Chapter 2

Sephiroth boarded the Highwind and prepared to lift off. He settled down into one of the red cushion meeting room chairs, and looked through some of his files, finding an odd shaped piece of paper that was discolored and wrinkled. Not ever seeing this paper before Sephiroth unfolded it and read the contents.
The words were hard to read so he bent closer and gasped; he hadn't seen this paper in years!!! It was an old poem Lacey had written for him when they were both quite young- a school girls crush he thought, then he began to recopy the words ~

Spring has come, winters gone
Leaves and flowers have bloomed
Gone away is all the dark and gloom.

Love will blossom where it's in need
A perfect couple it will seize
Gone away is the dark and loneliness
But come to stay is warmth and light.

Spring has gone, lovers dawn
Still a beautiful time of year
Summer brings a new warmth
Between you and me
Always together--happy.

But then autumn and winter come again
Bringing darkness a new
But I shall stay happy and light as long as I'm with you..........

To~ Sephiroth
From~ Lacey


With that Sephiroth put down his pencil as he remembered the time he was given the poem inside the envelope with it was an identical mako crystal 2nd only to the one she held in her possession. He smiled and sighed, taking out the crystal to look at it, then began to wonder where in the world this paper came from. The last time he saw that paper it was in his belt during the incident.
Hmm he thought what did I do with it? Sephiroth cleared his head and tried to remember. Suddenly the thought came to him......he closed Lacey's eyes and put the paper in her empty shacrum case.......then he left her no wait I took the poem from her didn't I? Naw he thought probably some company joke one of the soldiers probably took it back and decided to give it to me. Yeah that's it. Sephiroth was finally convinced of just that and closed his eyes and slept until they reached Midgar.

The plane landed with a jolt and Sephiroth slid off his chair onto the floor. Startled and dazed he stood up dusting himself off and checking to make sure no one saw what just happened. Laughing at himself for being such a fool Sephiroth went to the cockpit to speak with the captain. The captain was a stark young man with a shaven beard and long skinny legs, though his arms were muscled from steering the wheel and hauling the men into shape.
Sephiroth asked why the landing was so rough and the captain readily admitted that the pilot was a new one and that he was still learning the ropes. The captain shook Sephiroths hand and said "Please sir call me Randy. I'm the best pilot there is in the whole of Shin-Ra nothing but the best for our finest soldiers." "Thank you ......Randy I appreciate the kindness."
Sephiroth replied with a forced smile on his face, he was tired and not in the mood for conversation after all man his bottom hurt! Sephiroth got off the Highwind and bought a room in the nearest hotel and instantly fell asleep while waiting for his luggage to be delivered.

Meanwhile Zack was guarding the new found artifacts. This weapon was so out of the ordinary he had to call over his commander. He was sort of embarrassed because he was the one with the extensive knowledge of weapons, and he had no clue what this thing was!
He settled down and read the message of Sephiroth's coming. He shrugged away the embarrassment and began to pace the small hut that was built for storage of found weaponry and materia. It was a rough shack, built with splintering wood and a sandy floor. It was barely wider than 10 of his steps in which were quite small. The shack was mostly empty except for the glass table in the middle supporting the weapon, a few "all" materia, a couple of stools here and there, and a small bookshelf containing weaponry books and materia guides. Zack remembered last night when he looked through all of those books, trying to find out what this weapon was. He found one book with a faded picture that almost matched the weapon, but this one was much newer, well kept, and had 20 pieces of materia looking only a decade old.
Why has nobody heard of or seen this weapon? Sephiroth was a bit older than Zack was so he figured perhaps Sephiroth would know about it. A sound came from just outside the hut startling Zack, and he went to go investigate, but when he came back all the materia in the weapon was gone and left behind
was a note saying.

- YOU MAY KEEP THIS FOR NOW-BUT BE SURE I WILL BE BACK FOR IT LATER. THIS
IS NOT YOURS OR ANYONE'S IN THIS FILTHY TOWN IT'S THE LAST THING WE HOLD
DEAR AND IT WILL BE TAKEN BACK TO IT'S RIGHTFUL OWNER. THIS IS WAY BEYOND
YOUR COMPREHENSION, ONLY ONE PERSON COULD POSSIBLY UNDERSTAND AND HIS
WHEREABOUTS ARE LOST TO ME NOW..............IF YOU DON'T FIND HIM BY TOMORROW
MORNING YOU WILL ALL BE DEAD....... ZACK SEND THIS DIRECTLY TO YOUR
COMMANDER AND HOPE YOU FIND THE ONE WHOM I AM LOOKING FOR THE LAST ORIGINAL
TURK.....IF HE IS STILL ALIVE-

- signed- THE CAT O:

The letter scared the wits out of Zack this was just way too much, so he ran to the hotel hoping Sephiroth was there because if he was not they would all surely perish.... Or would they? was this a prank? He hadn't seen anyone, nor did he find anything that was large or frightening. He slowed thinking about
what to do. If he showed Sephiroth he would think he was a wuss a friend seeking power....... No he thought. he and Sephiroth have always been good friends so Zack kept on going just reaching the hotel at dawn when a dark figure positioned itself outside in the bushes unnoticed.........