Chapter 12
The Plunge
(Don't Make Daitona Mad)
Disclaimer: Don't own Final Fantasy, but other than that (hint: non Final Fantasy) most likely does belong to me.
A/N: Sorry it took me a bit longer with this chapter, but I think the length makes up for the time. Enjoy!
Daitona slowly woke from her force sleep; her vision ever so slowly adjusted to the bright lights above her. Her head felt fuzzy and disconnected; probably the effect from the gas, she decided after a long while and her head cleared enough to think clearly.
There was something heavy draped over her, it warm but too heavy to be a 'normal' blanket. It was then that she realized that that was the ONLY thing she felt on her. 'Gods, where are my cloths? Better yet.who took them OFF me!?!"
A brief struggle proved useless. Her wrists, and ankles were secured to what she laid on. 'What AM I lying on? This isn't another lab is it; what kind of sick joke is this? And where in blazes is Sephiroth?'
As if to answer her, a low grown came from somewhere to her the left. Daitona rolled her head to the direction to find its source. Sephiroth lay there on a table.Daitona's eyes grew wide and she quickly turned her head in the other way.
'Now THAT'S defiantly more than I EVER expected to see of Sephiroth.he was strapped down too, wasn't he? That means.' Daitona quickly scanned her surroundings, deliberately avoiding where Sephiroth was; her search came up with nothing. 'This is a lab if I've ever seen one, but.no Hojo, what's up with that? This isn't EVEN his lab. I've never seen this place before.it's too huge to be in the Shinra Tower, so.where are we?'
Daitona sighed and finally gave up trying to solve these seemingly simple problems. Her head throbbed from a headache she had until now ignored and she felt her thoughts running together again.
Time passed without her knowing it, but when she felt her eyes growing heavy with sleep.came with it voices. The sound of a heavy door opening and closing roused Daitona from her half sleep state, but she thought it best to act as if she were still asleep.
".new stock has arrived," an unfamiliar male voice was saying. "Neither has woke yet from the gas dosage given to them on capture. Apparently the new gas mixture used to put them to sleep was stronger than prior thought." Daitona listened to them and knew they were somewhere near Sephiroth now.
Sephiroth chose that time to start to rouse from his sleep. He ground and stirred for a bit before falling silent again. Daitona had held her breath without realizing it and had to slowly release it as to not draw attention to her awareness.
"Are you awake?" asked another man, also near Sephiroth.
Finally, Daitona decided to quit acting and opened her eyes wide, staring at the brightly lit ceiling. Chancing it, she looked to where the strangers were; thankfully, one of them had covered Sephiroth. Looking over the two men she didn't recognize them at all; she'd never seen them before in her life, and she'd know.
The man with light brown hair, and the taller of the two, looked in Daitona's direction then motioned for the other to look on too.
The other, shorter, light blue eyes, and blonde/red hair; looking over at the young girl and smiled at meeting bright aqua-green eyes. He hadn't expected to see so much awareness in that one, and by the looks of it.she had a lot of life in her. That was pleasing, but he hadn't thought of the consequences of having two. Sephiroth had his reputation within Shinra and so did she, but disturbingly, hers was always kept under raps. There was very little information floating around on her, not that there was much more on Sephiroth either, but at least his name was know. As of now, the girl's name still remained a mystery to him.
"So, you're awake after all." It wasn't really a question, more like a stupid observation. "Well," he said, looking at his brown haired partner, failing to reveal his name to Daitona. "I think it's time for the blinders, and make sure they're dressed properly."
****
Daitona clawed and kicked in ever direction, blindly trying to escape her captors grip. They had placed some kind of contraption over her head and eyes making it to where she couldn't see a thing. To make matters worse, they had fitted it so that it fit snuggly and wouldn't budge from her head on her own accord.
Sephiroth was in the same situation and was somewhere in front of Daitona. If there was any good in this, it was the fact that they both had cloths on again.
Without warning, the one 'escorting' Daitona gave her a hard shove and she stumbled into.well she didn't know. A loud thud echoed off the walls and then nothing, no.there was something.breathing? Not hers, that was for sure.
"Sephiroth, is that you?" Daitona asked timidly.
A grunt came in response. "Who else would it be?" Sephiroth asked gruffly from.below her?
Daitona laughed guiltily and got back to her feet from where she had stumbled and fell on.Sephiroth. "I knew that fall was too cushy to have been the floor."
"Glad to have been of service to breaking your fall. Watch your step next time." Sephiroth sighed and sat up when Daitona got off him.
"Well, I can't exactly. You see, I've got this big hunk of junk over my head and I can't seem to see for the life of me. Oh yeah, that might be the problem.IT'S COVERING MY EYES!!!" Daitona yelled in sarcasm. "Do you even know where we're at?"
"Notta clue. I woke up wearing.well nothing, I was forced to put on some dumb set of cloths; might I mention they're NOT black, or even dark for that matter. After that I was held down and they put this rotten thing on my head!." Sephiroth yelp in surprise when he felt a sharp jerk on the device blinding him.
"Hold still," Daitona ordered. Her hands ran over every aspect of the device and came up with nothing she thought of any use. Determined, she gave it a tug.then another, earning her an annoyed grunt from Sephiroth in protest to the sharp tugs. "It.*tug*.won't.*tug, tug*.come." Sephiroth felt her feet brace against his leg and then the sharpest tug yet. "OFF!!!"
