She sat confined in that tiny, hot room. Stretched out onto a metal table that chilled her, but did nothing to relieve the stifling temperature of the room. Nervous sweat beaded her brow, and she tried to raise her hand to wipe it away. But her hand wouldn't move. It was strapped down.

Looking down at herself, she saw that both hands and feet were strapped down to the hard table. Panic suddenly overrode her and she tried to pull her arms and legs free. But even with all her strength, nothing happened.

But through her panic, she could feel it. All those people were watching her, studying her. Trying to learn about her. Although she couldn't hear or see anything she knew that they were there.

That was when the voices started. So soft it almost sounded as if they were inside her head. When the voices came, it started soft, but became louder, and angrier. They wanted something from her, but couldn't get it. She didn't need to hear the words. She just knew what they were talking about.

That was the way it was every day. The voices would come and talk about a way to get what they wanted. Then the pain would start again.

It started with a bright light, so bright that it would hurt her eyes. Then she felt a prodding all over her body. Sometimes a sharp burning sensation would follow. Other times, just cold chills. After the prodding, her whole body ached. Nothing would happen for a few minutes, and then it would begin again. No. Not again, just beginning. The real pain of then searching for what they wanted. It was so horrible that it was indescribable. But after, there would be lingering pain. It could last for hours, even days. It could be a burning sensation, stabbing pains that she felt whenever she moved, cold chills that made her tremble so much that the wouldn't be able to hold her hand still, or just a dull gnawing aching in her bones.

The pain was never the same, but it seemed that it always could get more painful. In any case, she never thought that it would end. Her life would be one torture after another . . .

Rathena sat straight up in bed. She wiped the cold sweat from her brow and took a shaky breath. If any other person had that dream, they would have called it a nightmare. But Rathena didn't know what a nightmare was so she took it for what it was.

It was her past. And it haunted her with a vengeance. This was a reoccurring dream that she'd had since she as far back as she remembered. And they had gotten worse now that she was travelling with these people.

She stood up and walked to the window. As her gaze wandered around the sleeping town, it rested on the Shin-Ra Mansion.

Rathena couldn't explain it, but she felt that she had some connection with the place. It was strange but she also felt that it would be very important to her in the future.

A stray image from the dream crossed her mind, and she barely suppressed a shudder.

Gazing at the moon, she knew that her time would come when the ones who hurt her would pay.

"Ah!" Ash gasped when he tripped over a pile of boxes in the old Nibelheim Mako Reactor. He didn't recover his balance quickly enough and he had to bring his arms up to protest himself from the avalanche of crates that had been piled next to the boxes. There was a loud crash and everybody looked at the boy.

Although he hadn't been hurt, the looks that the other's gave him could have killed him. "Sorry," Ash said with a sheepish look on his forehead. "I tripped."

Jet shook his head. "How'd you manage to trip over a mountain of boxes?"

"I really have no idea."

Victor walked up to Ash with a scowl on his face and his arms crossed. "So much for a sneak entry. Can't you watch where you're going?"

"Wha? And what is that supposed to mean?" Ash returned the angry glare. But before anybody said anything else, Aeris intervened.

"Quiet," she said in a strong but calm voice. "Don't you think that there's something wrong here?"

As everyone stopped and puzzled over what the girl had just said, Alan walked up to Aeris. "Where are the alarms? After Ash just made that much noise, I find it hard to believe that they don't know we're here."

"Well, maybe I'm just lucky," Ash said smiling smugly.

Rathena glared. "Fool. No one is that lucky. They must be expecting us, and have set a trap." Rathena's eves kept darting around the room.

Everyone paused, expecting something to happen. But nothing did. "See? I told you guy's not to worry. I've inherited my parents' luck!"

Jet frowned. "From what I've heard about that, we have reason to worry even more."

Despite the tense atmosphere, everyone broke down and chuckled at Ash's angry expression. "I resent that," he stated with his arm's crossed. "I resent that strongly."

The laugh did them all good, and they no longer felt as worried. So they continued to follow Nanaki who was in the lead. Since he had visited the reactor before, he chose to lead the way.

Before long they got to a large door with the name 'JENOVA' written above it. Shivers ran throughout all of their bodies. Each one of them could easily recall stories about the monster named JENOVA.

Although nobody wanted to enter the room, they decided that it would be best if they wanted to thoroughly search the reactor.

"You go first," Ash said to Alan, giving him a slight push from behind.

"No way. Why don't you go first?" Before the two could continue this bickering session, Aeris intervened. She shouldered her way between the two boys and opened the door.

She sighed to herself thinking how immature boys were. But all thought's of her companions left her mind when she saw what was in the room. She had expected to find the JENOVA monster jumping out at them, but what she saw, was much worse.

In a cage, on the other side of a room that had otherwise been totally cleared out, Marlene lay slumped on the ground, passed out looking very pale.
Chapter 18