Chapter 08

Tifa yawned and sat up. "Ready?" she asked.

"Wait a minute," Zack stopped her. "I'm still a bit confused about some things."

"Like what?"

"What was the deal with Shin-Ra? Why did you tell that guard that Shin-Ra was done for, and why was he so afraid of you?"

"It's a long story," Tifa began, sighing. "When I came to Midgar five years ago, I eventually joined up with Barret Wallace, leader of a rebel force known as AVALANCHE. We planned terroist attacks against Shin-Ra."

"Why?"

"Because, Shin-Ra is evil! Couldn't you understand that from the Nibelheim mission? When I found Cloud at the train station, he joined as a mercenary, and we blew up two Mako Reactors. Eventually we ended up raiding Shin-Ra headquarters, and that's when Sephiroth came back, marking his return by killing President Shin-Ra. Rufus came into power, but we were busy chasing Sephiroth around. After certain events, Rufus was killed by WEAPON, and Shin-Ra pretty much fell apart after that."

"What's up with you and Cloud?" Zack asked.

Tifa sighed. "I'm in love with Cloud."

"That's great!" Zack exclaimed. "Cloud always had a crush on you."

Tifa shook her head. "No... he loves Aeris."

Zack cocked an eyebrow. "Why does he love my girlfriend?" Tifa looked at Zack strangely. "After our raid on the second reactor, Cloud had a little accident and fell through the floor into a sector five church in the slums. That's where he met Aeris.

"Apparently the Turks had been after her for quite some time and she got Cloud to be her personal 'bodyguard' to help her elude them. She joined us with AVALANCHE.

"When Sephiroth tried to summon Meteor with the Black Materia, Aeris left our group and went to the City of The Ancients. We followed her, but we got there too late. She was on an alter, praying for Holy, though we didn't know that until much later. Sephiroth fell from the sky and killed her."

"What?" Zack shouted, leaping from his bed. "Aeris is dead?"

"Not really," Tifa said. "Right after Holy and the Lifestream defeated Meteor, Cloud and I and the rest of AVALANCHE had weird visions of Aeris, Sephiroth, and another woman with black hair. Next thing we knew, they were all alive."

Zack placed his hands in front of him. "Wait! Aeris is alive now? And so is Sephiroth?"

Tifa nodded. "They'd come back from the Lifestream because the Planet said they would have to help us fight "a new evil" that was on its way. The black haired woman's name was Tayeko. She turned out to be a Cetra just like Aeris, only she was a lab rat of Hojo's for most of her life. She was killed accidently by Shin-Ra's guard when Hojo tried to breed her and Sephiroth and they resisted. Anyway, the fact remains is that the three of them are travelling with us. Cloud isn't too happy about having Sephiroth around, no matter how regretfull he may be."

Zack shook his head. "This is too much. You're telling me that Aeris died and came back, with Sephiroth no doubt, and some chick that died a long ass time ago? And they're running around with your crew? No wonder you left!"

"That's not why I left," Tifa admitted. "I left because I couldn't bare to see Cloud with Aeris. I just don't want to be around him anymore."

Tifa turned away from Zack and didn't say anything else.

Zack threw his hands up. "I'm gonna go take a shower," he said. "Then we can get going."

Hojo smiled at the test tube he held in his hand.

"Yes, my dear," he said aloud. "My test has run complete. Although it has been destroyed, it is more than apparent that when I find a suitable female host I will be able to reconstruct you fully. The simple fact that one tentacle was able to survive in a Nibel wolf and make it that far is amazing! Under careful scrutiny, I shall have you back in no time!"

The purple liquid inside the test tube gurgled. Hojo laughed.

"Won't be long now," he laughed. He set the test tube in a delicate rack and replaced it in a small freezer. He brushed off his lab coat and picked up a jacket and hat from the his coat rack.

"Time to find our host," he said to himself, putting on the coat and hat. He shut down power in the lab room ad opened the door to exit.

"I'll be right back, my love," he whispered, turning back towards the freezer. He then broke out into hideous laughter as he left the Shin-Ra mansion.

