9. The Reason

And this chapter is dedicated to the wonderful people, who provide inspiration and ensure thatthe chapters keep coming: Selunchen123, Tishannia, FuschiaFinn, Lady Nephenee Ranulf, Basha, Sho Lover, Kit Thespian, Shinz, James Firecat, and Great Beaver!

And a word of warning for the weak of heart, this chapter turns dark...

He couldn't remember falling asleep, but here he was struggling to open his eyes.

Actually, it felt like he'd been asleep for years.

There was a distant sound that he unfortunately recognized as a heart monitor and his mind scrambled to understand why he was in a hospital while the battle open his eyes continued. Sephiroth just knew it was important that he woke up now.

Finally the world swam into focus and the silver haired man managed a faint smile as he saw Aeris standing by his bed.

The flower girl smiled as she reached out and stroke away a lock of silver hair. "Welcome back, Mr Aeris."

"Good to be back Mrs Sephiroth," Sephiroth countered drowsily. "Care to explain why I'm here?"

The smile vanished from Aeris' face and she avoided his eyes for a moment. "You collapsed in the Lost City. Don't you remember?"

Sephiroth frowned. No, he didn't remember.

The memories were hazed, but he could recall the journey and vaguely recollect arriving, but then everything just went black. No warnings. No strange feelings. No nothing.

Sitting up, Sephiroth tried to force himself fully awake. "What happened?"

"Kadaj appeared. He said something, and the both of you just... I don't know! You kept shaking and... I was so scared!" Aeris blurted out, taking his hand in hers.

Sephiroth absently squeezed her hand gently. "Hojo...?"

"Has run just about every conceivable test on you," Aeris stated with a slight smile. "You had him worried too. Really worried."

"I find that a bit hard to believe," Sephiroth chuckled. "The worrying part, that is. Not the bit about him running tests."

Aeris slapped his shoulder lightly and tried to send him a stern look. "Behave you! He really has been worried!"

Nodding, Sephiroth captured her hand again. "I'm sure he has been really worried. Shedding tears at night and bravely hiding them during the day." He tightened his grip to prevent Aeris from freeing her hand slapping him again. "However, what I would like to know is, has he discovered anything useful?"

The flower girl huffed frustrated, but had to give up. "Wouldn't we all like to know! You know how he is! He's been locked up in his labs, where no man dares to interrupt him, that was when he wasn't wandering around in the halls while muttering to himself. That man is a fright once he's set his mind to unlock a riddle!"

"I know, " Sephiroth admitted, still with an amused smile. "But you've never been one who scares easily."

"True," Aeris countered, sitting down on his bed. "But Hojo really takes this seriously. After the threat of turning me into a newt didn't work, he actually asked if I could back off and give him space to figure out what was happening to you. He used logic and was polite about it! There was nothing I could do!"

Laughing silently, Sephiroth merely pulled her into his embrace and closed his eyes as she wrapped her arms around him as well. He would deal with Hojo himself later. Right now he was too tired to do anything.

A head ache was dancing at the edge of his brain, not quite sure whether it would set up camp or move on, and some futile hope said that latter would happen if he just kept really still!

Yet Sephiroth couldn't shake the feeling that something had happened to him. He felt different. Heck, he wasn't even sure how long he'd been knocked out!

Careful testing revealed that his brain allowed him to use it without too much agony, and the silver haired man began exploring how much he did remember of what had happened. Aeris said that Kadaj had appeared. That he had said something. Sephiroth remembered walking towards the Lost City with Hojo, but not seeing Kadaj.

He felt weak. Physically tired.

What had Kadaj said? Why couldn't Sephiroth remember? Where had the other two copies been? Yazoo and Loz. They were worried about their younger brother, so they wouldn't be comfortable with allowing him to meet Sephiroth and Hojo alone...

