Chapter 11
Litta was just beginning to walk back when she heard something around her. She looked into the trees and saw Sephiroth coming towards her.
"It's good to see you again Litta."
"Sorry I can't say the same for you," Litta replied.
"You should learn to show more respect towards me."
"And why would I do that?"
"I can teach you respect, but you won't enjoy it. It will be rather painful."
"Then I guess I'll be skipping Respect 101." Sephiroth's smile faded to a straight line.
"Perhaps you should heed my words. I don't want to hurt you."
"Yeah, well, I want answers about my past. And I don't care if I have to hurt you to get those answers."
"Pain will not get you anywhere with me."
"Maybe not, but it will allow me to get out some anger." Litta pulled out her gun and fired a shot.
"You missed."
"You don't have to point out the obvious to me. I have eyes." She fired another bullet, but to the side of him this time. He moved to the side, but the not the one Litta chose.
"You shouldn't work on predicting me."
"You shouldn't concentrate on criticizing me." Sephiroth pulled out him sword. Danis came up on them at this point. She stayed well hidden, but listened to their conversation.
"Maybe I shouldn't, but someone should. Perhaps Squall should tell you what you need to improve," he teased her.
"Leave Squall out of this."
"But you like him, don't you?"
"He has nothing to do with you and me."
"Even so, he has something to do with you." Litta didn't respond, so Sephiroth charged at her. She jumped away just in time. "You'll need to move faster than that to avoid me."
"What kind of a father are you? You just attack your daughter and then tease her about things. Do you even care about me?"
"Of course I care about you, you're my daughter. I only want what's best for you."
"If you want what's best for me, then stay out of my life!" Litta fired some more shots, all in random spots. All but two bullets missed Sephiroth, but those two hit dead on. "You'll also need to move quicker to avoid me." Sephiroth charged at her again. When she moved to the side, he changed direction. He cut the side of her arm. She backed up quickly, holding her arm. He came at her again, but she didn't see it coming until he was in front of her. He continued attacking her, sometimes hitting, sometimes missing. She fired a few shots, but mostly concentrated on dodging Sephiroth's attacks. After one last attack, she fell to her knees. He came at her again.
"Stop!" He lowered his sword and knelt down in front of her. "I can't take any more," she admitted.
"I'll leave you for now, but the next time we meet, I'm going to ask you to read that book of yours. If you don't have it or refuse to read it, I'll put you through more pain. Keep that in mind." He walked off. So she's his daughter, Danis thought. Interesting. Litta stood up slowly. She began making her way back to Shin-Ra. About half way there she heard someone calling her name.
"Litta!" She recognized the voice, but couldn't place it. She looked up as someone came towards her, but her eyes were already clouding up a bit. "Litta, what happened?"
"Sephiroth." She closed her eyes and fell forward. Squall caught her. Vincent came up behind him.
"Is she all right?"
"She's not unconscious, but she needs help." Danis came out of the bushes, but they didn't notice her yet.
"Take me back," Litta whispered.
"What?" Vincent had been talking and Squall had missed what she'd said. "What did you say Litta?" Squall asked her.
"Take me back to Shin-Ra." Squall looked at her, but she had her eyes closed.
"What do you think Vincent?"
"She wants to go back to Shin-Ra, so she wouldn't be happy if we took her with us. Let's just do what she said."
"Are you kidding? We can't take her back to Shin-Ra. There's no telling what experiment Rufus will do on her."
"We don't really have a choice. We should do what she told us to do." Danis walked a little ways behind them as they made their way back. While they walked, Squall began questioning Litta.
"Why were you out here by yourself?"
"I needed to take a walk."
"What for?"
"I needed to walk off my feelings. They were overwhelming me."
"What feelings?"
"About the experiment. I was Rufus' assistant, and I helped him run it. Tseng was the specimen, but something went wrong and he died. I helped kill Tseng, but I don't feel good about it." Squall said nothing. Litta opened her eyes.
"Squall!" He looked down at her. "I didn't realize it was you carrying me."
