Chapter 8

Panic

Kali awoke early the next morning, the past night's events almost disappearing completely from her mind. She sat up and suddenly remembered the shadow. With an aching inside, she looked over at the door. There were bloodstains just underneath it. She quickly leapt out of bed, dressed, and walked into the hall. She glanced around as she put on her gloves and saw a doctor walking past.

"Excuse me, can you tell me what happened to my friend?"

"Your friend?" he repeated.

"Yes," she nodded. "He was taken to the hospital wing last night. He had two daggers in his back."

"Oh, him. Yes, I just went to check on him. He's back in his room resting. He's just fine," the doctor explained.

"Thank you, sir," Kali bowed happily.

The medic smiled and walked away as she ran towards Rude's room. She knocked slowly and walked in to find Rude lying in bed, propped up on some pillows, arms crossed, and staring angrily at the wall where the foot of his bed was.

"Good morning," he muttered. She stared; he wasn't wearing his glasses. He turned to her silently, allowing her to see his dark brown eyes. "Get me my glasses, would you?"

"Sure," she replied. Kali picked them up from the table across the room and handed them to him. "Your eyes are pretty. Why do you hide them?" she asked as he put the sunglasses on.

"Ever heard the saying 'shoot when you see the whites of their eyes?'" he said quietly, crossing his arms again.

"How do you feel?"

"I'm still alive," he whispered, his hands finally resting by his sides. Rude glanced at her "Are you okay? That person didn't come back, did he?"

"Person?" She thought a moment. "Oh, him. No, I don't think so."

"Good. Vincent wouldn't forgive me if you got raped."

"I can take care of myself. I can fight, and there's only one person I would ever let touch me in that way, but he's not here," she said a little sadly. She stood as Rude yawned. "I should let you sleep."

"Wake me when we land," he muttered. He threw all but two of the pillows to the ground. He shoved one under his back as he slid farther under the blankets. He was asleep within seconds. Kali gently laid his glasses on the nightstand, well within his reach of course, and wrapped the blankets around his shoulders. Kali silently walked out of the room and, at request of her growling stomach, made her way to the Mess Hall.

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"I just want a plate of pancakes and sausage, please," she said to the waiter as he handed her a menu.

"Anything to drink?"

"Milk, please."

When he was gone, Kali turned to the book of four novellas in her hands, Four Past Midnight. She was nervously trying to figure out who Shooter was in Secret Window, Secret Garden when the waiter was back with her breakfast. She continued reading as she ate, a habit she had grown over the past few years, completely ignoring the people around her. She paid little mind to the children running past, and paid no mind at all to the honeymooners making out a few tables away. She never even noticed when the hooded man walked into the dining room. He glanced at her silently as he passed before requesting a table. The waiter spoke with him a moment before coming back to Kali.

"Miss?"

"Hmm?" she sighed, taking the slightest glance from her book.

"I'm sorry to bother you miss, but we have run out of tables. Would you object to sharing yours?" he said quietly. She shook her head.

"I don't mind at all," she replied politely before returning to her place in the story. The book hid the lower half of her face and the necklace as the stranger took a seat. He silently looked over the menu and ordered before staring at her.

"We meet again," he whispered when the waiter was out of earshot. Kali stopped reading and shot a quick look across the table. Kadaj was staring at her from under the hood, his eyes hidden as they always were. After a moment, she hid her entire face in the book, her body shaking terribly, and her hand grasping the pendant around her neck.

I mustn't let him see this yet, she thought. He noticed her trembling and gave her a sideways look.

"What is the matter? You don't need to be afraid. All I want to know is your name and," he took a few glances around the room before lowering his voice, "I would like to know your relationship with the man Sephiroth."

"Pardon?" she muttered before she could stop herself.

"Young miss, I have seen your eyes. They are the same as his were, but grey instead of green. Please, I wish only to know this and I will not bother you again," he pleaded. He stretched out a gloved hand and laid it upon her bare shoulder. It felt oddly familiar…

"I'm sorry, sir, but I don't know what you're taking about," she said shakily, laying enough gil to pay for breakfast on the table. Kali stood, closed the book, picked up her coat, and turned to leave.

