Two
God, how he hated staff meetings.
When he'd arrived at his small office in the Shinra main building, he'd found a note tacked to his door, demanding his presence in the President's staff room almost half an hour before. Briefly, he toyed with the idea of burning the thing and then going about his daily routine; train, grab coffee, train the men, eat lunch, train the men some more, look over any documents that needed his approval, dinner, train, go home, sleep, repeat. However, as much as he'd have liked to do just that, he knew that it wasn't wise to ignore summons from your boss- especially when he had control of all your card's access codes and the locks on the gym in which you trained. Experience had taught him that if he went and did what was needed of him quickly and efficiently, the older man would finally let him return to his tasks.
Sighing, he crumpled the paper in his fist, tossing it into a nearby trash can as he made his way to the top floor of the building. While his sanity and patience might have to suffer as he had to sit sedately in a chair for several hours doing nothing more stimulating than saying "yes, sir," or "no, sir", he knew that he could afford one lost session of practice. He was in perfect health and trimly fit; the only dulling of his senses there might be would be due to his long absence from the field. While being general and commander of the forces of a large company such as Shinra had its advantages, he sometimes wished he was back scouting an area, hunting down a criminal, or doing something more exciting.
Anything, he thought, to break up the monotony and alleviate the boredom.
Soldiers in the halls saluted him smartly, straightening to their full heights. Ignoring them, he continued on his way, still somewhat miffed about the lost practice.
The old fool had better have something worth my while to drag me from my sparring. Although, it would be just like him to summon me to an inane meeting just to piss me off. His brat would do it, at the very least. And maybe Tseng- although he'd never stoop to keeping me from my work for cheap kicks.
He entertained himself by wondering what the cursed thing could be about, to have him summoned immediately rather than informed several days ago. It couldn't have been an emergency, or someone would have come looking for him. There weren't many projects that had much to do with him- a few medical advances by the mad scientist, new weapons being developed, new plans for further advancing the training of mako SOLDIERs under his care. Important, yes, but not life threatening. Certainly nothing to demand his immediate attention.
Thus, he was slightly startled when he saw not only the president and his brat, but Tseng and his goons, the mad doctor, and several of the geological scientists involved with an archeological project down to the south as well. He quickly regained his composure, nodding to the president and Tseng, ignoring everyone else as he came to stand in his habitual spot by the door. The president, a middle-aged, balding fat man with too much money and too few scruples, gave him an irritated look.
"What took you, general? The memo was posted nearly forty-five minutes ago." Sephiroth, cool and collected as ever, smoothly replied.
"I only just received it sir, and came as soon as I read it. My delay in receiving the message was due to a problem with the coffee machine on my office's level- I had to go to the staff lounge on another floor to acquire a cup."
A chuckle came from the president, while Rufus scowled across the room at him. Sephiroth smiled slightly in return, knowing that while those not familiar with the president did not know he had picked the young general as a favorite over his heir and son, the situation was not lost on the boy, nor the doctor and bodyguards in the room. Tseng remained stoic, though Sephiroth could have sworn he noticed a brief eye roll at their childish antics.
He quickly hid his smile, turning his attention back to the president. He was already getting bored, and the old fool hadn't even opened his mouth yet. He sincerely hoped this wouldn't take long, he wouldn't appreciate it if more of his time than necessary was taken up.
President Shinra nodded once again, and the room went still. He looked at them all for a moment, as if he was trying to determine if they truly were good enough to hear what he had to say. Trying to still his own nerves and force himself calm, Sephiroth's right hand played absently with the hilt of the sword hanging by his side, the blade almost whining to him for the practice they were missing. The President, not really so great a fool as fail to notice his general's growing boredom and twitchiness, began to speak.
"You have all heard of the 'Temple' Project by now- our original pet project being to attempt to set up a new satellite system base as another part of our space program in the Woodlands area to the south of Junon. And that, upon clearing the area to prepare to build such a facility, we fell across the ruins of an old temple, long since forgotten and largely overgrown. We moved the site to an town now called 'Rocket Town', but the excavation of the temple has been a top priority since its discovery and since the failed launch of the first rocket."
