Chapter 46
Sifan Leonhart's eyelids slowly opened themselves as if they were scared to allow his eyes to look at the world. His head still felt woozy after all the beating his mind had taken ever since the Avatar incident. He shook himself lazily and slowly sat up. He found himself in a bed covered with spotless white bedspreads. Beside his bed was a small table with a plate of sandwiches and a glass of milk. In one corner stood the picture of Trex smiling his head off along with Marlene and Phillona. The young Leonhart immediately assumed the place to belong to Trex or one of his family relatives. He lazily flicked a strand of hair away from his ocean blue eyes and turned to his left, still half-lying down on the bed. The sun shone through the lazy window drapes as he gazed upon the shabby looking inn where he had spent, probably the worst three days of his life. He sighed; still feeling a bit sleepy. He slowly sat up straight, his feet lazily touching the clean wooden floor. Though the brown-haired SeeD was nowhere near feeling contented, he couldn't help but feel at ease looking at the food. He yawned and picked up the plate just as the door creaked open and Phillona Strife walked into the room, her brown, long hair following her like a curtain.
She smiled when he saw the young Leonhart sitting there, seeming so clueless as to what to do with the sandwich in his hand. Sifan glared at the brown-eyed beauty before him. He returned his stare to the sandwich and slowly started munching on it, ignoring his visitor. Phillona took a seat near him and watched him slowly eat the sandwich. She felt like just holding his hand and telling him things were going to be fine but considering the hateful way he usually responded to affection, she held back.
After finishing the sandwich, Sifan slowly turned around and gazed at Phillona, "What happened...?"
She tilted her head sideways, "Uh.... We kind of decided you needed rest after everything-"
"Sleep spell..." he muttered nonchalantly, "He hit me with a sleep spell...."
"For your own good, Seef...." Phillona said patiently, "you looked like you were gonna pull out your gunblade and stab yourself..."
[I.... I.... wanted to...]
"Hey.... forgot to tell you.... Setzin's going hunting in a few minutes.... He said he wanted you to join him..."
He nodded half-heartedly.
She smiled sheepishly and cleared her throat, "uh... how were the sandwiches? I am bad at-"
"They were fine." He mumbled, "Avatar was always.... Good at.... Making.... Sandwiches...."
She enveloped his fingers in the palm of her hand when she saw Sifan's jaw tighten.
"Seef...." was all her shaky voice could come up with.
Just as expected, he uncomfortably eased his fingers out of Phillona's grasp. He stood up, and diverted his attention to the whereabouts of his gunblade.
Phillona crouched and pulled out Sifan's sheath from under the bed and handed it to him, "Be careful..."
He gave her another half-intended nod and made his way out of the room, closing the door behind him. Cloud Strife's daughter threw herself on the bed where Sifan had been asleep and gazed at an eagle soaring against the sunlight.
Far away in another continent, under a large tree, sat a green-eyed EX- SOLDIER staring at the same eagle, a gentle smile on his face.
************************
The dark eyed ninja took a silent stroll down the streets of the Midgar slum. Not a single sound disturbed his ears as he took small steps, walking towards the small hut towards a dark corner of the slum. Avatar Fenis was nowhere near a pleasant mood, making him all the more irritated to hear footsteps following him. He paused, the midnight wind blowing his long ponytail across the back of his neck.
Soon, the footsteps grew louder and out of the shadows stepped out a scruffy looking thug, a dagger in his hand. Beside him stood his tall counterpart armed with the same weapon. The both of them smirked at the ninja.
The short one scratched his head, "Hand it over, ya?"
"Yeah...." His companion guffawed, "For yer own good..."
Avatar continued to walk as if the only thing behind him was Midgar's foul- smelling air.
"Hey...! Hand yer gills over YA?" the short thug reinstated, "or we kill ya here, YA?"
It was the companion's turn again, "you heard Vakka, didn't ya?"
The ninja turned around, flashing out his death blade in a smooth elegant swipe. The shine settled deep into the thug's eyes.
"You wanna play tough with us, ya?" Vakka growled, "you gonna pay, ya?"
