The click of a lock awakened her, and Minerva opened her eyes ever-so-slightly to watch Talya enter the room.
"You know, this is the first time you've ever touched that bed."
The girl sat up and replied flatly, "It would be, considering I have never been in this cell before."
"Actually, we moved it from your old cell," Talya informed her with a smirk. She stood in the doorway with her hands on her hips, but her voice sounded oddly cheerful.
Minerva only scoffed in response and got to her feet, assuming that orders had come down. "What are you so happy about this morning?"
The ex-Turk stretched and leaned against the door frame. "No prisoners," she said simply. "You didn't have anything to do with Sephiroth's escape, did you? You were out at the time."
The girl raised an eyebrow. "How could I have helped them?"
Talya hesitated. "Well, I guess it doesn't matter anyway, right?"
Minerva did not reply. It was quite a thing for Talya to be satisfied with so vague an answer; usually, she settled only for definites and always reported it if Minerva disobeyed the Professor. Was it her soft spot for Sephiroth? she wondered. If Minerva had broken a rule, but helped Sephiroth in the process, perhaps Talya was willing to overlook that.
"Anyway," Talya said awkwardly, "the Professor wants us."
"Oh? I suppose he expects Sephiroth to just appear out of nowhere?"
The ex-Turk stepped out into the hallway, and Minerva went with her. "I think that's the idea."
"Alone?"
"Dunno. Maybe, maybe not."
"It would not be like him to bring Aeris back," Minerva remarked as they started down the hall.
"No, but it might be like Aeris to insist on tagging along."
Beyond a slight shake of her head, she did not respond. Sephiroth and Aeris alone would not be able to defeat them. She hoped that some of the others would accompany them, Reno perhaps. Of all of Aeris's friends, he had made the greatest impression upon her. Not once had he mistrusted her, and no one had been so kind to her since... There had not been a time before that.
She stepped into the lab just behind Talya, closing the door behind her and immediately dropping her gaze. She rarely looked directly at the Professor; he seemed to find it an act of impudence.
"It's about time," Hojo muttered. "He could be here any minute now, and the two of you thought you had time to waste?"
"Sorry," Talya said, though she didn't mean it, and leaned against a wall while Minerva remained near the door to wait.
They barely had to wait ten minutes before five figures flickered into existence just in front of them. Sephiroth was foremost among them, of course, with Aeris at his side, and behind them Reno, Vincent, and that red-furred creature whose name she did not know.
"I thought you'd be coming back presently," the Professor said to them, his angry gaze on Sephiroth.
"Of course," the swordsman replied, eyes emerald. "We have a few things to settle with you before we leave."
Hojo scoffed loudly, and motioned to Talya and Minerva. "If you can get through these two first."
Minerva moved from her position by the door, her presence startling Sephiroth's band. They had not noticed her behind them. Talya had gone to the opposite side of the lab, and so Sephiroth's group split into two: Vincent and Nanaki chose to fight Talya, while Sephiroth, Aeris, and Reno took their stand against Minerva. She thought this their best chance, and indeed found it strangely agreeable that she was to fight Reno.
"Don't hold back," she said simply.
Sephiroth merely smiled in response, and a sweep of his arm sent her slamming back into the wall. She recovered quickly and pushed off from it, throwing several of her knives back at him and at Aeris. Sephiroth grabbed the Cetra, pulling them both out of the path of the blades.
Aeris did not appreciate the intervention. "Don't protect me," she said. "I can handle this." As if to prove her point, she retrieved one of the knives from the floor and threw it back at Minerva, tweaking the air to guide it. The girl sidestepped the blade and turned to grasp its hilt as it flew past. She then sprang towards Reno, the dagger radiating heat as she slashed at him. He dodged her attacks, and managed to graze her shoulder with his nightstick.
Minerva jerked back, flinging the knife at him. Too close to avoid it, he raised his arm in defense and grunted as it buried itself in his forearm. She grasped his shoulder, planted her foot against him, and pulled the blade from him as she shoved him backwards.
Aeris hurried to her friend's aid, while Sephiroth distracted Minerva by hurling spears of ice at her. She leapt out of the way, moving back and back again until she came to the wall, and there she flung up a barrier. Sephiroth followed her, augmenting his spells so much that her shield wavered and broke and two of the spears drove through her, pinning her against the wall. She did not cry out even as one pierced her abdomen.
