Trapped

His footsteps echoed eerily through the hollow tunnel that he walked through. Scraps of metal, impossibly woven and compressed, made the walls around him all the more frightening, but Cloud couldn't afford to have any emotions right now. Somewhere ahead he could hear something, and it didn't sound good.

"GRRRRRAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!" The scream reverberated off the close quarters of the tunnel and for a moment Cloud was afraid the weary structure wouldn't hold. Miraculously, though, there was no change in the walls as the sound passed.

"This place is woven together like a bird's nest," Nanaki commented as he led the way forward. The only light the party had had for sometime was the light from the flame on the end of his tail. He'd expected as much; that was partially why he'd wanted to go in the first place. But now, a dim light could be seen in the distance. "What do you think we're going to find there?"

"Hojo," Vincent's words weren't uttered; they were spat with a loathing so great Cloud could feel it. "I can feel his filth already." Cloud wasn't surprised, one of Vincent's sole reasons for ever joining them had been revenge on the man who'd taken his world away, who'd taken Lucrecia from him.

"That screaming sounds like the kid," Cloud stated hoping he was wrong. The poor boy had already gone through so much, what more could be done to him?

"Gohan..." Nanaki's deep voice was barely audible as he whispered the name. He liked that boy. Normally, he didn't really like two-legged things much, and he absolutely despised being looked down on by them, but for some reason he really didn't understand, he didn't mind it when that boy scratched him behind the ears. It seemed silly really; after all, he was the son of the warrior Seto, but that boy's innocence was addicting. It was so soothing and reassuring like no matter what happened, he would never lose his peaceful naiveté. Nanaki shook his head and focused his thoughts on picking the best path through the sharp metal. Whatever happened happened; there was no use in worrying about it now.

Vincent forced himself to remain calm. Every fiber of his powerful being wanted to tear forward and eliminate Hojo from this world even though he knew it would only be temporary. Bringing his emotions under reign was exceedingly difficult though, especially when the periodic screams ripped through the tunnel and told a story of what must be happening. Hojo was going to hurt that innocent boy again, if he wasn't already in the process. It wasn't fair that the boy had to suffer!! Vincent had deserved his punishment, that was why he continued to endure it, but the boy had done nothing! Still more anger bubbled up in Vincent than had previously eaten at him. How much longer could he restrain himself? It didn't help either when the blood chilling screams suddenly fell silent. Did they want to know what had happened?

Nanaki cautiously stepped towards the light that was growing brighter and brighter by the second, soon they would be visible to whomever was in there. He watched carefully, but it was not much use. After the intense darkness, it was nearly impossible to see anything in the blinding light. Falling low to the ground, Nanaki realized there was no way they could all get in there unnoticed. "We'll be seen if we all go now."

"Vincent, you can stalk in, and if the coast is clear motion us to follow. Sound good?" Cloud suggested. Vincent's black form would blend well into the metal scrap heaps and he would be fast enough to move from shadow to shadow undetected.

Vincent nodded, but took a moment to clear his mind. Breaking in there wouldn't do any good right now, he needed to keep his mind under control. Then, after a few seconds, he started stealthily forward, melting into the shadows and flowing in them from one to the next as if he himself were one of their kind. Then, he froze. He didn't need to move any closer to see, the scene painted before him was painfully clear.

The last straw.

Vincent couldn't help himself any longer. His momentarily confined emotions burst out of his tattered soul just as he burst out of the shadow he'd only seconds before belonged to.

There, in front of him, was Lucrecia.

"NO!" Cloud shouted, springing into action as he saw Vincent break from his concealment. But he was forced to turn away as a blinding light suddenly streaked through his vision, temporarily blinding him. When the light faded, Vincent was lying limply on a broken chunk of what appeared to have once been a vehicle. The barrier around the center of the room still shone dimly from the impact, but was soon invisible again, protecting its contents from their grasp.

"So good for you to join us," Hojo's voice reached out to Cloud and Nanaki as he emerged from behind a large piece of metal. He wasn't within the protective confining though. Why?

"What are you doing!?" Cloud demanded. The strength in his voice surprised him, and apparently caught Lucrecia's attention. Cloud wished it hadn't. The dull hopelessness in those eyes as they watched him was tearing.

