Screw thanking the reviewers this chapter. I'm honestly not in the mood to spread more of insanity than is healthy for anyone. I need all that I can lay my evil hands on.

Ahhhh, summer in Norway. No longer do I have to put up with the snow. Now all I have to deal with is the sun that never sets... On the bright side, If I'm ever having trouble to sleep at one o' clock, I can enjoy a sunset by myself. Now wouldn't THAT be fun?

Exams in English done. This time I knew which day it was on, in what subject it was in, and I even studied for it. I feel so... dirty. How can anybody cope with this? *Shudder

After rummaging through my files, I realized to my great shock, that I'm out of PSX RPGs. This means that I have to take my need to different places, different platforms. Before I take the big step into PS2, I've decided to go through N64 ( Since I can get them for free and play them on my machine^_^ Thank god for emulation) First off, Zelda, Ocarina Of Time. Yes, I know about all the shitty things floating around about this game, but when you get right down to it was FF8 any better? At least the main characters didn't all grow up together and then suddenly forget about it ^_^ The only good thing about that game was any part BEFORE Irvine opened his mouth.

Anyway, time to move onto the fic. Today's chapter title is from Dr. Dre, and is called 'What's The Difference Between Me And You?'

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Chapter XX: What's The Difference Between Me And You?

"So, what brings you out here?" Jarred asked as Ghost regarded him with a sly smile.

"Oh, this and that. I don't suppose its much of a secret of my dislike for Wraith. He's a flipping Genocider now, you know. She granted him the power." Ghost said cheerfully.

Elena found some shocking similarities between Ghost and Jarred. They both showed a sort of carefree, devil-may-care attitude. They both obviously enjoyed battle. They talked almost carelessly about it, talking about their kills like they were the work of the moment to be gossiped about. The next similarity was their eyes. Both their eyes were an ember red, burning with magical power.

That was where the similarities ended. While Jarred seemed oblivious to women and their differences, Ghost seemed painfully aware of their importance. In fact, she registered a shocking will to obey her in Ghost. Whereas Jarred would treat her as anyone else, Ghost seemed to hold her in high regard. The next difference was the way they acted. When you got right down to it, Jarred was almost humble. He asked for everything, never impolite, (Except when it came to fighting) and conscious of everything he was doing, while Ghost seemed to have a blatant disregard for anyone other than the thing he was interested in. The final, and possibly the most important of differences, was Ghost's mode of speech. It was as if he had a small dictionary at hand at all times.

"A what?" Jarred asked, puzzlement standing out on his features. Elena knew what genocide was, but she got the general idea that that particular meaning wasn't being used at the moment.

"A Hunter-Killer." Ghost simplified. A look of fearful recognition passed over Jarred's face.

"Is she out of her mind? Does she know what Wraith will do with power like that?!"

Ghost smiled devilishly.

"Less than Psin."

Jarred's eyes went wide.

"He's not in her service, is he?"

Ghost nodded.

"Oh yes. She's even gone as far as to bestow an even higher rank than that of Wraith. He's a knight, bebe."

Jarred did something he hadn't done since The Siege of Midgar.

"F-#%!" He swore loudly.

Jarred would have let loose a few more of some of the more colourful words of Cid, but was interrupted by a downward gust of wind. Jarred was knocked off his feet, along with Elena and Ghost. There came a deep roar from the sky, and all three looked up to see a black dragon descending upon them.

"Can't you EVER make good things happen?!" Jarred demanded, shooting a glare at Ghost, who merely shrugged in return.

Both Ghost pulled out his pistol and calmly aimed it. Jarred mysteriously managed to fit his evil-looking glove on and pull his axe into play. Elena watched as both the dark-skinned warriors grimly approached their enemy. Ghost emptied a round on the huge beast's chest, but his weapon was woefully weak for the task at hand. The bullets bounced off the hard hide. Jarred was sufficing slight better. He was moving quickly, hacking and slicing at every opening the dragon left. But he was leaving himself painfully open to attack. He threw his axe at the beast's neck, but missed, and wasn't prepared for the counter blow. The dragon's tail smacked him down swiftly.