Surrounding herself with flames, she melted the ice, but she had no time to heal the wounds before the blade of the Masamune bore down upon her. She rolled to the side and pulled out a pair of her longest knives with which to deflect his blows. He was as skilled a swordsman as the stories said, perhaps more so, and she was astonished to discover that she could only just manage to keep the Masamune from her flesh.
Sephiroth drew so much of her attention that she did not notice the bolt spell forming until it struck her. She staggered back, the pain in her head crackling to life. The Masamune found her left wrist, nearly severing her hand, and she fell back against the wall, dropping both her blades, and threw up the strongest barriers she could. The shield came just in time to block the next lightning spell, which she noticed Aeris had cast.
Minerva healed herself as quickly as she could and released the shield. Immediately she had to dodge the Masamune, and she could only retrieve one of her knives as she leapt back. As she found her feet again, she flung the blade at Reno and cast her strongest fire spell in Aeris's direction. She ducked as the Masamune sang over her head, then shifted her weight to deliver a harsh kick to Sephiroth's side. He stumbled, and his blade disappeared, but he sent her flying back into the wall with another spell.
She had to dodge another bolt spell from Aeris as soon as she recovered and just barely avoided Reno's nightstick. She knocked him aside and sent her own blast of energy outward. Reno slammed into the nearby wall with a stifled cry of pain, Aeris fell back hard into one of Hojo's control panels, and Sephiroth staggered back a ways before a second wave sent him flying into a Mako chamber. The glass shattered, and the Mako rushed out, drenching him as he fell onto the numerous shards.
A hand grasped her leg and tugged hard. Minerva nearly fell, but instead she kicked Reno hard, loosening his grip, twined her fingers into his red hair, and yanked him up by it. She twisted his arm around, buried one of her knives in his shoulder, and then, spotting his nightstick lying nearby, flung him towards it.
A bolt of electricity struck her from behind, and she cringed, pain lancing through her from the device in her head. She recovered and spun to face Sephiroth, readying her knives. He smiled, and the Masamune appeared in his hands. She darted forward to meet him, metal clashed with metal, and their blades danced between them.
She sensed the bolt spell this time and broke away, leaping backwards. The lightning struck the floor where she had stood only a moment before.
But she did not anticipate Reno's attack. His nightstick struck her along her spine, and her back arched away from it, but Reno grasped her shoulder and pulled her closer. One of her hands reached jerkily behind her, as though to grasp the weapon and wrench it from him, but she forced herself to let it drop.
The pain coursed through her, as it had when she had attempted to escape from her cell. It was easier to bear, somehow, if someone else inflicted the pain on her. She could succumb to the pain, and she did, shutting her eyes and falling against Reno. She felt him stumble backwards, felt the floor beneath her; she was on her side, and the nightstick was still at her back, she thought. Pins and needles and knives and...
Her consciousness was slipping from her. She struggled for a moment to keep it, but she knew it would be better if she did not. Because then they could leave her and move on to kill Hojo, and then... Then...
Something inside her head seemed to crackle even more painfully, to spit and snap, and she nearly screamed. And then the darkness took her.
Reno switched off his nightstick and sat back, staring at Minerva's unconscious form. "Never thought I'd be the one to beat her," he muttered.
Aeris came over to crouch down near him. "You didn't beat her. She gave up. Decided to fight Hojo instead."
"I know..."
She laid a hand on his shoulder. "Are you all right?"
He only grunted in response, but after a moment he felt the warm sensation of healing pass through him, and Aeris smiled.
"Thanks," he said.
Aeris glanced up as Sephiroth approached, then got to her feet. "Gods, don't you look a mess."
The swordsman shrugged; his eyes were on the battle raging on the other side of the lab. Reno followed his gaze. Vincent and Nanaki were both still up and moving, which he guessed was good, but Talya was nowhere to be seen. Rather, Vincent and Nanaki fought against some dark, bird-winged thing with fur the color of old blood.
"What the hell?" Reno wondered.
"Just as I thought," Sephiroth said softly. "Hojo has experimented on her as he did on Vincent."
"Enough standing here," Aeris said. "Let's go help them!"
Sephiroth nodded and led her into the battle. Reno watched them, then moved to follow when a hand grabbed hold of his wrist. He started and looked down as Minerva rolled over and pushed herself up with her other arm.
"They don't need your help," she said, voice strained.
"You don't stay out long, do you?" he asked uncertainly.
She released him and sat back against the wall. "Nnh... No."
Reno watched her cautiously, but she did not move save to turn her head to watch the battle as Aeris and Sephiroth joined it. With a shrug, he turned to watch with her.
