The entire cab ride to Aeris's house was an uncomfortable silence and battle of stares. Cloud kept his eyes directly on Sephiroth while Sephiroth kept his eyes directly on Cloud. The only difference was that Cloud's look was of pure venom while Sephiroth just looked bored. Tifa sighed and allowed her head to rest against Sephiroth's chest.

Sephiroth looked down at her dark head before idly tangling his fingers in the strands of hair that fell into his lap. She would have fallen asleep if Reno's smooth voice hadn't called out,

"We're here."

Tifa instantly lifted her head and shot a smile at Cloud before bounding out of the car and running up to her door. She was about to knock when she heard a scream. Faster than the human eye can blink Tseng, Rude, and Reno had rushed to the door while Sephiroth pulled Tifa up against his chest. At the second scream Rude kicked the door open while Tseng walked in with his gun drawn. Elena had stayed near Cloud, protecting him in case anything should try attacking him. Vincent was standing next to his brother, peering into the home's dark interior. Finally Tseng's voice could be heard saying,

"Main room is clear."

Sephiroth grasped Tifa's hand and walked into the main hallway. Reno and Tseng were standing at the foot of the stairs with their weapons drawn and a look of concentration embedded in their stares. Rude was still standing guard at the doorway. Vincent gave a nod of his head and Reno and Tseng took off up the stairs.

A hand motion from Tseng told Reno to check out the front of the house while he would take the back. Another signal told Reno to be as quiet as possible; an unnecessary gesture since Reno was known for his soundless step. Tseng moved like a cat down the hallway. His heavily booted feet barely made a sound as they hit the carpeted floor. Stopping in front of a door his sensitive ears picked up muffled cries and pleas. He straightened before kicking open the door and firing three shots into the back of the creature who was hunched over a young woman.

An unholy sound filled the room as the creature rose and gripped his back. Before Tseng could shoot again, the creature hurled itself out the window to the ground below. Sheathing his gun Tseng rushed to woman's side and observed the damage. From the looks of things, the creature had wanted to rape her. The woman's shirt and bra had been ripped in two and a gag had been placed in her mouth. Her panties were still fully on, though scratch marks indicated her pants had been ripped off forcefully.

Tseng took off his jacket and wrapped her in it before untying her writs and taking the gag from her mouth. Immediately a choked sob made it past her lips and her hand grabbed his shirt. For the first time in a long time Tseng was unsure what to do. He opted to lift her into his lap and whisper words of comfort.

That was how Reno found his boss, leaning against the wall with a pretty girl wrapped in his jacket whispering words of comfort. Reno simply cleared his throat before turning on his heal and walking back downstairs. Tseng held her just a moment more before standing and walking back downstairs.

Sephiroth had one hand on his Masamune while the other was holding Tifa to his chest. At the sight of Tseng, he released his grip on the sword but refused to let Tifa go, even when she squirmed. He could see what Tseng was carrying and wanted to keep Tifa at bay until a proper medical analysis could be made. Tseng's voice called down the stairs loud and clear,

"Rude, call the ship over now. Reno, check on Elena and Cloud. Sir, I suggest you wait outside for the ship."

Vincent had been standing at the railing the entire time watching as Tseng held a girl in his arms. He could only assume the girl was Tifa's friend, Aeris, and judging by Tseng's behavior she had been injured. He nodded to his brother who half dragged half lifted Tifa out the door leaving Tseng and Vincent alone with Aeris. Quietly Vincent asked,

"How bad is she?"

Tseng glanced down at the girl. Her cheeks were streaked with tears and she was shaking slightly. Delicate hands had buried themselves in his shirt while half her face was pressed into his chest.

"She's in shock, but the creature didn't get her. She is…untouched by its filth. I'm going to get her dressed in a nightgown if you could throw some clothes together in a bag. I imagine she'll want her own things when she wakes up."

Vincent nodded before walking up the stairs and following Tseng into her room. It only took a few minutes, but for Tseng it was hours. She was beautiful in every aspect and getting her dressed without thinking any perverse thoughts was turning into a chore. Still, in a matter of moments Vincent had finished packing a small bag and Tseng had buttoned the last button on her gown. Nodding to each other the two men walked back down the stairs and out to the ship, each carrying their package snuggly against their chest.

The moment they walked outside, Vincent and Tseng were met with the awesome sight of the airship making a landing. Sephiroth had Tifa were standing at the end of the drive holding hands and peering up at the crew who were throwing a ladder over the edge. Tseng and Vincent held back until the others had boarded before climbing up the ladder themselves. Quietly Vincent said,

"Get her to the med, Tseng, I'll set her stuff in a room

Tifa sat on the edge of her bed with her arms crossed over her chest and her eyes narrowed in an annoyed stare.

"Sephiroth, if you don't tell what's going I'm going to march down there and wreak havoc. You know I will, and Cloud will help me…"

Sephiroth's gaze sharpened considerably at the blonde's name causing Tifa to stop abruptly and sigh.

"You know there is nothing but friendship between him and I so quit acting like he's a rival. We are just friends, Sephiroth that's all."

Sephiroth relaxed his shoulders and stopped his pacing. He paused for a moment before walking over to Tifa and gathering her in his arms. He held her for a few moments before his deep voice rumbled out,

"Your friend, Aeris, was nearly raped by the creature."

At Tifa's alarmed look, Sephiroth stroked her hair and continued in a much more soothing voice,

"Shhhh, she is alright. Tseng is taking care of her as we speak and my meds have assured me she was not contaminated. However, she needs rest at the moment so I have commissioned Tseng to be her new bodyguard. Basically, he'll be there to comfort her, and Tseng was always the best at dealing with rough situations."

Tifa began shaking as though she were cold. In a thick and broken voice she said,

"W-w-why did this have to happen to us? Why is it so set on harming my friends and me?"

Sephiroth continued stroking her hair for a few moments, contemplating how to tell her the story behind the creature. Realizing that there was no delicate way to say it, Sephiroth decided to tell her everything,

"Your father was a genius. He could think his way out of any problem, calculate the facts and come up with the correct answer; he was the best. But a man by the name of Hojo…"

"Vincent told me about him."

"Good, then I won't have to explain. Hojo was jealous of your father. Both your father and Hojo worked at Shinra Inc. and Hojo saw your father as a rival. Your dad was working on an experiment to fuse certain stands of DNA with that of the lion tribe in Cosmo Canyon to elongate the human life span while Hojo was working on fusing DNA with Mako to produce a super strong human. What your father didn't know was that Hojo was experimenting on live patients. No one knows how many lost their lives, but the creature is a result of Mako and the Lion Clan's DNA. He has super speed and will be able to live a long time unless we stop it. Unfortunately Hojo didn't count on the slightly more animalistic DNA reacting with baser instincts to mate. The creature is in other words, driven by the need to reproduce. He is, however, fiercely loyal to Hojo and will do whatever that maniac orders. Why he wants you and anyone connected to you dead is beyond me."

Tifa made a small noise before snuggling even closer to Sephiroth, trying to absorb some his calm and reserve. Her voice was barely audible as she said,

"Then we must destroy it, it and Hojo."

A/N: Whew! Okay, there it is. Sorry it took me forever, I know it was well over a month but my muse seemed to have fled. That and I had a million other things to do. Anyways, review and let me know if there are any mistakes or if you have any suggestions. I don't know for sure but I think I'm going to have the next chapter take place in Hojo's lab. Once again, please accept my humble apologies about the tardiness of this chapter. Thank you!