"Please, don't go," he begged, standing to follow. Kali glanced over her shoulder.

"This is neither the time nor the place. Later," she whispered. Kadaj watched her leave the room, never even suspecting that she was his sister.

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Kali stood by the sink in her room, her face dripping with the water she had just splashed on it. She stared silently at her reflection in the mirror.

"I want to tell Kadaj who I am," she finally whispered. Her thoughts turned to when he touched her arm. She muttered, "It felt almost like that shadow. He doesn't know we're related, so it's possible. They even wear the same color cloak and gloves… But he couldn't have…"

She sighed as she lie on her bed. In only a few short minutes, she began to doze. After about an hour, she sat up at a noise by her door. Somebody was picking the lock. Panicking, she ran to the door and peered out through a little hole in it. There was a figure in a black coat, his features hidden. Kali's heart began racing as she thought of what to do.

She looked at the small closet; no room for much more than clothes, and whoever was out there would surely search the room. Kali glanced at the porthole, but knew it was hopeless; even if she did manage to knock out the nearly impenetrable glass, she was still stuck. The window seemed to be too small for her to jump through; if she did fit, she would either have to hold onto the edge and give whoever this was the opportunity to loosen her grip and drop her or dive into the water in the first place and be stranded (not to mention the risk of further injury to Rude when Vincent found out that she was lost). With a sinking feeling, she knew she was trapped. Unless…

Thinking quickly, she pulled on her coat and stuffed the pistol into her belt. She packed her bag quickly and laid a hand on the doorknob. As she listened to the door unlock, she threw it open. The person, surprised, was slammed between the wall and door. Kali took off down the hall as fast as she could towards Rude's room. She listened to a voice calling her, and knew it was the figure that had picked the lock. She could hear loud footsteps following behind her. She didn't care whether it was her brother or not; she laid a hand comfortingly on the gun. As she reached her destination, she felt a hand on her shoulder. In a flash, she whipped out the gun and pointed it at…

"Look, kid, if you don't want to talk to me, I don't care," Kadaj said, hands held up in surprise and fear. "Just tell me you don't want me around. You don't have to pull a gun on me."

"Sorry," she said, lowering the weapon slightly. She kept her eyes focused on the other cloaked figure coming down the hall and whispered, "I'm being stalked by someone other than you. He's chasing me."

"Hmm. Get in this room," Kadaj said, pushing her in as he saw the man. "I'll get him off your back."

"Thanks," she muttered as he shut the door. They stared at each other's eyes for a second before he disappeared on the other side. Kali locked it and turned to Rude. He was still asleep. She gave him a hard shake as she listened to the screams outside and the clashing of metal blades. Rude must have heard it, too, because as they gave a particularly loud clanging noise, his eyes snapped open and he was sitting straight up.

"What's wrong?" he asked when he saw Kali with her bags. He slipped on his glasses.

"That shadow thing came back just now and Kadaj is fighting him."

"Kadaj? Did you two speak?"

"Only briefly. We literally ran into each other at the docks and just now he said he'd get the stalker off my back."

"Damn it. We need to go."

"How? They're right outside and we don't land until tonight."

"We try," Rude said. He got out of bed, wincing at the pain in his back, and picked up his shirt. Kali watched him cover his bandaged torso with the dress shirt and blue jacket, wondering the whole time how they could possibly escape. She stared sadly at the bloodstains that had seeped through the bandages, her heart aching with the knowledge that she had caused them. He picked up his bag and cocked his pistol. "Let's go."

"Where?" she asked shakily.

"We're getting off," he said quietly.

"What? How?" she gasped.

He ignored her and opened the door silently. When he did, a scene of confusion and pandemonium met their eyes. People were running around in fear and screaming. The two of them ran down the hall towards where the motorcycles and cars were stored, opposite of where most people were going. As they ran, Kali looked over to find Kadaj leaning against the wall, a dagger stuck in his side.

"Oh, no," she moaned. When she tried to reach him and offer comfort, Rude grabbed her shoulder and pulled her along.