Sephiroth frowned nervously. How did he know Yazoo was still edgy about his last fight with Kadaj, or that Loz promised to have Kadaj's bike repaired by tomorrow?Sephiroth knew he wasn't supposed to know that Loz couldn't sleep without a night-light and that Yazoo despised asparagus!

Sephiroth couldn't explain why he knew Kadaj hated him with a vengeance.

Drawing a deep breath to calm himself, Sephiroth hugged Aeris tighter. He needed to talk to Hojo.

Now.

Kadaj's eyelashes barely raised themselves and he made a drowsy sound. "She gave him... candy."

Yazoo frowned as he gazed down at the young man, still lying on the blanked they'd placed in a small cave. After he'd collapsed, they'd been forced to improvise, and every second that he didn't wake up made them worry even more. What had Hojo done to him?

Leaning over to peer curiously down at Kadaj, Loz wrapped his arms around his knees from where he was sitting beside him. "Who gave who candy, Kadaj?"

"The half-Cetra..." Kadaj murmured, clearly struggling to stay awake, but turned his face to gaze directly at Yazoo. "What's her name...?"

"I don't remember," Yazoo lied tersely, crossing his arms defensively and tilted his head. "You feeling ok?"

Kadaj hummed absently and blinked sleepily. "Aeris. Right?" He turned his focus back to Loz. "She gave candy to Sephiroth."

Loz frowned. "What's candy?"

"A waste of time," Yazoo cut in antsily. "Kadaj, snap out of it! What happened to you?"

Laughing wearily, Kadaj closed his eyes again. "What... happened to me..." Suddenly he was staring at Yazoo with a piercing look. "He hates us, you know! He wants us dead!" Then he was scrambling to his feet, pushing Loz away when he offered support. "But Sephy is in for a surprise now! Oh, yes, he is!" Kadaj laughed manically, clutching his head. "Snowball fight... Trigger... Soldier Girl..." A pained sound. "Jinrei... Cloud! M... Materia..."

Yazoo slapped away the one hand Kadaj held out to fend him off and grabbed a hold of his brother's shoulders. "Kadaj! Stop it! You hear me?"

Panting for air, Kadaj met his glare with a confused and almost frightened look. "Yazoo...? I keep hearing things... Remembering things..." He shook his head. "But it's not me! It's Sephiroth! He's inside my head!"

Loz exchanged a concerned look with Yazoo, before he placed a gentle hand on Kadaj's shoulder. "Hey, Kadaj, maybe you should rest a little more?"

Kadaj hesitated, still staring at his long haired brother, before he slowly allowed Loz to guide him over to sid down again. "Mother said... But I didn't k now..." He didn't even object to Loz stroking his hair and sitting down beside him. All Kadaj could think was; So this is how dying feels like... Losing piece by piece of yourself...

Yazoo was once again trapped in helplessness and it was threatening to swallow him whole. His baby brother was either dying or going insane, and there was nothing he could do about it! "Kadaj... You have to be strong..."

"Mother told me..." Kadaj mumbled, "Sephiroth..." He whimpered softly and clutched his head again, leaning against Loz.

How did you stand by and let your only family die? How could you do nothing and merely watch as your brother lost his mind? Was it possible to stand idle while someone you cared about was torn to pieces inside?

Yazoo cursed and turned away, unable to bear the sight anymore.

Loz sighed and tried to keep the tears away. "Y-You know Kadaj, we could go back home for a while..."

Shaking his head. Kadaj clutched Loz' arm. "Mother says we have to do it now... For her..."

Yazoo tensed even worse, note sure if he wanted to hit Kadaj or join in on the sobbing. Everything in him screamed that he had to find Mother, but he was finding it easier and easier to ignore the call as days passed. "What is she planning, Kadaj?"

"Sephiroth..." Kadaj mumbled, his voice turning strange and distant again. "He wants to fight us...? Let's see how well he does it without Mother's help..."

Closing his eyes, Yazoo sighed. "So it was her... It wasn't Hojo that made you collapse... It was her."

