Chapter 14: Terminus Part 1

Thanks has to go to my wonderful beta, blackcat686, who is doing a great job. Thank you very much dear!

DISCLAIMER: I do not own Final Fantasy VII, Dirge of Cerberus, or any of the characters, I just mess with them for our entertainment. I only own my OCs and the story.

A few days passed without much excitement and I was getting even more restless. After telling Tseng about the video we moved out of that hotel immediately. Rufus was pissed because he couldn't understand how the doctors were getting their information on our whereabouts, and I was pissed because I have never in my life sat down on my ass doing nothing for this long. I couldn't drink or smoke or even hit the brothels! It was driving me insane!

Now we were staying at a cheap bar that had rooms above it for guests. The little place was run by a guy a little older than me who had an honest face and a weary smile but it didn't help my mood out much. Since I was stuck with nothing to do, I ended up hanging around the guy as he cleaned the place up and cooked during the day. At night he had a few workers who helped to serve the patrons, but he did most of the work. I bet that he was thinking that I was a pregnant teenager who had the hots for him since I tagged along all the time, but I made sure that I never hinted at being available. I didn't want this poor fool broken-hearted once I left.

Thankfully, the guy didn't seem romantically interested in me. He just patiently kept me company and worked hard all day long. It seemed like he never took a moment to relax, and in my experience, there were only a few reasons that people would work that hard: they were trying to support a family, were broken-hearted, or were extremely hateful and trying to get revenge. Out of all of the choices, it seemed that my comrade was a broken-hearted man with nothing else to live for.

"Hey, Tuari," I called from my table in the eating room. "How the hell do ya beat this thing?"

It was hard trying to act like a pregnant woman, but I tried my best and that's why this stupid colorful cube in my hand wasn't imbedded in the wall across the room. The owner of the pub came over from cleaning a table and smiled as I tried in vain to get all the colors into the right order.

Tuari smiled softly and picked up the plastic box from my impatient hands. He looked over at all the colors and began to speak as he twisted and turned the stupid box in weird ways.

"First you want to get one side to have a cross in it of one color. Let's pick orange."

I watched as his deft fingers easily found the needed colors and set them into a cross shape at the top of the cube.

"Now, you want to solve for the orange and make the entire top section match."

With my Mako-enhanced mind, I began to pick up on the pattern. Twist this way to get that, or twist that way to get this, and don't forget about so and so. In no time at all, he solved the little cube with each side a solid color. Smiling at me, he twisted it all out of sync and handed it back to me.

"It takes a little practice, but it can become calming. I always solve that when I'm feeling stressed."

"Really?"

"Yeah. I remember teaching another kid how to solve that, but he didn't pick it up for a long time. As a matter of fact, I'm not sure if he ever really learned how to solve this thing."

I frowned as I watched his face fall some. It was a little different from the look that he would wear most of the day; it was a look of loneliness. He knew that whoever he was waiting for would never show up, but he still waited and suffered.

"What was he like?" I asked carefully as my thin fingers worked the little plastic cube.

Scrubbing at an imaginary spot, Tuari focused his attention on the table so that he wouldn't have to look me in the eye as he spoke.

"He was a kind boy who got into the military so that he could see the world. His naivety wouldn't allow him to think of having to kill people just because it was orders or of the harsh realities of war. All he knew about was the glorified stories of the Great General and the gilded stories of war that was printed in the newspapers. Many young troopers are like that, but he was special."

Having said that, Tuari glanced over at me as if he thought that I was going to gay bash him or something. Tch, if he knew my position he wouldn't have worried at all.

"Tuari, you look like you need to get something off your chest," I softly pushed. Hearing about other people's problems gave me something other than my problems to think about. "I'm cool with homosexuality, and I'm bi myself, so don't worry. I just want to lend you a shoulder. After all, it's the least I can do for you letting me tag around like an annoying pest."

He glanced at my belly before focusing back on the table in front of him. Running a hand through his hair, the guy sat down heavily on a chair and tugged his hair tie off. Rich dark hair fell over his shoulders and he shook it out a little.

"Well, you're probably too young to remember, but back in the days Midgar was in a war with Wutai and even after the war there were hostilities between the continents. Even people as far down as Junon were hateful of anyone with Wutaiese blood.

"I'm half-Wutaiese, so I wasn't able to get a decent job anywhere except in the pubs that the Shinra soldiers frequented. However, even the soldiers would mock me and avoid me once they found out that my mother was Wutaiese. I began resenting the country I was born in and the place that I worked at. I even hated these soldiers that were the defenders of my way of life."

Yeah, I remembered those days well enough. I didn't let this guy know it so that I didn't blow my cover, but even as a snot-nosed Turk I knew better than to hang around any Wutaiese that weren't related to Tseng. Things changed a few years later and I'm sure that Verdot had a little something to do with that. After all, his little pet Tseng was the best Turk out there and he couldn't have others treating him or his race badly.

"However, I ended up meeting the kindest and most honest person that had ever lived on this PLANET when I was working at that pub. One of the young troopers had just been promoted so a friend of his took him drinking. I knew the kid was under-aged, but I couldn't help but serve those two some drinks. They were so happy and excited that for the first time I found myself smiling." Tuari grinned softly at the memory. "The poor trooper gagged when he tried the beer, but at his friend's insistence he finished the drink off. Heh, I had to help the poor guy home since his friend was too busy skirt-chasing. After that day, he showed up more and more often. He would ask all kinds of questions, and his curious eyes never seemed sated. That's when I showed him this little toy."

