Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

Hojo's laboratory. 

The unwelcoming decor was an unwanted second home to the Silver Soldier of Shinra. The sterile air, the artificial light, the deep echoes of the halls. He hated it. He hated being here but it was required. Every attempt to convince the higher ups that this was not necessary ended in complete failure and laughter from the scientist he hated most. 

These monthly appointments were not his choice. The board made that explicitly clear.

Worst of all in this terrible laboratory, he hated seeing the specimens, the creatures and monsters created to either die or be observed. Every ounce of their suffering was monitored twenty four hours a day. These hallways and these creatures remained within memories for as far as he could recall them. Each tile on the floor was mapped to perfect recollection after all his years. Medium cages, examination room, training room, large mako tanks, large cages, electric pipelines, monitors, sealed cages-

He stopped in his tracks.

But this observation glass was new, as was the darkened screen between the window and the door. Normally he would turn away in disgust at this new experiment, to ignore it and hope its usefulness ended soon for its own sake. But he didn't. He felt a churn in his stomach. A weight in his chest. Something pushing him toward the control pad beyond what he could call ‘curiosity’. All new experiments were in the back of the lab, so why was this added in the main hallway?

The screen brightened with the usual Shintra log in page, both the username and password fields left blank. He didn't know Hojo's information, however, he input his own credentials despite the threat that said doctor could discover his attempt and use it against him. 

The screen immediately opened to a document application, white light reflecting on his skin. A new folder appeared within his personal pages without the cloud icon beside it, one that did not belong and did not make sense to him. Only one word titled the folder: Theory. Checking within he found dozens of seemingly new reports. What were these? Why were they there?

He opened one.

Each line captured his attention no matter the horror that laid behind it. 

Pregnancy continuing with expected complications. Monitor for sudden nutrition loss. 

Host uninjured at 30 weeks. Chances of successful production promising.

Child born July 7, 1997, 07:07. A healthy female. 7 pounds, 3 ounces. Unexpectedly vocal.

Host returned to home in [REDACTED]. Monitor residence and continue pension until host expires or conspires to spread word of the child. 

Under direct presidential order, the child's designation must be similar to the designation of its father. (Since the oaf apparently cannot tell the difference between a fully grown masterpiece and a new experiment)

Child's designation agreed upon: Seraphina. Discontinue use of “Girl” and “Soldier”. Previous designations used only during negative reinforcement. 

Child portrays signs of scotopia. Disable emergency lights at PM to encourage proper rest.

Child reaching 120.3 decibels. Install sound panels. 

Child begins walking. 

Presidential three month review. Deemed nothing of note. Project to be discontinued if results continue at current rate. 

Implementation of mako in diet. Child's eyes begin displaying common symptoms within seven days. 

10 mL mako injection through shoulder. Constant protest. Consequences earned. To be repeated every four weeks until further notice.

Child fully healed in 23.4 hours. 

Diet transferred to commercial protein shakes until solid food can be consumed.

Child's strength becomes difficult to manage. Separate child from active lab tables. 

Child maintains current record of 120.3 decibels whenever reacting to impact. When older, remedy this. 

Technicians arrived to child sitting on a work desk beside activated soldering iron. Child showed no reaction to tool. Child held photo snatched from the current desk: A selfie of a technician's offspring with a cardboard cut out of Sephiroth. The offspring is smiling.

Child cracked glass with latest scream when photo was removed. Consequences distributed as necessary. 

Child suddenly becomes silent. Literacy and mathematic skills difficult to judge with minimal reactions. 

Child cries at night. Child exhibiting signs of nyctophobia despite scotopia. Note: habit must be removed by age three. 

Child is given a Second Class sword. Child shows promise with a weapon. 

Child is shown video of Sephiroth training at age twelve. Child is thoroughly engaged. Child attempts to copy technique. 

Presentation for president confirmed. 

Six month presidential review begins. Child referred to by name with president's approval. 

Child is placed in room with a single robotic arm as room size slowly decreased. Child is severely injured but defeats robot. 

President Shinra demands an alternate display of abilities. 

Pain endurance trial begins. 

Child endures 5X volume of [REDACTED] than average adult human male before losing consciousness. 

Project permitted to continue. 

Wound heals. Child unable to walk properly. Signs point to lingering [REDACTED] in child's body. 

Three day recovery period begins. Check status every three hours.

Sephiroth couldn't stop reading every horrible detail on the page, every memory of his own childhood rushing him at the thought of another- no, not just another child- his child: one made without his knowledge or consent. He felt his hands click links to further documentation, his eyes scanning every detail dangerously before an image opened. 

A video. No, not a video, live footage of the blacked out room before him. A small part of him expected to see his silver hair on a tiny child, to finally see the trait on someone other than himself. 

But he didn't. Even through the shading greens of dark vision recordings, he could tell her hair was black, tiny specks interfering with the recording as if pixels glitched exactly where her hair portrayed through the screen.

The child was trying to walk, and only when she turned did he see the thick bandages around her thigh. Back and forth she limped through the room, never acknowledging the thin sword on the ground, the stacked weights by her crib, or the books on her desk. ‘Her’. None of it was truly hers. Every inch of her life belonged to Shinra and Shinra alone. She did not ask to be brought into this world. Hojo forced her mother, forced her, into this den and left with gil in hand as she wailed in abandonment. And he, her father, stood behind glass after six months of the same agony he suffered. 

He put his PIN into the digital keypad by the door. 

Access denied. 

He tried again, slower, deliberate, confirming each and every input to follow his code. 

Access denied. 

He was given access to the files. Why couldn’t he enter the room? Why was Hojo continuing with these useless mind games? His chest boiled. His brows were furrowed. He brought his shaking hand to his heart and bowed his head, trying to remember the feeling of the locket once kept there, wanting guidance before he made a decision or one was made for him.

He was…angry. No. No- it was much more than that. This child didn’t deserve his suffering. His child didn’t deserve this imprisonment or the genocide missions that laid before her.

She deserved a normal life. 

He summoned his blade to his side and slashed the metal door. The lights above shifted to crimson and a siren blared in his ears but he refused to stop. He refused to allow Hojo another violation into his life and the life of his child. He attacked until there was nothing but a pile of debris between him and his daughter.

Sephiroth took his first step into the room to find the child holding her own blade against him as her body shook with the struggle to maintain his old battle stance, standing against the crib. Why was a child- no- not even a child- why was a baby forced to learn these instincts? 

Why wasn’t he enough to stop this from ever happening again?

He hoped it wasn’t too late.

She looked different than he expected. Her skin was a few notches paler than his own. What he assumed were failing pixels in photos and in videos were actually her hair; a codominant display of his silver piercing through solid black. It reminded him of stars shimmering in the night sky, the vast expanse she was never permitted to see. 

No matter what, that changed today. 

He returned his sword and held both his hands in open caution as he kneeled down, making himself smaller and hopefully less threatening. He tried to soften his expression. She was so delicate. He couldn’t be harsh with her. He didn’t want to be harsh with her. “I will not hurt you. Do you know who I am?” 

The recognition in her eyes only elevated his rage, the smallest nod of her head. She glanced down and her eyes rapidly searched the air around her. Her mako blue, cat like eyes; slit pupils against the soldier trademark. If there was any doubt in his heart that this was only another one of Hojo’s tests, it vanished completely. 

“It’s alright. You’re safe.” 

The hard look in her eyes did not change. He wanted to strangle the scientist. 

“You don’t have to say it the right way. Hojo’s not here. He won’t punish you and I will never let him see you again. Say what you think is right. Don’t think about-”

“Dada…” 

Time froze. His heart skipped a beat. 

She looked embarrassed and afraid, her voice weak and tiny and barely above a breath. He hated that he was correct. She said it again as if finally feeling the slightest drop of freedom. “Dada…?”

He nodded softly. “That’s right. I’m your father. And I’m saving you from this place, Seraphina.”

Maybe he overestimated her understanding because she just kept staring at him.

“You can put your sword away.” He made a small sheathing gesture with his hands. “We have to go. We have to leave right now and you will never see this horrible place again.”

She suddenly waddled up to him and he almost flinched as she tried to wrap her arms around his leg, her weapon forgotten on the floor.

The silver solider lifted the baby into his arms, and she clenched the straps across his chest so tight her knuckles were white. He sheathed her sword and protected her with his right arm. He had already wasted so much time, but he already knew he would never regret this first moment. 

He could never return Shinra, to the memories it held or the friends he made. But they didn’t matter now. All that mattered was her safety. 

All that mattered was his family.

Chapter Text

The badlands. Midgar territory. The land between the thriving metropolis and the small town of Kalm.

For all his time in SOLDIER, this was his first experience in the so called ‘badlands’, not a digital recreation or the scenery of a transport. Missions not far from Midgar were considered too elementary for First Class. He couldn't argue with the decision because he fully agreed with it. Why send him to exterminate a wild pack of overgrown rodents when he could take down a behemoth? 

Or an army?

Maybe ‘use’ was more accurate than ‘send’. Yesterday, he would’ve ignored that thought.

This was his first time acknowledging the decay of massive mako pipelines and the withered life around them. 

Now he had a new life to protect. No bullet grazed her skin, no blade reached her hair, no enemy flame warmed her during their escape. He guarded her against his chest as she held him and her blade, barely making a single sound. His strength far exceeded security's mechs. His tactics kept thousands of his men alive. The simple security officers and the army of a never invaded city could not take him down, and could not find him. 

However, Hojo could. 

Hojo trained him. Hojo taught him. Hojo knew his every string of logic. His every thought and countermeasure. He only hoped his decisions were too backwards to be predictable, for hope was all he could do. 

Like his decision to avoid the Grasslands.

He defeated as few fiends as possible, collecting only the most valuable pieces. They weren't worth much, but too many corpses would lead even the newest cadet straight to him. 

For now, they rested in an old chocobo stop far off the main road. The decaying mako pipes made for good shelter if necessary. The young chocobo warking at their side shouldn't give them away. They were out of sight. For now.

Seraphina had not noticed the Fluffy creature yet. Despite the sun rising in the sky, her eyes were falling closed. She needed rest, but he needed to take the risk of Kalm before nightfall. They needed supplies. At very least, she needed food. Formula. The lab notes said something about protein shakes…

He really didn't know the first thing about caring for a child, much less raising one. He should've run back to his apartment and gathered supplies before breaking her out. He should've grabbed some MREs so she wouldn't starve to death before Shinra lost their scent. He should've looked up how to at least change a diaper. He should've-

“Dada…” the baby in his arms pulled at his chest straps, suddenly wide awake. “Dada…”

He tried to soften his expression, a stern mask despite his melting heart. “Yes? What is it, Seraphina?”

“Potty…” she answered quickly. 

He was confused. Wasn't she-

“Potty. Potty.” She pointed down harshly, fussing and wiggling. 

He was already placing her on the ground, his confusion locked to his face. 

She slipped out of his grip and ran as best she could behind the chocobo stop. 

Sephiroth assumed the child wanted privacy so he kept watch. Well, at least diapers wouldn't be necessary. Maybe just a couple hours here to see Shinra’s next move before they-

He winced. That smell. He’s moving her the moment she’s ready. He dealt with far worse in Wutai, but she shouldn’t have to stay around it. He heard shifting scrapes before she returned. A quick glance confirmed she buried the source, the potency decreasing in the air.

“All better?”

She nodded.

“Come on.” He stretched out his arms to her length, “We need to keep moving. Just a little longer.” 

She pointed to the little yellow bird. Well, little to him. The creature itself was multiple times larger than her. 

“That's a chocochick,” came his short explanation. “It won't hurt us.”

Seraphina slowly approached, the limp in her step making the creature tilt its head of spiky feathers to the right and left. She raised her hands and slowly pushed against the plumes. 

Sephiroth watched the involuntary crushing of her fingers in feathers as she pressed her entire face into the plumes. The chocochick warked happily as it flapped its tiny wings. She didn't make a sound, and she was shaking but refused to move. He should find her a soft blanket as soon as possible. 

“Don't hold back. It's okay.”

She suddenly tried to wrap her arms around the creature, touching as many of the feathers as her size allowed. 

The former soldier gave her a moment to enjoy the feeling before interrupting, “We have to go.” 

She gave him a sad look. 

“Don't worry. We'll see him again. Come on.” Without missing a beat, he scooped her into his arms. If he remembered correctly, they weren't too far from a vantage point of Midgar. They could at least keep an eye on the sky, see if Kalm was safe yet. 

She tried to look around, deliberately keeping her eyes on monsters she must've deemed too close. But she never tried to leave his grasp. Even when they reached the open patch at the end of the forgotten pipe. 

He had no idea the northern badlands held any sense of life, much less an unattended flower patch. Distinct colors of daisies covered the ground overlooking the city, almost a deliberate distinction between the reds, yellows, blues, and whites. 

“Dada?”

“Yes, Seraphina?”

She pointed at the colors and then tilted her head at him. 

“Those are flowers. They’re plants beginning to grow seeds. It’ll be safe here for a bit. Go take a look.” 

When her feet touched the ground, she fell forward, crawling as cat-like eyes widened like saucers as she investigated each and every limb of the flora before her. 

Sephiroth found his focus more split than on any battlefield. Even when transporting injured, he was less worried about every shift of the air, of the sand, of even the insects. He needed to watch for Shinra. He needed to watch for monsters. 

But he also needed to watch her. 

A glance at his men was all he required to know they were safe, but his instincts forced his eyes to her constantly. What if she hurt herself? What if she ate a rock? That's something kids did, right? What if she got stuck or tripped or fell? Monsters he could handle, but what was he supposed to do about everything else?

If he made enough Gil from the spoils of his limited monster regulation, he should buy a parenting book with the supplies. A tent would be an absolute luxury. 

From the look of it, all aircrafts leaving Midgar either headed south to Junon or east beyond Kalm. There was a chance the small town was safe for now, and if he stayed by the entrance he could get them out before a blockade sealed them in. 

He scooped some loose dirt into his gloves and smeared it onto his hair and face. 

Seraphina looked up and grabbed the ground too. 

“Stop.” 

Her hands opened instantly.

“No one will see you. Don't worry.”

His daughter’s stomach suddenly growled and she let out the smallest of whines. 

Sephiroth lifted the corner of his long coat and summoned his blade. In an instant, he held the remaining fabric, and the uniform frayed with unsown edges. He scooped his daughter into the new sheet, wrapping both her body and her hair. “When I tell you, I need you to close your eyes and keep them closed no matter what. I'll tell you when to open them. Okay?” 

She nodded. 

He began walking, passing a few of the mako pipes before catching his own reflection in the chocobo stop. It wasn't enough. “One moment.” He placed her back down and detached the pauldrons from his uniform before sending them to the very same place as his sword. He brushed his fingers through his bangs to his shoulder and began separating the strands into three sections, the pressure collapsing his recognizable bangs. 

Seraphina held her palms out, opening and closing them. 

He chose to kneel down to her height. “What is it?” 

She gestured to his hair. 

“You can touch it later. I have to-” 

Sharper movements. More deliberate gripping. 

He sighed. “I don't understand…”

She huffed before kneeling on the ground. She put her index fingers in the dirt and dragged them, making a shape appear. Right over left. Left over right. Right over left. Left over right.

His brows knotted. “You know how to braid?”

She nodded again. 

He was about to ask ‘how’ when he remembered who he was talking to. He gave in and lifted her up again. “Can you braid while we walk?”

She had already begun weaving the strands. 

“...I guess so.”

While his daughter continued, he latched every remaining buckle on his coat. With his flattened bangs blocking his eyes, maybe he'd buy them enough time to retrieve a meal. Or at least let her have a meal tonight. 

His nerves spiked as his boots made contact with the asphalt between Midgar and Kalm. He took a breath, knowing the gates were close despite not being in sight. He tightened the wrap around Seraphina as she held onto the end of the untied braid. 

“Eyes closed, Seraphina.” 

She obeyed, leaning her face toward him.

Kalm was no different than every story he heard. As the rest spot and short vacation destination, Shinra employees littered the crowds. Few and far between but enough for him to know they were there. Kids ran through the carless streets. People shopped and smiled through their casual conversations. No one spoke his name. Shinra valued him highly, and he hoped their pride would prevent them from spreading word of his desertion. 

Desertion. The word never crossed his mind. 

He kept a normal pace as he made his way through the crowd, stopping at the very first convenience store near an alley. He grabbed a reusable bag from the entrance. “Can I sell items here…?” 

Such a basic question seemed to throw the clerk off, especially with his voice barely above a whisper. “Y-yeah, just come up at the end to make it easier on me.”

He nodded once and wasted no time, skimming the aisles for supplies. Ramen noodles, water bottles, even cheap protein shakes. He knew he didn't have enough to afford clothes for both of them, so one fluffy gray hoodie would have to do. He found himself thankful this tiny corner shop had everything they needed. 

 At the counter, he lifted the bag. 

“Ah ah ah! What are you selling first? Makes my life easier if you tell me now.”

He placed multiple beast talons, beast bones, and ether onions on the counter. 

The cashier lifted and searched each item, rubbing each imperfection before inputting numbers into the machine. “Alright, what are you buying?”

He placed the bag on the counter, watching the same process unfold product by product. 

“Hey, lucky you!” The employee handed him one hundred Gil in cash. “Just enough to cover your bill and then some.”

A hundred Gil. He should buy a potion. Maybe it will help his daughter's- “Are there any bookstores nearby…?” The question left his lips before his mind caught up with the task.

“The best bookstore in town is Maghnata books. Dead center of town, can't miss it. And they always have good sales!”

He nodded and retrieved his items. “Thank you…”

The center of Kalm was a big risk. Too many vantage points. Too many people to find him. Too many distractions. But he wanted Seraphina to have a normal life, and it started with learning what that meant for someone her age. He needed to learn how to raise the child in his arms, so he left the shop, kept his head down, and entered the square with the raised mako tanks.

It didn't take long to find the purple library, ornate decor lining every inch lacking a book. 

“Welcome to Maghnata books! Are you searching for anything specific today or just taking a look around?”

Sephiroth adjusted the girl in his arms, the smallest of fuss leaving the leather. “I need some advice…”

The woman gasped, holding her hands over her mouth. “Oh my gods, she's adorable! How old is she?”

“Half a year…” He debated deliberately giving the wrong age, but he couldn’t risk inaccurate or invalid information. 

“Oh a six month old, eh? That’s when they start moving. No wonder you came to us! Here-” The lady ran out from behind the counter. “What’s your budget?”

“A hundred Gil…”

She grabbed her chin. “Hm. I don’t know if we have any parenting books that cheap... Let me ask my manager.”

He should leave. He didn’t have time for this. He’ll just figure it out on his own. “We’re on a tight schedule…” 

“Just one minute! I insist!” She rushed to the back without another word.

The man let out a sigh, counting the seconds in his head. The bundle in his arms made more noise. “Shh. Not now. Soon, okay?”

She nodded, her lids scrunched tightly.

“FOUND IT!” The door busted open, the cashier holding up a thick, dusty volume titled: So you're a PARENT now, huh? What to expect from your little ones from first light to the terrible twos. ‘PARENT’ was written in the SOLDIER font. “My manager’s been trying to get rid of this for years. Not a single yard sale worked! That’ll be eighty five Gil, please.”

He immediately made the exchange, tucking the remainder of the cash and the book into the reusable bag. 

“Have a pleasant day!”

“Thank you…”

He slipped through the entrance without another word, immediately spotting Shinra troops on the other side of the square. He didn’t have a lot of time, keeping his head down and maneuvering through the crowd until he completely lost sight of them. 

The badlands were safer than any town. Instead of risking the same location, he immediately veered off the road, climbing the steep cliffs on his left. An owl hooted and flew past him. Once he saw the chocochick return to his side and urge him up the plains, he knew it was safe. 

“Okay, Seraphina. You can open your eyes.” 

He was immediately struck with her gaze, her brows nearly furrowed and her face squeezed. 

“What's wrong?”

She curled in on herself, small whines leaving her lips.

He didn’t know what to do as the whines only grew louder. Was she in pain? How? From what? He spotted a crevasse in the cliffs and dashed. The owl once again circled and hooted, and he followed the glowing creature within. 

A lifespring, a font of Lifestream too useless for mako, and too useless to Shinra. The cliff surrounded all but the sky directly above. They were safe. No one should find them here.

“Seraphina.” He wasn’t sure how well she could speak, but he needed to know what was happening. 

“H-hurts…” She kept grabbing and gripping at her own chest. “H-hurts!”

Sephiroth dropped the bag and wrapped his arms around her. “Where? Where does it hurt?”

Tears dripped down her cheeks. She cried, covering her mouth tightly. 

He removed the bandages around her leg and found a fresh scar. The fabric rubbed against her and left raw skin in its wake. She didn’t need them anymore. Why didn’t she try to remove them? He held her close and she pressed her face against his coat, her screams muffling against him. 

…Signs point to lingering [REDACTED] in child’s body...

Minutes passed before the flare up finally fizzled, his child resting her head against his body and closing her eyes. 

“Dada…”

He didn’t know what to say. He just knew her pain. He knew he never wanted her to feel that again. “Better?” The single word was all that left his lips.

Another nod. 

He reached into the bag and grabbed a bottle, shaking it quickly. “Can you drink from a cup?”

She gave him a weird, tired look. Her stomach growled and she groaned again. 

He sat and placed her in his lap. He had to try, opening the cap and removing the inner seal. “Here. Drink.”

Seraphina placed her hands on the sides and tried to hold it. 

He lifted her back before adjusting the angle, slowly giving her a taste. 

Her eyes widened. No- not just her eyes- her pupils widened to saucers and she suddenly took desperate gulps.

He had to take it away so she wouldn’t choke. “Slowly.”

She pointed at the bottle and stared at him in confusion. 

“It’s a protein shake. Chocolate flavored.”

He may not have known much about children, but he knew the baby in his arms definitely wanted more. 

She drank half the bottle before her exhaustion caught up with her. Sephiroth did not miss a beat and took out the hoodie from the store. He slowly laid her inside the fuzzy lining, reducing his shard of coat as a pillow for her.

Despite everything, the peaceful look on her face brought a warmth to his heart he could never describe.

Chapter Text

The sun brightened the smog filled air of Midgar’s slums, trying and failing to pierce through the air to the people and fully gift them their only natural light of the day. Sectors buzzed with life as the rush hour continued, very near reaching its peak as people pushed back and forth through the crowds to reach their respective destinations. The smell of rot and garbage either never or no longer fazed the citizens of these polluted and destitute lands. Despite the conditions, thousands called these slums their home. 

Tifa Lockhart was one of many residents in the under city. A small town girl who struck it big in the big city, considering the events that pushed her here. It wasn't easy, but the most popular bar in the Sector Seven Slums was hers, even bought with her own money to help both herself and her friends grow new life under the plate. Owning a business always meant keeping busy. Most of the week, she was lucky to stay within the sector, but ‘delivery’ days were a different story. And by deliveries she meant pickups.

It was supposed to be a normal day: ride the train up to the Sector Five plate, pick up the new stock of spirits, run over to Sector Three for fresh groceries, and return before dinner. She slipped into the crowd and kept her eyes forward. Through the alleys, up on the station, and finally into the train before she could breathe again. She didn’t want to miss this one. In the conglomerate of hustle, she dared scan the station up ahead. 

She spotted a dirty child trying to encourage a blond to drink from a crushed water bottle. She assumed it was just another family that had fallen upon bad times, and the corner of the busiest intersection of the sector kept security away for a little while. No matter how long she lived in the slums, she couldn't keep her eyes away from such poverty. She always wanted to help. Her friends could attest to that. 

Thank the gods she never numbed to desperation. The spikes of blond hair vaguely reminded her of a boy she had not thought about in years. She looked closer, trying to shake away the now blue memories of her past. Her body slowed before her mind fully registered what she was seeing. 

A commuter bumped her shoulder without a word as he passed in the opposite direction. 

That little force brought her back to reality, the reality that her mind wasn't playing tricks on her. She knew that hair style. She knew that shade of skin. She recognized the origins of his aged face. 

“Excuse me?” 

Tifa suddenly found the dirty child staring up at her, barely a foot away.

Good gods, this child wasn't just dirty, her hair was absolutely caked in brown mud. Her clothes were scuffed and stained but they weren't submerged in whatever left her looking like that. “You keep looking at us. Why?”

“Is that Cloud?” Tifa felt the words leave her lips before she could stop them despite the rough edge to the child's tone.

The child's eyes widened and Tifa took a step back. Those eyes weren't human. Large and innocent but not human. They were the eyes of monsters, of the monster that destroyed-

The child flinched, a hand hesitantly reaching for a weapon before slowly lowering. The snippiness faded immediately. “Do you know Cloud? Can you help him? I can't get him to drink and so much has happened and I don't know what else to do and I’m alone and please-”

She rushed past and knelt next to Cloud, the little girl following behind. She was very aware of this child's location at all times. “Cloud?”

His head rested on his shoulder, his eyes were mako blue and hazy. A hand clenched his hair as if trying to numb a headache. 

“Cloud, can you hear me?”

Without his slow breaths, she'd assume he was dead. 

“What happened to him?”

“So much happened and he was finally okay but then he went back to this and-” 

The blue in mako blue eyes suddenly focused and Cloud stood, a hand immediately on the hilt of the Buster Sword on his back. 

Tifa almost jumped back, but the child jumped forward, hugging his leg. She saw the small wince in Cloud's eyes before he looked down. 

“You're better again!”

Again?

“Of course I am, Sera,” he snapped out of his hesitation and gave her a single pat on the back. “You’ve got nothing to worry about with me.”

Her head slowly tilted. She didn't answer, just nodded slowly, deliberately. 

“Tifa,” Mako eyes met red ones. “Is that really you? It's been a little over a while.”

“It's been so long,” She wasn't sure if she should hug him or grab him or at least pull that suspicious child away. “Haven't seen you in-”

“Five years,” Cloud finished. “How could I forget?”

The girl watched, confusion dusted across her dirty face. She finally released him, looking up at them both. 

Tifa covered her mouth in faux thought, hiding behind an extra moment. 

“What is it?”

“Oh, it's nothing, just… wow, what a long time…”

“After what happened at home, I didn’t turn back…” He glanced down, rubbing the back of his neck. 

“How…?” The question slipped out before she could stop it. “How do you know about that…?” 

He didn't answer, and every explanation Tifa gave she saw roll off his back like rain. And worse, the child held a hand over the side of her eyes and watched the station. Hidden. Avoidant.

“Things are so different now,” She saw his focus slip back with the change in topic. “I live here in the Sector Seven Slums and I work at a bar.” She didn't want to seem too successful without hearing his answer first. “What about you? What've you been up to?’

“I… was a SOLDIER… until my last mission at home.”

Now the child tugged on his leg. 

“One second,” he delayed the girl without missing a beat. “After that…” He froze suddenly silent before gripping his head, the smallest grunts of pain leaving his lips. 

Tifa stepped closer and hesitantly reached out to him. 

The child just hugged him again and rubbed his back, still refusing to make eye contact with anyone. 

“Are you sure you're okay…?” She asked her old friend when the look in his eyes relaxed. 

“Y-yeah… just tired…” He recovered quickly. “Haven't slept in a few days. It was rough getting there.” He glanced down, gesturing. “Especially with her. Can't let her get hurt.”

Tifa turned to the little girl in question, but the child seemed more confused with Cloud than afraid of her semi conscious glare. “Where did you find her?”

Cloud thought hard. “I found her after I left SOLDIER. Her parents weren't around so I took care of her.”

