Chapter V: The Seekers of Knowledge
"Everyone thinks of changing the world, but no one thinks of changing
himself."
-Leo Tolstoy
***~~~***
"Where's Seph?" Yuffie asked. It was more to herself than to anyone else, but Squall spoke up nonetheless.
"The library," He replied, leaning against the wall of the waterways.
"Again?! He's been in there every day for the past week!" Aerith moaned.
"I think Seph needs a nice intervention! Who's with me?" Yuffie cheered, holding up a fist. Aerith looked at Yuffie as if she were insane, and Squall quirked a very confused brow. "All right, all right. Maybe he doesn't need an intervention, but he sure as heck should get something!"
"I'll go talk with him," replied Squall, stepping away from the wall he was leaning on. He started for the library, his footsteps echoing through the castle corridors.
"Do you think he can set Seph straight?" Yuffie asked.
"I hope so... I'm really worried about Seph..."
***~~~***
Ansem dashed into his lab, quickly as he could, and he locked the door behind him. He had experiments to conduct, and he couldn't let anybody disturb him. That, and he had two cats in a sack.
"All right, Heartless... Let's just see what you like..."
With that, he set a cat down in a fenced area, walked over to the other side of the lab, and pulled a random chain, that was hanging from the ceiling. Upon pulling the chain, a cage door rose, and a small Heartless hobbled out. Being sure not to hit the cat, or the Heartless, Ansem tossed a fairly large rock into the fenced area.
The Heartless walked around the closed off area, circling the cat. It completely ignored the rock. The Heartless then hobbled next to the cat, which hissed at the Heartless. Then the Heartless stole the cat's heart.
If Ansem blinked, he would've missed it, but the cat's heart left its body, and went into the body of the Heartless. With that, the cat turned into a Heartless itself, feline in nature.
"Fascinating... It seems those who lose their hearts to the Heartless, become Heartless themselves... But... I wonder..."
Ansem walked over to his desk and began writing.
"The Heartless appear in groups, and are multiplying rapidly. I've provided them both living and nonliving samples. They've responded only to the living. They seem to multiply after absorbing something from the living creatures. Their prey vanishes without a trace.
I believe the Heartless are taking hearts. They are born from those who've lost their hearts, and thrive on hearts seized from others. The hearts taken by the heartless become Heartless themselves.
Though I lack proof, I am confident in this hypothesis. I must also study their behavioral principles.
Though they lack emotions, they do seem to have some intelligence. How to communicate with them?
It's just occurred to me: Could they be the darkness in people's hearts?"
Ansem titled the document, 'Report, Page Four', and filed it with three other similar pages. And Ansem continued with his experimentations.
***~~~***
Squall walked through the library quietly. He started to worry when he saw almost every book had been taken off the shelves, and he could've sworn that almost every shelf had been rearranged, making the library an unknown labyrinth.
Sephiroth sidestepped from a bookshelf, blocking Squall's path. Squall jumped in surprise, but Sephiroth wasn't phased.
"Hello, Squall Leonhart."
"Erm... Hello, Sephiroth. Are you all right?"
"I'm just fine. And yourself?"
"Oh... um... I'm good..."
"All right, then.... Have a glorious day." And with that, Sephiroth walked away. Squall tried to follow him but got lost. Somehow, the library had changed, and became a labyrinth, very dissimilar from how it was before... None of the book shelves were where they should have been... Eventually, Squall backtracked, and went to find the others.
***~~~***
Sephiroth was so indulged in his reading, that he didn't even notice it when He arrived.
"What are you doing, Sephiroth?"
"Hm? Oh, it's you..." Sephiroth spat. Cloud arched a brow.
"What do you mean? What about me?"
"You. You are a warrior for the light." Cloud arched his brow again. "You will be one of the few who will try to eradicate the darkness. Oh, excuse me, the [i]coming[/i] darkness, anyway."
"Is that such a bad thing?" Cloud asked.
"It is. You don't see... Nobody sees it!"
"Sees what?" asked Cloud, scratching his head.
"That darkness is the heart's true essence! Darkness is the ultimate power! And you all want to destroy it? To stop it from coming into being?!"
"Yes," Cloud replied firmly.
"Impossible! Darkness will come! It will take everything and all! Including you." Cloud only smirked at Sephiroth's rant, but on the inside, he was terrified.
