Chapter 3: Putting something broken back into order again.

Currently, this land is scattered,

When one feels out of there element, it isn't hard to be mistreated.

The best thing to do is to hold on to the enigma,

and to observe with watchful eyes.

Enigma, by Venusvadore

Hojo turned around and stared daggers at Yuffie, who was having trouble breathing. Hojo was dead..dead, dead, dead. But he was standing right there, his arms full of papers. Jacket man nudged her shoulder. "Are you alright?" he said slyly, almost as if he knew what was going on through Yuffie's brain. All Yuffie could do was stutter and point fingers.

"Ho..Hoj...Ho..." she said, swallowing hard. Soon the door to the elevator opened, and with one last scowl, Hojo sauntered off.

The doors then closed, and the elevator began to travel upwards again. "I hope you do a little better in front of the President," Jacket man spat, grabbing Yuffie's wrist and pulling her out into a hallway when the doors opened again. Yuffie felt like her stomache was full of some kind of heavy liquid. Hojo...but how? She wondered what they were going to do with her. What if they kept her and experimented on her, until her hair turned white like Sephiroth's or her eyes gleamed red like Vincent's. She shivered. Vincent. Had he feared Hojo this way? She felt so sorry for him. She understood him a bit better now, actually getting to see Hojo up close was terrifying, especially after hearing about all of the horrible things he had done. Yuffie stiffened a bit. She knew she had to be brave, just like Vincent. Or at least hide that she was scared...

It seemed too soon that they were at the door to the President's office. Jacket man took his firm grip off of Yuffie, and then quickly opened the door and shoved her in. Yuffie fell onto her knees, turning around and scowling at him. She had a few choice words for this man as soon as she was out of the domain of this sinister "President".

"She's here," Jacket man said, giving a curt bow. Yuffie didn't see anyone in the room, which was totally white except for the black chair and desk in the back of the large office. The chair's back was turned to her. Ohhh...Yuffie understood now. The President was behind that chair. A gloved hand waved out from behind it, apparently dismissing Jacket man, because he left immediatly. Yuffie wished he had stayed, no matter how harsh he was, no matter if he was a friend or foe. All she knew was that she didn't want to be in the same room with this...person, whoever it might be.

The chair slowly began to turn around. What Yuffie expected, god or demon, human or monster, caused her to hold her breath. She was however, relieved and slightly dissapointed,(mostly surprised), to find Elena, the female former turk, perched in that chair, legs crossed. She had a grim smile on her face. Yuffie finally took in a breath and sighed in relief. She almost laughed. "Oh, it's only you," she said giggling. Elena scowled.

"And what is "only me" Yuffie? What do you mean by that phrase?" she spat. Yuffie laughed harder. "I mean, it's you. Not Sephiroth, not Rufus Shinra, but you," Yuffie looked back at the way she had been acting before, so scared. It just seemed stupid now. Elena, a president. imagine that. The weak Turk, no way

"Oh Yuffie, you've just made the biggest mistake of your life" Elena said, standing up "Your mistake is the same one everyone has made. Oh there's Elena, second best, the weakest. Well, I'll show you, I'll show everyone."

Yuffie had to keep from laughing, because her statement was exactly right. Everyone had always spoke of the Turks in hushed whispers. They were the feared guards of the Shinra legacy, who would kill anyone at whim. But when it came to Elena...well, she just didn't live up to the title as well as the others. In fact, Yuffie could recall the other day, an argument made by some kids in the slums. "I'll be Rufus" had said the kid in the brown hat. "Then I'll be Rude, John can be Reno." A little girl had stood up. "Then who can I be?" she asked. "How 'bout Tseng." The little girl had jumped up and down. "NO WAY! He's dead." "Fine, be Elena then." The girl had sat back down. "...can we pretend Tseng's alive"

It was almost pathetic. Elena was so small in frame, and couldn't really do much, let alone be accepted by the public. Yuffie turned around and began to walk out of the room. "Well, I'm leaving, seeing as there is nothing really all that important keeping me here." Elena stomped her foot. "Don't you turn your back on me!" she yelled.

Yuffe spun around in a cool manner. "And who's gonna stop me, huh?" she said. She liked playing with Elena's nerves. She was waaay to easy to manipulate. Yuffie wondered if the tobogan she was wearing was going to her head. She always felt pretty cool while wearing it, especially with those head -"Ugh" Yuffie tried to breath as hands had incirled her neck. Elena was watching this, a smug look on her face. "Some ninja you are. Am I supposed to be impressed?"

