Chapter 13: Everto

Disclaimer: I do not own Final Fantasy VII or any of its characters. Also, I have the lyrics of OK2BGAY and some other love song that I can't remember the title for, but I don't own those either. Just using them for my own pleasure. Also, Kigichi gets the honor of having this chapter dedication for all the wonderful ideas and for the OK2BGAY scene.

A loud burp made Tseng look my way in annoyance. I just shrugged and went back to the feast set before me. Dearest Debbie was having a hard time keeping up with my exquisite palate, so they just got into a habit of setting things out on the table and letting me make my own food. Right now I was having a ham and cheese sandwich with pickles, jelly, and egg salad mixed in; my specialty tuna salad which contained canned tuna, garlic, chopped onions, and a tad bit of orange juice; and for dessert I was having cookie dough ice cream covered with lemon gelatin and sauerkraut.

With another burp Tseng's trigger finger twitched making me smile widely. I was obviously pissing him off, but hey, he should be expecting it. I had been living in this little house in the perfect little neighborhood and it was driving me to insanity. Well, in all honesty, I'm already crazy, but this was grating on my nerves. Nearly all of Midgar was in freakin' turmoil from the army that the Franklin doctors managed to gather to fight against Shinra as well as all the speculation about the Tsevites and the problems the WRO was facing at the time. I was sitting on a stiff clean couch doing nothing and not really caring at the moment. Even if I tried to ignore it, I wasn't one used to going without fighting and it was taking its toll. All of my energies had to be put into something and since it wasn't fighting, it was in pulling pranks of the people in this household. That and annoying the shit out of them.

"Reno, can you at least cover your mouth when you burp?" Tseng asked through gritted teeth. He was cleaning up some weapons to transport them to the pick up point where Elena would then take them to the Tower.

"Nope."

"It's disgusting you know."

"So?"

"Reno," he said with an exasperated sigh, "could you please stop trying to make us miserable?"

Shoving a large spoonful of my ice cream concoction into my mouth was my only response. The Wutaiese just shook his head and went back to work. I twirled a strand of blond hair around my finger and looked out the window. I could easily see the smoke from the battles rising into the sky, darkening it like storm clouds. Something stirred in the center of my chest, making me long to see a battlefield once again. However, more than yearning for a fight, my mouth seemed to water at the thought of seeing all those mutilated bodies. I shuddered at that thought.

The plain ring of the doorbell drew me out of my inner thoughts and I saw Tseng slip a gun into the back of his pants as he went to answer the door. Doing my share, I hid the guns that he was cleaning and went back to the table like a good little boy.

The voice of the neighbor lady made me smile a little; she was a young bubbly woman who had it all together. Even though she was married to a rich doctor, had three different houses, and wasn't lacking anything, this young woman wasn't the slightest bit snobby. As a matter of fact, she was anything but snobby; she had a great personality, a permanent smile, and a large heart. Her name was Diana, and she was also an expectant mother which made her take a liking to me right away. Every day she came over to share some new recipe she was trying and to take me out of walks. My moodiness and rudeness hadn't scared her away, so I learned to just take it in stride.

"Rena! I'm here again!"

I burped in response and she came into the kitchen with a large book of quilt designs.

"There you are! Look, I found a place that makes baby quilts, and they've got all kinds of designs."

Her smile seemed to light up the entire room and I couldn't help but smile myself.

"Want some?" I asked, holding out a spoon of my dessert. Diana smiled and shook her head.

"I already had some lunch. Oh! Little Freddie is kicking up a storm today! How is your baby doing?"

"Snoozing."

"Aw, how cute."

This lady was a little off kilter, but I didn't mind. It broke the monotony of the day.

"Are we gonna walk?"

"Yeah, and you can help me pick out a quilt for Freddie."

Heaving my behemoth butt up, I nodded to Tseng as we went out. I was wearing my holster with a gun and I had a tazer in the practice baby bag Diana made me carry. Sometimes it sucked to be a pregnant woman.

As we walked down the sidewalk the innocent lady began telling me of the problems she had been having. Her breasts were growing too big and they were very tender, so she couldn't put up with any intimacy from her husband that went beyond a kiss. It was obvious to her that her husband was a little irritated with having to go without sex, but she said that he was doing good at keeping it under wraps. All of this just reminded me of how Cloud and I had been doing before we broke up. I had been having a hard time keeping up with his crazy sex drive, but I tried to suck it up as much as I could. At least now I know it was due to the pregnancy.

Cloud…what I wouldn't have done to have kept him with me forever. It was foolish of me to love him so damn much, but who could help it? He was angsty, hot, strong willed, and an absolute bastard. What wasn't there to love? I looked at the blond hair cascading over my shoulders and I couldn't help but sigh. The color reminded me of the sunlight hitting Cloud's hair in the morning. He would still be asleep when I woke up, and I would spend hours watching him snoozing away. Sleep had taken away his stress, his frustrations, and his worries. It was like watching a little child sleep and it made me feel a little guilty. He was an innocent child once, curious and trying to make something out of himself. All he got for his dedication and hard work was years spent as Hojo's plaything and years afterward suffering.

