I must be very late to this party, but WHY DID NOBODY TELL ME THAT THE CRISIS CORE REMAKE IS GETTING RELEASED THIS WINTER?! I didn't even know that Crisis Core was getting a remake. Thinking about it now, it's kind of obvious. I guess I'm going to have to update the description of the story that it follows the original Crisis Core, and not the remake. I just KNOW they're going to change a lot. Anyway… I got a lot of positive feedback on the last chapter through Cloud's point of view. Glad so many people enjoyed it! I hope this chapter clears up some questions! Enjoy!

Chapter 15: The Right Thing

Have I ever mentioned how much I hated flying? You'd think I would have gotten used to it by now considering 90% of my job involved flying to the mission location. Not a chance. Every rumble through the turbulence had my stomach rolling in every direction.

"Fear of flying? That gives me many ideas for your nightmares." The Mare chuckled in my head.

She had been extra talkative since our conversation the other day. Always had a comment to make about something. I've been ignoring her, but a part of me was starting to think she enjoyed it. All I wanted was some peace and quiet until we got to the mountain.

"Think she's asleep?"

"Nah. Just concentrating."

I never did tell Cloud and Noctis about my fear of flying. Hell I don't think Zack even fully understands how much I hate it. Some part of me could just never muster up the courage to say it. Speaking of those two, they've been awfully distant lately. Not avoiding me distant, but when we're around each other in the building, one of the two will hurry away from me if another group of infantrymen would show up around the corner. Maybe they were getting hassled for hanging out with a SOLDIER so much? Mass desertion or no, the rivalry between the two departments was still alive and kicking. They would still talk to me outside of work, and blow up my phone every week when it came time for our annual BBQ day. But I could still feel the distance between us when other Shinra employees were involved.

"How can you tell?"

"I've worked with her before."

Like that… answers like that. Was that supposed to hurt as bad as it did? We've worked together before. No mention of our friendship, or our… whatever it was between us? I mean, I know how I feel about him, and I thought I knew how Cloud felt about me. Was I wrong? We still had our sweet moments, like the once in a while times when he would hold my hand after offering to walk me home. That was all in private though, even if it was for the best. If we ever were… it wouldn't be good to flaunt it around Shinra.

Ugh… this was just so complicated.

"Fear of abandonment, hm? Interesting." I could almost picture that smug smile on her face as she made another mental note about my fears. If I could talk to her in my head, I would be yelling at her to shut up by now.

Once the helicopter landed, I wasted no time jumping out and putting my feet on solid land. I took in a large breath of the cool mountain air to calm my nerves, and proceeded to keep watch while Cloud and the other man, Rune I think he said his name was, readied their gear. The mountain road was open and void of any trees to hide in, but that didn't mean there wasn't anything, or anyone, waiting out here for us.

"Fall in." I ordered once the helicopter took off. Cloud and Rune stood straight, waiting for their orders. "This mission is recon only."

Nothing like last time is going to happen. I thought as my mind wandered to the last mission I led in a cave.

"Understood!"

Nobody will get hurt.

The cave was far too quiet. The only sounds came from loose rocks falling from the breaks in the cave ceiling. My only source of light came from those cracks above. It was too risky to use a flashlight in case Genesis copies were in here. The second I stepped in the entrance, my mouth went dry. Flashes of memories from the last mission filled my mind. Images of the infantrymen who died under my leadership. Their bloody faces and eyes full of fear as they were pulled into the darkness… I wasn't sure if it was my own doing, or if the Mare was playing games with me.

"Smell that musty air?" She said with a sigh of relief.

"Feeling nostalgic?" I murmured while keeping a careful eye out.

"This cave is nothing compared to mine, but it does have a homey feel to it."

"You and I have very different definitions of homey."

She chuckled, "Humans. Everything has to be so bright and filled with junk. You don't have the first clue on how to appreciate the darkness and open space."

"Not being born a monster kind of has that effect on a person."

I swear I could feel her amusement disappear after that comment.

"Monster is a subjective term." She said with an intimidating growl.

"Whatever." I rolled my eyes and continued on. I had no patience to argue with a being that fed on fear and bloodshed. Especially since it was her fault all this happened in the first place.

I pushed the annoyance out of my mind and focused on the task at hand. The cave may have been abnormally quiet, but I couldn't find any recent signs of life in any cavern. It was a slight relief, but not at all a normal thing to experience in a place like this. There should have at least been a fiend around or something. A mouse seeking shelter from the cold outside would calm the nerves in my chest.

"Com check. S1 clear." I said quietly, "Moving to the south caverns."

