AN: I think this is the most action-packed chapter yet ;) Hope you enjoy it!

" As the Wheel of Fate began to turn,

As waves began to churn." -emerald drake, Fallen Angel

Chapter 10: Crossroads

"
Uuurrrk……" Yuffie's lunch rose as the ship hit wind. The ship jumped. She grabbed her half-full vomit bag and heaved the remaining pieces of her last meal. Her complexion was pale and withdrawn from all the vomiting; she looked like she was going to fall down any second.

As she wearily leaned against the railing rubbing her temples, she could see the sharp peaks of the Nibelheim Mountains approaching fast in the horizon. She did a little whoop of joy, rejoicing that the torturous ride was coming to an end.

She ran to the Highwind's bathroom to wash her face, passing the also-airsick Cloud.

Nibelheim

Sephiroth approached the town warily. The small village looked the same, like he never burned it to the ground. He smirked. ShinRa must have paid a small fortune to build it back. He walked down the main path, which was empty, towards the looming mansion ahead. Though it is still standing, the weather had deteriorated it to a meager state, its windows rotten and hanging by one hinge, old wood rotting and musty. He slipped through the door, darted through the rooms expertly, to the room that led to the metal stairs.

The rusty steps groaned under his weight, swaying as he slowly descended down into the basement. The air was hard to breathe; it was choked up with dust and dirt. He reached the dirt floor and proceeded to the designated room, the hidden library. The air was heavy, and tensed as he pushed the door inwards.

The moment he stepped on the wooden floor, everything became a blur as he dropped to the ground, clutching his head as searing pain soared throughout him.

The General paced back and forth, a book in his hands, eyes fervently scanning every word, every sentence. He slammed the book on the old wooden desk with a bang. His hand withdrew shakily.

"No, it can't be true…" He whispered to himself. He pulled another leather-bound book, heavy and thick. The title was emblazoned with gold. 'The JENOVA Project.' He read in horror.

'But wasn't JENOVA my mother?' He wondered. He opened the book and read the first few lines. His eyes widened. He read a few more paragraphs, and then closed the book. He lowered the book. His eyes were now blazing, hungry for more. He reached up the shelves and pulled down more, dust flew everywhere.

The silver-haired man spent days in the old library, doing nothing but reading. When he was done with one, he reached for another. More documents and tomes were pulled down. Books began to pile everywhere. When Zack asked what was wrong, he just waved him off.

And the more he read, the more he garnered these facts, the more his anger has risen. All his life, he was told lies! All LIES! He threw the book he held to the wall. It hit the wall with a resonating thump.

Finally he sat back on the old stool, his head swimming with mixed facts. He was so confused. It was like he was a little child again.

And JENOVA picked the perfect time to unleashed her wiles to the vulnerable, weakened state of his mind.

She told him he was the rightful god of the Planet. She told him she was his mother, one he never had. She fed him more lies to please him. She promised that they would rule the Planet together.

And he fell right into her trap, playing henchman, doing her dirty work.

Sephiroth uttered a low moan and gripped his throbbing head as he collapsed onto the wooden floor.

The AVALANCHE crew landed in a patch of brown dirt, several yards away from Nibelheim. They trotted across the clearing. A few minutes later, they reached the town.

Nibelheim became a quiet town after the fire, and even more so after they defeated Sephiroth. Reeve had dispensed of the actors and gave the village to homeless people, a large percentage of them coming from Midgar. But little came to the deserted area. The atmosphere felt haunted and gloomy. Not much people wanted to live there.

Cloud led the way, striding across the empty main road, straight towards the towering wreckage that was once well kept. Now that it was abandoned, shrubbery went out of hand and the whole building was covered in grime. It was weather-beaten and creaked in old age. But the documents remained there. It was like no one wanted to retrieve them, wanting to bury the horrible past and the records with them.

Like he did.

He detested setting foot here. It was where his whole life fell apart with one go. Where all the people he grew up with perished in blazing flames sparked by insanity. It was a torturous remembrance that he wanted leave and let rot.

As he approached the building, looking sooty as if the Nibelheim fire was just a few weeks ago instead of eight years. He waited for the rest of the gang to catch up to him, then turned the doorknob and pushed inward. The creak of the door was deafening, the hinges hadn't been oiled for a long time. The door swung open with an ominous groan………

Sephiroth woke up with a start, his head throbbing madly from mental attack that etched deep into his soul. He took his time recuperating, sitting up slowly while wiping blood from his lips, swallowing the metallic taste in his mouth. He came up to his knees, pushing himself to a standing position. He turned on the dim lamp, which was miraculously still alive, to shed some light into the dark room.

Everything looked the same as he left them. Books scattered in disarray, papers on the floor, document folders opened to certain files. He ignored them and walked to the file cabinet labeled: "Mako Research". He took one and leafed through it, scanning the pages, searching for a league. That was when he heard something: Footfalls on the metal staircase.

