Chapter 5
When Senna entered the room behind Kadaj, she almost cursed. She should have known better, but she wasn't expecting it to be a bathroom. Still, the room was much larger than usual. Likely to accommodate the wheelchair Rufus had been in. At least the setup gave her an idea.
She doubted Kadaj would believe the place was haunted, but that didn't mean he wouldn't be unsettled by things happening on their own. She just had to make sure that she sprinted to the next location as soon as she was done with one thing. There was always the possibility that he could lay hands on her, even if he couldn't see her, and that was something she didn't want to chance.
Once she was decided, she ran over to the huge tub and turned on the faucet. She didn't wait to see if it garnered the boy's attention before she then jumped over to the toilet and flushed it. She had to run past Kadaj to get to the other side of the room, but thankfully, he was already busy investigating the tub.
Unfortunately, his form of investigation involved poking his sword in and around the areas where Senna had been. She had to swallow the sudden fear before she ran to the closet. She opened and slammed the door before she raced past the window and ruffled the blinds as she ran. She had to grit her teeth against the pain, but she hoped the blood smeared across them only worked to unsettle Kadaj further.
She could not quite stifle a scream as the boy lunged in her direction, sword-first. Thankfully, she had already gotten past the point he was aiming toward. That was too close of a call. She hoped it would keep him busy long enough for her to get to wherever Rufus was hidden. She was doubly grateful that she had thought to leave the door open. That was one thing she didn't want to move, as it might lead him out of the room before she was gone.
When she was back in the outer room, she gave both the downed Turks apologetic looks. She knew they couldn't see her, but she felt terrible. Still, she didn't pause as she raced out the front door—thankful that Rufus had thought to leave it open as well.
It wasn't until after she was out of the room and bolting down the stairs that she even paused to consider where Loz and Yazoo were. She didn't remember them in that scene at all, and she hoped like hell they weren't outside somewhere.
That thought caused a spike of worry for Rufus, but before it fully formed, a hand shot out from a crack in the cliff and nearly yanked her off her feet. She couldn't hold in a scream, but it was stifled by another hand as she was jerked into a hard chest. Her hand was already raised to try and fight off whoever it was, but it stopped in midair as she recognized Rufus.
The blanket was missing, and the black spots left by the Geostigma were becoming visible through some of the bandages, but that didn't keep him from looking intimidating as he frowned at her. As soon as she quit struggling, he pulled her further back into the small space and around to the back of the building. Senna was glad to see a familiar black box already there on the ground.
Rufus still had not said anything as he stooped to gather Jenova's remains with one hand and pulled her along what she finally noticed was a narrow pathway with the other. They didn't go far before they came to a small door that led farther into the cliff. Apparently, it was a storage shed for landscaping tools.
As soon as the door was shut, Rufus turned to her with narrowed eyes. His gaze flicked down to where she had her hand balled up in the end of her top to keep blood from dripping everywhere. When he looked back up, it almost looked like he was angry.
However, before he could say anything, Senna looked around then back at him and asked, "I didn't know anything about this. How did you know it was here?"
Rufus looked away, and his jaw clenched once before he said, "The buildings are different, but the layout of Cliff Resort has not changed much since I was last here as a child. I spent many days wandering the place. It was my father's way of—" He abruptly cut off, and the anger in his eyes spiked momentarily before he managed to get it under control.
Senna suddenly felt sorry for the man. Despite his demeanor, there were things in his childhood that could have broken lesser men. He was cold and calculating, and there was no way for her to deny that, but he was still a man with feelings, no matter how he tried to hide them. She was positive he wouldn't like to hear what she was about to say, but she couldn't stop herself from putting her uninjured hand on his arm gently as she said, "It can't have been easy to always feel like you are isolated from everyone. I'm sorry you went through that."
Confusion filled his eyes, but it was quickly followed by outrage. Rufus's voice was cold when he said, "My upbringing made me who I am. I do not need your misplaced sympathy."
Instead of getting upset in return, Senna only sighed. His response was exactly what she had been expecting. Instead, She pulled her hand back and looked away as she said, "I suppose you have questions."
There was a heartbeat of silence before Rufus replied, "You called that boy Kadaj—who is he? And what is so important about this box?"
Senna chuckled mirthlessly and gave the box a look of disgust as she said, "You are holding the last of the known Jenova cells. That 'boy' is nothing more than a remnant of Sephiroth's personality that the tainted lifestream made into a physical being. If he and his two 'brothers' aren't stopped, they will use what's in that box to facilitate Sephiroth's return—again."
There were several moments of silence as Rufus seemed to be trying to digest her statement. Finally, he looked over with a slight furrow between his brows as he said, "There is that name again—Jenova. Would this be the remains of the being Professor Gast found, or are you trying to claim this is the last of Sephiroth's mother?"
Senna rolled her eyes as she said, "Only that maniacal, lying psychopath Hojo calls Jenova Sephiroth's mother. The two are one and the same. Though, the General's real mother was Hojo's wife—Professor Lucrecia Crescent."