Even now, if he were to come back and ask me to forgive him, I would. I was shamelessly addicted to him, a nutcase just like I was. If he knew that one of the babies was his, would he come back? Or would he run further away? The more likely answer was the latter one. He would never want to be a father.

We paused for a little while to drink some water and Diana looked worriedly at the smoke in the distance.

"Do you think those people will be ok?" she asked concernedly.

"Eh, I guess so." I didn't even want to think about the people who were dying just because some nutcases were looking for me. Besides making me feel helpless, it was mouthwatering.

Straightening out, I placed both hands on the small of my back as extra support to keep up my belly. In no time at all we were back in front of our houses and I quickly helped her make a decision on a baby quilt. Once she went inside her house, I noticed that there was another car in our driveway. Cautiously, I made my way to the front door. I could hear voices on the other side and it didn't sound like they were being threatened. Still, not taking any chances, I pulled out my gun and went in quietly. Instantly I recognized the tired voice of Rufus and I dropped my gun and ran into the kitchen to see him. The President was sitting at the table holding a bloody left arm and I felt my heart drop.

"Rufus! What the hell happened?!"

He smiled when he saw me and then winced when Tseng peeled his hand from the wound.

"Nothing, it was my mistake."

"You shouldn't be fighting with that blind eye, sir," Tseng chided highly annoyed.

"Boss! You know that your eye makes it difficult to fight, so why the hell did you do it?"

He waved a bloody hand at me and shook his head.

"I don't need another Tseng, Reno. I'll be fine. Besides, you of all people should understand how hard it is to sit around."

"I know! All I've been doing is walking around with a pregnant lady discussing tender nipples and bathroom runs! I wanna get out of here, yo!"

Deciding that he didn't need to explain anything to me, Rufus sat back in his chair and tried to relax as the Head of the Turks tended to the wound. I wanted to argue with him, but a kick to my bladder forced me to head to the bathroom instead. Man, the little ones inside me were starting to get all worked up and that wasn't any fun at all. Usually my kidneys and spinal cord were the ones to get the punishing kicks, but on occasion other organs received the abuse.

Once I relieved myself, I decided to just sit in the bathroom and calm down. My mood swings were a real pain in the ass, and I needed to chill or Boss wouldn't even give me the time of the day. As I focused on taking deep breaths and stretching out my senses, the scent of blood flooded my nose and adrenaline began pumping through my veins. My hands clenched the material of my shorts tightly as I tried to push the hunger away. The strange sensation that I had felt at the strip club was trying to creep up once again, but I was trying my damnest not to let that happen. Abruptly, I stood up and rushed to the sink to splash cold water over my face. That would surely force my mind away from the bloodlust.

"I need to feed again…"

I jerked up and whirled around wildly. Where the hell was that voice coming from?!

"Why don't you just accept me? I won't abuse you again."

"Shit," I whispered not seeing anything or anyone around. It was the same as last time.

"You are mine alone, Reno, and that's how it'll stay from now on, you can be sure of that."

"I ain't no one's! And who the fuck are you!"

I felt something brush against my shoulder making me spin around. I froze when I realized that I was looking right into the mirror.

"You can't hold out forever," my reflection snorted.

By now I was shaking badly enough to feel my knees knocking. There was definitely something unsettling about seeing yourself talking to you. In my fear I almost didn't notice the fine marking that covered my reflection's face and those blood red eyes.

"Reno!"

Tseng's concerned voice jerked my attention from the mirror for a moment and I could feel my heart pounding violently against my ribcage. When I looked back in the mirror all I could see was my pale and scared face.

"Reno! Open up or I'll break the door down!"

Still shaking, I opened the door to see Tseng's concerned face.

"Are you ok? What were you yelling at?"

My throat was dry, but I managed to croak out an answer. "One…one of the little buggers j-just kicked me is all. It was n-nothing, yo."

He didn't look convinced, but he stepped aside. "Are you done?"

"Uh, yeah."

I gave one more nervous glance at the mirror before following him out of the bathroom. Rufus looked at me intently when I came into the dinning room, but I just looked down at the ground. If I looked up, he might be able to see the fear.

Rufus's wound had been bad enough that Tseng grounded him and made him keep me company. As a matter of fact, the said Wutaiese was taking a nap in his room, exhausted from a day full of ordering people around. Knowing this, I decided to annoy him; heck, I didn't have anything better to do.

The television had satellite, so I had access to every channel thinkable. First, I rose the volume to where Tseng would be sure to hear it as well, then I picked a pay-per-view channel that was some porn movie. It sucked as a movie, but served my purpose. Half-way into the movie and I saw him slinking out of his room and going into Rufus's room which was situated further away. Seeing my target move, I switched channels and began looking for another program to bother him with. As I was surfing the channels, my lovely baby brother graced me with his presence.

