Disclaimer: I don't own Final Fantasy VII or any of its characters.
Chapter Nineteen
"Hey!" Yuffie called loudly, but Loz ignored her. He just kept walking, like she wasn't even there. She picked up her pace, sprinting to where he was. He still didn't look her way, just continued to march forward, his steps determined and unwavering. She moved in front of him, forcing him to look at her. "You can't just leave!"
"I'm not staying here!" he replied, angered.
"Vincent told you not to leave," she argued, stepping out of the way as he nearly plowed over her.
"It's different now. My brother's in trouble."
"How do you know?"
He didn't answer, only stared at her like she should have known the answer. She walked right along side him, her expression angered and exasperated, as they moved through the remains of the old Midgar.
"Besides," he said, "It's not like I'm running away."
"How we know that? Huh? What if this is just some ruse so you can get away from me? Then the three of you meet back up again to try and destroy the world a third time."
"I'm not!" he snapped, more furious than he had ever been with her. He stopped and faced her, his chest heaving with anger and apprehension. "I'm going to find my brothers."
She stared at him long and hard, before crossing her arms and trying to appear dignified. "Well then, in order to make sure you're telling the truth...I'm gonna go with you."
"Fine," he replied simply, turning about and continuing his walking.
"Huh?" she asked, surprised by his lack of protesting. "That's it?"
"Just don't try and stop me."
She watched for a moment, as he got farther and farther away. She was never the type for baby-sitting, she knew that even before Vincent gave her this job. At least if she went with him, she wouldn't have to sit around Midgar anymore, trying to keep him away from Tifa. Putting some distance between the two would probably be good anyway. And maybe that woman would put her head on straight in the meantime.
She sighed, continuing her walk, too. If anything...at least she wouldn't have to tell Vincent she lost the last of his three charges.
Vincent's phone rang, the noise interrupting the silence in the room. He almost welcomed the noise, which usual annoyed him. After all, they had been waiting in the silence for far too long, and for the first time in thirty years, impatience was starting to get to him. He eagerly pulled the phone from his belt.
He had hoped the number would be from Shelke; he was more than disappointed that it was Yuffie. Normally, he wouldn't have answered her. But ever since putting her in charge of Loz, he answered every time she called.
He glanced at Cloud briefly, the blonde's bored gaze meeting his.
"Yes?" he asked upon answering.
The first thing he heard was Yuffie's labored breathing, followed by, "Hi, Vince."
"Yuffie. What is it?" he asked. She started the conversation casually, but he could tell this was anything but a casual phone call.
"Well...Loz randomly thinks something bad has happened to one of his brothers, so we're leaving Midgar."
"What?" he replied, not sure what else to say.
"Yeah, we're leaving. At least he's letting me go with."
"No, Yuffie. Tell him to stay there Midgar. I don't need to lose track of him, too."
"...Why?" she asked, slightly suspicious, noting the anxiety in his voice.
Vincent paused for a moment. He had wanted to refrain from telling Loz about Kadaj's disappearance, but it looked like already knew. There was no sense in denying it now. "We found Cloud's bike abandoned in Junon. We're not sure, but it looks like someone took him."
"Like...kidnapped him? But why?"
"We don't know. But we're going to find out. Now tell Loz to stay put, we don't know what's going on here. I don't need him disappearing next. I already can't get ahold of Shelke, and it's beginning to worry me."
The ninja paused on the other end, before continuing. "He won't listen to me, Vince."
The door to the room he and Cloud were in opened, capturing his attention for the moment. They were met by the sight of a familiar man in a suit with long black hair. He looked at them both seriously, commanding respect and authority, even with just the two of them. Tseng greeted them with a simple nod of his head.
"I have to go, Yuffie," he said to her, "I'll call you back as soon as I can."
"But-" He hung up the phone before he could hear what she was going to say. He replaced it in his holder, turning his attention to the Turk.
"Took you long enough," Cloud commented.
"I apologize," the voice of another man came from behind Tseng. The Turk respectfully stepped out of the way, making room for Rufus Shinra as he came inside. The president was dressed as usual, a hint of a patronizing smile on his face.
He made his way over to the pair of couches on the far side of the room, gesturing for his two guests to sit as he got comfortable. The two of them quickly complied, though Vincent didn't have the patience for pleasantries at the moment.
"We've been seeing a lot of each other lately, Vincent," the president commented, smiling softly.
