Author's note: Cloud's chocobo is named after a police officer in Charlaine Harris' books about Sookie Stackhouse. Don't ask why. No, really - don't ask.

Cloud could practically feel the worry and anxiety roiling beneath Yuffie’s skin. He could see the caution, interest and outright suspicion of their would-be allies, the old pain lingering in all of the group that had led him and Yuffie around. It was more difficult to interpret the small currents of the Earth natives than Yuffie’s, his connection with Gaia much stronger than his new bond to this planet.

He felt sympathy for her, couldn’t imagine being alone for so long that you forgot your own name. And he was certain that it was time that had stolen the memory from her; time, not torture by unfeeling scientists.

I’ll never leave you, Zack-memory promised, swamping Cloud with the strength of his conviction, fierce protectiveness warming like a fire. You and me Spike, and I’ll take you where Shinra can never hurt us again. Just please, please, wake up.

Cloud hated the way the flood of the Lifestream affected him. The small dose the mostly slumbering planet could muster was enough to heighten his planet awareness and attune him to her own Lifestream, which had been her goal, but it also stirred up the memory fragments that didn’t truly belong to him. He could ignore or block out the voices of people he had never met, but when bits of Zack surfaced… Listening hurt, but he couldn’t bear not to. Not when they were all he had left.

Scattered memories and a SOLDIER sword, he thought bitterly. It shouldn’t have been possible to reduce you to that.

Yuffie’s hand brushing against his provided a subtle anchor to the real world, gave him something to focus on as the green slowly faded from his vision and the currents of living matter became awareness instead of sight. Cloud doubted she knew what the Lifestream did to him, but she’d always known how to handle him. The way she encouraged him to be true to himself and neither coddled nor dictated to him made him feel like a human being in times when he wasn’t sure if that was still true. The way she wasn’t ever afraid of him and felt free to prank or lecture him as she saw fit made him feel like family.

After an encounter with the Lifestream, he needed both.

Shaking out of his thoughts as they left the elevator, Cloud wished he were more of a diplomat than a soldier. He had to make this work, even if he didn’t understand why Gaia had sent him to this so-called Earth. The destination hadn’t been decided on a whim, and he trusted her judgement on that, but it only emphasized how important it was that he be able to work with the people here.

He glanced over at the man who’d accepted the Ultima Weapon from him. The man reminded him somewhat of Barrett with his height and dark skin, though his nature seemed more akin to Vincent. Trying to puzzle out his intentions and motivations would take time, because the planet didn’t know him, and Cloud could read nothing from the chaotic currents within him. But giving him the sword had been its own test, and the Gaia-made weapon had not denied the touch.

It doesn’t matter where he’s from or what he is. He is trusted here, and Ultima didn’t sense an enemy. Cloud glanced over at the apparent civilian in the group. And whoever these people are or what they do, I’ll have to agree to any restrictions or demands they see fit to ask for.

No matter what he meant to Gaia, she could always change another human to keep her company, and now that she was fully awake she didn’t truly need a protector. If she wanted to, she could make new WEAPONs. He was not irreplaceable even if she couldn’t duplicate all that Hojo had done to him. Cloud was well aware that this was his only chance to do the impossible and return what he had stolen from Zack. If he failed now, the offer would not come again. And the planets would be the ones to decide if he failed them.

Sitting down at the long table of a room that seemed a simpler, military version of the meeting room of Shinra Headquarters felt surreal, another reflection of the past. Even if he had been spying from the air ducts back then, not participating like he was now.

The sound of a throat clearing brought his gaze to General Hammond.

“I believe introductions are in order,” the older man said. “This is Colonel Jack O’Neill, Major Samantha Carter, Dr. Daniel Jackson, and Teal’c, who has chosen to ally himself with us.”

Cloud and Yuffie nodded to each in turn.

“You have both cooperated with us so far, and if you are correct about your stargate now being sealed I can understand why,” Hammond continued. “However, there are questions that need answers before I can make any kind of decision concerning you. Explain how and why you came here.”

Yuffie glanced at Cloud before deciding to help him get started, preferably at a point after Meteor. That mess was none of their business. “We were investigating an abandoned lab when we found the gate. It was hidden away in a secret room within a secret facility, so I doubt it has been used since it got there.” She shrugged. “I didn’t get a good look at it before Gaia showed up and sweet-talked Cloud into coming here, but since I wasn’t about to let him go alone, I jumped in ahead of him.”

“But you said you couldn’t hear her,” Carter objected.

“She can’t,” Cloud confirmed, “but she can still hear me talking. She heard me agree to leave Gaia and wake her sister planets. I also agreed to protect them and keep them company.”

Four of the five looked distinctly skeptical, but the civilian – Jackson – was intrigued.

“You really can speak with planets?” he asked. “The things they would remember…”

Yuffie snorted. “You’re a historian, aren’t you? Even if she wakes, she won’t be able to tell you anything. Planets don’t care about ordinary humans unless we’re hurting them. That’s why I wasn’t invited along.”