"Yeah... you gonna pay..." the tall sidekick replied.
The two of them rushed at Avatar Fenis, weapons outstretched.
*************************
Relafen Almasy swung the door open and marched into Professor Lorenz's office, his expression completely bemused, bamboozled and all at sea. He threw a dirty look at the insane scientist and slumped down in front of him on a wooden chair. He opened his mouth to speak and then closed it again.
Lorenz decided to do the honor of speaking first, "So... did you find it...?"
"Find what...?"
"The container... that you ever so carelessly dropped off your airship during that race of yours...."
"No...."
Lorenz decided against throwing the table lamp near him at the Shin-Ra commander, "Then what are you doing back here...?"
"Seph...." The young Almasy started.
"Seph...?" Lorenz's shabby eyebrows shot up straight.
"Sephiroth...." Relafen completed uncomfortably, "I met... Sephiroth at... Gondola village..."
Lorenz's heart almost fell to the bottom of his stomach, "w-what...?"
"Sephiroth... THE Sephiroth...."
A bead of sweat quickly ran down Lorenz's brow before he quickly wiped it away and managed a sheepy smile, "Oh THAT...."
Relafen raised an eyebrow, "THAT?"
"Didn't you hear?" Lorenz blurted out, guffawing stupidly like a laughing horse, "There's this Sephiroth look alike there... who... er...."
"I KNEW IT!" Relafen jumped to his feet.
Soon the two of them laughed like maniacs although Lorenz was running out of patience to keep up his fake laugh. Relafen on the other hand, laughed like he hadn't done so in a million years.
Soon the air returned to normal and Relafen began to speak, still throwing a cocky laugh now and then, "yeah.... He shook my hand!!!! HAHA!!! Sephiroth ...? SHAKING HANDS?!?!??! HAHAHAHHA!!! NO WONDER HE WAS A FAKE! HE EVEN OFFERED TO HELP ME SEARCH FOR THE CONTAINER!!! HAHAHAHAHHA!!"
Just then, the phone in Relafen's pocket began to throw a tantrum. The young commander picked it up, wiping the tears of laughter in his eyes. He talked seriously for a few minutes and hung up while Lorenz did all he can to look amused by Relafen's experience.
Relafen threw his head backwards and stretched himself, "Need to meet Rupert...."
"Oh yeah...." Lorenz said, half- nervously, "He was... er... searching for you some time back..."
Relafen nodded, "We'll laugh over this fake Sephiroth some other time, eh?"
"Yeah, of course!" Lorenz spat out, "and uh... you can forget searching for the container.... I guess I can afford to lose it...."
The blonde-haired commander was more than content to hear it. He smiled and shrugged. Soon enough he disappeared into the elevator outside Lorenz's office, humming a pleasant tune to himself.
Meanwhile inside the office, a very aggravated Lorenz sat with his head sunk in his hands, driving his mind crazy as usual. He then suddenly reached for his diary and began to scribble vigorously.
*********************
Sifan Leonhart's gunblade finished off whatever was left of the grat as Setzin returned to a relaxed stance. The young Leonhart, however, refused to let the grat die peacefully. He hacked whatever was left of the plant monster into nothingness. Swinging his sword in furious arcs, he continued to assault the monster, it's tentacles gored out of their place.
"ENOUGH!!!" Setzin screamed, but the SeeD paid little attention, continuing to gore the grat, "STOP NOW! ENOUGH!"
Rivers of sweat ran down Sifan Leonhart's face as he backed off from the dead heap of the monster. He sat on the rocky ground, allowing his gunblade to fall beside him. Setzin walked to the grat and extracted the sleep juice fluid from its only remaining tentacle. After sealing the container in which he had taken the juice, he walked over to Sifan and reached out his hand. The boy continued to stare at the ground.
"Listen, kid...." Setzin muttered, "I know you've fallen through hard times... I know you can't trust anyone or anything for that matter.... But the fact is.... We are willing to help you out.... Don't ask me why... but we are willing to help you out...."
"I don't need anyone... or anything.... Leave me alone...."