"S3 clear. No signs of life here." Rune replied.

I rounded a corner, still empty. Cloud hadn't answered yet, another thing that wasn't normal.

"S2? Check in."

I stopped walking and started to nervously tap my hip with the tips of my fingers. Why wasn't he answering?

"S2?"

Stay calm. He's ok. There's probably just interference, or he's out of range. Nothing happened. The cave is empty of all life except for the three of us. Unless there was danger on his end and something terrible had already happened.

"Cloud?!"

Shit… too loud. That was way too loud. Get a grip, or you'll jeopardize the entire mission. My hands shook at my sides while I waited forever for his response. Will's blood covered face flashed in my mind. The fear in his eyes as the Mare dragged him into the darkness. Will's face morphed into Cloud's. His blue eyes wide with fear, blood covering his pale skin.

"Stop it!" I hissed.

"That's not me, girl. All of that delicious fear is your own doing."

Three waves of static passed through my earpiece. Relief flooded my system, even if it was an SOS response, it was enough for me to know Cloud was alive. I pushed the button on my earpiece to reply, when I heard footsteps running my way.

"Shit." I backed into the shadows of a nearby boulder and felt that familiar sensation of the darkness wrapping around me. "S3 how far are you?"

"100 meters, give or take."

A lot closer than I was, so those footsteps couldn't be Rune. What to do, what to do? The steps slowed to a walk, still a decent distance away. I kept my voice low.

"S3 make your way to S2, but stay hidden! S2, tap once if you're in immediate danger, twice if you're hidden, but too close to relay properly."

Two waves of static passed into my ears. He wasn't in immediate danger. Good, very good. But he wasn't in a good position. This is just a recon mission. I should just tell them to pull out and go back to the helicopter. We should leave, but… there was no guarantee it was Genesis copies here. We had to come back with something other than an "I don't know" and a theory. If other lives weren't on the line, I would choose our safety over the mission. That's why I joined SOLDIER right? To save people, to protect them… and make the world a better place. Right?

"I know you're here, Senna."

That voice…

"Come out and play with me."

I know that voice.

"It's a trick, girl. Don't fall for it."

"I promise I won't bite."

"Don't do it!"

"Myrna?" I stepped out of the shadows, ignoring every warning the Mare was throwing in my head.

There she stood, no longer dawning a SOLDIER uniform, or any of her usual clothes. Her red curls pulled back with a black ribbon, and she wore a matching uniform with other Genesis copies, but… she's not a copy. She smiled at me, that same sweet smile she always had, and stepped towards me.

"There you are. Neat trick, disappearing like that. Another skill passed to you from Sephiroth?"

"Myrna… what are you doing?" I ignored her taunts, "Why did you abandon SOLDIER?"

A darkness clouded her eyes, hidden behind another smile.

"You shouldn't understand." She shrugged.

"So help me understand!" I shouted, "This isn't like you! The Myrna I know would never abandon her life or her friends to become a criminal!"

"The Myrna you know?" She chuckled. "The Myrna you knew is a lie, a fairytale, a fake. You never knew the real me, and why would you even bother to?"

I stepped closer to her, tears brimming my eyes. She spoke with such hate and malice. It didn't make any sense.

"What are you talking about? We're a team, remember?"

"Team?!" She laughed, "Were we a team when you got promoted to 2nd before me? Were we a team when you got chosen by Sephiroth to mentor you?"

"Jealousy? Is that it? You gave up everything because you're jealous?!"

"Jealous? No… I was never jealous of you. I've always been better than you, and I got tired of trying to prove that to the Shinra hierarchy." She drew her sword and pointed it at me, "But I can prove to them now that you never deserved any of it."

I stared sadly at her and let my hands hang at my sides, "I'm not going to fight you…"

"I'm not giving you a choice!"

She was in front of me before I could pull my blade to block. As she aimed for my middle, I grabbed the blade, feeling it slice through my glove and into my palm. I winced at the pain, but it gave me enough time to knock her back with my boot to her hip and retreat to a safer distance. I pulled my sword from my back and blocked her next set of attacks. One after another in quick, calculated moves. She knew all of my weak spots, and she exploited every one of them. I barely had time to block her attack to my right, giving her enough time to take advantage of my reaction time and land a punch to my cheek. The force sent me hurdling into the cave wall.

"Fight back, you coward!" She yelled.

"She's going to kill you, girl. Fight back!"

"I can't." I coughed, answering both of them.

Every sense in my body was screaming at me to fight back. I couldn't be on defense forever but…

"Fight back!"

