【SC】Endless Journey

The alarm clock in the next bed only rang once before being pressed.

Claude heard Sephiroth changing his clothes lightly, paused by his bed, and then left the room quietly.

He opened his eyes, confirmed that the sound of the other party's footsteps had disappeared at the end of the corridor, and then got up to check the contents of the experiment that Katterholm had ordered today.

Although Sephiroth had vehemently opposed him becoming a test subject instead of himself, his deal with Catholm had actually been going on in secret.Claude wanted Catholm to keep Sephiroth a secret, and the other party agreed, so in exchange, he provided almost all the C cells in the institute, and experienced many experiments that he didn't want to recall at all.

Claude walked into the bathroom, took off the two-piece T-shirt and shirt, and observed his body in the mirror.

There is a five centimeter wide suture mark on his abdomen, which is the incision of the operation two weeks ago.The wound has basically recovered, leaving only a light bruise, which will disappear soon if the knife is not used in the same place.

Claude breathed a sigh of relief.He still remembered how Sephiroth got mad because of this kind of thing a year ago, so he has been careful not to let the other party see his wounds.But last night Claude was so tired that he almost took off his shirt in front of Sephiroth. Fortunately, the other party's attention was not on him at the time, which gave him a chance to cover the bruise again.

In a way, it's the "price" he has to pay in exchange for something—sometimes for Sephiroth's safety, sometimes for something he needs.

Claude couldn't help thinking of Ifaluna, maybe she protected her daughter in the same way in Shinra's laboratory back then, but he and Sephiroth were far from having such a warm relationship.He has only seen the consequences of Sephiroth falling into Hojo's hands, and he can't let things repeat themselves here in Catholme, in other words, this is his own war, and everything he is doing now is for them one day escape from this prison.

Sephiroth didn't know his plan from beginning to end, and Claude also hoped that he could keep his ignorance.

"Talk about that. You said you could hear the voice of the savior?" Carterholm sat on the swivel chair opposite him, crossing his hands and supporting his chin.

"To be precise, it can be done before the crystal dissipates." Cloud appropriated Sephiroth's experience, so that the lie could sound more real.

In fact, Catholm began to suspect him earlier than Sephiroth.The other party knew that his personality did not match his age, but with the example of Sephiroth first, Katterholm did not particularly delve into how his personality came about, but was only interested in the knowledge he possessed.

"That is to say, he was indeed alive and conscious when he was inside the crystal?" Carterholm folded his arms and muttered to himself, "What a pity, what a pity. If he can come out of the crystal completely , maybe we can use his sperm to do cross-breeding experiments, so that we can create a more powerful species..."

...this idea is very precious.

So when Catholm's eyes fell on him, Claude subconsciously emphasized: "I'm only seven years old."

He didn't expect this sentence to really prevent Catholm from extracting sperm from himself in the future, but at this stage, taking some body tissue is inevitable.

Carterholm put away his smile and shrugged indifferently. "I have no intention of forcing you yet. But what is your basis for saying that Sephiroth is not Claude Strife? Their genes are 100% the same."

Claude stared at him in disbelief: "We agreed that you wouldn't touch him?!"

"I only promise you not to do any operation that may cause harm to him, and sperm extraction will not. But if you can give me a good reason, I can think about it."

Claude gripped the fabric on his lap tightly.

He used this reason before to prevent Carter Holm from conducting experiments on Sephiroth, but if the other party plans to switch to cross-breeding, Sephiroth is almost old enough to provide materials, and this does not violate the relationship between them. agreement.

The situation is very unfavorable for Crowder. It seems that he has more bargaining chips. In fact, only one of Carter Holm is enough.

"Safi doesn't look like him at all." Claude replied without hope.

"Of course I can see it, and I want to know the reason." Carterholm obviously wouldn't be fooled by this reason.

"...I'm just guessing."

"So what's your guess?"

Claude was silent for a long time before speaking again.

"Although the genes are the same," he hesitated for a few seconds, wondering how far to reveal, "... but the will determines how we present ourselves. If Safi doesn't look like that person, he already has A different will from that man, and will never be the next Claude Strife."

