(AN: Once more, I own absolutely nothing created by Square Soft/Enix, Sony, Final Fantasy VII, or Crisis Core. The only thing that I own is my own character, which this story be mainly about, which the storyline itself I do not own except for any twists I plan to put in. Please R&R, and if you don't like it, just explain and I'll do my best to try and improve.)

Spirits of the Lifestream

Chapter 3: Encounter with Cissnei (P. 1)

Security Log: #1050

Time: 04/12/2313 12:11 A.M

Well, from where I left off, I was leading Cloud and Aerith to their respected destination, which was the locker room a few floors down. I kept my eyes focused on what was ahead of me, and I noticed that what I stepped on was some sort of blood-like substance, mainly because I'm not sure if it is blood or not. There was also blood and slash marks across the walls as well, and I can only guess that Sephiroth had to have been the cause, because I doubt there's any other SOLDIER who's stronger. Yet, now that I thought about it, Cloud used to be part of SOLDIER, a 1st Class according to the color uniform he wore, and he sure does seem to know quite a bit about Sephiroth.

If I have time after this, I'll ask him if he knows anything about how Sephiroth supposedly died, but for now, I have a job to do. Anyways, as I walk down the severely damaged hallway, I was glad that I didn't have to deal with any of the creatures I had to fight earlier alongside Richter. But, I was still nervous the whole way until we reached the staircase, and before we descended, I could hear faint sounds of gun shots two floors down. But, from my standpoint, the blood-like substance went up the staircase, not down, so that would mean that Sephiroth shouldn't be down there, yet I still had to help get the equipment for both Cloud and Aerith. And to get to the locker room, I have a feeling that I have to fight my way to get there, and if I'm seen with AVALANCHE, no, it wouldn't matter if they did.

I desire to be part of AVALANCHE, but now that I thought about it, if I were to become a part of a rebel group, then chances are that the Turk girl I was talking about earlier probably won't like me anymore. Cissnei, that's the name of the Turk girl I like, and she used to work with Reno and Rude in the past, however because of new rules, she was to work with two other knuckle-heads, I have to admit. I know personally that Cissnei may seem like a nice girl at first glance, but when she has to do her job, she takes it seriously and her fighting style is not to be questioned. Though she uses one of two of her chackrams during battle, she is still tough as nails, as the saying goes, yet she is really nice if you get to know her, mainly if you're either a pedestrian or part of Shinra.

After snapping back to reality, I led them down the stairs, no longer hearing any gun shots being let off but yet, I had a strange, ominous feeling that we weren't alone. I kept my rifle up at the ready in case the machines were still operating, and when I came to the level with the locker room, and just outside the stairway room, I could hear a faint static sound. I came to the doorway and placed my hand on a touch pad and placed a higher level card-key into the slot just under it. With that, the light at the top of the door turned green, and I walked to the front of it, and ready to blast at whatever was on the other side, I kept my eyes focused right ahead.

When the door opened up, I was staring into the dark gaze of one of Shinra's machines, but because its eyes weren't red, the machine was shut off. "Well, I wasn't expecting that…" I spoke softly, moving the machine clear of the doorway as Cloud and Aerith stepped out behind me, though that ominous feeling didn't go away. "I'll go on ahead in case there's still someone here, and I'll give you some sort of signal to continue for the locker room. Whatever it may be, just get your equipment and head up to the president's quarters, and I'll make my way up if I live that long." I spoke, signaling for them to hold position as I stepped out along the corridor, my rifle raised as my flashlight kept shining brightly. I tried my absolute best to keep my breathing low and silent, unaware that I was being followed by an operating machine that's gone haywire. It wasn't until it got relatively close that the hairs on the back of my neck began to stand up, and the faint sounds of robotic movement came behind me.

When I turned my head to look at it, I had little time to try and block the attack that followed it with my rifle. I gave a grunt at the fact that it had quite a bit of strength left in it, regardless of all the bullet holes in the machine. I saw some blood etched on the machine's claws, meaning that it must've fought for quite a while without losing. And by the way things are now as well as my training, I doubted that I'd be able to get out of this without getting myself killed. 'Dammit, martial arts will do next to nothing against this piece of scrap metal…' I thought, and just before I cried out for help, I could've sworn I heard another voice.