The child rubbed her arm and dangled her muddy bangs over her eyes with a hanging head. “Cloud and I have been traveling together for a while… Almost a year now…” 

Tifa cataloged every avoidance. “What's her name?”

“Sera,” the child stated for herself, her eyes on the floor. “My name is Sera...”

“Where are you planning on staying?” She asked her childhood friend. “It’s hard to find a space safe for children down here.”

Cloud scratched the back of his head. “Dunno. An inn in the Sector? Still, we need more Gil for that…”

“We have a thousand,” the girl interjected. 

“A thousand? That won't get you anything safe and you won't have enough to eat! Come on, Cloud. I can take you to the bar and we can catch up over lunch. How does that sound?”

“I… guess we can do that. Thanks, Tifa.”

“Don't mention it.” 

“Thank you, Miss…”

Tifa turned back toward the slums, ignoring her daily deliveries and swearing to call everyone affected by her last minute decision. Right now, what mattered was keeping Cloud safe and hopefully normal. 

The little girl held Cloud's hand as they followed through the dirt filled and trash scattered roads of the slums. Cloud looked casually ahead, occasionally trying to reassure the girl whose eyes scanned and snapped to each and every detail around them. 

“Just up ahead on the left,” Tifa explained. 

The bar being in sight was the only thing that calmed the child. Once inside, Cloud led her to the bar, offering to pick her up but she jumped up on a stool without issue. She visibly relaxed once inside. 

“I'll put something on. Sera, why don't you go clean up?”

“N-No thank you.”

No luck. She tried again, “You're getting the seat dirty.”

“I'll clean it when I go.”

She looked at Cloud for assistance. 

Her blond friend leaned over, speaking so kindly she thought her heart would melt, “Do you wanna go outside and check the perimeter?”

“I wanna stay with you,” the child countered, fidgeting in her seat. “Please?”

“You know, it's been a really long time since Cloud and I have seen each other. We have a lot to catch up on.”

Inhuman eyes didn't shift. 

“A lot of adult stuff too.” 

The little girl lowered her head and tightened her arms across her chest, her hands shaking as she mumbled softly. 

“What was that?” Tifa questioned, but the girl didn't speak any louder. 

“Tifa, it's alright. She got injured recently and she's been nervous about it happening again.”

“Please don't take him away too…” Sera's voice finally hit Tifa's ears, soft and sad and hurt.

But it didn't matter because the monk hated those reptilian eyes. “Why don't you shower at my place? Then Cloud and I can talk and catch up on all the work I need done today. How does that sound? You can do whatever you want until we get back.” She leaned in close, whispering as if a secret. “And you can have all my snacks.”

“No thank you.”

“How far is your place?” Cloud asked, and the betrayal in the girl's mako blue slits stung. 

“A few blocks down the road. Can't miss it.” 

Cloud lowered to the little girl's height in the chair. “Just for a few hours, okay? I promise, nothing will happen and no one will get you.”

“But if they see me-”

“They won't if you stay inside.”

“But then I can't leave even when you get back.”

Cloud held up his hand as if hiding a secret, almost an exact copy of what she did a moment ago. “Shinra doesn't really police the slums. You can get away with almost anything here.”

She hesitated, gripping the hem of her ratty shirt. 

“We'll come back with new clothes too,” Tifa suggested. “How does that sound?”

“...promise I won't get caught here?”

“I promise.”

“But if they get close, you leave. We'll find you later but we can't do that if they get you. Do you understand?” Cloud questioned. 

Sera nodded harshly. 

As weird as the detour to the bar was, it was worth it for dropping of this child and hopefully getting in contact with the real Cloud, not whatever it was she saw act with a little girl with cat like eyes. 

Chapter Text

He had so much to learn. His daughter slept in a bundle on the scattered grass, and the Lifespring around them offered decent shelter for the night, an issue he assumed he would concern himself with at sunset. A few hours ahead of schedule meant days ahead of Shinra.

Still, he sat along the side of the entrance to the cave, carefully out of sight and at the ready for intruders who dared follow Shinra orders, the parenting book in his right hand and his sword in his left. He scanned the area before him and the skies above before skimming one page at a time, running his finger down the center of each sheet to follow. He started at the chapter regarding six month olds. Apparently, babies were categorized by month, not year. Hopefully his ‘half a year’ comment at the bookstore didn't cause any subtle alarm. 

Six months is where things start getting interesting. The little rebel can start identifying and recognizing faces. 

He was only a few sentences in when he paused and glanced at the sleeping babe. She recognized him when they met, but she also stared at a photo of him long before. If she did not have the mental capacity, how did she manage that? 

They can start grabbing things so watch out! No sharp objects nearby! 

Your baby should be able to roll over soon: from stomach to back and vice versa. This means be careful- VERY CAREFUL- on the changing table as they have not learned what a fall is yet. 

The little angle will push themselves up into a crawling position, but don't worry, you still have a little time before they start crawling around. They might also start standing, but don't get too excited for that first step. 

His daughter crawled out of the bundle, rubbing her eyes before standing. She grabbed the hoodie and scrunched up the sleeves, pulling them through one at a time before flipping the entire article inside out.  

This is the age, the dreaded age of legend, the reason so many toys have so many warnings: this is the age your baby will start observing objects, feeling them, and putting them in their mouth. Make sure nothing they can reach is small enough to get stuck in their throat. 

They still have no object permanence so peekaboo is totally fair game. 

Your little angel will finally start to interact with you in ways beyond crying (we are as excited as you are). They'll start learning simple words like “bath” and responding to their own names!

They begin to recognize tone around this age, so be mindful if you're speaking softly or harshly. 

Your baby will start playing “language games”. No matter what nonsense they say, make sure you respond and make direct eye contact. They're having fun and are going to start speaking simple words soon (though never soon enough, we're well aware).

Of the information that popped out to him, this was all…useless. But how? Hojo always complained he wasn't really ‘useful’ until he was three years old. How was it Seraphina could hold a blade, walk on her own legs, speak childish but simple words, recognize where she was, recognize her own name, and even show a semblance of potty training ?

What did Hojo do to her? With advancement this fast, why was she nearly deemed a failure at three months old?

What could they possibly want from her?

Even the vaguest of ideas had his fists clenching. She was a baby. Why did she have a sense of responsibility? Why did she know how to follow orders? Why did she act like she knew what he was saying, even beyond instruction? How was she even potty trained if the book before him informed the truth of average development? 

What did Hojo-

He felt something press against his leg and he glanced down. 

Seraphina had walked over to him, dragging the various makeshift blankets like capes behind her. 

“What is it, Seraphina?”

She crawled into his lap and curled into a ball, the fabrics landing perfectly on top of her. She reminded him of a cat claiming a new perch, making even the roughest of surfaces seem like perfect bedding. 

His instincts battled in his mind. He wanted her to feel love, comfort, joy. But he also needed to protect her, and if he had to jump up without notice, she could be in more danger than safety. 

He supposed he could allow this until the sun went down. Maybe he could risk some rest as well?

Just a few minutes. He knew he would wake up if anyone approached. The only question was if he'd move fast enough. 

If they tried to touch her, he wasn't sure how he'd react. They couldn't take her back. They would never take her back.  

* * * 

Sephiroth felt some soft adjustment, the weight on his legs. Before even waking he tried to grab the clothes on his lap.

A set of small hands grabbed his. Okay, alright, it was just Seraphina adjusting. Perhaps he could get a bit more rest if she felt safe enough to move around. 

He opened his eyes just to check. Sure enough, his daughter nodded, standing at his side. 

“Don't go far.” He wanted to mumble from his own exhaustion, but he spoke clearly as wasn't sure if she'd understand yet.

She nodded again. 

He dared to take extra rest. He only needed one hour to be back at full capacity. He couldn't risk sleeping at night, a mistake like that would cost them this escape. 

It couldn't be more than a few minutes before his eyes opened again. He sprung to his feet, immediately grabbing his daughter and lifting her off the mako crystal she apparently climbed in his sleep.  

“Are you okay?”

She seemed confused but nodded anyway. 

“What were you doing up there? Do you know what could've happened if you slipped?”

“Hurt?”

Sephiroth nodded. “Yes. You could’ve been hurt.”

She scrunched her face as if searching for something. She did this when they first met. It was almost like she knew what she wanted to say but not how to say it. 

“Take your time,” He tried to encourage. 

“...Dada…” she pointed at him. 

“Me?”

She nodded. 

“What do I have to do with being hurt?” 

This time she actually poked him. “Dada…” 

He took a breath, bringing his daughter to his chest. “I promise, whatever Hojo drilled into you isn't true. I don't want to see you hurt. Please.” 

She tilted her head at the final word. 

“Please. It's a way of asking politely. Sometimes you say it when you know only the other person can do something that you want done.” 

Seraphina still didn't understand, not responding at all. That book mentioned language play with random sounds but she rarely opened her mouth without having a real word to say. 

“It's okay. You don't have to say things the right way all the time. You're still learning. It's okay to make mistakes.” 

She flinched and hid against him. Mistakes. 

“Let's get you down. Can you show me what you can do?” He placed her on the ground and she immediately attempted to climb the mako crystal again. He had to stop his instinct to scold her. 

He did say to show him what she could do. 

Stubby baby arms reached and hooked the pointed shards of crystal. Unnaturally small, sausage like fingers tested each landing before wrapping around them. Once again she stood at the top, looking at him. Staring. Waiting. 

He held out his arms. He wasn't sure what else to do. 

The baby jumped from the crystal into his arms. It wasn't a far jump, but she jumped. She shouldn't be able to walk. 

He held her close and pet her softly. “That was really impressive, but please don't do that again.”

Of course she didn't understand his actual request. Her eyes just got a little bit bigger at the words of praise.

“What about magic? Do you know magic yet?” He handed her a newly born fire materia he picked off a monster's corpse. 

She held the green orb with both hands and placed it against her forehead. Her eyes were entrapped by the marble before her.

It took him a moment to realize she did not know what it was, but she liked it. 

She turned it slowly with her fingers, watching the light bounce off of imperfect patterns. 

“Here,” he took a blue one out of his pocket, and her eyes glowed brighter.

Seraphina's tiny hands gripped the new orb so tightly. She clicked them together and he saw her mouth tighten. She suddenly stopped and looked away.

“Why did you stop?”

He saw fear and confusion in her eyes.

“Let's try this.” Sephiroth carried her to a safe corner of the cavern, placing her on a patch of grass before summoning more materia. Cure, esuna, elemental, materia growth boosters, increased magic, increased strength. Greens, blues, and violets surrounded her as she attempted to grab every single one. 

He hoped Shinra wouldn't be able to track the movement of his inventory because the sheer joy on his daughter's face as she clicked the perfect spheres together brought the most hidden smile to his face. 

Sephiroth continued his watch, glancing between the land and his daughter. Her playing was silent beyond the clicks and clatters of the makeshift marbles, the shifting Lifestream patterns within mesmerizing. She did not make a noise. She did not smile or laugh. She just played.

She added another behavior to the list of what he hoped he could reverse.

* * *

The orange beams of sunset had Seraphina in awe, the materia left in a pile of flattened grass as she slowly walked to the entrance of the spring, her eyes anywhere but in front of her. 

“Watch your step, Seraphina.”

She didn't answer, mako blue eyes on the abundant clouds as she moved languidly. Her little jaw dropped. 

He looked at her curiously before grabbing her when she attempted to walk out into the open. “I know you want to watch, but you have to watch from here.”

His daughter didn't answer, simply sitting as she stretched to see more of the multicolored sky. 

“This is sunset.” He figured he should explain if she could understand. “During the day, the light has less air to travel through. But at night that distance increases until it's blocked by our planet.” 

She stared at him for a moment. “Dada.”

“Yes?”

She hesitated, shy and reluctant, before holding her hands up in the air and waiting.

The new father carefully wrapped his hands around her torso, giving her the chance to leave if this is not what she wanted. He lifted her into his arm and gave her the best but safest view he could.

Her mako eyes glittered against the shimmering rays of the sun. He kept his eyes on the planes around them, scanning and listening for any new vehicles.

They watched together in perfect tranquility until the sun dipped below the horizon.

As the light in the sky dimmed, Seraphina's breath audibly increased. She fussed and wriggled in his arms. 

Sephiroth immediately turned her to him. “What is it?”

She pointed up and whined.

“It's just night time. Nothing's wrong-”

Nyctophobia. 

He carried her to the mako crystal, its blue and green glow hopefully serving as a nightlight. “Better?”

A nod, but with knotted brows and wide eyes. 

He kept her close as he grabbed the book but made sure she could see the spring. 

“Dada… Dada…”

“I'm sorry.” He flipped through the pages rapidly, wishing there was an index to speed up his search. “I can't light a fire. It's too dangerous. Too obvious.”

Seraphina's whines were small but present. Tiny hands gripped the straps of his uniform as the sky darkened more and more, reaching nothing but the black void crowned with the green of mako pollution. “Dada… Dada…”

He couldn't find an answer for fear so young. 

If you haven't figured it out already, rocking your baby to sleep will save you so much time. Humans of all ages respond to rocking, that's why boats, trains, and sometimes even cars put fully grown adults to sleep.  

Sephiroth immediately released the book and held his daughter entirely. He rocked back and forth, trying to at least encourage sleep if he couldn't settle her fear. 

Her fearful fussing degraded to whimpers as she hid her face against him. She forced her eyelids closed, the squeezing tangible against his skin.

“I have you. I'll protect you. I'll never let anything hurt you.” Sephiroth did not know if the baby could understand him, but he meant every promise. 

They just needed to survive the night. 

Chapter Text

Cloud didn't mind the incredible weight in his arms, balancing the boxes with little outer struggle. He noticed the little looks from Tifa and walked a bit straighter each time, staying just a bit behind as she guided him through the station.

“What was fun about being in SOLDIER?” 

Cloud shrugged. “The comradery. Helping people.”

“So being on a team or maybe community service?”

“Both, I guess. We always had each other's backs. And of course there were the victory parties…”

Tifa looked back at him before stepping onto the train, a joking smirk on her lips. “Did they put Wall Market to shame?”

Cloud scoffed. “...Maybe the drinking games did.”

“What’d you play? Beer pong? Kings cup?”

“Nothing casual. Normally this relay of shots. The winner at one table moved onto the next until basically all of us blacked out.”

“That’s not really a drinking game,” Tifa explained. “And they let you play at sixteen?” 

If he could scratch the back of his head, he would. “Well, no... Younger SOLDIERs usually just kept an eye on everyone to make sure no one was in real danger.”

“Ever the hero then?” 

Mako eyes almost darkened. “Yeah. What about you?”

“Well at that age I was still running morning aerobics classes for the elders.”

“No, I meant…” He sighed, a small shake of his head from bringing up such an old memory, one tainted by fire and betrayal. “I meant after you got to Midgar.”

The train jerked into motion, and Tifa bent her knees for balance. “Well, I worked at a dumpling stand every day for years, saving up every spare Gil I could. Then I met a few friends, bought the bar, and finally got out of the work-eat-sleep loop.”

“Your friends. They still around?”

“Absolutely! You'll probably see them tonight. They always come around the bar to rendezvous.” 

Cloud hummed. For a moment, the air only contained the rhythmic chugging of the wheels.

Tifa shifted, tightening just a bit. Her crimson eyes on the floor. “So um… can I ask the obvious question? About how you've been?”

He glanced around the train car, at the cameras and office workers. “When we out of the station.”

She nodded. “Right… It's not too long of a ride.”

“How’d you meet your friends?”

“A few came by the stand, showed me the life I was missing. I met Barret when he was going through a tough time and everything kind of…clicked.” She looked out the window wistfully as the train began its descent under the plates. “The bar brought us together. Made us feel like a family.”

“You guys must be pretty tight.”

“We try.” She gave him a soft smile and he looked away. “We all have our saviors, right?”

The blond did not speak another word, focusing on the small details of the train car and the rattling between them until they felt the shift of deceleration. Tifa adjusted the bags in her arms and flicked her head toward the door. Cloud nodded, tightening his grip on the supplies. 

Only down the steps and far away from the station did Tifa finally ask her question. 

“How did you really find her?”

Cloud gave her a confused look. 

“You said you found her, so who is she afraid of getting caught by?”

He took a deep breath. “Her parents were on the run from Shinra. They hid her. I found her while troops were searching some abandoned homes. When they found her…” 

Tifa opened the door to Seventh Heaven and let Cloud pass. 

“I lost it. She's been with me since.” 

“Why didn't you drop her off at an orphanage?” She placed the bags of bottles on the bartop. 

Cloud placed the heavy sacks of groceries on a table before scratching his neck. “...You'll see.”

“She can get contacts.”

He shook his head. “I wish it was that easy. What about your friends? You never mentioned what they do.”

“From one Enemy of Shinra to another-”

Cloud scoffed at her exaggeration. 

“We're AVALANCHE.”

He gave his friend a confused look. “Never heard of them.”

“Fighting for The Planet? We're gonna take Shinra down.”

If only it was the first time he heard an impossible promise. “Good luck. Once you're on their radar, they won't leave you alone.”

“You'll have to talk to Barret to see why. He's the leader.”

Cloud separated the boxes and grabbed a tied off plastic bag at the bottom. 

“Are you sure we should go back so soon? I could at least clean up the bar first.”

“She never left me for long. I'm returning the favor.” 

Tifa let out a sigh before they walked to the front doors. The owner inserted the key and clicked them closed before the two friends returned to her apartment. 

Cloud couldn't be more grateful for Tifa's willingness to pay for the contents in his hand. 

Beyond the perfectly balanced pile of wrappers sticking out of the small garbage can, the apartment was pristine, not a single inch out of place. And no little girl. 

“Sera,” Cloud called as he closed the door behind them. “It's okay. You can come out.”

“Are you sure she won't tell anyone? Are you sure everyone under the plates won't either?” A valid question murmured through the closed bathroom door. 

“Not unless there's money in it,” Tifa mentioned with small concern. 

Cloud shook his head. “Shinra’d have to admit they lost you, and that you aren't dead. They're too proud to say it.”

The little girl took a full breath. The door knob turned slowly. 

“It's okay…” the blond pushed a final time. 

As the hinge slowly opened, the girl entered the light with her eyes down and one hand on her sword. Tifa's eyes went wide at the shimmering display of black and silver hair. 

Cloud didn't pay attention to his friend's shock. He went through it too. “Tifa got you something.” 

Sera's head tilted as she lowered her guard, allowing the plastic bag to be placed in her hands. 

“Open it,” The woman with red eyes suggested with a small smile. 

The girl winced a bit before untying the handles and looking inside. “What is it?”

“Pick it up,” The guardian pushed. 

She reached and pulled out the brown fabric with black designs of roses and thorns on the sleeves and wings on the back. Her eyes widened before she grabbed the second piece of fabric and revealed baggy black pants. The third and final selection was plain white and very thin. 

“After I make some Gil, we're gonna go out and buy you some shoes, okay? It's always better to try them on first.” 

She suddenly locked innocent reptilian eyes on Tifa, the woman flinching and tensing in return. “Thank you… Thank you so much.”

The woman didn't answer, simply nodding. 

“Can I put it on now?”

“O-of course,” came another small smile.

The girl grabbed the bag and ran into the bathroom. 

Cloud took a step closer to his old friend, glancing at the door with his arms crossed. “I owe you.”

Tifa brushed him off. “Don't worry about it. That's what upper plate thrift stores are for. But I wouldn't turn down some help at the bar.”

“Hm.”

“...you could’ve picked something cuter though.”

Cloud shook his head at the statement. “She cares more about practicality than looks. Do you still do martial arts?”

“Of course,” Tifa straightened a bit and locked her hands behind her back, pressing her chest forward. “Every day.”

“Then, when she gets comfortable, don’t be surprised if she criticizes your outfit.”

The woman crossed her arms, leaning closer to him with the shadow of a scowl. “And what is that supposed to mean?”

Shit. He grabbed the back of his neck. “I- Just- Um…” He forced his eyes away from those sizzling red ones, shrinking away. “...That it’s not the standard…? That it might be restricting…?” He felt the hole growing deeper and deeper.

“What’s restricting, Cloud?”

“...don’t worry about it…”

Before Tifa threw another word, Sera opened the door to reveal her new outfit, the hood covering a majority of her hair, her hands rubbing the outer sleeves. “It’s so fluffy.” She turned to Tifa, strands of shimmering hair rebelliously leaving confinement within the comfort of the hoodie. “What can we do to help?”

Tifa’s brows lowered in confusion. “What are you talking about?”

“You gave me this. What can I do in return?” 

“I’m not gonna ask you for anything.”

The little girl frowned. “What about the bar? I’m sure some help cleaning wouldn’t hurt…”

She sighed. “I won’t stop you, but at some point you’re gonna need money, real money, if you want a place to stay.”

“We’ll make it work…”

“Look,” Cloud interrupted. “Do you know anyone that’s looking for an extra pair of hands right now?”

Realization suddenly flashed on the friend’s face. “...I might know a guy. Maybe you won’t have to worry. How well can you fight?”

Cloud raised a brow. “Ex-SOLDIER. First Class. You’ve seen me at work.”

Tifa glanced away while the little girl once again looked at the floor. “Have you been keeping up since you left?” She mocked his earlier question.

“Do you even have to ask?”

* * * 

The childhood friends and tagalong eventually returned to Seventh Heaven, Cloud showing his strength by stocking and organizing inventory while the little girl scrubbed every corner of the tables, chairs, and wooden floor panels. 

Tifa, regrettably, was regulated to the bartop, tracking every receipt from their inventory replenishment into the written record of finances. She preferred to do the paperwork at night, but there was no saying no to Cloud, and the little girl stole all the cleaning supplies before she even stepped foot in her own bar. Literally. The child ran ahead when leaving her apartment.

Out of the corner of her eye, she spotted Cloud looking around and out the windows. “They have to meet here first anyway.”

“You think they’ll have a job for me?”

She rocked her head side to side as she thought. “There’s a chance. It all depends on if they found someone.”

“And if they can’t pay enough?”

She looked at him, resting a hand on the bartop. “How much were you thinking?”

Cloud glanced at the little girl. “...Two thousand. It might get us a room and a meal. Then we’ll figure it out from there.”

Tifa brought her hand to her chin. “I can ask around tomorrow morning. No reason to go far after finally meeting up again, right?”

He scratched the back of his neck, the smallest of pink dusting his cheeks. “Yeah.”

“There’s always an odd job to do around the sector. If AVALANCHE doesn’t have an opening, we will find something else.”

“You said they’re going after Shinra, right, Miss?” The girl met the two adults with serpentine eyes. 

Tifa nodded, concerned with the coldness in the tone. “That’s right.”

The starry haired child looked away for a moment, squeezing crossed arms before dropping them. “Cloud, are you sure you’ll be okay? I can’t go with you.”

The blond sighed softly before locking with crimson eyes like a puppy.

Damn it. “I’ll keep you safe. Don’t worry.” She leaned on her knees, forcing a kind smile to her lips. “And you’ll have someone to play with. It’s gonna be fun.”

Snake-like eyes hardened. She turned away and continued scrubbing the floor, not acknowledging a single word said. 

Cloud, finished with his own task, took a seat two stools away from his old friend. He whispered, “She doesn’t like it when you talk to her like a kid.”

“She’s a little too young to dislike it already.”

“She’s been through a lot. She’s not your average kid. Just…” He sighed, leaning on the counter. “...I dunno… try?”

She didn’t like the pain in his expression. “I’ll do my best. It’s not something I think about.”

“Thanks.”

The front door suddenly slammed open, three men of all statures and one woman barging in like they owned the place. Tifa saw the child reach for her sword but remain still as a statue. 

“You ain’t gonna believe this!” The tallest man with a gun for an arm boasted, clearly the leader. “Not one- Not ONE- merc in Midgar’s willin’ to fight for The Planet we stand on! What to people think is gonna happen when all the Mako starts dryin’ up with every last shred of life in the world!?”

The woman with the ponytail and red bandana laughed, exacerbated but friendly. “Save us the speech, Barret! We all know exactly what you’re talking about.”

“We can’t pull this off without a fighter. What are we gonna do?” The shorter but large one asked with a small tremble in his voice. 

“What we always do,” The last member nudged him with a kind elbow, clearly trying to project his carefree attitude. “We improvise.”

Tifa addressed her friend first, “I told you I might have a job for you.” She stood up, turning to the group. “Hi, guys. Meet your merc.”

“How?!”

“What!?”

“Where’d you find this cutie?”

“How did you find one? It's inventory day!”

She gestured to each name as she spoke, “Cloud, this is Barret,” the tall man with a gun for an arm, “Jessie,” the only woman of the group, “Biggs,” the carefree member, “and Wedge,” the worrisome one. “Everyone, this is Cloud. An Ex-SOLDIER and an old friend.”

“First Class,” the blond added as he turned and stood. “When do we head out?”

“Hold up, hotshot,” Barret countered. “How do we know you're willin’ to bite the hand that fed you?”

“I've seen first hand what Shinra is capable of and what they're hiding. I've been inside multiple reactors. I know their security protocols and how to navigate them during malfunctions. And after what they did to Tifa and I, you can bet your ass I'll never bow to them again.”

The mention of the shared experience flashed a vague sense of understanding, despite Tifa knowing she never revealed the whole story. 

Half of the restaurant had their lives ruined by Shinra. There was no debating that simple fact. 

“Then how about an audition, blondie?”

“There's no time,” Wedge interrupted. “You have to pick up Marlene if we're doing this tonight.”

“I got ten minutes before I gotta go.”

“Come on, Barret,” Jessie spoke with a devious smirk, “worst case scenario, he's the extra target that keeps security off our butts.”

“I mean, if he can wield a sword like that, I think we're in good shape either way,” Biggs added. 

Cloud removed the Buster Sword from his back, carefully avoiding contact with the ceiling. He held the blade in one hand, pointed toward the ground, before tossing it just below the boundary and catching it easily. He repeated the motion like a child with a tennis ball.

“Well I think that settles it. What's your rate?”

“Two thousand.” 

“Get the hell outta here!”

“A last minute job against the company running the city. It's fair enough.”

Barret grumbled.

“Come on, let's give Soldier Boy a shot,” Jessie suggested, wrapping an arm around Cloud's shoulders. Tifa knew Jessie was just being friendly, but Cloud immediately pushed her off.

“...Be careful…” 

All heads whipped to find the small voice, to a little girl in the corner. 

“Guys!”

“That's not good…”

“You better forget what you heard and run along to your parents, kid.”  

Sera gripped the sword at her side, predatory eyes sharp and pristine. She took a quick but deep breath. “Shinra ruined my life. Ruined my father's life. Ruined Cloud and Tifa's life. I won't say anything, but if I'm leaving, I'm leaving with Cloud.”

“You can't just take our merc!”

“Then make a decision. I can't go with you, but I want that company to burn to the ground.”

“We're not takin’ a kid on a mission anyway.”

“I'm not asking to go with you. I'm asking that you all come back alive.” The little girl looked at Cloud before returning to the team. “I don't know what I'll do if something happens to him.”

“I’ve got this, Sera.”

She looked away again before meeting mako blue eyes and nodding slowly.

Chapter Text

The baby remained still, eyes occasionally opening, small noises rarely emanating, but despite her obvious fear, once she slept, she did not cry when waking. She couldn't sleep through the night, yet Sephiroth knew this display was another trained obedience courtesy of Doctor Hojo. 

Sephiroth, between watch, read the single resource he acquired on how to accomplish this task he threw himself into, cover to cover, multiple times. He folded the corners of each page with critical information, knowledge that applies to all children of all ages and what he could actually do for the next stage in her development, like procuring soft foods so she can begin using her jaw.  

