Lost Small World

//Well, there goes my last hope for Before Crisis to get a global remake. What can I even say? I'm not even shocked anymore.

Thanks for the fan art, I guess?

He could have, but Sephiroth seemed to be more inclined to keep his pace quick and steady than to entertain Reeve's curiosity, despite it being absolutely fair given the situation.

It was plain that quite a few bad habits had rubbed off from Hojo to his 'special project', which included thinking nothing of others' frustrations other than his own.

Pale brows drew closer in an inward frown once they were inside the elevator and the button to the 49th floor was pressed. The boy's lips formed a faint line on his face.

"... You were at the last meeting with the Directors." He broke the silence, only glancing vaguely in the man's direction. "You were bored. I saw you drawing a doodle on your paper."

It came out like an accusation, in spite of his dry tone. Like the idea that Reeve may not have been paying attention personally affected him -- It didn't. Sephiroth had been present that time only so Dr. Hojo could show off in Heidegger's face to get additional funds in his department.

And yet, what followed carried a note of urgency in his voice, like many things hung in the balance depending on the other's answer.

It seemed the director was absent, but that was not important at the moment. The man Sephiroth was looking for was present and, if memory served him well, he was the right man for the job.

It seemed to make sense to him. This far away island became an exotic travel destination, but at this point Wutai only beckoned the seasoned adventurer. Encountering travelers capable of holding their own was expected, and Lorenzo thought little more of this as he gathered those pails full of groceries and water to continue further on their way.

Perhaps there was tension between the two? It certainly could be understandable, especially if their journey involved some prolonged time spent at sea trekking across rough waters. He left it at that, no expectation to hear out his reason.

Lorenzo didn't take long to fall into step beside the silver haired youth when the path widened, gravel loose and pale against darker stone. "There's a ridge about ten minutes further," he said, gesturing the path ahead of them. "View opens up. Good place to wait if you want to know the shape of the land." He kept a pail from shifting by reaching out to hold it place. "Have you eaten at all today?"

He'd been walking in silence, giving little signs of interest in his surroundings, while the path was still somewhat plain. Sephiroth was far busier working through his personal annoyance at being benched by Veld. But orders were orders. That was the way it worked.

If it wasn't Veld, it was Hojo. A SOLDIER didn't get to call the shots outside of battle.

The thought brought his attention to the present again. The birds singing somewhere between the trees. The faint wind brushing the leaves... Peace and quiet, that's all there seemed to be to this place.

"... Not really." That had to be an attempt at small talk. He wasn't used to it, finding the idea of scrambling for things to say without real purpose an exhausting process in itself.

Instead, he chose to steer the prompted conversation towards more practical meanings. Bored or not, he was still supposed to gather intel about the locals and their means of defense.

Where did Sephiroth even start? Although he was doing his best to appear as neutral and unbothered as possible, the tremor in his hands was somewhat apparent.

"I..." His voice choked around the words.

He almost felt the invisible leash that Hojo was pulling back on. This would not be fitting for the mad scientist's prized attack dog. Bowing his head, silver bangs fluttered in front of his eyes in a somewhat vain attempt to hide the sheer pain in his eyes.

"... I can't lose you, Genesis." His voice was barely above a whisper, he daren't utter such words above any kind of volume that could be heard by anyone else.

Those words sank like sharp glass straight to the neck. It was more than a metaphor. A painful lump caught in Genesis' throat, muzzling him into silence for a minute. His eyes became wide, pupils so narrow they could almost rival the peculiar shape of the ones encased in Sephiroth's jades.

Inside of him was a storm of fear and rage.

Of all times to say this, to be like this with him, how did Sephiroth even dare to do it now? Now that fate had been set in motion in a way that could not be undone? Now that he'd finally made up his mind, driven by necessity and despair?

Did he seriously think he could back down and reconsider his plan to defect?

... No, he was getting ahead of himself. There was simply no way Sephiroth knew about that. Hollander would have told him. He'd told him about Director Lazard's involvement, after all... What reason could there possibly be to keep quiet about involving Sephiroth too?

No. When Sephiroth talked about 'losing' him, he was referring to his illness. The degradation. That had to be all he knew. It was still more than Genesis had wished he'd know, but not as problematic at least.