"OK, OK, stop already!" Sephiroth rubbed his, now, sore neck. "Man, you could have pulled my head off with a few more jerks like that. Now you hold still," he declared in mockery.
Sephiroth took a bit longer in letting his hands examine the device. "Hmmm." he hummed and his examination lingered in the back of her head.
"What, what is it?" Daitona asked and fidgeted.
Sephiroth was silent for a moment longer. "There's a tiny lock on the back, very easily missed; I almost missed it myself." He could feel the grin that came to her lips. "What?"
Daitona laughed almost evilly. "My, my. Aren't they the stupid ones today? Do you know how to pick locks Sephiroth?"
"Only what we were taught." He could hear Daitona moving around in front of him, then a snicker in triumph. Her hands sought out his then set a tiny straight object in his hand. It was a lock pick to his surprise. "Wha-never mind. I don't think I want to know 'why' you have this."
"It's none of your business anyways." Daitona bent her head so that the lock was easier to get at. "Now, pick the stinking lock!"
Sephiroth obliged and went to work. It was hard, not being able to see and all; and he'd never really became a master at this skill, unlike Daitona. She'd have made the best of thieves had she grown up outside of Shinra. She had what it took, quick, efficient, quiet, sneaky, cunning, and finally.she was a good learner. She could comprehend things like that, at that it seemed like she never forgot anything.
After what seemed to be hours, Sephiroth sighed and pulled back. "I can't get it. The lock is so tiny and has a matrix inside it. If I could see maybe I'd have a better chance but I cant." A sudden idea struck him then, it was mean, but he knew if Daitona had thought of it first she probably wouldn't have hesitated in trying it. "Now hold still Daitona."
"What are you doing" Without warning, Sephiroth's hand thumped the device sending Daitona to the floor.
She gowned at the sudden shock and sat back up. "What was that for?"
"Sorry." He didn't sound the least bit sorry, and had she been able to see him.she'd have probably decked him a few times; but she couldn't see him so he didn't worry. "Just thought it might break since it is so small."
"You know what.?"
'Bit me,' Sephiroth could just hear the words. She's said them on more than one occasion to Lavitz during training.
To his surprise, Daitona hesitated and didn't say what he thought she'd say. "That's a good idea. Small things tend to break more easily, don't they?"
"But small things can also." Sephiroth trailed off when a dull thud echoed through the room. "What did you just do?" Another thud. "Daitona?" And another, this time with the accompaniment of cracking. "Daitona." A final thud then shattering objects on the floor.
Daitona lifted what was left of the device off her head and stared at it for a bit. "Well.it came off." There was humor to be heard in her voice along with slyness. "Now you hold still and let me take care of this crappy lock." Sticking her tongue between her teeth, Daitona set to work with her lock pick. "What do you wanna bet this thing cost a fortune?" she asked while she worked.
"And to think, you broke yours," Sephiroth taunted.
"No, it's not that, it's just the lock itself is cheep. The thing is made to look fancy so it'd cost more." *click* "There, what'd I tell ya? Piece of cake." Daitona lifted the device over Sephiroths head and sat it on the floor in front of him, along with her own broken one.
"Hey, thanks. I'm glad at least one of us paid attention to Lavitz's lessons on lock picking." He pushed his silver hair back over his shoulders from where it had fallen while Daitona picked the lock.
"Yeah well.I was kind of hoping he'd give some tips on how to pick those locks in the building. What use that did me, huh?" Daitona laughed softly to herself. "Now, we should find a way out of here."
"Yeah," Sephiroth agreed with a nod of his head. He turned away from Daitona and froze in his tracks, as she did. His brows furrowed a bit in frustration and he reached his hand out carefully in front of him.
"Can you see anything?" Daitona's voice carried from behind him.
"Notta thing. The walls are invisible, and if I didn't know better, so is the roof and floor." His green-blue eyes searched anything and everything in front of him.
"Just remember. The floor is beneath you and the roof is above you," Daitona teased. She frowned at finding a video camera, so she picked up the broken thing on the floor and placed it over the spy.
She looked around, straining her eyes to see anything but white. "What do yo-" Daitona started to turn around.
Sephiroth turned to see why Daitona hadn't finished her sentence, only to see her stagger backwards clutching at her face. There was red on her hands, he recognized it immediately as blood.
"What happened?" he had to question in confusion.
"I found a wall, that's what!" Daitona snapped angrily.
Sephiroth tried to look sympathetic, but he couldn't help but to laugh.
"Aren't you just so nice! My nose is bleeding like there's no tomorrow, which there very well might not be if we don't find the door! Some friend you are!" Daitona yelled, there was pain evident in her voice.
"Ahhh.sorry???" Sephiroth felt guilty now, but he couldn't help himself.
"Wait a minute." The anger fled Daitona's face to be replace by a thoughtful look. "I, have an idea," she declared smartly.
"And.that would be?" Sephiroth crossed his arms wondering how her mood could change so quickly. 'Imagine what she's like when she's alone?' He shuttered inwardly then listened to what she had to say.
"All we have to do is fake a fight."
"I beg-your-pardon?" Sephiroth chocked in surprise.