He glanced at the sky, the dark distance beyond the smog. It must be around zero-two-hundred. Another hour and they should move again. 

Shinra, hopefully, assumed they were already beyond Kalm or climbing the mountains south to avoid being spotted by locals. He hoped they didn't expect him to take the long way, the normal way, the unenhanced non-SOLDIER way. 

He exhaled a breath he didn't know he was holding. SOLDIER. His duty for as long as he could remember. Though being free of the program meant no longer needing to interact with Hojo, it meant he may never see his only two friends again. 

He hoped Genesis and Angeal were taking his desertion alright. That's what Shinra would call his decision to save his child: a desertion from his duties and treason against the company. Maybe he could find his way to their hometown and see them one last time on leave, at least to say a proper goodbye. 

He wished he could take them too. But he knew his daughter would be in more danger the larger their group grew. Being recognized, being spotted- by accident or by overreaction, he couldn't take that risk. 

They were alone. They’d be alone forever.

He shook his head, refocusing his thoughts. He gathered the bag of supplies and his materia, checking and counting each item. His child's tiny sword hid just below the edges of the bag when diagonal within. They had enough for another day. Not enough to get them to Junon but enough for now. 

He sighed. They needed an actual plan. A destination at some point. For now, as far away from Midgar would have to do. 

“Seraphina,” Sephiroth spoke softly as he tightened the makeshift blankets around his daughter. 

Her eyes suddenly opened, wide awake, the softest of whines and knotted brows meeting him.

“I'm sorry. It's still dark, but we have to go. Can you keep your eyes closed when I tell you just like before?” 

She nodded, but instead of searching as long as she could, she hid her face against his chest, away from the unending darkness.

Sephiroth tried to rub her back, rocking her softly in a desperate attempt to soothe. Specs of her hair glimmered in the shifting light of the mako crystal. 

“Dada…”

The new chapters of the parenting book stated the importance of ‘validation’. “It's okay… it's okay… No one will hurt you… Nothing will get you…” His voice was a whisper but she seemed to hear him, her whines lessening bit by bit. 

* * * 

The former Silver Soldier began the trek back to the town of Kalm. Nocturnal creatures halted at the sight of him before scurrying back into the dead lands. Only the bravest of vehicles departed from the town to procure goods from the city. He hid behind terrain from each pair of headlights that passed. 

Shinra investigated the town already, but Sephiroth couldn't take the risk that Hojo left a trap behind for him.

He kept his head of filthy hair down, his daughter out of sight against him, the bag of supplies dangling from his elbow. He shuffled through the streets slowly, as if suffering from mako poisoning or as another sick, homeless man trying to find a place to spend the night. Whatever it took to keep eyes off him and sightings forgettable. 

Street music petered through the waning nightlife air, slowly making its way to roaming silence as citizens and tourists returned to their homes and hotels. Sephiroth felt the dirty glares and heard the small scoffs of his ‘presence that ruined the vibe’ of the small town. So much for making it through without notice, the clearly Shinra managers on their short vacations couldn't handle the sight of the poor. It amazed him how many made comments to each other that he should ‘go back to the slums’.

He ignored them, focusing on the rooftops, alleys, and porches troops and cadets would patiently conduct stakeouts, listening for the smallest shuffles or clicks of communication devices. 

However, just as before, his mind kept shifting to the baby in his arms. Every adjustment, every grip of his uniform straps, every unintentional whine claimed his focus for far too long. Every second was far too long. He hushed her, patting her back and trying to keep her asleep. At least asleep, she didn't distract him. 

By the time he heard quick shuffling and glanced up to a third floor balcony, three people were leaving and one stared directly at him with a cell phone to their ear. They glanced away, and in any other circumstance he would claim it was coincidence. 

He moved faster and slipped down an alley. He looked forward, eyes on his next step and the step beyond as he weaved through the tight streets. 

There was only one public road from Kalm to the Grasslands. If Shinra blocked the way, he'd jump the wall without hesitation. Yes, helicopters would follow but he would still be ahead of R&D.

He hoped. 

At the east gates of Kalm, security officers stood by the blinking lights of their vehicles. A few delivery trucks stayed still, idling in an immobile line. 

A checkpoint. 

Sephiroth didn't have a choice. He slipped into an alley, glanced for any witnesses, and jumped into a second floor fire escape with a tight grip on his daughter, landing delicately to prevent spooking the residence. He slithered up the stairs to the top floor, keeping all steps silent. He launched to the roof. 

Not a single aircraft threatened his escape, the night sky silent and clear with the inclusion of Midgar's smog. He dashed from rooftop to rooftop. Staying out of sight was absolutely necessary.

At the edge of the wall, he took a breath and glanced down at his daughter, her eyes still locked shut despite her clear awareness. “Last one,” He whispered. 

She nodded, hiding against him one last time in Kalm. 

He launched down the stones, landing on the last mako pipes in the north half of the Eastern Continent. Despite the lack of a search party, he kept moving. He fought every instinct to head east toward civilization and headed south. 

The darkness of the sky warned him that only an hour of night remained. He found some old Republic ruins, clearly old homes and buildings, but the vaguest sense of four walls despite the lack of roof would have to do until sun up. 

Especially with his daughter’s new sobs. 

He practically dropped their supplies and turned her slit mako eyes to his own. “What can I do? What do you need, Seraphina?”

“Bottle…” she whined at a whisper. 

When was the last time he fed her? He searched through their supplies and uncapped the half empty protein shake. 

She held her hands in a scoop, simply waiting for the bottle to land between them. Sephiroth tilted slowly, and just as before, her eyes widened when the chocolate hit her tongue. 

He guessed this counted as breakfast. She finished the container off. He'd have to keep his eyes open for clean water. At least then the bottle wouldn't waste space in their small storage. 

He really hoped he could purchase a tent soon. If anything, to help her fear and maybe, just maybe, allow the smallest flame. 

His own thoughts took him off guard. They were on the run from everything they'd ever known, and all he can think about is how to help her with this insignificant problem. 

He slipped the bottle back into the bag. “Do you want to stand?”

She nodded, trying to open the burritoed fabrics around her. 

“Easy,” He tried to calm as he helped. The books also said something about narrating what he was doing. He'd… try. It felt stupid, stating the obvious out loud, even if it wasn't obvious for her. “Here.” He lowered her to her feet. 

She took a few wobbly steps before looking up. 

Sephiroth almost grabbed her, but she wasn't growing worried. He followed her gaze to the sky. 

The smog of Midgar began to fade, and stars pierced through the blanket of darkness. Not enough to fill the sky, but enough scattered about to decorate. 

Seraphina reached for the sky, the twinkling burning spheres reflecting perfectly in her eyes and on her hair. In that moment, despite Sephiroth's ability to see in the dark, she reminded him of stardust, a phenomenon only captured by satellite telescopes but he hoped to see one day, a childish dream he had nearly forgotten. 

Stardust. 

“We'll take a break until dawn. Then we keep moving.” 

She didn't acknowledge his statement. 

“Seraphina?” Was she too young for a nickname? “Do you like your name?”

She just looked at him and tilted her head.

“Would you like a nickname?”

She was silent, confused, and he could almost see the little gears turning in her mind. Gears that shouldn't exist, but they were way past that. “...Serapina…?” She pointed to herself before pointing to him, curled away. “...Sepirod…”

Though her mispronunciations came across perfectly, she didn't have any teeth. She couldn't pronounce ‘f’ or ‘th’ no matter how much she wanted to. 

“That's very good, Seraphina. Not the question but very good.”

Despite his praise she stared down, wincing. She was ready for punishment. 

“Do you want to be called something other than your real name?”

She looked at him for a long time before staring down, gripping her clothes. “...Girl… S-Soldier…” Tears welled in her eyes. 

He suddenly picked her up and encouraged her to look at the stars with him. 

Her tears dried as she rapidly surveyed the great unknown. 

“Those are stars. They're giant balls of gas in space with planets floating around them. Our sun is a small star, but it's so close to us it looks very big.” He looked down at her. “Do you like them?”

She blinked against the glittering sky. “...stars…” she really did learn fast. 

“What if I give you a real nickname?” What if I gave you a name, not whatever the lab saddled you with? Parents are supposed to name their children, aren't they? “What if I called you something that's not your name that still means you?”

Her brows raised in confusion. 

“What if…?” He trailed off. Gods he felt stupid. What was he even doing? They had more important things to worry about than names. “Never mind. Keep watching the stars.”

She didn't need to be told twice. 

Chapter Text

After the inevitable retrieval Barret's daughter, the group checked the clock, the ticking deciding the short time before departure. 

“You better come back okay, ya hear?” the little girl with short brown hair and a dollish pink dress copied her father's tone exactly. 

Barret gave a hearty laugh as he lifted her into one last hug. “I promise, Baby Girl. You won't see a single cut!” He tossed her up once, and she laughed too as he lowered her back down. 

Jessie gave Tifa a friendly punch to the shoulder. “Hold down the fort while we're gone.”

“You'll still have a place to drink when you get back. Count on it,” Tifa smiled. 

“You still make the best dumplings!” Wedge added. 

“Well don't scare her off or we won't have a place to sleep.” Bigg smacked his teammate on the back with a smirk. 

The child in the hoodie stood rigidly in front of the blonde. “Be careful. Come back to me.” 

Cloud ruffled her hair through the hood. “Always. I've got this.”

Inhuman eyes stared desperately but turned after a moment of silence. 

After the final exchange of goodbyes, the bar owner, the daughter, and the child Cloud arrived with remained. 

The child began walking to the corner when the daughter blocked her path. 

“You have really nice eyes.” 

Tifa cringed.

“...thanks. But it's a secret from everybody. You can't tell anyone.”

“I won't! I'm good with secrets!” She held up two fingers, nearly jumping with joy. “This is how many I have.” She counted and held up another. “Well this many now.”

“Three.”

“Mhm! How many do you have?”

Sera crossed her arms, turning away. “Too many.”

“How many?”

“A lot.” She walked past Barret's little girl. 

“That's so cool!” Marlene followed. “What are you doing?”

Sera didn't answer, only grabbing the rags and sanitizing solution once again. 

“Cleaning? That's boring. Why don't we do something fun?” 

“I don't get time for fun.”

“That doesn't make any sense!”

“Girls,” Tifa opened a drawer and placed papers and crayons on the bar. “Why don't you two draw?”

“I like drawing! Do you like drawing, Sera?”

“No.” She scoured the bar for any untouched surface with the slightest speck of dust. 

“Sera,” Tifa placed a hand on her shoulder, and the girl stopped but did not look at her. “Those cleaning supplies aren't cheap. You've done enough.”

“That section of floor looks better than the rest.” 

Red eyes followed to a slightly more vibrant section of wood. She sighed. “You're tearing off the polish. It might look better now but it fades faster than the rest and now it's not as protected.”

“...I apologize. I'll make it up to you.” The girl walked out of her grip and traded the cloth and liquid for a dustpan and broom. 

“Marlene, why don't you hang out in the hideout for a little while?” 

She pouted. “But I want to play with my new friend!” 

Tifa crouched down. “I promise. Give me a few minutes and I'll get her to play, alright?”

The girl in pink lit up before running to the pinball machine and smacking a specific sequence of buttons. The panel clicked and began to descend. 

The child stared hard, turning away only when a fake section of floor replaced the secret passage. 

“What's your deal?” Tifa's fists clenched as she dropped the parental tone, biting and harsh as she stepped toward the Inhuman child.

“You're being so kind. I have to pay you back.”

“That's not what I'm talking about.”

Sera didn't answer, squatting down and sweeping under the booths. 

“You're lying to me and you're lying to Cloud.”

“You're lying to Cloud too.”

Crimson eyes hardened. 

But the child continued with her task. “He's… weird. You've noticed it too.”

“What's your plan with him?”

“Plan?”

“If you hurt him, I swear I'll-” The clanking of the broom falling to the ground cut her off. 

“I will never hurt Cloud.”

“If you hurt him or get him hurt, I'll make sure you regret it.”

Reptilian slits burned against tiny moons. “Why do you hate me so much?”

“You should know why.”

She shook her head. “I don't. I really don't.”

“Look in the mirror.”

“...Because of my dad?”

Tifa's eye twitched, fury boiling in her chest. “So you know?”

“My dad only tried to help.” 

“And you repay my kindness with blatant lies?”

“I'm telling the truth! That's what he told me!” She cut herself off, water welling in mako blue eyes. “My dad died five years ago…” She shook her head rapidly. “We both know we can't tell Cloud what we know. He just…” More hidden truths as the girl switched the statement. “The less information we both know the less we have to hide.”

“You'd love for me to not say anything when he clearly doesn't know who your father is.”

“It's pretty obvious who my father was.” She tugged her hood back into place, starry hair shifting into knots. 

Tifa tightened her gloves, flexing her grip. “Last chance. What are you trying to do with Cloud?”

The child's hand hovered above her hilt. A balanced moment passed before she took a breath and softened her stance. “...I don't know what I'll do if I lose him too...”

The woman stepped forward. She tried to hide the small shake of her body. “You have the audacity to talk about losing people?”

Sera growled, her hovered hand clenching to a fist. “You don't have to like me. You don't have to trust me. I don't want to take Cloud away from the only other person he knows but we have to protect each other.”

“I have to protect him too.”

Inhuman eyes softened again. “He's not making sense and I don't know what else to do…”

Her grip loosened. 

“He told me to be kind to Cloud and I'm trying with everything I have but he's not making sense. He's forgetting things he should know,” the panic made her voice waver. Tifa heard the true age of the child for the first time: a young helpless child only trying to survive. “I don't know what I'm doing. I don't know anything.”

“Who told you to be kind to Cloud?”

“It doesn't matter because he's dead! I buried him myself!”

Silence claimed the building. 

The child turned away, gaze and expression hidden by the hood. “So you can do or say whatever you want, but I'm not going anywhere without Cloud if it's the last thing I do.”

‘She's practical.’ Cloud's words rang in her head. “...I can't believe you if you can't tell me the truth. I have to know something even if it means more secrets to keep.” 

Serpentine eyes roamed the floor as if skimming a book for the answer she needed. She curled up before answering slowly, “The morning before Nibelhiem burned, I attended your morning aerobics class… the one for the elderly… Because my dad left me with the SOLDIER…”  

Tifa's eyes widened. 

“I was across the street and tried not to draw attention but you saw me and smiled… I never said a word but neither did you...”

Tifa held a hand over her mouth, attempting to deflect the memories that came with the town beyond the child's lineage. “...So when Cloud said he found you on the the run from Shinra-”

She shook her head. 

The older woman sighed. “Well if you're not leaving without Cloud, at least be nice to Marlene.”

Sera stared, her expression blank. 

“By playing.”

The little girl looked away, gripping her arm. “...I can… try…”

“And no more cleaning.”

Her brows furrowed. “...for today?”

Another released breath. “Sure. For today.”

“Deal.”

* * * 

Security officers, automatic turrets, automated soldiers and house sized robots, nothing could take Cloud down.

Collapsing pillars, comrades pinned to the ground, forces coming from all directions. All met the same condition. 

Mission objective accomplished. The mako pipe of Mako Reactor One was destroyed, but the resultant explosions far exceeded what AVALANCHE planned for. Next goal: returning to Sector Seven while shaking security forces off their tail. Cloud had no doubt they would spot him eventually. 

He was a mercenary. He knew what to do in the face of combat. 

At the moment, the team split up, agreeing to return to the train station without drawing attention as a group. 

Citizens screamed as they ran through the streets. Parents pulled their children out of burning and collapsing buildings. Roadways were blocked with debris and fire. 

Cloud climbed fire escapes, traversed alleys, and weaved through crowds to keep moving forward. But the sight of windows filled with fire, the knowledge that those within would be dead before help could arrive, the inevitability of the orange glow coupled with death he could not prevent-

The brick and concrete buildings around him faded, fusing with wooden homes and triangular roofs. Dirt paths intercepted the asphalt road. A windmill stood at the tip of a radio tower. 

…mako fumes. This must be a hallucination caused by mako fumes. Despite logic telling him the truth, the heat of the flames, the sight of his hometown, the overwhelming stench of smoke, and the sight of tall silver hair clad in black leather and white pauldrons claimed his senses.

“It's fake…” Cloud told himself out loud as he followed the stride he could never forget. “It's fake… it's not real, get it together…” 

Yet the overwhelming flames continued. Sweat dripped down his brow. He legs refused to move faster, his chest too tight to run through and prove the falsity quickly. 

The man with silver hair stood tall, walking casually through the fire. Cloud saw no other choice but to follow into an alley. 

There, in front of the destruction of his childhood home, he saw the man's face. The angelic beauty and inhuman eyes that took everything he loved away from him. 

“You…” Cloud's strength fell to weakness. “You're dead…” He felt his heartbeat in his throat. 

But the man before him didn't answer. Cloud expected the smallest sadistic grin, one of the last expressions and emotions the man before him could portray. Yet all he saw was rage. Eye brows tightened just so. The curt upper lip was almost snarling. Mako blue slits seared like an inferno, the faux flames around them nothing but candles in its presence. 

“I… I killed you with my own-” Clouds hands raised. When did they start shaking?

The man said nothing, predatory eyes hardening. 

The blond felt a chill up his spine. He grabbed his sword. 

“Run, Cloud…”

Mom…?

“Run away… You have to leave… You have to live…”  

It was her voice. A moment he would never forget. A moment that played in his mind every day for years. 

Still, silver stared back at him. 

Sephiroth stared back at him. 

“You bastard!” Cloud launched into the air. The Buster Sword collided against the ground and the flames around him vanished. 

A hallucination. He sighed in relief, panting to regain his thoughts. Just the mako. Just the mako…

Chapter Text

Monsters stirred with the returning rays of the sun. The stars once so captivating vanished in the pink glow. Puffy white clouds and the occasional helicopter decorated the sky. 

With their new inventory, Sephiroth worried with every battle. A tote bag meant for carrying groceries wasn't designed for the force required to slay even the simplest of beasts. His arm was already occupied with his daughter. He couldn't afford to lose both arms and still collect resources. 

He made a decision on their way to the swamp. 

Before battling even the simplest creatures, he placed his daughter down with the single goal of protecting their belongings. She nodded, and he'd fetch the only valuables from the basic fiends. 

He constantly found her and her sword missing. She followed owls. She found rusted remains of Republic weapons. She invaded bunny burrows, collecting raw rubies, emeralds, and valuables the creatures seemed to be drawn to. She never strayed far, but gods did she stray.

“Seraphina, why can't you stay with our belongings?” He picked her dirty self up from the burrow and headed back to collect their bag.

She stared. 

“Why won't you stay still?”

Again, staring. No real response. 

Perhaps he hit the limit of her understanding. He sighed, adjusting his grip and placing her sword back with their things. 

“...Dada…”

“Yes?” 

Seraphina hugged his neck. “Sorry…”

Everything he learned about her made him want to run back to Midgar and impale Hojo through the heart if only to mimic the pain he felt in his own. He paused and rubbed her back soothingly. “It's okay. Just be careful.”

The baby melted against his shoulder, the dirt from her hair rubbing against his neck. 

He hoped they could bathe when they made it to the Junon Region. 

With the changing species of trees and nearly suffocating humidity in the air, they finally entered the swamp. He followed the path to an old boat house, his daughter turning and looking around. He couldn't imagine what was running through her mind, the information she absorbed and the incredible rate she understood things. 

Seraphina pointed ahead and turned to her father in question. 

“A boat house. Where people store and dock boats. We need one to cross the marsh.”

“Boat… house…” she spoke slowly. 

“That's correct.” He adjusted his grip and walked around the house to the dock that waited on the other side. 

But no one was there. The wooden dock held the beginning patterns of deterioration and mold, though strong planks remained intact. Not a single vessel floated in the murky water. 

The former soldier broke the lock to the house, but no boats remained. No tools, no floatable vessels. Perhaps he could build a raft from a section of walls?

“Dada?”

But he couldn't risk anything happening to her. “What is it?” 

She pointed to the open door. He stared for a moment. She pointed again, stricter, staccato. He followed her direction, leaving through the door. He followed it to a bolted sign on the side of the building. 

Midgar Zolom. Mating season. Boating no longer an option. A chocobo ranch nearby. Sephiroth skimmed everything important from the pristine posting. 

If he couldn't swim with the threat of monsters combined with the need to protect his daughter, he had no option but to obey. 

“Good job, Seraphina.” He looked at her, trying to take the advice of the book. “We're going to see chocobos again.”

Seraphina lit up. “Chocobo?”

He nodded. At least it gave them the chance to sell the spoils of battle and dig. Maybe even gain enough Gil for a single tent. Maybe his daughter wouldn't have to sleep in his arms to be safe. 

Sephiroth turned from the dock and headed back through the forest. With daylight more than upon them, Sephiroth took to as many shadows as he could. Of course shadows in the Grasslands wasn't easy to find. 

At the edge of the treeline, he lowered their bag and his daughter to the ground. He removed his uniform coat and dawned the hoodie. He grabbed the removed tail of black leather, soaking a corner of the inner lining with a water spell. 

“Seraphina, come here.” 

She stood and moved closer to him. 

He carefully wiped down her face, her hands, and her clothing. It didn't matter if he was dirty, but people would remember a dirty baby. Maybe the ranchers would mistake her filthiness for playing. Maybe they would forgive them since they lacked a vehicle. 

Once finished, he lifted her, their inventory, and his hood. He walked the main road slowly. It made more sense for a normal traveler to do so. With such flat land and the lack of tall flora, anyone could spot them. He prayed they just blended in.

He didn't hear any helicopters until they reached the ranch. 

“Well howdy!” 

Sephiroth’s eyes immediately landed on the dark haired man in a straw hat that called them. “Hello.”

“Welcome to Chocobo Bill's chocobo ranch! Where we have all the birds you need. I'm Chocobo Bill. What can I do you for?”

“Chocobo!”

Sephiroth's eyes widened for a fraction of a second. He held his daughter closer and whispered softly, “Be good for the rancher.”

Seraphina silenced. Thank gods her eyes were already closed. 

The rancher gave a hearty laugh. “Well I'll be! Look at how fast that little one's learnin’! Is she a fellow bird lover?”

“She likes the feathers.” He deliberately looked down. “We're trying to get past the marsh. We saw your sign.”

The rancher cringed a bit. “I can get ya a bird, but the marsh is dangerous this year. Zolom's mate every five years and they're especially nasty critters until it's over. You sure ya can't wait a few weeks? I can get ya a place to stay if ya need it.”

“It's urgent. Any advice?”

“To handle them?” Bill thought for a moment. “Well, if there ain't no stopping you, keep it down and look out for movement in the water. I promise, any running water ain't natural in there.”

Sephiroth nodded. “Understood. How much?”

“Our best girl's three thousand Gil.”

His heart dropped. 

“That comes with a baby basket. If ya get knocked down, I promise our birds will get ya kid back safely. Zolom's don't prefer Chocobo meat.”

“Is there any shop nearby?”

“Well, you're lookin’ at the ranch and store owner.” Chocobo Bill tipped his hat. “Pleasure meetin’ ya. Let me take ya to the stables.”

Sephiroth nodded and followed, entering the fowl smelling structure full of ‘warks’ and squeaks. He approached the counter, placing the five raw gems in a line. 

The owner counted and punched numbers into a calculator. He suddenly backed off. “Hold on there, sonny.” He inserted a combination and opened the cash register, quickly counting a few slips. “Damn. You've got quite the haul. I'm afraid we can't reimburse you. It's a tough season, ya know?”

“How much for the chocobo?”

Bill took three of the rocks.

Sephiroth stared for a moment. He pushed one remaining gem forward and returned the other to their bag. “For your silence then. If anyone asks, you did not see anyone here today.”

He held up his hands. “I can't do that. That's cheatin’ a customer!”

“You're already doing us a great kindness. Please.”

The owner hesitated. 

Sephiroth readied to run, but the man took the rocks and locked them inside the counter. 

“I know it ain't my business, but whatever y'all up to, you take care of that kid, ya hear?”

“Without question.”

Chocobo Bill lead them to a chocobo of their own: a bright yellow bird named Fauna. He reassured this was one of the best birds in the ranch, and the best swimmer to get out of the swamp come any issue with Zoloms. 

Sephiroth couldn't thank him enough. 

The owner fetched a pink and blue pastel headdress. The bird lowered her head for the straps and ribbons to be attached. The man tested the strength of a few knots before inserting a cushioned basket near the base of the neck. He smacked it twice. “This bad boy isn't going anywhere.”

“Thank you.” Sephiroth delicately lifted his daughter and placed her inside the basket. He hopped up onto the saddle. 

“Be very careful. Good luck.”

The soldier nodded one last time before riding off. With the owners warning, he refused to take the main road back to the swamp. He needed to seem like a normal traveler. How was he supposed to do that without Shinra's notice if they needed to get away from Midgar and Junon?

That was right. This entire continent would never be safe for them. 

“Seraphina, are you comfortable?”

She opened her eyes and nodded. 

“When we get to the swamp, you have to be very quiet. Not a single sound.”

“Dada?”

“Yes?”

She sat up and tried to reach out of the deep basket, but she couldn't accomplish her goal.

“Before we go into the mines, I'll let you pet her, okay?”

She stared. 

Sephiroth gently brushed his hand along her short hair three times. “That's petting.”

“...Pet…?”

“Yes.”

She nodded and laid back down. 

It was terrifying how fast she understood. It was terrifying how much obedience Hojo drilled into her. He hated these circling thoughts, but he couldn't help his disgust from resurfacing. 

He had to focus on the marsh. He tied their supplies to the headdress and the basket. 

The chocobo walked straight into the water, its casual swimming the same speed as its normal walking. Frogs croaked and bugs sung sharply. Concentrated ripples on the surface were either insects landing for a drink or fish snapping for a quick bite. Trees seemed visibly dead, but with life teeming in every direction, perhaps that was only a result of the dry season. 

The chocobo took all island shortcuts, transitioning flawlessly from water to surface. She seemed to know the way, barely taking Sephiroth's direction as she moved to the next set of rocks.

Sephiroth yanked the reigns and the bird stopped her charge, treading water. 

Rocks did not wait ahead. The pattern was too perfect. The coil was too precise. The spikes of the edge did not hide within. 

He turned the chocobo around, but between them and the desolate island churned a thick channel of water. He led the chocobo to the far cliffs, reaching into the bag and handing the tiny sword to his child. He didn't expect her to use it, but it made him feel safer. 

He knew the chocobo couldn't tread water forever. 

Seraphina stared at her father, her eyes wide as she gripped the sword tightly. 

“Just to be safe,” Sephiroth whispered. 

She stood up, holding the edge of the shoulder level basket.

“Stay inside. I'll be right back.”

She nodded her head of starry hair. 

He gave her two head pats before diving into the water. He heard the surprised wark before swimming to the patterned island. His coat dripped onto the scales as he held an ice spell in his hand. 

The island coiled and launched him into the air. The island dove into the marsh and followed the silver soldier with venomous fangs spread. 

Sephiroth expelled the ice and knocked the Zolom's head to the side. He slid down its scales to the shallow land below the waterline. 

Its head came down and nearly slammed into him, but he hopped out of the way and avoided the failed sneak strike of the tail. He landed another blast of shards in its face. It hissed at him. 

Good. He needed to anger it. Every attack aimed, he dodged. Every whip of the tail or snap of fangs. 

The colossal monster hissed, glowing crimson rippling from its body to the marsh. Sephiroth immediately landed in one of the many dead trees. 

