A Spectroscope-

Chapter 9: Fragments of Fear

"Lieutenant Fair," addressed Heidegger with a curt nod as the First Class SOLDIER saluted him and relaxed into an attentive pose. "You were not informed of a mission that General Sephiroth was ordered to undertake several days ago during an emergency Executive Board meeting. Why you weren't informed was that it is Sephiroth's beliefs that you were too emotionally involved with the subject."

"Sir?" inquired Zack with a perplexed expression.

"Several days ago, Lieutenant, Aerith Gainsborough was kidnapped by the terror organization known as AVALANCHE." Heidegger stared into the dark eyes of the SOLDIER as he spoke, noting the spark of anger and worry in their depths. "Sephiroth has been out looking for her, but there has been no new leads." Firmly putting his hands on Zack's shoulders, the burly man added, "Now we're getting desperate, Zack. We need you to assist the Turks in finding Miss Aerith."

Swallowing, Zack clicked his heels together as he straightened himself stiffly and brought his right hand in a smooth salute to his superior. "I would be most honored to do so, Heidegger. I did not hear of Aerith's disappearance, but I am glad you chose to have me act upon your orders to help in her liberation from AVALANCHE. When shall I begin?"

Removing his hands from the eager SOLDIER's shoulders, Heidegger drifted over to his desk and pushed through a small stack of folders upon it. Running his thumb along the spine of the folder he sought, Heidegger used his other hand to sweep into his meaty right and offered it towards Zack. "Here are the charted locations that Aerith has been spotted through the Sector Slums that has been investigated and confirmed. The Turks, I believe, should have their own sections that you should look into as well."

"Will I be working with General Sephiroth at all?"

"No. Just focus your attention in what's in the folders, Lieutenant Fair." Tone dropping, Heidegger added urgently, "In fact, you will only be reporting to me about this mission and working with the Turks as their leader. This is a matter that should not be leaked or mentioned outside of anyone who is involved. Not until we have Miss Aerith back home safe from AVALANCHE."

"Sir, yes, sir!" Zack saluted him again, his sense tingling with exhilaration. Schooling his expression to keep a large smile from his face, the SOLDIER then inquired, "When shall this operation commence?"

Picking up a cigar from a small silver tray in the upper left of his desk, Heidegger fished around for a cigar end cutter and calmly replied, "Tonight, Fair. We can not afford to wait another moment." Picking up the small device and severing the end of the cigar, the General placed it in his mouth and set the blade to the side. "You will find the Turks in their office. Just hand them the order that I placed in your folder and you can begin immediately."

"Excellent, Sir! I shall not disappoint you, Sir!"

"Of course not! I expect mighty deeds from Sephiroth's personal Lieutenant."

-

"Why, hello there, stranger." purred Reno seductively as the taller, more muscular figure of Rude drifted by, fresh from the shower. Grinning madly at the strange look sent his way, the red headed Turk slunk behind the bald male who clung to the towel around his waist. Nearly wiggling in delight as his prey paused in front of his locker, Reno pounced forward to wrap his arms around Rude's waist with a loud 'yar'. As the other male flailed wildly in surprise, Reno's grip slipped and he slide downward with the towel. There was utter silence for a heart beat before there was a low whistle.

"An amazing view from down here." Reno gave his coworker an appraising smile. "Nice toe ring, matches mine, wanna fuck?"

"...Freak." Completely nude, Rude looked downward at Reno who served him with a cheeky smile. Sighing and folding his arms across his broad chest, the bald man muttered, "And you're not even the least bit shamed by this stunt. What if Tseng was in here?" Side stepping around Reno's naughty swipe at him, Rude opened his locker and added, "What am I going to do with you?"

"Spank me?" Sitting up, Reno winked at him. "Better yet, have me give you my lollipop apology special? After all, I'm already down here and you seem to be missing a towel."

Rolling his eyes, Rude reached into his locker and pulled out a pair of handcuffs. "Reno, we don't have time for this, so don't even start. We have to meet up with Tseng about a new mission in twenty minutes." Grabbing a squirming Reno, the bald man wrestled the slender male's arms behind him to handcuff him properly. "Hey now! Watch where you're trying to put that tongue." Grunting, Rude reached up to pull a clean pair of socks from his locker and shove them into Reno's restless mouth.