That face full of hatred was the person I trusted the most in this world. We shared a bond, memories, dreams, blood, sweat, and tears. She was my person. I couldn't just…

"I'll break you." She hissed. Genesis copies came out of the darkness, surrounding us, "If it takes all goddamn night! I'll break you!"

As if they were of one mind, Myrna and the copies charged me at once. She really wasn't going to give me a choice. I held my blade up, and before any of them could land an attack, I activated my barrier materia. The cavern lit up as all their blades bounced off the shield around me. I quickly took down the copies to my right, and ran deeper into the cavern.

"S2 checking in."

"S3 copies and confirms, they're heading your way S1."

I didn't get a chance to respond as something cold and hard slammed into my back. Shards of ice rained down around me.

"Not running away already are you?" Myrna teased, "We're just getting started!"

She hurled another blast of ice at me, I quickly countered with my fire materia. The flame and ice bounced off one another, covering the ground with sparks and water droplets, and putting a cloud of steam between us. Genesis copies ran through the mist, striking at me immediately. I blocked the first set of attacks, then channeled lightning through my sword. Sparks of electricity buzzed around my blade, and stunned the copies as I sliced them. Two tried to block my attack, but were electrocuted by their own blades once mine made contact. Myrna appeared in front of me, our blades collided creating a flash of sparks. My sword was heavier than hers, using the momentum of my swing, I pushed her back into the group of copies. I cast lightning to the wet ground where Myrna's ice attack had melted. Sparks shot up from the ground, following the drops of moisture from the ceiling. The wall wouldn't last long, but it gave me enough time to catch my breath and recover some stamina.

"Senna!" Rune shouted over the buzz of the electric wall, "Are you ok?'

"I'm fine. Where's Cloud?" I huffed.

"I thought he'd be here already."

The wall vanished, leaving only the scorched dirt behind. Myrna and the copies readied their blades, and charged towards us.

"Dammit…" I held my sword up, ready to defend or attack. "Go find Cloud, I'll handle things here."

"But-"

"Go!"

He hesitated for a moment, then ran off in the direction he came. A small group of copies broke off to follow him, but I hurled a large fireball towards them to block their path.

"Your fight is with me, remember?"

"How noble." Myrna aimed her blade for my middle again, I countered, pushing it down and getting a small cut on my thigh from the tip, "Always trying to protect everyone just like big brother Zack."

I pushed her pack and covered my blade in flames.

"Leave Zack out of this."

I rushed her, aiming for her shoulder, but she dodged before I could make contact by jumping into the air. I followed after her, attacking her from below. She countered each strike with ease. I needed a new approach. Anticipating her to block my next attack, I reached for the collar of her shirt, and threw her to the ground. Kicking off of a low hanging rock formation, I chased after her. She landed slipily onto her knee, giving me an opening. Covering my blade in flames once more, I brought it down on her. She looked up at me and I saw the flames reelected in those blue eyes that matched mine. Fear showed for just a moment as she realized she didn't have time to block my attack. That look squeezed my heart and crushed it. At the last second, I dug the tip of my sword into the ground next to her, and pulled myself around the handle to kick her in the chest, sending her flying into the wall. She stumbled out of the dust, holding her chest where I had landed my kick, and laughed.

"Of course you would go easy on me." She coughed, "Pathetic."

"I don't want to hurt you. I just…" I held my hand out towards her, "I just want to bring you back. You still have time to fix this."

"Fix what? Taking back my freedom?!"

"What are you even-ngh!"

A sudden coldness filled my veins and drained all my energy. I was forced to lean against my sword for support before I fell to the ground.

"What the hell?" I strained to say through gasping breaths.

"Oh, so you're feeling it now huh?" Myrna said with dark amusement.

My legs felt like jelly, every muscle strained to keep me standing up right.

"What-what did you do?" I asked through gritted teeth.

"I've learned some new tricks since I've been gone. Poisons mostly." She held up her blade and lightly ran a gloved finger over the edge. A mucus-like substance dripped off her glove to the ground. "Pretty isn't it? There's a vial in my handle that lets me control how much poison gets filtered into my blade. Even with the smallest cut, the poison enters your bloodstream, cools your core temperature to simulate freezing. Your body then works hard to try and warm back up, using all your strength, and incapacitates you. If left untreated for too long, you'll basically freeze from the inside out."