"What are you doing Reno?"

"Nothing."

He rolled his eyes knowing full well that I was up to something. The President sat down heavily on the recliner and began typing on his PDA with one hand. The other hand was in a sling as it was recovering from the bullet wound, so his right hand was forced to do all the work. Tch, I bet that soon he would have the letters from the keypad imprinted on his perfect white fingers.

A commercial caught my attention and I recognized that song quick enough to raise the volume loud enough for Tseng to hear. Rufus actually paused his typing as he sat back to listen to me singing along.

It's okay be gay, let's rejoice with the boys in the gay way
Hooray for the kind of man that you will find in the gay way
It's okay to be gay, let's rejoice with the boys in the gay way
Hooray for the kind of man that you will find in the gay way

I could just see Tseng trying to stuff a pillow in his ear.

Father figures we are
You're a shooting star you've come so far
I was once in your shoes
In a closet like you
I had nothing to lose

I couldn't help but rub my belly thinking that I was going to be one hell of a father figure. Heh, child services would probably shit in their pants if they knew that I was going to be a momma.

Hey man gay man pick up the soap
Get on your knees and pray
Hey man gay man
Release your load

Here I couldn't help but make a jerking off motion that made Rufus snort in amusement. At least he was enjoying my little show. In addition to singing along, I was now adding a few strange dance steps. Yeah, this is what you learn in the hood.

Ooh, strong man
queen of the balls
some brotherly love is a pleasure for all

At those words I twirled over to Rufus and sat on his lap. He smiled naughtily at me as I held his face in my hands and leaned close.

"Dear, Shiva, you've got to be kidding me."

We looked up to see Tseng standing at the door frame with his hand over his face. The guy probably came in to yell at me for playing such a crude song so loudly and instead came to what seemed like the two of us making out. Well, not to say that we wouldn't have if he hadn't barged in.

"Hello there, Tseng," Rufus said calmly with the music still playing in the background.

I just jumped off his lap and finished singing along with the commercial.

Hooray for the kind of man that you will find in the gay way
It's okay to be gay, let's rejoice with the boys in the gay way
Hooray for the kind of man that you will find in the gay way
It's okay to be gay!

I'm not totally sure what being gay had to do with that particular line of clothing, but it was still an amusing song. However, Tseng didn't seem to feel the same way about it, which kind of made the situation all the more hilarious. It was a good thing that Rufus had similar tastes in humor, or I might have been in trouble.

"I'm not even sure what to say," he groaned with his head still in his hands. "Just lower that volume."

With a smile and a wink at my brother, I lowered the volume. It looked like I had annoyed the poor Wutaiese enough.

"It doesn't take much to believe that you two are related," he continued. "Both idiots."

"Really now," Rufus retorted as he went back to work. "I'm your boss, you could show a little more respect."

"Sometimes I think a good spanking would do you good, sir," Tseng said with a shake of his head.

"Yeah, you know that a spankin' wouldn't do no good for me, yo," I couldn't help but add. "I'd like it too much!"

The President's PHS went off saving me from a tongue lashing. He flipped it open and his face seemed to soften as he heard the voice on the other line.

"Yes, of course. You've got news?!"

Rufus jumped right out of his seat, knocking me flat on my ass and making Tseng jump back in surprise. Never before had I seen Rufus look quite so animated. He was already breathing a bit faster and…was that tears in his eyes?! What the fuck? Both Tseng and I stared in a mixture of confusion and almost horror as the anal retentive boss we have known for countless years turned away from us to hide his tears.

"So they were alive last year? T-that's good at least. Yes, yes. No, I'll be fine. Alright, yes. L-later."

Still in shock, us two idiot Turks just watched as Rufus struggled to keep some kind of emotions hidden. I could tell that he was wiping his eyes and nose, but I couldn't say anything. I mean, what was there to say?

"S-sir?" Tseng stuttered. It seemed as if he was at a lost as well.

"Never mind," he snapped. "Just…go for a minute."

The both of us left the room obediently. Once out, we looked at each other stupidly. Seeing our Boss act like that was quite a shock and I'm sure that even Rude would have been at a loss if he was in our situation. I mean, if Tseng, our great Turk leader, was dumbfounded then what was I supposed to do. I looked at the door worriedly as I heard him struggle not to cry. Tseng was lucky not to have such good hearing.

"Dang, what…what the hell?" I whispered.

"Why are you whispering?" he whispered back.

"Does it fucking matter?"

"Sorry, you're right. I'm just as lost as you are. I've never seen him act like that before; even as a child he didn't...react quite like that."

"What could have happened?"

"I'm not sure."

By the next day things were almost back to normal. It had taken about an hour before Rufus was back to normal, but the effect of seeing him lose his cool like that still affected us. Debbie was the only one who hadn't seen it so, while she was acting normal, my thoughts were focused on one thing. Rufus.

