Chapter 13

Sifan Leonhart walked out into the airship dock, stretching the arm that Avatar had wrenched wickedly during their fight. The pain seemed to ease a little as he searched for his companions. Strangely, none of them seemed to be around. Only travelers and other regular golden saucer customers seemed to be scattered around the desolate airship dock. Most of the people were still inside, gambling or betting to their heart's content. The others stayed inside because it was probably too early for them to return home. Whatever the reason was, there were very few people at the dock. However, none of them resembled Phillona, Trex, Marlene or Setzin.

The SeeD assumed they had already boarded and he made his his way to an airship a few yards away. He walked up the ramp only to find no one inside. He realized that he was in the wrong airship when someone walked up to him from behind.

"Phillona..." Sifan sighed, relieved to see the brown-haired girl, "Where did everyone go?"

"I have no clue..." she shrugged, "I am looking for them too. Thought I'd just inform them I'll be leaving now..."

"Leaving...? Where?" Sifan blinked, "I thought you were coming back with us."

"Don't look so sad." Phillona smiled, "I hand initial plans to go to Cosmo Canyon remember?"

"Oh yeah..." Sifan recalled, "You met those friends of yours who wanted you to spend the weekend there..."

"Yup. I thought I'd put it away till tomorrow. But since you didn't last that long with Avatar..." She snickered, "I realized I'd still have enough time to catch the next airship to Cosmo Canyon. This is the one I am taking by the way. Your's is the green one at the far end of the dock..."

"Alright..." Sifan nodded, "So I'll see you after the weekend..."

"Yes.." Phillona smiled, "Be a good boy till I get back..."

"Whatever..."

"I don't like your 'whatever' replies anymore..." Phillona grinned.

Uh-oh...

"So I shall make you pay by deducting a hug from you..." She said at once, "That will teach you..."

"Great..." Sifan groaned, "Do you have to torture me before you go...?"

"Yeah..." Phillona smiled sheepishly, "And what better torture than making you do what you hate the most? Get all huggy wuggy..."

"Whatever..."

"See, there it is again..." Phillona pointed out, "Now you're really gonna pay. I am going to increase the 'Hug' to 'A long five-minute hug'. Saying 'Whatever' again will only increase the degree of punishment further."

"You know..." the brown-haired boy sighed, "I fail to see how this is going to punish me for-"

Before he could say anything more, She slid her arms around his neck and, despite his best efforts of pull away, he found himself fastening his arms around her too. She didn't have to ask for them anymore. It just happened before he even realized what he was doing. Yet, a part of him felt uneasy.

What the hell is wrong with me?

He tried to pull away but a strong, weighed-down feeling refused to let him do it. He still wanted to fight it but with every try, he failed. He swallowed, not knowing what to do with this weakness he had for the girl in front of him.

It was never like this in the beginning.

He used to have complete control over his actions. He used to dictate exactly what he felt. He withdrew, moved away or did just as he pleased but how things had changed. Gone were the days when he easily walked away without second thought. All he had to do was give himself some stupid excuse and back off but now, even a thousand logical reasons were not a factor. No more would his heart listen to his head.

Why am I so helpless...?

He was clueless what to do. He panicked at the thought of losing to her. It unnerved him for a while. But the passing seconds spent in her embrace turned his restlessness to comfort. He let the warmth take him and slowly, unwillingly, he gave in. In an eventual moment of acceptance, he stopped fighting. He stopped trying. Slowly, he let his tired arms pull her closer.

At once, he felt he like he had just committed the biggest crime on earth.

"Sorry, I didn't mean to-"

"Shh..." She placed a finger on his lips.

"..."

"I'm your's, Seef..." She took his arms and placed them around her waist again, "Keep me as close as you want..."

Seconds passed, and so did minutes. Minutes in which Sifan Leonhart realized that he was willing to feel again, to trust again, and for once, he wasn't scared about it. He knew that it meant trusting his security to someone else. But when he looked into the eyes of the girl in front of him, he had no regrets. He'd gladly let her wrap him around her finger.

The five-minute punishment seemed to be going overtime and eventually, Phillona decided to give him the space he needed. He was just learning to love. She had to make sure she taught him slowly. She gently pulled away from him, fastening his fingers in her's.

"Now..." She smiled at him, "That should teach you to behave..."

"Whatever..." was the earnest reply.

A rather fever-ridden Sephiroth limped out of his cottage to see what the commotion outside was all about. He was more than just a little surprised to see Shin-Ra personnel standing near Lethan. He slowly walked through the mob and made his way to the front. He coughed a couple of times dryly and fixed his bloodshot eyes on Shoran Jabez.

