Chapter 7

The owners of the Chocobo Ranch were quite surprised when Sephiroth landed near their ranch. But hearing the grumbling of two stomachs, they were more than happy to serve the teen and his "guardian angel". Their stay wasn't long, though, as the sense of danger still hung around them like a lingering fog that didn't seem to fade. Alpha enjoyed the flights, flying beside Sephiroth literally under his wing. The man was an expert flyer, even with the first-timer beside him his flying didn't falter. But as they flew hand-in-hand, the android could sense a sort of uneasiness in the older man.

Neither spoke a word as they spent half the day flying, stopping in Junon for lunch and giving Sephiroth's wing a rest. It was during lunch that the two began talking once more. "Sephiroth..." Alpha whispered as he toyed with his salad. "Did you really mean...what you said last night?"

Sephiroth looked up from examining his map, his plates of food empty before him. His face was emotionless, but his eyes had an unsure look in them. "Perhaps..." he said, going back to his reading. "It depends on what you're talking about."

"Why do you do that?" Alpha suddenly asked in an outburst, standing out of his seat. He was grateful the restaurant was emptied of its noon rush. "Why do you hide your emotions like that? Are you afraid of being yourself?!"

Still Sephiroth's face was emotionless, but his hurt eyes glanced out a window to avoid Alpha's. But the android could see the pain in them, and even thought he saw a tear form. The bit of water vanished into nothing as Sephiroth faced Alpha. Finally he answered, "Its hard to change, little one. When you've been told that only your hatred and anger matters, it's hard to express other emotions such as happiness and love." He shook his head. "No, I'm not afraid of anything...and I'm not trying to hide anything. If I hide my emotions, its because that's how I've always lived my life."

His words hit Alpha like a slap, Alpha's silver eye piercing through Sephiroth's soul in search of the truth. The android sat back down, seeing that Sephiroth had spoken true words. "I'm sorry..." muttered the teen. "I shouldn't have said all that...I didn't mean to..."

"Don't worry about it," Sephiroth cut him off. He sighed, and looked up at Alpha with a half-smile. "You shouldn't kick yourself so hard like that, especially for simple things." The man leaned back in his chair. "We need a vacation...A sort of time of relaxation...The question is where to go."

"Wutai!" Alpha exclaimed. "I hear there's a nice resort there! And I've always wanted to see the Da-Chao!" A look of pure childish innocence had swept over the teen's face.

The man's smile grew. "Alright then. We'll go to Wutai for some rest then we can do some dirty work."

"D-Dirty work?" asked Alpha. "W-What do you mean?"

He shrugged. "Research, digging, all that fun stuff. I want to know more about what Hojo wants with you and the other androids. He's up to something...I'd stake my life on it."

***

"He'd stake his life on it, eh?" smiled the woman of shadows, watching from a glowing orb of light. Beta sat on the floor in front of the chair, letting the woman pet her black hair. "Do you hear that, sweet Beta? He'd stake his life on it! Well...what do you say we sort of swirl things around a bit for our cute couple?"

"What do you mean?" Beta looked up at the woman. A dark smile played the girl's face. "Do you mean I can..?"

The woman chuckled to herself. "I will lend you a few spare Shinra officers and SOLDIERs. Take them to Wutai and set up a little trap for our dear Sephiroth and Alpha. Harm neither of them. I want them both alive." She removed her hand from Beta's head. "I want to see just how close the two have gotten...When you have the two captured, bring them here, to face me. Remember, sweet Beta, Sephiroth is stronger than what you're used to. You may need a little trickery to capture him." A slender hand came from the shadows, handing the girl a small vial. "The sleeping toxin in this vial is strong enough to knock out ten Midgar Zoloms, but it will not kill our dear Sephiroth. His will and dexterity are strong enough to neutralize the toxin to the point where it will only keep him out for an hour or two. The affects will be almost immediate though. Use it wisely."

Beta bowed to the woman in shadows and smiled. "Yes, I will. I have just the plan."

"Good...The men are ready and waiting for your orders. And remember...Harm neither your brother nor my pet or you will face my hand!"

Again Beta bowed and left silently. Almost as soon as she left, a figure cloaked in black robes entered. A hand lifted the hood to reveal one of Sephiroth's many clone-minions. There was an air about him, though, that signified him as more than just a clone. To any who had been trained in disguise, they would have seen that the face was nothing more than layers of skin-like gel that could be molded into one's face to give the appearance of another and the silver hair was no more than a wig. Contacts gave the appearance of aquamarine cat-eyes.

"Planning a family reunion, are we?" he asked in the same voice that had spoken to Beta. "You would have forgotten me, wouldn't you, if I hadn't shown up?"

"Delta!" The woman's voice was a fiery rage as a pair of burning pink eyes shown in the shadows. "Why have you returned? I was told you were disposed of!"

"Someone lied," the man returned coolly. "That or the person who was supposed to dispose of me met a horrible...accident."

"You killed him...But it wasn't in your programming!"

"Things change Mother...People change, and I learned to after hiding away for so long." The man blinked, the contact in his left eye falling out and rolling off his cheek, landing on the ground. From the eye stared a brilliant blue. "The funny thing about my DNA...it was more human than Beta's and yet not as human as Alpha. But I'd still have to say Alpha is the better one of the three of us."

The pink eyes glared at him in thin slits. "How dare you come to me and tell me about my own creations..."

"I dare very well Mother." He spat the word as if it were a curse word. "As a matter of fact, I came to offer my advice. But seeing as you wish not to hear my words or seek my presence, I shall return to helping the ones you hate so much." He bowed a low, mocking bow and vanished in the shadows like the one he disguised himself as.

The woman cursed to herself. "Damn..." she muttered. "This could become a problem if Delta gets out of hand...And I've lost control over him as I did with Sephiroth...Damn..."

***

During the moments it had taken for Beta to receive her orders and Delta to shuffle the plans of the mysterious woman, Alpha had talked Sephiroth into letting them stay in Junon for some rest before making the long flight over the ocean to Coasta Del Sol. Sephiroth dared not trying to argue with the stubborn android, seeing that he, too, needed a bit more rest than he thought. A nagging sense of danger still held the older man, and Alpha could see it in the way Sephiroth watched every shadow and turned at almost every sound.

Alpha slept soundly that night in the inn after a few hours of playing Go Fish and Poker, the two sharing a room due to Sephiroth's paranoia. But his fear was not in vain, for in the next room was the waiting Delta, patiently watching over the two for the chance to confront them about Beta. As Alpha slept on one of the two beds, Sephiroth sat in the shadows, watching and waiting for anything and everything. That night, it seemed as if time had slowed down for the android and angel. Fate has given them their only chance to rest for the adventure ahead, and only one took it to their advantage.