He gestured towards the little cube that I had already solved and looked back down. I guess it was easier to speak about these things if he pretended that I wasn't there, and I didn't blame him. I wouldn't want to speak about personal things with a complete stranger either. Why he was telling me these things, I didn't know, but in the least it was keeping me out of trouble.

"The poor kid tried so hard for hours on end to solve the thing, but he just didn't have the knack for it. I showed him countless times, and he worked so hard at it. I never saw him solve it, but at the time it made me happy. This little thing always kept him coming back to me, to talk, to have fun, to…well, he was one of the first people to look past my race and truly look at me as an individual. I treasured him with all my heart, but one day he went out on a mission and he never came back."

Tuari bit his lip and clenched his eyes so that the painful memories wouldn't bring the tears and I felt his pain. I reached across the table and placed my hand on his. He looked up at me and I smiled.

"My lover and I had been dating for about a year and a half and I was sure that he was the one that I was going to stay with forever," I started off as I stroked his hand comfortingly. "I put so much into our relationship and then I ended up getting pregnant. He was the type of guy that was scared of being serious and having a family, so he ran off when he found out about it."

"I'm sorry," Tuari whispered.

I shrugged. "Eh, it couldn't be helped. I knew it was going to happen, but it still hurts quite a bit. To be honest, I'd take him back in a heartbeat, but I don't think he'll ever come back. At least I knew what to expect and could prepare myself. You didn't get that chance."

"I was told that he was killed during the mission, but somehow I can't give up on him. In my heart I still feel like he survived and is out there somewhere. There's no way that I can give up on him with these feelings in my heart."

My heart ached as I heard him speak so passionately about this trooper. He was willing to wait forever on his loved one no matter the pain it caused him. Would I be like that with Cloud? Waiting and waiting? Could I live with that pain?

"What was his name?" I asked softly. "You don't have to tell me if you don't feel comfortable with it."

He sighed softly and shook his head. "After I heard he was dead, I attempted suicide and ended up in a coma for several years. When I woke up after the Great General was defeated, I found out that I had some brain damage from the drugs I overdosed on. I can't remember his name or his troop number. I don't even remember where I was born along with many other things."

"Dang, that sucks."

"I know his face though," he said softly. "When I find him, I'll know just who he is, and that's all that matters."

"Why did you call Sephiroth, the Great General?" I asked curiously. "No one's done that since he tried to destroy the PLANET."

"I'm not sure," Tuari replied thoughtfully. "I kind of remember that the trooper practically worshipped the ground that the General walked on, so I can't bring myself to call him by anything less respectful."

"Hn."

We sat in silence for some time after that, and he soon went back to cleaning tables. My thoughts kept me company for the rest of the day but I was glad to see that Tuari seemed just a little bit happier. Hearing himself proclaim his willingness to wait seemed to have energized him some and I was happy for him. At least with this person I seemed to have brought happiness instead of death and despair.

That night I told Rufus all about our conversation and he listened patiently. He wasn't able to show his face anywhere that he went since he was so recognizable, so he ended up sitting in the room for the entire time. The Boss was more than happy to hear news of what's been going around.

Once I finished the story he leaned back and contemplated on what I told him. I just sat there looking at my toes while I still could; my belly was growing so quick that I wouldn't be surprised if it was a while before I saw those little guys. Sheesh, how the fuck was I supposed to take a piss if I couldn't even see where I was aiming?

"Sounds like the two of you were getting along pretty well."

"Eh? That's all you can say after hearing somethin' like that! Tha's cold, yo."

"It is sad, but what do you want me to say?"

"Be a little compassionate, Boss."

"Things like that happen all the time, Reno, you just have to get used to it. Granted, his story is sad, but I can guarantee you that it won't end well for him."

Rufus's words stung at me a little but I brushed it off. I didn't have to be a pessimist like he was. I could be a happy person who wanted to bring peace, joy, and happiness to the world. Tch, the hell I would.

"It's jus' awesome that someone can have that kind of patience and such feelings for someone."

I stretched out tiredly on the bed and grunted as one of the little buggers kicked the back of my belly button. I pulled up my shirt and with my pointer finger, I pressed down on the skin by my navel and chuckled when I was awarded with another firm kick. This one had some great coordination and he was probably gonna be hell on wheels when he was born. I looked up and noticed that Rufus had been staring at me. I raised my eyebrow as he quickly looked back down at his PDA.

"Oy, did you want somethin', Boss?"

"It's nothing, forgive me."

"C'mon, just tell me."

I rolled my eyes and walked over to that stubborn ass as he continued to pretend like he didn't want something.

"Really, it's nothing."

"Here, touch," I commanded.

His icy blue eyes looked right up into my belly and they softened. Those cold fingers reached up tentatively before he rested his cold palm on my warm stomach. Trying not to flinch away, I looked up at the freshly painted ceiling. Both of the little guys seemed to turn their attention to their uncle and gave him a piece of their mind. I snorted as I imagined how hyper they were going to be after they were born. Maybe one would have a head of bright yellow spiky hair and the other one would have a tangle of wild red hair. That would be just sickeningly cliché, but it was still kind of funny. Then again, only one of the little guys was actually mine and Cloud's so who knew what the hell the other one was going to turn out like. Probably another clone of Sephiroth or something.

