Chapter Four: The Solution.

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"What did you say?" Scarlet repeated, eyes wide.

Hojo merely smirked, adjusting his glasses. Everyone in the room was silent, even Heideggar's incessant laughter was now quieted as all attention was turned toward Hojo.

"I merely was suggesting that for the sake of this company's reputation, we should eliminate a possibly bad contender." He tapped a finger to his temple in thought.

"You're saying we should…kill them. The Geostigma patients." Reeve stared at him, eyes wide in shock. Hojo merely shrugged at him. "You're mad. You're suggesting that we kill people, and, and for the sake of this company?!"

"Is it really that big of a shock? We kill people anyway, every day. People die, Reeve." Scarlet said, pushing a strand of her hair behind her ear casually. The rest of the room was silent, in thought.

"I can't believe this. I mean, it's different in terms of military, but, just people with no control over it…" Reeve was at a loss for words, watching everyone around the room, eyes settling on the President who was nodding in thought.

"Hojo makes an excellent point. We can't have diseased patients running around, spreading the virus and pinpointing the poisoning back to us. It would only slow down our success." He reached for his cigar in his front pocket, taking out a lighter and holding it to the end. He placed the cigar in his mouth, smoking a few puffs thoughtfully. "And besides, it's not like people would catch on. The world is so blind nowadays. They'd never know the difference."

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Tifa placed a trembling hand to her mouth, slumped over the sink in the bathroom. They'd crawled down from the vent just over the toilet and she felt so sick, disbelieving how truly evil the company was.

"All this time Cloud….if people had any idea about what was going on, right under their noses…." She stifled a sob. "How horrible."

"Tifa…." He looked to the floor, placing a steady hand on her shaking shoulders. "We have to keep moving." He said, as softly as he possibly could.

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She had sat on her bed for a long time. A very long time. It was so quiet. She'd give anything for someone to talk to, to distract her from her thoughts. Her surroundings didn't help much, being so plain, with nothing to look at or read. She never got one answer as to why she was here. It was so discouraging for her to press on, even mentally. If she was going to die anyways, what did it matter where she was?

Long ago she had decided how she felt about her disease. She would live with it, as little time she had left, and she would be prepared to die, without fear. Ironic as it was, she was always afraid of death though, not knowing what to expect on the other side.

What difference did it make now?

She stared down at her arms, so pale and sickly looking, with those disgusting black bruises covering them. She felt so infested. She wanted to scrub at her arms, ridding herself of the marks, as if they were just dirty and could wash them down the sink.

Just then she felt so tired. So tired of being sick. So tired of being alone. So tired of being different and punished for it. What would she stay awake for? Nobody came in. Nothing changed. And if anyone did come in, they'd give her the same song and dance, leaving her helpless and hopeless.

Just sleep. Maybe all of this is a bad dream. When she wakes up, she'll no longer be here, in a foreign room, but in her own room, filled with her possessions, her mother smiling down at her.

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"Who are you?"

Aqua eyes staring down at her. Mother…? She thought drowsily. The light was so bright, and all she could see were those eyes. But the voice repeated itself again, and it certainly didn't sound anything like her mother.

"Who are you?" She repeated back to the silhouette. She lifted herself, using her arms to support her. She got to her knees, shielding her eyes from the intense light. A huge dome like shape surrounded her, white coated men standing outside, staring back at her. She looked to the silhouette from before, and seen it really wasn't her mother, but a young girl in her twenties, long braided hair and a simple pink dress.

As if deciding she would be the bold one to make the first statement, the girl placed a hand to her chest.

"I'm Aeris."

The girl nodded in response, swallowing hoarsely. "Aeris," She repeated. "Where are we?"

Aeris shrugged her skinny shoulders, giving her a melancholy look. "I don't know." She bit her bottom lip, her eyes looking glassy as she gazed around the room. "Those men have been trying to capture me for years."

"The ones in the lab coats?" Aeris shook her head, her hair bouncing from side to side as she did so.

"No, not them. Turks. Shinra. They want me because they think I'm an Ancient. Is that why you're here, too?" She tilted her head to the side. "Are you an Ancient just like me?"

"Not close to being whatever that is. I'm just here because of this." She held out both of her arms to see. Aeris leaned over to look, her lips parting as she gasped. "That looks so painful!" She cried, both hands to her face. "Is it really bad?"

"Not as bad as it looks. I don't even have half of the symptoms most people have."

"That's good." Aeris nodded in relief. "So maybe you have a chance to get better."

"Yeah, maybe." She replied. "But from the looks of where we are currently, I doubt I'll even have the chance."

"No no, don't say that." Aeris said softly, bending down. "You mustn't give up, even if it's hopeless."

The other girl stared up at her, her face having an ethereal quality to it, her eyes kind.

Hopeless was right. But if she gave up now, she'd have nothing to look to, nothing to give her hope or inspiration. She had to keep fighting, even if it seemed like she was caught in their trap.

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"How long do you think we'll be stuck in here?" She asked, wandering around, glancing at the men in lab coats now and then.

"As long as they feel like keeping us here I suppose." Aeris replied, folding her arms, her pink dress swishing around her as she walked.

"But why in here? What do you think they're plan-" And as if an answer to her question, a man entered the room, giving out orders to men who were scattering around. The dome bubble they were in must've been sound proof because all they could see were his lips moving as he gestured.

"You have the specimens ready, yes?" Hojo asked, gesturing to one of the men.

"Of course."

"Then we shall test it on them."

"We'll see whether it mates with them or not." The man answered, pulling a lever on a machine looking device.