Tayeko knocked on Sephiroth's door. "Sephy? Please let me in." Sephiroth flung open the door and stared down at Tayeko. He was

wearing no shirt, and his hair was a wet, tangly mess.

"Do not call me 'Sephy'," he instructed. "Now what do you want?"

Tayeko slunk into the room. "There's no reason to be so angry," she told him. "I just came in to talk to you."

Sephiroth slammed the door shut. "There's nothing to talk about," he said, picking up a comb and attempting to run it through his hair.

"Sure there is," Tayeko said. "You having trouble with that comb?"

Sephiroth frowned. "No," he lied, as he continued raking through his hair, wincing as the comb tugged at his scalp.

Tayeko giggled. "Come on, let me help you."

Sephiroth rolled his eyes and let her comb his hair. It was soon smoothed out and free of tangles.

"See?" Tayeko said, handing him the comb. "All you had to do was ask."

Sephiroth shrugged. "Is there anything else, or did you just come in here to nag me?"

"I don't see how combing the knots out of your hair is nagging," Tayeko said. "Besides, all I wanted to do was talk."

Sephiroth glared at her. "So talk."

Tayeko ran her fingers through her hair. "Well... what's up?"

Sephiroth sat on his bed. "This is ridiculous."

Tayeko sat next to him. "I'm sorry, Sephiroth," she said, laughing. "It's just that we haven't been right for a while. We used to be so close. What happened?"

Sephiroth looked at her. "Tayeko, I do not deserve your company. Don't you understand that? I've done so many horrible things, and all you've done in your short life was help others. Same thing with Aeris. How could things possible be the same between us? Before you died, I wasn't exactly calm, but I wasn't evil either. Now I've become a complete monster."

Tayeko sucked her teeth. "How many times am I going to have to tell you? You are *not* a monster!"

Sephiroth shook his head. "If you only knew, Tayeko. The terrifying things I've done would give you nightmares. They'd make you sick to your stomach. And I have no excuse."

"Jenova," Tayeko said. "Sephiroth, I know what went on. I watched you from the moment I died. I know how Jenova manipulated you in that reactor. I was there with you when you went mad."

"So was my mother," Sephiroth said quietly.

"Huh?"

"Nothing. It still doesn't excuse my actions. I should have been stronger and fought it. Who would have known? The Great Sephiroth so easily breaks down."

"You were lied to," Tayeko said. "You've been lied to your entire life. It isn't your fault, Sephiroth. You have to begin to forgive yourself."

Sephiroth pulled his hair back into a ponytail. "I'm going to take a nap," he said. "You are welcome to stay if you wish, but this conversation is over."

Tayeko sighed as Sephiroth fell back onto the bed on his stomach, and slowly drifted of to sleep. She carefully lay along side him when she was absolutely sure he was asleep, and began stroking his hair with her fingertips.

"I love you, Sephiroth," she whispered quietly.

Tifa was staring in the mirror when Zack crept up behind her and held her by her waist.

"Hey, beautiful," he said in an mockingly deep voice. "How's it going?"

Tifa turned and giggled uncomfortably.

"Fine," she said.

Zack smiled at her, flashing a set a pearly white teeth. He stroked her cheek with his fingers.

"You're beautiful," he said. "What the hell's wrong with Cloud?"

Tifa blushed. "I dunn.."

Zack brought his lips slowly to Tifa's and silenced her with a kiss. He felt her shiver in his arms.

After a few seconds, Tifa pulled away from him and stared at him, her ruby brown eyes wide with uncertainty.

"What's a matter?" Zack asked. He ran a hand through her long, dark brown hair.

Tifa's bottom lip trembled. "I dunno if..."

"If what?" Zack coaxed, sensing he loss for words.

Tifa shrugged in his embrace. "If I'm ready for this..."

Zack exhaled loudly. "Come on, Teef! What's the prob? You just got finished telling me how Cloud was after Aeris and you didn't want nothing to do with him and blah blah? Aren't you attracted to me? Cuz I sure am feeling you."

