"Holy!" The young woman cried out. She had been battling Him for hours on end, neither gaining anything, neither losing anything. She saw Holy dive into him. He couldn't it. The pain was far too great. He howled in shear agony, and then, it was all over. The pain had subsided, for the most part. He had doubled over, his sword in his left hand, his right hand clenched in rage.

"You can't win...you...can...not...win...I...shall...not...let you...win...Sashta."

"It's over Kiros. No more fighting, no more blood, no more pain. YOU shall die by my hands-" Kiros cut her off.

"I shall die as so many other innocent people have? You've killed just as many as I. Your hands are no cleaner than mine." He replied matter-of-factly.

"You killed them so that their spirit energy would give you strength Kiros." THEY tried to kill me, I fought them in self defense." Her words, he knew, everything she said was true.

"Cure...4..." He stood slowly. Regaining strength and his defensive stance.

"I've waited... for this. For 39 years. I'll finally kill you, you, will die painfully." Kiros's malignant glance frightened her. Nevertheless, it didn't show.

"We...are the lowly...the ones that seek a barrier of protection..we...summon you to our aide...PROTECT!" Sashta's voice was strong and clear. Regent, Haste, Life, Wall, and Invincibility. The most powerful defensive white spell.

"Why should I let you live? You oppose me...you, can destroy me...I shan't let you live...my people, destroyed you...the Cetra...I...one of the last remaining descendants of JENOVA...I...will have the honor...of seeing your body...impaled on my sword...Masamune." Sashta sheathed Kiyomori and bowed her head. She reached towards the heavens and began whispering something. The flowed with Sashta's lips. He felt that very cool wind blow through his silver hair.

"Ne me mori facias...Harryuu no hanekata..." He couldn't hear anymore of her words. Her voice was now, much too soft to hear. Her arms fell to her sides, she looked at him, and grinned sinisterly.

"SUPER NOVA!" Her body faded away as she performed the summon. For him, for her, this was certain death. He knew that this was the most powerful summon in the world. Not to mention the most powerful Cetra summon of all. He also knew, that if his twin, Sephiroth, were here, he would help Sashta instead of his own brother. Pain tore through the both of them. Once again, Kiros doubled over, Masamune in left hand, cursing in impotent fury. Sashta hit the 'ground' and stood slowly as Regent restored her strength.

"Die you da-n Cetra...DIE!!! Cetra's Death!" He shouted.

Sashta sat upright in her bed. She pulled her arms away from her head. As realization sunk in, she noticed that her clothes were soaked in sweat.

*Why?* She thought silently. The same dream again, only, more...realistic...vivid. Whenever she had these dreams, she always ran to her brother Zach. He and Professor Ghast were the only people she had. How could she forget?! The second most important person to her.

"Sephiroth." She whispered. She jumped out of bed and quickly got dressed. Sashta always left the desk chair underneath the keypad; she hopped onto the chair and punched in a series of numbers. The door opened and she bolted out of her room. There was a soft 'beep' and the door shut. She ignored it and began to search for her brother's room. Her mako eyes quickly adjusted to the dimness of the hallway. She knew that his room was two doors from the elevator door. She looked ahead, the elevator was at other end of the hallway. She found the right door and ran to it. She began beating on the door furiously; she jumped out of the way as it swung open.

"Who's there?" Zach said in an exasperated tone.

"Down here!" Sashta whispered, tugging on his hand.

"Hi Sashta, are you O.K.?" Zach asked, noticing the terrified look on his sister's face. She clung to him, not, for even a second, letting go. He picked her up, telling her that everything would be O.K. That, he wouldn't let anything happen to her. She seemed reassured by his words and soon fell asleep on his shoulder. He walked into his room and sat down in the closest chair, as he listened to the door shutting quietly. He shifted Sashta onto his lap, her head now resting on his arm. He continued to hold her, feeling, that if, she were close, he could protect her from ShinRa. He would give his life, just to free her and Sephiroth from the ShinRa.

