A/N: I wanted to give you all a heads up, this chapter isn't really violent, but it isn't exactly nice either. For the most part I will be trying to keep the tone of the story light, but we all know there are too many things that need to be addressed that will make portions of it not so light. Let me know what you think so far and I hope you enjoy!

Chapter 14

Clarissa opened her eyes to the sight of wisps of lifestream surrounding her. She had been pulled here enough times now that she was no longer disoriented at the sight of it. That didn't mean her state of mind was at ease. She knew this was only a temporary reprieve and was fighting to keep her panic controlled. She could barely keep herself calm enough to be respectful when Minerva appeared. "Minerva! Do you know what is going on? Why do they think I'm someone from Gaia and more than that, how can I possibly convince them I'm not?"

Minerva's voice was soothing when she answered. "Calm yourself child, this is not enough to make you fail. You have done well so far."

Clarissa made an effort to calm some but was still spinning from her recent ordeal. "I'm glad you think so but that still doesn't tell me what's going on or what I should do about it."

Clarissa felt her anxiety spike when Minerva sounded almost hesitant when she next spoke. "I cannot guide your actions. It must be up to you to make your own path. I can however, give you information." She paused before continuing. "I have told you already that this is a universe parallel to your own. Although decisions have been different in this universe, there are some that remained the same. You may or may not encounter them, but there are many people here that are counterparts to people in your own universe. Clarise Williams was your counterpart here."

Minerva stopped at that point to allow Clarissa to speak. When she saw the woman was too stunned, she continued. "I can give you some history that may help you, but remember, trust for you will be hard won no matter which path you choose. Clarise was a journalism student. She found investigating and writing more to her liking. Unfortunately…"

Minerva stopped at that point. Clarissa could tell she was uncomfortable and realized it was probably because of the fact that they claimed she was dead. The thought of it caused a prickle to run down her spine, but she knew she needed to hear it. "Please, I need to know. What happened? I know they said she was dead. Is that the case?"

Minerva gave a slight nod before speaking again. "She was killed more than a year past in a tragic accident."

Hearing that silenced Clarissa. Her brain started spinning with what this might mean for her. It would be unavoidable for them to not believe she was Clarise given that she was, for all intents and purposes. Thinking about it brought another thought to mind. "If I am basically Clarise, does that mean I am 20 again? This is the year 2000, correct?"

Again, Minerva gave a slight nod. "Yes, I had to bring you back to a time that would allow you to prevent tragedies. Fixing them has proven impossible."

Clarissa had no idea how to approach this issue. Knowing that a version of herself was dead and gone made her shiver. She knew logically that it wasn't herself, but that didn't make it easier to comprehend on an emotional level. Thinking about it made her pause. It brought up another question she had a suspicion she didn't want to think about. She hadn't thought about going home yet, as she hadn't let herself dwell on home much at all. Given what she had just learned though, she knew she needed to ask, even if she wouldn't like the answer. "Minerva, what about me? The me that you pulled here? You said you could only pull my spirit, but what about my body?"

Minerva gave her a sad look and didn't speak for several moments. When she finally did, Clarissa found she was having a hard time staying on her feet. "Child… you can never go back. Your spirit is all that remains. Your fate and that of Clarise are the same, although you had several more years to build a life for yourself."

Clarissa's mind stopped at that. She had no idea that her knees had given way and didn't notice the tears making their way down her face. All she could think of was her family and friends. She would never see them again. It wasn't just her own isolation, she wondered how they were coping. Thinking about them made her heart clench so hard she doubled over at the pain. When she felt the comforting hand on her shoulder she couldn't stop the sobs that broke from her. There was nothing that could make this easier, except for maybe time.

Minerva didn't rush her or remind her that this time was limited. She knelt beside the crying woman and gave her silent support: her spear and shield were laid aside for the moment. She gave Clarissa as much time as she could before she broke the silence reluctantly. "I had hoped to spare you this, at least until you had more time to come to terms with your new reality. I know you have the strength to face this. Do not give in to despair."