Ghost teleported there in an instant. He had discarded his pistol after it had become clear that it was useless against the dragon. The monster reared back, and coughed out a rush of fire. Ghost raised his hands, which were glowing with red light. The fire stopped suddenly, as if unsure where to go, but soon wreathed around Ghost. He raised his fists, and the flames were sucked into his palms.

The dragon looked in mild confusion at this, but was not undaunted. It lashed out with its tail, slashing downwards toward the lone Half-Breed. Ghost opened his hands, and threw what seemed to be a compression of hell itself at the tail.

Elena was blinded for a moment by the light of the blaze, but soon regained her sight afterwards. She looked around her, but there were no signs of the beast that assaulted them. Ghost was kneeling on the ground, gasping for air. Jarred stood up on his feet, and went to ghost's side. They had a whispered conversation, in which Elena had no hope in overhearing. Ghost stood up, weakly at first, but seeming to gain power. A smile grew on his face as he noticed Elena's look on him.

"Worried?" He asked slyly, teleporting next to her. "I am quite alright, as you can see." He drew in close. "Perhaps you would like to see HOW alright I am?"

He collapsed to the ground once again, as Elena punched him soundly in the gut.

"NothankyouIwouldnot." She said quickly.

Jarred laughed.

"Well, C'mon then, Cloud and Your friends won't wait forever!" Jarred announced, and began a speedy sprint northwards, towards the Cetra Capital. With a laugh, Ghost followed, his voluminous cloak billowing and blowing as he sped after Jarred. Elena stood there for a moment, and then reacted.

"HEY! YOU CAN'T LEAVE ME HERE! WAIT UP!" She called after them, trying to match their speedy pace. "YOU TWO ARE *MEAN*!"

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Psin looked in great disdain at the ashy remains of the dragon.

He hadn't expected Ghost to appear. Not so soon, at least. Maybe Wraith was cracking. Maybe Ghost had taken a liking the human wench.

The mercenary sneered. Maybe pigs would fly.

Ghost presented a great danger, Psin knew. Ghost may be a weak, lecherous fool, but nobody that fool packed some serious power in him. Anybody who had black skin and glowing eyes, in fact, were a danger to him at the moment.

Psin was growing increasingly anxious lately. He could feel the presence demons. LOTS of demons. Coming from the North. And as much as he hated Jarred, he couldn't allow the Prince of Darkness to go to his doom. Not yet, atleast. Too many things remained for the warrior to do for him to die now.

So, he decided to bring his observations to forces more potent than he was at the moment. Like Wraith. Or maybe even, her.

Psin gathered his cloak around himself. Maybe later. He had to do things now. He faded into the background, going on to do some unknown task.

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Seph X stood out on the deck once again. He stood in total solitude, shutting out the world. He had to bar the door with the Massamune to do it, but the point was that he was alone. Alone like Jarred had been.

Seph X hadn't really cared a lot during The Siege, but now that he thought about it Jarred had been doing entirely too much chaos. And then, a few months later, he had been completely normal, not even hinting at the berserk warrior he had been during The Siege. It had taken some speculating, but Seph X arrived at the deduction that his follower had been taking out his aggression on Midgar, by destroying buildings with his unique magic. Releasing pent up anger at the world.

Of course, he was just a machine, living a synthetic life, with synthetic memories and a strangely synthetic personality. He was nothing but a spectator in the great play that was life. A being who lived on electricity, made of steel, muscles of mechanics, mind of computer. His judgements on organic beings could only be SO accurate. And of course, his judgement on non-organic beings stretched only SO far. It usually started with himself, and ended there as well. Not a very enlightening process of thought.

But, as a sentient being, he was entitled to be a paranoid, philosophizing, speculative idiot. And that was exactly what he felt like being for the moment. Seph X, mechanical clone of the worlds worst nightmare, felt like being completely stupid.

He stared down at the snowfields below him. To his great amusement, he saw the Highwind pass over his house. He fought with the urge to say something stupid like "Hey, I can see my house from here.".

Almost immediately, someone banged on the door to the deck.

"What the...?" Someone muttered from the other side, sounding suspiciously like Barret. "YO! SEPH-WANNABE! YOU'D BEST OPEN DIS F-"#¤-IN' DOOR!" he heard the massive man bellow. Seph X grinned. Definitely Barret.

