He’d either figure out how to get back to the darkness, or he’d figure out where he was now.
Life, if he was alive, was about moving forward. Especially when everything behind you was gone.
Past
Following the little demon thing, Cloud thought about what he had been told. This was where the dead resided, and the ruler of the place had finally noticed Cloud.
Taken him long enough.
The demon, Pain, Cloud remembered, had spoken something about a deal. A possible exchange of services. It all depended on the man who ran this Underworld.
Hades.
Sounded fun.
Sighing at his mental sarcasm, Cloud thought about what he might be offered. He really didn't need anything, honestly, so he wondered what the god might possibly offer.
Well, there was one thing.
While Cloud still didn't remember what had happened to him, he did know one thing.
Sephiroth was involved.
Somehow, he was positive of the fact that Sephiroth had been involved in whatever had happened to Cloud, what had dropped him in the corridors. While everything else was locked away, untouchable, unreachable, that was something Cloud knew.
Maybe, if this man could help him find Sephiroth, they might be able to make a deal.
Work
Wiping gore off his blade, Cloud sighed, looking at the mess.
Really, one would think that assassinating gods would be harder.
Hades was a prick, but Cloud was stuck with the god. He had made a deal and he'd honor it. Even if he was killing beings that...really should fight back better.
Maybe things would be more interesting later? While Cloud didn't leave the Coliseum often, it wasn't as if he lacked opponents there. And it was sad that a group of heartless were more entertaining than some of his other targets.
Shouldn't having hearts make them more interesting?
Settling his blade on his back, Cloud sighed, wing twitching as the cloak was pinned on it.
If he hurried, he would be able to make the next round of fights. Maybe Hades would finally have some information for him about Sephiroth.
He wanted to know what had happened. What Sephiroth had done to Hollow Bastion.
Weeks
Stepping out of the darkness, Cloud looked around, the top edge of his cloak fluttering around his face.
Winter had come to Hollow Bastion.
He hadn't been outside in such a long time. The few times he had been here before, he had been trailing Hades, playing the silent brooder, as the god put it. Prick.
Still, he had stayed inside, watching everyone while pretending to ignore them all. So these were the bigwigs, hmm?
Rather pathetic bunch. The only reason the bad guys were winning was because they were taking advantage of the darkness. Unlimited troops did have its uses. Even if you couldn't control them.
He could hear them scurrying around even now, the click of claws on stone echoing through the remains of his world.
Strangely, it was holding up better than Cloud had expected.
There wasn't a great deal of damage, no bodies littering the area. Which was to be expected, really. Bodies vanished when the hearts did. At least, that was what he had seen so far. So it was no surprise that there weren't any dead lying around.
The idea of seeing bodies did make something twist in Cloud's chest. He knew people had died. People he had grown up with. But that didn't mean he wanted to see them, laying around like so many discarded toys.
It had been amazing the amount of relief he had felt when he had seen a familiar name on one of the tourney lists. Yuffie wasn't that common. And when he had seen her fight, he had recognized the man called Leon with her.
At least two people had gotten away.
And...who apparently knew the Keyblade Master.
It hadn't taken much to get Phil to let him look at the signups. Even if he was a hero trainer, the satyr still was wary of Hades' pet assassin.
Well, ex-assassin.
Traverse Town.
They were staying at a place called Traverse Town.
Looking around his former home, Cloud reached out and opened a doorway.
He had someplace to be.
Days
Huffing slightly, Cloud stepped out of darkness.
The problem with the corridors, really, was there was no sign of what was outside of them. Oh, he was used to roaming there, and could get to places he knew easily enough. Just follow the proper scent and one would be able to hunt down just about any location due to the way the darkness on it smelled.
Sorta, anyway.
It was always hard to try to process how he could find directions, so Cloud rarely thought about it. Mostly he just had to worry about people trying to stab him when he stepped out of black circles of doom.
This time, it didn't seem a problem. He had come out in an alleyway, and he gave himself a shake, making sure his wing was covered. Just what he didn't need was someone yelling at him about heartless.
One would think that, after dealing with half goats and....human ducks?
He stared, and then followed the trio of talking ducks. They seemed to be having some sort of conversation about a shop?
They didn't pay a bit of attention to him, just vanishing into a building. Cloud almost went after them, but the noise of people attracted his attention instead. So he moved that way.
Somehow, he wasn't sure how, exactly, he ended up at a table, with a candle he absently put out, only to have it pop back into existence. That was enough to distract him for a few moments, then he looked at the woman who had come up to his table.
"Welcome to Traverse Town," she said. "Looking for anyone in particular?"
Cloud paused, then glanced around again. It did look like a fairly large town.... "I'm looking for a man named Squall Leonhart."
She gave him a blank look, and Cloud remembered that Squall was going by another name. "Leon. He is with a girl named Yuffie."
That seemed to registered better, and the woman nodded. "I'd suggest going to that shop." She pointed to one that was nearby. "The man there can help you get a hold of Leon."
"Thank you," he said, words odd feeling in his mouth. When was the last time he had said thank you? Pushing the thoughts away, he moved towards the shop.
Opening the door, he stepped in, looking around. Movement behind the counter as someone was crouched behind it caught his eye. "I'm looking for Leon. The woman at the restaurant said you could...Cid?"
Cloud stared. Another familiar face.
The older man looked hard at him, then his eyes went wide. "Cloud?" He moved from behind the counter, moving closer. "Haven't seen you since well before the heartless came." There was something in his eyes that made Cloud shift. He...what? At least the man looked happy to see him.
"Come on. Leon will be less pissy if he sees someone else from home. You seen anyone else yet?"
Somehow, Cloud found himself being shuffled along, trying to get a word in, but just following Cid as the man wove in and out of streets. During the walk, a few heartless showed up, but Cloud killed them easily enough, even before Cid could move.
"You can fight? That's good."
Blue eyes met blue eyes, and Cloud shrugged.
The rest of the trip was in silence, at least until Cid gave a door a knock, then pushed it open. "Look who decided to find his way here finally," was his delicate way of putting it.
