A/N: This chapter has been EDITED

Chapter Two

Memories of my life, between Zack's death and the first time I actually met Cloud, are only reachable in my dreams...Maybe it's because, in the back of my mind, I really don't want to remember...Or maybe this is ShinRa's doing. Either way, its memories like these that I can only see when I'm sleeping, because of how deep in my subconscious they are...

I walked around, taking in all the surroundings. I was back in the ShinRa mansion – it had been a few months since Zack had died and I was looking for answers to what was going on. Walking around the basement, I saw the broken glass from Zack's old tank. The memory shot a pang of guilt and sorrow through my chest. 'If only I had stayed with him at the Inn...' Thoughts like these had been haunting me since that day. I shook my head, reminding myself that it probably wouldn't have made a difference – we both could have died.

I walked over to one of the computer screens, knowing what to expect; I can recall having this particular dream before. I look for anything that could tell me about myself, what I was doing here, and – most importantly – what am I? But the only thing on these computers was what a man named Hojo had wanted with Cloud and Zack. I was getting sick and tired of this, reading about them like they're a bunch of Guinea Pigs in an experiment. Then again, that is what they were used for.

The last time I dreamt of this day, I woke up before even getting to move from this room. So this time, even though I was asleep, I felt excitement when something new happened. I straightened up and walked over to a door, one leading to the room I "awoke" in. I stepped through, and went straight for the small computer near my tank. There was still glass on the floor. As well as blood, from when I was walking bear-footed. I ignored it though, and started looking through the files on the computer.

Most of the files were about my health, growth, development, etc. There was one file, however, that was locked with a password. I tried as many words as I could think of. "Jecsie..?" I'd murmur each one to myself as I typed.

Access Denied

Not even my name worked! Then, something strange – yet sensible – came to mind. I tried one last time;

"JENOVA..?"

Access Approved

I smirked as the green letters flashed before the screen changed. I looked through everything there; what it told about my unique 'abilities' – seeing the future, seeing into peoples' minds. At first I thought it meant just reading minds, but no. It meant that I could read peoples' emotions – the things they felt as they thought each thought – I could see their 'auras'; stuff like that. I learned that my name was an acronym that stood for...

"Wake up!"

My body jerked. No! Someone was trying to wake me up; I knew because everything was going black. I tried hard to keep myself asleep. But, obviously, it wouldn't work...

Kadaj was getting mad. "Wake up!" He yelled, kicking the girl in the side again.

"Why don't you try something a bit gentler, Kadaj?" Yazoo suggested.

His younger brother glared at him, but he simply ignored it. Instead, Yazoo knelt down beside the girl and shook her shoulder. "Wake up," He mumbled.

"Didn't I just try that?" Kadaj asked, irritated.

"Mm...What..?" She mumble.

When she opened her eyes, the three of them noticed her eyes were still glazed over as she came to. She looked around, unable to focus and only seeing dark figures blurring together. She blinked just a few more times before her eyes widened. "Wh-who are you?" Jescie was, regrettably, frightened of the three men before. The last thing she remembered was watching Cloud take off after their showdown. "You three!" She yelled, her mind finally registering who they were.

"Us three..?" She turned her gaze to the one who'd spoke; this was the one who had shot Cloud – she saw the gun in his hand. He had the same green cat-eyes and silver hair as the other two, but his hair was nearly as long as hers.

"What about us three?"

She turned back to the other two. They were all starring at her with Mako-green eyes, unnerving her even further. She already recognized the one with the shoulder-length hair as the one who'd spoken on the phone about Shinra. She looked at the man standing next to him. He looked a lot like the other two – big surprise – the only difference was that his hair was shorter, and spikier in the back.

Turning back to the other two, Jecsie could see that they were looking at her expectantly. "Well? Are you going to answer or not?" said the one with shoulder-length hair.

'That's right!' She thought. They were waiting for her answer.

"You three hurt my friend!" She said.

He bent down to her level, hid nose nearly touching hers. "How do you know Big Brother?"

Jecsie raised an eyebrow. 'Big Brother..?'

"Kadaj, I think you're scaring her..." She felt a hand on her shoulder and bolted to her feet, trying to get away.

Unfortunately, she'd only run two feet before a bullet grazed her shoulder. It'd hurt but it also pissed her off. She used her momentum to turn on one heel and faced them. She drew her pistol from its holster and aimed at the one with the longer hair. He also had his gun drawn, and Jecsie couldn't help but feel intimidated. Sure, she had a great aim and was highly skilled with it, but compared to the gun in his hand, she thought of her own as a toy. "Have fun Yazoo," Kadaj – she'd heard the other one say his name – said in a teasing voice, "Just try not to kill her." He sneered at her.

She glared back, before shifting it to the one in front of her – Yazoo. He kept a straight face, but Jecsie could feel the smugness radiating from him. This guy seemed to see himself superior to her. 'I'm going to have to change that,' she thought.

Jecsie bent her knees and jumped backwards, landing nearby a tree. It was only then that she realized where she was; the City of the Ancients. She only took one quick glance though before turning her attention back to Yazoo. He shot a single bullet, aiming for her head. She smirked though, and shot twice. The first bullet collided with his, and the other grazed his shoulder. He didn't see anything, but he definitely felt the burning feeling going through his arm. He looked at the wound, tilting his head as he tried to figure out what had happened. He hadn't even seen her bullets! His nonchalant expression turned into one of range. He looked back up at her and fired three more shots. She dodged by jumping behind another tree and fired back as she skidded to a crouch. He suddenly appeared behind her though, and delivered a swift punch to her stomach.

