Chapter 10

Tseng had taken over for Litta after a while, but they switched again a little before midnight. She had been pacing around the room for ten minutes, trying to stay awake. She looked out the window and saw Sans running across the courtyard.

"Tseng, wake up." Litta nudged him.

"What?"

"Sans is outside." Tseng got up and followed her outside. They quietly followed Sans outside the city.

"Where do you think you're going," Tseng asked him. Sans stopped dead.

"Why can't you leave me alone?" he asked.

"You know why. So have you decided to come with us?"

"That's not the reason I'm running around during the middle of the night. I was hoping you would understand why I'd like to be free from Rufus."

"Even if I did understand, it wouldn't change anything. I still have a job to do, as do you."

"Does that mean my alternatives haven't changed?"

"Correct. So it is in your best interest to come with us." Sans made no reply. He stood there, thinking. "Make up your mind."

"I already have."

"Then you have decided?"

"I've decided to see how in shape you are." He took off running, still away from the town.

"Litta, go after him."

"Why me?"

"Do it now." She had no choice. She caught up with him quickly. He was almost within her reach when she saw him go over a cliff. She was able to catch his arm before he dropped.

"I thought Tseng would have come after me himself."

"He sent me instead. Personally, I'd rather see you go free, so I'm going to help you."

"Right, a Turk help me." She began trying to pull him up. He was heavier than she had thought, and his hand was starting to slip.

"Hold on," she told him. She almost had him over when he started struggling. "What are you doing?"

"I'm getting away from you." He broke his hand free from hers, but he couldn't get his footing. He slipped back over the edge. Litta couldn't grab his hand, but watched him fall. He screamed on the way down. He hit a ledge a little below her, and an ice pillar broke his fall. He didn't move. Litta looked down at him for a moment longer. Idiot. I was trying to help you. And just because I'm a Turk, you didn't trust me. She slowly made her way back to Tseng.

"What did Sans scream for?"

"He fell over a cliff."

"Oh well. We're heading back to Shin-Ra in the morning. Rufus is sending a helicopter for us, so we should get some sleep." Litta just followed him back to the town. He woke her up at five to leave.

"Why so early?"

"I don't want to have to deal with your friends today, so we're leaving before they get up." Litta got into the helicopter and looked at the driver. She didn't recognize him when he turned around.

"I don't believe we've met," he told her. He held out his hand, and Litta decided to shake it. "My name is Krad, I'm the newest Turk."

"Litta," she replied. Krad turned to Tseng, who nodded. They took off and were back at Shin-Ra in less than an hour. Tseng went straight to Rufus to give a report of what happened. Krad accompanied Litta to her room.

"So how old are you Litta?"

"Look, I'm not really in the mood to talk so why don't you go find something to do to entertain yourself." He gave her a look that should have made her feel sorry for him. "That look isn't going to work on me. I'm not the emotional type."

"I think you are. And I still want to know how old you are."

"If I answer, will you leave?"

"Maybe." Litta thought about it.

"I'm 19."

"Where are you from?"

"I thought you said you'd leave!"

"I said maybe. You didn't hear that I guess."

"Obviously. So if I answer this question, will you leave?"

"No."

"Then what will make you leave?"

"Not a whole lot."

"I want to be alone!"

"Fine, no need to get angry. All you had to do was ask nicely."

"All right. Will you please leave me alone right now?" Litta calmed herself down a little in hopes of sounding pleasant.

"Well...since you asked so nicely, no." Litta looked about ready to strangle him. "But there is something you could do to get rid of me."

"What?"

"You could give me a kiss."

"You pervert!" She pushed him out of the room and locked the door.

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"...then Sans fell off the cliff and died. Is that everything?" Rufus asked.

"Yes."

"I see. Well I'll take over the experiment until we find a new scientist. I was hoping to possibly use Sans as the specimen for the experiment, but perhaps I can find someone else." Tseng waited until he was done.

"If I may sir, I would be willing to volunteer for this experiment if that's all right with you."

"I was hoping you would. Meet me in the lab tomorrow afternoon. Around one." Tseng left, feeling proud to be a part of the experiment.

"What are you so happy about?" Litta asked when Tseng passed her room.

"You'll find out tomorrow." He continued walking. Her phone rang so she went back into her room to answer it.

