It was already five thirty in the morning when Reno, Elena, Tseng and Rude began to feel extreme sleepiness. Coffee and cola did not seem to work.
When Lavinia told Reno to keep guard, he could not understand why he obeyed her… and when he told that to Elena, Tseng and Rude, they were influenced too. Something about the child's words made them feel like something was really going to happen… but they do not know if it is good or bad.
Elena stayed in the hallway where Theodore and Lavinia's bedrooms were located; Reno stayed by the stairs.
Rude was by the main doorway while Tseng was the one moving around, patrolling around the area.
Few members of Soldier were also scattered around the territory, either patrolling around or just staying guard in their designated posts inside and outside the ShinRa Villa.
It really took a lot of convincing from Theodore before Rufus allowed him and Lavinia to take a vacation in Costa del Sol. He did not really specify to his father why he wanted so much to go there… but the truth is, he dreamt about coming there and meeting his twin sister again. He wouldn't want to worry his father.
The only person whom he had told the dream about was Lavinia, so she also agreed to back him up in case their father did not allow them. Rufus allowed them to go as long as the Turks would be around with them all the time and there would be maximum security around them always.
A quarter before six o'clock in the morning, they all thought that they heard a sound of a car engine stopping. Everybody became alert and Tseng instantly went to the front door and got out. He scanned the whole area before him when he saw that nobody was there but Soldiers.
"Mister Tseng, there's a white convertible over there!" one of the soldiers told him.
Tseng frowned slightly before rushing to the place where the soldiers had pointed.
But there was no one in the car.
Theodore slowly opened his eyes when he heard the static sound coming from the TV. He immediately sat up, trying to adjust his vision with with brightness of the TV and the early morning sunshine. He stared strangely at the Television and he began to feel nervous, but at the same time, excited. With that, he instantly jumped out of bed and rushed to the TV. After switching it off, he giggled happily before rushing out of his bedroom with a happy smile on his face.
Elena jerked awake when she heard the door of Theodore's bedroom slam shut and she instantly got up from her chair. "Master Theodore!" she said in surprise.
"Good day, Elena!" he greeted happily as he rushed to Lavinia's bedroom door, but before he could open it, it already opened from inside. Theodore stopped in his tracks and stared at his younger sister in awe while he and Elena listened unbelievably to the sound of static from the TV inside her room. Lavinia has a happy smile on her face but she did not say anything.
Theodore just smiled happily at her, and she smiled back. Together, they ran hand-in-hand through the hallway, down the stairs and outside the ShinRa Villa, disregarding the Turks who were chasing them.
"Master Theodore! Lady Lavinia! Where are you going?! It's dangerous for you to go out in the open!!!" Elena was yelling at them.
The two stopped running when they reached the middle of the street. They were looking straight ahead but they were not moving… until the Turks arrived at their side. "Get them inside," Tseng commanded.
Reno grabbed Theodore while Rude got Lavinia, but the little girl bit Rude's hand and ran off.
Despite the pain, Rude still ran after Lavinia with Elena following after them.
Lavinia went to the backyard of the ShinRa Villa and she stopped running, panting heavily, when she saw a familiar-looking face staring back at her from under a coconut tree. She felt her heart sink and tears began to form in her crimson eyes, "S…Samzy?" she whispered softly with a trembling tone.
Elena and Rude stopped running when they saw the little girl with long jet-black hair standing in one corner of the backyard garden under a coconut tree. Elena gasped, "Could it be?!"
Standing beside the girl with jet-black hair was a young girl with reddish-brown hair… and Elena thought she knew her.
Samara stared wide-eyed at the three… and finally, Theodore arrived with Tseng and Reno; he was still struggling to break free from Reno's grasp, but when Reno saw her, he suddenly felt so weak that he let the little boy slip away from himself.
Everybody was silent for several moments, just staring at each other. The only sound they could hear were seagulls and the ocean.
Samara sniffed as she smiled happily, and then ran to Theodore and Lavinia.
Lavinia smiled happily and ran to meet her with open arms. "Samzy!!!" she cheered happily.
Theodore laughed gleefully and also welcomed his twin sister with open arms. "Sizzy!" he greeted happily. Samara embraced the two as they embraced her back altogether.
Kairi sighed in relief as she just watched them quietly. "Finally… she's home…" she thought silently with a pleased smile on her face.
Tseng smiled calmly before turning to his colleagues, "Hey, Reno, take them inside. Elena, you go with Reno. Rude, come with me; we're calling the Prez and the First Lady."
"Hmm… I'm not really sure if this is the right address but…" Tidus was murmuring to himself before pushing the doorbell of a big mansion-like house in Nibelheim.
He waited for a few moments before somebody opened the door: Sora.
Sora's eyes widened upon seeing Tidus. "Hey!" he greeted happily.
"Sora!" Tidus cried out excitedly. From inside, Cloud watched as the two gave each other a high-five.
"Hey, Tidus," Cloud greeted with a slight smile on his face.
Tidus turned to Cloud and laughed in a very gleeful manner, "Yo, Cloud!!!" he ran inside the house and gave him a friendly hug. "Long time no see! So, how'ya doin' now?" he asked.
"Er… I'm… fine… urk… lemme go, you're choking me…" Cloud tried to say while struggling to push his friend away from himself.
Tidus let go of Cloud, "Oh, sorry 'bout that. Anyway…" he looked up at the high ceiling with awe and then let his gaze travel around him, admiring the big house and its furniture, "Whoa… you live here in this place?" he asked in awe.
"Do you even think my surname is ShinRa?" Cloud asked sarcastically.
Tidus thought for a while before replying, "Well I can't really remember what your surname is… but I think it starts with an S… so I'd assume that it's ShinRa?" He had this funny smile on his face.
Sora shut the door and chuckled lightly before saying, "Well if it's ShinRa, I'd be wearing something more formal than this!" he was referring to his clothes.
Tidus laughed heartily, "Oh yeah! Now I remember your surname! It's Gainsborough, right?" he asked.