It seemed as if in light of learning what exactly had made my little brother act like that, my insanity decided to take a little break. I was also able to push back the voice that plagued my dreams and resting moments since all my time was spent on thoughts of the President.

Sadly, I had taken to spying on my brother, but what could you expect? Anyone would after seeing that. As a matter of fact, while Tseng was talking to Elena and getting updates about the fight I was laying back quietly listening to the tapping on Ru's PDA. That damn thing was hardly ever out of his hand, so I didn't get a chance to hack into it for some information. Fuck, I'm sure he even takes that thing to the toilet.

A ring from Rufus's PHS made me tune in a little more. Sometimes it was good to have these Mako enhancements. It was exactly three rings before my little bro picked up the phone. It probably took so long because of his bum arm.

"Yes?"

"It's me," replied the voice over the line. I ran that familiar voice through my mental database easily identifying it as Vincent Valentine.

"Hi there," he replied wearily, yet happily.

"Are you doing ok?"

"I'm doing just fine. I'm sorry that I couldn't talk longer yesterday; it's just that the news you delivered to me made me…well, emotional to say the least."

"I'm sorry, but I couldn't find a better way of telling you the news, and I knew that you would want to know it right away."

Darn those two with dancing around the very topic that I was wanting to know about. Couldn't they be a little more detailed?

"No, I'm glad that you did. Hearing that we haven't been wasting our time for these few years makes me happy, but at the same time, disappointed. We need to find them quickly."

"We will, it's just going to take a little more time. Let's just be patient." Suddenly, Vincent's voice went a little deeper. "Don't worry, love, it will soon all be worked out."

Ok, now if that doesn't sound suspicious, then I don't know what does. Calling my Boss "love" just didn't seem right on so many levels. He wasn't anything even resembling "love". That's just gross.

"Tch, we know how patient I am. Moving on before I get even more depressed, how are things at the WRO? Has Reeve settle down yet?"

"He's still a little overwhelmed, but most of us survived. I wouldn't be surprised if this was only the beginning."

"At least he isn't sitting on his ass doing nothing. As for the Franklins, I don't think that they'll just sit by and do nothing either."

"Don't worry, we will get them. If it's the last thing I do, I promise that I'll find…I'll find them, and I'll kill those doctors."

"You'll have to beat me there," Rufus chuckled.

"Of course."

"Now that business is done with, when will I be seeing you again? I need to be going over to Nibelhiem soon and I need your body before going over there."

Ok, now that was just sick. I cupped both hands over my ears and shuddered. That is not a mental image that I want to pop up at inopportune moments, but I'm pretty sure that it will. Now how screwed up is this? Rufus is my baby half brother, and Vincent is kind of like my half father since he's the host for Chaos and all. So, like, my baby brother is dating my father. Absolutely disgusting.

Acting like the child I am, I screamed into a pillow and rolled around on my bed trying to shake out all of those images from my mind. No, I don't want to know if it's considered a three-way if Chaos joins in, and I sure as hell don't want to even imagine my boss being banged by some ancient demon. Way too much information, and not even the information that I was looking for.

I had to listen to all that nearly phone-sex shit, and I didn't get what I wanted! Those two were being really vague, but what I could gather was that both the Boss and Vincent were looking for something, or rather, someone, and they found evidence that he or she was alive. Now this brings an important question: who the hell would those two be looking for? It must be someone really important if finding news on him/her made the both of them emotional.

Before I had a chance to further analyze the conversation I had been eavesdropping on, Debbie came in to let me know that it was time to take a nap.

"That little darling needs all the rest she can get."

I frowned and growled at her a little. "For the last time, I'm not going to have a girl. And it's 'little darlings' since I'm going to have twins."

"Well, we'll just see about that, won't we?" she asked cheerily.

"I'm the one who's having the fucking babies," I complained.

"Yes, but I've got a nose for this kind of thing."

"…"

Now that was a strange thing to say. Like, she could smell if I was going to have a girl? That's a disgusting thought. Besides, it was obvious to see that there was no way that I could handle a baby girl. For crying out loud, it was hard enough to imagine that I was going to have baby boys, what would I do with a baby girl? This train of thought also led me to another question. Did I plan on keeping the babies? As a Turk, I was always on dangerous missions and the future didn't seem to be any different. How could I raise children in a position like this? Was I willing to give my life up for these children? Besides, it was obvious that I wasn't exactly father material; they would probably better off with another family.

As the lights went off my mind was full of such heavy questions, it wasn't hard to fall asleep. I wasn't used to such serious questions and having to ponder them amidst all this other shit that was going on was really tiring. Tch, like carrying around twins wasn't tiring enough. Curling on my side, I fell into a comfortable sleep. Yes, I would be able to worry myself sick once I woke up.

