Chapter 08

Barret stared in disbeilef at the town square of North Corel. His mouth hung open, and he held his arms up high in a surrender to the heavens.

"My...god..."

The flames made his skin sweat, the heat overwhelming. People were running through the street, the Corel fire department was already on the scene fighting the blaze in several buildings. Barret watched as storekeepers stood outside their shops, shaking their heads in despair. The paramedics were dragging the injured away on stretchers. Wanda, Barret's secretary, was limping with a crutch towards Barret, coming from where an EMT had released her.

"Mayor Wallace..." she coughed, her face black with ashes. "You're here..."

Barret ran to her. "What happened here, Wanda?" he demanded. "What happened?!"

"Oh, mayor, it was awful," Wanda said in a choked sob. "I was outside the office on my lunch break. I had just picked up lunch down the street, and I was going to eat it in the office. I came up to the office, and when I was a few feet away, it exploded! If I would have been inside..."

She leaned on her crutch and threw her arms in the air. "The blast threw me back onto the ground several feet," she continued. "The whole place went up in flames. Then, the item shop next door caught fire, and then the materia shop, and Jolie's Garment store..."

"The bomb was in my office!" Barret concluded, turning around to the shocked and horrified faces of Striker, Yuffie, and Kat. "They planted it in my office!"

"We never thought to look there," Striker said, shaking his head and biting his lower lip.

"What's going on, Mayor?" Wanda asked. "You knew of this?"

Barret shook his head. "Nevermind, Wanda. How much damage was done? Was anybody killed?"

"I think only one person, an elderly man that couldn't get out of his bedroom. He was the item shop keeper's uncle. He stayed in the top floor of the item shop and they couldn't get to him in time."

Barret squeezed his good fist tightly.

"There were alot of other casualties," Wanda continued. "Some people broke their legs jumping out of windows. Alot of customers that were in the stores are suffering smoke innhalation. Thank goodness it didn't reach the residential area, though. It only destroyed the shops and most of the business district."

"Damn," Barret growled. "We just finally got Corel on its feet, rebuilding it... and it gets burned down again!"

Wanda began to sob again.

Sirens were going off as Striker put a hand to Barret's shoulder. The big man shook his head again.

"I'll kill em all!" he roared.

"Kill who?" Wanda asked. "Mayor, who did this to us?"

Barret was about to answer when he heard a woman's voice calling his name. He turned to see Dion parked outside of the police tape that was blocking the crime scene. She was poking her head out of her car window and waving her hand.

Barret excused himself and jogged across the square to were Dion was parked.

"Barret!" She cried as he approached. "God, its awful. We heard it all the way at the house. What's happened?"

"Them damn Ross," he growled. He looked in the passenger seat to see Marlene seated with a sad expression on her face.

"Hey, honey," Barret said. "Are you alright?"

"Yes, Daddy," Marlene answered in a small voice. "What's going on? Are all the stores gonna close again?"

Barret felt a strike of pain in his heart at hearing his daughter's innocent question. "I hope not, babe."

He turned to Dion. "Go back home," he said. "I've got to make sure everything is taken care of. I've got the others with me. I'm gonna have to figure out how to deal with this."

Dion leaned foward and kissed Barret's cheek. "You'll be alright, we all will. I'll see you when you get home."

Barret nodded as Dion backed up and headed back for the residential district.

When he returned to his group, Kat was consoling Wanda while Yuffie was standing with her back to the mayhem that was the business district. Striker was pacing back and forth, his ear pressed to his PHS.

"Who is that, man?" Barret asked.

"I'm trying to get Reeve on the phone for some help, but I keep getting fowarded to his desk."

"Forget it," Barret said. "Lets just go in there and see if we can help the rescue teams.

Yuffie suddenly whirled around, and Barret was surprised to see there were firey tears in her eyes. "I say we go back and kill all of those bastards!" she announced. "They can't get away with this!"

Barret nodded. "I agree with you, Yuffie. I want to blow each and everyone of their heads off for ruining Corel again."

"But... it probably won't work," he continued, his shoulders slumping. "They're only Ross's cronies anyway. They'll probably find another way to outsmart us and we'll only be wasting our time."

"Let's go help out for a while, at least until the fires are under control and I know everyone is safe. Then we'll go home and try to figure out our next move. We don't have Cloud around and Tifa and the others are busy taking care of their own problems. We'll keep trying Reeve, and God so help me if I don't put a bullet through Ross's skull myself."