"Did you say 'mate' or 'maim'?" Hojo asked, the corners of his mouth upturning into a sneer as the men broke out in snickers.

From inside, Aeris and the young girl felt a shift in the dome, as if it were opening up. But the dome itself was not opening, rather a garage like door inside it. They both looked over their shoulders in time to see a flash of red jump from inside the dark corridor.

"What was that?" The girl asked, backing away, mouth agape.

"I don't know…." Aeris said, looking just as horrified.

"What's in here with us?!" She cried, holding onto Aeris' arm, as if she could serve as any protection.

Aeris gave off a high pitch shrill as the other girl shrieked, the red creature bounding to them, growling fiercely.

"No!! NO!!" The girl sobbed loudly, clinging to Aeris for dear life. She did not want to die this way. To be mutilated by a creature. She wouldn't die in her own bed surrounded by her loved ones. She'd die in some place foreign to her. It would be bloody and painful she'd imagine.

But then again…..what would it matter? If death was not from this creature, surely it'd be from some other painful way Shinra would come up with. Maybe they'd dissect her while she was still living.

She remembered what Aeris told her though, just a few moments before, and the thought quickly slipped from her. Even if death was inevitable, the worse part would be to give up. No matter how hopeless, she must have the will to fight.

The red creature bounded at her, she screamed, holding her arms up in defense, but she felt nothing. No flesh tearing from her, no blood pouring from her wounds. She cracked an eye open, seeing the red creature was staring back at her, it's tail wagging in the air. She watched it for a few moments, wondering why in the world it wasn't attacking her, but then saw it wink at her. At least….she thought it had winked at her. Had it? She must've been losing it now!

"Look, either way, we can't let them die now! One of the girl's is an Ancient! We need her to find the Ancient's land, she's the only one left to show it to us." A young man reasoned with Hojo, waving his clipboard in a frantic manner.

Hojo sighed, placing a finger to his temple. "I suppose it would be….reckless. To do away with the Ancient. The Geostigma patient I could care less about, but we'll certainly find another use for her." He directed his attention to the man on the far side of the platform. "You there!" He called, getting the attention of the other. "Release the hatch at once!" The man responded with a 'yes sir' and threw the switch, Shinra guards taking their places in front of the dome to stop the creature before it got loose.

The creature snarled at them and lunged at the open area, the girls thinking at first, it was leaping at them, but saw that it went past them and right into the guards, maiming the arm of one. As if the confusion of the loose creature wasn't enough, a gun shot was heard through the room, alarming the scientists and most of the guards.

"AWRIGHT FOOS'! THE HELL YOU DO WITH AERIS?" A voice boomed across the room. A few more shots followed and a young girl bounded across the platform. Hojo stepped back, losing his balance for a minute.

The young girl dropped down in front of the two girls, breathing heavily.

"Aeris." The girl smiled up at her, continuing her ragged breathing. "I'm glad to have found you. Are you alright?"

"I'm fine now…." Aeris answered kindly.

The girl then looked to the other. "What about you, are you alright?"

"I'm not dead, if that's what you mean." The girl seemed to take the response as a joke and laughed, pushing her long hair back. "Good then. We came just in time then." She stood straighter now, composed.

"I'm Tifa." She introduced, pulling on a pair of leather gloves. "Just stick with me, you two." She winked and ran towards a few guards, punching one in the face.

"Whoa…" She gaped, Aeris laughing, shooting a "That's Tifa." Towards her. They both stayed behind her as she continued fighting the guards off. Two men above them on the platform were fighting off guards and Hojo up there. The one from earlier, with the gun was shooting off men left and right, and the other was fighting with a huge sword…? She couldn't quite see. Nevertheless, they continued their onslaught, the red creature fighting them as well, managing to tear off a few of the guards appendages. Most of them scattered, screaming. The red creature finally stopped, spitting a limb from its jaws.

"Sorry for earlier by the by. Was sort of necessary though, I couldn't have gotten out otherwise."

The girl looked upon the creature with widened eyes, mouth parted.

"You can speak?!"

It nodded, its mane shaking with it.

"But of course."

"Wow…..that's simply amazing." She pressed on. "Is that why you're here?"

"Not exactly. But we don't have time to chat now. I believe we'll be in deep trouble if we don't keep moving."

The two began running, following Aeris and Tifa up the stairway.

"What's your name?" She gasped out, grabbing onto the railing for support.

"You may call me whatever you wish. I've been called many things. Red XIII seems to be one of my names."

She nodded in response, the two reaching the platform where the others were.

"WE GOTTA GET OUTTA HERE, AN' FAST!" The man boomed. She was shocked to see that he the gun he was shooting with was implanted in his very arm. She swallowed, grimacing slightly. The other man with the sword had blonde hair, spiky, a very confident aura about him.

He pointed his sword at her and Red XIII in a gesturing sweep.

"Are they coming too?" He said, in a quiet clear tone.

She nodded enthusiastically, not wanting to be in this place any longer. She'd seen all she needed at this point. Red XIII spoke up, "I shall assist you if you wish. I've nothing better to do." The man seemed to accept both answers and through a glance over his shoulder. "Then we'll split up. Me, Barret and you." He pointed at the creature. "We'll take the stairwells with our keycard." He threw a plastic card to Tifa. "You take Aeris and the other girl down the elevators without being seen. We'll meet up at the main entrance." Tifa nodded in response to him.

"Tifa. Don't get caught." He warned, turning around one last time before the two men and Red XIII bounded down the stairwell. Tifa nodded to both of the girls, running at full speed down the platform to the nearest elevator. They both followed suit, running as fast as they could, knowing full well Shinra was right on their tails.