"Isn't it obvious?" Hojo asked, walking forward unafraid. Of course, he had no reason to be afraid; he couldn't die. "The Jenova Reunion will finally be completed."

"You're crazy!!" Cloud shouted angrily. What was all this nonsense?

"Not so. You see, Jenova never reached her goal of perfection through reuniting. She still has stray puppets wandering about," Hojo's matter-of-fact tone made Cloud want to carve his conniving hide with Omni-Slash. If only he hadn't wasted it on Vegeta. "They," Hojo motioned toward were Lucrecia was sitting, and for the first time Cloud realized that Gohan was also lying there unconscious, "are two. You, my precious failure, are another. The Renegade that you call Vegeta and myself are the last."

"What are you saying?!" Cloud could barely restrain himself any more. Why was he restraining himself anyway? He needed Hojo to get through that barrier, that was why.

"When the last of the pieces are restored, then Jenova will be complete once more," Hojo talked as though it was a great spectacle that was to be revered and studied. He probably really did believe that. "Then, she will be able to continue with her life cycle."

What was Hojo saying? It didn't make sense! Jenova's lifecycle? What was that supposed to mean?

"You talk too much. Mother is becoming most displeased with you."

The voice made Cloud's blood freeze in his veins. Sephiroth.

"You are quite inefficient. She asked you to eliminate the Renegades and you simply inject them with her precious cells. Then, she asks you to gather those cells back to her and you give the puppets ample time to escape. Tsk tsk tsk."

Where was it coming from? Cloud couldn't pinpoint the source of the sound, it was as though it was coming from everywhere at once...

"What do they mean by Renegade?" Nanaki pondered out loud. Cloud hadn't noticed when his companion had followed him out of hiding. Actually, Cloud hadn't even noticed the title Hojo and Sephiroth had used when referring to the Saijins.

"See what your incompetence has cost us?" Seph's voice resounded around Cloud, nearly driving him mad. "The small one awakes. You should have completed your task while you could. Do you have the formula?"

Hojo seemed rather upset, but put forth quite a bit of effort to hide it, "Yes, I do."

"Then you have no more purpose here." With another flash of white light, Hojo was gone. "Now, I think I shall leave you all here where you will be safe until I can return to care for you."

The words boggled Cloud's mind, but in moments he realized what was happening.

"The exit!" Nanaki shouted, racing towards the tunnel they had entered through. By the time he reached it though, he was too late. They were sealed in. "Now what?"

"I don't know," Cloud said, frustrated. The barrier that had been surrounding Lucrecia and Gohan visibly deteriorated in a sparkling dust. Of course, why waste energy on a barrier when they were trapped? Still, there had to be a way out of here before Sephiroth came back to "care for them." Cloud shuddered at the thought of what that might mean. How to get out? "Maybe an Exit materia would do the trick."

"Perhaps, but I'd hate to see where we end up if it doesn't. I'm not sure what is worse, waiting for Sephiroth to come back or being crushed under tons of steel because the Exit materia didn't have enough range."

Cloud had to agree, but what then?

"Uuuhh," Gohan groaned, sitting up. He held his head in a half daze as he looked up at Cloud. Suddenly, his hands fell away from his temples as he stood up with too much strength for someone who had been unconscious only moments before.

"Shit," Cloud gasped, drawing Ultima Weapon. There was no mistaking the vague, glazed look in Gohan's eyes. Right now he wasn't Gohan at all; Jenova had found her first victory in the war she fought against the Saijin boy.

Apparently, Nanaki recognized it too, as he fell into a battle stance, lowering his head even with the rest of his body to protect his soft throat and tensing his legs like powerful springs. But, before he had time to join whatever fight was going to transpire, that devilish white light that had rescued Hojo enveloped him, taking him with it when it left. Cloud ventured a glance at the spot where Vincent's form had laid, but it was gone as well.

Unfortunately, it made all too much sense to Cloud. The only people Jenova needed were the ones that carried her cells. Of that Nanaki was innocent.

"Great, this leaves just you and me," Cloud said frustrated as he readjusted his grip on Ultima Weapon's long hilt. How would he ever survive this?

Note: Another fight anyone? ^_^ Can Cloud have the perfect luck of his last Saijin fight twice in a row? Not very likely is it? ....hmmm...... doesn't look good for my spiky headed hero. Well, you'll just have to read and find out won't you!