"Sephiroth dear...wakie wakie my angel," the woman's voice taunted. "Come now, my sweet Sephiroth, wake up! You can stop feigning unconsciousness. Unlike everyone else, I knew when the serum would wear off."
The man blinked and swore to himself, looking around. He lay on his side the cold ground, his hands bound behind his back with metal chains and the foul taste of a gag in his mouth. His cat-eyes adjusted to the dark room, looking over the place. He was in one of the many labs in Shinra Headquarters, the source of the woman's voice coming from the darker shadows nearby. Sephiroth could make out the outline of a woman lounging on a Victorian couch, blazing pink eyes watching him. Carefully, he rolled over and sat up.
"I'm sorry you must wear those dreadful chains and keep that nasty gag in your mouth my dear," the woman spoke as she stood, "but I don't want you to get too out of hand with your katana or your spells."
His eyes glared at hers, striking deep into her soul. "Remove the gag," they seemed to say. "Remove the gag so I may at least speak."
A soft chuckle escaped the woman. "Heavens know I'd love to have an actual conversation with you my dear angel, but you know I can't allow the risk to exist." She stood from her spot and looked down on the man sitting on his knees. "But first, there are some adjustments that need to be made. You know very well that you are no longer under my control."
He nodded his head.
"Not for long though. As we speak, my dear Hojo is creating a special little treatment for you. But first..." The woman stepped into the light. She wore a long dress of sapphire blue, her skin a deathly pale white. Sephiroth's eyes went wide as he saw her face. Long strands of brown hair streamed down her shoulders and framed a face of delicate features. Though her hair was in a high ponytail, it streamed out onto the floor in spidery tendrils. "Well...what do you think?" she asked, smiling evilly as she showed herself off to him. "A lovely body, isn't it?"
"No..." Sephiroth's eyes stared at her, unbelieving. "Lucrecia...no..."
"Almost, but not quite," she said. "Lets just say, the dear woman had no need for her body anymore, so I'm borrowing it. Deep down, I'm still Jenova, but on the outside, I'm your beautiful mother." The man finally turned away, his eyes to the ground. "Aw...There, there, my angel," her haunting voice spoke, approaching him. A cool hand lifted his chin and gaze. Suddenly she backhanded his face, knocking him to the floor and leaving behind four crimson scratches from her nails on his left cheek. "Beta! Take my pet to my special holding cell on Floor 67. Be careful though, my dear, and make sure he is bound well to the wall fixture there."
Saying nothing, the female android grabbed a hold of the chains that bound his wrists and dragged him out of the room. Jenova smiled to herself, but the smile suddenly faded as a sense hit her. "He is here..." she muttered to herself. A cruel chuckle passed her lips. "This may become more interesting than I thought..." Sitting back down on her couch, she summoned her orb of light and watched as Beta dragged Sephiroth to the holding cell and chained him to the far wall. "Now is where the fun really begins..."
***
Sephiroth's mind raced like a swirling vortex of thoughts as his eyes stared at the ground before him. His shoulders hurt from being in the same position for so long, and his body burned from various bruises and wounds that had formed from being beaten during his time unconscious. Alpha...he thought to himself. What has become of Alpha? The chains behind him rattled as he tried to pull them free from the wall, but to no avail. Damn...He bowed his head in defeat, his eyes burning with tears. Alpha...I'm sorry, but I can't protect you...What are they going to do to him, now that I can't help him?
"Given up already, angel?" a voice asked near the door.
He looked up to see a man garbed in black cloaks like his. His eyes were the deepest of sapphire blue set on a face that was much like Sephiroth's, but at the same time, the dark angel saw bits of Zax in the face of the stranger. The newcomer had short, silver-blonde hair and an air about him that warned Sephiroth of great power within the stranger. Though Sephiroth had never seen this man before, he knew instantly that this was the true face of Delta.
The android's eyes met Sephiroth's. "Set me free," the angel's aquamarine cat-eyes said. "I'll not kill you...Set me free."
Nodding his head, Delta went to Sephiroth and pulled a small laser-pen from his pocket. The laser cut through the chains and soon released Sephiroth. The angel spat the gag from his mouth and sat, for a moment, on his hands and knees, waiting for his strength to come to him. "Alpha..." he finally spoke. "I have to find Alpha."