Yuffie twisted her head around a bit. Her gaze fell on Jacket man. He then loosened his grip, but he didn't let go completly. "Now, let's make matters more serious. Your life is in my hands Yuffie. I want to know. Where are the other former members of AVALANCHE?" Yuffie struggled at trying to get loose, but every move she made caused Jacket man to firm his grip on her just a little harder...

"Why do you want to-"

"ANSWER my question" Elena demanded. Yuffie didn't wait. "I don't have any idea OK? You're asking the wrong person." Yuffie shuffled her feet. She thought about how her greed had gotten her into this mess. She should have been sensible and been more persistant in asking the Jacket man questions. She felt she was a shame to all ninja everywhere. She stared down at her flip-flops. There had to be a way to get out of this. Elena was never that smart, at least, not as smart as Reno. Reno...if she stayed, he would probably come looking for her. Yuffie didn't know if that was a good thing or a bad thing.

"I think you are lying to me Yuffie, I'm going to ask again. Where are the other former members of AVALANCHE?" Elena was looking thouroghly peeved. Yuffie gave a weak sigh. She cussed quietly. "I have NO freakin' idea! I thought I made that clear already!" The moment those words came out of her mouth, she regretted them. Elena gave her a twisted look, and then snapped her fingers. Instantly Jacket man's hand came flying down onto the back of Yuffies head. Only it couldn't have been his hand, it was hard and metal-like, probably a handgun. She heard Elena say something about how she wasn't going to deal with this, and to take Yuffie to the labs for holding until they figured something out. Yuffie cursed as the room seemed to spin out of control, and then collapsed on the soft, white carpet of the office.

When Yuffie awoke, the first thing she noticed was a terrible headache. She could feel warm liquid running down her neck. She grabbed her taboggan and peeled it off carefully. Her hair on the back of her head was soaked with the crimson liquid, and she didn't want to touch it. The light hurt her eyes, and she tried to remember where she was.

Everything about the room was metal. Metal floors, metal walls, ceiling, fan, and a big metal door with no handle and only a small window to tie it all together. The room was no bigger than a closet, and it looked like something you would see in an insane assylum. A small sorce of light was twinkling down from a lone bulb on the ceiling. Yuffie desperatly tried to remember what happened, but she felt slightly high and giddy, and the only thing she could think about was how ruined her hat was. She was sitting on the floor, someone had placed a few handcuffs on her that attached her hands to a steel loop. She quickly slipped out of these, she had always been good at escaping things of these sorts.

Now to remember what happened...Flashes of Elena and Jacket man came back, and Yuffie suddenly recalled some of the President's last words. "Take Miss Kisaragi to the labs for holding until I figure something out." Yuffie withdrew her knees. Well, Elena had turned out tougher than she had ever thought. Maybe not strength wise, but in polotics, it looked like she held power. Yuffie had a feeling that this wasn't a good thing for her. She smiled grimly, and then stuck her hat in the oversized pocket on her cargo jeans.

It made Yuffie angry that she didn't know what was going to happen. She had always hated suspense, and by being the great ninja that she was, usually didn't have to endure it because she always knew when something was coming. But this time around, the tables were turned. Her allies weren't there to help her if things got rough, and her fate was held in the incompetant hands of a former Turk that had a lot of men to just throw around.

She figured they'd come and torture information out of her. She wondered why they just didn't go look for Cloud and everyone themselves. Yuffie then tried to get up, resulting in her head pounding and the room spinning again. She quickly sat back down. She was clearly in worse shape than she thought. Reluctantly, Yuffie placed her hand on the wound on her head. It seered with pain and seemed to throb beneath her fingers. She felt a knot so big that she was certain that one could probably see it despite her thick brown hair. This was slightly disturbing...

She waited for the longest time it seemed, not moving in fear of losing consciousness. A few times she yelled for someone to come and get her, and when they didn't she cursed them louder than she had called for them. Now the giddiness was over and Yuffie felt nothing but anger and an extreme annoyance. She couldn't sleep even if she wanted to, the tensions were way too high. Plus she was afraid that the Jacket man would come back for a second go-round, and he would obviously attack her in her sleep since he had already hit her from behind. 'That man has no sense of honor,' Yuffie thought grimly. That would make him a worthy enemy. Those who didn't care how they won were always the most crooked and cunning.

