Chapter 37
In the heat of battle, the pain in Chaos' shoulder faded to the background, though later on he would be paying for that one hit he'd taken. But then, the other guy was worse off, so that was some justice, he supposed.
He felled the last of his opponents and turned to see how the whelp fared against Weiss.
"Vendetta, stay girl." The teen's firm voice carried to Chaos even though he spoke the words softly.
Chaos froze as Kadaj's hand reached out to take Weiss'. With a flash of yellow Materia, they were gone.
He stood there stunned, for how long he could not say.
The otter clambered up beside him. "Oh clams!"
Oh clams, indeed. This was not how it was supposed to go.
He had imagined several possible outcomes to this venture. The most likely of which was Weiss dead and the whelp distraught over not being able to redeem him. He had even contemplated the possibility they wouldn't be able to find Weiss at all.
He had never foreseen this outcome.
He was going to find the whelp and then he was going to kill the whelp.
"Well… I reckon I better inform Kunsel." The otter's resigned voice stood out against the sound of the waves lapping steadily against the edges of the artificial harbor.
The peacefulness of the night rubbed at odd angles against Chaos' inner turmoil.
"Wait," he ordered.
He was going to kill the whelp. And then find someone with a Phoenix Down to bring him back. And then he was going to kill him WRO had no part in it. "Let's keep this to ourselves for the moment."
"It's not really in my programmin' to keep secrets from the boss, yeh know?"
Chaos fixed him with a glare. It might take a little while to catch up to Weiss and Kadaj, and in the meanwhile he felt the strong urge to pulverize someone or something.
"Ookay, so maybe I have ways around the programmin'." The otter shrunk back from him. "But what good is puttin' it off? You don't think he'll change his mind, do yeh? It's not like Weiss kidnapped him. You saw him go off of his own free will, roight? If we don't say anything and people get hurt because of it…"
"Just… give me time to think." He strode back to his motorcycle and brought it to life with a roar that was less satisfying than it should have been.
He really needed to kill something…
He left Sleipnir where it sat. There wasn't anything he could do about it at the moment. Besides, it wasn't like he wanted to look at the thing every day. This was one trip he had no desire to keep mementos from.
The ride back to Edge was a blur of dark countryside. There was no particular reason for heading back to Edge, but he had no desire to linger in Junon.
Back at the apartment, Chaos slammed the door behind him. Broken glass crackled under his boots from the vase of lemongrass the whelp had shattered before they left for Junon.
He should be glad. Now he would have the place to himself. It wasn't like they were friends or anything. After a moment's consideration, he made his way into Kadaj's room – Kadaj's old room. His now.
He sat down hard on the bed and waited to feel the sense of satisfaction as the springs squealed in protest.
The hot, clenched spot in his chest persisted.
He should just walk away. He didn't need the whelp. He didn't need anyone.
His shoulder twinged, shooting pain simultaneously down his arm and through one of his wings.
Right. He still needed Reeve to tell him about the degradation and its cure. Would the founder of the WRO help him? Or would he turn his back on Chaos when he found out about Kadaj's defection?
Maybe he should have let the otter spread the word. At least then he would have some idea how people were going to react.
How was he supposed to tell them? Cloud with his oversized sword. Tifa… well, he could say goodbye to her cinnamon rolls. Shinra certainly wouldn't be happy with this development. Valentine would no doubt give him a knowing look that made no sense whatsoever. Roxey… he had no idea what he would say to the girl. At least she wouldn't say anything back to him.
He growled. Who said it fell to him to keep the whelp out of trouble? It wasn't like he had ever signed on to be the whelp's keeper. Just because they were roommates didn't make him Chaos' responsibility.
Chaos kicked the nightstand so hard it burst, sending its contents and splinters of wood flying across the room. He stood for a moment, staring down at the weapons that had spilled out onto the floor. What was it Kadaj had called them? Velvet Nightmare and Dual Hound. The whelp had only just gotten them back from the repair shop a day or so before.
He picked the weapons up from the floor and regarded them critically. After a moment, he pocketed them. The Inner Voice cleared its throat. Chaos smirked. Served the whelp right.
He really needed to kill something…
The apartment door creaked open and admitted a timid looking Kenji and the overgrown cat. Chaos wasn't sure how they had gotten back to Edge and didn't really care.
"Let's go," he said as he brushed by them and out the door.
"Er, sure. Where're we goin'?"
"The marshlands, southeast of Midgar," he growled.
"Roight!" The otter's eager footsteps echoed his for a moment. "Wait! What? Why? That place is infested with Zoloms!"
"Exactly." He really, really needed to kill something. The need was even stronger than the ache in his shoulder.
Kadaj laughed.
All the searching for Weiss' base of operations… and never once had they thought to check here.
He laughed so hard he sounded almost as maniacal as Weiss. The luminescent glow of the tree trunks continued to rush past. It was perfect. There was only one destination beyond the Sleeping Forest.
The Forgotten City had been an ideal base when Kadaj and his brothers had used it. The Cetra's dwellings were not only still intact, they were furnished and ready for use: a whole city of ready-made and empty housing, perfect for stashing their army of abducted children. Better yet, no one came there. The title 'Forgotten City' wasn't for aesthetic resonance alone.
The cargo van was empty except for Weiss and him. After using the Exit Materia, they had taken a large speedboat from Junon north to Bone Village where the van had been waiting. The jump seats in the back were obviously intended for a squad of men.
Weiss didn't show any remorse for his men left behind on Junon's dark pier, however. It was like they had never existed.
Kadaj traced Souba's hilt with one finger. It would be different with him. Weiss and he shared something unique. Theirs was a brotherhood.
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Vendetta
11/18/16