SOLDIER Intelligence - sort of

[intemperiae]

Characters: Sephiroth, Zack Fair, Cloud Strife, Reno(AU),
Setting: Small study room furthest from the staircase in the Library: Floor 19
Format: I personally prefer prose, but am good with either; commenter's choice
Summary: The Boys of ShinRa are having a sit-down and "swapping stories".
Warnings: None I can think of; will edit if demolition/carnage occurs ;)
Notes: Posting order not required? Just jump in wherever.

Sephiroth sat silently at far end of the small table, interlaced gloved hands resting on its top. He waited, only the slight rise and fall of his chest testament to his breathing; otherwise, ShinRa's General might have been a statue cut from pale marble, so still was he. Zack was the fidgeter, he thought, casting a fond glance to the dark haired SOLDIER pacing the length of the room.

"Zack", he finally said, cutting through the eerie quiet, just the pup's name carrying both mild rebuke and understanding. Things were definitely out of sorts, that was certain. But worrying over it wasn't going to fix it any sooner. Once they sat down and heard the stories of the others, they'd be able to progress with an action plan, a direction.

For now, however, patience was required. Patience and a clear head. Sephiroth was determined to exercise both, regardless of the cost.

Comments

[notontheflowers]

"There are more important things going on at the moment than Nibelhiem, Cloud." Reno sighed, "That paticular ball of problems can be addressed at a later time when we're not at each other's throats as Zack so tactfully pointed out."

He settled in to a chair, elbows on the table and fingers lacing together.

"I can tell you all for a fact that home is gone. I've fought the thing that did it alongside Vincent, Veld and yourself Sephiroth alongside a sundry list of people from various other worlds." He nodded in the silver haired man's direction. "We won, but there's probably very little left in the universe that's safe. This tower may be one of those safe spots, or it could be like the ship I recently left; a facility used to gather and ferry those who could be saved."

It was, as far as he was concerned, a decidedly logical conclusion.

"Now as far as what had happened back home... Sephioth; you've been considered dead for nearly a decade, reports differ greatly over the precise cause. Zack, you're dead as well, though for a shorter amount of time despite the efforts of the Turks otherwise at the time." He shot Cloud a look, silently requesting him not to spill the beans on the whole situation. It would cause too much madness they couldn't handle right now without death ending up in the cards.

"After that, the President was assassinated and Rufus took over the company. Not long after that, Meteor was summoned and destroyed Midgar and nearly the rest of the planet. ShinRa fell as a direct result and a disease called Geostigma began infecting people. I believe Cloud has a better account of events after this point concerning a trio calling themselves Remnants and hunting for the remains of Jenova."

He paused, blinking at Sephiroth for a moment. "Who is not your mother by the way, but we can discuss that at a later point in time."

[intemperiae]

Sephiroth sat silently, arms crossed over his chest as he leaned back in the chair, listening to the Turk's tale. Which grew more incredulous the longer it became. As evidenced by the sloe-eyed slant of MAKO green eyes. He finally propped his head on his right hand, finger idly tapping at his temple.

Listening to all of this, Sephiroth could well believe the fall of ShinRa; it was inevitable really, but the rest? He'd need more proof than Reno's word that such was fact, particularly when the Turk had swaggered in boasting threats and belligerence enough to choke a Zolom. As to the matter of his parentage...

"We won't discuss it at all," he stated firmly. He fixed the Turk with a flat, level gaze. "Not that I need explain the reasoning to you, but for two reasons. One, and probably the most relevant: it's none of your damned business. Two: it holds no bearing on our present situation." And that was final.

The General turned from the Turk, dismissing him visually for the moment, and his eyes settled on Cloud. One of his "former" men. And he nodded, tone returning to its quiet timbre. "If you will, Cloud Strife."

[atouchofstrife]

That was a lot of stuff compressed into a little bit of nothing. Cloud was just a little glad that Reno didn't go into details. He didn't want to end up reliving the events, especially the ones that made him what he was. Of course, some of it might had been better if explained - Because he had already mentioned Hojo to Zack - but maybe later on when Reno wasn't being the Head Turk.

Maybe over beer if there was any in the tower.

He still didn't believe that the Planet was gone. That Reno had seen what was left, followed by fighting something, he didn't doubt it, but it seemed too neat. Too tidy.

"The stigma was caused by J-cells attacking the host body and the host body trying to fight it off. It had been triggered by the Remnants - Kadaj, Loz and Yazoo. All three were brothers and bear a close resemblance to you, Sephiroth. Kadaj was the youngest and the smartest, Loz the oldest and plain brute strength and Yazoo was the fastest."

He fought them all several times over including up to when Loz and Yazoo blew themselves up.