"Shoran, What's going on h-here...?" He said in a dull tone, the cold air heightening his fever at once, "Shoran...?"

"..."

"S-Shoran?" the silver-haired man repeated. Silence was the only response he received again.

The elderly man turned away from Sephiroth. He raised his hand and at once, the mob gathered around stepped away from Sephiroth, leaving a clear path between the Shin-Ra soldiers and the silver-haired man.

"W-What's happening here...?" He coughed again, this time, a small trickle of blood appearing from the edge of his lips.

"I am sorry..." was all Shoran said, before walking away into the distance towards his hut.

He slowly turned to Lethan and looked at him.

"Lethan... W-What...?" he said, struggling to speak, feeling the effects of the drug's giant dosage, "Lethan..."

The fiery satisfaction that burned in Lethan's eyes didn't do much to comfort Sephiroth. Neither did the agonizing pain that gripped his stomach. His legs began to tremble as the village folk stepped even farther away from him. Finally, his limbs gave way and he fell to the ground on his knees, coughing up blood. He stretched out his hand but not a single soul stepped forward. His vision blurred as he watched the figure of a soldier walk up to him and sink a syringe into his neck. He tried to defend himself but neither his arms nor his body seemed to obey him. Complete paralysis took over as another soldier joined the one that that injected him. The soldiers roughly grabbed him by his arms and soon, he felt himself being slowly dragged along the ground towards the village exit.

With hazy eyes and a cloudy vision, he saw many a face that he had known for the past month. The blacksmith he had once saved from a ruby dragon showed no sign of emotion. Neither did the woman for whom he had collected firewood from the mountains every week. Nor did the old weapon seller he had rescued from Shin-Ra soldiers a few days ago. The little boy he had so often carried on his shoulders refused to even look at him. Shoran was nowhere to be seen and Lethan watched on with a smug grin on his face. None of them were strangers. He knew all of them by name. Almost each and every one of them owed him their gratitude for tremendous amounts of help. It was he who had fended away innumerable Shin-Ra attacks, let alone dragons and monsters. Still, none of that seemed to matter at that moment, as the soldiers continued to pull him away towards the gate. He was too tired to feel, too sick to even know what exactly was going on but the fact that it was a betrayal was clear. A cold, heartless betrayal. He watched with bloodshot eyes as the gatekeeper closed the village gates on his face once and for all.

Once they were outside, he felt his hapless body being thrown violently into the back of a truck. The doors were shut and darkness covered his paralyzed form at once. He closed his eyes and tried to think but the only thing that came to his mind was the sight of the villagers allowing the soldiers to drag him away. He had always wondered who he was and where he had come from. He had never found out but as he spent his days in the village, it had become of little importance. And the reason for that was he had people who he thought was worth letting it all go for. As far as he was concerned, they were his parents. They were his family. But now, they were the ones who had turned him into the arms of the enemy for some reason he still couldn't comprehend. He shuddered as he felt the truck's engine coming to life. Tears of agony and pain streamed down his face as both body and mind succumbed to the illness from the drugs. He screamed to stay awake but soon faded away into unconsciousness. The only sound that remained was that of his limp body being tossed from side to side as the bumpy truck headed towards the nearest Shin-Ra base.

Sifan Leonhart anxiously looked at the ticking clock at the far end of the airship's lobby. It was almost departure time and yet, neither Trex, Marlene nor Setzin were to be seen anywhere. He took a second glance at the time and decided he'd search for them and find them before the airship left them behind.

After checking the wonder square lobbies, the food stalls and the betting stands, he decided to check again in the main restaurant. Just as he crossed the changing rooms, suddenly, out of nowhere, an arrow flew across from above him and struck the wooden door inches in front of him. The SeeD, at once, tried to find the arrow's sender, looking in the direction it had come from. The only thing he saw was a quick shadow bolt out of sight. It was nothing more than a blur and Sifan decided there was no point in chasing after him as he was too far away. He turned his attention to the arrow. Just below it's head was attached a small note. He quickly removed the piece of folded paper and opened it up. The words written inside were short and simple.

'The abandoned B3 storage floor. Take the service elevator at end of the Ground floor storeroom. Your friends are there.'

Great. More complications. Or for all I know this is probably some prank Trex is playing...

