A/N: Sorry, I know this update came very late, I think it's been nearly two months already? I had a lot going on and I just couldn't find the time to write this, but I have it finished and we are approaching the end soon. Dun-dun-dun! I'll try to keep updating as much as possible so enjoy this chapter!
Disclaimer: I don't own Final Fantasy or the Hunger Games
Chapter 25: Father and Daughter
Genesis watched his friend from his position at the entrance of the training hall with a sly smile gracing his lips. His piercing mako eyes followed Angeal's every move as he dodged and blocked Lulu's spells. It had become a regular occurrence to find the both of them trying to exhaust Lulu's excessive power by letting her cast nearly every spell known to man at the capable SOLDIER. Angeal, in turn, fought back, giving Lulu more experience in using her spells as a form of blocking and evading his sword and also helping her build up her evasion, agility and stamina.
Genesis knew Angeal would never purposefully hurt her, he could see his fellow SOLDIER wasn't using his full strength however he wasn't holding too much back at the same time. He raised an eyebrow in amusement as Lulu twirled to the side, successfully evading Angeal's downward strike and using the momentum of her twirl to send a slap powered by lightning at Angeal's face. It never made contact though as he managed to duck under it and manoeuvre himself around the sorceress, one arm wrapping around her waist and using the other to bring his sword up to rest above the delicate skin of her throat.
The raven-haired SOLDIER smirked slightly as he placed a teasing kiss to her cheek, not releasing his lock on her. A small breath of laughter escaped the sorceress' purple lips and Genesis found himself smiling at how happy Angeal looked in that moment.
Everyone knew that the first class SOLDIER had always harboured a soft spot for Sector Ten's make-up artist, ever since he had accidentally bumped into her in the corridor and knocked over all of the boxes of supplies she'd been carrying. Genesis remembered the moment so well, he had been with Angeal at the time and he could clearly recall that his raven-haired friend had been more than happy to carry her boxes for her.
A lot of the other SOLDIERs had teased him for it afterwards, even Genesis had gotten a good dig in at him, but Angeal had never let it phase him. The Crimson General thought that they did make a cute couple but he hadn't sought out Angeal to congratulate him on his newfound romance.
He cleared his throat, announcing his presence and watched with an expression of slight mirth on his face as the two lovebirds broke apart abruptly, turning to finally take notice of the observer. A fine shade of red coloured Lulu's face however she hid it well behind her hair as Angeal whispered something to her before making his way over to his friend.
"How long have you been here?" Angeal asked casually as he slung his buster sword over his back.
"Long enough," Genesis replied shortly as he turned towards the door. "We need to talk."
Angeal knew not to question his friend as he followed him out the door, towards the observing area of the training facility. He could clearly see Lulu release her fury of flare attacks on the virtual dummies from behind the one-sided mirror and felt relieved that she didn't look worried about what exactly Genesis wanted to discuss with him.
Angeal didn't bother sitting down nor did Genesis.
"We have exactly six minutes before Sephiroth realises I've hacked the security cameras in this room and the training centre," the crimson-haired general stated bluntly.
"I assume you have good reason for doing this," Angeal replied evenly.
"Your assumptions are spot on as usual," Genesis confirmed with a nod of his head. "Sephiroth has been acting odd recently, his temper has been worse than usual and we've lost at least ten employees this week thanks to his masamune. I've also found that some of my SOLDIERs have been going on assignments without my permission."
Genesis paused slightly, his expression darkening. "I know you are loyal to Sephiroth, he is our friend however it would not have been right for me to ignore this growing concern. I went behind Sephiroth's back and I did manage to gain access to some of the restricted databases in our system. I wanted to find out exactly what was going on. I had my suspicions about what exactly could be causing him to be so on edge, I just wanted to confirm them."
"Well?" Angeal urged.
"It's about Sector Ten's female tribute, the summoner," Genesis continued in, his tone unchanging. "He's been paying off other tributes to make sure she doesn't make it out of the games alive, he has been doing everything in his power to make sure she dies but as you can see nothing has worked yet."
He gauged Angeal's reaction, watching carefully as his friend's dark eyes flickered towards the sorceress in the training room before returning to Genesis. "Why does he want to get rid of Yuna so badly?"