The soft feeling of lips pressing against my skin sent chills across my body and I looked down in surprise to see Rufus kissing the sensitive flesh under my belly button. Immediately, my body began reacting to that tender touch in a not-so-innocent way. My breath was speeding up and I began to tremble a little; dear Shiva, Rufus was going to get a face full of an erection if he wasn't careful. Those wicked eyes looked up and caught my own and I nearly stopped breathing entirely. His tongue slipped out and lazily circled around the navel before dipping into it.

Since I hadn't had any physical pleasure in a long while, my body was more than eager for these kinds of touches. My knees buckled but Rufus was able to hold me up even in that awkward position. His surprisingly strong arms were wrapped around my thighs making him very close to a certain part of my anatomy that wasn't known for its self-control.

"S-stop," I panted as his tongue trailed up high enough to slip under the rolled up edge of my shirt. I wanted this so badly, but a piece of my mind was still holding on to Cloud. "Wh-what about V-vin?"

I gasped as he effortlessly eased my weak body on to the edge of the bed.

"I cannot be sated," he mumbled against my round stomach. "Come to me."

Those sharp eyes shone with intensity for something that I couldn't name. Perhaps it was the fact that there wasn't much blood left in my brain but I couldn't really understand what the hell he was talking about. However, a sinking feeling in my stomach made me worry even more.

"D-do you still have it?" I gasped as his cold hands slipped under my shirt. Although I didn't really want this, my body was winning the battle as it usually did.

"Hn? You mean the reason I always wear these infernal vests?"

Straightening up, he tossed off his ever present article of clothing carelessly onto the floor. Through the thin white shirt I could see the metal bars that were crisscrossed into his right nipple in the shape of a cross and boy did it make me hot.

"That's an, ah, i-improvement. I only made you get one, yo."

He just smiled, well more like smirked, at me before he pulled off the wig and kissed a flattened clump of red hair. My hardened member twitched eagerly and I was finding it impossible to resist his advances.

Wait, what the fuck was going on?! This was my little brother dominating me! What about his little love bunny, Vincent? That guy would eat my testicles if he saw me and Rufus together like this! Not to ruin the moment or anything, but I really would prefer to keep my balls right where they were.

"Take off your shirt," I whined, shocking myself.

I didn't want to say that at all! As a matter of fact, why the hell were my hands stroking his deliciously strong arms like that? What the fuck?! It seemed like my body was taking a little too much control over me this time. So much, in fact, that I couldn't do anything at all.

"No," he purred in my ear making me tremble even more pathetically. "I don't want you to see this scarred body, Damnation."

HOLY FUCKING SHIVA'S TITS.

My lips were already moving again on their own, "Chaos," my body gasped eagerly, "let me taste that mortal flesh!"

My body lunged hungrily at Rufus, attacking his lips brutally and bathing our tongues in his rich and tainted blood. However, it seemed that Rufus wasn't about to allow Damnation to do the dominating. He pushed me back roughly and attacked my tender throat, biting, sucking, and dragging his bloody tongue under my chin. This made Damnation groan in delight as his/my fingers began tearing the expensive shirt that was keeping us from feeling Rufus's skin.

Rufus had somehow managed to remove my shirt while he was still lavishing attention to my bruising throat and I was trying my damnest to get out of this insane situation. Damnation arched on the bed and groaned as the blond's teeth broke the skin on my neck and his tongue lapped at the warm blood. Using my body like this was not fucking acceptable, and I'll be damned if I let Damnation and my Boss get it on while I was trapped background. Somehow I needed to gain control of my body so I kick my Boss right in the nads!

"It's unbearable," Rufus growled as he pulled back in order to unbuckle his belt.

Shock was the only word that could describe what I felt as I stared at who I thought was Rufus. His pale flesh was scattered with raised scars from the attack by the WEAPON as well as the surgeries that followed had followed. For some reason, a large curved scar stretched from near his hip bone down to a few inches below his belly button caught my eye and I realized that it looked sickeningly familiar. However, the look on his usually masked face tore my attention away. Blood was smeared across his chin, lips, and cheeks and his still bleeding tongue slipped out to lick his thin lips. Those pale eyes were almost unreal as they stared down at my traitorous body. Those lips parted in a wicked smile and revealed the fangs that had easily torn the flesh of my neck.

"Chaos," Damnation moaned needily as his demonic hand stroked my stiff member. "How can you do this to me?"

"Allow me," the blond crooned as he lowered down to take care of my erection.

Easily tugging my pants down, Chaos or Rufus or whoever the hell that was, took a firm hold of my cock and licked the head firmly. Damnation nearly cried in pleasure while I was screaming in horror in my mind. This was too much! Was I in some sick dream again? Or was this reality?

The sound of the door breaking didn't really sink into my mind until Rufus was yanked away from me and an unnatural roar nearly shattered my eardrums.

"Chaos, don't you dare touch him!"

My eyeballs nearly popped out of my head as I saw the terrifying form of a demonic being standing over me and Rufus. Its large claws glimmered in the dim light of the room and its blood red eyes narrowed in on who I thought was Rufus. The blond snarled in anger but he backed up against the wall. Seeing that he wasn't going to fight, the beast turned its attention to me.