Setzin laughed ironically, "Lets see what you do on your own..."
"........................"
"Get your ass up kid. Don't be such a goddamn loser. Show the world what ya got..."
The brown haired SeeD eyed Setzin from the corner of his eyes as he slowly dusted himself, and got to his feet. Soon, the two of them silently began to walk out of the forest leaving nothing behind but the remains of many an unfortunate grat.
"Today is the golden saucer anniversary...." Setzin said as the two of them walked back towards the glacian village, "The Battle Square section is gonna be filled with the best competitors in the world... cause the prize is big..."
Sifan muttered something inaudible under his breath, while Setzin continued, "Shin-Ra personnel... are actually allowed to take part... though they own the place...."
"How fair is that...?"
"Not very...."
"So.... What's on your mind? The prize?"
"Two things.... Firstly, if you enter the competition...we ll find out what you're really made of.... And the other thing is...."
".... What? some stupid jellyfish eyeball that you searching for...?"
Setzin was least amused by the young Leonhart. However, nothing near an apology escaped the SeeD's mouth.
"No... the prize is.... The alloy of the cursed..."
"Sounds intriguing Setzin.... Sure does... but I think I am cursed enough.... no thank you..."
"The alloy of the cursed.... Used by the knights of the round.... Only metal capable of penetrating a certain monster's armor...."
"Oh... lemme see.... I have to fight a million warriors to get some dumb cursed alloy that's gonna put a hole in some monster's-"
"Omega weapon..." Setzin grunted, sick of Sifan's sarcasm.
************************
Vakka's blood trickled out from the arteries of his neck, only to meet with that of his companion, as both the dead bodies lay slumped on each other.
Killing had never been so easy for the young Fenis as he walked away from the scene, sheathing his bloody katana.
A series of swift swipes, Artful movements rivaling those of a snake, an emotionless mind frame, and a merciless conscience....
Avatar Fenis was a born Killer....
*************************
The horse neighed and snorted, setting all its six legs back to the ground. Odin, the ghost warrior alighted from the horse, his eyes flashing red, his rough skin, a sign of his immortality. The Zantetsuken rested along his side; as he walked into the castle, his long, weathered cape fluttering behind him.
The chamber that greeted him was not empty. In one corner, engulfed in a fiery sphere stood Ifrit observing everything with silence. In another corner, Ramuh stroked Ixion with his lightning staff. In another icy part of the chamber stood Shiva, lost in thought.
In the middle of the chamber, on his knees, was the outlawed esper, Caraduin. His hands were tied behind with deathly tight chains. His blue skin was battered and bruised. There were burn marks across his chest. Small icy thorns were also seen stuck in his flesh. His eyes were a deep red and his moderately long horns were visible from amidst the rummages of his hair.
"It was not easy..." Shiva's icy tone filled the air, "Took all four of us to defeat him..."
"Swine...." Was all Ifrit could growl.
Ramuh was silent, still stroking the thunder horse's back as Odin walked up to Caraduin, his steel armored boots clanging the chamber's ground. He stood before Caraduin, eyeing him for some time.
He cleared his throat and looked up at the Espers that surrounded him, "Thou may taketh leave. I shall make thy conquest known unto King Orion..."
The Espers nodded and left soon, walking out of the castle, now and then looking back, wondering what Caraduin's fate was going to be. Ramuh, the age-old thunder guardian paused before exiting, turning around to Odin, raising his thick eyebrow.
Odin nodded in reply. Ramuh sighed and quickly exited the castle.
The ghost warrior turned around and looked at the outlawed Esper.
"For decades.... Thy insolent tongue hath been unpunished..." Odin's voice thundered, "For centuries, thy deeds against his highness hath gone unjustified...."
There was no reply.
Odin's eyes showed no mercy as he lifted the Zantetsuken over Caraduin's head, "Now.... Thy time hath come.... thou art unworthy of life..... Rest in peace...."
**********************
A/N: Sorry guys.... I will take a little time to update... hopefully.... It should get more frequent...
Oh and if any good author is interested in guest writing a chapter for me.... Let me know....
Please REVIEW!!...