"Protect her Zach, please, protect her, for my sake! Protect her!" Ellone's voice rang through his head, his mother's voice. It had been 5 years since her death and her father's disappearance. The ShinRa had removed his father from the building. He had left only because that bastard Hojo, had threatened to kill Sashta and himself. His father WOULD NEVER have let his children die. Zach clenched his teeth in fury as he remembered that bullet hitting his mother in the chest. He wished that his mother had never volunteered to be an experiment. ShinRa had wanted to bring about descendants of JENOVA, and his mother had volunteered to be an experiment?! They(his parents) had decided to let their second child be in this experiment, and that experiment was Sashta. His parents had wanted a second child, do this had fit in with the current experiments. He remembered another woman had volunteered to undergo the same experiments as well, her name was Lucretia; Hojo's wife. Zach would have NEVER, in his entire life, believe that Hojo could love some one, or something other than science. He chuckled at the thought. But that chuckle was soon replaced with hatred and impotent fury as he remembered a time when Hojo had almost killed his sister.

It was about two years ago. Hojo had given Sashta so many mako infusions that her little body couldn't handle it. She had had such a severe case of mako poisoning that, whenever he had looked into his sister's eyes, they would glow like flashlights in a dark room. She would sob convulsively every day from the pain. So many times, she would faint and not wake up for days, even weeks at a time. But, if it hadn't been for Professor Ghast, Sashta would have died, for Hojo had not one drop of humanity in his body, therefore, he did nothing to help Sashta's mako poisoning. Zach longed to impale him on Chirijaden, but he hadn't because ShinRa would have taken him away form Midgar, which meant that they would have taken him away from his sister. This thought always had, and always would infuriate him. He soon dozed off into a fitful and unpleasant sleep. He was soon roused by hearing a voice, one which he had never heard, yet, he recognized it for some strange reason. He opened his eyes. His sister was gone! He jumped up, expecting to hear the chair crash to the ground, but to no avail, it didn't. Instead, he realized that he wasn't at ShinRa anymore. Could it be true? No, no, that was preposterous. But, it was true, he was in...The Sleeping Forest.

A figure materialized in front of him. A long purple-ish black, v-neck gown, golden headdress, a large, golden bar that curved like a setting sun, rested on her shoulders, a see through cloth hung in two separate pieces on either side of the golden bar, she wore a maternal expression on her face, and

"Edea?" he whispered, his voice clearly stating that he didn't believe what he saw before his eyes.

"Yes, it is I, Edea. Do not be frightened Zach, I mean you no harm. I am merely here to warn you." Edea said calmly.

"Warn me?! Whatever for?! Because whatever it is, I'll protect myself and Sashta!" Zach gloated.

"No matter how much you try, you can not save her." Zach lunged for her, realizing only too late, that she had moved and 'twas HE who hit the ground.

"What on earth do you mean?!" Zach demanded furiously. He stood slowly and shook his head for a moment.

"Has Sashta ever told you about her...dreams?" Edea inquired.

"Yes, to some extent, why Edea?"

"Those are visions Zach, visions. I am trying to warn her, but she dismisses the thought as fear. So I must warn you. You must know this, within quite a few years, your sister will die."

"By whose hands I demand to know??!!"

"By Kiros. The only way you can stop this is to tell her. I shouldn't be telling you this, but I can not bear the thought of Sashta dying before her time." Zach stood, touched by the kindness expressed by Edea.

"You said that...I couldn't save my sister...so why are you warning me?"

"It is true. You can not save her, but you can warn her. She listens to you. Do not tell her now, she would listen, but she wouldn't believe it."

"But...you said that I can't save her, so what good would it do in warning her?"

"Because she can prepare herself for the final blow." Edea whispered into the wind.

"Final blow?! What do you mean 'final blow'?" Zach questioned.

"I shall not tell you. You will understand within a certain length of...time. If she heeds my warning in the slightest, she shall give the Crystal Materia to Sephiroth." Edea was seemingly worried about Sashta; but why was she bringing Sephiroth into this? Before he could utter another word, Edea began speaking once more.

"You must go now. It is time...time for you to go back." With a wave of her hand, everything began to blur. Then, merciful blackness. The silence...the darkness...it all felt...pleasant to him. He heard a concerned voice and felt a small hand on his.

