AN: A bit of a short chapter this time, sorry about that! Busy, busy.. I'll make it up to you guys by making the next chapter super long, okay?

XXI: The Shattered Soul

"So..." Devon scratched the back of his head. "Who exactly is Jenova then?"

Vincent hid his face behind his red cloak and cleared his throat before explaining. "The calamity from the skies, they call her. Simply put, she's an extra-terrestrial being who infuses herself with the life force of a planet to destroy said planet."

"She's an alien?" Valon knit her eyebrows together in a frown when Vincent nodded affirmatively.

"Let me get this straight," Devon stood and paced around in frustration. "Sephiroth's mother is Lucrecia, not Jenova. Jenova is an alien who is trying to kill our planet like some kind of virus?" he summed up, speaking faster than usual.

Again, the gunman nodded.

"And you know all of this... how exactly?"

"As I told you before, I knew Lucrecia. She-"

"Bullshit," Devon snorted. "I'm not buying it. From what I gather, Lucrecia didn't know what Jenova really was and it doesn't seem like Hojo knows any of this either. However much I hate to say this, Hojo is absolutely brilliant, so you knowing more than him seems fishy. What are you hiding, vampire boy?"

Vincent pulled his red headband down, his eyes the only part of his face still visible between the cloak and headband. "I'm... It's Chaos."

"Chaos?" Valon rose her eyebrows curiously. The gunman sighed and shook his head, not liking where this was going. He had already said way too much. This had been his mission, his goal, his purpose. Surely the Turk and SOLDIER would only get in his way. The more they knew, the more dangerous his mission would be.

"Think again," the low timber Vincent despised so much, the annoying voice in the back of his mind spoke to him.

Speak of the devil, the gunman thought.

"Think about it," the demon continued. "They were the Kalm innkeepers in the other life, right? Then why, pray tell, are they standing before you, clearly not keeping inns?"

"Things are more different than we thought they would be," Vincent answered in his mind's voice when he understood what the demon was getting at. The demon only hummed before returning to his place in the darkest parts of the gunner's being, leaving only the annoying throbbing that proved his presence behind.

"It's of no importance now," Vincent answered to the duo. "For now, there's nothing more you can do here. Go back to Shinra and keep a close eye on Sephiroth. I'll deal with the... situation here."

The gunman stalked towards the stairway, his back turned to the SOLDIER and Turk. He put his foot on the first step and halted, turning slightly to continue talking.

"I'll contact you once I made progress."

"How?" Devon asked.

"You'll see. Now go."

The two followed his orders without another word. They stopped by Mrs. Strife's house for lunch and stepped in the helicopter an hour later. Valon plopped down in her seat with a groan, not even bothering to hide how irritated she was. She settled herself against the window and closed her eyes. Weariness soon overtook her, the calm of sleep tugging at her being. However, she jerked up when the helicopter took off and stared at Devon wide-eyed. The Turk only looked at her questioningly.

"Dev!"

"What?"

"We forgot to check what was inside of that vault..." Devon snorted, but shook his head.

"Too late for that now. Get some sleep, you need it. We'll be back at Shinra in the evening." Valon groaned in irritation, but obeyed the Turk either way. She settled herself against the window again and closed her eyes, but she couldn't sleep. The annoying buzz in her mind had turned to that voice again, repeating the same words over and over in a haunting mantra.

killtheson

Genesis lazily took a bite from his food as he flipped a page of his book. He hadn't even planned on reading it today, but when Sephiroth and Angeal their discussion became even more heated, he found himself with his eyes on the pages, drowning out the conversation at the table.

It wasn't that he wasn't interested, oh no. If you asked him, the Lieutenant's resurrection was very interesting indeed. However, he just didn't feel like dealing with their shit today.

He always found solace in reading Loveless. It was an obsession, he knew it was, but he didn't care. He just knew there was significance to the words. More so, he knew the epic held significance to him, personally. The tale of the three friends was so parallel to himself and the two bickering men in front of him... How could he not be obsessed?

"There is no hate, only joy," he cited, starting the two men out of their discussion. "For you are beloved by the Goddess."

"Loveless, act two," the gruff rumble that was the General's voice stated matter-of-factly. Genesis smirked and closed his book. He took another bite of his food, enjoying the silence for however long it would last. He was glad the puppy wasn't here, he mused as he chewed the meat. Wherever the boy went, the noise seemed to follow. The youth was just too damn energetic.

Now that he thought about it, Zack hadn't been following the Firsts around nearly as much lately. Not that he was complaining, Genesis cherished the peace and quiet after all, but it was unsettling. The boy went wherever his mentor went, after all. Perhaps Angeal always carried a chain of sausages around his neck to keep the puppy close.

The redhead snorted at the thought.

Deciding to try and satisfy his curiosity, he glared at the raven-haired Commander.

"Say, Angeal, where in the world is that pet of yours?"

Angeal swallowed his food before answering, taking his sweet time in doing so.

"Since the terrorist attack, Zack has been training with Cloud on a daily basis," he explained. Genesis only nodded before taking the last bite of his food. The puppy had almost lost the chocobo boy in the fire. It was only natural for them to want to spend more time together. Still, the situation was amusing to the red-haired Commander.