But the red of impending attack enraptured the chocobo and his daughter. 

He launched down, surrounding the chocobo in a frozen wall, but he was too late. The fire spell rippled through the ground and everything in its path. 

The chocobo yelped in pain. His daughter gave the tiniest shout. 

The churning channel shattered through the surface, revealing a slightly greener Zolom locked onto the chocobo. The bird tried to swim, but the massive tail blocked the only path to safety. 

The creature pounced, venomous fangs trapping the chocobo. 

His daughter- His Daughter- 

Masamune appeared in Sephiroth's hand before he could think. He had to protect her. 

Chapter Text

“They're not supposed to be brown!” Marlene stole the wax instrument from the older girl's hands. 

“Sorry.”

“Don't you want them to be colorful and happy? Your flowers look dead!” 

“Well these ‘flowers’,” Sera held up the gray-white sheet filled with wax, “Don't look like flowers at all.”

“Because they're all wilty and have too many wrinkles! They're supposed to be tall and smooth.”

“I'm not trying to…” She sighed, shaking her head before looking at the child. “How do you draw them?”

“Like this!” Marlene grabbed a yellow crayon. “First you draw a circle.” She filled it in immediately before grabbing a pink one. “Then you make the petals.” She showed an easy pattern of smooth scale like half ovals. “And then you add some lines for stems.” She snatched a light green and pulled a straight line off of the pink before adding oblong shapes. “And those are the leaves. Done! Now you try!”

Sera gave a pained look before flipping her page over to the clean side. She unscathed the yellow wax and formed a perfect circle at the center of the page. 

Marlene watched in wonder. 

The older girl dragged the pink across the page with the grace of a swordmaster. Beauty and skill resonated in her movements. 

But something happened. 

The curve of drawn petals began to drag and wilt. Details began to meld together. Green, the final color, seemed to bleed on the page as shades merged into an ugly, dirty brown. 

“Nooooo!” Marlene shouted dramatically. “What happened?!”

Sera returned the instruments, huffing with a small scowl. “I don't want to draw anymore.”

“But you're never gonna learn if you don't practice.”

She stared daggers at the little girl. 

Tifa placed two cups of water on the counter. “Why don't you try drawing something else?”

Sera glared at the woman now. 

“Is there anything you know how to draw?” Marlene asked. 

The hood hid her eyes as she turned away. “...No. Nothing worth seeing again.”

“What is it?!” The girl in pink jumped excitedly. 

“It's a nightmare. You don't want to see it.”

“It can't be that bad. Not as bad as your flowers.”

“Marlene-”  

“No, it's a literal nightmare.” Sera corrected. “A horrible, ugly, monstrous thing… just an inhuman, anomalous…” Sera growled as she trailed off, holding a hand to her head. “You want the truth? There. That's the only thing I can draw.”

Marlene watched for a moment silently before hopping up with a knowing glare. “You're just trying to scare me!”

The head of starry hair shook beneath the hood. 

“Pleeeeeeease?” 

Inhuman eyes suddenly flicked up and she stood, the chair screeching on the ground. “Something just happened. Something big.”

Marlene and Tifa looked at each other before returning to the other girl. 

“Did you hear that?” The mako child questioned.

“I don't hear anything,” Tifa answered.

Sera ran to the door, pressing her ear to the wood. A few seconds passed. “People are talking about it. I think it's the reactor.”

“The reactor?”

“It seems they succeeded in their objective.”

“What objective?” 

“Blowing up the mako reactor.”

Tifa covered Marlene's ears immediately. “That's not their objective!”

“It's not?” The question came so genuinely the woman almost believed it. 

“No! They were supposed to damage the mako pump to shut down the reactor for a few weeks!”

Sera's eyes widened. 

Little hands pulled Tifa's away. 

“What are you guys talking about?” Marlene was absolutely adorable. The situation surrounding her was not. 

* * * 

The Sector was a mess. The blown reactor shook the foundation of the very plate beneath their feet. Most tried to flee. Others searched for their families and friends. 

However, some continued selling delicate petals in the middle of a crisis. 

“Hey. Flower girl.” Cloud called out as he approached sharply. 

“Heya,” the woman in pink and red spoke casually despite the tension in the air. “Would you like to purchase a flower?”

“It's not safe here. Bring those to whoever's waiting for you back home.”

There was the smallest sigh of faded amusement. “Are you sure I can't stay?”

Cloud took a step closer, fully within range to make her obey. “Unless you want to have a run in with public security.”

“Such a shame… well, in that case-” She pinched one stem and slipped it under the straps of the SOLDIER uniform. “For whoever's waiting for you at home. On the house.”

With that, the woman about his own age finally left. 

Good, because Cloud's job wasn't done. He walked down the street to the square, deliberately fighting and knocking out every trooper that approached. 

At the center, helicopters soared overhead, signaling Cloud's location with spotlights. Short ranged troops, grenade troops, elite troops, even shield troops attacked without hesitation. The Buster Sword flew through the air with the grace of a dragon, slicing through everyone of Shinra's pathetic security. The few bullets and shrapnel that lodged in his skin would be gone and healed within the hour. 

As if security could ever defeat a First. 

He led them to the train tracks until their most advanced cadets were no more and jumped through bullet filled air onto the moving vehicle below. 

With the slightest stroke of luck, security's disorganized nature and the complete inability for commanding officers to remain calm during a sudden crisis, especially over the phone, they'll be long off the train before transportation and city planning even find out which train they're on. 

The mako green of a light polluted night sky quickly vanished to the tunnels that would take them down to the underplates. Now Cloud just had to find them. 

He banged on the door of a storage container with the width of his sword. A few seconds passed before the metal slid open, and Cloud flipped inside. 

“What the hell!?” Came Barret's bark. 

“Look who knows how to make an entrance,” Jessie teased. 

“We thought we lost you back there!” Wedge's concern sliced through. 

“Seems like you handled it though.” Biggs gave a playful punch to the bolted pauldron. 

“Well someone had to draw attention and keep security off your back. Can't do that if we all stay with the group.”

He swore passengers on this vessel could hear the chorus of groans this freedom fighter group released. 

Thankfully the remainder of their travel resulted in no special surprises or visits from the company at the center of the city. AVALANCHE cheered at the edge of the station for Sector Seven to the point that even they realized they needed to keep their mouths shut before someone caught on. 

Barret kept a few steps ahead of the group. The quaint streets hummed with the now hours old news of the reactor. Most citizens remained inside to watch the Shinra News Network and its latest updates. 

Not that the group minded the lack of attention, especially when Seventh Heaven came into view. 

Tifa gently prodded the little girl in pink. Marlene glance forward and lit up like the sun with a smile. 

“Daddy, you're back!” 

“Damn right I'm back! C'mere, my baby girl!” He lifted her like she weighed nothing, putting her on his shoulder as he laughed heartily. “It's time to celebrate!” 

“Yay!”

“Stay away from the expensive stuff,” Tifa warned with a small smirk at the tender display. 

“Hell yeah!” Biggs and Jessie high fived. “Let's go!” 

“I said don't take the good stuff!” The bar owner yelled after them as they took off into the restaurant. 

Wedge stumbled behind as always. “Guys! Wait up!”

Cloud watched the girl with celestial hair approach slowly. He opened his palms and spread his arms slightly, allowing her to hold him way tighter than he expected. 

“You're okay…”

Something burned in the back of the mind. His heart filled with fear, the sensation zipping up his spine. The darkness in his chest kept his hands at his sides. An agonizing moment passed before the world felt tolerable. 

The memory of fire's source seared regardless. 

Sera suddenly let him go, taking a step back and staring up to his eyes. The feeling surrendered as she scanned him intensely. “What's wrong? What happened? Are you okay?”

He went to ruffle her hair, but the contact with the hood triggered the same icy warning. He forced his hand to remain for a moment, fighting the instinct to pull back immediately. “Nothing's wrong. And don't worry, no injuries that haven't healed already.”

She glared just a bit in disbelief, squinting ever so slightly. 

“I told you, I had this.”

She looked down, gripping the hem of her shirt. “...Okay… You're right…”

Cloud looked past the girl to his childhood friend. “Was she good?”

The child glared. 

“She got better as the night went on. It took a while to warm up to Marlene.” 

“That makes sense.”

“I'm right here,” Sera informed as she crossed her arms. “Are we going inside or are we looking for a place to stay for the night?”

“Just a minute with Tifa, okay?”

The girl sealed her mouth and returned to the restaurant. The occupants cheered at her arrival, making Cloud feel a little less guilty. 

“Where did you get a flower?” Tifa broke the pause. 

Cloud reached for the stem fixed between his armor strap and his sweater. He slowly freed it and handed the gift to her. 

“For me? In the middle of a mission?”

“Not exactly on the schedule. It just kind of happened.”

Tifa grabbed the stem delicately and observed the yellow petals. She couldn't help but smile, yet the kindness grew into some kind of silent amusement. 

“What's so funny?”

She shook her head, still smiling with a poorly hidden laugh. “It’s nothing. Let me put this in water before it wilts.”

Cloud followed his friend into the bar. AVALANCHE continued their celebration with what was notably water and maybe a juice for Marlene, sharing kid friendly stories and exaggerating their protection of the planet with the victory that night. Sera sat at the bar, her arms crossed on the counter with her head on them. 

Tifa walked behind the bar and filled a cup with water, dropping the stem inside with a clean motion. Only then did she notice the girl, a flash of confusion in her red eyes. 

Cloud approached the bar opposite of where he planned on sitting, looking within the brown hood. 

Was she…asleep? How much had she done today?

“Sera?”

Her eyes shot open immediately, but the exhaustion took longer to fade. She didn't even lift her head from the bar. “Are we leaving?”

Cloud shook his head. “Sorry. Not yet. You can go back to sleep.”

Kitten like eyes closed once again.

“Hey!” Tifa's voice cut through the laughter from the table near the door. “You get five more minutes. I can't keep this place open all night.”

The collective groan, albeit a half hearted one, resonated through the building before joy filled it once more. 

“So Cloud,” Tifa placed her palms on the counter. “What can I get for you?”

The blonde glanced at the group behind him. “Not interested.”

“This isn't about work. This is about seeing old friends. What would you really like?” 

Cloud glanced back at them one last time before taking a seat at the counter. “Something hard.”

Tifa smirked. She placed a short glass on the counter before grabbing a metallic container. He watched as she expertly poured red and orange liquids together without a single measuring device in sight. She scooped ice cubes into the container with the grace of a ballerina before taking a small salt shaker and dusting the final pink ingredient on top. Then he swore she flipped the second container out of nowhere and shook the drinks skillfully over her shoulder before finally pouring the translucent red liquid into the glass on the counter. 

“The house specialty. The Cosmo Canyon.”

Cloud investigated the drink for a moment before holding it up to eye level. Then he looked straight to the bartender as he complimented, “Beautiful.”

Tifa gave a light hearted roll of her eyes. “Just try it.”

Cloud raised the glass to his lips and took an easy sip. Well, he assumed it would be an easy sip. Despite the western taste, he refused to show how bitter the drink truly was. 

And come on, he had much worse in SOLDIER. 

“How come SOLDIER boy gets one?” Jessie came up to the counter and tried to wrap an arm around Cloud, but Cloud immediately slipped out of her grasp, standing behind the high top seats. 

“Because he saved the mission. One minute,” Tifa warned.

Jessie barked with laughter. Despite the sweetness, it only hurt his ears. “Fair enough. But if you're lookin’ for more work, don't hesitate to ask.”

Cloud kept his mouth shut as she left, waiting until she was distracted to glance at Tifa once more. 

“Anything else I can get you.”

“My money. You owe me two thousand, remember?”

As if the team heard him, they funneled to the pinball machine and lowered to the hidden level below. 

Tifa's hands locked as her fingers fidgeted, her gaze reserved. “Yeah… about that…” She opened the register and fished out his pay, cold hard Gil landing in his hand. 

Twelve hundred Gil, to be exact. 

Cloud's heart dropped. “That's it?”

“Sorry, we spent the rest preparing for the mission. I thought we had enough left over, but…” 

Mako eyes met the printed black wings of the brown hoodie. What were they supposed to do now?

“But wait! Tomorrow's water filter day. I sell them through the Sector and they practically get rid of the rotten egg smell! You'll have the money you need as long as no one puts up a fuss... And you can come too so no one cheaps out!” She seemed excited before the realization hit, her energy drained instantly. “But wait, then I'd have to pay you for that too…”

“It's fine. We agreed on two thousand. I'll help.” Cloud softly tapped the counter next to the little girl, who again awoke instantly. “Come on, we have to go.”

She hopped to his side without delay, one hand on her sheath. 

“Wait. Please? Let me make a quick call.” Tifa's eyes were wide like a begging puppy's.

Cloud sighed, feeling the burn of Sera's stare on the side of his head. “...Okay.” 

When Tifa disappeared into the back, Cloud gave Sera a small pat. He fought through the dark sensation in his mind and his mind alone. “Just another minute, okay?”

“...Are you sure you're okay…?”

“Positive. Though some sleep won't hurt.”

“I can keep watch.”

“We won't need to keep watch.” That wasn't entirely true. Even without Shinra, the slums weren't exactly safe. “Well… hopefully we won't need to keep watch.”

She nodded softly, pushing unruly shimmering hair back into its confine. 

“Okay!” Tifa came back, and the joy in her voice brought relief to their hearts. “I got you a room. You'll have to thank my landlord tomorrow, she's the sweetest thing. Practically raised me when I got to Midgar.” 

“Sounds perfect,” Cloud announced. “Lead the way.”

Chapter Text

When he was young, Hojo’s training was not kind to him. The scientist deliberately rooted out every weakness and inconsistency of his combat strategies. Sephiroth simply accepted every task or scenario thrown at him. Shinra snuffed out any desire he had for a savior or an escape. Besides, back then he believed his abnormalities wouldn’t be accepted by the public. Back then, he believed he could find his mother by questioning every employee at Shinra about the scientist in his locket. 

Regardless, simulations and advanced goals were pushed onto him to gain complete control over every situation. He needed to control his environment. He needed to control himself. Every minute movement had to be calculated and precise for a mistake could mean death or capture. 

Three times in his life did he completely lose control, recalling nothing between the middle of the battle and the pounding in his heart as his breathing regulated, usually over the corpse or scraps of whatever he was fighting. Hojo’s trainings were supposed to prevent the reaction from ever happening again. Too many factors depended on any given battle, losing control meant losing strategy which led to long term defeat despite the instant victory. 

His daughter on a chocobo trapped between Zolom fangs marked the fourth his sight went red and he eliminated the enemy without thought or consciousness. When the veil finally lifted, the chocobo was long gone. The basket with torn  ribbons floated in murky water, his tiny baby pointing her sword out as she held her side. 

Sephiroth scooped her into his arms and checked for their supplies, ignoring the pressure of the small blade in her grip. He scanned her, noting the lack of blood near the pool of gold on her side. “Seraphina, are you okay?”

Seraphina sheathed her sword with shaking hands before pressing against him and screaming. He took her weapon and she gripped him tighter, slipping it between his second belt as she sobbed. 

He rubbed her back as tears wet his chest. 

“It’s okay. You’re safe. I have you,” He explained as he searched the water for their supplies, but all he found were tiny chunks of torn ribbon. Their tiny inventory probably continued to sink to the near bottomless section of the swamp. If they were lucky, it already hit the bottom.

Sephiroth took a breath and hardened his resolve before running past the fiends that started this all. 

The verdant Zolom suffered on one of the many dead trees through its midsection, its head back with tiny twitches of its eyes. The remaining Zolom was wrapped around it, jerking its own center higher. More blood spilled at its tiny successes. The free Zolom roared in desperate frustration. 

Mating season. Sephiroth destroyed the family to protect his own. All he could think was ‘that could’ve been her’ as his feet pounded through the swamp. 

There was no time to be careful. 

He ran through the Mythril Mines, not acknowledging a single worker as he launched over caverns, closed bridges, and collapsed supports. Everyone saw him. Everyone knew who he was. The mud in his hair was washed away by the murky swamp water. He still wore the pauldrons of his uniform. He might as well match the pose on the SOLDIER recruitment poster.

His baby kept screaming in his arms. He barely noticed his endless repetition of “You're safe... I have you... I have you… You're safe…”

Shinra would find him. The Junon Region was trapped between these mines and the city of Junon itself. Without proper supplies for his baby, he couldn't risk the mountains between regions. The area was just small enough to send the army or the Turks to hunt him down, but the mountains housed dangers beyond monsters and hiding. 

His only chance of escaping this Shinra controlled continent was to lay low long enough that he could sneak onto a ship undetected. But their need for supplies could start a paper trail. 

As he ran out of the massive cave, he turned away from the city, dashing through the seaside hills. Thunder roared overhead, and dark clouds swirled dangerously. The sea along the horizon was uncharacteristically calm.

They needed shelter. Right now. 

* * * 

Footsteps echoed on the tiled floor of a windowless hallway. Numbered doors at each side remained closed. Military boots finally halted at a specific door. Indigo baggy pants, midsection armor with the SOLDIER logo, weapon harnesses, pauldrons, matching sweater, and finally the Buster Sword leaned against the wall on the Soldier that wore it all. Leather gloves tapped rapidly as he waited with his eyes closed and his head lowered. The rhythmic ticking only ceased when the door flew open. 

A similar soldier uniform donned with a crimson coat was worn by yet another First Class. Soaked brown hair threatened to drip scented water down his face. 

“Ready?”

The red soldier stepped out and locked the door. “Affirmative. Let's go.”

They strode down the hallway together, paces quick and rhythm with a purpose. Despite the afternoon, the First Class hallway was silent, the machinery maintaining the building producing the low hum below the two soldiers. 

“Genesis. ...do you think this is about him?”

Genesis scoffed and tried to wring out his hair. “Bloody better be if they called while I was in the shower on my off duty day.” 

The other soldier hit the button to the elevator. “Should we be worried?”

The redhead stepped on and shrugged. “Nothing I say will stop you from worrying, Angeal. But if you want my honest opinion, there's a reason this is top secret.”

Angeal's arms crossed hesitantly as they began to rise. “Agreed. But I can't wrap my head around it. Did Wutai get to him? Did the labs finally go too far? Was he captured? Did Shinra punish him?”

“See? No matter what I say, you worry. But knowing him, the answer to all your questions is simply ‘no’. He's always been impenetrable, in mind and in body. He's never been captured before. He's never given up information. That streak did not change in his few days in Midgar before his lovely visit to the science department.”

A sigh left Angeal's lips as he leaned his head back against the glass, the city below seeming so calm from so high. He recalled memories of the boy his age that refused to even be proper with him, that called himself a mindless weapon and a false hero. A killing machine not worth treating like a person. The only soldier allowed to say whatever he wanted to Professor Hojo.

Who needs a comrade like that?

Where the hell was he?

“You'll give yourself wrinkles if you keep making that face.”

Angeal frowned, but as soon as the door dinged, both young men stood at attention and walked into the office of the Director of SOLDIER. 

“Genesis. Angeal,” the blond director stood. “I wish I could say this was under better circumstances.”

“What's the mission?” Genesis questioned without hesitation.

The director nodded once. “An hour ago, a female Zolom was killed in the marsh south of the Grasslands. We want you to deter the male from attacking travelers, investigate the scene, and find its killer.”

“Do we have any leads as to who this killer is, Director Lazard?” Angeal chimed. 

Lazard sighed, tapping a combination on his keyboard. An image appeared on the massive screen behind them. 

A Zolom impaled on a massive tree. Its bloodstained mate coiled around the lifeless body. 

Only one person on the Planet could do such a thing. 

“Male Zoloms mate for life. By killing the female, this male will cause nothing but trouble until the brood hatches. First you need to locate and lure him to their nest. Once it remembers it has something to take protect, it won't recklessly attack everything that dares enter the area.”

“Then what?”

“Then wait. We have reason to believe the poacher is hiding out in the Junon Region. You will wait until the hurricane dies down before beginning your investigation, unless you chose to go through the mountains on foot in unnecessarily dangerous conditions. Even for you, it's a waste of energy and not fast enough to be worth it. But the pilot is under strict orders not to intervene with your decision.”

“Why? Who do you suspect killed that thing?” Genesis cut to the point, not allowing the avoidance of the question. 

After all, they were Firsts. They could deny any mission they pleased. 

Lazard pinched his nose and sighed. “Everything I'm about to say is highly classified. Not a word is to be repeated outside this room. Understood?”

“Yes, sir,” they answered synchronously, both at attention. 

“Sit down. You'll need it.”

They hesitantly followed the direction, leaning against the wall and desk while the blond sat in a large chair. 

His elbows rest against the desk and his hands interlocked in front of his face. “We have reason to believe Sephiroth has lost his mind. Late yesterday morning, he entered the lab but he did not arrive at his appointment. He damaged specimen cells, attacked scientists, and was seen fleeing with a highly dangerous experiment. His motive is unknown. The army could not contain the threat in twenty four hours. Despite the development, R&D and the President demand our involvement.”

“So it's search and destroy?” Another snap from the red soldier, doing nothing to hide his furrowed brow.

Angeal's jaw clenched at the thought. 

“No.” The tension broke. “We want you to find him and convince him to return. R&D is asking for the specimen to be captured alive, but that depends on what Sephiroth did with it after attacking. You will aid in the Zolom effort before hunting him down. Tell him whatever it takes to get him back. Inform us of your promises and we will implement them as soon as possible.”

Chapter Text

“Here you are. Apartment 202. We'll pick up the key from the landlady tomorrow morning,” Tifa presented their final destination. “You'll be able to lock it from the inside until then.”

“What does she know about us?” Cloud didn't miss a beat. They couldn't afford to take more chances. 

She jerked back a bit at the sudden question. “Well, I said I had a reliable friend looking for a place to stay. Was that too much?” 

Cloud shook his head. He glanced at the silent child at his side before gesturing to the last door on the floor. “So who's in that one?”

Tifa hesitantly turned to apartment 203 before holding her hands in front of her and turning back. “That’s… You know what, I’ll introduce you in the morning. He won't cause any trouble and it's really late.”

“Thanks, Tifa.”

“If you need anything, just knock on my door. Okay?”

He nodded, and she returned to her room. Mako blue eyes stared at the hanging 201, realizing just how much she changed. And how much he missed her. 

He barely had the chance to reach for the door before the little girl went inside. 

The small apartment was set up the same way as Tifa’s; a sink and mirror behind the door, a toilet and shower closet, a nightstand, a bed on the opposite side with a single sheet and pillow.

Cloud stepped in. The girl immediately closed and locked the door. 

“Take the bed. I'll take the sheet,” Sera commanded as she began removing the lone fabric from the mattress.

Cloud's brows furrowed. “Absolutely not-”

“Are you gonna shower? You smell like mako.”

“Sera, you're not sleeping on the floor.”

“Cloud, you just returned from a mission. You need better rest than I do.”

“You're still growing.”

Reptilian eyes glared. 

“I know it's not fair but it's true. We can just share the bed.” He crossed his arms. 

The little girl said nothing and grabbed his arm. 

The icy feeling in his spine and the burning in the back of his mind returned. 

She let go, the feeling thawing immediately, and shook her head before sighing. “...Please just take a shower…”

“Sera.”  He scolded with a single name. 

Sera froze for a moment before yanking the fabric and diving under the bed frame. 

Cloud sighed, dropping his arms. “Sera, get out from under the bed.”

“No. If you're gonna treat me like a child, then I'm going to act like a child. You haven't listened to me once since we got to Midgar and I'm tired. Can you at least let me have this?”

He grabbed the frame of the bed, but she grabbed the springs underneath and stared daggers into him, the threat as silent as it was obvious. Another exhale left his lips. They were already staying the night rent free tonight. They couldn't afford trouble. “Okay. Fine. I’ll shower, but we're discussing this when I get out.”

“Fine.”

Cloud slipped the lone pillow under the bed as well before heading into the small bathroom and letting out a sigh of relief. Okay, maybe he did need this instead of heading straight to bed. Does he really smell like mako? He might be used to it. 

Cloud turned on the water, noting if he was just a few inches taller, he would have to shower on his knees. The shower head was so low. Maybe it was easier for the landlady to replace it that way. 

He removed his armor and clothing, testing the heat before stepping in. The running water down his back was the perfect massage after their traveling and his mission. He felt the mako leave his skin before even grabbing the small bar of soap. 

He regretted not telling Tifa the whole truth. It was so obvious. Why did he think he could hide who Sera's father was? Why did he think that would help? Everything was technically true, but that wasn't fair to Tifa after all the kindness she showed them. But how could he risk saying the truth in public?

Gods he was so stupid. He never said the right thing around Tifa and always felt like speaking was worse than silence. 

His mind drifted to the battles of the mission, to what he should work on and perfect, to mistakes he should correct immediately. Being an ex-First didn't mean he could slack off. 

Well, Tifa wasn't kidding. When the smell of mako was cleared by the somewhat present stench of sulfur, he decided he was clean enough, turning off the water and wringing out his hair. The thumping of drops was the only sound in the small bathroom. 

But beyond the door, there was more. First choked breathing. Then stuttering. 

Then sobs. 

To hell with this. He barely tried to dry hi skin with the thin towel before throwing his pants on and opening the door. 

The little girl was still under the bed, gripping the sheet tightly with her face shoved in a pillow, muffled whimpers leaving confinement. 

“Sera,” he spoke as kindly as he could, kneeling at the end of the bed and crouching for a better view. “Sera, please come out.”

Her back remained against the wall. She shook her head. 

Cloud reached for her, but every contact triggered that deep seeded fear. She slipped out of his grip every time. 

“I-I just need a minute…” the pain in her voice stung the air. “J-Just a minute… I promise…” 

If this stupid feeling could go away just long enough to comfort her, he'd be eternally grateful. She needed him. He steeled himself before snatching her arm and yanking her out. The feeling remained but lessened in the back of his mind when she cried harder. 

The child didn't even attempt to sit up. 

Cloud lifted her by her shoulders and held her to his bare chest. He already regretted skipping his sweater even before the feeling seared into the back of his mind. He forced himself to pet her revealed astral hair while he could stand it. 

The attempts at yelling slowly petered out and Sera pulled away, wiping the tears from her eyes with the pillow. Then she took a breath and tightened. “I'll sleep in the corner of the bed, okay…?”

“What was it about this time?”

She turned away, muttering softly, more tears overflowing. “...I miss him… I miss him so much…”

There was only one person she could be mourning. Cloud tried to hug her again but she jumped onto the mattress before he could make contact. 

“I just wanna go to sleep… I'm tired…”

“Okay,” he spoke hesitantly as he stood. “I'll be back out in a minute.”

The little girl nodded. 

Cloud returned to the bathroom and continued getting dressed. The residual stench of mako on his uniform should fade by night's end. Gods. He didn't think it was that bad before. 

He debated being comfortable, leaving his armor off and his shoes on the ground, but if someone found them, he needed to be ready. They couldn't pretend they were completely safe. Not yet anyway. 

When he returned to the main room, the little girl was bundled against and facing the wall, the pillow empty on the other side of the bed. 

Cloud laid the Buster Sword against the nightstand and laid down too. 

* * * 

Cloud heard something beyond the wall. He waited a moment before another sound, a clear groan, passed. He hopped out of the bed and donned his blade without thinking. 

Sera was already opening the door with her sword at her side and her hood over her hair. “Are you coming?”

“You should stay in the room.”

She clearly ignored him and went onto the balcony, but she leaned against the railing instead of running ahead. “Let's go.”