"DAMN IT! How many times do I have to tell you two not in the locker room?" Shrieked Tseng who covered his eyes at the display he walked into. Turning his back to them desperately then as he cleared his throat and composed himself, the leader of the Turks added sharply, "Lieutenant Fair is waiting for us, so please hurry up."

"I'll punish you later, Reno." Placing on his trademark black mirrored glasses, Rude proceeded to get dress hurriedly. Within moments, the tallest members of the Shinra's private mafia men was clad in a pressed navy suit and a black perfect tie. Adjusting his cuffs, Rude gave a measured look at Reno, who grinned around the sock, before his stoic face fell into a fond smile. "Keep grinning, I'll make sure you'll make an entrance for this meeting." He picked up Reno with ease and tossed him over his shoulder. "And away we go!"

After freeing Reno from his handcuffs and making a round of introductions, the Turks made themselves comfortable in chairs behind their black lacquered desks. In a semicircle around the spacious office, the three men and one lady had their hands folded neatly upon the surface as Zack stood before them. As the SOLDIER went into details of their mission, their expressions never changed from the schooled aloof look. It was almost unnerving for Zack to have them sigh at the same time and even look to one another in the same precise manner.

"We understand the gravity of this situation, Lieutenant." Stated Tseng as his black eyes seemed to gleam with more information then he was willing to share. Intertwining his fingers together and resting his chin upon the back of them, the senior Turk gave a sharp smile. "And, of course we will be more then willing to move out immediately for the retrieval of Aerith Gainsborough from the grasp of AVALANCHE."

"I'm glad you all understand," Began Zack excitedly. For the first time in his military career, Zack was the one calling the shots, since previously all he had been was a gofer for Sephiroth in relaying orders to troops and platoons on the mission lines. Clenching the mission folder tightly in his hands he turned to Reno, "I believe you guys also been able to locate her current location and identify who she is with so we are even able to do this."

Receiving a small nod from Tseng in clearance of sharing the information, Reno delayed starting off into a boring drone by fishing out a cigarette from his pocket and placing it between his thin lips. Nearly grinning at seeing the irritated look crossing Zack's face, the Turk decided to light the stick, take a long drag, and blow out thin streams of smoke from his nose. As the smoke curled around his thin face, Reno finally said, "It wasn't that hard to find out if you're the Turks. It was to be expected that someone like General Sephiroth would have trouble, since he's military and we all know military means you officially, and publicly, answer to someone, even it's Shinra. And thus the slummers think they can undermined an investigation such as this. It doesn't even have to be outright, just forgetting to mention details or what you saw."

Extending his pale hand to flick his ashes into a tray upon his desk, Reno's eyes became bright with a cunning look and ceased speaking. Elena and Rude shared a glance then while Zack looked rather crossed at the lazy man's actions. Only Tseng seemed indifferent to everything else going on around him as he busied himself with another folder upon his desk as Reno fell into a round of baited silence. Sorting through the papers within the vanilla colored file, Tseng paused only to utter, "You will continue, Reno."

"We Turks have the advantage of being the boogie men. People think we answer to no one, not even the very ones we work for, Shinra. So, all we had to do was to investigate through our contacts and resolve the half truths given to General Sephiroth." Pulling a folder from a black wire basket to his left, Reno opened it and flipped through it for a moment. The glowing end of his cigarette reflecting in the dark depth's of his eyes, Reno offered Zack two pieces of paper. "The blonde man, who is similar in appearance to you, is Cloud Strife, a former low rank SOLDIER and now a registered Mercenary. He's been spotted the last few months, mainly, in Sector 7 in the company of Barret Wallace. A 'tough guy' who has been arrested three times for Anti-Shinra rallies and rioting at Upper Plate Malls. We believe Mr. Wallace has hired him to work in the terrorist organization known as AVALANCHE. And Aerith was spotted with Cloud by Sephiroth himself, according from his report after the Reeve Incident."

