TWENTY-FIVE

I paused for a moment in my recollection of Nibelheim and took a sip from the glass of water Elmyra brought me. My throat had gotten a little dry from all the talking I'd been doing, and Jessie had asked her to bring me a drink before I'd even thought of it myself. She watched with a faint smile as my sip turned into a gulp.

"Better?" Jessie asked.

I nodded as I put the glass down. "Yeah. Thanks."

She winked. "You're welcome, merc. Just looking after you the way your mom wanted. Big responsibility, you know."

"Think you're up to it?" I smirked.

"You'd better believe it," Jessie whispered, kissing me.

I returned it for a moment, my heart racing like one of those fabled gold chocobos at the feel of her lips on mine. But then I quickly pulled away, my cheeks flaming, when I heard Aerith and Lena giggling at the sight. I'd almost forgotten the others were there. No one said anything, but I could see Biggs' face twisting into a wry grin while Wedge flashed us a thumbs up. Marissa's eyes were warm as she looked at us, and even Elmyra seemed amused as she sat back down.

"Looks like you trapped now, SOLDIER boy," Barret chuckled. "No way out for ya, an' that's the truth."

I swallowed. "Yeah, well, uh… moving on…"

"So, Tifa, Zangan was the one who taught you how to fight?" Jessie asked, cleverly changing the subject for me.

"Yeah, that's right," Tifa nodded. "I learned it all from him. We did our lessons just about every day for two years, hours at a time, just like you and I used to do, Jessie. Remember?"

Jessie grinned. "Yeah. It was always a lot of fun."

"Sure was," Tifa agreed.

"I'd be cool to meet him someday, you know?" Jessie said. "There's still so much for me to learn. You've been an awesome teacher yourself, of course. Whatever happened to him?"

Tifa sighed. "I don't know. I lost contact with him after Nibelheim. I'm sure he's fine, though. He's strong. If anyone could've survived what happened to the village besides me and Cloud, it would definitely have been Zangan. No question about it."

Aerith gazed gently at her. "You miss him, don't you?"

"Yeah, I do," Tifa answered, a small, wistful smile on her face. Then she looked over at me. "Cloud… did Zangan really say all those things? About how highly he thought of me?"

I nodded. "He did. He was really proud of you. Why?"

She laughed softly, almost to herself. "I never knew. He was a good man, firm but caring and kind. Not one to shower me with a whole lot of praise, though—he taught me discipline and humility as well as how to fight. Didn't want me getting too full of myself, you see. Still, he and I were very close. Zangan was like another father to me, along with my teacher and mentor. And a good friend."

"I hope you get to see him again someday," Jessie said.

Tifa smirked. "You mean we."

Jessie's brown eyes lit up. "Thanks, Tifa! I'm really looking forward to it. Guess I better be in top shape, huh?"

"Definitely," she agreed. "He'll put you through your paces."

"Can't wait," Jessie grinned. Then, her humor fading, she looked at me again. "Guess that's enough of a break, though. We should probably get back to the story whenever you're ready."

I took another sip of water. "Yeah. Let's see now…"

"You went to the reactor the next day, right?" Marissa asked.

"We did, but before we left, we met outside the Shinra Mansion to wait for our guide. That was Tifa."

Lena chuckled. "Bet you were surprised."

"To say the least," I agreed. "I hadn't known until then that she was our guide. Her father saw us off—he was one of the leaders of the town and had to be there. And his daughter was taking us up the mountain, which he wasn't happy about. At all."

Tifa nodded. "I remember. Dad told me he had a bad feeling about the mission, and he tried to talk me out of being a part of it. But I'd met with Sephiroth the day before to get the job, and I wasn't backing out. I wanted to show everyone what I could do."

"So ya went anyway," Barret said, glancing at her.

She sighed. "Yeah…"

"Doesn't sound like it went too well," Biggs said. "Ended up being a lot more than just a simple repair job, didn't it?"

"A hell of a lot more," I confirmed.

Tifa shuddered. "I didn't see much myself that day, but… whatever Sephiroth found in there, he was different when he came back outside. I should let Cloud tell you about it, though."

