Act 2: Ex-Turk

The figure sat, its features distorted by the shadows in which it had shrouded itself. It was almost dawn over the small Alexandrian city, but already shopkeepers were busying themselves preparing for the day ahead.

What paltry, insignificant characters…

A sneer seemed to come to the lips of the creature as it sat, hidden by the overhang of a church. In that spot, even its faintly glowing, golden eyes would have been undetectable unless deliberately looked for. The eyes narrowed as it watched the people mill about. None of them were summoners.

No…

Of course not.

Not one of them worth a split second of its time. Of the summoner race there probably only remained the little shit who had summoned Atomos…but even that one would be exterminated soon; that one along with all the others that might remain. The creature extended its wings, each one larger than its body, and with a great whoosh of wind rose into the sky, displaying against the fading stars its draconic form.

The display raised cries of, "Monster!" from the people, causing the creature to turn once more, fixing them with a cold glare before opening its mouth only slightly. A tornado of fire unleashed from its jaws - engulfing the church in flames, which glinted off a pendant it wore around its neck.

Remember it well, fools…that was only a taste of my power.

So thinking, the creature flew off.

***

Sephiroth watched the sun rise on the first full day of what he considered his re-birth. He could only remember pain from his old home – but here, with people who knew him for what he was now, he felt…almost happy. No more Jenova…no more Hojo…

No more pain.

It seemed as if he'd started a new life here…a life in which there was nothing to bother him or cause him unhappiness.

"Hey…Seph?"

Except, of course, for that.

The silver haired man turned, frowning, to see Zidane standing behind him in the doorway, "Hmmm?"

He pointed to Sephiroth's glowing, green eyes, "Your eyes are weird."

"No…yours are weird. Mine are perfectly normal."

Zidane blinked – that always got them.

"Anyway…" Sephiroth fixed his gaze on the younger blonde, "You've only known me for…half a day before I came out of…whatever it was…and your already using a nickname?"

"Well…ya get used to it…" Zidane's eyes widened, "Wait! Whatever it was?! ATOMOS!"

"Huh…?"

"Garnet! She forgot to…" Zidane was yelling over his shoulder as he bolted off, "Shut it off! Make it go poof! Put it away! Un-summon it! Whatever she does with those things when she's finished with them! I'm going to the library!"

"…"

Sephiroth shook his head in confusion.

"…?"

***

Beatrix frowned over the sheet of paper she held loosely in her right hand.

"What is it?" Stiener glanced casually at her from his spot by the window.

"A dragon…or something…in a village not far from here.  Apparently, it destroyed a church before flying off.  I think we should tell the queen."

The older warrior shook his head, "It's quite early…I imagine she's up, but I don't imagine she wants to think about things like this.  Be patient, Beatrix."

"Well…the reports here have the dragon described very similarly to when – well, you should remember that."

Stiener winced, "Beatrix…"

"Should we tell her – I'm not talking about Garnet."

"It'll be a little tough on her…but I think we should.  Maybe she can sort this all out."

The brunette nodded, "And it IS our duty to relay her all the reports we receive…"

"Right – but you do the talking."

Beatrix smirked and rolled her eyes, "You are SO immature! She doesn't bite!"

Before Stiener could come up with a witty comeback, his partner had waltzed out of the room.

***

About an hour later, Sephiroth's curiosity got the better of him. Given, he didn't fully understand the situation in the first place (Zidane's brief analysis earlier hadn't been much help). Having watched the sun complete its assent, he turned, and headed for the library – new boots ringing against the marble.

"…u've got to be KIDDING me!" Sephiroth vaguely heard Garnet say something in reply, then got to the door in time to see Zidane throw his hands in the air in defeat, "Fucked," he sighed, sliding to the ground and slapping his thighs with his hands, "We're fucked."

"What's going on here?"

The two looked slightly startled at his entrance, and the queen sighed, rubbing her forehead.

Zidane jabbed an accusing thumb in the brunette's direction, "Garnet didn't shut Atomos off."

Sephiroth raised an eyebrow, "Oh yes…and from the looks of THIS place," he regarded the perfectly arranged library with a sweeping motion of his hand, "It's caused MASS destruction to the ENTIRE planet."

"Not yet," Garnet drew a breath, "But it won't be long."

"Someone care to explain…?" the silver haired man folded his arms.

Garnet looked pleadingly at Zidane, whose reaction was to raise his arms in front of his face and shake his head. With another sigh, the black haired girl turned back to Sephiroth, "Do you know what a summoner is?"

"I have a guess – they summon monsters."

She nodded, "That's what I thought…a young girl named Eiko Caroll and I are the last of the race. Here, the monsters are called Eidolons – I don't know if it was the same where you came from – and one of them, Atomos, has the ability to send its summoner through dimensions."

"I don't mean to be rude…but this DOES have a point, doesn't it, your majesty?" he had raised his eyebrow again but on his face was a playful smirk.

Garnet smirked back, rolling her eyes and waving a dismissive and slightly annoyed hand, "Of course it does. You see, I got curious about the limits of Atomos' power, so I summoned it to send me to the…lifestream, did you call it? That's right. Anyway, in the confusion of you almost breaking my neck," at this point, she turned to glare in Zidane's general vicinity, "I FORGOT to dismiss it and I'm almost positive something came out."

Sephiroth frowned, "I see the problem…"

The queen bit her lower lip, "And if this thing…or things…is or are stronger than us…" she sighed.

"What would you do?"

"I'm gonna be frank about this…Seph," Zidane grinned, showing his fangs, in reply to the scowl, "Will you help us fight whatever it is?"

A pause, "…Yes."

"Really?" the blonde perked noticeably.

Sephiroth nodded, "But what if I'm not enough?"

"We'll open a porthole to your world and bring a person of your choice out," her majesty raised a slender eyebrow as if to say, 'What do you think of THAT?'

The ex-general nodded once more, considering her words. Who could he ask them to bring…? Cloud? No. One thing for sure – he could never face Cloud again. What was her name – Yuffie? Definitely not. From what he'd seen, Stiener and Zidane would be pushed into competition with her from the first minute. Tifa? That didn't make sense…it was doubtful Garnet and she would mesh well, let alone her and Beatrix. Then he remembered a name he'd heard Cloud call out in the last battle…either to stand back or to watch out…he couldn't remember. That was the only answer. "I have an idea of someone I could stand to face again."

"Oh?" the library's only female occupant looked relieved.

"Valentine."

It was Zidane's turn to raise an eyebrow.

"Valentine," Sephiroth repeated, nodding, "Vincent Valentine. I imagine he can help you…but be careful with him. All I know about him is his name. He may not be the talking type - and Zidane, you are NOT to call him 'Vinny-boy', 'Vinny', 'Vincey', or any other idiot nickname you can dream up – understand?"

"Party pooper…"

OOC – That was for you, Cait! ^_____________^ Hope ya like!