I do not own FFVII characters – though I wish I did. lol
I do own my own character – Jalyne and other originals.
Chapter 65 – The Sisters
"Impossible!"
"Believe me when I say, Jalyne." Solaria confirmed. "Seeing T'Karre is like nothing ever seen before."
Jalyne trembled and dropped to one knee, shaking her head in disbelief. "The old ways are gone!"
"Are they, Jalyne?" Staerlyia commented. "I would think with all you can accomplish, you would believe otherwise."
"The words gods and goddess are just that…words. They are used to describe those in which we cannot comprehend." The Empress whispered to no one in particular.
Reno and Rude looked on inquiringly, silently wondering what exactly was happening. Jalyne looked up at the sisters of Litrandran.
"What made Suuna return."
"He was commanded." Staerlyia stated. "By Suunarian."
"Do you think-?"
"Yes." The sisters stated in unison.
"Mind filling us in, yo?" Reno asked, observing how shaken Jalyne was.
"T'Karre is our goddess." Jalyne said rising to her feet, shakily. "She is akin to yours from what I can tell and have read."
"She is the only one that theoretically can summon the Emperor or Empress." Staerlyia continued. "Of course, any of the gods or goddesses can, but the Emperor or Empress is subject to the Temple of Soul."
"She is considered the goddess of creation, the mother of the T'Karvian Empire. Her temple is in Trerran Proper." Solaria finished.
"Rune." Rude commented after a moments thought.
Jalyne turned sharply to him as Reno pulled her closer. "You have the Rune of Soul, yo."
She turned her eyes to the red-headed partner in thought. "It was given to me after I was born – or so I was told."
"By who, though?" Solaria asked. "No one has ever said. Not even your father."
"I don't know." Jalyne admitted. She paused in thought, scrunching her eyebrows. "Father never said from who I can recall."
"We are here to bring you back." Staer interjected.
Jalyne shook her head clear before looking intently at the sisters. "I'm not going back. Not yet."
"You would disobey T'Karre?" Solaria exclaimed. "Jalyne!"
"You said three days." Jalyne stated. "I'll return the night before."
Rude coughed, embarassed at the statement from his partner and the look upon Solaria's face.
"You are not leaving a lot of room for preparation, Jalyne." The queen stated, placing her hands on her hips.
"What's there to prepare?" she stated. "Besides," Jalyne continued looking at her partners.
"Can't leave anyway, yo." Reno stated, placing his mag rod on his shoulder and starting towards the open door at the far side of the warehouse.
"Mission." Rude added following the red-headed partner.
Jalyne nodded at them. "And I will finish it."
Reno nodded with a smile, pleased that Jalyne honoured her duties as a Turk. They continued in silence, the sisters following behind until Jalyne hung back away from the others.
"You heard all of that, Sir?" she asked quietly.
I did. Jalyne heard the president respond. We'll discuss it when you return.
"I have an…inquiry for you."
Oh?
"Yes. This is…Trerran shaking." Jalyne added wryly.
More Trerran shaking than the bet you made with Reno?
Jalyne sighed but managed a chuckle. "I was hoping you didn't hear that."
We all did. Elena piped in. You will definitely have to let me know who wins. The blonde Turk laughed.
"See what I mean about open coms?"
I'm thinking of throwing my wager into the bet.
"SIR!" Everyone exclaimed over the transmission. Reno paused and narrowed his eyes lightly to Jalyne, who shrugged her shoulders innocently.
"I am not the one that started the bet!" she called out to the red-head.
"No, you didn't, yo." He called back with a wink and a smirk, though he wisely kept his comments to himself regarding the president.
Jalyne caught up to the others as they entered a longer, narrow cavern. There was light at the end of the tunnel, from what they could see, and kept going. The sisters stayed with Jalyne conversing quietly and gazing at their surroundings.
"Where are we, Jalyne?" Solaria asked finally.
"Underground." The empress muttered. "Goodness forsaken dark, dank, and murderous killing trap."
"Seriously?" Staerlyia asked. "What's so bad about underground?"
Jalyne turned to the orange-haired queen with an incredulous look. "I'm surprised you could tolerate it, Staer."
"I didn't say that." She sarcastically commented. "Just curious on why you feel that way."
"If you knew what we had just gone through, you understand."
"What are we in for?" Sol questioned.
