Okay…I've noticed some plot holes in this story…I will address them in later chapters. (slaps herself) Should of read it more carefully…

Chapter 20: Reunions should be fun and happy right?

Neo Midgar, SHADOW Shinra Headquarters

Horton walked among the ranks of his newly created army, extremely pleased with himself. He had really outdone himself this time and it would only be a matter of time before the rest of the planet would witness the new horror he had concocted.

He crossed his arms, not intimated in the least about the fact that they all towered above him and were much broader than him. They would not harm him. They didn't have the mental capacity to think for themselves, they would blindly follow orders to the death is he asked them.

These new versions of the once elite SOLDIER that protected the planet many centuries ago would do as they were told. All were exactly the same. No preferential treatment had been given to them.

Well, that was a bit of a lie. Four had. He would see them in a few minutes, just to make sure that everything had went as he had planned and if they hadn't, then he would just have to terminate it and start fresh with that particular fighter.

So what if Vincent Valentine was alive and well in the city, his trained and genetically altered warriors would hunt and kill him within the next few days, along with any idiots that stood in the way.

Those rebels thought that the company was evil right now? Ha! The calamity from the skies had just been released in a new and improved packaging and she was far more dangerous. Her offspring just as lethal.

Speaking of altered and created…did Vincent really think that he had freed himself from his grasp? Did he think that all the years of hurt and pain were behind him?

That made him laugh out loud, if that man thought he knew what pain meant and was, then wait until he got a load of the fun new methods of pain he'd been reading up on.

Humans had developed new methods of torture and death over the centuries. Bringing back capital punishments, in all it's infamous deaths. Hell, he'd even created a few new ones himself.

He would put Vincent back in his coffin and make sure that he never got out of the wooden casket. No hapless idiot to come and wake him after a few decades, he would bury him in the earth he had tried to save.

If the rebels were thinking about using Chaos in their plans to rescue the planet then he would just have to show them that he and the SHADOW Shinra would not be toyed with. His genetically engineered warriors would tear them into a thousand pieces and then some.

Not one place on the planet would be save for them. Wherever they went, they would be hunted and killed within days of reaching their supposed sanctuary. He knew all of the hiding places Vincent would probably advise them of and all the while the rebels would be thinking, 'How does he know?' when the fighters showed up on their doorsteps.

He stopped at one of his warriors, a smile tugging on his thin lips. Blue eyes stared forward and a shock of yellow hair fell over in a styled but messy way over his face.

The failed experiment that he had tried to make over seven hundred years ago would get a new lease of life. It would serve his needs and was trained not to think about what it was ordered to do. It would not prove to be so useless in it's task, especially in bringing Vincent and the world to their respective knees.

For some strange reason, the Jenova cells hadn't mutated his face, his body was near enough as the original had been. Slender but powerful.

On either side of him stood two women, both brunettes and extremely beautiful in their own rights. Both powerful in different ways. Again, the mutations in their bodies seemed to be minimum. Jenova couldn't alter the DNA as much as she had in the other soldiers that surrounded them.

Was that down to the planet trying to prove that it would defy him to the last or the fact that Jenova had a sick sense of humour and knew what irony was? Was Jenova taunting the planet?

A third female stood just in front of the army. Her face impassive and cold as she stared at a fixed point on the wall. The woman looked incredibly like his son had done all those years ago. Her features sharp yet delicate under the lighting.

She was Jenova incarnate. She was the mother of all monsters on the planet and she would be the one commanding this little army in hunting out the rebels.

They wouldn't stand a chance.

The smile grew bigger as he thought about the irony that he had made. The very heroes that had saved the world were going to be responsible for the death of those they had tried to save. Fighting along side one that had tried to kill it.

He stopped at the blankly staring blonde, "Tell me, what is your mission and who is your master?"

The small blonde blinked before turning his head partly to see Horton, "You are my master and I have been trained to protect the SHADOW Shinra at all costs. I go into battle and face my enemies and will emerge victorious. Failure is not acceptable. To fail is to forfeit my life."

The programming seem perfect. No hesitation at all in the voice and he had sounded strong and sure of what was going on. The warrior would not question the mission or who was in charge. Jenova had made sure of that.

"Good," Horton patted the soldier's shoulder, an almost fatherly pride welling in his chest.

