Hi my awesomely awesome reviewers and readers! Well here it is! The chappie where I mention my reviewers. A big thank you to the following: Redlei, losttoxichope, okatu dreamer, Rockreaper, Hafaku, The Red Hawk, and Lord Makura. Thank you so much guys! Now then, I promised some Yuffentine action in this chapter, so yuffentine action you shall get! Oh yeah, if any of you are at all disappointed in the fact that I have yet to write the KH 2 fic (since that won the vote) but I have half the first chapter written so as soon as I am done with this story, I can get right to the next! Oh yeah, and a big thanks to my Beta, The Red Hawk. You've been great! Well, on with the show!
Disclaimer: I own Final Fantasy 7. No, really, I have a copy of the game in my room. Well, okay I don't OWN it, own it, but you get the picture.
The five travelers hid in the nearest shadow of a building, pressing themselves against the wall. It was now two days after they discovered the mako reactor they planned to destroy, and spent all this time finding weaknesses in it's design they could penetrate and planning how to get to the plant that, when damaged, could result in exploding the whole place.
But they had to do it perfectly, or they would blow with it. So they carefully devised a route inside the mako reactor by way of sewer, then they would sneak past the guards, kill the ones by the plant quietly, destroy the plant, and high-tail it out of the place before they could be recognized or blown to bits.
Kai looked each way before dubbing the streets clear and opening the way into the sewers in the middle of the street. A bile stench seeped in the air around them, making them all scrunch their nose in silent disgust. Nanaki jumped down and a few seconds later a soft 'splat' was heard. Denzel reluctantly followed, then Marlene.
Anette smiled quickly to Kai before she squeezed her eyes shut and jumped down the hold. She felt icky slime close in around her and then her feet felt ground under them, a layer of disgusting water above it going about to mid calf. Kai grabbed onto the railing inside (the others decided to be quick about it and jump), close up the lid and then dropped down with the others.
"Well, that wasn't too bad, was it?" Nanaki told the not-so-hopeful underlings, the smell clinging to their clothes. Anette walked forward, some green stuff in her eyes blocking some of her vision. "I don't know, I think I have some in my eyes," She said, trying to rub it out. Before any one could to anything, Nanaki jumped onto Anette and she slid a few feet after hitting the ground. "What the hell Nanaki?" She demanded, rubbing her newly road-rashed leg.
"Don't move!" He growled, not moving from his position as she struggled under him. "That goo is leaking from the mako reactor. It's a toxin that could make you go blind or worse!" Anette froze in an instant. Kai knelt beside her, digging out eye drops. "How many will we need?" Kai asked.
"Get three to start with. Thankfully we haven't give it much time to spread, so we can still catch it in time to keep it from affecting Anette at all," Nanaki said with wisdom and calmness, taking charge as the unofficial 'leader' that was dubbed the day the left. "We should also get some water to help rinse it out first and see how well that does."
Denzel and Marlene opened the med kit they brought in search of water. Sure enough, a small container of water was neatly set inside. "Will this do?" Marlene asked, holding up the bottle. Nanaki nodded and she went over to Anette. "Why won't you at least get off me? I won't move!" Anette pleaded to Nanaki, who was still sitting atop her dutifully. "Because this is going to sting, so you might squirm, therefore making our job harder. So I suggest you put up with it for just a little bit more," He told her firmly.
Anette gulped and bit her lower lip. If she screamed, Kyukan soldiers were bound to come running. Marlene carefully poured the water over her eyes and Nanaki might given and understatement when he said 'sting' it was more like a throbbing sting that feels as sharp as metal. She let out a small whimper, only a fraction of noise compared to if she wasn't biting back.
She tried to move out from under Nanaki, but he was too heavy. "Naki, you really have to lose some weight," She said bluntly, holding back the appearance of pain as best she could. Nanaki snorted. "My apologies miss if a fire lion is physically unable to weigh the same as a human, because if we did, we would die from mal nourishment."
Next were the eye drops. It felt amazing compared to the stinging the water had given. A hissing sound was heard and steam rose from the goo that melted away. She could now see clearly. After forcing Nanaki off her, she rubbed her eyes tentatively. No goo was left. She smiled gratefully at all of them, a small hint of a glare at Nanaki. "Come on! We can't lose too much more time," She said and walked down the sewer to the exit, the others close behind her.
