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Ch. 37 In the days that followed
Part 1: Feelings
Sephiroth searched the room relentlessly. At the same time he was reaching out to anywhere he could think of to find her. He only got a few things that seemed relevant, but all he could really do was file them away for later. It was the fifth time that he had searched it. He felt so lost and frustrated and Jenova enjoyed every bit of it. For once, Lilia was not there to stop her. She was going to take full advantage of this and stretch her legs. All day long she had been telling him that he really should get over it.
Come now my son. She's gone. You must let go of her... Jenova said happily. For the first time Sephiroth truly detested her. Her words only angered him.
Shut up, mother! I won't. He said pausing for a moment to gather himself. She was becoming too frustrating for him. Her voice dominated his mind and made it difficult for him to search the room. He was not even sure what he was looking for, but so far there was nothing. He looked at the camera for a moment. I already know that there isn't anything on there. Whoever did this was smart.
It would have been better if they left her here dead. Jenova said. Sephiroth ignored her comment. He knew that she was glad Lilia was gone and she would probably be happy never to see her ever again. He knew that he could not let that happen.
I will find her mother. No matter what. He said making sure that she understood what he meant. She got quiet and backed away for a while letting him search. When he could not find anything he found himself looking around her bed. He did notice that her cover was gone. I guess they took that as well... How considerate. He thought hating them. He sat down on her bed and sighed. He found himself looking under her bed. He knew that she had a little hiding place for her drawings and such. It was the only thing he had of her at the moment.
He looked through them all. He found himself smiling every once in a while. Something she drew or wrote made him miss her, but it also made him laugh. After a while he was finished looking through her drawings and he just sat on her bed. He felt something he had never felt before. A tear ran down his cheek and he did not even bother to wipe it away. It was perfect for how he felt now. It was only one tear. Something he had never done before.
"Strange...I didn't know I could cry."
Zack wandered around the building gathering some information on the attack. Since they were not there he wanted to know as much as he could. He wanted to help his friends in any way possible. For now, this was all he could do. He was kind of disappointed by what he was hearing. None of it was very helpful. It was so chaotic when it happened no one really remembers what happened exactly. He found it hard to take anyone by their word. He really wanted to ask the Turks about it, but he knew that they would not give him a straight answer even if it was for Sephiroth.
He spent hours wandering around the building trying to get anything he could out of everyone and got nothing of real interest. He got to hear plenty of gossip he did not care about one bit. Some of it was about Sephiroth like always, some about the attack, disappearances, the president, etc. He found it annoying and a waste of time, but he listened hoping maybe there would be something useful in it all. There was not so he moved on and ended up going back up to the sixty-seventh floor to see how Sephiroth was doing.
Zack knew what Sephiroth was probably doing now. He had not left that room the whole day. He figured that he was still searching it now. He had never seen him act this way. He was always so detached and he did know that she made him happy. He wondered what he would be like without ever meeting her. He would never act like this. It gave him more of a reason to help him. He had to find her or Sephiroth would be miserable forever.
He barely got through the door when he noticed what he was doing. He was sitting on her bed...crying. It made Zack stand there in near shock. He had never seen that before and thought he never would. He's actually crying. I guess only she could do that to him. He thought. It meant a lot from his standpoint. It proved just how much he really did love her.
"Zack...did you find anything?" He jumped when he heard him speak to him. All he could do was shake his head. Sephiroth had only looked up for a second and made no effort to hide the tear from him. He figured that he would not want anyone to see that. It just added to his conviction to help them.
"We'll find her I swear." Zack said sitting down on his bed. Sephiroth looked up and smiled ever so slightly.
"Thanks." He was a little surprised at how convicted Zack was about this. His friends in general surprised him. He did not really know he had such a good friend to depend on. Something like that was beyond him.
Part 2: Fear and loathing
Siren slowly made her way to the top of the building. She was dreading it. She had snuck around for the past few days trying to get something on the girl. They were staying quiet about the whole thing. No one was even supposed to know that she was missing except those in the investigation and they certainly were not talking.
She was getting worried and annoyed with all of this. She knew that she was going to be in serious trouble with Scythe and she could not lie to them...or rather him. If she did there would be even worse consequences. She shivered knowing what he might do.
