A/N: Apologies for the late update. My siblings had Spring break and decided to hog the computers. Needless to say, I have not had the time to be writing much because of that.

*Sigh*

Recently, my mind has been occupied with other things to concentrate on the story. I fear that I have lost track of where this is going. (Not to mention that I have written it quite strangely.) So please, if any of you feel that I have missed an important conflict…do not hesitate to say. Thank You.

Chapter 14

Zack stuck his head into the dark room and peered inside, "Hello…?" There was no movement inside and the only sound Zack could hear seemed to be coming from the slow dripping of water somewhere nearby. He took a step inside, "Hello…? Sephiroth?" Zack frowned, wondering where Sephiroth could have gone. It was strange and he suppressed a shudder at the ill feeling the room was giving off. Cautiously, he went further and deeper into the room, making sure not to step on any rubble that seemed to be in his path. He breathed shallowly, the thick smog in the air sickening his stomach, and glanced around again. He blinked. This time, he saw something. It looked like a person hunched over in the shadows, the slight gleam of a sword in his hands… "Sephiroth?" he called out.

He was breathing in ragged breaths, his free hand gripping his head, as he turned towards the sound. He groaned and clenched his eyes shut. Something was wrong. Something was raging inside his head, like a madness he couldn't pull from, "Ngh, Zack…? He cracked his eyes open and looked towards the figure cautiously approaching his way.

Zack stared at the eerie otherworldly glow of Sephiroth's eyes. They seemed penetrating, and mad. "Sephiroth! What's wrong?" he tried rushing to him.

Sephiroth dropped his hand from his head and held up his sword to stop Zack from coming closer to him. "Don't…" He glared, unable to finish his sentence when his throat constricted painfully. He coughed and clutched at the base of his neck before his irregular breathing came back again.

"Sephiroth, what's happening?" Zack took a step forward.

With another glare thrown his way, Sephiroth turned away from Zack and turned back towards the door. He raised his arm and brought Masamune down on it before walking through. Zack followed frantically. Something was definitely wrong with Sephiroth and he needed to know what. Zack noted, with worry, that Sephiroth had started mumbling something to himself, occasionally bearing that insane look in his eyes. Sephiroth chuckled and then grimaced, "…can feel…" he paused at another door obstructing his way with a look of incomprehension. He sliced that down too and walked through.

Zack gulped, fearing that making any sort of loud noise might snap Sephiroth out of his concentration. He shook his head, wishing never to see the end tip of Sephiroth's sword coming his way. Trying to concentrate on other things besides how strange Sephiroth was acting, Zack glanced around the room. "Huh?" his eyes widened. It was Cloud! "Cloud!" he rushed forward.

Cloud whipped his head around towards the direction of Zack's voice. He tensed, wondering if he had finally lost it and if his mind was playing tricks on him but relaxed when he saw that it actually was Zack. He tested his voice, "Zack…" he croaked, reaching a hand up to his throat. "…How," he swallowed once, "did you find me?"

Zack's steps faltered as he saw a clearer view of Cloud. The room was still dark but now he could make out most of the injuries on Cloud's body. He stared in horror; Cloud's body was riddled with incisions, bruises, scratches, burns, holes of many sizes, blisters, and anything else he couldn't name. The most disturbing was the very large gash across his back which was dripping fresh blood in little rivulets. How could anyone have done such a thing? "…Cloud…" he reached a hand out but hesitated, knowing that wherever he touched him would hurt him. He also noted, with slight astonishment, that Cloud's eyes glowed very faintly of mako.

Cloud tried to give a reassuring smile, "It's not as bad…as it seems." His throat was still sore. He rubbed his neck once before looking back at the bindings on his legs. "Hey, can you help me with these?"

Zack nodded grimly and walked closer towards Cloud. He stopped abruptly when a long line of steel barred his path, the tip not quite touching this throat. He gulped, following the trail up to find Sephiroth glowering down at him with threatening determination. He looked as though he was about to snarl, growl, and snap. "Don't…" he said, shifting himself to stand with his back turned to Cloud, his eyes and sword still trained on Zack. "Don't…" he repeated, his brows furrowing in regards to his anger.

Zack brought both his hands into the air, indicating that he meant no harm, and started backing away slowly. What was happening to Sephiroth? And, why was he acting that way? He should have known Zack would be no threat to Cloud. He shook his head, a little disappointed, and looked at Sephiroth sadly, "Why…?" he asked.

Sephiroth took one glance at him and, determining that Zack was far enough away, ignored him to turn back to Cloud. He started working on the binds. Of course, Cloud frowned at his treatment of Zack and grabbed Sephiroth by the arm, "What are you doing, Sephiroth?" he tipped his head in Zack's direction, "It's not like he was going to hurt me." He hissed, even through his still sore throat.

Sephiroth looked down the length of the arm and relaxed when he saw that it belonged to Cloud. He looked at him with soft subdued eyes, "Cloud…"

"Explain yourself." He demanded, looking into his eyes.

"Cloud." Zack breathed a bit happily. Cloud had stood up for him but…was Cloud doing what he thought he was doing? Demanding the General to explain himself, grabbing him by the arm, and scolding him for bad behavior? Now he really knew something was going on between them.

Sephiroth had been staring at Cloud for the longest time that Cloud had begun to get nervous. What was wrong with him? He looked away, unable to keep looking at Sephiroth staring at him with those eyes. He waved a hand towards his legs, "Fine…just help me get out of these…"

Sephiroth looked down at the binds, his brow crinkling in displeasure, and lifted Masamune slightly up into the air. He brought it down with a slight whoosh and Cloud's leg was free…with a part of the table coming to crash down onto the floor. Cloud gave an irritated sigh while Sephiroth did the same for the other side.

Cloud sighed in relief as he got to move his legs for the first time in a long time. He pulled them up closer to his body and looked at Zack, completely ignoring Sephiroth who was standing around like a sentinel waiting to be ordered around. His eyebrow twitched at Sephiroth's odd behavior but otherwise didn't bother with it for now. "Zack, can you help me up? I don't think I can stand correctly."

"Yeah, sure." He shot a wary glance at Sephiroth and approached Cloud slowly. Sephiroth twitched but Cloud sent a glare his way that stopped him from doing anything. Zack took Cloud's arm and draped it over his shoulder, bracing one of his arms around Cloud's waist for extra support. Cloud slid off the table and groaned when his feet hit the floor. Zack paused with worry, "You okay?"

Cloud nodded, "I can manage." …because I've been through worse, he thought.

They started walking towards the door, very slowly, with a strange Sephiroth trailing behind tensely. His eyes never left Cloud. Zack glanced back at him then whispered in Cloud's ear, "Hey, what do you think is wrong with him?"

Cloud sighed, "I don't know." He looked up, "Did something happen?"

Zack quirked a brow, "Besides you getting kidnapped by a monster, us worrying our heads off, and coming to rescue you? No, I don't think so."