Suddenly the focus of several eyes, Cloud almost gave into the urge to huddle further into his cloak. Instead, he just nodded at Leon, Yuffie, and...Aerith.
"Nice to see some of you made it."
That was all Cloud got out before the girls were hitting him with hugs, and there was something in Squall...Leon's eyes that made him smile faintly.
Maybe a home would be nice for a while.
Family
Smiling to herself as Yuffie insisted on pestering Cloud, Aerith couldn’t help but smile as she watched the blond man trying to fend the girl off.
It was a nice feeling, seeing someone else she had known before the heartless showing up, alive and well. Another bit of home, really. Given how few of them were left, she thought of them all as family.
Though she wondered where he had been.
Currently, the youngest person in the room was poking him about his battles in the arena, and Aerith was quite content to let Yuffie keep that up, as it gave her more time to study Cloud.
Something was dreadfully off.
She couldn’t place her finger on it, but the healer was sure of it. There was a strange echo on him, a feel that sent shivers up her spine if she focused too much on it. He wasn’t a heartless. Definitely not. Especially given he wasn’t trying to relieve any of them their own.
As Cloud let Yuffie babble, mostly ignoring her, Aerith tried to place what it was that bothered her.
How had Cloud gotten away?
She and the others had been lucky. Right time, right place, watching Cid in his garage as he finished the first of the gummi ships the King had requested built. When the heartless had come, he had shoved all the kids into it, ignoring Leon’s protests that he needed to go back and get the rest of the children. There hadn’t been time.
Aerith still had nightmares of the black waves swarming in close.
But Cloud had been gone, even before that. She remembered being put out because he hadn’t ever shown up for his birthday party that year. Just vanished.
Rumor had it that Cloud had been sent with General Sephiroth and Zack on some mission or another, but nobody knew what it might be, or why they would need Cloud along. He was her friend, but the Cloud Aerith remember had always been more a friend of books than blades.
Maybe later, she would ask. Right now, though, it was just good to have him here.
Another member of the family.
Future
It had been such an interesting chase.
Standing easily on the edge of the roof, Sephiroth looked out over the makeshift town of survivors. So many little people, slipping through the fingers of the heartless, ending up here, with other lost ones.
Still, if Cloud hadn’t come here, he never would have bothered to step foot here. Let those who didn’t matter gather. He had other matters to attend to.
His eyes drifted, roaming over the small forms, looking for the pale hair that would stand out like a beacon. The man who had helped create him, help bring him to this stage of his life was out there, and Sephiroth was patient enough to wait for him to appear.
After all, nine years had passed.
For the longest time, there had been nothing. Not here, not anywhere. The boy had vanished, as surely as if his heart had been torn from his chest.
Still, Sephiroth knew for a fact that the boy was not dead. Nor was he a heartless. He would have felt that.
Then he had heard the stories in the Coliseum. Stories about Hades’ new assassin. Not wanting to deal with the irritating god himself, Sephiroth had followed the rumors on his own. However Cloud was doing it, he was widely traveled, ending up on a variety of worlds.
Sephiroth decided the most frustrating part was returning to the Coliseum and finding out that, not only had Cloud been there, he had fought the Keyblade Master and gone again.
The Keyblade Master. Another fascinating person he wanted to…speak with.
But Cloud first.
He was the most important thing in Sephiroth’s world at the moment. Until he had talked to Cloud, Sephiroth could ignore everything else.
So he waited.
Eventually, he would find him.
Coffee
The worst part about being around the others is that they seemed to set off emotions and memories he had managed to avoid for years. It had been a long time since Cloud had thought of what home had been like before, and what it must have been like when the heartless came. He had never had the time, or the inclination to do it.
So it seemed that his dreams were making up for lost time, intertwined with...things he couldn't quite recall. Fragments of dreams, things that couldn't have ever happened. Training with the guard, fighting back to back with Sephiroth, traveling to places he'd never even heard of, let alone been. All those bits mixed in with scenes of people dying around him, torn apart by heartless, of memories from before everything had gone wrong. Good times, playing with kids his own age, reading a good book, just being around people he had known forever.
He wondered how many of them were dead now. Leon, Aerith, Yuffie, and Cid were the only ones from before he recognized. At least, as far as he could tell. If there were more, he hadn't seen them.
It was a new part of his life, and Cloud wished it would go away. However, he knew that wishing never did anyone a bit of good, so he just accepted it and adapted.
He was good at adapting.
So far, the others hadn't seen him in the dark. The wing and the claws had gotten enough questions, he didn't need them realize that his eyes glowed as well. Too many already seemed to think he was more than half heartless, he didn't need to give them anymore fuel for it.
"Couldn't sleep?"
Jerking slightly, Cloud cursed mentally as he turned from where he had been absently staring into his coffee as his mind had wondered. He wasn't used to people sneaking up on him, and Leon did it on a regular basis. Which made Cloud twitch. If he had been that bad before, someone would have already killed him.
"What about you? I thought you'd be busy organizing people and trying to clean up more heartless."
Leon shrugged and went to get his own cup of coffee. "Sometimes even I need a day off. What has you awake in the dark of the night? Been hunting?"
A half shrug was his answer. "Just couldn't sleep is all. Though hunting does sound like a plan. I might do it later."
Leaning against the counter, Leon sipped from his cup, liquid still hot. "Want some company?"
Company?
It had been a long time since Cloud had actually fought beside someone instead of against them.
Maybe it would help settle some of the memories he really didn't recall.
"Sure."
Wind
It wasn't what he was expecting.
Shivering, Sora hurried to where Merlin was living now. He hadn't realized that Hollow Bastion could get so -cold-, and he wished someone would have thought to told him. He would have gotten a jacket or something.
Even as he trotted towards warmth, though, he did notice that the place look a lot nicer now. Not so tore down, more people, more kids.
It was as a blast of cold air hit him that Sora ran into a person he hadn't seen. Probably because he was huddling in on himself. Stumbling a bit, he caught himself even before a hand rested on his shoulder to help balance him. Looking up, he blinked. "Cloud?"
