Shinra sat back in his chair, puffing his cigar absently as he stared out the large glass windows of his office. Rufus was perched on the corner of his desk, arms folded, sour expression on his face. "This would... admittedly... be a lot easier if we had Sephiroth," the young man finally muttered. Heidegger and Scarlet were seated in chairs of their own that had risen up from the floor just for that purpose. This wasn't exactly a staff meeting, but more an emergency council of a sort.

Coughing out a laugh, a curl of smoke swirling up from his nostrils as he turned his chair around, Shinra smiled grimly. A pudgy hand lifted and the cigar was removed from between his teeth. "I never thought I'd live to see the day I'd hear you say that," he chuckled a bit more and stood. "However," he reached forward, pulling open a drawer and flipping his fingers through it before pulling out a thick file, which he handed to Rufus. Once the young man finished looking through it, he handed it to Scarlet. "We have his replacement. Perhaps she's not the tactical genius Sephiroth was, but she is strong, and capable of incredible things. Unfortunately, she only obeys Hojo."

Heidegger gave a wet coughing laugh, "Like we'd talk HIM into going to the field of battle to command his little pet!"

Scarlet rubbed her finger back and forth across her lips, smudging her lipstick, but not caring at that moment. "Ah- we wouldn't have to with the latest inventions my section has come up with. It's a sort of radio. We've made it smaller than any radio in the past. It could be made into an earring with a plug into her actual ear."

Shinra grinned again, apparently liking the idea, or had already come up with that himself. Rufus stared down at the tiled floor, his heel tapping against the side of his father's desk. Sitting forward, Shinra put his elbows on the desk, cigar clasped between his teeth once again. "For now," was the slightly slurred statement, "We must have information. Those islands have a different sort of technology than we do. We must possess it. We must surpass them by combining both theirs and ours. Once we can conquer those small islands we should have more information on the boarder between our world and theirs and we can begin the crossing." Reaching over, he slapped Rufus's arm, "Whatcha think of that boy? Inheriting not just one but two worlds!" he burst into a hacking laugh.

"Sounds wonderful," the young man muttered. It wasn't that he had no interest. Oh, yes, he'd like to own to worlds at once, but the memory of Katy's little trick still stung in his memory. "What're you going to do about their magic?"

The conversation had moved on, apparently and his interruption caused a moment of silence, everyone trying to figure out what he'd meant. "Magic?" Shinra asked finally, unable to puzzle it out.

"That Cetra slut of Sephiroth's could cast without Materia," Rufus replied sourly. "What else can they do that we don't know about?"

This seemed to be news to Scarlet and Heidegger, for they looked first at each other, than to Shinra. "We've been working on that silence field generator," Scarlet replied.

Shinra waved a hand, "None of the others brought in have displayed that sort of power. She probably swallowed some or something. We've never had experiments to see if doing that would work, but she's Cetra, so it might. You can suggest it to Hojo." Rufus winced at the thought of talking to that slimy bastard. "For now, Scarlet, get the radio ready, along with Naomi's custom weapons. You've got permission to borrow her from Hojo for measurements. Heidegger, for now, hold the perimeter around those islands, make sure that they don't have any escape. Too bad we can't really lay siege to them."

The two nodded and stood when Shinra waved his hand for them to go. Their chairs sank into the floor. Turning as one, they strutted towards the door. An unlikely pair, but they weren't actually in any sort of relationship as far as anyone knew. They didn't particularly get along, but they worked well together. That was all Shinra needed from them.


At last, after four days of constant rain, it had stopped and the sky cleared. The city had stopped burning, and the smoke had been caught by the constant pour of water, sucked back down to the ground where it was pounded into the mud. Vincent felt claustrophobic from the half of a house he'd been stuck in with the charred woman and the rain outside making it impossible to see anything but a sheet of black or silver, depending on whether it was day or night. He had gone out into the rain a few times to find something for them to eat and managed to find some canned food of a sort. The woman looked at the labels, set some off to the side with obvious distaste but didn't outright throw them out. Vincent had opened the cans with his metal claw and they'd shared the contents.

She'd at least given up trying to shoot him every time he returned. Perhaps she'd finally been reassured that he didn't intend to kill her. He could have at any time during those gloomy days, but she seemed his only hope of having a native guide in this strange world, even if she couldn't speak to him. Her words sounded much like the babbling Lucrecia had spoken now and then.

As the rain slackened and finally quit, Vincent lifted his head, having been sitting against one of the charred walls, chin against his chest, arms folded. Sunlight glimmered through the hole in the ceiling and the woman jumped to her feet, dashing over to the hole to bathe in the light, sobbing as if never wanting to see rain again for the rest of her life. Vincent could sympathize. In turn, he stood and moved towards the door, peering out, hand near his gun as he watched for something... anything.

Nothing- not even signs that anyone else was going to come out into the sunlight. He stepped out into the light, lifting his clawed hand to shade his eyes till they began to adjust. Like all hell had broken loose. A sound behind him nearly made him spin and fire- but it was only the woman as she'd followed him out. Her eyes, a vibrant hazel turned towards him, squinting in the light somewhat. This was the first time they'd gotten a good look at each other.

Her burns had been rather bad, but hadn't done as much damage to her face as he'd thought at first. She was still quite beautiful. If only he weren't a monster on the inside. Her eyes looked him over, noting the mud stained clothes- red mud at that- and somewhat tangled hair, his arm. She definitely was inspecting his arm. The pain in his heart was a bit unexpected as she reached out to touch it. He pulled away from her, tucking the gleaming metal contraption beneath his cloak. She winced and lowered her hand, looking embarrassed.

"Maarrriieeee!" a voice shouted- coming from the left and Vincent looked in that direction as a figure stumbled over the rubble of a building that may have been another house. "Marie!" the man puffed as he drew closer and gave Vincent a long hard look.

"Peter!" Vincent's companion breathed and dashed over to meet the man. They clung to each other. To Vincent's estimation, they were both middle aged or so, their embrace fierce, but only the fiery passion of surviving an ordeal rather than that of lovers. Not like Vincent much cared if they were involved, but he politely turned his back towards them, looking over the area. Shifting his weight, he leapt up to the roof of the building he'd taken refuge in, landing lightly and looking around carefully. For a moment the chatter between the two on the ground stopped, then started again in a low mutter.

Firmly, Vincent ignored them, casting his eyes out upon the ruined landscape, hunting for more signs of life, but there wasn't much to be seen. He wished he could ask what had happened, but he could not understand them.

Finally, the man, Peter, stepped up and called up to Vincent, asking something. Sighing, Vincent looked down at the two, "You know, I cannot understand you."

The man paused briefly, then spoke again, "I asked who you were."

For a moment, Vincent was surprised, but his control of his face did not let it show and he replied, "Valentine," he stated at last. "Does this sort of thing," he gave a wave, "happen often?"

Peter gave a strained laugh. "No, we get –tornado­-" the word was one Vincent didn't understand, but Peter continued, "A tube of wind that sucks things up in its path, but it's too late in the season for those. Where did you come from?"

