Chapter Text
Cloud jumped aside, narrowly avoiding being hit by a slab of concrete.
He ran without stopping as steel beams shot after him like bolts, missing him by a breath.
Sephiroth stood on top of a derelict building, one arm in the air, a manic smile on his face. He had found a way to return, yet again. Cloud had no idea how it had happened, and in the end, it didn’t really matter. All that mattered was sending him back to the Lifestream before he caused too much damage.
Directing the debris with his powers, Sephiroth aimed them at Cloud, making him run around the tarmac, leaving giant craters in his wake. Cloud wasn’t alone; he was fighting alongside his friends, as always, but Sephiroth only had eyes for him. Dismissing the others as little more than bothersome pests, he focused the full brunt of his rage on Cloud.
With concentrated effort, they’d managed to draw Sephiroth away from Edge, engaging him in a fight at an old, abandoned airport. The destruction didn’t matter as much here, and there were no innocents to get caught in the crossfire.
Predicting the direction Cloud would move in, Sephiroth fired the next projectile right in front of him, aiming at his feet, trying to trip him. Cloud evaded it at the last moment, but the movement threw him off balance and he slipped, while running at full speed. It sent him sprawling, sliding across the concrete, scraping his hands and knees.
“Cloud!” Tifa screamed.
A little farther away, Nanaki lay unconscious, barely breathing. Barret was badly hurt and bleeding, brought to his knees, but still fighting. He was firing an endless barrage of bullets at Sephiroth, trying and failing to hit him. Tifa was the only one still standing. Too quick and light on her feet, she was exceptionally difficult to pin down.
It was just the four of them. The rest of their friends were out of town, and in no position to come and help them.
As Cloud fell, in a moment of panic, Tifa stopped moving, trying to see if he was okay. That was all it took. For s split second, she froze, deciding to change directions and go help Cloud, and Sephiroth sent a large block of concrete, hitting her from behind. Cloud cried out her name, but all he could do was watch, helpless, as it slammed into her.
Once the dust had settled, he could see Tifa’s body beneath rocks and dirt. There was a sizeable chunk of concrete crushing her legs. Miraculously, she was still breathing, but she was unconscious.
Cloud scrambled to his feet and stumbled. Putting weight on his foot felt agonizing; he must have twisted his ankle. Moving as fast as he could, he limped towards Tifa. It took him a moment to realize that there were no more projectiles heading his way. He chanced a glance at Sephiroth and saw him grinning, taking pleasure in his pain, in watching him struggle. When their eyes met, Sephiroth unfurled his wing, sending errant feathers flying, and dove down towards Cloud.
Cloud tried to move faster, dragging his useless foot, trying to get to Tifa, desperate to move the concrete block holding her down. But before he could, Sephiroth landed in front of him. He stood there, tall and menacing, the epitome of danger. He chucked mockingly.
“Oh, Cloud,” he purred. “How very disappointing. Your emotions have always been your weakness. Yet you never learn.”
Barret fired overcharged shots at Sephiroth’s back, but he blocked them all without even turning around.
“Get back here and fight, damn you!” Barret shouted through gritted teeth. A steel bar protruded from his upper thigh, pinning him to the tarmac.
Sephiroth looked at him in annoyance, like a pesky bug buzzing around his head, before swinging his sword and sending several bursts of energy flying his way. Unable to move due to his wound, Barret was hit square in the chest by the full force of Sephiroth’s attack. He gasped, slumping over.
Cloud called out his name, but it was too late. Barret had passed out too, like the rest of his friends.
“No more distractions.” Sephiroth turned to Cloud, giving him the full weight of his stare. “Now, where were we?”
Sephiroth’s lips curled into a predatory grin. He lifted his sword over his shoulder, preparing to strike.
Cloud took a defensive stance, but he knew he wouldn’t be able to hold out for long with his injury. Sephiroth seemed to know it, too. Dashing forward, inhumanly fast, he struck Cloud with all his might. Cloud grunted, trying to parry. Their swords clashed as they battled for dominance. Sephiroth pressured him, forcing Cloud to lean on his injured foot, making him grunt in pain. He kept grinning, manic and gleeful, already gloating. His eyes blazed with victory he knew was almost at hand.
When Cloud’s hands grew tired and he could no longer withstand the pressure, he jumped away, landing in a crouch a few feet away. He cried out in pain as he landed on his injured foot.
“Give it up, Cloud,” Sephiroth said sweetly. “Your friends are unconscious, soon to be dead. You’ve lost. What point is there in still fighting?”
Gritting his teeth, Cloud got to his feet, lifting his sword once more. If he was to go down, he would go down fighting!