When she reached the top she paused almost afraid to go out to the roof. She looked around almost wanting someone to find her here. She was dreading seeing Enshii's little puppet. She sighed heavily and then straightened herself up and walked calmly outside. The puppet was waiting. He stood in the shadows and then came out when he saw her. On the other side Enshii could see everything. He knew that something was different about her today. He could almost smell her fear.
Without hesitation the puppet handed her the familiar note and waited for her to say something. She read over it and then knew that she had to tell him the truth. If she did not do it now it would only make things much...much worse. The letter from Scythe told her it was almost time and that she should get ready. She knew that there was a huge problem with that.
"There is a small problem." She said. Enshii heard her however faint she did sound. It got his quick attention. The puppet could not talk, but it did allow him to hear when he put forth the effort. Most of the time it did not matter. He was expecting something different out of her. She complained a lot to him about Gaia and having to stay there. She wanted to leave and everyone in their group knew that. Scythe was the only thing keeping her there.
"The girl has gone missing." She said. She was not one to investigate and each letter told her to keep up appearances. She could not give herself away. If she did it would make getting the girl very difficult. Enshii frowned and had to show it through the puppet somehow. It crossed its arms and tapped its foot. It was all he could do to show his irritation. "There is little I can do about it. I have no doubt that they'll find her though. Sephiroth won't give up." She said.
She had told them a lot about their relationship making sure that they understood the kind of problem it could make. The fact that she was missing now might mean a huge problem when they actually do find her. Siren was not exactly the strong one. She did know things about him that no one else did. He only hoped that would be enough for her to get the girl and he would have someone watching her to make sure it did happen. They really could not afford to lose her. She was too important and they honestly had no idea how important. Only Scythe knew her real purpose. Him and The Abyss.
He made the puppet take back the letter so he could tell her something. He hated having to do it this way. They had terrible handwriting. He wanted her to know he had to tell them. That she should just do as told and keep them informed. He hoped that Scythe would act as calm as he was now. She sighed after reading his response and then nodded. She went back inside knowing that this was not over yet.
The puppet returned and Enshii patted him on the head. So loyal. Now...to tell him. He thought with a hidden smile. He went back to Scythe and stood beside him waiting for him to acknowledge him. It was the customary thing to do since he gave the orders. They all served him with a hint of fear in it.
"Enshii, tell me...what did she report?" Scythe said without looking at him.
"There has been an incident and she lost her...or I should say they all did." Enshii said calmly. He knew that the anger would not be directed at him.
"Yes. I know." He was surprised.
"You do? So what do we do about it?" Enshii inquired. He was curious. What was their fearless leader up to now? Something like this should have been a huge problem for them, but he was not worried.
"Nothing. We wait. After they find her...Siren will bring her here. Although that might be a little hard for her to do on her own." He said. "She may need help to wrench her from that man...Sephiroth was it?" Enshii nodded. "He is our only obstacle." He said starring into The Abyss.
Enshii just nodded and then went on his way. He knew better than to question Scythe. The only one brave enough...or stupid enough to do that was Simon. He was a scientist and Scythe merely indulged him, but only a little. "What did he say?" Glaed asked. She wanted to know what their next move was going to be. They had been sitting around doing nothing and she was smarter than to mention it.
"We wait." He said without stopping. She stomped her foot and cursed. She just looked in Scythes direction and glared, but that was all she dared to do. He had freed her and he could just as well imprison her again. She would not risk that. She sat down to sulk for a while until her anger went away. It was the only thing she could do at the moment.
Part 3: A helping hand
Usher found himself in his office earlier than usual. He was actually looking forward to seeing Lilia today. It was really the only good thing he could think of at the moment. It made him feel useful. He was helping her. He starred at his wife's picture. She was holding their children. It was driving him crazy that she was not there anymore. He looked up when the door opened expecting to see Lilia, but Sephiroth was standing there alone.
"Where's Lilia?" He asked. He could see the hurt and loss in his eyes. It was something he knew very well.
"I see. So she has gone missing I take it." He said. Sephiroth nodded.
"She went missing during the rebel attack. You didn't know?" Usher shook his head. He had been so busy helping them clean up that mess he had not heard anything. "I guess they're keeping it quiet." Usher watched Sephiroth for a moment. Neither of them spoke for a while. "She told me that...you've had a similar experience." He said sitting down. He noticed the plethora of family pictures. His wife was in every one. Usher nodded. He was a little unsure what to do or what to say. "You've been searching on your own. I know that. Tell me, what have you found?" Sephiroth said. He could have just as easily read his mind, but at the moment he was too distracted.
