8. Falling away from me

This chapter is dedicated to these wonderful people; Tishannia, Shinz, Emerald Drake, James Firecat, Turtlerad17, Kit Thespian and Lady Nephenee Ranulf.

Rain stared emptily ahed.

She'd been like that ever since Barret told her about Vincent, and didn't seem to notice Tifa gently placing an arm around her.

Seconds passed.

Finally Tifa couldn't stand it anymore and gave the other woman a gentle squeeze. "You ok?"

Nodding, Rain kept staring.

Barret shifted uneasily. "I'm sorry, Rain..."

The news had left the usually so calm woman deathly pale and with a strange look in her eyes. She'd known. She'd known for these last years that something like this would happen. Vincent had more or less told her, and Rain had personally experienced that Chaos could take over the former Turk completely.

Tifa and Barret exchanged worried looks.

"Cloud's son... Is he still in Midgar?" Rain asked suddenly in a distant voice.

Tifa tried a faint smile. "Yes. He and the twins. Seems like the two delinquents are delighted that I brought them a friend."

Rain closed her eyes. "Would you mind taking Dawn as well for a little while?"

Frowning confused, Tifa tried to read her face. "Of course not. But... I don't understand. Why...?"

"Because I'm going to find Vincent," Rain stated, opening her eyes with eerie determination.

"By yourself?" Barret exclaimed angrily, waving his gun arm. "Don't be a foo, woman! You'd never make it on yer own!"

Getting up, Rain stared harshly at the man. "Holding onto Vincent Valentine is like trying to holding onto water. It feels like he's disappearing from me, a little at the time. But I'm not giving up on him! I never will! Me and Dawn is the only things in his life that he'll fight for. If not for himself, then I gotta make sure he finds his way back to his daughter!"

Tifa got up as well, placing a calming hand on Rain's shoulder. "I understand, but you have to think about this."

Rain shrugged off Tifa's hand. "There's nothing to think about! If that demon is holding Vincent captured, then he needs a little reminder as to why he should fight even harder against Chaos!"

Sighing, Tifa wrapped her arms around herself. "Rain, please, I understand, but racing off to find Vincent on your own will probably just get you killed!"

"And how do ya expect us to explain that to your kid, huh?" Barret growled. "Ain't doing Dawn no good to lose both of you!"

"Come back to Midgar with us, bring Dawn, and we'll figure out what to do," Tifa suggested softly, seeing how Rain was now on the verge of breaking into tears.

A long silence, before Rain finally managed to nod.

Even Barret was visibly relieved. He placed his human hand by Rain's arm and made her meet his eyes. "We'll get'im back. I promise."

Smiling weakly through tears, Rain placed her own hand over his. "Yes, we will..."

It was not too long ago that Tifa feared she had lost Rufus forever, and that was a fear she would never forget. A feeling that she knew Rain had to be suffering under right now. Nothing but Vincent's return could ease that horror.

"I'll get the kid," Barret offered and walked out of the room, clearly eager to get away from the agony in the air.

Tifa glanced over at Rain, trying a smile as well. "Let's get packed, yeah?"

"Yeah," Rain whispered and forced herself into moving. It was a battle she had known would come, but it didn't make it any easier.

It was a battle that could not end well.

A battle where there had to be a sacrifice for there to be victory.

A victory filled with tears.

Hojo handed the test results back to the assistant. "Run the tests again. I find it hard to trust results delivered by a complete idiot." He kept staring at the unfortunate man, who was on the verge of crying, until the poor soul had fled the room. Of course Hojo knew the outcome of the tests wouldn't be any different, they only confirmed what he feared was happening, but the fool had claimed he'd done them perfectly when the dark haired scientist had muttered something about new tests.

No lab assistant opened his mouth unless spoken to by Hojo first, and certainly not to declare that they had done nothing wrong!

