By a Fraction of a Degree
A FFVII Fanfiction work by findthetiger129
Rated T for Violence and Language.
I do not own Final Fantasy VII, or any of the characters, trademarks or likenesses from Final Fantasy VII or its spin-offs That honor goes to Square-Enix.
Matt and Alistor are original characters.
Part IV: Stigma
Chapter 84, The Blue Huge Materia is Stolen
April 14th [ ν ] – εуλ 0009 4:00 PM Midgar Standard Time
A few miles outside of the settlement that had sprung up on the edge of Midgar's abandoned and contaminated hulk stood an impressive building surrounded by military equipment and guards. The home of the WRO had only just finished being built about a month or so ago. Shelke had only just managed to move into her own office within the last two weeks, having recently been given a crucial position as head of intelligence and network security. She nursed a soda from a can as she sat in front of a huge wall of monitors on the other side of her desk, watching data and statistics fly across the screen at a rate that few could follow, providing information even fewer would be able to understand. To her, it was effortless and right now, all seemed to be well.
She didn't mind the quiet, nor did she mind that Reeve was in Junon for the moment. In fact, she rather enjoyed the fact that everyone put so much faith in her capabilities. A small smile crept across her face as she remembered a comment Zack had made once. It was indeed 'kind of nice' to be counted on.
She noticed an error on one of the screens and set to work on fixing it, her fingers flying across the keyboard. It was soon rectified with no trouble at all. She was about to pick up her drink again when she noticed something else. Odd, one of the security cameras outside the compound wasn't functioning…
She quickly accessed the data for that particular camera and checked its specifics. There didn't seem to be anything wrong with the program itself, which would indicate that it might be physically damaged. She reached for the button on a dispatch panel to call one of the lower ranked security technicians. When the man picked up, she got straight to the point. "Camera A2-458 in quadrant Gamma is malfunctioning. Would you please go check it out?"
"I'll get right on it," the man said and Shelke let go of the button, ending the conversation. She was about to direct her attention to another part of the network when suddenly, one of their machine gun turrets went offline. This time, there was a security camera in the near vicinity that was functioning so she accessed the feed, and as it came up, all thought of the cameras simply needing maintenance was forgotten. The turret was in shambles, and as she looked at the destruction the analyst and tactician part of her mind immediately recognized that it had been no accident. This damage had been rendered with what looked like two katana blades parallel to each other.
Upon inspecting several other cameras in the area, she caught a glimpse of a young-looking man with short silver hair making his way towards the compound. It appeared to be that person Kadaj, from the report Reeve had sent her in regards to the assault on GUARDIAN headquarters. She reached for the dispatch console again and this time hit the button that would tie her in to all WRO channels related to the building. "We have a hostile intruder approaching the building from Sector Gamma. Units 23 and 45 prepare to intercept. Units 24 and 30, please provide backup, all non-combat personnel, please go to your designated secure locations…"
She was about to continue when someone else interrupted. "This is Sergeant Royal from Unit 45. The intruder has already passed us and we're dealing with a whole bunch of strange monsters. They've already killed a few of us!"
Someone else chimed in barely a moment later. "What is this guy! Platoon leader Jenkins from Unit 24 speaking. Whatever our intruder is he's quicker than Vincent Valentine. On route to reattempt interception at the main gate, but there's a whole bunch of monsters in the way."
Shelke turned her attention to the mechanized defenses, her fingers flying across the keys as she now watched the goings on from a camera in front of the main entrance. As she worked, two of the gun turrets whirred to life, and she attempted to aim them at the man that was attempting to break his way in. To her surprise, he not only managed to dodge out of the way of the first volley but then she saw something she rarely saw outside of when the SOLDIERs started sparring in the workout room. The second volley had been accurate, but the man had taken his sword, a double-bladed katana she noted, and cut the incendiary round completely in half on one of the blades as he ducked to avoid the blast. He slid forward on his back before combat-rolling to his feet just in time to cut down three of the soldiers she had sent to stop him, and then, in a SOLDIER-worthy feat of athletic skill, he leapt into the air to fly straight over the fence and run into the building. Before moving her attention to another camera, she finally got a glimpse of what the other soldiers were talking about. A pack of wolf-like creatures were engaging the WRO units in pursuit of the target. Whoever he was, this man was dangerous.
