Chapter 10
In the dead silence of the early dawn a figure flew above the darkened buildings, its wings silent as it beats the biting air. Clutched close to its chest was a girl draped in thick coat. Both Sam and Chaos remains silent throughout the flight.
"This is… the pendant I gave him," Sam breathed. "But how…?"
"The human you met earlier today," Chaos started, "I've been trying to track him down but he disappeared completely."
"Eh? You mean the one with tattoos on his arm?"
Chaos gave a curt nod and said, "So what do you plan to do now?"
Sam looks at the pendant in her hand as if all the answers would be in it. "I'll go to where he is myself. Maybe then I'll be able to find my answers."
"That's too dangerous. We don't know if it's a trap or if the person is even the one you know of to begin with."
"But-"
"You're not going alone," Chaos snarled before Sam could protest. The girl winced in pain from the tight grip Chaos had on her wrist. Realizing he was hurting her, the demon cursed himself inwardly and relaxes his grip, "At least wear something warmer. Even if it doesn't snow here you're still susceptible to the cold."
"What do you care anyway about my health," Sam whispered and cringed from her own words. She hadn't meant for it to sound so accusingly. Not wanting to look at Chaos' reaction, Sam quickly went inside to grab a warmer coat.
"In time you'll remember. And when you do you might hate he for it," Chaos muttered under his breath.
"Where are we headed to?" Chaos questions the girl in his clutches.
Said girl took a shuddering breath before saying, "Sector 8. My brother, Genesis usually brings me there whenever he's off duty."
"And where might this sector be?"
"Eh? It's on the left side of Sector 1 of course."
"In case you've forgotten, Midgar is but a ruin now. I won't know which place is which sector."
"Oh." Embarrassed at her own forgetfulness, Sam lowered her face into her coat and peers out towards the place she once called home. After assessing their location of flight the girl pointed to where the former Sector 8 should have been.
Without a warning Chaos took off at an incredible speed leaving Sam to gasp in shock and cling onto the demon more tightly for dear life. The place where Sector 8 used to be was now under construction for the Neo Midgar project. Debris and rubble of ruins were cleared from the place and some buildings were well under way to completion.
As they landed Chaos gently drops Sam on her feet and he stood waiting for her to regain her balance. Even if their flight was for a short while it still left the girl feeling queasy on her feet nonetheless. Once she felt sure with her steadiness Sam took in her surrounding, trying to remember the all too familiar streets.
"The fountain should be this way," she said more to herself. Silently Chaos followed her as they walked pass some tractors and other construction materials. Occasionally Sam would stop to reassess their location until finally they arrived at a clearing. All around them were tall, eerily shadowed ruins which made the cold air that blew pass them sound like some sort of disembodied howl that made Sam's skin crawl.
"Is this the place?"
Sam nods then after a short silence said, "This should be where the fountain once stood in Sector 8. Or at least I think it should." At that Chaos looks at her sceptically and Sam quickly added, "I can't tell for sure though, what with all the destroyed buildings in the way and all."
By then the demon was paying her any attention anymore. His already sharp senses heightened in sensitivity as he observed the all too quiet surroundings. Something wasn't right with the place.
"Chaos?" Sam looked at said demon concernedly as he reaches out to pull her to his side while his other clawed hand hovers over the holster of his weapon. Sounds of footsteps on dirt echoed softly and Sam narrowed her eyes to see clearly into the dark.
"You came," a man said from amongst the shadows of the ruined city. He took a step forward and under the soft glow of the full moon the man's face was finally revealed. Time seemed to have stop and every sound muted as past images flashed through Sam's mind. She felt her breath stop as she stare at the familiar red hair and the ever luminescent blue eyes of the man in front of her.
"Is that really you, brother?" Sam asks the man so softly her voice could almost be carried away by the wind. The man only smiled sadly at her as he held his hand out towards her. Suddenly pain shot through the girl's arm as Chaos' grip on her tightened. The demon was practically growling low in his throat, his other hand drawing Death Penalty out.
A darkened expression crossed the stranger's face for a brief moment then he said, "Chaos, the harbinger of destruction. I have no intention of fighting you but I ask of you to let her go." Or I'll have no choice but to resort to violence if I have to drift silently in the still air.
"Why do seek her? Do you know what she is?" Chaos demanded all the while not letting go of Sam and the deadly gun.
"I could ask you the same question demon," the man said that last word with much disgust. He places a hand on the hilt of a long blade attached to his side and with a swift elegant pull he withdrew the sword. "Let her go."
Chaos lifted his gun and aims it at the man on the opposite of him, fingers ready to pull the trigger. A long heavy silence passes between them as both man and demon continues their challenge of stare down. Then just as both sides were about to make their first strike Sam broke free of Chaos' grip and ran to stand in between them.
"STOP!"
Startled by her sudden outburst two pairs of eye focus on her while keeping an eye out for the other. "Stop it, the both of you."
"What do you think you're doing!? Get back here," Chaos snaps.
The girl looked at the demon with silent plead then turn the other way and said, "Genesis."
The redhead lowered his long rapier and held out his hand again. "Come here."
