Author's Note; Hey huns, so sorry about the wait in updating this fic- all the old chapters were on my Mam's old laptop and since I got mine, all my stuff was transferred over, except for Sephiroth's Secret...so I had to go find a memory stick, find them on the old laptop and change the format for Vista in stead of XP...oh, the joys, lol! Anyways, here's the new chapter and it runs long, but it just wouldn't be the same if I shortened it or split it. So please tell me what you guys think!! XxxxxxxxxX
"Happy birthday, Ali!"
Marlene smiled up sweetly from where she was sitting at the kitchen table, drawing as she so often did these days- always family-orientated sketches, but that only served in making them more endearing to the eyes of an adult for it provided one of those seldom glimpses at the world through the benign and innocent eyes of a child.
"Thanks honey; I'll see you guys later!"
The teenager looked at the picture and smiled brightly, grabbing a slice of toast before she passed through the kitchen with a smirk as she caught the sight of Kas throwing a spoonful of cereal at Denzel, hitting him square between the eyes. The blond teen then buckled her holster into place and automatically slid all of the blades into their allocated brackets. Today was one of the most pivotal days in any teenage girl's life; her sixteenth birthday. Ali had been living with Cloud and Tifa for just under eight months now and she loved Edge; she knew every shortcut and back alley thanks to her helping Cloud with his business whenever she had a day off, but what she found most fulfilling was the long-lost sense of a home she'd found in Edge. These days, if she ran late at work, Tifa would make it her almost motherly duty to ring the Shinra building and enquire about her sister-in-law, making sure she was okay. On the odd evening that Tifa didn't call Cloud would drop by after his last delivery for a sparring match or the want to trade a few comments with his little sister. For too long she'd been without a family and the girl felt eternally indebted to her brother and his wife for the new feeling of wholeness she had become accustomed to, for it felt as though she finally knew who she was and had a place to call home. One of the only ways she'd been able to even attempt to repay Cloud and Tifa's hospitality was to act as a babysitter whenever they needed…and according to Marlene, who was deceptively more attentive than her tender years suggested, the two were a lot closer now.
The noise of the door opening jolted the teenager back to reality; she smiled at Cid and Shera as the duo entered 7th Heaven, with Shera giving her a birthday wish aswell- in the past number of months, she had become more than a part of Cloud and Tifa's family- it seemed as though all of AVALANCHE had accepted her aswell…and it felt good.
Upon throwing a glance down at her watch, the young woman kicked into overdrive and headed outside before she found herself late for work. The sun was shining warmly down upon Edge as Ali kicked up the stand and revved her motorcycle's engine, heading for the Shinra building- Reno had become rather annoying since learning how to read the time, and he would cop it even if you were a minute late these days- though all in jest.
The streets were beginning to fill with the daily punters as the teenage girl hastily jogged up the front steps of the company building. The revolving door made a light whooshing sound as Ali walked through it and into the expansive lobby and made a bee-line straight for the SOLDIER briefing hall. She'd fast become accustomed to the near-identical corridors and now knew most of them off by heart- mostly due to the fact that she had used this one almost everyday since being stationed in Edge…almost eight months ago now.
"Welcome Ali."
As the security-enhanced door slid open, the synthesized female voice chimed eerily…the noise never failed to creep the girl out, or fill her with the anticipation that came when entering the hall- it was where a SOLDIER reined supreme. She first reported to Tseng, explaining why she was not wearing her SOLDIER uniform today; the washing machine had broken last night and Cloud and Denzel had attempted to fix it…not resulting in the saving of the machine, but rather in Tifa dishing out gil for a brand new one, due to arrive in the morning, as were the tillers to fix her flood-damaged floor; Cloud and Denzel had understandably avoided Tifa all last night and Cloud was paying for the new tiles.
A wolf-whistle was heard as she walked across the huge hall, it causing the teen to turn around, knowing she what she would see; Reno smirking, his eyes on her chest. The young 1st Class was wearing black jeans, ripped at the knees and a low-cut blue top, whose plunging neckline really accentuated her bust. Hiding a laugh and with a faint smile tugging at the corners of her mouth, Ali folded her arms across her chest, speaking as she tapped a foot on the smooth ground.