"From what I've heard, summoners from Sector Ten go on a pilgrimage to obtain immense power and to banish all evil from the world," Genesis answered. "From watching her in the games, I'd say she's just about finished her pilgrimage and is looking to complete her quest once she exits the games."
"Her quest?"
"To destroy Sin," Genesis clarified, knowing that his friend would have no knowledge of the subject, he continued on. "Sin is everything that causes sorrow and part of a summoner's pilgrimage is to discover what exactly Sin is and destroy it. I think that Sephiroth has known all along and he wants to protect this Sin, to keep it alive. That's why he's made sure that all of the girl's ancestors and loved ones have died in the games. The database says she is the heir to one of the strongest bloodlines of summoners and she could be the very first one to survive."
Angeal said nothing as he slowly regurgitated the information he'd been given. Lulu had never mentioned a Sin or Yuna's past history to him, then again she really couldn't because of the fact she was protecting her tribute's information. But he presumed there was another reason she had not told him, had she not trusted him? Did she think he was going to go back and tell Sephiroth and expose her?
He shook the thoughts off, that couldn't be the reason, she had trusted him enough to tell him she was a sorceress, hadn't she?
After a lot of persuasion, the little voice of doubt murmured in the back of his mind.
"So what is Sin?" He asked.
"I don't know," Genesis admitted. "But if I was to make a guess, I would say it is Jenova."
Angeal's eyes widened slightly at his friend's statement. "It can't be."
"I can think of no other possibility," Genesis said matter-of-factly. "She is the source of Sephiroth's power and the only person she has ever granted the slightest essence of happiness to is herself." He lowered his voice dramatically. "She nearly drove Sephiroth to the brink of insanity, even now I feel he is balancing dangerously on the edge of it. We were lucky Angeal, we didn't go mad from having her voice in our heads and Hojo's constant experiments. We managed to block her out but Seph... he never did and look what has become of the world he runs because of it."
"I know," Angeal murmured quietly in sorrowful agreement, his eyes became sharper as his dark eyes clashed with Genesis' calm ones. "This isn't all you came to talk to me about, is it?"
"Again, you are correct," Genesis confirmed with a small nod of his head. "It's about Lulu."
He could see Angeal visibly tense, his back going rigid and jaw clenching. He hadn't moved the whole time they'd been talking but now, he closed the space between them in three huge steps and set his piercingly serious eyes on Genesis. "What has this got to do with Lulu?"
The Crimson General remained calm and steady, turning away from his friend and walking to the one-sided mirror, gazing at the onyx-haired beauty as she cast her spells. "She is truly a magnificent woman, my friend," Genesis spoke casually as he felt Angeal come up beside him, still tense yet relaxing slightly as his eyes landed on the sorceress. "She is beautiful, smart, talented, witty, independent and a unique creature. I have never seen anyone who is so capable of controlling magic without the use of materia and having such an infinite amount of energy."
"I know," Angeal murmured softly. At this, Genesis turned his head to look at his friend, marvelling at how mesmerised and absolutely captured his expression was as he gazed at Lulu. His dark eyes were gentle and filled with an emotion that Genesis had never once seen in them before.
"You love her," it wasn't a question, it was a statement from the Loveless fanatic.
Angeal didn't say anything, he was silent as he stared at the sorceress although Genesis could see a ghost of a smile cross his lips and his eyes crinkled slightly at the corners. Hesitantly, he tore his eyes away from Lulu and looked towards his friend, his expression deadly serious. "Is she in danger?" His voice was hard but also filled with dread and anxiety.
"More than you know," Genesis answered regretfully. "It is as I said, Sephiroth will make sure that Yuna does not make it out of those games alive and if a tribute has no mentors or artists, then she can't get any sponsors."
"She has no hope."
"Exactly, Sephiroth sent my SOLDIERs to terminate your sorceress that night she was attacked. I admit, I had the faintest idea that she was in danger however I didn't think he would use my SOLDIERs, I thought the worst he would do would be to inform Hojo of her abilities and let him do whatever torturous experiments he wanted to her. In that case I could've easily intervened but by the time I found out of what had actually happened..."