"Shelke? What's going on?" Shalua stood in the doorway, her robotic hand hanging out of her lab coat, and Shelke could see the gun in her other hand. Her sister had come prepared. She didn't answer as she continued to type feverishly, trying to bring in every single robot and defense turret she could put in the man's way, but the intruder was fighting them all off as though they were nothing. But it was clear exactly where he was going. It was a vault in the basement. It would probably take him several minutes to get there, but the best she could do at this point was guide his route to minimize casualties and buy time. Once she had confirmed the situation, Shelke placed the rest of the defense grid on automatic. There was little more she could do at the moment except confront the man directly before he reached what he was after, and that could only be the huge materia they kept in that particular vault.
She walked over to a cabinet in the corner to retrieve her two EM sabers. "There is an intruder after the huge materia, we must stop him." She said simply.
The older woman nodded. "All right, we'll go together." The two of them hurried to a nearby elevator and rode it down into the basement before hurrying along the hallway. Shelke was certain she had calculated everything correctly so that they could get there in time. She reached for a small mako canister she had secured inside the guard of one of her sabers. She had been avoiding utilizing more of the substance than she had to, but it would be required if she intended to make full use of her combat capabilities… Her thoughts were interrupted when they reached the corridor with the vault.
The door to the chamber had been destroyed. It hung in pieces from both the adjacent walls and the chamber itself stood empty. She walked to a podium in the center where there had once been a huge materia, and then walked to the dispatch console on the inside of the vault. "This is Shelke Rui. All units report on the intruder. If he attacks, defend yourselves, but do not attempt to stop him. But if you see him, report on his location and the direction he is headed immediately." After ending the communication, she leaned against the wall checking the remaining security cameras for any sign of where he might have gone, and that was when she noticed something in the corner of one of the feeds. Standing on one of the nearby cliffs, not even trying to hide that he was watching, stood Reno of the Turks. As she watched the watcher, the man turned his binoculars south, and then mounted a small motorbike to follow a dying trail of dust. It would seem that Rufus's interest in current events had not diminished since he had summoned Cloud Strife to his villa at Cliff Resort. She reached for her PHS as she walked back to her office to deploy some tracking drones. Reeve needed to know about what had happened.
April 14th [ ν ] – εуλ 0009 3:00 PM Junon Western Time
The two airships came in to land at the Junon airport with minimal difficulties and soon Cloud saw Reeve pulled up in a WRO truck, a Cait Sith unit on his shoulder. "I'm glad to see you all managed to retrieve the materia. Excellent work, as always," he said.
"Nothin' we couldn' handle," Barret said gruffly.
"That's for sure, next to Sephiroth, those guys were nothing!" Yuffie flashed a grin as she struck a dramatic pose in front of the loading bay.
Cloud hung back from everyone, content to stick close to Fenrir in the Gainsborough's cargo bay while the others spoke on the tarmac, but he could hear everyone perfectly well. Zack took that moment to ask the question on everyone's minds. "Has there been any news about Kadaj and those other two?"
"None yet, I'm afraid. After they attacked Widblain they disappeared pretty quickly," Reeve said, the disappointment evident in his voice. "On the bright side, we've gotten a few more leads on possible locations where Scarlet and Heidegger might be hiding out here in Junon, but it's entirely possible that we can tug on that thread a little more to draw these men out of hiding."
"Maybe," Kunsel mused, massaging his chin thoughtfully. "Though I'm really beginning to wonder."
At that moment, Reeve's PHS rang and he answered it. "Shelke?" He listened intently for about a minute as the former Tsviet spoke and then he looked at the others. "It seems I may have spoken too soon. Kadaj has managed to steal the Blue Materia."
