Yo yo! Enigma back with another chapter of Blood Teller. Sorry if it's been awhile. School started up again, so I've been buried knee deep in work. That and the fact that I've been trying my hardest to keep everything Final Fantasy line. A lot of thought, calculations and such, and pair it with a small dose of writer's block and you've got a curse T^T Any who, I hope after this chapter, things will start to make more sense. I think this chapter will start to clear things up. I will admit though, I got confused writing this o.o I have my friend to thank for helping get this story on the right track.

Last chapter you got a seek peek at what could be one of Madelynn's memories, and it's obvious she's having difficulty controlling her more homicidal tendencies. Not only has she been lashing out at objects in her sleep, but even as far as attacking herself. Whether it's because of Shinra or herself, you'll find out soon enough. And appears that Tifa and the Turks have dirt on her from her time in Shinra. How will this information will jeopardize Madelynn's goal?

I don't own Final Fantasy VII. (Or the brief mention of the Super Sentai. You'll see what I mean later.)


Each breath scraped my throat with rusted nails and stretched my lungs close to bursting through my ribcage. My skin was soaked to the very bone in sticky sweat and dried blood; whose blood it belonged too, either mine or to that of another sort, I wasn't too keen on finding out. When I opened my eyes, I found the world around me distorted, twisted in such a way the night sky and the dirt floor I deemed my resting place melted together in a palette of blue-black and brown. Golden orbs darted from one swirling figure to the next in an attempt to discern a definite shape within the soup pot, but it only made the sick feeling in my stomach build even more, the threat of bile poking the opening of my throat. I knew well enough that I was laying on my belly with my arms stretched out and fingers digging deeply into the soil, pale cracked skin glowing in the thick black. I was crawling. Away or towards something I wasn't sure, and again I wasn't really too interested in finding out. With a sharp intake of air, I tried pulling myself to my knees with what energy I had left, but only succeeded in getting half way up before bile, spittle, and traces of blood spilled from my mouth. After, an unsettling pain pulsed through every nerve, nearly causing me to collapse into the newly made puddle.

'H-Hurts... e-everything...!' I struggled to keep the thought together, but even those came out in fragments. This ache was too much to bear. Again, I attempted to lift myself up. Once I was steady on my feet, the burning pain in my veins and nerves became worse and I struggled to keep from screaming out and falling face first into the dirt. It was then I noticed the deep gash in my torso covered pathetically in ripped cloth. Four horizontal strikes with edges of graying skin burnt black. No blood stained the cuts, and as I raised my fingers to my face in hopes of finding them clean, small speckles of brown and black dotted each digit, and I inwardly blanched and let out a steady stream of curses to the wind.

It was getting worse.

The second I left the Sector 5 slums, it grew worse. The wretched coil I felt around my heart was too much. The memories of a once happier time, the visions of familiar kind faces and delusions of what could only be called grandeur were forced upon me the minute her name and eulogy filled the church. It reminded me how much of a failure I had become. The painful regret I felt devouring my chest was a far worse punishment than death could ever bring upon me. It was her who then brought back my dear friend, and then it was he who returned all my vengeful fire towards Shinra, feeding the thirst for blood with light drips. No matter how many I could imagine landing on my tongue, it wasn't the same as bathing in its red essence, and what my body couldn't find stalking the Planet, it made due with my own corpse-like flesh. The burning in my torso reminded me of how much a monster I had become. To crave blood so much as to peel back my own skin in desperation...

'S-Sick...!' I scolded myself hotly after minutes of walking in the swirling darkness, but my thoughts were drowned out by mother's sudden hysteria, so loud and powerful, I felt compelled to cry with her. Her pain was my own. Her sorrows, her rage, her sadness, they all mixed together with mine in a way that it was more physically jarring than the wounds afflicted on my body. Something was hurting her. Worrying my dearest mother. And yet, I can't even summon the strength to stand and defend her. As far as my duty was on her soil, I was failing tremendously. It wouldn't be long before Gaia has me returned to that infernal chamber above the Lifestream, slowly losing my mind as the years drifted by.

I needed to find control of this lust within me. I couldn't survive another night of self-harm and mystery cuts. Fighting wasn't just day-to-day missions, it was a lifestyle. My food, sustenance if you will. There wasn't an hour that went by when I wasn't doing something remotely violent. If I were to survive on this earth, I needed an outlet. To find a means to satisfy my craving for bloodshed without straying too far from Gaia's waters and breaking my vow. Gathering another pile of monsters in my sleep wasn't the wake up call I was looking forward to.

I needed to get back on my regular time slot. I needed to go back where this all started if I ever hoped of easing Mother's mournful sobbing. I needed them...

'S-Shin...ra...'


