
<start Nibelheim snippet 1>
---------------------------

    As the truck bumped and rattled its way through the pouring rain
and howling wind, Cloud Strife, Private Second Class, slouched further
down in his seat and tried his best to ignore the roiling nausea in
his gut.  Trying to take his mind off his misery, he eavedropped
shamelessly to Major Faelan's conversation with Sephiroth and wished
that *he* could be so confident -- so at ease -- in the presence of
the famous war hero.  

    (If only I could be a SOLDIER like Zack....  What would I do? 
What would I say to Sephiroth?  Okay, so I probably wouldn't be as
buddy-buddy with Sephiroth as the major... at least not right off the
bat.  But I'd definitely let him know that I'm a real go-getter, just
itching for action... wouldn't it be a blast to have the chance to
really *use* some materia?  Yeah, I can just picture it.... )

    He'd seen materia plenty of times before -- in demonstrations, or
glittering on the weapons of SOLDIERs and other elite fighters.  He
knew what the glowing chunks of crystal could do, but regular grunts
like him never got the chance to use the stuff.  Too rare, too
difficult for ordinary troopers to use, the higher-ups always said.  
But as a SOLDIER, he'd be guaranteed to have access to the best of
everything, and that included plenty of materia.  And he wasn't
talking about the little chips that people put in jewelry, claiming
that them bought good luck and that sort of crap.  Nope, he meant the
*real* stuff.  He could just imagine himself standing bravely, ready
to fry any opponent that was stupid enough to challenge him.

    (.... Cloud Strife, SOLDIER First Class....)  The words had such a
sweet ring to them.  (Oh yeah... no one would laugh at me if I was a
SOLDIER... especially not some penny-ante slum whore!  But she isn't
laughing now, is she?  Nobody makes fun of me and gets away with it...
nobody!)

    Even as his stomach continued to slosh queasily from the rough
ride, he couldn't help but grin a bit as he had remembered how he had
made her pay for getting him arrested.

    It had taken days to work up his courage.  He had nearly chickened
out so many times, but the shame and humiliation she had put him
through festered in his brain and clawed at his guts.  He couldn't eat
or sleep.  The scene kept replaying over and over again in his head...
all the jeers and laughter as he was dragged out of the whorehouse in
handcuffs... being hauled into the dirty, rundown police station like
a common criminal... the self-righteous little bitch standing there,
gloating as she filled out a complaint against him.  Where did she get
off filing charges for assault and rape?  She was a WHORE.  Getting
fucked was what she got paid for.  Okay, maybe he was sorta rough with
her, but it was her fault anyway for making him mad.

    (That's right.  It's her all fault.  She shouldn't have pissed me
off.)

    Just remembering the risks he had taken in getting his revenge on
the little bitch still gave him sick chills, but in the end, it had
been worth it.  Venting some of the frustration and anger boiling
inside him had felt so good.  For once, he wasn't the one who was
scared or hurting.  

    (Yeah, I'm not going to take that kinda shit any more.)

    What he wouldn't give for a chance to get back at all the assholes
who had rejected him for the SOLDIER program... and all the guys who
made fun of him for failing.

    "Hey, how are you doing?" 

    He jerked a bit in surprise when Zack addressed him unexpectedly,
then shrugged and waved his hand, trying his best to act nonchalant. 
The last thing he wanted to do was to give people more reasons to poke
fun at him.  

    (The smug bastards.  Sheesh, why couldn't I be more like Zack?  I
bet the guy's never been motion sick in his life!)

    Trying his best to look unaffected by the rough road trip, he sat
up and turned to Sephiroth.

    "Sir, what exactly are we supposed to be doing on this mission?"

    The general gave him a hard, critical stare that made him squirm. 


    "Weren't you paying attention at the briefing, Private Strife?"

    He could hear some of the other troopers sniggering behind him and
blushed furiously.  (Damn it, damn it, damn it!)  So much for trying
to act cool.  

    With nothing more than a casual glance in their direction and a
lift of a dark eyebrow, Zack put a stop to the troopers' barely
smothered laughter.

    Again, he felt a sharp pang of envy, mingled as always with a dull
sense of resentment.
    
    (Damn it!  Just look at him.  He doesn't have to say a bloody word
to make them toe the line!  Why doesn't anyone respect me like that?)

    Sephiroth snorted.  "Since Strife apparently didn't hear me the
first time around, I'll repeat myself.  Our mission is to investigate
an old Mako reactor.  There have been reports of it malfunctioning,
and producing dangerous monsters. First, we will dispose of those
creatures, Then, we'll locate the source of the problem and neutralize
it.  Think you can remember that, Strife?"

    "Y-yes, Sir.  But... savage monsters?  Where?"

    "The Mako Reactor at Nibelheim." 

    He blinked.  "Nibelheim.... That's where I'm from." 

    Sephiroth nodded coolly.  "Hmm... hometown...."  The silver-haired
General gave him a narrow-eyed stare.  "That's the only reason you
were chosen for this mission."

    "Yeah, Strife.  Lucky for you we're visiting your old hometown. 
Otherwise, you'd probably still be on latrine detail back at base!"
Private Hakshaw said with a loud braying laugh.  

    Another trooper added in a stage-whisper to the guy beside him,
"Oooh, ole Clod-head better be sure to say howdy to his mum or he
might get spanked!"

    Turning even redder, he was *that* close to lunging across the
truck in order to pound those smirks off their faces.  The only thing
stopping him was the infuriating knowledge that one more screwup would
be certain to get him thrown out of Shinra, and starting a brawl right
under Sephiroth's nose would most definitely be a major league
screwup, no matter how much the other bastards deserved it.  He ground
his teeth at the unfairness of the situation.  Everyone knew he was
already on probation.  They could insult and poke fun at him all they
wanted, and he had to sit there and take it.

    / I'll get you for that, you fuckin' bastards.  Just you wait....
/

    "Can it, you jokers," Zack drawled mildly.  He was interrupted by
a loud bang, as something slammed into the truck and brought the
vehicle to a jarring halt.

    ---------------------------

    As yet another loud thump violently rocked the truck, the driver
shouted, "Sir!  There's a huge THING out there!"

    Despite the jostling, Sephiroth smoothly rose to his feet, picked
up Masemune, and prepared to face the unknown creature.

    "Well, it seems that at least one of our monsters has arrived. 
You men stay in here.  Come on, Zack."

    Stepping outside into the cold drizzle, Zack took a deep breath. 
A dragon stood less than twenty yards from the truck, its huge wings
thrashing.  A better look at the monster made him frown.  He had
encountered dragons before, but this looked like a bloody abnormal
one.  The creature was covered with great patches of sloughing scales
and oozing sores, while only tattered shreds of membrane remained of
its wings.  The beast's behavior was just as troubling as its physical
appearance.  As it hissed and snarled at them, the serpentine head
kept jerking spastically in various directions.

    "I'll take it," Sephiroth murmured.

    He nodded in acknowledgement and stepped aside, giving his
commander plenty of room.  As Sephiroth moved forward to deal with the
dragon, he turned his attention to the surrounding rocky cliffs. 
Dragons were usually solitary creatures, but there were always
exceptions.  But even as he continued to scan the area for other
monsters, he also kept an eye on his commanding officer.  Just in
case.
    
    However, Sephiroth had no problems taking out the dragon and did
so with his usual skill and efficiency.  Ignoring the fiery breath
that roared out of the beast's jaws, he slipped through the flames and
slashed off one flailing wing, then the other.  The enraged dragon
lashed out with raking foreclaws, and paid dearly for missing as
Masamune severed the limb.  Easiliy evading the thrashing head,
Sephiroth ended the battle with his fourth blow, which split the
dragon nearly in two.

    But even as he started to grin, a sudden movement near the truck
caught his attention.  With a faint sigh, he saw that Cloud had
disobeyed orders by exiting the truck, apparently to get a better look
at the famous general in action.  The young man had an stunned,
awestruck expression on his face as he watched Sephiroth reduce the
huge monster into a quivering corpse in a few quick swipes of his
famous blade.

    Zack shrugged to himself, then grabbed Cloud by the arm and
hustled the trooper back into the truck.  If the teenager was lucky,
Seph might choose to ignore that little bit of insubordination.

    ---------------------------

    Cloud sat in the very back of the truck and ignored the chatter of
the other troopers.  He had much more important things on his mind.

    (Unbelievable!  The way he moved... and the speed....  Shit, he
sliced that thing in half from head to tail without even breathing
hard.  How can anyone be so damn powerful!?)

    (.... I would give *anything* to be that strong.  People wouldn't
dare to make fun of me anymore.  And then maybe Tifa would....)

---------------------------

    An hour or so after the dragon attack, the team finally reached
Nibelheim.  The rain had stopped, leaving behind a damp chillness in
the air.  Disembarking, Zack glanced at the towering peaks just behind
the small town.  Somewhere in those mountains lay the Mt. Nibel
reactor, the most likely source of the monsters plaguing the area.  

    The task seemed straightforward enough, but Zack had a bad feeling
about the whole mission.  That uneasiness was the real reason he had
been so determined to accompany Sephiroth to Nibelheim, regardless of
Dr. Savois' approval or not.  Over the years, he had learned to trust
his instincts and his instincts were telling him that something nasty
was about to happen in Nibelheim.  He had no idea what that nastiness
was -- trap, plot, who knows? -- but there was no way he was going to
let Sephiroth go into Nibelheim alone.

    Strife was the last man off the truck and started trudging after
the others.  Zack was about to remind the bareheaded teenager that he
was out of uniform but the reprimand turned out to be unnecessary. 
The trooper had only taken a few steps toward the town gate when he
suddenly froze in his tracks with a strangely stricken look on his
face.  The teenager abruptly turned and scurried back into the truck,
reemerging a few seconds later with his helmet and goggles covering
his head and upper face.

    Zack wondered what had triggered Cloud's odd reaction, but all he
saw was a pretty teenage girl with long dark hair sitting near the
iron archway.  She glanced up as they approached and stared intently
at them, as if searching for someone familiar.  

    He took a quick look back at Cloud who stood at the very back of
the squad, trying his best to be inconspicious.

    (Ah ha.  Something about that girl, Cloud?  I'm guessing that you
don't want her to recognize you for some reason.  Who is she?  An old
girlfriend you left behind?)

    Sephiroth suddenly turned and addressed Cloud. "How does it feel?"
the general asked as he glanced around at the handful of quaintly
rustic buildings that made up Nibelheim.  

    Zack watched with mild amazement as Sephiroth and Cloud talked
about hometowns and parents.  It wasn't at all like Seph to be so
chatty, especially about his personal history *and* with a person he
obviously did not approve of.  Zack could count on one hand the number
of times his friend had mentioned his mother's name to him.

    Sephiroth suddenly uttered a sharp burst of laughter, then said,
"What does it matter?  All right, let's go." 

    The town was eerily quiet, its streets deserted and doors securely
closed.  Everywhere, there were signs of monster activity.  Deep claw
marks marred many of the doors and shutters, while cracks in several
walls hinted at something large trying to smash its way through.

    "We leave for the reactor at dawn.  Make sure you get to sleep
early," Sephiroth stated, then strode into the inn.

    Zack moved to follow his commander inside, but paused in the inn's
doorway and turned around.  He told the assembled troopers, "All that
we need is one lookout, so you guys have a few hours to relax and
unwind." 