"And their current location, Reno?" Demanded Zack as he stared at the profiles of the two men, his expression blank.

"The bar Seventh Heaven, ran by Tifa Lockheart." Reno tossed yet another profile at Zack's feet as he put out his cigarette. "Apparently she and Cloud are from the same hometown, so we presume she is another member of AVALANCHE. There are several others also linked to the organization." Standing, the Turk began to toss the other profiles of suspected AVALANCHE members upon the floor with a broody look. "It seems we are also to put an end to AVALANCHE in this mission."

"A shame that Miss Aerith was caught up in such a scandal," Purred Elena as she also rose from her desk, her fingernails sliding across the smooth wood surface. Iridescently her honey brown eyes glittered as the female fell into a mocking pose of being clueless. Tapping a painted fingernail to her chin, the blonde sang, "Oh dear, and to think that during our battle that Sector Seven will fall victim to the thoughtless actions of their beloved AVALANCHE." Her eyes swept towards Reno and gave a vivacious smile. "I will applaud your efforts at the pillar, though your attempt to save them will be in naught."

"Reno always gives it his all in a mission," Came Rude's voice as he also stood. Black glasses obscuring his eyes from view, Rude's attention was fixated upon Zack. "So we are merely to apprehend Miss Aerith and allow Reno the time he needs?"

"It seems like a simple enough mission," declared Tseng with an even look towards his subordinates as he was the last of the Turks to stand. "After all, under Mister Fair's experienced leadership we will be able to perform at our high standard of excellence." All four of the Turks had their piercing gazes upon the SOLDIER. "Shall we commence our mission, sir?"

"Of course!" Zack's brow was damp from perspiration as he shuffled the folders in his hand. "Let's get this mission underway. Everyone, let's move out!"

-

There was pure, blinding light bathing his nude figure on the disconnecting coldness of a hard floor. Bringing his hands closer towards his shoulders, Sephiroth lifted himself upwards with his aching muscles. Keeping his eyes in narrowed slits, the General peered around empty room through his silver hair as filter against the light. He noted there were no windows, chairs, tables, or bed. The only way in and out was through a door which had no handle on his side. Pushing himself over onto his back once he finished his observations of no escape routes, Sephiroth grunted in pain as his buttocks made contact with floor.

Looking downward at his form, he couldn't help but bare his teeth at the masses of bruises across his abdomen, knees, and upper arms. He could deduce there were probably more across his shoulders and downward across his lower back that he couldn't see. Finally just sprawling against floor, Sephiroth gave up on craning his neck to inspect himself and relaxed his throbbing limbs. It was better just to give into waves of pain that rolled throughout him then to battle them. His icy eyes fluttered shut then as his breathing slowed, the pain and drugs had lulled his exhausted body towards unconsciousness.

Warmth was at his side as Sephiroth's glowing eyes opened again as something told him something was definitely different in his location. Groggily looking in front of himself, he noticed he was out of the white room and tucked under worn, soft sheets upon a firm bed. The battered wall was several inches in front of his nose and he knew he was in a very foreign location. None of the Shinra buildings would have this kind of damage to them nor would lack in quality bedding. Rolling over onto his other side, he gasped loudly at what his eyes beheld and he pushed back violently against the wall.

There laid the objects of his new founded desire, Aerith. Laid along side him, her slender form was curled under the dark brown sheets and her arms were wrapped tightly around a pillow that half hid her face. With a childlike expression and her long hair loose from any bounding, Sephiroth noted she looked much younger, delicate, and ethereal then awake with her typical guarded expression. Breathing becoming ragged from controlling himself, he gingerly extended his hand to brush a curl that spilled across her pale cheek.