Tifa covered her face with her hands. "I..." she mumbled.

Zack pulled her hands away from her face. "Look at me, Tifa," he said. "I don't want to hurt you. I care about you. I know you're going through alot, but I want you to know that I'm here for you... that I want to make you happy. You've done so much for me already, and it hasn't even been two days yet."

Tifa rested her forehead in Zack's chest and thought for a minute. What have you got to lose? Cloud has what he wants, and its not you. You wanted to start a new life. Maybe this is how?

Tifa looked back up at Zack. "Kiss me," she whispered.

Hojo walked through the streets of Nibelheim and surveyed the women who traveled around him.

"Hmm," he thought, spotting a beautiful young woman across the street waiting at the bus stop. She was tall, with shoulder length, thick, wavy, dark brown hair. Her skin was pale with a few freckles dotted across her nose. Her eyes were a dark, midnight blue color.

Hojo snickered to himself as he pulled out a handheld computer from his pocket. After typing in a few commands, he was able to assess the situation.

Hojo hit the enter key and information came across the screen.

Host: YY 9304247593234
Name: Nicole Jacquelyn Anderson
Sex: Female
Age: 23
Birthdate: May 30
Hair: Dark Brown
Eyes: Dark Blue
Height: 5'9
Weight: 149 lbs.
Markings: Seven freckles across nose
Intelligence: 154 out of possible 200
Mako Tolerance: Average To High
Mind Read: Aspiring Model/Actress, Distressed over ill grandparent, recently broke up with boyfriend, likes tall blonde men and enjoys punk rock music and murder mystery novels.

Hojo slapped the computer shut in his palm and grinned menacingly in the girl's direction.

"Perfect," he snarled.

Hojo went into a nearby diner and went to the bathroom. He quickly set up his computer again. He typed in a few commands and smiled at a list that appeared on the screen.

CHOOSE IDENTITY
White Male Age 15
Black " "
Wutain " "
Hispanic " "
White Male Age 25
Black " "
Wutain " "
Hispanic " "
White Male age 35
Black " "
Wutain " "
Hispanic " "
White Male age 45
Black " "
Wutain " "
Hispanic " "
White Male age 60
Black " "
Wutain " "
Hispanic " "
Hojo chose White Male age 25 and clicked enter.

CHOOSE DESCRIPTIVE CHARACTERISTICS....

Hojo began filling out the form.

HAIR: Blonde
EYES: Blue
HEIGHT: 6'0
WEIGHT: 210 lbs.
PROCESSING DATA..... CREATING CHIP...

A couple seconds later, a small computer chip popped out of the disk drive. Hojo picked it up and reached behind at the nape of his neck where a tiny opening was, and inserted the disk. After several seconds, Hojo began to change.

The professor fell and writhed on the floor for several moments and his body's form changed. He slowly stood up and looked into the mirror.

"Quiet nice, actually," He said in a soft, deep voice. He flipped back blonde hair and smiled as he left the bathroom.

When he got back outside, he spotted the young woman across the street. She was looking up the street for the bus, her hand blocking her eyes from the sun. Hojo crossed the street elusively and approached her

. "Good afternoon, dear," he said. "Waiting on the bus?"

The girl turned to face him. Her eyes widened at his beauty.

"Y,yes," she stuttered.

"What is your name, beautiful?" he asked.

"Nicole," she answered. "Nicole Anderson."

Hojo smiled. "I'm Edward Grant. But please, just call me Eddie."

The girl nodded and smiled.

"Listen, where are you trying to go?"

"I have to get to work," the girl answered. "Not the best job in the world, but it puts food on the table, I suppose."

Hojo smiled to himself. "Listen, I'm a photographer, and I've been looking for models for quite some time now. You're very beautiful and you've got the height. How would you like to come with me and take a few head shots, and maybe I can get you in the business?"

Nicole's eyes lit up. "Sure!"

Hojo chuckled. "Wonderful. Though I'm afraid you are going to have to cut work today. You can come with me now, and we can go to my studio."