    He gestured for Strife to come forward.  Addressing the trooper
privately, he murmured, "You can use this time to visit your family
and friends, but that's up to you." 

    Underneath his helmet, Strife flushed and mumbled, "....Thanks,
sir."

---------------------------

    Climbing the stairs of the inn, Zack found Sephiroth standing in
front of the bay window.  They stood, shoulder to shoulder, silently
watching as Strife trudged across Nibelheim's tiny town square.  The
trooper came to a halt in front of a small, tidily kept house, then
peered around with an almost furtive air before knocking.  The door
opened and the teenager hastily scooted inside.

    (Definitely looks like he's afraid of being recognized by
somebody.  But by who?  That pretty, brown-haired girl?)  But Strife's
problems were immediately became secondary when Sephiroth abruptly
spoke.

    "So tell me something, Zack.  Why did you discharge yourself
against medical advice to accompany me on this mission?  Did you have
a sudden urge to play watchdog over me?"

    Zack opted to say nothing in response to those soft, acid-edged
words and simply waited.  A moment of silence passed, then Sephiroth
said quietly, "Sorry, that was out of line."

    With a careless shrug he replied, "No problem.  If it makes you
feel better to yell at me, go right ahead.  It's better than keeping
it all bottled up inside.  Has Hojo been a bigger pain in the ass than
usual?"

    "No.  Not Hojo.  He's always careful to stay out of my way
whenever possible."  Sephiroth stared down at his hands and said
softly, "I'm getting stronger, Zack."

    There was a brief pause.  "The fight with the dragon."

    "Exactly.  That creature may have been suffering from some form of
Mako poisoning, but that fight was still too easy.  And that's not the
first time it's happened."

    "I've noticed."

    "Yes, of course.  Well, apparently others have noticed, too."

    "Ah."  

    "There are so many people spying me, I sometimes wonder why they
don't trip over each other," Sephiroth muttered.

    Zack chuckled darkly, "Sometimes they do."
    
    "One would think that I'd be used to the constant surveillance by
now, but I still find it... irritating."  

    By now, Zack had become an expert at reading his friend's true
feelings.  He understood what Sephiroth really meant -- that he
*hated* being watched -- but also understood the other man's
reluctance to admit it.  The expression of such strong emotion
represented a loss of self-control.  And to Sephiroth, control was
everything. 

    "I don't think Hojo knows, but some of the other scientists do. 
I've heard them whispering in the hallways.  They're like a flock of
vultures, gleefully speculating about me and my future.  Or the
possible lack thereof."

    For a brief instant, Zack's lips curled slightly, almost in a
faint snarl.  "Bastards," he said in a deceptively mild tone.  "I'm
surprised at their nerve."

    Sephiroth leaned against the windowsill.  "Nerve?  Hardly.  Most
of them are spineless cowards.  No, their boldness comes from
ignorance, not courage.  They're constantly forgetting that my
abilities encompass so much more than mere physical strength. For
example, my hearing is particularly acute."  

    With a nasty snicker, Zack said, "And I'm sure you take such pains
to keep reminding them, too."

    They exchanged conspiratorial grins.

    Zack added, "But that explains why you've been in such a nasty
mood recently."

    Sephiroth gave him a somewhat chagrined look.

    "Oh, it's not obvious to the casual observer, but you have been
more critical, and your tongue's developed a sharper edge."

    "You should have said something to me.  I hadn't realized how
difficult I've been to deal with...."

    He shook his head and chuckled quietly.  "Don't be so hard on
yourself. I can handle a little temper."  In more serious tones, he
added, "Listen, Seph.  You don't have to be perfect for me, you know. 
If you keep putting yourself under so much pressure, something's
liable to snap...."

    In a whirl of silvery hair, Sephiroth turned away from the window
to face him.  With a bitter edge to his voice, Sephiroth said, "Oh,
don't you think I know that?"  He bared his teeth slightly.  "How can
I NOT know it when those bloody scientists keep whispering about that
very topic?"

    "So that's it," he said evenly, cursing mentally to himself.

    "Oh yes.  They even have a betting pool on if or when I'm going to
go stark raving mad.  And I have to admit that they have a fairly good
basis for that assumption.  Both of us have read the SOLDIER manual. 
You know what it says as well as I do, Zack.  Why do you think
SOLDIERs are under standing orders to report any sudden increases in
strength and other abilities to the medical staff?"

    Zack sighed and reluctantly replied, "Because drastic increases in
physical and magical strength are a common warning sign and indicator
of mental instability in SOLDIERs."

    "Exactly."

    He thought a moment, then said quietly, "I'd just like to point
out a few things, Seph.  First, while you have been getting more
powerful, it hasn't been a sudden, radical increase like we've seen in
other cases.  Second, have you considered that what applies to normal
SOLDIERs doesn't necessarily apply to you?  After all, you didn't
exactly go through the regular SOLDIER process.  And third, 'common'
is NOT the same as 'absolutely certain' or 100 percent."

    "Believe me, I remind myself of that last fact every day,"
Sephiroth said drily.  

    Zack was glad to see that the mere act of expressing his anger and
frustration aloud seemed to make his friend feel better.  They both
subsided into silence again.  Finally, Sephiroth said, "But you came
along on this mission to keep an eye on me, didn't you?"

    He chuckled ruefully.  "So much for trying to be subtle about it,
huh?"

    Sephiroth shrugged slightly.  "It's the way you've been acting. 
You just seemed... unusually watchful." 

    Zack glanced upward through the window and stared at the dark
rocky peaks that seemed to press down on the tiny town.  

    "Don't ask me why, but I've got a weird feeling about this
mission.  Something in the back of my head told me that I needed to be
here."  He grinned and said, "And so here I am."

    "Savois won't be pleased," Sephiroth noted with a sly smile.

    "That's her problem, not mine."

---------------------------

    Closing the front door behind him, his mother gave him an
absentminded peck on the cheek, then drifted back to the kitchen. 
Cloud followed his mother deeper into the small, tidy house where he
had spent his childhood years.  

    But it wasn't his home.  Nothing in Nibelheim had ever been his
*home*.

    "What are you doing back here?" she murmured absently as she
resumed stirring the pot simmering on the stove.

    "Gee, Mom, what a welcome."  

    As usual, his sarcasm slipped right past her.  And as usual, he
wondered whether his mother's denseness was the act of a selfish, lazy
woman, or whether she was simply just plain stupid.

    "I'm been in Midgar for the last two years."

    "That's nice, dear."

    "I joined the Shinra military.  As a... soldier."

    She paused a moment in mid-stir, then said, "So, have you met
President Shinra?"

    ".... I've seen him."  From across a parade ground....

    "And did he say anything to you?"

    "No.  Why should he?"

    Was it his imagination, or did his mother actually look...
disappointed?

    He took a step toward her.  "Why should the President of Shinra
have anything to say to me?"

    She avoided his question by turning away and rummaging in a nearby
drawer.

    "Mother!"

    "Hm?" she murmured vaguely as she continued to search through the
drawer's contents.

    He gave up trying to get an answer from her.  She was quite
capable of completely ignoring both him and his questions if they
caused her the slightest inconvenience.  God knows she'd done it many
times before.

    (Nothing's changed, has it, Mother?) Cloud thought bitterly.

    He walked past her and headed out the back door.  Emerging into
the familiar cobblestone alleyway, he saw that it was littered with
the same old jumble of battered flowerpots and trashcans.  Just like
his mother, nothing had changed in the two years since his departure. 


    He headed down the alley, but came to a halt two doors down in
front of the Lockhearts' back porch.  The door stood slightly ajar. 
He hesitated for a moment before succumbing to tempation and slipping
inside Tifa's house.

    The building was deserted.  He wandered through her home,
aimlessly poking around.  He had reached Tifa's bedroom when he heard
Mr. Lockheart's sharp, unmistakable voice outside the front door.  A
key rattled in the lock.  Panicking at the thought of being caught by
Tifa, or even worse, by her father, he bolted out of Tifa's bedroom
and escaped through the back door just as the front door swung open.

    He spent the next half hour walking around town, but it turned out
to be a thoroughly depressing waste of time.  The inhabitants of
Nibelheim were just as snobbish, surly, and downright unfriendly as
they were when he left two years ago.  Nobody paid any attention to
him, a mere Shinra grunt.  All they were interested in was the great
Sephiroth.

---------------------------

    Zack headed downstairs to ask the innkeeper to have some food sent
up.  After placing his order, he heard someone behind him say,
".....Hmmmm.  Is Shinra here to get rid of the monsters?" 

    He turned to see a hefty, grey-bearded man giving him a
speculative look.

    "That's right.  And who are you?" he replied with a friendly
smile.

    "I'm Zangan. I travel around the world teaching children martial
arts."  He abruptly leapt over Zack, landed lightly, and turned
around.  "I have 128 students all over the world!  In this town, a
girl named Tifa is my student." 

    "Tifa?  That's a pretty name."  Zack wondered why the name sounded
slightly familiar.  Where had he heard it before?

    Zangan uttered a hearty laugh.  "She's a pretty girl, but more
importantly, she's got good sense.  She'll be a powerful fighter." 

    "I like a girl who can take care of herself," he said, giving the
older man an rakish grin.

    "Oh, she can do that and more.  She's got potential, but she's
also got lots of maturing to do."  Zangan looked him over again. 
"You're a SOLDIER, huh?"

    "That's right."

    "I've heard things about you guys.  How about a quick sparring
match?  I'd like to see some Shinra techniques.  And if you see
something you can use, maybe you'd like to pick up some of my
techniques."

    "Sounds like an interesting offer, but I don't think I'll be able
to take you up on it right now.  I've got a mission to complete first.
 Why don't you check back with me afterwards?  By the way, the name's
Zack."

    They shook hands, then Zangan said, "Sounds good to me.  Good
luck, Zack."

---------------------------

    Cloud trudged up the inn's main staircase just in time to hear
Zack speaking to Sephiroth.

    "What are you looking at?" the major asked the general, who was
staring out the large bay window.

    As he entered the bedroom, he heard Sephiroth murmuring something
about the scenery.  The conversation between two men continued as he
sat heavily on the bed, yanked off his boots, then flopped down onto
the soft mattress.  But before he fell asleep, the other troopers
clattered into the room.

    "Hey, we're short one bed," he heard someone complain.  He opened
his eyes quickly and found the other men glaring at him.  He glared
back at them.  He knew what they were planning, but he wasn't going to
exchange a comfy bed for the cold, hard floor without putting up a
fight.

    The wrestling match had just started when they heard someone utter
a discrete cough from the doorway.  They all froze, then turned to see
Zack leaning against the wall.  He raised an inquiring eyebrow. 
Everyone, Cloud included, gulped and fidgeted nervously.  Finally,
Private Hakshaw spoke up. 

    "But sir, we're short one bed...."

    "And you had to start a full blown brawl to solve that problem?"
the SOLDIER said mildly.

    "Err...."

    "It's first come, first serve.  And since Strife got the bed
first...."  

    The other troopers hastily let go of Cloud and edged away, looking
like a pack of guilty schoolboys.

    "I don't care how you decide who gets their own bed and who ends
up having to share.  Flip coins, draw straws, or whatever, but decide
now.  Otherwise, I can always put another guy on watch."  As he
prepared to leave the room, Zack added drily, "Oh, and for your
information, the general sleeps *very* lightly.  Try to keep that in
mind, hm?"

    The troopers saluted sharply.  "Yes, sir!"