"Zefiris and Aeris... The Cetra got to them..." Kadaj continued to mumble. "They're no use to us now. Only Sephiroth and two more remain. We have to hurry. Mother will deal with them, but we need Hojo."

"Why?" Yazoo snapped angrily. "He made it pretty clear that he's siding with Sephiroth!"

Kadaj gave an eerie smile. "He'll come around. And very soon."

Wishing more than believing his brother was right, Yazoo exhaled wearily and walked towards their motorcycles. "I guess I'd better put out the 'Welcome' sign then..."

And figure out a way to keep his brothers alive...

Hojo crossed his arms to lean them on the railing, and gazed up at the star-lit sky.

He'd escaped out onto one of the balconies in the ShinRa Tower to have his solace and think about what he was going to do. What decisions to make. Choices.

"Well, Lu, looks like you've lead me into quite the mess this time..." Hojo couldn't help but to steer a little of his frustration towards the only woman he'd ever loved, seeing how it was her bright idea that he could help their son without any aid from her.

Lucrecia would have known what to do...

"The tests only confirmed what I already suspected..." Hojo sighed and absently brushed away a lock of his stubborn bangs from his face. "The subject known as Kadaj is mutating into a Sephiroth clone, only this one seems to be absorbing his very thoughts as well." A small pause. "I suspect Sephiroth will discover his deterioration soon... He's been demanding my presence all day, but you know how well I am at taking orders..."

This time, Hojo sighed even deeper and leaned down to rest his chin upon his crossed arms as well. "The clone did this so that I would re-consider joining their little party. I believe the notion is that by watching Sephiroth wither towards certain death, my conscience will not allow it and thus I will sacrifice myself to save him." The scientist scoffed with disgust. "How stupid do they think I am?Like I wouldn't see straight through this silly plan of theirs!

Hojo closed his eyes. "By joining them, I will give them what they want and help their plan one step further. If I don't join them... Sephiroth will continue breaking down and eventually die, if they do not kill him themselves in his weakened state." A wry smile followed. "Which means bad luck for me, as when I finally get to see you again, Lu, you'll probably have Sephiroth as company and you'll both be ready to slap me around. You know you always scare me when you throw a hissy fit, and I fear your dear son has inherited that short fuse."

A light breeze came dancing and became a feather light caress over his skin.

Smiling faintly, Hojo could feel Lucrecia's presence. "I told you it wasn't wise to send me off on my own. I've never been any good at this good-guy-act." He slowly opened his eyes, the smile fading from his face. "I don't know what to do..."

Even the breeze fell silent.

Hojo stared emptily ahed. "The easy answer is that I do what they want, of course, and save Sephiroth's life." The dark haired man swallowed hard, having to force himself to continue. "But... I'm uneasy. I fell for Jenova's lure once. We both did, remember? I can feel her calling for me, even as I stand here. What if I fall again?"

The breeze felt like a warm hand trailing along his jawline.

"I know... I know..." Hojo whispered, still gazing into nothingness. "Not much of a choice, huh?"

He hesitated for a few more seconds, trying to postpone what he really didn't want to do, but finally he turned and walked inside. Feeling a strange mixture of resignation, fear and pure anger. Hojo had never been one to avoid the road with tough challenges, and he wasn't about to start now.

Rufus ShinRa failed to hide his surprise at seeing Hojo in his office at that late hour, and his puzzlement didn't lessen at the demand that was put before him: "Call up Kadaj."

Giving a confused shake of his head, Rufus tried in vain to read Hojo's expression. "I've tried contacting him ever since he left the damn phone. He never answers. He wants to talk, then he contacts me."

Hojo managed a wry smile. "Call him. He'll answer."

Rufus slowly gazed from the scientist to the phone on his desk and decided to humor the dark haired man. "Fine, but I doubt..." The phone barely rang twice before Kadaj's voice answered. Quickly gazing back at Hojo, Rufus frowned surprised. "How did you..."

