After the battle with the red haired woman, Rin had been given more Jenova cells to help heal the bullet wound in her chest. Despite not feeling pain Rin averted her eyes as Sephiroth removed the bullet.
"You should heal fairly quickly" Sephiroth slid his leather covered hand over the wound which slowly stopped bleeding
"This tattoo-"
"Oh that's the mark of Yojimbo's fayth, it sort of gets burned into your skin when you bond with the aeons" Rin explained looking down at the silver haired man before turning her head away when she realised how close he actually was "I have two more. Ulitma's in on my back and Leviathan's is on my thigh"
"Interesting" his hand moved up towards her collar sliding behind her neck pulling her closer to his own face
"You don't need to go back to your world. From what you told me it's an unpleasant place and you don't have a reason to go return, so why not stay here? With someone that appreciates your talents" Rin could feel her checks flushing red. Sephiroth did speak the truth though, she didn't really have a reason to return to Spira sure she'd promised to take Braska to Zanarkand even if it was to let him die fighting Sin but he had Auron and Jecht for that he didn't need someone like her. She was pulled away from her thoughts as Sephiroth's teeth grazed her neck sending waves of shivers down her spine.
"There are some clothes in the room you were in earlier" Sephiroth stated rising to his full height and walking away leaving a baffled Rin sat on a table to collect her thoughts.
"What the hell?" Rin shouted as she hit her head against the door, she had never been so confused in her life. There were so many emotions floating around in her body at the minute and she didn't know what to do with them. Taking a deep breath and running a hand through her messy hair, Rin decided to change out of her bloody and tattered clothes. The trunk at the foot of her bed contained few outfits that would fit her, one being a straight leather garment or a long sleeved dress with a trail.
"Okay so dress it is" Rin discarded the leather outfit back into the trunk and changed into the dress. It was black, short at the front and stopping at her ankles at the back, the sleeves were tight at the top of her arms and flared out around her hands, the dress had a high collar and to top it off there were belts around the forearms and neck. Taking her sword holster from her trousers and tied ti around her waist, didn't go with the outfit but that was hardly important.
"Rin" turning round to find Sephiroth stood at her door "we have quests go entertain them"
"Go all out?"
"If you wish" Rin darted round the taller man not making eye contact with him since she could feel her cheeks burning again. She darted out of the mansion and up the stairs of light and out of the conch shaped building. In the sky she could make out some sort of airship.
"Looks like thunder" she mused pulling out her butterfly swords which acted as a catalyst for her magic much like a stave works for a normal mage,
"Okay Sephiroth said I can enhance magic by channelling the jenova cells ... how do I do that again" Rin concentrated on her blades hoping something would happen. There was her magic, sparks jumped around her and then thunder boomed over head but something inside her summoned an even greater force black clouds above her gathered around the ship
"Thundaja!" a flash of light erupted from Rin and that triggered the storm. Loud crashes of thunder and huge bolts of lightning went wild around the ship hitting it several times. Rin stood in awe at her new much more destructive magic.
Deciding that it would be best to get to the Forbidden City as quickly as possible Ayama started making calls trying to find Cid who would be able to fly the group to their location. Ayama had also neglected telling Auron that she had shot Rin point blank in the chest, she had the feeling that if she did she'd lose her head.
Finally Ayama got a hold of the airship pilot, god forbid the man carry a phone,
"Cid great listen I need a favour"
"Ayama what can I do for ya?"
"We need to get to the Forbidden City sharpish. How soon can you be in Midgar?"
"It'll take me about an hour maybe less"
"Quickly. It's life or death here, Sephiroth is involved" there was a moment of dead silence and Ayama could just picture the look on Cid's face,
"I'll be there in thirty minutes"
Ayama hung up the phone and turned back to the group and relayed Cid's message. So the group left Seventh Heaven and headed out to meet Cid, weapons at the ready.
As promised it took Cid half an hour to reach Midgard and from there it took an hour to reach the Forbidden City,
"Ok we're going to break into teams of two each. Cloud and Vincent, Tifa and Yuffie, Braksa and Jecht, Auron you're with me and Cid you stay here and protect our escape route. We might need it in a hurry" Ayama ordered.
