I'll have you know
That' I've become...Indestructible
Determination that is incorruptible
From the other side
A terror to behold
Annihilation will be unavoidable
Every broken enemy will know
That their opponent had to be invincible
Take a last look around while you're alive
I'm an indestructible Mast of War!
It was night, maybe around eleven, and Shadow's house was now just a pile of burnt wood. The classic yellow tape was surrounding the area and not a soul could currently be seen. However, one doesn't have to be seen to actually be there. The air still smelled of burnt ashes as the silent figure worked their way towards the rubble. A red cape only slightly waved behind him, the edges tattered while the bottom half of his face was obscured and his deep raven hair fell around him while piercing red eyes scanned the area carefully.
His foot broke down a weak piece of wood as he stepped into the premises of the broken building, and after a minute he started making his way over to the weaponry room that Shade had always kept. Only one other time he had been here, and that was six years ago. She had just started her mercenary career and for some unknown reason he couldn't explain, he had agreed to her proposal of working together. Indeed, it had made things much easier than working alone, and he had grown to respect the younger girl. When news of her death reached him he had to confirm that it was true, having a hard time believing what he had been told.
The room was barely standing as he walked in, black clouds rising as he moved. He surveyed the area carefully before walking over to the closet, his gloved hand reaching out and lightly pushing on the door. It opened just a fraction of an inch, but he was immediately greeted by a low growl, followed by threatening barks. He pushed it open more and looked at the iron latch at the bottom of the floor. Reaching in and making sure it wasn't scalding hot, he proceeded to open it up, revealing the small dark pit at the bottom.
Yoru stood there, growling viciously at him, and the dog stood guard over the limp body behind it. "Yoru." He said quietly. The dog stopped momentarily, studying him with intent eyes before whining just a little and lying down next to the body, resting her head right next to Shadow's. Vincent knelt down and brushed back some of Shade's hair, her features unresponsive to the movement. His eyes adjusted quickly to the dark, and he saw the dried blood coating her body.
Shaking his head slightly he slid his arms underneath her and picked her up bridal style, Yoru following close to his heels as he walked. To his surprise Shade slowly opened her eyes, not really moving her head as she looked around before finding his face. "What are you doin' here?" She mumbled, head falling back slightly over his arm.
"You should be unconscious." A simple fact.
"But I'm not." Another fact.
"Which ones are fatal?"
"Gunshot, left shoulder. Deep cut across my back. Everything else is fine." Now it was getting hard to decipher what she was saying.
"Got it." She just closed her eyes and her body went limp once more. He just shook his head at the statement and continued to quickly move, leaving the smoldering remains behind them.
XXXXXX
Shade had never been more thankful for Yoru in her entire life. The dog wasn't stupid, she was obedient and knew when things were getting dangerous. So when Shade had told her to stay in the weaponry during the attack the dog had done so, staying silent and even refusing to whine as she heard the fighting just outside the door. When things died down, just around the time they were filling the place with gasoline, a faint, "Yoru." Reached the dog's ears and she jumped up, pawing at the doorknob a few times before it turned enough to open up the door, revealing a broken down Shade slowly dragging herself in.
The dog bent down and Shade wrapped her arms around her neck, letting the dog slowly start to drag her towards the closet. She didn't bother whining at her owners condition, settling on working her canine muscles to complete the task.
Shade could hear yelling outside, as she weakly reached up and opened up the closet, letting it swing in and reaching for the door on the ground. At this part Yoru let her lean on her while one arm weakly started to lift the hatch. When it was a couple inches off the ground the dog stuck her head under, a growl escaping her throat as she used the base of her neck to lift it, just enough to let Shade slide in and the dog drop in as well, the door slamming shut and settling them in darkness.
"That's a good girl." Shade breathed, lifting an arm to weakly pet her on the head. They listened for a couple more minutes before the sound of the explosion pierced their confinements and filled their ears. Yoru let out a low whine and lied down next to Shadow.
"Shit." She breathed again, before closing her eyes and resting her head against the wall. "Bastards are gonna pay." Then unconsciousness finally took over and blackness was the only thing that filled her senses.
XXXXXX
The first thing that she noticed was that she was on something soft, not like the solid ground that she had in the safety cell in her home. Or at least what used to had been her home. When Shade opened her eyes she was glad to see that it was dark, instead of being thrown into the world of light. The third and final thing that really caught her attention was the fact that her entire body was covered in bandages. An IV was in her arm to no doubt dull the pain that she hardly felt.
Ignoring the numbing feeling her body currently had she forced herself to sit up, even as a wince came across her features. "You shouldn't do that."
"I know sir." She replied respectively.
"You're wounds were lethal." Again, straight to the point. "Rest is needed."
"Rest is unavailable. Thank you for your help Mr. Valentine." From the second she met him she made sure to use formal titles, and had continued to do so ever since.
He just silently nodded. "They took your friends back to their base. You're agency has been scrambling to meet a deadline they set for themselves."