"Genesis." Tears wells up in her eyes, threatening to fall as Sam took little steps toward the man she missed. Somewhere behind her Chaos shouted for her to stay away from the man in front of her but she could not hear him, would not hear him as she continues to approach Genesis.
When she finally stood in front of the man a tear escaped and caresses her cold cheek. Genesis looks at her tenderly and with a gloved hand he wiped the droplets away.
"It's been a long time but we finally meet again in the real world," he said as he cups one hand on Sam's tear stained cheek. "I did promise I'd return didn't I."
With a shuddering intake of breath, Sam steadied herself then she looked straight into those turquoise eyes. What happens next was not what neither Chaos nor Genesis had expected as a resounding clap echoed through the silent air.
Genesis' face had turned to his side, stunned at what had happened as he slowly reaches a gloved hand to the side of his cheek where pain stings from the hard slap he received. Still looking stunned he looks down at the short girl in front of him who now held a steely glare at him.
"You knew…" she muttered under her breath. Genesis reached out to her but Sam slaps his hand away and said, "You knew yet you kept it a secret from me."
Looking dejected the redhead remained silent. This served to only make Sam angrier. "Why? If you knew why didn't you tell me?" She was on the verge of shouting. "All those years I spent in there and you didn't tell me!"
"It was a promise I made to Prof. Gale. And…" Genesis smiles slightly, "and I am a selfish man." Then in a flash Genesis grabs Sam and at the same time sent a fireball aimed at Chaos.
Before Sam could voice out her protest they were already in the air. Looking over Genesis' shoulder Sam could see a black feathered wing. And somewhere behind them was Chaos giving chase. Sam reaches out her hand and as she did she saw a figure lunging in on Chaos' back and the sound of gunshot rang in the night.
From the moment Chaos sensed his presence he did not trust Genesis in the least. During the entire time he had held on to Sam's hand. What was this feeling? Clearly it wasn't along the line of jealousy. Chaos would rather be sent back to the Lifestream than be jealous of anything. So what was it? Then there was Sam who just had to interfere and what did that end up as?
Everything about the day was frustrating to say the least for the demon. Everything but the time when he brought her to the place he had found much by accident. Still that's not the point as Chaos snaps back to reality and gives chase the man who took Sam and flew off into the night.
Chaos tried to follow and though he was certainly fast he still couldn't keep up. A gunshot aimed at him was easily evaded but the moment he did that a figure leaps up from behind him and attacks. Silver flashes from his view as he caught a sword in his gauntleted claws and another bullet whizzes pass him.
"We meet again Chaos," the swordsman said with much excitement. White hair pulled into a ponytail blazes out in all direction and from under his fringes are piercing blue eyes with a hint of yellow ring on the irises. Weiss the Immaculate.
"How is it you are still alive?"
Weiss flashed him a feral smile and swung his dual gunblades. He leaps back and lands on a building, shooting at Chaos at the same time. Chaos shields himself with his bat-like wings and shot Death Penalty from behind covers.
Weiss easily evaded the shots by leaping from building to building. Then just as Chaos was about to give chase on Genesis again another bullet shot pass him. They weren't from Weiss as far as Chaos could see. More bullets shot at the demon in random directions.
Forming a dark orb in one hand, Chaos saw a glint of metal caught in the moonlight. The dark orb then burst with energy and he threw it in the hidden gunner's direction. A void forms when the orb hits concrete and everything within a mile of radius is pulled into eternal darkness leaving an impression of an invisible sphere behind.
"Your back is wide open Chaos!" Weiss lunges into the air swinging his blades down onto the demon's back. Metal meets thick leather and Chaos falls to the ground from the impact with a crash. Weiss had his blade pointed at the demon and a smirk plastered on his face. "Is this all the strength you have? Surely our last encounter hadn't made you weak."
"You'd think he was going easy on us Brother," a voice came from behind the swordsman. It was the same man from earlier the day and now that Chaos took a closer look he finally recognizes the man as Nero the Sable, younger brother of Weiss. "Should we leave now Brother?"
Said man stared mockingly down at Chaos. "Hmph. I suppose we should as much as I hate to," Weiss said as he sheaths his swords and backs off from the demon. Nero opens a black portal, awaiting his brother to enter first before getting in himself and closing the portal.
After they left Chaos tries to get up only to feel pain shooting down his back where Weiss had hit him. When he finally got up on his feet the demon notices the place he had feel on was now covered in warm liquid. The pang of copper fills his nose when he inhaled. Blood. Chaos was bleeding down his back from one long slashed wound which was slowly healing.
"Damn it," Chaos curses as he realizes his vision was blurring. Before he blacked out Chaos saw a familiar figure approaching him hurriedly. "Vin…cent."
As darkness embraced him, Chaos could hear the sounds of childish laughter at the back of his mind. Then he saw a flash of a very familiar scene that he thought he had long forgotten about. A young girl stood in front of him but her words were gone as the image fades away as quickly as it came.
System: *bleep* YOU HAVE REACHED THE END OF THIS CHAPTER. KINDLY LEAVE A REVIEW TO SAY YOU'VE SURVIVED ALL THE WAY TO THE END. THANK YOU. *bleep*