Chapter 3:

The Strangers

I was overwhelmed when we returned to my house. Other dimensions? Portals to them? It was so much to take in. The sight of my home didn't help, either.

"What happened here?" Sephiroth said in surprise. We had walked through the door to find the floor smattered with green substances. I realized upon closer inspection that it was blood. Xenos blood, to be more accurate. It was the first time I wished I knew better than to leave my door unlocked when I left the dwelling. We found Therapon sprawled across my chair, blood oozing from several gashes.

"What happened?" I asked him.

"Lady Michiko," he gasped weakly. "He came while you were gone! He's still in the house!"

"Who?" Sephiroth demanded.

"He's looking… for…" Therapon stopped in the middle of the sentence before he began another. "His name… is…"

"Answer me! Who came? Answer the question, damn it!" Sephiroth grabbed Therapon by the shoulders and shook him. My servant's eyes rolled back into his head and his breathing stopped. "Give me the answer! Damn you!"

"Sephiroth, stop," I whispered. "He's dead."

"Who do you think it was?" Sephiroth sighed as he let go of the alien's limp body.

"I don't know," I shook my head as the phone rang. I picked it up shakily. "Hello?"

"Michiko, thank god, you're okay," Anima said. She sounded worried. "We found Cloud. He's near your house."

"No," I gasped, covering my mouth with my hand. "I think he was in here. He killed Therapon."

"We'll be there soon."

"No. Listen, I want you and Luben to gather some clothes, food, money, a laptop, and your swords. I want you to meet us at the lake."

"We-" Silence followed.

"Anima? Anima, are you there? My god, Anima! This isn't funny!" I began to panic.

"Michiko…" Sephiroth laid a hand on my shoulder and directed my attention to the phone line outside. The phone landed with a crack when I dropped it. The wires were sliced in half. "Get everything you told Anima to gather and your bow and arrows. We need to leave now. He knows we're here."

Sephiroth didn't need to tell me twice. It took only five minutes for me to gather my supplies. I also managed to fit into my clothes that I used for the gym and archery practice. My normal clothes were not going to cut it.

"Ready?" Sephiroth asked as I tied back my hair.

"I guess," I sighed. "Sephiroth?"

"Yeah?"

"Whatever happens between now and when we find the portal, I want you to know that…" I struggled to get the words out, but the three little words just wouldn't come.

"What should I know?" he asked as he laid a hand on my cheek. "You can tell me anything. What is it?"

"I wanted to tell you that I think I'm-"

"Oh, this is precious."

"Show yourself!" Sephiroth lashed out. He had Masamune out in a second. It was the first time I saw it. I, too, prepared my weapon, although it seemed powerless compared to the grand sword. A man with overly-spiked blonde hair, a red cape, and a large sword wrapped in tape leapt down from a nearby tree. He ran his fingers through his hair, revealing that one hand was an artificial claw.

"So, I've found you at last. You escaped me once, but not again. Prepare yourself," he challenged. He held his sword horizontally above his head. Without thinking, I slammed the door shut and began dragging Sephiroth to the basement.

"I have a hidden passage to the outside in the basement. We can get out through there," I said in a voice that wasn't even a whisper. I could hear Cloud banging and taunting us at the front door.

"Come on, tough guy. Lets finish this. Not that it matters. I know that you're going to the lake."

"We're not," I mouthed to Sephiroth when he looked at me worriedly. "That's our code for the cave that lies just between our properties. The lake is in the opposite direction."

I think Cloud finally burst through the door, but we were long gone, so I don't know for sure. We hurried to the cave.

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"They should be here soon," I muttered. It was cold in the cave. I shivered greatly.

"Here," Sephiroth handed me his cloak. "You need it more than I do."

"No, you keep it. You have less clothes under it than me."

"I can withstand the cold. Take the cloak," he insisted.

Before I could argue further, he was wrapping the garment around my shoulders. I was amazed at how much larger he was than me. We sat down, and Sephiroth wrapped his arms around me for warmth. I was soon dozing to the sound of his heartbeat. I don't know how long it was, but I didn't wake up until Anima and Luben arrived. We heard rustling outside, and we were suddenly alert. Weapons drawn, we waited until the ones making the noise showed themselves. Anima and Luben suddenly burst into the cave, swords at the ready.

"Thank god you made it. We narrowly avoided Cloud," I smiled. I then told them why we were cut off on the phone and what happened between then and now.

"I say we camp out here tonight," Anima suggested. "Cloud obviously doesn't know about this place. If he does, we can take the tunnel to the lake and run from there."

"I agree. Anyone object?" I looked around at the group.

Nobody made objections, so we made a fire, had some food, set out our blankets and laid down to sleep. Sephiroth decided to stay awake and keep watch for the first half of the night. I was to go next. We decided that Luben and Anima would take turns the next night. I laid on the floor, watching Sephiroth and shivering for at least an hour. Sephiroth had taken back his cloak, and the fire was getting low, too. I had forgotten to grab another blanket, so I was stuck laying on my only one. Anima had brought a sleeping bag large enough for two, so she and Luben had no need to bring blankets. They were curled up tightly, Luben's arm around Anima's waist and grasping her shoulder. I eventually closed my eyes and tried to sleep. A few minutes later, the noise of boots walking across the ground and something heavy being placed on my body alerted me. I opened my eyes ever so slightly to find Sephiroth kneeling by me, wrapping his coat around me yet again. He gently touched my face.