I looked at my hand, my glove cut open when I grabbed her sword, and the blade sliced into my palm. The cut on my leg when I diverted her attack was barely enough to be considered a papercut, but even that little bit was bringing me to my knees. This was different from any other poison I've dealt with before. Normal poisons burn the second it enters your bloodstream. I felt like I was standing naked in a blizzard. It was still a poison though. Putting the rest of my weight against my sword, I reached into my pouch and pulled out a small vial of blue liquid. I popped the cap and stabbed the syringe into my thigh, wincing as the antidote fought off the poison in my blood. My core warmed slightly, and I felt strength returning to my muscles. It still took a good amount of strength to pick up my sword. Using materia was no longer an option if I wanted to survive this. I knew I should have grabbed some Ether before leaving.

"Guess I need to up the dosage." Myrna pushed a button on the underside of the handle. It was easier to see now, even in the dim cave light. The dark green poison poured down the edge of her blade like freshly drawn blood. "This should be lethal enough to take you down."

A loud boom echoed through the cave, shaking loose rocks and dirt from the walls. Cloud or Rune must be in trouble. The explosion didn't deter Myrna for a moment. In less than a second she was on me, ready to slash my throat with her poison covered blade. I ducked and threw a punch to her gut that sent her flying back once more. Three copies charged me not long after, as difficult as it was to raise my sword, I cut them down with ease, but more of them quickly replaced the others.

"Where are they all coming from?"

Even the Mare sounded exhausted. Guess I couldn't rely on her for an extra boost of energy. The antidote was doing exactly what it should, I could slowly feel my muscles getting more strength back. I just wished it would work faster. Sephiroth always did say I was too reckless, I should have listened more.

Myrna cut through the copy I had in my sights. Her blade clashed hard with mine, sparks and droplets of poison flew through the air between us. I had to be extra careful now. There was one antidote left in my back, and one remedy for extreme emergencies, I couldn't afford to waste them. She aimed for my legs, I leaped into the air, just missing the edge. She followed quickly after me. With every swing of her poisoned blade, she laughed maniacally. If this psychopath was the real Myrna, I'm almost glad I never met her. The force of her attacks kept me airborne, but eventually my feet found something solid. I pushed off the Genesis copy behind me, grabbed Myrna's collar, and dragged her with me to the ground. She landed on her back with an audible grunt of discomfort. I took the opportunity to distance myself from her, but was quickly surrounded by copies.

"Come on…" I groaned, completely out of breath.

Myrna showed zero concern about any copies between us. If they were in her way, she cut them down or used them as an object against me. Not only was I dodging her poison, but now I had to be wary of bodies flying at me. This would be so much easier if I could use materia.

Bullets flew through the air, taking out a group of copies behind me. I couldn't risk looking back to see them, but I knew Cloud and Rune had come to my aid.

"Oh. Cloud is here huh?" Myrna taunted as she continued her attacks, "He's even cuter than the last time I saw him."

No distractions. Do not lose focus.

"I've always wondered what he sees in you." She laughed, "Poor, useless, Senna."

"Shut up!" I pushed her back, the edge of her blade scraping against mine in an ear ringing hiss.

She fell onto a copy, bringing both of them to the ground, but was back on her feet within seconds. Casually, she brushed the dirt off of her clothes.

"Did I hit a sore spot?" She teased, "It never was very hard to get you riled up. Maybe now you'll stop going easy on me!"

The next set of attacks were sloppy. Openings were being purposefully flaunted, almost like she wanted me to fatally wound her. Every time I saw her let her guard down, I couldn't bring myself to take the bait.

What remained of the Genesis copies disappeared into the darkness of the cave. Leaving Myrna outnumbered, but she still wore that wicked smile on her face, and still laughed like a maniac every time she attacked me. This was fun for her. Trying to kill me was a game.

"I wonder how he'll feel about you after you fail. The mighty SOLDIER Senna! Can't even bring herself to bring down one traitor! How pathetic!"

She attacked from above, I blocked once more, but once our swords connected, she threw her knees onto my chest. The air in my lungs came out in a loud gasp, and I fell to my back with her kneeling on top of me. Her sword was inches from my throat, poison pooling to the tip. I held her back with all the strength I had left.

"Once I'm done with you, I'll go easy on your boy." She teased, "Nice and slow, make him feel like a strong man, and then…" The wicked smile on her face told me all I needed to know.

Fire burned in my core. I let go of my hold on her, moving my head aside just enough to lose a few strands of hair as her sword stuck into the ground, and punched her hard in the kidneys. She fell off of me, recovering enough to jump into the air to avoid my attack. I followed, aiming for her chest. One hit, and I could end this. It was wide open, she had no time to block. One hit. I could kill her.

Kill her.

Kill her.

Kill her.