For the first time ever, Rufus looked absolutely flabbergasted as he said, "Are you implying that Professor Hojo is Sephiroth's father?"
Senna couldn't hold in a disgusted shiver before she shrugged. "Honestly, I don't know. The official line says, yes, he is. However, I can't believe it. There are just too many subtle things that point to Vincent Valentine being his father instead. But that is just my opinion."
Rufus still looked slightly dumbstruck, but it was mostly back to a furrowed brow and the slight confusion that he couldn't completely hide. "Why does that name sound familiar?"
Senna rubbed one temple as she said, "You might have heard the name since you spend so much time with the Turks. Vincent used to be Veld's partner a very long time ago. That maniac, Hojo, made sure the man never left Nibelheim after the Project S days. Vincent was one of many things left behind when Hojo brought Sephiroth to Midgar."
If anything, Rufus seemed to become even more confused. "How does that make you believe he is Sephiroth's father? What does the General have to do with any of that? Or that boy, for that matter."
That time, Senna rubbed both of her temples. At least she was reasonably sure the tension was just aggravation instead of another migraine. Still, she knew Rufus would get impatient without an answer, so she let out a soft sigh before she said, "It is a very long and disturbing tale that involves a lot of stuff Hojo would rather remain hidden. Your father knew about it all—or most of it at least, but I don't know if we will have time to go over it all in this dream. They don't seem to last very long."
Rufus made an uncharacteristically disgusted noise that almost made Senna laugh, despite the conversation. Somehow, she managed to keep it in as Rufus frowned and said, "While that has been true, you will still tell me all you know."
Senna rolled her eyes at his imperious tone but shrugged anyway. It wasn't like she had a problem telling him. However, before she could open her mouth to say anything, the door to the shed was flung open with enough force that it came off the hinges.
Things happened so fast that Senna barely had time to register them as Kadaj stalked into the room, and Rufus stepped partially in front of her. Much to her horror, the boy looked past Rufus and directly at her as he smirked and said, "So there you are, little rat."
Senna had just enough time for the horror of his seeing her to set in before the floor felt like it was melting away, and she suddenly started falling. For the first time since she started having the strange dreams, she was almost grateful when the darkness closed in. Even if it was cold, it was far better than the alternative she had seen in Kadaj's eyes.
Senna opened her eyes only to see the dim light of streetlamps filtering through her bedroom curtains. She sighed at the sight before she rolled over with a groan. She had her right hand cradled next to her body because it was still aching, but she didn't bother to look. She had no doubt that there would be no wound.
As she laid there and stared at the wall, she couldn't help but wonder what the hell her dreams were trying to tell her. Vivid dreams had been a part of her life as far back as she could remember, but none had ever been like the most recent. Plus, she had never been able to feel pain when she woke either. Given the oddness, she decided that perhaps it was time to investigate what night terrors were all about. From what she could remember, they were the closest thing to what she was experiencing that she had ever heard of.
It also might not hurt for her to take some time and sift through the imagery. Her dreams had been so weird through most of her life that she quit trying to interpret them a long time ago. Most of them were written off as her imagination looking for an outlet. She wasn't so sure that was the case anymore. The last several nights had been filled with things that felt too specific. Although, she wasn't sure she wanted to know why they all showed Rufus Shinra of all people.
None of that counted what had happened with Kadaj. As loath as she was to admit it, the part of the dream with the Remnant had terrified her. She didn't have nightmares—not really. Most of her dreams might have qualified for the moniker for other people, but she had become accustomed to them long ago. Unfortunately, that meant that when she was scared by a dream, it usually carried over into her waking hours because it was something that shook her to her core. Kadaj had definitely shaken her.
Even though she was awake, she still reminded herself that it was impossible for the teen to burst through her door and get her. She almost felt foolish for even thinking it, but fear was seldom logical. She buried the thought once more and turned to verify the time.
She smiled wryly when she realized she had at least gotten more sleep than the previous nights. It was only a few minutes before her alarm was supposed to go off. She shut it down so it wouldn't trill before she headed to get ready for the day.
Rufus was frowning before his eyes even snapped open. That was the fourth time he had dreamt about that woman, and the whole scenario was infuriating. He had listened to her instructions because she seemed to know the situation, but it had galled him to obey without question. If it had not been for the familiar-looking boy, he might not have bothered. However, once they got to the shed, he had been glad that he had complied—even if he wouldn't admit it aloud.
Even so, just like the previous dreams with that woman, he had more questions than answers. He had already concluded that she was either a strong figment of his subconscious, or she was a delusion brought about by unknown means to try and control him. Either way, he wondered why those scenes had been the ones presented.
What was the purpose of giving him the information? He could write some of it off as he had previously, but not all of it. There were too many unknown variables, and he was never one to let the slightest detail slide. He needed answers.
