A/N: I am so sorry for the wait, guys. I got a job as a babysitter and that distracted me. Also, I would've posted it early if not for my computer screwing up. Excuses, excuses…

Angelicxox: Definitely can't let him do that. I'll let my muse know that. lol. I got the Chinese symbol of inspiration tattooed into my hand so it should help (I used henna for temporary markings). And feel free to voice your opinion. I do. Course, I'm gonna wait till my next story until I make a Squffie.

Li the Twilight Knight: I'll go ahead and put him in somewhere. And I know Reeve wouldn't, but I've altered the characters ever so slightly. I know it sucks, but it goes along with the faint outline I have planned. And, yeah, it was revenge.

bdsproductions: Yeah, her life sucks…but it does in the game, too, with her mother dying and her getting kidnapped and all…Ah well.

scarlettHuntress: I'm glad you like it! They are pretty heartless…I'll fix that, maybe.

Beeria: O.O I'll keep that in mind, then.

RoxasXNamine: Yeah, cemeteries are creepy. I thought it was the perfect place for them to meet Hojo. And you'll see about Laura. Hehehe…

Ghost in the Mirror: I'll do my best!

Princess of the Knight: Oooh, which one? I'm glad I'm an inspiration, and I love it when people love my work! Thanks for an awesome review!

Raitokage: Don't like Squall, eh? Hmmm…well, it is kinda the sequel…in a Kingdom Hearts sort of way.

chiharu-tanaka: Thanks for the suggestion and for the comment. I'll definitely do my best to keep it up. Crap…I took forever with this one.

Chapter Fifteen

"What?" Brandon shouted into the phone. He immediately had everyone's attention. That included Garret, Tiffany, Jessie, and Vincent. Normally, he didn't raise his voice.

"She never came home," Yuffie repeated. "She's not with you?"

"No, she's not," Brandon said quietly. His gaze sifted to the clock. It was well past ten. Where could she be so late? He clearly remembered the time Laura had gotten so drunk and forced him to ride her home on his bicycle. They crashed several times before they made it back, and Laura wouldn't make the same mistake twice. Hell, it wasn't really her fault she got drunk in the first place.

"That's not good," Tiffany whispered. "What if Seph-"

Garret growled deep in his throat once Brandon hung up. He grabbed a gun and stood, ignoring Jessie's attempt to stop him. "I'm gonna find her, and you can't stop me," he said.

"I'm coming, too," Brandon said as Garret made for the door. He got to his feet, wincing at the pain in his arm. He hung up the phone. "Yuffie said she was going to look for her around her house."

Tiffany jumped when her phone rang. She looked at the number. It was private. Brandon found himself watching her for some reason. The call felt important. They three-wayed it and he listened in as she answered.

"Hello? Tiffany here," she said.

A very familiar voice answered. "Tiffany. It's been too long," Sephiroth said in his deep voice. "Let's meet at the mansion. Don't tell the police. I'll know if you do, but you can bring your AVALANCHE friends along, too."

Tiffany hung up and looked at Brandon. He hung up his phone quickly.

"What?" Garret demanded. "Who was it?"

"Sephiroth," Brandon said. "He said to meet him at the mansion."

"What the hell are we waitin' for?" Garret said. "Get your asses up and into the van!"

Laura's POV

Laura woke up in a dark and cold place. She opened her eyes slightly, remembering full well who had taken her captive. She kept her breathing level somehow and looked around without moving her head. It was pitch black.

A sudden light to her right lit up the bars of a cell. She quickly closed her eyes and pretended to be asleep.

Boots walked right to her cell. She peered up in the dark at Sephiroth's face. He grabbed one of the chains that attached to the cuffs around her wrists and yanked her up very painfully to her feet. She gasped when he grabbed her throat. "They'll be coming soon," he told her before shoving her back down to the ground. "You're just the bait. I'll get rid of you once you draw them in…"

Laura watched him slam the cell door shut and leave before she started yanking on the chains. They went right into the wall. She sighed and looked into the dark, pulling her knees close to her chest.

Brandon's POV

Everyone met up at the mansion and entered as quickly as possible, armed and hopefully dangerous. If anyone saw Sephiroth, they wouldn't hesitate to fill him with bullets, with good reason.

"Brandon," Vincent said. "Come with me. Only you."

