***Life is too good at getting in the way of things. Sorry for the delay. I've reworked this chapter about four times, so I hope it's coherent and enjoyable for you. Feel free to leave constructive criticism, because I'd like to get better at conveying ideas and images through words.

He was almost grateful to the robot Cait Sith for calling him. How the cat, or Reeve for that matter, knew his cell phone number was beyond him, but the break in monotony from the last thirty-six hours had been welcomed. Cait had given him co-ordinates and asked him to 'Kindly get your arse over here, General.'.

Worry had been eating at his temper and his stomach ever since Yuffie had left on her 'scouting mission'. Sephiroth was vaguely sure that the entire camp breathed a simultaneous sigh of relief when he had driven away. The co-ordinates Cait had given were not far, only four miles from the camp and shack that had recently been explored. He gunned the engine, wanting to reach his destination quickly. Wherever the robot was, Yuffie was nearby, and if it was the cat calling him and not Yuffie, she must be in some kind of trouble. Every touch of the brake make him curse loudly. There was no one in the vehicle to hear him.

He stopped the vehicle several meters away from from where Cait was jumping and waving at him. Sword in hand, he met the cat, eyes scanning the area to see where Yuffie was.

"Ho, General! Sorry to bother you, but the lass hasn't come back out or contacted me for hours now. I'd have gome meself, but my sensors go all sorts of bonky in there."

"Where is she?"

"Follow me, General!" The cat dashed to the side of a low hill, pointing at the grass covered mound of earth. "In there."

"She's under a hill?"

"Nay, nay! There's a right sparkly tunnel here." Cait put a gloved hand apparently through the grass and back out again, shaking it slightly as though trying to rid it of something unpleasant. "It goes in ten meters, then slopes downward nearly half a kilometer before I lost contact. Here," the cat reached inside its cape and pulled an ear piece out. "but fat lot 'a good it'll do ye."

Sephiroth frowned at the grassy piece of earth before him for a moment before stepping through the illusion. He found himself inside a tunnel large enough that the vehicle could have driven inside it with ease. The walls had the appearance of gritty sand with each grain a tiny point of iridescent light in hues of blue and green. When he reached out to touch the tunnel wall, he was surprised to find it smooth as if it were polished yesterday. There was plenty of light to see easily, but the light got brighter the farther he looked down the tunnel.

With no footprints or even dust on the gently sloping floor, he began walking cautiously forward. There were no branching tunnels that he could see, no sounds but his own boots and the metallic jingle of various metal clasps as he moved. He noticed that as he moved forward, the tunnel was curving to his right.

"Cait, how long after the tunnel goes to the right did you lose contact?"

'Eh, the last contact was thirty meters past where you are now, General.'

"What was the last ting you heard?"

'She said 'Whoa! ' an not but static after.'

"Wonderful."

'Be careful, General. I'll have a mighty hard time explainin' how I've lost the both of ye.'

"I'm sure Tuesti would think of something."

'Aye, but it might not be flattering.'

"I somehow doubt my reputation would be ruined by unaccounted time with Yuffie."

'That's true 'nough. I'll call Reeve in two hours if I lose you, General.'

"Agreed."

It did not take long for him to pass the last point of contact with Yuffie. Cait Sith did not answer him at all when he tried to reach the robot. The tunnel had turned a full circle under itself, and the light was nearly as bright as the afternoon sun, though it was still tinged with blue and green. Five more steps brought him to the point where the tunnel expanded into the entrance of a cavern.

The cavern was huge, large enough to fit a small airship inside. It appeared empty, but his eyes quickly found a dark colored spot on the floor near the entrance. He ran forward, ignoring any training in caution or stealth he had because the dark spot was Yuffie. She did not move at the sounds of his approach and his heart sank into his stomach at the thought of her so badly injured that she would not respond to an obvious approach by an unknown person.