"Follow me," Delta said, turning to leave. Standing, Sephiroth did as told, following the android through the floor of the Shinra Headquarters. "I assume my advice has been of some use to you."
"So it was you..." sighed Sephiroth. "I should have known."
A slight smile played Delta's face, giving him the appearance of Cloud. "Well? Has it helped?"
"I'm here, now, helping your little brother for no reason at all," the angel spoke. "Is that answer enough?"
Delta nodded his head, the two reaching a door Sephiroth had never seen before. "He's here. I followed Beta when she brought him in after leaving you with Jenova."
Sephiroth tested the doorknob, finding the door unlocked. He glanced at Delta, who nodded his head. Silently, Sephiroth opened the door. The two were instantly swallowed into the shadows of the room. Everything around them was pitch black, save for their glowing Mako eyes. Sephiroth whispered a spell and an orb of light illuminated the room. It was the size of an arena, Alpha lying in the center of it.
"Alpha!" Sephiroth shouted the name, running to the fallen android. He knelt down and carefully sat the teen up. "Alpha...wake up...please..."
"Enuh..." Alpha cooed, slowly gaining consciousness. His silver eye opened and looked over Sephiroth. "Sephy!" Instantly, the android clung to his friend, digging his face in Sephiroth's cloaks. "I was so worried...Beta took you away, saying they were going to do horrible things to you."
"Hush now..." the angel tried to calm Alpha. "Its over. We'll just get out of here and find somewhere to lay low for a while."
"But how did you find me?" Alpha asked. "Hojo said this room was created after Cloud supposedly killed you."
"He had my help," Delta said. He smiled softly at the teen. "Hello obotchan."
"Oniisan!" Alpha leapt for joy, embracing Delta. "You're alive!"
Delta chuckled weakly. "It takes more than a Special Combatant to get rid of me." He let go of Alpha. "Do you still have it?"
Alpha dug through his pockets and pulled out a medallion the size of his hand. "Yeah, see? Do you want it back?"
The blonde android closed Alpha's hand around the piece of metal, Sephiroth watching curiously. "Sorry obotchan, but I need you to hang onto it a little longer, alright?" asked Delta.
Instantly Alpha's face saddened. "You're going to go away again, aren't you..."
"I'm sorry Alpha...Listen, Sephiroth will take care of you for me, okay? He really cares for you, much like what I do." The calm of Delta's voice disturbed Sephiroth as an itch of danger tickled the angel's spine. Delta turned to Sephiroth. "There's a door over there that'll take you to the roof of the building. Get Alpha out of here."
"Delta?" Once more, tears filled Alpha's single visible eye.
Still the blonde android addressed Sephiroth. "Don't worry about me. And whatever happens, don't ever let Shinra have Alpha again. The fate of the world lies within him." The three turned to the door, the sound of Beta's shouts catching their attention. Delta pointed to the door in the shadows. "Go, now! There's not much time!"
Before turning to flee, Alpha gave the blonde android a final hug, and then dashed ahead of Sephiroth through the door. The door led to a spiral staircase that went up, the two racing up the steps as if Death were at their heels. Delta saw them enter the door and closed it behind them, melting the knob so that none could pass. As he finished, Beta entered. "Well brother, it seems you have betrayed Mother once again," she said, naked katana in hand.
"Your efforts are in vain Beta," he stated, the calm still in his voice. "Alpha will be long gone by the time you finish me, and with Sephiroth by his side, he'll finally realize his true purpose and destroy the plans that Hojo had for him."
"Will he?" She slowly approached Delta. "Ever since that brat was created, it was 'Alpha this' and 'Alpha that' day in and day out. I'm sick of it! I know exactly why Hojo created Alpha. And I've been given his permission to destroy Alpha and his pet angel and reclaim what precious valuables they have within them."
Delta's eyes went wide. "How...When did you find out?! It was only between Hojo and Jenova...the location of the..."
Before he could finish, Beta had already attacked. Her blade was crimson as Delta's blood flowed from the wound. He fell to his knees, the katana still embedded in his chest. "You think...you've won," he coughed. "Sephiroth will...protect the...little one...from...evil..." Taking the hilt of the katana, Delta mustered all his strength, twisted the katana blade and ended his life.
