Heeeeeeey! How we all doing out here? Groovy? Sorry for the long wait. Final fantasy, plus! I've been watching the beginning of series two of the excellent show! Sky one is showing it right now but I'm not sure what series it is. Three? Four? Trance is gold and she looks really good. Harper….drool. So fine.

Hey, who was my 41 reviewer? Come back…I haven't seen it. fan fiction was having problems when u reviewed so please, I hope it was good things. Hope u enjoy this chapter and I'm still experimenting with Sephiroth's character. I think I have him the way I like.

Sephiroth sat patiently, gently holding the semi conscious Harper in his arms. The action filled him with memories of his captain…lying dead in them after he had slaughtered the rest of the crew.

Tyr sat in the pilot's seat, like a loyal Than the Commonwealth found particularly good at slipstream piloting. The muscles out of Victoria by Barbarosa carefully guiding the Maru into the loading bay of the Andromeda.

It was peaceful if a little frightening for the avatar, he had never once left the safe confines of the Angel in all the three hundred or so years being held like a prisoner. He had dreamed about it, plotted for years for his freedom but never once did he actually try to take it, had he grown used to the paranoid and jealous Angel?

He felt odd, the Eureka Maru wasn't anything like standard commonwealth vessels. It looked like it had been put together with sticky back plastic and sweat. It felt really homey, not clinical like the dying Angel.

He remembered his fondness of the Andromeda…she had made him laugh so very often with her dry sense of humour. Angel would sit and watch for hours as the two avatars would sit and talk for hours on end about nothing and everything. He should of seen the warning signs. Seen the paranoia spread within her but he had been too busy wrapped up in pleasing the captain.

So was this all his fault? Should he of paid more attention?

All answers lead to a simple yes. He was the link between the crew and ship, instead, he had ended up like dear old Pax. Falling for a captain.

All the while, the male avatar had kept his gentle fingers on the young mud foot's pulse. He didn't like how erratic it was, nor did he like the now creeping fever that was starting. Was another life about to be destroyed?

It wasn't his fault, he had and always would follow orders. It was what he had been programmed to do. Never had to make his own choices. Now he had the ability, why wasn't he going to grab it with both hands? What was he so scared of?

"You are awfully quiet," Tyr's voice had a musical quality to it, every word sounded like he was about to burst into song, "Is the little professor still breathing?"

"…Yes but…" Sephiroth gazed down into the engineer's face, "He's starting to go into shock I think."

Tyr avoided looking at him, "You think sir?"

"I'm not a doctor," Sephiroth held Harper a little tighter when he felt him shiver. He didn't like this. Angel was quiet, like she wasn't even with him.

He wasn't looking forward to speaking with Dylan Hunt, Angel wasn't there to inform of the answers. The guy was a complete bore and had a rod the size of a commonwealth ship rammed up his rear.

Darker feelings began to creep up on him, reminding him of the fact that the aforementioned hero had been one of the elite team of soldiers who braved the One winged Angel when she had fallen from grace.

Way in the past…..

"SAY IT!" he screamed.

The terrified woman sobbed at his feet, begging for mercy. She'd seen half of her fellow crew mates being slain by one of the most trusted people on the ship. Her captain trying her best to regain some from of control back from the bridge. It wasn't working that well.

"…I…please, don't hurt me…" she whispered through tears.

Suddenly the raving psycho turned fairly normal. His face softening to what he should of looked like. Not twisted by rage or hatred. He looked like himself. The friendly, if a little naïve avatar they all loved.

"…I'm sorry…really but…" his green eyes kept focusing and un-focusing.

Angel? What are you making me do?! Why are you doing this? This is your crew…our family. This isn't right! Sephiroth shook his head, trying to clear his mind, fighting the orders Angel was directing.

I won't let them kill us, do you know what they will do to us if they return back to the Commonwealth? They will destroy us! Angel screamed in his mind.

The young crew woman eyed his sword carefully, gripped loosely in Sephiroth's hands. Angel had over rode his own will, replacing it with her own psychotic personality. His face had gone from being all warm and caring back to the cold spiteful look of a killer. Angel was using him to do her dirty work and he was hating it. He wasn't in control of his body.

Every drop of the ship's crew blood dripped off the sword slowly. The poor woman watched as it came ever nearer. She could see her breath in the cold engineering deck, goose bumps running down her neck and through her entire body.

"I don't…know where…she is," the woman lied, she did know where the captain was. So would he but the engineering crew had disabled the Angel's internal sensors. The ship was blind.

Angel's holographic version of herself appeared behind them, "Don't lie to us. Deactivating my sensors was not a good idea. It only pisses me off even more."

Sephiroth raised an eyebrow, "And if she does this when she's only slightly pissed…"

"Kill her," Angel crossed her arms, a slow evil smile spreading over her pale features, "Extremely slowly."

The screen version of Angel watched intently, she only changed screens as blood splattered the corridor. All she had to do now was to find the elusive captain.

Bridge

Captain Parisindy swore for the hundredth time. Things were not going well. The ship was trying to take over herself, if it wasn't for the fact she was trying to kill them all it would have been amusing. Something to laugh about over a few beers.

"How about now?" she pushed at some buttons, hoping for any chance of a reaction from the computer.

"No ma'am," an ensign reported.

Parasindy slammed her fists angrily on the console, "God sake! Does anything not require the bitch Angel?"

"Well," the ensign offered, "…no."

Really should tell the commonwealth that it isn't such a good idea to have a female ship with a female captain, the captain growled in frustration at the lack of process she was making. Time was running short and the Angel would break down the fire wall surrounding the sensor control soon.

