Chapter 13. Thinking.

Sephiroth's POV.

I couldn't wait to hear and read thoroughly the report.

I waited for the team - Turks and Zack Fair to come back from mission right there on the company's roof, surrounded by guard.

We had been warned the team would bring a prisoner - Hollander. The doctor would remain under custody permanently. Or, at least, until this whole issue was solved.

My eyes scanned the skies, the blue fainting to a darker tone. Night was upon us. I could feel the cold breeze from the north, swirling around us.

"They'll be here in no-time. Steady, men."

They took their time arriving, landing the helicopters in security and finally making their way out of there. The roof was filled with SOLDIER and Turks, Tseng ordering his team around. Zack was the last one making an appearance. Well. He sure seemed shaken. I was willing to bet the conversation with Angeal must have been tough.

"General." He complimented.

"Fair. I want you to report personally concerning this invasion." I stated, as we all went back inside the building. My stare met Tseng's team and I took the chance. "And I'll be expecting your reports tomorrow morning on my desk."

The elevator doors shut, separating SOLDIER from Turks.

-/-

I knew Zack was tired but I couldn't let him rest without knowing every bit of what had happened while he was on mission. More important, I wanted to hear his version before reading the Turks's.

We went straight to my office. I didn't sit. The adrenaline didn't let me. What I felt was a mix of anticipation with dread. Come on, I had been supposedly informed of what had happened and secretly, I hoped Zack would inform me things hadn't happened the way Eleanor Stevens had told me they had.

It would be a low blow on my pride if she was actually right.

Come on. A frail woman, guessing up events in my city?

No freaking way.

"Spill it up, Fair."

Zack began reporting. My acute audition didn't let any detail went by. He talked, and talked, and talked. I never interrupted him.

I felt shocked at his words, as the obvious conclusion drew near. Listening to Zack was like listening to a story I already knew, but from another point of view.

I gulped dry, realizing the implications of this. Eleanor Stevens actually knew everything. All of it, a lot of things.

Admitting it was like a hit in the head.

"What happened in the church, Zack?"

I knew I was pushing a subject that hadn't been important to the mission. But since Stevens had mentioned Zack had fell off the church's roof… I actually wanted to know at what extent she was actually right about that.

Fair's stare met mine and his cheeks blushed. It was the first time I had seen a man like Zack feel uncomfortable to the point of-

"Oh, for the Planet's sake…" I whispered, averting my gaze from him. So. The opposite gender had been involved in this somehow.

"A girl found me there and we talked. It wasn't my fault, Sephiroth, I actually fell off the roof of the church while I was on pursuit. I was on Sector 5, then…"

Zack gulped, and I knew at once the reason of his discomfort.

"Angeal."

Fair's stare drilled mine, his mouth half-opened in awe.

"How do you know that?"

I drew a deep breath and considered my words.

"Did you take him out?"

Zack didn't answer me verbally. His sad stare was all I needed to confirm that fact. Angeal was still on the loose, as well as Genesis who would be entertained spreading chaos and being terribly inconvenient - a habit he seemed to be very fond of lately.

"Write everything down and leave it on my desk." I stated. "But, for now, go and rest. It can wait until tomorrow."

Zack stood up, and he stared at me with a frown of indecision on his face. Embarrassment was all over him.

"Roof fall included?"

"Yes, Fair."

Zack nodded.

"May I leave, Sir?"

"At ease, Fair."

I stood at the window of my office as Zack left. The night was upon Midgar, I could see the lights of the city.

I drew a deep breath. This wasn't over.

Something inside me warned me that something very serious was about to take place.

Tseng's POV

Tseng gathered with his team hours before dawn. Things had been left in a halt and needed to be solved - definitely.

"Cissnei." I said, eyeing her right in the eye. "You'll be assigned to survey Zack Fair from now on."

Everybody eyed me and Cissnei, most likely wondering why I was putting such dread responsibility under a young Turk. I felt discomfort in some members of my team, but I paid them no attention. Cissnei was effective, competent and avid for fight.

She was just the right element out there to survey Fair and his little try-outs. Things had become messy when Fair met Angeal again. Which was only normal - Angeal had been his tutor, his teacher and they had shared a strong link that now threatened all the stability.

The General knew that, of course. He wasn't stupid to the point of not noticing how disturbed Fair had arrived from the company's mission.

"I'm honored, Sir." Cissnei answered me, bowing her head slightly.

"We'll be going to Modeoheim soon." I declared. "Be prepared. We'll be with SOLDIER again and I need you all in your best, am I understood?"

My team nodded.

"Get some rest and make all the arrangements necessary to travel soon. I'll beep you the details." I stated, rising from my chair. "You're all dismissed."

Sephiroth's POV

I had read the reports thoroughly, as always.

