Chapter 12

Vincent watched Yazoo pace the room after Reno left. Cloud had gone to help Tifa with the orphans. The silver haired youth had a blank expression on his face but in his eyes there was something calculating and impatient. Vincent leaned against the wall, waiting. He knew that Yazoo was the type where he would talk or act only when he was ready and not before.

Yazoo had a million thoughts going in his head. If Rufus wanted him dead he could be telling the truth about doing for PR. But why Yazoo? No one in Midgar knew he was still alive. Its not like there was a huge outcry against him. Most people in Midgar probably wouldn't care one way or the other whether he was killed. The Silver Haired Men weren't considered as great a threat as Sephiroth himself. Everyone who had been killed for a purpose by Shinra almost infallibly ended up in the labs. But Yazoo would dissipate when he died, like his brothers. Unless Rufus didn't expect the Turks to be able to kill him. They hadn't been able to before, what would make now different? And Tifa had told them about the other dead Turks. What if Shinra just wanted him wounded? And then he would be rid of another Turk in a perfectly legitimate way. There were a few reasons Yazoo could think of that Rufus would want him alive and all of them involved going back to the labs. Never again.

Where were the other pieces of Jenova? Rufus had gotten her neck, but he had said that he had gotten it from the Northern Crater. He had to destroy her. All the records of Hojo's experiments on Sephiroth, Jenova, everything. The building that had once been Shinra Headquarters, Healin Lodge, the Shinra Mansion, the Junon labs and Nibelheim and maybe he should try to get more info out of Rufus himself. Damn he wished Kadaj was here, always the strategist, the one who wouldn't agonize over decisions but rather move forward with them. He stopped pacing and sighed. No, he would have to do this alone.

The creak of leather and the sound of cloth rustling told him that Vincent was still here. Funny how he could just lose himself in these thoughts, even with him in the room.

Yazoo stopped pacing and stared out the windows. He would destroy the old Shinra building and the ruined labs in Junon. He would travel to the Northern Crater and find every piece of Jenova left and destroy her. Every place where there could be even a scrap of information he would go. Vincent stood behind him.

"You really don't want any more death? Besides Jenova?" Yazoo could see Vincents crimson eyes flash in his reflection in the glass of the window as he said Jenova's name.

Yazoo shook his head. "No, no more death. Just an end to this madness"

"I will help you then. You will need it to accomplish what you want." Vincent unfolded his arms. He had his doubts about what he was doing by offering Yazoo help. He was no friend of Shinra but his feelings regarding Sephiroth were rather confused at times. Nevertheless, he would see no more of his friends hurt. He had heard Yazoo cry out in his dreams about the old general, in a voice mixed with such pain and such hate. If there could be an end to that then he would help.

Yazoo had thought at first to refuse Vincent's offer. He didn't want anyone holding him back. But he would need help. He would have to travel across the sea again to get back to the Northern Crater and he would need to travel with speed to be able to get from place to place to stay ahead of Shinra's attempts to stop him.

Yazoo nodded to Vincent, accepting his offer. He set Velvet Nightmare onto the bed and found his leathers in the closet. He hadn't worn them since Loz had died. In some ways they brought back painful memories, yet they seemed appropriate for this.

When he and Vincent were ready they made their way quietly down the stairs and out into the already closed bar. Tifa and Cloud were there sitting at a table. Cloud must have been telling Tifa about what Reno had come to say, she looked upset. Denzel and Marlene had been playing at the counter. When they saw Yazoo and Vincent Marlene jumped down from her seat and came over to him. She looked at the way he was dressed and wrinkled her nose. "What are you doing Yazoo? Why do you look like that?"

Yazoo knelt on one knee in front of her. "I have to go Marlene, there is something I have to do." he told the girl softly. Marlene stared at him for a moment then seemed to grow angry.

"You are going to fight! Not monsters this time, so who? Why are you wearing those clothes again! Didn't you have enough the first time!" Marlene shouted at him and beat her fists at him. Yazoo caught her and held her gently until she broke into angry tears.

Denzel came over and took her shoulders and pulled her away from Yazoo. He said nothing but his expression told volumes. He was angry at Yazoo as well.


Kadaj pulled at the long gray shirt Yazoo wore. His eyes were glistening with tears as his five year old self looked up at him.

"Why did you have to do it? He wasn't one of the people who hurt us!" Kadaj demanded answers that Yazoo didn't have.

The scientists had taken him and thrown him in a room with a member of SOLDIER, telling him that Yazoo would have to kill the man. Yazoo had refused. He didn't think he could, he had a handgun and knew how to use it but he was only nine years old. How could he take on a member of SOLDIER?

Then one of them had brought Loz in front of the large observation window that looked into the room. The scientist leveled a gun at Loz's head and looked at Yazoo.

"Its your choice, kill that man, or lose your brother."

Yazoo looked at the gun in his hand then at the SOLDIER in front of him. The man who had seemed unafraid of this silver haired child before now showed a glimmer of fear. He lunged at Yazoo with the knife he had. Yazoo aimed and fired. He shot the man right between the eyes. He fell almost on top of Yazoo before he moved out of the way quickly. Blood splattered on him from the back of the mans head where the skull had been blown away.

He felt cold all over. The man was dead. He looked up to see the scientist put his gun away. Loz was safe, but there, behind him was a small silver head. Kadaj had seen it all too.

Loz was crying and Kadaj's eyes were wide. When they had been put back into their room his questions didn't really reach Yazoo. What could he say? He had killed the man to save his brother. He did not doubt that the scientist would have killed Loz. After all they were just clones, they could be recreated at their whims.

But Kadaj's wide confused eyes still looked up at him begging him for answers.


Yazoo blinked to try and clear the memory. He stood and Denzel took Marlene back up the stairs to their room.

Yazoo stood. Tifa came over and looked at him with her stern expression. "Do you have to do this?" she asked.

Yazoo sighed and nodded. Cloud put a hand on his shoulder briefly. "Come back when you're done. We'll be waiting for you."

Yazoo gave him a small smile. He had wondered about that. He had become comfortable here. But he wouldn't wait around for Shinra to hunt him down and kill him. It would give them the perfect sample of both Jenova cells and Sephiroth genes. He didn't want to think what they would do with that.

Yazoo made his way to the door, when he stepped outside he searched the streets. He had planned to steal a car or motorcycle, not Fenrir though. Vincent shut the door to 7th Heaven.

"Are you afraid of heights?" he asked. Yazoo raised an eyebrow. "No" he hoped he wasn't getting himself into anything he didn't want.

"If we go to Rocket Town I can probably get Cid to lend us one of his ships." Yazoo failed to see where Vincent was going with this. Then he remembered how Vincent had rescued Cloud from he and his brothers. Yazoo was about to protest when Vincents cloak swirled around him and he felt the ground give way.


A/N there is a slight deviation here from a line in 'In the Hands of the Enemy' where the SHM are described as bodies of thoughts and not clones. I know the whole body of thoughts thing is technicaly correct but I dont care. Its not good enough of a background for me so I'm changing it. He he he. Oh, and um well. I have finished the story obviously its not all posted yet, but the updates are going to be much more frequent and may have two chapters at a time instead of just one. But that does not let you off the hook for reviews! I am just anxious to see what you guys will think about the ending... he he he