Brandon glanced at the others momentarily before following Vincent through a door and into a hall he'd never seen. At the end of it were stairs. The others split up and went off in other directions.

"I know where I'm going."

Brandon didn't hesitate to nod. He followed Vincent through a series of doors, the hand holding his gun shaking from anger and, yes, fear. He was more afraid of what he might do, what he might be punished with if he did what he wanted to so badly.

After what seemed like hours but was probably only ten minutes, they came into a big room. What Brandon saw made him rush in. Laura was chained to the wall above a huge door. The room had pews and a podium and looked exactly like the church Laura had prayed in.

Before he could open his mouth to shout the name of the unconscious girl he was trying to save, he heard a loud crash behind him. He turned and saw the bars had fallen from the entrance to the room behind him, blocking him from Vincent.

Garret's POV

Garret had been suspicious when Vincent wanted Brandon alone, but he hadn't butted in. He was thinking about more important things. Even Yuffie was quiet and brooding. It was almost twenty minutes before she said something.

"I hear voices," said midget whispered. She raised a finger to silence Jessie and him before sneaking up the hall and putting her ear to a door further up.

Garret crossed his arms impatiently and muttered, "She thinks she's a ninja." Even Jessie shushed him. He bristled but held his tongue.

Yuffie snuck back, wide-eyed. Garret had to admit, just to himself, that she hadn't made a sound, even on the creaky old floorboards. "Vincent and Sephiroth!" she said, her voice muted but obviously excited. She held up her Magnum, a fierce look in her stormy gray eyes.

Garret nodded. He saw that the hall branched to the right just after the door. "Check if there's another entrance to the room," he told Yuffie. "If not, hurry back. If so, bust in and start shooting." She nodded and rushed off. He and Jessie took that door. They waited a couple of minutes. Finally, they heard two shots go off. Garret kicked in their door and immediately shot at Sephiroth.

Yuffie's gun shot him twice in the chest, but he must've been wearing Kevlar because there was no blood. He shot her down with his rifle, which was blasted out of his hand by Garret. Quick firing from Jessie forced him out of the room. Of course, he hadn't seemed like he'd wanted to stay anyways.

Garret immediately went to Yuffie and Jessie went to Vincent, who happened to be chained to a chair in the center of the room. He was badly bruised in the face and on his chest where his shirt had been torn and looked as if he'd been stabbed in the arm. He wasn't wearing the trench coat he never took off either.

"Where's Brandon?" Jessie asked once she'd gotten Vincent off the chair and helped get a bleeding Yuffie onto it.

"I've been here since Reno was found," Vincent said.

"Then who the hell has been paradin' around as you?" Garret demanded, leaving Jessie to examine the bullet wound in Yuffie's thigh.

Vincent looked up, a frown on his face. "I haven't heard anything about it."

"We have to warn Brandon," Yuffie said, trying to get up. Jessie forced her down.

"Vincent, come with me," Garret said, ready to take the place as leader. "Jessie, get Yuffie to the headquarters."

Jessie nodded and handed over the bag of explosives she made for this occasion. Garret put on the bag and smirked. They were going to blow that bastard up for all he'd done.

Even though Yuffie complained, she was in no shape to argue. Vincent took Jessie's gun and nodded to Garret. They ran off after Brandon and the imposter.

Brandon's POV

Vincent didn't look so much like Vincent at the moment. He removed the sunglasses and the weird trench coat he always wore to reveal who he really was: Tseng. As soon as he was recognized, he put the sunglasses back on.

"Where's Vincent?" Brandon demanded, his voice echoing in the room. He looked around for some clue, but there was none. Just stained glass windows that allowed no light into the room and the huge cross Laura was chained to. The door under her opened.

"You're more foolish than I thought," Sephiroth said upon entering.

Brandon immediately raised his gun. A single motion from Sephiroth stopped him. He held a remote up, his finger hovering above the button. That was never good.

"This remote will send a shock through Aeris that could potentially kill her. You don't want that," he said.

"You brought me here to slaughter me?" Brandon demanded. "Let her go!"

"I'm afraid I can't," Sephiroth said. "She's a player. You all must die."

"You're sick," Brandon spat. Sephiroth merely shrugged.

"Drop your weapon and look under the seat to your left. There's a lock on those chains. If you can find it…I will free her and allow her to leave- for today. You must stay, however. There's a time limit, of course," he said, leaving the room and closing the door behind him.