Snatching the phone, Hojo walked over to the window as he placed his to his ear. "Where and when?" A short pause as Kadaj replied, and Hojo heard Rufus standing up but not moving over. "Alright," Hojo muttered to Kadaj. "I'll be there. But my dad says you gotta have me home by ten." He hung up before Kadaj could reply and turned to face the young president.

"What are you doing...?" Rufus half-whispered, "Sephiroth needs you here. We all need you here!"

Hojo held his gaze. "Listen, ShinRa. Keep an eye on Sephiroth, ok? His condition will most likely get worse and he'll weaken. Physically and against Jenova's influence."

Rufus shook his head confused. "Why are you doing this?"

Giving a tired smile, Hojo shrugged. "We all have our roles to play, ShinRa. I just know the part as villain much better, so why not stick to what you know, right?"

Wake up, Cid Highwind.

"I don't wanna."

You have to be somewhere, remember?

"Can't it wait...?"

Hurry.

"Why now?"

The time is right. He's waiting.

"It doesn't feel right. I don't..."

Bring the child.

"What...?"

Wake up!

Cid Highwind slowly sat up and blinked drowsily. He wasn't quite sure what had just torn him out of his sleep, but he knew he had to leave the room. A quick glance at Shera, sleeping safely by his side, curled up on her side as if to protect the life within her. A life that the tests had proved free of alien influence.

Reaching out, Cid drew a light hand over her hair before getting out of bed and finding his clothes.

Why was it so important that he was quiet?

The pilot silently made his way out into the hall and gazed evenly at Sephiroth, who was leaning against the wall a small distance away. "Why am I here?"

"Because she told you to," Sephiroth replied neutrally. "Like she told me you would be here."

Cid shook his head, wandering over to gaze out the window. "We have to tell the others."

Sephiroth stalked over to the blonde, taking a firm hold of his arm. "No." The single word was an order, not a suggestion.

Gazing from the punishing grip to Sephiroth's face, Cid's eyes narrowed. "Why. Not?"

"Think about it..." Sephiroth sneered, not releasing the pilot. "They don't have to be involved with this. They're not infected. We are! Do you want more people to die because of you?"

Cid paled, remembering the horrible experience of being forced to sit idly by while others fought and died in his place. Jinrei's hunt for Cid Highwind had cost so many lives, but the blonde himself had survived. Survivor's guilt, Hojo had called it. Feeling like crap was Cid's phrase. "So... what are ya suggesting then? We talk to Hojo?"

Sephiroth loosened his grip slightly. "Hojo is gone. He left." A flicker of what in his eyes? It was gone too soon to tell. "I've fought Jenova before. I can do it again." A faint grin. "And I'm guessing you wont mind a little revenge yourself?"

A moment of hesitation. A voice that belonged to neither man whispered softly in their brains.

Finally Cid nodded. "Alright... It's only fair it should end with us."

Nodding as well, Sephiroth moved his hand up to rest on the blonde's shoulder. "Couldn't agree more." He then cleared his throat. "One more thing, though..."

Cid frowned suspiciously. "What...?"

"We need to bring the kid," Sephiroth said cautiously. "Strife's boy."

The pilot merely rubbed his eyes for a while, a fierce inner battle raging, but finally he nodded and started walking down the hall. "We can take one of the smaller planes. They can't track us that easily then."

Sephiroth absently placed a hand on the hilt of the Masamune, almost as if to check if the sword really was there. "Agreed. I'll get the kid and meet you by the plane."

"We wont have much time. The guards are bound to run to Rufus the second the plane take off," Cid declared, lighting up a cigarette. "I doubt they wont be suspicious of a plane taking off in the middle of the night..." He glanced over at Sephiroth, reptile eyes meeting reptile eyes. "We only have one try."

Sephiroth grinned. "That's all I need."

Rufus sat up so abruptly that he nearly sent Tifa tumbling to the floor from where she'd been sleeping half-way over his chest. "What!"

