After my brothers and i returned from recharging in the Forgotten City, we decided to regroup with Mother to come up with what we should do next on our quest to take back the planet for her. We knew what our biggest barrier was to everything we had to do for this: Cloud Strife. We knew there was no escaping him forever unless he was defeated. Being aware of him as our most major threat, we each decided it was finally time to find a way to effectively deal with him and put an end to his vengeance against us and Mother.
Chapter 6: Confronting Cloud
Mother smiled at us when we returned to her on the top level of the Mako Reactor, happy to see each of us in good health and ready to tackle our next objective. I was the first to speak and said "We can't keep running away from problem child like this... Nor can we keep him distracted the whole time either. This has continued for the entire length of Mother's legacy which has prevented its success for all these years. This cant go on forever." Loz then shook his head and said "Youre absolutely right, Little Sister... But what other choices do we have? You know as well as we do he wants to kill us and make us restart everything all over again." Yazoo then said "If we dont do something, he'll haunt us and Mother forever! We cant allow that!" I then tried to calm my brothers down by signal, and they became silent. "I know, and youre both right: given the serious threat he really is, we can't sit back and let him roam free as he's been. But if we attack him, he will attack us: you know the rule." Mother then seemed to grow interested in what i had been trying to point out, and said "Sephie... What do you plan to do to him?" I then paused with my eyes shut, and felt tears stream from them despite my effort to hold them back. After a couple minutes passed, i forced my tears aside as best i could, then looked up at Mother with the strongest emotion id felt in years and said "Mother.... I.... I'll talk sense into him!" The instant i said that i felt my fiery spirit kick in and my JENOVA cells became supercharged in reaction to my spirit. Mother reacted in what was clearly surprised shock and seemed very interested in exactly what i had just said. Yazoo and Loz also cried out in shock, clearly not believing what id just said. Loz was the first to speak and said "What?! Have you lost your mind?!" Yazoo quickly followed and said "He wont listen to us! Theres no way!" They continued to shout more things, and even though they were both shouting at the same time and i couldn't hear everything, it was loud and clear they thought i was crazy. Mother's red eye flashed brightly, which she did to tell us to calm down and control ourselves when things got too wild. Of course, my brothers obeyed and grew silent. They both turned to face Mother, finally calming down. Mother then said "I know you two think what your sister just said wont accomplish anything, but she has a valid point. Its not guaranteed to work, but it may be the best shot we've got. Cloud is emotional enough that this may actually work... You all know about the past between him, Sephiroth, me... and you three as well. If anyone can reason with him, your Little Sister is the one to do it." There was silence for a while, then Yazoo said "Are you sure about this, Mother?" Yazoo still seemed rather tense, it was clear he was not fond of this idea at all. Loz seemed to feel the same and did not like the idea either. Most likely, they didn't like it because they knew what would happen if it didn't work. Mother then said "Its possible this may be the best solution to dealing with our little problem child... Sephieroth, i want you and your brothers to go out and head for Cloud's hometown. He should have returned home by now, more than likely. Yazoo and Loz, do not go on a rampage while youre there or on your way there. If you do it will provoke him and most likely ruin this mission. Only attack if your sister says to or i give you three the signal to attack. Once you guys are there, just do anything your sister says. Most likely, she will be doing most or all of the talking when you find him. This is your priority mission for the time being. Understood?" We each spoke in agreement and made way to head outside and ride our motorbikes to Cloud's hometown, completely the silent but intent the entire time.
Later, in Cloud's hometown....