"Zach, are you alright?" Sashta asked in her usual kind demeanor.

"Yeah. Why ya' ask?" Zach moaned as he stood, stretching his limbs. His head and chest throbbed painfully. Was his dream that realistic? He could feel the pain from where he had hit the ground.

"Was it that real?" he whispered, mostly to himself.

"Was what real? Zach, something's wrong, why won't you tell me? Maybe I could help, if you would only give me that chance." She sounded hurt, yet concerned as she spoke. How could she know? How could she understand, even BEGIN to understand what he knew?

"Zach, who were you talking too? I assume you were speaking with a Cetra?"

"How would you know?! Was I talking in my sleep?" He added a bit more warmth to this last statement, more so than the one before.

"You were speaking in the Cetrin language. So I'd say you were speaking with Cetra no doubt."

"Yep. You're right, no change there." He replied in a slightly sarcastic manner.

"Who were you speaking with? 'Twas Edea was it not?" **** she was good. Either that or she had heard enough to know what his dream was about.

"Yes, it was Edea. I do not want to talk about it." Zach said decidedly.

"I understand Zach, if you don't want to talk about it, I won't ask;but you know you can always tell me what's on your mind." Sashta was very sympathetic. Gosh, he hated it when she used this tone of voice, because she could convince him to tell her anything. But he decided to go against it.

"Did...did you...hear everything...Sashta?"

"No, not everything. I didn't even hear enough to know WHAT you were talking about...though I wish you would tell me."

"If only you knew, if only you could know." he whispered absentmindedly.

"If it hurts for you to say anything of the matter, I shan't ask anymore Zach. But if it could hurt you, I only BEG of you to tell me." She wouldn't give up...would she ever give up? Not likely.

"Why do you keep persisting? You're starting to act like Mother." He sounded very much annoyed. She looked hurt, so hurt. He wished he'd been a litte kinder about it. She looked down at the ground.

"I'm sorry. It's just...that dream, no, it wasn't a dream, it was a vision. Sashta, Edea was trying to warn me." He hadn't realized how scared he sounded.

"It's O.K. Zach." He was glad for that, because her usual cheerfulness had returned!

*Thank god.* he thought.

"Ahem..." Zach said sarcasticly.

"Oh...sorry." Sashta whispered and she turned around and faced the wall while her brother got dressed in his SOLDIER uniform. He was thankful she had the decency to not look.

"O.K." Zach said, once he had finished dressing. She turned and opened her mouth to speak.

"Zach...do you have to...go on a mission...anytime soon?" She sounded as if she really didn't want him to go, and he hoped she really did feel that way.

"Oh boy...I just found out from Professor Ghast that President ShinRa wanted to see me at 9:30. It's probably not a mission, but just some new recruits to train, or something like that. Why?" He desperately hoped that he was right. He couldn't leave Sashta, knowing how she'd wake up almost every night, scared to death. Her face was always an unearthly white whenever she was this scared.

"That's strange. Wouldn't it be Heidegger that would...deal with this sort of 'thing"?

"You know, you're right Sashta, it should be that over sized klutz, but why President ShinRa?" Even he had to admit that it was strange. It was Heidegger that dealt with putting people into higher ranks, assigning missions, etc. But, you would never go to President ShinRa, unless, you were in serious trouble. Zach sighed tiredly. He could hear is heart pounding with fear.

*Please don't let them take me away* He pleaded in his mind. Even if they did, Sashta would never cooperate with them; and if they thought that threatening to kill Sephiroth would work, well, he had a feeling that Sephiroth would use Masamune, the legendary katana. He remembered how Sephiroth had stumbled upon Masamune.

It had been about two months ago. Sephiroth had a mako infusion, but Professor Ghast had been a little late, so he had decided to take a look around the lab. What he noticed next was a long, black box. Sephiroth opened it hesitantly. Inside, he saw a VERY long sword.

It had a black, ebony hilt, inside the hilt, he noticed, was where your materia was stored. He looked at the blade, and saw, right beside the hilt, was an engraving. The engraving read: MASAMUNE. Professor Ghast had just come in at this time.

