Chapter Two

Suspicion

A few villages away from the city of Midgar sat a small cottage. It was old looking; stones crumbled away and ivy climbed its walls as time slowly hides the house away. But, unknown to the rest of the world, three females lay in bed though they were wide awake.

Each one of the girls had had a dream. Well, it was more a nightmare. They had all been at different locations, but had seen the same man.

Slowly at first, they all dragged themselves out of their beds and into the living like room. One, who looked around her late teens, had messy black curls that flowed over her shoulder. Her bangs were a bright crimson color that would be quite noticeable if seen from a distance. Her eyes were pure onyx, and were soft and calm from the looks of it.

The other one, a girl looking a bit older than the other, had golden hair than flowed past her shoulders, and down her waist. Her eyes were of a hazel color, yet were tense at the moment as it seems.

The last girl, who looked the oldest in about her early twenties, had a dark chocolate shade of hair that was tied up in a messy little bun while some strands hung around her face. Her eyes were jade and had a worried, but determined look about her. She was the first to break the uncomfortable silence.

"Did you guys happen to have a…peculiar dream?" She questioned, tilting her head slightly.

The other two girls looked at each other, but turned back to the oldest one and nodded.

"Well, what did you see?" She asked them with a little impatience. She knew the other two were still a bit sleepy, considering they were not really the morning type of people, but now was not the time when something was obviously going on.

The two still looked at each other, questioning one another who shall explain first, but the eldest was beginning to feel annoyed.

"Oh, come on, guys! You've both got to focus!" She exclaimed.

The blonde one replied, "I'm sorry, Rena. It's just…my dream sort of…shocked me a bit. It knocked me out of it. But I'll go first."

The eldest, named Rena, nodded, "Understandable. Please continue, Cera."

Cera sighed and pondered her thoughts for a moment for words to explain before she started, "Well, this is how it went: I was in this barren type of area. It was filled with a lot of dust, but it seemed to be a huge cliff." She paused, "I remember I was walking around there, exploring the sights of it. It seemed like a desert most likely from how empty it was, but I saw an object from afar."

She paused again for a moment, taking a short breath, and then continued, "I went closer to it. When I was near enough, I saw it was a huge buster sword, plunged into the ground. It was probably some sort of grave."

The youngest girl's eyes showed a little discomfort.

Cera continued, "And then, suddenly, he came. I don't remember much, but I know at the very end, he attacked me…mostly likely fatally."

Rena sighed softly, "Who was he…?" She asked, knowing the answer, but wanting to confirm it.

Cera answered it clearly, "Sephiroth…"

The three girls started to feel a little of a negative aura within them. It was very uncomfortable for all of them to hear that name again.

Rena continued the conversation, "I see. The same thing happened in my dream, except my dream took place at the Northern Cave, I believe." Her gaze looked towards the youngest girl, "What about you, Hylina?"

Hylina met her gaze and replied, "I'm not sure, actually. It was too strange to recognize it. Most likely, it's a place where we haven't been, yet."

Cera raised her eyebrows slightly, "A place we haven't been, yet? That's odd."

Hylina shrugged, "Not really. Our dreams are probably based on a certain subject. We had the same thing happen to us, just in different locations. This could mean something serious."

Rena nodded, "I see. So, where were you in your dream, exactly?"

Hylina replied, "Well, I was in front of this huge building. It was white, but the structure of it was so unique. It was surrounded by these ivory glowing trees as well. I mean, it was magnificent. I just don't know where it is, though. But it was so beautiful." She took a breath, "That was, until Sephiroth killed me in my dream."

The girls all looked at one another and began to discuss more about the situation.

"So we all have happened to have the same…dream? At least, was it at the same time?" Cera questioned, looking at the two.

"Not quite." Hylina answered. "We might have had them at the same time possibly, but the only difference was the locations of our dreams. This could mean something interesting."

"But you don't think that he's…coming back? Do you?" Cera asked.

They all fell silent, not a word or breath was heard at that very moment. Negative emotions took place in the room. There was some fear, hatred, sorrow, and worry. There was even some disappointment.

"I guess we'll have to find that out ourselves, huh?" Rena said, sighing.

Hylina nodded, "I guess so."

"Well then." Rena stated, taking a small device from a nearby table. It looked to be what seems like a little GPS, but the functions on it were quite different.

"I might have to confirm some things." She said, smiling a little.

Meanwhile, back at the Seventh Heaven Bar, Tifa was busy with dishes. She watched as her friend, Cloud, came down the stairs as if nothing seemed wrong. Yet, his face held all the answers. She sighed again.

'No need to be so worked up. He said he didn't get enough sleep anyways. I'll just have to trust him for now.' She thought, while cleaning up the shot glasses.