"All we have to do is make a fight look real. I'm already bleeding and I think that's convincing, don't you?" She didn't wait for Sephiroth to answer before going on. "I'll be the one getting beat up of course, then the only thing left to do is to knock that thing off the security camera. Those people will see us fighting. Let them think we're going to kill each other. Someone will come in and try to break up the fight." Daitona trailed off, but by then Sephiroth had gotten the idea.
"I understand, and it might just work. Lets try is, but one thing first." Sephiroth paused. "You don't really want me to hit you, do you?"
"Make it convincing. If it means hitting me, go for it, but I won't guarantee I won't hit back," Daitona warned.
Sephiroth narrowed his eyes in thought. "I won't hit you." he said recalling the time she'd jacked him in the jaw; it about never quit hurting that whole week.
"Right," Daitona stated energetically with a nod. "Now, let's begin." Daitona's mood changed quickly to how she was during a hard training session. "Come at me!" Her voice was a commanding challenge.
Sephiroth took a deep breath, then too his entire attitude switched to fighting mode. He lunged at Daitona swiftly and spun around quickly after missing. He had half expected her to strike him, but she didn't. She simply bounded backwards towards the camera and knocked the device covering it, off. She ran the back of her hand across her face under her nose, wiping blood away.
"You'll pay for that one," she growled. Her eyes were actually blazing.
Sephiroth smirked hatefully at her. 'She's good!' he marveled inwardly as he dodged her fist. 'She's using the full of her ability, while deliberately missing me.' He smiled, even though it came out as more of a snarl, and he got in a few of his own punches.
Sephiroth's movements were easily read and dodged even though they came extremely close to there supposed target.
The plan worked perfectly. After a minute of so four guards rushed into the room, leaving the door wide open. When they got near enough, Sephiroth and Daitona acted as one. They caught the poor guards totally off guard. They were easily defeated and the two teens had their escape rout cleared.for the moment at least.
As they ran blindly through strange halls, something kept nagging at Daitona until she just couldn't stand it anymore. This running around wasn't safe.
"Sephiroth wait!" They came to a halt and he looked back to her with a questioning look. "Do you remember special op training?"
Sephiroth looked curious. "Yeah, what about it. We had like three weeks of in the field training, right?"
"Yes, and we're completely disregarding it now. This isn't safe, running around blindly like this." Daitona smirked and a mischievous look came to her face. "Lets have a little fun with this. You go on ahead, be careful, and I'll trail you."
With a sigh and a shake of his head, Sephiroth had no other choice than to go along with Daitona's new game. At least she was using her training.sort of. Defiantly not the way it was originally attended to be used, that was for sure.
We walked as silent as a cat for a long while until the hall finally ended in the huge lab like room they had been in earlier. He turned expecting to see Daitona, but there was neither hide nor hair of her in sight. Sighing, he ventured deeper into the lab checking all the doors, all were locked except one.
Sephiroth hesitated not really wanting to chance loosing Daitona, but quickly decided she could find her own way around. Looking down the hall behind the door a chill ran up Sephiroth's spine. The hall was dark and an eerie draft flowed through it. He turned back once more, Daitona still being in his mind, but quickly ducked through the door when distant voices met his keen ears.
Worried that they might they may have heard the door slam, Sephiroth jogged briskly down the dark hall. "Man," he sighed to himself. "I hope no one saw or hear me." He slowed to a walk and strained his eyes in the darkness. "I can't see a thing."
His ears picked up a faint sound behind him and he spun on his heals, almost expecting to see Daitona sneaking up behind him. He was met by more darkness. "What was that?" His senses told him otherwise, someone WAS following him and it wasn't Daitona. She wasn't stupid enough to give herself away while stalking someone.
A flash of light down the hall caught Sephiroth's attention telling him his senses were correct. Not knowing who it was with a flashlight, he turned and ran down the hall; his feet never made a noise as he swiftly made his way down the forbidding hall.
At full speed he ran for some time until. "Oofe!" Sephiroth was forced to a stop by the effect with colliding into a solid. Another flash of light, no more than ten feet behind him then the sound of metal hitting stone.
Sephiroth slowly turned to face the way the light had come from. Someone had followed him and had closed a heavy bared gate, locking him in the small area. "I'm stuck.who are you?" Sephiroth demanded when a dim glow started to light the area around the gate.
Soft laughter sounded out of the gloom then came to an abrupt halt. It was replaced by a startled grunt. "Where's the girl?!" the stalker asked franticly and spun to the dark hall behind.
Sephiroth narrowed his eyes, trying to see the details of the dark figure. "You won't find her so easily." Sephiroth's voice was mock humor, even he himself didn't know where his friend was. "If you do find her.I'd run if I where in your shoes, or beg for mercy. She's much more bad tempered than she looks, and she can pack quite a punch." Sephiroth laughed wickedly, wondering what Daitona would do if she were lurking in the darkness.
"Shudup!" the man spat gruffly. "You don't think I don't know how strong she is?!" He disappeared back down the hall.
"Oh great, now I'm alone," Sephiroth grumbled. 'I thought you said you were going to be just behind me, Daitona? Oh, I hope you didn't get caught without my knowing it. No, you're all right. That guy thought you were with me and he was stalking ME, not you. Now's our chance, good thinking, not walking together. We can still escape, but I'm afraid it's up to you known. I'm stuck, but I'll see what I can do about that. Just don't get caught and find me.perhaps you are already looking for me.'