"I see you found Masamune?"

"I...well..." His voice trailed off.

"No one owns Masamune. Let's see if you can't lift it." Sephiroth hesitantly picked up the katana. The sword felt light, and the hilt, very, warm.

"I..you...you can...lift Masamune?!!" Professor Ghast stammered. No one had the strength to lift the sword. No one ever had. So it was only a discarded weapon, but not anymore.

"See...if you can't use it." Sephiroth took a deep breath, and launched into a series of attacks.

"Amazing! Incredible!" Professor Ghast cried out in astonishment. Sephiroth stopped, he was shocked at what he had just done. He had never had any sword lessons in his life, yet, it seemed as though the sword had told him what to do. No, that was impossible. Swords were inanament objects. They couldn't tell you things, but how could he have known how to do that? No matter how many times he'd seen the sodiers practice, he couldn't have done it.

Zach chuckled, mostly to himself as he remembered how confused Sephiroth had been.

"What are ya' laughin' about?" Sashta asked sweetly.

"Nothing. Oh great, I gotta go Sashta. I'll be back, don't worry."

"I'm just scared, what if it is a mission?"

"Hey! I always come back. Don't I?"

"Well yes, but..."

"No need to say another word. I know what you mean."

"I guess I'll go back now."

"O.K. I'll see you later!" Zach said, using the most cheerful voice he could muster.

"Well, bye, I guess."

"Bye; and don't worry. I won't let him take me away." Sashta nodded in acknowledement and walked back to her room. Zach stepped out of his room, listening as the door shut. He walked straight ahead, until he reached the elevator. He pressed a button and it opened. He stepped inside and pressed another button, but this time, it was for the 74th floor. The ride was quick enough and he lengthened his stride, heading to the

"Enter!" Came the president's husky voice. Zach walked in and shut the door behind him.

"Name?"

"Zach Relenia First Class SODIER sir!"

"I see, First Class eh? And you still don't appreciate ShinRa?" Zach didn't reply.

"Badmouthing ShinRa isn't going to get you anywhere Relenia, except a prison. Why...might I ask, do you find it nessescary to train Sashta and Sephiroth.?"

"They need soemthing to do, other than hear corporate lies." He felt a hand hit him across the cheek.

"ShinRa hasn't lied to the public! We want our young soldier-to-bes to be trained and taught by ShinRa generals AND assigned soldiers. You dont' fall under any of those catagories, and you won't anytime soon, if you keep this up Relenia. If you try, your sister shall be terminated."

"With all due respect sir, go to hell."

With that, Zach turned and left President ShinRa's office. Once he was sure no one was around, he unsheathed Apocolypse and sliced visciously at President ShinRa's portrait hanging on the wall. He looked at the shreds of paper falling onto the floor, he smirked and slung the sword onto his shoulder.

"@%*^ that fat @*^ monster!" Zach thought to himself. He would continue to train them, in private. He was occasionally allowed to take them out of Midgar, but only up to two weeks at a time. This privalege had been given to him only four or five months earlier. The thing is, he had to let some one know about it.

"That's it! I'll let Ghast know about it; he won't object at all! In fact, he may give us an extension!" Zach ran down the hall. He decided to take the stairs, rather than the elevator. It took hom ten minutes, rather than two, but that didn't matter to him. He stepped into the now bright hallway and slowed down to a walk when he heard footsteps.

"Zach...just the person I was looking for."

"What now Hojo?" Zach demanded, his happiness soon forgotten.

"Come with me, I have...something to show you...but if you refuse, well, suffice to say you know the consequences." Hojo stalked off towards his lab. Zach followed angrily. He wondered what this madman had instore for him, but then he'd rather not know what he wanted with him. Hojo slid his keycard into the lock. The lab was dark and it had the strong odor of Mako and chemicals.

"This way." Zach slowed a little upon hearing this. He didn't want to be here.

"Would you just tell me what you want Hojo?" Zach growled angrily.