Cloud chuckled, grimacing when his laugh irritated the burn in his throat and the vibrations sent shockwaves of aches. "I guess…we'll deal with it after we get out of here."

They walked for a little while before Zack spoke again, "Hey, um, Cloud?"

"Yeah?"

"Are you two…close?"

Cloud glanced at him from the corner of his eye. "Close? You mean me and Sephiroth?"

"Yeah…"

Cloud snorted, figuring this was going to come up sooner or later, and smirked, "I guess you can say…we've known each other for a while now." It wasn't the closest answer to the truth but it was the truth nonetheless.

"Oh?" he looked surprised. "Huh, I never knew…" he looked contemplative. Hadn't Cloud said that they weren't really acquaintances before?

Cloud grumbled, "Don't get the wrong idea. We weren't friends or anything." He tried shrugging but had to stop midway with a groan, "We just…knew the other existed. That's all." He really didn't like giving half-truths but what could he do?

Zack scratched the back of his head with his free hand and tipped his head confused, "You mean, like the neighborhood kid you know but don't know the name of?"

Cloud furrowed his brow. Now, what exactly was Zack thinking about? "Yeah, I guess it's kind of like that."

"Oh!" He grinned despite the dire situation. "Then –"

Sephiroth suddenly came up and scooped Cloud up from behind, lifting him up into his arms bridal style. "Wha—" Cloud struggled.

Zack gawked at Sephiroth as he walked away with Cloud in long strides down the hall. He ran to catch up. "Wait! Sephiroth!" he cried, "Cloud!"

Sephiroth was holding him tightly to his chest as Cloud cried indignantly, "Sephiroth! Put me down!" he clenched his jaw in pain as blood started dripping down his back and leaving a trail behind them.

Sephiroth looked straight ahead as they emerged out of the clearing and into the halls. One more room and they would be, once again, reunited with Genesis and Rayleigh. Sephiroth looked down at the light burden in his arms and softened. Cloud was within his grasp once again. "Cloud…" he said as though trying to reassure himself that it was actually Cloud.

"Enough of this, Sephiroth." He squirmed, grabbing him by the arm to brace his weight in a way that didn't irritate his back too much. "What's wrong with you?" he looked at him seriously. "Do you have a fever or something?"

"Cloud!" Zack ran up to catch up to them, worry in his voice.

Sephiroth froze in his tracks and let Cloud down lightly so that he could stand on his own two feet. However, he still had Cloud by him and within his grasp as he pulled up his sword and directed it towards Zack. "Who are you?" he snarled.

Zack skidded to a stop with a startled look on his face, "What?"

Cloud shot a nasty look up at Sephiroth who didn't seem to realize that the arm he had around him was squeezing the lifestream out of him and through his back. He gripped that said arm and barely restrained himself from kicking Sephiroth's shin. "Stop playing games, Sephiroth. What do you mean by that?"

Sephiroth pulled Cloud tighter into his embrace but his eyes still never left Zack. Cloud grunted in pain as Zack shifted nervously, "Uh…Cloud?" he said looking into Sephiroth's eyes. "Um…I don't think…he recognizes anyone besides you right now…"

"What?" Cloud stared at Zack and looked towards where Zack was looking. He was staring into Sephiroth's eyes with fear… Cloud held his breath and blinked in surprise. There wasn't any recognition written in those eyes, "Sephiroth?" he asked cautiously, a newfound frown marring his features. "What's wrong? Can't you see that it's only Zack?"

Sephiroth was bearing a look of confusion, "Zack…?" The grip on his sword faltered a little.

Cloud turned to Zack, "Try saying something!"

Zack looked around confused and shrugged, "Like what?"

"Anything!"

"Uh…," he scratched the back of his head. This was turning out to be a weird night…, "Sephiroth? It's me, Zack… Can you hear me?"

Cloud looked back up at Sephiroth, breathing a little sigh of relief as his grip around him loosened, but otherwise remained worried when Sephiroth showed no signs of Zack being heard. "Can't you hear him?"

Sephiroth put his hand up, sword and all, to his forehead with a grimace, "…No. No, I can't…hear anything." He clenched his eyes shut, "Why can't I…?"

"…Then how can you hear me?" Cloud asked puzzled.

Sephiroth looked at him. Everything seemed to be going blurry in his vision and muddled in his hearing except Cloud and Cloud's voice. It was a wonder, though it was obvious that something was terribly wrong with him. His head had been throbbing for the longest time now, something he felt that was demanding he come to its aid…something strange… He pulled his sword up and a thick fog started to cloud his judgment. The madness came back. "…Mother…"

Cloud jerked in shock. How could this be? They had sent Jenova up into space to make sure that she would never again be able to hold on to Sephiroth like she had before but…apparently, it hadn't worked. "Sephiroth!"

Zack took a step forward, "Cloud! I think we should get help or something!"

Cloud took a worried glance at Zack but jerked his attention back when Sephiroth's grip retightened around his wound. He hissed in pain and tried to hold back the arm with his continually diminishing strength. "Get a hold of yourself!" he yelled, putting a hand out to try and slap Sephiroth back into consciousness. Instead, he opted for trying to wave his hand across his vision, to see if Sephiroth could still see what was right in front of him. "Look at me!" he demanded, "You better not be going insane."

"What is going on here?" Zack and Cloud turned around to find that the voice belonged to Genesis. He was leaning on Rayleigh with a scowl on his face. "The puppy took too long, so we decided to come ourselves." He took a glance at each one of them in turn but narrowed his eyes on Sephiroth.

Rayleigh examined the situation and, she too, regarded Sephiroth with a bit of wariness. Though she was surprised at the state Strife was in, it seemed Sephiroth was giving out too many waves of threat and tension to simply ignore, "General…?" she inquired cautiously.

Cloud's eyes widened when he saw the two and realization dawned, "Genesis? And the professor…" he shook his head, "Never mind that, for now. There's something wrong with Sephiroth."

"Yes…" Rayleigh fixed her glasses back with her free hand. She turned to Zack, "What has happened?"

Genesis snorted weakly, "This situation is becoming troublesome."

Zack ignored him and scratched the back of his head, "I'm not really sure… To be honest, I think Cloud's the only one who knows what's going on." He added quickly, turning fast enough back at Sephiroth to find an incoming strike headed straight for him. "Whoa!" he dove off to the side and towards the other two.

Cloud was trying to push Sephiroth back, and away from the others, in the narrow hallway but was only succeeding in futility. He could have sworn his face was about to burst with all the effort in trying to keep him back, though. "Oh, curse it all, Sephiroth." He muttered under his breath, which was now coming out in ragged pants, "What in Gaia's name do you think your doing?" His arms were trembling something terrible from the effort now and he felt himself go light headed from all the strain. He hoped he wouldn't pass out.