Sephiroth lifted an eyebrow, fingers stilling as his boredom was forgotten. The Temple of the Ancients? What had they found? Last time he'd checked, the reports only mentioned finding odd baubles and jewelry, a few pots shards, maybe some weapons. But nothing to warrant any real interest, other than from an archeological point of view. Certainly nothing that had to do with him. The president continued, smiling slightly in that he'd managed to catch the interest of the silver-haired boy, as well as some of the Turks in the room. Even Tseng looked mildly curious, if the slight widening of his eyes was any clue.
Smugly, he brought out a bright red stone, perfectly round, slightly larger than a marble. When no one's expression seemed to change, his smile grew.
"Some of the more intriguing things found at the site were very similar to this; spheres of intense color, all shining dimly, of no apparent use other than an amusing bauble from time to time.
"However, once of the scientists working on the dig made a startling discovery- the sphere contained raw energy, very similar to that of the mako used in our reactors, and given to the SOLDIERs. The scientist tried tapping into this power, but quickly discovered that different colored spheres had different properties; yellow had more lightning elemental energy, while the white had ice; red, fire; green, earth; blue, water; etc. We already knew, of course, that certain elements in mako enhance one's magical and physical defense and attacks, but with these baubles- if used properly- a person could wield far more power with little to no effort."
Sephiroth suddenly knew exactly why he'd been called- the potential of such a powerful-and yet so small - item could greatly increase the strength of his soldiers, cutting down the numbers needed on missions and various jobs cut by half. His own mako green eyes flared intensely at the thought of being able to wield some of that power himself.
The president, having seen he'd finally gotten the interest of everyone present, nodded to Sephiroth, then to Dr. Hojo.
"Sephiroth, I believe that under the good doctor's careful administration, these jewels could benefit your mako soldiers tremendously. Although no experiment is to be made without my approval. I have something to give you after the meeting relating to this 'materia'; doctor, when we are through, I want you to prepare a brief checkup for him- monitor his signs before receiving the materia, then after." Both doctor and general nodded, although Sephiroth silently cursed being stuck under the doctor's supervision.
The president, however, had not yet finished.
"As the deeper sanctums of the temple were uncovered, and more about the people who built it was learned, our people working on translating the texts discovered yet another oddity was awaiting us.
"The texts spoke of a 'Keeper of the Temple'- someone who would watch over the world and the powers of the earth, sleeping until a great evil was sensed. For a long time, we simply thought that this might be a reference to one of their gods- maybe a lesser god or goddess, or a hero of sorts. We wrote off the tale as something of pure fantasy- until we reached the last sanctum, that it."
He had all eyes on him now, and he took a moment to let the information sink in, the anticipation build, and anxious looks intensify. The silence stretched for several minutes, no one daring to ask what it was the president obviously wanted them to ask. Slightly disappointed, he finished his thought.
"The head of the team, Doctor Ross, was on site when the newest relic was discovered- and the entire team of scientists immediately contacted me upon her discovery." Nodding to one of the archeologists, the man got up, heading to a connecting door from the office- one that led to the president's private office. The man was gone for a few moments, in which Shinra took to further dramatize the suddenly tense and altogether interesting situation.
"They reread the tale, reread the symbols inscribed on the artifact, and finally came to one conclusion: the Keeper, as she's referred to, was in fact very real, and we had found her. Our newest pride and joy, I give you the Keeper of the Temple of the Ancients."
The doors swung wide, and a large hunk of rock came into view as it was pushed out into the room. The scientist moved the trolley to stop next to Shinra, pausing a moment to move so everyone could see the rock's face. Sephiroth felt a slight wave of disappointment- it looked like nothing more than a large boulder with silly little designs on its surface; that is, until it was turned around, and he got a glimpse of the Keeper herself. What he saw took his breath away.
A girl stood in the center of the rock, arms folded modestly over her bare chest, hands folded as if in the act of prayer. Her hair cascaded over her shoulders, coming down to her mid back, slight waves giving the ends a curl. She was completely nude, but that wasn't why the room was silent and staring.
She seemed to emit an aura of content and peace- though about her lay more of those odd balls of color, a pool of green water lit with an unnatural glow swishing slightly against her ankles. She was, Sephiroth noted with some awe, the prettiest girl he'd ever seen. Not gorgeous- she seemed far too young, far too innocent for the word to be associated with her. If awake, she would have a voice soft and tremulous, though full of emotion and thought. She would probably be the ideal woman for several men in the room, in fact, had she not been carved of stone.