"Damnation," he hissed in warning as his clawed hand took a painful hold of my lower jaw, "you need to snap out of it. If you want to keep your body intact, use your magic to nullify his magic."

"Why do you torment me?!" hissed the Rufus-look-alike. "I need my body back, Valentine! Give it to me!"

I was released and the beast turned back on the other person in the room. "You won't dare to take me on with that weak body, Chaos, so be still. You know that I'm trying to get you and your body back, but if you keep me busy controlling you, then I'll never get it done!"

Shiva, if this wasn't happening to me I would have thought that this scene was like a weird demon soap opera. Too bad my face was hurting and my ears were ringing.

"What the hell is-" Tseng froze at the doorway as he stumbled onto this strange scene. "Shiva…"

The creature looked warily at the blond before straightening out. His figure began to shift and change into the familiar form of Vincent. The ex-Turk adjusted his heavy cloak and turned to Tseng; at the same time, I could feel Damnation also giving me back control so that he didn't have to deal with the situation. Strangely enough, I saw the older man rubbing his chest as if he was in pain and a single pulse of massive energy made me shudder before it was shoved down.

"Tseng, I apologize," Vincent replied. "Please make sure that no one witnessed any of that."

Nodding Tseng turned and followed the order and left the three of us in the room. An awkward silence and tensions filled the room as I looked around stupidly hoping that Vincent would do something other than stand there. Rufus hadn't budged and it was making me a little nervous.

After a few seconds, Vincent over to Rufus and pulled his chin up to see the bloodied face. I could tell that it still wasn't Rufus in control of the body and I bit my lip nervously. What the fucking hell?! Was that Rufus or was it some imposter? Did Tseng know about this? Did anyone know the hell about this?!

"Chaos," Vincent began quietly, "why aren't you giving up your control?"

"I crushed his control, Valentine," he spat angrily, "and it will take some time before he will be able to take it back."

"What the fuck does that mean?!" I asked angrily. Hearing that it was my Boss and that he couldn't take control was pissing me off. This was Rufus we were talking about!

"Reno, please," Vincent chided. "The bond between demon and human is very complicated, especially with Rufus."

"When the hell did he get Chaos inside of him? I thought that you had him! Why didn't I know? What the fucking hell is going on here?!"

By now I near hysterical. There was too much going on right now and I was in no condition to take it. Normally, I wouldn't be in a condition to take it and now? Shit, I was going to need a nice long nap by the time this was over with.

Vincent sighed wearily before leaving Rufus's side to sit next to me. "Reno, I did a terrible thing to Rufus. Do you remember how sick he was with Geostigma and from the infections from the WEAPON attack?"

"Yeah, the Boss wasn't allowed to see anyone, an' they thought he was gonna die." Feeling his calming presence soothed my overwhelmed mind some and I was able to at least follow along.

"I…well, to make a long story short I attempted to do what Lucrecia had done for me many years ago. Rufus was going to die, so I panicked. I was sure that the only reason I was still alive was because I was carrying Chaos within me." Those sorrowful crimson eyes rested on the form of Rufus before he continued in a quieter tone. "I was able to force a part of Chaos into him."

My mouth was hanging open at this point. There was no way that Vincent just did all that for the Boss on a whim. He would have only done that if Rufus meant a whole lot to him which meant that they had to be lovers all the way back then. What the hell? When did they get together? This incident happened nearly a year before the Remnants came back!

"Are you fucking with me Valentine?! That happened almost a full year before the Remnants showed up! And you were able to force part of a demon into my Boss?"

Shifting uncomfortably, Vincent turned his attention back to me and hid the lower half of his face under the collar of his cape.

"Rufus wouldn't want you to know, and for good reason too, but we-"

"Yeah, I know you guys are banging," I snorted.

It looked like Vincent was trying his best not to blush and that made me feel a little better. I was still sane and able to make an old man blush in shame. Sweet. Too bad this didn't really make the situation any better. If Rufus had this demon inside of him for so long, then how the hell didn't we find out about it much sooner? From what I could see, Chaos didn't like being in Rufus and was able to take over, so why never before?

"Well, I went to visit him after his first surgery and one thing led to another…and well, you can say that we've kept in touch."

"You screwed my invalid Boss only weeks after the world was saved?"

"Er, you don't have to put it that way."

"Ok, so how is it that you put a part of Chaos into Rufus? What about the other part that I met?"

"I'm not completely sure myself, but I believe that I had managed to trap Chaos's powers and lusts into Rufus's body while I retained everything else. And yes, that is the Chaos that you met."

"So why was he trying to screw me? And what does that have to do with taking over my body?"

When the ex-Turk looked even more uncomfortable I knew that I was treading on some sensitive ground. Too bad I didn't give a damn; I was nearly raped by a demon, so I have every right to know about this shit. And no, I didn't get any pleasure from seeing this composed guy squirm. Nope, not one bit.

"It's obviously not natural for Chaos to be divided and so there is a force that drives him to become one once again. I am the one who holds his body, so even though Rufus has his power, his body is too frail to use it without destroying the body. Chaos knows this and it only makes him desire his body even more. During…copulation…uh, well, that's the closest us beings can get to being one, and in this…act…Chaos seems to become one for a moment."