Vincent leapt down to the ground once again, causing the woman to twitch away from him. "Not from here," Vincent replied enigmatically. "I need to find a way back."

"You're one of those people from ... all the kids call it 'The Planet'..." Peter shook his head. "Aren't you?"

Pausing to process this information, he finally gave a nod. He wasn't too sure of what to make of this place- was it another world entirely? It was definitely the first he'd heard about any of that. "We should look for survivors. I have a cure Materia."

It was Peter's turn to look confused, but he apparently agreed with the suggestion on finding survivors and they started out across the ruined landscape.


"A- a- ah- w-w-ellc'c'ccome t't'to Mmm'-" Thump!

"Welcome to McDonalds, may I take your order?" this new voice was steadier, far more in control of her nerves than the previous voice had been and Chris was vaguely impressed. He tapped Ifrit's shoulder and the demon lowered down a bit more.

Raising his voice, he shouted at the intercom, aware of the chaos he'd left in his wake behind him on his way into the drive thru. "Living in a tin box full of PICKLES the lumberjack frequently levels his hedges by throwing razorback manatees." Which meant 'I'd like a jr. bacon cheese burger with no pickles and a large Dr Pepper'.

Chris, had no idea that what he'd said was irrational in the least, but drive thru's were notorious for screwing up orders. "Ah- was that a... quarter pounder combo with a large coke?"

"Glglglgggg!" Chris gobbled at the intercom. Actually, that did sound better, but he did still want the Dr Pepper. "My mice are like squirrels in cannons. And lift the end by using the wrong side of the PICKLE!" Which, when translated, meant: 'that sounds okay, but change the coke to Dr. Pepper and NO PICKLES!'.

"Um. Okay." The order on the coke changed to Dr Pepper on the printout screen in the middle of the menu board. "Is this alright?" Again, Chris gobbled. "Your total is three-ninety-five. Please pull up to the next window."

Tapping Ifrit's shoulder with his staff, the fire demon lumbered forward towards the next window and crouched again, bringing Chris into view of the young woman there. Reaching into his spiffy new cloak covered with mystic looking runes, Chris pulled out his money and handed the girl exact change, in pennies, and took his bag and drink. Balancing his drink on top of Ifrit's head, Chris looked into the bag and checked the burger. "Kibbles are great ammo for rail guns- Ah! Katana can splice the air with PICKLES!" he shouted, turning an angry glare at the girl as he flung the extra pickles at the swiftly closed window.

A fireball followed the pickles a second later.


Slowly folding and unfolding the earpiece of the glasses, Sephiroth stared blankly at them, not seeing them, but the face that had always worn them. Tap. Tap. Tap... Why had this- no... that was a stupid question. Why was because Jenova got what Jenova wanted and that was the end of all arguments. She'd lost Sephiroth, and Seph was rather surprised that the attackers hadn't outright killed her like they'd done Aerith. At least they thought they'd killed her.

Aerith lay on the bed across the room, Zack seated next to her, holding her hand. She was pale, but a full cure had healed her throat and restored a bit of energy in her. She would be alright with a lot of rest. What now?

"What now?" Cloud asked from where he stood at the window, staring out into the night. His arms were folded, the moon's rays picking out the spikes of his hair. Beneath the bed, yellow demon eyes glowed.

Silence fell except for the tapping of the earpiece, which was so rhythmic as to be completely ignored, and the younger man turned to look at the others in the room. The lamp beside Aerith's bed flickered briefly then resumed casting a glowing yellow light upon her face, like that of the sun. "We track down the bastards who did it," Zack finally supplied.

"Don't have to."

The two looked towards the low voice that had finally spoken. "You know, then?"

"It was Jenova's other puppets."

Cloud shook his head slightly, "Then we'll have to track them down anyway. They've got the hand, too, you know."

Sephiroth's hair blocked his face from both sources of light. He looked rather like a half-breed demon-angel. One side of his hair was molten gold, the other moonlit silver.

Tap.

Tap.

Tap...

His fingers continued to slowly flip the earpiece back and forth. Open, closed, open, closed. "I know."

An uncomfortable silence fell again. Cloud was about to speak, but Zack held a hand up, motioning for the silence to remain unbroken. He'd seen Sephiroth in a mood similar. Unconsciously, the two leaned forward, the tension in the room growing.

Tap.

Tap.

Tap...

The clicks that had seemed as consistent as a clock's ticking were slowly filling the room, seeming louder with every time he did it.

Tap.

Tap.

Tap.

Cloud grit his teeth, feeling as if his sanity were draining out his ears. All too soon he would be rolling on the floor tearing his hair out screaming.

Tap.

The silence was just as nerve splitting as the sound had been. Was it real? Cloud stared at Sephiroth's hands, seeing that they were indeed still. Had it really stopped? He dared not move, fearing to instigate those large strong hands to begin their movements again.

Instead, Sephiroth stood; his leather coat creaked in the silence. The shift of weight on the old wooden boards caused them to squeal in protest. His boots thumped painfully loud across the floor. The 'shing' of metal cutting the air as he easily lifted Masamune and clipped it to his back.

"You know where she is then?" Cloud burst out with, feeling as if the air were stolen from his mouth in the last word and he snapped his teeth shut after it had left him.

Sephiroth creaked slightly as he turned his head, the shifting of cloth and hair unnaturally loud. "Yes."

Swallowing, Cloud shoved himself off the window, "Let me go with-"

He didn't even finish speaking when Sephiroth lifted a hand. Silence fell again. Sephiroth turned his head once more, looking towards Zack- who didn't meet his eyes. "Zack," he said softly, the young man looked up, pain in his expression, "Take her somewhere safe. Somewhere they'll both be safe, I'll find you... Cloud. Get your sword."

"Yes sir," slid from the blonde's teeth, though now that his offer had been taken, cold dread filled his belly. Sephiroth hadn't even heard the whisper as the swish of his pants had been louder. The man drifted out the door, gloved hand still clutching the twisted glasses. The only thing that could be said for them was "At least the lenses aren't broken"- which Cloud had firmly put his foot in his mouth for.

Swallowing, he started moving, sliding towards the bed he'd claimed and grabbed his pack and sword. "Cloud," Zack called.

Stopping, Cloud looked over as his dark haired friend stood from a crouch on the floor, "Take this." Reaching out, Zack exchanged Cloud's battered old training sword for the Buster Sword. "Take care of it, and it'll take care of you." Clapping Cloud's shoulder, he smiled, divesting himself of the shoulder guard sword clip for the sword he'd just handed over, Zack stepped back and sat on the edge of Aerith's bed once more. An upwards jerk of his chin was given and Cloud gave a smile, turned- and lifted his chin.

Leo, hmm? Firmly working against his urge to scurry after Sephiroth, he set his shoulders and strode from the room. Cloud refused to be forever known as a pussy, but a great king of cats, full of dignity and courage. He could do it. The Cetra said so.

He just had to try.