"I don't really know." Jalyne answered. "There is reportedly an experimental lab down here."
"Not reportedly, yo." Reno commented as Jalyne almost walked into him. "It's up ahead."
She glanced around the corner and into a large metal lined room. Jalyne could see books lining shelves on the far end of the area, along with tables, a desk, and numerous monitors. This wasn't like the lab at the Shinra building or Niebelheim. On the far wall, she could see the damage from something large as the metal looked crushed and scraped. She laid a soft hand on Reno.
"This doesn't feel right." She commented.
"Whatcha mean, yo?" he replied, surveying the area.
"There's something in there."
"Well, I suppose we need to find out, yo." He nodded at Rude before turning to the queens. "You can stay back, yo."
Solaria grinned at the Lord Consort as Staerlyia shook her head.
"Right, My Lord." The younger one retorted. "Like we would miss the fun. Besides—" Staerlyia slid one arm around Solaria and the other around Rude and winked at him. "We're the bodyguards." She chuckled.
"You know I can take care of myself, right?" Jalyne retorted wryly, which only made Staer grin wider as she turned to her blonde sister.
"She must have forgotton protocol, sis."
"I did not forget protocol!" Jalyne exaperatedly stated. "We are not on Trerran, or Litrandan, Iecidrankta, Molcter, Gründlia, Nier, Sybyrk, Folggyia, Ractkyea, Iecchaa..."
"I believe I stated that when you realize you are royalty, matters would be easier." stated the blonde queen calmly with her hands on her hips.
"Bodyguards?" Rude inquired.
Solaria looked at him and winked. "Of course. The Council is also the emperor's or empress's guards."
"Ugghh!" the white-haired Turk threw her arms upward and started into the room. "I'm changing that just as soon as I can!" Jalyne glided past them, muttering about a goddess, protocol and other inconsequential things.
They entered the room, following the empress who stopped in the middle. She turned around to the group with her hands on her hips, tilting her head to the opposite corner of the room. Towards the end, if one looked close enough, there was another passageway or hallway that was hidden.
"How much do you want to bet that hallway leads to the actual lab?"
"Still wagering, yo?" Reno snuck in. "I thought since I was winning that you'd given up on that?"
"Who said you're winning?" Jalyne shot back.
That would be against my directive.
I didn't say a word. Elena piped in.
I'm not wagering. Tseng's calm voice filtered in.
"See?" the white-haired Turk impishly stated. "It's not decided."
"They're not here, yo." Reno countered leaning sultrily into her, his turquoise eyes glinting.
Jalyne pulled her goggles back over eyes, flicking a switch to alight the hologram of their surroundings to the President and Director. "Jakta?" she commented. "Then what exactly—" she extended her hand, blue power rising around it. The shriek echoed off of the steel walls as her power crushed the entity. "is that?"
The group turned around looking at the dead body of the monster as more entered the large area. Reno's eyes widened as the creatures advanced quickly.
"Well, that's just something I've never seen before." Solaria commented, lifting up into the air.
They sprang into action, Solaria and Staerlyia assisting Rude while Jalyne and Reno countered on the left. There were at least twenty of them that surrounded them. Solaria dropped to the ground and zipped forward with Rude taking on the two in front of them while Staerlyia started whizzing light bolts to the ones behind.
"What are these?" Solaria questioned as the monster dropped to the ground by her sunlit hand around its throat.
"Unknown Entities." Rude supplied while uppercutting another. "Experiments on people."
"You said what?" Jalyne called in shock.
"Experiments on people, yo." Reno confirmed, jamming his mag rod in the chest of another as Jalyne lowered to the ground.
"Hmph." She grunted, swinging her staff over Reno's head to slice an entity in half.
"Think that's what is behind the monsters, Sis?"
"Not really." Solaria returned. "Though it lends to the thought of what has started in other systems."
"Where these humans once?" Staer continued, warping her ruddy light around the neck of a fiend and stepping to be back to back with her sister.
"Yes." Rude stated.
An Entity wrapped it's appendage around his neck, pulling him away from the sisters as he struggled to get it to release him. Solaria dashed to him as others tried to prevent her assistance.
"SOL!" Jalyne's voice rang out.