"Seriously?! How did he get past all of your security?" Cid demanded.
Reeve looked troubled. "He apparently cut his way through it. Shelke will be sending me the data now, but after witnessing the initial assault, she realized that without someone of equal strength to defend the facility, the best she could do was slow him down. We can view it in the truck." Reeve gestured towards the trailer of the vehicle in which he had arrived and walked over to open the door, revealing a field office with several monitors. As everyone gathered around, the screens came to life, each revealing a different angle on the destruction, or a different feed on the results from Shelke's security network.
"Damn, he worked over those turrets like a $&#^%*$# can-opener!" Cid commented upon seeing the feeds.
"And it looks like he might be headed this way," Cissnei said.
"We can't be entirely sure which roads he'll take though," Freya pointed out. "Looks like there are about three different routes he could be taking to get here."
"And we'll need people to remain here in case something happens," Zack said. He walked over to a road map that hung on the inside of the trailer. "I think we can cover more ground if we spread out. Don't you think?"
Kunsel nodded in agreement as he walked over to join him. "Looks like the southern pass forks here, and here to connect to a couple of small towns in the mountains between here and Edge," he said, pointing to each divergence on the map as he noted them, "If Cloud scouts the westernmost path on Fenrir with Tifa, and then I go with Freya on the easternmost road; you could take Vincent or Cissnei…" He gave Aerith an apologetic look on seeing that her expression had become rather indignant. "Not that I don't think you can't handle it or anything, but Kadaj did specifically try to kill you. That makes me think it might be better not to make you an easier target."
"I know," Aerith said, "It doesn't make it any easier."
He still looked a little guilty as he went back to looking at the map. Zack continued thinking aloud. "No matter how we handle it, one of us is bound to run into him. And if we keep the Gainsborough on patrol above us, we should be able to get everyone else to where he is pretty quickly. It does sound like a plan." He turned his attention towards the entrance to the trailer, where Cloud stood watching. "What do you think?"
"If that's how it's going to be…" Cloud answered. He didn't relish the idea of encountering Kadaj again, but there was a two in three chance it wouldn't happen. He walked over to the loading bay of the Gainsborough and prepared to wheel Fenrir out onto the tarmac. Behind him he could hear the others continuing to make plans.
"In that case," Reeve said, "I would appreciate it if Cid, Barret, Yuffie, and Nanaki stayed here to assist in rooting out Scarlet and Heidegger once we've located their hiding place. That should happen fairly soon I expect."
"That will be fine," Zack agreed. "The sooner they're out of the picture, the easier this is going to be."
April 14th [ ν ] – εуλ 0009 10:30 PM Mideel Central Time
Jessie had been walking back and forth along the docks asking for information almost non-stop since this afternoon. There had been talk of the kids having been seen near an unfamiliar ship, but no one could recall its name, nor the owner or the persons running it. They'd been too distracted by the kid who had been hawking information on a cure for Geostigma. No one had seen where he had gone either. Eventually Doctor Rayleigh had come out to the docks upon noticing Jessie hadn't opened the bar as usual for the evening rush and the two of them were now walking back towards Seventh Heaven. "We're going to have to tell Tifa and the others what's happened," she said.
"I know," Jessie said, trying to keep herself from going into hysterics, "But the truth is, we don't even know where they've gone, or where that ship's gone! They could be in Wutai by now and we wouldn't know it!" She wrung her hands nervously. "I just hope they're all right…" They were nearing the bar when suddenly she spotted someone lying on the ground outside the door. It was a familiar looking bald man with a dark suit, though he had clearly been sopping wet up until a short while ago. His standard Turk uniform was practically ruined and he smelled heavily of sea salt.
"Rude…" Dr. Rayleigh breathed out before hurrying over and kneeling by him, checking his pulse, before looking up at Jessie. "Help me get him inside." The two women worked together to lift the man up and through the front door before pulling him into the living area before hurrying to get some towels. The man looked as though he had tried to swim several miles in the open ocean.