    After the door closed behind Zack, Cloud gave the others a nasty
little smirk before settling back against the fluffy pillows.  He knew
that they wouldn't dare to oust him from the bed, especially not after
what Zack's offhand remark about Sephiroth.  

    As he drifted off to sleep, he fantasized about being respected
like Zack... or even better, being *feared* like the great Sephiroth.

---------------------------

    The morning air was biting cold.  After a bland, but hearty
breakfast, the entire troop gathered outside the derelict Shinra
Mansion.  The building had once been the luxurious quarters for
company executives, but it had been abandoned for unknown reasons. 
Over a decade of neglect had not been kind to the Mansion.

    Sephiroth said, "Once the guide gets here, we're heading out. 
Strife and Hakshaw will come with us.  The rest of you will remain on
watch in town."

    A few minutes later, the pretty brown-haired teenage girl from
yesterday ran up to them.

    "Hope I'm not late!" she said breathlessly.  Her outfit -- a
leather vest worn over a short-sleeved shirt, dark brown shorts,
fancy-looking boots, and a broadbrimmed cowboy hat -- hardly seemed
like an appropriate outfit for a mountain expedition. 

    Zack gave his commander a quizzical glance. Sephiroth shrugged
indifferently, before turning to deal with the girl's overprotective
father.

    "I'll be all right, Dad!" she protested loudly.  "After all, I'll
have two SOLDIERs around to protect me."  Turning to Sephiroth, she
smiled and said brightly, "Hi, I'm Tifa. Nice to meet you!" 

    As Sephiroth acknowledged her enthusiastic greeting with a distant
nod, Zack knew in an instant that this girl was going to be a handful.
 Pretty, headstrong, and a budding flirt, Tifa undoubtably had every
boy in town tripping over themselves to please her.

    Stepping forward, he casually asked her, "So you're the guide?"

    She glanced up at him, and said defiantly, "That's right. I just
happen to be the number one guide in this town."

    From the corner of his eye, he saw Strife shifting anxiously from
foot to foot.  The teenager looked as if he desperately wanted to say
something, but apparently couldn't find to courage to speak up in
Sephiroth's presence.

    "Let's go."  

    But as they all headed for the town exit, a photographer rushed up
and begged for a picture.  When Sephiroth failed to immediately agree,
the man turned to the girl and said, "Tifa, can you ask him for me
too...?" 

    "Mr. Sephiroth, just one little picture?  Please?" she coaxed
prettily.

    (Oh yeah.  She's definitely going to be trouble when she grows
up.)

    Hiding his irritation with the whole affair, Sephiroth reluctantly
nodded.  

    Tifa ran over to Zack, grabbed his hand, and dragged him over to
the wall surrounding the Shinra Mansion.  "And we can't forget the
other SOLDIER on this team.  Right, Jake?" she said, glancing toward
the photographer.

    "You got it, Tifa!"

    She stood beside him and looked expectantly at Sephiroth, who
slowly joined them against the wall.  As she grinned at the
photographer, Zack gave his friend a wry little grin.  Sephiroth gave
him a discrete, but decidedly nasty look in return.
    
    Jake raised his camera and cheerfully yelled, "Cheeeeese!"

---------------------------

    Cloud was grateful that his helmet and goggles hid his expression
as Tifa flirted outrageously first with Sephiroth and then with Zack. 


    She didn't recognize him.  He had stood within arm's reach and she
hadn't recognized him.  Other people in the town had known him almost
instantly.  So why hadn't Tifa?

    He already knew the answer.  She hadn't given him a single look
because a mere trooper wasn't worthy of her attention.  Tifa only had
eyes for the big-shot SOLDIERs.

    As he watched her, he felt the last fragments of his old childhood
dream disintergrate.  Deep in his heart, he had always hoped that Tifa
would be different... that she would care about him, regardless of
whether he had become a SOLDIER or not.  But now he knew the truth. 
Tifa Lockhart was just like every other woman he had known... just
like his mother, just like those bitches back in Midgar -- greedy,
cruel, and selfish.  
    
    If he wasn't a SOLDIER, he was a total nobody.
  
---------------------------

    They followed Tifa as she led the way up and down the narrow
mountain path.  Zack noted with relief that the girl lived up to her
own advertising.  She definitely knew her way around the mountains. 
Tifa set a fast pace that soon left everyone except herself and the
two SOLDIERs puffing and wheezing for air.

    Pausing before a long, rickety-looking rope bridge, she said
sharply, "It gets harder from here, so be careful.  Follow me!" 

    Like the other bridges they had crossed, this bridge creaked
alarmingly as they crossed.  However, as they neared the opposite
side, the creaking abruptly changed to a high-pitched twang.  The
bridge quivered, then they all heard the sounds of snapping rope.

    "Oh hell...!" he yelled.  He grabbed for a plank just as the
bridge started to unravel, then suddenly broke in two.  Zack got only
a fleeting glimpse of Sephiroth and the other men tumbling through the
air.  As Tifa slid past him, Zack grabbed her by the wrist.  They hung
there for an instant, then it was their turn to fall toward the jagged
rocks far below as the plank he clung to pulled free from its
moorings.  

---------------------------

    Cloud gingerly sat up and held his aching head.  He was amazed to
be alive.  

    (Shit, for a moment I thought I was a real goner....)

    Heaving a vast sigh of relief, he finally took a look at his
surroundings.  He had landed on one of the rocky ledges that lined the
edge of the deep crevasse.  With a shudder, he realized that if he had
fallen only a few more feet in either direction, he would have been
nothing more than a reddish smear on the rocks several hundred feet
below.  

    Hearing a faint groan, he cautiously crawled on hands and knees
over to the edge and peered downward.  About twenty feet below him, on
another rocky outcrop lay Private Hakshaw.  The other man was in bad
shape.  From the way the blood spurted from the large wound on his
leg, it looked like Hakshaw had probably severed a major artery or
something.

    As he stared downward at his now helpless tormentor, someone
called his name sharply.

    "Strife!"

    He whipped his head around to see the general about forty feet
above him.

    "Y-yes, sir?"

    "Are you injured?"

    "No... no, sir."

    "Did you see what happened to the others?"

    With a start, he realized that from his vantage point, Sephiroth
couldn't see Hakshaw at all.  He opened his mouth to tell the general
about the wounded man, but suddenly memories of every humiliating
thing the other trooper had said and done to him flooded through his
brain.  

    (You gotta payback whenever and however you can....)

    He clamped his lips shut and said nothing.

    "Well, Strife?" Sephiroth demanded impatiently, as he scanned the
surrounding rocks.

    "Not sure, sir.  But the last time I saw Hakshaw, he was...,"
Cloud replied, gesturing vaguely toward the rocks far below.  

    "Try contacting him with your radio."

    He fumbled around, but finally managed to push the call button.

    "Hakshaw, you there?" he stammered awkwardly.

    Even in the cold mountain air, sweat began to trickle down his
back as he nervously waited for Hakshaw to answer, moan, or otherwise
attract Sephiroth's attention.  If that happened, Cloud was sure that
the general would somehow *know* that he had been lying all along.  He
didn't even want to begin to think about how sort of punishment he
would get for this shit-assed manuvoere.  

    (Why the hell did I think I could get away with it!?  Forget being
discharged!  They're going to lock me away and throw away the fuckin'
key!)
    
    The sight of the strangely intent expression on Sephiroth's face,
as if the other man was straining to hear a distant voice, only made
the wait more agonizing.  His tension and fear continued to mount as
the minutes ticked by.   

    (0h god, why is he just standing there?  What the fuck is
Sephiroth waiting for!?  Does he know what I've done!?) he thought
hysterically.

    Just as he was about to snap and blurt out the guilty truth,
Sephiroth abruptly turned away from the gorge and said, "Come on,
Strife.  Zack's waiting for us up above."

    "Y-yes, sir."  He scrambled hastily up the steep rock face and
tried his best to forget the mortally injured man he was leaving
behind.

    (The bastard deserves it... right?)

---------------------------

    Fortunately for Zack and Tifa, their fall had been relatively
short, landing on an outcrop less than thirty feet below the gorge's
rim.  As he got to his feet, Zack quickly checked himself out before
turning to Tifa.

    "Ohhh...."  She sat up slowly, then grimaced.

    "How are you feeling, Tifa?"

    "I'm... I think I'm okay."  With his help, she got to her feet. 
"Just some scrapes and bruises, I think.  How about you?"

    "I'm fine.  Just got the wind knocked out of me."

    She bit her lip and blurted, "Zack... you saved my life!"

    "Hm?"  He said absently, concentrating on trying to locate a
familiar presence.

    "If you hadn't grabbed me when you did, I would have fallen right
into the gorge."

    With a careless shrug, he said, "It's no big deal.  All in a day's
work."  Noticing that she was still shivering a bit, he added, "So
you're one of Zangan's prize student, hm?"

    "He... he told you that?" she stammered, her eyes big with
amazement.  

    "Well, not exactly in those words," he drawled, glad that his
attempt to distract her from her recent brush with death was working. 
"But he said that you had good sense and that you'd become a powerful
fighter.  And for someone like him, I think that translates into you
being one of his favorite students."

    She giggled.  "Zangan always tells me that I'm much too slow and
that I move with the grace of a pregnant cow!"

    "Of course he does.  I think it's a standard tactic for all
martial arts instructors.  It keeps their students from getting
overinflated egos."

    "You know martial arts?" she asked in a startled voice.

    "Why so surprised?" he said with an amused grin.

    "I don't know.  I guess it's because of that big sword you carry. 
I just thought of you as a swordsman, not a martial artist."

    He gave her a wink.  "A guy needs to be prepared for every
eventuality.  Sometimes you don't always have a handy sword around."

    "So, what style do you use?" Tifa said excitedly. 

    "It's not a formal style as you know it.  But...."

    "Charming the ladies as usual, Zack?" Sephiroth said drily as he
emerged from behind a large boulder, followed closely by Strife.

    "Just passing the time until you caught up with us, Sir."
    
    "Everyone seems to be all right." Turning to Tifa, the general
asked, "Can we still reach our intended destination?" 

    "I think so.  These caves are intertwined, just like an ant
farm...."  She frowned suddenly, then added, "But someone's still
missing from our party."

    "It may sound cold, Miss Lockhart, but we don't have the time or
the manpower to search for him.  We got no response over the radio. 
He's probably already dead.  The reactor is our main concern.  We have
a mission to complete."  Sephiroth's voice was cold, devoid of any
emotion.

    Tifa opened her mouth to protest, then bit her lip.  

    "I... I suppose you're right.  Alright, follow me."

---------------------------

    Strangely, Sephiroth's and Zack's easy acceptance of Hakshaw's
likely death didn't really bother Cloud.  He knew that for them, the
mission was more important than a trooper's life -- in fact, he
admired them for their ruthlessness.  In their line of work, things
like that happened.  Casualities were only to be expected.  

    But Tifa's agreement somehow infuriated him.  *SHE* didn't have
the right to treat people as expendable cannon fodder.  If HE had been
the one dead or missing, would she have said, "Oh well," and shrugged
it off?  Of couse she would have.  And why?  Because he was a nobody
to her. 

    But even his foul mood evaporated when he followed the others into
the glittering caverns below Mt. Nibel.  When they paused to admire a
beautiful fountain of sparkling green, he forgot all about Tifa's
presence and blurted out, ".... And what's this?" 