It didn't look as though Sephiroth had heard him as he continued his slow advance, and dragging Cloud along with him. He sneered, "The traitors…"

Cloud stifled an irritated sigh. He was getting really tired of hearing that. You'd think Sephiroth had learned to say something else besides calling him a traitor throughout the years… Instead, he looked back at the other three, "Get out of here. I'll try and figure something out."

Zack shook his head adamantly, "No way, Cloud. We can't just leave you here." He pointed to Sephiroth, "Especially when The General is acting all weird. I mean, there's got to be something we can do."

Genesis watched Sephiroth struggling closer with a frown. "Hm. This is…strange. If Sephiroth is affected by the living cells…then why isn't Strife?"

Rayleigh blinked in surprise, "That is true." She contemplated carefully, still never taking her eyes off of Sephiroth. Finally frustrated with the lack of results she could formulate, she stomped her foot onto the ground. She barely restrained herself from marching up to them and demanding the answers. "But first, we must figure a way out of this situation."

Zack took a step back, "You better think fast," he added nervously, "I don't think Cloud can hold on any longer."

Cloud cursed, "What am I supposed to do?" he finally snapped and glared his best at Sephiroth. "Can he even see me anymore?" Cloud braced himself in front of Sephiroth and barred the way. Sephiroth finally looked down at him, though a little confused, but stopped his advance. Cloud caught himself from slumping but sighed in relief, "Finally."

Rayleigh started whispering quickly to the other two, "Whatever you do, don't distract his attention towards us. We need to find a way to stop him from harming Strife and to find a way for him to regain his senses."

Genesis leaned his weight against the wall and slumped down, "I cannot be of much use," he admitted weakly, "My body is quickly failing me."

Zack drew his blade and stood in front of the other two, "I don't know how long I can keep Sephiroth at bay but…"

Rayleigh got onto her knee in front of Genesis and pulled a syringe out of her coat pocket. "I brought them as an emergency." She informed steadily. "I have some empty ones for later but this is filled with a solution that will slow down your degradation."

Genesis started, "If you had them, why –"

"I only have one." She said dismissively, "It won't last long but it should hold for a little." She pulled up his sleeve and injected the clear fluid into his arm.

Genesis gave a grunt of dissatisfaction before slowly relaxing in relief. Zack frantically looked between the two groups, "Uh, guys?"

Rayleigh stood, "What is it?"

"I think Sephiroth's finally lost it."

xxx xxx

Sephiroth ground his teeth in anger. All he could see was shadows, all around him, and a single white blur. He clenched his hand tighter on the hilt of his sword. The shadows were taunting him, daring him to come, challenging him, but somehow, the white blur kept on holding him back from approaching them. That white blur…something in him froze whenever he thought of attacking the purity of that light, especially when everything else was clothed in darkness. He kept on wondering, who or what it was. Only a single name came to mind, but it felt so out of reach that he couldn't remember it. He tried to focus his sight, to clear his vision and to see who or what the blur was. He tried his voice, which came out threatening and dark unintentionally, "Who are you…?" he asked.

The light flinched, or at least that was what Sephiroth thought he saw. A mouth moved, a strange clarity of lines being revealed to him now, but no sound came out. Not even in place of words. He tried again to strain his ears to the sounds he felt he should hear, "---hir---." A light touch came upon his shoulder, it burned on contact but he felt he couldn't move away, "Se---rot-."

…Sephiroth.

It was his name. Someone was calling his name.

xxx xxx

Cloud cursed, "Damn it all, Sephiroth!" he shook the man roughly by the shoulders to try and snap him out of it, "Get a hold of yourself!"

Zack kept a wary eye at Sephiroth as he inched towards Cloud. "Cloud." He whispered, "We have to get out of here." He took a chance glance back at Genesis, "And fast," he added, "Genesis doesn't look like he's going to last much longer at this rate."

Cloud nodded grimly, "But we can't just leave him here," he indicated wildly at Sephiroth, now becoming terribly annoyed. "We just need to snap him out of it but…" he gave a restrained sigh, "If you have any idea…something shocking, maybe."

Rayleigh clipped up, "You could kiss him."

They both looked at her blank and dumbfounded before the meaning of her words hit true. Zack started, forgetting his wariness, as Cloud blushed profusely. "What?" Cloud completely forgot Sephiroth's presence for a second. "How would that help?" he sputtered, looking down and away.

"A-Are you alright?" Zack asked her cautiously with a crooked expression, wondering if she had eaten something strange on the way.

She flicked an irritated hand in dismissal, "It is shocking enough to be proposed." She simply stated. "In any case, it might work. Lest…" she looked at Zack, "you wish to try."

Zack shook his head frantically. No matter how attractive Sephiroth was, he couldn't do that…especially to Aerith. Looking sheepish, he turned to Cloud with an apologetic look, "Looks like you're on your own this time, Cloud." He gave a nervous chuckle, "Sorry…"

"Hey!" he retorted, "I never agreed to this!" He pointed a direct finger towards Sephiroth, "Why should I be the one to k-kiss him?"

Rayleigh shrugged, "If you wish, I can die trying." She explained, "Nobody has been able to approach the General besides you and nothing else seems to be working. It is worth a shot."

Cloud swallowed another outburst. It was true that there was nothing else they could try at the moment but…to put it so…bluntly… He turned back to Sephiroth who seemed to be trying to focus his eyes. He gulped. I-It wouldn't be so bad if it was only a p-peck on the cheek. He felt the blood drain from his face at the horrible prospect of it and let out a slow deliberate breath to try and steady himself. His heart dropped like a dead weight in his chest. Needless to say, he was inexperienced at this. He glanced up at Sephiroth, who only stood a foot away from him in the narrow hallway and couldn't help but reluctantly admit that he had never seen a being more attractive than him. He tensed, now wondering about his sexual preferences. Sighing, he finally decided to just go with it and get it over with. "I hope you're right about this…" he mumbled towards Rayleigh who seemed to be looking highly amused at the moment. Grimacing, he closed his eyes shut, leaned towards Sephiroth and pecked him quickly on the cheek. Sephiroth seemed to freeze in place as he flushed in embarrassment and looked down.

xxx xxx

Sephiroth felt the white blur shift closer to him all of a sudden until he felt a spark of electricity play across his cheek. He froze. It sizzled throughout his body, and tingled into his fingertips. Then, as suddenly as it had come, his vision sparked with too much clarity…and all he saw was Cloud. Cloud, with those beautifully blue eyes and soft hair, seemed flushed with embarrassment. It didn't help Sephiroth's control any. He didn't even recall what he had been doing before or why they were in a dirty narrow hallway. All he could see was Cloud.