April 14th [ ν ] – εуλ 0009 4:00 PM Junon Western Time
Cloud drove Fenrir expertly up the mountain road, as Tifa held on behind him. Springtime had not quite taken hold in the areas with higher elevation so there was still a slight nip in the air, but it wasn't cold enough that he was uncomfortable. He and Tifa had parted ways with Zack and Kunsel and their partners at a three-way fork a short distance from where the roads entered the passes. If the situation hadn't been serious, he might have enjoyed looking out over the mountain peaks, passing them by as Fenrir rumbled over the dirt and gravel that made up the narrow road. But as things stood, he was spending much more time making sure they avoided trees and keeping an eye out for Kadaj.
The earpiece he was wearing crackled as Kunsel reported in. "We've reached the second settlement on our route. Still no sign of him."
"Yeah, it's all clear on this road too," Zack replied. "We'll be getting to the third village on our road within the next few minutes I think."
"All clear on this end so far too," Cloud replied.
"Roger that," Cissnei said. "Everyone is to check in again in half an hour." In the end she had volunteered to run communications from the Gainsborough.
Cloud turned his attention back to the road ahead of him, adjusting for the twists and turns as they drew closer to the first summit. He knew this area had a scenic overlook just past the highest point that provided a good view of the road leading north. From there, he would probably be able to spot any signs of Kadaj, if he was indeed headed this way. He really hoped this would be over soon. While he did have to admit having Aerith's water ease the pain of the Stigma was definitely to his benefit, he still couldn't shake the feeling that Zack was trying to pull him back into action simply so he would feel less useless.
He watched the pine trees fly by around him, catching a glimpse of a small waterfall to his right as Fenrir made its way further up the mountain. Finally their coniferous surrounding all but fell away, leaving him and Tifa exposed in the afternoon sunlight just as they pulled up to the overlook and Cloud pulled to a stop, standing astride Fenrir, letting the motorcycle idle under him. Tifa looked over his shoulder at the roadway ahead of them, scanning the path they would have to follow just as he was. Cloud squinted through his sunglasses against the bright light coming from the west. Even with the height advantage, it was rather tricky to pick out moving objects after a certain distance in the scrub and tree cover below, and it wouldn't get any easier once sunset arrived.
Tifa sighed behind him. "It never gets any easier does it?" she said after a moment.
"Nope," Cloud agreed.
The martial artist continued searching the roads as she spoke. "But that just means we need to try harder," she said at last.
"Can we even do that?" Cloud wondered before glancing back at her.
"I don't know," she said at last, squeezing his right arm gently. "But we can't give up."
Cloud said nothing, but was spared from having to answer this question by the distraction of a glint of light near the bottom of the next mountain. He leaned forward, eyes still narrowed as he tried to identify its origin. After a moment, he began to detect the sound of another motorcycle, distinct from his own. "We should go," he said at last.
"All right," Tifa replied, taking position behind him again as he turned Fenrir back onto the road and they continued in the direction of the other motorbike.
Barely a minute later they were getting close to the base of the mountain when they saw it coming at them from the other direction. Kadaj was speeding along the road as though it were a major highway. Cloud had to pull slightly to the side of the road to avoid being hit before bringing the bike around to follow him, revving the accelerator and sending Fenrir back up the mountain after his quarry.
The other man glanced behind him at the first hairpin turn and gave him a predatorial grin before turning the bike hard and guiding it up the road. Cloud followed suit and it wasn't long before they were back at the overlook. Fenrir temporarily left the ground at his current speed, causing the bike to land with a thump directly behind Kadaj. The man looked behind him with a feral grin and pulled his double-bladed katana from his harness. Realizing it would be too dangerous to use the First Sword without risking Tifa losing her grip, Cloud hit the switch on his sword compartments and when they popped open he drew the hollow blade, holding it to the side as he raced down the mountain.
He could already hear Tifa speaking behind him through earpiece. "Tifa reporting in, we've spotted the target and we are in pursuit. He's headed south towards Junon."
