A Tilted Axys

Chapter 16

"Are you sure that she won't come back?" Rufus asked Professor Kaio, looking to the stasis chamber that held the head of Jenova.

"Positive. There's no way that she can escape my stasis chamber. Hojo was a fool, I am not."

"And she can't contact the others?"

"She cannot."

From behind the glass, the deformed woman raged in her silent slumber. 'You fools. How dare you underestimate me yet again! I will kill you all!"


{One week later}

'Kadaj . . .' Came the soft voice in his sleep.

"Go away!" He muttered.

'You betrayed me . . . let her destroy me . . . why, Kadaj . . . don't you care about me?'

He thrashed in his bed, trying desperately to rid himself of the bitter voice.

Yuri watched from the doorway, concerned and frightened. This was the fourth night that he had been tortured with the dream. He never knew who's voice haunted him, only that is was painfully familiar. He had told her who he was, and all about their mother, so Yuri immediately knew who to call when she saw him sit up, and heard his confused voice gasp "Mother!"

"Loz." Reno said, poking the big man. "Loz, wake up. You're having the dream again."

Loz groaned and forced himself to wake. "What time is it?" He grumbled.

"It's 9:30, babe. You slept in. I gotta get to work, but I'll come straight back after, okay?"

Loz nodded and kissed Reno. "See you later then."

After Reno left, Loz lay in the bed. That voice was so familiar . . . Why couldn't he place it? He'd heard it before . . . a lot. It was always there . . . who was it?! When the answer hit him, he was so shocked that he fell off the bed.

"Mother!"


Axys watched her husband as he dozed in a chair be the fireplace. He'd been having strange dreams for the past few nights, as had she, but his were more intense. A voice, calling to them. Pleading with them. A woman, begging to be allowed back inside. It hurt, that she couldn't figure out who it was. It bothered her more than anything. Her attention was drawn back to Yazoo when he began to moan and broke out into a sweat.

"No!" he said, "No! Go away! We killed you! Leave us be!" He said, frantically.

At this point, Axys knew that he had recognized the voice. She rushed to him and began shaking his shoulders, calling his name.

"Yazoo! Wake up, now!! Who is it? Do you know the voice? Who is it, Yazoo?!"

His eyes slowly opened and he stared at her with a dazed expression.

"It's Mother!"

"What?" Axys gasped, falling to her knees before him. "How?"

He never had the chance to answer her as they were both overtaken by intense pain. Axys grabbed her head and screamed.

When she awoke, she was in a black void. Green fog floated all around. "Axys!" Came Yazoo's voice. She turned around and saw him standing not far from her, along with Kadaj and Loz.

She walked to them. "What is this? Where are we?" She said, rubbing her head.

"I-I don't know, Koi, but we'll figu-"

"Filth." Came a voice, stopping him short. "Garbage. Traitors. You let them kill me. You BETRAYED me!"

Axys stepped forward in the darkness. "You're a liar! A fraud! Give it up, Jenova!" The name was said with bitter disdain.

The void filled in before her and the deformed body of Jenova hazed into view.

"You idiots! That little Cetran whore tricked you, and you fell for it! You let her turn you against me! You HELPED them HURT me!"

"Cetran . . ." Axys whispered. "Aerith?!"

"That little bitch . . . She disguised herself as me . . . LIED to you! There was no CLONE! It was ME! You pathetic whelps!"

"She . . . she tricked us? You . . . You really DID want us to . . . to-" Kadaj said, stepping forward.

"I STILL desire it, my son . . . I will give you another chance!" Jenova said, coming forward and trailing her mutated hand across Kadaj's face. "Don't you want to make me happy? To be better than . . . " She paused and leaned closer to his ear, whispering the one word that was sure to win him over. " . . . Sephiroth?"

Axys saw Kadaj's will fail him. When he turned back to her, his eyes were glowing, and filled with hatred again.

"No!" Axys said. "Fight her, Kadaj! Think of Yuri! Yazoo," She turned to her husband, "help!" Her voice caught in her throat when she saw Yazoo and Loz. Their eyes held the same evil glow. Yazoo looked like he had the day she met him. She rushed to him and threw her arms around his neck.


The sudden surge of power was unexpected. It captured Yazoo and held him tightly as he struggled to control the hatred that now ran through him. He could feel the pull of Jenova. The anger. The bitterness. The need to kill. The feeling hit him so hard, and so fast that he didn't even have a chance to try to fight it before he felt Jenova take control of his body. The young woman standing between them became not his wife, but his enemy.


"No! No, Yazoo!" She sobbed. "Please, come back, baby! Remember Zurui! Don't let her do this, I lo-" She was cut off when he threw her to the ground. She whirled around and tried to stand, but his boot stopped her when he slammed his foot into her chest.

"Submit!" A voice rang in her head.

"Never! I will not abandon my family!"

"I AM your family!"

"No you're not! You are a monster!"

She gasped for breath, and it was given when he fell to his knees beside her.

"Run!" He said, hoarsely.

"No, I won't leave you here with HER!" Axys denied.

He slapped her hard across the face. "Go!" He roared, "NOW!"

"This way!" came an unfamiliar voice. Axys turned towards it and saw a beautiful woman in pink. "Come on, Axys, I can only hold the portal open for a moment!" Aerith said.

She looked at Yazoo. He was on his knees, fighting hard to keep from attacking her.

"I love you!" She said. Light enveloped her and she was once again in the mansion den. Yazoo was nowhere to be found. She collapsed to the ground, sobbing. She heard Zurui crying upstairs, and heard quick, light footsteps stop behind her. She whirled around.

"Vincent!"

"Yuri called me. Where is Yazoo?" He said, lifting Axys to her feet and pulling her close to him.

"S-s-she's still alive, Vincent! Iit was Aerith the whole time, not Jenova! There is no c-c-clone! ShinRa . . . They lied to us!"