Sifan Leonhart's eyelids slowly opened themselves as if they were scared to allow his eyes to look at the world. His head still felt woozy after all the beating his mind had taken ever since the Avatar incident. He shook himself lazily and slowly sat up. He found himself in a bed covered with spotless white bedspreads. Beside his bed was a small table with a plate of sandwiches and a glass of milk. In one corner stood the picture of Trex smiling his head off along with Marlene and Phillona. The young Leonhart immediately assumed the place to belong to Trex or one of his family relatives. He lazily flicked a strand of hair away from his ocean blue eyes and turned to his left, still half-lying down on the bed. The sun shone through the lazy window drapes as he gazed upon the shabby looking inn where he had spent, probably the worst three days of his life. He sighed; still feeling a bit sleepy. He slowly sat up straight, his feet lazily touching the clean wooden floor. Though the brown-haired SeeD was nowhere near feeling contented, he couldn't help but feel at ease looking at the food. He yawned and picked up the plate just as the door creaked open and Phillona Strife walked into the room, her brown, long hair following her like a curtain.
She smiled when he saw the young Leonhart sitting there, seeming so clueless as to what to do with the sandwich in his hand. Sifan glared at the brown-eyed beauty before him. He returned his stare to the sandwich and slowly started munching on it, ignoring his visitor. Phillona took a seat near him and watched him slowly eat the sandwich. She felt like just holding his hand and telling him things were going to be fine but considering the hateful way he usually responded to affection, she held back.
After finishing the sandwich, Sifan slowly turned around and gazed at Phillona, "What happened...?"
She tilted her head sideways, "Uh.... We kind of decided you needed rest after everything-"
"Sleep spell..." he muttered nonchalantly, "He hit me with a sleep spell...."
"For your own good, Seef...." Phillona said patiently, "you looked like you were gonna pull out your gunblade and stab yourself..."
[I.... I.... wanted to...]
"Hey.... forgot to tell you.... Setzin's going hunting in a few minutes.... He said he wanted you to join him..."
He nodded half-heartedly.
She smiled sheepishly and cleared her throat, "uh... how were the sandwiches? I am bad at-"
"They were fine." He mumbled, "Avatar was always.... Good at.... Making.... Sandwiches...."
She enveloped his fingers in the palm of her hand when she saw Sifan's jaw tighten.
"Seef...." was all her shaky voice could come up with.
Just as expected, he uncomfortably eased his fingers out of Phillona's grasp. He stood up, and diverted his attention to the whereabouts of his gunblade.
Phillona crouched and pulled out Sifan's sheath from under the bed and handed it to him, "Be careful..."
He gave her another half-intended nod and made his way out of the room, closing the door behind him. Cloud Strife's daughter threw herself on the bed where Sifan had been asleep and gazed at an eagle soaring against the sunlight.
Far away in another continent, under a large tree, sat a green-eyed EX- SOLDIER staring at the same eagle, a gentle smile on his face.
************************
The dark eyed ninja took a silent stroll down the streets of the Midgar slum. Not a single sound disturbed his ears as he took small steps, walking towards the small hut towards a dark corner of the slum. Avatar Fenis was nowhere near a pleasant mood, making him all the more irritated to hear footsteps following him. He paused, the midnight wind blowing his long ponytail across the back of his neck.
Soon, the footsteps grew louder and out of the shadows stepped out a scruffy looking thug, a dagger in his hand. Beside him stood his tall counterpart armed with the same weapon. The both of them smirked at the ninja.
The short one scratched his head, "Hand it over, ya?"
"Yeah...." His companion guffawed, "For yer own good..."
Avatar continued to walk as if the only thing behind him was Midgar's foul- smelling air.
"Hey...! Hand yer gills over YA?" the short thug reinstated, "or we kill ya here, YA?"
It was the companion's turn again, "you heard Vakka, didn't ya?"
The ninja turned around, flashing out his death blade in a smooth elegant swipe. The shine settled deep into the thug's eyes.
"You wanna play tough with us, ya?" Vakka growled, "you gonna pay, ya?"
