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 88, Crazy Motorcycle

April 15th [ ν ] – εуλ 0009 10:45 AM

Cloud sped down the city street after the remnants, buildings, lamp posts, and street signs rushing past him as the wind blew his hair out of his face. Up ahead he could see Kadaj, Yazoo, and Loz heading towards a street ramp that would take them onto the plate for the level above them. Those were residential districts. He gunned the accelerator as the four of them sped into the darkness before turning to take the ramp. As they went up the incline, he noticed that Yazoo and Loz were decelerating. Reaching for his sword as they drew level, he swerved out of the way as Loz attempted to punch him with his weapon before deflecting several shots from Yazoo's gunblade. The two of them spun out behind him before accelerating again and trying to come at him up the hill from behind.

Up ahead, Kadaj had reached the top of the ramp and had swerved to power through a security gate someone had placed at the entrance. He sliced at it with his double-bladed katana, sending it flying down the slope and forcing Cloud to duck. He heard the sound of the other two bikes swerving again behind him when a bullet pelted past his ear. In his surprise, he swerved around, allowing momentum to carry him the rest of the way up the ramp as he struck at Yazoo, who was coming up from behind. The smaller remnant traded blows with his gunblade before speeding past to catch up with his brother. Having coming to the top of the incline, Cloud hit the accelerator to change the direction he was going so he could follow. Loz had to leap into the air over his motorcycle to avoid being clipped by the Fusion Sword, but followed in hot pursuit, attempting to draw level with the blonde swordsman again.

They pulled out into the half-light of one of the inner main streets on the 6th level of the residential district, and Cloud saw several pedestrians dive for cover as Fenrir screamed past homes and small grocery stores. As they raced through, he caught sight of Yazoo up ahead of them, flipping backwards off of his bike to run along the walls of a building and fire several more shots, which the swordsman had to deflect before suddenly catching sight of Loz next to him again. The remnant jumped from his bike to Cloud's as both of them continued their trajectory down the street, sparks flying everywhere and the swordsman thrust his blade forward over the handlebars, forcing him to leap off. As they flew past a news stand by a side street that led towards the sea, Cloud activated a wall spell, just in time to deflect Yazoo, whose bike had just slowed past them. He spun out and as he re-angled himself, he spotted that Loz had just grabbed his brother's hand in midair to direct him back onto the motorbike he'd vacated. The two remnants were accelerating to come at him again, but by now, they were all rocketing towards the next ramp that would lead them up to the 7th level plate.

Kadaj had cut his way through another check point just ahead and Cloud carefully threaded his way through the destroyed wreckage before making a hard left to continue the chase. Behind him, he heard the other two doing the same. Cloud looked behind him as the lights on the ramp tunnel flew by around them. In his rear view mirror he spotted the two remnants behind him rounding the bend before turning his attention back to Kadaj. He was slowly gaining on the remnant as they continued up the ramp, the tunnel echoing in a roar through his ears. He was about halfway up when one of the tunnel lights went out in a hail of sparks and swerved across the tunnel to avoid several more shots before Loz suddenly appeared next to him, trying to sandwich Fenrir between his own bike and the tunnel wall.

He glared at the remnant before seeing through the hail of sparks coming off Fenrir's frame that he was pulling back with his gauntlet to try and knock him out. Calmly, he reached for the button that unlocked his blade compartments. They popped open like a pair of black wings, knocking Loz's bike into a spin as Yazoo pulled ahead of both of them. Cloud accelerated again, the bullets pelting off of his Wall, knocking out tunnel lights and penetrating holes into the rounded walls. The gunshots echoed as he pulled closer, drawing level and then striking at the remnant's head. Yazoo saw him coming however and countered, causing the two to lock blades; spinning around each other in an elegant high-speed dance across the asphalt before breaking the lock. It was apparent they were getting to the next turn off, and Kadaj had already disappeared again.