The winged creature had alighted on the ground and stood hunched against a wall. Vincent and Nanaki had withdrawn slightly, and Sephiroth was advancing with Masamune in hand. Aeris remained some distance away, and she cast an ice spell on the creature. It countered with a spell of its own that knocked her to the ground with some invisible force much different from Minerva's power.
Nanaki bounded over to help her, and Sephiroth glanced back. Anger touched his face and he charged at the creature that had been Talya. It blocked with its long claws and slashed forward with its other arm. The two carried on for some time before they broke away, the winged thing cut in several places, while Sephiroth had only the wounds Minerva had given him.
The creature pushed off the ground and into the air, leaving behind those on the ground. Sephiroth flung out his arm, but the thing dodged the blast easily; it was amazingly agile in the air, and the ceiling was high.
"Why doesn't Vincent transform?" Reno asked of Minerva. "Chaos is good in the air, too, isn't it?"
"Talya can control it. Vincent cannot. I do not think he wants to risk it, especially when Chaos has fought both you and Sephiroth before. It may not realize we are no longer enemies."
"So... Hojo can't control you anymore?"
She slowly lifted a hand to the back of her head. "You either damaged the device, or it has ceased to function entirely. I am not certain which..."
"Oh. Hey, is that why you told me to give Aeris my nightstick?"
"Yes."
"Heh..."
"Can you give it to me?" she asked.
He blinked at her, then asked cautiously, "What for?"
Minerva shook her head. "I am not going to hurt you. I can do that easily enough without your weapon."
"That's not what I'm worried about," he said.
"I do not see why you have a problem with my using it on myself. I need to see something... Besides, my recovery time is, as you have seen, quite short."
Still he hesitated, and then a thought occurred to him. "Hey, where's Ho--" A blow to his head knocked him over sideways and sent black dots dancing in his vision.
"What are you doing?" Hojo demanded.
"Ignoring your orders," Minerva replied harshly. "What do you think I am doing?"
Reno picked himself up, one hand to his head, the other on his nightstick. Hojo stood just out of reach, Minerva crouched against the wall before him. She looked tensed to bolt, and the redhead hesitated.
"Get up," Hojo commanded.
The girl did not move, and she did not look up at the Professor.
He kicked her harshly; she did not flinch. "I said get up."
"I heard you quite well."
Frowning, Hojo pulled a small remote from his pocket and punched several of the buttons on it. Minerva cringed, shutting her eyes and bringing her hands to her head.
"Now, are you going to hold out, or will you get up and fight as you're told?"
Eyes narrowing, Reno lunged forward with his nightstick at its highest setting.
Hojo kicked him aside with a strength he certainly did not appear to have and glared at him down his nose. "What do you think you're doing? You're human. You're a fool if you think you can harm me."
Reno grunted and started to push himself up from the floor, reaching for his nightstick only to find that Hojo had knocked it from his hands. He located it lying on the floor just within Minerva's reach, and she had taken one hand from her head to take it. Hojo pressed another button, and she fell forward, her whole body contorted in pain, but not a single sound escaped her. She pushed herself up with one hand, grasped the nightstick before Hojo could kick it away, and swung it at him.
Hojo hopped back, easily avoiding the blow, and scoffed, but harming him was not Minerva's aim. She glared up at him and slowly brought the end of the nightstick against her own neck. She nearly fell forward again, but her right hand was still braced against the floor.
"Minerva!" Reno cried out.
"What are you doing?" Hojo demanded of her.
Minerva shuddered from the pain, and the electricity raced through her, but somehow she still managed to hold his gaze, her eyes glowing emerald. "I... won't..." she forced out through clenched teeth, and then her mouth opened in a soundless scream, and she collapsed at Hojo's feet, her left hand still tightly gripping the nightstick.
His eyes widening, Reno scrambled over, ignoring Hojo and bending over the girl to take his weapon from her and switch it off. He laid it aside and rolled her onto her back, feeling for a pulse. Her heartbeat was fast but surprisingly steady.
"She won't die that easily," Hojo said contemptuously.
Reno turned slowly, snatching up his nightstick. "You bastard!" he growled, letting loose a crackling ball of energy. The attack hit him full force, but the scientist only stumbled backwards and glowered at him.
"Moron," he muttered. "You don't know what you're up against."
The Turk climbed to his feet. "I don't fucking care," he said. "You've hurt her enough."
"Reno..."
He glanced down at Minerva, watching Hojo out of the corner of his eye. She had rolled onto her side and was trying to get up.