He couldn't take it anymore, especially with Cloud seeming so…vulnerable at the moment. He rushed and trapped Cloud against the wall, somehow unable to register the grunt of pain he gave, and crushed their mouths together. He felt the sudden flare of possessiveness, and aggression took a hold of him. "Cloud…" he breathed, barely audible, when they finally broke apart.

xxx xxx

Cloud grunted with pain as his searing back came into hard contact with the wall. Sephiroth was crushing him against his weight and he tried to struggle free. Maybe something had gone wrong and the professor had been mistaken… He was just about to call out when, suddenly, Sephiroth initiated a rather aggressive kiss. He gave a muffled cry. He pushed against Sephiroth to try and lever him off but to no avail. He weighed a lot more than Cloud after all, especially now that he was back to being in his younger body. The kiss was broken with Cloud panting from the lack of oxygen but immediately sucked in his breath when he felt Sephiroth nuzzling lights kisses along his neck. "S-Sephiroth…" his voice sounded foreign, even to him, "stop…" he cried weakly. The sensations Sephiroth was causing started dancing along his skin with a friction of energy. Every place touched heated his blood and sped his pulse…and he had no way to stop it.

"Well," Rayleigh interrupted after a while, at first too surprised to speak. She looked away and cleared her throat now, "It seems to have worked, after all."

Zack had been gawking, but now stared at her with an unreadable expression on his face, "Worked?" he said incredulously, pointing to them accusingly, "How do we stop it?"

Genesis, still sitting slumped against the wall, gave a weak chuckle. "At least they seem to be enjoying themselves…"

"You're kidding!" Zack threw his arms up into the air in exasperation.

Rayleigh glanced around and clicked her tongue in annoyance. "We mustn't forget that we are on borrowed time." She indicated to Genesis, "And that this is not a place we should be. It is still too dangerous to be standing around here."

Genesis clenched his jaw, braced his arm on the wall, and attempted to stand, "You are right. This has gone on long enough." On trembling legs, he stood and directed a hand towards Cloud and Sephiroth. He grunted with the effort and released his Fire materia. It didn't take long to hit its target.

Cloud tried to shift away when Sephiroth quickly saw the incoming attack and shielded him from it. It barely scorched his back but it did get his attention. Sephiroth looked beside him and glared harshly at Genesis, his eyes narrowed, "Genesis…" he all but snarled.

"Good." Genesis chuckled. He tried shrugging but paused midway. "I was beginning to think you didn't care." He replied sarcastically.

He was about to sigh when Sephiroth tensed, released Cloud and pushed him behind him, bringing his sword out and forward with a deadly look towards Genesis, a snarl marring his features. "How dare you…" he whispered.

Genesis looked startled, "Wha–…?" Then he tensed as well, feeling something rather malicious around them.

There was a clapping of hands in the darkness behind them, from down the hall, and a nasal chuckle, "Yes…" he drawled, "How interesting." His footsteps echoed in even paces as the man approached from the enshrouding darkness. The five of them turned to see towards the sound to see as the tip of a coat was revealed, shoes, legs, torso, shoulders, and the man behind it all…Hojo.

xxxxx xxxxx xxxxx

Hollander laughed gleefully, dancing from atop Shinra and just waiting for the turmoil. Right now, it felt like the calm before the storm but…he chuckled, he had already seen that the calm was greatly disrupted. Now, all he had to do was wait, and then they would all see who was the greatest intellectual around.

xxxxx xxxxx xxxxx

Hojo brought one arm from being clasped behind his back to the front of his nose. He glanced at his watch and noted, with distaste, that it was already half past the early morning hours. He had taken too long getting preparations completed. He shook his head in disappointment. Next time, he would find more competent fools to do the job. He sighed, regarding the five of them again, "As you can see, I am running short of time." He gestured over to Cloud, "Now, if you can come along quickly enough…"

"Hojo…" Cloud snarled, "What makes you think I'm going to be going anywhere with you?" he asked with barely controlled rage.

Hojo didn't look surprised, merely adjusting his glasses and clasping his hands together behind his back again. He raised a brow and took in the bloody mess that was Cloud's back with amusement. It hadn't stopped bleeding and was currently dripping little droplets of blood on the grimy floors of the hall. Everything else, he noted satisfactorily, was healing along quite nicely. "I don't see how there is any way you can refuse."

"Try me." He challenged.

Hojo took a long second to observe Cloud. Then a slow smirk made its way onto his face in newfound determination, "…Very well."

xxxxx xxxxx xxxxx

Reeve had been prone to zoning out the past couple of weeks. He had hardly taken note of what was going on around Shinra because of this, and it was bothering him greatly. Of course, right now was no exception, with Lazard sitting across from him trying to discuss a very important matter, "Can you hear me, Reeve?" he asked seriously.

Reeve sat up abruptly, being shaken out of his strange thoughts and nodded an affirmative, "Yes, yes, of course." He rubbed his eyes with one hand, closing them in the process, and sighed. He hadn't been able to sleep much, either.

Lazard sat back in his chair and frowned, regarding Reeve with analytical eyes, and finally nodded when Reeve didn't seem to be zoning out anymore at the moment. He linked his fingers together over his lap and continued as though there was no disruption in the first place, "As I indicated before," he gestured to the screen flashing different parts of the city of Midgar, "the redevelopment plan for Sector 6 has been disapproved by the President." He sighed with a shrug, "He feels there is to be no profit from it and," he quietly added, "you know how he is about making money…"

Reeve nodded. He leaned forward tiredly so that both his arms were resting on his knees, "And has Rufus taken to the idea that it is useless as well?"

Lazard chuckled, "Surprisingly, no." he readjusted his glasses, "In fact, Rufus has had a more positive light on the reconstruction of the slums and the other Sectors of Midgar. It seems some great change has become of him, recently."

"I-Is that so…" he tried concentrating on the conversation, and nearly failed miserably. His vision was getting bleary with fatigue. He frowned, "Has something happened?"

He paused for a moment before answering, "Strangely enough, Rufus has apparently found an interest in someone." He looked thoughtful, "And I must admit, that this person, who Rufus has taken to, has also struck me as an interesting person to know."

"Really?" he seemed more interested now, "And who might that be?"

Lazard paused for a moment to consider. "It is a young boy by the name of Cloud Strife."

"What?" Reeve shot up, startled, "D-Did you just say a boy named Cloud?" How could this be possible? And after he had thought all those adventures he had dreamt up, with Cait Sith, was just that…a dream. But how is it then that he would be able to dream up so many unique characters? Not to mention, that it couldn't be mere coincidence that there was a boy name Cloud Strife… It just wasn't a very common name…

Lazard blinked in minor surprise at Reeve's outburst but settled in quickly enough, "Yes." He affirmed. "Strife has proven to be quite the Soldier, recently."

Reeve shook his head with the impossibility of it all but…there was only one way to find out. He pinned Lazard with a serious stare, "Where is Cloud Strife's present location."

Lazard sighed and shook his head, "That is what is troublesome at the moment. His location is unknown." He briefly started explaining, pulling up the photos taken of a bloody mess of a hall, "It was not in my jurisdiction, by the President's command, but there has been some trouble concerning one of the floors in Shinra. It happened just last night."

Reeve examined the photos with the utmost intensity, "And what does this have to do with Cloud?"