We had arrived at our destination after what was probably several hours, and of course, Cloud Strife had also been here. He immediately got his sword and prepared to attack, but i signalled him to stop before he could. He listened but was still angry at our arrival and said "What do you want?" Yazoo giggled a bit and came to my side, and said "Hey, calm down there, Brother. We're not here to pick on you." I noticed Cloud quickly grew suspicious, and i sensed he thought Yazoo was lying. After a brief moment of silence, Cloud said "This is another trap, isnt it? Stop lying!" Loz then stepped up and said firmly "He's not lying, you dunce!" Cloud gazed from Loz to Yazoo and back rather quickly, and Yazoo said "The thing is, Brother... Little Sister wants to talk to you about something." Finally lowering his sword completely, Cloud said "What?" He had finally seemed to calm down, and my brothers stepped behind me at the side a bit, and i looked up to Cloud and said "What he said is true.... I wanna talk to you about something. And while im talking to you, i dont want you to think or act carelessly. I want you to try understanding." After a few minutes of silence between us, i spoke first and said "Do you remember the Shinra war and Big Brother Sephiroth?" Cloud paused briefly and said "Yes.." I then continued "It was very painful, wasnt it? Not just the fighting, but how you felt emotionally, the people you lost..." Seeming very surprised at my truthfulness here, he said "Of course... I wish it never even happened..." Then i said "How do you think Sephiroth felt? Do you think he felt any different?" Cloud stopped briefly, then said "For some of it, no... But closer to the end, he just lost it.." Then i replied "But dont just look at how he acted. Look at everything that happened during those years... JENOVA project, and everything related to it... Unlike you, Cloud, there were many things that were hidden from him. Who he was, how he was born... You had a bigger family than he did during those years. You didn't have the truth about yourself hidden from you like he had." Cloud seemed silent but i noticed he was looking directly into my eyes. It was clear he was becoming emotional as i spoke. I then continued on "How would you feel if the truth about yourself was kept secret? What would you do if all of your friends turned against you simply for following your heart, as happened with him?" Now i could see him growing very unhappy, and he said "He went insane! He killed Aeris, a bunch of innocent people, burned the city to rubble--" i then signalled him to slow down, and said "Youre forgetting something, Cloud. You didn't live your entire life in a war like he did. You weren't raised to resolve everything with acts of war--he was thanks to Shinra Company's ugly work. You know what they were all about." He seemed to calm down a bit, then i continued "Big Brother was hurt, Cloud. Just as hurt as you were when he burned the city. Would you have acted much differently had your life been the same as his?" Cloud seemed to suddenly feel what i thought looked like an air of guilt, even though he clearly tried to hide it. I then continued, and said "Yet despite all of this, you raged out against me and my brothers when i was only 15! You allowed your bloodlust to control you instead of thinking outside the box! You hated Big Brother for what he did to you, and you took it out on us too! You did all of these things and possibly more without any thought!" Now i could see he was feeling pretty bad as i spoke and he got the grasp of the point i was trying to make. Then i continued and said "How would you feel if you had your siblings killed when you were just 15 and left all by yourself thanks to some madman?" He gazed at me, and i could see he was growing more guilty as time went by here. I sensed he was on the verge of tears, but i continued my speech and said "I was left with scars when you killed my brothers--no different than the way you felt when Big Brother burned the city... and no different than he felt during his years then after learning about who he was and everything about JENOVA project. Do you see any obvious differences here? Anything that is really out of place with what im telling you?" He knew i was right about everything here, even though he clearly didn't want to admit it or even believe it. I could see him crying now rather quietly, and he said as calmly as he could "What do you want from me? To stand here and make me miserable?" I flew off the ground a little ways, and without saying another word, i flew close to Cloud and put my face inches from his with my hand behind his head and looked directly into his eyes with silent but kind intent. He had his eyes locked on mine, and i said "Cloud... Join us." To my surprise, he didn't lash out defiantly at all. He remained silent and i said "You may have killed Big Brother... but his spirit, his very essence... is still alive in all of us. You, me, Yazoo and Loz.... We are one." I felt my JENOVA cells flare up powerfully in reaction to emotion. I could feel their power escalating and spread to my eyes. After a long moment of silence, Cloud said "Are you serious..? No tricks or setup.... no fast ones either..?" I didn't speak, instead i looked directly into his eyes, using the power of my JENOVA cells to project my signal. He could tell i was serious. Even though he was also silent, it was very obvious. Gently shoving me off him, Cloud suddenly felt guilty again and walked a few steps away and said "But, JENOVA.... theres no way she'll let me in after everything i did to get in her way... She'll just kick me out and slam the door..." He seemed rather desperate, and i walked towards him and said "Cloud... Mother approved this mission in the first place. It was my idea to confront you and try to reason with you just as i did now, but nothing happens in our life without her approval. If she decided this was a very bad idea, or was not willing to give you another chance if you listened to me.... We would have set out to square off against you in another intense battle." I suddenly noticed how surprised my brothers were at how well my idea had really gone. They couldn't believe it. After a brief moment of