"My eyes are up here, Reno…"
"I ain't interested in your eyes, yo- oww!"
As the redheaded Turk exclaimed indignantly, Elena frowned and shook her blond head; she having lightly slapped her lanky comrade around the back of his head, earning a feigned yelp of pain as Reno smiled broadly, causing the woman to laugh as she spoke.
"Pervert!"
As she smiled upon watching the anecdotes of Reno and Elena, Ali jumped slightly as she felt strong arms wrap around her waist and heard a familiar voice speaking into her right ear, his breath warm on the back of her neck as the words were heard.
"Happy birthday…"
The newly sixteen-year-old turned around slightly to see her boyfriend; Chris Hewley. She still blushed slightly whenever anyone referred to them as a couple…it was still all so new and Ali was taking her time in getting used to her new title as a girlfriend…it just seemed so strange and even no her cheeks were filling with redness. Denzel had ratted them out when he'd seen them outside that night and Ali had entered 7th Heaven to find every single face staring at her…with Cloud and Rufus sporting rather poignant glares. Chris had text her that night and things had more or less sprouted from there. Even now, Cloud still wasn't all that happy about her and Chris- he was her big brother and he was protective. The couple had given the papers a field day when they had gotten together, almost three months ago now…The Turks, Avalanche. Rufus Shinra and the two SOLDIERs had found great fun in reading through all the different headlines. Two of the favourites had been; "Shinra'sStrife" and "Romance of the Buster Swords".
"Have there been any more sightings?"
As he heard her question, Chris shook his head. Ali was referring to Sephiroth and three silver-haired individuals; they'd been spotted on-and-off for the past two months now, each time appearing closer to Edge. Cloud swore out loud for two days straight upon hearing the first rumours; the last words Sephiroth spoke those two years ago coming back from out of the blue to haunt him yet again.. Only this time it was different- he had a wife, a daughter and a little sister…but what the entire planet was now asking was why this Nightmare wouldn't just lie down and leave them be whilst they tried to get their lives back on track; didn't the people of Gaia deserve that much?
"Happy birthday Ali."
The smooth, refined voice seemingly manifested from out of nowhere and served in jolting the teens out of whatever reveries their minds had digressed into. Now aware once again, Chris hastily removed his hands from his girlfriend's waist as their boss, Rufus, passed by with a sly smirk whilst his blue eyes were cast momentarily skywards.
By noon that day, the Shinra building was a bustling hive of activity as numerous calls had come in, reporting some rather disturbing news, setting the computer technicians into overdrive. The training room had entered a lull since the techs began their work…waiting, almost anticipating news from the computer experts- not exactly the best thing to happen on a girl's sixteenth birthday. Tifa had suggested she take the day off from work to enjoy her birthday, but Ali had refused- she liked working in SOLDIER- it was a new thing everyday and when you love your job, it hardly seemed as though you work at all.
The teen sighed as she looked around- Reno was sparring with a few of the older Turks, including Rod and Cissnei. Cissnei…she was Reno's girlfriend and the mother within Shinra to all its employees. The woman had been the youngest Turk ever employed in the force, her talents having been spotted when she was only a child, in an orphanage down in the Slums. Reno and Cissnei had known each other for years before finally deciding to give it a go together, and they seemed good as a couple…Cissnei was something akin to the Tifa of Shinra, to put it simply.
Ali's glowing blue eyes glanced around a bit more, spotting some more of the Turks in the far corner, along with some WRO operatives who were here to collect some of Scarlet's salvaged files, in the hopes of maybe finding something in them that would concern DeepGround…though everyone knew why Reeve was so obsessed with the files- he was on a one-mind track in an attempt to unlock Shelke from her body. Over the past few months, Ali had been to the WRO base outside of Kalm a few times- once or twice with Cloud on deliveries, but also for Shinra purposes aswell. She'd seen Shelke on a number of occasions, first believing the girl to be only about Denzel's age- it had been a shock to discover Shelke was in fact older than herself. But, in the wake of DeepGround, Reeve had been working his hardest to try and overcome the seemingly-little girl's non-aging factor…though many speculated it was in memory of her older sister, Shalua, which Reeve went to such lengths for.