His eyes barely caught a gleam of blue across the cavern entrance before he skidded to a stop. His coat edge hit the blue gleam and stopped as though it had encountered a solid wall. His hand came out, finding that the gleam was a shield of some kind. It did not yield to the force of his hand, even when he banged against it with all of his strength.

"YUFFIE!" He yelled, hoping that sound would reach through the shield and rouse the apparently unconscious woman on the floor. He could see the gentle rise and fall of her breathing, and there was no blood or bodily injury that he could see, so she was at least alive. As he watched her, her chest filled with a large breath, and she rolled over onto her side, yawning. Her eyes caught sight of him, and she quickly sat up, blinking comically for a few seconds before standing and coming up to the blue barrier that separated them. Yuffie's movements were easy and he breathed a large sigh of relief at finding her without injury. She started signing words to him, shaking a fist at him when he did not pay attention at first. He made a mental note to find out where she had learned Shinra military sign language.

'You can't pass through the barrier?'

'No. Are you safe? Injured?'

'I'm fine. You look tired.'

'Yes. How did you get in there?'

'There wasn't a barrier when I came in.' Sephiroth frowned at that. It made sense that Yuffie would not enter a place there was no escape from. 'I searched all over on this side, it only goes further down and into other rooms. I found something interesting, and I found what's powering Hojo's lab.'

'Here?' Yuffie nodded, and then turned her head to look at something that distracted her. He watched her mouth move, talking but not hearing anything through the barrier, when his eyes caught sight of something strange even to his eyes. At first, he thought it was merely a tall human, but the body shape was wrong. The limbs were too long, the head elongated, torso too thin and it moved with too smooth a motion as it walked to be human or robot. Before he could become more alarmed, the blue barrier disappeared. Sephiroth wasted no time in joining Yuffie, coming to stand between her and the creature that was walking through the cavern.

"It's okay, Sephy. He won't hurt us." He felt her hand on his upper arm, the one he would use to pull the sword that his hand was already beginning to unsheathe. He watched as the creature came to a stop several paces away. It turned to them and bowed, hands clasped and raised even with its head at the lowest part of the movement, then spoke in a language that he did not recognize. Yuffie responded, and he turned to look at the woman beside him, wondering how she spoke and understood a language he had never heard before. The creature nodded and then continued to walk through the cavern. His eyes found several more tunnels that lead away from the main room they were in.

"What is going on?" Sephiroth removed his hand from the sword hilt with effort, finding that it clenched into a fist instead. "Why have you been out of contact for so long?"

"Geez, you're cranky! Didn't anyone bring you food or even coffee?"

"Yuffie, I realize that hold no official position or power over you, but on a personal level I'd appreciate it if you wouldn't take so many risks with your safety." Sephiroth rubbed his temple with the hand that was not clenched into a fist. The headache from lack of caffeine and proper meals was beginning to spike. "I haven't slept or eaten well the last thirty-six hours due to worrying about you." Yuffie blinked at him, eyes wide with honest surprise.

"I-" She paused, biting her lower lip slightly before continuing. "I'm sorry, Sephy. I'm not used to people worrying about me. Even my old man didn't worry much." Sephiorth sighed deeply, dropping his hand and releasing the fist his other hand had been in. Yuffie was safe, and that had been his primary concern since she had left. "Look, Sephy, he said the barrier will stay down, but we have to help fix the problem Hojo caused to this place."

"How do you know what it's saying? I've never heard the language it uses before."

"It's the language that ancient Wutainese is based on. I think he's using it because that's the last one it knows humans used while there was still contact."

"Contact?"

"He was made by the Cetra." It was Sephiroth's turn to blink in surprise at Yuffie. "He says this is a 'resting place', and that the power source has been polluted and that's what's causing the issue with animal life around here." Yuffie took one of this hands and pulled gently, walking backward and trying to get him to follow her. He walked after her, and she turned around without releasing his hand. "It's this way. I'm not strong enough to dislodge it by myself, but I think we can do it if you help."