The door had barely closed behind the assistant before it was re-opened, and Hojo tensed. For one second he thought the idiot had returned. Then he realised that no human was foolish enough to cross Hojo twice, and knew it was only Aeris that would dare to intrude on his science time! "What?" He snapped in a sour tone, spinning around to face her. "What do you..."

Sephiroth almost laughed at the stupefied look on Hojo's face, finding that look alone worth the trip to the laboratory he hadn't been in for years and still had nightmares about. "If that's the way you greet your guests, no wonder no one comes here anymore."

Clearing his throat, Hojo turned away to pretend he was studying the test results again. "It's how I prefer it. What do you want?"

Hesitating, Sephiroth sauntered over to a pile of papers towering on one of the desks. "Back in the Lost City... Professor Gast's presence really made you angry..."

Hojo tensed dangerously, and he glared over his shoulder towards the silver haired man. "What? Does it offend you that I disapprove of your hero?"

Sephiroth smiled faintly, turning a page without actually reading. He remembered how Aeris had warned him about this. Talking to Hojo was like a small war in itself. Hojo would always drive a swift and powerful attack, and then withdraw into himself and safety. The trick was not to take the bait, but let him wear himself out. "I always thought it was jealousy that made you go through the roof every time anyone mentioned Gast. He was liked by everyone, you were not. People loved him, and feared you." He straightened and turned to face the dismissive back towards him. "I never stopped to think that you might actually have had a reason to dislike him. Hate him, even. I'd decided to hate you, so everything was your fault. And then... I heard that Gast was dead. That you killed him."

Hojo spun around to face him, pale and fiercly defensive. "Yes, I killed that rat. That lowly vulture. I shot him, and my only regret is that I can't do it again!"

A few second passed before Sephiroth managed to gather himself again. "I guess what I'm trying to say is... I can understand why you hate him. Why you did what you did. A few years ago, I was under Jenova's power too. To have someone I trusted see me turn into that monster I became do nothing, I'd hate him too."

Golden brown eyes flickered, and Hojo tried to hide the confusion he felt at those words. It didn't make sense. Sephiroth was acting strange. Handing him hope? "Stop wasting my time! Why are you really here?"

"When Kadaj contacts Rufus again, you're going to meet him, aren't you?" Sephiroth saw the small nod, and gave a little sigh. "I'm going with you."

Hojo shook his head in puzzlement, failing to see what Sephiroth had to gain. "In hopes of capturing him? Killing him? Or do you simply not trust me, and fear I might go into cahoots with him, so to speak?"

Sephiroth snorted. "No. Maybe it's because I want to make sure that copycat isn't out to kill 'you'? You may be a nut-case, but you're the only dad I got, ok?"

Turning away again, Hojo made sure Sephiroth didn't see his face. "Don't call me that." There was contempt in that tone.

The words just about slapped Sephiroth across the face, and he felt the burn of rejection as he mentally cursed himself for actually wanting to make an effort to patch a tiny bridge between them! For being stupid enough to think that Hojo might be able to regret what happened, or even learn to care about his son!

Huffing, Hojo removed his glasses and started cleaning them. "I'm already living on borrowed time, remember? Besides... It's such a boorish term. 'Dad'." He paused to study the glasses. "There's more respect in 'father'."

Sephiroth blinked. Did the man just scare the life out of him over his choice of word? "I'm calling you 'dad', Dad!"

"No, you're not." Hojo turned to glare at him.

"Yes, I am!"

"No. You are not. I'm not going to respond to it."

"Yes, you are."

"No, I'm not."

"Oh, yes, you are."

"No, I am not!"

"Hey, Dad?"

"What?"

Sephiroth was all grin.

Hojo cut a face. "Oh, crap..."

Rufus didn't glance up from his papers as the door to his office opened. He knew only Tifa would dare to defy his orders about not disturbing him, and he'd been too worried about her travelling to Wutai for him to start yelling at her. "How did she take it?"