Clarissa barely heard the words of the Goddess. She knew there was still much more at stake than her own personal worries, but she couldn't continue to push these thoughts back. She allowed her sobs to continue until her body felt wrung dry. The stray thought that this was her spirit and not her physical body made the pain that much more acute. Eventually she calmed enough to once more gather herself. She had dealt with loss before and she knew she could again. She didn't have time to mourn the way she should now, but she wasn't going to hide from it. She just had to hide it when she wasn't alone.

She finally pushed to her feet and tried to wipe the tears away before turning back to the Goddess. "Thank you. For giving me time as well as for giving me another chance. I still don't know why exactly you picked me, but I will not let learning the truth keep me from achieving success."

Minerva gave her a small, sad smile at her words. "You must return soon. I will apologize now for the pain you will be in when you awaken. Pulling you from your body forcefully in such a way takes an even greater toll."

Clarissa grimaced at hearing that but gave a nod in understanding anyway. "I'm still not sure how I should handle this but if it's supposed to be up to me I will find a way." The Goddess gave her one last smile before fading away and leaving Clarissa in the dark once more.

After Tseng left Genesis he rerouted and headed back to the infirmary. He had an idea and wanted to put it into action as soon as the woman awoke. He walked into the room where she was and found the doctor checking her vitals. She turned to him when he entered. "Tseng is there something else I can do for you?"

His face was an impassive mask when he answered. "Yes, I will be questioning this woman as soon as she awakens. Please make sure you strap her down before then and let me know as soon as she is awake."

Doctor Stein frowned at the Turk. Given what he asked for she was pretty sure what he had in mind and it didn't sit well with her. This woman was her patient and she shouldn't be working to make her worse. Unfortunately, she knew better than to defy a Turk and just gave him a curt nod.

He turned to leave after securing the doctor's acceptance, but he was stopped by the sound of sobbing. He turned back, thinking the woman was now awake and was surprised to see her crying in her sleep. Normally he was not one to be bothered by anyone's tears, but the wrenching sobs that came from the sleeping woman made him wonder what kind of nightmares she saw. The thought gave him pause. There could be some credibility to Genesis' theory that she had been experimented on extensively. None of this showed on his face when he turned to the doctor again. "It would probably be best if you started an IV. I imagine she will need it. Also, do not let anyone else know about this." He didn't bother waiting for a reply before leaving.

When Clarissa awoke finally the room was nearly completely dark. It was only lit by the screen of the monitor next to the bed she was lying on. It was enough for her to see well enough, but she wished it was completely dark. Minerva had warned her it would be bad when she woke up and she hadn't exaggerated. Her head felt like it was going to split apart; not as bad as her last migraine but still bad enough to make her want to curl in on herself and try to escape back into sleep. It wasn't until she tried to do that exact thing that she noticed she was strapped firmly to the bed with no room to move.

Panic instantly flared within her. Her first thought was that they had finally allowed Hojo to take her after what they found. She knew panic would serve no purpose but couldn't get her heart rate or breathing under control. The thought of being subjected to Hojo's uncensored whims had her struggling against the straps holding her to the bed.

She didn't know how long she struggled but it had to have been several minutes at the very least. It was a sign of how distraught she was over the thoughts of the maniac scientist that when the door finally opened to reveal Tseng, she was relieved. That relief was short lived however as he didn't say anything when he reached the bedside. He only watched her with that evaluating look in his eyes. When he finally spoke, she found it difficult to not start struggling again. "I would like to ask you some questions. I am not sure if you have been conditioned, or if you are an excellent actor, but either way I have ways to get what I need."

Clarissa could feel her skin get clammy at those words. She instantly had visions of torture and between that and her head, her stomach felt like it was going to empty itself at any moment. It took a supreme effort of willpower to keep from getting sick. It mostly came down to the fact that she knew she had no way to not choke if it happened. When she finally got herself under control, she tried to stop him. Her voice was barely more than a whisper. "You don't need to take drastic measures. I will answer any questions you have."