And everything there was no news for me. Which disturbed me, in a way.

Zack was gone on mission along with Tseng, in Modeoheim. I had disposed them some infantry men, and both were putting efforts into finding Hollander, as well as Genesis and Angeal.

I had been left on charge of the company, but I had to admit I missed the adrenaline of battle. Searching. Killing. Torturing.

All of it was being removed from my routine. Courtesy of the President.

I sighed, my eyes on the files the Turks had left me. Right, the reports on the previous mission. All of it had been terribly disturbing - to all of them. The unexpected sight of Genesis and Angeal had proved to be alarming.

I wondered what would happen now. I had a hunch they were going straight to a trap - Genesis would make an attempt on both teams and Angeal… Angeal would try to disorientate Zack.

That's what he always did. With all the training, with all the teaching, came closeness.

And that hurt terribly the psyche of a 1st. class SOLDIER - all the being merciful and kind thing did way worse than good.

I've seen it on several SOLDIER, sadly. And look where Angeal was now.

I got up from my chair, my eyes on the buildings outside. The sky, half-covered with clouds, allowed some rays of sun to occasionally show up, illuminating with detail the whole science division building.

I narrowed my eyes, and I recalled the last time Eleanor Stevens and I talked.

Where are you from?, my mind asked, curious.

Inevitably, my mind started wandering. Putting pieces together, trying to make some sense of this illogic, unstructured puzzle.

My eyes found the horizon line close to the sandy, rocky landscape - the place of SOLDIER training. Which had also been the place where Eleanor Stevens had been found.

Exactly - found. Out of nowhere, out of nothing.

Just like that, found.

Something called me out to that far, lonely place and I didn't know why.

I blinked, trying to gather some coherence. No, the theories forming in my head made absolutely no sense. She couldn't have possibly been dropped there, because there would be no freaking way of doing that without us noticing.

Come on, she couldn't have been put there out of thin air.

I sighed, worried with my line of thinking. All this was going to give me trouble, I was sure of it.

I would have to clear some things down with the human before daring to go that way.

So I removed my mobile phone from my pocket and hit the green button.

Elie's POV

"The General wants to see her, Professor."

I felt a shiver running down my spine as I processed the words. I stood at the window, and the door of my room was half-open. John and I had been talking for weeks. Slowly, I informed him of everything I knew about this world. I was careful about it. There were things that needed to be known and were important to take control in… but I still hadn't gotten to the difficult part: the General and his 'flipping out'. Man. How was I going to introduce the theme?

I suddenly turned, my eyes searching for his, as I scanned the door, hoping to find some answers in the way they moved, how they talked. But I got nothing.

"Give me that phone." Jonh's tone was angry. "What's with the rush, can't you just-"

I heard my heartbeat peak at the words 'General' and 'rush'. I knew what that meant. He was on his way to see me. Or, putting it more accurately, he was on his way to massacre me.

John spoke with a harsh tone, a tone that would stop any regular man. But the General wasn't in any way, regular.

It was in the middle of my heavy thinking that I heard his voice. So. He was here. In person. My personal nightmare.

Who would have thought?

"With all due respect, the woman does not have any saying in this, Professor."

The woman. He referred to me as 'the woman'. Good God, how could he be so… cold?

"Allow me to disagree." John snarled. Boy, I had never seen him like that.

"You go ask her."

The General's sudden suggestion seemed to take John off guard. There was an uncomfortable silence.

John turned, opening the door. The first thing I saw was the General, right behind him, lost in the shadow of the hall. His eyes shone, the effect disturbing me terribly. Long gone were the days of contacting with the General via joystick. Live, he was so much scarier and ruthless.

It was John's words that woke me up from my reverie.

"The General wants a word with you. Is that okay?"

Oh boy. I gulped dry, the images of our last conversation alone coming to mind. That hadn't gone too well.

"Alone?" I whispered.

"I… believe so."

My eyes met the mirror on the wall, right there, close to my bed. I knew someone could stay there for observational purposes. Most likely, they did that all the time. So, I just had to guarantee someone was watching over me, in case the General had another fling of anger towards me.

"Will someone be-"

"Yes."

If there was a calming thing, it was John's promptness.

"Okay then."

Words hadn't left my mouth and the General was already inside. He excused John with a whispered 'leave us, if you please' and there was he, inches from me, measuring me like a test subject.

His eyes met mine, and a cold torrent of sensations invaded my gut. Cruelty. He had a lot of it inside. Most of it still dormant.

"Evening." He greeted, as he searched for something in the bedroom. "Mind if I sit?"

I nodded in response. I blinked several times, my eyes on the mirror for a long time. Damn. I could only hope John was there, watching the whole show. I didn't want to die. I didn't want him to kill me.

This was all too… dysfunctional.

