Disclaimer: The plot, settings, characters, etc. of Final Fantasy belong to Square Enix and the author totally respects that

A/N: I believe this is an update in a timely fashion befitting the cliffhanger of last time. Read, enjoy, share, review if the mood so swings you, and thank you. I would not have gotten this far without readers like you. I'm sending you all mental hugs (and high fives for you people with hugging issues).

Lazard Deusericus was having a really good day. It looked like he was going to have a nice high paying job soon and he'd gotten into his apartment complex without a hitch for the first time. He nearly knocked on his neighbor's door to boast of his success, but she and her little friend weren't home. Shame, this job was her idea. Something she mentioned in passing, but it was still her idea.

And he kind of liked her. She made fun of him a lot, but she was nice about it. And she was kind of cute. Her...kid was nice too.

He had just settled himself inside his own apartment when he glanced at the news. His kind of nice, kind of cute neighbor was wanted for kidnapping.

Robertson scowled as he surveyed the road. The driver was going too fast. He'd told him to slow down ten fucking times already. He sat up.

"Stop the fucking car," he said.

"For fuck's sake I'm not going that fast," the driver snapped.

"Shut up," Robertson said, "there's a car on the side of the road." The truck pulled to a stop. Roberson and three others got out to investigate. It was empty, but it was the first sign they had seen since the creepy doctor sent them out again.

"Kill the bitch," the doc had said, "but do not touch a hair on the boy's head." Robertson checked for any sign of where they had gone, or why they had stopped.

"All this for one fucking broad?" one of the men asked. Robertson scoffed in agreement. At least they were being paid well.

Sephiroth was holding up most of Cass's weight. He didn't really mind it though. She wasn't that heavy really and it was an assurance to have so close. They found another car. This time Mom didn't have to scare someone with Fergus, someone had just left it out there with the keys inside.

They ran out of fuel before Mom had started to get tired, so she had them get out and find a place to hide. It was kind of hot out here, but Sephiroth could see some rocks not too far away. That might be a good place.

"Are you okay Mom?" Sephiroth asked.

"Ye..sss" she said.

"Just a little longer," Sephiroth said, "I'll find a good spot and you can rest." She didn't reply, but kept moving. They'd make it, Sephiroth was sure of it.

"I've lost track of them." Tseng was desperately searching for further reports of missing vehicles or sightings of Cassiopia and Sephiroth, but there was nothing. They were probably avoiding civilization altogether.

"Tseng," Veld said. It had a tone of warning. Tseng stopped and faced his superior.

"If we don't know where they are, that means Hojo doesn't either," Veld said, "Hojo has convinced the President that she has kidnapped Sephiroth. Sooner or later, we'll be officially called into the search."

"Sir?" Tseng asked.

"I'd start up the helicopter if I were you," Veld said.

"Just sit down Mom," Sephiroth said as he helped her to the ground. She was barely awake. He was sorely tempted to give her the last shot, but he promised he wouldn't unless it was an emergency. They were okay for right now.

"Do you want to lay down?" he asked her. She tried to say something, but Sephiroth didn't understand her. It looked like she shook her head. He did his best to make sure she was comfortable leaning up against the rock formation they were hiding under. He laid Fergus across her lap just in case. He sat down next to her.

"You should rest," he said, "I can take care of you for a little bit." Cass tried to say something again. Sephiroth scooted closer as he deciphered was it was.

"I love you too," he said. He pulled her arm over his shoulders because he knew she liked to do that and nestled a little closer. He still kept watch. He could do that from here.

Tseng jumped on the report as it came in. A man reported his truck stolen. No sign of it yet. He recalled hearing a child speaking. He checked the location. He was counting the minutes until President ShinRa gave the order. He'd be ready the instant it came.

He targeted the area outside of the developing Midgar. That was his bet.

Robertson eyed the rocks. This place was a fucking wasteland. Only an idiot would come here. Thus the appeal for a fugitive. The doc said she had a gun, so it wouldn't hurt to be too careful. He checked his equipment just to be sure. She put up a hell of a fight last time.

"Spread out," he said, "search the whole thing."

It took almost an hour before they found them. She was passed out. She practically looked dead, all pale and sweaty looking. The kid was getting up, having just spotted them.