It felt as if I was viewing a movie in my sleep. In this movie, a creature was stalking through someone's house obviously looking to eat someone. Its sensitive nose picked up the distinctive smell of human and began to creep towards the living room. Expensive decorations were tastefully placed around the room with a large wedding photo hanging right next to the television. On the large couch, a husband was taking a nap with his beautiful pregnant wife. He had gotten off of work early that day, so he wanted to spend it with his darling. They were both a young couple, happy and still madly in love. The creature silently measured up the helpless prey, reaching first for the familiar woman. After all, it would be like having two meals in one. However, his outstretched hand paused; this woman was sweet, and she had always treated the monster with so much care. How could he lift a hand against her now? No, he couldn't bring himself to touch her, but he could touch her husband. Yes, that was not someone that the monster knew well, and it would be easy to feast on his succulent flesh. With the unnatural speed of a demon, the creature spirited the innocent man into the kitchen where one bite silenced the man forever. However, one bite could not sate its hunger and the creature devoured the young flesh.

As I watched the scenes unfold before me, I couldn't help but feel a little bad. That man had done nothing to deserve being eaten by the monster, but there he was with his body opened to feed the hungering animal. What would the man's wife think? She was still young, and carrying his baby. Could she protect the little one and raise it alone? Or would she turn to find another man to be the father? It was such a difficult decision to make, yet people were doing it all the time in today's world. She was just another sad case. Heh, maybe she would be the one to chase after the beast and kill it for revenge. Now that would make a perfect ending.

The fog of sleep seemed to lift slowly as I stretched out on the soft covers of my bed. That was kind of a weird dream but it didn't bother me that much. Cloud and I used to watch worse movies than that. Maybe I watched a show like that when I was younger and my mind was just bringing it up now? Well, who knows?

Rubbing the sleep from my eyes, I realized that something was wrong. That ever present hunger that I've had to live with since I've gotten pregnant was suddenly not there anymore. Unfortunately, that wasn't the worst of my problems. Slowly, I pulled my hands away from my face and all I could see was blood. Sticky cold blood clung to my hands, to my clothes, even to the bed sheets around me. This had to be some kind of sick joke, there was no other reason for this! How did…

A piercing scream from the next door neighbors made me sick. I did it again, didn't I? That wasn't a dream, and it wasn't even a nightmare. I was losing control to something inside of me, and it was leaving a hell of a mark. I gagged as I realized that there were still some bits of flesh in my mouth.

What was I supposed to do now? I obviously just killed a man, and Tseng was sure to find out soon. After all, hearing a scream like that never meant anything good and someone was bound to call the police. We were probably going to move out before the authorities even got here which would mean that he would walk in and see me like this. How could I explain this to him? Speak of the devil, my door opened an in walked Tseng.

"Reno, we need to…"

Looking up from my bloody hands I smiled weakly at him. "Looks like I did it again," I whimpered.

He stared at me for a few seconds as his mind took in the sight. What was he supposed to do? Before either of us could say anything, Rufus came in as well.

"Tseng what are you…"

I sighed as I watched the look on his face. It was shocked before a strange look of understanding passed over. Without saying a word he went right to me and pulled me into a hug. The blood was staining his pristine white clothes, but he still held me. I let my head rest against his strong shoulder and I didn't feel so helpless.

"Alright, we need to head off now," he commanded softly. "and we'll find a way to stop your inner demons Reno."

I didn't have time to get cleaned up, so we just packed up everything we needed and headed out in record time. Rufus sat in the back seat with me so that Debbie wouldn't be so freaked out. She wisely remained quiet about the whole thing and just stared straight ahead at the rushing road. Tseng was calling Elena and getting directions to another secure place. As we headed towards the new place, the Boss got closer and began whispering to me.

"Reno, I might have an idea of what has been happening to you."

"Eh?"

"You already know that you are partially Chaos's son, but there are possible side effects to that. I was speaking with Vincent and he thinks that it's possible that you have a demon within you just like he does."

"A demon?"

"Of course. It only makes sense when you think about it. From what I can guess, the problem you have is that you can't control it like Vincent can. I think that we need to talk to him and have him try to help you stop that thing from coming out whenever it pleases."

I stared at him. "You just wanna have an excuse to see your lover, right, yo?"

The look on his face was priceless. "So you figured that out? Took you long enough."

"Sorry Boss, but my super sensitive ears pick up many interesting tidbits. You wanna tell me what got you all worked up or shall I have to find out the hard way? I'd do it, yo."

Sadness and a tinge of bitterness clouded his icy blue eyes. It suddenly felt as if there was a heavy weight on top of him as his shoulders slumped and he looked away. This had to be some serious shit if it was affecting him the way it was. For some reason it made me feel like my problems were nothing compared to his. That's saying something considering that I was carrying twins, holding a demon dwelling in my body, and having strange yearnings for human flesh.

"Reno, this is something that you should keep your nose out of."

"No can do."

He bit his lip before facing me again with a stern look. "If you want to keep what little sanity you have left, then you will stay out of my business. Now, you need to sit still while I set up a meeting with Vincent."

With that, he turned away and made a call on his PHS. Hmmm, so Vincent was on his speed dial. Not surprising now that the Boss has admitted to being in a relationship with the creepy old guy. It's still fucking gross.