"Certainly!" Nicole exclaimed. "I don't mind!"

"Alright them," he said. "Follow me. I will take you to my studio. It's not far, really. Just a short walk."

Nicole eagerly followed Hojo back to the Shin-Ra mansion, but became skeptical when he approached the gate.

"Why are we going in there?" she asked.

"This is where my studio is," he answered, holding the gate open for her to pass through.

"I thought this place has been deserted for years," she said, looking around.

Hojo reached into his pocket and pulled out a small syringe. "It has," he whispered in her ear as he plunged the needle into her neck.

Tifa opened her eyes and stared up at the ceiling. She looked to her left and saw Zack laying next to her, one arm across her belly.
What just happened here?

Tifa tried to sit up but couldn't get very far without disturbing Zack. She inhaled deeply.

Breathe, a voice said.

Tifa slid her body slowly out of the bed and sat on the floor. Zack grunted and rolled over, unconciously grabbing a pillow and holding close as if it were her.

Tifa grabbed her clothes off the floor and pulled each article on slowly. She then gathered her knees up close to her body and fought back tears.

How much crying are you going to do? she asked herself. This is what you wanted. Cloud doesn't love you....

Tifa glanced up at the alarm clock. It was almost five, and she was hungry. She stood up and tried to wake Zack up.

"Huh?" he said, rubbing his eyes. "What's up, babe?"

Tifa blushed and pointed at the clock. "Let's go eat already," she said.

Zack shrugged and got up out the bed, pulling his clothes back on. "You ready?" he asked her, smoothing his wild black hair.

Tifa nodded and walked toward the door. "Yeah," she said. "Let's go."

The two walked in silence to the dining hall on the second floor and took a table seat in the back.

"What are you gonna eat?" Zack asked.

Tifa shrugged. "I guess I'll just get a sandwich," she said.

"What's taking the waiter so damn long?" Zack asked, turning to call for service. Tifa felt a hand grab her shoulder.

"Ready to order, hot stuff?" Tifa froze at the voice. She slowly turned, dreading what she was sure she'd see. Tangled red hair. Aqua blue eyes. A dishelveled blue suit that had surely been slept in.

"Reno!" she exclaimed.

Zack turned back around and immidiately locked eyes with Reno. "Hey!" he shouted. "You're that guy from the Turks!"

Reno laughed as two more figures appeared from behind him, Rude and Elena. Rude appeared stoic as ever but Elena was more jumpy and excited.

"We got her!" she cheered. "Rufus is gonna be so happy!"

Reno silenced the blonde with a lethal stare and then turned back to Tifa and Zack. "Sorry to interrupt your nice little dinner rendevous, but I'm afraid I'm going to have to aprehend you immediately."

Tifa rolled her eyes. "For what?" she asked. "What could you possibly want with me now? Rufus is dead! How are you still following orders from Shin-Ra? You told us in that tunnel you were an independent organization now."

Reno laughed again. "Rufus ain't dead, sweetie."

Tifa shook Reno's hand off her shoulder. "What do you mean, 'Rufus ain't dead'?"

"I always thought you were brighter than the other chicks that rolled with your little AVALANCHE crew," Reno commented. "But your proving me wrong now."

"I don't get it," Zack spoke up. "Tifa, you told me Rufus got killed by WEAPON and that Shin-Ra fell apart. What's the deal?"

Elena stepped up next to Reno. "Hey! I know him! He used to be in SOLDIER! He was in the Nibelhiem Incident!"

Reno eyed Zack suspiciously. "Hmm... I never really looked into that case. Shit, not that I ever cared. But if he was, that means he's been MIA for close to six years, and it would probably be real fucking smart if we took him with us too."

"What?" Zack asked. "You aren't taking me anywhere."

"I want to know what the hell is going on," Tifa demanded. "I seem to be asking that question alot lately. How the hell is Rufus alive?"

"Good question," Reno said, rubbing stubble on his face. "I don't know. All I can tell you is that Mr. Prez called me up and told me Shin-Ra was up and running again... and he needed the Turks to come back. Hell, at the fucking salary he offered, how could we refuse?"

