A/N: If you thought I'd opened the Gates of Hell in terms of repercussions of the earlier Sephiroth/Terra lemon, you haven't seen a thing yet. The situation has struck home at the Old Chaos Shrine, and the displeased God of Discord now demands answers. That being said, there's a little hint of Mateulti (Mateus/Ultimecia shipping) in this chapter. It's not much, though, and is unlikely to have any bearing on the story in the long run.

Something go awry? (victory, Emperor Mateus vs. weaker opponent)

It was with great irritation that I left my domain of Pandaemonium, at the bidding of Chaos, and made my path to the discord-god's throne room at the Old Chaos Shrine as requested. Once I had toyed with the young Cosmos-serving athlete Tidus for a time, I had retired to my own domain in wait for the sorceress Ultimecia (a woman whom I find both attractive and highly engaging) to either appear before me or extend an invitation to her domain. So far, however, neither of these things occurred according to plan. Perhaps, I thought with resignation, if I answered the call of the God of Discord, I would meet Ultimecia there and at least find out what detained her, once Chaos was finished with what it was that served as motive to call a meeting at the throne room. "What is going on?" I at last demanded to know of the boorish athlete Jecht, father of young Tidus, when I saw that his arrival in the throne room had preceded mine.

"Our reigning lord and master's pissed off, that's for damn sure," the gruff bearded man answered, casting wary, annoyed glances in the direction of the hall that led to the warriors' quarters. "I'm guessin' it has everything to do with what happened when the wraith and the tin-head came back from patrol."

Jecht's descriptors of "wraith" and "tin-head" referred respectively to one Cloud of Darkness (a destroyer for whom I cared not) and one Garland (an unwaveringly loyal henchman to the God of Discord), the former of which now silently hovered on the end of the throne room farthest from Chaos's throne. Ignoring her, I interrogated Jecht further: "What do you mean?"

"Well, the manikins Chaos sent with 'em got back first—some Cloud-o'-Darkness-shaped ones, and I saw 'em carry Sephiroth unconscious into the quarters," Jecht began to explain. "The guy was naked—one of the manikins had a bundle that must've been all his personal effects—and he looked like he'd been run through a big ol' machina crusher! And whoever pounded the shit outta him obviously wanted to make sure his balls got the worst…"

Grave news indeed. The nature and extent of Sephiroth's injuries would almost certainly require the direct attention of Chaos himself in order for the swordsman to make a complete recovery. If that was the case, then the discord-god's act of calling all his chosen to the throne room could only mean that he was highly suspicious of how one among us could have come to be so injured. "Is the God of Discord now either attending to the injured man or questioning his right-hand warrior for an account of what has transpired, or else a combination thereof?" I further inquired.

"Far as I know, yeah," Jecht grunted.

Soon the flapping of feathered wings told me that Ultimecia had just entered the throne room via the main entrance. She looked like she had been in a battle: torn robes, ruffled wing-feathers, grazes upon several areas of exposed skin, and disheveled hair. "What is the meaning of this summons?" she demanded in a terse, angry tone.

Before Jecht could answer, I took it upon myself to explain: "Sephiroth has been wounded to incapacitation, and Chaos is highly suspicious of the condition in which Garland and the Cloud of Darkness found him. As such, the God of Discord will doubtless be demanding answers as to how he came to be in that condition."

"I saw a group o' manikins carry him in," Jecht added. "Looked really serious, and I figure that's why the discord-god's as pissed off as he is."

Ultimecia said nothing. I knew, however, that she was impatient to be done with Chaos's interrogation so that she could clean herself of the dust of battle.

It struck me as suspicious, however, that four people among Chaos's chosen warriors were still absent from the throne room by the time the God of Discord seated himself on his throne and Garland took his favored position two yards forward and to Chaos's right. The thaumaturge Golbez, the armored walking-tree-warrior Exdeath, the flashily dressed clown-mage Kefka Palazzo, and the silver-haired wizard Kuja all had not yet reported. The God of Discord quickly noticed this. "Where are those who are not currently among this assembly?" he demanded in a low voice that spoke of ill-suppressed anger.

None of us answered; everybody among those who were present already knew the reason for the summons. Golbez, Exdeath, Kefka, and Kuja failed to report to the throne room at their own risk, as their failure to report cast the immediate suspicion that one or more of them was responsible for the incapacitated state in which Sephiroth had been found.

"I am sure that all of you understand the reason for this summons," Chaos continued. "When I sensed a disturbance in the World of Darkness, I dispatched Garland and the Cloud of Darkness to investigate the disturbance at once. Less than an hour ago, these two returned in the wake of the contingent of Counterfeit Wraiths that I had sent along with them. The manner of their return informed me that Sephiroth, who currently lies in injury recovery in his quarters-room, had been wounded to the point of incapacitation by a powerful magic blast. An account by Garland then revealed to me that the Cosmos-serving warrior Cloud Strife had subsequently reached Sephiroth between the time of the initial disturbance and my patrol's arrival on the scene, and that Strife had proceeded to inflict a series of heavy blows upon every part of his enemy's body that had survived the magic blast without injury."