Surprise crossed Cloud's face as he looked at the boy, then he shook his head. "Come on," he said, pulling Sora along, shedding his coat to drop on the younger one's head. "Let's get you inside before you freeze to death. One would think that the savior of the light would have enough sense to put on a jacket."
"I didn't know it was gonna be so cold here! Nobody told me it was winter time." Sora's voice was indignant, and a bit muffled, as he pulled on the jacket. It was warm, nice and toasty from being on Cloud. Then the teen grimaced. "Wait, won't you be cold?"
"I don't feel cold anymore. Aerith made me wear it." The tone was absent, and Sora blinked at it. "You don't? I bet that's useful on days like this."
A shrug. "Maybe. One more thing to be fussed over at is all. Aerith seems to take it personal when I don't dress according to weather."
Sora grinned at the grimace Cloud wore. "At least she cares."
"Of course she does. She's Aerith. She's also going to end up tucking you into bed and making you soup. Hope you don't have anywhere important to be."
Sora grimaced himself. And debated seeing if he couldn't go find Leon. He did have a coat now, that would make things fine.
Cloud's arm dropped over his shoulder, and Sora got the sinking feeling he wouldn't be escaping. "You're going to sacrifice me up as a distraction to Aerith, aren't you?"
"Always knew you had a talent for figuring things out. At least, when you're paying attention. Now, learn to fight and you'll be good."
"Hey!"
Sora would have protested more, but he paused as Cloud chuckled.
Sora had never heard Cloud make any sound like that before.
Then he grinned.
Cloud had a nice laugh.
Deaf
Don’t you feel deaf, Cloud? Like there is something just outside that you should be hearing?
I've seen you react to it. The murmuring of voices. Or should I say, a voice. The murmur that tells you what to feel, how you should act. A voice that isn't mine and isn't yours.
Or do you not even remember him?
How much have you lost?
I will find out someday, Cloud.
You hold a part of me, after all.
Enemies
This was highly frustrating.
Sephiroth never really wanted to be enemies with Cloud. The man had helped make him, after all. So, in a twisted view of things, one could almost consider Cloud a father to him, even if he was the younger of the two.
Or perhaps twin would be a better description. Without each other, the other wouldn't exist, not in the way they did now. Instead, they'd be smaller, lesser forms.
For that alone, Sephiroth would be inclined to like Cloud.
And he did enjoy the time he spent with the other man.
Now, if he could only get Cloud to stop trying to destroy him.
As if one could destroy the other.
But he did want to be around Cloud. The other made something feel...calmer. Connected.
Well, he would have to figure out what to do so that he could spend more time around Cloud.
Being enemies didn't work. Cloud would not change as long as he had the ties he did to the others.
So Sephiroth would have to deal with them.
Not killing them. As things were now, he would only make Cloud hate him more.
As if Cloud was really capable of hate.
No, no killing.
He had other plans.
Mute
There must be a way to mute the voice.
If that was gone, then everything would work.
The man had always been talkative, in life and now. So, how to make him be silent for once.
Well, there were a few options, and it would be so easy for him to do something...permanent.
Something in him rebelled at the idea, though. To permanently destroy the voice...
It wasn't in him to do it.
Still, Sephiroth had to find something.
Suddenly, he recalled something.
Well, if anyone had strong will, it would be Zack.
Gift
It was such a simple thing.
Sephiroth had appeared, which had triggered the standard circling he and Cloud always indulged in, and Leon watched with narrow eyes, ready to move if they started a fight. Those two were destructive, and if need be, he'd join in to help Cloud.
So when Sephiroth just smiled, that far too pleased smile, and threw a stone at Cloud, both the men jerked back.
Cloud caught it before it hit him in the chest, and both he and Leon looked at it.
It was a summoning stone.
"What...?" Cloud stuttered out, frowning at it.
"And empty stone. The one in it was released. A rare item." Sephiroth's smile grew. "A gift."
Then he said something, a word neither of the men recognized, and the stone flared up.
For a moment, Leon thought Sephiroth was trying to force Cloud into the stone.
Then Cloud screamed, and dropped to his knees, curling forward. In his hand, the stone glowed brighter, and Leon threw a hand up as the glow seemed to curl along Cloud's skin in a burst of light.
Then it faded, and he looked to his friend.
And found gold eyes looking back.
Guilt
Pain ripped through him, but that wasn't what made Cloud drop like he had.
It was the crash of memories, as he felt the tug, then the tear as something came loose.
He wondered if this was what it was like to lose a heart.
There was the feeling of scrambling, and anger/fear/worry, all of it pouring out of him like water. It was impossible to keep the feelings, even as the light around him started to fade around him.
The voice was gone.
With it had gone emotions.
As the last of them faded, Cloud felt one last time.
And what he felt was guilt.
Zack was dead.
And Cloud had just remembered who he was.
Author: GW Katrina aka
icedark_elfFandom: Kingdom Hearts
Claim: Nobody AU
Prompt: 36-Innocence, 35-Mountains, 49-Pet, 19-Rain, 28-Blind, 20-Sun, 25-Death, 41-Past, 44-Work, 03-Weeks, 02-Days, 09-Family, 43-Future, 31-Coffee, 23-Wind, 29-Deaf, 08-Enemies, 30-Mute, 50-Gift, 37-Guilt for
50episodesRating: PG
Wordcount: 6,139
A/N: Yes, more crack. Fear me. Oh, and this is
tripoverhercats fault. The issue with being a scientist is that there were always more questions than answers, sometimes to the point of distraction.
Standing in the window, looking down onto the rest of the city, he wondered what his teacher would think of the plans he had made. The experiments he had plotted out, brought so close to fulfilling.
No. He would not think of the man.-He- was Ansem now. Not some foolish person who would let the greatest minds go to waste as he hesitated over meaningless distinctions.
He had such great ideas, and as he watched the people move, so innocent as they went through their lives, he pondered about the results of his tests so far.
Attempts to remove the darkness from people had failed miserably so far. They had become the dark creatures, the heartless, each and every one of them. It was starting to be horribly frustrating.
Though he had noticed an interesting trend. Those who were more stubborn, who had the strongest willpower, they retained themselves longer.