"Yes, we have," he replied dryly.
"So what can I help you with? Tseng tells me it's urgent."
Vincent glanced briefly at his companion, before preparing himself to answer. He wasn't very keen on revealing the remnants' absence to Shinra, especially after he had been so adamant about keeping them locked up. However, he pushed down his pride, knowing they had to get to the bottom of this. "Kadaj has gone missing."
"Has he?" Rufus didn't seem very surprised.
"Yes. He was initially searching for Yazoo, after he ran away."
He could tell the president was holding back a chuckle, and was amazed he found it amusing.
"We traced him to Junon," Cloud continued for him, "But it seems someone has abducted him."
The president's eyes went serious, his gaze flashing to Tseng briefly.
"A friend of mine says he was last seen with a man from SOLDIER," Vincent said.
"SOLDIER?" Rufus looked genuinely surprised, "You should know we no longer employ SOLDIERs."
"We're not accusing you of anything. We just came here for some information," Vincent replied. "The SOLDIER's name was Loveless. Do you know anything about him?"
"Loveless?" he repeated, looking back at Tseng, "I don't recall anyone with that name, but I can have Tseng check our files."
The Turk looked at them seriously, something about his gaze seeming off. "His name was Loveless? Do you have a description?"
Cloud shrugged, "He said he had Mako eyes, red hair...somewhere in his thirties."
The president looked at the Turk, noticing the look of confusion that came to his face. "Tseng?"
"If I may, sir?"
Rufus nodded.
"The Genesis War."
"What was that?" Vincent inquired. Genesis. That name sounded familiar to him, for reasons he couldn't pinpoint.
"Not long before Sephiroth's rampage in Nibelheim, a soldier by the name of Genesis Rhapsodos deserted the SOLDIER ranks and led a small rebellion against us. He sought revenge against the company-and the world-because of the deception surrounding his origins."
Vincent's attention shifted from the Turk back to Rufus, his suspicions growing.
"It was my duty to help bring an end to the rebellion. I worked closely with the 1st Class SOLDIERs, many of whom were involved in the conspiracies surrounding Genesis. Sephiroth was one of them. The two of them were close friends, along with another soldier by the name of Angeal."
"I don't understand," Cloud chimed in, "What does this have to do with our problem?"
"Genesis was a product of one of the many experiments done on Jenova. The processes that made him were flawed, and in the end, he started to degrade. He needed Sephiroth's cells to keep himself from dying."
"Genesis," Vincent spoke aloud, with a sudden realization, "His name was mentioned in the documents I was investigating with the WRO. He was responsible for Deepground, wasn't he?"
Rufus shifted uncomfortably in his seat, "Many facts from that whole situation are still a mystery. We don't know the exact truth, but yes, it is believed Genesis played a part in their creation."
"But what reason would he need Kadaj for?" Cloud asked, "Is he still degrading?"
"We don't know. He disappeared many years ago. We assumed he was dead, but with the revelation on Deepground, it seems we were wrong," Tseng said.
Vincent took a moment to think. "If Genesis' goal was to destroy the world before, he could still be trying to fulfill that goal."
"And no one got closer to that goal then Sephiroth," Cloud added bitterly.
Rufus sighed heavily, glancing at his troubled Turk. He placed his hands together, resting his chin on his knuckles. "We could have a problem then."
"Do you still have information on Genesis?" Cloud asked, "Any idea where we might be able to find him?"
Rufus nodded, "Tseng will look into it."
On that note, the Turk turned and left the room. Cloud and Vincent watched him leave, silence encompassing the room for moment. Vincent's fear only grew, his apprehension bringing on thoughts and scenarios he hadn't considered before. It seemed the situation just kept getting worse.
"You say Yazoo is also missing?" Rufus asked, breaking the silence with the sudden subject. He reached for the nearby end table, taking the bottle of liquor and pouring himself a glass.
"Yes," Vincent replied, "I lost contact with his companion a few days ago."
"You don't have to worry about that any longer," Rufus commented, staring intently at his drink, "We know where they are."
A/N: At first, I didn't really like this chapter, but when proofreading it, I realized it wasn't so bad. :P I was really dreading that conversation about Genesis. Hopefully I got it all right. And I just had to get Loz out of Midgar. -_-
Thanks to everyone who reads and favorites this story, and especially to those who review. You make me smile. ^_^