His confidence in his fiend dwindled; he had forgotten how much she liked wondering around. "I feel sorry for the guy who finds her; they'll never have a chance against the likes of Daitona.
With a sigh, he sat down and leaned against the wall to wait for someone to let him out. Minutes later, the door he had ran into earlier flew open and several people filed in. They yanked Sephiroth to his feet roughly and forced him from the small area.
Outside the door there was an arena of some sort. It was there where he was shoved forward and left alone again. The people who had thrown him there went back through the door they had come out.
Another look around the arena, Sephiroth's eyes grew wide. "I'm in trouble," he breathed as a huge shadow loomed over him.
****
Daitona easily made her way up a long flight of stairs as she followed a strange sound. She heard people.lots of people.
At the top of the stairs she emerged into what looked like a crowded stadium. She was immediately surrounded by hundreds of cheering people. 'An audience, I'm part of an audience. But what was she suppose to be watching?'
Daitona was startled from her thoughts by a cry of obvious pain. Following her ears once more, she pushed her smaller form amongst the crowd until she came to the railing. Down below was a fare sized dirt ring and in the ring was some sort of huge mechanical monster.
'Why did I leave him?' Daitona thought angrily to herself as her eyes scanned the ring for who she knew to be down there. 'Sephiroth, please don't be hurt because of me. I had to find.'
'Sephiroth!" Daitona yelled at the top of her lungs. At her back, his Masamune sword hung along with her own at her hips.
Within seconds Masamune was in her grips then hurled towards Sephiroth. It landed inches from where he had fallen, but he made no move reach for it. The machine picked Sephiroth up like a rag doll and smashed him into a far wall. There was a crushing thud as he hit the wall then slumped to the floor.
Daitona looked on in shock. "He's not.getting back up." Her mind went blank of all thoughts besides then need to get to her fallen fried.was that all he was to her?
Her eyes began to glow unconsciously, a color besides what the mako infusions did to her; it was from her true heritage. In the deep dark depths of her eyes that rage she held was smoldering into something it had never been before. She snapped.
"I won't allow this!" she growled in an unusual voice. Her teeth were clenched, and her once aqua green eyes were now a blazing emerald. Her emeralds weren't ones someone could stare into for a long time, without getting lost in there hypnotic depths.
Daitona took a giant leap backwards, causing many spectators to scatter. Another bound forward, and she leapt over the railing, pulling her two swords from there sheaths in one liquid movement; the swords shot forward to considerable lengths as she plummeted the three story drop.
Her natural agility came into effect and she flipped gracefully and brought both swords together as them were rammed into the mechanical beast. She landed, not leaving too much damage to her enemy, then bounded backwards towards the recovering Sephiroth. He looked up in time to see Daitona land in a protective position in front of him. He could feel her eyes trying to look back at him.
Finally she turned to him. Sephiroth knew that blazing fire in her eyes, but she looked different. Her eyes had changed color and her hair.normally light sandy brown with even lighter highlights; was now golden with deep red highlights. Even though her head was turned, Sephiroth had never witnessed such a perfect defensive stance. He could find no flaw or weakness; she meant business this time.
"Are you ok?" she asked more softly than he had thought possible at this point. Though the blaze remained in her eyes, Sephiroth found certain gentleness from his friend. She dropped her stance to kneel next to him.
"What.happened.to you?" Sephiroth asked, he noticed as she spoke that her teeth had grown to an extent that they were fangs. Not just one set, but three, the front being the longest and the back being the shortest.
A wave of warmth spread through him suddenly, starting from his head then down to his toes; the tingling sensation was of a strong healing spell. Daitona's spell nearly completely healed him, but Sephiroth could still feel some of the aches and pains from being tossed around.
Daitona nodded in satisfaction. "Much better, now it's my turn to play with this guy."
She smiled and whirled around only to jump with amazing strength. Daitona reached the height of her jump then started back down with swords aimed for the mechanical body. The swords easily tore through the soft metal and ripped deep into the machine. The damage was immense and it would only take a little push to defeat it.
But being who she was, Daitona at that point didn't see any reason as to not tear that thing up. She smiled; she always had been a destructive child.
She ran right up the damaged enemy and went low; it almost looked as if she had fallen. But coming back up with a jump was a fatal blow to the machine. Swords crossed, they ripped through the core f the monster as she forced them upwards and back apart. The effect was like a giant X.
This time, the machine shuttered and quit moving all together.
Sephiroth was stunned to say the lead. Daitona had gone into battle unflinchingly and had dominated her enemy. She came back to him after that. What he say was the Daitona he was use to seeing, not that other that had just conquered and destroyed that that mechanical monster.
Daitona smiled and glanced back over her shoulder then back to Sephiroth. "Oops, I guess I play a little too rough for him. Maybe next time he'll think twice before he decides he wants to play. She bent down then and picked up Masamune. "Here ya go." She casted 'heal' once more and Sephiroth was completely healed.
Sephiroth stood and took his sword. "Thanks, but where did you go? I thought you said you would be right behind me?"
"What are you talking about? I was until you went through that door. I was going to follow you but then." She stopped to think of how what she had to say was going to come out. She shrugged and went on, "Guld, my first trainer showed up.so I hid."
-End Chapter 12-
A/N: Hope everyone enjoyed, this is the longest chapter yet!