How much did willpower have to do with their hearts?
It was the same with those who were younger, more innocent. They held their light longest, only succumbing in the very end to what little darkness their hearts held.
He wondered if he could combine the two.
Watching people, he let the idea seep into the back of his mind, letting it take shape as it would.
He was one of the greatest scientific minds ever produced.
There had to be a way around the issue.
It was an irritating feeling, Sephiroth decided.
He was being watched. Again.
Nor was it eyes that seemed to be particularly caring. Not like some of the children who watched from the sidelines as he and Zack sparred. The younger man was grinning as he danced out of the way of another of Sephiroth's strikes, and he shook off the unease as he focused on the match. Zack was a good opponent, quick and adaptable. He always provided a good fight, and while Sephiroth could not indulge as much as he liked, it was still good to have this chance.
As they moved, the crowd grew, full of laughter and friendly teasing, encouraging first one, then the other as the battle moved back and forth. Finally, though, Sephiroth disarmed Zack, who looked at him with a bright smile and a demanding hand held out to be helped up.
Doing so, Sephiroth looked to the side as a boy with bright blond hair came up, holding a bucket of water, which he offered up with a shy, shy smile. He had seen the boy around, one of the young teens that the King had working in the castle. Not staff, exactly, but the ones he thought would do well helping him out with his tests.
King Ansem was a scientist at heart, and always did try to lure more people to his chosen art.
"Hey, Cloud," Zack said cheerfully, ruffling up the pale hair. "You are always good at knowing what to bring, aren't you?"
The blond sputtered a bit, smiling shyly at them. "Where are you guys going next," he asked after a moment of trying to defend his hair from Zack.
"North," Sephiroth said calmly, ignoring the squeak from the boy. "Into the mountains."
Zack nodded. "Seems there are things trying to munch on peoples animals up there. So Seph and I get to go deal with the gobblygooks and then head back."
The smile Cloud gave them was bright. "Will you be back in time for my birthday?"
"How old you going to be, Spike? Twenty, twenty one?"
That got Zack a kick in the shin, which he tried to shake off. "Pointy toes. Not fair."
Cloud was red. "I'm going to be thirteen." He fidgeted. "You'll be there, right?"
The look took them both in, and while Sephiroth found himself amused by the obvious hero worship, it was still nice to be included. Especially by someone who Zack was friends with as well. "Of course."
His words were rewarded with a smile that would have made most people melt, and even Sephiroth couldn't help but smile back.
It was really the best combination he could hope for. Sephiroth and Zack were perfect for one half of the experiment. And if they both survived, well, it would be an unexpected by pleasing surprise. He doubted much that it would happen, but it would still be useful.
The boy, Cloud, was young still, still looking at the world around him with the same innocence that most children had, even as he stared to edge into adulthood. Hopefully, the attachment he obviously had for the older two men would be useful.
Watching as General Sephiroth walked off with his second in command, he pondered this plan. It would be difficult to get them to agree willingly, and he did not like the idea of his people knowing where the great warrior and his second in command had vanished to. The tests would have to be done in secret, of course. Sephiroth was a hero to everyone here, and he doubted they would appreciate the man being used in an experiment, even if it was for the betterment of everyone. The heartless were massing ever greater numbers, and he refused to let them take this world.
Absently, he watched as the boy ran off to meet one of his older friends, a brown haired child the same age as Zack. Squall was also one of Ansem's assistants, though he was old enough that he was more in charge with keeping the younger children in line than doing other errands. Would have to make sure that he came up with a good reason for Cloud's vanishing as well. Squall was protective of the younger children, even going as far as learning the art of the gunblade to keep them safe from monsters. While not in the same league as Sephiroth, or even Zack, he was a talented fighter.
The blond followed the older boy like a puppy, bouncing as he did.
He would be an excellent subject.
Ansem could not wait to begin.
Water shedding off his hair, Sephiroth gave himself a shake, aware of Zack doing the same behind him. At least the water came easily off Zack's spikes, preferring to soak into Sephiroth's smoother hair. He wasn't sure why, but it was something of an irritant.
They had returned from the mountains, riding just ahead of the rain, only to have it catch them in a blast of cold as they had entered the area around the castle. There was a message waiting for them there, and Sephiroth was slightly disgusted at having to brave the cold water again to report to Ansem.
And if that wasn't bad enough, he had an annoying, uneasy feeling since the rain had begun to fall on their heads.
Something about the man had been keeping him on edge lately, though he could not understand what. Ansem the Wise was a good king, better than some Sephiroth had read of. Still, he could not shake the edge of darkness around the man. It was new, and he could not quite place it.
"This had better be good," Zack muttered behind him. It didn't matter that the man was their king. Zack's loyalties laid with Sephiroth, which was a comfort for the man. Leaving their dripping coats with the servant, they followed the page to Ansem's study. There, at least, it was warm, and there was hot tea waiting.
Gesturing them to sit, Ansem was noting a few things on a sheet of paper. "Sit, sit," he said. "Make the tea as you like, before you freeze."
Collecting a cup and pouring himself some of the tea, Sephiroth added in the honey, Zack making the tea more sludge with as much sugar and milk as he put in it. Neither of them could understand how the other drank it that way, but it meant less competition for their preferred items, so it was fine.
Sipping at the tea, letting the heat soak into his skin from the fire, Sephiroth waited. Ansem was obviously in the middle of one of his note taking sprees, jotting down things he had learned from the last experiment.
"Was it a heartless?"
The question was asked without the King ever looking up, and Sephiroth resisted the urge to nod, just to be an irritant. "Yes. A breed I've not seen before, though Zack had apparently heard a few rumors of that type. Enough we were able to defeat it without too much damage to the surrounding terrain."
He added more honey to his tea, wondering what type this was to have such bitterness. Perhaps it had been left on the fire too long? That happened time to time.
"Explain to me."
"It was fire based, apparently," Zack said, hands curled around his cup. "At least, that seemed to be it's main weapon of choice. Relatively good at deflecting damage, but the sides were weak."