His eyes widened. The footsteps were coming fast. With the folder still in hand, he slipped in the shadows, behind the bookshelf. Just in time to see his arch-nemesis walk in the library.

Shit. Then he noticed that he left the lamp on, and small drips of blood near the doorway. He mentally cursed himself, hoping that the blonde actually looks as dumb as he looks. And that the others aren't as perceptive. Fat chance, though.

You just put yourself in a hell of a spot, Sephiroth. Nice going.

'Why don't you just tell them?"

Sure. Say 'Hi, remember me? Well, some Grim Reaper from Hell sent me to help you.' They'll believe me all right. And I have no weapons OR materia to speak of, since the chances are they will shoot me the instant they see me.

'… Are you always this sarcastic?'

"…………"

'I leave you to decide your own fate. I have no intention to help you.' Tybalt disappeared from the premises.

Sephiroth rolled his eyes. His attention averted to the AVALANCHE.

Cloud Strife glanced around the room, while the others filed in. He tried to remember their names. There was Tifa Lockeheart, that girl that tried to flirt with him. The leader of AVALANCHE, a burly man with a gatling gun grafted to his left arm. Wallace? Then there was that Kisaragi girl, the materia-obsessed ninja wanna-be. Too loud to be one. A large cat with a flaming tail. He distinctly remembered he was code named Red XIII. He was the specimen Hojo tried to breed with the Cetra girl.

A stuffed moogle bounced in, a cat with a red cape riding upon it. Reeve's stupid creation. Highwind ambled behind him, with a cigarette stuck to his mouth. Followed closely was the man with the metallic arm. He surveyed them all as best as he could from the shadows. There were seven of them. Sephiroth held his breath, and strained to hear their conversation.

"Well, where's that file?" Tifa asked. The question was directed to Valentine. The man walked over to the file cabinet. And noticed that it was open.

"I have feeling someone's been here." The red-caped man said quietly. He looked around the room.

Cloud spoke up. "Well, the light was on…"

"Guys…I found something, too…." Yuffie crouched down to the droplet of blood. "It's not dry yet."

Sephiroth felt like throttling the ninja girl. He watched as the lion-like creature bent his head and sniffed the red liquid. He looked up, startled. "It smells of mako, and JENOVA." He informed the group.

"No way! There's no way it could be…." Cloud trailed off. He glanced at the red animal for confirmation. Sephiroth smirked… it would be some fun to see the shocked look on Strife's face.

Red nodded his head.

Well that's it… Sephiroth stepped out of the darkness, back leaning against the large wooden shelf beside him. "Nice job."

They all whirled around. A few seconds passed, stunned faces all in view to him. Sephiroth remained expressionless, as if waiting for them to recover.

"You…" Cloud whispered, an angry flare returning to his eyes. He unsheathed the Ultima Weapon. "You just won't stay dead, won't you! How many times do I have kill you! What are you doing now?"

"It doesn't matter what I tell you, does it?" His enemy said flatly. "You will never believe me."

Cloud ignored this, advancing forward and assaulted him. Sephiroth could have easily dodged it, but he had other plans. He took the attack.

He stumbled backward, a large cut bleeding across his chest. Cloud stabbed him, right through his heart. A hiss of pain finally escaped him, followed be rivulets of blood that trailed down from his lips. He coughed out more blood. The blonde withdrew the sword, causing the injured man to drop to the floor, painting the wooden panels crimson.

Finally he managed to speak, "It won't work, Strife. I cannot die."

The mercenary just glared at him. "Will you survive when I cut you to pieces?" He raised his sword again, but was stopped by the red-cloaked man.

"Enough, Cloud." Vincent spoke evenly. The said man glared at him, but lowered his sword.

"Why are you here?" The ex-turk questioned.

"I have the same purpose," Emerald eyes stared dully into his. "Mako research, is it not?"

"But WHY are you even alive?" Cloud butt in. Sephiroth did not answer. He did not have the strength to.

He was losing blood, fast. His breaths came in short, fast puffs, face paler than it already was.

"I think if we want answers, we need to heal him, fast." Vincent said.

"Are you &$# crazy!" Cid thundered. Barret, Yuffie, Cloud seemed to follow the same thought. Red XIII, and Tifa's face was unreadable.

"We want answers, do we not?" He looked directly at them. Silence draped over them. The raven-haired man turned to the half-concious figure kneeling before them. His eyes were dulled in pain and loss of blood, but stared back to his crimson irises. Vincent crouched in front of him and studied his pallid face. "Will you cooperate?"

Sephiroth shooked his head a little and managed a wry smile. "Do I have a choice?" The other man did not answer, face saying nothing.

Deep red liquid spilled over hs lower lip as he whispered, "I will…" And he was engulfed into the obscurity of his mind…

AN: Ahhh…well…that's that! I don't I've written this chappie well, so I want comments! Do you think my writing style deteriorated? Please review googly eyes