"Give them a couple of days to let demands be sent to ensure their safety, or they're going to follow up with the original plan." She set her legs over the side and closely examined her movements, mentally calculating what her limit was. "Yoru?" In return she heard barking coming from somewhere in the building, and she recognized it as Vincent's own miniature mansion located in the World that Never Was.
"Fine. Your home however, I apologize for what happened." But she just shook her head.
"It happens." She murmured, sliding off the bed and enjoying working her leg muscles out of their stiff state. "Sir, may I please borrow a few necessities?"
"Depends. Blades or bullets?" A smirk came across her lips.
"Goin' stealth this time."
XXXXXX
They hadn't told the base yet about Shadow's death yet, and had the problem under tight wraps. Besides the fact that the group of higher ups were more depressed lately, everyone continued on with what they normally did. Sephiroth and Zack were classified as one of these depressed agents, and were currently making their way deeper into the building.
A figure in simple black jeans and a black hoodie walked past them, the wire from their headphones in display as they moved. Zack grinned and waved but they just nodded their head in return as the kept going. "Why is it you insist on greeting every agent here?"
"Because it's nice. It's how a met a lot of my friends too." Zack grinned as they walked up to the control center. Apparently they were giving the Devil's Harvesters one more day before they moved in. Sephiroth still hadn't told them who would lead the attack, but that was to be expected. Zack almost thought the silver haired man was going to lead it himself, and honestly it wouldn't really surprise him. If it wasn't Shade it was Sephiroth, and if it wasn't Sephiroth, no one was allowed to carry out the plan, or else they would find themselves up against a very angry man when they got back. The one time he let someone else carry out the orders, he had regretted it, and made sure they knew.
"Hey guys." Tifa greeted, looking at the blueprints up on the monitor. "Ready for tomorrow?"
"Of course." Zack replied. "How's everyone doing?"
"As good as it's going to get." The girl sighed, running a hand through her hair. "The mood hasn't been exactly all happy and flower filled."
Sephiroth just thought over the plans in his head, then realized that he would have to make Yuffie a copy of the codes, no doubt when she was working her part she wouldn't remember them by heart. He nodded to the other two as he walked out of the room and towards the Operations room. Halfway there the figure in the hoodie walked past him, nodding in respect on their way. He didn't even spare them a glance as he took out a card and let the system scan the bar code before it opened up to reveal the large room on the other side.
Walking in he went over to the papers that were suppose to have the codes and started sifting through them, frowning slightly as he reached the end of the pile and turned up with no codes. After checking every other possible area he finally went over to the computers and brought up the file, finding them but still wondering where the papers went. Getting irritated he brought up surveillance and fast forward through the past couple hours he hadn't been in here.
When he hit the mark from twenty minutes ago he let it play normally, watching as a figure walked into the room. Recognizing the hooded person he had walked past twice now, he scowled. They continued over to the original pile of papers and sifted through, taking three and turning around as they scanned the contents. When they looked up, he saw they were looking straight at the camera. The lower half of their face was exposed enough to let him see the smirk come across it. Their hand came up and gave a mock salute to the camera, their lips moving slightly. His frown deepened as he rewound it and raised the volume. It took a few times before he was able to decipher what they said, but when he did, he could feel confusion swarming upon him, something he wasn't used too.
Their hands came and the hoodie moved slightly just enough to put the earphones back. Black hair was exposed slightly just the cloth moved back in to place before they started walking back towards the exit and disappeared from view.
She's supposed to be dead. He thought logically. But only very few called him by his first name, and he was pretty sure there was only one female who said it straight to his face.
"Thanks Sephiroth."
Then again, her and death seemed more like coworkers.
XXXXXX
"Another reason, another cause for me to fight. Another fuse uncovered. Now, for me to light." Shade was more like speaking the words than singing them as she polished the dagger in her hands, looking at the elegant designs that flowed throughout the weapon. She was sitting in one of the many old, worn out rooms in Vincent's home that he rarely spent time in, where he had offered for her to house while she took care of some business.
She couldn't really describe her mood. Angered that her friends were in danger, but that only made up a very small part. The rest was a happy, one of those very terrifying versions where people on the other end of it don't know how they were perfectly fine and then milliseconds later the knife is embedded into their flesh. She was also very calm about the matter before her. The plan was solid, the bodies would be plenty, pain would be abundant, and they would be safe. Win win for everyone.
A malicious grin came across her features before it disappeared again, and the only thing she comprehended was the smooth motions of the cloth over the blade. "That isn't a very cheerful song." His voice was cold and emotionless, but she ignored the tone and replied.
"But it's a truthful song." She replied. "And a good one at that." The blade glinted elegantly in her hands as she turned it to various angles to observe the weapon. She mentally sighed. "Mr. Valentine, is it possible you have any jobs at the moment?"
By his silence he took this as a no. "I've got twenty thousand at the moment, but the other ten thousand would be after I wrap up a few problems incident related. Would you be interested?" She glanced over her shoulder to see him nod once. "I already have everything laid out, I just require someone to escort my sisters and their friends out of the premises while I take care of the rest of the area."
