Sephiroth winced once more as they reached Kalm. He had been too weak to fly, the sleeping injection still not fully worn off and his wounds more serious than he thought. But the wince was not in pain. In his mind, he had felt the death of Delta. Tifa ran up to them as they neared her tavern and inn, the skies dark with night and the building empty of its dinner rush. She helped Sephiroth inside after giving Alpha a quick inspection. "What happened?" she asked after ordering Yuffie to get a first aide kit.
"We were captured by Shinra," Alpha answered, opening the door for Tifa and Sephiroth to enter one of the many guestrooms. "Sephiroth saved me." Yuffie brought in the first aide kit, but Alpha took it before Tifa could. "I can do it," he said to the two girls. "I owe him."
The two glanced at Sephiroth, who sighed and nodded his head for them to do as told by the android. Yuffie shrugged and left, though Tifa hesitated. "Will you two need anything else?" she asked.
"A warm meal would be good," Sephiroth answered. "We haven't eaten in a long while."
Tifa smiled and nodded her head. "Alright...I'll be back in a while." That said, she turned and left.
Alpha sighed when the two left as Sephiroth sat down on one of the two beds. "How badly are you hurt?" the android asked the angel.
He shrugged. "Nothing a Potion or Cure can't heal," answered Sephiroth with a smirk, digging through his pack to find the Materia orb.
Saying nothing, Alpha stood in front of Sephiroth and closed his eyes, pointing at Sephiroth's forehead. A glowing white aura surrounded the android, and then flowed over Sephiroth. In an instant, all of Sephiroth's wounds healed and his internal bleeding stopped. He could feel some of his lost magic and health come back to him, refreshing him. Soon the spell faded and Alpha sighed to himself once more, opening his visible eye. Though the teen had whispered no spell, Sephiroth recognized the Limit Break as one of Aeris's, Great Gospel.
"I...can use my powers whenever I need to," Alpha told Sephiroth, answering the angel's unspoken question. "Unlike normal Limit Breaks, if I know it, I can use it whenever I want or need."
Sephiroth nodded his head in understanding. "And it would make sense that you'd know all of Aeris's Limit Breaks. You look a lot like her."
A childish smile played Alpha's face. "Is that a complement or an insult?" he asked jokingly. The angel smiled as well, but it soon faded with a thought. Alpha saw the smile fade and the deep thought in the man's eyes. "What's wrong?"
Not looking up, Sephiroth muttered, "Delta is dead..."
Sadness swept over Alpha's face, washing away his childish innocence. He held back the urge to fall to his knees crying, taking a deep breath and throwing aside his human emotions. When he recovered, Alpha sat down beside Sephiroth and pulled the medallion from his pocket, looking it over. "Delta was the only one who cared for me..." Alpha whispered in a voice Sephiroth barely heard. "To him, I wasn't just another experiment of Hojo's...I was his little brother..." A tear fell from his hidden eye, but it vanished among Alpha's teal bangs. "Why did...he have to die?"
"He died protecting you," spoke the angel, his eyes on the floor in front of him. The man shook his head. "Its better than what anyone would do for me. I'd feel honored and loved if I were you...No one would die for me..."
"I would..." Alpha looked up at him, seeing the sadness deep within the angel's aquamarine eyes. "I'm probably the only person, but I don't care."
Again Sephiroth shook his head. "Delta said something about the fate of the world being within you. Do you know what he meant?"
Alpha shrugged. "There's a lot of stuff Delta knew that neither Beta or I did. He could have been talking about anything, or he could have been talking about it being within you." Sephiroth looked up at the android quickly. "Its possible. All I know is that he once told me this medallion, 'an orb of Ancients' light', and 'an orb of Hatred's Darkness' are the keys to unlocking the 'world of eternal paradise'."
"World of eternal paradise?" Sephiroth asked. If I didn't know any better...he thought to himself, I'd say he was talking about the Promised Lands. But that's not possible...Even I couldn't find it...Unless there was a clue I missed... "Do you know of any way of learning what Delta knew?"
"All of the data we learn is sent back to Gast's main computer," answered Alpha. "He normally saves anything and everything we pick up. I'm sure he has a few back-up files on what Delta learned."
The man nodded his head. "We'll go in two night's time, then, and hack into their main computer inside Shinra HQ."