    Sephiroth replied, "A Mako fountain. Quite the miracle of nature,"
with just a touch of sarcasm. 

    Moving closer to the fountain, Tifa frowned and said, "It's so
beautiful... but if the Mako Reactor continues to suck up the energy,
won't this fountain will dry up too?"  She pointed at the large green
crystals covering the fountain.  "And what's that?"

    "Materia.  When you condense Mako energy, materia is produced."

    Zack added, "It's very rare to see materia forming naturally like
that." 

    Fascinated by the softly glowing crystals, Cloud forgot about
Tifa's presence and edged closer to the fountain.  He asked eagerly,
"Um... So how does materia give people the ability to do magic?" 

    Sephiroth gave him a scornful look and said coldly, "You've been
in Shinra for two years and you don't know that?" 

    He blushed furiously, unable to admit that he hadn't been paying
attention during the more boring training lectures.

---------------------------

    As Sephiroth gave Strife a short, biting lecture on basic materia
theory, Zack stifled the urge to sneeze as the smell of Mako tickled
his nose.  He was surprised at how much of the glowing substance there
was at Mt. Nibel.  Mako seemed to ooze from the surrounding rocks,
leaving behind a sparkling green crust on every surface of the caves.
    
    When the trooper mumbled in an awestruck voice, "Magic...... a
mysterious power," Sephiroth uttered a sharp, contemptuous laugh as
Tifa tried unsuccessfully to smother a fit of giggles. 

    Strife, his mood of wonderment shattered, looked around sullenly
and muttered, "Did I say somethin' funny?" 

    With a faintly malicious smile, Sephiroth said, "You're lucky that
Hojo isn't around to hear you say that.  He gets easily infuriated by
what he considers as sloppy thinking.  Then again, he's a walking mass
of complexes.  An insecure man desperate to outshine a much greater
scientist," the general added with a dismissive shrug.

    "Hojo?"

    "The esteemed head of Scientific Research for Shinra," Sephiroth
replied, his voice dripping with sarcasm.  

    Zack glanced at Strife and added, "Be glad that you haven't had
the chance to make his acquaintance."

---------------------------

    It took the group nearly an hour to reach the Mako Reactor near
the top of Mt. Nibel.  The hike would have taken much longer and much
more difficult if the two SOLDIERs hadn't been along to efficiently
dispatch the various wandering creatures who tried to attack them.

    As Cloud trudged along toward the rear, his sense of resentment
toward Tifa continued to grow.  Every time Sephiroth and Zack fought
off another batch of monsters, her eyes would practically glow with
sappy admiration.

    When they reached the stairs leading up to the reactor's entrance,
Tifa wiped the sweat from her face and said, "We finally made it.  We
sure took the long way, though.  And all those monsters roaming
about...."  Turning to Sephiroth and Zack, she said enthusiastically,
"You guys are simply amazing!  I'm so glad that I had a chance to see
you in action!  I've heard stories about SOLDIERs before, but I never
realized just how good you were!" 

    (Just listen to her gushing all over them!) Cloud thought
furiously.

    Sephiroth gave Tifa a dismissive shrug as he watched Zack do a
quick recon around the area.  The dark-haired major soon rejoined
them.

    "Just as we thought, sir."

    The general nodded, then the two SOLDIERs began climbing the
stairs to the reactor's entrance.  But when he noticed Tifa following
him, Zack turned and said, "Tifa, you wait here." 

    She frowned angrily and snapped, "I'm going inside too! I wanna
see!" 

    Sephiroth glanced over his shoulder at her and said coldly, "Only
authorized people are allowed in.  This place is full of Shinra's
industrial secrets." 

    "But... but...!" Tifa sputtered furiously.

    Zack shook his head firmly.  "Sorry, but you can't come inside." 
He turned to Cloud and said, "Take care of the lady." 

    "Aw, man!" she complained loudly and stomped her foot.

    As the two men disappeared inside the reactor, Cloud stepped
forward and blocked the stairway.  He was glad to see Tifa's
frustration.

    (Aren't you the spoiled little princess?  Daddy's precious little
girl.  Bet you're used to getting anything you want with just a bat of
those lashes and a cutsie smile.  But that didn't work this time, did
it?  So how does it feel, huh?)

    Tifa glared at him, then pointedly turned her back on him.  In a
sulky voice, she snapped, "Then you better take real good care of me
then!" 

---------------------------

    The interior of the reactor reeked of Mako.  But unlike the caves,
the air within the reactor had a disturbing, sour overtone, as if
something had gone slightly rotten.

    Glancing over at his commander, Zack caught a odd, almost pinched
look on the other man's face.  If the smell bothered him, Sephiroth
probably found it overpowering.

    When he placed his hand on his friend's shoulder, Sephiroth jerked
around in surprise.  He frowned.  Seph was rarely this jumpy.

    "Are you all right?  

    ".... I'm fine."  In response to Zack's politely disbelieving
look, Sephiroth sighed, then reluctantly admitted, "All right, this
place is giving me a distinct headache.  Don't worry about it.  The
sooner we take care of the problem, the sooner we can get some fresh
air."

    As they continued their descent into the reactor, the air grew
heavier, more oppressive.  They began to notice unmistakable signs of
damage, such as badly dented walls and gouged floors.

    Two levels down, they came across a large narrow chamber lined
with numerous car-sized tanks and an intricate web of interconnecting
pipes.

    "Zack, have you seen anything like this before?"

    "Nope.  This sure doesn't look like standard reactor equipment to
me."  

    "If someone's been making unauthorized modifications to this
facility, that might explain why there's so many monsters around the
area."

    Halfway down the long room, they found the first sign of obvious
mechanical failure.  Several of the tanks leaked or ruptured,
releasing their contents.  The floor was caked with sticky crud. 
Further down the room, they found even more ruptured tanks and broken
piping.

    "I wonder what the hell was inside these things?" he muttered.

    "I don't know.  Possibly chemicals that seeped into the
environment and created some of those monsters plaguing this area. 
But this isn't the only source of them."  He pointed to a very
distinctive series of claw marks at the far end of the chamber. "It
looks like some of these creatures are coming from even deeper inside
this reactor."

    They moved quickly but cautiously, shutting down equipment as they
went along.  On the lowest level of the reactor, they found what they
had been looking for.  This last room was flooded with a dim red light
that gave everything inside it a bloody sheen.  The floor rose in a
steep series of tiers, with each tier containing a row of strange,
egg-shaped metal pods.  But unlike the tanks on the upper levels, the
pods had small viewing ports.  A stairway allowed access to the tiers
and at the top of the stair stood a massive security door.  Above the
door, written in large letters was a single word -- 'Jenova'.

    Zack watched as Sephiroth froze as he saw the word, then shake his
head almost angrily.  

    Just like as in the tank room, several of the pods showed signs of
damage, but the type of damage was very different.  As Sephiroth
examined a lower row of pods, Zack gingerly poked at the jagged sheet
metal edging one of the broken pods and muttered quietly to himself,
"Didn't leak.  Didn't explode.  It was smashed open, from the inside."
 

    Suddenly he shivered, despite the humid heat of the chamber.  It
felt like some terrible, cold presence had just brushed his soul.

    "Zack, get down here," Sephiroth said harshly.

    He instantly bounded down the stairs and ran to his friend's side,
hand on his sword hilt.

    "What is it?" he said, his eyes scanning the eerily lit chamber
for any possible threat.    
    
    Sephiroth stared at one of the pods in obvious revulsion.  He
hissed softly, "...now I see, Hojo.  But even going this far will
never put you on the same level as Professor Gast." 

    "Hojo...?"

    "He's the one responsible for all the unexplained equipment.  I
didn't understand before, but now I know what it's for.  This is a
system that's designed to condense and freeze the Mako energy, but
it's been modified."

    "Modified to do what?"

    "What does Mako energy become when it's refined to its most
concentrated state?" 

    "It becomes a Materia," he replied, frowning slightly. 

    "That's what normally happens. But Hojo put something else in
these pods.  Take a look through the window," Sephiroth said, from
between clenched teeth.

    Zack gave his friend a worried look, then quickly hoisted himself
up to look through the viewing port of one of the pods.  Inside, amid
a glowing green haze, some...THING floated.  It was hideous and
unnatural, not because it was unrecognizable, but rather because Zack
could still see the faint traces of what the monstrosity had once
been.

    A human being.

    Dropping back to the catwalk, he recoiled a step and growled,
"What the hell is THAT?"
     
    Clenching his fists by his sides, Sephiroth whispered, "Normal
members of SOLDIER are humans that have been exposed with Mako. 
You're different from the others, but still human.  Not so with
these... things.  They've been subjected to a much higher degree of
Mako exposure, far more than you." 

    "Shit!"

    "And Hojo's the one responsible for producing these monsters. 
This whole reactor, these... specimens.... are just another filthy
Hojo experiment.  Of course most of the monsters in this area can't be
identified.  They're all travesties of normal living organisms,
produced by massive exposure to concentrated Mako energy.  Just
like...."

    Sephiroth suddenly clutched his head, trembling.

    Now throughly alarmed, Zack flung out his hand and said, "Seph?"

    "N... no...." 

    Sephiroth's shaking abruptly stopped.  He stared almost vacantly
at the metal pods filling the room.

    "...Was I?" he whispered.

    His face twisted in fury and without warning, he whipped out
Masamune and swung, leaving a deep gash in the thick metal of the pod.
 

    "...Was I created this way too?"  He swung his sword again.  Metal
screamed against metal, and sparks flew.  "Am I the same as all these
monsters!?"

    "....Seph...."
 
    He could only watch in blank amazement as Sephiroth started to
lash out wildly at the row of metal pods.  Shaking off his surprise,
Zack took a deep breath, then lunged forward just as Sephiroth
finished another swing.  He clutched his friend's shoulder with one
hand while he grabbed hold of Sephiroth's sword arm with the other.  

    "Seph!  Listen to me!  Get a hold of yourself!"  He gave the other
man a hard shake.

    Trying to restrain Sephiroth's arm was like trying to wrestle the
Midgar Zolom with one hand.  Considering how much stronger the other
man was, Zack knew he didn't have much of a chance of forcibly
stopping his friend, but that wasn't important.  All he knew was that
he had to do *something* to snap Sephiroth out of this sick, berserk
rage. 

    For a moment, the other man stared right through him, as if Zack
wasn't there, then his body lost that terrible tension..  He stood
there, his shoulders heaving.

    "You saw it.  All of them were normal humans... once." 

    He shuddered and Zack tightened his grip on his friend's shoulder.
 

    "....I've always known since I was small... that I was different
from the others.  Special, in some way.  But... not like this...." 

    He stared at the floor, shaking his head as if still trying to
deny the idea.  For once, Zack was at a total loss.  Obviously
something traumatic had happened to Seph, but he didn't have the
faintest idea what had triggered the completely uncharacteristic
outburst.  He reviewed his memory of the last few minutes, searching
for the smallest clue that could explain the other's suddenly erratic
behavior.  There HAD to be a reason -- he just had to find it.  As he
struggled to make sense of his friend's disjointed ravings, he glanced
up at the security door and wondered if the shock of finding his
mother's name linked to Hojo's crazy experiment could have something
to do with it.

    But before Zack could explore the idea further, there was a low
roar.  The floor began to shudder as one of the upper tier pods began
to shake violently.  Metal ripped and pipes gave away as the pod gave
a last convulsive rock, before splitting in half in a huge hissing
roar of steam.  The front half of the pod fell foward, and a hideous
monster emerged from the roiling clouds of vapor amid a welter of
twisted, flailing limbs.

