Chapter Nine:

Cloud sat silently on the clay ground as Qliphoth and Reno continued to train with their guns. They had switched at some point to more realistic guns, not like training guns, and were having a blast with training. No pun intended.

It was almost calming, watching people train. It wasn't the fact that they were friends of his, but just watching anybody train always made him calm. He loved to help the trainees train when he had enough free time. It was kind of like a hobby. Though, of course, he was allowed to receive a personal apprentice, like most warriors, but he didn't. No, he wanted to train as many demons as possible. Not just one.

But, there was another reason.

Just a few months before he actually became the king, he was assigned an apprentice of his own. He had been so overjoyed. Her name was Venus, a chimera.

~Flashback~

Magnorak watched approvingly as his apprentice zoomed through the 18 flaming hoops in one leap. She landed with such grace, such ability, that Magnorak just knew she would grow to be something great.

"How was that, teacher?" Venus turned her head to face the nine-tailed fox. Magnorak just smiled warmly and nodded his approval. Venus then proceeded to cheer and jump into the air, her tiny, bat-like wings fluttering every now and again causing her to hover slightly.

"Yes, yes, that's great and all, but our mission for the day has yet to be done," Magnorak calmed the jittery girl, who immediately fell silent and stood at attention. Her face was serious, yet held a small bit of child joy. She was very young. And very small. And yet she was so independent and strong! It made Magnorak proud to be her teacher.

"You're doing so great!" the kitsune congratulated the chimera, who smiled slightly.

"Thank you SO much teacher! I'm really happy to be taught by you!" Venus smiled fully after she spoke. She just always had a way to brighten the room.

"Now, Venus, you have been chosen to go on a mission today," Magnorak explained as his apprentice's face brightened considerably. "You're going on a patrol near Southern Region and Westren Region's border, but not too close."

Venus saluted with a bounce. "Of course! When do I leave?" she asked.

"Now! You need to learn to leave at a moments notice! So, hurry to the hanger to meet the rest of the patrol." Venus simply nodded and zoomed over to the gym's door, but stopped suddenly and turned back to her mentor.

"Love ya!" she said cheerfully, like she always did before a mission. It just always made Magnorak so happy that someone respected him so much.

But, unfortunately, Venus rushed out before her teacher could wish her good luck, like he always did. Magnorak shrugged that off, thinking that Venus didn't need any luck from him! She made her own luck! But, it had just become a tradition, he guessed, so it felt weird to not continue it.

-that evening-

Magnorak sat in his room, skimming through his book, when a knock was heard at his door. He opened the door with a wave of his hand and a warrior, clad in full body uniform, entered.

"Yes?" Magnorak questioned calmly.

"Could you come with me, please? From my understanding you should be able to identify something," the warrior stated monotonously. The kitsune had a weird feeling that he was some robot, but he pushed away the silly thought.

He nodded and followed the warrior out. He was led in the direction of hanger 5. Magnorak's guess was that they had discovered something. Maybe it had something to do with fox demons, so he was needed to help them out. Unfortunately, there weren't many fox demons in Western region. They mainly resided in Southern Region and Eastern Region.

They entered the hanger and Magnorak was hit with an uncomforting smell. He recognized that smell!

"This way, please," the warrior said and brought the kitsune over to a large, black, zipped up bag. "Tell us if you recognize anything, please," the warrior told Magnorak as the bag was opened.

The future king's eyes lowered at the sight and darkened in dread.

"Any recognition?" the warrior questioned. Magnorak nodded numbly. "Could you place a name?" Again, Magnorak nodded.

"Yes, I can," the kitsune started. "This is Southern Region work?" The warrior nodded, waiting for a title for their find.

"Yes… yes…"

"Yes, this is my… former… apprentice, Venus Mimith."

~End Flashback~

He had blamed it on himself. The death of his apprentice was because of him. Now, he no longer thought such a thing, that wishing her luck would have done any different, but he still grieved. He never wanted a personal apprentice again.

A deep sigh left the blonde's lips and he stood from the ground, dusting himself off. He waved a bit to get his silver-haired friend's attention.