Brandon didn't have time to argue. Tseng was nowhere to be seen, luckily. Of course, he didn't know what that time limit was. He soon realized what it was when Laura was jolted awake. She screamed at the pain, and Brandon didn't blame her.

He pulled a sheet of paper out from under the pew and read it quickly. He was expecting a riddle, but that wasn't what it was at all. It was directions. "Hold on, Laura," he said to her. The shock stopped. She raised her head, tears streaming down her cheeks.

"He said there are seven shocks, one for every game," Laura said, her voice quivering. "Each is worse than the last. Please hurry."

Brandon nodded. There was no time for the words he wanted to say. She smiled at the look in his eyes; it was a small smile, but it encouraged and understood him. He ran out of the door under her. Sephiroth was nowhere to be seen. He ran down the hall. Surely he'd make it in time-

A huge explosion cut off his train of thought. It came from down the hall. He paused only for quick second before continuing. Another explosion from right behind him nearly knocked him off his feet. He caught his balance quickly, hissing in pain, and ran to the door. Right before his eyes, the door exploded, sending pieces of wood flying everywhere. He flew backwards and hit the wall.

That stopped him. He lay in pain for several moments before finally forcing himself up and through the hole in the door. Seconds after, the spot he had fallen on was blasted to pieces. He kept moving at a slightly slowed pace.

The room he ended up in was exactly like the directions said: completely and totally white. It was almost blindingly so. He looked at the directions and up at the long room. It was almost fifty feet long in length, twenty in width. He started walking and suddenly tripped. Rubbing his hurt knees, he grabbed what had tripped him: a white wire.

The ground suddenly shook. He got to his feet quickly, somehow keeping his balance. It wasn't easy at all. He took some steps forward which quickened when he realized exactly what the trap was. Spikes tore out of the wall right behind him. The wall suddenly pushed forward, picking up speed as it went. The door he had left open snapped off its hinges and was crushed under.

Brandon went into a jerky run for the door at the far end of the room, knocking over chairs and tables on the way in hopes of slowing the thing down. The wood was flattened.

Brandon suddenly tripped and fell hard. He was almost there. The wall came tearing after him. He leapt for the door, pulled himself up with the knob, and yanked it open. He was about to jump in when he was suddenly hit and slammed into the room. Pain went through his entire body, pinpointed at his shoulder. Taking a deep, steadying breath, he got to his feet and reached his hand back.

When he brought his hand back, the fingertips covered in blood, he swallowed and shook his head, pale. With another steadying breath, he took another step forward, pulling out the now-crumpled sheet of directions, reminding himself why he was doing this.

Vincent's POV

Garret reached the bars blocking the way to the church room. He heard a scream and saw Laura hanging from the cross by the chains. Without hesitation, he placed a bomb on the bars and trailed the string back around a wall.

Vincent got behind it as well and lit the string. It sparked and trailed around, straight for the bomb. There was a huge explosion. They had heard several explosions on the way and feared the worst so Garret ran into the room quickly, jumping over the charred bars. Vincent stopped before doing the same, picking up a charred and tattered piece of leather. His eyes widened.

"Garret!" Vincent said just before a loud gunshot went off. He hit the ground, blood pooling up under him. Garret hid between the pews, shooting at the figure further down the hall. The person hid in a room, allowing Garret the time to pull Vincent behind cover.

Laura lifted her head after the shock and looked at them, surprised and glad to see them. "Garret, Brandon ran up ahead," she said as he fired upon the person who they could see was Tseng. "I only have about fifteen minutes left. He ran off about thirty minutes ago." She was very obviously in pain.

Despite the wound in his shoulder, Vincent made it over to Laura thanks to Garret's cover. He reached for the lock, but she quickly stopped him. "No, don't! If it's broken or picked, the shock generated from it will kill me. Only the lock can open it safely." Now what she mentioned it, the lock was awfully big and strange-looking. "I'm scared for Brandon. As soon as he left to find the key, I heard explosions."

"Vincent, get over here!" Garret said. He quickly ran to his side. "Take over here. I'm goin' after him."

Nodding, Vincent pulled out his gun and watched for Tseng. Garret got up, loaded his gun, and ran off through the door both Sephiroth and Brandon had gone through minutes ago.

A/N: A little bit of friendly advertising. http/ My story is going to be put on it. I hope you guys check it out. If the link doesn't show up, ignore it.