"I understand," Angeal cut his friend off, not harshly but not exactly nicely either. "I must discuss this with him, make him understand that-"
"That's the one thing you cannot do, my friend," Genesis cut him off briskly as he turned to face him fully. "If Sephiroth finds out that I've relayed all this information, that I shouldn't technically know of, to you then Lulu will be in more danger. He won't stop, Angeal, if anything he will pursue her death even further, the best you can do is take on board what I've said and protect her."
"Surely there's a way I can-"
"No," the Crimson General cut him off again. "If you do, then it will not only be Lulu who is in danger, but you will be too. You can protect her more easily once you are under the radar." He paused slightly, almost hesitating before he continued on. "There is one more thing Angeal, but you must not tell the Puppy about this."
"Why not? Zack isn't as hot-headed as you think," Angeal defended the younger mentor.
"He is when it comes to the demon."
"Paine?"
"Surely you've noticed his feelings towards her? There's no telling what he would do if he ever found out how badly Sephiroth wants her out of the picture and besides that, he wouldn't understand..."
"Understand what?"
"Her heritage," Genesis answered bluntly. "She's a half-demon and despite most of the populace spreading rumours and having knowledge of this fact, Zack has somehow stayed innocent and unaware of it. Paine has always been a thorn in Sephiroth's side, even more so this year now that she is Yuna's main mentor. He has always wanted her gone, where do you think all the assassins came from over the years?"
"Why Paine though? What is so wrong about her being a half-demon?" Angeal asked. "Lulu treats her like a sister and she cannot help her heritage."
"I often hear Sephiroth muttering about some battle between angels and demons, I would think that Jenova is hinting that he must dispose of Paine immediately before she becomes too much of a threat. Angels and demons have never fought on the one side, they have always been rivals and Paine's father is quite a powerful demon too, no doubt she gained some of his strength."
"Do you know who Paine's father is?" Angeal asked quietly.
"The database contains many DNA samples of all of our previous victors and tributes, including every civilian in the slums and rich districts. When I was searching through it, I cross-referenced her DNA with every single sample we had stored. I expected only one match to arise." Genesis' face darkened slightly and his eyes grew serious. "But two matches came up."
"Who were they?"
"The first was her deceased mother, which was as to be expected, however the second was interesting indeed," Genesis said. "The second came from Vincent Valentine."
"He is far too young to be her father," Angeal argued.
"True, however I never said that Vincent was her father," Genesis replied evenly. "The DNA sample that matched was taken from the blood on the double-blade that almost killed Vincent in the finale of his games. As you know he faced off against Rosso the Crimson so therefore it definitely wasn't her blood on the blade, as the second match had to be male. I watched the tape of Vincent's games and in the finale he... underwent a transformation."
Angeal's eyes widened slightly in realisation as his bottom lip dropped in an expression of shock. "I remember he... couldn't defeat her on his own so he transformed... into Chaos."
Genesis nodded grimly. "Chaos himself is Paine's biological father."
A cold breeze blew through the cityscape of the Capitol, sending unwelcome shivers through anyone it brushed past. The streets were eerily quiet, save for the few occasional noises from the citizens below.
Paine stood on the roof of the hotel, looking up towards the starry night sky above. Granted not too many stars could be seen thanks to the fumes of smoke emitted from the mako reactors however she found that she didn't care. She hadn't come up here to stargaze anyway.
Although now, she suddenly wondered what it would be like to be a star, floating a million miles away through space, not a care in the world, not having any problems or people trying to kill you. It must've been nice, to shine so brightly in the darkest of places and soar through the heavens, like an angel without wings.
Sometimes she wished she could be half-angel rather than half-demon.
She snorted at the thought.
Somehow being a demon suited her better. She couldn't picture herself as an angel, not like Lulu or Rinoa. Rinoa had been graceful, slightly shy yet determined and powerful. Lulu was slightly different, she was elegant and graceful, powerful too however unlike Rinoa, she was cold and closed off from the outside world. It wasn't that she was shy, she was just... indifferent.