The brunette struggled her way to freedom from the clingy sheets and the wilderness of her hair before she was able to glare at her husband, who was clearly on the phone, getting news that didn't please him. Fair enough, she didn't like getting bad news either, but it wasn't like she would kick him out of bed for it! She waited patiently, arranging the sheets around herself, until Rufus yelled a; "find out!" And when he flung the phone away, Tifa was about to throw a snarky question when she saw the look on his face. "Oh, dear Planet... What? What's happened?"

Jumping out of bed, snatching his clothes along, Rufus managed a choked laugh. "Sephiroth and Cid just stole a plane." He then paused briefly, unable to meet her eyes. "They have Raito."

Tifa felt the colour draining from her face and ice cold fear filled her. "What...?" Her voice was nothing but a faint whisper. She quickly scrambled out of bed and shook her head in denial. "They wouldn't do that! Why would they do something like that? WHY?" Tifa barely noticed Rufus calling her name. "No. No! They wouldn't! Not Sephiroth! Especially not Cid! Cid wouldn't kidnap a baby!" She didn't notice her own tears at all. "They wouldn't harm a baby, would they?"

Feeling a violent surge of anger towards the two fugitives, Rufus took Tifa's face gently between his hands and made her meet his eyes. "Listen, I'm sure Raito is fine. Like you said; Sephiroth and Cid wont harm him. They probably have some half-assed plan, which I'm going to ruin and drag them back by their ears!"

Tifa choked out a weak laugh as she sniffled, then she started again with fear. "The twins...!"

"The kids are fine," Rufus reassured calmly, stroking away a tear with his thumb.

Wine coloured eyes met sea blue eyes, and Tifa drew a shivering breath. "Not all the kids..."

Rufus hesitated, then released her to focus on getting dressed. "He'll be fine, Tifa."

The brunette sank down on the floor, wrapping her arms around herself. "Cloud left me behind when he discovered he was sick. He didn't trust me to be able to handle it. And now I've failed his son as well!"

Exhaling angrily, Rufus didn't bother to button up his shirt after tugging it on, but turned to gaze at Tifa. "Stop it! Who knows why Cloud left, but I seriously doubt he did it to punish you! And I said I was going to get Raito back, didn't I?"

Tifa nodded, slightly angry at herself for being so whiny. "I know. I'm sorry... I just..."

Softening, Rufus tried a smile. "Hey... You keep thinking you can rescue everyone, Tifa, but sometimes..." He sighed. "It's time you let Cloud go..."

"But not his son without a fight," Tifa declared, soft but firmly. "He doesn't have anyone else, Rufus. We're the closest he has to a family."

The young ShinRa nodded as well. "I'll get him back. I promise."

Tifa got up on her feet again, moving over to help him button his shirt. "And you... Do you promise to bring yourself back as well?"

Rufus managed a real smile this time. "I think I made a promise to never leave you again some time ago..."

"Promise me again," Tifa insisted in a strained voice, not taking her eyes of her fingers working on the buttons.

Placing a hand over hers, forcing her to meet his eyes again, Rufus held her gaze intensely. "I'll return to you and the kids, Tifa, and I'll bring Strife junior with me as well. Ok?"

Tifa nodded, smiling through tears. "Ok."

"Ok," Rufus repeated, sealing the deal, and stole a soft kiss. "And I trust you'll be able to hold the fort here? After Hojo decided to jump ship, I don't trust Kadaj and his gang to do something foolish. Be careful."

Brushing away a lock of his hair, Tifa studied his face for a few seconds. "I know. But they've got to be pretty stupid to anger me anymore than what Sephiroth and Cid has already done."

Rufus grinned. "That's my girl."

"Always," Tifa promised softly, and pulled him into a tight embrace. "Always and forever yours."

Aeris left the puzzled Zefiris in Tifa's arms and numbly walked out of the room.

She needed to think.

Needed time to accept what she'd just been told, and then a little more time to actually believe it.

