Hey guys. Chapter have started to be written once more so enjoy chapter nine!
Chapter 9- Dark Horizon
'Police believe that inside help was used to aid the thieves with their goal. Our correspondent at the Tower of London reports...'
It was everywhere on the news the following day. None of them could believe just how smoothly the operation had gone. Indeed, it was Yuffie's use of the manipulate materia that was what made this all possible. If it were not for the manipulation of the inside man, they doubted they would have got within the tower walls.
"I have no idea what it is though..." Yuffie expressed. They were back at her apartment, Yuffie on her feet pacing, Red laying down, and Tifa sitting down looking exhausted, "...I think the only way to tell would be to summon it...but that would not be very practical."
"For once I agree with you." Red said, looking up at her with a piercing gaze. "I mean, we would have no idea how it would react in this world, it may go rogue and destroy the city."
"So this is it is it?" Tifa asked, getting to her feet and starting to pace. "We go through all the trouble of stealing the damn thing and we don't even know what it was we stole...argh..." She suddenly put her palm on her forehead as if in pain.
"Host again?" Red and Yuffie asked at the same time.
"Yes..." Tifa replied, slowly taking her hand away, "...hasn't shut up all morning."
'Authorities have confirmed that a man has been arrested on suspicion of involvement in the crime. 42 year old Derrick Matthews was arrested earlier this morning at his home in Lewisham.'
All three of them looked at the TV, stunned. How could they possibly have known that he was involved with the crime?
"I made sure he erased all traces of the virus' he installed...there is no way..." Yuffie closed her eyes in thought. "Ah yes...I see where you are coming from..."
"Host being useful I trust?" Tifa asked, taking her eyes away from the report on the TV.
"Yes, she suspects someone might have seen us talking to him, and as we can't be identified and he can, he was the only person they could locate to arrest..." This explanation seemed to make sense, but something still did not feel right...
"I wish there was a way to shut her up!" Tifa shouted, clutching her head once more. Red was being unusually calm and gave her an all knowing look. "What!" She snapped at him angrily.
"Well, what if there is a way?" He replied, getting to his feet and stretching, almost cat like. "Remember when you first saw me, but our hosts were in control at the time? I managed to make my host forget that, and if I'm not mistaken, you did too."
Tifa tried to recall the incident he was talking about. "Alex had just had her bag stolen...right?"
"Right." Red replied. "I think the ability to make them forget has always been in our subconscious, we just need to learn how to consciously use it."
Tifa then let out a small cry of pain. "Alex can hear you, she is not happy..."
"Ok listen to me..." Red said, walking over to her, "...I think I have learnt how to do it, let me walk you through it..."
"I'm home!" Alex called as she pushed open her familiar front door. As usual there was not a huge response to this announcement, most of her family were usually out. To her surprise however, a few seconds later her mother came walking towards her from the kitchen.
"Where have you been? I tried calling you but you didn't pick up!" Alex's mum was a kind natured lady, about the same height as her daughter, with long blonde hair and hazel eyes.
"I'm sorry, I was at Shaun's, terrible signal." Alex walked straight passed her into the kitchen and got herself a drink. "Anything interesting happened whilst I've been gone?"
"Only the obvious." Her mum replied. She walked over to the TV and turned it on. "You must have heard about this, can't find anything else on at all."
Alex walked into the front room and sat down in one of the comfy arm chairs.
'Following the arrest of Derrick Matthews, Police are not entirely convinced he had any connection with the recent failed attempt that preceded this robbery at the tower, and are urging anyone to come forth with any information which they believe will help apprehend the criminals involved.'
Alex was looking at the TV, stunned. "First I have heard of this!" She continued to watch the report, however couldn't help shaking the feeling that something was wrong, it felt familiar at the same time as feeling completely alien to her.
"They'll find whoever did it, this is going to be big news for a long time though..."
The following day at college was very predictable. The theft of the sceptre from the crown jewels was all anybody was talking about. Questions went from the logical to the ridiculous. Many people were asking themselves why the thieves hadn't taken all of the jewels, and had only gone for the sceptre. Perhaps they would never know.
"Ok so it is big news..." Alex said to Josh for the umpteenth time, "...but why keep talking about it? Nobody is going to solve the mystery."
"Wow you are grumpy..." Josh replied, chuckling a little, "...I'm almost glad you didn't return any of my calls."
"I said I'm sorry!" Of course, Alex was really trying to get her head around what had happened to her. The last couple of days felt very dream like, almost unreal.
"Don't worry, I'll get back at you at fencing tomorrow." Josh teased, this was news to Alex.
"You have actually gone and signed up for it then?" She asked, looking at him with a pained expression on her face. "One little demonstration of skill in a drama class doesn't mean you can fence...no offence..."