Shinra smiled knowingly at the rest of the group. They continued to stare, even as he spoke again.
"This statue is a marvel in several ways. First, that she was able to survive all these years without a single scratch on her is enough of a wonder. But the fact that materia seems to be created from the very stuff she's standing in is also an interesting tidbit. We are going to investigate this phenomenon, and see if there is any way to mass produce the materia. As it is, we only have about fifty pieces.
"But as for her, we had no idea they had such artistic skill, and yet here is a statue that looks as if she'll open her eyes at any moment. This statue represents everything the Ancients believed in, their central myth of creation, destruction, and rebirth. It is a shame that she can't tell us any of that."
The female Turk, Elena, seemed to be the only one unaffected by the girl.
"Please, sir, what do you intend to do with it?" Sephiroth noted her use of 'it' rather than 'her', another reminder that the girl before them was unreal. A mere statue having the managed to stun them all- it was a good thing she wasn't real, or they'd all have been lost. The president, however, didn't seem to notice the difference.
"I plan to keep her in the office, as a memento of the dig." And, thought the general, to get your jollies off of. He wondered what else the old man would do with such a statue, but decided he probably didn't even want to know, bringing his thoughts back to the present situation of the materia. This new development could be used to completely annihilate those irritating AVALANCHE members, and once again gain control over the slums.
He shifted his gaze to the president, who had risen to stand beside his new prize. He watched as the man put a hand on her shoulder, turning to face the others.
"Their skill was truly remarkable. Even her skin, while stone, has a certain softness to it." Sephiroth, somewhat irked by the man's continual going on about the statue, smirked, slightly.
"Is our meeting done, sir, or are we to have an art lesson as well? I'd like to learn what we have on this 'materia' substance." The president snapped out of the trance-like state he'd fallen into, glaring at the boy. He nodded though, going back to his desk to rifle through papers and bring out what he'd put together for the general.
"These are your copies of the research findings, as well as the information on the weapon we've designed for you which utilizes these materia spheres. I expect you to come speak with me after you've become accustomed to your new weapon, and the materia energy. Let me know what you plan to do with it for the soldiers, and have a report written of any observations you have on hand. Make two copies, and give the other to Dr. Hojo. Understand?"
Sephiroth nodded, and Shinra motioned to the rest of the group that they were dismissed as well. Rufus got up sulkily, no doubt wondering why he hadn't gotten a weapon from his father, going over to stand in front of the statue as the rest of the meeting quietly got their things together, preparing to leave.
Sephiroth quickly gathered the papers Shinra had plopped down on the table for him, already beginning to read them as he started for the door. He didn't get far, however, when Hojo called out.
"Sephiroth, stay a moment. You need your new weapon. Boy! What do you think you're doing? Get away from your father's statue! What gives you the right to touch it?" Rufus' hand fell from the girl's hair, and he scowled at the doctor before going over to retrieve one of the copies of the folders filled with the materia information. Shinra frowned as he saw his son take one of the folders, but said nothing, instead going into his office. Sephiroth hoped he was getting whatever sword they wanted to give him, as all he really wanted to do was leave. He'd miss the sword he'd been practicing with- few people fought with Buster swords, and it was a distinguishing blade he enjoyed wielding. Whatever they gave him, it had to be good, or he'd go right back to his old sword, materia compatible or not.
He wandered over to the statue himself, joining the small crowd around it, looking on with little interest. It was just a statue, for God's sake. He appreciated the mastery of the work, but it didn't help win wars, it didn't cure illness, it wouldn't help save lives, or create order in the masses. Therefore, it affected him in no way, and was not worth his time.
However, even as he stood there, studying the face of the girl above him, he couldn't help but wonder *how* they had made it. Shinra had been telling the truth; she really did look more asleep than hewn from stone. Even he, as far from being an art critic as one could possibly be, could tell that this far surpassed the mastery of any art of their time, aided by machines or otherwise. This girl could not have been made with the primitive tools they had found in the temple. There had to be something more to it than that. As he stood there looking at the figure before him, a thought struck him, and he turned to the doctor who had moved to stand beside him.
"Has anyone made sure that this truly *is* a statue?" Rufus, overhearing the comment, laughed.
"Are you saying that you think she's a real, living human? I hate to break it to you, General, but she was carved out of the rock she's standing in. There's no way she could have been alive." Sephiroth, however, was not to be discouraged.