When they finally reached the way out, Anette turned to Kai. "Give me a boost," She said, pointing to the door above them. Kai sighed and moved closer to her. Anette blushed several shades of red as he slid his arms around her waist, gave her a small kiss on the cheek, and hoisted her up onto his shoulder.
Its amazing . . . she's so light. How much does she eat anyways? Kai thought to himself. When all of Anette's weight rested on her hip bones, she felt a bit heavier, or at least enough to convince Kai she didn't starve herself. Her hands groped as high as they could and slid onto the handle. "Ready guys?" She asked. The others nodded in response, with the exception of Kai who in his current state was unable to, so instead he gazed at her in response. She opened the door the smallest bit to look through the crack and see if there were any guards. "Coast is clear," She whispered and slid up out of the door, forcing it open all the way.
She reached her hand down as far as she could and felt Kai's calloused hand grasp hers. She grasped onto it with her other hand and pulled him up. Next went Marlene, then Denzel. Nanaki backed up considerably, then bolted and jumped with amazing speed and grace. He landed with all four paws on the ground above. "They weren't joking when they said you were the only one that age hasn't slowed down, were they?" Denzel whispered, earning a whack in the face with his flaming tail. "Stay quiet you fool! And if they were joking, they wouldn't have sent me with you four!" He hissed to the boy.
Anette checked around the corner. She then stealthily crossed over to the pillar ahead of her, motioning for the others to follow. Marlene zipped across quietly. Nanaki followed, then Kai, and Denzel was about to go before he pointed behind them. The all listened and heard the clack of boots. Denzel pressed himself as low to the floor as he could before jumping up and holding himself against the ceiling.
Anette pulled out her guns and closed her eyes. A creamy orange colored peach blossom fell on her gun and glowed white. Suddenly, a storm of the blossoms whirled around them before they subsided and the guards came into view, talking casually like old friends. Anette forced the others against the wall with her arms, a hand over both Marlene and Kai's mouth, and held her breath. The others followed suit, sucking in air, and not daring to breathe until the guards passed.
After a bit, Denzel dropped to the floor and rolled to avoid noise. The others let out their breath in relief. The orange blossoms glowed white and whirled around them once more and they came into view.
"That was close . . ." Anette whispered, leaning against the wall in relief, letting her arms fall to her side. She then put her guns away and hid them with the cloak. Her father drilled into her every time they trained: "Ambush is the greatest weapon because it leaves your enemy completely vulnerable."
"What was that?" Kai asked quietly. "No time to explain now. I'll tell you when we get back to the inn, okay?" She hissed. He nodded and they continued on their way. After much stealthing, hiding, and close calls with guards, they found what they were looking for. A huge machine with a massive tank of lively, green fluid inside was in the center of a room that was immensely enormous. The others were awestricken. Thankfully, Nanaki snapped them out of it.
"Last I checked, the Lifestream isn't keen on being bottled up like that," He said before they bounded down to the generator. They stealthed along the wall, aware of two guards that guarded the mako reactor. "I'll take care of these two," Anette whispered. She pulled out both her guns and disappeared in her whirlwind of blossoms.
"Hey, I think I saw something," one of the guards said uneasily. Just then Anette reappeared right between both men and fired directly into them, killing both. Afterwards she looked at the two men, then at the blood, and then her weapons. She had just killed two people. Her hands shook as she put away her guns, her skin gone white.
The others came out with weapons drawn incase others came. Marlene had three huge, sharp blades hanging down from one long, strong ribbon, while Denzel had a bow and arrows, but the bow had to long, sharp blades at the end, to be used in close range if need be. Kai had his buster sword out and Nanaki's claws were out and sharp.
"Anette, you alright?" Kai asked, seeing her struggle. She looked at the ground before regaining her composure and nodding to him, offering a weak smile. She then drew her guns out once more and backed up. They had learned what material the reactor was made of and had a set plan of attack order that would weaken it most. First Nanaki used his claw and teeth and raked them over the metal, using the fire of his tail to soften it. Marlene swung her blade in a wide arc and kept spinning with momentum until three gashes were easily seen in it.