Silence.
"No actually, that's my wife's maiden name." Cloud replied while scratching his head and staring miserably at Tidus. "Never mind… let's just go to the living room. Follow me." Cloud said before leading the way.
"Well then what's your surname again?" Tidus asked in confusion.
"Try to guess. If you guess it right, I'll treat you to some ice cream."
Tidus looked up to the ceiling. "Uuuuuuuh…"
After 5 minutes of listening to Tidus say "Uuuuuh", Cloud finally said, "Okay, you lose the ice cream. It's Strife, for the love of Hyne…"
Tidus scratched his head. "Eheh… I wouldn't have guessed!" he said with a silly smile, but it faded when he saw Riku sitting on one of the couches and flipping through the pages of an album. "Oh… hey, Riku," he greeted.
Riku looked up at him with a stiff look on his face.
Tidus was just quiet, not knowing what to say. Cloud had told him about what happened to them in Nibelheim, and Tidus guessed that it had some effect on Riku's mind. "Uhum…. So… What did you call me for again?" he said awkwardly… although he already knew the answer to that question. He just decided to ask it again so that he could say something else and not ask Riku about Samara. Tidus proceeded to sit down beside Riku and took a quick glance at the album. He looked away for a moment, but then decided to look again when he saw that the pictures looked strange…
Basically, the album was full of pictures of a little girl but he could not make out the face and who she is because every single picture was distorted.
"We're going to fight Kuja. We need all the help we can get," Cloud answered, noticing Tidus' reaction towards the album.
Tidus was creeped out when he saw the pictures. He tried to shrug it off by asking another question he knew the answer to. "D'you have any idea where he is?"
"I've told you before, no…" Cloud answered.
Out of nowhere, another voice answered. "What we do know is that he's looking for Samara."
Tidus looked up to the speaker. He grinned. "Hey! You're Leon, right?"
Squall felt a vein pop somewhere, but he just gritted his teeth and muttered, "It's Squall…"
"What is it with the name-changing anyway! You'll end up having an alternate personality doing that, you know?! Eheheheheheheheheheheheh…."
"Shut the bloody hell up." Squall sneered as he plopped down on the couch away from Tidus and Riku.
They were interrupted when Tifa arrived with Aerith and Yuffie.
Yuffie gasped when she saw Squall. "LEON!!!" she greeted.
Silence.
"Uh… never mind…" she said with a sheepish look on her face.
Squall was glaring angrily at everyone already, but before he could say a comment, Tifa spoke up, "So you guys are ready?" she asked.
"Huh? Why? Where are we going?" Sora asked.
"You're going to look for Kuja." Aerith pointed out.
"Mrs. ShinRa," Riku slammed the album shut with a deep frown on his face before turning his gaze to Tifa, "How come all her pictures are like this?" he asked with a stiff tone.
Tifa turned her gaze to the album for a moment before turning back to Riku with a slight smile on her face. "I don't really know… it just happens… but… take a look at her in a group shot…." She approached the coffee table and got another album, opening it to specific pages and then showing the pictures to Riku. The pictures consisted of Samara with her family… and the Turks, and even some of the ShinRa Executives. Some were even candid shots.
Riku fought the urge to smile, but Sora, Tidus and Aerith saw the sudden joy in his eyes. Aerith bit her lower lip to stop herself from giggling, but the two others started snickering and then began to chant, "Riku's got a girlfriend! Riku's got a girlfriend!"
Riku grunted and grabbed an album full of old pictures of Old Man ShinRa and threw it at Tidus and Sora, but the two ducked, therefore, the album hit Squall's forehead. "OW! Bloody hell!?" He exclaimed in annoyance.
"Oops…" Riku muttered.
"Heh heh… Riku and Samara sittin' in a Paopu Tree. K-I-S-S-I…"
"Alright, alright, stop that. How could she even be my girlfriend if she's five years younger than me?!" Riku snapped with a blush on his face.
"Well… your mommy is waaaay older than your dad!" Aerith teased.
"And my mommy is a year older than daddy!" Sora said.
Tifa snickered. "Samara's dad… my husband? He's a year older than me." She said.
Silence.
The more Riku blushed when he realized that Samara's mother, Tifa, was in the same room… "OH MY?!" he exclaimed, his whole face turning red.
"Nyaha! He's blushing more and more!" Yuffie teased.
They all began to laugh, except for Squall (who was rubbing his bruised forehead miserably) and Riku (who was the one being laughed-at)… and they all just jerked and suddenly froze all of a sudden when the telephone began to ring.
Silence.
"Aren't you gonna answer that, Teef?" Cloud asked softly.
Tifa just stared at the phone. "Oh… yeah… but…" she stammered.
"Oh bloody hell, it's just a telephone! Like it's gonna kill us…" Squall got up and answered the call, "Yeah?"
Silence.
They watched as Squall raised his eyebrows. "What? Oh…" he turned his gaze to Yuffie before covering the mouthpiece of the telephone and asked, "Who the hell is ZACK?!"
Silence.
Yuffie hopped up happily and rushed to him, grabbing the phone and then answering the call, "Zacky!" she greeted happily.
"Don't ask. Life is unfair." Cloud mumbled to him.
Squall just frowned with a confused look on his face.
After a few more minutes, Yuffie ended the conversation with Zack with a happy, "Alright, byeeee!!! MWAH! Heehee!" and put down the receiver on the phone again. She sighed happily, "Kairi is alright!" she announced to them.
Riku's eyes widened. "What? But…" he was about to ask about Samara, but he was interrupted when the telephone began to ring again.
Silence.
Cloud, Squall, Tifa and Yuffie rushed over to the telephone and struggled to answer it…
"C'mon, it could be for me!!!" Tifa told them.
"It could be Rinoa!" Squall snapped.
"BAAAH! I'm expecting a call from Rufus!" Cloud argued.
"It could be Zack again!!!" Yuffie said, trying to pull the phone away from them, but it just slipped from their hands and landed on the floor; and it was still ringing.
