Chapter 38

Alex stumbled a few times as she raced down the hall as fast as her shaky legs would carry her. She wasn't sure where she would find anyone at this time of day. Thankfully, she didn't have to search for long. She nearly ran into Sephiroth as she rushed out of the cave.

As soon as he saw her face, he grabbed her arms to steady her. His voice held concern as he said, "Alex, are you all right? You are pale; did something happen?"

Alex hated feeling like a damsel in distress, but Sephiroth's presence calmed her. She pulled him into a hug and held on tightly as she tried to explain. "Two men tried to attack me in the hall. I'm unharmed, but Angeal is the only reason I got away. He has them pinned for now, but he told me to find the elders."

Sephiroth pushed her back far enough so he could look into her eyes. His anger was visible in the tense set of his jaw and the storm in his eyes, but his voice was calm as he said, "Two of the elders are in the café. I just came from there. Go tell them and then wait there for one of us to come to get you. I will go help Angeal."

Alex nodded once before she let go. His absence made her feel cold, but she didn't hesitate to follow his orders. As soon as he was through the door, she was on her way to the café.

As soon as Alex rushed into the café, several sets of eyes turned to her. She ignored the concerned looks as she faced the elders seated at a nearby table. "I need your help, please."

Both men stood and joined her, but the one to her left took her arm gently and guided her to a nearby chair as he said, "You look like you are about to fall over. Sit here and tell us what has happened."

Alex allowed the man to help her sit, and she took a few deep breaths to try and calm enough to give them a coherent answer. However, before she could speak, her eyes landed on a familiar woman standing on the other side of the room and watching everything with interest.

Alex immediately jumped back up and glared at the woman as she said, "Did you all come together? Are you with them?"

The woman looked taken aback for a moment before she frowned. Neither woman was allowed to say more before one of the elders stepped between them. He gave Alex a reprimanding look as he said, "It is easy to see something has rattled you, but that is no reason to be rude."

Alex clenched her jaw and her fists by her side, but she didn't reply. She couldn't; the elder had a point. Instead, she took another deep breath and said, "I apologize. I shouldn't have jumped to conclusions."

She then turned to the elder that had reprimanded her and said, "I came to tell you that I was attacked on my way here by two men. They said their names were Fuhito and Shears."

Before she could get more out, the woman on the other side of the room gasped and stepped forward with a glare. "That's impossible! They would never attack a random person!"

Alex's eyes narrowed on the woman, but it was clear the other female was sincerely lost. She must not have known what had happened. Not that it shocked Alex. She doubted the men had planned to accost her in the hallway. She had a feeling it was a spur-of-the-moment decision, but she also felt they must have planned something. That Fuhito was too well informed. Maybe thinking that made her paranoid, but that was better than being a prisoner again.

She somehow managed to keep her voice even as she said, "It wasn't random. Since I was only just allowed to leave the infirmary, I doubt they expected me to be in the hallways, but they knew exactly who I am. Fuhito said something about wanting to talk to me about my thesis, but right after that, Shears grabbed me, and they said they would also like to meet my brother under circumstances better suited to them. There is no way in hell they didn't already have something planned, even if you don't want to believe it."

The woman looked livid, but her anger quickly turned to confusion when the elder next to Alex said, "That is disturbing to hear. Lorne will be beside herself with worry when she finds out. I do hope you are uninjured. How did you get away?"

Before Alex could answer, the other woman yelled, "You're going to believe her, just like that? She could be lying!"

The elder then turned a frown to the other woman and said, "Elfé, in the same way that we have asked Miss Hewley, we ask that you do not jump to unfounded conclusions."

Elfé frowned and crossed her arms at the reprimand, but she finally said, "All right, let's say you are telling the truth. Why don't you answer the elder's question?"

Alex sighed at the other woman's continued disbelief. Not that she blamed her. Still, she turned to the elder and said, "I did fight back, but I don't think it would have made a difference if Angeal hadn't come by. He knocked one of them out and then pinned the other one before he told me to come to find you. Sephiroth went to help him, so they should all be there waiting for you."

Elfé glared at her response, but thankfully, it was the elder that said, "How terrible, and to think this happened within our village."

Apparently, Elfé had heard enough. She was still glaring when she said, "Why are we standing here? If those dirty Soldiers have my men, then we need to make sure they don't kill them!"

That statement had Alex glaring back as she said, "You have no idea what the hell you are talking about. I don't care how pissed off Angeal is because he saw someone hitting me; he isn't the type to kill for no reason. I get that you have no reason to believe a stranger over the knowledge you think you have of your teammates, but that doesn't give you the right to be rude."

Both elders stepped in between the two, and the one closest to Alex gave both women a reprimanding look as he said, "That is enough. There is only one way to get to the bottom of this. Both of you come with us, and we will sort this out."

Alex hesitated a moment before she said, "I was told to wait here until it was safe."

The elder patted her arm gently and smiled as he said, "If both your brother and the general are there, then I am sure there will be no danger. Besides, I think it would be best if you return to the infirmary as soon as possible, and this is on the way, correct? No matter how incredible your treatment may have been, the surgery you went through was not something to get over so easily."