She slowed to a stop, steadied herself a bit, and then got out of the way for the next round. Anette fired a round of knives, leaving numerous holes in the reactor. Denzel took three arrows and loaded them in the bow, steadying his gaze to take perfect aim. All three went sailing perfectly on target, hitting the most vulnerable points seen, causing some static to rupture. Kai ran forward and stabbed it deep with his buster sword.
The mako reactor looked ready to collapse, ready to blow any second. They put away their weapons and ran out as quietly as they could, sometimes having to use Anette's ability. Finally, they exited through the sewer to see the factory explode, the Lifestream pouring out and seeping into the ground, rushing life back to the planet gratefully. They quietly exited and went on the roof of the inn they were staying at and snuck back into their rooms, valor floating in their heads. They just saved a part of the planet. Although one member of the party was still distraught. When Anette got to the bathroom, she vomited whatever she had for dinner in the toilet.
"Hey, you okay?" Marlene asked, holding Anette's hair out of the way. Anette gave her a 'do-I-look-like-I'm-okay?' look and emptied out her stomach. "That was the first time you had to kill someone, wasn't it?" Anette nodded when she was done, washing out the acidic taste in her mouth.
"I would expect you feel horrible. I mean, we lived such a sheltered life, never having to fight or anything except for training and studies and what-not, you know?" Marlene said, offering a warm smile like how Yuffie always did whenever any of the kids had been distraught. "But it will be alright. You might have to get used to killing people, taking lives, because this journey will put our own lives on the line. But if we succeed, we will not only heal the planet, but heal lives; lost or not."
Anette forced a smile, and then settled on her bed. Their window slid open and Kai was in their room. "I heard vomiting, are you alright?" Kai asked with worry and concern in his voice as he gently stroked her hair from her face. Marlene giggled. "I'll be visiting Denzel and let you two have your little 'moment'," she said cheerfully and bounded out of the room towards the room next door.
The second she left, Anette threw her arms around Kai and whispered. "I killed someone Kai . . . I killed someone. It makes me feel like a monster." He put his arms around her delicate frame, kissing her forehead. "You are not a monster. These people sided with those who brought back Sephiroth. And we had no choice, else wise they would have alerted others and we would become wanted criminals."
"But still," She persisted. "It's going to be hard for you to understand until you actually kill someone yourself. Right now I just need some rest and quiet; just the way I am now, with someone I care about. That way, I know I'm not alone," She whispered, clinging to Kai.
He held her close in response, silently wishing that it wasn't her who had to kill the two men. If he could, he would take all her pain, all her sorrows, and shelter her within his arms forever. But by the looks of things, that wasn't happening any time soon with how much fighting lays ahead in their mission.
Oo00oO
Yuffie gazed to the shining sun as she picked some ripe peaches in the garden, a delicate wind blowing around her. Tifa was below her, picking plums from a lower branch on the tree to her right. Tifa's PHS rang, breaking Yuffie's cheerful humming.
"Yeah?" Tifa said, picking up her PHS. A grinning Denzel came into view. "We destroyed a mako reactor," He said with some pride in the back of his voice. Yuffie nearly fell off the tree in surprise, and Tifa had a similar reaction. "You WHAT?" The two screamed.
"It's true," Nanaki said, coming into view. "We decided that Kyukan had to pay for bringing back Sephiroth, so we took down the mako reactor without being seen or caught by anyone." Tifa and Yuffie were dumbstruck.
"Yeah, but last I checked this was really hard on Anette; she was the one to kill the two guards by the main plant, and now she's a wreck," Marlene interjected. "Not a few minutes ago, I was holding her hair out her face while she vomited. It was her first time having to kill someone."
"Maybe I should talk to her," Yuffie said worriedly. Denzel and Marlene exchanged glances and laughed. "That's okay. Kai is over there now and by the sound of it, he's managed to patch things up," Denzel said, a sly grin playing on his face.
Nanaki whapped him on the face with his flaming tail. "You know I wouldn't let those kids actually do anything. He just went to comfort her," Nanaki reminded him sternly. Marlene laughed and leaned on Denzel's shoulder. "Well, we should get going," Marlene said.