The four began to argue, and while arguing, Lucrecia arrived with a syringe in her hand, "What's going on here?" she asked.
Riku saw the syringe and his eyes widened in shock. "Not again?!" he exclaimed.
Lucrecia handed the syringe to Aerith before going to the phone, picked it up from the floor and answered it, "ShinRa Mansion, good morning." She greeted.
"Hello?" a familiar voice answered on the phone.
Lucrecia gasped.
"Uh…" the voice continued, confused. "Is Riku there? I've heard what had happened, and…"
She didn't continue listening; she grabbed the tranquilizer from Aerith's hands and struck herself, while mumbling incoherent words to herself.
The rest were in shock, but Riku managed to grab the phone and answer it. "Mom! Hi!" he said happily on the phone.
"I think I know who that is…" Cloud told Squall.
Aerith and Yuffie began to help Lucrecia who was already having another episode, letting her sit down on one of the foot stools while telling her to ease up.
Tifa was just scratching her head.
Riku shrugged and sat down and told his mother, "Oh, that was granny. She's having another breakdown. You know what, mom, I don't really know why she's like that! How come you and dad wouldn't tell me the reason?" he asked curiously.
Everyone just heard a loud, "WHAT? LUCRECIA?!" from the receiver. Riku had to pull it away from his ear because it almost made his eardrums burst.
Tidus's eyes widened upon hearing the loud voice from that telephone, "Hey, isn't that a man's voice?" he asked.
"SHHHHH!!!" Cloud, Squall, Tifa, Aerith and Yuffie all hissed at them. Lucrecia's sobs grew louder.
Tidus scratched his head, "What did I say? Well… it sounded like a man! But Riku said it's his mom so…" he trailed off when Lucrecia just got up and rushed to him, strangling him. "YOU!!!!!" she growled.
"AAARGH! Eheh!?" Tidus reacted, trying to save himself by forcing her hands off his neck.
"Lucrecia?! Calm down!!!" Squall and Cloud began to pull her away from Tidus. She just let go when Riku finally ended the call and put down the phone on one of the end tables. "Whew… mommy began to rant again…" he said.
Lucrecia began to cry again… and everybody was confused on why the tranquilizer wouldn't even work fast on her. They were already confused on what to do with her, but before anybody else could comment, the phone rang again.
Silence.
"If it's Vincent, ask him about Lucrecia," Cloud whispered to Tidus. Tidus was still coughing because of the choking a few moments ago, but he still went over to the phone and answered it, "Yeah?"
Silence.
He made a face and then turned to Tifa, "You're Tifa, right? What the hell is a TSENG?" he asked.
Tifa's eyes widened before rushing to him and pressed the speakerphone button. "Tseng? Is that you?" she asked with a frantic tone.
"Tseng!!! This is Tseng." A man with a very noticeable Wutaian accent answered from the other line.
"Is everything alright there in Costa del Sol? Didn't I tell you not to call here unless there's something wrong there? Is there? Oh my goodness, Tseng, please tell me my children are alright!!! I'm going to kill myself if I find out that…" she began to blab.
"Tseng!!! Keep cool, Miss Lockheart---I mean, Mrs. ShinRa… ma'am… uh… everything's alright here… in fact, waaaaay alright!" Tseng explained with a happy tone.
Tifa forgot to breathe. "What?" she asked in confusion.
"Well we have good news for you because… AARGH!!! You!!!" Tseng yelled, while a loud biting sound was heard in the background. A few struggling noises were heard, too, before a happy voice piped up, "Mommy!"
"Lavinia?! What's going on?" Tifa asked, confused more than ever.
"Mommy! Good news! Me and Theodore found Samzy!" Lavinia announced happily.
Tifa felt like fainting because of too much joy and relief.
Riku approached the phone and said, "WHAT?!"
Lavinia raised an eyebrow, same with Tseng and Rude who were standing around a speaker phone.
Theodore was just seated in one corner of the room while singing, "lalalalalala Sitting in a Tree…"
Riku heard the "lalalalalala sitting in a tree" and he twitched again.
"Yeah, that's what I said… We found Samara! With Kairi, too… and who the heck are you, Mister?" Lavinia asked with a demanding tone.
Silence.
"Oh that's your sister's boyfriend." Tidus chimed in.
Silence.
Tifa snapped out of her trance and tried to stop herself from laughing, "That's… good… uh… does your daddy know already?" she asked with a happy smile on her face.
"Yeah! Mister Rude told him but he got another salary deduction for not saying it soon enough." Lavinia explained. "But anyway, what sister's boyfriend? Is that Demitri?" she continued.
"No, that's not Demitri… that was Riku. He's Samara's friend." Tifa explained.
Riku wanted to die because of too much embarrassment.
"Anyway I…" Tifa was about to say, but her mobile phone began to ring. She got it from her blazer pocket and checked the caller I.D. Her smile widened as she threw the mobile phone over to Cloud. "Answer it for me, will ya?" she asked before proceeding to talk to Lavinia.
Cloud checked the caller I.D. and snickered before answering it using falsetto voice, "Hello? Heeheeheehee! Rufus dahling!!!"
"WHO THE HELL IS THIS?!" an angry voice yelled after a few moments of silence from the other line.
Cloud lost hope, "Nah… I can never pull it off as good as Sephiroth can…" he muttered miserably with a mean smile on his face.
"Cloud… where's Tifa… and what are you doing with her phone?" Rufus demanded.
"She's talking to Lavinia. Heard the good news. Congratulations. Now all we have to do is go to Costa del Sol before Kuja does." Cloud told him.
"Yeah, I know… that's why I'm calling. Well, I'll just see you there. And tell Tifa to call me while you're in the chopper." Rufus instructed.
Cloud snickered and answered again in falsetto, "Alright, Ruffykins! Heeheeheehee! And remember….. I love you!"
