A/N: Hey you guys! Thanks and I hope you enjoy the entry of the new character. Enjoy!

Disclaimer: I don't own nothin'. Haven't said that in a while. I only own Loren and the supposed plot of this fic. Don't sue, please! Thank you!

She heard the telltale click and she opened the door. What she saw though, was enough to stop her dead in her tracks. She held on tightly to the door due to what was in front of her and did the only thing a terrified woman would do in that kind of situation. She screamed.

Vincent heard Loren's scream from up above and almost immediately bolted up the stairs. He heard a door slam and all was quiet once more. His fear grew with every passing stride when he heard no commotion from above. He heard everyone coming up behind him, so he boosted his courage and nearly leaped up the last few steps. He heard a few shouts coming from Loren's room and he quickly drew his gun. He knocked, actually nearly banged on the door, demanding entrance. He heard a small gasp come from inside as a steely noise met his ears. He readied Death Penalty and unfortunately no one else could ready their weapons for their weapons were inside the apartment. He heard quickly approaching steps and jumped far back as a very long sword rammed its way through the door. He visibly paled more than he already was.

"Sephiroth…"

Loren saw him stand and with unnatural speed dragged her inside and closed the door behind her. He threw her on the couch and glared at her. His cold eyes were glinting evilly.

"Are you their new friend, traitor?"

"Yeah, so what if I am?"

"Hmm, you have a lot of nerve to be talking to me in such a manner. I should strike you for doing so, but I have a rather good temper today. Do not do that again, though. You seem to be the easiest to manipulate and seem to be the new one in the group. That is why I have chosen you as my new puppet."

"You're a sick bastard. In any case, I am not their newest member. I'm their oldest. Oh, and believe you me, I am not that easy to manipulate."

A thin silver eyebrow arched.

"You are their oldest member?"

A wispy, dangerous smile showed on Loren's face.

"Yeah…I've been pulling the strings all along. I've led them through all of their actions…I've led them to you. I am their true leader. Cloud is just 'leader' because he is in his world and I'm not. I control even him."

A smirk of his own formed on his face.

"Do you now…?"

Loren's face contorted in anger. She shouted at him.

"Don't even think of trying to use me to get Cloud! He may be your worst enemy, but I could be ten times as bad. Leave Cloud and the others alone, understand?"

Sephiroth towered over her.

"I thought I told you not to talk to me in such a manner!"

He raised a black-gloved hand and prepared to strike. She simply stiffened her body and glared at him. She didn't seem afraid at all at the strike. He brought his hand down and knocked her to the floor with the force of the slap. Her head whipped up and she made a noise resembling a hiss. Gray eyes met sea-green and both had anger pouring out of them. A loud banging took both from their glaring contest.

"Loren! Let me in now!"

Sephiroth drew Masamune from his side and sneered. Loren gasped and grabbed his leg, but he kicked her in the head with his other foot and seemed to knock her out cold. He began running toward the door, sword pointed toward the intruder on the other side. He rammed the dai-katana through the door, expecting steel to meet flesh in a satisfying sound of spurting blood, but heard nothing except splintering wood. He began to bring his sword out but quickly dropped to the ground and then to the side to avoid bullets that were being shot through the door. The shooter seemed to have obviously good hearing considering the bullets had followed his positions. He darted back to the door and easily pulled the sword out. He looked one last time at Loren in mild anger, disgust, and malice before jumping back in the screen, the only evidence of him being there being Loren's unconscious body.

The door burst open, Vincent striding purposefully inside to see Loren's body lying still on the floor. Was she dead? No, that was impossible. She had the will of a rhino. Vincent felt her throat for a pulse, and indeed it was there, albeit fluttery and fast. He picked her up and laid her on the couch, making sure that she was comfortable. A few hours passed, with no change in condition except maybe a twitch in the hand. The landlord came up later, asking what in the Nine Hells had gone on here, but Vincent sent him away to come back later. About two hours later, Loren stirred. The group stood around her as she awoke.

"What…where am I?"

"You're at your home."

Tifa grabbed her hand.

"We're so sorry we got you into this."

"You never got me into anything. I got myself into this by buying the game and spilling a coke on it, screwing it up and allowing you all access to my world."

"Ah," Cloud contradicted, "but what made you buy the game?"

Loren opened her mouth to speak, but no sound came out. Her face screwed up in concentration.

"I read about the game on the Internet and it drew me in because critics made it sound appealing."

"Why did critics make it sound appealing? What drew them in?"

Yuffie was on good standing with her point, but Loren's thinking speed had increased.

"The creators of the game. If you all are appealing, the creators are at fault, not you all."

No one could give a rebuttal this time. Loren was now on a roll.