"What up, Taco?" she called, keeping most of her focus on her targets.

"I'm gonna go for a walk. I'll be back later to pick you up!" Cloud answered calmly.

"You sound like a mom dropping her kids off somewhere!" Qliphoth retorted cheerfully, but waved back at him, and turned fully back to her training with their new, Turk friend. Cloud smiled, glad Qliphoth was getting along well with so many new people. She really was a social butterfly.

Cloud exited the room quietly and started to walk around the halls. He didn't know where it was he was walking, he was just enjoying himself. Of course, he would of preferred to go outside, but he didn't want to get too far away from his hyperactive friend.

It was pretty calming. No one to bother him. No random comments. Nothing.

Until, as he turned a corner, he ran into a large wolf.

~With Zack~

"OH! MY! GOD!!" Zack yelled out loud, looking into a mirror in the bathroom. It was on the back of his bathroom door and touched the floor, so, of course, he had no difficulty getting to it.

What looked back at him was a huge wolf, its shoulders probably reaching up to the middle of his human thigh. Its muscles rippled under the dark green fur. Black splotches were scattered over the wolf's pelt and brilliant glowing, violet eyes stood out from the dark fur. A black, studded collar hugged the wolf's neck and a broken chain dangled off of the collar's side. the wolf's tail was long and fluffy, but a metal blade was tied to the tip of it, looking quite menacing.

"Dude! Lycur!" Zack grinned.

Yeah? Lycur asked, sounding nonchalant.

"I'm a sexy beast!" the new wolf demon said and started to giggle. "LITERALLY!" Zack started to laugh like a total idiot. Lycur rolled his eyes.

You're insane. You know that, right? the new human sighed, shaking his head at his other self's insanity. Zack just giggled in joy as he ran out his bathroom and over to his door. He sat down in front of the door and looked up at it, totally lost on how the heck he was supposed to open it. He cocked his head to the side, then the other, thinking.

Don't hurt yourself! Lycur laughed.

Bite my sexy ass! Zack grinned and turned his attention back to the task at hand. The wolf arched a furry eyebrow and hummed in thought. What was he supposed to do?

An idea dawned on the Lieutenant and he pictured a lit bulb popping up over his head. He was an earth element demon, right? Which meant he controlled earth. Ok, that was cool, but it wouldn't help all that much in this situation. But, hadn't Lycur said he also had a bit of metal element?

Zack grinned. Oh, yes! This could work!

Zack scrunched his eyebrows together in concentration and his eyes narrowed slightly. He felt something moving around in him. Something warm and welcoming. Something that seemed to fit into his every being. It wasn't any liquid or anything. Zack recognized this sensation slightly for when he used high powered materia. All it really was was some kind of energy floating around inside the wolf's body. He never really noticed it before then, but now that Zack thought about, he had sensed energy flowing through his body. Very faintly, and maybe only once or twice, but it had been there.

It's because you're a demon, Lycur spoke up, sounding slightly bored.

Zack arched a mental eyebrow and Lycur smiled at his physical self's curiosity.

Well, demon's are a lot more sensitive towards energy and forces then humans. This is mainly because we need to be able to identify the element of an ability and also because we ourselves are creating a power instead of you humans. Humans use those things called materia. Materia already have a ready ability waiting inside it for you, so you humans don't need to identify it.

But, what about those healer people that can heal with their hands and without materia? Zack asked mentally as he tried to somehow identify the energy inside him. He had no idea what he was doing, and he didn't know how other energies felt so he didn't know how he was supposed to specify this one.

Well, they feel energy more often then other humans, obviously, but healing magic isn't always an element, and elemented energy is a lot easier to detect. But, I didn't say all humans never sense energy. I said it was less common, and demons are BUILT to sense energy. It just takes training to be able to sense energy in a way that it's more like it's a map and that you're seeing it then just feeling a general feeling of what it is or where it is. I do believe that you humans used to have a race called the Ancients. They could feel energy much like a demon, actually. At the end of Lycur's explanation, Zack was a bit dizzy. But, the Lieutenant would be the first to admit that it had been very interesting... if you could keep up with it all.