She noticed as Cloud walked over to Denzel, who was currently setting up the tables.

'At least he's spending more time with the kids.' She thought. 'Better than sulking all day like he used to. I should thank someone for that someday.'

She decided it was best to just keep working to get her mind off of the subject.

Cloud greeted Denzel with a small smile on his lips, seeing that the boy seemed better.

Denzel returned the smile with a nod and asked, "So, are you okay, Cloud? You look tense." His eyes met his gaze, but he noticed something wrong with his facial features. Something seemed strange.

Cloud only replied, "I'm fine. Thank you." He paused, "How are you feeling?"

Denzel shrugged, "I guess I'm fine. I don't have a fever any more. I'm still…a bit…shocked from that dream, but it's slowly letting off a little bit. I was at least able to sleep again if that's what you're wondering."

The man nodded, "I see. But do you remember anything else from that dream?"

At first, Denzel didn't seem bothered and simply continued his work, but realizing the question; he stopped and looked at him, "I thought I told you everything else about it."

Cloud sighed, "Just seeing if you left out anything. That's all."

The boy only shook his head, "I don't think so…not at the moment."

Suddenly, a high pitched voice sounded the room.

"Denzel! Can you help me out?" It was a young girl, who wore a plain colored dress with her brunette hair braided down her back, tied with a pink ribbon. She was at another table and seemed to be confused about something.

"Alright, I'll be right there, Marlene." Denzel answered. He glanced up at Cloud, who nodded him permission to be dismissed from the conversation…for now probably.

Cloud only watched the boy run over to the innocent little girl before he went outside on his own to complete certain deliveries.

"Alright, I think I have some things analyzed, but there might have to be some confirmations to our theories." Rena said, still typing on her device.

"I see." Cera remarked, "So, what exactly are you doing on that thing?" She was lying down lazily on a couch with a cup of black coffee in her hand.

Rena glanced at her from across the room, "First of all, it's not a 'thing'! I call it my PMAD and-"

"Wait, wait, and wait." Cera interrupted, "What the hell is a PMAD?"

Rena huffed, "May I proceed with my explanation of information without interruption?"

Cera answered, "Sure, as long as you avoid the big word talk." She rubbed the side of her head, "Gives me a headache sometimes."

"Just let her explain, Cera." Hylina ordered from another couch she was sitting on.

"Okay, okay." The blonde grumbled.

"Anyways…" Rena continued, "This PMAD is also known as my Portable Multiple Activity Device. It can be used as many things: Navigator, cell phone, internet surfer, watch, analyzer, metal detector, and even more. Just one problem: It can screw up too easily."

"I see." Cera said, "So you made it?"

Rena nodded with a smile, "Yep and I've worked on it for only ten months! Is that a new record or what?"

Cera shook her head, "What did you find out from what you did on that thing, though?"

Rena pursed her lips and glared at the blond, "I was just getting to that!" She sighed, "But anyways, I took some notes on this thing and reviewed a little bit. Then, I started confirming some locations from the information that we had. I've even marked the locations on the navigator." A small grin formed, "For instance, the place in my dream was the Northern Cave obviously. I have simply put in the information, and here it is!"

She showed the device to both the girls. On the screen, there was a map showing a cursor that was over a small bullet that read "Northern Cave".

"Now, I will show you how exactly far away we are from there."

Her fingers moved over to a button that read "Tracker" and pushed it. Instantly, the screen changed over to the same map, but with three flashing points that were red, blue, and green. They were located a little far away from where the small bullet was on the current screen. A small key on the bottom right corner of it showed that the red point was Hylina, blue for Cera, and green for Rena.

"But in case you want to REALLY analyze what you're doing…" Rena continued.

Her fingers merged over to the buttons "Navigator" and "Tracker" She held it there for about three seconds before the buttons highlighted themselves red. Then, her fingers clicked another button that said "Confirm" and the screen changed instantly to where the map was showing, but with both the bullet showing the Northern Cave and the flashing points.

"Dude, that is so cool…" Cera pointed out.

"No kidding." Hylina agreed.

Rena shrugged with a small giggle, "This is why I study a lot nowadays. But anyways, I haven't pointed out the locations on the map of both your dreams though." She mentioned to the girls.

"Well." Hylina said, "Do you know where they are? Or at least what they are?" She asked.

"Actually, yes I do." Rena answered. "Hylina, your dream was actually located at the Forgotten Capital." Her fingers moved the cursor to a small search box, where she typed in "Forgotten Capital" and instantly, an icon with an arrow pointed to a location between the flashing points and the bullet marking the Northern Cave.

The arrow read, "Location found and confirmed: Forgotten Capital. Mark this point?" Rena's fingers traveled to a button that read "Confirm" and a new bullet was formed on the location, which read "Forgotten Capital"

Hylina smiled at Rena, "Impressive, Rena. This is probably your best work, yet."