"Well…everything." Lazard pointed out, "The reason for this mess was because the good professor wanted a new experiment for his projects and…Strife caught his eye."

Reeve looked at Lazard with downcast eyes, "Has anybody been informed of this?"

"The professor's involvement? No."

"Why not?" he demanded hotly.

Lazard looked at him seriously this time, "By order of the President, no one is to know of this besides the board. Hojo's too important an asset to Shinra to be rid of."

Reeve pounded his fist onto the desk in anger, "Ridiculous!" he shouted. Hojo was a menace that they should be rid of before it was too late…like the last time. Now that he was contemplating that his dreams were true, he wouldn't be the one to take any chances. And he needed to talk to Cloud. He turned his head and fished out his phone from inside his coat pocket, "Where is Sephiroth at the moment?"

Lazard shrugged, "Unknown as well. He was supposed to be charged with finding out what that crash was earlier yesterday but he has made himself scarce."

Reeve racked his mind, wondering who else he might be able to contact, "Rufus," he announced, "where is he?"

"Currently?" he inquired, "He's –" There was an alarm, a red alert that rang throughout Shinra. Reeve and Lazard looked up and regarded the speakers as they buzzed to life throughout the building.

"Bzzzt Bzzzt… Alert, all units alert!" it rang clearly with panic, "Emergency transmission, I repeat, this is an emergency transmission. All personnel report to the President's office. The President has been murdered! I repeat, the President has been murdered!"

Reeve and Lazard shot up in alarm. Reeve glanced once at Lazard with a shared look before rushing out the doors, "Who could have done this?"

Lazard was following closely behind Reeve in their attempt to reach the elevators that would lead them towards the President's office. He was frowning severely, "I don't know," he said in puzzlement, "but whoever has must have had a petty goal in mind. Killing the President now accomplishes nothing but the ascension of Rufus to the throne…lest chaos was what he was going for."

"That was readily accomplished," Reeve ground out, "Whatever the case, we'll find the culprit soon enough. There were only a select few who were able to reach the President during this hour." He feared that it might be a repeat of the past. He also wondered if he was the only one, if it wasn't a dream after all, who remembered the past events. If not, he hoped the others were doing all they could to try and stop the madness from happening again. This was easily becoming a nightmare.

xxxxx xxxxx xxxxx

Sephiroth plunged his sword into the eye of a decimated creature, just before it lunged towards them. He clenched his fist in anger. How dare Hojo resort to such lowly tactics? Looking at Cloud, he couldn't help but feel absolutely useless and…he hated it. He drove Masamune into another creature that was aiming for Zack's side and glanced back at the other three huddled together on the floor behind them. Genesis, it seemed had enough energy to start complaining in the middle of an engaging conversation, "Now isn't the time for this," he hissed to Rayleigh who was currently trying to administer another one of her medicines, "There are more important things we should be worrying about."

"Hojo's gone and the President's dead! What could be more important?" Cloud hissed right back. He was currently sitting in front of Genesis while Rayleigh prepared another row of tools, "We'll need all the help we can get."

Rayleigh stared dismissively at Genesis, "He's right, Rhapsodos. Either I do this and save you right now or you may never live to see the light of day again."

"And how exactly are you planning on doing this? I don't believe it will work by simply injecting me with unadulterated blood from another being." He outraged, "If it did, I would have drank the blood myself!" he flung his arms into the air.

Cloud sighed, watching the massacre going on around them in that narrow hallway and put his head on his knee. "He's right. I don't really believe this will work either." He glanced at Rayleigh, "Are you sure we should be doing this?"

Rayleigh shrugged, which didn't seem to soothe the either of them but answered anyway, "Either this will be the best method or not." She stated, testing an empty syringe, "I have calculated all the possibilities." Now she looked at Cloud with reassurance, "Don't worry. Your blood contains mako and the living cells of Jenova. It should have granted it the ability to adapt from one host to the next. Not to mention that you may harbor something else to help it along the way…"

Cloud sighed again and looked away. He stretched his arm out so that she could fill the tube. "I hope this works…"

"So do I…" Genesis added, if not a bit bitterly.

"For safety precautions, there is a liquid neutralizer I will mix with the donated blood." She looked annoyed at Genesis, "It should regulate everything should something go wrong." She shook the empty tube in front of his eyes.

"There is nothing." He frowned, "Perhaps you should carry spare glasses, woman."

She huffed, "Fool. The liquid has a consistency like water. It is not readily visible."

"Che." He turned his head away.

Rayleigh took Cloud's arm and slowly injected the needle. It didn't take long to fill up the tube. "There. That should be enough for now." She announced happily.

Cloud stood, cringing when his back stung, but turned with worried eyes towards Zack and Sephiroth. "We should hurry." He said quickly, "I don't think staying here any longer is a good idea."

Rayleigh nodded and turned to Genesis, grabbing by his arm, "Hold still, Rhapsodos. Otherwise, I'll make this very painful." She smiled lightly.

"Just hurry on with it." He snapped. He would never admit that he was a little worried that her threat would hold true.

Her smile stayed as she pricked the needle through his skin and he flinched, but otherwise didn't make a sound. She injected the contents in and then pulled out the needle, only to throw it away on the floor. She observed Genesis for any signs of improvement. "Well? How do you feel?"

Genesis froze, a shock growing and stretching from the pinprick on his arm. He groaned as it spread throughout his body and reached his heart. It felt like a million needle points were picking and prodding all over the inside of his body. He cursed under his breath and was panting profusely curled in on himself, "Damn it." He clawed at the ground in agony.

Rayleigh was staring at him, perfectly collected, and not at all worried. Merely, she tapped her chin with a finger and looked at him amused, as if he were the most interesting thing she had come across all day. "How fascinating." She mused.

Cloud stared wide eyed at Genesis. Green lines were racing up his bared arm to disappear under the rest of the sleeve. His white hair receded to give way to its original color. And, for a moment, there was a flash of an unnatural shine of blue in his eyes. "I-It's working…" he breathed perplexed.

Genesis braced himself on the floor; the only sound heard was the echoing of his harsh breaths as drops of sweat streamed down his face. He swallowed once and grunted as he pushed himself into a sitting position back against the wall, his eyes closed. He chuckled lightly, "Strangely enough," he panted, "I feel much better now than ever before."

Cloud smiled, an answer to Genesis' unburdened chuckle, "That's good to hear."

Rayleigh stood and put her hands on her hips with a smirk, "Well, what do you know. It worked."

Genesis shot his eyes open and glared at her, "You weren't sure?"

She laughed and shrugged, "Of course not. It has never happened before so how could I?" She adjusted her glasses, "In any case," she said, the light smile tugging at her lips, "It was a good time for experimentation was it not? Since it did work."

Genesis pushed himself off the floor, digging his sword into the ground and leaning on it to use as a brace as he tried to calm down. But, he was still glaring at Rayleigh, "Woman," he growled deeply, pointing an accusing finger at her, "you –!"