“Gaia can give other people the ability to understand her, but she can’t create a new line of Cetra. They have a bond to their planets that I will never have. Your planet has been asleep for a long time, and alone before that. I…” Cloud hesitated, wondering if it was a bad idea to bring it up so soon, then plunged on. “Do you know why there are no Ancients left here? The impression I got was that they abandoned her, but Aeris’ people would never have done that to Gaia, so I’m not certain that’s what really happened. They might not have left by their own will. It’s important for me to know, so I won’t upset her needlessly.”

Now all of them were looking at him strangely, and Cloud resisted the urge to squirm. Jackson was fairly glowing with excitement.

“You knew an Ancient?” he asked eagerly. “Can you tell us anything about them? About their language? We’ve found some texts –”

Cloud shook his head. “Aeris was orphaned when she was very young. She always regretted there was so much she didn’t know about her mother’s people.” The room slid out of focus as both his and Zack’s memories stirred. “Shinra hunted her, wanted to use her, experiment on her. As long as Hojo was alive, no one was safe. Specimens, all of us. Never humans to him, always specimens…”

Recognizing the signs, Yuffie jabbed an elbow into his ribs to bring him back to the present, glad to see his eyes clear. “It was… not a pleasant part of our world’s history,” she explained hastily, glaring at Jackson for bringing it up. Not that he could have known, of course, but she wasn’t interested in being fair just then.

While Jackson absorbed the disappointment, Hammond moved on to more immediate questions.

“I will accept your story of talking planets” – for now, his tone said – “but the question of why we should treat you as allies remains. You said that we could help you.” His eyes were very sharp on Cloud’s. “What assistance are you asking for, and what would you offer in return?”

Cloud kept his expression neutral by force of habit. While it was tempting to promise them he’d do anything, he knew showing desperation would gain him nothing. Deliberately stirring through his stolen memories, he held tight to pieces of Shinra meetings and negotiations Zack had been present at.

“Before I can offer anything at all, I would ask what your standing is,” he said with an outward calm he didn’t feel, mimicking the image of Sephiroth’s cool demeanor. By the agitated fluctuations he sensed in Yuffie, she didn’t trust it, but the others seemed to. “Are you official military? What do you use the gate for?”

Everyone but Teal’c looked to the General, alerting him to the fact that in one way or other this was sensitive information.

“We operate with the support of our nation’s government, but for security reasons the public is not aware of the stargate’s existence.” Hammond was searching for some reaction, but Cloud wasn’t sure why. “We use the gate to visit other planets and make allies against the Goa’uld.”

Yuffie glanced over at Cloud, brows raised in a way that said Well, that was helpful. He gave her a nod of agreement and she took over the conversation.

“Tell us about them,” she prompted. “These Goa’uld you keep mentioning. What are they? Why are you fighting? Who started it?”

The question obviously came as a surprise, but Hammond pulled himself together quickly enough.

“Dr. Jackson, if you please.”

Jackson nodded. “The Goa’uld are alien life forms that need human hosts to survive. They came to Earth thousands of years ago and enslaved us, using advanced technology to set themselves up as gods to be worshipped. Our ancestors overthrew them and buried the stargate to keep them from coming back. It is only in recent years that we rediscovered what the gate is and begun exploring other planets. However, the Goa’uld took people to other planets and these cultures are kept under careful watch to ensure they don’t evolve beyond a controllable level. Some are not even allowed to read and write – on Abydos, it was a hidden, secret skill few knew or dared to learn. It’s –”

“Daniel.” O’Neill sounded exasperated, though there was a hint of amusement in his dark eyes. “That’s really not the issue right now.”

“Oh. Uhm… right.” Jackson was visibly flustered, but Cloud found it reassuring. If that kind of passion over cultural matters was not only accepted but looked at with fondness by military leaders, then the risk of them having much similarity with Shinra was negligible.

“They look like snakes, creep in at the back of your neck to settle around the spinal cord and take control of your body,” O’Neill explained, “and they have all kinds of technology that makes them hard to kill.”

“Jaffa like myself carry infant Goa’uld,” Teal’c continued. “In return for this protection, the prim’ta make us strong, insure our health and give us long life.”

Hearing about Teal’c’s little houseguest made Yuffie shift closer to Cloud, nervously stroking the Transform materia in her armlet.

Why didn’t I equip any offensive materia? she scolded herself. Cloud’ll never let me live it down if I turn them all into Touch Mes!

Cloud had barely registered Teal’c’s words, his attention on O’Neill.

“They control you?” he asked, feeling chilled to the bone.

O’Neill nodded, eyes narrowing as if sensing there was a story somewhere but he didn’t push for it. “The host can hear and see and feel, but he can’t affect what the Goa’uld in his body does.”

Cloud sat frozen, Gaia’s words echoing in his mind. ‘There are other enemies than Jenova. Lesser beings not of her race but of like mind. They must be stopped before my sisters are damaged beyond healing.’

Memories beat at him; purely his this time. Memories of being under the influence of Jenova, nothing but a puppet on Sephiroth’s strings.