"You just stay put," he told her. "I'll get rid of this bastard and then--"
"No!" she gasped. "He'll kill you!"
Reno faltered, her vehemence surprising him. "You think I can't handle him?"
"You can't... He's..." Wincing, she lay back against the floor.
"She's right," Hojo said with a smirk. "Didn't they tell you anything before they brought you here?"
"You mean the part about you injecting yourself with Jenova cells?" Reno asked. "Oh, sure, I've heard all about it. You think I give a shit?"
Minerva pulled herself up to a crouch. "Reno, don't-- Wait for the others..."
"But, Min, I--"
"Reno!" Aeris called, running up. "What are you doing?"
Reno whirled around. "Aeris! I'm-- Did you--?"
The Cetra stopped beside him and glanced over her shoulder. Talya lay slumped against a control panel, breathing heavily. Sephiroth was crouched near her, apparently speaking to her. Vincent leaned wearily against a display monitor, and Nanaki stood by anxiously.
"What happened?" he asked, looking back at Aeris.
"Vincent transformed into Chaos and beat her with Sephiroth's help. But then he wouldn't change back, and we had to fight him..."
"Oh..."
She shook her head. "Details later." With that, she turned to Hojo. "We've beaten your 'servants,' Professor. It's your turn. But first, there are some things we'd like to ask you."
He raised an eyebrow. "Oh?"
Aeris glanced over at the others. Vincent and Nanaki had already started over to join them. Sephiroth stood reluctantly, head bowed, and turned to follow. Reno relaxed and took a step back when they arrived.
The Cetra's gaze lingered on Sephiroth's face, but then she nodded and looked back at Hojo. "Right. We want to know... why you treated Lucrecia as you did."
"What, you haven't figured it out already?" Hojo asked incredulously.
"I know you probably intended to use her from the start," Aeris said, "but why her? And why go through the pretense of courting her and..." She sighed and shook her head. "Why?"
"Because it seemed the easiest thing to do." He sneered at Vincent. "You know how devoted she was to the Project. It was easy to convince her to give herself to it."
"But why did you let her die?"
"I had no further use for her."
"But I saw you!" Aeris exclaimed suddenly. "When Vincent told you she was dying, you... You had no reason to fake that look."
The Professor looked at her sharply. "How did you...?" He shook his head and smoothed his expression. "No matter. So what if I was a little distressed to lose her? She was, after all, the first to die for my experiments."
"You're lying," Aeris stated bluntly. "If you cared, why did you let her die?"
"Quit asking me why," he snapped.
"We came for answers."
Hojo sighed and lifted his head to look at some faraway thing that only he could see. "Emotion is such a strange thing," he muttered.
Sephiroth scoffed loudly. "Emotion? You have no claim to emotion."
The Professor whirled on him with a glare. "All you ever saw, boy, was anger. You kept your mouth shut and your eyes down anyway until we brought the Ancients in. Then you decided you were worth something! Ha!" He grinned wickedly. "But you were mine. You were always mine."
"I was never yours!" Sephiroth declared angrily.
Aeris laid a restraining hand on his arm. "Shh, just wait a little longer."
He glanced down at her with a frown, but he held his wrath in check.
The Cetra turned back to Hojo. "What are you getting at?"
"You want to know why I got involved with that woman, but you won't believe that I have emotions," he remarked spitefully. "What do you expect from me then?"
"I'll believe it," Aeris said. "You were human once."
He snorted. "Why, thank you for reminding me." He turned aside and strode to inspect the broken Mako chamber, muttering, "Messing up my laboratory..." He raised his voice as he continued, "It may be true that I only intended to use her. I'd had the Project in mind for years, and it seemed about time I started getting things in place. And there was Lucrecia--sweet, innocent, devoted, terribly gullible. A perfect candidate for Sephiroth's mother."
Hojo began pacing back and forth while the others looked on with incredulity; he was actually responding to Aeris's questions. But maybe he'd had these things pent up inside him for so long, he wanted to tell someone. Or maybe he was just bragging. Reno moved to join Minerva, stealing a glance at her face. Her eyes were filled with anger and suspicion as she watched the Professor.
"So I decided I would pretend to court her," Hojo went on. "I didn't think that I'd actually come to like the creature." He stopped, head lowered. "Gods, she was beautiful..." He turned suddenly with a snarl, glaring at Vincent. "But you--! You had to ruin everything. I had it all going according to plan, and then you came and took her away from me. She always loved you more, no matter what she said, no matter what she did in the end."