"As well as can be expected," Tifa replied silently and walked over to stand beside him. A few seconds later, she frowned concerned. "Have you been sitting her since I left?"

Rufus nodded, still focusing on the documents in front of him.

Tifa crossed her arms. "Rufus ShinRa... Have you been abducted by aliens and replaced by an idiot?"

Finally glancing up, Rufus blinked puzzled. "Excuse me?"

Smiling resigned, the brunette moved over to sit on the edge of his desk. "You've been acting weird since the doctors told you to take it easy, and lately you've been acting like a pure idiot. Why wont you just tell me what's bothering you?"

Rufus laughed silently, leaning back into his chair, and began fidgeting with a pen. "You got me. My cover is blown. I'm really an alien."

Tifa nodded before reaching out to take the pen from him. "In that case, I might as well hand you over to Hojo for a little... experimentation."

Shifting uncomfortably, Rufus cleared his throat. "Alright, alright. No need to get all Miss Mean!" He then sighed and shrugged helplessly. "I don't know, Tifa... I just... I can't stand the thought of being weak..."

"So you prefer to be an idiot?" Tifa deadpanned. She waved away his protest. "I know it's hurting your macho-ness that you have to take things a little easy, but if you'd listened to the doctors; Rufus ShinRa would have been fully healed by now. Instead you keep pushing your luck, until you finally will end up in a wheelchair for the rest of your life." The brunette sighed and gazed wearily at the man she still worshipped despite his stubbornness. "It's tough enough raising two children without having a husband who acts their age too." This time she silence his outcry with a kiss and grinned impishly. "But even in a wheelchair you wont get rid off me!"

Rufus didn't know whether to laugh at her words or be offended by them, so he decided to do a little of both. "You're such a cruel shrew!"

"And yet you still love me," Tifa purred, and giggled satisfied when he stole a possessive kiss.

A kiss that lead to others, and could easily have lead to something else, but suddenly a sound interrupted them.

The sound of a cell phone. The phone Kadaj had left for Rufus.

Exchanging a quick look with Tifa, the young President then reached out and pressed the reply button. "Yeah?"

"I trust you have the good doctor ready to go?" Kadaj's ever cheerful voice asked with an almost visible grin.

Rufus frowned. "If I refuse...?"

Kadaj's voice did not lose it's smirk for one second. "Then we have to come to him." A small laugh. "And we both know that we'll be able to punch our way into your little Midgar and people will get hurt."

Despite the urge to challenge such insolent confidence, Rufus forced himself neutral. "I assume you have a meeting place in mind?"

"The Cetra Capital. Tomorrow. Be there, or pay the price, ShinRa. And I promise you that it will be a heavy price to pay if you don't bring him there or try to trick me."

Glancing over at the phone when the tone revealed that Kadaj had hung up on him, Rufus sighed resigned. "Damned if I do... Damned if I don't..."

Tifa frowned worried and absently rubbed his shoulders. "What are you going to do...?"

"Hojo declared that he would be willing to meet them, but..." Rufus shook his head lightly. "Can we really trust him?"

The brunette paused, gazing down at her hands and searched her heart. "When I was fighting beside Cloud, I would have sworn that Hojo could never be trusted at all. But now... Now I want to believe..."

Sighing, Rufus placed a comforting hand over one of hers. "I'm not entirely sure if we have a choice in the matter anyway. If we don't deliver the good doctor, Kadaj will get even. Usually I never seek to avoid a confrontation, but this one... Kadaj is capable of anything. I can't predict what he'll do if I refuse..."

Or who would get hurt.

Yuffie managed a faint smile as Hawk moved over to sit down beside her.

The young ninja had been sitting on the ceiling of the ShinRa Tower for a while now, staring at the stars and cursing herself.

"You ok?" Hawk asked quietly, feeling the unease radiating from the unusually silent Yuffie. "You've been up here for hours now..."

Yuffie scoffed half-heartedly. "It's not very polite to spy on a lady, you know."