"We're on our way," Zack replied. Fenrir powered forward along the road and Cloud signaled to Tifa that he was turning and they leaned into the curve, the gravel grinding underneath the tires as he adjusted to continue the chase. There was another hairpin turn up ahead and Kadaj vanished from view. After a moment's decision he turned Fenrir toward the trees blocking the way between them and the next stretch of road and gunned the engine again. Tifa held on tight as he rushed through the trees, jumping slightly as he returned to the main road. Kadaj flew past him just as he had adjusted for the next stretch. They were now on a somewhat long clear stretch going down a steep incline before continuing towards Junon. At the very least it was open road. Much easier for gaining ground.
It wasn't long before Cloud was right behind his quarry, but that was when the other man looked behind him at the swordsman and the martial artist and grinned wildly before swerving the motorcycle around in a half circle so that it was sliding backwards down the hill on pure momentum. Cloud brought up the hollow blade to block just as Kadaj brought his double-bladed katana forward, lifting himself slightly off of his seat to make a try at decapitating his opponent. Tifa held on for dear life as Cloud pushed back, breaking the lock and bringing the hollow blade back for a powerful strike. He was beginning to feel the ache in his left arm as he used it to keep Fenrir steady and prevent the bike from slowing as he controlled the descent. Trees, rocks and cliff sides rolled up past them as he and Kadaj traded blows. As they neared the curve, he could already see they would need to pull out of the slide in order to avoid being smashed against a large boulder that lay directly ahead of them.
Ducking to avoid Kadaj's blades, he brought Fenrir into a hard left just as his opponent gunned his engine, propelling him past them. He reflexively brought up a wall spell to protect Tifa as the other man raced past him, speeding down the next incline, his silver hair trailing behind him, along with a cloud of dust from under his tires. Cloud revved the accelerator to catch up and soon they were flying down the next incline. It took him until they were halfway to the next turn to retake his opponent, pulling close enough that the two of them were neck and neck before turning to block another attack. He saw Tifa casting from her Poison materia behind him out of the corner of his eye, and was about to unleash a blast of fire when Neo-Bahamut suddenly flashed red inside his bangle. In unison, Bahamut also glimmered in one of the materia slots on the First Sword along with, to his complete surprise, a third materia that was lodged in one of Kadaj's pockets. Out of reflex he attempted to grab it but Kadaj swerved away before coming in from behind.
Tifa stood on Fenrir's seat, and as Cloud glanced behind him, she kicked, just below where Kadaj was swinging at her with his sword, catching him in the gut. He grunted and was knocked back, his motorbike spinning out for a moment, but he recovered, speeding forward and retaking them again. Cloud was ready for it and the hollow blade parried two blows against Kadaj's double-bladed katana, but the third blow was where it all went wrong. Suddenly, pain wracked its way through his left arm sending echoes up through his shoulder. It was all he could do not to lose control of the bike. Not now, damn it!
His body was shaking as he fought to maintain control but Kadaj had already pulled ahead, and he could tell he was starting to lose the fight to stay in control of his body. Angrily, he stepped on the brakes, knowing if he didn't it wasn't just his life on the line. Tifa was now speaking loud enough that he could hear her over the engine. "Cloud? What's wrong?"
He didn't answer but nearly fell off the bike, landing on his knees as it skidded to a halt. Tifa hopped off after him, leaving the motorbike to stop completely on its own. He felt like he was hearing her voice from somewhere underwater as he fought to stay conscious, gripping his arm in agony. But at last, it became too much and he felt himself falling the rest of the way to the ground…
Tifa pulled herself up from where she had landed in a crouch and hurried over to where Cloud had dropped to the ground. "Cloud?" she called. After a moment, she rolled him over so she could check his pulse. He looked rather pale. This had been the second time this had happened. Tifa shook her head dispiritedly.
"Tifa? What's going on?" Kunsel had apparently cottoned on to the fact that something had gone awry.