"Shoulda known Chocobo-head was involved," Jecht said aloud, seeming to speak more to himself than to Chaos or anyone else in the room. "Who else in the universe hates Sephiroth enough to pound the shit outta him when 'e's knocked out and already hurt?"

Chaos seemed to consider Jecht's statement for a moment. "Your suggestion has some merit, Jecht," he replied at last. "However, it is, for all points and purposes, irrelevant to the matter at hand. Sephiroth will recover from his injuries in due time, and then he will deal with Cloud Strife as he sees fit for such spiteful cowardice. What matters to me now, all of you, is this: who in this piecemeal world is responsible for using magical power to incapacitate Sephiroth, placing him in a vulnerable position by such means, in the first place?"

The aura of energy around the God of Discord flared with his anger as he finished this speech, and his gaze swept suspiciously over each of us, giving me the unpleasant sensation of being looked through as those calculating eyes fell upon me. In truth, I had nothing against Sephiroth for which I felt compelled to attack him, and I felt certain that he had no plans that would entail doing me any harm. His plans seemed centered primarily around antagonizing his own enemy, Cloud Strife, for reasons unknown to any but himself. Apparently satisfied as to the neutrality of my thoughts and feelings with regards to Sephiroth, Chaos moved on to survey Jecht in a similar manner.

Jecht passed Chaos's mental inspection, and I expected him to ignore Garland and the Cloud of Darkness, as both had the virtue of being in the Old Chaos Shrine at the time of the disturbance. Finally I saw Chaos surveying Ultimecia. "Unaware until now that a disturbance had taken place," he observed aloud while the sorceress schooled her facial expression to appear no more than mildly annoyed. "No memory at all to coincide with the time of the disturbance, indicating that you must have been taking a nap, of all activities, during that time." This knowledge seemed to perplex the god a trifle. "You did, however, have dealings with Sephiroth fairly recently. Tell me the nature of those dealings," he ordered at last.

"I was brewing a potion at the time that Sephiroth paid me a visit," Ultimecia explained in a neutral manner. "He asked a small favor of me, and I felt disposed to oblige him. When he took his leave of me, it was the last that I saw of him."

"I see." Chaos continued, considering the sorceress. "And I understand that this question may or may not seem relevant to you as pertains to this interrogation, Ultimecia, but the name of the Cosmos-serving warrior Terra Branford cropped up in your conversation with Sephiroth. What is the reason for this?"

At this question, I observed, Ultimecia lost some of her neutrality of manner. "Must I answer before this gathering?" she demanded in indignation. "Not that I wouldn't care to answer in a private interrogation room, Your Lordship, but I think that Sephiroth would be highly displeased with me if I aired the substance of a private conversation before all our fellow soldiers of Discord."

Ultimecia's answer appeared to rather offend the god, as she tried to wipe a smear of battle-blood from her shoulder where the robe over it was torn but found herself paralyzed when Chaos fixed her with his stare. "You will answer before this gathering, sorceress," the god addressed her in a low and deadly tone, "as Sephiroth's displeasure, whether you fear or merely disfavor it, is as nothing to mine. Furthermore, only half of the gathering of my soldiers is here in this throne room, but even if all were present, we all of us are adults and can deal appropriately with adult situations if you must speak of them. I demand an eye for an eye on behalf of one of mine who has been wrongly harmed, Ultimecia. Know that any information you withhold, no matter how inconsequential it may seem, angers me because it delays that justice. Now tell me what role Terra Branford plays in this grand scheme.

"Very well," Ultimecia hissed with a contemptuous glare. "The potion that I brewed is intended to induce lust in one exposed to it. Sephiroth requested that I reserve a small amount of my potion for his use, for he intended to seduce Terra by this means. I know not his motive for that particular action."

Still galled by Ultimecia's insubordinate manner but satisfied that she had at least answered his question, Chaos released his hold on the sorceress. "I might have known of his success in that endeavor," the god remarked at last, "given the state of undress in which he was found, and Miss Branford's scent on him and his effects. But who, then, would attack a pair so thoroughly distracted with one another?"

"Terra Branford's enemy among us is Kefka Palazzo, a destroyer with little to no method to his madness," I pointed out to the God of Discord at last. "I would think that his absence amid this gathering alone made him a suspect in the attack on Sephiroth."

"You, Mateus, may be on to something," Chaos replied. "I should question Sephiroth when he is coherent." He turned to Garland then and delivered an order: "Garland, since Kefka Palazzo has failed to report for interrogation, you have my authority to bring him to the Old Chaos Shrine, by force if need be. Take along what manikins you see fit, in case he resists." No sooner had Garland given his obedient salute than Chaos dismissed him and the rest of us.

I followed Ultimecia out of Chaos's throne room and toward the warriors' quarters. "Do you care for comfort and healing after your hard-fought battle?" I asked of her in a suggestive tone as I strode up beside her and put my free arm around her waist, "or if not quite comfort, my dear, do you care for diversion?"

"Why yes, Mateus, that would be lovely," she answered with relief as she tried not to lean too heavily against me, mindful of my armor. Yes, I would divert her. I would even make her forget that Chaos himself had treated her with such impertinence.