Chapter 5

Big, big, big thank you's as always to everyone single one of you lovely, lovely people who have the manners and the courtesy to leave a review. You seriously don't know how much you keep me motivated….

Before the next chapter starts, I just want to lighten the mood a little, by sharing with you all, the reviews of the last four chapters from one of my favourite reviewers…JSR. Honestly, her reviews had me cracking up with laugher….I did try to edit them into the relevant chapters, but for some reason Fanfiction wouldn't let me do it, so I've had to make a job lot of them here. I hope some of you get as much fun out of them as I did…and I can't wait to see what the 'gang' all come up with next chapter! Lol

--------------------------------------------------------------------------

Chapter 1

JSR:Oh, here it is. Why do I need to revisit pages and stuff for my computer to keep showing a different color to point out where I've been?
Cid:'Wha' the :$ ya talkin' about, ya crazy broad? Just read the damn thing already.'
Vincent:'Hm. Mitts states that this one will not be 'fluffy.' You had better be careful of your brain, Joyce.'
JSR: Yeah, yeah. I'll be careful, Vinnie. -Reads chappie one- &$#)&#$(! NO!! No Cloudy torture!
Cloud dives under the bed in terror, while Sephiroth comes running in, Masamune ready.
Seph:'WHO'S TORTURING MY LOVER!!'
Tifa squeals:'You are, you sick twisted...um, uh, psycho. Yeah, that'll work. You psycho!'
Seph:'I would never torture my honey bunny for real! Besides, I'm not even in this chapter really! It's a cameo!'
The argument continues, while Zack tries to reassure Cloud into coming out, and Reno pulls the droolingly insane Joyce back in front of the comp for round, I mean chapter two.

Chapter 2

JSR and crew all read chappie 2 with much trepidation -and amusement on the parts of certain unnamed nutcases.
Tifa:'There are sickos everywhere in this! A woody from beating poor widdle Cloud bloody!Ew!!'
Zack:'How much you wanna bet that cadet that was enjoying the show is Button Boy, making a reincarnation?'
Reno and Cid immediately start placing bets, while Vincent calmly watches from the sidelines.
Barrett:'Yo, foo! How come you always got psychos in yo'stories? Marlene can't read any o' 'em!'
JSR:Psychos? What do you mean? And no calling Penny a foo'!
Barrett, with his gun arm waving around:'Well, in 'Obsession' they was all sex psychos! Now they all blood psychos!'
JSR:Hm, you do kinda have a point...Yuffie! Go sneak over to Penny's and look for notes! See if this story is full of blood psychos!
Yuffie, rolling her eyes:'Aye-aye, mon capitan! Just don't forget to pay me in materia, and they better be good ones!'
Runs off to spy, while everyone else turns to the next installment of terror -and Cloud slides back under the bed.
Reno:'Dude, how can you fit under there, yo?'

Chapter 3

We join our regularly scheduled review now, to the scene of -JSR chasing the general around with a baseball bat.
Seph:'It's not my fault! It's Mitts, all Mitts! I didn't do anything!'
JSR:You didn't beat the crap out of that sicko commander, didn't throw the nasty-cadet-who's-probably-DoubleDouble's-double to any sexual sadist/predators, you hit poor little Cloud, and worst of all, YOU ATE SPIT! YUCK!
Cid, in between hysterical guffaws:'What'ya think kissin' involves, ya dumb$$!'
JSR: That's different! Aerith and Tifa both solemnly nod their heads in agreement with Joyce.
Reno, jumping in front of the screen:'What -will the general do with the prisoner? Will -anything happen to the cane-happy commander? When -will the cadet make a reappearance, if ever? What -is the-'
Vincent:'What in the world is with those bizarre pauses?'
Reno:'Dramatic effect.'
Vincent:- -
Cloud to the crouched and coaxing Zack:'I'm never coming out! Never, you hear! You'll never take me alive!'
JSR, pausing the chase for one moment:Um, Cloud, they already did. You're a prisoner, remember?
Curses float out from under the bed.