"Cloud collapsed," Tifa said. "I'm starting to think that maybe we shouldn't be doing this anymore. What if the next time it kills him? Kadaj is gone. We lost him."
"We'll find him again," Freya said. "But right now, seems we need to organize a pickup. Is there a clear space where the Gainsborough can get to you?"
The martial artist looked down the hillside until at last she spotted another overlook. It wasn't very large, but it would be enough to get everything loaded appropriately. "Yeah, I'm headed that way now."
"All right," Zack said, and then after a moment, he added sheepishly, "I guess in the heat of getting Kadaj, I forgot the other things we were dealing with, you know? We probably should have just let him rest on this one."
Tifa picked up the hollow blade and the First Sword into their compartments on Fenrir before carefully lifting Cloud over her shoulder. She would come back for the motorcycle once she had gotten him to the extraction point. She bit her lip as a wave of guilt washed over her. She had been just as guilty of that oversight. "I should have said something too. But I guess we were so caught up in not wanting him to feel useless…"
"Yeah…" Zack sounded somewhat frustrated with himself at that. Their conversation was interrupted when she heard the sound of another vehicle approaching them from the direction in which they had come. When she looked up to see who it was, she was greeted by the sight of a familiar man with red hair in a dark suit, also on a motorcycle. As Reno approached, he pulled to a halt and looked over the situation.
"Hey," he called out to her.
"Hey yourself," she answered before getting back to task of carrying Cloud down the road.
"What kind a greeting is that yo? Don't you remember me?" Reno was clearly going out of his way to accentuate that verbal tic of his as obnoxiously as possible as he dismounted from his vehicle.
"Oh yeah," Tifa responded without looking at him, rolling her eyes as she continued with what she was doing. "I remember you." She continued a few more steps before seeing the Turk walk in front of her.
"Listen, do you need a hand?" the redhead asked.
She paused, considering. At the very least, it would mean considerably less time getting him and Fenrir down to open ground. "Maybe a little," she said after a moment. The Turk nodded and then circled around to Cloud's left side and pulled his arm over his shoulder so that the swordsman hung between them.
"So," Tifa said as they started down the road, "Any reason you're being so helpful?"
"Aside from the fact that Rufus asked me to? A couple," the man said. "The boss wants us to find Kadaj. And I get the feeling you'll lead me to him. And…" he trailed off.
"And?" Tifa prompted, narrowly avoiding a rock that might have caused her to trip.
Reno looked at her from behind Cloud's spiky hair. "You guys might want to prepare for some bad news."
April 14th [ ν ] – εуλ 0009 5:00 PM Junon Western Time
"What?" Aerith exclaimed. She was standing in front of the Gainsborough com-station as the PHS call was routed through the speakers.
"They'd gone out this morning but when they didn't come home for lunch, I got worried and started looking. We weren't able to find any trace of them until we came back to let you know and that was when we found Rude," Jessie explained. "And then he said the remnants took Al and the kids."
"And he didn't try to stop them?!" Zack demanded.
They heard the sound of someone talking on the other end of the line and Jessie said something before Rude took the PHS. "We managed to board the vessel, but there was a struggle and I was forced to go overboard. They still have Elena…"
Aerith heard the sound of a fist pounding into a bulkhead and saw that Zack was leaning against said bulkhead, but not facing in her direction. He was doing his utmost to avoid getting any more frustrated about this, but it was a hard battle. After a moment he spoke. "Any idea where they went?"
"The City of the Ancients. They were discussing it with the captain." Aerith looked out the windshield of the Gainsborough's cockpit and saw that Tifa and Reno had just returned to the clearing with Fenrir and his motorcycle while Kunsel and Vincent were in the process of moving Cloud to a lift.
"Can you tell us where that is?" Zack asked after a moment.
"I can," Aerith said. "Though coordinates probably wouldn't hurt." It would probably be very difficult to tell their airship pilot how the Planet described locations.
"Reno can tell you," Rude said. Zack joined Aerith at the window. By now Cloud had been loaded up and the others were working to get the motorcycles squared away.
