Two Letters and a Number

Blinking, Cloud opened his eyes and peered around at the familiar glowing trees before glancing down at the man in his arms. Daniel remained asleep, apparently he was either still in the Lifestream talking to Aeris and Zack or his body hadn’t bothered to wake up when Aeris had pulled them both up for a chat. Carefully, he moved away from Daniel to sit against the trunk of a tree, his glowing blue eyes focused on the dancing fireflies even as his thoughts returned to the strange conversation between himself and Sephiroth.

‘I am sorry.’

Those had been the first words Sephiroth had said once Cloud demanded he started talking, and the blond could tell that there was no deception in anything Sephiroth had said. Some little voice inside him had whispered that the silver haired man had only been sincere when he apologized for his actions in Nibelheim seven years ago as well as the other times they had met. The only time they had clashed that Sephiroth hadn’t apologized for was when Kadaj had become the silver haired ex-general.

“You had been slowly killing yourself,” Sephiroth had stated, his tone leaving no room for argument. “As surely as the Stigma was destroying your body, you were destroying your heart with what you perceived to be your guilt over things you could not have changed. You were my friend before Nibelheim, and I could not allow you to condemn yourself to the same slow death I had sentenced myself to before Zack came along.”

Cloud shook his head, trying to dispel that thought as it circled his mind, refusing to give up until he acknowledged it, and he sighed in frustration as he ran a hand through his hair. Yes, he was willing to admit that he had been carrying around guilt of what he perceived to be actions that he should have been able to stop, such as Aeris dying or even handing over the Black Materia, while wishing there had been a way for him to have prevented other incidents, like Sephiroth burning Nibelheim and Zack getting killed while protecting him.

“Was I really killing myself with guilt?” he muttered, trying to wrap his mind around the idea even as he muddled through the confusion left by Sephiroth’s words.

“I believe there are many who are guilty of that action,” replied a deep smooth voice as Vincent materialized out of the darkness between the trees. He strolled across the small camp to lean against the tree Cloud was sitting under, and Cloud glanced up to find a far off look on the gunman’s face. “There are things that we wish we could have changed or prevented if it had been possible, and we carry that with us.”

Reaching out, Cloud plucked a white flower growing at the base of the tree and stared at the soft petals. “But most people get the chance to come to terms with that,” he added, twirling the flower in his fingers. “I thought I had.”

“What changed?”

A wry smile stretched across Cloud’s lips as his eyes flickered up to Vincent who was looking distant and as unapproachable as ever. “Sephiroth apologized for everything that happened except our last fight.”

Surprise flickered across that pale face before it vanished, leaving a calm cool mask behind, and Cloud returned his gaze to the flower in his hand. “Shocked the hell out of me too. But the reason he wouldn’t apologize for our last fight was because he wouldn’t let me slide into the same slow death he had sentenced himself to before Zack came into his life.” He shook his head and let the flower drop from his fingers. “One last favor as a friend, I guess.”

Daniel stirred in the bed roll and Cloud glanced at him, watching the Tau’ri get up, even as a whisper of tattered velvet indicated Vincent had left. Shaking his head, Cloud moved to get coffee started as he tried to sort out his tangled emotions.

He only hoped he got his head screwed on straight before they reached Nibelheim, but a part of him doubted it would be that easy.

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The bike roared through the mountains, climbing higher with each turn, and Daniel felt the tension grow in Cloud as they went. They had managed to shave a couple of days off of the schedule that Cloud had planned out, according to the blond, and that meant they would be able to arrive in Nibelheim, do what was requested of them, and leave again in a timely manner. Daniel had asked if the town had been rebuilt by the survivors of Sephiroth’s rampage, and Cloud had replied that there hadn’t been any survivors.

At least none that Shinra was willing to acknowledge.

The trip to the other places that Shinra had requested letters delivered to had gone smoothly. Daniel had been surprised by the Oriental style buildings in Wutai while the people seemed mostly of Oriental descent. There had been a few that resembled Reno and Cloud with Caucasian features mixed with a touch of the Orient, but there had been many that looked like they had stepped straight out of China or Japan. Rocket Town had been strange with the home made rocket leaning against its tower even as it seemed to loom over the town itself. A brief stop at a large house to drop off one of the letters, then another quick stop at a store for supplies, and they were back on the road to the mountains.

By the time the powerful bike sped under the iron arch, Cloud was practically thrumming with tension, and Daniel couldn’t help but wonder what would happen when the blond finally let go of his temper. Or who it would be that caused him to explode.

