Okay, sorry I took so long…again.
LeoOsaka Bakura's Stalker- thanks for the review. My computer is fine now...I think…
K-Gforever- glad you liked it, and I find that Loz helps a lot to get some points across too.
Demon surfer-lmao! He should have popcorn and thanks for the reviews.
Estalidiel Greenleaf- Thanks. I hope I can get more done and update sooner. I'm getting horrible at this.
Sirithiliel- Sephiroth might not be in for a while, but you never know…I might just do something special…
Short chapter but I needed to get it up. At least the last chapter was long.
Yazoo sighed heavily as he hauled his legs over the ledge, joining Kadaj on the top of the cliff. He felt Kadaj tug on his arm, indicating that he was to move. Yazoo did, his body aching in protest as he got to his feet, and Loz climbed over the edge with a heavy grunt as Yazoo moved out of the way. Yazoo paused, looking out over the ledge at the large landscape of forest that seemed to go on for miles. The wind caught and tugged on his hair, sending it flying in multiple directions as he stood at the cliff top. It had been Kadaj's brilliant idea to go camping. His explanation was that they could train and still enjoy the wilderness. Yazoo didn't mind going. He thoroughly enjoyed the outdoors and training outside would be just like old times. He brought his hand up, running gloved fingers through his long silver locks, meeting a few knots but easily tugged them loose.
He felt Loz firmly pat his lower back and he turned and followed them back into the forest. Up here the trees were more lush, all the branches thick and long, flicking out to reach for the sky. They were beautifully matured and created wonderful veils, letting in patches of light sparkling across the dirt bellow. Yazoo jumped over the root that jutted awkwardly out of the ground and trotted a bit to catch up with his two siblings. It was nearing dinner time and they hadn't stopped all day for any breaks. They'd have only a few minutes to pause for a drink from their water bottles looped in fabric at their belts and occasionally a bite of bread but nothing really that would satisfy a person. But they didn't need to eat, not as regularly as everyone else. They could go for days on very little food and still be fine though they preferred to eat as if they were normal. At points, they wished they were normal so they could live as everyone else and have less to worry about. But that was a wish that they knew they should forget. They'd never be able to be normal. Since their first breaths they were aware that they were different; unique in almost every fashion. Their hair was so fine, a cold silver that seemed to contrast to their eyes. Their eyes were mako-green and shaped smoothly to give off a feline grace that was sharp enough to make almost anyone double look. They could feel it in their blood, the strength and power that flooded and heated their veins and made them yearn for more. At first they wanted freedom. They wanted to escape what had created them and to find Mother to get release and to bring revenge upon the planet. But gradually, once they gained their freedom, that dream slipped away and a new fear was brought upon them. It was a fear that brought them to be aware that their existence was no longer necessary and that what they had been created from and for, now existed in a form that hadn't been created from of their bodies like originally planned. Sephiroth had been revived by some other unknown method and now he wanted what remained separate from him.
Yazoo shuddered and shook his head. He heard Kadaj call to him and then he noticed how far behind he was again. He smirked and darted forward, easily avoiding overgrown roots and jutting out branches that made the path slightly less smooth. They didn't wait for him, but he didn't mind. It was his own fault for letting his thoughts get the better of him. As he approached, Loz abruptly turned when he was almost upon him, his Dual Hound swinging for Yazoo's chest. Yazoo dug his heels into the ground and let his body fall back, his arms thrown over his head and his palms landing flat on the ground. He pushed his legs up, and through the blur of speed he felt his feet graze Loz's body but the hit didn't land anywhere near as he had planned it to but he knew Loz would predict each of his moves and vice versa. Their fighting skills matched each other and it was like looking into a mirror when they fought each other. They had developed their skills together and when fighting an enemy they could work together blindly, like a script, knowing each others moves so well and knowing each precise moment when to shoot, move and hit.
As Yazoo righted himself Kadaj's sword swung in from his left and he swung his arm just in time to slap the flat of the first blade to deter it from its path to his neck. Kadaj's foot swung up immediately after and Yazoo knocked it away with his arm just as he did to Souba. A difference in the wind behind him alerted him that Loz was swinging at him and he dropped down, kicking his legs out behind him. His feet met with Loz's stomach and he heard the loud grunt but Loz was still quick to react despite the pain of Yazoo slamming his boots into his belly. He felt Loz grip his ankles and in a flash Yazoo's body was lifted, twirled and then thrown. Trees flew by his eyes as his body felt near weightless as he was hurled off. Although he was moving fast, he was still aware that Loz was catching up, using his teleportation like strength to deal the next blow. Yazoo twisted his body, throwing his arm back and drawing out Velvet Nightmare from its holder placed on his back. Suddenly Loz was in his face but their weapons were caught between them, Yazoo having brought his up in time to block the initial hit. He felt his feet hit a tree but the force of their bodies broke through it and they continued. Loz's other arm swung around and quickly, Yazoo twisted his form, making Lozs' aim faulty and skim his shoulder. Smirking, they broke away, feet digging into the ground as gravity brought them down. His body slid quite a ways back before he pushed hard, going directly at Loz, firing at the larger man. Out of nowhere, Kadaj pounced on his back, sword pressing against his throat. Loz advanced instantly, snatching Yazoos' wrists and yanking them apart, gripping hard enough to force Yazoo to release the gun blade.