"I'm leaving Sephiroth. I hope you enjoy yourself and your delusions." With that, Cloud walked out and left Sephiroth to his reading. It was not five minutes after Cloud left, that Sephiroth was Gone.
***~~~***
Laguna and Cid were outside Ansem's laboratory. It was just past one in the morning, and cold air was rushing from the Rising Falls. Laguna's teeth were chattering, but Cid, on the other hand, stood as if it were summer day.
"I'm cold!" Laguna whined. Cid shot Laguna a 'shut-up-if-you-know-what's- good-for-you' look, and knocked on the laboratory's door. After no response, Cid, again, rapped softly on the door. Again, there was no response. Laguna shoved Cid out of the way, and loudly banged on the door with his fist. Nothing.
With his pistol, Laguna shot the door's handle and kicked it open.
"Wow, that was loud enough to wake everyone in the castle," muttered Cid.
"Shh! Someone might hear you!" Laguna hissed. Cid rolled his eyes, and followed Laguna into the dark laboratory. Ansem was waiting for them.
***~~~***
"Hello, Aerith." The voice behind Aerith made a chill run down her back. She tensed her shoulders, and turned to face Cloud.
"Oh... hello Cloud... What brings you here?"
"I spoke with Sephiroth in the library." Cloud replied, scratching his head. Aerith cocked a brow and crossed her arms.
"And...?" Aerith's voice was cautious, as Cloud still made her nervous.
"He's become obsessed with darkness. I think he needs help... Have you spoken with his father?" Cloud asked curiously. Aerith scuffed her toe on the stone floor. The two were standing in a section of the Bastion that overlooked the ocean. A slight breeze ran through the windowless corridor and beat against Aerith's skin.
"No... I haven't seen Vincent around for a few days." Aerith replied, the cautious tone never leaving her voice. She may felt a tad bit of physical attraction to Cloud, but she still feared him. Cloud, sensing this held out a gloved hand.
"That first impression of me didn't go very well, did it?" Aerith, fear in her eyes, shook her head slowly. "I'd like a chance to make that up. If you'll let me." Aerith stared at Cloud for a long while until she reluctantly shook Cloud's hand. "Thank you, Aerith."
***~~~***
Squall entered his room and closed the door behind him. He ransacked his room, looking for one thing he knew would bring Sephiroth back- a drawing of Yuffie.
Gala had drawn the picture of Yuffie six months ago, and Yuffie gave it to Squall as a present when their relationship ended three months ago. Squall found the drawing in the most obvious of places- his nightstand. It was framed it a frame carved from a piece of the Bastion itself.
Squall lifted the drawing from his nightstand, and walked out of his room, only to literally run into Ellone. Ellone clutched her nose in pain, and Squall rubbed his forehead.
"Hey, why don't you watch where you're going, klutz?" Squall asked bitterly. Tears were streaming down Ellone's cheeks. "Oh, Sis, I'm sorry, did I hurt you?" Ellone sniffed, a mixture of mucus and blood running up her nose.
"I'm fine, but Uncle Laguna, he... He's missing!" Squall's expression went from concerned to grim.
"So?" he asked in response. Ellone looked mortified, and without thinking, she slapped Squall. A red print of Ellone's hand burned on his left cheek, the pain stinging. He hated to see Ellone like this, and understood her worry, but Squall just didn't care. "What was that for?!" he asked, annoyed, instead of rubbing his forehead, he now rubbed his cheek.
"You know damn well what that was for! Uncle Laguna is the closest thing you have to a father, and you treat him as if he was nothing!"
"Well, actually-"
"Stop. Leave this house. Now." Ellone ordered, pointing towards the door. Squall glared at Ellone, and picked up his gunblade, holding the drawing of Yuffie close to his chest. He walked to the door, violent turning the knob, and as he walked out he slammed it forcefully behind him.
Squall was storming through the halls of stone, some people staring at him as he walked past them, but Squall didn't care. He was too angry to think of others, his mind was only on Laguna, and his poisonous hatred towards him.
'Who cares if he's missing?! I hope he is dead. I wouldn't give a damn if he was attacked by a Heartless and killed.' The dark thoughts about Laguna, and the mentioning of the Heartless in his mind finally attracted them to him.
Squall wasn't paying attention, not even to the people who were running away in fear. He was suddenly attacked from behind, and sent sprawling forward, his gunblade impaling him through the stomach, the framed drawing of Yuffie flying through the air.