"The student has become the master, it seems. Anyways," he opened his book again, although he wasn't reading. It was out of habit, really. "Any news on the Wutaian terrorist?"

Sephiroth, who had been quiet through their short conversation, cleared his throat. "Heidegger wants him publicly executed," the General explained. "After, he wants the remains sent back to Wutai as a warning."

"How primitive," Genesis snorted. Sephiroth nodded while wiping his mouth with a napkin.

"Primitive and foolish. Such actions will only provoke Wutai."

"You think there'll be war, then?"

"I think the war started the second that bomb went off."

Nobody said anything after the General's statement. Genesis tried to distract himself with his book again, but the lines were blurred in his unfocused attempt. Truth be told, the redhead always wanted to become a hero. War would most certainly provide him with a prime opportunity to do just that. However, despite his selfishness -and he knew very well how selfish he was-, the prospect of war made him feel uneasy. Such mindless bloodshed wouldn't be worth becoming a hero for, not even to Genesis.

He was selfish, arrogant and, as Valon would put it, an ass, but he wasn't a bad person.

He flipped the page and sighed. Although the words were still a blur, one in particular caught his eye He jumped up, knocking over his chair as it fell to the ground with a loud clatter.

"Genesis?" Angeal jumped up as well.

"Beloved by the Goddess..." Genesis murmured as he stared at Sephiroth wide-eyed. The Silver General raised his sculpted eyebrows in question as Genesis raked his hands through his hair. "For you are beloved by the Goddess... You-"

"Angeal! Angeal, are you there?" a voice behind the door interrupted him. "Angeal, it's Zack. Please open the door!"

"Zack?" Angeal asked as he walked over to the door. Genesis kept his eyes locked with Sephiroth, not quite able to find the words he wanted to say. He didn't get the chance to think, however, as Angeal roughly grabbed his wrist and waved Sephiroth over at the same time.

"Valon is back."

Sephiroth rose his eyebrows when Genesis dramatically jumped from his seat. He felt the corner of his mouth twitch when the redhead stared at him with wide eyes as he muttered the same Loveless quote from before. The General was about to open his mouth to interrupt the incoherent rambling when there was a knock on the door, followed by a familiar voice yelling Angeal's name. The Commander opened the door to reveal a very enthusiastic Zack and a shy little blond hiding behind him.

"Valon is back," Zack jumped a little at his statement. "Their helicopter is about to land on the helipad!"

Sephiroth's heart skipped a beat as he jumped up. He grimaced when his chair fell to the floor with a loud thud, but quickly shook it off. He stalked past Genesis and stepped in his boots, not bothering to tie them. Then, he stormed past the puppy and the chocobo and took a right towards the stairs. Skipping multiple steps at a time, he reached the roof in record time.

His hair was violently whipped around himself as the helicopter hovered above him. With one hand he pulled his mane back, nearly missing the soft chuckle behind him through the noise of the blades.

"Never seen you in such a hurry," Angeal grinned. Sephiroth stared at him blankly before shrugging indifferently. He turned his attention to the helicopter again. Truth was, he felt a little embarrassed at his sudden rush. Perhaps he had missed the Lieutenant more than he thought.

Genesis, who still looked a little pale from his previous outburst, walked up to Sephiroth and stood next to him. Zack and Cloud stood further back, Zack leaning against the door with a goofy smile on his face as Cloud shifted his weight from one foot to the other in nervousness.

When the helicopter landed, the Turk stepped out first. He lazily saluted the welcoming party and took a few long strides towards them. Sephiroth paid him no mind, his eyes still locked on the machine where Valon was taking her sweet time. She slowly stepped out, stretched and yawned loudly before turning to the men. She flashed them a bright smile as she walked up to them. Sephiroth involuntarily took a step forward, feeling his lips quirk upwards when she quickened her pace. When she reached him, she halted for a salute, but Sephiroth really couldn't care less about formalities. He wrapped his arms around her waist and lifted her from the ground, grinning when she yelped in surprise but wrapping her arms around his neck nonetheless.

"Hey Seph," she smiled as she kissed his forehead.

"Hey you," Sephiroth responded. He lowered her to the ground so she could stand on her own two feet, stepping aside so she could greet her friends. Angeal walked up to her and lifted his arm to put it on her shoulder, but was started back when his wrist was painfully grabbed instead.

"Valon?"

Valon cocked her head to the side and stared at him without emotion. She pursed her lips a little in thought.

"Val, what are you-" Angeal was cut short when the woman twisted his wrist, forcing the man on his knees in pain.

"Angeal!" Sephiroth barked, but quickly came to regret his action as Valon's icy gaze was turned to him instead. She released Angeal's wrist and took a few steps towards Sephiroth. The General held his hands up defensively, her expression sending shivers down his spine. He'd only ever seen her look like that once before, when she had pointed a gun at Hojo's face.

"Valon, listen to me," he spoke slowly, but his words didn't seem to register as she took another step forward. She wrapped her hands around the hilt of her sword and drew it, not once taking her eyes off of his. She raised the sword towards him, not yet close enough to actually reach him, but with each step she took Sephiroth felt his heartbeat quicken. She tilted her head to the side again, a humourless smile on her lips.

"Kill the son."

AN: I have absolutely nothing to say about this. Stay tuned for the next chapter!