Zack fell silent as he concentrated on the energy inside of him. He still had absolutely no idea how to identify them, but he did notice something. He didn't know how to explain it, but it felt like there were two different energies floating around. He couldn't see it, but it was almost like he sensed that one part of the energy was rough and gritty, and the other was smooth and sleek. And he almost felt like he could actually SENSE what colors they were. The rough one was a mix of browns, greys, oranges, and tans. The smooth one was a mix of copper, bronze, silver, brass, and gold. And they seemed to swirl together, like kin; like they were supposed to be together. But, the brown, rough one seemed so much greater then the other, but it didn't try to take over the sleek energy. It was almost like it was trying to support the smooth one.

Zack wondered how he could figure all this out without even seeing it, but he labeled it under the same category as to how he knew what Lycur was doing without being able to see him.

You just identified the two elements in you. Well, your main ones, Lycur said cheerfully after a moment, finally pulling Zack out of his confused thoughts. The wolf blinked both physically and mentally.

Wait! Didn't you say that the two elements I mainly use are earth and metal? Zack asked the former demon. The demon only nodded in answer. Zack thought about it for a second.

That did make sense. The gritty and rough energy was the earth element, while the smooth and sleek one was the metal. The colors of the elements - Zack was still freaked that he actually could figure out what colors they were - seemed to fit the elements as well. And their actions made sense. The earth energy had been supporting the metal energy, like a parent, or a creator, and didn't the earth create metals in reality? And the fact that he was mainly earth aligned and that metal was just an attribute made sense, because the earth energy had been so much bigger then the metal.

Well! What do ya know! He can be taught! Lycur cheered, laughing.

Shut up...

HALLELUIA!! THANK YOU JESUS!!! YOU'VE GIVEN THIS POOR SOUL A BRAIN!!! Lycur ignored Zack.

I said shut up! Zack growled.

And I ignored you, so there! Lycur stuck out his tongue.

You're annoying.

Look who's talking!

At least I don't have fleas!!!

OOP! NOW YA DO!!!

SON OF A BITCH!!!

Lycur's laughter echoed through the Lieutenant's brain. He swore that all of this was going to drive him insane.

The wolf shook his head, ignoring the voice as best he could, and turned back to the situation at hand. Opening his door. His idea on how to do it still seemed possible, more so now seeing as he understood something about energies and what not.

Zack started to concentrate once again, and focused mainly on the metal energy flowing through him. He tested out trying to control where it went and how it flowed. It was surprisingly easy. And so, Zack pushed the energy into the metal spikes in his collar and pictured the energy flowing out like tentacles or vines.

Zack opened his eyes to find the spikes on his collar were stretched out like tentacles and waving back and forth. The wolf grinned at his accomplishment and light seemed to radiate off him. He made the tentacles reach up and grab the doorknob. It turned and the door creaked open.

Zack grinned wide, and then willed the metal tentacles to turn back into spikes.

The wolf peeked his head out the door, looking both ways, up and down the hallway, making sure there was no one nearby. There wasn't, so the cheerful Lieutenant trotted out, much like a horse, and walked off. He didn't mind being seen. He just didn't want anyone to think that a giant wolf had come out of HIS ROOM and walked around freely.

Where are you planning on going, exactly? Lycur asked after a few minutes of random walking. Zack didn't even falter in his confident stride. He came up to an elevator and hit the down button with his nose.

Not a clue! Zack answered cheerfully as he walked into the elevator and sat on his haunches.

How settling! Lycur said dryly.

Well, I'm glad you're comfortable! Zack snickered.

THAT WAS SARCASM, YOU DOLT!!! Lycur yelled in agitation.

OW! DUDE! You're giving me a headache!

Right back at cha', DUDE! Lycur grumbled under his breath and Zack guessed if he was still a wolf he'd be growling menacingly.