"Now isn't the time!" Cloud interrupted. "We need to get out of here!" he kept glancing behind him as though he sensed trouble. For now, Sephiroth and Zack had taken care of all the other creatures, their bodies littering the floor, but he feared something dangerous was slowly heading their way. He looked back at them, "Hojo wasn't kidding when he said he would let us leave here alive." He hissed, "We need to go and find out what's going on before it's too late…and the President…" he grimaced.

"The coward ran away and sent his little puppets to be rid of us." Genesis snarled, "Using the excuse that he had more important matters to attend."

Rayleigh looked at Cloud sadly, "I'm not sure what we should do. If what Hojo has said is right about your wound…"

Cloud waved it off, "I'll find some way to stop it from bleeding and infecting the rest of me but, for now, we really should go."

They both nodded, Genesis standing up straighter and shrugging the tension off his shoulders. He rolled his shoulders a couple times to relax his muscles and looked back towards the other two, "Should we interrupt their fun?" he smirked.

"Zack! Sephiroth!" Cloud called, and immediately both of them looked his way, "We need to get out of here."

Zack nodded grimly, "I know what you mean. These things won't stop coming!" he slashed another one of the creatures that had leapt out of nowhere. "It's like they travel by shadow."

"That's not the only problem. There might be something happening on the higher floors! You heard the announcement didn't you?" Cloud shook his head, "What if something happens while everyone is gathered on that single floor? Shinra would be wiped out!"

The others all looked towards him in horror, none of them had thought of that. "We must hurry," Rayleigh confirmed, "before something else decides to occupy our time."

Cloud spun and started running towards the entrance, flipping out his phone. The others quickly followed, "We don't have time! We're all the way on the bottom and they're all on the highest floor. It would be too late." He dialed a number by memory.

"Then what do you propose?" Rayleigh looked absolutely horrified. She was pale with the prospect.

Cloud grimaced, feeling weak. He felt he was losing blood fast but put the phone to his ear. "I have an idea."

xxxxx xxxxx xxxxx

The upper floors were crowded, all wanting to be a witness to the President's death. Reeve stood with Lazard, scanning the crowd disapprovingly. "Why did the announcer call for all hands to be on the upper floors? It's obvious not all of us can fit in this single space. It is the entirety of Shinra we are talking about."

Lazard shook his head in confusion as well, "It is true. Only the board members and the Directors should be allowed on the scene. There is something amiss here."

Reeve sighed when his phone suddenly rang. He looked at his phone and found the number unrecognizable…but familiar. He answered, "Hello?"

'Reeve! It's Cloud!'

Reeve's mouth dropped, "Wha? Cloud?" Lazard looked at him in surprise but otherwise didn't say anything. "How did you… I mean. What's…" he looked around lost, "Then it wasn't a dream…" he whispered.

'Yeah.' Cloud sounded torn, 'We can talk later but right now, I need you to do something.'

"Anything." He said with no hesitation.

'Evacuate the upper floors. I think someone's planning to take out all of Shinra's personnel. Hurry!'

Reeve's eyes went wide, the phone all but forgotten in his hand, and he shook with horror. Lazard grabbed him by the shoulder and shook him a little, "Reeve. What is it? What has happened?"

Reeve gulped once and looked at Lazard seriously, "We have to evacuate everyone now! Cloud's probably right. Someone probably wants to kill us all at once!"

Now it was Lazard's turn to look shocked. He quickly whipped around and faced the murmuring crowd. "Everyone!" He called, "Quickly, everyone is to evacuate the upper floors!"

Reeve looked around wildly. Only the people around them had heard. The others were chatting amiably away. He ground his teeth. If only there was a way… He paused. That's right! Cait Sith! He hurriedly activated the animated doll and sent it quickly upstairs. He hoped they had the time to wait for it…or they would all die.

xxxxx xxxxx xxxxx

Cloud snapped his phone shut and re-pocketed it. He turned back towards the others, "That should take care of the evacuation. We have to find Hojo and the rest of the people behind all this."

Zack looked at Cloud incredulously, "How do you know the Director?"

Cloud waved it off, "Now's not the time but, I…met him in passing. We talked…"

"Is that so?" Genesis asked in doubt.

"After this is all over," Rayleigh began, "We are all going to sit down someplace nice and quiet and demand some answers Strife."

Cloud grimaced and sighed, "I knew it would eventually come to this but…I guess you deserve an explanation." He gave a sideways glance at the others, finally landing on Sephiroth. He quickly looked away when Sephiroth raised a brow in question.

Zack saw the exchange and a sly grin came over his face. "How fun." He muttered under his breath.

xxxxx xxxxx xxxxx

Hollander laughed with excitement, tumbling around on the roof and away from curious eyes. He glanced up at Hojo who was staring at him with a displeased countenance, "Enough of this Hollander." Hojo wiped his glasses with the edge of his lab coat. "Tell me. What do you plan to accomplish by doing this?"

Hollander wiped a tear from his eyes and Hojo thought that the degeneration was making him insane. There was a crazed look in his eyes, "You should know, if you're so brilliant, Hojo." He grinned maniacally. "And what of you? You let your precious experiment go."

Hojo chuckled, "Go? I think not. No one else carries the antidote. Unless, by some chance, he has some greater power to aid him, I don't think he will survive." He sighed, lifting up a vial he pulled from his pocket up into the air. Light reflected upon the shimmering green substance swaying slightly with each rock of movement, "Still…I'm surprised Sephiroth didn't react more harshly to being near the remaining Jenova essence. His will is strong."

"Cruel." He drawled, laying on his back and looking up at a flower he had picked up somewhere in his hands. The sun was barely halfway out in the bright morning hours and the little thing tinted red. He crushed it in his hands and smirked. Madness glinted off his eyes.

"Yes…" Hojo smiled slowly, "Cruel, indeed…"

xxxxx xxxxx xxxxx

Sephiroth watched Cloud's back with hopelessness. If what Hojo had said was true…there were no other options except for Cloud to go back to him. Or Cloud would die…and he would lose him. He shook his head, trying to clear his mind of such thoughts. He couldn't bear to lose Cloud, not now. There were so many things he wished to do, most of them included being with Cloud, but he would be able to if Cloud were to leave him, forever. He stifled a sigh, wondering if Cloud was considering going back to Hojo. He felt his heart clench at the thought. The last thing he wanted to do was hand Cloud over to someone else, to a place where he couldn't even see him. This time, he really did sigh.

Zack had been staring at Sephiroth conflicting with his inner turmoil and couldn't help but feel the same. "Hey, Sephiroth. What happened back there?" He asked quietly.

Sephiroth glanced down at him with an unreadable expression before looking away and sighing again. "I am unsure myself." He thought about it a little, "I was blind." He finally stated, "Blind and deaf. There was nothing to see and nothing to hear for."

Zack looked surprised, "Yeah, it did kind of seem that way, except you didn't attack Cloud."

