Murphy's Law Become Reality (or The Incarnation of the Potter's Luck)

by dragonqueen909

Translation fic La Loi de Murphy Devenue Réalité (Ou L'incarnation de la Chance Potter) Soulmates are considered a legend. Yet even across different worlds, they can find each other, and sometimes, especially when the Goddesses agree, meet. Some are so broken that only the link can allow them to hold on... especially when dreams are the only way to communicate.WARNING RAPE/SEX

3. Fragments of ice part 2

Chapter 2: Fragments of Ice - Part 2

Sephiroth frowned at the dream. It was once again a memory... and it obviously concerned the Second Task. Flower stood before a stretch of smooth water, shivering in the freezing cold of February. The other champions were next to her, and he could hear the enthusiastic voices of the students echoing on the surface of the water. He looked at the man dressed in a ridiculous yellow-and-black striped robe, his belly stretching the fabric seriously, making him snort with contempt. It was clear that he had more than slightly gone to seed, he told himself. The latter arranged the champions about three meters apart, paying special attention to Flower, who replied in a pinched tone that she knew very well what she had to do.

Ignoring the other champions, who had rushed into the water at the whistle, Flower quickly removed her shoes and socks, before placing a ball of slimy herbs (and Seph couldn't stop a disgusted hiccup, they looked like tails of entangled rats) in her mouth and start chewing, advancing at the same time in the icy water. The lake was so cold that it seemed like the skin of Flower's legs was burning. As she progressed, her wet robe weighed more and more heavily. The water was now over her knee and her numb feet were sliding on flat stones covered with mud and silt. Flower was still chewing the plant, which had a viscous, rubbery consistency, like octopus tentacles. Sephiroth was at least relieved to feel that the plant had almost no taste. Submerged up to the waist in the icy water, she stopped, swallowed, and waited for something to happen.

Sephiroth would have gladly strangled the idiot who had decided that a task would take place in winter in a lake! It was a really good way to have one of them catch pneumonia! He could hear the students laughing as Flower trembled from cold in the icy water. Yes, he definitely had two words to say to the one who organized this! Half-immersed, a dreadfully icy breeze ruffling her hair, Flower trembled from head to toe. She avoided looking in the direction of the stands. The laughter was louder and louder, some whistling and jeering at her…

Then, suddenly, he had the impression that an invisible pillow was being applied to her mouth and nose. Flower tried to catch her breath, but her efforts made her dizzy. Her lungs were empty and she suddenly felt a flash of pain on either side of her neck.

Flower lifted her hands to her throat and Sephiroth felt under her ears two large slits whose edges pulsated in the cold breeze... She now had... gills?! Without hesitating for a moment, she threw herself into the lake. For a minute, Sephiroth panicked completely. He didn't know how to swim himself, and he was totally unaware if this was the case of Flower. He thrashed around mentally because of the panic, and it took him some time to realize that Flower knew how to swim.

The first gulp of icy water seemed like a breath of life. His head stopped spinning. She took another long sip of water that he felt coming out gently through her gills sending oxygen to the brain. When she held out her hands in front of her, he noticed that they had taken a greenish, ghostly hue, and that her fingers were webbed. Turning her head, he saw that her feet were now longer and that her toes, too, were webbed. It looked like she grew fins.

The water had ceased to be icy... On the contrary, it seemed pleasantly fresh and light... Flower continued to move forward, and Sephiroth was almost amazed at the speed at which her fin-shaped feet propelled her into the water. He also noticed that she could see clearly around her without needing to blink. Soon she swam so far that he couldn't see the bottom of the lake. Flower then shifted vertically and sank into the depths.

The silence grew thicker as he discovered a strange and dark landscape shrouded in mist. Now its visibility was diminished, and as Flower advanced, new outlines appeared in the darkness: real forests of aquatic plants slowly undulating, large expanses of mud littered with stones glimmering dimly in the dim light. She descended farther and farther to the heart of the lake, peering into its gray and disturbing depths, clearly trying to unravel the mystery of its shadows, where the water became opaque. Obviously, while she had a clear idea of where she should go, she wasn't totally sure either.

Small fish swam around Flower like silver darts. Twice, he thought he saw something bigger move a little further but when Flower approached, he found only a large piece of blackened wood and a particularly dense entanglement of aquatic plants. There was no trace of the other champions, nor of a mermen, nor of her friend. Nothing but the silence of the depths, which honestly began to stress him.

Pale green grasses, about fifty centimeters in height, stretched before her, as far as his eye could see, like a lush meadow. Eyes wide open, Flower was clearly trying to distinguish forms in the darkness, if he judged by the way she looked around... but suddenly, he felt something grab her ankle.

Flower turned around and Sephiroth saw a being he had never seen before, a kind of little water demon with little horns that had just popped out of the grass. Its long fingers were tightly wrapped around her leg, and it showed its sharp teeth. Flower slid her webbed hand into her pocket, looking for her wand. When she finally managed to grab it, two other water demons had sprung up from the grass and clung to her robe, trying to drag her to the bottom.

A big bubble escaped from her lips at the incantation, which Sephiroth couldn't hear, and the wand cast something on the demons that looked like a jet of boiling water, because red spots appeared on their green skin, like enraged boils. Without hesitation, Flower tore her ankle from the creature embrace and swam as fast as she could, regularly sending more jets of boiling water over her shoulder, not bothering to aim. From time to time, he felt a demon grab her ankle again and she kicked in response to get rid of it. Finally, he felt her foot touch a horned head; Flower turned around briefly and Sephiroth could see a stunned demon drifting in zigzag, its eyes dazed, while its fellows creature threatened Flower with shaking fists before disappearing again among the grasses.

Flower slowed her pace a bit, put her wand in her pocket and looked around her, her ears alert, doing a complete circle in the water. Seeking clearly to orient herself. A heavy silence oppressed his numb eardrums. He knew she had to be even deeper, but nothing was moving, except for the slowly waving aquatic grasses. He would have loved to guide her and protect her under water... even if water was different from ice, Sephiroth felt in his element.

"So it works?"

Sephiroth thought he was going to have a heart attack. Where did this voice come from? Flower was under water! At least thirty meters deep, if not more! Flower swung around suddenly and found herself face to face with the fuzzy silhouette of a... ghost? Who floated before her, looking at her through her thick glasses, shining like pearls. But what... what was she doing here? Sephiroth felt Flower try to speak, but this time again only a very big bubble came out of her mouth.

The ghost, on the other hand, managed to giggle. Obviously, since she was only a spirit, she was no longer bound by the laws of physics.

"You should try there!" She said pointing her finger. "I prefer not to come with you, I don't like them very much. They always swim after me when I approach…"

Flower raised her thumb to thank and followed the direction, taking care to clearly swim up above the grass to avoid the demons hiding there. Sephiroth just had more and more violent desires for murder. What was that idea, frankly?

Finally, a good twenty minutes later, Sephiroth began to hear voices singing, and he felt Flower sigh with relief. She finally approached her goal, as evidenced by the big rock covered with engravings of fish-men... and was it a giant octopus that was engraved next to it? Rough stone buildings began to appear on all sides in the dim light, their walls covered with seaweed. Sephiroth blinked, surprised, half cursing Flower's vision, inferior to his despite the effect of the plant she had swallowed. Because either he was dreaming... literally in this case... or he was seeing faces in the dark frame of the windows. These beings had gray skin and long, shaggy hair of a dark green color. Their eyes were yellow, as were their broken teeth, and they wore large cords made of pebbles around their necks. They glared at Flower as she passed, and one or two of them came out of their lairs to take a closer look, with a spear in their hand, their powerful silvery fish tails beating the water forcefully.

Flower swam even faster in reaction, and soon stone shelters became more and more numerous. Some were surrounded by gardens of aquatic plants and he even saw a small water demon tamed, tied to a stake, like a dog in front of a door. The water beings were coming out from all sides, now. They were watching avidly, showing her webbed hands and gills and were exchanging remarks at her passing, hand over their mouth. Flower accelerated the pace, ignoring them, and a very strange spectacle presented itself to her eyes and to those of Sephiroth by proxy.

A real crowd was gathered in front of the buildings which delimited a sort of central place of the aquatic village. A chorus of water beings sang in the middle of the square, inviting the champions to come closer. Behind the choir, roughly carved in a block of rock, stood a gigantic statue representing one of these creatures. Four people were firmly attached to the fish tail of the statue.

Sephiroth narrowed his eyes as he saw the show. Decidedly... we felt that they had decided to go for the spectacular side, without any consideration for the health of the hostages. A show for the champions, he told himself. According to Flower, the spectators froze their asses off at the surface to contemplate the lake, without having any idea what was going on underneath. Decidedly, Flower was right. Wizards had exchanged common sense to have magic. He had the proof before him.

Flower's red-haired friend was tied up between the genius (maybe he should call her Scholar?) and another girl, the one who had accompanied one of the champions at the ball (maybe his girlfriend?). The last person was a child, and he could see the resemblance to the haughty champion at the ball. Her long, silver-blond hair floated around her, and just like the others, a thin stream of bubbles escaped her lips. They didn't seem to be drowning, and Sephiroth felt it was due to the spell that allowed them to sleep underwater.

Flower took out her wand again, and he saw the tip of the wand describe movements (probably casting a spell if he trusted the bubbles coming out of Flower's mouth), directed at the girl. His vision was briefly masked by bubbles as she seemed to swear furiously at the displayed results, and that Sephiroth couldn't understand, to his frustration, but there was no need to know how to read the language to know that the red was not good at all. The teenager put her wand in her pocket, pulling out a multi-blade knife instead. Selecting one blade in particular, she began sawing the braided seaweeds that held the hostages. These ones were rather thick and slimy, and Sephiroth could imagine her disgust at the sensation. He himself had shivers on contact.

She took a long time to slice the seaweed rope, and he felt her sigh with relief as her friend floated, drifting slightly into the water. Sephiroth noticed that she was looking around, obviously looking for traces of the other champions. They had not arrived yet, which began to worry the silverette. What were they doing? More bubbles came out of Flower's mouth, giving the impression that she swore. She then swam towards the other hostages, especially the little girl, who was clearly in the most danger. Sephiroth could see that her skin was abnormally pale, much more than she should have.

Flower had barely tackled the bonds holding the little girl when strong gray-skinned hands grabbed her away from the hostages. They laughed loudly at Flower struggling, visibly angry, shaking her head.

"You take your own prisoner," said one of them, "and you leave the others…"

"Certainly not!" Flower replied furiously, but only two big bubbles came out of her mouth.

Sephiroth could more or less hear what she was saying, though, and he wondered how it was possible. Well, he dreamed of what she had lived, so there wasn't much that surprised him at this point... not even the crass stupidity of wizards.

"You have a mission to free your friend... The others, you leave them…"

Flower emitted like a groan, which resulted in a series of bubbles.

"This child is in danger of death," Flower said angrily, pointing to the girl. "Water is NOT her element!"

Her words came out of her mouth in the form of big bubbles, but obviously they had no trouble understanding it, for they continued to laugh for the most part, one sniffing scornfully.

"How can the death of a fire girl matter to us?" He asked, exposing his yellowish, broken teeth.