They walked into one of the tunnels, the same texture and lighting as the one he used to enter the cavern, only the lighting was tinted green instead of blue. He recalled that the lighting in the other tunnels was of different colors as well. Yuffie did not release his hand, and had instead twined her fingers with his. She was still leading the way, and he felt oddly content despite the unknown situation he was walking into. She brought him into another room, smaler than the large cavern they had previously been in. The center of the room had a pedestal that was made of a creamy-white material that to his eye was like a seashell with a giant pearl at the top. He could not be sure due to the distance from where Yuffie had stopped and where the pedestal was. There was a distortion of the air around it, a sickly green crackling energy slid along its surface but also a circular sheild around it that prevented the green energy from seeping out and contaminating the tunnel system and surrounding land above.

"That's what's wrong. See the Mako tube that's attached?" He did indeed see the tube, as well as the connector that was biting into the pearl with metallic teeth, marring the surface of it with cracks. Sephiroth walked toward the pedistel, this time leading Yuffie forward. She had not released his hand yet, and he would not be the one to let go just yet. The tube lead into the cavern wall and presumably went directly to the lab that had been recently explored. He felt anger beginning to burn at him at the disregard Hojo held for all things. The cracks that radiated along the wall from the tube had dimmed the light it emitted, making it look like nothing but sandy looked up when he heard a gentle step nearby and found the guardian standing there, waiting for something. Yuffie was already talking to it.

"What did it say?"

"He said he can contain the energy from removing the tube and repair the orb, but we have to remove it."

"I wonder how Hojo even found this place, there was nothing to even indicate there is Mako energy available here."

"Your guess is as good as mine, Sephy."

Sephiroth reluctantly leg go of Yuffie's hand and tentatively touched the Mako tube before attempting to lift it. The tube was as thick as one of his legs, but it was flexible and easily moved despite it's weight. He could see why Yuffie was not able to remove it on her own. He went to get a closer look at the orb the tube was attached to, frowning at seeing the metal claws dug deep into it. He did not attempt to touch the orb or the connector near it.

"Tell our friend to get ready. Much as I'd rather investigate this before trying to remove it, I don't want to bring other people here if possible." For some reason, the thought of humans running and bumbling around the tunnels and rooms disturbed him. The place seemed to be meant for peace and quiet, something humans were rarely capable of. He was already trying to formulate what to put in his report about the power source without lying.

"Okay, he's ready. Let's do it!" Yuffie came behind him, also taking hold of the tube. It was more akward to hold for her due to the difference in stature between them, but she managed to pick it up without much trouble. The guardian came to stand next to the pillar, well within the crackling green energy that made him uneasy to look at.

It took several minutes of pulling by both of them to remove the Mako tube from the orb. Sephiroth flinched at the sounds the connector teeth made as they were being torn from the orb. Once it was free, both he and Yuffie fell backward from momentum, the Mako tube giving a few crackles of power at the connector as it fell to the floor. He watched as the guardian remained standing, one hand in the shield that contained the green Mako leaking from the damaged orb. It turned and spoke to them before returning it's attention to the damaged orb.

"He said thank you, and that we should go to the tranquil pool before leaving. I think he's worried about you since you're so worn out and cranky." He looked over his shoulder, attempting to glare at her but not finding the energy to put much effort into it. Yuffie stood up, brushing at her shorts with her hands before reaching out with both of them to help him stand. Sephiroth had a flash of irritation that she thought he could not stand up on his own, but at the same time gratitude that she was offering to help him. He took her offer of help to stand up, again astounded that a petite woman like Yuffie had the strength to pull him up without much effort. "I know which pool he means, let's go."

She lead the way back into the large main cavern, and went toward a tunnel that was lit with purple and blue light. This tunnel sloped gently downward like the first one he had used to find Yuffie, but was much shorter and ended in a small room with a clear pool at one end. The walls seemed to extend beyond the pool and downward due to the darkness beyond the edge of the rocks that lined the outer edge of the pool.