Hojo nearly shrieked at the wet thump behind him but clamped his jaws on the sound. His hands did jerk and the blood that welled up from the cut he'd just given his finger flowed over into his work. Spinning around, he held the scalpel like a weapon, only to find three dark figures standing in the center of the room. The fourth was curled up on the ground, spreading a pool of blood around-

Her.

Sudden realization hit like a board to the back of his head when a box was set on the floor next to Katy and the three disappeared. "Shit," Hojo breathed then set his scalpel down, hurrying over to the young woman, prying her trembling and weak limbs away from her body. "Oh SHIT!" he shouted in frustration. A fiercely bleeding gash crossed her stomach, the broken ends of her intestines dribbling their contents to the floor along with her blood.

With steady hands but not so steady a mind, Hojo hoisted her up into his arms and carried her to an open operating table and laid her down, having to tie her down to keep her from curling up again. He couldn't tell how long she'd been bleeding, she was hot with infection and there wasn't much of her flesh not covered by a bruise of some sort or other. How long had they been at their 'play' before deciding to bring her to him? "Shit," he muttered, then started it as a mantra as he worked. He couldn't really give anything to her for pain at the moment, as she'd just bleed it all out in a few seconds. The only thing he could do would be to start sewing her back together, which, after putting a bandage on his finger and replacing his gloves, he began to do.

She wouldn't stay still though. Katy kept repeatedly clenching her severed abdominal muscles, fingers folding into fists, whole body trembling. Hojo wasn't surprised. He'd finally managed to stitch her intestines together, then washed out her abdominal cavity, clamped her blood vessels and began stitching the lining of the pelvic cavity back together. "What the hell did they do this with? A bleeding chainsaw?" he griped, "Or did they rip it open with their hands? The bloody BASTARDS! I knew Sephiroth was an asshole, but not like this-"

"S-ss-eeph-ff... did-d-dn't..."

Hojo's eyes snapped up to see Katy's eyes wide, still awake. Denied the pleasure of passing out. "Well who did? No- don't answer that right now. Damn it all! Just after I sent everyone home for the night."

"Master."

Hojo couldn't afford to turn around and look at the morphed young woman that had entered. "Naomi," he stated, "Get the morphine and IV pack, fill it with saline and antibiotic."

"Yes master." He didn't even hear her leave the room.

Katy whimpered, "M-mmmichow..."

"I told you, save your breath," raising his voice, he continued, "Naomi! Bring twelve CC's of ethanol."


Sephiroth mercilessly took the most direct rout, straight over the mountains. Cloud had fallen behind some distance, but was within fifteen feet, so Sephiroth felt no reason to slow down. The boy would make it. He needed to be tough if he ever wanted to make something of himself. Not once had the boy complained, but set his jaw firmly, lifted his chin and tackled whatever Sephiroth easily flowed over with a rather disturbing determination- one Seph had certainly never see the boy display. It almost seemed like something from his youth that had been long buried. Well, it was a good turn, good spirit in the boy.

The thought suddenly struck him hard enough to make him stop in his tracks and straighten, staring up at the sky as if the clear blue expanse could give him the answer.

"When did I get so old?"

"Yo're," Cloud puffed as he came closer, and continued past Sephiroth, "Not. Old."

Getting himself going again, Sephiroth bounced up a few boulders then passed Cloud again. On third thought, he stopped and waited for the young man, then matched paces with him. "What makes you say that?" he asked at last. Only after he'd contemplated Cloud's firm denial of what Sephiroth had realized he felt.

For a moment, his only answer as a headshake and sweat dripped down from the boy's forehead and plopped to the dusty rocks from the tip of his nose as he hauled himself over a rock. "You're- just- not. Not when you," he wheezed a moment, caught a breath and continued, "you're with her."

Sephiroth pressed his lips together as they came to a rise- and looked out upon Midgar. "Then why do I feel forty without her?"

Cloud stumbled up beside him, flashed a grin he'd obviously learned from Zack and replied, "It's the hair."

Unexpectedly, Sephiroth laughed. Reaching over, he patted Cloud's spiky head, though his hair had sagged quite a bit during the ordeal. "You're a good kid," he stated, and in a fit of philosophy, he continued, "You just keep going at life like you did this mountain," Turning halfway to look at the slightly younger man, "and you can get anything."

Still out of breath, Cloud looked down, "Katy told me- that I was destined to be a hero. That it's written in the stars I was born under."

"She's been right about everything else," Sephiroth replied with a shrug and half a smile, feeling his mood brighten, but for the brief moment as they stood at the top of the mountain, cool wind whipping Sephiroth's coat and hair, chilling Cloud's sweat. He looked Cloud over, "I think so too," he added.

Lifting his luminescent blue eyes, Cloud stared at Sephiroth. "You- really mean it?"

Giving a faint nod, Sephiroth turned away, feeling uncomfortable. "Just keep at it. And don't try being like me. Zack is by far a much better role model." He stepped forward, heading down the slope once again. Going down was easier than up.

"I'm not so sure about that," Cloud muttered to himself, looking after Sephiroth a moment before starting on his way once again.


At last, she'd passed out. Lucrecia had always said she hated the taste of alcohol...

Hojo let his head fall back, lifting a steady hand to the bridge of his nose, shoving his gasses up onto his forehead. His breath came out in a firm hiss from his nose, thin lips pressed in a line. His other hand reached for the glass of brandy on the table beside him though he simply fingered it.

At least he'd saved her.

It did nothing towards relieving his guilty conscience of the ghosts she'd awakened within his mind's eye. He lowered his hand from his nose, scrubbing his palm against his shadowed cheek.

"Professor?"

Oh, Hojo had been wondering what time it was. "Professor!" the call was more urgent this time. It wasn't like the door was closed, but his aid would wake her if he screamed any louder... Ha, he had left a mess out there.

Nice to know someone worried about him from time to time. Reluctantly, he pushed himself from the chair, standing and staggering over to the doorframe, glass still in hand. The world swam around him- he was more drunk than he'd thought... or perhaps more tired. "Well, good morning," he said, voice sounding distant and hollow to his own ears, at least it wasn't slurred. Must be fatigue then.

"Professor!" the aid was a young man, freshly graduated from school with all honors and quite proud of his current position as second in command of Hojo's Freak Show. "What- happened? Why are you drinking- sir, how much of that have you had?" Hojo belatedly realized that he was covered in blood as well and staggered forward as his aid flowed across the mess towards him, expertly taking the glass and Hojo's arm, steadying the taller scientist.

"Not- not much... I think. I'm going to lay down- don't bother me- watch her. Give her anything she asks for- oh. Bother me if she gets worse. Okay?" Hojo nodded to himself and staggered towards the second small room off the main laboratory in which another bed for emergency naps lay. His aid politely helped him there, removed Hojo's soiled coat and shirt and left him, holding the clothing out at arm's length.


She stood on the edge of a red cliff with brilliant azure sky in a dome above her; endless in all directions. The wind flowed through her unbound hair, tickling it against her neck. Her feet were bare on the sun-warmed rock. It made her feel so very young to be in a place so old. These crevices had been forming for years- centuries... How beautiful they were.