He felt Flower narrowing her eyes, certainly as furious as he was. She looked down at her watch, probably to see how much time was left, but it had stopped. A new bubble came out of Flower's mouth, certainly containing a curse, but Sephiroth didn't understand it.

Suddenly, the water beings pointed their finger above her, looking excited.

Flower looked up, and Sephiroth saw a boy swimming toward them. He had around his head a huge bubble that strangely enlarged his face by deforming his features. He blinked at seeing that. Decidedly... he went from surprises to surprises with the magic of Flower's land. He was even beginning to expect everything now.

"I got lost!"

No sound came out of his mouth, but Sephiroth could read on his lips. The boy looked panicked.

"****** and ***** are coming!"

Sephiroth could imagine Flower's immense relief at seeing that. He watched as the boy with the bubble took a knife out of his pocket, sliced the rope that held his imprisoned girlfriend, then took her away and disappeared into the darkness of the lake.

Where were the other two? There wasn't much time left, and if we believed the lyrics of the song, after an hour, the prisoners would be lost…

Abruptly, the water beings began to shriek. Those who held Flower loosen their grip, looking over their shoulders. She turned around and saw a monstrous creature swimming straight over them: it had a human body dressed in a swimsuit and a shark's head... It was probably the grumpy boy he had seen at the ball. Apparently, he had tried to metamorphose himself but had not done very well. Sephiroth still preferred to be touched by Frog. At least he didn't look that ridiculous... even though it was apparently effective.

The shark-man swam right to Scholar, and began to gnaw at the rope that tied her to the statue. But the boy's new teeth were not very practical for biting something smaller than a dolphin and Sephiroth wondered if he was going to end up cutting the poor girl with them. Flower rushed towards them, and gave a big blow to the boy's shoulder, handing him the knife. The boy grabbed it and began cutting the rope. He did it in a few seconds, grabbed Scholar by the waist, releasing the knife that Flower barely recovered, and, without looking back, quickly pulled her up to the surface.

And now? Sephiroth wondered. Where was the little girl's sister? There was still no sign of her. We had to do something, and quickly, because the more time passes... the more she looked bad. Fortunately, Flower had the same opinion as him, as she swam towards the girl, but the water beings advanced towards her and surrounded her friend and the girl shaking their heads.

Flower raised her wand angrily. No need to know her thoughts to know that.

"Leave!"

This time again, only bubbles came out of her mouth, but Sephiroth had the distinct impression that the water beings had understood it, because they suddenly stopped laughing. Their yellowish eyes fixed on her wand, they seemed to be afraid. They were certainly much more numerous than she, but Sephiroth guessed, from the expression of their faces, that they knew no more about magic than the giant octopus.

"I'm counting to three!" Flower shouted.

Only big bubbles came out of her mouth, but it caught the attention of the fish-men, who suddenly stared at something behind her, now terrified. Flower blinked, and glanced behind her, obviously puzzled. There was absolutely nothing behind her back, but judging by the speed at which they moved away from her, it was as if the Reaper himself had been at her back. Flower obviously did not ask any questions, and started sawing the rope holding the girl back, the fish-men standing as far from her as possible.

Once the kid was released, Flower plunged her hand into her pocket again, taking out a strange object, almost resembling a kind of little yellow and gray bundle. At the touch of her wand, the object swelled instantly to a size of about 70 centimeters. She put her wand in her pocket, and took out a rope, using it to tie her friend and the little girl to her. Flower then grabbed a small rope on the gray side (Sephiroth realizing at that moment that it was a gas cylinder) and yanked it over. A hissing noise muffled by the water rose instantly, and she clung to a rope running on the side of the object.

Sephiroth didn't take long to understand why she had done this: the gas was inflating a lifeboat, and, by the flotation effect, made them rise to the surface much faster than if she had had to swim by dragging them behind her. Flower helped the phenomenon by waving her legs, accelerating their ascent. She ignored the fish-men that circled around them, swimming fearfully from a distance, but with a grace she could never hope to match.

Sephiroth realized abruptly that she was starting to have trouble breathing, and a glance at her webbed hands told him that the webbing had begun to shrink, indicating that the effect of the plant was coming to an end. Despite knowing he was just seeing a memory, he couldn't help but encourage her. The silverette could see that the water was becoming clearer, and he felt a deep sense of relief as he realized that the surface was near.

Finally, Flower's head broke the surface right next to the inflatable boat, and she breathed deeply, her relief palpable. At the end of the ascent, she had managed to flip the boat around, so that it is in the right side now. With a grunt of effort, she pulled the little girl out of the water, the latter waking with a start and immediately starting to panic. Flower gently calmed her with a few words that he didn't understand, before helping her climb into the boat.

She then took care of her friend, who yelled at her, realizing she had stayed down to help someone else, insisting they weren't in danger... before insulting the organizers on hearing that the girl was in danger of death because of her bloodline. Flower helped him climb on the boat, and climb up herself with some difficulty, and helped by her friend. With an incantation, she removed the water that was at the bottom, before making them dry and almost warm. She then tapped the float next to her, whispering something. Obviously, it was to make it move forward, because the boat then began to slide on the water's surface, pulling giggles of joy from the little girl. Sephiroth almost wanted to smile when he saw that.

He frowned, though, seeing the students' reaction on the stands. There was a deafening tumult, as if they had thought the two hostages had died under water. Sephiroth snorted with contempt. An hour earlier, they treated Flower like shit. And now, they cheered for her?

Sephiroth could see that a real welcome committee was waiting for them at the shore. The old goat, the giant woman, the little girl's sister (the giant had all the trouble in the world to hold her back, the latter was obviously sick with anxiety for her sister, even though he hardly understood anything about what she was saying), a woman who was dressed in a nurse's uniform that had easily been out of place for half a century, the redhead he had seen at the ball, and who looked extremely pale, and finally the asshole clad in his yellow and black robe. Sephiroth blinked, trying to keep count of the redheads. There was the kid he'd seen at the ball, Flower's friend (Chessmaster, that could be a good nickname), the twins, and him. It was already five children, and that was if there wasn't more. He felt pity for their mother, especially with the twins.

The inflatable boat touched the shore, and Flower rose wearily, helping the little girl to disembark. The redhead rushed to his brother, pulling him towards the nurse, ignoring his protests. The sister finally managed to break free and rushed to her little sister, hugging her half crying, and babbling thanks to Flower, explaining that she had been attacked by the water demons, forcing her to give up.

Flower assured her that it was nothing, sweeping her thanks with a wave of the hand, before turning to the judges, icy. She then proceeded to flog them verbally, furiously, asking in the name of the ancient gods why they had thought fit to place a descendant of non-humans (and the frustration that Sephiroth felt by not being able to understand the name of the breed in question may have become a habit, it didn't make it less annoying) under the icy water for a prolonged period of time. Old Goat tried to pretend that they had taken every precaution to ensure that nothing happened to the hostages, and Flower called him a senile cretin, leaving the people around her speechless.

Sephiroth noticed with astonishment that the judges had become very pale during her furious speech, backing up instinctively. Even the champion looked at Flower with an expression of mixed gratitude, fear and misunderstanding. Chessmaster was also looking at her with big eyes, from what he could see from the corner of his eye. Finally, after reminding them that some people could have non-human blood in their veins, and that this could be a danger to them in certain circumstances, and that if she hadn't taken the girl out so quickly, she would probably be dead or disabled for life until the fish-men took her out of the water (if they had accepted), she calmed down and allowed the nurse to look after her, wrapping her in a particularly tight blanket and making her drink something horribly spicy, and Sephiroth almost burst out laughing (despite his own anger) when he saw that there was steam coming out of her ears.

He noticed that the Old Goat was squatting on the edge of the water, obviously speaking with one of the fishmen, if he trusted the high-pitched cries he was making. The latter spoke almost frantically, seeming to want to convince the Old Goat of something. He didn't seem to believe it, however, which didn't surprise Sephiroth. The old man hit him as an arrogant man who listened to no one, and used others as pawns. From what Flower had told him, if he compared her life to a chess match with her in the queen's position... all of the Old Goat's movements had left her exposed and vulnerable, depending on a few carefully chosen people to get the information she needed. She was like a bait thrown into the water to attract a shark. Kept alive because she would attract it faster like that, but destined to be sacrificed.

Flower exchanged a few words with the other champions and Scholar, before the dream stopped, just after the points had been given. Sephiroth would have had two words to say to the moron with a goatee, because he was clearly biased, giving the maximum score to his champion and the minimum to Flower. All because she had used non-magical means to get to the surface! He would have liked to hear Flower's scathing reply, he was sure he would have laughed.

oOo

Sephiroth opened his eyes, staring at the ceiling thoughtfully. Now... there was only one Task left in the Tournament. Flower... had let him know that the terrorist who murdered her parents was waiting for her at the end of it, just to recover his body. She didn't want to let him do it, but to be able to kill him, she explained, she needed him to get back into shape and especially to do certain things. Letting him kill people was repugnant to her, but she didn't want him to suspect that she knew too much about him, and most importantly, to take her seriously. He was underestimating Flower for the moment, and he knew she wanted him to continue to be that way. He probably suspected she knew things, but not as much as she really knew.

With a sigh, he got up. He had to fight against the desire to destroy everything around him, knowing that it wouldn't help Flower. Not that far away. How could he help her from a distance?

He would have really given anything to be able to join her and leave the labs behind him. Even if there were idiots out there too, they weren't worse than here... well, it depended on things.

Once again, the weeks passed slowly. Two months might seem short, but with all that Flower was under, it gave him the impression that time was running much slower than it should. Moreover, one of the judges (supposedly sick apparently) had made an apparition in the middle of the evening, looking completely mad, stammering that he had to go to see the Old Goat for a moment, and thinking himself at his office the next. Unfortunately, Flower hadn't managed to save him (not that she liked him more than that, but she wanted to disrupt as much as possible the plans of her enemy and the Old Goat), and he had disappeared again (killed, apparently by his own son, who posed as the current defense professor). On the other hand, she laughed when he gave her the nickname he had chosen for her headmaster. It was quite appropriate, she said, especially knowing that his brother was apparently caught in a compromising position... with goats. Sephiroth hadn't wanted to know more, making her laugh even more.

Other than that, she had been in contact with her godfather, who was worried about her, but was unable to do anything, being a wanted criminal. She was also training hard for the Third Task, trying to be as prepared as possible to face her enemy. But her dreams of her enemy's actions didn't reassure her. To see him torturing someone, even if he was the traitor who sold her parents, just wasn't nice. Sephiroth had asked, worried, if there was no way to block the connection. Flower had sighed, before explaining that it wasn't possible, alas. The amulet only allowed to protect from direct mental attacks, or compulsions intended to alter their behavior. This... connection she had with her parents' killer was very different, and, for obvious reasons, she refused to talk about it, even in dreams. It was also one way, at least she was pretty sure of it, from him to her. Her bankers (and how much he was surprised to know that her bankers could do a lot of things, as long as she paid the price) were still looking for a sure way to break the connection... but that wasn't a case won yet. There were rituals, of course, but they were designed for objects, not living things, and her chances of surviving were at best of 30%.