"Cissnei?" Zack said after a moment.
"Yes Zack?" the Turk responded.
"Put in a call to Reeve. We're going to the City of the Ancients."
April 14th [ ν ] – εуλ 0009 5:00 PM Mid Central Sea Time
Elena had been trapped in a cargo container for a long period of time along with Marlene. The two of them had sat in an uneasy silence for most of it. It was almost as though the girl knew they were headed somewhere terrible. However, at some point, she had gotten the sense that the container had been moved from the ship and put on a plane. A few more hours later, the impression was that they'd gone back to a boat and then the doors had opened and she had found herself on a dock. There wasn't much she could do since the remnants had tied her up, but from what she could see, hanging over Loz's shoulder like a sack of potatoes while he dragged Marlene with his free hand, they had walked away from an isolated dock near Bone Village and had gone into some kind of ancient forest.
The children were following the one called Yazoo who seemed to be carrying the SOLDIER, and he was doing his best to keep himself away from Loz so no one would ask any questions. After what had seemed like a few hours they found themselves at the edge of the remains of what appeared to be an abandoned city, probably the City of the Ancients the remnants had spoken of. Across the way, as though leading a parade, Yazoo was leading the other children towards the center of the city, overshadowed by another grove of trees; all with bark as white as a snow drift. There was a ghostly, deathlike feeling about it. Elena swallowed hard as Loz carried her towards one of the houses made of shell. Walking into the building, he dropped her unceremoniously on the floor before walking outside with the little girl.
Elena was already visually scanning the room for something she could use to cut her ropes, but when Loz returned, she had only had enough time to crawl a few feet towards a particularly sharp looking shell that decorated a nearby table. Loz wanted none of that. The man grabbed her roughly by the lapels of her blazer and pressed her against the wall with one hand. She saw stars for a moment as the man glared at her. "Did you really think it would be that easy to escape? Did you, Turk?"
She did her best to channel every ounce of professionalism she had to glare defiantly at him.
At that moment, a shadow fell across the floor from the doorway in the dying sunlight. "Not much for words are you?"
She fought down the urge to laugh. Tseng had always said she talked too much. "Not when it's to you," she spat.
"Well then, perhaps we can change that," Kadaj gestured that Loz lower her to the ground and the larger man chuckled as he did so. Once she was seated on the floor, Kadaj grabbed the shell she had been aiming to use as a knife and brought it threateningly in front of her face. "Did you want this?" he asked, teasingly. Elena said nothing and Kadaj gave her a coy smile. "Looks like you've changed your mind. Maybe not. But…" the smile became a wider. "If you don't tell us where mother is…" he cupped her chin in his hand, "I'll see to it that you'll get these sharp edges a hundred times over." Elena dug deeply into her training as a Turk for all the reserves of courage she had. She would need every drop for this.
After Loz had taken Marlene away from that lady she had been traveling with, she had been taken to where Yazoo waited. Alistor was resting on the ground near a lake, and Mat was with him. Apparently the boy had absolutely refused to leave his side, but when she tried to go to them, Yazoo wouldn't let her. A few minutes later, Loz reappeared with a new man with shoulder-length silver hair. "You won't believe what I picked up from big brother on the way here," he said, producing a red materia for the other two to see. "With this materia, we'll be able to have all the power they have."
"A gift from mother?" Loz asked.
"Of course," Kadaj replied.
"Then maybe big brother's hiding her too?" Loz looked hopeful at this.
"No, it's that Shinra guy. Our brothers would have destroyed her a long time ago, and hiding her is something they've always been very good at," the man said.
"So," Loz began, clearly struggling to think. "If we check everywhere that has to do with Shinra we'll find mother?"
Kadaj nodded. "Yes, and we'll have plenty of help soon. But first, we need to have a chat with our big brothers. They like to pretend they aren't part of the family. How they break my heart." Marlene knelt on the ground as she felt something rumbling above her as the man raised his fist, casting a spell from the materia in his palm. In the last light of the setting sun, an aurora filtering through the trees, she saw the silhouette of something that looked an awful lot like a dragon before it vanished from sight. Kadaj lowered his hand and walked over to where the children were gathered.
