(Author's Note: Hello! Well…here's chapter 6…Rueh gave me an idea and I'm going to do it so this story will have more to come…anyways…enjoy!)
Disclaimer: FF7 and Squaresoft are not mine. Dete and Cassandra are. Rueh is Rueh's…
Chapter 6
"Maybe we should go up the path a little more? Hardly anyone goes up there," Vincent said looking at Sephiroth.
"We could…" Sephiroth trailed off. Red and Vincent followed his gaze.
"It's worth a try to look there," Red said.
"Who would go there? No one's been in there since we found Vincent," Cloud said.
Sephiroth ignored him. He was thinking. "Red…see if you can find her scent around the gate," he said.
Red nodded and walked over to the gate with the others following him. He sniffed the ground. He shook his head and pulled back. "Her scent is here…along with someone else's," he said turning to Sephiroth.
He nodded. "Thought so. She forgot to close the gate. Now all we have to do is go in and find her…but someone else too…?" Sephiroth trailed off again and quickened his pace towards the door of the mansion.
"Hold on just a minute," Cloud said catching up to him.
Sephiroth rolled his eyes in annoyance. "What now?"
"You've led us on a wild goose chase thus far. I'm not going any farther," Cloud said.
"Fine. Those of you who have had enough go back to Cloud's house. Those who wish to continue into the mansion can stay with me," Sephiroth said and opened the door. He walked inside followed by Red, Vincent, and Yuffie.
Cloud shrugged and went back to his house with Cid and Barret.
"She could be anywhere," Yuffie said looking around.
Red sneezed. "Too much dust for me to find her scent," he said.
"Maybe if we just follow her footprints?" Vincent said.
Sephiroth was already going up the stairs. The others followed. They stopped when the hall split. "Yuffie go check that room," he said pointing down the right hall.
She walked down to the door and looked around the room. "Nothing but hole in the floor," she said going back to them.
"What about the foot prints?" Sephiroth asked.
"They went up to the hole but…" Sephiroth pushed past her and went to the doorway. "Open the basement door!" he said as he started back to them.
They went ahead of him and opened the door. They let him go first as they descended the steps. Next went Red then Yuffie who was followed by Vincent. When they reached the bottom of the stairs Sephiroth looked around.
"What, besides Cassandra, Rueh, and Dete, are we looking for?" Red asked.
"Her footprints stopped at the hole in the floor if that answers your question," Sephiroth said.
They walked down the hall.
"Check in here," Vincent said as they passed a door in the hallway.
"It's locked," Yuffie said.
"Try this," he said holding up a key.
"Okay," she said and unlocked the door. She gave the key back to him and pushed the door open. "Hey it's the room with all the coffins!"
"Of course it is. You should know that. You've been here before," he said.
"Oh yeah…" she said but fell quiet.
Sephiroth looked around the room and stopped. He ran to one of the coffins. He knelt next to where Dete lay still unconscious. He put his hand on her shoulder and shook her. "Dete?" he asked thinking that she might wake up then.
She didn't so much as stir. He moved her onto her back and sat her up. "Dete?" he asked again a little louder. This time she let out a soft groan. After a second she opened her eyes.
"Hey," he said. She didn't say anything. "Are you all right?" he asked.
"…you left me behind! AND you completely ignored my dreams!" she said.
"Your…dreams…what do you mean? We'll go back to Cloud and Tifa's and talk about this. And make sure you're all right," he said standing and picking her up.
"PUT ME DOWN!"
"Hush Dete," he said going back to where Vincent, Red, and Yuffie waited in the doorway.
'He won't listen to me. Do something!'
'Like what?'
'I don't know! Scream or something!'
'Ooooo…can I yell at Hojo?'
'What's stopping you?'
They were almost to the stairs when an angry voice began yelling. Dete grinned and shook her head. Sephiroth and the others stopped and turned to look back down the hall.
Dete used this to her advantage. While he was distracted she wiggled and jumped to the floor.
"Hey!" he said and tried to grab her arm. He missed.
She ran down the hall and he gave chase. Vincent, Red, and Yuffie following. Red passed Sephiroth and then Dete. He stopped in front of her.
Another voice began yelling along with the first. Dete hopped over Red. He stood up on his hind legs suddenly causing her to lose her balance. She stumbled into the door, hitting her head again and pushed it open. Sephiroth caught her before she fell.
He looked around the room. It was like a lab. There were machines everywhere and a glowing green substance he recognized as mako. The metal cylinder caught his attention.
"Cassandra…" he said seeing her floating inside of it. The yelling had stopped. They found that Rueh had been the source of it…Hojo as well. "Red…get Dete out of here," Sephiroth said slowly standing.
"I told you to let me help but no…you didn't listen to me…" her eyes slipped closed. Vincent took her from Sephiroth and placed her on Red's back so she wouldn't fall off as he slowly backed to the door then ran for the stairs. He would take her back to Cloud and Tifa's.
Vincent and Yuffie stood in front of the doorway. He readied the Death Penalty while she held her Conformer in front of her in a ready position. Sephiroth drew the masamune.
"Well look who it is," Hojo said looking at the 3 in front of him. "You know you caused them to come down here," he turned to Rueh who was in the cell with a glass door. She just stuck her tongue out.
"You've been in Nibelheim the whole time…" Sephiroth said moving towards the cylinder and Cassandra.
"Yes you should have listened to Dete…But I'm glad you didn't. It gave me time to think of my plans…" Hojo got an evil smile.
The glass of the cylinder door shattered as masamune hit it. The mako rushed out onto the floor. Cassandra slumped out. Sephiroth caught her and held her against him. "Cassandra?" he asked softly. She gave a slight groan but that was all.
"As I was saying I have thought my plans through so now if you'll excuse me…" Hojo started.
"You aren't going anywhere," Yuffie said as Vincent aimed his gun at Hojo's forehead.
"Oh I'm sorry but I don't have time to deal with you," Hojo said.
"Yuffie get Rueh," Sephiroth said laying Cassandra down out of the way. He suddenly ran at Hojo with his sword ready.
A tentacle burst from Hojo's back and shot at him. Vincent shot it.
As they fought Yuffie opened the cell door and let Rueh out. Rueh ran for Hojo and jumped on his back, locking her arms around his neck, choking him.
He yelled and grabbed her with a tentacle. He pulled her off and threw her into the wall next to the door. She slid to the floor.
Sephiroth charged Hojo. Hojo just laughed. A flash of bright light shot out from him. Yuffie, Vincent, and Sephiroth had to shield their eyes until the light was gone.
When they opened their eyes Hojo was gone…and so was Rueh. Sephiroth stared at the door for a minute then picked Cassandra up.
"We'll go back…and try to figure out what happened. Once Dete wakes up we'll be able to find Rueh again," he said.
Yuffie and Vincent silently followed him from the mansion. When they got there Dete was waking up.
"Can you find Rueh?" Vincent asked as Sephiroth sat down with Cassandra in his lap.
Dete closed her eyes for a minute then shook her head. "No…nothing…"
"Maybe she's still unconscious. Try again later," Sephiroth said trying to wake Cassandra without success.
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