"Crouch down, Damien!" the feminine voice came, and as I saw the machine try to pin point the voice's location, I did as I was told and moved out of the way. When I looked back at the machine, I saw what seemed to be the shape of who I guessed to be none other than Cissnei, taking a few swings at the robot with her chakram. She wore her regular Turk suit, which basically seemed like a full formal suit or something, which I had to admit looked rather sexy on her regardless. The robot moved back a ways, stunned at the sudden attack and seemed ready to attack her, and I knew that I couldn't just leave her. I moved back into the fray, my rifle pointed at the machine, ready for a fight now.

As Cissnei stayed out of the way, I began to let off this rifle's more powerful type of ammunition, which was just slightly explosive as well as armor piercing, which should deal enough damage to its circuit breaker and cause the machine to fail and shut down. But with this ammunition, my rate of fire was very much similar to that of a shotgun's, yet it had just a bit more power than one even without the spread-style shot. Only a few more shots after wards, and with the right precision, I was able to destroy the circuit breaker, and with a loud to silent hum, the machine immediately shut off. I breathed a bit deeply, and brought my left hand up to hold my right arm for a moment, mainly because each shot I let off gave a powerful knock back against my arm, which made it ache a bit.

"Cissnei, thanks." I spoke simply, thanking the fact that she came in at the right moment to help. I watched as she smiled at me, and thanks to the fact that it was dark, it was rather difficult to see the blush that crept on my face.

"No problem at all, Damien. But, why are you down here, I thought you were to keep an eye on the prisoner cells?" She spoke, and I began to wonder where I've heard that before. Actually, I was the one who said something like this to Richter before all of this started to happen, and before he became one with the Lifestream.

"Actually, yeah I was supposed to, but I'm the only one who holds the cell keys…" I began, looking over her shoulder to see Cloud and Aerith try to silently move through the darkness, which caused me to make sure that she didn't turn around. "And, Richter told me to go down while he watched over the cells in my place. He wanted me to make sure what all the ruckus down here was all about…" I spoke, knowing that it was a lie, watching her tilt her head from side to side in confusion.

"But, wasn't Richter supposed to watch over the specimens in Hojo's Lab, at least in case the power should fail." She spoke, and just before I was about to reply, I heard a clank from the other end of the hallway, and saw that Cloud tripped over another broken machine. Not seeing any resolution, and just before she was about to turn her head to look in the direction of the sound, I dropped my rifle and gently cupped her cheek in one motion. Before she could even question me, I leaned forwards and kissed her on the lips, and from behind her shoulder, I could see Cloud's face go, "WHAT?" While he was distracted, Aerith came and dragged him out of view.

To be at all honest, the kiss with Cissnei wasn't really that bad, and when I saw Cloud get out of sight, I pulled away from her, my blush now a tad noticeable even in the darkness. But I also saw that Cissnei's face was probably just as red as my own, yet I wasn't sure if she liked the kiss or not. That's how it was for a while; nothing but an awkward silence between the both of us.

"Ummm, Damien… Why did… why did you… kiss me? We're supposed to be… working?" She eventually spoke, and I knew that she was probably upset with this, and I knew that the kiss might've been a bit too much. I brought a hand up to behind my head and scratched it nervously, mainly because the kiss was also a large step to a relationship, even though it was what I wanted.

"Well, I ummm…" I began, glad that she seemed to have forgotten the sound that Cloud made earlier (I'll be sure to talk to him about that later.) "Well, I guess the only meaning would… have to be that I-" I added, only to have been cut off by Cissnei's finger when it was pressed against my lips. At first I was confused, but after seeing her smile, I was relieved that she didn't seem to mind too much about it all that much.

"Now Damien, don't go on to think of an apology… To be honest, I actually kind of… liked it…" She spoke, softly and sweetly, the voice by far different than her usual, business voice. Just as she began to lean closer to me for another kiss, her little hand-held radio gone off, and it was then she went back to her usual self. I reached down and picked up my rifle, trying my best to stay out of her conversation with who I guessed to be with one of her partners, saying that there was another machine malfunction a few floors down.