Barret ended his speech with a nod, turned towards the fires that were still buring Corel's business district down, with Striker, Kat, and Yuffie behind him.

"Lucricia, I'm beginning to think this isn't such a good idea."

Lucrecia put the buggy in park outside of Nibelheim and turned to look at Vincent, who had drawn his cape up all the way over his mouth. His red eyes were gleaming, staring at her intently.

Lucrecia reached up and gently lowered the cape from Vincent's face. She traced his lips with her fingers.

"Vincent, love," she said in a quiet, serious voice. "I am a scientist. I've always been one. I've worked with Hojo, and I know how he worked."

"What good will come of this?" he asked her.

"Your freedom from your demons, Vincent," she told him. "I'm sure Hojo left notes on what happened to both of us. I'm sure I can figure out how to reverse it."

"These demons have been part of me so long, Lucrecia," Vincent said. "Perhaps I cannot live without them."

"Nonsense," Lucrecia said. She pursed her lips together. "Vincent, no matter how promising immoratality may sound, I do not want to live forever. But that is the fate we have resigned to. All of our friends will die before us. Sephiroth will die before me. If we have children, we will watch them die. We are forever trapped in the age of twenty-seven, though our minds far exceed that age."

"Jenova has locked me in time, as Hojo has done you," she continued. "And Hojo has altered your life in many ways. Don't you want to be free? Don't you want to be normal? Don't you want to be..."

"Human," Vincent finished gravely for her.

Lucrecia swallowed. "Yes, well... I supposed that is one way to put it."

Vincent looked out of the front window of the buggy at the sleepy town of Nibelheim. He nodded slowly.

"If this is what you want, Lucrecia, then I will not object."

"I only want what's best for us both," she told him.

Vincent said nothing else as he followed Lucrecia out of the buggy and into Nibelheim. He noticed how she shuddered as they entered the town.

"It's been so long..." she said, mostly to herself.

The town was rather subdued at this time in the afternoon, something Vincent thought strange. But then, there was always something strange about Nibelheim, ever since Shin-Ra corrupted it, starting thirty years ago.

Vincent was lost in his own thoughts when Lucrecia suddenly stopped short in front of him. He looked up to see they were standing in front of the Shin-Ra Mansion, Lucrecia's eyes transfixed on the worn building.

"Lucrecia," Vincent said.

Lucrecia suddenly turned away from the mansion, bringing her hands to her mouth. She felt nauseated by the memories that flooded her mind.

Vincent wrapped his arm around her shoulder. "Lucrecia, darling... we don't have to do this. We can go back. Forget about it."

Lucrecia squeezed her eyes shut tight and suddenly opened them again. "No!" She protested. "We must face our demons. We will!"

She whirled away from Vincent and began to march towards the Mansion with grim determination.

Vincent sighed at her stubbornness and followed her.

Once inside the mansion, Vincent took the lead and warned Lucrecia of the dangers and monsters that lie within the mansion. She stayed close to him, backing away only when he confronted a monster. She was impressed with his ability to destroy the creatures quickly, and was very happy to have him along to protect her.

They descended the rackety spiral staircase that led to the basement down below. Lucrecia looked at the walls around her. She remembered years ago, when the walls were brand new, not covered with cobwebs and dust. The stairway wasn't so beaten and worn, and the place wasn't so scary, so frightening.

They walked through the hall leading to the library. It was dirty and dank, Lucrecia noticed. She remembered a time when it was carpeted, when lab assitants and Turks and Professors Gast and Hojo would pass through it all the time, everyday. Back them, the Mansion was a homely place, with lovely bedrooms and comfortable places to work.

It had turned into a nightmare.

Vincent ignored the secret coffin room where Hojo had locked him away for the better part of his life, moving foward to open the door to the library. He pushed it open and searched in the darkness for the light switch.

He would not let Lucrecia pass until he had found the switch. When the light flooded into the room, he heard Lucrecia gasp slightly behind him. She pushed passed him and stood in the center of the library.

She looked around in wonder at the dusty shelves and lab tables, her mind going back thirty years when this room was a bustling laboratory. She could picture Gast coming from his desk in the rear of the library, a petri dish in hands as he presented it to another lab assitant. She could see Hojo in the corner, hunched over some samples, peering around as if he wanted no one to see what he was doing. She could see Vincent, in his Turk uniform, coming to the door to take her out during her lunch break. And she could see Hojo scowling as she ran to embrace him.