Both had agreed that these rituals would be used as a last resort, if she exhausted all other solutions. For the moment... she was going with what she had. The trials she had reported to him, on the other hand, had made him frown. The wizards seemed so straight out of the Middle Ages that he wouldn't have been surprised that they still believe that torture was a reliable way to obtain information. He would have happily told them that was bullshit... but not to said they would listen to him. Flower had let out a bitter laugh when he said that, before telling him that they were easily a century behind Muggles, or non-wizards, while being sure of being superior to them, especially the most inbred. At least her own family had the intelligence to regularly add new blood to their lineage.

Flower was getting more and more stressed as the last task got closer, despite the fact that, for once, she would be pretty much prepared for that. Sephiroth did his best to help her, but the fact that the magic was so different didn't help, and it made him almost crazy to feel so useless. Flower didn't agree, however. She gently explained to him that just his presence was already something, and it comforted her to be able to talk to someone who could understand what she had been through. And feeling concerned. Her friends... didn't understand completely, alas. Oh, they were trying... but only someone with similar experiences could truly relate. And being thrown to monsters was something he understood perfectly... even though his were rarely human.

He sighed, rubbing his temples while looking at the date. June 24th. Flower's stress levels were through the roof, and she was struggling to swallow anything. To know what was waiting for her was almost worse than not knowing, she had told him the day before. Because she could imagine what was going to happen. And to be face to face with her enemy... was terrifying. Because he was older than she, more experienced... and above all without any qualms.

He sighed, thinking of Flower's stress. His wasn't much better, because in addition to his own work (already horribly monstrous), he was also worried about her. He understood what she meant by saying that sometimes it was better not to know. The stress was such that he had to masturbate several times a day, even more than before, to try to make him fall back a minimum. Without much effect, alas. And the frustration made him even more snappish than usual, terrifying the cadets. The only good thing about it (if you could say that) was that the bullies were staying low. He had only three cases during the month of June, when he usually had at least a dozen. Per week.

Sephiroth came out of the shower rubbing his hair, deeply annoyed. All he wanted was to be satisfied. But impossible to get there. Throwing his towel in the laundry basket, he lay down on his bed with a sigh, completely naked. Some nights... especially when it was hot, he preferred to sleep naked. The higher body temperature of the SOLDIERS was both a blessing and a curse. It was useful in winter, yes, when they were in cold environments. But in summer? Under a sweltering heat? They were generally very susceptible to heat stroke. And it wasn't because their body was recovering from most things faster that it was nice.

Sephiroth rubbed his face with a grunt, thanking their apartment for one bathroom per bedroom. It avoided the awkward situations of the kind to be face to face with the others when they were naked (even if it had happened sometimes when one of the bathrooms had a problem, usually his own because of his long hair), each having his own space to wash himself. He closed his eyes, trying to distract his mind. He wanted to avoid having to go back to masturbate in the shower, and to think of those times when he had stumbled upon Genesis or Angeal naked was a sure way to end up with a new erection that he would have to deal with in order to sleep. But by the Goddess... the other two were really well built physically... including their manhood.

He managed, however, to divert his mind from these thoughts, preferring instead to concentrate on Flower. The poor girl... was really in serious danger. All he hoped for was that she would survive the last test that had been stuck on her back.

Sephiroth used Wutaiean meditation methods to focus and calm down enough to sleep. He knew he wouldn't be speaking with Flower this time, it would be for the next night. But he didn't know if he would see what would happen to her in the labyrinth. And he wasn't sure he wanted it... because he felt that she was going to have another test, probably as horrible as the others. And knowing that she had to let him get a body to defeat him... didn't help him to calm down.

oOo

Sephiroth studied what was in front of him attentively.

The hedge that formed the labyrinth had to be six meters high, more than enough to prevent the champions from seeing over, or anyone else. The silverette rolled his eyes at so much stupidity on the wizards part. Like the Second Task, it would be impossible for them to see anything. The opening in the hedge offered only a dark and disturbing path... especially knowing what was waiting for Flower at the end. She had told him that she wanted to avoid dragging anyone else with her in that event, but if the real school champion landed with her in front of the terrorist, she would try to save him if she could. Moreover, he would certainly make a good visual witness... if he wasn't harassed to the point of giving up telling the truth. But his "House" placed special importance on loyalty and hard work, even if it was looked down on by others.

Out of curiosity, Sephiroth had asked Flower for explanations on the subject. And he had snickers at certain descriptions. The black and yellow she described would go like a glove to Angeal, especially considering that their head of house was dealing with plants. Genesis would get along perfectly with the blues and bronze, as this House was considered a den of scholars (and why didn't Scholar go there?). He himself would have been at ease with the greens and silver. As for Zack... he saw him quite in Flower's. He loved the colors red and gold, and lamented that the only color allowed for the SOLDIER are purple, blue or black. Unless you were 1st class.

Shaking his head, Sephiroth watched the people approaching. The giant, the impostor, a... dwarf? A woman with a strict appearance, and the idiot in yellow and black robe. Except for the idiot, the other four sported a big bright red star on their pointed hat... except for the giant, who was carrying it behind his back. The strict woman explained to them that they would patrol around the labyrinth, and that if they were in trouble, they only had to send red sparks into the sky to be rescued. However, they would be disqualified if that were the case.

The idiot then did something to amplify his voice (and Sephiroth was very interested in knowing how, it would prevent him screaming so much at the cadets who did stupid stuff), before announcing happily (too much for his taste) that the last task would begin. He then made a quick recap of the champions' points, before launching a short whistle, sending Flower and her classmate into the labyrinth.

Almost instantly, it was as if Flower had returned underwater. Probably a spell, Sephiroth thought. The silence was almost disturbing, but he could tell that Flower was relieved to be out of sight of the crowd if he trusted the way her muscles relaxed. Imitated by her classmate, she pulled out her wand, lighting the end with a word. They separated quickly enough, the first junction not being very far from the entrance, after mutually wishing each other good luck.

Sephiroth didn't like this place at all. It reminded him furiously of ambushes during the Wutai War. Well, from what she had explained to him, she was voluntarily walking into an ambush. It didn't make him less worried. He barely paid attention to the other two whistles indicating that the other champions had all entered the labyrinth. The silverette noticed that she kept glancing behind her, feeling visibly watched, if he judged by the way he felt the fine hair of her neck stand up.

The labyrinth continued to darken, the night tightening its hold, and Flower now depended almost entirely on her wand for lighting. Finally, she came to an intersection, and laid it flat on her hand, murmuring something resembling "point north." The wand spun on itself on her palm, before pointing to her right, towards the hedge. She groaned annoyingly, showing her that she needed to go in that direction to reach the center. With a sigh, she took her wand in hand to move forward. For the moment, she could only go to her left, waiting to turn right as soon as possible. This road was also deserted.

Soon, Flower reached another junction that allowed her to go to the right. Here again, the way was clear. Sephiroth was very nervous about this lack of obstacles, which made him uncomfortable. Normally, something should have stopped her. However... even though he had the impression that the labyrinth was trying to give her a false sense of security, he knew the real reason why Flower didn't encounter any obstacles. She had told him that the imposter would do his best to make sure that the path she took was clear. In a way, it suited Flower, because it allowed her to save her strength. He heard a movement behind her. Flower raised her wand as a precaution, ready to attack, but it was the boy from her school who appeared in the light beam. He had just emerged from the path on the right. He looked seriously shaken and smoke rose from his sleeve.

"******'s ********** ******!" He said in a hissing voice. "They are huge! I just escaped them!"

He nodded and disappeared along another path. Sephiroth felt Flower shudder at his words. Obviously, she knew what he was talking about, and clearly didn't want to linger, because she hurried away. Whatever it was, she obviously knew what it was, and didn't want to be face to face with it.

Suddenly, at the turn of a bend, he saw... a man? Sephiroth frowned, puzzled, at Flower's reaction. The way her body had stiffened under the effect of terror... and her tremors... all pointed to the conclusion that she knew this man... and that she feared him. He wasn't very impressive from the warrior point of view, even Palmer was more impressive! The man was more than obese, and sported a thick blond mustache, just like his hair. Sephiroth absently wondered how he couldn't have died of a heart attack yet, especially with the purplish color of his face. His eyes flashed with anger, however, as he saw him undo his belt, a bad light in his eyes. He didn't intend to do what he thought? Wondered the silverette, furious.

Except that if he trusted the way Flower was shaking, he had already done it. And many times, no doubt. Sephiroth would have gladly strangled the man facing Flower, advancing menacingly, even though he didn't know how he'd landed in the labyrinth. The latter was quietly murmuring "he's not real, he's not real..." in a trembling voice, obviously trying to convince herself of this fact and get rid of him... at least he hoped. Suddenly, the man froze, his face losing its purple color to become white chalk. He began to recoil, falling on his hindquarters and shrinking, to the surprise of Sephiroth and, no doubt, Flower. Continuing to retreat on all fours and shrink, he ends up being cornered against the hedge... no longer looking like anything known.

Sephiroth would almost compared the creature trembling in terror against the hedge to a Goblin, but other than size, there was nothing in common. The skin of the creature was greyish, white symbols painted on his face and limbs, the little he could see. His long pointed ears had light blue earrings, two for each ear, and a pointed hat, in the same light brown tones as the rest of his clothes. Some dead leaves and others greener were attached to his belt alternately, and others inserted into the band of his pointed hat. The silverette was surprised to hear Flower murmur, totally perplexed.

"But... wait a minute, the *******... it would be a ********?"

He felt her sigh, passing her hand over her face, mumbling:

"Oh and fuck it, I don't want to know. Get out of there, you," she sighed in the direction of the creature, who continued to tremble with fear. "And never come back here, understood?"

The trembling little being, scarcely about the size of a doll, frantically nodded his head, before disappearing into a whirlwind of dead leaves, making Flower shake her head. Clearly, she had recognized the creature, no matter what it was, and was obviously less afraid of it than the obese man he had taken the shape off. Sephiroth mentally took note of the man in question, carving his face in his memory. He felt her breathing deeply, probably to recover from her emotions, before leaving. Holding her wand over her head to light the way, she moved as quickly and silently as she could.

Left... right... left again... Twice she found herself in a cul-de-sac. Again, Flower used her wand as a compass, and Sephiroth realized that she had apparently gone too far east, since she always said "north" when she put it down. Flower grumbled in frustration, before retracing her steps, taking a path on her right, and then fell on a strange golden mist that floated a few meters in front of her.

Flower approached it carefully, lighting it with her light beam. It was surely a trap and he wondered if she could make it disappear. He felt her sigh with an exasperated groan.

"I don't have time to deal with this bullshit…" she grumbled.

A female scream suddenly broke the silence, making her jump and swear. Sephiroth understood it. If he trusted the voice, it was the champion of one of the rival schools, the one whose headmistress was a giant. He heard Flower shout something, probably the name of the girl in question because it was blocked, but without result. The scream hadn't echoed far, but the golden mist was in the way. Murmuring a new rudeness, she began to wave her wand, her gestures flowing but lacking confidence, as if she was practicing this spell for the first time in real conditions. Sephiroth couldn't hear the incantation, much to his frustration, but he could see the effect immediately. The golden haze vanished in a few seconds, and Flower went on her way, almost running. Finally, she arrived at another crossroads, whose right branch led in the direction she was going.

She paused a few seconds, panting, studying the branch paths. Sephiroth could feel her hesitating. Was the champion doing alright? He was getting more and more frustrated to see the events through her eyes, because it meant he had access only to what she could see herself. After a few moments, she finally found her way, looking from all sides, perhaps hoping to see the champion.