silence, Cloud turned to face me again and said "Are you sure?" I giggled a bit with my eyes shut and said "Mother can see through lies and find the truth no matter what! If you came with us to the Mako Reactor where we rest and have used as our territory, Mother would know if your intentions are pure and you mean us no harm. Dont be silly." I finally managed to make Cloud smile, and i smiled back just to be kind. I felt very accomplished here--never once had Cloud smiled at me or any of Mother's children. This was a very positive sign the mission was already successful. I gently landed back on the ground with my black wing still out, and reached my hand out to him, then said "So what will it be? Are you gonna give up hope or stand strong and try again?" I kept smiling, only this time it wasnt my sick smile i gave when i was about to kill someone during battle; this was my friendly smile. Cloud shook my hand the way warriors did, smiling and said "No... I wont give up. I'll find a way to restart everything." Loz then came to my side with Yazoo and said "Well this went surprisingly well. How did you convince him, Little Sister?" Letting go of Cloud's hand, i shrugged and said "I dont know, i guess i just did." We all began laughing, and before long Cloud joined us. This was the first time in years id felt this happy and even peaceful. Suddenly though, i noticed Yazoo had quit laughing, and he said "Uhhhh... I think we're forgetting something..." All of us grew silent, and then Cloud said "What is it?" Yazoo laughed a bit nervously and said "I infected Tifa with Geo Stigma, remember?" After a brief moment of silence, Cloud said "Oh no, hurry up!" Yazoo followed Cloud until they both had scurried out of sight, and me and Loz laughed some more.
And that was how we finally got past the biggest barrier to Mother's will: simply by me settling the issue more peacefully but surprisingly effectively. I was amazed at how flawless this went. I thought this way might have some chance of working, though it was not a guarantee just as Mother knew. However, even with Cloud being convinced to join Mother's cause with us, we still had the endless hordes of people out there who remained against us. Despite knowing we were still surrounded by enemies, i had felt there was a brighter glow of hope that with enough cooperation among us, we may one day successfully activate the Infinite Reunion.
To be continued...
Chapter 6: Confronting Cloud
Mother smiled at us when we returned to her on the top level of the Mako Reactor, happy to see each of us in good health and ready to tackle our next objective. I was the first to speak and said "We can't keep running away from problem child like this... Nor can we keep him distracted the whole time either. This has continued for the entire length of Mother's legacy which has prevented its success for all these years. This cant go on forever." Loz then shook his head and said "Youre absolutely right, Little Sister... But what other choices do we have? You know as well as we do he wants to kill us and make us restart everything all over again." Yazoo then said "If we dont do something, he'll haunt us and Mother forever! We cant allow that!" I then tried to calm my brothers down by signal, and they became silent. "I know, and youre both right: given the serious threat he really is, we can't sit back and let him roam free as he's been. But if we attack him, he will attack us: you know the rule." Mother then seemed to grow interested in what i had been trying to point out, and said "Sephie... What do you plan to do to him?" I then paused with my eyes shut, and felt tears stream from them despite my effort to hold them back. After a couple minutes passed, i forced my tears aside as best i could, then looked up at Mother with the strongest emotion id felt in years and said "Mother.... I.... I'll talk sense into him!" The instant i said that i felt my fiery spirit kick in and my JENOVA cells became supercharged in reaction to my spirit. Mother reacted in what was clearly surprised shock and seemed very interested in exactly what i had just said. Yazoo and Loz also cried out in shock, clearly not believing what id just said. Loz was the first to speak and said "What?! Have you lost your mind?!" Yazoo quickly followed and said "He wont listen to us! Theres no way!" They continued to shout more things, and even though they were both shouting at the same time and i couldn't hear everything, it was loud and clear they thought i was crazy. Mother's red eye flashed brightly, which she did to tell us to calm down and control ourselves when things got too wild. Of course, my brothers obeyed and grew silent. They both turned to face Mother, finally calming down. Mother then said "I know you two think what your sister just said wont accomplish anything, but she has a valid point. Its not guaranteed to work, but it may be the best shot we've got. Cloud is emotional enough that this may actually work... You all know about the past between him, Sephiroth, me... and you three as well. If anyone can reason with him, your Little Sister is the one to do it." There was silence for a while, then Yazoo said "Are you sure about this, Mother?" Yazoo still seemed rather tense, it was clear he was not fond of this idea at all. Loz seemed to feel the same and did not like the idea either. Most likely, they didn't like it because they knew what would happen if it didn't work. Mother then said "Its possible this may be the best solution to dealing with our little problem child... Sephieroth, i want you and your brothers to go out and head for Cloud's hometown. He should have returned home by now, more than likely. Yazoo and Loz, do not go on a rampage while youre there or on your way there. If you do it will provoke him and most likely ruin this mission. Only attack if your sister says to or i give you three the signal to attack. Once you guys are there, just do anything your sister says. Most likely, she will be doing most or all of the talking when you find him. This is your priority mission for the time being. Understood?" We each spoke in agreement and made way to head outside and ride our motorbikes to Cloud's hometown, completely the silent but intent the entire time.