Zack looked up at the choice of many floor buttons on the elevator wall. No one else was present in the claustrophobic contraption. He cocked his head to the side in thought, then shrugged, closed his eyes, then pressed his nose against a random button. He felt the elevator come alive with movement as it started to move. He looked at his floor choice.

Floor 21.

Wasn't that the Turk's training floor?

Zack didn't think long on that subject, believing that he could come up with some sort of prank or something and scare the wits out of those Turks. It wasn't like he didn't like Turks! No! He actually knew a few Turks and was good friends with them! But, those guys were just too much fun to mess with!

The elevator finally "dinged" and the doors opened. Zack slunk out of the machine and stalked through the shadows.

Silently, under his breath, Zack whispered one of his favorite songs. "Go ninja! Go ninja! Go! Go ninja! Go ninja! Go!"

Making theme music for yourself, are we? Lycur question, rolling his eyes.

Pretty much, yeah! Zack grinned as he continued.

He was about to turn a corner when a certain, familiar blonde nearly tripped over him.

~Cloud~

Cloud stared down at the giant wolf staring straight back at him with piercing- and startled- violet eyes. He could tell instantly that this wolf was a demon. What he was doing there, Cloud had absolutely no idea. And something about those eyes seemed suspiciously familiar.

Cloud sniffed the air without taking his eyes off the wolf demon before him. Wait a minute.

There was no scent. Well, there was the scent of the wolf itself, but it held no scent of a demon region. It wasn't from the North, South, West, or East Regions. It didn't smell like the Grand Council, either. This wolf held the scent of mako and ShinRa. And Cloud also thought he smelled a faint, a very faint, trace of farmland.

"Daney chu calocky…" Cloud whispered the sentence under his breath. It was in the language of demons from very, very long ago. It was the equivalent of "What the Hell."

The wolf blinked, and took Cloud completely by surprise when it streaked in the opposite direction at high speeds. "HEY!" the blonde yelled in protest, making chase.

His legs carried him at speeds that weren't natural to his teen, human body. But, it just wasn't enough as Cloud could just see the wolf demon's tail as it turned a corner, and a lot of the time he had to follow a scent trail that was just forming.

This wolf was definitely speed trained. Its speed was incredibly high and seemed to slowly be getting faster as the chase continued. Cloud gritted his teeth in frustration as he realized he was losing the mysterious demon. That's when he felt his body shift, ever so slightly. His canines grew from human teeth to large fangs. His fingernails turned into long, black claws. And his pupils slitted into thin lines. This was the extent of his small shift, but it made his demon energy boost much higher.

He lowered his face down a bit more, becoming more aerodynamic. His arms shot backwards, helping with the cause. He was so low to the ground as he ran now that he looked like he was running on all fours.

His speed increased and soon enough he could see the wolf clear as day. Each turn, Cloud saw the whole wolf turn, not just its tail. The demon spared a glance back at his blonde pursuer, squeaked slightly, the sped a bit up.

"I KNOW HE'S CATCHING UP!!! DON'T RUB IT IN!!" the wolf suddenly yelled, taking the fox king by surprise. Who was he talking to?

An idea struck him.

Did that demon have an earpiece? Cloud hadn't really looked for one. What if he was working for Hojo? Or even worse, Expire?

Cloud didn't see the turn coming up, so when the wolf turned to the left suddenly, the king wasn't ready. He rammed into the wall, full force, leaving cracks and chipped areas. It hurt like hell too. Though not much hurt him anymore, you try going 100 mph and hitting a cement wall headfirst and say you didn't feel a thing!

The fox king fell to the ground below him in a daze. His body shifted back to that of a teen human again. The blonde growled, clutching his head as he slowly sat back up.

"SORRY!" he heard the demon wolf call down the hall as it disappeared behind yet another corner.

Cloud looked after it and sighed. There was no point in trying to follow the wolf now. Though Cloud could follow its scent trail, the blonde guessed that that demon had already started to cover it up somehow.

Whoever this wolf was, he was obviously a levelheaded genius.