A bang was heard as Reno managed to swipe Rod's feet from under him- only Cissnei left now. Ali chuckled lightly as she thought this- there was no way Reno would take on his girlfriend. He'd most likely beat her, but Reno wouldn't do that- despite his laid-back nature and flirtatious attitude, Reno was the perfect gentleman to his girlfriend and he seemed to have quietened down slightly since picking up with her.
The newly-turned sixteen-year-old smirked to herself as she saw Reno drop his fighting stance against Cissnei…but Rod, still lying on his back, took the opportunity to swipe his fellow red-head's feet from under him in a pay-back fashion that had Cissnei laughing out loud as Reno struck the floor heavily- the Turks; a whole family of their own within the company. The amusing scene within the large training hall was abruptly shattered by the heavy door opening and one of the more senior computer technicians rushing in, calling out as she did so.
"Mr. Shinra; we've located Kadaj and his brothers!"
Rufus was lightning-quick in taking the printout from the girl's trembling hand and casting a glance over it, before handing the sheet of paper to his senior 1st Class, who had wandered down from her perch upon the stands- abandoning her observing of the sparring Turks. As she read down it, Rufus spoke to the girl in a serious tone.
"Ali, ring Cloud and AVALANCHE; the rest of you, gear up for a fight!"
Ali nodded her head as Elena took the page and gasped upon seeing the location of their attackers; the three were attacking the centre of Edge; where the Meteor monument had recently been restored- that part of the city would be crowded at this time of the day, Reno was next to examine the sheet as Ali nodded her head, having called Cloud and explained as quickly as she could to her brother.
"We'll meet you guys there."
Ali exhaled as Cloud hug up on his end, his voice as serious as she'd ever heard it. Barely thinking, the teen turned on her heel and headed for the garage, along with Chris and the four Turks. She found herself actually hoping that He would show up with the remnants; the monster had a hell of a lot to answer for in her books…her mother; Vanessa, her neighbours, her home…he was the whole reason she'd been kept from Cloud for so long and missed out on so much.
It was obvious to see things were bad when the six arrived at the main square of Edge City; Kadaj, Yazoo and Loz seemed to be much more powerful than their previous attacks- a worrying factor had been how their power seemed to jump every time they showed up…over the last two months, they'd been steadily growing in strength. Ali assessed the situation in the blink of an eye; mostly gashes and cuts; Cloud's arm looked dislocated aswell…but everyone else had their hands full with the other two remnants and the countless Shadow Creepers they'd summoned. As he too glanced around the square and took in the damage, Tseng whispered in her ear.
"Any ideas on this one, Ali?"
The teenager smirked slightly as only one plan formed in her mind, the answer spilling from her lips almost automatically.
"Yeah actually, don't get killed!"
Reno couldn't help but laugh as he heard her words- normally the comments and remarks were left to him on these occasions.
"I so love that plan, yo!"
A hastened look around to see who needed some help the most had Ali sending her comrades left and right to help out their friends with their adversaries, whilst her blue eyes locked onto the person she knew needed a hand, her legs moving on autopilot.
"My turn!"
Ali spoke lowly as she leapt in front of her brother, taking up his fight with the silver-haired guy called Kadaj. Cloud breathed heavily as he welcomed the break; his arm was throbbing with fiery agony as it hung limply by his side. The remnants were much stronger than their past confrontations ad it was only now that it seemed, maybe…possibly that the protagonists were out of their depth a little. Reno was dealing with the long-haired remnant whilst Shinra's only other SOLDIER was clashing with the burliest of the three brothers. Chris had improved greatly since his arrival from Junon, but not enough to beat the behemoth know as Loz. The seventeen-year-old was thrown backwards by a heavy blow to the gut, landing in a heap along with a loud snapping sound that set the skin crawling on those who heard it. His tanned face grew slightly paler after the loud noise, but the lad didn't cry out.