Aerith smacked his back because of what he was doing and she has this warning look on her face. Cloud was laughing out loud with Yuffie, while Sora was looking at his father strangely with one thought on his mind: "I didn't know Dad could sound like a girl…" and he even muttered it.
Cloud didn't know that Tifa was already finished talking to Lavinia and was already listening to him trying to imitate her. She approached Sora and said, "You know, I don't mean to put you in a state of shock but… your dad once dressed up as a girl in order to try to save me when we were younger."
Silence.
"Alright, Tifa, that's enough," Aerith said, pulling her friend away from her son.
Sora had this bewildered look on his face, thinking "Hanging around Mister Sephiroth is bad for Dad…" He shuddered.
Cloud frowned upon seeing Sora's facial expression. "Uhurm… anyway, we better get going…" he said, turning back to his serious mode.
"Leave me alone, I can take a bath by myself!" Samara snapped impatiently at Elena and Reno who were still insisting on giving her a bath.
"Oh no, Miss Samara. We're going to make sure nothing bad happens to you while you're in the tub!" Elena said.
"At least get Mister Reno away from here!" Samara wailed.
Reno sneered at her, "Duh! You're just a kid! As if there's something to see in you? HAH! But anyway, when you turn 13, you'll be like your mommy! Whoooooo!!!" he teased before laughing.
Samara blushed as she looked down at her own chest then turned back to Reno with wide eyes. "What?!" she asked.
"Alright, Reno, get out. She smells like sea water. She really needs to bathe right now before her parents arrive!" Elena said as she pushed Reno out of the bathroom and then locked the door. She sighed heavily. "Don't mind him, Miss Samara. He's been like that ever since before I got hitched to him. I don't even know why I love that guy!" she said before she began to mix bubble bath with the water in the tub.
Samara just stared strangely at her. "Gee… maybe you bonked your head or something." She muttered while rolling her eyes.
Elena stopped and thought for a while. "You know… maybe you're right….. but anyway…" she began again. But Samara hated loooong talks with Elena so she decided to change the topic by saying, "Hey, when Mister Reno said that I'm gonna be like mommy… does it mean that I'm also going to marry a guy who acts like daddy?"
Elena turned to face her. "Well… not necessarily… but most probably you'll tie the knot with a rich guy! Heehee! Probably a Prince!" she said cheerfully.
Samara's eyes widened. "Prince?" she asked.
Elena was about to say something else but it turned out that Reno heard what they're talking about from outside the bathroom (because he's just standing guard by the door) and chimed in, "Nah! Maybe she'll marry a freak… yeah… someone with purple hair… no! Silver hair! Gahahahahahahahaha!"
The lights began to flicker.
Reno shouted, "Hey, I was only joking, Lady Samara! Heh heh…"
Samara eased up and made a gesture for Elena to turn around. Elena blinked, "Oh… sorry." She turned away from the little girl.
They were silent for a while, and then Samara spoke up again, "Okay, you can look at me again."
Elena faced the little girl again, but she was already in the tub. She smiled at the little girl. "You know, we really missed you." She said.
Samara looked into Elena's eyes. She was telling the truth; but Samara just kept quiet and bowed down her head.
"Hmm… Samara," Elena began.
Samara lifted her gaze up to Elena.
"Can you tell me… who… took you away from Junon?" Elena asked curiously.
Samara just kept quiet and looked away from her.
Elena sighed heavily. "Samara, please tell us… I promise that he or she wouldn't harm you anymore. That's what we Turks are here for!" she said encouragingly.
Samara bit her lip, thinking things through as Elena just continued to wash her hair.
Even after she had come out from the tub, dried off and put on a clean new white dress with white lace, she was still quiet.
Samara was the first one to get out of the bathroom in her new clothes and clean black shoes, but she rushed inside the bathroom again when she forgot something. She went to her dirty clothes on the floor and picked it up, reaching inside the pocket and pulling out the Paopu fruit.
She sighed heavily, relieved that it was still there.
Reno was staring strangely at her, staring at the Paopu fruit and then at the necklace hanging on her neck. "Say, where'd you get those?" he asked.
Samara did not answer.
Reno went to her with a curious smile, "Can I see that star?" he asked, about to grab it, but she withdrew it away from him before he could even lay a finger on it. She shook her head quietly and she had a stubborn pout on her lips. He just shrugged. "Yeah, sure…" he muttered. Samara just went over to the window and decided to peek outside. She can see the ocean from her bedroom window… but she felt something else… something that made her look down… and what she saw made her gasp in sudden fear, alarming Reno and Elena.
"Ha-ha-ha-ha-ha… I have arrived… Let me inside!" Hojo demanded from the Soldiers who were blocking his way.
"Can I see your ShinRa I.D. first, sir?" one of the Soldiers asked.
"What for? I work for ShinRa so let me inside. I have to inspect the children's health. President Rufus told me to take care of his children!" Hojo insisted.
"Yeah, right! You don't look like Doctor Lucrecia Valentine!" one of the Soldiers sneered sarcastically while the others laughed out loud.
Hojo frowned, but forced himself to smile. This creeped the Soldiers out. "Ah, yes, I understand… but you people are still in the way of my duties, so…" he reached into his pocket to reveal a shiny sphere.
"Materia!" screamed one of the Soldiers, but they didn't have a chance to defend themselves from the sleep spell that the professor cast.
For some reason, when Rude entered the bathroom to do his thing there, when he decided to open the door and get out, he couldn't do so.
He frowned and banged against the door, "Okay, Reno, this isn't funny!" he called out.
But all he heard were heavy dragging footsteps moving away from the door. He froze. "That doesn't sound anything like Reno's footsteps… or Tseng's… and definitely not Elena's… unless one of those kids are trying to scare me again… but I don't think…" he stopped his thoughts when he heard Lavinia screaming shrilly.
"Oh no!" he began to panic and began to use all his efforts to break down the door, but nothing did the trick. Rufus had the science department develop strong material for all the doors of all his mansions all over the Planet… and that material cannot really be broken by mere human force.