It landed on the stone floor, and cracked, then shattered. Squall looked at it with a great despair, not even noticing the blood oozing from his wound. Not even noticing as he coughed blood. Not noticing as he vomited on the stone floors, the acrid mixture of blood and bile, stinging his nose. He landed with a thud to the floor, and his eyes fluttered closed.
***~~~***
A mournful dirge, a melancholic echo was what Laguna woke up to. His eyes opened and he sat up, groggily.
"Where am I?" he asked loudly to nobody in particular.
"We're in jail, moron." Cid replied bitterly. Laguna looked around for Cid but couldn't find him.
"Where are you?" Laguna asked dumbly.
"In the cell next to yours, jackass. Your little night raid landed us both in jail."
"For what?"
"Will you stop with all of the stupid questions?! Apparently, it's a law that the laboratory is forbidden." Cid's voice echoed through the dungeon.
"Oh... Why don't I remember anything?"
"You hit your head on the way in- the door was kind of low. You conked out after that." Cid could be heard striking a match and lighting his pipe.
"Oh. Did you see what Ansem was doing in the lab?" Laguna asked excitedly, feeling a large bump on his forehead.
"He had one of them little Heartless buggers. Poking 'im with a stick, seeing how it'd react."
"Oh." Laguna was disappointed that Ansem was locked away in his lab, poking black stuffed animals with sticks. He stood, and shook the bars, then tried to see if he was thin enough to slip through, and, of course, he wasn't. "So, Cid, m'friend, how're we gonna get out of this one?"
"Not a damned clue. Last I checked Ansem doesn't keep a key for the dungeons." Cid replied from the next cell over.
"Yes he does. I've been in here before. Remember when I tried to kill Queen Dalaar?"
"How could I forget? You had the entire castle in an uproar."
"Well I was thrown in here. But when Ansem came down and personally talked to me, he let me out, on accord if I swore my life I'd never steal again."
"Then he should've thrown you back in here long before now- you still haven't returned my tool set. What do you do with those, anyway?" Cid asked.
"Hey, has anybody come down to see us?" Laguna replied quickly.
"Nope. Not a soul. Though, when we were thrown in here, I remember someone else was in another cell. He was screamin' up a storm."
"Torture, I guess. Who was it?"
"Don't know. But the screaming was reduced to muttering a few hours ago, and he stopped talking altogether a few minutes ago. Bastard was driving me nuts. Hmm... HEY, BUDDY, ARE YOU ALRIGHT?!" Cid's yell got no response. "Must've fallen asleep or somethin'..."
A chill ran down Laguna's spine as the dungeon was cold and damp- that had to be it... "Yeah, I suppose. So, how're we gonna get out of here?"
"Didn't you already ask that?" Cid asked, annoyed.
"Yeah, but you never answered. Do you think we'll be tortured or killed too? If so, we'd better come up with something quick!"
"You're the non-brains here, you figure something out. I'm taking a nap." Laguna opened his mouth to say something, but thought better of it. As Cid started snoring, Laguna started plotting.
***~~~***
Sephiroth went home, more tomes, journals, scrolls, and other things under his arm. Black circles hung below his eyes, which themselves were bloodshot. He had been awake for the past seventy-four hours, reading. He decided to go home for rest and restoration, followed by reading.
As he walked into his home Vincent sat at the kitchen table, his expression sad, yet grim. He looked at Sephiroth as the door opened. Sephiroth could see a mix of emotions and paused, waiting for his father to say something. After a few moments of silence Sephiroth spoke.
"What is it?" he asked impatiently.
"You haven't been home in more than three days. You said you were going to the library."
"I was in the library." Sephiroth replied shortly.
"Liar." Vincent replied.
"I was. I was researching something for the king. Ask him yourself."
"I did. He said he asked a favor of you. He didn't think you'd take it so seriously," Vincent countered. Sephiroth scoffed.
"He's lying," replied sharply. Vincent got to his feet angrily, his chair sweeping across the floor and hitting the wall.
"Don't even start!" Vincent snarled ferociously. After a pause, he sighed, and sat back in his chair. "There's something else... Squall, he... tried to commit suicide earlier today. He impaled himself with his gunblade. The drawing of Yuffie was near his body.
Sephiroth seemed apathetic but he replied anyway. "Is he dead?"
"No... They've got him in the infirmary. Yuffie, Aerith, and... um... Cloud... they're at the hospital right now. Do you want to go?"
"I'm tired, and I've got research." Before Vincent could reply, Sephiroth stormed in his room, slamming the door behind him.