As she managed to push back against Kadaj, and gain some much needed ground, Ali looked behind her whilst time allowed; AVALANCHE was more or less kept busy with the ever-growing number of Shadow Creepers, Rude had stepped into Chris's place and was going fist-to-fist with Loz whilst Tifa joined in and aided the large Turk, as Tseng backed Reno up with Yazoo…her blue eyes wandered a little more, taking in the sights of Yuffie half-way up a building as Vincent's Cerberus dealt with an additional three of the Shadow Creepers…Cloud's arm still hung limply as he managed to deal with a few attacking Creepers…Chris's foot was definitely broken, judging by the angle of it anyway- the sight of which caused the female SOLDIER to grimace lightly.
Having left her guard down, Kadaj managed a low blow to the gut that sent the girl back about fifteen feet, where she proceeded to curse her opponent with ever swear she'd ever heard Cid ad Barret utter since coming to Edge. With one last insult to his mother, compliments of Reno, Ali straightened and faced Kadaj…she stood still and took a deep breath, then raced forward at the blistering speed of one exposed to Mako on a regular basis in Junon. Loz and Yazoo seemingly lost interest in their individual brawls and approached their younger brother, all three attempting to stop the young girl, but the two new additions were in each other's line of fire and merely ended up injuring one another as Kadaj was sent crashing into a nearby building, compliments of a rather spiteful kick from the girl. Ali grinned as the last one, Yazoo, received a bullet to the shoulder, a bullet from Loz's Velvet Nightmare.
As Reno grinned and made to sprout a comment concerning her quick dealing with the trio, he stopped up short…with Cloud frowning and casting his gaze skywards swearing foully as he did so, for he knew exactly what was coming. Ali knew it too- she could sense him, but just couldn't turn quick enough before the foot had connected with her back, hearing her brother call out, mere seconds too late as she skidded across the ground.
"Behind you!"
"Nnnn…."
Pain…that was all she could register as her back met the unrelenting wall, her head snapping back and striking it aswell. Stars seemed to swim around the edges of her vision as the teenager groggily got back to her feet, cursing as she gingerly rubbed the back of her head, cringing.
He stood only feet in front of her, black wing unfurled in the light breeze and graceful Masamune in hand, glinting in the Edge sunshine. Anyone in his or her right mind would have been petrified upon the sight of this once-great hero, but no; Ali refused to be scared even in the slightest bit…she was much too angry for that as she stood her ground and glowered at this monster.
Several additional Shadow Creepers materialized from the ground and slunk forward a few steps, beginning to circle this new target with a malicious glint in their little beady eyes. Ali hardened her stance as they surveyed her, a blade in each hand.
"Don't be thick!"
Chris hissed at her upon seeing that his girlfriend intended on fighting; whatever about her defeating the Shadow Creepers, there was no way she could take on their master- she was a kid and him…he was the worst thing that had ever happened to Gaia. Sephiroth chuckled amusedly as he took in the sight of this mere little girl; he'd watched her fighting Kadaj and his brothers and he'd had to admit that her fighting style had been interesting and the the man was slightly impressed by her quick defeat of the three; she seemed more troublesome than he'd first thought a little girl to be capable of being…but still, she wouldn't defeat him. His smug smile tugged at the corners of his mouth as the man spoke in his sly voice whilst eyeing this girl and the young man behind her.
"Shinra has resorted to recruiting mere children; I thought Rufus would be above this?"
Sephiroth raised his gloved right hand and the Shadow Creepers leapt forward in response, glinting claws and saliva-dripping fangs drew closer all of a sudden. Ali braced herself for the painful impact, knowing she wouldn't be able to take this many of they attacked at once…but the pain never came. As she looked on in slight surprise, the five creatures stood before her, just looking up at the girl and refusing to attack her. At this, Sephiroth growled with anger- Ali wasn't the only one surprised as his jade eyes bore a small amount of shock also.