They both had that angelic beauty though, the kind that attracted men like Squall and Angeal.
Lulu had often lectured her that beauty came in different forms, that everyone was beautiful in their own way. Paine had rolled her eyes at the mage's speech but looking back on it now, she knew what Lulu had said made sense. She was beautiful, but not in the way Lulu, Yuna and Tifa were, and not in the way Rinoa had been. They were all an attractive kind of beautiful, a pretty beautiful, a nice beautiful...
An angelic beautiful.
Paine was a dangerous type of beautiful.
She was cold, concealed, independent, uncaring and dangerous. She knew how to wield a sword, how to use magic, how to fight like a SOLDIER, she wasn't like the others who used powerful spells by twisting their body, or elegant summoning dances, or agile combinations of ancient martial arts.
She took heavy swings using a broadsword, she used power, she was dangerous - uncontrollable. Just like the flames of hell she was born from.
She was the kind of woman men would be too afraid to approach, they would simply observe her from a distance, wondering what exactly could happen to them if they dared to talk to her. Only the braver or stupider ones decided to come near her, because they either didn't notice or didn't mind her dangerous look. She knew how to handle their type well and usually after the first encounter, they backed off or were forced back.
Only one had ever managed to get truly close to her.
Two, a little voice inside her head teased her mockingly.
A fine blush stained her cheeks as she mentally denied the fact and shushed the voice. Squall had been more than a friend back then, she had even thought that she loved him at one stage however that was over now. She realised that back then, her walls had broken slightly and she realised she had actually been lonely. Squall could've been a shoopuff for all she cared.
But Zack...
Her train of thoughts skidded to a halt as she sensed a familiar presence behind her. She didn't turn to look at him, knowing Vincent would join her in his own time and they'd silently gaze out over the city together as they usually did.
She was surprised that Vincent had come out to find her though. They had been out on the roof earlier on before they had both retired to their separate rooms. She had only come back out about four hours later because she couldn't sleep.
Damn nightmares.
The nightmares had started about a week ago and they hadn't stopped, if anything they were slowly starting to get worse. Zack had lectured her to get more sleep, saying that Lulu and Auron could watch over Yuna for a bit however she had refused, knowing that even sleeping during the day wouldn't get her through the nightmares.
They had started off ok, nothing too scary, just fire everywhere - which hadn't really bothered her in the least - but then she would feel a looming presence behind her, like a shadow that constantly latched itself onto her back. Then she'd start to feel razor sharp teeth on her skin or the burn of cold claws opening fresh wounds on her body. The deep rough voice came next, one she had never heard before yet sounded so familiar, and always managed to send unwanted shivers of dread down her spine. The threats were vile and sent her stomach churning until she eventually got sick in the bathroom. Threats of what would happen to Lulu, Auron, Angeal, Squall, Vincent, Yuna, even Shelinda.
And then Zack...
He always made an appearance in the dream but he was always fighting off some invisible force. It tore him to pieces slowly and painfully until he was screaming and crying out in agony. All she could do was watch, her emotional barriers coming down as she pleaded for his life, for his sanity, for whatever it was to leave him alone.
But her only response was the deep rumble of sadistic laughter and even more of Zack's screams.
"Paine..."
She turned at the sound of Vincent's voice. She had been so caught up in her thoughts of her nightmares she hadn't realised that he had stayed frozen to the spot behind her. As soon as she laid eyes on him, she knew something was wrong. He wasn't standing straight and stiff as usual, he was hunched over breathing hard, his long hair falling like onyx curtains, shadowing his features.
"Vince-" she was about to make her way towards him, albeit cautiously, to see if he was injured however he stumbled away from her. The way he jerked his whole body backwards made it look like he was fighting to run away from her and that thought scared her more than anything else. She stopped dead in her tracks, her facial features guarded yet confusion shining brightly in her eyes.
A choking noise came from him, along with the sound of liquid splashing against the cold concrete floor. Her eyes trailed down to the ground of the roof, widening in both worry and shock as she saw the thick blood that was slowly dribbling from his chin as his body wracked with coughs.