The scuff of a boot in the dirt behind her drew her attention. "You know... I can fly." She wasn't sure why she'd said that. Just that it seemed true at the moment. She'd often had dreams of flying.

"Katy-" he started to say as she took a step forward, curling her toes around the rolled edge of the cliff. "No!" he shouted, the scuff of his boots hitting the ground faster now as she coiled and leapt, throwing her arms wide and sailed downwards with the thrill of freedom.

Sephiroth ran- fast as he could- fast as he ever had- and was still too late. His speed overbalanced him and he sailed right over the edge of the cliff as well. Committed to the fall, Sephiroth tucked himself tight as an arrow and sped down to match her descent.

Hand snapping out, he caught her wrist, pulling her against his chest firmly, wrapping his hands around her. "You shouldn't be here..." she said curiously. Then she realized, "I'm falling. You shouldn't have come."

"No, Katy. There is nothing in the world that could make me let you go. You can't tell me to abandon you now. Where you go, I go. Sink or swim. Fly or fall."

Her worried frown shifted into a smile, her arms sliding around his shoulders. "I love you."

Firmly closing his eyes, Sephiroth held her close, shifting his weight so that he would meet the swiftly approaching ground first. Taking a breath, he spoke softly, the last seconds of distance closing. "I lo-" The earth rushed to embrace them, "-ve y-" his shoulder touched rock. Reflexively, his arms tightened.


Katy's eyes snapped open, she gasped for air, realized she was sobbing and flailed with the covers, "Seph-" she croaked, "Seph-" her voice was so weak, how could he ever hear her? Gasping for air, she tried again. "SEPH!" was wailed at the top of her lungs, choked by tears, "SEPH!" She kept calling. Where was he? Was he alright? Had Jenova gotten him again, "SEPH!"

The door opened, a dark haired figure entered, a blur in her unaided and teary sight. "Seph-" she sobbed and large hands took hold of her shoulders, shoving her back into the bed. She flailed, fighting against the much stronger foe. She shivered with cold, sweated with fever, and clawed frantically at the man trying to force her down. "Seph-" she gasped and cried, the sobs tearing from her throat as bands were stretched into place across her chest and thighs. "Seph..." she whimpered, closing her eyes, unable to see anything anyway.

Once again, she saw him falling- falling into darkness- torn from her by writing poison covered tentacles. "He's gone- gone I lost him. Zack- I lost him! Aerith- Cloud- Michelle- Chris- someone..." Her fingers tore at the bedding as she struggled against the bands holding her down. "I lost him- failed- my fault- didn't tell him enough- wasn't fast enough- wasn't strong enough. Seph..."

A voice finally broke through to her, wiping her face with a wet cloth, "Shh, there was nothing you could do. Nothing I could do. You're alright at least. Shh." He caressed her hair back from her face, half of which was still swollen with bruises. Bloody bastards... She continued to whimper 'Seph', occasionally calling for other people. Naomi's ear twitched every time 'Michelle' was said. She'd come to lurk in the corner of the room when Hojo had rushed in. His aid was standing in the doorway, looking on in astonishment as Hojo's sedative began to take effect and she was calmed by force rather than comfort. When she was still, he checked the dosage on her drugs and looked at the audience, shooing them out with a wave of his arms.

Obediently, they withdrew and he shut the light off behind him, but left the door open. "Professor," his aid said after a long moment, cleared his throat and continued, "You never told me-"

"It hardly matters," Hojo stated sourly and stalked past the man, heading back to the project he'd dropped to tend to Katy. "Bloody bastards," he hissed under his breath as he went.


Naomi stood in the corner of the room, listening to the soft mutterings of the one who lay strapped to the bed. She flexed her fingers, claws extending.

Kill her...

So dreadfully unaware of her current situation.

Kill her...

So deliciously unable to defend herself.

Kill her...

So easily destroyed.

Naomi smiled, sliding forward a step, then another. Soon, she was next to the bed, staring down at the bruised throat in which was an obvious pulse. Opening her lips slightly, Naomi knelt on the edge of the bed, reaching towards that pulse- wanting to tear it out. NEEDING to stop it. She could hear every ragged breath grating on her nerves.

"Naomi! Come here!"

Hissing in frustration, Naomi withdrew her hand, slid off the bed and slinked from the room. She had to tend to Master before she could play.


How many fucken times would he have to return here? Sephiroth wasn't sure of that answer, but it always seemed like the world was revolving around the spike of the Shinra Tower. He stood in the shadows with Cloud, staring at the building with loathing.

Cloud was silent, though his feelings for the structure or the people within weren't visible on his face. "Well... We've gone in through the bottom and the top, they've probably beefed up security for both those... So how do we get in?"

Could they just walk in? Would they mess with Sephiroth? What if he lied and said that Cloud had killed the traitor Zack? Would anyone buy that or did they even realize that Cloud was part of their group. Everyone seemed to underestimate Cloud, even Sephiroth had just written the boy off for clumsy and 'not too bright', but just because he was quiet most of the time, when he did ask questions they were rarely stupid. He just needed more training, which Sephiroth had worked on along the way. Knowing Hojo, Katy would be alright in his hands, so long as the baby was safe.

Even in only a week, Cloud had improved immensely, the Buster Sword seemed to give him a lot of courage in himself. Or maybe it was everyone he admired and random powerful people telling him to straighten up and hold his head high, that he was destined to be great... If only Sephiroth could do this with all his other men. What would it be like to lead an army of Cetra against Shinra? If he had Katy to translate, he could do just that. Ha.

Giving a snort finally, Sephiroth leaned against the wall, staring down at the ground, "Could go in through a window," he suggested factiously. Cloud, still unused to the idea of sarcasm blinked at him. "If only I could still teleport. Or fly." He sighed again.

Swallowing, Cloud added, "Or just be invisible?" Lifting his head again, Sephiroth eyed Cloud.

"What've you got in mind?"

His eyes flicked away briefly, but came back to Sephiroth, "If I got a uniform, I'd be pretty much invisible in there. I could turn off the cameras ahead of you and you could walk right in through the back door."

"And go up the fire escape for the lower levels," Sephiroth finished. "We'd have to find someone same size as you with the right clearance."

"Johnston," Cloud replied immediately. "I used to switch uniforms with him when he wanted to take off to the bar instead of work. He'd give me the pay for that day as well."

Sephiroth nodded, "Any idea where we can catch him?"

Cloud gave another nod and slipped back into the shadows, Sephiroth following. If only Seph had had buddies like that, someone he could switch duty with and skip out of the building for a little fun now and then. Everyone had been afraid of him, though, but that was his own bloody fault. His first semi-friend had been Zack, but that boy was so bound and determined to be friends with everyone that it wasn't that surprising. Katy was his second friend, and now Aerith and Cloud were part of his little group of comrades he'd give his life to protect. Dearly, he hoped he wouldn't have to.

I've seen her break... she shatters like glass.

The image of Katy's face as he fell flashed behind his eyes.

"I can fly," she'd said in his dream before leaping off that cliff. She was still alive, but not fully aware of what was going on, he feared what Hojo had done to make her like that. He was going to ring Hojo's neck for this one. So what if it had only been a dream, Sephiroth's gut reaction to it had been quite real.