"But what if she wasn't carved at all? What if she had just been standing about her business, and was turned to stone? She could be the hapless victim of one of the extinct Basilisks- the legends say they turned people to stone, and we have the bones to prove of their existence. And the scientists say she's got to be thousands of year old, placing her in a time when the Basilisks still wandered the earth. Couldn't she have once been human, but petrified?"
The general turned to confirm the idea with the doctor, who suddenly seemed very excited at the prospect. The scientists were equally as enthusiastic, talking amongst themselves, wondering why they hadn't thought of such a thing. Sephiroth silently wondered the same thing; if he, a general of war with no concept of archeology, had come up with an idea like petrification, why on earth hadn't the respected men who'd found the thing thought of it? It was ironic, and Sephiroth allowed a small smirk of triumph to flit across his lips before slipping back into his regularly unemotional face.
"I must say! I can't believe none of us thought of that. Well done! If we can get the president to approve-"
"What am I approving, and why are you all standing about? I specifically ordered only Sephiroth to stay, I do not recall telling the rest of you that you were allowed to stay." Still glowering at the others, the president handed a long- goodness, it was rather *very* long- box. Sephiroth took it, mentally sighing as he expected the long box to contain nothing but a staff with materia imbedded in it. He'd be using only his buster sword, then- there was no way the general of Shinra would be fighting with a stick.
When he opened the box, however, he found a long black leather scabbard, an elegant hilt sticking out of the top. All the thoughts of the girl behind him vanished, the excited explanations of his revelation fading into the background as he stepped away to draw his new sword.
The blade was thin, but he could sense the strength of the sword as he held it in front of him, examining it closely. It was a relatively plain blade; the only things unusual about it were the slots in which the materia must go. He could forget his buster sword for this. The blade he held in his hands was without any doubt of the finest craftsmanship he had ever seen, and was likely to ever see again. He knew that he wouldn't have any trouble making himself accustomed to the blade- it would be when he was not practicing that he would have trouble containing his will to fight. And there was no way in Hell he was going to give it back to Shinra.
His thoughts were interrupted when a meaty hand clamped him on the shoulder, another patting him on the back. He had to control the 'kill instantly for touching me' reflex, as the hands belonged to his employer. It would have been a shame to behead his employer with his new sword without properly thanking the man for it.
"I heard you thought of the petrification idea! I'm very impressed, my boy- I didn't think you had a liking for science. Although I always knew you had a head on your shoulders." Sephiroth ignored the comment, all thoughts still on the masterpiece in his hands.
"The sword. Is it from the temple as well?" Shinra seemed a bit taken aback by this, though he nodded, arm still around the general's shoulder.
"I knew that there was only one man who could wield such a sword as that- and I knew that you could not refuse such a weapon. I expect you to do good things with it, my boy." Sephiroth nodded, sheathing the blade and holding the scabbard loosely in the crook of an arm. Shinra guided him back to the statue, his mind once again back on his new prize.
"I sent one of the men down to get one of the soft potions from the labs. He should be here any moment." Again, Sephiroth nodded, although at this point he couldn't care less. Already the sword was beginning to call him, begging him to feed its bloodlust and allow it to sing the death of others again. He had to take a deep breath to regain his composure, because if he let into the sword's calling, the president and his prissy son, along with the others in the room, would find themselves very suddenly and very thoroughly headless.
Elena stumbled back into the room, breathless and slightly red from her run down to the labs. In her arms were several bottles of the 'soft' potion, all in danger of falling out of her hands at any moment. Upon seeing this, Tseng silently went up to her, taking six of the bottles and going over to set them down on the table. Elena put the remaining two next to them, this time the red on her cheeks somewhat darker as she thanked her leader for his assistance. Tseng said nothing.
Shinra went over and picked up one of the bottles, returning to stand by his stone goddess once again. With an almost reverent gaze at her once again- and just *where* was he looking?-, he pulled one of the chairs from the table over to her side. Standing up on his stool, he looked at the others one last time. All watched his movements, some darting glances down at the girl's face before looking back up at the president. Solemnly, he uncapped the bottle, and poured it on her head. Everyone in the room held their breath, and waited.