They bade their good byes and Tifa ended the call. Yuffie continued picking fruit, thinking of how their daughter had blossomed. She thought back to that day, when crimson clashed with grey for the first time.
FLASHBACK:
Yuffie hesitantly pushed the lid of the coffin off to reveal a six foot tall man resting within it. Her eyes widened slightly as she suppressed a scream. She never expected the man to open his eyes to reveal blood red pools. His red eyes clashed against her eyes, the look of innocence and purity sewn deep into her eyes.
The man had long, midnight black hair kept out of his face with a crimson bandana. He wore nothing but black except for a deep red cloak that had buckles going across it. A golden claw was in the place of his left arm. His skin was almost dead white.
"Who are you and what are you doing awakening me from my sleep of repentance?" The man demanded.
"Um, Spike, I think there is something here you need to see," Yuffie called to Cloud warily. The said spiky haired man came over to see what was up and nearly jumped.
The man averted his gaze on Yuffie and examined Cloud. He caught sight of his mako blue eyes and sighed. "You are Shinra scum to I presume?" He asked, sitting up slightly.
"My name is Cloud Strife; former SOLDIER," Cloud said, swinging his buster sword to rest on his shoulder. "Your eyes carry mako in them too. Or is there another explanation why they are glowing red in shadows?" Cloud inquired. Yuffie look back at the man and gasped. Sure enough, his eyes were glowing.
"Why do you disturb me when I am in repentance?" He asked, more than slightly annoyed. Cloud sighed. "Someone of great danger was supposed to be here, but alas," he said. His grip on the buster sword tightened at the very thought of the bastard that they were looking for.
Yuffie looked at the man with pleading eyes. "Have you seen a man around here named Sephiroth? Long platinum colored hair, even longer sword known as the Masamune?" She asked, her eyes locking with his once more.
Vincent glared back, almost making Yuffie want to look away. "Yes I know of a Sephiroth, but I have been in this casket for nearly thirty years. I do not wish to press the subject further!" He was about to close his coffin once more, but Yuffie blocked him.
"Please," She asked. "If you hate him as we do, join us. We mean to find him and kill him." The man still did not move. "As much as I resent him, I could never kill the child of Lucrecia . . . beautiful Lucrecia . . ."
"Wait – you mean that Sephiroth was born? Like a real human?" Yuffie asked, shocked. "I thought he was born through a Shinra test tube." The man was obviously getting aggravated. He tried once again to pull the lid back on his coffin, but something stopped him. That pure look in the girl called Yuffie's eyes. That innocence that could be so easily hurt, or battered. He sighed and stopped his effort to pull the lid over himself.
"You said you are searching to destroy Sephiroth?" He asked. Yuffie nodded. He sighed and rose from his coffin, towering over Yuffie. "Then I will accompany you if you persist so. Lucrecia, please forgive me," He said. Cloud smiled. He tried to clasp a hand on his shoulder in friendship, but the man backed away from it.
"Can I at least know your name?" Cloud asked, shrugging his shoulders in defeat.
"Vincent Valentine; former Turk," He said. Cloud led him to meet the others. On the way Yuffie strolled up next to him and asked, "Mind if I call yah Vinnie?"
END OF FLASHBACK
Yuffie walked back in the house with a basket full of peaches, an equally good harvest with Tifa and the plums behind her. Vincent was sitting at the couch reading the news paper, a proud smirk on his face. "What is it this time?" Yuffie asked sweetly, coming over to him. He pointed to an article titled Mako Reactor destroyed. No suspects or evidence that it was arson.
Yuffie grinned madly. "Those kids were trained well, weren't they?" Yuffie said, embracing Vincent, giving him a soft kiss, which he returned. "That they were Yuffie, that they were," He responded in content after they broke apart.
Oo00oO
"So, where do we go now?" Anette asked that night when the new AVALANCHE generation was gathered in one of the rooms.
"I remember father mentioning something about a ruined church with flowers in the center," Kai offered. Nanaki sighed.
"That would be Aeris's garden," Nanaki told him. "Uh, Aeris?" Anette asked. Suddenly, she remembers stories of a lady that traveled with her mother and father named Aeris.
