Whether she liked it or not, Eloise decided to help Rufus. She had the pride of an ex-SOLDIER and she lived for a long time among proud and honorable men so she couldn't go back on her word. Cloud found her right when she was getting ready.

"So you're actually going to help Rufus,"

That wasn't a question but a statement that surprised even the most apathetic man. Cloud crossed his arms and leaned against the doorframe with a grin.

Eloise was moving around without much of an aim. She didn't have to do anything but leave the house. She was fully prepared for a battle and had the dormant mako energy that she had not used in a long time due to mental and emotional risks. Besides, she didn't really have a sword anymore so she had to use an electric rod which was funny considering Eloise used to be Cloud's trainer.

"What have you done with your sword? It's been a while since you last used it." Cloud asked. He couldn't see exactly what she was doing because she had her back turned to him.

"I don't have one anymore," she muttered.

Cloud wasn't sure he heard that right. He took a few steps towards her but stopped when she suddenly faced him. She looked completely normal.

"I lost it. It's probably destroyed somewhere in the desert." She said and blinked innocently walking right past him. Cloud watched her with a confused expression.

Eloise was walking down the stairs when she felt a sudden pain in her abdomen. It wasn't that strong but she still had to take a seat for a moment.

"Not now. It's been a few weeks. I don't want it now." Eloise groaned.

She was holding onto herself, swaying back and forth. Cloud watched her with worry. A few seconds later, she got up and walked out like nothing happened in the first place. He could understand why Tifa wanted to keep an eye on her.

Since Eloise still had her own motorcycle, she didn't even bother with the so-called bodyguard who came to give her a ride. She rolled her eyes and started the engine, not happy that Shinra ordered someone to watch her. The bodyguard kept close but at one point on the way, he took a turn and went somewhere else.

Thankfully, Reno and Rude were patrolling the company since Shinra had to leave for a congress and Tseng accompanied him for the ride. The rest of the turks were around, surveying the roads. Eloise noticed the extreme measures taken and understood that this stalker must be pretty serious.

"So you came, huh? I'm a little surprised. Did he make you agree with only a dance?" Reno asked with a shadow if a smirk as soon as she stopped between him and Rude.

Eloise stared at the red-haired man in front of her with a poker face. He was a good friend but Eloise was not in a state of mind that allowed her to be as easy-going as she used to.

"Sure. A dance." She replied, not wanting to overcomplicate her reason for helping. Reno smiled happily and leaned against his motorbike. "I've done worse for less. You know that." She added.

"You bet. Oh, you should come around the company sometimes. It's really fun. The new recruits are playful and we got some girl soldiers this time around," He started looking genuinely happy. He really wanted to get her back to whoever she was before. "At least, let's go for a drink sometimes. You and I, like old times. We can visit Sector 8. It's still standing."

"You won't back down no matter what, huh?" She chuckled and patted his shoulder. "Alright. You got yourself a date, then."

Reno's smile widened at the thought of hanging out with her. She may actually relax and enjoy her life again. Or maybe not, but Reno was optimistic.

Even if Eloise didn't want to admit it, she missed the adrenaline of a mission. She was watching Rufus' car drive to what looked like a really flashy hotel. The media was already fussing around it and she noticed five paparazzi spread around the place. Most of them were trying to keep a low profile so from her experience, it was too easy to hide in the open for someone who liked psychological games.

"Rufust must have really pissed this person off. He can easily infiltrate his house at night but by day it's a completely different thing. If he planted bugs around his house, then he just wants to frighten him. He never intended to hurt him," Eloise spoke to herself.

She surveyed the surrounding buildings. Most of them were tall and newly constructed. They were also inhabited. Her eyes moved up and the hotel was taller than the apartment building. But, on the other side, he might not even be up there.

"Hmm,"

She needed to find someplace that would look remotely easy to hide in. On the first floor of the building were two shops and a coffee place. She got off her bike and walked towards it. She glanced to the left and to the right but the street wasn't very populated. Besides, most people were watching the Shinra president.

"If I want to kill Rufus, where would I hide?"

Eloise had quite a few options written somewhere. No, she had an entire list but this guy had different motives. She sighed and rubbed her head, realizing that this mission was going to take longer than she thought. She frowned when she felt her sideburn and she cringed but tried not to express how much it actually hurt. The former soldier calmed herself down and took a deep breath in only to let it out slowly. She was fine. She was going to be fine.

"Alright,"

She glanced at the hotel entrance. Rufus already entered and Tseng was keeping the press away.

The whole congress went pretty well. It took around three hours and nothing unusual happened. Eloise was patrolling on the first floor when she heard some weird knocking noise. She closed her eyes and focused on it but the echo made everything harder so she opened her eyes and went with her experienced gut feeling. She stopped in front of the elevator and waited for it to reach her level. That brought back memories.