"You mean sex, yo?" Copulation? Dang, he should stick to using normal terms for sex.

"Yes, that. Anyway, this becoming one is able to sate his lusts for a while but because he is a greedy demon it doesn't last too long. That's when he tries to break away from Rufus into another body, but he hasn't been successful yet. Also, I still seem to be able to control Chaos in a way that Rufus cannot. For some reason, he is absolutely under Chaos's will, but I can force that will down along with the Chaos residing inside my own body."

"And you don't know why?"

"No, I don't have a clue as to why. I've been getting my hands on some of Lucrecia's research in an attempt to figure out why as well as finding a way to reverse this."

An awkward pause followed while I thought over what we had just talked about. There was so much that I still didn't know about my Boss and it was unnerving. I wasn't used to not having information. After all, a Turk can't get the job done if he doesn't have the right info.

Realizing that I was still pretty naked, I quickly made myself presentable and Vincent had the decency to turn away.

"Tch, ya think I've never changed in front of others, yo?"

"I'm just being respectful."

"Hey, Vinnie," he twitched at the nickname, "you know the Boss's body better than I do, so what's up with that scar-"

At that moment, Rufus slumped over and his head hit the floor loudly. Having faster reflexes than I did (and that's saying something), Vincent was at his side, checking the swollen bump. Rufus groaned in pain, but didn't say anything else.

"Rufus, are you there?" Valentine asked concernedly.

Only another pained grunt came from the Boss as he tried to stand.

"You shouldn't try an' get up, Boss," I offered but was graced with the middle finger.

"Dang, Vinnie taught you all kinds of new things."

Before Vincent had a chance to reply, Tseng came in. As usual, not a hair was out of place and he didn't look one bit frazzled. Heh, he was quite the opposite of me and Vincent at the moment.

"Mr. President, let me help."

Pushing Vincent away, Tseng helped Rufus to the bed and covered him up in the blankets. A few moments later he turned to the both of us and frowned.

"I apologize, Tseng," Vincent started.

"You were lucky this time, Valentine," Tseng reprimanded sharply. "The owner of this place had gone out for some groceries and no one else witnessed you losing control. And you," he turned and pointed a finger at me, "you need to get control of that demon. If you keep losing it like that, we won't have any choice but to lock you up."

I was taken aback by his harsh words and I couldn't believe that he was threatening to lock me up! Anger flared, but I was able to control my words.

"Well, I'm pretty damn sorry that I've never had a fucking demon inside my body trying to take control. 'Ts not like I know what the fuck to do."

"That's why I'm giving you the chance to learn," he replied. "Now, Vincent, I need to discuss something with you in private and then I want you to help Reno out. Damnation is too out of control."

"Yes."

Going outside the room, Tseng and Vincent left me alone with Rufus. I looked at his exhausted form and I wondered what it felt like for an anal retentive person to get shown up by a demon. Somehow Chaos managed to crush my brother's extreme control and took over him. It just went to show that I really had no clue what kind of hell I was in. What chance did I stand? I could barely control myself when I didn't have a demon, and now?

"Shit, this sucks."

"Do you think that I'm going to let us get locked up?"

"Go to hell, I'm not talking to you."

"Do you remember what I told you?"

"Fuck off."

"Well, just so you know there-"

"I said shut up!" I hissed in annoyance as I made my way to the window to open it up. This demon was seriously pissing me off.

The sound of a gun firing barely registered before I felt something sink into my chest. Looking up in surprise I saw a small hole in the window and a person with a large tranquilizer gun on the roof across the street. The individual was dressed in a disguise that covered his face and figure, but that was a high powered gun. Looking down I saw the empty needle that was imbedded into my chest.

"This is why you should listen to me you asshole."

The next thing I knew I was strapped down on a table with a glaring light in my face.

"Fuck," I groaned as I tested the straps. If these babies weren't SOLDIER proof then I had a one way ticket to freedom.

"Reno, you really know how to piss people off."

"What can I say?" I replied. So the bitch was here, where was her demented hubby?

"Without the proper treatment, you could destroy what we've been working so hard for."

"What are you talking about?"

"Our experiment needs major doses of Mako on a continuous basis if he is to become the next Sephiroth. Without it, who knows what would become of the child?"

The rest of the room was dark so I couldn't see where exactly she was but my hearing told me that she was now headed in my direction. I wasn't disappointed when she came to the edge of the light. Her thin hand pressed gently against my stomach and I tried to pull away, but it was in vain.

"Reno, you are the perfect vessel for this experiment, but there are two imperfections that we need to remove."

Dread clenched my heart tightly. "What the fuck are you talking about now?" I asked thickly.

"I wasn't aware that you were carrying Cloud's children, but I should have expected that. You see, Mako has so many side effects that we aren't able to document them all. As a matter of fact, Mako also affects different individuals in different ways so there are countless side-effects that could happen. It also depends on how much Mako was put into their system and for how long. There are just so many possibilities!"

"If you think that I'm just going to sit around and let you carve out my children, than you're dead wrong, bitch."

My heart was beating so painfully and all I could do was wish that Cloud would show up and save the day. Fat chance of that actually happening. By now, he was probably all the way to the crater. Besides, how the hell did I manage to get kidnapped? Vincent and Tseng were there, so what the hell?