"Alright, I'll be right there, just hold them off, Decus…" I heard her say, before she turned it off to look at me once again. "Well, I have business to attend to, and the next time we see each other Damien, I'll repay you that small favor, if you know what I mean…" She spoke to me, giving me a wink before she made her way towards the staircase, mentally relieved that Cloud and Aerith made their move rather quickly. When she was out of sight, I chuckled a bit softly to myself, and after shaking my head a bit, I started to make my way to the locker room. I didn't have a lot to worry about, Cissnei was capable of taking care of herself, and that's when it occurred to me that I didn't tell her that I was no longer part of Shinra.

Disregarding what I did, when I came to the locker room, I saw the door was already opened and, just after I walked in, I was pinned to the ground with a sharp sword to my neck. "Gah, what the hell, Cloud? It's Damien…" I spoke, and just after saying my name, the blade was removed from my neck as the blond ex-SOLDIER got off of me.

"Sorry about that Damien, but I thought it was that Turk that you supposedly kissed… But, why on Gaia would you even do that, mainly because you're no longer of Shinra?" Cloud spoke, placing the sword on his back and crossed his arms over his chest. I was just a tad bit annoyed with him, mainly because he would've given away his position had I not interfered with Cissnei. So, technically, he should be thanking me and not discouraging me, but he seemed like the supposed leader of AVALANCHE besides the large man from earlier.

"Cloud, you do know that it was you who tripped over that machine, and if he hadn't kissed her, she would've probably seen you and have tried to take you in as it was. So Damien shouldn't be the one to blame; seeing that he didn't want his new allies to be caught by old allies. Now apologize…" Aerith spoke, just a tad bit annoyed with Cloud's behavior, only to have not just him, but also myself to look at her with a slight dumb-founded facial expression. Cloud because he didn't know that Aerith would stand up for me, one of the more recent additions to the group; and also myself because, well, I wasn't exactly expecting her to stand up for me in general.

I didn't hear Cloud make his apology after our recovery from what Aerith said, but I didn't really seem to care at the moment. Right now, besides the recent kiss with Cissnei still on my mind, the safety of the president as well came to my thoughts; knowing it was dangerous for him with Sephiroth running around the Shinra building. So far, the changes that have been in effect are that the machines are starting to malfunction, but Shinra has been known for its bugs, and also a few mutated monsters, yet that could also be because of Hojo's most recent experiments. I honestly don't know if they were connected to Sephiroth's presence of not, but even I could feel a draft by far different since that attack on Richter and I.

"Look, we came here for what you guys needed, so now let's make our way back up to the President's office; I'm sure that the others are waiting for at least you two. But, my kiss with that Turk is only between us, okay?" I spoke, preferring not to allow anyone else to know about my kiss with Cissnei, which they nodded their head to. But, before we left, I saw Cloud approach me once more and, placed two green orbs in my hand, which had me confused for a moment before I realized that they were two materia stones, one possessing the power of fire, the other possessing the power to heal others.

"These, Damien… are my apology for doubting you up to this point. Of course, I still don't exactly trust you, but I do know that you don't try to be a bad person on purpose. Make good use of them…" Cloud spoke, which caused me to nod my head lightly and also saw him pass me a piece of paper. "If you need help with using materia, then refer to this if you need to. I'm sure it should at least tell you the basics on how equipping materia can change greatly depending how you pair them up." He added, before walking out of the room, with Aerith following close behind him, before I too walked out with them, making our way to the office.

As we walked, I equipped myself with the fire-based materia while following the instructions on the piece of paper Cloud gave me, and just from it entering my arm, I could feel a great surge of heat move through my body. Though my physical strengths seemed to have lowered slightly, I knew that me using physical strength wasn't how I roll; I used the aid of a rifle, and that looked as though that it'd be all that I'll need. But, the instructions didn't say much about any strange side effects such as that flaming surge, so whether it was because Cloud became adapted to it or not, I may never know. All I do know is that I had to put up with these effects for a while, so all I really had to do was to just accept it, possibly even for the upcoming fight we may have to encounter. Even if we should come face-to-face with Sephiroth himself.