    Without warning, the creatured tossed its horned, half-scaled head
in the air and screamed in their direction.  With a great leap, it
lunged at them, with long strings of yellowish green drool dangling
from its gaping jaws and scimitar-like claws flashing in the blood red
light....

    A bad mistake on its part.

---------------------------

    Cloud would have felt more kindly toward Tifa if she had made the
slightest attempt to be nice to him.  After all, it wasn't his fault
that the two of them were stuck outside the reactor with nothing to
do.  He wasn't asking for much.  All he wanted was a little
conversation.  How hard was it to say, "Hello, how are you?"  But all
Tifa did wander around, kicking rocks, and acting generally peeved
with the world.  

    Nearly thirty minutes of cold, sullen silence went by.  Finally he
got up the courage to say, "Um... sorry about...."

    She sniffed angrily, then unexpectedly shot him a quick little
smile.  It gave him a weird, fluttery feeling inside.

    With her back turned toward him, Tifa asked sweetly, "Are you
*sure* you can't let me inside?"

    "Umm...."

    "Please?  Pretty please?"

    "But... but Sephiroth said... direct orders...."

    She bit her lip and glanced over her shoulder at him.  "Honestly,
what harm could it do?  All I want is just a little peek!  He won't
even know I've been in there."

    "B-but...."  He scratched his helmet indecisively.

    "Aw, c'mon!  I won't tell a soul.  I promise!" she said, whirling
around and leaning forward in her eagerness.

    For a brief instant, when she smiled at him, he had thought.... 
But his heart sank like a stone when he finally realized that the only
reason that Tifa was acting so nice to him only because she was trying
to sweet-talk him into letting her inside.
 
    Torn between the urge to give in to Tifa's wheedling and the
desire to scream furiously at her, Cloud did nothing except stare
mutely at her.  But before he could come to any decision, Sephiroth
suddenly appeared at the reactor entrance as if by magic.  Cloud was
forced to hastily jump off the steps in order to avoid getting run
down as the general stormed down the stairs with a stark, frozen
expression on his face.  

    Sephiroth brushed by them without a word, then stalked off toward
the caves, leaving Tifa and Cloud staring blankly at each other with
mouths agape.

    "What the hell...?" he sputtered in bewilderment.

    Zack appeared at the top of the stairs almost as suddenly as
Sephiroth had.  Tifa opened her mouth to blurt out a question, but the
words seemed to stick in her throat when she got a good look at him. 
Cloud could easily understand why -- he had never seen the major
appear so intensely *dangerous* before.  It was perfectly obvious that
Major Faelen was in no mood to deal with anyone's questions.

    With a sharp hand gesture and a deadly serious stare, he made it
clear they were to follow him and Sephiroth, then Zack set off after
the general with long, ground-covering strides.  He and Tifa hastily
scrambled after him.  They both knew that they had to keep up with the
two SOLDIERs or they would be left behind on the mountain... and there
were still plenty of monsters wandering the area.

    Amazingly enough, Sephiroth seemed to know exactly where he was
going, even without Tifa's guidance, and he wasn't waiting for anyone
to catch up.  Even Zack was having problems maintaining the pace.  As
for Cloud and Tifa, the journey back to Nibelheim became a mad,
reckless dash that made the journey up to the reactor feel like a lazy
stroll.  

    However, by some miracle, they made it back into Nibelheim only
several minutes behind Sephiroth and Zack.  However, by the time they
staggered into town, both SOLDIERs were nowhere in sight.  

    "Wha... what was... that... all about?" Tifa gasped, clutching at
the stitch in her side.

    He was too exhausted to even wonder.  All he wanted was to
collapse on the ground and get some rest.  Unfortunately for Cloud, he
had no time to recover. As the other troopers converged on him,
angrily demanding answers, Tifa turned her back on him and headed to
her house, abandoning him to the unenviable task of trying to explain
why Hakshaw didn't return with them... and why the other trooper never
would.

---------------------------

    Zack swore as he finished searching the deserted inn.  Where the
hell was Sephiroth?

    Just at that moment, he glanced out the window.  As soon as his
eyes fixed on the looming hulk of the Shinra Mansion, his instincts
shouted, 'THERE!'.   In that instant, he knew where he would find
Sephiroth.

    As he stalked out of the inn and headed up the hill toward the
Mansion, their driver ran up to him, frantically waving a piece of
paper.

    "Sir, sir!  Message over the radio.  From headquarters!  Very
urgent!"

    Gritting his teeth at the delay, Zack snatched the note and
quickly scanned it, then in an almost terrifyingly even tone of voice,
he uttered a string of scathing obscenities that made the driver turn
pale.

    "S-sir?"

    Fighting down the urge to rip the message to shreds, he turned to
the driver and said, "Does anyone else know what's in this?"

    "N-no, sir."

    "Good.  Make sure that it stays that way.  Not a word to anyone
until I get back."

    "If... if you says so, Major."

    "I want you monitoring that radio.  If you get any updates on his
arrival, notify me ASAP.  Got it?"

    The driver saluted sharply.  "Yes, SIR!"

---------------------------

    Once inside the Mansion, Sephiroth's trail was plainly visible on
the thick dust-covered floor.  After tracking his friend to an
upstairs bedroom, he quickly found the secret door and headed down a
long, spiraling staircase that.  Zack soon found himself in the
Mansion's basement.  It was dank and cold, more of a natural cave than
any type of manmade construction.  At the far end of the main tunnel,
he saw the faint glimmer of light and the soft murmur of a voice that
he knew almost better than his own.

    Upon opening the door, he found himself staring at what appeared
to be a library.  Every inch of the dusty, floor to ceiling shelves,
the scattered large tables, and even parts of the floor were covered
with books, folders, and documents of all sorts.  And in the middle of
the room was Sephiroth, pacing back and forth with a notebook in his
hand.  

    Zack paused in the doorway.  A frown crossed his face as he
listened to the other man mutter almost continuously to himself.  He
had never seen his friend, for whom control and precision were
practically a religion, acting so... incoherent.

    "....an organism, apparently dead, was found in a 2000 year old
geological stratum.  Professor Gast named that organism, Jenova..." 

    As his friend continued to read various passages, one name kept
coming up repeatedly -- Jenova.

    "My mother's name is Jenova... Jenova Project... Is this just a 
coincedence?"  Paper crinkled as Sephiroth clenched his fist. 
"Professor Gast... Why didn't you tell me anything?  Why did you die?"


    Seemingly oblivious to his presence, Sephiroth tossed the crumpled
paper aside, and headed down a narrow, book-lined hallway.  He
followed his friend through the passageway into a back room, also
crammed with papers.  As the other man tossed the book onto the
battered desk and began to rummage for another one, Zack finally spoke
up.

    "Seph?"  Getting no response, he tried again louder.  "Seph!" 
When that didn't work, Zack resorted to his firmest command voice. 

    "SEPH."

    His friend jerked his head up and gave him a dazed stare.  A
disturbing amount of time passed before incomprehension shifted to
recognition.

    "Oh... it's you, Zack," he said, distractedly raking a hand
through his long silvery hair.   

    "Not to intrude, but do you mind telling me what the hell's going
on?"

    "Going on...?" 

    Zack reached out and lightly placed his hand on his friend's
shoulder.  In a quiet voice, he said, "Yeah.  Back at the reactor."

    The physical contact seemed to break through Sephiroth's mental
fog.  For the first time since entering the underground library, Zack
felt confident that the other man was truly aware of *him*.

    "I'm sorry.  I don't know what came over me...."  Sephiroth shook
his head suddenly, then suddenly sagged into the desk chair. "No, that
not true.  I do know."

    Zack moved closer, propped his hip against the heavily carved
desk, and said, "It has something to do with Hojo, that experiment in
the reactor and... your mother.  Doesn't it?"

    "Yes."  Sephiroth looked up at him.  "You know, it's one thing to
suspect something for years, but it's very different to have proof
practically shoved down one's throat."

    "Proof of what?"

    "Of... what I am."  He gazed around him at the disorganized stacks
of books.  "It's all here.  Somewhere, in these papers.  I just have
to put the pieces together."  Glancing up at Zack, he continued, "You
remember what I said last night about this place being oddly
familiar?"

    "Yes."

    "I was born here.  I spent the first five or six years of my life
in this place."

    Zack cocked his head slightly.  "But I thought...."

    "That I grew up in Midgar?  That's what I believed, too.  I had
forgotten this place.  Either on my own, or with...," he bared his
teeth ever so slightly in a feral smile, "or with 'help'.  But when I
was in the reactor... I finally remembered.  The smell... the cold
green light... those pods... I *remembered*...."

    Zack waited for a moment, then prompted Sephiroth with a quiet,
"Remembered what?"

    "I'm... not sure.  Bits... fragments of my past... my origins." 
His pale green eyes seemed to have an almost feverish glitter.  "The
reason I was created... the reason I was *made*.  I've always know
that I was special, different, but I didn't know why... or how.  And
now, for the first time in my life, I have the opportunity to answer
both questions."

    Zack let out a slow, thoughtful breath.  "Created?  By... Hojo?"

    Sephiroth uttered a sharp, contemptuous laugh.  "Oh no, not that
blundering fool.  If Hojo had been the one in charge, I probably
wouldn't even exist!  No, it was Professor Gast who masterminded the
entire Jenova project.  Hojo took over only after Gast dis...
appeared...."  His voice abruptly trailed off.

    "That was rather convenient for Hojo, wasn't it?" Zack commented
drily, his eyes narrowing. 

    Sephiroth breathed, "Yes, indeed.  What a fool I am, never to put
the two events together.  Gast was the only thing standing in Hojo's
way.  By eliminating his rival, Hojo gained everything -- Gast's
position as Scientific Director, control of all the Jenova-related
research... and perhaps most importantly of all, he obtained custody
of ME."
    
    Zack hissed softly.  

    Sephiroth smiled darkly. "Oh yes, despite his dedication to
science, Gast was a... decent man.  Kind in his own absentminded way. 
There were things that he would not permit Hojo to do, especially to a
small child.  But with Gast gone, there was no one to stop Hojo from
doing anything he pleased."

    "Seph...."

    "Don't worry.  I survived Hojo."

    Zack silently gritted his teeth and thought, (Yeah, but he scarred
you badly, on the inside, where it doesn't show.  But I know those
scars are still there.  And I'm afraid that they're never going to
fully heal....)

    But he kept his thoughts to himself.  Aloud, Zack said, "Can I do
anything to help?"

    Sephiroth smiled faintly, "No, but thanks for asking.  What I
really need is time... time to sort through all this," he waved a hand
at all the books and papers surrounding them.  "Time to find the
*truth* buried here."

    Zack said nothing, but the other man must have read something in
his expression.

    "What is it?"

    He took a deep breath and said, "Hojo is coming out to Nibelheim."

    "WHAT?" Sephiroth rasped as he lunged up from the chair.

    He silently handed over the rumpled message and allowed his friend
to read it for himself.

    "'Mission suspended... direct orders... under no circumstances...
do not approach... reactor off-limits... wait for arrival... change of
personnel... scientific team...!?'"

    Sephiroth crumpled the note and asked in a harsh voice, "When is
he due to arrive?"