"Do you mean to say... that you loved her?" Aeris asked with difficulty. Even she, who could believe the best in everyone, seemed to find this hard to swallow.
"Yes, I loved her," he snapped. "You can't understand how I could let her die, can you? But it was to get back at him for taking her heart, and to get back at her for loving him and not me. All I knew was that if she died, he would be devastated, and it sounded like a good idea at the time."
"At the time?" Vincent echoed, his usually emotionless voice now strained with fury.
Hojo turned to him. "Is it so hard to believe that I regret it? She would have been useful now. And as for you, I know that letting you live with those demons in your head has proved sufficient punishment for you." He grimaced and shook his head. "But you just have to keep getting in my way."
"Lies," Sephiroth spat, and Reno heartily agreed with him. "He can't be telling the truth."
But Aeris was shaking her head in amazement. "But he is," she said as the others looked at her in disbelief. "I can feel it."
Minerva shifted her gaze to the Cetra. "Just kill him," she said, sounding almost impatient. "You have what you wanted."
Reno turned to her. "Don't you have anything you wanna ask?"
"No."
"You sure?"
"I do not need any answers from him," she stated.
Aeris turned to him. "Reno, could you stay out of this? This is our battle. Just look after her and keep out of the way."
He nodded, but Minerva struggled to get to her feet. She managed to stand, but leaned heavily against the wall. Reno stood with her, eyeing her uncertainly.
"I want to fight with you," she said, her voice firm despite her obvious weakness.
Aeris shook her head. "You fought your battle, and you won it. You don't need to fight this one; you ought to rest."
"But you may need my help," Minerva protested.
The Cetra glanced at Sephiroth and smiled confidently. "I think we'll be all right."
"...all right," the girl conceded. "I will do as you wish, for now. I may change my mind."
Reno moved to help her out of the way, but he hesitated and decided it was best to ask first. "Need any help?"
She shook her head and began making her way to the far side of the lab, keeping to the wall so that she could lean against it. Reno ran a hand through his hair and followed, wondering why exactly he needed to 'look after her.' She seemed pretty good at taking care of herself.
Once she was far from the beginning fight, Minerva sank down to the floor and stared over at them. Reno sat down next to her.
"How are you feeling?" he wondered.
"...weaker than I ever have before," she replied. "And yet, somehow much stronger. It is... strange."
He grinned. "A lot of things are gonna seem strange, once we get you outta here."
Minerva glanced at him. "You have great confidence in your friends, don't you?"
"Yeah."
She nodded slightly. "Then I shall believe in them as well."
Reno studied her for a moment, trying to read her expression and failing miserably, before he turned to watch the battle. The scientist had transformed; if his human form had contained a great power, now he had given that power a free reign over his body. His Jenova-mutated form floated in the air, twin tails coiling beneath it with barbed tips. Its skin glistened a disgusting tan-green and stretched over the thing's wiry arms and bald head. Reno couldn't decide which was uglier--Hojo, or this new monstrosity.
Not surprisingly, Vincent had attacked first and Hojo had only just managed a successful counterattack, piercing Vincent's side with one of his tails and then using both to shove him aside into some fragile lab equipment. Nanaki bounded up immediately after and scored a hit with his claws and bladed headdress, but Hojo's tails whipped around, catching him in the chest and knocking him aside after Vincent.
Sephiroth sent a blast of energy towards Hojo, but he put up a barrier, and the spell only propelled him backwards slightly. Cursing under his breath, Sephiroth ran forward, Masamune appearing out of nowhere as he slashed in a broad arc. The tails deflected his blows, barely, and Hojo's claws came at him; he avoided them and severed one of the tails with a fire-augmented stroke. The remaining tail streaked across his shoulder, but he ignored the wound and renewed his attack.
Aeris, who had been concentrating for some time, lifted her head to cast a powerful lightning spell on Hojo. She must have nullified his barrier spell, as the bolt hit him full-force, and Sephiroth took the opportunity to cut off one of the monster's hands.
Recovering from the blows, Hojo sent a sharp spell after Aeris. She threw up her own shield, but it wavered and broke, the tail end of the magic catching her and throwing her backwards. She landed hard on the floor and did not rise.
Sephiroth's gaze followed her, and then he turned to Hojo with flames bursting from his hands to envelop the both of them. Hojo emerged smoldering from the fire to attack the swordsman with a rapid series of blows from his remaining limbs. Even Sephiroth could not block them all, and the last few sent him stumbling backwards.