"Now, who are you going to kill?"

The soldier blinked again, a frown creasing his forehead. Master Horton had told him that when he had awoken but something else kept screaming at him to wake up. That he wasn't supposed to be doing this. This wasn't who he was, not what he was alive for.

"It's not true. He didn't create you……don't listen to him…" a voice called faintly in the back of his mind.

"You mean only a failure managed to reach here?"

"Please professor, give me a number…"

"Hmph, get away from me, failure…"

Who were those voices? Why was he hearing them? Yet it was his voice that had asked for a number. Why would he need a number? So many questions tumbling around in his mind.

"Maybe aint none of us will come back," another voice called from the blackness.

Back from where?

His own voice spoke quietly from the shadows of his mind, "I'm a puppet?"

The touch of his master had sent a cold and sickening chill down his spine yet his body refused to say why.

"Ugh, what are…you making me do?" again his own voice cried in out confusion and anger.

His mind telling him that he shouldn't question Horton but his heart was telling him something else. Something he couldn't quite hear.

Horton repeated the question, "Who are you going to kill?"

"All enemies of the SHADOW Shinra," the soldier slowly ventured, knowing that there was another part to the answer he should have said.

"Who else?"

Two names sprang to the front of his mind without him even trying to call it, the president and someone else.

"The president. He has become weak and has become a liability to the company," the answer seemed to please the master but Horton looked angry when that was all that was given but eased when the second part came.

"…Vincent Valentine," the blonde young man locked eyes with Horton, his stomach tying in knots but he didn't know why.

The name seemed so familiar, just as the two warriors who stood side by side him did. Not because they had trained with him but again, something was screaming to him but he couldn't hear the words or understand them.

The president of the SHADOW Shinra walked in, his eyes jumping from one soldier to the next. His face paled for a few seconds, so many and they all looked nearly the same. Except for four that stood in the front.

Those four looked like they could have taken on the rest of the army with their eyes blind folded. He walked slowly down the front, avoiding eye contact with the battle ready army.

Had he gone to far in allowing Horton to have a blank cheque in regards to protecting the company? Perhaps he should of questioned what had been going on more in regards to what actually happened in the floors below his office.

"Mr President!" Horton called out in false friendship, "I was wondering when you would get here."

The president gave him a brief smile, "I'm a pretty busy man. Is this the army that you'll be dispatching out into the city in a few hours?"

Horton seemed to be buzzed with excitement, "Not hours but mere minutes. We just need to let the monsters run amok for a wee bit longer."

"Good," the president spared a long look at the four in front, the small male's eyes kept darting. As though he was trying to figure something out.

Were Horton's monsters not as dull and mindless as the professor thought? the blonde was the only one who seemed to have the questioning look far in his eyes, the females stared ahead. Their eyes blank and lifeless.

"The first of your elite are guarding the docks. I trust they can take out any opposition thrown their way?" the president walked up to the male soldier with the blonde hair and the questioning eyes.

The male quickly glanced over to see the lead female nod, "Yes. It won't be a problem."

Horton looked at the four warriors, they needed something to break them in gently to the war that was going to be happening and to show the president that any fears he had were completely unfounded.

"I want you to join them. Take the females with you. A nice easy training session," Horton ordered.

Neo Migar Docks…45 minutes later

Vincent held his breath as two really ugly looking guards marched by him, unaware that he was hiding in the shadows. The Death Penalty held tightly to his chest and fully loaded.

He was kicking himself now, he shouldn't have run off so readily to try and gain access to the docks when he was struggling to find his way around the city.

It seemed that he wasn't really over his pride and he wasn't exactly in the best place to ask for directions and for a quick lesson on how to park boats in a dock. Not unless he wanted to get involved in a fire fight and get his backside kicked from here to the Bone Village.

This was not his time as various smells and sights maliciously reminded him all the time. First off, Midgar never had a dock. Second of all, it hardly rained in the city if you were under the pate. Third of all, it didn't smell as bad.

Mako no longer ran the city and no reactors sucked up the liquid the planet needed to live. They had found a new, more safer form of lighting up the metropolis. A much more cost effective one. At least they had learned to do that right.