For almost ten minutes, all that Sephiroth saw was the surrounding green walls. The only obstacles on the way were the junctions, and Flower used her wand each time to determine the right direction. Despite this, she was wrong twice before finally finding a way to the northwest. With a victorious whisper, she rushed in that direction, turning an angle... before braking in disaster, releasing what had to be a swear in front of the thing that faced her. And he understood her.

The thing that faced them was easily over three meters. It looked vaguely like a Frozen Nail (if he trusted the documents he had consulted) or that monster dubbed Keeper of Materia, but who would have had legs sticking out a little from every angle... and a scorpion tail at the front and back. The carapace of a jet black shone under the moonlight, making it even more disturbing. Sephiroth blinked in surprise when the thing made a jet of fire, propelling itself forward and towards Flower. The latter threw herself back without hesitation, landing on her back. She then pointed her wand at the belly of the monster (Sephiroth realizing at that moment that the underside of the thing didn't have the same color as the rest of the shell, and appeared softer), shouting an incantation.

The giant scorpion stopped, and Flower took the opportunity to crawl away safely, before turning around and continuing to run. Sephiroth let out a sigh of relief in his mind, congratulating her for keeping a cool head despite the stress of facing such a thing. Knowing what you were going to fall on one was one thing, coming face to face with such a monster, even knowing what to expect, and being able to keep calm anyway, was another.

Arriving at the previous crossing, she caught her breath, before choosing a path going on her left this time. She swore at finding herself in a cul-de-sac, turning around. The next path turned out to be another cul-de-sac, and she groaned in frustration. For her third attempt, she came back further, and finally found a path to the northwest.

Sephiroth felt his nerves were going to burst under the effect of tension. The absence of obstacles was almost worse than meeting them all the time, because one didn't have to be a genius to realize that it was a trap. And judging by the way Flower looked around her regularly, she knew it too.

Nothing happened for several minutes, then Sephiroth heard a voice on the other side of the hedge. It was that of the official school champion, his tone ringing with a perplexed voice, nervous and worried.

"What are you doing?" Exclaimed this one. "What's the matter with you? You are crazy?"

The voice of the male champion of the other school then rose, pronouncing a word (an incantation?) of his accented voice. The boy's screams then rose in the night air, and Flower swore in a low voice. Pointing her wand at the hedge, she growled an incantation, burning the hedge. She had to try several times to get a hole big enough to pass (and yet it was not big), but not without grazing herself on the branches while passing through. She fell on the champion of her school, writhing in pain on the ground, the champion of the other school standing above him. Without hesitation, Flower used a spell sending a jet of red light, and the opposing champion collapsed to the ground, unconscious.

She then rushed to her classmate, obviously worried.

"You okay ******?"

He nodded, his body still trembling as she helped him up.

"Yes," he answered, breathless. "Yes... I cannot believe it... He approached me from behind... I heard him, I turned around and he pointed his wand at me…"

Flower shook her head.

"Although I didn't have the opportunity to talk to him much, I doubt that he did so of his own free will."

"Because of what you said before the tournament?" He asked, getting up.

She nodded.

"If *********... stop jumping at that stupid name," she said annoyed, "is not behind my entrance into this farce, my mother was a *****." she said sarcastically.

He snorted with some irony in response.

"What are we doing? We leave him here?" He asked.

"No, I think we should send red sparks. Someone will come looking for him... Otherwise, he may be devoured by a *******."

"He deserves no better," muttered the boy, but he lifted his wand all the same, and threw a shower of red sparks in the air, that hung in the sky to indicate where their opponent was.

They stood for a moment side by side in the dark, glancing around them.

"Might as well go," said her companion finally.

"What?" Said Flower, obviously drawn from her thoughts. "Ah, yes... you're right…"

Sephiroth could feel that she wanted to wait for someone to arrive, but they could not linger too long either. They resumed their way, before separating at the first intersection. Flower had taken the left path, and very quickly he couldn't hear the other boy's footsteps anymore. Flower used her wand again to orient herself, accelerating her pace. At least, if he trusted the growing darkness, she was nearing the heart of the labyrinth. In spite of the few dead ends in which she found herself, she was obviously advancing.

Sephiroth blinked in surprise at the next obstacle in her way. A creature that resembled what Hojo could have created: a huge feline body (or Blood Taste) with a human head, sporting a kind of... headdress on her head. The creature turned her big almond-shaped eyes towards Flower, who let out a sigh.

She was blocking the passage by walking from one side to the other but didn't seem to have any aggressive intentions.

"You are very close to your goal," said the creature in a deep, hoarse voice. "The fastest way to get there is to go past me."

"In this case... would you let me pass, please?" Flower asked, but her tone clearly showed that she knew what the answer would be.

"No," the creature replied, continuing to pace. "Unless you solve my riddle. If you give the right answer, I'll let you go, if your answer is wrong, I'll attack you fiercely. Finally, if you don't say anything, you can leave without damage in the opposite direction."

"I hate riddles as much as labyrinths," Flower muttered, annoyed, before sighing. "Okay. Can I hear it?"

Sephiroth understood her reasoning. If she didn't say anything, she could turn around without danger. The whole problem was that it would waste time. But it was always better than being attacked by those claws, he thought, contemplating the imposing legs of the creature. The latter sat in the center of the path, and began to recite... verses?

I have been called many names

but all mean the same.

I wield the sharpest of what once cut grains and grass.

I'm living, although have no flesh.

Finally, What is always there

but not always seen

but will take you in the very end?

Who am I?

Sephiroth felt Flower blink several times, visibly surprised. She mumbled, "I should have expected the riddle to be different," before sighing. She started pacing, mumbling, warning the creature that she was thinking aloud. Finally, she stopped and looked at her hesitantly.

"... Death?" She said uncertainly.

The creature's smile made Flower's muscles relax, and Sephiroth realized that she had to have the right answer, especially when she stretched and shifted to let the teenager pass, declaring:

"That is correct, you can pass unscathed."

Flower let out a sigh, and went on her way, almost running to pass the creature, who let out a sudden yowling scream, like a drowning cat, causing Flower to jump in surprised fright, before she barely heard the creature mutter, seemingly terrified:

"Yes, always there."

Flower probably decided to not ask questions, and kept running. Sephiroth really hoped she was getting close to the heart of the labyrinth, this waiting was killing him. Arriving at a new intersection, she used her wand to determine the direction. The latter pointed towards the path on the right, and Flower rushed in that direction. The silverette soon spotted a golden glow straight ahead, and a short time later he saw a large gold cup resting on a pedestal.

Flower began to run as soon as she spotted it, and Sephiroth could see her classmate emerge from a path on the side, also rushing to the cup. He heard Flower swear realizing that she wouldn't arrive on time, the boy was taller and with longer legs. Sephiroth suddenly saw something moving in a parallel path, protruding from the hedge. He didn't dare to imagine the size of the thing, or its appearance, but if the boy continued like this, he would hit it hard. And as his eyes were fixed on the trophy, he had seen nothing.

"Look out, to the left!" Exclaimed Fleur, shortness of breath.

The boy turned his head just in time to throw himself forward and narrowly past the thing avoiding the collision but, in his haste, he stumbled. His wand escaped his hands as a giant spider emerged on the road and rushed at him. Sephiroth wasn't afraid of spiders, nor disgusted... at a normal size. There, it had to be that of a truck! Flower used a spell, probably in the hope of distracting it from her classmate, since given its size, it would probably be insensitive to spells. And indeed, despite several spells launched by Flower, the giant spider rushed at her.

Sephiroth had just enough time to see its eight sparkling black eyes and razor-sharp tweezers before it was on Flower. He felt her being raised in the air by the two front legs of the spider, and the teenager struggled like mad, obviously panicked, trying to kick it. Her leg then hit one of the mandibles and he felt terrible pain. He heard the boy crying out a spell, but again the spell was ineffective. Flower raised her wand as the spider opened its mandibles again and shouted something. Sephiroth felt intense relief when he saw that it was effective, and the spider let her go, but Flower fell nearly four meters and fell on her already injured leg that he felt it give way under her. And without seeming to take the time to think, she pointed her wand at the creature's belly, as she had done for the scorpion, and howled a spell just as the boy was giving the same scream.

The two spells combined finally had the desired effect: the spider collapsed to the side, crushing a nearby hedge, in a tangle of hairy legs that stretched across the path.

"****!" Cried the boy. "You're okay? It didn't fall on you?"

"No," replied Flower, breathing heavily, her eyes on her wound.

Sephiroth winced as he saw her leg. She was bleeding profusely and he saw on the fabric of her robe a kind of thick, sticky secretion that most certainly came from the spider's mandibles. Flower tried to get up but her leg was shaking and refusing to support her weight. She leaned against the hedge, trying to catch her breath, and turned to the teenager with her.

He was only one or two meters from the trophy that glittered behind him. The silverette could imagine Flower's despair. To arrive so far, almost without mistakes, and to fail so close to the goal. He knew that Flower wanted to save his life, knowing that what awaited them if they take the trophy was an ambush with her parents' killer on the other side. If he ever took the trophy alone... it was death guaranteed for him. However… if what Flower had said was right... his sense of fair play would refuse to let him take the trophy alone, despite the fact that it was at hand's reach.

His eyes alternated between Flower and the cup, clearly showing his inner dilemma. The desire to take it and claim victory for his house was literally written on his face. Finally he took a deep breath and spoke to Flower.

"If I take the cup, something will happen to me that's it?" He asked, half-resigned half-desperate.

Flower let out a sarcastic snort.

"That bastard who murdered my parents is waiting for me at the other end. He wants to get his body back, and he only needs my blood for that. If you show up... he'll kill you without hesitation."

"But not you?" He asked, stepping back, as if not to give in to temptation.

She sighed, shaking her head.

"Not in the immediate future, anyway. He's going to do a ritual, and then a big grandiloquent speech in front of his slaves, even if he didn't tell them that when he enslaved them. After he will want to confront me, and that's where I would have a chance to run away."

The teen looked at her incredulously.

"And you think I'll let you face You-Know-Who alone, ****? Are you crazy?"

"******, you'll get killed if you come," she replied angrily trying to take a step.

Her leg nearly collapsed under her, trembling under her weight, and she just caught herself on the hedge, swearing in a low voice. Sephiroth thought that she must have sprained her ankle in the fall if he relied on the intensity of the pain. Fortunately, it didn't look broken. Still, she couldn't walk alone, and Sephiroth felt an intense desire to cut the spider into slices. The fight against the spider had left Flower panting, aching from head to foot, and her leg was throbbing.

As she was, she was terribly vulnerable. The teenager approached her, cautiously skirting around the spider, and winced at the bloody wound.

"Something must be done for that," he mumbled, before gently saying something.

Bandages came out of his wand, wrapping around Flower's leg while a splint also appear, stabilizing her leg. The teenager was finally able to stand alone, the splint apparently sufficient to help her. She looked up at the teenager, obviously skeptical.

"You really intend to play the noble and generous knight, right?" She asked, not without derision.

He snorted, tucking his wand away.

"You know the ********** moto, ****. Loyalty and hard work are at the heart of our values. And no way am I leaving a student younger than me face a monster like this."