"...Run..." Was all she managed to hear before his body suddenly snapped upright and his eyes began to glow yellow. For the first time in years, she found herself frozen to the spot, watching as Vincent's body shook terribly, bright light surrounding him before it burst outwards, nearly blinding her. She had the sense to cover her eyes against the penetrating light and when it faded she slowly took her arm away.
He still looked like Vincent with the red cape and facial features however Paine knew it wasn't him. Vincent didn't have wings or pale blue skin or glowing yellow eyes. He didn't have fangs or razor sharp claws or a sadistic smile on his face.
She reached for her sword automatically however her hands closed around air as she realised she hadn't taken it with her, it was still in Zack's room. She mentally cursed at her lack of sense and the creature seemed to notice her frustration as a rough laugh rumbled from its throat.
Her blood ran cold as she recognised the laughter immediately, the same sadistic one from her dreams.
"Who the hell are you?" Her voice was hard and vicious as she braced herself, taking on a defensive stance.
More laughter crawled from his throat and she gritted her teeth as more unwelcome images from her nightmares came to her mind. Her stomach started churning uncontrollably but she knew nothing would come up, she had emptied its contents before she came up here. Although, the look of horrific amusement in his eyes made her doubt that as he smirked at her, exposing his razor sharp teeth.
"Foolish girl, don't you know your own father?"
Lulu's eyes shot open, ending her dreamless sleep as she sat up in her bed. Her heart was beating rapidly in her chest, slamming against her ribcage as though it was crying out to be let free. She found herself suddenly out of breath as her chest rose and fell heavily. Her hand came up to rest over her heart as she tried to regain her bearings.
"Lulu?" Something stirred beside her and she looked to the left only to find Angeal sitting up beside her, his eyes blinking the sleep away and hair slightly tossed. "What's wrong?"
"I..." Her memories started coming back slowly, she couldn't sleep so Angeal had promised to stay with her until she did, but he must've fallen asleep too... But then she felt something in her sleep as if a needle had been shot straight into her heart. "I just had this... really awful feeling like a... spike in energy or something."
Angeal looked confused for a moment. She was briefly aware of his arm circling her waist from where he had been holding her while she slept and blushed slightly. She still wasn't exactly used to all this open affection.
"Are you sure you didn't just imagine it, or dream about it?" He asked quietly, his hand reaching out to tuck a stray strand of hair back behind her ear. He knew well to leave her fringe be, that she didn't like to expose her left eye.
"I'm sure," she said with a slight scowl. "I just-"
She was cut off as her door opened and Zack staggered in, his mako eyes shining with worry. "Lulu, have you seen Paine? She's not in her room and there's blood on the bed and-" he stopped his rant of questions as his eyes seemed to focus on something beside her. "Angeal? What are you-?"
"Zack!" Lulu exclaimed as she brought the covers up over her chest, even though she was wearing one of her black night dresses and was perfectly decent. "Don't you know how to knock?"
"I'm sorry!" He said, embarrassment colouring his features. "But Paine - her bed is torn apart and there's blood and she-"
The scream that reached their ears was enough to make them all forget their embarrassment as an explosion followed. They all froze, their eyes wide as they looked upwards towards the source of the noise and Lulu gasped as an inhuman roar resounded through the hotel.
"Paine!" Zack shouted as he turned and ran out the door.
She couldn't help the scream that tore through her throat as Chaos released a torrent of flames and claws, opening up deep enough wounds on her body and causing her to spill blood. She spat out the red coppery substance that had filled her mouth almost defiantly as she glared at him. Her hand rose to wipe away the excess blood from her lips roughly as she instantly stood in a ready position, prepared for whatever else he might throw at her.
"Come now daughter," he spoke the word mockingly, a feral grin playing on his lips. She hadn't even managed to land a single hit on him during their brief battle, she was afraid she would injure Vincent. "Surely you can feel the demon inside you begging to be released, fighting to break free, to take over so that you may challenge me at your full power. You won't be able to resist it for much longer."
Her expression was cold and betrayed nothing however she had to bite down on the inside of her cheek to forcefully stop herself from shaking. She hated to admit it but what he said was true, she could feel it within her, clawing at her nerves and organs, trying to break free. It was as though his very presence had lit a fire in her veins and it was slowly beginning to rage out of her control.
