Queen of the Nibelheim Incident

Chapter 27

The silence surrounded everything like a viper. The last pebbles of rubble stilled against the massive chunks. The dust in the air would linger for hours, but the lives taken by the fall of the plate were gone forever. 

The static wind bled with grief, with debris, with regret.

They failed. Barret screamed in frustration, begging his friends to come back through the rubble. The one armed man slammed against the immovable concrete, pleading for his daughter. 

Cloud had to remind the father of Aerith’s success. Marlene was safe. Cloud could only assume the girl was in Sector Five, safe and sound. 

Sera, however… And Aerith too-

Worry wouldn’t change anything. Barret practically ran ahead, despite Cloud being the only one who truly knew the way. Tifa walked between them, her head down and her mouth closed in individual thought. 

The quiet stung more than the collapse. The unnatural muted land of the city wrapped their worry and mourning.

The familiar cold doused Cloud’s skin and he stopped in place. 

The silver hair and black leather stood against him, a blizzard biting and swirling with every inch. 

His breath choked. Cloud took a step back, but the shiver of his own body wasn’t his imagination. 

No. No- please- no.

The First Class Soldier approached venomously with each precise step. Cloud watched in speechless horror. 

Gods, what the hell did he do now!? Sera was nowhere near him!

He tried to back away, but the black glove crushed his shoulder like a vice. The frigid touch screeched against the fires of the man who destroyed his home.

Standing forcibly at his side, Cloud could feel the intensity of the command:

“Get Hojo away from her.”

The words echoed in his mind like a drum to the inconsistent rhythm of his panting. By the time the meaning of the words clicked into place, he turned to the silver. 

The soldier and the cold disappeared without a trace. The lifeless landscape provided warmth in the dirty fog. 

Cloud looked around to confirm the threat disappeared, but Tifa ran up to him before he could clear it. 

“Cloud?” Tifa’s ruby eyes were wide with concern as she leaned and tilted for a view into his own. 

Cloud closed his eyes for a second and shook his head. “It’s nothing. Just the adrenaline crash.” He walked ahead to prove it wasn’t a problem, letting Tifa see it for herself. “Let’s keep moving.” 

But ahead, Cloud struggled to hide his confusion. He was going to save Sera no matter what. So why did He appear?

* * * 

“That’s the house,” Cloud gestured to the red roofed building near the waterfall. 

“Marlene!” Barret ran ahead without a second thought, barging through the windowed door. “Marlene!” 

Cloud chased after him, cursing under his breath for causing this.

“Where’s Marlene!? Is she safe!?” The man practically berated the terrified lone mother in the home. 

“Barret!”

He snapped out of it at Cloud’s call, quickly growing sheepish and apologetic. “Sorry… I'm Barret. Marlene’s my little girl. Is she-?”

“She’s sleeping upstairs,” Elmyra finally explained. 

Barret rushed up the first step, boots booming with his massive frame. 

“I said she’s sleeping!”

He winced at the scolding, giving an apologetic look before continuing much slower. Tifa convinced Cloud to follow, and they saw Barret at the side of Marlene’s bed with absolute relief. 

Giving the father and daughter a moment, Cloud and Tifa went back down to the owner of the house. 

“Thank you for taking care of her,” Tifa spoke sincerely. 

Elmyra shook her head. “It’s no problem. She didn’t cause any trouble.”

There was nothing else to say, so childhood friends simply waited for their comrade to return. Cloud glanced at the shield of black hair. 

Tifa stood silently with her arms crossed and her head down. He didn’t know how to comfort her, so he let her mourn. 

He focused on the next steps they had not discussed yet: how to break into Shinra HQ and navigate the floors up to Hojo’s lab. Alone, he could avoid battles with security and prevent a lock down of the upper floors. Tifa and Barret might join him for Aerith, but he didn’t expect any support for the little girl. 

That was okay. This wouldn’t be the first time they helped each other. 

Barret eventually tiptoed down the stairs to let his daughter sleep. The owner of the house waited until he landed on the first floor. 

“Shinra has my daughter now,” Elmyra stated as she paced.

“Why?” 

Tifa glared. “Cloud.” 

“I know why they took Sera. Why did they take Aerith?” Cloud questioned with crossed arms. “Is it because she’s an ‘Ancient’?”

Elmyra sighed. “...It sounds like you’re already on your way.”

Cloud glared. 

“She must trust you all a great deal to reveal that.” The mother took a seat at the table. 

“The Ancients were the original stewards of The Planet,” Barret explained in surprise. “They could ‘communicate’ with it by all accounts. What could Shinra do with that?”