Flower sighed wearily. Obviously, there was no way to convince him to give up. Sephiroth wondered if she was going to stun him too, before realizing that if she managed to hide him, maybe he could survive. Maybe serve as a witness?

"********** suicidal cretin," she murmured. "Together, then?" She asked, looking up at him.

He blinked, visibly surprised to see her capitulate so easily.

"You give up as easily as that?" He asked, obviously skeptical.

Sephiroth felt her shrug.

"The only way to stop you is to knock you out," she pointed out ironically. "And it's not like I can stop you physically. Moreover... if we do that, it will technically remain a ******** victory, right? This way, you will still keep the glory. I don't want this damn fame," she grumbled. "I never wanted it."

He looked uncomfortable, but helped her hobble to the trophy, supporting her under one arm. Both of them then reached for each of the handles of the cup which glittered before their eyes.

"On three, okay?" Said Flower softly. "One... two... Three…"

At the same time, they each grabbed a handle of the cup.

At that moment, Sephiroth felt a jerk somewhere at the navel. His feet had left the ground and Flower clearly couldn't let go of the Trophy, which dragged her like a tornado in a whirlwind of colors, her classmate still beside her.

Sephiroth felt Flower's feet suddenly hit the ground, her injured leg collapsing under her weight, sending a wave of pain all over her body, and she let out a grunt of pain.

"Where are we?" Asked her companion, helping her up.

Flower murmured something in response, probably the name of the place if he trusted the "where's that?" uttered in a puzzled tone by the teenager. She then added:

"Sorry, ******."

Followed by what must have been a spell to immobilize him and stick him on a tombstone, before whispering something else, gradually making him disappear from his sight. The silverette partially approved her actions, knowing that if she had done nothing, he would probably have been killed as soon as they were spotted. She had just whispered one last spell when her ears caught a sound.

Sephiroth didn't distinguish much around him, but enough to know that they were now very far from school. Obviously, they had traveled for miles - maybe even hundreds of miles, because the mountains that surrounded the castle had disappeared. They were now in a dark cemetery, overgrown with vegetation. To their right, behind a large yew tree, stood the contours of a small church. On their left rose a hill and Flower distinguished the silhouette of a beautiful old house that stood at its summit.

Scrutinizing the darkness, she finally distinguished the silhouette of a man who was approached her and the boy hidden by walking among the graves with assured steps. Sephiroth couldn't see his face but, judging from his walk and the way he held his arms, he was obviously holding something in front of him. Small in size, he was dressed in a cloak with a hood on his head to hide his face. When he got closer, the silverette felt like he had a baby in his arms... Or maybe it was a simple wizard's robe rolled into a ball?

The man stopped next to a tall marble tombstone that was only two meters away from them. For a moment Flower stood perfectly still in front of the hooded figure watching her. She seemed to be hesitant about what to do, as if she was thinking about what to do. Or how to do it.

Then, without any warning sight, Sephiroth felt a pain so unbearable that he felt like Flower's scar was exploding. Of his life, never had he felt such pain. Even Hojo's experiences didn't come close. Flower dropped her wand, covering her face with her hands. Her knees bent and she found herself on the ground, unable to see anything. It was as if his head was about to split in two.

A hand bruskelly grabbed her by the arm, pulling her up before she had time to recover, before pressing her against a gravestone. Sephiroth didn't have time to read the name written on it, the person manhandling Flower having make ropes appeared to tie her from feet to head. Sephiroth could hear the panting breath of the person under the hood, and he almost hoped to see his face, to engrave it in his memory, in the unlikely opportunity where he would meet him one day. Flower struggled briefly, and the man struck her with the back of his hand. The silverette noted with interest that a finger was missing from this hand. A way to identify him, then.

"You," growled Fleur angrily.

He realized that she obviously knew him, and he wondered if he wasn't the famous traitor who had sold her parents. The man didn't answer, busy checking the strength of the ropes, his fingers seized by uncontrollable tremors fumbling the knots clumsily. When he was certain that Flower could no longer make the slightest movement, he drew from his cloak a piece of black cloth, which he stuffed into her mouth as a gag. Then, without a word, he went away. Sephiroth fought against the urge to swear. She couldn't hear anything, and couldn't see anything. He didn't know where the man had gone and couldn't even turn his head to look behind the gravestone. Flower could only see right in front of her.

The ball-shaped wizard's robe he first took for a baby was near the grave. Inside, something seemed to be agitated and Sephiroth felt Flower's scar make him hurt again... He knew then that he didn't want to see what was hidden in this robe... He didn't want it to unfolded in front of her... he didn't know what it contained... and, almost strangely, he didn't want to know.

Suddenly there was a sound at their feet, causing Flower's eyes to look down, who saw a gigantic snake waving in the grass around the gravestone to which they were attached. Sephiroth knew she wasn't afraid of snakes, being able to talk with them, but he felt her shudder all the same. Making him understand that it was not an ordinary snake. He heard the wheezing and jerky breathing of the hooded man approaching again, accompanied by a scraping. It looked like he was dragging something heavy behind him. He then returned to Flower's field of vision, who saw him push a stone cauldron against the grave. The silverette blinked in disbelief, he had never seen such a large cauldron. It was a huge stone vessel, rounded like a belly, in which an adult man would have had the place to sit. Apparently, it was filled with water - Flower could hear it splashing.

The thing wrapped around the rolled up robe fidgeted more and more insistently, as if trying to break free. Now the hooded man with a wand in his hand was bustling around the cauldron. Suddenly, flames crackled under the huge container and the great snake slither away in the darkness.

The liquid that filled the cauldron seemed to heat up very quickly. It began to boil, projecting fiery sparks as if it had caught fire. A thick vapor escaped from it, blurring the figure of the man who kept the flames going. The bundle of cloth seemed to become even more agitated, and Sephiroth heard a shrill, icy voice, horribly familiar:

"Hurry up," it said.

The silverette clenched his teeth. The last time he had heard that voice in one of Flower's memories... she had almost died there. He sensed that again, that would be the case. Now the whole surface of the liquid was sparking, as if it were encrusted with diamonds.

"It's ready, Master," said a trembling, shrill voice, belonging to the man.

"Now..." said the icy voice.

The hooded man unfolded the robe, revealing its contents, and Sephiroth let out a disgusted howl in his mind, Flower's own suffocated by the piece of fabric that gagged her.

It was as if the man had suddenly flipped a stone beneath which was hiding a repulsive, slimy, blind thing - but what Sephiroth saw through Flower's eyes was worse, a hundred times worse. The thing was like a crouching child, and yet nothing could have looked more farther then a child. He was an entirely bald being, covered with coarse scales, a reddish black. He had slender, frail arms and legs, and a flat, serpent-like face with red, flaming eyes - never could a child have such a face.

The creature just seemed to barely be able to do a few things. He raised his thin arms and hold them around the man's neck, which lifted him up. In the movement, his hood slid backwards and Sephiroth could see by the flames the man's pallid and sickly expression of revulsion as he carried the thing to the cauldron. For a moment, the flattened, evil head was illuminated by the sparks dancing on the surface of the liquid, and then he placed the creature in the cauldron. There was a whistle and it disappeared under the surface. Sephiroth could hear his frail body hitting the bottom of the stone container with a thud.

A part of him prayed with all his might that this... thing drowns in the cauldron. Such an abomination... shouldn't exist. Flower's scar... was more painful than ever. But he knew that the poor girl wouldn't be so lucky. Her luck... was generally atrocious. She was lives, yes, but never unharmed. He was drawn from his thoughts by the man's voice, trembling and sounding terrified. He barely paid attention to his words, more interested in the unfolding of the events. A fine powder rose from under Flower's feet, landing in the cauldron. The warrior couldn't restrain a grimace of disgust, however, realizing that the man had sliced his right hand, before dropping it into the potion, if he trusted the splashing sound that followed. The light that crossed Flower's eyelids (who had closed her eyes just before he cut his hand) was now bright red.

She opened her eyes sharply, however, when the panting and painful breathing of her torturer (Sephiroth couldn't think of him in a different way) moved closer to her. Flower struggled despite the bonds, refusing to let herself be passif, but she was barely able to squirm. The silverette felt the urge to murder rise again when he used the same knife he had used to cut his hand to slash the teenager's arm, without seeming to pay attention to her squirming. He could feel the knife sinking into her flesh, and the blood running down her arm. The hooded man, panting with pain, searched his pockets with his good hand, before taking out a small vial and pressing the lid against the wound.

After collecting enough blood, he staggered toward the cauldron, pouring the scarlet liquid inside, before collapsing to the floor, sobbing. Sephiroth felt no pity for him, however. He had sold Flower's parents to a monster, had hidden under the appearance of a rat for years, and had fled at the first opportunity. A small part of his mind wondered if he should ask Flower how it was possible. It would be an undeniable tactical advantage, especially if the form was of fighting size.

The liquid became blindingly white, not helping Flower's pain, and Sephiroth's echoed off it. The cauldron bubbles, sparking in all directions, like diamonds, and so bright that everything else seemed black by comparison. For a long time, nothing happened…

Then the sparks suddenly disappeared, plunging the area into almost total darkness, aggravated by the thick smoke that spread from the cauldron. But soon, a wave of shivers shook Flower from head to foot: through the vapor cloud, she had just seen the dark silhouette of a tall, skeletal man who slowly rose from the cauldron.

"Dress me," said the shrill, chilling voice from the steam cloud.

Shaken with sobs, the man, still holding his mutilated arm against him, picked up the black robe lying on the ground. He got up and, with his single hand, put the robe over his master's head.

The skeletal man came out of the cauldron. He looked at Flower... and she looked down at the face that had certainly haunted her nightmares for three years. More pale than a skull, eyes scarlet and wide open, nose flat, with two slits as nostrils, like a snake…

The murderer of Flower's parents and so many others had just returned to a new body.

In a recess of his mind, Sephiroth couldn't help but find the whole process atrociously cliché. The only good news was that the boy who had accompanied Flower was more or less safe, paralyzed and invisible. But he didn't dare to imagine what he must feel. He was probably terrified, especially knowing that he was unable to defend himself at that moment.

The man, pale as a corpse, quickly looked away, ignoring Flower. The latter took advantage of his distraction to spit the tissue that the traitor had stuffed into her mouth, before trying to moisten her dry mouth. Meanwhile, the terrorist began to examine his own body. He gazed at his hands, like big, pale spiders, then caressed his chest, arms, and face with his long whitish fingers. His red eyes, with vertical pupils like those of a cat, looked even brighter in the darkness. He reached out his hands, folded and unfolded his fingers with an expression of delight. He didn't give a single glance to the man wriggling on the ground, his arm dripping with blood, or the snake that had come back and hissing circling Flower. Voldemort slipped one of his unnaturally long hands into a pocket of his robe and pulled out a wand. He stroked it gently, lifted it up and pointed it at the sob sobbing man on the ground, which was levitated and thrown against the tombstone to which the teenager was binded. He collapsed to the ground and stood there, curled up, moaning. Voldemort then turned his scarlet eyes to flower and burst into a shrill, icy, joyless laugh.