The big killer difference was that, in his time, he no longer had a Midgar. Holy and Meteor had taken care of that. All he could do then was just watch, along with the rest of AVALANCHE at the amazing colours and the silence that followed when Meteor had been destroyed.

It had been awe inspiring. Not one of his friends had said a word as they watched the scene. All stood with jaws dropped and wide eyes. He'd even done it himself.

Adrenaline raced through his body as he sprinted across the dock to reach another sheltered spot under the control tower. He had to gain access to it in order to deactivate all the required systems and guide his friends in.

Should of brought one of those guys with us, Hellmasker made a valid point.

This is more Cid's field, Vincent pressed his body against the wall, I wouldn't even know what to press to call someone.

Yes…it's ironic that he's not here to save himself, Hellmasker rolled his eyes, Come on! How hard can it be?

"You there!" a guard shouted to him.

Vincent froze, "Uh…yeah?"

"Should you be here?"

Should I…should I be here? Of course bloody not! Vincent raised an eyebrow, surely the clothes were a dead giveaway about the fact that he wasn't a Shinra employee.

Would the guard perhaps like a big pink neon sign above Vincent's head stating that he was in league with the rebels? That none of the usual dock workers would carry two shotguns strapped to their backs and carried a rather dangerous looking weapon in a metal claw for a hand.

Granted, it was dark but not that dark.

"Yeah…um, I'm a messenger from the lower part of the dock. I got to tell the head ass that his missus has just had a baby girl," Vincent was a little startled at how the words were forming sentences as he lied through his back teeth.

The answer, amazedly, seemed to satisfy the guard. The man walked away, not really seeming to bothered about Vincent's presence and why he was here.

Hold on…the guard thought, Simon's not married. He's going out with Duncan…

He span round a little too late as a metal fist was fast in intercepting with his jaw. A confused look was on the face of his attacker as he fell to the ground and he could of sworn that he heard the man say something.

"You guys really are stupid," the tall man said as he dragged the guard off the main docks.

Vincent wiped away the rain that was still falling from his eyes, wondering if it was a possibility that the ship might dock somewhere safer if he actually called them.

It would save any unnecessary bloodshed. No one would have to kill or be killed, he didn't entirely trust his allies at the moment anyway. They all seemed too green, like they had never actually went this far in obtaining any goals they had set.

A female voice froze his soul and body to his very core, one that should not even by right be on this planet. It took him a long time before he even thought about turning round.

"Do not move or I will kill you," no life or passion. It sounded like her but it didn't sound like her.

It became a useless thought as he felt her grab him by the neck and slam his head into the nearest wall. He staggered back as she released him from her grip, his ears ringing from the impact.

His demons took care of the spinning world he occupied, his eyes quickly locating the attacker. Again, he found he couldn't raise his weapon to her. Every cell in his body refused to believe that he had been attacked by her. She was his friend and ally! Vincent backed away, trying to put as much space between him and the lethal punches he knew she could pack.

Why was she attacking him? Didn't she know who he was?

"Tifa…" Vincent braced himself for the impact as she raced towards him, "Don't."

The name and the simple request seemed to have no meaning for the woman as she landed another ear ringing blow to his jaw. She stepped forward, making a grab for Vincent's top but found the attempt was denied.

Her victim darted out of the way, raising his weapon. Both stopped and stared into each other's eyes, trying to suss one another out.

Shoot her! Hellmasker called out, she's trying to kill you!

No! I will not shoot her, Vincent screamed back, he would not shoot his friend. He could not bring himself to do that.

Chaos spoke up, You must. Tifa died centuries ago. This is Horton's little game. He's toying with you, he knew that he wouldn't be able to strike an ally.

Another sickeningly familiar stepped into the scene, "You're surrounded. If you come peacefully, we won't kill the rebels that are waiting like puppets for you."

Vincent felt his world drop out though a huge confusing hole when a third voice gave him another ultimatum. The words were harsh, not something that he would of expected to come out from her mouth.

"Drop the weapons and I won't feel the need to rip out your spine," she stated in her once gentle voice.

The former Turk pulled out one of the holstered shotguns and pointed at the two enemies he had within his sight. He was surrounded, a circle of soldiers had gathered around him and his one time friends.

"Drop your weapon and I won't feel the need to kill you," Vincent countered, knowing full well that this could be the last battle he ever saw.