And unfortunately, Rude doesn't have his materia or his guns with him…
Tseng was karate-chopping the door of the closet where he got locked in while playing hide and seek with Lavinia.
"Lady Lavinia, this is not funny!!!!!" he was saying angrily, but he stopped complaining and began to panic (and thought about salary deductions and even expulsion) when he heard the little girl scream shrilly.
Lavinia took a few steps backward while staring up at the creepy-looking mad scientist. "Who… what are you … doing here?" she stammered.
"Hahahahaha! Come here, Miss Lavinia. I am a nice man! I was a friend of your grandpa! Hahahahaha!" Hojo said while slowly coming forward to her with a creepy smile on his face.
She narrowed her eyes at him. "Whi…which grandpa?" she asked.
"Grandpa ShinRa! Hahahaha!" he responded.
Lavinia's crimson eyes widened at him. "Oh yuck!!!" she yelled in disgust. "I don't trust you at all! You smell like a lab rat and grandpa was a bad man! You must be bad, too!" she yelled.
"What's going on here, Lavinia?" Kairi asked as she came down from the stairs. She froze when she saw Hojo.
Hojo smiled at her. "Aha! I can smell Mako in you…" he said, sniffing the air.
Kairi felt her hairs rising when she heard that. "Wh…what?" she asked in confusion. "Lavinia, who is he?" she asked.
"An icky-icky man! He used to be Samara's doctor but…" Lavinia began.
Kairi instantly grabbed Lavinia's hand and decided to drag her upstairs. "OH MY GAWD???!!! Did you say DOCTOR?!" Kairi cried out in panic.
"Well… yeah?" Lavinia pointed out.
"OH MY GAWD!!!!!" Kairi exclaimed. She stopped running and let go of her. "Where's Tseng?" she asked.
"I… don't know! I was playing hide and seek with him but then I can't find him anymore! Then that creepy Doctor just popped out from the kitchen door!" Lavinia explained.
"But… the Soldiers?! Isn't this place supposed to be surrounded by ShinRa Soldiers?" Kairi asked.
"THERE YOU ARE!!!" Hojo greeted with a threatening look on his face as he finally reached the second floor.
The two girls shrieked upon seeing him and rushed inside one of the bedrooms, shut the door and bolted it. The two of them leaned against the door, panting hard and wide-eyed.
"Okay… how are we going to get out of here?" Kairi asked.
"Well… I hope that Reno and Elena… and even Rude can help us. If I know, that Doctor's after Samara!" Lavinia pointed out before rushing to the window and took a peek outside. She gasped. "Oh no… all the Soldiers have been knocked-out…" she said.
Kairi rushed over to her and looked outside too. She saw all the ShinRa Soldiers scattered and lying on the ground. "Do you think they're dead?" she asked.
"I don't know… but I… guess they're… just asleep…" Lavinia said softly. They both jerked in surprise and turned around to face the door again when they heard someone banging on it. "Hey, girls! It's time for your monthly check-up!"
"Oh crap! The only way out's through the window…" Kairi thought, but just before she could tell that to Lavinia, she saw the little girl rushing back to the door with her fists clenched. "Lavinia, where are you going?!" she called out.
"Well we have to do something!" Lavinia snapped impatiently before she completely opened the door, looking up at Hojo. "Alright, man! It's showtime!" she said with a mean smile on her face before surprising Hojo by kicking his shin and then punching his abdomen. Her blow was quite strong and it sent him flying back against the wall a few meters behind him.
Kairi was in awe upon seeing Lavinia do that. "Whoa!!!" she said in awe.
"C'mon, let's get going!" Lavinia said before leading the way to the stairs. Kairi followed after her.
Hojo struggled to stand up. "That… that little brat… she's… just like her mother… GAH!" he held onto a doorknob. "That's it… I shouldn't have underestimated those bratlings… it's time for plan B…" he muttered angrily as he pulled out a syringe with some bluegreen liquid in it. He instantly injected its contents into himself, letting the needle stab through his left arm. While injecting the liquid into himself, he had this wicked smile on his face as he stared up at the family portrait of the ShinRas hanging on the wall by the stairs. Afterwards, he threw the syringe at the portrait as if it was a dart, the needle almost hitting Rufus ShinRa's face. "Damn, I missed!" he hissed angrily. He suddenly froze when he felt excruciating pain running through his veins, racing up his brain, his heart… and then all over his body.
He fell onto his knees, panting hard. "It's… it's working!!! Hahahahaha!!!!!" he laughed victoriously.
"Oh shit?! What the hell--?!" Reno began the moment he stepped out of Samara's room. Elena was right behind him, also witnessing what was happening to Professor Hojo.
Hojo slowly turned to face them, his eyes seemingly glowing bright red, creeping them out.
Reno got his rod, eyeing Hojo disgustingly as he whispered to Elena, "Take Samara… jump out of the window and get away from here!" he told her.
"But… Reno, it's too high from here!" Elena said nervously.
"Just go!" Reno commanded while he watched, in disbelief and awe, mutating into some kind of strange-looking creature.
Another arm grew out from Hojo's sides and he began to crawl while white slime began to leak out of his mouth and eyes.
From inside the room, Samara was standing by the window, her eyes wide in horror upon seeing the horrible monster that Hojo had become.
"Miss Samara, let's go!" Elena told her.
Samara grabbed the Paopu fruit that she has placed on top of her dresser and attempted to place it inside her pocket, but she suddenly got thrown against the wall by the white slime that Hojo spit out on her. She got pinned against the wall by the sticky slime…
Elena was also stuck onto a wall and her feet to the floor. She was already holding a gun in her right hand but she could not fire it because it would be no use; her hand was stuck against the wall and the gun was facing the ceiling.
Reno was stuck to the floor, cursing Hojo angrily.
Hojo crawled like a spider, entering the room while laughing victoriously. "It's so nice to see you again, Lady Samara." He greeted the little girl whose back was facing him. He made it a point to make her stick against the wall and made sure that she was facing it so that she could not look at him and try to kill him just in case she tried.