Sephiroth picked up the description. "Once we separated, it was relatively easy to deal with." Motion caught his eye, and he glanced at Zack, who was flexing one hand. Burned his fingers, perhaps? It was hard to judge temperature when one went from cold to hot, as they had done. Even now, the room felt almost stifling, the heat making Sephiroth's throat feel thick.
Only...it wasn't the heat.
The teacup fell from his suddenly numb fingers, and he watched as Ansem wrote another note down. "I had wondered how long it would take for that particular drug to work."
"What...?" Zack got out, his words slurring. Or was it Sephiroth's hearing, as everything spun around him. He tried to stand, only to have things tip on him.
"You are about to become parts of a grand experiment. With your assistance, we will finally be able to work out how to separate the light and darkness of hearts and stop this plague that is getting worse, every day."
Someday, Sephiroth thought as his vision blurred into nothing, he would learn to listen to those nagging feelings.
He couldn’t see anything.
Aching, not sure what was going on, Cloud curled into a ball. He was sure his eyes were open, but the only thing he could see was darkness. In the distance, he heard something scrabbling, but whatever it was seemed to be ignoring him. That was fine by him. All he wanted to do at the moment was breathe.
His chest ached, as if something had hit him really hard, and he shifted, pressing his palm against the center of his ribs. That ached, and he let out a strangled gasp at the shock of pain.
Something brushed against his back as he moved, and he had to slam down hard on a yell. He didn’t know where he was and he couldn’t see, so he really didn’t want to bring down anything that might want to eat him.
Hand reaching back carefully, he was started to feel something…soft and hot against his back. Even more startling was the fact that he could feel his fingers touching it.
Whatever it was, it was attached.
After a few moments of tentative exploring, he still couldn’t figure out what it was.
Getting out of here first. Then figure out what was wrong with him.
Only…where was he?
Cloud tried hard to remember what had happened before he had gotten here. As he did, the headache flared up, spiking hard and he couldn’t quite help the whimper this time. Okay. Last thing he remembered really was being at the castle, helping out.
Right.
Pushing to his feet, hands held out as he started to shuffle forward, Cloud stumbled further into the darkness.
He paused on the ledge, looking down as the newest swarm of heartless passed by. Hair in his eyes, reflecting the dull glow of blue back, hiding it from the creatures, Cloud waited patiently. Flexing the claws on one hand, he shifted his shoulder, wing settling against the blade he carried there.
The blade. He had found it shortly after he had woken up here, in the darkness filled with heartless. Still more confused than anything, he had taken it with him, something telling him that he needed it.
Which he had.
Over the time he had been here, he had gotten stronger, faster. Which was just as well, as the heartless would hesitate only a few moments before attacking him. As he traveled the paths, he collected bits and pieces of gear, debris from fallen worlds.
Cloud wasn’t sure how long he had been here. Long enough that he had forgotten some things. Like warmth, light. Long enough for his eyes to glow on their own, so similar to the yellow eyes all around him.
Pale skin gleamed, and when he found himself in the center of a mass of heartless, all focused on him, he almost glowed.
In a way, it reminded him of the sun. Pale yellow light.
Just about the only sun there was down here.
Too bad it wasn’t something anything in the dark cared for. Instead, he focused on staying out of sight as much as possible, out of the way.
The only time he really descended was when he got tired. Didn’t know why, but when Cloud started to drag, he would simply go and kill heartless. It wasn’t that it made him feel any different, it was just a change in the monotony.
All there was to do here was to walk and kill. He never really got sleepy, or hungry. Nothing like that. Just…bored.
So, sometimes, he would jump into the midst of a mass of moving darkness, and there he would shine.
Just for a while.
It was something of a stumble.
Not that he would ever admit it, but stepping from the darkness to the dim light, surrounded by fog was not something Cloud intended.
In fact, he wasn’t expecting anything like it.
Which explained his reaction of a yelp and slamming back against a wall, arm covering his eyes. He stood there, panting, forearm pressed across his eyes, which were watering horribly. It had…been a long time since he had been surrounded by this much brightness.
Before, it would have been different. Then he was used to sunlight and lamps and everything like that. But that was before. Now anything stronger than the occasional bolts of electricity some of the heartless put off was painfully bright. Rather like staring at sunlight reflecting off snow, or water.
After a while, though, he rubbed his eyes and slowly dropped his arm. Clicking his claws, he edged forward, eyes opened just the tiniest bit.
An orb of soft glowing light drifted close, and he froze, watching it. Carefully, he reached out and pricked it with his claw. It exploded into a shower of clear spheres, and he yanked his hand back, a voice murmuring through his head. It was something about not being late.
Shaking his head, confused, Cloud decided that the only thing to do was to walk.
He’d either figure out how to get back to the darkness, or he’d figure out where he was now.
Life, if he was alive, was about moving forward. Especially when everything behind you was gone.
Following the little demon thing, Cloud thought about what he had been told. This was where the dead resided, and the ruler of the place had finally noticed Cloud.
Taken him long enough.
The demon, Pain, Cloud remembered, had spoken something about a deal. A possible exchange of services. It all depended on the man who ran this Underworld.
Hades.
Sounded fun.
Sighing at his mental sarcasm, Cloud thought about what he might be offered. He really didn't need anything, honestly, so he wondered what the god might possibly offer.
Well, there was one thing.
While Cloud still didn't remember what had happened to him, he did know one thing.
Sephiroth was involved.
Somehow, he was positive of the fact that Sephiroth had been involved in whatever had happened to Cloud, what had dropped him in the corridors. While everything else was locked away, untouchable, unreachable, that was something Cloud knew.
Maybe, if this man could help him find Sephiroth, they might be able to make a deal.
Wiping gore off his blade, Cloud sighed, looking at the mess.
Really, one would think that assassinating gods would be harder.
Hades was a prick, but Cloud was stuck with the god. He had made a deal and he'd honor it. Even if he was killing beings that...really should fight back better.
Maybe things would be more interesting later? While Cloud didn't leave the Coliseum often, it wasn't as if he lacked opponents there. And it was sad that a group of heartless were more entertaining than some of his other targets.