Cloud accelerated once Yazoo broke free, racing ahead of them to turn another hard left and speed through the next destroyed checkpoint that led into the seventh level. This ramp led to the seaside street, and the sunlight filtered down from above. He had to squint for a moment so his eyes could adjust, but up ahead, he could see mothers pulling their children back from the street as Kadaj barreled through. Up ahead, he saw Kadaj glance behind him, glaring in challenge and he revved the engine to pursue.

He was vaguely aware of the fact that a B1-Alpha was flying around above him up until the point where he checked his rear-view mirror when there was a powerful BOOM in his wake. Apparently whoever was flying the helicopter had tried to shoot a missile at the destroyed checkpoint to stop Yazoo and Loz, but they had pulled out of the tunnel seconds before. As he watched, Loz pulled up close to Yazoo, before whirling his bike around to use a set of machine guns that had been mounted on the front of the bike to open fire on the helicopter. Glancing up, he caught sight of a tuft of red hair in the cockpit before the chopper's pilot retaliated by opening a spread of much larger machine gun bullets after the two remnants. By that point, he was already headed towards the next ramp leading up to Level 8. He was through the next checkpoint when he noticed that the chopper was headed towards the upper level, like it was going to land. He wasn't sure what they were planning, but his mind was already on Kadaj.

He was very unhappy to see that in his preoccupation with Yazoo and Loz, Kadaj had pulled pretty far ahead now but he throttled the gas, plowing up the tunnel as fast as he could go. He was about a quarter of the way up when several more shots rang out behind him which he brought up his Wall spell again to avoid. At that moment however, he was surprised to see a large object moving up to catch him before Loz suddenly appeared on his handlebars. Half standing to use one boot to keep the bike from spiraling out of control as it continued through the tunnel, he brought up the First Sword to block as Loz attempted to land another blow on him again. They traded a few more before the the remnant leapt into the air to avoid his last strike, and Cloud was forced to swerve around to avoid more of Yazoo's bullets. He parried the ones that didn't miss, sending several holes into the walls as they echoed around him in a typhoon of noise and light before throttling again to speed up.

As he went, the two remnants were now literally driving their bikes along either side of the tunnel and once they were going fast enough, the two of them lunged at him, forcing him to quickly stand again, unhooking one of the switchblades from the First Sword so he could block both of their attacks. Pushing off the side of the wall he traded blows one more time with Loz who had evaded the blast by diving back down to his bike and using it once again as a springboard as he was tumbling back towards the ground. Yazoo came at him too at that moment and he quickly used his strike to direct himself back towards Fenrir, still rolling along below him. Once secure he turned in surprise to see that Loz had actually landed on the ground and on physical power alone had catapulted his motorcycle through the air towards him. Reattaching his switchblade, Cloud brought up the First Sword and cut through the vehicle in a powerful downward strike, sending the two halves of the bike spiraling through the air to burst explosively in the chamber behind him before seeing the way out onto Level 8 ahead of him.

Reno and Rude stood outside the tunnel on the Level 8 plate as Reno held up a bomb that had clearly been thrown together out of duct tape, a timer, and a capsule of explosive compounds that most normal civilians probably wouldn't be able to identify. "Hey partner, this thing, got any bite to it?"

Rude looked over at him and he could see the Turk's eyes twinkling humorously behind his sunglasses. "Shinra technology at its finest."

Reno grinned. "Oh, so you made this."

Rude held up a second bomb of similar construction. "If nothing else, it's… flashy."

"Oh, good!" Reno replied. He could definitely appreciate his partner's choice in pyrotechnics.

"You love it, I know," Rude said.

Reno sighed, glorying in the sea breeze ruffling his mullet. "Looks like today, we're clockin' out early." Almost as he said it, Cloud rocketed between them. As if this was the signal, the two Turks placed their explosives and hurried back to the chopper to get back to Tseng, Elena, and Rufus. Just as another motorcycle was pulling towards the tunnel exit, the bombs exploded, blocking off the road to Level 8 almost entirely.