Tifa folded her arms. "So what does he want with me?"

Reno shrugged. "He heard you were in the area causing trouble so he sent us to apprehend you. Heh, he's been after you for awhile now, if ya know what I mean."

Tifa rolled her eyes. "No, Reno. I *don't* know what you mean."

Reno shrugged. "Listen, the both of you gotta come with us, and don't make me use force. I'm just too damn lazy today for all that."

Tifa sighed. "You think you'll so easily up and carry me away?"

Reno chuckled. "How are you gonna fight the three of us? Its obvious you don't have Cloud to fall back on this time."

Tifa narrowed her gaze at him. She turned to Zack and pleaded to him with her eyes.

"Sorry," he said aloud. "I don't have my sword... remember?"

Tifa threw her hands up in defeat. "Fine! Where are you taking us?"

"You are going to see Rufus," Reno said, grabbing Tifa by the wrist. "He'll probably just end up back in SOLDIER."

Zack shrugged at Tifa as Rude grabbed him by the shoulders and they followed Reno out of the diner to a nearby Shin-Ra vehicle.

Cid banged on Cloud's door.

"CLOUD!" he roared. "Open this fucking door!"

Cid waited a few more moments but there was no answer. He pulled out a cigarette and lit it, hoping to calm himself.

"Open up!" he screamed, banging the door.

Cloud finally flung open the door and glared angrilly at Cid. "What do you want?"

Cid folded his arms. "What do you think? I'm tired of this shit! I want to go home! I miss Shera... goddamn!"

Barret suddenly stomped up behind Cid. "Yeah! I only got ta see Marlene for one day! Elmyra's gonna be pissed if I dun come see her soon!"

Cloud narrowed his eyes at the two gruff men. "Listen to me," he said. "What the hell do you want me to do? Tifa is freaking GONE! I'm not stopping until I find her! If you want to leave, we'll land the Highwind right here and you can get off."

"This damn airship is mine," Cid pointed out.

"Take it then!" Cloud screamed. "I'll walk on foot to find her!"

Cloud slammed the door in Cid's face, leaving him to turn to Barret and shrug.

"I don't know what his fucking problem is," he said, "But he needs a fucking chance to calm down."

Barret banged his gun arm on the side of doorway. "I'm pissed! I need ta see Marlene. MARLENE!"

Cid tapped some ashes off his cigarette right in front of Cloud's door. "Whatever, man," he said. "I'm not gonna even bother with his shit right now. I'm gonna take a fucking nap."

Cid waved lazilly to Barret and walked back to his room. Barret sighed and kicked at nothing in particular before retreating back to his room.

Hojo dragged the body into his lab and tossed it haphhazardly onto the lab table. He smoothed some of her thick, wavy, dark brown hair with his fingers and laughed maliciously.

"Don't worry, dear," he cooed into her ear, stroking her cheek. "Soon you will be part of the most powerful entity to ever exsist on this planet!"

Hojo picked up a syringe on a side table and removed the test tube from the freezer, inserting it into the syringe. He squirted the pump to test it, then drove the needle into a main artery in her arm. Nicole's body jerked unconciously, then went limp again.

"It may hurt now," Hojo said, "But soon your body will be used for something more great and powerful than your feeble mind could ever imagine."

Hojo's insane laughter rang throughout the basement of the Shin-Ra mansion for the rest of the night.

Tifa rolled her eyes as she walked through the halls of the Junon Shin-Ra base, Reno and Elena behind her. Rude and two members of SOLDIER had already escorted Zack to a cell near the SOLDIER living barracks.

Reno stepped forward near the end of a corridor and pushed open a wide door, mock-bowing as Tifa and Elena passed him and entered the room. Tifa noticed the room was set up to be an office. Behind the desk was a chair facing out to a window, with tuffs of light strawberry blonde hair peaking above it.

Reno shut the door. "Sir," he spoke. "She's here."