Shouldn't having hearts make them more interesting?
Settling his blade on his back, Cloud sighed, wing twitching as the cloak was pinned on it.
If he hurried, he would be able to make the next round of fights. Maybe Hades would finally have some information for him about Sephiroth.
He wanted to know what had happened. What Sephiroth had done to Hollow Bastion.
Stepping out of the darkness, Cloud looked around, the top edge of his cloak fluttering around his face.
Winter had come to Hollow Bastion.
He hadn't been outside in such a long time. The few times he had been here before, he had been trailing Hades, playing the silent brooder, as the god put it. Prick.
Still, he had stayed inside, watching everyone while pretending to ignore them all. So these were the bigwigs, hmm?
Rather pathetic bunch. The only reason the bad guys were winning was because they were taking advantage of the darkness. Unlimited troops did have its uses. Even if you couldn't control them.
He could hear them scurrying around even now, the click of claws on stone echoing through the remains of his world.
Strangely, it was holding up better than Cloud had expected.
There wasn't a great deal of damage, no bodies littering the area. Which was to be expected, really. Bodies vanished when the hearts did. At least, that was what he had seen so far. So it was no surprise that there weren't any dead lying around.
The idea of seeing bodies did make something twist in Cloud's chest. He knew people had died. People he had grown up with. But that didn't mean he wanted to see them, laying around like so many discarded toys.
It had been amazing the amount of relief he had felt when he had seen a familiar name on one of the tourney lists. Yuffie wasn't that common. And when he had seen her fight, he had recognized the man called Leon with her.
At least two people had gotten away.
And...who apparently knew the Keyblade Master.
It hadn't taken much to get Phil to let him look at the signups. Even if he was a hero trainer, the satyr still was wary of Hades' pet assassin.
Well, ex-assassin.
Traverse Town.
They were staying at a place called Traverse Town.
Looking around his former home, Cloud reached out and opened a doorway.
He had someplace to be.
Huffing slightly, Cloud stepped out of darkness.
The problem with the corridors, really, was there was no sign of what was outside of them. Oh, he was used to roaming there, and could get to places he knew easily enough. Just follow the proper scent and one would be able to hunt down just about any location due to the way the darkness on it smelled.
Sorta, anyway.
It was always hard to try to process how he could find directions, so Cloud rarely thought about it. Mostly he just had to worry about people trying to stab him when he stepped out of black circles of doom.
This time, it didn't seem a problem. He had come out in an alleyway, and he gave himself a shake, making sure his wing was covered. Just what he didn't need was someone yelling at him about heartless.
One would think that, after dealing with half goats and....human ducks?
He stared, and then followed the trio of talking ducks. They seemed to be having some sort of conversation about a shop?
They didn't pay a bit of attention to him, just vanishing into a building. Cloud almost went after them, but the noise of people attracted his attention instead. So he moved that way.
Somehow, he wasn't sure how, exactly, he ended up at a table, with a candle he absently put out, only to have it pop back into existence. That was enough to distract him for a few moments, then he looked at the woman who had come up to his table.
"Welcome to Traverse Town," she said. "Looking for anyone in particular?"
Cloud paused, then glanced around again. It did look like a fairly large town.... "I'm looking for a man named Squall Leonhart."
She gave him a blank look, and Cloud remembered that Squall was going by another name. "Leon. He is with a girl named Yuffie."
That seemed to registered better, and the woman nodded. "I'd suggest going to that shop." She pointed to one that was nearby. "The man there can help you get a hold of Leon."
"Thank you," he said, words odd feeling in his mouth. When was the last time he had said thank you? Pushing the thoughts away, he moved towards the shop.
Opening the door, he stepped in, looking around. Movement behind the counter as someone was crouched behind it caught his eye. "I'm looking for Leon. The woman at the restaurant said you could...Cid?"
Cloud stared. Another familiar face.
The older man looked hard at him, then his eyes went wide. "Cloud?" He moved from behind the counter, moving closer. "Haven't seen you since well before the heartless came." There was something in his eyes that made Cloud shift. He...what? At least the man looked happy to see him.
"Come on. Leon will be less pissy if he sees someone else from home. You seen anyone else yet?"
Somehow, Cloud found himself being shuffled along, trying to get a word in, but just following Cid as the man wove in and out of streets. During the walk, a few heartless showed up, but Cloud killed them easily enough, even before Cid could move.
"You can fight? That's good."
Blue eyes met blue eyes, and Cloud shrugged.
The rest of the trip was in silence, at least until Cid gave a door a knock, then pushed it open. "Look who decided to find his way here finally," was his delicate way of putting it.
Suddenly the focus of several eyes, Cloud almost gave into the urge to huddle further into his cloak. Instead, he just nodded at Leon, Yuffie, and...Aerith.
"Nice to see some of you made it."
That was all Cloud got out before the girls were hitting him with hugs, and there was something in Squall...Leon's eyes that made him smile faintly.
Maybe a home would be nice for a while.
Smiling to herself as Yuffie insisted on pestering Cloud, Aerith couldn’t help but smile as she watched the blond man trying to fend the girl off.
It was a nice feeling, seeing someone else she had known before the heartless showing up, alive and well. Another bit of home, really. Given how few of them were left, she thought of them all as family.
Though she wondered where he had been.
Currently, the youngest person in the room was poking him about his battles in the arena, and Aerith was quite content to let Yuffie keep that up, as it gave her more time to study Cloud.
Something was dreadfully off.
She couldn’t place her finger on it, but the healer was sure of it. There was a strange echo on him, a feel that sent shivers up her spine if she focused too much on it. He wasn’t a heartless. Definitely not. Especially given he wasn’t trying to relieve any of them their own.
As Cloud let Yuffie babble, mostly ignoring her, Aerith tried to place what it was that bothered her.
How had Cloud gotten away?
She and the others had been lucky. Right time, right place, watching Cid in his garage as he finished the first of the gummi ships the King had requested built. When the heartless had come, he had shoved all the kids into it, ignoring Leon’s protests that he needed to go back and get the rest of the children. There hadn’t been time.