Josh merely let this comment wash over him. "We'll see about that tomorrow."
"There is no way you will be put against me in training, I'm way too advanced for you." Alex rolled her eyes, she was not trying to be mean, but she did not see why he was getting so excited.
"We shall see my friend, we shall see..." He smiled to himself, "...anyways I'm on a free period now, so I'll see you later."
Alex went her own way to her next class, and Josh headed for the cafe to get himself a drink.
"Much more important things to think about than fencing..." Sephiroth said. Josh had the feeling that this wasn't directed at him, it was more like thinking aloud. He tried to put him out of his mind.
Entering the cafe and getting his favourite drink, Josh was struck by a sudden idea. If Sephiroth could so easily delve into his mind, would it be so difficult for him to do so in reverse? He took a sip of his drink and listened intently, though Sephiroth remained silent this time.
It took a lot of concentration, but after a while, thoughts that certainly were not Josh's started flooding into his mind. It was a whirl of colour that he could not understand, it was all happening so quickly. After a short time of seeing these images however, Sephiroth seemed to become aware that Josh was looking into his mind.
"What do you think you are doing?" He sounded quite calm, as though he had expected Josh to attempt this one day.
"I thought I would make things fair." Sephiroth said nothing to this, he was too busy wondering if Josh understood anything that he had seen, or indeed, if he had seen enough of it.
"I need to be somewhere tonight, I'm taking over once you get home." This made Josh gag on some of his drink.
"What do you mean 'taking over'?" This was not something that Josh had been prepared for.
There was a slight pause before Sephiroth answered. "You didn't expect me to stay cooped up in your mind forever now did you? I need to get some air thank you..." The false politeness in his voice made him sound even more terrifying than ever.
Josh's heart started to race. He was considering just staying in somebody's company for the next evening to stop whatever it was Sephiroth had planned from happening.
"Oh I wouldn't do that if I were you..." Sephiroth said calmly, obviously reading his thoughts. "If you do I will kill whoever you are with, make sure you are alone and you needn't fear this from happening, do you understand?"
Josh was now mortified, but replied. "...Yes." What choice did he have? He was not aware that Sephiroth would be able to completely take over his body. "So what is going to happen?"
"We swap. You stay in the mind, my physical form comes out..."
Night came along quicker than Josh wanted. The transformation from his form to Sephiroth was not what he had expected. It felt like he was on the verge of being sick, but instead of being sick, it simply went black. All he could see from then onwards was the world through Sephiroth's eyes. It was not as clear as it was through his eyes, it was like looking through a fogged up window, or as if his eyesight had just got worse. Whether or not this was Sephiroth's normal sight, he did not know, but he did not dare ask either.
"Right well first things first." Sephiroth said out loud. Josh had the feeling he had got tired of only replying by thought. His voice sounded underused. "I need to know the best place to go to find out general information."
"The internet." Josh replied. He did not know why, but it felt good to have more knowledge than this incredibly powerful person.
"Which is?" He asked. It was odd hearing him be so polite, however Josh was sure it was false.
"It's a network that the whole world can access that contains pretty much every piece of information you would ever want...or need, to know." There was a long silence, during which Sephiroth paced the length of Josh's room a good three times.
It was fortunate that nobody was home considering Sephiroth always chose to answer out loud. "And where can I access this 'internet'?" He asked, walking over to the mirror.
Josh all of a sudden felt as though he was falling, then found himself standing face to face with Sephiroth. So this was what it was like to be a parasite rather than a host... It also enabled him to talk rather than think his replies.
"Any computer that is wired up to the internet. Ours is down at the moment though. Best place you can try is the library in town, it's open until ten." Josh looked at Sephiroth's reaction to this, he seemed almost stunned.
"I find it highly inefficient to keep such a huge knowledge base in one place. I'm surprised this world isn't in ruins, knowledge is a greater power than any of us possess." He then looked at his forearm and touched a finger to it. A two green orbs rose to the surface of his skin.
"Where did you get the other one?" Josh asked, stunned.
"I didn't, I must have had it the entire time... Interesting..." He touched his forearm again and the orbs vanished beneath the skin, leaving no trace. "Direct me to the library."
Sephiroth had chosen to don some of Josh's attire so as to blend in with the crowd a bit more efficiently. This was not entirely necessary, there were so few people around at this hour that it was highly unlikely people would give him a second glance. It did not take long for him to reach the library, which was on the outskirts of town, and had become somewhat of a refuge for Josh before Sephiroth had began sharing his mind and body.
