The Forgotten

Chapter 16: Bearings.

A large mountain in the middle of a barren landscape east of the port city Junon. This mountain was home to a rebel force known as The Radicals, consisting of proud Bounty Hunters and fierce Assassins.

The leader of the Bounty Hunters, Blain Ash, a very proud and cold-hearted man, he is a Bounty Hunter after all. The reason he fights, his daughter, Luna Ash. He fights for her future. That is all.

The leader of the Assassins, Akira Hoshal, the most feared Assassin to ever live. Despite the fact he is feared, he is a very kind and understanding man outside his job. He has never missed a kill in his life, and he doesn't intend to. His target now. Ranish.

Inside the huge mountain, a group of warriors seeking the downfall of Ranish had just been accepted into the group of Assassins and Bounty Hunters. Lance, Stratus, Red and Vincent had left down the right corridor to find their rooms. The mountain consisted of three areas, to the left were the living quarters, to the right was the food hall and below were the training grounds, where Stratus had just proved they belonged here.

Yuffie headed across the left bridge to the food hall, followed by Gale, who ran to catch her mentor.

"Yuffie wait!" she yelled, catching the aged Ninja.

"Sorry Gale." she replied, slowing down for the girl. The two continued to talk as they headed to the food hall for some long needed good food.

"I haven't had the chance to talk to you since you came back, I thought you where dead." Said Gale in a whisper. Yuffie placed a hand on her shoulder to comfort her.

"It's okay, I'm back now. And I think we both know the reason you haven't had the chance to talk to me." She replied in a soothing tone, which turned more playful towards the end.

"What do you mean?" asked the puzzled teen, looking into her elder's eyes with curiosity.

"Oh please, you think I haven't noticed how you stick to that boy like a leech."

"Stratus? Are you kidding?" protested Gale, her face turning beet red.

"I am not Gale," replied the elder calmly. She needed to make her 'daughter' see she was attracted to the boy, seeing as she hadn't noticed herself.

"Are you trying to tell me I'm attracted to Stratus? No way!" she protested again.

"Still the stubborn Girl I remember."

"I just can't see what gave you that stupid idea." Replied Gale, her face still red.

"I'll tell you. Have you actually talked to anyone else during this little journey?" asked Yuffie, opening the door to the canteen.

"Of course I - Oh my God!" yelled the teen, realising she hadn't. She blushed even more realising the elder was right.

"See. Now take a seat so we can discuss this more." Order Yuffie, motioning to a nearby table.

----

Lance was the first to find his room; it was quite small, seeing as hundreds of people had to be crammed into this mountain. The bed was squashed up against the stonewall and a small bedside table with a lamp was positioned next to it. A small circular rug was laid in the center of the small room covering the stone floor. Lance made his way to the bed, pulled a small book out of his bag and placed it on the bedside table. After untying his black boots and removing them from his aching feet he lay back onto the lumpy bed and tried to get comfortable. This task was harder than it looked, after a few minutes of squirming around he finally found the right position and grabbed the book he had placed on the table next to his bed. He began to loose himself in the book before zoning out completely. He was however brought out of his own world by a knock at his door. He sat up quickly and called them in. The wooded door creaked open and scrapped along the stone floor as Luna Ash enter the room, her Blue dress falling to her ankles and a huge smile on her face.

"Hello." He greeted the teenaged girl that had entered his room humbly. Her smile grew wider and made her face even more beautiful than normal.

"Hello. My name is Luna. You're Lance Hunter right?" she asked politely, hard to believe she was the daughter of that idiotic brute Blain.

"Yes, that's me. Nice to meet you Luna, care to take a seat on my lumpy bed?" he asked with a smile.

"That's very kind of you but I shall not trouble you with my presence, I just wanted to say thank you for saving me earlier." She said, her smile faltering slightly.

"Hey wait I minute, you wont trouble me with your presence, please. Sit?" he asked again.

She smiled back again and gracefully sat next to him, keeping her distance.

"As for me saving you, it was no problem. I'm just glad I was there to do so, what was a nice girl like you doing out in this dangerous place anyway?"

"I just wanted to get away from my father, that's all. He can be a jerk at times. Don't get me wrong. I love him and everything, but." She finished, not wanting to elaborate.

"I understand. Just don't go out on your own again okay?" he pleaded, something inside him told him to take care of this girl. She nodded.

"I wont, I promise. Lance?"

"Yeah?"

"Does your father ever act like he doesn't care for you?" she asked, her usual smile falling into a sad expression.

"My, my father died when I was young, along with my Mother." He replied sadly, staring at his feet.

"Oh. I'm so sorry. I should just go. I always do this, I'm really sorry." She blurted out fast before rising to her feet.

"Wait," Lance grabbed the girl's hand, as she was about to walk away, she tuned to face him.

"Don't go. It's okay. Really." He assured.

"You mean it?" she asked puzzled, no one was ever this kind to her.

