Another chapter is here.

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"Sephiroth is dead," Cloud said, walking through the passage leading to the elevator with the others. His tone was hard and firm, assurance in his voice that supported his belief as he spoke. "I saw him die."

"Your memory is spotty," Crimson reminded him. "That was the reason we originally came to Midgar, to help treat it."

Cloud couldn't help but feel it was condescending in the way she said that. "You don't imagine getting run through by a sword that size and then lifted into the air by it. I know I tossed him and it down the Mako Reactor."

"The body was never found according to the records," Crimson pointed out. "And Sephiroth was abnormal even by SOLDIER standards. While high exposure to mako has detrimental results to everything it touches, there's no telling what it did to him. For all we know, he could have survived and waited until he recovered before attacking."

The building shuddered again, and the sound of metal being twisted could be heard alongside screams through the walls.

"Um, maybe we should actually see it for ourselves before making assumptions?" Aerith wisely suggested.

Red XIII agreed wholeheartedly. "Yes. It would be more prudent to have this conversation after we have all the facts and have removed ourselves from immediate danger."

That shelved the conversation and Crimson pressed the button to open the elevator doors. The shutters parted and a metal grate on the interior rose to reveal it was less of an elevator and more of a platform that could ascend and descend through a hydraulic lift. It could support more weight compared to the regular elevators, no doubt for the various samples that were brought into the lab. They bundled into it and the platform shuddered before it slowly descended towards the underground parking lot.

Cloud found the atmosphere suffocating as hatred for Sephiroth stewed in his chest. His home burned, and he thought Tifa had died. If he really was back, then it meant that Cloud had left them un-avenged and that was unacceptable. He would have to make sure that Sephiroth died this time.

But… could he really do it?

He was a former SOLDIER, First-Class. Of that he had no doubt. But Sephiroth was easily the greatest SOLDIER that had ever lived, and his strength was monstrous.

The platform came to a halt and the shutters opened, signaling the end of the ride. He stepped out before the others and found himself in the underground parking lot, rows of civilian vehicles sitting next to one another. The sounds of battle could be heard coming from the slope leading out of the lot and to the surface that curved into the highway. He scaled the slope and caught sight of his fears being confirmed.

Moving fluidly through the air, the long and folded metal that made up his elongated blade cleaved through armor and bodies as easily as paper. Blood and visceral fluids painted the concrete surrounding the building, while flames danced on the carcasses of machines of war built to fend off attackers. Walking astride the dying security forces, Sephiroth came to a pause from his advance long enough to look over his shoulder.

Their eyes met for a brief moment, and it was enough for unholy agony to run rampant in Cloud's mind as something ate away at his sanity from the inside out. It was violating his mind, tearing bits and pieces away, while he clawed at his skull. He thought his mind was going to break entirely, only to see stars falling down.

Then the sweet bliss of unconsciousness ended his suffering.

[-oOo-]

Crimson allowed Tifa catch Cloud before he hit the ground as she put away the Sleep Materia that she had fortunately kept on her. It was easier to put him to sleep than see him react like that. It was possibly the worst reaction to date.

Now she was left staring down that monster, clad in black while his long, silver hair flowed down his back. Fear lurked in her blood, spreading with every beat of her heart. Thankfully, his eyes didn't linger on her for long. Instead they turned skyward, to where a helicopter loitered above.

She recognized it as the President's personal aircraft, meant for travel between Midgar and Junon. Was he going to take it to escape? It didn't matter.

Sephiroth flicked his wrist and cut the air with his sword. A blade of energy flew out and cleaved the helicopter in two. The pieces fell down and unceremoniously crashed into the ground, turning into another burning husk of metal. Another flick of the wrist destroyed the elevator shafts that ran up towards the President's office.

"This is horrible," Aerith said, staring out at the destruction as a number of other guards and military forces poured out of the entrance with weapons.

They sprayed out gunfire in concert, only for the bullets to harmlessly bounce off his tempered skin. Their futile efforts were then reinforced as infantrymen kneeled down and used shoulder-mounted rocket launchers. The rockets struck home and bloomed into flame and smoke. Both easily rolled off his skin as he stepped forward without any hesitation.

"This cannot be called a battle," Red XIII noted as the long sword lashed out and began cutting them to pieces, despite their best efforts. He felt nothing for those who helped imprison him, but even he recognized how one-sided the affair was. "This is a slaughter."

Crimson was inclined to agree with him as blast shutters descended to cover the entrance now that there was no one left to throw at him outside the building. They were made from some of the strongest metal to be found on the planet. His sword ran through it like a hot knife through butter, carving an opening for him to stride through.

It was then that a van pulled up at the entrance and flashed its lights at them. Kunsel stuck his head out of the window. He looked at the destruction and cringed, creases forming on his forehead. "What happened here?"