Sephiroth huffed, chucking under his breath, looking at Cloud with a mixture of pity and fondness, as if he’d expected nothing less. He raised his sword, a small menacing smile gracing his lips, and prepared to strike.
Suddenly, the air around him shimmered. Rainbow-colored lights erupted from the ground, surrounding Cloud, making the air thicker, harder to breathe. Bright white specks of light filled the air, flickering like sparks.
Cloud gasped in shock, looking around. The smile had vanished from Sephiroth’s face, his expression turning thunderous.
“Impossible,” Sephiroth whispered.
As Cloud opened his mouth to demand to know what the hell was happening, the ground gave out from under him. With nothing to latch onto, he tumbled into nothingness.
His eyes widened in terror; this drop would surely be fatal. He’d escaped imminent danger, only to plummet to his death.
Cloud saw Sephiroth running after him, frenzied and enraged, sword in his dominant hand, reaching for Cloud with the other. For one insane moment, Cloud considered taking his hand to save himself from falling. But Sephiroth was too far away and the gap that had swallowed Cloud was already closing.
Sephiroth tried to follow Cloud into the hole he’d fallen into, but it closed in front of his face, just before he could.
As soon as it did, the sensation of falling disappeared, and Cloud found himself floating, surrounded by white lights. He recognized this place. He’d been there before, with Sephiroth, when he’d told him about a multitude of worlds.
Finding himself in this place alone, Cloud didn’t know what to do. Was he supposed to go in a certain direction? How did he even get here?
Everywhere around him, he saw snippets of his life, both past and future. There were worlds that resembled his own, with some distinct differences; they contained events he didn’t recognize, versions of his life he hadn’t lived. The thought of messing with the timelines was terrifying. He didn’t want to touch anything, conscious of the fact that he had entire worlds at his fingertips. One wrong move and he could bring them to an end.
“Cloud.”
He spun around, but there was no one there. He was alone. Still, there was no mistaking Aerith’s voice. It echoed in the empty space, calling out to him.
“Aerith, is that you? Where are you?”
The air shimmered, and a vague silhouette of his friend appeared. She wasn’t fully solid; her form was translucent and made of iridescent lights. He couldn’t see her face, but she exuded warmth, and he was comforted to feel her presence by his side.
“I’m right here, still in the Lifestream. Manifesting, even in this form, takes a lot of energy, so I can’t do it for long. But as long as you’re here, at least you’ll be able to hear me.”
“Where am I?”
“It’s the space between worlds, a part of the Lifestream. It can be used to travel between realities,” Aerith said, confirming his fears.
“But why am I here?” Cloud asked, trying to wrap his head around everything that had happened.
“It was the only way to protect you. I couldn’t stop Sephiroth, but I could take you away.”
“Thank you…” Cloud mumbled, ashamed that he’d needed saving. “But, what now?”
“I’ll take you to a fork in time, to a different timeline. One that will help you avoid this fight, or at least better prepare for it.”
“Won’t that mess with the future somehow?” Cloud asked, reluctant to do it.
She shook her head. “At any moment in time, there are hundreds of worlds out there—some formed by minor branches in time, and major ones that are more difficult to alter, and almost impossible to destroy. You are from such a timeline, so removing you from it shouldn’t have much of an impact.”
“Shouldn’t doesn’t sound very reassuring, Aerith.”
She giggled. “Just trust me. It’ll be fine!” She suddenly sobered, her voice turning grave. “Besides, it’s the only option we have. I’ll just—“
But before she could do anything, a giant gash appeared overhead. It burst open, letting in Whispers and, with them, Sephiroth. He looked furious, wing extended and sword raised, poised to strike.
“No!” Aerith gasped, sounding terrified. “How did he find us already? Come, quickly!”
Aerith’s form, such as it was, disappeared and a gust of wind propelled Cloud forward, just as Sephiroth charged.
Cloud was thrown forth at incredible speed, the scenes from his life flickering past him too quickly to see, turning into an endless blur of colors, making him nauseous. Sephiroth was right on his heels, faster than lightning, closing in. Aerith’s white Whispers surrounded Sephiroth, trying to slow him down, slamming into his torso, swarming around his limbs, while the unseen force pushing Cloud picked up speed.
Sephiroth let out an angry growl as he was held back, unable to keep up. Not to be foiled, he swung his sword, sending deadly bursts of energy at Cloud. Aerith’s powers moved Cloud out of the way, protecting him, but it allowed the concentrated energy to crash into the only other thing there—the projections of worlds.
Several things happened at once, then.
The force moving Cloud lost all of its steam and he was left suspended in the air. A giant image of a timeline he couldn’t recognize hovered before him. It flickered and cracked, before shattering like glass, exploding into a million pieces.