Part of the tension Daniel knew was from the strange meeting a couple of weeks ago where Sephiroth had apologized to Cloud before pointing out what sounded like a few hard truths, and the blond had been trying to work through his thoughts and emotions since then. Cloud hadn’t been snippy with Daniel, appearing more than willing to answer questions, but he had been more silent than he had before the meeting.

Some of the people called out friendly greetings as they made their way through the small town to the path that lead farther up into the mountains that towered over the collection of buildings, and with each greeting, Daniel felt Cloud grow more and more tense, his muscles turning almost rock hard under Daniel’s hands.

Finally, they stopped before a rusted fence that surrounded a mansion that looked like it had been abandoned for years, and Cloud killed the engine but made no move to get off the bike. Daniel glanced around as he slid off the bike only to turn back at a ka-chunk noise, and he watched as Cloud pulled out two swords that he slid into the harness on his back.

“Are those necessary?” asked Daniel, realizing that the blond hadn’t used the swords since the day they had left Healin even if they had been accessible in the bike’s compartments.

“I don’t trust Shinra,” Cloud stated, his eyes hard and unforgiving as he slid off the bike and that gaze slipped past Daniel to stare at the crumbling mansion. “Especially not here.” Another button and the compartments were closed again while Cloud started up the weed choked pathway to the mansion, one of the now familiar envelopes in his hand.

Daniel wanted to know what was it about the crumbling mansion and Shinra being there that he didn’t trust, but with Cloud’s stride carrying the blond swordsman over the ground towards the mansion, the only place he was going to get any answers was inside the crumbling building. Shaking his head and muttering about stubborn blonds in Ancient Egyptian, Daniel dug his own gun out of his pack and hurried to catch up with Cloud as he strapped it around his waist.

He managed to catch up with the blond just as Cloud slipped into the mansion, and Daniel tried not to shiver at the dark atmosphere of the place as he looked around. There were cobwebs on the walls and in the corners, some of the floor boards were warped, and he was sure the carpet wasn’t suppose to be a moldy green color. However there were some visible attempts at cleaning the place up, such as the dust and dirt that had been swept from the floorboards and the broken furniture that was piled in a room to be removed later, but there was still a lot that needed to be done if this place was ever going to be habitable again.

There was the sound of footsteps above them, and Daniel turned to look up the sweeping staircase to the second floor just as a blond in a dark blue suit appeared at the top of the stairs. At first Daniel thought it was Rufus Shinra standing there, but then his eyes began picking out more details that distinguished this person from Shinra, such as the curves that were almost visible under the dark jacket and the fact that the hair wasn’t the same style as Shinra’s.

As she walked down the stairs, Daniel noticed that she carried herself like Jack did, ready for anything to jump her, and he realized this must be Elena, the last of the Turks. She nodded her head in greeting as she stopped a polite distance away from them. “We’ve managed to get some of the worst debris out of here, but we still haven’t found the passage to Hojo’s labs.”

Cloud only nodded once before starting up the stairs, his shoulders stiff as he passed Elena, and Daniel followed him, stopping briefly to smile at her. “Are you Elena? Reno talked about you, and Mr. Shinra stated that you would be here cleaning this place up. I’m Dr. Daniel Jackson.”

She blinked at him for a minute before a corner of her mouth curled up in an amused smile. “Yes, I’m Elena, and I can just imagine what that son of a bitch said about me, Dr. Jackson,” she replied before nodding towards Cloud’s retreating back. “But if you will excuse me, I do have a job to do.”

Daniel nodded his understanding as they followed Cloud through some rooms on the second floor before he stopped in front of a stone wall that was curved. Cloud glanced over his shoulder at Elena as he held out the envelope. “Here. From the bastard you call a boss.”

Elena just snorted as she took it and shoved it in one of her pockets as Cloud went back to examining the stone wall. A few more minutes passed before Cloud did something that Daniel didn’t see to the stones, and a section of the wall rotated out of the way, revealing a dark stairwell descending into even more darkness that was only broken up by the stray light that managed to slip through the cracks in the stones.

“We need to be careful,” Cloud stated, drawing the largest of his swords. “The wood’s undoubtedly rotten and there’s no telling what has moved in or escaped the labs since the last time we were here. I’ll go first.”