    "I don't know, but from the tone of that message, I'd say he could
show up at any time.  But realistically, if he left Midgar right after
sending the message and traveled here directly by chopper... about 12
hours."  He gave Sephiroth a wicked grin.  "It sure sounds like Hojo's
got his labcoat in a twist."

    Sephiroth gave Zack an equally nasty smile. "No wonder.  He's
panicking.  He's terrified of what I might do if I find out the
truth."

    "And what's that?" he asked curiously.

    Shaking his head, Sephiroth said, "I don't know.  But Hojo's
afraid of it, you can be certain of that."

    Zack stared around at the heaps of papers and books littering the
library.   It could easily take days, or weeks to go through all of
them.  

    "Maybe if I help you go through all this...," he said, waving his
hand at the shelves.

    "NO."  

    They stared at each other, equally taken aback by Sephiroth's
vehemence.

    "O-kay," Zack said evenly.

    Sephiroth rubbed at his forehead and sank back down into the
chair.  "I didn't mean it that way, Zack. I very much appreciate the
offer, but I *need* you upside to keep matters under control and deal
with Hojo when he arrives."

    He gave Sephiroth a long, thoughtful look that seemed to make the
other man distinctly uneasy.  Finally he shrugged and said, "All
right.  If time's what you need, I'll do my best to see that you get
it."  

    Zack stood up, then added quietly, "But I just want you to know
something, Seph."

    Looking unusually subdued, Sephiroth glanced up at him
questioningly.

    "You don't have to be afraid.  My feelings won't change regardless
of what you find out."

    Sephiroth did something he rarely did -- he reached out, put his
hand on Zack's wrist, and held it tightly for a brief moment.  As they
gazed at each other, neither man spoke.  Like so many times before, no
words were necessary between them....

    ....then they each turned to deal with their respective tasks --
Sephiroth to uncover the truth about his origins, and Zack to stand
guard and to give his friend the best possible opportunity to do so.

---------------------------

    Cloud had his back against the wall, both figuratively and
literally, as two of Hakshaw's buddies continued to barrage him with
suspicious stares and angry questions.  The remaining troopers either
did nothing or enthusiastically egged the two men on.  
    
    Suddenly, a cold voice slashed through the chatter.

    "ATTEN-TION."

    Everyone instinctively jerked themselves upright and froze in
place, as if awaiting inspection.  They all watched nervously as Major
Faelan walked into their field of vision.  It seemed impossible, but
everyone's posture stiffened even more when they got a look at his
face. 

    "Gentlemen.  If you're *quite* through playing around?" 

    "Yes, sir!" the troopers chorused.

    "Samms and Fenton, you two are on watch.  Don't get sloppy.  The
rest of you are dismissed.  Grab some dinner.  I'll be in to give you
a briefing shortly."

    As the remaining troopers started to shuffle toward the inn's
dining room, Zack said briskly, "Not you, Strife."

    "S-sir?" 

    "I want to talk to you about what happened today."

    "With... me?" he squeaked nervously.  

    "Yes, you," said the major, making a sharp, beckoning gesture.  
He glared at the other guards lingering in the lobby, avidly
eavesdropping on their conversation, and snapped, "I said, DISMISSED."

    As the loitering troopers hastily exited the room, Cloud's
thoughts ran around in panicked circles.

    (Now I'm in for it!  He knows what I did!  Oh my god, I'm in such
deep shit....)    

    The SOLDIER made an impatient jerk of his head and started up the
stairway.  He reluctantly made himself follow.  Once upstairs, Zack
turned and pinned him with a cool stare.

    "Private Strife."

    He stiffened into parade attention as sweat trickled down his
back.  "Sir!"  

    Zack's lips twitched upward.  "At ease, private."  Cocking his
head slightly, he added, "You can take your helmet off."

    "I-I...."

    "Go on.  Don't worry, Cloud.  Tifa isn't around to see you."

    Fumbling with the chin strap, he pulled the helmet off his head,
then ran his fingers through his sharply cropped blond hair.  Having
suffered so much teasing during his childhood over his wild, untamable
hair, he had been acutely grateful that Shinra required crewcuts for
all recruits and enlisted men.  At least with a crewcut, the other
troopers had one less thing to poke fun at.

    His face burning with embarassment, he mumbled, "How did you
guess... sir?"

    Seating himself in the bay window, Zack said, "It was pretty
obvious from the way you ducked behind the other men, kept your mouth
shut, and otherwise did your best to avoid notice."

    Fumbling with his helmet, he hissed, "Oh shit...," under his
breath, then hastily added, "Beg your pardon, sir!"

    Zack casually waved off the apology.  "No problem.  As long as it
doesn't impact your performance, it's none of my business why you want
to keep your identity hidden from Ms. Lockheart."

    "....Thank you, sir."

    In a brisk voice, Zack continued, "But to get back to business, I
have some questions...."

    "I didn't do anything!" he blurted.

    The SOLDIER raised a dark eyebrow and said mildly, "I didn't
accuse of you anything, Cloud.  All I wanted to ask was whether you
noticed anything unusual while you were waiting outside the reactor
today."

    "Uh... nope.  I mean, 'No, sir!'"

    "Nothing out of the ordinary?  No strange noises, vibrations,
those sorts of things?"

    "Um, no.  Just the wind."

    "And what was Tifa doing?  Did the two of you talk?"

    "Uh... not at first.  She was pretty mad about not being allowed
to go inside, you know."

    Zack snorted in amusement.  "I can imagine.  The only daughter of
the mayor, the prettiest girl in town... I bet she's used to getting
her own way around here."

    "....yeah."  

    Now as Cloud thought about it, he realized that Tifa really was
one spoiled little bitch.  She always did whatever she wanted.  And if
any of her adventures caused trouble, it was never HER fault.  Oh no,
not sweet, innocent, little Tifa.  She always got off free as a bird
and was happy to let someone else take the blame.  He felt sick when
he realized just how many times he and everyone else in town let her
get away with it, too.  Someone should have taught her a lesson a long
time ago....

    "That's right.  You grew up with her."  Zack gave him a
speculative look.  "So did she try to talk you into letting her inside
the reactor?"

    He nodded morosely.

    "Did she succeed?"

    "No, sir!  I had my orders, Major!"  His cheeks burned as he
remembered how Tifa had flirted outrageously with him in her attempt
to get a look inside.

    (If the General hadn't shown up just then, what else would she
have done?  Tried bribery?  Offered me a kiss?  Hell, she probably
would have let me take a quick grope at her breasts or down her
shorts.  She's nothing but a little slut, just like all those girls in
Midgar!)

    "And she never left your sight."

    "Never, sir!"

    "All right, Cloud.  That'll be all."

    "....Sir?" he said blankly.

    Zack nodded.  "That's all I wanted to know."

    "Oh.  Okay."  He bit his lip, then asked, "Major, if you don't
mind me asking...?"

    "Go ahead."

    He licked his lips nervously, then took the plunge.  

    "Sir... what happened at the reactor?" Cloud paled at his own
audacity, and hastily added, "What I meant was that the General looked
really pissed off... I mean, he looked really mad when he...."

    To his vast relief, Zack didn't seem offended by his nosiness.

    "You might say that.  Sephiroth discovered something that
seriously annoyed him." The SOLDIER lifted his hand.  "And that's all
you need to know... or should want to know, for that matter.  If you
get my drift."

    "Yes, sir.  I understand."  Cloud glanced through the inn's
windows at the rapidly darkening skies. 

    "And now it's my turn."  Zack gave him a narrow-eyed look. 
"Cloud, I've noticed a certain amount of friction between you and the
other men.  Basically, they seem to hate your guts."

    He flushed in mingled rage and embarassment, and stared at the
roughly hewn floor planks.

    "Is there a problem I should know about?" the major inquired
quietly.

    He opened his mouth to complain about the endless harrassment...
the constant bullying... but the memory of recent insults made the
words clog in his throat.

    (I'm NOT a momma's boy.  I don't need a babysitter!  I'm not a
spineless wimp!    I don't need anyone else's help!  I can handle this
by myself!  I CAN!)

    ".... No, sir."

    Zack silently looked at him for a long moment.  Finally, he said,
"Very well, you're dismissed, Private."

---------------------------

    Zack frowned as he watched Strife trudge back down the stairs.  He
knew the kid was hiding something.  Normally, he would have pressed
harder for answers, but he had more important things to worry about at
the moment.  Dealing with both Seph and Hojo would take all his
attention.  Cloud would have to fend for himself for a while longer.

    And as he sat in the bay window and formulated his plans, heavy
raindrops began to fall.

---------------------------

    About thirty minutes later, the off-duty troopers came to
attention as Zack walked into the inn's dining room.  

    "At ease, men.  Witney, round up everyone for a briefing."

    With all the Shinra guards present, Zack stood up and said, "Okay,
this is how it goes.  There was a serious equipment malfunction in the
mako reactor on Mt. Nibel, which caused the release of all sorts of
crap into the local environment.  I suspect that's the probable cause
for the unusual monsters infesting this area.  The General and I have
shut down most of the facility, but the reactor itself is still
active.  However, I don't know how the monsters are going to react to
this shutdown.  They might not give a damn, or they might seriously
object, in which case, we can expect some unwanted visitors.  There's
no way to tell.  That's why I want you guys on your toes from now on. 
Got it?"

    As the men murmured their agreement.

    "Um, if you don't mind me asking... where IS the General, major?"
asked Witney, a stocky private with a heavy-boned face.

    "Because of the hazardous nature of some of these creatures, he's
decided to deal with them personally.  And while he's busy, we get the
job of babysitting the town."

    "Sephiroth's off hunting those monsters solo?" Witney said,
obviously impressed with the General's bravery.  

    Zack simply shrugged, then turned to the squad leader, Corporal
Pitcairn.  "Set up a schedule for guard shifts."  

    He waited patiently as the corporal had finished assigning
watches.  As the men prepared to exit the room, Zack rapped the table
and said, "One more thing."  He paused until he was sure he had their
undivided attention.

    "Dr. Hojo, the head of Special Research is due to arrive at any
time."  Zack saw some of the more experienced troopers blanching at
the mention of the scientist's name.  He knew that those men would
soon enlighten their less knowledgeable comrades.  "I would strongly
advise you to be on your best behavior and keep a very low profile
while he's around.  You do NOT want to attract Hojo's attention. 
That's all." 

    The men on guard duty headed out into the rain, while the other
troopers went upstairs to get some rest.  But as soon as they were
gone, he said, "Just a moment, corporal."

    "Sir?"

    Zack said drily, "There seems to be a slight discipline problem in
your squad."

    The corporal winced visibly, then sighed and rubbed his forehead. 
 "You're talking about Strife, of course."

    "In the last 24 hours, I've stopped or broken up three brawls, and
all of them involved the other men ganging up on Private Strife.  So
what's the problem?"

    "No excuse, sir, but...."

    "Go ahead, corporal."

    "There weren't been any discipline problems until Strife got
assigned to the unit, sir."

    "So you're saying it's all his fault?"

    Pitcairn frowned, then finally said, "Frankly, sir... yes!"

    "So what exactly is Strife's problem?"

    "To be blunt about it, he's got a shitty attitude and even worse
judgment.  It's hard to get along with a guy when you never know which
way he's going to jump."

    "Go on."

    The corporal took a few seconds to gather his thoughts, then said
slowly, "Sir, do you know much about chocobos?"

    "A fair bit."