A sudden creak as the door opened startled her. Yuffie had thoughts to run past whoever was in the doorway. To push them out of the way and run as fast as she could. But it wasn't likely she would make it two steps. The person at the door was Hojo. Two guards were standing with him, shotguns in hand. When one of the men stepped forward, Yuffie cussed him and smashed her fist on the floor. The man howled in laughter. Yuffie dug her hand in her pocket. The knife was gone, someone had taken it. At her shock the man laughed harder, and then he finally approached her all of the way, grabbing her arm and pulling her up to her feet.

At first the sensation was akward. Yuffie felt like she was swaying, but soon her vision cleared and she could stand up staight. She tried to pull away from her captor, but then the other guard tried to take her free arm. Yuffe slung it back and dug her wristbone under his unprotected chin, the only part of him that armor didn't cover. He staggered back but soon regained his balance, taking Yuffie's arm angrily in his oversized hand.

Yuffie then tried to bite him, but was suddenly cut short when the other man jammed his elbow into her stomache. She fell slightly limp by then, but didn't stop calling them filthy names under her breath. "You're really out of practice aren't you?" Hojo smirked, brushing a few greasy strands of his messy hair behind his ear.

"Come. You know Rayce doesn't like waiting, and neither do I. I have work to finish." Yuffie scowled. She would have spit at him if her mouth hadn't been so dry. She realized that she hadn't had anything to drink for a long time. The guards then began to drag her out, Hojo barking directions at them. Soon Hojo had gone, and it was only the two grim men tugging Yuffie down the hall.

They came to a glass window. Hat man could be seen sitting inside. One of the guards pulled out a set of keys and twisted them in the lock on the door. When that was done, they came inside and sat Yuffie in a chair, quickly restraining her to her chair with chains. Yuffie's head hurt too much to resist

Then the men left, locking the door behind them. Yuffie raised her head. "We really have to stop meeting like this," she choked out, grinning slightly. She knew that one of the best things to do when planning an escape was to get the enemy to be comfortable around you, to drop their guard. She knew that Jacket man, now known as Rayce, was probably not going to be easy to fool, but it was worth a try.

"Let's just get down to the point. I don't like you, and I hate interrogating people, so I'm going to keep this short. See this button here," Rayce said, pointing at a big red button embedded in the wood of the desk. "Everytime you do not answer my questions or give me a rude remark, I will press this button Miss Kisaragi, and you will get the shock of your life...literally." Yuffie gulped. Rayce was very agitated. Yuffie decided it best not to play with his short patience this time. She would try to answer his questions, and if she didn't know them, she would lie.

"First off, where are the members of AVALANCHE?" Yuffie sighed. Didn't these people ever think about anything else. Rayce tapped his foot. "I don't know. I would have thought that Tifa and Cloud would be somewhere in Midgar, but everyone else..." she hung her head. Rayce leaned back in his chair. "Oh really," he said, his hand sliding toward the button. Yuffie shut her eyes and cursed, bracing herself. The electricity raged through her body, causing her to reel backwards. The shock seemed to last forever, and every one of her limbs jumped and jolted in pain. When it stoped, Yuffie was breathing hard. Rayce played his fingers across the control, waiting for Yuffie to answer. "I don't know ok..." she said weakly,"can you please just ask another question?" Rayce snickered.

"Alright. But it will come back to this in the end" he said.

Yuffie nodded. She had to be strong, she knew that the shock she had just recieved was not going to be the last. "By order of the lady, next question. Have you done anything that could possibly prevent the arise of a new government?" Yuffie glared. What a stupid question. What was she, the Mayor of Midgar?

"What do you think" she said annoyed, and once again she regretted opening her big fat mouth. Rayce pushed the button again. Maybe Yuffie imagined it, but it seemed that he held it down longer than last time. "You..seem to be...enjoying...yourself," she huffed. She tryed to hold back tears. Her body felt like it had been filled with boiling water, dumped in ice, and then injected with acid. "Oh yes!" Rayce laughed,"I thought I'd be bored, but for some odd reason I'm really anticipating asking the next question."

Yuffie wanted to cuss him so badly, but she didn't think she could endure one more shock. "This is the last question, but I'll be back tomarrow for more information. Elena's puny brain apparently couldn't come up with addaquate questions for the person we went through so much trouble to catch," Rayce smiled wryly.