"You're dating an old man," I whispered when he finally got Vincent on the line.

That earned me a smack to the arm and I giggled. The world was falling apart around us and the two of us couldn't help but act like a pair of juvenile idiots. Maybe Tseng was right, the two of us were undoubtedly related by our stupidity as well as genetics.

Cloud. Dweeb, Mama's boy, dummy, fucker, little punk, failure, No. 39876454, test subject, experiment, clone, asshole, and many other names. Yes, he was all of that. The cold wind bit at his exposed skin as he stripped off all of his clothes, just dropping them into a pile next to the swamp waters. His pale toes clenched in the cold mud as he took a deep breath. Step by step he went further and further into the murky water. In the distance he could see a Midgar Zolom hunting for a meal, but it didn't bother him at all. He had spent years training in these very waters, away from all human contact. The first time he came here, it was with Aerith, Tifa, and the others. He was a young mentally unstable man who was out to find Sephiroth. The sight of the mighty reptile impaled upon a tree by Sephiroth had been enough to make his knees tremble back then, but now it was different. He could do it himself if he ever felt the sadistic urge to.

His body shivered from the cold but he barely even felt it. There was so much that was weighing on his mind that none of his physical displeasure could even compare. Taking a deep breath, he dived into the murky waters where most sensations were cut off. There was nothing to see, nothing to hear, nothing to smell. Only touch survived under these waters, and his scarred hands managed to grab a hold of some gnarled roots to keep him under. Down here there was nothing but his thoughts.

The savior of the PLANET let his mind drift back to the days of his early childhood, back when he lived in Nibelheim. His mother had always been aloof, treating him like some pet that needed to be feed but could be ignored the rest of the time. She was always thinking about the father of her child, hoping that he would come to take her away from the drab little town, away from the nuisance that plagued her.

He never knew what his father was like, or how his parents had met. Cloud didn't even know if his parents were married or if they were just lovers. Maybe they were ex-lovers and his mother just didn't let go. No, he never even had the chance to ask, and even if he did the blond didn't really know if he would have asked. By now, he didn't really care. However, back then it had really bothered him; the secrets that surrounded his mother and him had made the little Cloud on the receiving end of many pranks and terrible gossip. The other children had just learned what their parents said about the scrawny blond brat and they followed in their parents' example. They made his life miserable. Children were all like that of course. They would take the worst in their parents and copy it, shamelessly being cruel to one another and making a game of who could torture the odd child the most. Children were not the little angels that everyone pretended that they were. Only a few of those angel children existed but they were few and far between.

Cloud had never felt like a child should, full of joy and unending happiness. He should have been full of laughter, full of energy, but that was never what he was. No, he had been a freakish failure from the very beginning. Regardless of how much he tried, he couldn't fit in with the others. So, he did the only thing that he could think to do. Run away.

The army had made him far happier than that back-water village ever could. Actually, he had been growing up in a way that a place like Nibelheim could never compare with. He had been learning the ways of the world, of the kindness of adults, of the cruelty of adults, of everything between. In the military he had gotten his first kiss and it wasn't from a soft young girl. A young bartender who worked at the club that Zack would always take him to was the one to teach him the pleasures of the world. He couldn't even recall the young man's name now, but he could still remember the way that kind bartender held him, the way he taught him that even a screw up like him could be loved.

It had all been ripped away from him by the cruelty of Sephiroth. To be completely honest, he couldn't completely hate the older man. He was every much a victim as the rest of the PLANET, even more so because the entire world could blame the havoc that unfolded as his fault alone. Sephiroth had never planned to take over the world, to kill thousands, or even to rise into a privileged position. The platinum-haired man had only wished to be accepted as a living being. Even his own "mother" had only used him to do her biding. No, Cloud could not hate the unfortunate man.

Coming up for some much needed air, Cloud sputtered and ran his fingers through his muddy hair, taking deep breaths as the shock of the cold air stung his pale skin. What was he thinking? He came here to think over the mess with Reno. Why was he thinking of anything but Reno?

"Shit! I'm even a failure at finding solutions!"

He slammed his fist into the opaque water and screamed in frustration. Images of the smart-ass Turk made his heart ache. That sloppy idiot had made him do so many shameless things, had made him see so much more of the world than he had ever wanted to. Even when they had been fighting each other, that man's attitude and unreal red hair had caught his attention. The way those thin pale lips curled up in a cocky grin and that confident swagger had made him so lustful and he yearned for the confidence that Reno had. That man could walk through a mall completely naked and he wouldn't even so much as blush and that made Cloud envious. He was always so insecure and indecisive and it was making him sick.

When Reno finally hit on him at Seventh Heaven that New Years, it was a fluke that he let his inhibitions go and slept with the Turk. Because of that he was gifted with the best years of his life and now…now look at what he had done. He had left Reno because of something that wasn't even his fault. He was pregnant because of something that those crazy doctors had done and Cloud had treated the poor guy like shit for it. Wasn't he in that very situation years ago with Zack? Was it his fault that Hojo submitted him to inhumane experiments?

