[Zack brought them together...in some ways, that's what Cloud's worried about. But now's not the time for that. Not yet.]
Mm. When Sephiroth went back up there to take Jenova's head, I did follow him, but by the time I got there, Zack had already fought him and lost. I stabbed Sephiroth with Zack's sword. Buster was his, not mine. Sephiroth was pissed, Zack told me to finish him off, so...I did. Threw him into the reactor. But Zack and I both would've bled out, except...Hojo took us to his lab.
[This is harder to talk about. He still doesn't remember most of that time, not in detail. But it's important, and she has to know. His eyes are fixed on the bartop, now.]
We were there for four years before Zack got us out. Experimented on us the same way he experimented on the other survivors, but Zack was pretty much immune to the worst of it.
[His expression twists into something darker.]
Not me, though. No idea how long it took, but by the time Zack busted us out, I'd been out of commission for a while already. Severe mako poisoning. Hojo figured I wouldn't survive. I shouldn't have. But...Zack took me with him. On the run for another year or so, always on the move, nowhere was safe, but he...he still dragged my useless ass all over the continent. Even though the chances I'd ever recover were close to none. He...kept me alive, kept me safe, that whole time.
[Cloud has to pause; he can feel his throat tightening up and he doesn't want to cry. Not here, not now.]
no subject
[Zack brought them together...in some ways, that's what Cloud's worried about. But now's not the time for that. Not yet.]
Mm. When Sephiroth went back up there to take Jenova's head, I did follow him, but by the time I got there, Zack had already fought him and lost. I stabbed Sephiroth with Zack's sword. Buster was his, not mine. Sephiroth was pissed, Zack told me to finish him off, so...I did. Threw him into the reactor. But Zack and I both would've bled out, except...Hojo took us to his lab.
[This is harder to talk about. He still doesn't remember most of that time, not in detail. But it's important, and she has to know. His eyes are fixed on the bartop, now.]
We were there for four years before Zack got us out. Experimented on us the same way he experimented on the other survivors, but Zack was pretty much immune to the worst of it.
[His expression twists into something darker.]
Not me, though. No idea how long it took, but by the time Zack busted us out, I'd been out of commission for a while already. Severe mako poisoning. Hojo figured I wouldn't survive. I shouldn't have. But...Zack took me with him. On the run for another year or so, always on the move, nowhere was safe, but he...he still dragged my useless ass all over the continent. Even though the chances I'd ever recover were close to none. He...kept me alive, kept me safe, that whole time.
[Cloud has to pause; he can feel his throat tightening up and he doesn't want to cry. Not here, not now.]