Everyone nodded once and took a different path through the forest treading as lightly as possible to draw as little attention to themselves as they could,
"I've been wondering. What does this Sephiroth want Rin for?" Auron asked
"She's a magic user. That combined with the aeons she's clearly in control of and the added boost the Jenova cells give her provides Sephiroth with a magic user powerful enough to level cities. His own one woman army" Ayama explained, "She didn't even flinch when I put a bullet in her chest so she's already received a high dose"
"You put a bullet in her chest?" Auron fumed drawing his masamune and holding at Ayama's chest making her laugh a little, the last time a masamune had been held to her chest it was someone she'd considered a friend holding it,
"Yes well in case you missed Nurse Cloud patching me up earlier she did a number on me as well" Ayama gestured to the blood stained bandages around her middle, "Which should be healed by now actually" unwrapping the bandages Ayama ran a hand over the once more smooth surface of her side, Auron however couldn't believe his eyes, "I'm infected too" Ayama explained, "I told you didn't I all the soldiers got a Jenova shot when we joined up. Well it took so well to me I became a lab rat later in life for Hojo so he pumped as much of Jenova into me as he could before I got away. Mummy dearest" Ayama laughed bitterly,
"How refreshing it is to see you embrace Mother Ayama"
"Shit" Ayama had been so wrapped up in explaining things to Auron she completely missed Sephiroth appearing before her, "Give us Rin" she demanded
"No. The girl will aid in our mission to sail the cosmos in search of a new world just as mother did" Sephiroth said calmly, "Come Ayama and I'll spare your companions"
"Bite me" Ayama replied aiming her gunblade at Sephiroth, "I'm not joining you now or ever!" pulling the trigger Ayama realised she was a second too late and Sephiroth managed to dodge the bullet,
"Very well if you persist in being difficult we'll have to do this the hard way" Sephiroth sighed as if he were talking to a child, "Rin"
Once more from out of the surrounding forest Rin appeared. Ayama could tell from the girls aura she'd been given another dose of Jenova meaning she was now probably just as strong as Ayama, Cloud and Sephiroth himself.
This was not going to be an easy fight.
Rin stood next to Sephiroth noticing that once again the red haired woman Ayama had come to challenge him but there were three men behind her, three men she knew rather well. Rin averted her eyes staring at the ground, her hands resting on the hilts of her blades. She was shaking, was she having second thoughts about fighting them? or was it the guilt of betraying them. As if Sephiroth could feel her unease draped an arm around her shoulders pulling her against him
"You haven't betrayed anyone" he whispered, just listening to his voice could have reassured her but she felt a strange calmness with his like nothing else mattered "all you have to do is kill them and you'll be free. Free of pain and suffering" Rin slowly fell into a trance and this grabbed her blades with no doubt and turned to face her enemies.
"Rin wait!" Braska shouted pushing past Ayama, "Rin we've been worried about you. I'm glad we found-" The green haired woman moved forward in a blue haze with a longer blade of ice in hand aiming for the summoner's head. Braska refused to move hoping that Rin might come to her senses
"BRASKA!" Jecht and Auron jumped forward, Auron pulling Braska out the way and Jecht blocking Rin's attack with his own oversized blade
"First time I've seen you in a dress, you actually look like a girl for once" Jecht mocked noticing Rin's new outfit. The overly tanned man always ripped Rin for her boyish habits and she always bit back she was easily riled but this time nothing so reaction whatsoever just carried on attacking. Jecht was sloppy when it came to fighting and with Rin's enhanced abilities easily overpowered him. Flipping into the air avoiding a blow by Jecht, Rin summoned one of her aeons weapons: Ultima's cannon. Her free arm took the form of a huge gold cannon and it started to charge with a blue flare at soon as it had formed.
"Stand aside Jecht" Auron took to the stage readying his own blade
"Heh, you sure you can attack her?" Jecht teased getting a death glare off the samurai
"This is no time for your jokes" Auron leapt into the air with the mindset that he had to protect his Lord at all costs even if it meant taking Rin out of the picture. Rin was at a slight disadvantage whilst her cannon arm loaded but she could still fight with her left arm.