The chair whirled around, and Tifa couldn't beileve her eyes even though she'd been expecting this. There he sat, in a bright, shiny white suit and overcoat, the smuggest look on his face. Rufus Shin-Ra.

He smiled. "Tifa Lockheart!" he proclaimed, clapping his hands. "Wonderful. Its been a while, hasn't it? I'm so glad to see you."

"Sorry I can't say the same," Tifa spat sarcastically.

Rufus shook his head dramatically and flipped his hair. "Really, Miss Lockheart. I'm not trying to harm you. There's no reason to be so malicious."

Tifa shook a fist at him. "Don't try me, Shin-Ra. I don't know what you're doing alive, but whatever you've got planned isn't going to go very far. And another thing... where is Zack?"

Rufus laughed. "Don't worry about your little traveling companion. As for my "plans", I don't see why you are so against them. I'm actually going to offer you a high position on my staff.... right next to me."

Tifa pretended to gag. "You're ridiculous. You just want to use me to find Cloud and AVALANCHE. What are you up to? You might as well tell me. I'm not with them anymore."

Rufus seemed mildly surprised. "Why is this?"

"Long story," Tifa sighed. "Don't bother. Your best bet is to tell me where Zack is so I can get on with my 'new' life."

Rufus grinned. "I'm afraid that's not possible, Miss Lockheart." "Why not?" Tifa asked.

"Tifa, I've always thought you were an astoundingly beautiful woman," Rufus commented with a million dollar smile. "But that is not the only reason I want you by my side."

Tifa tapped her foot. "What is this about?"

"If you weren't aware, Shin-Ra is not exactly the most popular with the public right now," Rufus said. "But if Tifa Lockheart, member of AVALANCHE and one of the so called 'Saviors of the Planet' were to be on m my left side, they would quickly have faith in Shin-Ra again. Makes sense, doesn't it? And better yet... there's more."

Tifa raised an eyebrow. "I'm sure I don't want to have it."

"What if Rufus Shin-Ra and Tifa Lockheart had a child? That would be wonderful. I'd have my heir, hopefully a son, and I'd be able to dispose of you without the public becoming suspicious. Brilliant, really, don't you think?"

Tifa balled up her fists. "You bastard! You can forget it! It's not gonna happen."

Rufus leaned back in his chair and propped his foot on the desk. "How are you going to stop me?" he asked, grinning smuggly. "As we are both well aware, this time Cloudy isn't going to come save you. As a matter of fact, last time we captured you he didn't save you either... seems he was out of commision for a while due to Sephiroth. However, this time your other little AVALANCHE friends won't come because they haven't the slightest idea where you are."

Tifa shook her head spastically. "This isn't right! How could you do this?! Why can't you just..." she covered her face and broke down into tears.

"Now, now, Miss Lockheart," Rufus cooed. "Don't be so sad. After tonight - if I have time, you will certainly be content. Now, Reno, have SOLDIER escort Tifa to my living quarters and tie her up. I may be up in a few hours."

Reno nodded and pulled out a walkie talkie, ordering five SOLDIERS to pick up Tifa. They soon came, two grabbing her at the wrists and the others standing around on guard.

"You will pay for this, Shin-Ra," Tifa yelled back as they yanked her out the room. Rufus merely laughed, causing Tifa to retaliate by spitting.

Reno yawned and pulled a small flask out of his breast pocket, taking a swig. "That all, boss?" he asked, wiping his mouth.

Rufus spun the chair back around towards the window and grinned. "That's all for today, Reno."

Zack banged his head on bars of his cell. "What am I doing here?" He asked aloud. "I haven't done shit."

There was one other inmate in the room, a tall, lightskinned young black man with dark green eyes and close cut wavy brown hair. He was sitting on a bench with his head hung low. He was wearing a headband, a sleeveless undershirt, and basketball shorts.

"This is for all the 'ex- SOLDIERS'," he suddenly spoke. "That get caught."

Zack turned around and looked at him. "What?"

The inmate shrugged and ran a hand down the top of his head. "You used to be in SOLDIER?"