"Kill her," Robertson said, "but don't hurt the kid." As soon as he finished, he heard the kid yell "NO!". His eyes barely registered the first lunge.

Finally, orders came through to find and bring in Cassiopia Durmont dead or alive. Tseng was planning on making damn sure she came in alive. He ran along the hallway to the rooftop where the helicopter was waiting.

Veld was waiting as well. Tseng took the pilot's seat without hesitation.

"Let's hope to the Gods she'll listen to you," Veld said. They took off without another word.

Sephiroth was surging on adrenaline. He'd gotten the men to back off this time. They weren't going to come anywhere near Mom this time. And they certainly were not going to kill her. He killed one of them, but felt oddly fine with that. He felt bad about killing monsters, but not about people?

He returned to Mom's side and pulled out the last injection. This counted as an emergency. He put it in and ran back to his post. They had picked a good place to hide. It was a good vantage point. He kept his sword in the defensive stance as he had been taught. He could hear Mom waking up behind him.

"What'sssmatter?" she said.

"They found us," Sephiroth said. He heard her get up shakily. He heard a gun fire.

"NO!" he shouted. He heard Mom's body hit the ground. He whipped around and rushed to her side.

Robertson cursed. First they couldn't get a clear shot with the kid in the way. Then they fucking missed when they had a clear fucking shot. This mission was going so badly now. It had started so nicely and easily.

No one had mentioned the kid had a goddamn sword.

He killed one man so quickly and cleanly, Robertson might have thought he was a pro. He saw her getting up again. Someone fired again. He saw a rock explode near the kid's head.

"I SAID DON'T KILL THE KID," he shouted. Both woman and kid took cover. Robertson took the time to berate the gunman. When he turned back, the woman was balancing something on a rock.

His last thought was why no one had mentioned that she had a rifle with her.

Sephiroth unplugged his ears and looked up at Mom. She was gritting her teeth.

"I got one," she said, "there's eight, no, ten more." She ducked down again. "Keep moving," she said.

"Are you okay?" Sephiroth asked.

"I'll be fine," she said.

"You don't look fine," Sephiroth said. She sounded like she had a hard time breathing.

"I'll be fine," she said again, "are you okay?" She reached out and touched the side of his face. He flinched a little. Her fingers came back red. He wiped more off. Sephiroth nodded. It was only a scratch from the rock.

"I wasn't going to let them kill you," he said. She looked like she was going to say something, then changed her mind.

"Keep moving," she repeated. Another rock exploded. Sephiroth dragged Cass back to the ground. Her face got mad. She got back up. Sephiroth noticed a lot of things that happened quickly. Cass brought up Fergus very smoothly and set him against her shoulder. Her body leaned into the rifle as if it needed support. She looked calm and relaxed before she pulled the trigger. She let out a small barrage then ducked back down.

"Another one," she said. She started crawling further into the rocks. Sephiroth followed. It went like that for quite some time. They'd fire, then Cass would return fire, but she always had better aim. Sephiroth didn't really need to use his sword again because none of them would dare get close to them. Then disaster struck again.

"Sephiroth I'm out of ammunition," Cass said. He felt his stomach drop.

"I should have grabbed more," he said, "I'm so-"

"It's not your fault Sephiroth," Cass said. The rock nearest her had a chunk taken out. Sephiroth thought desperately for what to do.

"Sephiroth," Cass said, "I have to tell you something." He looked at her. "I love you," she said, "no matter what happens after this, I love you."

"Mom?" Sephiroth asked. He didn't like where this was going.

"I didn't get a chance to tell you last time," she said, "this time I want to make sure. I love you Sephiroth."

"I love you too," he said.

"I want you to put your sword away," she said, "don't fight them anymore."

"What?" he said, "No."

"Sephiroth..." she said, "we can't win this fight. There's only going to be more of them."

"No," Sephiroth said.

"Sephiroth," Cass said, "Do as I say. Put your sword away and give yourself up."

"No," Sephiroth said, "I'm not going to leave you."

"I'll be okay," Cass said.

"They're going to kill you," Sephiroth said.

"I don't want you to get hurt," Cass said. He'd never heard her voice sound like that. He saw tears start to leak out of her eyes. He'd never seen her cry before. Then, he realized what he had to do.

"I'm not going to leave you," he said. He moved closer to her. "Stay behind me."

"Sephiroth...no," she pleaded.