"You know I'm right," Chaos continued, his voice smug and clear. "I can feel it within you, and though you've had years of practise of suppressing your emotions, I can still read you like an open book." He took a step closer to her, his smirk of triumph widening. "You're worried and you're desperate because the demon has never been this close to the surface, has it?"
She inhaled sharply, her eyebrows slanting downwards in an expression of fury. The clawing from within came sharper this time and she found she had to force herself not to raise a hand to cover her heart in pain. It was true, she was worried that the demon within her was so close to the surface. It had never been so desperate, the feeling had never been so intense before, it was as if Chaos was coaxing the demon out, whether she liked it or not.
Sweat began to gather on her forehead as she mentally pushed her demon back down, but it was like a fire, no matter how much you tried to extinguish it even the slightest spark could make it rise again.
"You are strong, daughter," Chaos spoke, a hint of pride in his voice. The sound made her stomach churn with disgust. "To have held back your demon instincts for so long is impressive, it shows your will is strong. However you've allowed your human emotions to take over, to influence you far too much. Emotions like that make you weak, make you vulnerable." His eyes were hard, like topaz gems, as he looked at her, inclining his head slightly. "You know this all too well."
She said nothing, knowing he was trying to goad her into release. That's what happened the first time, she had lost control, the human emotion had been too much and now it was coming back, ready to overload her heart so that she had nowhere to turn to but her instincts. She could feel her whole body heat up just at the memories but she forced them back and stood a little straighter.
"Fight me." Impatience entered his voice and a snarl accompanied it as he crouched low, ready to launch himself at her. "I want you to show me your true strength, show me the destruction and agony you can cause, I want you to prove to me that you are my blood. I will not accept a weakling."
At his challenge, she could feel a roar crawl up her throat, threatening to escape and answer his challenge with enthusiastic acceptance. The clawing only grew worse as she swallowed it down with a slight gasp, knowing that letting even the tiniest demoness attribute escape her defensive mental walls would be her undoing.
"Why now?" She spoke finally, raising her eyes to meet his defiantly. "Why approach me now and challenge me? Why reveal yourself now? From what I can see, it seems you have been able to overpower Vincent for some time now and have led him to believe you were under his control. You're not even flinching and I'm sure he's trying his hardest to regain control, so why now when you've had all this time?"
"I wanted to observe you," he answered. "I wanted to see if you would survive your games, if you could fend off the assassination attempts, if you could not only survive but prosper. I wanted to see how long it would take for you to show your demon side." His expression grew slightly annoyed. "However I grew impatient, you were training to control your demon even more and I knew if I did not act soon you might overpower your demon completely and lock it away permanently."
"Why me?" Paine asked, her eyes narrowing as she tensed her body even further. "I couldn't be your only offspring, there must be others. Why focus in on me?"
"Demon and human blood do not mix well, you are correct in your assumption. Most of my spawn did not survive and those who did were weak and useless to me," he spoke without emotion, as if the deaths of his children meant nothing at all to him. "You were the last one created before I was imprisoned in this inferior body and therefore you were the only success, thanks to your mother."
That last part made her heart skip a beat slightly as she looked at him in confusion. "My... mother?" She repeated her voice dead yet slow and uncertain at the same time.
"Yes. I presume you hate her since she cast you aside because of your conception and biological traits," he said. "You're mother was a priestess and a powerful summoner. Her strength and spiritual energy allowed her to have a healthy pregnancy and produce a healthy half-demon. I made sure she didn't dispose of you while still a foetus, I knew she wouldn't anyway, it's considered a sin among the foolish priests."
"What was her name?" Paine asked immediately.
Chaos paused for a moment before answering, "Belgemine."
"Is she alive?" she asked rather stonily.
"If I were to tell you she was, what would you do?" Chaos asked.
"Is she alive?" Paine repeated through gritted teeth, purposefully ignoring his question.
"That depends on your definition of alive."