"He shouldn't have seen you before in the first place," he muttered. Kali watched tearfully as her brother knelt to the ground in pain, eventually wincing at his scream as he pulled it out. Before she knew it, they were locking themselves in the room with the vehicles.

"How will these help us?" she inquired. Rude approached his bike and shot the lock off.

"I like this bike."

"So? How will we take it with us?"

"Wait until we get on deck."

"How will we get up there with this thing?" she said, her voice full of exasperation. Rude pointed to a lift on the other side of the room. She smiled. "That will work."

Within minutes, they were on the deck with the cycle. Before Kali could say anything, Rude was going to the edge and throwing their only means of escape overboard.

"What are you doing?" she yelled. He watched the bike go under. "I thought you liked that bike!"

"Wait," he said quietly. She watched in amazement as the bike came up. The tires had turned so that they were horizontal instead of vertical, thus allowing the bike to float. In the distance, Kali could see the shore.

"This bike was made so that if it was in water, it turned into a jet ski," he explained as he climbed over the railing. He leapt over, landed in the water next to the escape vehicle, and pulled himself on. As Kali prepared to jump, something grabbed her leg. Turning around, she saw the figure that had tried to rape her and screamed.

"Rude, it's him! The guy that was in my room last night! Help!" she cried as he held her upside down over the waves. Rude looked up and aimed the gun, but he hesitated. If he shot, the thing would surely drop her.

"What do you want?" he yelled up to it.

"Her," he whispered just loud enough for Rude to hear. Kali furrowed her brow. She had heard that voice before…

Rude shot him before he said more and Kali had no more time to think, for she was falling towards the water. Rude tried to catch her, but he was too far over. She fell beneath the waves hard and headfirst. She fell unconscious, never seeing Kadaj run up to the side and stare down at her helplessly, never feeling Rude as he dove in after her and pulled her out. She never even knew that they were going across the water at nearly one hundred miles per hour, nor did she know when she was wrapped up in the cape of a friend a few hours later, all of her clothes laying nearby to dry. She never felt the warmth as she lie by a large, hot fire in a cave with Vincent sitting by her, watching nervously and waiting patiently for her to wake up.

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"Hmm…" she moaned as she woke up. Her eyes fluttered open to see Vincent close his eyes softly and sigh with relief. "Vincent?"

"Glad you're okay," he said quietly. She felt something against the sides of her head and realized that they were his fingers. She moved her head and realized that it was resting on his crossed legs. Kali closed her eyes again and smiled while Vincent massaged her temples. "Thought this would wake you up. It always works for me, anyway."

"Where am I?" she asked, beginning to sit up. As she looked around, Kali saw Reno changing the bandages for Rude while he explained what happened on the ship. Yuffie was pulling the fur off of some animals that Cid had hunted down to eat. As she watched Cid walk in with more wood to feed the fire when Vincent pushed her back down.

"We're in a cave just a day's ride from Midgar. And I don't suggest you sit up again, as least not until your clothes finish drying and I can get you to a more private place in the cave. You don't want my coat to slip and make you flash everyone here, do you?"

"Vincent, am I nude?" she asked disgustedly. When he nodded, she stared up at him and moaned, "I'm nude in a group with only one other woman. Yeah, this is a great trip so far."

"And that woman was the one to take off your clothes and wrap you up," Vincent assured her with a chuckle. "I never met a girl who was so sarcastic. Except, maybe Yuffie."

"What's that supposed to mean?" Yuffie asked as she came over. She sat next to Vincent and held the food near the fire. They sat silently for a few minutes as they waited for the food to cook. Kali finally looked up at Vincent.

"What did Rude tell you?" she asked quietly.

"He said that the shadow tried to rape you last night," he whispered, "and that you had met Kadaj."

"We haven't technically met yet. He doesn't know my name and I only know his because you told me what it is."

"True," he agreed. "But Kali, if you see him again before you have the sword, please, even if he wants to help you, run. He can change his mind in a second about anyone and anything."