"My dearest Reno, you don't really have a choice in the matter. If we kill them and pull them out of the way, then we would be free to work with the experiment in a much better environment."

Now my mind was running full blast and some, thanks to the Mako. "But if you try to abort them now, your experiment would be in danger."

"Excuse me?"

Yeah, I know that Elena had read something like this in that huge encyclopedia on babies and pregnancy. Who gave a damn if I was a little wrong?

"Especially if your experiment is in the same amniotic sac as another child. Cutting out Cloud's baby would cause trauma to the placenta and it might quit working. That would put a quick end to your sick tests."

"Do you even have a placenta?"

That fucker sure picked the best moments to annoy the shit out of me.

"Then isn't that what you would want, Reno?"

"Listen, I'm hormonal, I have a fucking demon inside of me, my boyfriend just abandoned me, I'm strapped to some table to be your experiment, and you have the nerve to ask me what I want? A gil's worth of lead in my head would do nicely."

Sheryl laughed and patted my stomach happily. "You're absolutely right. Besides, no matter what damage the Mako does to your little freaks it will have no bearing on our research. After all, we'll just kill them after we deliver our experiment."

Hearing her speak like that made me sick, but I just smiled sweetly.

"You got it! That'll work!"

Pleased with herself, Sheryl walked out of the room to probably create some sick cocktail that would kill me in a few years.

"Proud of yourself, mortal? Now we're both going to die."

"If you're so big and bad, why the hell don't you get us out of here."

"If I completely take over your body it would kill the babies, and there is no doubt in my mind that Chaos would obliterate my body and soul if I did that."

"So you are scared of that guy?"

"Yep."

"Why?"

"You really are an idiot aren't you?"

The door opened again and this time someone smaller than the psycho bitch came in. Much smaller, almost like a child. Forcing my eyes to adjust to the contrast of the bright light and the dark room, I watched as a young child not older than seven walked towards me. There was something really familiar about this kid's figure.

Shaggy and filthy black hair hung to the child's shoulders and a blindfold covered its eyes. Even as the child came closer I wasn't able to tell if it was a boy or a girl. Those nearly translucent arms and legs weren't much thicker than my wrist and its waist was probably the size of my thigh alone. Dang, and I'm even underweight!

"Who're you?" I asked as the child set down a tray full of needles and other unmentionables.

Even with its eyes covered, the child tilted its head towards me. It seemed to stare at me for a while before going back to arranging things on the tray. How did it know where to put things if its eyes were covered? When the child wouldn't reply, I realized that it probably couldn't. There was a strap around its throat that had some kind of device near where the Adam's apple would be.

"I thought that the Franklin's couldn't have kids." There was still no response, and the kid just kept working. "It's lonely in here kid, can you make some signal that you at least understand me?"

The kid ignored me and I gave it up. Instead, I just tried to find some info on this unfortunate kid. There were old deep scars around its ankles and wrists and even more scars littering what skin was exposed. For these, some were old and some were new. My powerful eyes also picked up on the fact that the knot from the blindfold was so old that the cloth was practically fused.

"What did they do to you?" I asked sadly.

If this was the life that their experiments lived, then I would rather kill myself and spare my babies from this. I wasn't going to let them turn any child from my body into that.

The child finished with its work and paused for a moment to "look" at me. His bony fingers ghosted over my heavily pregnant stomach sending pleasant little sensations through my body. It took me only a moment to realize that he was spelling something on my flesh. N-i-b-e-l-h-e-i-m.

"What are you up to Number 1?" Damon asked patiently in the stillness. The child immediately dropped its hand before bowing its head and walking to him respectfully. "Answer me Number 1," he commanded with a tone of amusement. A small noise came from the child before it shuddered in pain. "Good." Damon patted the kid's head fondly. "Hehe, Number 1 has made me quite proud. He's as close to a prototype that we have for the clone of Sephiroth right now."

"You're a sick bastard, you know that?" I spat at him.

"Oh, Reno, you really have no idea."

The insane man leaned over and slowly dragged his tongue up the sickly child's cheek before he heartlessly shoved the kid out of the room. At that moment I realized why I recognized that kid. That was the fucking person who shot me!

Snapping on heavy latex gloves, Damon grabbed the longest needle on the tray before he pressed it against my belly button.

"This might sting a little," he warned sadistically before he plunged it through the flesh and into my abdomen.

If I wasn't a Turk who had learned how to endure numerous types of tortures, I would have broken down and cried like a piece of shit. He was obviously injecting some kind of shit into my Mako womb and it felt like liquid fire was filling up my body. I was sure that I could survive this, but I highly doubted that Cloud's kids would hold up so well.

It wasn't fair! They were just innocent babies trying to grow up inside my body and they were already being tortured! Why the hell was this happening? I tugged uselessly at the restraints, and the bastard just kept poking me and taking notes. Sometimes he would check some computer screens before going back to work.

"Once you get these things out of your body, I'm going to rip that mortal to shreds."

"You and me both," I hissed as another painful injection made its way into me.

"It seems that you're about twenty-five weeks along," the mad-scientist mumbled as he took a few more notes.

Twenty-five weeks along?! It's been that long? Let's see that would be…barely seven months! Had it really been seven months? It was so hard to keep up with everything that had been happening, and it really shouldn't surprise me that I hadn't been keeping track of time. After the first time Damnation took over my body, I've been pretty screwed up in the head. I can't even remember the several weeks I spent in the hospital recovering.

