CHAPTER FOUR

A man leads me down to a huge door where another man stands. They force me to stay still as the door opens for the huge arena to be seen. People cheer and taunt me as I am pushed through the doorway. The doors behind me close without a warning. Up on the huge screen is a picture of me with my name. The bastards went through my phone. What mortifies me is that there are blood trails throughout the arena. People jeer atme me as I walk to the center of the arena. If I must fight, then I will fight. They all shout vulgar things to me as I pull my hair back into a ponytail. My bangs fall over my eyes a bit with my side bangs falling to my shoulders. They know that I am a SOLDIER. When I was younger, I heard many stories of SOLDIERs coming to Wall Market for their own enjoyment. Why is it that they are targeting me, a SOLDIER who just came to witness a fight?

"Here's what you all've been waiting for! The grand finale! Betty against the one and only, the undefeated and feared! The DEMOGORGON!"

Huge vibrant sparklers are sent off from the ceiling as a huge door opens. I turn around, preparing myself, wishing I listened to Angeal. "You always told me to never come to Wall Market."

People act like complete lunatics and hold up signs cheering for the Demogorgon. As the person walks through the darkness, the rattling and clanking of chains can be heard. Whoever the person is walking out into the arena with me, a sharp pain starts to travel to my head. The cheering and screaming becomes distorted as I stumble a step forward, wincing in agonizing pain. The person emerges through the shadowy darkness finally with my vision becoming blurred. It's as if he is caught on camera that is distorted, causing him to move in a warped way. What the fuck is going on with me right now? My eyes widen in absolute horror when I see shackles locked around his wrists. The man is exceptionally tall and intimidating. He wears a white porcelain doll mask with amazingly long silver hair pulled back into a high ponytail. Two long strands from his bangs fall over his shoulders, down to the calves of his legs. He wears a long sleeve fishnet top, exposing how fit and strong he looks. He wears black leather pants with knee high black leather gothic boots. The flashy silver buckles blind me under the light. With every step he takes, the heavy footsteps echo with the intent to kill. This man… Is he truly the Demogorgon…? Huge explosions erupt from the arena when the man stops walking meters ahead of me. I stumble back a few steps from horror with an eerie feeling starts to cloud my eyes. Seeing how he wears shackles with at least four chain links on each one, are the rumors true? Is this man bound to Corneo?

"I fucked up," is all I say, speaking to myself with my entire body quivering like crazy.

The man wears a silver chain around his neck with a silver locket attached to it. When he takes a step forward, I jump back a few feet. People start shouting and raving crazily when he puts his left foot back a little. This feeling, what is it? My eyes widen as gasps escape my mouth when he takes off running towards me. The man is incredibly fast. His hand forms into a fist as he swings it to my face. Everything happens slowly as if we are being slowed by time. I'm fortunate enough to be able to doge his deadly attack. As soon as I turn to face him, my chest is met with excruciating pain when he spins once, lifting up his leg to kick me brutally in the chest. Blood squirts out of my mouth as my chest feels like it is shattering. People cheer with raging excitement when I am sent meters back into the air. The ground feels like razors against my skin as I roll forcefully. I stop on my head with my head taking a horrible beating from the ground when rolling. As I fight to get on my knees, blood sprays out of my mouth when I start to cough. With every cough, it feels like daggers are plunging into my chest. Blood splatters ono the ground in front of me as the man approaches me slowly.

"THIS FINALE SUCKS! GIVE US A BETTER FIGHT!"

"THIS IS FUCKING BULLSHIT! WHERE'S THE EXCITEMENT! THIS IS FUCKING BORING! I THOUGHT SHE WAS A SOLDIER! I WANT MY MONEY BACK!"

People start to shout angrily as the man stops walking a foot away from me. All I could do was look up at him since he towers over me with the brute strength flowing through his body. The chains rattle as he moves his arms. I'm into much pain to do anything. The sight of his right hand forming into a tight fist is truly terrifying. He's going to kill me. This man is going to murder me for people's enjoyment. Through all the chaos, I see Angeal running through the crowds of people rooting for the champion to kill me.

"BETTY!"

His voice is like a huge cry for the man in front of me to stop. What's weird is that when he shouts my name as loud as he could over the obnoxious cheering, the man in front of me stops himself from delivering the last blow. With Angeal leaping down into the arena with us, I look up at the masked man who stays eerily still. My green eyes, full of pain and sadness look up at him. Blood dribbles from my mouth as the pain in my chest starts to crack. As Angeal makes his way to us, huge metal bars start ascending through the ground. He's cut off completely as a huge cage encloses us.

"BETTY! BETTY! DON'T YOU TOUCH HER! BETTY!" Angeal shouts as he tries getting through the bars.

When the man takes a step back from me, I fight to stand to my feet. He's just standing there. Why is he just standing there?

WHY!

"Just kill me already!" I shout as I lunge at him.