Tseng just gave her a cold look. "The same things you have told Genesis? No, I think we need to dig a little deeper." Tseng had walked to the other side of the bed while he spoke. It was then that Clarissa noticed she was hooked up to the monitor as well as to an IV. When she watched him pull a syringe out of his pocket she almost passed out from fear. She had an idea of what this meant, and it wasn't any better than physical torture. She watched as he emptied the contents of the syringe into her IV. She struggled, even though she knew it was useless, until the lethargy finally overtook her.

Tseng watched as the woman's movements finally stilled then gave it a few more minutes before speaking. "State your name."

There was a pause as Clarissa tried to focus on his face, but she finally answered, her voice in an eerie monotone. "Clarissa Marie Williamson."

Tseng paused at that. He had hoped the serum might have bypassed any conditioning as using a similar method was the normal route to implement behavioral and memory modifications. He didn't let it stop him. It was possible he needed to push a little more for the answers he needed. "How old are you?"

Clarissa's eyes had slid almost closed at this point, but she managed to answer, again in a monotone. "38"

This time Tseng didn't pause in his questioning. "What town did you grow up in?"

"Bayview."

"What are your parent's names?"

"Vera and Robert Williamson."

That answer made Tseng pause again. Those names were very close to her actual parents, but not quite. Her father's name was Ronald, not Robert. It made him wonder if the conditioning was so complete because the facts were so similar. He tabled that thought for later and continued his questioning. His questions stayed in the area of facts, who she knew, where she worked, her line of work. All her answers were the same things she had already told them. Even the questions she had not been previously asked were close, but not quite correct. After more than a half hour of questions like those, he realized this session was most likely not going to produce the results he wanted.

He finally decided to go ahead and move into questions that needed more definition. This was an area of questioning he needed to be very careful with. He needed to ask precise questions, or her susceptible mind might go into tangents he didn't need. "Do you know how you got into the Shinra building?"

"Yes."

That answer immediately caught Tseng's attention. He didn't let it show. Instead he took a moment to go over his next question. He wanted to make sure it was precise. "Tell me how you got into the Shinra building."

"Minerva put me here."

If Tseng had been prone to outbursts he would have stormed out at that point. The only indication of his irritation was his furrowed brow. He couldn't leave yet though. He still had questions to ask, even if they might not reveal anything. There was always the chance that something would slip through. "What is your purpose in being here?"

"I need to save the Firsts."

This was the first interesting answer he had received. The fact that she believed it had something to do with the elite Soldiers wasn't really a surprise, but 'saving' could have many interpretations, including some that the Firsts would probably find objectionable. "What do you need to save them from?"

"A terrible fate awaits them all. I must prevent that from happening."

Her answer was vague enough that he thought about asking for clarification, but he realized having her go into a long explanation was likely to introduce even more fanciful answers. Instead he moved to a slightly different line of questioning. "Were you sent here to harm anyone within Shinra?"

There was a slight pause before she answered. "No, that is not part of my stated task."

Her wording made him wonder if there was more to it than she said. "Are you saying you weren't sent here to harm anyone, but you might need to in order to achieve your goals?"

"Yes."

He wasn't surprised by her answer. He felt that he was getting closer to real answers, but he knew this questioning was shaky at best. Depending on her answer to his next question, he may very well need to move into a more precise method of questioning. "Who would you need to harm in order to achieve your goals?"

"I might need to find a way to get rid of Hojo and maybe Hollander."

That was not the answer he had been expecting. He knew if someone wanted to bring the company down from the inside then getting rid of the president would be the main objective. He knew that taking out Hojo or Hollander would cause issues, but neither were irreplaceable, despite what they both thought. The president only cared as long as they were producing results.

His thoughts were interrupted by the opening of the door. He looked up to find a scowling Genesis. "What is the meaning of this?"

Tseng gave him one of his impassive looks. "I am conducting an interrogation."

Genesis' glower only grew, and his response was low with his obvious anger. "Without notifying me? I am still the lead on this investigation."

Tseng only raised an eyebrow at the irritated commander. "I was told to get answers and that is what I am doing. It's been rather fruitless actually."

Genesis paused at that. He looked over to the apparently sleeping woman. He had first noted that she had been strapped down but on closer inspection she didn't look like she had been harmed. "What did you do to her?"