His journey ended here. His follower was gone, and he longed to escape from the presence of that god accursed demon.

The machine walked over to the door, pulled his blade free from the handle, and leapt over the edge of the Highwind, confident that nothing could destroy his Krotonite body. Sure enough, the ground was crushed underfoot, but the foot itself received no damage whatsoever. Seph X pulled his foot out of the earth with mechanic strength, and walked coolly towards his humble abode.

If it was the last he would do, Seph X would try to go through exactly what Jarred had subjected himself to. Isolation, loneliness, possibly regret. It was one of those strange mood swings he got, after all. And as a sentient being, he was entitled to have a few of those before he turned himself off permanently.

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Barret kicked the door open, which opened easily, making the big man fall forward with a great 'oomph'. Almost all of AVALANCHE smirked at this, but soon went on to discuss look for where Seph X was. There was no sign of him anywhere on the deck. Vincent even went as far to fly around the hull, just to check if he wasn't feeling suicidal or something. Even machines got depressed, they guessed. But he wasn't anywhere to be seen. Which wasn't completely outrageous. Seph X hadn't really been trusted all that much, considering his origins. Anything that strong that came from Hojo couldn't be entirely reliable. Look at Sephiroth. AND Seph X was a clone of that ambitious demon. His presence hadn't really been desirable, and at best was unnerving in his matter-of-fact way of speaking, as if he existence was just to prove his superiority.

"Damn, we are evil people." Tifa mumbled under her breath. "How can we just let these people die and not care. First Elena and Jarred, now Seph X. I'm beginning to think we're jinxed."

Cloud shrugged, and looked over the edge.

"Not likely, looks like he just jumped out now." He said, looking at the small crater in the ground where Seph X had landed. "His trademark."

"Look, there's a house there! Do you think he lives there? Should we ask?" Aeris said suddenly. Everyone cringed slightly. They were still getting used to the notion of Aeris being alive.

Cid shrugged.

"I say F-#¤% 'im." He said, to Shera's distaste. "'E's a big boy. Or a big machine, atleast. He knows what he wants." The old pilot commented. "'Sides, how comfortable do we feel around him? Would anyone trust him explicitly?"

There was a silent assent from the group.

"Good, then I think we should continue north to look for the source of those dragons."

At this, Kahn shrinked into the shadows, embarrassed about something or other. Vincent raised a curious eyebrow. Kahn was certainly changing.

"Cetra, I'll let YOU tell them about my doings." And with that, the demon sought refuge in the air. Nox Seran perked up. The snake-lord had a fiendish smile on his wicked features, and he whipped out his hand puppets.

"Oh, so they WERE you're dragons! I KNEW there was something familiar about them, and they way they were killed so easily!" He harassed, flinging one of the puppets at the retreating demon. The puppet, of course, landed outside of Seph X's door. (The machine, naturally, took it as a sign that the world was out to get him when he discovered the puppet.)

As the two demons went on bandying words, Vincent took wing to check up on the fleeing demon lord.

Aeris smiled sweetly at the remaining group.

"Well, you see, Kahn had this CRAZY idea..." She began.

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Jarred, having been the first one running arrived at the cryptic city first. He stood on the stone crossway, a hyper grin stamped on his face. Like always, his eyes burned with potency. Only now, approaching midnight, they almost seemed, menacing. Almost, though. His broad smile dispelled the very thought of him having cruel intentions.

Ghost arrived soon after, also with a grin.

Elena, however, did not suffice the hard sprinting as well as they had. She, who was still wearing high-heals for some strange reason, did NOT find the going easy. She arrived panting, cursing under her breath. Small sweat beads ran down her brow, and her blonde hair was slightly damp. She glared daggers at Jarred and Ghost.

Jarred and Ghost looked up at the sky, as if first noticing the sky had gone from blue to black.

"Well I'll be," Jarred remarked. "Night already?"

Ghost smiled roguishly, and came in close to Elena once more.

"Maybe we should seek refuge from the cold night? I know this wonderful place. Problem is, there isn't much room." He slyly. Elena edged towards Jarred, too tired to inflict physical harm to Ghost. "Ah, I see the pillar of ice is melting!" He said happily, noticing the lack of harm he was receiving.