"Silence! You will know soon enough. Sit there." Hojo ordered, pointing to a surgical table. Zach unsheathed Apocolypse and laid it down beside the surgical table. He sat down and bit his lower lip in a dreaded fear, nevertheless, he hid it well. He heard Hojo looking through drawers; he was never quiet about it. Zach sighed, trying to get rid of this dreaded fear. He had a bad feeling about all this. He'd never been infused with JENOVA cells; he'd heard it was VERY painful. Maybe Hojo was going to infuse him with that entity's cells. He hoped not, but he had a feeling that Hojo would infuse him with JENOVA's cells. He watched as Hojo fille a syringe with a thin, red liquid; JENOVA's cells. He bit his lip once more and looked away as Hojo sinisterly stepped towards him. Hojo jerked Zach's arm towards him and rubbed it with alcohol. Zach kept his head turned away as Hojo slid the needle into his arm. He couldn't feel the liquid at first, but suddenly, his arm began to burn as if it were on fire. He winced in pain. His shoulders and chest began to ache with the burning sensation. He fell to the ground on his knees, his head in his hands.

"Omae Ua Ore No Nono Da."

"Who are you?!" Zach demanded. Her voice was like Edea's, he recognized it, but he had never heard it before.

Omae Ua Ore No Nono Da." The voice repeated.

"NO! I DON'T belong to you! Leave me!!" Then, no more pain, just...emptiness...blackness. Everything began to blur. He saw nothing but blackness, but whatever he was standing on, it was, well, it looke like a frozen, red gas floor. He reached for Apocolypse, and sure enough, he unsheathed it and held it close to him.

"Where am I? Am I...dead?" He whispered aloud. He couldn't be dead, he couldn't, or was he?

"Omae Ua Ore No Nono Da." The voice said softly. The voice was cold, too cold to even be described.

"Show yourself! Show yourself now JENOVA!" Zach's hands shook in fear and anger. He saw a small figure begin to form in front of him. The figure was about Edea's height. She had large, crystal blue eyes and shoulder length blond hair. Her face was cold and intimidating. Obviously, she was in her human form, not her true form, which was to frighting to behold. She wore a long black, velvet dress. She bore no weapons or armor, at least, from what he could tell.

"You belong to me...Zach Relenia." Her voice was cruel and colder than before.

"What do you wnat with me JENOVA?! Are you here to kill me? The way you killed my people so many years ago?!" She stood, unmoving, not uttering a single word. This infuriated Zach.

"ANSWER ME NOW JENOVA!"

"I only want what you want...bodyguard. You should know by now...what it is you want what you want; what you desire."

"And I s'pose you think you know what I want; and why did you call me bodyguard?"

"Do you not remember? You were Edea's."

"That is one huge load o'shit JENOVA."

"Obviously, you do not remember. Twas eight-thousand years ago, on this very day, that you gave your life for Sorceress Edea. Don't you remember? You died by 'Cetra's Death."

"I'm happy to say that I'm NOT eight-thousand years old JENOVA."

"Ah! But that is the beauty of it all. You have his spirit, his fire, his strength, his life. You are mine Relenia. I can give you what you want, what you need. Just let me control you, just obey me, and you shall...be God." Her voice was calm, yet, demanding all at once. But, he did not want to be God, he had no desire of becoming God.

"I am a Cetra. The Cetra were here to protect the planet, not become its God."

"Ah! You are only half Cetra, unlike your sister. That human part wants to obey me Zach; just let me control you, and you shall be God of this planet."

"NOOO! NEVER! APOCOLYPSE!" Zach cried out. He had never felt this kind of anger before. He slashed her body with all the power and rage which lay within his body. Thirty slashes, then, eight blasts of Meteor. Yet, his ultimate limit break, Apocolypse, had no efect on her, or so he thought. She held her hand up in front of her, and a large, black ball shot from her palm, and it hit him in the abdomen. The blast sent him reeling, his sword skid accross the 'ground' and he moaned in great pain. She stood over him.

"Yes, you are like your father. You have a terrible temper. Your temper will kill you Relenia. Watch your back. Sleep with one eye open, for you never know, when I shall seize control." He now noticed, htat blood dripped down her face, neck, and hands. Her crimson blood soaked her hair and clothing.