What he said is basically the truth, Jenova's genes can simulate anything, Sephiroth has the most primitive form as the master of the S cell, and he maintains the image of the ontology because of self-awareness.It's just that these things sound like metaphysics without knowing the principle of Jenova's cells. He doesn't know how much Carter Holm can believe.

"So that's the case... no wonder."

Judging from the weird excitement in the other party's eyes, the lunatic actually accepted it all.

"It's no wonder that C cells can only strengthen other creatures and cannot produce new perfect species, because those animals don't have complex thinking abilities, and they can't generate self-awareness to maintain a stable existence..." Catholm paced back and forth, pulling his mustache , suddenly laughed grimly, "I see. To create a perfect creature with the C gene, we must first transform it from a creature with advanced intelligence, such as...human beings."

Claude felt a chill.He didn't know how Carterholm jumped to this conclusion from the little information he gave, but he sincerely hoped that his words would not bring unwarranted disasters to others.

In the end, Katterholm still took a small piece of his liver tissue for culture as promised, and did not mention the hybridization experiment for the time being.

After the operation, Claude lay in bed waiting for the effects of the anesthesia to wear off.He was given an injection of medicine made from Sephiroth cells, and the wound was healing at a speed visible to the naked eye, and at the same time his head was aching more and more.

"Reunion."

He heard voices whispering in his head.

screw you.Claude thought weakly.

This is a side effect unknown to the research institute. The more S cells injected into his body, the closer he will be to Sephiroth's physique.Although he can still maintain his autonomy at present, if he continues like this, he will return to Sephiroth's control.Fortunately, little Sephiroth doesn't know that he has this ability yet, and he won't give the other party this opportunity.

On the other hand, Claude realized that there was not much time left for him.

He remembered that Sephiroth mentioned that there was going to be a war outside, which was a variable he hadn't counted before.Usually in war, the research institute is responsible for manufacturing large quantities of weapons for the military. In particular, Carter Holm's research focuses on transforming monsters. It takes several months from breeding to training, so the research institute will be very busy in the next period of time. His and Sephiroth's projects may not have as many people to manage.

Ideally, if the war lasted more than a year, by the time he was ten and Sephiroth was fourteen, they would have had a chance to escape the underground facility while taking advantage of the chaos.

Although there are still some small problems in details, for example, both he and Sephiroth have chips implanted in their bodies, and Catholm can easily locate them; he probably knows where the chips are on his body, but Sephiroth implanted them When you entered, you were too young, you may not be able to find it quickly, etc., but there is still time to solve these, and it is not enough to affect the overall situation.

In fact, the biggest problem is that he has not yet made a detailed plan, because most things are out of his control, or in other words, the only part he can control now is himself, followed by Sephiroth. All other risks are unknown.

The effect of the anesthesia finally passed, and the pain from the wound began to attack the nerves little by little.Claude suddenly wanted to see what Sephiroth was doing, so he got up from the bed, put on his clothes with difficulty, and then staggered towards the training area.

It wasn't until he stood in front of the reinforced glass in the training room that Crowder realized how much he had missed in a year focused on fighting Katterholm.

Before he noticed, the silver-haired boy had grown up a lot than he remembered, gradually approaching the appearance when he saw Sephiroth on the poster for the first time.

A 13-year-old boy, Shinra's victorious hero in the Wutai War, with waterfall-like silver hair flying in the wind, green pupils are calm and confident.Although there is still a trace of childishness on his face, the angle chosen by the photographer makes the other person look tall, and no one dares to speculate on his age.

Now Sephiroth's biological age is 11 years old, his height is the same as Claude's before his death, and his appearance has begun to take on the shadow of an adult version.Their growth rate in childhood was three times that of ordinary humans, but Claude knew that the two would eventually stay in the last appearance in their respective memories, so he probably could only return to the age of 16, and Sephiroth would continue grow to nearly two meters.

Claude looked at the training screen on the screen, his thoughts jumping repeatedly between memory and reality.After a while, he saw something shiny out of the corner of his eye, and his eyes were attracted by the weapon in Sephiroth's hand.

