Angel looked back once, just as the path curved sharply downwards and blocked the slight alcove from view. She shook her head and twisted the throttle, putting on a burst of speed as she lay against the motorcycle, her hair whipping out behind her. She took the curves at top speed, leaning hard into them, wanting to go even faster but knowing she'd never be able to handle the bike at that rate. Caleb could, though. Caleb could do anything. That's why she felt safe with him. Rushing through the deserted city without him, Angel felt she was an easy target. She'd never let herself be, though.. She had to live for him, she had to help him find his—
With a sharp squeal, the bike stopped in the middle of the lower path, leading out of the city. She couldn't leave him behind. But he had asked her to go as far away from this place as she could. Biting her lip, Angel nudged the bike back ward until she was facing the opposite way, into the heart of the abandoned city. She'd stay there. There were so many places to hide and she could still be close to him. The engine roared as she shot down the unfamiliar paths, her bright blue eyes darting back and forth and taking in her surroundings. White buildings, white houses, white streets; wildly flourishing plants that somehow hadn't overcome the path; crystal pillars that spiraled upward and illuminated the streets she was weaving through. Angel almost turned off the narrow path to go into the residential section when her gaze snagged on something dark blue against all the white. She continued forward, the paved road turning into a dirt path as huge, white-barked trees loomed up over her head, just like the one in the cave in Nibelheim and the ones they had spotted upon their survey of the city earlier that night. Is that where she was? If that were the case, she was coming up to that huge spiral shell palace that seemed to be made of ivory and ice and crystal. Slowing down, she drove carefully into the thick collection of trees, her eyes looking up at their surreal leaves as their colors continued to shift: green, yellow, red, blue, white, around again.
Rustle.
It wasn't the wind; she heard it over the engine and instantly killed it, the sudden silence crashing in from all sides like an ocean closing over her. Her eyes darted back and forth, looking for the source of the noise. Her ears were almost physically perked up to catch any other noise.
Drag. Rustle. Thump. Angel silently lowered the motorcycle to the floor and stepped over it, creeping slowly toward a break she had spotted in the line of trees. The deep blue glow was coming from there, and there was something, someone, there too. Edging behind one of the thick white trunks, she peered around to study the area. A woman was standing there, tall, dark, and silent. Angel shivered at the aura of power rolling off of it; it was evil and evil-controlled. Beside her was a disfigured heap of something that gave off a low, pained moan. She jumped—was that a human!
"And now, Cloud Strife," said the woman, reaching down and grabbing at the huddled shadow by her feet. "You must die."
Angel gasped: "Cloud Strife!" Caleb's father was alive!
The shadowy woman dropped his body and turned to the trees. Angel ducked behind the tree but not before catching a glimpse of lethal green eyes that shone out of a small, round face.
"Who's there?" she called. Angel bit her lip and remained silent, praying that the woman would just leave her alone by some miracle. She heard approaching footsteps and closed her eyes, her fingers tensing slightly. She saw the dark woman in her mind, saw her coming even closer, saw her reaching one hand beyond the shadow of the tree to find the intruder. Two wickedly-curved arm blades slid soundlessly from their sheaths in her leather-bound gauntlets, and Angel leapt out of her hiding place, tackling the woman. They rolled, Angel coming out on top. She drew a fist back to strike the mystery woman and glanced over at the same moment to check on Cloud Strife. She froze, her eyes wide.
"What happened to you…?" she whispered.
Caleb rose. Reno and Rude stood as well, straightening their uniforms. The blond looked distracted as he strapped his father's sword onto his back.
"So, this… experiment," he spoke slowly, as if trying to control his temper. The other two men tensed; this boy was no one to be messed with. "This…this thing, is using my mother's body? And my father's genetic code?"
"Essentially, it's like a sister you never had," Reno responded and winced at the flash of orange amber eyes.
"It took twenty years to perfect," Rude cut in before his partner lost his face. "With the remnants of cells extracted from a piece of Jenova we discovered in the Northern Crater and the Black Materia. Hojo used your father to open the sealed cave entrance and steal his own wife's body from her grave with a manipulation chip he developed and planted on Cloud when he first arrived here all those years ago." Reno looked at his companion in shock—that was the most the man had ever said in one sitting, ever. Caleb nodded, looking from him to the red-head, and out the door
"I'm going to kill him," he stated softly.
"You can't do it alone," the younger Turk said. "Hojo's turned her into an uber-scary-bitch-clone-thing."
"Your father's alive, but just barely. After what Hojo did to his mind…" the elder man shook his head slowly.
"I will kill him," Caleb growled, looking back at them once before striding from the small shelter. "It's my job."
They watched him go, exchanging puzzled glances.
"He's gonna die trying," Reno spat.
"It's not our job anymore," Rude answered.
"Yeah…"
They stood silently in the abandoned house for another few moments.
"Elena said it was wrong."
"You liked Tifa, didn't you?"
"He killed them both."
"Yeah, I know he did."
They exchanged another glance, this one grave.
"We're Turks, Reno."
"Yep, that's us."
"Turks follow their own rules."
"Is there a rule for desecrating graves and extracting revenge for murdered teammates?"
Rude's lips twitched in what looked like a grimace, but was actually an attempt at smiling: "There could be."