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[supersoldier]

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[supersoldier]

[It’s perhaps the last person he thought he’d receive a text from, and the individual with whom he’s the most uncertain how to approach concerning conversation — or the need for it. Maybe it’s fortuitous, then, that Cloud has come to him first, and with news of his missing materia; or maybe this is just going to be a disaster in the making, born of two emotionally constipated and socially inept men trying to skirt around burgeoning revelations impossible to sidestep.

But they’re going to try, aren’t they.]

I see.

[Also nailed it.]

You’ve found my materia.

[The process of elimination tells him so. Yazoo with Masamune; Tseng with his overcoat. And now Cloud, apparently, with his full set of materia. It appears this place chooses to fling his possessions wide, but all within the scope of those from Gaia.]

[noncertus]

So they are yours.

[Cloud's own belongings ended up scattered outside those with a connection to their planet — unless one counts the unmentionable articles he doesn't know he technically owns.

Yet.]

What's the great Sephiroth doing with a bunch of under developed materia?

[Almost seconds after sending it, Cloud grimaces at himself. If his intention had been to apologize for an unwarranted attack when they met a few months ago, this is not a good start.]

[supersoldier]

[It’s hard to focus on anything other than this question being utterly incorrect to point out any conversational missteps. Not that Sephiroth is much an expert on the latter.]

They’re not.

Have you tried to use them?

[noncertus]

Of course.

[How else would he find out?]

That doesn't make sense. Unless the machines somehow tampered with these materia, they're not that strong.

[supersoldier]

They didn’t. I had tested each one soon after my arrival to this place. They all worked as they should.

Where are you?

[noncertus]

[The intent behind this message had been to reunite the man with his missing belongings, still Cloud feels a sick thud in his chest when the question makes the inevitability of their meeting more real, more imminent.

He's still in the place Zack shares with Aerith, he doesn't want to drag them into anything, neither does he feel like he can handle Zack and Aerith's concerned looks — even if they come from very different positions regarding Sephiroth.

So he answers as he's leaving. It isn't intentional that he chooses a particular street to turn down, he's still a needle spinning to wobble towards a single point if he doesn't think about where he's going.]

In the city. About a few minutes from that street where the Dive is. You know it?

[Cloud can't say he's ever seen the man there, who would stand out for several reasons, but also it isn't like Cloud's a regular.]