The Plunge
(Don't Make Daitona Mad)
Disclaimer: Don't own Final Fantasy, but other than that (hint: non Final Fantasy) most likely does belong to me.
A/N: Sorry it took me a bit longer with this chapter, but I think the length makes up for the time. Enjoy!
Daitona slowly woke from her force sleep; her vision ever so slowly adjusted to the bright lights above her. Her head felt fuzzy and disconnected; probably the effect from the gas, she decided after a long while and her head cleared enough to think clearly.
There was something heavy draped over her, it warm but too heavy to be a 'normal' blanket. It was then that she realized that that was the ONLY thing she felt on her. 'Gods, where are my cloths? Better yet.who took them OFF me!?!"
A brief struggle proved useless. Her wrists, and ankles were secured to what she laid on. 'What AM I lying on? This isn't another lab is it; what kind of sick joke is this? And where in blazes is Sephiroth?'
As if to answer her, a low grown came from somewhere to her the left. Daitona rolled her head to the direction to find its source. Sephiroth lay there on a table.Daitona's eyes grew wide and she quickly turned her head in the other way.
'Now THAT'S defiantly more than I EVER expected to see of Sephiroth.he was strapped down too, wasn't he? That means.' Daitona quickly scanned her surroundings, deliberately avoiding where Sephiroth was; her search came up with nothing. 'This is a lab if I've ever seen one, but.no Hojo, what's up with that? This isn't EVEN his lab. I've never seen this place before.it's too huge to be in the Shinra Tower, so.where are we?'
Daitona sighed and finally gave up trying to solve these seemingly simple problems. Her head throbbed from a headache she had until now ignored and she felt her thoughts running together again.
Time passed without her knowing it, but when she felt her eyes growing heavy with sleep.came with it voices. The sound of a heavy door opening and closing roused Daitona from her half sleep state, but she thought it best to act as if she were still asleep.
".new stock has arrived," an unfamiliar male voice was saying. "Neither has woke yet from the gas dosage given to them on capture. Apparently the new gas mixture used to put them to sleep was stronger than prior thought." Daitona listened to them and knew they were somewhere near Sephiroth now.
Sephiroth chose that time to start to rouse from his sleep. He ground and stirred for a bit before falling silent again. Daitona had held her breath without realizing it and had to slowly release it as to not draw attention to her awareness.
"Are you awake?" asked another man, also near Sephiroth.
Finally, Daitona decided to quit acting and opened her eyes wide, staring at the brightly lit ceiling. Chancing it, she looked to where the strangers were; thankfully, one of them had covered Sephiroth. Looking over the two men she didn't recognize them at all; she'd never seen them before in her life, and she'd know.
The man with light brown hair, and the taller of the two, looked in Daitona's direction then motioned for the other to look on too.
The other, shorter, light blue eyes, and blonde/red hair; looking over at the young girl and smiled at meeting bright aqua-green eyes. He hadn't expected to see so much awareness in that one, and by the looks of it.she had a lot of life in her. That was pleasing, but he hadn't thought of the consequences of having two. Sephiroth had his reputation within Shinra and so did she, but disturbingly, hers was always kept under raps. There was very little information floating around on her, not that there was much more on Sephiroth either, but at least his name was know. As of now, the girl's name still remained a mystery to him.
"So, you're awake after all." It wasn't really a question, more like a stupid observation. "Well," he said, looking at his brown haired partner, failing to reveal his name to Daitona. "I think it's time for the blinders, and make sure they're dressed properly."
****
Daitona clawed and kicked in ever direction, blindly trying to escape her captors grip. They had placed some kind of contraption over her head and eyes making it to where she couldn't see a thing. To make matters worse, they had fitted it so that it fit snuggly and wouldn't budge from her head on her own accord.
Sephiroth was in the same situation and was somewhere in front of Daitona. If there was any good in this, it was the fact that they both had cloths on again.
Without warning, the one 'escorting' Daitona gave her a hard shove and she stumbled into.well she didn't know. A loud thud echoed off the walls and then nothing, no.there was something.breathing? Not hers, that was for sure.
"Sephiroth, is that you?" Daitona asked timidly.
A grunt came in response. "Who else would it be?" Sephiroth asked gruffly from.below her?
Daitona laughed guiltily and got back to her feet from where she had stumbled and fell on.Sephiroth. "I knew that fall was too cushy to have been the floor."
"Glad to have been of service to breaking your fall. Watch your step next time." Sephiroth sighed and sat up when Daitona got off him.
"Well, I can't exactly. You see, I've got this big hunk of junk over my head and I can't seem to see for the life of me. Oh yeah, that might be the problem.IT'S COVERING MY EYES!!!" Daitona yelled in sarcasm. "Do you even know where we're at?"
"Notta clue. I woke up wearing.well nothing, I was forced to put on some dumb set of cloths; might I mention they're NOT black, or even dark for that matter. After that I was held down and they put this rotten thing on my head!." Sephiroth yelp in surprise when he felt a sharp jerk on the device blinding him.
"Hold still," Daitona ordered. Her hands ran over every aspect of the device and came up with nothing she thought of any use. Determined, she gave it a tug.then another, earning her an annoyed grunt from Sephiroth in protest to the sharp tugs. "It.*tug*.won't.*tug, tug*.come." Sephiroth felt her feet brace against his leg and then the sharpest tug yet. "OFF!!!"