"I see the screw up fairy has visited us again," Parasindy turned to her communication officer, offering her a grim smile "Can we send out a distress call?"

A few moments passed before she got the answer she wanted, "Yes ma'am! Try it now."

Parasindy managed a small smile as the console kicked into life, "This is Captain Parasindy of the One Winged Angel. This is an emergency."

"You're a fool captain," Angel's voice filtered through the various speakers on the bridge, "You just gave us your location."

The Angel's cold voice informed them of a horrid fact, "Depressurisation of the main bridge section in 30 seconds…"

An hour later

Sephiroth desperately fought the all powerful control in his mind. Parasindy knelt in front of him, a blank of nothingness on her face.

"Sin…si…" he struggled with the words in his mind. Angel was putting words into his mouth, he didn't want to say these things. Didn't want to do half the things he had…

He cared about his captain, about the crew. Angel had told him that his friends were plotting against them. Trying to deceive them.

Angel told him that the Commonwealth was coming to stop them. He knew the punishment for trying to kill a captain and crew… complete memory erasure. Death for a ship. Death for an avatar as well.

"S…sing baa baa…" the words tasted bitter.

His soul, his being was crying from the inside. Every time he fought, Angel pushed harder. No matter how he tried to bypass her control she always came up trumps.

"Sing Baa baa black sheep or I will kill you," Angel said through him, he could hear her laughing from within. See the numbness in the captain he had forced to kneel in front of him.

Parasindy locked eyes with him, it was all she needed to do. The look told him more than words could. A look of pure defiance and hatred.

"You can go to hell, you bitch," the captain closed her eyes as she felt the cold edge of the sword press against her neck.

"I'll see you go first."

Sephiroth could do but watch in the cold empty space of his form that he had been forced to as Angel raised the antique sword high above his head, readying it for the fatal swing. Parasindy never broke the eye contact.

He couldn't even look away as her voice filled his mind, "Sephiroth…"

~~~~~~~~~~~~

"Sephiroth?"

The avatar blinked, staring into dark eyes.

"Are you all right sir?" Tyr asked with amusement.

"I'll be alright. The power surge must have affected some of my systems," he lied.

The large Nietzschean stood back, allowing the man some breathing space. Fighting back the insticnt to take Harper from him. As much as he hated admitting it, he actually found himself rather…amused at the small blonde. His passion for life and his own self interest was of a Nietzschean quality.

How he had fought through various battles and the nightmare of the Magog invasion of the ship.

"Harper will be fine," Tyr decided.

"How do you know that?"

"Occurrences like this are not all that uncommon," Tyr let a heavy sigh escape his form.

He had been through more near death experiences in his life than he would normally being a mercenary. Magog, phase shifting bounty hunters, psychotic love struck ships to name but a few. All to bring back the dead fossil that was the Commonwealth.

"Why do I have the strange urge to believe that?" Sephiroth uttered as he carefully and elegantly stood with Harper.

Both men span round when they heard someone shout their names.

"Tyr! What the hell happened?"

The small and curvy form of Trance slinked by Dylan, "Harper?"

Instinctively, Sephiroth stepped back, his calves encountering resistence behind him. His green eyes widened in horror.

"…I…" words seemed to fail him as he stood in the same fear.

Trance smiled, her attempt to sooth him, "It's ok. I won't hurt you."

"It's not you he's afraid of," Tyr crossed his muscular forearms as he leant against a bulkhead.

Trance frowned, if it wasn't her then who? Who was there on board who could scare people like that? Oh…right.

"Oh…he won't hurt you either. He's a wayist," Trance edged a little nearer, trying to get a look at Harper. The fact that he was being held by a complete stranger wasn't a good thing. Even if she knew he was a good guy.

Sephiroth flashed his green eyes at her for as long as he dared. A Magog. A stinking, filthy bastard Magog. On the Andromeda?!

"Wayist?" the avatar sneered, "It's a Magog. You know what they do?"

A tired sigh came from Tyr's direction, "First hand. The child you carry in your arms has Magog larvae within him because of the Magog. You would be wise in following his way and pushing any hatred of their species to the side if you wish to remain on this vessel."

All gathered were shocked into silence by the sudden statement from Tyr. Dylan frowned, Tyr couldn't be softening in his old age could he? Learning to tolerate other 'inferior' species could he? The tolerance seemed to be short lived when the muscle bound warrior gave Rev a dark look as he left the confines of the Maru.

"Alright," Dylan cleared his mind and returned back to the issue at hand. Harper was more important that Tyr's racist feelings, "Let's get Harper to the medical bay asap."

Trance motioned for Sephiroth to follow her, transfixed at how tall he was. Taller and broader across the shoulder than the last male avatar she had met, she could feel his eyes on her. A smile crept onto her lips, she knew exactly what he was thinking. What as she?

"Sephiroth," Dylan walked with them as they left the Maru, "What happened?"

"A power surge. Mr Harper must have been caught in one. Angel is off line through. I fear the worst for her. It's so…odd not hearing her," Sephiroth told Dylan simply what he knew. No amendments, no lies.

He sensed the reluctance coming from Dylan as he placed a sympathetic hand on his shoulder, "We'll…do what we can."

Dylan raised his head slightly to the ceiling, "Andromeda, get the medical bay prepped."

"……Dylan?" Harper's whisper was muffled by Sephiroth's chest, "…did it work…?"

Trance's purple hand stroked his hair, soothing him, "Did what work, Harper?"

No one noticed Harper smiling from the safety of Sephiroth's arms and if everything went according to her hastily made plan. No one would until it was to late.

She just had to wait until Harper's small form recovered.

********