"Yeah... you gonna pay..." the tall sidekick replied.
The two of them rushed at Avatar Fenis, weapons outstretched.
*************************
Relafen Almasy swung the door open and marched into Professor Lorenz's office, his expression completely bemused, bamboozled and all at sea. He threw a dirty look at the insane scientist and slumped down in front of him on a wooden chair. He opened his mouth to speak and then closed it again.
Lorenz decided to do the honor of speaking first, "So... did you find it...?"
"Find what...?"
"The container... that you ever so carelessly dropped off your airship during that race of yours...."
"No...."
Lorenz decided against throwing the table lamp near him at the Shin-Ra commander, "Then what are you doing back here...?"
"Seph...." The young Almasy started.
"Seph...?" Lorenz's shabby eyebrows shot up straight.
"Sephiroth...." Relafen completed uncomfortably, "I met... Sephiroth at... Gondola village..."
Lorenz's heart almost fell to the bottom of his stomach, "w-what...?"
"Sephiroth... THE Sephiroth...."
A bead of sweat quickly ran down Lorenz's brow before he quickly wiped it away and managed a sheepy smile, "Oh THAT...."
Relafen raised an eyebrow, "THAT?"
"Didn't you hear?" Lorenz blurted out, guffawing stupidly like a laughing horse, "There's this Sephiroth look alike there... who... er...."
"I KNEW IT!" Relafen jumped to his feet.
Soon the two of them laughed like maniacs although Lorenz was running out of patience to keep up his fake laugh. Relafen on the other hand, laughed like he hadn't done so in a million years.
Soon the air returned to normal and Relafen began to speak, still throwing a cocky laugh now and then, "yeah.... He shook my hand!!!! HAHA!!! Sephiroth ...? SHAKING HANDS?!?!??! HAHAHAHHA!!! NO WONDER HE WAS A FAKE! HE EVEN OFFERED TO HELP ME SEARCH FOR THE CONTAINER!!! HAHAHAHAHHA!!"
Just then, the phone in Relafen's pocket began to throw a tantrum. The young commander picked it up, wiping the tears of laughter in his eyes. He talked seriously for a few minutes and hung up while Lorenz did all he can to look amused by Relafen's experience.
Relafen threw his head backwards and stretched himself, "Need to meet Rupert...."
"Oh yeah...." Lorenz said, half- nervously, "He was... er... searching for you some time back..."
Relafen nodded, "We'll laugh over this fake Sephiroth some other time, eh?"
"Yeah, of course!" Lorenz spat out, "and uh... you can forget searching for the container.... I guess I can afford to lose it...."
The blonde-haired commander was more than content to hear it. He smiled and shrugged. Soon enough he disappeared into the elevator outside Lorenz's office, humming a pleasant tune to himself.
Meanwhile inside the office, a very aggravated Lorenz sat with his head sunk in his hands, driving his mind crazy as usual. He then suddenly reached for his diary and began to scribble vigorously.
*********************
Sifan Leonhart's gunblade finished off whatever was left of the grat as Setzin returned to a relaxed stance. The young Leonhart, however, refused to let the grat die peacefully. He hacked whatever was left of the plant monster into nothingness. Swinging his sword in furious arcs, he continued to assault the monster, it's tentacles gored out of their place.
"ENOUGH!!!" Setzin screamed, but the SeeD paid little attention, continuing to gore the grat, "STOP NOW! ENOUGH!"
Rivers of sweat ran down Sifan Leonhart's face as he backed off from the dead heap of the monster. He sat on the rocky ground, allowing his gunblade to fall beside him. Setzin walked to the grat and extracted the sleep juice fluid from its only remaining tentacle. After sealing the container in which he had taken the juice, he walked over to Sifan and reached out his hand. The boy continued to stare at the ground.
"Listen, kid...." Setzin muttered, "I know you've fallen through hard times... I know you can't trust anyone or anything for that matter.... But the fact is.... We are willing to help you out.... Don't ask me why... but we are willing to help you out...."
"I don't need anyone... or anything.... Leave me alone...."