"Right," she sighed. Yuffie looked down at her.

"Food's done. You hungry?"

"Starved."

"Be right back," Yuffie smiled. She took one of the animals to the three men sitting by the entrance, booze and cigarettes in each of their hands. When she came back, Vincent was gone. He had carried Kali to another place in the cave so she could dress. He came back a moment later and sat by Yuffie.

"Kali's a good kid," he said softly, wrapping an arm around Yuffie. She laid her head against his shoulder and chewed on a piece of meat.

"She really is. Hard to believe Sephiroth was her dad. She's not like him at all."

"You'd be surprised. She actually has a little bit of a temper and is quite impatient. But I'm amazed at the sense of justice and selflessness she has. You don't find that in teenagers often, especially girls," he said the last part in Yuffie's ear with a slight laugh.

"You talking about me?" she asked, pretending to look hurt. Vincent smiled and hugged her as he ate thoughtfully.

"You know I'm teasing."

"I know," she smiled. She turned her head and kissed Vincent. Across the fire, sitting so she couldn't see him, Reno was watching them silently.

"In a way, I want him to die," he whispered as the two lovebirds continued to talk.

"Don't say that," Rude said, his voice muffled slightly as he tore a piece of meat off the bone with his teeth.

"Yeah, Vincent's a good guy. Look, just because he took Yuffie from you…" Cid began.

"I'm not the only one to have lost someone to something," Reno pointed out, staring at Cid. "Don't tell me that since Shera, you haven't despised the sea and storms." Cid fell silent and continued eating. Reno glanced back over at them "It's not just that he took Yuffie," he said quietly. "We all know what he's been through. I'm sure death to him would be better than life, no matter what he says."

"What do you mean?" Cid asked. Reno shook his head.

"Never mind," he said quietly. He took another bite of food and changed the subject while Vincent and Yuffie continued their discussion.

"Vincent, do think she'll change?"

"How do you mean?"

"When Kali gets the sword and you die," Yuffie said. "Do you think she'll stay the same or become like he was?"

"Well," Vincent thought a moment, "I guess you'll just have to wait and see. I'll be dead, so it makes no real difference to me. Yuffie, do me a favor."

"What?"

"Take care of Kali, Kadaj, and their descendants as if they were our own kids."

"But what if I get pregnant before you die? Won't I have our own family to care for?" she asked. Vincent shook his head.

"That won't happen. Hojo made sure I was incapable of impregnating a woman when he ran his tests on me. Since I've been left to care for her, I technically am her adopted father. I actually feel as though Kali is my daughter, and love her as such. Yuffie, take good care of Kali and Kadaj. He may be an adult, but he still needs guidance. Sephiroth left him at the age of ten. He never had anyone to teach him about the real world except Loz and Yazoo, and look what happened to them. He's been living in exile ever since then."

"I'll take care of them," she whispered. "I promise."

"Take care of who?" Kali asked as she sat by them. She handed Vincent his cloak and began to eat.

"When I die, Yuffie will be taking care of you and Kadaj. She will also look after your children, their kids, their kids, and your entire family line until the end of time."

"How?" Kali asked curiously. Realization dawned on her when the question was barely out of her mouth. "She's a virgin and you bit her."

"Yes," Yuffie nodded. "Or rather, I was a virgin until just after I was bitten."

"Yuffie," Vincent muttered, his face turning slightly red. More realization dawned on Kali.

"Wait a minute, Vincent, you're a vampire! Even if the gauntlet comes off, you still can't die!"

"No, no, no!" he said loudly. "I told you in your mother's house that I'm only part vampire. I told you that the only vampire traits I gained were the color of my eyes and my thirst for blood."

"But what about Yuffie? She was shot square in the chest and stood right back up!"

"I'm only a half-breed as well," Yuffie answered, "but I retained some different traits than Vincent. If any half-breed is going to live, it will be me."

"But your gauntlet has never come off, so how do you know you will die?"