Nodding, Hawk glanced up at the sky as well. "Usually I would agree, but not when a certain lady's well-being means everything to you and you're worried about her."

Silence followed for a while, then suddenly Yuffie glanced over at him with tear-filled eyes. "They got Vinnie, you know."

Hawk closed his eyes briefly and nodded again. "I know."

"Well, I didn't!" Yuffie exclaimed, angrily wiping her hand underneath her left eye to remove a rebel tear. "These creeps grab one of my best friends and I wasn't there! I didn't even notice until later! What kinda ninja am I?"

Taking her hand, gently braiding their fingers, and stroking it with his other hand, Hawk sighed deeply. "There was no way you could have known, Yuffie. You can't blame yourself for this. Vincent takes off on his own all the time. You're not his guardian."

"No..." Yuffie whispered miserably. "I thought I was his friend..."

"You are his friend," Hawk insisted softly. "And Vincent knows that. Right now we just got to focus on how to get him back, and not think about what we 'could' have done."

Yuffie made another half-hearted scoff. "You're always so practical. Always calm and rational, aren't you. Must be nice."

Hawk swallowed hard and drew a light finger over her hand. "When my brother betrayed me and our clan, I had a feast of self-blame, but in the end... Blame doesn't help anyone. Least of all Vincent." He let go of her hand, placing his own hands behind his neck as he laid down on the ceiling.

Realising she had unintentionally hurt him, again, Yuffie hesitated for a few seconds. "I keep messing up, huh?" She bit her lower lip to keep the tears back, but eventually sank down to curl up to Hawk. "I'm sorry. Me and my big mouth aren't happy until everyone else is miserable too."

Losing the fight against a faint smile, Hawk placed a light kiss on top of her head. "You say it like you see it. I've always admired that about you."

"Even when I sound like a complete jerk?" Yuffie mumbled against his chest.

Hawk laughed softly, maneuvering one arm around her. "Especially then." He then sighed again. "I've got a bad feeling about this one, Yuffie..."

Yuffie gazed absently into the distance. "I know." She did too.

The moonlight caressed the two as they listened to the sounds of Midgar for a while, both trying to deal with moving forward while their instincts screamed for them to back away. The last time Hawk had felt this uneasy, he'd returned to find Wutai burned to the ground and his clan almost completely wiped out. And yet there was no way any Wutai ninja would back out from a mission because of danger. The three silver haired men threatened their friends, so Yuffie and Hawk would join the fight against them to the bitter end.

They would help protect Sephiroth, like they had helped protect Cid from Jinrei.

Honour and friendship wouldn't allow anything else.

Yuffie glanced up at Hawk's solemn face, hating to see her own feelings reflected in that expression. Maybe things would go bad, maybe they wouldn't. Future would tell. The present was at least theirs. "You're just trying to get off the hook, aren't you?"

Hawk blinked surprised, unable to find an answer to a completely unexpected question out of nowhere. "What? Yuffie, what are you talking about?"

Sitting up, Yuffie poked him sharply in his chest, causing him to exhale sharply and sit up with a look of complete confusion. "What am I talking about? Pfft! You know what I'm talking about! You're just trying to wiggle out of it! I said eight, and I mean eight babies, Hawk!" She had to use her every once of control to keep from breaking into a hysterical laughter as Hawk's face turned crimson and he started stuttering.

Yuffie knew she would have to tell Hawk about her plan later, but right now she was going to enjoy watching him panic.

Vincent Valentine was her friend.

And no Sephy-wannabe got away with stealing one of Yuffie's friends!

Yazoo watched Kadaj kneeling by the water, trying to ignore Loz' efforts at catching butterflies with his hands, and tried to tell himself that his unease was unfounded.

They had just reached the Cetra Capital and Kadaj had been staring at the water ever since they had arrived.

It was starting to grate on Yazoo's nerves.