"Litta, please come up to my office." Rufus hung up. Litta put back the phone and went to see Rufus.

"You wanted to see me?"

"Yes. Tomorrow I will be performing an experiment, and I would like you to be my assistant."

"What kind of experiment is this?"

"Just something I've been working on."

"Who are you doing this to?"

"Tseng volunteered." So that's what he was so happy about.

"Is that all you're going to tell me about this experiment?"

"For now, yes. Just be in the main lab around one. You can go now." Litta walked back to her room. Ican't help with an experiment. I hate that lab. Why would he want me to be his assistant? Is he planning on doing something to Tseng? What is this experiment anyways? Litta worked on her computer until she fell asleep much later.

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Cloud woke up in the middle of the night. I could have sworn I heard someone scream. He listened for a few minutes, but heard nothing. Must have been a dream or something. He went back to sleep. When he woke up in the morning, he decided to take a walk. He headed in what he thought was the direction of the scream he heard last night. He found some faint tracks in the snow, which led him to a cliff. He saw Sans' body below. It was partially covered by snow, but it was definitely Sans. Cloud swore under his breath.

"What's wrong?" Cloud jumped at the voice. He turned around to face Squall. Cloud pointed over the cliff, and Squall looked over. "Who is that?"

"His name is Sans. He was the scientist working for Rufus Shinra. He came to me yesterday. He said he had information about what Rufus had planned for Litta. Apparently Litta and Tseng got to him before he could get away."

"Did you learn anything from him before he died?"

"He mentioned a program Rufus is running. It's called 'The New Generation', for recruiting new Turks."

"Is that all?"

"He was going to try giving us more information later, but that's not possible now."

"Where are Tseng and Litta now?"

"Shin-Ra would be my guess." They headed back to the hotel. Vincent and Danis were awake.

"I wondered where you went," Vincent commented.

"Sans is dead," Cloud told him bluntly. "He fell or was pushed off a cliff."

"Turks?"

"I don't know. It's not like them to leave a mess."

"No, but if it was Litta, she's not a real Turk yet," Danis pointed out.

"True," Vincent said.

"What now?" Squall asked.

"Shouldn't you be resting?" Cloud asked him.

"I'm fine." Cloud smiled, but only Vincent caught it. "What are we doing now? Are we going after Tseng and Litta, or something else?" Vincent surprised them with his thought.

"What do you think Danis?" he asked.

"What do I think?" She looked at Vincent like he'd lost his mind, then to Cloud. "I didn't know you wanted my opinion."

"Since Vincent asked for it, let's hear it," Cloud told her.

"All right. I think we should go after them. I overheard Rufus talking about an experiment he's been working on and I think he wants to try it out on someone pretty soon." Cloud considered this for a minute.

"Anyone have a better idea?" He waited. "Good. We're heading out right away." He waited for Danis and Vincent to leave, then pulled aside Squall.

"You want something Cloud?"

"I want to make sure you don't do anything stupid while we're there."

"Like what?"

"Like going after Litta and trying to bring her with us. I don't think she would appreciate it."

"Whatever." Squall turned to leave.

"Squall, I mean it. I want to find some information about Red XIII and Yuffie's deaths, and I don't want you to ruin my chance." Cloud shut the door. They left soon after that.

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Litta woke up at her computer desk. I must have fallen asleep while I was working. She turned off her computer and looked at the clock. Twelve-thirty! When did I fall asleep? She headed down to the lab.

"You're early," Rufus commented. He kept his attention on what he was doing.

"I didn't have anything else to do." Rufus just put her to work getting things ready for the experiment. Tseng came in a few minutes later.

"Since everyone is here early, we'll just get started. Litta, strap Tseng to the table." Rufus pointed to a table. Litta did as she was told. "Good, now watch the monitors while I hook up the equipment." She watched as he stuck some needles into Tseng, and hooked something up to his head that she didn't recognize.

"What is that?" she asked.

"Just something I've been working on. Are the monitors working?"

"Yes." Something I do recognize, a computer.

"For now, I'll be doing most of the controlling. Just stand to the side until I tell you otherwise." Litta moved away, and watched as Rufus began pumping a liquid into Tseng's arm. At first, nothing happened. Then Tseng began to twitch.

"Is that supposed to happen?" Rufus didn't respond. She looked at the computer screen. The brain function bar seemed strangely low. She looked back at Tseng. He was now having what looked like seizures.