And who might you be?" He asked but she didn't respond. "Aren't you going to respond to my question, newbie?"

She rolled her eyes and glanced at him over her shoulder. Her eyes widened, surprised by what was standing there nonchalantly. He was taller than her, he was very handsome, he had red hair and he was carrying a book. But, what impressed Eloise were his eyes; his eyes were mako infused too but so clear and beautiful.

"I should stop thinking about unnecessary things," She muttered and sighed.

Eloise bit her lip and glanced at the elevator. It stopped between the second and third levels which was suspicious enough.

"But I'm sure he didn't plant a bomb there. It's too obvious, isn't it?" she muttered to herself.

She grabbed her phone and called Reno. She told him to go check the second and third floors because something still didn't seem right. Didn't he just want to torture Rufus mentally?

"Eloise, the president will walk out in a few minutes,"

She nodded. Tseng walked back into the room only to get out a few moments later with Rufus, who walked past her with a happy smile and no worries. She shook her head when he waved at her.

Eloise followed them out when her eyes widened at the pitched noise that meant the elevator arrived. She returned to it as the doors opened and she realized what happened in between the floors. He didn't plant a bomb. It was worse.

"A summoned creature," She hadn't seen something like that in a long time. It was a little melancholic actually. She ran to Tseng and told him to get Rufus out of there. He frowned. "It's summoning materia. If you don't take him out of here, he'll get sucked into it."

Tseng nodded and grabbed Rufus' arm. Everyone got alarmed and ran out. It was only her inside the hall and she waited for something to happen but it didn't. The small ball of materia was standing there innocently. She touched it and realized that although it looked like summoning materia, it was not. He fooled them.

She moved the ball around, just in case. It was suspicious, he planted simple materia to scare them but if he could plant materia in the elevator, he could place it in the car too. No one really stayed behind to watch the car.

"Right,"

It finally made sense. It was the easiest and most used way in movies. He was probably really young; a thug with some bad family background. She had no choice but to call Tseng again but he didn't pick up. When she walked out, she found out why. He was on the ground, unconscious, and no sight of the car or Rufus.

"Great," She rolled her eyes and ran to her bike.

From what she could find out, Rufus didn't have anything else in the schedule for the day therefore, the kidnapper could do anything he wanted, for how long he wanted. Reno and Rude were already surveying the city from the helicopter.

"Yo, Eloise. You better turn right at the next light. He's taking Rufus to the older parts of Midgar."

She nodded and followed his instructions.

"Now, go forward 3 miles before you have to turn right again. You'll see an abandoned building. He should be in there."

"Roger that," She said and moved even faster.

She got there in record time. Once she got off and started to walk around, it felt strange. She didn't feel watched by the culprit it felt more like someone was evaluating her skills from afar. She could swear she saw someone look at her from behind a corner, a tall guy but that was all she could find out. It was too far.

Her attention moved to the task at hand quickly. She had to ascend the stairs to the fourth floor until she finally heard gunshots. She sneaked around and noticed Rufus' blond hair. He wasn't hurt, yet.

"Rufus Shinra. I finally got you where I wanted to." The culprit was a young man. He looked to be around Cloud's age. "You're the reason why my family died!" It was the same old reason. The man grabbed Rufus' by the hair and shook him a little. "You know, my father was one of the few shippers of the new world. He believed that Sephiroth could create a better Earth. My mother was born in Nibelheim and she survived the fire. Do you know why? Because Sephiroth saw something in her. He let her leave."

Eloise raised an eyebrow. That was a new addition to the usual hatred towards Shinra.

"Sephiroth was the good guy, not you."

Well, Rufus was just a child when that happened. It wasn't really his fault. He was just the unfortunate punching bag.

"Sephiroth was evil. My father did everything to destroy him. He deserved to die." Rufus said, getting kicked in the chin in return.

"Wrong! You're full of lies! Exactly like your father!"

Rufus couldn't deny that. He lied a lot to his people because he needed a better image than his father's.

"We need to sacrifice ourselves for a better future. When Sephiroth returned, you killed him again! Are you happy with how this world is? Because I am not. You're going to sacrifice for us, Shinra."

Eloise watched the man get a knife out of his pocket, which to be honest was a little disappointing. She had higher expectations from someone who tried so hard to mess with Shinra's head.

The man was ready to stab Rufus in the shoulder when he heard a small groan. His head snapped to the place Eloise was hiding and got ready to surprise her and stab her to death. However, he didn't find anything behind the wall.

"You're not quite what I was expecting," She said as she grabbed his arm and twisted it behind.

He groaned and tried to kick her. She tilted her head to the side and threw him next to Rufus before she bent to his level and pushed the knife away.