Sephiroth and Cid had stolen a plane and kidnapped Raito, almost precisely 24 hours after Hojo had left them as well.

The flower girl placed her hands flat against the window out in the hall and leaned her forhead against the cool surface, trying to remember how to breathe. How could this have happened? How could she have failed to see the signs?

Last night, she had been by Sephiroth's side. She'd seen the shock and disbelief at the news of Hojo. Aeris should have seen this reaction coming, but it just didn't make any sense!

Unless you added Jenova into everything.

Sephiroth. Cid. Raito. The ones remaining with Jenova cells still in them.

But still, why would Sephiroth fall under her influence now? The alien voice had been silent for years!

Silent, but not gone, obviously.

Had Kadaj done something to Sephiroth after all?

Aeris remembered Sephiroth complaining about being constantly tired. Why had she not reacted? Why hadn't she realised something was wrong? WHY?

Drawing a deep breath, the half-Cetra forced herself calm and focused on what to do, instead of flat out panicking. Panicking did sound very tempting at the moment, but it wouldn't really help.

Sephiroth and Cid had snatched Raito for a reason. Jenova was summoning them, the ones with the Jenova cells, like she had done all those years ago when Aeris first met Cloud. That would mean the three brothers had to know about this. Jenova was most likely summoning Sephiroth and Cid to join the three, right?

Aeris turned and started walking towards the elevator. Tifa had told her Rufus and the others had a meeting at the conference room, and she had to talk to them all. Make them understand that to get Sephiroth and Cid back, Aeris had to talk to that man again.

Yazoo.

He didn't want Jenova to succeed either.

Right?

Aeris pressed the button with a trembling hand, preparing herself to the objections she knew would come. But in the end they had to realise that the maverick Yazoo was their only hope of reaching their friends again. He would help, Aeris was sure of it!

Almost sure, anyway...

She could feel the disturbance in the Lifestream, so Aeris figured the three had not left the Lost City yet. If she could only make contact with Yazoo there, he could lead her to Sephiroth! The flower girl nodded to herself as she entered the elevator, trying to convince herself before hoping to convince the others. It wasn't like they had much choice!

First Vincent. Then Hojo. And now Sephiroth and Cid.

Swallowing back despair, Aeris gazed out the glass walls of the elevator. "Oh, Cloud... You would have known what to do... You wouldn't have let this happen... You would have seen the signals, wouldn't you?" She closed her eyes, unable to stand her own reflection. "It doesn't matter how much we try... None of us are heroes, I guess... You were the only one..."

It was amazing how the loss of Cloud was still as sharp as if he'd disappeared the day before. Aeris wrapped her arms around herself, making a silent promise that she would not let her daughter experience the loss of her father like the flower girl had.

"I'm on my way, Sephiroth. Just hang in there, and watch over Cid and Raito. Whatever it takes, stay alive!"

Cid hoisted the sleeping Raito slightly after he'd nearly slipped and glared annoyed over at Sephiroth. "You sure about this?" He could think of a bunch of other places they could be, other than the frigging Northern Crater! It was damn freezing! Blizzards and ice on the ground was not his favorite things!

The silver haired man continued to make his way down the narrow path like it was his second home, and didn't even slow down at the question. "I'm sure."

Grumbling, the blonde resumed the descent as well, but not without colourful curses all the way. It was probably a good thing that Sephiroth had cast Sleep on Raito, or the child would've probably been traumatized at the foul language. Or, even more traumatized was perhaps more accurate. You didn't see what he did when the silver haired men tried to snatch him and not dream about it. Raito had already had a rougher life than most kids his age. Cid felt a light twinge at his conscience, but it vanished when they finally reached the end of the path and found themselves staring at the entrance to a huge cave.

"We're here," Sephiroth whispered, admiring the sight for a second, before walking into the darkness. Leaving the pilot to hesitate a few second before following.

