A/N: Yay! Finally! New chapter...phew! That was difficult! With so much stuff going on I thought it'd never be done! Sorry, it's a short one, but please forgive me! Hopefully everything will be explained soon! XD Love to you and if you like it, review! Thanks to those who have already! You are my driving force and the reason I am writing! XD

Chapter 26: The nightmare begins, again.

We entered the reception hall of the mansion and with the first breath I took the scent of dust and long years of disuse made bile rise in my throat. I thought I could handle it. I thought the memories of those days were far behind me, but that smell made them all rush back more vivid than ever. I felt chills creep up my spine as the memory of soft laughter filled y ears. Sephiroth seemed unperturbed but I could see a slight stiffness in his shoulders that told me different. We followed him up the sweeping staircase, the old stairs creaked and buckled slightly beneath us but they held steady. Puffs of dust plumed around our boots as our feet fell on the dark ancient carpet, from which threads were missing and the pattern barely recognisable. Even here, the set up was the same. When we reached the small mezzanine area we turned right and made our way into the bedrooms, taking another right brought us into another room, all the furniture had been disposed of it seemed and in its place stood covered objects, huge cylindrical shapes and long oblongs. I was too afraid to look but Sephiroth grabbed a cloth and tore it from one of the odd shapes...

I saw a tall cylinder. It was empty and unused...in fact it looked brand new. Sephiroth frowned. "Hmm...it appears they are planning on restarting SOLDIER." He muttered and covered up the tube. I shuddered and followed Sephiroth into the adjoining office like room which was also full of equipment. I saw the grey stone chimney, and I could see the barely concealed indentation of the door. Sephiroth reached out and pressed it, it slid inwards before sliding to the side and revealing the staircase. Vincent walked to the top of the stairs and paused before suddenly shaking his head and setting off down the rickety old staircase. The creaks echoed back to us and it didn't sound too stable, which was why they probably still had the equipment ready to be taken down to the hidden lab.

Vincent was a little way ahead of us but he had stopped before a side door, it had been partially torn off its hinges so I could see into the room. It was full of coffins. I frowned in confusion. "What the hell do they keep in there?" I whispered.

"Failed experiments...the ones that died." Sephiroth replied. "or...could not be killed." His eyes slid to Vincent who turned his fiery red eyes on him, a small smile curled his lips but it was far from friendly.

"What you say is true." He said silkily. His eyes seemed to burn, as if the very flames of hell had come to rest in them. "I am like you, in some ways, but in others I am entirely different. Remember what it is that resides within me..." He placed a gloved hand on his chest. "Chaos..." He whispered and turned back to the small room. "Those coffins lie empty, they have done for years. Only one has ever had an occupant. It was Cloud who awoke me, he broke through my inner barriers and brought me into the sunlight I was so desperate to avoid...I thought that by sleeping I could ease the burden of my sins but...but I was wrong. I was doing little more than running away. I was being a coward. Cloud made me see that, and so I owe him everything. We must find him and remove him from this place."

He suddenly turned on his heels and made his way toward the laboratory. I paused for a split second before following. I was not going to fail Cloud. No matter my feelings, I was here for him!

XXX

I walked toward the door that led to the underground ShinRa facility. I knew what to expect, it would not be pretty but I had to trust in Cloud's recuperative abilities. As I pushed the door open I saw that something had indeed changed within the lab, a huge glass container had been placed where the library had once been, for this, at least, I was grateful. But my relief was short lived. In the bottom of the container lay the very blond who had become my obsession over the many years. He lay on his side, his head resting on his arm so that his face was mostly hidden. I could see his chest moving up and down slowly but irregularly, he was ill. His fingers twitched every so often, as if he were dreaming, which he probably was. His whole body held a faint glow, greenish in colour and it faded softly in and out as I watched.