Later, in Cloud's hometown....
We had arrived at our destination after what was probably several hours, and of course, Cloud Strife had also been here. He immediately got his sword and prepared to attack, but i signalled him to stop before he could. He listened but was still angry at our arrival and said "What do you want?" Yazoo giggled a bit and came to my side, and said "Hey, calm down there, Brother. We're not here to pick on you." I noticed Cloud quickly grew suspicious, and i sensed he thought Yazoo was lying. After a brief moment of silence, Cloud said "This is another trap, isnt it? Stop lying!" Loz then stepped up and said firmly "He's not lying, you dunce!" Cloud gazed from Loz to Yazoo and back rather quickly, and Yazoo said "The thing is, Brother... Little Sister wants to talk to you about something." Finally lowering his sword completely, Cloud said "What?" He had finally seemed to calm down, and my brothers stepped behind me at the side a bit, and i looked up to Cloud and said "What he said is true.... I wanna talk to you about something. And while im talking to you, i dont want you to think or act carelessly. I want you to try understanding." After a few minutes of silence between us, i spoke first and said "Do you remember the Shinra war and Big Brother Sephiroth?" Cloud paused briefly and said "Yes.." I then continued "It was very painful, wasnt it? Not just the fighting, but how you felt emotionally, the people you lost..." Seeming very surprised at my truthfulness here, he said "Of course... I wish it never even happened..." Then i said "How do you think Sephiroth felt? Do you think he felt any different?" Cloud stopped briefly, then said "For some of it, no... But closer to the end, he just lost it.." Then i replied "But dont just look at how he acted. Look at everything that happened during those years... JENOVA project, and everything related to it... Unlike you, Cloud, there were many things that were hidden from him. Who he was, how he was born... You had a bigger family than he did during those years. You didn't have the truth about yourself hidden from you like he had." Cloud seemed silent but i noticed he was looking directly into my eyes. It was clear he was becoming emotional as i spoke. I then continued on "How would you feel if the truth about yourself was kept secret? What would you do if all of your friends turned against you simply for following your heart, as happened with him?" Now i could see him growing very unhappy, and he said "He went insane! He killed Aeris, a bunch of innocent people, burned the city to rubble--" i then signalled him to slow down, and said "Youre forgetting something, Cloud. You didn't live your entire life in a war like he did. You weren't raised to resolve everything with acts of war--he was thanks to Shinra Company's ugly work. You know what they were all about." He seemed to calm down a bit, then i continued "Big Brother was hurt, Cloud. Just as hurt as you were when he burned the city. Would you have acted much differently had your life been the same as his?" Cloud seemed to suddenly feel what i thought looked like an air of guilt, even though he clearly tried to hide it. I then continued, and said "Yet despite all of this, you raged out against me and my brothers when i was only 15! You allowed your bloodlust to control you instead of thinking outside the box! You hated Big Brother for what he did to you, and you took it out on us too! You did all of these things and possibly more without any thought!" Now i could see he was feeling pretty bad as i spoke and he got the grasp of the point i was trying to make. Then i continued and said "How would you feel if you had your siblings killed when you were just 15 and left all by yourself thanks to some madman?" He gazed at me, and i could see he was growing more guilty as time went by here. I sensed he was on the verge of tears, but i continued my speech and said "I was left with scars when you killed my brothers--no different than the way you felt when Big Brother burned the city... and no different than he felt during his years then after learning about who he was and everything about JENOVA project. Do you see any obvious differences here? Anything that is really out of place with what im telling you?" He knew i was right about everything here, even though he clearly didn't