"If it's anyone's fault, it's theirs because they got you all from ideas in their imagination."

Cloud began to take her comments wrongly and glared at her.

"So we're just creations, huh? We're all just mindless little creatures like Sephiroth. Is that what you're saying?"

Loren was stunned.

"Cloud, I didn't say that. I guess you can say they are just like God, just not on such a high level."

Cloud's breathing quickened.

"So you're saying we should worship them? We don't even know who the hell they are and you're telling us to worship them like they're God? Like Sephiroth wants us to do!"

Loren's brows furrowed in slight anger and hurt.

"Cloud--,"

"Stop!" Tifa finished. Cloud was slightly surprised at her, but quickly recovered.

"Tifa don't you hear what she's saying? She's telling us that we're simple creations and that we must worship some unknown bastards that are our 'creators'!"

Before Loren could open her mouth, Tifa spoke.

"Cloud, what if that wasn't what she was saying at all? What if she was just telling us that they are a very minor form of God because we were their mind's creations? We are supposed to be a bunch of pixels, squares, triangles, and whatnot you know."

"What if she wasn't saying that? What if she was actually insulting us, huh Tifa? What if you are just insulting us for not being real and being the results of someone's twisted minds? Tell me, Loren. Is that what you were saying? Answer me!"

He raised his fist in anger, and again Loren simply stiffened, expecting the blow to knock her out once again to come. It never came though, when he was lifted off the floor and rammed against the wall. Vincent's eyes were flaring in anger as he kept Cloud pinned against the wall.

"What if she really wasn't saying what you believe? Think for once, Strife! Maybe you just misunderstood her words. Learn to think outside of that tiny spiked box that is your head."

Cloud closed his eyes and nodded.

"I…I understand. I'm sorry. I wasn't thinking. I just got really mad because I thought she was insulting us."

Vincent gave a curt nod and willed the demons in him begging to come out to calm down. He looked intently into the blonde's eyes again as he spoke.

"Oh, and if you so much as raise a hand at her again, I will break your arm and will threaten to let my demons out on you. I know you are my friend, but be careful who you touch or I will be very much upset. You are a great person, but sometimes you can be such an—,"

"Ass." Loren finished.

Cloud smiled and Vincent let him go. Cloud walked over to Tifa and bowed his head.

"Tifa…I'm sorry for getting mad at you for not siding with me. Will you forgive me?"

Tifa gave him a warm smile and leaned towards his ear.

"Hey, I'm your girlfriend, how could I not forgive you?"

Cloud smiled and nodded.

"Thank you, Tifa."

Loren and Vincent having exceptional hearing heard this and smiled at each other. Loren quickly turned away, though, leaving Vincent to smile to himself. She was so funny sometimes.

Loren felt a strange tug at her brain and grimaced. Sephiroth…Loren quickly excused herself and almost ran to the balcony. She felt nauseous, tired, and felt something resembling insanity nagging at her. A smile unlike her own twitched its way to her mouth and she could no longer control her limbs. 'This can't be happening! I told him that I wasn't that easy to manipulate and here I am, giving in already! I will not give up so easily, I swear it!' she screamed inwardly. She put up the strongest mental barriers she could, but they were showing that they were ineffective. She began to feel dizzy as she stumbled back inside. Vincent gave her a worried look as her head dipped and she came to a standstill.

"…Loren…?"

Loren's body shook a bit and she put a hand up to her face, as if she was trying to hit herself or stop something. The shaking began to increase in strength and Cloud realized what was happening.

"It's Sephiroth! He's trying to get control of her. I'm very surprised, though. I've never been able to last that long…"

"You idiot, Strife! You're talking about it as if it's a normal thing! We have to help her damn it!"

Vincent grabbed Loren's shoulders and shook her softly.

"Come on, you can win against him. Please make it, Loren."

The shaking stopped and the hand slowly fell to its side.

"…V…Vincent?"

"Yes, yes it's me. Are you alright?"

Her hand came up and latched itself to his arm.

"I will become one with the planet, Vincent. None of you can stop me from becoming a god and ruling with Mother."

The hand squeezed with a sudden strength and Vincent winced in pain. Everyone gasped or began to shout as Loren raised her head and showed brightly glowing red eyes. She threw Vincent back into the group and smiled wickedly. She backed toward the TV and placed a slender hand on the screen, which rippled.

"Come now…catch me if you can. If you cannot keep up with me, I will dispose of her body in the bloodiest of fashions. We would not want that, now would we Vincent?"

"You bastard…I should have disposed of you before you were even born!"

"Such harsh words, Vincent. You will have to be punished by me giving her a cut or two…or maybe…no, I would not want to dirty myself with her body…I would never breed with filth like her, even if it was for her torture. I will keep it at slow, deep slices with Masamune. Do you like how that sounds?"