Yes, he had every right to be uncomfortable around children and not to like them, but how could that make him hate Reno? It couldn't. Even now he wanted to hold the man in his arms and beg for forgiveness, but that wasn't going to happen. Reno was a proud man and would never give him the time of the day after he had left. A few tears rolled down his muddy cheeks as he leaned against the tree in defeat. He was an absolute jackass and he didn't deserve someone like Reno.

"I'm sorry," he whispered pathetically before the words were caught up in the heavy wind carrying them to somewhere far away.

After a few moments of standing in the cold murky water, Cloud made a decision. Submerging himself completely one last time, he emerged refreshed and ready to move out. The wind bit at his sensitive nerves but he just shook the water from his hair and rubbed his taut muscles. Not at all caring that he was covered in filth, he slipped into his clothes and straddled his massive bike. He was going to find those two bastards and kill them in a slow cruel way. They had dared to touch his lover and they wouldn't live to tell about it. Even if Reno never forgave him, he would spend the rest of his life watching over the Turk and caring for him from the shadows.

Fenrir roared to life and its master slipped on his new sunglasses before taking the massive vehicle down the barely seen trails across the Midgar Plains. The wind swept back the dirty spikes and the clear teardrops.

I sighed sadly as I looked out the window to a scene that I was more than familiar with. We had ended up having to spend the night in a hotel in the slums while Elena secured a new house. Most of our hideouts could be compromised, so we needed a new one. Rufus was sitting on the only bed in our room. His head was leaning back on the headboard and his eyes were closed but I could tell that he wasn't sleeping. He was just as worried as I was.

However, I wasn't only worrying over turning into a demon again. No, my mind was also occupied by thoughts of Cloud. I missed him so badly and it was tearing me up. I didn't fully realize how much I had really put into our relationship, and now it was taking its toll on me.

Oceans apart day after day
And I slowly go insane
I hear your voice on the line
But it doesn't stop the pain
If I see you next to never
How can we say forever

I just wanted to hold him, to kiss him, to love him. That bastard had given me love and then ripped it away like a band-aid. If I ever saw him again I was going to beat the shit out of him before pulling him into a bone crushing hug.

Wherever you go
Whatever you do
I will be right here waiting for you
Whatever it takes
Or how my heart breaks
I will be right here waiting for you

I closed the window to block out the sappy song that was playing in the background. It wasn't making me feel any better. Still hearing some of the lyrics, I closed the blinds to try to block it all. Rufus cracked an eye to look at me, but I shook my head and sat on the edge of the bed.

"Boss?"

"Hmm?"

"Well, can I ask you a personal question?"

"Sure. It doesn't mean I'll answer it, but feel free to ask anything you want."

Jackass. "Um, have you ever been broken-hearted?"

He looked at me thoughtfully before closing his eyes and nodding. "Yes."

"How long does it last?" I whispered sadly.

"Forever," he mumbled. "If you really do love that person, it will never go away."

"That's fucking encouraging," I grumbled as I laid next to him. I was already cleaned up from my earlier mess, so I rested my head next to his injured arm.

"It's the truth you know. There's no use in lying about something like this."

"Who was it?"

"Hn?"

"Who broke your heart?"

He looked at me sadly and just smiled.

"You should get some rest now."

He rolled over to his side effectively ending our conversation. Sighing again, I rolled to my side. I found my hand stroking my bump of a stomach comfortingly. Was I doing this to comfort the twins or to comfort myself? Regardless, I continued to rub circles on the flesh. There were a few obvious stretch marks that pissed me off when I looked at them, but that's just how it was. How did I plan on raising the two of these? If only one was Cloud's that meant that the other one was the experiment from the doctors. What if the child was…a monster? What would I do? It wasn't really mine, I was just a fleshly vessel carrying it around, so did that mean that I didn't have any obligation to it?

The dark thought of killing it entered my mind and I shuddered. How could I even think like that! Monster or not it was still a child; but if it was going to destroy the world, wasn't it my duty to kill it? With these heavy thoughts, I curled up on my side and fell into a restless sleep.

The cities were burning before my very eyes and all I could do was stand there in horror. Sephiroth stood before me with his mighty Masamune in hand. Turning slowly to face me, the General looked down at me with a strange expression. It wasn't the blood thirsty look that I was expecting or even the look of ecstasy that he would get in doing his mother's will. It was a tired look that didn't fit on his chiseled face very well. Out of the corner of my eye I saw his thirsty blood absorbing the blood that was sliding down its sleek curve and it made me shudder. Even his sword was unnatural.