"Attack them!"
She fought back a smirk as he spoke in a clearly angered tone to the creatures. The teenager didn't know how, but a little voice deep inside assured her that she could control these things as they stood harmlessly in front of her, and she did so, with a dark smirk touching upon her lips as she spoke…maybe this would be payback for everything that had happened in Nibelheim all those years ago and her heart seemingly soared at the chance to avenge all those killed that night.
"Attack Sephiroth…"
This time the Shadow Creepers obeyed the command and spun on the one who had summoned them, defeated by the unsurpassed swordsman with little effort on his part. Ali felt her heart sink a little as Masamune easily dealt with the five beasts…she'd been too quick in assuming she could deal with this nightmare so easily…but the formidable ex- SOLDIER had seen more than enough in this girl's controlling of the Shadow Creepers; his calculating mind was reeling as he thought back rapidly- now feeling unsure of this girl he stood against; she seemed to have more about her than he initially presumed.
Feeling angered now and stubbornly wanting to hurt this monster, Ali leapt forward all of a sudden, using her Mako-induced speed to temporarily gain the upper hand. Sephiroth came back to his senses just in time, spinning and swiping Masamune, drawing even with the teenager's mostly- assembled Buster Sword. Ali made to swipe at him with the smaller hollow blade clutched in her left hand, but was blocked, her attack parried rather forcefully and the hollow blade being cast away as a result of the painful jolt…a kick to her side caused several cracking noises to emanate from the girl's ribcage, but her blue eyes soon locked onto the impending danger of Masamune approaching rather rapidly from her left side too quickly for her to fully avoid, or parry against…instead the girl pulled back sharply, earning herself a rather deep slash across her left cheek. As her hand automatically snapped up to the painful wound, her guard was dropped yet again…resulting in another ungraceful skid across the road, the tarmac wearing away at any exposed skin, causing numerous grazes and cuts to emerge.
And there it was again- rushing through the air like it had that night all those years ago- glinting, malicious and evil; Masamune came down swiftly and Ali clamped her blue eyes shut. She had nothing to defend herself with, her Buster Sword having been dropped somewhere along her skid and now lay on the ground a good twenty feet away. She'd thought it'd be simple to just fight him and possibly even taste revenge for all of her neighbours and family massacred…but it was only now that the teen realized just how out of her depth she actually was. The three remnants had been easy to deal with and their defeat had easily polished her ego unbeknownst to the teenager; she'd over-estimated herself to a dangerous extent and now that sword was coming down fast and heavy.
The sharp echo of metal clashing against metal was heard at the very last moment, along with what could have been described as a sigh of relief- mostly from Tifa. Ali cracked open an eyes to see what had obstructed Masamune's path…or more so; who.
"Cloud?"
"Get up, quick…"
And he was away, only one arm wielding the First Tsurugi as he clashed repeatedly with Sephiroth, making their way steadily back across the square, with Cloud gaining ground as his temper remained heightened- he'd just got his little sister back and was going to be damned if she was going to be taken from him for a second time.
Her blue eyes blinked once or twice with shock…Cloud shouldn't have had to do that- she should have never thought she could take Sephiroth like that; it had been childish and spiteful to ever think that she could and Ali suddenly felt her cheeks burning with shame as she realized her mistake- she could have cost everyone here their lives. As Cloud faltered slightly, obviously not in peak condition, his younger sister stood to her feet and ran forwards. Acting now on instinct and reactions, she remembered seeing Tifa fighting Loz and how her brother's wife had finished off with a Beat Rush and Somersault…Ali replayed the move in her mind as Cloud broke a sword clash with Sephiroth and she intervened into the gap, placing her foot against Sephiroth's chest and using what momentum she had to spin in mid-air, kicking his chin with poignant force. Before the once-upon-a-time hero could regain his composure, Cloud had re-entered the fray and managed to land his own kick, into the nightmare's ribcage. This sent the enemy crashing to the square below. Cloud was first to land and take up his stance with First Tsurugi, Ali landing neatly a few seconds later and stood, a little unsteady on her feet as her left cheek dripped blood onto the ground, not to mention the pain now coming from her own ribs…
As Sephiroth stood to his feet, clearly pissed off right now, and wiped the blood from his bleeding nose, Cid couldn't help himself from gloating slightly- that had been amusing to watch from ground-level…especially when Tifa had indignantly claimed Somersault as her move. Cloud and Ali worked well together…though it remained lucky that Cloud had intervened when he did.