With us talking about Nibelheim again, Tifa and Jessie had grown more serious and uneasy, like before. Tifa bit her lower lip as she sat on the step, gazing intently at me as she waited for me to pick up the story where I'd left off. And Jessie… although she kept up a calm front, I saw the uncertainty in her eyes as she sat next to me at the table, the fingers of her good hand tightening over mine.

I worried about them both but didn't know what to do about it, so I set my glass down on the table and got ready to continue telling what happened all those years ago back home. The second day of that fateful mission would see our long and dangerous trek up to the reactor and a horrific discovery lurking within it, something monstrous and terrible that would set things in motion for everything else that followed later. I shivered as I thought about what I'd seen.

"Like I said before, we were all gathered in the field near the Shinra Mansion early that morning," I continued. "Me, Sephiroth, the soldiers, Zangan, and Tifa's father. There was this photographer, too. He wanted Sephiroth to let him take a picture…"

A small crowd had gathered in the clearing near the Shinra Mansion the next morning. Sephiroth was there along with the two soldiers who'd come into town with us. So was Zangan, the martial artist I'd met in the inn last night. There was also a photographer there amidst a few curious townsfolk—he held his camera ready, eager to get a shot or two. And as I watched, I saw Tifa's father arguing with Sephiroth.

He was a middle-aged guy in a long-sleeved red shirt, brown leather vest, black pants, and sturdy brown shoes. His short hair and moustache were a dark blond, very different from Tifa—she must've gotten her hair color from her mom. But his eyes were brown like hers, though not quite as red. He was agitated as he stood there and stared Sephiroth down, not intimidated at all by his overwhelming presence.

"I'm telling you, Sephiroth," he warned, steel in his voice. "If anything happens to my daughter up there…"

Sephiroth didn't budge. "Trust me…"

I walked over to him. "What's the problem?"

"Nothing," he said. "We leave as soon as our guide shows up."

I nodded. "Understood. I'm—"

Before I could finish, I heard footsteps coming up behind me. When I turned around to see who it was, my eyes widened. It was Tifa, all geared up and ready to go. She wore a white sleeveless shirt exposing her midriff, an embroidered brown leather vest and short skirt, soft black gloves with a matching pair of wrangler's boots that went up nearly to her knees, and a brown, wide-brimmed wrangler's hat.

"I've got two men from SOLDIER looking after me, Dad," she said as she walked up. "I'll be fine! Don't worry."

I just stared at her. "Tifa!? You're our guide?"

She put her hands on her hips. "I sure am, Cloud. Best one in town! I know that mountain inside and out."

"It's too dangerous!" I argued. "I can't let you do it!"

"Then protect her and it won't be an issue," Sephiroth ordered. After I sighedand gave in, he went on. "Let's go."

But before we could get moving, the photographer hurried over to us, his camera in both hands. "Wait just a moment, please! Mr. Sephiroth, a picture, if you will. Just one, for a memento."

Sephiroth sighed. "I don't have time for this…"

"Tifa, would you mind asking?" the photographer pleaded.

She looked uneasily back and forth between him and Sephiroth, then blinked, unsure what to do. Deciding to take the heat off her, I led her by the hand over to the fence enclosing the Shinra Mansion's front yard and posed with her there. Although I was glad to be in a picture myself, I also wantedto help Tifa and hoped it would convince Sephiroth to join in. He was still strangely moody and distant today, as he'd been yesterday, and I thought this might help loosen him up a bit.

After a moment, he walked over and reluctantly stood on Tifa's other side as the photographer grinned widely and got into position. Sephiroth didn't smile, but Tifa and I did. The photographer had us move in a little closer to each other, getting the pose just right, and pressed the button on his camera. There was a bright flash, and then it was over. Sephiroth was the first to move away, heading toward the trail without another word. I went with Tifa over to the photographer.

"Thanks!" he said. "This'll really be great! You'll each get a copy once I get it developed. I do it the old-school way, on real film instead of some weird digital device. Looks a lot better, I think."