I gulped and stepped back as he took a heavy step towards me. It seemed that every step towards me was forced and that he barely seemed to have any energy. I saw a strange apparition forming behind him, whispering all kinds of words to him. The apparition was taking the form of a strange woman-creature. Her skin was tinted green and her eyes were unnaturally shaped like a cat's eyes, just like Sephiroth's. Her purple lips spoke poison to her son, twisting his fragile mind even further. I barely noticed the lifeless forms of her other sons, the Remnants who were sacrificed to give life to Sephiroth and the failure who came before.

"Give him to me," the General commanded slowly.

His leather hand outstretched towards me and only then did I realize that I was holding something. The bundle in my arms began to cry making me realize that I was holding a baby.

"Give…him to…to me," he repeated as Jenova continued to speak to him.

Instinctively, I pulled the bundle closer to myself keeping it away from danger. However, that would be a pointless gesture. There was no one here to help me out and there was no way in Odin's abode that I was going to defeat Sephiroth by myself. Damn, Cloud could barely do it himself and me and the rest of the Turks couldn't take him down before he got good at fighting! I was going to die and he was going to get the baby regardless of what I did. Wouldn't it just be easier to let him have the little guy?

The sound of the flames roaring around me and the stench of flesh made me feel even sicker. I was completely helpless and at his mercy which was definitely not a good thing. He stepped forward again, dragging along his ever sharp blade which reflected the flames menacingly.

"Give me…a new body. Give that child…to me," he gasped as his eyes darkened in anger at my defiance.

Jenova was looking at her son proudly and stroking his shoulders encouragingly. That bitch just wasn't going to give up was she? Besides, what kind of freak mother would touch her son that way?! That was just nasty!

"I'm not going to help your damn space bitch of a mother!" I shouted angrily. "She's just going to take over your fucking body!"

Anger flashed across his face which paled in comparison to the fury that burned in Jenova's eyes. Lifting up Masamune, Sephiroth charged towards me with the full intention of chopping my head off. I closed my eyes and cringed and I heard the sickening sound of metal meeting flesh. Surprisingly, I didn't feel anything.

Opening my eyes, an awesome sight was before me. A large winged creature stood in front of me and was holding Masamune in his grip. Large golden wings were spread out completely, and the matching golden horns shimmered in the light of the flames. Pale flesh covered ripped muscles and pulsing arteries. In short, this was an absolute beast.

"Think you can get through me?" the demon taunted.

"I'll carve your doom into your flesh," Sephiroth replied angrily.

"You'll have a hell of a time doing that," he hissed. "I'm Damnation, and nothing survives my wrath!"

His deafening roar busted my eardrums and rang through my head. I dropped to my knees and held the baby even closer in an effort to protect his ears. Blood splashed on my body, but whose it was, I didn't know.

I woke up with a start. Rufus was still sleeping, but something was bothering me. The room was completely still and even the noise from the street was almost nothing. I could clearly hear my own breathing and it was beginning to speed up. Obviously I was preparing for something, but I wasn't sure what it was yet.

My eyes scanned the room seeing all the little details but nothing was out of place. My bag full of necessities was resting against the dresser and Rufus's stuff was next to the television. It was all as it should be. Except…there was now a recording disk lying next to the TV. I slid off the bed silently and picked it up. On it was written the words: If you want Mrs. Franklin off your back read this. I looked around nervously before pulling out Rufus's laptop to play the disk.

The face of Dr. Franklin showed up on the screen and he was sitting down in an office. He looked well kept and his face had concern on it. I bit my lip and watched the video nervously. Why would he be the one to tell me how to get rid of his wife?

"Hello there. This might seem strange, but let me assure you that this is not something that I am doing on a whim. I've been working with my wife for many years, but we have fought on many issues. I think that ever since she lost our child she has lost all of her senses."

"Ya think?" I snorted to the screen.

"Although I had admired Professor Hojo's work and believed in using the Jenova cells to help humanity, that idea has done to hell. We wanted to fix the problems that occurred with the Sephiroth experiments and Sheryl insisted on using our new techniques on our unborn baby. I reluctantly agreed and only then because we were so sure that we had fixed the problems. However, the procedure didn't work and it killed our baby as well as leaving her infertile. This drove her mad."

As I was listening I wasn't sure of what I should be thinking. Could I believe this fucker? He didn't seem so sane the last time I saw him, so what would be different now? He seemed completely sincere on the screen but that could be an act.

"All Sheryl wants is for us to be right. She was willing to do whatever it took to bring into this world the perfect super being. Once this child is born, Sheryl will probably lose her purpose in life and will settle down, maybe in a mental institute. What I am suggesting is that you come with me so that I can monitor the baby, then once it is born I'll take it off your hands and you can go free."

I was quite suspicious of the entire thing, but his tone was completely honest. Nothing on his face betrayed that he was anything but sincere.

"I'll leave the decision to you. I'm not behind the attack on the Shinra tower, so I've been busy doing everything I can to prepare for the baby. If you agree, send a message to 1657 Venus Ave. in Midgar by tomorrow. I'll be waiting for your reply. Thank you for listening."

With a smile and a nod, the image faded away.