He sighed before another groan hit their ears. He went ahead, allowing the child to trail behind as he knocked on the door. “Hey, you okay in there?”

Another struggled moan and strangled breath, not even in response. 

He grabbed the door knob. “I'm coming in.” He turned and entered the room slowly. 

Seething reptilian eyes and long silver hair stared back at him. 

Cloud's body immediately tightened. He grabbed his sword and tried to swing but struck the door frame, his balance shot for only a second.

“Cloud, no!” 

He didn't hear the little girl's voice as the man that murdered his village approached with fire in their glare. He tried to back up and tripped onto the balcony. 

The little girl jumped between them without her weapon. The man that killed his mother grabbed her. 

“Get away from her!” Cloud scrambled to his feet and shoved the nightmare away. 

But the nightmare grabbed him and his head throbbed. 

He saw groups of people in black cloaks groaning, suffering, shuffling through the cold. He heard a single word repeated: Reunion.  

“Cloud, stop!” Tifa's voice hit him like a truck and he fell back. 

It wasn't the man who murdered his mother. It was a sickly man in a black cloak identical to his vision, pale skin and cracked lips the only parts on display. Sera was supporting him over her shoulder, leading him back into the room. 

Tifa followed. “What did you do to Marco? This is his apartment.”

Cloud hesitated. 

“He's got a few problems, but he's not a bad guy.”

“He fell. We came to check on him,” Sera stated simply, letting Marco lean against the bed before falling into it. “He's severely dehydrated. Can I run to your bar and get filtered water?”

Tifa sighed. “Yeah. Go. Key's in a hole under the right side of the porch.”

Sera ran.

“Tifa, I…” Cloud didn't know what to say. 

“Just head to bed and keep your door open for her, okay?”

He nodded, swallowing thickly. “Okay…” He returned with his head hung low and a groan into his hands when he closed his door. 

Chapter Text

Thunder roared. The rusting steel shuttered in fear. Winds howled, rattling weakened walls and shifting more leaks into the inner chamber: a simple living quarter for low ranked soldiers a long time ago.

The massive ships of the former Junon Republic tainted the beachside as a show of strength by the Shinra Corporation. The sunken vessels decayed, never to set sail again. Some hid treasure within to protect from thieves as most in Junon dared not approach the constant threat. 

Sephiroth adjusted his daughter in his wet arms as he sat in the corner, a feline mother and kittens on his left and a charred metal bucket on his right. He constantly checked the rim for rust before leaning his bare back against the wall. 

Seraphina looked up at him with mako flared eyes. He kept her as dry as he could, but the leather could only do so much to protect her. She took bated breaths and shivered despite the protection of her father's coat. Another jarring strike of lightning cracked but she barely made a sound.

“Seraphina?” 

His baby stayed silent, slit eyes struggling to meet his face. She should be asleep from the cures he casted the moment they were safe, her body exhausted from the necessary healing energy. 

“Seraphina, what's wrong?”

Again, no response. He risked opening his bundled coat, scanning her skin for any injury he possibly missed. Her skin was clear, smooth, but gray against the thin beam of lightning.

Her stomach jerked and she held her mouth tightly. 

He had originally scorched the bucket to be used for their waste, to minimize her chance of contracting tetanus. Now he placed his daughter in front of it, holding her hands against the rim. 

She vomited into the bucket, whimpering between each wave of her retching stomach. 

Sephiroth held her upright even if she didn't require his support.

Was she… poisoned?

Was that possible? She never bled. He was immune to poison. How could Zolom venom infect her system?

Her tiny stomach emptied painfully, her groan loud and exhausted. She rested her head on her shoulder and his arm while taking open breaths through gray lips.

Was it possible to absorb Zolom venom through the skin? Especially for someone so young?

He didn't know the answer to that. He mentally searched his accessible materia, cursing in frustration at the solid feeling. A mental wall preventing the orbs from appearing in his hand. Shinra jammed the connection to his materia inventory in the tower. All he could use were the orbs physically on him, in his sword and his armor. He thought he would have a few days, but the rejection was impossible to ignore. 

Now he couldn't heal what mattered most.

Seraphina backed away from the container, wiping her mouth on the sleeve of his coat. He scooped her into his arms so he could lay her down properly. 

“Seraphina, I have to go.” 

Her eyes went wide and she grabbed him anywhere she could reach. “No…”

He held her tiny hands in his. “I'll be back soon with medicine and food.”

“Bottle…?” 

“Yes. Two of them.” 

She shook her head. “No… No bottle… p…please…?” She always found a way to break his heart while making him grateful for ripping her out of that terrible place. But he taught her that word. He thought he did. Maybe she already knew how to use it. Maybe she already knew how to beg.

“I promise it won't hurt. But I need you to stay here as quietly as possible. I'll be back before you know it.”

“Stay…!”

Why did she know that word? 

“Dada, stay…!” this time she locked her fingers around his bangs. 

“I'm sorry. I have to go. This is to keep you safe. To make you better.”

Her fingers relented under the strength of his grip. 

He laid her into his coat and curled her in it like a loose sleeping bag. “I'll be right back. Stay under here unless you need to vomit again.”

She tilted her head. He pointed to the bucket and she seemed to understand the instruction. 

He pinched the corner of his coat. “Keep this around you on the ground. You need to keep warm.”

She protected her tiny face in the large collar. 

“If anyone else comes in here, I need you to scream as loud as you can. Do you understand?” 

“Ahhhh…” the significantly softer sound signified her understanding. Another needle through his heart. 

He stood, refusing to look at her before he wasted another moment letting her suffer just to be with her. “I'll be back soon. Stay safe.”

The high winds threatened to slam the door closed. The razor rain against his skin did nothing to slow him down. He sprinted across the region of Junon, heading straight for the mine's entrance. 

Monsters roamed the field regardless of the weather, but his blade never turned towards a single one. They swiped and roared at him as he gracefully dodged in favor of reaching his target. 

He avoided spotting his goal despite knowing exactly where it was as he ran back up the mountain to the exit of the mines. Near the chocobo stop and some old picnic tables, his target waited at its station. 

An Energy Drink: Potion vending machine. 

He stabbed through the camera and smashed through the locked cover, pulling the inventory door open. Each item waited individually on coils in sections and shelves. 

He took stashed, potions, and multiple instant ramen with attached disposable chopsticks, cursing mentally at the absence of esuna materia and protein shakes. Though he did not expect to find the polar opposite of an energy drink in a branded vending machine. He used the second belt of his uniform to strap the lipped and curved containers to his sides. Two instant ramens remained in his right hand. 

If possible, if Shinra allowed him room to breathe, he would find the owner of this machine and repay the replacement cost as a thank you.

As fast as he arrived, he vanished into the wilderness. The wind tore through the environment, smaller fiends beginning to retreat. Larger fiends huddled under trees and against cliffs. 

This wasn't an average thunderstorm. How could their luck turn so drastically? These first few days out away from Shinra decided their success at this escape. 

He was sure no one spotted him as he climbed the beached ships and returned to the inner room. Placing the loot down, he dented and bent the steel walls until no light remained, not a single flash breaking in. 

Sephiroth ignited a small flame in his right hand, suspending it without thought in the center of the chamber. 

The bucket's contents clearly rose. Seraphina was laying on her side, the coat draped in front of her instead of being tucked tightly against her body. She looked up at him with exhausted eyes.

“Seraphina, I have medicine.” He kneeled down, reaching for the cloak.

Seraphina backed away. The mother cat swatted at his hands and hissed. 

The cuts healed as quickly as they came. He glared at the feline before returning his gaze. “Seraphina.”

She shook her head, tightening her arms beneath the coat. “No… please no…”

“I promise it won't hurt you. You need to drink.”

Another shake of her head. 

Sephiroth reached again, this time keeping the cat at arm's length. Beneath the black leather laid his daughter and the three tiny kittens purring in her arms. 

Ah. That was why the cat attacked. The kittens mewed at the relatively cold air as he slid them away from his daughter. 

Seraphina whined too as she was lifted out of the warmth, her head lolling on her shoulders. “Dada…”

He uncapped the antidote. “I know it seems like it will hurt, but this will help you. I need you to drink. Can you hold your hands up for me?”

She squeezed her eyes closed as she cupped her hand for the bottle. 

“You're doing well, Seraphina. Drink as much as you can. Slowly.” He held the bottle to her hands and began tipping slowly. 

She whimpered when the liquid touched her lips. He maintained the same shallow angle until she took her first sip and swallowed. Her slit eyes opened, the tension in them fading as she drank more and more. 

Sephiroth watched as her gray skin faded back to the pale of his own. Her dark eyes brightened. Her body's shaking ceased. He observed each cured symptom and removed the bottle after a quarter of the antidote vanished. 

His daughter rested against him, her eyes closed softly as she pressed against his wet skin. 

Sephiroth brought the flame closer. The cat at his side carried each kitten individually to the light, lying beneath it once the task was complete. The tiny creatures huddled together for warmth, light purrs emanating from the small group. 

Sephiroth chose to let his child rest for a moment as he maneuvered through the bottles and containers attached on his belt. A dripping plastic cylinder of instant ramen found its way into his hand. 

She needed to eat to restore her energy. Rest would only help in the short term. 

He lowered his daughter into his lap, confirming her comfort and stability before peeling the seal off the container. He casted the tiniest water spell to soak the noodles and held the cup above the fire. 

Angeal once used the expression ‘a watched pot never boils’ when teaching Sephiroth how to cook. It seemed accurate with every idol minute. But he didn't want to melt the plastic, catch the kittens in the crossfire, or learn the hard way if his daughter was immune to fire like himself. Angeal also stressed the fine line between increased heat accelerating the process and creating a worthless pile of ash. 

Once the meal began steaming, he counted the seconds. According to the instructions, it took ninety seconds to soften the dish once at a boil. 

He wasn't concerned with the noodles. 

After ninety seconds, he searched through the floating tubes and removed every curl of shrimp hiding within, placing them gently on the removed plastic seal as one would hold a cookie on a napkin. 

The moment the ramen hit his tongue, his eyes widened. He scarfed down the meal rapidly. Well, as rapidly as he could without spilling broth on his chin. He consumed every remaining drop, all but licking the container clean. 

Genesis had once described cheap ramen as ‘food that makes you sad when you eat it’. Which didn't make any sense to Sephiroth as consuming nutrients created a biological chemical reaction to bring joy. It should be impossible for the act of eating to lower the mood. But today he understood even after three days without any nutrients in his stomach. This certainly tasted better than lab food, but his body almost felt weaker with this fuel than without. He hoped it would fade. He needed it to for her sake. 

Sephiroth plucked each shrimp back into the plastic bowl and mashed them to paste with the tips of the chopsticks. He removed a small clump, testing the temperature against his bare arm. He really wished he still had that parenting book. 

Just warm. Perfect. 

“Seraphina?” 

He swore the sound she made when she opened her eyes was identical to the cats’ wake up noise of ‘mmrp’.

“Are you feeling better?”

She nodded. 

“Then, it's time to eat. They didn't have the shakes you like, but I want you to try this, okay?”

Slit eyes stared blankly before she held her hands up for a bottle. 

Sephiroth shook his head. He pinched a small ball of shrimp paste and held it in front of her mouth. 

Black eyebrows crossed in confusion. She looked up at him. 

“Like this.” He demonstrated by eating the tiny portion, deliberately moving his jaw. At least the shrimp didn't make him sad, so it should be good for her. He plucked another ball and presented it. “Now try. Make sure you chew.”

His daughter opened her mouth and waited. 

He was struck with the realization that she did not know how to lean yet. She could climb a mako crystal. She could dig half herself into a bunny burrow. She could run and jump and copy any word perfectly. But she couldn't lean. He swallowed his thoughts and delivered the serving into her mouth. 

The taste hit her tongue, and her eyes dilated immediately. She licked off the shrimp and swallowed instantly. 

“You have to chew it. Like this.” He pretended to scoop and bite the sticks, deliberately moving his jaw once again. 

This time she did the same. 

“Very good. Now try again.” 

She opened her mouth and accepted the bite. This time she chewed slowly, as if testing out the feeling, before wincing at the imperfect chunks. 

“Keep chewing. You're doing well.”

Sephiroth patiently taught her until the cup was empty. 

He held her close before laying her back down. “You can sleep again. We have lots of time before the storm lets up.”

However, Seraphina had other plans. She pushed off the floor and held the remainder of his coat over her shoulders like a cape, dragging it across the ground before kneeling at the kittens. It seems she couldn't take her hands off of them. 

The tiny balls of fluff purred at the attention and warmth. 

Sephiroth almost smiled at the sight, at her joy, but then she scared him. He understood she could copy any word. Sephiroth didn't expect the ability to extend to sounds as Seraphina emitted a purr with the family of felines under the light of his fire. 

Chapter Text

Rest didn't cross Cloud's mind as he waited for Sera to return, his brow furrowed in silent self scolding. He knew what he saw, but this wasn't the first time today he could swear by that. The mako fumes must be more potent here in Midgar than back home, messing with his mind in ways he should be better at controlling. 

Still… he frightened the neighbor, he scared Tifa, and Sera wouldn't let him clean up his mess.

When the door opened and immediately locked behind the little girl, he couldn't stay silent. 

She leaned her forehead against the door and took a single deep breath. 

“How is he?” Cloud asked softly.

“Better. It took a while to find his limit. He should find something nutritious in the morning. He hasn't been eating enough either.”

He sighed, looking away. “How about you?”

She shook her head. “Nothing I can't handle.”

“If you need to talk, you know I'll always listen.” 

She didn't look at him. She took another breath. “...Yeah. I know.”

He didn't like that tone. He didn't know what he said wrong this time. He paused before the sheet shifted at his side. 

A quick glance confirmed the little girl was back in the bed, an arm under her head as a pillow and her back to him. 

“Do you need anything?”

“Goodnight, Cloud.”

“Are you sure?”

“Goodnight, Cloud.”

Her flat tone silenced his questions. “Night…” He turned away to give her some sense of privacy and closed his eyes. 

* * * 

The overexposed light of the sun broke in from under the single curtain. The bustle of the waking Sector Seven tickled his ears. Cloud hopped off the bed, stretched, and sheathed the Buster Sword to his back. 

However, a quick glance around the empty room confirmed a sudden thought. He looked back at the bed where Sera, in fact, laid sleeping. 

Cloud leaned over and tapped the mattress twice. 

The little girl curled against the wall. “Tifa's not awake yet… Five more minutes…?”

He pressed the pillow against the back of her head and she pulled it into position, settling her starry hair perfectly. “Five more minutes or when Tifa wakes up.”

She hummed in acknowledgement. 

Cloud took the added time to freshen up a bit. Well, as much as he could with such limited resources. Not much he could do now but at least washing his face made him feel a little cleaner. 

When he turned from the sink, Sera stood at the door with her brown hood protecting her hair. Of course a silent morning was too good to last.

“Tifa's up.”

He nodded and gestured to the door which the child opened immediately to an almost knocking Tifa. 

“Oh you're both awake. Good morning.”

“Morning,” Cloud answered casually, leaving the room as the little girl locked the door behind them. “We're selling water filters today, right?”

“That's the mission objective, sir,” Tifa joked. “We have to stop by Seventh Heaven to pick them up. Come on.”

They walked through the slums calmly, the casual bustle far different than the rush hour he expected. 

“Water filters seem like a big shift from bartending,” the blond mentioned. 

“At first, I needed them for the bar and didn't think much of it. But patrons always open up to bartenders. I kept hearing about the same water stench over and over again. And by ordering for a restaurant, it's cheaper for me and for them.”

“Why not ditch the bar all together then?”

She shook her head with a smirk. “I just said it's the whole reason I make a profit, didn't I?” Slipping a key into the lock, they entered Seventh Heaven. 

Again, the door closed behind them by the same young force. 

“Sera, did you put Tifa’s key back?” Cloud risked questioning, feeling the accidental parental tone in his voice. 

The little girl shook her head, holding the spare up between her fingers. “I didn’t want anyone to see me and follow.”

Cloud took the spare and waited for Tifa to return with the products. “Here.”

“Thank you,” Sera spoke softly. “It really helped Marco.”

“...Glad to hear it.” Tifa slipped the key into her pocket. “Do you wanna stay here and practice drawing flowers?”

Black brows twisted sharply. “I'm coming with you.”

Cloud tapped her shoulder. “Be nice.”

Her expression fell flat, her eyes falling to the floor. 

“Lead the way, Tifa.”

Tifa lifted the box and Cloud opened the door. 

Their first stop was the item shop where the owner openly hit on Tifa, rewarding her attention with free products and discounts to friends. Cloud glared, snapping at the owner before Tifa pulled him back. 

“What's wrong with a few free things every once in a while?” She told him.

Cloud turned away to avoid giving her the sour countenance he could not prevent. 

Thus the three continued to the next customer. 

“Hey, Marle! I got those filters for you.”

“Tifa! My dear, dear girl!” An old woman with gray hair tied back in a massive pony tail asked. Cloud wasn't sure he could describe that giant poof as a pony tail though. Her kind eyes immediately flattened at the sight of him. “...Oh. Who's he?”

“He's the friend I told you about. The one looking for a place to stay.”

“I see. Cloud. The one with no job and apparently some baggage.” 

Cloud wanted to glare but looked at Sera instead, confirming cat-like eyes were lowered shamefully. He reached to rub her back, but the memory of the feeling forced him to retreat. 

Marle chuckled. “That's just a bad joke. Didn't mean to hurt your feelings. People come through here with all kinds of stories for all kinds of reasons.”

“Are you the landlady?” The little girl asked. 

“Yes, I am. How'd you like the place?”

Sera dug through her pockets before pulling something out and running up to the woman. “Thank you for letting us stay. I know it's not enough, but-”

“Woah woah woah! No! Absolutely not. You two can stay for a week. I owe it to Tifa, and you behaved yourself last night. Don't worry about it.”

Sera's brows sharpened slightly. “We're trouble to you,” she stated matter of factly, insistently holding out the offering. “Please let us pay back a little.”

Marle patted the girl on the head. “I promise in four weeks, if Cloud’s on his feet, I'll happily accept payment. Deal?”

The little girl glared at the ground in thought before looking at the woman. “Deal. Thank you.”

“Cloud,” Tifa turned for a moment. “Why does she still have your money?”

He rubbed his neck as the little girl tucked their funds away. This wasn't the place to explain. “...So, those water filters, Marle?”

“Yes of course. You know the usual, Tifa,” Marle mentioned with a smile. 

As his old friend placed the product in the old woman's hands, the transaction reached an end. 

“And boy-”

Cloud hated that tone.

“Make sure you protect her.”

Tifa smiled but stood confidently. “Thanks, but I can take care of myself.”

Marle leaned over to the bartender like a mother does to a daughter. “I know you can. But what else can he do? He has a big sword. But no skills!”

“I've got skills!” Cloud's retort came before his mind caught up to his mouth. 

Tifa pointed at him and scolded, “Be nice!”

Cloud couldn't stop his pout. “I'm doing my best…”

His old friend sighed. “Come on. Let's go. But no more trouble.”

“Yes, Tifa…”

They continued through the Sector with Tifa pointing out the occasional shop and explaining the items he might find there. 

Cloud wanted to be more focused, but the ever present warning weighed in his mind. He needed a paying gig. As much as he enjoyed helping Tifa, he couldn't afford to waste the entire morning on a side job that couldn't pay him for the agreed upon price. 

Sera would never admit it, but by the way she avoided the shallow puddles in the road, he knew exactly what he would spend his next stack of Gil on. 

“Hey! Get outta here!” They barely made it through The doorway when the owner yelled from behind the counter. “Those last filters didn't do shit!”

Tifa bowed her head and held her hands in apology. “We are so sorry about that. This batch will be better-”

“I ain't buyin’ any more of that garbage! Who the hell do you think I am?”

Cloud hated the man behind the counter and how Tifa had to respond in order to keep her business in check. 

“Okay. We'll leave right after you give us the money you owe.”

“Now you are making me pay for garbage? Get the hell outta here! I ain't givin’ you a single Gil! You hear me!? I ain’t askin’ again!”

Cloud stepped forward and glared hard, the Buster Sword on his back reflecting the soft light. “Pretty please.”

The owner hesitated, glancing and curling away from the threat. 

“And my partner here handles all transactions.” 

Cloud held out his hand through the opening in the separation gate between the counter and the customer. 

The owner grumbled something that was definitely a curse as he opened the register and handed Cloud seven hundred cold hard Gil.

“Pleasure doing business.” The former SOLDIER ended, pocketing the profit. However, the weapons behind the counter caught his eye. He scanned, spotting and analyzing a double wide long sword. 

It was certainly heavier than the Buster Sword. It also came with an extra materia slot. Would the change in balance be worth the increased damage and weight?

He felt something tug at his sweater and looked down. 

Sera’s mako eyes met his own, large and questioning, black brows knotted. “Cloud, what are you doing?” 

“Just checking out the selection.” 

She slowly lowered her head and crossed her arms, not saying a word. 

Cloud glanced back over at the weapon. “...it's a little out of our budget anyway. Not enough of an advantage despite the good craftsmanship.” He walked out of the shop with Tifa and Sera following behind. 

“Here’s the last of it,” Tifa handed Cloud the profit from Marle, the only customer he did not approach.

“Tifa, you know the area. Know any places looking for a set of hands?”

His childhood friend jumped ahead. “I have one or two. But I have a plan. Let me show you something first.”

He nodded his dandelion of hair and allowed Tifa to take the lead. 

“You know the trash piles?” Tifa mentioned as she walked. 

“The ones that are everywhere? Can't miss ‘em.”

“Well, normal trash attracts rats. These piles attract monsters. Especially monsters looking to nest.”

“Can’t catch a break down here, can you?”

She shrugged. “Such is life in the Slums. But let's see if they finished first.”

“They?” Cloud asked immediately, Sera's eyes already locked onto Tifa for confirmation. 

She just smiled and nodded forward. “Come on.” 

So they followed through more streets and more stores before climbing a ladder to a second story room only accessible from the outside. 

“Took you long enough!” Wedge shouted with a grin as he jumped to his feet. “Ready to join the Neighborhood Watch?”

“If you answer one question. What the hell is the Neighborhood Watch?”

Chapter Text

The Zolom’s roar matched the thunder above. The two SOLDIERs readied their blades, throwing their plan into motion. Genesis flung ice magic to anger the massive serpent, and Angeal ran to the dead mate impaled with a tree trunk. 

The crimson soldier moved with the grace of a trained dancer as he dodged each lunge and spell. The creature hissed in frustration at every failed strike, following the red coat through the marsh with tall splashes and sudden launches out of the water.

The remaining soldier climbed up the verdant corpse, investigating wounds and searching for abnormalities. 

Sure enough, the fangs of the fallen mate dried with golden venom, yellow feathers, the tiniest specks of blood, and shreds of pastel pink and sky blue ribbons. Angeal rushed back to his partner, finally accomplishing the first phase of their mission. 

The Zolom dove into the water and refused to move from its spot. In a shallow patch the SOLDIERs already identified rested three large eggs, kept warm by their surroundings rather than their cold blooded parents. Though the soldiers realized only one parent would have to do. 

The rain began before they even turned back. They sped to the helicopter. 

“Take us to the chocobo ranch,” Angeal commanded. “I have a lead.”

“Yes, sir!” The pilot didn't waste a beat. 

Both First Classes climbed aboard and strapped themselves in. 

Only after the engine started and the propeller spun did the pilot warn, “The weather’s really bad. I won't be able to fly you over those mountains until the eye passes over them.”

“Understood. Continue to the ranch. Information on our target is more important than running in blind,” the leader confirmed.

“Yes, sir. Strap in.”

As the machine began to take flight and the whipping of the rotor drowned all normal communication, Genesis turned to Angeal and put his enhanced hearing to the test. 

“What did you find?” He kept his voice barely above a whisper.

“Chocobo feathers, blood, and venom at the tips of its fangs. Blood on the lower teeth, venom on top.”

“So it attacked a rider?”

“Not just a rider though. It had blue and pink ribbon shards on its teeth.”

“Ribbon shards?”

“It's just too out of place. If our target-” Angeal winced, hating the way they had to hide who they were searching for, “was attacked on a chocobo-”

“Why would it let the chocobo get injured and what would have ribbons?”

He nodded. 

The SOLDIERs leaned back in their seats and continued the remainder of the flight in silent thought, watching the greenery and the horizon. Judging by the way the dark clouds swirled to the southeast and how far they sprawled, it was no surprise why Lazard warned even them to wait the storm out. 

They landed at the ranch and hopped out of their transport. Angeal gestured for the pilot to join them.

“I can't leave the bird unattended near civilization. Don't mind me. Just protocol.” The pilot informed. 

“Got it. Get some rest. We won't be leaving for a while.”

“Yes, sir. Thank you, sir.”

Angeal nodded and followed Genesis a few steps behind. No employee or person tended to the field. Did the owner know there was a storm coming? These hay bales wouldn't do well against the winds. 

The Firsts entered the barn to utter exhaustion. A chocobo laid on the ground with bated breath, sleeping on its side with bandages around its neck, a bucket of feathers stained gold and red at its side. 

“I can't believe this,” the owner grumbled, never acknowledging the two that entered as he scrubbed the feathers roughly, occasionally wringing the rag in the bucket. “Dagnabbit, how didja get cornered like that? How did ya lose the basket? What happened out there? The guy didn't even come back to check on ya!” The man groaned loudly in frustration before signing, wiping the sweat from his brow. “I hope the kid's okay…”

“Hello, good fellow,” Genesis approached with a wave, announcing his presence after the rant ended. 

The owner held a gloved hand up to the approaching soldier. “Stay back. Poor Fauna here got attacked by a Zolom, and Zolom venom goes through the skin like water through a screen door.” 

“I thought chocobos didn't sleep on their sides.”

The owner let out a huff. “Not unless they have to, no...”

“How did your bird end up in the marsh this time of year anyway?”

Even Angeal could read the hesitation on Chocobo Bill's face. 

Chocobo Bill turned away, taking off the gloves and throwing them in the bucket. “She ran away again. All the best birds for racin’ wanna run around without a fence. Sometimes they come back hurt. Sometimes they don't.” 

“Surely a racing bird could outrun a Zolom. Better yet, not approach at all to save its own skin.”

“Won't matter how fast she is if she's cornered. Now can I help you boys?”

Angeal sighed, stepping in front of his comrade. “Look, I understand your chocobo got hurt, but there's a storm coming and nothing's tied down.”

“Nothin's tied down?” The owner ran out of the barn. 

The two soldiers looked at each other before the oldest sighed and scratched the back of his neck. 

“Yeah, that's on me…”

Genesis waved him off. “This could work to our advantage.” He followed the farmer out the door. 

“Dagnabbit, dagnabbit,” the string of curses leaving the owner’s mouth only worsened. 

“Angeal, let's help the old fellow,” the man in red offered, picking up a black rope and blue tarp. 

“Stay back. You don't know what you’re doin’.”

“I'll have you know that despite my charming looks, I grew up on an orchard in Banora. I do, in fact, know a thing or two. However,” The Crimson Soldier stepped forward, “we'll only help if you stop lying to us.”

The conflict in Chocobo Bill radiated through the air. A moment passed as he scanned all the tasks to be done before he sighed, the weight of the requirements breaking his resolve. “...fine. Now hurry on up.”

The two Banora boys sprang into work without another word. Strapping down hay bails, parking the tractor in the barn, securing windows and doors, closing storm shutters on every opening of the barn and house, all completed without a drop of sweat from the two SOLDIERs.