"Who did you think it was?"
"I don't know. Your voice sounded familiar but I couldn't see who it was. I still can't see clearly, but I finally recognized your voice." My eyes are actually getting worse.
"Why do you want us to take you back to Shin-Ra?"
"Squall, I'm a Turk. You can't change that."
"But I don't understand. Why would you become a Turk?"
"I," she sighed. Maybe I can get away with it out here. "I was forced to. Rufus told me that I had to become a Turk or you would be killed. If I did, you would stay safe. That's why I have to be a Turk."
"Litta, I can take care of myself." She wasn't listening anymore. She didn't appear to be unconscious though. "Litta, are you all right?"
"I'm in a lot of pain, that's all." Squall looked at all her wounds. I don't have any choice. I have to heal her.
"Litta, I have to heal you."
"No!" Squall pulled out a potion and used it. Litta waited for the pain, but nothing happened. In fact, there was no pain at all. "Put me down." Squall did.
"Are you in pain?"
"No, I'm not. I feel fine." Litta was a bit confused. "Shouldn't the magic have hurt me by now though?"
"I didn't use magic. I used a potion."
"Hmmm. Maybe it's just curative magic that hurts me. Maybe potions don't affect me."
"So we could have avoided causing you pain all those times if we had used potions?"
"I guess so." Litta was obviously happy. She gave Squall a hug, but then quickly stopped. "Thank you," she said.
"Your welcome. I'm glad we know how to cure you now."
"Me too."
"Are you two coming or what?" Vincent called back.
"Hold on Vincent," Squall told him. "Litta, please don't go back to the Turks. I'll be fine. You don't have to put yourself through that just to protect me." Litta thought about his words for a few minutes before responding.
"I guess you're right. Okay, I'm coming with you." Yes, Squall screamed silently.
"Good." He told Vincent, and then Danis came up behind them.
"How long have you been behind us?" Squall asked.
"The whole time. It was interesting listening to everything that was said."
"Since we don't have to take Litta back, we should keep her away from them," Vincent said. "I'll go get Cloud while the rest of you head to Nibelheim. That way we're about as far away from Shin-Ra as we can get. I'll meet you there with Cloud." He looked at Squall, then left.
"You heard the man. We're heading to Nibelheim."
"But that's where the Shin-Ra mansion is," Danis mentioned. "Wouldn't it be better to stay away from there?"
"Maybe, but we'll go there now until Vincent catches up. Otherwise he wouldn't know where to look for us."
"Good point." They walked the rest of the way in silence, and Danis was thinking about one thing the entire walk over.
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Cloud was running out of the building when Vincent came back.
"What's with you?" Vincent asked him.
"Where's Litta?" He knows about her jobs.
"I sent her to Nibelheim with Squall and Danis. That's where we're meeting them. Why do you want to know where she is?"
"I need to talk to her about something."
"What's that?"
"I'm sure you must know about who killed Yuffie and Red XIII."
"Yes I do."
"Then why didn't you tell me?"
"Because I saw the way you reacted. I wasn't the only one who was afraid of what you would do if you found out."
"What do you mean, 'the only one'?"
"We should head to Nibelheim before the Turks start looking for Litta." Cloud wanted to ask him what he meant, but remained silent. Another time perhaps.
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Squall checked them into the hotel and kept watching for Cloud and Vincent. Danis and Litta were upstairs. Danis had been in her room, but now she walked into Litta's room.
"So you decided to quit the Turks."
"Yeah, what of it?" I still don't really trust her. She may be on our side, but that doesn't mean she won't still act like a Turk. She is after Sephiroth.
"I've just been wondering about some things."
"Do these things involve me?"
"Yes. I heard why you joined the Turks, or why you had to. But why were you there in the first place?"
"I was finding information."
"What information?"
"Why do you want to know?"
"I'm just curious." She knows something; otherwise she wouldn't be so curious.
"I was looking for information about my mother."
"Did you find it?"
"Yes."
"Was that all that you were looking for?"
"No."
"Then what else?"
"Stuff about my history."