Yazoo grunted under the weight of his brother. Kadaj wasn't heavy but he wasn't fully supporting himself either, the blades digging in enough to hurt but not cut his skin yet. "Kadaj…"He growled, and he heard his brother chuckle before slipping off, drawing Souba back. Loz released his wrists and Yazoo rubbed at them briefly before bending down to pick up Velvet Nightmare. Kadaj swung out his leg, catching Yazoo off guard, knocking him onto his knees. Yazoo spun his head, glaring up at his brother who just laughed playfully. Yazoo grabbed Velvet Nightmare and returned it to its holder before standing back up and dusting off the dirt on his pants.
They were all use to random outbursts of energy and they took it out on each other. It was common for two of them to gang up on the other, today being Yazoo who was victimized. Yazoo walked between the other two, feeling the strain on his body. For a few days, they've been hiking around these woods, climbing cliffs or descending them, depending on what direction they chose to head. The exercise did them good, being a natural way to tone their bodies and test their endurance. They were all showing some fatigue now. It had been days out here with unsatisfactory sleep and full meals, so they had planned that tonight they'd prepare a full dinner with what they brought, and let each other sleep in.
Finally coming to a stop a few hours later, they began to set up camp. In silence they set up their sleeping bags and a fire, suspending a pot with water in it and waited for it to boil before pouring in the noodles. Kadaj watched the dinner while Loz fetched more wood to keep the fire burning well into the night while Yazoo cleaned their weapons.
Yazoo started off with Kadajs', working at making the twin blades sharp and shiny again. His mind was plagued with thoughts of Sephiroth. The time to meet him again was vastly approaching and he wasn't sure if they would be ready by then. He didn't want to die, not yet. He wasn't afraid to die but he didn't feel as if he had used his freedom enough to enjoy what life he had outside the lab. He was sure that his brothers felt the same. He didn't want Loz to relive his near death experience. They almost lost him one, and actually thought he was dead, and Yazoo didn't want that to happen again. He wanted them all to be free. He'd give his own life to save them but he knew neither of his brothers would approve of that so he kept that thought silent. Being Sephiroth's puppet, his slave, was worse then being in the Lab-although not by much.
By the morning they were refreshed and rested enough to feel ready to move on. They packed up their gear in a comfortable silence before beginning to make their way back to where they had left their bikes. They had discussed going further before turning around but none of them felt much like it and Loz was complaining about tightness in his chest. After his return Loz began getting tightness or extra pressure in his chest after exerting himself too much or not resting sufficiently enough. Yazoo theorized that since he almost died by a wound that surely should have killed him, that there was remaining problems from how he healed. The process might have been altered slightly by the conditions of his location, body structure or that he was a clone…they weren't sure.
Loz walked behind Kadaj and Yazoo, all three of them moving at a slower pace to help put less strain on their older brother. Yazoo glanced back over his shoulder to see Loz almost right behind him. At least he was keeping up. "How do you feel?" Yazoo asked curiously, turning to watch where he was walking.
"Fine, it's easing up a bit." He heard Loz respond, noting that his breathing was a pinch faster then normal. Since Loz didn't say anything, Yazoo let the subject drop, knowing it was better not to stir up Loz. Kadaj, on the other hand, was a bundle of energy needing release as per usual. Out of all three of them, Yazoo thought Kadaj was most eager for the end of the year term to come. Yazoo recalled his last conversation with Kadaj and how he was so insistent on their training.
"I can't let that bastard get away with what he did. I plan to kill him with my own hands. He tortured you and he nearly killed Loz. For god's sake, we thought Loz was dead!" His voice was almost shrill and the look in his eyes was deadly. "I have every reason to fight him. I'll take revenge for what he did to you. You two are the only ones I have. I don't need anyone else. Not mother, not Sephiroth, just you two. I'll kill that man and guarantee our freedom."The tone in his voice and the look in his eyes had been unforgiving and promising. Yazoo knew Kadaj wouldn't let Loz or Yazoo fight for him. Kadaj was not the type of person to sit back and watch. Not when he could enjoy killing the man of their nbightmares.