"Take only a thirty minute lunch today, Lucrecia," he would say.

Vincent watched Lucrecia as she walked around the library, amazed at how it had deteriorated over the years. Vincent was not impressed, he had seen the mansion too much recently and knew what a hell hole it had become.

Lucrecia stopped by a lab station where a cylindrical tank was set up beside some computers and a freezer. She looked over the area, noticing mako residue on the tank.

She found a small notebook sitting by the computers and grabbed it, leafing through the pages. Vincent watched her quietly as she read. She suddenly turned to him.

"This," she said. "Is where Hojo recently revived himself and Jenova."

"Himself?" Vincent repeated.

"Yes," Lucrecia answered. "Didn't you say you and Avalanche killed Hojo in Midgar some time before you went after my son?"

"Yes, we did destroy him," Vincent admitted.

"Hojo was expecting his demise and was well prepared for it. He devised a system where upon his death this computer would generate from the DNA samples he left in that cylinder, a clone, so to speak. Its quite complicated, but it really a rather astounding scientic breakthrough."

"Can he do it again?" was Vincent's first question.

"I doubt it," Lucrecia said. "Before he died the second time, he didn't leave any DNA for the computer to regenerate him. I guess he didn't think he would die up there on Tzumron."

"Good riddance."

"Yes," Lucrecia agreed. "He also had DNA from Jenova stored, and after he revived himself, he revived her by finding a human host body."

Vincent merely stared.

"Meaning, he found a human woman, and infected her with Jenova. Jenova took over her body, thus bringing herself to life and becoming the human woman."

"So what happened to the woman?" Vincent asked.

Lucrecia shook her head as she continued to read. "He doesn't say in his notes, but I imagine Jenova destroys the poor woman's soul as she takes over her body."

"So that human form we saw Jenova in, was actually a real person?"

"I'm afraid so," Lucrecia said sadly.

Vincent's eyes flashed with rage.

"I sometimes wish Hojo was alive just so I could kill him again."

Lucrecia shuddered. "Don't wish for such things, my love. Come on. I'm going to look for some more of his private journals."

Vincent watched Lucrecia as she traveled through the library, wondering what other horrors they would discover.

"Here, my dear. Have a drink."

Elena frowned but accepted the glass of wine from Jonathan Ross, who sat across from her on the couch in his lavish Junon penthouse. A large picture window was in fron them, giving them a magnificent night view of the Junon Harbor.

Elena took a slow sip from the glass, swallowing carefully and looking up at Jonathan, who stared at her with intense eyes. She set the glass on the coffee table in front of them.

Jonathan brought his hand to her chin and smiled licentuously. "So beautiful and fresh," he commented. He brought his face close to hers and suddenly kissed her roughly. Elena squirmed, revolted by his touch, but tried her best to endure it.

His hands began to travel roughly over her body, reaching beneath her skirt. She pushed away from him suddenly. She didn't want to go that far with him for this mission.

Jonathan did not take well to being pushed away. He grabbed Elena's arms and stared at her.

"What are you doing?" he asked. "You want me." He pushed her against the couch and pushed his knee between her legs.

"Stop!" she yelled, disgusted. She pushed him off of her and quickly moved away, standing.

"I'm... I'm not ready."

Jonathan wiped his mouth and growled. "What's the matter, Elena?" he asked. "I thought you liked me."

Elena's eyes went wide with shock. "My name is Raquel," she said.

Jonathan began to laugh, pressing a hand to his chest as he threw his head back.

"That't rather clever," he said. "But really, Elena, did you think you could fool me?"

Elena carefully took a step back, holding her purse behind her.

"Elena of the Turks, am I correct?" Jonathan announced with great mirth in his voice. "Darling, I've know who you where since the moment you stepped into the coffee shop. I thought your plan to bait me was quite amusing. I decided to play along for a little while."

Elena said nothing.

"But I'm done with fun and games," he said sternly. "I want what you led me to believe you would give me." He reached for her.

Elena kept her pistol in her purse for such a situation, a quickly tired to remove it from her purse. Unfortunately, Ross threw all his weight on top off her and sent her crashing to the ground just as she had grabbed her weapon. The gun went off as they fell, just before it flew out of her hand and soared across the room. He purse also fell, scattering her PHS far out of reach.