Elmyra held up a helpless hand. “They want her to ‘find the promised land’. That it could help the entire planet.”

“‘Unto her promised land shall we one day return’,” The father quoted, then he scoffed, “Shinra won’t do anythin’ to help the planet. Now they’re chasing fairy tales?”

“Shinra thinks they’re real.” The grieving mother stated simply. 

“Why didn’t the Turks take her before?” The blond stepped forward, and Tifa grabbed his arm, his brows tilted together in anger. “Why wait until she has a body guard or a small child?”

“They said it had to be willingly. That forcing her wouldn’t give any correct answers.” Elmyra looked down, exhausted. “I thought the need for consent alone would keep her safe.”

Why couldn’t that Ancient be captured before putting Seraphina in Shinra’s hands? 

Cloud jerked back at his own thought. He barely heard Tifa’s call of his name as he turned out the door and tried to control his rapid breathing. 

His heart pounded in his ears with guilt and a frigid breeze he knew wasn’t real. 

If he didn’t meet Aerith, Sera wouldn’t be in Shinra- wouldn’t be with Hojo.

The guilt, the deaths, the failure, everything swirled inside him and kept him against the wall outside. 

“Hey,” Tifa spoke kindly, offering a glass of water. 

Cloud stared for a bit before sighing and taking the liquid. “Sorry.”

“What happened?” 

He took a sip. “Just… been a long day. And nothing we learn about Aerith is gonna get us into Shinra Tower.”

She rocked her head of crystal black hair, shimmering in the polluted mako green of the night sky. “True, but it might help us on the way out.”

Cloud met her crimson eyes with a raised eyebrow. 

“Getting in and causing trouble is easy. Haven’t you learned anything from your past two gigs?”

Mako Reactors One and Five. The ex-SOLDIER huffed a single breath of amusement. “Fair enough.” 

“...we need to save them, Cloud.” 

He knew. So he nodded. “We will. I won’t let anyone down.”

.

.

.

.

To be continued…

Chapter List here!

.

The new normal was temporary but still continuing. Sephiroth knew comfort wasted time and resources. His singular goal of leaving this Shinra controlled continent was the only topic distracting his thoughts from his battle with Angeal and Genesis. 

A battle that was only for show yet nearly killed Genesis due to all of their mistakes. 

He pushed the thought down somewhere deep to only be unleashed during combat. He needed Gil, lots of it, in order to afford a charter across the sea and keep the captain silent. Gil meant defeating fiends, or taking odd jobs in theory, but jobs risked identification. 

Monster regulation was simple: kill and sell. Minimal contact required. Though it has been a month since the incident with his friends. 

Maybe he looked different enough through the wear of the wilderness to take a small task? It was too unlikely. Sephiroth wished he could grow facial hair or simply cut his own hair. Frustratingly, one was never possible and the other was too temporary to be useful. He could not allow a trail of cut silver hair to be the breadcrumbs leading to his daughter. 

Their portable home currently rested in the lifespring of Fort Condor. With the caved spring close to the shores and the constant preparation for battle on the opposite side of the island, this small cove protected his daughter as she ventured to the same bunny burrow each day. Thankfully these excursions were limited to once a day.

The bunny burrow still proved useful. He couldn’t argue with the extra gem, rare fiend loot, or blatant Gil when Seraphina was lucky. He purchased a gem cutting book and honed his own skills to increase the sale price of each rock. Masamune was more than effective.

He saved a few stones for their bribe of silence. From the rumors he heard, the charter price alone varied wildly. 

Sometimes his baby returned to the tent before he arrived. Sometimes he needed to find her. She stayed between the rocks and the massive mountain of the condor. He taught her to keep off the shore. 

Gods forbid Shinra spotted her and surrounded the island. He winced at the thought as he followed the path Seraphina commonly took. 

He knew the sound of her footsteps. She was moving too quickly. 

She’s in danger. 

He shot ahead, following the pattern. He quickly found her running toward him with something in her hands. 

“Dada!” 

He picked her up and searched for monsters or people. “Stardust, what happened?”

Seraphina held out a dirt covered plastic. “We need to go?!” 

Upon closer inspection, he saw the molded arms, legs, and main body. He saw a weapon he had destroyed many times to the frustration of the security department, including the bright red Shinra logo visible through the scratches: a small model of the Shinra Cutter. 

He shook his head. “We do not. This is only a toy.”

She deliberately pointed at the Shinra logo. 

“It’s not real. It’s not a machine or tool from Shinra. It’s for play.” He followed her usual path to the rabbits. He set her down before holding out his hand. “Let me show you.”

She stared directly at every movement of his hands. 