Sephiroth had the increasing want of cutting him into pieces. This megalomaniac reminded him furiously of Hojo,in worse, because he had power, and knew how to use it, where the scientist had little physical strength and the little power that the President granted him. But within his domain, he was more or less all-powerful, as Sephiroth had seen at his expense when he was a child. From now on... a single misstep by the scientist pretending to be his father... or the revelation that he was not... and the warrior would be happy to throw him as food for his creations.

He stared at the next scene, his eyes narrowed in the background, attentive and recording everything he saw. The warrior watched him pull up the sleeve of the coward (Wormtail unfortunately sounded more like a nickname than a name, but he knew at least how to call him now), revealing a hideous tattoo, which formed a skull from which a snake would emerge, bright red on pale skin. The silverette fumed with helpless rage as Flower's scar began to hurt her excruciatingly as he put his finger on the tattoo, turning it jet black, accentuating the contrast with the skin. The cruel and satisfied expression of the terrorist made Sephiroth cringe with anger, especially when he began to monologuing, speaking of his parents and those of Flower.

He snorted with contempt at hearing speak of his "real family." The men who had appeared one after the other in the cemetery were certainly not a family for him. Just cannon fodder. Some more useful than others, but that's all. The fabrics rustling broke off pretty quickly, and silence fell quickly. Sephiroth felt a deep disgust at seeing them approach the... monster, who stood in front of them, crawling up to reach him and kissing the bottom of his robe, before getting up and joining the others, forming a loose circle. There were spaces in this circle, as if people were missing, and the silverette tucked this information in a corner of his mind.

He then watched, impassive, the human-shaped monster parading in the circle, removing the masks and calling some of his slaves by their names... blocked, to his frustration. The terrorist tortured some of his subordinates, barely interrupting his speech. The silver hand he offered to Wormtail surprised him, honestly. However... the silverette wasn't stupid enough not to suspect that there was an ulterior motive behind. A security that can cost the life of the coward. He watched him tell what had happened. How he had returned to the country, using Wormtail, and calling him a mediocre wizard. Sephiroth could only agree. It was to wonder how he had mastered the transformation into animals. Finally, he turned to Flower, a sadistic gleam in his eyes, and the silverette had a bad feeling, which was confirmed a few seconds later when he raised his wand at the teenager, before saying a word, an incantation.

Instantly, he had the impression that he had just plunged Flower into pure Mako. Her cries of pain echoed through the graveyard, and Sephiroth had never felt so helpless. It was as if his nervous system was on fire, a volcano of suffering erupting in every nerve. Finally, the pain stopped, and he let out a sigh of mental relief. Flower... didn't deserve that, he told himself angrily. Nobody deserved that!

He barely paid attention to the aura that had begun to invade the graveyard when the monster began to torture Flower. Cold, icy even, and relentless, it made the monster's followers stir nervously, who looked around, wary and worried. But none of them made a move. Flower was half sobbing because of the pain, and the ropes were now the only thing that kept her upright. She was struggling to breathe, her breath short and her throat broken because of her screams.

And the monster... laughed! He laughed with this high, icy laugh, seeming to find it amusing to torture an immobilized, injured child who couldn't defend herself! In Sephiroth's mind, it only reinforced the resemblance to Hojo. Even his followers laughed at Flower's suffering. He then slowly approached, talking about the sacrifice of the latter's mother, and how she had protected her, bouncing the spell on him. The only thing Sephiroth could think of at that moment, as his presence worsened the pain in Flower's head, was that if he raised his hand on her, he would be happy to teach him what it was to suffer... and that there was much worse than death.

Even as he thought that, the monster lifted a long pale finger, getting ready to touch Flower's cheek... before he had to jump back, his expression shocked, when something brushed his head, barely missing him. Sephiroth saw Flower blink, obviously trying to chase the fog that seemed to have settled, raising her head. Then blink again, as if to check that she wasn't dreaming. The warrior understood why.

Beside her stood a large statue, probably representing the Reaper if he trusted the scythe it held between its bony hands, the hood folded over its skull, in whose orbits were burning two pale green flames at the place of eyes. The statue made another gesture of its scythe, slicing the ropes holding Flower, and gently catching her as she collapsed, helping her to sit on the ground. A faint green glow enveloped it, the folds sculpted in the stone almost giving the impression of being a real fabric when it moved. Sephiroth couldn't help shuddering as he felt the statue's aura. An icy anger. Pure and simple, and of such intensity that all of the monster's followers recoiled at the same time, apparently terrified. Even the monster didn't seem comfortable, especially when the statue leapt in his direction, slamming its scythe on him to try to destroy him.

Sephiroth felt Flower emit a snort almost amused at seeing him dodge the statue's attacks. He even felt a certain amusement, it was almost karma at this level. Unfortunately, the statue being made of stone, and of great size, moreover, it was slower than its target, agile and mobile. Finally, the monster managed to destroy it with a spell, but he felt a certain satisfaction to see him so out of breath. The monster then turned to Flower, who had recovered enough to get up, staring at her with a frown.

"Tell me, **** ******, why aren't you more surprised by the fact that this statue moved on its own?"

Sephiroth could almost feel her rolling her eyes.

"Sincerely, ***, this bullshit is not even worth 8/10 on my personal weird-o-meter," she answered, deadpan.

An amused snort escaped him in spite of himself, especially when he saw the furious expression of her opponent. Still, he had the impression that Flower was either suicidal or had no survival instinct. Perhaps a little of both, he said to himself with some exasperation as she made an insolent middle finger to her opponent, before throwing herself to the side to dodge a spell. Unfortunately, she didn't have time to recover before she again took a spell that made her suffer, and her cries rose again in the night, under the snickers of the others. They were no better than their master, Sephiroth thought, disgusted.

Finally, the pain stopped, and Flower was able to catch her breath. Tears flowed freely down her cheeks, but other than that, she showed no sign that what had happened had affected her. She stood up again, handicapped by her leg, and frowned, realizing that she seemed to know all too well how to avoid aggravating her injury, putting most of her weight on her right leg. Something told him that if he met the people she lived with... there would be blood and body parts on the walls. And Sephiroth doubted that Flower would stop him. There was no warmth in her voice when she spoke of them.

The monster laughed softly, before declaring that he was going to face Flower, here and now, and send her body back to the school. A demonstration of power? Sephiroth snorted with contempt. It wasn't a demonstration of power, but of gratuitous cruelty, he said to himself angrily. To confront a child in a duel, when he had decades of knowledge over her... it was a planned massacre. He would have gladly shown him what it was to face a real warrior. Someone trained in combat since a young age.

Sephiroth smiled slightly at Flower's answer to his question whether she had learned to duel:

"To duel or fight? There is a difference, knowing that thanks to this old goat, I had to fight for four years against you. As for the duel... the only dueling class I had was made by an incompetent jerk, who found the way to erase his own memory at the end of the year. So haven't learned much, ***."

She ignored Wormtail who put her wand in her hand, before joining the circle of followers, who had tightened. Flower remained almost calm anyway, just stooping to dodge a spell. Her enemy narrowed his eyes, visibly frustrated at her actions. He insisted on respecting the forms, and greeting each other before the duel, before being frustrated by her refusal. He pointed his wand in her direction, insisting, and it was as if a giant hand was leaning against her back, forcing her to bend her spine, under the laughter of the "spectators". Flower sniffed in contempt when he let her get back up.

"Still as bad a loser, ***? I will point out that given the lack of respect you have shown me so far, I don't see why I would testify it to you. You are a coward able to pick on a helpless baby, so why would I respect you?"

Sephiroth was genuinely torn between applauding her for her guts and catch her to shelter her behind him, especially when her enemy used again the pain spell. Flower writhed in pain on the ground, the pain even worse than before. Eventually, the pain stopped and she managed to get up, trembling all over.

"We'll take a short break," said the sadist, his snake nostrils dilated by excitement. "It hurt you, did it not, ****? You wouldn't like me to start again, I think?"

Flower didn't answer. Sephiroth could almost hear what she was thinking. She was going to die like her parents, he saw it in those ruthless red eyes... She was going to die and couldn't do anything to escape her fate... but she clearly didn't intend to let Voldemort play with her. She didn't intend to obey him... She wasn't going to beg him…

"I asked you if you would like me to start again?" He went on. "Answer me! *******!"

And, to Sephiroth's biggest surprise, he heard a small voice whisper in his ears. Answer "no"... A simple "no"... Just answer "no"...

The voice was barely audible over the static noise, like a poorly tuned radio.

Just answer "no"...

Sephiroth had the distinct impression that she was supposed to obey what she heard, but obviously the murmur didn't have the power it should have. He could also see that she was studying her surroundings carefully, clearly looking for a way out. On her left, the circle was looser, and if she does it right, she might be able to escape.

Just answer "no"…

"I'LL RESPOND NOTHING!" She shouted sharply, immediately breaking the spell he was using.

These words had suddenly burst from her mouth. They echoed throughout the graveyard and it was like pouring cold water on his head. Sephiroth again felt the aches that the painful spell had left in her body... Whatever he did, it had temporarily blocked the pain. A respite too short, in the silverette's eyes. Especially considering what she did next.

"That's the best you can do? Even Professor Mad-Eye can do better!" She asked, giving him an insolent finger.

"You don't want to answer?" The terrorist said in a very calm voice. "You don't want to answer "no"? ****, obedience is a virtue that I will have to teach you before killing you... Another small dose of pain?"

He raised his wand, but this time Flower was ready. With a quick reflex that came from the practice of her sport, she threw herself on the ground, rolled behind the tombstone and heard the spell crack the marble without reaching her.

"We aren't playing hide-and-seek, ****," said the calm and icy voice of the terrorist who was getting closer.

The "spectators" had begun to laugh again.

"Surely, you're not going to be hiding? Does this mean that you already have enough of our duel? Maybe you prefer me to finish right now with you? Come on, get out of there, ****... Get out of there and play the game... It will not be long... Maybe you will not suffer... I do not know... I never died…"

Sephiroth would have gladly strangled him at this moment. He was clearly playing with her, like a cat playing with a mouse. Flower wasn't stupid, he knew it, but against such an experienced adversary... it only delayed the inevitable. And he was aware that she knew it too.

She suddenly leapt forward, ignoring the pain of her leg, taking her enemy's servants by surprise as she passed between two of them, moving away in the night. She couldn't go very far, Sephiroth knew it, but no longer being encircled by enemies was already a plus. She ran zigzagging, trying to dodge the spells that were firing in her direction, failing to avoid everything, even if she threw a few of her own. After a few minutes, out of breath, she stopped abruptly, and turned, facing her enemy, who had followed her. Putting her wand in her pocket, she suddenly did something that only Genesis had done so far, much to the silverette's surprise.

Bringing her right hand over her shoulder, she sent bright green fireballs at her enemy, clearly taking him by surprise, if he judged by the way his eyes widened almost comically, before he was forced to dive to the side to dodge, the fireballs apparently not being blocked by whatever spell he had used.

Sephiroth couldn't help shuddering, though, feeling the aura of the fireballs. Similar to that of the statue... in much, much worse. The anger that emanated was almost suffocating... not to mention the impression of impending death that they released. He heard Flower murmur "again?" her tone annoyed and exasperated... and more than a little puzzled. So it was the same fire she had used against the dragon… but more powerful, the silverette noticed, seeing the marks it left on the stone.