She turned her head to her right side but she could not see him through her peripheral vision. All she could see was the Paopu fruit on the dresser. She wanted to grab it before Hojo attempts to destroy it.
He approached her, but since he was careless on where he was passing, he knocked off the dresser and a bookshelf and stepped on some dolls and teddy bears lying around on the floor.
The Paopu fruit landed on the floor. Samara's eyes widened when she saw that one of Hojo's feet almost stepped on it. She forgot to exhale when it almost got crushed.
"Hahahahaha! I thought that I killed you already when I threw you inside the well." He said mockingly at her.
Reno and Elena were surprised to hear that.
From outside the bedroom, Theodore, Lavinia and Kairi were just standing in the hallway, listening and watching in shock.
Samara was not listening. She just kept her eyes on the Paopu fruit, staring at it as if her life depended on it.
Hojo sneered at her, "Oh… so you're pretending not to listen again, huh? Well then looks like I'm going to have to kill your Turk friends…" he turned towards Reno and Elena.
Reno clenched his fists as he tried to squirm away from the slime holding him down, but it was no use. It was just too strong and too sticky. "Argh! Damn you, you bastard! So you were the one who kidnapped Samara!" he accused angrily.
"Why'd you have to do that to her?" Theodore asked angrily as he stepped inside, surprising everyone.
"Uh-oh…" Kairi muttered.
Hojo turned instantly to the three outside the room standing by the doorway. "So… the three other children…" he sneered.
Kairi took a step backward with fear in her eyes as she stared at Hojo's creepy smile.
"Aw, come on, Theodore… your twin sister is a freak! Do you want a freak for a twin?" Hojo asked mockingly.
"What if I tell you, yes, I'd love a freak for a twin sister because she's a normal freak compared to you?!" Theodore snapped before aiming one of the special shotguns that his father once used.
"You think you can kill me with that, little boy?" Hojo demanded with a mocking look on his face.
Without further ado, Theodore fired a shot, hitting one of Hojo's legs. Hojo yelped in pain and anger, and along with that was an ear-piercing sound… as if he is composed of two creatures.
"Master Theodore!" Elena exclaimed.
"Looks like we have to fight him," Lavinia declared as she clenched her fists.
Theodore nodded. "Kairi, we'll distract Hojo. You try to free Samara and get her out of here," he instructed.
"What?! Oh… alright…" Kairi replied with a nervous look on her face.
Theodore and Lavinia began to attack the monster.
Reno and Elena watched in awe as the two children began attacking the disgusting and horrible spider-like Hojo and dodging his attacks as well. "Whoa… we're gonna lose our Turk jobs in babysitting them if they know how to defend themselves!" Reno told Elena.
"Oh don't be ridiculous, Reno! Ugh…" she tried to move but cannot. She looked up at her gun. "…President Rufus isn't all about making money and running a nation. He still has time to train them with the First Lady." She explained before looking at Kairi who was trying to get the sticky mucus-like slime off Samara in one piece, but it was way too sticky. If she touched it, her hands would get stuck for a while and it would take her too much force to pull them off from the disgusting mucus. "Yuck!" she remarked before looking up at Samara when she thought she heard her grunt.
"Samara, are you alright?" she asked in worry.
Samara did not answer. She just kept on staring at the Paopu fruit with tears in her eyes. Kairi followed her gaze and saw the Paopu fruit on the floor. Her eyes widened in surprise, but before she could get it for her friend, she heard Elena calling her. "Kairi!" She instantly turned to Elena who dropped her gun to the floor. "Get it! Then Get Samara out of here! Hurry!" she instructed.
Kairi instantly went over to Elena and grabbed the gun from the floor and rushed back to Samara with a troubled look on her face… but she remembered the Paopu fruit, so she got it first before proceeding back to Samara. She handed the Paopu fruit to Samara's hand that wasn't covered with mucus. "Hang on… I'm getting you out." Kairi said before she proceeded to try to peel off the mucus from her friend.
"I… I can't breathe…" Samara declared with a trembling tone. The mucus was beginning to harden and thicken against her.
Elena and Reno were also running out of air because the same thing was happening to the slime that was on their bodies.
Hojo laughed. "That's it! There's no hope for all of you! All of you are going to die! Hahahahaha! Once the slime settles, it hardens and you'll all have a hard time breathing!" he announced with a victorious grin on his face before continuing to spit out slime as a form of defense to Theodore and Lavinia's attacks.
Kairi was not even looking, so she was just surprised when she got pinned against the wall beside Samara when the mucus hit her. "Argh!" she reacted in surprise and pain upon hitting the wall hard, while dropping the gun in the process.
Samara slowly closed her eyes when she couldn't take it anymore. Kairi's eyes widened, "No! Samara, don't close your eyes!" she commanded frantically.
But the little girl stopped breathing and the Paopu fruit slipped away from her grasp and fell to the ground.
"NO!!!" Kairi screamed.
All eyes turned to her, including Theodore and Lavinia. When Hojo caught them offguard, he instantly spit out mucus on the two children who were fighting him. "Hah!" he said mockingly at them as he watched them land on the floor and get pinned down by the mucus. "You kids are pretty good… you gave me a lot of injuries and scratches…" he said in annoyance before his body began to glow again. "Oh… just in time for the formula to lose effect…" he muttered with a relieved smile on his face.
They all watched as he transformed back into a human being, but his clothes were tattered and torn and blood was leaking out from his mouth, nose, and from bullet wounds all over his body. He laughed victoriously at them. "Now if you'll excuse me, I would like to take the children with me…" he told Reno and Elena who were already beginning to lose consciousness.
"You bastard…" Reno sneered before he completely lost consciousness.
Elena just watched with a helpless look and tears in her eyes as Hojo began to loosen the mucus off Samara's body.
"Let me first start with this horrible monster." Hojo told them with a grunt as he watched her fall freely to the floor with a loud thud, not even bothering to catch her. He smiled mockingly at the unconscious body of the little girl.