Rena shrugged, "Thanks. It's just a cure of boredom if you ask me."

Cera stared at her, "Huh?"

The girl only shook her head and continued, "But anyways as for you, Cera, I don't really know about your dream. There are a lot of deserts with cliffs around here, but I don't know of a location with a buster sword that would seem like a grave."

Hylina was about to keep silent, but instead sighed and spoke, "I know where it is."

The two stared at her, "Y-You do?" Rena asked her.

Hylina nodded her head, "Yes. It's the grave of Zack Fair. He was a friend of mine before he died. I've been there plenty of times. If I may, I can point it out on the PMAD if you'd like."

Rena only nodded, "Um…sure." She handed the device to her.

Hylina started working on the device, following the steps that Rena used for how to pin-point a location. It only took a little moment until a new bullet appeared on the screen that was near a mark that read "Midgar"

Rena took back the PMAD and looked at it. "I see you've figured out how to change the map to be more detailed as well. Nice." She smiled slightly. "Well, we have our locations. If we think about it, doesn't this seem interesting to you?"

Cera blinked, "What do you mean?"

"What I mean is…about these places. Don't they seem related to Sephiroth in a way?"

There was still discomfort at the sound of his name, but they all felt they would have to get used to it eventually.

"Now that I think about it, you're correct." Cera said. "But yet, I don't remember hearing that Sephiroth was in any of these locations at all, honestly."

Rena thought for a moment, "You're right. That's true, actually. But…it could be related to him if we happened to be in those places in our dreams, right?"

The girls nodded, but Hylina spoke, "I think we're probably not the only ones who have had these dreams, though."

Rena looked at her, "By that, what do you mean?"

Hylina met her gaze, "Isn't it possible that we weren't the only ones with this kind of dream? Who knows, this could've all happened in the same night. I think maybe, we should visit some old friends to talk about this. It could be important."

"You mean…" Cera said with a small smirk.

"Yes." Hylina answered, "We're going on a little visit."

In a large and cozily peaceful office of the new Shinra Electric Power Company building, President Rufus Shinra sat at his desk, drumming his fingers on the well-polished table. His mind pondered for moments of time over a nightmare he had the last night, of seeing a certain man again.

Sighing, he had wondered of what this could mean, wondering if it was a possible sign. Could it perhaps be a warning of some sort?

The blonde's eyes trailed elsewhere, still thinking about it. He had been hearing some others talk about it. In fact, he did happen to overhear conversations amongst some of the children, who had suffered Geostigma from before when the remnants attacked, talking about a weird dream they had the last night.

Rufus, himself, did suffer Geostigma, as well as some other Turks and workers of the Shinra Company. Could it be that the ones who have had such a dream were those who have suffered Geostigma? He wanted to confirm this.

And he did as he wished. It was quite simple. All it took was a little typing on the computer on his desk, and a simple click on the "Announce" button. That was always how he would send orders or certain announcements to employees when needed.

Only this time, he changed the settings just slightly to be more specific. He made sure to only send the announcement to workers who have suffered or had Geostigma, which was actually possible to know, for when anyone who signed up an application to become part of Shinra, they were put on tests that scanned them for certain traits and capabilities.

Geostigma was part of the test. He had all his apprentices, former and current, take a special computerized physical for certain illnesses. By his own surprise, the specific disease was in results of few of his current workers at the very second.

Rufus laid back in his large, leather chair looking up at the ceiling with an unemotional look across his face. He pondered his thoughts while waiting for his employees to follow his announcement.

On the ground floor of the Shinra building, a young woman of about age sixteen came through the entrance doors. Her appearance was unique with her extremely long, ink black hair that ran all the way to her knees. She was dressed in a black trench coat with matching clothes underneath. Her long boots made a noticeable sound against the hard floor, easily marking her presence.

As she made her way down the first hall, her pager suddenly went off with its obnoxious ring. There was obviously an announcement.

The girl sighed, "Perfect…just perfect." She muttered while reaching in her pocket for her pager. She had just come in the building and already there was her boss with his little 'Announcements'. In her eyes, they were merely useless tasks forced upon Turks since Rufus simply doesn't have such need to get his ass off his leather seat.

But alas, she sustained herself from thinking anymore complaints. As she looked at her pager, she noticed the message:

Announcement

Time: 10:26 A.M.

Sent to: Turk-Code16: Amaris Winor

By the time you get this message, start making your way over to my office immediately. A significant discussion is to take place inquiring an incident involving Geostigma victims as we know it.

After the conversation, do NOT repeat any word of it to anyone else unless they have an exception of once or are suffering the now rare disease as we know it. Doing such actions can result in a demotion or a permanent ban from the Shinra Electric Company.