The young woman laughed, "You are nothing. You're only one man."

Vincent looked around him, taking in the faces of the warriors encircling him. If he was going to die then at least the rebels would have a really cool story, saying how he took on over thirty men by himself.

The soldiers surrounding him parted like a sea. A woman who he had never seen before stalked towards him, a look of malice evident on her features.

"So," she sneered, "You're the one who was partly responsible for my defeat?"

"I have never met you," Vincent frowned, desperately trying to figure out who the woman was.

The female walked right up to him, her nose a few inches away from Vincent's as she looked deep into his eyes. She could smell the confusion that was coming off from him.

So this was the man that Horton wanted dead more than anything on the planet? He didn't look that dangerous, if anything, he was pathetic. However, if the master wanted him dead, then dead he shall be.

She smiled as she took a step back, opening her arms wide. Her eyes taking on a mocking smile as though she was laughing at a complete idiot.

"My name is Jenova," she introduced herself, still laughing.

Boat…

Sephiroth ran towards the deck of the boat, not stopping to explain his action to the stunned faces of those he was with.

Something felt wrong, he couldn't figure out what it was that was bothering him but it was wrong none the less.

He was followed at a much more reasonable pace by Cid, Yuffie and Red. All three had a look of interest as they watched Sephiroth lean over on the railing, looking to the nearing docks.

An intent look of concentration could be seen on his face, as though he was trying to hear the voices on the wind or perhaps see a familiar face in the horizon.

"Hey!" Cid crossed his arms, wishing he'd brought the cover he'd been under as the wind nipped at his cheeks and down his spine or having Yuffie latched to his side.

It felt odd not having the young woman holding onto him with a death like grip, sharing what little warmth they had on the Highwind and in the cargo area of the boat.

No answer came from Sephiroth, all the silver haired man did was continue his intent look.

…I can feel you…Sephiroth thought, You're near aren't you? So very near.

Cid turned round to Jaden who was standing next to Red XIII, "How long til we reach the docks?"

Jaden looked blank for a few minutes as he tried to regain his senses, he couldn't believe that one of his heroes where actually talking to him! One that they had all thought had died a long time ago.

"In about fifteen minutes," he managed.

Yuffie took a deep breath, enjoying the rain for a few minutes. It wasn't as cold as the snowflakes and the weather was improving slowly. The rain warm and the waves weren't as bad as they had been a few hours ago.

As much as she found this boat trip pleasant, she would much rather spend her time on dry solid land that didn't move or rock when it came to a bit of turbulence.

Red XIII had filled them in on a few subjects that had pestered them but he was unwilling to say what had happened to their families and homes. Quickly washing over any queries by asking Sephiroth a question about his own past.

Both Cid and Yuffie gave up on any further questioning, figuring that they would learn soon enough when they reached land.

Though the lion had shared with them that Chaos had been taken captive and was being held in the SHADOW Shinra building. Hopefully, by now, Vincent should be with them and waiting patiently at the docks.

Cid walked over to the railing, hoping to figure out what Sephiroth had found so interesting. All he saw was a well lighted dock, that they were a less than a mile from.

"She's there," Sephiroth whispered, "I can feel her."

The pilot raised an eyebrow, "She…You mean…"

He closed his eyes and rubbed his face with his two cold hands. Jenova was waiting for them, waiting for them at the dock.

"How many of those bitches are there on this planet?" Cid kicked at the railing before heading back to his friends.

The former war general looked back at the blonde, "As long as humans are willing to play God, we'll never be free of her. She's like a cancer to this world."

Cid stopped, how the hell could Jenova know that they were coming towards the docks? Red's people sure as hell wouldn't of told her, so that left one person.

"Can she read your thoughts?" Cid stalked backed over to Sephiroth.

The taller former Shinra employee looked blank for a second. Unsure as to what the man was getting at.

"Not that I'm aware but…we can speak to each other," Sephiroth admitted, "Why?"

"Because I think that she already knew we would be here," Cid turned back round and started his run back down into the belly of the docks.

If the rebels were going to be waiting for them to dock, then he could have bet the Highwind that Jenova was going to be lying in wait. Just waiting for them to lower their guards and kick their asses.

Hold on Vincent…Cid thought as he looked around for a weapon he could use, We're coming to the rescue…