“The arms pop off like this.” Sephiroth pulled, and the old plastic cracked as the faux metal limb separated from the base. “See? Now you try.”

She took the figure in her hands, angling it as she prepared to break. She strained a bit as she snapped it in half, the arm separating in a splatter of rotting plastic. She turned the body around, analysing the remaining legs and control seat. 

“You can take those apart too.”

She pulled, cracking both legs off the torso of the fake machine. The body splintered and opened, allowing a clear view inside the hollow body. 

“Look,” he placed a hand on hers and adjusted their view. “It’s all plastic. Nothing electrical. No battery. No circuit board.”

Seraphina looked at him and stared with crossed brows. Right, she probably wasn’t introduced to batteries and circuits in the lab. Not consciously at least. 

“I’ll show you one someday. So you can identify them.”

She gave a short nod. He wasn’t sure she understood at all. 

“Do you know what plastic is?”

The baby picked up one of the arms. That didn’t show understanding. 

“It’s the material, not just the arm. The entire toy is made of plastic.”

“Toy,” She repeated cleanly. Her speech and vocabulary progressed quickly. He was sure she would progress faster if there were other people to talk to. “Plastic.”

“Correct.” He affirmed. “Not dangerous. Not Shinra.”

The baby discarded the broken pieces to the ground. Her eyes remained down. “...Sorry…”

Sephiroth turned and began carrying her back. “Do not apologize. You did the right thing by finding me. Never doubt your instincts when you think you’re in danger. If you think Shinra found us, find me immediately.”

Seraphina nodded, celestial hair falling in front of her eyes. 

He brushed the hair straight back over her head. “I have you, Stardust. You’re safe.” He adjusted his baby against his chest, and with the comfort and her unrefined relief, she lost the battle to softness of dreams. 

* * * 

Seraphina needed a toy. Technically she had his new born materia, but pending the day she learned how to use it, she needed a real toy, something with minimal capacity for danger. 

He wanted to give her the joys he couldn’t have. 

Vending machines had potions, elixirs, and quick snacks, but no toys. He didn’t want her playing with uncooked ramen noodles. 

His second option was travelling merchants, but their inventory specialized in weapons and armor. 

His third option was children’s books. He had seen a few with attached toys in the past. Judging by his friends’ reactions, no one knew he had a child. But if that knowledge changed after their battle, his simple purchase would be a beacon to his location. 

The people of Fort Condor posed immediate risk of identifying him. 

Guilt rose in his chest. The only reasonable solution was the one he hated most: to wait until he purchased a charter in Upper Junon. He could buy a toy in one of the hundreds of stores and likely go undetected until they were far into the Western Continent. 

He hoped another two weeks would be enough time to earn the gil for a charter and a bribe. Every day on this Shinra controlled continent terrified him. 

Until then, she would roll his newly found materia like marbles under the sheet of their only protection from the sun. When he returned from his hunts and battles, she looked up at him with a smile, the first spout of new teeth visible in her ever beloved call of “dada”.

.

.

.

.

To be continued….

Chapter List here! 

Not even the Buster Sword could cut the tension in the group as they traveled through the Mythril Mines, a simple intermediate requirement to reaching Junon. The massive Condor flew overhead, blocking the sun for a single moment as it soared through the sky. 

“We talk to the locals first. Then we decide who goes where: Northern Continent or Western continent,” Strife explained. 

“Why both?” Aerith asked with a tilt of her long swirled braid. 

“We have a few friends in the West. We just need to meet them first,” He answered simply. “We need to reach Gold Saucer, Cosmo Canyon, and Nibelheim.”

“Nibelhiem is gone,” Tifa muttered, the slightest tinge of hatred and memory. 

Aged blond hair shook slowly as he tried to hide the wound at the memory. “Shinra rebuilt it as a coverup.” 

“Then who could be there?”

Strife shrugged. “You won’t believe me if I told you. But he’s one of our best allies”

“If you already know them, shouldn’t you be the one to recruit them?” 

“I don’t think I recruited anyone.”

Genesis scoffed. “Certainly not with that attitude."

Their conversation was interrupted by a mindless groan coming from one of many men in tattered black cloaks. The exhausted man only mumbled with slow and staggering steps as he passed. 

“...and in the North?” Aerith spoke up hesitantly. 

The silver haired brothers turned away. The smallest gripped Cloud’s hand harder. 

“Sephiroth…” Yazoo mumbled before Strife could answer. Thankfully, the group did not hear the child. 

But Strife pursed his lips and paused. “...Jenova landed in the Northern Crater. Sephiroth learned what he was in Nibelheim. Both locations are important to him. He will return to one of them.” 