Setzin laughed ironically, "Lets see what you do on your own..."
"........................"
"Get your ass up kid. Don't be such a goddamn loser. Show the world what ya got..."
The brown haired SeeD eyed Setzin from the corner of his eyes as he slowly dusted himself, and got to his feet. Soon, the two of them silently began to walk out of the forest leaving nothing behind but the remains of many an unfortunate grat.
"Today is the golden saucer anniversary...." Setzin said as the two of them walked back towards the glacian village, "The Battle Square section is gonna be filled with the best competitors in the world... cause the prize is big..."
Sifan muttered something inaudible under his breath, while Setzin continued, "Shin-Ra personnel... are actually allowed to take part... though they own the place...."
"How fair is that...?"
"Not very...."
"So.... What's on your mind? The prize?"
"Two things.... Firstly, if you enter the competition...we ll find out what you're really made of.... And the other thing is...."
".... What? some stupid jellyfish eyeball that you searching for...?"
Setzin was least amused by the young Leonhart. However, nothing near an apology escaped the SeeD's mouth.
"No... the prize is.... The alloy of the cursed..."
"Sounds intriguing Setzin.... Sure does... but I think I am cursed enough.... no thank you..."
"The alloy of the cursed.... Used by the knights of the round.... Only metal capable of penetrating a certain monster's armor...."
"Oh... lemme see.... I have to fight a million warriors to get some dumb cursed alloy that's gonna put a hole in some monster's-"
"Omega weapon..." Setzin grunted, sick of Sifan's sarcasm.
************************
Vakka's blood trickled out from the arteries of his neck, only to meet with that of his companion, as both the dead bodies lay slumped on each other.
Killing had never been so easy for the young Fenis as he walked away from the scene, sheathing his bloody katana.
A series of swift swipes, Artful movements rivaling those of a snake, an emotionless mind frame, and a merciless conscience....
Avatar Fenis was a born Killer....
*************************
The horse neighed and snorted, setting all its six legs back to the ground. Odin, the ghost warrior alighted from the horse, his eyes flashing red, his rough skin, a sign of his immortality. The Zantetsuken rested along his side; as he walked into the castle, his long, weathered cape fluttering behind him.
The chamber that greeted him was not empty. In one corner, engulfed in a fiery sphere stood Ifrit observing everything with silence. In another corner, Ramuh stroked Ixion with his lightning staff. In another icy part of the chamber stood Shiva, lost in thought.
In the middle of the chamber, on his knees, was the outlawed esper, Caraduin. His hands were tied behind with deathly tight chains. His blue skin was battered and bruised. There were burn marks across his chest. Small icy thorns were also seen stuck in his flesh. His eyes were a deep red and his moderately long horns were visible from amidst the rummages of his hair.
"It was not easy..." Shiva's icy tone filled the air, "Took all four of us to defeat him..."
"Swine...." Was all Ifrit could growl.
Ramuh was silent, still stroking the thunder horse's back as Odin walked up to Caraduin, his steel armored boots clanging the chamber's ground. He stood before Caraduin, eyeing him for some time.
He cleared his throat and looked up at the Espers that surrounded him, "Thou may taketh leave. I shall make thy conquest known unto King Orion..."
The Espers nodded and left soon, walking out of the castle, now and then looking back, wondering what Caraduin's fate was going to be. Ramuh, the age-old thunder guardian paused before exiting, turning around to Odin, raising his thick eyebrow.
Odin nodded in reply. Ramuh sighed and quickly exited the castle.
The ghost warrior turned around and looked at the outlawed Esper.
"For decades.... Thy insolent tongue hath been unpunished..." Odin's voice thundered, "For centuries, thy deeds against his highness hath gone unjustified...."
There was no reply.
Odin's eyes showed no mercy as he lifted the Zantetsuken over Caraduin's head, "Now.... Thy time hath come.... thou art unworthy of life..... Rest in peace...."
**********************
A/N: Sorry guys.... I will take a little time to update... hopefully.... It should get more frequent...
Oh and if any good author is interested in guest writing a chapter for me.... Let me know....
Please REVIEW!!...