I nodded. "Sounds good. How long 'till it's ready?"

The photographer thought for a moment. "A day or two at most. I've got a bunch of other shots I'm developing, too."

"Can't wait to see it!" Tifa smiled.

Then she walked away to follow Sephiroth, introducing herself to the two soldiers as she went. The trail curved past the old mansion and away from the town until it gradually rose upward into the slopes of Mt. Nibel. I was just about to get moving myself when I felt a strong hand grab hold of my arm. I turned to see Tifa's father glaring darkly at me, his grip tight and almost painful as he tugged me closer.

"I hate myself for even asking you this," he murmured. "But take care of Tifa. Watch her closely and see that she gets back here in one piece. It's bad enough she's even involved in this."

"I didn't want her to be," I reminded her.

He sighed. "Just don't let her get hurt. Once was enough. Now go, get back to her side and stay there. She's all I have."

I stepped away as he let go. "I'll keep her safe. Don't worry."

"You'd better," he growled.

Ignoring him, I hurried toward the edge of town and caught up with the others. As we made our way up the trail, it wound steadily upward, a barren and stony path rising snakelike through the jagged slopes. Pointed spires of dark gray rock rose out of the ground like monstrous teeth, bent and eerie beneath the gloomy,overcast sky.

An uneasy silence hung over the place as we went along, and I found myself remembering all the old stories I'd heard about this mountain and how it was supposedly haunted. I'd never really believed them myself, but the chill wind whispering around us as we walked was still creepy as hell, like the touch of death itself. I shivered as I followed Sephiroth, Tifa, and the soldiers further up the long and lonely trail.

We came across a few monsters on the way—small flocks of birdlike creatures with huge wingspans that had to be at least six feet across, long beaks like needles, and sharp claws on their feet. Purple feathers covered their bodies aside from a streak of yellow along their spines and lavender at thetips of their wings. They were known as speed shriekers, according to what I'd heard from the townsfolk—or, more commonly, Nibel hawks. And it didn't take long for me to find out why.

The monsters dove at us in a flash, their loud, high-pitched screeches filling the air and almost disorienting me for a moment. Sephiroth barely even blinked, cutting down three of them before I could even draw Buster and get into the fray myself. I managed to slash one of the last two apart while Tifa quickly hammered the other one with a flurry of punches and kicks that broke its neck and left it dead on the ground. The soldiers just gawked at us, not even getting to fire a shot.

We moved on, eventually coming to a deep gorge. A few hundred feet across the gap, the twisted, ugly peak of Mt. Nibel rose up ahead of us. A long, narrow bridge made of wooden planks fastened with rope stretched across the chasm, and for a moment, we all just stood there and gazed at the mountain frowning down at us. The reactor was somewhere up there in the cold and mist, and I wondered what we'd find when we finally got there. I wasn't sure I really wanted to know.

Tifa moved first, stepping cautiously onto the bridge, then motioned to us. "Better follow me! It gets tougher from here."

"Move out," Sephiroth ordered.

I nodded and followed him out onto the bridge, the two soldiers right behind me. The wooden planks creaked and groaned under our feet with every step, and I couldn't help looking down for a moment as I held onto the rope railing. We were about a hundred feet in the air, the floor of the gorge lying far below us, and I tore my gaze away in a hurry. Although I wasn't really afraid of heights, I knew I'd still feel better once I was safely on the other side along with the others.

We were about halfway across when one of the rope railings, already old and frayed, suddenly snapped and flew apart. I grabbed for the other one as Tifa, Sephiroth, and the soldiers did the same. The bridge must've been too fragile to hold us all once, and now it was swaying dangerously, threatening to give way at any moment.

"The bridge!" Tifa yelled.

The whole thing suddenly tilted crazily to one side, and we held onto whatever we could as the bridge hung precariously over the gap for a few endless seconds. Then the other railing came apart as well, pulled so taut by the strain that it couldn't hold. The bridge snapped in two with a jerk, tearing us free as the broken halves slammed into either side of the gorge and we fell to the bottom amidst startled shouts.