He just stands their when I start to punch him in his chest. He feels like a rock to where hitting him hurts me. People in the crowd become confused with their cheering being silenced as I try to hit him repeatedly. Giving up, I form a fist in my right hand. Using all my strength that I have left, enduring the pain in my chest, I punch him as hard as I can right in the jaw. The porcelain mask he wears starts to crack around his mouth. Pieces of his mask fall to the ground when his mouth is seen. His skin is pure white. He's paler than the snow. How the fuck is that possible? Sensing that he does not show the desire to hit me back, I run around him and make my way to where Angeal is. I'm halfway to him when I am grabbed from behind. Strong hands jerk me back instantly when spikes pierce through the ground, missing my feet by inches. I fall to my knees right next to the man. He looks down at me when I hide beside him with more spikes piercing through the ground. He looks up at the huge screen, speaking finally. His voice is deep and stern.

"I will not fight this woman any longer."

People start to boo the undefeated champion when he says that. Not knowing what to do, I grab the links to his shackle to his left wrist. The links are freezing to where it hurts to touch them. I pull my hands away when he looks down at me. More blood sprays out of my mouth when I cough. Angeal keeps himself calm as he looks at the two of us.

"Not only do we have a Fourth-Class SOLDIER here with us tonight, we have a First-Class SOLDIER here too," that voice is the same voice I heard in the room where I thrown into.

Is that Corneo…?

"If you do not kill her, you will lose all your bets."

If it is Corneo, I am going to kill that fucking bastard. "Betty? If you make it out of here alive, you are suspended," Angeal speaks angrily yet, he keeps his voice rational.

"How was I supposed to know that they discriminate against SOLDIERs?" my aggravation shows when I rise to my feet again.

"You idiot! Wall Market is no place for a fifteen-year-old!"

The man beside me looks at us both when we start to argue. "I'm a SOLDIER now! How the fuck was a I supposed to know that I was going to fight this thing!"

"Betty! You're going to get yourself killed!"

The crowd starts cheering for the man to finish me when I growl angrily into my hands. The pain in my chest is killing me. Whenever I move or speak, it feels like my bones are cracking. Angeal throws his hands up in the dramatically when I move in front of the man. He is tall. Very tall. If he is bound to Corneo, there's a good chance that he is bound to Wall Market.

"Are the rumors true? Can you really not leave Wall Market? Are you a prisoner here?" he is quiet when I ask him questions that are unanswered to everyone.

"I will not lay another hand on you. Corneo will not do anything. He needs me. If I choose to not fight you, he will have no choice but to release you. I am sorry."

What the fuck is going on!?

"What if I can help you escape from here?"

"Betty? What are you doing?" Angeal slams his hand on the bars when I ask a question that seems absurd and idiotic.

I may not be able to see his eyes, but I know they are fixated on me. The voices become muted. All I hear is his heavy breathing with Angeal's anger exploding. When he speaks, his voice wraps around me with so much sorrow to it. "I can never be freed. You cannot begin to fathom my situation."

"Tell me what to do. I can help you. Don't you want to be free from this prison?"

Even with the pain worsening the more I speak, I am determined to help this man. If I can free him, maybe he can agree to be my ally. Is that too farfetched? As the spikes disappear back into the ground, he opens the locket to his necklace he wears around his neck. A green illuminating light reflects off my eyes when I see a green orb. It's materia.

"Is that healing—" whoever this mysterious man is, he cuts me off with one word, "leave."

As the he closes the locket, my body becomes healed with the pain in my chest diminishing. When Corneo orders for the bars to be lowered, the man walks around me. Angeal races to me when the bars disappear back into the ground. He starts to grab me as I turn my head around to watch as the man walks away to where he came from. I will never forget the sounds of his shackles rattling as he disappears into the darkness when the doors open.

This man… We must save him from this place… He's bound… Forced to fight and kill… Can this be the doing of materia…? No… Is this witchcraft…? What the hell is going on…?

Angeal pulls me away to the side where the doors are where I came from. Shockingly, the doors open. He doesn't give me enough time to speak or do anything when he rushes me to the elevator.

A heart that once used to beat is now dead and black. The withering started to cause me pain years ago when I became bound by the devil himself. No one will truly know how genuine the sorrow is in my eyes when I remove my broken mask. Corneo's men watch as I take out the hair tie keeping my hair pulled back. Long silver hair falls all around me as I walk down a hallway. With my somber eyes, they are met by sadness as I become filled with remorse and agony. There's nothing special about me. The abilities I once had, the strength I once used to know, it was all raped and taken away from. Deprived of the flowing energy that used to circulate within me. I'm completely ordinary. As long as I am bound, I am an ex-SOLDIER who went berserk without the traits. As I wallow in guilt and lonesomeness every night when I sleep, I will forever be in denial. People try speaking to me, but I ignore them as I enter my chambers. Corneo is going to give me shit when I slam the door into their faces. All I see when I look into my mirror is a man who is broken.

I am Sephiroth… Angeal doesn't know it is me… Betty is alive… is that the same Betty...? It looks like her... What saved her was the sight of an old friend...

"I almost killed you," my voice is despondent as I speak softly to myself.

I should have known it was you when I saw you in pain from me being around you… Hojo… You fucked up… As long as you know that I am here… You fear for any SOLDIER who steps foot in Wall Market… Fear that they will try to set me free so that I can kill you… Everything about Shinra makes me sick… I didn't believe it until now… whatever he injected her with many years ago... He activated it... Corneo... You already told Shinra… that must mean it's really her... Hojo... What are you planning now...

"Cloud doesn't know yet."

If people found out that I am alive… The entire city of Midgar will fall into darkness…