"Rin you promised to protect Braska" Auron used his full force against the shorter woman who pushed back unfazed by his attacks
"Protect? We're leading him to his death. What's there to protect?" Rin mumbled blankly shocking Auron with thunder, kicking him back to the ground and aiming her cannon at Braska
"He's just going to die anyway" Rin stared down at the group without remorse "Ardor!" a deep blue fire ball erupted from the cannon and hurtled directly towards the unguarded summoner
"Braska!" Auron selflessly jumped in front of the blast. The flare brought Auron to his knees, he was covered in burns "are you hurt?" Auron asked
"Be more concerned for yourself" Braska replied trying to heal some of Auron's wounds, he had regained some magic thanks to the materia he was leant from Yuffie. Rin dropped down and started to reload her weapon but her body stopped moving. She looked down to her torso being riddled with bullets
"You forgot about me" Ayama announced hitting Rin in the back of the head with her gunblade with such force she knocked Rin out cold. Without wasting a second Ayama picked Rin up and ran towards the group
"Get up and go!" Jecht pulled Auron onto his feet and steadied him as the made a run for it
"He's not chasing us" Braska pointed out looking over his shoulder at Sephiroth who hadn't moved
"She'll come back to me. I've given her many reasons to."
Giving Rin to the care of Auron. Ayama watched as the three men ran off with Rin leaving Ayama alone to face Sephiroth,
"Do not fight Ayama. I don't wish to harm you but I will if I must"
"Well it looks like you must. And as I recall you didn't feel bad about stabbing me in the chest" Ayama bit back refering to the large scar down the middle of her chest where Sephiroth had stabbed her upon learning his true origins,
"If you will continue to be difficult I have no other choice" Sephiroth drew his sword and rushed Ayama who barely managed to block the attack with her gunblade, "You've gotten stronger"
"Yeah? Then this should be a cakewalk" Ayama managed to push Sephiroth back and regain her footing before sending a barage of bullets his way each of which he managed to deflect with his sword and some he managed to send back to Ayama herself. They hit her torso and arms and Ayama just knew they'd be painful to remove but she pressed on with the fight anyway. If she could get rid of Sephiroth here and now then this whole mess would be over,
"This is why you were never chosen as a general" Sephiroth told Ayama as he advanced once again, "Too impulsive. You should have left with your new companions"
"And here I thought you never nominated me because you had a thing about dominating women" Ayama said sarcastically
"Oh Ayama always quick with a quip when you know you're in trouble"
It was true. Sephiroth was much stronger than Ayama was and there was no way she was going to win this fight,
"Well desperate times" reaching into the pocket of her trousers Ayama pulled out a flash bang grenade she'd lifted from Shinra and pulling the pin out with her teeth lobbed it between herself and Sephiroth and without looking quickly turnt and fled the scene
Ayama finally made it back to where Cid had landed his airship and where the others were all waiting,
"Oh my god Ayama!" Tifa cried as Ayama's bloody visage came into view,
"I'm fine" Ayama said quickly before anyone could ask, "What about her?" She asked gesturing to the still unconcious Rin,
"She's still brainwashed" Yuffie said clearly concerned for the girl,
"How do we un brainwash her?" Braska asked looking at the small girl in Auron's arms,
"Wake her. I know a solution" Ayama told Auron who, as gently as he could, woke the sleeping girl,
"What now?" The dark haired samurai asked
"This" grabbing Rin by the scruff of her dress Ayama threw her into the pool in the middle of the forest close to where they'd landed.
The girl was quickly submerged much to everyone's horror but as quickly as she'd gone down, Rin re emerged,
"WHAT THE HELL WAS THAT FOR!" She demanded climbing out of the pool and stomping over to Ayama
"See all better" Ayama said holstering her gunblade, "I knew that would work"
"What if it hadn't worked? What then?" Auron demanded
"I had faith. Sink or swim right? If she had sunk then yes she'd be dead but it's always better than being a lacky for that Silver Haired Bastard!" Ayama yelled, "Can we go now? I have bullets to dig out and I can already feel myself healing!"
Storming off towards the airship Ayama didn't bother to see if anyone would come with her she just kept her head up and walked
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