A strong ice spell drew Hojo's attention to Nanaki, who crouched warily beside Vincent, who himself was on one knee, fighting a losing battle with the demons in his head. Wings ripped through his back, horns grew from his head, and the glow in his eyes intensified to a pure crimson. Chaos sprang from the ground, flapping its great wings, appearing almost triumphant at a second transformation so soon. A sharp beat of its wings, and two slashes crisscrossed Hojo's chest, as from unseen blades.
Hojo sent a spell outward, catching his opponents off guard and sending each of them flying back until they reached the nearest wall or piece of equipment. Chaos shot back through the air and caught the top of a Mako chamber, tearing it from the floor and crashing down amidst the shards of glass. With all his enemies downed, Hojo flew to Sephiroth and fell to beating him savagely.
Beside Reno, Minerva struggled to stand, and he looked at her in alarm. "What are you doing?"
"It looks as though they need my help after all," she said, stumbling to her feet.
Reno leapt up after her. "But you can barely stand; how do you expect to fight?"
She steadied herself against the wall, her gaze fixed on Sephiroth's cringing form. Gathering her strength, she sprang forward at a run, pulling two knives out of nowhere and sending them flying toward Hojo, accompanied by a narrow blast of energy. The monster slammed backwards into a wall, the blades burying themselves in his lower chest and shoulder. He started to slide down, but straightened and charged for the girl with a feral snarl, claws digging into her stomach.
He would have continued the assault, if Sephiroth's Masamune had not caught him a glancing blow across the back. He whirled around, letting Minerva fall to the floor, and attacked Sephiroth instead.
Reno dashed over to Minerva. "What were you thinking?" he whispered sharply as he gathered her into his arms.
"It bought Sephiroth enough time, didn't it?" she managed, tensing at his touch.
Shaking his head, Reno lifted her and carried her swiftly away from the battle. Setting her down, he surveyed her wounds with a grimace. "Shit," he muttered. "You should've let somebody else save 'im."
"I will be fine," she clipped. "I just..."
He looked at her questioningly, but she only turned her attention back to the battle. He frowned, but didn't question her, and followed her gaze. He was somewhat relieved to see that Aeris was back on her feet and preparing a spell. She let it loose, and it whipped around the entire lab, a fire like that of a phoenix, one that healed friends and scorched foes. It seemed to drain her, and she sat down on the floor, watching as Nanaki called on Bahamut to aid them.
Chaos, too, had recovered by now, and it rejoined the battle, its unnamable magic surrounding Hojo with a deathly shadow that passed through him and out again, draining him of power. Hojo flew over, managing shortly to get its tail around Chaos's neck and squeeze tightly like some sort of constricting snake. Chaos struggled, clawed limbs scrabbling at Hojo's flesh and tearing it to shreds, forcing Hojo to release his grip and put some distance between them. Chaos dropped to the ground, breathing raggedly.
Hojo lifted his hand for another spell, failing to notice that Sephiroth was behind him. The Masamune sang as it severed head from body.
The head bounced once and landed near Chaos, who, with a snarl, added a set of claw marks to the face and sent it rolling a little farther. The body hovered a moment longer before collapsing with a wet thud.
Sephiroth's Masamune did not stop its motion but continued to hack over and over at Hojo's body, sending blood flying and spattering both the sword and its wielder.
Aeris started towards him, worry on her face. "Sephiroth, stop it!"
The slightest hesitation, and the attacks continued.
Nanaki walked over, limping slightly, and bumped his head against Aeris's leg. "Let him be, Aeris. He has a lot of hatred to vent."
Reno glanced at Minerva to see how she was reacting; her emerald eyes were fixed on the display of violence, and he could have sworn she was enjoying it. Although, considering how much she must have hated Hojo, he didn't blame her.
Finally, when Hojo's corpse was an unrecognizable mass of gory flesh, Sephiroth stepped back, breathing heavily, and sank to the floor. He sat staring at what he had done, his bloodied sword lying still beside him.
Aeris took a few steps towards him, but stopped at a snarl from Chaos, who had not yet transformed back into Vincent.
Sephiroth's head shot up at the sound, and he slowly climbed to his feet, leveling the Masamune at the demon and arching an eyebrow. "You want to face me again?"
Chaos growled, but seemed hesitant.
"You remember, don't you? I killed you before, and I can easily do it again."
The monster at last dropped to the floor, one claw clutching its head. Its horns retracted, its wings shriveled and withdrew, and its skin paled to a near-white. Vincent crouched there a moment, then stumbled to his feet.
"Are you all right?" Aeris asked, and he nodded silently.