She landed face-down, her long hair covering her shoulders and her arms. She was sprawled on the floor, unmoving and lifeless… and the palm of her right hand landing on the Paopu fruit.
Hojo spit at her and sneered, "Finally this little bitch is dead. I don't even know how Tifa and Rufus could take having such a horrible child! She's so stubborn and wouldn't cooperate…" he turned to face the others, walking away from Samara and going to Theodore. "If I'm not scientific enough, I'd think that Samara is a demon's child!" he snapped at the little boy before kicking the shotgun away from his grasp. "But… anyway… I guess President Rufus is a demon… Hahahahahahahahaha!" he laughed mockingly.
His laughter continued, creeping out the others.
Kairi eyed him angrily with a hopeless look on her face before turning her gaze down to Samara who was still sprawled face-down on the floor. She thought she saw Samara's hand move and clutch the Paopu fruit. She gasped slightly.
Lavinia was watching Hojo as he continued to laugh victoriously and dementedly, but something caught her attention from the corner of her eye. She instantly turned to the teddy bears and the other dolls in one corner of the room. Her crimson eyes widened when she realized that they were all moving, getting up on their own and walking towards Hojo. She smiled slightly before turning her gaze to her sister who was still sprawled on the floor.
The TV switched on by itself and it was in static, the noise too loud, interrupting Hojo's laughter and causing him to turn to the TV. He stared curiously at it and then he was just surprised when he saw that a blank VHS tape inserted itself inside the VCR connected to the TV that was still in static.
The recording started when something began to play in the TV…
They all turned to the TV and began to watch. "What the…" Elena had managed to say.
It was Samara… inside the underground laboratory.
Hojo's eyes widened as he rushed over to the TV and tried to switch it off and unplug everything from the electrical sockets, but the show kept on running and the VCR kept on recording by itself. "Dammit, dammit, dammit!" he cursed angrily.
"Hahahaha! What's the matter, Professor? Are you afraid that President Rufus might give you a salary deduction and capital punishment if he watches that tape?" Elena asked mockingly.
Hojo glared angrily at her, "Shut up!" he snapped angrily at her… but he froze when he saw the dolls and the teddy bears coming to life, walking towards him. His eyes widened as he gasped. "What is…" he trailed off when the dolls and the teddy bears just jumped onto him and began to bite, pinch and strangle him.
He was screaming in confusion and anger as he fell to the ground. He tried to get the dolls away from himself but he couldn't. He angrily turned to Samara who was already crawling towards him, her face hidden behind her long hair. He snarled at her, "You… your parents are going to die if you try to kill me, remember?!"
She slowly got up but did not move. "I don't care anymore… you are a liar…" she said softly in her usual low monotone.
Before he could say something else, he felt his heart aching. "No… no… you can't do this to me! You are a cursed child!!! I am the only one who can end your suffering! I can help you get rid of that curse so that your mommy and daddy will love you again!" he snapped in panic, but he froze when he could already peer through her hair and saw her angry blue eyes staring down at him. His eyes widened even more, like they're ready to roll out of their sockets. "No… Samara…" he struggled to say.
Kuja turned around and stared into the horizon wide-eyed. He could feel the sudden surge of powerful energy through the sudden gust of strong wind that blew against him. "Such… such power…" he grinned victoriously before laughing happily, "Finally!!! I've found her!!!" he cheered out loud. As he did so, more than 500 Heartless appeared behind him. His grin widened. "Shall we go?" he asked before flipping his hair…
Sephiroth shuddered when he felt the strong energy coming from the direction of Costa Del Sol where they are heading.
Rufus studied the stunned look in Sephiroth's face. "What's wrong with you? Can't take flying in choppers?" he asked with a mocking tone.
Sephiroth snapped out of his trance and shook his head before rubbing his forehead with three of the fingers of his right hand. "We… we'd better hurry." He told the pilot.
"Yes, sir." The pilot replied.
Rufus frowned slightly. "Why? What's going on?" he asked.
But Sephiroth did not answer.
Riku peered outside the window of the chopper with his wide blue-green eyes. "Are we there yet?" he asked rather restlessly.
"Why are you so eager to get there immediately?" Sora asked.
Riku just kept quiet. "I'm… not even sure myself…" he said softly as he bowed down his head.
The hardening mucus slowly disappeared the moment Hojo stopped breathing. He had this look of terror on his face with his mouth opened too wide in an eternal scream. His eyes were peering into nothingness but still reflected too much fear, pain and suffering in them. He was just frozen and unmoving on the ground, his fingers positioned as if clawing the air.
Kairi and Elena fell to the ground when the mucus disappeared. "Ow!!!" Elena reacted, falling face first.
Reno slowly got up, breathing hard. "What… happened?" he asked, finally regaining consciousness.
Theodore and Lavinia also got up, feeling disgusted and weird because of the mucus.
They all stared at the pile of dolls and teddy bears around Hojo who was already dead.
Kairi shuddered. "Is… is he dead?" she asked softly.
Samara did not say anything.
"I think we'd better get the kids out of here…" Reno told Elena as he helped her up. "You're right. I…" before she could finish, the windows burst open, letting in a very strong gust of wind, surprising everyone.
"What the…" all eyes turned outside… and they were awestruck upon seeing Kuja floating in midair with a lot of Heartless scattered behind him.
"OH MY GAWD!!!???" Kairi exclaimed in shock.
Samara's face became visible when her hair got blown away from it. She stared in awe at Kuja, surprised at the situation. She thought it was all over… but it was not.
Kuja smiled slyly at her, "There you are, my pretty." He greeted with a teasing tone. She gasped slightly as she took a few steps away from him.
"What's the matter? You haven't seen a beautiful being like me before?" Kuja asked mockingly as he flipped his hair.
Samara just narrowed her eyes at him.
Lavinia made a disgusted face, "Oh yuck!!! Samara, don't tell me you know this faggot?!" she demanded.