That was the gift he gave to Sephiroth yesterday, and he used some "price" to entrust Carter Holm, Carter Holm, and then the Pan-Midgar Duchy military to help him redeem the village rain.

He left Murasame as part of the inheritance to Denzel and Marlene back then. He thought that this knife would eventually be welcomed back by Wutai as a national treasure, but he didn't expect it to be in Midgar.So on the third day after his operation at Catholme, the knife came back to him as promised, and it took another week for him to put it on Sephiroth's bed.

Sephiroth chose a village scene with a relatively open environment, and several flying dragons were circling in the air waiting to attack.The opponent's current swordsmanship teacher is from Wutai. I heard that Sephiroth chose it himself, so he can use Wutai sword proficiently early in the morning.Although Murasame is more than 70 centimeters shorter than Masamune, in the hands of Sephiroth, it has the same effect as that knife.

Lift up, settle down, pick the air with a backhand, and then chop down heavily.

There was a strange gleam in the eyes of the silver-haired boy, as if these movements had been fused into his soul and blood.With just one swipe, the blade elegantly tore apart the monsters and walls around him, and the flames from the explosion instantly engulfed the village, drawing a picture of hell intertwined with blood and fire in the virtual world.

"Claude, run... get out, and survive."

Claude's pupils suddenly shrank into a slit.

For a moment he forgot to breathe, and his heart beat so violently that it almost jumped out of his chest.

This is a memory imprinted deep in his soul, a nightmare he will never forget.His hometown was slaughtered by that man in the same way, and he was knocked to the ground at that time, and he could only watch his mother and his home burn together.

Claude forced himself to look away from the screen, took a deep breath, and managed to calm down after a while.

You gave it to him, think of a good Claude.

So he tried to recall the first time he had seen Sephiroth use the six-style a few weeks ago.

At that time, Claude also observed the other party's training site after the experiment.He thought that he had no chance in his lifetime, and it is very interesting to watch it now, so he did not expect to see Sephiroth holding the six-style picture there-this had never appeared in his wildest imagination, so it seemed There is a touch of weirdness.

Sephiroth used the upper hand at the beginning, and adjusted the angle of the blade self-taught, which looked like a certain usage of Claude.But then he drew a beautiful silver arc with the sword, trying to perform the Iai Slash, and was almost staggered forward by Rokushiki's strange center of gravity.

Claude wanted to laugh, but felt impolite, so he hurriedly tensed his expression.

The silver-haired boy looked at the sword with a frown, tried thrusting and slashing, and found that these moves were still usable, so he started the VR training scene.A few hours later, Claude witnessed how the other party stumbled and adjusted from the habit of using Wutai knives to his usual mid-range starter. De respected him.

Although he knew that Sephiroth was a swordsmanship genius, it was one thing to know it, but another thing to see it with his own eyes.This little Sephiroth is almost a replica of his childhood hero, only some practical experience and a good teacher are separated between the two.However, Claude has always pretended that he has no interest in the six styles, and has never used them in front of Sephiroth before and after, so little Safi will not know that the best swordsmanship teacher in the world is by his side, and he has no chance to be with him during his lifetime. The best sparring sparring.

Afterwards, Claude observed for a few more days, and found that the opponent was naturally very poorly compatible with weapons such as epee that had nothing to do with agility and elegance.

It's not so much a matter of usage as it is a matter of preference.Although Sephiroth can wield the Six Styles, he doesn't really like the fighting method of the epee.He was always trying to correct the usage of the Six Forms, just like asking a wild wolf to be obedient, so both parties felt very painful, and in the end they could only give up with regret.

The most suitable weapon for Sephiroth must be authentic. However, this knife fell into Nibelheim's Demon Pool with the opponent, and now it has become a part of the opponent's soul. In the past, Sephiroth directly summoned it , now that the other party doesn't remember the authentic image, naturally they can't regain it.

Claude looked at the frustrated little Sephiroth, and suddenly felt a little regretful.

Although from the perspective of protecting the planet, he shouldn't let Sephiroth regain his sword skills, but from a selfish point of view, it is a very reckless thing for a unparalleled swordsmanship genius not to have a weapon in his hand.