Sephiroth studied him warily, then let the Masamune disappear and looked down at Hojo's corpse.
"How do we keep the Jenova cells from reviving him?" Aeris inquired of the swordsman.
He did not look at her, nor did he speak. He walked to the head, kicked it scornfully back to what remained of the body, and set the pile aflame. Then, turning his back on the fire, Sephiroth strode from the lab. The others watched him go in silence, and Aeris looked as though she wanted to follow.
Nanaki nudged her leg. "Go on," he urged.
She gave a slight start and then nodded. She started for the door at a walk, but soon quickened her step and left the lab at a run.
"What are we going to do with this place?" Nanaki wondered, looking around.
"Blow it up?" Reno suggested.
The others looked at him dubiously. "We would need explosives," the feline said.
"Avalanche blew up plenty of stuff before; I'm sure your friends can come up with something."
Vincent had moved to stand near Talya's forgotten body. Reno got to his feet, then bent to offer Minerva a hand up. She refused and pushed herself up, though she could only lean against the wall and look at Talya.
"Come on," Reno said gently. "Needing a little help's nothing to be ashamed of."
She closed her eyes, but he sensed in her weary expression a sort of consent. He lifted her arm up over his shoulder and put one of his own around her. He helped her over to where Vincent stood, though she tried her best not to lean on him.
She broke away once they reached Talya's body and stood on her own, looking down in silence, eyes unflinching. Reno watched her uncertainly.
Finally Minerva scoffed and said, "You are gone, and so is the Professor. There will be no more lies." With that, she turned to Reno, blue eyes icy cold. "Let us go."
Sephiroth slowed to a stop and leaned against one side of the hallway. I can't believe I... And Aeris, she... she saw it.
What will she think of you now, I wonder. I notice she didn't rush right out to comfort you.
She has... more important things to attend to.
Oh? And I thought you were so important to her.
Shut up. I want to think in peace.
Oh, but I like what you did to Hojo. I thought you might be a bit more willing to do the same for the humans.
"No," he whispered. "I didn't mean to..."
But you did! You've wanted to for so long--to tear him apart, to slice him into tiny pieces, to feel his blood on your face. Don't tell me you didn't want to. I know you loved it.
Sephiroth put a hand to his face and pulled it back, staring at the blood glistening on his gloved hands. "But no one else. I would not wish that on anyone but him..."
But killing him did not rid you of your hatred. You still have much more inside of you. If you fail to vent it, you may burst out in anger when you do not wish to... say, against Aeris.
He shut his eyes. "Stop trying to convince me to kill for you," he growled. "You forget I've another outlet for my anger. I will find you and do worse to you than I did to Hojo."
And what will Aeris think of that?
"I don't care."
Hurried footsteps sounded coming down the hall, but he did not turn to face her, did not lift his head, did not move in the slightest.
Here she is now. Do you think she came to comfort you, or to tell you how much she hates you for doing that to a corpse?
He did not reply.
The footsteps faltered to a stop not far behind him. "Sephiroth?" Aeris called uncertainly.
"What are you here for?" he demanded sharply.
"What do you mean?" she asked in confusion.
"You saw what I did. Aren't you disgusted? Angry? Afraid? What do you want with me now?"
He felt her light touch on his arm and flinched. "No," she said gently, "I'm not angry with you. I just wanted to make sure you were all right."
"I am fine," he clipped. "I did not sustain any considerable injuries."
She fingered the deep scratches in his back. "It doesn't look that way," she murmured, and he thought that his physical wounds were not all she meant.
"Don't bother healing me. It would be a waste of your energy."
But he felt the warm sensation of healing a moment later, and Aeris leaned against him from behind. "What else do I need it for? We've beaten our enemy, and we have time to rest up before we fight Jenova."
Sephiroth glanced at her over his shoulder. "What do you mean, 'we'? It is my duty to fight her, and mine alone."
She straightened, regarding him with raised eyebrows. "Don't think you're the only one with a score to settle. You're not going without me."
He frowned and looked away. "I suppose there is no escaping it," he muttered.
Aeris was about to reply, but her mouth fell shut when she noticed the others coming down the hall to join them. Instead she came to stand beside him and asked, "Can you take us back to the airship?"
He nodded silently, concentrated briefly, and then the hallway around them shifted to the bridge of the Highwind. Seven pairs of startled eyes fixed on the group as they appeared out of nowhere.
"Welcome back!" Cid exclaimed, the first to recover from the shock.
Aeris smiled. "Thanks."