Annoyance threatened to flash across her features along with pain as a fresh new wave of demon instincts clawed at her internal defensive walls however she masked her feelings well. She's either a depressed house hermit or unsent, she thought to herself quietly as she eyed Chaos once more. He was still in a ready position, still looking for his challenge from her demon side. She pushed all thoughts of her mother aside and focused on keeping her demoness instincts down.
"One more question before I defeat you and help Vincent regain control," she deadpanned, ignoring the dangerous flash that came into his eyes at her challenge. "What do you want from me?"
Chaos laughed, it wasn't a warm laugh, it was cold and every tone sent repulsed shivers through her. "I want you to fight for me," he said with a feral growl of excitement. "I am the greatest force on this planet yet I am trapped in this form, this vulnerable, small, human form." He spoke the word 'human' as if it left a bad taste in his mouth. "There is only so much I can do, but you, you have both divine and profane blood within you, the blood of a summoner and demon. You and I could be invincible, but to be invincible, we must take out the competition."
"You want me to be a mercenary," she simplified, not really impressed with the idea. "You want me to take out your biggest threat."
"Exactly!" His feral grin widened, a dangerous light of pure excitement and sadistic euphoria lighting up his golden eyes.
"And that would be?" She questioned.
"Jenova and her spawn," he growled in answer, pure hatred lacing his tone.
"Sephiroth," she simplified once more.
"And all of SOLDIER," he added forcefully.
All of SOLDIER? She thought, her eyes widening at the prospect. But if he wanted to get rid of all of SOLDIER then that meant Zack-
At that exact moment the door of the roof burst open with a loud crash, causing both her and Choas to whip their heads to the side in surprise. Blood red eyes widened in both horror and disbelief as Zack, the main object of her concern, stumbled through the opening, buster sword in hand.
His trained, enhanced SOLDIER eyes took in the scene in a split-second before connecting with her own. A flash of relief raced across his features at the fact that she wasn't badly injured whereas hers just became more distressed.
"Paine?" He half-called out to her, half-questioned, a look of confusion crossing his face as he noticed her expression.
"Zack! Get out of here!" She shouted in despair, watching as Chaos' surprise turned into a vicious smile of hatred. His claws clicked together in anticipation at the prospect of a new opponent, the spawn of Jenova...
Zack didn't heed her warning though, he was at her side in an instant, sword in one hand while he held out her own towards her. He flashed her a side-grin and a wink as her eyes widened in surprise before her gloved hand wrapped around the hilt, expertly.
"Stay back, I'll handle this freak," Zack said, stepping in front of her protectively.
"No, that's still Vincent, we can't kill him," Paine stopped him with a hand on his arm. Her voice came out a lot calmer than she actually felt.
"How did he lose control?" he asked.
"He never had control," Paine deadpanned although there was a slight hint of regret in her eyes. It soon turned to anger though as she glared at Chaos who was waiting impatiently a few metres away from them, claws clicking and tail swaying menacingly.
Her eyes left her opponent briefly and she looked towards Zack, placing a hand over his and pushing his sword down to face the ground in a non-offensive position. "Although I appreciate your help," she began calmly while giving him a pointed look, "I cannot allow you to interfere."
The bewildered and hurt look he gave her sent a slight wave of guilt through her as he opened his mouth to speak. "Paine-"
"It is a personal matter," she cut him off simply and shortly before turning quickly and charging Choas.
The warrior had hoped to take him by surprise but was disappointed to see he was already waiting for her. Blocking her downward swipe with his claws, he pushed her back expertly, using most of his strength. Stopping her skidding backwards, she renewed her attack, feigning left before striking right however he was quicker than her, blocking once more with only one claw while swiping at her with the other.
Dodging just in time, she fell back on the defensive, trying to plan out her next attack. The demon was far too fast for her, the only way she could get faster and stronger would be to let her own demon out but that was out of the question. Defeating Chaos would be impossible without it though but maybe...
Pressing a thumb to her sphere grid, she felt purple light engulf her as her sword disappeared and leather outfit moulded into furs and bones, paint stripping her cheeks and animalistic headpiece coming into place. She felt a half-demon, half-animal growl crawl through her throat as she launched herself towards her father.