There was no point in arguing, and Alex knew it. Even if she did feel fine. Instead, she nodded, and the four of them left the quiet café and headed back the way she had come from.

It was only a matter of minutes later that they entered the hallway where the men were waiting. As soon as they turned the corner, Elfe stepped forward with a yell. "What have you done?"

She ignored Sephiroth and the Masamune as she rushed to Shear's side. She had already pulled out a potion to give him, but he pushed it aside as he pointed to Alex with a snarl. "You broke my leg and my nose! You're all a bunch of bloodthirsty animals."

Alex didn't back down. Instead, she put her hands on her hips and said, "It's called self-defense. Don't complain when you attack someone, and they fight back."

The elders had already moved between both groups, so Angeal looked at them both as he said, "I will corroborate that I came to find Alex a few minutes after she left the infirmary. I heard her scream and came around the corner in time to see the one with a broken leg punching her in the stomach. I knocked him out before I pushed the other one back and then told her to find you."

Fuhito had crossed his arms and was frowning at them all as he said, "Yes, of course, siblings must stick together—even if you are truly clueless about what happened."

Alex was already incensed at all three people in the other group. Her fear was long gone now that she wasn't alone, and her rage at the unprovoked attack was winning. Somehow she managed to keep from yelling, but the anger was still noticeable in her voice as she said, "I will admit that I broke your leg and your nose. I did both because I was trying to get away from you. However, there is one thing that you forgot to mention. I also bit a chunk out of the palm of the hand you had over my face. Care to explain how that could have happened if you weren't trying to hold me down?"

For the first time, Elfé seemed hesitant. She looked at Shears as she asked, "Is that true?"

The man had his hand behind his back, but somehow, the smaller woman managed to wrestle it out so they could all see the still oozing wound. Elfé looked down with a frown before she gave both men a glare and asked, "Why would you do this? I know we have every reason to hate Shinra, but we agreed to keep the peace while we are here. The elders assured us these people were not our enemies. We were supposed to talk to them to find out what was going on. Why would you jeopardize everything we came here for?"

Fuhito sneered at Elfé's question and asked, "Is that all it takes for you to turn against your companions? The ones that found you and helped give you a purpose when you had nothing, not even a name?"

Elfé flinched, but her voice was still stern as she said, "I did not want to believe it—not even with the respected elders believing her without a second's hesitation. However, all of that, combined with the fact that her story matches what I can see with my own eyes, are things I cannot ignore. Now tell me, what were you thinking?"

Shears had the grace to look away and lower his head, but Fuhito continued to sneer as he said, "You know our end goal. We must save the planet no matter what it takes. We cannot shy away from making difficult decisions."

Elfé's glare did not improve at his excuse. It looked like she was about to start yelling at the man, but one of the elders stepped in. "I think I have heard enough. We will continue this discussion elsewhere and leave these halls in peace."

Shears still had his head lowered, but he muttered his agreement, while Elfé continued to look angry, but she nodded as well. However, before she said anything, she looked over, and her eyes widened when she saw Sephiroth had left Shears' side. Instead of guarding the man, he had gone to Alex's and had a gentle hand on her arm as he asked, "Are you all right? I know you said you were not uninjured, but are you certain? Surely that was not good for your recovery."

Alex managed a crooked smile. "I'm fine. Don't forget I'm tougher than I look."

When the edges of his lips tilted up, Elfé made a strangled noise. Both Sephiroth and Alex turned to see the woman staring in shock. Alex also didn't miss the interested look in Fuhito's eyes. She couldn't repress a shudder. Thankfully, she would not have to put up with him for much longer. She only hoped the crazy man never found out where they were going after they left Cosmo Canyon.

The second elder joined the first as he gave Alex a concerned look and said, "Perhaps it would be best if the general took you back to the infirmary. You have already given your side of this tale, and I am sure if we have any more questions, we can get them answered later. Besides, your brother can come to give us what he has seen. Lorne will be intolerable if we do not send you on your way after this."

Despite everything, Alex smiled at the thought of the smaller woman and her rare temper. Still, she gave her brother a look before she answered. His expression was torn, but he finally nodded and said, "I will check on you later. For now, I trust that Sephiroth will make sure you make it back. You should get some rest." Alex gave him a nod before she turned away from the departing group and let Sephiroth walk her back to the infirmary.

As soon as they got there, Lorne must have been able to see something was not right. She was frowning as she took Alex by the arm and led her back to the bed. Her tone was sharp, and she was already glaring at Sephiroth as she said, "A simple game of chess? Really? This doesn't look simple at all. Now, tell me, what happened?"

Alex almost laughed at the look Lorne was giving them both. Not because the woman didn't command respect, but because her reaction was just what Alex had expected, and it served to clear the last of her anxiety. Still, before the younger woman could ask again, Alex said, "First, I want you to know I'm unhurt. Secondly, I never got to play chess. Please don't freak out."