Once again, they stood in the barn, though Chocobo Bill walked straight to the shop at the back. 

“We're not interested in any payment,” Angeal explained immediately. 

“This ain't about payment. It's about a broken deal.” The old man fished through the drawers and pulled out a raw emerald. “Take it.” He tossed it on the counter. “Now what do you wanna know?”

Angeal almost slapped the rock from Genesis's hand, his brown haired friend tossing and catching the rock like a tennis ball. 

The Crimson Soldier stopped his rhythm before Angeal sighed. 

“Look, we're SOLDIER. We were sent to help you out with that Zolom problem-”

“You didn't kill it didja? Can't knock them out without ruinin’ the ecosystem.”

Genesis tossed the emerald again to distract from the look definitely on his face.

“No,” Angeal kept a straight face, “but we noticed chocobo feathers on their fangs, so we came to investigate.”

“Then why are you still here? Pretty obvious what happened, ain’t it?”

“One, because a chocobo wouldn't go near the marsh let alone a Zolom on its own this time of year. And two, because we found ribbons,” Genesis intercepted. “Blue and pink, right, Angeal?”

But when their gazes met Chocobo Bill, they saw shock and despair.

The owner put his face in his hands and his body curled. “No… No no no… I told ‘em to wait… I told ‘em I'd find ‘em a place to stay…”

“Sir, I guarantee you, the man is not dead.”

“I ain't worried about him. What about the baby?!” 

“Pardon!?” Genesis couldn't help his shout, and even if his answer wasn't obvious, Angeal's stunned silence was bound to give away their thoughts. 

“She's gotta be Zolom food by now. And if not, they'll never find her body in the marsh anyway…”

“Are you positive that’s the traveler who went through the marsh? Surely there were others.”

“Without a doubt in my mind. Everyone else took to stayin’ in Midgar or Kalm ‘til the little snakelets hatch.”

Angeal stepped forward, leaning against the counter. “Then I swear to you, that child is alive. The man is not dead. And you did nothing wrong.”

The rancher turned to them both to confirm, but neither SOLDIER showed a hint of deception. He sighed softly in relief, holding his forehead to soothe the ache of regret. “If y'all are positive then… Thank you…”

Genesis handed back the rock. “You're welcome. But this is still yours.”

He shook his head. “I don't deserve it.”

“You do. Because despite our titles and employer, we're his friends. And he wanted you to have this, didn’t he?” 

“One last question,” Angeal intercepted, “did he have any fiends with him?”

The owner was taken aback. “‘Course not. Can't have a monster and a little one.”

Chapter Text

Tifa watched the simple explanation of the neighborhood watch from against a wall near the entrance, near the only exit on the floor. Her gaze flickered between her old friend and the inhuman child following him like a lost chocochick.

“The neighborhood watch handles monster extermination in the dump behind town. They're always looking for a new set of hands!”

“Is that so?” Cloud's arms crossed in thought. “How's the pay?”

Biggs let out a sigh. “About the same as us from the parts you can sell. But this is less about pay and more about getting the word out. ‘New merc in town takes care of the monsters, now you don’t have to worry for a week’? You can't build a better rep than that.”

Cloud thought for a moment, hovering a hand above his chin. 

“And there are the occasional bounties on particularly nasty creatures.”

“Aren't SOLDIERs in charge of monster extermination in Midgar?” Sera's voice claimed the room, all eyes on her small form. “What are the chances we'll see one there?” 

“Shinra hasn't sent anyone to exterminate monsters in years,” Wedge informed, lowering to the little girl’s height. “They set up a fence and security, but their main goal is to keep citizens out, not solve the problem. That's why we help.”

Sera tugged her hood down. “Understood.” Then she turned to Cloud. “Do you think you can get us in?”

Cloud nodded without hesitation. 

“Hold on there, little lady,” Biggs interrupted. “The neighborhood watch is a dangerous job. You should let Cloud take care of it. We can keep an eye on you.”

Her serpentine eyes sharpened. “I can handle it.” 

“You can help us spread the word about the new merc in town! That'll really help Cloud!” Wedge suggested with a kind smile. 

She grabbed the hilt of her blade. “This isn't for show. A few overgrown rats aren't going to hurt me.”

“Sera.”

She immediately turned to Cloud, the strength in her gaze gone as she listened. 

“They're just worried. They haven't seen you fight.”

She looked away. She didn't speak as she crossed her arms and lowered her head. 

Tifa hid her glare. She knew the girl was young, but the child should be able to read such obvious intentions from Biggs and Wedge.

“So if the Watch is organized, where do they meet?” Cloud asked the room.

“I know the way,” Tifa offered. 

Cloud's blond bangs now blocked his eyes. She could almost feel the guilt radiating off of him. 

“With the way she cleaned the bar, I'll barely have to prep for opening.” Tifa told a half truth in order to stay by her friend's side. 

“Lead the way.”

She gave a smile. “Come on.” 

Cloud and that insistent little girl once again followed Tifa through the streets of the slums. The people of the city paid them no mind, carrying on with their tasks and their day, an average day in the city.

* * * 

Around the final corner to the main hub of The Watch, Tifa turned to check on her friend and the girl, yet the only thing that greeted her was an empty spot.

“Cloud?” Tifa called in confusion as she looked around.

“Sorry. Hold on,” Cloud replied as if Tifa would remain in the same place until he returned. 

She followed around the corner they had just rounded to see Cloud kneeling to the little girl’s height, the child holding her back against a wall and scanning the skies and streets.

“What did you see?” Cloud asked as he scanned her gaze. 

“Chadley,” she answered immediately. “He’s… kind of like me. But if he's here, he still works for Shinra.” Her eyes fell, her hand curling over her arm. At least for once, the little girl didn't reach for her sword. “He has to report me if he sees me… He has no choice…”

“Do we have to avoid him?”

Her head shook as she corrected her hood. “I do. But he can help you.”

Tifa saw Cloud's hesitation, but the little girl insisted without complete information. 

“He’ll find a way. Trust me. He can make new materia- really good materia. Just… I’ll meet you in the scrapyard, okay?”

“How would you know that?” Tifa questioned.

Sera squeezed her eyes closed. “It’s… complicated. We knew each other. Not well but well enough.”

“If you’re this worried, you should head back and find Biggs and Wedge. They can keep you away from Shinra.”

“What if he doesn’t see you?” Her friend pushed, searching for a way to keep this poison close to him.

“Then he wouldn’t be able to report me. He’d need proof. They won’t accept any less.”

Tifa tried not to groan, swallowing her frustration. “How would he get proof just by seeing you?”

“Because that’s what he’s made to do.” Inhuman slits met crimson orbs. “Observe, track, research, develop. He sees me; he reports it immediately; he looks through Shinra’s information; and...” Her hands began shaking, her head lowering. Her breathing slowed meticulously. “...He’s a good guy. It’s not his fault.”

Tifa sighed, mumbling mainly to herself despite knowing the answer, “Why does Shinra want you so bad…?” 

Sera’s gaze hardened. “Exactly why you hate me.”

“Hey,” Cloud scolded, the little girl immediately glancing away. “Tifa’s been nothing but kind to us-”

“It’s okay, Cloud.” 

He could not be more confused by her answer. 

“Let me talk to this ‘Chadley’, okay?”

Cloud sighed, but Sera remained against the wall of the building. Tifa gestured to Cloud, her friend following as they walked down the street. 

She probably should’ve asked what this ‘Chadley’ looked like.

There was one building left before the tunneled entrance to the Neighborhood Watch when they suddenly heard a teenager’s voice. 

“Candidate detected. Performing physical analysis…” 

Cloud and Tifa turned toward it, noting the small form and white hair, the odd choice of clothing and backpack with a suitcase at the side. Tifa couldn’t help but wonder if that cursed child was really worried about this harmless, awkward kid a few years older than her.

The observer didn’t seem to notice. “Sizable weapon, excellent cardiovascular health and impressive lung capacity. Perfectly balanced muscle and bone structure…” The white haired teen suddenly perked up, the monocle over his eye shining blue and dimming quickly. “An optimal candidate!”

“Are you Chadley by any chance?” Tifa questioned. 

The kind smile on his face never left. “I am. I'm an intern for Shinra's Research and Development Division. I hope you'll be interested in helping me with my research. Please accept this as a down payment.” He reached into his backpack and held out a yellow materia. 

Her and Cloud shared a glance before watching the teen once again. 

“I would like you to set that Assess materia in your equipment and use it to gather intelligence in battle. This data will help me to develop new types of materia as well as reveal the weaknesses of your opponents.”

“I'm not interested in working for Shinra,” Cloud answered coldly, his gaze almost angry. 

Chadley’s face flattened, his tone serious and immovable. “You should know that I work actively to undermine Shinra's efforts. I'm sure you of all people can appreciate the tremendous power of materia—as well as how it might be wielded against your corporate enemies.”

They certainly needed all the help they could get.

“And if you later decide that I am not worthy of your trust,” He reached behind his back as if reaching for a sword and sliced forward with the imaginary weapon, “you can do what you do best.”

Cloud softened immediately, taking the materia and inserting it into his weapon. “I’ll hold you to that. I need you to prove it right now.”

“Splendid!” He seemed to exclaim genuinely. “But surprising, as the task I asked you to complete is in no way progressed.” 

Tifa couldn’t shake the feeling that this teen could be just as dangerous as that child, a hidden weapon that could strike them down if left unattended. 

“I need you to turn around and keep your eyes on that first floor siding for sixty seconds.”

“I don’t understand. If I turn away, I may miss other possible candidates.”

“You’ll lose this one that you already have if you don’t.”

Chadley thought for a moment, the whirr of technology almost audible in the way rapid images flipped through the monocle. “Scanning possible scenarios. Calculating benefit to loss ratio. Computation complete. Very well, sixty seconds starting on your command.”

“Now.”

The teen rotated one hundred and eighty degrees exactly, facing away from the street. 

“Right ahead?” Cloud asked Tifa, gesturing to the supposed building.

“Right through there,” She confirmed. 

Tifa watched as her friend ran back in the direction they came, turning a corner before returning with the little girl. 

Upon entering the tunnel-like building, Tifa finally introduced Cloud to the leader of the Neighborhood Watch. They were more than grateful to have another set of hands to clean up the latest pests. It seemed the last group that went in came out too injured to fight for the next few days. After all, Cures could only do so much, and Wererats multiplied far too quickly. 

“We’re glad to have you aboard, but…” The leader scratched the back of his neck. “No one can be a babysitter for you. You'll-”

“She’s older than she looks,” Cloud deflected immediately, and Tifa was given no choice but to accept the lie that would allow them entrance. “And she’s here to observe. That sword’s for emergencies only.”

The leader's face scrunched in conflict. “Still…”

The girl tugged her hood down and hid her abnormal eyes. 

“Trust me. I won’t put her in danger.”

He sighed. “Well… to every parent their own. But if I see a scratch on her when she comes back, you won’t hear the end of it, and she’ll never go in again.”

“Deal.”

The few watchmen guarding the far side of the tunnel parted to the walls, allowing Cloud, Tifa, and the child access to the gate. Tifa almost felt her blond friend’s surprise at how large the scrap piles really were. She was surprised that neither Cloud nor the little girl reacted to the stench wafting from the mounds, especially since her own time in the slums made her almost immune to the stench in the streets. 

“So we’re looking for a Wererat Queen,” Sera reminded all of their objective, taking the lead. She walked confidently- too confidently, her blade at the ready and her eyes on everything. “That's the only way they can repopulate so fast.”

“Sera, get behind me,” Cloud commanded. 

Her stride slowed but she remained ahead. “Wererats aren’t that big. I can fit in their tunnels and find their nest.”

“You can, but-”

Tifa felt her mouth open before her mind could process the suggested plan. “These piles are far too unstable for something like that. What if you can't get out?”

“I'd confirm stability before trying.” 

“In case anyone's watching, you need to stay behind us, Sera.” Cloud reminded. 

The girl stopped in her tracks. 

“If someone like Chadley sees you, we'll have to leave Midgar immediately.” 

“There is no one else like Chadley.”

“That may be true, but we don't know who else is out here. I know you can handle this, but don't go running ahead.”

Her head fell as Cloud claimed the lead, Tifa remaining behind the inhuman girl to keep an eye on her. The twisting, unorganized hills of garbage forced their gazes to every slight sound and movement. 

Soon, fiends launched over the mounds of scrap, Wererats and Gorgers. Cloud ripped out his weapon as Tifa readied her fists. The old friends sprang into action, following the fiends’ movements and skills. 

Cloud remembered the Assess materia, the little task from Chadley. With a small spell, he felt the knowledge of the creatures enter his mind, and he shouted over to Tifa immediately. “Both are weak to ice. Gorger bubbles are poisonous. Watch out.”

“Got it!” Tifa didn't miss a beat, moving through the battles with the grace of a dancer. Though keeping the focus and strategy was difficult with the single eye on the little girl, the child simply standing outside the range of their enemies. 

Another pack of Gorgers climbed out of the piles. Another wave of Wererats rushed the two to protect their hoard. Between the Wererat poison and freeing themselves of the Gorgers’ claws, they didn’t notice the new movement on the path. 

They only saw the little girl running directly into a burrow under a scrap mound. 

“Sera!” Cloud called before forcibly dodging another attack. 

“I have an idea!” 

Tifa could barely hear the response over their battle. What she could hear was the impact of the Buster Sword ringing louder and louder with each overpowered hit. 

Cloud didn’t hold back anymore, but he also didn’t protect himself as he tore through the onslaught in the direction of the child. 

In the Wererat den, they found the inhuman child slicing expertly through the Wererat Queen over the burning bodies of Wererats and Gorgers. A ring of fire prevented the last Wererat from fleeing on the far side before a sword pierced through its heart, the last kill lifting off the ground from the sword and body tossed with the others with cold indifference. 

Tifa couldn’t help the image before her clashing with the memory of her hometown burning to ashes by those same serpentine eyes, everyone and everything important to her consumed in the inferno by this child’s father. 

Chapter Text

The sudden calm of the eye of the storm left Junon in whiplash. Fiends and monsters seemed to recognize the hesitation of the few moments of peace, crawling out of their shelters solely for emergency meals. 

In the eye of the storm laid more threats than the storm itself. 

The eye of the storm was Sephiroth's one and only option to continue hiding out with his daughter until Shinra lost his scent, believing him to return through the mountains or to hitch a ride to the Western Continent. However, this option came with enough risks to blow their cover entirely. 

He told his daughter to turn away as he hid the first half of this risk in their shelter.

As the storm returned, he couldn't contain his anxiety. He couldn't help but picture what would happen if Shinra found and captured them. 

In his mind's eye, he stared at the surgical machine above, using every ounce of his power to ignore the metal clawing his ribcage open, to ignore the slow shifting of his organs by probes, to ignore the uncontrolled laughter of Doctor Hojo with more power over his body than the doctor imagined in wildly tainted dreams. 

In his mind's eye, he ignored everything happening to him as he desperately scanned the reflective metal to catch a glimpse of his daughter, her yelps and cries piercing through his agony. 

Images attacked him of his daughter in a glass cage which mocked the form of a crib, her image skewed with the constant movement of scientists and technicians. Flashes of blood. Blinks of blades. Instants of radiant mako green. Everything he never wanted for anyone else. Everything he never wanted in his life forced upon the baby currently in his arms. 

He tightened his hold on the baby like he once held the stuffed chocobo from Professor Gast after a nightmare. He closed his eyes and took a breath, calming the potential capture by Shinra and the lack of perceptible escape. He had to focus on avoiding Shinra, not on what would happen to him and his daughter if he failed. 

“Dada?” Her sweet little voice met the air, but he instinctively turned away. 

He couldn't show weakness. He could handle this. He could swallow all of this…

He felt tiny hands press against his chest. 

“Dada.”

Sephiroth steeled himself with a breath. “What is it, Seraphina?”

“Talk.”

Silver brows knotted instantly. That was a new word for her. “‘Talk’?”

She nodded. 

“...About what?” He asked after a pause. 

She looked around before her eyes settled on him. She opened her mouth but closed it, scanning again. Every time she looked at him, no words escaped her mouth. 

“It's okay. Take your time. What do you want to say?”

She didn't meet his eyes and softly pointed down three times. 

Sephiroth scanned their small shelter for a moment. He thought back to the lessons from the parenting book. He only hoped they were accurate. 

The baby watched quietly. He could count her blinks. 

“Here, then. Well, we're in the Junon Region of the Eastern Continent. This is an old Republic ship used by their navy: a branch of the military that specializes in maritime combat.”

Sera's completely blank look threatened to burn him. Maybe that was too complicated. 

He stood, holding her in one arm, placing his free hand on the rack. “This was a cabin for low class enlistees. These racks were bedded.” He tapped the lowest, middle, and top. “Three beds on two walls. Six enlistees per room. You'd never find an officer in a room like this.”

A small frown slowly grew on her face, brows crossed and eyes pleading up to him. 

“What’s wrong?” 

She looked around the room before taking a breath, every shred of energy fading to nothing as words slowly left her lips. “We're in da… Ju-non… Junon… Re-g-on… Region… of da Eas-tern-”

“Stop.” His heart tightened with every attempted word. Ever instinct to please the lab personnel with their latest request. Everything he knew normal children would never be forced to attempt at such an age.

She immediately looked down, bowing her head and hiding from his eyes. She made a long noise dropping in pitch in apology. 

“Do you know what the words you said mean?”

Her head shook hesitantly, ducking from his gaze. 

He didn't want her straining anymore.  He didn't want a perfect child. He wanted her to be a child. Please let her be a child. He held her head in his hand and turned her to him carefully.

“Listen. Ask questions. If you're going to repeat after me, you don't have to wait until I give you permission. I don’t want you mindlessly copying me.”

There was a pause and a small nod. She pointed to the old bunks. “Crib?”

He nodded. “Beds. Cribs without protective railings.”

She outstretched her arms to the highest rack. 

Sephiroth adjusted his grip and placed her carefully, making sure her entire body was supported by the rack before letting her sit.  

“Dada.”

“Yes, Seraphina?” 

She reached for her side and swung her fist diagonally through the air.

His stomach sank at the thought of his daughter training. With the Zolom, it wasn't a choice. Normal children didn't train- not according to the stories Angeal and Genesis used to share. Not with real weapons anyway. “Are you sure? Would you like materia instead?” 

She tilted her head. He reached for his belt and handed her a Cure. Her fast nod relieved him a bit.

“Here.” He lifted the orbs into her open arms. 

His baby immediately pressed the orb to her forehead and rotated it slowly in the firelight. Her mako eyes flickered like sturdy flames as she analyzed the sphere. 

Sephiroth glanced away. He wanted this storm to pass without any new discoveries: both fiend wise and child wise. Still, if his options were a temporary peace or a stressful lifetime away from Shinra, he wouldn't hesitate to take the latter. 

Clink!

He immediately snapped back to his daughter. 

The baby looked up at him through hesitant lashes, the materia missing from her grip. The orb simply bounced and rolled its way into a pride of tiny kittens. 

“It's no concern.” He tried to assure her as he returned the orb. 

She immediately tossed it back down. 

He gave her the tiniest glare before hearing the mews of young kittens and mother cat tap the materia to each other with the pads of their paws. Their eyes were saucers with every pass. Was this… playing?

Seraphina seemed entranced. She watched silently for a few moments, her eyes following every movement. 

“Do you want to go down?” Sephiroth asked while pointing to the ground in quick explanation. 

She shook her head. 

He did not push. He allowed her to watch to her heart's content, wondering what ran through her developing brain as she attempted to process everything below. He focused on keeping an eye on her in case she was brave enough to climb down the racks farther apart than she was tall. 

With the weakening rain and the slowing wind, it wouldn't be long before they left this ship behind. 

* * * 

Guilt burned away in his chest. 

As Sephiroth approached the single chocobo ranch in the region with his spoils of battle, all he could think of was his daughter in the ship completely alone. He hoped the felines stayed for just another hour. 

They still needed supplies, and he needed not to be recognized. Though Seraphina brought less attention to his face, he needed to break any pattern before it formed. 

With the drizzling sky and the sun piercing through the clouds, he didn't have time for distractions. 

Sephiroth marched up to the closed gate of scrap metal and rusted barbed wire. Neither the gate nor the fence could prevent against vagabonds, but there was a small chance it deterred the chocobos from trying to escape. He banged on the door, the metal racking and ringing in reply. 

No response. He banged again. And again. And again. Until he heard a wooden squeak from inside the walls. 

“We ain't open yet! Come back in two hours, ya dolt!” A cranky voice yelled in response. 

“I only need a few things... I'll pay double…” He forced his tone to be hoarse and exhausted but loud enough for unenhanced ears to understand. 

“Go to a vendin’ machine! There used to be plenty of those around!” Sarcasm bled through the response.

“I can't sell this at a vending machine...”

“Look, partner, I ain't openin’ a damn thing until the hurricane finishes passin’ through, capisce?!”

He took a breath. “Because of the mindflayer…?”

“No, because it makes the rabbits allergic to chocobos.” The sarcasm tested Sephiroth's patience. “Yes because of the mindflayer!”

“I took care of it…”

“Bullshit!”

“I have proof…”

Finally footsteps pounded harshly through the dirt path before metallic latches clanked in release. 

“Listen here, buddy-” The bald chocobo farmer clearly tried to size him up from the ground to his face, but halfway up his legs, the man stuttered, struggling to keep composure. “Uh-um..”

Which wasn't an unnatural reaction to seeing the full body of a mindflayer at anyone's side. 

“It's untouched… You’ll have first pick of its valuables before claiming the bounty…” In honesty, Sephiroth didn't have a clue if the creature had a bounty on its head. He banked on an assumption to squeeze one more resource out of this exchange. 

The farmer glared and groaned. “Alright. Bring it in.” 

Sephiroth followed the gesture, glancing around the inner farm for surveillance devices. 

“What do you want, then? You're desperate enough to do this for a potion.” The man stated as if reading his intentions from a book. “Get in trouble with Shinra?”

He scoffed, the first mission he led running through his mind, the smiling faces of his comrades before they were taken to the tribunal for insubordination. “Who doesn't have trouble with Shinra…?”

“You're damn right about that.” The farmer led him to a stand and opened the shutters. The man jumped behind the revealed counter, signaling him to come closer. “Now let me see the goods.”

Sephiroth wasted no time laying the body on display. He watched as prods and magnifying glasses scanned every inch of the body, the wounds and the clean, noting the attention to its crown and golden fin bones. 

The bright lights. The operating table. Cameras for a better view. He swallowed the memory as quickly as it came, forcing himself to continue with business, “I need a tent, protein shakes, and a mountain chocobo…”

“Please. You’d need five of these here bodies to buy one of my birds. Especially after I get a security alert tellin’ me some out of control fiend destroyed my potion vendin’ machine today.”

Sephiroth glanced away, resisting the urge to apologize. “Rent, then…? For a few days…?”

The farmer reached below and placed a six pack of protein shakes and a grey tent on the counter. 

Sephiroth hoped Seraphina would like the new flavor. He knew for a fact she would not appreciate the holes in the fabric, no matter how much she hid her opinion. “Is there a rain cover…?”

The man rolled his eyes and tossed the blue tarp on the counter, the old material nearly fraying on its own, before placing down a carved wooden whistle with a chocobo on each side. “You get five rides. The pea in this whistle loses a layer every time you blow it. Don’t blow it more than once- our bird’ll hear you fine the first time. Blow it too many times, and the chocobo treat inside’ll make them go squirrelly. You don’t wanna be anywhere near a bird if that happens. Be sure to return it the fifth time, just latch it to the saddle.” 

Sephiroth wrapped the supplies in the rain cover. “Thank you…”

Chapter Text

The ring of fire beneath the mound of garbage faded to embers. The bodies of wererats and gorgers, including the wererat queen, glowed green as their souls began their natural return to the Lifestream. The source of the carnage only turned after deliberately checking each body. 

The little girl's eyes lit up upon spotting them as if her mind hit a switch from seasoned warrior to normal child.

“Sera.” Cloud glared hard as she ran up to him, his grip on his hilt tightening though she released her own. He wanted to grab her shoulders, but his reaction to that icy chill would diminish every word coming out of his mouth. “What in all the gods were you thinking?”

She stopped right in front of him, speaking as if the answer was simple, “You and Tifa were overwhelmed. I saw an opening to the nest. I took it.”

“After I explicitly told you to stay behind us.”

“But-” 

“And I told you they're weak to ice-”

“But they're afraid of fire,” She countered before he could voice his question. “I don't have any ice materia, and I didn't want them going after you or running away. It was the safest way to trap them inside.”

“Stop. That's not the point.” Cloud held out his arm, watching her eyes widen with guilt at the sight of the bloody gash. “This-” 

A sudden green glow and the wound sealed to perfect skin before his very eyes. 

Sera looked down, her materia dimming at her side. “I didn't mean to worry you…”

Cloud took a breath and knelt down to her height. “It's not about worry or the wound, okay? It's not just magically better because it's healed either. You asked me to listen to you. Now you're not listening to me.”

She held her arms across her chest as she blocked him with her hood, the slight curve of her shoulders protecting her. 

He sighed, softening his tone. He hated seeing her like this. “I know you just want to help, and I'm glad you do. But you can't directly ignore me either. I'm trying to keep you safe too.”

Her hands shook, her voice tiny and broken, “...I'm sorry…”

Cloud took a breath, fighting the instinct to put a comforting hand on her shoulder. “Don't be sorry. Just be better, okay?”

She nodded. 

He pushed himself up. “Now come on. We have to get our pay and find the next job.” 

The little girl ran back to the queen's body, expertly retrieving the defining fangs and fur. 

He turned to Tifa as the items were placed in his hand. “Any ideas on where to go after?”

Tifa's expression snapped into a kind smile. Truthfully, he didn't catch the previous look on her face. “We'll have to see how well Biggs and Wedge spread the word.”

“Let's go.” Cloud navigated the beaten path between mounds of scrap and garbage, the little girl right between him and Tifa. 

The loss of the queen did not stop Wererats from taking their attack, but the loss of a common mate to protect left their approach vulnerable and disorganized. By the time their small group reached the gate to the Neighborhood Watch, no monsters dared approach, merely watching the three from a distance. 

The leader of the Watch clearly scanned Sera for wounds. Cloud didn't mind. 

“The queen is dead. You should have a few weeks before a new one takes her place,” Cloud tossed a fang on the counter.

“A few weeks to relax though,” Tifa specified kindly. “Should keep things calm for a bit.”

“We can't thank you enough. Feel free to stop by anytime. Go on. Pick up your reward from the counter.”

Cloud gave a nod as Tifa and Sera gave short ‘thank you's. Cloud and the man behind the counter barely shared a word as the man gave him their reward: five hundred Gil. He closed his hand. “Call me when you need me.” 

With that, the three left the Watch, the little girl hiding behind his leg. 

Cloud quickly scanned the street before addressing her. “Chadley's gone. Don't worry.” 

She slowly stepped back, putting space between them. 

“Here,” He held out the Gil. 

Sera wasted no time in taking half and organizing the currency in a tiny zippered wallet. 

Cloud pocketed the rest before turning to Tifa in silent question. 

His friend gave a small smile before walking ahead. “Follow me.”

Not exactly what he meant, but he obeyed without a word. 

* * * 

Monster regulation, he expected as a mercenary. A lesser drake in an abandoned factory, more overgrown rats in a different trash street, a larger drake flying in an hour after clearing out the first one. But this felt like a waste of time. 