As much as he wanted to hold back any wandering resentment within himself, Cloud couldn't stop the irritated sigh that slipped through his lips when he approached the Healen lodge that night. He'd been up running around what seemed like the entire planet getting in contact with his companions and relaying the information the mysterious girl had given him the previous day, and while it was refreshing having everyone back together, the excitement had lost its touch. It wasn't that saving the Planet wasn't exhilarating; it certainly gave them something to do, and he couldn't argue that it gave him a sense of heroism and importance, a feeling that never seemed to get old. He had only wished the Planet were at peace. That things would become somewhat normal... well, as normal as his life could get with the friends he has. And with Tifa's last phone call, Cloud knew he wouldn't be sleeping soundly anytime soon.

'A SOLDIER... She couldn't be...,' he thought to himself, reaching the steps that would eventually lead him to Shinra's front door. The image of Tifa's throat against Madelynn's blade and the murderous intent in her eyes was enough to shake his nerves, 'Then again... it's not impossible. Just what is she?'


"To act as Gaia's knight; my body is hers to control and it is my duty to see to it that she is safe from harm by any means necessary. She has already given me my first assignment, and that was finding her saviors and telling them of her distress."

"I'm nothing but a rotting corpse."


'Why does she seem so familiar?...'

"Yo! About time!" This time Cloud didn't bother withholding the growl in his throat, and immediately shoved past the red-headed Turk that stood in the doorway. He didn't turn to hold open the door, instead slammed it shut just as Reno rushed to get back in. A smile nearly came to his face when he heard a satisfying thud and an unhappy, "This again!?", but it quickly fell when the object of his discontent came into view.

"Rufus," Cloud said, his voice vacant of any emotion, staring at the white dressed man that stood before him with hard blue eyes. Inside, the blonde couldn't deny that the young president had been of help to him recently, what with the recent destruction of Sephiroth's remnants; though he swore himself a changed man, Cloud couldn't help the swell of suspicion rising in his gut whenever Rufus Shinra was ever mention in conversation.

Shinra, accompanied by the shades wearing dark- skinned Turk known to him as Rude, gave a solid look of seriousness when he spoke. "Cloud. A pleasure seeing you again." His tone was flat, almost dead.

The blonde wasn't one to beat around the bush and got straight to the point, "So, you've got me. Now start talking. What do you want?"

"It's not what I want, per say," Rufus replied, "The information I carry will benefit us both and the Planet's survival. That is, if you are willing to listen."

"Just get to the point."

"These secrets were hidden within Shinra walls-"

"I said to the point," Cloud glared, "I'm not here for a sob story."

Rude made a move to protect his charge, but the man was stalled with a wave of a hand, and stepped back into place. "Understandable. This matter is of the utmost importance. Tell me," Shinra gave Cloud a look, "have you had any recent run-ins with a girl? One with green hair?"

"Madelynn?" The instant he got the description, his temper faded into mixed feelings of confusion and anxiety.

"Is that what it calls itself?" Shinra muttered almost to himself, then shook away the thought, "How fitting. My Turks discovered her nights before in the ruins of Shinra's empire, searching and stealing files, guns, knives, bullets, anything of value really. When spotted, she managed to single-handedly stun my agents, and escape before they could give chase."

"My kind of woman!" Reno called through the door followed by a brief cat call. Rude took a moment to roll his eyes at his partner's antics, knowing the action wouldn't be seen through his dark shades.

"That creature is menace," Rufus continued, his fire flaring. He cooled down with a gentle flip of his blonde hair, "I am sure you are aware of Shinra's previous attempts of creating the perfect soldier, correct? The SOLDIER program for example," he didn't leave Cloud a place to respond and continued, pacing the floor with a concentrated look, "There have been many other ... let's say 'experiments', that followed shortly after this discovery. More recently, the science department created a subdivision in which the effects of Mako energy and materia would be tested inside the bodies of children with the belief that with time, they would grow accustomed to this change."

Already, Cloud could sense his temper spiking. Shinra... testing on children, little kids!? "Sick..."

"That's not even half the story!" Reno again called from outside, seeming to lean against the door for better hearing.

"It was a small part of the science department, so small it easily went under the radar," Rufus continued, brows pinching ever so slightly as if the mere thought sickened him as well. His features were so shadowed, they became hard to read, "There were four select candidates gathered for this experiment, all of whom were plucked from the streets. No family ties; only the clothes on their backs and a name. I assume they were all orphans. Save for one," he stopped momentarily to collect his thoughts, "a young girl Shinra picked up in the Junon area. She had no name and was wandering through the fields muttering to herself with a vacant stare. Her body was covered in ash and blood. This girl had no name, no definite place of origin, no literary skills, but continued to speak to an intangible being called 'Mother' from the minute she entered Shinra's doors."