Somehow, that didn't seem to help Lorne's worry. "What happened that I could freak out over? Are there monsters in the village or something?"

Alex almost grimaced at the thought that there might as well have been monsters, but she kept that thought to herself as she answered, "No, but I was attacked. A couple of men said they wanted to kidnap me. I gathered from what they said that they were planning to use me to get something from Geal. Still, he arrived before they did anything worse than punch me in the stomach."

Her explanation seemed to make things even worse. Lorne's eyes were wide as she pushed Alex back. "What do you mean 'only?' You are here because you just had surgery on your abdomen. Are you insane!? Lay back and let me see."

Lorne then turned to Sephiroth. "I understand why you are here, but go stand by the door or something." Thankfully, Sephiroth didn't seem to take the young woman's curt tone to heart. He gave her a nod and pulled the curtain to before he walked across the room.

Alex almost wanted to laugh again when she heard Lorne muttering under her breath about stubborn people and crazies all around. Still, Alex was glad when the younger woman gave her the all-clear and allowed her to sit up again. She was still frowning when she said, "It looks like there were no adverse effects. You don't even show any bruising, so I guess that's good."

Alex was going to thank the girl, but she noticed Lorne chewing on the corner of her lip and paused. Lorne was quick to speak into the silence. "Look, I haven't said anything to anyone about this yet, but I honestly don't see how you've hidden it. Besides your sickness, you heal at an incredible rate. It is almost as if you have a potion running through your veins instead of blood. I won't tell anyone, but what is going on? It isn't natural."

Alex felt her blood run cold, and her face felt numb. She didn't have the slightest clue how to answer. It wasn't helped when Sephiroth pulled the curtain back and frowned at both women when he said, "I apologize, but I could not help but overhear."

Alex could read the concern in his eyes, and it helped break her from her stupor. She sighed. It wasn't as if she could keep it a secret forever. Honestly, she wasn't sure how the others hadn't noticed while they were on the road.

Plus, this was a crucial juncture. Alex didn't want to take this away from her brother, but it was now or never. If Lorne couldn't accept the truth, then their relationship would be doomed before it even started. Not that it made her any happier about what she was about to say. "Look, I don't know how much Geal has told you, but there is something important you need to know about us—about all of us."

Sephiroth stepped forward with a frown, but Alex only shook her head and asked, "Trust me, please?"

It was several seconds before he responded with a nod. That didn't mean he wasn't still frowning. When she looked back at Lorne, the other woman had her arms crossed and was glaring at both of the others as she said, "Angeal told me that stuff had been done to all of you before you were even born, and because of that, the three Firsts are even less normal than regular Soldiers. That doesn't explain your healing."

While Alex was glad to hear that Lorne already knew the crux of things and hadn't run away, she wasn't happy to be dredging up painful topics again. Still, she nodded and said, "You're right. I've always healed faster than Geal or Genesis, even when we were little. But, it wasn't anything like this until that madman got ahold of me. He said that it is because I am female; that I had the potential to be a better host—that I could assimilate—"

She cut off when she thought about what that meant. She had no doubt the madman had injected her with some form of Jenova cells. She had discreetly confirmed that when they first started working with Bugenhagen, and noticed the drastic difference in her cellular structure from before. It still wasn't as much as Sephiroth, but it was close. She was just glad that she shared no DNA with him. Knowing Hojo, it could have been a possibility.

Alex's head jerked up when she felt a soft hand on her arm. She looked over to see Lorne had sat down beside her. The other woman pulled her into a hug as she said, "I'm sorry. I shouldn't have made you think about that. I only asked because I was worried. If it is different than the others, then it means something else happened. You don't have to explain."

Alex's shoulders sagged in relief. It was wonderful to have a person that seemed to instinctively know what something was too much. Both women looked up when Sephiroth said, "I believe it might be best if I go find the elders. I am sure they will have questions for me as well since I was involved."

He turned to leave, but he paused and looked back over his shoulder as he said, "I am glad to know you are unscathed. I will let Angeal know as well."

Alex smiled as she nodded her thanks. Lorne wasn't the only one that seemed to have an instinct for when people needed a break. Even if he didn't do it consciously. It was one of the many things she appreciated about the general.

Once he was gone, Lorne insisted that Alex rest. Even if she was healed, her body would be under strain to keep up with the ridiculous level of cell regeneration, which could cause another illness if she wasn't careful. Alex didn't argue. She had already come to the conclusion that high cell-regeneration did not make her invulnerable. Her immune system still had to fight like any others. At least she was finally able to fall asleep in the wake of the adrenalin ebbing from her system.

A/N: Hello again! I know it has been more than q week, but life is crazy(no shock, right?). Anyway, I struggled with this one. It is not much more than a transition chapter, and I didn't want to lose the momentum from the last one. That means, we still did not leave Cosmo Canyon, but we will in the first part of the next one, you have my word. Also, I hope you are all loving that subtle shift in the relationship between Seph and Alex, although we still have Genesis to deal with. At least things will be moving soon. I hope you are looking forward to it. Thanks for reading, and cheers!