Another jab in the gut brought me back into reality and I clenched my eyes shut. "Damnation, you got any good stories?" I whispered as I tried to disassociate myself from the pain.

"Nope."

"You really suck, you know that? Taking over my body and not even having the decency to give me a story."

"And you're an idiot who got us into this situation."

"Fuck you and your mama."

"Hmm, that would be fine, but I don't have a mother.."

"Then we're more alike than you might want to admit."

Damon didn't seem bothered at all with the fact that I was talking to myself, and if I knew mad scientists well enough I bet he was probably taking note on the whole thing. I was still pretty confused about the fact that a little kid managed to shoot me and get me away from Vincent. He was a beast through and through and put my Mako enhanced body to shame.

"What did you do to that kid?" I asked knowing that if I got an answer it wouldn't be a good one.

"I made him into my eyes, ears, and hands."

"Why? Why would you hurt an innocent kid, bastard?"

The look in his eye guaranteed that no matter how good he acted, he was a nut. This was a truly insane person.

"Because I can. Besides, how else was I supposed to keep up with your comings and goings? Nothing but the son of a beast could keep up with well trained Turks and that damned Valentine."

"Son of a beast?" This guy was full of all kinds of surprises. However, if he did answer me, it only meant on thing. I wasn't going to live through this.

"Yes, the son of the PLANET's harbinger."

"What the fuck are you talking about?"

"Maybe I'll tell you a little later, Reno."

With that, he resumed his ruthless observations. Letting my eyes slide shut, I called upon an old trick that had pulled me through thick and thin. Focusing on the pain in my stomach, I felt each agonizing throb of heat. I saw myself reaching out to that pain and taking a hold of it in my hand. This was my body, and I could control it all. Squeezing my hand, I was crushing the pain, pushing it away. All I had to do was stay in this state, stay away from the reality.

My eyes blinked sleepily and I began wondering what pulled me out of my trance-like state. I had been dreaming of living in a nice two storied house with Cloud, somewhere outside Midgar's city limits. Yeah, we had a nice chocobo corral out back and it was all good. Unfortunately, reality's a bitch.

"What's going on, yo?" I croaked as I looked around.

I was in a new room and this one had a wall that was made of reinforced glass. Probably SOLDIER proof too. The rest of the walls were made of solid cement and there was only a single light bulb illuminating the small room. On the other side of the glass wall, there was a large screen television that would have made even Rufus jealous. Leaning against the wall was a smug looking Sheryl and Damon.

"What the fuck are you two smirkin' about?" I growled as I rubbed my now free wrists.

There was no table with straps, no glaring light, absolutely nothing. Nothing but the screen that was on the other side. Now that I was paying attention, I could see that the screen was showing an image of the front of Shinra Mansion. A car was pulling up and I tilted my head in curiosity.

"What's this, yo? Do I get a movie night or something?"

"Just watch," Damon replied through some kind of speaker system. "Number 1 and Number 2 gave us a heads up about our visitor and I'll think you'll enjoy the show."

Cold dread clenched my heart and I felt my heart fall to my stomach when I saw a pissed Rufus getting out of the car alone. He had his trusty gun, but I knew that these two bastards probably had a pretty good security system going on.

"Rufus, you stubborn ass," I groaned quietly as I watched him prepare for his break-in.

He was doing everything right, except that he didn't have anyone to get his back. I bet that he grew impatient and decided to head off here all by himself. Other than the fact that my Boss was a stubborn idiot, I had to admit that he was a pretty good fighter. Unfortunately, the WEAPON attack took most of that away from him and now that blind eye was a major disadvantage, but not the only disadvantage.

"C'mon, just get out of here," I begged as my worry increased. "Go get Tseng, or someone else!"

Deaf to my pleas, Rufus entered the building cautiously. The camera shifted to one inside the building and it wasn't long before the first wave of attacks came. There were half-experimented monsters mixed in with the mindless soldiers and they were intent on killing the intruder. However, they underestimated my Boss and he was able to single-handedly take out the whole troop. I would have cried in pride if I wasn't so worried sick that he still wasn't going to be ok. Although he lived through that wave, there was bound to be a few more. If he had that oversized cat he used to own he might have stood a better chance, but in his position it was only time before his luck ran out. Shiva, please let someone else come and help him out.

"Fuck," Rufus hissed as he reloaded his gun again.

He knew that he shouldn't have come by himself, but he couldn't stand waiting any longer. The WRO just had to pick this time to throw a major assault on the Tsevites! Because of that, Vincent and all the other ex-members of AVALANCHE were off trying to save the world again. Even the other Turks were off helping them, even if they did protest. He knew that saving the PLANET first was a better tactical decision, but he couldn't accept that. It would take too long and he was sure that Reno couldn't wait any longer. Once again his impatience forced him into a no-win situation. However, if he could at least post-pone the doctor's torturing his Turk anymore than he was fine with that.

At the moment he was missing his precious Dark Nation. Grief pressed heavily against his chest, but he had to push it aside. Dark Nation was dead now and Reno was not, so Reno had to come first. Mourning could come later.