"A few years ago," Zack said. "I was M.I.A. after Nibelhiem."

"YOU were in Nibelhiem?" the inmate repeated. "With Sephiroth?"

Zack nodded.

"Damn, no wonder they've got you in here," the inmate said. "By the way, my name's David Strikerson. Just call me Striker."

Zack nodded. "I'm Zack."

"I heard alot about you," Striker said. "SOLDIER went through a ton of training after that Nibelheim Incident. Why'd they bring you here?"

"I was with an old friend," Zack explained. "Tifa Lockheart. She was at-"

"Nibelhiem too!" Striker finished. "She's been wanted for like, four or five years. Man, Rufus has been on her ass ever since he 'came back'."

"Yeah, well, he caught her when he caught me," Zack said. "Actually, The Turks were after her, but when they saw me, they dragged me along and tossed me in here."

"Suck, don't it?" Striker said, throwing a half chewed toothpick on the ground. "I've been here rotting for two months. Looking for some escape."

Zack shook his head. "There's got to be some way out of here. I can't beileve that it would just be over like this. I've worked so hard to get myself together, and I end up here, locked up? It's not fair."

"Life has never been fair for me, man," Striker said, leaning back on the bench. "But that's life."

Zack layed on his bunk and stared ruefully at the ceiling. "I'm going to find a way out of here," he muttered.

Tifa looked around the room.

There she was, tied up to a chair like any old weak female. How could she let this happen?

Any other time she would have beaten those SOLDIERS and the Turks to a pulp. But why couldn't she do it now? Was it because she wasn't with Cloud? Was she confused about Zack.

Whatever the reason was, she was certainly confused about Cloud and Zack. Perhaps she had lost her mind temporarily. She didn't mean to sleep with Zack. It all happened so fast, and the entire time she'd thought she was with Cloud.

Now, she was tied up to a chair in Rufus Shin-Ra's bedroom. Zack was incarcerated somewhere in the SOLDIER barracks, Planet only knows where. Her only prayer was Cloud.

Tifa used her good sense and experience to get herself out of this situation. She carefully stood, and shuffled to a small end table, the chair still tied to her back. She used her teeth to pull a phone off the hook and her nose to dial the number to Cloud's PHS.

I hope I don't end up regretting this, she thought.

"Hello?"

Tifa froze when she heard Cloud's voice. Was this what she wanted? She had made up her mind never to contact Cloud again. She DID want to start a new life. Maybe being Rufus Shin-Ra's concubine was part of that?

"Hello?? Hello!"

Tifa shook her head. No Cloud. She used her teeth again to hang the phone up, and scooted the chair back to its original position.

Tifa sighed and leaned her head back. This was what she had wanted. A new life! That meant a new life away from AVALANCHE... and their values. She could be with Shin-Ra, as long as it meant a new start for her... even if she knew full well it was wrong.

The door flung open. Rufus stood within the frame, wearing a silk, spotless, white robe and a intimidating smirk.

"I'm sure you're eager to get out of those ropes," Rufus muttered. "I suppose I will untie you now. This is going to be a very exciting night."

Tifa didn't respond.

"What, no snappy comebacks? Where's the fiesty catwoman attitude, Miss Lockheart?"

No response.

"Whatever," Rufus finally gave up, rolling his eyes. "I like my women submissive anyway."

Rufus walked over to Tifa and slowly untied her. She stayed in the chair and stared at him.

Rufus raised an eyebrow. "You're not even resisting."

Tifa shrugged.

Rufus laughed and grabbed her hand. "The bed's right there. Let's go." Tifa slowly stood and followed Rufus to his bed. I hope you're not making a mistake, Tifa, she thought.

Hojo lifted the body and layed her into a coffin like tank. After pushing several buttons, the tank began to fill with a bright green liquid and he closed the lid on tank.

Hojo smiled as Nicole's body became submerged in the liquid.

"Beautiful," Hojo mused. "Simply beautiful. I don't think I could have chosen a more suitable host."

Hojo ran his fingers along the glass of the lid. "In three days, Nicole will become Jenova."