"And how do you plan on doing this?" He inquired.
The grin was back as she lifted one of the guns displayed on the large bed. "With lots and lots of bullets."
XXXXXX
He was more than happy. That sorry excuse for a mercenary was dead, her friends were captured and sitting in his prison, and those two agency friends of hers were going to give them all the information they needed to take down the used-to-be gang. It was all going according to plan, and Xemnas couldn't be more happier.
Leader of Devil's Harvesters, he had hundreds of people fearing him and his peons, those he commanded. If he ordered them to take their own life they would, or course he never would, but there were times when the option was appealing.
And this was one of those times. "What do you mean, 'you can't'." He demanded firmly.
"Sir, they are being more stubborn than we thought. The blond one is incredibly strong and the redhead, well..."
"Well what?"
"He has this unique skill of making some of our men incredibly angry in just a few seconds. He's got a way with words."
"You're telling me you can't take them to the interrogation rooms just because one scares them with looks and the other talks badly to them."
The man nodded slowly and Xemnas motioned to Saix to get him out of there as he stood up, wishing to visit the prisoners for himself. Their base was one of the largest places located in this depressing city, located over one of the largest and darkest pits on the outskirts of the city. The location was perfect, it made a point.
He made his way to the white dungeons that were located towards the bottom of the building as he walked through clean halls. It only took a few minutes for him to reach his destination, and when he did, he was met with an unwelcoming sight.
"Aw, come on man, can't take a good joke?" Axel said tauntingly as one of his men were being held back from attempting to strangle the redhead.
"Enough." Xemnas ordered, walking into the place. "Leave us." The men reluctantly left while Saix came in to walk next to him towards the cells.
"Hey! A new play toy!" Axel said, grinning. Xemnas looked to see the blond was standing against the back wall while studying the two men. The silver hair man could see him putting up a fight.
"You are the two who befriended the now deceased mercenary Shade, am I correct?" He made sure to bring up the person who was the reason as to why they were there.
Cloud frowned slightly. "Correct." He replied.
"I wish to speak with you in private. There are matters that need to be discussed concerning your home base."
"Why would we bother talking to you about that place?" Axel said with a smirk. "You seriously don't believe we'd do that of our own free will."
"If it involves the safety of other, yes." A scream came from the end of the cell and they turned to see Saix there, holding Namine by a fist full of hair. The girl whimpered and Kairi went up to help her, only to have a gun pointed in her direction to keep her in place.
"Let her go." Axel growled, recalling Shadow's words. Mission before emotions. The mission was to keep the teenagers alive, his emotions said to kill the bastard then and there. "Leave them out of this."
"Give us what we want, then we will let them continue to be unharmed." Axel glanced back at Cloud, who gave the slightest of nods.
"Deal."
XXXXXX
Axel was more than pissed off at the moment. He was currently being restrained to a chair while Cloud was back in the cells with the others. He was glad that they did it one at a time, Cloud would more than likely get annoyed with him quickly, but he really didn't like this whole, 'be a good boy' thing he had to do.
But that all changed with a single box.
Some person, the delivery boy, had walked in and handed a package to Xemnas, saying that it was urgent. Saix had looked indifferent at it as he opened the box, revealing, to their surprise, a recorder. Thankfully he hadn't bothered to leave the room when he hit the play button to hear what was on it.
Whimpering emanated from the small device as they listened. "Be a good boy and tell me where they are." A mocking voice spoke. Axel's eyes widened and he made sure to clench his fist behind him so they didn't shake to badly.
"I can't tell you! They'd kill me in seconds!"
"Don't worry, at least when I kill you for not telling me anything I'll make it much more painful than your pathetic excuse for a leader."
"I can't do that!" He yelled. This was followed by a scream, one that lasted a solid couple of seconds before dying off into whimpering again.
"Is that, Vexen?" Saix said quietly as they listened.
"Tell me where they are."
"OK! They're located in the dungeons on the east side of the lower building. Please! Just don't use the hammer!"
"There you go." However it was followed by a sickening snapping sound, resulting in more screaming. "If you want to continue to have the use of your other four fingers I suggest you tell me what harm has been done to them."
"None! I swear it! They're scheduled to be taken into interrogation but that's it!"
"Are they going to be released safely?" Silence was the answer for this question. Apparently something hurtful had been waved in front of Vexen's face because he quickly made up for it.
"No! The plan was to get your leader to submit his resources to us for the safety of your friends!" Another snap. "But it was just to make sure they cooperated! We were going to kill them off afterwords."
"Good boy. Wrong answer."Axel winced as a long and painful scream came from the speakers.
"No! Not the hedge clippers. Please!" More screaming, then sudden silence. The room dropped into the echoing abyss and no one said anything.
Xemnas slowly turned towards Saix, his glare tempting the man to wince. "Was that Shade interrogating Vexen?" He asked slowly, quietly.
In return he got laughing, but not from him. Instead, it was Axel. "What's so funny." Saix demanded.
"You guys are so screwed!" He laughed even harder, for once since a few days ago actually feeling good about the situation.