The walk in the pitch black lasted only a brief moment, before a door slid up in front of them and light spilled out. A door? Cid glanced up at it when he followed Sephiroth inside and realised that it was really a door. A metal door. That slid down behind him, as he stood staring at the room they'd just entered.

It was in fact a room. A human made room, filled with all kinds of tables and containers. Big containers. Big enough to room people.

Cid found himself standing in an under-ground lab, hidden in the depths of the Crater. "Who...?"

"Jinrei," Sephiroth answered softly, glancing around curiously as well. "He planned to do research on Mother here..."

Frowning, Cid hoisted Raito again. "Research on who...?"

Sephiroth warily glanced over. "On Jenova." He then turned to face him. "You know why we're here, right?"

"Not really," Cid admitted, "I don't even know why I agreed..."

"Because Jenova is taking over our minds," Sephiroth growled, absently picking up an abandoned scalpel to test the sharp edge on his thumb. "She's been whispering in my head for days now. I suspect she has done the same to you. She brought us here." He watched as a drop of blood appeared when the blade cut his skin. "You know... Even if we kill the three copies, we wont solve a thing. Jenova will return. Do you know why?"

Cid clenched his jaw, feeling fear tingling up his spine.

"Because her cells live on," Sephiroth continued, holding the pilot's gaze fiercly. "They live on inside us." He tossed the scalpel away, ignoring how it tore into the wall like an unspoken threat. "For Jenova to die, her cells have to die. And you want her to die, don't you, Cid? You want this to stop too!"

A couple of seconds passed before Cid replied, and his answer was a harsh and silent laugh. Shaking his head, he slowly gazed over at the silver haired man. "You got no IDEA how sick'n tired I am of that Jenova, or how much I want all of it to end. Heck, I don't mind dying if that would just make sure she was gone for good!"

Sephiroth nodded, relieved.

"But..." Cid added silently, and he sounded so tired. "I can't let you kill the kid..."

Taking a step towards them, Sephiroth's eyes narrowed. "Cid... You can't even stand your own child, and you're protecting this one? "

Cid stuck his chin out and glared back at him. "When I was a brat myself, my parents died in car accident in Midgar, right outside the house we were living in. Or, I thought it was an accident, but last year ShinRa discovered that Jinrei was behind the car crash. He wanted the damn materia. After that, I got shipped off to foster families in the slums. I say families 'cause I rarely got to stay more than a few months before the adults got arrested or something."

Cid's eyes slowly turned back to their bright blue colour, the reptile slit widening until it had a normal round shape again. "When I was eight, the father of the family I was living with decided I'd taken his liquor for some reason, and he tried to kill me. I still got the scar from his knife on my throat. After that, I decided to fend for myself and started living on the street. Any idea how tough it is for a kid to survive on his own? Especially on the streets of Midgar?"

Sephiroth slowly placed a hand on the Masamune. "But you survived!"

"Yeah, the first thing you learn is to take care of yourself. No one else matters." Cid shifted Raito over to hold him with one arm, getting out the Venus Gospel with the other hand. "But I would probably have died anyway after a really nasty fight, if not this guy had passed by and happened to have Restore materia on him. He was a ShinRa pilot." He got into a fighting position, slightly awkward with the added weight of Raito. "Shera never asks for anything, that's why she can stand me, but a kid is different. I'm a selfish guy, Sephiroth. I can't seem to shake that habit. Not the ideal dad, huh? I was yelled at and ignored enough as a brat. Don't ever wanna expose a kid to that. Especially not my own"

Cid spun the Venus Gospel, ready for battle. "But no way am I gonna stand by and let a kid die!"

AN; I finally did it! I defied the laws of nature, and managed to get this chapter finished by tonight! Yay for me! Things are certainly darker now and I have to warn you that they're going to become a bit darker too. At least I can promise action in the next chapter, for those who have missed my dreadful fight scenes! Thanks to everyone who is still reading and especially to the ones who take the time to leave a few words behind!