A/N: I'm in a good mood. I'm listening to Simple and Clean. Hehe. Oh, and if I didn't reply to your review somewhere along the line, tell me. My computer's a bitch.

Beeria: Hey, you're quick. I just put out my new chapter. And, yeah, Yuffie's great. It's even worse for her with that motion sickness. Poor Yuff. You like the action? Cool. I'm glad this chapter came out good, too. Anyways, when are you going to update As You Wish?

Ghost in the Mirror: Thanks. There'll be more action, too. I just think my characters need a little break before a bomb hits.

Anonymous: True that. I try and update quick so you guys aren't kept waiting.

Agita Omega: All right. I'll put more online scenes, then. Thanks for the advice.

AerithRosey: All right, let's see. Aeris is…sixteen, and Cloud is fifteen. That's why he's the only one other than Tifa without a car. And I got their names completely randomly. I just wrote an original story offline, and my main character was a girl name Brandon XP. Also, I got Lauren because that sounds like a very Aeris-ish name to me. I love suspense. Thanks for reviewing.

Teddy-the-Bear: Darn. You just ruined my plot to kill Barret. Just kidding. I dunno what I'll do, but I'll try to avoid that. Can't say he's my favorite, though.

Chapter Eight

They brought Laura in for questioning and finally let her out. Her mom was there to pick her up since her jeep was getting repaired. She hugged her and made sure all the scrapes and bruises from the wreck weren't bad. When they got into the car and started it up, her mother asked for details.

"I'm proud of you," her mother said. "That friend of yours Yuffie told me how you jumped on that crazy man. I'm also angry. You could've gotten yourself killed."

"Mom," Laura complained, "it's not like I asked for that to happen."

"That friend of yours is in the hospital again," she told her daughter. "What was his name?"

"Brandon," Laura said.

"He's not as bad off as last time, his mother told me," she replied. "He woke up a couple of hours after the crash."

"Can we go see him?" Laura asked, looking out the window.

"Of course," she said, turning down the road that led to the hospital. She glanced at her daughter out of the corner of her eye. "I see that look. That's how you looked when you talked about Zack."

Laura sighed. "I broke up with Zack, remember? Brandon's…different. I'm not so sure about him," she said.

"Is that so?" her mother asked, eyes on the road. "Well, don't listen to your father. I don't want grandchildren anytime soon."

"Mom," Laura said. She couldn't help but laugh.

"We're here," she said, pulling into the hospital's parking lot. "Let's go see my future son-in-law."

"We have to see Garret, too, Mom."

Brandon's POV

Brandon's mom left an hour ago after giving him a stern lecture on wearing his seatbelt. He was extremely bored and very worried about Garret. He'd heard from his mother that Garret was in the next room, suffering from bullet wounds.

Tiffany came in at five, looking worried and carrying her laptop and a Game Boy Advance. She handed it over, smiling.

"I thought you could use something to do," she said.

Brandon set the Game Boy aside, paying no attention to it. "Tiffany, you're…okay?" he said, disbelieving.

"Yeah," she said, smiling. "Garret had the same reaction."

"Is Garret going to be okay?" he asked, concerned.

"Yeah," she said. "We're all going to be fine. Vincent's recovering, too. He's the only reason I could escape Sephiroth." Her eyes darkened when she said his name. "I'll get him back for hurting everyone."

"Wait until we're okay," Brandon said, sitting up. "We all have a score to settle with Sephiroth."

"Garret told me about the pages you printed out," she said, opening her laptop. She began to push buttons and type. Finally, she turned it around so he could see the screen. A picture of Sephiroth was on it. "Sephiroth is Steven Jenova, like you thought. His mother is dying and his father is Richard Hojo. The main reason no one believes his mother is because Hojo sides with Shinra and says she's a liar."

Brandon nodded, thoughtful. "I've read that Hojo says he isn't Steven's father. He's a weird guy," he said. "Did they get Seph- Steven?"

"No," Tiffany said with a sigh. "He slipped away."

"We have to arm ourselves," Brandon said. "Do you have any guns we can use?"

Tiffany frowned. "Just one but it's my dad's," she said. Her parents were like Garret's, but she'd be skinned if she took her dad's gun.

"Never mind," he said. "I'm sure Garret can come up with enough. Garret likes his guns."

"You've got another visitor," said a nurse, letting Laura and a woman he'd never met in. They looked very alike, and he could tell they were at least related. The nurse left them alone.

"Well, I have to go do some homework," Tiffany said. "I have a lot to catch up on. Bye, guys."

They said goodbye and watched her leave silently. Brandon looked up at Laura, hesitant in the presence of someone who could be her mother. The woman finally sighed.

"Fine, I'm going," she said, leaving them in the room alone.

Laura was the first to speak. "How are you feeling?" she asked.

"Fine," he said. "They said I could leave soon. Sorry I passed out on you."

Laura smiled. "I shouldn't have been driving so recklessly," she replied.

"Are you okay?" he asked, trying to scratch under the itchy bandages around his head.

"Yeah," she said. "Listen, Sephiroth's still out there. We're in big trouble if he tries something like that again."

"Yeah," he said. "We all need to be prepared, which means we need to carry a weapon of some kind at all times."

"Sephiroth's rifle is in evidence, but I could get a few from my father," she said thoughtfully.

"Who knows about Sephiroth, anyway?" he asked.