The Queen outstretched her hand as she heard the whiz of metal. Grabbing her Empress's staff, she swung in a wide arc as it lit up with the Rune of Light. She eliminated the two that were in her way as proceeded to attack the one that had Rude as he was jabbing with an elbow. The blonde queen swung low, slicing off a leg and followed the motion, decapitating the it's head. Rude dropped to one knee taking deep breaths as Reno and Jalyne finished off the rest of them.
"Will you stop putting yourself in danger, Liave?" Solaria whispered as she knelt with him.
"It's my job." He answered, though his lips crested slightly in a smile. "Liave?"
"Uh-huh." She winked at him, handing him his glasses and helping him to stand as the others gathered around.
The ground rumbled and shook, getting closer to the group with each looking at each daringly to turn around. Finally, Reno sighed, placing his mag rod on his shoulder as Sol returned Jalyne's staff to her. The empress turned around towards the hidden pathway as something large entered into the room.
"What in the –" she started to say.
"Failed Experiment." Rude finished.
"Do you two read something different than I do?" Jalyne asked crossly.
"I've known about something like this for a while, yo." Reno shrugged. "Never thought I'd see one though."
The red glow eerily lighted the area from the hulking double tenacled spectacle and and behind it, more of the smaller versions emerged. The group fanned outward as it struck with it's back tentacle at Jalyne. She moved to the side, circling around as two unknown entities moved to intercept her.
Reno dove underneath the larger being, rolling and brandishing the weapon, electricuting two of the smaller ones. He turned in time to see Jalyne thrown to the back wall with a crash. An appendage wrapped around his ankle, taking him off guard and flinging him towards his love.
Rude dashed to the other side with the sisters trailing behind in the air. Slamming a fist into the ground, the shock wave made the other entities falter. Solaria and Staerlyia lifted lightly into the air, hoping to distract the monster. Staer glanced at her sister in question as she outreached to Rude, throwing a light orb towards his fist that was ready to strike the ground again. Staerlyia added her ruddy orb to it, causing the strike to rumble the ground with a great force. Rude looked at the queens and nodded in thanks.
"We'll take care of the smaller ones." Solaria stated with a look at Staerlyia.
Jalyne slowly stood, surveying the situation and watching Rude and the queens working together. She smiled at her friends and looked to Reno who was getting up a little away from her, shaking his red spikes to clear his head. He came to stand with her with a dangerous look in his eyes.
"I'll shock the beast, yo." The red-headed Turk advised. "You can beat the fuck out of him."
Jalyne turned her gaze to his turquoise eyes. "I take it you're pissed off?"
An eyebrow raised. "Yeah, yo. Time to get down to business. I'm tired of defending our lives, yo. We have things to do."
Jalyne nodded and started forward with a dash as Reno came up behind, slamming his mag rod on the ground. She lifted lightly to miss the attack and put her power behind her punch as Reno sped behind it.
Rude and the queens kept up the barrage of taking out the lesser ones that kept up the attack on the group. Solaria grabbed Rude by the wrist and lifted him into the air, though he looked at her inquiringly. She filterd a little power through him and shot him downward. He landed with a great explosion and rumble, disintegrating all that was around.
The Failed Experiment lashed backwards, clipping Reno as he sped by. Turning before landing, he launched pyramid in the hopes of containing it but it slapped it with one appendage before snatching Jalyne out of the air. It wrapped a hand around her throat and pulled downward on her waist. Reno slid across the ground from the clip and released another lightening attack.
It slammed Jalyne to the ground, shoving a tentacle through her left shoulder, causing her to scream in pain as she moved to break it. The other four snapped their heads to the Empress.
Jalyne agreed with Reno, she was tired of this and they had things to do. She took a deep breath and opened her eyes to the snarling monster leaning in to decapitate her. Her blade materialized at her hand and with a sharp swinging arc, released herself from the beast.
She lifted into the air, arms outstretched and eyes aglow. Solaria could see her muttering lightling and smiled, wondering which hell Jalyne was about to cast. They didn't have to wait as the empress finished the spell with a wide sweeping and chilly arc. The Failed Experiment froze in its position.
Reno and Rude grinned, leaping high into the air and coming down with forceful strike that shattered the enemy to pieces. Jalyne lowered to the ground with the group and glanced at them impishly, raising a hand to her shoulder to heal. She bowed to her partner and the queens.
"Shall we proceed? There are a great many thing that I would rather be doing."