~Zack~

"OHMYGOD! OHMYGOD! OHMYGOD! OHMYGOD! OHMYGOD!" Zack said over and over frantically as he ran in circles in his room.

Zack… the voice in his head tried to calm him.

"OHMYGOD! OHMYGOD! OHMYGOD! OHMYGOD! OHMYGOD!" the Lieutenant ignored his other self. He was freaking out, if you hadn't noticed.

Zack… Lycur tried it again, but to no avail.

"OHMYGOD! OHMYGOD! OHMYGOD! OHMYGOD! OHMYGOD!"

WILL YOU SHUT THE HELL UP!!!! Lycur screamed in fury, silencing the frantic man. As soon as Zack had run back into his apartment he had shifted straight back into his human form. Meaning Lycur was once again a wolf.

The ravenette was still hyperventilating.

Just calm down, Lycur said quietly, his voice on the edge of frustration.

"Calm down? CALM DOWN!? DON'T TELL ME TO CALM DOWN!! Did you not SEE how fast Spiky was going? He nearly caught me!! How can I be calm when I feel like I just went through the movie The Fast and the Furious: Animal Edition?!! Huh!! ANSWER ME THAT!!!" Zack finished his mantra by plopping down in his orange sofa, with a pout and crossed arms.

Are you done?

Yes… yes I am…

Good! Now, I don't know what the hell was up with your blonde friend and that speed, and I honestly don't even want to find out! But this is why you should be more careful! You were nearly caught! Lycur lectured the violet-eyed man, sounding much like a mother.

You don't think I noticed that? Zack grumbled inside his head. There was silence for a minute when Zack suddenly stood from his seat.

Where are you going now? Lycur questioned, slightly irritated, but also genuinely curious.

I'm curious as to why Cloud was up on the Turk's floor in the first place, so I'm gonna go back up and walk around. Play detective, Zack answered as he slipped out the door and headed back up towards floor 21.

~Qliphoth~

The silverette hummed cheerfully as she literally skipped down the halls of floor 21 in search of her blonde friend. She readjusted her hat quickly and moved her sunglasses up the bridge of her nose.

She had just finished her training with Reno, and being the impatient coffee pot that she was had gone searching for Cloud as soon as she realized he wasn't there. She was pretty sure he wasn't that far away, but it wasn't like she was gonna wait for him!

She was humming "Ring Around the Rosy", silently enjoying the history of the song. When she first found out that that song was about the Bubonic Plague, she just fell in love with it. She was weird like that. Of course, she was weird in a lot of ways, but let's not get into that!

She had been looking for Cloud for a good ten minutes by then, and yet she still wasn't worried.

"What are you doing up here?" the deep voice startled the crap out of the cook in disguise and she jumped. She swung around in search of the owner of that voice and came face to face with a tall, muscular silverette. His hair was the exact same shade as hers, gleaming like a polished blade. He wore black leather, giving him a bad boy kind of air. His face was stern and stony, seeming to say that all he cared about was business. And his eyes gleamed with a mako green glow, pupils slits. They mirrored Qliphoth's exactly.

The silverettes blinked at each other, Qliphoth silently making sure he couldn't see her hair or her eyes.

He couldn't, so she finally grinned her ever so common Cheshire grin and waved cheerfully to the man.

"HELLO MISTER SEPHIROTH!! NICE TO MEET CHA!!"

~Authors Notes~

IT'S FINALLY HERE!!

I'm sorry it took so long! I really am! But, I plan to try and submit these chapters a lot more often now that I've gotten into the swing of high school now.

So, Qliphoth finally meets Sephy! YAY! Happy Day!

I'm excited about the next chapter. I have a good chunk planned out! Qliphoth meets Sephy here, right? Well, Zack comes running up and they both convince Sephiroth to come with them down to get a drink that night and they give him a headache! Yay!

And Cloud has NO IDEA!! Kukuku!

~POLL~

Should Sephiroth have a demon for himself? )Note: the demon would be a cat demon)

-Yes (what should the voices pesonallity be?)

-No

~PLEASE READ AND REVIEW!~