    "Then you'll understand what I mean.  Sometimes you get birds
that's been really badly treated... abused, you know?  Well, it's like
there's something broken in their heads.  They become sullen,
unpredictable.  People call 'em 'fear-biters'.  

    "Ah."  

    "Yeah, now you're getting the picture.  Fear and anger are the
only things that motivates them, and you can never tell how they'll
react in any given situation.  One time they'll be cowering in terror,
and the next time, they'll be crazy vicious.  Being nice to them
doesn't do any good -- all they do is get aggressive and try to boss
you around."

    "Using bravado to hide or deny the fear," Zack said thoughtfully.

    "I guess.  Anyway, once chocobos get that way, they're pretty much
useless.  You can't ride them because they're too damn untrustworthy. 
You can't let them go free because they're a danger to everybody else.
 About the only thing you can do with them is put 'em out of their
misery."  

    He gave Pitcairn a long look and said, "So what you're telling me
that Strife's the human equivalent of these fear-biters?"

    "Basically."  The corporal hesitated, then continued earnestly,
"Listen, sir, the kid's totally fucked up.  He's got no business being
in the military.  When you're going into a fight, you've got to be
able to rely on the guy standing next to you.  You don't have to like
him.  You can even hate his guts, but you need to know that he'll do
his job just like you.  You know how it is, sir."

    "Yeah."

    "You asked me why the guys don't like Strife?  They don't like him
because they can't trust him.  He's a coward.  Forget just being
scared -- only idiots aren't scared -- but Strife, he's fuckin'
terrified ALL THE TIME, no matter how much he tries to hide it.  So
half the time he's stepping on your toes and in your face.  The other
half of the time, he's got the backbone of a jellyfish.  The problem
is that you never know what he'll do." 

    "Wonderful.  Just wonderful," Zack said with a sigh, raking a hand
through his hair.

    "Tell me about it, sir.  I protested long and hard when they
assigned him to my squad.  I just knew he was going to be trouble. 
Among the noncoms, he's got a hell of a reputation.  But HQ insisted."

    "They wanted someone from Nibelheim on this mission."

    "I guess he was the only one available.  I requested that his
assignment only be made temporary, but that was the best I could do."

    Zack wasn't one to buy into every rumor he heard.  Unfortunately,
Pitcairn's statements only confirmed his own observations.

    "All right.  But that doesn't help our current situation."

    "Sorry, sir."

    "Just do your best to keep everyone out of trouble, okay?  It's
bad enough that this kid's life is going down the toilet.  I don't
want the other men's careers getting screwed up because they got
carried away and did something stupid.  I'm not a stickler for
regulations and I'm willing to overlook a lot of things, but not if
one of my men gets seriously hurt.  And for the duration of this
mission, Cloud Strife is one of my men, just like the rest of your
squad.  You got me, Corporal Pitcairn?"

    "Yes sir.  I'll make it perfectly clear to the men."

    "Good.  We'll figure out what to do with Strife once we get back
to Midgar."

    "Do you think you could... I mean, the recommendation of a SOLDIER
First Class pulls a lot of weight with HQ, and especially someone like
you...."

    "Don't worry.  I'll see that you don't get saddled with him
permanently."

    "Thanks, major.  I really appreciate that."  Relaxing a bit, the
corporal said wistfully, "Any chance that we could convince him to go
AWOL here, sir?  It'll be small loss to us and seeing as this is his
hometown...."

    "Not a chance.  I don't know if you've noticed, but he hates this
place."

    "That's too damn bad, sir."

    As he headed back upstairs, Zack thought about what he had read in
Cloud's personnel file.  He knew that the kid had applied for the
SOLDIER program and been rejected, but to be honest, Cloud never stood
a chance of qualifying.  The plain truth was that Cloud Strife's
psyche was simply too fragile.  Physically, the kid might have
survived, but mentally?  No way.  The evaluators had summed it up
nicely -- 'lacks necessary mental integrity and emotional resilance to
successfully undergo conversion'.  The SOLDIER process was extremely
hard on people.  A guy really needed to have his head screwed on
straight or risk almost certain insanity.  

    And the kid was already at the breaking point.  

---------------------------

    The heavy rainfall continued through the evening and showed no
sign of stopping.  Lying on the bed in his darkened room, Zack
listened to the water pounding on the slate roof and gurgling in the
gutters.

    (Damn, why I feel so tired?)

    SOLDIERs certainly weren't immune to exhaustion, but the trip to
the reactor and back shouldn't have worn him out so much.   In
difficulty, it barely qualified as a SOLDIER training hike.  Besides,
Seph who had done most of the fighting, anyway.  

    (Probably because he was worried about *me*.  Hell, maybe both he
and the docs were right.  Maybe I haven't fully recovered from that
run-in with that stupid venomous wyrm....)

    But staying behind in Midgar hadn't been an option for him.  There
was no way he would have allowed his best friend to go off on this
particular mission alone.  Somehow he had *known* that Sephiroth would
need him, and the incident in the Mt. Nibel reactor only proved that
his instincts had been right.  And now Seph was depending on him....

    (Whatever it takes, I'm not going to let him down.  This is too
damn important to him.)

    Sephiroth's sheer intensity and determination disturbed him in
ways that his friend's strength or power never could, but Zack
understood all too well why Sephiroth felt so driven to find the
truth.

    Driven?  No, make that obsessed.  Down in the basement, standing
amid all those books and the secrets they held, he had seen the almost
desperate hunger in Sephiroth's eyes.

    (You're looking for some greater purpose for your existence...
something that will justify all the pain and loneliness you've
endured....  You want proof that you're more than just the result of
some fortuitious experiment.)

    He sighed and turned over on his side to stare out the
rain-smeared glass. 

    ('Who am I?  Where do I came from?  Why am I here?'  I know those
questions have been eating away at you for years.  It hurts you, not
knowing.  And now that you've got the chance to find some answers,
there's no way you can walk away from that, is there, Seph?  It's true
when they say that a little knowledge is a dangerous thing.  Because
now you know part of the truth, you have to know all of it.  If you
don't, you really will go crazy.)

    Zack blinked as the white light from a nearby lightning flash
starkly illuminated the hulking mass of the Shinra Mansion.

    (You can't return to ignorance, blissful or not.  There's no
turning back, no use in pretending that it doesn't matter, so I
suppose we just have to keep moving forward and deal with the
consequences as they come....)
    
    He expected the thunderous boom after the flash, but not the
ear-piercing scream and the burst of gunfire that immediately followed
it.

---------------------------

    Corporal Pitcairn was out to get him.  The guy had to be.  Why
else would he get stuck with guard duty after all the shit he'd been
through today?  After all, wasn't he the guy who'd just spent the
entire day scrambling up and down those damn mountains?  Surely he
deserved some rest.  But noooo... instead he got assigned the most
miserable job possible.  He was supposed to be on foot patrol, which
meant walking around Nibelheim in the cold, pouring rain for the next
four hours.

    To hell with that.  He wasn't going to invite pneumonia and that
sort of shit.  That was why he ended up spending most of his time
lurking in dry tool sheds and under covered porches instead of
tromping around in the rain and mud.  As long as he appeared for the
required check-ins, who would know?  

    (And I just don't get it.  Why is the major so jumpy?  I mean,
these monsters are just basically mutated animals, right?  There's no
reason why they should come after us, even if the reactor got shut
down.  They're just dumb, mindless beasts.)

    He checked his watch.  Two more hours to go, and it was time for
report in again.  With a disgruntled sigh, he shouldered his rifle and
set out for the inn.  As he approached the familiar old water tower, a
brilliant flash of lightning lit up the sky. 

    Cloud flinched.  For the briefest instant, night turned into day
and he saw... something... standing next to the Shinra truck.

    The creature was *big*, easily five feet high at the shoulder, and
bristled with huge claws and horns.  Pale loops of intestines and
ickier things dangled from its jaws as it finished ripping out a big
bite out of the mangled torso of Private Jones, who had been assigned
to radio duty.  Cloud nearly threw up when he saw a large wet chunk of
something -- could have been a liver? -- land in the mud with a loud
'plop'.

    Like a strobe lamp, the repeated flashes of lightning overhead
allowed him brief glimpses of the gory scene.  He stood frozen,
clutching his rifle, as the monster tossed its head back and
swallowed, its throat muscles rippling as the huge gulp of flesh
worked its way down the beast's gullet.  When it finished, the monster
turned its bulging, glowing yellow eyes toward him.  A long forked
tongue flicked out, quivering eagerly... then it moved in his
direction, with a queer, slithery sort of hop.  

    He let loose with a terrified scream and started firing.

---------------------------

    Zack lunged off the bed, thankful that he was still fully dressed,
and grabbed his sword.  Instead of heading for the stairs, he flung
open the bay window, and jumped out into the street.  Landing in front
of the inn's front door, he assessed the situation in a single glance.
 But even as he moved toward the truck and the snarling monster in
front of it, his sensitive nose picked up the unmistakable smell of
spilt fuel.  

    (Shit!  That monster must have torn open the truck's gas tanks. 
And those idiots are still shooting!)

    "HOLD YOUR FIRE!"  

    But the shooting continued unabated as both the townspeople and
troopers continued to panic.

    (God save me from incompetent morons!)  

    "CEASE FIRE, DAMN IT!!!" he bellowed, but it was too late.  There
was a final burst of machinegun fire, something sparked, and the truck
erupted into a huge orange fireball.

    People howled and dived for cover as a wave of searing heat and
steam swept over them.  A few smaller explosions followed, probably
the spare ammunition stored in the truck, before the conflagration
finally subsided to a loud roar as flames licked hungrily over the
twisted wreckage of their transport.

    Unlike the others who slowly picked themselves off the ground,
Zack didn't lower his guard for a moment.  As they stood around,
talking in excited tones about the destroyed truck, he quickly scanned
the area.  So it was no surprise to him when he saw two more of the
large, vicious-looking beasts slither-hopping down a side street
directly toward him.   With a grim smile, he lifted his sword Blood
Scythe and prepared to meet them.

    A carefully targeted spell turned the wet cobblestones into a
sheet of ice.  As monsters hit the slick spot, they began to skid out
of control, and ended up flailing and scrabbling futilely for
traction.  The first beast hit the edge of the ice patch and tumbled
head-over-heels right into Zack's waiting blade.  He pivoted smoothly
and let the beast's own momentum do most of the work as he slashed its
throat open all the way to the spine.  

    Even before the first beast's body hit the ground, Zack stepped
forward to deal with the second monster, who was only beginning to
regain its balance.  It managed to take a wild swing at him with its
clawed forepaw as it scrambled back to its feet, but he dodged it
easily and thrust forward with Blood Scythe.

    The long, reddish crystal sword slid smoothly through the
creature's left eye right into its brain.  Even as it tossed its head
back in pain, Zack kept a firm grip on his sword with one hand.  He
used his other hand to grab its lower jaw, then twisted sharply.  With
a sharp popping sound, the monster's neck broke and it collapsed
heavily onto the muddy cobblestones.

    An eerie hush fell on the bystanders as they watched him pull his
sword from the creature's eyesocket.

    "Did you see THAT?" came a hushed whisper.
    
    "Just like wringing a chicken's neck, it was," someone else said
in awestruck tones.

    He turned and addressed the crowd sharply.  "Are you just going to
stand around all night gawking, or are you going to help me search the
town?"

    "You think there's more of them out there?" yelped the fat owner
of the general store.

    "Maybe, maybe not.  But we won't know until we check."
    