Looking around uneasily, he made his way to the likeliest place to hold Reno: the basement. It was hard to be aware of your surroundings when you could only see with one eye. His depth perception left much to be desired but he sucked it up and kept going. Besides, no sight in one eye wasn't as bad as the lingering effect of paralysis from the Geostigma and shrapnel slicing through some of his nerves that saturated his left side. A few more soldiers and monsters attempted to stop him before he made it to the stairs, but he was able to take them all down.

Every one of his senses was on high alert and his gut was telling him not to go down those stairs. The whole situation had the stench of a set-up and he knew it. Taking a deep controlled breath, he took that first cautious step on the old rotting staircase. One would think that the crazy doctors would at least invest a little into fixing these dangerous things.

"I need to get a body soon," Chaos growled, tugging at Rufus's feeble control

Really, why the hell did he have to be cursed with a demon? It was an absolute pain in the ass to struggle for control and to keep this bastard from whoring himself out just so that he could get another body. If only he had the ability to shove the demon back into the depths of his mind like Vincent could…

Finally making it to the bottom of the staircase, the President looked around and seeing nothing he moved forward silently. Being sure to keep his breathing controlled and silent, Rufus made his way to the partially opened door on the other side of the room. The sound of a cocking gun echoed in the silence and the last Shinra jumped back to avoid the shot that soon followed.

With the sound of the blood rushing echoing in his ears, he turned to his blind side where the shot came from and aimed at the target. Unfortunately, his grip went slack when he saw a blindfolded child holding gun out directly at him. Pain shot through his heart as his good eye took in the sight of the starved and tortured child. That dark hair and fair skin, no it couldn't be.

"Never let your guard down," an empty voice warned from the other side and Rufus turned to face a near identical copy of the child in the blindfold.

This one's eyes were blank and his body lacked the physical scars, but it was easy to see that his mind was full of them. He also held out a gun steadily and aimed it right at the blond.

The strong-willed President let his gun drop as he stared in horror and agony at the two children who were going to kill him. It was too cruel, this wasn't supposed to be like this. When Vincent found out he would-

The loud echo of a gun being shot off filled the small room and Rufus stumbled back from the force of the bullet. A spray of blood painted the grey wall behind him as he fell against the stone. Another shot rang out and the blond Shinra slid down the wall, his moist eyes staring blankly at the young assassins and a stream of red running down his face.

"NOOOO!!"

I couldn't believe my damn eyes, I just couldn't! The same kid who had told me where I was had gotten on Rufus's blind side and he and another one just murdered the President before my very eyes.

My now bloody hands were beating futilely against the reinforced glass before I collapsed to my knees. The other child that I had never seen before walked up to the slumped form of my little brother and added another bullet into his head for good measure.

The terrible screams of horror from not only me, but Damnation as well filled the room, deafening me to anything else. Rage boiled inside of me, but there was nothing I could do! I was helplessly stuck in this cage, and I couldn't even get this fucking demon to help me because it would kill the innocent babies. At the moment I was seriously considering just forgetting the babies and letting Damnation rip this place apart.

Rufus had been my lover, my Boss, my brother, and a whole lot of in-between for as long as I had been in the Turks. My duty was to protect him no matter what the cost was to my life, and here I was watching his murder. I failed him in so many ways, and it tore me up. There had to have been some way to save him, I just didn't find it in time. Now? He was dead. Rufus, the last Shinra, was dead.

My mind was cracking under the emotional strain, but so was that damn wall. Large cracks began forming as Damnations fury flowed through my veins and my Mako-enhanced body kept punching the only thing that had kept me from rescuing Rufus. All of my hatred and anger seemed to be giving energy to the demon within me, feeding his blood-thirsty soul.

"You bastards, I'll kill you, I'll kill every fucking one of you! I'll make sure you rot in fucking hell!"

I was in such a rage that I couldn't even tell how those doctors were reacting. All I knew was the pain, the hatred. With one final punch, the entire wall shattered, raining down the sharp shards. I felt several tranquilizers land into my body, but I just ripped them out. My mangled hands were already healing up and I was sending out some kind of magic. Things were burning, screams were echoing, and I didn't know what the hell was going on. I no longer had the person whom I trusted to keep me on the edge of my sanity no matter what.

"Damon, he's going to destroy everything!" Sheryl screeched as she clamped both hands over her ears when another agonized scream echoed down the hall.

"Don't worry, love," the doctor grunted as he input some information into the computer that was currently hooked up to the child called Number 2. "Number 1 will keep him busy until Number 2 is ready."

"That damn modem needs to burn in hell, it's too slow!"

"Patience, love."

The doctor cranked up the volume, streaming information into the boy's mind and the child began convulsing from the mental overload. A few complicated algorithms later, Damon finally nodded to himself before yanking the kid off the machine. Blood splattered and the boy cried out as the cables that had been attached to his body were ripped away.

"Now get out there and stop Reno!" commanded Sheryl.

Obediently, the child headed towards the danger zone while Sheryl looked over at her husband.

"What?" he asked nonchalantly as the sounds of more explosions and fighting erupted.

"We need to move out before the others get here. No doubt that since the Shinra brat got here, his bitches will be right behind."

"I'm not so sure, dear. I heard that the Tsvietes were causing some problems," he replied and sighed. "However, it's best not to take chances. Let's pack up while those two worthless experiments handle Reno. If our baby dies again, those two will wish that they had never been born."