"That's our ride out of here," Crimson said, turning away from the futile sounds of gunfire coming from the inside. It proved harder to do than she would have liked. How many innocent people would he kill to get to the President?

Not everyone in the building shared the company's sins and deserved to die. Most were just regular people trying to earn a living. It was just that the cruel minority had a majority of the power. Either way, there was nothing she could do.

The others climbed into the back of the van while she took the seat next to the Second-Class SOLDIER, and they drove away.

[-oOo-]

Tseng woke with the taste of blood in his mouth and dust scratching the inside of his nose. He was on the ground, buried beneath the heavy metal desk and broken glass that once made up the monitors and lights of the surveillance room. Every inch of his body ached, thin slips of glass from the shattered bulbs piercing his suit and digging into his skin, and at least one of his arms was broken.

"Hurry up!" came Elena's voice. Judging by how muffled it was, there was a door between them. "Rude, get the door open!"

There was a heavy sound of metal smashing against metal. It was thick and dense from what he could hear. Taking into account Rude being the cause of it, it must've been a portable battering ram that was stored on the floor with the guards' equipment.

"Put your back into it!" Elena yelled. "You help too, Reno!"

"You need to relax," Reno said. It was compounded by Rude's continued pounding at the door. The metal groaned with the following hit, and light spilled in from a crevice in the door that had formed. It was a floodlight, and it skimmed over the floor until it washed over him. "Found him."

There were sounds of struggle between Elena and Reno from what he could tell, with Elena's voice booming over Reno's. "Sir, it's Elena! Are you okay?"

"I'm pinned down," he stated, keeping his voice level. "One arm broken, minor fragments of glass embedded in my skin. It's nothing severe."

She didn't seem to think that was the case. "Hold on, we're almost through, Sir! Get this door down now!"

Rude grunted once, affirming the order, and started hammering away again. The gong-like sounds increased as the ram began to break through more and more. Then the door gave a death knell as one hit finally succeeded in breaking it down, the metal crashing onto the ground.

Glass was crunched beneath their shoes as the three Turks filed in, rushing towards him. Reno and Rude lifted the desk off of him, while Elena crouched down and helped him to his feet.

His muscles ached as he did so, but he paid it little mind. The first words out of his mouth were, "Debrief me on the situation."

Reno did so. "The President is dead, ran through by Sephiroth's sword. In the process, we estimated that at least 70% of the staff was killed. Virtually all of the guards and military forces were wiped out. Fortunately, the executives are situated in the underground emergency shelter, safe and sound."

Those losses weren't insignificant, but as long as the most important members were safe then they could recover. "What of the Ancient?"

"She escaped," Reno said. "I went to check on her only to run into one of the surviving scientists, Hojo's second. He stated she was freed from the lab just before the attack by a number of intruders disguised as infantrymen. One of the descriptions match former agent Cissnei."

Elena seemed to bristle at the knowledge that the traitor in their ranks was still alive. "She survived the plate dropping?"

Reno shrugged. "I had her trapped in a Pyramid before I left. If she survived then she had help. Either way, she was here with that Cloud guy and one other person. They got her out of the cage, freed one of the samples, and then killed another before escaping."

Tseng let out a breath he didn't know he was holding, just subtle enough to go unnoticed. Aerith was safe. If there was anything positive to take from this travesty, it was that she and the rest of the Turks were safe.

With that in mind, he got back to his duty. "Reno, inform the Junon branch and the Vice-President of the situation. Have him deploy the emergency and rescue services as soon as possible."

Reno gave a short bow of compliance and then spun on the sole of his shoes towards the exit to follow his orders.

Tseng turned to the largest of the group next. "Rude, continue search and rescue for survivors in the building. If there are any able-bodied men around then have them contribute in the search. Send the lightly injured and women to someplace open and safe. If you can't move someone because of their injury, clear the area so that when the rescue services arrive they can reach them easier."

Rude nodded his head and then left to do that, stepping over a fallen chair in the process and picking up the battering ram.

Last, Tseng turned to the newest recruit. "Elena, go and inform the executives in the underground bunker of the situation. I'll see what data can be salvaged here."

She hesitated, in contrast to the other two. "But your injuries?"

"The job comes first," he stated tersely. "None of these are fatal and you have your orders, so carry them out."

She flinched back at his tone, but nodded. "Yes, sir…."

He watched her go, thinking that his words came out harsher than he expected. But it was necessary. They had a job to do, even if the President had been killed. The head of the company might change, but the company itself would endure. It was their duty to see to that.

…That didn't mean he wouldn't apologize once things settled down.

[-oOo-]

"Okay, here we are," Kunsel said as the van came to a stop in the Sector 5 Slums. They were just outside the house of Aerith and Elmyra. He decided he could use the fresh air as well and left the vehicle.