"I didn't harm her if that is what you are asking. Not yet anyway." Tseng didn't have any plans to torture her at the moment, but he did enjoy pushing the buttons of anyone in Soldier. The Crimson Commander just happened to be the easiest one to rile up.

His jab produced the results he had been looking for when Genesis took a threatening step forward. He had to hide his smile when he saw the redhead's hands clench. "Settle down. I did uncover something that you might find interesting."

Genesis didn't change his stance, but he couldn't help but be curious. "What exactly do you think I would find interesting?"

Tseng turned back to the girl to address her again and found that she had slipped into sleep while he was talking to Genesis. He didn't hesitate to reach out and give her a firm slap to bring her back around. He knew his actions would probably prompt a response from Genesis but didn't care. He ignored the low growl coming from the irritated Soldier. As soon as she opened her eyes he grabbed her chin and forced her to meet his gaze. Once he saw her gaze fix on his own, he repeated one of his questions from earlier. "What is your objective while here at Shinra?"

Genesis had to repress a shudder at the monotone coming from the woman he had come to expect vibrancy from. "I have to save the Firsts."

When she finished speaking, no one said anything for a moment. Genesis wasn't sure how to take what she said. "Save us from what exactly?"

The woman tried to turn to the sound of his voice but was stopped by Tseng's firm grip on her chin. She still answered his question anyway. "You will go insane and the others will be killed if I can't prevent it."

Both men stopped at that answer. It was more than she had volunteered previously and much more sinister. Tseng couldn't help but wonder if this might actually be closer to the truth than he believed, especially if the science department was involved.

Genesis had to repress the shudder her words caused. He didn't know why she thought that he might go insane, but something in her words rang an alarm in him. When he finally spoke, his voice was tightly controlled. "Who told you we needed saving from such a horrific fate?"

Genesis froze at her next words. "Minerva has tasked me with saving you." As unbelievable as it sounded he couldn't help but wonder at the truth of her answer. He was certain that, at the very least, she honestly believed it to be true. That would explain her fervent belief in her prayer to Minerva being answered.

None of this showed on his face when Tseng turned to address him again. "That is the same thing she stated earlier. Even under the influence of the drug she has stuck to her previous responses. I have no doubt now that she has been subjected to memory modification, however, that just means we have to be more careful now than ever. There is no telling when or how she might be triggered. For now, I would recommend we keep her under 24-hour surveillance."

At that Tseng moved to leave, pausing at the door. "We will have a Turk near her at all times. She should be fine to return to training, but don't let your guard down."

Somehow those words put Genesis on edge. He was sure there was more than one meaning in the Turk's last words. He pushed that thought away once Tseng was gone. He moved to Clarissa's bedside and found that she had fallen back to sleep. He had heard of this tactic before and liked it even less now than he had previously. He was thankful at least that she hadn't been tortured.

He wanted to remove her from this room to prevent a repeat, but he knew it would be best for her to remain. He moved to get Dr. Stein instead. He was certain she knew what was going on, but he trusted her enough to believe she had only allowed it under duress. With the Turks involved it was more than likely.

He watched as she checked Clarissa's vitals and took another blood sample. She finally turned to him with a furrowed brow. "Her vitals are fine. I didn't get a chance to examine her when she woke but it is likely this will not improve whatever state she was in. I won't be able to tell more until she is awake. Let's hope that the sleep will allow her body to heal itself."

Genesis only nodded to her as she left. His gaze was fixated on the mystery in front of him. It never failed to amaze him that for every answer he got, another appeared. These questions were the most interesting of all. Logically he couldn't believe that Minerva was directly involved in his life, but there was still a small part of him that wanted it to be true. Not that he wanted a terrible fate to befall him and his friends but the thought of having a tangible connection to his Goddess was intoxicating. He shook off his fanciful thoughts and moved to take a seat in a chair nearby. He didn't plan on leaving her to the mercy of the Turks again. It didn't take him long to once again get lost in the words of Loveless, although this time there was an almost palpable air of reverence as his eyes glided over the well-known words.