And waited. Shinra began to feel a little silly, standing up on the chair that was threatening to roll out from underneath him at any moment. There was no sound, as no one had started to breath again yet. But even as the seconds began to tick away, and the blue liquid was oozing down the girl's face, the room began to come back to life.
Shinra got down from his chair as the scientists mumbled amongst themselves, whispering questions and hypotheses and ideas of why it hadn't worked. Rufus seemed a bit surprised, but seemed happy enough to send a triumphant sneer towards Sephiroth. The Turks glanced at one another, though they said nothing. Tseng remained silent, and Sephiroth didn't give a damn. He had his sword, what the Hell did he need with a statue that wasn't a petrified woman after all?
Shinra glowered at the young general, beginning to feel very foolish indeed. How dare he be made a fool of in front of his top scientists and his body guards! HE was Shinra, not some peon from under the plate! He was half tempted to take the sword back from the general, but the man was holding it rather protectively, and had that 'touch me and lose your head' look again. He didn't tempt fate twice; taking a few steps back towards the Turks, he began to berate Sephiroth.
"Do you have any ideas as to why that didn't work, boy?" Sephiroth, not really in the mood to have to deal with one of the president's lectures, and definitely in a 'touch me and lose your head' state of mind, shrugged, pulling off his gloves.
"I don't know, ask Hojo. I only guessed, and I was wrong. I'm not a scientist; ask one of them." Carefully, he wiped the ooze off of the eyes of the girl, clearing it of the mess that had begun to cake in the crevices.
Then grey faded to a pale pink, and the girl collapsed onto the unsuspecting general.
The room was silent for a moment, dumbfounded and utterly confused as to what on earth had just happened. One moment, the potion had no effect, the other the girl had come to life, sprawling herself onto the General.
Sephiroth, for his part, was in an awkward position- that is to say, the girl who had fainted was. Her face leaning against his thigh, she was kneeling stark naked with her back to the rest of the room. Sephiroth's hands had moved to grab the girl as she fell, but all he had been able to catch were her shoulders after she'd fallen literally into his lap. He peered down at her without any idea of what to do, then looked back up at the assembled crowd. They had all taken several steps back, and were staring at the pair of them in bewilderment.
He frowned when he saw he'd get no help from them, and his expression darkened when he saw the state of his coat. Its front was streaked with the potion where the girl had slid down, thus ruining it. He'd really liked this one too...
Sighing, he undid the belt, earning a gasp from Elena, the only sound from the rest of the room. He peeled off the stained garment, and gently laid it over the girl. He put her arms through the sleeves quickly, bringing the coat around her and buckling it as well as he could around her. He tried to ignore the traits of her that had been modestly covered by her arms when in her stone sleep, instead focusing on her face to search for signs of consciousness.
They came when she groaned slightly, grabbing onto his arm and using him as a support as she slowly tried to pull herself to a standing position. He helped her as best as he could, ignoring the slight tugs on his hair, and held her steady until she seemed able to stay up by herself. He didn't know why the fates were picking on him to play with today, but all he really wanted to do was go back to his room, go back to bed, and back to sleep. Maybe when he woke up he's still have the sword, but the coffee machine would be working, and he wouldn't have brought a nude statue to life by touching her, and his coat wouldn't be ruined by the slime trail running down the front.
The gods must be laughing their asses off right now, he thought moodily as he continued to receive no help from any of the others in the room. He scowled down at the girl- well, no woman, he had seen enough evidence to convince him she was older than the fifteen year old he'd first thought she was- wondering how it was that he'd only seen her for the first time twenty minutes ago- as a statue, no less- and yet she still had managed to make his life very suddenly very complicated.
When she opened her eyes to gaze up at him, his scowl disappeared.
Her eyes were almost a mako green- an impossible color for any who had not been injected with the cells, and certainly rare amongst even those injected. And yet, the intense green orbs were staring up at him quizzically, her head cocked to the side as if in question. She searched his face even as he continued to openly stare down at hers, and once again there was silence in the room.
That is, until Rufus spoke again.
"So, does this mean that Sephiroth is the great evil they were talking about in the legend?" Sephiroth looked up to scowl at him, even as the girl gasped, as though suddenly aware that they were not alone. She stood staring at the assembly that was staring right back at her, although she had more of the appearance of a deer caught in bright lights, and they the look of a scientist about to dissect an interesting bug. Shinra openly leered, no doubt adding several more things to his 'things to do with her' list.