I decided to sit as well. I walked towards the bed and sat by the edge of the matress, trying to look at ease. I had the notion I was failing completely at that. Really, how could I not feel nervous with him here, sitting in that white chair, staring at me like I was some kind of criminal?

This was unreal.

"So, how's everything going? Is Fair okay?"

Before I knew it the words were out of my mouth. I didn't know if I was stupid or simply unwise. I was provoking him and we both felt the tension on the air.

The General smiled at me in a way that would make many men wet their pants. Geez, he could be so creepy when he wanted to.

"I'm pretty sure you know that already." He declared, amused with his own speech. "So I'll skip the reverberating answers."

I gulped dry at his sarcasm. He was so, so stubborn. I guessed that happened because I knew things he didn't, which wasn't of his liking. I felt his hate like a shocking wave.

Truth was - he was Sephiroth, the man who abhorred not being in control. What did I expect? Smiles and hugs?

Not.

He had a file on his hands, and he started paginating it with an unnerving rhythm. Something told me that was my file. He was analyzing that thing with his lynx eyes, absorbing all the details and words. I was willing to bet he had already read it with a microscopic detail, several times in a row.

I couldn't resist asking him.

"So, how many times have you read it?"

"Eleanor." He said, ignoring my words completely and staring at me with an intimidating eye-power. "What is videogaming?"

Oh-uh. What a terrible start. I sighed, my mind undecided. He had asked me a direct question with an extremely complex answer. So, I would have to try and be vague about this one. I didn't know if they had such things in here, in this reality.

"A diversion."

"A diversion." He quoted, clearly not believing me. "Of what kind?"

"Virtual."

He blinked several times, accessing me with seriousness.

"And mind if I ask you… why am I in that virtual diversion of yours?"

My stomach started aching with nervousness. God. He was so intelligent, so damn smart - not that I didn't know that already. I should have predicted this moment would come - the moment in which he would start guessing right about the whole thing that had happened. My eyes were on his and I couldn't help but to conclude that the idea, the concept I had of him couldn't be more accurate. Remembering him the way he was back in the game: cunning, evil and obsessed... he was all that, right now, in front of me - and his full power hadn't blossomed yet.

The thought of Sephiroth becoming that man I remembered… terrified me.

Meantime he expected me to answer something specific. Slowly, I realized that this sudden curiosity wasn't about Zack or anybody of his surroundings. This - was about him.

He was curious about himself. About what I knew about him and he didn't.

"Uh, you're just… yourself. The General."

Man. I couldn't be more vague than that. I saw him smile wickedly at me.

"I know you're not telling me everything." His tone was acid and made me gulp with panic. "But that's fine, for now. We'll get there in time."

His face reminded me now of Hojo. God, he could be so nasty when he wanted to.

"I would like to know more about the place you came from, Eleanor."

Oh, boy.

"I'm just… from another… place."

My words were ridiculous, I knew it. But what could I say to him, honestly? There was no way I could tell him the God damned truth!

"Another place." He quoted, as if in deep thinking. "A place in which I am included in a virtual platform you have access to."

Something like that.

"Do you really expect me to believe all that?"

I breathed out loud. Now, the bad attitude had returned? Too bad. I wasn't going to put up with that.

"Why would I lie…" I said, my stare honest on his. "I don't have any reason to make all this up, and I'm not crazy."

"Prove me all that you say is true, then."

His impossible demand had gotten me. I didn't know what to say, didn't know how to answer him. I had absolutely no way of proving him a thing. All I had was my word. Nothing else.

Deep in thinking, I didn't see him stand up and walk towards me. I only realized he was there, caging me within his oppressive gaze - when it was too late.

I sat in the bed and his leather pants met my knees. Cold and smooth meeting my skin, alerting me he was too damn close to me right now.

Images of him putting his large hand on my throat assaulted my mind. And inevitably, my body started alerting me of the imminent danger. I looked upwards, our stares locked again.

It felt mesmerizing and shocking.

This guy was really something…

"What am I in that virtual dimension of yours?"

His question did the deed. I resumed looking at the mirror with panic on my eyes. I needed out of this moment - right now.

John's POV

"Enough, General."

I didn't care if I was being rude or inopportune, but Elie's panic had been too obvious. The General was posing her delicate questions - questions whose answers couldn't be disclosed just like that. Considering what Elie had been informing me, Sephiroth would be a strong intervener in the social events of years to come, but she had purposely avoided disclosing much about him. I didn't know why but her reluctance in telling me about the General wasn't a good sign. Something inside me warned me she was saving the worse for last. As days went by, everything fell into place like puzzle's pieces. Her 'predictions' were accurate in every way.

And now, I felt I had to save her from Sephiroth's informational greed. He was pushing her - as he was used to do to get what he wanted. He pushed, he pushed, as if humans didn't have limits.