"Nothing. Absolutely nothing." He said feeling angry. "I looked everywhere. Mirrin disappeared when she went to the store. I don't see how this helps you find Lilia though."
"No one else here understands what it feels like." He whispered. "You're the only one here that really understands." Usher nodded understanding completely.
"I can't help Mirrin." Usher whispered. He knew that no matter how hard he looked he would never find her alive. He knew that was true. Sephiroth knew he was thinking that. It was something he did not want to believe about Lilia.
"You really believe that don't you. They're both alive. I'm sure of that." Sephiroth said very confidently. It was the only thing he knew for sure. Usher found it hard to believe him, but he did. He could see in his eyes that Sephiroth believed it too.
"So what do we do? You think we'll find them together?" Usher asked. He did not see how the two incidents could be connected other than they both disappeared.
"The rebel attack covered up who took her; that is a fact. Someone took her just like they took your wife. They had to take them somewhere. They may or may not be connected, but we shouldn't rule anything out at this point." Sephiroth said.
"I understand, but do you really think we can find her alone?" Usher had to ask. He had been searching for Mirrin and turned up nothing. It was hard on him and he completely understood how Sephiroth felt about this. He had been the same when it first happened.
"You're a good tracker. I believe that you will be able to help here." Sephiroth said. On the inside he was pleading for his help, but he could not do that in reality. He knew he would agree to help. Usher was a good man and helping him meant a lot of things. He felt sure that the disappearances were connected somehow.
"Alright. I'll help, but even I haven't been able to find any evidence. The scenes are clean. It's as if no one was ever there." He said remembering it. He knew the exact place his wife disappeared and he could do the same for anyone else. There was no evidence that they were taken by someone. They were just gone, as if spirited away.
"Maybe that is how we should see it. Whoever took them didn't physically walk off with them, but in Lilia's case that is what happened. Witnesses saw someone go into her room and leave with something over their shoulder and they may have been in Soldier."
"No one I know would dare do that!" Usher said slamming his hands on the desk. He just could not believe that someone he trained would do something like that. "Shinra does some bad things, but the soldiers are loyal to the end. They'd never kidnap someone...especially not her! They had more respect for her and you than that." He said. He could hardly look him in the eye at the moment. All of this was a little much for him to believe.
"Maybe they aren't in Soldier anymore, or possibly never were. Some Soldiers have gone missing. They could be impersonating someone. The fact that it was dark would make it impossible to actually identify them. The witnesses were not able to see who it was and even if they did I wonder if they could identify them." Sephiroth said. Usher knew that could be true. He could not believe that any soldier would stoop that low.
"I don't know." Usher said thinking. He wanted to have a look around the chamber for himself before dismissing anything though. If he did not do that what kind of tracker would he be? "I think I'll have a look around." He said getting up. Both of them exited the office stopped by Evan.
"Hey! Where's Lilia?" He asked seeing Sephiroth. It seemed odd that Sephiroth was here and she was not.
"She's not here." Usher told him.
"She was taken during the attack." Sephiroth said sadly.
"What!?" He shouted in surprise and anger. He saw the look on their faces. This was not something they had done. Someone had made off with her and she was probably in trouble. "Who the FUCK would do that!?" He said doing very little to control his voice. Everyone was looking over at them now and he was clenching both fists and shaking slightly.
"We don't know yet. We are investigating and I'm sure the Turks may get involved as well." Sephiroth told him. Evan took a deep breath to calm himself a little so he could talk.
"Any leads yet?" Sephiroth shook his head. "I'll ask around. Maybe someone here saw something."
"Thanks, but I doubt you'll learn anything new. We already know someone took her and though they were seen no one can identify them by name or even describe them. The only thing we know is that they wore a soldier uniform and had dark hair."
"Soldier uniform!?" He repeated feeling the anger rising in him. "If it was a soldier I swear they'll get fucked up!"
"Calm down. We don't know they're in soldier yet. They could be impersonating a soldier for all we know." Usher said shaking his head.
"If they are in soldier I'll smoke 'em out somehow. I know a lot of people so it wouldn't be hard to do." He told them. "She's my friend. I want to help if I can."
"Thanks." Sephiroth said walking away. He was glad for the help, but realized this would be difficult even with the Turks helping, if they even decided to fully cooperate.
Author: Revised!