Claude deluded himself into thinking that it was just a knife that wouldn't change much, and he couldn't teach him how to use it, so he searched for a relatively safe substitute for the young man from his memory.

He thought that one day he might regret it, but at that time he felt that little Sephiroth was worth a gift, so he gave it on a whim.

He just didn't expect his regret to come so quickly.

As the silver-haired boy jumped into the air again and struck down with the momentum of piercing the ground, the sound in the training room suddenly stopped.

Claude looked up into the window subconsciously, meeting Sephiroth's eyes for a moment.The other party seemed to be in high spirits, walking towards the console while taking off the VR headset.

"Claude, have you seen it?" The boy pulled Murasame back into the scabbard, showing off to him in a very rare happy tone, "I created a new move. The previous knives can't withstand this power, but Murasame is perfectly fine, if I used all my strength to shatter the floor of the training room just now. I'm going to name it—"

"...Prison Gate." Claude whispered, "The name of this move is Prison Gate."

Sephiroth froze.

Claude suddenly felt irritated, so he turned and left without saying a word.The silver-haired boy looked at him inexplicably from behind, but he didn't catch up in the end.

It wasn't until they returned to the room of the two that Claude let out a breath slowly and let go of the fist that almost broke his palm.

He simply took a shower, wrapped himself in the quilt, and tried to fall asleep straight away.But after standing up forcibly before, the surgical incision entered the peak of pain at this time, and Claude had to lie on his side and keep curled up to relieve the tearing feeling around the wound.

The moment Sephiroth exited the prison gate today, the scene of a brown-haired girl being pierced through the chest by a sharp knife falling from the sky emerged in his mind, and he couldn't help but feel palpitations.

More than 200 years have passed, but he already knew that Alice still existed in some form in the stream of life, and he forgave himself who was helpless when he watched her die.Now he shouldn't be suffering from the past that has passed, but his soul is still resisting everything related to that person.

In fact, because of this, he spent about a year or so figuring out what to do with little Sephiroth.

It's one thing for Sephiroth to think of him as his younger brother, it's another for him to actually be old enough to be Sephiroth's guardian.And speaking from his heart, he didn't want to accept either role.Sephiroth used to be all his dreams and nightmares, a pain he would never forget in his life, even if the long years have faded the hatred, it is impossible to be without grudges.But at the same time, the other person is indeed still a child, and this time he was forced into this world, and he cannot blame a victim for a crime that Sephiroth has not yet committed.

This kind of complicated emotion made Cloud not want to face Sephiroth for a while.He actively participated in experiments and training, avoiding all opportunities to be alone with each other; Sephiroth clearly felt this, from the initial anger to a little injury later, and finally let the two of them keep such a distance.

It wasn't until the last few weeks that Crowder realized that this passive coping wasn't going to solve the problem.He would eventually have to take Sephiroth out of the institute, and then he would have to make sure Sephiroth was willing to cooperate.So he began to try to improve the relationship between them - since the other party was reborn as a blank slate, it meant that he was still malleable.If Sephiroth can feel the warmth of family affection from himself, maybe he can understand the emotions of normal human beings, and all he needs to do is accept those identities.

Claude didn't want little Sephiroth to know the waves hidden behind that gift. His conflicts and pain were all his grievances with the previous Sephiroth. He chose little Sephiroth. He shouldn't vent these emotions on the other party...

But he found he couldn't.

The bad mood made Claude's wound hurt even more. He buried his face deeply in the pillow, as if the darkness and suffocation could relieve some of his mental discomfort.

At this moment, the door of the room was opened, and Sephiroth walked towards him silently, and finally stopped by his bed.

The other party did not forcefully lift his quilt this time, but stared at him silently for a while, lying gently beside him, with warm arms against his back.

"Claude."

The other party read his name, making his body tense up quickly.

"Do you know anything about mother?"

It finally came.

Claude made up his mind from the beginning that he would not answer this question, so he always kept his back to Sephiroth, waiting for the other party to ask more rudely.

But this time he didn't wait to extract a confession, but found that the other party was about to be pulled out from under him by the horn, and one hand sneaked into the hem of his pajamas.