Yuffie's ears perked at the statement. His dislike for Elena may work to her advantage, but that would have to wait until later. Later as in, as soon as she was out of this desperate situation. "Is there anyone that you have any attachments to outside. After all, we don't want them coming here for you and getting hurt now do we?" Yuffie was puzzled.

Rayce's statement almost implied that she not answer the question. Strange. Yuffie quickly thought up lie that would probably hurt her later, but keep her friends safe for now. "All of my friends were in AVALANCHE." she said simply. Rayce nodded and muttered another,"I see," and then waved to the guards standing outside. They came in, and then Rayce signaled them to stop. He turned and smashed the button quickly one more time out of spite, and then brusqly left the room.

The guards snapped off the the chains from Yuffie's wrists, which she guessed had probably somehow delivered the electric charge. She let the two men drag her into the same lab/prison room as before, and then she watched silently as they shut the door...without a fight, without a word. Whatever she had expected of Rayce, passion, mercy, he hadn't given it. She thought that maybe after hinting her off about not saying who her friends were, he was going to somehow be kind and gentle to her. Her face scruched up in anger. He apparantly was trying to get her worked up, to play with her emotions. Yuffie knew she couldn't let that happen. She had to keep her wits about her.

She had to admit to herself, however, that Rayce was pretty cool. He really knew how to set people up and knock 'em down. For a moment, Yuffie was almost pleased at her interragator, but then she realized what she was thinking and snapped out of it. It was not good, appreciating the enemy. Still...if cercumstances had been different...Yuffie tried to stay awake as long as she could, but the electricity had seemed to suck all of her energy from her. Soon she was nodding off, all leaned up against the wall. The white corner of the envelope potruded from her pocket.

Yuffie was pulled roughly to her feet. She was still groggy. It was once of the guards again. Yuffie wiped her eyes. He let her catch her balance. Yuffie decided to really shut her mouth this time, seeing as opening it hadn't done her any good so far. As soon as she was standing straight, the guard yanked her into the hall and then turned the opposite way from the interragation room. Yuffie couldn't help but wonder where they were going. He then opened the door to a room covered in white tile. Marching Yuffie over to a shower, he released her hand and then sat down on a bench near her. Yuffie blinked at him. "The President wants you to get cleaned up before the meeting we're having," he explained in a gruff voice. Yuffie tapped her foot.

"So," she said.

"So what?"

Yuffie sighed impatiently. "So leave. I'm not taking my clothes off with you standing there, no matter what Elena says. I still have my dygnity," she huffed, crossing her arms. The guard shrugged and then got up and left. He called over his shoulder that he would be waiting outside of the door. Yuffie thought about trying to escape, but she knew a shower would do her good. Plus she didn' feel like jumping out any windows at this moment.

She tied a robe that was hanging on the shower door around her. Someone had taken the laundry hamper that she had dropped her clothes in. The guard soon opened the door. "Come on" he said, opening it wider. Yuffie shook her head violently.

"I am NOT going out there in a robe" she insisted, stamping her foot. The guard muttered, "I'll see what I can do," and then said a few things into his walkie talkie. Soon a maid had come down with some clothes, denim jeans and a white T-shirt, along with underthings.

"Ahem," Yuffie signaled, and the man once again closed the door and waited outside. She slipped on the clothes and wondered what Elena wanted now. She also wondered where her hat was. She couldn't help but worry about it. After all, it was her favorite hat, She'd had it for years, and for it to be taken away so quickly...Yuffie's ridiculous thoughts were inturrupted by the guard opening the door and finally loosing his patience and shouting at her for not hurrying. Yuffe quickly ran up to him and allowed him to grab her wrists and pull her out into the hall. Yuffie sighed. Here we go again. But truthfully she had no idea what she was headed for.

OK, I'm sorry, but this thing will not let me indent paragraphs. I've tried sighs So I'll just continue without it,(Plz don't be mad! Believe me, I've done as much as I can to get rid of any grammatical errors, I don't even have a spellchecking device so I have to email this to friends to check it for me. That reminds me, I thank Andreaka for spellchecking the last chapter and this one also). So anyways, I just wanna warn you that this fanfic is probably going to be pretty long, and I really don't know where it is going exactly. Thanks for reading. (-)

Venusvadore