Level 9 on the south wing of Junon was a covered collection of tunnels and extended offices from Shinra's maintenance division, and Kadaj had quickly lost sight of his pursuer before pulling into one of the smaller tunnels. As soon as he did so, he lifted the case in his hand, caressing it and looking it over. It was around that point when he spotted the bullet holes and the Mako that was leaking out of them. Anxiously, he took a closer look and his eyes widened as he saw evidence of ripped tissue contained beneath the container's layers. "Mother?" he asked and then, overcome with emotion, he gripped the box close. "Mother!" He shouted, sobbing angrily. Next to his foot, something dropped and he realized it was the data disk he'd stolen from Rufus along with his mother. The images were foggy for a few moments, but he suddenly heard a weakened, plaintive cry echoing from the recording. "Lucrecia…"

Distracted, he looked down curiously at the device as he saw a series of images pass through of a cave with a woman embedded in a pillar of crystal and then scenes of someone leaving it, walking out onto a cliff jutting out of a waterfall as it fed a river through a large valley before there was a faint image of a cave off in the distance, almost hidden by a stand of trees. Then he saw an image of a black materia, locked in someone's hand… and something in his brain clicked. He knew what this was and more importantly, something deep inside him knew exactly where this was. How it had come to him was incredible, but he could feel Sephiroth inside him like electricity through a live wire. He was excited, and it made Kadaj bristle. As the recording ended, he heard the sound of a motorcycle nearby and as he looked up he saw him coming. Big brother.

As Cloud wheeled into the dead end of the tunnel where Kadaj had pulled off, he spotted the remnant cradling the container lovingly in his arms and found himself reflecting that if Rufus had just disposed of it when he'd had the chance maybe they wouldn't be in this situation now. Even so, no amount of retrospection would solve the problem now, not with Jenova's container sitting in Kadaj's hand. As he approached, Kadaj looked up and then grinned crazily before gunning the accelerator on his bike and powering past him, only just ducking the first sword as Cloud attempted to strike at him. In frustration, Cloud wheeled Fenrir around and gunned the engine again, following him down the tunnel to a road he knew left the maintenance area and would carry them up to the roof of the building. Kadaj sped out into the sunlight ahead of him over the roof and it wasn't until a few moments later when he saw where the remnant was headed. He was halfway across the roof when the man flew off the edge, hurtling through the air until his motorcycle came to land in between the pistons that stuck out along the sides of the Junon cannon.

Cloud barely had a few moments to decide his course of action before he was to the point of no return. There was nothing for it, he opened the throttle all the way and Fenrir became airborne, coming in to land directly behind Kadaj's motorcycle on the cannon, even as the Remnant was scrambling along the barrel, Jenova still clasped in his hands. Quickly, Cloud checked that the Fusion Swords were all secure on the First Sword as he hurried after the man.

On seeing there was nowhere else he could go aside from further out onto the cannon, Kadaj paused. "Brother! I'm with her at last!"

Cloud paused, his expression more tired than anything else. "So what's going to happen now?"

Kadaj pulled the container closer to his body. "Mother's going to tell me," he said with certainty.

At that moment it struck Cloud anew just how ignorant the remnants really were. In a way, they were just as pathetic as he was. "I guess a remnant wouldn't really know."

Kadaj glared at him. "So what if I'm a puppet?" he drew his sword. "Once upon a time… you were too!" With that he dived forward, and Cloud brought up his blade to block, spinning around to catch the second strike as Kadaj tried to retaliate from behind.

Seeing him coming at the last minute, the remnant backed away, catching the end of his double-bladed katana on the edge of the Fusion Sword and causing sparks before he lunged again. Cloud jumped to the side, lightly running across the pistons as he chased him towards the end of the cannon that stood over the ocean, easily parrying as Kadaj turned to try and stab at his shoulder. The parry mostly worked, though part of the remnant's blade slipped under his pauldron. He barely felt the blade connect with his left shoulder before he disconnected one of the switchblades, using the same motion to seamlessly go after the remnant's legs.