"Like who your father is?"
"No, not that."
"You already knew that?"
"Yes."
"Then who is he?"
"Why are you asking me all these questions?" Litta was losing her patience. She knew Danis was leading up to something.
"Because I was there when you battled with Sephiroth! I heard what you said to each other. I know that you're related to him. I know he's your father." She said the last word with enough hatred that even Litta picked up on it.
"So what if I'm related to him? Why do you care?"
"Because I hate your father! He killed my family! My whole life was destroyed by him because he was after you! And you're just the same!"
"I am nothing like my father!"
"You're exactly like him!"
"How can you say that?"
"Because you don't care about anyone but yourself!"
"That's not true! I care about my friends. Sephiroth kills people and hurts them without any reason. I would never do that!"
"Didn't you kill Red XIII and Yuffie? And Yuffie was your friend!"
"I," she stopped. She's right. I did kill them. But I'm still not like Sephiroth. "But I was doing that to protect Squall. Had it been Sephiroth, he would have just let Squall die!"
"That's not the point. You still killed them. You are exactly like your father!"
"Shut up!" Litta had had enough. She ran past Danis and out the door. She went out through the back and headed into the mountains. She ran for a while, just thinking. How dare she compare me to my father! What does she know about it? I'm nothing like him. It was cold and looked like it was going to storm, but she wasn't paying attention. I wish I had my jacket. But I never washed it when Squall gave it back to me.
She finally rested against a rock. As she sat down, something fell out of her pocket. The book! She started flipping through the pages. Maybe there's something in here that can tell me how to get rid of Sephiroth. She read through the words, skimming over them. She heard something, and looked up. Lightning was flashing above, and the clouds were swirling over her head. Why does this seem familiar? As she looked on, she saw a figure descending from the clouds. It was a woman, and she was beginning to move. No! I must have been reading out loud! The woman was moving towards her.
"Many thanks, my child," she said. Litta didn't respond. The woman just disappeared into the sky. Now what have I done? It started snowing, but Litta put her head in her lap. I don't even know where I am.
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Squall came up a few seconds after Litta had left.
"What's going on up here?" he asked Danis. "And where's Litta?"
"We were just having an argument. She ran out the door a few minutes ago."
"What did you say to her?"
"I was just speaking my mind. I told her how much she was like Sephiroth."
"You idiot!" He ran out the door and after Litta. He noticed that it looked like it was going to storm. Where are you Litta? Suddenly, he saw lightning flashing at the top of the mountain, and the clouds were circling together. That's strange. He headed to the top of the mountain, and saw Litta slumped against a rock. "Litta!" She didn't move. He walked over to her. She had clearly been hit by lightning. He shook her gently until she moved. "Litta." She looked up at him.
"I'm sorry! I didn't realize what I was doing!" She put her head back down.
"Sorry about what? What happened?" She didn't look up. "What did you do?"
"I brought her back. I brought back Ultimacia." Squall knelt down beside her.
"Are you sure?"
"I accidentally read the book out loud. A woman came out of the clouds and thanked me, then left. Didn't you say the other person I could revive using the book was called Ultimacia?"
"Yes, I did. We need to talk to Cloud and Vincent about this. Why did you leave?"
"Danis and I weren't getting along," she said.
"Why not?"
"She started saying I was exactly like Sephiroth and that I would kill people for no reason."
"And you listened to her?"
"Well..."
"Let's get you back to the hotel and healed up." He picked her up and started carrying her back down.
"Squall, why do you always carry me?" He didn't respond at first.
"Why do you ask?"
"It's just that any time I'm hurt you are always the one who ends up carrying me. I'm just wondering why."
"Vincent and Cloud are always busy making decisions and I'm sure Danis won't carry you. That only leaves me."
"Oh." He got her back to the hotel and used a potion on her. He then left to see if Vincent and Cloud had returned.
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Vincent had been quiet the whole time, and Cloud had tried to leave him alone. But he couldn't hold it in any longer.
"How could she do it?"