Vincent and several others were shaking in anger, ready to follow him wherever he went.

"Come on…come to me…"

Sephiroth in Loren's body jumped through the screen, laughing the whole way. Vincent, weapon in hand, leapt in right after him as did everyone else after they retrieved their weapons. Vincent felt a strong pull and suddenly he was in a forest. Red XIII took the lead, his instincts and senses guiding him. Everyone followed close behind, not wanting to lose their newest comrade. They heard long, drawn out screams coming from their left, and they immediately switched directions, Vincent now taking the lead. The trees rustled a distance from them and they paused momentarily to see what the noise was before continuing forward. The scream sounded again, but from their right. Cloud stopped, confused.

"What the hell…? I thought we were heading in the direction of the scream, but it changed direction."

Red caught on quickly and stated his thoughts.

"Sephiroth is playing very painful tricks on us. Do you know what caused that rustling?"

Cait Sith raised his arms in defeat.

"I don't know. It could've been a bird or something."

Red shook his head.

"Or it could've been Loren flying through the air, Sephiroth carrying her through the trees."

"He wouldn't do such a horrible…oh, wait, this is Sephiroth we're talking about here. Nevermind."

Yuffie placed her hands on her hips in annoyance.

"Actually, we're pretty lucky considering he didn't launch her through the air like a rag doll and let her fall to the ground, breaking a few bones in the process.", Cloud stated, but was interrupted by a cruel laughter resonating throughout the trees.

"That does not seem like such a bad idea, but I will hold it off until later."

Barret slapped his gun arm onto his fist in anger.

"Damn that bastard Sephiroth is gettin' more ideas thanks to your loud mouth, Strife!"

Cloud gave a sheepish smile and shrugged innocently. A third scream was heard, but was accompanied by a grunt of pain, a yell, and a slapping sound that could be heard throughout the entire forest. Vincent quickened his step, hoping to catch Sephiroth unawares, but was himself caught as a huge form was thrown into him, knocking both him and it to the floor. When he pushed himself up, he realized that the form was Loren.

He scrambled over to her and picked her up. Sephiroth's voice was heard as Vincent tried to wake her up.

"Take her, she is more trouble than she is worth. I can get you all any way I can with less trouble."

And then he was gone.

Cloud, Tifa, Vincent and Yuffie among others crowded around her, hoping against hope that Loren wasn't dead. She had several cuts along her torso, blood pouring out her wounds, and she was extremely pale, her breaths coming softly and shallow. Yuffie fell to her knees and asked Vincent if she could hold her. Tears were in her eyes as she spoke.

"Loren…please…I may seem like an immature sixteen-year-old, but I do have a good side…Come on…you are so important to me even though I haven't known you all that long. You're like a big sister to me and I can't lose that, not now that I've experienced what it was like to have a kind, young family member. Please…I'll give you lots and lots of coffee and we'll go hunting for materia together, okay? Just please wake up!"

Yuffie quickly stood and ran to a nearby tree to cry by herself. Cloud knelt by Loren and smiled softly at her.

"Loren...I want to thank you for sticking up for me when we first got here. I'm sorry I got so mad at you. Please don't die on us, okay? Now that you're with us, we need you to be here all the time, or we'll be lost. Come back…"

He stood and turned around to hide the glassy eyes that he had gotten. Tifa got on one knee and grabbed Loren's hand.

"I want to thank you as well for talking to me that one night. I was so set on leaving the group until you spoke to me. Now I'm glad that you convinced me otherwise or I wouldn't be with…you know…I'm sorry I called you such a horrible name and hit you. I want you back as well and want you to help us fight to the end. Make sure you come back, okay?"

Tifa completely sat down and buried her face in her hands. Barret stepped forward and looked down at her.

"Eh…I really don't have much to say 'cept thanks for bein' with us even though you never wanted to in the first place. And I must say you've got one of the most fiery spirits I've ever seen. I never seen a girl that just jumps on Cloud and starts beatin' him up without being a fighter all their lives and stands up to a freaky group of people that came out of her TV without faintin'. Get out of that stupid-ass sleep of yours and wake up already!"

He stomped off and Red was up next. He padded his way up to her and bowed his head.

"I suppose I misjudged you for being a foolish little girl who cried and had mood swings. I have seen you for the person you really are and I really like you. Wake up soon."

He placed a paw on her arm and lay by her. Cid scratched his head as he awkwardly walked up to her.

"Hey, uh, sorry for being an ass to you and I promise on my rocket's grave that I'll not smoke in yer damn apartment again. Come back to us and I'll have Shera make you some tea."

He scratched his head again and looked down at Red.

"Was that okay?"