"Let's see," Laura said, counting people off on her fingers. "You, me, Garret, Yuffie, Tiffany, Vincent, and Reno know. Yuffie's the one who told Reno. Did you know they're going out now?"

Brandon stared at her. "They are? I can't see them as a couple," he said.

"Me neither, but that's what makes it good," she said, smiling. "Speaking of which, our date got cut off. We could…go rafting or something."

"Rafting?" he asked. "My mom would never let me do anything even somewhat dangerous. You don't have to make up for the date, though."

"I want to," she said. "What do you want to do?"

Brandon shrugged. "You choose," he said.

"I'll have to think about it," she said. "I have to go now, though." She glanced out the door at her mother, who was started to look bored. "I'll call you later."

Sephiroth's POV

Steven watched Laura leave the hospital. She was the one who stopped him last time. He wasn't happy. She's go down right after Tifa, Barret, and Vincent. Then he'd get that weakling Cloud. It was all a matter of time.

"Steven," said a voice. He glanced at the four people beside him. One was a woman named Elena, another was a kid named Jacob, then was a tall, bald man named Bill Rude, and the last was a man named Tom Tseng. Tom was the one speaking. "What did you hire us for?"

"There is a boy named Red Hojo going to the high school here," Steven said. "Kill him."

"What are you doing?" Jacob asked rudely.

"I'm going to kill a few people," Steven replied.

"Does that include the girl who just came out of the hospital?" Jacob asked.

"Reno, just do as you're told for once," Elena said.

"I have a separate target for you, Jacob," Steven said. He remembered a girl kicking him. She was a gamer, too. "Find out where a girl named Yuffie is and kill her."

Jacob Reno looked hesitant. Steven frowned.

"Rude will go with you."

(a few days later on a Saturday)

Laura was at Brandon's house. Her father was mad again, but he had a reason this time. She took three of his guns for her friends.

Brandon was asleep on the floor. His blonde hair moved lightly thanks to the fan. They'd gone rafting, and she felt close to him. They weren't going out, though. Brandon was a shy person, and she didn't want to ruin a good friendship.

Sephiroth was still active despite the police. He hadn't attacked them directly or even been seen, but a gamer named Red, their former biology partner, had been killed recently. Further investigation on their part had revealed he was Hojo's son. That had Sephiroth written all over it.

Laura wished all of this would just stop. She was tired of Sephiroth. She looked down at Brandon's peaceful face. She just wished he felt the same. Brandon was likely to get…- She didn't want to think about it. She'd stayed up enough.

(next morning)

Cloud raced across the plain region. He'd gotten up to level forty-five. Tifa waved from where she was and said, "You're not quite there yet, Cloud. Sephiroth is over level sixty."

"Let's spar, then," he suggested. She put up her fists and dodged both his swings. Her fists hit his face and torso several times, taking out half his life points. He got her in the midsection, but another combo took him out.

Tifa grinned. "You're not the only one who's been training," she said, stopping before he was killed. She tossed him a potion.

Cloud gratefully healed himself. He couldn't feel the pain, but he knew he just got his ass beat. Barret showed up just then, followed by Aeris.

"Where's Reno and Yuffie?" Cloud asked.

"Reno said he had to take care of somethin' and took Yuffie with him," Barret said. "Sephiroth's been online a lot more these days. We gotta be careful and keep our eyes peeled."

"Let's go again, Tifa," Cloud said. Tifa shrugged and put up her fists. This time, Cloud's defense was up way more. Even when she hit him, he barely got dealt damage. The swing that he got through nearly took out half her health. She put up a hand to stop him.

"Whoa, how'd you get that good so fast?" she asked.

Cloud thought for a moment. "Oh," he said, grinning at Aeris. "I'm her bodyguard."

"That's no fair," Tifa grumbled. She looked between the two. All her fight with Sephiroth got was pain. She was going to try and give up on Cloud. Vincent helped. Her talks with him really sorted things out, though she wondered why someone like him would talk to a high school student about boy problems.

Cloud suddenly got a message. He looked around before taking off his virtual reality helmet, which Barret had given him for keeps, and pulled up the message on his screen. It read:

To all concerned,

Sephiroth had hit again. All those who are beaten by him will be put up in a bulletin. The link is below.

Brandon clicked the link and put it in his favorites. Tifa's name was up and so was…Barret's. He stared at the name and quickly went back to the plain, his virtual reality helmet on.

"You got the message, too?" Tifa asked.

"Barret, what the hell? Why'd you fight Sephiroth and not tell anyone?" Cloud demanded, ignoring Tifa's question.

Barret glared. "What, I gotta clear everythin' with you? You ain't the leader. I was tryin' to prove somethin'. He's after me anyways."

Cloud sighed and was about to argue when someone was suddenly right in front of him. He took several steps back and lifted his sword. The person, however, was weaponless. He wasn't even wearing gloves like Tifa.

The man was short and wore a black cloak. His outstretched hand had a number on it.

Cloud was confused. "What do you-?" He jerked suddenly when the man's fingers elongated and ripped straight through his stomach. Everything went black, and Brandon quickly pulled off his helmet. His screen blinked Game Over. A message came up.

Sephiroth shall rule.

A/N: Surprising, huh? Anyways, I like reviews and suggestions. Together, they're just great. Thanks to all those who reviewed. I hope you liked this chapter!