"You may have driven me away... for now Relenia. This is not the last." Her voice faded out and once more, everything began to blur.

"Uhn...uh...oh...pain." Zach groaned.

"Shh. Just go back to sleep." A soothing voice whispered.

"Ghast? Where am I? Where's my sister?!" Zach demanded suddenly.

"You're in the infirmary. What happened to you?" A note of genuine concern was laced through Ghast's voice.

"JENOVA...I fought JENOVA...and I won...barely. She...She wants...she wants--" Zach trailed off.

"What does she want?"

"Me. She wants me to be God...so that I can destroy the world."

It had been a few days since the infusion. Ghast had insisted that Zach stay in the infirmary, but he convinced the old scientist otherwise. Zach sighed and looked up at the blue sky. It had been so long since he had been up to the plate, but was it much better than the slums? Not really. He had been restless ever since his...fight...with her. He shook his head to rid that thought; but the damage was not gone. He had her cells inside of him, and he could never get rid of that. Once you had her cells in your body, you would never die, never age, never be injured. But hte aging part was a little different. He would not stop aging until her cells became active, whatever that meant. Zach looked off in the distance, watching the thunder clouds moving in. He turned on his heel and walked back to ShinRaHQ.

*And they say I should be grateful for what they've done for me. All they did was abuse my sister and I and now this* He thought bitterly. He despised ShinRa, and no matter what, he always would. His icy blue Mako eyes glowed with anger.

"Someday...someday Hojo...you'll pay for this, I swear it!" he muttered under his breath. He cursed the madman a few times, mostly to relieve himself. He could only think of what Sashta would say if she culd hear him. But he didn't care. He steped into the cool lobby and was saluted by a guard. Zach returned the salute and headed for the elevator and sighed.

*Will it ever be over?* He thought to himself. He sullenly stared out of the glass window in the elevator. There was...something...different. He culd feel it in the air, everywhere. There was something as if...disaster were at hand. He didn't know why he felt this way. Maybe...no, that was insane, but it was a possibility. Zach turned as he heard the elevator door open. A silence, as if there was no life but his own. He could hear his own heart beating, so fast, so loud. Then he heard it, the shouting. Two angry men, arguing over something...or someone. He recognized one of the voices as Hojo's.

*I hope Sashta's alright.* He hurridley walked toward Hojo's lab; then he broke into a run. He stopped abruptly as he realized that he was right beside the lab. He knelt down beside the door to hear what was going on.

"I'm sick of this. Their parents are dead Hojo, all because of you. They will never know a parents love; Sashta will never know her mother or father; I'm trying to help them. And you...you heartless monster, you can't even feel for them. They need someone to take care of them. It won't hurt them to have SOMEONE to care about them!"

"FINE! You can care for them if you wish, but you leave my son alone; he doesn't need you. The more time you spend with him, the more rebellious he becomes. He will know his place soon enough."

"How can you bear giving your own son such a horrible fate, or should I say, sons."

"No one is to know about Kiros. No one!"

"No matter how hard you try, Sephiroth will find out about his brother. If I have to, I'll see to it, he will know, I won't let you harm them Hojo. And as far as I'm concerned, you don't give a damn about your sons. You treat them as experiments and nothing more. Why can't you treat them the way they should be treated?! They're so afraid of you; you never hold them, you never tell them you love them; instead, you frighten them and beat them. I've seen parents who didn't love their children; but at least THEY had the decencey to try to love them. You are the worst of them Hojo."

"If I took care of them as a father, I wouldn't have my experiments. They were only given life for experimental purposes and nothing more."

"You heartless--" Hojo cut him off.

"If I were you, I'd watch what I would say. On my command, they can die instantly!" Hojo snapped his fingers to emphasize what he meant.

"I would kill you if I could, but I can't. You can die for all I care." Ghast whispered dangerously. The old professor stormed out of Hojo's lab, his face red with anger. He slammed the door as hard as he could. He thought he could hear someone breathing. He walked away for a few feet and turned to face Zach.