"Oh, Aeris!" she said, finally realizing who he was talking about. "I remember mom telling me that we could still visit her by seeing her soul since it's bound to there. She might know what to do, so paying a visit doesn't sound bad."
"But just to let you know, where we are going is a bad end of town; worse than when you would make a wrong turn when you were little Anette," Nanaki warned them. Anette shuddered. A place that bad didn't sound like a picnic.
"Either way, she has traveled before hand. Kyukan has taken up the old Shinra headquarters, but that place is going to be ten times as well guarded, and we already struggled getting in and out of that place without being seen," Denzel pointed out.
"But what about Anette's ability with the peach blossoms?" Marlene asked. Anette shrugged her shoulders. "Sorry, but I can only hold it for so long. The longest I got to in practice was a few minutes. If anyone stopped to have a conversation, we would be screwed."
"By the way, you said you would explain how you can do that when we got back did you not?" Kai reminded her.
Anette sighed. "My mom told me that she had Ancient blood in her, that's why she has the ability to heal things without materia. That Ancient blood was passed onto me when I was born, so since I am part Ancient I have a few abilities, but nothing like Aeris; she was a pure Ancient, and I'm 1/16th Ancient at best."
Kai looked at her and smiled. "And you never told me?" He asked, putting an arm around her.
"I apologize for not telling anyone, but I knew that you would find out sooner or later and I felt like if I told you when we were all kids, you might think differently of me, so I waited to we were older."
"Well, either way, we ought to seek advice from Aeris; since she has such strong ties with the planet, she might be able to point us in the right direction," Nanaki said.
"When do we leave then?" Marlene asked.
"We leave tomorrow at daybreak, and then travel for two days to get to the Sector 5 slums," He informed them. Anette flinched.
"Let me know if anyone tries to pull something on you, got it?" Kai told her, putting an arm around her protectively. She laughed and returned the hug, looking up at the stars through the window. She smiled and closed her eyes, leaning on Kai. The others exchanged glances and after retreating to a corner to discuss something, exchanged Denzel's things with Anette's.
"Um, what are you doing?" Kai asked nervously. All three came up to him. Marlene was the first to speak.
"Well, we've been noticing more and more that every time you two accidentally fall asleep next to each other, the two of you have been happier in the day and are more focused." Denzel came up next.
"So we decided that if you two share a room in the inns, this might work to our advantage." Nanaki came up last.
"But if I catch you two doing anything, and that means, in the same bed naked, in the shower, etcetera, you know the penalties." His flaming tail rose to Kai's eye level dangerously. "I promised Vincent that I wouldn't let you do anything well advanced in your relationship while you two are out here." Kai gulped and nodded, gently stroking his hand up and down Anette's back.
"Well, see you two in the morning!" Marlene said and went out the door to the room across from them, followed by Nanaki and Denzel. After they exited, Kai breathed a big sigh in relief. He always knew Vincent was protective of Anette, but he only truly understood how protective he was until now.
He carried Anette over to the bed where her stuff laid next to and gently set her down, pulling a blanket over her. He kissed her forehead and then plopped on the bed to the left of her, falling into a blissful sleep.
"Rise and shine lovebirds!" Kai heard Denzel say. He popped open one eye and sure enough the feather brown haired man stood between the two beds. Anette was still asleep, her breath making her chest rise and fall rhythmically. Kai smiled.
"I'll wake her up Denzel," Kai said, rubbing his eyes. Denzel nodded and left the room. Kai went over to Anette and kissed her passionately. She stirred slightly and when she realized he was kissing her she smiled against him before returning the kiss, letting his arms go around her petite frame.
They broke apart shortly thereafter. "Good morning," he whispered. She nuzzled against his shoulder, her arms wrapping around his torso. "Morning," She replied cheerfully.
"Well, it's time to get up; if we really push it today, we might make it to the slums by nightfall," Kai informed her as the parted so Anette could get a fresh set of clothes and headed into the bathroom.
By the time the sun rose over the horizon, the five travelers had traveled a few miles. They pushed hard that day. After two small fights and 20 miles every few hours, they saw the slums over the horizon.