Tifa gasped softly her hand covered her mouth but no one spoke. I noticed Zack was acting very odd, he was nervous, jumpy as if he was being stalked. Every so often I would see his fingers rise to the hilt of the buster sword and touch it gently. "I-I don't want to be here..." He muttered softly and I saw his eyes dart around the small space.

"What is wrong with you?" I asked softly.

"Not sure..." Zack replied nervously. "Maybe I'm just being paranoid but it feels like this is a trap..."

"It is a bit quiet..." Tifa agreed.

"I agree, but we have come here for Cloud and I refuse to leave without him. Now come, help me free him." I strode over to the glass and pressed my fingers to it, immediately cracks began to appear and the whole thing shattered. The glass fragments froze in mid air for a moment before they fell to the floor with a soft tinkling noise. The whole room was bathed in silence and I felt all the hairs prickle the back of my neck. I wanted nothing more to do with this evil house of torture! I stepped into the container and knelt beside Cloud, gently I rolled him over and looked down into his face. His skin was white, his gaze fixed and staring at something I could not see. His eyes were so bright they were difficult to look into, his breathing was laboured and when I called his name he didn't respond. Not even his eyelids fluttered. I sighed and lifted him into my arms, Zack was stood before a pair of tubes, one was broken, the glass long gone and the other was covered in layers of dust. I watched Zack curiously as he ran his fingers through the dust so he could see inside. They were empty. Finally he took a deep shuddery breath and turned away, he saw Cloud lying in my arms and looked relived. Quickly I began leading the group toward the exit.

We made it out easily. The whole mansion was deserted, or seemed to be. I did not trust it. As we stepped into the light we saw the rest of our rag tag companions sitting not far away, they spotted us and stood. When they had converged on us I spoke; "Cloud is in no fit state to travel. We shall rest here tonight."

Tifa paled visibly and Zack let slip a small groan but I slid past them and ignored their protests. The man behind the desk at the Inn was dull, his voice droning on and on about the fascinating tourist spots around Neibelheim. I ignored him. When we finally got our room key we went to the room and I lay Cloud on one of the beds, Tifa stood at the window, her fingers digging into the wood and Zack stood at her side. "I know small towns don't change much...but...don't you think that this is taking it that little bit too far? I mean...it's creepy." Zack whispered softly with a small shudder.

"I can still see the flames." Tifa said under her breath. I turned y back on the pair, of course I held no guilt for what I had done all those years ago...it was exactly what those puny humans deserved...but then...what was this heavy feeling in my gut?

That night, I was unable to sleep. So, I silently stood and left the room. I walked out of the Inn and turned back toward the mansion. For a moment I stood before it before turning and walking through the gap in the cliffs that lead to the mountains.

XXX

I heard Sephiroth leave, he wasn't the only one having a restless night. At first, I was going to leave him to his own devices but something...a voice, jerked me to my feet.

Follow him

I stared around the room and saw that not only was Sephiroth's bed empty but so was Cloud's. "Shit." I muttered and tugged my boots on quickly before leaving the others to sleep. I ran down the stairs and out into the cold night, somehow I knew where he had gone. It was inevitable really. I ran as fast as I could, passing the mansion and running on through the mountains. Even the trail was the same, my memory was so clear it was as if I was reliving everything and I felt my stomach drop through me. It was going to happen all over again...everything was converging on this one point. Everything was going back to the way it had been...it was bizarre and terrifying all at once. But I had keep going because history demanded that I was in my proper place when everything happened.

The reactor loomed out of the darkness like a great huge monster. It was colossal. I saw the steps, rusted and weak from disuse but still good enough for me to run up them. I dived through the door and saw the weird egg like structures that held the mutated experiments that had been given intolerable amounts of Mako. My feet slowed and I walked up the stairs toward the door at the top. I could hardly make out the huge letters that decorated the front, rust had grown over them like some awful plant as it erased the letters;

J...N...VA

I stopped before the doors and froze. I didn't think anything could move me from my spot. Then I gathered every ounce of courage I possessed and stepped into the room...