He had so much to think about lately, and Kadaj's weird behavior did not help! Yazoo couldn't stop thinking about what Aeris, no, the half-Cetra had told him. About Mother. And how the nasty accusations the half-blood had thrown at Mother did make some sort of horrible sense.

Yazoo knew it was printed in his DNA to trust Mother, yet his mind refused to follow orders blindly. There was too much she wasn't telling them. Why would Mother keep things from them? Why was she so set on torturing Kadaj, who was her most loyal son, Sephiroth included.

Sephiroth...

Why was that one so important anyway? The three brothers could give Mother whatever she wanted, and still she was set on the one son who didn't want her presence. The thought that she would trade all three of them for Sephiroth had appeared in Yazoo's mind right before he spoke to Aer... the half-Cetra and it simply would not leave him after that. Mother had a mission, something else beside what she told Kadaj, and it involved their big brother.

Kadaj had always had a bad temper, but lately it was getting even worse. So did his nightmares.

Yazoo pretended not to hear Kadaj crying at nights, but it was hard to see his little brother falling apart and knowing it was Mother who did it to him.

And Mother knew Yazoo was suspicious.

"Yazoo, look!" Loz held out his hands in front of Yazoo's face, holding the remains of what probably was a butterfly once.

Flinching away, Yazoo cut a face of disgust. "Yeah, you caught one. Huzzah... Maybe you shouldn't hold it quite that hard next time?"

Loz lowered his hands to gaze puzzled at the mess. The short haired brother truly had no concept of how strong he was. But a bright smile and the declaration that he would do better next time also proved that Loz was someone who wanted to learn and there was a forbidden kindness underneath the rough exterior.

Yazoo sighed as Loz ran off again before slowly approaching Kadaj. "Hojo is coming here?"

"Can you feel it?" Kadaj asked in an eerie voice, excited and distant at the same time. His hand was hovering just about the water surface.

Gazing impassively at the clear water, Yazoo could feel it wanted to inch away from them. He could feel the disgust and anger. The loathing. Like someone faced with a nasty insect. A deadly insect. "What are you going to do, Kadaj?"

Kadaj tapped a finger lightly on the surface, watching the ripples trying to flee from his touch. "Mother has a score to settle with the Cetra, Yazoo. This is their final little hiding place, you know. Their heart."

Yazoo frowned, tilting his head as he tried to make sense of it. "And Hojo?"

"Hojo will be the key to bring Mother back," Kadaj stated before falling silent for a few seconds. When he spoke again, it was with a dangerously soft tone. "You're asking an awful lot of questions lately, Yazoo..." He suddenly slammed his hand into the water, sending it flying, before abruptly standing up and turning to face his brother. "Are you doubting Mother?"

Despite his thundering heart, Yazoo managed to keep his neutral face. "I like to be informed." He stuck his chin out slightly, hoping anger would hide his uncertainty. "Mother seems to be growing fonder of you by the minute, Kadaj, and that leaves me and Loz as expendable."

Kadaj stared at him, his eyes narrow and his gaze harsh, until he seemed satisfied at what he was seeing. His features softened slightly and sanity seemed to slip into place. "Mother loves you too, Yazoo. She loves all of us." He flung out his arms and grinned widely. "And with Hojo, we will be able to bring Mother back! Big brother wont stand a chance!"

Yazoo closed his eyes as Kadaj walked pass him, feeling like screaming at the top of his lungs. His heart told him one thing. His instincts told him another thing. And his brain told him yet another tale. What was he to trust?

Who was he to trust!

Aeris wrapped her arms around herself and gazed at two people disappearing into the forrest.

She'd been able to nag her way on board the Highwind, but nothing could convince Sephiroth to allow her to follow them into the Lost City. So she was left behind on the deck of the airship, watching them leave, and cursing her own helplessness. There was nothing she could do but pray.

Sephiroth and Hojo was on their own.