Amidst an explosion of pain, I hit the ground hard and blacked out. When I came to a little while later and sat up, I quickly looked around to check and see that Tifa and the others were alright. When I saw her, I let out a sigh of relief, stood up, and brushed myself off as Sephiroth silently got up and inspected our surroundings.

We were at the base of the ravine, its high, twisted stone walls rising up on either side of us like something out of a nightmare. I gazed at them for a moment and shuddered, really hating this place. Then I sighed and turned back to the others, helping one of the soldiers—it was my friend, I could tell by how young he was compared to his partner—get back to his feet. He swallowed and looked around.

"Thanks," he said. "This place gives me the creeps…"

I nodded. "Same here. You okay?"

The soldier hefted his rifle. "Yeah. Don't worry about me, I'll be fine. I just hope we can find a way outta here."

"We will," I assured him.

Sephiroth glanced at Tifa. "It seems we're all unharmed. So then, can we find a way back to where we were?"

"I think so," she answered. "There are caves that wind all through the upper slopes like an ant farm. We can use them to get to the reactor. But Sephiroth… that other soldier, he's missing."

I looked around, realizing for the first time that she was right. "Huh? Where'd he go? Must've landed somewhere else."

Tifa sighed. "I hope he's okay…"

"This may sound cold," Sephiroth said, "but we've no time to look for him. He should be fine since we all are, and with luck, he'll make it back to town. As for the rest of us, we can't go back now. We must keep going. So stay close. We travel together from here on out."

Although I didn't like it, I knew he was right. We had to continue on and get to the reactor, and we had no idea where the other soldier was. I hoped he was alright and that he'd either find his way back to town or to us. These mountains had become home to all kinds of monsters since the reactor had been built—the speed shriekers were just one breed. So it was extremely dangerous for anyone to travel alone up here. We'd been lucky so far, but I knew we couldn't count on that.

With a sigh, I followed the others as we got moving. Tifa led the way, leading us along a winding path down here at the bottom of the gorge as Sephiroth followed just a few steps behind her. Then came the remaining soldier, gripping his rifle tightly in both hands. I went last again, my eyes alert as I watched our backs. And before long, we found a large cave, the entrance yawning open in front of us.

We stopped for a moment after we went inside. Several passageways ran off in all different directions, and the gloomy light from outside faded away in a nest of murky shadows. It wasn't as dark as I'd been expecting, though. The cave was lit by a soft, pale green glow, enough that we could see our surroundings and where we were going.

"What's this?" I wondered.

Tifa looked around. "This cave's so colorful. It's a little strange… but pretty as well. I wonder what causes it…"

"The mako," Sephiroth explained. "This mountain must be especially rich in it. A natural reservoir, if you will. That's why the reactor was built here. To siphon all of that abundant energy."

We went on, Tifa leading us through certain tunnels as we made our way upward through the bowels of the mountain. A few monsters crossed our path, but between me, Sephiroth, and the lone soldier, we made short work of them. Well, it was mostly Sephiroth, to be honest. He was just so strong and fast that the creatures were often dead before the soldier and I could even ready our weapons. It was amazing to watch Sephiroth fight, though. It really was. Nothing could touch him.

We followed another winding corridor until it eventually opened up onto a second, smaller ravine higher up the mountain. Dry, withered old trees stood here and there on the barren slopes like tall, twisted skeletons amidst the endless rock and dirt, their twisted branches reaching toward the sky like long, bony fingers. That eerie, chilly wind whispered through the air like the breath of a ghost, cooling my cheeks and making the hairs on the back of my neck stand up. Now I knew where all the weird stories about this place being haunted came from.

Halfway through the ravine, we stopped and stared for a moment. A low mound of rock lay just ahead of us, surrounded by a pool of shallow water. And lying within an old tree stump on top of that natural dais was a lump of pale green crystal, glowing brightly and bathing the whole area in a soft, emerald light. It was oddly soothing, though I didn't know why. We all gathered around it to take a closer look.

"What's this?" I wondered.

"A mako fountain," Sephiroth answered. "A miracle of nature."