After climbing back up the flights of stairs, behind Cloud and Aerith, we arrived to the top floor, just under the president's quarters. The door leading to the hallways was unlocked, strangely, but it seemed as though it was forced open with almost no difficulty. Cuts were also on the door, as if they were made by a razor-sharp sword of sorts, and I couldn't help but have that strange shiver run down my spine. The images of Sephiroth killing my only friend here in Shinra, who was now in the Lifestream because of silver-haired demon; I couldn't stand it. His eyes; they seemed as if he was possessed, and seemed as though he would kill anyone that stood in his way; the mind of a killer was his only intuition.

I swear it on my name that Richter would be avenged, whether I'm Shinra or AVALANCHE, it doesn't matter which side I'm on now. I wasn't paying much attention when I saw Cloud and Aerith stop, with their weapons at the ready, but when I snapped back, one of the creatures from before was right in front of me. I quickly had my rifle at the ready, and began to let off fire at it, but I forgot to switch ammunition, so to put it simply, I was over-killing it with the slightly explosive, shotgun-like shells. Well, as long as it was dead, it didn't matter which ammunition I was to use; just as long as it was dead was all that mattered at the moment.

Two shots was all was really needed to make the beast fall, but it was still breathing, near dead, but I pointed my rifle at it, point-blank at the head (or so I guessed to be its head), and shot it, some of its blood spurting out and hitting me in the face, as well as my hands and torso. The weapon itself was just as reliable as an AK-74, so it could be filled with blood and it would still fire like no tomorrow. All in all, the creature was now dead, but with the ammunition, it was a bit sad, but I doubt that the large man would care since his rounds were roughly the same as what I just fired, except his could be fire at the same pace as a mini-gun.

Cloud and Aerith seemed to be done with their creatures as well, but Cloud looked a little wounded (since he was an ex-SOLDIER, and no doubt that even the best would get wounded, especially by mutated beasts like these), so I used my restoration materia and healed him, which had closed his wounds in no time. I doubt he'd do the same for me, but I wanted to make sure my allies are in better shape than I am; it was a rule I followed wherever I went. I placed the materia in the backpack I had that contained my journals, and it might be soon I'll put this one in there. But, I should get to the rest of the group, and see to it they reach the president's office safely, regardless of how little trained I am, before I do.

Upon finishing up, we carry onwards, whilst I placed my rifle on my back since the lights on the upper floors were still active, but only by the back-up power. I also turned off my flashlight so I wouldn't waste the battery when it was bright enough that we can see, but regardless, I had my doubts that we would need it again. I remember what life was like outside Midgar, and everything was bright and whatnot, not like this black, near dark sky with artificial sun coming in within the slums. As I was now, I could use a drink of sorts, but I knew I could hold off a while longer, and besides, I always carried a water bottle around in case something happens.

Once we were in the main hall, I saw that Tifa, the large man and the creature, waiting for Cloud and Aerith (I still doubted that they wanted me there at all), and of course, they were into a conversation amongst themselves. For my last moments in Shinra, I wanted to know the President's condition, but this room reeked of blood and death, and I could sense it was coming from above us. 'Something's not right…If Sephiroth made it up here, how on earth would he be able to make his way down undetected…? Surely we must have seen him already if he was on his way down, but yet, I seen no trace of him besides what I saw when he struck down Richter…' I thought to myself, before walking by the group, and was at the base of the stairwell. I could hear the faint sounds of footsteps from above, but aside from that; everything was completely silent, and it sent a shiver down my spine.

I was caught off guard when I felt a large hand on my shoulder, and I was pushed out of the way of the large man, who Tifa seemed to call him Barret, as he made his way up. I knew that they were wanting to confront the president, and I too had something to say to him as well, so it was one of the few things we had in common. Cloud never bother to glance at me, but when Aerith walked past, she stopped before I followed her.

That was one thing I can't understand; the only one who showed any pity for me thus far was Aerith, and she seemed to treat me as if I were an ally, and not an enemy or anything. I then suddenly began to compare her with Cissnei; both were kind in their own ways, but Aerith seems to show more compassion to a lot of people, even if they're enemies. Cissnei is a great ally, I admit, yet she also shows respect to any allies, even if they tend to be people she disliked. I blinked a few more times, and snapped back to reality.

Once in the top floor, I saw everyone seem to stop to gaze deeply on something, but I was looking at the damage at the moment, and knew Sephiroth had to be the culprit. But when I faced the main desk of the president, I opened my mouth and stepped back a little, taken off guard by the sight…