"Everyone thinks of changing the world, but no one thinks of changing
himself."
-Leo Tolstoy
***~~~***
"Where's Seph?" Yuffie asked. It was more to herself than to anyone else, but Squall spoke up nonetheless.
"The library," He replied, leaning against the wall of the waterways.
"Again?! He's been in there every day for the past week!" Aerith moaned.
"I think Seph needs a nice intervention! Who's with me?" Yuffie cheered, holding up a fist. Aerith looked at Yuffie as if she were insane, and Squall quirked a very confused brow. "All right, all right. Maybe he doesn't need an intervention, but he sure as heck should get something!"
"I'll go talk with him," replied Squall, stepping away from the wall he was leaning on. He started for the library, his footsteps echoing through the castle corridors.
"Do you think he can set Seph straight?" Yuffie asked.
"I hope so... I'm really worried about Seph..."
***~~~***
Ansem dashed into his lab, quickly as he could, and he locked the door behind him. He had experiments to conduct, and he couldn't let anybody disturb him. That, and he had two cats in a sack.
"All right, Heartless... Let's just see what you like..."
With that, he set a cat down in a fenced area, walked over to the other side of the lab, and pulled a random chain, that was hanging from the ceiling. Upon pulling the chain, a cage door rose, and a small Heartless hobbled out. Being sure not to hit the cat, or the Heartless, Ansem tossed a fairly large rock into the fenced area.
The Heartless walked around the closed off area, circling the cat. It completely ignored the rock. The Heartless then hobbled next to the cat, which hissed at the Heartless. Then the Heartless stole the cat's heart.
If Ansem blinked, he would've missed it, but the cat's heart left its body, and went into the body of the Heartless. With that, the cat turned into a Heartless itself, feline in nature.
"Fascinating... It seems those who lose their hearts to the Heartless, become Heartless themselves... But... I wonder..."
Ansem walked over to his desk and began writing.
"The Heartless appear in groups, and are multiplying rapidly. I've provided them both living and nonliving samples. They've responded only to the living. They seem to multiply after absorbing something from the living creatures. Their prey vanishes without a trace.
I believe the Heartless are taking hearts. They are born from those who've lost their hearts, and thrive on hearts seized from others. The hearts taken by the heartless become Heartless themselves.
Though I lack proof, I am confident in this hypothesis. I must also study their behavioral principles.
Though they lack emotions, they do seem to have some intelligence. How to communicate with them?
It's just occurred to me: Could they be the darkness in people's hearts?"
Ansem titled the document, 'Report, Page Four', and filed it with three other similar pages. And Ansem continued with his experimentations.
***~~~***
Squall walked through the library quietly. He started to worry when he saw almost every book had been taken off the shelves, and he could've sworn that almost every shelf had been rearranged, making the library an unknown labyrinth.
Sephiroth sidestepped from a bookshelf, blocking Squall's path. Squall jumped in surprise, but Sephiroth wasn't phased.
"Hello, Squall Leonhart."
"Erm... Hello, Sephiroth. Are you all right?"
"I'm just fine. And yourself?"
"Oh... um... I'm good..."
"All right, then.... Have a glorious day." And with that, Sephiroth walked away. Squall tried to follow him but got lost. Somehow, the library had changed, and became a labyrinth, very dissimilar from how it was before... None of the book shelves were where they should have been... Eventually, Squall backtracked, and went to find the others.
***~~~***
Sephiroth was so indulged in his reading, that he didn't even notice it when He arrived.
"What are you doing, Sephiroth?"
"Hm? Oh, it's you..." Sephiroth spat. Cloud arched a brow.
"What do you mean? What about me?"
"You. You are a warrior for the light." Cloud arched his brow again. "You will be one of the few who will try to eradicate the darkness. Oh, excuse me, the [i]coming[/i] darkness, anyway."
"Is that such a bad thing?" Cloud asked.
"It is. You don't see... Nobody sees it!"
"Sees what?" asked Cloud, scratching his head.
"That darkness is the heart's true essence! Darkness is the ultimate power! And you all want to destroy it? To stop it from coming into being?!"
"Yes," Cloud replied firmly.
"Impossible! Darkness will come! It will take everything and all! Including you." Cloud only smirked at Sephiroth's rant, but on the inside, he was terrified.
"I'm leaving Sephiroth. I hope you enjoy yourself and your delusions." With that, Cloud walked out and left Sephiroth to his reading. It was not five minutes after Cloud left, that Sephiroth was Gone.