"She did not provide me any objective answers."

Too bad, Mister.

"Some other time then." I was being terribly inflexible with him, but hell, I didn't care. Elie could be from another world, but she had her dignity. And he was no one to crush it like a bug. "Leave, please."

The General's stare met mine with severe intensity. He didn't enjoy being undermined in front of anyone - much less Elie.

His face was a frown of disappointment as he, slowly, put some distance between them. He purposely used his presence, his proximity to freak her out. He knew perfectly he made her nervous - and he took advantage of that effect to get what he wanted: information.

He didn't say a word as he left, grabbing her file and exiting the premises in silence. I was left with Elie only, an oppressive silence falling on us.

The General was just like that. His presence took some time to dilute from the place where he had been. He was that powerful.

"Are you okay?" I asked, and Elie nodded, sitting by the edge of the bed, as a statue. "You were very tense when he was making all those questions."

She sighed, her fingers massaging her temple.

"It's just… him." She justified. "You know."

That didn't sound so proper.

"Is it?"

"He's very intimidating."

Yes, he was. And crazy. To the point of almost choking a woman to death. I was willing to bet she had seen her life on a thread in that moment. Poor Elie.

Her silence warned me the subject was over. When she wasn't up to talking she made that adorable face, like a frightened child - in a way. But then, there was her innate, inner strength she showed when the General was around. I doubted someone would defy him the way she did.

"Professor."

"Yes?"

"Does the General believe his own words?"

Her face showed, in a way, sadness. I didn't imagine why the General's opinion and way of thinking mattered to her that much.

"I… don't know, Elie." I admitted. "He's pretty much enigmatic and he sure has-"

"- a dry sense of humor."

I blinked, amazed. It was like she had read my mind.

"Yes."

I was about to question her about that but I tried a different approach. In this moment , there were more important things to clarify. And also because Elie insisted on keeping the General under that mystery veil of hers and that bothered me immensely.

"Was he saying the truth about himself?" I asked, hoping she would answer me. "What's his part in that reality of yours, Elie?"

She breathed out loud and closed her eyes. It was then I realized things were serious. Very serious indeed.

"The Planet's worst nightmare."

Her affirmation was like a bomb - wiping and killing everything around us. It had been the first time Elie had told me something about The General.

Sephiroth's POV

"The Planet's worst nightmare." I quoted, smirking, as I rested against my comfy chair. All this drama was beyond unreasonable. "I'm flattered."

My eyes found Medina's, who eyed me with a shocked look on his face. He clarly thought I was out of my mind.

"Do you accept it now, General?"

"Accept what?"

"That this… this woman… has knowledge of our world."

There was an uncomfortable silence after his words. Well, truth was, I did. But hell, I wasn't going to admit that. Not that easily. I wouldn't put myself down like that. Doing that would mean admitting they had been right all along and I didn't want something like that happening. My pride didn't let me.

"I'm not easily convinced." I declared, knowing I was being unfair and smug. But I didn't care. I was Sephiroth, I could do and say whatever I considered adequate. Besides, "She didn't give any concrete proof of it."

I knew I was actually lying, but I couldn't show weakness. I knew exactly how well she would know me. I had a pretty good idea - she had given proof enough of that. And that freaked the hell out of me - even if my face remained stoic as ever. I got up and faced the window, Midgar resting in the calm landscape. My office had a privileged view of the city.

"Apart from how terrified she gets with your presence."

Oh, there we go again. I couldn't care less about that.

"Really."

The man standing in front of my desk sighed, and I knew I was pushing his patience. But then, it was nice to see where all this would be leading. It was pretty obvious Medina felt very close to the woman.

"All I'm trying to say is… maybe with the right presence she'll open up a little."

I narrowed my eyes, getting at once what the good doctor wanted to. So, he was fond of experimenting with my personnel as well.

"You mean Zack?"

"Well, it's a very plausible hypothesis."

"He's off."

"Call him in when he gets back. What do you have to lose?"

Okay, enough of ordering me around.

"I'll keep in touch, Professor." I declared, not bothering to look at him. My tone was one of 'dismissal'. "Inform me if something new comes up. Eventually."

Seconds passed by when finally I heard a door closing.

Finally. I was alone, I needed to think about what had happened.

My eyes focused again on the horizon line, and I felt that sudden urge again. That place - the place where the woman had been found - was calling me.

And I didn't have a clue as to why.

It was a heavy silence, a muted calling from an unknown place - as a strange, alien energy. I sighed, wondering if all this was a product of my imagination… or not.

But, imagination or not, it would have to wait until Zack would come back from his mission with the Turks in Modeoheim.

A/N - Sorry for the delay. I'll try and post more often :) Don't Forget to leave your review! I can't wait to hear from you guys! Thank you so much for following this story :)