"You see, mother is in a very tight spot."

"Mother... the Planet," Cloud murmured to himself, brows furrowed. The girl in Junon... Madelynn..., It was starting to click ever so slowly.

"So I see you have met her," Rufus inquired, looking to Cloud for confirmation.

"What are you saying, Shinra?" He snapped, struggling to make sense of the tale given to him, "Suddenly the Planet's in danger of some little kids?"

"I'm saying that child grew to be a prized specimen amongst the company's scientists, as well as a threat to society as we know it," Shinra said harshly, his eyes turning fierce, "We had created a monster."


"Well, well, isn't this a sad sight?" Came a recognizable drawl I haven't heard in years, a deep throated chuckle bringing goosebumps on my graying skin. I haven't been walking for very long since I had awoken, and my body was slowly starting to go numb from the constant pains. My vision had gotten a tad clearer, clear enough that I differentiate the sky from the earth and the solid yellow figure standing in front of me with a smug look on its features, and I instantly wished to go blind once more. Mother's wails suddenly increased in volume. A warning of sorts, I'm sure. Was he the cause of her distress?

"O-Of all people... I-I curse m-my luck...," I managed to wheeze in discontent and knelt to the ground to catch my breath. I hunched over myself, a hand digging firmly into my stomach to ease the dull soreness that erupted from each cut, and glared violently at the man making his way closer to my battered form. His pale skin appeared set alight in the darkness that surrounded us, his hair an even brighter hue of bleach blonde and eyes the traditional glow of mako turquoise. A yellow skin tight top with an open high collar supported several clear vertical veins, and he wore baggy white pants and black boots tipped with steel. The man's arms were coated in metal and blades, and I unconsciously cringed watching him juggle several bolts of untamed electricity between each finger.

"Looks whose back from the dead," the man continued with a smirk, stopping several feet to examine my decaying body, "When she told us you were revived, I thought she was joking! Seriously, whose idea was it to drag your corpse from the Lifestream, huh? You've really let yourself go, Madness."

Ignoring the hell fire in my stomach at the mention of the name, I sneered menacingly, "W-whose dumb ass idea w-was it... to m-make you a member of the S-super Sentai?" A cough escaped me, but didn't stop a smirk from curling my lips as the man's face fell and his juggling act slipped passed his fingers.

"Still have that sense of humor on ya, I see," he sighs shrugging his shoulders in nonchalance, "Not that it'll do any good for you now. Do you still prattle on about your precious 'Mother', or have you finally gotten over your imaginary friends in death?"

"SHUT UP!" My throat ripped at my anguish, and I held onto my neck gingerly to sooth the pins and needles, "You w-would do well... t-to h-hold your tongue, P-Pryde. Gaia is a-as real as y-you and me. Do not s-speak ill of her...i-if you wish to live." Not that I would allow such a man walk on this earth much longer. Inside, I was burning to sink my nails into his chest and rip open his skin.

Pryde rolled his eyes and clapped his fingers mockingly as I spoke, "Yeah, yeah, I get it. Don't hurt your mommy, death threats, blah blah. You're not exactly in any position to give those, FYI. I'm not the one whose been put through a blender. I'm guessing you haven't had your daily dose, right? Those claw marks look gnarly."

"W-Why...," I coughed a drop of blood before continuing, "A-Are you here?...H-How could they... a-allow you to live?..."

"Hmph, wouldn't you like to know?" He smirked with deadly intent, and his palms were suddenly enveloped in raw static, "As much as I'd love to sit here and catch up on old times, I have a job to do and I'm afraid that involves beating you senseless," rows of knives juggled on his fingertips, "You understand, don't you Madness?"

I growled in contempt and responded just as harshly, "Who sent you?..."

At that, Pryde let loose a deep chuckle and twisted his neck with a sickening crack, "I'm surprised you haven't guessed yet. After all, you two were quite the pair. Poor thing was devastated when she heard of your deception. She'll be glad to know her inklings were correct and her idol is alive."

'Idol...,' I thought to myself, the word echoing through my mind before I finally hit a match. My heart sank into my stomach as the familiar face passed through my mind, and I shuttered at the thought, "H-Her..." How could I have forgotten...?

"Time to settle an old score," the yellow clad man grinned, his canines becoming more pronounced and his body giving off a subtle glow, "I've waited too long for this moment. Let's see who's truly to strongest!"

I snapped from my brief moment of nostalgia, and glared menacingly at the man before me. I crouched down on all fours, ignoring the soreness in my torso and the weakness in my limbs, and let flames of bloodlust manifest into bright green fire over my hands and arms.

'Gaia... give me strength...'