"Eheh!?" Theodore laughed.
Kuja raised an eyebrow when he heard the insult. "F…faggot?! Why I never…" losing patience, he snapped his fingers at the Heartless. "Get them!" he commanded.
"Uh-oh…" Kairi muttered as the Heartless began to attack them.
"We have to fight them!" Lavinia declared as she did her fighting stance: putting her left foot forward and bending her knees a little as she brought her clenched fists a little close to her chest.
Theodore grabbed his shotgun and aimed at one Heartless coming right at him.
"This is going to be a loooong day." Reno muttered before he started to defend himself from five Heartless who began to attack him.
Samara, who was about to paralyze the Heartless with her mind, suddenly got interrupted by Kuja who appeared from behind her and then covered her eyes with his right hand while his left restrained her. "Ohohohohoho! Guess who?" he said in a singsong voice.
She struggled to break free from him but she could not do so because three Heartless began to help Kuja, tying her up and then putting a blindfold on her. She screeched angrily at him and it made him cringe in annoyance. "Ugh! You brat! You're going to destroy my pretty eardrums!" he snapped angrily at her.
"That's the main purpose of her screaming, you faggot!" Kairi pointed out from behind him. In surprise and annoyance, he turned to face her, but before he could react, she hit his face with her right fist, sending him down to the ground with enough force. She was in awe. "Whoa… never knew I could do that…" she muttered. But before she could do something else, a Heartless grabbed her from behind. She squirmed but could not break free as another Heartless arrived and tied her up too.
Soon, even Lavinia and Theodore had been tied to boot. Kuja's nose was bleeding but he still tried to maintain his own poise as he got up again and then flipped his hair. "Hmf! Alright, let's go!" he said arrogantly before teleporting.
"NO!" Elena tried to stop them, but there were too many Heartless holding her down. She just watched in regret as the children disappeared with the Heartless restraining them.
The remaining Heartless were still big in number, and obviously, Reno and Elena could not handle them… but before they could give up on life, they heard the awfully-familiar sound of a shotgun firing plus some familiar voices.
"What are these creatures?!"
Upon hearing the voice, Elena enlightened up, "Tifa!" she called out.
But there was another person who helped her get away from the Heartless that were trying to suffocate the air out of her. It was Sora.
He instantly killed the Heartless with his Keyblade. "Hey, ma'am, you alright?" he asked with concern.
Elena stared at him in awe. "Hey, you're Aerith's son, right?" she asked in surprise.
He raised his eyebrows at her. "Er… yeah. That's how I've been labeled by all her friends. Heheh." He said with a silly smile on his face before proceeding to fight.
After almost two hours of fighting…
Sephiroth collapsed to the ground in a sitting position, panting hard while still grasping his Masamune tightly. "That was… very tiring. I think I'm getting old…" he muttered.
"You are old." Cloud pointed out with a mocking look on his face.
Sephiroth waved his Masamune at him as a warning, but he just ignored him.
"Where's the stupid Wutaian Tsengker and the stupid bald-headed oaf?" Rufus demanded impatiently.
"Oh… President Rufus, sir… we don't really know but…" Elena began rather hesitantly, but she stopped when she heard Tifa cry out, "Oh my goodness!? What happened to Professor Hojo?!"
They all turned to the stiff corpse on the floor.
Tidus made a face. "How did that die?" he asked in confusion.
"Miss Samara killed him." Reno explained.
"What?" Rufus asked in disbelief, turning to Reno.
"Speaking of Samara… where is she?" Sora asked, sensing that something was really wrong.
"Uh… Kuja arrived with those… black things… and… took the children with him." Elena replied with a nervous look on her face.
Silence.
Cloud, Squall, Tidus, Rufus and Sephiroth exchanged blank stares.
Riku could see the angry look on his father's face and the undeniable rage in his green eyes. "Looks like someone's gonna get spanked later on… not to mention, grounded for five years!" Sephiroth declared with a sarcastic smile on his face.
"But where do you think are they?" Tidus asked with a nervous look on his face.
Sora began to think before answering, "… Dr. Valentine mentioned that Kuja's planning to use Samara so that she could serve as a human reactor for Mako energy. Maybe Kuja's looking for a place where he could get Mako."
Sephiroth narrowed his eyes at him, "Dr. Valentine?" he asked.
Cloud stepped forward, as if blocking Sephiroth's view from Sora. "Alright, this is not time for controversies." He muttered to Sephiroth.
"What controversies?" Sora asked curiously.
Rufus and Tifa exchanged funny smiles before turning to Riku who were eyeing them curiously. Tifa just smiled sweetly at the boy.
Sephiroth just sneered at Cloud before turning to Rufus who said, "The nearest site is by the mountains a few kilometers away from here… I'm having a new reactor built there."
Tifa's eyes widened upon hearing that. "N…no… not there…" she said softly.
"Why not?" Squall asked.
Silence.
Sephiroth was looking at Squall with a sticky stare. Squall turned to him before saying, "Why are you looking at me like that?"
Sephiroth just smiled before saying, "You look like my wife when she was younger."
Silence.
"Come now, Riku and Sora, let's step outside first." Rufus told the two, dragging them outside the room.
Reno rolled his eyes while Elena covered her mouth to stop herself from commenting.
Squall raised an eyebrow. "I… see… well, she must be… very pretty… I suppose…" he said rather uncomfortably before raking his fingers through his hair.
Sephiroth just chuckled. "Oh yes. Very pretty indeed." He replied.
Tifa cleared her throat. "As I was saying… uhm… that reactor is a dangerous place… it's not safe to go there because Mako flows freely there." She explained.
"Freely?" Tidus asked.
"Meaning, anybody without special equipment could get contaminated with Mako… and if they cannot take it… they…" Cloud trailed off.
Sephiroth and Tifa instantly remembered the mutated creatures that they have seen in the Nibelheim reactor. The latter gasped in terror. "Oh my goodness! The children!" she exclaimed.