-Rufus Shinra

Amaris smirked, 'Great' she thought. 'So it has something to do with Geostigma this time.' Still believing her boss was about to talk of complete nonsense, she walked on, changing her course towards the stairs to reach the floor of Rufus's office.

By the time Amaris made it to the large, and well-decorated office, she noticed only a few other Turks were there as well. Most of them, she didn't know, while others were just people she passed by with only simple words of "Hello" and "Good Evening".

She stared around the room. She has indeed been here maybe once or twice and she finds it quite comforting at times, but a little too overdoing. She noticed how the walls were smothered with awards and specially-given documents dedicated to her boss. Her eyes lingered over to the desk, where the man kept mostly pictures of himself. She isn't usually prejudiced, but Rufus seemed a little too full of himself.

Again, she shook her thoughts away. There was no meaning in simply just criticizing in her mind. She still stood around the room a little, pacing her foot back and forth and little now and then so her legs wouldn't numb. The other Turks seemed only to stand quietly or chat with one another. Amaris didn't have a mood to join them. She wasn't really sociable. But she did notice the numbers of guests in the room with her. After looking at each and every one of them, she figured out there were only…seven? This was odd indeed.

Rufus never really called such meetings before when it came to private manners. He usually brought in his most special employees like Tseung or Elena. But these people, she knew, didn't seem like anyone that was honored in the Shinra Hall of Fame…if there was one in Rufus's file cabinet. Most of all, why were there only so few people in this room?

Suddenly, the door opened and closed shut from behind her. She noticed it was none other than the big jerk, himself: Rufus Shinra, president of the Shinra Electric Power Company.

Dressed always in his neat and clean white suit, he walked smoothly across the room with an unemotional look across his face. That was the only thing different with him today, while everything else seemed all the same; like his groomed blonde hair combed back in a style like rich men from those classic movies and his 'oh-so flawless face'. Amaris rolled her eyes every time she even thought of how some women in the building melt over him.

Rufus stood behind his desk with his arms behind his back. His face still looked stern, and he cleared his throat to get the attention of everyone that was present in the room. Instantly, every head turned to his direction. With a smirk, the president began.

"I see you have all come like I requested. Very good, now we shall begin." He walked from behind his desk and stood right in front instead.

"Also, please take a reminder that what we discuss here is to remain confidential at all times…unless whoever you talk to has Geostigma. But you all are probably wondering why I have brought you all here all of a sudden."

Several heads nodded in agreement.

"I see." Rufus commented, "But the reason I have brought you here is to obviously discuss something related to the disease itself, which by all your records and files, you all have it."

Heads turned towards each other, even Amaris realized that most of the people here she knew had Geostigma.

"Further on, I wish to question everyone something particular that happened last night: Did anyone in this room seem to have a peculiar nightmare the last night?"

Heads nodded, yet all kept silent, feeling uncomfortable at the subject. They were disturbed by the dream since the morning, but having brought up again made some of them shiver.

"Alright, I admit that I myself had such a dream last night as well. In this dream, I remember seeing a man, dressed in black leather armor, had a weapon of a long sword, and had quite long silver hair. Did any of you see this man there?"

Again, heads nodded in agreement. One person commented, "You mean Sephiroth, am I correct?"

"Precisely," Rufus answered, "Continuing, if I remember correctly, the dream took place at a certain laboratory."

Many of the Turks started to disagree.

"Incorrect, sir, my dream took place at a tower actually." One woman said.

"Mine was at the inside of some temple…the lifestream was there, I know for sure." A man replied.

Amaris decided to speak out. It might be helpful information. "My dream was located at an old, broken cottage in the middle of an unknown area."

Rufus nodded at all the comments, "Alright, I see. So the only difference we know about this dream is the location. Now, I believe we're all on the same page, so we can continue, knowing what happened next in the dream, right?" His eyes lingered across every soul in the room.

"You mean being attacked by him?" A woman recalled, her eyes looking down.

Rufus nodded, "Exactly the point." Quietly, he strode over to the center of the room, while everyone else gathered around him.

"Now, to further continue this…" He started, "It seems clear that only those once infected with Geostigma has had this dream. I have proof not only with you all, but I have listened to some of the conversations around the area." His eyes narrowed, "But even though we have this proof, this could only mean something important: Sephiroth himself is at the verge of planning his return at this very instant for all we know."

No one seemed to disagree.

Rufus cleared his throat, "But we still should fight back this horrible curse before this history inevitably repeats itself yet again." He walked back to behind his desk and activated his computer. "First, I will take notes of the locations of everyone's dream. As I speak out your name, answer with the destination."

Everyone nodded their heads, and then Rufus started along with his plans.