She made a small sound of fear, backing up until she again bumped into Sephiroth. She whirled around, the terror on her face growing as she looked up at him again. She began to tremble, edging away from both the group and the general towards the table. She bumped into it, causing her to wince and risk a brief glimpse back. She saw the materia ball rolling towards the table's edge, and lunged for it, performing almost a roll across the table as she scooped up the fiery red little ball. She quickly got off the table to stand in a defensive pose by the windows, ball clutched tightly in one fist. She looked around as though for a way to escape, then did a double take as her eye caught sight of the view outside.
Apparently escape was temporarily forgotten, as she ran to the window to stare out at the scene below. She looked horrified at what she saw, and Sephiroth suddenly wondered what it must be like, to see metal and smoke when the last thing you remembered seeing was blue sky and stone. She was out of her home, out of place here, surrounded by strangers and dressed in a grimy trench coat. No wonder she looked scared out of her wits. He started to walk over to her, but Shinra moved first, waving him back. He nodded, though his eyes narrowed; if Shinra was going to attempt to molest the girl only minutes after she'd woken up, his morals would have sunk to an all time low, and Sephiroth would terminate his employment for Shinra Inc.
The president, however, simply put a hand on her shoulder. Sephiroth was pleasantly surprised to see the girl spin around and slug the man squarely in the jaw, with no look of remorse in her face as he staggered back. In fact, she gave the man a glare that impressed the general, who was a master of them himself.
The president fell back against the table, eyes wide in amazement. Sephiroth wondered if she was the first one with the guts to do what hundreds had always wanted to do, but never dared. It was rather refreshing, although he knew that the man would not stand for it, even from his newest 'pet'. The older man stood to shout at the young woman, but she suddenly stepped forward, putting a hand against his forehead. The president blinked rapidly as she bit her lip, closing her eyes as if in concentration. He stepped back suddenly, and she opened her eyes again.
"Little more, need speak understand." He froze as she once again put her hand to his head closing her eyes again. For several minutes, no one spoke yet again- the scientists looked somewhat baffled be what was going on, but no one made a move to stop her. The president hadn't seemed hard, and it was best to let the strange girl do as she would until they had a better handle on the situation, or until the president directed otherwise. All curious musings came to a sudden halt as she screeched in horror, slapping him away from her once again.
"Disgusting man! You not will touch!" the president flushed in anger, although she was already moving away from him as quickly as possible. As he grabbed for her, she shouted again, this time something unintelligible. The president moved back as though slapped, and instantly burst into flames.
In a matter of seconds, all hell broke loose. The girl tried to run past Sephiroth, who deftly caught her without looking, his eyes still fixed in horror at the burning figure of the man who had been his employer. The Turks were trying to extinguish the flame with fire hoses, but he continued to burn until there was nothing more than ash in the place he'd been standing only a few minutes ago.
The new president of Shinra looked horrified, gaping at the scene like a fool, then frightfully at the girl who had just incinerated his father. Sense returned to him, even though he was still somewhat dazed by the sudden events that had just made him president.
"Sephiroth! Get that thing out of her hand, now! The whole place will go up, otherwise!!" Sephiroth nodded to his new employer, reaching down with the his free hand to grapple with the girl for the red bauble. She fought him to the extent of trying to bite him, though he continued to wrestle with her. He managed to get her locked against him with one arm, the other trying to pry her iron-like grip from the sphere. He would have succeeded, too, had not the doors imploded at the moment.
It hit him fully in the back, making him release the girl as she continued to struggle away from him. She scrambled to her feet, still clutching the jewel, preparing to dash through the now wide open doorway. She fell back when a woman scantily clad ran into the room, fists ready. On one side, a large red dog growled menacingly, baring its teeth; on the other, another girl was wielding a large star shaped weapon, jumping up and down. The woman scanned the room with a glare.
"Darn it! Where's President Shinra? Red, didn't you say you heard him in here a few minutes ago? Where is he? This is way more people than I thought there'd be..."
The Turks quickly drew their guns, forming a circle around Rufus. The scientists were still picking themselves up from the floor, all of the scratched and worse for the wear. Sephiroth had jumped to his feet almost immediately after the impact- not without aches of his own- picking up his sword to turn and face the intruders. Both sides seemed to pause, however, because of the dirty woman standing between both sides, dressed in only a long black dirty trench coat. Rufus motioned the Turks to put their weapons down, glaring at the two women and the dog-thing in the ruined doorway.