"So surreal," uttered Sephiroth reverently as his fingers traced the curve of her face next. This was the last other of his, their, kind. A single female, a single Eve, whose uniqueness shone so brightly to him once he was cured of his disgusting ignorance. He could partially understand Hojo's desire to take her from the foul slums, away from humans who would never understand her and would only lead to her downfall. Once she was safe within the Shinra Building, Sephiroth could then use his position to take her away from Hojo's abuse. His thumb brushed under her lower lip before he tilted her face towards him. Leaning forward, he pressed his lips against her firmly. She was his, for he was Adam while she was Eve. It was almost worth forgiving her for…

Aerith awoke within the kiss and her small hands pressed against his chest her eyes widen in fright. Shoving at him, Aerith only managed to free herself when Sephiroth had what he sought in the kiss. Nearly toppling off of the bed, the Cetra girl gave a loud yelp and glared pointedly at the invader. Gathering the sheets around her, Aerith muttered fearlessly, "How the hell did you get in here?" Slapping one her hands against the bed, she growled, "Planet! What in Hades do you think you're plotting?"

Seeing the slightly confused expression upon Sephiroth's face, she pointed at him and muttered, "And as for you, mister, get out of my dreams! This is no evil zone!" Aerith paused as she noticed something, as she was selfishly hoarding all the sheets. "And you're naked! BY THE PLANET!" Thrusting a single sheet at him and covering her head with the comforter, Aerith added, "Well, make yourself descent, Sephiroth. We don't have all night."

Falling into a daze, Sephiroth did as she bided by wrapping a tan sheet around his waist. "What do you mean by getting out of your dreams?" inquired Sephiroth softly once he was remotely proper. Genuinely curious in his inquiry, he kept a comfortable distance between their figures in order not to further agitate the female. Especially since she was the one who knew what was occurring, it would be in his best interest to behave.

"Don't play innocent with me, Sephiroth." growled Aerith within her haven of downy material. "You're exactly the type who would abuse such abilities to do something like this." Resting near the edge of the bed, she added, "I don't understand why you're suddenly after me, either. Unless you really are the crazy, psychopath killer stalker type. Ugh, I never knew Shinra's dogs to be so... fixated about chasing down their wanted criminals."

"You're pretty mouthy."

Aerith sighed, "This is my dream, buddy. You're the invader of my mindscape, so I can be mouthy if I want to be." Shaking her head, her expression and tone soften as she spoke again, "You really don't have any clue on what's happening do you?"

"No, I don't. But, I gather, this is your dream and I'm in it?" Sephiroth's tone was reserved as some of the fire died out of his eyes. Settling against the wall, he chuckled bitterly, "That must mean I'm still passed out in damnable room with Hojo doing Planet knows what to me." He slammed his fist against the wall.

Aerith moved towards him slowly, placing one her hands upon his clenched one. "I'm sorry, it must be a truly disturbing experience for your body if your mind sought out mine for total dream integration." Her hood of sheets fell down around her shoulders as she asked hesitantly, "Did Hojo victimize you as well?"

"'Did'? He still does." Sephiroth gave a low reply, casting Aerith an angry look. "Be thankful your mother and yourself escape, it gave him the chance to focus completely onto me then. The only Cetra left in his grasp, and I assure you he spared me or himself no expense in his experiments. Especially when Ifalna was killed."

Flinching at Sephiroth's words, Aerith gave him an empathic look and her heart went out to him as she saw the pain and scars upon his soul. He was victim like her birth mother, like the father she never knew, and even like herself. Lowering her guarded look and senses, the Planet's melody surrounded her and completed her thoughts and heart. In her state of being, it was visible to Sephiroth's eyes as electric blue, green, and white danced from her back in translucent wings of music and light.

"You mentioned my mother." Calmly spoke Aerith, curiosity in her tone and bright in her dream-self eyes.

Confusion flickered across Sephiroth's face and he looked up for a moment. Lips pressed into a thin line as he seemed to struggle with thoughts and trying to remember something. As he reflected, finally gave a slow nod and he looked at her. There was a bit of uncertainty in his tone as he began his answer, "I did know her, she was… important to me. She taught me what it is like to be Cetra. Even one who was raised to be an experiment, she gave me a heritage. But then your father took her, abandoning me, even as she cried."