Jarred looked around for a moment, searching for somewhere likely to sleep. Eventually he pointed to one of the ancient shells.

"That one looks alright." He commented.

Ghost reluctantly followed.

"Kinda... big, isn't it? It'll be really cold." He said, with much distaste.

Elena couldn't believe them. They had been running from morning till night, and didn't show the slightest of signs of fatigue.

"Please!" She pleaded. "Wait up!"

Jarred and Ghost turned around.

"Are you tired?" Jarred asked, seeming to have just noticed that little fact as well. He walked up to Elena and put an hand on her back. "Are you."

Elena shot venom at the young warrior.

"You're damn right I am. How do you two do it?"

Jarred shrugged.

"We're strong. Nothing to it. Want some help getting to the place?" He asked cheerfully.

Elena nodded, a bit too tired to speak. Jarred picked the Turk up, and held her strongly in his arms.

"To the house!" He announced, breaking into a sprint once again.

Despite his speed, and the obvious amount of jostling around he must have been going through, Elena could hardly notice any of it. Jarred held her with a careful, but firm grip that held her still. Jarred held her with such careful strength that she hardly believed that this same person found fighting as a form of entertainment.

The Turk could feel Jarred's warmth, hear his heartbeat even. Surprisingly, even while carrying her, Jarred's heart beat at a pretty even rate. And almost with grudging knowledge, she also noticed that Jarred had no shortage of muscle. His chest and stomach were as hard as steel. She poked Jarred's chest experimentally.

"Please don't." The black skinned man mumbled, another one of those smiles broke out on his features. "It tickles."

Elena thought about this for a minute, and poked again.

"Oh, you're SO getting it when you're awake enough to realize you're getting it." Jarred murmured.

The three entered the shell, and were met with the glowing crystals that served as lamps. Three beds ran across the sides of the shell. A small, worn out rug stretched across the floor.

Jarred flopped Elena down on the one with the most pillows.

"Aww, that's not fair!" Ghost complained. "I was going to call it!"

Jarred sat down on the next potentially comfortable bed.

"Too bad, Ghost. You're living in a dictatorship, and guess who's in control?" Jarred mumbled.

"Me, of course." Elena declared, sitting up. "Women were made to rule you silly men."

Jarred seemed to think about this for a minute.

"If that's true, then how come guys are bigger than girls? Hey, is Reeve a girl? Wow, I never thought he, oopps, sorry, SHE was a woman."

Ghost smirked, and Elena merely stared at Jarred.

"Whoa! What about CLOUD? Is SHE a woman? Hey, Barret is the mayor of North Coral, isn't he? Than wouldn't that make him a she, too? " He pondered. "Amazing. And I always thought they were all guys."

At this point Ghost had fallen to ground laughing, and even Elena had to laugh. Jarred seemed to notice this, and looked at the pair with some curiosity.

"What? Did I miss anything?" All he was received was more laughter. "Well FINE!" He declared. "I'll just go to bed then!"

The young warrior began unbuttoning the cloak he had borrowed from Wraith. Elena caught herself staring at Jarred's exposed chest, admiring it. She caught Ghost's knowing smile, and blushed deeply, laying down in bed.

She heard a clang and looked up once again to see Jarred discarding his hand axe and claws. He was apperantly goading ghost into the same.

"I won't have you rolling in your sleeping, and shooting me. Put 'em down. Now." Jarred demanded. Ghost reluctantly pulled out a pistol, and threw it next to Jarred's weapons. Jarred glared. Ghost reached in his cloak again, this time pulling out a sub-machine gun. Jarred's glare intensified.

"I haven't got anymore!" Ghost exclaimed, beginning to unbutton his own cloak.

Jarred glared one last time, then walked over to Elena.

"You too, 'Lena." He demanded.

Elena was fixed with those red eyes as well, and she couldn't resist. They seemed to kill any resistance before it even managed to rise. The Turk pulled out her pistol, and materia, and tossed them beside the other weapons.

Jarred beamed.

"Now! Time for sleep!"

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Yes, its been a while. A SLIGHT while atleast, but I'm back. HOORAY!

No more homework for a year!!! Exams OVER! (And I DIDN'T fail completely!) AND SLIGHT ROMANCE IN THE FIC!!!!!! HOORAY!!!!