Chapter 4

JSR:You have private detention cells? You really are a sick little puppy in this one, huh.
Seph:'It's not me, I tell you! Cloud, come out here and let me have fun for comfort! Mitts is totally turning me into this dark and creepy guy!'
Snickers from the sidelines, as Zack points out:'Dude, last time, you were a HORNY and creepy guy. Maybe you should thank Penny for not making you walk around with a perpetual hard-on this time.'
Vincent:'The chapters may be short compared to those in 'Obsession,' but they are coming out faster, judging by the dates on the story. That is a good thing, for what's left of certain people's sanity.' Eyeballs Sephy trying to crawl under the bed with Cloud, both bawling and sobbing messily for different reasons.
JSR: Definitely darker and much less fluffy than 'Obsession' but still interesting. I definitely want to see where this is going. Are the smaller chapters for your own sanity, too? Either way, keep up the good work! Hey, don't bring those cookies in here, Vinnie will-
Vincent transforms into Chaos, who promptly begins chasing the unlucky cookie-bearer, Zack, who squeaks in an unmanly way and runs for the hills, threatening to bring in Hojo all the way.

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------

I still chuckle even when I read them over and over...(Sobering up...) Ok, without further ado…..on with the story. Oh, and don't forget, if you're interested, there is a picture to go with this chapter on my homepage……

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

"Eat," the general ordered, using the tip of a small blade that he was cutting an apple with, to point towards the cold bowl of stew set upon the floor.

The prisoner just stared back defiantly at him. The last two days had been spent alone in solitary. He had deliberately refused the food that had been pushed through the small gap at the bottom of his cell door, shoving it back out uneaten.

He guessed the general's presence meant that he intended to force him.

"What, do you wish to starve yourself to death and deny me the pleasure of your company?" the general asked. Silence met his question. "Perhaps, if you won't eat for my benefit, you'll eat for the benefit of someone else?"

Puzzled eyes watched nervously as the general turned around and clicked his fingers at the guard standing just outside the open cell door. He in turn issued a command to someone behind him, someone out of sight.

A small disheveled figure was dragged forward in between two officers. They paused just outside the cell, and the held captive wearily lifted his head.

The boy was instantly recognizable to the prisoner. He was the youngest cadet that had accompanied the ill fated mission. He, like the prisoner, had been beaten, his almost unclothed body covered in bruises, old and new. His anxious, worried eyes searched the prisoners for reassurance.

"Now, are you going to eat, or do I have to..." The general approached the tightly held boy and, without warning, he thrust the paring knife deep into the captive's upper arm. A shrill scream rent the air.

"You fucking bastard!" The prisoner made to leap upon the general, but was prevented by the strong chain attached to the collar around his neck. He held his manacled hands out in front of himself, his fingers fisted. "Let...him...go."

"I want to, I really do," the general replied. "But you see, its just not up to me, is it?" he asked, looking down at the impaled lad with a smile on his lips as he began slowly twisting the knife in the wound, making the terrified, injured boy squeal.

"Cloud...CLOUD, PLEASE...oh fuck, it hurts."

At the whimpered words, the general's eyebrows rose and he turned his head to look with interest at the chained prisoner standing there, staring hatefully at him.

"Ah, so we have a name for you. How wonderful. It's amazing what information a little torture will produce from the weak."

Turning back to the skewered youngster, the sharp blade was pushed deeper, and the young boy's eyes rolled white before he gave a moan and passed out, his body falling slack in his captor's hands.

"Perhaps you'll eat now?" the general asked, removing the bloodied knife and cutting a slice of apple, returning to stand by the prisoner and eating the piece of now red smeared fruit. "Or, shall I wake your friend up and make another puncture wound... eh?"

Grudgingly, the prisoner slowly sank down on his hunches and dragged the bowl of stew towards himself. As he lifted the first plastic spoonful to his lips, the general waved a hand in dismissal, and the unconscious boy was dragged away.

"Much better," Sephiroth said, as he watched the prisoner named Cloud begin to eat. "The next time you refuse food, I think I'll try sticking the blade in your friend's thigh. That should be fun. The men can take bets on how long it takes him to pass out that time."

The prisoner stopped eating, the spoon poised, eyes glaring.

"Shall I call him back so soon?" the general threatened, his hand rising into the air, gloved fingers ready to click again.

The prisoner dropped his head and began to finish off the unwanted meal, each mouthful distasteful to him, each mouthful, even though cold, burning his gullet as he tried to swallow the food down past a throat that was choking on rage.

"I think that's one point to me," the general gloated, smugly.