Her berserker dressphere gave her the extra speed to close the distance between them in less than a second. A sense of victorious joy washed through her when she saw surprise flash in his eyes as she came onto him in a flurry of kicks and scratches like a true cheetah. He had to put effort into his punches and blocks and she actually managed to draw blood as her claws raked themselves over his face. A roar of angry tore through his throat as he swiped at her with his tail, catching her in the stomach and sending her sprawling backwards.
She felt arms support her from behind, catching her fall before steadying her. The master spell materia on Zack's arm began to glow as he helped her and a 'cure' spell left his lips, his breath brushing over her ear and making her shiver slightly. She was buzzing from the after effects of the spell and smiled slightly as Zack gave her a push forward, supporting her from afar with some protective spells that most citizens of Sector Ten would consider white magic.
Adrenaline coursed through her as she launched herself at him once more, each stroke was filled with anger, each block powered by determination and each dodge followed by a counter attack. Her technique was flawless, her instincts on fire thanks to her berserker dressphere, yet she tried not to do too much damage, knowing Vincent was still in there somewhere and feeling everything Chaos felt. She couldn't win this fight without killing Vincent but maybe she could force Chaos back.
"I'm impressed daughter," he said as they locked limbs, applying pressure on all sides as both tried to overpower one another. "You have proven yourself worthy of your heritage."
"I'm flattered," she replied sarcastically through gritted teeth. "Now that I'm worthy, go back into Vincent's conscious and put him back in control."
"I'm afraid I can't do that," Chaos growled with a feral smile.
"Can't or won't?"
"Won't."
"Then I'll make you a deal," she said bluntly.
This seemed to catch his attention and he gave her a smile filled with dark amusement. "You should never make a deal with the devil."
"I've never been one to do what I'm told," she shot back fiercely before her eyes turned deadly serious. "There is a war coming, one that will overthrow Sephiroth and everything the Capitol stands for. Here's the deal, retreat into Vincent's mind and when the time comes; fight with us, together we'll destroy both Sephiroth and Jenova."
"And the rest of her spawn," he demanded.
"Only those who don't fight with us," she countered, fixating him with a piercing stare using those red eyes of hers.
Chaos met her gaze full on with his glowing golden eyes filled with the rage of hell and power of torture. She could practically see the gears and cogs turning in his mind as he went over her deal mentally. She held her breath in anticipation of his reply to her offer but not letting the anxiety showing on her features which remained hard and passive as ever.
"You drive a hard bargain, daughter," he spoke, his voice like gravel crouching roughly. "But I accept your offer." Their lock was broken as they both released the pressure on their limbs, stepping back from one another. "However when the time comes, I will not hold back and I will not show mercy."
"I wouldn't expect you to," she replied with a nod, watching as red smoke enveloped him while his body began to shrink, glowing eyes fading, skin turning from blue to white and claws and tail shrinking until Vincent was standing in front of her once more.
However his eyes rolled to the back of his head due to the pure exhaustion and she caught him as he fell forwards, almost stumbling at the weight of him. Zack came up from behind her though, helping her lower Vincent to the ground as he began to heal his wounds using the materia. Paine watched silently praying he wouldn't ask any questions and hoping he didn't hear any of her and Chaos' conversation.
A sense of relief washed through her as her demon suddenly ceased its inner struggling now that Chaos had left. It was as if it had just ran out of energy and was resting within her, dormant and silent just the way she wanted it.
"You know..." Zack began as he cast another cure spell on Vincent and Paine mentally berated herself for ever hoping that Zack could contain his curiosity, "this isn't exactly the most appropriate time for this but..." she looked up as he spoke and a pinch of surprise rushed through her at the cheeky grin adoening his features, "that outfit looks really good on you."
It was then she realised that she was still in her berserker dressphere and that parts of it were ripped in places, exposing her pale flesh and giving her a truly wild look. She was sure her hair was a mess as well and she sent him a death glare causing him to wipe the smile off of his face instantly and give her a more sheepish look.
But then her glare faded and the corners of her lips twitched upwards, causing Zack to blink twice to make sure he wasn't seeing things. It was probably the closest thing to a flirty smile she had ever given him or anyone for that matter.
"You should see the Lady Luck dressphere."