Kadaj leapt backwards again, before going in with two quick strikes, feinting to look like he was going after his opponent's thigh before attempting to go after his head. Cloud used the switchblade to parry the first before ducking and literally sliding under the remnant and using the sword as a shield, forcing Kadaj to leap over him. At that point he turned, attempting to disarm Kadaj with a quick swipe of his switchblade, but the remnant flipped in the air before landing in a crouch and trading several more strikes. Off in the distance, he was peripherally aware that Vincent was climbing a ladder up to the Shera from the building from which he and Kadaj had just jumped. But that was all his focus could be diverted before he noticed that he and his opponent were slowly pushing each other further out along the barrel of the cannon.

They locked blades as Kadaj attempted to push him over the box-shaped regulator system that was mounted over the cannon's primary support pillar and he planted his feet firmly. The Geostigma on his arm seared with pain, but he refused to quit, patiently easing his primary blade up and then reaching out with the switchblade to stab his opponent in the gut. Kadaj was forced to back away, dropping to swing himself forward and run along the curve of the barrel forcing Cloud to chase him further out. He was becoming painfully aware of the fact that he probably couldn't take too much more strain like this in his current condition, but at the same time, there was something exhilarating about it. Maybe because he had set his priorities now, and all that remained was to execute them.

April 15th [ ν ] – εуλ 0009 11:15 AM

It had been a short while after Cloud left the street when Tifa had spotted Barret coming back to the Shera with two children at his side. One, a little girl whom she didn't recognize who was carrying a moogle doll, the other was definitely Matt. The little boy only looked up when he saw Alistor sitting in the crew cabins, looking a little more woe-begone than he had prior to their encounter with the remnants, and when he did, he ran over to the ex-SOLDIER. "I'm so sorry!" Matt had exclaimed. "We should have listened…"

Al let out a breath of relief. "We got out, and that's what matters," he said. "Let's just hope there won't be a next time."

Barret had nodded gruffly in agreement. "We talk about this later. Right now, we gotta find those guys and teach'em a lesson." With that he had left them to rejoin Tifa in the hall just as Marlene and Denzel hurried back from the bridge to see that their friends were all right.

As they passed, Marlene paused. "Cid said we needed to stay back here."

Tifa nodded. "That's probably best. But we'll let you know when it's safe to come out, all right?"

Marlene nodded. "Okay." With that, she hurried into the main cabin, and the gunman and the martial artist had gone to the bridge. It hadn't been long after when everyone else had boarded and they had flown up slightly to see Cloud and Fenrir's tiny silhouette flying across the gap from one of the taller buildings to land on the Mako cannon. Shortly afterward, Vincent had appeared on the building and someone in the cargo bay had thrown down a ladder so he could climb aboard.

As the ex-Turk glided onto the bridge, Cid had brought the Shera around so that they could have a clear view of what was happening on the cannon below. The pilot did, however, have to bring the ship to an abrupt halt in midair so that they could remain stationary. Yuffie ended up tumbling over and had to catch herself on the guardrail. "Hey! Cid! Watch it!" She complained.

"Hey Cid!" Barret shouted. "Park this turkey!"

"Shut up!" Cid barked. "You want off then jump! Get off my back! There's nowhere to land here but the airport and the street we just left!"

"He can handle this…" Vincent murmered, his voice somehow carrying across the bridge effortlessly. Everyone looked at him in surprise and Tifa saw he was holding what looked like a recording disk in his hand. "Kadaj is a remnant of Sephiroth, don't forget. In a way, he's a larval form of Sephiroth."

"Larva? You mean he's an insect?" Yuffie said. Tifa took a deep breath. At the very least, she should probably be relieved the ninja had forgotten she would normally be motion sick under these circumstances.

"Lassie, shut your gob!" Cait Sith made no pretense about his annoyance, much to Nanaki's discomfort, since the cat was sitting on top of him.

His excitement was in stark contrast to Reeve who was also attempting to mollify the situation. "Calm down," the WRO commissioner said gently. "This is no time to be panicking." He had joined them just after the combat had subsided and the remnants had disappeared.