Aerith still had nightmares of the black waves swarming in close.
But Cloud had been gone, even before that. She remembered being put out because he hadn’t ever shown up for his birthday party that year. Just vanished.
Rumor had it that Cloud had been sent with General Sephiroth and Zack on some mission or another, but nobody knew what it might be, or why they would need Cloud along. He was her friend, but the Cloud Aerith remember had always been more a friend of books than blades.
Maybe later, she would ask. Right now, though, it was just good to have him here.
Another member of the family.
It had been such an interesting chase.
Standing easily on the edge of the roof, Sephiroth looked out over the makeshift town of survivors. So many little people, slipping through the fingers of the heartless, ending up here, with other lost ones.
Still, if Cloud hadn’t come here, he never would have bothered to step foot here. Let those who didn’t matter gather. He had other matters to attend to.
His eyes drifted, roaming over the small forms, looking for the pale hair that would stand out like a beacon. The man who had helped create him, help bring him to this stage of his life was out there, and Sephiroth was patient enough to wait for him to appear.
After all, nine years had passed.
For the longest time, there had been nothing. Not here, not anywhere. The boy had vanished, as surely as if his heart had been torn from his chest.
Still, Sephiroth knew for a fact that the boy was not dead. Nor was he a heartless. He would have felt that.
Then he had heard the stories in the Coliseum. Stories about Hades’ new assassin. Not wanting to deal with the irritating god himself, Sephiroth had followed the rumors on his own. However Cloud was doing it, he was widely traveled, ending up on a variety of worlds.
Sephiroth decided the most frustrating part was returning to the Coliseum and finding out that, not only had Cloud been there, he had fought the Keyblade Master and gone again.
The Keyblade Master. Another fascinating person he wanted to…speak with.
But Cloud first.
He was the most important thing in Sephiroth’s world at the moment. Until he had talked to Cloud, Sephiroth could ignore everything else.
So he waited.
Eventually, he would find him.
The worst part about being around the others is that they seemed to set off emotions and memories he had managed to avoid for years. It had been a long time since Cloud had thought of what home had been like before, and what it must have been like when the heartless came. He had never had the time, or the inclination to do it.
So it seemed that his dreams were making up for lost time, intertwined with...things he couldn't quite recall. Fragments of dreams, things that couldn't have ever happened. Training with the guard, fighting back to back with Sephiroth, traveling to places he'd never even heard of, let alone been. All those bits mixed in with scenes of people dying around him, torn apart by heartless, of memories from before everything had gone wrong. Good times, playing with kids his own age, reading a good book, just being around people he had known forever.
He wondered how many of them were dead now. Leon, Aerith, Yuffie, and Cid were the only ones from before he recognized. At least, as far as he could tell. If there were more, he hadn't seen them.
It was a new part of his life, and Cloud wished it would go away. However, he knew that wishing never did anyone a bit of good, so he just accepted it and adapted.
He was good at adapting.
So far, the others hadn't seen him in the dark. The wing and the claws had gotten enough questions, he didn't need them realize that his eyes glowed as well. Too many already seemed to think he was more than half heartless, he didn't need to give them anymore fuel for it.
"Couldn't sleep?"
Jerking slightly, Cloud cursed mentally as he turned from where he had been absently staring into his coffee as his mind had wondered. He wasn't used to people sneaking up on him, and Leon did it on a regular basis. Which made Cloud twitch. If he had been that bad before, someone would have already killed him.
"What about you? I thought you'd be busy organizing people and trying to clean up more heartless."
Leon shrugged and went to get his own cup of coffee. "Sometimes even I need a day off. What has you awake in the dark of the night? Been hunting?"
A half shrug was his answer. "Just couldn't sleep is all. Though hunting does sound like a plan. I might do it later."
Leaning against the counter, Leon sipped from his cup, liquid still hot. "Want some company?"
Company?
It had been a long time since Cloud had actually fought beside someone instead of against them.
Maybe it would help settle some of the memories he really didn't recall.
"Sure."
It wasn't what he was expecting.
Shivering, Sora hurried to where Merlin was living now. He hadn't realized that Hollow Bastion could get so -cold-, and he wished someone would have thought to told him. He would have gotten a jacket or something.
Even as he trotted towards warmth, though, he did notice that the place look a lot nicer now. Not so tore down, more people, more kids.
It was as a blast of cold air hit him that Sora ran into a person he hadn't seen. Probably because he was huddling in on himself. Stumbling a bit, he caught himself even before a hand rested on his shoulder to help balance him. Looking up, he blinked. "Cloud?"
Surprise crossed Cloud's face as he looked at the boy, then he shook his head. "Come on," he said, pulling Sora along, shedding his coat to drop on the younger one's head. "Let's get you inside before you freeze to death. One would think that the savior of the light would have enough sense to put on a jacket."
"I didn't know it was gonna be so cold here! Nobody told me it was winter time." Sora's voice was indignant, and a bit muffled, as he pulled on the jacket. It was warm, nice and toasty from being on Cloud. Then the teen grimaced. "Wait, won't you be cold?"
"I don't feel cold anymore. Aerith made me wear it." The tone was absent, and Sora blinked at it. "You don't? I bet that's useful on days like this."
A shrug. "Maybe. One more thing to be fussed over at is all. Aerith seems to take it personal when I don't dress according to weather."
Sora grinned at the grimace Cloud wore. "At least she cares."
"Of course she does. She's Aerith. She's also going to end up tucking you into bed and making you soup. Hope you don't have anywhere important to be."
Sora grimaced himself. And debated seeing if he couldn't go find Leon. He did have a coat now, that would make things fine.
Cloud's arm dropped over his shoulder, and Sora got the sinking feeling he wouldn't be escaping. "You're going to sacrifice me up as a distraction to Aerith, aren't you?"
"Always knew you had a talent for figuring things out. At least, when you're paying attention. Now, learn to fight and you'll be good."
"Hey!"
Sora would have protested more, but he paused as Cloud chuckled.
Sora had never heard Cloud make any sound like that before.
Then he grinned.
Cloud had a nice laugh.