"OK, OK, stop already!" Sephiroth rubbed his, now, sore neck. "Man, you could have pulled my head off with a few more jerks like that. Now you hold still," he declared in mockery.
Sephiroth took a bit longer in letting his hands examine the device. "Hmmm." he hummed and his examination lingered in the back of her head.
"What, what is it?" Daitona asked and fidgeted.
Sephiroth was silent for a moment longer. "There's a tiny lock on the back, very easily missed; I almost missed it myself." He could feel the grin that came to her lips. "What?"
Daitona laughed almost evilly. "My, my. Aren't they the stupid ones today? Do you know how to pick locks Sephiroth?"
"Only what we were taught." He could hear Daitona moving around in front of him, then a snicker in triumph. Her hands sought out his then set a tiny straight object in his hand. It was a lock pick to his surprise. "Wha-never mind. I don't think I want to know 'why' you have this."
"It's none of your business anyways." Daitona bent her head so that the lock was easier to get at. "Now, pick the stinking lock!"
Sephiroth obliged and went to work. It was hard, not being able to see and all; and he'd never really became a master at this skill, unlike Daitona. She'd have made the best of thieves had she grown up outside of Shinra. She had what it took, quick, efficient, quiet, sneaky, cunning, and finally.she was a good learner. She could comprehend things like that, at that it seemed like she never forgot anything.
After what seemed to be hours, Sephiroth sighed and pulled back. "I can't get it. The lock is so tiny and has a matrix inside it. If I could see maybe I'd have a better chance but I cant." A sudden idea struck him then, it was mean, but he knew if Daitona had thought of it first she probably wouldn't have hesitated in trying it. "Now hold still Daitona."
"What are you doing" Without warning, Sephiroth's hand thumped the device sending Daitona to the floor.
She gowned at the sudden shock and sat back up. "What was that for?"
"Sorry." He didn't sound the least bit sorry, and had she been able to see him.she'd have probably decked him a few times; but she couldn't see him so he didn't worry. "Just thought it might break since it is so small."
"You know what.?"
'Bit me,' Sephiroth could just hear the words. She's said them on more than one occasion to Lavitz during training.
To his surprise, Daitona hesitated and didn't say what he thought she'd say. "That's a good idea. Small things tend to break more easily, don't they?"
"But small things can also." Sephiroth trailed off when a dull thud echoed through the room. "What did you just do?" Another thud. "Daitona?" And another, this time with the accompaniment of cracking. "Daitona." A final thud then shattering objects on the floor.
Daitona lifted what was left of the device off her head and stared at it for a bit. "Well.it came off." There was humor to be heard in her voice along with slyness. "Now you hold still and let me take care of this crappy lock." Sticking her tongue between her teeth, Daitona set to work with her lock pick. "What do you wanna bet this thing cost a fortune?" she asked while she worked.
"And to think, you broke yours," Sephiroth taunted.
"No, it's not that, it's just the lock itself is cheep. The thing is made to look fancy so it'd cost more." *click* "There, what'd I tell ya? Piece of cake." Daitona lifted the device over Sephiroths head and sat it on the floor in front of him, along with her own broken one.
"Hey, thanks. I'm glad at least one of us paid attention to Lavitz's lessons on lock picking." He pushed his silver hair back over his shoulders from where it had fallen while Daitona picked the lock.
"Yeah well.I was kind of hoping he'd give some tips on how to pick those locks in the building. What use that did me, huh?" Daitona laughed softly to herself. "Now, we should find a way out of here."
"Yeah," Sephiroth agreed with a nod of his head. He turned away from Daitona and froze in his tracks, as she did. His brows furrowed a bit in frustration and he reached his hand out carefully in front of him.
"Can you see anything?" Daitona's voice carried from behind him.
"Notta thing. The walls are invisible, and if I didn't know better, so is the roof and floor." His green-blue eyes searched anything and everything in front of him.
"Just remember. The floor is beneath you and the roof is above you," Daitona teased. She frowned at finding a video camera, so she picked up the broken thing on the floor and placed it over the spy.
She looked around, straining her eyes to see anything but white. "What do yo-" Daitona started to turn around.
Sephiroth turned to see why Daitona hadn't finished her sentence, only to see her stagger backwards clutching at her face. There was red on her hands, he recognized it immediately as blood.
"What happened?" he had to question in confusion.
"I found a wall, that's what!" Daitona snapped angrily.
Sephiroth tried to look sympathetic, but he couldn't help but to laugh.
"Aren't you just so nice! My nose is bleeding like there's no tomorrow, which there very well might not be if we don't find the door! Some friend you are!" Daitona yelled, there was pain evident in her voice.
"Ahhh.sorry???" Sephiroth felt guilty now, but he couldn't help himself.
"Wait a minute." The anger fled Daitona's face to be replace by a thoughtful look. "I, have an idea," she declared smartly.
"And.that would be?" Sephiroth crossed his arms wondering how her mood could change so quickly. 'Imagine what she's like when she's alone?' He shuttered inwardly then listened to what she had to say.
"All we have to do is fake a fight."
"I beg-your-pardon?" Sephiroth chocked in surprise.