“He’s too strong for us, even as a complete group,” Cloud countered. 

Genesis scoffed. “Well, you might have trouble-”

“There’s too much at stake,” Strife explained. “We’ll struggle at first, but that won’t stop us by the time we reach our destinations. Especially with all the wild fiends.”

“How would we get north, big brother?” Loz asked, but the look he received in return made him look away. 

“I’m still figuring that out,” The wolf glanced at Genesis, “Hopefully there’s a method other than one person transportation.”

The man in red rolled his eyes. 

“Until then, the usual,” Barret interrupted, walking ahead of the blonds. “Check out the local chocobo ranch to see what’s goin’ on around here.”

Cloud rolled his eyes, unable to think of why talking to a farmer would help them get off the continent. Scanning the land, he noticed a clear ocean, only a single Shinra cargo ship between the shore and the horizon. 

Something wasn’t right. 

Cloud wasn’t sure if it was the result of the post Zormer conflict while he was blacked out, the passing presence of the black cloaks on land, or if something else caused the small chill down his spine. 

Something pressed against his leg before retracting. Cloud looked down and saw Kadaj with head hung low and an uneasy countenance. 

“Everything alright?”

The boy met his gaze, but the expression only evolved to concern. 

“Are you sure?”

Kadaj faintly shook his head, grabbing his own sleeve tightly. 

Cloud nodded before addressing the team, “Stay on guard. Something’s up.”

His future self was the first to answer. “Is it Sephiroth?”

“No, not him. It’s…” Cloud didn’t know. 

“...wrong,” Aerith finished for him, planet green eyes wide and worried. “Just wrong.” 

“Perhaps it’s the mako exhaust in the water,” Genesis offered. “The underwater reactor usually has leaks.”

Aerith shook her head, the slight breeze swaying her bangs as she looked back across the cliffs. 

* * * 

Cloud wasn’t sure he could call this Chocobo Ranch a ‘ranch’ with the rocky terrain and minimal vegetation. Clearly reused rollers once used by package transport littered the field on the old tracks. A few skinny chocobos picked at the vegetation while others slept in perfect circles by the roller activation levers. Stone retention walls lined the path between the few buildings. Despite the desolate atmosphere, they heard laughter from the stables. 

“Well, that makes finding the owner a lot easier!” Barret announced. 

Strife squinted, scanning the area. 

“Let’s not waste any time, then,” Tifa suggested. 

Cloud and by extension Kadaj were the first to open the door to the stables, the smell just as overwhelming as the ranch in the Grasslands. 

“Can we bathe Clara next?” Came the voice of a little girl. 

“Of course, Angela. She’s your favorite!” Followed the joyous sound of an older man. 

It felt too kind of a moment to interrupt with questions about Shinra and the obvious impacts to the land. 

“Hey!” Someone called from behind the group, suddenly a woman behind the sales stand. “Sorry for the wait. What brings y’all here today? Lookin’ for anything specific?”

“Hello, lovely lady,” Genesis immediately claimed the conversation. “We have no specific items in mind, but we are certainly looking for something.”

“Try me.” She taunted as she fixed her baseball cap. 

“My friends and I are new to the area. Just passing through. Are there any odd jobs you need done in the meantime?” 

“Well,” She rocked her head from side to side. “Depends on what y’all are willin’ to do.”

Barret interrupted, “We’re at least gonna need a few Chocobos. Five barely worked last time. I’m not tryin’ to knock anyone off this time, ya know?” 

She thought for a moment. “...We only have four available for rent right now. We’ll have to ask you to find our rebellious group and bring them back.”

A muttered groan came from Strife, followed by the question ‘why does this keep happening’.

“But even then…” She seemed regretful, counting seven adults, “there won’t be enough without Clara.”

“Is she not for rent?” Barret asked. 

The woman took an exhausted breath. “Normally, she would be…” she turned away, curled and protective. “Do y’all in the city have… ghosts…?”

The team glanced at each other. 

“Yeah, we have ghosts,” Aerith answered simply. “They haunt the old train graveyard.”

“Okay, but are they like, ‘normal’ ghosts…?” She gestured oddly. “Flowy write robes, closer to a sheet costume than a human?”

Aerith shrugged. “I think so. Right, Tifa?”

“Yeah. They were flowy.” 

The woman shook her head. “It’s different then. Damn it…” 

“What are you talking about?” Cloud chimed in. 

She only pointed to the barn. “If you can convince my father to rent you Clara, I’ll explain.” 

Strife muttered tiredly, “Why do people always want things…?”

“I’ll talk to him,” Barret stepped in. “One father to another.” 