"Cloud, listen to me. Litta is not going to want to talk about it. Leave her alone right now."
"Fine." They continued on their way. When they reached the hotel, Squall was just looking for them.
"Vincent, we have a problem."
"What?"
"Can I talk to you about this alone?" He looked at Cloud cautiously.
"Cloud, why don't you leave us alone for a minute?" Vincent asked.
"Why can't you tell me Squall? Are you trying to hide something from me?"
"No. I just would rather Vincent be the first to know." Cloud walked off.
"So what is it that you want to tell me?"
"Litta ran off a little while ago. I already brought her back, but she brought back Ultimacia. She's sorry about it, but we're going to have to deal with it."
"You're sure? Did you see it?"
"No, I didn't see it. But with the way the clouds were acting and what Litta told me, I'm pretty sure Ultimacia is alive again."
"I can see why you didn't want to tell Cloud."
"Is he going to be okay around Litta?"
"He should be. I've been able to keep him calm so far. I'm not sure if he can handle any more conflicts with Litta. Where is she now?"
"She's up in her room. She was hit by lightning, but she's already healed up." They talked a little more before they went to bed. Danis went to bed as well, leaving Cloud and Litta the only ones awake. Cloud had been listening to Squall's conversation with Vincent, and he had lost it. Litta heard someone coming up the stairs. She could tell whoever it was wasn't happy. Cloud didn't knock before entering her room. At first, Cloud couldn't find any words, but when he did, they weren't pleasant.
"Do you have any idea what you've done! You've brought Ultimacia back to life! Now Sephiroth can bring Jenova back and we'll have to fight them all!"
"I know that Cloud," Litta said quietly. "I already apologized to Squall, and I'm apologizing to you now. I didn't mean to."
"I don't care if you didn't mean to!" he snapped. "The fact is you did. And above that, I've found out that you're the one who killed Red XIII and Yuffie!"
"I didn't want to kill Yuffie."
"But you did. And what about Red XIII? Did you care about him?"
"I didn't know who he was."
"No, of course not. You probably wouldn't have cared either. Maybe you are turning into Sephiroth!"
"That's not true!"
"I don't care. I told myself that I would return the favor to whoever killed Red XIII and Yuffie. Now I know who did it and I plan to keep my word."
"Cloud, you can't kill me." He moved towards her quickly. He put his arm against her throat and cut off her air supply. "Cloud..." He made no reply. He punched her in the stomach, but kept his arm against her throat.
"I'm coming back for you." He suddenly walked out of the room. Litta gulped in air. She didn't stick around to find out if Cloud would really be back. She grabbed her stuff and walked out of the hotel. That's all I am to them. After all this time, it seems like nothing has changed. Cloud wants to kill me for what I did. I don't want to know how Vincent feels about my bringing back Ultimacia. Danis wants me dead just because I'm related to Sephiroth, and she still wants him dead. Squall is just...confusing.
"Litta!" She stopped thinking and turned back around. "Litta, where are you going?" Squall was coming after her.
"I'm leaving. It's clear where I belong."
"What do you mean? You belong with us."
"No, I don't. You may think that, but I know better. Just ask Cloud or Danis. I'm going to fix the problems I've caused."
"What- you can't mean you're going after Ultimacia!"
"I am. I brought her back, so it's up to me to kill her."
"You can't. You don't know how hard she is to defeat."
"I'll do just fine."
"You need our help."
"I don't need anyone's help! This is my job. Just leave me alone. All I am to you is a tool. I can get you places the others can't, like close to Sephiroth. I could read the book, I had the book. I'm sick of being used by everyone!" She started to walk away but Squall grabbed her arm.
"Don't go."
"Let go of me."
"No. I'm not going to let you leave to go kill yourself."
"It's my choice. I'm warning you, let me go."
"No." Litta swung around and punched him in the face. He passed out and fell to the ground. Litta left him there for the others to find. I won't be anyone's tool anymore. If I've caused so many problems, then I'll be the one to get rid of them. She continued walking, intent on finding Ultimacia and Sephiroth.
End of Part 2