The storeroom on the ground floor was fortunately abandoned and there were no golden saucer staff around to prevent Sifan from entering it. The storeroom was dimly lit, often making Sifan feel his way around the dark corners. Another thing that irritated the young Leonhart was the dust that unsettled every time he took a step. After a few minutes of coughing and stumbling into empty cartons, the SeeD finally found the elevator mentioned in the note. He climbed into it and quickly pressed the half broken B3 button on the half-rusted panel. After hacking and whirring into life, the elevator slowly took him past the other two basement floors before eventually grinding to a halt at the B3 floor. Sifan hurriedly stepped out of the elevator, hoping to hear Trex jump out and say something remotely prank-worthy. Unfortunately for Sifan, the only noise he heard was from a rat scurrying across the metal beams that held a weak-cement roof. The SeeD's eyes slowly adjusted to the light as he walked to the center of the storeroom littered with more cartons, broken mechanical parts and other scraps of metal. Suddenly, along the corner of his eyes, he noticed some movement at the end of the room that seemed to be more than what some rodent would make. Sifan walked up to the place which had caught his attention and what he saw startled him.

Trex and Marlene were gagged and tied up to a metal pipe at the corner. Before Sifan could comprehend what was going on, a hard blow struck him on his neck and he fell to his knees, blackness overcoming all his senses.

"Aeris.."

"Yes, My Lord?"

"The Gods think of me a mighty fool..."

"..."

"They think I am more human than God..."

"..."

"I hope my faith and trust in you will not yield bitter fruits, Aeris..."

"As long as I have them my Lord, I shall see to it that you are not disappointed..."

"So tell me, my fair Goddess, is this cub of yours ready to walk the way of the Lionhearted?"

"Not yet, my Lord..."

"He does take his time, does he not?"

"Unlike the last Lionheart, he's not in his natural surroundings. It was expected that he would take time to be wary of things around him..."

"But when he is ready, I hope you realize that I shall test him myself..."

"You have mentioned it before my Lord, but Lord Odin said he would take care of that..."

"No, Aeris, this one... I want to see for myself..."

"..."

"Great is the hope and expectancies you place on this one..."

"..."

"It would be a shame if I can't see what his sword is made of..."

"So be it , My Lord..."

The electronic metal clamps locked themselves into place around both of Sephiroth's wrists, followed by those on his ankles. Another clamp quickly went around his neck and a few seconds later, a final one made sure his waist was securely fastened to the torture device. With a loud mechanical noise, the machine slowly erected into an upright position and soon it stood facing the group of soldiers that were operating it.

"We're not supposed to be doing this..." stuttered a nervous Shin-Ra soldier, "Professor Lorenz will have our heads if he found out..."

"He's 500 miles away excavating a mining site..." replied another soldier, "Like hell he'll find out..."

"Besides..." said a Shin-Ra trooper, eagerly walking up to a semi-conscious Sephiroth, "It's not Lorenz's comrades that died at the hands of this thing here..."

"I don't know..." the nervous soldier replied, "He's still one of us. Lorenz told us, didn't he? About the fact that he'd just lost his memory and-"

"It doesn't matter." cut in the trooper, "He killed a lot of my friends. Now it's payback time. If you can't stand to watch, get out."

The sympathetic soldier decided he was not going to play a part on whatever the rest of them were planning. He opted out of the whatever the rest of them were planning and quickly ran out of the bunker.

The other soldiers however, nodded in agreement with the trooper, who seemed to be spearheading the entire thing.

"That coward can leave if he wants..." said one of the soldiers as they turned their attention to Sephiroth, "Let's squeeze the life out of this son of a bitch for all the shit he's done."

The trooper ordered his fellow soldiers to close the shutters around the large bunker. He didn't want anybody hearing the screams he was about to extract from his torture subject.

"So..." the trooper snickered, turning the voltage knob on the panel, "How about we start this show with some electricity?"

Sparks flew across the face of the torture device as blue electric surges ran across Sephiroth's body like ropes of lightning, making him cry out in unbearable pain. The trooper only turned up the knob even higher, causing more ripples of shock to pound the hapless body of the silver-haired man. His shouts of agony continued to excite the soldiers as they watched on with glee. After a few more minutes filled with screams of anguish from their victim, they decided to stop just to see if he was still alive.

A soldier touched the dark burns across the body of an unconscious Sephiroth.

"Nice..." he smiled, "That's how your ultima Spell would've felt if you didn't know..."

"Is he alive?" inquired the trooper, looking at the wisps of smoke rising from the limp body of the ex-SOLDIER.

"Yes.." the soldier replied, "Unfortunately..."

"Hmmm..." The trooper said, "I think that should be enough. Let's put him back in the lab."

"What? But that was hardly anything!" the rest of them protested, eager for more pain, "We want more!"

"We'll bring him back here when Lorenz is asleep..." came the quick assurance, "I'm just starting to enjoy this..."

A/N: Yes. Update. Finally. Thanks to rougueblade for the wake-up call. Next chapter up soon. Please review.