Everyone else was below, in the war room on the Highwind, but the flower girl had to watch them as long as she could. Unable to fight against some futile notion that they couldn't get killed as long as she was able to see them at least. Now she just had to wait, pray, and try not to cry. Luckily the others had understood and agreed to her wish to be on deck alone.

"I don't have much time." A voice suddenly said

Spinning around, Aeris gasped at the sight of Yazoo and instinctively backed into the railing of the Highwind. "You!"

Yazoo took a step towards her. "Listen! I said I don't have much time, and I mean that. Kadaj will notice I'm gone soon. I gotta get back before that happens."

Aeris forced her racing heart somewhat calm and tried to gather herself. "What are you doing here? Why aren't you in the Lost City? How did you get up here? When did you get here?"

This time, Yazoo stalked all the way over to her and didn't stop until his face was mere inches away from hers. "I don't have time for this!" If he hadn't been this annoyed, Yazoo might have found it funny at how large her green eyes became at his nearness. "I came to tell you something, not to get interrogated!"

Barely managing to swallow, Aeris tried in vain to lean a little more back. "O-ok... I'm listening..."

Hesitating, Yazoo studied her face. "Mother plans to have Hojo bring her back. I'm not entirely sure how, but... Kadaj said Hojo was the key."

"Why are you telling me this?" Aeris whispered, trying to escape the eyes that reminded her so much about Sephiroth.

The corner of Yazoo's mouth tugged at a sarcastic smile. "Because if my brother succeeds... Sephiroth will join Mother and my little brother will die." He tilted his head slightly. "I'm betraying him because I want him to live."

Sympathy melted Aeris' fear and she reached out to touch by Yazoo's jawline, returning his sarcasm with a true and soft smile. "You're doing the right thing. Kadaj will understand that some day."

"If you guys don't kill him first," Yazoo sneered angrily, yet unable to break free from the feather light touch. "Don't misunderstand me, half-blood. I will kill anyone who tries to hurt my brothers! I'm not on your side. I'm not one of the good guys. Don't forget that!"

Aeris' smile never wavered. "You're willing to sacrifice everything for your brother... I'm sorry, but that labels you as a pretty good guy in my book."

Yazoo's eyes narrowed. "And if I kill Sephiroth to protect my brother, would I stay in that book?"

Aeris raised an eyebrow and sent him a dry look. "You sure you're not related to Hojo?" She then giggled lightly at the puzzled look on his face. "It's just that... He talks like that too, and has a fit every time I call him a good guy. I take it that it's more cool to be a baddie then?"

Blinking, Yazoo wasn't sure how to reply. The half-Cetra had confused him in the past, and now she did the same, but now with a side-order of strange feelings. Backing away, he cleared his throat. "My point is that I will do what it takes to keep Kadaj and Loz alive. Even if it means killing your friends. Or you."

"I understand," Aeris declared gently. "I just hope that it'll never come to that."

Yazoo gazed over at the forrest. "Fine. Now go tell your friends that it's a trap. That you have to hurry or both Sephiroth and Hojo will be killed."

Aeris folded her hands behind her back. "How do I explain me knowing it's a trap?"

"Blame it on your Cetra skills or something, I don't care!" Yazoo snapped and walked over to the railing. "I have to go now. Don't be late if you wish to save your dear Sephiroth."

Daring to move over to his side, Aeris studied his expression for a second. "Thank you."

Yazoo glanced over at her as well, allowing their eyes to lock for a little while, then he gave a little nod and jumped off the airship.

"You sure this is the right place?" Hojo asked drily, glancing around at the glowing trees with disdain. What was it with good guys and the colour white? Did they think bright furniture made them even more good?

Sephiroth glared over at his father. "Yes. I am sure. Dad!"

Hojo glared back. "Brat."

"How touching!" Kadaj drawled, stepping out to greet them. "Makes me feel like fetching a camera! Capturing the family moment!"