"Have you ever been to the Forgotten City, Sephy?"

"No. There has never been a reason for my presense there." In truth, it had never occurred to him to go to the City. No one ever seemed to remember it was there.

"I'll take you sometime. Anyway, the City is a lot like this." Yuffie said as she walked to the edge of the pool and sat down to remove her boots. "Even the pools of water are sort of like this. This one is special though, it rejuvinates you instead of just being refreshing." Her socks and belt joined the boots along with several knives and pouches. Sephiroth watched her step into the pool with bare feet, turning to look at him. "What? C'mon, take off your boots and heavy stuff and come in. It's not cold." He slowly approached the pool, debating whether to join her as he walked, and sat down to remove his boots and weapons as she had done despite thinking it was foolish to be separated from his weapons and shoes.

Stepping into the water was like a gentle pulse of energy going through his body. Already his feet and legs felt less fatigued. He also noticed that the water did not seem to soak into his pant legs as he thought it should. Yuffie smiled and went deeper to sit down so that the water came up to her ribs and nearly covered her knees. Sephiroth joined her, again finding that he clothes were not heavy from water soaking into them. He sat down next to her, lifting a handful of the qater and watching as it dripped back into the pool.

"Look there." Yuffie pointed at the wall beyond the edge of the pool. His tired eyes found an odd sight: four faces carved into or from the wall. Each had a different expression, none of them worrisome. "Do you know what that is?"

"It looks familiar, but I can't think of why."

"It's Da Chao. See, the features are different, but the expressions are the same. I wonder, if Wutai adopted Da Chao from the Cetra, or the other way around?"

"You could ask your friend back there I suppose."

"Hmph. Are you still cranky?"

"As I said before, I have neither slept nor eaten well since you left. I am not known to be amiable when lacking either." Sephiroth closed his eyes and took a deep breath, allowing himself to completely submerge. After a few seconds, he opened his eyes, finding that the water did not sting or irritate his eyes. Yuffie's head came into view, slightly distorted by the liquid he was looking through. He looked back at her until his lungs told him he needed to breath again. Coming out of the water left his hair dripping but not soaked, and the tiredness he had felt before was all but gone. Yuffie had moved to sit on her knees as he lifted his head back into the air, he head tilted to one side as she watched him.

Sephiroth stood up and walked through the pool to the open edge of the pool. He looked up at the faces, and found that they were indeed the same as Da Chao. He briefly wondered if the faces would respond if asked a question. His eyes wandered down to the blackness below the pool and faces. The silence should have been overwhelming, but somehow it was peaceful.

"Sephy?" Yuffie had not moved. He sighed, not wanting to leave the peaceful silence of the room, but knowing there was little time left before Cait would put in a call to Tuesti. The waterproof watch on his wrist confirmed this.

"We should get going. Cait only gave me two hours before he would announce that we were missing, and I'm not sure I want to learn the excuses Tuesti can come up with." Yuffie sputtered and laughed quietly, but stood and walked out of the pool with him. By the time boots were laced and weapons and belts returned to their place they were dry. It was an easy walk back into the large cavern, and they both looked at the green tunnel before turning toward the blue one that lead to the surface.

"I feel bad not saying goodbye to him."

"I don't think it minds."

"Hey!" Yuffie yelled before jumping onto his back, nearly knocking him over as her arms and legs wrapped around him. He felt her head near his so he refrained from turning to try to look at her. "Call him 'him'! 'It' isn't nice!"

"Do I look like a beast of burden to you?"

"No! But he's not going to be meeting any other people probably ever, so why not be nice like you are to me?"

"You are a special case. Being nice to anyone else would ruin my reputation as an unfeeling military machine."

"Well, when you put it like that I can't really argue." Yuffie made no move to get off of his back, so he sighed and moved his arms to support her weight under her legs and continued walking. "Faster! Go faster, Sephy!"

"No."

"Aw, man!"