“What have you done?!” Aerith cried, horrified.
Several other worlds exploded, one explosion triggering the next, sending razor-sharp shards flying around them, hitting and damaging even more worlds. The normally pristine space Cloud was floating in was covered in shiny, iridescent specs that glimmered like gold dust.
Ultimately, the power holding Cloud ran out, and with a scream, he was plunged into darkness.
Cloud awakened to the sound of screams.
His head was pounding. When he tried to open his eyes, he found them so crusted over that he could barely move his eyelids. Rubbing a hand across his face and blinking a few times to clear his vision, he looked around.
He was in a field, surrounded by dead bodies. There were screams and sounds of clashing swords all around him. Disoriented and confused, he looked at the dead. Some were wearing Shinra uniforms, while others wore traditional Wutai garments. Cloud’s breath hitched. The Wutai War. Did he somehow end up in the past? And how far back did he go? This war spanned decades, so that alone wasn’t enough information to go on.
He stood and took stock of himself. There were thin gashes all over his arms and face from the explosions. They stung, but were not painful. Thanks to his enhancements, they were already closing.
There was still a sword tied to Cloud’s back and he thanked the Planet for small mercies. It was a relief knowing that he wouldn’t be helpless in the midst of battle.
But Cloud wanted nothing to do with this conflict. In his eagerness to get away, he scrambled to his feet and tried to move. As he did, he was painfully reminded of his sprained ankle. Groaning, he limped forward, trying to put as little pressure on his injured foot as possible.
Unfortunately, when he moved, the people around him, who’d taken him for just another corpse, noticed him.
A Wutaian soldier pointed at him and called out to his comrades. Cloud couldn’t understand the language, but there was no mistaking the word “SOLDIER”. He lifted his empty palms in a universal gesture of surrender, but no one saw sense in the heat of battle. Especially when faced with someone with mako-green eyes.
An impossibly young Wutaian boy let out a war cry and charged. He couldn’t have been more than fifteen.
Cloud parried his blows easily, asking him to stop, trying to reason with him, but the language barrier and fear made it impossible. Two more men joined the fight and Cloud struggled to defend himself. Normally, he could have dealt with them easily, but his wound prevented him from moving, severely affecting his fighting style. The men surrounded him, attacking from all sides.
As he moved to parry a blow from behind, Cloud swung his sword in a wide arc, just as the boy charged him. When he realized what was about to happen, Cloud tried to stay his hand, but the momentum prevented it. He slashed across the boy’s stomach, tearing him open. The boy gasped, shocked, his terrified eyes meeting Cloud’s.
Cloud froze, helpless, as blood erupted from the boy’s mouth. With a horrific gurgle, he fell to his knees. Cloud watched in horror as the light went out of the boy’s eyes and he crumpled, face-down into the dirt, dead.
The other two men let out heartbreaking screams as the boy fell, redoubling their attacks. There was no reasoning with them now. Cloud pushed aside the guilt and fought back to protect himself. One by one, he cut them both down.
He stood over the bodies afterwards, grief and pity filling him. Such senseless deaths. There had been no need for this. Cloud had no side in this war. If anything, he would have sided against Shinra.
As he stood there, catching his breath and trying to decide on his next move, several troopers approached him. Cloud tensed, wondering if he was in for another fight.
“A SOLDIER!” one of them gasped reverently, openly staring at Cloud’s eyes. “We didn’t know they were sending reinforcements!”
“You were amazing!” said another.
“Thanks for saving our asses,” the third one added with a grin.
Not knowing what to say, Cloud nodded, letting them believe whatever they wanted. He had to get out of here as soon as possible, but in the meantime, he could play along. Forgetting about his foot, he took a step and immediately regretted it. He staggered, gritting his teeth.
“You’re hurt!” the first trooper cried. “Let’s get you back to the camp. We got the enemy on the run, so we should return.”
The last thing Cloud wanted was to head into Shinra’s camp. But he was injured and deep into Wutai territory. Before doing anything else, he needed to heal, and they would have a medic on hand. Reluctantly, Cloud agreed to follow them.
Two troopers propped him up on their shoulders and carried him back to camp. It was surprisingly far. They moved across the open field Cloud had woken up in, stepping over corpses, soiling their boots with mud and blood alike, then past the ring of trees that surrounded it.
When they finally broke through the tree line, Cloud could see the main body of Shinra’s forces. It was massive. There must have been thousands of people there, standing in formation. Beyond them, there was a small colony of tents. That was where Cloud needed to go. That was where the medic would be.