There was a rustling behind Daniel, and he glanced back to find Elena had drawn her gun to hold it in a comfortable grip. Deciding it was better to be safe than sorry, he also drew his gun before they carefully started down the creaking stairs. They were more like thick beams inserted into the wall to act like stairs than a true staircase, but the design was solid enough to act as a staircase if needed. Unfortunately, there were gaps in the stairs where boards had rotted away and probably fallen to the ground far below. Cloud was slowly descending the stairs, staying as close to the wall as he could to prevent too much pressure from being placed on the wood.

Nothing jumped out of the darkness at them as they finished descending to the rocky floor, and Daniel swallowed as he gazed around at the corridor that stretched out before them like a dungeon, the rock looking a deep purple in the dark shadows. He gripped his gun a bit more tightly as he followed Cloud down the corridor, only to jump when Elena hissed slightly and Cloud turned to look back at them over his shoulder.

Daniel knew that Cloud’s eyes glowed, the blond himself had stated it and he had plenty of time before hand to observe the phenomenon as they traveled, but never had Daniel seen eyes that literally *glowed*. Outside in the light, Cloud’s eyes were brighter than a normal person’s eyes, but down here in the darkness, there was nothing for the blue flame light to compete with.

“I don’t see anything but stay close,” murmured Cloud, his quiet voice carrying through the corridor. “There should be a light switch in Hojo’s office. There was the last time we were here.”

“Right,” breathed Elena. “After you.”

Cloud turned back around and continued down the corridor with Daniel following a bit more cautiously even as a shiver slid down his spine at the thought of those glowing eyes focusing on him again. Not even the golden flash of a Gou’ald’s eyes sent that touch of fear down his back since Shau’ri had been taken, and even then, it had been more of a desperation instead of a blood chilling fear. He could understand now why the SOLDIERs had the reputation they had, and Daniel hoped that he never had to face down a SOLDIER like he had a Gou’ald.

He bumped into Cloud’s back when the blond stopped but before Daniel could apologize, there was a click and light flooded the area, forcing Daniel to shut his eyes against the blinding light. From the swears coming from behind him, Elena wasn’t expecting the light either, but after a few seconds, Daniel’s eyes adjusted to the sudden brightness.

“Sorry,” apologized Cloud as he moved aside to reveal an office lined with bookshelves, and Daniel looked around at the neat office that still managed to look cluttered mostly due to the desk covered with various papers. Elena pushed past Daniel, holstering her gun as she did, and headed right for the desk.

“I’m going to have to call the Boss about a clean-up crew now that this place has been found,” she muttered, more to herself than either Cloud or Daniel as she picked up a few pieces of paper to look at. “Too much risk of something here finding its way out into the open.”

Cloud snorted and sheathed his sword. “Too much of a chance ruining Shinra’s reputation again, you mean,” he drawled, leaning against the doorway as if he had no intention of venturing further into the office. Elena tossed a glare over her shoulder before pulling out her cell phone and dialing a number.

Moving farther into the office, Daniel glanced at the various books, but none seemed to have titles on the spines. With a faint frown, he holstered his gun before pulling one out at random and flipping it open to reveal a journal filled with cramped but neat writing in that strange kanji and rune writing that seemed a part of the culture. After a bit of studying, he was able to figure out the words and a smile flickered over his face at his latest success.

‘Specimen C shows high sensitivity to mako and SOLDIER treatment. Possible the brother carries same sensitivity? Shinra trait or mother?’Daniel frowned at the clinical notation scribbled in the margarine next to the detailed account of the latest treatment Specimen C had undergone on that day, something he didn’t want to look too close at, and he was about to close the book to replace it on the shelf when a piece of paper wedged in the open slot caught his eye. It looked like it had fallen out of a book or a folder and had been shoved back there when the books had been placed on the shelf.

Carefully reaching back, Daniel snagged the paper and pulled it out, being careful not to rip it, and he managed to unfold it with one hand as he held the open book in the other. It was a birth certificate for Rufus Shinra, one of a set of twin boys, but why would this be here? Unless it had been shoved into the book Daniel held in his hand and had fallen out at a later time, but why didn’t President Shinra mention that he had a twin brother or even a brother?

“Um, Elena, who is Specimen C?” Daniel asked, turning to face the Turk with the birth certificate in one hand and the journal in the other. Elena glanced over at him with a confused look on her face even as she held her phone to her ear, but Cloud’s face grew deathly pale.

“Why do you want to know that?” demanded Cloud, his voice harsh as he glared at Daniel.

The archaeologist held up the birth certificate. “I was wondering why Rufus Shinra was willing to let his twin be experimented on.”

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