"They needed JENOVA's head, which Shinra had managed to find. During the process, they caught Tseng and Elena and started torturing them. They also gathered up all the children affected by the stigma and brought them together in the Forgotten City. Kadaj used them as puppets to secure a couple of key points in the city before he went to confront Rufus to get JENOVA's head back."

He shrugged and pulled up the black sleeve, showing the scarring from the stigma, faded but still there. "I was sick with the stigma too, so I couldn't fight them all off. Luckily everyone I knew showed up and we managed to beat them all back. I ended up facing Kadaj alone in what remained of ShinRa's building, where he used JENOVA's head to gain your strength, Sephiroth."

It sounded weird. He knew it did. Cloud sighed and shook his head slowly because he doubt that Sephiroth would believe anything he said. "I managed to stop him and after that, the stigma disappeared."

[pauldrons]

Sephiroth's reaction is leagues better than Zack's, if only for the fact that he actually has a reaction. Zack is just staring, eyes wide, while his brain tries to process all that's been said in such a short period. ShinRa destroyed, Midgar probably little more than rubble, Geostigma, remnants, the fact they're both dead...Gods it's a lot to take in so suddenly. Is it any wonder that he shakes his head as if coming up from deep water after a moment, clamping his jaw shut before he speaks.

"Guys....if this is a joke, it's not funny." He looks between Reno and Cloud, face drawn as he crosses his arms over his chest. Sure, they're probably not joking, but with the amount of sense this is all making, he's doubting that.

"So how about you tell us the truth, okay? Something that actually makes sense, too."

[notontheflowers]

"Do I look like I'm joking Zack?" Reno asked, raising an eyebrow. "I know it's all pretty much insane but it's what's going on and what happened back home. The most important thing is to avoid getting yourselves killed, which I think brings us to the problem of a lack of weapons. I have a nailbat, some materia, two guns and my EMR. I can put together some more nailbats for you, the one I have currently has a pressing need to be applied repeatedly to Hojo's skull if he so much as sneezes funny."

[atouchofstrife]

"That is the truth."

Flat and no nonsense, with a slight lift to his head. Cloud looked at Zack and frowned. It sounded weird, but it was the truth, barring things that had happened in Nibelhiem.

"Shinra wanted the Promise Land of the Cetra in order to drain it of it's power and Hojo went nuts with his own research including trying to clone Sephiroth out of whatever and whoever he could. The J-cells were part of that, and I'm part of that since he tried using me to bring Sephiroth back. JENOVA was just a quicker route to trigger it, which the Remnants knew and tried to use."

He shifted in his seat and tapped his switchblade sword. "I've got the smallest pieces to my sword here and the blue prints to build the whole sword. I know it's similar enough to the Buster Sword that if I can find someone to make weapons could simplify the plans. I don't know what they can do about the Masamune."

[intemperiae]

Tap, tap, tap. The sound of his finger hitting his temple was clearly audible in the sudden silence after Strife finished speaking. Sephiroth finally straightened in his chair, reevaluated his words carefully and then spoke evenly.

"Professor Hojo will be left to me." And it wasn't even a command; it was more a point of fact. "He's more than well aware of what retaliation he'll gain if he attempts experimentation here."

The rest of the...well, story, he'd have to ruminate over a bit further to garner any sense out of it, and at present, events back home had little bearing on their situation now. "As for the present, the Turk has a point; we'll need to procure whatever weapons we can." The question of his own beloved Masamune hung heavy in the back of his mind.

Sephiroth looked at Zack. "Take Strife and see to it. I'd prefer to have you both with blades as soon as possible." An eyebrow quirked, as well as a corner of his mouth. "Without stirring up any trouble, if you please."

[pauldrons]

It was still too much to take in, and it hadn't been said in the best of ways for Zack to make sense of it all. So he was glad to have that order to go off of, and he stood with a nod.

"I'll see what I can do, General. No promises." The corner of Zack's mouth quirked as he said it, but it wasn't his normal "on-the-job" teasing. If Cloud was right and everything they'd just said was the truth...Gods, he couldn't deal with this now. No, now he had to deal with them getting their weapons back. So for now he'd just walk around the table, going over and putting a hand on Cloud's shoulder before gesturing to the door. Best they get a move on, really; nothing else they can actually do here.

[atouchofstrife]

That was just like the old Sephiroth, although he did not like the tapping he was doing. How close was he to breaking? How much would this place push the General before the other showed up? Cloud glanced up at Zack, wishing he could tell him more, but not sure if he should. There was too much going on to really know how to think, but one thing Cloud was sure of: Sephiroth doesn't need a reason to fall apart here.

"From what I've been hearing, this tower likes to mess with everyone," he said, standing up. The sword he slid back into place and shrugged his shoulders. "When I got here, they were taking people and putting them into a maze and making them fight to the death. I've been thinking that this place will try other ways to mess us up, so... Be careful."