"Cloud…" he snorted, "What I saw was a white blur that I couldn't bear to attack."

Zack was a little confused but pressed no further on that subject. Instead, he smirked, "So…you like him."

Sephiroth quirked a brow, "Do I?" simply like him? He wondered. No. Not simply.

Zack pouted, despite the dire situation, and made light of it, "But I'm a bit upset. Does that mean you don't like me?" he grinned, "And here I thought I was your friend."

He chuckled darkly, "Cloud has a…different way about him." Up ahead they heard Cloud sneeze and saw him rub his nose absentmindedly.

Zack laughed, "I see what you mean." His laughter faltered, "Ugh, but still… I can't believe what a mess this has been."

"…Yes."

"Everything's becoming too complicated." He ruffled his hair in irritation, "And I can't do a single thing about it." His heart shrank, "I couldn't even protect one person."

Sephiroth watched Zack with a tinge of sadness, not wanting to add to the guilt by mentioning that he hadn't able to do a single thing either, especially for the one person he cared for but…, "I couldn't do a single thing either…"

Zack peeked at him, "What…the Great General failing?" he scoffed, a bit of good humor leaking in, "Don't worry. I won't say a thing if you won't."

Soon, light blinded them as they emerged into the official floors of the building. They all paused and looked around at the deserted area with unease. Cloud was searching for something this way and that before launching towards the stairs and continuing forward. "We need to get to the 64th floor!" he shouted.

Zack rushed up to him and pulled him back down the stairs, "Cloud! Take the elevator!"

Cloud struggled in urgency, "I don't have the keycards anymore! And we don't have time to look for some!"

"Anymore?" Zack tipped his head confused. He shook his head to think about it later, "Cloud," he said calmly, "Sephiroth has access to all the floors in this building…besides the underground ones we were just in."

Cloud calmed down a bit and looked at Sephiroth for confirmation. "Then we should hurry."

Sephiroth nodded and approached the elevator but looked at him in confusion as they got in. He slid his keycard in the panel and pressed the button for the floor Cloud wished to go to. "What do you wish to do on the 64th floor? It is a training exercise…"

Cloud watched as the elevator rose each floor. "There's something there that Reeve might need."

The elevator doors dinged open and Cloud rushed out, running straight to the back of the floor. He opened the back door and entered towards the lockers. The others followed curiously. Cloud was scanning the lockers one by one until he finally came to stop in front of one of the ones in back. He pulled open the door and pulled out its contents with a most joyous look… Zack was speechless…, "It's a megaphone…"

"Perhaps he has finally lost it." Genesis sighed.

Rayleigh looked enlightened, "No… It may prove useful."

Cloud rushed back out and wound around the rooms. He skidded to a stop in front of the stairs. Surprisingly, something large and white bounded across his vision and headed for the stairs. Cloud ran towards it, "Cait Sith!"

The large animated doll paused mid-bound and looked over to whoever had called. The cat started jumping up and down on the overly large moogle doll, "Why ye haven't changed a bit have ya, lad." He hyped up.

The other four looked at the talking cat in puzzlement. "T-The c-c-cat t-talks." Zack stuttered. He squatted on the floor and put his head in his hands, "I must be dreaming."

Rayleigh circled around him with a look of fascination. "Fascinating," she muttered, "such an original usage…"

Genesis looked at Sephiroth, who was currently sporting a look of mild surprise, "A new product of Shinra?"

Sephiroth shook his head, "…No."

Genesis frowned, "It can't be alive, can it?"

Cloud handed the megaphone to Cait Sith. "What's your situation, Reeve?" he asked the doll.

"Just a moment there, lad," Cait Sith said, "I'm connecting ya through now."

Cait Sith paused just as Reeve's voice filtered through, "Cloud? The situation is dire, I'm afraid. We've managed to evacuate a lot of people but…there are just too many left. Our voices can't reach them."

"I've given Cait Sith the HP Shout. You should be able to get their attention now."

"Alright," relief was evident in his voice, "then I'll take care of this end but, Cloud, what are you going to do?"

"I'm going to find out whoever did this and go after Hojo."

"Be careful. You don't know what that man is planning."

"I know." Cloud sounded grim.

"Good luck, Cloud."

"Yeah…"

There was a click and the connection was cut off. "Well, lad. I'd better be gettin' back to Reeve."

Cloud nodded and turned to Zack, "Can you go with him? They might need help getting people out."

Zack stood and nodded, "Sure thing, Cloud."

"I shall go along and assist as I can as well." Rayleigh said, "Rhapsodos cannot go. They know him to be either dead or a traitor."

Cloud nodded, "Thank you."

She smiled and pet him on the head, "We'll talk later…Cloud."

Cloud smiled back. That was the first time Professor Rayleigh had decided to use his name and it made him glad. Zack and Rayleigh followed Cait Sith up the stairs while Cloud looked towards the other two. "Genesis, can you still fly?"

He nodded, "My abilities are retained. For the moment, at least."

"Then I need you to go check the roof of the building. Something's been bothering for awhile now and I think it may have something to do with how we haven't run into any trace of anything anywhere." He looked thoughtful, "If they were in the building, then they wouldn't be able to set off explosions, or destroy anything without destroying themselves. That means that they must be outside somewhere or underground…and since we've already been underground…"

Genesis nodded and smiled, a true genuine smile, before ruffling Cloud's hair as well, "I never really got to thank you." He walked away and waved back, "I'm grateful."

Cloud touched his hair where he had been petted by both Genesis and Rayleigh with a feeling of being touched. He actually liked it when his hair was petted…though he would never admit that. It was kind of endearing. "Huh~."

Sephiroth fought down his jealousy but didn't quite manage to bottle it all in. How dare they steal Cloud's attention away from him…, he sighed. Now wasn't the time to be thinking this way but…he looked at Cloud's happy face. Cloud wasn't really smiling; rather he looked as content as a kitten would with warm food and a blanket. He walked up to him stiffly, "Cloud."

"Huh?" Cloud spun on his heels and snapped out of his reverie. He shook his head and looked at Sephiroth, who was currently frowning down at him. "Oh, uh, we should look for Rufus…"

"…Why?"

"Well, he's the President now so we can't let him die."

"Let the Turks find him."

Cloud frowned, "The Turks are broken. There aren't many of them left anymore, for now. That means we're the only ones free to search."

Sephiroth put a hand to his forehead and sighed. It was official, he was smitten. With all the times he had been sighing he couldn't help but feel hopeless in this sort of situation, when all he wanted to do was embrace Cloud and never let go. "We should hurry," he finally spoke, all the strain pouring through. "Rufus should be somewhere on the upper floors."

Cloud glanced at Sephiroth when the weariness was evident in his voice and looked lost on what to do. "Uh, thanks." He whispered quietly. Now that he thought about it, he really shouldn't have dragged Sephiroth around all over the place. He was the General for crying out loud, and Cloud a mere Soldier. He felt guilty and downhearted all at once. What was he doing?