"They won't hurt me," he said, "they've only been shooting at you." Cass shook her head, but Sephiroth knew it would work. He could hear them moving closer. He covered as much of Cass as he could with his own body so they couldn't shoot her. He kept his sword out and in front of him.

Tseng circled around and blinked at what he saw. Six men circling around a rock formation. He saw a small mass in the middle. It looked like Sephiroth was using himself as a human shield. It was working too because no one was firing anymore.

"Take out the mercenaries," he heard Veld say to the gunman in back. It was done in seconds. Tseng started looking around for a place to land.

Cass wasn't moving again. She was awake, but she just had no strength left. Sephiroth dragged her as best he could back to their first hiding spot. Her face was hot and she looked so white.

"You're not okay," Sephiroth murmured as he set her back up.

"I...might of...pushed myself..." she rasped out. Sephiroth nodded.

"I can take care of you," he said, "just wait here a little longer." He moved out to his sentry position and eyed the helicopter that would bring more of them.

"I can fix this," he assured himself...

Veld disembarked first with Tseng close behind. It didn't take long to find Sephiroth keeping watch. He glared at them. Tseng saw his grip tighten on the sword as Sephiroth took a defensive stance. Veld held up his hands.

"Easy," he murmured. Sephiroth did not relax.

"We just want to talk," Veld said.

"You tried to kill her," Sephiroth spat out.

"No," Tseng said quickly trying to diffuse the situation, "no that was not us. We've been looking for her ever since you told me she was missing. We just want to talk right now." It didn't look like Sephiroth was buying it.

"Sephiroth," a rough voice called, "let them talk." The boy turned around.

"Mom?" he asked.

"Just a few minutes," Tseng said.

"Let them through Sephiroth," Cass called again. Sephiroth turned back, the reluctance evident on his face.

"Only one," he said. Tseng turned to Veld who nodded.

"You know her better," he said. Tseng held up his hands as he approached.

"Put the sword away, Sephiroth," Cass said, "it's not polite." Sephiroth did it as slowly and menacingly as possible. He sat himself in Cass's lap, trying to hide her from view. Tseng was shocked by her appearance. She looked very sick.

"Hey twerp," she said, "long time no see." Her casual demeanor was taken away by the roughness of her voice. Tseng reached carefully into his back pocket and pulled out a flask.

"It's water," he said holding it out to Sephiroth. He took it suspiciously, but seemed satisfied when he opened it. He turned back to Cass.

"You first," Cass said.

"You need it more," Sephiroth said. She rolled her eyes and took it.

"I'll begin by saying the Turks have been uninvolved with your abduction until this point," Tseng said.

"I figured," Cass said, "those assholes were less than professional" The water helped a little.

"Unfortunately, the powers that be don't know about that," Tseng said, "It looks like you took Sephiroth and ran."

"Well shit," Cass said. She sounded oddly calm about that. She had a rough day.

"Director Veld and I do know the whole story, though," Tseng said. There was a long pause.

"Can you help her?" Sephiroth asked. Tseng noticed that he said "her" and not "us" as well as the complete change in demeanor. All hostility was gone.

"We can try," Tseng said.

"But I'd have to join the Turks," Cass said. Still sharp despite her condition. Tseng didn't reply.

"If you help her, I'll go back," Sephiroth said. He sounded so earnest and sincere. Tseng only nodded. He looked back at Veld. Veld started coming up. His eyebrows raised slightly when he saw the position Cass and Sephiroth were in, but made no comment.

"I can guarantee your safety to a hospital in Midgar," Veld said.

"No!" Sephiroth said, "no doctors." Cass patted his arm with obvious effort.

"Hojo's not in Midgar yet, Sephiroth," she said, "I'll be okay." Sephiroth seemed very reluctant. Cass obviously needed medical help.

"I can make sure Hojo doesn't go near her," Veld said. That was true. "But you'd need to come with me." Sephiroth did not like the sound of that. Cass squeezed his arm.

"You can tell them what happened," Cass said, "you can tell them what Hojo did." Sephiroth gave a curt nod.

"You keep Mom safe," he said, "and I go with you and tell that Hojo took her and tried to kill her." Veld nodded. "But after I want to go back," Sephiroth said. Veld shot a look at Tseng who didn't react. They were close after all.