"Don't shoot, you idiots! You'll hit the girl!" He turned to the intruders, anger making his eyes simmer. "The next time you want in, AVALANCHE bitches, just knock. You are currently speaking to the new president of Shinra, so state your business. I don't appreciate you interrupting an important meeting." The woman frowned, though the younger girl stopped jumping up and down to point at the statue-turned-human girl standing in the middle of the room.
"Look Teef! Aren't those things like the balls we found in that one box with all the other stuff? You know, the ones that glowed in the dark? She's got one too!!" 'Teef' nodded, stepping up to the lost girl in the room, eyes still on the Turks.
"Yeah, it is, Yuffie. Look, President, tell your father that we're holding this girl hostage until he's willing to negotiate with us on our terms. We're not going to let him ruin this city any more than he already has!" She looked to 'Yuffie', who quickly scrambled up to put the blade of her weapon to their new prisoner's throat. The girl made no movement, though her eyes were wide with fear. Her frantic gaze took in the room as she was gently led backwards, straying to catch the general's own green stare.
She blinked, then flickered her gaze to the spot where he'd caught her, then back to him again. His eyebrow raised slightly as he stood tensely awaiting orders from Rufus, though he allowed his gaze to slightly shift to the spot she'd been looking at. There, laying amidst the rubble, was a small white sphere- she must have been holding it in her hands, but dropped it when she'd been revived. He nodded slightly, then again froze, hand on sword's hilt, body ready to spring at any moment. She allowed herself to be led out of the room backwards, and disappeared from view.
The room leapt into action, Rufus shouting that all lower sections of the building were to be sealed, the rebels stopped, the girl retrieved unharmed. He turned to face the general, who stood tense and awaiting orders.
"Get a move on, man! Get the girl back, and kill those bitches! But make sure she's unharmed! She's the only one who knows how to use these materia things!" Sephiroth dashed out of the room almost immediately after them, stooping only to pick up the white materia that lay in the rubble of the room.
Racing down the halls, he found that the women and their dog had let the girl go, but that she was running beside them as quickly as she could, apparently by her own free will. His eyes narrowed at that thought, and he sped past the bodies of the guards who had failed to keep the prisoner and the rebels from escaping. Any whom he found alive would be personally flayed alive by him if they didn't help in their capture, he would see to that.
He skidded to take a sharp right turn, brows furrowing as he continued his chase. Why on earth would they go this way? It lead only to the outside of the building, fifty floors up from the ground. They had to be suicidal if they thought they'd be able to jump that- although, it was suicidal enough to break into the Shinra building in and of itself. They had no chance of escape, unless-
The roar of a helicopter taking off made him swear under his breath, doubling his speed. He came to an abrupt halt just inside the doorway when gunfire broke out, impeding any further attempt to follow. He waited until there was a pause, then raced out at a speed only one with mako could accomplish. Even with his increased speed, and ability to dodge the sporadic bullets however, he was not able to reach the helicopter before it got out of his reach. \
From the opening in the side of the body, the young girl 'Yuffie' waved, sticking out her tongue. The older woman, 'Teef', scowled back at him, a large gun held clumsily in her hands. And there, sitting calmly and gazing back at him, was that girl. He shot them all a look that could kill, suddenly even more pissed that they'd gotten away. He had failed to recapture their prisoner, Rufus' new 'prize'.
Soldiers began to fall in beside him, taking aim at the helicopter before he barked out the order to cease fire. The girl was not to be harmed. One of the captains ran up to him, informing him that all of their helicopters had been sabotaged and were unfit for flight. His foul mood deepened, hatred simmering in his stomach.
Giving the escaping rebels one last look that made several of the soldiers step back, he turned and strode back into the building, his mood rivaling that of a chocobo in molt.
God, that was the worst staff meeting they'd had yet.
*That was rather long... longer than intended, but I think it turned out pretty well, ne? I know they're all out of character- is Rufus being too childish? And doesn't Hojo speak with a funky accent? Is Shinra obnoxious enough? Is Sephy acceptable? Was Aerith too volatile, emotionally speaking? Any comments and suggestions would be great!! Please let me know what you think!! SirLadySketch@hotmail.com