Sephiroth was observing Cloud as his countenance dropped from sad to depressing. Now what exactly was Cloud thinking about? Hopefully, he wasn't the reason Cloud was looking so downcast. "What's wrong, Cloud?"

He glanced up at him then looked quickly away, "Nothing," he murmured. "We should go." He started walking away.

Sephiroth frowned. When would Cloud start opening up to him? And how was he to approach Cloud to say the things he needed to say? He grabbed Cloud by the wrist and held him back. Cloud looked at him curiously. "Cloud," he began, "after this is through…" He stared at Cloud strangely before he sighed, released Cloud's wrist, and shook his head, "No. Disregard what I've said."

"Huh?" Cloud looked at him confused.

Sephiroth had already started walking up the stairs, unwilling to take the elevator lest they become trapped or caught in some random explosion, "Let us go."

"Uh…right." Cloud jogged to catch up with him.

xxxxx xxxxx xxxxx

Zack and Rayleigh rushed up after Cait Sith to enter into a room still crowded full of people. Zack couldn't believe what he was seeing and shook his head in concern, "There are too many people." He told Rayleigh.

She nodded, "Yes. I am unsure how we are to go about this." She looked to where Cait Sith was bounding over to and followed after blinking in pleasant surprise a couple times. "Hurry on, Fair. This may be our only chance." She continued into the crowd.

"It's Zack." He answered nonchalantly, "Formality makes me nervous."

She smiled slightly, "I see… I'll remember that."

They made their way over to the two people who were currently trying to scramble the crowd away from the floor unsuccessfully. Their voices were hardly heard over so large a crowd. Cait Sith's bounding form caught the attention of the man in blue, causing him to look their way. He seemed surprised, but not in a bad way, "Professor!" he exclaimed happily, "A surprise to see you here."

"You as well, Reeve." She patted his shoulder companionably, "We've come to help." She indicated to Zack.

He blinked surprised, "How did you find out about our situation?"

"We've been following Cloud around for awhile." Zack interrupted, "I swear, he has the strangest reasoning sometimes…but it always ends up true. Huh…" he crossed his arms, another puzzle coming into fruition.

Reeve smiled knowingly, "That boy does have his ways." He scanned the crowd again, "But, now's not the time for pleasantries. We've got to evacuate."

"Yeah." Zack looked determined.

Rayleigh smiled, "Then I'll have to ask about that doll later." She gestured at Cait Sith who was currently bobbing up and down, shouting into his megaphone for everyone to evacuate.

Reeve laughed, "So you found out that he was a doll, eh? Sharp eye." He praised. "Well, let us head over to the doors and file everyone out in an orderly manner. He tapped Lazard on the shoulder, "We'd better get a move on."

Lazard nodded, "Yes." He agreed.

"Well, let's hop to it then." Reeve clapped his hands together and made his way into the center where Cait Sith was currently shouting. Finally, something was going to be done.

xxxxx xxxxx xxxxx

Genesis landed on the roof and surveyed the surrounding area with wariness. A slight wind caught his coat and played with his hair but otherwise, he couldn't make anything out of the ordinary. Still, he wouldn't be unguarded if he were to be wrong so he had his sword up and ready, the red steel glinting in the early morning hours.

"Oh? Looks like you've managed to find a cure." There was a dark chuckle.

Genesis whipped himself around towards the source of that voice. "Hollander," he hissed, "And what are you doing here?"

Hollander bounded out from behind a metal beam, his whiteness blinding for a moment in time. Hollander's hair and skin were completely drained of color, the only thing a different shade being the small wing at his back. He looked madly happy, "To have some fun, of course." He started humming a little tune, all the while plucking the petals off another flower he had found somewhere.

"Hmph." Genesis snorted, dropping his arm from its defensive position, and his sword along with it, "You're not worth the trouble."

"Why?" Hollander asked curiously, a maddening smile creeping into his features, "Because I am dying anyhow?" he laughed. "Don't worry, I know about the boy." He skipped a little off to the side, "And it seems to have worked too." He looked Genesis once over with a satisfied expression.

Genesis paused and looked back at Hollander with threat in his eyes. He pointed his sword towards him, "What are you blabbering about, you old fool. Do you have a death wish?"

Hollander laughed again and scratched his head. One of his hands started rummaging around in a little bag by his side. "Oh dear." He looked confused and lost with a frown, "I seem to have lost him. He promised, you see." The slow grin made its way back onto his face, "No worries, no worries. I know where to find him myself. I don't need his help."

Genesis ground his teeth. His patience was wearing thin. "Fine. I'll do you a favor." He faced him fully, "Consider your death wish," he readied his sword, "granted!" He lunged.

xxxxx xxxxx xxxxx

Rufus awoke to a large tremor that shook the entire building. He shot up from the couch situated in his office and glanced around, his eyes finally coming to rest on the clock by the far wall. It read just past morning but…. Another tremor shook the building again and this time he didn't lie still. He ran to his desk and picked up the phone, dialing a number by memory. The phone picked up on the third ring, "Reeve! What's the situation?"

'Rufus?' There was a shuffling noise on the other end as he paused to answer, 'It's a nightmare. We need to call the board but…you should know some things first.'

"Out with it."

'We're trying to diffuse the situation right now. The upper floors are a mess, starting from the ones right above yours, and it's suspected that Hojo is involved. I'm not sure where the tremors stem from but it seems to be coming from the roof.'

"What?" he shouted. The last thing they needed was to lose sight of the madman.

'…There's more. I'm sorry that I have to be the bearer of such news but…Rufus, the President is dead…'

He froze. No, this wasn't supposed to be the way it happened. Not again. "Who…" he gripped the phone tightly, "who was it?"

'Unknown, for the moment.' There was a pause before continuing, and a loud sigh travelled through, 'We're trying the best we can but a couple people can only do so much. Cloud believes there's another force besides Hojo that's in on this but, no one's really sure. At least, his reasoning's in the right place.'

"Cloud?" he said in surprise.

'A…just someone I met a long time ago.' There was a bustling noise on the other side, 'After clearing out the upper floors a meeting should be called. I didn't inform Scarlet or Heidegger yet…'

"No…no, leave them out of this for now." He remembered how much trouble the two had caused in the past.

Relief was evident in his voice when he answered next, 'I understand. Those two have made themselves scarce recently anyhow… Oh and, Rufus…'

"What is it?"

'Don't forget, you're the President now.' He sighed, 'I hope you're ready for the position.'

"…Don't worry," he answered softly, "I know what I have to do."

'Good… Best of luck to you, Rufus.' There was a click before the connection was cut off.

Rufus sighed and slumped into his chair, putting his head in his hands. Sighing, he swiveled in the chair and turned to the scenery behind him. The light reflected off the glass surface and the city of Midgar was waking to a blood red morning.

xxxxx xxxxx xxxxx