The store owner didn’t say a word and simply closed up shop, returning to the small home. 

After sharing a few shrugs, Barret led the way to the barn, opening the door before announcing himself, “Now where might someone rent a chocobo around here?” 

The team heard an exchange of ‘hold on, sweetie,’ before an older bald man stood at the entrance to the last stall, clothing worn from years of hard work. “You came to the right place, but all rentals should be made with my daughter at the store.” 

“She sent us here,” Cloud explained. 

“We need seven. She said somethin’ about not having enough?”

The old man looked back at the stable before speaking to the group. “...Y’all can take six.”

A little voice came, high in pitch and terribly innocent. “Dad, it’s okay,”

His voice was kinder as he turned into the stable. “But she just got to see you again…” 

“But she loves to explore! She’ll be back and I’ll be here.”

There was a pause before the owner shouted, “You still have to find the others!” 

“Got any clue where they are?” Barret responded. 

“Out by the abandoned mine carts to the west. Reach Junon proper and you’ve gone too far.”

“We’ll get them once we clear up what’s going on here,” Strife interrupted. “We heard you might have a ‘ghost’ problem-”

“There’s no problem here,” came the instant, cold reply. 

Strife scanned ahead and walked forward. Someone on his team grabbed his arm. 

Aerith. Of course it was Aerith. “Maybe it’s best to leave this be?”

His hard scowl made her hesitate and surrender despite the pain it caused him.

“Take another step closer and y’all are gettin’ NONE of our birds!”

Barret stood in the way. “Strife, just stand down before you screw this up for all of us.”

Cloud’s voice broke through the air, “Something’s wrong.” The same phrase as before as the child at his side gripped him tightly. 

That simple sentence seemed more than enough permission for Strife to walk forward despite the group’s protest. 

The rancher rapidly looked around but clearly saw no escape. He held up his hands, and odd black bruises leaking puss revealed themselves on his wrists and forearms as the sleeve slid down. “Look buddy, it’s not what you think.” 

Strife drew his sword and the old man ran into the stable. The wolf’s hands were shaking when Barret and Genesis pulled him back. 

“Calm down, Strife!”

The blond man turned away from the rancher and out of their grips. The rage in his eyes made Cloud block the smallest remnant. Without breaking a step, he grabbed the remaining two remnants and dragged them out of the building. 

“What happened…?!”

“Big brother, wait!”

He ignored their pleas and the attacks on his back from the team. He pulled them into the empty hills of Junon. “Was this your plan?”

He felt the fire balls deflected by his blades as the kids looked for support at each other but found none. 

“Last warning!” Cloud demanded. “Let them go!”

Strife lifted them to their feet but did not release either child. “They look innocent. They’re not. They released geostigma.”

The tallest boy yelled in absolute confusion, “Mother’s invitation!?”

The middle boy shook his head in denial and shock. “That’s not possible…”

The smallest turned away. 

“Explain. Instead of hiding it from us. But if you lay another hand on them, we’re leaving this continent without you.”

Strife glared. “Geostigma is a disease that didn’t exist in my world-”

“Your Zormer didn’t catch up to the chocobos. Your world is different-”

“Not this different.”

“Bullshit.”

“Sephiroth didn’t have either the power or the motive to do this.” Strife stated seriously. “Geostigma is the disease that he made in order to weaken the Planet and humanity.”

“Maybe you brought it here!” Cloud countered. 

Strife winced but stood his ground. “I couldn’t spread it to Junon even if I did.”

Tifa placed a hand on Cloud’s shoulder, finally catching up. “Cloud, he’s you. You wouldn’t do this without a reason.”

Cloud glanced away from her large crimson eyes. 

Strife adjusted his grip and growled at the children. “What did you do?”

“Nothing! Honestly!”

Yazoo rapidly searched for an answer, a difference, some event that could trigger the invitation early. “...Mother…” 

Both Loz and Kadaj suddenly locked onto the middle brother. 

“Mother’s dead here… Gone… Could that cause something new…?”

Strife glanced at Aerith for confirmation, but he saw the look in her eyes. 

She remembered something, even if Strife wasn’t there to see it. Aerith saw Jenova’s black Lifestream flow from the charred body down to the vulnerable planet. 

Strife targeted Kadaj, but the youngest was protected by his past self.

Kadaj shook his head, further hiding behind the SOLDIER uniform. 

“You caused this.” 

Cloud drew the buster sword at Kadaj’s defense. “He’s not working with Sephiroth. It doesn’t matter who caused it. How do we fix it?”

Strife clenched his own sleeve, consciously covering his arm. “...I don’t know.”

.

.

.

.

To be continued…

Three Guards Chapter List