They retreat through the reactor. Zack follows behind them, possibly not wishing to be attacked from the back again. Sephiroth can understand that. As they go further and further from the reactor core, Sephiroth's headache subsides to a dull ache. He calms down. His thoughts aren't racing so quickly, so forcefully, and that whole-body anxiety - like a grip around his heart, like whispers at the edge of his hearing, like shadows flickering at the edge of his sight - is bleeding out of him. He can only presume it was the leaking mako in there. He has never been sickened from mako exposure in his life, but perhaps a long day of environmental exposure and slashing the tubes to the pods open himself had sent his body over the edge.
As they emerge from the reactor, into the late afternoon sun, the infantryman turns from his position at the base of the stairs, and moves to salute Sephiroth - then, upon catching sight of Genesis, he locks up for a second, before pulling his gun out and training it on him. Sephiroth impatiently waves him off. Zack just said his name, but Sephiroth has already forgotten it (somewhat shameful of him, who normally takes care to learn the names of the soldiers he commands), so eventful has the day been. "At ease," he says.
"S'all good, Cloud!" Zack calls out from behind them. (Ah, yes, Cloud Strife, that was it. Sephiroth should try not to forget again.) "We've apprehended him! Noooo worries! All right, let's get off this rock, I'm starving!"
The guide - Tifa - is incredibly suspicious, and asks a number of probing questions, but Sephiroth lets Zack take the lead in fending her off with "top secret! company stuff! normally we'd get a chopper out for extraction but it's your lucky day, 'cause we're walking! you know how to 'not see' stuff, right?" and focuses on Genesis.
He realizes he's still holding his hand.
"Not quite the exit you had imagined, is this?" Sephiroth asks, giving him a wan smile.
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"It seems I must," he replies.
They retreat through the reactor. Zack follows behind them, possibly not wishing to be attacked from the back again. Sephiroth can understand that. As they go further and further from the reactor core, Sephiroth's headache subsides to a dull ache. He calms down. His thoughts aren't racing so quickly, so forcefully, and that whole-body anxiety - like a grip around his heart, like whispers at the edge of his hearing, like shadows flickering at the edge of his sight - is bleeding out of him. He can only presume it was the leaking mako in there. He has never been sickened from mako exposure in his life, but perhaps a long day of environmental exposure and slashing the tubes to the pods open himself had sent his body over the edge.
As they emerge from the reactor, into the late afternoon sun, the infantryman turns from his position at the base of the stairs, and moves to salute Sephiroth - then, upon catching sight of Genesis, he locks up for a second, before pulling his gun out and training it on him. Sephiroth impatiently waves him off. Zack just said his name, but Sephiroth has already forgotten it (somewhat shameful of him, who normally takes care to learn the names of the soldiers he commands), so eventful has the day been. "At ease," he says.
"S'all good, Cloud!" Zack calls out from behind them. (Ah, yes, Cloud Strife, that was it. Sephiroth should try not to forget again.) "We've apprehended him! Noooo worries! All right, let's get off this rock, I'm starving!"
The guide - Tifa - is incredibly suspicious, and asks a number of probing questions, but Sephiroth lets Zack take the lead in fending her off with "top secret! company stuff! normally we'd get a chopper out for extraction but it's your lucky day, 'cause we're walking! you know how to 'not see' stuff, right?" and focuses on Genesis.
He realizes he's still holding his hand.
"Not quite the exit you had imagined, is this?" Sephiroth asks, giving him a wan smile.