Red nodded and Cid sighed in relief. Cait Sith bounced up to Loren.

"Umm…Come back to us, okay? I'll tell your fortune if ya come back."

He bounded away once again and left Red and Vincent with her. Vincent wanted the words to come out of his mouth, but he was having difficulty. He finally managed to speak through the lump in his throat.

"Loren…you've become so important to me. I never thought I would feel so…exhilarated again. Ever since Lucretia's death…I felt as if love was nothing but a dream. You've made that dream a reality, though. I can feel it pounding within my very soul, telling me to be with you and protect you with my life. I thought you hated me, I really did, that is until you told me about your past. Please come back to us, to me. I don't know if I would make it through a second death of my most precious loved one. I've realized now that you can give me back my life by my being with you. You can complete me. Please…don't leave me…please…"

He clutched her to his chest and almost felt the tears coming when he felt a slight shudder coming from beneath him. He held her away from him and studied her face for any signs of awakening. He nearly cried out in joy when he heard her voice, albeit soft.

"Get…away…Seph...i...roth…"

He stroked her face softly, trying not to scream in happiness.

"It's okay…I'm not Sephiroth…it's me…Vincent."

"Vin…cent…?"

"Yes it's me…don't worry…you're safe now…"

"Voices…calling me…wanting me…to come back…was it…you all?"

The latest conversation and a soft voice had called everyone's attention. The females were brimming with tears and Cloud was trying hard not to start laughing with joy. Everyone else was simply smiling.

"Yes, it was us. You know we couldn't leave you, right?"

Loren smiled softly and coughed a little.

"Yeah, I know you all are so stubborn like that."

Vincent had to smile at that.

"Yes…relax now and I'll give you an X-Potion so you can feel better, okay?"

Her muscles relaxed slightly but quickly bunched up. She hissed in pain and tried to get out of Vincent's arms. He held her in place and placed a calming hand on her shoulder.

"Okay, okay, don't panic now. Just hold yourself stiff enough so that you don't feel as much pain and ignore the bitter taste that is about to enter your mouth."

Loren complied as much as she could and reflexively coughed when the potion went down her throat. The wounds on her stomach and chest healed and her muscles relaxed greatly. She breathed easier and managed to smile.

"Thanks you guys. I somehow heard you all talking to me and you honestly didn't have to thank me so much. I haven't done all that much for you."

"Well, we thought you were going to die, so we said what we could." Yuffie sniffled.

Loren smiled and ran a hand through her hair.

"Couldn't you have just given me a Phoenix Down and brought me back to life?"

Most remained silent and some even flushed from realization and embarrassment except for Red XIII.

"I knew that we could, it's just that I didn't know if it would work since you come from another world so I decided to give my condolences anyway."

Tifa looked at the ground and wrung her hands.

"I guess most of us just got caught up with sorrow and panic to be logical."

Loren waved a hand in dismissal.

"Look, I didn't need an explanation. I understand what you were feeling and there's no need to feel embarrassed about it."

She then realized that she was still in Vincent's arms and decided to just go along with it. She was comfortable anyway. She settled herself a little more in his warm hold and surprised him by giving a sigh of contentment that only he could hear.

"Hey Yuffie…?"

Yuffie bounded up happily to her "sister".

"Yup?"

"When can we get that coffee? I'm in the mood for something warm and refreshing."

"Whenever I can find it, sis! It'll be the first thing I mug from the nearest house!"

"Yuffie…don't go stealing coffee from some random person. It could mean the end of their lives and possibly ours as well when the owner of the coffee goes berserk and tries to kill us all."

Yuffie huffed and gave a mock pout.

"Oh, all right! I'll go buy some as soon as I get the chance."

"That's my girl."

Yuffie smiled and threw herself on Loren, ergo knocking all three to the floor. Vincent was silently pleading for air as Yuffie hugged and squeezed Loren, making her laugh, only knocking more air out of Vincent. He poked his claw hand into Yuffie's side, causing her to yelp and leap off of Loren. Vincent took in large gulps of air and laughed softly afterwards. What shocked Vincent right afterwards was that Loren crawled back into his arms and situated herself comfortably there. He gave her a questioning look. She shrugged and smiled.

"What? Your arms are extremely comfortable."

Vincent shook his head, not really caring. Cloud gazed down at the two and beamed.

"Alright. Let's say we relax tonight and then take off tomorrow?"

Everyone nodded their consent and began to softly talk to each other. Tonight, all troubles would be forgotten and they would enjoy this night before they went after the Silver-Haired-Monster once again. Tonight would be all about them. But…not everything would go according to plan…

A/N: So tell me, what did ya think? I hope you enjoyed it because I tried making Seph as evil as possible and I'm thinking it worked. I hope. Please review!