... Even if it still hurt. Why did things have to get this dire for ShinRa's golden child to finally display his humble and vulnerable side? Genesis could've used some of that before letting his own insecurities and need to prove himself take over his whole life.

Lucia simply returned a calmer gaze in response. It wasn't the first time that something like this had happened, nor would it be the last.

"In my time as an instructor, I've seen many recruits come and go. You'll have to tell me who you mean, I'm not a mind reader, you know." A soft laugh accompanied her words, it wasn't meant as a means to chastise him, but she simply couldn't keep track of everyone that she came into contact with, or who those she worked with came into contact with.

"I probably already know, but just remind me anyway."

Lucia really wanted him to spell it out for her. She wasn't stupid, Sephiroth had already determined that about the woman.

Which was to say, there was a purpose behind this. Was she testing him to see if he'd be the type to openly name names and complain about others when they weren't even there to say anything?

Because he could be. He'd heard Dr. Hojo do exactly that, all the time, so clearly it was an okay thing to do. Even if right now, something in his guts told him he should rethink just about any habit the scientist had managed to rub off on him.

"...Of course I'm talking about Glenn." He scoffed. "Who else do you know who is both easily distracted and gets worked up over nothing? You and Matt are not like that."

Cloud couldn't blame Sephiroth for his reaction. He was sure he'd be thinking much the same if he was the one in the other's position. Cloud wasn't insane, but honestly? Sometimes it felt like it. He had been given a mission without knowing all of the necessary information, which meant that he was running around blind. Sure, he was powerful – he could survive almost anything anyone threw at him at this point, but that didn't mean shit if he lacked the knowledge to succeed.

"Don't blame you – I feel like it the longer I'm back here. I really thought I was done with ShinRa and Midgar," – but no, he had to save the planet. Again. He'd do it, of course, but sometimes he wished that Gaia had picked someone else to be her champion.

"Not the plant – the planet. Think of it like a cellphone, just with shitty reception," he explained, not caring if Sephiroth believed him or not. Okay, maybe he cared a little bit, but at least he could comfort himself with the fact that he wasn't lying. He often wondered how Aerith had done it, but as a Cetra (or half one), it might have been different for her.

"It mentioned clones and Costa del Sol. If I had to guess, then clones are going to attack Costa del Sol, but I wouldn't know why. Either there's something or someone there that are of interest – or it's a distraction." Cloud offered a small shrug, not having understood much more than that. He would have to guess that the clones were of Genesis, but he had yet to connect the dots on how that was possible.

Everything was a mess, to put it plainly.

"Hojo isn't there, is he?" Cloud could imagine that the man would be a target, but maybe he was biased. He was honestly ready to just – move on to the next part of his mission, but Gaia seemed to think that this was important. Without explaining why she thought so.

"Whatever – if you won't help with Genesis, then you can go back to what you were doing." Cloud would come back for him later, either way. For now he apparently needed to get to Costa del Sol... somehow.

Sephiroth had remained in inscrutable silence, watching and listening, taking in Cloud's words and piecing together a picture of what the truth could be. Perhaps more than one.

Like reading scattered pages found strewn on the floor, from a book whose cover had long ago gone missing. Cloud said things that only one who knew far too much could say, and still seemed to understand as little as Sephiroth himself did about it.

An agent of the Planet itself? Should he really indulge theories like that? It was the kind of talk that would make a man like Dr. Hojo go on a week-long rant. He'd learned to drown out his ravings long ago, when he was still just a little boy forced to spend far too much time enclosed within the walls of R&D.

"... Wait." He called, once Cloud showed intention to leave, and let... whatever this situation had turned into be bygone.

He felt extremely reluctant in that moment, like he'd just stepped with his boot into very uncomfortable soil that felt slippery and unsteady.

But ShinRa had lied to him so much already. With his friends gone, who did Sephiroth even have left to trust, save his own guts? Those guts who were in that moment unexplainably inclined to believe this stranger come out of nowhere, to capture him, to save Genesis, maybe.

He wasn't sure what it was that pulled him to grant so much trust, but with little else to go on, and his back to a wall, perhaps the only thing left to do was to brave the plunge before you.