Chronicles II: The End

1.

"Why am I alive", echoed a smooth voice?

All he could see was darkness. However, he could feel two other people in the room. Their stink was more than enough to give their positions away to him.

"We have a use for you", replied a stern female voice, "Even after all of these years past, you are still the best there was. We've kept you alive until your… talents were needed again"

"Where am I?"

"You're in a hospital in New Jersey", responded another voice, this time male "You're safe here, with us. My name is Doctor Seifer Almasy. And the woman to my left is Doctor Edea Kramer"

"I can hardly say that this is an honor… for either of us. We've been working on you for a long time. A lot of our benefactor's money has been spent keeping you alive, not to mention our own", Edea's voice was cold as she seemed to lecture the man in the bed before her.

The man in the bed laughed a little coy laugh as he tried to open his eyes, "I hardly see why keeping me alive is logical, Doctor. My duty on this world was finished a long time ago. The beast in my mind still lies dead. The best advice I can give you is to let me die before I kill you as well"

"I doubt that you would be able to", replied Dr. Almasy

Edea leaned down and injected a clear liquid into the mans IV. The dripping quickened as the dose began to rush through the patient's blood-stream.

"What… what did you do", asked the man?

"We will speak again when you are more able to understand", replied Edea

A pair of aqua eyes snapped open as he awoke from another nightmare. He jolted up in his bed and looked around the room. He could see. The room was filled with moonlight and darkened shadows. It was indeed a hospital. Only a hospital room was that depressing.

He looked around the silent room. He was alone now. Those bothersome doctors were no where to be seen. Suddenly the entire room lit up like the sun. Blaring white lights appeared over-head.

The man growled as he covered his eyes.

"Good morning", squeaked an intercom, "Sorry to wake you so early in the morning, but frankly we are tired of waiting for you"

He turned and faced the plated glass on the farthest wall from him. He could clearly see two figures; a man and a woman, "The doctors again I see. Who are you?"

"I take it you remember our names at least", mocked the woman, "You are healed up, alive, and doing well. At least according to a definition of 'well'"

"We kept you alive to help us, Sephiroth. You have one last use to the world before you can leave it", perked Seifer, "You are going to kill two people for us. Once you finish, you may do as you please. But until then, you belong to us. You will do as we say without question or resistance"

Sephiroth smiled, "And just what makes you think that I will help you?"

Edea leaned forward, "Somewhere in your body there is a tiny microchip. We can command that chip to release one of the world's most potent nerve toxins. Death would be painful and almost instantaneous. As you can see, we have the advantage here"

He made his way closer to the glass. Now they were almost face to face. His piercing eyes made Seifer swallow hard as he stepped slightly away from the glass, "I see... but before I do this killing for you, I want some questions answered"

"Very well. Ask away then, time is of the essence", said a shaking Seifer

"Where is Tifa? Only she knew where my body was kept. Where are you keeping her?"

Edea smiled at Seifer, then went back to looking at Sephiroth, "Sephiroth, it's been 27 years since your murder. The year is 2026. Tifa retired many years ago, and has since then, disappeared", she straightened herself

He looked down for a long moment, "How am I still in my twenties? Why has the world aged and I have not?"

A third man stepped into the room. He wore a white surgeons coat and round glasses. He was older than the other two, well within his sixties. He stood in the middle of the three and smiled at Sephiroth.

"I'll answer that question", perked the new addition to the duo, "The government has long funded our previous projects. We were doing research on reversing the bodies aging process by dipping the body into a heavily radioactive chamber. The funding ended, however, when twelve subjects tragically died. We used the same process on you"

"Lucky number thirteen", said Seifer

"The only one to survive, "laughed Edea

"We got lucky with you, Sephiroth. Only you survived. Which is in itself is miracle of science. For not only did you survive, but your bodies aging process has come to a complete holt. And we could very easily make death a reality to you. So enough questions!"

He looked right into the doctors eyes. They were deadly spears, piercing the mans soul and stealing his life, "Who do I have to kill?"

Sephiroth sat at his desk. His new cell was a very nice replica of an apartment. Though he had no windows, no privileges, and nothing to do but think. The room he now occupied was a sorry excuse of a study; one book case and a desk with a light and a chair.

He couldn't get around it. So much time had passed, so much had happened since his days of blood and murder. The world had completely changed.

From what he was told, the cities were all controlled by various monopoly-like companies. The government was for sale to the highest bidder. The entire country had fallen victim to its greed.

The hospital, or whatever it was, was one of these monopolies; multi-billion dollar pharmaceutical company slowly being swallowed by its competitor. The battlefront was no longer just trade stocks and bonds, it was violence. It had spilled out to the point where assassination and shootings were becoming more and more frequent. Soon an all out war would occur for the control of the worlds funds.

His mission was to kill the two people mostly responsible for the competitors success; Squall Leonhart and Rinoa Heartilly. They were 'St. August INC.' most notorious assassins. Of course, they weren't called 'assassains', they were called 'negotiators'. Every time they were sent to negotiate, there had been blood. So far eight companies had surrendered their control to them. And now, 'Hojo Pharmaceuticals' was next. They were the only remaining block between them and 'Shinra'.

Apparently 'Shinra' was the sister company to 'Hojo'. If one was to fall, the other would as well. So it was imperative that he succeed in his mission. For if they both wanted to survive, the competing assassins would have to die. Without them, 'St. August' would surely fall.

He sat back in his chair, opening his eyes to the ceiling, "I either die, or I accept their terms and be a slave", he smiled to himself. It was his old psychotic smile of knowing. It only ever appeared when he knew something no one else knew. Oh yes, he would help them. But once it was all over, and the dust had settled…, "I will kill them all"

This is the end, Beautiful friend
This is the end, My only friend, the end
It hurts to set you free
But you'll never follow me
The end of laughter and soft lies
The end of nights we tried to die
This is the end