“It's for your rep!” Wedge insisted. “The new merc doing any job: big or small!”

This was more than small. This was nothing.

‘Find Betty's three lost cats’. He rolled his eyes at his own mission. How good was word of mouth if it gave him missions like this?

“It shouldn't take too long, right?” Tifa asked as she folded her hands behind her back. 

“It's better not.”

The first cat was simple, barely around the corner from the pleading child that gave them this task: Betty, if he remembered the girl's name correctly. 

The snow white cat looked at Cloud as he approached. 

Cloud knelt down and reached under its chin slowly. 

The feline hissed upon contact and immediately ran down the street. 

He felt a sigh leave his lips as a Tifa concealed a giggle. 

“It's not so bad. Try being gentle,” His friend chimed. 

“I was.” 

Another short search following the meows led the three to the porch of Seventh Heaven, where another one of Betty's white cats scratched themselves on the wooden beams supporting the railing. 

Cloud deliberately lowered slowly, extending a hand.

Again, a wicked hiss and a sudden escape. 

“This sucks…” He grumbled as he stood. “Screw this.” 

“Come on. Let's see if the last one is any different,” Tifa suggested with a smile and a small giggle at his frustration, melting just a bit of his groan away.

Another walk down the street led them to a woman begging for aid, claiming the last of Betty's cats ran into the scrap pile in the center of the Sector. A quick crawl through the main, rusty pipe revealed a pride of colorful street cats, but one pure white cat with a pink collar growled from a corner. 

This did not bode well. Cloud swallowed a complaint before he suddenly felt a soft tug on his baggy SOLDIER pants. 

“Can I try?” Sera asked softly, looking up at him with bright kitten-like eyes. 

“Go for it,” he tried to speak coolly as his heart melted. 

The little girl nodded and approached the corner, kneeling carefully and extending one hand. The cat coiled, but quickly stopped and tilted its head at her with a ‘mrrp’.

As the internal motor emanated louder and louder from the child, Cloud turned to Tifa. “She's got this.” He completely forgot Sera was perfect for this job, that the sound resonating from her was possible in the first place.

Sure enough, the collared cat approached, rubbing its head on the child's hand, up her arm, and stepping on her legs to reach her chest.  The feline nuzzled against the little girl, seemingly unconcerned as it focused on the contact and constant hum rather than the arms wrapping around and lifting it into the air. 

“You ready?” Cloud asked.

Sera nodded, her arms unmoving as the cat stretched and churned. 

Tifa cleared her throat. “Well, Betty will be a little happy at least.”

A small walk back and a joyously restless cat later and little Betty's face lit up, her hair bouncing as she ran towards them. 

“You found her!”

Sera tried to offer the feline, but the creature hopped out of her arms and rubbed in and around the legs of the owner. 

“I'm so glad you're okay!” A quick glance around and the girl's expression dropped. 

Cloud had opened his mouth to apologize when the same girl cut him off. 

“You're home too!” 

The two remaining cats meowed and circled their owner's legs.

“Thank you so much, mister!”

But before Cloud had the chance to respond, the girl cut him off again. 

“That's weird… they're saying a scary man tried to take them away…”

Tifa held a hand over her mouth in a poor attempt to hide her laughter. 

* * * 

After a few decent tasks and a rescue mission for the man with the biggest mouth in the slums, the day was almost over.

“Here,” Tifa handed Cloud a water filter, “the second to last one. For your room. It makes Marle's life a lot easier.”

“Got it.”

“Come over my place when you're done.”

The sun hung stagnant an hour before sunset, one of the few hours of natural light the slums saw a day illuminating Stargazer Heights. 

Cloud entered his room as Tifa entered hers. 

“I can install it,” Sera's voice peeked up from behind him. “You can go see Tifa.”

“Are you sure?”

She nodded. “It'll only take a minute.”

Cloud handed the little girl the part but moved to sit on the bed. He watched her reach into the faucet and tug out the grimy disc, replacing it with the pristine filter in her hand. “Good job.” 

She glanced away and scratched the back of her neck. 

“I'll be right back.”

“I know.” She stated simply, cat-like eyes meeting mako blues as she sat on the bed. “I'll be here.”

Cloud gave her a soft nod and deliberately closed the door behind him. He took a quick glance at the view of the slums, of the makeshift homes and bustling people simply living their lives in the largest city in the world. 

He turned away and gave the first door a soft knock. 

“Come in! I'll be out in a second!”

Cloud entered carefully, noting every item still seemed to be in the exact same location as the day before. 

Tifa exited the bathroom. “So. Let's talk.”

Cloud felt his brows knot. “About what?”

“Well…” she awkwardly reached for her fighting gloves. “About after the village. About…” her voice trailed off. “...everything?

Cloud sighed. He thought they already spoke enough about his time in SOLDIER. He definitely didn't want to have this conversation knowing who was listening in. “It's about as basic as you can get. Every kid wanted to join SOLDIER, right?”

“Yeah. I remember seeing them on the news every day.”

“Well… when the war ended, they didn't need heroes anymore. It was just working for Shinra. I already lost some faith in the job before-” he cut himself off at the memory of burning wood and flesh, of smoke filling his lungs, of the blood on the ground and the silver soldier's cold, cutting eyes. “...Before everything.”

“It's okay,” Tifa allowed his break with a small shrug. “There's not much we can talk about without it coming up, isn't there?”

He shook his head, and desperate for a distraction, he felt his next words leave his mouth, “Why don't we… do something? Talk about this after?”

She perked up, red eyes staring straight into mako blues. “What do you have in mind, Cloud Strife?” She spoke with the slightest hint of mockery. 

He scratched the back of his neck. “Well. You know the area. What's there to do for two old friends meeting up again?”

Tifa lit up with a soft smile, and Cloud only hoped she wouldn't make a joke about ‘asking her out’. “We can hit the town! Celebrate!” 

“Celebrate what?”

“That we met again after so long! Get dressed up and everything!” Despite Tifa's excitement, Cloud stared almost blankly. 

“Really?” 

“Why not? What else are we doing?”

“Do you have any fancy clothes?”

“Well…” she backed off a bit. “Not FANCY fancy, but… I've had my eye on something for a while. I think it's time.” She pointed at him playfully. “But you better match.”

“Sure. But you'll have to show it to me first.”

“Maybe.” 

Cloud gave her a bewildered look before she let out a melodious laugh. 

“Come on. Let's head back to the bar. I have to open soon.”

He felt like he was being dragged every which way by Tifa's whims and jobs, but he didn't feel the need to complain. Instead, he returned to his apartment to bring the little girl with them. 

He didn't want her to be alone for too long. 

At Seventh Heaven, Tifa refused any aid from Cloud, demanding he sit at the bar and wait while she prepped for the night. It wasn't long before Barret busted through the doors with the rest of AVALANCHE following close behind, announcing their appearance on the news and their name in the streets. But even through the victory, Barret still took a single shot at Cloud. 

“We won't be needin’ you for the next one,” The leader spat coldly. 

Cloud's initial retort was ‘you couldn't even pay me for the last one’, but a quick glance at Tifa reminded him Barret wasn't the only one responsible, thus not the only one to feel blame. “Fine by me. No contract. No obligation.”

A contract would help though. A contract would almost provide stable income.  A contact could help him secure a place to live without handouts, and finally let him give back to the few people alive that support him. 

AVALANCHE soon kicked him out, demanding a small mission planning session before the bar opened to the public. 

It was nearly dark, but every task and job Cloud was given or found was already completed. 

“Cloud,” Sera called from his side, looking up at him under the brown hood, “let's get something to eat.” 

That was probably a good idea. He gave her a little nod before she led the way back to the Sector Seven train station. They searched for two conditions: cheap, but edible. If that took an hour as the inevitable trait which must give out on the known triangle of good, cheap, fast with only two of three allowed, then so be it. He’d take Sera back to the room and return to her with their meal. 

Luckily there was a semi decent Wutaian place serving a quick Takoyaki. Sadly the spices used left enough to be desired, probably due to the inherent lack of resources in the slums, but it was an easy meal to eat on the move, allowing them to survey the streets and buildings once again. 

It was only a day, yet the Sector Seven Slums already felt familiar. But being familiar meant things could also be unexpected. 

Unexpected like Jessie standing next to the door to their apartment. 

“Welcome home, Honey!” She announced with a wave and a swing of her brown pony tail. 

Cloud fought the urge to groan. 

“Kidding! I'm kidding…” Jessie corrected as she dropped the chipper tone. “Can we talk in private?” 

He glanced at the little girl. Sera’s hand moved to her hilt slowly. 

“She can come too since she doesn't talk much.”

Reptilian eyes glared harder, a tightened grip on the small blade in the black scabbard. 

“Oof. Tough crowd.” She brushed her armor off. “Alright. I’ll cut straight to the chase then. I need a merc tonight. And though I can’t give much Gil, I can offer this as a down payment.” She slipped an orb of red materia out of her pocket. Summoning materia. Rare to find in nature and extremely difficult to produce. “We won't be back until morning. So pack anything you need.”

Cloud hesitated. If it was just him, he would jump at the opportunity for more Gil. But it wasn’t, and he didn't like the thought of leaving the little girl for another night.

Sera moved into his line of sight, shoving more starry hair into her hood. “Every Gil counts, right? They didn't want you back at the bar. Take it. Just…” She turned away, gripping the sleeve of the hooding with white knuckles. “Come back.” She paused for a moment as she collected her thoughts. “No matter what condition. Just come back.”

Gods. Every time she spoke those words his heart ached to give her a hug, but the memory of flames screamed in the back of his mind. He reluctantly turned to Jessie. “I'll do it. When?”

“One hour. Top of the plate.”

“I'll be there.”

Chapter Text

Before he stepped foot on the shored ship, Sephiroth knew the family of felines had departed from the vessel. It was a risk for a creature to carry offspring one at a time somewhere safe, but he supposed with the dispersing storm and the previous presence of a highly dangerous fiend, it was only logical to escape. He hastened his steps just a bit to soothe his daughter from losing the creatures she so quickly grew close to. 

He needed to do everything for her, to keep her away from Shinra and save her from his fate, his mind never far from that simple reason despite his attempts to focus. 

Sephiroth slid the barely functioning door to the side only to find his daughter curled desperately, holding her shaking hands over her face. He nearly dropped everything as he scooped her into his arms. 

“What happened, Seraphina? Are you alright?" 

Seraphina curled into him, lowering her hands and glancing around. Dried tears glittered on puffy red cheeks, but the baby seemed contently quiet against his skin. 

Sephiroth scanned the small room for the source of her tears. He scanned the baby’s body for bruises and injuries but found nothing of the sort. 

Then his eyes landed on the open door, following the path of sunlight straight to his child. 

He left her alone in the dark. She tried to sleep in the only possible beam of light from the door. Without the felines, her fear of the dark took over. At least that meant everything was okay now.

He hugged her and rubbed her back. “I’m sorry. You’re okay.”

He hoped her nyctophobia wouldn't last much longer. 

“It’s time to go,” He narrated as he carried her off of the ship, slipping her sword into the bag and adjusting the supplies on his back.

“Dada?” 

“Yes, Seraphina?” 

She reached for the new bags, her head tilted in silent question. Or more accurately, questions she couldn’t explain by the frustration on her face. 

“I purchased more sustenance, a tent, and a chocobo whistle.”

Feline eyes lit up. 

“It’s for a mountain chocobo, so we can cover more ground safely. And to find a new place to sleep.”

“Chocobo!” She echoed joyfully. 

He felt the smallest tug at the corner of his lips to mirror her happiness, but his obligation to her crushed it as soon as it came. “Correct.”

* * * 

Fear was an emotion beaten out of him at a young age, in a sense. He spent hours locked in combat rooms, surviving onslaughts of wave after wave of Hojo’s latest creations. No matter the challenge or his absolute exhaustion, even Hojo couldn’t destroy the basic instincts of fear and the desire for safety. Even now, he remembered imagining his mother running to his aid and stopping Hojo from finishing the trial. 

He lost the locket containing the only photo he had of her, the only true memory he had of her. 

Today, he held his daughter against his chest with absolute concern as the chocobo climbed the vertical cliff. Each hammered talon tested his resilience to not tighten his grip against his daughter any further. 

Meanwhile, he saw the mesmerized twinkle in the girl’s eyes at the horizontal view of Junon. But just like her first sunset, it led her to make terrible decisions. She tried to push herself up or reach out to the world far too often. 

She made a noise every time the chocobo reached the top of a cliff, the sudden transition from horizontal to vertical forcing her hands to his clothes and her body to his chest. He wanted to tighten his grip, but any more and he would absolutely hurt her. He could only rub her back and assure her that she was okay. 

Only once did they stop their ascent. The chopping of helicopter blades had the small family hiding between a pine tree and the side of the mountain, the red logo of his former life striking against the gray door. 

Family. The Shinra helicopter above transported soldiers ordered to hunt him down. There wasn’t a doubt in his mind. Yet he was still distracted by the single word: family.

At the top of the final vertical cliff laid their new vantage point. The chocobo shook the debris from the crunching cliff from its feathers before Sephiroth hopped off. 

The peaks of mountains protected the skyline and provided a single waterfall from a spring. The running pool near the flat patch of land would provide them with easily accessible fresh water as well as a full view of the Junon Region. 

Sephiroth set his daughter down on a patch of grass. “Stay here, Seraphina. I’ll set up the tent.” He placed their supply bag next to her. “Watch this, okay?”

“Dada?”

“Yes?”

She pointed to the gray bird. “Chocobo?”

He didn’t want to risk the chocobo returning to the ranch with his daughter on it, but he could tell by the look in her eyes she would not listen to his instruction without the avian companion. “Hold on.” He looped a hand through the lead and gently tugged down. 

The protesting wark made him frown. The creature probably didn’t want to rest in the middle of its shift. 

Another few tugs and the creature surrendered, folding its legs and simply loafing on the ground. 

Just as he suspected, Seraphina walked over and pressed her hands and face into the feathers. The chocobo preened a few pine needles out of her celestial hair as he moved the bags closer to her. 

He set up the tent, brushing over every open hole in the fabric. Even with the rain cover attached, he could see straight inside. 

Still, maybe they would be safe here. They had to be. He wouldn’t be able to flee to the next continent until Shinra assumed he already fled the region. 

* * * 

They were supposed to survey the area before continuing their mission. They were supposed to use this helicopter to determine where their target might be hiding. 

Their mission: convince Sephiroth to return to Shinra and capture the stolen experiment. 

Angeal fought the instinct to hold his head in his hands, deliberately keeping his arms crossed and forcing his back straight against the chair. His rapid thoughts made him flinch and glare with every reflection on their information.

Genesis didn’t fight the urge at all, his elbows on his knees, his spine curled with his hands in his hair. Their pilot must be wondering if Genesis gambled the entire SOLDIER budget on chocobo races and now has to face the director- or worse- the president. 

The chocobo rancher’s words echoed in their heads. 

Can’t have a monster and a little one. 

“It’s gotta be someone else, right?” Genesis turned to him, the pilot deaf without the use of headsets. “Some other traveler ignored the Zolom warnings? He just went through the mountains and has some experimental dog hunting for him?”

Angeal shook his head no matter how much he wanted an alternative to be true. “If he went through the mountain, he wouldn’t go out of his way to kill a Zolom.”

“He could use it as a deterrent. Send the army to Junon on a wild goose chase.” 

“And what about the feathers and ribbons in the Zolom’s teeth?”

“Coincidence? The other traveler’s? What if he was never near the chocobo farm in the first place!”

“Genesis.”

The Crimson Soldier groaned, leaning back so fast the redhead nearly dented their vessel from the bang. “He’s never shown interest in anyone. Ever.”

Angeal glanced out the window, not even half skimming the area for their target. “That we know of.”

“He barely has a life outside of us. We’d ‘know of’ someone. At least one, if it came down to it.” A crass way to put it for Genesis’s tastes but accurate all the same. 

He sighed. He couldn’t wrap his head around this. Well, he didn’t want to wrap his head around this as the options narrowed further and further.

Genesis’s fists clenched. “Hojo…” he growled venomously. 

Angeal sucked in a breath. Despite Sephiroth growing up under Hojo’s gaze- “There’s no way-”

“That lab has taken his every freedom since the day he was born.”

“You don’t know that, Genesis.”

“I have a pretty good idea. Will you not believe me unless I find and show you a photo? Because I guarantee R&D has those under lock and key.”

Two bangs on the pilot’s arm rest grabbed their attention. “Any update? Where to first?”

The two SOLDIERs glanced at each other in panic. 

Angeal answered the first thought that came to mind, holding the mic of the headset to his mouth. “No luck. Let’s check the chocobo ranch.”

“You got it.” The pilot turned off his com. 

Genesis held his face and Angeal sighed. They glanced out their respective windows to the land below. 

Crimson arms crossed. “...if the experiment is what we think it is, what do we do when we find him?”

Angeal stared, unable to face his friend. His eyes closed and his brows knitted in disbelief. “...I don’t know…”

Genesis tensed. “Just another bridge to burn on the way. My friend, the fates are cruel.” 

Chapter Text

Cloud missed the thrill of motorcycles. It was too long since he last felt the wind in his hair, the imperfections of the road, and the absolute control of his mobility. It had been a while since full combat was necessary on the backs of these machines. Shinra’s tiny security drones were barely practice for him, knocking each and every one out of the air to the unforgiving ground. 

Despite his silent enjoyment, his passenger was not so pleased. 

“You failed the test.” Jessie’s comment confused him. 

“What test?”

“Your driving test!” She laughed. 

He scanned the motorcycle. “We didn’t take any damage.”

“But your passengers and items inside the vehicle went flying with every turn. You know you can fail if things start rolling in the back seat.”

Cloud rolled his eyes instead. “You’re still hanging on.” 

“You can do better.”

“And you can drive yourself.”

The following stealth part of the mission was easy. Cloud deliberately ignored the comatose man as he swiped the employee ID card. He knew full well what mako poisoning could do. 

The full mission was successful as well, despite the sudden attack from Migdar’s mobile unit, despite the attack from the bombastic third class SOLDIER, despite the demanded one on one battle with that same SOLDIER. They returned to Sector Seven with the materials for the next bomb against Shinra with only one near loss to their side. 

During the one-on-one with the rowdy SOLDIER, an eager cadet spotted Jessie running out with the materials she needed. Which led them to where they are now. 

He really wanted the little girl to have one night without some kind of event. 

“Sera.” 

The door to his apartment opened in an instant. Cat-like eyes immediately reached Biggs’s bandana tightly bound against Jessie’s leg, a known red bandana masking soaked blood under the slum’s lights to distract any late night onlookers. 

He swiftly placed Jessie on the bed and wrapped battle hardened gloves around the bandana. “We couldn’t cure her correctly. Can you?” 

He heard the door close and lock. 

“Ha… look at you, carrying me over the threshold before even going on a date…” Jessie joked weakly. 

“Let me see it,” the girl demanded as she held her sword, a single green orb shining across her side. 

Cloud adjusted Wedge’s dry bandana at her thigh, tightening the fabric before releasing the bloody bandage at her calf. 

Sera assessed the wound, or more precisely, the healed skin bruising three sinister circles as violet consumed off-white. “Cloud, give her something to bite on.”

Cloud froze in place as he tried to think of any resource in their tiny room. The sheet would likely choke her and the pillow case came with the same problem. He glanced at the bandana. He cringed. Though she might catch a disease from her own blood, there was no telling if Biggs had anyone else’s splashed on it during combat.

“Use one of your belts. Run it under the sink if you have to.”

He didn’t need to be told to use the hottest water he could. In fact, he filled the sink before heating the water to a boil with controlled fire materia. 

“Three bullet wounds. All bullets exited the body. Two grazed the bone. No direct impact. Minimal shatter.” Sera listed and held her open hand above the limb, slowly circling the wound with peaceful magic. 

“Can you heal her leg?”

“I can close the skin and stop the internal bleeding, but materia can’t re-grow bones.”

“Am I gonna make it, Doctor Prodigy…? The patient joked again. 

Cloud watched black brows lower to a pout, but her tone remained analytical and detached. 

“Absolutely no standing on it for twenty four hours. You’ll be able to walk with a cane slowly after but if you can’t walk easily in six weeks, you need to go to an upper plate medical facility. Hopefully without the bullets, they won’t report the wound.” She barely turned away from the patient, “Cloud, your belt.”

Whatever joke Jessie was about to make was muffled by the old leather. 

Sera unsheathed her blade and delicately sliced into the malformed skin, revealing an uncorked rush of blood and a clear view into the wound. 

The precise glow of Regen plucked and placed the remaining shards of bone to their root, the scraping and shearing pain suppressed but more than present all at once. Sinew and tendons extended and threaded together as if freshly grown vines. 

The flow of blood slowed to a stop before the skin knit and sealed the skin. Sera lowered her hand. 

“Where do you live, Jessie?” The child didn’t miss a beat. “Do you have people there that can help you?”

“Lots of roommates on the other side of the Sector…” She explained with a sigh. “But there will be too many questions and too many schedules to balance. It’ll be better if I stay at our base...”

Cloud could read Sera’s thought before she even tried to speak them. He mentioned, “If we move her now, we’ll be more likely to avoid notice.”

Sera sighed, walking towards the door. “Let me go find the spare key. Give me ten minutes.”

“Be careful,” Cloud said. 

“Don’t get caught…” Jessie added with a small laugh. 

Sera nodded and left without another word. 

* * * 

“Damn it all!”

“Barret, she’s alive. That’s what matters,” Tifa reminded.  

“And of course I’m grateful, but now we’re down a member for the mission!” 

“What are we gonna do!?” Wedge panicked. 

“We will figure something out,” Biggs comforted. 

“You know my price,” Cloud’s voice claimed the bar, making everyone turn to the stool he sat on. 

“Stay out of this, merc!” 

“Barret, Cloud has a point,” Tifa defended, taking a step between them despite being more than two tables away. “With him, we don’t need to delay the mission by another month. And that’s assuming everyone on shift takes off again, or even have the time to.”   

So the missions were planned. AVALANCHE didn’t approach the reactors with a death wish alone. Cloud looked out the window as the argument continued, Barret the loudest as always. Wedge’s anxiety cowered in the volume. Biggs didn’t mind another mission. Tifa obviously supported him. But as his eyes travelled through the restaurant, his gaze landed on the little girl at his side. 

Sera hadn’t said a word, but the slight tilt down of her head stuck out to him. 

Guilt sank in his stomach. This was their third day in Midgar, and it would be their third night with some kind of event. The first mission and the unfortunate luck of Marco, the second night with Jessie’s mission, and now another mission for AVALANCHE. 

“If you find another merc, I’ll drop out without question,” Cloud announced. 

“Damn right you will!” Barret mocked in victory. 

The chair next to him screeched. Suddenly, Sera stood in front of him and met his eyes, her brows sharp. “Don’t you dare. Take the mission.”

Cloud glanced away. 

“Just… try not to take too many missions in Shinra? They already know your face.”

He nodded in agreement.

“Wait, what do you mean ‘already know’?” Barret questioned. 

The little girl turned to the massive leader of the small group. “In Sector One, did you all avoid cameras or did you focus on plowing through security?”

Cloud huffed, “Well I can answer that…”

Barret’s stare hardened but he did not speak.

“It means Shinra knows your faces. Be extra careful if you’re serious about this mission.” The girl pulled her hood down, blocking her eyes as she turned away. “I hope you’re prepared for everything to go wrong.”

“We always prepare!” Barret raised his mechanical arm into the air and loaded it. “If not, this is always ‘Plan B’!”

The little sigh from the girl made the burly man scowl. 

Tifa let out a small chuckle. “Well, that is obviously an option, but I’ll also be on the A Team this mission.”

Cloud stood, mako blue eyes burning with concern. “Tifa-”

“Don’t worry about me. I'm a big girl. I can take care of myself.”

Cloud wanted to show worry but had to hold back a chuckle at Sera’s pouted huff. 

“I’m still gonna look for another merc!” Barret pushed the doors to Seventh Heaven open. 

“Wait!”

All eyes turned back to the celestial child. 

“If you pay Cloud an extra hundred Gil, I’ll watch Marlene.”

“Are you for real?!”

“Sera, no bargaining with AVALANCHE.”

She crossed her arms. “It’s barely enough for a potion…”

Jessie raised a hand. “I can’t go too far. I’ll watch the kids.”

“And that saves us a hundred Gil!” Wedge announced with a cheerful little jump. 

* * * 

Another round of goodbyes. Another promise to return. Another train to the upper plate. 

Judging by the way this mission was going, AVALANCHE would be laying low for a while after completion. 

First, the ID scanners on the train immediately caught their fake IDs. Then, Cloud, Barret, and Tifa searched for any way up the plate. After finally getting close, they were forced to reroute power from the sun lamps to secure their route. They thought the higher security would be their only issue, but the electric troops in the reactor and their erratic attack patterns proved difficult for them all. 

For once, the stench of mako was a blessing. 

The high ceilings to dilute the radiation, the pipes, catwalks and ladders, everything looked just like Sector One. 

Everything looked like Mako Rector One, the memory he would never forget. 

Tifa walked forward with the new bomb in hand, placing and arming it perfectly in the nook of the reactor core. This blast was supposed to be more concentrated, not designed to light up the entire facility. 

“How long do we have?” Cloud asked. 

Tifa shrugged and Barret chuckled, holding up a small device. “Remote controlled. Should give us all the time we need or a proper distraction if we find ourselves in a bind.”

Shinra can track this. Hack this. A memory echoed in Cloud’s mind, the feeling of an item being ripped from his hands tingling across his fingers. His own ‘hey’ of protest went unheard. 

The sim card will break. But if you only put the battery in when you check it, Shinra will have a harder time tracking or even noticing the signal. Was this SOLDIER provided? I’m surprised they haven’t turned it off yet…

“We should set the timer,” Cloud announced to an immediate groan of protest. “Shinra’s expecting trouble. Can the countdown be hacked over the signal?”

Barret shrugged. “Don’t think so. Jessie said the timer’s our last resort.” The man hardened, glaring down through sunglasses. “But that’s not your call, merc.”

“No, Cloud’s right.” Tifa defended, much to Barret’s dismay. “Worst case scenario, we run out through the chaos. We can handle it.”

They could make it.

They thought they could make it. 

Until President Shinra appeared on holograms, mocking their efforts as well as the concept of an ‘ex’-SOLDIER. Until one of the latest weapons in Shinra’s arsenal flew at them, so large it forced the team to separate on both sides of the catwalk. Until they barely squeaked out a victory only to be met with a self destruct sequence. Until Cloud dangled by one arm from a fractured support above the long fall from the plate to the slums. 

“Cloud!” Tifa’s fear rang in his mind. 

“Get out of here!” He shouted without a thought. 

“We don’t have time, Tifa.” Barret pushed. 

“We’re not leaving without him!”

Cloud swallowed. “This isn’t the end for you, or me! Get back and-!” He choked. He didn’t expect the statement to hurt so much, but he had to say it. He steeled his breath. “Get back and keep her safe!”

For once, Barret was on his side. “Come on. We gotta go.” With a hand on Tifa’s shoulder, the father shouted to Cloud. “We better find you later!”

“Count on it!”

A small boom from the reactor ricocheted through the building. The massive tower went up in flames and debris. The shock rumbled through the team, and the two on their feet made their escape. 

Cloud waited until he couldn’t decipher their footsteps from the officers hunting them down and let go, starting the fall that would threaten even the greatest of First Class SOLDIERs.