Sephiroth instantly placed a hand on the Masamune and smirked. "Don't worry. We have plenty of these little moments. We'll catch a photo session later."

Kadaj nodded. "Fair enough. But I seem to recall that I told ShinRa that I needed to speak to Hojo alone..."

"Family shouldn't keep secrets," Sephiroth countered with an acid smile.

Hojo nodded faintly, unaware of acknowledging Sephiroth's skills at verbal fights. At least Hojo had given the boy something useful in his DNA!

Stalling for one second, Kadaj finally nodded as well. "Fair enough. Big brother." He walked over to Hojo and halted to bow deeply. "It's an honour to meet you, Hojo."

Taking a step back, Hojo frowned confused as if he expected Kadaj to bite at any moment. "You brought me here to suck up to me? For what purpose? You couldn't just send a fan-mail?"

"Mother has told me about all the things you did for her," Kadaj continued in a smooth voice and met the golden gaze with a smirk. "I'm impressed."

"And I'm bored," Hojo snapped tensely. "You threatened and whined me into coming here. What do you want from me?"

Kadaj's eyes narrowed. "Mother wishes for you to join us."

Hojo crossed his arms. "Why should I?" He tried to ignore Sephiroth glaring from him to Kadaj and back again.

"Because she can give you what you want," Kadaj declared gently. "Remember? All the things she can do for you..."

Tensing, Hojo felt the lure tug at him. Old memories resurfacing. The highs and the daze. It was so much easier like that. The all-powerful-feeling. The feeling of being a god. "She can't give me what I want..."

Kadaj's eyes narrowed again. "She can give you what you want... Or take away what you treasure..."

Hojo opened his mouth to deliver another snarky reply when suddenly both Kadaj and Sephiroth collapsed. Starting, he immediately kneeled down beside his son and placed two fingers to check his pulse as Sephiroth began to convulse. Violently. Hojo barely noticed the two rushing to Kadaj's side as he began to convulse too.

A long haired youth gazed over at Hojo and clenched his jaw hard. "What did you do to him, you bastard?"

Hojo smirked. "I think you should ask Jenova that question, runt." Then he felt a shiver reminding of fear as he saw Chaos appearing behind the youth who had spoken to him. The demon was actually free. That could mean even more trouble than Jenova...

"We gotta get him out of here!" The short haired youth wailed, anxiously clutching the unconscious Kadaj.

"Good idea," the long haired one agreed, as he saw the figures of approaching people. "We're not alone anymore."

Hojo forced himself to return his focus to the shaking Sephiroth, away from Chaos' burning glare, and ordered Rufus to help him hold the former general down as the young president came running to his side.

"What's wrong with him?" Rufus exclaimed horrified, trying to prevent the worst of Sephiroth's shaking.

Hojo glanced briefly over as the two silver haired brothers carried off Kadaj. "I don't know..." He then pulled out a small flashlight from his shirt pocket and shone it into Sephiroth's left eye.

Barret barely managed to grab a hold of Aeris as she wanted to run straight for Sephiroth, ignoring her screams for him to let her go. "You gotta let the man do his job, girl."

Hojo shook his head after a few seconds. "We need to get him back to Midgar. I can't do anything here." He got up as Cid rushed over to help Rufus hoist up Sephiroth, and the dark haired scientist gazed thoughtfully over at where Kadaj had vanished with his two brothers.

If the lab results would reveal what Hojo thought they would, they had just run out of time...

AN: A late update, AND a cliffie? What kind of writing is this! Ahem. I blame the delay on the thing that happens every time this year, Roskilde Music Festival! With that said, I shall hope to update within reasonable time with the next chapter despite me going out on the road again, simply because I'm bringing my nice laptop along for the ride! Which is also the reason why I didn't have the time to reply to the reviews this time... But I can tell you that everyone was read and cherished!

Hope ya'll enjoyed the chapter anyway, and remember to feed the author with reviews!