Her opponent stood up cautiously, watching, knitting his almost nonexistent eyebrows.

"Well, well, the Savior of the Wizarding World uses Necromancer Fire? What would the masses say when they learn that you use forbidden magic, ****?" He taunted.

Flower gave an exasperated sigh.

"For the last time, *** ... I DON'T KNOW WHAT HAPPENS!" She barked, making him raise a surprised eyebrow. "My goal was to torch your face! Not to use a magic supposedly prohibited because these morons of the Ministry want to dumbed the crowds to better control them! I don't even know how I do it!"

He stared at her for a few seconds, before laughing, that shrill, chilling laugh that put Sephiroth's nerves raw. He finally calmed down, looking at her maliciously.

"All right, if you say so. Enough playing, though. It's time to conclude this duel... ***** *******!" He barked without warning, pointing his wand in front of him, towards Flower.

"************!" Flower shouted at the same time.

Sephiroth watched as the two streams of light darted toward each other, the first of the same pale green as the statue's aura or the fireballs thrown by Flower, and the spell from her own wand scarlet red. However... their meeting created, to his great surprise, a long thread of golden light, connecting their two wands, despite the fact that the streams of light have long since left the focus. The latters vibrating as if they had been traversed by a violent electric current, and Flower's hand was as if stuck to the wood, preventing her from releasing it.

Suddenly, much to Sephiroth's surprise, the two fighters were literally lifted from the ground, floating in the air as if an invisible glass plate had been under their feet and had risen in the air. They flew slowly over the gravestone and landed on a square of bare grass, devoid of graves... The monster's followers had begun to scream, asking him what they should do. They drew near, reforming the circle around Flower and their master, the serpent wriggling at their feet. Some of them had taken out their wands.

The gold thread that united Flower and the terrorist suddenly broke apart. Their wands remained tied to each other, but thousands of other lines of light were projected into the air, drawing a multitude of intersecting arches over their heads. Soon, they found themselves locked under a golden dome, like a huge spider web, beyond which the spectators tightened their circle, like jackals, their cries strangely muffled…

"Do nothing!" Cried the terrorist in a piercing voice.

Sephiroth saw his red eyes widen in shock at this phenomenon. He saw him trying to break the thread of light that still connected the two wands, but Flower squeezed her wand tightly, both hands at once, and the gold thread remained intact. Sephiroth had the vague impression that she knew what to expect, and refused to let go.

"Do nothing until I give you the order!" Shouted her enemy to his followers.

Then, a beautiful and supernatural sound rose in the air... It emanated from each thread of the luminous webs vibrating around them. Sephiroth had never heard it before, but Flower has, if he trusted the way he felt her sigh lightly, almost with relief? The melody was strange, almost scary, causing chills down his back, yet... contained something like... hope? In any case, it was the most beautiful sound the silverette had ever heard.

Don't break the link. Seemed to whisper a voice in his ear.

"I know," replied the Flower in a low voice, as if addressing the music, "I know I mustn't break it..." But she had barely whispered that it became more and more difficult to achieve. Her wand began to vibrate more forcefully than ever... and the light beam that united it to that of her opponent was transformed too... It seemed as if large beads of light were slipping back and forth along the golden thread. Sephiroth felt Flower's wand shake in her hands as the pearls moved slowly in her direction... Gradually, the pearls only slipped in one direction, from her enemy towards her, and her wand began to tremble with fury…

As the nearest beads of light moved toward Flower, he felt the wood of her wand become so hot that he was afraid to see it ignite. He felt her inhale deeply, before staring intently at the pearls of light. Slowly, very slowly, the pearls of light stopped in a shudder, then, just as slowly, began to slide in the other direction... now, it was her opponent wand who vibrated with incredible intensity... He seemed stunned, almost frightened, seeing one of the pearls of light tremble a few inches from his wand…

Sephiroth didn't understand why she was doing this, he didn't know what it could do... but he could see that she was concentrating as never before to force this pearl back into her enemy's wand... Always with the same slowness... it slides slowly along the golden thread... trembled for a moment, then finally touched the wand…

Immediately, her enemy's wand issued screams of pain... A moment later, the monster's red eyes widened before this vision. A thick hand-shaped smoke emerges at the end of the wand and disappeared... it was like a ghost of the hand he had offered to Wormtail... there was again cries of pain... Then something much bigger rose from the wand, like a gray smoke of such density it seemed solid... A head appeared... then a chest, arms…

Sephiroth blinked in amazement as the figure landed on the floor. Giving the impression of getting out of a very narrow tunnel. The… ghost? Looking almost solid, yet it also looked like smoke. Leaning on a cane, he looked at the scene with attention, obviously disconcerted, before looking at Flower.

"So he really was a wizard?" Said the old man looking at the snake-faced monster. "It's him who killed me... On you to fight him, my child…"

Sephiroth blinked, however, seeing another shape coming out of the wand. It was a woman this time, whose voice sounded echoing too. She encouraged Flower, just like the old man, even though the snake-faced man looked almost terrified. The silverette blinked, however, noticing what appeared to be a suspicious mark on her enemy's robe. Did he... piss himself? He wondered with amusement. From his point of view, it was well deserved.

The "ghosts" circling around the two fighters, throwing encouragement at Flower, and hissing incomprehensible words to her enemy, perhaps threats. A new figure began to come out of his wand, another woman. Her long, wavy hair was cascading over her shoulders, and he could only admire her beauty. The "mama..." murmured by Flower surprised him. It was her mother? Part of him was hoping to meet Flower one day. If she looked as much like her mother as he felt... she must be beautiful. The voice of Flower's mother echoed in the dome as she addressed her daughter. Telling her that her father was coming soon. He felt her nod, struggling to hold the wand almost motionless.

A few seconds later, another silhouette formed. Tall, his hair sticking in all directions like a bird's nest, a man unfolded his immaterial figure, landing delicately on the ground. Flower's father approached her, talking to her in a low voice, almost ignoring her enemy, whose pallor must now be due more to fear than to his new body.

"When the link is broken," he said, "we will only stay a few moments... But we will give you time... You have to go back to the *******, it will bring you back to ********… You understood, ****?"

Flower nodded, sweating under the effort required to keep the wands aligned. Her mother spoke quietly, her words strangely disturbing from her point of view.

"Never forget one thing, ****, your Familiar is always at your side... he will protect you as well as possible."

He felt her blink, visibly disconcerted, but she nodded without answering, keeping her energy. Her father added something, and Sephiroth had the impression that she was holding back a violent desire to slap herself.

"Above all, don't forget that boy who came with you," he said softly. "Your spells will not hide him forever."

"All right," said Flower, tense.

Sephiroth could, however, understand that she had forgotten him, with all that had happened. To fight for your life had that effect, he had noticed.

"Go now," murmured her father's voice. "Get ready to run... Now…"

"NOW!" Cried Flower.

She raised her wand brutally, with all her strength, and the golden thread broke. The dome of light vanished immediately, the song stopped, but the ghostly silhouettes of her enemy's victims were still present and surrounded their assassin, hiding Flower from his eyes…

Flower ran as she had never run in her life, knocking out two stunned followers on her way. She ran zigzagging through the tombs, feeling behind her the spells they threw at her and crashing against the gravestones. She rushed to the place where she had hidden the boy, so focused on her goal that she no longer felt any pain in her leg.

"***** her!" Shouted the terrorist's voice behind her.

Three yards away from her classmate, Flower had to dive behind a marble cherub to avoid the jets of red light and Sephiroth saw a wing of the statue shatter under the shock of the spells. Hand tight on her wand, Flower rushed forward, casting a spell blindly behind her. A muffled scream told them that at least one of her opponents had been hit, but she didn't even stop to check.

She plunged forward over the trophy, rolling to get up. She had to duck herself on the ground to dodge spells, and replied with some of her own, even sending a couple of green fireballs to squatter them.

Flower grabbed the boy's arm before pointing her wand at the cup, shouting something. The latter flew in the air, as if she had pulled a rope to attract it in her direction. She caught it by the handle, and the last thing she saw was the enraged expression of her enemy, even as she was swept away by a swirl of colors, with a hook giving the impression of having grab behind her belly button.

She landed her face in the grass, with the feeling of being on a spinning top, if he trusted the way the world seemed to be spinning wildly around her. Flower kept her eyes closed, as if to try to diminish the vertigo. She finally raised her hand holding her wand, pointing it at the boy, whose arm she still held, and muttered something, the effect of which was to be similar to AntiSpell, because he immediately felt the other reacting.

Sephiroth was at least relieved to see that he was still alive, and that he had nothing, even if he was shaking Flower panicky. The poor girl already had the head that spinning enough like that! Still happy that he remains respectful of her, but Sephiroth would have liked to be there. To hold her against him, and comfort her. Especially since her scar continued to burn her painfully.

Suddenly, it was as if someone had put the sound of the world back... and settled it to max. He felt Flower tense, especially when someone turned her on her back. She visibly forced herself to open her eyes, and blinked repeatedly to clarify her vision, and focused on the face of the last person that Sephiroth would have liked to see her approach. The old goat had a strange expression, something between anxiety and satisfaction, but too well hidden for Flower to realize. Not to mention that the concern felt wrong in his eyes.

The silverette noticed how Flower looked around her, seeming to look for someone. She let out a groan of protest when the old goat suddenly lifted her, and wavered, heart to the edge of her lips. He felt her raise her hand in front of her mouth, fighting against nausea, a feeling far too familiar for the lab survivor he was. Some injections... put him in this state for days, especially when he was younger, which was a feat considering his constitution. But... since the dreams had begun... he no longer heard this vague murmur in the background. That strange voice that was trying to convince him that she was his mother.

He was distracted from his thoughts by the boy, who was arguing noisily with a green-clad man, and furiously shaking his head dress with a... round hat? In response to what he said. Like what the terrorist who had killed Flower's parents could not have come back. He was dead. Sephiroth mentally snorted with contempt. And his hair was jet black, he thought sarcastically. The classmate (and Flower's competitor) refused to be intimidated, however. Sephiroth liked him for that... and he had little doubt that Angeal would have liked him, if only for the loyalty he showed.

Flower's voice rose in the air, still trembling but clearly determined to be heard, leaning against the old goat who helped her stand up, asking if anyone had seen a teacher... Mad Eye? The same she had talked about in the cemetery? Asked why she asked for this, she revealed that the Mad Eye in question had helped her throughout the year with the Tasks, despite the fact that no one was supposed to help her (in anyway, none of the teachers) and she wondered if he wasn't behind all that. After she was told it was impossible, she asked impassively if anyone could have taken his place, using a potion... and hadn't tried to run away.

The old goat sent people in search of the famous teacher, before taking her with him, ignoring her exhausted protests, and the fact that she wanted to go to the infirmary to nurse her leg. Unfortunately, she was clearly too weak to resist, and she was unable to stand without help. The adrenaline rush passed, her leg had gone back to making her suffer, and she saw things as though through a fog. He led her through the whole castle, Sephiroth trying to memorize the way... but how could the stairs move? He wondered absently, as Flower and the old goat patiently waited for them to stop, the teenager leaning against the railing, having stopped protesting seeing that it was useless.