Elena brought her knee up to Jonathan's groin, causing him to howl and roll off her. She lept up and went for her gun, but Jonathan reached over and grabbed her left ankle, causing her to trip and fall flat on her face. She screamed, feeling her nose break.

Jonathan, red-faced and breathing hard, braced the pain from Elena's attack and lept up. He grabbed the waist band of her skirt and forced her stand. She whirled around and threw her fist in Jonathan's face, but he dodged her blow and instead grabbed her waist and threw her back down onto the couch. Blood was dripping from her nose.

Elena tried to leap up from the couch to attack Ross again, but instead he landed a blow against the side of her head. He hit her very hard, and she fell back against the couch, unconcious.

Jonathan stared at her for a few moments with his fists raised, waiting to see if she'd rise again. When she didn't move, he smiled.

"That's a good little Turk-girl," he said. He reached over and scooped Elena up by her waist, dragging her to another room.

Elena moaned as she slowly opened her eyes, her head pounding with an incredibly sharp pain. She winced and began to look around.

She found herself chained to a bed in a small but nicely decorated bedroom. There was a window with the early sun of the rising dawn shining through. She blinked at the sunlight, wondering how long she had been here.

She tried to move her arms and legs to no avail. In a panic, she began to thrash wildly against her confines in hopes of some how breaking free. After long moments of the futile attempt, she relaxed.

Elena began to shout for help at the top of her lungs. She screamed loudly, throwing her head back and forth as she called for help. She stopped when the pain in her head was unbearable thanks to her screaming, and dropped her head back down to the pillows. She swallowed, her throat now sore from the yelling.

She closed her eyes and tried not to sob. She didn't know where she was or how she would get out, all she new was that Jonathan Ross had put her there.

For some reason, Zack suddenly woke in the dead of the night. He opened his eyes and sighed, then decided he would go to Aeris' room and snuggle with her until morning. He pulled the covers back and began to rise.

When Zack's bare feet touched the cold dirt floor, his memories flooded back and he realized he was not at Elymra's house, but resting in a room in Fort Condor. Her frowned, his longing for Aeris growing, and ran a hand down his face.

He looked across the room and suddenly noticed Sephiroth sitting on the floor, his head in his hands. Confused, Zack called to him.

"Sephiroth, is something wrong?"

At first the General did not answer. Zack was about to speak again when Sephiroth slowly lifted his head and turned it in Zack's direction.

"Tayeko," he muttered. "I need her. I need my wife."

Zack kept himself from rolling his eyes. He was just as deeply worried about Aeris as Sephiroth was about Tayeko, but he didn't see himself wallowing on the floor about it.

"Yeah, I know Sephiroth," he stated understandingly. "But why are you on the floor? You're making yourself sick with worry, and that's not going to help anyone."

Sephiroth shook his head. "The Planet came to me," he explained.

"What?" Zack nearly shouted, alarmed. "When? I didn't see nothin'."

"She came to me in my mind," Sephiroth continued. "At first I thought it was Jenova, for no one else has ever entered my mind like that before. I was skeptical at first because she didn't sound like Jenova, she sounded sweet and trustworthy. However I fought with her, for fear that it could be one of Jenova's tricks."

Zack couldn't argue the logic in that.

"Finally she became frustrated with me and mentally brought me to where she could show herself to me. I couldn't deny her, she was just as I remembered her in the Lifestream when she returned me to life. She told me..." He sighed and closed his eyes.

"What?" Zack asked with impatience. "What did the Planet say to you, Sephiroth?"

Sephiroth looked straight into Zack's eyes. "What she said was disturbing. She told me that she couldn't communicate with Aeris or Tayeko anymore, and she was concerned because she was never unable to speak to them. She said that someone is stealing her lifeblood, and that the WEAPONS soon will be released to protect her. She needs Aeris and Tayeko to return immediately, she needs their help."

Zack absorbed everything Sephiroth said carefully. "Wait, lifeblood? Does that mean someone is using mako again?"

"No, not mako," Sephiroth answered. "She said we call it Zyba. It harbors WEAPON and keeps them alive, and maintains a balance that keeps the Planet living over all."

Zack nodded, not really understanding but pretending he did.

"We've got to head north, the Planet told me," Sephiroth said. "We leave at first light."

Zack nodded, and both men, with heavy hearts, slowly retreated to bed.