"Consider it done," Veld said. He pulled out a PHS and made a call.

"You have to get up now," Cass whispered in Sephiroth's ear. Sephiroth twisted around and kissed her on the cheek.

"I love you," he said, "I'll miss you."

"You'll be back before you know it," Cass said. Tseng knelt down next to him.

"I promise that I will take care of her until you get back," Tseng said, "You have my word." Sephiroth nodded and stood up. Tseng started checking Cass over, finding her pulse and such. Veld ended the call.

"Someone will come to get them," Veld said, "We'll take the helicopter back." Sephiroth nodded. He forced himself not to look back. He didn't think he would go if he did.

President ShinRa look at the small boy in front of him. He had never actually spoken with him, merely observed and heard what everyone else said. It was eerie how he was able to coldly and calmly explain his perspective of events. Still it was a fantastic story about abduction and battle. He didn't buy it. Veld could see that.

"That's a very good story, Sephiroth," ShinRa said. Veld felt the condescending tone was a little unnecessary. Hojo seemed ready to grab Sephiroth as soon as the president gave the word. He suddenly understood why Cassiopia Durmont took him in.

"It's the truth," Sephiroth said, the annoyance obvious. Veld didn't blame him. He had given an extremely accurate report and someone was questioning it. He'd be pissed too. He blessed Tseng in his head. He'd be second in command of the Turks if he kept this sort of work up.

"One of my operatives also found footage of Ms. Durmont in the laboratory," Veld said when the President looked to him for an explanation. "It appeared to us that Sephiroth was the abductor, not Durmont as she was semi-conscious for most of the operation. There were also gunmen that were not hired by the company to return Sephiroth. We had to dispatch them before they harmed him." ShinRa looked confused. He turned to Hojo, who was livid.

"Would you care to explain this?" ShinRa asked.

Sephiroth fidgeted on the transport. The man with the scar had told him that Mom was in the hospital and she was very sick. He had to be there with her. He would make sure she would be okay. But it was taking so long. It had been over an hour. Veld hung up his phone.

"Tseng had just informed me that Cassiopia has been pronounced stable," he said.

"Cass," Sephiroth corrected. Veld gave him a confused look. "She hates being called Cassiopia," Sephiroth said. Veld nodded with a hint of amusement, but only a hint.

"We will be there shortly," Veld said. Shortly turned out to be ten minutes of torture. It took all the self-control Sephiroth had not to go running through the hospital and find Cass. Veld eventually got them up to the right room.

Tseng was sitting very patienly in a chair near the door, like a guard. Sephiroth was horrified at the state Cass was in. She was hooked and wired up like an experiment. There was even a woman fiddling with them. She noticed Sephiroth staring at her and smiled softly.

"I was just checking her vitals," she said, "she's doing well."

"What are these for?" Sephiroth asked. The woman looked puzzled for a moment, then she smiled again. She pointed to one wire.

"This is checking her heartbeat," she said, "It's doing fine so I was about to take it off." She did so to Sephiroth's relief. "This one is giving her fluids," the woman said, "She had a lot of things going through her and it was making her sick. She was thirsty too. This will take care of both of them." Sephiroth felt a pang of guilt. He hadn't meant to make Mom sick by giving her so many injections.

"She's going to be just fine," the woman said, "but we gave her something so she would sleep because she was very tired." Sephiroth nodded. Cass was looking better and it wasn't an experiment. He felt relieved. Tseng stood up.

"She also forced me to give my word to make sure that you got some sleep as well," Tseng said, "You can wait here for a few hours then you have to leave to get some rest." Sephiroth began to protest.

"I will stay here and make sure nothing happens to her," Tseng said. Sephiroth nodded. Tseng gave up his seat and pushed it so Sephiroth could be close. The woman gave him another smile and went away. Sephiroth took Cass's hand and held it.

All too soon, Tseng said it was time to go. Sephiroth wanted to stay very badly. He let go of her hand reluctantly. The woman had come and gone many times she saw him leaving.

"If she wakes up I'll call you," she said to Sephiroth. He blinked, shocked by her kindness.

"Thank you," he said. She smiled once more.

She was still sleeping the next day. The nice lady, Sephiroth later found out she was called a nurse, said it wasn't normal, but it probably meant she was just really tired. Sephiroth stayed by her side almost the entire day. He knew it would be getting close to the time to go again. He started to get up.