It was then that I realized that the pool surrounding the rock mound wasn't actually water, but mako. I'd never seen it this way before, though I'd heard there was tons of it deep in the reactors. Little tendrils of energy rose up from it every so often, then disappeared back inside. It was really fascinating to watch, if a little unnerving.

Tifa gazed in wonder at the mako fountain. "It's so beautiful… Even though I've been up here a lot, I've never seen anything like this before. A wonderful place filled with the knowledge of the Ancients. But it'll dry up if the reactor keeps draining all the energy…"

I nodded. "Yeah… Anyway, what's that strange crystal?"

"Materia," Sephiroth explained. "When mako energy is condensed, it becomes materia—the powerful orbs we use in and around battle. To see it in its natural form is extremely rare."

"So why does materia let us use magic?" I asked.

He stared at me. "You're a SOLDIER—First Class, no less—and you don't even know that? It's as Tifa said—materia holds the knowledge and wisdom of the Ancients. And with it, we can call upon the planet's power. The complex interaction between us and the Ancients' knowledge is what allows us to use magic… or so they say."

"Magic…" I mused. "What a mysterious power…"

Suddenly, Sephiroth laughed, long and loud, and I nearly jumped in surprise. I'd never heard him sound so lighthearted before, so humorous. So… normal. It was almost shocking, and the rest of us just gaped at him as if he'd gone mad. It wasn't like him at all. Tifa and I exchanged a long, confused glance before we looked back at him.

"I say something funny?" I asked.

"Someone once told me years ago never to use unscientific terms like mysterious power," he answered, composing himself. "Or even magic, for that matter. He was so angry. I remember it well."

I blinked. "Who was he?"

Sephiroth curled his lip in disgust. "Hojo of Shinra. An inexperienced and shortsighted man who took over the work of a great scientist. He was a walking mass of complexes. Utterly vile…"

With that, he turned and left. We followed him, pressing onward up the rocky, winding path as it made its way up the slope until, roughly an hour later, we came around a bend and finally saw our destination. The reactor was a tall cylinder of copper and bronze set upon a high elliptical stone and metal platform built right up against the side of the mountain like a bloated spider clinging to a wall.

A cluster of thick iron pipes stretched off to the left and connected to two holding tanks, one large and one small, set into the ground. In front, a long set of metal stairs led to an open door on the platform. The Shinra logo was emblazoned across the top of the reactor, just under the narrow dome of the roof and the wide venting pipe rising up from it. I didn't like the place one bit. It was just… ugly.

"Finally…" Tifa sighed in relief as we stopped at the base of the stairs. "We made it. Sure took the long way, though."

I turned to her. "Stay here, Tifa."

Her hands flew to her hips as her eyes narrowed. "No way! I'm going in there too! I wanna see what's inside!"

"No," Sephiroth said, shaking his head. "You have to wait here. Only authorized personnel are permitted to enter. It's full of Shinra's industrial secrets, things you're better off not knowing."

"But—!" Tifa protested.

He glanced at the soldier. "Look after the lady."

The soldier nodded. "Yes, sir."

While Sephiroth and I started up the stairs, the soldier moved closer to Tifa and held his arm out to prevent her from following us, though he didn't say anything to her. She started complaining again, and I couldn't resist a little grin when I heard her. I knew she was curious and not at all happy about being left behind. But Sephiroth was right—what was in the reactor was likely stuff that could be dangerous. I looked back when I got to the top and saw the soldier shaking his head.

"Man!" Tifa huffed. "You'd better take real good care of me, then! It's just not fair, after coming all this way…"

Turning away, I followed Sephiroth into the reactor and through the maze of pipes, chains, and walkways that filled the core. Far below us lay swirling pools of mako, maybe even the lifestream itself. Steam swirled in the air, which was cold even here. And that acrid smell stung my nostrils as we made our way deeper into the reactor.

At the far end of the main walkway—which was really just one huge pipe with low railings on either side—was a broad platform encircled by pipes and a guardrail of its own. And set in the back of it was a cluster of various dials, valves, and gears surrounding another doorway and filling the place with the hum of machinery. A soft orange glow spilled onto the platform from the room beyond the doorway.