"Thank you for being so kind. I hope to do something to repay you before I leave," he whispered. He then did something that made my skin crawl: Sephiroth kissed me with surprising gentleness on the forehead. His lips were softer and warmer than I thought they'd be. I watched him return to his post. I soon fell asleep in his warm garment, the kiss fresh in my mind and the last sight being that of moonlight shining on beautiful, silver hair.

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We set off early the next morning. I caught several flashes of red, but it was always a flower or animal. We stopped for nothing. We refused to give Cloud the chance to catch us. None of us knew where we were going. We simply ran wherever we could. Around midday, we slowed a little and Sephiroth voiced a thought that had worried me all through the night and all day.

"He probably knows that we didn't go anywhere near the lake."

"That's why we're going to double back," I sighed. "If he thinks we're going this way, then he won't expect us to go back. We walk until we reach the edge, then turn off the path into the heavy underbrush and make our way back to the lake."

"Why not take the path in the cave?" Sephiroth shrugged simply.

"If Cloud catches us, we won't have anywhere to run in the cave," Luben explained.

"At least we'll have a chance of escape in the woods," Anima finished. "Besides, there's a chance that Cloud will find the tunnel to the cave."

We walked in silence for the next half an hour. When we reached the edge of the forest, we ducked into the woods and headed back. Halfway there, we laid close to the ground. Five people were walking down the path, Cloud among them. As they came closer, I recognized Barret, Yuffie, Tifa and Vincent.

"Damn them," Cloud muttered. "They purposely led us on."

"We'll find them, Cloud. Don't worry," Tifa consoled him. Vincent walked in front of our hiding spot. Sephiroth tightened his grip on Masamune and glared at the vampire-like man.

"No," I said under my breath, laying a hand on his. "We'll deal with them later."

"Let's keep going," Vincent said quietly. "I don't like these woods."

"Fine. I think I see the edge of the woods," Yuffie pointed.

"I can't wait to get my hands on them," Barret smiled. They continued on. Vincent took one last look around. I swear he knew we were there. No, I don't swear. I know he knew. He looked right at me. We hurried on once they were out of sight.

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"Finally," I gasped when we reached the lake. I hadn't had time to fill my canteen with water, so I was parched. We all drank deeply and took a few minutes to rest. The sun was beginning to set.

"So, where to now?" Sephiroth asked as he splashed his feet in the water. He was just as tired as we were, which surprised me. He had shed his cloak two hours ago and it wasn't hot out, but his muscles still glimmered with sweat. We all had blisters on our feet.

"I'll run a scan on the planet. Maybe we'll get lucky and there'll be a portal somewhere," Luben said as he set up the laptop. "Now I know why you wanted us to bring it."

"I did some more reading on my other computer," Anima explained as her boyfriend worked. "There are some portals that can stay open for seconds, like the one you found. Then again, there are portals that stay open for minutes, days, even weeks. Some last for years. With luck, we'll locate one of the longer lasting ones."

"Good. We'll need some time to get to it," I sighed.

The three of us sat at the edge of the lake while Luben scanned. I finally stretched out on the rocks.

"Weapons ready!" Sephiroth yelled suddenly a few minutes later. We stood to find Barret and Yuffie facing us.

"Wait until we tell Cloud," Barret growled. He aimed at us with his gun-arm.

"He'll be so happy when we bring you to him alive," Yuffie grinned as she drew her Shurikens.

"Why not kill me now and get it over with?" Sephiroth taunted. We stood poised to attack. It was four against two. The odds were against them.

"And deny him the victory he's waited four years for?" Barret grinned.

"No more talk! Take this!" Yuffie called. She chucked the Shurikens at us. Fortunately, we knew it was coming and leapt away.

"Ah!" Sephiroth cried as he tackled her. He tried several times to slice through her, but Yuffie dodged each time. It was no wonder she was a master thief.

"Michiko, look out!" Anima screamed.

I had been so hypnotized by Sephiroth's technique that I never saw the assault coming. I aimed my bow while I turned, but I let go too late. Barret's bullet hit me in the breastplate just as the arrow flew at him. I had armor on, so it did no damage. Unfortunately, I fell backwards into the lake because of the force. I never had the chance to see where my arrow landed, but I somehow knew that no contact had been made. I hit the water so hard the surface tension knocked me out cold as I slipped under the water. I heard Barret gasp and Yuffie scream before I fell. I couldn't hear Anima or Luben, but I swear Sephiroth called to me.

"No! Michiko! Damn you, Barret! Damn you all!"

I knew nothing else.

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Cliffhanger! Sorry people, but somebody's going to die next chapter. You'll have to read on to find out who! Reviews are much appreciated!

NINJA MAGE