Cass's hand suddenly squeezed his. He looked up at her face. She was looking at him, sleepily.

"My little black rain cloud," she said. He lost all composure then and jumped onto her bed to hug her.

"I missed you," he said, feeling those tear things coming. They were annoying, but he couldn't stop them. Cass only smiled at him. He felt her petting his hair.

Tseng stopped in the doorway, feeling like an intruder. When the nurse came in, he followed.

"Sephiroth," he started.

"He can stay here," Cass said, "he's not hurting anything." Tseng looked to the nurse who only shrugged. Sephiroth crawled off of Cass and slid into the space she made for him.

"See, we're fine," Cass said. The nurse chuckled quietly.

"You're going to have to let go of her so I can check on her," she said.

Cass's knuckles turned white as she fisted her hands. Every fiber of her being was screaming at her to break Hojo's fucking neck, but Veld and that stupid sod of a president were in her way. He didn't even spare a glance at her.

"I see it fit to have Ms. Durmont remain Sephiroth's guardian," the stupid sod said, "considering that she's not the one who nearly got him killed." Hojo scoffed, but wisely kept his trap shut for once.

"Also considering you have her enough tranquilizer to keep her unconscious for a week, and she wasn't in a condition to do anything you accused her of," ShinRa went on. That was a relief, but the stupid sod was still a fucking moron. Rather than state that they were wrong, they declared her dead. Fucking dead. To top it off, Hojo was still in charge of Sephiroth's medical arrangements.

The only person she didn't feel like murdering slowly and painfully was Veld. Cass didn't want to be a Turk, but she'd rather work for him than risk wandering between the stupid fuck and the psychotic fuck. He'd been surprisingly supportive despite his demeanor.

"I say it's time for Sephiroth to be in the barracks," Hojo said.

"No," Cass said. ShinRa turned towards her, annoyed she had even said anything.

"Sephiroth stays with me until he is in double digits," she said darkly. In her head she was pulling Hojo's liver out through his throat and staining the pristine carpet in the process.

"I don't believe you honestly have a say," Hojo said. Cass started on his spleen next.

"I recall you saying that so long as Sephiroth cooperated, he could be where ever he wanted," Cass said. The President looked annoyed again, then mild shock came in.

"You're attempting blackmail?" he asked.

"I'm just doing it straight up," she corrected. Veld intervened before she could list all the ways she could have Sephiroth be difficult.

"I think what Ms. Durmont is trying to say is that Sephiroth is calmer and more cooperative under her care," he said, "but it is true that if Sephiroth is happy...he may be more willing." ShinRa blinked at the woman who still looked mildly drugged up.

"What are your terms?" he asked.

"Hojo doesn't come near me, ever," Cass said, "Sephiroth stays with me until we all agree he is ready for a military experience, and I get a position in the Department of Administrative Investigation or whatever the hell you call it." Veld nodded.

"Fair enough," ShinRa said. You're damn right that's fair enough, you stupid fuck. That was as good a dismissal as any. Veld led Cass down the hall. A bony hand snatched her wrist.

"You'll regret opposing me, whore," Hojo hissed. Then Cass did something that was celebrated by Turks and soldiers, past, present and future. She grabbed Hojo's wrist and twisted it back until it snapped. Hojo howled, but his cry was cut off when Cass began to smash his head against the wall. Against his better wishes, Veld pried her off of him. From the bloody mess, he guess Hojo had a broken nose as well.

"If you ever touch me, if I even see your goddamn face," Cass yelled, "I will kill you, motherfucker." Veld struggled to hold her back. Hojo actually did the smart thing and started to back away from Cass. Veld more or less shoved her into the elevator and pressed any button to make the doors close.

"That was either the stupidest or most brilliant thing anyone has ever done," Veld said.

"Sorry," she hissed through gritted teeth.

"Don't apologize," Veld said, "it was beautiful. Just for that, I'm going to make sure you have 'special training' until Sephiroth is in the army barracks." Cass looked up at him.

"You..." she trailed off. He actually smiled.

"I'm paying you to be with him," he said. She was at a loss for what to say.

"As a former parent...it is the very least I can do," Veld said.

"You...you were going to do that anyway?" Cass said.

"You're a Turk now," Veld said, "we watch out for each other."