(Author's Note: Hey all! Rueh wrote this chapter too! Yes I know the last one was a cliffhanger but…I'm going to be quiet now…anyways…enjoy!)
Disclaimer: FF7 and Squaresoft are not mine. Rueh belongs to Rueh. Dete belongs to me.
Chapter 12
Dete made eye contact with those angry dark aqua-green eyes and refused to break it. They circled slowly around each other, neither wanting to make the first move…sizing the other up.
Rueh was unworried about this encounter. Dete was right; they were the same yet…very much different.
Dete stumbled back suddenly as Rueh stopped moving all together. The power build up she had felt a month prior began anew…it was exactly the same energy force that had destroyed the once mysterious Forgotten Capital.
Pain filled Rueh's body as her fierce energy ripped through her as if she was nothing…but such pain now wouldn't even faze her. Not after all the 'conditioning' Hojo had put her through. Yes, the pain Hojo had inflicted upon her was far worse than this…
Dete gasped in horror as several places along Rueh's face, neck and arms began to bleed gruesomely. Rueh clutched her teeth tightly together, curling her lips into a snarl; her teeth became a bloody mess as sharp canine like teeth grew down from the upper set of teeth. In all six sharp teeth grew in on either side of her mouth each of the three sets right next to each other and becoming shorter than the ones before it as they got further back. Rueh spat the blood from her mouth then clenched her teeth even tighter as more and more power tore into her veins.
The places bleeding on her skin ripped and the silver red stripes appeared all over and absorbed the blood she had lost. A low feral growl came from deep within Rueh's throat as her power leveled off as it had before.
Dete was shocked to say the least at this transformation. It had looked so painful and that look Rueh had had…Dete shook her head.
"You are a sad sight to my eyes Rueh…" Dete stated sympathetically.
"And you are a weakling in my sight Dete," Rueh snarled.
"There was no need for such pain and exert of energy going into that transformation."
With that she closed her eyes and a bright mist formed around her then flashed causing Rueh to have to shield her eyes. The light was so intense and it wasn't fading; Rueh was completely blinded. The wind picked up and blew the tie from her hair that she was helpless to stop.
Equally white hair clashed and disappeared into the light only to be seen again with the shock of the black endings. In one powerful gush of wind the light was gone.
"You see Rueh…" Dete's voice spoke from the same area she had been standing before.
"No you TWIT! I don't see, you blinded me remember?!" Rueh snared fiercely. All her visions were blurry and she could barely make out Dete's form standing a short distance in front of her.
Dete watched as Rueh rubbed at her sore eyes…she hated to do that but it was the only way to keep Rueh at bay while her healing spell could take effect on the others.
Rueh finally shook off the effects and glared death at Dete for what she had done. "You did that on purpose…" she snarled viciously. "You'll pay…"
Dete took a step back as Rueh took a step forward then stopped.
"What the…" Rueh gasped as sudden pain seared through every fiber of her being. The power build up started to crank up at a dangerous pace and to levels Dete had never thought possible. "N…NO!!!" Rueh screamed in agony and clutched at her head. "STOP IT!!! NO MORE, PLEASE!!!"
Dete stood in a horrible shock as Rueh's eyes flashed open to reveal yellow clashing with her dark aqua-green eyes. Her pupils had constricted into sharp slits that no human had…it was more like that of the eyes of a cat or…a dragon.
Rueh dropped to her knees unknowingly…the pain had become too great, way more than it ever had before…her insides were burning and working in such a quick manner that they should never…the energy within was ripping her to pieces inside.
"Rueh…what's happening to you?" Dete breathed, she couldn't move…this is horrible, what should I do? What CAN I do?! Rueh might kill me if I try and go near her now…yet she's in so much pain…no one was ever there for her before…oh what should I do?
The members of AVALANCHE were finally able to get back to their feet, but stood in shock at what they were witnessing.
Cassandra had her face buried in Sephiroth's chest, not wanting to watch her daughter suffer so much and not being able to do anything about it. Each and every cry from Rueh was full of agonizing pain and it was tearing her up inside just as much as it was Rueh.
All Sephiroth could do was to try and to comfort Cassandra…there was nothing they could do…or was there? His inner conscience screamed at him to help Rueh…but he had the same feeling as Dete…what could he possibly do for her now?
'You see foolish child, they don't care about you or your pain. Just look at them standing over there watching you as if you were an animal,' Hojo's voice hissed within Rueh's mind.
With much painful effort, Rueh focused her eyes on Dete who still stood before her. "Please…" she gasped and tried to reach to her sister and failed as more agonizing waves rushed through her veins.
'Stop this ridicules fight against me…when have I ever caused you any real harm. All the pain I put you through was for your own good, you know that.'
"No…leave…me…alone…"
'She's fighting him for control,' Dete thought in sudden realization. Her head snapped around to Sephiroth and Cassandra. "We have to help her before she looses again!"
Dete ran forward and knelt down next to Rueh's wrecked form. Rueh was in too much pain at that point to notice and Hojo's harsh words rang through her head.
'Sweetheart, listen to me,' Hojo soothed Rueh's damaged mind, she was becoming increasingly weaker and if he didn't do something quick she'd loose it like all the times before…'Quit fighting against me and your pain will lessen…I promise. Rueh…listen, they're going to get you while you're down, you MUST get up NOW.'
"So much pain…"
'NO!!' Hojo screeched causing Rueh's consciousness to snap back. 'That's it. Don't let those lousy creatures defeat you, stand up and fight them.'
Rueh's resistance slipped way further than it had ever before and as promised…the pain lessened drastically. There was no more fighting Hojo's order on this day. Rueh allowed the pain to course through her body…nothing but the pain registered in her frail state of mind.
Sephiroth knelt down taking Dete's place. He pulled Rueh's smaller body into his arms in a protective and comforting embrace and sat down. Her body was shacking uncontrollably and he almost thought her unconscious. Her eyes rolled unseeing as she clutched onto his leather coat desperately in pain.
The silvery red stripes that marred her skin began clouding over with blood then shone with it…every single one of them, but not bleeding. What little tent of color she had left in her already bleached hair died away leaving it completely white and the black shone of a ravens color.
Blood started oozing from between her lips again as more razor like teeth forced their way through her tender gums.
Sephiroth laid his hand on her forehead and focused all his mind-altering powers onto her.
'Ahh, son. So you have finally come for this child of destruction,' Hojo's voice hissed into Sephiroth's mind. ' She is more powerful than you could ever be and a lot harder to convince to do things. You better get away before she tears you and everyone else out there to shreds. She WILL listen to me now…she is recovering…and will be very tic…'
Rueh broke the mind link between her 'master' and father. Her senses returned to her all at once and what she felt was not what she wanted. Her father held her tightly to him; he was messing around in her head…
Rueh snarled and lashed out and viciously raking clawed fingers down his face with one hand and with the other gashed his chest with knife like marks. Sephiroth winced and released his hold on Rueh.
"Dad! Are you ok?" Dete asked and quickly knelt next to him; all the while Rueh made a quick maneuver taking her to her unsteady legs.
She jumped back some distance and stood still recollecting herself. No one dared to near her now, not after what she did to Sephiroth.
'Do as I have ordered,' Hojo hissed through her ears.
"As you wish…" she whispered and closed her swirling eyes. When they opened again they were almost purely a bloody yellow with some hints around the pupil of their original color.
"Oh my gosh dad…" Dete breathed as huge black feathery wings rose high over Rueh's head then expanded, taking up a massive amount of space. "She's going to kill us…"