"Zach?! What are you doing? How long were you there?" Zach looked up at Ghast with a guilty look on his face. He motioned for Zach to follow him. He crept away, following the professor; he watched as the old professor began to walk down the hall to his lab. He followed his friend, wondering where Sashta could be.

"Ghast? Where's my sister? Is she alright?" Ghast turned and put a finger to his lips to silence him. The boy nodded his head and continued following Ghast in an uncomfortable silence. The scientist slid his keycard into the lock and stepped inside; this time, Zach followed willingly.

"Your sister is right here; she's just fine. I hate to wake her; she seems so peaceful, doesn't she Zach?" Ghast asked wistfully. Which it was true, Sashta did indeed look peaceful as she slept on the small cot.

"Has she been asleep since before I left?"

"Yes she has. Not long after you left, she woke up in tears. She was telling me things that couldn't be true."

"Like what Ghast?"

"She said that quite a few decades from now, Meteor was to be summoned by a man who bore the name of Kiros; that he would be behind all the death and destruction that was to occure; that he would find the Promised Land, and within it, become God; that when Meteor struck the Earth, he would stand at the wound that Meteor would cause and absorb the Lifestream which would give him godly strength and powers; she told me of a girl named Rydia who would have inherited Ricydia's power; that she would transform the Black materia to hide it from Kiros. I was hoping that YOU could tell me what has gotten into her, because for one, I don't know."

"She's telling the truth Ghast. She was asleep before she told you this, wasn't she?"

"Yes, yes she was. Why do you ask?"

"Do you remember when I told you about Sashta's dreams?"

"Yes, but what does that have to with this?"

"Everything." Zach could see how confused Professor Ghast was. He had no idea what was going on. Zach knew that Sashta's dreams had been given to her by Edea, but this one couldn't have been from Edea. He had a feeling it was given to her by the God Kefka.

"It's like this...." He said as he began to explain what her dreams meant. Meanwhile, somebody else was having other thoughts. Hojo paced around his lab, wringing his clammy hands behind his back. He was bent over, as if he were deep in thought.

"Be quiet!" Hojo snapped. He looked up at the young SOLDIER who stood near the door. He could never forget this face, the face that belonged to Emily Desiour. She was only one of the top ten first class SOLDIERs. Her fighting skills were fantastic. He had seen her fight; her aim with the crossbow was uncomparable. The crossbow, the only weapon she would fight with, and the white arrows, by far the most powerful type of arrow on this conmtinent. She was also the most beautiful SOLDIER Hojo had ever seen. She had soft blue eyes and firey red hair which fell to her hips; her skin was a delicate white, as delicate as the petals of a lily. She wore a black t-shirt and very baggy black pants which seemed to be two sizes too big.

Hojo looked back at the ground and continued pacing, muttering furiously. Emily glanced down at her watch.

*If I don't get out of here soon, I'm going to be extremely late*

"Ummm...sir? I need to go, if it is alright with you. I'm, late as it is." Emily sounded timid, but her face betrayed no emotion. She chewed on her lower lip, wondering what he'd say.

"Desiour...whatever mission you were assigned, you would fulfill it, wouldn't you?" His voice seemed to taunt her.

"Yes...sir."

"Well then, I have a mission for you. I want you to terminate Professor Ghast. He knows too much as it is and I can't have him spoiling my plans."

"Sir...I shall fulfill any mission I am assigned. But I shan't murder an innocent man."

"Think of it as...getting rid of a terrible evil."

*In other words, you want me to kill you?* Emily thought to herself.

"You will obey your superiors Desiour. I AM your superior, obey me and kill him. Or I could have Sashta killed."

"Zach would never let that happen." Emily hissed bitterly. She continued to stare coldly at him, this time, her face betrayed her emotions. Why did he use this to get what he wanted? Was it because anytime he did, he could cause them to be submissive? Most likely.

"You wouldn't kill her. She is your only Cetrin experiment. You won't experiment on Zach because you're afraid of him. Besides, Zach is inferior to Sashta. Their father is alive, and he has no Cetrin origins. You wouldn't kill off your own experi experiment now would you?" Emily taunted, hoping that this would work. She wouldn't kill Ghast, but she didn't want Sashta to die either. She prayed that this would work.