Claude clamped the hand hard, but Sephiroth easily broke it apart. His hot fingers slid along the skin of his lower abdomen, touching the wound he was trying to hide.Claude couldn't help trembling slightly, on the one hand because of the strange but comfortable touch, on the other hand because of the coming pain.

The palm with the callus rubbed against the nearby skin for a while and then left, and then the other party's hot body came up from behind him.

"Don't move, your body temperature is too low."

Claude was stopped by this sentence just as he was about to struggle.He knew that what Sephiroth said was true. After the operation, for some reason, his body temperature was dropping sharply, and even the bed was cold.

"If you don't want to talk, I can leave it alone for now. But this wound is about me, right?"

Although this sentence was doubtful, Sephiroth used a positive tone.Claude wanted to deny it, but the moment he opened his mouth, a groan escaped - Sephiroth pressed his wound, it turned out that the operation was much more painful than he felt mentally.

"You are avoiding me, but you keep doing these hurtful things instead of me. You give me gifts, but hate me for using them—" Sephiroth said more and more frightened him, he felt that the other party was about to Realized the truth.

"—so what exactly do you want from me, Claude?"

Claude froze for a moment.

He thought about all kinds of questions the other party might ask, but he didn't expect Sephiroth to think of him like this.

He felt like he had a plan for him...

Claude suddenly felt a little ironic.

Although he was indeed not sincere to little Sephiroth, he never thought of using him.That was the source of Sephiroth's tragedy, and then the other party passed on the pain to him, making it difficult for him to get rid of the fate of being entangled with the other party for the rest of his life.And now Sephiroth actually asked him this question in turn.

Claude pushed the other side away suddenly and got up from the bed.

"If I need something, it's not you I should be looking for. What can you offer? Your own freedom, or ours? You can't even—" Protect yourself, "... What do you think I Is there anything I need you for?"

He can actually understand the logic of the other party. A child who has not received normal care since childhood is full of distrust for everything around him. The only object of trust has turned into the stream of life a year and a half ago. It is not surprising to have such thoughts... ...but he just can't help getting angry.

Sephiroth looked at him, his expression suddenly became a little strange.It was difficult for Claude to describe that expression, it seemed to be confused, but also a little bit like the loss of finding that the glass ball was broken and the contents did not match the imagination.

Claude calmed down a little, and was considering whether to make amends a few words, but saw that persistent light returned to the other party's eyes.

"You need me." Sephiroth was extremely firm.

"I do not need."

"You need it. You're my brother."

"It's my brother, but it has nothing to do with whether you need it or not." Claude was about to vomit blood.

"You are the continuation of mother's life, so you must need me."

Claude froze suddenly.

Sephiroth pushed him down on the bed again, his green vertical pupils glowing opal-like in the dark night.

"Claude, you absorbed your mother's life, you have to live no matter what, otherwise he will cease to exist." The boy's hand gently stroked his cheek, his voice softened, "And I will guarantee this Everything, you just need to be obedient and wait here for me."

Claude's stomach tightened violently.He tried to resist again, but the other party pinched the veins on the side of his neck, and soon passed out.

Waking up the next morning, Claude found that Sephiroth was gone, and he hadn't seen him in the institute for the next three months.

He crazily grabbed every researcher to ask questions, and the answer he got was that Sephiroth was taken away by the military along with the last batch of mutant dogs, and the other circumstances are temporarily unknown.There is not much information from Catholm, but the chip on the other party's body is still transmitting data back and forth every day, so it should not be life-threatening for the time being.

Then, on the day Cloud's body turned eight years old, Sephiroth returned.

The boy looked like a different person from head to toe. He was dressed in the military uniform of the Pan-Midgar Duchy, with a village rain hanging around his waist, and his muscles bulged in a visible arc on the close-fitting clothing.Sephiroth's height has broken through the 1.8-meter mark, and his weight has even grown faster. He looks no different from a young man.

But Claude couldn't see these. At that time, he was sleeping in the training cabin full of demons, and everyone in the institute looked at Sephiroth's expression, and they didn't dare to tell him about the experimental accident that happened a week ago.

But Sephiroth already knew.