"Yes." Replied Lance, patting the lumpy material next to him. She took the hint and sat down next to him, a little closer this time.

"If you don't mind me asking, how did they die?" she whispered, hoping not to offend the gunman.

"Train wreck," He replied simply, gazing into her magnified blue eyes. "Do people mistreat you here?" he asked, wanting to know why she was so shy. (A/N: Not sure if that's the right word but that the hell. Correct me if I'm wrong."

"No, not really. They just don't have much use for a girl like me, I can't fight or anything so I just get in the way. That makes my father mad at me." She replied sadly, looking into his jade coloured eyes.

"So that's why you acted," he paused, searching for the right word. "The way you acted?"

"Yes, I didn't want to bother you. Like I bother the others." She answered, a single tear rolling down her cheek.

"You don't bother me Luna, in fact, you do the opposite." He soothed, wiping the tear from her face.

"You mean it?" she asked, her gorgeous smile returning to her face.

"Yes, you have a beautiful smile, you should do it more often."

"Thank you Lance," she paused, building up her courage. "Would you. Would you like to meet me at the entrance of the cave tomorrow tonight? Please?" she asked, a small blush creeping to her cheeks.

"I'd love too."

----

The fiery beast known as Red XIII wandered down the narrow corridor leading to his room at the far end of the cave, his burning tail lighting the path as he walks. His room was far away from the others, at the end of the dark damp corridor where no one would disturb him and his wife. He reached his door and opened it slowly, striding into his home. His wife, Shika, resting on a nearby blanket on a raised platform. She raised her head, her fiery eyes locking with his as a huge smile graced her face.

"Nanaki, you're back! When did you arrive?" she questioned the wise hound.

"Not long ago, how have you been?" he replied, lying next to her form on the soft blanket that was their bed. She nuzzled closer to him, burying her face in his fur.

"Good. Did you find what you where looking for?"

"Yes, more than I expected actually."

"How so?" she asked puzzled.

"You'll see later, how are the children?"

"Fine, go check on them, I'm sure they'll be glad to see their father." She cooed into his fur.

"I think I will." With that he rose to his feet and leapt over to a nearby door, opening it slowly before quietly entering.

Four cots lined the walls, all at eye level to the friendly beast. He wandered over, peering into the first cot. A very tiny cub lay curled up in the corner of the small crib, her smile showing her peaceful nature. Hime. The next crib held another cub, this one slightly bigger, and his large back legs indicating he will be a fast and strong warrior like his father. Chikara. The next cub was equally as powerful as the last, the bright flame on his tail indicating he will have the heart of an angel and the strength of demon. Kokoro. Finally, the smallest of the cubs, his eyes opened at the sound of his fathers breathing, he was always aware. This one was to be the wisest of the cubs. Ryoushin. The small cub rubbed his eyes with his paw and then looked up to his father, his smile showing the happy thoughts running through his infant mind. Red rubbed his paw against the youth's cheek as he fell back into his innocent slumber.

----

This was his life's true meaning, this was what he was born for, his destiny. Just like his father, he was a hero. Stratus Strife stood at the entrance to the cave leading to the huge cavern in the depths of the mountain, home of the rebels. He gazed at the bright sun before him; it was almost time for the star to set and darkness to cover the land. He had just been in one of the toughest battles of his life, that guy put up more of a fight than his father did. His father always went easy on him, course Cloud didn't know Stratus knew. Maybe Blain could have beaten him if the fight had continued, he wasn't sure. But the simple fact that he could have enraged Stratus, he hated loosing. It always made him want to be stronger, to overcome his foe. That he would do.

Without another thought he removed his shirt and vest and began to run to the sand below him, clutching his clothes at his side. Once he reached the soft ground he placed his removed clothing on the floor, weighed down by his huge buster sword. After glancing around the area he spotted what he was looking for, a huge boulder. He reached into his life force like his mother taught him and began to concentrate all his power into his fist; with a yell he threw his fist forward shattering the hard rock into pieces. He then swung his feet into the air, turning the broken pieces into dust with ease.

"Not bad." Startled he jumped and turned quickly to see the great assassin, Akira Hoshal standing a few feet from him.

"Uh. Thanks." He replied dryly, still shocked to see the ninja.

"Who taught you?" asked Akira curiously.

"My mother."

"I see. You did well earlier." Commented Akira. He was very curious of this one; he saw great potential in him.

"Should have done better." Grunted Stratus, remembering his battle with the Bounty Hunter.

"Maybe. But that doesn't change what happened does it. You have two options, forget about it and do nothing. Or learn from it and become stronger. That is your choice, which is it going to be?" He had no doubt the boy would choice correctly, he may act stupid but that was all changes when it comes to fighting. He is a natural warrior after all.

"I'm going to learn from it, the other is not an option for me." Answered Stratus in a whisper. He would never get used to admitting defeat, or almost certain defeat as it was.

"Good, now, care to spar?"

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