"Almost there," Anette whispered wearily. She hadn't kept at the pace they were at in ages! As they entered the slums, the sun was almost done slipping over the horizon. Anette could clearly see what Nanaki meant. Buildings were boarded up and run down. Some poor people were on the street, begging for money.
A few perverts were on one side of the street wolf whistling and saying rude remarks to every woman that passed them. Anette put her hand in Kai's, letting her crimson cloak pool around them. One of the guys wolf whistled enthusiastically at her and the other said, "Hey girly, come here and I'll protect yah." And then he tried to run his hand up her thigh. She quickly kicked his hand away, twirled one of her guns out and aimed it square between the eyes.
"I would prefer you not touch me sir," She said in a low, threatening tone. The man immediately backed off after seeing the inferno in her red grey eyes.
"Y'know, she looks like that big tall one we saw all those years back with that hot little ninja," one whispered. Though Anette didn't here; she and the others were already trying to find a slightly decent inn to stay at, trying to get away from the perverts.
"Are you positive I can't go back there and tear that guy to shreds?" Kai asked, his blue eyes alight with fury. Anette sighed and pulled him along, socketing her guns. "Yes, I am. Since he didn't persist further, its not going to help us if we continue beating him up."
After finding an inn and checking in, Anette and Kai went to the room they were supposed to share and when they saw it, their jaws dropped. The place was small and only had one bed. The two blushed profusely, but stowed their things by the bed and Anette went to the side closest to the window and started to sleep as soon as her head hit the pillow. Kai slept next to her, letting his body ease form a long day.
The next morning, the two rose and ate the provisions they had for breakfast; they didn't trust the food in the inn. Afterwards, they quickly set out to the church. After an hour of searching, they found it.
As they entered, Denzel and Marlene strode forward happily. "Come on! You have to meet auntie Aeris!" Marlene exclaimed. The two stayed by each other, but slightly quickened pace. When where feet touched the flowers in the center, the sun's rays intensified to nearly a blinding point. When it cleared to a point whereas they could open their eyes a girl with brown hair and green eyes in a pink dress stood before them.
"Nice to meet you! You look so much like your father!" The lady said cheerfully, examining Anette.
"Auntie!" Marlene cried, rushing to hug her. She was about to lose balance and fall, but she caught herself, one of her hands going through the image of Aeris. "Sorry," Marlene said, smiling sheepishly, giving her a hug even though it was just air. After she stepped back, she urged Anette to go up to Aeris. Anette hesitantly went up to her.
Aeris smiled. "You really are your father's child," She said. Anette looked her over. The woman was so pure, her emerald eyes had such innocence inside them, it was as if she was half angel.
Anette suddenly found herself crying. She hastily tried to wipe away the tears. "So you are Aeris? The one mom told me about when I was little?" Anette asked. Aeris nodded.
"We came here because a new organization is-"
"Sucking out the Lifestream, I know. I can feel it slipping away gradually every day. I know you came here to find out what to do, so this is what I think since the planet has been urging me to talk to one of you anyways. A good thing to do is to defeat Sephiroth first, then try and take down Kyukan. It isn't helping anybody if they die before the planet's life is back." Anette nodded.
"Well, this is a limited time thing, so I must be getting back," Aeris said. Anette cried out," No, don't go! I've only just met the person my mom told of my whole life, and now you disappear? Please, don't fade!" She ran out to stop the fading Aeris but only walked right through her and landed in the flower bed.
"Come back in a few months and say hi, okay?" They heard Aeris's voice ring through the church. Marlene sank to her knees, a small tear escaping her eye. Denzel rubbed her back reassuringly, just as Kai helped Anette.
"Come on," Nanaki told them. "The sooner we get rid of Sephiroth, the sooner we can stop Kyukan." He started to stride out of the church.
"Hey Kai," Anette whispered as the two walked out.
"Hm?" He inquired an arm protectively around her waist as they started to head into town to the inn. "Thanks," She said whole heartedly.
That night, she slept happily as a pink dressed woman stopped by to visit her in her dreams.
Okay, I am SO sorry for the uber-long update. Things have been so hectic lately, that I only got a chance to work on this yesterday. Well, please review and thanks so much for being patient. Buh bye!
ichi