We moved inside, leaving the core behind, and stopped for a moment to take in the sight in front us. The floor rose up at a steep angle and had rows of tall, egg-like pods on either side of a central staircase. A thicket of huge pipes covered the walls and ceiling, and they and the stairs were all a rusty, metallic red. The pods were all gray, at least eight feet tall, with a single round window on the front of each one.

What was in them? I wasn't sure I really wanted to know. At the top of the stairs was another door, this one closed and sealed. And just above it was a large, curving sign with a single word—Jenova. It must've been a name of some kind. But of what? I followed after Sephiroth as he went up the stairs to stand in front of the door. He seemed lost in thought, gazing uneasily at it and at the sign overhead.

"Jenova?" I wondered, pulling at the door. It didn't budge so much as an inch. "Guess it's in there, whatever it is, but the door's locked up pretty tight. No way in, at least as far as I can tell."

Sephiroth frowned, then turned and headed back down the stairs to the first row of pods. I went with him, hoping he was alright. He was still oddly distracted, the same as he'd been at the entrance of Nibelheim and later at the inn. What was bothering him? And what was Jenova? I didn't know, but the sound of it made my skin crawl.

Nothing about this felt right. The reactor was supposed to be just for generating power for the village, not for storing weird machines and who knew what else. I didn't like it at all. I watched as Sephiroth inspected the pods and the cables connecting them, looking for anything broken or out of the ordinary. Then he motioned to me.

"This valve has been damaged," Sephiroth explained, kneeling by one of the pods and pointing. "It's the source of the malfunction, but it can be repaired without much trouble. Do you see it?"

I joined him and nodded. "Yeah. Looks pretty bad…"

The valve had burst open at some point, mist and mako flooding the floor around the pod. The resulting contamination from the leak must've caused the mutations that had created the monsters infesting the region, but I wasn't sure if that alone could've done it.

"Close the valve," Sephiroth ordered.

I did, easily snapping it back into place and twisting it until it locked with an audible click. After tugging on the valve to make sure it was tight enough that it wouldn't come loose again, I stood back up from where I'd been kneeling and followed Sephiroth over to one of the pods on the other side of the stairs. I could hear him muttering softly to himself as he stood in front of the pod and stared at it uneasily.

"Why was it damaged?" he murmured. "The valves are reinforced to keep that from happening. It doesn't make sense…"

Then he took a long look inside the pod's window. For a moment, he didn't even move. I saw his green eyes narrow as he gazed coldly at what was inside. Then he backed up, a look of disgust on his face as he kept on staring at the pod. What was in there?

Sephiroth shook his head. "I see now, Hojo. But not even this will put you on the same level as Professor Gast."

"What is it?" I asked.

"The system here condenses and freezes mako energy," he explained, turning to me and pointing to the network of pipes all around us. "When it's working correctly, that is. Now, when mako is condensed even further, what does it become? Do you remember?"

I did. "It turns into materia."

He nodded. "Yes, normally. But listen closely. This isn't just a reactor. Not anymore. Hojo put something else in there."

"Something else?" I wondered.

"Take a look," he said.

As soon as I did, my eyes widened. "What the hell!?"

Inside the pod was a nightmare. A monstrous thing that was all hard gray skin, a cluster of horns sprouting from its head, and a face that was vaguely, terrifyingly human, with clenched teeth and closed eyes. I stared at it for a moment, then staggered backwards and collapsed, my eyes still locked on the pod and its horrific contents.

"Normal SOLDIERs are humans who've been infused with mako," he continued. "You're different, of course, but still human. Can we really say the same about them, however? I don't believe so. These beings have been exposed to far more mako than you. And it's turned them into those vile things you saw just now. Those creatures."

"You mean… they're monsters?" I shivered.

He grimaced. "Exactly. Created by Hojo of Shinra. Living organisms mutated by intense and prolonged exposure to mako energy. That's what these things, these monsters, really are."

"Normal SOLDIERs?" I blinked. "So you're different?"