"Litta, try holding him still." She held his arms down, but she couldn't control his legs. "Keep his head still." She tried to force his head against the table. His eyes were rolling around, and he didn't seem to even be conscious of what was happening.

"What's going on?" Litta yelled over the noise.

"I'm not sure. The fluid seems to be flooding his brain, and it also looks like it's merging with his blood." Litta continued holding Tseng still while Rufus worked at the computers.

"Shouldn't you just shut it off?"

"No. I need to know what exactly is wrong so I can fix it."

"But Tseng's going to die!"

"He volunteered to do this."

"I don't think he planned on dying in this experiment, though!"

"Still. Take out the needle in his right arm." Litta reached across the table and pulled out the needle. The fluid was still being pumped so it dripped on her hand. It sizzled and burned her skin.

"What is this stuff?"

"Pay attention to what you're doing!" Tseng's head was beginning to move around. She held it down again. Slowly, Tseng stopped moving. Litta moved away, and walked over to Rufus.

"Is he okay?"

"No. He's still alive, but barely. We need to get the rest of the needles out." Litta began removing the needles and Rufus worked on the thing on Tseng's head.

"Are you going to stop this fluid from coming out of the tubes?"

"I forgot." Rufus walked back over to the computer and shut off the pump. "Keep an eye on him while I'm over here." After a few minutes Tseng began shaking again.

"Rufus!"

"Hold him down!" Litta kept his arms and head still, but his legs were out of control.

"What's happening?" Rufus was too busy with the computers to answer her. She watched him move from one screen to the next, shaking his head. After a few more minutes, Tseng went completely still. "Is he alive?"

"No. His brain and his heart have stopped working." The room was silent except for the noise from the computers. "You can leave now. I'll have Rude deal with this." Litta left the building entirely and took a walk. She had been walking for quite a while when she decided to turn back.

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Cloud was the first one up the steps, followed by Vincent. Squall and Danis were a little behind. Cloud went to Rufus' office, but no one was there.

"I guess he doesn't know we're here."

"Cloud, perhaps we should split up," Vincent spoke up. "Since Squall is the one with the least experience here, one of us should go with him."

"You do that." You can keep him out of trouble. "I'll stay with Danis."

"Squall and I will search for Litta."

"All right." Vincent and Squall took off.

"What are we going to do?" Danis asked.

"You can do what you like. I am going to find some information." Danis shrugged. Let's see if Rufus left him computer on, Cloud thought. He did, then let's find out who killed Yuffie and Red XIII. Cloud scrolled through several documents before he found the one he was looking for. What? Litta killed them! Cloud took off down the stairs in search of Litta. Now I'm the one that wants answers! He was no longer in a good mood.

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Squall followed Vincent silently. They were looking for Litta, but the person they found first was Rufus. He was working on a computer in one of the labs. He was concentrating hard on his work and didn't hear them come in.

"What are you working on?" Vincent asked.

"Well, well, well. Vincent, you should know better than to ask me that. I have no reason to tell you. But since you haven't threatened me yet, I might be persuaded to give you a little information."

"Why are you working in this lab?" Squall asked.

"I was doing an experiment earlier, and once the body was out I continued working on the computer in here."

"What do you mean by body?" Vincent asked.

"The specimen couldn't handle the experiment. Rude disposed of the body."

"Whose body?" Squall asked.

"Why is that any of your concern?"

"Was it Litta?" Squall accused.

"Why on earth would I let Litta get hurt? It was one of our other, older, Turks."

"There are only three old Turks," Vincent told him. "Which one was it? Reno, Tseng, or Rude?"

"I think you have enough information. Now if you'll excuse me, I'd like to finish my lab report."

"Who did you kill?" Squall questioned him.

"If you really want to know, it was Tseng. Now please, leave me to my work." Rufus went back to working on the computer. Vincent left the room, so did Squall.

"Would he actually kill one of his Turks? And be that unaffected by it?"

"Rufus can do a lot of things. I can't believe he'd do something like this, but it appears he can, and he did. I suggest we find Litta soon." They started searching again.

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Danis left Cloud to follow Vincent and Squall. She went to the security room to see which floor they were on. She found them, but also found a recording of Litta leaving the building. Instead of telling Vincent and Squall where Litta was, she went to get Litta herself.