Don’t you feel deaf, Cloud? Like there is something just outside that you should be hearing?
I've seen you react to it. The murmuring of voices. Or should I say, a voice. The murmur that tells you what to feel, how you should act. A voice that isn't mine and isn't yours.
Or do you not even remember him?
How much have you lost?
I will find out someday, Cloud.
You hold a part of me, after all.
This was highly frustrating.
Sephiroth never really wanted to be enemies with Cloud. The man had helped make him, after all. So, in a twisted view of things, one could almost consider Cloud a father to him, even if he was the younger of the two.
Or perhaps twin would be a better description. Without each other, the other wouldn't exist, not in the way they did now. Instead, they'd be smaller, lesser forms.
For that alone, Sephiroth would be inclined to like Cloud.
And he did enjoy the time he spent with the other man.
Now, if he could only get Cloud to stop trying to destroy him.
As if one could destroy the other.
But he did want to be around Cloud. The other made something feel...calmer. Connected.
Well, he would have to figure out what to do so that he could spend more time around Cloud.
Being enemies didn't work. Cloud would not change as long as he had the ties he did to the others.
So Sephiroth would have to deal with them.
Not killing them. As things were now, he would only make Cloud hate him more.
As if Cloud was really capable of hate.
No, no killing.
He had other plans.
There must be a way to mute the voice.
If that was gone, then everything would work.
The man had always been talkative, in life and now. So, how to make him be silent for once.
Well, there were a few options, and it would be so easy for him to do something...permanent.
Something in him rebelled at the idea, though. To permanently destroy the voice...
It wasn't in him to do it.
Still, Sephiroth had to find something.
Suddenly, he recalled something.
Well, if anyone had strong will, it would be Zack.
It was such a simple thing.
Sephiroth had appeared, which had triggered the standard circling he and Cloud always indulged in, and Leon watched with narrow eyes, ready to move if they started a fight. Those two were destructive, and if need be, he'd join in to help Cloud.
So when Sephiroth just smiled, that far too pleased smile, and threw a stone at Cloud, both the men jerked back.
Cloud caught it before it hit him in the chest, and both he and Leon looked at it.
It was a summoning stone.
"What...?" Cloud stuttered out, frowning at it.
"And empty stone. The one in it was released. A rare item." Sephiroth's smile grew. "A gift."
Then he said something, a word neither of the men recognized, and the stone flared up.
For a moment, Leon thought Sephiroth was trying to force Cloud into the stone.
Then Cloud screamed, and dropped to his knees, curling forward. In his hand, the stone glowed brighter, and Leon threw a hand up as the glow seemed to curl along Cloud's skin in a burst of light.
Then it faded, and he looked to his friend.
And found gold eyes looking back.
Pain ripped through him, but that wasn't what made Cloud drop like he had.
It was the crash of memories, as he felt the tug, then the tear as something came loose.
He wondered if this was what it was like to lose a heart.
There was the feeling of scrambling, and anger/fear/worry, all of it pouring out of him like water. It was impossible to keep the feelings, even as the light around him started to fade around him.
The voice was gone.
With it had gone emotions.
As the last of them faded, Cloud felt one last time.
And what he felt was guilt.
Zack was dead.
And Cloud had just remembered who he was.
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Please, Mistress? More???
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His chest ached, as if something had hit him really hard, and he shifted, pressing his palm against the center of his ribs. That ached, and he let out a strangled gasp at the shock of pain.
That particular line makes me go "oooh," especially considering the title of this particular arc. It's just a little detail that reflects/foreshadows so very nicely with what happens in Gift and Guilt.
Sun is one of my favorites, if only because it shows what Cloud's "normal" life was like in the Darkness, and again gives us those fun little hints.
As he traveled the paths, he collected bits and pieces of gear, debris from fallen worlds.
That explains his hodge-podge outfit perfectly! =D
The murmur that tells you what to feel, how you should act.
I didn't catch that particular line in Deaf until the second read-through. That's really where I started to see the looming face of the oncoming tidal wave. That's also what made Mute suddenly make sense, because before I was a little confused until I realized, "Oh, Sephiroth's trying to figure out how to make Zack-voice shut up."
Then it faded, and he looked to his friend.
And found gold eyes looking back.
...well, shit. I can't quite tell if Cloud's turned into a Heartless (I don't think so? I hope not, at least) or if his eyes have just turned gold with the sudden Lack of Zack. Which rhymes, and I don't know why that amuses me so.
Zack was dead.
And Cloud had just remembered who he was.
To quote Red Mage from 8-Bit Theatre: DUN DUN DUNNNNNN!
This AU thrills me, and you've managed to work the elements of it into the world so well that I don't see discrepancies. At all. This could be just one interpretation of what actually happened to Cloud (and Sephiroth, and Zack) in the game, because it just fits in so very, very well.
I can't wait for the next part! Here, have some gratuitous hearts, your deserve them: ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥
One quick thing:
"And empty stone. - An, not and.
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Sun is one of my favorite bits as well. I had fun writing it.
It's amazing how much fun it is to plot things well enough in advance that I can drop hints. *cackles*
I think I'll have two more parts. Cloud remembering and the after effects. Hopefully, you'll enjoy them as well.
*goes to fixes typo*
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you're evil, very very evil, you know
your fics are soooooooooo addictive *.*
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Glad you are enjoying it. I had fun writing it, and there is more to come.
Say hi to Kemis for me when you get a chance.
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impatiently for new works of yours *_*I'm soooooooo addictedabout Kemis: no problems ^^
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And I think they do. Poor dears. But they are so shiny, it just draws the eye. *snuggles them*
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(Anonymous) 2008-10-18 03:01 pm (UTC)(link)Sorry, just a... a humble stalker. I just.
*_* So amazing.
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~Mara~
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As for how I found you.. I think I found Another Chance incomplete over on FF.Net a while ago (as in months) and tromped to your journal to see if there was more here, as is oft-times the case these days. There was, I gleed, forgot to comment *and* to friend you, like I'd planned. Incidentally, I keep forgetting to friend. xP Sorry! xD;
~Mara~