Finally, they arrived in front of a stone gargoyle, and Sephiroth blinked, surprised and disgusted at the password. Cockroach Clusters? If he remembered well, Flower had told him that the password for the school headmaster's office (the current one anyway) was candy names. But a candy called Cockroach Clusters? Eurk. At least Flower didn't have to climb the stairs with her aching leg, they were moving by themselves. Upon entering the office, the first thing Sephiroth noticed, even before the red and gold bird on his perch, was the emaciated man standing in the room, who rushed to Flower, visibly anxiously worried. With trembling hands, he helped her to sit on the chair, keeping one hand on her shoulder.

Sephiroth didn't know who he was, but the teenager clearly trusted him, if he judged by the way she remained relaxed in his presence. The inspiration struck him, or rather the realization that it was probably the famous godfather who had escaped from prison for her. In addition, his concern for Flower alone was a big clue. He asked what had happened, and Flower sighed wearily. She slowly began to summarize what had happened, wincing in pain as the old man began undoing the bandage, but didn't stop. She showed the wound on his arm, where the rat (and Sephiroth liked this nickname for him) had taken blood, hardly flinching when the red and gold bird came to perch on her knees, giving off a pleasant warmth.

He felt her lips stretch in a smile, and she gently greeted the bird, starting to pet him distractedly. Her godfather again protested about making her relived what had happened, but Sephiroth could understand the old man's reasoning, even if he didn't accept it too. Telling the story now would be hard, emotionally speaking, but as it was still fresh in her memory, the risks of forgetting a detail were less important. The bird let slip a soft note, and it was as if Flower had swallowed a sip of warm liquid, giving her strength. The silverette wondered if it wasn't a Phoenix, given the flames color and invigorating song.

Flower let out a sigh before the triumphant glow in the Old Goat's gaze when he learned about the blood that had been taken before it was replaced by an expression of shock and panic when she described the statue that had come to life, coming to her defense. Except for a few questions here and there, the old schnock didn't interrupt Flower, after examining the wound on her arm. Her story of the filament of light was greeted with shock by her godfather, but not the old man. The words uttered by the elder were blocked, to the silverette frustration, but not the explanation on the phenomenon. The fact that the wand of her enemy was forced to submit to that of Flower was interesting information, that Sephiroth carefully put in a corner of his mind.

The information on the... "echoes," as he called them, was also interesting, though a little useless anyway. Flower told what they had done, keeping silent her use of the Necromancer Fire. She didn't need that, and Sephiroth approved. She also kept silent her mother's words, reporting just what her father had told her, to not forget the boy.

A movement on the side of her leg caught her attention, and she looked down, to see that the Phoenix had left her knees, and had landed on the ground, his head leaning against the wound. The silverette could see the big pearly gray tears fall on the wound, and it closed in a few moments without leaving a scar. Flower let out a sigh of relief as the pain disappeared as the bird resumed its flight, returning to its perch.

She sniffled quietly when he praised her courage and determination, and he approved. The old goat refused her any training on the pretext that she had to "appreciate her childhood" and literally sent her to her death. He rolled his eyes when, finally, the old schnock decided that Flower had to go to the infirmary... before blinking, incredulous, as her godfather suddenly changed shape to become a big, shaggy black dog. He sighed mentally, shaking his head. After all... Flower said the traitor turned into a rat, so why couldn't another wizard turn into a dog?

However... if he trusted the symbolism of the two animals... it gave serious clues to the respective characters of the two people. The cowardice of the rat... and the loyalty of the dog, until death. Sephiroth remembered that Flower had explained to him, when he asked her for details about her godfather's escape, that he had been swimming for hours in the icy water. Even if he had escaped in summer... the sea was very cold at the latitude where the prison was. And when we thought about the fact that he was a human without any enhancements... or a dog at that time... Sephiroth could only respect his courage and his determination. Certainly, he had made mistakes... but from what she had told him... sorrow and anger caused most people to make mistakes in judgment... like chasing a traitor upon the death of the person whom you considered a brother. The fact that he had been taken by surprise was not shameful either, from the silverette point of view. Even if you knew the person well... you weren't safe from a surprise.

Lost in his reflections, Sephiroth didn't realize that they had moved until a door opened and the shrill voice of a harpy rose in the air, pronouncing Flower's name. She starts to rush towards her, but Old Goat raised his hand, asking her to calm down and explaining to her that the teenager had a particularly painful night, and that she needed to rest. He felt Flower relax, no doubt relieved. He frowned, however, looking at the woman's discreet but calculating glances at Flower and Chessmaster, presumably her son if he trusted the resemblance.

He sniffed, however, seeing her hissing at her son and Scholar, as if she was the mistress of the place, and he shook his head, disgusted. This woman... announced problems, he would have bet Masamune. He smiled with amusement, however, seeing the nurse worry about the dog's presence. A good nurse, he told himself with approval, before snickering when Old Goat assured her that the animal was very well house trained. He diverted his attention, however, when Flower changed into her pajamas wearily, the events of the evening beginning to catch up. He wasn't a voyeur, and respected her too much to spy on her in such moments.

Her canine godfather sat down next to her when she had finished, resting his head on the edge of the mattress, within reach of Flower's hand, who pet him with a weary and grateful smile. Her other friends sat on the sides as well, just before the nurse came back with a cup of unidentifiable purple potion, but apparently to sleep dreamlessly. Sephiroth wasn't sure it was a good idea, especially in the long run, but right now it was probably what she needed.

He watched her swallow the potion in a few sips, to fall asleep before she had finished swallowing.

oOo

Sephiroth opened his eyes with a low growl as he woke up. His already bad mood was further aggravated by his alarm, which rang out at the same time, and his gaze focused on it. He had the choice between destroying his alarm clock or the little cat statue that raised his paw, but it wasn't really a choice to make.

Without hesitating for a second, he summoned Masamune, slicing the alarm clock in half, before throwing it towards the wall, watching it burst into pieces with some furious satisfaction. But it was not enough, and he got up, continuing to growl in the back of his throat. Barely taking the time to get dressed, he strode toward the nearest VR room, fulminating with helpless anger. He paid no attention to the cleaning staff and other security guards, the only people already up at such an early hour, who threw themselves against the walls when crossing his path to get out of his way, terrified by his furious aura, and seeing that he was leaving frost on the carpet behind him, where his feet had landed.

Hojo had the misfortune to see Sephiroth in this state of fury, and the luck that he did not notice it before entering the VR room. The scientist briefly wondered what could have put his perfect SOLDIER in such a state of fury, before he decided he wasn't too keen to ask the question. The last time his "favorite" experiment had been in a similar state, he had demolished a VR room... and he could see it going the same way. He discreetly turned back to return to his lab, just to change. The traces of blood on the coat were acceptable. The pants with a suspicious spot at the crotch? Much less.

He almost had a heart attack, however, when the Commander Rhapsodos passed him, literally fuming with anger (Hojo could see and feel the heat waves that emanated from his body), without appearing to see him either. The scientist was already seriously disturbed by these two encounters (the phenomenon was rare, but could happen from time to time) when he passed Commander Hewley.

Normally, he had nothing but contempt for Hollander's failed experimental subjects. But there... Rhapsodos was even more... fiery (no bad puns intended) than usual, as evidenced by the charred carpet pieces in the form of footprints, literally forming a trail behind the scarlet Commander. And Hewley? Normally, he was considered a gentle giant, calm and posed. Not that morning. The potted plants in the corridors literally shuddered as he passed, and if he would have liked to study the phenomenon more closely, his instincts (as atrophied as they were, Hojo still had a proper survival instinct) were screaming at him to keep as far away as possible from the Holy Trinity, as the three 1st Classes were nicknamed.

And that wasn't counting the kid.

The hyperactive kid ran past near Hojo, and the scientist felt his sphincters relax completely Originally, he had only planned to change his pants, but the expression on the boy's face had terrified him to the point that he had shit himself. He vaguely knew that Fair, which Hewley had taken under his wing, had apparently a lot of potential... if one passed the young crazy puppy's side. But there, there was no trace of the boy constantly happy and friendly. No, it had been an enraged Nibel Wolf (despite being from Gongaga). And who had no target to release his anger.

Hojo may have been crazy, but not stupid. Fortunately for him, his lab had showers and a room in which he could sleep between two experiences (aka tortures). With a fridge, which he hoped to be full. Because it was out of the question for him to put his nose out before the Holy Trinity and the Puppy had calmed down.

oOo

Reno's eyes were pricking, and he was half grumbling in his absent beard, half awake. Tseng was really a bastard for having him take the first guard shift in the Turks HQ, to watch the security cameras. Okay, he had been the victim of the joke planned for Balto, but that wasn't a reason! Although seeing Tseng with fuzzy green hair was worth it, he thought with some amusement, struggling against the urge to go get a cup of coffee to wake up.

Tseng would interrogate him on his arrival about what he had seen, and if he couldn't answer to the Wutaieen satisfaction... Reno shuddered just to imagine the "trainings" he would suffer.

The redhead was suddenly pulled from his torpor by a familiar face on one of the screens... but the expression wasn't familiar at all. Sephiroth strode up the halls, his expression furious and absolutely terrifying. Reno did remember seeing him like that once... and they had to fix the virtual reality room he had used that day, which took several days if he remembered well. Almost two weeks even.

His gaze wandered over the other monitors... and he swallowed nervously as he saw the other two members of the Holy Trinity... who looked just as mad as the silverette. Genesis? People were accustomed to his explosive nature, so they usually steered clear of him when he looked a little in a bad mood. But Angeal? His expression rivaled that of his friends, and it was just terrifying to contemplate. Because even the worst idiots of cadets had never caused such an expression of fury. He was known to keep calm under all circumstances, like Sephiroth, so to see him angry…

Not normal, not normal at all, thought the redhead shuddering. The impending end-of-world impression was confirmed when he saw Zack by accident on another screen. The Puppy just looked like he had evolved into an enraged Nibel Wolf... and if he was not mistaken, Dr. Creepy had just shit himself.

It was the last blow for Reno, who pulled out his PHS and began typing frantically, texting all the Turks who were working (and even those who weren't working today).

Mayday, mayday, hit the deck, we have a rabid Trinity and a Puppy ready to tear off the heads of all those who annoy him!

Reno just hoped he would be taken seriously, he didn't want another Turk to get his head torn off by an enraged member of the Trinity or a puppy who wanted to let off steam on someone. The memory of the SOLDIER who had ended up in the infirmary because of fireballs still lingered in the redhead's memory.

A notification on his PHS made him jump, and he took it out, to see that Cissnei had sent another text in response to his.

Reno isn't kidding, I just passed Zack in the hallway... and I think I'm going to change my underwear. Stay away from the Tower if you can... and if you can't, avoid VR rooms. In my opinion, we aren't going to have only one out of order this time.

Tseng then sent a message, confirming the information, and ordering all the Turks to keep a low profile. A SOLDIER could survive Genesis' fireballs, not a Turk. Almost like an afterthought, he then sent a message to Balto, busy keeping an eye on Rufus, ordering him to keep the young heir away from the Tower for the next few days.

Tower that was emptied in a few minutes suspiciously, rumors running at full speed.

To be continued…

Second chapter finished o/ (damn right it's done, took so long to translate too - Dragon)

And here is the conclusion of the last task. The first ripples of change have begun to form, in both worlds.

The next chapter? Our favorite pyromaniac of course!