"What are you doing? Don't you want him dead, too? He only reminds us of bad times!" The man moaned.

Eloise glanced at Shinra before she looked at this poor man pitifully.

"Do you want me to tell you why Sephiroth had to be killed?" Eloise started in a controlled tone.

"He wasn't a monster. He wanted to create-" She stopped him.

"A new world. One where no one would suffer or be used. He wanted that but it came with a big price. He wanted to rebuild this world from nothing. He wanted to destroy Earth, destroy life. Your mother was not allowed to live, she was just lucky enough to survive. Sephiroth did not care for anyone," Eloise explained bitterly. She could feel Shinra's eyes on the back of her head and it was annoying.

"He would have made a better leader than Shinra," The man said meekly.

She chuckled and glanced at Rufus. He still had tape covering his mouth which was a bit funny. He was also scratched and looked like he had better days.

"That's what you think. But you were only a child when Sephiroth went crazy. He wouldn't have made a good leader because he suffered his entire life. You can't make someone born to become a monster change over the night into a hero. What you can do is stop him from hurting himself and others. That's why he had to be killed. Because nothing good ever comes out of suffering,"

"You speak as if you knew him. Even your eyes-your eyes look so familiar," The man whispered taking a closer look at this soldier.

"These are the eyes of a monster." She whispered in his ear before she punched him so hard that he fell unconscious.

She didn't want to kill the man but she was sure he was either going to pester Rufus continuously or pester her. She didn't like her options so she decided to turn to Shinra and free him. Once he was able to move freely, Rufus grabbed the knife and plunged it deep into that man's heart several times.

"Done. You're getting rusty, Eloise. Where is that blue energy of yours?" he asked wiping the blood on his pants.

"Reno is already here. Just leave already," Eloise said still staring at the dead man.

The blonde waved before he walked away.

Once left alone, she couldn't deny the pity she felt for that young man. He was one of the few people who had different beliefs regarding Sephiroth. Of course, he wasn't aware of the monstrous being called Sephiroth. He didn't go through the pain as much as others did.

"But I didn't either,"

It was a reminder that she had run away. She was afraid that if she would see him, she would run into his arms and become a child again. No matter what, Sephiroth had been a brotherly figure for her, and after everything that happened, she was probably still not able to hurt his memory.

Eloise walked towards the edge of the floor which was wreck and the walls were half broken. She closed her eyes and sighed. Suddenly, the pain in her abdomen came back, even worse than before. She touched that specific spot and felt it wet. She was bleeding and from what she could see, it was quite severe. What really scared her was the small blue sparkles that appeared within her blood. Her breath became heavier and she stumbled a little. In the end, she fell on her knees and gripped her side tighter.

"Why do you always bring me here?"

Like the last time she fainted, Sephiroth appeared in front of her. He took a few steps closer and placed his hand over her head.

"You're still a kid, Eloise," He said caressing her hair gently. "Every time I induce this state to you, something dangerous happens outside."

"I know that. My brother died while you kept me here," she said glaring up at her former mentor but she didn't shake his hand away.

"I saved your life," Sephiroth said. He kept her safe while her brother sacrificed himself. Even though his words were meant for comfort, she felt none.

"I know why you started this again. It's about the help I have to give you. One tooth for another, as they say,"

He tilted his head to the side and watched her in silence.

"You still don't understand. The Reunion is not about me or you; it's about something greater than Jenova. Remember the story of the three friends, Eloise?"

"Three friends went to search for the gift of the goddess. They lost each other on the way and they faded away slowly. One of them caught a glimpse of what the gift was,"

"And what was that gift?" She was ready to respond but he silenced her. "No one knew. They all had their own theories yet the one who saw it didn't live enough to tell about it. You guessed right, though. The gift of the goddess is life."

"But everyone died," she added knowing where he was going with this story.

"Is that correct? The gift may as well be in the remaining Jenova cells. You and Cloud,"

"And Genesis. Isn't that your point? Genesis didn't die,"

Sephiroth turned to her and tilted his head questioningly.

"Why would Genesis be important in this matter? He was a failure,"

"Because Genesis is my weakness as much as I was yours. You can't kill me nor can I kill you and not because I had been recreated from your cells but because of our bond as mentor and mentee. You're going to exploit my feelings," she explained staring into his eyes.

"I don't want to exploit you, Eloise. No matter how well you think you know me, you can't read my mind. I don't want to turn you against what you love,"

"You're just like the rest," she said with a scoff.

"Tell me, Eloise. What would you do to get Zack back, even for a moment?"

She looked straight into his eyes and replied with no trace of regret or second thoughts.

"Anything,"

It pleased Sephiroth because it brought a content smile to his face.

"Good."

That was the end of their discussion. He started to fade into dust and she was sure she was going to wake up soon.