As the silence stretched, Yuffie placed one hand on his arm. “Come on, little brother,” she coaxed. “Settle them down and leave the past where it should be.”

Blinking, Cloud did as he was told, using her voice and touch as an anchor to the present. The slip had been too easy, the memories too close. When this meeting was over he had to talk to the planet again, had to ground himself. “It seems we have a common enemy after all,” he said aloud, glad his voice came out even.

Even here, one does not become a General by being slow on the uptake, Cloud mused as Hammond took the opening presented to him.

“Then, in the spirit of cooperation, can you tell us how you opened the iris?”

“I didn’t do anything. Gaia sent us, and your planet received us.” Cloud was relieved with the change of subject, as it was unlikely to bring up any old memories. “What is the iris, and what happened to it?”

Hammond raised his brows, but answered readily enough. “Considering what happened to you, it’s understandable that you didn’t see it, but there are metal plates that close over the wormhole to keep uninvited visitors out. When you came through, there was a green light around the gate that kept the iris open.”

Cloud nodded. “Lifestream. I’m surprised she could raise it in her state.”

“Planet energy,” Yuffie expanded at seeing the others didn’t understand. She glanced at Cloud, nodding briefly at the guarded expression on his face, and left out all potentially dangerous information about Lifestream and mako. “Its lifeblood, in a way. If the Lifestream is disturbed or lessened enough, the planet and everything on it will die.”

“And that’s what one of your Goa’uld are doing,” Cloud said. “Gaia didn’t tell me their name, but the description fits.” He could almost feel the Manipulate materia burn through the metal of his armlet, eager to be used. It was tempting to tap into that power, not to urge for a quick and honest answer as he had by the gate earlier, but to force acceptance.

But that would make me as bad as Jenova, he admitted, and an alliance built on that kind of lie has no hope of lasting.

He took a deep breath, praying that his following words would be enough of an explanation. Not too much and not too little, just enough. “Your planet doesn’t see you as her enemies, so I was not sent here to kill you. I believe Gaia sent me here because this is where I need to be, because I can reach others from here.” His gaze wandered from person to person, weighing them. “Because you need her awake and able to defend herself when you and whatever allies you have aren’t enough.”

“And you believe a planet can raise some kind of defense of its own?” O’Neill questioned. “What’s it going to do, gather up a meteor belt and beat the Goa’uld to death with it?”

Yuffie couldn’t help stiffening, and felt rather than saw Cloud do the same. Just the word brought back the memory of seeing Meteor hanging in the sky, slowly drawing nearer, bringing death with it… Death, and Jenova’s victory.

But it never struck, she reminded herself. We stopped it. Cloud killed Sephiroth and it’s over. No matter how hard it is to believe at times.

“I’m not sure what it can do,” she stalled. “Gaia brought out the Lifestream and used it as a weapon, but that was after Holy –”

“Not a weapon,” Cloud interrupted, “only a defense. And a fully awake planet doesn’t need help to do it. But that’s not the key point here.” His eyes slid to the side, and though he didn’t turn his head his next words were mostly directed at Yuffie. “I was asked to wake the planets, all the planets, and I’m going to destroy these Goa’uld before I go home again.”

“What?” Yuffie couldn’t believe her ears. “That was not the deal!”

Cloud just looked at her. “They will give me nothing until they’re convinced I will keep my word. Do you really think they will be ‘convinced’ while there is a hint of a threat left?” He shook his head slightly. “They will keep me as long as they can, and I wouldn’t be surprised if Gaia has done something to improve my lifespan.”

Right then it didn’t matter that there were strangers watching; Yuffie couldn’t not hug him.

“Still such a martyr, little brother,” she murmured into his hair, clutching him tight. “You really were two of a kind.”

Cloud closed his eyes and accepted the comfort for a moment before sending a warning glare at the people watching them. He still wasn’t sure where they stood, and he didn’t trust them not to use Yuffie against him or vice versa.

“I will get you home again, sister,” he promised. “Maybe not before Godo starts to worry, but before he starts calling me Shinra-spawn for kidnapping you.”

Yuffie chuckled as she pulled back. “Even Kenya and Cirrus will need a few weeks to get back,” she agreed. “If she left at all.”

“Kenya isn’t stupid,” Cloud defended his chocobo, allowing Yuffie to sidetrack the conversation. They both needed the banter. “She’s just… She really is a mother hen.”

“But you’re awfully big for a chick.” Yuffie ruffled his hair, grinning like a fiend. “Even if you’re all yellow and fluffy.”

General Hammond cleared his throat and both turned to face him, all playfulness gone, their expressions blank and their eyes intent.

“We would like to discuss this in private,” he said. “Airmen Carey and Mallory will show to our guest quarters. If you want food or drink, just tell them.”

Cloud nodded and held back a smile. It really was amazing how politely Hammond managed to inform them that they were prisoners until further notice.

“We’ll be waiting,” he said, a note of amusement creeping into his tone. He and Yuffie stood and followed the airmen from the room.