Chapter Text

Twenty one days. Three weeks had passed since they settled by a waterfall in the Junon Region. Sephiroth surveyed Shinra’s forces every moment the company entered his sight, yet the operatives had not approached their home yet. 

With so much yet so little time, he and his daughter fell into a routine. He spent his morning scavenging and hunting close to their tent, occasionally entering a small shop. He strayed just far enough to return to feed his daughter lunch and repeated the process until dinner. He usually spent the first few minutes at the waterfall hunting his baby down, be it that she climbed one of the few trees and cliffs or that she followed another family of bunnies to the thankfully only bunny burrow near their tent. However, there were days where he found her napping on the floor of the tent. He never knew where he would find her, but seeing her bundled in the scrap of his leather coat with the side of her hand pressed against her sleeping mouth always warmed his heart. 

Well, until the day he found her in half an inch of water. The holes in the tent were not forgiving. The rain cover only blocked a few of the worn entrances. Seraphina sat up waiting for him in a puddle four times before he could finally afford a new tent. 

Sephiroth never thought he would be grateful to sleep on plastic fabric until comparing wet plastic to dry plastic for the little sleep he managed to get. He maybe slept an hour a day after his favorite part of the day. 

At night, after dinner, he took Seraphina out of their small home and stargazed with her. Away from Midgar, but still somewhat polluted by Junon, he could only teach her the brightest of constellations. 

The baby pointed to the sky with chubby fingers. “...Ursa…?”

He followed her direction and spotted the seven stars in question. “Ursa Major. The constellation with the North Star, which always points north.”

Her brows furrowed as she let out a frustrated huff. “Nord Star,” she knowingly mispronounced, but he found himself more relaxed at her attempts of new words rather than the safety of the words she already knew.

“You’ll be able to pronounce it properly when your teeth come in.”

She pointed at him now, specifically at his mouth. “Teed.”

“Yes. Pronunciation will be much easier with teeth. Even ‘S’s will be easier.”

“S,” She stated without issue. He chose not to question how or why she figured out that sound first.

He chose to shift their attention back to the sky. “Do you remember what that constellation is?”

Seraphina looked up, and he never tired of watching her little cat-like eyes scan the sky. She followed the shape with her hand a few times before answering, “...Draco…?”

Sephiroth nodded. “Very good, Seraphina.”

“Dada?”

“Hm?” He turned to her celestial hair, but he noticed a small downward curve of her lip and scrunch of her brow. 

She only made a little lowering noise.

“What’s wrong?”

A moment passed before she looked away. 

“What hurts?” 

She turned back to him but didn’t have an answer. 

“Maybe it’s time for bed, then.” Perhaps her ailment would heal overnight. 

The baby simply closed her eyes and rested against him. 

Bedtime was probably her second favorite part of the day, as far as he could tell. He spent his single hour of rest with her in his arms, feeling her nuzzle against his chest. Only when she was sufficiently warm and deep in sleep would he dare move her to her ‘bed’. It was a cushion meant for small dogs, but her size allowed her to fit for now, and allowed him a pillow when he decided to use one. 

It would be a long time until they had a proper home. In the meantime, he offered what he could: a dry place to sleep, a new book to learn reading from as well as parenting skills, and a fuzzy bed with his shard of coat to keep her warm until morning. 

If they could avoid Shinra for two months, perhaps the lower ranked cadets would loosen their guard and unknowingly offer passage to the Western Continent. Only then could they maybe start a normal life. But until then, he found his routine keeping him calm and giving Seraphina a safe place to explore. He was satisfied with that for now. 

* * * 

The morning sun peeked through fog of the mountains, illuminating the land and water with majestic golden rays in sharp contrast to the dirty and debris filled uniforms of the two SOLDIERs. Clouds hung in the sky, letting out the tiniest dribble every few minutes, which only allowed dark streaks to drip off the cloth and leather. 

“I told you Fort Condor was a waste of time,” Angeal muttered, smoothing the dirt on his arm. 

“Which is exactly why ‘our target’ might use it as a sanctuary. You have to consider all possibilities, Angeal.” The old friend pulled a crushed feather out of red, dusty hair before tossing it to the wind. 

“A direct enemy of Shinra would not allow ‘our target’ anywhere near them, Genesis. They’ve avoided Shinra spies this long. They’re not making that simple of a mistake now.”

“None of them ever approached with a baby.” Genesis stated as he walked ahead, never turning to his comrade. 

Angeal sighed while pinching his brow, slowly following, “We still don’t know if-”

“Every mythril miner confirmed it.” The crimson soldier nudged a pebble with his foot, watching it tumble down the mountain side with clicks and clacks. “They can’t all be lying.”

“Then we should be looking in less populated areas.” 

Genesis laughed in defeat. “And look where? He wasn’t in the old watch towers surrounded by monsters. He’d be caught immediately by Junon security. He can’t be in the city or the town. We checked how much of these goddess forsaken woods? Where else, Angeal?” He slipped a map out of his pocket and rolled it open, portraying the mighty Region of Junon full of scattered red ‘X’s now shoved into a new set of gloved hands. 

Angeal let out another tired sigh but not at Genesis’s attitude. The worry of their friend, the pressure from the higher ups to not only locate the target but continue their missions. The inconsistent back and forth left from the frontline to the manhunt left them frustrated. 

They were usually given time to bathe between mission objectives, but nearly a month from the incident forced the higher ups to push faster results from SOLDIER. 

Watching Genesis periodically rub the dirt out of the crimson coat, take the supposedly subtle sniffs of his own body, and avoid turning to Angeal to hide the bird’s nest of bangs and the bags under unmoisturized eyes constantly reminded Angeal that this mission had to succeed. 

“Assuming he hasn’t spotted us, let’s just keep going along the border.”

His friend traced the trail along the page. “Lovely. More small towns, derelict houses, and  abandoned camping spots.”

Angeal took and rolled up the map. “Abandoned camping spots sound safer than chocobo stops.”

“Yes, abandoned chocobo stops will be far worse news for the worried mother,” sarcasm bled from his words. Of course. Genesis’s new, spitballed idea: kidnapping. 

“You can’t seriously be on that theory again-” 

“I am simply preparing for all possible scenarios.”

* * * 

The landscape was far different from the orchards of Banora. The sheer quantity of vertical cliffs baffled Genesis. How do people get anywhere efficiently? He was grateful for his enhancements as he and Angeal scaled the cliffs without the aid of chocobos. 

At least in Banora, Angeal could get anywhere he needed to on foot. He couldn’t afford paying for a chocobo just to wander the same region they lived in. Hopefully there were no doctors so far out of the way up here. 

The waterfall was nice. Loud, as usual, but calming in its endless nature. He guessed waterfalls were the one advantage of such chaotic terrain. 

But they also distracted their enhanced senses. They could barely hear a fiend approach with the constant noise.

Genesis dusted himself off when he reached the top, only scanning around after deeming himself clean enough. A small spring formed by the waterfall housed crystal clear water, and the small patch of land too small for a home was still a perfect place to rest. With access to fresh water, protection from the sun with a few trees, and the bunny burrow nearby supplying food in desperate times, it would be perfect if not so far from the civilized world. 

So why was there a gray tent set up perfectly under the largest tree? 

Angeal swallowed. Genesis knew they had the same thought. They flew over this area every return from the front. How did they miss this?

For once, neither Angeal nor Genesis wanted to find their target. 

“Infinite in mystery is the gift of the goddess.” Genesis shook his head. “I’ll look ahead and hope this is another failed attempt.” 

Angeal didn’t voice his protest. “I’ll watch your back. But tell me if the rumors are true.”

The redhead nodded and took a quick breath. Mako blue eyes scanned the soil, spotting the disjointed footprint or two with no real pattern. With a squish beneath his feet, it seemed the waterfall washed away evidence without needing to lift a finger. 

Genesis’s heart sank as he approached the tent. He looked over the length of the zipper, not spotting a single strand of silver hair. The rain cover sat perfectly around the tent’s tip, but the worn belts showed just how long the temporary structure stood. 

He swallowed, carefully tearing the worn zipper open, its squeaks spiking his anxiety. 

Inside sat a lone baby on a flat, fuzzy pillow, hair black and silver like the stars of night and eyes like a kitten’s slits. It wore a gray shirt much too large for its form, a split blanket of black leather rested on its shoulders. It was so chubby and young Genesis was shocked to see it sitting up with a sheathed sword on its lap.

Before Genesis even spoke a word of surprise, the baby unsheathed its sword and stood on its own two feet. 

“Ahhhh…” it made a confused sound thick with baby talk. 

Holy Goddess, Sephiroth didn’t kidnap someone’s child- this was his child.

“Angeal, get in here!” Genesis shouted over his shoulder. 

“Ahhhhhhh…” the sound was longer the second time, louder too. 

“Genesis, let the baby sle-” Angeal couldn’t finish the lecture once he popped his head into the tent. 

“Ahhhhhhhhhh….!” the baby backed against the wall of the tent but kept the short blade pointed at both of them. 

Oh no. Oh gods. What was it trying to say? If Angeal was shocked to silence, what was he supposed to do?! Genesis forced his bewilderment down before it overcame him as he tried to speak soothingly, slowly showing the child his unarmed hands. “Hey, little one. It’s okay. It’s okay. We’re not here to hurt you.”

“Ahhhh!” The cry sharpened and spiked. 

“It’s his baby...” Angeal mumbled in shock while Genesis focused on preventing anyone and everyone from getting stabbed. “It’s really his baby…”

“We’re friends of your father. You’re okay. We won’t hurt you-”

“AHHHH!” The baby screamed, taking a large, deliberate breath before repeating. “AHHHH!”

He cringed at the sound but had to attempt. “Please, little one. My name is Genesis.” He placed a hand on his chest before gesturing to his friend. “This is Angeal. We’re friends of Sephiroth.”

It silenced for just a moment. Its head tilted. 

Why did this baby that wasn’t even a toddler stop at that name?

“We work with Sephiroth. We’ve known him since he was young. We’re Sephiroth’s friends. We really need to find him. Are you okay-?”

“AHHHH!” The cycle of screams returned in a heartbeat. 

No matter what Genesis said, no matter if he moved closer or farther from the baby, it kept up its deliberate screams, yet it never cried. Genesis tried to reason with it while Angeal was stuck trying to reason out their current situation. Neither SOLDIER could defeat the will of this small baby. 

“Little one, please put the sword down. We’re not going to hurt you-”

A massive blade pierced through the center of the tent wall, splitting the two SOLDIERs from the baby. The sword stretched through end to end easily, rays of intermittent sun piercing through the fabric like a halo. 

Genesis gasped as he jerked back before the blade could strike him. Though looking at the indents, it never would have, only an inch away from where he had been negotiating. Angeal’s breath only hitched.

They found their target. Or more realistically, their target found them. 

“Back away from the child. Keep your hands in the air.” The silent or I will kill you not needed to be said by the voice they both knew so well with the blade they could never forget. 

Genesis nudged Angeal with the back of his foot, and both SOLDIERs stepped backward out of the tent. 

Sure enough, the fabric was impaled upon Masamune, a blade only ever wielded by Sephiroth. 

Sephiroth, who was once rumored to use an entire bottle of shampoo and conditioner every time he showered, was an absolute mess. His knotted hair was poorly braided. His armor was gone. His iconic coat was barely functional enough for his own shoulders, each section deliberately sliced. His pale skin was marred with the blood of fiends and the dust of wilderness. He was, in a simple word, a mess.

Outside the tent, the blade deliberately pointed at two kept them moving without question, each new raindrop bouncing against the singing metal. The extended arm finally lowered when they were no longer in range of their own or his sword. 

“Sephiroth…” Angeal finally spoke, but the question in his voice was buried by surprise. 

Predatory eyes remained on them as he stepped in front of the lone door to the tent, Masamune still dangerously waiting in his grip. “Seraphina, come here.”

Despite the obvious size and age of the baby, it obeyed. How in the goddess did it walk out of the tent with a now sheathed sword? When Sephiroth bent on a knee with one hand threatening them holding the weapon and the other offered down to the baby, it climbed with trained precision onto his knee and into the comfort of his arm. Seraphina- Genesis could only assume her name was- rested her head against the tattered black leather shoulder so calmly, those screams from earlier had to be a lie. 

A girl. That baby was a girl.

Sephiroth stood and turned his face only slightly to the baby. “Are you okay?”

The baby nodded, melting into his hold. 

With the simple affirmation, Sephiroth’s deadly eyes returned to Genesis and Angeal. 

“Sephiroth…” Angeal swallowed hard, his hands deliberately out of range from the Buster Sword and the Masamune, as he asked the first of many questions, “Are you okay…? You look thin…”

Chapter Text

Everything was dark. 

The silence was loud.

Something buzzed in his mind. 

A command. A memory. A suggestion. A fear. 

He couldn’t tell. 

He didn’t want to be here. 

He wanted to leave.

How could he get out? 

Where was he? 

Who was he? 

A sound. A thud. He couldn’t determine the source. 

Was that-? 

“Hellooo?” 

What was that? 

It sounded real.

It sounded close. 

“Hellooooooo?”

His head hurt. 

His body hurt. 

He had to get up.  

A groan left Cloud’s lips as light stung his freshly opened eyes, angering his massive headache and the soreness of every muscle in his body. 

Where…?

“Good morning, sleepy head.” An all too chipper voice chirped above, a woman with brown hair tied back a pink bow looking down at him. “Have a good nap?”

Cloud slowly held his head and planted his other in the dirt to lift himself up. Wait, dirt? He looked down, his palm crushing one of the many yellow flowers. “Sorry.”

“It’s alright. Unless you aimed for my flower patch when you fell from the steel sky.”

He kept analyzing the flower, the curve of the stem and the pattern of the petals, when suddenly realization struck. “You were up on the plate the other day.”

He saw her smile grow with a bit too much excitement. “You remembered!” She hopped up to her full height, offering an arm. “Aerith. I’m Aerith. And you are?”

He stood quickly, thankful his sight did not blur in the process. “It’s Cloud.”

She tilted her head, her long braid dangling in the air. “Nice to properly meet you. Did your person ‘waiting at home’ appreciate the flower?”

Cloud rubbed the back of his neck and looked away. “Yeah. She seemed to like it at least.”

“Well I’m glad. But I’d appreciate it if you stopped stepping on the others.”

He stared down and stumbled out of the flower patch. “Shoot. Sorry.”

“It’s alright. They’re tougher than they look, growing in a city like this.”

“Where are we anyway?”

“An old church in the Sector Five Slums.” She gestured up, and Cloud followed to the ragged hole in the triangular scaffolding. “You came crashing through the roof without warning. Not even a yell like you were having a good time.”

“Yeah…” Cloud grimaced. “I wasn’t…”

“Don’t worry about it. I healed you. You should be good to go soon.”

“Thanks.” Cloud had too much to worry about and headed for the doors without another word, ignoring the huffing pout and the indignant ‘hey’.

But the doors opened before he reached them, and a Turk strolled in without a care in the world, the same suit as always but this one buttoned it way too low. 

“I’ll see myself in. Thanks.” The redhead mocked as a small squad of cadets took their clearly practiced posts. 

The way Aerith pulled him back but stayed behind him told Cloud everything he needed to know. 

“You don’t want to go with this guy?”

She shook her head. “I’ll owe you. Be my bodyguard for a bit? You’re the new merc in town, right?”

Cloud wanted to question her, but the Turk’s appearance alone irritated him. They had dealt with enough Turks already. His top priority changed to shutting this one up. 

* * * 

A little earlier marked one of the few hours of the day which blessed the underplate with the slight and light of the sun. The rays dispersed the haze of mako fog, bringing the slightest joy and hope to the slums. 

AVALANCHE only felt the smallest relief, the remainder cursed by the last minute decisions leading to a temporary loss of their mercenary. A late night mission took them until dawn to return to their home Sector. 

Biggs and Wedge apparently made it back far earlier than the two closest to the blast. At least one of them got some rest. Wedge apparently continued his break as the only excuse Biggs received was ‘taking care of the cats’.

“Well, we made it back. Small victories, right?” Biggs attempted to lighten the mood. 

“Big losses aren’t countered by small victories.” Tifa’s gaze rarely lifted from the street. She didn’t mean to say the name that never left her mind. “Cloud…”

“He’s a first class SOLDIER, right? He’ll make it. I'm sure of it.”

Tifa was sure too, but that didn’t calm her worry. Her belief didn’t have to reflect reality. If he survived but Shinra arrested him, she wasn't sure what she would do.

“Look,” Barret grabbed their attention. “Right now, we need to rest up. Then we can look for intel on the merc. But nothin’s gettin’ done on an empty tank.”

That was true. She didn’t like it, but denying it wouldn’t bring her energy back. 

“When all this blows over, we’ll have a hell of a story to tell!”

‘To tell’. Tifa winced. Suddenly she had a new moment to dread. 

“What’s wrong?” Barret asked. She must have been an open book. 

She took a sharp inhale but sighed softly. “We have to tell Sera.” 

“Yeah.” Barret rubbed his neck. “But she’s a tough one. She won’t take long to bounce back.” 

“Can you tell her then?” Tifa felt his brown eyes scan her up and down. She hesitantly crossed her arms. 

“Alright, I’ll do it. But you owe me.” 

“Done.” She didn’t need to think. Even imagining those inhuman eyes on her as she explained her childhood friend’s danger made her blood boil. She didn’t need fake tears from the eyes that killed their village. She wouldn’t console a single hair on that cursed head, no matter how many tears fell. 

Barret explaining was a better idea for everyone. A father who never interacted with Shinra’s fallen hero.

“Thanks, Barret.”

“You got it, Tifa.”

Down the familiar dirt road, the three members stood in front of Seventh Heaven, stealing themselves for the news to be delivered. 

Suddenly, a loud ringing came from Biggs. The man jammed his hand in his pocket and held the phone to his ear in a quick swoop. “What’s going on?”

At a hand held in the air in wait, both Tifa and Barret stopped their advance. 

“Slow down-”

If there was even a chance the info on the other side of the line was about Cloud, they would wait as long as they needed. 

“That’s insane-” 

After a few more cut off sentences, Biggs addressed the team. 

“Shinra’s new plan leaked to Don Corneo of all people. All my contact got was ‘catastrophic terrorist attack’ and ‘it’s only one section of the city’.”

What the hell did that mean?

“Biggs, go look for intel,” Barret ordered. 

“Don’t need to worry about that.” Tifa gestured to herself. “I have some Gil saved up. Worst case scenario, the Don’s tastes are unique, right?”

Biggs sighed. “Let’s hope this is miscommunication. I’ll see what I can find.” 

As Biggs left, Barret shouted, “You better find some time to take a break! Confirmed or not!”

A single thumbs up thrown in the air was the only response they received.

Now came the looming doors of Seventh Heaven. 

Tifa looked back at Barret. “You ready?”

“As ready as I’ll ever be.”

She took a breath before pushing open the doors to her bar. 

The smallest child hopped off a chair and ran to her father immediately, the pink dress flowing and short hair bobbing with every step. “Daddy, you’re back!” 

Barret faked an impact and spun her into his arms, a bright smile instantly shining on his face. “Damn right! How’s my baby girl doin’? Did you have fun with Jessie?”

Tifa watched silently. No matter how long he avoided the topic, one of them had to tell the hooded child watching from the bar. 

Marlene nodded. “Mhm!” She pointed to the other little girl. “But Sera makes really scary drawings!”

“‘Scary drawings’? Let me see! No one gets to scare my baby girl.” He strode into the bar, approaching the woman and child sitting at the counter. “Hi, by the way. Thanks for watchin’ ‘em.” 

Jessie flashed a smile. “No worries at all. You know Marlene’s always a pleasure.” She carefully leaned over, her ponytail brushing the countertop. She opened her mouth to say something when she was suddenly cut off. 

“Where’s Cloud?” 

All eyes locked onto the little girl in mismatched clothing, but two sets turned away after a silent moment. 

Tifa glanced at Barret to activate their agreement. 

Marlene adjusted in Barret’s grip as she looked around. “Is the mean man gone?” 

The inhuman child scanned both Tifa and Barret before thankfully choosing to approach the father. Jessie put a hand in front of the girl, but it didn’t seem like she cared. “Barret, where’s Cloud?”

Barret swallowed, slowly lowering to one knee and forcing himself to look at the child. The innocence in kitten-like eyes seared into him. He stared for a long moment. Then glanced between the girl in front of him and the girl in his arms. He tightened his hold around his own. 

No. 

Tifa stared hard. 

Don’t you dare. 

But she could see the comparison no father could separate. 

You accepted the offer. 

The guilty expression against her betrayed one was more than enough to know Barret surrendered under the pressure of a nine year old girl. 

Jessie interrupted, placing a hand on Sera’s arm to turn her away from the failing friend. “Look, Sera, our missions are very dangerous. Sometimes, things go wrong-”

The girl broke out of the woman’s grip and suddenly stood square in front of Tifa. “What happened to Cloud?” 

Barret, you owe me so much for this. 

With those big eyes on her, she took a sharp breath and spoke as calmly as she could. “He fell off the plate.”

The girl’s inquisitive expression did not change. 

“Shinra knew we were coming and their latest weapon self-destructed.” That was enough of an explanation. It had to be, because every word made her angrier at the leader of AVALANCHE. 

The child’s gaze slowly fell from Tifa to straight ahead to the floor. There were slow, uneasy breaths. A rise and fall of unstable shoulders. Like this lying child actually cared what happened to Cloud. One fall. Two falls. Three falls-

The end of the third breath wavered the child’s body and small hands grabbed at the pale face beneath the hood. Fingers curled like claws, prepared to scratch straight through the girl’s own skin. They didn’t. Only small fingertips pushed deeply into childish flesh. She kept shaking her head. Faster, uneven, harder breaths physically shivering the girl’s body. 

But then it stopped. The shivering, the shaking, the lack of control, it all stopped. A final few breaths and the girl’s hands lowered to her sides. Her gaze opened forward, hollow yet hardened. 

Like a soldier in battle. 

“Okay.” The girl’s voice was far too calm for that to be the first word spoken regarding Cloud’s disappearance. Tifa thought her assumption of manipulation was finally proven true, but then the girl looked up at her. “Thank you for your kindness, Tifa.” 

Wait… what? 

“Wait, what!?” Barret announced her very thought. 

The child didn’t elaborate though. She simply turned away and opened the wallet from her pocket, counting the Gil inside, as she walked over to the bar, specifically to the entrance behind it. “Can I get two water bottles before I go?”

“Hold up for a second!” Barret shouted, but the lack of a real command kept the girl moving. “You’re not ‘going’ anywhere! Cloud’ll find his way back-” 

“Cloud is gone,” the child countered as she opened the fridge and pulled out the two plastic bottles. 

This… wasn’t what Tifa expected from the child of a murderer. 

“We saw him fall. Tired from battle but no injuries-” 

“The plate is three hundred meters above the ground. Cloud is dead, Barret.” She shifted through the wallet and placed the appropriate coins and cash on the counter next to the register. “I can’t stay in Midgar.”

“But SOLDIER boy is strong enough to-”

“Average SOLDIERs are capable of falling one hundred meters without potential for damage. The chance of survival drops exponentially with increased height. Cloud is dead-”

“Interrupt me again and see what happens!” 

The child silenced but walked toward the door. 

Tifa stood in front of the only exit. This couldn’t be right. A child wouldn’t act like this if their guardian suddenly vanished, but this wasn’t how a child acted at all. How would that be helpful when manipulating? Though she wanted this child out of her hair, if Cloud truly was dead, then his last request was to keep the child safe. 

Tifa leaned forward, her voice equal parts scolding and forced kindness, “Where do you think you’re going?”

“Out of Shinra City.” 

Barret approached now too. Tifa glanced up quickly, spotting Jessie and Marlene having their own conversation. 

The girl’s expression wavered when Barret placed a gentle hand on her shoulder. 

“Cloud asked us to keep you safe,” the father explained in the same tone used for his own daughter. “If you really need to leave, we understand. We all have our demons with Shinra, and we won’t judge you for it. But at least let us take you somewhere safe. Do you have anywhere else to go, Sera? Any family or friends?”

Tifa’s eyes clamped closed at the obvious mistake of a question. 

“...Cloud was all I had left...” An attempt to be cold and detached revealed uncertainty and grief.  

“Then stay with us for a couple of days. We’ll hold out for Soldier Boy. And we can handle Shinra.” 

“...Fine… Two days...”

“Would you like a hug?”

Tifa could almost see the conflict of the girl being treated like a child, but also needing to be treated like a child for a moment. 

The little girl didn’t answer, but her eyes fell and her arms tensed. 

Barret took the liberty of wrapping his arm around the girl, even if Sera stood still as a statue in response. 

Tifa took the opportunity to walk away and talk to Jessie about literally anything other than the girl. “So how much of a mess should I expect when I go down there?” She joked with a smile. 

Jessie gave a laugh and a fake punch. “About as much as you’d expect from little girls. Crayons, drawings, and various objects strewn about from games of Pretend. But nothing crazy.” 

“I cleaned up!” Marlene interrupted with her hands on the counter. “I put the crayons away!”

Which just left everything else. “Thank you, Marlene.”

She stuck her nose in the air with a fake huff. “I had to put them away after Sera’s scary drawing…”

Tifa facepalmed mentally. She came over here to avoid the girl. 

“You ripped it out of my hands, Marlene. I told you it was too scary,” Jessie scolded. 

“Can we throw it in the dump now?”

However, curiosity bloomed. “How bad could it possibly be?” Tifa interrupted with a raised brow. 

Jessie gestured to the register. “I had to lock it in there. I assume you know how to get in without making a fake purchase?”

Oh gods, not again. “Jessie, that messes up the accounts.”

She leaned back with a swing of red hair. “No regrets. You’ll see why.”

“No, Tifa, don’t!” Marlene suddenly jumped out of her chair and hid behind Barret. The second little girl was sitting in a booth silently. It seemed Barret’s conversation at least worked. “I don’t wanna see it again!”

“It’s not gonna hurt you, babygirl. I'm here to protect you. It can’t be bad enough to scare me.” 

Tifa sighed and walked around the counter. A rapid yet code long practiced to muscle memory tapped into the keypad, and the register popped right open. Above the coins and cash laid a folded piece of white paper. 

Marlene whimpered. 

Tifa backed against the farthest wall from the girl and opened the drawing. 

What was she looking at?

Tifa could make out tentacles, a body of a woman, a massive anatomically correct heart, but there were limbs and growths on the creature that seemed to both be a part of it and a part of the background. The perfect detail in contrast to the pathetic flowers the little girl drew just a few nights before almost shocked her as much as the abomination trapped on paper. 

She couldn’t find a head. There was a chance one of the limbs was simply the neck at the edge of the page. She had never seen anything like it. 

“What is this?” Tifa asked the quiet child. 

“My nightmare,” came the obvious answer, cold as always. “Marlene asked me to draw it.”

Tifa glared but Jessie interrupted. 

“She asked me to check it before even thinking of showing Marlene. But, things got out of hand during a game of Pretend and…”

And the rest was obvious enough. 

Barret walked over to check the piece of paper as well, but suddenly the doors flew open. 

Biggs stood panting in their wake. “We have to get into the Don’s place. He’s the only one with info but the only leak is Shinra will ‘make Wutai look like clown college’.”

In a moment, everyone had a new objective: get into the Don’s, help with the evacuation if necessary, be on guard for battle. 

“Sera,” Barret called the girl who stood at attention. “I need you to protect Marlene and get her out if everything goes to hell. Can you do that?”

A sharp nod with militant posture came in response. “Understood.”