His anger, his sudden rage, fled him as Aerith wrapped her arms around him. Feathers and flower petals hindered his vision as Sephiroth felt himself move by the strength and will of the possessed girl. Love and warmth radiated into his figure as the proud general found himself cradled in her lap. Her eyes were endless green, with no pupils, as she smiled down at him. She has her mother's eyes, whispered the part of him which had remembered while the conscious-him forgot. "Lennavanmo Lennavanmo, who is it swinging you to and fro? With a long low swing and a sweet low croon, loving words of a mother's rune."

Aerith sang to him, with a tune of a sweetest lullaby that Ifalna use to whisper into his ears when Hojo was rough on him when he did poorly on his tests. "I am thinking it is an Angel fair. The Angel that looks on the gulf from the lowest stair. And swings the green world upward by its leagues of sunshine hair." Her hand caressed his face and Sephiroth felt that rare peace from his childhood. Memories he thought forgotten, surfaced more then the brief talk and short video that Hojo showed him. The video him cradled in the arms of Aerith's mother.

"It is he whose faintest thought is a world afar. It is He whose wish is a seven-mooned leaping star. It is He- Lennavanmo to whom you and I and all things flow." With her touch and her words, she offered him a vision. "But as This wee blossom has roots in the depths of the sky, so you are one with the Lord of Eternity. Bonny wee lad that you are, my morning star, Elidh mo chree, Lennavanmo Lennavanmo."

Fighting to keep his eyes wide, Sephiroth asked desperately, "How is it you know that song?"

Pausing in her tune, Aerith responded softly with, "A song? No, it's not a song that I sung, but a prayer woven with a message that children can remember history and purpose with." Her coral lips were so peaceful in their sensual curved smile. "My mother song it to me as well. I can still feel her presence, especially in times like these."

"For whom do you pray? Our Ancestors? Us?" He was drifting away, floating in her warmth and the love the Planet resonated in her being. Briefly, he recalled this was the connection that Ifalna spoke of that Cetra were to have between themselves. It existed in life and after death, all those of future being able to recall the love of their ancestors. Was this truly it?

"I pray for anyone and everyone, for a darkness approaches." Replied Aerith, who seemed so distance from Sephiroth despite the firmness of her body against him. Pressing her face closer, she uttered urgently, "You must remember there is a great line between dreams and reality, Sephiroth. Situations, alliances, and even appearances can differ within this realm. Such as ours will still be that of enemies, prey and hunter, when we awake." Terror that was not Aerith's shone in her eyes as countless voices told him, "Fear the other who will walk the Dreamscape and in the shadows of thoughts."

His body rapidly became so heavy and Sephiroth could not even raise a hand to touch Aerith. Eyes closing of their own accord, he couldn't fight off the beckoning darkness as she gave a loud scream and power she was bathing him in suddenly dispersed. Barely he could hear her the echoes of her screech about Zach and a place call Promise Land. All that he knew that darkness seemed so familiar and he wanted to go there to hide. Sephiroth felt the urge just to forget it all, and that's what he did, even as Aerith's distant sobbing touched a certain part of his being.

"Sephiroth!" A sharp jab made his gut burn and Hojo's face came into focus. The freak of a scientist looked so angry, giddily thought the SOLDIER, as he peered at him. "Sephiroth, damn you, get your ass up! Heidegger went behind our backs! Do you hear me? GET UP! That bastard wants to steal what is mine!" His armor and clean clothing was dumped upon his battered form, nearly knocking the wind from him. "Get over to Sector Seven! IMMEDIATELY!"

"What?" Groaned Sephiroth.

"You heard me! Get over to Sector Seven and prevent your fool of a Lieutenant from taking the Cetra for that fat bastard, Heidegger!" Hojo nearly kicked Sephiroth, but instead settled for one of his assistants. "It appears Scarlet is using him for her own ends with that fool Heidegger. I have your motorcycle awaiting you, so get dressed and get going!"

Sephiroth leapt his feet, brushing aside the pain. Pulling his clothing on quickly a he could, he could hear Professor Hojo snap out more orders. "Bring up Project G. I want tests done on Subject G as well as Test Subject 1-S, then upon the Cetra female once she is retrieved…"