"Because your father told me I would. When one goes to the Lifestream, the person learns things about their loved one's futures. He told your mother that she was pregnant with you and left instructions for her to fill after your birth so she would be less surprised when the doctor told her. He told her of her illness so she would be prepared. He told me that you would receive no birthday wishes so that we could talk before you came out and you would know the letter was real. He told me that I was going to die so that I would get you to Midgar to fulfill the spell."

"Spell?" Kali perked up.

"I will explain when we get to the city. I don't remember what it is now, but it's carved into your father's tombstone."

"I don't want to go anymore," she said quietly. "I want to find a portal and go home."

"Kali, you can't. I'm sorry," Vincent replied just as quietly. "You have a job here, I am sorry to say. I don't know what it is, but you must do it before you go home."

"I feel sick," she whispered.

"Vincent, let's not talk about this anymore," Yuffie suggested. She stood. "I'll be back. I need to get some blankets."

"Okay," Vincent nodded. She pecked him on the lips and walked off. "Kali, let's go to sleep."

"I need it," she muttered. She stood and laid against the wall for a moment before Vincent came and joined her. He lie so his shoulders and head were leaning against the wall while Kali curled up next to him and fell asleep almost immediately, her head against his chest and his arm around her. Yuffie came back a few minutes later.

"The other guys took the blankets," she rolled her eyes.

"Why?" Vincent asked.

"Rude had most of the blankets and they're still wet from when he took the refreshing dip in the sea earlier."

"Come here," Vincent motioned her over. She began kissing him, but he pushed her away. "Not tonight."

"Why not?" she said quietly. She glanced at the young girl. "Kali can sleep by herself, she's a big girl."

"Yuffie, we've slept together every night since I got back. I'm tired."

"You've had a day to regain your energy."

"It's not from that," he shook his head. He stared into the fire. "I'm feeling my age. I'm wearing down, even though I don't look it. Just because I don't look old, it doesn't change my age. My head is full of painful memories that span three quarters of a century. I've seen more than I need to. My heart aches," he said quietly, laying a hand over it, "with the love I still hold for many of the people who I have watched die. Many of them shouldn't have died until after or around the time I do. There was Sephiroth, Aeris, Lucrecia, Tseng, Rufus, and I still feel a little remorse for Hojo. He was my best friend until we began working for Shinra, after all. I need to die, Yuffie. I don't want to. Believe me, I would love nothing more than to stay on this Planet with you and sleep with you every night for eternity, to taste your sweet lips before I sleep at night and again when I wake in the morning," he looked down at Kali. "I want to stay to protect her and her family. Mostly, I want to stay with you and make love with you every night, and learn of the Planet, and learn some more ninja techniques from you.

"But you must understand as I do now that this body is tired, that these bones need to be laid to rest. Do you realize that this fall, I will be seventy-seven years old? It will be exactly fifty years since he gave me this thing, thus allowing me to look the same for half a century. Yuffie, death is something I have wanted since my twenty-seventh year in this world. Although I don't want it anymore, I have come to understand that I need it," Vincent looked up at Yuffie, his eyes shining with tears. "I love you, I love Kali, Reno, Rude, Cid, and Kadaj. I don't want to leave any of you, but this is something that must happen. I love you the most, and my heart hurts even worse at the thought of leaving your side."

"Vincent," Yuffie said softly. She sat against his other side, lay with her head on his chest and pulled his arm around her. She laid his cloak across them, managing to cover herself, Kali, and Vincent's legs. She looked up and kissed him long and softly. "I love you, too."

"Go to sleep," he whispered, kissing her forehead. She closed her eyes, silent tears dripping onto his shirt. He, too, began to cry. He sat there for an hour, the only two living women he cared for anymore sleeping against him, and cried silently before Reno came over.

"You're really worried about leaving them," he said in a matter-of-fact tone. Vincent looked up at him for a moment before looking at the women at his sides.

"I'm actually afraid to die. Damn, I haven't felt that way about death since before Hojo killed me."

"Vincent," Reno said quietly. He knelt in front of him and stroked Yuffie's hair. "I love Yuffie just as much as you do. I would give anything for her. I'll take care of her when you die."