Hojo began to think of what he could do to force her to kill him. He knew she was right, without Sashta, he wouldn't have the Promised Land. Then he remembered it. He had some blackmail on her, and another who was involved.

"Are you going to stand there and stare, or are you going to carry out your mission? Or, some certain people could find out about your little secret."

"Find someone else Hojo, I don't care who you tell, and I'm sure Zach wouldn't care either, but I shan't kill him." Emily turned on her heel and left without saying another word. Hojo straightened and prepared to follow her, but decided to go against it.

"I can always use you for other purposes Desiour" Hojo murmered to himself. He stepped out of his lab, a new plan forming within hid unstable mind. He walked to the elevator and pressed the button for the 74th floor. Luckily Heideggar's office was on the same floor as Pres.ShinRa's. He tapped his foot impatiently as he waited for the elevator to stop.

"Finally." He muttered in an annoyed voice. He walked towards Heideggar's office and knocked on the door.

"ENTER!" The voice sounded irritated.

"Good evening Heideggar."

"What do you want now Hojo, I'm rather busy at the moment."

"Would you send Azar Amaroso to my lab?"

"And what do you need the general for?"

"I have a mission for him." And with that, Hojo silently left. Meanwhile......

"So she was telling the truth." Ghast whispered

"But why Zach? Why would the gods be doing this to her?"

"I already told you."

"No, I mean, why would they warn Sashta about...that?"

"Maybe she can stop it from happening. She does have the power to, more so than I."

"I'll have to agree with you; you'd know more about it than I would."

"What's wrong Zach, Ghast?" Sashta asked sleepily.

"Did we wake you?"

"Uh huh, but I don't think I could go back to sleep."

"Well, it's good that you're awake Sashta." Ghast replied warmly.

"Oh no!" Sashta groaned. Zach and Ghast chuckled.

"Why is is good that I'm awake?"

"Because Hojo's ordered me to give you another Mako infusion." Zach's brow darkened and his eys flashed with fear and anger.

"Don't worry. I've diluted the Mako so that it's eighty percent water." The professor reasurred.

"It doesn't look like it."

"Dyes always come in handy." Ghast replied with a warm smile. Zach couldn't help but smile as well.

"So...I'm not going to get sick this time?"

"No Sashta, you won't I promsie."

"Well, alright!" Sashta said cheerfully. Ghast picked up a syringe, some cotton, and the rubbing alcohol. Sashta rolled up the sleeve on her left arm. Ghast rubbed a little of the alcohol onto her arm using the small cotton ball. He slightly pinched the clean area on her arm and poked the needle in. Sashta winced slightly.

"Sorry."

"It's alright Ghast."

"There! All done." Sashta rolled her sleeve down, her long hair began to cascade over her shoulder.

"Sashta, I think it's time for you to go to bed now."

"O.K. Zach."

"Goodnight Sashta, goodnight Zach."

"Goodnight!" Zach and Sashta replied in unison. Sashta ran over to Ghast and gave in a hug. He hugged her back and watched them leave with tears in his eyes. He loved them as if they were his own children. They seemed to treat him as a father, unlike his own son. He cleaned up the lab and wiped his eyes. Suddenly, he heard footsteps aproaching him.

"Zach, is that you?"

"Why don't you turn around and see for yourself."

"Azar Amaroso. What do you want?!" Ghast asked sharply.

"Other than Desiour...your blood."

"Wh-what?"

"Some say death is peaceful...others disagree. But in your case, your last moments shall be filled with suspense as you anticipate, the arrival of you death. You may or may not know when death shall come unto thy body. "Why are you doing this?"

"I always obey my superiors...father." Azar pulled his silenced pistol out of its holster, made a careful aim, and pulled the trigger. There was a crash as Ghasts body hit the ground. He smiled maliciously and returned the gun to its place.

"Quick enough father?" Azar smirked and left the room.

Part 3 coming very shortly

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