Loz grabbed Marlene again, dragging her in front of what appeared to be the largest of the shell buildings at the edge of the lake. Kadaj appeared soon after, carrying Alistor in his arms before laying him down by the water. Yazoo had told Matt not to join him but he was watching from the other side of the lake, beside himself with worry. Kadaj stood behind the prone form raising his hands into the air. "Mother has given me a very special gift! The power to fight," he leaned towards the children, his words intense, "against a planet that torments humanity. She gave this gift to all her children. That's right!" He raised his hand into the air emphatically. "You and I are brethren! Brothers and sisters chosen when we inherited mother's memetic legacy through the lifestream!" He turned to raise his hands to the heavens dramatically before whirling back around to face his audience. "But the planet doesn't approve of that at all! It's doing everything it can to hold us back!" He pointed accusingly at someone who wasn't there. "That's why it's wracking our bodies with pain, and filling our hearts with doubt!" He lowered his arms to about chest level and Marlene saw black fire spring from his hands. "Now, I shall heal you, and we shall go to mother together! We will join as a family and strike back at the planet!"
He knelt by the lake's edge, dipping one of his flaming hands into the water which Marlene suddenly saw turn black. At that moment, she caught sight of Alistor blinking next to Kadaj's knee and heard the white-haired man say softly, "Oh, you're awake, cousin, just in time."
The SOLDIER's arm shook as he reached up and grabbed the man's wrist. "You can take that cure and shove it down your own throat," he growled.
"I think I'll settle for yours," Kadaj said. He grabbed the man by the front of his shirt and dragged him into the water. He was too weak to resist as the white-haired man pushed him below the surface of the darkened lagoon. A few agonizing moments passed and then Marlene watched as the SOLDIER stood, dripping the dark water from his body. "How do you feel about it now?" Kadaj asked.
Alistor's back was still to the girl as he spoke, "It's the most wonderful thing in the world."
Kadaj looked over at the children on the opposite shore. "Come into the water, and do as I do!" he instructed, before gesturing that Alistor leave the water to join Loz and Yazoo.
The man did so as the other children began to climb in, and Marlene caught a glimpse of his eyes. Rather than their usual mako blue, they had become a strange reptilian green. "Al?" she asked.
The ex-SOLDIER did not respond but continued past her without a word. Marlene turned to look across the way and spotted Denzel, Sasha, and Matt walking forward among the other children. "Denzel," she called. out but across the way she could see that he and the other children were raising the polluted water to their mouths. "Denzel!" she cried again. But it was too late. He had already swallowed, and not long after, she saw him look in her direction, and his eyes too had taken on the strange alien hue.
She heard Kadaj chuckle happily nearby. "See mother? All my new brothers and sisters? They can keep me company, just until I find you."
I always wondered what would happen if the remnants managed to snag an adult into their collection. And so ends another chapter where I am not kind to minor characters, or major characters, not kind to anyone really. Next chapter I can promise will be even less kind. I'll let you guys ruminate on that.
On another note. The original doc that I've been writing out of has breached 1000 pages. This is the longest story I have ever written. Wow.
I actually feel a little nostalgic, so I'll let you in on a little bit of my story development. Often when I write, I listen to music and I'll assign minor characters themes when they don't have them and I end up using them enough. For instance, Dr. Rayleigh got "Know Your Enemy" from the anime Ghost in the Shell S.A.C. as her assigned theme, and I gave Argento "Galahad Fortress" from the video game Xenoblade. They're both pretty nifty musical pieces. Check them out sometime. I'll note more as we get closer to the end if people are interested.
Oh yes, and one more thing, there will be a break week next week in anticipation of Christmas business. However, there will be a chapter at midnight Thursday, 26th/Friday, the 27th. Until then, have a wonderful holiday, see you then!