Luck wasn't with them at this point, but as Sephiroth was already disguised for being in the city, they entered Johnston's usual bar and waited. Uncomfortable silence fell on their side of the room, mostly on account of Sephiroth's rather menacing presence, even if for one: everyone thought he was dead, and second: he'd tied his hair up and back from his face in an unfinished ponytail, much like Katy's usual style, and admittedly, he'd learned how to do it from watching her practiced hands, on top of that, he'd added some dark circles beneath his eyes and let his chin gather a few days worth of growth.

On top of that he'd had Cloud stab several large gaudy hoops into his left ear. Only his sword was in any good care out of all his possessions. Cloud had stated, while laughing, that Sephiroth looked like a pirate. Sephiroth had taken it as a compliment and grinned simply because, though it hadn't quite been the effect he was looking for, he looked sufficiently unlike himself that he'd walked right past a lot of people without more than an odd look now and then.

"That's a mighty fine sword there," someone muttered towards Sephiroth and belched. "Where'd you get it?" The person was half drunk, stank like a pile of garbage that had been in the sun too long and had obviously been in a few too many fights as he was missing half his teeth.

For a moment, Sephiroth stared at the man, pondering his options, then settled on what Katy would do. She'd probably say whatever her current persona would likely say. Putting on a voice that sounded gruff from too much smoking, Sephiroth looked the man over. "Who wants to know?"

Cloud glanced over, then looked at the man accosting Sephiroth... pityingly. The drunkard lifted his hands in a placating gesture, "Just wonnerin. Sho- looks like Masamune... you know..." he lowered his voce, leaning closer, "Gen'ral Sephiroth's sword," the name was said reverently. "Didja fight him fer it?"

Sephiroth burst out laughing, "Sho wish at I culda! He's ded tho." Shaking his head, he picked up the mug of piss the people in this area drank took a messy swig and didn't bother wiping it from his chin. It felt so unnatural to do that, to act in this way and he felt as if everyone were staring at him- self conscious in a way he thought he'd gotten over years ago.

Another bar patron turned towards them. "So, where'd you get it then? Can you use it?"

Swallowing, Sephiroth shook his head, "S'too long fer me." Chewing on his lower lip, he could tell these people wanted a real story. People just didn't walk in with relics like Masamune for no good reason. "Hm. Nofin a bit of working at it won't cure."

The men mumbled appreciatively at that statement. "Then where'd you get it?"

Finally, Sephiroth put on a wicked grin. Picking up his beer, he took another swig, feeling it burn all the way down his throat like acid. "I was travelin the mounts of Nibel, chasin the bastards that mutinied from my band o' comrades... er... honest traders we were!" he placed his hand over his heart, as if that were a promise. "They thought to keep all the profit fer themselves an offed with the captain an everyone loyal t' him- sept fer me." He lifted a finger, traveling around the room, delivering this as if it were a speech to his troops, drawing on that reserve and calm to keep his voice steady and in character.

There was a shout from the back, "where were you then?"

Giving a coughing laugh- an imitation of Sinra's- Sephiroth shifted his weight back onto his heels, "Ah I was off visiting my lovelies..." There were amused chuckles at that, more than a few of the men in the bar knowing the sort of Lovelies a man might wish to go visit from time to time, and with that, Sephiroth continued. "So- when I returned, I found tha all my comrades 'ad been SLAIN!" He swept his hand around, gripped it into a fist, as if it were the Fist of Justice raised in defiance for this horrible act. A glance towards Cloud found that even he was intrigued with the story, though Sephiroth was practically taking it word for word in plot line from a story Katy had told him in their dreams. "I fallered their trail, trackin them inta the mountains. They didn know I wus after em."

Shifting his weight again, he traveled around the room, swiping a piece of meat from this or that plate as he went, stabbing it with a fine dagger he'd had beneath his ratty coat. "I found em ah last in their new hole. Th' den of a DRAGON!" he breathed, raising his hands in exaggeration of it's size. "T' beast was away at th time, but had been collectin bits of this an that, an among the scraps wus th' body o t'late Gen'ral." He placed his hand over his heart, bowing his head in a mockery of prayer for the dead man's soul, his scimitar grin broke the solemn moment, though more than a few of the old war vets looked to have taken that moment to actually give a soft prayer. Sephiroth swallowed, feeling deeply touched.

"I snuck up on their camp as they wus celebratin their 'scape. T' traitorous McCobb wus playin wif t' sword, purtendin e' could use it." He spat sourly. "Couldn't just let im have it, an I intended to kill him fer revenge anyway."

Now that he had his audience locked in, Sephiroth slipped into his own little imaginary tactical world. Swiftly, he began to describe the placement of rocks and boulders, using tables and chairs as props. This was his forte, tactics his brilliance, and making up a battle in his own mind and describing it in all the gory details was actually quite an exciting experience. He danced around the room with his belt knife and a swiped fork as his twin daggers. Stabbing and slashing in demonstration of the movements and finally, his imaginary bandit gang of fifteen men was left for dead, all except the king.

"An then- the wind turned cold- sound filled t' air. It was the dragon! Come back t' 'is hole. The bloody beast fell upon us, chased t' both of us roun an roun the ledge, grabbed McCobb an picked im off the ground, bit his head off! I was pissed. Damn critter stole my kill! I swor t' kill it fer that one. So's I took t' sword, figerin t'would put t' Gen'ral's soul t'rest fer his kiler t' be slain by 'is own sword. Sos, thars my story." He flopped back into his seat and leaned back.

His audience applauded, even Cloud was clapping, eyes laughing, but he didn't disagree with anything said. The younger man's eyes shifted towards the door when it opened, as it had, all during the story telling session but finally Johnston had appeared, for Cloud got up and slipped over to accost the young man, talking softly. Finally, Johnston gave a nod, though he looked suspicious, his eyes sliding around the room and Sephiroth looked away, taking another gulp of his beer, figuring it best to swallow fast and not taste it. Of course, his higher metabolism and body weight kept the stuff from going to his head right away, but much more and Sephiroth would actually be tipsy.

When Sephiroth glanced back, he saw the quick thumbs up given and the two left. Since they would have to wait till Johnston's next shift, Sephiroth remained where he was instead of drawing attention by getting up and following his companion.


Cloud easily outpaced the gaggle of girls- and young men chasing him, screaming his name. Holy, what a frightening experience this was turning out to be. How did they know him? They spoke that language Katy spoke when her translation spell wasn't working right, but maybe they knew him the same way she knew him, but had less tact about it than she did. He wasn't sure, but he needed to get away from them and meet Sephiroth!

Panting heavily, but in much better shape from his mountain climbing experience, he darted around a corner, leapt up and clamored up a fire escape ladder and broke down the door it led to, closing it behind him as the screaming mob streamed past outside. He'd ended up in someone's apartment and his entrance had interrupted some rather wild and kinky sex. Blushing, Cloud saluted and dashed across the room, "Sorry, forgive me, don't mind me, I was just Gooooiing!" he squeaked the last as a gunshot blasted the door frame beside his head, he continued through the apartment, slipping out into the hall and dashing down to the stairs where he escaped out into the street and backtracked.