"All we have to do is make a fight look real. I'm already bleeding and I think that's convincing, don't you?" She didn't wait for Sephiroth to answer before going on. "I'll be the one getting beat up of course, then the only thing left to do is to knock that thing off the security camera. Those people will see us fighting. Let them think we're going to kill each other. Someone will come in and try to break up the fight." Daitona trailed off, but by then Sephiroth had gotten the idea.
"I understand, and it might just work. Lets try is, but one thing first." Sephiroth paused. "You don't really want me to hit you, do you?"
"Make it convincing. If it means hitting me, go for it, but I won't guarantee I won't hit back," Daitona warned.
Sephiroth narrowed his eyes in thought. "I won't hit you." he said recalling the time she'd jacked him in the jaw; it about never quit hurting that whole week.
"Right," Daitona stated energetically with a nod. "Now, let's begin." Daitona's mood changed quickly to how she was during a hard training session. "Come at me!" Her voice was a commanding challenge.
Sephiroth took a deep breath, then too his entire attitude switched to fighting mode. He lunged at Daitona swiftly and spun around quickly after missing. He had half expected her to strike him, but she didn't. She simply bounded backwards towards the camera and knocked the device covering it, off. She ran the back of her hand across her face under her nose, wiping blood away.
"You'll pay for that one," she growled. Her eyes were actually blazing.
Sephiroth smirked hatefully at her. 'She's good!' he marveled inwardly as he dodged her fist. 'She's using the full of her ability, while deliberately missing me.' He smiled, even though it came out as more of a snarl, and he got in a few of his own punches.
Sephiroth's movements were easily read and dodged even though they came extremely close to there supposed target.
The plan worked perfectly. After a minute of so four guards rushed into the room, leaving the door wide open. When they got near enough, Sephiroth and Daitona acted as one. They caught the poor guards totally off guard. They were easily defeated and the two teens had their escape rout cleared.for the moment at least.
As they ran blindly through strange halls, something kept nagging at Daitona until she just couldn't stand it anymore. This running around wasn't safe.
"Sephiroth wait!" They came to a halt and he looked back to her with a questioning look. "Do you remember special op training?"
Sephiroth looked curious. "Yeah, what about it. We had like three weeks of in the field training, right?"
"Yes, and we're completely disregarding it now. This isn't safe, running around blindly like this." Daitona smirked and a mischievous look came to her face. "Lets have a little fun with this. You go on ahead, be careful, and I'll trail you."
With a sigh and a shake of his head, Sephiroth had no other choice than to go along with Daitona's new game. At least she was using her training.sort of. Defiantly not the way it was originally attended to be used, that was for sure.
We walked as silent as a cat for a long while until the hall finally ended in the huge lab like room they had been in earlier. He turned expecting to see Daitona, but there was neither hide nor hair of her in sight. Sighing, he ventured deeper into the lab checking all the doors, all were locked except one.
Sephiroth hesitated not really wanting to chance loosing Daitona, but quickly decided she could find her own way around. Looking down the hall behind the door a chill ran up Sephiroth's spine. The hall was dark and an eerie draft flowed through it. He turned back once more, Daitona still being in his mind, but quickly ducked through the door when distant voices met his keen ears.
Worried that they might they may have heard the door slam, Sephiroth jogged briskly down the dark hall. "Man," he sighed to himself. "I hope no one saw or hear me." He slowed to a walk and strained his eyes in the darkness. "I can't see a thing."
His ears picked up a faint sound behind him and he spun on his heals, almost expecting to see Daitona sneaking up behind him. He was met by more darkness. "What was that?" His senses told him otherwise, someone WAS following him and it wasn't Daitona. She wasn't stupid enough to give herself away while stalking someone.
A flash of light down the hall caught Sephiroth's attention telling him his senses were correct. Not knowing who it was with a flashlight, he turned and ran down the hall; his feet never made a noise as he swiftly made his way down the forbidding hall.
At full speed he ran for some time until. "Oofe!" Sephiroth was forced to a stop by the effect with colliding into a solid. Another flash of light, no more than ten feet behind him then the sound of metal hitting stone.
Sephiroth slowly turned to face the way the light had come from. Someone had followed him and had closed a heavy bared gate, locking him in the small area. "I'm stuck.who are you?" Sephiroth demanded when a dim glow started to light the area around the gate.
Soft laughter sounded out of the gloom then came to an abrupt halt. It was replaced by a startled grunt. "Where's the girl?!" the stalker asked franticly and spun to the dark hall behind.
Sephiroth narrowed his eyes, trying to see the details of the dark figure. "You won't find her so easily." Sephiroth's voice was mock humor, even he himself didn't know where his friend was. "If you do find her.I'd run if I where in your shoes, or beg for mercy. She's much more bad tempered than she looks, and she can pack quite a punch." Sephiroth laughed wickedly, wondering what Daitona would do if she were lurking in the darkness.
"Shudup!" the man spat gruffly. "You don't think I don't know how strong she is?!" He disappeared back down the hall.
"Oh great, now I'm alone," Sephiroth grumbled. 'I thought you said you were going to be just behind me, Daitona? Oh, I hope you didn't get caught without my knowing it. No, you're all right. That guy thought you were with me and he was stalking ME, not you. Now's our chance, good thinking, not walking together. We can still escape, but I'm afraid it's up to you known. I'm stuck, but I'll see what I can do about that. Just don't get caught and find me.perhaps you are already looking for me.'