"So the punk's gonna become Sephiroth," Cid observed, taking the attention back to the matter at hand.

"You're right," Tifa decided after a moment. "Kadaj is his fight."

"I don't get it… why can't we help out…?" Yuffie demanded.

"This is man talk," Cid growled.

Yuffie was clearly affronted and she glared at the pilot. "Sexist!" she spat.

"Now is not the time for this." Kunsel's tone was so abrupt that everyone looked over at him. Up until now he'd been leaning against the rail, scanning the rest of the city for any sign of Kadaj's brothers. "We've got other problems to worry about. And while I do agree this fight is his, we need to be prepared to step in if he needs us rather than fighting each other."

"Men don't get it either," Barret murmured.

"Two years ago, even last year," Tifa began. "Think of the strength we had when we fought him the first time, and had to rescue Zack, and when we had to fight to retake Midgar. I think he's fighting to get that strength back. He's trying to find out what he can do on his own."

Barret clicked his tongue in irritation. "He's got 10 minutes."

"Man, that Cloud's a real pain in the ass, like always," Yuffie observed.

Tifa shrugged, but at that moment she looked up and squinted. Off in the distance she saw a black speck on the northern horizon and then she recognized what it was. She smiled at Yuffie, relieved in the knowledge that their other friends were on their way. "Cloud is Cloud."

As Cloud neared the two upright supports just before the three rows of coolant injectors on the outer half of the barrel, he saw Kadaj flip up to land on top of one of them before diving at him, attempting to knock him over the side and he swayed to the side, deftly striking twice with the two blades in his hands. Kadaj slid around the second of the pair of struts and he brought the switch blade up to block the third strike before using the First Sword in a powerful cleaving swing that would have cut the remnant in half if he hadn't picked that moment to drop down and kick at Cloud's gut. Cloud had a moment where he felt gravity begin to take hold before he jammed the First Sword into the side of the coolant structure, quickly swinging upwards and yanking it out again with the power of his own momentum to flip into the air and land behind the remnant with his back to the sea on the final segment of the barrel.

He ran forward, attempting to skewer Kadaj and the remnant turned, only in the nick of time to lock blades again, but it wasn't soon enough to bear the brunt of the attack. As he watched, Kadaj slipped tumbling through the air only to grab a support girder further down the secondary pillar that held up the cannon. Cloud reconnected the switchblade to the First Sword and hopped down carefully, seeing Kadaj's double-bladed katana falling to the street below, glittering in the sunshine.

He glanced over the side of the girder at Kadaj, hanging on for dear life even as the container with Jenova in it was still grasped in his hands. Kadaj glared at him hatefully, and then he suddenly threw the container at him. Cloud reacted on instinct, lifting his blade and slicing the container in two, sending it flying through the air away from them.

To his surprise however, Kadaj leapt into the air, catching the container and dropping to the ground like a stone. That was when Cloud suddenly realized the horrible mistake he had made. As Kadaj fell past him, he caught the distinct sound of the man crying triumphantly "My reunion… bet you're dying to watch."

Terror freezing his heart as he realized what would happen if he did not act, he dived after Kadaj, already seeing tendrils of corrupted Lifestream starting to fly off of the remnants body. Knowing he had to act fast, he brought up the full Fusion Sword to attack the man, but he could already see the ground rising up to meet them both. As Kadaj landed on the street, he stood, bringing up his arms in a defensive position, though he was quickly obscured by the mists around him and Cloud distinctly heard a loud buzzing in his ears. As he fell on top of the remnant his sword clanged against a blade that had not been there before. It wasn't the true Masamune, he knew, but that didn't make it any less lethal, and as he looked into Kadaj's face, his blood ran cold for Kadaj wasn't the man who stood before him anymore.

"Good to see you, 'Cloud.'"

By the way, I would like to note this fic has received over 500 reviews! Thank you so much for you're continued support. We're almost there, just a few more chapters to go!

See ya next week!