Luck was with him this time and he managed not to be spotted by the Earthians, though not all of them seemed to recognize him. It seemed to only be the younger ones. But he avoided them all just to be safe. Sephiroth was already waiting, looking emotionless as usual. Cloud couldn't tell if he was mad or not but, swallowing, he entered, "Sorry- but I got chased by a bunch of people who all knew my name," he shivered.

Sephiroth's lips twitched, "Congratulations, you've got fans."

"I haven't DONE anything!" Cloud huffed, then shook his head, "I've got the uniform at least."

Giving a nod, Sephiroth took hold of the Buster Sword as Cloud removed it from his back. "Then I'll get into position." He pulled his sleeve back a bit, "Meet you in ten minutes."

Cloud nodded firmly, taking a breath and removed his shirt, getting dressed. Sephiroth slipped from the room, Cloud's sword wrapped in another ratty cloak and thus looked like something Ol' Stef the Bandit Hunter intended to sell for a bit o spendin' money. Masamune glittered on his back threateningly, an adapted version of its harness devoid of the shoulder guards that had been attached to Sephiroth's holding it up.

His track through the streets of Midgar was uneventful, but he was forced to take the back roads as his current persona would have been questioned on any of the main streets. It was longer, but Sephiroth's long strides at up the distance, his scruffy chin lifted, eyes half lidded, as if he truly thought he belonged in this place. No furtive glances were given to the people he passed.

Lights flittered off his black boots, half hidden by his ratty loose pants, the remainder of his usual outfit rolled up and hidden in the duffel bag he carried with him as well. He'd have to find somewhere good to leave it or put them back on when he got in the building. He'd like to have taken a shower as well, but then again, his quarters in the Shinra Tower wouldn't have been taken by anyone else in all this time and he just might be able to do that. Then again, he'd have to if he were going to bluff Hojo into handing Katy over. Or threaten him into fixing whatever he'd done to her.

Turning a corner, he came to a stop as he found two soldiers standing at the end, obviously waiting for him. Three more came up behind. "So you can kill fifteen untrained ruffians, but I still don't think you deserve to carry that sword."

"Lets see how you fare against First Class."

The urge to simply drop his cover and shock them was great, but after a quick glance at his watch, Sephiroth determined that it would be safe to play with them for a moment. Giving a sigh, he dumped his bag and extra sword to the side, then pulled a pair of real daggers from beneath his coat. They were unadorned, but good blades. The five drew closer, drawing their own blades.

Flexing his grip on the hilts of his knives, Sephiroth fell into a stance, watching his opponents carefully. They were all using the swords he'd trained them in the use of, he knew how they fought, knew their weaknesses though any street thug wouldn't. To a street thug, they would be an impossible force to defeat. "You think you're so big and bad, don't you?"

Sephiroth shifted his stance slightly. He said nothing, simply moved to the side as one of the ones behind him took a stab for his back and the sword still clipped there. The alley was wide enough for the group to corner him against a wall. Sephiroth backed to where they wanted him obediently. "Come, now, just hand over the General's sword and we'll let you live."

Two of them chuckled adding a bit more meaning to the offer of Sephiroth's life. Another sword jabbed towards him and he brought his blades up and deflected the attack to the side. Still, he said nothing, which was beginning to unnerve the group. They'd expected to exchange tough talk first, then get to the actual fighting. Sephiroth kept his mouth shut on the words he wanted to say, which would have been admonishments of 'Curt! Get your guard up!' and 'Perrie, you talk too much!' and 'Morda, CENTER!' maybe a random 'thug' beating them using those things against them would finally drive it through their head that these were serious flaws in their fighting.

Now, as Perrie opened his mouth to say something more, Sephiroth stomped toward him, slapping the blocking sword aside and clipping the young man on the cheek with the tip of his knife. The man staggered back, lifting a hand to his cheek, but wasn't stupid enough to get fully distracted and returned his hand to the hilt of his sword, shutting his trap. Sephiroth returned to his little corner while the others stared at him in anger. Lloyd was the first one to attack. Out of the bunch, he had the most brains but least amount of training.

He'd been studying Sephiroth's movements and had at last thought he found a hole. Sephiroth had been expecting him to come in at any moment and had let his guard down the faintest bit to egg the man on.

Sliding forward and putting his whole weight behind the thrust, Lloyd was rather surprised when he suddenly found Sephiroth wrapped around his sword arm instead of skewered. The brief proud smile that flicked across his lips as he captured Lloyd was a break in his persona, but Sephiroth made up for it with a hard head butt, then twisted Lloyd around in a circle, causing his companions to withdraw before he flung the staggering captured man at Curt and Wren who, like always, were standing too close together. They could serve the same purpose of guarding each other's backs from just a bit further away, but Seph hadn't gotten that through to them yet.

Lloyd flailed as he stumbled towards them, only briefly messing the two up. They wouldn't have been in First Class if they weren't capable of dealing with things like that. Perrie moved in this time, intending to get his own back for the new scar that would be on his cheek. He'd stopped talking at least. That was good.

Swinging his blades around in a block, Sephiroth batted off the attacks, waiting for the right moment. Morda choose this time to attack, drawing one of Sephiroth's blades from blocking Perrie's attacks. Sephiroth twisted from the bad position immediately, shoving both swords aside firmly, then slipped between the two, breaking out into the middle of the alley again. Lloyd, Curt, and Wren had sorted themselves out. Again, they surrounded him, Curt and Wren moving in a mirrored diagonal swing downwards, intending to scissor cut Sephiroth, or at least tie both his hands up in blocking the attack.

Turning his back to them, he choose to attack Perrie, who was holding him in place, shoving the slightly smaller man out of the way at the last moment. The back of Sephiroth's coat was cut in the slice and Curt and Wren sprung away, taking up new positions. Lloyd slithered in towards Sephiroth's back, swinging in from the side. Without even looking back, Sephiroth snapped a hand down to block the blade, with a resounding clang and buzz up his arm. Lloyd had gotten stronger. Good boy! Morda moved to take Sephiroth from the front once more while Perrie moved off to allow the twins Curt and Wren to make another mirrored attack at Seph's unprotected side.

Bringing one of his feet up, Sephiroth kicked Morda's hands, sending them wide as he shoved Lloyd away firmly, and spun around to meet the downwards thrusts of the twins by swinging his own blades up and past them both, sweeping them together and aside. A counter like that would only work, of course, if one were stronger than the two. If he were to take out Masamune, he would- well, blow his cover, but besides that, this fight would have been over. It was an interesting challenge, however, and Sephiroth indulged in it.

The five First Class SOLDIERS moved away, shifting into a patterned circle. Oh, this one was new! Sephiroth was delighted. He turned slowly, observing the pattern, watching and waiting for its purpose to become obvious. Ah- they took turns attacking him now, wearing his energy down without using much of their own in return. Easily, Sephiroth dodged, twisted, turned, and blocked, taking no damage that they could see and not seeming to tire out either.