His confidence in his fiend dwindled; he had forgotten how much she liked wondering around. "I feel sorry for the guy who finds her; they'll never have a chance against the likes of Daitona.
With a sigh, he sat down and leaned against the wall to wait for someone to let him out. Minutes later, the door he had ran into earlier flew open and several people filed in. They yanked Sephiroth to his feet roughly and forced him from the small area.
Outside the door there was an arena of some sort. It was there where he was shoved forward and left alone again. The people who had thrown him there went back through the door they had come out.
Another look around the arena, Sephiroth's eyes grew wide. "I'm in trouble," he breathed as a huge shadow loomed over him.
****
Daitona easily made her way up a long flight of stairs as she followed a strange sound. She heard people.lots of people.
At the top of the stairs she emerged into what looked like a crowded stadium. She was immediately surrounded by hundreds of cheering people. 'An audience, I'm part of an audience. But what was she suppose to be watching?'
Daitona was startled from her thoughts by a cry of obvious pain. Following her ears once more, she pushed her smaller form amongst the crowd until she came to the railing. Down below was a fare sized dirt ring and in the ring was some sort of huge mechanical monster.
'Why did I leave him?' Daitona thought angrily to herself as her eyes scanned the ring for who she knew to be down there. 'Sephiroth, please don't be hurt because of me. I had to find.'
'Sephiroth!" Daitona yelled at the top of her lungs. At her back, his Masamune sword hung along with her own at her hips.
Within seconds Masamune was in her grips then hurled towards Sephiroth. It landed inches from where he had fallen, but he made no move reach for it. The machine picked Sephiroth up like a rag doll and smashed him into a far wall. There was a crushing thud as he hit the wall then slumped to the floor.
Daitona looked on in shock. "He's not.getting back up." Her mind went blank of all thoughts besides then need to get to her fallen fried.was that all he was to her?
Her eyes began to glow unconsciously, a color besides what the mako infusions did to her; it was from her true heritage. In the deep dark depths of her eyes that rage she held was smoldering into something it had never been before. She snapped.
"I won't allow this!" she growled in an unusual voice. Her teeth were clenched, and her once aqua green eyes were now a blazing emerald. Her emeralds weren't ones someone could stare into for a long time, without getting lost in there hypnotic depths.
Daitona took a giant leap backwards, causing many spectators to scatter. Another bound forward, and she leapt over the railing, pulling her two swords from there sheaths in one liquid movement; the swords shot forward to considerable lengths as she plummeted the three story drop.
Her natural agility came into effect and she flipped gracefully and brought both swords together as them were rammed into the mechanical beast. She landed, not leaving too much damage to her enemy, then bounded backwards towards the recovering Sephiroth. He looked up in time to see Daitona land in a protective position in front of him. He could feel her eyes trying to look back at him.
Finally she turned to him. Sephiroth knew that blazing fire in her eyes, but she looked different. Her eyes had changed color and her hair.normally light sandy brown with even lighter highlights; was now golden with deep red highlights. Even though her head was turned, Sephiroth had never witnessed such a perfect defensive stance. He could find no flaw or weakness; she meant business this time.
"Are you ok?" she asked more softly than he had thought possible at this point. Though the blaze remained in her eyes, Sephiroth found certain gentleness from his friend. She dropped her stance to kneel next to him.
"What.happened.to you?" Sephiroth asked, he noticed as she spoke that her teeth had grown to an extent that they were fangs. Not just one set, but three, the front being the longest and the back being the shortest.
A wave of warmth spread through him suddenly, starting from his head then down to his toes; the tingling sensation was of a strong healing spell. Daitona's spell nearly completely healed him, but Sephiroth could still feel some of the aches and pains from being tossed around.
Daitona nodded in satisfaction. "Much better, now it's my turn to play with this guy."
She smiled and whirled around only to jump with amazing strength. Daitona reached the height of her jump then started back down with swords aimed for the mechanical body. The swords easily tore through the soft metal and ripped deep into the machine. The damage was immense and it would only take a little push to defeat it.
But being who she was, Daitona at that point didn't see any reason as to not tear that thing up. She smiled; she always had been a destructive child.
She ran right up the damaged enemy and went low; it almost looked as if she had fallen. But coming back up with a jump was a fatal blow to the machine. Swords crossed, they ripped through the core f the monster as she forced them upwards and back apart. The effect was like a giant X.
This time, the machine shuttered and quit moving all together.
Sephiroth was stunned to say the lead. Daitona had gone into battle unflinchingly and had dominated her enemy. She came back to him after that. What he say was the Daitona he was use to seeing, not that other that had just conquered and destroyed that that mechanical monster.
Daitona smiled and glanced back over her shoulder then back to Sephiroth. "Oops, I guess I play a little too rough for him. Maybe next time he'll think twice before he decides he wants to play. She bent down then and picked up Masamune. "Here ya go." She casted 'heal' once more and Sephiroth was completely healed.
Sephiroth stood and took his sword. "Thanks, but where did you go? I thought you said you would be right behind me?"
"What are you talking about? I was until you went through that door. I was going to follow you but then." She stopped to think of how what she had to say was going to come out. She shrugged and went on, "Guld, my first trainer showed up.so I hid."
-End Chapter 12-
A/N: Hope everyone enjoyed, this is the longest chapter yet!