I should. There's no other option. She still smiled, but her eyes were afraid. What if there was enough of Myrna left? What if I could…

I hesitated just enough to miss my mark, slightly cutting her shirt. The fear in her eyes disappeared. She grabbed my throat, squeezing hard, and threw me back to the ground. The impact was hard and painful. All of my strength faded in one quick second. I just lay there, face down in the dirt. That was it. I had nothing left, just enough push to haul myself to my knees using my sword as a crutch.

Everything from there happened in a blurr. Myrna was coming at me, sword raised, that wicked smile spread across her face, ready to end me. I closed my eyes and waited but… something blocked her? No, not something… someone. He looked back at me, smiling, blood dripping from his mouth.

"Cloud…"

Why did he…? Myrna pulled back her blade and jumped away, a look of pure fury in her eyes.

"This isn't over." She warned, and ran off.

Nobody would get hurt. Nobody would get hurt.

Cloud's gun fell from his hands, and he started falling back.

"Cloud?" With what strength I had, I caught him, and let my body cushion his landing. "Cloud!"

I laid him on his back, getting a full view of the angry, bloody wound on his chest. Not good. I had to act fast, or he was going to die. Materia! I needed my curing materia! I fumbled around in my pack, finally digging out the green orb. Holding it to his chest, I put all of my energy into casting a healing spell.

"Come on… Come on." I pleaded with it to work and heal him. It was all I could do. He just looked at me, not showing any signs of pain or relief once the orb began to glow and heal the wound in his chest.

"Ok… Ok." I sighed in relief, wiping away some of my tears, "You're gonna be ok."

He blinked, and slowly reached his hand up.

"Senna… I-" His eyes glazed over and rolled back as he passed out. Panicked, I started shaking him.

"No no no no no! Cloud! Wake up! Wake up!" No use, he was out cold.

Cold.

"Shit!"

The poison! How could I have forgotten the poison?! That lethal dose that was meant for me was flowing through his veins, attacking every organ in his body. Freezing him from the inside. Remedy. I have a remedy! I pulled the vial from my pack and stuck his leg with the syringe. This wouldn't be enough, not for the amount of poison that was on Myrna's blade.

"Rune! Do you have a remedy?" I hastily asked.

"Uhh… yeah, yeah! I have some." He rushed over, sticking another dose into Cloud's leg.

That still wouldn't be enough, but it would be enough to get him back to Midgar to get proper help.

"We have to get out of here." I pulled him into a sitting position and threw his arm over my shoulder, "Help me get him up."

Working together, we hoisted Cloud to his feet, and carried him out of the cave.

It's been hours. The doctors told me I should just go home. They said even if Cloud survived the night, he wouldn't be allowed to have any visitors for at least a few days while he recovered. If. Heh… like that was supposed to be some kind of comfort. I couldn't leave. Even if it meant staring at these plain white walls all night, I had to stay. I had to make sure he would be ok. I sat hunched over with my elbows resting on my knees. I was still covered in blood and dirt, hardly the image of sanitary compared to this room. Every movement cracked the dried blood on my skin, some of it flaking off and floating to the floor that was covered with muddy boot prints from me pacing around earlier. The Mare was awfully quiet this entire time. Probably sitting back and enjoying my misery.

How could I have let this happen?

"Senna."

My body reacted on instinct. I stood at attention, back straight, and eyes forward. Sephiroth stood in front of me. When did he get here? He held his hand up, his silent signal that I could relax. I slumped my shoulders and looked to the floor.

"What are you doing here?" I asked.

"I got a call that you're refusing to leave." He replied. Still so serious.

"I can't."

He crossed his arms over his chest and raised an eyebrow.

"Can't? Or won't?" He asked casually.

"I-..." I stuttered, "This is my fault. If I hadn't… then Cloud… h-he wouldn't…"

I looked sadly back to those double doors where he had disappeared behind hours ago.

Sephiroth sighed, "Life isn't so black and white anymore, is it?"

I looked back at him. He stood with the same cool demeanor he always had. Arms crossed, and no emotion showing. Though… I could have sworn he looked sad for a moment.

"Do you feel that you did the right thing?" He asked.

The right thing? By letting Myrna go? By not taking any of my shots when I had the opportunity? For going easy on her…? I wasn't sure. Was it the right thing? Cloud… it couldn't be the right thing, but the look in her eyes. Like she was in there, fighting to get out.

"I…" I hesitated and looked at the floor.

Sephiroth put his hand on my shoulder.

"Go home, Senna." He said and turned to the exit.

"How?" I asked before he walked out. He stopped and looked back at me. "How will I know if I did the right thing?"

He faced the door again and opened it.

"You won't."