At last, he'd figured out the patterned attack, but played along with it to watch the covert signaling between them, their secret battle communication code.

Morda twitched his head and gave a slight shrug of his shoulder, indicating his opinion on their opponent, which was: "He's tough!"

Curt ground his teeth, then twitched his lips, meaning: "Perrie attack." They were all taking Sephiroth more seriously now that they'd had to fall back on some better fighting tactics than what they'd expected they'd have to use. Better to overkill in the beginning than play with your food.

Sephiroth twisted away from Perrie's attack, slapping the blade aside and into Morda's follow up attack. It was a beautiful but vicious dance they were locked in and they'd gathered a bit of an audience.

Lloyd removed one of his hands from his sword, making a firm hand signal that was Sephiroth's designation, "Its Sephiroth," was the firm comment. Was he that obvious?

Wren repeated the hand gesture and another, "Sephiroth is dead," was his opinion and he attacked in junction with Curt and Perrie, which Sephiroth deflected with a swift kick to one sword and a slapping block to the other two swords.

Lloyd remained back out of the pattern, "Its Sephiroth," he opinioned again.

Perrie wasn't looking too steady anymore. "Sephiroth? Should we break off?" he asked in the sign language in return.

Morda answered this time, "Lloyd! Attack! Sephiroth is dead! Sephiroth would never use little knives." Sephiroth nearly burst into a laugh at that one. Sephiroth would use them if he had need to.

At least he had three out of five fully tricked. Deciding to end it, at Morda's next attack, he dropped his knives, grabbing the blade between his hands, twisted it, yanked, and pulled the weapon from the man's hands. Morda yelped, stopped where he was, staring at his hands in shock. "But-" he said softly, then his eyes lifted to Sephiroth who still held the blade by the sharp part. Jabbing the hilt out, he hit Morda in the forehead, then shifted his weight, stomping forward and swinging the blade between his hands, taking hold of the hilt, slapping Morda's legs out from under him with the flat of the sword. The man went down on his ass. Sephiroth's boot came up, kicking him in the side of the head, knocking him out.

The others had been in shock, and too slow to keep up with Sephiroth's move but once they got themselves in gear, he swung around to meet them. Ducking under Curt's high arms, he slammed his elbow into the man's stomach, knocking him back firmly, then followed up by a swing of his leg behind the staggering man's feet. Curt went down and got the flat of a blade to the side of his head, knocked out.

Stepping over him, Sephiroth spun Morda's sword casually, knocking aside Wren's stab, Perrie moved to the other side for a pincer attack.

Sephiroth turned to the side, grabbing Perrie's arm firmly and swung him towards Wren, tangling the two for a moment and while they were distracted, set upon them, slapping with the flat of the sword every time their guard dropped to allow him to do so. They'd be quite bruised by morning. Now, their eyes were wide with shock as they realized what Lloyd had been saying all along. At last, Perrie was struck down and knocked out Wren gaped, dropped his sword and went to his knees. Sephiroth mercilessly kicked him in the head as well and sent him sprawling.

Finally turning to face the last one of the group, Sephiroth's eyes met Lloyd's.

Lloyd stared, his mouth set in a firm line... and sheathed his sword.

Padding closer, he watched as Lloyd held his ground, held Sephiroth's eyes. Coming to a stop, Sephiroth tossed Morda's sword aside, looking at his watch, "Shit-" he hissed. Moving quickly, he kicked up his knives, sheathed them, took up Cloud's sword and his bag and turned to leave. The audience scrambled, now that the show was over. Pausing, Sephiroth turned to look at Lloyd. "Good pattern," he stated. Lloyd smiled faintly, proud that he'd been complimented and bowed his head, not asking what Sephiroth was doing, he just got to work curing his comrades once Sephiroth was well out of sight.

At last, with only thirteen seconds to spare, Sephiroth made it to the tower's back door and waited for his watch to hit the correct minute before opening the door and stepping in, scampering up the steps quickly, slipped down a few halls and finally entered the security booth. Cloud looked over, though still wearing his helm. Setting the Buster Sword down, Sephiroth began removing his earrings.

"Had a run in with some old friends," he grinned a bit, cleared his throat and dropped into his normal voice. "They'll probably be coming up here soon." Pausing, Sephiroth looked Cloud over and stated finally, "Think you can hold things down here while I go get a shower?"

Cloud gave a snort and shake of his head. "Sure thing. No one comes in here or cares so long as things aren't turned off for long." Sephiroth nodded and took his bag once more and left, heading out to his room. It wasn't more than ten minutes before he stepped out, cleaned and shaved and feeling much better. This time, he left his ratty clothes in the middle of the floor of his old room and headed out to meet Cloud again. Cloud looked up again and gave a salute. "I'll hold things down here and meet you when shift ends." Sephiroth nodded and left again, heading up to Hojo's lab.

Sephiroth stalked through the halls, causing those who were finishing off their shifts to scramble to get out of his way. Where, in the past, this would have made him smile. This time, he was disgusted. Stepping into Hojo's lab was like a reoccurring nightmare. The place was pristine as ever, finally cleaned up from the last raid. Dr. McCobb, Hojo's aid and inspiration for Sephiroth's bandit king, turned to stare at Sephiroth.

"Ah- Ah- Mr. Sephiroth General Sir- um. We're working as fast on the project as we can-" the man babbled. Now this was a refreshing change.

Lifting a hand, Sephiroth stopped the man in mid sentence. "Where's Hojo?"

Swallowing, he was waved towards Hojo's office/bedroom away from home. Turning, he walked past the man and stepped into the small room. Rudely, he slapped the light switch and brought the lights up to full.

Hojo jerked awake and twisted, opening his eyes to stare blankly at Sephiroth's blurry image before fumbling his glasses into place. "Oh- Sephiroth," Hojo cleared his throat and sat up on the cot in the corner of his office and stumbled to his feet. "I- was hoping you'd come, I need to show you something... you probably won't like it." Hojo twisted his hands together, rather more awake than he really wanted to be at the moment. Sephiroth stepped out of the doorway to allow Hojo to scurry past.

"I tried to stop it, I really tried, but in the end, the damage was too severe and there was nothing I could do. She said it wasn't you who did it and I don't know what the hell is going on anymore," Hojo babbled as he scampered across the room, pulling at his hair as he went. Sephiroth stalking not that far behind. "I've stalled on that project you told us to do- there's just something not right going on around here and I'm not in control of it!"

Sephiroth's lips quirked, "Oh, good, glad to hear you say that. For a second there I thought you'd found a conscience."

Hojo spun around to glare, "You're one to talk," he hissed and slid away before Sephiroth could move to grab the man's throat. Finally, they reached the far side of the lab and Hojo gestured towards a vaguely reptilian creature that floated in preservation syrup.

"Another one of your pets?" Sephiroth asked in disgust.

Swallowing hard, twisting his hands together in fright, Hojo restated, "I tried to save it, Sephiroth, her losing the baby was as damaging to my work as it would have been to you..."