***
"Two nights, eh?" Jenova smiled to herself, watching from her seeing-all orb. "It seems we may be expecting some company soon. But I'm surprised at how well Alpha took the news of Delta's death. The two were so close. A shame Delta died before I was done with him." She traced her lips with a slender finger with a single drop of blood on its long nail; the woman letting the liquid darken her lips. "Mmm...Still as sweet as ever, Sephiroth...your blood hasn't changed at all...Perhaps it would become much sweeter if drawn by the one you love so much."
She leaned forward on her couch, watching as the angel tucked Alpha into one of the beds. As Alpha slept soundly, Sephiroth sat on his bed in his night vigil, sharpening his katana in the silent darkness of the room.
"Ahh my dear Sephiroth and sweet little Alpha...How close you have become only to be torn apart..." Her rose-pink eyes glowed brightly, blazing like burning fires. "Perhaps I shall show them who is still in command of them all..."
***
It was midnight when Sephiroth heard Alpha stir in his sleep. A sharp sense pierced the dark angel, but he couldn't put his finger on its source, which made him even more paranoid. Nearby, Alpha got out of bed and went to Sephiroth. "Alpha, what's wrong?" he asked the teen in a whisper.
Alpha looked up from staring at the ground. His eyes were a blazing pink that shattered the darkness. Sephiroth only had moments to dodge before Alpha pulled back his fist and shouted "Beat Rush!" The android's attacks were swift, but Sephiroth's training and years in SOLDIER paid off as he blocked each of the flying punches and kicks. "Alpha!" The dark angel shouted the name. "Snap out of it! You're being controlled!" He stood on the other side of the bed, attempting to put some space between the android and himself.
Again the pentagram appeared under Alpha's feet as he whispered the spell. Sephiroth knew there was no way he could dodge or defend himself from the attack, and simply braced himself for the blow. Finally Alpha's cry broke the silence. "Sin Harvest!"
Sephiroth's shout of pain rang through the inn as the attack hit him head on, sending him flying against the wall behind him. Though his own power had absorbed some of the attack, the spell did major damage to him. His skin was charred on his chest and arms from where he blocked his face from the blow, and he bled heavily from the wounds. Alpha could hear, as he went to the fallen angel, the man's breath wheeze with effort as blood filled his lungs.
"Finish him!" a familiar voice whispered in the breeze of the open window nearby. "Finish him and bring the angel to me!"
"Alpha..." Sephiroth muttered, attempting to stand. "Stop...Don't listen to her..."
"What's going on?!" Tifa's voice shrieked as she and Cloud stood in the doorway.
"Stay back!" growled the android in a voice that was not his own. Sephiroth recognized it as Jenova's voice. "Or I'll destroy you as well!"
The dark angel coughed, emptying his lungs of a bit of the blood that choked him onto the floor as he sank to his hands and knees once more. Weakly, he shook his head and looked up at Alpha. "No...you won't..." he spoke. "You said so yourself...you don't want to kill or hurt anybody..." His strength was leaving him, but his eyes remained piercing and defiant of death as he stared up at Alpha. "Fight back Alpha...You must fight back and gain control...over...yourself..." The man's arms gave way as he fell to the floor and passed out.
"No!" Alpha shouted, holding his hands to his head. "Get out of my head!"
Tifa went to the teenager and held his arms. "Alpha! Please, listen to me!" Behind her, Cloud lifted Sephiroth's limp body from the ground and onto one of the beds. "You have to snap out of it before you hurt anyone else!"
Tears streamed down Alpha's face as he looked up at hers, the pink light fading from his eyes and returning the visible one to its normal silver. "Tifa?" he asked, his voice returning to normal. He hugged her, crying on her shoulder. "It was a horrible nightmare! I watched myself attack Sephiroth, and he got hurt badly..." He suddenly let go of her. "Where's Sephiroth?"
Before she could answer, Alpha pushed past the woman and to the fallen angel, lying burnt and near dead on the bed. Alpha's eyes watered once more as he fell to his knees beside the bed, his head sinking into his hands. "What have I done..." he whispered. "What have I done..."
"It wasn't...you..." Sephiroth answered weakly, placing a bloody hand on the teen's head. "It was Jenova...controlling you..." A weak smile crossed his face as he ruffled a bit of the teen's head. "Nothing a Potion or Cure can't heal."
"Sephy..." Alpha laughed through his tears. "Oniisan...you had me scared..."
"Sorry obotchan..." The man sighed as he removed his hand and closed his eyes to sleep. As he drifted off into slumber, he heard Alpha's voice whisper, "Sleep sweet oniisan..."