Cloud looked up as they approached, observing the camp, trying to figure out how it operated, in case he needed to flee. There were several ways in and out of the encampment, all heavily guarded. The larger tents, clearly used by higher-ups, rested on the slopes of a small hill, giving them an overview of the terrain and making them less open to attacks. Among them, one tent stood above the rest. Not only was it visibly larger and more decorated, it was pitched farther away, giving its inhabitant some privacy and emphasizing their importance. That must be the commander’s tent, Cloud thought. He hoped to reach the medic, get treatment and leave without running into them.
Cloud’s hopes were dashed as soon as he’d entered the camp. The excitable group of troopers carrying him started telling everyone they passed about the mysterious SOLDIER who had saved their lives. They were very loud and very talkative. Within minutes, the entire camp was abuzz with the news. People were gathering, coming from all sides just to see Cloud as he passed.
Finally, just as Cloud was about to snap from being gawked at, they reached the medic’s tent.
His wound wasn’t serious, so after being treated with materia, Cloud was good to go. The medic advised him to keep weight off his foot for the next few days, but overall, he was fine. Cloud thanked the man and rushed out of the tent, trying to make a break for it.
As he made his way to the exit, the tent flap opened, and a man walked in.
No, not a man. A boy.
A boy with short silver hair and slitted green eyes.
Cloud’s heart hammered in his chest. No. No way!
But there was no one else it could be. Despite his boyish features and short hair, the young man was a spitting image of Sephiroth. Even his uniform looked like a modified version of the one he wore as an adult.
Those familiar eyes settled on Cloud, open and curious. But when their gazes met, they narrowed, turning suspicious. The boy squared his shoulders, pulling himself up to his full height. Seeing as he wasn’t any taller than Cloud, it didn’t have much of an effect.
“My name is General Sephiroth. I am the commander of this army. Who are you?”
Cloud’s heart lodged in his throat. It took him a few seconds too long to find his voice.
“I’m Cloud Strife.”
He offered no explanation, no information about who he was or why he was there. Sephiroth clearly didn’t like that, his brows furrowing, gaze turning even more suspicious. This was quickly turning into an interrogation.
“You appear to be a SOLDIER,” Sephiroth prodded.
It was a statement, not a question, but Cloud nodded anyway.
He did appear to be a SOLDIER, that much was true.
“I don’t know you,” Sephiroth accused. “I know everyone in the SOLDIER program. And yet… I don’t know you.”
Cloud met his gaze levelly. In a spur-of-the-moment decision, realizing that Sephiroth wasn’t going to let this go, he came up with an explanation.
“I wasn’t in Hojo’s program. I was under Professor Hollander.”
“I thought Professor Hollander’s program was scrapped,” Sephiroth said.
He was trying to hide it, to maintain his air of authority, but Cloud’s words had evidently rattled him. This explanation was not one he’d predicted, and he didn’t know what to do with it.
“Hollander kept working on it in secret,” Cloud lied. “But now, they decided to send me here to help.”
Sephiroth’s mouth pulled into a long, thin line.
“I do not need help,” he insisted. He spoke calmly, quietly, but it was impossible to miss the undercurrent of anger in his voice.
Taken aback by the sudden animosity, Cloud blinked, pulling back.
“We all need help sometimes.”
Sephiroth balled his hands into fists, visibly trying to reign in his temper. He glared, eyes flashing, before turning his back on Cloud.
“I don’t know what Professor Hojo was thinking, sending you here, but I don’t need you. If you have to stay, just don’t get in my way.”
Without sparing Cloud another glance, Sephiroth walked out of the tent.
Cloud continued to stand there, staring at the space Sephiroth had occupied. His plan had been to leave, so Sephiroth all but ordering him to do so worked in his favor. If he wanted Cloud gone, he wouldn’t go looking for him.
But where was Cloud to go? This wasn’t his world. He had no friends here, no purpose.
His only course of action was to wait for Aerith to find him and take him back to his world.
In the meantime, he was stuck in Wutai territory, with mako enhanced eyes, which painted a clear target on his back. Leaving this camp would make him face an entire nation of exceptional fighters who wanted him dead.
His mind whirled, trying to come up with the best strategy.
Aerith had wanted to send him to a world where he could obtain knowledge to use against Sephiroth. This was obviously not where she’d meant for him to go, but he was stuck here now, with no way back and nothing to do.
So, maybe… Maybe Cloud could study this kid. This Sephiroth was years younger, and didn’t possess the guile and cruelty of his older counterpart. He would be much easier to deal with. Cloud could get close to him and learn his weaknesses under the guise of working together. Perhaps he could even use him to find a way to defeat the Sephiroth from his timeline.
Yes, Cloud could do that.
And if having to work alongside another SOLDIER annoyed little General Sephiroth and undermined his authority, well then, that was just a bonus.