The back doors of the van opened and the party stepped out onto the ground. Aerith headed towards her home, hesitation and worry on her face. Tifa stretched her legs and looked towards the van, waiting for Cloud to step out of it a moment later.

Red XIII ventured into the flower field, looking around in curiosity and amazement. He leaned his head back and caught the scent of the flowers. "Fascinating… I never imagined such a place could dwell here."

Crimson was the sole exception, remaining where she was in the front seat. She was looking over a map to try and figure out where to go next. Shinra wouldn't be an immediate problem with the damage done, but they couldn't stay in Midgar. It was only a matter of time before they organized themselves well enough to put together an assault team to come after them. And then, with Hojo escaping, she had lost her main lead in helping Cloud.

There was a tap on the window that drew her out of her thoughts. She turned to see that Cloud was outside, arms crossed as he stood there waiting. She opened the door and stood next to him. "You're okay now?"

"Yeah." Even though he said that, she thought she could hear otherwise in his tone. "Listen, I've been thinking about things… and I've decided that I need to settle the score with Sephiroth."

"You'll die," she said, as an absolute matter-of-fact. "Do you not remember what just happened?"

"I'll manage," he claimed. "I just can't let what he's done to my home go. It was one thing when I thought he was dead. I wanted to thank you for everything, but it's best if we part ways now."

Crimson sighed and brought her palms to her eyes, covering them as she put her thoughts in order. She did not need the additional stress. Between Gongaga, being attacked by her old friends, the plate being dropped on the Sector 7 Slums, and Sephiroth's reappearance, this was the last thing she needed to hear. "Where are you going to look for him?"

Cloud looked down to the ground. "Not sure, but I'll find—"

She cut him off. "You don't know where he is, meaning you'll have to keep looking around. Where are you going to start?"

He opened his mouth to speak, but she cut him off again.

"You don't know that either." She poked him in the chest and looked defiantly in his eyes. "So you don't know where to look. You don't know where to start. And you're trying to get rid of me to go and commit suicide?"

"I'm trying to keep you safe!" Cloud stated. "It's not something I can bring you or anyone else along with me to do!"

"That's not your call!" She all but yelled at him. The eyes of the others fell onto her, and she suddenly felt ashamed at her lack of composure. She turned and left, heading towards the direction of the Church.

Tifa approached him next, hands on her hips. "Were you going to leave me behind as well?"

"I thought he killed you before," Cloud began. "When I found out you were alive, I was happy. I don't want to risk losing you again. I'm sorry."

Tifa didn't get mad like Cissnei. Instead, she gave him a disappointed look and then went over to where Red XIII was. She sat down next to him and looked to the flowers, conversing lowly with the flame-tailed creature.

Meanwhile, Kunsel started at him from behind his shades. His eyebrows were raised over the lenses. "You're not really familiar with women, are you?"

"What did I do?" he asked, honestly at that.

Kunsel sighed before nodding his head towards the direction of the playground. "Come with me. We need to talk."

[-oOo-]

Aerith opened the door to her home to find her mother on the couch, asleep. Elmyra's eyes were closed in slumber, but her face was tightened into a worried frown. Her own expression grew crestfallen at the sight of how she had worried her… and how she would no doubt do so again.

She stepped gingerly across the floor and crouched down to gently touch her adoptive mother's cheek. "Mother?"

The words of her adoptive daughter stirred her awake. Tears moistened her eyes as she reached up and wrapped her arms around Aerith. "You're back! Did they hurt you?"

Aerith shook her head, bringing her arms around her adoptive mother and holding her tight. "No, I'm fine. The others came and got me before things got really bad, but… I have to leave with them."

The happiness in her eyes faded as her brows furrowed in questioning. "Why?"

"There's many things I need to know," Aerith said. "I heard the voices while I was captured, the planet… it needs me."

"I need you with me!" Elmyra pleaded. Her voice was raw with worry, pained at its core. "I need you to be safe."

"I know, but I have to do this," Aerith insisted gently. "If I don't, then I feel that the planet itself will suffer for it—you included."

"But where will you go?" Elmyra asked.

"I can't tell you," Aerith said, the words catching in her throat. "Shinra will come looking for me in a few hours at best, so I have to leave when the others do. If I tell you, they'll try to force the answers out of you. But that man, Tseng, will know that you're telling the truth, and he'll stop them from hurting you to get to me—I know he will."

Elmyra shed tears from the corners of her eyes, leaving them to trickle down the lines of worry unhindered that formed. But there was a smile on her face. Not a happy one, or sad one, but one of resignation. "I can't stop you, can I?"

Aerith shook her head and then laid it on her mother's shoulders. "I'm sorry for leaving you like this all of a sudden. I'll stay safe and come back to you, I promise."

"You better," her adoptive mother said, tightening her embrace. "I don't want to lose you too."

They stayed like that, in silence, for the last moments they would be able share as a family for some time.