***~~~***
Laguna and Cid were outside Ansem's laboratory. It was just past one in the morning, and cold air was rushing from the Rising Falls. Laguna's teeth were chattering, but Cid, on the other hand, stood as if it were summer day.
"I'm cold!" Laguna whined. Cid shot Laguna a 'shut-up-if-you-know-what's- good-for-you' look, and knocked on the laboratory's door. After no response, Cid, again, rapped softly on the door. Again, there was no response. Laguna shoved Cid out of the way, and loudly banged on the door with his fist. Nothing.
With his pistol, Laguna shot the door's handle and kicked it open.
"Wow, that was loud enough to wake everyone in the castle," muttered Cid.
"Shh! Someone might hear you!" Laguna hissed. Cid rolled his eyes, and followed Laguna into the dark laboratory. Ansem was waiting for them.
***~~~***
"Hello, Aerith." The voice behind Aerith made a chill run down her back. She tensed her shoulders, and turned to face Cloud.
"Oh... hello Cloud... What brings you here?"
"I spoke with Sephiroth in the library." Cloud replied, scratching his head. Aerith cocked a brow and crossed her arms.
"And...?" Aerith's voice was cautious, as Cloud still made her nervous.
"He's become obsessed with darkness. I think he needs help... Have you spoken with his father?" Cloud asked curiously. Aerith scuffed her toe on the stone floor. The two were standing in a section of the Bastion that overlooked the ocean. A slight breeze ran through the windowless corridor and beat against Aerith's skin.
"No... I haven't seen Vincent around for a few days." Aerith replied, the cautious tone never leaving her voice. She may felt a tad bit of physical attraction to Cloud, but she still feared him. Cloud, sensing this held out a gloved hand.
"That first impression of me didn't go very well, did it?" Aerith, fear in her eyes, shook her head slowly. "I'd like a chance to make that up. If you'll let me." Aerith stared at Cloud for a long while until she reluctantly shook Cloud's hand. "Thank you, Aerith."
***~~~***
Squall entered his room and closed the door behind him. He ransacked his room, looking for one thing he knew would bring Sephiroth back- a drawing of Yuffie.
Gala had drawn the picture of Yuffie six months ago, and Yuffie gave it to Squall as a present when their relationship ended three months ago. Squall found the drawing in the most obvious of places- his nightstand. It was framed it a frame carved from a piece of the Bastion itself.
Squall lifted the drawing from his nightstand, and walked out of his room, only to literally run into Ellone. Ellone clutched her nose in pain, and Squall rubbed his forehead.
"Hey, why don't you watch where you're going, klutz?" Squall asked bitterly. Tears were streaming down Ellone's cheeks. "Oh, Sis, I'm sorry, did I hurt you?" Ellone sniffed, a mixture of mucus and blood running up her nose.
"I'm fine, but Uncle Laguna, he... He's missing!" Squall's expression went from concerned to grim.
"So?" he asked in response. Ellone looked mortified, and without thinking, she slapped Squall. A red print of Ellone's hand burned on his left cheek, the pain stinging. He hated to see Ellone like this, and understood her worry, but Squall just didn't care. "What was that for?!" he asked, annoyed, instead of rubbing his forehead, he now rubbed his cheek.
"You know damn well what that was for! Uncle Laguna is the closest thing you have to a father, and you treat him as if he was nothing!"
"Well, actually-"
"Stop. Leave this house. Now." Ellone ordered, pointing towards the door. Squall glared at Ellone, and picked up his gunblade, holding the drawing of Yuffie close to his chest. He walked to the door, violent turning the knob, and as he walked out he slammed it forcefully behind him.
Squall was storming through the halls of stone, some people staring at him as he walked past them, but Squall didn't care. He was too angry to think of others, his mind was only on Laguna, and his poisonous hatred towards him.
'Who cares if he's missing?! I hope he is dead. I wouldn't give a damn if he was attacked by a Heartless and killed.' The dark thoughts about Laguna, and the mentioning of the Heartless in his mind finally attracted them to him.
Squall wasn't paying attention, not even to the people who were running away in fear. He was suddenly attacked from behind, and sent sprawling forward, his gunblade impaling him through the stomach, the framed drawing of Yuffie flying through the air.