She bent over as the air left her lungs, and he brought his opposite leg up for a roundhouse kick that sent her into another tree. Her back slammed against is, as did her head, sending her into a momentary daze. Not giving her a chance to recover, Yazoo bolted toward her, aiming another punch at her head. She managed to catch his fist in her hand, though it sent a shock of pain through her arm – this guy was tough! He grabbed her right wrist as she tried to lift it and twisted it, causing her to lose her grip on her gun. She cried out in pain before glaring at him, and he just smirked back. She growled before slamming her head against his. The both groaned in pain and confusion, but she was still able to slam her open palm into his chest, sending him just a few meters back.

They stared each other down for a moment, and then she pulled out her sai from their straps. But instead of charging at him like he expected, she stabbed them into the ground, and stood up in a fighting stance, with her legs apart and her fists held in front of her. "How about we make things a bit more fun?" She suggested sarcastically.

Yazoo smirked again. "Agreed," He said, putting his Velvet Nightmare down and kicking it away, before getting in a fighting stance as well.

Jecsie nodded to him then dashed towards him as he did the same. She aimed a kick at his jaw, but he caught her leg. She used this by pulling him down and kneeing him in the gut with her other leg. He grunted, letting go of her completely, and she flipped over his back. He whirled around and caught her fist before it connected with him again. He growled and struck a blow at her chest, knocking the breath out of her. She gasped for air, taking a step back and he kicked her side, sending her sprawling on the ground. She gridded her teeth and rolled to her feet. She used the flow of this movement to land a kick on his chest, knocking him against a tree. She went to punch him in the face, but he caught her fist.

"That's enough," She heard Kadaj say, but she kept struggling to free herself from Yazoo's grip. "Loz?" Kadaj spoke again, this time sending the order to his oldest brother.

Jecsie felt the familiar metal tips against her neck and squeezed her eyes shut, expecting the shock that followed...

Jecsie awoke with a gasp; she'd just had yet another dream about Zack. "Get over it, Jess," She whispered to herself as she sat up, gripping her head with her hands, "You'll just end up driving yourself crazy..."

"Do you always talk to yourself?" Jecsie jumped when she heard him.

He was behind her, leaning against the side of the tree she was propped against. He looked at her, his long, silvery bangs partially covering his face. She glared at him, before noticing her two sai lying beside him, and her gun in his hands. She gasped, jumping to reach her weapon. He just smiled as she stumbled, and in a flash had her pined up against the tree. He held her there for a moment, tilting his head as he examined her face with her own weapon against her temple. Finally he released her, taking a step back as she fell to the ground in front of him. She growled, glaring up at him.

"Please try to behave," He asked, and for a moment she thought he was mocking her. But his face softened at his words, and hers followed. She could see, not with her powers, but with her eyes, just how tried he seemed. "Kadaj left me here to watch you while he and Loz are gone." He paused momentarily. "I'm surprised that I'm still feeling the effects of our spar."

Jecsie blinked, not having noticed that the other two weren't anywhere close by. She glared at him once more when she realized he'd brushed her challenge off as mere play, before sitting up with her legs crossed – resigned to just pouting about it. He sat the same way in front of her, once again looking at her gun intently. She watched as he turned it in his hands, examining it like one would an artwork they were judging. "What's it called?" He suddenly asked.

She looked up at him, her face as blank as his. "Hira," She finally answered, keeping her response curt.

Yazoo glanced up at her, a confused look crossing his features. "'Black Death'? Why do you call it that?"

She looked back down at Hira; it's sleek black metal shining in the little sunlight that passed through the trees. "Well," She began, "For one thing; it's made out of black metal. And, the bullets it uses are tiped with a small casing of poison, designed for an instant kill. The whole makeup was..." She tried to find a word that could describe it the best, "'custom made'. Specifically to kill in an instant yet...you're still..."

"Alive?" He finished for her, glancing momentarily at his arm where she'd managed to graze him. She was shocked to see the lack of wound on his ivory skin. He shrugged it off, however, like it was nothing. He knew he was special, as were his brothers, so it wasn't that big a deal that he was unaffected by her weapon. "But you're right," He held his left hand out to her, and she saw he held one of her bullets, "Average looking bullets, except for the very tip where you could see the liquid poison inside…fascinating."

He went back to examining the gun, and Jecsie found herself looking around again. Without the other two around, she didn't feel intimidated by this strange man. Again, she noticed her sai just a few feet to her right from where she sat. She reached out her right hand toward them, but Yazoo stopped her, gripping her wrist rather tightly. "You can't have them back yet," He told her, frowning.

She glared back at him again. "Why not?" She tried yanking her hand back, but he held it firmly.

"Because; we don't trust you," He said it so simply, and she was ashamed to admit that it hurt.

Jecsie just glared back down at her hand, which was still in his. He tilted his head as he examined her wrist, and she realized what he was really looking at. Her bracelet! Again she tried to pull back, but again he wouldn't let her. "Is this your name? Jecsie?" He asked.

"Yes..." she hesitated. "It's what others call me..." She mumbled.

He stared at her tilting his head to the side, looking right into her eyes. She cleared her throat, clearly feeling uncomfortable. "Yazoo, you're hurting me!" She whined, forcefully pulling her wrist free.

Yazoo's eyes widened and he stood, taking a step back. Her voice...The way his name sounded from her lips was like… "Mother..?" He asked quietly, scaring her even more.

A/N:

EDIT: Okay, so I'm still no good at fight scenes, but I do hope I'm getting better. Let me know please!