"Atta girl, Ali!"
A few laughs, compliments of Reno and Barret echoed round the now rather silent square. As he heard the name Sephiroth felt his body freeze somewhat has a few forgotten memories rushed through his mind in an incomprehensible blur…it was impossible. He lowered Masamune and stared at the teenager standing before him, Mako-glowing green eyes now filled with obvious confusion that seemed so ill-placed. His deep, smooth voice was the next to be heard in the silent square as all other sounds had ceased upon seeing confusion expressed openly by the ex-General of SOLDIER.
"Ali…Ali Strife, Cloud's younger sister?"
The blond nodded her head, albeit only barely- Cloud positioned himself so as he was in front of her, with his sword raised in a wary manner; ready for a rush or some class of sneaky blow from this enemy of the planet; he was playing her- trying to distract her so as Kadaj or one of his brothers could get an attack in somehow…but he wasn't dumb and wouldn't let it happen to his sis.
"Your mother was Vanessa Strife?"
"What's it to you?"
She was taken-aback by that question as Cloud answered in a spiteful tone that rang with hate- had he memorised the names of all the people he'd killed? Was the name of Tifa's father in there too? Countless Nibelheim inhabitants? President Shinra's? Aerith's? But what Ali found slightly unnerving was the look that now replaced confusion his Mako-green eyes, pride? As she eyed him with mounting trepidation, the middle-aged man continued to talk, though his voice had lost its menacing edge.
"Today is your sixteenth birthday…you look a lot like your mother, do you know that?"
At this, Cloud glanced back over his shoulder as he saw his little sister's body freeze and her stance falter ever so slightly, but what made him look back the most was the light sniff he heard. Now the teenager was angered and openly upset at the same time; how dare this monster talk about her mother? He had murdered her…he was the reason she was now an orphan and could barely remember anything about her mom…she'd been too young to memorise her mother's voice or anything…all she ever saw in dreams was a woman with blond hair, tied up in a bun…no face though; only a blur she couldn't decipher.
"You bastard! You're the reason my mom's dead!"
Angry tears stung as she made to walk forwards, Cloud grabbing her shoulders and holding the teen back forcefully as she tried to struggle her way free. Sephiroth eyed the square as he rose slowly…but he bore a genuinely sorrowful smile as he did so.
"You three let's go…"
The three remnants nodded as they heard the command of Mother's favourite. The graceful terrorist known as Sephiroth wiped the blood away from his still-bleeding nose and grimaced slightly with pain as he placed the other hand on his ribcage where one or two ribs were now cracked. The four enemies then disappeared, leaving a stunned square behind as Cloud finally let go of Ali and she fell heavily to the ground, sitting and sniffing lightly; this was turning out to be some birthday…a fight where she'd almost gotten herself killed because of some ego-polishing…saved by her brother from a murderer…her cheek was still bleeding badly, her ribcage in bits, cuts and scrapes thanks to the road surface not to mention the killer headache she now had compliments of colliding with the wall…she wanted to be a great SOLDIER since she was small and had always thought she'd been good at her job…but he was way out of her league at this stage…
A hand cupped her chin lightly and lifted her head until her eyes were locking with his. It was only as Cloud wiped away a tear or two that the teenager realized she'd been crying in the first place. He pulled her to her feet and the task began of damage control.
A/n- Well, please tell me what you guys thought of this chapter!! And I promise the next one won't take so long in uploading, lol!! XxxxxxxxxxxxX