With that thought in mind, he sat up and grabbed the phone from his bedside table. He didn't bother looking at the time as he knew his call would be answered no matter the hour. There were only two rings before a clipped voice was heard on the other end. "Sir? Is there an emergency? Where do you need me?"
Rufus swallowed an aggravated noise as he second-guessed himself. Was this really worth a call in the middle of the night? Hard on the heels of that thought came further aggravation at the fact that he had not second-guessed any decision for many years. Once his mind was made up, he followed through. That was how had become so driven and successful despite—.
He didn't bother finishing that thought, as it only added to his irritation. Instead, he said, "This is not an emergency, but it is urgent. I need you to look deeper into the files I asked about yesterday and see if you can find anything out about experiments done in Nibelheim sometime around twenty to twenty-five years ago. If you find anything, immediately let me know. Also, find out if there were any Turks assigned there. Contact me as soon as you have the results."
There was a brief pause on the other end of the line, but Tseng's voice didn't betray any doubt when he answered, "Yes, sir. I will have this information over before this afternoon."
Rufus didn't wait for anything else to be said before he hung up and practically tossed the phone back onto the stand. He finally let out a frustrated noise as he stood to get ready. There was no more sleep to be had despite it still being dark.
He had already started his plans to overthrow his father, and his dreams did nothing but put him on edge. He wasn't one to believe in precognition or fortunetelling, but he had no doubts that his subconscious was trying to tell him something. He only wished it had been clearer.
Senna hadn't been given time to worry about her dreams or anything else personal when she got to work that day. It was a classic Monday. It wasn't that they had any high-profile cases coming up, but it seemed that one thing went wrong after another.
She had broken her shoe when she had to run because she nearly missed the bus. She was just grateful that she had a spare pair of tennis shoes in a duffle that she regularly took to work for days that she wanted to go to the gym on the way home. Not that it had happened in more than a month. She felt silly wearing them with her pencil skirt and silky blouse, but at least she hadn't been late. Thankfully, she hadn't had to leave her office either.
Things had only gotten worse from there. The copier started smoking before break, the front doors had been partially blocked by sidewalk construction, and to top it off, someone had left the coffee carafe on the burner overnight. It had shattered when one of the interns tried to clean it.
All of that, combined with Senna's general lack of sleep and irritation over things she couldn't explain, had combined to make her a very cranky woman by the end of the day. Enough so that Natasha decided for everyone that they all needed an early dinner and drinks to deal with the Monday blues. Senna almost declined but decided it had to be better than going back to her apartment and sitting there alone, wracking her brain for answers to unanswerable questions.
It turned out that it hadn't just been a bad day for Senna. Natasha had taken pity on the two new interns and invited them as well. Everyone had suffered that day, but the conversation was lighter over dinner, and everyone wore smiles when the drinks arrived.
Senna wasn't sure how it happened, but somehow Natasha had managed to bring the conversation back to her weird dreams. She usually didn't mind talking about the stuff in her head, but she found herself only sharing the gist of the dreams when she was pressed. At least Natasha seemed to understand how uncomfortable it was making her, so the woman waved off the rest of the questions.
She had just grabbed the bottle of wine that was sitting next to her when one of the interns finally decided to speak. His voice faltered, but he looked sincere as he said, "You know, I've heard that sometimes people start having strange dreams before major changes in their life. You know, like when there is a death in the family or something major like that. If you can't interpret them, maybe that's what's going on."
Absolute silence descended on the table for several heartbeats before Natasha reached over and smacked the young man on the back of the head. He winced and rubbed the spot as he looked over at the petite red-head and said, "What was that for?"
Natasha made a disgusted noise as she pinned him with a glare and said, "Nate, do you even think before you open your mouth? And you want to be a lawyer—hmph."
Her words must have finally gotten through to the young man as he turned widened eyes over to Senna and said, "I'm so sorry. I didn't mean for that to sound so morbid."
Senna somehow managed a smile as she waved off his worry and stood. "I know you didn't, but I think I've had enough for today. I'll just grab a bus and see you all tomorrow."
Nate looked away uncomfortably, but the rest waved her off. Natasha didn't look happy with her leaving, but she didn't argue. Instead, when Senna was almost to the door, she heard the tiny woman berating the intern for making an ass of himself. Senna almost felt sorry for him. Or she would have if his words weren't still echoing in her head. She just hoped they didn't cling to her all night. She had enough problems with sleep lately and didn't need any additional issues.
A/N: Hello again my lovelies! I hope the wait wasn't too bad. I actually have some time off this week before I start my new job next week, so I am going to try and get a few things updated in between getting ready for the transition. As for the story, I hope you are still enjoying their interactions. There is a lot of back and forth as they both begin to realize that all is not right. Don't worry, we will be seeing some movement in the next few chapters that might shake things up a bit. Please let me know what you think so far. I would love to get some feedback since this is a little different for me. Anyway, until next time, thanks for reading and cheers!