    "B-b-but... won't it be dangerous?  I mean, it's dark and what
if...."  There was a murmur of nervous agreement from the other
townspeople.

    Mr. Lockheart forced his way to the front of the crowd and said
angrily, "Why should we have to risk our necks wandering around in the
dark looking for these damn creatures?  After all, YOU'RE the ones who
are supposed to get rid of those monsters, not us!"  When the
townspeople around him made supportive noises, the mayor added, "And
from what I can tell, you've done a piss poor job of it!"

    With a grim smile, Zack said evenly, "I'm afraid that you're badly
mistaken about our mission, Mr. Lockheart.  We're not here to play
exterminator for you.  We were sent here by Shinra to locate and
neutralize the source of the monsters."  Before the angry mayor could
interrupt, Zack added, "Which we've done by shutting down the reactor.
 Our only other objective is to prevent further damage to the Mt.
Nibel reactor.  And that's all.  Our orders say nothing about
protecting Nibelheim or its inhabitants."

    "So what are you saying?" Mr. Lockheart snarled, his face flushing
angrily.

    "What I'm saying is that I'm under no particular obligation to
save your cowardly, lazy hides.  If you cooperate, I'll be glad to do
what I can to help you, but I'm not going to wear myself out or risk
my men to save a bunch of ungrateful whiners who refuse to raise a
finger to save themselves.  Have I made myself perfectly clear?"

    "You... you can't talk to me like that!" sputtered the mayor.

    "Why not?" he retorted with a dangerous smile.

    "Because... because....  You bloody well better do as we tell you
and protect us, otherwise you can just sleep out in the rain and
starve!"

    "Is that a threat, Mr. Lockheart?" he inquired in an ominously
even voice.  "Because if it is, I'd strongly advise you to
reconsider."  

    He didn't have to look, but Zack knew that the troopers were
taking up supportive positions to his right and his left, their
weapons ready.

    Mr. Lockheart retreated a step, his face turning pale as he
suddenly remembered exactly whom he was addressing.  His throat worked
spastically as the firelight glinted off the razor sharp, bloodstained
broadsword Zack casually propped against his shoulder and the
intimidating array of Materia clearly visible along the blade.
    
    Finally, the older man said sullenly, "All right.  Give your damn
orders.  But if any of these good townsfolk get hurt, it'll be your
fault!"

    Zack gave Lockheart a cool nod of acknowledgement, then raised his
voice to speak to the subdued crowd.

---------------------------

    Cloud smirked gleefully as he watched Zack confront Tifa's father
and cut the older man down to size.  Verbally, of course.  

    (Too bad the major didn't cut the bastard down literally. 
Lockheart fucking well deserves it, after all these years of running
Nibelheim like his own private kingdom and treating everyone except
his precious princess like dirt!)

    But now the bastard has finally met someone he couldn't boss
around or intimidate. 

    (So how does it feel to be considered totally worthless, old man? 
How does it feel to know that the major could squash both you and this
whole fucking town like a pesky bug?  He doesn't give a shit whether
you live or die, and I bet that scares the shit out of you, doesn't
it?  Now you know what I've felt like all these years....)

    But although he loved the sight of Tifa's father slinking off into
the shadows with his tail between his legs, his enjoyment was spoiled
by a gnawing sense of resentment.

    (It's not fair!  *I* should be the one making Lockheart back down.
 ME.  Damn it! I should've been the SOLDIER here!!!)

    As the teams of townsfolk reluctantly set out on their search,
Corporal Pitcairn said quietly to the major, "Sir, the radio's gone,
so we've got no communication with the outside.  We won't be able to
contact Rocket Town or Costa del Sol with the handhelds, either.  They
have almost no range in these mountains.  We're cut off, sir."

    "I know that."  Zack turned to Cloud and the other troopers.  "All
right.  Who was the first guy on the scene?"

    There was a long silence as the guards stared at each other. 
Finally, someone in the back spoke up and said, "It had to be Strife,
sir.  He was already shooting up the place when I arrived."

    "Yeah, and now the truck's nothing more than scrap metal, no
thanks to that itchy trigger finger of his!" someone else said
angrily.

    Cloud whirled around and glared at the other men.  "Hey, I wasn't
the only guy shooting!  You were doing the same thing!  And what the
hell did you expect me to do?  Throw rocks at the damn monster?"

    "Well maybe you should have.  That way, you might have actually
hit something for a change," Private Witney said in a snide voice.

    "By the way, how the hell did those things get into the middle of
town without anyone noticing?" another trooper demanded.

    "Yeah."  Witney turned and glared at Cloud.  "Weren't YOU the one
who was supposed to be on perimeter patrol?  What were you doing,
napping in someone's shed?"

    Stung by the all too accurate accusation, Cloud yelled, "Now wait
a fucking minute!  Don't try to pin this all on me!  I wasn't the only
guy on watch!  Where do you get off blaming me...!"

    "Maybe, but you're the guy who...."

---------------------------

    As accusations started to fly, Zack said testily, "Cut it out,
men.  This isn't the time to start pointing fingers.   And we have
more important things to worry about."

    Corporal Pitcairn asked calmly, "Like what, sir?  You really think
that there's going to be more attacks?"

    "Better to be safe than sorry." The major glanced at the still
burning hulk of their transport truck.  "But yeah, something tells me
that things are only getting started."

    "But... but why, sir?" someone asked nervously.

    "If the General's hunting them down, maybe they're coming into
town to get away from him."

    "Could be," Zack replied with a neutral shrug. "The important
thing is to stay alert.  We've already lost two men and I'm not
inclined to lose any more.  Got it?"

    He watched the troopers nod, then added, "One more thing.  I know
that some of these townsfolk are acting like idiots and assholes, but
I don't want any unnecessary confrontations.  The last thing we need
is a hostile mob breathing down our necks.  I can deal with them if I
have to, but I'm rather concentrate on more important things like
keeping people alive." 

    "Yes, sir!"
    
    "Then resume your posts.  The rest of you try to get some
sleep...."

    But he was interrupted as a young man charged into the square
screamings something about horrible gelatinous blobs.
    
    With a weary sigh, Zack wiped off his sword and headed for the
source of the distant screams.

    (Here we go again....)

---------------------------

    It never seemed to stop.  Divebombing carrion birds, slithering worms, not to mention that horde of flesh-eating beetles.  Zack sighed wearily. 
He had been forced to sever a man's lower leg to keep the damn bug
from chewing its way deeper into his body.  Naturally, the good mayor
had thrown a fit at his favorite cousin's misfortune.

---------------------------
<end Nibelheim snippet 1>


<start one line teasers>
---------------------------

    If this was the way the people of Nibelheim acted, it did a lot to
explain why Cloud was such a mess.
---------------------------
      There was more bad news in the morning.  The only road leading out
of Nibelheim was totally washed out.
---------------------------
<end one line teasers>


<start Nibelheim snippet 2>
---------------------------

    "You little prick," a rough voice hissed at him.

    Cloud snapped out of his semi-doze and stared at the other guard
on watch.  

    "You talking to me?"

    Private Witney snarled, "Who else, asshole?"

    "What the hell's bugging you?"

    "How come you came back and Billie didn't?"

    "Like I know?  It's just friggin' bad luck!  Not like it's MY
fault that Hakshaw took a dive off the mountainside, okay?"

    Witney pushed his goggles up onto his forehead and glared at him.

    "So you say."

    Cloud scowled and snapped, "Why don't you guys just get the fuck
off my case!?  I had nothing to do with it!  Besides, Hakshaw deserved
it for all the shit he put me through...!"

    He yelped as Witney suddenly pounced on him, wrenched his right
arm behind his back, and slammed him hard against the nearest wall.  

    Pinning Cloud's head against the rough bricks, the hefty trooper
growled, "Oh, that's entirely the WRONG thing to say.  I'll have you
know that Billie Hakshaw was one of my best buds.  As for you...
you're just a waste of good air, Clod-boy."

    "Don't call me that!  The name's Strife... ow ow owww!" he yelled
as Witney twisted his arm even harder.  

    "I'll call you anything I fuckin' well please!"

    "Crap, that hurt, you bastard!" he retorted, his voice muffled as
Witney mashed his face against the wall.  "I told you... it's not my
friggin' fault!  I was just following orders!  Why don't you get mad
at Sephiroth or the major!?  They're the ones who didn't want to waste
time looking for him!" 

    "Don't fucking tell me what to do, Clod-head!  If I want to blame
you, I bloody well will!"  Witney suddenly leaned close and whispered
in his ear, "You were in Squad 38, weren't you?"

    "So what?" he gasped, clenching his teeth to keep from whimpering
from the pain in his shoulder.  "What's that got to do with your...?"

    "I've heard stories of those guys... about how the senior members
have their own 'special' initiations for new recruits.  Tell me, Clod,
did they welcome you into the club good and proper?"

    "I-I don't know... what the hell... you're talking about!" he
snarled weakly, but his attempt at defiance was spoiled by a sudden
fit of shivers.  The feel of Witney's hot, smelly breath blowing down
his neck brought back a sickening rush of memories, both old and new.

    "I bet they did.  You've got a pretty good ass.  Almost like a
girl's...." Witney said with a nasty leering expression as he allowed
his hand to rove over Cloud's buttocks.

    He closed his eyes, fought down the urge to vomit, and choked out,
"Get... your filthy paws off me or I'll...."

    "You'll what?  Tell on me?  I don't think so.  Not unless you want
to be known all over Midgar and your hometown as a slut-boy.  Besides,
with a reputation like yours, who the fuck's going to believe anything
you say?"

    "The major will...."

    "Now you don't want to go bothering Major Faelan.  He's got more
important things to worry about than a dumbass nobody like you.  For
your information, he's probably the only person keeping us from being
turned into critter food.  You try to go whining to him and you're
gonna have a serious 'accident'.  No if, ands or buts.  Remember,
Clod-boy, that you've got no friends here... or anywhere, for that
matter.  I don't like you.  My buddies don't like you.  Even your own
townfolks don't like you!  I've been heard these folks talk about you
and how you were such a troublemaker.  They were damn glad the first
time you left and believe me, they can't wait until you leave again. 
Do you think that any of them will raise a finger to help you?  So you
take whatever we choose to dish out and you don't say a fucking thing
to anybody.  You got it?"

    "...."

    For a horrible second, he thought that Witney had actually
dislocated his shoulder.

    "GOT IT?"

    "....yeah... geez, yes!"

    Witney turned and sent him sprawling face first into the muddy
street.

    "Don't go causing any trouble for us.  And when we get back to
Midgar, me and the boys have got some more questions to ask you about
Billie's death."  The other man cracked his knuckles loudly.

    ".... yeah," he muttered sullenly, rubbing his aching arm.

    "What was that?" Witney growled, taking a threatening step toward
Cloud.

    ".... yes... sir."

    The big trooper sneered at him, then walked away.

    Cloud sat in the rain and the mud for a long time, shaking with
both fear and rage.  He wanted to run away, but he was too scared to
desert.  And where would he go?   He wanted to grab his rifle and blow
Witney's fucking head off, but he was too scared of the consequences
if he got caught.  He was both too scared and humilitated to tell
anyone about Witney's threats.  Besides, who could he talk to?  Who
would believe him?

    In the end, he did the only thing he could think of.  He slowly
got to his feet, picked up his rifle, and resumed his watch post as
the cold rain continued to fall.

---------------------------
<end Nibelheim snippet 2>