Sephiroth felt his face go pale. This... thing... was his child. "And where is she?"

Hojo seemed relieved, "She's alright. Lost a lot of blood, got an infection, but she'll survive. She's a sturdy girl, couldn't have picked anyone better for mating you with-" Hojo staggered back, spitting blood, watching as Sephiroth shook his fist and wiped his knuckles on his pants. The scientist's eyes gleamed, "She's got a rather interesting effect on both of us, I see." He didn't even twitch away from Sephiroth's glare. Using his sleeve as a makeshift bandage on his split lip, Hojo watched Sephiroth silently seethe. So, she had tamed the beast. How intriguing...

"Burn it," Sephiroth stated, staring at the battered corpse of his mutant son. "And all samples you've taken of it. Burn the Jenova sample as well."

Dark eyes falling half-lidded, Hojo took his sleeve from his mouth, "Tell me what's going on first."

Sephiroth snorted, "I can't believe that you don't know. You're the one who made this mess in the first place, fucking with Jenova's cells- creating a human hybrid. You're a bloody fool, and you'll always be a fool, just like Ghast said." His hand snapped up to catch Hojo's fist and twisted, pulling the man's arm behind his back and easily pinning him there. "A prideful fool. Burn it all or I'll burn you with it."

Hissing with pain, Hojo's fingers flexed, but where unable to make any difference in his situation. Bowing his head, he swallowed. "Fine, but you're not taking her. She's not stable enough yet and needs more treatment-" Sephiroth wrenched Hojo's arm up firmly. "Ah- NOT that sort of treatment! Purely medical! Doing anything to her now would only kill her."

"Where is she?"

Hojo jerked his chin in the direction of the other room, "There, sleeping I hope."

Turning the scientist loose, Sephiroth scowled, "As opposed to doing what?"

Hojo staggered away a few steps then turned to face his creation, rubbing his arm absently, "Hallucinating." He looked away, "She keeps calling for you." Sephiroth finally moved away from the canister and headed towards the door. "May I at least keep my notes on what I've found so far?" he asked, the words leaving a sour taste in his mouth.

Pausing in the middle of the room, Sephiroth finally nodded, "Burn all your samples," he repeated and continued on his way.

Taking a deep and shaking breath, Sephiroth entered the room, turning the light on to a dim setting. Katy lay strapped to the bed, eyes closed, skin shallow and sickly yellow. He tried turning the light up a bit more, it didn't help. Moving closer, he crouched beside the cot, touching her hair, fingers sliding across the cheek not bruised. Her breathing was shallow and labored and he moved to loosen the straps a bit.

Her eyes snapped open, a breath was taken, "They-r here- here- everywhere- they're all over the walls," she whispered, her voice refusing to work. Tears came to her unseeing eyes. "Sephiroth-" she whimpered, "Seph- kill them- make them stop crawling on me," she weakly struggled against the straps, sobbing. Lifting himself to sit on the side of her bed, he caressed her hair.

"Katy," he whispered softly, leaning close to put his lips beside her ear, "I'm here, I won't let them hurt you," he promised softly, "Not again." She blinked and whimpered but stopped struggling, perhaps recognizing him, perhaps not. Reluctantly, he had to agree with Hojo that she couldn't be moved, not like this.

She started trembling again, panting, "The- baby- Seph- itsa... itsa... monster... Jenova killed it." She sobbed and he released the straps completely to pull her up against his chest, cradling her gently. Tubes trailed from her limp arms, but she didn't fight him, but buried her face against his chest, sobbing.

Petting her hair, he bent his head over hers, "I saw it," he whispered to her. "Hojo won't have it," he told her softly. "We'll kill Jenova and try again later. It should be alright later." He lowered his voice more, gently rocking her as she found the strength to pull one of her hands up around his shoulder. "We'll have a little house of our own in the country and you can have ten million cats and our children can play in the back yard with the Chocobos and you'll have all the time in the world to write your books." His attention shrank to the tiny confines of the room, focused upon Katy, nothing else mattered at the moment except reassuring her.

"Twenty," she asserted, voice still thick with whatever Hojo had given her, "million. I want... twenty million cats."

He held her closer, "We'll have thirty million if you want. I don't care, anything to make you happy."

Finding the strength to lift her head, she looked up at him blindly, her glasses still in his pocket. "I want you."

Giving her a smile and kiss on the corner of her lips, he answered softly, "You have that." She smiled and put her head against him again and he cradled her till she went limp in sleep and carefully placed her back in bed, tucking the blankets over her and placed a kiss upon each of her eyelids before standing again. Turning, he found Hojo leaning against the door frame, his lip still swollen but with a bit of liquid bandage on it to stop the bleeding.

Glaring, Sephiroth paced forward and Hojo melted from his path, but tagged along behind as Sephiroth continued a few steps further into the room. "Well? What now?" Hojo asked, arms still folded. Off in the corner under a shield in the sterilization cabinet a mass of objects flamed in brilliant light as they caught fire and began burning.

Sephiroth watched the cabinet silently, feeling rather chill inside. He had to make a choice. She couldn't be moved, but he didn't trust Hojo to keep his hands off. "If you're afraid I'll do something to her, you have my word that I won't. Seeing as how Naomi's powers apparently decreased after I manipulated her DNA, I'd rather see what a child between you and a full Cetra would be capable of."

"It's in your interest of staying alive, Hojo," Sephiroth growled, turning to face the scientist. "I'll take it out of your hide if anything happens to her." Drawing Masamune, he placed the point of it against Hojo's neck in a move that cut the air with a sharp singing of metal. Managing not to swallow till the blade left his throat- also leaving a fine line of blood, he lifted a hand to his neck and rubbed slightly. "See that she gets better. I'll be coming back to check... and often." With that, Sephiroth turned, leaving the room the way he'd come, heading out to meet Cloud once more in the security booth.

Cloud frowned deeply, pulling his helm off when Sephiroth came in. "Where's Katy? She not here?"

Shaking his head, Sephiroth had a seat- or more flopped limply into one. "She's here. She's too sick to move. Jenova's goons beat the shit out of her. She lost the baby." Leaning forward, Sephiroth put his face in his hands, grinding his teeth. Cloud began to apologize but Sephiroth cut him off, "No- its all our faults for thinking we were safe. No, it was better that she lose it anyways. It was a monster. Cloud... it had fangs and wings."

Silence fell, Cloud's lips pressed together on the words that he wanted to say... another 'I'm sorry', though this one of sympathy. Even he had seen how Sephiroth had gotten excited at the idea of having a child once Katy started detailing her silly little plans for owning a house of their own with lots of cats and a son and a daughter and Chocobos and horses- whatever those were. Scratching his neck, he waited till Sephiroth sat up again and took a breath. "What now?"

"We're going to have to hang around for a while." He sighed, "I shouldn't have shaved."

Cloud nodded, "Alright, Johnston won't mind this one bit," he commented, figuring that Sephiroth would want to come back. "Shift is almost over, I'll grease your way out." Nodding, Sephiroth left the room again and paced down the hall, tying his hair up as he went back to his room to change.