It was somewhat comical Josh teaching Sephiroth how to use the internet, however Sephiroth seemed to have an accelerated rate of learning. In no time he was browsing the internet like he had been using it since he was born. Josh found this quite remarkable.
Sephiroth looked into the screen and saw Josh's reflection looking back at him. "Can I ask what it is you are looking for?"
He continued to browse. "With you in my head I am hardly going to be able to keep it a secret for much longer..." He continued to search. "From what I can guess...and believe me when I say that my guesses are usually right, the more powerful materia in this world are appearing at landmarks or within objects of a considerable value. You saw the crown jewels theft?"
"Of course..." Josh replied from the screen. "What about them?"
Sephiroth brought up a recent image of the crown Jewels on the computer screen. "There was summon materia in that sceptre...somebody beat me too it. No matter though, I have my eyes set on an even bigger prize."
Josh did not know whether or not he wanted to ask what this 'bigger prize' was, but thought better than to push for more information. "So that's why you are looking at Stone Henge...the Eiffel Tower... and those sorts of places?"
"I do have a feeling about them yes..." He looked at more historic landmarks, "this one is likely...as is this one...not too sure about this one as it is very modern, but it will be worth a look..."
Josh found it difficult to focus, it was as though not having to be in control of a body was making his mind lethargic and sleepy.
"The library will be closed in five minutes." A voice said over the pa system.
"I think that's our cue to leave..." Sephiroth thought.
Without any hesitation he logged off of the computer and headed straight for the exit. The attendant thanked him as he left, Sephiroth however said nothing.
There was a small crowd outside, something which he was not prepared for. "A movie must have just finished." Josh said to him.
He continued to walk straight through the crowd, not wanting to be seen by anyone who could be a potential enemy, after all, any of his foes could be contained within anyone.
Josh had obviously read his thoughts. "Can you tell when there is someone else playing host?"
"No." Sephiroth replied simply, "Not yet anyway, but I couldn't sense materia before, so who knows what may happen..."
He was almost out of the crowd when Josh noticed something very strange. There was a man in dark red attire looking straight at them, and he appeared to be holding a...
"Gun!" Josh shouted, but too late. There was a deafening BANG followed by a bullet tearing its way through Sephiroth's left shoulder.
There were screams from the crowd as panic followed. Sephiroth saw his attacker who took aim, fired again and then...
There was a flash of blue light, and a sound like a gong being struck. What appeared to be a translucent barrier had formed straight in front of them. There was another shot, but this time instead of the barrier simply absorbing the bullet, it bounced back at the attacker.
"For god sake... we're out of here. I'm letting you take over when we are out of sight, the attacker won't recognise you..."
Josh was surprised how at the following day at college nobody had heard about the gunman in town. He was certain the news would have spread just as fast as the crown jewels theft, but nobody said a word about it.
"Very odd indeed..." Sephiroth agreed with him. Josh was starting to get sick of the whole thought sharing process...
The day was like any other, and Josh had completely forgotten about fencing after college until Alex brought the subject up.
"You going to put me in my place then I take it?" She teased, Josh said nothing. "...I'm only joking! Jesus what is up with you? You've been acting very odd today."
Josh was strongly considering telling Alex everything. He trusted her so much, but would she think he was crazy?
"Don't consider it, you know what I will do..." Josh gulped.
After college Alex and Josh made their way to the sports centre where Alex took her fencing lessons. Josh could not help but feel overconfident, sharing his mind and body with Sephiroth was bound to make him a cut above the rest after all.
"Hello Josh, I'm Sophie your instructor." A woman black hair tied back neatly said to Josh upon entering. "Have you done any fencing before?"
"No I haven't..." Josh replied.
"That's ok, we will just stick to basics today just to introduce you to it."
Everybody got changed into their fencing gear and prepared for the class. Much to everybody's complete shock, Josh appeared to be very talented with a sword. Alex was watching him very closely, it was almost as though he had been training in secret.
"You are a natural!" Sophie said to him, having just watched him beat an intermediate student hands down. "But don't get complacent, let's see how you do against...Alex!"
This was exactly what she had been hoping for. So he had got lucky up until now, it would be nothing that Alex couldn't handle. "Let me show you how to fence properly." She winked at him.
"Destroy her..." Sephiroth said to Josh.
The match was a very close fight. It seemed that both fighters were able to read each other's moves perfectly. Alex however, prevailed in the end. The rest of the class had stopped training just to watch the fight. They all burst into applause.
"Impossible..." Sephiroth muttered, "...But interesting..."
"Alex something is wrong..." Tifa said to her, worried, "...how is he so good?"
"He must just be a natural..."
A/N. Hopefully the story is beginning to make sense hehe, it all comes together nicely we promise you :). Let us know what you thought in a review!
R&A