"Looks like you guys had some fight," Tifa noted, studying their ragged, bloodstained appearances.
"Yes, we did," Aeris agreed. "But we're all right," she added, catching Cloud's worried gaze.
He nodded slightly. "What did you do with Hojo's body...?"
"Chopped it up into tiny little pieces and burned it to a crisp," Reno answered.
Sephiroth shifted uncomfortably, and Aeris gave Reno a stern look.
"What about the lab?" Tifa continued, ignoring the exchange of glances.
"It's probably best to blow it up once we retrieve our weaponry," Nanaki said. "I am sure you can figure that out."
"And Talya?" Reeve queried after a moment.
"Dead." It was Minerva who answered, her voice just a little too sharp. Everyone looked at her, and for a moment, silence reigned.
"Anyway," Aeris said finally. "I think we're all in need of some rest, so if you don't mind, we'll answer any other questions later."
Cloud nodded. "Right, we understand."
She smiled gratefully and turned down the hall towards the ships quarters. Reno glanced at Minerva, and the two started after her. Not feeling at all tired and even less interested in company, Sephiroth turned to make his way to the deck, where he hoped no one would bother him. He was surprised to find Yuffie there, leaning on the railing, but he realized belatedly that she had been missing from the bridge.
He turned on his heel, intending to find another place to hide, but she had already noticed him.
"Oh, hey, don't mind me." When he glanced back at her questioningly, her eyes widened and she looked him over, noting his bloodied face, Mako- and blood-caked hair, and shredded coat. "Gawd, aren't you a mess..."
"So I've been told," he said dryly.
"Oh." She hesitated, then waved him over. "Well, what are waiting for? I don't bite! Honest!"
He joined her at the railing with some reluctance, still keeping more distance than was necessary or polite between them. He looked out toward Midgar and said nothing.
"So, um... I guess you made it back all right, huh?"
"Yes. The others are fine as well."
Yuffie looked him over again. "You don't exactly look fine, but I'll take your word for it. Didja have to fight Minerva and Talya, too?"
"We killed Talya, but Minerva fought Hojo's control and returned with us."
"Oh." She had not taken her gaze off of him, and he began to feel uncomfortably under such scrutiny. "So... what're you gonna do now?"
"Rest, and then find Jenova."
"Jenova?" Yuffie asked with some alarm.
Look, she thinks you will join me. No matter what you do, the humans still won't trust you.
I would rather that, than for their fears to be correct. He glanced at Yuffie. "Yes. To kill her."
She nodded, looking relieved, and turned to look out at the ruins of Midgar. "Oh, good. You had me worried for a second." After a moment, she added, "Sorry."
"What for?"
"You know, for thinking you'd still wanna do mass murder and all." She looked back at him seriously. "Aeris trusts you, and you know, I'll go by her judgment any day. She's reckless sometimes, but she knows people."
Sephiroth avoided her gaze. "I hope she is right."
"What's that supposed to mean?"
"I don't trust myself."
"Well, that's encouraging." The ninja was silent for a time, and then suddenly she asked, "What's going on with you and Aeris anyway?"
Sephiroth's gaze flicked towards her sharply. "What do you mean?"
"I mean, why were you two holding hands last night? And didn't you spend the whole night out here together? What were you doing, just talking?"
"Yes," he replied coolly. "And nothing more."
"Really?" Yuffie asked, studying him carefully.
"Yes," he repeated, forcing himself to meet her gaze.
She stared back at him until he finally looked away, back towards Midgar. She said nothing further, however, and he nearly sighed in relief.
Trying to ignore his unlikely companion, Sephiroth leaned against the railing and looked out at the shattered buildings of Midgar. Something between him and Aeris? he wondered. That was certainly implausible, especially after... But she said she wasn't angry, he reminded himself. So surely...
He shook his head slightly. Perhaps she is not bothered, but I am certainly disgusted with myself. She deserves the company of her friends, not me. She has done for me what I needed, and I should be able to do the rest, and stand on my own... shouldn't I?
She should not be around me any longer. Even if she tries to seek me out, I ought not to stay with her any longer than I must.
Sephiroth frowned, lowering his head. Whatever he may have needed, he wanted to see her again. He wanted to be with her.
But what if you hurt her?
Author's Notes
More battles! Haha, well, erm, I sort of... cheated with these. >> Considering I only chose to do one of them from the point of view of a fighter, and the others from Reno's point of view on the sidelines... so he didn't have to be paying attention for everything. P Although that allowed me to have some nice exchanges between him and Minerva.