"I'm glad to hear that. Reno, I'm sorry I took her. I didn't even know she liked me until after Sephiroth died. I only found out by chance. You'll have her back within a day or two," he said. Reno shook his head.

"No," he said quietly. "Once a woman loses the man she truly loves, she never really gets over it, nor does she want another man."

"You mean Elena and Tseng," Vincent replied. Reno nodded.

"She'd hardly even look at me after Sephiroth killed him. Looking back now, I don't know how I could go through with some of the orders we were given," he whispered softly, "but sometimes I wish the Turks were still around. I don't even know what it is I miss exactly."

"The excitement of never knowing if you would live or die during your missions, the action, feeling like you were a hero doing something to protect the Planet," Vincent muttered. He looked up and smiled a little when Reno stared at him in shock. "Despite my hate for them, I sometimes feel the same way. At least with them, you always knew that if you lived through whatever you were doing, you had a nice, warm place to sleep, could take a hot shower, and eat a decent meal. For me, that knowledge and the thought that Lucrecia was back in Midgar awaiting my return always pulled me through anything. Except once," he whispered sadly, taking a glance at the arm wrapped around Kali.

"Don't worry about them," Reno assured him as he stood. "I'll take good care of them. And Kadaj. Good night, Vincent."

"Good night," he replied. As Reno laid down across the cave, Vincent held the beauties tighter against him, stroked their hair, and cried again. After a long while, Vincent finally nodded off to sleep.

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NM: Poor Vinny.

Vincent: Don't call me that.

NM: I think he needs a hug!

Vincent: No! ((runs to closet))

NM: ((sweat drop)) Poor thing doesn't have much time left in this story. Oh,I have two disclaimers:in the last chapter, Kali was listening to Marilyn Manson. For those of you who don't know, he is a real singer and not oneI made up (really good rock music, but alot of bad cussing).In this chapter, she reads a book called 'FourPast Midnight' and the story in it called 'SecretWindow, Secret Garden.'The collection is a book that contains four Stephen King novellas: The Langoliers; Secret Window,Secret Garden (the best story in the collection in my opinion. It was also made into an excellentmovie (the title is just 'Secret Window') recently that I highly recommend, with Johnny Depp playing the lead character); The Library Policeman; and The Sun Dog.Anyway, onto reviews:

Mediciner: Actually, I went out and bought it the other day with a gift card I got for Xmas. I love it! Also, the reason for the rating is going to get worse as the story goes on. Believe me, if you don't like sex, drug use, gore, cussing, or scary moments, you may want to stop reading. But I'm glad you like it.

Merielle: Yeah, the meeting is a spur-of-the-moment idea. You'll soon find I put those in quite often. Silver-haired guys kick ass. I must admit, I'm not too crazy about Loz (he's just okay in my eyes; but I love his attacks) and Yazoo (Yazoo looks like a woman to me, I'm sorry), but Riku's cool, Sephiroth rocks, and Kadaj is so hot. And we can't forget Dante from the 'Devil May Cry' games; he's pretty cool. There's just something about silver-haired guys that makes them so awesome. As for the shadow raping Kali thing, you know who he is (just please don't say it here), so you should know why. Actually, he's just trying to rape her now because they haven't talked and she doesn't know who he is. He's just biding his time right now, but once they have an introduction, things will change.

Kadaj: I'm hot? ((feels his forehead)) I don't feel warm…

NM: ((stare)) Shut up, hottie.

Sayahiei: Welcome aboard the S.S. Angel's Child! Sorry the first chapter was kind of boring; it was mostly to tell how Kali got the letter so there won't have to be a flashback chapter later. I'm glad you took the time to read the prequel. I'm also glad you're enjoying this so much. And I must agree, Cloud is a huge baka-san, and really should rot in hell. I'm glad to hear you loved chapter seven. And just so you know, not that I mind, but you really didn't have to review every single chapter if you started reading after it got so far along; you could have just reviewed the last one and saved some time so you could read more. But I'm happy to receive so much feedback, so thank you very much! I hope you'll consider starting a story or two yourself.

NM: Thank you all so much. As always, please review!

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