It landed on the stone floor, and cracked, then shattered. Squall looked at it with a great despair, not even noticing the blood oozing from his wound. Not even noticing as he coughed blood. Not noticing as he vomited on the stone floors, the acrid mixture of blood and bile, stinging his nose. He landed with a thud to the floor, and his eyes fluttered closed.
***~~~***
A mournful dirge, a melancholic echo was what Laguna woke up to. His eyes opened and he sat up, groggily.
"Where am I?" he asked loudly to nobody in particular.
"We're in jail, moron." Cid replied bitterly. Laguna looked around for Cid but couldn't find him.
"Where are you?" Laguna asked dumbly.
"In the cell next to yours, jackass. Your little night raid landed us both in jail."
"For what?"
"Will you stop with all of the stupid questions?! Apparently, it's a law that the laboratory is forbidden." Cid's voice echoed through the dungeon.
"Oh... Why don't I remember anything?"
"You hit your head on the way in- the door was kind of low. You conked out after that." Cid could be heard striking a match and lighting his pipe.
"Oh. Did you see what Ansem was doing in the lab?" Laguna asked excitedly, feeling a large bump on his forehead.
"He had one of them little Heartless buggers. Poking 'im with a stick, seeing how it'd react."
"Oh." Laguna was disappointed that Ansem was locked away in his lab, poking black stuffed animals with sticks. He stood, and shook the bars, then tried to see if he was thin enough to slip through, and, of course, he wasn't. "So, Cid, m'friend, how're we gonna get out of this one?"
"Not a damned clue. Last I checked Ansem doesn't keep a key for the dungeons." Cid replied from the next cell over.
"Yes he does. I've been in here before. Remember when I tried to kill Queen Dalaar?"
"How could I forget? You had the entire castle in an uproar."
"Well I was thrown in here. But when Ansem came down and personally talked to me, he let me out, on accord if I swore my life I'd never steal again."
"Then he should've thrown you back in here long before now- you still haven't returned my tool set. What do you do with those, anyway?" Cid asked.
"Hey, has anybody come down to see us?" Laguna replied quickly.
"Nope. Not a soul. Though, when we were thrown in here, I remember someone else was in another cell. He was screamin' up a storm."
"Torture, I guess. Who was it?"
"Don't know. But the screaming was reduced to muttering a few hours ago, and he stopped talking altogether a few minutes ago. Bastard was driving me nuts. Hmm... HEY, BUDDY, ARE YOU ALRIGHT?!" Cid's yell got no response. "Must've fallen asleep or somethin'..."
A chill ran down Laguna's spine as the dungeon was cold and damp- that had to be it... "Yeah, I suppose. So, how're we gonna get out of here?"
"Didn't you already ask that?" Cid asked, annoyed.
"Yeah, but you never answered. Do you think we'll be tortured or killed too? If so, we'd better come up with something quick!"
"You're the non-brains here, you figure something out. I'm taking a nap." Laguna opened his mouth to say something, but thought better of it. As Cid started snoring, Laguna started plotting.
***~~~***
Sephiroth went home, more tomes, journals, scrolls, and other things under his arm. Black circles hung below his eyes, which themselves were bloodshot. He had been awake for the past seventy-four hours, reading. He decided to go home for rest and restoration, followed by reading.
As he walked into his home Vincent sat at the kitchen table, his expression sad, yet grim. He looked at Sephiroth as the door opened. Sephiroth could see a mix of emotions and paused, waiting for his father to say something. After a few moments of silence Sephiroth spoke.
"What is it?" he asked impatiently.
"You haven't been home in more than three days. You said you were going to the library."
"I was in the library." Sephiroth replied shortly.
"Liar." Vincent replied.
"I was. I was researching something for the king. Ask him yourself."
"I did. He said he asked a favor of you. He didn't think you'd take it so seriously," Vincent countered. Sephiroth scoffed.
"He's lying," replied sharply. Vincent got to his feet angrily, his chair sweeping across the floor and hitting the wall.
"Don't even start!" Vincent snarled ferociously. After a pause, he sighed, and sat back in his chair. "There's something else... Squall, he... tried to commit suicide earlier today. He impaled himself with his gunblade. The drawing of Yuffie was near his body.
Sephiroth seemed apathetic but he replied anyway. "Is he dead?"
"No... They've got him in the infirmary. Yuffie, Aerith, and... um... Cloud... they're at the hospital right now. Do you want to go?"
"I'm tired, and I've got research." Before Vincent could reply, Sephiroth stormed in his room, slamming the door behind him.