Sephiroth didn't answer right away, so I tore my gaze away from the pods and looked over at him. As soon as I did, I nearly jumped outta my skin. He was shaking, clutching his head in both hands and squeezing his eyes shut as if he were in pain. Trembling with barely restrained rage, he just stood there, caught in that strange fit.

My eyes widened in alarm. "Sephiroth? You okay?"

"No…" he breathed. "Was I…?"

Then he drew his katana and started slashing angrily at the pod, his eyes ablaze, and I shrank back. What was going on? What was he talking about? I'd never seen him like this before. He sliced again and again, but the pod resisted even his blows, the sound of their impact ringing through the air as the blade resonated with every strike.

"Were you what?" I asked, trying to calm him down. "Sephiroth, talk to me. What's the matter? What's wrong?"

He kept talking as if he hadn't heard me. "Was I made this way, too? Am I… am I just the same as these creatures? Another monster, made to serve Shinra's purposes? Is that what I am?"

I tried again. "Sephiroth…"

Then he crossed over to the other side of the stairs to slice at the pods there. But he didn't have any luck damaging them, either. Eventually, he gave up but didn't turn around to look at me just yet. He just stood there, sword in hand and rage still in his eyes. Then, after a moment, he finally did face me, upset and almost unhinged.

"You saw it!" he hissed. "They were all human. Each of them, before Hojo twisted and manipulated them."

I shook my head. "Human? Not a chance!"

Those things couldn't have been human. Could they? I didn't wanna believe it. But that face I'd seen in the pod, as horrific as it was, had been partly human. I couldn't deny it, as much as I wanted to. And if that was true, then what was Sephiroth? Had he been made like this, too? It was a chilling thought, one I didn't like at all.

"Ever since I was a young child," Sephiroth sighed, his eyes returning to the pods. "I've always felt as though I was different from everyone else. Special, in some way. But… not like this."

Just then, one of the pods on the upper level shuddered as a shock of electricity suddenly swept over it, bright blue bolts sizzling and crackling as the monster inside snarled and woke up. Jets of steam hissed from the pod one by one through the seams along the sides, and a moment later, it burst open, the front half falling forward onto the metal floor and taking the strange, mutated creature along with it.

The thing lay there, growling and looking up at the pipes above us. It had a tough gray hide all over its upper arms and body, but its muscular legs were a bright orange, and its fingers and toes ended in sharp claws. I stared at it and shivered, not wanting to believe it had been human once. But, from what Sephiroth had told me, it had.

As I watched, he slowly climbed the stairs and went over to the open pod and the monster lying in front of it. For a few minutes, he just stared at it, gazing down at it impassively as it twitched and grunted. It seemed like the creature wasn't fully aware of its surroundings yet. Then, when it saw Sephiroth, it stopped, its eyes meeting his and holding them for just a moment. Everything seemed to stop as I watched and waited, wondering what he would do. My heart was pounding, and I could barely breathe. It felt as though my feet were locked in place.

Then, in a single, blinding flash of steel, Sephiroth slashed his katana across the monster's chest. I gasped, staring in shock and utter disbelief as the thing gurgled and died. Sure, it had been a hideous creature, but… it had also been helpless, not a threat to either of us. It had just been laying there, trying to figure out where and what it was. Sephiroth watched as it stiffened and lay still, his pale green eyes taking it all in. And suddenly, I wasn't so sure I knew him anymore.

"Am I… human?" Sephiroth whispered to himself.

I didn't understand what he meant, at least not at the time. Knowing that Shinra was creating monsters stunned me even more. I could hardly believe they were experimenting on people and turning them into terrible creatures. Not to mention how the leaking mako had affected so much of the wildlife around here, mutating ordinary animals and changing them into deadly monsters. How could Shinra possibly allow it? I didn't wanna believe what I'd seen, but… there it was.

Sephiroth sheathed the Masamune and headed back down the stairs, brushing past me without a word as he quickly left the room. With a last look at the chamber, I sighed and followed after him, still shaken by what we'd found and learned in here and not sure how to handle it.But as bad as it was, the nightmare had only just begun.