want to admit it or even believe it. I could see him crying now rather quietly, and he said as calmly as he could "What do you want from me? To stand here and make me miserable?" I flew off the ground a little ways, and without saying another word, i flew close to Cloud and put my face inches from his with my hand behind his head and looked directly into his eyes with silent but kind intent. He had his eyes locked on mine, and i said "Cloud... Join us." To my surprise, he didn't lash out defiantly at all. He remained silent and i said "You may have killed Big Brother... but his spirit, his very essence... is still alive in all of us. You, me, Yazoo and Loz.... We are one." I felt my JENOVA cells flare up powerfully in reaction to emotion. I could feel their power escalating and spread to my eyes. After a long moment of silence, Cloud said "Are you serious..? No tricks or setup.... no fast ones either..?" I didn't speak, instead i looked directly into his eyes, using the power of my JENOVA cells to project my signal. He could tell i was serious. Even though he was also silent, it was very obvious. Gently shoving me off him, Cloud suddenly felt guilty again and walked a few steps away and said "But, JENOVA.... theres no way she'll let me in after everything i did to get in her way... She'll just kick me out and slam the door..." He seemed rather desperate, and i walked towards him and said "Cloud... Mother approved this mission in the first place. It was my idea to confront you and try to reason with you just as i did now, but nothing happens in our life without her approval. If she decided this was a very bad idea, or was not willing to give you another chance if you listened to me.... We would have set out to square off against you in another intense battle." I suddenly noticed how surprised my brothers were at how well my idea had really gone. They couldn't believe it. After a brief moment of silence, Cloud turned to face me again and said "Are you sure?" I giggled a bit with my eyes shut and said "Mother can see through lies and find the truth no matter what! If you came with us to the Mako Reactor where we rest and have used as our territory, Mother would know if your intentions are pure and you mean us no harm. Dont be silly." I finally managed to make Cloud smile, and i smiled back just to be kind. I felt very accomplished here--never once had Cloud smiled at me or any of Mother's children. This was a very positive sign the mission was already successful. I gently landed back on the ground with my black wing still out, and reached my hand out to him, then said "So what will it be? Are you gonna give up hope or stand strong and try again?" I kept smiling, only this time it wasnt my sick smile i gave when i was about to kill someone during battle; this was my friendly smile. Cloud shook my hand the way warriors did, smiling and said "No... I wont give up. I'll find a way to restart everything." Loz then came to my side with Yazoo and said "Well this went surprisingly well. How did you convince him, Little Sister?" Letting go of Cloud's hand, i shrugged and said "I dont know, i guess i just did." We all began laughing, and before long Cloud joined us. This was the first time in years id felt this happy and even peaceful. Suddenly though, i noticed Yazoo had quit laughing, and he said "Uhhhh... I think we're forgetting something..." All of us grew silent, and then Cloud said "What is it?" Yazoo laughed a bit nervously and said "I infected Tifa with Geo Stigma, remember?" After a brief moment of silence, Cloud said "Oh no, hurry up!" Yazoo followed Cloud until they both had scurried out of sight, and me and Loz laughed some more.
And that was how we finally got past the biggest barrier to Mother's will: simply by me settling the issue more peacefully but surprisingly effectively. I was amazed at how flawless this went. I thought this way might have some chance of working, though it was not a guarantee just as Mother knew. However, even with Cloud being convinced to join Mother's cause with us, we still had the endless hordes of people out there who remained against us. Despite knowing we were still surrounded by enemies, i had felt there was a brighter glow of hope that with enough cooperation among us, we may one day successfully activate the Infinite Reunion.
To be continued...
